#it didn’t cause friction but it was just really cool to see them quip about it 😭😭😭

[akkivee]

god kuukou is so tiny next to the yamadas lmaooo

[flipomatic]

Internship Chapter 34: Day 27 - Amity, Emira, Edric

Author Note: I'm posting this chapter a couple days early, since I have a busy week coming up and I don't want to delay the final chapter.

First Chapter Previous Chapter

_____________________________________________________

As it turned out, their parents had already been informed of the incident by the time they made it home. They had been waiting in the study, not bothering to come to clinic.

Amity had left Ed and Em in their care, though they didn’t seem upset about what had happened.

No, they actually seemed pleased, which was super strange. Their mother said something about how the publicity of this would look good for the family, which Amity didn’t understand. Amity could hear them interrogating the twins as she left, asking for all the details.

It was hard to fall asleep that night, though not due to what happened with the twins. No, Amity realized that after visiting all of the major covens, she still didn’t know which one she was going to join. Sure, she had learned about each one of them, but she hadn’t succeeded at her true goal.

Despite all of the time spent searching, she didn’t have an answer.

She had no idea what to do about that, which led to uneasy sleep.

The next day, Amity went back to the library as arranged with Luz. The plan was to finish the conversation they’d been having about Azura yesterday, but Amity couldn’t focus on that.

They were sitting in the same spots they had been the day before, both flipping through a book. Amity closed hers and looked up at Luz slowly. She couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Since we visited them all, have you decided which coven to join?” Amity asked the question that had been haunting her since last night.

Luz brought her eyes up, connecting their gazes together. “Nope.” She said the word with certainty as she closed her book. “They were all so cool, with so much awesome magic, I can’t decide.” She still sounded happy though, even without having come to a conclusion. “I really loved seeing the different beasts for beast keeping, oh and the future at the Oracle Coven.”

Thinking back to what the oracle saw in her future warmed Amity’s cheeks. “I remember.” She also recalled how excited Luz had been, looking around the covens, and how eager she was to learn new spells.

“Plants too, oh plants are too great!” Now Luz’s eyes were sparkling. Amity thought about the plant that almost ate Luz’s hand, and was less enthused. “It’s impossible to pick.” Luz stated with a firm nod.

“What will you do then?” This was the question Amity had been asking herself, for the whole month now. The question she’d been struggling with all this time, with no progress.

For Luz, the young woman who always seemed to know what to do, the answer came easily. “I’ll keep learning all of them!”

Was that the answer then, to learn all types of magic? It wouldn’t work for Amity, she knew that. But that wasn’t the point.

No, what Amity was starting to understand was that it was okay to still be learning. Luz felt perfectly comfortable stretching her wings and trying new things. She wasn’t prepared to choose a coven, and so she didn’t.

Amity could do that too. She’d spent the last month traveling around with Luz, after all, exploring what different covens had to offer. She had loved almost every minute of it, all of the time spent learning with her friend.

With Luz by her side, the possibilities were endless.

Even though Amity hadn’t come to the end with an answer, with a coven to join, she had still learned something.

“That’s just like you.” Amity replied to Luz’s exclamation, which surprisingly caused the other teen’s face to flush pink.

Luz broke eye contact and ducked her head slightly, seeming embarrassed. “What about you?” She asked.

“I haven’t decided yet.” Amity chose her next words carefully. “Do you mind if I keep learning with you?”

Luz lifted her head and looked right at Amity. Her bright brown eyes were wide with surprise. “Of course!” She almost shouted, then covered her mouth with her hands. “I mean, of course I don’t mind.” She looked so endearing like this, too cute.

Amity smiled; she couldn’t help it. “Thank you.” She then looked back down at her Azura book, which was lying forgotten in her lap. “Maybe after book club, we can get started.”

Luz’s hands fell away from her face. “For sure!”

The two resumed flipping through their books, though they had to try and remember what they’d been searching for earlier.

Later, after they were done, they would start trying to learn a healing spell. After seeing Ed and Em’s burns the day before, they felt that was the best place to start.

Progress was slow, but that was fine. Amity was in no hurry.

As long as she was spending time with Luz, expanding their limits together, she was happy.

____________________________________________________

The attic was dusty, despite its more regular use. Emira had been very careful while climbing up as to not irritate her healing side.

The burn had hurt quite badly on the walk home, which was only made worse by her parents fawning over her. It had been weird, and she got away from them as soon as she could.

The burn cream, which the clinic gave her, helped ease the pain. She had applied it carefully while changing the bandages.

When morning came, she mostly sat around the house. She couldn’t go anywhere, and with the internship over it wasn’t like she had anything she needed to do. School work wouldn’t start again until Monday.

Emira had been sitting in her room when a small magic symbol flashed on her desk; Ed was summoning her to the attic.

That was how she ended up carefully hauling herself up the ladder, taking it one step at a time. Ed had beaten her up there, which was no surprise since he put out the summons.

He had taken his bandages off to let the burns breath, which he could do since they were smaller burns. He was sitting on the same box as usual when Emira made it to the top, wearing his casual clothes.

“We could’ve met downstairs.” Emira protested as she got both of her feet onto the landing, moving to sit on a box and rest.

Ed looked her over, eyes stopping where the large burn was. “And risk being overheard?” He asked, with the real unsaid question being, would that be worth it?

The answer was no. “You’re right.” Emira sighed, slouching against a box.

A small smile crept onto Ed’s face. “Thank you.” He quipped, before the smile shrank back away. “Frederick sent me a note this morning, the coven is investigating Nick.”

That sounded like good news. “So, did we win?” Emira asked, still not sure of all the details involved.

“I think so, yeah.” Ed put his elbows on his knees, leaning forward so he could rest his head on his hands. “Can’t believe it’s over.” He muttered.

Emira understood how he felt. The second half of the internship felt like it had flashed by, like a firework. “Back to school on Monday.” Emira replied, causing Ed to roll his eyes.

“Unfortunately.” He grumbled. “Did you at least learn any new spells?” He asked, still leaning on his arms.

Oh, that was right, Emira hadn’t had time to show him yet. “I did.” She said with a smile. Though she hadn’t expected to, she learned a lot from Jen.

The internship had turned out far better than her first impression of it; she probably should’ve given it a better chance from the start. Emira would try not to make that mistake again.

Ed sat up straight, now intrigued. “What kind?” He asked, and Emira could practically see the gears in his brain already turning.

“A layered fireworks spell, I’ll teach you once I’m healed.” Creating fireworks while covered in burns wouldn’t exactly be responsible.

“I learned one too.” Ed replied, now smirking. “By that, I mean I created it.”

“Ooh.” Emira leaned closer, though had to sit back up when her side twinged. “What’s it do?”

“Creates a patch of anti friction ground, it’ll be great for pranks.” Ed then explained the basis of the spell, and demonstrated it on an object in the attic. Emira couldn’t wait to try it.

They continued talking about the spell, along with potential combos it could be used in, for a while longer.

“There is one more thing I have to do, before we go back to school.” Ed said as the conversation was winding down.

“What’s that?” Emira thought that dealing with Nick had been the last thing.

“Later, when Mittens gets home, I’ll show you.”

________________________________________________________

“This is the spot.” Edric stopped about a hundred feet away from the house, marking a patch of grass with his foot.

“Are you sure?” Em asked, with one eyebrow arched in his direction. They had already reassessed two different spots.

“Yes.” Edric ignored her sass and nodded. “Go ahead and cast.”

Emira rolled her eyes, but did as she was directed. She spun her finger in a large circle, casting an illusion mirror. It sat between them and the house, reflecting back the grass so that they couldn’t be spotted.

Amity had her arms crossed. “What do you want me to do again?” She asked, clearly annoyed with how long it had taken to choose a spot.

“Summon your abomination and have it dig, this is what we’re burying.” Edric tried to remain patient as he held up the item in question.

Amity called for her abomination, and it appeared out of a spell circle. It was a small one, to avoid being seen around the mirror. She directed it to the designated grass. “Abomination, dig.”

The purple creature obeyed, digging up the grass and creating a small hole. Once it was wide enough, Amity had it stop.

“Perfect.” Edric said, leaning over to examine the hole. He held the object in both hands. “Would either of you like to say a few words?” He asked his sisters.

“Pass.” Amity said bluntly.

“It was better than going to school.” Em supplied.

That was true, it had been better than going to school. Edric was not excited to get back to that, but at least he had a couple new tricks up his sleeves.

He looked down at the mask in his hands, the one he’d worn every day for the last month.

What had he learned? Well, a new spell, but what else? Watch out for corrupt authority figures?

New experiences weren’t so bad, or something like that.

“Good riddance.” Edric said, kneeling down to place the mask into the hole. It looked good there, better than it had on his face.

Amity then had the abomination cover it back up with dirt, leaving a slightly elevated patch.

Edric cast a plant spell, the only one he knew, to try and make some of the grass grow back. A couple strands popped out of the ground.

“Good enough.”

[ninjakasuga]

Sonally Headcanon Prompt Masterpost.

Before the Sonsal Celebration Week, Year 2 hosted by @gojira007 for their @boundforfreedomsonsal blog, I began posting a series of Sonsal/Sonally headcanon prompts to help get folks stoked as well as just have some fun. Here is a master post showcasing all three series of prompts with my answers being under the cut. Since this is tied to the blog, I’ve nixed the NSFW prompts in the first set and will make a second post for those by themselves without tagging in the blog.

I can’t wait to see what others respond, while some of y’all did, it seemed like my third series of prompts flew under the radar as nobody replied to them. Oh well, I probably didn’t tag them right XD. In any case, enjoy the goodness! My answers will be below the cut.

1: Pet Names? 2: Habits as a couple they develop together? 3: Favorite ways their significant other shows their affection for them? 4: Their least favorite trait about the other that often causes occasional friction? 5: The moment they fully realized they were in love with the other?

6: How the marriage proposal goes and who asks first? 7: Kids, if yes how many? 8: What would a normal non-eventful evening at home for the two be like? 9: Adoption! Yes/No, Why? 10: Their Anniversary approaches! What would each do?

11: Favorite Vacation they took as a couple? 12: A special gift they gave the other that really touched their heart. 13: Sally’s pregnant, how do they handle the pregnancy ups and downs? 14: Parenting, how do they tackle it together? 15: Which of them is the parent to freak out most when their kid/s get into the dating age? 16: Who starfishes the most? 17: Oh no, one of them is sick, how do they handle tending to their loved one? 18: What do each of them do to ‘cool off’ when they have an argument they can’t seem to reach a compromise over? 19: The Wedding, big, small, or do they just elope? 20: Speaking of weddings, time for one of their kids (or their only child) to get married! How do they handle it?

21: GRANDCHILDREN!! Their kid(s) just made them Grandparents, what kind do you see them as? 22: The years come and go, as they leave their youth and start to get into the years between 50-70, what are they up too, where do you see them in their retirement years? 23: Time to host a family reunion (including extended family like the FF crew) 24: Awwww they’re having their 50th wedding anniversary, how do you see it going? 25: As with every life, there is death. One of them has passed, how does the other handle it? (for context this is under the assumption old age or something related did them in versus a sudden death by accident)

1: Aside from the ‘Sal’ nickname Sonic has always given our favorite Princess; I personally see a few unique nicknames between the two crop up over time as their romance blossoms. Sonic being the quip-meister he is mixes affection with a bit of humor giving us ‘Honey-Munk’ or ‘Fiery Red’. Sally naturally isn’t one to not give her own spin in kind with titles such as ‘Greeny Eyes’ or ‘Hunky-Hog’. Both aiming for endearing but also teasing the other with cheese when not using more ‘traditional’ romantic pet names like honey or darling. Keep them both on their toes.

 2: When sitting together and they have a free hand, they instantly go for a hand-hold on reflex. Another one I see them developing is little touches or pets of affection; another ingrained reflex after a time. Say Sonic is about to walk away, he gives Sally’s hair a little playful pet and flick. Another instance is either of them giving the other a quick peck be it greeting, leaving or they have a mutual eureka moment.

 3: Sally finds that as much as Sonic’s spontaneous behavior can be exasperating, it can also be endearing when applied in certain ways. Like a back or shoulder rub here and there, when she’s stressed. Pick-me ups when she’s down in the dumps and as corny or awful some of his ballads are, the effort is endearing for Sally. On Sonic’s end, he enjoys Sally just going on runs with him. No mission, no need for any ceremony, he just pops over, asks if she wants to hang, she agrees and they run off and just, enjoy the day. Probably make out somewhere in private too XD.     

4: Stubbornness is something both suffer from and their own unique flavors of it can be the force that drives them up a wall. Be it Sonic’s impulsive behavior, or Sally being too cautious, if they don’t see eye to eye, sometimes it takes a while before they reach a compromise. Sometimes it comes fast, others, not so much and when it doesn’t both need space to cool off.

5: This varies from continuity to continuity, but ultimately I feel the mutual feelings of love blossomed naturally and so organically neither truly grasped it until something just happened to push their feelings from the back of their mind, and into the foreground. Whatever this catalyst was it shakes them up into realizing their lives could easily snuff out one day and the regret of not saying the deep-down feelings they have to one another, causes one or both into a confession and it spills from there into ‘daaw’ territory.  

6: I myself see Sonic being the one to ask. Not so much out of a traditional romantic gesture; but it’s his nature to grab life by the horns and juice and jam onward. Once he sets his mind to it; he goes for it. Whether he actually plans a nice romantic moment or something more subtle is up in the air. Whatever and however it goes, Sonic is the first to ask. 

 7: Assuming they want kids (and I believe they do), I honestly see them being happy having however many they wish. In terms of planned children, they’d aim for one and go from there. Given they would only think to have children would be after the war, depending on how busy they are with any rebuilding efforts or in Sally’s case, running a Kingdom, would probably factor into their mindset of however many kids. I could see Sonic envisioning a big family, but happy to settle for one, to two or three once the ‘new baby shine’ wears off. Sally would want to be sure she could actually spend time and help raise the children so I see her being practical about the number of potential kids from the get-go.

 8: I honestly envision the two just, vegging to some degree. They could lie on the couch together and cuddle all night and call it a win, or the bed if they wanted to fall to sleep afterward. Whatever the status of the world, and their part in it; they just enjoy being home together and doing something together, mostly to relax. Cuddles, reading books together, bathing, cooking, sex, exercising, playing with their kids if they have any. So long as they (and any family they may have) can spend it together; that’s all that matters.

 9: Yes, even if they do have kids of their own, I can see them adopting, either before or after marriage even. Heck especially in story settings where Tails’ parents are not around; he’s instantly adopted as the first kid.

 10: Both of them are actually very good at remembering Anniversaries, and both have equally cut it close due to forgetfulness or busy schedules but they never outright forgot and had nothing to show for it. Sonic likes to make Sally breakfast in bed, given she’s often the busiest of the two and could use some TLC. Sally in turn usually wants to handle lunch and for dinner, they pick a mutual haunt and eat out. They often do a small gift exchange, be it something homemade or an item that caught their eye that screamed ‘this belongs to my beloved’. If and when kids come into the picture, usually they’re drafted into helping with surprises by one or both parents.

 11: Having lived in the Great Forest for most of their lives; the two have always had an affinity for nature. While some would love a ritzy stay at the swankiest hotel at Casino Night (they did that once and did enjoy themselves), in terms of vacation they truly enjoyed? Their world-tour camping Honeymoon; short and sweet they traveled around finding locals to enjoy Mobius’s natural beauty and spend a few days or a week in said locations. Just them the wilderness and, well all the stuff Honeymooners do ^_~.

 12: Sonic found Sally’s picture album during a raid on Robotropolis early in his active FF career. He stumbled across a warehouse where Robotnik kept mementos taken from the Royal Family as ‘gloat trophies’ and so Sonic liberated what he could carry. For the first time since the coup, Sally had pictures of her Father again as well as memories from their childhood she thought lost forever. She never forgot this. In return, Sally on a whim had Nicole stealth hack the Robotropolis network for misc files and found Uncle Chuck’s entries from when he was Minister of Science. The gem of this was, among his work files, was his special chili-dog techniques and recipes saved on file. While the actual science files went to Freedom Fighter use, the personal entries were given to Sonic who could once again recreate the magic his Uncle used to treat him too. Suffice to say in both cases, kisses were had even if in my mind this all happened before they got together.

 13: Pregnant Sally is both downright amusing, terrifying, and full of aw and d’aw. To Sonic, it’s a balancing act as he is trying so, very hard to do right by Sally. She needs rubs, he does it however long she needs. Cravings, he cooks them or rushes out to get it if she’s craving a particular take-out item. He hugs her when she has crying fits; tries to keep a cool head when she’s upset for no reason. Mainly, Sonic just tries, and yes he will put his foot in his mouth from time to time; but this is one of those events in his life where he focused on the nth degree. Sometimes to Sally’s annoyance and speaking of whom; it’s well a roller-coaster for her. Her body is changing and her hormones wreak havoc on some days. While never as vain as Sonic can be, Sally feels her self-esteem for her appearance dwindle at times, and she especially hates her mood swings. Most notably the ones where she snaps at Sonic, which often takes her back into the same kind of depression she felt when Sonic was assumed to have died and usually ends up crying and apologizing to him profusely. Thankfully Sonic’s presence and support help her weather everything and the end result to her makes the pitfalls ‘worth it’.

 14: Sonic is the ‘fun stay at home Dad’ while Sally’s doing her Queenly duties. That said, Sonic isn’t a slacker at keeping their child(ren) in line. He’s permissible to degrees, but even he’s matured enough to know there’s a fine to tow between being ‘friends’ with your kid and ‘being a parent’. Sometimes he can get over his head, but usually, he can either remedy the issue or he thankfully has Sally to back him up. On Sally’s end, taking cues from her Julayla and Rosie’s book on childcare, she tends to miss lessons with free-form playtime. Letting her children grow and figure things out, while always being within reach to help, and impart advice willingly whether she’s asked too or not. While often tired, Sally adores playtime with her child(red), and however many they have, she never wants to miss out on anything if she can help it. This is a factor both she and Sonic share as they desperately want any child or children they have to know they’re loved and have the security of their parents and loved ones around at all times. While each has their own path in parenting, they both prefer to work together than at odds as neither like arguing in front of the kids (even if it does happen from time to time but they try to avoid it).

 15: Both to a degree, each has their own hang-ups of concern whether the child is male, female or they have kids of both genders. Given some of their own romantic miseries during their teen years; they worry about any child of theirs going through anything of the same or really any heartache even if it may be inevitable. However they both don’t want to be overbearing; BUT, both insist on meeting the girlfriend/boyfriend post-haste once they know that’s on the table.

Also yes, they are the types who will discreetly threaten the significant other with bodily harm (even if it’s in pure jest) if they cause their child any grief.

 16: They share this one, sometimes one, the other, or both the same night. Depends on who’s the most exhausted. XD

 17: Sonic HATES being sick and waited on; so he tries very hard to play it off and handle himself. Sally will have none of that and threatens often to tie him to the bed if he resists too much. After a spell, Sonic begins to accept and even enjoy some of the pamperings. Sally accepts when she’s ill she needs to rest, but she still tries to get work done. Sonic has often caught her with Nicole’s hand-held or some kind of paperwork in bed to his displeasure. Sonic is instantly into caregiving when she’s sick and at times can be overbearing in pampering Sally. Something she has a love/hate thing about.

 If they’re BOTH sick, they compromise and lie together in bed, finding cuddling the other to be it’s own soothing balm to whatever is afflicting them.

