#fair warning it's going to be ryo

[ryozakidesu]

After You - N.JM

1/4 diary of the heartbreakers

summary: ➸ ♡ Na Jaemin had it easy. Loved by everybody, the man of everyone's dream. He's a perfect mix of a charmer and a player. Girls begged to be his, and he loved every part of it. Life used to be so fucking perfect for him. Then comes you. You're like an old book, ink fading, cover tearing, but he swears you're worth the read. Before you, life was easy. After you? He wasn't so sure.

"Break my heart, and you'll only find yourself inside."

GENRE: Angst, Smut, Fluff, Mature themes

WARNINGS: Minors DNI, Explicit sexual content, Language, Mental Illness, Drugs/Alcohol usage, Addiction, toxic!reader, fuckboy!Jaemin (but still a sweetheart)

WC: 19k (I got carried away, lol)

DISCLAIMER: This story is purely fanfiction. Only the names of the Idols are used, and does not reflect on them in real life. There's no way in any shape of form that they are like this in person, because I MADE IT UP. I don't personally know them. DO NOT STEAL / TRANSLATE / MODIFY. This is my work and I don't appreciate people stealing it. Thank you.

Enjoy reading! -ryo

"Look who finally decides to show up," Jeno welcomed Jaemin with open arms, Haechan and Renjun following in pursuit.

"Come on, I just saw you guys about a week ago. Don't be dramatic." Jaemin loosened his tie, sat at the vacant seat beside Renjun.

"No Yeri today?" Haechan smirked, obviously mocking Jaemin.

"She has plans with her friends," Jaemin wants to shift the topic quickly, not wanting to be the center of attention for so long.

"Are you sure its not because she hates us?" Renjun looked at Jaemin with his brow raised.

"She hates everyone." Jaemin grabbed the flute glass in front of him as he saw the waiter come by with champagne.

"No offense, Jaemin, but I hate that her too." Haechan, eating the garlic bread. Jaemin rolled his eyes.

"Makes two of us." Jeno chimed in, drinking his champagne aswell. Jaemin didn't say anything, waiting for Renjun's addition to his girlfriend's hate train.

"All of us hate her, actually. Sorry man but your girl is literally the reincarnation of the devil." Renjun.

"You guys done? I know she isn't the best but she's still my girlfriend?" Jaemin, like the other times his friends tell him how horrible his girlfriend is, try to defend her even tho he knows that they're partly right.

"Yeah, we know. One of the mysteries even Sherlock Holmes can't fucking solve." Haechan chuckled. Jaemin let out a sigh and drank the champagne in one shot. He barely gets a break from Yeri, and when he does, his friends still mentions her name in every conversation they have.

"She disrespects everyone, literally went out with you just to show you off to her friends. I don't understand why you're still with her." Jeno rants, trying to make Jaemin understand. He doesn't mean to drag Yeri, but Jeno cannot understand how the likes of Jaemin, will go out with Yeri who treats him like shit.

"No shit, dude. Neither do I." Jaemin admitted, leaning back on his chair before dragging his hands through his hair.

"How about Karina? She's great, you went out with her a few times, right?" Haechan.

Jaemin, for the ninth time this night, rolled his eyes. "She moved to Paris."

"Joy? The girl you took to Haechan's birthday?" Renjun, pulling up a picture of Joy he searched on instagram, just to show to Jaemin.

"Engaged to Sungjae." Jeno answered that one, Sungjae being one of his acquiantances.

"Oh, I know this girl from Busan--"

"Can we not talk about my fucking love life?! Y'all are just stressing me out, God damn." Jaemin massaged his temples, just wanting a breather. Before he went here, he already had an argument with Yeri.

"Chill, man. Fine.. jeez. Just wanted you to know your options." Haechan looks away and shrugged his shoulders. To be fair, his intent was truly innocent. They just wanted their friend to live a happy life.

As per Jaemin's wish, they moved on and changed the topic to something else. After a few drinks, Jaemin started to let loose.

He wondered about a lot of things. One of which is on how he ended up here. Stuck in a relationship he doesn't really want anymore. Seeing his friends and how happy they are really hits something inside Jaemin. When will he find that? Will he even find that?

Just like the other nights Jaemin drinks himself to slumber, a few glasses in and he starts to think of something so dangerous yet so good. Something forbidden, something he would probably regret. He thinks of you.

Jaemin's greatest what if. You were like a fever dream, a memory he would cherish forever. No one can compare to the beauty hold. You were Jaemin's drug, so captivating, yet so vicious.

He wondered where you are. Are you doing fine? Are you happy?

Sometimes Jaemin hopes you still think of him. That his relevance in your life, although it was short, still lingers in your mind once in a while.

And the memories you and him had, even though it was temporary, Jaemin wishes it was enough for him to believe that you'll meet again.

Jaemin met a lot of pretty girls. All of them, actually. Yeri, despite her frowned upon attitude, was actually beautiful. That's what drove Jaemin to ask her out in the first place. He just wasn't aware of the other things that comes with it. No one can deny the beauty that Yeri holds, and even tho it contrasts his friends opinions, they know that Yeri is still one of the prettiest girl Jaemin had.

But was she the most gorgeous? No. Because there was you. They all fall behind, after you.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

The first time he saw you was at the school's cafeteria. You're an art student which he could clearly tell from the messy pencil on your bun as you ate with a friend at the back of the canteen. He knew that friend, Jeonghan, because.. he might've slept with his sister. He still couldn't remember tho, he was stupidly drunk that time.

"Who's that with Jeonghan?" Jaemin asked, still his eyes not leaving your face. As corny as it sounds, everyone's faces blurred out when he saw you.

"That's Jiho's bestfriend? I think? Wait, isn't Jiho that one chick you banged last week?" Haechan, the resident insider was the one to answer. Jaemin mentally cursed himself. You're Jiho's bestfriend. Usually that doesn't matter to Jaemin but somehow he felt some sort of guilt into taking an interest with you. Inevitably, you'll know what happened with Jiho and Jaemin, and you'll definitely see Jaemin as this asshole who slept with your bestfriend.

"Everybody knows that he slept with her, dude." Jeno chimed in, smirking.

"More like, everybody heard." Renjun followed, which earned a hefty laugh from his group of friends. Usually, Jaemin would respond with a strong punch in the arm but he was still in a dilemma on how he should approach you without giving off an asshole vibe in him.

Jaemin came up with a plan. Not a good one, but still, a plan. He would casually pass the Arts building, specifically where you usually hang out which was at the Art studio at the top floor, (don't ask him how he found out-- he has his ways) and just ask you where the exit to the building is since he never really got around this part of the university.

His plan sounded good, and just to be assured, he asked Haechan. Which wasn't a very good choice but the way Haechan got around the girls in the university, he deserved some credit. In typical Lee Haechan way he responded, "That'd totally work, dude. I don't know how that would go wrong."

Well, Jaemin now know how it would go fucking wrong.

As the plan goes, he reaches the top floor of the building and walked towards the Art studio at 5pm, because according to his sources, you like to stay after class to do your project on the Art studio. Again, don't ask Jaemin how he got those information. Which is proven to be credible, because he did find you sketching on a canvas by yourself. He could hear a faint music playing on the studio as you sketch, which Jaemin could tell was a portrait of a lady.

He cleared his throat, as he opened the door. Just like in his script, he spoke,

"Hey, uh, excuse me? I've been finding the exit from this building and uhm, I just can't. Can you-- uhm," Okay, fine, Jaemin did fuck that one up. But how can he not, when you turned around so majestically with the golden sunray perfetcly hitting your face which gave Jaemin a full view of your beauty?

"Na Jaemin? What the hell are you doing here?" You stood up, walking towards the speaker and turned it off.

"You know me?" Jaemin asked a dumb question. Everybody knows who he is. He's a fucking famous-- wait, no, he's just famous for fucking. That's it.

"Jiho and all the other girls around this place can't stop talking about how big your dick is, so I'd like to think I'm familiar with you, yes." Sarcasm fit perfectly with you, Jaemin thought. Although, he did not expect you to be this harsh given your soft exterior, nonetheless, he still found you pretty.

"Uh, that's uhm-- not the point, I need to find the exit." Stick to the plan, stupid. Jaemin had thought.

What surprises him even more was your sudden burst of laughter. What's so funny? Embarassment started to fill Jaemin, finding the whole situation dumb and stupid. Why are you laughing at him? This is the first time Jaemin felt this. Usually, girls are all over him, why are you laughing at him like he's some stupid idiot?

"Do you realize that if you're trying to find the exit, you go down the building, not the top floor?" At that exact moment, Jaemin wanted to bury himself alive.

--

"Dude, I didn't think you would fumble this bad." Jeno couldn't hold his laughter after Jaemin told him what had occured in the Art studio. There was only Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin in the dorm today, Haechan was steering out of Jaemin's view eversince he received a threat from his friend, quote, 'I'm gonna burn your hair off your scalp, Lee Haechan'

"You just turned around and left? Are you serious?" Renjun was more like dumbfounded. He expected more from Jaemin, being infamous in their little friendgroup for being a lowkey manwhore. He could not believe Jaemin could act so-- foolish?

"I didn't know what to say or do, bro. This is Haechan's fault, fuck!" Jaemin looked like a prepubescent teen screaming into his pillow. A couple leg-flailing and he'd successfully portray a thirteen yearold boy.

"This one's on you. You know damn well Haechan could pull that shit off with his over confident ass. Whats with this girl anyways?" Jeno asked, with little to no care about whatever Jaemin answered. He already knew you were Jaemin's type.

"You know Jaemin and his thing for innocent girls, Jeno. Are you not with him for the last seven years?" Renjun stated, which Jeno just nodded and shrugged.

"But the way she shut you down, I wouldn't say she's too innocent." Jeno had the other two thinking. Yes, with your soft brown hair and cute features, especially your love for art, you look like the stereotypical good girl that captured Jaemin's eyes. But your encounter says otherwise. No good girl can resist Na Jaemin. Everybody knows that.

Na Jaemin, contrary to his friend's beliefs, is the recent most popular man in his school. All of them were, but every student that knows him, (which is everyone) Na Jaemin is number one in his little friendgroup. He's the perfect balance between a player and a charmer.

Nobody hated the guy, they all liked him. Had the title of Prom King for four consecutive years, and has a squeaky clean reputation. Oh, don't get him wrong tho, he's a manwhore, still. Its just that every girl he has been with doesn't have any bad thing to say about the guy. He's got a great dick and even better personality. Word got around that even guys wouldn't mind if he slept with their girlfriends. That's how loved Jaemin is around the campus. He has a way with words, that once Jaemin calls quits on a girl, that girl would even say "Thank you."

Jaemin likes to think he's just being nice, but Haechan calls him a professional manipulator and gaslighter. Which if you do see it in a technical way, Jaemin's sweet words does affect the way girls interpret his intentions. Because in all honesty, he's just fucking and ghosting. But with a couple of I'm sorry's or Sweetheart's or maybe even a little bit of 'You don't deserve a man like me,' Jaemin easily could bounce out everytime.

"Also, why have we not heard about her? I mean, a face like that? Its impossible that she hadn't shown Haechan's radar." Renjun stated. Its true, it does feel weird that none of them knew who you were, specially Haechan. He's quite literally the hot girl radar and you definitely qualified as one. Its rate that Haechan never made a move on you, or even talked to you.

"Maybe she's really weird or has like a third nipple." Jeno sounds genuine, which was even worse. Jaemin couldn't help but question how is this man his best friend.

"Can you not be a twelve year-old?" Jaemin, as he threw a cushion over Jeno's side.

"Anyways, let's go back to Jaemin being a stupid idiot,"

--

["You got it?"] Renjun's voice was heard through the phone.

"Yes, you bitch. Now once I get home, I expect my beer and chicken laid in my table perfectly, or I'm burning your book." Its almost 7pm and almost everyone had already left the campus but Jaemin. Renjun had asked him to fetch his book from a friend, because Jaemin is the only one staying in the campus this late. For the reason being, well, he had a little make out sesh after his last class with Jiho.

Jaemin wasn't intentionally doing it just to spite you, its just Jiho was a great kisser. And maybe to get information about you, just a little. But that did not happen because he did not have the chance to actually talk to her about you as his mouth was a little preoccupied.

As he walked through the hallway, a door suddenly opened, which revealed you, hair dishevelled and your shirt was wrinkled. He knew that posture too well, out of all people, he's the one most familiar of it. You just did the nasty with someone.

In the school grounds? Jaemin scoffs. He was about to approach you when another body also came out of the room.

No way. No fucking way! Jaemin's eyes went wild, his jaw slowly parts as he saw who it was. He quickly hides behind one of the lockers to avoid you seeing him, only peeking his head a bit to confirm what he just saw.

Nurse Suh. You're sleeping with the school nurse. Jaemin was utterly shocked, as he contemplated on what he should do next. You're definitely not the innocent and soft girl he thought you would be, you're so far from it. And as far as he knows, Nurse Suh has a girlfriend! And not to mention, it's illegal!

"Nurse Suh?!" The three of his friends couldn't believe it either. Jaemin just could not keep the information to himself. He knew he could trust his friends.

"I mean, yes he's hot but isn't he like 34?" Jeno questioned.

"Dumbass, he's only 27. Him and my older brother are friends." Haechan said, then quickly looking back at Jaemin.

"And she's what, 22? I don't see anything wrong here." Haechan shrugged. Of course, out of all of them, Haechan would find this situation fine. He had slept with a teacher before, and called it his 'great awakening'.

"He has a girlfriend, you fucking idiot." Renjun said, hitting Haechan in the back of the head.

"So? You gotta do what you gotta do, man. Honestly, if I was Nurse Suh, I would tap it too." Followed by a playful chuckle, Haechan got another slap in the back of the head, this time, from Jeno.

"Stop hitting me! I need to protect my braincells, I need to pass the test tomorrow, you assholes." Haechan whined, massaging his head.

"Wait, Haechan, did you not know her before?" It was Jaemin's turn to ask, genuinely curious on why Haechan never made a move on you.

Haechan is basically like Jaemin, but even more evil. Sure, they're both manwhores but Jaemin leaves nicely. As to Haechan, he would leave without saying a word and pretend to not know you the next day. While Jaemin would receive love letters, Haechan receives death threats and some hex put on him. Its not like he's bad in bed, because if he is, he wouldn't be able to get his dick wet as frequent as he is now. It's because Haechan does not care for people's feelings.

"I did, I know who she was." Haechan shrugged. All three of them looked at him.

"Why didn't you.. like... tell me about that?" Jaemin's voice was small, a bit shy with what he just said.

"Because It's kinda funny when you get turned down." Haechan had a smile on his face whilst he said it. Jeno shook his head and Renjun just scoffed.

"Please tell me you're joking." Renjun. The boy laughed even more louder while shaking his head and before he knows, a flying cushion came straight to his face. But it didn't stop Haechan from smiling like an idiot.

"You know what's ridiculous, Haechan? That fucking faded out starwars shirt, because I'm gonna make you eat it you fucker!--" Jaemin fought back, reaching out for his friend but Haechan quickly moved away from him

"I'm sorry, Jaeminnie-- but I did try to flirt with her but she's cold as ice, man. And you all know how persistent I am so when me, Lee Haechan, gave up on a girl, you know that girl's impossible. And I heard that she never dates, well, I guess now I know why." Haechan explained himself but Jaemin is still annoyed and pissed.

"So you just let your friend get his ass handed to him? You should've told Jaem, man." Jeno.

"Admit it, It's kinda funny when Jaemin gets rejected. I mean, it almost never happens. And the one time it did, we're not even there to witness it." Haechan keeps smiling, pissing off Jaemin more, but his mind is else where.

---

"I had to say, I'm surprised you called me twice this week. Am I finally cracking your fuckboy code, Na Jaemin?" Jiho had a smirk on her face when he approached Jaemin at the closed off audiotorium in the science building.

"Can you sit down first?" Jaemin scooted a bit and gave space for Jiho to sit down. He has a whole different plan today, and although inviting the girl in his usual makeout spot almost always leads up to them hooking up, this time Jaemin is persistent on asking Jiho about you.

"This is weird. Aren't you taking my skirt off?" Jiho hesitantly sat beside the boy, expecting a kiss but instead, Jaemin has his brows furrowed and seemed bothered

"What? No. Not now. I just want to ask you something." Jaemin turned his body facing Jiho.

"You're being weird." Jiho leaned away a bit, still confused about the whole situation.

"You know y/n?" Jaemin goes straight to the point. Jiho had a visible shock in her face. She never expected your name to pop out from anyone's mouth, and especially not Jaemin's.

"Yes? Why?" Slowing her words, she inspected Jaemin's features.

"Nothing. Why haven't I seen her before?" The question Jaemin is most interested about.

"She's never gonna be interested with you, or anyone. Leave her alone." Jiho suddenly stood up, turned around and walked away as fast as she can, but not as fast as Jaemin.

Before she could even leave the auditorium, Jaemin got a hold of her wrist. "Why are you this weird about her?"

"I know you think you can woo her because you're Na Jaemin and you're a fucking playboy or some shit, but I'm telling you, not even as your hook up buddy, she's worse than you. So I suggest, as your friend, stay. away. from y/n."

---

"This is totally not weird. Yeah sure, I mean, we're just following a random girl walking down the street. Totally not weird." Renjun for one was scammed into doing this. Jaemin asked him to go with him and go buy some pants in the mall for a promise for Haidilao afterwards. Ofcourse Renjun is gonna agree, because he would never pass a free hotpot.

What Jaemin failed to say is that he has a little side quest on his itenirary for today. For someone who's unbothered most of the time, Jaemin is going insane thinking about the mystery that is you. And Jiho's outburst absolutely did not help at all.

"We're not following her. We're just y'know... happens to be in the same way as her." Jaemin knew what he was saying was bullshit, and that Renjun would never believe a word he says. But he would never admit that he's letting someone go and do cartwheel on his mind for almost two weeks now.

"Except we can't walk more than ten feet closer and we've been turning in the same corners as her for about thirty minutes." Sarcasm did not need to be noted.

Jaemin didn't listen and continued walking the same direction as you. This is definitely out of his character, but he has to know you. He's been intrigued enough to actually make an effort to atleast know who you were.

Suddenly, you turned left, into a busy cafe. "You promised me Haidilao, Na Jaemin. Not coffee!" Renjun started being a little irritated. He's hungry, exhausted and disappointed from Jaemin's fake promises. He doesn't need coffee right now, and hell, he's not gonna sit inside a cafe when he could have hotpot right now!

"Jesus, shut the fuck up!" Jaemin dug into his pocket and reached for his phone, typing for a minute and Renjun felt his own phone vibrated.

"Nice. I'll see you later, Sherlock Holmes." Jaemin sent Renjun money for hotpot, which quickly shifted the boy's mood.

"You're useless!" Jaemin yelled as Renjun walked away. "You love me!" Renjun replied with a smile as he skips away.

Jaemin hesitated a bit if he should enter the cafe. Is it too much just to suddenly show up where you are? No. This is the townsquare, students from his and your school are frequents here. It's not gonna be weird. Right, definitely.

The cafe is full packed, quite a line forming. There seems ro be no tables available, but Jaemin still decides to go inside. But as soon as he steps inside the cafe, his feet turned ice cold.

"Alright! I know, I'm sorry!" He sees you hurriedly putting on your apron, as another man seemingly upset with you. He quickly steps into the line of customers, and he just hopes that once he's on the counter, you would be the one serving him.

Jaemin thought he had time to calculate how he's gonna approach you, but the line was quickly moving, and he swear, he's fucking nervous. What if you didn't remember him? Or find him weird for being here?

As the last one in front of him turned to leave, he's finally infront of you. Unfortunately, you weren't looking and focused on the monitor in front of you.

"Uhm," he cleared his throat, trying to get your attention.

"What can I get you, sir?" Your customer service voice was obvious, and quite frankly, annoying. You smiled brightly at him, which he deemed so fake.

"Iced Americano, small." Jaemin's voice was deeper than usual, partly because he's nervous, and maybe because he wanted a cool guy impression.

"You literally followed me here just to get a small americano?" The humour in your voice makes Jaemin embarassed. Wide eyed, Jaemin feigned confusion, not wanting to be caught in 4k.

"I wasn't following y-you?" One thing Jaemin was bad at, was definitely lying. The way he stuttered at his last word says so.

You fought a smirk, again, leaving poor Jaemin feeling so little. "Sure, and the gravity isn't real."

"I swear, I'm not--"

"I'm on a break by 6:30. One small americano, right, sir?" You smiled at him, and Jaemin can fucking feel it. His heart skipping a beat.

"Make that large."

----

His drink already warm, ice all melted into one bland coffee, Jaemin started to feel pathetic. He's been sitting here, on the side of the cafe for almost three hours. He's realizing how stupid he is for doing all of this for someone who's not even that... special. He doesn't know you. You're pretty, yes, but there's always gonna be another girl who's prettier. Maybe its his dick thinking and doing the decisions earlier, but Jaemin saw his entire reputation go so far down if anybody knew he waited for you for three fucking hours. He never knew he could do all of this for a pussy he can easily get with other girls who would even beg for him.

Simmering in his own thoughts, Jaemin huffs and almost stood up to leave, Until he saw his phone, 6:29.

Shit, only one more minute wouldn't hurt anybody? No. Fuck her for playing hard to get. I'm Na fucking Jaemin! Who does she think she is?!

Just as Jaemin actually stood up, he saw you walking slowly towards him while undoing your apron, smile on your face making his knees literally weak that he had to sit down again.

"Leaving already?" You asked, sitting in front of him.

"I-I was just... stretching my legs." If his friends are here to hear the words he just said, he might just jump off a cliff.

"Sure. Now, tell me, Na Jaemin-ssi. What the fuck do you want from me?" Okay, now this, Jaemin did not expect this. Your words sounded harsh but your soft voice says otherwise. Being passive aggresive just makes Jaemin confused all over again.

But fuck it, you wanna play hard? Jaemin can do that. His patience wearing thin, he leaned back on the chair and smirked, almost like flipping on a switch in his aura.

"I want to fuck you." Jaemin didn't whisper, or even lower his voice. He said it so casually, and he noticed your confident stare flinch for a bit.

"I would, but I'm afraid you're not my type." Its like you two were having an asshole-off and seeing who's more cockier than the other. Jaemin isn't competitive, but he's not gonna lose this one.

"Don't be silly. I'm everybody's type." Jaemin definitely won by that line. Or so he thoughts.

"Judging from words on the streets, You're a walking STD. I think I'm gonna pass." This time, Jaemin's sure that you're just pissing him off. Maybe this is your way of playing hard to get, but Jaemin likes to play dirty.

"I fuck a lot but I'm clean, and even if that happens, I'm sure your little school nurse friend can help you." Visible shock in your face, its clear that Jaemin pushed your buttons. Your confident facade slowly shaking, as you gulped and blink trying to process what he just said.

But that didn't last long, only seconds after, you pulled back your smirk. "Oh, you've done some research, I see."

"Now come on, pretty girl. What do you say?" He started to feel it. He's cracking your hard shell.

"Are you really good in bed as they say you were?"

"Go on and ask your friend."

---

"Holy f-fuck, J-jaemin.. shit.. slowdown!" Your table aggressively banging as you bent over it, Jaemin mercilessly pistoning you from behind. His pants not even half way down his thighs, the lower hem of his shirt in between his teeth, showing his glistening abs flexing as he thrusts.

His left hand locking both yours behind your back, and his right hand keeping your head on the table, facing your side. Your mesh tights has been ripped, your skirt all the way up your stomach. One by one, your things that was left on the table started to fall on the ground, as Jaemin's aggressive thrusts forcefully moves the table on a rocking motion.

"Shi.. fuck, I'm coming.." Your hoarse voice was prominent, only motivates Jaemin to hit even harder. Only grunts and growls was heard from the boy, his moans blocked by his shirt between his teeth. Jaemin wasn't only fucking you, he's proving a point aswell. To you, and to himself.

He removes his hands from your head, allowing you to look at him from behind. His free hand brushed his hair backwards, still keeping his tempo. Sweat dripping, his thrusts started to stutter. He then grabbed your face, and pulled you to his chest. Letting go of the shirt in his lips, he whispered, "Come with me, sweetheart."

His hands finding your waist as he felt your walls tighten, an intense whine leaving your mouth as your leg shakes quietly. That triggered his own release, murmuring a few curse words as all his movements halts. Only heavy breathing was heard, everything else dead silent. He slowly pulls out, earning a moan from the both of you.

"That was.." You couldn't even finish, fixing your clothes, quickly sitting at one of your chairs on the table, afraid your knees might give out.

"Intense." Jaemin tucked himself on his pants as he sat down in front of you.

"Not bad," You smirked at him, trying to keep your composure. Jaemin smirked back, proud of himself.

"I thought I wasn't your type?"

"Gotta know what's all the fuss is about. I guess the cat died and curiousity wins." Out of breath, you suddenly picked something on the floor, and Jaemin notices that its a marker that had fell from the table.

"If you wanna do this again," you stared grabbing Jaemin's arms and writing your number on it. "...give me a call, yeah?"

"How about Nurse Suh?" Jaemin didn't wanna sound like a little whiny boy but he had to ask. Is she still going to continue seeing him?

"What about him?" You raised your brows at him.

"Won't he be mad?" Jaemin can see the laugh you held in, before shaking your head.

"We're not in a relationship, and will never be. Same goes to you. We just fuck and go. I'm clean, I hope you are too, and we're not passing the line of being each other's fuck buddy. None of that corny shit, or you're out. I hope you understand, Jaeminnie, you're just a good dick with a pretty face." Your soft face does not match the words you just spilled out. And Jaemin thinks he's hit the jackpot.

No commitments? Just good sex? With you? He thinks he's in heaven. He can't wait to tell the boys about this.

If Jaemin was in the movies, he would've fisted the air and smiled like an idiot.

"Here's to good sex?" Jaemin offers his hand, which you gladly accepted. "Good sex indeed."

---

Jaemin never minded what day it is. Just as long as he did what he needs to do today, he's fine. Tomorrow will have to wait. But eversince you, suddenly he felt impatient and counted the days until he saw you again.

After a few weeks, Jaemin and you saw each other twice a week, mostly Thursdays and Sundays, the days where your schedules matched. Jaemin never knew he would be stuck with one girl for this long, but damn. You're too good. You keep Jaemin on his toes every time he sees you. You were like a gift, waiting to be opened everytime. The excitement and the thrill always feels brand new. And Jaemin would never admit it, but every week, he'd hope the other days go by quickly and wishes it was Thursday again.

"He's smiling like a creep again, Jeno! What the fuck is up with your bestfriend?!" Haechan dramatically hid behind Jeno as Jaemin walked inside their little hang out spot, the old elementay library that became abandoned throughout the renovations.

"He's apparently getting the best pussy in the campus." Jeno shrugged and pushed Haechan away before he plopped himself down the couch.

"You're banging Im Hayeon?" Haechan widen his eyes as he strides towards Jaemin.

"No, dimwit. He's fucking y/n." Renjun, unbothered as usual as he continued drawing in his iPad.

"No way-- no fucking way!" Haechan gasps, grabbing Jaemin's shoulder as he shook it. Jaemin slaps away Haechan's hands and pushed him aside to sit beside Jeno.

"Shut up, Haechan. You're being dramatic." Jaemin pulled out his phone, hoping he would see your name pop up. Surprisingly, nothing but social media notifications greeted him, message requests and follows from people he doesn't know. He checked what time it is, 2:45pm.

Okay. Its still early. She'll text later.

"In all seriousness, dude, do you guys talk? like aside from doing it-- I mean." Jeno's tone was unusual. It's like he's being careful about something, or he wants to say something.

"Yeah? The fuck? D'you think we just fuck and go? Of couse we talk. Why?" Jaemin noticed Jeno's way of talking, turning his whole body towards his bestfriend.

"She tell you something about her?" This time, Renjun and Haechan leaned in.

"Get to the point, man." Jaemin.

"Nah, cuz the girl I was with last night told me that she's really... uh, popular at her previous school." Jeno, knowing the whole context, winced at the word 'popular'.

"What do you mean?" Jaemin's smile when he came here was no longer visible, replacing it with a frown as his brows creased in nervousness.

"I don't know-- man, I think you just... ask her, y'know?" Jeno wasn't comfortable sharing the information he had, but he knew Jaemin needs to know. But he wasn't sure if he's in the place to tell it.

But Haechan did not give a fuck. He's intrigued, and before they knew it, he's deep inside his phone texting someone.

"What are you doing?" Renjun asked.

"Since Jeno is being a pussy and won't share, I'm finding it out." And a second before Haechan could even type another letter, Jeno grabbed his phone away.

"Don't! Don't fucking search it. We should respect her, man. She's still a girl and I heard it was taken down---"

Haechan gasped even louder, even breathing out an "oh my god", He didn't say it out loud but the four of them were thinking the same thing.

"Holy fuck, she has a sex tape?!" Haechan, ofcourse was the first one to break the silence.

And once again, you surprised Jaemin.

---

"I'm famished, god damn." You sat beside Jaemin on your old couch, digging a spoon on your bowl of cereal. Your top barely even buttoned, you started eating a spoonfull after another.

"Slow down, you'll--" before Jaemin even finishes, you caught something in your throat and coughed almost everything in your mouth.

"What did i tell you? Aish-" Jaemin quickly then grabbed the tissue beside the couch and started to wipe your face. He grabbed the bowl from you, putting it aside and wiping some of the milk that had spilled on you.

He then stood up and walked towards your kitchen, as if he owns the place. Next thing you know, he comes back with a glass of water in his hands.

"Thank you," you managed to blurt out in the middle of your coughing and drank the water.

"I thought you didn't have a gag reflex the way you sucked my dick earlier," Jaemin joked, earning a playful slap in his shoulder from you.

"Shut up, movies starting." Jaemin didn't give a single fuck about the movie playing on screen. Haechan's voice keeps ringing in his ear, and as much as he wanted to stay out of it and respect your privacy, something in him wants to know. Its like an itch wanting to be scratched.

"Tom Holland's like the perfect spiderm-- Jaemin?" The boy's trance was interrupted when you call his name. He didn't realize that he was staring off to nothing instead of watching the movie he picked.

"Yeah?" Jaemin blinked thrice before looking at you, your eyes peaked interest as you examined his face.

"You're out of it, what're you thinking?" You paused the movie, moving your body to fully face him.

Jaemin can't wait. He has to know. "Just curious, where did you say your last school is?" He hoped his question wasn't too obvious.

"I didn't say anything?" Okay, hold up. Plan backfired. Fuck!

"What? I-I swear you told me, like, last time? Sacre--"

"Sacred Heart. Yeah. And no, I didn't tell you about it." Like the many times, Jaemin was nervous. Again. You make him so.. unlike himself. What the fuck is it with you?

"Oh, wait, are you sure--"

"You heard about it, huh?" Jaemin couldn't tell if the smirk on your face was a good thing. He doesn't want to fuck this up, and he's starting to think he just did.

"I'm sorry, If you don't want to talk about it--"

"It's fine. It's not that bad. Hell, It could've earned so much if it was uploaded in a porn site, y'know? Stupid Mr. Nakamoto," You chuckled, nonchalantly turning your body towards the screen again, as if what you just said didn't just shocked Jaemin to the core.

The fact that you weren't bothered about it, and even sounded like you're bragging about it wasn't the main thing Jaemin was apalled by. "Mr. Nakamoto?"

You smiled, as if you were reminiscing, "He was my Biology teacher. Couldn't accept the fact that I'm leaving him so he went and blackmailed me with the video, but his phone got stolen and poof, it spread around like a wildfire. If you ask another person tho, they'd just say I spread it myself. You choose what you believe-- I don't really care." And you looked like it too. You did not care, because if you did, you wouldn't just tell all of this to Jaemin.

"Did anything happened to that assho-- Mr. Nakamoto?" Jaemin feels heated. He doesn't know why, but what he knows is he wants to suckerpunch whoever that Nakamoto is.

"Got his license removed, but you know what's even more fun?" You leaned onto him, your lips next to his ear and whispered, "His wife was so devastated her husband had to find someone younger to fuck, she filed for divorce the very next day."

And just like that, Jaemin was left speechless. Again.

---

"Jaem, someone's looking for you." Renjun tapped his friend's shoulder, pointing at the student standing on the door. Jaemin slowly opened his eyes, way too tired to even stand up, and looked who it was.

To his surprise, it was Yoon Jeonghan. He knew this would come sooner or later, since he had a.. thing with his sister for a while. But he never thought that Jeonghan cared, afterall, Jeonghan never talked to him about it.

But oh boy, was he wrong.

"Heard you're fooling around with y/n?" Jeonghan was serious. He wasn't looking at Jaemin, he's just staring ahead. His hands on his pocket, as Jaemin stood behind him, confused.

"Yeah? What about it?" He knew you and Jeonghan were friends, he often sees you with him. But why does this conversation feel more intense?

"And my sister already talked to you about it, right?" This time, Jeonghan looked at him.

"Yeah, she's being weird about it." Somehow, Jaemin wants this conversation to be about Jiho instead of you. He wishes Jeonghan was only after him because of his sister, because then, he knew what to do. But its you. Jaemin never know what to do with you.

"Because she's right. You should stay away from her, man. Just-- a friendly advice, alright?" Jaemin hated how Jeonghan sounded so sincere. What could be so awful about you that even this man, who he never even talked to, warned him about you?

"Dude, not to sound rude, but how the fuck does me fucking around with y/n, your business?" His voice slightly getting sharper, owing to the fact that he hated getting told what to do.

"You're a good man, Na. I'm sure there's more prettier-- even more fucking hotter girls than her. She's not..." Jeonghan paused, almost saying something he would regret, "... good for you. I've known her forever, and she's not the type to be with."

"I know you're older than me, and I mean this with utmost respect, you and your sister should mind your own business. I don't know what she did to you and Jiho, but she's fine. And we're not even together! We're just fooling around! Y'all are so dramatic." With that, Jaemin turned around and left Jeonghan. He sounded so unbothered by all of this, but in all honestly, he's starting to question if there's really a valid reason on why Jeonghan and Jiho was so sincere about you being apparently, a bad person.

The way you laugh at Jaemin, the way you smiled, you tell your stories, and everything Jaemin saw you do, you being a bad person doesn't make sense to him. Sure, you've done some fucked up things but Jaemin never cared about that. You showed him genuine happiness, and Jaemin could never see you in the light that Jeonghan and Jiho painted you out to be.

