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mephinomaly · 1 year

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[TL] Howling at the Stars/Chapter 2

Kaoru: So? Are there any photos that stand out to you?

Koga: How about this one? You can see a glimpse of my rock-ness.

Kaoru: A glimpse…? It screams “I love rock”.

What do you think about this one? It’s not really candid, but… it’s a cute photo.

Koga: We already decided no! I ain’t lookin’ for cuteness~!

Kaoru: Mm okay…if you insist.

Hnng~...well it’s already late, let’s stop for today.

Koga: Oh yeah… that’s my bad, Hakaze-senpai. I made ya come with me today ‘n then just complained the whole time.

Kaoru: It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Besides, I did this to help you with your Feature Live.

Because if you don’t like it now, you won’t have a good live.

Koga: Yeah, thanks Hakaze-senpai. But I didn’t think it would be this hard t’take candid photos…

Kaoru: Well, we both might have different definitions of what classes as candid.

I wanted to capture more of “everyday Koga-kun” but I’m getting the feeling you want to appear cool all the time.

Koga: Huh? Are you complimentin’ or insultin’ me?

Kaoru: We’ll go with complimenting. I think it’s just part of being an idol and being a professional.

So what’s next on the agenda, Koga-kun?

I’m going to grab a snack and then go back to the dorms, you wanna come with?

Koga: …Nah, thanks anyway.

I can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout it all. Maybe the night air will smack some sense into me.

Kaoru: Alright then. Don’t stay out too late, okay? I’ll see you later.

Koga: (...What’s my ‘natural stance’? Is it not just lookin’ cool?)

GyahhhHH! I don’t get anythin’! What the fuck am I supposed t’be doin’!?

…Huh? Who just poked me on the shoulder?

Anzu?! What are you doin’ loiterin’ around at this time of night?

You’re havin’ a break~? The hell are you still workin’ for?

You’ve almost finished so it doesn’t matter~? When are you leavin’? You’re not plannin’ on walkin’ home alone, are you?

Jesus, man. Tell me when you’re goin’ home. I’ll wait for you.

If you think it’s bad for me t’wait for you then you shoulda finished earlier. Walkin’ home at night alone ain’t good.

…Whilst we’re here ‘n you’re on break, can I speak t’ya for a sec?

It’s about the candid shots for the Feature Live pamphlet. How’d everyone else do?

I asked Hakaze-senpai t’help me out today but I still don’t really get it.

–Ah, right. Others had trouble with it too.

Thanks for tellin’ me that, Anzu. It’ll be a good reference for later.

But I really need t’sit down ‘n have a proper think about it…

Hm? Hey, Anzu. Look at the sky. That’s pretty amazin’!

Didn’t think I’d ever see so many shootin’ stars. Didn’t realise this was supposed t’be today, either.

…? Oi, Anzu. Are you even listenin’ t’me?

(...No reply from Anzu, the bastard. Far too focused on the sky. Tch, makes them look like a brat with the stars twinklin’ in their eyes.)

If yer so fascinated by the stars, why don’t ya make a wish?

Hm…It’s no fun just wishin’ for somethin’ to come true. Only you can make your dreams come true.

…What. What’s with that look?

Why did I just suddenly say that? ‘Cos you was lookin’ at the stars ‘n it just made me think.

Tch…Whatever. It’s nothing. Forget I even said anythin’.

...

…Earlier, Hakaze-senpai said he wanted to take pictures of someone like you.

Don’t make that face, Anzu! I’m talkin’ ‘bout candid pictures.

If I had a camera, I woulda taken a picture of you lookin’ at the stars.

Haa? You woulda taken a pic of my smug face when I said “only you can make your dreams come true”?!

Didn’t I tell you to forget about me sayin’ that! Stop with the teasin’!

…Huh? You’re not teasin’?

If you’d captured my face earlier, the fans woulda love it? Do ya think so, Anzu?

U-Uh, right… ‘course. Well, if you say so I can try again.

…Anyway, back to what I was sayin’. I spent all day thinkin’ about what a candid ‘me’ photo would be.

I think yer face just a second ago woulda been a good candid. But I dunno how I’m supposed t’do it.

I want my fans t’see a cool side of me. Whatever it’s called, it’s troublin’ me.

So that’s why my Feature Live’s gonna be jam packed with all the things I find cool.

I don’t want the pamphlet to just be boring ol’ me, but showin’ a cool me too.

That’s why they wanted them to be candid photos…

…Huh? Why don’t I try changin’ the direction of the project?

It’s my live so I should do things that I wanna do?

Hehe, thanks for listenin’ to me be selfish, Anzu. Talkin’ to ya was real good ♪

I somehow feel lighter now. It’s a good feelin’, the night air.

…Hm? Oh, there’s more shootin’ stars. Am I wishing for my live to go well?

I told ya to forget what I said, but it wasn’t exactly a lie.

Like I said, only you can make your dreams come true. So I’m not wishin’ for anythin’.

…But it would be totally rock to say it out loud.

Oi stars! My wish is that fools all around the world have their souls shaken by my rock music!

No matter where you are, I’ll make sure no-one can ignore my performance! That’s what I want out of my live!

Hehe… you’re givin’ me a weird look. C’mon, say somethin’ with me.

I need Anzu to make my dreams come true. You ready or what? ♪

#ensemble stars #enstars #translation #koga fs2 #koga oogami #kaoru hakaze

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maximumcheese · 2 years

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A New Game Making the Rounds 2 - Rinne Feature Scout 2

The next day

Niki: Heh~, it’s Rinne-kun’s Feature Live! So that’s why you came to Cinnamon for this briefing, then.

But why are we all here, too? Well, I’m in the kitchen, so it's not like we’re all together.

Rinne: It’s ‘cause I told her, “Let’s hang out with all the guys from Crazy:B ☆”

Kohaku: Well I don’t really remember the details but…I didn’t really think we’d get a full Crazy:B gathering here.

HiMERU: If Amagi had called HiMERU, he would not have complied. If it is Anzu's wish, however, HiMERU has no choice.

—But the fact that all members are here means that there is something they wish to ask us…There must be some sort of reason.

Rinne: You’ve got good judgment ♪ Anzu-chan wants to discuss the candid shot for the live’s pamphlet.

Niki: Candid shot…Like the ones where you take pictures of people in their natural state?

Kohaku: Hmph. So to see what kind of photos would be good, you want to ask us, since we know Rinne-han well.

HiMERU: What do the other candid shots look like? …Their daily life, perhaps?

Niki: Ye~ah, well that’s kinda bad taste, ‘cause Rinne’s daily life is just playing mahjong here.

Kohaku: Still, that’s better than gettin’ him when he’s out at a pachinko parlor in town, don’t ya think?

HiMERU: It would not be desirable to publish a photo of him drinking… It is true, Amagi’s candid shot may be troublesome.

Rinne: Hey, what do you think I’m doing in my free time! There’s more to my daily life than you guys are aware of!

Ah~Ah, I’m hurt… I’m going to have to beat Niki up later.

Niki: Why just me!?

Rinne: (igoring) You think it’s unfair, too, Anzu-chan? Maybe you know more ‘bout what I do in my free time than I do?

