#but nah as far as i can tell the hands are invincible and just exist to cause pain

[viralarcadian]

how on earth were our lady of the charred visage and tres angustias EASIER to kill than ten piedad

[leggomylino]

Dark Rising☽✮☾Act One

☽✮☾ Dark Rising Masterlist ☽✮☾  

Genre: Horror/Thriller, Drama, Romance, Comedy

Pairing: NCT’s Johnny Suh x fem!reader (x ???)

Word count: 5.9k

Warning(s): mentions of blood, yandere-esqe themes, cuts/injuries, soul stealing and kidnapping. Possibly more in the future depending on what the original authors decide. They write for ot9 and so do I.

A/N: Main Masterlist in BIO! | This is a spinoff series to the SKZ fanfiction Twisted Karnival, by @gaiyofanfiction​. It can be read alone, but you are encouraged to read the original story first. At the authors’ request, I will take this down if asked to do so. I do not own Twisted Karnival or Stray Kids, or Johnny Suh, or any characters used in this. All credit goes where credit is due. The events that happen in this story are not canon in the original story, this is simply a work of fandom and appreciation, and thus will tie into canon events as closely as possible in respect to the original works. All that being said… Thank you. <3

IMPORTANT -> (** This story picks up after the events of Twisted Karnival, Chapter 6. While this can be read as a stand-alone fic, better understanding can be found upon first reading through T.K. Ch. 6. Please support the series! ♫)

~  ☽✮☾ ~

A cross necklace, and a whistle. That’s all you had to defend yourself.

The sky was dark outside the main tent, the walkways bare and lifeless. A cold breeze swept up from the South, adding to the chills that threatened to tear you down where you stood like a hazardously put-together Jenga tower. One wrong tug, one sudden misstep, and you would be a heap at their disposal...they being the nine demonic beings encircling an unfortunate young girl who couldn’t be far from your age.

You were watching now from the back of the tent, through a small flap that had been open to allow air to circulate after the events that had taken place. It wasn’t nearly large enough for a person to fit through, about the size of one’s head, with a slit of velvet and silk curtain separating the back passage from the main stage. You’d lucked out, really, that one of the younger demons had come tromping by complaining about the humidity and had opened it for your eyes to witness.

Though in some ways, you really wish you hadn’t. You felt like you were going to be sick, seeing this poor girl bruised and crying, blood seeping down her arms and through the rips in her jeans.

“Hey, come on. It’s going to be okay. This is why you’re here.”

A hand fell lightly on your shoulder from the man beside you. You looked to him with clouded eyes and doubt in your heart, before turning back to the scene unraveling before you, whilst your fingers toyed with the chain and pendant around your neck.

You weren’t sure where it had come from or why you were here. But apparently that’s what this man, Johnny, was for.

Let’s back up a bit. Okay, picture this: You were just a regular girl minding your business, walking out from your part-time job to go straight home like the good student you liked to think you were, the only thing on your mind the leftover BLT waiting for you in the fridge, when you’d come across a crowd buying (or rather, receiving free) tickets from two dangerously handsome (and somewhat scary looking) strangers. Life had been peachy before all of this; sure, a little stressful balancing a life that consisted of school, a job, and a small almost non-existent social life, but hey, it wasn’t bad. 

That’s when he’d first showed up.

“Suspicious, isn’t it?” He’d asked, staring into the crowd with his hands in his deep dark trench-coat pockets. He’d completely snuck up on you, appearing out of nowhere to your right and effectively scaring the daylights out of you. And you’ll admit, you let out a noise that wasn’t exactly...ladylike. Something between a “bwarf!” and a screech. It’d managed to turn a few heads nearby, but Johnny, who you hadn’t known was his name just yet, only pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. “It’s nice to meet you too,” he said, training his eyes back on the growing crowd. His face went from lighthearted-borderline amusement to vacant and dim.

“Do you see all these people here?”

You stared at him a moment before following his gaze, a frown encasing your lips. Who did this guy think he was, first scaring the daylights out of you and now trying to strike up a conversation and keep you from that delicious leftover BLT calling your name? “Uh...yeah…” Slowly, you turned your head back up to face him, brow arched. “...I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Nah. But I can fix that.” He held out his hand without taking his eyes off the wavering crowds of innocent bystanders, a faint smile taking over for the hair of a second as he introduced himself. “Call me Johnny. It’s a pleasure.”

“......” You stared at his outstretched hand for an awkward moment too long before hesitantly grabbing it, shaking it once, twice, before becoming...pleasantly aware of how incredibly soft and warm his skin was, and the comforting pulse that radiated through your whole body. It soothed each ache and pain from the day’s toil like an iron over a smooth silk sheet. Every wrinkle and crease had vanished.

Woah...it’s like...I feel like a totally new person...where did all this energy come from?

...Observing him in awe, you’d almost forgotten to give him your name in return, gaping up at him as you were like a fish out of water. “...U-Uh...I’m--”

“Y/n,” he stated, matter-of-fact. Your eyes went wide. 

What the heck? “...How did you know…?”

“Shhh,” he kneeled down to be at eye-level, for he was an incredibly tall individual. A typical dark, mysterious, handsome stranger all the girls in high school dream of encountering, except he couldn’t possibly be a bad or dangerous guy...in fact, you couldn’t help but want to cling to him. It was crazy, but just being within eyesight was enough to make you feel safe. Which was odd...and crazy. Definitely crazy. It didn’t make any rational sense whatsoever. Which is why you found your body taking the smallest of nudges and half-steps closer to his side, to this man you knew nothing about save for his name and the fact that he made you feel nearly invincible by some nameless sorcery.

When he leaned down, his cheek was practically against yours. Despite feeling safe, you began to sweat.

Johnny pointed far out into the crowd, where the two gothic-looking boys in strange but attractive attire were shouting and waving flyers around, passing out tickets in between, some yellow, others black. Each of them looked charming and genuine beyond belief. Heck, you wanted to buy a ticket from them too; and maybe a lunch date.

You held up a hand to point as well, trying to remain as discreet as possible. “Those guys?”

Johnny nodded, lowering your arm slowly and moving to stand behind you. You would have been weirded out and panicking had you not felt so unusually calm and comforted by his presence. Seriously, something is up with this guy. I don’t know anything about him and yet...ugh, it’s like I’ve known him my whole life. Talk about cringe...

He placed his hands over your eyes, and you closed them on instinct. You didn’t have time to question, and again, you found that you couldn’t, anyway. Somehow, something deep inside told you to trust him. “Now,” he continued, “when I count to three and let go, you’re going to see something that isn’t so pretty. But don’t be alarmed, they can’t hurt you. I promise that nothing you see can hurt you. This is really important, so I’m going to repeat it again, because the last human I said these words to nearly had a heart attack because they didn’t listen: I promise, nothing you see can physically hurt you. Understand?”

You began to squirm, growing more impatient by the second, what with your stomach growling and all. “Yeah, yeah, I got it already! I’m waiting!” ...That BLT wasn’t gonna eat itself, y’know? But really, at the same time, you weren’t entirely sure you wanted him to let go. 

But then he reached a final count. And he did let go, slowly as not to startle you and give you time to adjust.

What you saw was a thing of nightmares.

The sky had grown dark, blood red shrieking at you from behind pitch black clouds. A scream caught in your throat; you were too speechless to move, or speak, or do anything but stare in absolute horror.

The people around you had all become vessels. They were still human, but...different. Rather than solid beings, they’d become hollow and see-through, as if they were made of mist or steam. Everyone had a light at their core, which instinct told you was…

...Their spirit. It’s pulsing with energy and life.

Some were dull and barely hanging onto life. Others were bright and vibrant, bursting with color and joy. Many were somewhere in between, balanced and average, each telling a new story, a different tale; a little girl worried about starting kindergarten, a man who was down on his luck and endlessly searching for a new job. A woman who’d just gotten engaged, a teenager wondering if he should risk punishment bringing the stray cat in his bag home. Everyone had a different story, varying concerns, sadness and joys.

But there was one in particular that was a conundrum. It wasn’t necessarily good, or bad, or anything like the others: what it was was pure and vivid beyond belief. It was almost blinding, but...there was a film around it, choking out the light. A ball of white light encased in a mist of thick, gray fog. The demons were eyeing it like a rare delicacy they’d been deprived of for years…

And it was emanating from a young girl, who couldn’t be any younger than you.

And then you’d gasped, because that’s when you realized what they were. Demons. Monsters. Vile creatures targeting humankind. There were two of them-- the well-dressed boys from before. But they’d changed now, those innocent young men long gone, left behind to shadows and ancient rust. Their true appearance...or whatever this was...was too terrible to describe. It was worse than any horror movie you’d been forced into seeing.

The thing that made it worse was that it wasn’t a horror movie. This was real.

The scream in your throat had long dissipated into empty gapping and heavy realization, and it was at this point Johnny must have decided he wasn’t very good at first impressions other than the whole making-you-feel-safe-with-a-simple-handshake-and-being-within-eyesight, because the next thing you knew he’d spun you around to face him, a sympathetic smile on his face.

