#and notice a lot of teal on the streets and went oh! cool! i like the colour teal!

[ratatatastic]

happy cats continue on their sports pr tour and this time they stopped by the hardrock to give a good fins up! for the home opener to all who celebrate

jacksonville jaguars @ miami dolphins | 9.8.24 (x)(x)

[mega-gogo-man]

Evening Date

After a nice evening together, June and Sheena find an inviting pool and decide it'd be a waste not to use it.

A short, fluffy, romantic story of my OCs I came up with last year whilst drawing this picture.

This was clearly a case of me coming up with a story after I'd drawn the pic, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

The dark theatre was flooded with bright stage lights as the performance I had just witnessed drew to a close. A thunderous applause roared through the entire venue as the flamboyantly dressed actors bowed to the crowd. As I clapped along the rest of the audience, June was in the seat beside me, cheering out loud as she seemed to be wiping tears from her eyes. She’d been talking about how she wanted to see the play ‘In Secret’ for a long time, so I decided to take her to see it as a treat as I’d been busy at work and June had been occupied with studies at her university before the summer. The play was about a royal knight who falls in love with a princess, so the princess had to disguise herself as a hand maiden to ensure the King wouldn’t find out about their relationship. Apparently, it was based on a book or movie or something that June liked. The finale clearly did the job at ending things in a spectacular way and it was a hit with the entire theatre.

As the curtains drew for the final time, the crowd eventually died down and people began making their way out of the theatre. Me and June walked out into the night as the crowd dispersed into the streets.

“That was so cool!” June smiled, still giddy from the spectacle of the finale.

“I’m glad it turned out to be everything you hoped it’d be.” I replied. We were in fancy evening dresses, June wearing a silky teal dress with frills, whereas I went for a red, full length velvet gown. We rarely dress ourselves up in makeup and fancy jewelry, so I felt a little strange wearing all this extra stuff I’m not used to. Walking in these high heels felt especially awkward, even if I did end up liking how they looked on me. June, with her makeup, dress and decorated nails, looked incredibly elegant. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail as she usually does, but this time it was held together with a hair clip adorned with shining pearls. Despite her mature allure, she was still acting like a kid at Disneyland.

“Hehe, I was tearing up a little at the end.” June giggled, “Oh, Sheena. Is my makeup ok?” She turned and leaned towards me. Though I noticed her eyes welled up during the applause, it didn’t seem like any tears ran down her face to smear her eyeliner.

“You look fine, June, don’t worry!” I reassured her.

“Oh good.” she replied in relief. The crowd around us was thinning as we continued to walk down the night streets. “So, what did you think about it?” She asked me.

“Me? Yeah, I liked it a lot...” I paused to think of something other than ‘yeah it’s good’. I ended up liking it more than I thought I would, too. I’d never really been one for theatre or dance, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I did feel like I was a little out of my depth here, everyone was dressed in formal wear which isn’t something I do often, and I always felt like there were elements to their performance I was missing that a more distinguished audience would be able to better appreciate or critique. I at least enjoyed the spectacle of their bombastic performance and the music. “The music was really good; I was surprised by how well it all came together.”

“I know, right!?” June beamed, “The way the composer used the motifs from all the previous songs in the finale was genius.” I honestly hadn’t any clue what she was talking about, but I still liked seeing her gush about this kind of thing. We continued walking down the night streets lined with bars, clubs and hotels, illuminated with garish neon signs that bathed us in many different shades of hot pink and bright blue, as we made our way back to our hotel. Eventually, June seemed to have calmed down from the rush, but she was still glowing from the night we had. She took my hand and held it gently. “Thanks for taking me to see the show, Sheena.” She smiled.

“Hey, don’t mention it. I had a really good time.” I smiled back at her. It was nice to be together like this; it had been a little while since we had the time to do our usual diving sessions, let alone the time to just hang out. Maybe it was because of how long it had been that being together made me feel a little giddy inside too. Eventually we arrived at the hotel. It was now late into the night, so it was quiet in the lobby area. Since the theatre was quite far from home and the performance was late, we’d booked a room here and were due to check out first thing in the morning. Our room was out towards the back, but there was a shortcut we could take by walking out into the courtyard and climbing some stairs up towards a balcony. We entered the courtyard where the outdoor bar area was, which seemed to be closed at the moment.

“Hey Sheena, look.” June pointed the hotel pool which was at the center of the courtyard. Illuminated by the underwater pool lights, the surface of the water sparkled like a shimmering emerald as the rest of the courtyard was dimly lit. Half the surface of the pool had a plastic pool cover draped haphazardly over it. It seemed like it was past the opening time for the pool. “Hehe, the pool looks so inviting doesn’t it~?”

“Yeah, it does...” I replied. It was a pretty warm summer, and even the cover of night provided only mild respite from the humid heat, so the idea of taking a swim right now seemed divine. Not only that, it’s been far too long since we went swimming together...

I missed seeing June underwater...

“I’d love to go swimming right about now... It’s a shame we didn’t bring swimsuits.” June lamented. We hadn’t intended to go swimming; we didn’t even know the hotel had a pool and since we were leaving early in the morning, we wouldn’t have any time to use it. Since there’s a pool here, though, it seems like it’d be a missed opportunity not to use it while we’re together.

“Hmm, well we don’t need swimsuits to swim, do we?” I smirked at her, as a devious idea formed in my mind.

“Huh?” June turned to me, looking perplexed. “What do you mean? I’m not gonna strip off out here!” Stripping hadn’t even crossed my mind, and although that also sounded fun, I had something else in mind.

“Well, you can stay in your dress if you want.” I smirked. I took off my heels, relieving some strain from my now bare feet as I began to make my way towards the pool. “Since we have a pool here, I think I’ll cool off for a bit...” June paused for a moment, before I heard the footsteps of her heels rushing towards me.

“Wha-? Wait, stop!” June blustered in a hushed tone, grabbing me by the arm. “You're gonna ruin your dress!”

“Come on, June.” I teased, giving her a smirk. “The water looks great.”

“W-Well... Yeah, it does...” June stammered, turning red as she tried not to make too much noise. “But! Look, the pools clearly closed, you’re gonna get into trouble!” She was right, the pool cover had been unfurled and, although it only covered half the pool, it was clear no one was meant to be using this at this hour.

“Haah, fine. You’re right, I shouldn’t get myself into trouble...” I feigned a dejected sigh as I turned back towards her. June gave a relieved sigh as she foolishly let her guard down. I gently grabbed her by the shoulders and whispered to her... “I’ll let you get into trouble first.”

“... Wha?” June barely had a moment to react before I gave a firm shove and pushed her into the pool. She let out a surprised squeal before it was cut off by her splashing into the once still surface. I felt the water splash over my dress as she fell in, and couldn’t help but laugh at what I’d done. After a moment, June emerged from the surface, coughing and spluttering. “Gaah! What the fuck, Sheena!?” she yelled angrily, wiping her soaking hear from her face. Her hair, once tied back, was now flowing free; it seemed like the impact of the splash dislodged her hairclip. Her long, frilly dress flowed around her legs as she treaded the water, exasperated. I laughed again that I actually managed to do this to her, but after a moment I felt a small spark of guilt run in my stomach. June didn’t seem to be finding the situation as funny as I did, as she looked at me with a disgruntled look, furrowing her brow as she wiped the water from her face.

Maybe I went too far?

I took a second to compose myself before I knelt down by the pool edge.

“I’m sorry, June, I couldn’t resist.” I chuckled, “I mean, you said you wanted to swim!” June pouted, and gave me a brief look of contempt before she slowly swam towards me to pull herself out. By now I really was beginning to feel bad; I probably messed up that dress of hers. I might have ruined an otherwise amazing evening for her just because I was being a jackass and thought I was funny.

I’ll have to think of a way to make it up to her.

As she approached me, I reached out my arm to her. “Sorry, June. Here, I’ll help you out...” June huffed as she contemplated even taking my offer at all, before she almost reluctantly took my arm. She reached out and grabbed my arm with her delicate, slender fingers.

Man, she did a really nice job with her nails...

In the brief moment whilst my mind was distracted, June tugs my arm fiercely, causing me to lose balance. I let out a startled yelp before I find myself pulled forward and I am plunged into the turquoise pool water. It was a little colder than I was expecting; the heating must have been turned off at this time. I ended up falling in face first as I sank upside down. Kicking my legs, I reorientated myself upright, before pushing myself up to the surface. As I emerged, June was beside me, laughing hysterically to herself.

“Alright, Sheena, I forgive you now~” We both giggled at ourselves as the waves we created lapped against the pool edge. We were both illuminated by the pool lights below, our bodies glowing in a serene blue hue. Water was still trickling from our soaking wet hair. The warm smile on June’s face was precious, and also a pleasant relief after I thought I might have offended her. I couldn’t help but smile back. After what felt like a long moment, June seemed to notice me staring at her as her chortling subsided. Her grin gave way to a gentler smile. She slowly approached me, and placed her fingers along my cheek as we began staring into each other's eyes... “This is nice... I’ve missed this...” she whispered.

Being in the pool felt just as good as it looked before we got in, as we floated together, bobbing on the surface. The gentle waves of the pool licked and caressed our shoulders. The faint dripping sounds of droplets falling and trickling from our wet hair punctuated the sounds of the rippling pool and the distant traffic on the streets beyond the hotel. I could feel the soft fabric of my gown flowing around my legs as I tread water.

Her face edged closer and closer to mine; I could feel her warm breath upon my body. I took a deep breath, taking in an oddly alluring aroma of both the chlorinated pool water and the floral scented cologne she was wearing, which still faintly clung to her despite being in the water. The cool pool water only made the warmth of her body against mine all the more apparent. Her eyes glistened, reflecting the glittering night lights like jewels. Her eyelids and cheeks looked a little darker as the eyeliner she had been concerned about before was now running down her face. Her smiling lips were slightly parted. Her lips, so soft, so alluring, edged ever closer to my own. Slowly, I gently placed my hand behind her head. I pursed my lips and, slowly, leaned forward. My lips hungry for hers, ready to...

Just then, both our attentions turned towards the main building. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement from the curtains of one of the hotel rooms. It seemed like people were noticing the commotion we made. It was pretty late, after all, and we were probably disturbing a lot of people trying to sleep. Not to mention we weren’t even supposed to be here in the first place. It wouldn’t be long before someone who worked at the hotel would come along and see what we were doing.

“Uh... We should probably get out of here before someone yells at us.” I chuckled.

“Y-yeah, probably a good idea.” June blushed. I gave her another smile before I turned and began to swim to the edge of the pool. “Ah, wait!” June exclaimed, looking flustered and concerned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“My hair clip, I can’t find it.” June was frantically looking around her. Of course, her hair clip came off when I pushed her into the water. I looked around too; the pool wasn’t particularly deep and the water was crystal clear and well lit, yet I also couldn’t find any sign of it.

That’s weird, it couldn’t have gone far...

It was then my attention turned to the other half of the pool that had the pool cover over it. It’s the only place we couldn’t see from the surface.

“Wait a sec, June. I’ll look for it under there.” I paddled towards the pool cover and then, after taking a deep breath, dove beneath the surface. It turned out the pool cover was covering the deep end of the pool. Suddenly things began to make more sense; the pool floor sloped downwards, and June’s hair clip must have sunk and slid down the slope towards the deepest part of the pool. I kicked my legs and dove deeper to find it. Swimming in a full evening dress was a strange feeling; my flowing gown liked to wrap around my legs as I kicked, making things feel a little awkward and more constrained than I was used to. I still had no problem diving, though as I pushed my way through the water.

Sure enough, I could see the decorated hair clip resting at the point the pool floor flattened out. The deepest point was about 12 feet, maybe deeper. I crawled myself towards the hair clip and grabbed it. As I turned around to swim back to the open part of the pool, I was startled by the sight of June, who I hadn’t even realized had followed me beneath the pool cover. She wore a slight, mischievous grin as she swam quickly towards me.

Huh? What are you doi-

Before I even react, June threw her arms around me pulled me towards her, and firmly pressed her lips against mine.

“Mmblpl!?”

It was all so sudden I couldn’t help but let out a surprised gurgle. However, the surprise quickly faded into bliss, as I quickly relaxed and began kissing her back. I ran my fingers along June's free-flowing hair, gently caressing her head as she continued to kiss me with those soft lips of hers. Our evening dresses flowed around our legs; the long, draping fabric almost intertwining with each other. Her body was on top of mine, almost pushing me down as we floated together, just barely touching the bottom of the pool. I could feel her run her fingers up and down my back as she embraced me underwater underneath the pool cover, hidden away from the prying eyes of any of the hotel guests. Bubbles trickled gently from June’s nose, as they rose and began to pool against the covered surface above us. I hadn’t even noticed my hands had already dropped her hair clip again just so they could feel up June’s soft skin on her arms.

We both knew that we needed to get out of the pool as soon as possible; like the Knight and Princess in the play there'd be dire consequences if we were caught. None of that mattered, though. We continued to enjoy each other's embrace beneath the cover. Our lips continued to peck and caress each other, playfully nibbling and suckling at our soft, sensual flesh, as small bubbles trickled between our lips each time they parted. How long had we been underwater? When was the last time we shared a moment like this? None of that seemed to matter as we were both lost in the moment. More seconds, maybe even minutes passed, before the reality eventually creeped in and our lips finally parted. June smiled gently, though she had a slight look of discomfort on her face that signaled she needed to breathe. I nodded as she turned to swim back up towards the shallow end of the pool. Almost forgetting her hair clip, I picked it up from the pool floor where I had dropped it and promptly followed her.

Eventually we broke the surface of the pool. June was catching her breath from our dive, her dripping wet hair was draped over her eyes. It’s clear why she prefers to tie her hair back, but the sight of June in her element with her hair down was an undeniably appealing sight. She turned and looked at me once again, and her panting gave way to chuckling before she descended to elated, uncontrollable laughter. The laugh was so contagious I couldn’t help but join in and laugh at our absurd situation; fully dressed in a pool we weren’t supposed to be in, looking as ungraceful as possible as the water had ruined the makeup we put so much care into as our dumb laugher drowned out the complaining of one of the hotel staff, dressed smartly in his uniform standing beside the pool.

"Ladies, you need to get out of that pool now.” he said, sternly. Me and June tried to compose ourselves. Dealing with our nonsense is probably the last thing this poor guy needs right now, so we decided to bother him no further and take our leave. As we pulled ourselves out of the water, our waterlogged dresses dragged heavily around our legs. I made a token effort to wring out the water, the sounds of the water splashed against the paved floor of the courtyard. June approached the hapless receptionist and began to apologize profusely. She clearly felt bad for being caught, but since she was so giddy the apology almost seemed disingenuous. She must have worked some of her natural charm, though, as the man could only let out an exasperated sigh. “... It’s fine, just get out of here before I call security, you’re disturbing the guests.”

June nodded, and then ran back towards me, grabbing me by the arm, and we sheepishly ran back to our room. Our still soaking dresses leaving a wet trail along the court yard floor. In the corridors we tread silently, as to not disturb any of the guests and get us into any deeper trouble than we already were. As we approached our room to finally end the long night, June grinned, and leaned in towards my ear as she whispered quietly.

“Next time, we’ll bring swimsuits...”

[eirikaanemo]

Venti's crush is a sister in the Church of Favonius. That's the entire prompt. Okay, she may have overheard Venti when he asked for the Holy Lyre and maaaaybe she gave it to him (in the name of freedom!), but she probably wouldn't be a sister after that.

Venti x GN!Reader

1.7k Words

Warnings: Eviction? Kinda?

Notes: So, halfway through I remembered "Sister" is a gendered term, so I switched it to "Disciple". Hopefully that still works!

Part 2: His Fight

His Lyre

He first caught your attention while he was doing a street performance. You were walking down the street, minding your own business, when you heard a melody so beautiful that you swore it had to be Barbatos himself. Following your curiosity, you found him performing a ballad for a group of children. His clear tenor painted looks of wonder on their faces as he regaled them with tales of Vanessa and the revolution of freedom.

You couldn’t help but stop to watch as well. He had captivated you as much as he had the children and you didn’t regret a thing. After Vanessa’s tale he sang of the fall of the storm god, the rise of Barbatos, the shaping of the lands, and the rise of Mondstadt. Every song seemed almost more amazing than the last.

It was getting close to evening by the time you were able to free yourself from his spell. Or rather, he stopped casting it. His last few notes rang out and faded into the darkness. You almost didn’t dare to breathe in fear of breaking the serene silence that overtook the scene. Then his eyes opened.

This was your first real chance to get a good look at them as he was usually facing just slightly away from you. Everyone else had gone home, so as he scanned the area, his eyes fell on you. And suddenly all you could see was his eyes. They’re beautiful, you thought to yourself, a hint of blush warming your cheeks.

His braids swayed a bit as he tilted his head curiously and a smile flashed across his lips. “It’s not often I see a Disciple here, tell me, did you like what there was to hear?”

“I did,” you confirmed. “I’m very impressed! It was almost like I was listening to Barbatos himself!”

He looked stunned for a moment, then an odd look crossed his face before he quickly covered it up with a broad smile. “Thanks! I appreciate the sentiment! That’s really quite the compliment.”

