#i was gonna use this as a warm-up for maki fic but i Need to Sleep now...

[ponderingmoonlight]

Gojo's wife going berserk in order to protect her students

Pairing: Gojo x wife!reader

Word Count: 1,7k

Synopsis: Like your bad feeling already suggested, especially Toge's and Yuji's lives hang on a threat when their mission doesn't go as planned. Good for them that Gojo's wife and their teacher rushes to their side and shows everyone just how much she cares about them.

Warnings: language, violence (lol), again, (y/n) is a badass in this one

You can find Part l of that fic here

Your foot tabs against the metal of the chair, eyes swaying back and forth between the clock and door. It’s been way too long. Way too long for your students to be gone, way too long for them to arrive in safety.

It’s not like you didn’t have a bad feeling from the start. When your husband told you about the mission in an abandoned mall with only one grade 1 curse to defeat, you simply couldn’t believe it at first.

“Don’t worry about it, Gojo-sensei! Toge and I have everything under control!”

“Salmon”, Toge added with a friendly grin.

 You hated to let them go on their own. But after all, it’s not a secret how skilled your students are, their abilities might even surpass your own in a few years. Why would you have to be worry?

“Hey, still sitting here, handsome?”

A weak smile forms itself on your lips when none other than your husband sits down next to you and begins to draw small circles on your sensitive back.

“You’re worrying way too much babe, I’m sure both of them are fine. After all, Toge is with Yuji and proved often enough that he’s able to fulfil missions on his own.”

Deep down, you know that your husband is right, that you probably worry about nothing. But still, that bad feeling in your guts…

“Are you sure this was a grade 2 curse? Maybe the elders lied about that as well…”, you grumble, memories of your last encounter flooding your mind.

Would they really be so stupid as to pass you over again? You thought you made your point of view very clear when you threatened a whole room of elders back then…

“Nothing else was reported and the extent of destruction wasn’t bad enough for anything stronger than a grade 2 curse. Hey, look at me.”

Gently, your husband cups your face with both hands, staring at you intensely with his bright blue orbs.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, okay? You trained them so well, just relax a bit”, he purrs against your lips.

Your heart pounds against your ribcage in an instant, the way he looks down at you making your mouth water. How is it even possible for a human being to look this delicious?

“Maybe you’ll be able to distract me”, you mutter, arms wrapping themselves around your husband’s neck.

Oh, the way he presses his warm body against your aching one makes your crotch throb and breath hitch. Despite the fact that you are married for over 5 years by now, he sweeps you off your feet like on day one.

“I wonder what you wear underneath that uniform today…”

“(y/n), you need to-“

Megumi stops in his tracks, eyes widen in pure horror while he desperately tries to shove Panda and Maki out of the room.

“What are you doing here?”, you breathe out in utter surprise, cheeks still hot and pink by the way your husband touched you just seconds ago.

Oh god, this is so uncomfortable. Especially Megumi is like your very own child since Satoru decided to raise him. And the disgusted face Maki makes…

“Get yourself together Fushiguro”, she hisses while clearing her throat.

“Ijichi informed us about the fact that something seems to be off regarding Itadori’s and Inumaki’s mission. He couldn’t reach you himself, so he sent us to let you know you should support them.”

“Well, at least now we know why she didn’t answer her phone…”

“SHUT UP PANDA, THIS IS SERIOUS!”

Your heart nearly stops, all the desire you felt just moments ago dies in an instant. Did you hear that correctly? Something seems to be off? You’ve had a bad feeling about this right from the start, didn’t want both of them to go on their own. And now…

Now their lives might be in serious danger.

“I’m leaving right now”, you reply in an instant, already on your way to the door when your husband grabs your hand.

“Wait, we don’t even know what’s going on. Normally I’m the one who jumps into conclusions.”

“They are my students and it is my responsibility to make sure they’re safe, Satoru. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror tomorrow if I let them down now. Yuji is still in his first year and unexperienced when it comes to fighting. And while Toge is very skilled and thoughtful, even his abilities have their limits. I’ll do whatever I can to protect them if I have the chance.”

With a small smile he lets go of you, looking after your confident walk out. Oh, whatever is responsible for that mess will definitely pay for it.

-at the curtain-

“I came as fast as I could. What is the problem?”, you ask Ijichi the minute you get out of the car.

“Even though I’m not entirely sure, there might be the possibility that another curse appeared within the curtain…”, he slowly begins.

That fearful look on his face paired with the sweat on his forehead…No, this isn’t a speculation. Another curse appeared in there for sure.

“Who was responsible for investigating here before? How careless”, you hiss through gritted teeth.

Ijichi swallows hard. You are a true sweetheart, everyone’s favourite back at Jujutsu High. But when it comes to your students, you change drastically. Your eyes harden, usual so kind face turning stone cold. You shove what looks like an asthma spray into your pocket.

“Whatever, this is not the right time to search for whoever screwed up. My students need me.”

With fast and confident steps, you walk through the curtain with ease.

 Only to be greeted by pure chaos.

Only to be greeted by Toge, who lays in front of you unconscious.

Fuck. Your heart hammers against your chest, hands clenching into fists in an instant. No, this wasn’t a grade 2 curse. This has to be something bigger, something that shouldn’t be here.

“Gojo-sensei!”, Yuji screams on top of his lungs while being chased by a grotesque creature.

You can tell by one look that this is a grade 1 – strong, but not unbeatable especially for both boys. So what caused this chaos? What is going on here?

Without thinking twice, you sprint towards the pink-haired boy, crushing the curse behind him with your bare fist.

“Yuji, are you alright? Did you get hurt? What happened to Toge?”

You scan his body for visible injuries, a wave of relief washing over you when all you are able to detect are a few bruises and scratches.

“There…There…Are…So…Much…M-more…”

He can’t catch his breath, completely exhausted by the fight that has to be on for hours by now.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here now. Would you please hurry to Toge and give him this medicine? I will take care of whatever is left here”, you ensure him gently, your hand running up and down his back.

“Gojo-sensei, watch out!”

Just in time, you position yourself in front of Yuji. Just before he gets hit by the merciless attack of another curse, just before a whole wave of monsters rushes towards you.

“Do what I told you. I have your back.”

And again, you dash forward. These fuckers have some nerves, injuring both of your students so badly. Why are they here? How was it even able for them to stay in the shadows with no one noticing their presence?

“You have some nerve”, you hiss towards them.

“Hurting two of my students. I’ll make you regret even existing.”

Slash after slash, fist after fist you tear them to the ground, body almost swallowed by purple blood that soaks through your uniform without mercy. No one is able to hurt your precious students without paying for it. No curse, no elders, no jujutsu sorcerer.

“Are you here to protect those boys? Pathetic, all of you will die right here”, a distorted voice behind you barks.

“I’m here to kill everyone who gets in my way. Especially fuckers like you.”

You sprint forward, sight completely numbed by the thick rage that runs through your veins. The way your fists fly through the air at neck-breaking speed leaves Yuji speechless next to Toge’s unconscious body, eyes not even able to follow your rapid movements. He has never seen you like this, so full of fury with your face distorted by hatred. Of course, it was never a secret to anyone at Jujutsu High that you are strong, rumours saying you even threatened the elders for your student’s sake. But at this very moment, you look almost possessed, slaughtering curse after curse until nothing except for purple rain is left of them.

“Hey, are you okay?”, you request towards Yuji softly, your hand placed on his shoulder.

There you are again, the (y/n) he knows and admires, the kind woman everyone at Jujutsu High talks so highly about. The only thing revealing what you did earlier being the purple blood still sticking to your whole body. Otherwise, your face looks as flawless as ever, eyes gleaming in kindness while you inspect Toge’s body.

“It seems like he’s worn-out, but otherwise fine. Did he take his throat medicine? His cursed speech demands a lot from him and sometimes, Toge seems to be unable to assess his own situation.”

Yuji just stares at you shamelessly, how you caress Toge’s cheek with as much care as usual. Was that really you who just slaughtered at least 50 curses within the span of a few minutes? Was it really you who spoke to one of the curses earlier with your voice frightening cold?

“Is something wrong, Yuji?”

“It’s just…I’ve never seen you like this, Gojo-sensei. You were so badass”, the boy next to you breathes out.

“Let me tell you something: No one on this earth is able to hurt my students without backlash. Whoever hurts any of you will get hurt by me. Or killed.”

“Gojo-sensei is really lucky to have a wife like you”, Yuji suddenly blurts out.

You can’t help but giggle, carefully lifting Toge’s numb body off the ground and through the disappearing curse.

“Oh, please tell him exactly that when we’re back.”

Tags: @arehzhera @ploylulla @tzubaki @beatrexworld @kenstarsworld @dazaisdick @hellkaiserinphoenix  @lauv4chuuya @shadowfoxey @starlightanyaaa @sindela @kayleegomez @sunshine7queen @magalimachete @mokoartpost @gatitam @idontknow1123 @creative1writings @sanicsmut  @mynahx3 @sad-darksoul @chilichopsticks @hellkaiserinphoenix @chuyasthighs0 @ynackerman9499 @keepghostly @wxwieeee @lovelyluna1 @froufrousnowman @hidazinie @tomiokathedepresso  @gojosrealwife  @coffeeluvr96 @mahi-tamashi @weebotaku21 @chaoticwinnercupcake @lees-chaotic-brain  @risuola  @sugurulefttesticle @wordskeeper @baku2345 @polarbvnny @ruixrei @bam-bam-bam-bame-blog @lavenderdrxp @localhehecat @alicerhr @kayleegomez @yoonseokerist @suyaaachin @arehzhera @v3-mewcat @dlwlrmas-world @madebyperfectaddiction

[greycaelum]

Good morning! First of all, thank you for all your fics and stories. You have done so much, you made so many people happy! I would like to know one thing. After Satoru came back home, after that horrible incident in Shibuya, I wonder if Kouki asked about Nanami and Yaga? Like...Why don't Nana-chi and Yaga-tan visit us anymore? Where are they? When are they gonna come back?

Hi! Now you're making me cry, thank you so much for such kind words and whenever you guys visit and tell me how much my works makes you happy that also warms my heart and brightens my day so much!

Lemme do a small scenario for that, I'm a little out of disposition to write for a whole chapter of Clouds and Mochi at the moment do bear with me in this one

"Papa? Can we visit Nanachi? I miss him."

Kouki blink up to his Papa after Satoru read him a bedtime story.

"..." Satoru was tongue tied, unable to move from the chair as he look at his son tucked underneath the covers, waiting for his answer. How can he explain it to his four years old son without breaking the mochi's heart?

"Yaga-tan doesn't give me teddy bears anymore. He doesn't miss me? He never called me to visit him again," Kouki's lower lip jutted in disappointment. "Megu-nii and other brothers and sisters doesn't come to play with me anymore. Maki-nee promised to give me a bow but she doesn't visit me too."

Satoru smoothed his son's long arctic mane as he rambled.

"You want to see them?" He asked softly. Pushing his glasses higher to hide the faltering of his gaze.

"Umu," Kouki nod.

"We can visit them tomorrow, so you have to sleep now or else we'll be late." Satoru leaned down to kiss the mochi's forehead.

"Good night Papa!" Kouki smiled brightly, pleased that he's going to meet his favourite uncle and grandfather-figure tomorrow.

"G'night Kikufuku," Satoru switched off the lamp and quietly exited the room.

"I'll be right here," you pat Satoru's shoulders and sit on the bench underneath a large tree.

"Call me if anything happens." Satoru kissed your lips and soon the mochi interrupted.

"Papa, what's those stones?" Papa pointed to the large stones erected in lines.

"You'll know later, we need to get water first," Satoru tug the little mochi leaving you to get water from the well.

Kouki roamed his eyes but saw not a shadow of Nana-chi or Yaga-tan. Megu-nii and the others are not here too. This is the first time he visited large stones lined up, with carvings on the surface.

"Let's go," Satoru carried a pail and Kouki followed him. They arrived in front of a large stone with the carvings that read:

Nanami Family Grave

Satoru joined his hands and Kouki followed his Papa. After, Satoru poured water over the stone grave, slowly, to wash it and extended the dipper to his son.

"Pour water gently on the stone."

Confused, Kouki followed and soon Satoru lighted the candle and incense once again joining his hands to pray. Kouki watch his father with a complex look not understanding anything.

"Kikufuku," Satoru turned to Kouki after a long silence. "See this grave here, Nana-chi is resting here."

...

Kouki inclined his head to the side, waiting for his Papa to continue. What's Nana-chi doing in the stone?

"Nana-chi and Yaga-tan can't come visit us anymore because they're resting," Satoru held his son's arms.

"They can visit after they wake up," Kouki reasoned out.

"You see Kikufuku, when people are resting in the stones like this. They're gonna sleep forever."

"Forever?"

"They won't wake up anymore, they're gonna go to the other world and be reincarnated again." Satoru explained and watch Kouki's eyes watered.

"Nana-chi is not a stone!" He wailed, dropping to the ground and burst into cries. "N-nana—" he cried and cried unable to speak that Satoru could only watch him bawl his hearts out.