“Sorry you had to see that so soon. But we’re running out of time and I know how brave you really are. I thought it’d be easier if we tackled the first milestone a little early, crash course style.”

What…?

But then he’d swiveled you back around, and everything was back to normal. The crowds, the noise, the gothic-themed advertisements. The blood-painted sky, the dark clouds, the vessels and auras and demonic dark blobs that you couldn’t get past describing-- they’d all gone, and two cheerfully sly salesmen remained, making it rain tickets and creatively crafted flyers left and right.

“What...What was that?!” You demanded, anxiety blooming late in your chest. Screw feeling safe, that was still terrifying as heck! Surely you’d fallen asleep at work and were just overtired...right? Right…? 

Maybe this was all just a dream. You’d fallen asleep at your desk again, and any minute now your coworker Chenle would be batting you with a rolled-up newspaper or gently shaking you awake if he knew you’d really had a hard day, or-- er-- and-- 

“Th-The lights and the shadowy blobs and- and all the noise just disappeared, it was so quiet, and those two--” You shivered, taking a step back and bumping into Johnny, who held you firm. “Those two...they’re...they were…”

You were beginning to hyperventilate. The man behind you sighed. “I know.” He gave your shoulders a slight squeeze, and you felt that soothing impression run over you once more, helping your breaths to relax, your pulse slowing to a steady, normal thump. “It’s exactly as you saw it. Each sphere of light is someone’s spirit encased in their aura.”

“Their...aura?” The frick was he talking about?!

“Yeah. Like I said, we’re pressed for time here, so try to keep up. A lot of people think they’re one in the same, but they’re not. Your aura is tied into your emotions, both on the surface and buried in your subconscious. It’s the bridge that connects the two. They can be manipulated at will by many factors…” His eyes landed heavily on the two demonic creatures disguised as charming young stagehands now maneuvering their way through the crowd to pass out tickets faster and with more demand than voluntary. “...But it is seperate from the spirit. Your spirit is your lifesource. It’s who you are and what defines you. Auras can easily change, but the spirit is something that takes a lot more elbow grease and determination to turn.”

“......” You hadn’t been sure what to do. What to say. You were practically speechless.

So instead you tilted your head back and asked the only thing on your mind. 

“Johnny…who are you?”

He’d only looked down on you with another guarded smile. “You’re about to find out. First, I have a job for you.”

“What? Job?” You frowned. “I’m sorry but, hold on a sec.” You pushed yourself away, but not too far, wanting just the right amount of distance from Tuxedo Mask and the Dark Kingdom not far off. “Listen, I don’t even know you, you just appeared out of nowhere and started showing me all this weird and scary stuff, and preaching to me about heavy topics, and now you want me to perform some...job?” ...You shuddered at the way it’d come out, how it all sounded. Perish the thought.

Johnny, however, remained as calm and nearly stoic as he had been this entire time, puffing his straying locks away from his face and shoving slender fingers into his coat pockets like some cool P.I. Detective...or quite possibly, Tuxedo Mask. Which is how you were slowly beginning to see him. “Perform...ironic.” His eyes flicked over to the girl with the white as snow soul, then back over to the young men (who you were just about dang near positive weren’t really men at this point), making their rounds through the continuously enlarging masses. 

The square was steadily growing more and more crowded, forcing you to close the small amount of distance you’d managed to create between you and Johnny. Suddenly one of them, who had secretly been eyeing Snow White this whole time, took off and seemingly disappeared a moment before popping back up right in front of her, engaging her and her friend in conversation. 

Meanwhile, Johnny gestured almost bluntly toward the other one, a boy with cherry red hair and fox-like features. “I want you to get yourself a ticket to the carnival.”

“You want...wha?”

It took you a minute to register those words, standing there staring off into space. But before you knew it, a spontaneous gust of gentle wind was literally pushing you into the crowd you’d previously been trying to get around and away from, thus ending the fleeting hope of sitting at home with that delicious, delectable, slowly aging BLT.

“Don’t worry, I’m with you,” the wind whispered...yeah, whispered. It spoke to you, in Johnny’s voice. You weren’t sure if that was meant to comfort you or just...creep you out that much more…not to mention you were apparently the only one that heard it.

...But you guessed you felt a little better knowing Johnny was secretly beside you-- if that really was him-- ...Wait, Johnny…?

The gust of wind that’d stolen Johnny’s voice dropped you off in a small opening a few feet away from a dark red-haired boy with a sly grin and some of the most charming dimples you’d ever seen on such an equally attractive boy, but...no, no. You weren’t going to get swept up in that. Not when you knew the truth. Something was very wrong with this picture, other than the fact this boy was actually a demon of some sort, and you suddenly (by some influence not entirely of your own) had a need to get to the bottom of it.

In the name of the Moon™, I’m onto you.

Your mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened, slightly, taking a step forward.

A new wave of ecstatic carnival-enthusiasts cut you off, swarming the young boy and begging him for tickets, lowkey sending you flying. Ouch. You crossed your arms, a huff of impatience leaving your chest--

And then it was like you blinked, and they were gone, and suddenly the boy was before you. Grinning like the Cheshire Cat. What the…?

But for a wavering moment, just one short second, you could have sworn that something passed over him. Something that had been foreign to him for many years, and had just then, for the slightest of moments, climbed back up to the surface and gotten its first breath of air in what had to be a very long time.

It was fear. Uncertainty. Caution. Insecurity...and it rippled over him like a small pebble dropped into a forgotten spring.

But it had faded and crawled back into its cradle just as quickly as it had come. “...Hello there~” the boy greeted, and the moment he spoke you felt a xylophone being played against your spine. His chords were sweet as honey, playing a siren’s tune. It made the hairs on your neck stand firm. “Are you curious about the carnival as well?”

“......” You’d time-lapsed backwards into gaping-fish mode. All your instincts were screaming at you to run away, scram, scat, get out of there and as far away from this boy, from his accomplice, from everything that had to do with the word carnival as possible, but instead, this happened:

“Um, yeah. Just one, please.”

~ ☽✮☾ ~

...And that’s how you’d ended up here, in a twisted back walkway of the infamous and appropriately titled Twisted Karnival, with what you’d soon found out to be your temporarily self-appointed guardian angel, Johnny, at your side. Because get this: he really was an angel. No, really. Wings and all. He apparently didn’t care to show them much, though…more on that later, it was besides the point. You were here, now, with Johnny, in a demon-run carnival that was all a scam to steal people’s souls for who knows what, and apparently, as Johnny had told you when you finally had managed to make it home and finish off that deliciously awaiting BLT, it was up to you to stop them.

That’s right: you. Y-o-u. A human girl that had absolutely NO connection to ANY of this shenanigans until now and would much rather be laughing at the corny overexaggerated jokes of your favorite night time sitcom but were instead standing in what was literally hell on earth.

Your eyes glanced down to the pendant nuzzled between your fingers. A gift from Johnny that he’d basically thrown at you on the way over and almost poked your eye out. Apparently, it was supposed to protect you, and so far it hadn’t done a bad job, you’d admit: “As long as you have it on you,” he’d said as the two of you skulked about the festival grounds, “They won’t be able to see you from a specified distance. The higher ranking the demon, the less effective it is. But get within three feet of any of them, and it’s game over.”

“What about you?” You’d asked, worriedly tossing glances left and right. This carnival was definitely haunted, or infested with some kind of bad juju.

He’d only smiled in return. (He did a lot of smiling for a guy so seemingly serious.)

“Don’t worry about me. They can only see me if I let them...or if I run out of juice. But don’t worry about that right now. Focus on the mission.”

...Sigh. So here you were, at last, staring into an evil tent at an evil ritual happening on evil grounds. Fun.

“Johnny,” you mumbled, gazing sadly back into the dim-auraed tent. “This necklace...you said three feet, right?”

“Yeah.” He glanced at you, then back into the tent as well. “But I told you not to worry too much about it. Even if they do spot you, they won’t be able to touch you so long as you have it touching some part of your body. ...That’s really important, okay? Your pocket won’t work, a small part of it has to make contact with your skin. I’ll say it one more time, for good measure--”

“Don’t. I heard you the first time…”

Geez. Don’t worry, don’t worry. He sure did say that a lot.

“I got it already, just get to the point on what it is that I have to do with any of this. You never explained why it has to be me or why I’m here. Also, shouldn’t we be helping her right now?!”

“...No. Listen to me, be careful to never take that necklace off--”

“What do you mean no?! Are you kidding me right now?!?”

“Shhh!” He pulled the two of you down for the count of twenty rapidly-pacing heartbeats, then slowly back up when he’d deemed the coast to be clear.

