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starring-movies · 4 years ago

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Killing Eve: Episode Analysis

*SPOILERS*

Season 3, Episode 4 - Still Got It

This episode is different to all the other episodes of this season, as well as the whole series, as it is not structured chronologically, but it’s order goes through each character’s separate timeline instead.

We begin with Niko who is starting his new life in Poland, as a bread delivery man. Just like Villanelle does, it’s apparent that Niko also has a type, as when he’s in a bar he looks interestedly at a woman with the same voluminous, curly hair that Eve has.

When we get to Eve’s storyline, we see her in the Bitter Pill office. She’s getting ready for work after spending the night there, after Villanelle broke into her apartment and left the pink teddy bear with the voice recording in it.

When Eve is brushing her teeth, the camera specifically pans onto her toiletry bag as she puts her toothbrush back in it. Our attention is being drawn to this, in connection to S2E6. In S2E6 when Villanelle broke into Eve’s house to mess with her things, she brushed her teeth with Eve’s toothbrush and puts the toothbrush back into the same toiletry bag that we see Eve using in this scene; so we can see that Eve is still using the same toothbrush from that episode - Villanelle still manages to pop-up unexpectedly in Eve’s life, even though she is trying to forget about her.

When the bus birthday cake from Villanelle arrives at the Bitter Pill office, Eve knows it’s from Villanelle and she touches her neck. She touches her neck in exactly the same way as this in S2E5, when the white roses spelling Eve’s name arrives on her doorstep. Eve repeating the same action, immediately after receiving another gift from Villanelle, shows us how just like in S2E5, Eve is feeling flattered by the attention and knowing that Villanelle is thinking about and paying attention to her.

A song starts playing over this scene of Eve receiving the cake, which doesn’t look like it’s been released yet, but we can assume it’s by Unloved. The lyrics that can be heard are:

“I once had a love,

Or did Love have me?

It set me free,

It set me free”

The lyrics represent Eve’s inner turmoil in regard to her feelings for Villanelle. She can’t decide if Villanelle was once her “Love” or if Villanelle “had” her (if she only belonged to Villanelle) - she can’t decide if the feelings she had/has are her own, and what she really wants, or if she is powerless to Love’s control over her.

This struggle to determine her love and her feeling’s over Villanelle is what causes Eve to have the same reaction to the bus cake that she had with the teddy bear recording. With the recording she is angry with it at first, but then she changes her mind and holds it up to her ear to repeatedly listen to Villanelle’s voice. Similarly to the recording she feels both happy and angry when she receives the cake. She first puts her hands to her neck (which shows us she’s flattered), then proceeds to throw the cake off the building in anger, but then almost immediately after she’s let go of the cake she yelps in distress, suddenly regretting what she’s done.

Another interesting thing to note is that no-one else acknowledges or is even aware that it’s Eve’s birthday, except for Villanelle. It’s highlighting how Eve is isolated in her life and now has no-one left who knows her so well or cares about her as much, except for Villanelle.

Regarding the story that Konstantin gives in S3E8, about what happened with him and Kenny, we can see that the story doesn’t add up. The wall around the roof of the building, which Eve throws the cake from and which Kenny supposedly “got scared” and accident fell off, is way to high for this to have happened.

[Unrelated but in the same vein, is that in this scene we can see that there are two chairs on the rooftop, one of which Eve put the cake on and the other has been knocked over. We know from Bear’s video footage from S3E8, that Kenny and Konstantin seemed to be alone before Kenny died. So it looks like perhaps the two of them were sat talking on the roof (Konstantin might have been interrogation Kenny about what he knew) and then maybe Konstantin pulled Kenny off his chair and was holding him at the wall around the rooftop to threaten him and then that’s possibly when he accidentally fell off - just a speculation.]

After Jamie told Eve to stay at his house, we see Eve lying in bed holding up one of Jamie’s child’s teddy bears. She holds the bear up above her face and asks it “what do you want from me?”. Eve is clearly speaking to the bear in lieu of Villanelle, she is recreating their encounter on the bus when Villanelle was face to face with her.

When we get to Villanelle’s portion of the episode, we see her dancing in her Barcelona apartment while she’s trying to make a birthday cake for Eve. Dancing is a big theme in Season 3. We only see Villanelle dancing comfortably twice, once in this scene and the second time is in the tea dance scene from S3E8. In the dancing in this episode, Villanelle is on her own but she’s thinking about Eve and the encounter they just had on the bus. In the tea dance scene Villanelle is also dancing with Eve.

In this Season they use dancing as a symbol of happiness and comfort, and more specifically having these things with other people or another person - dancing is a two person activity, an intimate activity and also something that people aren’t willing to do if they don’t feel completely comfortable.

The previous times Villanelle tried to dance, was at her wedding with Maria in S3E1 and with her family in S3E5, people who you ordinarily should be able to feel comfortable with. So Villanelle only being able to dance when she’s either thinking about or is physically with Eve, shows how she’s never as truly comfortable or vulnerable as when she’s with Eve - also stressing the point that they’re soulmates, which is another theme in Season 3.

This is also the first time that we see Villanelle listening to music through headphones, and she continues to do this in the next episode, S3E5. As she starts to listen to music after her kiss with Eve on the bus, and when she’s making Eve’s birthday cake, we can see that it’s from Eve and the rejuvenation of their relationship that she starts to do this.

Although Villanelle has found out from Dasha that she is being given her promotion, while she is out shopping she still pauses to look longingly at two women shopping together. Even though she has everything she was always aiming to get (money, status, a nice flat, a fun job) and is going up in the world in her professional career, she still can’t help but feel that there’s something missing in her life, she still doesn’t have that “someone to watch movies with” that she told Eve she wanted in S1E8.

As Villanelle is out shopping, the song ‘Satan Is His Name’ by Holly Golightly starts to play. The lyrics are:

“Satan is a name he goes by,

He got a lotta devil in his eye,

He got a kiss of fire and it burns you well,

Breaks your heart and it hurts like”

The first two lines of the lyrics that are heard, are played when Villanelle is walking along with her shopping, giving us the impression that Villanelle is “Satan”. However, the next two lines are played as Villanelle is observing the two women in the shop; telling us that “Satan” is actually Eve, because Eve is the one who hurt and broke her heart. This makes sense as Villanelle is thinking about Eve kissing her on the bus and probably how, although it seems like Eve finally reciprocated her feelings, they haven’t spoken about it and so it hasn’t been made clear if this is the case - and so she could still be burned and hurt by Eve.

The fact that we are initially led to believe that “Satan is Villanelle, but the it turns out to be Eve, also emphasises how they’re now becoming “the same” more than they were before - they are both “Satan” because they both have the same “darkness” and “monster” within them.

In return for finding the information about her family that Villanelle asked for, Konstantin says to her, “but I need you to do something for me, something personal, off the record”. Just like in S1E1, when Villanelle repeats Konstantin saying that he can’t stay and watch a movie; and in S1E8, when she repeats what Irina says about languages - Villanelle being able to repeat these things shows us that Konstantin has repeatedly asked Villanelle to do ‘off the record’ jobs for him throughout the years, as a favour.

After Konstantin has given Villanelle the information about her family, she starts to hiccup, which continues throughout the episode. One reason for Villanelle’s hiccups could be because she was in shock, after slapping Eve in S2E8 she tells her “you were in shock. You needed a surprise, like hiccups”. So similarly, Villanelle could have been in shock from finding out her family was actually alive after thinking for her whole life that they died in a car crash.

However Villanelle’s hiccups do have a clear link to her association with family, as she first gets them when she’s with Konstantin and learns her family are alive, and also when she’s experiencing what it’s like to be a child when she’s playing and is hugged in the garden with Kruger’s wife. Villanelle also explicitly says to Pyotr in S3E5 that she came home “because I had the hiccups”.

We then see that the “off the records” job that Konstantin has asked Villanelle to carry out, is killing Bertha (Kruger’s wife) to tie up his loose ends from the money he stole from The Twelve.

Since we know that freedom is very important to Villanelle, she tells Bertha that she should be happy, saying to her “you’re free now, you can be whoever you want”; but Bertha replies by saying “I don’t want to be free, I want to be a family”. By giving Konstantin’s betting slip, and their chance of “freedom” to Eve in S3E8, it shows just how much trust Villanelle has in Eve; to be able to entrust her with the key to the thing she regards as the most important - Eve isn’t just an obsession (like Anna) for Villanelle anymore, but she’s become the only person who she knows that she can truly rely on.

Interestingly though, Villanelle does say to Bertha that it’s her husband’s death which enables her to be “free now” and she “can be whoever you want”. This brings to surface the thought that maybe Villanelle considers that freedom for herself, and being allowed to be whoever she wants, is similarly only attainable by being without Eve. Villanelle does tell Konstantin in S3E6 that she’s willing to leave with him and she’s aware that means leaving Eve behind as well. However, she seems to change her mind by S3E8 and chooses her family (Eve) over her freedom (leaving with Konstantin). Although Villanelle doesn’t understand it at the time, Bertha’s statement to Villanelle, “I don’t want to be free, I want to be a family”, becomes true for her by the end of the season.

At this point, Villanelle also still can’t understand the love that Bertha has for her husband and family, in favour of her own freedom; in the same way as she couldn’t understand why the prison mate in S1E7 would “rather die” than have her freedom; and just as the nanny from S3E3 was so willing to sacrifice her own life for a baby that wasn’t even her’s.

When Hélène goes to speak to Dasha at the swimming pool, she describes Eve as “the one who wears the...” and then Dasha finishes Hélène’s thought with “...turtleneck”. It is interesting that Eve’s turtlenecks are her defining and notable feature, as when Villanelle returns to Mother Russia, she too wears a turtleneck. If Hélène and Dasha have noticed that Eve wears turtlenecks, then Villanelle definitely has. Therefore Villanelle’s choice to wear a turtleneck, when she’s going to be reunited with her family, is like she’s taking a bit of comfort with her. She’s choosing to wear something that Eve is known for wearing so that she can feel close to Eve, and can have the comfort of her being with her when she’s going to do something that’s so important, nerve-wracking and uncertain for her.

Villanelle’s choice to wear a turtleneck is also her attempt at blending in. The turtleneck is something Eve is obviously known for wearing, and so because Eve wears them, Villanelle associates the turtleneck (like Eve) with all things normal and ordinary. However, despite her attempt, it’s clear from the rest of her outfit that she’s still far too well/over-dressed in comparison to the rest of Grizmet’s inhabitants.

When Villanelle arrives at the train platform in Mother Russia at the end of the episode, she touches her neck. This scene comes right after Niko has just been stabbed in the throat by Dasha, and so it could be to demonstrate Villanelle’s connection with Eve - in line with the ‘soulmates’ theme of Season 3 - it could be to show that Villanelle is being stopped in her tracks by feeling Eve’s grief and shock at seeing Niko being stabbed (in a similar vein as when people say that they just felt a chill, like someone was walking over their grave).

However, Villanelle touching her neck could also be a sign that her hiccups have gone, as she doesn’t get them again after this moment. It could be that by returning home to Mother Russia, Villanelle got the “surprise” that she mentioned to Eve in S2E8 that you need to get rid of the hiccups. The ambiguity of the action of Villanelle touching her neck (given that we’ve seen that she’s had hiccups throughout the episode but also that this happens right after Niko is stabbed in the neck) indicates that she touches her neck for both of these reasons, not just one or the other.

You can read my previous Killing Eve posts here:-

First Introduction to Villanelle

First Introduction to Eve

S1, E1 - Nice Face

S1, E2 - I’ll Deal With Him Later

S1, E3 - Don’t I Know You?

S1, E4 - Sorry Baby

S1, E5 - I Have a Thing about Bathrooms

S1, E6 - Take Me to the Hole!

S1, E7 - I Don’t Want to Be Free

S1, E8 - God, I’m Tired

S2, E1 - Do You Know How to Dispose of a Body?

S2, E2 - Nice and Neat

S2, E3 - The Hungry Caterpillar

S2, E4 - Desperate Times

S2, E5 - Smell Ya Later

S2, E6 - I Hope You Like Missionary!

S2, E7 - Wide Awake

S2, E8 - You’re Mine

S3, E1 - Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey

S3, E2 - Management Sucks

S3, E3 - Meetings Have Biscuits

S3, E5 - Are You From Pinner? [Part 1]

S3, E5 - Are You From Pinner? [Part 2]

S3, E6 - End of Game

S3, E7 - Beautiful Monster

S3, E8 - Are You Leading or Am I? [Part 1]

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veinereastath · 5 years ago

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(if) they stand in front of you, watch their back;

Fandom: Far Cry 5

AO3: Right there!

Description: Irina just wanted to get some rest in the cabin in the woods. She didn't expect to see Jacob Seed, carrying his wounded little brother on his back.

And didn't expect that she will have to help him by pinning his brother to the table.

Word count: 4260

Author’s note: This is just a one-shot that I felt the need to write down because reasons. :))) We have three idiots in one room and sexual tension can be cut with a knife but there’s nothing explicit, just John and Jacob having a time of their life, and Irina just wants to bury herself in the ground. :))

Irina had a weak spot for cabins in the heart of the woods. They were small, not exactly warm, but also very minimalistic - something she quite liked. There were many nights in her life before Hope County when she slept in her car. It wasn't the best, but definitely enough for her. Now she didn't have her car, but she would steal one from time to time. Peggies didn't learn about her car-sleeping preferences yet, so she was safe, to some extent at least.

This night she didn't have a car to sleep in, though, so one of the cabins had to do. She chose the one that was still in the Whitetails, but also dangerously close to the Holland Valley - in case she needed to get away from the Mountains. The good thing was that Jacob was always kind enough - or, actually, confident enough - to let her know that the hunt for has has begun, which gave her at least few minutes to find a safe spot. Not that it always worked. Sometimes hunters' arrows manage to find the way to her knee after just few seconds.

She always considered herself to be the worst resistance leader in the history of resistance leaders. And she didn't even want to get the job in the first place - the fact that she got it was just an example of how desperate the people in the County must have been.

The first thing she did was checking if there is anything good inside the cabin, and by that she was thinking about cigarettes. Alcohol would do as well, but she wasn't that much fond of it. It was good to drink some when she was having a talk with Nick and Kim, or when Adelaide felt the need to share another one of her heated stories about Xander. This was something that Irina couldn't listen to while being sober, especially because she had no sexual experience whatsoever - so despite her prideful attitude, she felt really weird and uneasy when she had to listen to people talking about it.

"Hello there." Irina murmured with delight when she managed to find a half-empty and slightly sticky bottle of whiskey, a bit of oregano - she didn't need it, though - and two cigarettes. She put her bow on the wooden table in the center of the room and sat on the old and squeaky chair by the window, sighing quietly and hugging her knee to her chest. It was afternoon, and the dark clouds covering the sky for the last few dozen minutes finally began to release the first drops of cold rain. She just hoped it would end soon enough for her to get out. She couldn't stand sitting in one place for longer than an hour.

She took off her black, dirty jacket, leaving only a loose shirt, bloodied and torn to a point where it was nearly non-existant. She pulled out of her pocket the one thing that she couldn't move anywhere without - a lighter - and lit a first cigarette, putting it to her mouth and dragging it thoughtfully. As the first clouds of smoke were released from her lungs, the cabin door unceremoniously opened - with quite a lot of force, so it definitely couldn't be a wind, it didn't managed to get strong enough yet. Her instincts kicked in with a slight delay, and if it wasn't for the fact that the person who just came inside didn't want to kill her, Deputy realized that she propably would already have a hole between her eyes. ... Wait, he didn't want to kill her?

She was already accustomed to seeing Jacob, so each of their subsequent meetings no longer caused her to feel exaggerated emotions. This would also be the case this time, even though he had just entered the place where she intended to rest - were it not for a small detail - he had a traveling companion on his back. John lifted his head from his brother's shoulder, showing chaotic tousled black hair and poking his huge blue eyes on Irina, who was just two meters away, parting her lips slightly. Jacob tensed instantly, reaching with his hand to his thigh holster, while a woman was completely speechless and stared at the two brothers in disbelief, feeling her cigarette begin to burn out and dangerously approach her knuckles. "Are you lost, or...?" She asked after a moment or two, blinking way too faster than she should. She saw in Jacob's eyes that he's calculating, gears in his head are turning furiously, and then his muscles seemed to relax a bit. John, on the other hand, seemed tense - and he was looking at her in a way that was far, far from comfortable. Irina felt like she was being devoured alive, and wasn't sure why it felt somehow amusing for her. "Oh, for fuck's sake." Jacob finally spoke, then closed the door to the cabin by kicking them with his foot, and moved to the wooden table where she left her bow a few minutes before. He took it and placed it by the door, so if she wanted to get to it, she would have to get through him first. Well, she had a knife strapped to her leg, but Irina wasn't stupid enough to try and attack him. She tried once, it didn't go well. She wasn't a match for him. "Get outta here, girl, before I change my mind and knock you out instead." If Jacob would ask her to leave in a more polite way, she may have actually done it. But Jacob was Jacob - and Irina was Irina. Her pride and stubborness didn't allow her to just do his bidding, so of course, she decided to start another one of verbal fights with him, one that they shared many times already. And she never got bored with those. But usually lost anyway. It wasn't suprising that, in the current state of events, she just hugged her knee to herself with even more force, like if showing that she wasn't planning on moving anywhere, and took another drag of cigarette, before smashing in on the floor with her shoe. "I was here first." She deadpaned. Jacob grunted in response, but she was sure that there was a hint of amusement in this sound. "So get your little squirrel with you and go away."