 18: Sonic falls back to his go-to-thing; running. He goes on a run, however long to cool off and think in private as he ponders on the source of their friction. Sally tries to distract herself with some sort of brain-focusing tasks like a puzzle or a good book while mulling over the argument in her head to try and draw conclusions on why it went south and if she or Sonic were in the right or wrong. Eventually, Sonic returns from his run, and Sally puts away whatever she used to cool off and they both sit down and talk it over, eventually working things out and making up for any hurt feelings.

 19: No matter how they slice it, given Sally is a Princess, there’s gonna be some sort of big deal ceremony. I do see both Sonic and Sally wanting just a small wedding for their friends and family; especially if they opt to marry before the war ends. Then they’ll save the BIG SHOWY ceremony for after the war. Mostly if they can get away with postponing it that long. XD

 On the flip-side, if the story has Max still being a pill about Sonic being Sally’s squeeze; elope, no questions asked. ^_~

 20: Assuming the future-in-law is worthy of their child; they will jump for joy and be happy for their kid. Sure they will have some ‘giving away our baby’ jitters, but ultimately their child’s happiness trumps all discomfort they may have. There will be some crying but it will be tears of joy, and if anything their child having a wedding and moving on in their own life would be a great joy in of itself. It would be another symbol that whatever they suffered in the war was worth it. If just so their child could have a safe and peaceful world to grow up and live within; to find their own life and love. No greater joy can a parent hold for their child, especially these two.

 21: Once the two stop joy-spazzing over the news, you can expect them to be front and center Grandparents. The parents may have to pry the newborn away from them for the first couple of visits. Knowing how to take care of a newborn can be stressful they along with their in-law’s parents will help split babysitting duties and just enjoy being able to spoil the kid rotten and playfully hand them back to the parents when the going gets rough. Not that they won’t step up, but I feel every new Grandparent doesn’t have that moment of ‘now you see what I went through, ha!’. In any case, they are the type who will be as available and active in their grandchild(rens) life as much as they can be.

 22: Age does not slow them down much; maybe in the physical (despite what Sonic says), but these two will be firecrackers even as their fur dulls and greys. Some aspects of old-age will hit them hard, not just in that both are usually very active people, but some genetic ticking time bombs or perhaps past physical trauma from the war years have caught up with them. Sonic will take getting ‘slow’ the most, as running has been his ultimate expression of freedom. Sally will take bouts of forgetfulness hard given how organized and reliant on her mind she is. In this they will lean on each other more, their devotion and love pouring through ever stronger. Sally forgets something, Sonic has it written down and encourages her to keep a pen and paper on hand to jot thoughts down. While Sonic can’t run forever, what running he still can do, Sally encourages. If he’s truly not able to run, then they’ll walk together hand in hand and ‘pretend’ they’re zipping around the city. There will be a lot of sitting together, hand in hand, and since their kid (or one of them) has assumed the throne; they have a lot of freedom to do whatever fancy comes their way. They simply relish the fact they lived long enough to enjoy this stage of life when living to be an adult seemed like such a far off dream.

23: I envision sometime over the years as a Memorium for its role in giving the survivors of Robotnik’s coup, and serving as base and home for the Freedom Fighters and a second home for the people of Mobotropolis; Knothole is rebuilt in its original state. Feeling both nostalgic as well as the importance of Knothole to their history and that of the planet after the war; Sonic and Sally opt to host reunions there. Something about walking through the old village (even if it’s a recreation) just feels nice and getting to show their kids and grandkids where they came from feels right. I can see them alternating on Angel Island as well given its importance in the grand scheme of events as well. Plus who doesn’t love the view from the island?

 24: If anyone insists on a big party, they nix it. Only their family and closest of friends that are still around are invited. Being in their 70’s by this point, they prefer simple, and so there’s food and cake, and all the videos and photo albums out to reminisce, tell stories and enjoy life while they still can. Sonic being Sonic will at some point call attention and, with some effort, get on one knee and recite his proposal and marriage vows to Sally again, reaffirming his love which still burns ever brighter. Touched and while happy-crying, Sally will take his hand and affirm her vows as well as her own affirmation that her love for him still burns the same as ever. As they go to bed after the party, both Sally and Sonic cry joyfully as they hold one another. Feeling blessed at having lived the lives they have, and looking forward to however many they still have.:

25: There are a few ways I see this happening. If one of them expectedly passes before the other; the grief will be monumental. Having lived together as long as they have, experienced what they have, and enjoying a deep bong of love few can, losing their significant other will be a blow that they probably won’t recover from. I would expect within one or two years’ time, a combination of the grief and just not wanting to live on without their beloved will see whoever survived won’t make their sweetheart await them long in the here-after. Another scenario is if one of them catches a terminal illness, and they can prepare for it; Sonic and Sally will both make the best of what time they have. With the deadline closing in, whoever is not ill, I can see making arrangements so that once their beloved is about to pass, they will be given a legally approved injection to end their own life. While some of their family may not fully approve, for the most part, such a thing is understood and nobody objects.

 One way or another, they will be together, in the next life as they were in this one

 [The last one was admittedly a tad sad, but well as they say life ends eventually, and I felt like making the prompts feel like an evolution of their relationship like I did in the fanfics for the celebration week prompts.]

[shaekingshitup]

unintended part three

A/N: I forgot I wrote this but @twistedcharismaaa​ reminded me that I did. I didn’t have the wonderful @glittermakesmesmile​ sooo bare with me if you be seein mistakes. Please lmk what you think! I’m lowkey tipsy sooo I may have to come back and re-edit this later lol. I lowkey lost my taglist. Imma find it and make a new one soon. So hakuna matata. Also, the quality of some of these photos are trash but we gone live. It’s better than Teddy’s wifi. So, we good. 

WC: about 3994 (Sorry C!)

Warnings: mmm like maybe PG smut? Like for real I chickened out on that. So no worries boo. 

Jayden’s OOTD: 

Jayden was shocked that she had held onto her composure thus far. The exchanges that she’d had with Trevor had been spicy from jump. Neither had sent any nudes, but the innuendos and open ended interpretations on what would happen the next time they were in the same room left her mind occupied every night since she’d met him three weeks ago. 

This was her second trip around his block trying to find a parking spot. 

“Oo oo ooo!” She said throwing her car in reverse and slowly retreating from the stop sign. The owner of the parked Kia Soul that had just beeped was going to be getting all of the good karma today. She patiently sat in her car as the woman who vaguely resembled Gwen Stefani started her ignition and departed. Jayden parallel parked her Honda Civic SI 2018 coupe perfectly into the spot. She flipped the visor down to do a final check of her beat before she grabbed her handbag and the drink tray from her passenger seat. She double checked the address on her phone and approached the door. 

Ringing the doorbell she did her best to quell any nerves that she felt. She instead allowed her mind to swim with thoughts on how good this man was going to look opening up this door. She could see movement through his front window and jutted her hip out a little further so that the slit in her skirt accentuated her leg a little more. 

Trevor opened the door with a smile that held her full attention. “Hey J” he greeted. She cheesed back at him unable to cease the wrinkles that this man would be destined to leave her with. As her eyes trailed down his frame she took note of his pink distressed sweater, the grey joggers and the black socks which adorned his feet and completed his outfit. Trevor watched her watch him and observed the question mark which took over her disposition. She didn’t ask any questions outright but it was plain on her face. 

“Hey,” she gave back with a deflated smile. Trevor opened the door wider for her to come in. They stood in his entrance and Trevor took the drink tray from her as Jayden removed her shoes and placed them on the small rack that was next to his front door. 

“This is really convenient,” she noted as she allowed her soles to meet the cool tile of his floor. 

“Yeah, this way I don’t have to worry about too much people bringing outside inside my home. Come on,” he said with a tilt of his head to indicate the direction they were headed. Trevor brought her into his kitchen which was adjacent to his living room. He placed the drink tray  containing his coffee and her water cup on the counter. 

“Thank you for this by the way,” he said, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip. He had never felt awkward in his own home before. But I suppose there’s a first for everything. He had been feelin this woman since day one. Now three weeks later here she was looking devourable in his kitchen and he didn’t know what to do with himself. 

“Well one of us had to keep up our end of the bargain,” Jayden quipped. She replaced her deadpan expression because she wasn’t trying to start their encounter off on the wrong foot. “What’s this?” she asked gesturing to the large tupperware bowl filled with water and some meat and the assortment of vegetables and seasonings he had on his countertop. 

Trevor cocked his head at her. “These are the ingredients we’re going to need for our dinner tonight.” He leaned in a little closer to her. He was guzzling that coffee down and Jayden was wishing that his lips would be attached to her instead.   “But, uh, what do you mean I didn’t keep up my end of the bargain?” Jayden raised her eyes from his mouth to stare at him as she tried to determine if he genuinely wasn’t certain what she was referring to or if he was just playing dumb to mess with her. She blinked slowly and gave a small chuckle deciding that it was the former of the two. 

“The day we met. You looked me dead in the eye and said that because you’re a nudist, you would be answering the door with a big cup of joe and nothing else. Obviously because we decided that I was going to be the one to bring the coffee, I figured you’d make a few adjustments. This,” she Vanna Whited to his sweater and joggers, “ was not what I had in mind,”. She reached for the water cup and attempted to quench one of her thirsts .  

Trevor was caught off guard. But once his mind had processed what she’d said he tried and failed to stifle the laughter that was dominating his body. “Girl, you are somethin.” He wiped some water from his eyes, placed his cup on the counter and crossed his arms at his chest. Leaning back against the sink he asked, “So, you’re upset because I have on too many layers? I can be naked in less than thirty seconds if that’s what you want Jay. Just say the word.” There was no question. The thought was intriguing to Trevor but she needed to clarify. 

“I’m not that thirsty.” Jayden said punctuating her statement with another sip from her water cup only to find that it was already empty. Trevor’s left eyebrow shot up in a manner that catechized her without speaking. She powered forward as if she hadn’t seen that, “I’m just trying to see if you’re a man of your word Jackson,”. Before the period had even been placed at the end of her sentence, the sweater was up and over his head. The joggers were next to go. Trevor watched her.  He’d actually made her speechless. He closed the distance before them and continued on with his cheeky behavior. 

“Is this better Miss Pierce?” He asked in a low voice as he towered over her, “Do I need to ditch the socks and the boxers next? It’s your call,”

Jayden couldn't even feign that she was unbothered. His appearance. The timbre of his voice. His proximity.They were causing her mind to cloud.  She tried to give herself a little room to breath but she was pinned by the kitchen counter. There was nowhere to go but forward. So, she advanced.  Staring up into his eyes, daring Trevor to make the next move.

The additional temptation wasn’t what Trevor was looking for. He stared back into her eyes again speaking without forming words. 

“Show me you want this. ” his eyes called. Jayden licked her lips and fixed them into a smirk.

“I want you.” 

It was game on. 

Trevor grabbed her by the waist and placed her atop his kitchen counter. He left his left hand on her exposed thigh and used his right to hold her chin in place as he maintained their connection. He was aware of her everywhere and they hadn’t even done anything yet. The rise and fall of her chest. The wanting in her eyes. The way she fell into a submissive role at his first display of dominance. He was savoring this moment because he knew that whatever happened after this had the potential to be his downfall or his triumph. Hell, when it came to Jayden the possibility of both was also on the table. Quite literally. Whatever the outcome, he was ready to eat. 

Trevor dove in without abandon. His right hand fell to her neck as he tasted her lips for the first time. She gasped, whether for additional breath or out of shock Trevor wasn’t sure but he used it. His tongue explored her mouth and she took this opportunity to spar back with him. Sucking his tongue and deepening the kiss she moaned. Jayden bit his bottom lip and moved to bring her left hand to grip the hand he held around her neck. She swiped something on the counter on the way up to reaching him. She jumped and bit him a little harder than she’d intended. 

“Fuck!” Trevor hollered. He laughed into their broken kiss but didn’t break his distance to her. Their foreheads touched as they panted into one another’s space. 

“Maybe we should..” Jayden trailed off.

“Yeah. Uh, yeah. Maybe we should wait until after dinner’s ready” he picked up glancing down to the floor to see the chili powder, salt and paprika bottles that had fallen. Thankfully none of them had opened up. 

Jayden reached out to caress his cheek and guide his attention back to her. “Dinner ain’t goin nowhere. But, we can move this party from the counter to the couch,” she offered. Trevor didn’t need to be told twice. He scooped her up causing her to giggle and wrap her legs around his waist. When he sat down on the couch she adjusted herself to straddle him. 

“It’s not fair that I’m over here in my drawers and you got all of this fabric between us.” he pouted.  Jayden laughed rolling her eyes. “Are you gonna be a baby or are you gonna do something about it Jackson?” she challenged, “matter of fact, how is it that you’re not listening to any music right now?” 

“Well, damn girl. I was waiting for you to come over so that I could be a gentleman and let you pick. But, we can forget that at this point. Hey Alexa, play “Piercing my Thoughts” playlist.”

The opening to one of Jayden’s favorite 70s songs flooded his living room. Surround sound. Jayden could not keep the smile off her face as she sat up in his lap and created a little more friction between the two of them.

“Bold. You are bold sir,” she laughed as she leaned her head down to kiss this man beneath her while Al Green serenaded their adventure. 

-------------------------------------------

Do you want to make it better?

Do you want to stay together?

If you do

Then let's please

Make some new

Memories

Jayden woke up..satiated. She continued to lay there until she gathered her thoughts. Anderson Paak and Smokey Robinson were asking her questions. She was no longer in her skirt but now a large Black Plaid Ombre Shirt that could stand to have a lot more buttons used. She sat up to fix this and searched for her handbag. Spotting it in one of the kitchen chairs, she walked over opening the bag to grab the pair of underwear she hadn’t worn when she’d shown up. Trevor may be comfortable with the nudist thing but she wasn’t at that level yet. 

But you at the level to fuck within the first fifteen minutes, Jayde? Asked her subconscious. Jayden retreated from the kitchen in search of the bathroom. She probably should have made this man give her a full tour of his place before she decided to climb him. But, hey. She was here now. She walked to the right of the kitchen already knowing that the living room was to the left. She came upon the dining room and briefly admired his decor.

This man has good taste. And not just in women. 

The backyard was just off of this room and when she walked over the sliding door and took a glance outside, she saw a pool, a lounging area with a tv and a fire pit  and.. a dog house. It looked empty. 

“I haven’t seen any dogs” she pondered aloud. 

“That’s because he’s at the groomers.” answered her from directly behind where she stood and Jayden damn near jumped out of her skin . Trevor, walked up behind her snaking an arm around his flannel that was draping across her body. He watched his backyard with his chin resting on her head. “How was your nap?” he asked. 

“Good. Thanks for the shirt by the way. How long was I out?” 

“Barely 20 minutes. You should have drank some coffee. I guess you were tired,” she didn’t need to look at him. She could hear the pride and the smile in his voice. Jayden exhaled loudly to cover up her smile and the fact that she was heavily inhaling his scent.

“You stay with the jokes,” 

“You stay feelin it too.” he countered and licked a long strip on her cheek. 

“OH MY GAWD! Where’s your restroom anyway?” she feened an eye roll. She was trying not to get too caught up over the fact that she was standing in this man’s shirt with nothing else on. 

“There’s one right off of the front door.” She turned around fully facing him, in all of his nude glory. She quickly looked away and made a beeline for the restroom.

When she was done freshening up, she found him in the living room again writing in a notepad as a Dan + Shay ballad caused him to drum his left hand to the rhythm of the song. 

“Tequila?” she mused? “This has been piercing your thoughts?” she inquired. 

“Nah. That playlist is still a work in progress. I’m still tryna figure out some stuff. You ready for the rest of the tour? I just set the oven to pre-heat. 

“Sure. But we’re not gone glance over the fact that you have a whole playlist inspired by me.”

“No. We not. Plus, we’re gonna talk about how you got one for me too. I follow you on Spotify ya know.” Jayden wasn’t trying to concede to anything. So, she switched it up. 

“I see we’ve returned to the joggers.” She spoke as he stood from the couch. 

“I want you to be comfortable when you with me. I know that you’re not about that nudist life yet. I peeped how quickly you made your way to the bathroom. Stick around me long enough and we can change that,” he took her hand and guided her through his home. Jayden adored how often his corny humor peaked out while he told her short stories about random furniture and events that had occurred in his home. He lent her a pair of his boxers too. By the time they made it back to the kitchen they were ready to get to preppin their dinner. 

“What’s on the menu for tonight Chef Jackson?”

“Shrimp Fajitas. I already deveined the shrimp before you got here,”

“Oh, okay. A true gentleman I see.”

“So, we got some bell peppers that need some slicin if you want to get started on that and I’ll worry about seasonin the meat.” 

“Aye aye Cap’n.” she mock saluted. They settled themselves into their roles at the countertop. Working side by side was exactly what Jayden wanted. She could steal glances without openly gawking at the specimen of man he was.

“So, about your playlist..” he opened

“What about it?” Jayden asked. 

“What do you think? About the music I mean. I saw you put damn near every song I ever released in a playlist,”

“Woww. We are out here lurkin lurkin in these streets.”

“Says the girl who downloaded my whole discography. What better way to know someone than through their taste in music? So, what’d you learn about me?”

“Well, from the way you’ve been blowin up my DMs and some of the songs I’ve heard, I’ve learned that you are definitely in a lane of your own.”

“Hmm. How’s that?” she had his interest peaked. 

“I mean you’re an artist who has been in the game long enough to know the rules and you completely disregard them. Nigga,” she said shifting her body and the knife she was using to cut peppers in his direction,” while most artists are over here talking about Versace, Gucci, YSL and Louis, you are over here flexin in CROCS! CROCS, my nigga!” she cackled and glanced down at his feet in case they might manifest just because she mentioned it. 

“You cute when you laugh,” he answered unafraid to openly admire her. “But, you look crazy wieldin that knife. Watch it J.”

She rolled her eyes. She had just discussed his music and he wasn’t even focused on that. Too busy complimentin her. So odd.

“Anyways, like I said you in your own lane. I can tell by the way you choose to direct your own videos as well. You have some out there concepts. Not Gaga meat dress out there. They’re simply abnormal to the culture, highly intellectual and yet it makes sense.” she continued. 

 “Oh, so we was peepin the videos too? How far down my rabbit hole did you go?

Shit. 

“A saw a few videos. I mean you’re cool.” she shrugged. Trevor felt that she gave this off too breezily. 

“Uh uh. That’s that hard Jayden. What else did you see?” he asked as he washed his hands free of the fresh lime, garlic, and seasonings he'd been working with. Jayden should have been watching him as he’d left his spot beside her. Maybe she would have seen the goofy Spongebob knowing smile he had plastered on his face as he toweled off his hands and made his way back to her from the other direction. 

“I said what I said. You got some decent music videos. Moving on,” she started and that’s when he attacked. He grabbed her from behind, causing her to drop her knife and tickled her like she wasn’t in the middle of doing the task that he’d assigned her. She was squealing and thrashing. She was trying to be angry but she couldn’t help her body’s natural reaction to laugh.

‘I’m gonna pee my pants!” she screamed. 

“Nope. you’re gonna pee my pants. You gone tell me the truth?” She said nothing and he refused to relent until she was real with him.

“OKAY. LEMME GO YOU BIG CHILD! I’LL TALK!” Trevor released her and waited for her to say what she was holding back.

“I may have binged watched both seasons of Grownish, Burning Sands, All American and alloftheDisneyshitthatyouhaveeverbeenin.” she threw that last part in so quickly he wasn’t certain when she’d come up for air again.

“In three weeks time? Oh shit. I got me a stalker.” Trevor joked. Jayden threw a bell pepper strip at him. 