Be careful, be careful… Ugh. Your questioning brow gave away your deposition as your thoughts trailed off, peering annoyed and worriedly back at nine handsome men surrounding a helpless injured young woman. “...Why would I do a dumb thing like that?” you asked, countering the previous topic. “Are you kidding me? I don’t have a death wish--”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” His face grew sad and melancholy despite the gentle smile he wore for you. At least 80% of the past few hours, anyway. “Demons are crafty. They’re clever. Though they can’t remove it themselves, they’ll find ways to convince you to do it, to expose yourself to them from the inside. They’ll get in your head and manipulate your heart. It happens all the time…it’s what they’re good at.” He scoffed a bit, nodding to the youngest boy in the circle. “That’s what happened to him.”

“What? Wait, the blob-- I mean, boy...who gave me a ticket?”

You pondered curiously at the red-headed kid with fox-like features. You didn’t know his name, so you’d decided to dub him as Cherry Boy for now. Creative, yes.

“Yeah.” Johnny shifted his weight to one side, inclining his head just slightly. “Not all demons are born demons. A lot of them were once human, or...something else.”

A heavier sadness filled his eyes, a painful memory taking place beyond them. You didn’t like the way he’d said “something else”... You started to reach out for his hand, yet decided against it. You still didn’t know him that well. 

You’d try to pry the truth out of him, gently. “Like...what?” you pressed softly.

He took a hefty breath, taking his time to single out two more of the demons you’d soon have the joy of getting to know. All in good time. “That one…and that one, over there.”

“Wait...the...tiger guy? And Freckles?” Your lips pursed. “What about them? They weren’t human?”

Johnny shook his head. “They, uh…” There was an uncomfortably long pause. His next words were so quiet, you really had to strain your ears to hear them, despite the fact he was right beside you: “...fell.”

“...Fell?”

It rolled off your tongue like a stone. Johnny began to sweat. “...From grace. They fell from grace.” He rubbed the back of his neck with equal discomfort. “It’s not something I enjoy talking about. Basically, they were tricked and dragged down to earth and…” he swallowed. “Well, one was dragged, but he’d made the mistake of giving his consent beforehand. He was fooled into a false contact. The other, he was simply fooled into coming down willingly, by use of twisted words. When the song played...it was over.”

Song? There was music? … 

…A swaying sickness of dread rushed past along the seasonal breeze. “So...you...knew them…?”

There was no answer for a long time. Johnny cleared his throat to break the uncomfortable silence, once the situation inside was beginning to look grim. Like it hadn’t already. 

“...Sort of. We were never close, being in different factions and all.”

“Factions?”

“Never mind that. You ask too many questions.” He nodded once more. “Look.”

You turned your head to peek back inside at one of the many sights you wished you could avoid and forget about entirely. (But alas, there was no way that was happening.) The girl with the white soul was now screaming in agony, and the strings that had previously been attached to her by the boys (...men? Demons?) were glowing red, then a bright, crystal blue…

And then you just knew. It was impossible to miss.

She was gone. 

The ringleader of the troupe, who the others had called Chan, paced closer to the girl, tucking a finger beneath her chin and lifting her drooping head gently, with such twistedly sickening love and care that was the largest paradox of the century-- how could it be both so loving, yet so dark?-- and dragged it carefully upward, caressing her face. His voice was as soft as silk.

“My little puppet, are you okay?”

You wanted to throw up and pass out right then and there, but Johnny held you firm again, sending his soothing pulses of comfort and security to steady you (and honestly, what a great power to have). You didn’t like it when the leader spoke. It was too...something. Just too much; it reminded you of fairytales like Snow White and Red Riding Hood, where a witch or a wolf or whoever would speak so sweetly, so kindly, and yet tear the other characters apart, ripping the rug out from under them and dragging up their virtues from the inside out. Just as Johnny had said. You could see how anyone could get lost in the distorted forest it was so easily...

A twisted grin appeared on the face of the Snow-White girl, a cacophony of psychotic laughter leaving her rose-tinted lips.

“Yes, Master Chan. I am perfectly fine.”

You shuddered at those words. It was all you could take. 

You didn’t know what came over you next, but there were suddenly twenty-seven different emotions flooding through your veins, hyping you up and tearing you down all at once. And you’d already had your time of the month last week, so that definitely wasn’t it. 

Was this it? Were you finally transforming into the Sailor Guardian Johnny had made you out to be? You wanted nothing more than to run in there, tell all those demonic freakshows what they could do with their fancy clothes and beautiful but terrifying faces, and make a 180 to the nearest hospital with the girl in tow. 

...You also wanted to turn around and run for the hills alone, with Johnny perhaps, never stepping foot on demonic carnival soil ever again. And, you also kinda wanted to puke; which you almost did, again, but thankfully Johnny whipped up some more of whatever calming magic he’d been pumping you full of almost the entire time you were here, and that chased off the sickness for another while. The two of you stepped away from the tent, Johnny assisting you to fresh (only-partially tainted) air.

“...S-So, let me get this straight…” You shook all the goosebumps out, holding your head high and proud now that you had a bit more distance between certain death and crazytown. “You want me-- me-- a normal [high school/college] girl, to go in there and...what, take down the demons? Are you serious? Is this really happening? What the heck am I supposed to do, threaten to call the police? Throw a sucker punch and hope it lands and I don’t get killed or possessed?! ...Don’t they write fantasy books and fanfiction about this kind of crap?” You sighed. “There’s no way I can--”

“Hush,” Johnny instructed, looking a bit nervously toward the terrifying mass inside. You were speaking too loudly again. “You can and you will. I didn’t just choose you at random, all of this was planned by a greater power upstairs.”

“Greater…?” ...You squinted your eyes in suspicion. “Are you talking about--”

“Most likely, yes, that’d be the one,” he winked. “Actually, my boss sent me. I sorta picked you out last minute, but you have a pure heart, and your soul is good too. You have what it takes, as long as you keep your guard up and follow my instructions, we can and will take these guys out.” He gave a thumbs up. “Sound good?”

Sound good?! ...Oh, yes. Risking my life in an insane zero-chance scenario sounds right up my alley, bro man! Sign me up!

You let out a frustrated groan, beginning to pull and mess with your hair, and Johnny once again shushed you and peered around in a tizzy. “But...I don’t even know what to do!” You put your foot down. “I can’t fight! And I...I don’t wanna hurt anyone.”

That last part had come out pretty weak. Johnny scoffed. “You don’t wanna hurt demons?” He rolled his eyes, scratching his head. “That’s a bit surprising.”

You scowled. He just chuckled and sighed. 

“Relax. You’re not totally obliterating them.” He smiled, and the next words he spoke actually brought music to your ears...sort of. Good music. 

“You’re going to save them.”

“I’m...huh?!”

“Look.” He leaned against a smaller tent behind him, making himself rather comfortable for the case scenario, and your mind suddenly wandered back to that girl inside the main tent. Was this really the time to be having an idle-- semi-kinda-serious-- chat? “I’m sorry I can’t be with you the entire time. Unfortunately that would get in the way of a lot of character development. But I’ll always be nearby.”

“Character...who...wha? ...” Your hands covered your face a moment, to which you sighed heavily into before holding them out before you. “Johnny, okay, hold on--” 

“Here,” he said, tossing something shiny into the air. You caught it unexpectedly, nearly dropping it a few times as it almost slipped through careless fingers. You stared at it hard and skeptically.

“What...is this?”

It was some kind of...whistle? “Blow into that when you need help, and I’ll come to you. But only if it’s a real emergency; it’s not a toy, yeah?”

“......” You beheld him with dumbfounded incredibility, face remaining stoic in blank confusion. “...So it’s like...a dog whistle?” You blinked. “You’re my dog now?”

“Ahem,” He coughed, clearing his throat. “...I’d prefer if you didn’t call it that, but, ...yeah, I guess. Essentially. I guess that’s an accurate analogy.”

“...No way.” The whistle went flying over your shoulder as you turned your back, beginning to take the first few much needed steps out of looney-toon central toward the safety of home. In the direction you thought was homebound. “This is insane. I can’t do it. I’m going to a payphone or home or someplace I can get a signal and calling 911--”

...But of course, a six foot wall had to ruin your dramatic and much needed escape. “Hold on…” Tuxedo Mask sighed. “Look, I won’t stop you again if you really want to go, okay? But if you do, these guys are going to continue running around rampat and steal away thousands of more innocent lives. And that girl will never be the same ever again.”

The scowl you sent him actually made him flinch a bit, though he held his ground nonetheless. “Then why don’t you and all the other angels and heavenly powers do something about it!?”

“SHHH!” Covering your mouth, he looked left, then right before releasing you, gritting his teeth in anger. “...Because...dang it, we can’t, okay?” 

...He can’t?

“Why not?”

“......” He ran a troubled hand through his neatly groomed hair. “...I mean, we can, but...we’re not allowed to influence freewill or get involved without human intervention. That’s you. It’s complicated, okay? Just...please.”

...W h a t ?

You didn’t understand any of this. He was giving you the most heartbreaking gaze anyone had ever managed to pull off on the face of the planet; like he’d just witnessed you step on a litter of puppies, or you’d taken his heart and stomped all over it and then backed over it with a steamroller, declaring that boys had cooties and you didn’t want to be infected.

