#mmm who would be whose parents ?

[ashoss]

Pjo au where all the kids are demigods and Bruce is just so tired of the monsters that come to the manor

asjkh clearsighted/legacy bruce with a bunch of shithead little demigods oml

the manor would 100% be stocked up on nectar and ambrosia and also would be a safeplace for other demigods around gotham. there are so many celestial bronze and imperial gold weapons in the cave and some hidden around the manor itself (u never know)

[loluzzz]

Dad Bestfriend Hiromi Higuruma Headcannons

A/N : first time writing + it’s 12am. hopefully u enjoy and if not lmk what i can do better :p

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who always likes to check in on you to make sure you’re okay. He’s always there to listen whenever you need to talk. Sometimes you ramble for hours and when you try to apologize he responds with “It’s okay honey. That’s what I’m here for.”

Dads Bestfriend Hiromi who always seems recharged once he’s around you. In a way you were both similar since you were both stressed out all the time. Having each other to lean back on has help create such a strong relationship between you two.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who always teases you about your looks and how gorgeous you are.

- “Look at you pretty girl”

- “I bet all the boys at uni are just all over you”

- “You look stunning”

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who gets slightly jealous whenever you mention a boys name around him. He plays it cool but will begin to ask questions. What are they like? Do they work? Are they a good influence? You always dismissed her concerns as just being protective over his bestfriend’s little girl.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who’s more attentive to your needs than your actual father. Need a shoulder to cry on? He’s there. Struggling in a class? Hiromi is willing to tutor you for free. Need a ride? doesn’t matter how far, he’ll be there.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who enjoys spoiling you. Whether it’s for a special occasion such as your birthday or something as small as aceing exam, he’ll make sure to gift you something. Whether it was something small like your favorite flowers or even grand gesture such as expensive jewelry.

!!! NSFW AFTER THE CUT !!!

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who is awfully playful around you as a way to get you to touch him. He’ll sometimes snatch for your phone, book or drink away from you in an attempt for you to climb on his body to retrieve it back. The way your small hands grabbed his big arms or the way you’d occasionally sit on top of him in order to grab your stuff back turned him on.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who likes to have you grind on his lap whenever your parents weren’t around. Helping you both relieve some sexual tension between you guys. You desperately rub your panties against his bulge on his black slacks. He grins onto your hips making sure to keep you balanced on top of him.

“Keep going. You’re so needy today pretty girl…” He whispered softly into your ear.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi whose love language is physical touch. He would sometime sneak in a few touches on your body. Rubbing and holding your inner thigh as he drives you home after he offers to pick you up from uni for your dad. It was just an excuse to have some alone time with you. Some days he tries to go further and rubs your clothed pussy under your skirt. He makes sure to ask before her moved them to the side to finger you. All while he’s still driving you home, making sure you get home safely.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who would enjoy edging himself to your pictures. He made a secret account just to stalk your instagram. All those seemingly innocent pictures of you, after the gym stories, and simple selfies of your face drove him insane. Just thinking what your moans would sound like. He rubs his bulge through his boxers while looking at a full body picture of you.

“Mmmm~ Just one chance y/n please~ Mmph~ Just let me cum inside youuu~”

“So desperate h-huh pretty girl? Fuck- mmmm~”

“Bet you’re so tight and warm. Just squeezing my cock~”

“Such a perfect little body~ mmm~”

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who finally gets the chance to sleep with you makes sure not to mess up. He’s entirely focused on your pleasure before his. Making sure to flick his tongue all around your wet pussy. Eating you out just the way you like while his nose tickles your clit. You could tell he enjoyed this just as much as you did. You could cum from this alone. He was so gentle with you, making sure not to be too rough or mean to your body.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi whimpering mess once he finally inserts his veiny cock inside you making such lewd noises each thrust. While in missionary, he holds onto your waist but makes sure not to grab you too rough. The tip of his cock just kissing your cervix.

“Just as how I imagined~”

“Mmm~ You feel so good~ It feels good for you to right my pretty girl~?”

“Yes baby~ Just wrap yourself around my cock~”

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who makes sure to cum deep inside you, not letting a drop escape from your puffy cunt. He hugged you tight once you both finish.

Dad’s Bestfriend Hiromi who makes sure to hold onto you tightly as apart of aftercare.

“You did so well baby~”

“Such a pretty girl. You’re okay. Rest on me okay?”

“I’m here for you baby. Want me to rub your little body? You must be so sore.”

He always prioritizes your wellbeing over his. He continues to comfort you and hold you until you fall asleep. That’s when he finally falls asleep after you. Still holding you close to his chest.

[loremaster]

i went crazy (as i am known to do) and drew BOTH of each daily prompt for @raincodeshipweek! nothing past PG-13 here. double check the tags for ships below - or if you want to be surprised, jump in and see them all here:

Hurt/Comfort - Clockmare - I remember a while ago @pixelatedraindrops did a poll over which of the two to draw sick in bed… Halara's cat allergies won out, but I thought the opposite scenario of Fubuki needing recovery from overusing her rewind powers was cute too! This is a very cute ship that needs more love!

Healing - Kokolight - This is *THE* ship that's all about healing. (Emotional healing at least.) Yuma learns a lot from Vivia about how to embrace the uncomfortable parts of life… and Vivia learns a lot from Yuma about how not to let that diminish your spark. Plus, by the end, they understand what each other’s been through more than any other characters... almost. Also, dat height difference. Good shit.

Dancing - Aetheria trio - Similar bonding over shared grief here! But this time there's three of them! Big 3 of Cups energy. It's a shame we never really got to see much genuine interaction between Yoshiko, Waruna, and Kurane during the game's story… but sometimes the most fun parts are what we get to imagine for ourselves, hmm? Anyway, yeah. These three are bonded for life. (Too bad it wasn't a very long one...)

Domesticity - Viviakou - There's nothing funnier than two guys with opposite behaviors. Vivia wedges himself into the crack between the bed and the wall as far as he can. Yakou spreads out and takes up more room than the bed even has. Plus, he snores. Disasters, both of them. …I was going to try and come up with another ship for this prompt, since - spoilers - there'll be more Viviakou later on... but I thought of this image and laughed hard enough I couldn't not draw it!