"It's alright," Satoru wipe the tears on his son's cheeks, "You can cry as much as you want. It's alright."

For a four years old, he couldn't really understand what his Papa meant about other world, reincarnated and whatever else earlier. But for Kouki the mere thought of Nana-chi and even Yaga-tan not coming to visit him and not waking up anymore is more than enough to break his heart apart.

"N-nana-c-chi!" Kouki hiccuped between sobs and hug the wet stone as Satoru watch him, rubbing his back and soothing him with his words until he grew tired and cried himself to sleep.

You watch Satoru carrying Kouki in his arms. Last night when he told you he's going to visit Nanami and Yaga-san's grave with Kouki you were worried and yet at the same time relieved that they're trying to face the reality.

Dead people won't come back. We can only pray for the safe passage of their souls.

"Is he alright?" You stood up and opened your arms for Satoru.

"He cried until he slept."

You watch Satoru hug his son's small body as close as possible to his arms. No words to offer you envelope your arms and stood in your tiptoes to kiss your husband's cheeks who look at you in silent adoration and gratitude.

"Let's go home Love?"

Later that night Kouki suddenly got a fever. And the doctor couldn't find anything wrong, later then surmised that it was from stress and it should go on it's own after a good rest. The whole time Satoru was there by Kouki's side to watch over the mochi.

"You should sleep you've been awake the whole night," you brush your thumb across his tired eyes.

"Later, when he wakes up, you should rest. It's not good for you and the baby," Satoru place his hand above your belly.

"I'll be oka—"

You stop when Kouki move and slowly blink to wake up, looking at you and Satoru with groggy eyes.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" You asked and Kouki called for Satoru who immediately went to his son's side.

"Papa can we visit Nana-chi and Yaga-tan? I will bring them casse-croute and teddy bears so they won't get lonely when they're sleeping."

Satoru immediately nodded more than happy to see Kouki speaking and awake.

"Okay, we'll visit them. So get well soon Kikufuku. Got it?"

"Got it Papa."

"Go to sleep," Satoru urged him and kissed his forehead.

"Papa?" Kouki hummed, eyes starting to drop.

"Hmmm?"

"Love you," Kouki mumbled.

...

"I love you too Kikufuku."

Valentine's fluff ain't enough to stop angst😹

—Grey,

[ryqoshay]

Putting on Hairs - Post Production: Nico is Cold

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Rating: G Words: 526 AU: Theater, Monsters, Cryptids Fandom: Love Live Parent Fic: Putting on Hairs - Post Production Time Frame: Sometime after the main story Event: Promptober 2022 Event Source: Idol Fanfic Heaven channel on Discord Prompt: Jacket

---------

Author’s Note: Bonus 2nd entry for Oct 7th

Sumary: Nico is cold

---------

Nozomi shivered. Eli removed her jacket and draped it around her girlfriend’s shoulders. Nozomi leaned in closer. Eli wrapped an arm around her shoulders as well.

This gave Nico an idea.

Nico shivered and glanced at her girlfriend. No response.

“Maki-chan, Nico is cold.” Nico gave voice to her actions, even intentionally exaggerating her shivering.

“Yeah, well I can’t exactly control the weather, Nico-chan.” Maki responded. “Where is your jacket?”

“I didn’t think I’d need one. Where is yours?”

“I don’t need one.”

Ah. Of course Maki didn’t need a jacket. Being a Char… salamander, Maki was able control her internal temp… wait…

“I thought salamanders were cold blooded?” Nico thought aloud.

“They are.” Maki confirmed.

“So…?”

“In which case a jacket wouldn’t help, as they do not generate body heat of their own to be trapped by the garment. In fact, a jacket could potentially be detrimental as it would also prevent the transfer of heat in from the environment.”

Nico pursed her lips. “But it’s cold out, so why isn’t Maki-chan cold?”

“I’m not cold blooded.”

“Maki-chan says that, but won’t give her girlfriend her jacket…”

“Well you could transform and use your fur to keep you warm.” Maki pointed out. “However I didn’t bring a leash…”

Nico growled at the weredog implication.

“Maybe a partial transformation, like the hybrid forms our costumes were supposed to represent?” Maki suggested, making mention of the werewolf outfits they had both worn for the theater’s first production.

“I’m not gonna do that in public.” Nico stated decisively.

“It’s close enough to Halloween, I doubt anyone would notice.” Maki pointed out. “And we’re in the theater district, it wouldn’t be the strangest thing anyone might see.”

“I…”

“Mm?”

“I don’t know how to take a hybrid form…” Nico admitted. “If I did, I wouldn’t have needed the costume.”

“Ah.”

“And… all joking aside, I am actually kinda cold.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“?!” Nico startled as she felt Maki’s hand land on her shoulder and pull her in to her side.

Wait. Wait. Wait. Woah. Hold on. Maki-chan is initiating affection? In public?!

Nico glanced up to see scarlet painted across her girlfriend’s face. Cute.

A moment later, warmth radiated off Maki.

Did she light herself on fire? Nico pondered. No, I’d’ve smelled that. I guess Maki-chan really can regulate her internal temperature.

For all of half a second, Nico considered pushing herself up to peck a kiss on Maki’s cheek as thanks for the warmth. However, just as quickly, she dismissed the idea as she realized it would most likely embarrass Maki past her breaking point and cause her to pull away, which would deprive Nico of this newly found heat source that had immediately become her favorite.

“I thought Maki-chan couldn’t control the weather.” Nico decided to tease instead.

“I… can’t…” Maki’s tone made it clear she was still working through her embarrassment. “At least… not on a scale that could be considered weather. But… locally… uhm, extremely locally, I can do this.”

Nico hummed happily and nuzzled in closer. “Thanks Maki-chan.”

The couple settled into a comfortable quiet as they continued to wait for their train.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: Not the first time I’ve written Nico seeking Maki’s warmth, and it definitely won’t be the last.

[catgrump]

'Never speak of this again' with maybe... hmmm... something that happened between Maki and Kaito? 👀 sfw or nsfw, I do not mind 👁👄👁

WELL, since you gave me the option...

We are BACK to Horny Hills to write one of my favorite couples 😍

College AU, warning for Sexual Content, read it under the cut 🤪

🌹🌹🌹

Maki stared at the ceiling of Kaito’s apartment bedroom, watching the projected stars dance around

The music was soft and relaxing, and she was warm, nuzzling her head into his chest.

He was humming along to the music, scrolling through his phone with one hand and running his fingers through her hair with the other

As calm as the scene was, Maki was restless. She’s been seeing Kaito for about a month now, and every time they hang out at his place, she’s gotten more and more... curious.

But she doesn’t know how to ask. He’s always the one to initiate, but Maki can tell he never wants to be presumptuous or take things too far. Maki, however, gets flustered VERY easily.

She wrapped a leg over his legs, trying somehow to let him know she wanted to get physical.

She felt his chest rise and fall with his soft laughter. He put his phone down on the table beside his bed and rolled over to face her, kissing her forehead and pulling her close. “What’s up, baby?” His voice was soft and hot on her skin

He started calling her ‘baby’ so quickly. She didn’t know how to react, but he just kept calling her ‘baby’ and now she loves it.

She responded by kissing him with her arms around his neck, and he’s quick to kiss back. His kisses are comforting and gentle and smiley.

He pulled back and asked with a laugh, “Do you want something?”

Maki averted her eyes and felt the blush she tries so hard to hide creep to her face. “Yeah,” she muttered into Kaito’s sweatshirt

He brushed his thumb across her cheek and said, “What’s on your mind, baby?”

Kaito always tries to get Maki to speak up. But that’s way more difficult for Maki than Kaito imagined it would be. “I... I want you,” Maki’s face was bright red now, and she couldn’t look him in the eye even if she wanted to

“Hm?” Was Kaito really going to need more specifics?

His face suddenly lit up. “Maki... are you asking for sex?”

Yes, dumbass. She nodded her head, still trying to control the blush on her face.

“Come here, baby,” he cooed in a low voice, bringing her in for another kiss that was deep and slow, making Maki melt into his arms

His hand moved to Maki’s thigh, brushing the hem of her dress up her leg, making Maki twitch and hum.

Kaito hummed back, moving to kiss her neck, smiling as he applied pressure, feeling Maki practically go limp already

“Is this okay?” He whispered in her ear as his fingers found her panties, gently brushing back and forth with a little bit of force

She whined through her tight lips and shut eyes, nodding ‘yes’.

He watched her as her breathing hitched the more he touched her, savoring how much she was enjoying it

His hand slipped under the waistline and he started rubbing small circles on her clit with his thumb and teased his finger, hoping the anticipation would make her wet.

Maki’s hands tugged at her underwear, and Kaito quickly paused to let Maki pull them off. She also slipped her dress over her head, revealing a stunning red bra with black lace trim. She’s gorgeous. Kaito already thought she was beautiful, but being able to see her body like this only elevated her beauty.

Kaito tossed his sweatshirt aside, wanting to feel his skin on hers.

She was laying on her back now, and Kaito went back to her side to kiss her some more as he brought his hand back to where it was, this time bringing his finger inside as he pressed on her clit harder

She hummed, smiling as her head fell back on the pillow.

He could feel her becoming more and more turned on as he worked his finger in and out of her, and he hungrily sucked the skin on her neck. She gasped out and he added a second finger, making her gasp again and bite her lip

“You gotta let me know when you’re ready, baby,” he sighed against her neck, unzipping the fly of his pants

She was so slick against his fingers, but he’s not going to move forward without permission.

She suddenly opened her eyes and looked up at Kaito with a look that made his dick beg for release. “Fuck me. Please.”

Kaito had to bite his lip to hold back. That was the most direct she’s ever been and it was the sexiest thing he’s ever heard.

He was now completely undressed, and Maki’s hand went from clutching the bedsheets to touching herself when she saw his dick— she wanted him, but she wasn’t expecting to want him so much more now.

His body was against hers as he continued to kiss her— this time with some aggression— as one hand undid the clasp of her bra behind her back.

She was too distracted by his shaft grazing across her, bucking her hips as if that would bring him inside her, so Kaito slid the bra off her arms and grinned upon seeing the breasts he’s felt under her shirts for so long.

They fit perfectly into his hands. He fondled one in his right palm, toying with her nipple between his fingers, relishing in feeling her squirm for him

“Kaito,” she gasped, “Get a condom.”

She felt a wetness from him on her thigh when she said that and resumed touching herself in his absence. He tried not to get distracted from retrieving the condom and putting it on as he watched Maki slide her fingers in and out of herself and try to repress her whines

He was ready to go, straddling her and spreading her legs, exposing just how dripping wet she had become. “I like hearing you, baby,” he told her, kissing her knee

“Shut up,” she pouted

He laughed, and kissed her knee again, “Are you ready?”

“Yes, just give it to me, please,”

Hearing her beg for him drove him nuts. She’s never like this and it’s so god damn hot.

He leaned over her and guided himself inside, and Maki was suddenly loud. Her gasps turned into shouts as she felt his cock slowly push inside her. Kaito grabbed on to the hand Maki placed beside her head and put his right hand on Maki’s hip. “You okay?” He breathily asked

“It’s so good,” she sighed, making Kaito start to thrust

“God, keep talking, baby,” he said between grunts as he tried to go deeper

She wasn’t talking as much as she was moaning and screaming, but it was making Kaito just want to fuck her harder. He didn’t realize how much she wanted this.

He lifted her hips up and her legs wrapped around his back, bringing them closer than before, and Maki was not holding back. Her hips were pulling Kaito’s cock as far in as she could get it, and Kaito’s hair was falling in his face as he looked down at her gorgeous face, now contorted with pure ecstasy.

“You like it, huh?” Kaito squeezed her hand tighter and picked up his pace as he managed to speak, “Yeah I bet you fucking do,” he breathed against her neck, just rocking his hips into her

“Kaito,” she moaned his name as she clasped her arms behind his back, bringing their bodies flush

He was going even faster now, “I love hearing you talk, baby; I love hearing my name—“

And she did it again, followed by a long, loud cry of perverted delight right next to his ear, the cry bouncing from her as she moved against the mattress

She was gasping again, now arching her back, calling out “That’s it! That’s it!”

“Fuck, Maki,” he groaned, moving his hand from her hip to the small of her back, pulling her up into his body even more

And with a final shout as Kaito held on to her, continuing to pound his cock in and out of her, Maki was convulsing, grabbing Kaito’s back for stability as she came, and feeling the sensation around his dick made Kaito follow shortly after

They steadied their breathing as Kaito’s thrusts slowed down, letting them come down from the orgasmic high they just experienced.

Kaito laughed as he gently pulled out, disposed of the condom, and collapsed beside her, pulling her back to him.

“Never speak of this again,” Maki said, muffled against him

Kaito laughed again, this time with a mixture of confusion and joy, “What? I’m not the kind of guy to brag to my buddies about the sex I have—“

“It’s not like me to... give in like that,” she muttered, seemingly embarrassed, but still wanting to be close to him

Kaito peppered smiley kisses on her forehead before assuring her “Hey, no one needs to know, okay? It was between the two of us, so it’ll stay between the two of us. I know you have a tough reputation to uphold.”