And just like clockwork, your name popped up in his screen. Just as if everything in the past fifteen minutes never happened, his steps became slightly faster as he grabbed his things. He couldn't be more excited to see you again.

---

"This is pretty." Jaemin pointed out a painting, whilst he dressed himself. You were also doing the same thing, but you looked at where he was pointing at.

It was your artwork from last year. The canvas was leaning beside your dresser, along with other canvasses that you never put up.

"Wonderstruck." you said. You were a bit appalled that Jaemin noticed the only work you were actually proud of. It wasn't even displayed in the front, it was almost entirely covered by unfinished canvasses.

"Wonderstruck? That's its name? It's really beautiful." Jaemin sounded sincere, he really found the painting pretty. It was a couple, sitting by a river on golden hour. Sky was the shade of orange and blue, nighttime seeking in but the sun's still there, laying real low. It was in a middle of a field, lavender flowers scattered around.

It was new to you, men showing interest on something more than your face and body. It sparked something in you, Jaemin knew that with the way you jumped out of your bed, biting your lip, hesitating for a second, "Want to show you something."

"What do you think?" You were standing beside your kitchen table, with a few printed photos of people Jaemin didn't know. It was all in black in white, and all of them showed genuine smiles.

"Cool. Who are they?" Jaemin was adjusting his belt as he scanned every picture. The way you're looking so innocent and fluffy, showing him your photo collection can fool a person into thinking you did not just have mindblowing sex minutes prior. Jaemin stifles a laugh.

You, in your overalls smiled so brightly at him, excited that Jaemin showed interest on your work. "They're random people I saw on the street." You were fidgety, kept on arranging the photos. Looking at Jaemin for any signs of validation. Jaemin thought you were so cute, but he never said it out loud.

"Is it for your project?" Now, Jaemin doesn't have a single clue about the Art department in his school, but he knew it's important for you, so he tried his best.

"No. I just did it." You took one picture and showed it to him upclose. "I just like to see people smiling, you know? There's just something so precious with asking people to smile for you. Because when they do, you can tell that they just feel.. pretty. And I like making people feel pretty." You were so caught up in explaining that you didn't notice how Jaemin was looking at you. And he was thankful you didn't see it.

The way his eyes just expressed a thousand strings of emotions he's afraid to show almost felt dangerous, he didn't want to get caught. But for a moment, he let it happen because he was sure you were focused on something else. All the while he was focused on you. Because while you were explaining how smiling makes people pretty, he was thinking that you didn't need to smile and he's already thinking that you were the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on.

But before you could even looked at him, Jaemin quickly focused his gaze on the photo you were showing him. "That's cool. But I never knew you were into photography aswell. I thought you were into paintings only."

"I'm into art, Jaem. And art comes with different things. Although I like painting more, photography is my second favorite. Here, before you go," Swiftly, you grabbed your polaroid camera and stood beside Jaemin, putting your arms around his shoulder making you stand on your tippy toes, and angling the camera where it could capture you both. Jaemin was caught by surprise but he still managed to smile and pull you tighter.

As soon as the flash disappeared, you removed yourself from him and grabbed the film. "This one's for you, so you could remember who your best sex was." She winked at him and chuckled before going back to rearrange her photos.

Jaemin, on the other hand, his eyes never left your figure. He was in awe, he was amazed, and fuck it, he was wonderstruck. But most importantly, he was fucking scared.

---

The next thursday came, and surprisingly, you didn't call. Jaemin liked to think you were just busy, so he never reached out. There's still sunday, he thought. And even if you didn't reach out this sunday, its okay. It's not like you had to keep the schedule, right?

Besides, Jaemin was busy aswell. He's planning Jeno's birthday. Usually, Renjun and Haechan was the one assigned to planning parties, but Renjun was occupied and Haechan wasn't feeling it. They were still helping Jaemin, its just that Jaemin wanted to throw a party for his bestfriend this time. Also, to take his mind off of you for a bit.

If he wasn't busy and occupied with something, Jaemin might go insane thinking about where you are or why you haven't been calling him. So he initiated.

"How fucking long is your list, Jaemin?" Renjun couldn't believe how long he's been scrolling through Jaemin's list for the party invitations. Yet, he isn't surprised.

"You know you can just announce that you're throwing a party and literally everyone who knows you and Jeno will come, right?" Haechan, laying on the couch scrolling mindlessly on his phone.

"Nah, I don't want some weirdo showing up uninvited." Jaemin pointed out, but he left out another reason. He wanted to waste time on listing names just to get you out his mind even for a short time.

"Well don't forget about Jisung's best friend." Haechan smirked.

"Jeno's brother's bestfriend? That's weirdly specific, bro." Jaemin added, shrugging his shoulders. Still, he wrote it down.

"A little birdie told me that Jeno has a thing for his brother's bestfriend." Haechan chuckled, fixing his glasses.

"What? How come I never knew that?" Jaemin asked. He's Jeno's best friend and an information like this would surely come up. Yet its the first time he's heard of this.

"That's because you're so far up that mystery y/n girl's ass you're starting to look like anal beads, bro." Renjun winced at Haechan's choice of words, but then again, he's used to it.

"I'm not, dude. I'm here most of the time, aren't I?" Jaemin looked at Renjun for validation, but he just rolled his eyes at him.

"He's actually right, Jaemin. You're whipped." Renjun added, smirking.

"What the fuck are you talking about? I'm literally here in front of you guys, on a thursday, which I'm supposed to be with her-- but I'm not because she didn't call-- but also because I want to be with you ass--"

"The more you talk, the more you prove our point. You're fucking whipped, Na Jaemin." Haechan sat down properly, playfull shoving Jaemin to provoke him. Jaemin just hit Haechan's hands away but that didn't stop the boy from annoying him.

"Think of it, dude. You went through two months with her-- only her. Two months-- dude. That's fucking bizarre for you. It's either that pussy was gold, or-- just like what we're saying, your ass is whipped." Haechan was pissing Jaemin off, not because he doesn't agree, its because he does. And admitting that would just fuck up everything you two have.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You guys are tripping, big time. I'm not whipped." Lies tasted bitter in his mouth. He might just be whipped.

He walked out of their hangout room, and just as he opened the door, his eyes widen. You were there, standing with your messy bun, clueless eyes and a box in your hand.

"H-hey?" Jaemin was caught offguard, as he closed the door behind him.

"That room looks like it stinks."

Jaemin chuckled, it does. "Mostly of weed and old furniture. What's up?"

"I,- uh, baked some cookies. Just-- y'know, wanted you to have some." You awkwardly raised your box of cookies to present them to Jaemin, and it takes so much of him not to melt on the spot.

"Thank you," Jaemin resisted the urge to call you 'baby', mostly because he didn't know if he was allowed to do it outside your apartment.

"Tell you what-- why don't we eat it together?" Jaemin.

"I'm free until 4:30?"

"Cool, we can go to the garden, there's barely any student there."

Jaemin smiled and grabbed you by your wrist. "But I know a much more cooler place."

"Really? Where?" Jaemin stopped, and it was your turn to hold him by the wrist.

Jaemin didn't ask, he just let you drag him anywhere. You could take him to a lion's den, he wouldn't care. Anywhere is fine with him as long as you're there.

After climbing on a flight of stairs, Jaemin noticed that you two ended up on Art department building's rooftop.

He hasn't been in here, and it was.. interesting. It looks like any other rooftop, messy and full of unused class chairs, except there was a spot where there's an old couch, just like what they have on their hangout spot. There's a random mini refrigerator and a lamp-- thats it.

"This is my super secret place. Be greatful I let you in here." You squinted your eyes at Jaemin as you patted the seat beside you, basically asking him to sit.

Jaemin did so, and looked ahead. He can see the entire school campus in here.

"This is pretty." He whispered.

"Much better than your stinky room, huh?" You bragged, opening a can of cola that you have on the mini fridge.

"Hey, how come you have that? We requested to have one but the stupid school didn't let us."

"Oh, this little guy? Johnny helped me with it." You smirked, tapping the blue mini fridge.

"Johnny?" A new name in Jaemin's books. Who's Johnny?

"Nurse Suh? His name is Johnny Suh, you didn't know?"

"I didn't." His vibe went a bit south, but he didn't let that spoil your moment together. It was rare for you to approach him in school, and he wanted to have that moment.

"This is good, damn." Jaemin munched on the cookies you got for him and it was honestly tasty. Better than any other cookies he had before, or maybe he was biased and his judgement was greatly affected by the fact that you made it. Eitherway, the cookies are delicious.

"I only made one batch and even that was too much for me. I wanted to give some out but.." you paused. "Funny, you're the only one I had in mind."

"Nurse Suh?" Jaemin didn't even know why he brought the guy up again, but he did.

"Nah, we don't do that." You smiled.

"And we do?" A tinge of hope sparked in Jaemin, that maybe he had some difference between him and Nurse Suh. Maybe you do treat him more special. A guy can dream, can't he?

"Sure, we do. I mean, I can't just throw away this exceptionally good tasting cookies, can't I? And you're the only one I have right now.. so."

Jaemin was enthusiastic. He felt like he won something. He can't help but smile even more, but also, he felt bad. When you said he was the only one you have, he thought about Jiho and Jeonghan.

"What about the Yoon siblings?"

You let out a humourless chuckle, more like a scoff. "Jiho doesn't talk to me anymore and Jeonghan.. well. It's complicated."

"I swear I just saw you two eating at the cafeteria." Heck, that's how he found out about you. Because you were sitting at the cafeteria beside Jeonghan.

"He just sat with me because he felt bad I was eating alone. Also I barely go down there to eat-- so he kinda just.. I don't know. Let's not talk about them anymore, Jaem."

---

"Look at me, baby." Jaemin whispered, softly grabbing your jaw to turn your head towards him. He has you on your side, holding your right thigh up as he slowy thrust. He can see that you're near, and damn, he can feel it too.

"J-jaem.." You start shaking, as your entire body give out. Looking into his eyes, his own pleasure wasn't on the table anymore, he just wants you to feel good. He can safely say that you are indeed the prettiest when you cum, and he's glad he can see you this way.

"That's right, sweetheart. Let go for me, will you?" This was very different on how you usually do it with him. You were usually intense, rough and fast, but something about tonight feels more... passionate. Jaemin never went any faster than his current tempo, yet he still hits every spot. Slow and deep, while he looks at your face, admiring the beauty he's glad he had the priviledge to see.

"Kiss me, Jaemin." You didn't even have to ask twice, Jaemin already dipped his head lower to reach your lips, tasting you while your walls tightens, your whimpers covered by his own lips, you just came.

Once Jaemin pulls away, he pulls a few strings of hair strands away your face to see you. Your eyes glistening, and not long when you let a tear drop. Jaemin could never wish for anything more than this.

"You're so beautiful, y/n." He whispered, more to himself, than to you.

"Thank you." You softly answered, smiling at him and giving him another kiss. Jaemin then let go of your thigh, instead wrapping his arms on your waist. It seems like you got the idea that he's near his climax so you positioned yourself in a way that he gets more of you, sticking your backside out more thus facing away from him.

"No, no, princess keep looking at me." Jaemin whispered and you followed, facing him again.

"You gonna cum for me, baby?" You asked sensually. His thrust slightly getting deeper, but never faster. His eyes went back and forth with both of your eyes as he nodded.

"For you, my love." He mumbled. His jaw slightly ajar, brows furrowed as he let out a deep moan, abruptly staying still and you felt his release warming up your walls.

"You did so good, Jaemin. So, so good." Your compliments just adds to his pleasure. Shivers ran down his spine, he manages to calm himself after his intense climax.

"You're so good to me. I lik--" Before Jaemin finishes, you pulled away from him.

"I'm taking a piss." You said, forcing yourself to stand up and walk your way to the bathroom.

And just like how he felt so good seconds before, it suddenly got washed away with the feeling of dismay. He can't believe he just attempted to say that. Fuck. Running his hands on his face, he mentally curses himself for being wreckless.

You were still in the bathroom when Jaemin heard a few knocks. He's confused, grabbing his phone to look at the time.

9:47pm. Who could visit you at this time?

He grabbed his boxers and quickly putting it on, as well as his shirt but he didn't bother to make himself presentable. He opened the door and his eyes widen.

"Nurse Suh?" He eyed the tall man, and the guy eyed him too. Both of them are confused as to why the other is standing where they are.

"Na Jaemin? What the hell are you doing here?" Johnny wasn't even sure why he was asking that, it's clear with Jaemin's shuffled hair and obviously--- him in his boxers.

"I'm sure you know the answer to that." Jaemin sounded rude, but he does not give a shit. Nurse Suh poses as a threat to him and your-- uh, situationship -- and Jaemin doesn't have a reason to be nice to him.

"Where is she?" Johnny's voice was full of concern, as he looked past the younger boy just to get a glimpse inside your apartment. That's until Jaemin steps outside, and closing the door behind him.

"What do you want from her?" Jaemin looks at him, and although the guy was taller and has a bigger built, again, he doesn't care.

"I'm sure you know the answer to that." Johnny's tone and him mocking Jaemin pissed him more. Letting out a huge breath, Jaemin looked at him straight in the eyes.

"You know-- you're whole relationship with her is fucked up, right?" Johnny was surprised on how Jaemin just turned off the calm facade. He didn't expect him to be triggered like this

"What relationship? You out of all people should know she doesn't do relationsh--"

"Yeah, whatever. You can't fuck around with her anymore, man. You're a fucking school staff, and she's a student. Also, you have a fucking girlfriend. I don't know how you're okay with this."

"The same way she's okay with it. Look, kid," Johnny closed his eyes and massaged his temples, he continued. "... me and her, we've been through some shit. Shit that you can't handle. But I know.. man, you care for her. And I don't want to hear your bullshit, you do care for her. And I do too. But she's not the kind to be with, y'know? She's gonna ruin--"

"Fuck! You weren't the only one who fucking told me that. I don't know what she did to you, but she's fine with me. If you think of her as this fucking tragedy on legs, then maybe you don't really care, don't you? But I do. So get off my fucking ass and don't see her again. Or I'm gonna have to report you." Jaemin didn't know where all of his words came from, but it did feel good. He doesn't think about the consequences of everything, but one thing's for sure. He's not gonna let anyone talk shit about you anymore.

Johnny, tho, never flinched. Instead, he smirks and even let out a chuckle. "You've got some nerves, kid. Okay. I'll back off. But don't come running back when she breaks you." he then turned around and got ready to leave, but a few steps in, he turned to Jaemin again.

"...oh, and tell her Happy birthday."

Jaemin stood there for a minute, watching Johnny leave. It's your birthday? How come you never said anything?

After a few deep breaths, he went inside the apartment again. Just in time when you walked out the bathroom, hair all wet and with a set of new pajamas.

"You done?" Jaemin approached with a smile.

"Yeah. You wanna take a shower?" You looked up at him. He shook his head as he patted your head. "You hungry?" he asked.

You smiled even more, looking up at him expectantly, "Please?"

"Okay. I'll go get us some food, alright? You don't worry your pretty little head." Jaemin gave you a kiss on the top of your head before getting his pants and keys, walking out of the apartment.

Not even half an hour, Jaemin came back. Not only with takeout, but also a bento box. You looked at him kind of confused on what it is, but when he opened it, your eyes widen. It was a small cake that he bought on the convenience store. He wanted a much more expensive one but he also wants to get back to you as soon as possible.

He then pulled out a small candle, sticking it onto the cake. Pulling out a newly bought lighter, and lighting the candle. "Happy birthday, princess. Make a wish." He smiles softly at you.

When all of this was happening, you didn't say a thing. You just looked at him with your glassy eyes, your mouth slightly apart. You blinked hard and fast before finally tracing back to yourself, "I'm.. how did you know?" you asked.

"Doesn't matter. Now come on, candle's burning out." Thats when you looked down on the candle, quickly closing your eyes, clasping your hands together as you thought hard about what you're wishing. Seconds after, you opened your eyes and blew on the candle.

Jaemin was still smiling, setting the small cake aside to give you a kiss on your forehead. He was surprised when your arms wrapped around his waist.

"Why do you have to make me so happy, Jaem? You make it so hard. So hard." You whispered, but Jaemin heard everything. He desparately wanted to answer, because he had an answer. And its something he's afraid to tell you. Because the result was uncertain. Its either it goes perfectly well, or he lose you. And he's not gonna take that risk.

So instead, he just returned your embrace, but even more tighter, giving you another kiss on your forehead. "I don't know." he answered quietly, lying to you and to himself.

"You're a good person, Jaem. Anyone would be lucky to have you." Your vulnerable voice made Jaemin feel warm. In a way, you sounded truthful. You felt genuine.

"You're lucky, then." Slowly, Jaemin. Lay it on her slowly.

"I can't have you." Your bitter smile showed.

"Why not?" Every second counted, every breath you take suddenly mattered.

"I can't do that to you," With a shaking voice, you buried your face in his chest even more.

"I don't understa--"

"Just shut up, shut the fuck up and let me have this." And with that, Jaemin never muttered another word. Instead, he just held you closer like this was the last time he gets to do so.

"Jaem?" You looked up at him, Jaemin looked dow n at you with his eyebrows up.

"I'm sorry." You said. And Jaemin didn't want to ask why you were apologizing, he doesn't like to know the reason behind it. Because he doesn't want you to give him a reason why he needs to forgive you about something.

---

"I think I'm inlove with her."

"Ya think?" Jeno, deep inside his phone, seems like he's stressed about something. Never minding his best friend's struggle, because everybody already knew Jaemin was inlove with you. It's not new information.

"Fuck! Shit!" Both their heads turn as they saw Renjun ran inside their hangout spot and closed the door.

"Hell is wrong with you?" Jaemin asked, but Renjun ignored him and proceeds to lock the door.

"Why's everybody so weird today?" Jaemin mumbled.

It is a very weird day for Jaemin. Somehow, he feels like something's not right. Well, yeah, his undying love for you was one thing he was stressed about but there's more, today's not like every other day, he thought.

That goes on for the rest of his morning. Its like he's waiting on something to happen, like everybody was so tense. You didn't text or call either, which was feeding onto Jaemin's paranoia. It's not like he's being clingy, but he's genuinely feeling something unsettling in his chest.

Maybe it was the coffee he had this morning, or maybe the fact that he's never had this dilemma about a girl before.

So, finally giving up his pride, he texted you.

4:50pm jaemin: wya

4:52pm jaemin: heyy

4:58pm jaemin: ??

You not answering definitely did not help. So, the next big thing he can come up with was go to your apartment. Not a smart choice but Jaemin never once claimed to be smart.

Once he took a step towards your door, for a moment. Jaemin regretted going here. He can see that your lights are on, and can hear shuffling inside. But fuck it, he's already here.

He thought you had someone over, maybe Johnny, or someone else. That made him heated. But the closer he was on your front door, he heard yelling-- and another voice, which he could tell was from a girl.

The door was ajar-- and once he was right infront of it, he could hear everything.

"Y/N! Please! Not him-- he's a good person. You know that!" He confirmed that it was Jiho who was arguing with you.

"I don't care what you feel, Jiho. Get the fuck out of my apartment!"

"Leave Jaemin alone--" Once Jaemin heard his name, his feet froze on the spot.

"Why the fuck are you so nosy? Is it because I stole your little Na Jaemin? Then go ahead! Get him back! But, oh-- newsflash, he doesn't want you anymore. Washed up and used--" The sound of a slap made Jaemin finally interfere. He walked up inside your apartment and saw you holding your cheek and Jiho crying. Both of them looked at him shocked.

"What are you doing here?" Jiho was the first one to speak, but Jaemin's eyes were focused on you.

"Did you just hurt her?" Jaemin was angry. The sight of your cheeks red and the fact that he knows Jiho just slapped you didn't sit right with him.

"Didn't you heard what she said?! Didn't you fucking understand what kind of person she is?" Jiho cried even more, she couldn't believe that someone as sweet as Jaemin would side with the most vile person she knows.

"Doesn't give you the right to hurt her." Jaemin threw all his principles away at this point. He doesn't care anymore.

"You're poisoning his mind, Y/N!" Jiho shouted, which you just smirked at her. Jaemin can't find the warmth inside your eyes, he just saw something empty.

"I didn't do shit, Jiho. Maybe you should just learn how to get out of my fucking trail. Or should I do something? Should I break your brother's heart for the second time?" Jaemin didn't know this version of you. Its like you've thrown away every emotion you have just to spite everyone.

"Don't you fucking dare." Jiho attempted to step towards you again but Jaemin put himself in between you and Jiho.

"Just go, Jiho." Jaemin calmly said.

Jiho didn't say anything, and let out a huge puff before walking out of the apartment, sobbing. She slammed the door shut and quickly the room went silent. None of you dared to talk for the first couple of minutes.

"I didn't want you here," you started.

Jaemin didn't say anything, instead, picking up some things that fell on the floor, trying to fix the apartment. Your paint brushes, your keys, and even some of your photos were on the floor. Must've been a very intense argument.

"Did you hear me, Jaemin? I don't want you here!" your voice strained, Jaemin pretended not to hear you as he continue to clean up the mess.

"Are you hungry? Want me to get you dinner?" Jaemin's voice was as normal as it can be. It doesn't make sense to you. But everything in this situation doesn't make sense.

Jaemin should be mad. Jaemin should go and leave you. Jaemin wasn't supposed to stay.

"Whatever-- do what you want. I'm going to bed."

Jaemin likes to think that in a couple of hours, you'll come up and be in a great mood. Sun shining and all that corny shit. Jaemin was also overly enthusiastic, one that masks with the real thing he's feeling right now. Nervous. Worried.

For a couple of days. Jaemin tried his best to get you out of your apartment because remember, you two are students. You were supposed to go to school. But you never left your bed. And for the first few days, Jaemin didn't go to school too. He was in your apartment day and night, looking after you. This wasn't like you before, Jaemin swears its like you're a whole new different person.

You didn't talk, didn't want to get up, and he knows damn well you aren't sleeping for the past days. You just layed there, emotionless.

He didn't know why he was doing this. You weren't you anymore and Jaemin doesn't know who he was even taking care of anymore. But he's still here. He's still with you.

The third day went and Jaemin is still in your apartment. Ignoring his friends-- and shit, even his mom. He doesn't want them to know why he's MIA for the past few days. He doesn't want everyone to know yours and his business. Whatever happenes between you two, stays between you two.

Jaemin woke up with you sitting on the kitchen. Eyes staring at nowhere, hair dishevelled and bags under your eyes forming.

"Goodmorning," Jaemin said in his sweet voice, careful not to scare you.

"I don't know how many times I should tell you this, but you should go, Jaemin. While I'm being nice." Even your voice sounds like a stranger. The pinch of joy that used to come with your voice were no longer there.

"I will, but I need to make sure you're fine---"

"I'm fine! I don't fucking need you here!" You yelled, Jaemin flinched but still remained calm.

"Are you hungry--"

"Maybe you've become dumb and stupid that you can't comprehend a simple fucking sentence, huh? I'm done with you, Jaemin. I'm sorry but you're useless to me now. I need a new face around here and yours is--"

"You really want me to leave?" Jaemin sincerely asked, like he was tired. Your eyes lifted, and you nodded.

"Yes." Jaemin's lips formed a thin line, his jaw clenched.

"Fine." He calmly walked away-- and convinced he can't take it anymore. He was tired mentally, emotionally and physically. You didn't want to be helped and Jaemin knew he can't handle you.

But as soon as the door shut behind him, his feet stood frozen as he waited. And not even a couple of minutes, the sound of your sobbing on the other side of the door made Jaemin turn his steps.

He was tired, but not fatigued. He knew he couldn't handle you but he can try. You didn't want to be helped but maybe tomorrow you change your mind. And maybe, just maybe, he can take another day.

"Breakfast, y/n. Come on." Jaemin, the fourth day. He went home for a bit, took a shower, but quickly went back to your place. And in his surprise, you were out of bed.

He can hear the faucet running, so he knew you were in the bathroom.

A few moments later, he heard you coming out of the shower. And there you are, hair all wet, freshen up after a few dreadful days and Jaemin was starting to see the color coming back in your skin.

"You feeling better, baby?" He softly asked.

"What are you still doing here?"

Jaemin didn't say anything, instead, giving you the most precious smile he had. "Come on, I cooked pancakes."

"Jaemin, get out. We're done, Jaemin. Get the fuck out!" Tears started forming again in your newly healed eyes, as you pointed out the door.

"I'm not leaving you, y/n." Finally, Jaemin acknowledged the situation.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, huh? When I say we're done, we're done, Jaemin. Can't get that through your thick head?" Words spew like venom, Jaemin starting to feel like he's staring at a stranger. Who is this person in front of him?

"I know you're upset and you haven't eaten a proper meal in days--"

"The fuck do you care?" And with that, you ticked something off from Jaemin.

"Fuck do I care?! Y/N, you've pushed everyone around you away and I was the one who stayed! For days I didn't go anywhere and stayed with you, y/n. Do I care?! Because even if I don't know what the fuck is going on with you I still fucking stayed! So yeah, I'd like to think that I care for you because I fucking lo-- shit!" Jaemin caught himself before actually saying the thing. He knows its a deal breaker if he said it but hopefully, you already felt it.

"Did I ask you to do all of that shit?"

Jaemin can almost feel his heart shatter. You really didn't care about him, or his feelings. He had a little bit of hope. And with a single sentence, you destroyed it.

Jaemin let out a humourless chuckle. "Fine. We're fucking done, y/n."

---

It's been a week and Jaemin's friends started to worry. Jaemin barely ate-- didn't attend his classes and barely got out of their hangout spot. Jeno had a call with his mom and told him that Jaemin didn't once contact them in almost a month. And thats where Jeno knew something was wrong. Jaemin loved his mom-- and he would never ghost her.

"Man, I don't know what to do. He just flicked me off when I offered him ramen." Haechan was serious. You barely see him being this concerned-- but even him, knows something was wrong with Jaemin.

"Is it about that y/n girl?" Renjun asked.

"Probably. I mean, eversince she came into the picture Jaemin basically became a different person." Jeno haven't met you yet, but this, what you're doing to his bestfriend definitely isn't giving a good impression.

"Maybe they're done. If Jaemin's looking like this and haven't mentioned a single thing about her, I think that's what this is." Renjun said, looking at his friend, and his sleeping figure.

"I have an idea." Haechan stood up and huddled his friends, but Jeno and Renjun stepped away. "No, Haechan, you don't."

"What? At least I'm trying to help our friend!" He grabbed both of his friends again, "Anyways-- we should introduce him to another girl. Get him back in the game, y'know?"

"What are we talking about?" The three of them almost jumped when Jaemin was suddenly huddled with them.

"Nothing! We're just thinking about how much booze we're buying for Jeno's party." Haechan's quick wits came into action but Jaemin didn't buy it.

"Stop being weird." He casually walked back to the sofa and plopped himself down again.

Jeno tho, had enough. "You're weird! What the fuck is with this act, bro? You look lovesick or some shit."

"m not doing anything, the fuck are you on about?" Jeno got even more pissed, because Jaemin was blatantly lying.

"That girl you're with is causing trouble, dude. You're barely going to class, we haven't seen you in days, you didn't call your mom in a week and just for her to fuck with the school nurse?" Jeno's still calm, not wanting to escalate the situation. But he figured that Jaemin needs to hear it one way of another.

Jaemin was visibly confused. What did Jeno mean about you with nurse suh? Didn't he already dealt with that?

"Saw her yesterday at the nearby convenience store with Nurse Suh. I don't know, dude but she's not worth all this shit. And I don't even wanna talk about the stuff I heard about her previous school, man." Haechan was a little hesitant about confronting Jaemin, but since Jeno has already started it he's got no choice but to just say it.

"You're out of your mind if you think you have the right to say all that shit. You don't even know her." Every word that Jaemin says was delivered with so much intensity, even the boys were starting to feel uneasy.

"We're just confused Jaem, eversince you met that y/n girl its like you became a whole new perso--" Renjun was cut off when Jaemin let out a scoff.

"Okay, I see what's going on here. If we're airing out our business here then let me have my fucking turn." Jaemin stepped towards Jeno, "You, aren't you shagging your lil bro's bestfriend? Yeah? Guess what, so is half the school."

"Hey, the hell? What's wrong with you, man?" Haechan interfered. He knew the look that Jeno has right now was serious, and he also knew that if he didn't get in between them, chaos will ensue. So he quickly stepped beside Jeno.

"What the fuck do you know about me and her, Renjun? I minded my own business when you went out with your girl out of pity." Jaemin doesn't know where that came from, but it already went out his lips. He wasn't the one to say things like that but somehow it came out. Renjun was fazed, to say the least.

"And you--" Jaemin let out an sigh and smirked, slowly turning towards Haechan. "You talk high and mighty but everybody knows you're a fucking cheater, Lee Haechan. So you, especially you, doesn't have the right to even mutter a thing about her. Because if we're talking about being an asshole, you take the fucking throne." Jaemin's eyes are empty, and so his mind. He just wanted to say anything to get back at his friends without thinking.

"Fuck you, man. Seriously. All this for that girl? You look fucking pathetic, Na Jaemin." Jeno was aggravated and fuming, but he was never gonna go down with violence, specially with his best friend. He knew better.

"It doesn't even fucking matter what you think about her anymore, cuz y'know what? We're done. She doesn't wanna see me anymore. So go ahead and talk shit about her but make sure I'm not in the fucking room next time." The room was silent, they didn't know what to say. Obviously because this was the first time they saw Jaemin like this.

"I think this shit got out of hand, I know you're upset but we're just genuinely concerned, dude." Renjun, now on the much calmer side, tries to difuse the situation.

"Okay, I'm just gonna ignore what you said because I know you're upset, Jaemin. But come on, man, you've met her what? For two months? And you're already losing yourself? I swear if this could be any other girl I wouldn't say anything but man.. she's only trouble. And you can get angry at us all you want but I'm glad you got out of that situation." This side of Haechan was rarely seen, because it only comes out when they need it the most. And for Jaemin, its also rare that he agrees with Haechan but this time, he did.

For the next week, Jaemin tried to bring himself back, and his friends noticed it too. He became active again, going to parties with them and even got back to planning on Jeno's birthday party. There was no sign of you, your name or your presence. Jaemin was starting his old ways again, meeting some girls here and there.

"Hey, what did I tell ya, huh? She's great, isn't she?" Haechan grinned at him, as they walked together.

"Nah, I've had better." Jaemin non-chalantly said.

Haechan looked at his friend, smile slowly getting bigger. "There's the asshole I know, glad you're back to the game, man!" Haechan with his proudest smile, shook Jaemin playfully and but the boy did nothing but chuckle.

His friends were satisfied and pretty much convinced that you were completely out of Jaemin's system. To see Jaemin go back to whatever he was before you, definitely brought back the Jaemin they knew.

"Happy birthday, man! Whew, how does it feel to be an old hag?" Haechan joked as he hugged Jeno, Jeno just playfully pushed him away.

The music was loud and people were starting to fill up Jeno's house. It's his parent's house and they were out of town, as per Jeno's request on his birthday. No one wants to party with their parents, ofcourse.

To say that Jaemin pulled off the party planning was an understatement. It was only 8pm and the party is already packed. Jaemin really outdid himself on this one, also with a little help from Haechan and Renjun.

"Happy birthday, Lee! This party is fucking lit, dude!" Yangyang, from engineering department went and greeted Jeno. "We've got Jaemin to thank for that." Jeno responded loudly, trying to communicate among the loud music.

"Yeah-- where's Na?" Yangyang asked, and Jeno was clueless as him. He knew Jaemin was in the house, he saw him earlier. But after that he never saw him again.

His eyes went around the room to find atleast Haechan or Renjun, and he only found Renjun on the side, in his phone. "He's around, somewhere." Jeno answered, bidding goodbye to the friend and walked across the room to approach Renjun.

"Where's Jaemin?" Jeno managed to ask.

"Upstairs with the girl Haechan introduced him to!" Renjun wiggled his eyebrows at Jeno, and Jeno nodded in agreement. At least he knew Jaemin was having fun.

Little did they know, Jaemin wasn't having fun.

"Come on, Jaemin.. how long does it take?" The girl whispered sexually, kissing his neck like its her last meal.

"Just.. don't talk." Usually it doesn't take Jaemin this long to get hard, but the girl just doesn't do it for him. Its been almost thirty minutes and Jaemin is getting tired, but he also doesn't want to disappoint, so he tries his best to focus on the girl, but he just couldn't.

His phone constantly vibrating doesn't help, so he grabbed it and threw it on the other side of the bed.

Jaemin closed his eyes, felt every single touch and did the worst thing he could ever do to himself. He imagined it was you.

You were touching him, kissing him and giving him warmth. It's you he's with, not this girl, not any girl. Its you. And it worked. It brought back memories of you that sparked something in his body. Small waves of pleasure started. And just as he's slowly starting to function, he heard the door open.

Jaemin's back was facing the door but the girl on his lap can see who just entered. The little mindgames in his head was interupted when the sound of the door brought him back to reality.

"What the fuck? This room is occupied!" The girl with him yelled, completely destroying the fantasy Jaemin created in his head. He's back to square one again, and this time he's not trying again.

As soon as the intruder left, Jaemin lifted the girl off his lap. "Sorry, Cindy, bab--" he can't even call her 'baby'. "--but you need to go."

Jaemin didn't wait for her answer and left her on the bed while he walked and locked himself on the bathroom.

As soon as he knew that the girl had officially left, that's when he went out to his room again. His hands finding his phone, he checked what time it is. 9pm.

Jaemin brushed his hands through his hair, frustrated and strssed.

He ignored the multiple chat that Jeno and Renjun had sent, and went to an food delivery app instead.

Delivery Status: Successful

Items: 1 Full Steak Meal with Pineapple Juice and NY Cheesecake

Total: 80,000krw

Notes: Don't skip a meal :) -J

Jaemin has been sending food to your place for the past week. In exactly 9pm, when he knew you'd usually have your dinner.

The next morning, he woke up fine. He didn't really drink much so he didn't have any sort of headaches or symptoms of a bad hangover.

The house was eerily quiet, as usual, the morning after a very big party.

He was the first to wake up and the whole house was trashed. He didn't expect anything else, ofcourse seeing the amount of people last night.

He knew all four of them was still in the house tho, maybe a couple of girls, so as the designated sober person he took the initiative to prepare breakfast. It was calming for Jaemin to take care of people.

Not long after he heard a couple of footsteps, and of course, it was Renjun.

"Mornin'" Renjun, hair sticking out everywhere, still in his clothes from last night.