You were able to spend the next little while chatting before you had to go, but similar scenes occurred fairly often as time went on. About the tenth time or so he decided that you were friends, which you had no objection to. Though there was always a small twinge in your heart whenever he called you that for some reason.

Along with becoming friends, you started to notice some things. His songs are… very detailed in a way that makes them line up with records that rarely see the light of day. While you do your best to share Barbatos’ gospel of freedom with everyone, some records are just too fragile to be available to the general public. So the Disciples, like you, memorize them and tell them to the worshipers who come to the Cathedral.

However, either on purpose or by accident, most of the time Disciples will mix up little details or paraphrase things or skip over sections in a way that can confuse the story some. But Venti’s songs match every detail shown in the records, and more. You had checked multiple times and it always came out the same way. He was one hundred percent correct, in every song he played.

Then there was his hair. You’d never seen anyone with their hair being tinted at the ends like that. And you couldn’t find the hair dye he used either. And oh boy had you looked. You wanted teal in your hair too dang it! And when you finally asked him where he got it he laughed and said it was natural. How is that fair?

And then there are the times where he just didn’t act quite human. Like forgetting to eat all day without realizing it. Or referring to other people as “humans”, as if he, himself, isn’t human. Or how he only ever wears one outfit. Or the way anemo energy seems to flow through him instead of around him. You wouldn’t even have noticed that last one if it wasn’t for the fact that you are hypersensitive to it due to how you use your anemo vision. From all of that, and more, you can just tell that something isn’t quite what it seems about him.

So when you’re cleaning the cathedral in the back and hear him out himself as Barbatos to Sister Gotelinde something just clicked. Oh, of course he was Barbatos. What else could he possibly be? Too much added up for it to not make sense! Unfortunately by the time you were done reeling from shock Sister Gotelinde had sent him right out the door.

You had caught enough of the conversation, though, that you knew that Venti- no, Barbatos had need of his lyre. So you came up with a plan. This was going to get you in so, so much trouble. But this is what needed to be done. You need to get him his lyre.

It was surprisingly easy to swipe the lyre from its pedestal and avoid the other inhabitants of the Cathedral by taking back passageways. You had almost made it out, you were so close when you suddenly ran into someone.

Holding a hand to the point of impact starting to swell on your forehead, you squint over towards the other group. When your brain registers that you just ran into Venti you gasp and scramble to your feet, still holding the holy lyre to your chest. “Oh my goodness, I’m so, so sorry Venti,” you apologize. “Or, uh, would you prefer I call you Barbatos?”

Your friend blinks once, then twice, dumbstruck by the situation. “Venti is fine,” he scrambles to assure you after a few moments. “How did you know?”

“You weren’t exactly the quietest when speaking with Sister Gotelinde, Venti. And I was cleaning just out of sight. It made a lot more sense than some other explanations for your weird behavior that I’d come up with.” You admit sheepishly. “And I believe this is yours.”

His face lit up as you held the holy lyre out towards him. “The Lyre de Himmel! Thank you so much! See that, Traveler? We didn’t even have to steal it! I promise to do my best to take care of it.” You quirk an eyebrow as the Traveler finishes shaking off the effects of running into you.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, and you better.” you tell him pointedly, causing him to giggle nervously. “Besides, the two of you need to go! I… didn’t exactly tell anyone about this. Good luck with Dvalin, Venti, Traveler. May Barbatos be with you!” You called out the last part out of habit.

Moments later you felt a hand clap onto your shoulder. “Dear,” Sister Gotelinde drawled slightly. “Please tell me you didn’t hand our sacred treasure over to that alcoholic bard.” You’re silent for a moment before years of being at the Cathedral won over your common sense. “You know I can’t do that, Sister.”

She sighs from her position behind you and her hand tightens on your shoulder. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much trouble you’re in, especially if it doesn’t come back in one piece.” You gulp.

“Yes, Sister Gotelinde.” You murmur.

“Good, now get back to cleaning.” She instructs you curtly.

Nodding, you turn and walk past her towards where you were cleaning. She continued on, likely going to report the situation to Sister Barbara. You really hope that Venti keeps his promise.

While you try your best to put the situation out of your mind, your thoughts keep drifting back to it the whole next day. The nightmare you’d had that night hadn’t helped either. It had been a morbid scene, a broken lyre on the ground with an equally broken Venti as a triumphant Stormterror screeched over their still forms. You’d woken up sweaty.

Logically you knew that Barbatos- no, Venti wouldn’t fall to Stormterror. But the scene still wouldn’t go away. And neither did the awkward feeling that accompanied your usual duties as a disciple. Some of your regular duties were suddenly almost… laughable? You now knew that Barbatos didn’t care about a good chunk of what you did in the Cathedral that some considered absolutely essential.

Your attitude didn’t help your position though, not with everyone now knowing what you did and watching you closely. The day is long and you feel trapped every second of it. Then Venti returns victorious with a broken lyre and everything crumbles around you. You’re kicked out, banned for life, right after him, with a suitcase of your stuff chucked out after you. Even though he ‘fixed it’.

Part of you wants to just lay there and regret your life choices; but you can’t help but smile when Venti reaches a hand out to lift you up, laughing about the irony of the situation. A small smile manages to reach your face as Jean starts chuckling too.

“Don’t worry too much, I know you’ve done a great good for Mondstadt.” She reassures you. “I know you have a vision, an anemo vision at that.” She gives Venti a pointed look. “How would you like to become a knight?”

Your smile grows into something a little more natural. “I’d like that, thank you Jean.”

“It’s no problem, really the least I could do. I’m sorry it had to end like this. Now, come to my office when you have a moment so we can formalize it. But for now I need to go and formally close the Stormterror case.” With a sigh she walked past you towards the knights headquarters and the inevitable paperwork which awaits her.

“I’m sorry that you got kicked out,” Venti apologizes once Jean’s out of sight. “All you did was help and you got in trouble for it.”

“It’s alright, Venti,” you try to claim. “It was kind of awkward knowing that you are Barbatos anyway.”

“Still,” he pressed. “You put everything on the line for me and I really appreciate it. I’m really sorry I didn’t follow through. I’ll have to make it up to you. And I know just where to start.”

His kiss to your cheek was quick but sent a warmth blooming across your face, contrasting with the coolness of his lips.

“Of course,” you mumble, embarrassed. “It was your lyre anyway.”

“It was,” he agreed. “But you believed me. And that really does mean a lot to me. Thank you, really.”

[botw-oneshots-and-other-bs]

The Divine Beast

Chapter 2 - Vah Ruta

A/N: Chapter 1 is right here. I highly suggest you read it before this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy! <3

A full season had passed since Alyss decided to follow Robbie and Purah to the Ancient Tech lab and Alyss had to admit, she was having a lot of fun. The training that Robbie put her through was exhilarating and reminded her just how much she enjoyed fighting enemies. So far, she has only fought Moblins, Bokoblins, and Lizalfos, and her need for larger enemies grew by the training session. After every fighting session and at least once a month, Purah gave her a physical check up to make sure that nothing was changing drastically, or not going back to normal, which weirded her out at first but as their friendship grew she started to not mind them. 

Alyss had become great friends with Purah over the months and often they would sit down and chat with one another over a nice cup of tea. Today was no different. As Alyss sat giggling with Purah over the latest bit of gossip they had heard about two Sheikah scientists hooking up the other night, Robbie came bursting in through the door to the study. 

“It’s been found,” he all but shouted as he jumped up and down on his tippy toes. He looked like a gigantic toddler to Alyss and honestly it made her giggle a little at how insanely cute it was. Over the past season she had found herself lowkey crushing on the eccentric scientist. She would have told Purah but she wasn’t ready to face her emotions, and to be quite frank she wasn’t even sure if her feelings were romantic or platonic. In order to keep them under wraps Alyss would make sure she didn’t look at or spend too much time with him, but that didn’t stop the sideways glances she would give him or the double entendres she would catch him saying to someone while glancing at her. 

Purah jumped up, almost knocking over her plate of honeyed fruit and ran to him, “oh snap no way,” she pointed a small finger into his face. “If you’re lying to me I will end you.” 

Robbie laughed and threw his hands up in defence to the small woman’s playful aggression. “Purah, why would I lie to you about this?” He looked behind her to Alyss who he playfully raised his eyebrows at a couple of times. His goggles blocked most of his silly gesture, but he did notice the way her face lit up in a small pink blush and how she tried to hide it by taking another sip of her tea while pretending not to notice.

Purah jumped back and waved her hands happily as she turned to Alyss and grabbed her hand to roughly pull her up from her chair. “Well then we shouldn’t waste any time! Where are we going?” 

“The Zora’s Domain,” he responded, leading the two women out of the study to prepare for the long trip. 

After a long night of packing, Alyss, Robbie, Purah, and two Hylian Guards were packed and ready with their horses to head for the Zora’s Domain. Everyone was excited and ready to head out and get the field work under way. According to the letter Robbie received along with the news of Vah Ruta’s finding, they were to meet with the Princess, her knight, and her consort when they passed through Castle Town. Alyss wasn’t super excited about meeting with the Princess but not for any reason she had given her. Alyss knew it was selfish and unfair of her to treat the Princess of this time as though she was the one who sealed her away, but it was hard for Alyss to dis-associate her with her ancestor. 

The small group of scientists rode in a comfortable silence the entire way from the Royal Tech Lab to the walls of castle town, but when they got to the town Alyss was the first to break the silence. “Do we have to go to the Castle?” 

Robbie looked over from his beige stallion at her question. He studied her stoic face and heard the dread in her voice at her question. He moved his horse closer to hers while avoiding villagers who were going about their lives on the streets so that he could talk to her respectfully. “I do believe we are meeting them at the gates but you don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.”

Alyss sighed heavily and shook her head at the mere thought of entering the castle once again. She had too many memories there. “No, if everyone else is going it would be rude of me not to…” she grumbled. 

Silence passed for a second as they rode closer to the entrance of the Castle, but it was quickly broken as Robbie held his hand out to her. “I’ll wait with you. How does that sound,” he asked with a warm smile. 

Alyss could tell that his crimson eyes were smiling with the rest of his face even through his brown goggles he was always wearing. Looking from the sincerity on his face to the hand held out in between their horses, Alyss smiled thankfully and placed her smaller hand in his. “Thank you Robbie,” she whispered, truly touched at his gesture of comfort. Little did she know that a certain eccentric scientist was listening to their conversation in front of them and smiling to herself. She knew that there was something going on with Alyss as she would catch her little glances here and there and how she would blush when he spoke to her directly, but she was starting to think maybe there was something there with Robbie as well. Making a mental note to herself, Purah continued to the Castle leaving the other Sheikah behind. 

Alyss slid off of the saddle that was positioned on her teal horse’s back and searched through her bag to find a bright red, juicy apple for the horse. Walking to the front of her horse, Alyss rubbed her horse’s mane and face as she fed her the fruit. “Good girl Sea Foam, eat up. You need your strength.” Sea Foam gave a small nudge to Alyss’s hand happily as thanks for the apple before she walked to a nice patch of shade to lie down and cool off. The Summer sun shining over Hyrule had reached just past it’s peak, but that didn’t make the heat dissipate any. 

“So, enlighten me,” Robbie started as he sat down in some shade and placed his hand behind his back to keep himself up right. He watched as she turned back to him from where she stood watching her horse. “Why do you not like the Castle? You said it yourself, it’s completely different from what you remember, so why avoid it?” 

Alyss sighed and joined him in the shade. Pulling her knees to her chest, she rested her chin on them and picked at a small blade of grass at her feet. “I have some pretty bad memories here. That’s all.” 

“Oh come on there has to be more to it,” he laughed, “but you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” 

Alyss looked over to Robbie for a minute and laid her cheek on her knees. “Well… I actually grew to call this place, er, the Castle I knew, home when I left Kakariko Village to train. All I wanted was to be a knight in service to the Princess, but when I offered myself to the King he turned me away. Princess Zelda interjected and said I could be of some use. That I could help defeat the Calamity.” She looked over to see Robbie looking right at her, egging her to continue. 

“I was taken to a laboratory and undressed. The scientists took my blood - which hurt a lot - and laid me down on a gigantic slab of stone over a blue furnace. All I remember is being told that I was going to be their greatest invention yet and that Ganon didn’t stand a chance before everything went dark. 

“When I woke up I felt normal, a little sore, but normal. The Princess stood next to my bed and treated me like royalty, and it wasn’t long until I grew to love her as I imagine I would have loved my sister. She was my best friend, my confidant,” Alyss smiled happily in fond remembrance as she continued, “I trained day in and day out here at the castle against all kinds of people. Great warriors from across Hyrule came to test my strength before they started pitting me against all kinds of monsters. I loved it as much as I love when you send me into battle, but it didn’t last long.” 

Alyss took a deep breath and buried her head in between her knees. This was still hard for her to think about but she figured talking about it with someone she trusted might help take the burden off of her shoulders. With a shaky breath and clenched fists she continued her story, “I lost myself. The beast inside of me took over. All I heard was a sickening voice taunting me, telling me my friends and family would die, and I couldn’t save them. It drove me crazy, I couldn’t escape, and I almost killed someone,” she whispered. She could feel the familiar tightening sensation in her chest as her anxiety started to skyrocket. She felt her nails starting to dig into her legs and her skin started to bristle as it did before it turned scaly. “I tried to get away, to make it stop, but I almost killed the King,” she whispered, horrified at herself as tears started to form in her eyes again. “It was a mistake, I would have never done it on purpose, but the voice. That voice, it-” She was broken out of her trance when she felt a strong hand lay itself on her arm and pulled her sideways. 

She didn’t register that Robbie had gripped her arm and pulled her into a warm and comforting hug until her face was pressed flush against his bare chest and the scent of his robes were gracing her nose. “R-Robbie,” she said in astonishment as her face blushed a bright red.

“Is this what was bothering you all those months ago?” he asked, trying to piece together how long she had been dealing with this information alone. He felt his heart break for her, he saw her skin turning and how tightly she held herself. This was not the first time he had seen her like this, but he couldn’t imagine the memories she held inside were that bad. Robbie got no vocal answer to his question, but he took the way she wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to pull her into a tighter hug as his answer. 

Resting his forehead against the top of her head he tried to provide the most comforting hug he possibly could. “You have been alive a very long time according to the scroll we found, and Alyss from what I have personally seen in the past season is nothing short of someone who is an amazing and a wonderful person. Please don’t beat yourself up over something you did ten thousand years ago, especially if it was an accident.” 

Robbie received no answer, but he was ok with that. He cared about this woman and he wasn’t sure just how much yet, but what he did know was how bad his heart hurt for her in this moment. It didn’t take long before he heard the voices of his colleague, the Princess, and Impa heading closer to them from the Palace. He watched as Alyss removed herself from his embrace before anyone could see and went to attend to her horse, picking herself up emotionally the best she could. 

As they left Castle Town’s protective outer wall, Alyss listened to the Princess and her Consort, Impa, talk to the rest of the group about the newly found Divine Beast. She rode Sea Foam beside Link, who made sure he stayed in front of the Princess at all times, and stiffly stared ahead. 

            "Vah Ruta is an amazing Divine Beast," Zelda continued as she filled in Purah and Robbie. "It is absolutely breathtaking and I wonder what secrets it hides within it’s walls.” She was practically jumping out of her saddle with excitement, like a toddler presented with her favorite toy, at the discovery of this beast that it was impossible to not share her enjoyment.

“However,” Impa interjected, “when we used the Sheikah Slate to try and activate it, nothing happened. We tried everything we possibly could to get it up and running, but eventually we decided that you might have better luck.” 

Purah touched her hand to her chin and snapped as though she had a eureka moment, “I wonder if Alyss would be able to activate it.” She looked back to Alyss who had perked up at the mention of her name in curiosity. “After all, she has ancient Sheikah technology residing within her. Maybe this is the reason she woke up at the start of our journey?” 

Alyss shrugged, “I guess I could give it a try, but I don’t really know what I would do.”

“Oh don’t be so hard on yourself,” Purah cooed from in front of Alyss, completely missing the way her face deadpanned. “I’m sure you could think of something the rest of us haven’t. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to try.”

Alyss sighed and threw her hands up in defeat. “Ok, ok, I will do my best.” This seemed to satisfy the others as they all murmured different ideas and ways of going about activating this newly found ray of hope. 

The moon was high in the sky by the time the company rode up to the gigantic horse head that resembled peace and restoration. The horse stables had come to be a welcoming sight as Alyss got more and more accustomed to this land and their ways. Dismounting her horse and giving Sea Foam a light pat to her silver mane she headed into the inn with the rest of the group. The mere thought of food was on nobody’s mind as the Princess paid happily for everyone to have the comfiest beds. Alyss stood next to Link and let out a yawn that turned into a smile as she watched Purah happily run to a bed and jump on it. 

“Hey be careful,” her sister called out claiming the bed to the right of Purah. “These beds will break, you know!”

Robbie chuckled as he walked up to the group and wrapped each arm around Alyss and Link’s necks. “Oh I’m sure these beds have been through much more than Purah jumping on them. I bet they’re really sturdy, right Alyss?” 