Don’t you remember me doing a whole buncha stuff?

…Arcade? Ah, when we went on a date, I won you a stuffed animal, that’s right.

Then after that…I see, I see, we also met up at a shrine on New Year’s ♪ I’ve taken good care of the good luck charm you gave me.

Oh, you even know that I went to volunteer in that club, huh? Well, I’m not sure if you can call that everyday life or not.

Kohaku: Wow. Anzu-han, you know more about Rinne-han than I thought. And here I just thought he had a good face.

Rinne: Unlike you lot, Anzu-chan sees me as a good and wholesome Onii-san ♪

Niki: No, no, I’m sure he’s done some horrible atrocity somewhere! Nee-san, please do your best to remember!

HiMERU: —No. HiMERU doesn’t think there is much more Anzu-san can tell us.

Niki: ? Why did HiMERU-kun respond?

HiMERU: It was deduced from her behavior and gestures.

Of course, HiMERU does think that the relationship between an idol and their producer should be kept strictly professional, but...

A business partner relationship can be a restrictive perspective to see from.

If you don’t know your idols well enough, you can’t even take a candid shot that would please the fans.

That's why Anzu-san has called HiMERU and the others together to deepen their understanding of Amagi. Is that wrong?

Kohaku: Ah, she’s noddin’ her head. We also had a candidate for an off-work scene like we talked about, but it's not quite right for the pamphlet…

Rinne: The hell. You should’ve asked me out on a date in the first place.

You wanna get to know me better, right? We can go out together, and you can look at me in private all you want ♪

Niki: Didn’t she already tell you that idols can’t date anyone before~?

Rinne: That’s why we call this work. It’ll be an investigation—

Hmm? What’s wrong. If we’re going out as an investigation, you want the rest of you guys in Crazy:B to come along…?

Kohaku: With us around, we can definitely avoid havin’ just the two of them alone…

But that's not just it, I feel like Rinne-han’s private life is connected to Crazy:B, isn’t it? So it's good that we’re together, right?

HiMERU: —That is somewhat regrettable. Anzu-san, please tell us your opinion.

Niki: ...It’s ‘cause we meet up all the time to play mahjong at cinnamon?

HiMERU: And he's always trying to organize celebrations for us?

Kohaku: And 'cause he said he wanted to take and show us his personalized outfit first thing after it was done?

Rinne: …No, wait, wait. Anzu-chan, you’ve got this expression like you’re tellin’ us some heartwarming episode.

Niki: Nahaha ♪ He even buys us souvenirs when he wins at gambling.

Rinne: I’m just tryin’ to not let a penny sleep in my pocket overnight.

HiMERU: Thank goodness, Amagi. Anzu-san seems to think of you as a leader who cherishes his friends.

Rinne: …Tch. At this rate the me in the pamphlet will be some dumbass with no poison or needle.

Well then, guess I gotta show Anzu-chan my private life…!

HiMERU: —Good grief. In the end, we all ended up at an amusement park.

Niki: Nah, coming here was lucky for me! Right now there’s a limited cutlet inside the park, as well as limited seasonal food, that’s super popular…♪

I have to go look for it right now! Sniff, sniff… Is it in that direction~?

Kohaku: I see we’re already goin’ our separate ways. Well, why don’t you at least grab a map before you run off?

HiMERU: …Fufu. Oukawa must also be interested in food if he so obediently follows Shiina’s lead.

HiMERU doesn't have anything special to do, so he’d like to find somewhere indoors to rest…

Rinne: Merumeru’s off doin’ his own thing now, too. What’s the difference between this and just the two of us coming together?

Oh well. I just hope that today, this time, you can find the me you wanna show off in your pamphlet, Anzu-chan.

So now I’ll hand over this memo. Oops, don’t look at the contents yet, okay?

Well, this memo is a proposal compilation of all the ideas Rinne-kun’s come up with for his feature live ☆

Of course, I’ve also written down some stuff ‘bout candid shots, so? I’m the best person to decide what’ll please the fans, after all ♪

Gyahaha ☆ You didn’t think I’d come up with a plan?

It’s a thank you, it’s thanks. When you made me my personalized outfit, you didn’t mind pastin’ the “problem child” label all over me, and let me shine, you know?

Rinne-kun’s the type of person who sells a favor but never owes a debt.

...You’ll be observin’ me for the next few hours, right? Then, after the date is over, we'll compare your opinion with this memo.

Without this kind of tactic, everything’d be boring, wouldn’t it ♪ If two people see eye-to-eye—

Then they say that’s love ♪

← previous

Proofing by: fortunebanquet

#enstars #ensemble stars #english translation #enstars spoilers #rinne amagi #niki shiina #kohaku oukawa #himeru #crazy: b

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bbiemochi · 2 years

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Sorry if it’s an uncomfortable topic but could you do rei with a plus size/bigger bodied fem!reader? thank you !!

𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚏𝚜 + 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 | rei sakuma x reader

[an]: nonsense of how it makes me uncomfortable ! i say this is a very lovely request, my dear <33 though since this is the first time i have had a request like this, i’m not sure if this is going to be good as i expected it to be :,} however tysm for requesting! please do let me know if there are some parts here that u’re unsatisfied with ! <33

summary: you liked staying at rooftops. not only do you enjoy the air there with no students poking fun at your appearance, but it was a place where you and your boyfriend enjoy your time with one another…

pairing: rei sakuma x plus sized!fem!reader

genre: just fluff! (with a little tw)

classes are dismissed.

with the close of your notes, you let out a deep sigh before pushing them back inside of your bag and grabbing your lunch for the day. not like this was a natural routine for you, despite the fact that mostly you’re the only female in the classroom filled with male idol students and such, you would likely just walk outside (or eat lunch with the producer anzu) from time to time and head over quickly to the school rooftop before anyone else does.

it was sort of a secret sanctuary to you. not only it was a place where you would spend your time just eating your lunch or just simply enjoy the scenery of the skies, but it was also a place where you’d meet with rei privately with the only the two of you, and no one else. the gazes of strangers on the sidewalks bothered you to the bone, it was something you disliked. however, the thing you hated the most was the whispers they mutter out.

“hey look it’s her…”

“isn’t she bothered by her size or…?”

“wait, isn’t she the one who talked with one of the famous idols in the idol course?”

“yeah i think that’s her.”

“ew creepy..”

“why did the student council choose her to become the errand girl for the idol course..?”

“bet she chose the producer course on purpose..”

“it should’ve been you instead, senpai.”