Sun/Rain - Yakou/Amaterasu Researcher. - One of the happiest moments of Yakou's life was when his wife got him a boat for his birthday. A whole boat!!! A portable office! Never had he felt so loved before. …Never has the sun shone that brightly again. He hates the rain.

Stars - Clockbolt - Fubuki is staring out wistfully at the rain clouds, lamenting that she cannot see her star - the one her parents bought for her. But luckily - “Don't worry, Princess, I'll be your star…!” says Desuhiko. Bolder, brighter, and much, much closer than her faraway prize…Yeah, I think Fubuki would eat that up. This is a fun ship. I like that Desuhiko - against all odds - treats Fubuki like a person. And ironically I think that would make her like him more!!

Flowers - Furroughs - What else could I have drawn for 'flowers,' honestly? It's a cheap bouquet of Black-Eyed Susans! I can't see this as a healthy relationship, honestly, but that's what makes it fun! Imagining them as childhood friends who used to be really close but grew apart in adulthood strikes just the right chord of melancholy with me. Even more heartbreaking if you see them both as trans - imagine Yakou's so excited to have a friend like him, and then as soon as Seth transitions he's like "you don't know me. never speak to me again." Mmm, I do so love to put Yakou through the wringer.

Memories - Yumagami - Sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I imagine Yuma goes through phantom pains after their pact gets broken, not knowing whose laughter keeps ringing through his ears, what's up with that tingly spot on his cheek, or why he can't look at a barrel without his face feeling hot. (Though, he's probably astute enough to put together the clues...)

First Times - Viviakou - The first time Yakou heard Vivia say that catchphrase, it didn't feel very good.

Final Moments - Viviakou - ...The last time didn't feel very good either.

Swap - Vivia/Amaterasu Researcher - Okay, hear me out. If Yakou had managed to run up that hill, make a deal with Kodaka, and get him to swap their places - that is, he dies while his wife survives and becomes Chief of the Nocturnal Detective Agency - I think Vivia would think the same of Mrs. Furio that he did of Mr. Furio (that is, helplessly smitten). EXTREMELY underrated. Please ship this with me.

Alternate Universe - Zilara - My personal pet rarepair!!! Alas, our two confident creature-lovers have been kept from each other by the cruel hands of fate. So, I cope by drawing them getting fancy little drinks together. This is an homage to Boba AU, of course, but honestly, while drawing this, I was picturing them as students at the local prestigious college campus. Maybe they're members of frat Alpha Beta Omega or something.

Past/Future - Makoyuma - This one's more of a concept/pitch than a fully explored scene, but hear me out: time travel AU. What if Yuma meets a mysterious masked stranger who turns out to be a tech-savvy time traveler from a destroyed future... but then also turns out to be himself, somehow? How is there someone who looks exactly like him, 5000 years from now? What's the connection between Yuma and Makoto? And why are they so drawn to each other?

...The last prompt for the official Ship Week is a free day - so I'm going to take the day off! Though, there are a lot of other ships I lament not shouting out here - Kokobolt, Kokomare, Twimare, Fubugami, just to name a few!!! But I'm gonna give myself a break for now. Don't worry, you'll see more art from me soon - maybe even print versions of this, and some of my other Rain Code fanart. And if there's a specific ship or scenario you really can't wait to see... my commissions are open! ;D

[starsarestories]

PART TWO - My opinions on who would take whose last name (Marauders era edition):

Marylily - They would absolutely hyphenate their names, but they would argue whose name goes first (Mary wants it to be Lily's so she can shorten it to Mary Evans, and Lily wants the opposite so she can shorten her name to Lily Macdonald). They end up settling on Lily Macdonald-Evans and Mary Evans-Macdonald.

Ravenrock - They would take Peter's last name because his parents don't want the name to die out. So, they would be Peter Pettigrew and Benji Pettigrew.

Marylene - They would hyphenate their names, McKinnon first because it means something in the wizarding world and can prove to be an advantage at times. They would choose both names so their initials are 'MMM'.

Jily - Lily would argue that she wants to keep her last name, as she had no brothers to keep the 'Evans' name going, nor any cousins. However, eventually she would give into the desire to be 'Lily Potter' and would take James' surname.

Bartylus - They would argue over whose name to take because Regulus wants the Black name to die out, and Barty wants to get rid of the burden of the name 'Crouch' as soon as possible. They would argue so much about it and in the end take each other's last names. Regulus Crouch and Bartemius Black.

Xenodora - We all know that Pandora takes Lovegood because it is the prettiest name ever (also, she wanted to drop the Rosier name).

[depressionisreal1996]

The Traumatized Omega

Chapter 1

Bold and Underlined=POV Change

Underlined=Line Break

Bold=TV Script

Italics=Thoughts

Narrator's  POV

I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago... but I admire the sadism.

      We see a girl walking down a school hallway, with everyone parting ways in fear and disgust. They could sense the power from this tiny alpha. This alpha is known as Wednesday Addams. With each step is a purpose, she wants them to fear her. The thought makes her smirk internally. After a while, she saw some jocks walking away from a locker, laughing. She walked up to the locker and heard some whimpers coming from it, whimpers that she knows. She opens the locker to see her brother, Pugsley. After the locker was opened, Pugsley fell with a thud.

Wednesday's POV

      "I want names," I told my brother emotionlessly. These people need to know that only I was allowed to torture my brother, I thought in my head.

      "I don't know who they were, honest." Pugsley replied with a scared voice, "it happened so fast," 

      "Pugsley, emotion equals weakness, pull yourself together, now," I told him sternly, he whimpers. He really needs to learn this, if he wants to survive the real world. I went to untie him, when I went into one of my visions.

~Line Break~

      I came out of the vision, which thanks to it, I now know who did this to my brother. It was Dalton, and his stupid jock friends.

      "You okay," Pugsley asked me with a worried tone.

I'm not about to confess to my brother that I've recently been plagued by visions. The come on without warning, and feel like electroshock therapy, but without the satisfying afterburn.

      "Leave this to me," I told him, getting up to put my plan into action.

      "Wednesday, what are you gonna do," my brother asked me. I stopped to look at him, contemplating telling him, but decided not too.

      "What I do best," I told him, then walked off.

Non, rien de rien.

      "Yo, Dalton, look," Dalton's friend # 1 said pointing towards me, "Pigsley's sister."