John scoffed when he heard his new nickname, and oh, if looks could kill. Irina send him a short, dry half-smile, that seemed somehow menacing when combined with a big scar on her left cheek. Jacob, on the other hand, shrugged a bit, giving his brother the signal to come off his shoulders, which the younger Seed did. "Stop gambling your life, will ya?" Jacob looked at her one more time and wrinkled his nose slightly, seeing the extremely torn shirt she's been wearing, then took off his military jacket and tossed it at the woman. "You're distracting my squirrel." He explained with a hint of amusement in his voice, then started to take care of John, who was still far from happy and sitting on the edge of the table. Irina accepted the little gift with a slight, cynical smile and swiftly put the jacket on. It was warm, which was actually pretty pleasant, and smelled of fire, resin, blood and gunpowder - nothing new to her. Irina rolled up the sleeves, which were far too long for her, and lit a second cigarette, watching Jacob unceremoniously rolling up John's soiled and bloody shirt out of the corner of her eye. she refrained from sighing with delight, noticing the blood and tattoos on the body of the younger brother. She was starting to understand Adelaide's fascination, but would absolutely never admit it out loud. Not to mention that for her John was still the most irritating being in the whole County. Pretty body wouldn't change it.

"So." She cleared her throat. "Care to tell me what the fuck brought you in here?"

"No." Was Jacob's harsh response when he saw that John was ready to start answering. "Stay quiet, Dep. We both know you hate small talk and don't give a fuck about little anecdotes."

"Oh? How can you possibly know that?" Irina asked just to push him a little bit, even though he was totally right. She really didn't like talking. Well, in most cases. This time she was actually a little bit interested.

"I managed to notice." He wasn't looking at her, focused on the wound on John's stomach. A bullet wound, no doubt, she realized, while slowly finishing the second cigarette. Damn, something interesting must've happened.

"Because I was always silent when you were telling me parts of your life story?" "I told you to shut up, didn't I?"

This time Irina really did obey, but not without a quiet, irritated hiss. She turned her back on whatever Jacob was doing to John, but she definitely felt the eyes of the second one on her back, and it was driving her mad. She gritted her teeth and focused on looking at the window, trying to get fascinated by the race of two rain droplets that managed to catch her eye in this specific moment. Boring activity indeed, but it was far better than thinking about her current situation, which was far from what she hoped for on this day. She ran a hand through her forehead, then the mess on her head. She never really cared about her hair, so they were truly wild and untamed, pretty much like she was. She smiled a bit at that thought, but returned to her neutral, bored expression after a short second. It was quiet - the only sounds being the rain hitting the walls and windows of the cabin and rustle of fabric, where Jacob was trying to bring his little brother - squirrel, she reminded herself - back to shape. Then she heard a loud hiss, like if someone stomped their boot on a rattlesnake.

"Fucking hell, Jacob!" John growled, sticking his fingers into the edge of the table to the point that they started to turn white. Irina looked at him, head resting on the window frame, trying not to look as amused as she was right now. "Wait, you don't have any antiseptic?" "Well it's not a luxury hospital, little brother, the best I can do is find some alcohol." Jacob responded calmly, but with a bit of typical, brotherly mockery and shrugged, which definitely didn't brighten up John's mood.

"Squirrel." Irina murmured under her breath, but loud enough for them to hear it. The look she got from John was sharp enough to cut through diamonds. Jacob growled and it was enough to silence her once again. She sighed, watching as Jacob started to rummage through various shelves, looking for someone good enough to treat John's wound with, but all he managed to find was a bit of oregano she noticed earlier and a pack of cigarettes. Damn, she thought. How the hell she didn't notice this one? Her eyes glowed and she run a tongue over her lips. Jacob shot her a quick glare, smiled, in his own way, and tossed the cigarretes to the table on John's leg.

"Fuck you man..." She sighed, barely audible. But the most important thing right now was that the soldier didn't manage to find what he was looking for. Oh, that's something she could use, but she didn't speak about it. Yet.

"No alcohol." Jacob looked at John, who clenched his jaw so hard she could almost feel it. "Pretty fuckin' weird, considering that most of this county has a weak spot for it."

"Oh, but there is a bottle." She said, finally, looking at him nonchalantly and swaying her legs like a little girl. "Well, half of it, to be exact." "Oh, someone's been drinking?" This time John spoke up, a bit strained, and instead of killing her with his stare he smiled viciously, then clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk." Jacob rolled his eyes, but didn't care enough to give a comment. "Give it to me." He ordered in his typical, calm voice, but with a characteristical sharpness in his eyes. "Not until you give me those cigarettes you found a second ago." It was a bold game to play with him, but she was determined to do so.

"You're in no position to bargain." He said, but realized a second too late that it wasn't the best choice of words, since it was him that needed something the most. "Either you tell me where it is, or I will force you to. It's your call." "She would probably like that."

Now it was her turn to shot John a murdering glare, and his to chuckle darkly, but she did her best not to start playing his game - she knew she would eventually lose. The most reasonable thing Irina could do right now would just tell Jacob where the whiskey is and stop bothering him, but her pride was stronger, so she wasn't going to go down like this. "Force me, then."

Jacob seemed a bit tired, or bored even, but he wasn't planning on giving her a second chance to change her mind. He was fast, so incredibly fast she almost gasped, before his scarred hand closed around her neck and pushed her head even more into the window frame, to the point where her hair weren't good enough to shield her from it's hardness. She gritted her teeth and raised her lip a little, in a feral tic, flashing a few teeth at him. "Whatever you say, Dep." He said hoarsely, and while she couldn't really focus on John right now she was sure he was glad to look at all of this - even though he was bleeding and sitting on the table, slowly starting to freeze without any shirt on him. "Now. Where is it?" Jacob asked, while still clenching his hand on her throat. At this point she was truly starting to have trouble with breathing, and a first bits of adrenaline started to kick in and her pupils dilated significantly, almost completely obscuring the light brown iris. But she kept silent, with cold expression on her face, like almost daring him to go further than that. She stared into his eyes, a piercing blue, until she actually saw a glimpse of her own face in them. If Irina had a more artistic soul with a tendecy to make metaphors, she would say that this is a sign, a symbol of how similar they both were. "Oh for fuck's sake, get a room." John growled with a bit of something weird, something off - jealousy? - and then tossed the cigarettes to her, and she managed to catch them while not breaking an eye contact with Jacob, and then she smiled cynically, pointing her head to the second chair where she left her jacket.

"You're welcome." She rasped calmly, barely able to breathe. Jacob's hand left her throat and she stroked it with her own fingers, narrowing her eyes and taking a deeper breath - but not loud enough to actually show how hard those last few seconds were for her. Well, she asked for it, didn't she?

Jacob came over to the chair on the other side of the room and took a half empty bottle of whiskey from under her jacket, then came over to his brother. "Alright, lay down." He said, patting his shoulder. His voice was a tiniest bit different when he was talking to John - he really must've cared, she realized. It was weird to her because she never had any siblings, but Deputy guessed that this is how the love between two brothers looked like. For a short second she felt jealous, but ignored it and returned to staring at the window, just hoping that they would finish this soon and get out of here.

Well, part of her wished they stayed. The silence, onece again, was to be short lived - John growled, nearly screamed, when his brother poured the alcohol into his wound while pinning his shoulder to the table, holding him in place. "Oh come on, don't be a pussy." Jacob huffed and Irina actually giggled a little - thank God they didn't notice, or maybe just didn't care.

"Yeah, because you would-FUCK-stay silent during something like this!" Was John's irritated response and he raised his head to look at what Jacob was doing.

"Of course I would." Jacob mused, then patted his brother's forehead. "Keep your head down, will ya'? You're really not helping." He put the whiskey bottle - with quite a bit of fluid still left in it - on the counter behind him and fuck, Irina realized she's thirsty, and that this is the only source of anything to drink right now. She gulped and then slowly and quietly stand up, trying to sneak behind Jacob and take the bottle, then hurriedly get back to the chair where she belonged. And maybe twist the knife in his leg? No, that would be impossible, even if it was tempting.

Irina wouldn't do it because she cared about him, somehow. About both of them. She slowly came closer, focused on the bottle and she was so, so close, but then Jacob knelt down and took the bottle, almost snatching it from her fingers and giving it to John, who was looking really... Bad. He was quite pale at this point, his hair. scalp, beard and whole body were covered in sweat, lips parted like he was struggling to breathe. Irina looked at him in silence and she realized that she was simply staring, so just hissed and turned around, trying to get back to her chair and keep sitting there in silence. She was just hoping that John was so much beaten up by the pain that he didn't notice her staring from few seconds before.

"C'mere, Dep." She heard Jacob and cursed under her breath, slowly turning on her heel, her eyes watching him with unspoken question. "Keep him pinned down, I have to put the bullet out of his wound."

Irina just stood there, confused, and blinked a few times. "... You want me to stop him from moving."

"Yes." He stated, matter-of-factly, not even looking at her, focused on preparing everything he needed to get started. "And you're not... I don't know, afraid that I would try to stab him in the process? Whatever?" Deputy kept asking, not daring to move, shooting a quick glace over to John, who was taking a sip from the whiskey bottle. Her throat became even more sore at the mere sight. She gulped and oh fuck, he was looking straight at her, his eyes narrowed, his gaze tired, but lips curled in that mocking smile of his. Oh fuck you John, sincerely, fuck you. "You wouldn't dare." Jacob looked at her for a short moment, his eyes sharp like knives - and yes, he was right. She bit her lip, rolling the sleeves on his military jacket once again, then slowly came over to the other side of the table, but still not close enough for John to reach her, in case he tried to do so for some reason. He was touchy, she knew it. "Do you want to keep him pinned down with your willpower, or will you stop being all blushy and do what you're supposed to?" The soldier sighed and she sensed the first bits of irritation in his voice, like if he was a poor old man forced to take care of two stupid kids. And goddamn, this seemed exactly like it, she realized. "Trust me, he won't bite." "Oh, what makes you so sure?..." John mused, finishing the bottle of whiskey with another sip and swayed slightly, putting it down on the floor. "I might bite, but not too hard, don't worry." The bastard smiled, wet hair sticking to his face, and Irina never wanted to punch him in those perfect, white teeth of his more than now. "Christ, fuck it." She murmured and then decided to just be harsh and professional. Everything will be fine, it will only take a couple minutes, maybe even less, then you can go home. Her fingers touched his shoulder and his back collided harshly with the wooden table beneath. The soft "ow" came out from his lips and she felt that sting of pure satisfaction, which was definitely visible in her eyes. Yeah, you won't be such a cheeky bastard now.

Jacob dipped the penknife in John's wound and damn it, Irina had the feeling that the scream that was starting to come out of his throat would reach beyond the county limits, so instinctively - and quite violently - she put one hand to his face to silence him. His beard was moist with sweat and irritated the skin on the inside of her hand, but she tried to ignore it. Be professional, don't say anything, don't look at him, just look at Jacob's hands. And keep this bastard down... OH FUCK! She didn't realize that she actually hissed those last two words out loud, but she doubt she could be blamed - because when Jacob was starting to get the bullet out of his brother's body, John's teeth dugged in her finger. Irina growled and did her best not to hit him in the face, looking at Jacob instead, the feeling of betrayal clear on her face. "You said he wouldn't bite, you fucking liar!" She knew how stupid and childlish it sounded, but was too irritated to really care. "Well, to be exact he said he actually would, so I didn't lie. It was just a miscalculation." Jacob didn't even look at her, focused on his job, but she could swear he smiled.

"Fuck you. Both of you. I'm fucking done." "What's about you and fuckin'? Your preferences are showing." He responded and in this moment, she went speechles and felt John starting to chuckle, blocked by her hand, so she dug her nails into his cheek. He almost seemed to enjoy it, enjoy her frustration and the fact that Jacob was winning in almost every argument, every sentence. She didn't respond, because the only thing that came to her mind was another "fuck you", but somehow it didn't really feel like it would help. Stay quiet, get over with it and get out.

It took him a way longer than she would hope for, but finally Jacob managed to pull the bullet out of his brother's stomach, applied some stitches and oh damn, she could finally leave the table and get back to her chair. She slumped onto it and sighed, closing her eyes. This was not how she wanted to spend this afternoon. Jacob got rid of everything and John managed to slowly lift himself up and looked around. "Where's my shirt?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "Jaco--" He didn't managed to finish before his brother tossed the blue and still covered in blood shirt to him. "Yeah, thanks, brother." "You're always welcome." Jacob answered and leaned on the kitchen counter. If it could be even called a kitchen, this cabin had just one room. "My jacket, Dep. I know you've probably grown fond of it, but it's mine." Irina just scoffed and a bit reluctantly - because damn, she actually did grow fond of it in those last few minutes - took it off and gave it back to it's owner. She felt at unease - of course someone was staring at her. She did her best not to look back at John, just focus on the silence currently lingering in the air. If only not the fact that he was breathing so fucking loud and she was losing her mind- "Deeeputy?" He nearly sing-a-songed and she clenched her jaw, feeling the scar on her cheek tense. Irina sighed and looked at him, waiting for bastard to continue. "Oh, there you are. Such a frustrated little thing." He chuckled darkly, then shook his head and looked at the ceiling. "Sweet." She wasn't sure if he actually said that, it was so quietly spoken that she told to herself it was just an illusion. "Who needs a room now, huh?" Jacob mused. "Well, put the shirt on, we're leavin' before she will start throwing things at us, and I see she's close to doing so."

"Very close, indeed." She murmured through gritted teeth. John clicked his tongue once again and she took a sharp breath, but didn't say anything else, just watched him getting dressed - he was quite clumsy at it, and Irina was looking at him purely because she wanted him to feel watched, feel the frustration when someone is making fun of him. She wasn't sure if it actually worked, though. "Alright, let's get movin'. See you around, Dep." Jacob didn't even look at her anymore but she heard the dangerous promise, the silent threat in his voice and she was already on edge, feeling the sudden need to run away as far as she can, preferably somewhere outside this god forsaken county. Irina watched as John clumsily stood on his own feet, then Jacob opened the door to the cabin, waiting for him.

John looked at her one more time and something flashed in his eyes, and without a word he left with his older brother, both leaving her alone. Irina just slumped on the floor and let out a loud, nervous gasp, feeling the fire slowly rising in the bottom of the stomach.

#that's it #the first thing I've written in the last 10 months #I can do nothing for the rest of this godforsaken year #cheers #fc5 #far cry 5 #my writing #john seed #jacob seed #deputy irina carter

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medea10 · 5 years ago

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My Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Yeah, this warning because apparently I curse more than normal here. That should give you a fun indicator of what you’re in for.

Is this a joke? Is Medea really going to watch a recent Isekai anime?

No joke. I am. Yeah, since just about every Isekai I’ve ever watched was made before the year 2012, I thought it was time. And in case you’re not hip to the lingo, Isekai is where a random person is transported to a strange world (different from their’s) and go on an adventure. Things like Escaflowne, InuYasha, Fushigi Yugi, Kyou Kara Maou, and to a far-lesser extent, Sword Art Online! But because I haven’t watched anything made past 2012, and haven’t watched things like Konosuba, ReZero, or Overlord, my knowledge is shit and I should be ashamed.

So I’m going to start with one of 2019’s best animes, The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Naofumi Iwatani was checking out light novels when he was transported into another world. But unlike many other Isekais with this similar setup, Naofumi isn’t alone.

He and three other boys (from alternate timelines of Japan) are transported as well to the kingdom of Melromarc. These four boys are going to be the saviors of the kingdom as the “Four Cardinal Heroes” where they must combat against these entities known as “waves”. However, Naofumi is seen as the weakling from the very beginning due to being the holder of the shield (and is now known as the “Shield Hero”). But it goes even further than that! The king of Melromarc immediately shows his disdain for the shield hero due to the previous shield hero doing something to him. I don’t know what, just fuck the king. The kingdom, the other heroes, and the people of the kingdom did just about everything to Naofumi to make him feel like trash. If he was on fire, they wouldn’t even spit on him to put him out!

Being the lowest-level weapon user, no one will join his team and even if they did…they would swindle him, set him up for failure, and spread the worst lie you could ever lie about. But Naofumi can’t return home due to all four weapon users must be there until they defeat the waves. So Naofumi is stuck in a new world where literally everyone hates him or fears him.