“right???”

those were the hurtful words you had to hear everyday if you decided to eat outside the school campus. not much differences if you ate in your classroom. so when you found out about the rooftop (you found it out by accident), it was just the perfect place to settle in for and stay alone. not long after, another familiar individual within the school gates had decided to come up and stay at the rooftop as well.

the male was rei sakuma of undead.

you were familiar with him. anzu had told you about all the unit you’ll be handling as a producer that works alongside her. from what you know so far, rei is someone who proclaims to be a ‘vampire’ among the human world, and the leader of undead—one of the most famous units in yumenosaki private academy other than fine. it didn’t take long after you two started to see each other in the rooftop during lunch hours, and it didn’t take that long either for you two to start going out. secretly.

it wouldn’t be good news to everyone if they had found out a producer like you going out with the famous heartthrob rei. not only will it cause a big problem to the school itself but it will have to do business of separating you both from another. whether that or just stay loving in private. the rooftop was you and rei’s secret spot. just the two of you in that area during break times. for some moments with him, you grew a little insecure about how he was always often surrounded by girls during love events, and the hard part is that you can’t do anything about it and watch.

if you did do something, there was no joke of how the other girls from the normal course would poke fun at you and insult you non-stop. makoto wasn’t kidding when he said undead fans are scary if you piss them off. but who were you to decide? you’re just a producer…and rei’s secret lover. nothing else.

as you silently walked out of your classroom, you quickly made your way upstairs of the school rooftop to meet up with rei. heck, he must’ve been already there—waiting for you like always. you decided to pick a special lunch for today for you both. some delicious tonkatsu bento alongside macarons for dessert, some vegetable side dishes with tomato juice for your drink, and some pocky you bought earlier from a nearby convenience store. you weren’t sure if rei liked eating tonkatsu, though it was the only special thing in your mind. besides, he eats anything you feed him. add the desserts.

as you opened the door of the rooftop, your prediction was right when you saw rei sitting down on one of the rooftop benches. with a smile, you called out his name, “rei…!” the male was quick to turn his head from your voice, and smiles back upon seeing your figure in his presence. you hurriedly shut the door quietly, and made your way to his side, pulling you in for a hug in the process. the warmth that took over both of your bodies made it feel like a clouded atmosphere that embraces you two together.

rei loves you as much as you love him. and that was the only thing you needed the most. the most needed things in the world; to love and to be loved.

“did you waited long?”

“not at all. i can wait for you for hundreds of years if you’d want me to, and i still wouldn’t mind.” you playfully rolled your eyes with a small smile plastered over your face. and again with those vampiric acts. ‘guess he just loves it to see what reaction you’ll pull like always. as the two of you pulled away, rei was quick to grab your hand and drag you to your usual lunch spot at the afternoons. it was more sunny than before, unlike a few months ago, summer was about to begin pretty soon—not to mention the weather was starting to feel pretty hotter. rei on the other hand, was more frail than he always seemed, and it worried you pretty much a lot when you would visit their rehearsal room and producer for his unit.

“the sun’s rays are shining brighter than before. rei, are you sure you wanna stay here? i wouldn’t mind going to another spot if you’d prefer,” you told your boyfriend as you sat down, placing your bento on your lap. rei shakes his head, brushing his curly locks back as he did. he was sweating already a little, and you frowned. “no need. this spot is perfect for us two. besides, i think i have a good idea on how i shall avoid the hot sun shining at me..” you cocked up a brow, yet shrugged your shoulders when you got nothing else to say about it. “where’s your lunch?”

“i just finished taking a small snack at the cafeteria along with kaoru. it was just a sandwich and some tomato juice, nothing more.”

“eh? so you already ate? why bother coming up here in lunch if you’re already done?” rei stares at your e/c eyes, a small grin steadily creeping up over his cheeks as a silent gesture of his flirty motives, “i just wanted to be with you, that’s all.”

just like a cupid’s arrow struck to your heart that very moment with a heart pumping double times than before, your face blooms into a soft pink. a grin, rei chuckles. seeing your reaction like that more than anything could easily make him feel proud. with a squeeze from your thighs, you yelped in surprise. “r-rei..!” an expected reaction erupted out from your adorable figure, it was something rei enjoyed looking at—with a red plum blush scattered on your cheeks like a toddler being embarrassed by their parents. your cheeks are one of the things rei absolutely adores about you, not only were they soft and chubby like your plump thighs in which he also devotes his love to, but the way they would bloom into a velvet color when you pout is the number one ticket to paradise.

with that thought came flowing back to him, rei squishes your cheeks, pulling them a little playfully as you whined. “you are so adorable. i can’t get enough of you~”

“s-stop it hurts…” you say, and in an instant, he did, laughing along as his reply to your order. even if you whined, you still looked as cute as before. the mid sun began to rise up a little more than earlier, and with a hiss, rei covers his face with a hand, “the sun is shining stronger light…i am in need of a shade to hide myself within..” you heard him murmur, and you chuckled. his vocabulary of his words never failed to make you laugh.

“like earlier, i said let’s go to another location so that the sun won’t light on us—

“and too like earlier i said i have a good idea on how i shall avoid the hot sun shining at me…” rei cuts you off so suddenly. straight away, the male instantaneously shifted his figure, pushing your hand that was holding your bento upwards before laying his head down on your thighs with a satisfied smile. you felt yourself wince with the feeling of his hair stick to your skin so casually. looking down on your thighs, rei was already staring back at your face, looking like the rei you always knew. even if he did looked normal, you were sure he had another plan on teasing you.

“perfect position. now i have both benefits for this. not only does the bright sun not shine on me, but i also have a pretty view right in my perspective..”

sheepishly, you looked away after his comment. it always struck to you whenever your lover would bask in anywhere, even if he hated areas like these, the male did it just to be with somebody like you. rei loves laying down on your thighs, though he never got a chance to do it all the time including when he’s busy with his idol work—and if someone from within this building sees you with the undead leader like this, things wouldn’t end up in a fairy tale ending. yet for now, you’d like to imagine that this was somewhat like a fairy tale scenario.

slowly, and steadily, you felt rei’s hand caress your cheek from below you, making yourself look back at your lover, who looked like he just saw the most beautiful girl in the world. you’d be lying if you think that girl wasn’t you. for sure, you knew your insecurities were big, however when rei was beside you, he made you feel like an angel. someone who was gorgeous.

“let’s just stay like this throughout lunch, is that ok?” he questions, voice tender. the sun’s strong rays began to fade, and you didn’t even take quick notice of this due to how rei was lovingly rubbing your adorable cheeks. you nodded your head in approval, and with that response—rei smiles even more. “feed me.”

“huh?”

“that macaron you’re eating looks delicious. do you mind if i have one…?” rei’s question seemed genuine, though you were quick to oblige and grab another piece of macaron from your snack box and fed it to your boyfriend. his face shifts into satisfaction. “that tasted divine. human food is definitely better than what we vampires eat.”

you chuckled softly. “would you like another one?”

“yes i do..”

grabbing another piece, you once again fed it straight to rei’s mouth who happily ate it. for about 3 more pieces later, rei declined to eat further more and sighed heavily, eyes evident of tiredness streaking over his body. he was about to fall asleep…how cute. lately, you and anzu had been noticing of how there was a lot of upcoming events to yumenosaki academy. you too have been bombarded with a lot of work as producers, and even if you weren’t an idol yourself—you can notice of how there was so much work turning around to the idols in this building.

and since rei’s units was one of the most famous units among this academy, there was no doubt undead would be pressured among the teachers and students. you finished your lunch as you fed rei with the macarons, now there was only your pocky left and 2 more macarons. you planned on using the pocky for…something, although with the looks of the male that was about to fall asleep on your thighs, maybe you’d save it for tomorrow.