Alyss furrowed her brows as she tried to piece together his off handed attempt at flirting in her sleep deprived mind, but her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud. Looking over at Purah laying on the floor, Alyss let out a hearty laugh as the eccentric scientist tried to pull herself back onto her bed. She barely noticed Link choking back his laughter and the light punch to the side he gave to Robbie as he removed his arm and took his bed closest to the entrance to the inn. It took her a moment to process his flirting, but by the time she had got it, Robbie had already moved to his bed on the other side of Purah. He was letting his hair down to it’s natural length and removing his backpack and goggles that would be uncomfortable to lay down on. Alyss blushed when he looked back to her and winked before laying down on his back with his arms behind his head. 

The only bed left was beside Robbie and as Alyss moved towards it she could feel his eyes following her body. Alyss felt her hands and legs start shaking as though she was wet from head to toe and stuck in a cold breeze. What was this feeling? She was nervous, her hands were clammy, and the mere thought of what could possibly be going through his mind made her shiver harder. Why was she feeling this way? Turning her back to him she let her hair down and shakily placed the clips and rods on the bedside table. 

“Are you ok?” she heard him ask in a taunting tone. It was almost as though he knew exactly what was on her mind. She felt as though she was as transparent as water and he could read every single emotion that ran through her body, every thought that passed her mind, as easily as he could see the rocks sitting at the bottom of a creek. Alyss turned and locked eyes with his. Opening her mouth she racked her mind for any possible retort, but she was exhausted and the only thing on her mind right now was confusion and him. Sighing, she shed her robe, leaving her in her blue tunic. She couldn’t sleep in her entire outfit like everyone else in the group could, but she knew she couldn’t get one-hundred percent comfortable like she could at the Royal Tech Lab as these were open inns and privacy wasn’t exactly a thing. 

Alyss sat down on her bed and pulled her leg up to take off her stocking, ignoring the look Robbie was giving her the best she could and trying to not be so obviously affected. Mustering up some sort of courage, Alyss gave him a side-eyed look and lifted her chin in the air slightly. “Enjoying the show?” She asked to which she received a low hum in response. Alyss laughed softly at him and moved on to her other leg, exposing the soft skin she kept hidden day in and day out. 

“You’ve got nice legs,” Robbie murmured lowly, trying to not wake any of the others on the other side of him. 

“Thank you,” Alyss responded as she discarded the other stocking to sit next to the white one on the table. Laying down, Alyss turned onto her side and faced Robbie. The sleep she so desperately needed was quickly calling out her name, but she was determined to stay awake just a bit longer. She had finally gathered up the courage to ask her question that had taken over her mind. “What is this?” 

Robbie raised an eyebrow and sat up intrigued by her sudden question. He could tell she was quickly falling asleep but if he could get some clarification he would. “What is what?” 

“What is this feeling...” Alyss sighed as she slowly blinked. Her eyes barely registered his gaze upon hers, but still she continued her sleep induced thoughts. “I feel so weird around you Robbie. Are we friends or…” Opening her eyes she looked into his intense gaze and giggled happily, letting the intense wave of sleep she felt drag her further down. Little did she know that her words impacted Robbie deeply. 

Once he was sure she was completely asleep, he quietly slid off his bed and grabbed the folded blanket by her feet, unfurling it, and placing it over her body. He took his time to allow himself to really study her features from the way her legs curled closer to her body when she slept, to the pieces of hair that fell down over her closed eyes. He gently kneeled down to be face to face with the Sheikah woman and traced her jaw down to her neck. “Good night Alyss,” he whispered before placing a gentle kiss upon her cheek and heading back to his own bed to sleep.

The next morning came bright and early for the company. Link made a delicious breakfast of Crepes and simmered fruit for them all as they got themselves and their horses ready for the rest of the trip up to the Zora’s Domain. As they walked, Alyss did her best to keep her distance from Robbie as the memories of last night came to her in bits and pieces. She was embarrassed at how easily he had affected her with nothing but his look and it did nothing to ease the frustration and fear she felt growing within her mind. This is why she found it best to just push herself away from the rebellious scientist and stick closer to Impa and Purah. This put her a little closer to the Princess but she was easy to ignore as well. 

She noticed the confused glances he gave her the few times they had to look at each other as they stopped for breaks throughout the day, but she did her best to shrug them off and pretend as though nothing was wrong. By the time the sun had started its descent and the moon was rising into the sky, the Company could see the Zora Domain which was welcomed like a fresh cup of tea after a long day of hard work. Alyss was watching the full moon rise when the Company stopped halfway across the Luto Crossing. She almost ran her horse into the others but thankfully Sea Foam stopped and whinied. 

“Goddess look at that,” Purah whispered in awe as she stared over the bridge down into the lake below. “It’s even more magnificent than I could have imagined.” 

“I bet there’s loads of information and data on that Divine Beast that I’m dying to get my hands on,” Robbie commented as he rubbed his hands together like a starving man about to tear into the flesh of a perfectly roasted turkey. “Alyss, come take a look at this,” he called out as he looked over his shoulder at her. 

Dismounting, she walked between Purah and Impa, not really paying attention to what was down below them, but when she saw it she gasped. Memories flooded her mind as she once again gazed upon the magnificence of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. She remembered her mother and father helping make the layouts for the beasts. She remembered when her and Princess Zelda would sneak out late at night to mess around with the prototypes of the Divine Beasts. She remembered talking to the spirit of the Beast as though it was her sibling and the memories they shared as Vah Ruta would shower her with water from it’s trunk. “Ruta,” she whispered softly. Looking down at the water below, her stomach twisted, but she wanted to get to Ruta. She needed to touch her again, but before she could climb over the railing and jump down into the water below, Link had grabbed her hand and pulled her back. 

She quickly turned around to snap at him and tell him to let her go, but when she saw his expression of warning she shut her mouth. Pulling her hand from his calloused touch she held it close and turned back to the Divine Beast giving it one last look. 

“That water is treacherous if you aren’t a Zora or gifted Zora’s armor,” Princess Zelda started with a small smile towards Alyss. She knew how frustrating Link could be, but at the same time she also understood why he pulled her back from the railing. “Do you know Vah Ruta? Do you have any information you can give us?” She asked, trying to be friendly, but she was met with an annoyed expression from Alyss. 

“I don’t remember much that would be useful,” the Sheikah said curtly and very obviously lying. Her expression said otherwise, but it was late and the Princess didn’t want to push just yet. They still had time and the questions could wait until they were safely near Vah Ruta. Alyss climbed onto her horse and squeezed her with her legs to tell her to move forward. The rest of the group followed not too far behind her, but Purah was quick to catch up with her. 

“Alyss, you were there when they were built right?”

Alyss nodded her head. “My parents helped create their insides.” 

Purah laughed and clapped her hands together once. Even though it was nighttime and everyone was starting to get tired from the long journey, the excitement of the Divine Beast provided a nice adrenaline boost for Purah and Robbie. “Insides,” she practically shouted out looking at Alyss and not where she was going anymore. 

Alyss smiled at her and nodded. “I vaguely remember that the insides were extremely complex, but I was just a child when they were being built. Zelda and I would frequent the Divine Beasts as we got older and while she made sure they were holding up well and their pilots were adjusting well, I would talk to them.” Alyss had a far away look as they came upon the main bridge leading into the Zora’s Domain, but the current Princess Zelda’s voice broke her thoughts.

“Talk? They can talk?” She asked, expressing everyone’s question at this new found information. 

“Well, not exactly,” Alyss continued. “It’s been so long I bet they’ve forgotten me. I had most of a connection with Vah Medoh to be honest, but it’s Champion didn’t really like anyone going up to his Divine Beast without his permission,” Alyss scoffed at the annoying memories of the Rito Champion, “What a frustrating man…” 

“What about Vah Abyss?” Zelda asked which caused Alyss to slow down tremendously deep in thought. They had come upon the Zora’s Domain which was practically silent since most of the Zora were sound asleep in their beds, but as Alyss reiterated Zelda’s question as a question of her own, a Zora warrior approached them and bowed deeply to the Princess. 

“King Dorephan has been awaiting your return, your Highness, Lady Impa,” the warrior stood back up and held her spear close to her body. “Shall I escort you to him?”

“Yes, thank you,” Zelda answered politely as the Princess of Hyrule was expected to do. Dismounting her horse and handing it off to another Zora to take care of while they did their work. Motioning to everyone else to do the same, she nodded to the Zora Warrior to lead the way. With this the Zora warrior seemed satisfied, turned, and started to lead the group of people into the Zora’s Domain.

Alyss looked around at the beautiful architecture of the Zora’s Domain. Everything from the dark blue foundation that had not changed one bit from the Zora’s Domain Alyss remembered, to the ginormous fish on the top of the King’s Throne room was beautiful. The waterfalls that cascaded down the sides of the main level of the domain added a soothing ambience that made the entire Domain feel at peace and untouchable by evil and wrong. Alyss followed the group as they climbed the light blue staircase that glowed under her feet. They were almost to the top of the stairwell when a small puddle of water caught Alyss off guard and sent her falling backwards. Alyss let out a small cry as she felt herself falling backwards, but was caught by a pair of strong arms.

“Careful my Lady, these floors are wet and can be dangerous.”

Alyss looked back and smiled kindly at the forest green Zora that had caught her fall. “Th-Thank you, um,”

“Councilman Muzu,” the stingray Zora responded with a warm smile. “I am the Royal Advisor to the King and teacher to the Princess and young Prince. It’s nice to make your acquaintance.” 

Alyss smiled and thanked him as he helped her stand back up right. “Thank you, Councilman, it’s very nice to meet you.” Alyss watched as Muzu bowed and walked up the rest of the stairs to the group who stood with the King watching the two interact. Alyss joined as well but failed to see the frown that darkened Robbie’s face at the sight of Alyss in another man’s arms. He had no reason to feel this way, there was nothing between them except gratitude at him saving her from pain, but that didn’t make the annoyance any less. Was he angry that she should have watched where she was going or was he angry that he should have been there to catch him? Perhaps he was just annoyed she was ignoring him for some reason. No matter the reason, Robbie pushed it deep down to deal with at another, more appropriate time. 

King Dorephan commanded the room with the clearing of his throat and spoke to the Company in his deep, time-worn voice, “Princess Zelda and friends, I assume you are here to research Vah Ruta am I correct?”

Zelda bowed slightly in respect to the King of the Zora, “Yes, King Dorephan. I have brought two of our royal scientists who have logged countless hours into their research to try and reawaken the Divine Beasts powers. I believe that we will be able to mount Vah Ruta and acquire some sort of knowledge that will help us, as long as we have the permission of the Zora people to do so of course.”

When King Dorephan chuckled, the floor underneath the group of Hylians and Sheikah rumbled. He leaned over and smiled down at the Princess. “Do as you need, Princess. We all have our part to play in defeating the Calamity. If you need anything from me or my people we will do all we can to aid you in your research.”

“Thank you King Dorephan,” Princess Zelda bowed. Shortly after their interaction with King Dorephan, the group was led down to the inn that resided in the Zora’s Domain. They were given beds free on orders of the King but the Princess insisted she give the innkeeper something for their trouble. The innkeeper thanked her for her generosity and led the group to their finest water beds. While everyone was preparing to head to bed, Alyss quickly found a bed near Purah and closed her eyes. 

Robbie was confused by this. The entire time he watched Alyss head to bed, not even disrobe and get comfortable just lay down, he couldn’t help but entertain the feeling that she was avoiding him for some reason. What had he done to warrant her avoiding him he wondered as he laid himself down a few friends down from the girl in question. Robbie recounted everything that had taken place the last few days trying to find any reason she would be ignoring him until his eyes eventually closed from exhaustion.

“You wish Mipha to be the Zora chosen to pilot the Divine Beast?” King Dorephan asked Princess Zelda who stood before him.

“Yes, if you would allow it,” the Princess continued in her polite request.

“I’m sorry, Princess. The Divine Beast isn’t up and running and all efforts until now have failed to get it to work. Knowing this, coupled with the information that the Knight who will seal the darkness has not yet appeared, I cannot put my only daughter up against the Calamity. It is too dangerous.” 

Princess Zelda turned to Impa who was behind her in a silent plea for any sort of help to which Impa could only shake her head and offer none. Turning back to the gigantic whale, the Princess nodded solemnly, “I understand your majesty. Thank you for allowing us your time.” With that, the Princess and her consort left the throne room of the King of Zora’s Domain and regrouped with Robbie and Purah in the middle of the common area. 

“I take it he said no,” Purah asked, placing her hands on her hips to which Zelda could only nod. “Well… What do we do now?” 

“I guess we do the only thing we can do,” Robbie continued. “Let’s go see if we can find out anything about the Divine Beast, but…” he looked around, “... has anyone seen Alyss?” When everyone shook their heads no, Robbie nodded and headed back towards the inn where he found Alyss sound asleep on the water bed she chose the previous night. He laid a strong hand on her shoulder and shook her gently so as to not spook her awake. The last time he did that he got smog to the face and it took him a good bit to recover from that blow. “Alyss.” 

Alyss groaned and buried her face into the soft pillow clearly signifying she did not want to wake up. 

Robbie pursed his lips and furrowed his brows as he decided how he should approach this situation. Apparently he wasn’t thinking straight as he gripped the bottom of her blanket and ripped it right off of her body. He watched as Alyss sat up and glared daggers at him, her eyes were purple but her pupils were slits. The area around her eyes was that of reptilian skin, but there was surprisingly no smog this time. Crossing his arms as though he was a stern father of a teenager, he tapped his foot and raised an eyebrow over his goggles. “Morning sunshine,” he spat a little more harshly than he meant it to come out as he was still a little sore over the events of last night. 

“You have three seconds to tell me why you woke me up so early or you’re getting smog to the face Robbie,” she groggily groaned, rubbing her eyes to relieve them of their reptilian skin and slits.

“We need to go examine the Divine Beast, and for your information-” he began as he tossed her blanket back at her forcing her to remove it from her face and glare at him. “-it’s a little after noon.” He walked out of the inn leaving behind a very confused and very frustrated Sheikah. 

It didn’t take long for Alyss to join the rest of the group excluding Lady Mipha and Link who were off doing their own thing together. That made Alyss wonder, did Link and Mipha have some sort of connection he never mentioned? Her thoughts were cut short as they arrived at the edge of a large cliff to the South of the Zora’s Domain and facing the Divine Beast Vah Ruta. 

“Now, Alyss,” Impa started as they broke themselves out of their astonished stupors. The Divine Beast was much bigger than the scientists had anticipated it to be as it easily met their gazes on the top of the cliff. “All you have to do is take the Sheikah Slate and try to activate the Divine Beast, but the only problem is that you have to be able to board it and none of us have succeeded at that yet.” 

Nodding Alyss took the Sheikah Slate into her hands and stared down at the inactive screen. With one tap the screen burst to life but so did Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Alyss’s head snapped up to look at the Divine Beast that had now turned blue and let out a loud trumpeting sound. This forced the company to cover their ears to not be deafened by the noise, but they didn’t expect it to be accompanied by a violent Earthquake that lasted only a few seconds and was forceful enough to throw everyone to the ground. A stunned silence befell the company as they watched Alyss stand up cautiously and walk as close as she could without falling off the cliff. “Vah Ruta,” Alyss whispered, receiving another loud trumpet from the magnificent elephant shaped machine. “It’s been a long time my friend,” Alyss said, smiling happily. Her infectious laughter rang throughout the air as Vah Ruta raised it’s trunk and proceeded to shoot water straight into the air causing it to rain freezing cold water down onto the group as a whole. 

“Ruta, that’s cold,” she exclaimed as the elephant moved it’s trunk back down into the water and let out another loud trumpet. Water dripped off of her body as she held out her hand to touch the curve of Ruta’s trunk that was moved closer to the edge of the cliff. Once her hand made contact she felt a surge of sadness that Vah Ruta must have been feeling being buried for ten thousand years. “I’ve felt your pain,” Alyss started in a lower tone. She was trying to sympathize with the divine beast as she petted it’s trunk the way she used to do all those years ago. “They locked me away as well, but I’m here now and you’ll never be alone again.” 

Zelda finished wringing out her hair and took a small step forward, astonished at the conversation that was taking place. “So this is what you meant when you said that you could talk to them. Alyss, can you ask it about a pilot?” 

Alyss looked at the Princess and tried her best to not just straight up say no, but she knew this was important so turning to Vah Ruta, she asked, “Ruta, do you have a pilot?” She waited for a second but got no trumpet or response of any kind. Furrowing her brows, Alyss stroked Ruta’s trunk and turned to Zelda shaking her head. She turned back to the Divine Beast and asked it if they could board it to which Vah Ruta responded by moving closer to the edge of the cliff. Alyss looked back at Purah and Robbie and motioned with her head for them to follow her into Vah Ruta to which they gladly obliged. 

Once stepping foot inside Alyss looked around in shock. “This is what they built,” she asked in awe. There were pools of water, there were podiums, she had come to recognize through Purah as terminals, placed in many awkward places. The number of spinning cogs that were of numerous sizes was outstanding to Alyss as she reveled in the work that her family did to create these beasts. 

Purah raised the Sheikah Slate she had taken back from Alyss when they boarded and placed it against the terminal directly outside of Ruta’s body where they had entered. The light underneath her feet turned a bright blue she had come to associate with ancient Sheikah technology and with a glance at Robbie, she walked inside to join Alyss. “Holy crap,” she muttered in awe as she looked around with Alyss. “This thing is ginormous!” 