That is until he buys a slave (named Raphtalia) and their EXP points can grow. Along the way, he obtains an egg that hatches into a filolial (later named Filo) who has the ability of turning into a human female. And every now and then, the second princess of Melromarc (named Melty) will come along with Naofumi. Trust me, she’s the nice one in that family.

Let’s watch the struggles and rising of the Shield Hero!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: So this is licensed by Crunchyroll (but I think FUNimation dipped it’s cookie in this milk). I know these two companies divorced some time ago, but FUNimation sees no problem piggy-backing off of Crunchyroll when they get a hit. And yes, this got an English dub and because of that, YES I watched the whole thing dubbed! Done by the good folks in L.A.! I gotta say this was a well-done dub. Well, they did one thing right by hiring Erica Mendez to play Raphtalia. Just about everything Mendez plays is friggin’ gold! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Naofumi is played by Kaito Ishikawa (known for Kiawe on Pokemon SM, Genos on One Punch Man, Mitsuo on Golden Time, Urui on Tokyo Ghoul :re, Sakakibara on Assassination Classroom, and Rinne on Kyokai no Rinne)

*Raphtalia is played by Asami Seto (known for Officer Jenny on Pokemon SM, Mado on Tokyo Ghoul, Young Yukiatsu on Anohana, and Shizu Delta on Overlord)

*Filo is played by Rina Hidaka (known for Last Order on Index/Railgun, Ririchiyo on Inu x Boku SS, Kohane on xxxHOLiC, Silica on SAO, Nemesis on To Love Ru: Darkness, and Urara on Food Wars)

*Melty is played by Maaya Uchida (known for Norman on The Promised Neverland, Rikka on Chunibyo, Rui on Domestic Girlfriend, Frenda on Railgun, Yoshino on Food Wars, Irina on High School DxD, and Yusa on Charlotte)

ENGLISH CAST: *Naofumi is played by Billy Kametz (known for Jousuke/JoJo on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part IV, Osomatsu on Mr. Osomatsu, Metal Lee on Boruto, and Galo on Promare)

*Raphtalia is played by Erica Mendez (known for Ryuko on Kill la Kill, Haruka/Uranus on Sailor Moon redub, Emma on The Promised Neverland, Nico on Love Live, Yuuki on SAO II, and Tsubaki on Your Lie in April)

*Filo is played by Brianna Knickerbocker (known for Rem on Re:Zero, Akane on Durarara x2, Arisa on Love Live, Anna on The Promised Neverland, Iori on Charlotte, and Erica on Berserk 2016)

*Melty is played by Jackie Lastra (known for Conny on The Promised Neverland and Selka on SAO: Alicization)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: I know I’m gonna have fun with the next category, but I think I spent most of this series hating on several people where I forgot to pick a character I liked.

Well folks, I gotta say that I loved Raphtalia. And after her, Filo! Then Elhart, Queen Melromarc, Melty, and Fitoria! With the exception of Elhart, it’s all women! That’s rare! Don’t worry, there’s one woman that has received a restraining order from this category. On with the worst!

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Y’all know what’s coming!

DISLIKED CHARACTER: Prior to watching this series, I have gotten several warnings about one particular character! Princess Malty or Myne, whatever people call her. This woman is despised throughout the anime community and even going so far as to say she’s on “horrible character” status left only to infamous characters like Griffith, Makoto Itou, and Shou Tucker. And I’m like, “WOW, what did she do, kill a pope?” I mean seriously, how bad could she possibly…?!

*one episode later*

FUCK THIS BITCH: Oh this bitch can burn at the stake for all I care! Yes, everyone else who treated Naofumi like shit can go jump off a bridge. Because I hold no sympathy for towns-idiots that treat a hero with no respect (as I’ve said before with One Punch Man and Dragon Ball Z)! But Myne just took that zero respect and pushed it to a crispy 425 degrees of fuck-roast! In the first episode, she seemed genuine with pitying Naofumi because no one would join his team. That didn’t even last a whole day. Myne ends up faking a rape by lying to the kingdom that Naofumi sexually assaulted her.

Faking a RAPE!

Faking a FUCKING RAPE!

Bitch, this is 2019 (I KNOW IT AIN’T THAT IN THIS KINGDOM, I’M JUST FUCKING PISSED). Faking a rape is a big, fat, NO-NO!

After he spends the little money he had on her to buy equipment, she double-crosses him by setting him up for immediate trouble and switches to the Spear-Hero side. Well fuck you too, you skank! Have fun with your dickhead Spear Hero. And may that be the last time I ever see you!

*several episodes later*

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! You cheating, lying, slut! Just when you think she can’t possibly get any worse, this bitch takes worse and shoves it off a fucking cliff. As if faking an assault wasn’t bad enough, screwing townspeople for your own gain is another story. She would take over a whole town and give no fucks if it’s destroyed by her or her fuck-face spear-hero. Add to that fuck-cake, every time you run into Naofumi, you find some way to screw him over time and time again. This bitch tampered with a fight between the shield and spear hero so that Naofumi could fail and they could steal his only team member away from him! You have your father, the church, your dickhead boy-toy of yours, and the royals wrapped around your little finger. Myne just continues to be worse than tainted peanut butter. I wish she would catch the worst STD imaginable and die a painful death!

*several more episodes later*

AAAAAAAH gabba da da ffuuuu worble BITCH FACE gararba fruznuss SET FIRE plskay adkkin aidnnlwjsnda UP DONALD TRUMP’S ASS galidamdh amoiejwm wwwaasosoh A POPCICLE! FUCK! AAkajrriaja DIDIA LEJHE KLHAEHAE FYUEEajejioqih3hv SSLLSHE3V ADKDKDDHEI333!!!!

Oh, you do not want a translation from my…whatever the fuck I just wrote. Just know that Princess Malty or Myne is worse than hemroids up the ass. I can’t believe this woman is still around, breathing and shit. Also, I’m tempted in re-writing my Top 10 Least Favorite Anime Character list because Myne would definitely be at #4 after Griffith from Berserk.

Okay…Okay…I think I’m calm now.

WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE CUT THIS FUCKING CUNT’S HEAD OFF LIKE A CHICKEN IN CHINA TOWN?!

Now I’m calm! Now then…

ANYONE ELSE WHO NEEDS TO DIE IN THIS SERIES?: So obviously I hate Bitch and Trash (Myne and the King). And I have the same kind of respect for the townspeople who treat Naofumi like shit. I ain’t got time to be dealing with townsidiots again. But if there was anyone else that should get a mention of how much I want for them to be set on fire and I’ll just sit there drinking my ginger ale, it would be Motoyasu.

Now by no means do I hate him more than Miss Bitch over here. But I hate him on the same level as Shinji from the Fate series (which is now teetering on my top 10). I question why he’s still alive and why no one has introduced his face to a jagged boulder. Unlike the other heroes Ren and Itsuki, this guy has got a vendetta against Naofumi from the get-go. And this was like before the sexual alligations came about. After that incident, this fuckturd tries at every turn to make Naofumi’s life worse than it already is by stealing away his crew and challenging him every chance he gets. And when he’s not doing that, he’s screwing over the townspeople and doing very little to be a “hero” (which is his freakin’ title). Then again, Ren and Itsuki aren’t great heroes either, it’s just I really need to lay into Spear-Dick for the shit he’s done.

SHIPPING: Hmm…aaaaahhhh….eeeeee…urrrrggggh…

Naofumi x Raphtalia: I know Naofumi doesn’t see Raphtalia as a romantic partner and more as a partner on his team, but Raphtalia doesn’t see it that way. She is 100% loyal to Master Naofumi. Who could blame her? Naofumi saved her from a lifetime of enslavement and cured her from an illness she’s had for years. She’s grateful and every other hero is crap in her eyes! She’s worshipped the shield hero since she was younger when she would hear stories about the shield hero. So imagine her worry every time Naofumi talks about going back to his home world, she gets horribly upset. Me being very skeptical here, I can’t really imagine this going any further than team partners. I can’t see at the end of the day Naofumi staying in Melromarc forever or Raphtalia somehow returning to Naofumi’s world when all of this ends. So for now, I’m just going to see where this takes us.

FUNNIEST MOMENT: Whenever Motoyasu gets conked in his frank-and-two-beans by Filo! If anyone deserves to be whammed in the nuts, it’s Motoyasu.

SADDEST MOMENT: I don’t usually mention sad moments in anime anymore, but one moment touched me and that was episode 15 where we learned a little more about Raphtalia’s past. Raphtalia, even after losing her parents in a wave attack, she tries her best to keep a smile on her face. But shortly after that, she and many other demi-humans were taken away from their homes and sold off to a nobleman. This is when we see some pretty inhumane moments where Raphtalia and many of her friends are whipped for the fun of it, starved to death, and sold off to traders.

In this episode, we learn about a few of Raphtalia’s friends (Keel and Rifana) from her younger days. The day Raphtalia got sold off, it looked like Rifana was teetering towards death. When the Shield Hero’s party came to rescue the surviving demi-humans (like Keel), Raphtalia went to see if Rifana could possibly be alive. And if the disturbing picture of Rifana’s skeleton doesn’t churn your stomach, I really don’t know what will. God damn, that was just messed up!

I CANNOT TELL A LIE, THIS ANIME HURT: I know I have sadistic tendencies and take joy in the misery of others. But I seriously cannot enjoy any second of the humiliation and degredation given to Naofumi. And it was because of the abuse put on the Shield Hero that made me feel sick to my stomach just watching all this happen to this guy. I thought it would last for a few episodes at the most, but it carried on a lot further than I imagined. Almost to the very end! And every episode you put on, you just wish for some kind of karma to kick in or for one more person to be nice to Naofumi or something, anything to happen!

But because the king has a vendetta against the previous Shield Hero, Naofumi has had to pay a heavy toll by having every horrible crime or offense thrown at him including rape, murder, attempted murder, cheating, witchcraft, and treason. AND HE COMMITTED NONE OF THESE OFFENSES! So you spend just about 20 episodes watching this poor boy having to go through this hell. I can’t even imagine having to go through this kind of torment and some of these moments make me ill in my stomach and quite pissed off. So like I said, this anime hurts to watch.

ENDING: As it turns out, the kingdom is corrupt under the rule of the king and his daughter, Princess Cunt (yeah, BIG shocker there). How corrupt? Well, they were in cahoots with the church that had their own religion praising only 3 of the Heroes (guess which one they don’t praise)! That was until the pope decided that everything must be wiped away because they are “unclean”. That includes the monarchy, the heroes, and their crew! Thankfully, they were able to put an end to this cult, with a little help from the true leader of Melromarc, Queen Mirelia of Melromarc. She finally shows herself and her powers on the battlefield. And now ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the moment everyone and their mama have been waiting for.

JUSTICE IS SERVED: With the queen’s return, come some harsh sentences to her own family. Her husband, the king and her daughter, Princess Malty! I gotta tell you, seeing these two in chains makes my heart so happy. The king was guilty of summoning the four heroes prematurely and causing a lot of harm to the kingdom of Melromarc with the church. Then the queen puts a seal on Myne’s chest, giving her unimaginable pain whenever she lied. That still didn’t stop the bitch from lying! In one swoop, it’s proven that Naofumi was innocent the whole time and that the king and princess were worse than period cramps. And for their crimes, THEY ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH BY GUILLOTINE!

FUCK YEAH! BRING IT ON!

CUT THEIR FUCKING HEADS OFF!

Yeah…unfortunately for my blood-lust self, that didn’t happen. Instead, Naofumi stopped the queen seconds before blood was to splatter. Claiming that the princess and king should be stripped from their titles and must go through life with new names! The king will be named “Trash” and Malty/Myne will be named “Bitch” (or “Whore” when she’s traveling). Okay, I guess it’s all good. With that, the church of the three heroes is abolished and handled a lot better than I thought.

But seriously Queenie, was it really, REALLY a good idea to keep your daughter alive? I know she’s your own daughter and you felt severe hesitation (in the anime) before calling for her execution. But for fuck’s sake, literally a day after she’s spared from the guillotine, she’s poisoning food meant for her sister Melty, Naofumi, and his friends!

IN THIS AFTERMATH: Now has Naofumi finally obtained acceptance throughout the kingdom? Yes and no! Yes, it’s true that the people of the land respected Naofumi after all he’s done. It’s just that some of the other heroes and castle men who still treat Naofumi with such disrespect. The queen wishes for all four heroes to be treated equally and to get along so that maybe they can defeat the waves without too much trouble. Hell, the queen of the filolials also said the same thing! I think Ren and Itsuki have kinda been on board with this for a while (even if they are kinda dickish about it). It’s just that Motoyasu’s still a condescending dick to Naofumi! Sigh!

FINAL WAVE ATTACK: Final one for now! On their way to another land, Naofumi ends up getting chummy with two travelers (L’Arc and Therese).

We meet these fuckers three episodes before the finale.

They’re bad guys, aren’t they?!

Something like that! Yeah, the next wave attack was coming up real quick. And the heroes have to go up against Glass again (the woman who caused a lot of trouble in the midway point of the series). But it turns out L’Arc and Therese are in cahoots with Glass. But it gets really…complicated here!

Glass and L’Arc are both fan and scythe heroes from another world. And they’re destroying the waves on this side along with destroying the people of this world to prevent catastrophy in their world. Yeah, finale time guys! How many parallel worlds and heroes are there?

READ THE LIGHT NOVEL!

Fuck me! Well, Naofumi and the other hammy heroes were able to stop the wave attack once more. And we even get to watch Queen Melromarc in action again! In this aftermath, Naofumi gets a new member on his team. Yes, it’s another female, but at least this one is older than all the other girls that hang with him (making this a little less ewwwie). Rishia was abandoned by Itsuki’s team for…reasons. So she’s going to join Naofumi after she helped in the last wave attack. And we get some last-moment hopeful scenes as we see things that give me hope for people in this series. Raphtalia’s old friends and homeland is getting back into the swing of things and Naofumi will take control over the land. And we wait for this promoted second and third season Crunchyroll swears by. Seriously guys, when are we getting more Shield Hero?

DON’T KNOW! READ THE LIGHT NOVEL AND STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS!

If you can’t already tell, I liked this series! Yes it was unbelievably painful to watch certain things where all of these people gang up on Naofumi and screw him eight ways from Sunday, but I guess good stories have a little struggle. Except here, it’s a lot of struggling! It was an interesting tale and is giving me a little hope for the Isekai genre as a whole. Will I get into all the other recent ones so I can one day watch Isekai Quartet? Don’t get too cocky! I’ll stick to this and maybe head on over to Konosuba later on.

Rising of the Shield Hero was definitely a tale and I highly recommend it. It’s just that if you’re prone to anger when it comes to absolute injustice, half of this series might be a little unbearable to handle. But there were several great moments (particularly from Raphtalia) that kept me going with this series.

Especially episode 4! Best episode of the series! Her undying devotion for Naofumi was definitely one to behold! I can’t wait to learn more about these different kinds of worlds, kingdoms, and heroes in the upcoming stories. In the meantime I will await for these seasons two and three Crunchyroll assures us are coming…They are coming right? You guys weren’t just blowing smoke up our asses in the last CRX convention, right?

READ THE FUCKING LIGHT NOVEL, YOU AUTISTIC TWAT!

I can’t do it! There are too many chapters!

Currently, both FUNimation and Crunchyroll have the entire series subbed and dubbed.

Okay, great stuff! What’s next on my Amazon/Netflix…or Crunchyroll licensed anime!

Magical Girl Site?

Oh fuck. I heard about that first episode. This is gonna hurt.

#the rising of the shield hero #anime review #raphtalia #naofumi iwatani #motoyasu kitamura #malty melromarc #myne #filo #melty melromarc

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iwhumpyou · 5 years ago

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The Price (Part 3)

Masterlist. Wergild.

Part 2.

~#~#~#~#~#~

He didn’t think she could do it. Clarissa couldn’t do it, had reached as far as her hands breaking and had run away in tears, cradling her injured limbs. It had taken weeks for it to heal and the suspicion had doomed their friendship.

She had never suggested trying again and Jace had taken the hint.

He would’ve done it. If he could, he would’ve shouldered the burdens of his entire clan to give them a better life. But, no, it had be an elementalist.

It had to be a willing elementalist. The caveat that had doomed them all. No one was willing to do this, not when the curse had started to build and certainly not now, after all these years. Coercion and threats didn’t work, never worked. The curse could only be lifted by someone who truly wanted to.

And then Clarissa’s little sister had skipped inside and rubbed salt in his wounds, rubbed them so deep he had trouble seeing straight. She knew perfectly well he couldn’t kill her, no matter how badly his hands itched to shove six feet of steel through her heart. Clarissa could forgive him a lot – had, indeed, forgiven him countless attacks and assaults – but her baby sister? No, if Jace killed the girl, he could dig himself a grave.