“y/n…”

you flinched in surprise when rei called you by your name. woah…it was just your name yet somehow…it made your heart skip a beat. rei would usually call you by ‘little miss’ or ‘young lady/mistress.’ he has never often call you by your real name before, so this surprised you. “r-rei…?”

“…wake me up when the bell rings…alright?”

“sure…”

“thank you…you’re so pretty…i…love you…” those were the last words to erupt out of his throat before passing out on your thighs, asleep.

you felt yourself heating up, covering your face with both of your hands as you squealed quietly, trying your best not to wake the male up from his slumber. this guy never failed to make your heart race, you wanted to punch him for that. of how he made you feel special, like the most exquisite sculpture among the room, a piece of art. despite of what you looked liked, he treated you like a fragile vase. tender touches and soft tones around your figure.

you love him. you love him too much. and he loves you as much as well.

a/n: this kinda sucked i’m sorry ToT i’m hurrying up a bit with my requests due to classes i hate this :,}

requests: closed :(

#lucy’s works 📚✨#lucy works 🍕💗#ensemble stars #enstars #ensemble stars x reader #enstars x reader #rei sakuma #sakuma rei #rei sakuma x reader #💌. lucyanswers #another rei request y’all are the best <33 #✨lucy speaks

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subserviiient · 5 years

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madamhatter said:

Phone headcanon prompts: Who are the last 5 people your muse would have texted at any given time? How much music does your muse have on their phone? Is your muse regularly active on social media? // Show us the cursed fan account Anzu runs-

She tends to text Takehiro a lot but he always ignores her texts, regardless, she’ll do so to update him on her condition because he does worry about her, even if he hides it, she’d also text Sophie a lot I’d say! With how close they are, I can see her texting her almost everyday- not to say anything big, but to either tell her how she’s doing, to check up on her or to just generally talk, I’d also say she’d text Elliot almost constantly as well as Rei and Kuro. Trickstar doesn’t get texted as much as one would think.

Anzu’s phone data is mostly music. She’s got so much music on her phone that she has different music apps to get music she couldn’t get from the app the phone had preinstalled. It’s worrying how many different songs you can listen to on her phone if you wanted to look through it.

...On her personal/main accounts? Hardly ever, but on her fan accounts, she’s very active. She has an account for every idol group, some bands she likes and one for an actress she likes for her roles in horror films. They’re not stan accounts by any means, as she’s not making thirst tweets but they’re actually something akin to news accounts?? She posts updates on what their next live will be and if new singles are coming out.

#madamhatter #ooc. ( she's not so quiet )#( phone headcanon meme; accepting )

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lafeae · 6 years

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Prompt: Broken Nose

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!

Characters: Kaiba Seto, Jounouchi Katsuya/Joey Wheeler

For: @badthingshappenbingo

Read on AO3 | Chapter 1

When Jounouchi got home after the sunset, the laundry wasn’t done. A single light made it cast a long shadow in the living room, still laying in the middle of the floor where he left it.

Sighing, he began to pick up the pieces of the bowl still scattered in the doorway, and wondered briefly if he should try and patch the hole in the wall. Why bother. The place was old and moth eaten anyways.

The apartment was still and quiet, save for the hum of the neighbour’s window air conditioner. He could almost imagine it being cool as he peeled his work uniform from his skin and laid down on the futon.

“Shoulda bought the fan...”he murmured, but at least his stomach was full. The food won him over. Besides, it was hard to concentrate on anything: the heat, his stomach, sleep, or the blank period of time he spent lying in bed thumbing through textbooks and cramming for exams he was fairly confident he wasn’t going to pass. That was just the nature of his operation; he was better suited for a factory job, or being a professional Magic and Wizards player.

Not even that daydream could escape the fact that Kaiba was on the brain. Specifically, how to talk to Kaiba, other than their annoying passing remarks. They sat next to each other—they didn’t have to pass notes.

Where the hell did he start?

‘Oi, Kaiba, your dad as messed up as mine?’ No, too forward.

‘So, guess workin’ guys got to stick together!’ Yeah right.

Maybe something a little less focused. Just a ‘hey’ and a ‘what’s up’.

All too informal for moneybags, but all they had to bond over was the shirt and their shared forbidden zone. Not really typical, or light, topics of conversation.

He dozed off mid-muse, with Kaiba heavy on the brain.

—

For once, Jounouchi slipped into class just on time, nodding and waving to Honda and Yuugi as he sat down.

He laid out his book and pen knowing full well his face would be in its spine before long. Before he had the chance, Kaiba remarked:

“You do know what time class starts.”

“Miracles happen.”

“Hn.”

There was brief moment that Jounouchi thought that he and the prick—was he really a prick anymore?—could have a dialogue. It was easy if Kaiba started it, too, because Jounouchi could never tell when Kaiba was willing to talk, even if he was being hateful or quippy. The man had the emotional range of a hard boiled egg, and the boredom in his eyes showed. For being a good student, Jounouchi highly suspected that absolutely nothing was being learned, given how Kaiba rarely turned the pages or wrote things down. The brief moment was lost as soon as it started.

“So uh, what’s the detergent you used on the shirt?”

Kaiba side-eyed him and sneered. Yeah, that was a glorious way to start a conversation.

Getting Kaiba to talk probably wasn’t going to happen.

That didn’t stop Jounouchi. He was nothing if not persistent and hard-headed. He figured as long as Kaiba didn’t deny him outright, or make threats, all conversations were fair game. The executive had invited him back to estate, even if it was just to deliver laundry which he swore he would do. He would have to.

His efforts were usually between classes, waiting for the next teacher to arrive, and while they were small, he found that asking less specific questions garnered more responses. Nothing too cerebral.

“So why ya bring your laptop everyday?”

“Work.”

“Well, yeah. But whatcha gettin’ done at lunch that can’t wait like, three hours?”

“International companies don’t sleep,” Kaiba explained. Jounouchi’s mouth formed an ‘o’, and he nodded in semi-understanding, though he was almost more grateful that Kaiba replied at all. Somewhere in the back of his head he thought it was because, maybe, they were talking about Kaiba. A selfish topic for a selfish teenager. But for this experiment, he knew he couldn’t think that way. The clean shirt he had tucked into his trousers said Kaiba was capable of altruism somewhere, under the right circumstances.

“Do you sleep?” Jounouchi asked.

“Enough.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jounouchi replied, laughing nervously. When Kaiba looked his way, he rubbed the back of his neck and ruffled his hair. “Sometimes I get off at like, I dunno, 9 or 10. Which isn’t bad. Ride home’s like a half-hour, but then Wakuba-sensai always gives us long lit essays an’ I jus’,” he let his lips loosely flap, imitating snoring while still chuckling to himself. His knees were knocking together between the desk, only stopped by one foot stepping on top of the other. “Ya know?”

“No.”

Kaiba was staring again. Not just Kaiba, but the range of other students a that encircled them. The classroom had gone deathly quiet, and Jounouchi flattened against his desk.

“The hell ya all starin’ at!” Jounouchi shouted.

They turned away. Kaiba was back to leaning on his fist and looking bored to his notebook, but Jounouchi was sure he caught a quick glance and small smile.