      "Hey, freak, this is a closed practice," Dalton told me, with a smirk. Everyone smirked at this and laughed.

      "The only person who gets to torture my brother is me," I told everyone with a harsh tone, raising two bags with piranhas in them. Everyone lost their smirks and looked at me with fear. I released the bags into the water, and everyone frantically swam to get to safety.

Non, je ne regrette rien. Car ma vie, car mes joies. Ca commence avec toi.

      It was chaotically beautiful, nothing will top this. I slowly smirked in satisfaction. If I wasn't so adversed to it, I would be laughing right now. Though, as I watch the chaos happening, I knew that would be getting expelled for this.

~Line Break~

I close my eyes. Then I drift away.

     My parents were singing again, and it greatly disgusts me of how much emotions they are showing.

I softly say. A silent prayer. Like dreamers do. Then I fall asleep to dream. My dreams of you.

      I cringed at them, they really need to learn some self-control. This is why I'll never find love/mate. It all seems pointless.

I remember. That you said goodbye.....

     "Mmm," my mother sighed happily after kissing my father. My father did the same. I rolled my eyes at them.

     "Darling, how long do you intend on giving us the col shoulder," my mother asked me.

      "Lurch, please remind my parents that I'm no longer speaking to them," I replied back. Lurch just grunts.

      "Hmm," she hums back.

      "I promise you, my little viper, you will love Nevermore," my father tried to reassure me, though he was failing, "won't she, Tish?"

      "Of course," she said, "it's the perfect school for her."

      "Why? Because it was the perfect school for you," I shot back," I have no interest in following in your footsteps. Becoming captain of the fencing team, Queen of the Dark Prom, President of the Seance Society."

      "I merely meant that finally you will be among peers who understand you," My mother told me, and then she said something I want to protest against, " maybe you'll even make some friends."

      "Nevermore is like no other boarding school, it's a magical place," my father said, "it's where I met your mother, and we fell in love."

      "You guys are making me nauseous, and not in a good way," I told them with disgust in my voice, yet with my face blank.

      "Darling, we aren't the ones who got you expelled. That boy's family was going to file attempted murder charges," she told me, "how would that have looked on your record?"

      "Terrible, everyone would know I failed to get the job done," I said, seething that Dalton is still alive.

      "Hmm," my mother just hummed, and that was it for our conversation.

~Line Break~

Narrator's POV

      Now we see a truck driving by the Addams hearse.

      "Just over here is fine, thanks," a man said to the driver.

      "You sure you want to get out here," the driver asked, "the trail might look pretty, but it runs right past Nevermore."

      "That school for outcasts," the man asked.

      "Huh. That's a polite way of putting it," the driver replied.

      "I never had a problem with outcasts," the man informed the driver," my counselor at summer camp was a werewolf. Great guy."

      "Yeah, they're just like you and men," the driver said trying to scare the man, "until they rip your throat out."

      "Thanks," the man chuckles wryly. He got out of the truck and hiked on the trail. He hiked for a while until he found a good spot to take a break. He was just relaxing, when he heard noises coming up from in front of him. He looked up, only to scream in a panic as he saw something running towards him and attack him.

[phoenixfangs]

OMG PHOENIX OC PHOENIX OC?!?! SIGN ME UP I want to learn everything omggg For now tho, for the ask mmm lets go with ❗️, 🚨 and 🧣 if its not too much!!

WEEEEEEEEE THANK U THANK U im really happy with the positive reception feigas been receiving, it makes me feel like im Not an insane selfish weirdo for wanting to talk about her and like im Allowed to share my thoughts in a public forum without being beaten to death FDJSKLGHLSKJFDS my brain is broken ❤️

❗️what was the scariest moment of ur characters life? does it still affect them? | HHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM well i look at her as having two distinct lives with distinct hardships: her childhood and her adulthood. so from her childhood, its definitely nebulous in my mind but its probably something to do with one of her siblings deaths, perhaps it was a very bad accident she was also involved in that she almost died from, but she happened to survive while her sibling didnt. probably a very violent, bloody accident with a lot of pain and suffering and being convinced that she will die without a miracle, only to be met with some cruel neutrality from her parents when that 'miracle' does occur and she survives/recovers. 'oh ur lucky to be alive, suppose it wasnt ur time', no celebration or care. probably put the fear of death in her that she ended up carrying with her into adulthood, one of the few things that Didnt get blocked out. as an adult, its probably her confrontation with riza and being told 'im not going to kill u' after shes been disarmed/beaten in the brawl because, if riza was refusing to kill her, it meant the drachman military would. i think i stole/modified the concept from the venture bros of an elite group of assassins/soldiers called 'the cleaners' whose responsibility it is to 'clean up' botch jobs, like feigas botch job trying to take out riza and roy, and they are much more cruel and sadistic than even feiga was to riza. she knows that if the cleaners get their hands on her, shes not just going to die, its going to be slow, painful, and miserable, and that fear of death, and of suffering, freezes her blood and makes her frantic and hysterical until rizas able to calm her down and agree to help her escape

🚨 whats ur characters relationship with the law? have they ever been arrested? what for? what are their opinions on law enforcement? | she lives outside of it and as an extension of it!! shes a political assassin, her vague 'assassin training' i keep alluding to is vague in my mind because i dont have it Fully fleshed out but to me its affiliated with the drachman military, perhaps a covert branch of some kind thats not officially sanctioned but the people in power dont care because its useful to have unsanctioned power. she has never been arrested in a typical sense, as a citizen who has broken a law, and as far as the upper brass is concerned, she either doesnt exist (to those not in the know about the situation) or, up until her defection, is a model soldier (unofficial, ofc, she has no real rank or place in the military but she is still one of Their dogs), an ideal enforcer of drachmas power. she initially has a lot of pride in her position as the best and most valuable, and is disdainful of any government/military besides her own, and doesnt view herself as the abused attack dog shes been beaten into. so much so that she derogatorily refers to roy and riza as filthy amestrian dogs, mutts, etc., simply for being soldiers, and also she hates them. seeing herself as the best, or being told shes the best, is a delusion/lie that she refuses to let go despite the Material Reality that there are assassins (the cleaners) who are Always going to be in a different league than her because she, unlike the cleaners, is still seen as capable of fucking up and becoming worthless. it isnt until her confrontation with riza and rizas influence telling her 'arent u mad at what theyve done to u?! they broke u until u were their best, and now theyre going to throw u away like ur nothing! the military is ur enemy! dont give them any more of urself, whether its ur body, ur pride, ur loyalty, or ur life! hit da bricks!!' that she decides YKNOW WHAT YEAH FUCK THIS and is able to finally redirect so much of her perceived hatred of riza more appropriately onto systems that lied to her and failed her and actively wanted to hurt her

BUT more broadly. jfdklsjfklsa. yeah shes never been a normal citizen so shes never had real experience with citizen-level crime or police

🧣 answered !