Robbie walked in as well and furrowed his brows making a mental note of multiple pieces of technology he saw. Before he could say anything, Purah was trying out the Cryonisis feature on the Sheikah Slate to open the gate sitting in water. This caught the attention of the rebellious scientist and Alyss as they turned to follow her under the gate and to the terminal. 

“I think we should activate as many of these as we find,” she spoke her thoughts as she placed the Sheikah Slate face down onto the terminal. It’s activation made the three Sheikah’s gasp as a detailed diagram of the inside of Vah Ruta was pulled up on the Sheikah Slate’s screen. 

“This is aMAZING,” Robbie hollered out in excitement as he took one half of the Sheikah Slate in his hand and stared at the screen next to Purah. “What are we waiting for, let's get to it!”

Hours passed as the trio of scientists worked through Vah Ruta to activate the six terminals, but when it came down to activating the main control unit none of the scientists were able to. “I think we have to call it a day,” Alyss muttered as she placed the Sheikah Slate on the main terminal unit again making sure nothing would happen. Sighing, she walked back to Purah and Robbie with a dejected face. 

“Hey, don’t look so down! We made great progress today and I bet we will make much more when we get a pilot for Vah Ruta. It’ll be a SNAP,” Purah shouted, throwing her hand to her face in a rock and roll hand sign. This made Alyss smile and laugh as she agreed with the progress they had made. 

“Let me go tell Ruta goodbye and we can go give the Princess our findings,” Alyss said as she turned to walk towards Vah Ruta’s head. 

Robbie tore his gaze away from Alyss and started walking back to the entrance of Vah Ruta where they entered earlier without a single word to either of the females, but he was quickly stopped by Purah who skipped to catch up to him. “Hey, hey, where are you going?” She had asked when she caught up to his side. Not sparing her a glance since it wasn’t her fault he was feeling this way, Robbie opened his mouth to speak until he was cut off by a loud trumpeting. This made him a little frustrated, but he continued talking, “Well, there’s nothing else I can do here.” 

Purah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and stepped in front of him only to be sidestepped, “Yeah, but our friend is still up here,” Purah said motioning to Alyss who was walking back towards them and taking her time. She turned back to see Robbie stepping out to the cliff from the entrance to the Divine Beast without saying another word to her. Purah scoffed in shock as she had never seen Robbie act this way before, however when Alyss joined her and asked what was wrong, Purah decided to drop the issue as it was none of her business. Shaking her head and smiling, she and Alyss left the Divine Beast. 

As the sun rose again on their second day in the Zora’s Domain, Alyss had made her way back to the Divine Beast to sit and keep it company. As she reached the cliff they were at the day before, Alyss dropped to the ground with a sigh and put her chin on her knees. “Ruta, can I talk for a bit?” She waited for a brief second to see how Ruta would react, but when she got nothing out of the Divine Beast she continued, “I have all these memories from a long time ago, and I’m afraid to move on with my life. What if the Princess decides to follow in her predecessor’s footsteps and shut me back in that wet cavern? Ruta, they buried all of us under the ground and forgot about us, and now we are here to defeat Ganon yet again. How am I supposed to ignore the thoughts I have and do what’s expected of me?” 

“Well, I think Vah Ruta feels the same way,” a sweet, quiet voice answered her rhetorical questions from behind her. When Alyss turned around she saw two red Zora walking her way, they both had silver headpieces adorning their heads, but one was much smaller than the other. “I’m sorry, not to be rude, but this is kind of a private conversation,” Alyss murmured as she turned back to Vah Ruta who still hadn’t made any attempt at responding to her. The red Zora stopped a little behind her, “ah, yes, I’m sorry to intrude. I came to introduce myself. My name is Mipha, I am the Princess of the Zora, and this here is my little brother Sidon.” 

Alyss turned and stood up bowing slightly as she had seen was the custom of this land, “I am Alyss. It’s a pleasure. Pardon me for my previous rude attitude Princess. I have a lot on my mind.” Alyss looked down to the ground where she saw Sidon smiling back up at her sweetly. The sight made her heart warm and a smile grace her face as she has always had a soft spot for children. 

“Well, I wish to not intrude. I will leave you to your conversation,” Mipha said as she turned and started to walk back the way she came, but Alyss stopped her.

“Wait,” Before Alyss could continue her thought Vah Ruta let out a loud, harsh trumpet making Alyss turn around. A large group of enemies were charging towards Zora's Domain from a distance which made Alyss’s eyes widen. Vah Ruta was not only warning them of the danger, but it said Mipha’s name. This gave Alyss an idea. Running to her and grabbing her hand, Alyss shoved the Sheikah Slate into her grasp. “Princess, take this. Board Ruta and make your way to it's inner chamber. There you will find a large terminal that resembles a flower bud. Use this Sheikah Slate and activate Vah Ruta. You can defend your people and defeat these enemies!”

Mipha turned her head to the side where she heard a loud growl. A large group of electric Lizalfos were charging the area where they stood. 

“I will protect Sidon, you must go and Pilot the Divine Beast,” Letting go of Mipha’s hand, Alyss ran to Sidon and formed a ring of poisonous smog to surround the two of them. “Go!” Alyss shouted as she started taking out the Lizalfos.

The rest of the group stood in the throne room of the Domain going over the information they had gathered from the Divine Beast the previous day with each other, when a Zora warrior ran in shouting about a large group of enemies. Before anyone could move into action, a loud trumpet was heard from the side accompanied by loud shaking steps that everyone soon recognized was a result of the Divine Beast. Thinking it was Alyss they ran outside to check, but what they saw shocked everyone. 

“Mipha,” King Dorephan cried out, but all he could do was watch as his daughter moved Ruta towards the enemies, shooting rays out of it’s tusks destroying multiple enemies at once. It didn’t take long at all for Mipha to wipe out every enemy attacking the domain, and everyone had to admit they were completely shocked. 

“Where’s Alyss and Sidon,” Princess Zelda asked looking around. She didn’t see her anywhere and she knew that Mipha went to talk to her and introduce themselves. 

Before Zelda could ask anything else, Link, Robbie and Purah were off to try and find the scientist and the young Prince. They ran into a good number of lizalfos and moblins that had come down from the mountains during the onslaught. With Link leading them, they were dead within seconds, but this didn’t do anything for Robbie’s nerves. Sure he was jealous and a little hurt, but she was important to their research and a good friend. When they arrived closer to the area, they could see a large ring of smog and a bunch of dead Lizalfos surrounding the two, but as Alyss’s main concern was the Prince and not hurting him, she was quickly becoming overwhelmed. 

“Sidon,” she spoke as she kicked back a Lizalfos into the smog, “leave me!”

“What, no, I can’t!” He shouted back to her. 

“Listen, you’re small enough to break through unnoticed! I will draw their attention, but you have to run and get help,” she tried to encourage him without scaring him. A moment passed as she knocked a Lizalfos back, it’s weapon grazing her arm resulting in a pained hiss. The moment, however, was enough for Alyss to let down the ring of smog. She growled, drawing all of the ugly bastard’s attention to her. She watched as Sidon escaped out of the corner of her eye but while knocking Lizalfos down she noticed Sidon had stopped. “Sidon, run! What are you doing!?” 

“Alyss!” She heard someone shout out before another yell drowned them out. As this shout sounded out, multiple Lizalfos fell at her feet. She looked up to see Purah waving her towards them while Robbie and Link ran towards the young Prince to scoop him up and take him to safety. Smiling, Alyss ran with the rest of the group back towards the Zora's Domain. When they were far enough away from the ugly lizards, she stopped and turned to wrap the rest of the enemies in a large cloud of poisonous smog quickly choking them out. 

After they started to fall, she turned and caught up with the rest of the group. The entire fight took an hour or so at most, but it was a big turn of events for almost everyone. When Mipha brought the Divine Beast back to a cliff easier for her to access and entered the Zora’s Domain once again to join everyone the first thing she did was hug her brother. “Sidon, I’m so glad you’re alright.” Sidon smiled a bright smile and brought his fist up to his face in an “alright” motion. Mipha turned to face the rest of the group and her father who had been quiet through the entire exchange. Bowing, she spoke, “Father, I’m so sorry, I-” 

King Dorephan held up his hand and chuckled, “Mipha, it seems that I have been proven wrong. I’m certain you will make a fine pilot for the Divine Beast as long as you make one promise,” he finished looking at the Princess. “Keep my daughter safe.” 

Princess Zelda smiled and bowed deeply to the King of the Zora’s Domain. “You have my word.”

[sleepysnk]

hey guys! i wrote this little fic for one of my friends. this is for @jaegerbomb20 ! i decided to make her a little self-insert fic! this will not be a 'x reader' story! i love you sofia ♡! i hope you enjoy :)

Eren x Sofia Modern AU: Sneaking Out

Warnings: None

The sound of vibrations against the table woke Sofia up out of a deep sleep. She felt groggy as she grabbed her phone off the nightstand, the time read 1:37 A.M.

She furrowed her brows and squinted her eyes as the bright light shined over her face. She noticed she had a missed call from Eren, why the hell was he calling at 1 A.M.? Usually the only time he'd call this late was help for homework, or to just rant. Eren and Sofia had been close friends for a very long time, the two met in middle school and have been inseparable since.

Sofia ran a hand through her blonde hair and decided to call him back. "Hey" she said as Eren answered the phone.

"Oh shit, you sound tired. Were you sleeping? Did I wake you?" he asked.

She sighed. "Maybe... but what's up? Do you need homework or something?" she asked and yawned.

Eren went silent for a second. "Actually... no I wasn't looking for homework. This sounds bad to ask so nevermind" he said.

She furrowed her brows, curious as to what he wanted. "Eren.. nothing is ever bad to ask. What is it?" she asked.

He sighed. "I was gonna ask if you want to hangout right now, it's a Saturday, so I figured why not. You don't have to of course" he said.

Sofia thought for a moment, hanging out sounded fun, but she wasn't sure what her parents would say. She'd have to sneak out and that was something that would be really risky. What if her brother caught her?

"Sofia?" Eren asked and broke her out of her thoughts.

"S-Sorry, um... I don't know Eren. If my parents catch me sneaking out they'll be pissed, and it's really risky" she replied.

He sighed with disappointment. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble" he said.

She felt kind of bad, then she thought about it more. If she was quick and back on time, her parents wouldn't notice she was gone.

"Actually... Eren, how long would we be out?" she asked.

"Uh.. however long you wanna be out? I have to be back before 5, because my dad wakes up for work" he replied.

She sat up in bed. "Let's do it, you can bring me home at 3 or 4" she said and stood up.

He seemed a bit surprised. "W-Wait really!? Sofia you don't have to" he said.

She laughed a bit. "Come on, let's just do it. I want to anyway, it'd be kind of cool to sneak out with you" she said and smiled.

Eren felt a blush spread on his cheeks. "Alright.. I'll get on my way then. See you in a few" he said.

She grabbed some clothes. "Alright" she said and hung up the phone.

She smiled to herself as she threw on some leggings and a sweater, she brushed her hair, and threw on some perfume. Sofia couldn't lie and not say she didn't find Eren attractive, she watched as he grew up and he grew into one fine man.

Her phone vibrated, she grabbed it and saw that Eren messaged her saying he was on the way. She had to figure out how to get out of the house as quiet as possible, if she was to get caught, her parents would be pissed.

She opened the door quietly. The silence filling the house was making it hard for her to be fully silent, she closed her bedroom door slowly, and began to tip toe her way towards the stairs. Sofia could hear her heart racing in her ears. She slowly crept down the steps of the stairs, and went to grab her shoes that were at the end of the staircase near the door.

Her phone vibrated again, she pulled it out of her sweater and saw the message from Eren that he was outside.

Sofia put on her shoes on, and unlocked the door. She slowly opened the front door, and looked back to make sure that nobody was behind her. She stepped outside and felt the chilly air hit her skin. She closed the door slowly and began to make her way to Eren's car.

He unlocked it and looked at her as she got in. "Hey.. are you good?" Eren asked and nodded.

She sighed. "Yeah! It was just so hard to get out quietly. Let's pray they don't notice I left" she replied and laughed a bit.

Eren chuckled. "Yeah it took me a bit to get outside, starting your car in silence was really scary" he said and began to reverse out of her driveway.

Sofia laughed and put her seatbelt on. "So... where do you wanna go?" she asked.

He shrugged and began to drive away from her house. "Honestly, we can go anywhere. Just say the word and we'll go" he replied and gave her a smile.

That smile.

Sofia always found Eren's smile very attractive, it was probably her favorite thing about him. Besides his teal eyes or his brunette hair that had grown past his neck.

"Got any tunes?" Sofia asked and looked at him.

He looked at her. "No, you can play something if you want. I doubt our music taste is the same" he replied and tossed his phone to her.

She looked over at him. "Uh.." she said.

Eren's brows furrowed as he looked at her. "Oh my bad, my password is 1567" he said and laughed a bit.

She giggled and unlocked his phone, she noticed how Eren kept his phone kind of... organized? Last time she went through his phone when he was a freshman, it was messy and he had so much weird clutter on it. She practically cringed when she opened it for the first time all those years ago.

She looked through and clicked on his spotify. "My playlist should be there, find something you like" he said and smiled.

Sofia went through Eren's playlist and surprisingly their playlists were similar, Eren liked a lot of the same music she did.

"You like The Neighborhood?" she asked and looked over at him.

Eren chuckled. "Yeah.. I kinda got into them last summer. I like their style" he replied and rubbed the back of his neck.

She nodded and put on Cry Baby, the song played in the car as Eren got onto the highway. Eren reached over and turned up the volume.

"I think I talk too much... I need to listen baby" Sofia sang.

Eren rolled down the windows and the cool air blew into the car. "I need to listen.." Eren sang.

The song played in the car as the two drove on the highway, the lights that illuminated the street shined inside Eren's car as he sped through the highway. Sofia nodded her head to the song as he continued driving.

Eren looked at her with a giant smile. "You know... this actually isn't that bad" he said.

She nodded. "Yeah it isn't..." she replied and looked out the window.

Eren felt a blush spread across his cheeks looking at her hair flow in the wind, she always looked beautiful to him. Sofia always did things that made Eren feel fuzzy and warm, he always found himself smiling at her messages, or feeling his heart race when she approached him in school.

It was no lie that Eren had feelings for her.

"Hey... is that the moon?" Sofia asked and looked out the window at the bright light.

Eren looked up through the dashboard. "Yeah.. it is. I haven't seen the moon that big in forever" he replied and laughed a bit.

Sofia rolled up her window and rubbed her arms. "It's so cold" she said and laughed a bit as she turned down the music.

Eren rolled up his own window feeling the chill dance across his skin. "Yeah it is.. my bad for keeping the windows open" he said and looked at her with an apologetic smile.

She smiled. "Don't worry, it's fine. Where do you wanna go?" she asked and looked over at him.

He sighed and looked at the time, the clock in his car read 2:21 A.M. they only had an hour or two left to hangout.

"Let's just head to this clearing... it isn't very far" he replied and got towards the exit of the highway.

Sofia looked at her phone making sure nobody messaged her, she assumed for the time being that nobody noticed she left. Some relief came through her.

"Is this your first time sneaking out?" Sofia asked and looked at Eren.

He sighed. "Actually.. no. I snuck out once with Reiner to get some weed, I almost got caught, but I lied to my mom and said that he was dropping off something" he replied and laughed a bit.

She laughed a bit. "Weed huh? I kinda noticed the smell in the car" she said and crossed her legs on the seat.

Eren rolled his eyes playfully. "It's that obvious? I just got car fresheners, I probably have to get stronger ones then" he said.

Eren drove his car to this clearing with a hill. The clearing showed a view of the highway, and the city lights that were in the distance. He turned off the car and sat there staring at Sofia for a second.

"Do you wanna get out?" he asked and nodded.

She unbuckled her seatbelt. "Sure" she replied and opened the door.

Eren got out of the car and sat down on the hood of his car. Sofia stood by the side of his car sort of awkwardly watching him, this made a chuckle come from his throat.

"You can sit next to me, don't worry" he said and patted the spot next to him.

She laughed feeling her heart race. "Okay" she replied and sat next to him.

Eren lied down and stared at the stars shining above them, the moon shined over the landscape making things a bit more visible. The city lights made things even better.

"So um... have you ever been here before?" Eren asked and looked at her.

Sofia looked at him. "No I haven't, I never knew this existed" she said and looked around the sky.

He nodded and looked up at the sky, the way she looked in the moonlight made his heart swell. Eren noticed the way her eyes were sparkling in the light.

"I-It's kind of cold" she said and shivered a bit.

He looked at her and sat up. "Come here.." he said and opened his arms for her. Something he's never done before.

Sofia felt a blush spread onto her cheeks. "A-Are you sure?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Yes... only if you want to though" he said and smiled a bit.

Sofia leaned into his touch and felt his arms go around her waist pulling her closer, she felt the heat radiating from his body. It made her shivers disappear and warmth enveloped her, she lied her head onto his chest, feeling his heart beat by her ear. She never thought Eren would ever be like this with her

"You're really warm" she said and laughed a bit.

Eren put his chin onto her head. "Yeah... I guess I am" he replied and looked at the city lights in the distance.