"Had fun last night?" Jaemin asked, smirking.

"Didn't you read the texts I sent you last night?" Renjun asked. Jaemin's smirk disappeared.

"What text?"

"Jeno wouldn't want me to tell you this but... she was here. She was looking for you but Jeno and I didn't tell her where you were. She knew that you were here because she told us you invited her a while ago, she looks so.. tired. And then she asked Jisung, who doesn't have a clue with the whole y/n situation so he told her that you were upstairs." Renjun thought that Jaemin needed to know what happened. Jeno thought otherwise.

Jaemin felt his blood drain out of his body. He remembered someone knocking and opening the door to where he was with a girl last night, but he didn't know who it was. Jaemin's heart was racing. He was sure it was you. And he was also sure how fucked up it is to find him like that.

Jaemin didn't say anything, grabbing his keys as he left Renjun thinking if he made the right decision.

"Y/n! Y/n!" Jaemin was knocking on your door with urgency, and after a few, the door opened.

You were there. Standing in front of him but why can't Jaemin find any familiarity?

You were so different. You've lost weight. You're not you-- yet his heart still beats the same. His eyes still found warmth as you looked at him. The smile that left no trace on your face still lingered around Jaemin's memories and for that he still knows that somehow, you're still you.

"Hey." You whispered. You sounded weak.

Jaemin was about to hug you-- confront you about last night but once his eyes left the beauty that is your face, his heart skipped a beat. His body froze, he felt like time stopped.

Your shirt. Your fucking shirt. You're wearing a faded out starwars shirt.

"W-what are you wearing?"

"Oh this? Ah, right! Tell Haechan thank you for last night-" You smiled, the sweetest smile that Jaemin once loved, was now stabbing him in the chest.

"Don't..-- Why are you-- I don't understand.." Jaemin finally broke down, eyes letting go of the tears he held. You're breaking him down-- you're ruining him.

"What? You thought I was better?"

"Y/n.. don't do this to me.." Jaemin whispered. Knees giving out, yet he remained still.

"I don't know what to tell you, Jaemin. I'm everything they told you I would be."

"You're just.. cruel. My friend, y/n? My fucking friend?" In contrast with his cursing, his tone wasn't angry. It was despair.

"Will you leave me now?"

"Did you.. did you sleep with him?" Stupid question.

"I don't know, Jaemin. Did I?"

"You're.. fuck, y/n you're just cruel. Cruel and fucking unfair. Whatever did I do to you?" His voice strained. Drip-drop.

"Do you finally hate me?" Drip-drop.

Drip-drop.

Drip...drop.

"Yeah.. yeah I think I do."

And there it was. The last drop of Jaemin's feelings for you. Congratulations, y/n. You've finally drained him out of love.

---

Three days, Jaemin went off the grid. He stayed with his mom, giving himself a break.

He didn't want to contact any of his friends. At least not for now. He knew he still had that pent up anger towards Haechan, and he don't want to do anything that would result in him being violent. He knew that it was all your plan, just to get him to leave you alone.

What he couldn't understand is why Haechan did it. Haechan knew what Jaemin felt for you, like shit, he knew before Jaemin even knew for himself. He was one of the people who made Jaemin realize his feelings for you.

He wished he had listened to everybody and just left you alone. He wished he took everyone's advice and minded his own business. Maybe all of this wouldn't have happened.

Eventually he had to comeback. His school isn't very much happy with him and its not like its the end of the world. Everything is moving on but him, and nobody likes to be left behind.

As soon as his friends saw him, Haechan froze. He quickly tried and approached Jaemin. "Dude. Where were you? Everybody was looking for you--"

"Don't touch me, Lee Haechan." Jaemin wasn't angry, but he wasn't calm either. His tone is strong and firm, enough to stop Haechan from his tracks.

"Is this about Jeno's birthday?" Jaemin wanted to punch Haechan for even bringing it up. How could he?

"I swear to God if you don't step back--"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jaemin?" Renjun was the one to interfere this time.

"What's wrong with me? This fucker slept with y/n and you're asking me what's wrong with me, Huang?!"

"Hold up-- hold the fuck up, What do you mean?" Jeno, eyes going back and forth between Haechan and Jaemin.

"She told you we slept together?" Haechan was legitamately confused.

"She was wearing your ugly ass shirt, Haechan."

"Yeah because I lent it to her? She was at the party and I accidentally bumped into her and she got alcohol spilled all over her shirt, Jaemin. So I had to fucking give her a shirt and then she ran away right after. You think I'd do that to you?!" Haechan was fully arguing with him now but Jaemin had remained silent.

Then why did you let him think that you did it? Why would you put him through this? Are you that desparate to make Jaemin hate you?

Jaemin brushed his palm all over his face. He was dumbfounded. He then plops down on the couch, deliberately thinking about the past few days he spent trying to get you off his head. And he thought he was damn near on succeeding, but the sudden information struck him down again.

And just as the tension was slowly coming down, a sudden intrusion on their room made the four of them look at the door.

"He's here? Na Jaemin!" Jiho burst through the door, passing through the three boys who were too caught in the moment to stop her.

"J-Jiho.." Jaemin stood up again, as Jiho stood in front of him.

"What did you do?!" Jiho was frustrated and angry, to say the least.

"Let's calm down," Renjun, the forever pacifist meekly attempted to delute the situation in hand.

"No! I told you, Jaemin! We told you to stay away from her!" Jiho.

"Are you blaming him? Your friend is a pathological liar who likes to play with peopl--" Jiho angrily turned towards Jeno, making the boy stop his rant.

"You're not part of this." Jiho then looked at Jaemin again.

"We're done, Jiho. I don't want her anymore. I don't want anything to do with her--"

Jiho smirked, "She left, Jaemin. She pulled out of school."

The room filled with silence, and it was so loud. Nobody wanted to say anything, partly because they were waiting for Jaemin to react.

"She-- what?" Jaemin was shocked. His body didn't know how to react. Every bones started to feel loose, it was so eerily quiet that it feels like he can count the seconds it takes for his heart to beat again.

Jiho's tears started to flow. "She was sober for six months, you know? We thought we finally fixed her-- she was doing fine. And then you-- you just had to come in and ruin everything."

"I don't underst--"

"I don't want to blame it all on you, because I know you're also hurt-- but Jaemin we begged you to stay away from her. But you didn't. You--" Jiho sat down, hands on her face, shoulders shaking.

"S-she--" Jaemin couldn't form a sentence.

"Where were you? In the past three days, Jaemin, where were you?" Jiho took a sharp breath, raising her head and looked at Jaemin once again.

"I was at my mom's..." Jaemin answered meekly.

"I found out last Thursday. When you saw us fighting at her apartment, that was when I caught her doing drugs. I was trying to--, fuck, I was trying to throw it away and then she got angry and started to talk about you. I guess she felt that you were by the door and started to talk about you.." Jaemin remembers that clear as day. The day you visibly changed right in front of his eyes.

"She left Sacred Heart last year because of the scandal. It hit her so bad, and that's when it started. She was introduced to drugs and later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Me and Jeonghan knew her from our childhood and we did our best to help her. And then she went out with Jeonghan and that's when our falling apart happened. She broke my brother's heart and I can't even blame her because I know she only did it because she wants everyone to leave her. She thinks she's a burden to everybody. And then Nurse Suh came into the picture and helped her to get free medication, and when she did, eventually her addiction stopped. And then you happened, and for a while she was so happy. But suddenly Nurse Suh cut her off and the medication stopped. That's why she drove you away, Jaemin. You know what she told Jeonghan before she left? She said that you didn't deserve to be with her."

"She can't leave, did you check the apartment?" Denial. Jaemin can't process everything yet. He doesn't want to.

"Her stuff's out of the apartment. We found this," Jiho pulled out a polaroid picture. Jiho reached out to Jaemin, swiftly before letting go of the photo.

"She's a good person, Jaemin. She's just broken. I know you did your best, but we can't help a person who doesn't want to be helped. I just hope you don't hate her forever." Jiho then walked away.

Jeno, Haechan and Renjun was silent. They didn't say anything, not to disturb their friend's moment of silence. One by one, the left the room, leaving Jaemin and a photo that had a glimpse of a moment where you were once his.

It was the picture of you and Jaemin. Happily smiling. Upon seeing the photo, Jaemin finally broke down.

At the back, there was something written.

Hi, Jaem. Thank you for the food you've been sending! Although I didn't eat it, I still know that it's delicious!! Remember when we talked about photography? How I love people's smile? Guess what? I think yours is my favorite. So please keep wearing it. You're precious, Jaem. I am so sorry for everything. I hope you get the love that you deserve. Do me a favor and forget me, will you? -y/n :)

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

"Is it on?" Jaemin was a giggling mess, infront of you as you filmed him beside you on your bed, nothing but the sheets.

"It is! Okay, ladies and gents,--"

"This man right here," You booped his nose, "Just gave me a mind blowing orgasm about.. hm, six minutes ago?" Jaemin laughed at the camera, before wiggling his eyebrows at it. "I did, one of my proudest talents."

"Shut up!" you laughed. "Anyways, Mr. Jaemin-ssi. Tell the whole world your age and what you want to be when you grow up!" You giggled, focusing the camera on his bare face. His eyes heavy, smile reaching his eyes.

"22, and yours." He whispered as he looked at your eyes instead of the camera lense.

"What? You barely said anything!"

"I just did what you told me, baby. I told my whole world what my age was and what I wanted to be." Jaemin can see the sudden rush of color on your cheeks. You frowned cutely.

"You're a loser." A tinge of smile you desperately hid made Jaemin laugh. He likes it when you pretend you don't like his corny takes.

Jaemin then grabbed the camera, now turned it to you, also nothing but the sheets and bare face. Jaemin is convinced this is what heaven must look like.

"Now to my pretty interviewer-- aren't you gorgeous?" You jokingly cleared your throat, smiled so big that it could make anyone blind.

"Hi, I'm y/n, Jaemin's pretty interviewer."

"So, my pretty girl. 5 years from now, how do you see yourself?" You were a bit unprepared with Jaemin's question, he sees it the way your smiles faltered a bit.

It took you a minute before you answered, "Better. I hope I can be better so I can take care of this little manchild." You somehow turned it light, grabbing the camera from Jaemin and pointing at him.

"Well, y/n from 5 years from now, I'm glad-- I hope, I'm still there by your side."

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

"Yeri, I've told you a hundred times, she's my mother so you need to treat her with respect!" Jaemin can't help but yell, just as he followed Yeri out of the restaurant.

"She doesn't like me, Jaemin! Gosh your mother is so-, I'm not dealing with her shit anymore, Jaemin!" Yeri yelled back, stomping her feet as she walked toward's Jaemin's car.

Yeri is Jaemin's girlfriend for four months. He went out with her upon his father's request and to his mother's dismay. His father thought Jaemin could finally settle down with a woman after you.

Jaemin can't help but grunt, looking up, frustrated and honestly just tired. Everyday he questions why he's even with Yeri. The girl did nothing but drain his wallet, disrespect his mother and treat him like a trophy boyfriend.

"She's not allowed in our apartment anymore," Yeri said as she settles herself on Jaemin's passenger seat.

"What apartment? It's my apartment and you sleep there, Yeri. And you can't just-- ban my mother from my place!" Jaemin has already forgotten the time where him and Yeri never argued.

"Did you see the way she looked at me? And you're gonna sit there and not defend me?" Jaemin admits that his mother did have a distaste with his girlfriend, but never once did his mother did anything to show that. She is not that kind of person and Jaemin's sure he's not the only one to vouch for that.

"She was trying to make a conversation and you blatantly ignored her, Yeri."

"I didn't like her tone." she rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone as Jaemin drove. He decided not to talk anymore, mostly because he doesn't want to argue anymore.

"What're we doing here?" Yeri saw that he parked outside her apartment complex.

"I need time for myself, Yeri. I can't handle you anymore." He expressed with utmost respect.

"Are you kidding me? You're kicking me out of your place?!" Yeri squealed, almost making Jaemin cover his ears.

"You can disrespect me but not my mom, Yeri."

Yeri smirked, crossed her arms on her chest, and looked at Jaemin. "You're trash, Jaemin. Such a fucking mama's boy. I bet this isn't even about your mother, huh? Still about that bitch who left y--"

"Get out or I'm gonna have to drag you out, Yeri. Please." Thankfully, Yeri did get out, but not walking away before she slams the door, making Jaemin flinch a bit. He makes sure the Yeri actually went in the building before he drove off.

He pulled out his phone, texting his mom. He decided that he'll just go back to the restaurant and apologize for Yeri's behavior. He knew that his mom was hurt, and he can't let the night pass without comforting his mom.

Luckily, the restaurant is near where he was so it took him about ten minutes to go back. Getting out of his car, he wondered if his parents are still there.

Looking further inside the restaurant, he didn't notice someone walking out the door so inevitably, he bumped and collided with a man. He quickly bows, "I'm sorry, man."

"No worries," Jaemin was a bit perplexed on how deep the man's voice is, but shrugged it off anyways.

"Felix!"

Jaemin felt his heart stop a beat. He knows that voice.

"I'm here," The man responded.

Jaemin was frozen on the spot. He was afraid to look behind him and put a face in to the voice he just heard, but he's sure as hell he's not leaving this spot without knowing who it is.

"Excuse me," This time, the woman was much closer to him as she walked pass Jaemin.

His breath hitched, time slows down as he saw the back of her head.

Before she could even take a step further, Jaemin grabbed her wrists, not thinking of anything,-- just the fact that he desparately wanted to see her face.

"Hey!-- What,-- Jaemin?"

There you are.

Jaemin gulped before blinking to see if he was just hallucinating but there you really are. "Y/N," he whispered, more to himself.

"You know him?" The man, who he assumes was Felix, asked, looking at Jaemin's hands on your wrist. It brought Jaemin back to reality, and swiftly let go of your hand.

"Y-yeah," Your cheeks burned, not letting your eyes away from Jaemin. It was like everyone else blurred out, and you two were the only ones in the room.

"You okay, man?" Thats when Jaemin realized that his jaw was actually a bit slacked, staring at you for a solid minute now. He shook his head to look at Felix,

"Yeah. Uh, y/n, how-- how are you?" Jaemin's breathing was starting to get abnormal, as he was really shocked to see you here.

"Good," you cleared your throat, "Great, actually. Uhm, Felix, this is Jaemin," "Jaemin, Felix." The two shook hands, Felix was still visibly confused but Jaemin was still stuck on you.

"Old friend?" Felix asked.

"Is that what she told you?" Jaemin, glancing on you.

"Yes?" Felix was starting to feel uncomfortable, as he had no clue what the heck is happening in front of him. You two looked perplexed and out of it, to say the least.

"I--, We need to go, Felix. Hey, uhm, Jaemin-?" It was obvious you were aghast, just like Jaemin.

Jaemin looked back at you again, "Yeah?"

"I'll see you around?" You uttered.

"Okay." Jaemin said quietly.

The two started to walk away from Jaemin, but Jaemin was left there frozen. In his own thoughts, drowing in memories about you. Everything came crashing back on him and it was overwhelming. After so long, you still had that power over him. You still manage to get his guard down.

This is fucking dangerous. Jaemin shouldn't even feel like this. One look, one word-- and its like his whole being fell again. Is destiny truly fucking with him? He took so long-- months, to get you out his system. Or at least burn it so deep inside his brain along with the memories you have. And for what? All of it being opened like a freshly sewed wound, all because of a three second interaction?

That night, Jaemin went home with a feeling so familiar. Like he wanted to find you again. Just like the first time he saw you at that cafeteria. He wonders if he'll see you again.

Actually, no. He will make sure to see you again.

---

"You can't break up with me,"

Jaemin sighed, he didn't know what else to do. This was the only way Jaemin thought of, specially after his encounter with you. He knew the effect you had on him that night wasn't the innocent 'seeing your friend after long time' type of thing. He knew there's more to it.

"I'm sorry," and he really is. He didn't want to string Yeri along, and doesn't want to give her false hope that this relationship is going somewhere.

"Is this about your stupid mom? Fine, I'll apologize!" The thing with his mom was also a big thing in coming to this decision. Jaemin likes to think that even if he didn't see you that night, this breakup was inevitable. It was coming, sooner or later.

"Don't-- don't call my mother like that, Yeri, please. And no, there's more to it. Please, I want a clean breakup," Jaemin didn't want to elaborate, he didn't want to hurt Yeri even more.

"You can't leave me, Jaemin! We have a party to attend-- I already told them about you! Do you want me to be embarrassed?" Of course. Of course its about the fucking party.

Jaemin was a trophy for Yeri. Handsome and rich, Yeri bragged about having him in her palms. Jaemin never complained about it but it does bother him. And Yeri bringing it up now just showed him how Yeri never really cared about this relationship.

"You can find a new boy toy, somewhere else, Yeri. I'm done." He's not gonna lie, there's still a pang of guilt when he walked away from Yeri. He knew it was unavoidable, yet it with you in the picture again, it does play a huge part.

"A fucking toast for the newly single man! I'm so proud of you for letting that devil reincarnate go!" Haechan was beyond sober, as he welcomed Jaemin who just came a few minutes earlier.

"You really did it, huh?" Renjun smiled, putting his arm around Jaemin's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess." Jaemin shrugged. Every moment feels important to him. He doesn't have any idea when you'll show up again. So he better not drink even a drop of alcohol, just in case.

"Why the long face?" Jeno was buzzed aswell, completely leaning on the bar couch. Eyes barely open, he's been drinking quite a lot lately.

"Nothing," Jaemin doesn't want to say anything about you and his' encounter, he didn't want to jinx it.

The bar was loud and busy, yet Jaemin was quiet and stuffy. He does feel relieved, breaking up with Yeri was a huge weight off of his shoulder. But he can't get off his mind the words you said.

"I'll see you around?"

Where exactly is around? When will you see him? Is it in the same restaurant? Will you text him to meet? Is that Felix guy your boyfriend?

"You're such a bore, Jaemin. Not even a shot?" Its a mystery how Jeno managed to stand on his feet with how drunk he is but he still did, handing Jaemin a shot, which Jaemin refused.

"Not in the mood,"

"Whatever. Y'know, eversince that gi-"

Before Jeno could even finish, Renjun, which had a little to zero alcohol in his system quickly pulled Jeno down beside him.

"I'll sew your mouth close, Lee. Now sit down and let me fucking find the other Lee." He was referring to Haechan, which also is drunk out of his mind, but still ran into the sea of people on the dancefloor.

"I need a breather," Jaemin decided to go outside the bar, but making sure that Jeno is well situated first before leaving the poor man laying in the couch.

In every other situation, he would've loved to match Jeno's energy and got drunk as much as his best friend, but this time he is truly not in the best condition to do so.

As soon as the bar's door closed behind him, the sudden silence was almost deafening. Which Jaemin wouldn't tell if its much worse than being inside, since he was left with only his thoughts and the street in front of him.

He crossed the road into a nearby convenience store, wanting some water or any drink that could possibly soothe his mind.

"Thank you," He bowed to the cashier, as he paid for the drink in hand.

The store was empty. Just him, the staff, and some random music quietly surrounding the store.

He sat by the stools, contemplating if he should just go home. Phone dead, he disregarded the idea of calling Renjun, who he is sure would prefer to be with him in this quiet convenience store rather than to babysit two grown adults who can't seem to handle their alcohol.

Dropping the phone on the side of the table, Jaemin quietly opened and drank the coca cola he bought. He just now realized that this was his dinner. He forgot to eat. Funny, Jaemin being a big advocate of not skipping a meal, skips a meal.

The dingling sound of the door was heard, Jaemin never bothered to look because again, this is a 7/11. People come and go. A slight set of footsteps was also prominent, seemingly roaming around the store.

"Can I sit here?"

Wide eyes, heart skipping a beat. The music was suddenly gone and everything else blurred out.

"Y-Y/N." He stuttered. He can't swiftly grasp the situation before you sat down the stool beside him.

"Hi." Your hair a bit shorter, cheeks a bit fuller, carrying a shade of pink, your figure covered with a thick coat.

You placed a couple of kimbap in front of you and a coca cola, same as his.

"What are you doing here?" Jaemin, carefully picking his choice of words as to not show any signs of discomfort.

"I was passing by and.. actually, no. I followed you here." For a moment there, you sounded like you wanted to lie, but backtracked and told Jaemin the truth.

"Did you now?" Jaemin remembered when he followed you that one time, and it feels like the tables have turned.

"Yeah, figured we needed to talk." You were timid, can't barely see Jaemin eye to eye. From his memories, you were always confident with what you say. So seeing this demeanor in front of him was a change.

"How are you?" Jaemin asked, genuinely curious.

"Never been better," You answered back, with a full chest and a heave of deep breath like you were relieved.

"I'm glad," Every last word was quickly followed by a complete silence.

After a few moments of deep thought, Jaemin wasn't sure what to say. Yes, before you showed up, questions was flooding in his brain. Asking for answers on why you left, why'd you lie and most importantly, why did you break him for no reason.

Jaemin's thoughts mustve been loud, hence the next dentence that came out of your lips.

"I'm guessing you have questions?"

Maybe Jaemin should've had a few shots before, to ease the tension and gain liquid courage, because fuck, he doesn't think he can handle this tonight.

But for the months you were gone, Jaemin isn't gonna pass this rare chance that you showed up, much more, showing up to talk to him properly.

"Why'd you leave?" Three words that circulated Jaemin's mind on those months you were gone. A question he asked himself a lot of times.

You were still for a bit, likely thinking about the answer. Jaemin could explode at any moment, he feels.

"I signed myself up for rehabilitation."

This wasn't the answer Jaemin expected. Its somehow a blow, to him, because he was angry at you for flaking on him for no reason. But now that you answered one of the many questions he had, it made Jaemin regret some of the things he had thought of about you. His guilt crept in.

"I-, I didn't know."

"Only a few knew about that. You were one of the unlucky ones to have suffered from it, so I thought you needed atleast an explanation." You smiled bitterly, still looking outside, whilst Jaemin looked at your side profile.

You continued. "I assume Jiho had filled you up with some of my dilemmas after I left. But trust me, Jaemin. I never intended to hurt you. You're so undeserving of the things I did but I had to make you hate me. I knew you cared for me back then, more than I had anticipated and I never really wanted to give myself that. I knew I can't receive love I didn't deserve. And I can feel it too, Jaem.." you paused.

Jaem. Oh how he missed the way you called him that.

".. I can feel that you really wanted to fix me. And you truly tried your best. But back then I didn't want to be fixed. And its unfair to have you selfishly. I never slept with your friend, I just made you believe that. I wanted you to despise me, to never think about me ever again." Well, you failed on that part, big time.

"Just hoped you gave me a chance to take care of you," Jaemin muttered.

"I'm not that evil to give you a burden like that,"

"You were never a burden to me,"

You let out a humourless grin, "I'd like to believe that, but we both know that's not true. For as long as I remember, I had been apologizing for just.. existing."

"I could've been there, y/n. I could've helped you."

"No, Jaemin. I don't think so, cuz even then, I couldn't even help myself." You spoke with great sincerity.

Another cruel moment of silence passed, and it was the most intense yet. None of you spoke, as if your thoughts were connected and understood each other without even saying a word.

"You really fucked me up, you know." It was now or never for Jaemin. Might as well open the can of worms now, and regret everything later. He might not have the same courage and opportunity as now.

"I did. And I'm so.. so sorry."

"But it's fine, y/n. I was young and naive, I guess I needed that. I already forgave you, fuck it, I don't even need to because I never truly hated you. All I did was love you, and even after you broke me, I still did." Looking into the distance, after so many failed attempts, he finally said it out loud. He was ready to risk it all, again.

"And I knew that, Jaemin. And maybe, I did love you too but back then I didn't know what love is. It was so scary and overwhelming that even from a distance, I already despised that kind of feeling."

"Are you... happy?" Jaemin thought about the man you were with. And at this moment, your answer was crucial, as it was a defining moment of what step or path he should go next.

"Yes. Are you?" Looking at him, you saw his eyes fill with unspoken comprehension of what its like to be happy and sad at the same time.

Happy that you're doing great, sad because he had just accepted the fact that you're much better with somebody else.

"I have no idea." And that was the truth. He wasn't sure if theres a word that could describe how he feels.

"Yeri, right? I heard from someone that you're with her. She seems great," Oh, what a great timing.

"We broke up already."

You widen your eyes and smiled awkwardly, "I'm sorry,"

"No, its okay. It wasn't working anyways. It was bound to happen sooner or later. You and Felix?"

"He's a great friend. He helped me with sobriety and therapy." Friend? Is that so?

"I thought you were dating," Jaemin liked the way this is going, it gave him hope.

"No, not really, never had anyone after you."

Is Jaemin supposed to be proud? Nonetheless, he felt a slight flutter in his chest. He was about to make a decision that will ultimately trash the imaginary walls he tried to build.

"Have.. have you thought about what we could've been?" Oh, what a risky question.

"Yeah, even back then, I always dreamed about an alternate universe where I wasn't so fucked up and actually tried something with you." Okay. You seem fine now, you seem on track. It wouldn't hurt to try again, right? Jaemin wanted to slap himself. Do he really want to risk it again?

"You could still.. try." The answer is yes.

You furrowed your brows, tilted your head a bit, "I don't think you deserve another heartbreak, specially from me, you know?" You chuckled, yet Jaemin was serious. This time, he's set to have you. He has to have you.

"I'll gladly let you break my heart again, y/n. Trust me, you'll only find yourself inside."

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Maybe Jaemin was setting himself up for another heartbreak, but this time he was certain. He was certain to give it his all-- everything he has to lose. You were worth every piece of his heart.

He kissed your lips like he held his entire life on it, like every moment were his last. Running your hands on his hair, you two blindly roamed around your apartment. Luckily, Jaemin still had the entire apartment sketched in his brain.

You felt his hands lower, lifting up your ass, signaling you to jump and cling onto him. You gladly did, and like a feather, he lifted you without any struggle. Lips still tangled together, Jaemin lowered you into the soft texture of your bed.

"I missed you so much," Jaemin groaned as he parted his lips from you. Seeing your face against the dimly lit room was majestic. Not long before he lowered his face onto your neck, giving it open mouth kisses that sent shivers down your spine.

Slowly, he tugged on your shirt upwards, lifted it and revealed your soft pink laced bra, covering your breast. Jaemin didn't waste time grabbed one of you breast, caressing it gently, just enough to bring you pleasure without discomfort.

"Hmm, I missed this," He groaned again.

You whined, being sensitive to every touch he gave you. His hands worked like magic, pulling down your bra and swiftly latching his mouth on your left nipple, while still caressing the other. "Ah, fuck.. baby." you moaned.

You can feel your core dripping already, desperate for any kind of friction. His expert hands left your boob, yet not leaving your skin, just lowering to the area you were sensitive the most. In a split second, your pants was undone and a cold breeze on your center gave you goosebumps all over. "So wet for me,"

"Yes.. yes, please, touch me." You begged for him. You needed him.

"You don't need to beg, princess." Just then, his middle finger applied pressure on your dripping core, igniting a spark that felt so good-- you couldn't help but buck your hips onto his hands.

He was gonna love you, and you were gonna love him. Tomorrow's uncertain, but today was sure. You were meant to be his, and he's meant to be yours.

Let your heart get what it wants. If you get hurt, then you have to endure. Jaemin endured the entire time and its your time to gamble.

While Jaemin was still devouring every inch of your skin, you took this chance to touch his clothed member- already rock hard, seeking freedom from the confinement of his pants. You traced it before gripping it through the fabric, making Jaemin hiss in pleasure.

"Take.. it off." Barely composing a sentence, Jaemin understood the assignment and pulled away, to undress himself. His top came off first, and just like a reflex, your hands quickly find his toned chest, down to his abs. You can't help but bite your lip, seeing his body again after so long. The only difference is, this time, he has a more mature build.

Tracing your hand down to his lower abdomen, and even much lower, and helped him undo his pants. As he disregarded all of his clothes, he didn't waste time and quickly lowered himself again to you. Kissing you with burning passion, he grind his hips onto yours, and you felt his hard length poking your thigh.

Using your hand, you grabbed it by the base, Jaemin reacting so sensitive made you excited. Your hands doing up and down motion, pointing finger tracing the slit on his pinkish tip.

"Fuck.. fuck baby, god." Jaemin couldn't help but groan deeply, urging you to move faster. Your movement all of a sudden halt, as Jaemin held your wrist, stopping you. "I'm gonna cum if you keep doing that." His dark voice whispered.

"Already?" You smirked at him.

"You underestimate your effect on me, baby." Truly, you were the only person who could melt Jaemin into a puddle if you wanted to.

His hand balancing himself on top of you, as the other held his cock, lining himself onto your entrance.

"Ah.. ah, shit," You moaned, caused by the stretch. A slight tinge of pain but quickly replaced by a wave of intense pleasure as he deeply plunges until you take all of him.

"So.. so fucking tight, oh fuck." Jaemin waited for your signal to keep moving. Which you did, by lifting your hips up to create any sort of movement. He swiftly pull out, just to go in again.

"I love you," Jaemin cried from pleasure, his tempo slowly gaining speed.

"I love you so much," you replied, grabbing his face to look at you as he fucks you with intense affection.

"Y/n, y/n.. I love you." He repeated like a mantra, going in and out repeatedly. You can feel your insides creating a bubble-- soon going to pop. He examines all of your features, "Cum for me." He murmured.

You nodded in response, biting your lip, yet not losing eye contact. A sudden wave of pleasure struck, and before you knew it, you're shaking under him. "I.. I love you."

"I'm cumming, shi..." You locked your legs on his waist, as he stilled so deep, reaching levels of your insides no one has ever reachex before. He cums, deep inside you and you felt his warm, thick ropes of cum paint your insides. His body collapses on top of you, heavy breathing surrounded the apartment.

Honestly, Jaemin didn't care if you hurt him again, Heck, break him again and again. Run away if you can, but he would make sure that he'll be here, always waiting for you. Break his heart for all he cares. You'll only find yourself there.

"Let's go, baby. They can't wait to meet you." Jaemin smiled at you softly, opening the car door before letting you in.

"I really get the feeling that they hate me." You nervously said, as Jaemin went around the car and sat at the driver seat.

"They actually did, back then. But now they're a lot less dumber." You laughed at him.

This was the first time Jaemin will introduce you to his friends. Even tho you knew that they already know you from the past, you wanted to introduce your new self. The self thats much better.

As you arrived at their shared apartment, you can already hear the noise behind the door. You looked at Jaemin with anticipation, as he opened the door.

"There she is! Hi, y/n!" Haechan, which you have encountered before, greeted you with a big smile. He was approaching with wide arms, which Jaemin quickly swats away.

"No." Jaemin simply says as he put his arms around you and dragged you further in the house.

There, you saw Jeno and Renjun playing Jenga. As soon as you sat down, the tower had fallen. Renjun frowning, Jeno with a big smile.

"Oh hi, y/n. Renjun just lost in Jenga, again." The cocky grin was present in Jeno's face.

"That doesn't count! We should play again, this time with y/n!"

You were quiet, but not because you were uncomfortable, but because you were slowly digesting everything. You felt so belonged with these people that its felt a bit weird, in a good way.

You smiled at them, looking back at Jaemin who's walking towards you with a drink in hand. "Thirsty, baby?" His smile was enchanting, and so, so gorgeous.

The time goes on and it all felt natural. It was the first time you saw Jaemin laugh that much, and it made you happier than ever. Then and there, you have concluded that you will never hurt this man again. This time, you'll try to make this work, because you knew he was the only one for you.

And even if the gods and the heaven above curse you for loving selfishly, you wouldn't care. Jaemin is the perfect man for you. And you can't let that smile fade again.

"What're you thinking?" Jaemin whispered, above all the noise from his friends.

"I love you."

And if you thought Jaemin's smile couldn't get any bigger, it did.

"I love you." He answered.

This time, you'll get your happy ending. You choose your happiness and Jaemin. Forever, you will choose Jaemin. Because you realize that after everything, even fiction itself, got nothing on this man.

A/N: I know it took so long to publish but again, I'm a bit busy! But how was it?? I hope you liked the first installation of my series, diary of the heart breakers! Thank you so much.

taglist: @cutiepeas @legbouk@hyuckissed @bockhyun @hibernatinghamster@shookyungsoo@sundamariis@sharkipoonis@ohmykwonsoonyoung@carelessshootanonymous

next part >> Inevitably Yours

[beybladefanboy]

Updated MFB Characters Tier List!

Check below the cut for extended thoughts on every character. Just a fair warning it's REALLY LONG. Like 12 pages of a Google doc long.

I know this tier list doesn't have Shogun Steel like the old one (which I couldn't find this time sorry) did but honestly, it's been so long I don't have much of an opinion on Shogun Steel or its characters anymore. I'd have to rewatch it to know how I feel about them now.

Hate: Ryo

Four years and multiple rewatches later, this remains unchanged. Ryo's a bad father, a bad plot twist, the worst part of Metal Fusion and a big detriment of Metal Masters. I hate his story and how much the narrative straight up justifies child abuse and when he's not problematic, he's annoying.

Painfully Boring: Pluto, Rago

I discussed the latter two in a recent post but Pluto and Rago are the most boring villains in the series. Hardly anything stands out about them and they could've easily been consolidated into one character. I don't hate them but the characters in the dislike tier are at least memorable to me, hence why I dislike them more than the ones in that tier.

Dislike: Motti, Sora, Busujima, Chi-Yun, the Garcias

Motti makes me uncomfortable. it's not the character's fault, it's the writers' but still. I don't like watching her or her interactions with Johannes. Sora I honestly just find annoying. I like the idea behind him, of a kid for Kenta to mentor but his personality and voice are annoying to me. Busujima is just a one note douche, not interesting in any way. Chi-Yun again I just find really annoying. He's such a snide unsportsmanlike jackass to literally everyone in Masters and Fury and I don't feel like he gets any comeuppance for it. The Garcias meanwhile are just such painful missed potential. I dislike them all equally for this same reason. There was an interesting idea in Fury of them falling out and they just. Did nothing with it and made it a fakeout. They're very static in a frustrating way. But Argo's bey is kinda cool so at least there's has that.

Conflicted: Masamune, Chao Xin, Doji

All three of these can pretty much be boiled down to "I like them in one season and dislike them in another." Masamune is extremely irritating to me for most of Masters, with his development going in circles until the American arc, where I do actually find his conflict with Zeo to be engaging. And then in Fury I mostly like him. He has his annoying moments but I like his friendship with King and his arc of accepting that he's not a legendary blader. Good stuff.