He couldn’t leave his people without a leader. Not now. Not when Mirai was gasping out the last of her life. Not when five of the six great clans were planning to meet and ratify a peace treaty. Not now.

If he couldn’t kill her, at least he could strip the truth from her words. Anything, she had promised, a deal she couldn’t hope to keep. Let the little girl have a taste of what real life really was and when she went running back to Clarissa, Jace could honestly say she’d asked for it.

“Jace,” Felix sidled up to him and he held up a warning hand. The rest of his clan looked to him, to the girl gingerly placing her hands on the boulder and back to him. They got the message. No interference.

He watched coolly as the stone rippled, earth wrapping around her arms, going higher than it had with Clarissa, almost to the shoulder. He watched, a hint of amusement on his face, waiting.

The stone surged and the girl slumped. Her breathing was ragged. She hadn’t screamed, Jace had to give her credit for that. He shifted forward a step – he wanted to see her face when she admitted she couldn’t do it, when her empty promise turned out to be just that.

She never turned back.

Jace watched in growing confusion as water lapped around her distorted limbs. This was not how it was supposed to go. The girl wasn’t willing, everyone knew that. There was no way she wanted to accept this pain.

The water turned to ice and red dripped down her arms. The harsh breathing grew louder, small whimpers the girl was clearly trying to suppress.

For what felt like an eternity, the scene was frozen. The water, the whimpers, and the active silence of more than fifty people.

Then the flames sparked.

The girl started screaming, a high-pitched keening sound clearly audible over the shouts of his people. They looked at him again, several starting for the girl as if intending to pull her away.

Felix grabbed him and turned him away from the girl on fire. “Jace, you can’t do this!” he yelled.

Jace looked at him. The flames had reached the girl’s shoulder now. “I can’t stop it,” he pointed out, more calm than he felt, “I told her what wergild I would accept. This was her decision.”

“She’s being burned alive!” Felix shouted. The girl’s screams had reached a fever pitch.

“She is willing,” Jace said quietly, “Only a willing elementalist can break the curse.”

His people were looking at him with a combination of disgust and dismay. He didn’t care. If she could do this, if she could break this curse – if he could take his first breath of fresh air…

“Do you think Clarissa will see it that way?” Felix asked, his voice low and cold.

“I don’t care,” Jace shrugged him off, “She killed my sister. She’ll break the curse in repayment.” It was a spark of hope in the crushing darkness of his despair.

“Clarissa will kill you.”

“Then I’ll follow Mirai to the stars, knowing that my people are protected and my clan is safe,” Jace said, meeting Felix’s gaze and narrowing his eyes, “Do you understand?”

Felix stepped back and lowered his head in acquiescence.

The fire had stopped. Good. He couldn’t see anything happening but the girl had her forehead pressed against the stone, unmoving. Was the curse broken? How could he tell?

The question was answered a second later – the boulder crumbled to pieces and sent out a shockwave. Jace staggered back amidst surprised cries – it felt like something inside of him was tearing, something was ripped away and out. He regained his balance and inhaled sharply and –

The air tasted clean. He didn’t even know air could smell so pure. He took another gulp, and another, until he was nearly dizzy. He looked around him in stupefaction – had the leaves always been so green? Had the sunlight always felt so warm, like a blanket around him? Had the earth always felt so solid and supportive under his feet?

He met Felix’s gaze and saw all of his questions reflected in the half-wondering, half-stunned eyes. Was this truly what the rest of the world felt like?

“Chief,” a voice startled him from his reverie – a voice that sounded richer and deeper than it had before – and Jace turned. Most of his people were wandering around in befuddlement, dazed expressions on their face as they turned in circles, but a few had drawn closer to the boulder.

It wasn’t a boulder anymore. It was a pile of rubble, and Jace could see a trickle of water through the debris. The spring, the one his grandfather had talked about. It had been here all along.

Crumpled at the edge of the pile of rubble was a dark, unmoving form. As Jace got closer, he could see the red, bubbling, mutilated mess the girl’s arms had become.

Clarissa was definitely going to murder him for this.

“What shall we do with her?” one of them asked.

Jace bit back his instinctive response – she killed his little sister, she deserved the deepest, darkest parts of hell – and took a breath. She had broken the curse, upheld her promise. She had given wergild and so the debt between them was repaid. Jace had to treat her with the courtesy of a visiting guest, his honor would demand no less.

“Take her to the infirmary, tend to her wounds,” Jace said curtly, turning away himself. He had traded his sister’s life for his people’s future – and he owed it to Mirai to tell her that much.

The infirmary was in chaos when he arrived. The shockwave had not stopped in the clearing and Jace had forgotten to inform the rest of the clan about what was occurring. He sighed – Felix would see to it. He had only one priority now.

“Chief,” Irina stepped into his path, clearly frazzled. He glared at her in annoyance but she ignored it. “What is going on? Has there been an earthquake?”

He looked past her, to the pallet where Mirai lay, her wheezy breathing the only indication that she was still alive. “No,” he said impatiently, “The curse has been broken. The boulder is rubble and apparently the spring our elders talked about was contained within.” He sidestepped her and because her wide eyes told that she clearly wanted more information, he huffed, “You can go outside and get the details.”

He knelt at the edge of Mirai’s pallet and took her cold, clammy hand in his. Her skin was ashen pale and beaded with sweat. Her breath came out in harsh, painful rattles and her lips and fingertips were beginning to turn blue.

The poison was a slow, painful death. There was no cure for bluebell nectar. The fall had paralyzed her from the waist down. All his little sister could do was lie here and wait to die.

Jace lifted her hand and pressed it to his forehead, trying to escape the burning of his eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his breath hitching, “I’m so sorry, little sister.”

“Jace…” He had never heard his sister so weak before. Mirai was mischief and laughter and brightness wrapped up in energy and smiles. The girl in the bed was a pale imitation of his sister and it broke Jace’s heart. “What happened?”

“I am so very sorry,” he said, closing his eyes, “So, so sorry, Mirai.”

“What did you do?” She was weak and in pain and hours from death but still quick on the uptake, “What did you do, Jace?”

He lifted his head and looked at her because his little sister deserved that much. “The girl who stabbed you,” he said, stumbling over the words.

“Nerali,” Mirai said faintly.

“Nerali,” Jace repeated. He supposed he would have to remember her name now. “Nerali came here and offered her life as wergild,” he said, “For you.”

Mirai’s next breath was harsher than the last and her fingers grasped at him as she stared, her eyes wide. “No, Jace, tell me you didn’t.” When she didn’t get a response, she clutched at him, “Clarissa will murder you and we will both have died for nothing.”

“I told her that her miserable little life was not worth yours,” Jace said and watched his sister relax and slump back. “So she promised me anything that she could give me as wergild.” Mirai watched him, curious. “I’m sorry, Mirai. I accepted.”

His little sister looked at him with only understanding. He searched for anger or disgust or sadness in her gaze and found nothing but love. “What did you ask for?”

“The curse,” Jace said softly, “The one that can only be broken by a willing elementalist.” Mirai’s eyes widened with every word. “She did it, little sister. The curse is broken. Our people are free.”

He forced a smile on his face so that Mirai could see it even if he never wanted to be happy again. The girl had kept her word, kept her promise and Jace had secured his people’s future at the cost of the light in his.

“That’s wonderful, Jace,” Mirai said, “I –” But whatever she was going to say next was cut off in a flurry of movement as Irina reentered the room.

The healers all around were in a tizzy, muttering and smiling and opening books and scrolls. Irina herself knelt at Mirai’s side and propped up her head, touching a clay pot full of a clear liquid to Mirai’s lips. “Drink,” Irina said, her voice steadfast.

Mirai drank and gasped. “What was that?” she asked and Jace stared at her. Her breathing was better and her skin was no longer so ashen. “That tasted like…” she cast around for words and Jace could hear her voice grow.

“What was that?” he asked, staring at Mirai. A minute ago, she looked like she was moments from death. Now, she looked like she was resting off an injury – still weak, still hurt, but with a chance of getting better.

“The spring water,” Irina said, smiling. It was the first time he’d seen the healer smile in a while. “The spring is back, Jace. Its healing properties…”

“It could cure anything in one pure of heart,” Jace finished, almost numb with disbelief, “Mirai…”

“It will cure the bluebell nectar,” Irina said. Her grin was splitting her face in two. “Now that the curse is gone, our spells should work again. Mirai will heal. Completely.”

~#~

The thatching on the roof of the hut was wound in circles. Nerali laid on the pallet for hours, following the lines over and over and over again. Sometimes someone would come in and change her bandages, sometimes offer her water or a weak broth. Jace had hovered at the door once, staring at her, before disappearing again.

No one talked to her. She didn’t expect them to. She had paid wergild for her crimes, but that didn’t mean they were forgotten. It probably took all their effort not to sneer at her. She should probably be happy that Jace hadn’t taken the opportunity to kill her anyway.

(She wished he had.)

It was awful, laying still and unmoving. Every shift of her torso brought renewed fire lancing down her arms and they were already twin centers of agony. The slightest breeze could inflame the pain to the point where Nerali was biting her lip and scrunching her eyes and doing all she could not to cry out. She often couldn’t tell when she slipped into unconsciousness, because her dreams were of broken bones and ice needles and fire, fire, fire. There was no difference in pain between sleeping and waking.

She opened her eyes to a hushed conversation and groaned when she aborted her movements too late. Pain radiated down and she stayed perfectly still and concentrated on breathing, in and out, until it became mangeable again.

“Here,” a cool, familiar voice said, pressing a clay pot to her lips and inclining her head with a careful hand. Nerali sipped at the water, soothing and fresh, and looked up at her helper.

“Thank you,” she said, as she always did, only to choke on the words as Mirai’s face came into view.

Nerali flailed backwards and the pain exploded. She tried to curl away from the perceived threat but every movement just made it worsen and she finally stopped in a half-curled position, taking fast breaths and trying not to scream. She could barely see Mirai’s face through her blurred eyes but there was no mistaking it.

“Are you haunting me?” she asked through hitched breaths and sobs, “Or am I dead?” If this was the afterlife, Nerali had made a gross miscalculation. She couldn’t survive this pain for eternity.

“Shh,” Mirai’s familiar voice said, though it was softer than Nerali remembered it. There was a hand on her forehead, blissfully cool, and it stroked strands of hair away from her face and delicately wiped away every tear as it fell. “I’m not haunting you. Neither are you dead.”

Nerali closed her eyes tight because there was only one explanation. She didn’t think that this was what losing your sanity felt like, but the agony of lifting the curse could’ve shattered her mind into a million pieces. She had gone mad.

“I’m not dead,” Mirai continued. The careful hands continued their soothing motions, tugging Nerali back into a straightened position and carefully setting her arms back into position. Nerali hissed at every movement but they were being very gentle. The hands didn’t stop Nerali from trying to bury her face in the pillow and merely resumed stroking her hair.

“You are,” Nerali said when she could breathe again. Her next words were small and choked with guilt and regret, “I killed you.”

Jace would never agree to the peace treaty, even with her wergild. She had doused his revenge but would never be able to quell his anger. Clarissa would have peace, but peace without her best friend by her side.

And it was all Nerali’s fault.

“No,” Mirai disagreed, “You saved me.” Her voice took on a tinge of irritation, which made it sound more like Mirai, “I can’t see how helpful that was, given that you first stuck a poisoned sword in my gut and pushed me off a tree –”

“Mirai,” Jace’s voice said, exasperated.

“But no harm, no foul,” Mirai finished on a cheerier note. Nerali opened her eyes and craned her neck to see the door – sure enough, Jace was standing there, the expression on his face torn between annoyed and fond. He was looking at Mirai, who was sitting at Nerali’s side.

Her vision somewhat clearer, Nerali could see a few differences in Mirai. Her skin was paler than Nerali remembered it and she sat awkwardly, like her legs were in the way. Her clothes were as skimpy as usual, though, and Nerali stared at her toned stomach and the large, angry, half-healed gash on it.

“You’re not dead,” Nerali said, blinking at her. A couple of objections voiced themselves in her head and Nerali frowned, “How are you not dead?”

“Careful, sweetheart, you almost sound disappointed,” Mirai grinned at her, the often-seen shark-toothed smile that always meant she was laughing at Nerali’s expense.

“You discovered the spring,” Jace said from the doorway, “A legend of my people is that our spring is protected by the spirits of our clan and the water can heal anyone pure of heart.”

“I discovered what?” Nerali asked. She had broken the curse, she hadn’t done anything about a spring. Had she woken up in some alternate universe where Mirai wasn’t dead and her wergild had been something else? Or was this all a fever dream to make herself feel better?

“In the boulder you shattered,” Jace clarified. That would explain it. All that Nerali remembered of those last moments was pain.

“Which brings me to a problem,” Jace said. Nerali swallowed, but he didn’t look mad. Neither did Mirai, when she glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “You broke the curse as wergild for my sister’s death. But Mirai isn’t dead.”

Nerali looked at Mirai again and all the signs that pointed to the girl not being quite well yet, no matter what they said about the spring water. “She would’ve been,” Nerali said in a small voice, “Bluebell nectar is fatal and the fall… She would’ve died without your spring water.”

“But she didn’t,” Jace said, an undertone of harshness to his words, “Which means that you gravely injured my sister, but then brought me the means to save her. Those actions would cancel each other out. But that was not all you did – you broke the curse on my people and you allowed us to live freely for the first time in living memory.” He walked a few steps forward and knelt fluidly at Nerali’s side, bowing his head. “What would you like in repayment?” His hands were clenched tightly in his lap.

Nerali flicked a quick glance at Mirai. She was staring at her brother, whiter than before, her mouth a pinched line. “If you do not feel up to making a decision now, I can of course wait,” Jace said, his body stiff with tension, “The spring water is healing you, albeit slowly. You don’t have to give me an answer now.”

She didn’t have to, but judging by the look on Jace’s face, it was going to eat him alive until she did. She hadn’t thought about this situation – she had never dreamed that the head of a rival clan would be asking her for what she wanted. She didn’t know what would be equal payment for what she did, she didn’t even know what she wanted. Nerali wished Clarissa was here – surely her big sister would know what to ask.

Clarissa. That was it!

“The peace talks,” Nerali said hurriedly, “The conference of the clans. Has it started yet?”

Jace looked at her, bewildered. “It starts tomorrow,” he said, “What does that have to do with –”

“Go to the talks,” she cut him off, “Work together with the other clans. Build peace in the land.” Fulfill Clarissa’s dream, she just managed to stop herself from saying.

From the wide-eyed look Jace was giving her, he was shocked. Had she asked for too much? “What?” he asked, sounding slightly strangled.

She had probably asked for too much. “Go to the peace talks,” she mumbled, hunching into her shoulders. Jace was still looking at her like she was from another planet.

“That sounds like a lovely idea,” Mirai said, her voice cheerful but a bite to her words that Nerali couldn’t quite untangle, “Doesn’t it, Jace?”

“Is that all you want?” Jace asked, ignoring his sister, “What if I was already planning to go?”

Well, then she had misjudged him entirely. “Were you?” she ventured.

“No, but –”

“Then that is what I want,” Nerali cut him off, wavering confidence in her words.

Jace looked at her, his face still blank. “I will, of course, go to the peace talks if that is what you truly desire,” he said carefully, and Nerali looked at him. She heard a ‘but’ coming. “But you broke the curse on my people, Nerali. I’m not sure if you understand what you did and how enormous an impact it has had on my clan. I don’t think going to a conference is a sufficient wergild.”

Oh. He didn’t think she was asking for too much. He thought she was asking for too little. “You have to go with the purpose of making peace,” she ventured slowly, “You have to believe in it and strive to make it come true. Work towards a future where the forest is a place of safety and happiness.” This was probably too much, but it would give her a sense of where to meet in the middle. Perhaps to go to the conference and avoid starting a fight? Clarissa had always complained about Jace’s ability to annoy almost anyone, though she hadn’t yet seen that particular talent.

Jace looked at her, his gaze intense, and she waited for his answer. “I would consider that a sufficient wergild,” he said finally and Nerali exhaled in relief. Clarissa would be so happy. She had finally managed to fix the monumental mistake that had started with a poisoned sword and a twenty-foot drop.

(Perhaps Clarissa would even smile at her and ruffle her hair and say that she had made her proud.)

“Nerali,” Jace spoke again, his voice soft and careful, “Are you sure that this is what you want?” He looked at her with a searching stare, “I don’t wish to sound rude, but you didn’t seem like you were that interested in the peace talks.”

Nerali flushed because it was true. She hadn’t cared and that loss of caring had led her into the forest on a patrol a week before the carefully balanced peace talks even though something was obviously going to go wrong.

“Clarissa dreamed of peace,” she said. A peace with Jace by her side, she hadn’t said, but it had been obvious enough.

