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wardencommanderrodimiss · 5 years ago

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Witches, Chapter 12: the one you’ve been waiting for, where three lawyers, a detective, and their fae chaperone who’s also a nun try to punch a yokai. Plus, some interesting tidbits about some interesting people.

I guess 12k chapters are just a thing that happens sometimes, and this one is getting dropped at 10pm EST on a Tuesday because I have less control over this fic and my life than I intend.

[Seelie of Kurain Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

[Witches Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

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If it wasn’t dark enough for Tenma Taro to emerge from hiding when they started, it must be by the time they get everything squared away and rein in the tangents. Sebastian mentions the large, stolen magatama (“How big was it?” Iris asks, and Kay says probably a loaf of bread or a football, and Athena asks American or European, and Kay says she didn’t know those were the only two kinds of bread) and the mayor’s face darkens and Phoenix and Iris exchange a silent look that plainly tells Apollo to worry. “Yes,” Phoenix says finally, after several moments of that silence, “it probably did steal that in the hopes that there would be power within for it to tap into.”

Phoenix (sitting hunched on the stairs with his his gargoyle posture, which Iris is hilariously correct about because Apollo has never seen him sitting with two feet on the ground at the same time) will stay with Jinxie and Mayor Tenma ward the Forbidden Chamber with enough of Jinxie’s charms, and anything more they can, so that if the Chamber is re-opened in the future, the yokai still won’t be able to escape. For the rest of them, in their pursuit, Kay has a bag full of a worrying amount of flashlights and headlamps. “Ready to go?” she asks as she doles them out with very little apparent concern. Apollo somehow ends up with two flashlights and no headlamp, but Trucy, who has two headlamps, has put both of them on. “Sebby, ready to lead the way?”

He doesn’t answer. Kay ushers them all out the doors into the night. The lights at the front of the manor illuminate the garden, making visible half a dozen black birds that sit perched on the nine-tails flower bushes. One opens its beak and lets out a croaking caw; Athena lets out a small shriek, grabbing Trucy’s arm and jostling her into Apollo. “Are those Tenma Taro’s minions?” she asks. “He’s kinda like a crow, right?”

“Yeah, but these crows work for us,” Kay says, elbowing Sebastian. “We asked them to tell us where to find a giant bird monster. They’ll get us in the vicinity, and then I guess we wait for Tenma Taro to sniff us out? Or just kinda yell, ‘hey, yo, yokai guy, there’s only room for one bird person around here and we’re fighting you for it!’”

Athena turns to Apollo in confusion. He shrugs. Does that mean Sebastian, witch with a crow familiar? Is that what he is? It’s all presumption on Apollo’s part, really, Klavier’s mention of his coworker the witch and spying crows back-to-back. Kay doesn’t offer to explain, and Apollo doesn’t know enough to explain - he’s guessing, he’s always guessing.

“I didn’t know Pearl had a sister,” Trucy says, at no more than a whisper to Iris. “But that’s what Daddy and you said? How’s she doing? It’s been ages since I’ve seen her!”

“She’s as well as ever,” Iris replies. She speaks just as quietly, and even that disturbs the still, empty night. “Though it would not surprise me if soon she were to simply barrel back into the human world. She does seem to miss it rather often.”

“I feel like this is all our faults,” Athena whispers, slowing her pace, lagging even further behind Apollo, and he matches her steps. The beams of their flashlights still hit the backs of the others ahead of them; they aren’t separated enough to be in danger. “That this is actually kind of dangerous, and everybody’s got to be involved because we didn’t get the job right the first time.”

“I mean.” Apollo doesn’t actually know what he means. He folds his arms across his chest to try and block out the damp night chill and the only sound is their feet shuffling through the grass. The tightness in his chest returns in an instant. “Even if Filch had said it, we’d still - Tenma Taro would still be loose no matter what got said in court. And maybe we’d still be out here but it’d be…”

“Some weird volunteer work for the town,” Athena says. “Lock the demon up, keep everyone safe. Not fixing our own case, and then Detective Faraday and Prosecutor Debeste wouldn’t have to be involved—”

“What?” Kay says. With a jolt of horror Apollo realizes that the group has slowed down to let him and Athena catch up, and their voices carry with nothing else around but their bodies to absorb the sound. “Of course we would be! Friends don’t let friends take on monsters alone, especially when one’s interfering with justice and the truth! We’ve got an obligation to kick its ass and set the record straight.”

“Just for the sake of arguing,” Apollo says, “because I’m a lawyer, wouldn’t it at least in some regard be the fault of the defense attorneys doing the cross examination, and the witness?”

Sebastian stops entirely; Trucy runs into him, and Iris doesn’t quite seem to change her trajectory at all to step to the side of them, but then she is there, stepped back further, almost to give them space to have a conversation. Her movement lacks continuity, a flow, in the way Vongole’s has at times. She’s less human than Apollo remembers, or maybe now she isn’t trying to keep up appearances. In the beams of the lights, she doesn’t cast a shadow.

“Like, technically, I guess,” Kay says, dragging every word out into a doubtful drawl, and beginning to walk backwards to properly glare at Apollo and Athena while they keep moving. “But when I actually think about it, it’s not that much different than a witness being threatened into silence, or a judge being blackmailed into a particular verdict, or any version of that we’ve dealt with.” The dismissive wave of her hand doesn’t answer anything but she barrels on without giving time for those last several words to be absorbed. “Some outside force putting pressure in. Whatever you do in a trial like that’s rough, because there’s just only so much you can do when people are threatened and scared. And your witness was, legitimately, scared to talk! That isn’t your fault you can’t crack it. You’ve gotta handle the other thing, too.”

“He wasn’t afraid enough to tell us after,” Apollo says irritably. He doesn’t think Kay is wrong, exactly, but he - they - Phoenix - someone - should have figured out that there was this other thing in the way of getting the cleanest verdict. Why didn’t they know?

“You understand the reason you call us by euphemisms,” Iris says softly, but her words command respect enough that even the breeze slows. “The Fair Folk. The Gentry. Complimentary, for fear of what is listening. And the louder you speak, to the more ears you speak - something is always listening.”

Not someone, either. Something. “That is terrifying to hear that described like that,” Sebastian says. “But you, ah, probably mean for it to sound like that. I’m not crit - critiquing your choices or anything. And Justine says something similar, that you guys just kinda, uh, know. I’ll stop saying anything now.”

Iris tilts her head to the side; she appears curious, not aggrieved, and her voice is as level as ever as she continues. “You might know that saying, that two can keep a secret if one is dead. To announce in court the fiend’s escape - even if most of the gallery would not believe the tanuki, even if the prosecution would not - there are that many more people listening. There would have been that many more ways for Tenma Taro to hear that its escape has been noticed, that it will be pursued. The tanuki was right to be afraid.”

“My grandfather taught me something like that, too,” Trucy says, folding her arms tightly around herself. When was the last time she has ever brought up Magnifi? “Be careful about what you say or else you might call it to you. That’s - that’s how we worked. The Troupe, I mean. Call for ‘Gramarye’ and we’d be there. Which that all means that we, personally, probably, should not be standing here saying ‘Tenma Taro’ a whole bunch.”

“No,” Apollo agrees. This is a grave they continue to dig, and maybe he’s been in the woods to fall in a faery ring and find a lost soul, and burn a different faery ring, but those were all ghosts, and past. This is present and alive. “These aren’t wise choices.”

“Yeah, but that’s what friends are for,” Kay says. “Make the mess worse with you, then help you back out of it and set everything right. It’s just like a court case like that.”

“Implying you make a mess out of all your cases?” Athena ventures, wincing as she says it, knowing what a terrible question it is and being too curious anyway. Apollo knows this because he is wondering just as well; he wouldn’t have asked, but he wants to know too. “Whoops!” Widget chimes, like any of them really needed assistance figuring out what emotions Athena is cycling through.

“Not all of them,” Kay says. “But shit happens.”

“And we have important jobs to do so we can’t just sweep it under the carpet,” Sebastian says. “We have to dust for help and ask ourselves - ask for help and dust ourselves off and get back up again."

They sound rehearsed, but sincere, like these are things they’ve pondered for a long time, or talked about before, or heard from someone else. Wisdom for the ages passed on after personal experience. Reassurance, enough to set Apollo’s stomach at ease even as trees rise up around them and they venture on to find a monster. If he dies, it’s not going to be with people who are angry with him for fucking up. Because they aren’t angry, and he - well, still screwed up a little, got too carried away, too confident, didn’t doubt enough, but he’s far from the only one. He’s not the worst one.

“Even,” Kay adds, prodding Apollo in the shoulder, “if sometimes you’re supposed to be working the other side from the person you’re asking help from.” Her shoulder slams into a tree and finally her attention turns to what’s in the direction she is moving in.

“There’s a value in a friend who knows when to stand with a different bench and badge for the sake of the truth,” Iris says. “Or simply for the sake of a friend.”

“What kind of trials do you have with people switching benches?” Athena asks.

Kay shrugs. “Oh, you know,” she says. Apollo does not know. “Sometimes in the course of an investigation—” “Shh!” Athena hisses, and Widget, its chirp at odds with its words, adds, “Shut up!”

“I was answering your question—”

“Shh!” Athena moves to maybe slap a hand over Kay’s mouth and ends up grabbing her shoulder instead. “I heard something!”

A twig cracks under Apollo’s foot. Athena glares at him next. Iris tugs the hem of her robe out of a bush and steps away from their little cluster of people, her hand ghosting along Apollo’s shoulder, never making contact but still a tug, pulling and urging him back. Her other arm is raised, doing the same to Trucy, spreading them out so that if something strikes, they aren’t all one target. “Are you sure?” Sebastian whispers. “I don’t hear anything.”

“I know there’s something,” Athena says. “Hey!” she calls in a furious stage whisper. “Tenma Taro! I’m not afraid of you!”

“I am!” Sebastian says.

And then Apollo can hear something, right near him, a loud gush of air and a crackling, joined with light, fiercer than their weary flashlights and momentarily blinding. He blinks and sees spots of orange against his eyelids, and opening them again the orange is still flickering, off of Sebastian’s fingertips. Fire, from the bare skin of his hands, the bits ungloved, flames that beat back the forest’s chill that had so slowly, almost unnoticeably, swallowed them. He stretches one hand out and up, toward the trees, illuminating the gashs cut in the bark above their heads, claw marks, evenly spaced just like in the shop. “Can you get some more flashlights on that for a clear picture?” Athena asks, tapping Widget, and its bright mechanical lights sharply contrast all else around them. “This could be useful evidence for the trial tomorrow.”

“I’ll remember that we have to counter that,” Kay says. “Seb, remind me when we’re driving home?”

“What, you’re actually coming in the car with me?”

“Yeah, ‘cause we’ve gotta talk strats without the defense around!”

“Wait,” Athena says. Widget’s lights blink out, its scan completed. “Seriously, does no one hear—”

And Apollo does hear it, then, and it takes him a moment to even understand what the sound is; it first registers in his brain as a flag being whipped and pulled about by a strong storm. But this is a forest and the air is still and cold with no heavy sheets of fabric about. It’s flapping, and a different kind. Wings flapping, loudly, loud enough that it doesn’t make sense, because a bird shouldn’t be that big, that close—

It’s not a fucking bird, is why. Should be the first thing on his mind and isn’t, not until Kay shrieks, “Scatter!” and the bobbing shine of flashlight and flame land on two yellow-skinned legs with long, dark, protruding talons that sweep overhead and would have clawed Apollo apart if the wind from its wings weren’t like a wave crashing down, knocking him over. The dead leaves coating the forest floor scratch at his face and he pushes them away to see Trucy, also on the ground, pushing herself up to her knees and throwing out a hand. A wispy glow, shimmering pink and blue, dances up her arm and doesn’t draw Apollo’s eyes the way it usually does whenever Trucy wants to torment him.

But Tenma Taro, its talons sinking deep into the ground, wings spread wide, swings its head about, pointing its sharp beak in the wake of the bobbing light. Trucy’s wisp darts off, weaving into the trees, and the monster, flexing the talons on its hands, lunges after it. “Misdirection, a magician’s best trick,” Trucy whispers, crawling forward and grabbing Apollo’s hand and tugging for him to follow her. “And we’re not gonna be useful here anymore.”

The ground beneath them slopes away from Tenma Taro, an unstable decline on the ever-shifting patchwork carpet of leaves. “Athena?” Apollo hisses into the darkness, more concerned by the second that she’s going to attempt being useful by throwing down with a yokai. “Athena!”

Flashlights abandoned haphazardly on the ground cast faint light and wild shadows in every direction, nothing discernable; Sebastian’s orange flames hang scattered in the air like giant fireflies. Everyone’s voices scramble together into indistinguishable chatter, and then, above it all, a horrid, gargling, roar: “You think you can distract me, little girl? You’d better run!”

“Oh,” Trucy breathes, barely audible over the leaves crunching beneath them. “It realized. It saw through it.” She scrambles awkwardly to her feet, remaining hunched as she does, and she waves her hand at Apollo, as though to shoo him back to the group. “Other way, Polly, go!”

“And what do you think you’re doing?” he hisses. Every movement makes too much noise, the leaves and twigs loud as gunfire in his ears, his voice a scream, the very air acting as a megaphone to draw the hunter back to them.

“Bait!” Trucy starts to run, but most of her motion is sliding, her hands flung out and easing herself down the hill so as to not entirely wipe out. “It’s after me!”

“I’m not—” Forget Athena, then; forget Kay and Sebastian, and Apollo nearly falls back over on his way after her, nearly slips and knocks them both over. “Trucy!”

“Stop following—” Her feet slip out from under her and her descent turns into a slide. That’s got to be easier, honestly. Less focus on not falling, because he’s choosing to fall over at the start, means he can better scan the sky, the black ragged canopy of leaves against the deep dark blue for Tenma Taro coming after them.

“What do you mean, it ‘saw through it’?”

Trucy catches hold of a tree and rights herself. “One of Daddy’s friends, Maya, she says it’s not that hard for her or any fae to tear her eyes off a will o’ the wisp. Guess yokai are like that too.” She glances back up the hill, where they can still see spots of flame, and when her headlamp isn’t shining directly into his eyes Apollo can see she looks scared. In the dark, she drops her mask, and somewhere above them, Tenma Taro’s throaty screeching resumes.

“Do you think we can outrun it?” Apollo asks.

“We’re small,” Trucy says, but without much confidence. “And maybe Mr Tenma is on the way—?”

“I can smell you!” the yokai shrieks. Its voice is nothing like the one that Filch did while in the costume; it shakes Apollo straight to the core. The splintering of trees that follows is worse, because while Apollo can’t see it, he can still picture clearly those huge claws splitting apart wood, and just as easily flesh and bone.

They run, snagged by trees and brush and twigs, all like brown skeletal hands reaching to slow them, drag them to the ground, into the grave, to lie and rot among the rest of the leaves. Tenma Taro has no constraints, shredding everything that lies ahead of it, everything that sooner and sooner might come to include Apollo and Trucy.

In an instant, the air ices over, their gasping breaths forming fog, Apollo’s teeth clattering together. As Tenma Taro, now visible, bears down on them, Iris stands in between, still as if her hair and robes were carved from marble though a vortex of snow spins about her. Light from a source Apollo can’t see illuminates her, makes plainly visible even her pitch-black hair, a ghostly aura that might be emanating out from within her. Her head turns just slightly to glance back at them over her shoulder, and out of the night, her eyes gleam - not like a cat’s eyes, the way they bounce back the light in hazy circles. Her eyes are the lights themselves, sharp as lasers, two teardrop-shaped red spots, red as and redder than fresh blood. Above the inner corners are two smaller red pinpricks, just as bright.

There are two monsters in the woods tonight.

“Out of my way!” Tenma Taro snarls, its tongue lolling from its beak as it launches itself into the air, its wings battering aside the branches above it. Then it drops, legs-first, talons splayed wide, and Apollo doesn’t have a chance to scream for Iris to move before it hits her – and keeps going, through her, to strike a tree behind her with a loud crack. It wrenches its talons free of the wood and wheels about, its three yellow eyes passing over and dismissing Apollo and Trucy. “Coward! Stand and fight fair!”

“No thank you.” Iris reappears to the side of Tenma Taro, brushing her hair back behind her shoulder with a disdainful flick of her hand. A second Iris appears up the hill, identical down to the snow swirling around her shoulders. Neither leave a shadow on the ground. “I’d rather not. A fight is only fair if I know I’ll win.”

“You’ve fallen a long way to be running errands for the Nine-Tailed Fox,” Tenma Taro hisses, curling the talons on its hands. “Where’s your pride, Mystic?”

It’s trying to goad her into a fight, and what better way than to strike at a fae’s petty pride? Apollo doesn’t know which Iris to watch for a reaction. They don’t move in tandem, as far as he can tell from frantically looking back and forth between them. The one on the hill blinks and the tiny red spots above her eyes blink out too. The one closer to them has a hand on her chin, apparently on deep thought. “I am not here to help the Fox,” she answers. “I have a different debt.”

Fire bursts from overhead, further up the hill, in puffs like quick exhales. Tenma Taro twists its head and presses low to the ground, hunched in a way that reminds of Vongole shying away from the burning ring of flowers. Those of the Winter Court don’t like fire. And Iris standing beneath the path of the flames doesn’t stir, but the other Iris shifts back half a step, a slight motion, but enough. Tenma Taro assesses her, tilting its head back and forth and back, tongue lolling from its beak.

And several things happen all at once.

Sebastian stumbles into view, unsteady on his feet, but the breath of flames that bursts forth from his fingertips doesn’t waver or falter. He directs it lower, skimming right over Tenma Taro’s head, forcing it to crouch closer and closer to the ground to avoid being burned. And Iris lunges, not toward Tenma Taro, but to Apollo and Trucy, as Tenma Taro does the same, skittering low beneath the ceiling of fire.

“Run!” Trucy grabs Apollo’s arm; Apollo tries to push her behind him, out of Tenma Taro’s path. Before it reaches them it flaps its wings, shrieking as it does, embers catching alight on the tips of its feathers, and the force of the wind pushes them to the ground again. Like a nightmare, the one where he’s drowning and can’t move his limbs and there’s no one to save him, or the one where he’s just weighted down and can’t get up fast enough - adrenaline might get his heart moving but nothing else matches its pace. His cheek stings from scraping up against a fallen branch on landing. Tenma Taro looms above them, as big as the statue in the Forbidden Chamber and far too alive, its wings still flailing and churning up the air trying to put the fire out. Trying to keep its prey down.

It drives both of its taloned hands down toward their heads. Apollo closes his eyes, doesn’t mean to but prays that the pain will be quick, and he only opens them when the pain doesn’t come, when instead his ears are ringing with a loud crack. A sheet of ice slopes up from the ground, in toward and over his head; the tips of Tenma Taro’s talons poke through. The ground is coated in frost, white with it, and it burns on Apollo’s bare hands like he’s pressed his skin directly against ice cubes. He staggers to his feet, helping Trucy up, or maybe she’s the one picking him up.

The woods are lit up by a wall of fire pressing nearly against Tenma Taro’s back. Each time it tries to yank itself free, it recoils into the flames and howls. Apollo almost feels sorry for it, if its triangle of yellow eyes weren’t fixed on him, if it weren’t leaning forward with its tongue rolling loose, the closest to drooling in anticipation a bird monster can get. It pecks at the ice, causing cracks to slowly widen, slowly working itself free. “Better run again, fool little illusionist,” it hisses. Apollo pushes Trucy behind him, for what little good he could do standing against it. “I don’t like being tricked. I’ll eat you first and then your little witch who thinks he’s so strong—”

Abruptly, the fire vanishes, leaving them in darkness, bright spots flashing in Apollo’s eyes. Tenma Taro is a darker, hulking mass still illuminated in the white glow of the magic ice, and by that light Apollo can just barely see the aggressively-screaming figure that hurtles out of the air - was she up a tree? - to land on the yokai’s back. It flails, its wings wheeling about, evidently throwing its attacker its off when there is a yelp and the crunch of leaves and bushes. “Warding charms, bitch!” Kay shouts from wherever she landed. Sebastian lights up the night again, resuming the flames now that Kay is clear of them. When it flaps its wings again, it doesn’t crush them to the ground.

But it batters at the ice with its beak and surges forward when the ice splinters - doesn’t get far before the frost on the ground lights up into a white glow, and faintly above it like a mist, a pale ghostly blue. And Iris steps forward.

She doesn’t look like Iris anymore - doesn’t look human, either, but Vera still looks like Vera when she doesn’t look human. Iris doesn’t have a trace of Iris left. Blazing crimson, her hair billows out like grasping tentacles of some unholy horror, only held flat against her scalp where two twisted horns lay close along her skull, risen out of her forehead. Her skin is the color of ashes, of asphalt, of a shadow, just a few shades lighter than what her hair used to be - than what her eyes, when there were only two of them and not four glowing spots, used to be. The magatama from her necklace floats in front of her chest, lit a luminous pink that shimmers out into the air. Apollo would swear he’s seen that shade before.

Iris raises one hand, her fingertips that end in bone-white hooks twitching; the other arm she stretches out in front of Apollo and Trucy. A motion for them to step back, a gesture that she is here to do what is asked of her, to protect Phoenix’s daughter. “If you touch,” she says to Tenma Taro, her head tilted back to threaten the beast twice her height, “what is my family’s” - each word is soft, calm, venomous - “I will tear out your tongue and your eyes.”

(There are two monsters in the woods tonight, and Apollo knows which he’d rather have as an enemy.)

“You think you could?” Tenma Taro sneers.

“I know I would,” Iris says.

Tenma Taro twists its head around almost the whole way, more owlish than crow, assessing the situation behind it: the patchy wall and ceiling of flames courtesy of Sebastian, and Kay somewhere out of sight with more warding charms. Is Athena, wherever she’s ended up, still a factor in play? Apollo hopes she’s all right. The sick twisting in his stomach tightens even further knowing he just abandoned her.

Its decision made, Tenma Taro throws itself backwards into the flames, shrieking bitterly as it does and furiously, frantically, flapping its wings. The breeze it creates gently stirs the few bushes that aren’t frozen over, but as it continues, the air begins churning, battering against them. Was it the warding charm that kept them momentarily safe - did it burn the warding charms off? Apollo leans against a tree to stay on his feet; Trucy latches onto his arm. Sebastian’s flames waver, wobble, as he probably is wobbling, and flare up into the trees, catching several branches alight. Iris stands firm, unflinching, her hair and robes swirling from a wind contained to her alone.