“I thought I was supposed to feel comfortable in your house.” she quipped.

“That’s exactly what I’d expect a stalker to say,” he countered back. She was still as he chortled. And then she lunged for him. She chased him around his kitchen for a good two minutes until Trevor gave up because he was laughing so much. When he came to an immediate hault, Jayden crashed directly into him. 

“Ow!” she cried. 

“Aye, if you were looking for a hug all you had to do was ask J” he said, enveloping her in a bear hug. She just smiled at this dude who three weeks ago she didn’t even know existed. Now, they’d swapped some music, some knowledge and saliva. 

“Stop thinkin about time and just let it happen.” Trevor said. 

“I don’t like how close you are to my thoughts. Please back up.”

“Look from jump street, we was feelin each other and this connection. Don’t worry about the timeline of it. I can see your wheels turning. We don’t live by anybody’s rules. Like you said, we know em and then we break em. But we still succeed,”

“That’s not quite what I said.”

“I’m paraphrasing. I don’t have the script in front of me.” 

“Oh-kayyy. Can we please get this food in the oven? I’m hungry” Trevor looked her up and down. “Hakuna Matata J. We gone eat,” he said licking his lips. 

The two of them got all of the food onto a sheet pan to cook and retired to the living with some wine. 

“Okay, I know I’m supposed to be here to peep alllll 200 hundred of these new songs you got. But, I’m also interested in experiencing this speaker system you have here. Can we watch a Netflix show or something?” 

“I always knew you had good taste for sound. Okay so I got Amazon Prime, HBO, Showtime, Hulu, Disney + and  I got a lot of new stuff thanks to SAG that hasn’t even hit the theatres yet. So, you can pick your poison.”

Jayden’s eyes widened at the array of selection he was offering. “You got exclusive content? Like what?”

“Well, I got this film with Issa Rae and Lakeith-”

“Say no more. We’re watching that one sir.” 

“What about the plot? Or any of the other actors?” 

“I’ll figure that out along the way. Plug it in! Plug it in!” she shimmied and sing-songed. The two enjoyed their dinner and film; but, most of all they enjoyed each other’s company. Trevor was amused at the small comments and natural responses Jayden had throughout the film and her review of the song choices was right in line with his own. However, the short debate that they had afterwards recapping the movie and Jayden’s disappointment for both Issa’s performance and the less engaging storyline that her character had in comparison to her mother’s was bynfar his favorite moment of the night. She was animated through and through. None of her hardness was at the forefront and although they hadn’t seen eye to eye on every facet of the film, the communication was healthy. They genuinely listened to one another, communicated and adapted their points for their side based on new information and perspectives presented and they were able to evolve the film discussion into some deeper intellectual ones where neither felt that they were restricted by the knowledge of the other to discuss these topics earnestly 

"What's on your agenda for tomorrow?' Jayden asked as she nursed her third glass of wine sitting on top of Trevor’s freshly wiped down kitchen counter. Not only did this man have good taste in women, and home decor but he was intellectual, creative and cleanly?

TUH! 

"Well, I was supposed to link up with this lil thang this weekend," Jayden balked contemplating if there was enough wine in her glass to toss at him, "and we were gonna listen to music-about 200 songs," Trevor saw her release her grip on the glass and relax, “but she turned out to be a stalker and we got a lil carried away on the couch,”

“You had sex with your stalker? That’s dangerous,”

“True. But now I know that she’s really feelin me and she won’t go anywhere else.”  

“Aight, Imma head out” Jayden said, finishing her wine and hopping down from the counter. 

“Yeah, right.” he said following her out of the kitchen and turning off the lights. “The only place you’re heading is to sleep,” Trevor said

Jayden yawned “I already took a nap. Not really that tired.”

“You’re a bad liar,” he said. “Let me help you out Sleeping Beauty,” Before Jayden knew it he she was being bridal carried up the stairs 

“Left or right?”  he asked when she’d come out of the restroom.

“Which side do you sleep on? It’s your bed.”

“I gotta be appeasing stalkers. I never know what they gone do next,” Jayden climbed into the middle of the bed out of spite. 

Trevor crawled in behind her and pulled her closer. “You’re really never gonna let that go are you?”

Trevor held on a little tighter. “Nah”. 

------------------

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[vannahfanfics]

Graylu where Lucy accidentally ends up in grays clothes maybe cause Natsu burned hers?

A very cute prompt! :D Thank you Anon; here you go! 

A Breath of Spring in Autumn 

Alternatum to Keep Me Warm

“Stop right there, thief!” Lucy yelled after the cloaked man that was fleeing down the back alley. She crouched down beside the distraught jewelry store owner. He sat on his knees in the gaping hole that had been blasted in the side of his building by the flashy burglar. His mouth hung open, and he seemed to be too shell-shocked to care that he was breathing in the dust that was still raining from the crumbling bricks of his ruined wall. When Lucy addressed him, he turned a hazy gaze on her. 

“Don’t worry, sir! Fairy Tail won’t let you down! Now come on, boys, let’s catch that phantom thief!” she crowed and hopped to her feet while clapping her hands together. As if she had summoned them like her Celestial Spirits, Gray and Natsu appeared on either side of her— with Happy of course flapping over Natsu’s shoulder. 

“Right! I’m all fired up! Time to earn us some dinner, ‘ey, Happy?” 

“Aye! Steamed fish! I want steamed fish!” the cat familiar squealed in response. Natsu grimaced in disgust as the little blue kitty began drooling all over his shoulder. He hastily pushed Happy a few inches to the side so the saliva would instead drip down his chin onto the cobblestone ground. 

“Is the only thing you two ever think about food ?” Gray snorted in derision, then grinned at Lucy while slamming his fist into his palm. “Whatever. Let’s can this guy!” 

In unison, they took off down the alleyway after the cloaked figure. For a burglar, he wasn’t exceptionally fast, and the three mages plus Happy were very quickly able to spy the edge of his hooded coat flapping around the corners of the labyrinthine arrangement of alleyways. As she dashed alongside the two boys, she yanked one of her keys from her golden keyring and pointed it out in front of her. 

“Open, Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius !” 

A white ball of light beamed on the edge of the key before exploding forth in streaming ribbons to form the archer man dressed in the comical horse costume. He came into existence running as well, his long legs matching Lucy’s stride as he asked how he could be of service to her. At this time, the thief was in clear sight, and Lucy pointed to the large brown sack of stolen goods that he was hauling over his shoulder. 

“Understood!” The Celestial Spirit quipped as he skidded to a halt and plucked an arrow from his quiver. The mages continued their hot pursuit as he notched it into the bow and drew it powerfully back over his shoulder, one eye closed as he carefully watched his target and the pursuers to ensure a clear shot. Lucy heard the distant thwong of the taut string followed by the shrill whistle of the feathered projectile streaming through the air. It clipped a few of her blonde hairs as it shot over her shoulders, making her bark at Sagittarius in protest. She forward again to find that the arrow had successfully done its job. 

It had snipped through the fragile fabric of the cheap sack, and Lucy watched with a triumphant grin as the frayed ends rapidly came undone to split the pouch in two. The thief exclaimed in alarm as his precious gold and silver and jewels spilled from the sack like custard from a squeezed pastry; they rained to the ground in a glittering parade, twinkling like beautiful bells to signal his defeat. 

No sooner had he skidded to a halt to try and salvage some of his lost cargo did Happy swoop down to pick up Natsu and bear him like a screaming bullet through the alley. 

“Take this!” Natsu roared as his arm burst into intense red flames. Like they had a life of their own, they licked eagerly at the wall as he passed it, leaving burning soot marks on the surface of the bricks. Gray had stopped once he realized that Natsu could take him out in one hit, but Lucy kept running a few paces, just in case. 

She soon realized her mistake. 

“Lucy! You’re too close!” Gray hollered as Natsu’s flames burst into a very unnecessary inferno, taking the form of a massive draconic wing. As he jerked his arm back to prepare for a punch, the roiling flames swept back towards Lucy. With an alarmed shriek, she screeched to a halt and threw up her arms in some pathetic attempt to shield her head. She felt the searing (and unfortunately familiar) pain of his flames greedily biting into her skin all down her front. 

Thankfully, her arms and legs took most of the brunt, and even then, they were second-degree burns at worst. Her clothes shielded her more vulnerable areas from severe damage. As Natsu swung forward to slam the thick of his arm into the thief’s throat and clothesline him, the flaming wing went with him and left Lucy in the cooling chill of the night air. 

“Ungh!” she grunted in mild pain as she fell down onto her knees. She then recoiled as her calves and knees’ sensitive skin met the harsh, unforgiving rough stone of the alleyway floor. The little gravel pebbles and gritty cobblestone bricks sank millions of pointy teeth into her seared flesh to send even more pinpricks of discomfort to her already overwhelmed nerves. 

Lucy looked down at herself to assess the severity of the damage; her arms and legs were pink with burned skin, but the flames hadn’t penetrated but a layer or so. Honestly, the worst part was that she was now down to her panties— the only remnants of her clothes were the shreds of fabric on her backside, which had not been subject to the intense fire. She was just tying off the salvageable strip around her lightly burned bust when Gray ran up and crouched down beside her. 

“Lucy! Are you okay?!” 

“I’m all right. Not even crispy.” 

“Natsu, you idiot!” Gray yelled at the dragon-slayer, completely ignoring Lucy’s affirmation that she was just fine. “You shouldn’t use techniques like that without warning us! You’ve gone and burned Lucy all up!” 

The pink-haired man looked over, momentarily distracted from holding the very crispy and unconscious jewelry thief by the collar of his clothes. Once he saw Lucy sitting on her knees and nearly naked, he dropped him and trotted over to survey the extent of her injury. He squatted down in front of her, looking her up and down. He then the back of his neck uncomfortably. 

“Sorry, Lucy…” 

“No! It’s fine! I knew you were about to attack him; really, I should’ve known better and stayed back like Gray…” she apologized quickly while waving her hands in dismissal. Really, she should’ve known better; it was Natsu , after all. 

“Hell no! Don’t apologize to him, Lucy!” Gray protested while continuing to glare daggers at Natsu. “He needs to take care to not get his comrades caught up in his attacks.” 

“I said I was sorry, so stop yellin’ at me!” Natsu growled and stood up to push his face into Gray’s. As their foreheads butted, a vein popped out in Gray’s forehead, but he didn’t back down. 

“I’m not yelling! I’m talking loudly in your direction!” 

Lucy was sure the volume of his voice qualified as a yell, but she didn’t say anything. The two continued to quibble back and forth, and she just let them; the jewelry thief was unconscious still, so he wouldn’t run off. 

She shivered, suddenly aware of how chilly the night was now that she had been reduced to only scraps of clothing. It was late in autumn, on the cusp of winter. Worse, now that the sunlight had long since faded from the sky, there was no shielding from the brisk cool. She ran her hands lightly up her arms, ignoring the stinging for the sensation of immediate warmth that the friction between her skin was able to provide her. Still, she couldn’t produce enough. She grew colder, to the point that she was shuddering and her teeth had begun to clatter. 

“Can you two knock it off and tie him up already? I’m cold…” She had meant to put some bite into her words, but she could hardly get them out of her mouth for how much her chin was wobbling with her shiver. She just sounded terribly pathetic. 

Natsu looked down at her before shooting one last glare at Gray and stomped over to the thief, who was just rousing. He socked the thief in the face, and he was out like a light instantly. 

Lucy pushed herself up to her feet, hoping that without the cobblestone sapping her body heat right out of her legs, she would be able to warm up a little. She was dismayed to find that it only exposed more of her body to the breeze rushing through the backstreet. She debated curling up into a ball until she felt something soft and warm fall over her shoulders. She then sputtered in confusion as something was pulled over her head. 

“Eh—?” 

She wriggled around, hearing Gray’s impatient voice to tell her to be still through the rustling of the thick fabric in her ears. She squeaked in shock as she felt his rough, big hands snap to her hips to spin her around. 

“I said be still !” 

Absolutely perplexed but realizing she would just tangle herself up thrashing around, she obediently stilled her body so that Gray could shove the garment over her. Her head popped out, and she looked down to see him wrestling her arms through the sleeves of his shirt. 

“Hey, what’re you—?” she pouted and began worming her arms through the sleeve holes. She was perfectly capable of dressing herself. 

Once her hands appeared at the base of the long sleeves, she attempted to smooth down the fabric embracing her midriff. Though Gray wore a larger clothes size than her, her sizable bust still swallowed the material, making it a tighter fit than one would assume. “I’m not that cold…” she whined quietly as it finally clicked in her head that Gray was lending her his clothing, and a pink blush dusted her pale cheeks. 

“Shut up. Yes you are,” Gray brusquely refuted and leaned down to pull off his pants. Her blush furthered down her neck and to the lobes of her ears as he so nonchalantly held them out for her. It was kind of wild that him standing there in his boxers wasn’t what fazed her. “Come on; your legs’ll freeze off in this cold.” 

“What about you?” she asked though she knew it was stupid to. 

“You know I used to run around in my underwear in blizzards,” came the haughty reply. 

Lucy reached up to grip his shoulders to not lose her balance while stepping into the pants. They were much too long, requiring Lucy to kick them up her legs to allow her feet through, and she had to hold them up around her small waist while Gray crouched down to roll them up for her. Lucy was going to do it herself but was having difficulty bunching all the loose fabric in one hand to tug at his belt. She blushed darkly when his head suddenly appeared at her stomach, and his hands overtook hers, gently pulling away the belt to draw it tightly around her middle. 

“You really are tiny, Lucy,” he mumbled, almost to himself. 

If Lucy were any redder, she would win a tomato look-alike contest. 

“Y-you don’t just say things like that…” Lucy grumbled. She averted her gaze as he stood up, holding his discarded coat in his hands as he did. She expected him to throw it on himself since she was just fine dressed in the layers that she was, but to her shock, he tossed it around her shoulders instead. His fingers danced a little over the chilled skin of her neck as he attached the clasp at her throat. Thoroughly embarrassed at the undeniably slightly erotic display, she just blushed brightly while he looked down at her in approval. 

“There you go. Are you feeling warmed up now?” 

God, if you only knew… she thought while tugging at the neck of the shirt. He had her all hot and bothered that she would’ve sweated even if she were still nearly naked. 

“Yeah… Thank you…” Really, she was warmed that Gray performed such a gesture of kindness. His body heat still lingered in the clothing, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she felt it melting away what felt like ice crystals that had formed in her body. “I’m much better now.” 

Lucy looked down the alleyway to see Natsu hefting the trussed-up burglar over his shoulder. 

“All right! Mission accomplished! Time for food! Fooooooood !” he crowed and pumped his free fist in the air. Happy had abandoned his wings and was skipping about around his feet with a similar chant for nourishment. Natsu began marching off down the alley to find his way back to the jewelry store where the authorities would be waiting. 

Lucy snorted in amusement and looked to Gray with a smile. 

“Would you like to stop by the hotel on the way? You need to get yourself some clothes too. Even if you don’t freeze, I’m pretty sure the phrase ‘no shirt, no shoes, no service’ applies to even wizards,” she joked. 

Gray gave her a mocking laugh while running his hands through his hair and watched as Natsu turned the corner. As she set off after him, Gray suddenly grabbed her by the elbow, signaling for her to stop. She looked at him quizzically. 

“What is it?” He had such a serious expression on his face all of a sudden. 

“Lucy… Are you really okay? Don’t you think we need to treat your burns?” 

Her hand rose to curl over her heart as if that would quiet the frantic melody that his question had just sent it into performing. That haze of pink bloomed across her cheeks again, gracing the cold skin like the onset of spring during the fraught of winter, and her brown eyes looked down because she couldn’t meet his heavy gaze. A smile formed on her lips. He cares so much… 

“Really, I’m okay. It happens more often than you might think, and they’re not bad burns at all. They won’t even scar.” 

“Stupid Natsu,” he grumbled under his breath, still holding her elbow. His hand slid down her forearm, tracing the outline of it before wrapping around her wrist. His name appeared on her tongue as a question but left her mouth as a small gasp. Gray pulled her hand to his mouth to press his lips against her wrist, where a burn peeked out from underneath the dark fabric. He held the kiss for a long time, and she knew that he must’ve felt her frantic heartbeat pulsing in the artery there. 

“To help them heal,” he flashed her a grin against her wrist. Lucy was as stiff as a board and was staring at him incredulously, both alarmed and mildly aroused. 

The way he looked at her, with the hint of affection and allure in his eyes, warmed her much more than his clothes ever could. He still didn’t relinquish the grip on her hand. As his arm dropped, hers went with it, and his hand slid down into hers to wrap around her freezing fingers. “Come on. Let’s catch up with that knucklehead before he makes a mess of dropping off that thief.”

“O-okay…” Lucy only whispered and allowed him to pull her along down the alleyway. The fingers of her other hand twisted into the fabric of the cloak and shirt, and she pushed the bottom half of her face into the collar of the oversized coat to hide the permanent happy smile painting her mouth. 

Gray… You sure did warm me up, for sure… she thought, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent of the man who filled her heart with an icy fire. It may have been autumn around her, but Lucy’s body bore the comforting, gentle warmth of spring. I wonder… if I asked you… 

Would you keep me warm forever?

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[shooter-nobunagun]

Quarantine UST 7

//About to reach the climax (hah)...Apologies for the delay (gasp) but I took some time off and then when I came back work piled up so...this chapter took longer. Also, it went very differently than what I’d originally planned, so...I’m not sure if I’m 100% satisfied with the direction, but when the muses want something, there’s not much I can do about that. I think it turned out all right, I hope it feels natural and not too...’perfect fantasy’ scenario.

Warning, some mature content this chapter (masturbation) but not super explicit.

She stared at the text on her screen, debating if she really wanted to send the message, or simply relegate it to her ‘unsent drafts’; where it would join the hundreds of other ramblings that never made it to Asao.

[Sio]: I’m screwed; I seriously think I’ve got more than just a ‘crush’ on Adam...like, I literally spend all my time obsessing over whether or not he LIKE likes me ??? and even if he does, what if we get in trouble? >__<||||

“Ugh...mendoukusai...why do I always make things more complicated than they need to be...” Sighing, the sniper looked mournfully at the message, wondering if it was a good idea to spill the beans. Even though Asao was her best friend and had been a godsend this entire time, somehow just declaring it—even in text form—seemed to cement it somehow, instead of remaining this nebulous fantasy that she could always dismiss if things got too tricky.

For sure though, as the third week passed through, Sio noticed a definite change in Adam’s attitude towards her. He rarely made sarcastic or snide remarks anymore, and even his quips about her inexperience felt more like gentle teasing instead. No, there was something there, for sure...the real question now was whether it was a cozy, platonic friendship, or the stirrings of something deeper and more passionate. Shaking her head, she took one last look at the message, then hit ‘send’ before she could change her mind. She half-hoped Asao wouldn’t see it until the next day; if she responded now, Sio wasn’t sure she could sleep without another all-night rant session.

In the meantime, if she needed a way to wind down and get sleepy... Sio glanced at the phone one more time, before turning off the lights and pulling the covers up. With a practiced hand she casually slipped off her panties, preferring to touch herself directly. If she was feeling particularly horny and wanted to spend a little extra time stretching it out, then she kept them on, teasing herself through the fabric until she couldn’t stand it anymore and then plunged her fingers straight into her core. This time though, it was more a nightly habit than anything else; a little ‘me time’ and a good way to relax before bed.