“I know she’s fanatic about it,” Jace managed a small smile, “But I didn’t know you were.”

“She’s my sister,” Nerali said, looking away, her voice getting smaller, “And I almost ruined her dream beyond repair.” She looked back to Jace, “I had to fix it.”

Jace blinked and looked to Mirai. Nerali followed his gaze but by the time she turned her head, Mirai was looking down at her and offering her another sip of water. She took a gulp of it and laid back down, looking back up at the circles of the thatched roof. There was a smile tugging at her lips, and something loosened inside her chest, something that had tightened when Clarissa had looked at her with those sad, tired eyes.

It wasn’t an ideal position – her arms still hurt like hell – but she had managed to deal with all the consequences, and all by herself, too! She could comfort herself with the surprised but delighted look that would be on her sister’s face when Nerali explained everything she’d done. Clarissa would be so proud.

“Nerali,” Jace asked quietly and she turned her head towards him, “Did Clarissa say that you had to fix your mistake? Did she tell you that it was your fault?”

“No, of course not!” Nerali frowned. Like she was a child that needed to be scolded. She could take the blame for her actions by herself.

“Then why did you come here, Nerali?” Jace asked in the same tone of voice. It sounded remarkably similar to the time Aiden coaxed an injured leopard cub out of hiding.

“To pay wergild,” Nerali blinked at him. Was something wrong with Jace? Did breaking the curse have a mental effect?

“It wasn’t your responsibility,” Jace said levelly, “Wergild is usually negotiated between clans.”

“Oh,” Nerali had not known that, “But it was my fault.” And she didn’t want to put Clarissa in the position of ordering her into a dangerous situation or accepting capitulations. Jace cast another glance at Mirai and Nerali frowned.

“You said you were expecting to die when you came here,” Jace said haltingly, pausing before every word, “But you knew that wouldn’t happen, right?”

“I didn’t think of it before you pointed it out,” Nerali mumbled, not looking at Mirai.

“Think of what, exactly?”

“That obviously my life would not be worth hers,” Nerali said, her voice dropping even lower. She hunched into her shoulders again.

“Don’t be silly,” Mirai said, her voice determined, and Nerali straightened again, “Jace would never have killed you because if he did, Clarissa would’ve come after him. In fact, it’s extremely fortuitous that this sequence of events have resolved themselves with minimal bloodshed and little lasting damage.”

“Clarissa wouldn’t have come after you,” Nerali said, incredulous, though Mirai was right, it was incredibly lucky, “It was wergild. She would understand.” She frowned – she hadn’t thought of what Clarissa would’ve felt if she’d heard of Nerali’s death. Yet another person she hadn’t considered would be affected by the consequences of her actions.

Jace’s face was doing something funny, his expression twisted somewhere between disbelief, confusion, and horror. “She would understand,” Jace repeated, his words devoid of all emotion, “She would understand that her baby sister was murdered and would do nothing about it?”

“Not murder,” Nerali said, wincing. “Payment.” This conversation had certainly taken an odd turn. “She loved Mirai too, you know,” she said, her words soft and reproachful.

“Nerali,” Jace said. He sounded calm, but he didn’t look it, his hands clenching into fists and a muscle jumping in his jaw. “What did she say to you when she heard what you did? Exactly.”

The words had echoed in Nerali’s head since she first heard them and even now they felt like daggers to the heart. She repeated them warily, not understanding the undercurrent of anger in the room, but recognizing it nonetheless, “That she loved Mirai like her own sister and she understood what you were going through.” She paused, but Jace was looking at her, expectant. “That your rage would burn down the world if it wasn’t put out.”

There was a long silence. Jace looked at her blankly, unmoving. Nerali turned to Mirai, but her face smoothened over the instant she saw her and Mirai mutely offered her another sip. When she turned back, Jace was getting to his feet.

“Well, it’s clear she still understands me, though I’m not sure I still understand her.” He nodded at Nerali, “Thank you for this great service you’ve done to my clan, Nerali. I hope you will consider partaking of our hospitality until you recover.” He looked to Mirai, “I need to pack quickly if I’m to reach the conference tomorrow. I know Irina wanted to check up on you again.”

Mirai got up ungainly and Nerali could see clearly that she hadn’t fully recovered yet. She leaned heavily on Jace’s arm as she limped out the door, flashing a quick smile at Nerali before she left. Nerali relaxed back into the pillows, feeling so much lighter. Everything had been fixed and Jace was going to strive for peace. With both Jace and Clarissa working together, her sister’s dream would come true. She would probably take Jace up on his offer – she didn’t want to see Clarissa’s face when she saw Nerali’s arms, and it would probably be better to do a quick check-up on the spirit spring before she left, just to make sure that the curse had fully dissolved.

Nerali slipped back into sleep, content.

~#~

He waited until he was out of earshot of Nerali’s hut, which was honestly more self-control than he thought he had. “She what?” he hissed, furious. Mirai leaned against a nearby wall. Several people in the vicinity were pretending quite hard that they weren’t eavesdropping. “She basically told her sister that she was responsible for the breakdown of peace in the forest!”

“To be fair, she would’ve been,” Mirai pointed out.

“Nerali is her sister,” Jace hissed, unable to put the roiling pit of anger and fear inside of him into words, “Her sister.”

“Jace,” Mirai started tentatively, but Jace cut her off.

“Her baby sister, Mirai,” he said, crossing to her and gripping her shoulders tight, “Have I ever said something like that to you? Have I ever even implied it?”

“No, Jace, of course not,” Mirai placed a soothing hand on top of his, “You would never do that, I know.”

“But Clarissa did,” Jace said, closing his eyes. All this time, and he thought she had been the righteous one. “She basically told her that her life was worth less than yours.”

“She didn’t say that,” Mirai said quietly, “She would never say that.”

“That’s what she implied,” Jace said, “That my anger was a bigger problem than her baby sister’s continued survival.” He felt sick to his stomach. He had dug his fingernails into his hands to stop from breaking something when Nerali was talking. “It’s what Nerali heard, otherwise she wouldn’t have walked all the way over here to throw herself on a sword.”

She hadn’t even seen anything wrong in it. She had asked for peace because it was what her sister wanted. She had been ready to die, thinking it was what her sister wanted.

“I thought it was a joke,” he said finally, “When she arrived at the gates, talking about wergild. I thought it was cruel mockery. Offering me exactly what I wanted and knowing I couldn’t take it. Watching me fight my revenge to save my people – forcing me to acknowledge that something took priority over you, even as you were dying.” Mirai was silent. “But it wasn’t a joke, was it? She was serious.” He swept Mirai into a hug, holding her crushingly tight until he could feel her heartbeat. She squawked at him, but he didn’t let go.

“Promise me you would never do that,” he said, loosening his grip slightly, “Promise me, Mirai, that you would never give your life up for anything or anyone, thinking it’s what I want. Promise me.”

“I promise,” Mirai said softly.

“It doesn’t matter if you burn this whole forest down until there’s nothing left but ashes, because I will not blame you. I will never blame you,” he pulled back until he could meet her eyes, “And if you die thinking it’s what I want, I will slit my own throat, do you understand?”

Mirai swallowed, tears in her eyes, and nodded mutely. Jace fought back the burning in his own eyes and hugged her again, hoping that if he held her tight enough, he could forget what Nerali had said.

He finally let her go, wiping at his eyes roughly. The people around them had given up all pretense of pretending not to listen. Several of them looked shocked. Many looked as sick as he’d felt listening to Nerali. The healer outside of Nerali’s hut, paused with a small cup of soup in her hands, was white-faced and sorrowful.

“Chief.” He turned to meet Felix’s determined gaze, “Tell us she’s not going back there.”

“I strongly suggested she stay here until she’s healed,” Jace said hoarsely, “I trust you can manage to keep her here without using actual force.” The healer nodded. “She’s disoriented and woozy from the pain, so it shouldn’t be too hard.” He turned back to Felix, “You should pack. We’re leaving for the peace talks.”

Felix blinked, “We are?”

“Yes,” Jace said, “Nerali asked that as repayment for breaking the curse and I accepted. Besides, it gives us the perfect opportunity.” A slow smile stretched across his face as he thought of the possibilities.

“Opportunity, chief?” Felix asked.

“To show Clarissa the error of her ways.” And he would make sure she’d learned her lesson before letting Nerali anywhere near her again.

~#~

Part 4.

#whump #whumpfic #wergild #arc: the price #consequences #not as dead as claimed #still cripplingly low self-esteem #don't worry #people are going to fix that

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psyche13 · 4 years ago

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I’ve been having fun with Google Translate

So here is the movie Aftershock (2012), according to Google Translate:

Aftershock is a 2012 Chilean-American horror film starring Nicolas Lopez and Mino’aka Roth. Written by Lopez, Rossi Guillermor Mod, based on the story of Rossi Lopez. Three tourists, Gringo Ariel and Polo, traveled to Chile. Was lucky three young women, the Hungarian sisters Monica ,Kylie , Russian girl Irina. They were married and decided to go to Valparaiso together. During the earthquake in Valparaiso a new tree was enjoyed, the railway, those who fell to the ground were destroyed. When Ariel tried to help him, he broke his arm. The group tried to leave, but their door prevented another throw. The cleaner enters the hole near the water tank. While walking, a truck caught the old man and killed him.

As they made their way down the road, a group of people tried to get out of the car, but to no avail. Ariel developed anorexia and the company decided to take her to a mountain hospital as soon as possible. A tsunami alert was issued and everyone went to the parking lot to climb the hill. After much deliberation, the drunkard agreed to leave Ariel alone in the car.

Workers were watching the car reach the top of the hill when the cable suddenly broke and the car fell again, destroying the car and killing all the occupants. The tombs are trying to get to the church on the hill through a cave that was previously hidden. The group arrived at a hot street party, where prisoners escaped from a nearby prison damaged by the earthquake. She tried to escape, but the women of the group welcomed her. As he ran, a part of the house fell into Gringo’s hands, keeping him alive. Monica and Polo help Irina and Kelly stay with Greening. While they are looking for help, Monica and Polo find the train wrecked out of control.

Even though the pit was closed, the truck stopped and one of the flames in the car ran into a tree. Polo and Monica release the surviving firefighters. He explained that some detainees were trying to rob a train. As a result, they went out of control. Meanwhile, Kylie hears the prisoner coming while Irina tries to calm down Gringo . Gringo tells Kilie and Irina to hide. The women hid in the tomb while the prisoners threatened Gring.

They served her alcohol and threatened to set her on fire if she didn't tell them where the women were. The terrified gringo pointed to their hiding place. Irina left her hiding place and tried to escape. He was immediately arrested by prisoners. The leader of the prisoners killed Irina while the others sat and joked. Gringo throws rocks at the guide and tries to help Irina. The king was angry, he set him on fire, burned Gringo alive and died. Kylie, hearing all the noise outside, decided to run. Kylie is able to escape and meet Monica and the others. They returned to Irina and left Polo with the king's brother who had died. When the team left the place where the prisoners and leaders saw her sister's body, they shot and killed Irina.

The rest of the group escapes to find a fortress in the courtyard with the other animals that live there. The single mother refuses to let them go, but the neighbor wants to open the door. When Pollo asked, the woman shot him in the chest and injured him. Others help carry it, but choose to hide it so they can ask for help. Poll's phone rang immediately and one of the inmates heard him and found him. They killed him and continued to persecute other people. The group arrived at the church, where they were rescued by a priest who locked the door in time. When an aftershock occurs, the church begins to fall.

The priest leads them to a secret passage in the church. The group descends a staircase through a secret passage, with a storm shaking the staircase. The priest fails the trial and Kylie dies and an iron bar pierces her thigh. Monica, meanwhile, only resisted because she was the last to go down the stairs. The firefighter tries to help Kylie by removing the object and taking off her clothes to try to stop the flow. He takes off his coat to show the prison flags on his arms and shoulders. She was one of the prisoners who escaped carrying the engine, Kylie was scared and didn't promise to tell anyone.

Monica is able to find some ropes and walk down the stairs until she skates. He saw Kylie's body in one of the tunnels. A firefighter / prisoner tried to kill her, but the earthquake hit her and Monica managed to kill her with a knife. Monica managed to escape between the cave and the beach. He was walking on the beach, shivering, and finally made safe. When he turned around, he saw the tsunami approaching.

#google translate #aftershock #Eli Roth #Nicolas Lopez #I guess Eli Roth is Hawaiian now #bad summaries #it's actually a movie about a wedding #hotstreetparty

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morsmordrehasbeensaved · 7 years ago

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EVENT 006, PART IV: HOGSMEADE, CHAPTER 2

After snowing steadily all morning, the air had finally fallen silent, as if it could sense something was about to happen. Students, professors, and holiday guests were none the wiser, still walking around in the cold winter air, bundled up but most of them, red-cheeked with joy. Despite it being the new year, there was still a strong sense of holiday cheer, and most happenings of the morning were light-hearted and filled with brightness.

How quickly their faces fell when out of nowhere, thirty terrifying figures Apparated onto the scene. Wearing the white robes of Grindelwald’s Army, his mark in bright red on their backs, and their faces painted like skulls with the same colors. They didn’t hesitate and immediately started sending out curses in every direction, albeit all non-lethal, Hogsmeade quickly fell into chaos.

As soon as the playing field was under their control, the army started going after their real targets ━ Death Eaters, and anyone who was associated with them. Payback for the way they’d been framed against the centaurs, but the hatred with which they fired Unforgivable Curses signified their much stronger feelings of hatred against this enemy. Students who sided with Grindelwald were completely taken by surprise as well, and the terror displayed on almost every single face was completely real.

People were attacked left and right, fights broke out all over the little village, buildings were destroyed and lit on fire. What was supposed to have been a day of fun to end the holidays had turned into absolute terror.

RITA SKEETER went to hide in an old cellar, where she’d have a perfect view of the fight going on, whilst simultaneously stay safe from the attack. It was only after BERTRAM AUBREY fell down the stairs and tumbled into the basement with her and the building collapsed on top of her exit, she started to regret her decisions.

Caught fighting against a much more powerful enemy, RODOLPHUS LESTRANGE is both disarmed and injured. He is about to be finished off by the Grindelwald supporter until ALICE FORTESCUE sweeps in and saves him. She tries to help him escape from the fight and get them to safety.

After being hit by a horrible curse, LUCIUS MALFOY finds himself gravely injured and on the brink of death. He is trying to get to safety, but with all the enemies around him, it’s near impossible. Luckily, AMELIA BONES is there to defend him - though she’s not very happy about it.

JAMES POTTER and LILY EVANS are trying to do the best they can, defending those who need to be defended and fighting to protect others, they make quite the formidable pair. It’s just PETUNIA EVANS that seems to have gotten stuck with them that occasionally messes things up.

Seeing some army members going in the direction of his students, FILIUS FLITWICK quickly follows them to fight off whatever they were about to do to LILIANE CHASTAIN and LORCAN D’EATH. Unfortunately, in his defense, they catch him by surprise with a painful curse - the army members think it’s over, but they forgot about the two Ravenclaws, ready to defend their beloved Head of House. LILIANE also takes an injury, but they make it out.

ANTONIN DOLOHOV is trying to make sense of the situation and why he wasn’t informed when a stray spell from a defending REMUS LUPIN hits him. Already filled to the brim with anger, he decides to return the favor.

With a huge target painted on their backs, ANDROMEDA BLACK, EVAN ROSIER and NARCISSA BLACK are cornered by six enemies. The army members know that getting their hands on a Black means great renown, and went after the two youngest girls because they seemed like the weakest links. They are surprised by EVAN and how hard they fight back, however - and luckily, all three of them make it out injured, but safe.

Hit by a stray spell, NOURA SHAFIQ is being taken care of by POPPY POMFREY. A random Death Eater seems to mistake her white-and-red nurses’ clothing for a Grindelwald’s Army member, and fires off a curse in her direction, leaving her heavily injured as well. OTTO BAGMAN finds the two and tries to heal them best he can, before helping carry the both of them out of the fighting lines.

GABRIELLE BELLAMY and EDGAR BONES find themselves in a vicious attack against five members of Grindewald’s Army. They are soon joined by KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT. The ensuing fight is show-stopping, and all three fight with such fluidity and comfort that it seems like they’ve been dueling together for years. GABRIELLE and KINGSLEY make it out injury free, but EDGAR is hit in the thigh with a Laceration Curse.

JOSEPH MULCIBER finds himself in a battle for his life against four members of Grindewald’s Army. During the fight, he ends up setting fire to the shop he’s in. Just when things are looking dire, RUBEUS HAGRID rushes in to help. Despite waging a tough battle, JOSEPH finds himself knocked unconscious. HAGRID then throws him over his shoulder and rushes him to safety.

FLORENCE CONSTABLE, terrified by what is going on, takes refuge in Ceridwen’s Cauldron. She notices one really large cauldron in the back room that seems like the perfect hiding spot! Only, when she climbs inside, she realizes the spot is already taken by a terrified BEAU WILKINSON. They decide to share the cauldron and wait out the battle together.