[thirtecnth]

Noah: FORGED

FORGED : a scene from my muse's past that they think made them stronger in the long run

tw: heart attack

"Will you stop lookin' at me like that, Noah? Jesus Christ."

Noah snapped to attention. He hadn't known he had been dozing off, nor did he realize he'd been staring for such an exuberant amount of time at the bottle behind his father's head-- one whose level was much lower than it was even 10 minutes prior.

"Mmm? I'm sorry, Dad. I haven't gotten much sleep lately." He rubbed his eyes harshly, black rings appeared as a result when he had reopened them.

"When is your sister making dinner? She was supposed to be making somethin' by now."

He shook his head. "I don't know... Sometime, Dad." The younger man had already turned his attention back to his book, his eyes gliding across the paper. His father craned his neck in an attempt to read the cover. "What is that? What're you reading?" He asked and wiped his mouth as the words messily spilled out.

"Just a book I picked up from the shelf. It's older." He flipped the page.

"That one's mine."

Noah furrowed his brows and glanced up again at his father. "Yours?"

"Yes, mine. What, you think your mom's the only one that read around here?" He nodded to it. "One of my favorites actually."

A bookmark was placed back between the pages and now his full attention was back on his father-- who seemed quite uncomfortable in his chair.

"The uh, the main character he reminds me a lot of um--" he shook his head, confused in some way. "Myself. Or you. In some parts."

"Eddie? The older guy?" Noah had offered and his father nodded.

"When he talks about the dishes shattering... like your childhood when there's a hard parent in your life. It's real. It's true." The older man let out a breath. "Just pay attention to it. Alright? It's a good one. I'm gonna start on some dinner since your damn sister wants to be out all day." With that, he stood from his chair and began coughing. At first, Noah rolled his eyes but then the other began to stumble.

"Dad, the doctor said you have to take it easy--"

"Noah! God dammit!" He yelled and held the back of the chair for balance. Noah winced, freezing entirely. "Let me-- I'm not a fucking--"

His father spun around and a wild look appeared in his eyes. Every ounce of anger and embarrassment that had just been in his tone was replaced with what looked like searing pain and fear as the other began to clutch his heart.

"Dad?" And every ounce of annoyance in Noah's face was replaced with that of a scared child's. "...Dad!"

At that moment, as he held his father and helped him to the ground-- unsure of what to do next-- he would be forced to grow up. Whether he liked it or not.

[radiant-reid]

I think about that one anon who said Spencer would be good at cooking. I like to add onto that-

As a person whose parents rarely cooked for me (even when i was a child) I didn’t know how to cook for myself till like 6th grade. And my sister had to basically cook for me. But other than that I lived off of tv dinners, ramen, and cereal. So I feel like with his dad being the only sane one the guy would just buy some TV dinners for Spencer.

mmm this is an interesting take, i do feel like he would have had a lottttt of tv dinners

[chaosteddybear]

Lot

Information gathered and finalized

Playlist

Age: 28

Height: 5'3"

Pronouns: she

Sexuality: pan, leans wlw heavily

Relationship style: poly

Species: half elf

(picrew)

Star signs: cancer sun, taurus moon, scorpio ascendant

Alignment: Chaotic neutral. She cares about some, not others.

Soul Coin: pearlescent white, no markings, easy to toss but not worth gambling with.

Backstory: Lot was raised in a fishing town on the coast, her parents died at sea when she was a baby so she was raised by her older siblings. They took good care of her, making sure to keep her happy and healthy and teaching her morals. She respects and idolized her eldest sister.

It definitely took a village to raise her though, and they were lucky to be able to rely on charity. Her neighbor, a self sufficient monk, taught her in those ways as well as anything her siblings couldn't teach her

Goals: Lot just wants to have an impact and be remembered by loved ones as well as ones she meets and says goodbye to along the way

Fear: Her fear would be living a mediocre life, being subpar in general.

Food: juicy meat, juicy fruits, anything juicy!

Misc Q&A answers, collected

- Lot loves rocking people's worlds. Be it through romance, sexuality, sensuality, sharing of energy, you name it. She's here to have an impact on you.

- She is a handyman and she will always do a good job, ask you about your day, and "mmm" if you offer her any snacks or bevvies.

- She admires any unapologetically female goddess.

- Lot is very good at setting her boundaries, so if you try to pass them, you won't be doing it accidentally. And she will chew you out, verbally.

- She will follow any boundaries set, and when unclear, she will ask in a very even toned and comforting way. You'll want to share with her.

- Her dice would be white with pink and yellow lines through them.

- Her enemies? The jealous of course, the ones whose lovers' heads she turned.

- Her insecurity? The world not accepting her for who she is, in the way she needs them to.

- She would lie for someone who needs her to, but that's about all she'd lie for.

- Lou's prized possessions, I'll have to get back to that one.

- For drinking, she would like lemonade or absinthe.

- Physical touch is very welcome.

-Love Languages: giving acts of service, praise. Receiving? Whatever.

- If she raided my closet she would grab all of my flannels, maybe she'd let Mix have SOME of them.

- She doesn't handle jealousy. She'll back away from it, because let's be honest, there's already enough in her life from that string of scorned lovers eeehhehe and nobody is worth introducing more of that into her life in a more than passing way.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Title: Lovely, Dark and Warm (10/15)

Fandom: K Project

External: AO3

Pairings: Sarumi

Ratings/Warnings: M

Summary: Totsuka Tatara was dead, Homra was certain of that. But rumors persisted, that he had been seen wandering the alleys of Shizume, with blood on his shirt and a mouth hanging open.

In retrospect, that was how every zombie apocalypse started, after all.