Chao Xin is similar. I hated him at first but he becomes much more tolerable when they scale back his womanizer attitude and mostly have him play off of Mei Mei as sort of an exasperated older brother figure. Seriously, those moments gave me some of the biggest laughs on my recent Masters rewatch. I have way underrated that dynamic in the past but I love it now.

And then there's Doji... I think throughout all of Fusion he is a "love to hate" sort of character for me. He's a manipulative sociopath who moves the plot along and affects other characters well. And then Fury brought him back... knowing that Doji was even more recurring in the manga does make this make more sense but it it still feels pointless, though not obnoxious. It's his inclusion in Shogun Steel that I feel really diluted his character and made me sick of him.

No Feelings: Nowaguma, Anton, Jigsaw, the Kumade brothers, team Desert Blaze, team Chandora, Faust, movie villain (forgot his name), Rago's boring henchmen

This is self explanatory I think. None of these characters appear enough or are enough for me to care about them one way or another. The two teams from Masters especially feel like throwaway characters just there to fill space. Prolly could've been more but it doesn't anger me that they're not.

Kinda Like: Damian, Ziggurat, Mei-Mei, Aleksei, Dan & Reiki, Bao, Hokuto

Yeahhhh I kinda like Masters. Damian still feels like a less interesting version of Reiji to me but he's different enough that I wouldn't consider him a rip off and he's still engaging. I mean come on, he drags bladers into Hell. That's just cool. Ziggurat also kinda just feels like Doji again but again different enough and was never diluted at any point so ya know. He's a "love to hate" kind of character. Mei-Mei I mostly like for her silly dynamic with Chao Xin. Still wish she was treated better though jeez. Aleksei I honestly just remember as Madoka's silly crush but ya know. That's funny. And his story is mildly engaging. Not the most interesting part of Masters but oh well. Dan and Reiki are cool conceptually and good opponents for Kenta in that one episode but don't do much outside of that. Bao gets nothing compared to Aguma but again, still mildly engaging. And Hokuto is just funny. Not terrible interesting but funny enough for me to like.

Like: Aguma, Tobio, Nile, Sophie, Wales, Klaus, Hyoma, Helios, Gingka, Ryuto, Demure, Toby, Lera

Going roughly in ascending order from this point on. I enjoy Lera's spunky confident attitude and wish we'd gotten more of her. Her using her special move in Fury was the coolest thing anyone on the Russian team ever did, don't @ me. Toby is... more a plot point than a character in Masters but I still like said story and his attitude, especially in Fury. Ryuto and Demure I don't have much to say about: I just think they're cool. Ryuto for more laidback scoundrel attitude and Demure being skilled for something other than brute strength, both of which are nice changes of pace.

Gingka has problems a lot of anime protagonists have but I think they let him lose just enough to keep him balanced and make the story interesting. Plus he's just such a dorky little creature I can't bring myself to dislike him pretty much at all. I also like how he starts as someone Kenta idolizes only for Kenta to later realize that Gingka is just a kid like him. That's a nice arc.

Helios is pretty much the reason I ever rewatch the MFB movie. I like fire boys and redemption arcs what can I say? Hyoma DESERVED BETTER. He's weird and funny and I like his dynamics with Gingka, Kenta, and Kyoya. Klaus is just kinda neat and I enjoy his battles. Not much to say. Sophie and Wales I wish we spent more time individually but they're still neat. They're like a perfected version of what Dan and Reiki were going for. Nile I appreciate for telling Masamune to shut the fuck up. And playing off Kyoya well. He's a more level-headed guy for him to bond with and that's fun. Tobio is really cool conceptually but gets overshadowed by other DN members for me.

And finally Aguma. I like his story more than his personality if I'm being honest. Yeah, I find the two schools plot interesting, dammit! Also Aguma plays off characters like King and Tithi and even Dynamis well and I wish we saw more of it.

Really Like: Tithi, Zeo, Madoka, Daxiang, Benkei, Dynamis, Yu

Tithi is another silly little guy that I simply enjoy, especially in his battle against Aguma. Maybe could've done with more screentime (especially for the dynamic between him and Dynamis that should have been) but what we get is still good. Zeo is reason number 1 Masamune became a good character. I love their conflict in Masters and while Zeo is way out of line and definitely in the wrong, it's easy to still feel bad for him and get where he's coming from.

Madoka is the backbone of this entire show. She's fantastic and deserves more respect. Daxiang has one of the best glow ups in the entire show. I love his arc of getting back up to lead his group and the way it ties in with Julian's arc and goddammit he's just damn cool. I did not expect him to defeat Julian when I saw that battle as a kid but I'm so glad he did. It's a great battle, and honestly underrated from what I can tell.

Benkei is a silly guy and I love him. I love his early redemption arc and his friendship with Kenta and Kyoya and yet again, his battle with Kyoya in Battle Bladers is peak and WAYYYY underrated. That said, Benkei does peak in Fusion. That's where he got all his compelling development and afterwards... he's just kinda there. Still being fun but not interesting admittedly. It disappoints but doesn't surprise me that he fell from relevance a bit.

Dynamis is... maybe a ridiculous character to put so high but I just think he's cool. His bey might be one of my favourites in the show and he's the chad that said destiny is a choice. Based as hell. And finally Yu. Yet another just silly lil guy who is also one of the biggest menaces known to the series. Like Benkei, he's at his peak in Fusion but unlike Benkei, I found Yu's involvement in Masters and Fury more substantial, even if he's in way less of Fury than Benkei. He just plays off the characters, especially Tsubasa and Tithi, so well it doesn't matter much to me. He's a fun addition to any episode he's in dangit.

Love: Julian, Tetsuya, Johannes, Yuki, Ryutaro, Hikaru, Teru, Chris, Tsubasa

Top 15 let's go! Julian is a character whose story I relate to immensely, as a former gifted kid who still struggles to cope with failure, and as previously discussed, his battle with Daxiang is peak. The only thing keeping him so low is the fact that I kinda hate what his bey did to the lore of this series. It's a neat bey with cool symbolism but dammit the left rotation makes me angry.

Tetsuya and Johannes are both just hilarious to me, no notes. Johannes being surprisingly competent as a henchman (carrying way too much Fury's villainous edge on his back) and being associated with cats is the only thing boosting him up a little higher.

Yuki is relatable to me as someone with anxiety issues. It's mostly just shown in one episode but it's one great episode. I also love how, similar to Demure, Yuki is strong, a legendary blader in fact, but not for brute strength. It's his precision and strategy and ability to bring people together that gives him strength and dangit I just love that and can't stand when people call him the weakest legendary blader just because he doesn't have as much physical strength. That's not the only thing that matters in a bey battle or otherwise, dangit.

Ryutaro I'll admit I mostly love because of The Deck is Stacked, aka: the most underrated episode in the entire series. His story, of having no hope but having to fight anyways to live just a little longer, is primarily just in this one episode but it's damn engaging. Also his whole fortunetelling gimmick and causing illusions in battle by manipulating the air flow and density is damn cool.

Hikaru I'll admit is tricky. In a bubble, I like her arc a ton. I like how throughout Fusion, she was only beyblading for her dead mother's dream and struggled to really have fun with it when she wasn't winning. I like how after Battle Bladers, she decided to take a step away from beyblade for the sake of her mental health. That's really mature and different for a story like this and should be encouraged more in just. General society. And her reaction to the trauma Ryuga inflicted on her is so painfully realistic it gets to me every time. I will concede though that this arc, while really good, being given to the only female blader who battled in Fusion is... not great. On its own though, I still like Hikaru's story and character. She serves as a reminder to myself that sometimes, perseverance isn't the only option and it's okay to step away from something that's hurting me if I need to. Yeah... we're getting to the point where I might start to sound cheesy or preachy because a lot of these characters mean a lot to me personally. In fact, I think I just talked myself into ranking Hikaru higher. In the middle of writing this. DAMMIT.

Teru is definitely the character with the least screentime that I put this high, having only one episode where he has a major battle as opposed to Ryutaro's two (three if you count Ryuga). However, that episode is undeniably one of my favourites in the entire series. Like Hikaru, Teru's story is one that is so powerful and stuck out to me so much throughout my life that it serves as a reminder to myself: that even if I fail or am unable to continue something I love, I can get back up and even when I least expect it, find that spark again. It's cheesy but genuinely inspiring to me. Not to mention him being a male ballerina. Absolutely fabulous and yet another reminder to myself as a trans man that I don't have to fit into society's boxes of what defines a man to still be a man. Absolutely incredible character.

I think it’s safe to say that I am quite possibly the biggest fan of Chris on this Earth. I just don't see anyone else talk about this guy or again, how relatable his story is. Or at least, when I watch Fury, I see myself in Chris. I see this guy burnt out by his obligations that he struggles to have fun with anything or make connections. This guy that puts on a mask of "completely fine with doing anything asked of him" for the people around him and just wants to get by, passionless, direction-less, unwilling to let himself feel truly passionate lest he be let down again. It's an arc that I didn't get until I got older and now that I do, it hits me hard and I think they devote just enough time to it. I do wish we'd seen more of him after his battle with Gingka because his simultaneously snarky and socially awkward personality is one I honestly find really appealing and had a blast writing back in the day. That's really my only complaint with Chris: I wish we got more of him, which isn't really a bad thing.

And finally Tsubasa. I've ranked him higher in the past and while I do still love him, he absolutely peaks in one particular season and while still engaging in the other two, is a tad vanilla. The mystery of his allegiances in Fusion is a fun one and I love his battle with Ryuga (and what it sets up) and while he's far less prominent or deep in Fury, his unique cool-headed personality is still intact and engaging. Buuuuut yeah. It's Masters where Tsubasa really shines. The Dark Tsubasa arc is the best take on this sort of “dark possession” story I've ever seen and one of the greatest character arcs in the entire series, if not the best. It's tense, it's interesting, it tugs at all my emotions in just the right way and it is resolved perfectly. The darkness remains a part of Tsubasa, because everyone has darkness in them but everyone has light as well and I just find that to be way more thematically rich and engaging than him simply driving the dark self out of himself like say Marik in Yugioh Duel Monsters did. Tsubasa’s arc is the most engaging part of Masters and a story and character that stick with me for all the right reasons.

Favourites: Jack, King, Reiji, Kyoya, Kenta, Ryuga

Top six time woohoo! I didn't intend this, but the top three are in every season and the three below that are mostly prominent in one of each season, starting with the Masters one: Jack. Silly artsy peacock boy really should not be this high but goddammit he's so entertaining. His bey is beautiful, his battling style is unhinged in the most memorable, hilarious way possible, the fact that like Teru, he's another male character with “feminine” traits that I, a trans man, can find comfort in. He's just so funny and fabulous and also kind of pathetic and I am obsessed with that. Also I appreciate the small but meaningful return he has in Fury where he finally got off the drugs- I mean, stop taking arrangements. Great character.

And the best character exclusive to my favourite season Fury is none other than KING. Yeah, that's not a shock if you know me. I wouldn't ship Ryuga with just anyone but even prior to that, I've just always loved King's positive attitude. He's very confident in himself but shows his opponents as much respect as they give him and is just so happy and grateful to be battling and that ties in so well with his little backstory. King is, personality-wise, what I want to be. Confident in myself, grateful for what I have, easily able to make friends… And also on my most recent viewing I realised it is incredibly easy to read him as trans masc coded and that's fun. 10/10. Love a guy with blue hair and pronouns.

And finally the best character who only appeared in Fusion: Reiji Mizuchi. My opinions have… shifted on him over the years to say the least. Now that I’m over all the past grief I have with this character, goddamn do I fully appreciate how hard they went on this antagonist. He is, I guess, a one note psycho but it’s the extent of his sadism that makes him so memorable and intimidating. It’s something no other character in the show does as effectively as him in my opinion. Characters like Tetsuya, Selen, or Johannes who don’t play fair, more so use trickery to distract their opponent or trick them into battle conditions that put them at a disadvantage. Reiji though is a whole other beast. He’s flat out torturing his opponents, forcing them to watch helplessly as he cuts their beys to pieces, because he knows no one outside the battle can stop him. He’s scarily perceptive of Kenta in particular, being able to use the kid’s insecurities against him to torment him and get the upper hand in battle. Reiji is a character who is meant to be hated and it’s that hatred of his actions that makes his battles so engaging to watch. He’s someone whose actions are so horrible it makes you hate the Dark Nebula and want to see them defeated even more. I cannot imagine Battle Bladers without Reiji. And this isn’t even getting into how fascinating it is for me to analyse the deeper implications with his character: the fact that Reiji seems to believe that his viewpoint of “beyblade is for destruction” extends to himself as well. He never once states himself as an exception. So if his opponent isn’t the one being destroyed, he is, an implication that I feel is made very clear by his breakdowns when Kenta and later Gingka gain the upper hand on him. Reij is a brainwashed pawn of the Dark Nebula, it’s something that’s backed up well enough for me to consider it true in universe and not just a headcanon. And what Reiji’s presence as this brainwashed pawn who behaves as a destructive one-note sadist (in his mind to protect himself from being destroyed) says about the Dark Nebula and Doji give this show an extra layer of darkness and intrigue that I wish they’d gone even further with but what we get is fascinatingly twisted. Reiji will now always be a tragic character to me. And one I’m probably more invested in than the writers of the show. The only thing keeping Reiji out of the top three is a lack of screentime, which is more of a missed opportunity than a detriment but still a disappointment to me personally.

And now for the top three. Kyoya is a tricky one for me. I really REALLY love him in Fusion and Masters. I think screentime-wise, he did peak in Fusion but Masters still continues his character development really well. You can see how he's matured from the events of Fusion but still retains that core “Kyoya”-ness I love so much. He’s still incredibly arrogant and willing to do batshit insane things in the name of defeating Gingka but he’s much more gracious in accepting loss and has become a better leader for his new team, Team Wild Fang, which all play off him in fun ways. Kyoya is less funny in Masters, sure, which I think does make me prefer him in Fusion by a slight margin but he’s still great in Masters, keeping his core personality while still balancing that with subtle but engaging character development. And then Fury happened… listen, I'm not gonna go into this here since I have so many times in the past and since he's in my top three and Fury is my favorite season, it's obviously not a deal breaker for me but Kyoya feels so off for a little but still just enough of his screentime in Fury to bother me. Still, the moments where he is still a really good character in Fury are there. His overinflated ego during his battle with Ryuga on the volcano feels like a mistake Kyoya would make and seeing him grow from it in the following episodes was a nice character arc. I also still enjoy the other major battles he got, most notably Johannes, Aguma, and Dynamis, Kyoya’s battles are something that are consistently kept fun and more insane across all three seasons which I love (except the Tithi battle). And finally, Kyoya's speech to Gingka during the final battle is genuinely touching and a nice way to wrap up his character for the season. The speech for me does ultimately forgive his selfish actions earlier in the season and so, while I have my problems with Kyoya in Fury and he still doesn't feel entirely congruent with how he was written in Fusion and Masters, I would still consider Kyoya in Fury a good character for the most part. So while he's clearly at his weakest in Fury, I still love Kyoya overall and within Fusion and Masters, he has some of my favourite episodes across all three seasons. He's a great character. His arrogance is often funny as hell, his character arc over the course of the series is engaging, I love how he never gives up no matter how impossible the odds, I love that he can be easily read as trans masc, he's just wonderful.

Second place! Kenta! Yeah, probably not all that surprising that I still love my Beyblade son. He’s just such a consistent source of positivity in the show. He’s the first character we meet, he has the cutest friendships with just everyone he meets. Ryuga instantly comes to mind as someone who’s made a better person just thanks to Kenta’s presence in his life but there’s also Gingka, Benkei, and Yu, whose character arcs all involved Kenta in some way. Not to mention that Kenta is debatably the character that grows the most as a blader throughout the series. He starts off as a novice but by the end, being respected by the strongest blader of all time, Ryuga and evolving into a Legendary Blader and one of the heroes that saved the world. It’s just satisfying to see that journey, even if Masters hardly contributed to said journey at all. Still, he’s a great character, and the odds are against him more than just about anyone, which for me, just makes him more engaging to watch.

Do I even need to explain my number 1 pick? Not only has Ryuga been my favourite character for four years straight now but he’s nearly everyone’s favourite character. Everyone agrees that he’s a total badass, the best villain in the show, hilariously over the top in Fusion, still amazing as an anti-hero in Masters and… actually I’ve seen some mixed thoughts on his character in Fury but unlike Kyoya, I actually think Ryuga still felt consistent in Fury. Yeah, I think Ryuga was being a hypocrite in Masters. A fascinating badass hilarious hypocrite but still a hypocrite who was still just as susceptible to being blinded by a thirst for power as Team Starbreaker, who he hated so much in Masters predominantly due to the association with Doji. To be honest, I think Ryuga peaks in Fury. Unlike some other characters who peak in one season or have one season where they get less screen time or feel off somehow, Ryuga starts off amazing in Fusion and only gets better throughout every season. His speech about how he overcame the dark power in Masters, how he concluded that because it was a problem created by humans it could be overcome by a human, was the moment where it really clicked for me that Ryuga is something special. He’s not just physically strong: he has the “never give up” mindset that many of these bladers have cranked up to 11, as well as the ability to admit to his mistakes and work to overcome them. And that’s genuinely admirable, the most admirable to me out of all the characters in this show. I wish I had even a bit of Ryuga's confidence. And I think the fact that Fury shows he’s not infallible and is capable of making similar mistakes is a good way of showing that progress is not linear and gives him more depth. And. God. Everything with him and Kenta still gives me the feels. The way their friendship develops is subtle but it's honestly sweet and the payoff is legendary. I CANNOT get through those episodes of Ryuga dying then giving the last of his power to Kenta without crying my eyes out. I wasn't exaggerating about my most recent viewing of those episodes making me cry so hard I got dehydrated. If that ain't the mark of an amazing character I don't know what is. Ryuga's still alive in my heart, dammit. And also the fanfic series I wrote a few years ago now. Those aren't factored into this ranking obviously, I just bring them up to make a point of how much I love Ryuga.

[lynni3x]

Cloud Strife x Oc(Reader)

Warnings: A bit of angst(I think not proof read), fluff, reader is oc. Reader if Tifa and Clouds' best friend.

Team Strife's first mission-oneshot

“Tifaaaaaa,how much longer do we have to climb these stairs!!!”

In all honesty, I was most certainly not prepared for this. And not the nagging coming barret, it was the worst. “Stop whining.” cloud said as you can see the sweat forming on his forehead. “Speak for yourself strife, your face is shiny.” she joked as she turned around to face him, almost tripping. She caught herself by the wall next to her. This made cloud smirk which was rare. He opened his mouth before he got caught off by Aerith, “Ryo, you should know by now, stop sleeping so much and work out. That's why you get tired easily.” she scolded, making Ryo roll her eyes. As they reached the top of the stairs. “Since you’ve made it this far, it’s only fair that I congratulate you for it.” a monotone voice said, as they reached the end of the stairs. Ryo’s eyes widened as she noticed the figure. So did clouds’. “What are you doing here?!” he practically yelled at him as he stood in front of Ryo, shielding her from him. She stood there frozen wide eyes staring at him, not knowing what to do. “If you don't remove yourself cloud, I’ll do it myself. We have unfinished business.” his voice was stearn. “You’ll have to get through me if you want her-” “seph, what are you doing?” “you’re scaring Ryo, look at her '' and indeed he was, Ryo stood there shocked at what was happening. In front of her stood: sephiroth, zack, and genesis. Her old teammates and her mentor who was supposed to be her soon-to-be-husband, but she didn't want to marry him as much as her father wanted her too. She didn't love Sephiroth as he did, and he still loved her even after she left him. Maybe she did a tiny bit, but not as much as him. Cloud nodded his head at Tifa and Aerith, they stood next to her making Ryo yell, “Enough!” they all looked at each other,then at her. “You all need to stop acting like children!” Ryo was upset, she didn’t like being upset at others for stupid reasons. She walked past Sephiroth and the others. Making sure he heard her. But not the others. “If you continue like this, you’re never gonna get anywhere. You’ll eventually be left all alone. I won’t have any pity left for any of you.” her green eyes glowing as he knew what that meant. The room went quiet after that, ryo was the first to make the move. Her katana clashing with Zack's buster sword. As he barely dogged it. He noticed her green eyes glowing. “You shouldn’t let him get to you. Come back.” she gritted her teeth as she pushed harder. Making him lose his balance and stumble back. Genesis caught him in time. “You all should know this by now. You’re no match for her. No one is.” they knew that voice, it wasn't her. She was being controlled like a puppet. “It’s impossible to defeat her!” she said as started laughing like a maniac. “The ShinRA PROJECT has now been completed!” They all knew what was going to happen, whether they liked it or not. They had to fight ryo. And they had to use teamwork. Otherwise it wouldn't work.

A/N: This is very old, it's been in my drafts for a while now lol. Sorry for any grammer mistakes, and my very first post:), hope you enjoyed I might make a part two. Not sure yet,

[thecrazedpotato]

Bocchi The Rock Review!!!!!!!!!!

So overall, I really enjoyed this series. The entire time it has been entertaining and comedic, and the Kessoku Band are entertaining throughout the entire runtime. Especially Ryo, Ryo is awesome as heck. I do feel the ending could've been a bit better for reasons I'll explain in the spoiler segment, it didn't really feel all that climactic, but to be fair the climax of the season was at the beginning of episode 12 so the rest is falling action and setting up for a season 2, which I am very much hoping will get greenlit in the near future because it would be VERY disappointing if this anime ended here.

SPOILERY THOUGHTS BELOW YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!

So episode 12 started off REALLY strong with the concert, it was really fulfilling to see how far the Kessoku Band has come, and especially how far Hitori has come as a person, the girl who could barely make eye contact or speak when handing a drink to a customer is now playing in front of a huge live audiene, that part where one of her strings broke before her solo but then she improvised was really cool, it was awesome.

But then Kita made Hitori do a speech in the middle of the concert and it caused her to panic and do a stage dive because she had no idea what to say or do so she went unconscious and they had to call off the concert early. I feel like at this point Kita would know better than to put Hitori on the spot like that, and I really do think she should've apologized to Hitori since she pretty much caused that. To be fair Hitori had the courage to play in front of an audience so I guess Kita overestimated her confidence, and doing a stage dive was not really a good choice on Hitori's end, but still Kita should've apologized to Hitori after Hitori apologized to Kita for ruining the concert.

Anyway after that the rest of the finale is them getting a new guitar for Bocchi because the old one broke. It's definitely not bad, it's still entertaining Bocchi shenanigans, but I feel like there's way more of it than there should've been. Maybe have more concert time, like they play one more song before Kita pushes Hitori to do a speech (or better yet Bocchi gets so confident and excited that she does the stage dive thing herself and falls to the floor that would've been really funny), or maybe put the end of episode 11 where they get ready for the concert at the beginning of episode 12, though the drawback would be that 11 wouldn't have as much important stuff going on.

Speaking of, yeah episode 11 is definitely the weakest episode for me. I feel kinda bad because a large factor of it is that this episode shoves a bunch of fanservice animeisms in your face (everyone wears maid outfits, the swimsuit gag, etc) and that's not really my thing so it's kinda the weakest by default. The problem with this is that means there's less important stuff going on, which like yeah I know this is a slice of life show but the concert is about to happen I don't think we should be doing all this fanservice-y stuff in the middle of it. I don't hate this episode, it's still got that charm the rest of the show has and it's still very funny, that post-apocalyptic biker gang is probably one of the show's funniest bits. And I do like Ryo in a tux that was really cool. And fortunately there isn't a ton of this animeism/weird stuff in the entire series, like the only other major animeism is in episode 2 when Hitori is getting in the ice cube bathtub and it shows her in her swimsuit and that's literally just the opening of that episode that that's basically it.

So yeah, rad anime, it may have lost its balance a bit near the end but it still stood on the rope. Again I am SERIOUSLY hoping season 2 gets greenlit I will be very upset if it doesn't, I am currently debating on if I get a Hitori figure or a Ryo nendoroid or both from Good smile, you should totally watch it, "I think it's really good"/10

[jourke-rourke]

some assorted insights I have gained from analyzing the wanted posters shown at various points throughout the show: (this is gonna be mega-long as i am allergic to concision. to be fair I did issue a clear warning about inflicting text posts on everybody)

from episode 1. One and Three are listed as having the same height and weight (both 6'0" and 210 pounds).

who do they think they are kidding. I do not buy this for either of them

unless they weighed Boone while he was carrying multiple holstered guns. Which, y'know, maybe.

I can buy 6'1" and 210 pounds for Six, but uh. What's up with the race there?

African American? My man is not from Earth. He doesn't even know what planet America is on

ALSO Jones and Boone have the same NCIC number. This might be a mistake on the showrunners' part but I think a funnier interpretation is that the GA just never bothered to assign his fake persona a real number so they just copy-pasted Boone's

Alternatively maybe it is actually Jones' and there's a weird glitch in Boone's GA profile where it just displays other people's ID numbers. supporting evidence is this shot from S3 where he inexplicably has Ryo's ID number (while Portia doesn't get her number listed at all)

this is from the blink drive scientist in the past who downloaded the GA database. fun fact: since Portia is in prison clothes but Boone does not yet have terrorism added to his charge list, it seems that the scientist left for the past at some point during S2. neat!

Also both Boone and Portia have a note on their profile that says 'not permitted to carry weapons or firearms under any circumstances.'

yeah, good luck with that one.

getting into charges (these are all S1):

for some reason Jones is never charged with terrorism despite the fact that he is an undercover agent and they could literally charge him with anything they want, it's not like they'll have to prove it.

he was literally part of a terrorist cell and instrumental in bombing 10,000 people. why was he never charged with terrorism.

also can you imagine being the poor merc who gets knocked off the 10 most wanted list in favor of an undercover cop's secret identity created to fool like four people. your rep would never recover

Corso is the only one with a trafficking charge, which I assume refers to human trafficking. I'm gonna be real, I'm amazed Boone hasn't scored one of those by now, given that we see main universe Boone exactly twice and both times he immediately attempts to sell the first person he sees into slavery. maybe he's just never been successful but is really gunning for that so he can fill out the fifth charge slot on his most wanted poster with something cool.

Boone does get a kidnapping charge, which I'd wager is probably from his old crew, since 'snatch kids to blackmail parents' seems to be their M.O.

this one's from S2E11, 'wish I'd spaced you when I had the chance.'

They finally got Ryo's name right! It was still under Tetsudo when he was arrested so I assume when Misaki showed up she was like 'hey man you know that's not his name right?' and the GA folks updated it

Nyx just has theft, assault, and fraud charges, none of which seem to warrant imprisonment in the most maximum security facility in the galaxy, so I'm assuming she was sent there because she kept beating people up in min sec

Also, damn, Two is really racking up the charges. New extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, and corporate espionage. Wow.

However, she has inexplicably been cleared of the piracy charge. Absolutely no idea what's going on there.

I'm assuming kidnapping is from when she snatched Tabor, and armed robbery is basically a normal Tuesday for them so whatever.

The corporate espionage and extortion could theoretically be old charges- the wanted posters list charges in descending severity, with violent crimes first, so it's possible they just got left off for space purposes

But I think corporate espionage is actually related to when they snuck into Dwarf Star to steal the nanites

Also, that's such a cool crime. Five would probably be wildly jealous if she knew Two had gotten an espionage charge. Five definitely deserves one with all the hacking she's done

theoretically Six and Three could also earn that charge since they did the same stuff as Two. We never find out if Six was charged with it.

I can't put subtitles on this or make it into an actual gif but the robot reads his list of charges as murder, assault, kidnapping, piracy, and terrorism.

Hey, he finally filled out that fifth slot on his wanted poster!

He might also have a corporate espionage charge (if so, lucky him) that the robot left off for concision (couldn't be me)

That said, the terrorism charge raises its own set of questions. Or mostly one question, which is 'why is he the only one who got charged with it'

Obviously it's from the white hole bomb, but why didn't Two or Four get charged with it? My best guess is maybe Three was visible on security footage somewhere, or in the memory stores of the male android if the GA got access to those? Or maybe just left his DNA at the scene since he got bloodied fighting the Android while the others (except Five) were elsewhere. God only knows and he has not deemed to share his secrets with me

and for a final note we're going back to lovely Five!

she's not on the 10 most wanted list but she does still get an actual wanted poster, so score

that said. uh. as previously established, crimes are supposedly listed in descending order of severity

so this shot implies that out of all the sketchy shit Das did, while illegally stowing away on a space station, hacking into restricted areas, and surviving through thievery and pickpocketing for literal years. of all the things she did.

the crime that the GA is most concerned about

is truancy

can you imagine being such a notorious criminal that you get your own actual wanted poster that cops all over the galaxy are expected to study and know your face. and the primary thing that you are charged with is truancy. if i was her I'd be pissed

'ah. yes. the most wanted criminals in the galaxy: mercenaries, murderers, space pirates, terrorists, and also this random teenager who hasn't shown up for class in like four years. we have got to get this terrifying criminal off the streets ASAP.'

anyways nobody at the GA appreciates Five's diversified criminal portfolio. charge her with espionage, cowards. she'll be thrilled.

[hel-phoenyx]

"Why didn't you let him know you can speak french now ?"

Amelia's question made me laugh. Why indeed didn't I say anything, why do I keep my mouth shut on my whole language ability, especially in front of Thibault.

It's band practice. Today I asked them if they knew any good french rock bands I can practice on, and the subject of my little joke came on the table. Well, it would be more accurate to say Ryo brought it on a table with the subtility of three raging elephants.

"I didn't even know HE didn't know before Louna told me, man, he ranted. What's the point ? Anyone can break the mystery in your place, yaknow ?"

Senri stayed silent on the matter, as usual, but I could feel his own questions. Because he knew I didn't only hid my proficience in french to my lost and found best friend. I actively lied to him when he asked me which laguages I was speaking.

Right in front of Louna. My very much french girlfriend of four years. I'm surprised Thibault didn't make the link, and it does make me feel a little guilty. But I had my reasons for this. That are not only for the sake of jokes.

"Heh, you guys know Thibault, he is astonishingly oblivious when it comes to those kind of subjects. I just didn't see the point in warning him."

Senri frowned, but one look from me was enough to keep him silent. He never was keen in going too deep in my business, anyway. I try to keep him out of most of it. My depression is already too much of an info.

He still kept his accusatory look tho, and that made me shrug.

"Okay, I admit, I had a hidden motive. For my defense, I think you never see how emotionnaly constipated Thibault is when it comes to me."

"Ya kidding, mate ? Louna is complaining to hell and back about how he's dying of gayness over you, said Amelia with an incredulous tone. How can you not see that ?"

"I see it well, trust me. Mostly because he doesn't know I speak French."

My laugh tinted with a little bit of sadness.

"Ever since we found each other again, he's going all-tsundere. I know he's head over heels for me in his very own way, yes, that much is obvious. But he never told me."

"Shit, man, grunted Ryo, I didn't think it was that bad."

"Says the man who almost punched Taichi when he brought you flowers," said Senri with a little smile.

"FUCK OFF ! That was ONE time !"

Aaaaaand I think the second time punch will be going right in the head of my second best friend if I don't stop him. Luckily, these days, Ryo barks more than he bites, and he just sat down a bit further, threatening our bassist with his drumsticks. Very menacing, as I know for a fact he's physically the weakest of us four, counting our paraplegic Amelia. And Senri is probably the strongest.

"Well, back to the matter at hand, sighed Amelia. He really didn't tell you shit?"

"You ever saw that grouchy leprechaun talking about someone in a positive way ? He's trapped in his own barriers, and I don't even know what made him that closed-off."

I laid back into my chair, letting go of my guitar. Practice would come later, right now I am under the feeling this is turning more and more into a therapy session.

Not my favorite thing ever to get psychoanalyzed by my band members, but I let the conversation flow, so now I have to assume the consequences. My mistake.

"No, the only think I hear something positive about me is when he's talking in french. In french he tells me how hot he finds me, yes, but also that he loves me and he missed me and he's happy we found each other again. That's difficult enough to get him to open up. I'm not gonna have him let go of that outlet, am I?"

"Fair. But yaknow, said Amelia, he doesn't need an outlet, he needs therapy."

"Make him realise that and we're good to go. I'm trying to since the beginning of the school year, but he doesn't even realise how fucked up that is. And honestly I shouldn't be the one giving him lessons."

Everyone in that room had a sudden cough. Good, so we're on the same page.

Amelia rolled her wheelchair to my place, still looking at me. I could see worry in her eyes. I didn't quite get why.

"Well, I can get Thibault's whole problem. But you ? That must not be very cool to hear a person you like a lot only talking to you in a negative way. You holding out good?"

"Oh, I know what he's thinking and that's enough. And it's not like he's berating me constantly. He justs reacts violently to affection and compliments. Next to that, we're having good times, really. That complicity back then at Saint-Cyr is still there, and not buried very deep. He just can't imagine people would love him... Back."

Once again, I shrugged. My eyes were fixiated on the ceiling, lost in thoughts, as much as I didn't want to meet my friends' looks.

I didn't want them to know what I really felt about Thibault's closedness.

I didn't really want them to see how much it ached seeing him not being able to express what he wanted. Not even getting a positive word out of the mouth of a man that looked at me like I was an unexpected treasure of the most precious sort.

I didn't really want them to feel the shame I was under for just accepting scraps of affection he wasn't even aware giving me.

"Yet... Sometimes it feels nice being reminded he doesn't hate me."

They didn't say anything.

They didn't have to.

[tragedytells-tales]

Artificial Avatar | Reunions

Notes - No MC, Comedy with a hint of angst, Obey Me AU, the pacing on this one is slightly rancid, Feat. Mammon, Himiko, Ryo, Grim, and Ajay, ( Himiko and Ryo belong to @absolutepokemontrash )

Summary - Summer break has started for a certain NRC student, and it isn't the only reunion happening.

TW - Violence ( non-grapic )

Warnings - None

[ Prolog ] - [ PT. 1 ] - [ PT. 2 ] - [ PT. 2.5 ] - [ PT. 3 ]

Mine...

Huh??

Who... am... I..?

Oh, another nightmare.

Frantic screaming, pulling, fighting.

Another soul's nightmare.

Someone is dying... I'm... dying? No. No, I can't die. I have to live, why am I dying, I can't die, this isn't fair-

It wasn’t fair.

THIS. ISN'T. FAIR.

.

...

.....