“I didn’t want to do this,” she says. Not a threat, but a warning, just a few moments in advance, and Apollo doesn’t think - though he can’t say for sure - that she’s being sarcastic or snide. She does sound genuinely mournful. But not enough. Of course not enough, not when Tenma Taro, beak wide and screeching, talons outstretched, hurtles forward. Iris flicks her wrist like she’s throwing something and only after the motion does it appear: a widening glob of what looks like rotten, diseased blood, dark sickly red blackening in spots. It makes impact at the back of Tenma Taro’s throat, splattering up into its eyes.

The yokai falls sideways, crashing to the ground along with the trees that it toppled into and brought down with its weight. There’s no time for silence. “Kay?” Sebastian calls. “Kay, where are—”

“I’m o-Kay,” she says, appearing from around another tree and immediately plopping to the ground at its base, holding her head. “Maybe concussed? It’s cool.”

“Where’s Athena?” Apollo asks. Frozen leaves crunch beneath his shoes as he cautiously advances forward, around Iris who has sunk to her knees, and around the huge sharp feet of Tenma Taro. It’s snowing now, scattered fat flakes drifting gently out of the sky, but where it lands on his skin it doesn’t melt, just stays cold until he brushes it off. “Athena?”

“I’m here!” Athena slides the rest of the way into view, signs evident that she’s had a rough time traversing the woods, too. Her knees are scraped and her tights torn up in several places. “Prosecutor Best here didn’t even let me try and tackle it.”

“That’s because that was the best option for your safety,” Sebastian retorts.

“Yeah, and the detective here went all, whatever.”

“Cowabunga,” Kay says with a worrying, uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm. Maybe she really is concussed after that fall. “But that’s because I’m a responsible adult and if I die I die but you’re like, twelve.”

“I’m eighteen,” Athena says. “Thank you very much! I’m eighteen!”

“Oh my god you’re like a baby,” Kay says. “You’re older than I was when I started doing dumb shit but you’re a baby.”

Athena is ready to protest again, her fists balled up in rage, but her eyes drift past Kay to the hulking feathered beast collapsed in the ice, snowflakes settling among its dark feathers. “Is - is Tenma Taro dead?” she asks nervously.

“No,” Iris says. Her head is bowed, her hair falling straight like a heavy shroud around her face, and the scarlet is bleeding from it, black returning from the roots down. “It merely sleeps. Were it so easy to kill, the Nine-Tailed Fox would have done so long ago.”

“Are you all right?” Trucy asks, bending over, trying to get a glimpse of Iris’ face. “And are, um - are the - the Fair Folk like you, are you that hard to kill?”

(Mia was murdered, wasn’t she.)

“That’s a bold question to ask, dear little firebird,” Iris says. She shakes her head, tossing her black hair over her shoulder. She still has horns, faintly lighter than her hair, and those glowing eyes and the spots above them; still fae, still mostly unglamoured. “But no. We are not. We are people and we die, are killed, are executed. A guilty verdict and death sentence are contracts and we do not break contracts.” She sweeps her hair back with a clawed hand. “You did not ask that. This valley has always been especially unstable, and magic and belief make real. Tenma Taro was born of gold and greed and a well-meant but foolhardy and cruelly-executed deal to create something that would protect the villagers from their gold and their greed; it is a spirit, less than alive but much more than a ghost.” She exhales heavily and laboriously clambers to her feet, brushing leaves and dirt from her robes.

“So when L’Belle said that Tenma Taro was just a story to keep people away from the gold,” Apollo says, “that’s - not true, because it’s more than a story, but it is all because of the gold.”

Iris nods. “Yes. It is because of the gold.”

“The gold, and one of you ff - Fair Folk, dicking around and fulfilling a deal in the meanest way possible,” Trucy says. She isn’t bold enough to name the fae plainly in front of one who just dropped a monster like a stone, but she is angry enough - about this specific situation? In general? On behalf of her mother? A boiling point, and finally one of the fae in front of her - to try and spark a confrontation. Like Tenma Taro mocking Iris’ pride, and she didn’t rise to it.

“What you get in any deal depends on who you make it with,” Iris replies evenly, calmly, and not the deadly calm of minutes ago. “An accused hires your father knowing that defense will be a tumultuous, messy one, but that he is clever at the turnabout and never, ever will give up faith.” Trucy frowns and folds her arms across her chest. Iris blinks, an action obvious in the dark when the red lights go out and return, and adds, “A different defense attorney has a different method. The devil might ask you to pay a piece of your soul, literally or metaphorically, for the perfect evidence to set you free.” There are no pupils in her eyes, no way to know precisely where she is looking, but Apollo would swear that her gaze has moved to him on that sentence. “Likewise, when you ask us for help, you get our methods.”

Trucy’s shoulders barely slump, but Apollo sees the fight drain from her all the same. He has questions he wants to ask, if it’s the culture of the Court that makes everything a game or if growing up magic in a place of magic twists something in them, if they feel guilt, if she would have killed Tenma Taro if she could, if it were easy. And he remembers the curses staining Phoenix’s neck and he decided he doesn’t want to know that badly. He’ll extrapolate from the data he already has, guess if Vera is the changeling outlier or Kristoph is.

“Um, so uh, we should probably deal with this big thing,” Kay says, pointing at Tenma Taro with her foot. “Like before the philosophy discussions.” She sounds just a little frantic trying to redirect - to distract Iris, to save Trucy. “Before it wakes up. How long’s it gonna be out for?”

“Hm.” Iris drums her knuckles against her face, keeping her claws away. “I would say - from the time of year, and its strength, and that I am far weaker than my sister - a month? Perhaps two.”

“Oh,” Kay says, no longer hurried. “Yeah, that’s not sleeping at this point. That’s a coma.”

“Ah. So it is.” She seems in no way concerned with these particulars of semantics and looks instead over to Sebastian. “Is there something you mean to ask, dear witch? You’ve been staring.”

“Ah! No - or I am staring but I don’t - I was just thinking that oh this is what you look like and—” Sebastian tries to smooth down the curls on the top of his head and does not succeed. “I’m quiet now please don’t kill me.”

“I would never,” Iris replies.

“Seb,” Kay groans. “You have the - you could have just looked earlier to See what she looks like!”

“But that feels - invasive - intrusive?” Sebastian’s mouth twists. “Wait, both those words work, don’t they.”

“Yeah,” Kay says. “Both work. You should totes talk to Gavin about that. He’d way disagree with you and it might be funny.”

“Please,” Sebastian says. “I’ve only just gotten over the feeling that he hated me. I’m not gonna start a fight telling him he’s rude or paranoid or—”

“Does anyone know the way back to town?” Athena asks. “We should’ve left a trail of bread crumbs back.”

“There are several folk stories about why that does not work,” Iris says.

“I’m just gonna call Jinxie and tell her to send her dad to find us,” Trucy says. “Still got a bit of cell service out here.”

Iris steps over Tenma Taro’s splayed wing and approaches its head that lays twisted to the side, beak flopped open. She inhales, hiking up her shoulders, and closes her eyes, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyelids. And then, as Apollo is about to ask what she is doing, she drops to her knees and plunges her arm down its throat.

“Uh,” Apollo says, looking around, and he’s the only one watching Iris; Athena has a branch over her shoulder like a baseball bat and is saying something to Kay and Sebastian and Trucy is still on the phone and staring up at the sky as though waiting for the Amazing Nine-Tails to crash down in their midst at any moment. Which he might.

Iris turns her head and that in itself seems birdlike, like she’s twisting her neck just a little further than a human would be able to. “Why,” she asks, and he gets the feeling she’s not really addressing him in particular, “would anyone swallow a—” She wrenches her arm free and holds up for Apollo to see a large magatama, maybe about the length of her head, that has the faintest golden shine to it.

“It ate the magatama?” Apollo asks. He knows he sounds stupid. She pulled the magatama out through its mouth, and that suggests that yes, the damn bird-monster swallowed the magic rock. It also suggests that either the magic rock got wedged right at the top of his throat, or the length of her arms is not what it seems.

“There are so many better ways,” she says wearily, wiping off the magatama with her other sleeve.

Mayor Tenma, in the form of the Amazing Nine-Tails, arrives on the scene a few minutes later, surveying the downed trees beneath Tenma Taro, the frost and ice that have flattened the brush and leaves to the ground. “Did you not say,” he asks, hefting Tenma Taro up over his head with an ease that makes the beast appear weightless, though even with his arms raised high its feet dangle nearly to the ground, “that you, Iris, would be the least destructive of your sisters?”

It is not a subtle slight. Iris assesses the man in front of her, something between human and fox spirit, someone who tonight stands on the same side as her, for the same ends. “Of myself, my cousin” - she puts stress on that - “and my little sister, yes, I assure you that either of them would have caused much more damage here tonight.”

A thin layer of snow has firmly settled on the tree branches high above. It would be beautiful if it weren’t May, if Apollo didn’t know how unnatural it is. “Very well,” the mayor says, and in two bounds he has leaped out of sight, over and through the trees, but golden light trails behind him, flowing from his tails and sinking like it has physical weight to the ground, leaving a bright path to follow home.

“There’s our bread crumbs,” Kay says.

The hike back is quieter; all of their conversation came from nervous energy, Apollo realizes, and now that they have without a doubt survived, the thought of court in the morning has gained weight. And school, too, for Trucy, he supposes, given the way she begins to lag as they finally reach the tree line and break free into the empty fields that surround Nine-Tails Vale. Apollo slows to stick with her (and also avoid Athena up ahead where he hears her challenging Kay and Sebastian to a race) but he can’t understand the look she gives him, the expression on her face. Frustration, almost, and fear, and he’s not sure if he should be offended but Iris has halted to wait for them and Trucy turns that hesitant glare on her instead.

“Ms Iris?” She keeps her voice so soft that it cracks hoarsely on just two words.

“You don’t need to call me that,” Iris replies. Her eyes are dark, and only hair lays against her head - she has braids where the horns were. But the breeze doesn’t ruffle her hair and when it sways with her own movement, it still flashes red underneath. Even if they hadn’t seen her fighting Tenma Taro, she still can’t feign humanity well enough that Apollo would ever risk dropping the honorific. “What is it?”

“You came out here because Maya told you to,” Trucy says. “But what Maya told you to do was protect my dad, and he wasn’t going into danger, so he asked you to look after us. And you did, so that’s a deal, you held your half, and now he has to pay you back. That’s how it works.”

Iris is silent but not still. She turns the large magatama over in her hands. “See, I know you’re friends or something,” Trucy continues, clasping her hands behind her back and standing tense, stretched as tall as she can, though Iris isn’t especially tall either. “Since Daddy always calls Maya his friend too.” She inhales forcefully. “But Grandpappy was family, not friend, and he still took my mother’s soul and buried it in a box so it’s not like it’s simple that I can trust that you won’t collect your half by asking for something that Daddy can’t pay back.”

“Something he can’t pay back,” Iris repeats. “Humans often say such a thing, that we have asked for something they will never be able to return.” She shakes her head. “Usually what they mean is that they owe us something that they do not want to give.”

“Yeah,” Trucy says, her voice rising in pitch now that Athena and the others are out of sight, “but I don’t want to lose another parent to the likes of you! You and Mr Gavin and my grandfather and—” With a shuddering inhale, she falters.

“I don’t want, and I have never wanted, to hurt your father,” Iris says.

And she’s fae, so that’s true, of course, but—

“That doesn’t mean you haven’t ever hurt him, or that you couldn’t,” Trucy says. “I’ve grown up with witches and fae and lawyers. I know how you talk when you’re trying to hide something.”

“Of course it doesn’t,” Iris agrees softly.

“So I just—” Trucy sounds close to tears now and Apollo steps up to her side so that he’s at her shoulder, the most support he can offer when he doesn’t know what she’s about to say next. “Whatever you - whatever you’re asking him to pay, I’ll pay it.”

(And if Apollo did have an idea that was what she would say, his support would be to slap a hand over her mouth.)

Iris’s lips part and then close again. She stares for far too long without blinking. “So what’s he owe?” Trucy asks, forcefully, defiantly, like to cover up the fear she must be feeling, because Apollo knows he’s damn terrified. “What’ll I owe? What do you want?”

“You don’t think that would hurt him more than anything I could do, for him to learn you tried to take up a debt for him?” Iris asks.

And Trucy is the one to go quiet then. “Darling, let me tell you this as plainly as I can,” Iris adds. “Your father owes me nothing and never will owe me anything.”

“Wh-what?” Trucy turns to Apollo. Why’s she expect him to have any more idea what this means? He doesn’t know Iris any better than she does, and Trucy has the advantage because she knows Phoenix better. “But - he - don’t tell me you’re just being nice! That’s not how this works!”

“And why couldn’t it be?” Iris asks. “You are a magician, little firebird - you got your gifts for free. Blessings are for free.”

“Well - yeah. But - but you don’t ask for a blessing. This was - my dad asked you to keep us safe. That’s a deal, that’s an exchange! Even asking Maya or Pearl for something little, we’ve always got to make a payment back! Even if that’s just dinner or movie recommendations or going shopping or - or - it has to be something!”

“It was a deal and the debt is still mine,” Iris says. “I owe something I cannot repay.”

Trucy’s eyes narrow. “You just said that most of the time, people can pay back and it’s just a steep, terrible price. How do you - what did you do?”

Iris shakes her head. “It was something I didn’t. Tell me, do you think there is fair repayment for a life one could and should have saved, but didn’t?”

“Um.” Again Trucy looks to Apollo for help. He doesn’t think there’s an objective answer. He’s not sure if Iris wants them to answer at all. But she’s definitely made the point.

“I know what I am and the sins that I need to pay for. Weigh my heart against anything your father would ask and mine is the heavier every time. He knows this too.”

Is this guilt? Could one of the fae let herself come out the loser on a contract? Surely they can fail, and there are stories of them being tricked (unwise though it might be to attempt), but this sounds like guilt. Some sins to pay for. That’s not the language of deals.

“Oh,” Trucy says, and nothing more. No follow-up questions; no further accusation. She must at least know, if not the circumstances of what Iris refers to, then the gap where it fits, some thing or another that Phoenix conspicuously doesn’t talk about. (A lot of things, he conspicuously doesn’t talk about, but Apollo can sympathize here.)

Iris has a hand raised, absently tracing her thumb along the base of her neck, above her collarbone. The same location as one of the ugly curses branded on Phoenix. (A question Iris, or Phoenix, surely would not have answered even if Apollo dared ask: is Phoenix’s the life she could not save?)

“We should return you both to him,” she says. “He’ll doubtlessly wonder why the others have arrived back but not you two.”

And they’re silent as the Nine-Tails’ golden pathway fades out behind them, ushering them back into the brightly-lit manor garden. Kay and Athena chatter away animatedly at - is that Prosecutor Edgeworth? Yes, the chief prosecutor himself here to manage the situation himself, or maybe looking at him, it doesn’t much seem that he’s managing anything. More like he’s the beleaguered uncomfortable onlooker, which is how Apollo still tends to think of himself despite all evidence to the contrary saying that he’s irrevocably involved in this madness. Phoenix stands at the edge of the edge of the garden, nearly in the darkness, and he jogs the rest of the way over to meet them.

“I figured if you’d all died,” he says, and Trucy careens straight into him and throws her arms around him and he drapes one over her shoulder, “then everyone wouldn’t be so cheerful, but they didn’t know where you’d gone, either. Everyone all in one piece? You good, Truce?” She tilts her head back and nods. “Apollo, are you all right? You’re a bit scraped up.”

His cheek does still sting, now that he thinks about it. “Yeah,” he says, rubbing at it and then examining his fingertips when they step back into the light to make sure he isn’t bleeding. “We did a lot of tripping and falling.”

“There was just something I wanted to ask Ms Iris,” Trucy says. Over her head, Phoenix raises his eyebrows, seeming more concerned than questioning. “But it’s all good, so!” She ducks out from under Phoenix’s arm and waves. “Hi, Mr Edgeworth! I didn’t think you’d get out here!”

“I - no, I was not quite sure.” His gaze turns into a glare as it moves from Trucy to Phoenix. “Though seeing in person that beast makes me wonder what on earth you were thinking letting your daughter come out here.”

“More or less the same thing I thought when I talked to Apollo and Athena about this, which was, ‘they’re tough kids who’ve seen some shit, they’ll be fine’. You wanna worry about anyone particular, it should be Athena. She’s seen less shit than them.”

“Polly and I are ride-or-die now,” Trucy announces. “So I had to be here!”

“Please not the dying part,” Apollo says.

Edgeworth’s thunderous expression doesn’t change in the slightest, but this bears all the markers of an argument that’s been had before and hasn’t gone anywhere then either. So instead he says, even more tersely, “Iris.”

Kay’s head snaps around so fast that her hair slaps Sebastian in the face.

Iris bows low at the waist and her head remains ducked even when she straightens back up. Kay hisses something at Sebastian and he plants an elbow in her ribs and whispers back. Iris doesn’t look at them and they keep tittering under their breath; Athena, failing to do so casually, tilts her entire body in toward them to even more closely listen. “Prosecutor,” Iris says. Not hostile, but no real emotion, either.

“Chief prosecutor now,” Phoenix says, sounding smug and proud as though he’s bragging about a promotion that was his own, not Edgeworth’s.

“Oh!” Iris startles, a surprised hand rising to her face. “Congratulations!” And she beams, an open-mouthed grin showing teeth just barely too pointed. Apollo wouldn’t notice if he weren’t looking for the details that are wrong about her. “I can’t imagine someone better suited for the position.”

“I - well.” There is no one here more uncomfortable than Edgeworth, but his discomfort is contagious and Apollo already wants to flee the area. “But you can hardly know that many prosecutors, either.” Apollo doesn’t want to read too deeply into it, though reading too deeply into everything is the only defense strategy Phoenix ever taught him, and he could guess that Edgeworth expected a reception of equal antagonism from Iris as he gave her. And now that isn’t how she’s responding, at all, and his only script for the situation is rendered useless.

“Of course not,” Iris says. “But if we should hope to lead the legal world to caring more about seeking justice and the truth than rivalries and win records, how could there be better than a prosecutor who so intimately understands how it is for those at the other bench, as well.”

“Ah,” Edgeworth says.

“And I think - wait.” Iris’ head snaps up toward the second floor of the manor. “Did you feel that?”

“Nope.” Phoenix’s quick answer makes some sense - if they have to ask they haven’t felt it - but Iris still levels a dirty look at him. He shrugs exaggeratedly in return and her glare tapers out.

“I think the Forbidden Chamber was sealed again,” she says, tilting her head back to look at the looming mountainside the manor sits against. “I felt a shift in the air. We should make sure that was something good.” She drifts more than walks to the doors, and when she extends a hand to the doors, they part just before she touches a handle.

No one else moves even after the doors boom closed behind her. “You didn’t mention she was going to be here,” Edgeworth says, his face pinched tight though he sounds more confused than anything else.

“I didn’t know,” Phoenix says. “Maya sent her over and you think Maya’s ever warned me in advance of anything before?”

“Of course not,” Edgeworth pinches the bridge of his nose. “Of course, not even if it’s your—”

“Back in October she sent Iris over with some messages when she and Pearls were too busy to drop by themselves,” Phoenix says, loudly on the first few words and then dropping back into a normal tone, but it makes conspicuous the fact that he was cutting off Edgeworth before he could say - something. Anything more about Iris. About what she is to Phoenix. “She said she’s more or less their messenger now, and probably only more that I’ve asked Maya and Pearls to look into some things for me.”

“You’re okay with this?” Edgeworth asks.

“She’s less likely to start shit with any random person on the street, so probably better her running around than the alternatives.” Phoenix yanks open the manor doors. Their actual physical weight is obvious now, unlike Iris opening them with a mere gesture. Apollo isn’t quite sure that Phoenix answered the question. “Besides,” he adds over his shoulder at Edgeworth, “you know I can only keep one grudge going at a time and there’s always some new bastard doing worse for me to be pissed at.”

Implying that there could be reason to be, and stay, angry at Iris. (I know what I am and the sins that I need to pay for. He knows this too.)

“I’d expected you to have learned to multitask by now,” Edgeworth says, following him. No one else moves; Kay and Sebastian have their heads conspiratorially close together, and Athena still leaning in toward them. Trucy is rooted to the spot.

“And rid myself of one of my few remaining virtues? Please. Do you like me better when I’m an asshole, is that it...?”

Silence follows the slam of the doors. “What were you whispering about?” Trucy asks immediately. Apollo would like to take a moment to unpack everything that was just being said, but apparently there’s too much happening and they’re just going with that part.

“Iris,” Kay says. “And Mr Edgeworth. She bowed to him. That’s like—”

“I mean sure they’re people like we’re people,” Sebastian says, “but generally getting their respect as an equal is super hard enough, and this was - um, defense? Def - deference, that’s the word, deference, yeah, sorry.”

“And sure yeah it’s weird that she bowed to Mr Wright too, but he’s like—” Kay waves her hand around in the air. “Weird. He’s the one that you’re like yeah, of course he’s had this happen to him. But Mr Edgeworth definitely doesn’t ever let the fae owe him anything, just ‘cause, you never know how they’re gonna decide is good to replay you, so it’s like, what’d he do? How’s he know her too?”

“We met her before, me and Trucy,” Apollo says. “It sounded like she knew Mr Wright from his college years, so did Prosecutor Edgeworth also…?”

Kay and Sebastian look at each other. Then they look at Trucy. Everyone is looking at Trucy. “No, I think they only met again once Daddy was a lawyer too,” Trucy says. “He and Mr Edgeworth, I mean. Polly’s right about Ms Iris; that’s what we’re guessing.”

“Some college ex-girlfriend?” Kay asks dryly. “That’d explain why they’re all weird with each other.”

“Daddy said he didn’t date her, though,” Trucy says. “We asked.” Her expression darkens further and she glances at Apollo from the corner of narrowed eyes, like she’s trying to remember exactly what Phoenix’s words were, where the trick was for him to sneak the truth past their eyes.

“And why would Prosecutor Edgeworth know Mr Wright’s ex if they didn’t go to college together?” Athena asks.

“Opposition research,” Kay says. “But then why’s she know him well enough that she’s—” She huffs in annoyance. It’s a riddle, not a crime but a truth to be revealed, and she wants at it. “And you shouldn’t date the fae in the first place. Like everyone knows that.”