Sofia looked up into his teal eyes. "Eren..." she said.

He took her hands in his. "Can I tell you something?" he asked and swallowed nervously.

She furrowed her brows. "Yeah of course, you can tell me anything" she replied and blushed a bit.

"Sofia... I-I... I like you okay.. like a lot. I've liked you for such a long time, and I just.. I just can't resist anymore. With graduation coming soon I don't want to let the moment slip away" Eren said and looked at her. "You're just so pretty you know? Like... you blow me away whenever I see you, and I just want you to be my girlfriend" he added.

Sofia looked at Eren with wide eyes, she never really knew Eren felt that way. Yeah they had been friends for a long time, but she always assumed it would remain as a friendship.

"Eren... I like you too" she said and smiled a bit.

He seemed a bit surprised at her answer. "What? You do? Sofia... you don't have to. Trust me, no force" he replied.

She laughed a bit and looked down. "No Eren I always have... you've always treated me differently compared to other guys. I couldn't ask for someone other than you" she said.

Eren felt a smile grow onto his face. "Will you be my girlfriend then?" he asked.

She nodded. "Of course I will" she replied and looked at him.

Eren felt his heart swell as he cupped her cheek and leaned in for a kiss. Sofia smiled and put her arms around his neck. The kiss was passionate and made her feel weak.

Eren felt his phone vibrate, he broke the kiss and looked at his phone. His eyes went wide.

"Something wrong?" Sofia asked and furrowed her brows.

He showed her the time. "It's 3:15... we gotta get back" he replied and hopped off the car.

Sofia rushed into his car and laughed a bit. "If you get grounded" she said and started laughing.

Eren rolled his eyes and leaned in for another kiss. "You're lucky you're beautiful" he said and put on his seatbelt.

The night was spent with Eren rushing to get Sofia back home in time. When she eventually did get home she was able to get inside without anyone noticing, Eren sent her a text telling her to sleep well which made her smile.

"Ugh Eren.." she said and smiled as she placed her phone into the charger turning over to go to sleep.

The night was memorable for the two.

[silverfootstepswrites]

Equinox: Spring [4]

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 (here) | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

As Old Pines continued to thaw, green crept back over the town’s limits. Little shoots began poking up all over the yard. The hard little buds that formed at the tips of branches began to swell and open. And Sakura knew that spring was really here when she spotted bees hovering over the early flowers scattered around town.

The welcome mat she had used during the winter was crusted with salt and dried mud. A thorough scrub and washing did little to help. She headed to the home improvement store just outside town. And in the parking lot, she spotted Kiba carrying a stack of huge plastic totes.  

“Hey!” Kiba yelled. Sakura watched as he ran to his truck to dump his purchases in the back. And then he sprinted over to sweep her up in his arms.

Sakura couldn’t help but laugh. “Hi, Kiba,” she replied.

“I haven’t seen you in a while. Avoiding me again?” asked Sakura.

He began shaking his head, which shook her too. She slapped his shoulder.

“Sorry,” Kiba said, lowering her back down to the ground, “But no way! I’ve just been swamped with work lately.” His eyes lit up as he glanced back at his truck.

“Actually, it’s not too busy right now. Let’s run away and have a quick brunch?” he suggested, checking his watch.

“…You’re the boss, Kiba. You shouldn’t be playing hooky,” she pointed out.

Thumbs slipping into the loops of his belt, Kiba smiled. “Why? You gonna rat me out? And turn down eggs benedict?” he asked.

“Hell no. Let me buy my stuff and let’s go eat,” Sakura agreed, hooking her arm through his.

The cheese and wine fundraiser was a dull affair. That didn’t surprise Sakura at all. Itachi had sort of guaranteed that.

At least Itachi looked sharp in his navy blue suit. He was fiddling with his tie when he picked her up at the salon. One of the assistants at the salon whispered that her date was here.

“He’s good looking, Bunny,” she reported.

Sakura winked at her. “Wouldn’t be my date if he wasn’t,” Sakura whispered in response. They giggled.

Sakura entered the waiting room and caught Itachi tugging at his teal tie. There were light purple flowers scattered across the fabric.

“That’s heinous,” Sakura told him. He froze mid-tug, elbow still up in the air.

“Hey, Hinata, what do you have that goes with a navy suit?” Sakura called over her shoulder. In the distance, she heard Hinata yell back, “Be right there!”

Sakura crossed the room to grasp his tie. She began undoing the knot, the silk swishing against itself.

“Hi,” Itachi said.

Sakura paused. She looked up into his eyes. He wasn’t charmed. His gaze was alert. In fact, he looked a little shocked.

“Hi,” she replied as she continued working on his tie. She managed to smooth it out. With one deft tug, she pulled the tie out from under the collar of his shirt. She folded it before tucking it into the pocket of his jacket.

“You look… wow…” Itachi trailed off.

Sakura glanced at his face again. Her expression warmed. “Thank you. And you will too… in a second,” she responded.

A few moments later, Hinata walked in with several silk ties draped over her arms. She brought them over to Sakura for inspection.

“I like this one,” Sakura said, pointing to one in deep emerald. Hinata frowned.

“You just like the color green, Bunny. I think with his olive complexion, this one is a better fit,” Hinata suggested, holding a silver one up near Itachi’s face. Then she held the dark green one up.

“You’re right. Silver it is. Thank you, Hina,” Sakura agreed.

Itachi bent his head so that she could loop the tie around his neck. She began knotting it with ease. She could feel his eyes on her face the entire time that she worked. Even when she stepped aside so that he could look in the mirror, his gaze followed her instead.

“There. Isn’t that nice?” she asked, dusting off his shoulders and straightening the lapels of his jacket.

“Yeah. It is,” Itachi answered, still looking right at her.

She smiled.

Itachi made the rounds to greet his bosses and his coworkers when they got to the fundraiser. Just a little fashionably late. She kept her mouth shut, though. No sense in drawing more attention than she needed to. When Itachi introduced her, she just smiled and shook hands.

Sakura recognized several faces around the room too. Or, at least, she could smell and see the faint aura around the fairies. One of the servers looked right at her, eyes glinting gold for an instant. Another half-siren. They nodded at each other in passing.

“Look what the cat dragged in.”

Sakura turned. Her arm slipped from Itachi’s, eyes lighting up.

“Genma,” she greeted him. They exchanged kisses on the cheek.

“Finally, some real personality at this party,” Genma sighed.

“Genma, don’t be rude,” she warned him. He rolled his eyes at her reproach. But the lazy smile returned to his face as he noticed Itachi over her shoulder. Genma reached his hand out.

“Hadn’t seen you in a while, Itachi. Thought you took a stake to the heart or something,” Genma joked. Itachi grasped his hand.

“Clever,” Itachi replied, giving a half-smile. Sakura noticed the way Itachi looked at her out of the corners of his eyes. She took a half-step back, pressing up against his side. She nudged his arm with her elbow.

“Still doing the commute from Old Pines? That’s rough,” Genma commented.

“Just on the weekends. I’m renting a place closer to the office during the week,” Itachi replied. Itachi moved his hand to rest on Sakura’s shoulder.

Genma’s eyes followed the movement. The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Relax, compadre. Sakura and I aren’t like that. No need to get all alpha male,” Genma told him. He grabbed a glass of wine off the tray of a passing waiter.

“But be careful. Helen of Troy wasn’t and look what happened,” he added. He clapped Itachi on the shoulder before he excused himself to start another conversation.

“…Was Helen of Troy a siren?” whispered Itachi as they moved toward the bar.

“Of course,” she replied. Sakura grabbed his hand off her shoulder and moved it to her waist.

“Anyway, this party definitely sucks. Shots?” she then suggested.

Itachi dumped the rest of his wine out in a potted plant as they walked past. Sakura tried to stifle her laughter.

They stayed for the silent auction because, according to Itachi, his bosses would leave right after. And once they were gone, he was free to slip away too. As soon as the stuffy suits began to move to the door, Sakura and Itachi crept out through another exit. Giggling in the cool night, they strode out of the pretentious bar.

Sakura rubbed her stomach as they waited at a red light. She leaned against Itachi as she fixed the strap of her right shoe.

“Ugh. The hors d'oeuvres weren’t even worth stealing. I’m starving,” she complained. She straightened. Itachi handed her clutch back to her. And then he was on his phone, typing away and scrolling. The light changed. The people around them surged forward, but Itachi’s eyes remained glued to his screen. Sakura pulled on his arm and began guiding him across the street.

“Watch the curb,” she said.

“Thanks,” he replied, hopping up on the sidewalk.

Halfway down the block, he tilted his screen toward her.

“Burgers and milkshakes?” he suggested. He had pulled up the menu of a diner just a few blocks away.  She hugged his arm a little tighter to her chest.

“Perfect,” she declared.

The waitress did a double-take when they walked in in their fancy clothes. Sakura’s diamond earrings glittered, swaying back and forth as she walked. Itachi’s Italian leather shoes clacked against the scratched linoleum. Sakura smiled as they walked up to the waitress.

“Two, please,” she requested, holding up the right number of fingers.

The girl took a second. And then she smiled too. “Uh. Sure. Right this way.” She grabbed two laminated menus before she guided them to a booth in the back, right up against the windows.

Itachi flipped the menu, heading straight for the desserts and drinks section.

“Ooh. Cheeeeeeseburger,” Sakura read, stretching the word out. Itachi snickered.

They didn’t say anything to each other until the waitress arrived to take their order.

Sakura lowered her menu to look at Itachia cross the table. “Are you getting a milkshake?” she questioned.

“Strawberry,” he confirmed. The waitress scribbled that down on her notepad.

“Cool. So I’m going to steal a sip of that. And I’ll have a cheeseburger. Can I get the fries extra crispy, please?” Sakura asked, smiling at the waitress again. The girl nodded, her ponytail bouncing. “And a diet coke. No ice, please. Thank you so much,” Sakura added, handing the menu over.

The girl read the order back to Sakura, who confirmed it. Taking Itachi’s menu, the waitress went to hand the order over to the kitchen.

“I never said I’d share that milkshake,” Itachi spoke up.

Sakura smirked at him. She heard the note of teasing in his voice. Clasping her hands together, she leaned across the table toward him.

“Oh generous and handsome Itachi, will you please let me have some of your sacred milkshake?” she pleaded.

“Sure,” Itachi responded.

They laughed.

“You know, I never would’ve guessed you were like this. I’m so glad you’re not all starry-eyed anymore,” she sighed, leaning back in the booth. The vinyl padding squished under her weight. Itachi tilted his head to one side.

“Yeah, it’s kind of nice to be able to string sentences together. You seriously turned my brain to mush for a while,” he remarked. And then, he added, looking at her, “Not that it was on purpose. I get it.”

They passed the time mocking the awfulness of the event they had just attended. Everything from the main MC’s lisp to the sub-par quality of the bacon-wrapped shrimp.

“I think some boxed wine and some slices of American cheese would’ve been fine,” Itachi told her. Sakura snorted a little into her water.

The waitress arrived a little while later with their orders. The burger buns glistened with melted butter. Sakura squeezed one of the fries, watching just a little bit of oil gleam on her fingertips. She spun her plate so that Itachi could easily reach her fries too.

She let out a moan as she took her first bite of the burger.

“Good?” Itachi asked.

“I take it back. All my suffering was worth this one burger,” she told him. Itachi smiled as he dunked a fry into plenty of ketchup.

They demolished the food in no time. Sakura leaned back in her seat a little, glad that she was wearing shapewear under her dress. The spandex was doing a good job of hiding her food baby.

She made a grabbing motion for Itachi’s milkshake. He pushed it over to her but took her soda in exchange. She didn’t protest.

“This place is really good. But the best burgers are right by our studio. $5. Instant food coma,” she declared. She took a slurp of the strawberry milkshake.

Itachi held up one of the last french fries and wagged it at her.

“No. The best burgers are on 14th and Central. And you have to get the fries with malt vinegar,” Itachi protested.

“You don’t even eat burgers,” she pointed out, snatching the fry out of his fingers. She gobbled it down.

“They have vegetarian burgers,” he said. She made a face.

“Look, everyone’s got their preferences. I acknowledge that. Just like I need you to acknowledge that you’re wrong and I’m right,” she stated, tapping the table with her pointer finger. Itachi scoffed. He took a slurp of her soda.

“Best dessert on 3,” he demanded.

“Fine. 1, 2, 3-”

“Matcha parfaits in Chinatown,” Sakura announced.

“Chocolate donuts and coffee at Henry’s,” Itachi said at the same time.

They eyed each other. After a while, Itachi asked:

“Agree to disagree?”

“Yeah,” sighed Sakura. She stirred the straw in the remains of the milkshake.

“Should’ve guessed you only went to all those trendy spots. Since you have bamboo blinds in your apartment,” she muttered.

“Hey. There’s nothing wrong with liking different things. I bet I could take you to a bunch of places you’d love,” answered Itachi.

“Well… then show me your city,” Sakura suggested as he took a sip of her diet coke. An odd look crossed his face. He lifted his head.

“It’s the same city, Sakura,” he laughed.

“Okay, Uptown,” she snorted, tossing him a napkin. “Show me what you got.”

They paid for their dinner. This time, Itachi called an Uber for them, punching in an address that Sakura didn’t recognize. Itachi double-checked the website on the ride over.

Sakura gasped as they got off in front of a whiskey bar. She could see string lights wrapped around the rafters. Someone at the bar ordered a drink that was served in a lightbulb. She turned to point at Itachi. “You’re a hipster!”

“I resent that label,” Itachi answered.

“Just what a hipster would say,” she whispered. They burst into laughter as Itachi opened the door for her. Because hipster or not, any excuse to drink in a cute bar was fine by her.

The hostess led them onto the fenced-in patio. It was chilly, but the heat lamps near each table kept things at a comfortable temperature. Sakura sat back as Itachi ordered flights for each of them. He asked questions about the age of each drink and the type of wood used in each barrel. Sakura didn’t pay much attention. That sort of stuff didn’t really interest her.

“Is it socially acceptable to get drunk here?” she wondered.

“Absolutely,” answered Itachi.

An hour later, the tip of her tongue felt a little numb. Sakura leaned closer to Itachi, elbows resting on the table. She pushed her hair to one side of her neck before she turned to look at him. She actually felt a little warm. One of the whiskeys had honey in the name somewhere. And she had liked it so much that she had ordered a glass of just that. It filled her with a rosy glow, kind of like sitting next to the fireplace on a cold night.

“Not bad,” she admitted.

“Yeah?” Itachi smiled.

“Yeah,” she replied.

She remembered giggling as she leaned against Itachi when she got to her feet. His arm was warm as it wrapped around her. When she complained that it was cold, he took his jacket off and draped it around her. She also recalled talking with him about how she wasn’t that drunk. And when he tried to call her an Uber, she complained about not wanting to go home. He asked if there was a friend she could stay with. She suddenly couldn’t remember the friend’s name, but she pulled the contact up on her phone.

When she woke up, she was sprawled across Temari’s sofa. Temari sat on the arm of it. She was slapping Sakura’s foot, which was probably what had woken her in the first place. Temari was already dressed and had a full face of makeup on.

“You messy, messy bitch,” Temari remarked, shaking her head.

Sakura sat up. Itachi’s jacket flopped off her, falling into her lap.

“Did I throw up?” asked Sakura.

“Yeah. But you made it to the toilet. So I’m not mad,” Temari told her.

Sakura groaned, hands pressing to her forehead. “In front of him?”

“No. After he left,” Temari replied. And then she patted Sakura’s foot a few more times.

“I like him. Seems like a decent guy. What is he? Fairy?” Temari went on.

“Vampire,” Sakura corrected.

“Huh.”

“Anyway, wash up and get dressed. I’ll give you a ride to the office,” Temari ordered her. When Sakura didn’t stir, Temari shoved her off the sofa. Sakura landed with a thud on the rug.

“Tem,” Sakura called.

“Hm?”

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this after you let me crash at your place, but I hate you right now.”

“That’s fine. Hurry up so we can get breakfast. I’ll buy.”

There was a pause. “I love you,” Sakura amended.

“That’s more like it,” Temari chuckled.

Temari was close enough to her size that Sakura could borrow her clothes. Temari was taller than her, but Sakura just rolled up the cuffs of the jeans she borrowed.

They walked into the office an hour later, Sakura wearing sunglasses and chowing down on a glazed donut. They managed to slip into Temari’s usual studio without running into anyone. Temari tried to turn the lights on, but Sakura shut them right off. Temari sighed. She sat in front of the computer and logged in.

“If you’re not too hungover, Ernest Hemingway, you mind listening to something for me?” she requested.

Sakura sighed. “Yeah. Just don’t ask me to run a marathon.”

Sakura closed her eyes, leaning her head back as she listened. When the clip ended, she asked Temari to play it again. This time, she folded her hands across her stomach. Tapped her fingers every once in a while. The third time, Sakura mimed drumming out a few rhythms. Temari watched her, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

But before Temari could hit the replay button again, Sakura got to her feet. She slipped into the recording booth. Moving the electric guitar someone had left to the side, Sakura sat at the electric drums. These were a little different than the ones she had at home, but she had used them before. She picked up the drumsticks, twirling them in her hands to limber up her muscles. Temari watched her through the window. When Sakura made a circle with her pointer finger, Temari played the audio again.