Notes: In which Fushimi and Yata finally come out of the closet :D

“It’ll be okay, Anna.”

“Mmm.” Anna didn’t respond, still staring fixedly at the marbles in her hand.

Kamamoto tried not to sigh, glancing out the window. They’d been hiding in his family’s shop for the last few days, waiting for word from Homra. His parents were out of town on holiday and the store was closed for now.

Things were definitely getting tense in the city, even his parents had felt it. He was sure that’s why they’d agreed so readily to leave the city when he’d asked and he was a little bit thankful for it. If things exploded — and it definitely felt like something was about to explode — he would rather they not be here.

It chafed a little to be left behind, when all the other guys were either with Mikoto or protecting the bar but Kamamoto couldn’t complain. He was here to protect Anna after all, and it was the most important job he could think of.

There was a rustling of skirts as Anna abruptly stood.

“Anna? Anna!” She was already hurrying to the door before Kamamoto could stop her. “Anna wait, it isn’t safe!”

“We have to go.” Anna pulled the door open, tugging with both hands, and then slipped outside. Kamamoto nearly stumbled following her, and as he stepped outside he saw what she’d meant.

There were figures moving along the side of the road. Some were dragging half-severed limbs, others nearly cut in half. There was at least one whose head was dangling loosely off its neck, held on by only a single strip of flesh, but its mouth was open hungrily.

“Rikio!” Anna’s shout knocked him out of his daze and Kamamoto took a deep breath before sending a punch straight into the ground. Red power swirled around his fist, headed right towards the approaching undead —

— and then stopped, fizzling into nothing.

“Eh?” All he could do was turn and run, following after Anna. She was going as fast as she could, moving through side streets and alleyways as if she’d memorized them, and Kamamoto began to notice that wherever they went it was as if they had just managed to avoid any undead who might have been in the area. She still clutched a marble in one white hand and held it up to her eye as she ran.

They turned another corner and this time Anna finally stopped, swaying. Kamamoto moved to steady her but she shook her head and pointed.

“There! We have to—“

Kamamoto didn’t even wait for her to finish. Ahead of them was a group of undead ringing another figure, a person who was crouched on the ground backed against a wall. Kamamoto took a deep breath, punching his knuckles together experimentally, and then he reached deep inside for the Red flame.

This time it answered him, and as his legs hit the ground it sent out a shockwave of red. The flames encircled the undead, burning all of them into nothing.

“No blood, no bone, no ash,” Kamamoto said grimly as Anna flashed by him, running to the figure still crouched by the wall.

“Izumo!”

“Kusanagi-san?” Kamamoto’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Anna.” Kusanagi’s voice sounded tired but happy as she threw her arms around him. He was clearly a little worse for the wear — his usual immaculate clothes were rumpled and dirty, and there were bruises on his knuckles. As he got closer Kamamoto could see something red soaking through one leg of Kusanagi’s pants.

“Kusanagi-san!” Kamamoto felt a spike of worry and Kusanagi waved him away.

“It’s not a bite. I fell on a rebar gettin’ out of Mihashira. Been hard to take care of it with all those…things runnin’ around.” With one shaking hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter.

“S-so….everyone else? Yata-san? What about…” He glanced at Anna, worried, but she had already understood what he was about to say.

“Mikoto.” Her hand tightened around the small red marble.

“Can you see anything?” Kusanagi asked her quietly, lighting his cigarette. Anna shook her head.

“It’s clouded. I can see the Tower, but when I try to look higher…”

“I see.” Kusanagi blew smoke, head tilted back.

“Kusanagi-san…what should we do? The bar—“

“I couldn’t get back there. They knew we were comin’, so I’m sure…” Kusanagi shook his head. “Help me up, Kamamoto. I know a place we can hide. We need to get Anna somewhere safe.”

“Right.” Kamamoto wrapped Kusanagi’s arm around his shoulders, letting Kusanagi lean on him. He glanced over at Anna, who was still staring through her marble as if trying to see through mist. “Anna?”

She turned to look at him and dropped the marble into her pocket, reaching for his free hand.

“Let’s go.”

–

Yata pressed close against Fushimi, barely daring to breathe as he stared through the crack in the closet door. After a moment he saw the door to the room swing slightly open and then shut again as whatever was out in the hall had moved on.

“I don’t think the dumbass zombies know we’re here,” Yata said softly. “Let’s just hang tight for a minute and then we can get the hell out of here.”

“Shut up.” Fushimi’s voice was low and strangled and Yata looked up at him curiously. Fushimi was staring straight ahead, eyes blank, and his entire body seemed wound tight like a spring.

“Saruhiko?” Yata didn’t dare raise his voice to anything more than a whisper. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Shut up.” Fushimi still wasn’t looking at him. His fingers were twitching convulsively.

Yata tried to move back to get a better look at him but there was no room to back up more than half a step. They were pressed closely together in the darkness, surrounded by dust and cobwebs. Fushimi was pushed back in the furthest corner of the closet partially turned away from Yata, where he couldn’t even see through the crack in the doorway.

Yata was suddenly aware that Fushimi was muttering something under his breath and he leaned in closer to hear.

“They’re coming.” Fushimi’s voice was low and lined with something close enough to panic that it made a chill run through Yata’s entire body. “They’re coming. I’ll kill them first. They’re coming.”

“S-Saruhiko?” Yata reached for him and Fushimi slapped his hand away. Yata bit back a cry of pain as something sharp sliced through his palm and he realized that Fushimi had drawn a knife. “H-hey, Saru, chill out already! What’s wrong with you?”

Fushimi didn’t answer, trembling hands playing haphazardly with his knife. His eyes were glazed and he didn’t even seem to know Yata was there.

A week in the wine cellar and then you could have stayed there in that small cramped space while they walked around outside all the time, every minute, and you couldn’t even trust yourself to sleep because they might get in and Yata suddenly realized exactly what the problem was.

The door creaked again and Fushimi shifted, eyes wide, knives out.

“Saru, don’t!” Yata hissed, pushing him back. Blue light was beginning to glow around him and Yata could only think of one thing to do.

He threw his arms around Fushimi and pulled him close, holding him as tightly as he dared. The Blue aura felt cold and slightly painful against his skin, but Fushimi froze dead and Yata tightened his grip.