“Do I?” Athena asks.

“Now you do,” Sebastian says.

Athena slaps at a mosquito, causing the rest of them to realize they are also undergoing harassment, and all of them beat a hasty retreat inside the manor. “Do you mind if I ask you something?” Athena says, after her crestfallen realization that the pizza boxes have all been piled up on the trash can.

“Um, maybe?” Sebastian says. “Depends.”

“How’d you become a witch?”

So Athena’s the one bold enough to ask. It’s not like Apollo hasn’t wanted to know ever since meeting Sebastian, but he also knows from Klavier that magic’s truths aren’t always pretty. Even a witch, a deal that should be made as a choice - the Folk aren’t fair, and Phoenix told Apollo and Trucy the story of his friend Larry who accidentally became a witch. Every kind of magical gain has the potential to have come out of horrible loss.

“Don’t do it,” Sebastian says.

“Huh?”

“Wait, were you asking how to become a witch? Or why I did?”

“I don’t want to be a witch,” Athena says. “I was just wondering about you.”

“Oh.” Sebastian’s shoulders hunch forward. “But don’t do it, guys, seriously. You don’t quite get magic just like that” - he snaps his fingers and a few sparks snap off of them and he flinches like he didn’t expect that from himself - “you’ve gotta practice and work at it and it’s - I had to pick, I guess, I realized. I could dedicate myself to being a witch, or being a good prosecutor, and I wanted to be a good prosecutor. Like - like Prosecutor Edgeworth. So I’m not a particularly talented witch. I don’t know why Mr Wright thought that I’d be able to stand up to Tenma Taro. I could’ve burnt the whole forest down.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t,” Kay says. “And that’s what really matters.”

“If I’d had to do more than herd it into Iris—”

“Shoosh.” Kay flings her arm around Sebastian’s neck and ruffles his hair. “You did good.”

“I guess that makes sense you’d have to train at it,” Athena says. “But if you know you don’t have time to be a witch, why did you make that deal in the first place? Seems like a lot of risk for less gain.”

“Well,” Sebastian says, with a tremble to his voice, to his hands, his eyes darting at Kay, who leans a little heavier on his shoulder. “Yeah. It’s not - it wouldn’t have been a smart deal for me to make, no.”

Meaning he made it when he was young and too stupid to know better, to borrow some of Phoenix’s words, or it wasn’t something that he consciously chose. “Oh,” Athena says, very soft and very sad, as Widget cycles through yellow surprise to blue despair. Which of the possibilities does she hear in his voice?

“It’s—” Sebastian shrugs, twisting his hands together. Kay slides off of his shoulder. “It’s what it is now, I guess. Comes in handy at times which is why I don’t break the contract, even though Justine’s willing to let me at no cost.”

“Comes in handy whenever I remind you to check something out with the Sight,” Kay says. “Since you forget.”

“I don’t forget! Not all the time anyway. It’s rude!”

“How is anything you See admissible evidence?” Athena asks. “Like, no one else can - I mean, what are the odds of two people with the Sight working the same case to be able to corroborate it?”

“It’s not admissible at all,” Sebastian says. “But sometimes you might be able to guess at what’s going on by something you saw.”

“How so?” Trucy asks.

“Uh,” Sebastian says. “Admittedly we’ve personally never really run into that, and then my only example is from Justine and it’s a really long story that—”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Athena says hastily, a little frantically, at the way Sebastian’s voice begins to wobble again. “Um, so Justine is the, your ‘patron’ then? She’s the one who gives you magic fire powers?”

“I borrow them, more like,” Sebastian answers. “But I’m lucky that it’s her, because she’s kind, and fair by our standards. Basically, since the contract’s ongoing, I’m borrowing magic from her, and so she could borrow something of mine in return. And by ‘something’ I mean ‘anything’.”

“Anything?” Athena echoes.

Trucy is the one to answer. “Anything,” she repeats firmly. “There’s no sense of scale. They can leverage a tiny favor to mean you owe your soul for it, if they want it, and you can’t refuse.”

“And for a witch it’s a constant give-and-take,” Sebastian adds. “So the patron is constantly - what’s the word I’m looking for, uh, accruing favors that the witch owes in return. And unless you were thinking well enough ahead to put in your initial contract things you wouldn’t give, or do - it’s very not good.”

“Oh,” Athena says, eyes downcast. “You don’t pick your patron?”

“How many people actually know one of the Fair Folk to ask?” Kay says. “Besides Mr Wright. And us now. But like, otherwise, if you wanna make a deal you’re just screaming to whoever’s listening.”

“Or nearest,” Sebastian adds. “Or likes what you’re offering the most, or is already interested in you for some other reason.”

“Hm,” Athena says. “Okay. And what happens if your patron dies? What then?”

Trucy sits down on the floor as Athena’s interrogation shows no sign of ceasing. Didn’t Athena ask this particular question of Phoenix already? “Then you lose all your powers,” Sebastian says. “Well, they fade away over a couple weeks, is what I hear.”

“And your powers - do you pick the kind you have? Like if you wanted lightning instead? Or did your patron decide you look like a fire person? I don’t see it, personally.”

“You have a lot of questions for someone who says she doesn’t want to become a witch,” Kay says, squinting suspiciously at her.

“I don’t! But a giant bird-monster tried to eat Apollo and Trucy and then Mr Wright’s college ex turned into some kinda demon to fight it, and this is the first time in my life I’m ever seeing this stuff, so of course I have questions.” Athena, bouncing on her heels, abruptly stops. A frown creases her face. Widget again goes dark blue. “And there’s the rumors about Prosecutor Blackquill. Y’know, that he’s a witch. And I asked Mr Wright some about it, but you’re an actual witch.”

“Mr Wright probably knows more than I do, still,” Sebastian says. “I’d heard that about Prosecutor Blackquill too but I don’t really know him. What was it you asked? Powers, they’re what you end up with; I didn’t pick it and she definitely didn’t - the Fair Folk don’t really like fire.”

“It’s a grab bag?” Athena asks. “A roll of the dice?”

Sebastian hesitates before answering. “I think it does gravitate toward something that does suit specifically you. But that’s just a guess based on me.”

Blackquill’s invisible knives answer nothing more about him - he’s a murderer, he’s a samurai/ninja type, they knew that already - and Athena is right that Sebastian doesn’t look like someone who would be, of all the potentially limitless possibilities, fire.

“Witches can have familiars, right?” Apollo asks. Sebastian nods and doesn’t say anything more detailed. Nothing about crows; go figure. But if Blackquill really is a witch, and not something more complicated, then that answers that question about that damned bird. Or maybe Taka is something like Vongole. And maybe the Prosecutors Office is a nightmare. No, definitely.

“I think I’ve run out of questions,” Athena announces. She sits down in the doorway of Filch’s office, grabbing a box of tissues from within and dabbing at the scrapes on her legs. “For now, anyway. Maybe I’ll shout something at you in the middle of the trial tomorrow as I come up with it.”

“Please don’t,” Sebastian says. “Leave it for after.”

“Oh, god,” Kay says. “Speaking of the trial tomorrow. Seb. Sebby. I don’t think we have a case.”

“Yeah, we found the stolen goods eaten by a yokai,” Athena says. They probably could come up with a way to work around that, but for once there’s something in the defense’s favor.

“Maybe we can argue that the defendant is Tenma Taro,” Kay muses. “Or she’s possessed.”

“Don’t,” Apollo says. “That’s what happened last time. Don’t do that to us again.” If they want to go that route he can’t actually stop them but they’re on friendly enough terms that he’s still going to grumble about the prospect. He’s going to relish not being afraid that the prosecution is going to murder him.

A door thuds closed upstairs and the murmur of voices drifts down. Athena tilts and swivels her head, a radar dish adjusting to get the signal. “Mr Wright just suggested dynamiting the mountain to get the chamber to collapse on Tenma Taro and bury it,” she says. “And - Mayor Tenma says there’s historical and cultural importance of the manor to the town and they can’t just - Mr Edgeworth just interrupted to say Mr Wright is an idiot.”

Kay snickers. Athena props her chin on her hand. “Is it really that bad of a concept though?” Trucy asks. “Make sure no one lets it out again?”

She has a point. For the sake of the town, bury its monster, and maybe then people will stop believing in it. And maybe if they stop believing, it will stop being. One could hope.

Iris holds the magatama when the group of them - Phoenix rolling his eyes at Edgeworth, Jinxie hanging off of her father’s arm with a charm in her hand raised threateningly at Iris - appear around the corner of the stairs. She ponders it for a few seconds before she raises up her other hand and the shimmering outline of a magatama of equal size appears above it, solidifying until it drops into her palm. Its color is slightly duller and sicklier; this magatama, she offers to the mayor. His expression is stern, more or less always is, and from his face alone it’s impossible to read what he is thinking. “There’s no catch,” Iris says. “No debt to me; it’s an exchange. Your shop-owner gets back something close to her stolen stone, without the chance that anyone unscrupulous will again barge in seeking its power.”

“And you get that power yourself,” the mayor says, but he takes it from her nonetheless. Edgeworth’s frown deepens further.

“Are we pretending that one is the one we recovered and just pretending we didn’t see this exchange?” Kay asks. “You couldn’t have done that thirty seconds ago and given us deniability?”

“Ah,” Iris says. “I should have. Forgive me.” She sighs. “I should be off now. I did promise Sister Bikini assistance with the night’s chores.” A smile spreads across her face, one with a wicked edge, and her twinkling eyes turn on Phoenix and Edgeworth as she adds, “I’ll tell her you both say hello.”

“Sister Biki…?” Edgeworth falters and looks to Phoenix, who grins mischievously, a mirror and an echo of Iris’ expression.

“What, you don’t remember her?” Phoenix asks. “Head nun at Hazakura Temple. Short, had a booming laugh, kept hitting on you during the cross-examination - wait, that’s why you don’t remember her! All the older women who’ve hit on you from the witness stand probably just merge into one conglomerate in your memory, huh?”

“Heavens forbid they should combine in real life,” Iris says, starting to drift away from them, where Apollo can see a spat forming. “A truly Lovecraftian entity that would be.”

“I - I don’t—” Edgeworth’s sputtering doesn’t form a full sentence.

Phoenix’s grin doesn’t lapse. “At least I don’t have to deal with the curse of being handsome, on top of everything else,” he says. Kay lets out a laugh that sounds more like one of Tenma Taro’s squawks. Iris presses her lips together and stretches her eyebrows as high as they will go. “Someone was supposed to object to that,” Phoenix adds after another half a second.

Trucy pats him on the arm. “You’re very handsome, Daddy,” she says.

Athena slaps her hands over Widget and feigns a cough to drown out whatever it has vocalized.

“Now that you’ve remembered how to shave,” Edgeworth mutters.

“I’ve told you,” Phoenix protests, and the way Edgeworth immediately rolls his eyes shows that yes, yes they have gone through this before, “nobody was gonna take me seriously as a pro poker player with my clean-shaven baby face.”

Edgeworth scoffs. “You don’t have a baby face, Wright.”

“Speaking as someone who does, he doesn’t,” Sebastian mutters. Kay snickers.

“I don’t know,” Iris says. Sebastian and Kay step out of her way, parting like a stream against a stone, and she eyes the corner caretaker’s office and then Athena sitting there in the doorway. “He does, a little. We could put it to vote.”

“Okay, I don’t think we need to talk about my face that much.” Phoenix holds up his hands in mock surrender, turning from Edgeworth to Iris. “I heard everything I needed when - Iris are you eating garbage?”

She flinches at her name, and with that flinch, her eyes and hair flicker red, and some of the skin on her face turns that deep shadowy ashen gray. Her shoulders and arms collapse into herself as all eyes turn to her and she shrinks toward the trash bin piled full of pizza boxes like she’ll disappear behind or into it. And Phoenix freezes a moment before, a little less spirited, he adds, “I can’t believe Maya’s turned you into a trash gremlin too.”

“I haven’t had pizza in at least twelve years,” Iris says, and now that she uncoils herself from looking like a snake about to strike, Apollo sees in her unclawed hands that she holds a piece of pizza crust. “Let me have this.” She bites into it forcefully, showing off her dagger teeth, and then she reaches to the open boxes balanced on each other, filled with greasy napkins, and retrieves another scrap of crust, her eyes narrowed, daring anyone to say anything. “Besides,” she adds, still not confident enough in her trash-gremlin ways to not keep justifying herself, “I need some energy to get back to Hazakurain.”

“Your new magatama isn’t enough?” Phoenix asks, nodding at the stone tucked under her arm.

She crunches louder on the crust. “Someone, if perhaps not me, will be in touch if we learn anything new,” she says to Phoenix, very pointedly ignoring his question. Whatever they’re talking about, it isn’t Tenma Taro anymore, but they’re on the same page. “My cousin may seize on that excuse, or perhaps none at all.”

“I look forward to it,” Phoenix says.

Iris spins, her robes whirling around her, her hair splayed about, its colors and the colors of her skin shifting and twisting together. A snowy vortex swirls at her feet, rising up and swallowing her and once it passes her feet, her legs, they are simply gone, and with a puff of frigid air she and the snow vanish entirely, leaving a circle of flowers on the carpet where she stood.

Jinxie leans out from behind her father and drops a charm in the center of the ring.

“What kind of flowers are those?” Kay asks, leaning down to investigate. When she does, her hair tumbles over in messy waves, still with a few pieces of leaf tangled up in it. She looks real; Athena with her scraped knees and Sebastian with dirt smudged on his face look real. Apollo has stared at Iris so much, trying to figure her out, noticing every way that the world doesn’t work right around her, and now the subtle motions - not even the tics he watches witnesses for - of people being people are remarkable.

“Do the flowers matter?” Athena asks. “Does it mean something?”

Apollo is glad to see that the flowers aren’t rooted into the carpet. They’re just scattered on the ground, stems cut diagonal at the ends, as though the contents of a vase were poured out in an even, perfect circle. “No, not really,” Sebastian says. “Well, a little? Justine’s are lion lilies, which mean something to her, but like abstractly they don’t really have to mean anything about - um, those are probably irises, anyway. Those flowers.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and starts typing something, probably a search to check on what iris flowers look like.

“An iris is a flower?” Phoenix asks blankly. Trucy presses her hands over her eyes and groans. “What? Why was I supposed to know that?” Edgeworth sighs deeply.

“Oh,” Sebastian says, frowning at his phone. “I guess those aren’t irises.”

“They’re kinda weird-looking flowers aren’t they?” Kay asks, leaning over Sebastian’s arm to also examine what his screen displays. “Kinda droopy petals on the outside there.”

There’s nothing Apollo would describe as droopy about these flowers circled on the floor. They’re round and the size of his palm, dozens and dozens of little petals stacked around each other. Most are a pale soft pink, but a few dark flowers, their petals as black as pitch, are interspersed among the rest. “It was a decent hypothesis,” Sebastian sighs.

“Whatever they are, they do not belong in this manor,” Mayor Tenma says. “Mr Wright, you will know the best way to get rid of these without causing offense, yes?”

“Just toss ‘em out the window,” Phoenix says, and as half a dozen people gape at him, he adds, “That’s less offense than setting them on fire or throwing them in with the trash.”

“I’m still not touching those,” Sebastian says. “Not after seeing her fight a yokai. Sorry, Mr Wright, but she’s terrifying.”

“That’s fine,” Phoenix says, stooping and gathering up a large handful of flowers, crushing them together with no real regard for them. Athena springs up and throws the window open for him to dump the first ones out. “I’m used to being the one cleaning up fae messes.”

Remarkable, really, how the words should surely be passive-aggressive, how even Phoenix’s cheery tone should be sarcastic - but as much as the man can be a mystery, Apollo is certain if there’s anger, it isn’t at any of them still here in the foyer.

Athena gives him a lift home; Kay and Sebastian go together to talk strategy before the case tomorrow, and Phoenix and Trucy go with Edgeworth. Apollo has more than a dozen texts from Clay, the first three asking why he’s still out so late, the rest proposing increasingly implausible - but still nowhere near as batshit as the truth - scenarios as to what he’s up to. “You’re a popular guy, huh?” Athena asks, watching Apollo scroll through the messages as they walk to her car.

Apollo snorts. “Nah. These are all from my roommate, trying to guess if I’m still alive or if being a lawyer for Mr Wright has finally killed me. And I hadn’t even told him that we were going to actually fight a yokai today, either.”

“Would he have believed you?” Athena asks. “‘Cause two weeks ago I wouldn’t have believed you either.”

“He’s the most superstitious person I know who hasn’t been tangled up in this kind of thing,” Apollo says. Klavier is more paranoid, but personal experience gave him more than enough reason to be. Clay is just… Clay. “Is it even superstition when we know it’s true?”

“I guess it isn’t,” Athena says. “It’s definitely not the kinda thing I thought I’d come home to.”

“But you knew Mr Wright, though.”

“Oui, and I wouldn’t change meeting him for the world” - would Apollo? No, he wouldn’t either, he’s sure of that now - “but I thought he was - kinda the only one, I guess. And then I’m here and there’s - there’s this, and then there’s Prosecutor Blackquill, and I - I don’t know.”

“Welcome to the Wright Anything Agency,” Apollo says.

She laughs. “Happy to be here, actually!” Widget beams green; despite everything, she still means it.

“I think we’re glad to have you here, too.”

“So what took this investigation so long?” Clay asks. Apollo kicks his shoes off into the middle of the living room and decides that’s a good enough place for them to be tonight.

“You don’t want to know,” Apollo says.

“I’m sure I don’t,” Clay says. “Cavorting with the prosecution? Got stuck in a wormhole and lost about five hours without knowing it?”

So Apollo tells him, and he isn’t even halfway through the story before Clay starts shaking salt onto Apollo’s head.

#fic: the witches of los angeles #roddy fanfics

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dejjafont-blog · 5 years ago

Text

The New Hero

ee(This story involves New hero x Chat Noir, Adrienette/Lukanette and other ships. This story is for my own amusement, and follows parts of the story line. If anything doesn’t add up it’s because I’ve taken my own twist. I will try my best to stick to the Zag style of things and keep it PG... for the most part. If any part of the story goes beyond the “Zag” line I’ll put a warning at the beginning of the chapter. Also, I like to keep a slow pace in stories to get a better development in the characters relationships. If you have seen/see this story anywhere please let me know, for I have not published this anywhere else. This is my original character/super heroine, Miraculous, Kwami, ect, please don’t claim as your own. I’m keeping this story in English, when it comes to French, I know little to nothing. If you’d like, follow me on Amino (Marichat-26030471) Okay! Happy reading!)

Chapter One

* * Welcome to Paris * *

Today’s the day. It’s been officially a week since we’ve moved into our new house.. in Paris, you think I’d be thrilled? I’m not. There’s nothing here for me, all my friends, family remains back home in Washington, living in the states was all I knew.

From what I’ve seen so far, Paris is unlike all the stereotypical expectations I’ve heard thus far. It’s gloomy, cold and wet, just about how I emotionally feel about being here. To be fair though, I’ve only seen Paris out from windows, I’ve been so occupied with unpacking and enrollment for school, I’ve had little to no time for myself and frankly, I’m to scared to wonder the foreign streets especially alone.

Mom has been busy since the day we’ve arrived, since this is the reason why we’re here, her promotion to expand the Clementines Industries to the country of France, moreover the city of Paris in hopes to go international with their Fashion line and what other city holds the perfect title for fashion then the City of Paris?

My little sister Julia, that’s all she is, my little sister. There’s no way I’d take her with me through Paris with that responsibility on my shoulders, I wouldn’t find the time to take my eyes off her or she’d be lost in an instant. And dad? Well, he passed away six years ago, so there’s only us.

The week has been filled with nothing but unpacking and jet lag, being home alone most of the time, only seeing mom during the early mornings and late evenings, but today is different. Today is the day I start school and I couldn’t be more nervous.

Mom is currently on the phone, as usual, preparing her store for the grand opening taking place in a week. She stood behind the kitchens island packing Julia’s lunch as Julia sat on a bar stool staring at mom rapidly place everything into the lunch box, I on the other hand am staring at a piece of paper with the directions to school. I wish I could just take a bus like any other student but of course I was walking distance of the school, three minutes tops, but still there’s a lot of turns that I can easily mess up on.

As I studied the directions I can hear my mom ending her call, sliding the lunch box to Julia.

“Here you go honey.” she said looking at her phone before adding “The bus should be here in a few minutes to pick you up, so why don’t you go stand by the door and wait.” I looked up to see Julia nodding while stuffing her lunch box into her backpack. They quickly exchanged hugs, and as Julia walked passes me she sticks out her tongue, she knew how much I wanted to take a bus.

Rolling my eyes, I looked over to mom again, she continued to look and type on her phone without fail. Maybe she could drop me off at school today? Just this once wouldn’t hurt.

“Mom, could you drop me off at school today?” I questioned. With no hesitation she shook her head “No Isabella, you need to learn the route. Besides the fresh air will do you good.” she said finally looking up from her phone, putting on a smile. I groaned.

“Okay, but if I get kidnapped it’s not my fault.” I said holstering my bag into my shoulder.

“You’ll be fine, just stick to the sidewalks and follow the guide.” she said glancing at her phone once again. “You should get a move on, you don’t want to be late for your first day.” she added. Simply nodding, I saluted her before walking to the front door, which was half way open. There, Julia running towards the bus which stopped directly in front of our house.

Stepping out I shut the door behind me as I walked down the stairs and onto the side walk.I looked down once more at the paper in my hands before turning right to begin my journey.

Walking down the sidewalk, I turned right again followed by a left and soon I came to a halt at a traffic light. Cars zooming from both directions. Looking down both roads I could tell I was gonna be standing here for a few minutes.

Glancing around I took in the surroundings, in front stood the massive school which let off an intimidating aurora that made my stomach do flips, just behind the school to my surprise I could see part of the Eiffel Tower, which I would like to visit sometime. to my right there was just loads of buildings and endless roads. I slowly turned around to read the sign on the building behind me, reading Boulangerie Patissrie. It’s a small corned store with tinted windows, but from what I can smell, it’s possibly a restaurant of some sort, which smells amazing, I just might stop in on my way home today.

I returned my eyes back on the road in front of me, as it was still as busy as it was a minute ago, sighing I continued to look around at the architecture of the buildings. The small balconies, french doors, the curves of the roofs, all screams French but it is very beautiful, nothing you’d ever see back home. Home..