“Please think about it. There’s not much time.”

“.............”

“.............”

You sighed. A long time had passed, but...every second you wasted thinking about it was a second closer to someone else’s demise, to that girl’s apparent destruction. If it wasn’t too late already.

It’s not your problem, y/n, it’s not your problem…

...Except now, it was. You’d already gotten involved just by being here, and witnessing what you had. Your conscience would never let you live that down, were you to walk away, even if it was to get the police or the fire department or an ambulance. Not if you had the power to do something about it.

 And what were any of them going to do about it, anyway? These were demons you were dealing with, not stereotypical robbers or serial killers. And even if you were just a girl...

Curse it all. DANG IT!! 😫

“...” You gulped. “...You swear you’ll protect me if I need you? And you’re not going to abandon me?”

He smiled. Yet again. “I try not to swear, but...you have my word.” He placed a hand over his heart, bowing slightly as an old-fashioned gentleman would. It was cheesy, but you couldn’t help admiring his indication and be just a bit flattered.

“And you promise I can really do this? ...Like, you...really need me for this?”

The angel’s eyes sparkled softly beneath the eerily pale moonlit atmosphere. That blood red sky hanging somewhere beneath a sheet of stars and night. “That, I can promise.” He stood up straight, readjusting his thick coat. “Boss called, said you were the one. Or, at least, you would do. I called before confronting you, to make sure.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “You mean before magically materializing beside me and scaring me half to death?”

The accursed man laughed. “Yeah, before that.”

“Hnnn…” Your eyes closed. Thought for a moment.

Then you held out your palm. “...Fine, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ll help. Just call me Buffy the...Demon Slayer,” you joked, smirking at your own dumb humor. “Sailor...Y/n? ...Ugh, just give me the stupid whistle.”

Tuxedo Mask smirked again, holding it up for you. But as soon as he placed it in your hand, something...odd happened. Other than all the chaos and oddities that had been occurring for the past however-many hours or so.

A soft, hollow “boom” echoed in the surrounding atmosphere, and you found yourself looking around wildly for any means of nuclear warfare, cringing into the rising darkness. “What the heck was that?!”

“Calm down. That was meant for you. No one else could hear it,” your new guidance counselor explained. Something almost sinister washed over him for one so...holy. “It means that the game has officially begun.”

“Game?!” You practically screeched. “I thought this was serious! What do you mean, game?”

Johnny continued to smirk. “Oh, it’s serious alright.” He adjusted his coat again, turning his back to you. “We need to get you somewhere safe for the night. DON’T worry about that girl, she’s going to be fine...for now. Eventually,” he’d cut you off. “You can start whenever, but you’re probably going to want at least an hour to adjust and come up with a strategy.”

“What?! Hold it, I still have questions I--”

A stray finger waved to you over his fleeting shoulder. “Follow me. Stay close now.”

You just stood there, gaping like a fish again. A reoccurring theme to this story, you'll soon find out. “Johnny...Johnny!”

...You’d had no choice but to follow him; and so the game had officially begun.

Boom. Game on. ✩

~ ☽✮☾ ~

[magiciaa]

Welcome to Magicia chapter 11: oh shit, Magicia is actually relevant now?

((I should probably mention that not all of the characters will actually appear in the story, I can already barely keep track of everyone as is))

“Fine, if that’s what it takes” Bronze agreed as Sock picked up Vanessa by the back of her jacket “restore”

Sock’s antennae popped back into existence on the top of her head, and the rest of the magical girls’ animal features returned as well

Meanwhile, Rapid Sprinkles was going for a walk, fidgeting with Nightmare’s transformation device shards in her pocket “why did you have to protect me, Lynn?” Sprinkles spoke to nobody in particular as she wandered into an empty and run-down subway station. “Maybe I’ll find something around here that will help, if not, I can just jump in front of a train or something”

Sprinkles walked down the tracks until coming across a beautiful underground city she didn’t even know existed. Purple lights decorated the many small shops lined up in rows as monsters walked between them, from large werewolves to tiny fairies, seemingly without a care.

“What is this place?” Sprinkles asked a young gryphon walking past “I’ve never heard of a monster city underneath the town”

“You’re in Magicia” the gryphon replied “and that’s strange, I thought all monsters knew about this place”

“Thanks” Sprinkles replied, walking away towards the shops. She stopped in front of a candy store with an old-looking sphinx running it.

“Hello, child” the sphinx said “something seems to be troubling you, why don’t you tell me over some tea”

“I don’t have any money, I’m sorry” Sprinkles apologized

“No need, child” the sphinx replied “monsters help each other out, you know”

“But I’m not a monster” Sprinkles corrected “just a useless magical girl”

“A magical girl, huh?” the sphinx replied “haven’t seen one of them down here in a long time”

“Well, most magical girls nowadays are cold-blooded murderers” Sprinkles lamented “including me”

“Did you get your friend caught by monster hunters?” the sphinx asked “I did that a fair few times in my youth”

“No, my girlfriend was killed by this piece of shit magical girl named Kitten, she was only trying to protect me” Sprinkles began crying “and it’s all my fault”

“There there, it wasn’t your fault” the sphinx pat Sprinkles on the head “what is this made of? Frosting?”

“It’s slime, don’t eat it, it’s poisonous” Sprinkles answered

“Interesting, it smells very sweet” the sphinx sniffed her paw “this could make a good candy if I could figure out how to remove the poison”

“Wait, I have an idea, how about making a box of magical girl blood candies” Sprinkles grinned “I need some serious revenge on someone, and this would be perfect”

“You aren’t planning to poison them, are you?” the sphinx asked

“Nah, they’re immune to the poison in magical girl blood, it just tastes absolutely horrible” Sprinkles answered “and I want to see the looks on their faces”

“Alright, do you mind collecting the blood for me?” the sphinx replied “if I have extras, I might have a new product for the shop”

“Like those jelly beans with the weird flavors mixed with normal ones that the humans have?” Sprinkles asked “and no problem, I can do that

“That’s a good idea” the sphinx replied “I almost forgot to introduce myself, I am Mina”

“Rapid Sprinkles” Sprinkles replied “but Alice is fine too”

“Before you go, put the blood in these” Mina handed Sprinkles a basket full of small glass jars

“Thanks” Sprinkles grabbed the basket and dashed off with inhuman speed

Sprinkles ran into the city not far from town, where she knew a lot of powerful magical girls lived. It was a large city, but super speed really comes in handy at times like this.

“Rapid Sprinkles, it’s unusual to see you without Nightmare, heard she died or something” a mad scientist looking magical girl said

“Yeah, she did…” Sprinkles sighed “but anyway, I’m here to collect some magical girl blood”

“Oh, what for?” the magical girl asked “trying to poison someone?”

“A little revenge on MG-348, that’s all” Sprinkles answered

“Hell yeah” the magical girl replied, summoning a small spear and stabbing her hand with it as Sprinkles held a jar underneath to catch the yellow-green blood

Sprinkles continued running around the city, collecting magical girl blood in the jars, organized by color, until her transformation device started ringing.

“Hello?” Sprinkles took the heart-shaped compact out of her belt and opened it to see a hologram image of Sock

“I don’t have a lot of time, but the boss is planning something, something big, and I don’t like the sound of it” Sock explained “you’ve gotta stop it, and fast, or we’re all dead, meet me at Alistair’s circus tent at midnight, I’ll explain everything there- gotta go, Sapphire found me-” The transmission cut off

“What was that about?” Sprinkles asked, going back to collecting magical girl blood

Sock leaned against a tree in the park, waiting for the idiot squad to arrive, the only light coming from her eyes and the tips of her antennae.

“Yo, I thought you were on Bronze’s side, what’s up with you still helping us?” Ace asked

“I thought it would be a good idea to have a spy” Sock answered “and it turns out I was right”

“What’s up? I brought candy!” Sprinkles walked up holding a box of magical girl blood candies

“You seem happy” Sock replied “can I have one?”

“Sure” Sprinkles grinned smugly and tossed Sock a round red candy “but this is meant as a little surprise for Bronze”

Sock popped the candy in her mouth, and her face immediately turned green “bleh, it’s spicy, what’s in this thing?”