Maki nuzzled her head into his bare chest as a thank you. After catching their breath a bit longer, Kaito asked “You did like it, right?”

“Y-yeah,” Maki was still having trouble getting the words out, but she felt a bit better about speaking up now, “It was r-really good. I’ve never had... anyone make me cum like that before.”

He held her tighter and kissed her forehead again. “I’m glad I could make you feel good, baby. Lemme know if you ever want to do it again, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah I’m gonna want to do it again.”

Prompt from This List: feel free to send a request!

If you like my work, you can buy me a Ko-Fi if you’re able 💛 Fics will always be free: this is an additional way to support me

[mithranqueersmusings]

I Think I'll Love You Too II

Chapter: 2/?

Rating: U

Summary: George and Ringo have been going out officially for a couple of months. Ringo anticipated that dating a stripper would be complicated, but he didn't understand exactly how complicated it would be.

Tags: Modern AU, Established Relationship

Pairing: George Harrison/Ringo Starr (Background McLennon)

AO3 link here / Fic masterlist here

The following clean-up from their nocturnal experiment was far from easy, the wax seemed to crumble into tiny pieces and was determined to cover each inch of the carpet. George was insistent on doing most of the work, a struggle of manners ensued in which Ringo was adamant that he should help but eventually gave in and took up George's offer to relax in the bath.

Soaking in the warm water, Ringo's mind began to wander to their first official date. It seemed like such a long time ago now, although it had only been a couple of months at the most. Ringo could vividly picture arriving at George's house for the first time and picking him up for dinner, bruises still dotted across George's pale skin from the somewhat embarrassing but retrospectively rather comical fall at the club. Ringo had struggled to figure out the best place to take George, unfortunately the only advice available was John's.

"He's a vegetarian." Ringo emphasised for the fourth time, John had once again offered up a meat-only establishment.

"Oh, well you could've told me sooner." John scoffed, sometimes Ringo couldn't tell whether he was joking or truly that oblivious.

"What about sushi? That can be veggie, right?" Ringo was fiddling with a bouquet of flowers that had been left on John's kitchen counter, a small card had the name 'Paul' written on it, punctuated with a kiss.

"Sure." John offered "You could always, and hear me out, ask where he wants to go."

Ringo rolled his eyes "Great advice John, thanks. What if he doesn't know either?"

"Then you're both helpless and you belong together."

In the end Ringo had settled on sushi, which only calmed his panic somewhat because he still had to find which sushi place was best. He'd forgotten all about how stressful dating could be, and it'd been a long time since he'd been a proper date. Eventually he settled on a fairly affordable place that wasn't too far from his house, he felt rather silly calling up to make a reservation an hour in advance but he didn't want to risk embarrassing himself by not having a table booked.

This struggle with the restaurant left Ringo only an hour to get himself looking presentable for the date, his closet was emptied onto the floor and bed as he rummaged around for something suitable. He felt like making more of an effort than usual, this was one date he didn't want to screw up, especially knowing how fashionable George was likely to look. In the end he settled on a paisley blazer, it had been a gift from John years ago and had hardly been worn, and a black shirt underneath which he experimented with the buttons of.

He left himself just enough time to brush his teeth, sort out his hair and tidy the room as quickly as he possibly could. Hurrying over to George's in the car, he'd almost forgotten to be nervous about the date itself. Almost forgotten, because as soon as he knocked on George's door Ringo felt a wave of dread washing over him. He hadn't even thought of any conversation starters, or what he was going to order at the restaurant. As he waited for an answer, the dread only festered further. Yet once the door finally opened, revealing George draped in a decorative kimono, all fear subsided.

"Hi." Ringo spoke, suddenly sheepish.

"Hey." George replied with a grin, stepping out onto the street and locking the door behind him.

The two of them looked at one another for a few moments, eyes tracing from head to feet with no words being said. George was wearing makeup: his eyes darkened with liner and mascara, his gaunt cheekbones sparkling with highlight and his lips painted a tempting shade of red. Ringo could see that he'd tried to use foundation to cover over the bruises on his face but it wasn't entirely successful, not that it mattered.

"You look great." Ringo managed to get out without stumbling over his words as they walked over to his car.

"Thanks, so do you." George responded but Ringo supposed he was only trying to be polite.

Passing a shop window, Ringo stole a glance at the reflection and found himself presently surprised at how good the two of them looked together. Ringo was even beginning to believe George's compliment, a surge of confidence arising merely from being stood next to George. He'd anticipated that George would only make him look worse, but there was something complimentary in how the two of them were dressed. It was a small boost that Ringo needed to quash his nerves, he was determined to not ruin the night just because he was feeling anxious.

"So... Where are we headed?" George asked, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"Sushi." Ringo replied more curtly than intended "Is that alright?"

"I love sushi." George answered cheerily.

"What a relief." Ringo chuckled "I'm not gonna lie I was struggling to find a place to eat, with you being a vegetarian and all."

George paused for a moment "You remembered that?"

"Of course I did." Ringo panicked for a moment, afraid he'd said the wrong thing and given too much away but the smile that spread across George's painted lips calmed him back down.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the restaurant, it was rather busy but not so much that it would become uncomfortable. Ringo still couldn't believe his luck, that he'd actually been able to get a date with George. Looking back on how their relationship started, it was strange to consider that they'd end up here.

"Is your face alright?" Ringo asked when they'd been seated, it was hard to not notice the swelling on George's lip.

"Oh yeah, it's fine." George provided evidence with a genuine smile "I've had way worse, don't worry."

"You fall over a lot then?" Ringo joked, looking down at the menu and feeling a little intimidated by the amount of choice.

"Only when I know you're there to catch me." George winked "No, I've had my fair share of scraps here and there. That's just life, isn't it?"

Ringo chuckled "Not in my line of work, no."

"Don't be so modest, I haven't forgotten when you beat up that creep in the club." George was studying his menu with far less fear than Ringo "Any idea what you're gonna order?"

"Haven't the faintest." Ringo read the same words over and over again as though it'd help him understand "What about you?"

"Hmm, I think so." George answered with a confidence Ringo envied "Want some help?"

"Please." Ringo smiled sheepishly, laying down his menu and looking to George for assistance.

The date was hardly going as Ringo had anticipated, but while George went through dishes on the menu with a clear expertise Ringo couldn't stop himself from smiling. The intimidating Spike was describing in detail the difference between maki and temaki with such delicacy, it was such a strange moment of realisation for Ringo that made him truly understand how far they'd come. Ringo realised too late that he hadn't been listening to what George had been saying but it didn't matter in the end because George ordered for the both of them.

"So..." George began, drink in hand.

"So." Ringo repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"How long have you been waiting to take me out?" George asked with a knowing smile.

Ringo half expected this line of questioning to begin, he only wished he'd prepared some answers "Does it make a difference?"

"I'm just curious." George leaned in a little closer, a devilish look in his eyes.

Ringo sighed "Now I'm debating whether to lie so you don't think I'm a loser."

"I wouldn't bother with that, I already know you're a loser Ringo." George spoke deadpan, staring without expression then burst into laughter "I'm sorry, I had to."

"And that's meant to encourage me to be honest?" Ringo laughed nervously.

"Come on, tell me." George sounded almost whiny, a tone Ringo had heard before but never in regular conversation.

"Fine, fine." Ringo conceded after drinking his beer "In all honesty it was probably the first time I saw you... Not that I thought you'd ever say yes, of course."

The answer seemed to satisfy whatever itch George had "Really? I'm that good looking am I?"

"Not to sound cliché, but have you seen you? I don't think I've seen anyone more attractive." Ringo spoke somewhat seriously.

George blushed just slightly, having to look away from Ringo's intense gaze "You're sweet. But why were you even in the strip club in the first place? You didn't seem too at home, at least from what I remember."

Ringo felt rather complimented that George even remembered how he'd been acting all that time ago, he'd always supposed he hadn't left much of an impression at all and whatever he did was surely negative.

"John dragged me there. He, uh-" Ringo stopped himself before saying too much "Thought it'd cheer me up."

George squinted his eyes in suspicion "What aren't you telling me?"

Ringo paused, debating the best verbal exit strategy but the good beer and even better food was slowing his thought processes "Uh... Nothing?"

"Oh come on." George kicked Ringo lightly under the table "You think I'm gonna judge you?"

"Well, yes... But fine, I'll tell you." Ringo chuckled, pausing for an anticipatory breath "I'd been going through a bit of a... dry spell, so to speak."

A grin spread across George's face "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Ringo repeated, hiding his shame behind his beer.

"I find it hard to believe that you were having a 'dry spell'." George rested his hand on Ringo's own, his finger tracing around the metal of the rings.

"Well, I'd, er- I'd still be having one if you hadn't come along." Ringo stammered "Shit, that sounds really pathetic, doesn't it?"

"Just a tad." George smiled reassuringly "I'm just glad I could be of service."

"For a while you were making it worse, actually." Ringo had finished his beer and was itching for another "With all my pent up frustration and then I see you undressing on that stage, I nearly lost my mind."

George chuckled, looking rather proud of himself "I can only apologise for being so tempting." He emphasised the word by running his tongue over his top lip onto his sharp canine tooth.

"No need to apologise, it's your job after all." Ringo tried to remain composed "And in the end it all worked out so... No harm done."

"My aching body disagrees." George pouted his still somewhat swollen lip.

"Well... That was your own fault really." Ringo joked, finally catching the waiter's eye so that he could order another beer.

"You're right, you're right." George's hand was still pressed against Ringo's "Hopefully from here on out all the pain will be consensual."

Ringo blushed "Hopefully."

Later that night it was clear that there was no longer any need to be hopeful.

[friskarm]

the writing meme: nico!! ur nico has one of the most distinct voices ive ever read n i gotta.... deep inhale.. gotta kno ur thought process behind that. also maki if ur down for it, bc ur anime mack interp got me S h o ok td

hdsjfk okay u,wu i will talk abt Thos Kids....

nkmk are defs my favs out of all the love live kids....maki is rlly important to me for a whole host of reasosn that u will find out when i finally finish writing maki fic, and nico is just. god i love nico yazawa so much

the two of them make an incredibly potent pairing, and it’s honestly kinda tough to imagine any kind of canon-compliant situation where they’re not super important to each other!! even in AUs where they’re not paired together, i still find myself making them bffs at the very least ;;

so!! this got kinda long so heres the Read More

i’m actually gonna start with maki bc she’s by far the easiest to sum up

- for one, maki is actually...pretty kid-like. for all the “maturity” she tries to give off, it is very much something she constructs and not something she naturally exudes. maki is pretty idealistic, despite trying to make herself come off as cynical? it’s difficult to write, but you know someone just Knows Her when they manage to frame her POV like she’s being cynical, but when you read what she’s actually saying it comes off idealistic!! yeah. she also has a tendency to get really excited!!!! and then pretend she isn’t. she’ll go and try really hard on her own but she gets suuuuper embarassed when people call her out on it

- which brings me to my next point - maki is really worried about how people see her! she works really hard to construct this persona of ~maturity~ and ~elegance~ and ~intelligence~ but when u talk to her for like .2 seconds u realise she’s kinda adorable? definitely this part of her comes from probably being around adults more than other kids when she was young - and she’d probably get praised for being mature and so naturally she’d think maturity was some kind of end goal. regardless, her facade drops when she finally feels comfortable with people, but it Does take a lot!! the sleepover episode in s1 did a lot for her but i don’t think maki had truly opened up until they sung snow halation in s2...at least from the anime timeline!

- maki’s love for music - i suppose this is kind of an obvious one, but it’s still entirely critical to her character. maki loves the Shit out of music!!! she wants to make people feel things, she wants to Move them with the things she composes. i don’t think she has a particular preference for any type of music, either. she does say she prefers classical + jazz, but keep in mind maki has a Persona to uphold. she sings aishiteru banzai with all her heart when she thinks she’s alone - i think she deeply appreciates any type of music.

- extending on that point abt maki’s persona - her pursuit for “maturity”, if you could call it that, goes beyond that. she genuinely believes she should be trying to be more mature, and i definitely think this part of her is a huge reason why she conflicts with nico a lot! regardless, maki has a tendency to deny herself things she likes based on the premise that it’s immature. she’ll isolate herself in order to prevent participation in activities that seem immature, but because she still actually does want to participate, she’ll just kinda satellite around it. she also kinda wants to grow up as fast as possible, i think.

- maki gets really attached to her friends!! i like to think that bc of a strict up-bringing, maki never had the opportunity to make all that many friends, so being in high school with muse is such a good experience!! she’s the one who pushes to assert her friendship with rinpana in episode 4 season 1, and despite getting embarassed over it, she really does care for them!!! i can imagine not being after school navigators was hurtful for her bc it’s literally her three best friends....she was probably placated by the fact she got to be in the ~cool hot~ group solge but still, y’know?

- i could go on and on but the rule said 5 max so :ccccc

anyways niconii time!!