Sakura banged out a couple different rhythms, just to get a feel for what sounded right. And then she settled on an old funk rhythm she had once heard somewhere. Temari’s face lit up.

“Ooh. Let’s do another one. Can you do something more New Orleans style?” Temari asked through the intercom. Sakura gave her a thumbs up.

She ran through different styles until she settled on one that really seemed to click.

“Hey, Tem, I thin-” As Sakura looked up, she realized that Temari wasn’t alone anymore. Tobirama stood next to her, one hand on his hip.

“What if you play in double-time at the beginning of the second verse?” he suggested.

“…Won’t that sound messy?” Sakura wondered.

“Well, let’s try it. If it sucks, whatever,” answered Tobirama, shrugging one shoulder.

Sakura’s eyes moved from Tobirama to Temari. Temari cringed.

“Uh… I’m gonna… go to the bathroom,” Temari excused herself. Tobirama nodded once at her before he looked back at Sakura.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Do whatever you want,” she retorted, turning away from him.

There was a pause. And then the heavy door opened. He picked the guitar out of the stand that she had ignored. He slipped his head through the strap and strummed out a couple chords. And then he plucked out a melody. Something dreamy and a little floaty. He bent over to adjust the knobs on the amp and then tuned a couple of the strings.

When Tobirama resumed the melody, Sakura sat and listened for a while. Her drumsticks were still.

“Is that new?” she inquired, not looking at him.

“Yeah.”

“It’s pretty.”

“Yeah.”

He kept playing. And eventually her fingers began to itch. She played out a simple beat. Drumsticks bouncing off the pads. But in the middle of a measure, her hands faltered. Tobirama continued playing for another measure. And then he went quiet too.

Sakura tightened her grip on the drumsticks.

“Can you start again? From the top?” she requested.

“Yeah,” answered Tobirama as he started strumming again.

[roraewrites]

twenty

[ sakura’s secret ] rating: m

// another update for being such good people. thank you all :)

previous | next

“Thanks for helping out around the house.” Kizashi grunted as he flung the snow from his shovel over his back. Sakura smiled as she did the same. Of course the gray clouds overhead decided to dump snow for three days straight, never giving up.

Sakura had helped her father around the house, shoveling snow from the driveway and from the sidewalk, or helped her mother with prepping dinner and keeping the house clean throughout the day. Eventually when the snow would quit falling and she’d run out of things to do. Even now with cleaning the house everyday, she was only sweeping and dusting imaginary dirt at that point in time.

She huffed and grunted one last time and she threw her last shovel full of snow. The driveway was now clear again -- until tomorrow, that is -- and she had nothing else to do that day. She enjoyed keeping her mind busy and preoccupied. Sakura stayed away from her phone as much as she possibly could lately, hating that her mind still focused on Sasuke as much as it did.

“Wanna grab a bite to eat?” Kizashi muttered from beneath his jacket as they walked inside. The snow from their boots fell to the porch, trying to hang on to the cold grasp from outside, but eventually began to melt when the heat from inside came oozing out.

“Where?” Sakura asked in return as she removed her beanie and began to undo her boots. Her hands were completely numb and her arms throbbed as she removed her jacket and inhaled deeply. It felt so warm and relaxing inside, all she wanted to do was take a nap now.

“We can go for bagels and hot chocolate down at the coffee house?” He offered with sincere eyes, and upon his offer, Sakura grinned and nodded her head. The bagels they made there were perfect, and they always put the perfect amount of cream cheese on them too.

Her father pulled his car out of the garage and the two of them began their way towards the little shop. It seemed that everyone else that lived on their street had began to shovel their driveways out as well, for all they could see were mounds of snow flying up in the air and over the snow berms.

Kizashi pulled right up in front of the shop, and as he hopped out, Sakura did as well. She could already smell the banana bread, donuts, bagels and every other baked good that awaited her from the inside. When they walked in, she inhaled the sweet, savory flavors and exhaled slowly.

“It always smells great in here,” she pointed out as they headed towards the front counter.

“Two hot chocolates and two bagels.” Kizashi ordered while he waved Sakura off to find a booth. The coffee house was typically overflowing with people after Christmas, but this time around, there seemed to be less than usual.

Sakura scooted into an open booth and pulled her phone from her pocket. She had been expecting a text from Ino, seeing as tomorrow night they’d be attending a New Year’s party. The only message she saw made her frown while her pulse began to throb.

It was another message from Sasuke, and as much as she wanted to tell him to kick rocks, she also wanted to see his gorgeous face.

Can you call me?

She pursed her lips before typing her response. She felt both nervous and excited to talk to him after it being a week without speaking. She craved his touch and to hear his voice, but she was also still disgusted with the fact that she didn’t know who exactly he had been with.

When I have time.

She kept her words short and stern, and by the time she finished placing her phone back in the pocket of her jacket, her father was walking to their table with their drinks in his hands. “They’re warming up the bagels, they’ll be right out.”

Sakura didn’t like the way his teal eyes watched her, and instead of asking him what he was doing, he was the first to speak. “Everything okay?”

Sakura nodded as she took her cup from his hand. The porcelain was warm from the liquids inside, and before she took a drink, she decided it best to let it cool off a bit longer.

“You just seem out of sorts lately.” His eyes finally averted from her gaze as he looked out the window. It was a complete winter wonderland. “How’s the boy you’ve been talking to lately?”

“Um,” Sakura stuttered. “Fine.”

Kizashi’s eyebrow arched at her answer; he clearly didn’t believe her. Instead of pushing the subject, he sighed and leaned forward until his forearms held his weight and his fingers intertwined with one another.

“I can tell when you’re lying.”

Sakura should’ve known that. Her father might’ve been an odd character, but he always paid attention to the little things in life. She didn’t want to ask ‘why’ because she knew what she did when she lied. Instead of looking someone straight in the eyes and lying, she’d look to the center of their forehead and concentrate on that spot.

“Why does it matter?” She asked before she took a drink. “It’s just a silly, not really official relationship. Just a thing, it shouldn’t matter.” It took all she had to convince herself of that, but on the inside, she could feel her heart growing heavy while a lump appeared in her throat.

The two of them fell quiet afterwards, and just in time for one of the employees to bring them each a bagel with cream cheese. Kizashi ate his almost as quickly as Sakura did, and before they knew it, they were each sitting on their own side of the table, staring each other in the eyes.

“I know it’s something you shouldn’t talk your father about, but I’m just concerned about my daughter.” He spoke once more, and Sakura knew that that would be the last of that conversation.

Sakura nodded her head, grabbed her cup and they began to walk out of the building side by side. Maybe she’d get ahold of Karin and spend the rest of the day with her.

.

.

.

“I hate snow.” She spoke from behind Sakura. Karin had wanted to practice braids, and with Sakura’s hair growing longer with each passing month, she was perfect to practice on. The redhead had finished a cute, lopsided fish tail with Sakura’s pastel tresses. Quiet music played from her laptop nearby, and when Sakura stood from her floor, she flopped down beside Karin on her bed.

“How was your Christmas?” Sakura asked with a quiet tone. Karin didn’t respond right away, instead a low grumble came from her throat which caught Sakura’s attention.

“It was alright,” she murmured before letting her ruby eyes find Sakura’s eyes. “Not a lot happened.”

She wasn’t sure what to say now, but instead of continuing with that topic, Sakura rolled to her back and sighed. “Mine was alright. We had breakfast, went to the parade and then just wandered through Old Konoha--”

“Is it pretty there?”

“Old Konoha?” Sakura’s slender brow raised in question.

Karin nodded in silence.

“Yes. Especially during spring time. The cherry blossoms start to bloom and it’s one of my most favorite things to go to. There’s a festival and lots to do! You’ve never been?” Sakura readjusted in her bed so she could see Karin’s entire face; pale yet gorgeous. The curves that formed her cheeks was something every girl envied, and even the way her hair fell was something unique yet satisfying.

“Well when it starts up, maybe we can go.” Most times kids would gather for the fair that would take place in town, while couples would go and enjoy the romantic views from the hill tops. Either way, it was an event that the entire town would attend, and it was always huge.

“I’d like that,” Karin responded with hard eyes and a gentle smile. Sometimes it was hard for Sakura to get through to her, but in the end, she enjoyed her time with the Uzumaki. While the two girls conversed in Sakura’s room and somewhat watched a movie on Sakura’s laptop, she felt her phone vibrate from her nightstand and when she grabbed it, she noticed Sasuke’s codename light up on the screen.

“What?” Karin asked, her tone firm and eyes narrowed slightly.

Sakura glanced up at Karin, her lips parted and viridian eyes wide with curiosity. “Oh? It’s nothing!”

“That’s not nothing. You’re blushing, Pinky.” Karin’s gentle smirk came to rest on her lips, and while Sakura felt vulnerable underneath her fiery gaze, she refused to give in.

“I always blush,” Sakura muttered underneath her breath before she opened the text. It was a little after ten at night now and she still hadn’t called Sasuke. It wasn’t like she had promised that she would call him today, she only said when she had time that she would call him.

Sleep well, Sakura.

It was plain and simple, unlike Sasuke who was such a mystery but there was just something about him that drew Sakura in and she just couldn’t put her finger on it. No matter what she did or where she went, he was always on her mind or popping up in front of her. It was odd, but she also found it appealing in some sort of weird way. She shrugged the thought off before putting her phone to the side.

“Did Ino ever get ahold of you?” Sakura changed the subject, trying to distract her mind and rid the dusted shade of red from her cheeks.

“About the party tomorrow?” Karin grinned. “She did. It’ll be rad!”

Sakura smiled at Karin. Her eyes had come to life and that wide smile made Sakura feel butterflies in her stomach. It wasn’t always that the redhead would smile like that, but when she did, it made Sakura feel something like fire coarse through her veins.

“It shall.” Sakura agreed.

.

.

.

“Pancakes, sausage, eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast, girls!” Mebuki called up the stairs.

Sakura was hardly awake when her mother’s familiar voice rang through her ears. To her surprise, both her and Karin had fallen asleep on her bed while her laptop still played through a random show that came on automatically. She exited out of the Hulu app, turned her laptop off and placed it in its case. Soon, her hand came to rest on Karin’s shoulder.

“Hey, you hungry?” She spoke in a groggy voice. Sakura gently shook her friend awake, and when she finally caused Karin to stir, the redhead’s fiery eyes tried to focus in on Sakura. It didn’t occur to her just how different she looked without her glasses on.

“I could eat,” she returned as she placed her glasses on over her nose and began to sit up. They both made their way down stairs with cautious steps and sleepy eyes, only to be greeted by a stack of pancakes, white porcelain plates and the overwhelming scent of black coffee.

“There’s plenty there, so eat up!”

After all four of them finished up with their breakfast, they began to take their plates to the sink before rinsing the syrup and grease from their plate and placing them in the dishwasher.

“Do you two have any plans tonight?” Kizashi asked from the kitchen table. His face had been stuck in the newspaper the entire time throughout breakfast, and when he finally lowered it, Sakura scoffed at the fact that he had been reading the morning comics.

“Really, dad?” Sakura smiled as her eyes fell to the page. He shrugged before she rolled her eyes playfully. “We’re going out with Ino and Naruto. Not sure when yet.”

“Well just let us know. If you need a ride, you call us. Got it?” Mebuki’s tone was firm, her eyes serious and hardened over with that motherly look that Sakura was all too familiar with.

“Of course,” Karin chimed in with a small smile.

.

.

.

Like usual, Naruto picked all the girls up and they all piled in his car and he drove them off to the location for the party. To Sakura’s surprise, it was closer to downtown Konoha and extremely close to Sasuke’s condo. Being that close to him caused Sakura’s heart to race, but instead of dwelling, she sunk back into her conversation with her friends.

She had picked a black dress that was fitting and very casual for the night. It came to hug against the middle of her thighs, and even Karin had commented that it wasn’t too long, yet it wasn’t too short. With a shrug, she slipped on a pair of black ankle high heels and found some jewelry that would go along with it; the dark gray cardigan that Karin pulled out of her closet matched her heels, and within seconds, she was ready for the night.

Karin redid her hair that night as well, braiding it down the side, clipping her bangs to the side while Sakura curled her rose quartz locks, letting each strand fall with a bounce. Karin allowed Sakura to curl her hair as well, taming the red locks of hair that inhabited her head.

With each girl all dolled up and looking cute for the night, they were now in the car and pulling up to the selected party house for the night.

“This is it?” Karin asked from the backseat, next to Sakura.

“It might not look like much, but it’s killer on the inside!”

“Who’s house?” Ino asked.

“Sai’s. You know Sai,” Naruto jabbed at her with a shit eating grin. Ino playfully punched his arm before turning around and facing Sakura and Karin.

“Alright girls. Who’s going to be your New Year’s kiss?” Ino’s smile was dangerous and it made Sakura’s stomach somersault just thinking about it. Neither of them answered, which caused Ino to frown and roll her eyes. “Fine. Mine is definitely going to be Sai.”

Her baby blue eyes shot back to Naruto, dangerous and wild as he shrugged and shook his head. “I could’ve told them that.”

“Whatever, Loudmouth! Let’s go.”

Sakura laughed at her friends and exited through her door. The four of them embraced the cool night air as they began to walk down the road. It was always like Naruto to park a couple blocks away -- in case of cops. Tonight would be different, Sakura thought. They ever partied this close to downtown, and as they walked up on the entrance to Sai’s house, they were greeted by his fake, eerie smile and dark orbs.

“Welcome,” he greeted and casually stepped aside. “I see you’ve got a lot going on for you tonight, Naruto. You sure you can handle all of them at once?”

Ino laughed louder than she had meant to, and Sakura scoffed. Karin’s face flushed completely red, a darker shade than her hair as they walked through the door. Naruto on the other hand had his hands balled into fists while his azure eyes burned with anger.

“You bastard.”

While the front room looked like a complete masterpiece, there was nobody around. No music, no drinks, no food, nothing. Sakura took in her surroundings, memorizing the staircase that led upstairs and how the kitchen was located just off the front room.

“We’ll be downstairs.” Sai answered casually, and with that, he led the way from the front door and towards a door that was located farther back in the house. It was completely blowing Sakura’s mind that she still hadn’t heard a single voice or sound of music, but the second Sai opened the door, a staircase was revealed, and the faint pounding of bass sounded through her ears.

“These walls are really soundproof, eh?” Karin asked before rasping her knuckles against the wooden walls.

“That’s what happens when you grow up in a family of artists.”

The five of them began their adventure down the stairs and through another room about the size of the entry way. Alas, when Sai opened the door, they were in a large basement and welcomed by flashing, strobe lights and thunderous music. The amount of people that filled the room amazed Sakura, and one by one, they began to file in.

“This is amazing!” Ino cooed from beside Sai. He simply nodded before pointing towards the bar that resided on the left side of the room.

“Alcohol is over there. If we run out, then we run out.”

His monotone voice was finally drowned out by all the different noises, and one by one, the four of them began to drink their drinks. Time began to fly by with each drink that Sakura downed, and instead of trying to relax and enjoy the party, she felt her heart throb with more pain after every drink.

By the time eleven-thirty rolled around, she felt absolutely exhausted. Her feet hurt from all the walking around and dancing that their small group had been doing, and instead of withstanding the pain, she resorted to quieter place and began to rub out her aching feet.

“Everything okay?” A deep, raspy voice sounded from behind her.

Her eyes could hardly make out who it was, but instead of answering, she scoffed. “Everyone seems to be asking that lately. It’s getting annoying.” She had loose lips thanks to the alcohol and she immediately regretted her bitchy comment.

“Well, you’re over here and not with the party. Plus you’re rubbing your feet.”

“Who even are you?” Sakura dropped her foot from her lap and turned to the find the mysterious voice. She had heard it somewhere before, and to her surprise, it belonged to Kiba. “Oh.”

His toothy smirk sent chills down her spine, and the way his dark brown eyes settled on her made her cheeks heat with a blush.

“Feeling sassy tonight?” He teased lightly. Sakura only scoffed once more before she rolled her eyes. Although she had never really talked to Kiba, it was nice to converse with someone in a somewhat quiet and relaxed atmosphere. Even with the slight sting of alcohol coursing through her veins, she felt her body begin to relax in Kiba’s presence.

“It’s just been a rough week.” It was the first time she had answered someone with complete and utter honesty, and to almost a complete stranger. Again, alcohol seemed to have that effect on her, causing her to do things without thinking them through first.

“I feel ya,” Kiba grinned while he scratched the back of his head. “Say, I see you around at parties but never actually have the time to talk. Crazy, right?”

“That, or you’re just trying to get lucky tonight.” Sakura smiled at her ‘sassiness’ and watched as Kiba’s eyes widened and his cheeks glowed with a faint tint of red.

“No, that’s not--”

“Chill! I’m only kidding,” Sakura giggled. When she slipped her heels back on over her feet, she stood to meet his standing form and offered a gentle smile. “I’ll see you around.” With that, Sakura made her way back towards Ino, Naruto and Karin and greeted them with an ear to ear grin.

“Hooking up with Kiba?” Ino shouted over the music.