She sighed as her fingers slipped through her curls, reaching that warm, secret spot. It usually took a bit of friction to coax her sensitive little pearl out from its hiding place, but that could definitely be helped along by just thinking about a certain tall, white-haired e-gene holder. “Mmn...A-Adam...I bet, your hands would feel pretty good, t, touching me down there...” Just the other day he’d put his hand over hers while helping her lift correctly, and the difference in size, along with those calloused, but gentle fingers, did not go unnoticed. Her own slim digits rubbed the outer hood, Sio shivering as she felt her folds getting moist from the stimulation.

‘Seriously, I don’t know how much longer I can keep it a secret...’ There was only about another week left on their quarantine, and Sio was simultaneously excited and depressed about it. On one hand, she couldn’t wait to return to some semblance of normalcy, but on the other, what if they went back to acting as if this time never happened? Boring as it was (save for a minor skirmish that did occur, and where Adam actually admitted her aim had vastly improved), a part of her was genuinely sad that there might never be another time where they would all be like this: acting like close friends and maybe even a family.

But most of all, what if these feelings she was developing for Adam never went anywhere? Or what if they faded, after things went back to normal? The twinge in her heart hit harder than expected, and her arousal dropped a little, to Sio’s frustration. ‘Ugh, just stop overthinking things, Sio...now’s not the time for it, anyway.’

She focused on her fingers instead, on the physical sensations this time rather than her mental fantasies. It was surprising how quickly she’d become familiar with her own body, and where it felt good for her. Her breasts, for instance, weren’t as sensitive, but it was still nice to massage them gently, and when she got really horny her nipples were nice to tweak with. Given that she was masturbating on a near-daily basis (and sometimes more than once a day), it was easy to experiment with different areas and techniques. After a while, she’d even worked up the courage to stick a finger inside, which wasn’t nearly as difficult or even painful, unlike most of the gossip she heard. It just felt a little weird, except the few times her fingers managed to brush a particular spot—though it hadn’t happened very often. Mostly she just like rubbing her clit, and it usually only took her a couple minutes to reach a satisfying climax.

“Nng...” Sio bit her lips; for some reason it seemed like she wasn’t really in the mood today. It was taking her longer than usual to reach an orgasm, and despite her fingers it felt like she was stuck at the plateau phase. ‘Maybe I should just call it quits and go to sleep...but argh, I’m already more than halfway there...’ She couldn’t decide which was worse: working towards a half-hearted orgasm, or trying to sleep while still tense and aroused. Taking a break she laid on the cool sheets, running a hand up and down her thigh, enjoying how smooth and soft the skin felt. 

Funny how she couldn’t really remember when or what cause her feelings for Adam to change. Since the beginning, they’d always had this weird, almost love/hate thing going on, possibly since their first encounter in Taiwan. Sio knew she respected his skills on the battlefield, though his manners towards her could’ve used a lot of work. Even then, even back when he was all sorts of abrasive and prickly at her, she still couldn’t outright hate him. Be annoyed and upset, sure, but there was always a part of her that wished she could know him better, to find out what kind of a person he really was.

‘Adam...’ Just thinking about him, whether it was his physique or his interactions with her, filled her heart with a sense of longing. What kind of person was he like before DOGOO? Who were his friends? Was his ‘tsundere’ attitude just a facade to protect his true self? She wished she could just work up the courage and confess her feelings, consequences be damned, but she knew it’d probably never happen in a million years. But oh, how strong those feelings were, sometimes...to know him beyond his e-gene and touch his true soul... Slowly, her finger gently prodded her insides, Sio imagining what it would be like if he held her tight in those strong arms; whispering sweet nothings into her ear while brushing her hair soothingly, telling her how much he cared about her and admired her, how cute she was...

“Hnn...! Oh!” To her surprise her body started jerking, Sio so caught up in her romantic fantasies that she didn’t notice her orgasm until it literally shook her out of her reverie. “Hah, hah...A-Adam...I wish, I wish we were real...” Suddenly reality came back, and the sniper remembered where she was: in her own room in a borrowed house, in the middle of a foreign city, waiting out a quarantine with her teammates in the hopes that they wouldn’t get infected and die. Panting, she pulled her sticky fingers out, wiping them down before putting her panties back on again. Now that the euphoria was fading, she felt an almost crushing sense of defeat. 

‘Hah, who am I kidding; there’s no way I can ever tell him...I just can’t! Not to mention, what if he...really doesn’t feel the same way? I don’t wanna make him feel awkward, not when we’ve finally established some kind of friendship...’ Yet the thought of taking this secret to the grave made her heart feel even heavier, and despite being physically exhausted, Sio sensed the beginnings of insomnia—and groaned.

Suddenly her phone lit up. She must’ve forgotten to silence it—but the sniper immediately snatched it up, scanned Asao’s reply, and hit ‘call’ without even bothering to text first.

“Moshi moshi? Sio-chan? Is everything alright?”

“Asao-san! I’m sorry for calling you so suddenly, but...I really need to talk to you!” Sio half-wailed into the phone, trying to keep her voice down.

“Oh my, of course Sio-chan. But calm down first, what’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be asleep now?”

“Well, I was...but I just can’t fall asleep.” She heaved a sigh. “It’s about...Adam. And well, you probably already saw my text, but...” her friend hummed in understanding on the other end, “and well, you know! I just don’t know...what to do about this!”

“I see...” Her friend replied seriously, Sio so worked up she was on the verge of tears at this point. “How do you know it’s forbidden? Do you know for sure that fraternization among DOGOO members is illegal?”

“W-Well, no...I mean, I don’t know for sure...if it is, then I haven’t heard of it,” Sio admitted, “b-but even then, like, what if...what if he, doesn’t like me back...!”

“Okay, let’s take this one at a time,” said Asao gently, trying to get Sio to calm down. “Let’s not worry about whether or not it’s against the rules or whatever— I’m pretty sure even if it is, it wouldn’t stop your feelings.” Sio grunted in response. “As for whether or not Adam feels the same...I mean, what do you think? What’s your instinct tell you? I’m not there, so I can’t say anything aside from what I’ve heard from you—but it doesn’t seem like it’s completely impossible, right?”

“I...well, I mean...” Her instincts, huh? More than once the others had pointed out how Sio sometimes just seemed to know things, yet be unable to explain how she knew afterwards—except that it just came to her, like an instinctive pull. “I...feel like he’s aware that there’s something more than just, friendly camaraderie between us...I-I mean for sure, I’ve noticed he’s changed how he acts towards me and speaks to me...s, so, that’s a positive sign, I guess...”

“Mm hmm, that’s good.” Asao encouraged from the other end. “So he’s definitely not avoiding you or anything.”

Sio shook her head. “No, if anything we’ve actually been spending a lot of time together, lately...heh, who would’ve guessed,” she gave a small laugh. “But, I guess it’s just...I just can’t be sure, right? Who knows if he likes me like, that, or what if it turns out he’s just a really nice guy, underneath all that Jack the Ripper e-gene crap?”

“...Well, that wouldn’t be so bad, would it? At least you know he’s a decent guy then,” offered Asao, but that didn’t seem to console the sniper much, if at all.

“I know, but that’s not what I want!” She lamented, even though she knew how lame it sounded. “I know I know, at least he is a good person, and for sure, I am really glad that he’s not the asshole I thought he was. Trust me, if all we did end up becoming was just good friends, then I guess I’ll accept it, but...” Sio sighed heavily, scrunching up on the sheets.

“...I really like him. Like, I...want to be with him, for real,” she whispered, surprised at the sudden wave of emotions it triggered in her. “I-I mean, maybe it’s too early to say this, but...i-is this, what it means to...fall in love?”

“Ah...Sio-chan...” Even Asao seemed to be at a loss for words, Sio clutching the pillow to her chest as she tried to get rid of this heavy ache. “...If you have such strong feelings for him, then, I think there’s really only one thing to do.”

“What?”

“You should tell him,” was Asao’s response, Sio having frozen at the blunt suggestion. “I’m serious, Sio-chan. I know you, and the longer you keep holding it in, the worse you’ll feel.”

“B-But, but...what if he—argh—doesn’t...like me back?!” The poor girl nearly sobbed into the phone, still caught up in her emotions. “I just don’t know if I could handle that kind of rejection...”

“Now Sio-chan, you’re stronger than that,” her friend’s voice took on a stern tone. “Even if he rejects you, so what? Life goes on; trust me, if that happens it won’t be the end of the world. You’ll encounter a lot more challenges later on, after this. You can’t let this one thing dictate the rest of your life.”

Sio sniffed and wiped her tears, knowing Asao was right. “...I, I know... You’re right, Asao-san...I-I mean, I’m already half-resigned to just remaining friends anyway, so...” She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “...You’re right. The worst part about this is just not knowing the truth. If he really isn’t interested in me, then fine; at least I can say I tried, and hopefully we’ll still be friends.”

“Sasuga, Shio-chan. I know you can do it.” Sio smiled at her friend’s encouragement. “Now you should be getting some rest. Tomorrow’ll look a lot better through fresh eyes.”

“Hai...oyasumi, Asao-san.”

“Oyasumi nasai, Shio-chan.” --------- “Mornin’ Ogura. You sleep alright?” Adam greeted the girl as she came down the stairs, a huge yawn tearing from her mouth. 

“Hnn...ohayou, Adam-san...” She rubbed her eyes, Asao’s words from last night still turning themselves over in her mind. Tell him... hah, as if she could just blurt it out. If only she could plan it out beforehand, but no; experience told her that whenever it involved her and Adam, nothing ever went according to plan.

“Sunny-side up eggs alright with you?” The sniper nodded in thanks, before wandering over to the cupboards to fix herself some tea. “...Everything alright?”

“H-Huh? Wh, what do you mean...” She nearly dropped the cup, but caught it just in time. “I’m just, tired...stayed up too late talking to Asao-san again...” Adam’s perception was incredibly sharp; she’d have to watch herself to make sure she didn’t give anything away.

“...I see. How’s she doing, by the way?”

“Eh. Same as usual...from the sound of it, Japan’s doing okay, except they’re not in school right now so she says it’s kind of boring staying inside all day.” Before she knew it, she had somehow automatically made two cups of tea, even though Adam usually drank coffee in the morning. “Oh, ah...I forgot, you usually drink coffee, don’t you, Adam-san?”

He glanced over at the mugs just as the eggs finished and he slid them onto a plate, alongside the bacon, toast, and other trimmings. “Sure, but I don’t mind tea, either. Remember, I’m British,” he winked at her, “and we take tea very seriously.”

Sio found herself blushing at that playful wink, and before she knew it her lips curled into a small smile. Every time he did one of those little quirks towards her, she felt herself growing warm. As they ate their breakfast in a now-comfortable silence, she thought back to what she’d told Asao last night. About how she was resigned to just remaining friends, and accepting it, if he didn’t feel the same...

‘...But is that really true? Could I really be satisfied with just staying friends?’ That was what she’d claimed, but thinking on it now, and especially with the two of them like this already... Biting her fork, Sio was beginning to think she wouldn’t be able to settle for anything less than going all in. If she was rejected, then fine--that would be something out of her control, but to not even try...

“Say. You got any plans today?” She looked up with a start at Adam’s question. Why would he be asking her this now... Pretending everything was fine (when it was definitely not), she gave a casual shrug.

“Not really. I-I mean, aside from the usual stuff...was probably just gonna try and finish my FF7 file, since we’ve only got like, a week left...”

He nodded. “Yeh; seems like time was slow and fast all at the same time, didn’t it?”

“Heh, yeah it did; oh man, I remember when we first got here, and I was complaining about how I was gonna survive a month with everyone...but, now that we’re almost at the end, I’m actually gonna miss it...” She gave a melancholy smile, stirring the leftover bits of eggs.

“Well, I was thinking of just going for a drive along the shoreline. Maybe get out and walk along the beach...” For a few seconds there was only the sound of forks scraping the plates, as Sio’s heart started to pound in nervous anticipation, while Adam turned away so she couldn’t see his blush.

“...Is it, just...you?”

“...Well, that depends; you wanna come with?”

Their eyes met for a second, and Sio was sure she was probably redder than a tomato—but the strange thing was, Adam was also oddly pink, with an expression she’d never seen before. Later on, she would realize it was a sign that he’d been just as nervous as her, but in the heat of the moment, all she could think of was how to not make a fool of herself.

“U-Uh, I—I um, I...I’d like that,” she heard herself saying, though the voice seemed to come from somewhere outside her body. “If it’s...okay...”

“Of course; it’s definitely more than ‘okay’.” He got up to clear their plates, Sio grateful he couldn’t see her smile. 

‘He’s actually taking me somewhere...just the two of us...! Wait, is this like a...date?!’ Her excitement was suddenly replaced with a bolt of fear, as Sio’s mind finally realized the possible implications of this. ‘Oh no, what do I do...! Maybe I should change—but into what? It’s not like I packed anything nice since all we’d be doing was lounging, not going out—’

Luckily she was saved from indecision by Adam announcing that he’d already written a note for the other two, and it would be easier if they left now before they woke up. They packed some water and of course, the usual masks and hand sanitizer; then Adam was easing them out of the driveway and onto the hilly streets, Sio finally sitting shotgun for once.

The car was awkwardly silent, Sio wrestling internally with wanting to start a conversation but not knowing what to talk about. In the end, she simply turned on the radio, and the two listened to whatever the latest hits were as the car wound its way out to the coast. At least the breeze was nice, Sio enjoying the fresh air while she subtly watched Adam shifting the gears; somehow, just watching his fluid actions, and trying to understand how everything worked, was quite interesting.

“Huh...so you have to shift in order...” she muttered to herself, unaware of actually speaking it out loud.

“Eh? You interested in drivin’, squirt?”

‘Ah! I did it again...speaking my thoughts...!’ The sniper tried not to panic, instead pointedly looking out the window.

“N, No, it’s just...I’m curious as to how you, uh, drive. Y’know, with the gears and all.”

Adam shrugged, navigating with one hand as they drove along the highway. “Mm, you learn it with practice, like everything else. Why, you want a driving lesson before this is all over?” He teased, shooting the girl a small grin. “Personally I’d recommend starting with an automatic, if you’ve never driven before...”

“No no, it’s fine; I highly doubt I’d need to right now, anyway...” Sio commented dryly. “...By the way, is it true? What Jess-san said...”

“About what?”

“That, you...also owned a motorcycle.”

So. She remembered. “...Yeh, it’s true. I do have a bike; it’s not here right now, though DOGOO has offered to ship it to one of their bases...” The sniper’s maroons grew wide at this piece of news, and inwardly Adam cursed at not having the foresight to having it shipped over. ‘Perhaps we could’ve gone for a ride on that instead...’

“Whoa...that’s so cool...” Sio mumbled, cheeks flushing. “Man, you’re like, perfect...you can do so many things, like—how do you even know all this stuff? And be good at them?”

To her surprise Adam started laughing. “Oh ho, perfect now, am I? That is definitely not the case...and if I really were perfect, then how come I still have trouble with speaking my mind or not being an arse?” He eyed her with a glance and the sniper’s cheeks turned pink, to his pleasure. “Besides, I’m pretty sure that was not your impression of me when we first met.”

“W, Well, still...I just feel so...I dunno, useless next to you—and everyone else, for that matter, sometimes...”

Adam didn’t respond, instead pulling the car into a space as they finally made it to their destination. Sio wasn’t sure if he was exasperated at her whining, or something else.

“C’mon Ogura, let’s go for a walk, yeh? Think that’ll clear your head a bit.”

“Ah...” She put her mask and silently followed him, right along the waves crashing against the rocks. The day had been cloudy for a change, and Sio shivered slightly, even with a jacket. It seemed San Francisco’s weather changed as often as her moods; sunny one day, and chilly with fog the next, sometimes in the same day. 

“Brr...it sure is cold here,” she rubbed her arms, the wind piercing through her thin sweater. “Isn’t it supposed to almost be summer?”

“Hmm, reminds me a lot of home, actually. Well, granted it’s not nearly as cool, but, the overcast fog...” Before she could say anything else, Adam was shedding his jacket and gently laying it across her shoulders. “Here, this better?”

“Ah, uh...th-thanks...” There wasn’t much she could say, without revealing her true feelings—instead Sio simply nodded, hugging herself as she slipped her arms through, the fabric still warm from his heat. ‘Mmm...of course it smells like him...it’s comforting, somehow...’

“Don’t worry about me, squirt,” Adam answered before she could even ask. “The cold doesn’t bother me much; in fact, I find it rather refreshing.”

“O-Oh...w, well, if you say so...” She didn’t even need a mirror to know her cheeks were pink at this point—in fact her entire head felt like it was on fire as they walked in silence along the trail, despite the sea breeze. In an effort to distract herself, Sio took in the sights: the grey-tinged clouds, waves that broke along the rocks, and the occasional seagull brave enough to dive into the water. The air smelled briny and cold, similar to Tokyo Bay—but again different. It was mesmerizing to stare out at the waves, how they grew, then crashed, receded and then it started all over again. A few joggers and bikers were out, but it seemed most folks chose to stay indoors when the weather turned.

They hiked to an outlook with a few benches, Sio taking a water break as Adam leaned over the railing, taking in the view himself. She desperately wanted to break the silence, but at the same time, she didn’t know what to say. Even if Adam had other reasons for asking her to come with, somehow, it felt wrong to force the question.

“You doin’ alright, Ogura?” Adam turned around, nodding at her newly-acquired jacket. “Let me know if you’d rather head back. Wouldn’t want you t’ get sick.”

“I’m okay, thanks to you...” She hugged herself again, as if to remind herself this was real. “U-Um, A-Adam...” he turned around slightly, and Sio felt her heart rate speed up, but she couldn’t stop now. “Th, this place...um, s-so...why did you ask me to...come with you...”

“...Hn. That is a good question.” He wasn’t looking at her directly, but she knew he was paying close attention. “I can’t say I really know why, myself...just, I thought you might like some fresh air, for a change.” He shrugged casually, and Sio felt her heart drop a bit, even though a part of her was also relieved.

“And, well...truthfully it’s because, I guess I’ve come to enjoy spending time with you, is all.”

The sniper froze again, at that comment. ‘No way...it can’t be, is he really serious...is he, really saying what I think he is...!’ She wasn’t even sure what to respond, how to respond—to anybody else perhaps, it would’ve been plain as day that Adam was admitting he liked her, and yet, her insecurities wouldn’t let her believe it.

“A-Ah, y-yeah...um, I, I do...like being out of the house, once in a while...” She was stuttering and trembling, all limbs going numb because there was just no way this could be real, it couldn’t be what she’d really wanted, all along...

“Well, that’s...good to know.” He was coming over now, hands tucked inside his pockets as he sat down next to her. “By the way, I apologise for being blunt, but...I hope I’m not botherin’ you, dragging you out like this. It’s just...well, you often seem so glum about your inexperience and such, I...wanted to see if I could take your mind off that. Y’know, you’re doing quite well, for a rookie. ”

“Eh? N, no, not at all...” Sio wasn’t quite sure what to make of his words; of how he wanted to try and cheer her up, and to know she wasn’t doing as poorly as she constantly thought... “I’m, glad to hear that...b-but, if I’m doing so well, then how come you’re still teasing me about messing stuff up? And don’t even get me started on before...you used to yell at me all the time, or complain about this or that...”

To her surprise he began to laugh slightly, Sio feeling her cheeks burning in a mix of indignation and embarrassment. “Heh, you aren’t wrong; I admit communication isn’t exactly one of my better skills...and here you were saying how I was perfect,” he turned towards her at last, a small smile on his face. “But spending time with you, like this...has changed my mind.”