Digging out my phone from my pocket I unlocked it tapping onto the camera, turning so my back faced the Eiffel Tower I held my phone high. Forcing a smile, my phone clicked. Quickly fumbling to take a look I could see how the Parisian wind messed up my head, but the Eiffel Tower stood in all it’s glory, I can’t delete this. Taking one more look over the picture before sending it off to my friends, I noticed something.

Towards the top of the Eiffel Tower was a red blur, zooming the picture with my fingers I squint my eyes to get a better look of this blur, maybe a bird? What kind of bird is that red and THAT big though?

“Our turn Miss.” My eyes darted from my phone to the voice. A short older man in a red flowery shirt began to walk across the road as my eyes followed him. Blinking myself into reality, I shoved my phone back into my pocket and followed the man across the road. As we met on the other side he turned to face me.

“Thank you for letting me know back there.” I said gesturing to were we stood moments ago, he smiled bowing slightly.

“Just remember to be vigilant, this city can be very” he paused for a second “Unpredictable” I raised an eyebrow, about to question him when he spoke again “in the best way.” he added.

“I will, thank you sir.” I said, he turned to walk away when I remembered the photo again.

“Oh sir!” I walked up to him taking out my phone, unlocking to the picture, he turned with an eyebrow raised.

“Would you happen to know what kind of bird this is?” I turned the phone to him, he began to study it “I know it blurry but what else could it be besides a bird?” I asked as he laughed looking up to me.

“That’s no bird, that’s Ladybug.” he said, I looked at the photo again, how is this a ladybug?

I must of looked confused because he said “You’ll be seeing her around.” he turned back around “She is after all, our hero.” he walked away.

Hero? Like a superhero? Superman hero? Is this guy insane? Maybe he forgot to take his pills this morning.

Shaking my head, I made my way to the school.

Kids stood on the sidewalk talking to each other as others raced up the steps.

I stopped at the stairs and looked up at the building. It is two stories high, with huge red doors, a banner above the entry way, glass windows complimenting the roof. Once again, nothing like back home.

“SABRINA!” someone shouted my head snapped to the direction of the voice behind me. There stood a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes tapping her foot rapidly on the ground glaring at a girl with red short hair and glasses.

“GO BACK AND GET MY BAG NOW!” she yelled again, the red head girl flinched. The girl said something to the blonde, but she just scoffed.

“YOU ARE RIDICULOUS, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!” she flipped her hair walking towards the stairs... me. I quickly backed away to clear the path as she climbed the stairs, I looked back at the red head who already was in a car, a police car, the lights came on followed by the siren and she was off in seconds.

Gripping my backpacks strap, I hesitantly began to walk up the steps and soon stood frozen. There were crowds of kids in their own groups, talking, laughing, in their own world as I stood here in the doorway wide eyed. Scanning the room I could feel my heart rate increase as I gripped the strap harder. My eyes landed on the blonde girl from earlier talking to another girl with long brown hair and green eyes, their conversation didn’t seem to pleasant, at least to the blonde.

I ripped my eyes off them as I inhaled deeply before walking all the way in, some kids turned to look at me, others didn’t budge, most had smiles but that isn’t really reassuring. I glanced around to the rooms, as they all looked the same. Where is Miss. Bustiers class at?

I walked through the court peering through windows to see if I can come across any name plates on the desks, but there was no luck. Maybe I should just go to the principals office and ask him, at least I know where that is. I turned to walk to the stair case but just as I did that I dumped into a girl with reddish brown hair with glasses.

“I’m sorry” I blurted out rather loudly, getting a few extra looks.

“Don’t sweat it.” she said looking at me.

“Hey, aren’t you the new girl?” she questioned as some guy joined her side, as he is wearing a red hat and glasses. I nodded.

“Yup, that’s me. I’m Isabella Nicholas.” I greeted, they both smiled simultaneously.

“I’m Alya and this is my boyfriend Nino.” Alya replied, Nino looked at Alya and blush before saying “Hey”

“Nice to meet you guys.” I said loosing up my grip on the strap.

“Say, you wouldn’t happened to be in Miss Bustiers class?” I asked and Nino nodded.

“Girl, it’s your lucky day.” Alya said “Miss Bustiers class is on the top floor to the left.” she pointed out as I followed her direction and smiled. I turned back to them.

“Thank you, you saved me a trip to the principals office.” I said letting out a laugh.

“If I can spare your time away from Mr. Damocles, my mission was a success!” Alya laughed at herself as Nino nodded in agreement.

“Girl, you should definitely hang out with us, we can show you the ropes, the ins and out, the dos and don’ts. For example” she said turning me around by the shoulders pointing at the blonde girl again “Stay away from the Queen Bee, aka Chloe Bourgeois, she’s nothing but a royal pain, take it from me.” she said

“Chloe got Alya expelled once.” Nino chimed in.

“Really?” I asked looking at both of them, they just nodded as Alya furrowed her eyebrows together glaring at Chloe before giving her attention back to me.

“It’s a time I hate to remember but whats done is done.” she said flipping her hand and smiling again.

“and you’ve got to meet my best friend Marinette,”

“and my dude Adrien.” Nino added, Alya nodded agreeing.

“yes, oh and the girls.” Alya added looking at Nino then back at me smiling “There’s a lot of people that I’ll introduce to you, and I guarantee by the end of the day, we’ll all be friends.” she said.

“I’d like that Alya, thanks!” I thanked her, and right as she was going to talk a girl with blue black hair in pigtails came running to her side, breathing heavily.

“ALYAWHYDIDN’TYOUANSWERMYMESSAGEADRIENSCARJUSTPULLEDUPANDIDON’THAVETHEPENHELENTMEYESTERDAYANDWHATIFHEGETSMADANDTELLSMEHEDOESNTWANTTOBEFRIENDSANYMOREANDWHATIF-” the girl freaking out was cut off as Alya smiled uneasily pointing towards me. The girl looked at me with wide eyes, looked me up and down before smiling.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” she laughed nervously scratching the back of her head.

“I’m Marinette, you must be the new girl!”

“I’m Isabella.” I greeted back, she smiled wide as her cheeks flushed red, clearly embarrassed.

“Nice to meet you Isabella.” she paused “Sorry you had to hear that, I normally look around my surroundings before going all... err” Marinette said tapping her index fingers together.

“All Marinette?” Alya added, Marinette blushed darker just nodding.

“It’s okay Marinette. That’s such a pretty name!” I complimented wanting to take her mind of her embarrassment. She smiled even wider.

“Thank you, yours is too!”

“and I’m not just saying that because you said mine was but it’s because your name is really pretty to!” she said pretty fast I almost missed it, she giggled and I thanked her. Just then a blonde guy with green eyes appeared by Ninos side, they did a handshake that looks like they made up before turning their attention to us.

“Hey girls.” the blonde greeted Alya and Marinette as his eyes looked at me. Woah, now that’s green.

“You must be the new girl. I’m Adrien.” he said with his hand out. I looked at his hand taken aback a bit, before placing mine in his with a shake.

“Isabella.” we let go and I smiled.

“Sorry about the whole hand shaking, I’m just adapted to it.” he said scratching the back of his hand. Before I could say a word Marinette blurted out.

“HE’S A MODEL.” she froze before giggling. “I mean, he’s a model for his father, the fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste! Which I admire his work, ya!” Marinette said smiling with her teeth as Alya let out a small sigh.

Gabriel Agreste? The name sounds familiar but I can’t quite place it.

“Yeah my father.” Adrien slightly chuckled, looking to the ground then back up to us.

“Anyways!” Alya clapped her hands together. “If you have time after school, I’d be more than happy to show you around the school so you can get the flow of things.” Alya offered. My sister does have her own key and mom won’t be back until evening, so I have plenty of time to look around the place.

“That’d be great Alya!”

“Ah, I hate to cut in like this, but Alya, we’ve got a date with the penguins after school.” Nino spoke up as Alya’s face changed instantly, she face palmed herself.

“How could I forget!.” she muttered shaking her head.

“We’re pairs for our project in Ms. Mendeleive’s class about the environment change in Antarctica, so we’re going to visit the penguins at the zoo to spice up this boring assignment.” she explained.

“I’m so sorry girl, I totally spaced.” she apologized.

“No, it’s fine.’ I said reassuring her. She shook her head.

“How about tomorrow? I can definitely do it tomorrow!” she offered again.

“or I can show you around today?” Marinette said, smiling. “I already finished Ms. Mendeleive’s project and I don’t have anything going on after school, I’d be happy to show you around!” Alya nodded in agreement.

“Sure, sounds like a plan!” I confirmed.

“If you’re looking for some fun after school activities, we’re always looking for new recruits, I’m part of the fencing club! If you’d like, Marinette can bring you by and you can see everyone in action.” Adrien suggested, I nodded.

“Okay, we’ll stop by.” I said, right as the school bell rang.

We exchanged smiles as we walked up the stairs and to Ms Bustiers class.

As we entered I stopped to glance around the room. There is eight sets of tables and benches, stairs up the middle dividing them. Everyone took their seats as I stood awkwardly in place.

The blonde girl from earlier, Chloe entered the classroom with a strut, I quickly moved back as she made no eye contact with me and plopped in her seat. I bit my lip looking at the door for any sign of the teacher but she has yet to come in. I looked towards Marinette and Alya who sat behind Adrien and Nino, Alya motioned me over, so I did.

“You good, girl?” Alya questioned, I nodded.

“Just a little nervous.” I admitted, this time she nodded.

“I get you. I was new last year and I was about to go out of my mind until I met this girl.” Alya said nudging her, as she laughed.

“Hey!” Nino half whispered yelled, as Marinette, Alya and Adrien laughed. I smiled as the teacher walked in. I hurried down the stairs towards Ms Bustier. She set some papers down on her desk as she turned towards me with a warm smile.

“You must be Isabella.” she offered her hand and I shook it.

“I’m Ms. Bustier, and welcome to our class! I’m so glad you can be apart of our homeroom!” she said letting go of my hand. turning towards the class just as the red head girl with the glasses came rushing in, Ms. Bustier looked towards her, motioning for her to sit. She did just that, basically running to the table where Chloe is sitting and sat down.

“Class, this is our newest student, Isabella Nicholas, please give her a warm welcome!” Ms Bustier said sweetly. Some of the students shouted greetings as the rest clapped, and I felt heat warming my cheeks, this is to much.

“It’s not everyday we get a student from America to join our school.” She said turning to me, I gulped.

“As much as I’d like for you to tell us a little bit about yourself, I’m afraid we’re behind as it is.” she said with a frown then instantly smile.

“Do you have any hearing or trouble with your eyesight?” She questioned, I shook my head.

“Great! You can take a seat next to Lila in the back, please.” she said with her hand out, I looked up to meet eyes with the girl I saw talking to Chloe earlier, she smiled widely and waved the slightest. As I made my way up the stairs, I heard Marinette whispered “Good Luck”

Lila scooted over and patted the empty spot next to her, as I wasted no time to sit. She smiled at me and whispered.

“Nice to meet you Isabella, I can already tell we’re gonna be great friends!” I smiled back as Ms Bustier began the lesson.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day was pretty much the same. Introduced. Seated. Learning. Then I meet the girls Alya talked about and they’re honestly the sweetest, especially Rose, they made me feel welcomed.

Just a few minutes ago the final bell rang and everyone was released. Nino and Alya already departed and so did the rest of the girls, now it’s just me and Marinette as she’s showing me the locker room that’s I’ve already been in but I don’t have the heart to say anything.

“This is my locker and this is Adrien’s.” she said Adrien’s name sweetly. It didn’t take me long to understand how Marinette felt about Adrien, she made herself pretty clear when we first met this morning, the way she talked about him, stuttered and even looked at him, honestly the only reason I agreed to Adrien’s suggestion for the fencing club was I thought Marinette would enjoy it. I have no interest in any physical activity, that’s just me.

“Oh!” Marinette said snapping out of her daze, she smiled walking towards the front door.

“This is the way to the fencing club!” she said peeking out of the closed blinds. I smiled, She really does have crush. I accidentally laughed which caused her to break away from the curtains to look at me with a confused face.

“Oh, do you not want to see the club?” she questioned with sadness in her voice.

“Oh no no no, it’s not that! I still want to see the club, I’m interested!” this time it was me who talked really fast. She smiled and opened the door. We walked out of the locker room to be greeted by the sight of people fencing. Marinette smiled wider looking over the sea of white uniforms, I stood next to her doing the same. Everyone was really into their zones, the sounds of metal clashing together echoed the whole court.

“Let’s sit over there.” Marinette pointed to a bench, nodding, we walked over and sat down still admiring all the talented fencers. I don’t know the first thing that comes to fencing, quite literally nothing, all I know is you wear a uniform to protect yourself and say en-garde to start, other than that my knowledge is quite embarrassing, I just hope no one asks me why I am here in the first place.

“Aren’t they good?!” Marinette squealed still looking over the crowd in front of us.

“Very!” I said, connecting eyes with the coach. I quickly looked away as I can see from the corner of my eye he was approaching us. Oh no.

“Ah, Marinette, do you intend to try out again?” the teacher asked, Marinette quickly shook her head.

“Ahhh! No Mr. D’Argencourt! I’m here with my friend Isabella Nicholas, she’s new to school and wanted-” Marinette got cut off by Mr. D’Argencourt.

“New student? Why yes! Would you like to try out?” he questioned me. Oh. No.

“Well, I-”

“Of course you do! Silly to even question!” He cut in.

“Actually-”

“What size are you? Oh never mind, I’m sure we have a small, lemme go check the rack!” He cut me again this time walking away towards the rack full of uniforms. I blinked a couple of time processing what just happened, Marinette sighed.

“I’m sorry Isabella, I should of said something to help.” Marinette frowned, right then someone approached us, clad in their uniform. Me and Marinette looked at the person as they took off their guard mask revealing a smile Adrien.

“You girls came, so what do you think Isabella?” Adrien questioned. What do I think? I think I’m about to make a fool of myself in front of every person in this room!

“I think Mr.D’Argencourt got carried away by Isabella’s presence, he’s literally getting her a uniform as we speak.” marinette said as we all glanced at the coach rummaging through the rack on high speed.

“So I take that fencing is not for you then?” Adrien asked with a side smile. I can’t lie, I shook my head. He chuckled.

“Don’t worry, I can talk him out of this.” with that, Adrien walked over to the coach, with a few exchanged words the coaches body slouched as his head hung low, as if he’s been defeated. Adrien made his way back over to us with a nervous smile.

“Everything’s good.” he said with a thumbs up.

“I hope I didn’t cause to much trouble.” I said.

“No, he’s fine! I explained I invited you girls to watch us practice, he’s taking it... well.” Adrien hesitated but smiled again. If I didn’t know better, I would of sworn Marinette melted into a puddle just then, I swore I heard her sigh happily.

“Thanks for talking to him, Adrien.” I said.

“No problem.”

“Oh, Isabella, if you’re still free, would you like to go over to my place? My parents run a confectionery and I’m sure I can hook you up with some Macaroons.” Marinette asked. Well, you can’t go wrong with macaroons. especially ones from Paris! I think I have enough time to spend with Marinette.

“Yeah, I’m still free, that sounds great!”

“I’d offer you to join us Adrien, but I feel like I already know the answer.” Marinette said with disappointment in her voice, yet she smiled small. Adrien frowned and nodded.

“I wish I could but father would never let me skip practice especially to just hang out. Sorry.” he said with disappointment in his voice. Marinette just nodded understandingly before standing up.

“Well I hope someday you can join me-US I mean us for some pastries.” Marinette said smiling widely now, Adrien nodded with half a smile.

“Maybe someday.” he said low.

“Adrien, it is time for the final match!” Mr. D’Argencourt called out. Adrien nodded towards him before turning back to us.

“Well, I’ll see you girls on Monday.” Adrien said before putting on his guard mask and rejoining the group. Marinette gave one last look to him before I stood up to follow her out of the school. We came to the traffic light and stopped, the roads just as busy as they were this morning.

“So, you and Adrien, huh?” I questioned. Wait why did I just say that? Marinette squeaked and looked towards me with wide eyes. She stared at me like that for a second, as her eye twitched, soon she let out a small laugh.

“What?! Pfttt, no! He’s my friend!” she said smiling with a roll of her eyes, I just stared back at her. She looked back at me and we stared at each other for a good 10 seconds before she broke.

“IS IT REALLY THAT OBVIOUS?” She hunched over covering her eyes. I patted her shoulder.

“Well no... but yes.” I said as she groaned. She looked up from her hands and stared directly into my eyes.

“Please don’t tell anyone about this ESPECIALLY Adrien! I mean, Alya and Nino already know and there’s Chloe but that’s a long story, oh and the girls know as well, but Adrien can not know! Or even worst, Lila! Please don’t tell her!” Marinette rambled and begged.

“It’s okay Marinette! I promise I won’t tell a soul!” I promised, which I intend to keep. She smiled and stood up straight.

“Thank you Isabella.” she said relieved.

“You guys really do make a cute couple.” I added and she beamed.

“We do?! WE DO DON’T WE! I could imagine us getting married and having three kids and a little tiny hamster!” she jumped up and down, as the cars stopped for us to cross. When we got to the other side, Marinette stopped before entering.

“Alright before we head in I gotta warn you. My parents, well my dad can be a bit.” she tossed her hands back and forth.

“Embarrassing, completely embarrassing.” she said folding her arms looking away.

“I know a thing or two about embarrassing parents, it’s okay Marinette.” I reassured her. She smiled and opened the door as we walked in.

“Welcome!” two voices boomed.

“Ah, if it isn’t my daughter and I see she brought a friend that’s not Alya today! Good job, honey! Way to extend!” her father, a very tall man with a mustache approached us followed by his wife I assume.

“Dad.” Marinette groaned hugging both her parents.

“So who is this Marinette? I don’t believe I’ve seen her around before.” the woman said with a smile. She is much shorter than her husband with short hair, almost the same color as Marinettes.

“This is my new friend, Isabella. She just moved here from America!” Marinette beamed, as they both looked surprised.

“Isabella, this is my dad Tom and my mom Sabine.” Marinette introduced them.

“Pleasure to meet you.” I said, fidgeting my hand not knowing if I should shake their hands or not. Sabine smiled and bowed slightly as Tom put his hand on his wife’s shoulder.

“You as well.” Sabine said.

“Well! Since all the formalities are out of the way, why don’t you and Isabella try some of my new strawberry kiwi croissants! They’re just a test of course, for our summer special next year but it’s always good to be prepared!” Tom said gesturing to a tray of pink flaked with green kiwi shreds topped with melted sugar croissants.

“Oh they look good dad!” Marinette complimented walking towards the tray as I followed, she picked up two and handed me one.

“Cheers” she said as we tapped our croissants together before taking a bite. The thought of kiwi in a croissant isn’t really ideal, but somehow he managed to mix all the flavors so perfectly, they clash together tastefully! I must of made a face because both Tom and Sabine laughed.

“These are outstanding!” I said examining what left I had of my croissant as I heard Marinette agree.

“This is my first real pastry of Paris and it has truly blown me away!” Tom smiled as if he tried to hold back tears, Sabine patting his arm.

“Thank you.” he said.

“But this can not do.” he said, tightening up his apron.

“Dad?” Marinette questioned as Tom walked closer to me.

“You need to try everything!” he said grabbing a tray that was covered in foil to reveal a nicely stack of pink, yellow and green Macaroons. He handed me the tray.

“Pink champagne, Marmalade and Pistachio! Please try each one!” he said cupping his hands together in anticipation.

“Dad!” “Tom!” Marinette and Sabine said at the same time giving Tom warning looks. Tom rolled his eyes before added.

“That is, if you’d like.” he smiled.

“Uh, sure, three wouldn’t hurt! Plus, I’ve always wanted to try a authentic Macaroon!” I said grabbing one of each flavor.

“That’s the spirit!” Tom said putting the tray back on the counter. I tried the Pink champagne first. Oh boy! The texture was smooth, the jelly is like what I’d dream a pink cloud tasting like, it’s absolutely yummy!

“That was unlike anything I’ve ever had before, it’s so good it didn’t even taste real!” I said as Tom smiled even wider. Marinette cleared her throat.

“Dad, I’m not allowing Isabella to stay down here and be your personal taste tester.” Marinette said folding her arms, as Sabine agreed.

“Let the girls enjoy some time to their selves, Tom. I’ll help you decipher the Macaroons.” Tom frowned but nodded understandably.

“Alright, have fun girls.” Tom said brushing his hands on his apron. Marinette tapped me to follower her, so I did. As we climbed the stairs, I finished both of the other macaroons that were just as good, possibly even better? Soon we came to a halt at a door. Marinette dug out a key from her purse and unlocked the door. We walked in to the living room but Marinette continued towards more stairs, I just kept following. We soon came to a hatch and she pushed it up opening it. After we climbed up, I took this chance to admire her bedroom.

Pink. There’s a lot of pink in this room, a pink rug that lays in the middle of her room, pink dresser up against a wall, pink walls, pink sofa, another pink dresser, pink pillows and I can only imagine what her bed looks like, but I’m sure it’s pink.

“Cute room.” I said still glancing around, she smiled.

“Thanks! But lately I feel the need for a renovation. My walls are screaming pre-teen!” she said with a laugh, walking towards her desk, as she sat down in her chair.

“Oh yeah? What would you want to change?” I questioned sitting on the edge of her sofa.

“I’d totally repaint the walls white again, make it a little brighter you know? And if I could, I’d get a darker set of hard wood flooring.” she said spinning around in her chair, staring at where her bed is.

“and extend the bed space, it can get crammed at times!” she added now looking at me.

“So, tell me Isabella, what was your life in America like? I’m sure it was awesome!” She asked resting her elbows on her knees. Awesome? Not really, it was just.. basic. I have friends and family back home of course, they made my life enjoyable I never payed much attention to my country, I basically took it for granted.

“Eh” I squeaked out.

“Eh?” Marinette repeated.

“It was.. average. I mean, my friends and family back home, they’re the ones who made me enjoy living there and that’s what I miss most about. It’s just like any other family, with a pest of a sister and a workaholic mom, it was just average.” I said, speaking truthfully.

“Ah, I’ve always wanted a sister or even a brother but of course they’d have to be younger than me.” Marinette said rotating back and forth in her chair with a laugh.