- nico is super, duper passionate about becoming an idol. this deep-rooted passion and desire to succeed is at the root of her character, and really, if your nico isn’t gunning with all her might for a particular goal, you’re not writing nico right!! being an idol, to nico, is probably the most important thing to her after her family. most importantly, as long as she thinks she has even a .1% chance to succeed, she’ll go for it with everything she’s got. i think that’s really important

- nico is very family orientated, too!! she loves her mum and siblings (and probably her dad, too, wherever he is) with all her heart! a lot of people felt conflicted abt nico’s episode in s2, but i think it showed the extent she’s willing to go in order to protect her family!! nico doesn’t come from money - a single mother with four kids is going to be incredibly difficult to live with. in order to give them something to hope for, she constructed a persona for herself in which she lives as a super idol - probably so that her little siblings have something to hope for!! or smtn. idk the gravity of nico’s situation is definitely dependent on ur preferences but regardless niconii loves her fam a Ton

- nico is also pretty mature, actually. this is kind of a weird one bc nico acts like honorin for the most part, and even maki calls her out on being immature (which is hilarious, honestly). the thing is, nico has had to look after her siblings for a Long time - which probably meant she didn’t have all that much free time when she was young to go and...be a kid and do kid things?? and part of her realises that her time as a Kid in highschool is ending soon and that when she leaves she’s going to need to take on adult responsibilities...but for now, she can be a kid. so she does - she goofs off, acts like an idiot and a child because she can! nico is also very pragmatic!! for all everyone mocks her she really does have a good understanding of the way the idol world works (she’s just maybe in the wrong show bc honoka kousaka is actually a deity or smtn), and whilst she can sometimes be a bit cynical, she’s actually really good at acknowledging when she’s being shitty abt smtn, owning up to it and apologising and learnign from it. ya

- nico might be cynical but she’s actually kinda hopeful when she lets herself be? it’s not constructed necessarily, it’s a genuine lack of faith in the world, but it’s not so strong that she can’t deny it - especially being with muse and honoka even more so inspires her to just...have a little faith in fate again. or have a little faith in nozomi, both are good.

- also, nico has a potty mouth. sorry i don’t make the rules

and then there’s nkmk as a concept!!! dam i luv these kids. they’re kind of difficult to talk about bc the way they’d interact is almost entirely dependent on the situation, but i’ll try and speak generally!!

- nkmk conflict, fundamentally. nico and maki have so many contrasting personality traits, they’re awful. but they’re also really similar in a lot of aspects, and have a lot to relate to each other with, and a lot to learn from each other. before they hop the honesty fence, they’re probably just gonna fight a lot, after the hop the honesty fence, they’re probably gonna have a few minor disagreements every now and then but generally get along really well! when they’re sitting on the honesty fence? well, thats the interesting part!!

- nico is somebody who acts childish but is probably mature on the inside. maki is somebody who acts mature but is probably childish on the inside. personally i feel like this is a big thing they’d come into conflict with each other about - they have different values and come from entirely different places so it takes a lot of work for them to understand each other!!

- nozomi annoys the shit out of both of them. she’s a meddler and stick her nose into places she shouldn’t. they love her, and also love to hate her.

- they’re both very driven people, but different things get in the way of them achieving their goals!! nico, i think, tends to have external obstacles - physical or otherwise something outside of herself!! maki tends to have internal obstacles - preconceptions or mental obstacles that prevent her from achieving her goals.

- it’s 2:30am and i need to sleep but hopefully this is what u wanted...thank for reading if u made it this far wao i wrote a ton...

[jujutsu-headcanons]

Adult Chucky ohmygod that's exactly what he is too! With Mahito I just- I get WHY he's like that but it doesn't stop me from wanting to punch him in the nose. Which I acknowledge means he's a well written character but- I. Just. Can't. Stand. Him. 🙃🙃🙃

Ok with those hints- and this is just my gut feeling- I'm gonna say it's Geto....is it Geto??? If not that's my only guess ._.

Nanami Kento is a tsundere?!? You heard it here folks Nanami is #1 tsundere and we stan a good dad who protects his children even though he denies it! Though I'm not like into Nanami that way, I'd still die for him to make him happy? If that makes sense? So I'm excited for those relationship headcannons because I feel hes over looked!

And someone else who reads too fast for their own good! Join the party! I don't hate spoilers so I gobble everything up and skim through everything so I've got a gist of the storyline and extra characters. But now I'm like sitting down and dissecting each chapter as I go so I can be super familiar with it for when I decide to write fanfics oops nerd alert

Throw me in that bin of anti Toji...he hurt my baby and I just- My heart and soul belongs to Megumi and if he hates him then I gotta hate him. I don't make the rules ¯\_( ツ)_/¯ Mai is another one I'm having a hard time warming up to. I've warmed up to Todo asdfghjkl him and Yuji bro fighting to best friends is perfect but besides that really everyone else I like bc the story is just THAT good. But I'm only on the exchange arc that I'm like in detail reading. But as I gobble up 5 or more chapters every time I have down time it won't take me long 👁👄👁

💛anon

I'll stand by and cheer while you beat the shit out of Mahito. I promise. I too want to see this sewer rat dissected. He's taken away two possibly three of my favorite characters and shows no sign of stopping so I hope Yuji slams his face in the concrete a couple times soon.

Nope! Although, Getou was on my shit list for a while. I kinda automatically didn't like him at first because he was a "bad guy", but that was short lived. I went from hating him to trying to force myself to hate him. It was all because of the Hidden Inventory arc (which, may I add is officially called Gojo's Past arc? I just refer to is as the flashback arc 👀) and I realized I just.... Can't hate him. For a while I was neutral toward him and then episode 7 happened and now it's game over he's pretty okay

I mean; am I in it totally for the looks?

.... No but maybe.

The person I don't like is Mai! I can't stand her. I think it's ONLY because she reminds me of Lisa from Fire Force (if you haven't watched it, ignore that reference) because I get so pissy towards people who hurt my comfort characters oh my god

I don't like what Mai does to Nobara, and how she treats Maki.

HOWEVER. I do feel like in the current arc she might show up and do something good that will get her off of my shit list. I'm not holding my breath but maybe.

Nanami Kento is the best dad and that's on GOD. Pfffft I was gonna say "what no don't die I need you 💛" but also I would die for Nanami so... I can't say shit xD ahhhh I miss Nanami. Honestly I was a Gojofucker when I started (I mean... Who wasn't?) But I'm attracted to Nanami. Gojo is kinda just a cool character, don't get me wrong like I wanna be his best friend, but I rlly do wanna get Nanamin my heart and my body if he asked politely, which he would do btw he asks before he even so much as kisses you

👀 oop- fanfics? Wanna... Drop a few links in my inbox? I haven't been reading fics lately (ahaha brain go brrrr)

Well! I am 100% not spoiler free. If you ask I'll tell you anything, unless it's something I want you to experience the way I did. I made my friend watch Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious without telling him anything just because I wanted him to be as distraught as I was. It worked.

I do be upset at Toji for what he did to Megs but also? Some events take place in this arc and 👀 I'm kinda hoping Megumi changes his standpoint. It'll be great for his character development, because he's been growing since the first chapter and it's cute. I can't see him completely forgiving his dad, however, we haven't gotten Megs' thought process on What The Fuck ™ happened in the current arc, and he might connect the dots and go "... Huh. So that happened."

... it could also go the wrong way and make him more of a gloomy piece of shit

I rlly just wanna give Megumi a hug I stg. Like. I want to be thrown into the jjk universe, not to live out my own story, but just give everyone a damn hug and just tell them it's gonna be okay l, especially Yuji, Megumi and Gojo bc the first two are having difficult times with their emotions and the second because uhhh. I had this scenario pop in my head and idk why I thought of this, but I guess Gojo and I were fighting about something? And for some reason I was beating the shit out of him. And he was letting the blows land. Like he didn't have infinity activated. He must have done something shitty to allow himself to get beat up and somehow I ended up straddling him and I was yelling shit like "oh, now you won't talk? You won't even look at me in the fucking eye, get this shit off-" and I ripped his blindfold off and I was met with the absolute heart wrenching sight of Gojo Satoru's baby blue eyes swollen with tears. And all he did was smile and say "gomen ne" in his cute little voice (kinda childish, like how he dragged out Yuji's name in the first ep. 'Itadori yuuuuuji') and this scene rlly got me thinking what if the happy go lucky attitude is just a facade he uses to hide how broken he is-

But that's its own separate post lmao

I think I answered everything, have fun reading this shit show

[lune1004]

i know im late but hbd oiks!!!! this is something i’ve been wanting to write for a while now, but i tweaked quite a bit bc i kinda want to write some of the idea into a full length fic some time later. also, this is also in hinata’s pov, sth i decided on the last minute.  

title: pretty young thing

summary: kageyama has been real acting weird lately. hinata just wants to know why. 

you could also read them on ao3! https://archiveofourown.org/works/19895578

hinata doesn’t know how he knows, he just does. he doesn’t even know why he even he thought of it in the first place. it irritates him that he doesn’t even know what exactly is going on but he knows this: kageyama has been weird lately.

“how weird, hinata-kun?”

yachi enquires whilst bringing her drink, strawberry latte, to her lips. yachi has always liked sweet stuffs, hinata notes. they’re gathered in a quaint café in town, just after everyone has finished their lectures. it’s only him and kageyama that go to the same university, under sports scholarship. the rest of them are pursuing different majors in different universities. still, they make it a point to meet at least once a week to catch up. it was hinata who brought it up first, antsy of not knowing what the rest of them are up to. yachi readily agreed, her camera bouncing along with her in excitement. yamaguchi too, seemed pleased with the idea. kageyama and tsukishima being kageyama and tsukishima naturally declined on autopilot.

“i’m gonna be a real fucking menace if you’re not going to join the weekly meet up, assholes.”

“aren’t you already one now?”

“just how much more of a menace can you be, hinata?”

safe to say, the convincing wasn’t easy. it took threats of bodily harm and loud shrieking as well as the promise to haunt them in their dreams that the two reluctantly agreed.

“it’s the king, he’s always weird.” tsukishima muses, shrugging his shoulders while stirring his straw in his drink. “you’re wasting all of our time if it’s about the precious king and his weirdness we’re going to scrutinize right now.”

hinata grimaces; he pushes his unfinished chocolate cake to the side and leans forward. “i’m telling you! he’s been weird as hell. he comes back late even though practice ended early, he’s almost always on his phone and- and get this!” he looks around the café hesitantly, as if he’s not careful enough, the subject of their conversation will materialize in front of them and strangle him. “he smiles often now!” hinata shudders.

tsukishima snorts. “so kageyama being happy is foreign to you?”

“you know how scary his smile is!”

yachi stifles a laugh behind her palm. “i’m sure kageyama-kun is fine, maybe he’s just busy and has a lot to do?” she cuts a portion of the cholocate cake that hinata has pushed aside and brings it to her mouth. “plus, you know how engrossed he is when he watches volleyball videos.”

“but it’s different!” hinata argues, eyebrows drawn tight, like he’s exasperated and puzzled about the new side he’s seeing of kageyama. “it really is!”

yamaguchi scratches his nose. “maybe he’s just seeing someone?” it’s the first time since they’ve arrived that yamaguchi offers a thought.

“HAAAAAAAAAAA?”

yamaguchi winces at the sound. tsukishima clicks his tounge, annoyed. yachi is so surprised by the sudden sound that her drink sloshes and spills on the table. trust hinata and his capability to be loud and not mind whatever environment that they’re in.

“bakayama? seeing someone? him?” he knows he sound incredulous, voice notching higher at every question he’s thrown but he can’t help it. it’s kageyama we’re talking about. that guy would not even spare you a second glance if you’re not his close friends or his teammates or anything that’s not related to volleyball. he doesn’t even know if kageyama has even thought of relationships or some sort! that guy is too narrow-minded on volleyball to be thinking about anything else. it’s just weird.

tsukishima lets out a pained groan and continues to wipe the strawberry latte that spilled on the table. “even if that is the case, what’s the problem?”

“it’s impossible. i’ve never seen kageyama with a girl before!”

yachi hums, “maybe it’s not a girl?”

-

hinata doesn’t know what’s going on but he knows this: he’s going to get to the bottom of it. if kageyama is really seeing someone, why doesn’t he know about it? whyis kageyama being secretive about it? they’ve shared everything! well. maybe kageyama doesn’t, and it’s just him babbling about anything and everything under the sun to his unwilling ears, but still! they’re best friends, aren’t they? oh my god. are they not?

no. they are best friends, hinata just needs to give him space. that’s what yamaguchi advised few days ago at the café anyway. “if he’s not ready to tell us, then best to not push him. he’ll come around eventually won’t he?”

but it’s just so weird! even now, as he makes his way to the address that tanaka-senpai texted earlier for a get together with the old karasuno team, kageyama is not going there with him. they’re roommates for god’s sake! they’re almost always do things together, and now kageyama won’t even go to gatherings with thim.