“I’m here, you idiot monkey,” Yata muttered, burying his face against Fushimi’s neck. “So calm the fuck down already. It’s okay, all right? I’m here with you this time.”

“M-Misaki…” The word was a half-sob and Fushimi seemed to deflate slightly under Yata’s grip. He was still trembling and Yata didn’t dare let go. Pushed so close together like this Yata could smell sweat and blood against Fushimi’s skin and something about it made him feel like he might be sick.

They’d been in fights and everything before, in Homra, but even so it just seemed wrong that Fushimi should smell of blood when he wasn’t wounded.

“Just a little longer, okay, Saruhiko?” Yata murmured. It felt like trying to calm a child. Fushimi’s hands twitched again, as if they were going to wrap around him in reciprocation, and Fushimi forced them down with visible effort. His breathing seemed to have only sped up and Yata closed his eyes, listening hard and hoping that the zombies would just move on already so they could escape.

“Misaki. Misaki.” Fushimi was repeating his name over and over like a protective chant and Yata relaxed slightly. It had to be working. Saruhiko was definitely calming down now, he had to be.

Then Fushimi laughed and Yata’s heart dropped.

“No more hiding like meat, Misaki,” Fushimi hissed coldly and with a sudden burst of strength he broke away from Yata, scrambling for the door.

“Saruhiko, wait!” Yata grabbed for him but it was too late. Fushimi shoved the closet door open and they both tumbled out onto the floor.

The three zombies peering in the doorway immediately attacked.

Yata hadn’t even managed to get to his feet but Fushimi was already moving, knives flying from his hands, catching all three zombies in the center of the chest. The wounds didn’t even appear to slow the monsters down and then Fushimi’s hand twitched and red flames shot up from the knives, burning the monsters alive where they stood.

There was the sound of feet suddenly moving towards them and Yata could barely hear it over Fushimi’s mad laughter.

“Come on, you bastards.” Fushimi drew his sword. “Come and get me.”

“What the hell, Saru!” Yata aimed a punch at him and Fushimi deflected it with one hand without even looking. His face was suddenly cold. “Do you want to get us killed?”

“Not just hiding there to get killed,” Fushimi said in low tones. “Not this time. Not again.” He took a step forward so that his back was facing towards Yata and his face hidden. His tone turned suddenly dark and bitter. “Go on and hide in there, Misaki. Come out in a week. I’m sure I’ll still be alive by then.”

Without waiting for a reply he darted out the door, and Yata had no choice but to run after him.

“Saru, wait!” He skidded to a halt in the hallway. Between them and the stairs were at least a dozen zombies. Yata turned to look behind them and cursed as another group of zombies peered out from the master bedroom. He backed up so that he was right up against Fushimi. “Ch. Great job, monkey. Now what do we do?”

“What do you think?” Fushimi smiled cruelly. “We kill them all.”

Without waiting to see if Yata had even heard him, Fushimi attacked.

Yata swore and rushed after him, catching a zombie in the throat a moment before its teeth would have sunk into Fushimi’s neck. Fushimi didn’t even seem to notice him, blades flashing as he cut his way through the monsters. Yata could barely keep up with him, focusing most of his attention on trying to keep Fushimi from getting himself killed.

Somehow they made it to the stairs and Fushimi darted down them with Yata on his heels, jumping over the banister a few steps from the bottom and landing easily on his feet. Yata leaned over the banister and swore again. More zombies were already approaching from the other rooms and even the front door. Clearly their presence had been noticed.

“We need to get out of here, monkey--” Yata cut off as Fushimi ran towards one of the zombies approaching from the kitchen, disappearing inside. Yata sighed, immolated another zombie stumbling down the stairs after him and then ran towards the kitchen after Fushimi.

There were more zombies there, crawling over counter tops and between broken chairs. Fushimi’s face had gone grim and he was slicing desperately at those nearest to him as they backed him towards the basement door. Yata suddenly realized that while Fushimi’s red flames were still doing their job, the Blue power along his sword was flickering noticeably. The Blue King’s power had failed at just the wrong time.

One of the zombies dived for Fushimi at the same time Yata forced his way through with the biggest ball of flames he could muster, sending Red power scattering through the room as he grabbed Fushimi by the arm and pulled him down the steps. Fushimi resisted and suddenly they were both tumbling over the stairs, landing in a pile of limbs and blades on the basement floor.

“Damn it.” Yata looked up. The flames above were dying and he could see a few zombies stumbling towards the doorway after them. Yata bit his lip and summoned a small flame in his hand to light the room, hoping to spy some kind of escape route. “Great job, monkey. We’re trapped.” He turned to glare at Fushimi, who was staring at something along the side of the staircase. “Hey, monkey! What now?”

“Bring the light closer,” Fushimi said, ignoring the anger in Yata’s voice. His face had gone calm at last and he was looking at the stairwell with an expression Yata recognized immediately: that was the sign of Fushimi thinking.

“We don’t have time for you to examine the damn architecture, we’re going to get killed--”

“Shut up.” Fushimi grabbed his wrist and pulled it close. “Look.”

Along the side of the stairwell there was a small red mark that Yata recognized immediately. It was the same mark that was still emblazoned on his chest, and which had once been on Fushimi’s.

The mark of Homra.

“Homra’s mark…but…”

“There’s something here.” Fushimi pushed against the mark and the wood gave way beneath his fingers. “Come on.” Without waiting for Yata’s reply, Fushimi crawled in through the secret door and disappeared. Yata gave a quick glance upwards at where the zombies were beginning to descend the stairs, then killed his flame and followed after Fushimi, making sure to pull the door shut behind him.

He scrambled through the tunnel as quickly as he could, aware of Fushimi moving steadily forward ahead of him. He heard Fushimi grunt slightly and risked lighting another flame. In the dim light he could see that the tunnel had opened up into a small room and Fushimi was already leaning weakly against a wall, wiping his forehead with one hand.

“I don’t think anyone’s following us.” Yata pulled himself out after Fushimi, cleaning his dusty palms on his shorts. A bright red streak of blood stained his shorts and Yata grimaced, he’d almost forgotten about the cut on his hand. He stared down at it for a moment before carefully looking up at Fushimi. “You okay, Saruhiko?”

“Shut up.” There was no strength in Fushimi’s words and Yata had to stop himself from going to him. Fushimi’s clothes had gotten disheveled in the fighting and once again Yata could see the burn mark, a dark mess of flesh on Fushimi’s chest.