“Hell no,” Sakura laughed back. The last thing she wanted tonight was to think about guys and their silly ways. Her heart still throbbed for Sasuke after all, and if she was going to be hooking up with any guys, it would be him. But she had sworn him off, due to his selfish and arrogant ways, now here she was, at another party with her friends and a potential guy that had taken interest in her.

Sakura had decided that she was done with drinking after her talk with Kiba. The last thing she wanted was for something to happen and internally destroy her life and draw her down. Although she had her friends there with her and they would never let anything happen to her, Sakura didn’t want them to have to put their night on hold just to babysit their little pink haired friend.

It was only five minutes away from midnight now, and while the music continued to blare on, Sakura began to exit the room and climb the steps up to the main floor of Sai’s home. She immediately vanished through the front door and out into the fresh midnight air. People continued to scatter the streets, and it was only a matter of a couple minutes before the countdown started and lips began to lock on one another.

Sakura exhaled hard as she took a seat on the concrete steps and hugged her arms around her body. Her curled locks fell down in front of her face as she leaned over and concentrated on the snow that lined the streets. Everything felt cold around her now as she melted into the cool air. Finally, she could hear yelling from down the street, each voice counting down from ten and it echoed throughout the tall buildings and car filled streets.

She smiled to herself and acknowledged that this upcoming year would be her time to shine. She would move out of her parent’s home, start college and eventually meet a new guy that wouldn’t go against her trust. Sakura finally felt her eyes start to burn as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She refused to cry, refused to give in to the sadness in her heart, and it was when she heard the final number echo throughout the street that her phone began to ring violently.

“Hello?” She answered immediately without looking at the caller ID.

“Sakura,” his voice gasped into the phone. Her heart was in her throat, hearing his voice sound so panicked, yet the way he spoke her name sounded all too slurred and it stirred worry in her stomach.

“What’s wrong, Sasuke?” She asked immediately. Sakura was no longer sitting, but she was on her feet and pacing back and forth. The cold air no longer had an effect on her as she bit her lip and waited for his answer.

“Come here.”

She frowned at his response. “Where are you?” She asked once more, her tone firm and voice low and hard. There was something wrong with the way he spoke, and as much as Sakura hated the fact that he had called and she had answered, she needed to face him and figure out what exactly was wrong with him. Whether he was lying in the street hurt somewhere or lost, there was something wrong with his voice.

“The bar by my home. I want to go home--but I’m so--”

His voice cut off, as did his phone. The call dropped and Sakura felt immediately sick to her stomach. She was no longer pacing around in front of Sai’s home, but running down the slick and icy sidewalks.

Viridian eyes began to scan for the building that Sasuke’s home resided in, and the second she found it, she began to search her surroundings for a bar and for a guy that was stumbling around outside.

“Fucking hell, Sasuke.” She cursed to herself. Of course, the one night that he called her was on New Year’s when plenty of people roamed the streets at midnight. This was going to be near impossible, but whenever it was Sakura that needed help, he was almost always there immediately.

Her heeled feet carried her down the busy streets, and although many men had made rather vulgar and disgusting comments towards her, she continued her search for Sasuke. Bar after bar, stranger after stranger, she searched everywhere. Sakura finally glanced at her phone and felt her stomach flip upside down when she saw that time had been ticking by. It was now twelve-forty-five and still no sign of Sasuke.

Sakura was now almost to his building, and finally she found him. His back was leaned up against the building while he sat on the cold, hard ground and came to rest his head on the wall. He looked exhausted, almost like he was sleeping when Sakura ran up to him.

“What the hell, Sasuke!” She started, her eyes wide and her chest heaving with anger when she was nearly to him. His head snapped in her direction and she couldn’t see those dark, alluring eyes that she had grown all too familiar with, but the second she marched right up to him, she had her finger poked into his chest while tears rimmed her eyes.

“I thought you were fucking hurt or something happened to you! You can’t just do that. You can’t just tell me to come here and tell me you’re somewhere that you’re not! You can’t just--”

Sasuke’s arms had come to wrap around her, his lips pressing to hers all too fast and her mind was now in a whirlwind of thoughts. His scent surrounded her, she could taste the alcohol on his tongue the second it slipped passed her lips, and the way his body felt against hers was everything she wanted, everything she needed -- just not now.

Sakura pulled away, and Sasuke stopped. Instead of continuing what he wanted to do, he exhaled deeply and allowed his eyes to close. In the dark of the night, under the light that provided light to the residents that lived in the building, they stood in silence and comfort in one another’s arms.

His head rested against hers, while her arms wrapped around his waist. Sakura could hardly breathe, but with Sasuke safe in her arms, she finally inhaled, then exhaled her relief.

“I was so scared,” she muttered, “don’t do that ever again.”

[michelemoore]

Takhuk

April 29, 2020

Michele Moore Veldhoen

“Tis good to laugh. Yer gotta laugh and laugh out loud,” said the leprechaun. “You can cry if you want to but laughin’s better.” Jacqueline Edgington, Happy Jack

With so much stress and sorrow in our world these days, we need to turn to  Happy Jack and to Mel Brooks who said, "Humour is just another defense against the universe." Right now, we definitely need humour. Lots and lots of humour. I hope you get a laugh or two here today. Take care.

A RUST BUCKET, A GAS GUZZLER, AND A LAND YACHT

Being that most Albertans enjoy a special relationship with their cars and trucks, and being that so many of them are sitting idle in our garages these days, I offer you a sentimental and fond reflection of  three cars I once owned and that are rumbling, overheating, and plowing through the unoccupied regions of my mind.

MY FIRST CAR

1963 Chevy Impala.  Price: $100.00

It was whitish (I’m sure it was the original paint job, thus, it was whitish). The interior was red leather, with a fair bit of deterioration (tears in the seats big enough to conceal a machete). This vintage look was nicely complemented with the flaking red rust trim around the wheel wells and along the door edges. The source of the rust was the bottom of the trunk which had a hole so massive I couldn’t keep a spare tire in there because it would have fallen out.  Oh, and the exhaust preferred to disperse itself through the car interior rather than the exhaust pipe, which come to think of it, was missing. Therefore, the windows had to remain open at all times. In winter, this made for some frostbitten trips down Elbow Drive from my home in Southwood to my high school on 17th Avenue southwest.

I bought that rust bucket from my brother for $100 bucks cash. Money I saved from my cashier job at K-Mart. When my brother offered to sell me the Impala, I wasn’t old enough yet to get a license, but I bought it anyway. I had my priorities. Owning and driving my own car was numero uno. That car, any car, would do. It was about freedom of movement, man, and being in control of my own destiny.

The Impala sat on the driveway of my house for several months, waiting for me to turn sixteen. (I already knew how to drive. I learned when I was twelve and competed against my brother and cousins in a demolition derby. There were three cars in that event. We smashed them all up pretty good and walked away without a bruise and everything we needed to know about driving.)

It would be impossible for me to overstate the pride and satisfaction I felt driving that dilapidated, afflicted, contraption. I could compare it to the obvious delight a young dog exhibits when it has fetched its’ first stick. I could compare it to a young child who has just served his mother his first Easy Bake cake, or has just received his first Student of the Month award, or has just scored his first goal, his lungs bursting with so much pride and love he is afraid to exhale or he might cry. Or that feeling, for which there are no words, a new parent gets holding her first newborn child. It was like that.

My peacock feathers were on display every day I drove that car into my school’s parking lot. I was completely oblivious to the much finer, rust free, sporty type cars driven by other students at Western Canada High. (Which, for the record, was where the Mount Royal kids went to school, so you can imagine the cars.)

I will admit though, my pride was dampened (literally, with sweat) by the relief I felt every time I completed that trip to school accident free. And when I say relief, I mean relief from the kind of heart pounding that feels like your teenage son is pounding his drum set under your rib cage.  

You see, aside from the rust, and the missing exhaust pipe, the Impala had another issue. This one was with the steering. The problem was that the steering wheel had more play in it than a car load of toddlers. Handling the Impala felt like floating. On big ocean waves. In a dime store rubber raft. Keeping her safely between the lane lines while negotiating the many curves and bends of Elbow Drive was like trying to walk a straight line on the midway at the Calgary Stampede. It can be done, but it takes a great deal of concentration and constant course adjustments. After every trip, I felt dazed and amazed that I got that boat to school or home without incident. I have no idea how many close calls I had, but honking car horns occasionally echo in my memory bank.

As big a thrill as it was, driving that old rust bucket, when my father offered to sell me his car, I was ready for an upgrade. He may also have pointed out that my Impala had used up most of its life and would likely crater in the spring potholes.

MY SECOND CAR

1974 Oldsmobile Toronado.  Price: $2,700.00

Teal blue with a white leather interior. She had all the bells and whistles and was in mint condition; after all, two staple items on my dad’s grocery list were Armour All and Turtle Wax. The price was steep, but dad let me pay off the purchase in monthly payments, interest free. Seems to me the payments were $120.00/month. Which was a good thing because, soon after taking ownership of that gas guzzling brute, all its’ bells and whistles stopped ringing and whistling. Repairs to power steering, electric windows, and transmissions are expensive. (Is the transmission a bell or a whistle?) For the next couple of years I gave away most of my typist’s salary in post-dated cheques to the local mechanic, who kept me on the road.

Despite the Toronado barreling through all my entertainment and future education funds, I loved that car as much as I had loved the Impala. Whenever I was first in line at a red traffic light and there was another teenage driver in the lane beside me, on the green light I would put the pedal to the metal which often triggered a similar response in the other driver, who invariably behind the wheel of a hoppy little car that would leap ahead. The lead was short lived. I would keep my foot on the floor, and a few seconds later would wave at the driver as my 454 horsepower engine and I rumbled on by.  Oh, how I reveled in the superiority of that elegant behemoth.

That magnificent machine, with her front wheel drive, could’ve plowed through a field of hay bales without slowing down or suffering a scratch. Once, in fact, while parked in front of my house on an icy winter street, a City of Calgary Transit bus came around the corner and slid into the back end of her. The grill of the bus was mangled, but the bus driver and I could not find a scratch, dent, or scrape on my bumper.  After that, I wasn’t afraid to use the back end of that beast to push out of my way any car that had boxed me into a parking spot.

Even when she malfunctioned, she did so in a spectacular fashion. Once, when driving west toward home on Anderson Road, white smoke began streaming out from under the hood. (Having watched too many Smoky and the Bandit type movies, I didn’t think steam, I thought SMOKE). I stepped on it, making for the nearest gas station. (Why I didn’t just stop on the side of the road right there and then remains a mystery.) Speeding up, of course, made the SMOKE/steam billow in huge cloud formations above the massive hood which meant that, when I roared into the gas station, the attendants watched a terrified teen/ woman in a pencil skirt and heels come flying out of the cloud screaming, “it’s gonna explode! It’s gonna explode!”

After she had cooled off and had her radiator refilled and later repaired, I kept driving, and repairing, her for several more years. She just had too much charisma to give up on.

Unfortunately, the day came when I had to come down from my high horse-powered white leather perch and take up a different, upholstered one behind the wheel of another monstrous hunk of steel that had none of the sex appeal of the Toronado, but did have four doors. An important feature when you have a couple of toddlers in car seats.

MY THIRD CAR

Early ‘80’s Chrysler Imperial – price: Giving up my Toronado

I was not, at all, happy about giving up my Toronado, but my husband was not happy about the repairs, so I acquiesced. The regret I felt when he brought home the Chrysler was worse than the regret I felt the second time I cut my own hair. (I had beginner’s luck the first time.) (For the record, this was not a coronavirus haircut, it was a different era entirely.)

That land yacht was plain blue and boring, but it became my home away from home and a place of joy and abundance. On any given day you could always find a blanket, some stuffies and snacks between my two little boys in the backseat, who sang, laughed, wrestled, and slept in the back of that cavernous heap of iron. Nothing could touch them back there behind me. Not even me, which they knew perfectly well when they were deliberately annoying one another.

Although that dreadfully dull car was a reliable steel fort within which my children were safely transported, I did not lose any sleep when she was retired because I had begun to notice that no one else on the road still drove cars the size of yachts. In fact, most people in the countryside where I lived drove trucks. And so, I got a Jeep and entered the modern era.

I could go on about the two Jeeps I drove over the next twenty or so years but each one went to one of my kids and they have better stories than me about their days in those bouncy go anywhere rides. I know on at least one occasion one of those jeeps went floating down the Kicking Horse River……

I bet you have a story or two about your old cars. Please share!

Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time. Erma Bombeck

 www.thetreeswallow.com

[my-bad-writing]

Chapter 3 - Quirks & Capes

Maaya quickly put together UA’s Hero Course curriculum: normal core classes in the mornings (unfortunately, Present Mic taught English), lunch in the main cafeteria (thankfully the chatter was like white noise), then Hero Basic Training in the afternoons (apparently the teacher or teachers were not always the same).

Of course, they got someone the exact opposite of their homeroom teacher on the second day.

“I am here!”

Oh, no.

The door slid open to reveal All Might, “Coming through the door like a normal person!”

Maaya didn’t know whether to laugh or cry so she settled for dropping her head on her desk as the others all gasped in awe.

“I can’t believe it’s really All Might!” Kaminari stared.

“So he is a teacher,” Kirishima spoke. “This year is gonna be totally awesome!”

“Hey, look,” Asui noted. “Is he wearing his Silver Age costume?”

“I’m getting goosebumps,” Ojiro commented. “It’s so retro!”

Meanwhile, Maaya lifted her head to glare at Yumiki who had snorted at her antics.

“Welcome to the most important class at UA High,” All Might began. “Think of it as ‘Hero-ing 101’.

“Here, you will learn the basics of being a pro. And what it means to fight in the name of good!”

Does this guy ever sit still?

“Let’s get into it. Today’s lesson,” he pulled out a card with ‘BATTLE’ written in red, “will pull no punches!”

Bakugo gave a violent smile, “Fight training.”

Midoriya looked concerned, “Real combat?”

“But one of the keys of being a hero is… looking good!”

Maaya snorted as panels in the sidewall slid out containing silver-colored cases with bright green numbers on them.

“These were designed for you based on your Quirk registration forms and the requests you sent in before school started.”

The class gasped and cheered.

Maaya smiled at their enthusiasm.

“Get yourselves suited up,” All Might continued, “and then meet me at Training Ground Beta!”

“Yes, sir!”

Maaya’s suit was rather simple: a bluish-black catsuit padded and made with materials to ensure protection, durability, and flexibility; a utility belt that hung from her hips; a black cloak made from materials similar to her suit with a loose cloth around the throat she could use to conceal her mouth and nose; black boots which they dubbed ‘adventure boots’ that looked like a cross between hiking, combat, and some other boot with straps and steel toes and heels; dark blue goggles with a tough plexiglass-like substance also tinged blue which she had pushed up at the moment; and a set of dark blue fingerless gloves made of some kind of mesh and leather mix with steel covering the backs of the half fingers for maximum damage.

Her suit, belt, and boots all had built in holsters and sheaths for guns and knives, and she received a few loose ones too, not to mention a retractable staff she stowed in her belt.

She had weapons, consisting of knives, guns, and an electrum whip that doubled as a snake bracelet, but they were courtesy of her father years ago. So she couldn’t let people know about them, much less bring them in to school.

Still, better to have the necessary equipment.

“Wow, Maaya, you look amazing!”

She turned towards Yumiki.

“You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Black pants tucked into black boots with dark red accents; a slim button-up, uniform-like black jacket with red trimming and a glowing gold plate on her chest that slightly resembled an eye; dark red handwraps; and a belt with a golden circular buckle wrapped around her waist.

Yumiki smiled, “Thanks. I have sheaths and holsters for weapons too, but I won’t be needing them, so,” she shrugged.

Maaya nodded in understanding before voicing a question that had been gnawing at her, “Hey, um, I was wondering… what exactly is your Quirk?”

“Huh? Well, I got both of my parents’ Quirks. Half-Third Eye Half-Enhancer.”

Maaya paused, “Third Eye? That’s Seer’s Quirk, isn’t it?”

Yumiki nodded, “Yep, he’s my dad, and my mom’s Moxie.”

“Oh, so it’s not just your uncle who’s a Pro Hero, huh?”

“Yeah, I’ll be a second generation hero once I graduate.”

“That’s pretty incredible, a whole family of supers.”

Maaya smirked as Yumiki glared.

“No capes.”

“It’s a cloak, and I can teleport. So, it doesn’t count.”

Yumiki opened her mouth to chew out the amused brunette.

“Hey, guys, you look so cool!”

Both girls turned at Ameya’s voice to see her and Ryuu walking up to them.

Ame wore a catsuit as well which faded from white to dark blue as it went down; a utility belt wrapped between her waist and hips; a black, hooded jacket cloak with silver and gold trimming; dark blue boots; light yellow goggles a few shades brighter than her eyes hung around her neck accompanied by a silvery-white cloth Maaya assumed was the lower half of a mask; and white hand wraps disappeared up the sleeves of her suit.

Ryuu donned black pants tucked into black boots; a dark blue muscle shirt with an unzipped black jacket over it; a utility belt; teal goggles which were pushed up into his black hair; and a light blue scarf.

“Ryuu, why does it look like you’re wearing civilian clothes,” Yumiki asked.