“Um...” Her voice quivered before she knew it, Adam quirking a brow at her sudden nervousness. “U-Um, I, y, you...” There was no way she could weasel out of this one, now. They were literally sitting next to each other, Adam had all but confirmed that he liked her and didn’t think she was a mere ‘half-baked squirt’; so why was she still trying to deny it?

“Y, You...probably shouldn’t say things like that,” she uttered quietly, picking at the sleeves of her borrowed jacket. “You don’t have to baby me, you know...I can handle the truth...”

Now it was Adam’s turn to look astonished. “...Beg pardon? You think I’m just buttering you up for something?” There was slight cough, as if he couldn’t quite grasp her logic. “I meant what I said, Ogura. I wasn’t joking around or talking shit just to make you feel better,” she winced slightly at his words. “If there is one thing I wish you would improve, it’s your confidence. And I’ll admit, I haven’t been conducive to that, especially in the beginning...but surely you don’t have that low of an opinion of yourself? After all you’ve accomplished in such a short time?”

“B, But, I...it can’t...” The sniper shook her head, frustrated because she knew Adam was right. Even before DOGOO, speaking up for herself and having self-confidence was always hard for her. Even if it caused her loneliness, it was easier than stepping out of her comfort zone, dealing with those awkward looks and moments where people never seemed to know what to do with her. “I...how, how can someone like you see that in me?”

“...What exactly do you mean by that?” His gaze was piercing, but not cruel. “What do you mean, ‘someone like me’?”

“Y-You, you’re...you’re the leader of the Second Platoon, you can do pretty much anything you want—cooking, cleaning, killing EIOs without breaking a sweat, driving, riding a bike, video games, keeping us on track...” She was rambling now, she knew, but Sio couldn’t stop. “How can I...possibly be good enough?”

“‘Good enough?’ For what? To be a part of this platoon?” She didn’t need to see his face to know Adam was upset. “That’s certainly not the case—you really think you’d still be here if you weren’t good enough—”

“—I know that! That’s...not what I’m talking about...” How was it that someone who was so smart could also be so dense? Did she really have to spell it out for him...!

“Then what are you talking about?” Adam sighed, starting to become irritated with her half-answers and nonsensical words. “Can you not just say it straight, Ogura, for once?

“—How can a hanninmae like me possibly be good enough for you?!” She burst out at last, not even thinking about anything else other than what she had to say, at the moment. She felt the man next to her instantly stiffen at her words, the sniper herself too emotional to look. 

There was a seemingly endless stretch of silence after that, Sio squirming with embarrassment but knew she couldn’t turn away, not after all those words. It seemed like forever before the man next to her moved, Sio staying frozen in her spot.

“...Y’know, you really are something else, Ogura Sio.” She didn’t dare look at him in the face, not yet. “It’s funny that you say that...feeling that you’re not good enough for me...when I’ve...been wonderin’ the same about myself.”

“Eh...?” In one moment she forgot she was supposed to be avoiding his eyes and turned around, only to be met with a strangely bashful and...nervous Adam? “What, you...about me?”

Huh? Huuuh? The sniper’s mind flew into a frenzy, suddenly overwhelmed by the revelations—namely that Adam actually ‘like’ liked her, and he was insecure about himself? “A-Ano...wha, but you, I...”

“Need me to spell it out for you, squirt? Alright then, I’ll just say it straight: I like you, Ogura; a lot. And it’s not just friendship. You’re no fool, you know what I’m talking about. But I don’t want to force you into something if you don’t feel the same way. Least of all if you’re uncomfortable with the fact that we’ll be continuing to work together after all this.”

He was right. Technically, as members of DOGOO they still had a duty to work together, professionally. Rules aside, she knew that if they committed to a relationship with each other, it could potentially make things very messy. And yet...

“...I, I...don’t care about that. I-I mean, yes, I know it’s probably not the smartest or most logical idea, but...” She finally glanced up, trying not to let her tears fall. “I can’t change my feelings...heh, I think even if there were some kind of rule in place...it wouldn’t change my heart. ‘Cause I, I...really like you, Adam...a lot...”

“...Well, let’s be real, since when were either of us good about following the rules, anyway?” With that one statement, the tension seemed to crack, and Sio couldn’t help but burst into giggles, Adam following suit as the two just laughed.

“You’re pretty when you smile, you know that?” 

“Ah—I, uh, mmm...” She blushed as Adam wiped her tears with a tissue. “Y, You should smile more, too...you’re much less scary when you do...”

Adam quirked a white eyebrow.  “Oh? You found me to be intimidating? Well, I guess that’s another thing I’ll have to work on, huh?” 

“We should both work on it. How to smile better.” The sniper screwed her mouth into a smile-grimace, which only caused the white-haired holder to laugh harder. “H-Hey, I’m trying...!” But she couldn’t help but laugh, too.

It felt like forever since they’d come here for their original purpose of hiking, but as Sio checked her watch, in reality it’d only been about half an hour. And yet everything before that point was now completely different; her feelings, perspective, and most of all what she and Adam were to each other, now...

“U-Uh...Adam-san...? Does, does this mean...well, what are we, now? Does this mean we’re...going out? Like dating?” Her face still flushed as she stumbled over those words, unused to saying them out loud.

He smiled at her, before gently taking her hand for the first time, Sio squeaking in surprise as his fingers closed around hers. “Sure, I suppose...I mean, I don’t really know much myself...but if that’s what you want, then I’m fine with it. Which means...guess I’ll be your boyfriend, from now on. Or lover, partner...” Those fingers brushed against her palm and she shivered; at last she could feel him in an intimate manner, but when it actually happened suddenly she felt very shy, even though it was nothing close to what she fantasized about.

“Mmm...I, I want that. Th-then, I’m...your girl...friend, now,” she nodded to reassure herself, squeezing his hand tightly in return. “Though, I’m not sure I want to tell everybody about it, yet...you know, like Newton and Gandhi...I, I’m sure eventually I’ll be okay, but just, for now...”

Adam nodded, rubbing her shoulder in a reassuring manner. “Same; frankly, it’s none of their business, and knowing what gossips those two are...” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’s bound to come up, sooner or later...but for now, let’s just have this be our little secret, yeh?”

Sio couldn’t help but smile as they walked back to the car. “Hai! Oh, and uh, one last thing...” Adam gave a quizzical look as they got in. “U-Um, it’s okay to call me...’Sio’ now. Just ‘Sio’.” 

Something warm bloomed inside her chest as she said that, more so when Adam’s cheeks turned pink (he was so cute when he blushed), before he nodded. “Of course...Sio. But that means, from now on...I’m just ‘Adam’, too.”

“Okay...Adam.”

[iluvsexyvoltageguys]

Champagne and Candles

Fandom: Irresistible Mistakes (Love 365)

Pairing: Shunichiro x Reader x ???

This is a continuation of Champagne and Bubble Baths @rougepetale enjoy this sexy 3some

“Shun, what the hell is going on?” You asked, holding your hands out in front of you.

“You’ll see. Stop being impatient,” Shunichiro chuckled at you, his fingers curling around your shoulders to guide you while you were blinded by the tie covering your eyes. “You’re going to love it, I promise.” You frowned, feeling the fabric shift against your eyebrows.

You heard the terrace door slide open, the cool night air brushing across your skin, as Shunichiro gently moved your hair to the side, leaning down to kiss the back of your neck as his hands slowly untied the fabric covering your eyes. “Well, what do you think?”

“It’s… it’s magical, Shun,” your voice just barely above a whisper. Hundreds of flickering candles littered the terrace, mixing with the neon lights of the city, creating an almost dreamlike atmosphere. On the table, you saw a chilling bottle of champagne, you frowned, noticing there were three glasses instead of two.

Just as you prepared to ask him about the third glass, soft music starting playing. Shunichiro met your eyes, his large hand brushing over yours. “It’s our last night here before we head back to reality, and I wanted this to be special. You are always taking care of me, helping me with work, massaging my sore muscles, cooking me meals, so I don’t cheat on my diet too much,” you smiled at that, “I just wanted to show you that I can take care of you too.”

You started to speak, surely he didn’t really think that he was failing at taking care of you. Anticipating your rebuttal, he smiled softly, running his thumb gently over your lips to quite you before turning you around.

Stepping out the sliding door was Jun Araki. A blush spread over you, moving from your cheeks down to your chest as you backed into Shunichiro, god, this was the last time you told him about your sex dreams.

Shunichiro leaned down to whisper in your ear, “I know this is what you want darling, don’t be embarrassed.” You looked up at him, needing some kind of reassurance that all of this was okay. He nodded, “It’s alright love, I want this too.”

Realization set in - the way Shunichiro had acted at the club earlier, pushing you to sit next to Jun. Even when you were dancing, Shunichiro moving you so that Jun could see your body moving against his. He had been giving you subtle clues, you had just been too oblivious to see them.

When you finally turned your head back towards the CEO, he was moving towards you, finally speaking. “_____, you look absolutely stunning tonight.” And for the first time since stepping onto the terrace, you were aware of just how little you were wearing.

The black lingerie Shunichiro picked out for you barely covering anything. Instinctively, you moved to cover yourself, but Jun’s hand came up to gently grab your wrist, moving your hand back to your side. “There’s no need for that.”

Shunichiro rubbed his hands soothingly down your arms, making you relax a little. “Sweetheart, I’m right here. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, just tell me, and we’ll stop.”

Shunichiro’s words gave you confidence, “No, I want this, it just all took me by surprise.”

He bent down, so his eyes were level with yours, trying to read you, seeing the surety in your eyes, “You’re going to let us take care of you?”

Your throat was going dry, but you nodded and both of them smirked. Shunichiro turned, quickly pouring champagne into the three glasses. “This is a celebration,” he ordered.

“So let’s celebrate,” Jun finished.

You weren’t ordinarily a fan of the stuff, though it seemed to be Shunichiro’s drink of choice for the past few days. You took a sip, the bubbles tickling your nose but the buzz was pleasant. The two men watched you for a moment, smiling as you downed the glass before Jun took you by the hand and led you to the large couch that occupied most of the terrace. Letting him settle you onto the cushions, his hands parting your thighs.

“We’re going to make you feel so good, darling,” Shunichiro crooned, following as Jun trailed kisses between your breasts, over your stomach, causing your skin to tingle and burn everywhere he touched, moving lower until he reached the hem of the black lace panties.

You cried out when he dragged your panties down, his warm breath ghosting over your folds. Your insides twitched and clenched, desperate for some friction and you weren’t disappointed when he stroked the tip of his tongue against your clit.

Shunichiro was holding you steady from behind the couch, caressing your breasts with his hands, teasing your nipples into hard blunt peaks and you moaned, not even trying to stop your hips rolling toward Jun’s mouth.

You had become so accustomed to your boyfriend’s mouth, his tongue always knowing just how to lick you, but with Mr. Araki, all the sensations were new, foreign, and unpredictable. You couldn’t help but push your cunt harder against his mouth, unable to control the sounds coming out of you as you ground against him. You were desperate for more, but both of them held off, silently communicating as they kept their touches teasing but firm.

“You know,” You gasped, seeking out Shunichiro’s eyes as you struggled to keep your eyes open. “One of you being a tease is bad enough.”

“Just wait darling, we aren’t done yet,” Shunichiro replied, abandoning your nipples to stand straight. He undressed quickly, now standing nude in front of you, cock hard and jutting from the thatch of hair at its base, and you unconsciously licked your lips. “This is supposed to be about you, sweetheart, you don’t have to look at my dick like that.”

“Can’t help it,” You groaned, craning your neck as Jun’s tongue thrust between your shuddering walls. “I love sucking your cock, Sir. Just love the taste of it on my tongue.” Your teasing made him groan deeply, and he moved, situating himself into a kneeling position on the couch next to you. His cock was close enough for you to wrap your fingers around him, drawing him closer until you could wrap your lips around his tip.

Jun chuckled between your thighs, “Are you going to cum like this, my lips wrapped around your clit with your boyfriend’s cock in your mouth?”

You hummed around Shunichiro’s cock as Jun slid two fingers into your swollen pussy, making you jerk and choke on Shunichiro’s dick. “That’s cheating,” You whined, looking down at the handsome man.

“So is this,” he countered, the two fingers inside you curling up to massage your g-spot. You cried out, clenching around his fingers. Shunichiro groaning as your mouth surrounded him, muffling your cries as you came in the other man’s mouth. Jun lapped at your slit, moaning sinfully at the taste of you.

Wrapping your hand around the base of Shunichiro’s cock, you rode out the rest of your climax, feeling Jun’s soft tongue licking you until you had stopped shuddering. You picked up an enthusiastic pace, bobbing your head and forcing more of Shunichiro’s cock into your mouth. He grunted, fisting your hair.

“Wanna be inside this sweet little cunt,” Jun purred, bestowing one final kiss on your pussy as he withdrew his fingers and licked them clean. You moaned when he spread your thighs further, holding his cock in one hand to tease you with the tip. “That’s it, _____, just open up for me.”

A whimper left your lips as he sank into you, the sounds vibrating around Shunichiro’s cock, and he moaned in turn, thrusting against your tongue as Jun started to fuck you with slow, hard strokes. You felt your eyes roll back and your throat went slack, allowing Shunichiro to slide the entirety of his shaft between your lips, bulging out your throat.

You gagged, predictably, and he withdrew quickly, his eyes searching yours looking for any sign that he had hurt you. You reached out, lacing your fingers with his, as you placed a gentle kiss to the tip of his cock. When he slid in again, he kept to shallow thrusts as you dragged air in through your nose, eyes wide and wet when you looked up at him.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” Shunichiro murmured, cupping your cheek and rubbing his thumb underneath your eyes, wiping away the tears that had started falling, as you kept sucking his dick.

Jun was holding your hips now, fucking you harder with each moment and you pulled your mouth off of Shunichiro’s cock, licking your lips. “Shun,” You panted, “want you too.”

“Want me where?” he asked, wiping saliva and precum from your chin.

“In… inside…” You begged, biting your lip as Jun angled his hips and slammed the blunt head of his cock into your sweet spot, making you arch up into his body and whine loudly.

Shunichiro grinned. “Inside where?” A frustrated moan replaced your whines. He knew perfectly well what you wanted. “Shun!” You cried, and Jun withdrew, standing back as you quivered on the couch cushions, hovering on the edge between bliss and agony.

Both men watching you for a moment before moving in tandem. Jun swooped down on you, picking you up and sitting in the spot you’d occupied, lowering you down onto his lap. His cock slipped back inside you easily, and you cried out, clenching around him needily.

Shunichiro kneeled behind you, his hands spreading your ass cheeks to expose your puckered hole. “Look how well you take him” he quipped, rubbing his thumb against the sensitive patch of skin between your ass and Jun’s cock thrusting between your dripping folds. “That’s it sweetheart, show him what a good girl you are.”

The praise made your cheeks burn, but when Shunichiro’s tongue brushed over your hole, you lost it, grinding down on Jun, locking your fingers in his hair, tugging roughly as you chased your high with desperation. The man underneath you groaned as your pussy tightened but held off his own climax. Along with pleasure, the anticipation of having them both inside you was making you so slick, and it had to be obvious to them how much you wanted it.

Shunichiro was tonguing you now, easing your tightest hole open, and you pushed down against him with each thrust, greedy for more. He obliged, pressing the tip of his index finger against you as his tongue lubricated its path.

To say you felt conflicting emotions as he penetrated you with a single digit was an underestimation. All at once you wanted him to stop but wanted more, the unfamiliar sensation taking a moment to settle into your mind. As he kept thrusting, slowly, you adjusted clenching around both of them to earn your reward of twin moans.

A second finger pressed into you, aided by more wetness and you briefly wondered where Shunichiro had gotten the lube from before he was gently thrusting and stretching you open even more. Something that sounded more animal than human slipped from your lips when he scissored his digits inside you, exploring parts of you that remained largely undiscovered.

Jun kept rocking up into you, slowing his movements so not to hurt you but you were needy for them, moaning and writhing, trying to persuade them deeper inside you.

“Greedy little thing isn’t she,” Jun chastised, forcing your thighs down to keep you still for a moment as Shunichiro withdrew his fingers from your body, and then the head of Shunichiro’s cock was pressed against you, making you shiver in anticipation.

“Slowly, sweetheart,” Shunichiro ordered, pushing forward the slightest amount. You relaxed, leaning your forehead against Jun’s as Shunichiro penetrated you slowly, provoking little whines from your lips. The intensity was burning in your belly, the cock already buried in your cunt twitching as you clenched in impatience around it. Trying to stay focused and relaxed was harder the more Shunichiro pushed into you; it almost felt like your eyes crossed when you felt his pelvis come flush with your ass.

God, it was so much.

Every fiber of your being lit up with pleasure like you couldn’t breathe or speak. Sparks flashed behind your closed eyes and for a moment, the whole world stood still and all you could hear was your heartbeat and the soft panting of the men you were sandwiched between.

Shunichiro’s voice jarred you from the timeless second, hot and heavy against the shell of your ear. “I’m gonna move now,” he warned and you nodded, sucking in a deep breath.

If having them still inside you was intense, the movement between them was overwhelming. A cry was muffled by a sob as both men withdrew, easing back in with almost perfect synchronicity. You clung to Jun’s shoulders, barely noticing the way his hands cupped your ass or how Shunichiro’s fingers dug into the flesh of your thighs, no doubt leaving bruises.

You felt so full over and over, it was impossible not to get dragged under. Your insides clenched and you screamed, urging them on, and by the time you were done, Jun’s thighs and balls were sticky with your juices and your screams had dwindled to whimpered grunts.

They were falling out of rhythm as they fucked you. Shunichiro lost control first, slamming hard into you, almost painfully, his cock pulsing as his climax peaked. Thick ropes of cum filled your ass, and his climax triggered Jun’s, warmth suffusing your senses as their cum dripped out of you.

Shunichiro pulled away first, struggling to his feet and collapsing onto the couch next to Jun, who seemed to have lost consciousness. You slid off Jun’s cock, snuggling into the warm space between the two men, peeking through heavy lids to look at Shunichiro.

“Best surprise ever,” You whispered and Shunichiro smirked. “Maybe next time I’ll invite Yuki, too.”

IM Masterlist

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 1 Chapter 1-Yata no Mori (Part 2)

Not going to lie but this chapter nearly drove me crazy with the kyudo terminology. Luckily, there’s a lot of information in English about kyudo online (and surprisingly a lot in French as well) so I just want to give a huge hand to the people who share their kyudo knowledge online in easy to understand ways, you’re the real MVP.

I highly recommend opening the chapter in two tabs and scroll down to the translation notes at the bottom if you can since a lot of words won’t make sense if you don’t know what they mean. I’m still searching for a convenient, non-intrusive way to write the notes so if anyone has any ideas,  let me know.

Also I think I’m going to go on a break after this (yeah even though I promised to post this a lot sooner) cuz I’m still a little burned out from DIVE!!. I just hope the anime doesn’t air before I actually finish this book lol

Translation Notes

1. The Raiki Shagi and Shahoukun are two important ancient texts in modern kyudo. They are written in the front of the Kyudo Kyohon and provide a lot of the philosophy behind Kyudo.

2. Yoshimi Junsei is a famous archer of the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868) who wrote the Shahoukun.

3. Yazuka measurement (not to be confused with yakuza) is the distance from the center of the body to the tip of the middle finger of the left hand when standing upright. This measurement is used to determine proper bow size.

4. Kataboushi yugake is a type of archery glove that has a hard thumb cap (I think???) There are three-fingered, four-fingered and five-fingered types.

5. Kake gae no nai ( 掛け替えのない) is a Japanese saying that means “irreplaceable”.

6. “Makuuchi” is a term for shooting an arrow into the curtain.