“i’m going first. i’ll meet you there.” is what kageyama had told him at 5pm. hinata didn’t have it in him then to comment that the get together is at 9pm. he also didn’t comment on the fact that kageyama had dressed up real nice. a crisp blue button down, sleeves rolled up and black pants. it’s weird; at their gatherings, he’d always wear his joggers.

wait.

hinata momentarily stops in his steps.

is kageyama mad at him? he knew he should’ve washed the dishes earlier. is that it? or is it because of the mountain of laundry that he time after time again, promised to fold but didn’t? is that it? hinata gasps. is it because he didn’t receive his tosses as good lately?

he starts walking again.

no, no, that couldn’t be it. kayegama would’ve already screamed in his ear if he’s been sloppy during practice. he’s so preoccupied with his thoughts that he doesn’t realize he’s bumped into a warm body in front of him. “ah, i’m so sor- sugawara-san!”

“hinata! it’s so good to see you.” sugawara is always full of smiles and warmth.

“i’ve missed you, sugawara-san. it’s been too long.” hinata says, pretending to sniffle. “it’s been hard without the senpais.”

sugawara laughs and slaps hinata’s back lightly. “you’re in university already, hinata. of course we wouldn’t be there with you physically.”

“also, didn’t we meet just last month at your match against chuo university?” sugawara says and he clasps both of hinata’s shoulders and pushes him inside of the restaurant.

“oh, yes, yes we did.” hinata nods and whistles. “grand king was ruthless, huh. kageyama was so fired up during the match, it was insane. did you see his serves? he was amazing.”

before sugawara could reply, there was a loud bang to their right. “OIIIIII HINATA, SUGAWARA-SAN, OVER HERE. OVER HERE.”

if there was anybody who is louder than hinata, it’s tanaka. no, scratch that, it’s tanaka andnishinoya. when the three of them joins forces, everyone is advised to please bring their earpieces with them to block the sound out.

“TANAKA-SENPAI.” ah, here we go. sugawara sighs fondly.

hinata jogs to the table where most of his high school teammates are with sugawara trailing behind him. “oh! there’s iwaizumi-san too! hello.”

iwaizumi nods. “we’re celebrating oikawa’s birthday then we bumped into the rest of karasuno, so we thought, why not join and eat together?”

hinata takes his seat beside tanaka, sandwhiching himself in between tanaka and nishinoya. “oh? it’s grand king’s birthday today?”

“where is he?” daichi asks, picking apart the cucumbers in his dish and putting it aside.

the guy, hinata doesn’t remember his name, the one in aoba johsai’s team, machi? momo? matsukawa? sighs exasperatedly. “he says he’s going to be late. it’s his birthday we’re celebrating; can you believe he’s late to his own birthday celebration? the nerve of that guy.”

another one that hinata doesn’t remember but knows he was a third year with oikawa, iwaizumi and the previous guy, mitsu? maki? hums. “he’s been weird lately, don’t you think?”

this time, it is nishinoya who questions: “how weird?”

hinata thinks his name is maki. maki sighs. “i don’t know. he’s just… weird. i don’t know how to explain it. it’s not like his form his deteriorating, in fact, he’s better? he’s just so competitive and fired up lately during our volleyball practices and matches. like… like’s he’s in this some sort of weird competition with somebody, always wanting to prove something to someone.”

matsu, hinata thinks its matsu, agrees. “come to think of it, he doesn’t hang out with us as much lately, don’t you think? he’s always running off somewhere.”

“oh! he’s always on his phone too!” maki chimes in, a chopstick at his chin, as if he’s in deep thought. “he buys milk lately too, he doesn’t even drinkmilk.”

hinata may not be smart. but, the gears in his mind is turning very fast to process all this new information about their supposed ex-captain of their high school rival. before he could ask, “grand king is behaving weird too?” he was cut by loud gasp from the both of them.

“what do you think, iwaizumi? he’s weird, isn’t he? is he ok? he’s been engrossed in aliens isn’t he? is he- is he…”

“abducted? and a clone is replacing him?”

tsukishima snickers from beside yamaguchi. “ah, how foolish.” that comment makes hinata more perplexed. is there something he doesn’t know? well, it’s obvious that there’s somethingwrong. it’s long wide before his eyes go wide and he stammers out, “they’ve been poisoned, haven’t they! that’s why they’re so weird! you know, kageyama is weird too!”

iwaizumi doesn’t know how long he could keep up with this. his headache is threatening to form whenever he’s surrounded with idiots. “even if i have my suspicions on that guy, i’m not going to say it.”

“what, why?” the three of them whines. no, five of them. he could hear nishinoya’s and tanaka’s voices weaving through.

“ah, speaking of the devils.” tsukishima smirks, nodding at the entrance of the restaurant. true enough, oikawa enters the restaurant with kageyama behind him. oikawa waves cheerily at the table. “oh my, is everyone here going to celebrate my birthday? how generous!”

iwaizumi rolls his eyes. “thank you, your highness. for finally gracing us peasants with your presence. it’s not like we’ve been waiting a long time; no. we have not.”

“why iwa-chan! a king is never late. it’s always the servants that’s early, don’t you think?”

hinata notes that grand king is dressed real nice too. a cream silk shirt, with two tops unbutton that lets everyone see his gold chains. his black dress pants hug his legs nicely too. hinata furrows his eyebrows. it’s just so weird. hinata finds it more puzzling when instead of sitting beside him, like he always does, kageyama is sitting at the end of the shared table, next to sugawara. it’s even more weird when oikawa takes the seat in front of kageyama, besides maki. doesn’t he always sit next to iwaizumi? his head hurts with all this confusion. it has to be the aliens, right? he’s heard all about the area 51 lately. he shudders and prays the aliens will give the old kageyama back.

“how come you’re together?” this time, it is asahi who asks.

“it’s just a coincidence. we bumped into each other along the way.” is what oikawa replies.

ah, whatever. he could think about all of this later. maybe when the drinks are already in his system and he’s out of it, he could ask kageyama about it. kageyama can’t hit him if he asks him when he’s drunk, right? he’s innocent and defenseless! “let’s drink up for grand king’s birthday!”

series of congratulations and clinks of glasses fill the air.

-

the tables are rowdy with two teams sharing stories and cracking jokes.

hinata is buzzed, he feels good, he feels light.

he feels even better when he remembers that kageyama is a lightweight. it’s a surprise to everyone when they first had a drink together, seeing kageyama swaying side to side, dazed, just after his second cup. it’s not much of a surprise that he has less of a filter when he’s sober. it is, however, disconcerting to discover that kageyama basically just compliments everyone when he’s drunk. in a kageyama way, of course. but a compliment is a compliment, right? even more so when it comes from kageyama, someone who is so awkward he could make a baby cry by just looking at them.

when kageyama first complimented tanaka on his drunken haze, tanaka was so shocked, he nearly cried. “you’re such a good energy to the team, tanaka-senpai.”

“i really don’t get why you’re bald, though. aren’t you still young? where’s your hair?” asahi and sugawara had to physically hold tanaka back from kicking him, fires in his eyes.

“pick one, you asshole! are you complementing me or insulting me.”

kageyama only blinked at him in return.

and now, hinata is pretty sure that kageyama is drunk because he has been complimenting maki and matsu. giggling at the thought of scouring information from kageyama himself about this whole weird situation, he feels refreshed. more courageous. he psyches himself up. he can do this.

the rest of the tables are minding their own business mingling around with each other, hinata learns. so it’s his chance to bring the attention to kageyama and get the answer to all of this!

when he turns over his left to where kageyama is, he giggles when he finds kageyama���s face is flushed. eyes daze, lightly swaying. his giggles stop when he sees kageyama staring at oikawa. ah, hinata thinks. he’s going to compliment the grand king, huh. well, it can’t be helped. hinata supposes even when you’re rivals, complimenting him on his birthday wouldn’t hurt, right?

he snickers and turns away from them to chug down his drink and give kageyama the time for his drunk-compliment. kageyama is probably going to compliment him on his serve, or how good the game was last month, or. hinata doesn’t think kageyama will ask him to teach to serve, again, right? he knows he’s drunk, but even then, kageyama wouldn’t be that idiotic, right?

instead of all those, what he hears are: “you’re pretty oikawa-san. you’re really pretty. really really really pretty.”

WAIT.

PAUSE.

REWIND.

for a moment, he thinks he’s got a whiplash from how fast he turns to his left. what he sees sends his mind reeling. there, on the far end of the table, is dazed kageyama, is drunk kageyama, is breathless kageyama, leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on oikawa’s lips.

WAIT.

WAIT.

WHAT IS GOING ON.

hinata opens his mouth to yell. closes it. opens it again, saying absolutely nothing. far too stunned to say anything for the first time in a long time. when he comes back to himself, he whirls around the table to see if anyone else is seeing what he’s seeing. but nobody besides himself is paying attention. he even wonders if oikawa is alright with his rival just casually kissing him and calling him pretty?! hinata feels a headache incoming. should- should he help kageyama? what if he’s just embarrassing himself and oikawa is going to humiliate him later, infront of everyone else? his heart beats too loud for himself to think. he has to help kageyama, he has to, he has-

but when he turns back to the two, kageyama is already longingly looking up at oikawa. he has his head leaned on his outstretched arms on the table, half of his upper body relaxing on top of the table. he’d never thought kageyama could look like that at anyone. he faintly hears kageyama mutters a “happy birthday, oikawa-san.”

as soon as kageyama wishes him, oikawa scoffs fondly. “just how many times are you going to congratulate me, tobio?”

hinata cocks his head to the left. huh, there’s no –chan?

for some time now, he knows he shouldn’t be intruding. but he doesn’t know why can’t bring himself to look away. especially when oikawa threads his fingers in kageyama’s and smiling softly down at him. hinata finally forces himself to look away when oikawa caresses kageyama’s cheek and dipping down to kiss him.

“you understand now?” a gruff voice asks him. hinata searches for the face of that voice. it’s iwaizumi.

oh.

it makes sense, now that hinata thinks it back.

one, kageyama is never in a bad mood whenever they have a match with chuo’s university, not even when he’s lost.

two, kageyama doesn’t come back to their apartment one night, and when he comes to morning practice the next day, he is wearing this hideous mint shorts that could not possibly belongs to him. just who the hell decided to go to the store and buy mint-colored anything? its outrages if you ask hinata.

three, he’s just generally in a good mood lately. he mentally takes back the comment about how his smile is scary.

four, he’s somehow interested in planetariums and aliens? hinata found it really weird when he accidentally stumbled upon kageyama’s open laptop and tokyo’s planetarium website flashes on.

five, he once heard kageyama asked yachi, in hushed whispers, what to do when he doesn’t quite like this person latching on this other person. hinata rolled his eyes then, and asking him if he was jealous. the blush on kageyama’s face should’ve been a dead giveaway, then. he isn’t sure why he didn’t pick it up at the time.

he thinks he understands now. kageyama’s not being weird. he’s just. in love.

[flyswhumpcenter]

Bad Things Happen Bingo! The event where you send me requests according to this marvelous card! (Red cross is the completed prompt, character headshots are prompts I’ve already filled. I don’t have any request left, so feel free to send in suggestions for this card!).

I need to write more Makaito smh

Y'all don't even know how surprised I got to see @mythgirlimagines had sent me a request. Most of all because I rarely get those, but man, that was a good surprise. I had to ask her for another duo (as I know nothing about UDG, not gonna lie), but I always love more Makaito in my life despite the appearances. I always get crazy about the worldbuilding in this AU, but in short: everyone has powers (yes, everyone, even your grandparents). They're called mages. There are three types of mages: weapon users, spell casters and healers. Sometimes there are hybrids between these models (of 2 kinds at the same time). Hybrids are chased by bounty hunters for plot reasons. Maki used to be one, but she's become a "hunter of hunters". I think that's all you need to know for this fic? Oh yeah, this fic contains some French because the main setting, the city of Hellesimbault, is heavily based on French culture. It just made more sense to keep some French in.

It should have been angstier than that, but I was in a fluffier mood today, so here you go. I really need to provide more for this ship.

-----

Flickering Lights

Summary: The night has never been safe for anyone in the darker streets of the city, yet a duo makes it way through the shadows with vigilent crimson eyes and purple thunder. Still, even the most attention doesn't always give away damage people can take, doesn't it?

Fandom: Danganronpa V3 (magical people AU) Ship: Makaito (Established)

Wordcount: 2.2K words

Event hosted by @badthingshappenbingo

AO3 version available here.

----

Quartier de la Lune, Hellesimbault, January. The dire cold blew in harsh winds as the dust and garbage littered on the barely lit ground fly right against the ground, their mass never quite taking off. The artificial lights flicker in incoherent rhythms, drilling into the skulls of passers-by with their constant noise you can’t quite get used to, even after hearing it for a while (it just stops being your main nuisance). The rest of the streets leading to the old Moon Temple is sunk in the night’s darkness, with only a few flashes and bursts of clarity piercing through the sea of shadows.

Personally, Nerio was one of these shadows, and had always been. She had gone through everything possible: abandoned girl, orphan raised along the nice and the bad, forced through the grinder to become a bounty hunter, now on the opposite side of the underground war. Hidden under her hood, crimson eyes focusing on any light and ears open to all possible noise, she was used to the darkness.

In fact, she was in unison with the underground, hostile, familiar universe of Hellesimbault’s darkest streets and ruins long buried by modern civilisation.