“Well you’re lucky, you never had to share and fight for your stuff every single day, you get more attention from your parents being the only child, at times I wish I was.” I said, Marinette laughed.

“Yeah when you put it that way I guess I am lucky.” we both laughed.

“So, how about that crush?” I teased as she blushed but shook her head.

“As much as I fantasize about our relationship growing into something more, I can’t help but feel like we’re never going to happen.” she said looking at her hands with a half smile.

“Don’t say that, I’m sure if you keep up the pace you’ll be a couple in no time, just keep doing what you’re doing, be you.” I said walking over to her, she shook her head again.

“Not when he has a potential girlfriend.” she murmured, I raised an eyebrow.

“But I like to dream, it keeps me going.” she said smiling again, I smiled back, looking up.

“Where does that lead to?” I questioned looking a the hatch above me.

“The balcony, wanna go up?” she asked standing up, I nodded and followed her to the balcony. I looked at all the buildings getting a good view, and part of the Eiffel Tower is in sight. I leaned on her rail staring at the Eiffel Tower.

“Have you been there yet?” she asked referring to the tower, shook my head.

“Haven’t had the time to really do much of anything.” I said, as she looked at me.

“How long do you plan on staying in Paris? Or have you moved here permanently?” she asked.

“I’m not sure myself. My family and I moved here for my mom’s promotion to extend the Clementines Industry business to Paris, and as long as that’s doing good, I could be staying here for years.” I told her as her jaw dropped.

“Clementines? No way! I heard about that fashion line, but I never knew it moved here!”

“Well the grand opening is happening a week from today down at Rue de Rivoli, you can totally come and bring the girls too.” I suggested as Marinette smiled wider.

“For real? Don’t we need passes or something?” she questioned.

“Well, my mom being the ceo and manger guess has it’s perks.” I said as she pushed herself off the rail and hugged me. We both then pulled away smiling.

“Thank you Isabella! It’s so kind of you.”

“Anything for a friend.”

#miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug #chat nior #superhero

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fmdtaeyongarchive · 5 years ago

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↬ sometimes the things we do know torment us more.

date: april 2019.

location: ash’s home studio.

word count: 1,824 words.

summary: overthinking.

notes: creative claims verification.

fittingly enough, the song was created almost entirely on a late night after far too much thinking with not very much to show from it.

night stretched out like a timeless void around ash as he sat in his new home studio. if his life wasn’t the way it was, ash might have been able to enjoy that feeling more than he did. even when the feeling of time being forgotten engulfed him, there was an always-present ticking clock ringing out in the recesses of his mind reminding him how little time he had until the peacefulness would break and he’d be expected to be somewhere he probably didn’t want to be doing something he probably didn’t want to do. days off didn’t really exist for idols. not for idols who were members of mega successful boy groups who were still trying to bury their string of career-threatening scandals behind them like ash was, at least.

if his life wasn’t the way it was, he also might enjoy this less instead, too. it was hard to say. in a different universe, he might not find such comfort in the silence of nothingness. it was a reprieve from the busy-ness of a neverending schedule and a contract still far too much time away from ending. there was a calm in the midst of the night that many didn’t get the opportunity to appreciate in the way ash did when his mind’s stubborn resistance to the gentle embrace of sleep kept him up and staring at a screen or a keyboard for hours on end.

as it was, he was tired and his mind was moving more slowly than any of the works in progress in his many folders demanded from him, so he opened up a new project and stared down the grey screen and assortment of settings and digital dials in front of him. without much thought, he tapped out a lagging beat into the program with one finger and then another, layering a minimalist scheme of snares and kicks over each other to achieve an effect he could consider listenable before adding in more texture through other instrumental affectations. he listened to it back, tapping his foot lazily to the slow beat that echoed back to him through his headphones.

the beat became the backbone of the song immediately. the steady percussional drag would be what the rest of the piece would be built on and he knew that from the instant it came together into a multi-layered piece of the puzzle. this was the essence of the story he wanted to tell. the rest would come. and so it did, with a willingness so rare in the creation of new music.

the word “chillhop” sprang to ash’s mind once he began layering a melody over it. it wasn’t a genre ash would have normally dove into so instinctively on such a dreary mind, but he’d heard enough late night playlists that were supposed to help him sleep and soothe his busy mind to identify how easily the beat would fall amongst the track list of one of them. instead of shying away from the association, ash leaned eagerly into it, keeping the additional instrumentals sparse at first. he could already hear in his head the vocals that would eventually lay on top of it. they’d be something part way between talking and singing, more introspective than trying to make a big statement to the world. they’d reflect the feeling in his mind at the very moment in time he composed the piece. distorted, barren, a little like a glimpse of the moon from behind the clouds on a night like the very one he was experiencing. he didn’t know whether his vision of the outside world that particular night matched the vision in his head—there were no windows to the outside in his studio for obvious reasons—, but the beauty of art was that it was creation, not a forced recreation. he could shape the song into how he had experienced the night instead of the objective facts of how it had been.

the music studio he was in, the one he could now officially call his own within the walls of the apartment he now had his name to, only his name to, was still unfamiliar in many ways. the new faux leather of the chair still created too much friction against the rough pockets of his jeans when he sat down after a long day and the lighting still felt a little off regardless of how many times he had moved around and switched out lighting fixtures. he’d have abandoned lighting altogether if he hadn’t had some concern left for the state it’d leave his vision in to state at a bright computer screen in the pitch black night after night.

it was a new but old feeling, sitting in a studio on a late night with only the mission to create something worthwhile in mind. at some point, he’d learned to find a bubble of comfort within the walls of bc entertainment headquarters, and that comfort had been the space inside any of the numerous open studios that were contained within the building. a studio of his own brought an entirely different kind of comfort. though he was only as literally alone in this studio as he usually had been in the ones down in gangnam, it felt lonelier in some abstract, indefinable way.

the loneliness manifested itself into a piano melody that ash first hummed and then played into the midi keyboard attached to his computer. it was a simple melody, only one line of notes extending into the silence. it didn’t fit over the beat he’d created, but after some toying around, he placed it at the beginning of the composition, examining the idea of it as an intro. normally, ash would consider it too long by several bars to be a fitting intro, but it felt right in a certain way for this song. this song could take its time to get where it needed to go. it didn’t need to rush into words and a plodding beat to achieve the feeling he was trying to express. when the intro ended, it would die out and be replaced by his own voice to avoid crowding the instrumental and allow it to keep a certain feeling of emptiness about it. he’d slowly incorporate it back in as his voice blended into the track as just another instrument.

that’s how the idea came to mind to integrate a sample of talking a couple of minutes into the song. it was like white noise, the hollow din of his own mind speaking out over everything else around him. he knew by now the concept the lyrics would explore—they’d take a trip into his thoughts on a late night like this when his mind was doing too much work for its own good and tearing itself apart in the process. it was so familiar a feeling he wasn’t sure why he hadn’t written more directly about it before.

after the piano played out its mellow intro, he chose to begin with a lament of the neverending night and how easy it was to get lost in his own thoughts when no one was around. his thoughts, both the bad and the good, were ravenous for his attention in the dim glow of his studio with nothing to push them away into the hidden corners of his mind of which they’d crawled out of on hands and knees. putting that into words only caused them to creep out even closer to the forefront of his brain.

even on the nights he had company, it wasn’t so easy to pull his mind back into the shallows instead of diving off the deep end. night was an occasion that brought an aura of somberness to everyone. an acceptance of fewer words could be found once the moon had risen. it was a phenomenon that interested him, a shared human experience he wished had been pinned down more clearly by psychology. he’d once read that sunlight triggered energy hormones in the human brain and perhaps that was why the depths of night were a much more lethargic occasion.

or maybe, the more likely answer was, he was overthinking once again, as he did so often. science wasn’t the place to look to explain his problems and his less favorable tendencies. ash wasn’t a superstitious person, but the sensation of being alone with his thoughts in the dead of night was one that felt, even to him, was owed a more mystical explanation.

or no explanation at all. there were answers that weren’t ever meant to be had. how boring life would be if everything could be deduced as easily as a math problem or science experiment.

once he managed to shake himself from his own stray path of thought, he wove it into his lyrics until they faded out into a repetitive drone. that didn’t feel like the end of the song he wanted, though. it was too dull and that was what he’d been going for in part, but it would only be a filler track if he ever put it on an album. it was the sort of song that would be forgotten as soon as it ended and he hated that thought. it didn’t need to be the song that made a huge emotional impact—that was never what it’s intended purpose had been—but it needed to linger in the listener’s mind for a bit like his own thoughts lingered within his head.

ash toyed around with the ending for a long time. a string orchestration was the first idea he had that felt truly right for what he was going for. it extended on and on and ash didn’t bother to cut it short for the sake of a concise song. he could do that later and trash it all if it was still off after everything. the strings reached a peak to peter out in a buzz of static as they turned into the gentle ticking of a clock once the orchestration had passed the minute and a half mark beyond the last spoken word. and yet it continued, distortion and ticking and droning in a symphony representing the inner workings of ash’s mind.

an interlude brought in the key player of silence as the droning cut out, the static died, leaving only an echoing clock accompanied by a returned piano tune to lull the listener into a false sense of comfort before it all kicked back in. metaphorically, it represented experiences ash had never been quite able to put into words and he didn’t think he’d be able to now either, so he left it as it was: a long, long outro, the end to a story, left unfinished with nothing but those eternal residual thoughts to dwell on.

#me to my dog who is not capable of contributing to this in the slighest every ten words of writing this: we can do it hold in there #*slightest #fmdverification

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ladyluck852 · 6 years ago

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애정 (Lee Felix x Reader)

A/N: I love Felix, that is all. ‘애정’ in korean means affection, but there are a million different ways to interpret a word in korean so... anyways, I hope you like it, I’m making this into a short series called the homesick au. Happy birthday Felix, I love you, you little shit💖🖤 also shoutout to @kpop-and-overwatch for living the struggle with me, she’s the best 😓💖

Word Count: 2.3k

Genre: Love, all the love, all the fluff. Long distance!au

Warnings: none, don’t even think there’s a curse word in there

Summary: Being in a long distance relationship is hard, when Felix finally visits you in California before college all you want to do is the most™️

Masterlist

“Felix put your window up!” Y/n choked, the air that suddenly whipped through the car made her ears pop and she was glad she was a good driver or else they’d be in a completely different predicament. Felix didn’t hear her, he was too busy yelling out the window, the turns on the freeway ramp making him feel a way he wasn’t used to. Maybe it was because he was out in a foreign country with a girl he loved and never wanted to leave, his jet lag had worn off and now all she wanted to do was take him to her favorite places.

“I got that summertim-“ y/n pulled him back into the car before he could yell his lungs out, his voice already hoarse from the last thirty seconds. He didn’t want to stop, he was actually really happy for once. He turned to pout at y/n but stopped when he saw the red blush on her cheeks, mischievous boyfriend mode activated when he saw this, his hands immediately going to tickle her sides.

“Felix!” Y/n screeched, one hand tightening on the steering wheel while she used to other one to smack him across the shoulder, “I’m driving! Do you want to die?”

Felix laughed, pretending like that didn’t hurt but knowing he deserved it, “You’re so aggressive. Have I not given you enough love? Do you need more?” He teased, making pouty lips while y/n tried to ignore him. It was hard enough driving with Felix around to distract her, the sun in her eyes and the nervousness that came with not knowing if Felix would like anything she had to show him.

Y/n sighed, giving into her boyfriend and leaning over to kiss him quickly, her heart rate accelerating slightly but calming down once her eyes got back on the road and she realized they were safe and close to their exit. She sincerely hated driving around in downtown, but there was one place she was trying to get to before traffic hit on the way back home, and Felix was genuinely interested.

“Wait stand here so I can take a photo” y/n said, posing Felix with the buildings behind him while he held the black ice cream in front of his face. He did a peace sign, smiling for the photo before pulling y/n close.

“Will this turn my mouth black?” He asked, his arm tightly around y/n’s shoulder as she shrugged. She actually didn’t know, mostly because she’d been waiting since the place opened to go with Felix, she had been waiting a really long time so she just dove right in. It didn’t really matter if her mouth turned black, Felix wouldn’t care since they’d both look like idiots anyways.

“Anything?” Y/n asked, sticking her tongue out as Felix’s face turned red from holding in his laughter.

“Oh my...your entire mouth is black” Felix laughed, laughing so hard he bent over, his stomach already hurting. Y/n couldn’t help but laugh along with him, laughing even harder when Felix’s ice cream made an escape and flopped out of the cone, “Ah! Why?”

It was, y/n’s turn to laugh, taking a more practical approach and tilting her head back to laugh at her pouting boyfriend. Felix watched her with butterflies in his stomach, his face reddening at the stupid overwhelming amount of love coursing through him. Y/n and Felix met on an exchange program her first year of high school, they went to the same school for a year before she moved back and he almost died without her. Luckily she came back, some of her family lived in Australia and were getting married and he was invited to the wedding as her plus one. Naturally, they were inseparable by nothing but distance and he’d spent years waiting to just come back to her.

It was a bit scary, the plane ride to a foreign country and not knowing where the hell he was, but if y/n could do it then he’d be strong and do it for her too. Y/n noticed Felix was deep in thought, she slipped her hand into his while she drove, he finally broke out of it and grabbed the little box on her dashboard.

“What’s this?” He asked, flicking the buttons on the fast track transponder while y/n rolled her eyes. Luckily she didn’t need to use it right now or else she’d be freaking out about him moving the buttons.

“That’s so I can drive in the fast lane while the peasants drive in the slow lane. What do you wanna do next? Maybe check out the mall?” She asked, knowing he’d love to see the mall by her house. It was undoubtedly huge, had every expensive store he could think of, after that she would buy him in n out and take him to the beach, she just wanted to spoil him honestly.

Y/n wasn’t quite sure if Felix loved her as much as she loved him, but she was glad he was here. Sometimes their relationship seemed like it wouldn’t work out, truthfully they didn’t talk as much as they liked to and sometimes it was too hard to just keep going. The distance was terrible, being away from him for so long was terrible, and she got the sense it wasn’t going to change much even though they were older now. Now they both had university classes and Felix was going to be moving to Seoul of all places for school.

It was true teenage angst, everything that came with young love. But how were they supposed to be so sure that the way they were feeling was different, that this time around it was actual love that would last? Y/n sincerely hoped so, and Felix, well he knew.

“Let’s go in here” Felix said, tugging on y/n’s hand as he pointed to the bright and colorful makeup store, a store that y/n wasn’t unfamiliar with since she’d worked at Sephora for about six months during her last year in high school. Felix knew this, he knew she really liked makeup and even if she didn’t always wear it he knew she’d enjoy coming in here to browse. He had money saved from his summer jobs, he wanted to buy her something for once, y/n had spoiled him to no end and he’d only been here for three days.

“Do you have any of this? It would look so pretty on you” Felix said, holding up a highlight compact and putting some on Y/n’s face as she tried not to squeal.

“How do you know what highlight is? Have you been doing research?” She teased, making Felix blush as he rolled his eyes at her. He tugged her along, picking up things as he went before stopping in front of the lipsticks. Y/n watched him as he examined the lipsticks, realizing he kind of knew what he was doing, she was awfully proud of him. Felix certainly surprised her in everything he did, he was very smart and caring, talented and driven, her parents adored the hell out of him and it was a bit scary how much freedom they were allowed. I mean of course, they were two adults now, but they let them share a room and neither of them knew if that was a thing. Do parents just...let you do that?

Felix held up a lipstick, using a tester to get product and he looked excited to see that y/n was actually eager about the lipstick he chose. A pretty peachy color, something that would dry matte and soft, Felix knew it would make him want to kiss her if she wore it. But he always wanted to kiss her, maybe because he couldn’t do it regularly and y/n was a girl who deserved to be kissed regularly. She supported his every goal, was always there for him, even when she had something bothering her she was always there for him.

“If I mess up I’m going to blame your staring” Felix muttered, his hand shaking as he held the tester up to y/n’s lips. She averted her eyes in an instant, not realizing she’d been staring at his freckles like an idiot. She closed her eyes, waiting to get lipstick smeared all over her lips and knowing she’d probably have to fix it. At least it wasn’t a color that would stain.

“Oh” y/n mumbled, feeling Felix’s lips against hers instead of lipstick, her hand that was holding her bag going limp and all her items clattering to the floor. When Felix pulled away he was blushing, clearing his throat, he picked up all of her things before disappearing into the next makeup aisle.

Y/n swallowed hard, her face hot and her head full, she certainly wasn’t expecting that and wasn’t sure if she would EVER get used to kissing him. It was just something she never got to do, and you’d think they’d do it a lot more often but Felix still made her so nervous. Felix was her first real love, the intense and magnetic pull she’d felt towards him the first time they met was still present and unwavering even to this day.

“You can’t buy me that” y/n whined, her arms around Felix’s waist as he drug her to the checkout counter. A very nice eyeshadow palette in hand, the peachy lipstick to go with it, it wasn’t THAT expensive. The palette was on sale, the lipstick wasn’t even over $15, he was expecting to spend more money here than he actually was.

“Shh, you’ll just have to pay me back,” Felix said quietly, leaning his head on top of hers while she buried her face in his chest wondering how, “with cuddles”

“I can do that” y/n said, her voice muffled and blush hidden by the fabric of his shirt. She wanted to cry, her heart felt so full it was gross, she’d spent the last two days as the big spoon while Felix recovered from grossly intense jet lag. It almost made him not want to go home, well okay that was a lie, he’d use the jet lag as an excuse and y/n as the reason.

The day passed by, it was close to sunset now and Felix was more than happy to have a bag of in-n-out on his lap while y/n made a mad dash to the beach. It was only a ten minute drive, nothing serious, they’d make it in time. Felix insisted on paying for parking, it was expensive and stupid but it got them a good spot while y/n struggled to navigate the dense sands of Huntington Beach. Now she didn’t really enjoy the beach for the sand, she hated the sand, she hated how it stuck to you and got everywhere. She hated finding sand in her eyelashes in the morning, in her hair, in her shoes. But she loved the ocean, so powerful and calming, she could stare at it for hours. Having Felix around just made it even better.

“Hurry and eat before it gets cold” y/n scolded, sounding much like Felix’s mother when she noticed he was staring at her. He wished she’d gotten something to eat, but he assumed living in California you just got used to eating in-n-out, y/n was kinda tired of it. She just ate her fries while they shared a lemonade, the sounds of the waves crashing into the shore making them both a bit sleepy.

“I had a really really good day. I don’t ever want to leave” Felix sighed, his lips rolling against each other as he glanced down at y/n who was leaning against his chest. He flicked her head, knowing she was falling asleep and she made a funny noise.

“Ass”

“I said something cute” he muttered, feeling embarrassed about the fact that she hadn’t responded because she was falling asleep. His cute words were wasted on the salty air.

“I heard and I’m crying, it just sucks being so far from you” y/n confessed, her chest tightening and her face red while Felix realized she actually was crying. Nothing he wasn’t used to, their relationship was hard and oftentimes they both ended up crying after or during a call. Now he was here to comfort her, something he didn’t normally have the luxury of doing.

“Ah, it’s okay, it’s not going to be like this forever. Aren’t you planning on going to school in Japan? We’ll be so close to each other, the plane rides will be shorter, we could see each other more often. I won’t be halfway across the world and we could do this all the time” Felix mumbled into her hair, holding her tightly as she listened to and held onto every word he said.

“I didn’t get in” y/n whispered, the stupid hot tears didn’t stop as Felix reached up to cradle her face. He stared at the water, taking a deep breath for the both of them before tilting her face up.

“Listen panini head, nothing’s going to keep us apart okay? Not a stupid admissions office in Japan, not an ocean, not some time difference or a dumb argument when we’re both tired and stressed out. There’s a million other universities all over the world that want you, can I go out on a limb here and suggest the University of Sydney?” Felix laughed, wiping his face as y/n stared at the boy she loved and knew he was right. I mean, they’d made it this far over the course of four years, what could possibly go wrong?

“I love you...panini head” y/n grumbled, glaring at him as he grabbed onto her hand and linked their pinky fingers.

“Promise you’ll love me forever and I’ll do the same. Forever”

“Forever. Bet”

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antarestyl · 6 years ago

Text

The Glitch

Okay guys, I kinda have to write this down now because something weird is going on with my game and I wanna know if anybody else had this happened to them... I did a quick google search already but nobody seem to have had this happened, so yeah. Here we go.

I dunno if it's a glitch or some kind of new update or just something rare that happens at a certain fun level? I dunno so help would be appreciated.

Here is what happened:

I had bought Undertale from Steam in November 2015 and played it first on my old laptop. It was very slow then but playable and I was so happy when I finally had the money for a new laptop in the following year. The game ran on that one smoothly, I installed the updates without problems and I completed 4 runs, 3 neutral and 1 true pacifist, the last one finished in November 2016. After that I didn't touched the game.

I never attempted a genocide run, I never messed with the game files and I just let the game lay around my laptop for all that time. I had a lot of fun with it, don't get me wrong. I even found a few secrets in my few runs. I had the “did you leave your fridge running” phone call, the wrong number phone call, I once had one weird glitch during a fight where the blue attacks appear to be white, but otherwise I had nothing out of the ordinary happening to my game.

I was a bit disappointed that I never had the Gaster easter eggs happening but I didn't want to reset my game so I mostly knew about the other stuff from YouTube videos.

Anyway, with the game being announced for the Switch and the possibility for new content hinted at, I decided to replay the game to get a feel what was “normal” again so I could spot the new additions. I copied the save data, just in case things would go wrong at some point, even if I didn't plan on doing a genocide run, and started the game again.

The usual black screen with the two buttons “Continue” and “True Reset” came up like usual when you finish the game on the true pacifist ending, together with my Character's name (Flyn) and my time (just about 400 minutes).

So I pressed True Reset and was asked to name the fallen human. I played around a bit with the naming options, like I tried Sans and Toriel and Undyne and got a few moments of enjoyment out of the silly responses to the names. I didn't chose Chara because it would have been... strange to play as them for me and naming the human Frisk would just enter the hard mode and I didn't want that. So finally I named the human “Kim”.

I watched the intro which played like usual after that. There was a strange sound while the intro played, kind of like a short feedback beep about halfway through the part where the intro explains that the monsters were sealed underground, but nothing else happened so I think it could have been just my sound-chip having a hiccup or something.