“Magical girl blood” Sprinkles replied “a really nice sphinx lady in Magicia made them for me”

“These would be perfect to give to you-know-who” Doc added “seeing their faces would be priceless”

“That was the plan” Sprinkles replied

“Did someone say blood candies?” Alistair poked his head out of a circus tent

“You can have one, but you might regret it” Sprinkles tossed Alistair a green candy and Alistair popped it in his mouth immediately

“Oh god, why is it so sour?” Alistair spat out what was left of the candy into a nearby trash can

“It’s magical girl blood” Sprinkles laughed

“How did you even get enough blood to make this many?” Doc asked

“The city. Most of the magical girls willingly gave it when I said it was for revenge on MG-348” Sprinkles answered “seems like they hate them too”

“So what was the big thing that you called everyone here for?” PJ asked Sock

“Oh, yeah, that.” Sock answered “Bronze is trying to figure out how to upgrade transformation devices, and if she does, she’ll be invincible”

“That won’t work” Sora added “they’ll probably just end up as weird half Soul Beast things”

“A couple of the experiments have been at least semi-corrupted from it,” Sock replied “but they’re getting close, they’ve figured out how to fuse animal features and elements already”

“That’s not good” Sora replied “really not good”

“You can say that again” Doc added “but I’ve got an idea, and this time it’ll work”

[uchiuzus]

the lengths you’re willing to go to

Naruto... does not want to live forever. (1,862 words, naruto-centric introspection, sad fluff sns)

It's within natural disposition as a jinchuuriki to question one's mortality. This, Naruto knows, and every time he's been injured, he's thought: How far is too far?

There aren't exactly scores of people he can discuss this with. Even if she were alive, he's not sure his mom could give him an answer. He considers all the other jinchuuriki family, but they're always too far apart for any kind of good discussion to be held about it. The only person he can consider reliable for the topic is Gaara, and even he can't come around much (being Kazekage and all).

During one of his visits, Gaara had been very candid about it all. They're two very different people on the outside and while they'd grown up similarly, Naruto can't say he can put himself in Gaara's shoes well.

"When I was very young, I learned there was no way out."

He'd meant, they were trapped in this existence until death naturally took them or someone took the bijuu out of them. Before coming to terms with what they were, it was an exhausting, pointless existence. Gaara had explained how he thought there was no reason that someone like him should be alive. To be a cage for a weapon to a village that didn't care for him? What a nightmare.

Naruto still can't say he disagreed.

After his initial showdown with Naruto and returning to the Sand, Gaara had considered what it meant to be Kazekage. For someone like him, he'd explained, it seemed impossible; the people were terrified of him, he could just barely control Shukaku inside of him, and the legacy of his father... was a burden on him.

Gaara is extensively self-taught in self-love, and after all those years of it, he hadn't known how to love anyone else, or how to protect anyone else.

"The answer was simple after that. I didn't have to protect because of love. I could protect for protection's sake."

The rest had followed.

While Gaara had lived for himself, and then learned to live for other people, Naruto had always lived for the sake of others. He'd considered how this lead up to his current life and found that there were few things—though they were heavy enough—he regretted. Living for others had never betrayed him. He'd never even considered trying to live selfishly like Gaara had, no matter the pain others put him through.

Naruto can't remember when it was that he realized just how powerful he is. That if he wants to, he can level the entirety of the Leaf and not break a sweat. He passes people in the streets and in their faces, finds awe, reverence—and fear. He's not the only one aware of his capabilities.

But for all that he's a weapon of mass destruction, he's also just a man—boy. It still baffles him sometimes how people can't understand that; that he sheds tears and bleeds just like they do, that he hurts and fears like they do. He isn't... not human. Maybe he's not entirely human, but he definitely isn't not one. There's a middle ground for him to share with them.

The question of it all is, even though he's maybe-not-entirely-human-but-still-not-not-a-human, how much can he really be hurt? By someone else. There's been mortal injuries before—mostly by exactly one person's hand—but Naruto's walked away with nothing to show for it mere days later, with his emotional scars tucked away deeply under his skin.

He's got absolutely nothing to show for all the battles and torment he's been through: Every inch of his skin is pristine, scar free, without mar.

Is he upset about it? He's not sure. He's not mad at least, and he's grateful to Kurama for his life many times over, even if the fox only saved it out of self-preservation nine times out of ten. The problem is, it's brought about all this confusion.

Can jinchuuriki die? Yes. The answer is yes, because Gaara had died once, because other jinchuuriki had died. Naruto, though...

Naruto has never died, not even once. Not even near it. Every time he's been close, Kurama had cloaked him in blood red and took care of the rest, and after that, even when his virulent chakra had scalded Naruto's skin, there was nothing to indicate the meltdown had ever happened at all. His life is Kurama's, and Kurama isn't ready to die—Naruto's not sure he ever will be.

It's not like there are many examples to go off of: Mito Uzumaki had died of old age, and Kushina Uzumaki... Well.

So now there's Naruto Uzumaki, a boy who can be hurt, but seems invincible. Kurama likes him, so if he wanted, could he stop Naruto from dying entirely? The thought is alarming, earth-shaking. He isn't about to ask him about such a heinous thing.

Naruto... does not want to live forever. He's already lived enough for a hundred people, and to want more would be like asking for a life sentence in the most torturous part of hell. He wants...

What does he want?

He does not want to die right now because there are still too many things to do, too many jobs to finish. There's the chair of Hokage, there's the corruption of the system that produces child soldiers and carelessly leaves too many bodies behind, there's... Sasuke. And Gaara. Sakura, and Granny Tsunade. Kakashi-sensei. All of his friends.

No, it's not time to die, and it won't be for a while yet.

Naruto wants to live long enough to figure out what he truly wants out of life, and then live long enough to see those goals through. He wants to find peace as a human, as a jinchuuriki, and as a leader. He wants to live long enough to make his forebears proud, to make those who will follow proud, and to make his most important people proud. He'll have help, of course. He's never alone now, and even if, someday, everyone turns their backs on him, he knows at least one person will still stay by his side.

Now it's a matter of what'll happen after that. What will happen to this unscathed body when he's too tired to carry on? Will Kurama let him go? There's no such thing as true immortality, but if anyone could achieve it, it'd definitely be the giant, orange demon fox sealed to Naruto's insides. Gaara may think the same thing about Shukaku.

…He'd have to ask someday.

Naruto supposes it's not entirely true that he's walked away from every fight scotfree. In fact, he was very certain that all of his worrying is for no good reason—after all, Kurama could never give him his arm back. It's not like he wanted it, but doesn't that prove that when he's too tired to go on, he'll be alright? He'll be able to go free?

It's a breath of fresh air, that promise of freedom.

He closes his eyes and thinks of the one person who could give it to him. The person who saved him.

"Say, Sasuke," Naruto murmurs when they're laying on the floor in the dark. The window is open because it's hot and the curtains undulate with the night breeze.

"What is it?" Sasuke's voice comes from close next to him, and it fills the space around them and ricochets in Naruto's head. He feels dizzy.

"If I asked you to kill me, would you?"

Kurama's interest perks inside his head and he can feel it pushing against every one of his muscles. Sasuke tenses next to him, only for a moment.

"Yes." he answers moments later. The crickets are getting louder outside.

"Then I suppose you'd kill yourself, huh?" Naruto asks. Where it's supposed to be amusing, it's only pathetic and rueful instead.

"Why do you think you're so important?"

He knows Sasuke thinks the same of the question and its obvious answer: pathetic and heartbreaking.

"I wanna hear your answer." he insists. He's laying to Sasuke's left and neither of them have arms right now, so he can't hold Sasuke's hand like he wants to. "Tell me."

"...Yes." he finally responds. Naruto's heart breaks, of course.

"You shouldn't, bastard."

Sasuke snorts. "You can't ask me to live in this world without you, moron."

Kurama hates the both of them and Naruto can feel it running through every vein in his body.

"Guess not." he breathes, and wishes sweat didn't stick his shirt to his skin so uncomfortably.

"Would yo—"

"No."

"...Thought not."

"You could never ask that of me, bastard."

"Everyone thinks you're such a selfless savior, but you're actually a selfish little shit, aren't you?"

"Oh, fuck off."

Ah, he wants to hold Sasuke's hand so bad.

"You need to move to my other side, dammit."

Sasuke snorts again. "I don't want to hold your hand. It's too hot."

"Now who's the selfish one?"

"At least I'd kill you."

"You say it like it's a bad thing that I wouldn't do the same."

This kind of topic agitates Sasuke and Naruto knows it. Just as much as he can't fathom living without Sasuke, Sasuke could never live without him either. It's a... mutual fucking mess, that's what it is.

Kurama insists he'll kill both of them and be done with it. (It's a farce; Kurama would never put his life in danger—Naruto is his only lifeline at the moment.)

"The fox might not let me die, y'know."

"I'm sure I could find a way around that." Sasuke says smartly. "He has to give in eventually."

Naruto thinks on that for a moment. He does, doesn't he?

"Who would wanna live forever anyway..." he mumbles, wiping stinging sweat from his face.

There is silence for too long.

Then, Sasuke says, very quietly, "You're not ready now, are you?"

The question isn't surprising because this kind of talk isn't the norm for Naruto. He's actually very uncomfortable about it, but Sasuke is Sasuke, and if Naruto can't talk to him about it, then who?

"Nah. Not yet. Don't worry."

The floorboards shift with how Sasuke relaxes all at once, and guilt swaths through Naruto.

He rolls over and flops onto his face, groaning at the pain and how his nose bends awkwardly. His hand blindly pats around for Sasuke's torso, and when he finds it, he drags their bodies closer together.