ADELE IVERS gets caught in a burning building, the same building set aflame by JOSEPH MULCIBER. She is caught in wreckage, unable to escape, when DORCAS MEADOWES and MARLENE MCKINNON hear her screams. Together, DORCAS and MARLENE work hard to rescue ADDIE from the flames.

FANTA CARROW, the mother of AMYCUS and ALECTO CARROW, is hit by a Blasting Curse fired from a member of Grindewald’s Army. FANTA had been at lunch with AMYCUS, and his new fiance, EMMA VANITY when this occurs. Enraged, AMYCUS kills the attacker, his first act of murder. This draws the attention of multiple other fighters, but AMYCUS and EMMA manage to fight their way out. Unfortunately, FANTA succumbs to her injuries and passes away before the duel is done.

PINKY PARKINSON rushes through Hogsmeade in a desperate search for her little brother, POWELL. She finds him inside of Zonkos, only he’s not alone. LOGAN WILKES is there too, and together, they all move towards the door to find a way to safety. Unfortunately, they are stopped by two members of Grindewald’s Army. LOGAN has the opportunity to escape, but that means they must leave PINKY and POWELL to fend for themselves. Do they leave the siblings behind or do they help them get to safety?

SEVERUS SNAPE and PROFESSOR SLUGHORN were both trying to have a quiet afternoon of shopping. They’re in J. Pippins Potions when the fight breaks out. They’re safe inside, but they’re surrounded outside. It’s too many opponents to fight with wands alone, so they’re forced to use all of the Potions around them to fight their way out. Good thing they’re both Potions experts.

VALERIUS VANITY, ALEXEI KRUM, and LUMINA ORION are all running away as fast as they can, however, when LUMINA is hit by a stray curse, VALERIUS and ALEXEI must work together to carry her to safety, while also making sure that they don’t end up hurt themselves.

LUDOVIC BAGMAN takes off in a sprint from the moment he detects trouble. He’s nearly safe when he finds himself caught in the crash of a collapsing building. Coincidentally, this is also the building that JOSEPH MULCIBER lit up in flames. Severely injured, and unable to move, LUDOVIC begins to fear for the worst when a white-robed figure begins to close on him. However, to his greatest relief, SAVANNAH WILKINSON comes to his defense. It is now up to her to rescue LUDOVIC, while also defending the both of them from any oncoming attackers.

REGULUS BLACK struggles to defend himself against his attackers, but he is outnumbered by the sheer volume of people coming at him. He is saved by his elder brother, SIRIUS BLACK, only SIRIUS is badly injured after coming to his aid. Does REGULUS stay behind to help his brother or does he leave SIRIUS behind?

FABIAN PREWETT has found himself standing shoulder to shoulder with GRETA CATCHLOVE and ALECTO CARROW. When the battle is finished, GRETA is left on the ground injured. ALECTO is more concerned about the whereabouts of her brother, so she leaves the pair to their own devices. It is now up to FABIAN to keep GRETA safe, alive, and free from any further harm.

When Grindewald’s Army descends on a group of students, fellow member NADEZHDA BURKE is the only one left unharmed. Enraged, suspicious, and confused, BELLATRIX BLACK corners NADEZHDA alone, determined to get answers out of her one way or another.

ANDREI DRAGANOV and IRINA DRAGANOVA find one another soon after the fight begins. They quickly realize that neither one knew anything about the attack, to IRINA’S disappointment. ANDREI is accidentally hit by a friendly-fire curse, meaning IRINA must -- reluctantly -- help her brother get to safety.

ROLANDA HOOCH defends muggle CALLIE AUBREY in the fight, and works hard to get her to safety.

CASSANDRA WILKES and DAISY HOOKUM are enjoying a nice drink at the Hogs Head when the chaos breaks loose. Under the influence of alcohol, they must find a way to get to safety.

GIDEON PREWETT and EMMELINE VANCE surprisingly make a pretty good team when it comes to dueling. Every move they make is in sync, and their opponents quickly wish that they had chose to engage with someone else. However, when they spot a wandless THOMAS AVERY being targeted by two men with red painted faces, they make it their new mission to get him to safety.

Confused and disoriented because they knew nothing about the attack, ZHENYA SELWYN and LUCINDA TALKALOT find themselves sharing a hiding spot near the Shrieking Shack. They decide to wait it out here until the fight is over, but they quickly fall into bickering. ZHENYA, still upset and defensive over LUCINDA’S supposed robbery of the Slytherin captaincy from her friend EMMA, decides to make this known to LUCINDA, who doesn’t take the insults lying down.

In all of the chaos, Auror CHARLOTTE FAWLEY has one of her curses hit TED TONKS, causing the Hufflepuff to be quite injured. POMONA SPROUT notices this encounter, and is a little suspicious of the Auror’s mistake. Unfortunately, she has no time to seek out any further information, because there’s attackers incoming.

After spotting what looks like a wounded AUGUSTUS ROOKWOOD holding off against three opponents, FRANK LONGBOTTOM spares no time to rush towards the Ravenclaw so he could save him. The two of them fighting side-by-side looks quite formidable, but they are still outnumbered.

EDWARD and ADELINE BONES are trying to enjoy a nice outing together in the village when they find themselves overrun by multiple attackers. EDWARD, still weak from events past, struggles to keep up. Luckily, ADELINE is more than capable of protecting them both. Even after taking a curse to the shoulder, she is fighting valiantly. However, it isn’t enough, and they’re in danger of being overrun when fellow married couple SAWYER and RUBY WILKINSON come to their rescue. They manage to fight it out, but RUBY does sustain some injuries.

THORFINN ROWLE is running, three members of Grindewald’s Army hot on his tail. He can see a Professor up ahead, and he hurries in that direction, knowing he will be safe when he gets there. He is close, extremely close, when his luck runs out. He is hit from behind by the brutish Entrail Expelling curse, and he falls down to the ground. AMARA ZABINI is only a few meters away, hiding in the bushes, when she sees THORFINN fall. Terrified, she rushes over and drops down next to him. THORFINN is a gory sight to behold, covered in blood and worse. AMARA, panicked, promises to get him to safety, but THORFINN knows his time is running out. He grabs AMARA’S hands, and within minutes, he closes his eyes forever.

The aftermath of the battle is rough. Grindelwald’s Army had the element of surprise on their side, and while there was a definite dwindle in their numbers, they caused much more damage to the other sides. The dead bodies of Fanta Carrow and Thorfinn Rowle lay in the streets, and especially the latter makes people stumble back because of the brutality. Blood covers the snow, and many of the students trudging through it. Two buildings are destroyed, and one is still burning. Only a rare few remain untouched by injuries, and the Hospital Wing quickly spills out into the hallways. With Poppy Pomfrey down, it’s up to some of the professors, the holiday guests and whatever students have the ability to help heal and save lives.

Hogwarts goes on complete lockdown, though inside the castle walls, they are much safer than in the village - with all the protection spells, but, before the doors close, there is one bit of news that flows in. Hogsmeade wasn’t the only place that had been under siege. The body of Druella Black was found inside her home, her beautiful, blonde head cut clean off. A cousin of the Lestrange brothers was found strung up by his own innards. Walburga Black was found in an alleyway, her blood painting the walls surrounding it bright red. Ophelia Malfoy blown to bits in a small cafe where she was enjoying her afternoon tea, her fingers were found in the cauldron full of tomato bisque and her right leg found near the bathroom door.

Grindelwald had decided to wait until the time was ripe, and then take out some major Death Eaters and those related to them. He knocked out a big chunk of the lives that surrounded those who supported Lord Voldemort - and managed to heavily injure quite a few as well. Inside the castle, it is currently the only place deemed safe, but with Death Eaters seeking vengeance and tensions rising up high, will it stay that way?

Morsmurder back at it again, homies! We know we’ve been hyping this thing up in the chat for a while now, and we hope it’ll be worth it. Below are some important notes regarding the event:

Threads for the event should take place on JANUARY 4TH, in character

The prompts are for personal threads only, but if you find a way to work around that and make an open starter, you definitely can. If not, you can post open starters for the aftermath instead.

Please tag your starters with both MORSMORDRE STARTER and MMRP EVENT006/4. Also, keep in mind our TRIGGER WARNINGS and tag your posts appropriately.

You can post starters for the PROMPT part of this event until JANUARY 27TH, 11:59 PM EST. You can post other STARTERS until they stay relevant in light of the timeline of the roleplay.

Feel free to let us know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the event!

#morsmordre event #mmrp event006/4 #hp rp #marauders rp #hogwarts rp #blood tw #gore tw #death tw #violence tw

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dimensiontripperhibiki · 7 years ago

Text

Let It Burn (37/?)

Here’s the next chapter of LIB! Thanks for all of the comments, likes and reblogs etc! Warning(s): EXTREME violence. Kind of gory. Sexual scenes. You wasn’t sure how she had managed to fall so far behind Takashi but before she’d realized what was happening she’d found herself surrounded by guards, all of whom seemed intent on killing her. She’d barely managed to scramble to cover before they had opened fire at her. She hadn’t been able to get close to them so she had settled for throwing whatever she could, ducking and diving between using couches, coffee tables and walls for cover. She was largely distracted by the thought of where Chika could be though and finally one of the guards somehow managed to get behind her and hit her hard on the head. She vaguely heard him demand that she not be killed, because she could be useful if she was taken to a facility. She could be used as a weapon, he had said. She’d felt a small prick on her arm and then the room started to spin. She quickly realized the guard had tried to sedate her and as she struggled free she realized her abilities weren’t working. The drug wasn’t enough to knock her out but it kept her from breaking free.