Yata couldn’t let himself act like they were friends again, no matter how much he wanted to. Fushimi had betrayed them. Yata wouldn’t, couldn’t let himself forget that.

“So where are we?” Yata took a few steps forward. There was another doorway just to Fushimi’s left and he headed for it. After a moment he heard Fushimi sigh heavily and get to his feet, following after him. Yata pushed the door open and peered inside.

The room inside was small and modestly furnished, with a ratty old couch and a couple of chairs. And sitting at the foot of the couch was a little pink kitten, drinking milk out of a cracked saucer.

“Hey, there you are.” Yata stepped forward towards her and she glanced up, meowed, and then quickly turned and trotted around the corner into another room. Yata stared after her.

“I guess she doesn’t like you, Misaki,” Fushimi said mildly from behind him. “Really, even when it’s a cat you still can’t deal with girls.”

“Sh-shut up!” Yata snapped. There was another meow as Neko came wandering back in. Following on her heels was a young girl in a red dress. She stopped dead upon seeing Yata and Fushimi.

“Misaki. Saruhiko.”

“A-Anna!” Yata ran towards her at the same time the smile lit up her face. She wrapped her arms around him as he fell to his knees. “You’re alive. You’re all right!”

“Anna-chan? What’s…?” Another familiar voice floated in from the other room and Kusanagi limped around the corner, one leg swathed in bandages and leaning heavily on a walking stick.

“Kusanagi-san!” Yata could feel tears welling up in his eyes and didn’t care. He’d tried to hope, he really had — but now, seeing them here, Yata realized for the first time that in truth he had given them all up for dead long ago.

“Yata-chan!” Kusanagi reached out and placed a hand on Yata’s head. “What are you doing here?”

“We-we traced your signal,” Yata said, smile threatening to split his face open. “I knew you guys couldn’t be dead! I knew — I knew I wasn’t the only one who made it!”

“Kusanagi-san?” Another voice piped up from behind and Kusanagi straightened.

“Kamamoto, we’ve got a visitor.”

“Visitor?” Kamamoto looked around the corner and his eyes fell on Yata. “Yata-san!”

“Kamamoto!” Yata stood and went to meet him, pounding happily on his back.

“Yata-san, you’re alive!” Tears were streaming down Kamamoto’s face. “You’re really alive!”

“So are you!” Yata said, feeling almost incoherent with relief. “All of you guys…all of you…How…?”

“It’s a bit of a story,” Kusanagi said. “We’ve been on the run for a while now. I tried to get in contact with the others, but..”

“And Mikoto-san?” Yata said urgently. “You know what happened to him, right, Kusanagi-san?”

Kusanagi sighed heavily and Yata’s face fell.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything about that, Yata-chan,” Kusanagi admitted, leaning against the couch. “We got separated in Mihashira. I got in a bit of a spot and had to run. By the time I got outside, there was no way of gettin’ back in, and no way to get to the safe house either. I got lucky that Anna and Kamamoto found me when they did.” Anna walked over to him and he put a gentle hand on her head. “We found a safe place for a bit— I wasn’t in much shape to move by the time I got there — and finally it was too dangerous to stick around anymore. We tried gettin’ back to the bar, but there were too many undead. Then I remembered this place. It was bein’ used by some drug dealers we routed a while back. The house is just a cover. There were still supplies down here from the last time and as long as we stay in the rooms under here it seems like the zombies don’t notice.” He tapped his cane against the ground. “Well, we had a little trouble gettin’ here too, though. Ah, don’t look like that, Yata-chan. It’s just a scratch, nothin’ dangerous. An old injury that didn’t get quite healed, and then I took a bad fall while we were runnin’ from a Strain, that’s all.”

“I don’t know how I got out either.” Yata’s fist clenched with the sudden memory of his own uselessness. “I remember I lost track of everyone else and then the next thing I knew I was outside, alone. I waited for everyone at the spot we agreed on but no one ever came. And then I went back to the bar and…” He trailed off.

“I know,” Kusanagi said quietly, voice resigned. “It’s all gone, huh?”

“Eh? How did you…?”

“I looked.” Anna tugged on Yata’s sleeve. “There were zombies.”

“Right. Zombies.” Yata gave her a sad smile. “But I stayed near it. I was hoping that someone— that maybe someone would be--”

“Yeah.” Kusanagi put a hand on Yata’s shoulder. “You did good, Yata-chan. Mikoto would be proud of you.”

“Kusanagi-san…” Yata stared hopelessly up at him. “You—you don’t think Mikoto-san is— I mean, Mikoto-san couldn’t be—”

“Mikoto is alive.” Anna said it with absolute certainty, not looking at any of them as she reached down to pet Neko. “Definitely.”

“Anna…” Yata looked over at her and managed a small smile. “Yeah. Definitely.”

“As touching as this is, we haven’t got time for it,” Fushimi spoke up. Kusanagi’s head snapped up as if he had only just noticed Fushimi’s presence and there was a long moment of silence as his eyes took in Fushimi’s blue coat and the burn mark still visible on his chest. “Kusanagi Izumo. My orders are to bring you and Kushina Anna back to Scepter 4. If you won’t come, I will use force.” He pointedly placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Hey, Saruhiko, wait a sec!” Yata yelled at him and Fushimi ignored him, face set and cold.

“Fushimi, huh?” Kusanagi leaned back to get a good look at him. “You’ve changed a bit, haven’t you?”

“Don’t listen to him, Kusanagi-san,” Yata growled. “He’s a just a dirty fucking traitor.”

“Don’t act like such a child all the time, Misaki,” Fushimi said coolly. “My orders were clear.”

��Well, that’s interestin,’ isn’t it?” Kusanagi calmly pulled out a cigarette and took a puff. “The Blue King’s still around, huh?”

“We don’t have to go back with him,” Yata said. “We don’t need those bastards at Scepter 4. Now that we’re back together, we can go after Mikoto-san ourselves!”

“Can we?” Kusanagi said thoughtfully. He gave a small grunt of pain as he pushed himself off the chair and turned to look at Fushimi. “Can we discuss this a bit amongst ourselves?”

“Do whatever you want,” Fushimi said languidly, throwing himself down on the couch. “I’m bringing you in either way.”