After that everything seemed normal. Kim woke up on the flowers, I talked to Flowey and dodged all his bullets. Seriously it's so funny when he gets angry and says things like “I know you know something!” Just hilarious.

Toriel came like usual, talked to me and guided me through the ruins.

I decided to play as a pacifist so I spared all the monster but grinded a bit to buy a spider doughnut at the spider sale for Muffet later.

At the three frogs I kept the yellow spare names and I got the ribbon and the fake knife. I equipped both to have the stick free for the Snowdin dogs.

I entered Toriel's, looked at everything and triggered her fight.

So far everything had been normal but during her fight something seemed off. The background seemed to glitch a bit and I didn't notice it at first but sometimes the text at the beginning of my turn changed to red instead of white/yellow and said “you feel her eyes on you” and sometimes just “you feel an eye on you.” I think I never saw these lines before? On the other hand, I hadn't played the game in a long time so maybe I just don't remember.

Anyway, I spammed mercy and Toriel stopped attacking me.

And you know, now I had a choice to make.

I usually played pacifist or a mostly pacifist neutral run but that day I thought “Why not do a few neutral runs where you kill some of the bosses?”

And well... Toriel was right there.

I must admit, I kinda hesitated for a while. Should I or should I not? I never killed Toriel before. And I kinda wanted to know what would happen when I did that. I mean, I had my save-files backed up and all save AND I could just reset at any point and do it over so...

I moved Kim's little soul-heart over the fight option. I instantly killed Toriel. She gave her speech how I killed her at her most vulnerable and dang I felt bad at that moment... maybe I should have decided to kill her from the start and fight her the whole time because this was somewhat heartbreaking.

Her soul broke and the way was free for me now. I could reset, yeah, but I just wanted to see a bit more. So I pressed on.

Flowey mocked me as usual at the exit, telling me that he knew I murdered her in cold blood. Jeez the game surely know how to make you feel bad. He also had a new line this time too.

“You think you are above consequences? Well HE knows now too. I'll be watching this!”

I was kinda pondering who Flowey meant by that. My first guesses were Gaster or Sans but Sans doesn't appear in the Ruins and Gaster... well he was an option, right? On the other hand, the community is OBSESSED with that guy, I thought that if there is an easter egg like this is the game, somebody else would have found it before me and it would have been all over the internet.

On the other hand, I could just have overlooked a new update to the game this shortly before the switch launch so maybe this was in fact something new?

(the whole reason I am writing this down is to find out if this happened to somebody else so yeah)

So I left the Ruins and the Underground logo popped up and again there was some kind of... Glitch there. It was just the A of the word, which kept flickering a bit. Still weird.

But things got really weird when I left the Ruins. A box popped up.

* You can feel eyes on your back.

I walked a bit forward, but Kim didn't even walk three steps as the next message popped open.

*Somebody is here

Creepy. Again. I moved forward and the game made a little crunch noise with each step I let Kim take and the ominous music before the first Sans-encounter kept playing.

I walked for a while, maybe around... 30 seconds? Darn that forest was bigger than I remembered. Some glitched sounding noises slowly mixed into the background music too, something that came in sync with every other step I took. Just as I was wondering what I was hearing a new text message popped up.

*You hear something

I took another few steps.

* You feel something weighing down on your soul.

At this point I was getting a bit uneasy, the music, the strange sound and the fact that the forest was so darn long kinda got to me. I FINALLY saw the stick, walked over it and it broke in half like usual with the scary sound-effect. I turned Kim around and let them look at the sick

* Something broke the branch in two parts. You don't feel safe.

I must admit I did feel a bit scared there. But I pressed on. The strange background-step-like sound continued, amplifying the creepiness even more. Luckily the little bridge came into view now and I mentally prepared myself for Sans' introduction.

But he didn't come. I just... walked through to Sans's station and the convenient lamp. No Sans still, no Papyrus either. Even the music was mostly silent with the strange noises when Kim walked. So I crossed over into the next screen where the next save-point is located.

But just as I reached the screen the game lagged for a moment before making some really strange sounds like the step-noises were sped up a lot for a moment. After that my heart flashed and I was pulled into a fight.

Just there was no monster there. Instead the text-box just told me: “You can feel your foe is close but you can't see them.”

The ACT Menu had “Check” “Talk” and “Look around” in it, the monster's name I was fighting was just blank, no name was given to me.

I first choose Check.

???? AKT ??? DEF ???? You can feel them but not see them. Smells like regret.

No attack followed, only a textbox again. “You hear steps in the snow.”

I choose Look around next.

* You are surrounded by snow-covered trees. It's silent, the woods swallow all sounds.

The next text box popped up. “You feel your sins crawling on your back.”

I finally choose talk.

* You try talking. You said you are scared.

A new text-box popped up.

“He chose to Fight.”

Something too fast to see and way too fast to react to swept through the screen, hitting Kim's little soul and even at Level 5 my HP was drained in an instant and Kim's soul broke.

And I was thrown back to before I fought Toriel.

So I concluded that I stumbled about another boss. One I had no idea how to deal with. I must admit I was a bit excited.

So I tried a few things. First I did everything the same as before and got the exact same results. Next I choose to fight Toriel from the start and not betrayal-murder her but nothing changed. Sans and Papyrus were still not there and I was still pulled into this strange new fight and killed by an unseen monster.

Next I tried sparing Toriel even if I didn't really want to. So I spared her, Flowey mocked me again with the whole “you think you are above consequences?” line and otherwise the exact same thing happened again. Unseen monster killed me again.

So next I went back and did some grinding. Sure, I couldn't do a genocide run but I could level up some and with Toriel's death I had a higher level than before.

The same events happened but now I could stand the initial attack. Well, part of the initial attack. I’m trying to summarize what is hours worth of in-game grinding and work.

So what happened was that first there was an attack that was a guaranteed hit. Just a big block of white kinda like Sans' gasterblaster laser look like, will go through the screen and will take a huge junk from my HP no matter what I do. After that followed some blue and orange attacks shaped like bones and after that it's just some white patterns that look like... claws or teeth or something. Mostly triangle shaped things coming down and up on rows.

It was REALLY frustrating getting to this point. I had saved at Toriel's place before I went to fight her and after leveling up quite nicely but I still had to kill Toriel and make my way to this new boss fight each and every time I got killed. So it would take me always a while until I could try again.

I took several breaks, sometimes not playing for days before I tried again. At some point I was good enough that I could FINALLY survive the whole first attack, and then I saw him.

I really should have known and I did have my suspicions. The strong attack, the eye resting on me... who else could it be but Sans?

But the strange being looking at me through the monitor of my laptop barely looked like Sans anymore.

His sprite was huge, taking almost all of the top part of the screen, giant head bent down to stare at Kim's little heart, big paws decked out with long and sharp looking claws gripping the square which caged my soul left and right. His whole body was stretched and distorted, looking more like a beast than the friendly monster I knew from my old playthroughs.

He still had his jacked but it looked almost comically small on him now and a long tail was snaking around the right side of the screen, coming very close with its tip to my mercy button. Even San's skull was elongated and changed, resembling more of the iconic gasterblasters from his genocide fight.

* Sans is blocking the way.

Well no shit.

Again I checked the ACT menu first. This time my options were “Check” “Talk” and “Call for help.”

I selected Check.

Sans.

AKT FFF DEF Yes

You chose wrong and face the consequences.

Smells like burned dog biscuits.

After that Sans attacked again. His claws swiped at me and he fired his mouth canon at me again. I tried moving around but the game kinda glitched at that point and I only heard my soul breaking again.

And I was back to before Toriel's fight like before.

At this point I pretty much was ready to give up. I tried one more time to fight that new form of Sans but with the same results.

I tried a few more things to find out what triggers the new Sans fight but nothing really went far. Finally I decided to reset the game.

I named the fallen human Robin this time. Everything seemed normal until I saw Flowey for the first time.

He just said one line.

“That won't work you know?”

After that he disappeared. Instead a new textbox popped up.

* you can feel eyes on your back.

And when I walked through the door leading to the ruins, the screen went black, the sound of a soul shattering played and one bright blue dot glowed in the darkness of the screen before the game went black and crashed.

That is when things really went strange. I restarted the game but it wouldn't show the intro anymore, just cut to the black screen. The blue dot sometimes came back fading in and out but otherwise nothing happened. I couldn't move or at least nothing happened. I could open the menu still but it now said that my human was named Kim again?

I still had Level 1 at least, 0 EXP, still Stick and Bandage equipped and nothing else in the inventory.

But I couldn't load, I couldn't reset and I couldn't do anything more.

Finally I decided to mess with the files, copy the save files, reinstall my old ones. The game booted up all okay with the end of a true pacifist end. I even walked around a bit in the playable epilogue again, nothing seemed out of the ordinary only that the sprites of Toriel, Asgore, Papyrus, Sans, Alphys and Undyne at the end looked a bit blurry.

I true-reset again, named the fallen human Test. Flowey appeared again in front of me.

“You really think you are above consequences huh?” he said before disappearing. And after walking into the ruins the same as before happened. The sound of the soul breaking, the darkness, the eye and my name being changed back to Kim.

I fiddled around a bit, finally uninstalling Undertale, cleaning my whole laptop from any mention of the game and reinstalled it. And only THEN things seemed back to normal. I played pacifist, spared Toriel, came to the bridge and Sans and Papyrus were there all normal. Whatever strange thing happened to my old save file was finally gone.

So this is where I am left at. I still got the save files of the strange glitch run with the changed Sans fight on an USB drive and haven't dared mess with it yet.

So does anybody know what this is? Did anybody had this happened to them too? Does anybody know what triggered this strange thing to happen?

Thanks for reading.

This little creepypasta is the product of some conversations I had on the GasterBlaster Discord. Some very nice people helped me with beta-ing this there. :) Have a happy and spoooooky Halloween. :)

#Undertale #Sans #Toriel #GasterBlaster #Fanfiction #Gaster Blaster AU #glitch #gameplay #Halloween #creepypasta

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takethisroad · 7 years ago

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two souls, the sand, the sky

Real quick Newtmas fill for @arlert-armin who requested hurt/comfort and sth to do with Newt’s limp! (Also, the million-dollar question: WHAT LEG IS NEWT’S LIMP ON? Google wasn’t very helpful)

He hadn’t meant to start slowing down. He’d kept pace as best he could at first - long legs were good for something, even if one of them was twisted. But as the days passed and the heat beat down on them, unwavering, Newt began to falter.

It started small: lagging a few paces behind the group as they walked; being the first to sit down at rest stops and the last to get up; arriving at the nightly campfires a few minutes later than everyone else; then a few minutes more. No one commented, however, and between the dehydration, blisters and constant shooting pain, Newt was too exhausted to recognize a problem. One foot in front of the other. That was all that mattered.

It was only when he limped into camp half an hour late, left leg one long line of agony from ankle to hip, that he realized something was wrong.

“What is it?” he tried to ask, “Why is everyone staring at me?” But the sand shifted underfoot and he stumbled, landing on his twisted leg with a cry of pain.

“Newt!” Thomas was at his side in an instant, throwing an arm around his waist and taking his weight. Tears sprang to Newt’s eyes and he pressed his face into Thomas’ shoulder so the others wouldn’t see.

“Fuck,” he breathed out shakily, muffled into Thomas’ shirt. He felt movement and vaguely recognized that Thomas was leading them over to a corner of the camp, Newt’s leg a dead weight between them.

Thomas was talking but his voice seemed to come from far away. “C’mon, Newt, work with me here.”

“‘M trying,” Newt mumbled, letting out a long groan as Thomas lowered him to sit on the ground.

“Fuck. Newt, you okay?” Worry coloured Thomas’ voice and darkened his eyes, and Newt felt a pang of sadness that he’d been the one to put that pinched look on his friend’s face.

“I’m fine,” he said, weakly, knowing Thomas wouldn’t believe him and secretly glad for it. It hurt so much, sometimes, to pretend.

“Bullshit,” Thomas said, eyes trained on Newt’s face. “Fry! We need water!”

Footsteps were already approaching. “You got it,” Frypan said, handing Thomas a water bottle and a pack of rations. He cast a worried glance at Newt but said nothing as he turned back to the fire.

“Here.” Thomas tore open the food packaging and shoved the rations into Newt’s hand. “Eat this.”

Too tired to protest, Newt bit into the flavorless food. It was like chewing on carpet but it had the desired effect. After a few bites, he began to feel more human.

No sooner had he finished the food than a water bottle was held to his lips. “Drink,” said Thomas in a tone that brooked no argument.

Newt did, relishing the liquid in his parched throat. At last, he pushed the half-empty bottle away, shaking his head. “I’m good. Thanks, Tommy.”

Thomas rocked back on his heels, one hand still on Newt’s shoulder as if he expected him to bolt at any moment. Newt wanted to tell him that was a colossal joke - his injured leg was a solid block of pain. As if sensing his discomfort, Thomas looked down. “Does it hurt?”

Newt didn’t see the point in lying. “Like Hell.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Why didn’t you tell me?

“I-” Newt was at a loss. “It didn’t seem that important,” he said, finally, hating the hurt look in Thomas’ eyes and hating himself for putting it there.

“Newt, you fucking idiot,” Thomas hissed, shifting his hand to cup the back of Newt’s neck. His thumb was a beacon of warmth resting just under Newt’s jaw. “Of course it’s important. You’re important.”

Newt opened his mouth but no words came out. Suddenly, it was all too much - the exhaustion, the shooting pain in his leg, the way Thomas was looking at him, one hand on his neck both too much and not enough. Newt looked away, blinking rapidly.

“Fuck’s sake.” And then Thomas was shifting to sit beside him, bracing his leg against Newt’s bad one and pulling Newt tight against him. He wrapped both arms around Newt’s shoulders and Newt couldn’t help it - he surrendered, flinging his arms around Thomas’ waist and melting into the embrace.

“I’ve got you,” Thomas said softly. His leg pressed against Newt’s, solid and real. “I’ve got you.”

And for a moment, Newt let himself believe it.

#snippets #newtmas #newtmsa #newt #thomas #the maze runner #not accurate bc idk what they ate in the desert but i hope u guys enjoy!#i had so much fun writing this #arlert-armin

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fearofaherobrine · 6 years ago

Text

Roleplay Server Log #375

"Swedish Furniture, Spar Redux, Robbing The Snake, Phantoms, and Drunken Herobrines”

[CP] Is in the bedroom, working on assembling the crib near Lie's side of the bed with his usual amount of frustration-

[Notch] Taps lightly on the door - Cp?

[CP] Very irritated- What?

[Notch] Sees the mess - Do you... need help?

[CP] - ... No

[Notch] Are you sure...? This looks complicated...

[CP] - It can't be that hard!

[Notch] Come on, I'm good at this stuff. - Picks up some pieces and the instructions.

[CP] - Because you're from Sweden?

[Notch] Eyebrow- You've seen my apartment. I put most of that stuff together.

[CP] Grumbles- So then what needs to be done oh master of building?

[Notch] Well, first I have something you might need later. - rustles around and pulls out the pink stuffed sheep-

[CP] Gives Notch a confused look- Why do I need this?

[Notch] So you can give it to your daughter yourself.

[CP] - You guys already gave her teddy bears?

[Notch] Yes, but this one can be special. Like Mr. Charlie is for Sally.

[CP] - Oooookay?

[Notch] Because you gave Lie Rosebud?

[CP] Looks at the small plush sheep in his hand- Ooooooh

[Notch] Nods - I knew you'd figure it out eventually. Same as the furniture.

[CP] Carefully puts it on the bed before turning back to the mess which is the crib-

[Notch] Quietly stands next to Cp and helps him -

-The next day-

[Doc] Whispers over chat- Hey Cp? Are you busy?

[CP] - ... No?- He totally is not trying to cram too much stuff into a chest

[Doc] Can you meet me on the desert side of the shrine?

[CP] - Do I have to?

[Doc] Please?

[CP] - Give me a minute- He quickly sends Notch a message letting him know to keep an eye on Lie

[Notch] Chats back- I'm all over it kiddo. -With an emoticon smiley-

[CP] - Don't do that

[Notch] chat- dawww -frowny face-

[CP] Growls but heads for the dessert-

[Doc] Is pacing a little bit. They've put their coat on an armor stand in the shade and are a little bit female today, with some small breasts under a yellow tank top.

[CP] Lands- What do you want?

[Doc] Oh... you look really tired. Do you want a potion to perk you up?

[CP] - No, I want to be able to spend an entire night sleeping with my wife, but the baby wakes her up during the night

[Doc] Well... I can't do anything about that, unfortunately. Though, I would if I could. Family life can be annoying sometimes. I certainly didn't get laid while Yaunfen was sleeping between me and Deerheart. Heh.

[CP] - I don't even want to think about you fucking... Or fucking at all

[Doc] Okay, okay, I was just offering to comiserate for bit. Or perhaps, something more to your liking...

[CP] - What is it?

[Doc] Walks closer to Cp. Wanting a good at their face when the question they've been holding at bay for so long finally, finally, falls from hir lips. - Spar with me? I could use some hand to hand practice. I feel like we've come far enough that it might be safe to ask.

[CP] - You what?

[Doc] Smiles- You know I'm fast, but not particularly good with any given weapon. Maybe it's best if I just work on punches and kicks?

[CP] - Don't you have the punching bag for that?

[Doc] The punching bag doesn't have hands to block and can't get out of the way.

[CP] Sighs- Fine, whatever, let's just get this over with- He heads out into the hot sand, just waiting to watch Doc fail

[Doc] Squares up gamely against the bigger brine and takes a massive roundhouse that's almost too fast to see. They get up and try again, this time using their speed to punch at some unprotected spots. It's hard and xe has to move insanely fast to keep Cp from getting a grip on hir.

[CP] Just looks bored- I know you can move faster

[Doc] As a dragon yes, it's a little harder when I'm on two feet and not flying! - Gets grabbed and tossed in the sand again. They try a kick only to have their foot deflected and be thrown off balance. They push themselves to move faster, trying to strike at Cp's chin and knees.

[CP] - You are pathetic, I'm not even trying... I'm too tired too...

[Doc] Sweating and a bit tired hirself- I'm doing my best! - Their hands are flying as Cp's strikes and deflects their blows. They go for a sweep and Cp just vanishes and reappears behind them before shoving them in the sand again. - Dammit!

[CP] - How's that sand tasting?

[Doc] I asked you for help. Did you make fun of Stevie when you taught him? I wasn't lucky enough to have a sibling to even try with me.

[CP] - Stevie was before I became what I am... But afterwards I absolutely did talk to him like this

[Doc] Huffs and tries again, just a blur in the sunshine as they dart around the much larger Herobrine, just trying to get one good punch in at least-

[CP] Just vanishes-

[Doc] Quickly scoots into the shade so their back is to the wall of the shrine-

[CP] Appears floating above Doc- You're open

[Doc] Gasps and vanishes straight down into the sand-

[CP] Just rolls his eyes- Scared much?

[Doc] Climbs back out of the ground a short distance away. - Okay, I give. Are you happy? You just startled me.

[CP] - You still have a lot of work to do

[Doc] I know... Are you willing to help?

[CP] - Depends on if I have time

[Doc] Better then nothing I suppose. And you didn't kill me this time. So that makes me feel a lot better about things in general. - They pull out a bucket of water and splash themselves a little before shaking off the cold droplets-

[CP] - Are we done here?

[Doc] Well I was going to run an errand, and if you joined me, I'm sure it would take way less time then if I go alone.

[CP] - What kind of errand?

[Doc] I'm going to go steal a small item from a different game.

[CP] - What kind of item?

[Doc] It's a very small, but very special gun. It looks pretty normal at first glance. I thought I'd give it to Licht to replace the one you broke.

[CP] - So we get to annoy her?

[Doc] Putting hir coat back on- I don't know? But the game has guards you can beat up.

[CP] - ... Fine

[Doc] Great! Shall we? - Makes a gracious gesture-

[CP] - Lead the way

[Doc] Makes a hole out into the void and waits for him to follow before leading them to a series of nodes- not much to pick from as far as players, just a few nostalgia junkies taking a walk down memory lane... lets see... ah! Perfect! Someone on easy difficulty and still in the first few levels. We're going to come in from high up, I know it doesn't matter so much for you, but fair warning. - They make a hole and shift as they jump into it-

[CP] Activates his flight abilities-

[Doc] Does a tight turn to catch him if needed. The sky is bright blue with smears of pixelly clouds and the jungle beneath them is dense and low poly. A military helicopter is quickly speeding away from them as well.

[CP] - So where are the guards I get to beat up?

[Doc] Down there. There's a - does the quotes thing with hir claws- 'secret' base over there.

[CP] - Explode it?

[Doc] Well no... lets get down there at least so I don't have to yell. - Xe heads for a fairly clear spot near a stream and shifts back to hirself as hir boots touch the ground.

[CP] Follows and lands quietly-

[Doc] Okay, there's two ways to do this and I think I already know which you'd prefer. The first involves catching/killing all 28 animal types in the game, and collecting specimins of the 11 plant types, and getting 8 different random collectable items..... or - they're sensing Cp's annoyance- we can mug the main player character.

[CP] - Let's do that

[Doc] I thought so. So we just have to find a camoflaged guy in this mess and beat him up. There are also patroling guards with automatic weapons.

[CP] - He won't be camouflaged if everything is on fire

[Doc] Looks around- I guess? I don't want to destroy the item I'm trying to get too though. If you despawn the player entirely we'll have to find another node or hope they make a second attempt to play right away.

[CP] - Yeah yeah, whatever- His hands are now on fire and he places them on a tree

[Doc] Yikes... Is this one of those psychological need situations?

[CP] - Probably

[Doc] Okay then... You know how to track people right? Wouldn't that be more productive?

[CP] - This will flush them out faster

[Doc] -blink blink- They scramble around a bit looking for anything useful before Cp sets it all on fire -

-There's a weird noise and three guards run towards them with guns and cock to fir. They're very low poly with blurry faces-

[CP] Just punches them and then continues setting things on fire, searching for the player-

[Doc] Goes to move and then freezes before staggering forward- Cp! Stop with the fire! You're making everything lag!

[CP] Just laughs- Really? You're getting effected by THAT!?

[Doc] Yes! It's annoying as fuck! Cut it out!

-The fire spreads to a tree and disturbs a hornet nest, the angry little bugs go for Cp because he's closer-

[CP] - Oh fine!- He does set the hornets on fire though

[Doc] There! I see someone who looks different!