7. Gyousha is the movements comprising the act of aiming the bow and shooting the arrow.

8. Oyaki is Japanese stuffed dumplings.

9. Yips is a disease that causes the loss of fine motor skills in athletes. It manifests as twitches and jitters and occurs a lot in sports like golf and darts.

Full list of translations here

Previous | Next

What was that?

Who was that?

He thought back to that breathtakingly beautiful shooting, and Fuu’s deep black eyes.

He tried searching online, but couldn’t find any search terms to enter. The kyudojo of Yata no Mori didn’t have a website, only having its name entered in a list of all the kyudojo in the prefecture. And because of the Personal Information Protection Act, the identity of the person who owned it could not be disclosed either. In that case, he should have asked the man for his name. But, what would he do if he did asked for it?

Minato was heading for the school’s entrance to go home after school. It was bright outside the open windows, and he could hear the sounds of people going to club activities. When he narrowed his gaze on the still distant sunset, the wind died down.

Then, his shoulder was grabbed from behind again. I guess I don’t need to check to see who it is anymore.

“…Ryouhei.”

“ ‘Sup Minato. What are you so dopey about?”

“Do you know how big you’ve gotten? You’re heavy.”

“Sorry, it’s just a habit.”

While apologizing, his hand remained on his shoulder. The other hand was waving at the people passing by.

Since elementary school, Ryouhei liked to join shoulders with other people. Minato disliked being clingy with people, but when he saw Ryouhei’s smile, he couldn’t turn him down, so he left it as it was. Even during the several times when Minato and Seiya fought, Ryouhei would squeeze between them and join shoulders, saying with teary eyes, “I get sad when you guys fight,” and then it became impossible to get angry. Minato had a bad feeling as he felt the similar emotions from those times.

“Isn’t it too early to go home? Let’s go to the kyudo club’s information session together.” Ryouhei said.

Minato replied without a moment’s delay, “No. I’m not going.”

“Alright, then at least listen to some of the information. Tomi-sensei has back pain so he can’t do the practical skills, so it looks like Seiya will be demonstrating them.”

“Ryouhei, did Seiya bribe you to do this?”

“It’s not like that. But, he told me to tell you this: ‘If you don’t come today, then I’ll never let you see Bear again.’ Did they finally start to keep a bear over there? Sweet.”

No, that’s really not something to be impressed about, Minato quipped in his mind.

“For me, Seiya’s the sage, and you’re the hero. You have a heroic saga too, don’t you? Hey, do you remember what happened on our kindergarten trip?”

“Trip? Oh, the one where the hornet landed on my arm, and I kept walking without shaking it off? But, that’s not a big deal. Even though the hornet kept approaching me, the teacher warned me repeatedly not to kill it with my hands.”

“That’s not it! It’s the one where you barehandedly caught the crayfish that I couldn’t touch. When I saw that, I was like, ‘This guy is cool!’”

Minato was completely drained, and placed his hand on his knee.

“Ryouhei, we aren’t in kindergarten or elementary school anymore.”

“How’s that different from being in high school?”

Ryouhei’s innocent gaze pierced Minato.

Minato was an only child, but he was got the illusion that the naughty younger brother, who had always followed behind him, had suddenly matured.

“Actually, when I was in the second-year of middle school, I accidentally saw you drawing your bow. When I saw that arrow firmly hitting the target, I was so excited. I thought that I want to draw like that too. I want to do kyudo together with you and the others—. You said that you were busy with chores at home, so I gave up the other day, but I guess if Seiya and I cooperate we’ll manage somehow? It took a lot of trouble to meet you like this. Just try to listen to the information first. And then can you make your conclusion?”

“Ryouhei, I’m…”

“I want to do kyudo with you…is that no good?”

Ryouhei’s ears seemed like they were drooping down dejectedly. Minato was never good at handling his juniors.

“…All right. But I’m only listening.”

Ryouhei’s face lit up. He couldn’t understand why Seiya involved him into this, but he couldn’t refuse that face. Minato hung his head in shame at his weak-minded self.

At that time, Seiya headed to the kyudojo with Tomi-sensei before everyone else.

Kazemai High School’s kyudojo was located inconspicuously in a corner of the schoolyard. For kinteki (close-range) tournaments, the range was twenty-eight meters, with room for six people to draw at the same time. Though it wasn’t being used, it was well maintained, thanks to Tomi-sensei’s hard efforts bringing in senior citizen personnel during spring break. Seiya only resumed breathing when his hand traced the nameplate that read “Kazemai High School Kyudo Club.”

They bowed once as they entered the kyudojo, and then went ahead and bowed twice in front of the kamiza. Being barefoot is strictly forbidden in the kyudojo, for the same reason entering someone else’s house barefoot is impolite.

To prepare the kyudojo, first apply water to the azuchi (target bank), and then place the targets with their centers twenty-seven centimeters above the azuchi. The targets used were kasumi-mato (mist targets), which were targets with a diameter of thirty-six centimeters where black concentric circles were drawn.

Next was preparing the kyudo equipment. The arrows were placed in the yatate-bako (arrow stand), and the bowstrings were stringed onto the bows. The height of the ha—the distance between the bow’s grip and the stringーwas about fifteen centimeters. There were dedicated tools for measuring that height, but Seiya measured it using his right thumb and said, “This is fine.” Then he went on to rub “ma-gusune” on the string. He did this by applying kusune, which was a boiled mixture of pine resin and oil, onto a small waraji woven from hemp strings, and then using it to neaten the loosened string by fusing it with friction. The saying “to be ready and waiting for (te-gusune o hiku, 手ぐすね引く)” definitely came from kyudo, but the use of kusune was different.

After he got that far, he changed clothes. Shooting a bow right after stringing it was a cause of bow damage, so it was necessary to make it adapt ahead of time.

Seeing Seiya turning towards the makiwara (straw practice targets), Tomi-sensei spoke.

“Oh, Takehaya-kun, where are your glasses?”

“I use glasses because I have dry eye, but I only use contacts when I’m drawing a bow. Before, the bowstring would get caught on my glasses and send them flying.”

“The lenses cracking would be pretty shocking. But, when people who normally wear glasses take them off, do you think it’s okay to be so defenseless?”

“I am seeing perfectly now. I am completely prepared for the attack, far from being defenseless.”

“I say, that’s frightening.”

“Tomi-sensei, thank you for inviting me to the kyudo club. I’ll definitely make your mission a success..”

“I’m counting on you. Fu-ho-ho!” Tomi-sensei laughed.

To Seiya, Tomi-sensei was a happy miscalculation. Before the entrance exams, he had already investigated that the Kazemai High School Kyudo Club was on the verge of disbandment. Minato probably knew that as well. So, he planned to revive the kyudo club with his own hands.

A favourable wind was blowing.

In order to stand at that place once more—.

Seiya encouraged himself, as an unseen power pressed against his back.

On this day, an information session titled “Introduction to Kyudo” was scheduled, and people began to trickle in. Probably twenty or thirty people of mixed genders. For the boys, their goals weren’t just being introduced to club activities.

“Don’t you think kyudo girls are hot?”

“Yep.”

However, with the entrance of one attention-attracting boy, the boys’ ambitions were abruptly destroyed.

“Sorry I’m late. Thank you for preparing everything.”

When greeted with cries of “Nanao-kuuun!” from the girls, he made peace　signs with his hands and waved at them. They then exchanged incomprehensible greetings of “Merha~” “Merha~.”

It was a boy with bright, somewhat unruly hair, and who seemed like his whole body was shining beams of light. He was swinging a quiver in his hand, which was more a “pearls before frogs” accessory than “pearls before swine.”

Seiya set his bow down, and waved Nanao over.

“You’re Kisaragi Nanao-kun, right? My name’s Takehaya Seiya, and I’ll be with you today, nice to meet you. The frog on that quiver is pretty funny.”

“Oh, this is nice, right? Right now my room’s full of frogs. Oh, you can just call me Nanao.”

“All right, please call me Seiya as well. By the way, what was that ‘Merha’ you said just a while ago?”

“It’s short for ‘Merhaba.’ It’s Turkish for hi.”

While wondering why Turkish, Seiya let it pass. This was probably the reason why he was popular with girls. It wasn’t a type you saw much among boys who did kyudo.

When he picked up his bow and quiver, another person who didn’t seem to belong in a kyudojo appeared.

It was a boy with healthy, suntanned skin. Because of his sharp eyes, he was more a wild person rather than a refreshing sports boy, and a somewhat hard-to-approach aura floated around him. Even the girls who surrounded Nanao quickly backed away to surround him from a distance.

“Nanao, don’t block the entrance. Let me in right now.”

“Ehh, Kacchan, you’re so impatient~”

“Stop calling me Kacchan.”

“But aren’t you Kacchan, Kacchan? I can’t call you anything else at this point.”

“This sucks, having to be in the same high school as you, and then in the same club.”

“Aren’t you joining the soccer club? Didn't the guys in the soccer club ask you ‘What position did you play in middle school?’ on the first day?”

“I’m not joining the soccer club, I’m set on the bow. I’m different from the guys who started kyudo just to wear a hakama, like you.”

“I look pretty cool in a hakama. Of course, it’s not for show. Today, I have to show the girls my charming figure. That’s why, Kacchan, you should work hard too.”

“The only one I don’t want to be told that by is you.”

Noticing Seiya being taken aback, Nanao formally introduced him.

“This here’s Onogi Kaito. My cousin.”

“Onogi-kun, I’m Takehaya. Nice to meet you.”

“…I’ve seen you at a match before. What’s your middle school?”

“Really? It’s a private school, so it’s not around here, and I don’t think you’d recognize the name even if I told you. But putting that aside, I want to start soon, so the two of you should go change your clothes first. I’ll keep your bow strung.”

Kaito looked like he wanted to say something, but he entrusted his equipment to Seiya and headed for the waiting room (hikae shitsu).

The first round of Introduction to Kyudo has begun.

Seeing Minato and Ryouhei among the gathered people, Seiya murmured, “Ryouhei, good job.” under his breath.

Tomi-sensei cleared his throat.

“Everyone, relax your feet. This is a good gathering. It seems that I’m popular. I’m blushing.”

A laughter that said “That corny introduction is enough, so please quickly get on with it” rang out.

“Well then, first, some requests. Kyudo is a martial art. You need to respond with spirit. And then, this is essential, but if you nock an arrow to the bow, you absolutely cannot point it at other people, even as a joke. Even if you did not intend to release it, it can lead to a serious accident. Also, absolutely do not take the arrow off the bow to 'dry fire' it, as there’s the danger of snapping the bowstring. You must always obey these rules.”

And then, they chanted in unison the “Raiki Shagi” and the “Shahoukun” (1) that were printed on the right hand side of the kyudojo (TN: this is called wakishoumen or position where one is facing the kamiza and the targets are to the left). The former began with “The shooting, with the round of moving forward or backward can never be without courtesy and propriety. After having acquired the right inner intention and correctness in the outward appearance, the bow and arrow can be handled resolutely,” an inscription mainly preaching the ideals of kyudo. The latter began with “The way is not with the bow, but with the bone, which is of the greatest importance in shooting,” written by Yoshimi Junsei (2), and was mainly the dying instructions of his technique.

Tomi-sensei asked one of the students in the front row, “Do you understand the meaning?”

“No, not at all.”

“I was also completely clueless about what was written in the beginning. But as I kept practicing, I thought that 'Oh, this is what that was talking about.' You can look forward to that as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And, this is also a breath control technique. As reading out loud is a way to continuously exhale, this action will enhance your parasympathetic nerves and relieve tension. A good presence of mind is essential for drawing a bow. Isn’t it hitting two birds with one stone to learn the essence of kyudo and do breath control?”

“I seeee.”

The voices were overlapping each other.

It was Ryouhei’s and Nanao’s. Nanao had at some point sat down next to Ryouhei, and they were giggling as they looked at each other. Minato and Kaito, who were on both sides of the two, had sour looks on their faces.

Tomi-sensei held up the kyudo equipment.

“There are three main equipment necessary for kyudo. The bow and arrow, and the ‘yugake’ (archer’s glove). It is a glove made of deer skin used for protecting the hands. Most students use the three-fingered yugake. Now, let’s see the actual shooting technique. Tournaments are done with three or five people. Today we’ll have three people.”

Seiya, Kaito and Nanao got up. At that moment, a visitor came and informed them that sorry for the interruption, but Nanao was being summoned over the school PA system.

“Really? Did I do something? Sorry, Tomi-sensei, but I have to leave for a while. If you like, please replace me with someone else.”

Tomi-sensei looked around when the girls said things like, “Eh—, if Nanao-kun isn’t going to draw a bow then should we just go home?”

“Well, there was another person with experience here. What’s more, he’s a good-looking guy. Narumiya-kun, you can choose to change into a hakama or not, just try drawing the bow for a little bit.”

After a pause, Minato exclaimed, “What!?”

“I can’t. I haven’t held a bow for more than half a year already.”

“I just want you to show everyone how it’s done. The equipment is borrowed, so everyone naturally understands that you won’t be able to strike well. Everyone wants to see him shoot, right?”

Because they all applauded at once, Minato was cornered into a hard-to-refuse situation.

While waiting for Minato to get ready, the others were touching the kyudo equipment. Tomi-sensei and the others moved to the wall.

Kaito took an arrow and approached Minato.

“Since it’s troublesome to have the bowstring caught on your buttons, change into a gym uniform and put on a chest protector (muneate). What was the draw strength of the bow you used? Hold out your left arm so I can do the yazuka measurement.” (3)

“Hey, hey wait a minute. I never said that I was going to draw it. Right, I heard that Ryouhei also drew a bow in class when he was in middle school.”

“Even if he did it in class, it was still dangerous. Plus, Tomi-sensei said that it’s natural that you won’t be able to hit anything, and nobody cares about your skill.”

“It’s not that, it’s not that at all…”

“This is getting annoying. Just do the one or two things you’re asked to do. Aren’t you ashamed to be not much of an archer?”

Minato became speechless at the word “archer.”

Kaito took that as acknowledgement, and used Minato’s throat as a starting point to verify the length of the arrow. If it was too short, there was the danger of accidental discharge when the arrow was pulled towards the inside part of the bow.

Seiya stood next to Minato.

“Let’s trying shooting at the makiwara first. If that seems impossible, you can decline. Though the club has some as equipment, what will you do for the yugake?”

“…I’m fine.”

“All right. It’s a waste of time to go back to the classroom to get your gym clothes, so I will lend mine to you.”

Minato changed into the t-shirt and jersey, and took out the dragonfly-patterned pouch from his bag. Inside was a well-used yugake. The other day, when Seiya had said that he was carrying around a treasure, he was referring to this.

There are people who think that when shooting a bow, the end of the arrow was pinched and pulled back, but in fact, the thumb was used to hook the bowstring and pull it. Minato used a three-fingered kataboushi yugake (4), and the groove at the base of the thumb where the bowstring is hung from was called the tsurumakura. Since the position and form differed slightly depending on the yugake, it was difficult to use something unfamiliar. “Kake gae no nai” (5) was an expression that came from kyudo, with the “kake” meaning yugake.

Minato put on his shitagake (under glove) and yugake, applied giriko (glove powder) to his middle finger to prevent slipping, making a squeaking sound.

As he stood in front of the makiwara, his heart was striking the alarm bells. Although he never failed to do muscle training and rubber bow practice, this was actually the first time in a while that he had held a bow.  The anxiety of not knowing whether his movements were correct or not grew stronger. However, his body moved by itself, and before he knew it he had already nocked his arrow.

He performed gyousha (7). He carefully drew the bow back to its limit. When he drew the bow back to its fullest position, “kai,” Minato counted.

One, two, three, four, five—.

The arrow left Minato’s hand, and hit the center of the makiwara.

When he set down his bow, Tomi-sensei called out to Minato.

“Ooh, you have a beautiful form. If that’s the case then you’re fine.”

Minato tightly pressed his lips together, and took out the arrow embedded into the makiwara. When he exhaled on his shoulder, Seiya, who was watching attentively from a little distance away, also sighed heavily in the same way.

Once they finished preparations, Seiya, Minato, and Kaito lined up at the entrance in that order. It was the beginning of nyuujou (entering the dojo).

They bowed, then moved forward with their feet scraping the floor. They turned towards their respective targets, and then briefly sat down and gave a shallow bow. Their lined-up position at this moment was called honza. When they stood up, they got into the position for shooting and then sat down again. This position was referred to as shai, the position where one shot from their sitting position was called “zasha,” and the position where one was always standing was called “rissha.”

As the three of them nocked their arrows together, Tomi-sensei began to explain.

“As you can see, aren’t they nocking two arrows? Those two arrows are called ‘hitote,’ shot in the order of haya (first arrow), and then otoya (second arrow). First up is Takehaya-kun. The first person to shoot is called the ‘oomae.’”

When he was called, Seiya stood up with his nocked bow. He spread his feet, set the bow on his left knee, and removed his right hand from around his waist. With that as his cue, Minato, who was second, also stood up, and followed Seiya’s movements.

Seiya took the bowstring with his right hand, gripped the bow with his left, and faced the target again. He raised both arms in front of his body, slowly bringing the arrowhead to the center of the target. The exact moment when the bow was taut was the highlight of kyudo. The cross shape formed by the person and the bow conferred a pleasant tension to the viewer, and of course the person themselves.

One, two, three, four, five—.

It hit the center. An ooh sound went up.

With Seiya’s tsurune as a signal, Minato got his bow into the uchiokoshi position. Everyone thought that Minato’s arrowhead would slowly approach the center of the target as well.

However, the arrow left Minato’s hands early, not aimed at the center of the target at all, and it landed a great distance before the target. “Before the target” meant the right-hand side, and “behind” it meant the left. Since the arrow was released at a speed as though he was startled out of his wits, the kyudojo became noisy in an instant. Some people were looking at each other with expressions that said, “What was that?”

Tomi-sensei spoke playfully, “Were you nervous so many beautiful ladies here? Whether you hit or miss, having a poker face is one of the basics. It is courtesy with regards to others to not show emotions. Unlike archery, you can gain a point just by hitting the target anywhere. You only either hit or miss. Well then, the person who goes last is called the ‘ochi.’”

Kaito should have used Minato’s tsurune as a cue to get his bow into the uchiokoshi position, but he had to be told to do it. He drew the bow to its limit, and waited for the moment of hanare, but the arrow missed the target.

In the second round, the arrow that Seiya released went behind the target. Having finished shooting the arrows he had in his hand, he began the process of taijo (exiting the dojo), but Minato didn’t move. The raging palpitations of his heart, and pulsations at the back of his neck were deafening. He cautiously got his bow into uchikoshi, and seemed to be drawing it close to the target on the lawn, but he couldn’t breathe.

I can’t let go, I absolutely cannot let go—.

Minato repeated that many times in his heart. He pulled the arrow to half of its length, and then tried to draw it even wider from there, but the arrow flew out again while he was doing that, and it went high above the target, hitting the curtain that was covering the azuchi.

In the end, Kaito managed to hit the target, and it ended with a total of six shots, with two targets of 1:0:1.        

“It’s more difficult than it looks to hit the target in kyudo. That’s why, it is such a pleasure when you do hit it. As I’m thinking of everyone learning together, people who are interested are sure to gather here tomorrow as well.”

After they were dismissed by Tomi-sensei’s words, Kaito waited for Minato to finish changing clothes before approaching him.

“Oi, Narumiya. What was with those earlier shots… Even though the ‘makuuchi’ (6) can’t be helped, why did you do it so early? Since you shot it so early, I couldn’t even get into yugamae in time.”