 In the shadows, she felt safe as soon as she was wearing the mask of Nerio, named after a goddess of war, a bloodthirsty figure in need for a vengeance and taking it out onto bounty hunters with no hope of redemption. It felt good to shoot arrows at criminals like those who had forced her into the network as a preteen whom life hadn’t directly shown its atrocious parts to yet, and it was the one way she had ever felt alive: reclaiming her rotten childhood and early teenage years by showing them she’s now better than them.

She hadn’t quite killed her abductors, even when an untold furry had possessed her into doing so by hindering any semblance of reason she could have had, only because some guy who couldn’t get enough of her had put his hand on Enyo’s shoulder and whispered to her, in a disapproving but paradoxically soft voice:

“Maki, that’s enough.”

 That was the day where she had truly stopped only considering herself as Nerio, bloodstained shadow and reluctant, yet effective, bounty hunter turned hunter slayer, a figure of the shadows, and more like whom she had been during in the daylight all this time.

All thanks to an absolute idiot she had met in class because he wouldn’t stop not wanting to talk to her.

 Their tandem made no sense. She was a figure of the night, a girl shrouded in darkness, content being left alone. Her arms and legs were covered in scars, her hands calloused from handling her magical weapon, her feet permanently threaded with the liquified mana of her former adversaries. Her spirit was calculating, her character quiet, her face always covered with a mask. She never had had friends before high school had come around, before people flocked to her because she had apparently stopped being threatening to some. That was around this time that Nerio started to fade and Maki took her place, progressively, until Nerio was the persona and Maki the person.

If she was used to the horrors of Hybrid trafficking, he couldn’t have. He was a benevolent figure of the day, loud to the point of being obnoxious, rude but well-meaning, never second-guessing anything, acting before he thought. His arms and legs, displayed by much more revealing clothes than her elbow-long sleeves and opaque tights, were defined yet not showing a trace of damage like a recently sculpted statue, his hands were strong but their skin soft, his character remarkable, his face displaying a smile and never hiding anything from sight. He was popular, dizzyingly so, people constantly around him, but he had his inner circle. He had come to her, introduced himself, asked her who she was and, before she realized it, he had accepted her into this inner circle so few would have even dared dreaming about entering in the Cité Scolaire, and that was when her façade crumbled before his friends and him. Before she knew it, Kaito had found himself a night persona, Uranus, who barely was different from the person.

It pained her to have him as her partner for this very reason: he was too good for the shadows, too bright for the darkness, and he’d only be busted before she could save him. She wasn’t ready to lose him to the urban abyss, but he insisted, and his presence was too warm for her not to want it.

 Still, Uranus had impressive fighting skills. His dream to one day be the first mage to reach space and discover if there was a world aside from theirs had pushed him to maintain a perfect form, despite an unfortunate illness trying to limit his life. She’d have expected him to be a weapon user, like she was, but the equivalent to his crossbow life had given him was a cape whom had the powers to create the tiniest blackholes and power up his offensive magic. They were power units in vastly different domains, sure thing, but she was still impressed by how many enemies he could take at once and still win over.

The main issue of their duet was their range: it was too long for close combat. If an enemy was to sneak up on them and force her to switch her weapon for her fists and kicks, there was no doubt she’d have a harder time taking care of them. He was more or less the same: long-range spells, very poor to non-existent support magic, a blackhole strategy that’d be more of a double-edged sword and, of course, his fairly frail constitution outside of his training. Neither was a healer, so they couldn’t possibly count on that either.

 Under the full moon of the harsh January, lights flickering above them like candles on a tomb flowing with the wind, they were fighting against an ambush. A bunch of low-grade Hybrid bounty hunters, eyes staring at them with an indiscretion she was getting tired of, their hands on their weapons and only waiting for the duo to slip up. Nerio wouldn’t give them the pleasure to kill her and take her corpse away for them to get compensation for a murder, so she shot arrow after arrow, ignoring various attempted status ailments thrown at her and gusts of winds repeatedly trying to flip her skirt up. All she had to hide under the hem of her dress were tights and a holster with a material hatchet in case she was in a desperate situation; but using it in front of Uranus felt dirty. It’d be nothing but a cheap shot at life when she had proved to him countless times before she was more than competent.

Their number was dwindling more quickly than her mana, sure, but the fighting was tiring her out, most likely him too, and they had class to attend tomorrow (Kaito had managed to convince her, with the insistence of the overly cheerful Kaede). She’d better make it quick, so she charged her cheapest shots in and didn’t mind the drawbacks of wasting more of her power endurance to quickly put an end to the fight. Rapid-fire, crimson arrows it’d have to be, in the end: not quite her Final Gambit spell, which she was still trying to control, but still one powerful enough to clear through the ranks and through her mana reserves. Any child of the shadows would have learnt that exhausting their magic entirely was nothing more but signing their worse-than-death fate: being forgotten in the icy streets of the underground city.

 Their adversaries were most likely scummy opportunists, because they disappeared after a few arrows had been thrown at them. It didn’t prevent her from exhaling a sigh of relief, the danger of the streets weakening around them as the lights stopped flickering. Too much magic in the air to make the one used by the electric network function properly, she supposed: it didn’t matter this much, to be frank. All she wanted to do was go back home, now that she had exterminated the vermin for the night.

Maki turned her attention back to her partner who, like her, was still transformed into his battle attire. He looked just fine, smiling at her with his darkness-eating grin and a thumbs-up. Giving him a nod, they silently decided to go back to their base, where surely Kaede and Shuichi were waiting for them before going to sleep at last. Despite her earlier loneliness, she felt safe and welcome around their little group, her companions, her friends.

 Yet, despite the peace of hearing nothing but their footsteps and breathing, the mandatory silence of the underground nights pushing them not to speak to each other before they’d safely make it to their home, there was something bothering Maki. It wasn’t the sudden silence: she was used to activity dying down and coming back much, much later, when they wouldn’t be there anymore. Thinking silence was a trap in those uncharted territories was a beginner’s mistake: it was a sign towards the right direction. The narrow walls always made sounds resonate and echo to a hunter’s ears.

It was a smell in the air, the faint smell of iron. It was close to her, yet hindered by something, and she couldn’t quite put her hand on where she had smelt it before. Her confusion merely lasted a few moments, though, until she realized it couldn’t have been anything but blood tainting something, its scent retained by something else, but remaining detectable nonetheless. One source and one source only: the dark crimson puddle she was seeing on her partner’s attire.

 “Kaito,” she suddenly said, stopping in her tracks.

“Hm?” He turned his attention to her, hand mindlessly over the epicentre of the issue. “What’s wrong, Maki Roll?”

“You’re injured, you idiot. I thought you wanted us to tell each other everything.”

Her eyebrows frowned.

“I am? I promised I would tell you everything, Maki Roll, you must be imagining things!”

She knew when he lied, when his voice would sound fake, when his eyes looked too much to the left and when he wouldn’t stop laughing nervously. It disturbed her that none of these cues were there.

“Your hand,” she only said as an explanation. “Look at your hand, you fool.”

 Kaito, luckily, understood immediately what hand she was referring to. He took it off the wound, eyes glancing at his mostly untouched palms, then the growing stain. It surprised it at first, almost sending him in a panic, until he breathed out and ignored the nervous sweat beads pearling on his temples.

“Ah, fuck, you’re right Maki Roll! They must have gotten a hit on me… Let’s get home fast then!”

She felt a tiny smile make its way onto her face.

“I’m surprised you didn’t feel it,” she replied as they resumed their walk, gaze often glancing at the stain. “It doesn’t look too deep, at least, if you can walk this easily.”

“Yeah… Most likely a bad cut. Nothing my sidekick can’t heal!”

“…you’re going to ask Shuichi to heal that for you?”

He blinked.

“On second thought, bad idea. It’ll heal by itself soon enough.”

“That’s also a terrible option. At least put a bandage on that thing, you moron.”

“Got it!”

 His eyes grew wider as he stared at her. Now, that was a look she didn’t like in the slightest: he usually gave it to her when he had a shitty idea to propose.

“Hey, Maki Roll,” he pointed his finger at her arms, “you’re injured too!”

Surprised, she stared at her forearms right afterwards, only to notice he was referring to small bruises and scratches.

“Oh, come on, you know this has nothing in common with what you could have been bleeding from, Kaito. It’s merely a scratch.”

“You should be careful too, then, if you scold me for being careless.

“I know what I’m doing, unlike you, but thank you for the concern.”

“Hey, I know what I’m doing too!”

“Sure, sure.”

 He showed her a hand, palm turned to her.

“Don’t worry, that’s one not stained with blood”. His grin.

She found him ridiculous and beyond cheesy, but took his fingers in hers anyway, enlacing them together.

“As long as you don’t need me as a clutch, it’s fine.”

“Of course I don’t! I’m Uranus, Luminary of the Stars!”

Oh god. He was ridiculous, and such an idiot, but her life had only improved ever since he had arrived there. She could only partially attribute it to his idiotic side, in a way.

“Your predictability is utterly disappointing, sometimes, you know that?”

“I also know you secretly love it, Maki.”

“If you say so. There’s no discussing with you anyway.”

 Right in front of her, he brushed his other hand on his attire’s pants, barely giving her the time to frown in disgusted surprise, and swiped her hood in a swift movement with the back of his hand. All of this to put a kiss on her forehead, a childish peck, that nonetheless makes her cheeks slightly heat up.

“You’re an untameable idiot, Kaito.”

“I’m your idiot, though, Maki Roll.”

She looked away, chuckling despite her best attempts at controlling herself.

“…I know, I know.”

[flydotnet]

Surprise Meeting with Fate (and Your Eyes) - Chapter 2: Building Trust

Previous chapter/Original post

Fandom: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Non-Despair AU) Pairs: Kaede/Shuichi, Maki/Kaito, Gonta/Kirumi, Tenko/Himiko

Chapter summary: Shuichi's more tired than he thought, his roommate doesn't want him to work even more and Kaede is still in the picture, because as Kaito says: he can't hear him over the sound of his blooming romance. Bromance and a friend outing to the doctor's are part of Shuichi's second day as a soulmate who found his match.

Chapter notes: HELLO YES I DIDNT PLAN ON MAKING THIS A FULL-ON FIC BUT HERE WE GO ANYWAY Seriously, I just couldn't let such an idea go to waste! People seem to have appreciated this one a lot, and I liked it a lot too, so I jumped the shark and went for it. I hope you'll bear with me as I attempt to introduce more characters and pairings than I did in SymCac.

AO3 version available here. (which I strongly advise for since Tumblr’s formatting is garbage)

To be honest, when he woke up that morning, Shuichi had forgotten about two things: the name of his soulmate written on his wrist, and that he had made a fool of himself in front of his roommate.

The weirdest for Shuichi was to think he didn’t need to be weary of who his soulmate was anymore. There was no more avoiding other people’s gaze to avoid getting a name written in golden letters on his wrist. All there was anymore, was to find how to deal with it in the company of his soulmate herself, the ever-so-pretty Kaede Akamatsu.

And what a soulmate she was. They were different in every single aspect he could have thought of: she was an extravert, beautiful, charming, popular and brave; he was an introvert, shy, plain-looking, lonely and cowardly. She was shining, he was buried in his own shadows. There was no way they were any compatible, yet there they were, somehow soulmates.

Of course, Kaito had gotten hold of the information easily. It started with how Shuichi had replied to a text message from the astronaut trainee: “I’m with a client, but it looks more like a date than anything else”. It had picked Kaito’s curiosity: Shuichi Saihara, speaking about a date? It meant he was both outside and with someone else his best friend didn’t know about. It was interesting, fascinating, exciting to uncover.

One thing was for sure: Kaito hadn’t missed the most embarrassing part of the day. Kaede had accompanied Shuichi to his place on the way back from the “date”, mostly because his fever had risen again from the surprise overexertion he had wanted to avoid. At first, he had refused, but she had kept insisting and he had eventually given in to her pleas and to how bad he felt after a while of walking around and make small talk with a girl way out of his league.

It would had been humiliating enough, would had Kaito not stepped on Kaede taking care of his roommate in bed. Sure, Kaito had seen Shuichi in many embarrassing situations, from delirious and calling for his uncle to ugly tears of frustration at grades, but there had never been such a thing between the two of them.

And that was more than enough for Shuichi to barely be able to look at his own roommate as they were eating breakfast.

“Hey, bro…” Kaito broke the ice starting to freeze the table as he dipped his slice of bread in his hot chocolate.

“What…? You’re going to tease me again…?”

“No, I know yesterday bothered you and all, so… I wanted to ask you if you were okay.”

Shuichi rose his eyes, puzzled.

“Just that? Then… I guess I’m fine, I’m just… weirded out by everything, lately…”

Kaito put a hand under his friend’s bangs, inspecting his temperature closely by then putting his on his own forehead.

“That girl was right, you’re still warm, Shuichi. You overworked yourself again on a case? I thought we had made a point, yesterday.”

“Nah, I think it’s just a leftover of me being sick yesterday… You don’t need to skip classes for me over it, Kaito…”

“It’s like you can read minds, bro! Seriously, you should take the day off, you look like crap man.”