"I swear dead last, I'll kill you right now because it's too hot for this shit."

"Sasuke," Naruto whines, tucking his face into Sasuke's shoulder, "I wanna live. Live with me."

Sasuke's chakra crackles irritably in the air, and Naruto figures maybe he does have a death wish. Sasuke's body fits nicely under his arm though, so it's worth it.

"I do live with you, moron."

"No." Naruto murmurs, and his lips move against Sasuke's skin. "Live with me."

There's no immediate reply. Then, Sasuke's hand slides over Naruto's, up his arm, and grips at his elbow, letting their bodies slot even more snugly against each other.

"So long as you'll live, I will too."

And Naruto breathes out something like respite.

I'm so fucking sick of you two. Kurama thinks.

[imbeccablee]

The Girl That I’d Kinda Be Into

Chapter Two of The Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into

Summary: Izuku’s answer.

AO3

FFN

so i’m posting this in honor of my son, Midoriya Izuku’s, birthday today. happy birthday kid, i’m sO PROUD OF YOU YOU’RE GROWING SO MUCH AND SO FAST AAAAA YOU HAVE SO MANY FRIENDS AND YOU’RE SO STRONG AND WONDERFUL AND HEROIC AND I JUST LOVE YOU SO MUCH-

ahem. sorry.

now! onwards to the fic!

—

Honestly, you’d think something like this would go away after so long. Like- it’s been two years now, Heart, maybe you wanna stop making it so hard to talk to Uraraka and train with Uraraka and just generally be around Uraraka.

The entire thing was just- frustrating to say the least, because even if Izuku wanted, he doesn’t even think he’d be able to bring himself to tell her. She’s just so focused on her goal of giving her family the comfortable life they deserve that he doesn’t even think she’d have time for him. Izuku doesn’t want to distract her from that. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

And besides, he has his own goals too. He’s determined and ready to complete them to the full of his ability. And sure, maybe he imagines her next to him whenever he thinks about the finish line, and maybe he wants her to be there every step of the way, but that doesn’t mean he has any right to just jut in on her own plans.

Izuku is perfectly content with letting his feelings just. Sit there. Yeah.

He held in a sigh as he laid his head down on the textbook in front of him. Emotions just. Suck, sometimes. Occasionally he just wants to lie down and forget they even exist because they can make focusing so hard. In the time of thinking about it and her, he’s tried to read the same English passage five times over. He still doesn’t know what it says. Glancing down, he moves his head and reads silently, “But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”

Izuku slams the book shut, leaning so far back in his chair that he almost topples backward. Ha, never mind, done with English today, he doesn’t need that in his life right now. He slides the book to the side and grabs his mathematics textbook instead. Maybe going over formulas will take his mind off of- hey is that Uraraka? Izuku deadpans to himself about how utterly helpless he is before turning to the approaching girl. She looks incredibly determined for a third-year student in the last few days of school, and Izuku feels his heart squeeze with adoration. I can’t even spare her a glance without acting up. Trying to play off the absurd thought, Izuku says cooly, “Hey Uraraka. What’s up?” She immediately deflates, turns red, and Izuku hopes vaguely that she isn’t overheating.

Her voice fills the nearly silent area and turns the heads of their classmates, “NothingheycanItalktoyouforliketwoseconds?” It takes Izuku a few moments to comprehend what she was saying. When he finally puzzles out that she wanted to talk to him, he nods and sets the textbook down. What could she want to talk about? Nothing’s wrong, right? Izuku tries to think of everything he could’ve possibly done to offend her and comes up with nothing. Unless she finds something I did mean and I don’t, these misunderstandings happen all the time; oh God what if she found out that I borrowed that one fiction book from her for a day longer than I said I would or, or maybe she remembered some offhanded comment I said about her and-and just took it the wrong way oh no oh no oh no.

She leads him outside, just a ways away from the door.

He took in a quick breath and let it out before asking her what she wanted to talk about. He hoped his anxiety wasn’t too obvious. She stumbled over her words for a few moments, seeming to not really know how to say what she wanted, before calming herself down. While she did this, Izuku forced himself to relax as well. It probably isn’t as bad as he thinks it is. Maybe it isn’t Uraraka saying that she’s realized her mistake in befriending and never wants to see Izuku again ever. Maybe nothing’s wrong at all. After all, taking in the nearly-setting sun and the cherry blossoms blowing across the courtyard, what this scene really looks like is not a breaking of a friendship but a love… confession…

The thought makes this little pin prick of hope drip into his heart before he brushes the thought away. No, it can’t be. It’s impossible. There’s no way she’s going to c… confess to you or whatever. This is just your pining talking.

“So. Um. I just need. Some. Ad…vice… yes… Advice! Yeah!”

Izuku slouches before he can stop himself and berates himself on even thinking that she could be confessing. “Oh, okay. What about?” He hopes he doesn’t sound disappointed.

“Uh. I mean. Um,” she starts out before coughing into her fist. “So, uh, say there’s this guy that you’ve kinda known for a while.” Izuku’s heart flies into his throat and there’s this fluttery feeling in his chest. “You, uh, see him all the time and you. Talk. A lot with him every day.” Uraraka fidgets, going from leaning her weight from one foot to the other and glancing everywhere but at Izuku. Izuku can feel his heart beating against his rib cage. Oh please let it be so. “And like, you’re kinda. Used to thinking about him a certain way and then suddenly it’s like ‘boom!’,” she mimics an explosion with her hands and bounces a bit, and the heart that is still in Izuku’s throat squeezes tight, “everything’s different and he went from a guy that you’d never be into, into a guy that you’d… kinda… be into…” She trailed off, looking down at her bare feet again. “I guess. Um. I guess what I’m asking is, uh, is… he worth it?”

Izuku felt like his heart was going to give out. There’s only been a few other times he’s felt like this, the first being when All Might first told him he could be a hero. Except this time he didn’t feel like crying. He felt like singing, dancing, jumping off the walls. God if only it could be him. Please let it be him she’s talking about.

After another beat of silence, Izuku realizes he still hasn’t responded and quickly forms a response. “Um, haha, uh? M-Maybe? I guess it depends on if, uh. You’re certain? About what you feel? Also, that, um, you know you’d be able to make it work, since, y’know, you’re gonna be a great hero and all.” He just wants her to be happy and if going after this mystery person—God please let it be him—then he’ll encourage her to do it, no matter what.

Uraraka agreed and thanked him. Then they’re left in silence.

Okay, okay, calm down, think a bit. It’s possible she isn’t talking about you. She could be talking about Tenya, o-or Kacchan, o-or, uh… Sh… Shouto? Nah, they’re not that close, but still. Hell, it might even be Tsuyu! Girls can like other girls! She might be using ‘guy’ as a barrier just in case I freak out about… that! So it might not be you. It’s um. Possible, but not like. Y’know. Certain. Izuku took another breath.

“Um. Wh-Who is this, uh, guy that you like? If you don’t mind me asking.” Uraraka looked like she might’ve thrown up and Izuku immediately regretted asking her. Why would she want to share that information? Sure, she came to him for advice, but something like this is private, even for your best friend.

Uraraka hesitatingly stammers out that that is certainly a good question, and Izuku winces. Yeah, of course she doesn’t wanna say, what were you thinking Izuku? He waved his hands in front of him to tell her that it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t any of his business anyway, and he let her know as such.

Still, she insisted that it was alright to tell him, just that she was surprised. Izuku seriously doubts that and he mentally hits himself for pushing. This is her own private matter. Sure, you’re her friend and will be there for her always, but that doesn’t mean she has to spill every single little detail about her life to you! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Uraraka took a breath, “The… guy that I’d kinda be into…” She trailed off and looked contemplative, like she was debating whether or not she should really say. You don’t have to.

Despite his thoughts, Izuku said slowly, “The… guy that you’d kinda be into…”

Uraraka smiled and let out a small laugh. “Yeah, the guy that I’d kinda be into… is…” She let in and out a breath, then looked at him. “You.”

And there it was. He had barely allowed himself to hope even if he insisted that it was impossible. She had said that she had known this guy for so long- that could be anyone in their class- hell, it could be anyone in general! Some dude she knew from middle school or-or maybe a next door neighbor or something. But it was him. She was talking about him. Midoriya Izuku. Not Tenya, or Kacchan, or Tsuyu, or anyone else. Him. It left him speechless, because that’s what happens when the girl you’ve been pining after since she suckerpunched some thug three times her size in the beginning of your second year confesses to being kinda into you. And it felt great. Izuku doesn’t remember ever feeling this light and airy. He felt invincible.

“M-Me?” he stammers out. “Like, actually? Y-You were talking about me?” If only he could communicate that.

Uraraka nodded, having turned her bright red face downwards in her embarrassment.

What does he do now? Just tell her he feels the same? Is that how these surprising mutual confessions go?

Before he can get his thoughts together, Uraraka speaks once again, “Y-You don’t have to, like, like me back, or whatever. I just- with us graduating soon and the class splitting up to become Pros, I just… didn’t want to leave these feelings, I dunno, unaddressed? I thought you-you had a right to know and I still want to be friends if you’ll let me.”