—

It was wash, rinse, repeat for five days. All of Jounouchi’s attempts between class were small. Simple conversation on sometimes ridiculous topics, because there was something fascinating about Kaiba’s face screwing in confusion.

Kaiba had a face full of childish wonder. When he wasn’t brooding or bored or focused, he retained an innocent look; wide eyes, long cheeks in his quickly hidden slackjaw, and a cute (Jounouchi couldn’t find a better word) nose that would turn red as he tried to decipher what gibberish Jounouchi had spouted.

For the life of him, Jounouchi couldn’t decide what he was doing that was any different from Yuugi’s attempts at befriending Kaiba. Maybe because he wasn’t so much befriending Kaiba as much as he was being curious. It wasn’t like Kaiba was always open. Most questions were shot down with acerbic comments or flat-out ignored; it just took the right ones, the off-guard ones, that by no means said Jounouchi was really interested in friendship, because he wasn’t. He was more or less interested in cracking the Kaiba Seto code. Friendship, whatever that meant to Kaiba, would have been accidental by-product and probably unspoken or denied.

Which meant it was easier not to get his friends involved.

Yuugi would have been gung-ho to allow Kaiba into their group at lunch, which Jounouchi had considered plenty of times as he stumbled to his seat. But it wasn’t really Yuugi. It was Anzu and her little comments of being “creeped out” by Kaiba’s stares at Jounouchi, or Honda’s egging to just go up to Kaiba and do something about the intimidating stares, or Ryou’s comments muttered into his thighs.

Still, he considered it every day.

“Yo, moneybags,” he called as he walked up, carefully moving around other students. Kaiba’s head raised an inch. Jounouchi swallowed hard and his guts clenched. Instead of words, he nodded towards their table.

Before he could get a response, someone barrelled full force into him, knocking his tray up into his chest and spilling food down the front of his shirt. He froze, with the entire lunchroom staring at him as he shivered.

“Oh Jou-kun, jeez, I’m sorry...I...”

Jounouchi’s eyes squeezed closed. “Nah, man, it’s a’right.”

It was more about what the food cost, Jounouchi thought for a second. It wasn’t often he actually bought his lunch. Today, he had felt like he earned it after having the pleasure of cleaning up the Old Man’s mess and had cut his palm open on a liquor bottle fragment. But no, it wasn’t really that. It was that Kaiba had seen it and promptly left.

—

The shirt was ruined. Not that most of his clothes weren’t for not having been washed for close to two weeks.

When he dressed out for gym he was thankful it wasn’t Kaiba’s shirt. He’d changed out of that after the third day, when the bath soap smell went away. It was the shirt that Kaiba had washed for him. Now, it unfortunately smelt like some teriyaki mess crossed with the lilac-lavender.

Gym was probably the only time he and Kaiba didn’t talk. They were too busy jabbing at each other over tennis, even when they weren’t playing one another.

The coach was merciful and had them rotate partners, though he and Kaiba always seemed to face each other at least once, which meant that he was sweat-soaked and frustrated from chasing the ball.

“Go on, mutt, it’s natural instinct!”

“Piss off, ya ain’t funny,” he chuckled.

But Kaiba laughed full-belly. Not quite as maniacal as in the past, but Jounouchi was sure he could have lobbed the ball into Kaiba’s mouth if he tried hard enough.

There definitely wasn’t much friendship going on between them. It was more like a symbiosis of misery over some weird, backwards empathy or sympathy, he still hadn’t decided which yet. Jounouchi was a chew toy that bit back, and it was kind of fun in the weirdest way possible. Weird for the weirdo, who would have thought?

Jounouchi liked hearing Kaiba laugh, though. It was passionate and raw. A small side of his strange dual personality. A part that was hidden like the innocent confusion.

Maybe Jounouchi was being soft. When Kaiba arched his back and legs to serve, he did look at Kaiba’s abdomen. Milky white, taut, swirling around a small belly-button with just a small touch of hair where his short would slip down at the arc of the serve. It almost made his taunting worth it every time Jounouchi missed, and the ball hit the back wall.

But he wasn’t as interested on Friday. Drove down by the oppressive heat, the lack of sleep, and the pain in his palm every time his racket made contact with the ball. He was tired and ready to leave.

Spending a few useless hours at Yuugi’s going over flash cards and mock exams while they nibbled on snacks sounded appealing. Very appealing. More appealing than getting a few seconds to stare at Kaiba’s washboard abs and sweat-flushed cheeks, but mainly because they would eventually ended up playing a video-game. Yeah, that sounded nice.

Jounouchi snorted and hit the ball. It had become a little easier to lob the ball back, even if Kaiba served it ninety miles an hour on a backspin. He’d learned enough pattern to slide into the hit.

“I didn’t think old dogs learned new tricks,” Kaiba quipped.

“Surprise, surprise.”

“Might actually be a challenge.” The ball barrelled back at him. “Not.”

“I’ve had some practice.”

“Oh? On who?” Kaiba asked.

A heavy grunt as Jounouchi hit it barely over the net. “Got a face in mind.”

Kaiba spiked the ball back. “Heh. I have a few guesses.”

There it was, that subtle empathy, that little look of curiosity coupled with a smirk that came off as condescending to others. Slowly, Jounouchi was beginning to deconstruct it.

Weakly, the ball hit the net before flopping back towards Jounouchi’s feet. He served it, loosely gripping his racket and sending the ball into the net. He wasn’t even keeping score. 45-0 probably. Or maybe they were on the next match. Kaiba told him but he wasn’t listening.

“Please, mutt, you’re wasting my time.”

“Now or always?”

Kaiba didn’t respond. Which was normal, because moneybag didn’t reply to a lot of things, but Jounouchi had figured out that his silences were their own communication. Words without words, and it hurt. ‘Yes’ would have hit him with so much less frustration.

The ball fired at him like a bullet, and Jounouchi double-handed the racket to hit it back.

This was an actual match. Back and forth, running until his lungs felt like they were bleeding and he was sure his palm actually was. Because fuck it, Kaiba was still a prick, a weirdo, an asshole who was pretty damn happy making sure people who just how much he didn’t like or need them for anything. They were obstacles, that was it.

Well, Jounouchi would be a damned obstacle.

He kept up with Kaiba until his arms and elbows ached. Maybe Kaiba would actually lighten the hell up if he was able to keep pace. That’s all he wanted. Whatever that casual, calm look he got when things were his way or in his favour, waving his magnanimousness around when it suited him.

The ball bounced out of bounds, and Jounouchi hung his head. He squeezed the semi-wet racket, not bothering to look if it was sweat or blood.

“What, you give up?”

“Zip it!”

Kaiba’s lip curled. He followed Jounouchi’s trek to the ball like the camera that had checked Jounouchi at the gate.

“When did it happen?” Kaiba asked, nodding towards the bloody racket handle.

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

Jounouchi’s heart throbbed in frustration, and he bounced the ball several times while refusing to look at Kaiba drilling a hole in the side of his head. Now he wanted to ask? Whatever.

When he went to serve, he caught a strange, resigned look hooded in Kaiba’s eyes, but it was too late. All of his embarrassment, his annoyance, his frustration went into the contact of racket to ball.