“Hey, didn’t I say that I couldn’t do it from the beginning? I didn’t mean to release it so soon.”

“Hah? What a lame excuse. You shot normally at the makiwara. But as soon as you stood in front of the target, you did those messy shots. Aren’t you ashamed as an archer?”

“…Oh, I am. I’m already not an archer anymore… Move, I’m going home now.”

Minato shook off Kaito, and walked quickly towards the exit.

“Minato, are you coming tomorrow? …Since I’ll be waiting for you.”

“You don’t have to, since I already stopped doing kyudo!”

Standing next to Seiya as they watched Minato run off, Tomi-sensei whispered to him.

“Takehaya-kun, is it possible that…”

“…He has hayake.”

Minato mounted his bike and sped off without looking anywhere but ahead.

It began to rain. Gripping the wet, slippery handlebars tightly, he pushed his bike on and ascended the steep hill road. His tail lamp left a trail of red afterimages on the gleaming asphalt, and the sound of car tires repelling the water overtook it. When he saw the torii, he stopped his bike and entered Yata no Mori.

At the Yata no Mori Kyudojo, the man was standing on the other side of the bamboo fence of the outdoor stands. As if so that the man would not find him, he crouched down on the spot to watch him. Maybe because of the humidity being high due to the rain, the clear tsurune from before couldn’t be heard, but the shots he sent out from his relaxed limbs were still beautiful. Deviation-free movements that were somewhat liberated. And yet, there was also a somewhat solemn feeling.

It was as though he was performing a prayer.

What would I wish for on a night where the moon and stars couldn’t be seen?

Suddenly, he met eyes with the man. Was it natural to spot him because the other side was on a higher ground?

The man made a scissors gesture with his yugake-covered right hand, and casually beckoned him over. Minato didn’t refuse him, simply staring vacantly at that gesture without using his brain. Then, the man placed his bow at his feet, and then went to the edge of the shajo and crouched down. “Come, boy,” he beckoned him with both hands.

It’s like he’s—.

“I am not a dog or a cat.”

“Well then, come here quickly. A soaking wet boy in the dark looks like a ghost from here, so it’s really scary.”

“I don’t want to make the shajo dirty.”

“It’s fine, it can just be mopped up later. You’re going to mop it up, right?”

He laughed, just like that night. Minato went up to the shajo, still dripping wet. The man picked up his bow lying on the ground and left that spot, then returned with a wrapped packet in his hand.

“Take off your clothes and dry them out, since I’m lending you this beginners’ training uniform. The men’s changing room is right in front of the reception desk. Also, you don’t need to be so formal with me.”

After he changed his clothes and returned, the man was sitting in a corner of the shajo. The spots where Minato dripped on were also completely wiped clean. “There you are,” he said, handing him a can of coffee that had a flame design on it this time.

Minato cupped the can with both hands.

“…It’s hot.”

“It gets cold at night. Oh, I have something good. Do you want to eat it too?”

When he wondered what was going to appear, it turned out to be oyaki (8). With red bean paste. Minato tossed the sweet oyaki into his mouth, downing it with the canned coffee.

After finishing his drink, the man began to adjust his bowstring’s nakajikake (nocking area). The groove of the arrow’s nock was slightly bigger than the bowstring’s thickness. In order to make it easier to nock the arrow, glue was applied to the bowstring and then it was wrapped in hemp, before it was adjusted to a reasonable thickness.

Minato looked up at the night sky and muttered, “Is it impossible for Fuu to come since it’s raining today?”

“Yeah, I’m going to call him on the next sunny day. Your shoulder is the perfect perch for him after all.”

“I’m not an ornament. By the way, how long do you do this for?”

“It was supposed to be until around nine P.M., but I only seem to be using it in the daytime recently. When I use it, I take the key out of the mailbox, then place the fee on the reception desk. 50 yen for an hour. Apparently couples sneak in here at night, since there’s no one here.”

“And this is supposed to be a sacred dojo…”

“You don’t seem to have much experience in that area. Shall I teach you the basics?”

“You perverted old man.”

The man grinned, as he used two small wooden block-like objects, called douhou, to tighten the nakajikake firmly. Thinking that he was restarting his practice, he instead said something unexpected.

“I get the feeling that you’re experienced with kyudo. Do you wanna try shooting a bow for a bit?”

“Um, no thanks.”

“Don’t be shy. Didn’t you come here because you want to shoot a bow?”

“I said, no thanks!”

Minato came to his senses at his own raised voice.

“…Sorry, I’m going home now.”

“Before you go, it’s okay for you to let out whatever you want here. Telephone lines don’t even pass through this kyudojo, so it’s a place isolated from the modern world in a sense. I’m someone who doesn’t exist in your reality. What you say now will never be told to anyone other than me.”

The man waited for Minato’s reply.

A long time passed, and Minato squeezed out the words, as if he was gasping them out.

“How are you able to do such beautiful shots? …I got ‘hayake’ in my last middle school tournament, and after that…I’ve gotten scared of shooting a bow.”

Hayake was a condition where one shoots an arrow even though one hasn’t decided on it. Without arriving at kai, the arrow was shot in the midst at drawing the bow apart. It was said to be a serious affliction in kyudo, much like the yips disease in golf. (9)

“After I lost in the tournament, I resumed practicing. Even though I could endure standing in front of the makiwara, I couldn’t last even one second in front of the targets. My own body wasn’t listening to what I was telling it at all. The more I think that I must not shoot it, the more the arrow slips from my hands. Before long, even drawing the bow became scary. Staying like that, I caused trouble for everyone.”

When he first joined the club, he had a senpai who could hit very well. Someone who could have served as the team captain. However, when that person got hayake, the club had dropped out right before the prefectural tournament. It was a mystery at the time. Why did he let go so quickly? What made him let go even though he didn’t want it to? He must be a weak-spirited person.

Now that he himself was in that position, he finally understood. Even though he was scolded by his sensei with “Why are you releasing it?” even though he was criticized by his teammates with “You’re shooting it too early,” he couldn’t do anything on his own. It was exactly like a disease. Before he knew it, nobody said anything. He knew that they had given up on him.

“And so, I quit just like that. Today, I held a bow for the first time in half a year. I was hoping that it might have been healed, but I was still no good… This is so uncool, right? This is what a talentless hack is like.”

“I see, that must have been so painful for you.”

Minato raised his head in surprise.

What did he say just now?

Painful? Was I in pain?

He reflexively guarded his eyes. It was the best he could do to withstand the things that were welling up.

The fear from the appearance of the hayake was similar to drowning in a muddy stream, but not everyone could sympathize with it.

“…Could I ask for your name? I’m Minato, Narumiya Minato.”

“Takigawa Masaki. Since I’m mostly called ‘Masa-san’, I’ll call you Minato as well.”

“Masa-san, I don’t know what to do… I don’t want to do kyudo anymore. I don’t want to reconfirm my unsightly self. So when my dad told me to take the entrance exams for a public high school because our finances were tough, I thought I was saved. With that, I didn’t have to continue on with the private school I was attending, so that was a justification for quitting kyudo. But even so, I couldn’t stop running and doing muscle training. It feels like the bow is trying to call me back…”

—The tsurune is calling me.

The number of promises that he had failed to fulfill had become his fetters. Will you abandon everything and run away? The heroics of Minato that Ryouhei talked about were in the past, and nowadays he was the same as a warrior scurrying back home after losing a battle.

“But you still want to draw a bow. Am I right?”

“…Yeah. But how can I recover from hayake…?”

“You’re looking at someone who overcame hayake right now.”

Masa-san grinned.

Previous | Next

[ironidemic]

Killing Time: Part I

March 25, 1987

Wendy treaded down the center of the vacant road, avoiding the pools of light shining from street lamps as if they would burn her skin. Each breath she took came out as a short gasp, and despite her efforts, she couldn’t stop shivering in the cool night air. It was three o’clock in the morning and she traveled alone, the soul waking occupant of this dark, hazy realm, so different in the absence of daylight. Wind cut through the soaked black sweater hanging over her thin frame three sizes too big, and the mini skirt and layered fishnet tights which she wore with it provided no additional warmth. She rubbed her arms and walked faster, her heart pounding against her ribcage with a frantic beat that betrayed a fear that her stony eyes would never admit.

They had agreed not to speak of what happened at the river that night. There was no going back, no returning to that time when this was all just a sick game. They were tied to this path, and a final sacrifice had to be made. The thought made Wendy want to burst off running, to find refuge somewhere far away from everything she knew, but she held firm, maintaining an even pace. Only a guilty person would run through the streets this late at night.

The dim houses lining the block looked even more identical in the darkness, silhouettes of two-level family homes with neat little gardens and tacky brown shutters. Wendy resented the sight. Everything felt so plastic and manufactured, making her feel both alienated and trapped in this picture of the cookie-cutter american dream. Thinking of her mother, she lit a cigarette, hiding the ember beneath a shaking hand. Her parents swore that they would never tolerate smoking from any child of theirs, though they themselves had been tobacco addicts since their teens. Wendy made a habit of doing this whenever they weren’t around, her own private retaliation to their hypocrisy. The majority of her rebellions were far less subtle, from the way that she dressed to the outlandish backcombed hairstyles that made made her mother cringe, but it was nice to have something secret, something that was hers and hers alone. It was a last laugh, no matter how many times she got kicked out of the house, no matter how many screaming arguments she lost with her father, forcing her to retreat to her room in defeat. Wendy blew a few smoke rings, a new trick that Steve had taught her in the school parking lot, before crushing the still burning cigarette underfoot.

    Smoke still burned in her throat when Wendy paced up the driveway, scaling the flimsy chain-link fence that bordered her backyard as quickly and as quietly as she could manage. She jumped down to the other side, landing in the grass on a small square of lawn, the only other greenery a scrubby-looking pine tree that hugged the edge of the plot. Wendy would have liked to wait out here until morning, sitting on the stoop of the porch and watching the handful of stars that dotted the sky, but she knew she had long overstayed her leave. She used a spare key to unlock the back door, and slipped into the kitchen with all the silence of a burglar invading her own home.

The main level was cast in shadow, its furnishings reduced to shapes that shifted and moved with the light. Everything was quiet, peaceful in its state of stillness and monochromatic simplicity, until the muted sound of a cough coming from upstairs brought her back. She raced up the steps, cold sweat clinging to the back of her neck as she crept past the baby’s room and then her parents’, holding her breath for fear that her little brother would awake and cry. The dim glow of a plastic night light illuminated the hall, reflecting off of the dusty frames hanging along the wall. It felt like an eternity before she reached her own bedroom and the door was closed and locked safely behind her. Air came rushing into her lungs, and she waited, expecting to feel some kind of relief, some sense of security in the familiarity. She waited, but the panic only continued writhing and coiling in her chest. How could she possibly feel at ease when the reality was that she wasn’t safe? None of them were.

She didn’t bother changing out of her damp street clothes, she never changed before bed, and besides, she had little chance of falling asleep after all of this. Wendy collapsed onto her unmade bed, cold and exhausted, and switched on the tape player on her nightstand, making sure to turn the volume to the lowest setting. She just needed something to fill the empty space, something to take the silence away. The music played so softly at first that the notes were indistinguishable from the static, just brushy strokes against a rolling blank canvas. A keyboard surfaced from the white noise, ringing and dissonant but melodic all the same, then a simple drum beat cut in, layered over by harsh strums on a guitar. Wendy could just make out the words, sung in a range of low tones and passionate wailing that pulled her in, an unmistakable ebb and flow that drew her into the rhythm.

“Water was running; children were running,

You were running out of time.

Under the mountain, a golden fountain,

Were you praying at the Lares’ shrine?

    But oh, oh your city lies in dust, my friend.”

Wendy slammed the eject button, and the music died out. She rubbed her hands over her face and through her hair, undoubtedly smearing several layers of carefully placed black eye makeup. Of course it had to be Rachel’s tape on tonight of all nights, the one with the names of the tracks written in tiny, looped cursive on the paper label.

1. Cities in Dust- Siouxsie and the Banshees,

2. Atmosphere- Joy Division,

3. She’s in Parties- Bauhaus…

She picked up the cassette and began to rewind it, then stopped, pulling the thin tape until it broke away from its reels, a translucent black ribbon hanging limply from her hand. It was useless now, tainted with Rachel’s memory. Wendy threw the tape across the room, where it landed with a dull clatter of plastic, and buried her face deep into her pillow. She didn’t cry, she didn’t think she knew how to anymore, and all she wanted to do was scream until her throat was raw and there was nothing left inside her chest. It was too much to think of Rachel, with her white-blonde hair and warm brown eyes, the cheerleader who wore a pentagram charm around her neck. All of it led back to the image of her lying face down in the water, completely limp.

    Rachel had never been innocent. She had seen too many things in her drunk father’s home, taken one too many beatings from people who she once thought loved her. You could see it in the way she walked, like nothing that touched her would create friction. She acted unexpectedly for someone so pretty, someone with such influence in high school social politics. No one could quite place her, but she liked it that way; it gave her intrigue, and captivation was power in its own right. She had developed quite the reputation, attracting all manner of scumbags that she called lovers, Rourke being the latest. People called her a slut, a witch, but Rachel was far too sad and disinterested to care. Wendy used to admire that, knowing that despite everything, part of her still existed that was fragile and clean. Maybe the darkness saw that too, maybe that’s why it decided to take Rachel.

    Wendy felt sick, like a knot was being pulled tighter and tighter in her stomach. The early stage of a headache pressed against her temple, and she couldn’t stop trembling. She looked over at the clock, which read 3:48 am. It was then that she realized she had been digging her nails into the flesh of her palms, leaving behind rows of tiny crescent-shaped imprints nearly deep enough to draw blood. Everything was too still, too quiet. If Wendy didn’t do something soon, she was going to drive herself mad.

The group had promised one another to lie low and not make contact until things had quieted down. Rourke had been adamant about covering every track, whispering with a low, threatening edge to his voice as he gave them careful instructions on how to dispose of the evidence. As much as Wendy hated to admit it, Rourke scared her. He was violent and unpredictable, and his eyes were always piercing and brimming with hate for the world. As far as she could tell, Steve wasn't afraid, he was never serious enough to be, but even he would never dare cross Rourke. In spite of that, Wendy was certain that if she called him, Steve would pick up. She picked up the phone beside her bed and dialed quickly, pressing the receiver up to her ear and clenching her fist as it rang, droning on one hollow note between agonizing intervals of silence.

Wendy and Steve were close, they always had been, bonding over a shared sense of defiant apathy and designated freakishness, a black-clad duo, with Wendy in her dramatic makeup and baggy clothes and Steve towering above her in his military boots and spiked deathhawk. The only thing that separated them were their reasons for looking the way that they did; Wendy wanted to disappear, to keep people away, but Steve relished in the attention he attracted. It was for that same reason that he always picked fights, why he shoplifted and smoked in the bathroom at school. He adored being in the man of the hour, sitting back and watching the ruckus he could cause. Wendy couldn’t stand it, but she loved him all the same, like the wisecracking older brother she never had, always there to lighten the mood with a well placed quip or practical joke. Besides, Wendy couldn’t afford to be selective too with who she chose to call friends, being that she didn’t really like many people at all. Rachel and Steve were two of the only people who she didn’t downright hate, and though she was none too fond of Rourke, she had learned to deal with him. She could care less about her parents. They were probably the last people she’d turn to at a time like this.

    “Goddamnit Wen, not everyone has adopted the sleep schedule of a vampire bat, namely everyone else in my apartment building.” Wendy breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of a familiar voice.

“I’m surprised you’re home at this hour.”

“Yeah, I lost my fake ID, so none of the bars downtown would let me in. Fucking bastards,” he laughed sheepishly, then cleared his throat. “Plus after what happened, and that whole speech Rourke gave…” his voice trailed off, “I just had to get out of there.” Wendy swallowed hard and fumbled through her sock drawer for another pack of cigarettes, not caring if the room still smelled like smoke in the morning.

“What the hell are we going to do? I don’t know if I can live with this. It’s all going too far.” Her voice broke. “And God, I never thought that it would take Rachel.”

Steve cursed, and Wendy could hear him beginning to pace the floor, the creaking of floorboards echoing in the background. “Look, I don’t think that there’s anything we can do.” His voice had dropped low, the seriousness in his tone revealing no trace of his normally easy-going demeanor. “Believe me, I’m not happy about it, but you heard Rourke. There’s no going back; we’re in too deep.” Wendy ground her back teeth, tensing every muscle in her body to resist the urge to scream.

“Yeah. I know.” Her voice was monotone, her response clipped and robotic. “When can we finish it?” The words were hot and bitter in her mouth. The thought of giving another offering was unbearable, but at this point she would do anything for it to be over, for everything to return to normal.

“I talked to Rourke after you left. He said we can meet up at the trainyard in a week.” Steve sounded jaded, like he was being stretched too thin. For a moment, Wendy thought he could be crying, but then thought better of it.

“Good,” she said. “I’ll see you at school on Monday.”

“Yeah. You too.” Steve hung up, leaving Wendy alone with a hollow feeling in her stomach. She leaned her head against the wall, pressed her lips together and exhaled in defeat, feeling isolated in the wake of a conversation that had only confirmed what she already knew, though hearing it reiterated only made her feel more trapped, more condemned. Everything had happened so fast, and now she struggled to piece together all of the scattered fragments of memory into something coherent and interpretable. After a few minutes of thought, Wendy stood and opened a window to let out some of the smoke drifting through the room like a thin grey veil, kicking off her boots and shoving them offhandedly into the corner on her way. Cool air flooded the space, raising goosebumps on her arms and causing her to shiver as she took another drag on her cigarette. On a whim, she began searching through one of her bureau drawers for her walkman, and found it tangled haphazardly in the chord of her favorite pair of headphones. She grabbed an unmarked tape sitting next to it and shut the drawer, returning to peer out the open window. A wave of harsh noise filtered through the headphones as she slipped them over her ears, recognizing the song immediately as “Promised Land” by Skeletal Family. She wanted to disappear into the sounds of guitar and bass, hammering at her eardrums like a thunderous heartbeat, but soon she slipped back into thought, her mind swimming through flashes of images and snippets of conversation, gradually aligning themselves into a vivid nightmare that she knew all too well to be true.

[whatdoyouexpectthistime]

‘Choosing Sides’ Part Twenty-Four - You Look Better In It

Yeah okay, it’s been AGES, I’m sorry... but yeah the story continues! <3 B

There was silence for a painful thirty seconds as Kaga just stared at Miho’s face, and she gazed back. She wanted to be full of fire, wanted to respond as one should to terrorism, wanted to be completely and utterly certain about every decision she’d made – but it just wasn’t possible.

Circumstances were sometimes bigger than a person.

“Deputy Chief, if I could have a moment with Miss Fujiwara,” Kaga said, tone as Miho expected it to be – totally rigid, not a single ounce of give.

And Nomura saw this – he wasn’t an idiot, no matter how he played it up.

“Miss Fujiwara looks like she could use a friendly face, Captain,” Nomura smiled easily, and simply sat himself up on the gurney making himself comfortable. “So if it’s all the same to you, I’ll just hang out here.”

Kaga’s jaw slid a little to the left, but the next sound from his was an exhale caught somewhere frustration and resignation.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his back straight, his voice still tight.

“Knock to the head and a bit of a cut,” Miho replied, “which looks worse than it is.”

“No need to be a hero,” Nomura put in.

“She’s not,” Kaga dropped, still all steel and bristle. “She blew her cool, her cover and now the Tres Spades.”