She struggled as best she could as she was dragged up the stairs by two guards. She couldn’t get free though and she felt herself begin to panic. Maybe she would never see Chika again. Or Riko and the others. Maybe she was going to be taken somewhere and tested upon like she’d heard had happened to other ability users. She would never get to kiss Chika again, she’d never get to tell her she loved her or tell her how much their friendship had meant to her. She’d never hear her voice again. She heard it clearly though, a moment later as she was dragged into a large office. “YOU-CHAN?!” Chika cried out, ducking a slash of a blade. She tried to make a dash toward You only to be caught by a punch to the stomach. You looked up, her eyes widening as she watched Chika fall to her knees, clutching her stomach. “Ch-Chika-chan…” She could hear sobbing and yelling and she looked around, finding Eli on the floor, her head in Umi’s lap. There was a pool of blood forming around her. Honoka was nearby, sobbing uncontrollably into Umi’s shoulder. “No…” The man she recognized as Takashi was seemingly pinned against a wall, his cheeks wet. He was yelling at Umi, asking her to tell him if Eli was still alive but she wasn’t answering. Umi was crying too, You could see, but she was talking. You couldn’t hear what Umi was saying over Takashi’s yelling. He was alternating between pleading with Umi and telling the woman holding the bloody knife that he was going to kill her when he got his hands on her. Umi was leaning over slightly, her shirt lifted up so that she could press it to Eli’s chest to help with the bleeding. Eli wasn’t awake. Her eyes were closed, her hands limp at her sides. “I found this ability user.” The guard who was holding You stepped forward with her. “Thought she’d be useful.” “Oh, she will.” It wasn’t Kasumi who spoke but Tsubasa. “Bring her to me. And sedate this one.” “NO!” Chika screamed though as she tried to push herself up, Tsubasa kicked her in the head, sending her sprawling back to the ground. Nico’s ability kept her from passing out but it hurt and she was left dazed long enough for one of the guards to inject her. You dug her heels into the ground as she was dragged toward Tsubasa but she couldn’t fight it. She was powerless. “Good. Hold her.” Tsubasa commanded the two guards. She held up the knife in her hand, smirking to herself. “This might hurt a bit.” “NO!” Chika screamed, desperately fighting against a guard who was holding her back. “Please, don’t.” You pleaded, her heart pounding relentlessly in her chest. She stared into Tsubasa’s eyes but it was as though they were empty, devoid of feeling. “Please, please…” Tsubasa gripped You’s chin with her free hand and lifted the knife, a smirk on her lips. She precisely cut straight across her forehead, causing You to scream out in pain. “NO, STOP IT!” Chika screamed tearfully as You’s screams stopped. She had passed out, from pain it seemed. “PLEASE! Please stop, take me instead. I-I have more than one ability, I can...I can memorize them. Up to five at a time. PLEASE. YOU DON’T NEED HER!” Tsubasa paused at that, thinking about it. She didn’t have much time though as someone appeared right next to her. She looked to her right, her eyes widening when she recognized the time traveller they’d been after. “HONOKA!” Takashi yelled from across the room. “Eli. Get her out of here, please!” Future Honoka’s gaze shifted to Eli and she felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. There was so much blood and Eli looked so pale. She was reminded of her own time, when Eli had thrown herself in the way of a shadow to protect her. Anger boiled up quickly and she growled furiously, her fists clenching. She threw her arms up and focused intently on the space in front of her. Tsubasa backed away in alarm as a portal opened up in the middle of the room. Future Honoka stormed over to Irina and grabbed her by the collar. With a yell of anger, she threw her into the portal. “RIN, GET ELI BACK TO THE BASE!” Future Honoka yelled at Rin as she rushed for another guard, forcing him into the open portal. She noticed Rin didn’t move. “RIN!” “R-Right!” Rin dashed toward Eli just as Takashi did. She grabbed her and Umi, using her ability to get them out as quickly as she could. As the guards decided to run, You fell to the ground and Chika crawled over to her. “You-chan…” She felt for a pulse and released a choked sob when she found one. “Oh god. I thought…” The clang of a knife hitting the floor drew her attention and she looked up to see Tsubasa shaking, staring at her hands. “Get out of here.” Tsubasa said shakily, looking up to meet Chika’s angry stare. “I-I don’t want your ability. Or the one with the strength. Just take her and go!” Chika frowned as she quickly took off her jacket, pressing it to You’s head. “But you were just…” “IT WASN’T ME!” Tsubasa slid her hands into her hair, breathing heavily. “But i-it could take over at any seconds so please just leave. It’ll sense your ability. Please get away from me. I-I can’t let it win...” It took Chika a moment but she finally realized what Tsubasa was saying. “Y-You’re just like Mari-san, aren’t you? She told us that her ability has a mind of it’s own. L-Like a parasite...You can’t control it. W-We can help you, if you come with us.” Tsubasa shook her head and gritted her teeth. “I just need Erena. I can’t go anywhere without her.” “Your friend? We can go back for her, we can…” “NO!” Tsubasa yelled loudly. “They’ll kill her before we have the chance! Just get away from me before I kill you both! Now, I’m...” Chika mistook Tsubasa’s sudden quietness for hesitation. “We can help. You don’t have to…” Tsubasa’s cold laugh sent a shiver down Chika’s spine, effectively silencing her. Slowly, Tsubasa bent to pick the knife up. “I don’t need your help. I’ll just have your abilities. Now where was I? Oh yes, carving your head to get access to those delicious abilities. I believe you were offering yourself up?” “What?” Chika stared at Tsubasa in terror. It was like she was a completely different person. The emotion that had lingered in her eyes just a moment ago was replaced with pure, murderous intent. “Shit, you’re…” “Hmm.” Tsubasa smirked as she stepped forward. “Now stay still while I take your pretty little head off. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much. You’ll still be alive at least.” Chika tried to shrink back but she couldn't leave You behind so she stopped as Tsubasa advanced on her with the knife in her hand. “Takashi, can you take my idiot past self?!” Honoka called over to Takashi as she slowly advanced on Kasumi. Takashi, who was holding Honoka close to him as she sobbed into his chest, looked up. “Yeah, I’ve got he-” He was cut off by the sound of a loud scream from Chika. Future Honoka stopped in her tracks and turned to Chika and Tsubasa in time to see the leader of A-Rise cutting Chika’s head open. “Oh god…” She hadn’t thought about the possibility that Tsubasa could take Chika’s power, of all people. She didn’t have time to move before Tsubasa pointed her knife at Chika’s head, moving it slowly to the right in a cutting gesture. She knew what that meant. It was Tsubasa’s ability. She’d seen it before in the future. She swallowed against the bile that rushed to the back of her throat as Tsubasa ruthlessly prised Chika’s head open, the girl screaming the entire time. She glanced back at Kasumi briefly. She wanted nothing more than to kill her but she couldn’t. And she had to stop Tsubasa. She couldn’t let the girl get her hands on such a powerful ability. She took off at a sprint toward the girl. “TSUBASA!” Kasumi called just as Honoka teleported. Tsubasa narrowed her eyes at Honoka, memorising the ability and focused intently. Just as Future Honoka appeared next to her she disappeared, teleporting herself over to Kasumi. She grabbed the older woman and teleported them both away. “DAMN IT!” Honoka cried though she didn’t have much time to think about the situation she was in. Chika was a mess, sobbing loudly as blood spilled down her face. “Oh god...fuck!” She quickly reattached the top of Chika’s skull, having to swallow hard again as her stomach shifted uncomfortably. “Fuck...it’s okay. It’ll heal in a minute. It’s okay.” Chika clutched at the front of Honoka’s shirt, unable to hold back her sobs. It hurt so badly and she couldn’t even pass out. She was just glad that You wasn’t awake to see what had happened. Future Honoka looked up, relieved to see that Takashi had taken off with her past self. She didn’t move yet, slumping down onto the ground instead as Chika continued to sob. “I’m sorry.” She choked out, pulling the hysterical girl into her lap. She should have been faster. She shouldn’t have hesitated. “I’m so so fucking sorry…” --- Umi lightly brushed Honoka’s hair from her face. Her girlfriend had been hysterical when she’d gotten back to the base with Takashi. Rei had only been able to calm her down by injecting her with a strong sedative. Umi had fallen asleep at her side for a few hours but Honoka was still sleeping soundly. She was glad of that at least. She glanced at Eli in the other bed. She’d been injected with Nico’s blood and her injury had mostly healed. There was still a wound and Eli had to wear an oxygen mask to breathe for the time being but she was alive. You was in a bed on the other side of Eli’s, having not regained consciousness yet. There was a bandage on her forehead from her wound. Chika had a similar one though her wound had seemed much worse. Even with her regenerating abilities it had still been bleeding when she came back to the base. She’d been just as hysterical as Honoka, if not moreso, and she’d been sedated too. She was with Kanan and Riko now. Umi wondered if whatever had happened to Chika had been what Future Honoka had seen, to make her so quiet and closed off when she’d gotten back. The moment she’d arrived she’d went straight to Nozomi and hugged her as tightly as she could. Even Nozomi had looked surprised by the strength of the embrace. Hearing movement from Eli’s bed, Umi got up and went over just as Eli reached up to take her mask off. She gently grasped Eli’s hand to intercept it. “Hey, hey...stop that. You need it on.” Eli’s brow furrowed slightly in confusion. “H-Hono…” “She’s safe. See?” Umi pointed to the bed to her left and Eli painstakingly pushed herself up into a sitting position so she could see. She relaxed slightly when she saw Honoka sleeping. Eli reached up to take the mask off so she could speak only for Umi to gently stop her again. “I told your dad I would watch you.” Umi said, giving Eli’s hand a gentle squeeze. She decided not to let go this time. Eli nodded in understanding. “Are you…” She winced, her hand going to he aching chest. “Hurt? H-Honoka…?” “I’m fine. We’re both fine.” Umi said with a shake of her head. She’d probably gotten off the lightest out of all of them. She hadn’t been hurt at all. “W-What ha-happened?” “Honoka’s future self saved us. She um…” Umi paused for a moment, biting her lower lip. “She did something really bad to your mom.” “G-Good.” Eli choked out, her tone emotionless. “Wait...H-Honoka isn’t awake. I-Is she…” “Rei-san sedated her.” Umi answered quietly, glancing at Honoka. “She was hysterical. She wouldn’t stop screaming for you. A-And Yukiho…she should be calmer when sh-” She was cut off by the sound of Eli trying to suck in a large breath of air. She glanced over to see she had taken off her oxygen mask. She knew immediately that Eli had planned to get off the bed and go to Honoka but she couldn’t breath. Umi grabbed the oxygen mask and pressed it back to Eli’s mouth as the blonde desperately tried to breathe. Her other hand went to the back of Eli’s head to hold her in place. “It’s okay. Just breathe slowly. I’m right here.” Eli’s watery eyes locked with Umi’s and she followed her instructions, her breathing gradually slowing down. “Why did you do it?” Umi whispered, gently stroking Eli’s hair. “This was meant for me.” “I-I couldn’t...let you die.” Eli said hoarsely, each word an effort. She hadn’t really thought about it before she’d jumped in the way. She’d needed to do it, that was all. Umi looked down at Eli’s bandaged chest, her own eyes stinging with tears. She hugged her as carefully as she could before she pulled back and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad you’re okay.” “You’re awake…” Eli looked past Umi to the door where Takashi had walked in, clutching Rei’s hand. “Yeah…” Eli raised an eyebrow at their joined hands but she was too tired to question it. It didn’t take her father more than a couple of seconds to let go of the hand he was clutching. He crossed to her and hugged her gently and she allowed herself to sink into the protective embrace. Umi decided to give the two of them a moment and crossed back to Honoka’s bed, perching on the edge next to her. “She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” She asked Rei in concern. “She’s going to be fine. So is Eli-chan, I’m sure.” Rei answered with a small smile as she looked over her notes. “Don’t worry.” --- “Hey.” Maki said softly as she rubbed Kotori’s back. Her girlfriend was staring into space from her position at the kitchen table. “You need to get some sleep.” “I need to wait for Honoka-chan to wake up. Umi-chan said she’ll tell me when…” Kotori trailed off wearily. Maki glanced at Yume who was watching her daughter in the concern. Her attention quickly turned back to Kotori though. “She will. She’ll wake you up. Now come on, let me take you to bed. We both need to rest.” “In different beds.” Yume reminded them, narrowing her eyes. “In the same bed. For tonight.” Maki’s voice wavered but she was adamant she wasn’t going to be swayed. “Kotori needs me there. She’s worried about Honoka and the others. I need to be with her.” “With the door open.” Yume declared, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Come on, do you really think I’d try to have sex with her when she’s…” Maki quietened down at the livid glare she received. “Fine. Come on, Kotori.” Kotori allowed Maki to take her hand and pull her to her feet. With a mumbled goodnight to her mom, she left the room, Maki tugging her along. They headed up the stairs together to Kotori’s room and Maki left the door open as asked. Kotori however, closed it halfway. “Wha…?” Maki didn’t have time to question the decision before Kotori’s lips were on hers. She automatically kissed back, her arms going around the other girl. She quickly came to her senses though and pulled away. “Wait, wait...we can’t.” “I need you. I need a distraction…” Kotori mumbled, pouting as Maki leaned back to keep their lips separated. “But your mom…” “I don’t care. I need my girlfriend.” Kotori said with a shake of her head. “Y-You’re tired too.” Maki argued meekly, aware she wouldn’t be able to resist for long. “I don’t want to make it worse.” “We can take it slow. Like we did yesterday morning.” Kotori drew away from Maki’s loose embrace and shrugged off her shirt as she made her way to the bed. Maki watched, her mouth slightly ajar as Kotori stripped until she was completely naked. “Damn it, Kotori…” Kotori climbed onto her bed and lay down on her back under the blankets. Maki glanced back toward the door, hesitating for a moment before she stripped off her shirt and skirt and went to join Kotori under the covers. If she stayed focused enough she should be able to hear anyone before they got too close, she told herself rationally. She was taken by surprise when Kotori grabbed her arm and pulled her down on top of her. “If your mom comes we need to stop.” Maki warned even as she allowed herself to sink into Kotori’s warmth. “Talking about my mom isn’t sexy, Maki-chan.” Kotori said, rubbing her hands up and down Maki’s back to warm the slightly chilled girl up. “Well sorry. Your mom is going to kill me if she walks in on you again.” Maki said with a heavy sigh as she looked to the door. “She thinks I’m taking advantage of you or something.” “Maybe I’m taking advantage of Maki-chan.” Kotori said with a smirk. She turned serious though when Maki still looked worried. “I’ll pull the covers over you if she walks in. That way I can just tell her that you’re visiting Nico-chan and Hanayo-chan.” “So lie to her?” “Sure. It’s not like I haven’t done it before.” Kotori answered casually. “Wait...don’t tell me you never lie to your mom?” “Of course not! I mean...maybe once or twice.” Maki said sheepishly. Technically she had lied to her mom earlier when she’d promised not to do anything to anger Yume even more. She hadn’t meant to though. It was just that Yume was being unreasonable. “Let’s just forget about it for a while.” Kotori suggested softly. She pulled Maki down closer to her and smirked playfully. “Come on, it’s fun to be naughty sometimes Maki-chan. I know you wanna. I’ll even let you give me visible bites.” Maki’s face turned red at the insinuation. Usually she only left scattered marks over Kotori’s lower half but the idea of doing something different was appealing. “D-Damn you…” Kotori smiled at Maki’s reaction. “I guess that’s a yes then.” She leaned up and lightly nibbled Maki’s earlobe. “Come on then. Do what you want with me…” Maki shuddered at the sensation. She’d had no idea that Kotori could be so seductive. “Anything I want?” Kotori swallowed thickly as Maki licked her lips. “Yeah. Anything you want, Maki-chan. I trust you.” “Good.” Maki leaned down and kissed at Kotori’s neck before gently scraping her teeth against the area. She grinned at her girlfriend before she slipped down under the covers. She was perplexed for a moment before she realized what Maki was going to do. Her eyes widened at the first brush of Maki’s tongue. “Oh my...aaah!” “Kotori, are you okay?” Kotori’s eyes widened at the sound of her mother’s voice. Thankfully she sounded quite far away. She didn’t expect her to have come upstairs already though. “I-I’m fine! Just getting ready for bed!” Kotori hissed as Maki’s tongue pressed against her again, firmer this time, her fingers rubbing at her too. “Maki-chan, don’t.” Maki stopped what she was doing to crawl back up the bed. “I thought you wanted me to be dirty?” She asked with a smirk. She slowly licked at her fingers, knowing it would drive Kotori crazy. “I-I meant maybe...like what we did yesterday, remember?” Kotori asked shakily. She remember it well, waking up to Maki languidly kissing her chest, a hand already making it’s way down into her underwear. The thought of it caused her to groan softly, her hips bucking up into Maki slightly. “I-I need to be able to cover for us if someone comes in. I need to be able to speak properly.” “You sounded fine to me.” Maki smirked before she slid back under the covers to resume what she was doing. Kotori quickly clamped her hand over her mouth, barely managing to suppress a moan as Maki picked up where she left off. She breathed through her nose, grinding her hips up with the movement of Maki’s tongue and fingers. She wanted nothing more than to stop holding herself back but she couldn’t, not if she wanted to avoid attracting attention. Her free hand snuck under the cover to the back of Maki’s head, drawing her closer. There was a light knock on the door followed by Yume’s voice. “Kotori, can I come in? I wanted to talk to you and Maki-chan about earlier.” Kotori cursed under her breath. She didn’t need this. Maki didn’t let up though. “Mom, please don’t come in. I-I’m changing. And Maki-chan went to see Nico-chan and Hanayo-chan. Maybe we can talk tomorrow, a-all three of us?” There was a moment of silence before Yume sighed. “Alright then. Goodnight.” “Goodnight!” Kotori called out. As soon as she heard Yume’s footsteps fade away she clamped her hand back over her mouth and focused on Maki again. “Fuck…” She mumbled into her hand, the tightness in her lower stomach building as Maki’s tongue slipped inside of her. “Mmm…” Maki pressed down against Kotori’s hip as the girl bucked into her, almost pushing her away. She pulled away briefly, sucking firmly at Kotori’s left thigh before she delved back in again. She wasn’t sure how she had managed to convince herself that she’d be able to focus on anything but Kotori. All she could do was lose herself in the ashen haired girl. Kotori needed a distraction though so she was going to give her one like she’d asked. It didn’t take more than a few more laps of her tongue and a slight thrust of two fingers for Kotori to reach her climax, a soft cry passing her lips as her back arched off the bed slightly. She shuddered through her climax for a moment, whimpering and moaning until she slumped back down. Maki slid back up to Kotori, lightly kissing her lips. Her hand slid down until she was brushing her fingers against already sensitive folds. “Do you want to stop?” Kotori shook her head and Maki smirked to herself as she went in for another kiss. It seemed like it was going to be a long night.