It wasn’t Kaiba, he thought as the ball ripped through through air.

Kaiba was something to take his anger out on. Just like the kids he used to pummel. They were distractions, easy targets, prey. He’d loosened up with Yuugi, who sort of got it, who supported him but didn’t ask questions and let him stay over when things got a little too overwhelming.

If he thought for half a second, he knew Kaiba was just Kaiba. Doomed to be a prick; he was forged by his unmentioned, screwed up raise, same as Jounouchi. Two personalities walking parallel on the same path. And it made him so easy to target. To challenge. To be a mirror.

Right up until the tennis ball smashed him in the face.

Jounouchi didn’t know if Kaiba reacted or not. He only saw the racket slipping out of his hand and clattering on the ground, echoing across the gymnasium as the last of the tennis balls bounded to a stop. Not even a murmur, though every last eye was on them.

Kaiba gripped his face, and blood spackled the floor in fat, red drops that slipped between his fingers. He squatted down on curled his face close to his knees.

Shit.

Sprinting to Kaiba, Jounouchi knelt beside him and slung an arm over his shoulders. Gently, he urged Kaiba to pull his hands away to look at the damage. When he wouldn’t, Jounouchi tore of his gym shirt and offered it for cover, pressing it into Kaiba’s hands.

Kaiba gasped at the touch, and shoved Jounouchi to the floor while greedily pressing it to his cheeks. His eyes flicked to Jounouchi, pained and innocently confused, while he sucked in muffled, panted breaths and attempted to stand up.

“Kaib’ you—“

“Save it.”

Jounouchi stared at Kaiba’s knobby knees in a daze, a single blood drop trailing down his shin. The coach jogged over and began to guide Kaiba away.

“I’m sorry!” Jounouchi shouted. The room went still again. Even Kaiba stopped, half-turning to look back. “I’m sorry. Really, it was an accident, I didn’t mean t’ do it. It jus’...”

The shirt dropped long for Jounouchi to see the medley of colours blossoming across the now strange new angle of Kaiba’s nose, mostly covered in globs of blood and snot. There was never a hint of defeat in his face, but something indecipherable, something that stung Jounouchi’s heart as he jaw ticked and continued to walk away.

“Fuck...”

Jounouchi could forget figuring Kaiba out, or whatever the hell he was doing. None of this made any sense to begin with. It was just confusing, embarrassing, humiliating. What was he thinking?

Kaiba would kill him. No, not kill. That was too kind. Sue probably, though Kaiba’s pocket lint was probably worth more. Make an example out of. Shun, somehow worse than before. Which meant no more casual glances or creepy stares or magnanimous gestures.

Somehow, he’d managed to hurt the only person who he was honest and willing to share with, who he thought he might have been able to have a heart-to-heart with. Or more, whatever more was.

Love, probably.

Not that he knew a thing about it. Not that it mattered anymore. Better to fuck it up before it got too far and either of them fooled themselves in thinking there was actually something going on.

That didn’t make his heart hurt any less.

#ygo #yugioh #seto kaiba #fanfic #joey wheeler #jounouchi katsuya #hurt/comfort #whump #challenge #broken nose #tw: blood #badthingshappenbingo

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curestardust · 6 years

Text

if you want: wholesome stories / great comedy / slice-of-life

Hinamatsuri was a last minute addition to my Spring watchlist (yes, I’m STILL watching Spring Season anime) and I almost dropped it based on the first episode. But I’m very glad that I didn’t because it turned out to be a very fun and wholesome experience.

Let me explain. The first episode starts out with Hina appearing at Nitta’s house. She has psychic superpowers. Nitta gets sent on a suicide mission cause he is part of the yakuza and Hina helps him out with her powers. We get some backstory on the place Hina came from and how they used her to order her (possibly) to kill people and such. There’s some minimal comedy as well but it’s not very prevalent. This episode is one of the worst pilot episodes I’ve ever seen. Why? Cause NONE of the rest of the anime even resembles the tone set up here! The yakuza bussiness? Irrelevant. Hina’s powers? Irrelevant. Hina’s backstory? (Almost) irrelevant. Comedy? Cranked up to the max.

Even if you aren’t quite fond of the dynamic of Hina and Nitta, or their personalities in general, no need to worry cause there are actually 3 main characters in Hinamatsuri. First we’ve Hina of course. She is very careless and childish and I’m not going to lie, I had trouble tolerating her at some parts. Second is Anzu, who’s sent by the “organization” to bring Hina back. She uses her powers for about 2 seconds, loses, realises that she can’t go back and becomes homeless. Her story is the most touching out of the three, with the least comedy. Our third character is Hitomi who’s completely seperate from the superpower/organization plotline as she is just a normal schoolgirl who gets dragged into having to work (keeping it as vague as possible).

Episodes consist of 1 story in the first half and a completely seperate one in the second half. The main character keeps changing which is great, cause as I said all 3 characters’ stories have distinct feel and tone to them.

The comedy is really good imo. Great timing and great reactions with the jokes being surreal but not too much as to become too weird. The art style may get a little to get used to however the animation quality is up to par. [8/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

if you want: cute girls / cute female friendships / some pure fun / exciting story / good character development / basically no fanservice!

And in today’s “only Japan could come up with something like this” we have racing horse girls, The Anime!

And I’m going to start with what’s all on your minds when you look at this the first time. “Horse girls, anime of a mobile game = bad production, no story and lots of creepy fanservice” right? Actually, no! Not even close. I avoided this as well cause that was what I thought it was going to be like but I gave in and I sure am glad I did! Because there’s no fanservice, the production quality is great and the story is actually thrilling!

So in Umamusume there are girls who are half horse and half human which basically means that they have the physical capabilites of a horse but the looks of a human (with cutesy ears and tails of course because anime). These girls attend schools to take part in races. That’s it, that’s the anime. But wait! It’s actually...pretty exciting?

First off, from reading other people’s reviews and doing some minor googling, it turns out that the characters in the anime are actually based on...real life, actual racing horses. Not only that, but their hair colours are actually based on those horses’ fur! This is why a lot of them have weird white streaks in their hair because the horses often have white spots of fur. I know that’s a minor detail but I was amazed by this because...it shows that the creators not only have knowledge of the base material but are actually dedicated about it. I’ve also come to know that the races we see in the anime are also based on real races that happened with the same outcomes.

We basically have 2 main characters, Special Week and Silence Suzuka. Suzuka is an already established and talented horse girl who however is losing her love of racing. Spe-chan (Special Week’s nickname [incredible]) is new to the school and taking part in races and we follow these two on their journey.

In regards to characters, there are a shitton of them. First we have the trainers of the 2 teams. The male trainer is the one whom you would expect to be the “fanservice/self-insert” thing character and they kinda set him up as such in the first episode however he becomes more of a father figure to the girls. Then, there’s Team Spica with their members who are the main supporting chars and Team Rigil who’re the secondary supporting characters. We get to know the Spica girls more but they’re mostly there to provide some additional entertainment. Which is a big shame cause they’re shown racing in the opening and they all seem to have different techniques but we’re not shown that in the anime itself. BUT! While I’m sad about that, I’m also glad that the anime knew what to prioritise in its short runtime of 13 episodes. In the end, the focus was Special Week and Suzuka’s character development in which the races WERE the focal point.