“Thank you for the compliment…”

Shuichi’s nose dived right into his coffee before he knew it. He heard his roommate sigh.

“C’mon, let’s bring you back to bed, this ain’t gonna work…”

And once again, before he was even conscious of it, he was getting dragged to his room and to his bed. By chance, he had forgotten to get dressed, so he was still in his pyjamas anyway.

“You’re stubborn as hell, man…” Kaito said in another sigh. “If only you knew how to stay in bed as well as you knew your English literature, everything’d be better for everyone involved.”

“You have class soon, Kaito, you should be going instead of staying here…”

“Yeah, I know that,” he got his phone out, “that’s why I’m calling you someone!”

His face was probably already pale from the natural tint of barely going outside, but Shuichi felt himself get even paler.

“W-what someone…? Maki?”

Which implied he was going to get a very bad time for being crap at taking care of himself.

“Kirumi?”

Which implied he was going to be bombarded with questions about his self-care or be met with an awkward silence.

“Gonta?”

Which implied he was going to get smothered in strong hugs and weird natural remedies nobody else but Himiko, Kirumi or him would trust in.

“My uncle?”

Which implied he was going to be forced to take an actual day off and get a paternal scolding with it.

Kaito scoffed in amusement.

“Naaah,” he replied as he picked a pink sticky note from the bedside table, “I’m calling that girl from yesterday. She seemed adamant to know you more!”

Oh no. That implied even worse things for him.

“Don’t do that!! Kaede has so much more stuff to worry about than me…!”

He coughed, to which Kaito handed him a bunch of pills and a glass of water.

“Take your medicine before you talk about your well-being, bro. I hate reversing the roles, y’know.”

Shuichi took the medicine and glass with a slight smile, a soft “thank you” and took the pills. He had, also, forgotten about his asthma. Moments later, he saw his best friend type down the number on the sticky note Kaede had left there the day before “so he wouldn’t forget to call her back and give her his number” right before he had fallen asleep.

“Hello? It’s Shuichi’s best friend, Kaito Momota! We’ve seen each other yesterday after you brought my bro home.”

He nodded before smiling wildly.

“Yeah, I’m doing great! But I have to leave for my training soon, could you take care of Shuichi for me today? He’s still tired and sick, and I’m scared he’s going to go to work-and-or-class anyway if I leave him alone. I can repay you the favour another day!”

He showed an even wider grin after a minute or so.

“You really can?! Thank you so much!! I’ll slip the flat’s door key under the rug, okay? If you really can’t, ring the bell, Shuichi’ll come to open to you. Thanks again, Kaede! You’re saving us big trouble there!”

Kaito hung up and looked at his flatmate.

“Heard that? Your girlfriend’s gonna come here to take care of you for the day!”

“Kaito… Kaede isn’t my girlfriend, and I’ve already told you, she’s a busy pianist who has other stuff to do than taking care of than me…”

“Sorry, bro, can’t hear you over the sound of your blooming romance! I’ll be going now, don’t wanna be late to my training y’know! Plus my cab’s already here, and I can’t let my Maki Roll wait for me! See ya tonight, take care!”

With that, Shuichi heard the entrance door to the flat slam behind his best friend, and that was it. How was he supposed to go to work if Kaede was to come here? He hadn’t even warned his uncle’s office about taking a day off, same for his professors! It wasn’t too late, he figured, as he just laid back in bed again.

He took his own phone, turned it on and dialled the necessary numbers. What a chore, especially since he hated phoning people, but also lacked the motivation to write them emails they wouldn’t read in time anyway.

“Hello? Ah, Uncle Shinichi, it’s… It’s Shuichi…” He gulped. “How do you know I’m sick…? I haven’t gone to the doctor yet…! Huh, my voice? I guess it’s weak today… I’m sorry, I don’t think I can come to work with my roommate keeping an eye on me… It’s fine with you? Thanks, Uncle… I’ll do… Have a nice day…”

“Hello, sir? It’s Shuichi Saihara, in second year in the Literature and Human Sciences course… It’s to inform you I won’t be here today… I know, I have a presentation due on tomorrow, I’ll be there… Oh, don’t worry sir, I’m just sick, I should be fine by tomorrow… No, I’ve not gone to a doctor yet… I’ll do, sir… Have a good day, sir…”

A sigh of relief exited his lips. It seemed like it was okay for him to be missing for a day, even if it bothered him to no end. What was he supposed to do on a Tuesday when he had nothing to do but look at the ceiling? Maybe he should get dressed and go to a doctor, that could be useful…

As he got dressed and made his way to the living room-kitchen hybrid he shared with Kaito to recover some stuff to go, he came right by a now familiar face and her bright, charming, spell-casting smile. Goddammit. His legs felt like jelly, probably from his lingering fever.

He couldn’t help but look at what she was wearing. A dusky pink coat, wool leggings and heeled boots with laces tied in a knot at their top. She looked, as always when it came to her it seemed, lovely. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, hidden behind her back, buried under a beanie with a pompom on top of it. Why was he even studying her outfit when he couldn’t have cared less about Kaito’s extravagant shirts, stellar jackets and galaxy-printed boxers?

Kaede let out a small “oh” of surprise when she turned back from locking the door, before beaming him another magical smile.

“Hello, Shuichi! How are you?”

“Ah, huh, hello Kaede… I’m… fine, I guess…”

“Your roommate called me, telling me you were still sick… You were planning to go somewhere?”

“To the doctor, actually. I’ll need a medical certificate if I want to justify skipping class today…”

She took off her gloves, walked up to him and put her own palm on his forehead, just as he put on his coat.

“He was right, you’re still warm. Let’s get you to a doctor, okay? My car’s parked in front of the building. It won’t take us more than a few minutes to get to one.”

He just nodded, because he was getting a bit dizzy. Once he had made sure to get all the stuff he needed, he went downstairs with her, waving a tiny hello to Rantaro who was making his way to college.

Once in her car, Shuichi noticed a few things, and that despite his daze. The outside wasn’t pink: in fact, it was white, so it was discreet, fortunately so. The interior was black, slim, decorated with clef-shaped and note-alike items.

“Welcome to my little car!” Kaede greeted him to the passenger seat. “Do you mind if I put on some music? I like to have some background noise while I drive, and I won’t force you to chat with me if you’re sick.”

“I don’t mind…”

She turned on the car and started driving off.

They were, barely moments after that, at the nearest doctor’s office. The waiting room wasn’t too busy, but there were still a few people before them, including a grandmother who accompanied her ill, crying grandson and an expecting couple, probably there for a small check-up or, rather, for the ill-looking husband who still had something in the corner of his mouth.

There was something weird with doctor offices, and it was how you felt sicker when you waited for them. At first, Shuichi thought it would be a good occasion to finish reading the novel he had started and which he had forgotten in his overcoat’s pocket. However, he quickly realized he felt drowsy and had trouble focusing on anything, so he slipped the book in his pocket again and made a mental note to read it later.

“Shuichi?”

Kaede softly called for him, looking at him with soft eyes, when he noticed he was lulling on her shoulder. He jumped back into a proper position, embarrassed.

“S-sorry for that…! I didn’t realize I was starting to fall sleep…”

“It’s fine. You look tired, so I don’t mind you sleeping on my shoulder if it’s more comfortable than the seat. It’s our turn soon, that’s why I was calling for you.”

“Oh, okay… Thanks for telling me, I’ll try staying awake until we’re called…”

Minutes later, they were both called into the doctor’s actual office. That was when his senses started to get a bit foggy from the fatigue. He didn’t even wonder about what use what he was getting asked to do could possibly serve towards a diagnosis of his condition.

The doctor excused himself for separating Shuichi from Kaede, bringing him in the nearby examination room. It did a perfect job at looking as such: white walls, tools, smell of disinfectant products, examination table. He sat down on the latter upon being prompted to do so.

“Mr Saihara, please open take off your shirt so I can start examining you.”

It’s with a bit of shyness and a will not to unveil too much that he started unbuttoning his shirt, eventually taking it off. He hoped Kaede wasn’t peeking: he was slender at best and scrawny at worst. Wait, why would he think she was even attracted to him to begin with? He was nothing but a stick. She couldn’t be a pervert either, so there was no point in being afraid of that. Huh. That sure was weird.

Tongue checking, ear checking, heartbeats, breathing cycles, coughing, eye checking, temperature… It got weirder when the doctor requested to take his measurements after allowing him to put on his shirt again: weight, height, basic information from his medical files. He still shrugged it off: maybe it was needed for medicine doses.

Once all of this was done, the doctor invited him to go back to the main room, where Kaede had patiently waited for him. He wanted to tell her she shouldn’t have waited for him, that it wasn’t much, but he was still happy to see she was still there, for some reason. Moreover, she still had a slight, soft smile to give him that never failed to warm him up, even if they had known each other for two days.

He’d have to investigate why she had such a strong impact on him. The last time it had happened, he had just met Kaito, in high school, when the latter invited himself to his table at lunch because “you shouldn’t be eating alone, man, even if I don’t know you”.

Was that what it meant to have a soulmate?

“Mr Saihara,” the doctor called him back to reality, “I need to ask you a few questions before I can make a sure diagnosis. Would you mind answering them?”

“Not at all…”

He felt a bit dizzy again but prevented his head from falling onto Kaede’s shoulder right next to it.

“Have you slept much, lately?”

“Huh… Not really…? I’ve been busy with work and college, so I probably neglected my sleep…”

“Have you kept an eye on your alimentation?”

“Made sure to eat at least breakfast, lunch and dinner… Classic student stuff, noodles, some junk food here and there, but I try to limit that, so I usually eat rice for dinner anyway…”

Kaede’s eyes were a bit stern on him.

“Shuichi…” she whispered, seemingly upset.

The doctor wrote down some of the answers he gave out, until he went through them all again.

“Mr Saihara,” he told them both, “you have a rather bad case of overwork and general fatigue due to an important workload and a lack of sleep. You mostly need some rest and to take care of your life habits and it should be fine in a few days. I will also give you some antipyretics, since according to your medical information you have fevers easily.”

Kaede’s eyes locked onto his again, this time displaying pity. Oh, joy.

“Here is the list of medicine you will need,” the doctor continued as he gave Kaede a freshly printed out piece of paper. “Any question?”

“Yeah, huh… How long am I off work…? I doubt rest includes working or attending class…”

“You are right, Mr Saihara. I have given you a week off from both work and class, since I have heard from Ms Akamatsu that you were still a student.”

“Oh, great… Just great…” Shuichi whispered under his breath.

Once they were out of the doctor’s office, the bill paid, Kaede offered to go back to the car and go to the pharmacy to get the medicine from the list. Once in her car again, the silence from the way there got broken by anything but her radio playing classical music.

“Shuichi,” she asked him, glancing at him with worry on her face, “is everything all right? You look sad.”

“What makes you think I’m sad…?”

“I wouldn’t know how to describe it, but… You look like you’re really bothered by something. Is it just me?”

“No, you’re right, I’m really bothered by something… I called in for the day, but I promised my History prof I’d be there for my presentation tomorrow, but doctor’s order says I’m off for an entire week… I don’t want to cancel it…”

“Aw, you’re worried for your oral… I’m sure your prof will understand, Shuichi. You’re a good student. At least that’s what Kaito told me yesterday when he told me a bit about you.”

“Oh, so you talked with Kaito about me…”

“Yeah! He told me you were a very good guy, who loved literature and who put others before himself! You know, as scary as this soulmate thing is, I’m really glad and relieved it’s with you I get to share it… I don’t know why, but I just feel better when I’m around you.”

“Same here… It’s just better when you’re around, for some reason…”

She accelerated as soon as she noticed he was curling on himself for warmth. She also insisted on getting his medicine for him, but he still went with her because he really didn’t want her to pay for him when they were nothing more than freshly friends. Quickly after, they were back to his flat, him in the sofa, her by his side, carefully reading the instructions the doctor had given out and inspecting the medicine.

“Sheesh, Shuichi, you need to take care of yourself!” She scolded him as she prepared him a glass of water for the pills. “You have to eat correctly and sleep long enough! I’m sure Kaito tells you that a lot, but that proves you really need to do so instead of just saying you’ll do that later! Your health is very important!”

“I’ll… I’ll try paying it more attention… I’ve been busy lately…”

Yet, even when she was angry at him, Kaede shined him a bright and comforting smile.

“You’re such a hard worker, Shuichi… I’ve seen your room when I went to fetch you a sheet,” sheet she then proceeded to put on his legs, “and it’s a mess of books and case files. I may call a friend over so she can help us fix this, but for now, you’re ordered to rest!”

She patted his shoulder.

“I’ll make you a small something, please wait for me here. If you need anything, just call me!”

When Kaede came back, barely minutes later, she had a small cup of steaming milk in her hands.

“Here you go! It’s still a bit hot, but my mom always made honey milk for my sis and me when we were sick or tired. I thought it could be good to give you a cup too!”

“That’s very kind of you, Kaede… Thank you very much…”

Shuichi folded his legs back to his torso as he blew some of the steam off the cup, before taking a sip of it.

He could get used to this soulmate thing, if it meant feeling good when he’d usually feel miserable.