-A figure suddenly makes a break for it. His gear is camo but he's wearing a hat that looks like an alligator head and a big backpack.

[CP] Lunges at him, not effected by the lag and tackles him to the ground-

-Lots of squirming-

[Doc] Steal his backpack!

[CP] Rips the bag off his back-

[Player] Runs for it, or at least tries too as the lag from the fire slows him down-

[CP] Looks through the bag-

-There are a few strange looking plants, a packet of instant noodles, and a very small gun.

[Doc] Is it in there?

[CP] Pulls out the gun- Is this what we're looking for?

[Doc] That's it! It's the EZ gun.

[CP] Tosses it at Doc-

[Doc] Catches it neatly. - Bring the whole bag, it might be useful. Other then that, we can go. I'm starting to feel like toast anyway.

[CP] - Alright, do I need to make the portal back?

[Doc] Nope, I got it. - They stow the gun and hop up into the air with a little rumbly roar, making a portal back into the darkness without-

[CP] Follows quickly-

[Doc] Takes the bag from him with two claws and puts it away as well. Xe busks up against his shoulder in a friendly way. - Thanks for coming with me Cp.

[CP] - Whatever

[Locklear] Is in Yster's kitchen preparing food. He's got two fine steaks sizzling away on the stove as he chops up some vegetables to steam. He's borrowed one of Yster's hair ties and has his own hair pulled back as he works. He knows Yster had overtime today so he hopes he's timed dinner right-

[Yster] rolls in like she hasn't slept in days and stops short at the delicious smells- oh thank goodness. That's exactly what I need right now! - she gives Locklear a little kiss- you look good with a ponytail too. Very dapper.

[Locklear] Smiles a little- Go take your shower, the food should be just done by the time you get out

[Yster] Gets a wry smile and does a quick manuver before artfully pulling her bra off and through one of her sleeves. It's red and she flips it over one shoulder before scampering off mischeviously.

[Locklear] Watches her with a bit of amusement. He returns his focus to the food and starts plating it up, slicing the steaks artfully and arranging everything nicely before putting the plates on the table and letting his hair out of the ponytail-

[Yster] Comes back more comfortably dressed, just a nice pale violet T-shirt and small shorts. [She's still braless though]. She slides into a chair and sighs. - This looks wonderful. Did you get bored waiting for me?

[Locklear] - No, I did have to return to the manor briefly because Eyeless wanted a second opinion on something and I spent a bit of time shopping for dinner. I figured since you've been working so hard, you could use a good meal with no effort from you

[Yster] Eats dantily. - It's appreciated, absolutly. So was it anything interesting? Or do I not want to know?

[Locklear] He wanted a confirmation that one of his potential victims had a certain, genetic disorder

[Yster] Slightly troubled - That's a shame on several levels I suppose... I presume your bretheren aren't as choosy with whether their victims deserve their fates?

[Locklear] - No, unfortunately

[Yster] Does Eyeless have a mate?

[Locklear] - No, the only ones that have their mates are Judge Angel and Bloody Painter, Herobrine and his mate, BEN and his, and now you and I... Although I suppose technically Jeff counts as well, but his isn't as... Smooth as ours

[Yster] Well hopefully he'll find someone who might be a good influence on him like Lie has for Cp.

[Locklear] - Who knows, right now he's just usually angry

[Yster] Noms some vegetables - This is really good. Why is he angry?

[Locklear] - His digestive tract got messed up when Insanity was removed apparently. Makes it more difficult for him to eat what he's used to

[Yster] Oh dear... Does Doc already know? I'm suprised they haven't tried to fix it.

[Locklear] - They did try, I'm sure they can tell you much more accurate information than I can

[Yster] Ah... - She eats quietly, obviously considering something.

[Locklear] - What are you thinking of?

[Yster] Work actually. This damn mob that Jeb came up with is driving us all crazy.

[Locklear] - What is it?

[Yster] It's a flying thing that looks like a manta ray. But it's causing all kinds of stupid errors. It's an ongoing problem with flying mobs.

[Locklear] - I see, perhaps you should stay home tomorrow, you've been exhausted for days now

[Yster] No, they need my help. Everyone is in on this. The deadline is coming up too. We got the bats to stop hanging around the build limit and causing lag, we can figure this out.

[Locklear] - You could say it's doctors orders~

[Yster] -eyebrow- You could always ask Cp to help out. That might speed things up.

[Locklear] - He's busy enough as is with his wife being pregnant, but I'm talking about you love

[Yster] What about me? So I'm a bit tired? That's nothing some coffee couldn't fix.

[Locklear] - I just want you to be healthy

[Yster] Don't be such a worrywart. I'll be fine.

[Locklear] - And what if I make it so you can't even walk tomorrow from being weak in the knees?

[Yster] That's quite a claim... - She takes a dainty bite of steak and licks a bit of reddish juice from her lips.

[Locklear] - But if you don't wish to listen to the doctor...

[Yster] wryly- You're a bad influence.

[Locklear] - I am the most perfect example of a good influence

[Yster] Tiny smile- Then you should help. Besides, if you let Cp drag us both in you can examine the new creature if you like.

[Locklear] - You just want to spend days in there without wasting any time out here- Fake pout

[Yster] It's time you could spend with me as well...

[Locklear] - This is true...

[Yster] Cleans up the last morsels of her food while he thinks, and then gives him an expectant smile.

[Locklear] - Stop it

[Yster] We could take a nice walk, little boat ride, picnic someplace secluded...

[Locklear] - You do drive the hardest of bargains my dear

[Yster] Sweetly- And you cook a very good steak.

[Locklear] - Well I would hope so, it did cost me about sixty bucks, but I will always spend everything for you

[Yster] Then I'l be sure to make it up to you. Actually, if you call him now I can get a whole nights sleep in the wink of an eye as well.

[Locklear] Sighs- Very well- He pulls out his cell and dials CP. It isn't long before CP's yelling can be heard

[Yster] Let me get my laptop. - Gets up and goes to her room before coming back with the little computer in a bag.

[Locklear] - Just open a damn way!- He motions for Yster to grab his coat

[Yster] Grins and passes him the coat, his mask pops out of the pocket and she holds it expectantly-

-The laptop crackles to life and a portal opens-

[Yster] Slips through and changes to her MC skin, [monochrome- white skin, black hair and a long black dress] With a smile she puts Locklear's mask on her forehead like a hat.

[Locklear] Comes through as well- I hate coming here... I don't like the feeling of being like this

[Yster] Twirls her dress a little. - Is it really so bad? I already feel better. I had full health last time I played.

[Locklear] - Only for you will I suffer through being here

[Yster] Gives him a very passionate kiss. -Thank you for that. - Looks around curiously - I wonder if Cp literally opened a portal outside and then went back into the bar?

[Locklear] - Wouldn't surprise me

[Yster] Well lets go then silly! - She takes his hand and leads him into the bar-

[TLOT] waves brightly- Hey Yster!

[GK] Gives a little salute-

[CP] - Fuck off!- He's got a bottle of whiskey in front of him

[Locklear] - As elegant as always I see

[TLOT] It's a bit of an impromptu 'guys' party.

[Yster] Then my intentions are even more in line with the situation. Cp can't help me code drunk anyway. I'll just excuse myself for a little bit. - She heads towards the crash room- Please don't get my sweetheart painfully drunk again Cp.

[CP] - I'm not drunk yet and I absolutely will get him drunk

[TLOT] Be nice Cp. Besides, I got a sobering flower from Lie for emergencies.

[Locklear] - A... Sobering flower?

[Gk] It's fucking gross but wicked effective.

[TLOT] Flourishes the little curled up blossom long enough for Locklear to get a good look and then puts it away so Cp has no chance to destroy it.

[Sam] Just relaxed and leaning on the bar in case anyone wants anything.

[Locklear] - I'm not even going to question that at the moment- He takes a seat- So what is this gathering about?

[Gk] Our man here didn't get to party before he got hitched. So we decided to take him drinking at least before Lie has the baby.

[Locklear] - Ah, so your nearing the due date? How wonderful

[TLOT] Yep. Lie looks ready to pop, we don't think it will be long. I can't even imagine how hectic his house is gonna be.

[Gk] Yeah, the baby dragons were one thing, but this one's gonna have HIS blood.

[TLOT] It's almost a certainty that she'll be born with some kind of small glitch, and... - he blinks-

[CP] - What is it TLOT?

[TLOT] Slow smile. - She won't be the first. But she will be the native to some degree for having been conceived and born here. It should enhance any inherent powers.

[Gk] Whistles- Damn... Good luck buddy.

[CP] Face plants and groans-

[TLOT] Pats him on the shoulder- From what I've felt she'll be healthy, and you'll have your friends to help look after her.

[Gk] This is gonna be fun!

[CP] - I'm just ready for Lie to not be so moody

[Locklear] - Oh you'll be in for worse

[TLOT] Babies cry a lot don't they?

[Gk] Kids get emotional.

[Locklear] - This child will get upset over everything, including their own shadow

[Gk] It's hard being a kid. Everything is scary and new and you have adults constantly telling you you can't do this or that, and you're not mature enough to understand the reasoning behind the rules.

[TLOT] That's suprisingly insightful Gk...

[Gk] Shakes a shot glass at him- Hey, fuck you man. Do you have any idea how many fucking times I've had to completely grow up from scratch in a brand new body???

[TLOT] This is true... I was a child for a very, very brief time, and it was... not plesant.

[Locklear] - I don't really recall much from my childhood. You can thank the asylum for that

[TLOT] Asylum? I thought that had something to do with asking someone to protect you from someone else?

[Gk] Fetches Locklear a moderately strong drink- that's rough man...

[Locklear] Scoffs- Protection indeed, IF you mean protecting the rest of society from those deemed criminally insane. Which is what they called me for saving the life of a child

[CP] - Well to be fair you did murder a lot of people to save that child

[Locklear] - Those I killed deserved it

[TLOT] Little cough - I take it the ones sacrificed had displeased you in some way?

[Locklear] - They were the worst the human race had to offer, rapists, murderers, and low life thieves

[TLOT] Takes a swig of his drink and flicks his gaze to Cp. - I see.

[Gk] Fuck em then. I was ready to kill my Steve to get my real body back. I ain't judging you.

[TLOT] Curiously you seem to have won Doc over to an extent as well. They can be morally peculiar at times.

[Locklear] - Indeed, I still hunt those types to benefit the lives of children. I take their organs and deliver them to the children which need them

[Gk] Snorts- I got a little sis and I'd roast anyone who hurt Endrea's kids. I get it man.

[TLOT] I'm nervous about anyone passing final judgment on others, but... that also means I'm loathe to do it myself either.

[Locklear] Lifts his drink in a slight salute before taking a sip-

[CP] Finishes his bottle and motions for another-

[Sam] Obliges with his usual grin-

[TLOT] Raises a glass to him as well. - Good to see the relationship seems to be working out. She's rather fond of you.

[Locklear] - Yes, but she's been so stressed lately. That's why she wants CP's help, to finish something a bit faster and get it over with

[CP] Downs about half a bottle- So why is it that you guys give Locklear a pass on killing but not me?

[TLOT] Slowly - Yeeeesssss..... for the most part.

[Gk] That and the fact that he's real. What the fuck could either of us do? Scold him?

[CP] - Doesn't mean I couldn't harass him

[Locklear] - You interrupt my work and you'll find no internet at the manor

[TLOT] That just reinforces my point. Besides... he is kinda killing assholes to save innocent little kids...

[CP] - And making a crap ton of money from it

[TLOT] I would hope the money wasn't the motivating factor?

[Locklear] - Well it's certainly helpful

[TLOT] Just takes a slightly larger drink.

[CP] Is checking on Lie mentally-

[TLOT] Pokes him- Stop that! You know she's fine.

[CP] - I can't help it!

[Locklear] - Checking on your little wife?

[CP] - You can shut up

[Gk] Snorts-

[TLOT] It's a little annoying at the moment, but mostly I'm just proud of you. I think you're gonna be a great dad.

[CP] Twitches a little at being called a dad-

[TLOT] I saw that. I mean it.

[Gk] This is gonna be fun...

[CP] - Shut up, both of you

[Locklear] - Ah yes, the daddy issues that he has

[TLOT] You say that in such a dismissive way. As if it were something trivial?

[Locklear] There was a bit of a game at the manor as to how angry we could get him, fastest way was to bring up his father

[TLOT] Hesitates- I was about to say 'that's not very nice' but then... it seems to be a running thing with everyone but Splender. I much prefer a calm household, where everyone makes an attempt to get along rather then infuriate eachother.

[Locklear] - I tend to keep to myself

[Gk] Works for me. Though I usually end up napping in the library since my house is so small. Can't be fucked to work on it since I'm hardly ever home.

[Locklear] - How small is your house if it's not comfortable for you to nap in?

[Gk] It's about the side of this room, no space for mah wings, yanno?

[Locklear] - Wings?

[CP] - He's a dragon

[TLOT] A rather large dragon at that. With tentacled wings and goat feet, curly horns and a tongue as long as your arm.

[Gk] Laughs-

[Locklear] - I see- He drinks some more

[CP] - Damnit, Sam, just give me the strong shit

[Sam] Brings the polish vodka with a little flourish and sets the small clear bottle innocently on the table.

[TLOT] Makes a quick copy just in case.

[Locklear] - And what is that?

[Gk] Says slightly reverently- Spirytus Rektyfikowany, it's 95% proof and burns like a punch to the gut.

[CP] - Only to you guys- Takes a swig

[Locklear] - So don't let him give it to me, understood

[Gk] I'm suprised it's even considered drinkable by humans.

[TLOT] It's too much. I feel like it doesn't even have a flavor. It's like drinking a mixture of lava and hot peppers.

[CP] - Wimps- He's starting to sway a little

[TLOT] Hey, I did find something nearly as strong that I like. It's better with a mixer though...

[CP] - Oh really?

[TLOT] Yep. Notch brought it from that trip he took out with you Lie and Flux. Sam, can I have the bottle? And some tea?

[Locklear] Watches carefully-

[Sam] Nods and comes back with a small brown bottle and a mug of tea-

[TLOT] Thank you. - He squints at the label. - Not sure how you say it, Stroh? It's apparently distilled from something like the Mooselassas my Testificates got from one of the variant touchie hives.

[Gk] Lemmie see- He takes the bottle and has a small swig before coughing a small whuff of flames- nice!

[CP] - Can I go back to my wife now?

[Locklear] - We still need your help with the coding...

[TLOT] Splashes some of the Stroh in his tea and warms his hands with it before taking a drink. - You want to try it cut a bit Locklear? I presume you don't have a huge tolerance like Cp.

[Locklear] - No, Yster would prefer I not be held up with a hangover again

[TLOT] Well there's always the flower if you change your mind. So what are you intending to do?

[Locklear] - Yster says they're having difficulty with a new mob

[Gk] What kind of mob?

[TLOT] Something new? Hostile or passive?

[Locklear] - Some sort of flying creature, I'm not sure if it will be hostile or not

[TLOT] And you weren't gonna take Doc??? I'm sure this is right up their ravine. -He sends out a mental message-

[Locklear] - I was not aware they would wish to come

[CP] - Take Doc instead

[TLOT] If it's a new mob, pretty sure they'd want to see it. Best to be prepared before updating the server to include new creatures. Annnnd.... they're headed this way.

-CP is getting drunker-

[Locklear] Finishes his drink- There's no rush

[TLOT] Smiles - They're just excited. Doc likes to examine new things. Do you think it'll be a monster or a sim of something out there?

[Locklear] - She said it would be similar to a manta ray, but those live in water...

[Gk] Weird.... welp, if they bug me when I'm flying, I'm gonna eat em.

[CP] - Endrea woulsh probably help you

[TLOT] For whatever reason I'm reminded of Pinwheel chasing my flitters....

[CP] Is just drunkenly mumbling now-

[Locklear] - My, it's not often that CP is like this

[Gk] Told you that shit was strong. Heh. Too bad his brother isn't here to join him.

[TLOT] That was adorable...

[CP] - Shush, no it washn't

[Locklear] - Brother?

[TLOT] He has a little brother. They're usually snippy with eachother, but if you get them both drunk they'll bond and reminicse.

[Gk] Stevie.

[Locklear] - How interesting

[Gk] Stevies a dork. Same as Steffan. He's just a bit luckier with the ladies.

[Locklear] - I see, and this Steffan is?

[TLOT] His Steve. And equally short. And- he pauses and smiles broadly- Doc is coming, and they brought someone somewhat relevant to your query.

-There's the sound of big paws hitting the turf outside and a soft laugh as TLOT stands in a wobbly way. After a moment the door opens and Doc comes in followed by Steve.

[Steve] Hops the booth behind them and leans way over to kiss his husband before licking his lips- Out for a night of drunken debuchery?

[TLOT] Perhaps later my lamb...

[GK] Thumbs at them- That's a Steve. We've got several.

[Doc] Hey Locklear, nice to see you joining us for a bit.

[Locklear] - I don't understand the significance of that, and greetings

[Gk] Steve is shorthand for this kind of human. They all look kinda the same.

[Steve] Mock offended - Hey!

[Locklear] - Ah, I see

[Lie] Mentally- Is CP drunk? He's trying to connect and it's just fuzzy

[TLOT] mentally- I'm sure he's trying Lie- And aloud- I can make it more clear. - He nods at his mate and they both remove their helms. The fact that they're nearly identical is much more obvious in the way. - If you looked at Cp and Stevie or Gk in his human shape and Steffan, it would be much the same. Except that Cp is brother to his, Gk is neighbor to his and mine is my loving mate.

[Steve] Smiles sweetly.

[Locklear] - How interesting. But the brine almost always matches the Steve?

[TLOT] It's the other way around actually. Steves are a common spawn, we Herobrines are a slightly glitched version of them.

[Doc] Sometimes! It's possible to become a brine too if you're digital. When a Herobrine spawns a NOTCH is also formed. So I've got a NOTCH, but no Steve.

[TLOT] And as for Cps, daddy issues, it's not his fault that another NOTCH battled his original one and then took their place. Most NOTCHs look pretty much alike.

[Locklear] - So there were multiple versions of his father? [CP] - I'd rather not talk about the asshole...- He looks down at the table

[Doc] They can vary a lot in temperment, but from a visual standpoint? Yes. Old gen NOTCHs are very uniform. The new ones have more variety.

[Gk] Lie's NOTCH is a little kid.

[Steve] Doc's is a huge muscly guy who's a little bigger then Cp!

[CP] - Fuck him with a rusty sword. He's way to happy

[Steve] Don't be like that Cp. He kinda wanted to come and we asked him not too since you hate him so much. As far as I know he's never had alcohol.

[Doc] He might refuse it just because it's unhealthy...

[CP] - Now that might be entertaining

[TLOT] I'll make a note then. Maybe for next time.

[CP] Wobbily stands up- I'm goin bacsh, too Lie...

[TLOT] If you try to leave I'm going to sober you up. Lie is fine. Your dad is keeping an eye on her.

[CP] - I'ds like to shee you try

[Locklear] - His father?

[Doc] The real Notch adopted him and his brother. He used to be real, now he's digital too. He's a nice guy. He's also dating Cp's sorta mom, Flux. She's the spirit of his orginal spawn server.

[TLOT] -sighs-

[Locklear] - That... Seems like a complicated situation

[Gk] Family is always complicated. Settle down big guy. No need to go upsetting Lie by being drunk and sloppy around her.

[CP] Growls at GK-

[Gk] Shows his own little teeth and then laughs -

[Yster] Comes back upstairs practically bouncing on her heels- That was perfect. I feel great!

[Doc] Oh, hey Yster. I heard you had something to show us?

[Locklear] Smiles at Yster a little-

[Yster] Yeah, but we'll have to go the the snapshot seed on my computer so I can get a spawn egg.

[Doc] Probably better to troubleshoot on an empty seed anyway....

[Locklear] - Spawn egg?

[Doc] Yep. If you want to have an animal and they're aren't any around, you can take an egg out of the creative menu and just make one. I think I have a mouse egg...? - They pull out the small speckled egg. - If I let it loose can you get it TLOT?

[TLOT] Mock offended. - I'm not the only cat here.

[Doc] Snorts- But you are the one who can change without help.

[TLOT] Yeah yeah, go for it.

[Doc] Taps the egg on the bar and a tiny mouse pops out and makes a break for it.

[Locklear] - Interesting. I used to keep a small mouse as a pet a very long time ago

[TLOT] Is just suddenly gone in a puff of fog and a small golden cat races out from under the booth and goes after the mouse.

[Sam] Is standing protectively in front of the bottles on the back of the bar-

[Doc] Do you want an egg? They do work out there. It won't age or die on you either.

[TLOT] Chases the mouse around the pool table.

[Yster] Is giggling-

[Locklear] - Not necessary, someone on the manor would probably harm it

[TLOT] Tears into the bathroom after the mouse and theres a tiny eek! as it despawns and a thump as he slides on the tile and bumps into the mirror on the back wall.

[CP] See's his chance to try and get away-

[Steve] Nervously gets in his way- Come on Cp, stay here.

[CP] - Move

[TLOT] Is behind him in a flash and puts a gentle hand on his wrist. - Are we done for the night Cp?

[CP] - Goin home

[TLOT] Pulls a petal off the sobering flower and tries to put it in his open mouth as he's speaking.

[CP] Jerks upwards and out of reach- No

[TLOT] Straining to reach since he's shorter. - Don't be a pill Cp.

[CP] - Fuck off

[TLOT] Do I have to press you?

[CP] - No

[TLOT] Then just take it.

[CP] - No

[Doc] Snags a petal as well and makes a very fast movement to stuff it in his mouth.

[CP] Tries to get out of the way-

[Steve] Quickly gets behind Cp on the floor and crouches down-

[TLOT] Gives Cp a push from the front-

[CP] Stumbles backwards over Steve-

[Doc] Jumps on his chest and stuffs the petal in his mouth-

[CP] Balks at the taste but does sober- FUCKER!

[Doc] Gets off him quickly- Well the alternative was poor Lie watching you barf about an hour from now.

[CP] Goes to punch Doc-

[Locklear] - And he's back to his usual violent self

[Doc] Is punched and ends up falling on Yster-

[Yster] Also ends up on the floor-

[Doc] Ow... Sorry Yster...

[Locklear] - Yster!