He shrugged, “Practical design with durable materials. Check this out,” he reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out several small blue capsules, “these things hold water, so, if I’m ever in a dry area, I can still fight with my Quirk. And this,” he tugged on his scarf, “absorbs and retains water.”

“Clever,” Maaya acknowledged with a nod.

He smiled, stowing the Water Capsules. “Right?”

Soon, other students poured from the changing rooms, some of their costumes were incredibly flashy or eye-catching (Bakugo and Aoyama), and they all headed to Training Ground Beta.

All Might stood in the middle of the fake city’s main street, fists on his hips, as the class strode out.

“They say that clothes make the pros, young ladies and gentlemen, and behold, you are the proof!

“Take this to heart. From now on you are all… heroes in training!”

He smirked.

“This is getting me all revved up. You look so cool!

“Now. Shall we get started, you buncha newbies?”

Maaya looked around the Training Ground before turning back to the exit where the sound of echoing footsteps proceeded Midoriya.

She smiled.

The costume was obviously made by his mom and was a nod to All Might.

This kid holds him in high regards.

Uraraka had just put on her helmet when she caught sight of him.

“Ah! Hey, Deku!”

“Uraraka!” He shuddered, cheeks burning under his mask as she walked up.

“Love your costume! Not too flashy, ya know?”

Midoriya clapped his hands over his mouth to muffle his whimpering.

Uraraka rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed, “I should’ve been more specific about what I wanted. This bodysuit is skintight. Not really my style.” She chuckled nervously.

Mineta, who was staring at Uraraka’s body, turned to face thin air and gave a thumbs up.

“I love this school.”

“Huh,” Midoriya looked to him.

Maaya scowled at him before rolling her eyes and appreciatively adjusting her cloak.

Pervert.

All Might had noticed Midoriya’s costume and covered his mouth with his hand, looking away and shaking.

“You’re so obvious,” he muttered into his hand.

The hero composed himself.

“Now that you’re ready, it’s time for combat training.”

Iida, who wore a costume much like Ingenium’s, raised his hand, “Sir!

“This is the fake city from our entrance exam.

“Does that mean that we’ll be conducting urban battles again?”

All Might held up two fingers, “Not quite. I’m going to move you two steps ahead.

“Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside.

“However, statistically speaking, run-ins with the most dastardly evildoers take place indoors.”

Maaya’s eyes hardened.

“Think about it. Backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs.”

Her hands curled sharply into fists as All Might spoke.

“Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows.

“For this training exercise, you’ll be split into teams of good guys and bad guys and fight two-on-two indoor battles.”

“Isn’t this a little advanced,” Asui asked.

All Might clenched a fist in front of his chest, “The best training is what you get on the battlefield! But remember, you can’t just punch a robot this time. You’re dealing with actual people now.”

Yaoyorozu spoke up, “Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?”

“How much can we hurt the other team,” Bakugo questioned.

“Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like earlier,” Uraraka asked.

Iida’s hand was up again, “Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?”

Aoyama held up his sparkly purple cape, “Isn’t this cape très chic?”

All Might growled, forcing out, “I wasn’t finished talking!”

Maaya suppressed a laugh, as did Yumiki, Ame, and Ryuu, all sharing knowing glances.

All Might pulled out a script, “Listen up.

“The situation is this: the villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans.

“To do that, the good guys either have to catch the evildoers or recover the weapon. Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they protect their payload or capture the heroes.”

Sounds like a classic video game setup.

All Might held up a yellow rectangular box with “Lots” written in black.

“Time’s limited, and we’ll choose teams by drawing lots!”

“Isn’t there a better way,” Iida inquired.

Midoriya held up a finger, “Think about it!

“Pros often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot, so maybe that’s the reason we’re seeing that here.”

“Yes, I see.”

Maaya scoffed to herself.

“Life is a random series of events.” Iida bowed, “Excuse my rudeness.”

All Might turned away from them, “No sweat.” He pumped a fist in the air, “Let’s draw!”

Maaya and Yumiki made up Team K, while Team L consisted of the twins.

Yumiki shook her head, “‘Luck of the draw’ indeed.”

“I really wanted to kick Ryuu’s ass,” Ameya complained before shrugging, “oh well.”

Maaya just smirked, recalling each students’ abilities and personalities and analyzing the teams’ compatibilities.

Ryuu had a smirk on his face too, but it all but disappeared when he looked to Maaya.

There wasn’t anything particularly threatening about her, but a shiver made its way down his spine regardless.

She caught his look, her smirk fading, “Is something wrong?”

He jolted, “Huh? Uh, no. No, it’s just I don’t know how well we’ll fare against other teams is all.”

Maaya frowned, unconvinced, “Alright…”

Maybe his character is a bit like water itself. Picks up on other people’s lives and feelings. I’ll have to tread carefully.

All Might rummaged in two boxes, one white with “HERO” in black lettering, and the other black with “VILLAIN” in white.

Where does he keep this stuff, Maaya sweatdropped.

“I declare that the first teams to fight will be…” He pulled a sphere from each box, “these guys!”

The “villain” ball matched its box with a large “L” on it, while the “hero” one bore a “K”.

Yumiki shook her head again while Ame laughed maniacally.

“You two are going down!”

Ryuu joined in cackling with his sister, rubbing their hands together and muttering “evil” repetitively.

Maaya facepalmed, These dorks.

“Team K will be the heroes,” All Might continued, “Team L will be the villains. Everyone else can head to the monitoring room to watch!”

“Yes, sir!” The students left.

“Bad guys, you can go on in and get set up.

“In five minutes, the good guys will be let loose and the battle will start!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Remember, if things go too far, I’ll step in.”

“Understood.”

All Might explained further what the training would involve, handing both teams capture tape, the building’s floor plan, & earpieces so the teammates could communicate, then headed off to the monitoring room while the twins disappeared inside the building.

Maaya turned to Yumiki, a smirk on her lips.

“So, are we giving them a chance or making this quick?”

“Well, as heroes we should shut down the threat immediately. Besides,” Yumiki matched her smirk, “I wanna see the looks on their faces.”

“Heh, quick it is.”

Soon, the five minutes passed, and the heavily one-sided battle began.

Yumiki’s eyes glowed gold, like the circle on her costume.

“Fourth floor.” She pointed, “Right in front of that window.”

Maaya scoffed, “Amateurs.”

She teleported herself right in front of the window to get a look inside, catching a glimpse of Ryuu facing Ame and the window, before teleporting herself and the weapon the twins had back to Yumiki.

“Done.”

The girls burst into laughter as they suddenly heard shouting and the window break.

“What the hell was that?!”

“I demand a rematch!”

“That’s gotta be cheating!”

“You absolute assholes!!”

Avoiding the pissed siblings, they all headed to the monitoring room.

The class was amazed, and it took a bit for All Might to gain control.

Announcing the MVP to be Yumiki, who immediately understood her partner and what needed to be done, he declared the hero Team K as the winners, explained what the villains had done wrong, and picked the next teams.

Team A would be the good guys, and Team D the bad.

This isn’t going to end well.

“Young Iida. Young Bakugo.

“The key to being successful in this challenge is to embody villainy. Think from the perspective of an evildoer.”

Bakugo looked to Midoriya.

“Got it,” Iida responded.

“If things go too far, I’ll step in,” All Might reminded.

“Understood!”

The teams left.

Ignoring the dark mutterings from Ame and Ryuu, Maaya considered the next fight and its outcomes.

“Thinking about this matchup,” Yumiki inquired.

Maaya glanced at her, brow raised.

The blonde smiled, “I don’t need my Quirk to figure out that’s what you’re focusing on. I just have ‘gut instinct’ as my uncle calls it.”

“Your uncle sounds pretty familiar,” she darted her eyes to their teacher.

Yumiki chuckled, “You are good. He’s my mom’s older brother.”

Maaya nodded.

Yumiki leaned in, “Thoughts?”

“…I think Bakugo might just dash off for Midoriya, leaving Iida behind. He may be rash, but he’s good at combat so it’s his fighting skill against Midoriya’s cleverness. Then, of course, Uraraka and Iida’s confrontation which will probably be decided by who wins in the boys’ fight.”

Yumiki nodded, “That’s what I figured too. I also think Midoriya will be worse for wear in the end whether he wins or not.”

Maaya inclined her head in agreement, eyes going to the screens as the fight started.

“Alright,” All Might began. “Let’s begin the indoor combat training!

“Team A and Team D, your time starts now!”

Maaya, coming to a decision, focused her power on All Might’s earpiece, tapping into it to hear what those training were saying to each other.

“Pay attention, kids,” he addressed the class now.

“Think about what you would do.”

As Maaya expected, Bakugo raced off almost immediately.

Luckily, Midoriya acted quickly to get himself and Uraraka out of the way.

“He almost got the jump on them,” Mineta spoke.

“Sneak attack, Bakugo,” Kirishima pounded his hand. “What kinda man pulls cheap crap like that?”

“It’s a viable strategy,” All Might explained. “He’s playing the part. Acting like a true villain would.”

“It didn’t work,” Ashido noted. “Midoriya dodged him!”

Maaya frowned, knowing that Bakugo wasn’t acting. He really was out for blood.

Kaminari stepped forward, “Look, there he goes!”

Bakugo threw a wide right hook which Midoriya stepped into, turning and throwing Bakugo over his shoulder, effectively slamming the fiery boy into the ground.

He got to his feet and faced the talking, green-haired boy.

Bakugo began shouting about how he hated that Midoriya continued to stand up regardless of how scared he was.

The ashy blond was more pissed than ever.

Definitely not going to end well.

[idornaseminary]

Chapter Forty-Seven: Mel and Enzo

Mel awoke the morning of October 13th with a smile forming on her face before she had even fully blinked the sleep out of her eyes. Maybe it had to do with her magic blood, or maybe it had to do with the last threads of childhood her body still clung to, but either way, she awoke on her birthday every year feeling acutely aware that it was her birthday - an excitement vibrating through her very bones.

She’d already gotten used to being back in the swing of things with classes, but as a rule, she never went to class on her birthday. Her attendance was practically spotless any other time, so she knew she was able to get away with playing hooky on such a special occasion. Besides, it was a Friday.

She decided to hitch a ride down to Old Aroon for some ice cream. She stepped outside, giving the Gladur an apprehensive look. Tuesday morning she’d awoken and looked out her window to find an endless sea of pitch black foliage. It had made her stomach churn. It still did. She turned her head, willing herself to ignore it. Today wasn’t going to be a day that she worried about this whole mess. Today was a day for her, and she was going to spend it however she liked.

The goblin gave her a disapproving look as she handed him her money, his hooked nose scrunching up into his face. She simply batted her eyelashes at him and settled back into the carriage, letting it whisk her away to the village.

The young woman working at Tricko’s knew the drill by this point and gave Mel her ice cream for free. She did the very same every year. Maybe she was just a kind person, or maybe it had to do with the way Mel always lightly touched her arm or complimented her hair, or the way she winked at her before leaving the shop.

She strolled down the cobbled streets of Old Aroon with a tower of sea-salt ice cream on a chocolate cone. She spent some time peering into the windows of the old shops before she found herself wandering outside the limits of the village. It wasn’t disallowed - they could explore the whole island, if they wished, so long as they stayed out of the Gladur. After everything that had happened, Mel was sure there was no risk of that from anybody, let alone her.

Lake Gler sparkled through the trees up ahead. Mel soon found herself by its shores, removing her shoes to dig her toes into the coarse dampness of the lakebed. The cool air bit at her skin, and the ice cream she lapped at certainly didn’t help, but she wore a warm black beanie to at least keep her ears warm, and she pulled her jacket tighter around herself.

Enzo trudged along the shoreline of Lake Gler, hunting for a rare weed known has Vatns Rose. It was a jelly-like weed only grown on the shores of Idorna, and if it touched one’s skin, they would be instantly numbed for well over twenty-four hours. Enzo rarely used it for his potions, but he knew how Ibori spoke of its useful properties in many beauty creams. This isn’t why he has me out here, is it? To get ingredients for his beauty regime?

He sighed as he stepped closer to the water. He rolled his grey sweatpants up just below his knees, careful not to get the slime from his gloves on his face as he wiped sweat from his brow. He reached down to the water’s edge, yanking yet another strand of Vatns from its root in the sand before tossing it in the bag a few feet behind him.

Mel sensed movement from the corner of her eye and realized she wasn’t alone at the lake. Not much further down from where she was, a figure was stooped over digging plants out of the water.

“Enzo?” she called. Holding her boots in her hands, she headed over to him as the water swished gently against her feet.

Enzo straightened his back at the sound of his name, looking to his right where he saw a blonde figure walking towards him. As she blocked the sun with the aid of her hat, he noticed it was Mel, barefoot with a cone of ice-cream in her hand. Sea-salt, he could tell instantly. His favourite.

“Melanie,” he said, still holding a chunk of Vatns in his grasp, aware of how strange he must look. “Hi…”

“Fancy meeting you here,” she said, perching atop a rock next to the water. She eyed the weed in his hand curiously. “Is this some kind of potion endeavour?”

He watched her wander to a rock. She always had quirks like this, moving about freely. He recalled their first year of Idorna where they would spend nights at Old Aroon. She would strut around the bar, speaking - flirting - with everyone in her path while Enzo sat, waiting for her to spend time with him.

“Ibori’s,” he said, tossing the weed into the now full bag and tying it shut. “I’m his pack mule now that his assistant is busy. And you, what are you doing here?”

She gave the ice cream cone in her hand a little shake. “Oh, you know. Birthday traditions, and all.” She regretted it the minute she said it. The last thing she wanted was for Enzo to scramble and feel like he had to give her good wishes, or something. She hurried to fill the brief silence. “A-And just craving ice cream, anyway. Something that tastes like home.”

Her words hurled into Enzo’s gut. He completely forgot about her birthday. Now that she said it, he recalled, seeing as they started dating just a week before and she would not let him forget it. Still, now, after years, he felt bad for forgetting.

“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head lightly. “Just a lot happening lately. Things on my mind. I would have said something, Melanie, really.”

She smiled, her lips pulled tight from nothing more than his discomfort. “Don’t worry about it. We’re all in that boat, I think.” She gestured to the darkened woods around her as if for emphasis. “You really weren’t making this shit up, were you?”

He followed her gaze to the forest, nodding his head. As he worked away at the weeds, he tried not to think of the dark leaves behind him, seeming to almost hiss at his back. The rational part of his brain told him that they were dark due to the sorrow of those on the island, but another fraction felt that something more was the cause for the darkness.

“I wish I was,” he muttered, almost to himself.

It was then that he heard the sigh. It was almost… sexual. He turned his head away from the forest, looking over Lake Gler where he swore it came from.

He remained silent for a second or two before looking at Mel. “You heard that, right?”

She blinked, her eyes locked onto the still waters of the lake. “I, uh...I think so.”

The two remained silent for a few seconds more, the calm waves lapping up at the wet sand. Enzo had only ever heard it once before, and he could not recall exactly what had been said - or sung - to him.

Now, sober, the words were as clear as the water before them. But this time, they sang something different:

The dry eyed are the demons—a truth I now will tell,

And in great Isle Velum, their plans of haunt doth dwell.

The fortune of a life exceeds a million gold,

And now I frown upon those foolish, and aid the warrior bold.

Almost involuntarily, Mel took a few steps towards the lake’s edge. She gazed at the water, still unbroken, sweat beading on her forehead. She curled her toes into the rough sand, giving Enzo a worried look.

“That sounds...foreboding,” she said, biting her lip.

It took a few moments for Enzo to register that Mel was speaking with him - he was too busy trying memorize the lyrics, as they specifically mentioned Isle Velum. His memory was good, having to keep track of ingredients often since he was a child, so he hoped it would not fail him now.

“I’ve heard a song like that before,” he said, walking up to stand near Mel, but not too close to the water. “Not long ago - first weekend back.”

She stared at him, eyebrows knitting together. “Really? Shit.” She let out a breath, looking out at the lake yet again. Her stomach was doing flips. “What is it? I mean...who is it?”

“Merpeople, I assume,” he said, folding his arms over his chest. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore, but he knew they might not have much time left before something worse happened. “We need to figure out what is going on, soon. Meet me on the fifth floor Sunday around midnight, and bring Beatrice if you can. I know she’s Gestona, too.”

Mel nodded. It made sense, but she had never heard merpeople on the island singing before, and their timing was ominous, to say the least. She took in everything Enzo was saying, feeling the dread she’d pushed down come back and hit her full force.

“Beatrice? O-Okay. What do you have in mind?”

Enzo looked over his shoulder. He knew there would be next to no one in Old Aroon, but still, he didn’t want to take any chances. He reached down, gripping the bag of Vatns Rose and slinging it over his shoulder. “We’re too exposed here. Trust me. Fifth floor. Sunday. Midnight.”

She nodded. She’d long since forgotten about her ice cream, and it ran down her hand in teal rivulets, the chocolate melting against her fingers. “Right. Sunday.”

She watched him go, the bag swinging from his shoulders. She stayed perched on the rock, listening to the faint trickle of the lake. The merpeople had quieted, but she swore she could hear a dull hum, a serene vocalizing that could only truly be heard from underwater.

The sound chilled her more than the ice cream, more than the wind. She abandoned the cone on the beach and headed back towards Old Aroon.

Happy birthday to me, I guess.