And the races! Yes, it’s just a bunch of girls running in a big circle but they made them so exciting! There’s one quite impactful race where the main character is not doing quite well and then the background and sound dissapears and she takes a deep breath. And I was rooting for her so hard and so stressed that I unconsciously took a breath WITH her. That’s how invested the anime can make you.

Oh and side-note, the winning girls put up basically an idol performance at the end of the day of the race with singing and dancing and all that but the anime basically pays no attention it so I’m guessing that it was only included because it’s in the mobile game(?).

Umamusume is a surprising little gem. The creator’s dedication to horce racing bleeds through the anime and is one of the big reason that it’s so enjoyable. With lovable characters and an exciting and heartfelt story, I’d recommend this to anyone. [9/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

if you want: (hetero) romcom / adults juggling IRL and being weebs / some not cringy romance / to go “uwu” / relatable shipping problems / relatable gaming problems

Wotakoi is definitely not something that’d be my first choice when deciding what to watch. Romance focused anime isn’t really my style but I saw another user that I like blog about it and saw how high rated it was and as there was the “comedy” aspect I thought...eh there isn’t really much to lose here, at most I’ll just dislike it. But I’m incredibly glad to say that this, just as the other 2 anime included in this post that I only gave a chance due to “peer pressure”, actually didn’t dissappoint!

Our main cast is made up of adults in their mid-twenties, working an office job. In the first episode we are introduced to Narumi who’s switching to work at a new firm where she founds out that her childhood friend Hirotaka is also employed at. Narumi was first planning on hiding her hobby of being a big-ass weeb but she soon finds out that 2 of her co-workers also share this hobby of hers. The first episode then ends with Hirotaka and Narumi deciding to “date” purely because they’re both weebs and it would be convinient not to have to hide it.

There’s a great chemistry between the 4 main characters and the shippers are probably having a field time with this anime as basically all of them are shippable with each other.

So, obviously this being a shoujo, the main appeal to most fans would be the romance but that definitely wouldn’t be enough for me to enjoy something. But this is where the comedy and the “relatable :100_emoji:” aspect comes in. The 2 work in tandem, with most of the humour steming from typical “otaku problems” and how much being a weeb affects their everyday life.

One downside would be the kind of rushed ending. Wotakoi isn’t a plot focused anime but they introduce a new character like 2 episodes before the finale and I just didn’t see the point. It DOES show the text “See you later” or something at the very end, so maybe there will be a second season? (Would watch). I also thought there was a missed opportunity with the last character introduced as she is obviously also set up as a love interest for another character (not one in the main cast, don’t worry) but this char thinks that she is a guy. Now, the main 2 female characters are BL lovers and I thought that introducing an actual gay couple into the anime would force them to realise that, you know...it’s not very polite to fantasise or obsess over gay people just cause of their sexuality...but eh, I guess that’d be a too serious topic for something as lighthearted as Wotakoi.

All in all, it was a nice, short and fun 11 episodes and if you like comedy, romance or both, I’d definitely recommend! [7/10] (x)

Recommend: HELL Yeah! | Yes | Eh??? | Nope | This anime killed my parents

#dusty reviews #and with THAT #im all done with the spring season #time to start on the summer season #ive already chosen quite a few to watch but send me recommendations if u have any!#Hinamatsuri #Uma Musume: Pretty Derby #Uma Musume #Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii #Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku #Wotakoi

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rainstormcolors · 8 years

Text

I wrote a short DSoD-based prideshipping fic (with an itty bitty drop of peachshipping), but I wouldn’t call it a romance story. It turns melancholy, I think.

I don’t know what I’m doing, but I guess I’ll post it. Thank you for reading if you choose to.

---

All Seto had left of his mother were memories of memories, scattered like a handful of fading grey stars. Once or twice, Mokuba had asked about her but Seto had nothing to give him. Seto remembered their father a little better, but it was as if those memories had the substance of a fairytale. Neither of his parents would ever know him. What he was. What he would become. That thought had crossed his mind a couple times, but he didn’t really care.

What Seto did remember was loneliness, and wondering why his mother and father had left him.

He remembered his uncle and grandmother telling him this was for his and Mokuba’s own good, and knowing even then they were lying to his face.

There was nothing left inside him to feel as he watched Gozaburo leap from the window to his death.

When did he start to feel things again?

His rival, his friend, the Other Yugi. Suddenly all the passion Seto felt had no place to go, and his head and his heart felt gelatinous.

He’d followed that man across three-thousand years and he’d followed that man to the desert.

The world was split between sand and sky and somehow it felt like another world as Yugi appeared from the temple without the Millennium Puzzle hung from his neck. The truth was Seto had arrived at the temple in time, but he didn’t enter. At that time, he couldn’t have answered why.

It was all a book with no ending, cut abruptly mid-paragraph, mid-sentence.

He told himself he didn’t care, but then in the night for no reason and at nothing he screamed, “Goddamn coward!”

Why did

Why am

It was an obsession. It wasn’t a dark hole but a red hemorrhage. The memory of that man’s face, his voice, the burning colors of his eyes. Like a phantom image every time Seto blinked.

The pod would split his consciousness from his body.

He didn’t care about the risks anymore. The neural signals were balanced and he couldn’t wait any longer. Through the monitor, Mokuba, his young brother, stared at him with concerned eyes.

Seto’s voice bellowed, “Duel dimension system activate!”

What even are you to me?

Atem.

The visits became a weekly ritual. It made it easier for Seto to control his emotions when he was there.

They stood together on the balcony---Seto and the Pharaoh---cupped by the palms of night, gazing across the ancient and candlelit city, the sky like a black ocean.

“Would you say you had a happy life or a sad one up until that point?” Seto asked him.

Atem thought for a moment and then said, “It was mostly happy, with bits of sadness here and there. When I try to remember it's like looking through a fogged window. But it gets clearer the longer I stay here.”

Atem went to sit on the ledge then, facing now towards the dark river. But his eyes remained focused on the man standing beside to him. “My father loved me. I know that very well. He fell ill when he discovered it took a genocide to create the seven Millennium Items, but I can't really remember it myself.” He shut his eyes, and his words were full of warmth. “I’m glad to know him again.”

“... Do they feel like your memories or someone else's?”

“There's no doubt they're mine. But those memories are thousands of years old and for a long time I had forgotten them. But… I feel like I’m home here. I do miss that world and Yugi and my friends, but I feel whole.”

Atem patted next to himself on the ledge, an invitation, and with clumsiness Seto sat. Together, they were quiet.

“Do you mind if I ask you something personal myself?” Atem said.

“Depends.”

“Can I ask you... what your original family name was?”

Seto didn't answer immediately, his face without emotion.

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

“It doesn't matter. That chapter of my life ended years ago. Those people abandoned Mokuba and me. I have nothing but contempt for that name now.”

“I understand.”

Seto held it for a moment, and then let it go. “... It was .”

Seto understood Atem could’ve found out the answer to this question by himself. Likewise, Seto hadn’t spoken the name in years. Abandoned Mokuba. There was a soft pinprick of pain inside those words.