Ajay shot up out of bed and grasped at the hand clawing at their chest. Sweat dropped down their brow and their eyes frantically bounced around the room. The lights were still off and strained ears could barely pick up on the slow breathing coming from deeper in the house.

The room wasn't familiar. Windows without bars stretched tall to show the moon reflecting into the room and stars replaced the blinding white lights they were used to. And the smell of fresh laundry replaced the nauseating scent of chemicals, blood, and bleach.

And this wasn't their room.

With a deep breath in, Ajay slowly pried their metal arm away from their chest and shifted to take a cautious step out of bed. The plush carpet grounded them and somewhat settled their rattled nerves as the pattered toward the door.

Ajay felt their pupils grow to adjust to the darkness of the house. The only sounds were the air conditioning, their footsteps, and the far-away breathing from earlier.

As they turned the corner the light from the pool on the balcony poured through the blinds and lit up the way to the kitchen.

"A drink of water wouldn't hurt." Ajay mumbled.

From within a bedroom the Avatar of Greed listened to the sound of a stranger, likely a child Himiko brought home in her sudden disappearance and late return, wandered the halls.

The sound of mechanical whirring sounded, yet it was too many sources to just be the fridge.

Well this one is gonna be a sight.

The next time Ajay woke up, they awoke to the smell of something... delicious and soft chatter outside of the room. One was slightly higher with a tinge of an accent, Lady Himiko. Another was deeper with an accent of its own, they were also speaking faster than lady Himiko.

The sound of a door opening had two members of the house shoot their gazes towards the entrance, the third jumped and froze stiff.

"OKAASAN!!! DAAAAD!! I'M HOOOME!!"

Okaasan, mom.

The sound of rushing footsteps and loud laughter bounced through the house with a light sound to it. Conversation started up again, but this time with two extra voices. One had a similar accent to both, yet it was slightly deeper pitched. The other... meowed?

Footsteps drifted further away from the door and the light clanging of pots and pans returned.

Ajay tilted their head towards the door before shrugging and returning to fiddling with their arm.

From within the kitchen, Mammon was excitedly talking to Ryo about all that he and Himiko had planned for the day. An arcade that had recently reopened, shopping, going out to eat, the works.

Ryo listened, nodding along while occasionally throwing in whenever something reminded him of an adventure at NRC. Grim, his beloved companion and outstanding help in the kitchen if the missing bits of food were anything to go by, boasted and interrupted at times with his own stories. Or versions of them anyway.

Himiko smiled at the family that had gathered in the kitchen as she cooked, the conversation continued until she plated the food, when it suddenly stopped.

There was one for Mammon, one for her, one for Ryo, and even one for Grim. But there was also one more for someone who wasn't in the room.

"Who's that for?" Mammon asked as he took his seat next to Ryo, "Did you bring a new kid home?"

Ryo looked up from his plate and glanced between his parents before looking at the plate by the empty seat. He raised a brow as Himiko nodded and gestured to where the guest room was. The more she strained her ears, the more she finally heard it, a sudden silence as if whoever was there had gone still.

"Yes, speaking of, it's about time I introduced you, Ajay! Breakfast is ready! Come eat!"

...

Silence.

Himiko raised a brow and turned her attention towards where the guest room was. Not a sound had come from the room signaling the teens' appearance. She called out again, this time a little louder in case they weren't awake, only to be met with silence again.

"Hold on, I'll go get the-"

Before Himiko could finish her sentence the screeching of a chair against the floor interrupted her.

"NEW BLOOD, I'LL FIND EM!" Ryo shouted as he hopped up out of his chair. Before anyone could blink, he darted down the hall and around the corner, completely ignoring both of his parents calling out to him. He knocked on the door once, twice, and three times without an answer before opening the door with a loud slam.

Ryo looked around the room with narrowed eyes and a raised brow. The room light was on and the sheets were messed up, so someone was in the room. He turned up his nose and sniffed the air, almost flinching at the scent of sour muddled magic.

He took one step into the room and stopped at the sound of a loud thump. A shadow moved from underneath the bed and a black haired kid hopped up from the other side, tilting their head when they spotted him.

"Sooo, you're the new kid?" Ryo crossed her arms, "What's your name?"

"Ajay."

"Nice to meetcha, I'm Ryo!"

Ajay nodded and Ryos gaze snapped over to their mechanical arm. It was something he'd never even seen before yet seemed vaguely familiar. The black haired teen glanced down at their arm and screwed in a panel that covered up a window to wire like things in the arm before looking back over to Ryo.

"Did you need something, prince?"

The demon raised a brow and scrunched up his nose, "you can just call me Ryo, you're living in my house."

Ajay tilted their head, almost as if they didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about, before shrugging.

"Annnnnyway, breakfast is done, mom called you to eat." Ryo said. He turned on his heel to walk out, stopping just before the door.

"Nice arm by the way, high tech, looks cool."

Ajay watched the door shut and stood silent for a moment before shrugging. They finished screwing on the panel on their arm before leaving the room, following the sound of chatter to the kitchen.

"Good Morning Ajay."

"Good morning Lady Himiko, Lord Mammon."

Himiko shook her head at the same time Mammon shot the kid a smile. Ryo sat back down and Grim landed on his shoulder, looking the kid up and down while puffing out his chest for a moment before pouting with disappointment.

"And what about me?!" Grim grumbled.

Ajay turned towards the cat and tilted their head. They frowned in confusion and crossed their arms, "What... exactly are you?"

"I'm Grim! The best housewarden of ramshackle dorm and the greatest mage to ever live!" Grim said, shooting Ajay a confident smirk.

Ryo looked up from his plate and smothered a giggle as she watched Ajay sit down, simply nodding at the cat's boisterous introduction. "More like vice housewarden , I'm the one who actually keeps the place standing." The demon remarked, giving the cat her own fanged grin when he frowned at her.

"And I wouldn’t say you're the greatest mage to ever live just yet." Himiko tossed in.

Friendly bickering started up between Ryo and Grim, although it was mostly one-sided as Grim seemed to be losing the not-argument.

"You're the first ever broke furry to exist, I think that's a great accomplishment."

Correction, losing horribly.

Ajay looked down at the plate in front of them and tilted their head. They didn't actually... know what was on it. It didn't seem like any devildom ingredients they knew, it all looked like things from the human realm if what they've read proved right, but that didn't make it look unappetizing. But It was still much different from what they were used to.

Mammon shot the teen a glance and raised a brow at the analytical eye they were shooting their food. "The food ain't poisoned, y'know?" He chuckled.

"I know, I just can’t identify what it is." Ajay shrugged.

Ryo stopped eating to look up from her plate. She quickly swallowed and pointed her fork at the teen with a questioning fanged smile. "You don't know what eggs, bacon, and toast is? That's just basic breakfast."

Silence fell over the table when Ajay slowly turned to Ryo with a confused frown. They glanced from Ryo, down the plate, then back to Ryo, and blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

And then... "What exactly is... "breakfast?""

Ryo went slack-jawed, Grims eyes widened in disbelief, and Mammon almost choked on his food.

Himiko cleared her throat, causing each to sit straight up, and turned to Ajay. "Breakfast is the first meal of the day? It's where you get all of your vitamins, nutrients, and calories for the morning." The demoness explained.

Ryo leaned further out of her chair, examining Ajay with a skeptical eye. "I call bullshit," she nodded, "what have you been eating then??"

"Hm, I never asked. I wasn't exactly given..." Ajay gestured to their plate, "this. During mealtimes I was injected with a nutritional supplement, sometimes I would be hooked up to an IV."

A loud cough tied with the clatter of a fork hitting a plate startled everyone and Himiko looked over to see her husband recovering from almost choking on his food.

"Fuckin hell kid..." Mammon grumbled, slamming his fist to his chest. Himiko reached out and started to pat Mammon on the back while Ryo moved Ajays plate closer to them. She not-so-subtly moved their utensils closer to them as well, eyes glancing between the plate and the teen.

"Use the fork, it's the pronged one, it's used for stabbable foods." Ryo pointed to the utensil closest to Ajays hand and watched them pick it up before scooping up a piece of egg and eating it.

Himiko watched Ajay hesitantly chew before their pupils blew wide and their white eye glimmered with a striking red. She chuckled as she watched Ajay start eating faster, barely stopping to breathe. They hummed happily as they ate, even their eyes looked like they were glowing despite their expression never changing.

"Mmm, good!!"

Grims eyes widened as he watched the kid almost empty their plate in seconds, "Jeeeebus! They're almost as bad as me!"

"You ate rocks, bro." Ryo giggled, "no one will be as bad as you except for uncle Beel."

"Mhm," Himiko nodded, "Oh, Ryo, about that one arcade you and your friends used to go to. I hear they have new games too, it's a shame someone beat your DDR high score though."

"HUH?!" Ryo let out a loud gasp, almost loud enough that Grim could've swore she would start choking at any minute. She sat back down in seat and shoveled the last of her breakfast into her mouth with a pout, "I worked on that for MONTHS, uuuuuGGGHHHH."

Himiko looked around at the empty plates and nodded, "Well, since we've all finished our breakfast, go get dressed and be ready in thirty."

Ryo hopped up out of her seat and darted over to her room with Grim in toe. Mammon gave Himiko a kiss on the forehead before walking off to their shared room to get ready, leaving Ajay and Himiko by themselves.

"There should be some spare clothes in the closet that fit you."

"Huh?"

The chair squeaked against the floor as Himiko stood and gathered the plates in her hand and placed them in the sink. When she returned to the dining room, Ajay was still sitting in their seat. The teen tilted their head at the demoness as she walked in, this time raising a brow at them.

"Am I coming along...?" They asked, frowning in confusion.

"Yes? Of course you are, you're under my watch Ajay, I can't just leave you here alone. Now go get dressed."

That's when they felt it. A spike of stabbing pain tore through them, ripping its way down to their legs and into their soul. They bit down on their tongue to suppress a yelp as they stood. They gave Himiko a short nod, stopping when another bout of pain bloomed on their tongue.

Just as always.

"Yes Lady Himiko." They said, face black and voice empty. They turned on their heel and strode over to their room with a nod without looking back.

Himiko blinked as she watched the kid seemingly run off, "Okay..." She shrugged. She began walking to her room to get dressed but took one last look towards the guest room doors.

"I really should ask Diavolo where they came from..." She mumbled to herself, sighing before turning back towards her room.

"RIDE HENCHMEN! FOR THE NACHOS!! FOR THE GLORY!!"

"GRIM GET OFF-A ME!!"

Grim had decided to take a perch atop Ryos head, completely ignoring the twenty minutes of work that went into taming the damned thing. This earned the cat several swats until he finally settled on sitting on Ryos shoulder.

The smell of food and cheesy fries wafted through the air, along with the sounds of games and demons laughing both with and at each other. From somewhere out of sight, the sound of cheering was accompanied by tickets rapidly spilling out of the machine.

Ryo barely acknowledged the beaming grin on his face.

The arcade wasn't overly different from the human arcades Ryo went to while he attended NRC, it had the lights, the noises, the food, the extremely unhinged carpet, everything.

Including his old favorite, Devil-Dance Revolution.

"Now that, kid" Ryo threw an arm over Ajays shoulder and missed how they startled. He pointed towards the lit up machine with symbols on its floor pad and flashed Ajay a fanged grin, "that is DDR, one of the best games in this arcade, and I'm gonna show you how it's done."

Ajay glanced between the machine and Ryo before giving in with a nod. The princelet darted off towards the machine with a floundering Grim in toe. Mammon walked after them as a few more people surrounded the machine and Himiko approached their side.

The moment Ryo stepped foot on that machine, Ajay got the distinct feeling that he likely wasn't getting off of it any time soon. Their eyes, which were trained to track the speed of a lightning bolt, could barely keep up with how fast his feet flew to every beat. They heard Mammon, Himiko, Grim, and even a few other demons that gathered around cheering for the princelet.

It was much, much different from the lab. In fact, the noise from the crowd and smell from the food court nearby was almost loud enough to cover up the cry of a child from nearby.

Almost.

Ajays eyes flickered over to the sound for a moment. They caught a glimpse of a shorter demon, one much younger, lose a fight to a much older demon over a plush toy. They then frowned for a moment when they looked back over to where Himiko and Mammon were standing right in front of them.

Deep in the back of their mind, they heard a little whisper.

"That poor child, no one technically ordered you to stay close," A voice hummed, a second one following close behind.

"It wouldn't take that long to get the toy back anyway. A quick in and out, and no one will notice you're gone!"

Ajay felt their nails dig into their fist as they fought the urge to wander away. With the amount of trouble they were already in, they were lucky to be alive. They couldn’t just...

They shouldn't just leave...

"But that kid had her doll stolen. She's still crying, it had to have meant something to her. Go get it back."

And yet they couldn't find it in themself to fight it when they snapped their eyes away from the royal couple and a flash of blue shot through their vision. With a low pop, one that was likely covered up by the noise of the arcade, Ajays vision filled a row of games.

It didn't take Ajay long to find the thief, not when the scent of pure greed doused the trail they left behind. Slitted pupils locked onto unhuman yellow and Ajay felt claws slowly grow on their robotic arm. The thief snarled and sprinted towards the door, leaving Ajay behind in the arcade.

A glowing green soul hovered almost near their vision as Ajay swiftly strode towards the exit.

It wouldn't take them long to find the thief anyway.

Grim narrowed suspicious eyes on the new kid. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to follow, but it's not his fault he got curious about the person who can apparently teleport when they started acting weird. He had seen a lot of weird things during his time at NRC, especially with the overblots, but nothing like this before.

And they also walked off without telling anyone! With how new they were to breakfast, they definitely won't last long just wandering about the devildom by themself. So it was up to the great Grim to step up and protect them!

At least, that's what he told himself as he mumbled a rushed goodbye to Ryo, who hadn't missed a beat even when he waved Grim off, and flew after the kid through a row of Sci-Fi games.

The alleyways that twisted and turned around the arcades exterior were easier to map out than expected.

The dim lights of street lamps from the walkway lit the area well enough that Ajay didn’t have to rely on anything other than their eyesight. The same, however, couldn't be said for Grim. Despite the flames from his ears, he couldn't understand how his minion managed to live in the dark like this.

Ajay jolted to a stop just before turning a corner, waiting for the footsteps they had been following to slow down before turning their eyes behind them.

"Why are you following me?"

"GAH!!" Grim nearly leapt out of his fur when Ajay spoke for the first time in the last five minutes before deflating, "Aw man... I was being so sneaky too."

"...sure." the half demon whispered with a shake of their head, glancing back down the alleyway.

Grim frowned at the silence and crossed his arms, the kid had been so focused that they didn't bother to mention the lack of an answer. "You're a real tough cookie, aren't you." He remarked as he hovered near Ajays side.

The alley they were so focused on was damn-near pitch black. Even with his flamed ears, Grim couldn't see a thing. But he could pick up on the slight sound of rummaging paired with scuttling, plastic bags, and the clinking of... gems?

A glint of reflective light caught the corner of Grims eye and he glanced down to see Ajays robotic claws stretch out impossibly further and impossibly sharper.

"Yeesh, those things are sharper than mine-"

"Wha- WHO'S THERE." A gruff voice called, Ajay felt themself get yanked back by a pair of paws. "You snot nosed brat, you better not have followed me!"

"W-whoa, he sounds pretty pissed. You're not really gonna fight that guy, are you? You're pretty small-"

Before Grim had finished his sentence, a sound that neared on a pained shriek broke the barrier of silence that covered the alley way. His eyes shot to the empty spot where Ajay was just standing and a groan tore its way out of his mouth before he noticed.

He clearly had his paws full.

Ryo hadn't missed a beat in the past three songs he had clearly mastered.

Now normally Himiko would've been cheering right along with the crowd, definitely not louder than Mammon was but loud enough. However, one voice was missing from the crowd. Her child's beloved, and admittedly loud, cat.

"Ryo, where did Grim go?"

"Eh? I dunno," Ryo hummed, not missing a beat when the tempo picked up, "he said he was gonna follow Ajay or somethin'."

Himiko froze up and blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then snapped her gaze to the very clearly empty spot where Ajay was just standing moments ago. Her eyes then swooped around the area, between games and guests that wandered through the arcade, and she didn't catch even a glimpse of blue ears nor puffy black hair.

Fuck ...she lost the child under house arrest.

Himiko nodded with a strained smile and slowly turned around before speed walking over to her, still cheering, husband.

Mammon looked down as he felt a tug on his sleeve and frowned when he was met with panicked onyx eyes. Golden eyes scanned the area and locked onto his child before looking down at the lack of a threat.

"What's up treasure, what's wrong?"

"I lost the kid under house arrest!"

"You lost the- what?! The kids under house arrest?! For what?!"

"Breaking into the castle!"

"What the fu-"

"Last time I'm asking. Where. Is. The. Toy."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about kid!"

The demon pinned to the gravel ground could barely answer pass the wheezes he let out. Throughout the entire fight, he barely landed a scratch on the kid. One kick from them felt like a truck, and a punch felt like getting hit with a ton of bricks out of a rocket launcher. Even the monster behind them looked shocked.

He barely stood a chance.

"Final answer?"

"Yes!"

The child stood and finally took their foot off of the pinned demon's chest. And just as he was about to breathe in a sigh of relief, the sound of mechanical whirring and something powering up hit.

And he was staring right into a growing ball of light down their barrel of a hand.

Ajays white eye slowly clouded over with multiple colors, multiple sins. Their arm flashed just the same, each swirling to mix into a muddled mess of magic ready to launch. The panicking demon quickly scrambled backwards until he knocked over a trash can.

Grim looked away from the scene to see half of a red panda plush peeking out of the trash can, "Huh? What's this?" He mumbled.

Ajay glanced to the side before looking back down at the frightened demon. With a swift motion, they powered down their arm and knocked out the thief with one punch.

"That... would be the plush he stole."

"Is this what you were chasing him down for?" Grim asked, picking up the plush and turning it over to reveal a stormy purple gem sitting right on the animal's chest. "Why did you want this?"

"I don't want it." Ajay shrugged. They reached out to gently take the plush from the cat's claws to inspect it, "he stole it from a child back at the arcade... so I wanted to get it back."

"Oooh, okay. Could've at least explained it before wandering off. But this was another win for the great Grim!"

Ajay nodded along as the cat cheered to himself, even tilting their head in amusement as he pumped his paw into the air. The next thing Grim knew, the panda was placed back into his paws and Ajay nodded towards the end of the alley that led back to the sidewalk.

"You can go ahead if you want, I want to make sure he didn't steal anything else."

"Okay, Mx hero."

Grim floated ahead for a moment before freezing as a low whisper floated through the air. He couldn't make out what it meant, but a gasp of air came from behind him and he whipped around.

Only to see Ajay striding towards him, and the thief that was just on the floor was nowhere to be seen.

"Wha?! Did he escape that fast?!"

"The demon? I guess so..."

"Where'd Grim go?!"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Where'd the KID go?!?"

Ryo looked around the arcade for what was the fifth time that minute only to still come up empty in the search for Grim or the new kid. Not even the call of nachos brought the cat back, and that was concerning.

Himiko had almost reached for her phone to call Grim and Ajay, only to be stopped by the realization that neither of them actually had phones. None of the demons in the crowd watching Ryo play DDR saw them disappear either, only a few saw Grim fly off, but that was it.

"Nah, nothin'." Mammon huffed. His sprint around the arcade came up empty, and he swore he checked every inch of the place.

"Well they couldn’t have disappeared into thin air..." Himiko thought out loud.

The sound of a child cheering cut them off.

"Thank you so so much!!" The child cheered as she hugged the somewhat dirty plush to her chest as tight as she could. Her mother silently nodded to the two in thanks and waved over her shoulder

Silence spread over the two as they waved goodbye to the little girl, watching her carry her toy happily hand in hand with her mom.

"Another day, another heroic adventure for the great Grim!" The cat laughed from his place on Ajays shoulder.

"Hmm." Ajay stared forward with a neutral glare, raising five mechanical fingers where Grim could see as their arm whirred, a small ball of light appearing in their palm. "You have five seconds to get off my shoulder and continue living your long happy life, ready? 1, 2, 3, 4-"

"NYAAAAAAAA?!" Grim leapt up, tail almost slapping Ajay, and flew backwards towards where Himiko, Mammon, and Ryo were waiting on them.

Ajay shrugged and followed Grim, it's not like they could've attacked him anyway, a low voice spoke just loud enough for them to hear.

"Weapon mode on, Arm gun locked. Ryo is too close."

...now they didn't remember their guardians installing something like that.

A slap on their shoulders cut off their thought process and they jumped, turning to see Lord Mammon smiling down at them with a grin that didn't meet his eyes.

"So, ya broke into the castle, huh? What kinda bad bet was that?"

...damnit.

AN: Ajay getting up to no good with Grim my beloved.

[rwfanficrw]

Beginning

This is the "beginning" of the story that I've approved to date. I've considered re-writing it to include Sayako but for now, this is it.

Please read the pinned post on this blog. It's ...complicated. But you love h/c with Cye, you may enjoy it.

“Ah, Kento is fine. He’s gone to China to visit his family.” Cye explained as he sat back in his chair at the café. “Last I heard of Ryo, he was going to visit Mount Fuji for some “lava time” as he calls it..”

In front of him sat Sage and Rowen. He was updating them about the other three. Since the Dynasty had been destroyed they had all kind of gone their own ways. In reality, they all lived in the city and saw each other as much as possible. Sage and Rowen had both gotten into prestigious universities. Kento and Ryo were still deciding what they wanted to do.

“And what about you? Did Say finally decide to get married?” Sage asked as he drank some of his green tea. “Last I heard, you were going down there to meet her fiancé?”

The bearer of torrent laughed giving a smirk, “oh I met him alright. For a marine biologist, he’s a slow swimmer… he panicked when he saw Suki as well.”

“To be fair, Cye, I’d panic if I saw a killer whale..” Rowen grinned. “But do you approve of them getting married.”

“It’s not like I have much say in it.. she did tell me that she and he would help mother out with the pottery shop until I was finished with schooling.” His eyes darkened as he sighed. “And of course… she said if something bad happened again and we were needed that she would drop everything and come back.”

“I forget that your sister knows of Torrent and is ok with it.”

“Even if she hadn’t known about it, she would have figured it out.. she’s bloody annoying like that. Always several steps ahead of me.”

The other two just grin amused.

The youngest warrior had a sister who was 10 years older than him, and she was super protective. It always depended on her mood on if she was going to annoy her younger brother or help him. Either way it was always fun to watch it unfold.

“Yeah, keep smiling… until she makes you two her next target.” He grumbles looking down at his empty teacup. His vision blurred for a few seconds then went back to normal without warning… was it happening again? He closes his eyes shaking his head, his hands clenched the cup.

He wasn’t going to pass out again.

Not in public.

“Have you eaten anything today?” Sage asks as he lifts his head from looking at the menu watching Cye fidget. He quietly used the power from his armor to see if anything was wrong. He tilts his head noticing how fast the other’s heartbeat was going, “Cye? Are you –“

To his horror Cye fell back into his chair going limp. The tea cup fell out of his hand shattering as it hit the side of the table falling to the ground beside him.

“What the?!” Rowen stood up in his chair nearly knocking it over watching as Sage kneels beside the bearer of Torrent. “S-Sage?”

“He’s alive.” The blonde informed the other as he tries to figure out what happened. “His heartbeat is just racing… I don’t understand why. Nothing else is wrong except some minor dehydration and low sodium.”

“I forget you’re like a walking medical test kit.”

Sage rolled his eyes, “We need to get him out here and to a –“ He stops in mid-sentence as the youngest starts to come to. “C-Cye? Can you hear me?” He reaches up and gently turning his face towards him so he could see… the usual bright green eyes were unfocused and glazed over. “….h-he’s not entirely conscious.”

Rowen walks over with one of the clean napkins dunking it his ice water. “Here. See if this helps?” He watches worried as Torrent makes no move to wake up any more than he already had. He was already calculating the fastest route to the major hospital 15 minutes away.

Halo takes the cold cloth and presses it against the other’s neck hoping the shock will bring him back. To his relief, they hear a weak moan as the smaller warrior starts to move and wake up more. He made an effort to try and sit up but fell back. “D-Don’t move. You fainted on us. Do you know where you are?”

Groggily Torrent looks at his surroundings then back to the one speaking to him. “S-Sage? When did you get here?” He looks up seeing Rowen and has the same confused look. “R-Rowen?”

“Buddy, we met for lunch? You were updatin’ us on everyone. We were about to order food. Then you just went down.”

“I-I’m sorry…i-it happened again.” Cye’s voice started to sound more normal as his body came back a few minutes later. His memory came back as well as he sat up with Rowen’s help.

“Again? Cye, what do you mean again?” Sage asked standing up, he hovered over the younger warrior demanding an answer.

“I mean it happened again. It’s been happening every s-so often … but after I wake up, I’m fine.” The other shrugs trying to play it off. “I-it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Nothin’ to worry about?! Cye you scared us!” Rowen exclaimed wide eyed. “Do we need to take you to the doctor or back home?”

“No.” The bearer of Torrent looks up stubbornly. “I’d like to eat lunch with two of my friends and enjoy my afternoon.”

The other two just stared wide eyed at him. Rowen started to say something when Sage shook his head holding his hand out to stop him. “Fine. But if it happens again, we’re doing something about it. Understood?”

The other nods silently.

*~*

“Sage, I don’t feel right just leavin’ him like that.” Rowen sighs as he watches Cye cross the street towards the train station. “Somethin’ ain’t right. That fainting spell. Something’s off about it.”

The blonde starts to get in the driver’s seat of his car as he looks over as well, “He ate a full meal, acted normal the rest of the time and drank lots of fluids. I checked before we left, he was back to normal. Readings at least.”

He sits down expecting Rowen to join him in the passenger seat, but nothing happens. He looks over and sees the door is open, but Rowen isn’t there. “Rowen!?” He calls before groaning getting out to look around.

He spots the bearer of Strata darting across traffic towards the train station. Rowen had a habit of being over protective of them all but he was guilty of it with Cye the most. He wasn’t the only one though, the rest of them were protective as well.

Something about the bearer of Torrent made everyone want to protect him, to keep him safe and happy. This started during the battle with Talpa and hadn’t changed. Being treated like this however just made Cye even more stubborn and he would fight their help.

It’s why against his better judgement that Sage had stepped back and let it play out. Even now he was fighting his every instinct to force Cye to see  a doctor.

Sighing, he gets out of the car before locking it and running to join him.

*~*

He let out a sigh of relief as he made it down the stairs to the level he needed to be on. He had been worried that they would follow him home. They didn’t need to see what his life had turned into. He wanted them to stay on the other side of things and not be dragged into it.

He reaches up tugging on his scarf as he pants exhausted from the walk. He leans against one of the posts unbuttoning his jacket, he was really hot all of a sudden.

It was another one of those weird temperature fluctuations. Just this morning, he had the opposite hit and was so cold he couldn’t feel his fingers. He had dropped his teacup because of it and still needed to clean up that mess.

Cye wavered unsteadily clenching his bag closer to his side as he rested his head against the cool metal post. He closes his eyes trying his best to relax. He didn’t want to pass out again.

He groans frustrated, maybe he should have told them. It would have been nice to have more people in on it and maybe they would force him to go to the doctor and see what it was.

Currently he was too nervous and too chicken to go, afraid of the outcome.

What if he went and was told the worse news possible? How would he relay it to his mother or Sayako? Worse yet, the guys. How would he break it to them.

He hears the train come blaring down the tunnel, it overpowers the rushing heartbeat in his ears as he panicked. Could the armor not save him and make him feel better? Was the armor broken? Was he broken?

His vision started to blur as his legs went numb. He felt the darkness take over as he fainted unable to fight it. The last thought he had was crying for help hoping the other two heard it.

*~*

His heartbeat was pounding in his ears as he started to come to. He expected to be on the cold subway station tile, but he was on something soft and warm. He attempts to lift his head and see where he was but something pushes it back down against something else soft.. he relaxes as he hears another calmer heartbeat in his ears. He felt sleepy hearing that and fell back into the deep groggy sleep he’d been in before.

“Sage? He’s wakin’ up.” Rowen calls from the backseat. “Cye? Can you hear me buddy? Take it slow.”

Sage looked in the rearview mirror nervously, “Are you sure we shouldn’t be taking him to the doctor?” He looks back to the front and turns right at the next light. If he remembered right, it would be a left in two miles.

“My gut tells me to just take him home for now. Once he’s awake we can figure out what’s going on, then we can take him to the doctor.” Strata sits back trying to remain calm. His hand sits on Cye’s back rubbing it every few seconds as he looks down watching him go in and out of consciousness.

“Twice in less than 4 hours…. Something is really wrong.” The blonde comments as he sits back at the light waiting for it to turn green. “What I don’t understand is – his readings are normal besides a racing heartbeat.”

“You said he had a quick heartbeat at lunch as well.”

“Yeah.. I just… I don’t know. This is beyond my knowledge and it’s not ringing any alarms with Halo.”

“That means it’s not the Netherworld messin’ with him.” Rowen heaved a high laughing nervously. “I’d almost prefer that…”

“I know. That’s almost easier to handle. Is this it?”

“Yeah, that’s the place. He’s on the fifth floor.” The blue haired warrior shakes the youngest’s shoulders gently hoping to rouse him. “Buddy? Can you hear me? We’re going to walk you up to your apartment.”

He got no response and looks to Sage worried. The blonde holds his hand out closing his eyes. “…he’s too weak to wake up right now. His body won’t let him. We’ll have to carry him up ourselves.”

Rowen hands the sky-blue tote bag to Sage, “Here, his key has to be in there somewhere. If you can help me once we get out, I can carry him on my back.”

“Up five flights of stairs?”

“Hey, I’m not a Ronin Warrior for nothin’. He’s also not that heavy. I carried him to the car with ease earlier.”

“I know that should bring some comfort but..”

“I know. He’s a lot lighter than he was during the battle with Talpa. He’s lost a lot of weight.”

They both went silent before shaking their heads trying to push those thoughts out. They had more important things to do like get the other warrior up to his apartment in one piece.

*~*

Sage walks in front of Rowen pulling the door open only to be stopped by a keypad. “…What’s his birthday again?”

“March 14th?” Rowen answers shifting Cye on his back. “uh.. 1973?”

He reaches forward and presses the date in getting nothing. “Try again..”

“Wait. We do numbers differently than Japan overseas. Try the month, day then year.”

Another handful of high-pitched beeps were heard before the door unlocked itself. “Good thinking, Rowen.”

“I do it on mine as well… it throws a lot of would-be robbers off.” He grins following the blonde into the lobby. He sighed with relief at seeing the elevator. He follows him down towards the elevator and waits for it to come down. “…how is he?”

Sage turns his head and reaches out placing a hand on the auburn hair, “Still out. Though his heart rate has slowed a lot.. I think he’s sleeping.”

“He’s probably exhausted after fainting twice.”

“That we know of.”

“W-Wait what do you mean?” Rowen watches as the other walks into the elevator holding the door open for them to come in.

“Think about it, Rowen. If he’s passed out on us twice in less than four hours… it’s only 2pm. There is no telling what happened between the hours we weren’t together and what of his way over to the café?”

Blue eyes widened with fear as he realized what the other said was plausible and very well could have happened. “Try not to think about it until we ask him. No use in panicking over nothing.”

“Rowen, it’s not panicking. It’s thinking through a reasonable explanation.” Sage heaves a sigh rolling his eyes, “Fine. Let’s not think about until we interrogate him.”

The elevator dings as it gets to the fifth floor and they step out walking down the hallway with Sage leading. “…503…504… 505… here. 506.” He pulls the key out that he’d found in the tote bag and unlocks the door. He pulls it open and holds it so Rowen can carry the youngest in.

The lights are flicked on and Rowen stops in mid step, “Cye, buddy.. what is going on?”

“What is – woah. This is not what I remember him being like when living with together at Mia’s house.” The blonde walks past Rowen looking around the apartment. “This is what I expect Kento’s apartment to look like.” He turns back to Rowen sighing, “NOW can we think about that?”

*~*

“Here, I found a clean hoodie and some sweats. Let’s get him out of these clothes and into something comfortable. If you’ll stay with Cye, I’m going to clean up the apartment.” Sage pulls his jacket and scarf off laying them over the couch before he unbuttons his cuffs and rolls his sleeves up. “Whatever is going on, is probably being made worse by the state of this place and he’s obviously not a good physical state to take care of it.”

Rowen watches as the blonde starts to walk around taking note of what needed to be done. He smiles amused watching him go into the kitchen a few minutes later coming back out tying an apron around his waist. “I like it, Sage. Very stylish.”

“Just keep him comfortable. Let me know when he wakes up.”

“I can help you and he can sleep here on the couch. You don’t have to do this alone.” Rowen takes his ball cap off and unzips his blue and red jacket taking it off awkwardly trying not to knock Cye’s head off his lap.

“Cye trusts you more than me.”

“H-He does not.”

“Now isn’t the time to be shocked by this. Next to Kento, you’re the one he would prefer to see when he wakes up. Since Kento is in China currently, you’re “up to bat” as you’d say.”

The bearer of Strata scratches the back of his neck flattered to hear that before he laughs nervously sitting back against the couch looking down at the sleeping Ronin curled up against him.

Cye did look more comfortable than he did in the car now that he was curled up properly. He turns and looks around finding a blanket on the floor. He picks it up laying it over the other before he gets comfortable pulling his book out of his jacket.

*~*

“Hey, what are you up to?” Sage asks as he puts the phone between his ear and shoulder as he can work with both hands in the kitchen.

“I’m going over that new set of armor that was sent in last week. Are we still on for dinner tonight?” Mia’s voice comes from the other end of the phone. “Where are you calling from anyway?”

“I’m afraid dinner will be canceled tomorrow night and depending how things go for the foreseeable future.”

“Sage? What’s going on? You sound scared.”

“I am. Rowen and I met up with Cye today at lunch to catch up. He fainted on us twice.”

“H-He what? Is he ok?”

“He woke up from the first fainting spell almost instantly. The second one, well he’s still asleep with Rowen.” The blonde sighs as he washes the piled-up dishes on the counter. “Mia, if Rowen hadn’t had a gut feeling to follow Cye, we’d have heard he fainted on the platform in the train station.”

“Which hospital are you at? I’ll come meet you-“

“We’re not at the hospital- yet. We carried him back to his apartment to wait for him to come too. I-I just… Mia it’s not other worldly, so my armor is useless. I can only read some of his vitals.” He looks around the kitchen swallowing nervously. “I don’t think this is the first time it’s happened either… his apartment is a disaster.”