“Oh you’re going to blame me for that?” Miho ruffled, then cringed at the way her head pounded when she frowned, which made it worse.

“Unless she’s a terrorist,” Nomura put in cheerfully.

“Not a very good one if I’m blowing up a building while inside of it,” Miho muttered. “But I know that’s not what you’re thinking.”

“You have no idea what I’m thinking,” Kaga corrected stiffly.

“Am I under arrest?” Miho blurted irritably, grimacing again and leaning herself back against the window sill.

“No,” Kaga responded, narrowing his eyes on her. “But you are unquestionably barred from engaging with this case any further, and will remain in Public Safety custody until such time as the investigation is over.”

Shakily Miho let out a breath.

“Sure,” she agreed quietly. “After all that, I didn’t even learn anything… not of use to the investigation anyway.”

Biting her lip, she finally let her eyes drop to the floor.

“We’re leaving,” Kaga declared, apparently unsympathetic. “Get your coat.”

“I didn’t have a chance to pick up my fucking coat,” she muttered, pushing away from the window, but it was Nomura who took her arm.

“Think you’d be all right with me keeping her company for a while, Captain?” he asked casually, and Kaga scowled.

“She has several statements to give, and honestly, can’t be trusted, so n…” Kaga replied, but Nomura cut him off.

“Actually I have a few questions for her myself about a certain mob boss and dealings with an informant,” he announced, and Miho did not get in the way of it. “So, how about I deliver her when I’m through?”

Kaga was outranked.

Miho could see in his eyes the way he was turning over how long it would take Public Safety higher-ups to argue her out of Nomura’s custody and back under their own roof.

“Tomorrow morning,” he said finally, coldly, seeking Miho’s eyes, but she pointedly avoided them. “Deputy Chief,” he nodded, and then left without further word.

No goodbye for her.

The sob that emerged from Miho then, burned her throat, and her eyes, and caused the violent hammering inside her skull to worsen.

“Complicated, huh?” Nomura sighed, but curled his arms around her and held her just tightly enough to quell her trembling body.

“Shouldn’t you be… you be…” she stuttered thickly. “The city…”

“Tokyo will survive,” Nomura assured her, very gently stroking her hair lest he aggravate her clearly injured head. “And you know terrorism is Public Safety’s thing – if I’m needed, someone will track me down.”

 Together they left the hospital, and Miho just watched the city roll by until Nomura was leading her into his apartment.

“Ahh, excuse the mess,” he said a little sheepishly.

It wasn’t regular mess… just folders and papers and work stuff everywhere.

“Looks like nothing’s changed,” Miho said, managing a small smile.

“Some things have,” he disagreed, motioning she make herself comfortable wherever there was space. “Some things not. Hungry?”

“Hm, not especially,” she responded vaguely, and Nomura gave her a level look.

“And the head?”

“Still there,” she quipped, lowering herself onto the couch and leaning back. “Bet you never thought this day would end with babysitting me.”

“I’ve had worse days,” he shrugged, then headed into the kitchen, calling over his shoulder as he did. “I’ll make tea.”

Tea was drunk.

Silence was sat in, until Nomura decided food was necessary whether Miho felt like it or not, and then they ate in silence.

“Just ask,” Miho said finally. “Shit, if nearly getting blown up won’t break me, a little prying won’t.”

“Haven’t had much to do with Captain Kaga,” Nomura stated, no hesitation now he’d been given the green light. “But, his reputation for being a hardass precedes him. You couldn’t find yourself a nicer boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend and we haven’t slept together,” Miho responded quickly. “That’s what you were itching to ask?”

“Really?” he mused, tossing his napkin onto his plate and reclining. “Because only a guy hung up on a girl he works with who nearly got blown up but who can’t show how much he cares about her while in uniform acts like he did earlier.”

At this, Miho blinked slowly – that was some sort of sentence.

“Like I said, we’re not and haven’t,” she clarified, but his statement made her chest hurt a little more.

“But you like him?” he continued to probe, getting up and collecting her plate.

“We… should never have considered the possibility,” she declared, and somehow, saying it like that actually helped. “Complicated is an exaggeration, and with my new job, then the terrorists and Public Safety and… it was never going to end well.”

“That your thing?” he asked, a question lobbed haphazardly over his shoulder not meant in malice, but the moment it was loosed, it seemed he realised how it could have sounded to her.

“No, no you’re right,” she laughed darkly, putting her fingertips to her forehead and massaging gently. “I deserve that and more.”

“Nah,” he shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing.

“I panicked today, really I’m sorry – I shouldn’t have gotten you involved in my mess,” she continued, ignoring him. “And though I know you’re fearless going head to head with just about anybody, you don’t need friction with other areas of law enforcement.”

“I’d always come running,” he said with a somewhat sad smile. “No matter what it was – call me a glutton for punishment.”

“Yeah, punishment,” she sighed, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. “Wonder what mine is going to be. Disobeying orders, jeopardising an ignoring investigation, assaulting a superior officer.”

“Assaulting…? Kaga?” he coughed.

“We had a, minor, altercation,” she admitted, sighing out a lungful.

“You didn’t throw him down did you?” Nomura enquired, but there was a little bit of amusement in his tone now.

“Nearly,” she snorted, then straightened when hands fell softly against her shoulders. “You shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t what?” he queried, digging his thumbs into the concrete beneath her skin. “Can’t drink if you have a suspected concussion, so this’ll have to do. Don’t stress about consequences,” he went on, kneading carefully. “I get the feeling Kaga is going to plead for leniency, and honestly, that lot have much more on their plate than you.”

“Well I can kiss my job goodbye, that’s for sure,” she exhaled, rotating her neck slowly.

She had forgotten the feel of his fingers against her flesh, but this awoke old memories. Now, however, those recollections weren’t coloured by the fear that had driven her from him, only regret she’d let them do it.

“I could use a secretary,” he offered flippantly, and Miho snorted out a laugh.

“Sure, I can see that working out,” she chuckled, then yawned. “Sorry.”

“Nah you should get to bed,” he smirked, lifting his hands.

Warmth fled and Miho wanted to sigh.

“Take the bed, I’ll take the couch. I still have some work to get done before I turn in,” he told her.

Normally, if there was any normal in her life anymore, she’d have argued, but this time she did not.

“I’ll grab you a towel, take a quick shower and turn in,” he smiled, and then head off to do just that.

 Nomura’s bed smelt just as Miho remembered it, and it didn’t help how sorry she felt for herself.

Imagine going through all that, to fuck up a potential relationship AND get nothing on terrorists.

Though she’d taken the painkillers she was allowed, her head still felt as if concussive explosions went off every few seconds – almost making her wish the blast at Tres Spades had killed her.

She tried to sleep, but the more she tried, the shittier she felt, the worse her pain, the worse her angst, until finally the heat rose so quickly to her face she had to scramble for the bathroom. And she made it JUST in time to empty the dinner Nomura had prepared for them into the bathtub.

“Oh, my life just keeps getting better… and fucking better…” she moaned, before her body spasmed again and involuntarily she curled over the tub’s rim, clutching it tightly like that could stop her passing out.

Everything seemed to tilt, dizzy, swirling, floor falling away fashion, until Nomura’s fingers tangling in her hair, back from her face, pulled her back to the realm of semi-consciousness.

“You used to love my cooking,” he said close beside her, gently pulling her into his lap where he sat beside her on the bathroom floor, holding her steady at the bath-side and out of reach of the cold tiles.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped, in between heaves, but he only smoothed back her hair tenderly.

“Yeah I know you are,” he murmured softly, letting her vomit, watching her carefully in case this spell of sickness was more sinister than a build-up of shock and tension.

 Weary, Miho opened her eyes. Groggy and with a vile taste in her mouth, her head still throbbing faintly, it took a full minute for the haze to clear enough for her to remember where she was.

Warmth was present, just a gentle, soft pressure all over her body. She was snuggled beneath the blankets, her head deep in Nomura’s pillow, a sharp recollection that woke her more fully. He was not wrapped around her, but she could feel his back against hers where he was asleep on top of covers.

You’ve too much to do today to wallow in this.

Instead, she carefully wormed her way out of bed, grabbed a sweater from his wardrobe, and slipped out of the bedroom pulling it over her head.

It was still quite early, and though Miho told herself not to get too tangled in the past as she pottered about Nomura’s kitchen getting breakfast ready, it was all so much the same she simply couldn’t reflect.

“What are you doing up so early?” Nomura asked, jerking Miho’s attention to the kitchen door.

His bed-head was immaculate, dark blond curls standing up all over the place, and Miho felt herself smiling before she reigned it back in – realised she shouldn’t.

“Had to make something to get this rotten taste out of my mouth,” she explained, pouring some dark coffee and holding it out to him. “I figure you could use some too, since I kept you up most of the night with my… yeah.”

“You know I don’t sleep,” he sniffed, but took the coffee and inhaled over it deeply. “How’s the head?”

“Still a bit meh,” she admitted. “But I think the worst of it is over.”

“Shock can last a while,” he told her, making no secret of his scrutiny while he approached. “You shouldn’t overdo it.”

His free hand reached out, like it might touch to her forehead, but it fell short.

“Sorry,” he muttered sheepishly, turning away. “You know, you gave me that sweater.”

“Huh,” Miho grunted quietly, looking down at the jumper that was much too big for her. “Yeah, and if I remember correctly you hated it and refused to wear it in public.”

“Hey, I wore it around the apartment all the time, thank you very much,” he grumbled, sitting down.

“You still hated it,” she chuckled, grabbing a couple of bowls.

“Yeah?” he huffed. “Well if I hate it so much, why do I still have it?”

Miho fell still. Swallowed. Took a moment before pouring the miso soup.

“Because you’re a very strange man,” she declared, turning with both bowls and putting them on the table. “Who has terrible taste.”

“Ha, well you look better in it than I do anyway,” he pointed out, then glared at her seriously. “But oi, don’t spill anything on it.”

“I won’t,” she snorted. “Just eat your damned soup already.”

Somehow things felt less awkward.

Maybe it was because she’d spent much of the night in the ugliest way possible, and he’d been a total gentleman – more than that, way beyond how an ex-boyfriend you’d dumped unceremoniously should be expected to act. He had this way of shrugging off the heavy stuff, making things seem light, while at the same time not devaluing it. It was all still there, just not the time to tackle it, if there ever would be a time.

Eventually, Miho took a quick shower, and when Nomura was sorted for work, he dropped her at her apartment so she could get a change of clothing.

There, he hovered in the foyer, not wishing to intrude, even though the pair of them had done things in every room, on almost every piece of furniture. He seemed hesitant now, though she had just rolled right through his space, to encroach upon hers, and Miho couldn’t decide why.

Because he didn’t feel he had a right to?

Because he didn’t want her to feel weird?

Because he was reminded of how she’d dropped him like a hot potato when things got to serious?

Whatever it was, she didn’t ask, and the closer they got to Public Safety headquarters they got, the further from her mind Nomura drifted.

Kaga took his place.

Consequence took his place.

Failure, took its place.

“Don’t look so worried,” he chuckled as they walked across the foyer and headed up the stairs.

“I feel like I should be asking if I need a lawyer,” she muttered darkly. “Though I’m pretty sure I haven’t done anything illegal, I’ve seen Kaga’s interrogation technique.”

“You want me to stay?” he asked her at the top of the steps.

A serious, legitimate question.

“You’ve done more than enough for me, Deputy Chief,” she smiled and bowed her head -  uniforms and non-uniforms wandering around them.

But Nomura shifted a little closer.

“Tsk. Fuck off with the Deputy Chief crap, Miho,” he hissed, and Miho bit her lip as he making poignant eye contact and held her there. “Do you want me to stay?”

“I do,” she answered honestly, still not exhaling, “but, you’ve done more than enough and you’ve always got too much on your plate. Heh, I don’t know what I did in a past life to deserve you, after what I did to you in this one,” she continued quietly, for them only, “but, I’ve got this, have to… face this because I’m the one who screwed up.”

She frowned in determination, though her forehead wound pinched.

“And if they’re looking for someone to shoulder all the blame then, may as well be me, save them having to take out someone useful they’re going to need to fix this mess,” she finished.

“I’ll pick you up when they’re done,” he told her definitively, but Miho shook her head and stepped back.

“Nah,” she grinned, covering everything with that expression. “Best you don’t. I know you don’t care about your reputation, but, I do – you don’t need any further into the out of control translator turned failed detective fiasco – but thanks.”

He was going to argue, he was good at it, so Miho made good her escape.

She announced her presence as ordered, and waited, sitting alone in an actual interrogation room, wondering who stood on the other side of the mirror staring at her.

Fifteen minutes stretched into hours, or so it seemed, and Miho had to wonder if they were letting her stew on purpose. It seemed so long ago she’d asked Kaga for interrogation tips, not that she’d stayed in that classroom long enough to get any – but really it hadn’t been all that long ago at all.

Click.

It was Kaga, though it shouldn’t have been. Ishigami might have been a marginal relief, marginal. But Kaga’s presence told Miho he hasn’t said anything to them about the nature of their encounter at the Tres Spades in the day spa, nor the other close encounters they had had along the way.

He should have, but he hadn’t, and Miho turned this over in her mind.

Had he not, because it made him look bad? Had he not because he was trying to protect her somehow?

Whatever the reason, she made a mental note to mention nothing about it unless he did first.

“I need to start by ensuring you understand you’re under formal caution,” he stated bluntly – Miho knew what that meant, “and that this conversation will be recorded and overseen by at least one other Public Safety officer.”

He glanced to the mirror, but Miho did not.

“I understand,” she responded evenly, then lifted her chin just a fraction when he sat and spoke again.

“How’s the head?” he asked, his tone slightly more casual but still, Miho thought, enough to scare the shit out of most people.

“Dull ache,” she answered. “I’m fine, so just slug away.”

And it all started off so well, until Miho refused to divulge details about her trip to the Japanese Embassy.

Accommodation fled from Kaga’s expression, and suddenly he seemed ten feet taller.

“Is there something you feel the need to protect Ambassador Hishikura from?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

“No,” Miho replied. “But our conversation was one undertaken in confidence, and not breaching any laws, I intend for it to remain so.”

“Do you realise the position you’r…” Kaga began, leaning forward a little against the metal table, and Miho bit down on the instinct to recoil.

“Interrogation clichés?” she chuckled mirthlessly, digging in her heels just as it seemed she always did when they were one on one. “That’s your secret technique?”

“Don’t…” he began again, but she snapped to interject.

“I, won’t, tell, you,” she glowered. “So, if we move on there isn’t much left.”

Clearly Kaga wanted to retaliate, but because she had continued, he allowed it.

He allowed it.

“I was taken from the street by a couple of Oh Soryu’s people, one of which it turned out was or, is an informant of Kirisawa from Second Unit, and her conversation with Nomura, failing to contact Kirisawa, was what let me figure her out.”

“They were tailing you,” Kaga surmised and Miho nodded.

“Right, so they knew I’d gone to the Japanese Embassy, could probably figure out to see who,” Miho went on. “But you know what? In the end it wasn’t me who got my ass hauled back up to the Tres Spades penthouse, it was that worm Lieutenant Shinonome planted in the hotel’s guest registry.

“When I got the to the penthouse, Ichinomiya was fuming, and since they traced the time of the bug to the time I began employment, along with whatever Oh suspected me of, he determined it must have been my doing.”

As she finished, she pressed her lips tightly together.

“And if that hadn’t been discovered?” he prompted.

“You want me to guess?” she laughed out. “No idea. Maybe Oh’s little friends would have thumb-screwed my affiliation out of me, who can tell. All I know is…”

Then the door opened and Ishigami appeared, a small padded envelope in his hand.

“This just arrived for Miss Fujiwara,” he declared, holding it up but not yet handing it over.

All it had on the outside, was her name, so it must have been delivered by hand.

“Should I try to guess what this is too?” Miho huffed, leaning back in her uncomfortable seat.

“Open it,” Ishigami instructed, dropping it down in front of her, but Miho looked at it dubiously, then back up at him. “Go ahead. It’s been scanned for dangerous elements.”

“Well that’s reassuring,” she muttered, slowly tearing a careful line along one edge, before sliding two things onto the table before her.

A folded piece of paper, and a small, black, USB.

Inhaling, Miho plucked at the very edge of the typed note to unfold it then read aloud.

“Opened one file to clarify contents,” she said. “I believe this is what you were looking for. Nothing copied or altered.”

With the flick of her wrist she tossed the note at Kaga, but stared at the USB she had not touched – after all, they might have wanted to dust it for prints or swab for DNA or something.

“Who would send you this?” Kaga questioned in surprise, his gaze sharper than ever.

“I don’t even know what this is,” she pointed out. “I mean it could be the missing information – you know I hope it is – but it could just as easily, and maybe more likely, be something else to add to my woes. Why don’t you check it?”

“We will,” Ishigami stated in his usual deadpan, taking both USB and note in his now gloved hand. “Carry on, Captain.”

“Oh I’m done. For now,” Kaga sniffed, scraping back his chair.

“Should I assume I’m staying here?” Miho half-stated, half-questioned, and to her surprise, Kaga shook his head.

“No, you’re coming with me, I’m starving,” he asserted. “You’re not leaving this building until we find out what’s on that USB, but you still need to eat.”

“Ahh, oookaaay,” Miho said slowly, getting to her feet and following him out of the room.

They moved in silence until he took her the building’s cafeteria, and set a boxed meal in front of her.

“You didn’t say anything,” he stated, sitting down opposite her.

“About what?” Miho questioned, flipping the lid off her box and grabbing her chopsticks.

“Us,” he clarified under his breath.

The onigiri paused half way to Miho’s mouth.

“Maybe, Captain, because we never got to there being an us,” she pointed out, but her tone wasn’t as viperous as it could have been. “Too much fire in both of us, not enough common sense.”

“You think that’s it?” he enquired, and he actually sounded like he wondered.

“Either that or you’re a sadistic, arrogant oresama archetype, who thinks I, and any woman will just bow to your whims and follow your instructions no matter what they are,” she added flippant, then bit the onigiri in half, speaking around it. “And I think we’ve established I’m not so good at the whole taking orders thing.”

And Kaga nearly choked on his mouthful.

“You were looking for a smart girl you could bend around your little finger,” she pointed out. “And I am plenty bendy, believe me, just not like that.”

Kaga’s lip curled a little.

“Don’t be like that,” she sighed. “I… I wanted you too, but didn’t want to give an inch. We’re just not good, you and I.”

And finally Kaga let out a low chuckle.

“I hate to sound like a Voltage cliché, since you already pinged me for clichés once today, but, I’m no match for you,” he admitted, shaking his head. “But this isn’t over. If that USB turns out to be the missing info, we need to know who sent it to you.”

“I don’t know any more than you,” she told him, putting her chopsticks down. “But, it has to be someone who knows who I really am, since the name it was addressed to.”

“Your fuckbuddy maybe?” he offered, sneering.

“You don’t get to be jealous so knock it off,” she sniffed. “Baba’s a good guy, this isn’t his thing.”

“I can be jealous,” he retorted. “Any man would; he got to have you.”

Miho started at her lunch.

“Yeah well, that isn’t the most pressing matter here so, let’s just drop who I have and haven’t slept with, okay?”

It was then someone cleared their throat, and Miho and Kaga looked to the uniformed individual standing by their table looking nervous.

“I’m sorry to interrupt Captain,” he began tentatively, “but there is a Mr. Ichinomiya at reception and, he’s demanding to speak with Miss Fujiawara.”

Continue to Part Twenty-Five - Would It Change Anything?

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