“Thank you for telling me,” Atem said gently.

Speck by speck, Seto felt his mind slowly returning to his flesh from that paradise.

The way life would unspool like strange music from there, the way time ticked on with such methodic indifference. How every birthday and Christmas he’d be sent avalanches of cards and small gifts from children and fans, and it was a slow and heady realization: he was beloved. It was because he was the best, wasn’t it? No, there was something more innocent going on here.

Mokuba grew taller and took to drinking espresso.

And it was difficult to admit in a way, but Seto enjoyed his partnership with Yugi. Sometimes after working on a rare project together, they’d go and have a coffee. Yugi did most of the chatting, but Seto found it all oddly tolerable. And at some point they began to schedule the occasional coffee meeting without the precedent of work, and sometimes Seto would discover Jonouchi or Anzu had tagged along uninvited.

“So how’s Atem doing?”

Really what Yugi was asking was, “How are you both doing?”

He wasn’t surprised when he was invited to Yugi and Anzu’s wedding, but he was surprised when he was invited to Jonouchi’s and then later to Honda’s. For the latter two, he felt sending a card with a check inside was good enough.

Mokuba fell in love with a waitress at a restaurant he frequented. She was kind, loved books and the rain and she played a violin. They’d been dating for nearly two years when she broke it to him that she was pregnant and without hesitation, the next day Mokuba proposed to her. And it was this gesture that had Seto wondering if maybe he should propose to Atem.

And there was a time, before Mokuba had his son, when Seto met Yugi for coffee and Yugi was somber. There was no light or air in his voice. He stared into his cup as he said the words.

“Anzu had a miscarriage…”

Seto had no idea what to say, no idea what to do. And it baffled him beyond words when, as the two parted ways, Yugi told him softly with complete sincerity, “Thank you.”

Three years later Yugi and Anzu would have a healthy daughter, and as Anzu held her for the first time, for as exhausted and drugged as she was, she felt she never wanted that moment to end.

When Sugoroku Mutou died, the fractured pieces of his soul didn’t reunite. Instead Sugoroku went to be with his wife and family. That’s what Atem said, because somehow he knew. At the time, Seto was glad to know his identity wouldn’t be erased by fusing with that other guy. He didn’t think much else of it.

The moon was out in daytime, a lilac-silver hue. Sitting on a park bench, watching Yugi’s daughter try to push Mokuba’s son on the swing set. It was perhaps the most perfect scene Seto’d ever witnessed. It was the light of life.

Seto was fifty-six now. His trips to Atem’s afterlife were becoming harder on his body. How was it that Atem could look at him the same way now as when they were young? Atem was still so beautiful, all lovely skin, his eyes so alive and violet. It was when Seto hit his late twenties that a small piece of him felt filthy touching Atem’s still-young body.

Seto’d been having flu-like symptoms for a long while then. He had hid them as best he could, from others and from himself. When the truth came it punctured his lungs like a knife.

He sat with Atem on the bank of the river as the world turned indigo. The clouds were spectral, blue, and glassy. A sea bird skimmed the air.

“I have cancer.”

Atem stared at him silently, but Seto looked only to the water.

“The survival rate for the variety I have isn’t favorable. I waited too long.”

“Seto…”

Seto said what came next with a detached sharpness. “Do you know what chemotherapy actually is? They poison you, hoping it will kill the tumor before it kills you.”

Atem’s lips tightened. As he took Seto’s hand, Seto had to fight himself to not rip it away.

Children from across the world sent him get-well cards in rainbow-colored envelopes, but he was too numb to open a single one.

He was spilling: a shattered vase, shattered window, firing employees over nothing, deleting entire projects from his computer when one thing went wrong.

His body had betrayed him. He hated being this way, so weak and helpless. New symptoms arrived each time they switched out his chemotherapy. Mottled heat of nausea, a deep ache in every muscle. He felt his body falling apart, and it chilled him to his barest ether to realize he was absolutely terrified. He was terrified as it became more and more difficult to do the small everyday tasks. He was terrified as he knew Mokuba and Yugi were watching him fall apart. He was terrified he’d never see his husband again. To just pull himself out of bed left him wheezing for minutes, hacking up blots of blood-tinted phlegm.

Atem. Was this feeling anything like what he’d felt, that first time he died? There was no nobility in this.

Seto hadn’t been afraid of death before. He could have killed himself right then and have escaped such humiliating misery. But Mokuba’s family. And then Atem’s afterlife… was it also his afterlife? Both of them had noticed how closed off Atem’s world seemed from other spirits. Seto never did meet his parents there. They would never be anything more than ghosts spinning in his memories. But then he never really wanted to find his parents and he never tried. The person he did want to find was the person he’d been chasing from the start: his husband.

The doctors began feeding Seto a regiment of morphine and would pump the fluids from his lungs with a tube, which was always a piercingly painful process. He had to stop working for Kaiba Corporation. He wouldn’t take Yugi’s calls. He was so tired. It was at that point Seto made his decision.

Mokuba had brought Seto home from the hospital. Seto laid propped up in his bed, his lungs cleaned out and raw, and Mokuba sat in a chair beside him. The shadows of the room were blue.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Seto said in a fragile voice.

Mokuba, blank-faced, said nothing to this, an opalescent blade poured across his body from the slit in the window’s curtains.

“I need you to help me with something,” Seto continued.

Mokuba spoke gently. “What is it?”

“Bring me to the space station. If I can’t do it myself, help secure me in the pod.” He breathed in. “Please.”

There was a pause.

“Alright,” Mokuba said.

Seto realized if this worked, he might not see Mokuba or Yugi again. It felt familiar.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

Seto almost added, “You deserved better,” but he held those words inside. Instead he said something else. It was something he’d realized a long time ago. “You were always the stronger one between us.”

There was the faintest flicker of a sad smile on Mokuba’s face.

The trip to the station’s base had been quiet. Seto watched the person Mokuba had grown into, memorized every detail he could. A memory floated to the surface, of the day Mokuba announced he was getting married and was going to be a father. And then another one, forty-seven years old. It was a memory of a sandbox.

They had to take the elevator up in shifts. Around them, everything was steel and cold, a grey luster. Mokuba helped to secure his brother inside the pod, a numbness in his fingertips. Seto heaved and hacked into his palm, leaving smears of dark slime.

“Thank you.”

Mokuba gave him a soft, “hmn.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Both sets of eyes were tired.

“Goodbye, Mokuba.”

Something painful stirred in Mokuba’s face, and then he said, “Good luck. Goodbye, Nii-sama.”

He thought of Atem. Atem’s beautiful spirit blazing like a flame inside the glow of his heart. Seto hadn’t been inside the pod since he began chemo, and he didn’t know if he would survive the journey this time. But he had to try. If he was going to spend eternity inside an afterlife, it had to be that afterlife. It had to be with him. This time, if he made it to that clear sparkling otherworld, he wouldn’t be coming back. His heart thumped like a drum the size of a mountain.

He launched the pod, and it was a pure crystalline light which took his hands and lead him somewhere.

#prideshipping #the darkside of dimensions #seto kaiba #fanfiction

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