“That’s not like him at all.”

“No, its not. Kento called me before he left for China and mentioned that Cye had backed out at the very last minute and said he didn’t feel well…. He wanted me to check on him. I’m glad I did.”

“Let me grab Ryo and we’ll come over and help.”

“No. Stay there until we know more. I don’t want to overwhelm Cye. He probably already is and I don’t want to make it worse.”

“Sage, I’m not going to sit by and not do anything. Let me help.”

He smiles a bit in spite of everything, relaxing his shoulders. “Mia, you’re helping just by listening.”

*~*

 Cye groans as he starts to wake up. His body felt so heavy and numb, it ached and hurt… he must have fallen somewhere when he fainted last time.

Where was he again? What was he doing before it hit? His mind was so foggy, and it was hard to think. He reaches out groggily trying to find something to touch that would ground him so he could start waking up more.

Currently he was spinning in time and space and couldn’t get his bearings together. He felt someone grab his hand and hold it gently, then felt a hand on his head.

Who was with him?

He tried to open his eyes, but he was still too tired to do so. He must have made some sort of noise because he heard someone’s voice breaking through the foggy haze.

“Cye? Buddy? It’s ok, I’m here. You’re safe.”

He recognized the voice but couldn’t put a name to it. He needed to open his eyes. He groaned frustrated before forcing his eyes open. His vision was still blurry but he could make out who was hovering over him, “R-Rowen…?”

“Hey Cye, yeah it’s me. You’re safe.” Rowen sighed with relief still holding one of the cold hands in his own. 

“W-Where…what…”

“Take it easy. You’ve been unconscious for about 45 minutes almost an hour. I caught you as you fainted on the train platform. Sage drove us to your apartment.”

“Wait? WHAT?” Cye sat up quickly panicking as he realized what Rowen said was true. He gets to his feet staggering around groggily. “N-No.. No no … y-you weren’t supposed to come in…a-and….” He feels his legs give out bracing himself for the fall that never came.

“CYE. Calm down. We’re past the not coming in stage.” Rowen caught him as he sagged against him. “We know things aren’t going well. Sage is cleaning the apartment up, so you’ll have somewhere good to stay.”

“No.. it can’t be.. you weren’t supposed to…this wasn’t supposed to happen…”

“Here, sit down and take a few deep breaths.”

Cye sat down heavily on the couch hunching over burying his head into his hands. He takes a few deep breaths, his shoulders shaking.

“It’s ok, Cye. I’m not here to judge. I’m just worried about ya. Sage is beside himself with worry as well. I think you scared him; I know you scared me.” Rowen sits back on the couch beside him reaching out to rub his back reassuringly.

“I-I don’t want to tell Ryo or Kento.. or Mia. They will just worry. Ryo will think it’s the white armor.”

“Is it?”

“I-I don’t know.” The other admits sighing as he rubs his eyes.

Sage walks in at hearing the heavily accented voice, “Rowen? Is he awake? Oh, thank god.” He hurries over kneeling front of the youngest. “C-Cye? Are you ok?”

The youngest lifts his head looking nervously at the blonde. He didn’t expect to see Sage looking so scared. He felt a hand on his head and smiles weakly, “I-I’m alright…I think. I’m sorry for the mess and for inconveniencing - ”

To his surprise he was pulled into a hug and held there for a few seconds. “Stop apologizing. There is no need to say you’re sorry. I’m just thankful you’re awake.”

Halo pulls back checking Torrent’s vitals as gently as he can. “Everything feels back to normal… Cye, what is going on?”

Rowen sits closer wrapping an arm around the small shoulders, “It’s ok buddy, you can tell us. You can’t do this on your own. You need help and we want to.”

“I-I’m not quite sure what is going on… it started a few months ago. I stumbled after running across the street downtown and couldn’t stay awake. I passed out and woke up to a lot of people surrounding me.” His green eyes darken as he sighs heavily wringing his hands. “A-After that it’s just gotten worse. I have no energy anymore t-to do anything. Some days I’ll have a bit but then it only lasts so long… I’m always one extreme temperature or the other. Earlier I was so hot I couldn’t breathe before I fainted in the train station… now I’m so cold my hands hurt.”

Sage lifts his gaze and nods to Rowen who pulls the blanket up around the other warrior’s shoulders. “Go on, Cye.” He reaches up placing his hand over the trembling ones. He gently rubs them in between his own trying to warm them up. Cye was right, they were ice cold to the touch.

“Recently, I’ve been unable to keep food down and when I do eat something, I throw it back up shortly after. That leaves me so tired, I’ve started sleeping on the floor near the bathroom just so I don’t have far to go.”

“How often do these fainting spells hit, buddy?”

“Today, I only had four so far….yesterday I had one after taking a shower but I slept the rest of the day.. the day before that it was three… it just depends how I’m feeling.”

“Is there anything that’s the same each time you faint? A smell? An action? Something you see or hear?”

“….I-I don’t….” His eyes widen as he grabs Sage’s hand. “M-My heart beat. Its so loud, I can’t hear anything else. It drowns out the people and surroundings to where its all I can hear. Then I know I’ll lose my balance and the vertigo will hit… then my body just gives out and I black out.”

“Have you been to a doctor about this? What did they say?”

Cye sits back shaking his head embarrassed, “I-I’ve been too nervous and scared to go. I-I don’t want to hear the worst a-and have to live with it and have to tell everyone a-and…”

Rowen reaches out pulling the younger warrior into a hug, “We’ll do it with you, ok? I’ll be there every step of the way.”

“You don’t … I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re not. We’re volunteering.” Sage joined in sitting up on the couch on the other side of Cye. He smiles warmly nodding, “I’ll be there as well. For right now, we’ll keep it a secret from Kento and Ryo. But once we know what’s going on, we’re going to tell them. We’re like Family Cye. You can’t hide things from your family.” He then sighs, “I also vote we tell Mia. She can be of great help to us to get connections if need be.”

“Connections? Why would we need connections?”

“You may need to see a few specialty doctors. My family is a lot of pull in Toyama and Mia’s Grandfather had a lot of higher up connections to other scientists and doctors alike.” 

Torrent’s face dropped as the weight of what “specialty” doctors meant and he bites his lip looking down, his hand gripping the edge of Rowen’s shirt so tightly his knuckles were white. Strata looks down confused before he realizes what’s going on, “Woah, buddy, don’t go down that route yet. It could be as simple as a vitamin deficiency.”

“Cye, I didn’t mean specialty as a cancer doctor or anything like that. Just someone who can do certain tests. That’s all.” Halo reassures him realizing what he’d done. “Like me. I’d be considered a specialty because I can read armor and that’s it.”

“Yeah, he’s kinda useless actually if you think about it.” Rowen jokes grinning.

“Next time you throw your shoulder out while practicing with the Strata Bow, I won’t help fix it. I’ll let you suffer.” Sage threatens glaring.

Cye looks between the two of them before a small smile appears on his features. They were trying to cheer him up and it was working.

*~*

“Mr. Hashiba? A Sage Date is here to see you and Mr. Mouri? He just arrived.” A nurse said on the phone from the front desk.

“Ah yeah, send him back.” Rowen hangs up the phone and turns to check on Cye.

They had been here all-day getting blood work done and running several other tests. He lays his jacket back over the smaller frame hoping to keep him warm. He had managed to get Cye to wear layers today so when he got too hot, they could be removed and when he got too cold, they could be put back on.

Currently the bearer of torrent was almost a normal tempreture coming off of an over heated spell. His head was cushioned by his hoodie that was folded up underneath it as he rested on the examination table.

Rowen sighs watching him sleep, resting his hand on the other’s thigh. He looked up as a knock on the door was heard, he felt Cye startle. “Easy, buddy… just rest. It’s Sage.”

The door opened and a nurse was there, Sage behind her. “Hey, you made it!”

“I did.” The blonde smiles out of breath. “Sorry, I took so long. My father decided it was necessary to lecture me on the importance of patience. Apparently, I was fidgeting too much during meditation this morning.”

“Gee, it’s almost like you get nervous when you miss an appointment.”

“Right?” Sage quickly removes his jacket and scarf laying it over on the table with Cye’s outerwear. He wasn’t dressed in his normal dressy attire. He had actually come in just khakis and a button down.

Rowen smiles realizing how fast Sage had left. He really was worried about the youngest. “Well, he’s been poked and prodded all morning. They took so much blood, he nearly fainted from blood loss.”

“Has he fainted any besides that?”

“Five times.”

“F-Five? Here at the hospital?”

“Three here and two on the way.”

“Rowen… has the doctor said anything?”

The blue haired warrior shook his head shrugging, “Nothing definite. We’ve been seen by four different doctors today, all having different ideas on what’s causing it. They are running several tests on the blood they took to see if he’s low or deficit on anything and any other problems that could be caused with that in mind.”

“I can feel how exhausted he is. Mentally and Physically.” The blonde commented as he walked over to the examination table. He tucks the blue and red jacket around the small frame before placing a hand on his back. “Did he do alright during the tests?”

“That depends on what you mean? He clung to me the entire time and fainted when they stuck the needle in him to take blood.” Rowen smiles inspite of it all. “For someone who has witnessed the end of the world, blood makes him very squeamish.” He then sighs, “The nurse is keeping an eye on his body tempreture. He keeps having those fluctuations and with it, an energy drop. He finally just fell asleep on the table an hour ago and they wanted to let him sleep.”

“Once he wakes up, one of the doctors wants to perform something called a tilt table test? Have you heard of it?”

“I-I haven’t. Is it painful?” Sage asks looking back to over to Cye nervously.

“I don’t think so. She would have told me if it was. She has been there most of the day and has seen him panic. She wouldn’t hide that from me.”

“Rowen? You’re thinking something… what is it?”

“Is there a way to “reset” his energy levels so whatever this tilt table test is, we get an accurate result?” Rowen asks crossing his arms as he leans against the wall. “I’m just worried that he’ll be so exhausted that we’ll get an extreme reading.”

“I can try.”

“Nothing extra. Just back to his “normal”.”

Sage walks over and holds his hand out closing his eyes. Cye glows a faint green before he starts to stir slightly. He startles pulling back as the door opens behind them.

“Mr. Hashiba, is Cye awake yet?”

“He just made a noise, so I think he’s moving.”

“Good. Once he’s coherent, we’ll start the test.”

*~*

“….w-what exactly is a tilt table test?” Cye asks nervously as he was asked to sit on an examination table in a different room. The other two weren’t allowed in in fear of contenmating the findings. He watches as a nurse hooks up sensors to his head and chest. “Why won’t you answer my questions? A-And why can’t Rowen be in here?”

“We need an accurate result. This test will show us how fast your body can react to certain stimuli.”

“What does that even mean?” He asks as he was laid back on the table.

“Whatever you feel, don’t fight it.”

His eyes dart around the room nervously, he turns his head so he can see Rowen and Sage standing outside the room. The lights above him dim slightly and the doctor’s voice came on the speaker.

“Just try your best to relax. This test won’t take long. As the nurse said, whatever happens don’t fight your body. There is no wrong answer to this test.”

He takes a shakey breath before giving a slight thumbs up.

*~* 

“Doc, how long will this take?” Rowen asks nervously, he can already tell Cye is scared.

“Less than 15 minutes. If he reacts the way I think he will, I know what is going on.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then we’re back to square one.” She says as she starts to push a button. “Alright, Cye. We’re going to start.”

*~*

The table jerked underneath him causing him to grip the edge of it. Then it calmed down. Another jerk and the table moved him to where he was up right. It was a good thing he was strapped down… he felt dizzy with the movement and started to feel a little faint.

*~*

“Hmm, he is responding properly. This is interesting. Alright, one more test. This one is the most common.” She turns to the to the other two. “Prepare yourselves. He most likely will faint from this one. But he will be alright.” She presses a few buttons and resets the table to it’s original position letting him lay there for a few seconds.

“What are you watching for?” Sage asks intridgued.

“For this last test, his blood pressure. It should start to climb very quickly.” She points to the monitor before leaning into the microphone, “Alright, Cye. You’re doing great. One last test.”

“W-Wait, you’re not going to warm him that he could faint from this?” Rowen asks frustrated. “He deserves to know!”

“He can’t know. It would mess up the test.” Sage comments finally realizing what was going on. He reaches out pulling Rowen back. “Let’s just watch. I think I know what’s happening.”

Rowen sighs pulling back before he walks to the window to watch nervously. He didn’t like not being able to help. Cye looked so scared strapped to the table.

The table started to move again, then time leaning back for several seconds letting Cye get used to leaning back. Then it jerked and forced him to sit up quickly without warning.

The heart monitor started to go off loudly. “Wow. You weren’t kidding… it just sky rocketed.” Sage commented.

“G-Guys.. Cye is … he’s .. he’s..”

“He’s fainting.” The doctor finishes for him.

Rowen watches horrified as Cye’s eyes grow heavy then roll back as he goes limp on the table. The restraints keeping him from falling off the up right table. His head fell limp to the side. He turns back to the doctor, “Now wake him up.”

“He should be coming too very shortly.”

The table levels itself out again and they wait for a few minutes watching the monitor as his heart rate drops. Rowen wrings his hands wanting to get into there and free Cye from that thing.

A heavy breath was heard on the microphone as Cye regained consciousness. He laid there groggy and confused making no move to get free. “….r-rowen…?”

At hearing the barely audible call for his name over the microphone, Rowen was sent off the edge. He paced nervously walking towards the door wanting to get in there. He kept pushing against the door hoping it was unlocked but each time it wasn’t. He didn’t know how much longer he could wait.

Sage watches him worried, “Can we see him?” He finally asks for the other.

“Just be gentle. He’s still coming back.” She nods unlocking the doors. She turns in her chair just in time to see Rowen bolt out the door into the other room.

*~*

Cye forces his eyes open and hearing someone enter the room. Whoever it was, jerked the retraints off his body, hands and feet and then his head. He felt almost drunk as he tried to ground himself and wake up properly.

“Buddy, it’s me. I’m here.” Rowen whispers as he helps Cye sit up hugging him. “You’re safe. It’s over. You did great.”

“..Ro? D-Did I pass…”

“Yeah, you passed with flying colors.” The blue haired warrior caught the youngest as his head dropped to the side. “You ok?”

“…f-feel almost …d-drunk? Everything is s-spinning r-really fast…I can’t find the ground.”

“Shh, use me. Use me to ground yourself, Cye. I’ve gotcha. I’ve got both feet planted on the ground. You’re currently sitting on a table.” He explains gently trying to help. He feels a hand weakly grasp at his shirt as the other tried to obey.

Rowen turns his head looking back to Sage and the doctor unable to hide how scared he was.

*~*

“Well, Mr. Mouri, we finally know what is going on.” The doctor smiles relieved as she sits down in her chair by her desk.

“And that is what exactly?”

“It’s a syndrome disease called Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or POTS. In the most basic of terms, when a person stands their blood pressure rises to give your body the energy it needs to move. For people with POTS, their blood pools at their feet instead, making you feel light headed and cause fainting spells. This can also occur when you get excited and/or when your body naturally rises and drops your blood pressure.”

“So it will just happen randomly?”

“Yes, however, People who experience POTS come to recognize their symptoms and can plan accordingly. Some even have a therapy animal that can sense when to tell their owners to sit down.”

Cye sits back in the chair staring wide eyed. “…b-but if it can happen randomly, how do I live? How do I go outside?”

“Until you get the hang out it and can tell when your fainting spells occur, what they feel like, how your body feels.. I recommend living with a loved one who can help when you do faint.”

“If it’s just faintin’ we can work on that.”

The doctor sighs shaking her head, “I’m afraid it’s more than that.” She turns to look at Cye, “I can see you’re experiencing discomfort besides the anxiety. Vertigo and Nausea are both very common every day symptoms with POTS. I have lots of patients that will reguarlly take Dramamine to help with it.”

The bearer of Torrent hangs his head trying not to panic. He shakes his head and attempts to get to his feet, “You can’t expect me to just take it that easily!? What can I do to keep it at bay!? There h-has to be s-somethin-“ He staggers, his hand going to his head. “…oh dear…”

“Sit down, Mr. Mouri, before you faint.”

Rowen reaches out steadying the smaller warrior before helping him sit down just in time for him to go limp. He falls back into the chair being caught by Strata as he does. “H-how long does it take to come outta these?”

“Depends on how well his energy is at that time. He can come back in a few seconds, sometimes several minutes…the longer it takes the come out of, the more severe his brain fog will be.” She turns her head at hearing Cye moan. “He may have trouble remembering what happened.” 

Cye opened his eyes barely coherent as he looked around his surroundings, he looked confused.. then he looks to the doctor, his eyes widen as memory comes back. “…w-was that a fainting spell?”

“That was. You stood up too fast.” She sighs crossing her arms. “There is a way to keep the symptoms at bay but you can’t get rid of them completely. There are several other side affects of this syndrome, I don’t have time to go over it all. I will send some literature home with you so you can read.”

“Doctor, you said there was a way to keep the symptoms at bay?” Sage pressed trying to take of this in.

“Yes, balanced diet and rest. Cye, you need to learn the limits of your body and not push past it. I suggest you go home and get some rest. You will have a lot to figure out, I’m sure. Don’t be surprised if you get home and crash. You’ve been through a lot today.”

*~*

“Well at least we got sort of good news.” Rowen comments as he gets into the back of Sage’s car beside Cye. He smiles as best he can. “At least it’s nothing like cancer and you can still live with it.”

Cye doesn’t say anything as he sits in the other seat looking out the window. When Cye didn’t respond at all, Sage lifts his gaze from the windshield to look in the rear-view mirror. “Cye?”

The youngest heaves a sigh unsure if he could trust his voice or not. Getting diagnosed answered a lot of questions about his life until now but it was still over whelming. His mind was racing on how he was going to tell people and how he was going to live. He hears Sage’s voice and lifts his head, “Hm?” 

“Are you ok? I know that was a lot.”

“…I-I think so..? I’m honestly so turned around that I have no answer.” Cye comments shrugging helplessly.

Rowen looks down seeing the other wring his hands nervously. He sighs lifting his gaze and reaches out gently rubbing the other’s back. “We’ll take it one step at a time, buddy.”

*~*

He tossed and turned uncomfortably in his bed trying to find some position that the vertigo and nausea would leave him alone. Sitting up just made the bed feel like it was tipping forward and laying down made the bed feel like it was spinning.

He felt so over heated as well and tugs his t-shirt off throwing it onto the ground. He sat up unsteadily leaning back against his headboard bringing his knees up. He rests his cheek on them trying to not panic.

He was so scared. 

He finally had answer to why he was fainting. There was no relief in it as he had another giant list of things to change in his life to make sure they didn’t happen again. He clenches his eyes shut, his shoulders dropping as he started to cry.

He wasn’t going to live normally ever again. Even though Sage and Rowen kept reassuring him he would, he knew the truth. He knew he wouldn’t.

His life had changed so much just over the course of three months once the fainting started that he couldn’t see what would help him get back to normal. All he knew of were the lists of do and do nots from the nurse, the books that Rowen had checked out from the library, the grocery lists that Sage had put together, he didn’t even know where to begin.

The crying left him lightheaded and he knew he needed to calm down, he could feel his heart beat pounding in his ears, he was panicking. Each time he tried to relax he just saw it all swirl in his mind again.

He looks up and sees the phone on the table beside his bed. Did he dare? Would he be bothering him? He glances to the clock, 3am. He shouldn’t.. that wasn’t fair. He crawls over and curls up on his side feeling the foggy drunk feeling take over and realized he was passing out.

He tried to fight it reaching out for his phone. He knocks the base off the table in an effort to move it onto the bed. His hand was clinging to the receiver, the cord keeping the two attached. He groggily dials one of the numbers he knows by heart and falls backwards onto the bed, his eyes growing heavy and unfocused.

*~*

A hand reaches out attempting to pick up the phone that kept ringing. He had stayed up too late reading as it was and when he finally fell asleep this happened.

“…’lo.” He moves to the edge of the bed resting his chin on the mattress groggily waiting for a response.

At first, he hears nothing and thinks it’s a prank call, then he hears a sharp inhale and a slight moan. His eyes widen as he scrambles to sit up, “Cye? Cye is that you? Are you ok?”

Another groggy groan is heard, and he realizes the other had fainted. “Okay, buddy.. .I’m here. Just let it happen. I won’t hang up on you.” He turns to look at the clock, it was nearly 4 in the morning. “You’re okay.” He says softly.

A few minutes later he hears the breathing level out and he sighs, “Cye? Are you ok?”

“…I’m scared.” Came the breathless response. “I’m so bloody scared..” The accent was heavier than normal, his voice shook and Rowen swore he could hear Cye hold back a sob.

“S-Scared? Do you want me to come over?”

“I don’t want to bother you even though I’m fully aware that I’m bothering you right now,” Cye rambles groggily. “I can’t get comfortable. I can’t stand, can’t sit, can’t lay down… e-everything hurts. EVERYTHING. Why did I agree to see the doctor?”

“You know not seeing the doctor wouldn’t have prevented any of this right?”

“How do you know?”

“Buddy, you would still be having all of these symptoms. It would just be scarier as you wouldn’t know what it was.”

“So what, I should be relieved?”

“I didn’t say that. Look, let me get dressed and I’ll come over ok? It’ll be about 30 minutes but then you won’t be alone.”

“I’m already the weakest of us all and then I go and get this POTS thing….how many more hints do I need that I wasn’t the right bearer for Torrent.”

“Cye! You stop that talk right now! I don’t want to hear you say any of that, got it?” The blue haired warrior staggered to his feet wrapping the cord around his waist as he tries to find the clothes he had kicked off only a few hours prior. “Your symptoms are just flaring up and you’re by yourself.”

He hears sniffling on the other end, “Cye, really… it’s okay. You’re just overwhelmed.” He pulls his jeans up buttoning them then reaches for the nearest shirt. “Listen, can you go get something to drink for me? Maybe a salt packet?”

“What good will that do?”

“It will help level you out.”

“One of those salt packets and a weirdly colored sports drink isn’t going to fix this! I’m not a fish in a tank expecting food to be shaken into it’s home.”

He sighs realizing the other was panicking. “Ok, buddy, what do you want me to do?”

“….come over.”

“I’m working on it. Will you be ok if I hang up? Do you need to call Sage? He can stay on the phone with you.” Rowen grabs one of his baseball caps off the back of his door. “You have his number, right?”

“Won’t he be mad?”

“No. He’ll be worried and maybe frustrated at you for not taking care of yourself.” Strata turns around looking at his desk. “Do you need his new number? Here – can you write something down?”

He hears rustling on the other end and a crash. “C-Cye…?” He leans back against the door to his bedroom waiting nervously. “CYE?! Speak to me. Are you ok?”

He waits for a few long seconds before he gets a response. “I’m ‘ere..”

“Okay, listen. Here’s what we’re going to do. After I hang up, you hang up. I’m going to call Sage. He’s going to call you. When that phone rings, pick it up. Can you do that?”

“I think so…”

“Good. Hang in there, Cye. I’m on my way over. I’m going to call Sage first. Be ready to answer.” Rowen waits for a moan of confirmation then hangs up. He then starts to dial Sage’s number preparing for the not so silent judging of why he was calling so early in the AM.

“….Strata, do you have any idea what time it is?” Ah good. He was awake and sounded pissed.

“Uh… about 4:30am give or take?” The grunt he received told him that was rehetorical question. “Look, I don’t have time to explain all of it. I’m heading to Cye’s. He’s panicking and needs someone to stay with him.”

“How can I help?” The anger in the voice disappeared and was replaced with worry. “Do I need to come over as well?”

“Not right now. I need you to call him and keep him company on the phone. H-He went out on me twice, so I don’t think he’s feeling the best. But keep talking to him and just let him know he’s not alone. Once I get over and see what’s going on, I’ll let you know. Then you can decide what you want to do.”

“Sounds good. He knows to answer correct?”

“What? Yeah, I told him if the phone rang it would be you and to answer. He may not be fully coherent but he’ll groan or something…”

“Okay. Be careful Rowen.”

“Aren’t I always? I’m about 30 minutes out. I’ll see you when I get there.”

*~*

It was the longest 30 minutes he’d ever spent going anywhere. He had managed to catch a cab and the entire drive over he was restless and beside himself with worry.

He takes his baseball cap off squeezing the front bill of it a few times, his mind racing. He was kicking himself for not grilling the other before left that afternoon.

He had believed Cye when he said he would be ok by himself. Now he knows, he should have pushed harder and stayed anyway.

No, he couldn’t do that to Cye. The bearer of Torrent could have been fine all afternoon and then it got bad at bed time.

That’s probably what happened.

He looks up as the car pulls up beside Cye’s apartment building. Putting his baseball cap back on, he throws some cash the drivers way and hops out running to the door.

*~*

“Cye? Are you still there?”

The younger warrior let out a weak moan as if to respond. He was curled up on his side on the floor of his bedroom. “…’m here…” He tried to hold in a wretch as his body tried to get sick yet again. He had nothing to throw up. So it was just dry heaves. “….you’re not mad…?”

“What? No! I’m just worried.. Cye you have to tell us when you’re feeling like this. Rowen told me you were fine earlier.”

“I was…” His hands grip the carpet frustrated. “I was fine a-all bloody afternoon. I managed to make dinner, take a bath even did some clothes.. then it hit a-and hit hard.”

“CYE!? Buddy where are you?”

“…r-rowen…?” He attempts to sit up and call for him, but his voice was hoarse and weak. He was so tired that he was starting think irrationally and groaned frustrated. “…d-don’t leave..I’m back h-here..”

“Cye, calm down. Take deep breaths.” Sage’s voice tried to break through the haze. He could tell the bearer of torrent was starting to panic. “He’s not going to leave you.” He holds the receiver close waiting to hear that Rowen had made it.

It goes quiet and then rustling is heard. The phone is dropped. The blonde stands by listening. If Cye had fainted again, he would hear the unsteady breathing.

“Sage?  I’m here, I’ve got him.”

“Oh thank god. Do you need me?”

“Cye? Do you want Sage to- yes. Just come over. Come on in when you get here.”

“I’m leaving now.” Sage can hear the bearer of strata reassuring and comforting the youngest before he hangs up and gets ready as fast as he can.

*~*

“Hey, easy.. I’m here.. it’s okay now.” Rowen sits down on the ground hugging his friend close. It breaks his heart to feel the other clinging to him. As gently as he can, he pulls Cye back so he can look him over. “You ok, physically I mean?”

The smaller warrior looked like a mess. His face pale, dark circles under his eyes, watery green eyes that were red from crying. He looked very disoriented and Rowen could see a few bruises appearing on the side of his face probably from fainting so many times.

The bearer of Torrent shakes his head embarrassed over it all. “N-Nothing is going right… I-I can’t even go to bed normally… I can’t lay down, I can’t sit up… I-I’m so bloody dizzy and feel so sick to my stomach… I tried to pick up the notebook to write down Sage’s number a-and I was too weak to stand. I collapsed. My legs gave out. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!” His eyes widened as his hand goes to his chest, he felt weird.

“C-Cye?”

“My h-heart it feels..feels….Rowen am I having a heart attack?” He looks up terrified, unable to breathe properly.

The other reaches forward and presses his hand curiously against the others chest. “No. That’s the heart arthimya that can hit when you panic. Just deep breaths. We’ll figure this out. Ok? I’m not leaving you.”

“…u-until tomorrow.”

“Ever.” He states seriously. “If you want me to, even if you don’t, I’ll stay by your side. We’ll do this thing together.”

“R-Rowen..”

He picks up Cye’s hand and places it over his chest so he can feel what it feels like and rests his hand over it. He wanted him to know what it felt like so he wouldn’t think it was the other.

Then gently pulls him into his arms and hugs him. He holds him carefully breathing with the other until they were breathing in sync. With his other hand he reaches out picking up the brochure they had gotten from the hospital and shakes it out before setting it on the floor. “See? Right there… that’s what this is. It’s a form of a panic attack, common in patients with blood pressure disorders.”

Cye relaxed against him at hearing that. He rests his head against the warm chest, his breathing finally starting to level out. “I-I’m sorry… I’m s-so scared….” He could feel his heart beat starting to calm down as well.

“I know you are, that’s why I’m not leavin’ ya. It’s really scary having to get a diagnosis like this and I shouldn’t have left you by yourself, even if you were “okay” earlier.” He finally lets Cye’s hand drop from his chest and sighs relieved. “…you ok?”

“…f-feel f-faint.”

“Go on, it’s probably from the panic attack. The aderline is wearing off.” He sits back reaching up to catch the youngest warrior as he gives in and faints. He tried his best not to panic, remembering what the doctor said. The more they panicked and made a big deal out of it, the more Cye would panic.

His hand holds Cye’s head to his shoulder, keeping him up right. He goes quiet and listens for the gasping breath that told him, he was coming back. After a minute or so he hears it sighing relieved himself. Now he just had to wait for him to become coherent again.

Rowen sits quietly rubbing the shaking hands as the other warrior’s body came back completely. He hears another moan and then a weak, “I’m here.”

He smiles nuzzling the top of Cye’s head reassuringly, “Welcome back, buddy. You did great.”

*~*

The blonde twists the doorknob pulling the door open not sure what to expect. “Rowen? Cye?” He calls out. He trips over Rowen’s shoes and for once sighs with relief. He kicks his own off before walking as quickly as he could down the hallway where the light was.

“In here, Sage.”

He stands in the doorway surveying the situation. The other two were on the ground and thankfully the youngest was conscious. He walks over and kneels down pulling Cye into a hug. “Are you ok? Did you faint?”

“He had a nice panic attack,” Rowen explained gently trying not to make a big deal out of it. He smiles as Cye hugs the blonde back just as tight as he did earlier with him. “I told him that we’ll figure this out together.”

“Yes, we will. You’re not alone, Cye.”

“I told him that I’ll be with him through it all.”

“And you’ve got the best body guard.” Sage jokes as Cye pulls away. He pats the other’s head reassuringly. “I’ll be with you as well. It won’t always be this bad. We just have to figure out how to wade through all of the symptoms.”

Torrent nods sniffling, “I-I’m sorry a-about earlier.”

“Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever apologize for something like that. I’m glad you called Rowen. I would have hated to hear what happened the next day and know we could have done nothing.” Halo sighs relieved at seeing the situation was defused.

He lowers his gaze seeing Cye’s hands were shaking. He looks up meeting Rowen’s gaze, the blue haired warrior nods in confirmation. “Here, let Rowen help you get your bed back together. I’m going to go make you some tea and something small to eat. Ok?”

“He needs sodium and electrolytes I bet.”

“I’ll bring both. Tea and a sports drink. Then one of those salt packets.”

Cye watches as Sage stood up and sits back, his shoulders dropping. He was starting to think rationally again and the embarrassment was coming back. “R-Rowen.. I…”

“Don’t apologize. If I’m going to help you, I need to know what you’re feeling and thinking. I don’t want you hiding any of it to pretend to be ok and not as embarrassing.” Rowen holds both of Cye’s hands squeezing them. “I meant it earlier. I’m not leaving your side for anything. So do me the courtesy of not hiding things from me. I won’t make fun of you for anything you are feeling or thinking, I just want to help.”

The water bearer blinks shocked and stumbles over what to say. He had thought the other was just saying it to make him feel better during the panic attack. Why was this such a relief to hear? Before all of this happened, he would have loathed hearing he’d be forced to depend on someone.

He finally nods squeezing the hands holding his own. “…I am embarrassed by how I acted. But, none of it was a lie.” He says carefully unable to look the other in the eye. “I really was terrified about everything. I was okay earlier.. I told Sage, I had eaten dinner, read my favorite book and even took a low heat shower.. then I went t-to bed and it all hit at once.” He smiles weakly. “I tried to ignore it a-and go back to bed but it all got worse… I guess I did go to sleep at some point because I had the most suffocating dream that I was stuck here forever with way out and no way to save me.”

He hangs his head sadly, “…t-that’s when I called you. I knew you’d answer a-and somehow would help.”

“I’m glad you did, and I hope I was able to.”

“You did.. t-thank you.”

“So, do you want to go into the living room and drink your tea or would you rather have it in bed?” Rowen stands up looking around. “You sure did a number on your sheets. They are turned around every which way.”

“I think bed would probably be best.” The other admitted. He sighs nervously realizing he was going to have to stand. “O-Or I could just sit down here.”

“You can’t sleep on the floor, buddy.”

“What if I faint standing up?”

“Then I’ll catch you. Let’s just take it slow. Let me rearrange these sheets first, ok? Just stay right there.” Strata steps over Torrent carefully before approaching the bed. He starts to rearrange the blue sheets getting them back in order.

A stuffed killer whale rolls out from the comfortor. He smiles and picks it up, “Here, this little guy was trying to escape.” He turns and hands it down to him.

Torrent blushes at being caught with a stuffed animal but doesn’t push it away. He takes it and hugs it, holding it in his arms.

A few minutes later the bed looks back to normal and neatly made. “There we go. All nice and comfy.”  He turns back and reaches his hands down, “Alright, you ready?”

The other sighs, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Ok, we’re going to take it slow. If you start to feel faint or dizzy let me know. You can grab on to if something happens that makes you feel scared or nervous.”

Cye nods reaching out grab the two offered hands. He clings to them as he pushes himself up moving as slowly as he thought he should. His eyes fluttered as he felt a dizzy disoriented rush, his vision blurring. He lets go frantically reaching out to clench the other’s shirt as he stumbles.

He expected to fall or knock the other over. Instead he felt warm arms hug him close and keep him safely up on his feet.

“Deep breaths. Let your body catch up.”

He never noticed before how comforting the bearer of Strata’s voice was. He loved all of the guys dearly and held a special place in his heart for each one of them. But right now, Rowen was who he wanted to hear, who he wanted to be there.

The dizziness started to fade away and his eyes widened as he realized he hadn’t fainted that time. He looks up nervously only to see Rowen smiling down at him. “See? We got this. We just have to learn how to work this POTS thing. Can I help you to the bed?”

He nods slowly watching as an arm is put out for him to lean on. He leans on it for support and moves a little unsteadily but manages to get there on his own. He sits down smiling relieved.

“High five, buddy.” Rowen held his hand out low enough for the other to give it back to him. “You did great, Cye. You were even able to get to bed mostly on your own.”