--- Riko and Kanan had been watching Chika from opposite sides of the bed for what felt like hours. Riko could feel her eyes growing heavier with every passing second but she couldn’t let herself sleep. She brushed her fingers against the bandage on Chika’s head, frowning to herself. “You’re worried about her.” Kanan said softly, her fingers tangled with Chika’s. Riko nodded. “I’m angry. With Honoka-chan. As soon as I can speak to her, I’m going to tell her what I think.” “What do you think?” Kanan asked, intrigued. She was angry too but she wasn’t sure whether Riko’s anger was a reflection of her own. “Honoka-chan shouldn’t be taking Chika-chan out on her suicide missions!” Riko’s voice was harsh but Kanan knew it wasn’t directed at her. “She’s too important to all of us! Something happened to her out there. You saw how she was reacting. And the way Honoka’s future self looked...something really really bad happened to her, Kanan-chan.” “Yeah.” Kanan murmured, focusing on Chika’s bandaged head for a moment. She couldn’t remember Chika ever looking so distraught as she had when she’d gotten back with Future Honoka. “Yeah, I know.” “Kanan-san, she looked like...she looked like you did that night. With Mari-san.” Riko said reluctantly. She didn’t want to bring it up but it needed to be said. Kanan bit her lip. She’d been hysterical that night when the others hand found her. Mari had lost control and used her body to beat Dia up. It had been bad. Really bad. And neither of them had really been able to look Dia in the eye since that night. “You think she encountered a parasite ability user?” Riko kept her eyes on Chika as she gently stroked her hair. “Is that what Mari-san calls herself?” Kanan nodded. “Yeah. She explained it to me after what happened with Eli. I already knew she couldn’t control it but I didn’t know how out of control she was until then.” Riko swallowed thickly, watching as Chika’s hair slipped through her fingers. She didn’t want to look at Kanan, aware of the haunted look that would be on her face. “Why are they called that?” “Because their abilities have a mind of their own.” Kanan explained quietly. “They trigger a certain part of an ability user’s functionality. I don’t think even a strong mind ability user like Maki could help her to get rid of the impulse. It’s as though it’s a part of her ability, not part of her. A person who has a parasite ability gains an unbearable hunger. For Mari it’s to have complete control of her companions.” “Well then how does she stop herself?” Riko asked though she wasn’t certain she wanted to know the answer. Kanan took a deep breath. “I let her control me. At night, when she needs it. It helps her.” “Kanan-san!” Riko’s voice rose in alarm but she couldn’t say she hadn’t expected it. Kanan and Mari were so secretive recently, and they never came out of their rooms at night. “Shh, you’ll wake Chika!” Kanan reached out, grasping Riko’s arm. “It’s only when she’s really stressed. I need to help her, Riko. She hates her ability. She hates hurting people. She’s not a bad person, she’s just...she’s Mari. She’s harmless but she’s a different person when her ability takes control.” Riko was silent for some time after that, her mind racing with thoughts about Mari, Chika and the friends who weren’t with them. “I’m scared.” She finally said, looking up at Kanan. “I’m scared that Chika-chan is...traumatized, like...like you were. And the person who hurt her is as traumatized as Mari-san was. A-And now Mari-san is...maybe going to lose control eventually. That’s how it works, right? She’ll lose herself?” Kanan nodded somberly. “She’s fighting a losing battle. I don’t know how long she’s going to be able to keep it up. Probably not much longer. I’ll deal with her when I have to.” “Deal with her?!” Riko’s voice was high and shrill, her eyes suddenly brimming with tears. “What does that mean? Kanan-san? Kanan-san!” Kanan lowered her head, her own eyes prickling with tears. “I love Mari. I do. But I need to keep my promise. She belongs in a facility, Riko. We were wrong to break her out.” “H-How can you say that?” Riko’s words were choked as she got to her feet, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Those places aren’t right!” “For everyone except her.” Kanan wiped roughly at her eyes. “She told me she never wanted to be out. She wanted to get the people who didn’t belong there out. That’s part of the reason we were arguing the first night. I didn’t know why she’d want to stay there. You saw her lose control that day with Eli. You saw what she did. What she can do. Chika is our leader and the most powerful of all of us but when it comes down to it she won’t be able to stop Mari. It’ll have to be me, I...” “STOP IT!” Riko cried out, silencing Kanan completely. “Please. Please, just stop it!” She slumped back down over the bed, crying quietly into her arms. Kanan felt her stomach twist with guilt. She knew Riko wasn’t ready to hear any of that and yet she’d still told her almost everything. “I’m sorry.” She reached out and touched Riko’s shoulder only for the girl to draw away from her. Kanan sighed. She deserved that. “Let’s just focus on Chika now, okay?” --- Nozomi sat on the edge of her bed, her gaze fixated on Future Honoka. She hadn’t said a word since she’d gotten back from the Sonoda estate. All she’d done was hug Nozomi tightly for a few long minutes. She’d grown distant after that, sitting at the desk across the room. She wasn’t doing anything, she was just sitting there. Nozomi winced and grasped her chest as a wave of desperation, panic and grief hit her. She didn’t know where it was coming from and she couldn’t block it out. After what had happened, everyone’s emotions were out of control. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, staring at Honoka’s back until the future version of her friend turned toward her. “I can’t do this.” Honoka’s voice cracked slightly as she spoke. “I-I thought I could come back here and make things better but I can’t. I just keep making things worse.” Nozomi frowned. “Okay, just tell me what happened.” “Tsubasa took Chika’s ability. Which means she can hold up to five abilities now.” Future Honoka ran a hand over her face, exhaling loudly. “She killed all of you with just one and now…” She paused again, seemingly reflecting on that. Nozomi was about to say something when Honoka stood quickly and crossed the room, kneeling down in front of her. “Nozomi, you need to get out of here. You need to run.” “Senpai, I’m not going to-” “YOU HAVE TO!” Honoka grabbed Nozomi’s hands, her voice rising to a yell. “I can take you somewhere safe. I can take you anywhere in the world, you know that!” Nozomi swallowed thickly. The fear and desperation in Honoka’s eyes hurt more than anything else she was feeling. “I won’t run away and leave my friends.” Tears gathered in the corners of Honoka’s eyes. “Nozomi, please. You don’t know how dangerous it is. She’s going to kill you! I need you to go!” “Why?” “Because I do, because I can’t let you get hurt, because I...because I love you!” Honoka gripped Nozomi’s hands as tightly as she could, pleading with her to understand. “Please just let me take you away from here.” Nozomi opened and closed her mouth in shock. She’d never expected to hear Honoka say that. “W-What about you? You won’t leave, I know you won’t.” She cupped Honoka’s face in her hands and kissed her trembling lips. “I’m with you until the end, remember? Until A-Rise win. Or until we win and you decide you’re done with this. I’ll be with you for all of it.” Honoka choked out a sob and gripped Nozomi’s wrist. “I have to kill her. I have to before she gets Nico’s ability. When she does she’ll be unstoppable.” Nozomi wrapped her arms around Honoka, drawing her close. “We need a plan…” --- Nico wasn’t all that surprised to find Hanayo waiting for her in her room. She was surprised to find the girl pacing agitatedly though. “I guess you heard what happened?” “Rin-chan told me.” Hanayo walked over to Nico and quickly looked her over. “Are you hurt? You look exhausted.” “Of course I’m not hurt, don’t be stupid.” Nico shrugged Hanayo off and walked over to her bed, lying down on it. “I had to give Eli some of my blood. And You. Then I had to hold Chika down because she was losing it. God, they’re all such a mess. Where is Rin anyway?” “She came by but she didn’t want to stay. She said she needed to be alone and she needed to sleep.” Hanayo answered with a tired sigh. “She looked really shaken up. I don’t know what she saw but it must have been bad.” Nico hummed in response and slid into bed. “I’m going to sleep...” “I’m tired too. Do you mind if I stay?” Hanayo didn’t wait for an answer before she turned off the light and crawled into bed next to Nico. “We’re in danger, aren’t we?” Nico sighed in response. “We’re always in danger.” “No, I-I mean we’re in more danger than usual.” Hanayo said anxiously. “People are coming after us again. Eli-chan is hurt, Honoka-chan is losing control...and we could be attacked at any second. They could find out where we are.” “Hey.” Nico turned onto her side and shuffled close to Hanayo, curling an arm around her waist. “Nobody’s going to hurt you while I’m around. I promised in the facility, remember? I’ll protect you.” Hanayo nodded in response. Nico had kept her promise back then so she should trust her now. It wasn’t easy though. They were up against so much danger. “Do you think...maybe one day this might be over?” Nico paused for a moment, thinking about that. “I hope so. We’re just in the thick of it right now so you can’t see a way out. Don’t worry. We’ll beat them.” “Do you think Honoka-chan will be okay?” Hanayo turned in Nico’s embrace so that she was facing her. “And Eli-chan?” Nico forced a smile to her lips. “Of course.” She lied softly. Saying anything else would have only upset Hanayo more than she already was. “They always are. And they have Umi.” “I guess.” Hanayo murmured thoughtfully. She bit her lip for a minute, clearly zoning out before she spoke again. “I-Is it weird for me to say I’m glad we were taken together?” “Very.” Nico said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m just glad we’re better friends now.” Hanayo confessed tentatively. “Rin-chan is so distant now when something is bothering her. I-I’m glad I have you too.” Nico scoffed despite the strange warmth she felt. “Well just don’t get attached. I’m not very good at this whole ‘best friend’ crap.” Hanayo smiled. Nico’s words were scathing but her tone was anything but. “I disagree.” She mumbled, closing her eyes once more. “Let’s sleep, Nico-chan…” --- You was worried. It had been two days since Chika had gotten back from her ordeal at the Sonoda estate and she hadn’t said a word about what had happened to her. She had woken up screaming each night but she wouldn’t talk to You or anyone else about the nightmares she was having. Riko and Kanan had both tried several times to get Chika to open up to them but she was adamant that she wasn’t going to talk. You had learned from speaking to Eli’s dad that Future Honoka was the person who’d brought her and Chika back. She told Kanan as much and the older girl had gone to Future Honoka, asking her what happened. She’d been told to ask Chika or figure it out for herself before Future Honoka had slammed the door in her face. Chika barely spoke now, unless she had to. There were odd times when she’d try to seem optimistic but it always failed. She was only doing it for You and the others. You knew that already. It was sweet, but it didn’t make her worry any less. She was at a loss for what to do. Neither she, Kanan nor Riko could get through to Chika and Kanan had ruled out Mari even trying for some reason. You wasn’t sure why but even Riko had been completely against that. Whatever was wrong with Chika, You knew they couldn’t help so she decided to get help from Muse instead. She thought immediately of Honoka who Chika looked up to but it was clear that Honoka wasn’t ready to help anyone. She was still heartbroken over her sister being killed. Nozomi came to mind next. From talking to people in Muse, You had quickly learned that Nozomi was the most nurturing of the group. They looked to her for help and advice. Besides that, she was an empath. If anyone could help Chika with her emotional distress it would have to be Nozomi. She paused in front of Nozomi’s door and took a deep breath. Even Kanan was intimidated by Future Honoka. You knocked on the door, hoping that Honoka wouldn’t be the one to answer it. Unfortunately she was. “Uh...hi.” You said nervously. “I was hoping to speak t-to Nozomi-san about something.” Honoka narrowed her eyes. “She’s not here. What do you want her for anyway?” “I was hoping um...to ask if she could help me with something.” You stuttered nervously under Honoka’s glare. “I can come back la-” “Don’t be like that, senpai.” Nozomi interrupted, appearing behind Honoka at the door. She gave a soft smile when she noticed You standing there. “You-chan, right?” “Yes.” You answered hurriedly, deciding to focus on Nozomi instead of Honoka. “I was wondering if you would talk to Chika-chan for me. Since she came back she’s-” “No.” Future Honoka said, effectively cutting You off. “You’re not dragging her into that crap.” “But Chika-chan needs help!” You insisted desperately. “She needs someone who can relate to her. Someone who’s good at talking to people. Everyone in Muse says Nozomi-san would be the first person they’d go to if they needed to talk about something.” “I said NO!” Honoka exclaimed angrily. “I’ll help.” Nozomi’s softly spoken answer earned her a look of disbelief from Honoka. She quickly continued before Honoka could argue. “I’m doing it. I need to help someone. I’m not just going to hide behind you and be useless.” “Nozomi, it’s dangerous!” Honoka exclaimed in alarm. “We talked about this. We have to be…” “Careful, I know. But we have to do this. I have to do this. I’m sorry. I’ll be back later.” Nozomi kissed Honoka briefly on the lips before she turned back toward You. “Can you take me to her?” “Uh...yeah.” You said, blushing slightly. She didn’t look at Honoka, not wanting to see the time traveller glaring at her. “She’s just in our room so...if you want to follow me.” Nozomi cast an apologetic look back at Future Honoka before she followed You down the hall. She’d briefly heard what had happened from Honoka so she already knew it must have been quite traumatic for Chika. “Thank you for doing this.” You said gratefully, looking back at Nozomi. “I really want to help her. And so do Kanan-san and Riko-chan. But we can’t get through to her and we just feel so helpless...” “I can’t promise anything but I’ll try.” Nozomi said uncertainly. She wasn’t even sure what she was going to say to Chika. They didn’t even know each other. “Has she said anything at all?” You somberly shook her head. “Just that she’s glad I’m okay. She’s trying to pretend everything is fine so we don’t worry but she’s not herself.” She paused at the door to the room she was sharing with Chika. She opened her mouth to say something. Maybe to plead with Nozomi to try as hard as she could but instead she stayed silent. She opened the door and stepped into the room. Chika was lying on her back on their bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. “Hey, Chika-chan. I um...brought someone to see you.” Chika pushed herself into a sitting position and frowned when she saw Nozomi. “Sorry for intruding.” Nozomi said politely. “My name is…” “Nozomi-chan. The empath. I know that already.” Chika said curtly. “What do you want?” “Chika-chan, please don’t be rude.” You glanced apologetically at Nozomi who responded with a shrug and walked further into the room. “Honoka-chan told me you were her childhood friend. You used to live right next door to her, right?” Nozomi asked quietly, stopping at the foot of the bed. “You must have been pretty happy to see her again.” Chika watched Nozomi with a hint of distrust. “Yeah, of course. It’s been a long time since I saw her.” “Do you mind if I sit?” Nozomi requested motioning toward the bed. Chika nodded her bandaged head and Nozomi sat, looking at the bandage in contemplation. The wound must have been bad, for it to be taking so long to heal. “You-chan is your childhood friend too, right? What about Riko-chan? You two seem close.” Chika drew her knees to her chest. “I’ve only been friends with Riko-chan for about a year. W-We have a connection though. She’s one of my best friends. Kanan-chan too, s-she’s been my friend for a long time.” Nozomi smiled softly as Chika spoke. “That sounds nice. I didn’t have a childhood friend myself. I was always too quiet. And being moved around all of the time. I have a best friend though. Elichi. The girl with the fire ability. You probably remember her, she can be a bit...hot headed. No pun intended.” Chika snickered at the joke, much to her own surprise. “U-Um, I thought Honoka might be your best friend. You seem close to her future self.” Nozomi shook her head. “Honoka is one of my closest friends and she’s precious to me. To us all. But she’s not the reason I’m close to her future self. It’s complicated. Besides Elichi, I suppose...Nicocchi is my best friend. She’s always there for me when I need her.” Chika scoffed and looked down at her knees. “Is this the part where you tell me my friends are here for me and I need to open up to them? Because that’s crap.” You shifted uncomfortably, trying not to take offence. Nozomi gave a soft laugh. “No. Sometimes the last person we want to open up to is our friends. Especially if it’s about something bad that’s happened to us. Sometimes they’re too close to it and it’ll just hurt them. Is that why you won’t let them in?” Chika shrugged her shoulders. “Does it still hurt?” Nozomi continued, not dissuaded. “I can help with that. I’m an empath so I have a high pain tolerance. So don’t worry about hurting me.” “I’m not.” Chika said dully. “I’m just...I don’t have anything to give you. I don’t really feel anything anymore. Nothing hurts. I saw You-chan crying because she couldn’t help me last night and I didn’t care. I don’t feel anything.” Nozomi’s brow furrowed in concern. “Do you mind if I…?” She reached out to Chika’s chest, pausing before she touched her. When Chika shrugged she pressed her hand against the girl’s chest and closed her eyes, focusing intently. Nothing. She gritted her teeth in concentration but there was nothing there. “See?” Chika murmured. “Nothing.” “We need Nicocchi.” Nozomi said, taking her hand away. “Maybe it’s an effect of her ability. I know you said you don’t get the effects with the abilities but maybe it’s different with hers.” “I don’t have that ability anymore.” Chika said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Honoka-chan’s future self made me copy over it. That’s why this is taking so long to heal. It would have anyway but I don’t have Nico-san’s ability now…” Nozomi leaned close to Chika, gently pressed her hand to the girl’s cheek to turn her head as she looked at the bandages. “Did something happen to your nerves?” “Huh?” “Chika-chan, do you remember exactly what happened to your head?” Nozomi asked seriously, lowering her hand again. She wouldn’t be able to see anything. Chika shook her head. “I just remember it hurting a lot. And...being glad it wasn’t happening to You-chan.” Nozomi looked to You who was hovering anxiously in the doorway. “Get me Honoka. The one I’m...dating. And Nicocchi. And Rei-san.” As You hurried off to do as she asked, she turned back to Chika. “We’ll need to go to the infirmary, Chika-chan.” Chika nodded. “It’s fine. I just want to get better. I want to feel like myself again.” “We’ll do everything we can to help you.” Nozomi promised, getting to her feet. She hoped they could. Obviously Tsubasa had damaged something in Chika’s head. “Come on, let’s go.” --- Future Honoka decided to use her time wisely after Nozomi left and headed down the hallway to Nico’s room. She let herself in, finding Nico and Hanayo sitting on the bed. “I need to speak to you, Nico.” She said directly. She cast a pointed glance at Hanayo. “Alone.” Hanayo got the hint and scrambled off the bed before scurrying from the room. Honoka watched her go, raising an eyebrow. “I wish I could say messing around with the first years isn’t like you. I’m surprised it isn’t Maki this time.” Nico scowled. “Is that what you came to talk to me about? Not that it’s any of your business but I don’t need to be screwing someone to be friends with them.” Honoka scoffed. “Friendship suggests you care about them. That’s not very like you.” “You know what?” Nico rose from the bed, already irritated. “Fuck off and get out. I don’t want to speak to you. You’ve caused nothing but problems since you got here.” Honoka crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I came to tell you that Tsubasa is after you. After your ability. And when she gets it, none of us are going to be able to stop her. Not even me.” Nico looked shocked for a moment but then she shook her head. “What the hell do you want me to say to that? Maybe she already has my ability. Maybe she took it from Chika. What does it matter? If they can take me prisoner there’ll be a way to stop her. And then we’ll just have to destroy her brain or...” “This isn’t a damn joke, Nico!” Honoka exclaimed loudly. “Tsubasa managed to kill all of your friends in the future with just one ability. Do you have any idea how unstoppable she’s going to be with five? And your ability?! She’ll be fucking immortal!” “And whose fault is that?!” Nico countered, storming over to Honoka. “You said it yourself. In your future she only had one ability. But you had to come back and screw EVERYTHING UP. IF YOU WANT SOMEONE TO BLAME, LOOK AT Y-” She was cut off by a sharp punch to the jaw that sent her reeling back. “Well if that’s how you want it…” She bounced back within seconds, countering Honoka’s punch with one of her own. Unlike her, Honoka had to pause because of the pain and it gave Nico a chance to land another punch, to the young woman’s cheek this time. With a roar of anger, Honoka tackled Nico to the ground and hit her again. You walked in in time to see Nico kick Honoka in the lower back, using her distraction against her. She flipped them over and raised her fist again. “Hey, hey, hey!” You rushed over and grabbed the back of Nico’s shirt, easily picking her up. She set her back down on her feet and put herself between the two. When Honoka made to get to Nico again, You shoved her, sending her flying back onto her ass. “Stop fighting! Nozomi-san needs your help with Chika-chan.” Future Honoka grimaced as she got back to her feet, wiping blood from her lip. She had to admit, Nico could punch hard. Not nearly as hard as her Nico though. “Shit, you really are strong. Fine. Take us to her.” “This isn’t over.” Nico warned, her hands still clenched into fist. She held it up to show the bleeding grazes healing. “And unlike you I can go at it longer.” Honoka scowled. “Fuck y-” “HEY!” You yelled in frustration. “Both of you, stop! We need to help Chika-chan, not bicker amongst ourselves!” “Yeah, ‘Honoka’.” Nico glared angrily at Future Honoka. “We need to do something useful. Not that you would know what that’s like. I don’t know what Nozomi sees in you. You’re nothing like our-” Honoka growled under her breath. “You little…” “ENOUGH!” You stormed over to Honoka and threw her over her shoulder, causing her to yelp in surprise. “You two are coming with me.” Nico tried to back away but before she knew what was happening she was being lifted too, You’s arm under her stomach. “What the hell?! Hey future girl, aren’t you going to stop her?” Future Honoka was busy trying to wriggle free of You’s iron grip. Finally with a grunt of frustration she fell still and allowed herself to be carried out of the room. “Yeah, I can’t. She’s too strong.” “This is humiliating.” Nico muttered with a huff as she glared at the ground. She could only hope that Maki and Hanayo wouldn’t see her. Finally she found herself being set back onto her feet along with Future Honoka. “I’ve got them.” You announced, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “They were busy bickering so I had to carry them here.” Nico looked around, for the first time noticing they were in the infirmary. “Huh? Why are we here?” “I ran into Rei-san when I got here.” Nozomi said, not answering Nico’s question. She nodded toward the doctor who was standing next to the bed Chika was lying in. “Chika-chan needs our help.” TBC

#HonoUmi #HonoEli #KotoMaki #NozoHono #Kanamari #Fanfiction

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