Fear not, the other ships will arrive later. (especially Makaito, believe me)

[mysterious-matcha]

A Snuggle a Day Keeps the Homework Away

Rating: PG-16

Word Count: 855

Genre: Romance, Fluff

Summary: It’s Sunday morning and Kaede’s still not in the mood for school.

Pairing: Amami Rantarou x Akamatsu Kaede, implied Saihara Shuuichi x Harukawa Maki

Warning: implied lewdness ;)

“...Nnnggh...” Kaede reluctantly reached her phone as the alarm in it rang to press the stop button and then toss the phone aside without caring about where exactly it landed.

“Sigh......” she sighed. It was finally Sunday, so she didn’t actually want to go outside since she was finally free from homework and stuff.

Or at least she was supposed to be.

Today Saihara wanted to talk about their Biology group project with her, Maki, and Gonta. Gonta is the one who’s the best at Biology in the class, so Saihara cleverly picked him to be the member of their group. Plus Gonta himself doesn’t seem to mind being grouped with pretty much anyone. He also picked Maki because he “wants to get to know her better” and he needs Kaede’s help for that, since given the fact that Kaede’s a class rep, she’s a more extroverted type than him.

Kaede actually respects Saihara as a friend and a vice class rep, but... why Sunday? The deadline is still in like, 3 weeks. They could just do it every after school or even lunch break. They might go home late, but that’s better than sacrificing the weekends that are meant for taking a break.

Kaede rubbed her eyes, and then she tried to get up, only to be restrained by a stronger arm that belonged to the guy next to her.

“...Don’t go,” Rantarou mumbled to her ears. “I miss you.”

“Rantarou-kun, I—”

“I said don’t go,” he said with whispery, yet dominant voice as he bit Kaede’s lips, earning a whimper from her. Kaede buried her flushed face on her pillow as he cradled her closer from behind and lovingly kissed her shoulder, causing her to blush even more.

“You still blush from that?” he teased. Kaede just pouted grumpily. Rantarou simply giggled at his cute girfriend and then kissed her lips again, softly this time. After breaking the kiss, Rantarou, who was still half-sleepy, somehow managed to lay his body on top of Kaede’s and bury his head in the crook of her neck so that she could feel his gentle, warm breath on her neck and his chest’s raise-and-fall on hers.

“Can you stay here, please?” Rantarou asked, still holding Kaede in his arms. “I mean, you’re supposed to be free today, right?”

“Uh, about that...” Kaede shrugged. “Saihara-kun actually wanted to talk about our Biology group project today. In the school library.”

“Hhhhhh......” Rantarou became irritated all sudden. “Who are the members in your group again?”

“Me, Saihara-kun, Harukawa-san, and Gonta-kun.”

“They’re all pretty smart and reliable for group works. Maybe Harukawa-san’s debatable, but I’m pretty sure Saihara-kun can convince her if he tries hard enough.”

“Well, how about your group?”

“I have Momota-kun, Ouma-kun, and Yumeno-san.”

“Uhhh... Momota-kun may not be the sharpest, but he’s a very nice and cooperative guy. I’m skeptical about the other two, though.”

“Haha, yeah. The deadline’s still in 3 weeks anyways.”

“Yeah, but Saihara-kun’s already fussing about it now. That’s probably just his responsible side. Better safe than sorry, after all. Anyway, I have to go now.”

“Noooooooo...” Rantarou acted like Luke Skywalker from the infamous scene from Empire Strikes Back, albeit half-assed. This time he also acted cutesy so she gave in.

“Hhhhhh......” Kaede just sighed. “Saihara-kun might gonna call me anytime soon, so—”

Just as she said so, her phone suddenly rang. “Haha, speaking of the devil,” Rantarou chuckled as he snatched Kaede’s phone first.

“Rantarou-kun, don’t—”

Too late for her, her phone is already in her boyfriend’s grip—which is stronger than hers of course. “Yup, it’s from Saihara-kun,” he said as he read the screen, and then he clicked the green button.

“Uh, Akamatsu-san—” Saihara greeted as his phone was answered.

“I’m sorry, Kaede-chan and I are busy doing things right now, so you might wanna leave us alone and mind your business with Harukawa-san, bye~” Rantarou quickly replied and abruptly hung up the call, leaving Saihara dumbfounded on the other side.

“Can you give back my phone now?!” Kaede was upset.

“Wait a sec...” Rantarou replied to her as he turned of her phone and tossed it aside. “Yup. No more nuisance,” he said as he wrapped his arms around Kaede and kissed her again. Kaede finally gave in and actually kissed him back. The kiss went long enough until Kaede broke the kiss first, and then she pressed her forehead onto Rantarou’s.

“So do you just want to snuggle all day?” Kaede asked.

“Mm-hmm,” Rantarou simply hummed as he continued giving Kaede short kisses. “Or you wanna do something else?”

“No thanks, we already had a lot last night.”

Rantarou jokingly pouted, but then he kissed Kaede’s neck as he laid her body down on their bed. Kaede, who was pretty much paralyzed, couldn’t resist his temptation, not that she wanted to. Rantarou again then moved back to her lips, giving yet another long, loving kiss as they both slowly fell into a warm, comforting sleep.

Maybe not going to do your group work isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Author’s note:

Heyy~ Mod Lala here. This is my first time writing a legit Amamatsu fic, so sorry if I did terribly Dx . But anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic and this may get a Saiharu sequel if there’s enough demand. Anyway feel free to give comments/constructive criticisms.

[honkerislove-blog]

As promised, part 2 to the fluff fic story for @blazeflames for the secret santa Aqours anniversary! Posted on the 26th as promised in a clever delayed joke and not because I’m a horrible lazy person.

Enjoy fluff

Maki stepped out of the red door of the temple out onto the steps. She folded her arms and shoved her hands deep into her jacket. Winter air blew into the jacket and blew up her arms, making her efforts to stay warm futile. Annoyed, she half zipped up her coat and sat down on the staircase. Her mother and father were just inside, examining the old temple. Normally, Maki would at least be with them, but she really just wanted to be alone right then.

The temple gave a small overlook to the town. The seaside village was quaint, pretty even in contrast to Tokyo, but it was out of her comfort zone. The noise of the city was a bit like a comfort blanket right about then. Alone in the silence, all she could think of was everything going on. Well, that and the cold. Cold was a pretty annoying part of this entire experience. It was almost spring, it shouldn’t be possible to be this cold.

Complaining about the cold was easier than anything else right then. Maki shivered.

“Ah, miss, if you want, it’s warmer inside. Zura~” A voice said behind her.

Maki passively turned her head. There was a girl there, probably only thirteen or so. She turned her head back to the village. “No thank you.”

“I— It’s not any trouble, I promise. There’s a little heat in there. My father would love to— ah, I mean I could— get you something, if you like.” The girl’s shadow moved toward Maki.

“I am fine.” Maki didn’t turn this time. She just stared out and scrunched her eyebrows. “I just need to. Mm.”

The girl stood still. Then, after a moment, she sat down beside Maki. This time, Maki naturally saw more of her. Long tea-colored hair, work clothes on, not really anything of note. She kicked the ground beneath her, staring out where Maki was staring and then to Maki herself.

Maki moved her eye over. “Yes?”

“Oh, uh. I just — just sitting. Zura~” She kicked the ground. “Just, thought you might need someone for whatever it is your doing.”

Maki admired the girl’s tenacity if nothing else. She sighed and looked back out the city. “Not really looking for company. Just — thinking.”

“About what? Zura~” The girl leaned in.

“Me stuff.” Maki looked over. “And what are you doing?”

“U— uh.” She blushed. “I— I just. Zura~”

“What’s so interesting here?” Maki seethed a little, but then instantly regretted being so rude.

The girl flinched, compounding Maki’s guilt. “I— Well, I thought you— you looked pretty. Zura~” She looked down bashfully.

Maki was a bit taken aback by her. “W— well. I suppose you—” She couldn’t figure out a way to word what she wanted to say without sounding mean, so she dropped it. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, Kunikida Hanamaru.” The girl answered. “Um, pleased to meet you.”

Maki closed her eyes to take in the name. “Miss Kunikida. Okay.”

“O— Oh, Hanamaru is fine, miss.”

Maki didn’t want to be too informal. She didn’t want to talk much at all, but Hanamaru wasn’t hurting anyone at the moment. She stared away from Hanamaru. “Do you live here?”

“Yes.” Hanamaru said. “My father is the priest. I help take care here and sing and greet people.” Hanamaru kicked the step again. “Where do you live?”

“Near Tokyo. I spend a lot of time in Kanda, mostly.”

“W-Wow! That’s so cool! I— I’ve never been. Do you go to the Jinbocho book fair? I’ve heard about it and... and it sounds so cool Zura!”

Maki thought. “I have been there. It is . . . a lot of books.”

“Well, of course.” Hanamaru giggled. “Sorry, I just really like reading. What do you normally do there?”

At this, Maki went quiet again. She let the question hang long enough for Hanamaru to start feeling uncomfortable. “I normally hang out with friends.”

“Oh.” Hanamaru shifted. “Then, that must be why you look so lonely.”

“Hm?”

“You’re so far away from them.”

Maki furrowed her brow. “Yes. And . . . that’s not gonna change soon.”

“Why?”

“Graduation.” Maki said. She gripped at her jacket. “School is starting; and, by the time I get back, a lot of really good friends will be gone.”

Hanamaru looked sad. “Oh.” She looked up. “You’re gonna miss them. Zura?”

“Mmm, that’s obvious.” Maki plucked at her hair. “A lot of them meant a lot to me and my other friends. What we did together . . . just cannot be replaced.”

Hanamaru looked out towards the city. “I don’t know much about that, but . . . I’ve had to go away from my friends too. Just . . . split up ‘cause of middle school.”

“Well, this is not like that.” Maki huffed. “There was a lot more than that between us.”

“I get that, but.” Hanamaru fiddled around uncomfortably. “Okay, maybe I don’t. But . . . What were your friends like?”

“Hm. We. . .” She really didn’t want to start having a girl freak out about meeting her, so Maki decided to stay quiet about their occupation. “We went pretty far as a team. Trained, talked, worked, even. . .” She trailed off. “Anyways, we all were practically a family, but now I’m back to school, without them. Back to. . .” She sighed. “I am not making a lot of sense, I am sorry to bother you.”

Hanamaru was absently fiddling with the hem of her dress. “Oh, you’re not bothering me at all. I’m always happy to listen.” She smiled. “It’s part of working at a temple.”

“I thought your dad was the one working here.”

“He is, but I hear him a lot, I read up on philosophy, and I like to listen to all my friends and what’s up with them.”

Maki stared off into space. “Sounds like you love it here.”

“I do, I do. Zura~”

“Wish I could stay like that.” Maki huffed into her jacket. “Me and my parents just got back from visiting medical schools around the globe. I will have to start applying soon.”

“Medical school? Are you a doctor?”

“No, not- not yet anyway.” Maki tugged at whatever was in her hands. “I am just preparing to follow my parents. Like you do with your dad. It’s just what I do.”

“Oh.” Hanamaru twiddled her thumbs. “But. . . Could I ask you something?”

Maki sighed. “Why stop now?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. But, do you want to go into medicine?”

Maki frowned. “No.” She shook her head. “I love music. I play the piano and do some other composing. I don’t really feel anything about medicine, it just. . . pays the bills. I can write a hundred songs for the world to hear and be right by friends and it’ll never make half as much, or even guarantee that I won’t be alone and unheard afterwards.”

“Then why are you thinking about it?”

“You ask a lot of questions.” Maki rubbed her forehead. “Ugh, I am sorry. I . . . I am being harsh. I just do not really want to talk a lot. This trip, my friends, school, the cold – It is all slurring together in one big annoying mess doing a Nico nii into my ear.”

Hanamaru giggled. “I understand. I think. Um, most of it. Zura~ I can leave if you want.”

Maki smiled. “You do not have to.”

“No, I don’t want to burden you. I just. . .” Hanamaru stood. “I just saw you happy for a moment. When you were talking about music. When you talked about your friends. I just thought I saw that. . . money maybe wasn’t everything.”

Maki paused for a moment. As she turned around, Hanamaru was already stepping away. Maki called after her. “Thank you, miss Kunikida.”

“Um, any time, ma’am. Zura~”

Maki turned back out to the town.

It was still cold.

Hmm, it was a beautiful view though.

She felt a song taking shape. It was quiet.

Maki took out her notebook. There might just be something worth writing down.

Hanamaru watched as the family left the temple steps, the older girl passively leading her parents. Hanamaru’s dad waved goodbye to the group and returned into the temple. She stepped into the courtyard to sweep up. There wasn’t much to sweep up.

She paused as she got near the steps. There was a loose couple leaves of paper wedged in the side of the wall. Figuring they were just litter, Hanamaru picked them up to take to the trash. But there was something written on it.

It was worth taking a peek at.

Hanamaru unfolded the wadded paper. It was a few music sheets written on notebook pages. She turned it around right-side up. Up above the music was a title: “Flower wreath.”

She stared at it for a bit, put down her broom, then skittered inside. “Daddy, could you play this on the organ please?”