“Is everything ok in here? I brought tea and some biscuits…er.. cookies.. that I found in the cupboard.” Sage explains as he walks in. He’s holding a tray full of the requested items and walks over, “Salt packet is right here.” He waits for Rowen to pick it up before sitting the tray on the nightstand.

He turns around surprised to see two surprised looks. “What?”

Cye was the one who snickered first and looks away unable to say anything. It wasn’t proper.

Rowen however had no problems whatsoever, he snorts laughing. “Buddy, I’ve never seen you with bed head before and we shared a room when we lived with Mia. Your hair is going every which way.”

Halo glares at Strata then he chucks the electrolyte drink at him hard, “You slept too late every morning to see it. My hair doesn’t do this naturally you know. It takes effort to look this good.”

“It’s just… looks like a fan…?”

“A very beautiful fan.” Cye attempted to smooth over the insult. “Very impressive volume and-“

“Stuff it. Both of you.” He pulls away as Rowen attempts to smooth it down to it’s normal state. Then he smiles shaking his head relieved to hear Cye joking, “I was so worried that I didn’t bother getting ready. I’m still in my own pajamas.”

They both lower their gaze and Rowen tilts his head, “…I honestly thought it was some kind of fancy business suit.”

Cye looks down at his own pajamas comparing the two of them. “Yours are definitely uh nicer..” His had killer whales and dolphins on them.

“Ok, so I wear “fancy” pajamas.”

“I just have one question.”

“What, Rowen.”

“Do you shock yourself when you move at night? If so, do you wake up Halo in the process? I mean, you take electricity right? Are you powering your own armor orb and- oMMF”

Sage smiles sweetly to Cye as he smothers the other Ronin with a pillow. “Be careful the tea is hot. But I made it how you like it. Eat the salt packet first then wash it down with the tea.”

Cye smiles nodding giggling as the other two start to act normal again. He reaches out picking up the packet that Rowen had dropped in the process of being nearly killed by Halo with a Pillow and tore it open.

His hands shook as he looks down at it, the normalcy that had just come back disappeared. He feels a hand under his own and looked over to see Rowen beside him. “It’s okay. It’s not anything special, it’s just salt.”

For some reason hearing “it’s not anything special” relaxed him. He nods and throws his head back pouring it in his mouth.

The other two went silent watching to see how he reacted. Rowen started to reach out to steady him as a full body shiver went through him. “C-Cye?”

“Oh, it’s just AWFUL.” The other says shuddering. “And I swim with fish.” He makes a face before smiling up at them. “If that’s the worst this POTS has for me then I’ve got this.”

The other two sighed with relief. Rowen grins nodding as he ruffles the other’s hair. Sage sits back and watches as Strata picks up the teacup and helps the other hold it keeping it steady.

He smiles relieved to see Cye being himself again.

*~*

“Sage are you sure you’ll be alright in the den?” Cye asks nervously as the blonde tucks him in. He tries to sit up and is gently pushed back into the pillows again. “Did Rowen find the pillows and blankets? There are plenty. Kento used to sleep here before he got his own apartment.”

“Shh, I’ll find them. You need to relax so you can go to sleep. Rowen is in the bathroom then he’ll be joining you if you’re okay with that.”

“W-What?”

“If you’re not, I can tell him to join me on the sofa.” The blonde sits back running his hand down the auburn hair as the other’s eyes start to grow heavy. He strokes it gently pushing some of it behind the other’s ears smiling.

He remembered what Kento had told them as joke when they lived with Mia years ago “He’s got this weird thing, if you stroke his hair you’ll put him to sleep.. it drives him crazy but he can’t fight it.” He later found out that it wasn’t a joke and in fact a very real thing.

“No…I-I think I’m ok with him staying.” Cye relaxes back into his pillows fighting to stay awake. If he weren’t so exhausted, he’d be questioning why Sage seemed to know about this.. after all only Kento knew, right? The blonde’s fingers were warm and comforting, it was hard to keep his eyes open.

“Hey Cye you …ok?” Rowen blinks before looking over at Sage. His raises his eyebrows silently “no way that actually worked”, getting a nod from the blonde in response. He laughs as he slides into the bed and curls up on his side facing the other warrior. “Just rest, buddy. We’ll be here in the morning. I’m here if you need me, so is Sage.”

Cye finally lets his eyes close, one of his hands holding one of Rowen’s as he drifts off. This time in more of a relaxing sleep, he was safe.

[goddess-of-green]

More Tobi please !!! It’s so good 😫🙌 I love ur writing so much 😊

I'm running out of Tobi gifs you guys (Part 2 here!)

Warnings: Language, suggestive themes, submissive reader

"Yay! It must be Tobi's lucky day!" Tobi exclaimed as he threw down his cards—his winning cards.

You paled.

This generally wouldn't be such a problem.

Sure, Tobi was suspiciously good at Poker when he needed to be, but you never minded when he beat you by a landslide and proceeded to gloat until one of the other Akatsuki members had to shut him up.

Although, since you didn't really want to wager money on the game -your savings had been dwindling recently and you jumped at any opportunity to save some extra Ryo- you and Tobi decided to instead, make a bet.

If you won, Tobi would be at your beck and call for 24 hours; if Tobi won, you would be at his beck and call for 24 hours.

You knew such a bet could go either horribly wrong or horribly right.

However, you hadn't really let the implications of being at Tobi's beck and call hit you until you saw that winning hand.

Tobi was completely unpredictable and a known troublemaker.

He was always 'innocently' finding ways to insult people or taunt them. You were fairly sure he had some weird sadistic hobby to see how far he could bend people before they reacted violently.

You and Tobi had meshed so well in the organization because you were extremely patient and always reacted positively to Tobi's teasing and jabs.

After a while, Tobi seemed to realize that his taunting and teasing wouldn't make you upset, so he claimed you as his "best friend" and took to following you around in his freetime, you being the only one who could handle his overbearing and deliberately annoying nature.

Tobi loved to cause trouble and make fun of people. Despite his 'innocent' nature, you knew his humor was a little twisted at best.

What the hell did I get myself into?

Tobi was giggling like madman at your expression, a hand raised to where his mouth would be to ineffectively muffle his snickers.

"Y/N-Chan's time starts now! She has to be Tobi's maid for a whole day!" Tobi cheered, throwing his arms up into the air.

You blinked.

Maid?

Fuck.

"M-Maid?" You asked, already knowing that no matter what he responded with you were screwed.

Tobi giggled a bit more, "Yep! Tobi's even got Y/N-Chan a cute little outfit to wear while she does everything Tobi desires~" Tobi explained, his amusement coming off him in waves.

Maid? 'Cute little Outfit'? Tobi's desires!? God, help me.

You sighed, "Very well, Tobi."

"Actually, Y/N-Chan...there's something else Tobi would like you to call him~"

::

Here you are, dressed in a maid outfit.

A frilly black and white choker secured around your neck and your hair down, your top doing nothing to hide your cleavage, and your skirt giving you about two inches of leeway.

If you so much as bent over, your panties would be revealed to anyone in the vicinity. To top it all off, you had a white waist apron with little frills on the ends.

It covered even less than your skirt.

Kami, where did I go wrong? What did I do to deserve this?

Your internal lamenting is brought to halt as you hear Tobi cooing at you.

"Y/N-Chan~ you look so nice, all dressed up for Tobi like this~" He put his gloved hands on your hips, pulling you closer to him as he continued to inspect your form.

You swallowed, "Thank you, Tobi~Sama." You said softly, as he had requested you call him.

You blushed in embarrassment as you said it, unintentionally making yourself look even cuter as you looked up at him through your lashes, hoping he wouldn't make fun of you.

Tobi was unusually silent as he stared at your inadvertently coy expression. His hands still on your hips, and his expression unreadable through his mask.

After a moment, he started giggling.

"Y/N-Chan is such a good little maid for Tobi~ Tobi has a feeling he's going to enjoy this very much~" Tobi purred as he brought his arms up to wrap around your waist and buried his masked face into your neck; his body snuggling into yours in the process.

You gulped as his warm body encased yours.

Is it just me or is it a little hot in here?

You would have tugged on your collar if you had one.

Tobi pulled away from the embrace with excitement as he grabbed your hand.

"Alright Y/N-Chan, you're going to make some for lunch for your master, and then we're going to play a game~" Tobi said brightly, a teasing tone slipping through his usual beaming attitude.

Something about the way Tobi said "game" raised some flags, but you complied nonetheless.

You certainly didn't want to give Tobi a reason to punish you, as he had warned.

You shuttered at the implications.

He didn't mention or signal any sort of sexual things happening, but you could never be too careful. This entire situation was more than a little suspicious.

He's already made it clear he's got a pervy side, if the outfit was anything to go by.

You sighed lowly as Tobi's hand slipped from yours and he wandered off to wait in the living area of the base while you prepared him something to eat.

"It's too bad Tobi has his mask, or he would love to have Y/N~Chan feed him~" Tobi sighed wistfully as he walked off.

Clearly talking to himself, but you were sure he meant for you to hear.

You blushed at the thought, shaking your head to rid yourself of such thoughts as you continued on your way to the Akatsuki base's kitchen.

After you finally washed your hands and got to actually making something for Tobi, you ran into a little roadblock.

You had no idea what kind of food Tobi liked, or even if he had any allergies. He rarely ever ate around you, and when he did you tried not to stare at him too much and respect his privacy.

(Even though you were definitely curious as to what lied underneath his infamous orange mask.)

Even if you had paid attention, you doubt you would have caught much anyway.

Tobi is very sneaky when it comes to keeping his face hidden, and his food is off the plate and in his mouth faster than anyone can even tell what he was eating.

"He's so annoying all the time, yeah! The least he could do is let me catch a glimpse of his damn mug for once, un!"

You smirked as you recalled Deidara's ranting.

Remembering your situation, your smirk slipped away as you considered your options.

You could take a stab in the dark and make something that Tobi may or may not like, or you could go back out and ask Tobi what he wanted.

Neither were very good options.

If you took a wild guess then you would risk Tobi either not liking what you made or having an allergic reaction to it.

The last thing you wanted was to make Tobi sick or unhappy, but going back out to ask posed its own risks.

If you went out into the living room to ask Tobi what he wanted to eat then there was a good chance one of the other members would see you.

Then, they would ask questions.

You knew that Tobi wouldn't hesitate to embarrass you and go into great detail about how you were his cute little maid who would do anything to "satisfy" him.

Your face heated up in embarrassment just thinking about it.

You sighed, biting your lip as you ran through the pros and cons in your head.

You wilted after a moment, your morality winning the internal battle.

Discarding your dignity, and swallowing the last of your pride, you turned around to exit the kitchen and go find Tobi.

::

"But D-Deidara-Senpai! Tobi's not lying! He swears!" Tobi exclaimed, waving his hands around wildly as if that helped his case.

"Tch. Sure Tobi, un. You really expect me to believe that you got Y/N to be your maid?" Deidara scoffed.

It was then that you peaked from the hallway. Calling Tobi's name and desperately hoping that he was alone.

"Ah! Y/N-Chan! Impeccable Timing~!" Tobi said happily, Deidara snapping his head over towards you to see if Tobi really wasn't lying.

Uh oh.

Your face flamed as you tried to retreat back into the hallway, Tobi one step ahead of you, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into the living area for Deidara to see.

Deidara's eyes widened as he looked over your form, clad in a skimpy maid outfit complete with the lacy little headdress on top.

Deidara slowly but surely flushed, before turning to Tobi.

"I want in." Deidara said earnestly.

Your face flamed and you literally wanted to die in a hole of pitiful embarrassment.

Completely appalled, Tobi gasped quite dramatically at Deidara's words and pulled you close, as if protecting you. "Deidara-Senpai! You can't! Y/N-Chan is Tobi's maid! And Tobi doesn't think you would appreciate her like Tobi does!" Tobi said indignantly as he snuggled into your chest.

Good lord, you felt like your face was permanently pink today. From all this excitement you had nearly forgotten what you came out to ask-

"What?! Tobi! You can't keep her all to yourself like this! You're being selfish!" Deidara yelled.

"Nuh-uh senpai! Tobi won Y/N-Chan's free will fair and square! And why would Tobi share? This way she's all mine~" Tobi exclaimed, trailing off into a creepy giggle at the end.

It's like they're two kids fighting over a new toy... You sighed.

You blushed when you realized that you were the toy.

Before Deidara could fire back or you could finally ask what the hell Tobi wanted to eat, something awful happened.

Hidan walked in.

It took him five seconds to skim his eyes over your form, Tobi's face pressed into your chest and Deidara blushing... and burst into laughter.

"Pfft Hahahaha, what the hell kind of kinky shit is going on in here?" Hidan howled, bent over and holding his stomach from laughter.

Tobi hurriedly let go of you and turned around, putting his arms in front of you as if to hide you. "Nothing Hidan-Senpai! Y-You don't have all the information!" Tobi exclaimed, his slightly shaky voice not convincing anyone.

"Tch. Tobi got Y/N to be his maid, and he's keeping this opportunity all to himself!" Deidara scoffed, crossing his arms indignantly.

Interest piqued, Hidan walked over to you, promptly pushing Tobi out of the way and grabbing your jaw.

"His maid, huh? And just how'd he manage that...?" Hidan said, his voice quieter and more husky since he was so close to your face.

You tried to repress the shiver that threatened to crawl down your spine...Hidan had always creeped you out.

Before you could stutter out a response, you felt a stinging on your ass.

Oh my-

He pinched my ass!

You squeaked involuntarily and pushed Hidan off you, Deidara starting to fume as he realized what happened.

"Hey man! Don't touch her like that, un!" He exclaimed, though he probably wanted to do the same thing.

"Hidan!" Tobi gasped, rushing over to pick you up bridal style and cradle you in his arms.

"No one is allowed to touch Y/N-Chan like that! She is Tobi's!" He exclaimed, and you would have been happy for his defense if he didn't keep referring to you as 'his'.

Deidara and Hidan were now straight up fighting, Tobi's yelling falling on deaf ears.

The lewd things Deidara and Hidan were saying about you as they fought had you desperately hiding your burning face in Tobi's chest.

Tobi pet your hair in a soothing manner before running off, with you still in his arms.

"It's too dangerous out here with all the other members! Y/N-Chan will just have to serve Tobi in his room! Alone~"

Lunch completely forgotten, you worried for what was to come as Tobi carried you off, Deidara and Hidan still wrestling on the floor.

It was then that Kisame and Itachi walked in, just in time to hear Tobi's exclamation as they saw you being carried off by Tobi while Deidara and Hidan were rolling around the floor and pulling at each other's hair.

[thewritetofreespeech]

I LOVE ur blog SO MUCH!!!

Thanku fr Writing amazing hcs!! Keep it up!!!

If you don't mind...

(Kuroko no baske)

Thanku so much!! Lots of love xoxo

(reader insert may not be necessary!😉)

Awwww!! Thank you!! I’m glad you enjoy and appreciate them ( ´ω` ). Went a little off the rails with this as I was feeling inspired and did full scenarios. I hope that’s ok!

GOM Boys + Sending their kids to school (prompt)

Akashi

“Why don’t you want to go to school?” Akashi asked, holding his son’s hand, as they arrived at the building.

His son, looking positively adorable in his little blazer & tie, looked up at him with big, bright, golden eyes before looking back down. “I don’t want to go.” He repeated quietly. “It’s scary.”

“Scary? How is it scary?” Akashi asked. “You were fine when we did the tour the other day. It’s just like that.”

“But you won’t be with me Papa.” He replied in a soft voice. Worrying his bottom lip and eyes starting to get very wet. “I’ll be all alone.”

Akashi sighed as his son began to sniffle and knelt down in front of him. “Stop crying. Akashi men don’t cry over things like this.” He pulled out his handkerchief to clean the few tears that had fallen. His son giving a small hiccup as he stopped crying. Then Akashi smiled at him. “You won’t be alone. You’ll have a whole room of classmates to keep you company. I was like you when I was little. I was scared I wouldn’t make any friends, or that the other students would hate me. But that didn’t happen. I made friends. I got to spend time with people outside of the house. Uncle Kuroko and Mama were all people I met at school. Don’t you want to make friends like that?”

His son beamed and nodded once before looping his arms around Akashi’s neck to hug him. They then finish walking into school and dropping him off at class. He then walked back to his car alone. Sliding into the back seat when the driver opened the door for him.

“Shall we head to the office now sir?”

“In a minute,” Akashi replied. Leaning back in his seat to rest his head back against the rich leather. A hand over his eyes. “Circle the block a few times. I don’t want to leave them alone just yet.”

Aomine

“Hn? You don’t want to go to school now?” Aomine asked as son stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Digging his heels in about not wanting to take one step further. “But you have to go to school.”

“No I don’t! And you can’t make me!” The mini-Aomine yelled back. His father sighed.

“Yes, you do. It’s the law and, I would know, I’m a cop.” He pointed his thumb to himself, wearing his uniform, as this was supposed to be a quick drop off before he went in for his shift. “Do you want me to arrest you on your first day of school?”

“You wouldn’t do that!” The little boy replied. All bravado like his father, before his shoulders sank and his bottom lip stuck out. “I don’t want to go. School is boring. And what if the kids are mean to me. I’d rather stay home with Daddy….”

Aomine sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He couldn’t really argue with the school being boring part. He hated school when he was a kid, but he had to go. “Listen, Daddy can’t stay home with you today because he has to go to work. And you can’t come to work with me because, if you do, we’ll catch all the bad guys and then what will I do for work the next day.” The mini-Aomine snickered.

Aomine then leaned down to get eye level with his son. “I’m sure the kids will be nice. There’s bound to be one good egg in the bunch. Maybe you can even find someone to play basketball with.” His son’s eyes sparkled at that. “But, if any kids are mean to you, you tell me and I’ll come back and arrest them.” He held out his handcuffs to make a point. “Sound good?”

His son giggled again and told him, “deal!” before they both walk into the school for drop off. Thankfully, no one at the school was arrested that day. School was his son’s new favorite place. At least for now anyway.

Kise

“Are you sure they have to go now? Maybe we could keep them home for another year??”

“Ryo….” His significant other warned as they got their daughter up to the school, each holding one of her hands, for drop off.

“Don’t worry Daddy! I’ll be fine!” The little girl chirped. Practically skipping the whole way there she was so excited.

“Really? Are you sure princess? Because, if you want to start school tomorrow, Daddy would be totally fine with that.”

“Ryouta!”

“No, that’s ok Daddy.” She replied with a big grin. “I want to go and make new friends! I’m excited to show everyone my new dress you got me.” His princess did a little modeling twirl they had practiced, and Kise’s heart broke into a thousand pieces only to be reformed instantly again with love. “I’m gonna go inside now. See you after school!”

“Do you want Daddy to walk you to your classroom?!”

“No!” His daughter called back. Unaware she had just stomped on her father’s newly reformed heart.

“They grow up so fast….”

“Honestly Ryouta.” His s/o said, shaking their head, as they offered him a tissue. “It’s the kids that are usually crying on the first day. Not the parents.”

Kuroko

“Sweetheart….you have to go to school.” Kuroko tried to reason with his daughter, who was holding her backpack and her breath until Kuroko ‘gave up’.

Of course, she couldn’t hold it that long in the end. Her lungs were very small.

She let out a gasp of air, quickly inhaling new breath into her lungs as fast as she could fill them, but still pouted. “Why can’t you be my teacher Papa?!”

“Because,” Kuroko reasoned, as if they haven’t been over this a hundred times, “you need to have someone else be your teacher. It’s not fair to have Papa be your teacher.”

“But it’s not fair that other kids have Papa for their teacher!” She argued back. “I don’t want to go if I can’t see Papa and have to share him….”

Kuroko sighed before offering them a smile. “We’ll still be at the same school. So I’ll see you at lunch time or on the playground. Ms. Himora is really nice too. You’ll like being in her class. I’ve told her all about you and she’s excited to see your drawings.”

His daughter perked up at that. Art and drawing being one of her passions.

She agreed to go, but only on the condition that she wanted to see this other teacher’s art supplies. Ms. Himora of course showed them to her, and let her color the whole afternoon. Kuroko tried not to seem irritated that by the end of the day his little girl was calling her her favorite teacher.

Midorima

“Do you have your notebook?” Midorima asked as he walked his son to school. “Pens? Paper? Pencil?”

“Yes Dad…” His son replied sullenly, walking beside the taller green haired man as they come up to the school. When he saw the brick building, however, he tightened the hold on his hand.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Dad I….I don’t want to go to school.” Midorima gave a surprised ‘hn?’ in response, but his son just looked down. Fidgeting with his glasses. “What if….what if the teacher is scary? What if the other kids don’t like me? What if no one wants to play with me?” The young boy began to spiral and sniffling, thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

His father sighed and knelt down in front of him. “What do we always say?”

“Man proposes, God disposes.”

“Right.” Midorima replied. Not seeming phased by how his life’s motto sound so much less intimidating coming from such a cute, small voice. “We have to do our best to make sure things work out. We can’t worry about what could go wrong. That’s God’s job. We focus on the now.” He pulled a key chain out of his pocket and handed it to his son. “Take today’s lucky item with you. It’ll keep you safe.”

“But Dad! What about you?!”

“I’ll be alright. You just make sure you get to class on time and have a good day.”

His son came home later that afternoon to tell him all about the amazing day he had at his new school. His teacher was nice. His classmates really liked him. They even served his favorite in the cafeteria!

Midorima was happy for his son, and choose not to tell him that he had had the day from hell without his lucky item. From that day forward they each got their own.

Murasakibara

“Eh…? You don’t want to go to school?” Murasakibara looked at his daughter as she shook her head. Scuffing her new shoes on the sidewalk. “How come? You have to give me a good reason to skip your first day.”

“I…I don’t want to go…” She replied softly. His little girl incredibly shy. “What if the other kids make fun of me?” Murasakibara hummed a little. He supposed that was a good reason.

For better or worse, his children had inherited his height. It wasn’t so bad for her older brothers. Being tall was an admirable attribute for boys. For girls though…..well….it just made his angel that much bigger of a target.

“If the kids make fun of you, tell them your dad is even taller and he’ll stick them in a tree and leave them there if they make fun of you.” The little girl giggled, clearly picturing the image, but still didn’t seem convinced to go. Murasakibara knelt down so he wasn’t towering so much over her and patted her head. “School is important. You need to go so you can be smart like you Mom. Not a dumb dumb like your Dad.” He smoothed out her hair from ruffling it. It had taken them a while to get it right, and he didn’t want to ruin it. “But, I’ll be here when you get out today and we’ll go get ice cream as a reward. Our secret.”

His daughter beamed at the promise of ice cream and nodded eagerly. She then went off to school without any complaints. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. You could get him to do anything for ice cream too.

[notdonesimpin]

Sorcery ~r.s.~

ceo!ryomen sukuna x gn!reader

warnings: sukuna in a suit??, fluff

synopsis: [request by @draconic-dumbass​ ] “two unlikely people bound together by what some call fate, but to them, it must be sorcery” OR the reader doesn’t take care of themselves and sukuna has to do it for them.

a/n:  For fic purposes, Sukuna has his own two armed body. I wanted a CEO!AU where curses don’t exist, okay? Sukuna’s just a man who looks great in a suit. The curse aspect isn’t really needed in the way it’s portrayed in the show so i don’t wanna think about it😣 don’t hate me.

The door opens as you peek your head in the hallway to see Sukuna roughly loosen his tie with a huff and unbutton the top of his shirt as he takes off his shoes. 

“Long day?” you ask.

“My assistant cried today if that tells you anything. They overbooked me, and didn’t realize it until this morning.”

Your eyes narrow, “What did you say to the poor thing? She didn’t cry for nothing.”

Sukuna throws his hands up defensively as he walks over to you with a teasing smile, “I didn’t say anything! Though, I wanted to say a lot. I think she got the message when I sent her home.” The last part came out in a mutter, but you heard it well.

You hit him in the chest, “This is why you can’t keep an assistant! You’re too aggressive. I liked that one, too.”

“Well, I had an amazing assistant for years, but they quit when their husband told them to focus on art. My days ran so smoothly, and I had a beautiful sight all hours of the day,” he says, wrapping his arms around you as he continues, “Was I too aggressive with you?”

“You could barely say a sentence around me when we first met, Ryo. Don’t get cocky.”

Before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and you moved to answer it.

“It’s just Nao. They’re being my other model for today! I can’t model and draw myself, so I needed an amazing stand-in. How about you rest for a bit and I’ll do Nao’s solo poses and get you when I need you?” you suggested as you opened the door.

“It’s been a while. Good to see you, Y/N. Sukuna,” Nao says, giving Sukuna a wave and you a small hug.

“Nao, don’t fuck up while I’m not there,” Sukuna jokes, turning around to walk towards the bedroom.

“I’ve been doing this longer than you. I think I got it.”

“Don’t take those clothes off! The more wrinkles, the better!��� you call after him.

~

You softly shake Sukuna. “Ryo, I need you to model for me now.”

He groans, opening his eyes to see you beaming at him. “It’s not fair, your face makes it hard to say no.”

“Then get up, so I can finish for today!” you urge.

He follows you to the living area with sleepiness still extremely apparent on his face. 

“No wonder you chose him to be your muse for the King of Curses. He’s like The Walking Dead right now,” Nao laughs, earning a glare from Sukuna as you drag him to the spot you want him.

“You still haven’t told me anything about your art show,” Sukuna reminds you. 

“Hands in pockets please…” you gesture to your own pockets when you make the statement and Sukuna lazily complies as you continue talking and telling him what to do. “My theme is Sorcery. Take a step but don't step… There! I wanted to do three bigger panels for my main showcase. They have the King of Curses- AKA you- and the ruler of blessings- aka Nao but Nao is just modeling so I can shade the pose right and put myself in it. Then the middle panel will be them together. Look at the ground. Now, only bring your eyes up the look at me… Perfect! Stay still. Basically it shows two unlikely people bound together by what some call fate, but to them, it must be sorcery.”

~

You yawn, waking up the sound of Sukuna roaming around the penthouse. You check your phone to see the time. 4:36 A.M.

You suddenly find yourself wide awake and decide to get up and work on your rough sketches. 

You go out of your shared room, rubbing your eyes as you adjust to the light and walk to the kitchen.

“Where the hell is my…” Sukuna’s muttering comes to a stop when he sees you sitting at the island, drinking a glass of water as you wait for the coffee pot to get ready.

“Good morning,” you softly say with a yawn.

“Why are you up? Did I wake you?” Sukuna asks, buttoning the cuffs of the shirt and walking over to you.

“I need to work on the rough sketches anyways since my canvases come in today. I’m so behind,” you groan, “What are you looking for?”

“My passport. I swear I grabbed it from home before I came here.”

He watches you tie his tie for him as he tries to recall where it might be.

“It’s definitely at home on the kitchen counter. I saw it before I left. I meant to grab it for you. Sorry, Ryo.”

He tosses his head back in frustration, “Why is this penthouse so inconveniently located. I have to go in the opposite direction of the office and the airport to go home and get it.”

“You’re the one that said my apartment was too small to be my studio.”

“I know.”

“And that I should separate home from work.”

“I know.” He squeezes your cheeks to stop you from talking. “I don’t regret buying this penthouse for your work. You get an ocean view and you have an entire space to do your work. I’d buy you the entire building if you needed it.”

He lets go of your face and you say, “Okay, Mr. CEO. All you had to say was that you love me.”

He chuckles and pours two cups of coffee, handing you one of them. “This business trip is pretty short, so I should be back around afternoon or tomorrow night at the latest.” He checks his watch, “I should go, so I don’t be late with my detour.” 

He grabs his blazer off of the back of the chair, sliding it on as he walks towards the door with you right behind him. He slips his shoes on and turns to you, giving you a soft kiss.

“Be safe. I love you.” you say.

“I love you. Don’t overwork yourself while I’m gone.”

As soon as the door closed, you muttered: Sorry, Ryo. That’s exactly what I’m about to do.

~ 

A few hours later, you get a call from Sukuna and immediately answer.

“How’s the new assistant, Ryo?” you immediately ask.

He paused, glancing at the assistant beside him. “So this was your doing. I can’t say that I’m surprised. This one seems a lot more competent.”

“Don’t run him off. He knows how to run businesses well since he grew up with his father.”

“I got it. Mx. CEO,” he taunts, “How long have you been working?”

You glance at the time on your phone. 10:32A.M.

“Technically five hours but only been diligent for the past four hours. I finished my sketch for the King of Curses panel about an hour ago. So, I’ve just started drawing it on the canvas.”

“So, what I’m hearing is that it’s time to take a break and eat something,” He suggests, but you both know that it was a command. 

“I’m not going to pass out on you again, okay? I can take care of myself.”

“As you’ve proven on multiple occasions, you can’t. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you. Make good decisions!” You hang up and get back to work.

You didn’t know how much time had passed or how long you’d been actively moving around and working until your regular Wednesday at 11:30 alarm went off. 

Wait… Wednesday??? You’d only been up for a couple hours. How has an entire day passed without you even realizing it?

At the same time, you received a text from Sukuna: I have to stop by the office before heading to you, so I’ll take you wherever you’d like around one. 

“Shit!” you exclaim, typing back a quick response before rushing around the penthouse to clean and change your clothes.

Sukuna couldn’t know that you haven’t slept in the past 31 hours. 

By the time you cleaned up and got dressed, Sukuna was already at the penthouse, leaning against the kitchen counter and holding a glass of bourbon in his hands.

“Let me see your hands,” he requests.

You stick out your hands, trying to calm them down because both of you knew that you get really bad tremors when you haven’t slept in a while.

“I didn’t think you’d be back so early,” you softly spoke.

“Darling, I texted you. I guess it makes sense that you don’t remember since you responded with a jumble of letters,” he sighs, sticking his hands in his pockets as he shakes his head, “What am I going to do with you?”

“I just got really focused. I’m so close to finishing the King of Curses panel. I started the Ruler of Blessings panel as well… I gotta keep the ball rolling while it’s hot,” you explained.

“That isn’t healthy. How have you been painting? With the way your hands are shaking, you shouldn’t even be able to hold a paintbrush straight.”

“I was focused! And before you say it, I’m not tired, so I’ll just get back to work.”

He looks at you in amusement as you walk away. “Still as stubborn as ever.”

“I’ll stop after I finish the curse panel, okay?”

Before you could even get out of the kitchen, Sukuna had picked you up by your waist and started walking away.

“Ryomen Sukuna! Put me down!” you exclaim, “I told you, my feet stay on the ground!”

He laughs and continues walking, “I told you that if I want to pick you up, I will. If you think you’re heavy, then you’re wrong. You’re like a feather compared to what I lift at the gym, okay?”

You fall silent, letting him carry you all the way to the bathroom. He sits you on the counter and starts running the water for a bath. As you wait for the bath to fill up, he stands in between your legs, bringing his hands up to your face and lightly grazing underneath your eyes.

“They’re puffy…” he looks at you with a hint of sadness, “I understand that the art show is very important to you, but this is the third time in the past few months that I’ve had to physically stop you from overworking yourself. If you don’t take care of yourself, your art will suffer, too.”

“I know. There’s just a lot of big names coming this time. I really want it to be good.”

“It will be because you’re an outstanding artist,” he reassures.

You give him a small thank you as he turns to stop the water and you shed your clothes, getting in and closing your eyes and enjoying the warmth.

“You see how nice hot water feels?” You could hear the teasing in his voice.

“Yeah, yeah. Self-care or whatever.” 

Sukuna begins to wash your body for you, humming a soft tune and lulling you to sleep.  He finishes washing you up and takes you to bed, putting one of his shirts on you and crawling in beside you, letting you wrap yourself around him to steal his warmth.

He softly smiles to himself and gives you a soft kiss on the top of your head as he whispers, “Sweet dreams.”

[sweet-rintarou]

Today was the day that you were to meet with the person you'll be establishing a relationship. Understand how it's worded that way, changing the entire concept of how a relationship work. It shouldn't be a business tactic, in order to bring media attention onto those in the relationship, but should be a way to join two different people in a romantic sense, filled with trust and genuine feelings between one another.

You've had your fair share of relationships, none of which were ever done to benefit one or the other, nor were they ever done in a way that mutual feelings were absent. You don't claim to still be in love with any of your exes, nor is there any bad blood, so your concept of love and romantic relationship is quite vanilla.

Now, the game has changed. You weren't ready, hell, who the fuck would be ready to have to date someone only for publicity? To risk having the secret be released to the media, it would ruin your name and you were highly aware of it. No matter how anyone wants to try to put it, Japan was still behind when it comes to gender equality, it was traditional and placed men on a higher pedestal. You knew that if word got out that you both faked a relationship to gain attention to each of your agendas, that you would receive more backlash than your "significant other".

"We'll always protect you, Y/n," Suga reassured you when you decided to voice out your concern after being out. It was now nine, the next day, and you had to meet with the CEO again at noon.

"And fans will understand," Terushima added, "even though there'll be people that are rude for no reason, there will always be those that truly care for you, and will back you up for anything."

You couldn't necessarily talk, most of your replies were of gratitude or heavy sighs. Ever since the conflict with Semi, it seemed that the world was going against you, that everything that were to occur in your life was going absolutely crazy, and nothing seems to be working out. You felt as if most of the negative attention was caused by you, and only you.

As noon came around, your feet dragged heavily against the marbled floor. The weight of what was to come prevented you from walking with the usual bounce of life that you used to sport. Once you entered the meeting room, you only spotted the CEO, his assistant, and two other people you didn't recognize. Everyone besides the five of you were in formal clothing—suit and tie—so it was safe to assume that the person you were to be together with was not here.

Seated across from the two you didn't know, the CEO cleared his throat.

"Alright, these are the representative of who you will be meeting with, Ms. Y/n," he started off, "unfortunately he is unable to attend, but because I also like surprises, I'll disclose his identity later on."

I hate surprised.

"Before we get into signing the agreement, there are obviously a set of rules that must be established between the two parties, which are us, Rei Records, and the second party of Ryo Agency.

"First and foremost; the fact that the relationship is only for business purposes should never be disclosed to anyone other the present parties, your "significant other" included–" you couldn't help but gag a bit "–no disclosing this to close friends or families, the media obviously."

"Second; the period of this agreement will last for 6 months, this will fit with the timeline of Silver Lining's album release, album promotion, with a national tour, and Ryo Agency's agenda of their client's movie release, movie promotion and tour as well."

So he's an actor. Admittedly, you weren't too caught up with the latest news in the entertainment industry other than the music industry of course, so your knowledge of any actors around your age was limited to those you've seen in western film productions.