“Oh yeah, yeah, I totally get it, no,” Izuku said. Come on you idiot, tell her! Just say it! She literally just told you she liked you, there is no way this could possibly go wrong!

“Well, uh, great!” Uraraka responded, her smile looking more like a grimace. “Anyway, that’s all that I wanted to say, so we can go back inside and just, hah, pretend like this never happened.” Her head tilted downward again, her bangs casting shadows over her eyes and she began to march back to the dorms with her hands clenched into fists at her side.

As she passed him, Izuku turned and threw his hand out, grabbing her wrist. “Wait, Uraraka-”

“No seriously,” she cut him off, stopping immediately but not looking at him. “It’s fine if you don’t feel the same, you don’t have to feel bad or anything.”

“But-”

“I’ve already resigned and consoled myself already so it’s not a big deal-”

“I like you too!”

Uraraka turned around so fast that she blurred for a moment. She stared wide-eyed at Izuku, who was looking at the ground to the left of her. It was so weird to be able to just shout out one of the many secrets Izuku had been keeping. His heart was beating hard against his ribcage once again and even though he knew the feelings were mutual, it still left him buzzing with anxiety over her answer.

“Wh-What?” She responded, utterly at a loss for words. She smiled shakily, her confusion obvious. “What are you saying? … You like me, too? How is that even…?”

Breathing out a laugh, Izuku said, “Yeah, that’s what I felt when you said the same thing.” His eyes flashed between her and the ground next to her and his face took up a red hue that rivaled his favored shoes. Figuring she wasn’t going to run away, Izuku let his hand slide away from her wrist. He brought it up to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

They were silent for a spell, Uraraka seemingly needing to process the sudden mutual confession and Izuku just wishing she would say something. It took a soft sniffle to bring Izuku’s eyes up from the ground and he found that the girl had tears dripping from her eyes.

Shocked, he could only sputter out a baffled, “Uraraka?!”

Uraraka quickly wiped at her cheeks and eyes, huffing out a few laughs. “I-I’m sorry, I just- I’ve been keeping these feelings contained for so long and I had just-just assumed they were one-sided and hearing that they aren’t is-is mind-boggling because you’re just so awesome and brave and heroic and cool and cute and just- everything I’ve ever wanted to be. God, I just-” She launched herself at Izuku and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. “I’ve never been so happy!”

Izuku could only return the hug, reeling from the onslaught of praise and feeling the familiar sting of tears coming to his own eyes. As if he hadn’t had the same thoughts either! And she’s even calling him brave after she had gathered up the courage to confess to him! He could only spit it out because he knew she felt the same!

Izuku clutched her tighter. He felt similarly to the way he did when he realized his feelings after that one fight that he’d recalled earlier. The way he seen that criminal drop unconscious, and then seen her land on her feet, a determined frown on her face as she raced to the next criminal, and then thinking, God, I love her before being swept up in the chaos that is fighting, and only remembering later that night what he had thought. And though he had been embarrassed and couldn’t face her for a good two days, he had felt warm on the inside and he knew that there was nobody else in the world he’d rather be in love with than her.

A sudden burst of affection spread through him at the memory and he pulled away from the hug suddenly, a need to show her how he feels enveloping his very being. With a confused “Deku?” from her, Izuku cupped Uraraka’s face and kissed her.

His heart swelled with endearment for the girl in front of him that it almost hurt. He felt her kiss him back, an arm wrapping around his torso and both hands grabbing at his shirt, and he felt he could sing. He felt like he could topple mountains, level forests, tame seas! Who would have thought the greatest power up in the world was not some quirk or drug, but love.

Even Izuku is disgusted with how sentimental that thought was and swept it away as he pulled away from Uraraka. Their eyes fluttered open at the same time, both dazed and flushed red. Their eyes focused and both of them lent forward until their foreheads touched, letting small giggles escape their lips at how silly the both of them had been the past few years.

“Hey Deku?” Uraraka said after their mirth had died down. “I like you.”

Izuku smiled at her, eyes filled with such adoration that it nearly took her breath away. “Hey Uraraka? I like you, too.”

“God it’s about time!”

The two jumped away from each other at the sudden intrusion and they turned to see that their whole class was at the entrance of their dorms, watching their whole personal scene happening.

“What the-!”

“How long have you guys been standing there!”

Ashido tsked while moving her finger back and forth. “You should know better, Ochako, than to just scream that you want to talk to Midoriya alone and not expect all of us to eavesdrop.”

“Also it’s not like we were being quiet,” Kirishima said. “Ashido and Hagekure were, like, actually screaming. They were louder than Present Mic on a good day.”

“Hehe, yeah, plus how could we not get hyped about this?” Hagekure chimed in. “Like, this whole setting just screams ‘confession’! One of the class’s OTPs was finally getting together! I don’t think I’ve been this excited since Kirishima and Bakugou got together, or when Mineta was finally expelled!”

Everyone seemed to agree with her, with a few exceptions that should be the obvious ones. (Though everyone was, to some degree, happy that Mineta had been removed from the hero course).

“Okay so we finally got them to notice us, let’s go back inside so they can have an actual moment to themselves,” Shinsou said in his usual monotone and waved his hands at the rest of his class in a shooing motion, and while some complained, they all filed back into the common room without much hassle. Shinsou then shot Izuku a neutral-faced thumbs up before following his classmates in.

Izuku and Uraraka deadpanned as their class disappeared behind the doors of the dorms, then chuckled. “We have great friends, don’t we, Deku?” Uraraka said fondly, looking up at him with an actual smile this time.

Izuku nodded. “Yeah. Even if they don’t know the meaning of ‘privacy.’” Uraraka giggled.

After a moment of content silence, she piped up again, “Hey so does this mean we’re dating?”

Izuku startled. “Dating!”

She nodded seriously. “Yeah, I mean, we just said that we liked each other and we kissed and that’s not really something friends do, so…”

“W-Well, I mean, yeah, I guess, i-if you want to…” Izuku progressively got quieter as he spoke. He looked down at his feet, cheeks once again pink with embarrassment.

Uraraka snickered at how cute he was and grasped his hand. “Then it’s official! We’re dating now!” She threw her free hand into the air. “Plus Ultra!”

“I-Is this really a ‘Plus Ultra’ moment?”

“Plus Ultra!” She said again with more conviction, this time with distant cries that came from inside the building.

Izuku huffed out a sigh and laughed, throwing his own free fist into the air and joined his girlfriend and classmates, yelling into the air, “Plus Ultra!!”

—

Bonus (crack-esque): Eri peered over the couch as the class that had made themselves her family came walking back in, some talking excitedly about how ‘their ship has sailed’ and that ‘there’s only a few more to go’ before the ‘wars can finally end’. Eri pulled on Big Bro Denki’s shirt. “What are they talking about? Ships? Wars? What happened?”

Big Bro Denki laughed. “Ah, it’s just a saying, lil sis. We’re all just pumped that Midoriya and Uraraka finally admitted they liked each other.”

Eri tilted her head in confusion. “But… I thought mama and papa were already together…?”

Big Bro Denki nodded. “Yeah, it seemed like that. Honestly they basically were. But now it’s official. Now they can really be your mom and dad.”

Eri frowned in thought. What did that mean? ‘Really be her mom and dad’? What could that possibly… Eri gasped. “Can I be the flower-girl at their wedding!!” she cried loud enough for the whole class to silence their shipping discourse and turn to the little girl.

A beat passed and they all laughed. Eri’s big sisters and Big Bros Eijirou, Denki, and Hanta all came over and cuddled her and pat her head. “Of course you can, lil sis!” Big Bro Eijirou literally cried. “You’ll be the cutest darn flower-girl there ever was!”

Eri’s eyes lit up like stars and she cheered happily. “The best! The best!”

“I say this causes for officiality!” Big Bro Yuuga exclaimed from his place across the table. “Midoriya and Uraraka’s wedding will be the most extravagant event this school has ever seen!”

“Hel-eeeeeck yeah!” Big Bro Eijirou shouted. He gave a knowing look to his peers. “It’ll go beyond!”

The rest of the class smiled and they all shouted the school motto, “Plus Ultra!!!”

—

so yes this is a ‘Mineta is expelled and Shinsou takes his place’ au cuz it is The Best au out there. and alSO YES BAKUSHIMA/KIRIBAKU IS CANON HERE. also #3, Eri finding a family in class a is like literally my Shit man, so of course I’d add it here and she is going to be the cUTEST flower girl in the entire damn universe OKAY

anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this thrilling sequel to The Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into and I’ll see you all in the next fic!

Go beyond! Plus Ultra!!!