[Yster] Its okay. It wasn't even a tick on my hearts. You're lighter then I expected too. Is that normal?

[Locklear] - So long as you're alright

[Doc] Sometimes... I take bits out to work on them occasionally.

[Yster] That's odd... and I'm fine!

[CP] - I fucking hate all of you!

[Doc] We love you anyway Cp.

[CP] - Oh just fuck off

[TLOT] grins- Brother brines for life

[CP] Groans-

[Gk] Huzzah and some shit.

[CP] - Oh for fucks sake just shut up

[Doc] Well I'm ready to go when you guys are.

[Yster] Oh... Is there something I can plug my laptop into? The charge is lower then I thought.

[CP] - We don't need the laptop

[Doc] Give me a minute, I'll rig something up.

[Yster] But the seed is on it? The snapshot I'm editing.

[CP] - Which I can access from anywhere

[TLOT] Now who's showing off?

[CP] Flips TLOT off-

[Yster] Opens the laptop and puts it on the table.

[CP] Focus' a little and creates an opening next to him, not even remotely close to the laptop- Well? Do you want to go?

[Yster] You bet! Nice one Cp.

[Doc] Yeah, good job. You first.

[CP] Walks through- Fine, but this better be a quick trip

[Locklear] Stands and approaches Yster to walk through with her

[Doc] Snags the bottle of Stroh and follows -

-The seed is pretty empty and they come out on a narrow beach with a bunch of different contraptions scattered around. Someone obviously testing intereactions between different types of blocks.

[Yster] Scouts around until she finds a trunk with a torch next to it. -

[CP] - Ugh, I hate test seeds

[Doc] Is examining some of the devices- Any particular reason?

[CP] - To much unstable coding

[Locklear] See's that his mask is still on Yster's head and slides it down, the goggles set into them do contain night vision abilities-

[Yster] Hey... oh! That's neat!!! I didn't know it could do that.

[Locklear] - Makes stalking easier

[CP] Pulls up the code- Alright, what am I looking for?

[Yster] I've got it here- She holds up a checkered egg- We're still debating on the texture for the egg so this is just temporary. When I tap it, it's gonna fly, so you'll have to grab it. - She hits the egg and taps it twice accidently and one speeds upwards to fast to be grabbed.

[CP] Grabs one of them and draws up a copy of it's coding-

[Phantom] Flops around making garbled noises that are almost understandable to Cp-

[Doc] That's wild! - They're trying to get screenshots of the thing as it tries to get away from Cp-

[CP] - Do you have some sort of language program attached?

[Yster] No? They're just a type of undead mob.

[CP] - Hey Doc? Go grab Winston

[Doc] Sure, I'll just...- Their statement is cut off as the other phantom swoops down like an angry magpie and bites at Doc- OW SONOFA-

[CP] Snickers-

[Yster] Shit! When was the last time you slept?

[Doc] A few days? FUCK- dodging swoops-

[CP] - Is that important?

[Doc] Makes a hole and jumps through- I'll get Winston!

[Yster] Yes... they target players who haven't slept...

[CP] Just starts laughing- Oh that's going to become Doc's bane!

[Yster] I take it they pull a lot of all-nighters?

[Phantom] In Cp's hands- suddenly stops flopping and goes stiff in a T-pose.

[CP] - Well that's not right...

[Locklear] Is just keeping an eye out-

[Yster] Yeah! That's one thing. They get hung up on something and just... get stuck. They're also clipping into the extreme hills terrain. They're spazzing out over the boundries of different biomes too. Like they can't cross the edges?

[CP] Is scrutinizing the code- I can see the t-pose problem right here, give me a sec

[Doc] Comes back with a shield and Winston. They immediately hold it up like an umbrella.

[Winston] - Master? What do you need me for?

[CP] - Translation, this thing is trying to talk

[Doc] Is nearly knocked over by the second phantom as it thunks directly into the shield- Ha!

[Winston] Watches it- A new flying mob?

[CP] -Yeah- He fixes the T-pose problem and the one in his hand comes back to life

[Phantom] Is kind of muttering, it's mostly garbage but a bit is understandable- Fly high, bite deep! Seek the ones who run from sleep!

[Winston] - Riddles sir

[CP] - Let me hear

[Doc] Gets bonked again- This thing is annoying.

[Yster] Hello again Winston. You're looking artfully unwell. Sorry. It's supposed to be a challenge.

[CP] - It wants to bite those who run from sleep

[Yster] Well it's got the primary objective down then. They actually spawn above players who've been awake three days or more, rather then randomly like the other mobs.

[CP] - Found the chunk border error

[Doc] Ducks and transforms instead, snapping at the mob like a cat- Pest!

[Locklear] - They seem to really like you Doctor

[Doc] I haven't slept in some time! - They snap out suddenly and there's a pop as the phantom takes damage and despawns- PTU! YUCK. - They spit a small item at Ysters feet- That's nasty!

[Yster] It actually tastes like something???

[CP] - Everything does

[Phantom] Still flopping in Cp's hands a little- Fly! Fly! BITE!

[Doc] Tastes like greasy leather...

[Yster] Well it's not intentional.

[Winston] Finishes helping CP translate and he's updated his translation code-

[Yster] So what do you think? I'd consider you an expert.

[Doc] Has set up a command block and put the tip of the phantoms tail on it to examine it's internals.

[CP] - I'll need to give that to Lie

[Locklear] Tugs Yster out of the way of an arrow- CP? I think there are a few more pressing issues?

[CP] - Winston?

[Winston] - Yes sir- He goes to take care of it

[Doc] Hears an odd gurgly groan and looks back- There's a zombie in the water. Like underwater. Are they broken too?

[Yster] No, they're Drowned. They're kinda new. Have you not updated your server lately?

[Doc] Colors somewhat- Not in quite some time....

[CP] - Shit happens when we do

[Yster] Old server huh? Things bug out. The Aquatic update is rough on old seeds since we fixed the water physics.

[Doc] Fuuuuuck.

[CP] - We know how to fix stuff

[Doc] Nabs a Drowned zombie with one big paw and plops it next to Winston- Does this one have anything to say Winston?

[Drowned] Vaguely pirate-y nonsense.

[Winston] - Not much really, but these are new mobs, their sense of language could be only just developing

[Drowned] Pokes at Doc's foot with a pitchfork and gets shoved back a bit-

[Doc] Good point.

[Yster] Watching Cp work- Her thoughts are a bit plain, she's also wondering if Locklear would get any mileage from keeping the other mobs at bay, since he can just kill them.

[CP] - Looks like they have a problem over water too

[Yster] I know! It's annoying!- Pulls a bow out of the chest and takes careful aim before quickly putting three arrows in a creeper-

[Locklear] - That is an odd creature...

[Doc] They blow up if you let them get too close-

[Phantom] Swats at Cp with it's huge floppy wings- Let gooooooooo.

[CP] - Just a bit longer, I'm fixing you

[Phantom] !!!!!!

[Doc] Shoves the drowned zombie back in the water as it pokes hir again- I'll take that. - Xe sticks the pitchfork in the ground near Locklear.

[CP] - Oi! Anything else you want fixed?

[Yster] There's some little things,but I don't want to be a pest. Like the stupid Vindicators attacking armor stands, and the observer blocks are a complete mess.

[Doc] What's a Vindicator?

[Yster] Oh dear...

[CP] Shrugs and lets go of the Phantom-

[Phantom] Flops crazily and flops to get airborne again-

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matthewsugiarto · 3 years ago

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One Camera. All for One. One for All.

So I've got all these cameras. Before telling these are excessive...uh yes! But in my defence, I got the smallest one by winning a raffle.

Each of them are very different and it's very contrast.

For most of people out there, the smallest one, Sony RX100 mark 6 will be the best pocket camera you can shoot with.

24-200 focal length with f/2.8-4.5 aperture.

1" sensor

4K recording (8bit.. yuck)

Fast shooting mode switch

So so color science

Slow boot

Old Sony menu (confusing, even Minotaur can get lost in this kind of maze)

Great Autofocus

Great image stabilization

Notice that I don't say anything about megapixels? Cause it's not important. High MP does not determine your photo quality, the sensor size will.

So do not let any manufacturers, especially smartphone manufacturers fool you with higher MP count. Now you know.

RX100VI is great for many purposes, close up, simple video, somewhat high quality photo. Yeah it's great, but I can't say it's enjoyable to use.

Our experience may vary 'cause I've used other camera style.

For a comparison, the Fujifilm X100 series (middle one). It boots fast, responsive, and you do not need to think about the focal length, it's 35mm f.2 (fullframe equivalent). Full spec :

Fixed 35mm focal length with f/2 aperture

APS-C sized sensor (+- 3x bigger than 1" sensor)

Great color science

The latest type support 4K recording

Fast boot

Macro mode

Bigger size, not small enough to be called a pocket camera

Fixed 35mm focal length might be limited for almost 90% of people out there

NO image stabilization

For an ordinary person, the steps of taking camera out, turning on camera, snapping the picture.. those might be acceptable. But when you are using a street photography style camera like Fuji x100 series, oh man.. it's just instant. No button lag. You don't need to wait for the lens to extend and collapse.

I'm aware that a fixed lens camera is limiting. Very limiting. Yet, because of the limitations, you can focus to sharpen one thing important. It is to shoot, compose, and be susceptive to a 35mm focal length.

In fact while I'm writing this, I'm sorting my old photos. Damn, 35mm focal length is beautiful ❣️. Currently I don't use my X100 because of this Fuji XT4.

I made a promise to myself that I only need one lens to cover 90% of my shooting purposes. That's why I picked 16-55 f/2.8 lens. This lens quality easily obliterates all the other cameras I've mentioned.

The downside is...it's a little big. Not Big Big as DSLR camera lens big. But it's still big and heavy.

It's like X100 series on steroid. It has 10bit recording. 10 bit recording matters. Have you ever asked yourself why.. sometimes there are videos that have great colors, great details, nice trees..

Sometimes, there are videos with muddy colors, the color pops out but it doesn't look real. Let alone the tress, it's grey green muddy, yuck. Yes, that's an 8 bit video. XT4 spec :

Interchangeable lens

APS-C sized sensors

Swivel screen

Full control dials

Great menu

Good autofocus

Great image stab (for photo and still video)

Hmm, so I can just buy a 23mm lens to match x100 series...... not so fast! While It is possible, the minimum focus distance is not. It will be different experience.

Also by buying a new lens, it's making me aware that I don' have to bring the 16-55 lens. So why the hell I'm buying it then?

This is GAS live (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Constantly battling between needing a lens, a camere body, etcs.

But well, we can't have everything.

Will stick to the XT4. For now...

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lisatelramor · 7 years ago

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Not Left To Stand Alone

Summary: Saguru had spent the last 16 years in London, but when his life there fell apart, moving to Japan seemed like the best option for a new start. He wasn't expecting his new neighbor to be his old classmate, Kuroba Kaito.

Chapter 1

No matter how many times he traveled to another country, Saguru had yet to get used to the jet lag. He sank into his new desk—in the far corner of the teacher’s room right next to a window. The desk was empty except for his briefcase and two fountain pens looking lost in the wide space. He was sure in a month it would look well lived in. Desks, no matter how much one organized, never remained neat for long. He always ended up with students’ late papers or notes from colleagues in one place or another; loose pens and books stacked up until the space didn’t seem like nearly enough. He sighed, massaging his bad right leg. His knee was aching again. It looked like rain.

On the outdoor track his window overlooked a group of students ran erratically. He was sure that in a month they would be running in unison, back in proper strength and the new members adapted to the pace of the older members. Saguru stopped rubbing his knee. It wasn’t getting any less sore. Tomorrow would be his first day teaching English to Japanese high schoolers. There was a certain irony returning almost sixteen years later to Ekoda high to teach. It was a bit strange to think that Konno-sensei was still teaching 2-B. Although she was Shizume now, not Konno. She had asked him to call her Erika. It felt a bit unreal.

Saguru sighed again. He should have stayed in England. He taught chemistry not English. He slouched in his chair. It needed a cushion. He was going to have to teach the class standing and moving from classroom to classroom for seven hours. Just one day of meetings and he was exhausted. He should have stayed in England, except there was nothing there for him anymore. Mum moved to Japan two years ago after retiring to live with Otou-san, and after his last case… He wouldn’t be taking any more cases. He probably should have left sooner.

“Hakuba-san,” another English teacher for level two classes said from the door of the staff room. He could barely see her face through the stacks of paper. It was Kate, he thought, a woman from the United States that came to teach as a college graduate and never left. She was married to the level one math teacher if he remembered the flurry of introductions correctly. Kate—no, Takata, he wasn’t in England anymore—smiled. “How’s your desk?”

“Fine.” Saguru smiled stiffly back, the muscles protesting with disuse. “The window is nice.”

Takata laughed. “Ishida-san thought you would like it. Kenta was eying it when Yumi-san left on maternity leave. I told him he wouldn’t even be able to clear his desk off before you arrived let alone move into Yumi-san’s.”

“I like the view.” He smiled a bit more genuinely, tinged with bittersweet emotions. “It’s nostalgic.”

“You used to go here, right?” Takata leaned against her desk. It had photos of cats and her husband and a four year old boy with brown hair and eyes rounder than most Japanese. She had a good looking son. Saguru hoped he wouldn’t go through the same problems Saguru had had as a mixed race child. Those had led to him spending his formative years in England rather than Japan. He had spent so much time in England even he sometimes forgot he was born in Japan and spent the first six years of his life there. Saguru tore his eyes away from the photo.

“Yes. I was in Shizume-sen—Shizume-san’s homeroom. I was only at Ekoda for around a year. My transcript says two years,” Saguru said, “but I spent much of my time in England for familial and job reasons.”

“You had an international job in high school?” Takata whistled. “Wow. Why the heck are you here teaching then?”

Saguru played with the clasp on his briefcase, lips tight. “I would prefer not to discuss the specifics of my circumstances.”

In an instant Takata was on her feet bowing. “I apologize, that was rude of me. We have plenty of time to get to know each other. I am sorry for being nosey.”

Saguru waved a hand. “No. It’s all right.” He turned away, effectively cutting the conversation short with his body language. “We have time to get to know each other more.” Outside on the track the students had taken a break. They milled together on the side of the field drinking water and laughing as one boy chased another in a circle squirting water at each other from their water bottles. He had a moment where their images overlapped with Kuroba and Aoko, the water bottles replaced with a mop and confetti bombs. He shook his head. “Thank you for your concern,” he said. “I think I will settle in fine here.”

“A-ah… I hope you do.”

He smiled, a fake, polite smile. “I should be going. There is not much I can do until I have met my students.”

“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She stepped away from his desk, trying and failing to hide her curiosity as Saguru reached for his cane. The polished wood was firm and smooth in his hand as he levered himself upright. His knee throbbed. Saguru let his breath out through his teeth and picked up his bag with his free left hand. Maybe Otou-san was right. He should get a knee replacement. There wasn’t a guarantee that it would solve the problem though. His doctor had recommended it years ago, but he had been young and stubborn. Now he was getting on middle aged and stubborn. Thirty-four wasn’t quite middle aged was it?

Saguru blocked out the ongoing ache in the joint—compounded issues with muscles, tendons and a kneecap that had never quite healed properly after being shot—and walked as briskly as his leg allowed him for the door and the stairs to the ground floor. He wasn’t going to take an elevator, leg be damned. He wasn’t that old yet. “Have a nice evening, Takata-san,” he said over his shoulder. He didn’t bow, which he really should have since she had been working there longer, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He wanted to be home and finishing his unpacking in his new apartment that he’d failed to complete the two previous days due to his body insisting he was supposed to be sleeping when the rest of Japan was awake and moving.

By the time he reached the ground floor, his leg felt all but useless, but this would be life from now on. This had been life for the last sixteen years. It took twenty minutes to get to the train where in the past it would take him ten, and then another thirty to reach his stop. The apartment where he was living was closer to the station than his father’s home. He supposed he could have returned to live there again, but the idea of living with his parents after so long had not appealed to him, and he hated how they looked upset whenever he visited. It was another twenty minute hobble from the station to the apartment building, past a small park with children playing on it, an optometrist’s office and a bakery before he reached the right building. It was a new apartment complex converted within the last decade from four shops-and-above-residence style rooms into a series of twelve livable one to two room apartments. Hakuba had rented a one room. He hadn’t brought many things. He had a desk, a kitchen, and a futon with a western-style bathroom attached to the entry way. Unfortunately it was on the first story, not the ground level.

He glared at the steps. The steps remained present and narrow. He stumped up them, knee aching every time he bent it after a full day of use and leaned on his cane as he looked for his keys. It only took a minute to unlock the door, toe off his slip-on dress shoes and barge through the entryway to toss his briefcase on his desk. Two packing boxes sat next to it and an empty suitcase that had been full of clothing. They were now hung neatly in the closet space behind his futon with non-perishable food items his mother had sent along and a box of his old case files he wasn’t sure why he took with him. He should have burned it with Mel’s body in some kind of symbolic gesture or something. He hadn’t been able to let go, and he was still mildly disgusted of himself for it. If he was going to let go he should let go completely.

His futon was still rolled out, put in some semblance of order before he left. The morning’s breakfast dishes were dry in the dish drainer. Saguru stared at them as if they held the answer to why he was in Japan teaching English when he’d never planned to return at all.

There was no real answer in a porcelain teacup, so he put the dishes away in the cupboard before turning the desk chair around and sitting.

The room’s former occupant had scorched a corner of the tatami next to the stove. It was a half circle, like a black moon, from a sauce pan from the looks of it. The wall above the stove was stained with flecks of grease and sauce and he could picture someone cooking there, day after day, young and inexperienced and figuring out what worked and didn’t the hard way. He wished he could turn off his brain. Then maybe the deducing and observation would stop.

The cane slid through his loose fingers. It fell to the floor but he didn’t bother to reach for it. Saguru knew he should start dinner, but he wasn’t hungry. His knee was past the stabs of pain and had settled into the numb phase where so long as he didn’t move all he would feel was a dull tingle.

There was a noise coming from outside, a neighbor returning home. The sound of a key in a lock and a click of a door opening and shutting. Strange. The walls must be thin to make out so much sound. Saguru’s eyes slid closed. He couldn’t sleep yet. But a few minutes couldn’t hurt, right? His breathing and thoughts slowed. His knee stopped hurting as everything felt a bit disconnected from his body. Just free flowing thoughts and half-formed ideas that spun in and out of oblivion. Somewhere distant a phone rang unanswered.

Saguru was jolted into wakefulness at a loud pounding from near the entryway. He slid half out of the chair, catching himself on his bad leg and ending up on the floor anyway, swearing. The pounding continued, but not from his door. It was the neighbor’s door. It was dark now. Saguru could make out nine o’clock on the blinking LED numbers of his alarm clock. He hadn’t meant to be out that long.

“Open the damn door!” whoever was outside the neighbor’s apartment yelled—a woman. “Takumi was due home two hours ago!” She hit the door again as Saguru was searching the ground for his cane. “I don’t have to get Tou-san again do I?”

There was something familiar about her voice, Saguru thought. He staggered to his feet and clicked on the overhead light, blinking in the sudden brightness.

“Kaa-san!” a young male voice said from the neighboring apartment. “Just a minute! We lost track of time!”

“Don’t give me that. You say that every week—” Dear lord, Saguru hoped this would not be a weekly occurrence. Was that why there had been such a small down payment for the apartment? “—but you both know when you’re supposed to be home. It’s not the weekend, Takumi.”

Well, if he could hear everything anyway, he might as well be nosy. Saguru limped into the entryway and cracked open his front door. The woman’s back was to him, her hands planted on her hips with wild brown hair falling halfway down her back barely restrained by a hair elastic. The neighbor’s lock clicked and a teenager wearing the Ekoda high school uniform tumbled out, struggling to hop into his street shoes while holding his school bag in the other. Saguru had a moment of déjà vu as his door swung open out of his limp hand; he could swear he was looking at Kuroba. Perhaps a year or so younger than when Saguru had known him, but definitely Kuroba. The boy met his eyes and looked away fast, embarrassed as his mother continued berating Saguru’s neighbor.

“You have four clocks in every room, don’t even pretend you don’t. I’ve seen them. You should have sent him home for dinner. That’s your responsibility if he stops by after class.”

“Maa, Aoko…” a male voice said from the doorway. Saguru felt chills go down his spine. There was a god laughing at him somewhere. Maliciously. Because there was no other way to explain how he ended up neighbors to Kuroba Kaito. Who apparently had a son and some sort of messy relationship with Aoko.

“Don’t you ‘Aoko’ me, Kaito, I—what’s wrong?” She glanced over her shoulder and Saguru was sure that he must have attracted the negative attention of some spirit because they were all staring at him as he stared at them. “Ha…kuba?”

Saguru blinked, shut his gaping mouth and reached for the door. “Excuse me,” the part of him that had had manners drilled into his skull said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” The door clicked shut.

AN: I started this fic in...gah, summer of 2012? Ish? Too long ago at any rate, and sort of just...stopped working on it for like a year and a half around January 2013. Since I picked it back up again, I've been working on it pretty much continuously, and after years of poking at it, I have a very long, very frustrating first draft that I will be editing and periodically posting chapters until it's all out there for people to read. You guys have no idea how relieved I am to reach this point. I don't post longfics because I seem to never finish writing them, but here you go. My first true longfic. Hope you guys find this a fun ride. It's set in a future of Magic Kaito universe, though Detective Conan characters show up later on. The original idea for this fic came from a prompt bingo list (the same list that hikago baby acquisition fic came from actually....started around the same time...) and was for the "neighbors" square. I went "in what universe would rich-boy Hakuba ever live next door to Kaito??" and of course my brain went with the angst route rather than the crack route. ^_^;;;

Why a teacher? I can't remember my initial motives outside the ones written into Saguru's reasoning (which will come up later) but part of it was wanting to give Saguru an excuse to interact with Kaito's son and see Saguru in a mentor role. This fic, throughout its life as a word document, has been known simply as "saguru english teacher au" and some part of me remains amused by this. I'm going to try to update this every other week as that feels like a schedule I can make myself follow. *rolls up sleeves* First chapter's posted so I am doing this thing.

#magic kaito #detective conan #fanfiction #eventual kaito/saguru #longfic #my writing #gosh i don't know how to feel about posting this #and I am running out the door for work #if i messed anything up it was an accident #nltsa

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