Semi rose his hand, "Isn't a bit unfair that Y/n hasn't met with the guy? I'm sure he already knows who she is, right?"

"No, actually, neither of you know what each other look like, we haven't disclosed either of your identities to one another." The response garnered dumbfounded looks from the five of us.

"We can assure you that he is a decent man, there is no toxicity from his behaviour to our knowledge," CEO Yashimoto reassured, although it did little to calm your anxious thoughts. He continued, "You will meet with the young man tonight, at the agency's restaurant, there will be no paparazzi as this should be a chance for you two to get to know each other."

"Which agency?"

"This agency," his assistant snapped, causing you to roll your eyes.

"Anyway, your relationship will be publicised on Friday, which is two days from now."

Without allowing you to say anything, his assistant—you honestly don't bother to learn his name—pulled out sheets of paper, placing it in front of CEO Yashimoto and the opposite agency, the five of you only able to observe the exchange.

"Alright, you all may leave, and Y/n, be ready to be picked up at six."

-

"How is it six already?!" You screamed. The CEO's assistant knocking incessantly on your hotel door.

"What if I grab him and toss him out the window, do you think anyone will know?" Terushima asked, eyes wide with genuine curiosity. The four of you stared in concern.

"You know it's the thought that counts." Heaving an exasperated sigh–which sounded more like a grunt–you changed into presentable clothes before exiting the hotel room, your bandmates watching your back, clearly upset as well. I cannot cry, but fuck, do I want to.

With only a glare, the assistant guided you to the car and the drive to the restaurant was quiet and awkward.

Monoma opened the door for you, allowing you to step out and he led the way towards the restaurant. Your hands were prepared to type the name once the words left his mouth, but his lips were sealed shut until you reached the entrance of the restaurant.

"Table under Yashimoto," he told the hostess, to which she led us to the table in the far back. A figure was clearly sitting in one of the seats, but you could barely recognize or make out the features with your deteriorating eyesight.

"Yo, Monoma, what's the guy's name?" He only casted a side-glance.

"I lied," he said, "with the fact that your phone is out now, I don't know where you'll send what I'm about to say."

"It's to my friends, no need to be so uptight," you retorted. "Fuck, fine." Stuffing your phone into your pocket, you'll just have to tell them when you get back.

"Hello," ignoring your presence, Monoma shifted his attention to the brunette by the table, to which the latter stood up upon the arrival of you. "This is Y/n L/n, the girl you were arranged with."

"Y/n, this is—"

"Oikawa. Tooru Oikawa," the brunette introduced himself, "it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

silver lining | w. ushijima smau

previous | masterlist | next

part twenty-four

—tooru

author's note: lmao now that we have oikawa in the story there will be more crack between him, y/n and ushi :3 and fair warning, the next few parts will be in written format, so be prepared

taglist: @alienvarmint @amberalisa @naughtylittleweeb @tycrackculture @someone-you-dontknow @iloveyouasmuchaspoohloveshoney @stargirlara @brownsugartease-blog @leviathans-watching @kenjiru @ushiwakaismybae @elianetsantana @kagebunshiin @koushiwrites @marajillana @wannakeillmyself @bokuto-buns @smolcactusqwq @ihateccmber @changkyun-not @mischevious-pixie @mochi-the-uwu @haengbokpixie @kiritokunuwu @kittyddandnyla @runningwitches @cevanswhre @mint-mai @that-random-emo-girl @franko-pop @bigchaosenergy @luhvsnoir @shadowpurr @milkyyamatobio @fueledbyapplepi (send an ask if you want to be added)

[voltage-vixen]

As you probably know Voltage is having a bundle discount set for Scandal in the Spotlight, I can only buy one, which bundle would you, or your followers recommend? :>

Hey there!

This is such a thought provoking question for so early in the morning, but I love any opportunity to talk about SITS! 

Now this is tricky because I truly love all the guys of Revance, but if I had to narrow it down to my favorites I would say lori is my favorite, followed very closely by Kyohei. Kyohei is sexy and confident and I love the banter between lori and his MC. Although fair warning that lori’s communication style can easily be classified as more abrupt at times, and he’s not one I would recommend to everyone if that’s not something that’s your style.

Kota and Takashi are also solid routes! Kota has a cat-like personality and Takashi can be quite sensitive. 

Nagito and Ryo are also good! The only thing I would say about their routes is that this is only a personal observation, but I’m not a fan of how the other guys sometimes treat Nagito in his stories. This is only my opinion, but I feel they are a bit harsh on him. In Ryo’s story I couldn’t really tell when it is he fell in love with the MC. To be fair his PoV did provide some clarification, but I probably still would have been wondering that had I only read his MS.  Honestly though all of the guys are great reads, and the title overall is such a good one! You really can’t go wrong wrong with either of them, and I’m sorry for not being able to be more helpful. 

Do let me know who you end up choosing though, because now I’m invested in your bundle decision!  💞

[sw124]

[Lamia-Bitty Daily life!9]

/entitled parents/

Hello my Lamia lovers how are all of you, good I hope. Welp its that time again, a fair warning to everyone who has something that entitled people want. Yes thats right everyone another story about how low humans can sink for things they want.

And this....involves not just my boys but my friend Casey and her boi Zipper, a few others.....and a woman who will do ‘anything’ for her (more spoiled then two month old milk) daughter...even attempt to steal.

Ok folks on with the story:

So Casey had invited me an my boys out to eat with her, Zippy and boyfriend Roy. Now normally I don’t like going out with people but...Casey is a friend and she took the time to invite me. An given the fact I was stuck at home most of the time, an it wouldn’t hurt for my boys to go out too. So I agreed, she said wear something warm like a hoodie (or sweater depending) an to have something for my boys to keep warm with.

Now this was my first time meeting her boyfriend, she told me he’s an Exotic dancer. Yeah, yeah I know get those Magic Mike thoughts going, first time I met him....phew now I see why she likes him so much. He’s got a slender built body, abs you can grate cheese on and-...sorry that’s not important anyway he’s hot we’ll leave it at that. She introduces us and we move to the back, apparently Roy is friends with the owner and other workers here. He secured us a private venue in the back for us and the Lamia’s.

[this is before the lockdown and distancing]

Turns out the whole idea here was the beginning stages of a ‘Lamia party’. Sort of a way for Lamia owners to come together or a way for new people to meet who share a common love of snake like creatures. Right now it was in the planning stages an Casey wanted to start with just us an another individual. The restaurant is a sushi/hibachi place called Ryo Coast, very pretty place. Anyway our server and private hibachi chef is a friend of both Casey and Roy, his name is Juan an he brought his Lamia too, a beautiful Krait, full sized too.

{Lots of full-sizes around I noticed in my neck of the woods}

Juan an I really hit it off when he introduced our Lamias, turns out his Krait is named Virgil! I laughed when I told him Dante’s name, turns out he loves the Divine comedy as much as I do. It wasn’t just us who hit it off but Virgil, Dante and Chip REALLY hit it off well.

I had just ordered a lovely seaweed salad and was sharing it with my boys, everything was going great.....when we heard it...

“LAMIAS!!!”

We turn to see a girl, about 10 by the fence [the venue was outside] an was jumping all with joy seeing our kiddos. Now normally this wouldn’t be a bother for us, one of the things of owning a Lamia ya know? We give her a little wave an so do our boi’s before going back to our appetizers. I was about to feed more of my appetizer to Chip when the girl started yelling.

10yr: Come here!

I look to see Zipper slithering towards the girl but stopping half way when she yelled again, Casey didn’t notice so I get up and walk over and pick Zipper up before he got too upset.

10yr: Hey put him down I was gonna pet him!

Me: I’m sorry sweetie but he needs to eat-

10yr: GIVE HIM TO ME!

Yeah at this point the girl starts throwing a nasty tantrum, Casey had come over an taken Zipper back. [He got scared by the kid]

I roll my eyes and turn to walk back, we ignore the kids nasty behavior and tried to enjoy our food. I looked to see the girl had stomped off, though my gut told me this wasn’t the end of it. I turn to Juan and asked if there was someone watching the entrance outside, he assured me we were fine an the only way to the outside venue is through the owner. I was relieved somewhat, but my past two experiences with these people always leaves me edgy.

Dante was doing his best to calm me down by trying to get me to eat more of my appetizer, it worked and I was feeding him and Chip some avocado. It was a little too distracting cause I didn’t hear the ‘Ahem’ coming from the fence.

“AHEM!”

I heard it that time, I looked an there was the little girl again and now she had her mother. She was standing there with arms crossed, nose up in the air and smelling of the nastiest odor we all call ‘smug’. I look at her an already she was glaring daggers at me, Chip was tightening his grip on my arm.

[His way of telling me to ignore her, but once you make eye contact there’s no going back.]

I turn to Casey an let her know I’d be right back, now I should let you know I tend to forget things an I absentmindedly took my water with me while holding Chip in the other. I walk over but I keep my distance, you never know.

Me: Can I-

EM: Why didn’t you let my daughter pet your snake?

[Here we go...]

Me: Ma’am, we’re not comfortable with strangers petting our Lamias without permission an-

EM: I don’t care if your uncomfortable with it, your snake wasn’t!

Me: Ma’am the ‘Lamia’ your daughter wanted to pet isn’t mine, he belongs to my friend and she doesn’t want him approaching strangers without her-

EM: You were with him.

[Stop cutting me off woman....]

Me: {loosing patience} As I said, he’s not mine he belongs to my friend-

EM: Well your holding this one let my daughter pet him then.

Me: {well of patience has now dried up} No, we’re eating right now an I’m going back to eat please leave us alone.

At this point I was turning to go back when...I’m not joking the woman reached over and grabbed Chip by his arm and tried to yank him out of my hold. I panicked I admit an dropped my water breaking the glass, I pulled Chip into a bear hug as the woman tried to pull him out. I was about to yell when who should come to our rescue then the hero’s of the Divine Comedy.

Dante slithered up in front of me and ‘flared up’ at the woman before Virgil let out a loud ‘HISS’ for good measure. It worked an the woman let go, backing up with her daughter behind her. I sorta fall back on my butt when the woman let go, the others heard the commotion and ran up to help.

Chip was shaken up but alright, his arm was okay an so was his shoulder. Juan yelled he was gonna call the cops if she didn’t leave, the woman shouted back she was gonna do the same thing on us for ‘attacking’ her. But she turned tail when Juan mentioned the cameras.

Meanwhile I was shaking like a leaf, Chip was trying his best to calm me down with Dante. He was rubbing my back while Chip was rubbing my face with his hands, heck even Virgil was trying to calm me down too by rubbing my head. Once I settled down we all went back to our table, Juan had radioed his boss and let him know what happened. The owner came out to check on us an he said our meal was on the house tonight for the trouble, I politely refused it but he insisted.

After a little while we all were going back to eating, I asked Juan about Virgil, I noticed how he was quick to come to my aid. Now I’m not an expert but I do know Kraits tend to be more on the shy side. He told me that Virgil will only hiss he’ll never bite an he only does that when someone is in danger like I was in...or he perceives as danger. It was something the two of them worked on together, I thought it was sweet.

We finally started eating, I got sushi and grilled fish. Things were uneventful after that, dessert was ice cream mochi. We’d have to be careful about people like this from now on if we’re gonna do “Lamia parties” in the future. We’d need to reserve more private venues inside or something.

On a slightly higher note Juan gave me his number so we could schedule meetings for our Lamias, Virgil doesn’t get out much and he really seemed to like my boys and he likes hanging out with me, he also knows his boyfriend would love to hang out with me too so its a win-win for all of us.

Thats it for this story, to Lamia owners out there be very careful when going out you never know when someone might do something...also wear a mask and be safe.

[For adoptions please speak to @vex-bittys]

[jounetsunosymphonia]

The Master Likes a Mystery (Mankai Stage Winter 2020 translation)

translation for the stage version of winter’s second play! the song can be listened to in full here.

some of the parts that are the same as the original are just combinations of the fantranslation on the wiki and the official english version bc i mean they’re already there come on.

cast list

Arisugawa Homare (Tanaka Ryousei) as Sagishima Tooru Mikage Hisoka (Ueda Keisuke) as Tojo Shiki Takato Tasuku (Kitazono Ryo) as Nakatsu Keiji Tsukioka Tsumugi (Aramaki Yoshihiko) as Souma Keiichi Yukishiro Azuma (Ueda Kandai) as Kusanagi Shizuma

mild warnings for murder (of course), and implied incest(?)

-

Keiichi: She was the perfect fiancee!

Keiji: Don’t go poking your noses where they don’t belong!

Shizuma: My sister was not a girl against whom one would hold a grudge.

Shiki: Surely you don’t mean to say that you think I killed her, do you?

Sagishima: Will you cease your search for the culprit, then?

All: The coleus flower’s meaning is…

-

Sagishima: Master Shiki. …Master Shiki. Master Shiki, the cyclamens are blooming beautifully in the garden. Do you know what they symbolise? (cyclamens are deep love and sincere affection. just a fun fact.)

Shiki: Sagishima. Why is it that even when I pay you no mind, you continue speaking to me nonetheless?

Sagishima: Were you ignoring me?

Shiki: I was thinking. I didn’t wish to be interrupted.

Sagishima: As I thought. Then, would you like to take a walk and see the cyclamens—

Shiki: I have no interest whatsoever in flower language. I have an important—

Sagishima: This is the time when the Kusanagi family’s daughter usually takes her walk, however.

Shiki: Let us leave at once! …I’d like to take a look at the cyclamens.

Sagishima: As expected of Master Shiki. Understood.

Sagishima, Shiki Master and butler Master and servant (different word! same translation! i suffer)

Shiki I’m the master

Sagishima And I am the butler

Shiki Is there really such a butler who won’t listen to what he’s told?

Sagishima: My, my. Even a dog could outsmart you, Master Shiki.

Sagishima, Shiki The master’s mesmerised by that girl!

-

Sagishima: Oh...? This scent is that of a coleus flower, is it not?

Shiki: This handkerchief…it’s…! Hey…isn’t that Miss Kusanagi collapsed over there? Sagishima, call for a doctor at once!

Sagishima: Master Shiki, please stay back! …it’s too late.

Shiki: What?

Sagishima: Miss Kusanagi…has already passed.

-

Sagi, Shiki, Keiji The victim is the Kusanagi family’s daughter—

Shiki: Why has such a thing become of her?

Keiji: Why was she in such a place?

Sagishima: Why does she have such an expression on her face?

Sagi, Shiki, Keiji The dead tell no tales So it is only from the evidence We can find the truth

Keiji: I’m Nakatsu Keiji, I’m in charge of this case.

Sagishima: Detective Nakatsu Keiji…names truly reveal one’s identity… (folks i’m not repeating the cagey nakatsu joke here you can go read a3en if u want it)

Keiji: So you were the ones to discover the body, hm?

Shiki: What’s with that attitude?

Sagishima: Master Shiki, please stop.

Keiji: What was your relationship to the victim? You were acquainted, weren’t you? Were you just friends? Or…?

Shiki: How rude! Surely you don’t mean to say that you think I killed her, do you?

Keiji: Well, if we investigate, we’ll find out either way.

-

[winter telepathic convo time part 1!]

Hisoka: (Alice and Tasuku are so annoying.)

Tasuku: (I’ll take that as a compliment.)

Hisoka: (You’re acting, so you’re a good kid.)

Homare: (Hisoka-kun, do you mean to say that I’m irritating even without acting?)

Hisoka: (That’s what I’m saying.)

Tasuku: (Minagi’s script is like this, so it’s interesting. Now, how will you do, Tsumugi, Azuma-san?)

-

Shiki: Sagishima. Look up Miss Kusanagi’s personal relations at once.

Sagishima: Needlessly meddling in others’ affairs is a terrible habit of yours.

Shiki: I’m being suspected of murder! Do you expect me to simply sit and twiddle my thumbs?

Shiki The suspects are those around Miss Kusanagi—

Shizuma: Why has such a thing happened to my sister?

Keiichi: Why has she suffered so?

Keiji: Why are these two here?!

Shiki The culprit is one of these people I’ll be sure to uncover the truth

Sagishima: Miss Kusanagi’s older brother, Kusanagi Shizuma, and her fiance, Souma Keiichi.

Keiji: Leave the investigation to the police. Don’t go poking your noses where they don’t belong!

Shiki: Once I find the culprit, you can take all the credit.

Keiji: You’re doing all this without a warrant—

Shizuma: I don’t mind. Finding my sister’s murderer is of the utmost priority. Keiichi-kun, don’t you agree?

Keiichi: Ah? Y-yes, of course.

Sagishima: Everyone, thank you for your cooperation. Now, if you will allow me to ask some questions about the incident.

Shizuma: My sister was not a girl against whom one would hold a grudge. She was smart, good-natured…a young lady loved by all.

Keiichi: She was the perfect fiancee. She would have practically been wasted on me…

Keiji: Neither of you would have any motive to kill her. (directed to shiki) And you wouldn’t have wanted to lose her, so…

Shiki: That’s it! I’ve solved the case!

Everyone except Shiki: What?

Sagishima, Shiki Assailant and victim Older brother and fiance

Shiki I’ve figured it out!

Sagishima Will this be alright…?

Shiki It’s a good thing I’ve read so many mysteries!

Sagishima: That is true. Master Shiki is a surprisingly avid reader.

All The master’s mesmerised by a mystery!

Shiki: The culprit…is you, Nakatsu Keiji!

Keiji: Wh—?! Why would I be the murderer?

Shiki: It’s a common mystery trope! The least likely character is usually the culprit.

Keiji: I can’t believe this slander. Now, if you’ll excuse me.

Shiki: See, look at that! There must be a shady side to him!

Keiichi: I-I’ll be taking my leave as well. I’ve been feeling rather unwell since her passing.

Sagishima: Master Shiki. Detective Nakatsu Keiji is not the culprit.

Shiki: What did you say—?! Don’t tell me you’ve already figured out who it is!

Sagishima: Well.

Shizuma: To think the detective could be the culprit…fufu. How thrilling. I didn’t get a particularly good impression of him, after all.

Shiki: He treated me like a suspect as well, so it’s only fair.

Shizuma: That’s the first time I’ve laughed since my sister’s passing. Fate truly does work in mysterious ways…who would have thought friendship could bloom from such unfortunate circumstances?

Shiki: Indeed. I think we’ll get along quite well.

-

[winter telepathic convo time part 2!]

Azuma: (A cuddler…a poet…an amnesiac…to think that the three of us would be acting together, fate really does work in strange ways, doesn’t it?)

Homare: (Oh! I’ve been struck by inspiration for a poem, Azuma-san! A nurarihyon on ice! An illusion without expression!) (a nurarihyon is a sort of youkai. you know. the usual alice stuff.)

Hisoka: (Alice. Concentrate on acting.)

Homare: (A-ah. Pardon me.)

Azuma: (Being onstage is truly amazing…here, we can take as many breaths as we need.)

-

Sagishima, Shiki Master and master A friend and a friend (wonderful, thank you. yes i checked this time and it is in fact the same word.)

Shiki Curiously, we get along

Sagishima That’s a relief to hear

Shizuma If you’d like, give this book a read

Sagishima: My, what an adorable bookmark. (he takes it from the book that shizuma is lending to shiki, and puts it in his pocket.)

Sagishima, Shiki The master’s unusual new friend!

-

Sagishima: Master Shiki. We’ve received…this. (he hands over the threat letter)

Shiki: “Don’t investigate any further.” Is this a threat? Now, what shall we do?

Sagishima: Nothing good can come of you getting that look on your face.

Shiki: What~? I’m only leaving a little bait.

-

(OK HELLO IF U CAN WATCH FOOTAGE OF THE SHOW PLEASE DO BC THE FIGHT NOISES ARE IN FACT SOMETHING FUN HAPPENING—as in the game, keiichi attempts to sneak into the tojo household, but this time sagi beats his ass and disarms him bc he has a knife (!?) it’s very very good and delicious i love stage sagi so much bye)

Keiji: That agility…just what are you?

Sagishima: I am only a simple butler.

Keiji: Souma Keiichi…to think that the culprit was you the entire time.

Keiichi: N-no! You’ve got it wrong! I didn’t kill her!

Sagishima: But Master Souma…is this not your handwriting?

Keiji: Well? What now, Souma.

Keiichi: …you’re right. But so what if it is?

Keiji: Eh?

Keiichi: I wasn’t the one who murdered her. I even failed my attack on Tojo Shiki. What’re you gonna take me in for? I haven’t committed any crimes.

Keiji: You really think that’s going to work?

Sagishima: Even if being taken in by the police would not cause you any harm, perhaps it would be an issue for you were Master Kusanagi to find out the truth?

Keiichi: You—!

Shiki: What’s the meaning of this, Sagishima?

Sagishima: I believe you should explain for yourself. It would clear you of all suspicion of the murder.

Keiichi: Tch. ...I was seeing other women. I only wanted to marry that girl for the money.

Shiki: What!

Keiji: You…

Keiichi: There’s no way I’d want to marry such a boring woman as that otherwise! But...I’d never worry for cash again as long as I lived.

Sagishima: Master Souma would never have murdered her without getting a hold of her fortune.

Keiji: Then...why did he go after Tojo-san?

Keiichi: If Mr. Kusanagi found out that I was messing around with other girls, I’d lose the support I was already getting. Geez...what kind of shit luck is this...if you were gonna die, couldn’t you have waited til after we’d already gotten married?!

Shiki: (punches keiichi in the face. deserved.)

Keiichi: (grabs shiki’s lapels) The hell are you doing in front of the detective?

Shiki: Detective. Did I do anything wrong?

Keiji: Hmm. I must’ve had something in my eye. Did I miss anything?

Shiki: No, not at all.

Keiji: I understand that you didn’t kill her. But between criminal intimidation and breaking and entering, it appears you might guilty of some other crimes, so I’ll have to take you in.

Keiichi: (makes a fucking run for it and almost goes at sagishima)

[winter telepathic convo time part 3!]

Hisoka: (Tsumugi’s acting so awful…)

Homare: (I nearly had to raise a hand against him!)

Tasuku: (It’s no good…he’s concentrating too hard.)

Hisoka: (Receiving feelings onstage and connecting them to the next play…)

Homare: (Acting is truly a wonderful thing, is it not, Hisoka-kun?)

Tasuku: (It’s great that you guys can understand that too.)

Tsumugi: (We’re counting on you two for the rest!)

(this part is really funny to me bc mugi sounds so gentle and they’re all so soft but also at the same time keiichi is struggling against being arrested and gets dragged off stage by keiji, the duality of man i guess)

-

Sagishima, Shiki The culprit wasn’t Keiichi

Shiki Who on earth could it be?

Sagishima The scent on the kerchief The truth cannot possibly be so kind

Shiki I want to know the truth

Sagishima: My, my, Master Shiki is…

-

Sagishima: Oh. That’s an interesting book you have there.

Shiki: I borrowed it from Kusanagi-kun.

Sagishima: I am glad you have found yourself such a good friend. Will you cease your search for the culprit, then?

Shiki: Whatever for? Of course not.

Sagishima: …I see.

Sagishima: The scent wafting from that book…It’s the scent of a coleus flower, is it not.

Shiki: Coleus…? Where have I…N-no. It can’t be. The one who killed Miss Kusanagi—!

(83723847236486th time but oh my god if you can watch it please do because the expression that shiki makes when he realises i just. i die. every time. it hurts so much uechan i’m going to fight you irl (said with love) )

Sagishima: This is why I asked if you would give up your search. You really are no smarter than a dog.

Shiki: But…why…why would he…?

Sagishima: Master Shiki. Do you know what the coleus flower symbolises?

Shiki: I’ve already told you, I have no interest in flower language!

Shizuma, Sagishima: An impossible love.

Sagishima: That is its meaning.

Shiki: …it was you, wasn’t it. You killed Miss Kusanagi.

Shizuma: I couldn’t stand the thought of my dear sister marrying that man! As long I’d realised his true nature…

Shiki: …Shizuma-kun…

Shizuma: Even so…I didn’t think there would be another man with such an interest in flower language as I.

Shiki: Oh…actually, the one who knew was—

Sagishima: My master is well-versed in many subjects.

Shizuma: My one miscalculation…was your involvement, Shiki-san.

Shiki: What a shame…and here I thought we could have been good friends.

(ok pain. you know how in the original, shiki’s like “ooh too bad you can’t lend me more books bc you’re the murderer.” in the stage ver, shiki tries to give back the book shizu lent him earlier on, and shizu just quietly puts a hand up like ‘no, keep it,’ and shiki looks so. pained. i hate it here.)

Sagishima: The detective is waiting outside.

Sagishima: Master Kusanagi, she was quietly stabbed from the front. There was no sign of struggle.

Shizuma: And what of it?

Sagishima: Perhaps Miss Kusanagi chose death at the hands of her beloved brother rather than be married to a man she did not wish to wed.

Shizuma: …thank you, butler.

Shiki: From the front…? Struggle…? I haven’t the slightest clue what any of this could mean. (sagi attempts to give him a hug) What is it?!

Sagishima: As expected from you, Master Shiki. You are—ah, never mind.

-

Shiki: …it was windy that day too, wasn’t it.

Sagishima: Are you all right?

Shiki: Why do you ask?

Sagishima: I think you might have been more upset about this case than...ah. Forgive my impertinence.

Shiki: Was that…concern? How revolting. What on earth are you thinking?

Sagishima: Only that…perhaps I am fonder of you than I had thought.

Shiki: …what a strange fellow.

[winter telepathic convo time part 4!]

Hisoka: (Didn’t need that adlib at the end.)

Homare: (I thought it would be alright to include our true feelings for once!)

Hisoka: (I didn’t want more lines.)

Homare: (But I’ve understood! I care for you more than I had thought!)

Hisoka: (I don’t really like you that much.)

(another thing i wanna point out: as shizu is getting taken away (at the second level of the stage), kusanagisis appears at the back of the stage, and he tries to approach her, but is led offstage by keiji. meanwhile shiki is staring up at him in pain. i die.)

then it just goes into es no yuuutsu here. i’m gonna put it anyway so u can read along and still suffer. eng tl from here ofc

Sagishima The worn out, sad love that

Shiki Aah, brought us two conspirators together

Sagishima, Shiki Has now become, the gentlest of dreams

Sagishima The exposed and scattered truth

Shiki All that remains are the footprints left behind

Sagishima Quietly

Shiki Telling the tale

Sagishima, Shiki With words of melancholy

Sagishima As if scorning everything

Shiki The eerily shining

Sagishima, Shiki Heat haze glimmers At least I will end it all for you By my very own hand Farewell, aah, sweet cruelty.

[danwhobrowses]

AEW Women’s Eliminator Tournament - Full Review

So as of tonight’s Dynamite the winner of the Eliminator Tournament is in the books, either Nyla Rose or Ryo Mizunami have overcome the other to earn the right to face Hikaru Shida at Revolution on Sunday

But now is time to look at the tournament as a whole and review how well AEW’s latest ambitious Women’s Division Project would/should be received

Warning: There will be immediate spoilers for the Winner under the ‘Keep Reading’, if you do not wish to know the Winner do not read until you have

So when the smoke cleared and the dust settled, Ryo Mizunami came out on top having pinned Nyla Rose for the win, claiming the spot at Revolution and the tournament.

Boy was my prediction wrong eh?

After being given the trophy by Shida however, Aniki refused to let go of the champion, trading and inviting blows from each woman until Shida was able to knock Mizunami down and raise the title aloft.

Was she people’s first choice to win? Probably not Is she an unworthy winner? Absolutely not

Mizunami is extremely experienced, her charisma can reach all ages, she has a genuine love for the wrestling (her sunglasses even have ‘I <3 AEW’ on them), she has aforementioned history with Shida and she went through 2 Fan-Favourites, the legendary Aja Kong and finally the previous Women’s Champion and No.1 Ranked Woman to get here.

And while we are on that topic, to the people who immediately condemned and criticized the tournament when Nyla made the finals: Don’t you get tired of being worked so easily? Honestly we had the exact same thing with the Deadly Draw, people don’t want competitor A (Nyla/Brandi and Allie) to win: so AEW put them in the finals so they root for competitor B (Aniki/Diamante and Iveliesse). Ye of so little faith

I also like to mention that it’s quite nice of Mizunami to be this rewarded by AEW and Shida given how she appeared on their first show at Double or Nothing, I didn’t know it at the time of my bracket rundown but apparently Mizunami was about to retire after DoN, but the crowd and energy of the match inspired her to keep going and push to reach a wider audience - which AEW is now letting her achieve.

Get it out of the way - The Negatives Make no mistake this tournament was great, but it doesn’t mean it was perfect. Of course my earliest criticism was that we could’ve had more, a bittersweet feeling I got when I realised the tournament was nearing its close. While yes it would’ve been nice to see the likes of Big Swole, KiLynn King, Allie, Penelope and perhaps even some debuts/returns, we cannot slight AEW too much for keeping the bracket small.

Time however was a bit of a constraint on AEW’s part. Having revealed late that the winner will face Shida for Revolution, the tournament matches started coming out fast...but on Youtube. Personally, I had no problem with the matches being a sole focus stream on Youtube, but I can also understand why not putting at least the entire American bracket on Dynamite would’ve hurt the tournament. If the tournament had more time I do believe that each match would’ve had a Dynamite showing and not a broken BR Live stream (but please note that BR Live were the problem there, not AEW).

A non-AEW criticism as well for Injury screwing over Anna Jay right as she was about to have her match, extremely rude of the world and we hope her shoulder heals up faster than usual.

The final criticism is probably with the BR Live US Bracket Finals video, simply put it was lacking compared to other streams. Madi vs Leva and Leyla vs Alize didn’t shine as much as Riho vs Rosa and the 6 Woman Joshi tag did in the prior stream, we could’ve probably gotten better matches out of that.

Why I loved it - The Positives I will look at anyone who says that this tournament was a waste and meaningless dead in the eye and tell them they are wrong, and they will be shocked to find that I am not lying.

The tournament not only put a lot of attention on the competing women but became a platform for AEW to show that they have some impressive women on their roster. The returns of Yuka, Emi and Riho paired with the stalwart performances of Baker, Rosa and Nyla as well as the bright showings of Madi, Anna, Tay Conti and Leyla shows that AEW still have a really good Women’s Division - I mean I love WWE but you have to admit their NXT women’s division bought many of their stars ready-made; Io, Toni, KLR, Meiko and Candice were already established names before WWE. Stack that on top of impressive performances by Red Velvet and Jade Cargill last night and the ranks of Big Swole, Allie, Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander, Shanna, KiLynn King and Tesha Price and you still have a strong division.

The tournament proved its worth also by the fact that there was not a single bad match on there, we had some bangers on each stage ranging from Yuka vs Emi, Rosa vs Riho, Nyla vs Baker and Leyla vs Rosa, among several others. The tournament succeeded in giving us great wrestling even with different formats of face vs face, heel vs heel, speed vs power, technique vs power, and even some new shades to the women such as heel Sakura and face Nyla.

I cannot praise the tournament without heaping a ton of praise on the Joshi. Shida and Kenny had always been adamant to show that the Joshi can be a revelation to Western audiences and they were paid in kind in that regard. All six Joshi brought out their A-Game to the point where several are asking for them to be signed, Sakura’s heel ‘Killer Queens’ faction rose interest with a fantastic entrance, while VENY dazzled with their gymnastic talent (and their wearing of the late Hana Kimura’s kimono), Mei Suruga and Yuka Sakazaki lit up the room with their speed and fun and Maki Itoh continues to be adored by the wider world into megastardom. The six woman tag as well was a nice cherry on the top to once again showcase the women, including Rin Kadokura who was fed to Aja Kong in the tournament, every bit of energy and charisma from the Joshi landed on the mark, it has opened several new fans to their home brands (TJPW however did kinda give away that Yuka wouldn’t win given how she was booked for one of their shows, but they’re still great) and have us gasping for more of those six and perhaps some extra, Miyu Yamashita for instance? Think about it TK

One thing that can really harm a tournament too is predictability, which this tournament did not have. You have to commend the balls of AEW to set up 5 fan favourite choices to win and have them each be felled and swerve the entire fanbase. It was for the most part good swerves as well, leading up to the Nyla work included, and actually made me feel like this tournament had big stakes for each member. People will criticize its unpredictability but I won’t be one of them, just because it didn’t go how you personally predicted it doesn’t mean it’s bad.

Also a stand out yes for Rosa’s several gear, especially the Selena one against Riho, and Hikaru Shida herself slaying it in the white suit, like lord almighty thank you for this food.

Was it worth it? - Conclusion This is an emphatic yes for me. AEW will always have its critics, fair and unfair, but if you have to wonder whether this tournament is a success you have to simply look at it this way

Were you entertained?

For me yes, there was a 100% consistency in good to great matches in this tournament paired with genuine surprises that got people talking and invested in the tournament itself.

Did it give you something fresh?

A dark horse winner who earned her way to face Shida for the 5th career time and 1st time in an AEW ring through outwrestling, outpowering and outwitting their previous opponents, unique heel/face changes and a showcase of new wrestlers and matchups? I’d say that’s a yes

Did anyone get over?

You ask anyone before this tournament was announced who Ryo Mizunami, Maki Itoh, VENY or Mei Suruga was and you’d likely get blank faces, thanks to AEW they are known and commended by several fans outside of Japan. You ask people if Tay Conti can bring a physical match to Nyla and almost win and you’d get a few murmurs, if you asked people if they though Kenny was valid for his push to bring the Joshi into a wider audience prior to this may’ve said no. Those minds were changed because these women got over. In addition to that the popularity of Thunder Rosa, Riho and Yuka Sakazaki has continued to rise as some of AEW’s top babyfaces, Leyla Hirsch, Emi Sakura and Tay Conti’s stock have rose thanks to the tournament and Nyla and Baker have delivered on strong match performances.

When you consider those three, there is no way you could call the tournament a failure or a waste, people benefitted from it in a good way which means it was a good tournament.

I for one will look forward to seeing Shida take on Aniki and see how it unfolds at Revolution - which I hope to do a review for, I’m also guessing that Paul Wight’s aquisition is either Christian or Okada. Many will of course assume that this is an easy retain for Shida (and act like winning the tournament means you should win the following match as if people don’t win the Royal Rumble/MITB/KOTR/Dusty Classic and lose in their title shot), but how many of those people thought that Itoh, Kong, Yuka and Nyla would beat Mizunami? She keeps on extending the party and coming out on top, you cannot underestimate the tournament winner, Shida produced this tournament, she’s picked her winner now she needs to fight them.