[thesassybooskter]

ROOM TO BREATHE by Liz Talley: Feature, Excerpt & Giveaway

NOW AVAILABLE / MONTLAKE ROMANCE

For a good part of Daphne Witt’s life, she was a supportive wife and dutiful mother. Now that she’s divorced and her daughter, Ellery, is all grown up, Daphne’s celebrating the best part of her life, a successful career, and a flirtation with an attentive hunk fifteen years her junior . . . who happens to be her daughter’s ex-boyfriend.

Ellery is starting over, too. She’s fresh out of college. Her job prospects are dim. And to support her fiancé in med school, she’s returned home as her mother’s new assistant. Ellery never expected her own life plan to take such a detour. With no outlet for her frustration, she lets an online flirtation go a little too far, especially considering her pen pal thinks he’s corresponding with her mother.

As love lives tangle, secrets spill, and indiscretions are betrayed, mother and daughter will have a lot to learn—not only about the mistakes they’ve made but also about the men in their lives and the women they are each hoping to become.

Buy Online: Amazon | Add to Goodreads

    From the Author: Starting and Starting Over in Room To Breathe by Liz Talley

Room to Breathe is a story of two southern women at very different stages in their lives who are experiencing the same sense of “starting over.” Daphne Witt is weeks from turning forty, in a career that she never expected, and ready to start dating after a divorce. Her daughter Ellery is essentially untested in the world. Young, beautiful, accustomed to everything going her way, Ellery finds herself with a less than dazzling job, a distracted fiancé and, for the first time ever, doubts about who she is and where she’s going. When the novel begins, we find Daphne dealing with an awakened libido she thought long dead, and Ellery struggling to accept working for her mother and living with a fiancé who has little time for her. Both women redirect their dissatisfaction toward secret desires – Daphne for a much younger contractor, and Ellery for a secret email pal who thinks she’s her mother. Like the vines of a vineyard, things get tangled quickly by decisions that not only threaten the fragile mother-daughter relationship, but each woman’s future.

One thing I really like about Daphne is her self-awareness. She’s been content to stand in the wings while everyone else in her life commandeered the spotlight, but now she’s ready to take her turn on the stage. She’s bumbled into a dream she never knew existed as a children’s author, and she’s really good at what she does and becomes an overnight success. But her family, even her ex-husband, can’t seem to let go of the woman she once was. They want the old Daphne, the one who put everyone else before herself. I intentionally gave Daphne a secret crush on a younger man and had her pay attention to her sexuality. Women of a certain age are often set aside, as if their “ sexiness” has a shelf life. I wanted Daphne awakened to the fact that as a woman entering her forties, she still needed intimacy and affection. I wanted her to struggle with the guilt, be tempted, and have a little fun with someone…young enough to date her daughter.

Ellery is the girl I once was. I remember being invincible, tossing my curls over my shoulder as a flounced around in my cheerleading skirt. The world was about me and what I wanted, what I thought I deserved. I wasn’t a bad person, but I do remember my brother once bringing my requested shoes on a throw pillow, bowing, and saying “your slippers, my lady.” I led a charmed life…until life punched me in the face. It has a tendency to do that in your mid-twenties when you find out (gasp!) the world doesn’t revolve around you. So I wanted to take a princess, toss her in the mud, and see what happened. Ellery isn’t always likable, but she’s authentic. And by the end of the book, she sees her mother as a person and not just her mother. Both Ellery and Daphne have a big growth arc in this book.

Room to Breathe has secrets, twists, bad decisions, surprises, and angst, yet it also has humor, heat, and heart tugs. I love the guys in the book – Clay (the hot contractor), Gage (Ellery’s surprise crush) and Evan (the vineyard owner) and I really like the interactions between Ellery and Daphne. I think readers will recognize themselves most in Daphne, but they’ll also remember how hard it is standing on one’s own two feet as Ellery must do. I’m proud of this book about letting go and taking the lemons that life hands you, tossing them, and pouring a glass of wine. Cheers to all the women who aren’t afraid to start over and create their own new paths!

    Excerpt

“What are you trying to say?” Daphne asked. Ellery always tried to get her to go to exercise classes, but Daphne preferred running most days. Organized classes had never appealed to her. Exercise was her escape, a time she could jab in her earbuds and listen to podcasts or a book that didn’t feature poodles and tea parties.

“That you isolate yourself out here. Hanging out with Pop Pop and Tippy Lou isn’t exactly being social. You can make friends in these classes, plus use muscles you never knew you had.” Ellery rose and smoothed the T-shirt swing top she wore over a pair of ripped boyfriend jeans. Several strands of delicate gold chain were layered around her neck. Her daughter somehow managed to look stylish and trendy in sloppy clothes. Daphne always looked . . . well, sloppy in sloppy clothes.

“Maybe,” she conceded, only because her daughter was unfortunately correct. She enjoyed visiting her father and playing dominoes with his friends, even if they were out of her age range. And her neighbor Tippy Lou Carmichael, while delightfully droll and enigmatic to the point of oddness, wasn’t going to go shopping with her or out to drinks. Tippy Lou preferred herbal tea on her front porch while she watched the feral cats she fed every morning chase lizards and laze about in her garden.

Daphne had always been the type of person to have only a few close friends. Though she’d cultivated friendships with many of the other teachers at Saint Peter’s Day School, where she’d worked as a teacher’s aide for fifteen years before staying home to write, she’d never been good at being social. She had church friends, a book club, and knew a few local writers who wrote professionally, but her best friend, Karyn Little, had moved to Idaho with her new husband over a year ago.

In a few short years, she’d lost her husband to self-centeredness and her BFF to the land of potatoes.

“Not maybe. Definitely,” Ellery said, looking over at her.

“Maybe I’ll try it.” Going to the class with Ellery might help their relationship, something that Daphne couldn’t seem to get back on track. She didn’t know what was wrong, how she should act, whether she should have given Ellery a job or not. Daphne had only wanted to make things better for Ellery. That’s what every mother did, right?

But Ellery had grown more and more distant over the past few months. Daphne suspected that it had something to do with something Rex had said, but Ellery wouldn’t open up. Any time Daphne asked her what was bothering her or if she wanted to talk, her daughter would tell her everything was “fine.” She’d begun to hate that word.

“I’m pretty much done for the day. I have to mail these packages. These are a few of the winners from your online party.” Ellery picked up a bag full of colorful pink envelopes, walked out the door and right into Clay.

“Whoa, hey, Elle,” he said, grabbing her elbow and steadying her. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I saw you last week at Elmo’s,” Ellery said, shrugging off Clay’s hand. “But I guess you were too trashed to remember?”

“Hey, I was celebrating a new contract, but, yeah, I guess I had a few too many.”

“Honestly, Clay, it’s time you grew up,” Ellery said, pushing past him before spinning back. The Tom Ford scent she wore tickled Daphne’s nose.

“Guys never grow up, do we?” Clay joked.

“Some don’t.” Ellery gave him a flat look.

Her daughter had dated several guys in high school but had been tight-lipped when it came to information on what had happened between her and Clay. Daphne vaguely remembered a dustup with the head cheerleader for a rival school. Ellery had been only a sophomore, and Daphne remembered Clay being her daughter’s first heartbreak. Ellery had rebounded quickly with the quarterback for the Riverton Falcons. She had an uncanny ability to hook a new, even cuter guy after each successive breakup through high school and college.

Point in case—Josh was so pretty angels sang when he walked by.

Daphne still didn’t know her soon-to-be son-in-law very well because he was always studying, but he seemed to truly care about her daughter. And that was what mattered most.

“I’m out, y’all.” Ellery disappeared.

Clay turned his pretty blue eyes on Daphne. “Sorry to interrupt. I wanted to get your opinion on the marble. They sent two different samples in your color range. One has a lot of movement, the other is pretty simple.”

“Sure, I’ll take a look,” Daphne said, following him outside her office and into the heat of late morning.

Ellery tossed the bag of packages into the narrow back seat of her sleek new Lexus and gave them an absentminded wave.

“She’s a firecracker,” Clay said with a smile before jogging down the front porch steps. Today he wore a T-shirt. Thank God. The jeans fit him like a second skin, though. So now she had to contend with the butt thing.

Not only had she practically drooled over a shirtless Clay yesterday, but she’d actually rated the bag boy’s backside that morning at the grocery store. Thankfully Steve the bag boy was older than Clay, but she was now convinced her libido had written a memo titled “Take Care of Your Sexuality before You Mount the Bag Boy.” She wondered if something was wrong with her hormones. Or maybe she was ovulating. Something other than going middle-aged crazy.

Wait, was turning forty years old hitting middle age?

Nah. And technically she was still thirty-nine for the next two months.

***

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  About Liz Talley

A finalist for both the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart and RITA Awards, Liz Talley has found a home writing heartwarming contemporary romance. Her stories are set in the South, where the tea is sweet, the summers are hot, and the porches are welcoming. She lives in North Louisiana with her childhood sweetheart, two handsome children, three dogs, and a naughty kitty. Readers can visit Liz at www.liztalleybooks.com.

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ROOM TO BREATHE by Liz Talley: Feature, Excerpt & Giveaway was originally published on The Sassy Bookster