“Yata-chan, Kamamoto, this way.” Kusanagi indicated for the two of them to follow him into the next room. “Anna…”

“I’ll stay with Saruhiko,” Anna said calmly. Kusanagi looked surprised for a moment, then shrugged and continued into the next room. Yata glared pointedly at Fushimi as he followed, with Kamamoto slinking nervously behind.

Anna gave Neko another pat and then walked over and sat down next to Fushimi. He glanced at her once and then quickly looked away.

“Saruhiko.”

“W-what?”

“I’m glad you’re all right.” Anna placed a hand on Fushimi’s knee and he shifted uncomfortably. Her eyes seemed to be staring right through him. “Saruhiko’s Red is different now.”

“I’m not part of Homra anymore,” Fushimi said stiffly. Anna looked up at him with a small smile.

“But Saruhiko is still with Misaki.”

“I’m just doing what the Captain ordered me to do. That idiot came along all on his own.”

“Still….I’m glad Saruhiko is here.”

Fushimi didn’t answer and didn’t look at her.

“You should stay with Kusanagi-san and the others, Anna. I’m not your friend.”

“Mmm.” Anna nodded but didn’t move, leaning up against him. Fushimi sighed and placed one hand gently on top of her head.

--

“You can’t be serious, Kusanagi-san!” Yata stared up at Kusanagi in disbelief.

“I think it’s our only option, Yata-chan,” Kusanagi told him, taking another drag on his cigarette. “There’s still just the three of us. We can’t get into Mihashira alone. And we need somewhere we can hide Anna. We can’t keep her safe here forever.”

“But—but the Blues can’t be trusted!” Yata argued. “Those guys don’t care about Mikoto-san at all! They just want to use Anna to get inside the building.”

“They won’t use Anna unless she agrees to it,” Kusanagi said seriously. “But beyond that, our goals aren’t that different, Yata-chan. If Mikoto is anywhere in this city, it’s in that building. If Scepter 4 and the Blue King can find a way to get inside and find out what’s going on in there, not to mention find a way to save this city, then our best course of action may be joining forces.”

“I don’t like it,” Yata muttered angrily. “We shouldn’t have to work with those guys.”

“You’re pretty upset about Fushimi, huh?” Kusanagi said and Yata’s eyes widened.

“I-I am not!” he stated angrily.

“Well, I can’t say I blame him too much,” Kusanagi said thoughtfully, running a hand through his hair. “Left by himself like that, it probably seemed the best choice.”

“He didn’t do it because he was by himself,” Yata muttered, eyes downcast. “You didn’t hear him, Kusanagi-san. That bastard doesn’t even care about Mikoto-san anymore. All he cares about is himself.”

“Is that so?” Kusanagi was looking pointedly at him and Yata felt suddenly uncomfortable. “Anyway, leaving Fushimi aside for the moment, what other choice do we have?”

“We-we could…!” Yata looked up desperately at him and Kusanagi just shook his head, smiling fondly down at him.

“Sorry, Yata-can,” he said. “I don’t think we can do this ourselves.”

“….All right,” Yata said grudgingly. “For now, we’ll go with the stupid monkey. But just for now, right?”

“Just for now,” Kusanagi said. “Come on. Let’s get Anna-chan and get ready to leave.”

Kusanagi grabbed his cane and headed back into the other room. Yata hung back for a moment, face grim. Kamamoto approached him nervously.

“Yata-san….let’s just listen to Kusanagi-san for now, okay? He’s just trying to keep everyone safe.”

“I know that,” Yata muttered, kicking angrily at the floor. “I know that.” He nodded to himself, crossed his arms, and followed Kusanagi out the door with an angry huff.

Fushimi was still sitting on the couch when they returned. Anna was leaning against him on one side, asleep, and Neko was curled up still in cat form on the other. He looked slightly annoyed and profoundly uncomfortable, and upon seeing him Kusanagi couldn’t help but smile.

“It looks like we’ll be goin’ with you,” Kusanagi told him. Fushimi looked up at him suspiciously for a moment, then nodded.

“Can we go back to Shiro now?” Neko suddenly popped back into girl form with a wide yawn, leaning on Fushimi’s arm.

“Wha…?” Kusanagi’s cigarette fell from his mouth as he stared at the girl who had appeared out of nowhere. Anna stirred sleepily and looked up at Neko’s face, cocking her head curiously for a moment before reaching up and scratching her by her ears. Neko smiled and purred.

“So how do we get out of here, anyway?” Yata came slouching in behind Kusanagi, obviously unhappy. “There are zombies all over the place upstairs.”

“There’s a secret hallway around the back that leads into the house next door,” Kusanagi told him. “That’s how we’ve been getting out for supply runs. Well, it’ll be a bit of a gambit goin’ out there with this many people, but we’ll have to try.”

“She’ll handle that,” Fushimi said calmly, pointing to Neko as he pulled out his PDA. “I’ll inform the Captain we’re on our way.”

“Right, just like a good little blue soldier,” Yata muttered and Fushimi gave him a wide smile.

“That’s right, Misaki.”

“Don’t fight.” Anna hopped off the couch and pulled on Yata’s sleeve.

“I-I’m not fighting,” Yata mumbled. “And anyway, Saruhiko started it.”

“Well, well, let’s all just try and get along for now,” Kusanagi said. “Yata-chan, come help me get some supplies taken care of. We’ll leave as soon as it’s safe.”

—

“Sir.”

Munakata looked up from the scroll in his hands as Awashima peered into the room. His office in the secondary headquarters was fairly small and cramped, but there was no helping it. Their previous emergency headquarters was the one that had been designed from the start, intended even before the zombie outbreak to serve as a backup if the worst should happen and something were to destroy their proper office. Munakata had been the one to order the creation of the secondary headquarters himself, after they’d been forced to flee from Scepter 4’s original building. The secondary headquarters had been cobbled together once Fushimi had helped them pull up an old copy of the plans from when the city had first been built, and then furnished using whatever leftovers they could spare from the emergency shelter. They were down to only a handful of computers now, running on limited power, along with what supplies they could commission from the emergency refugee shelters scattered around the city.

“You may enter, Awashima-kun.”

Awashima nodded and moved to stand in front of him.

“I’ve just received communication from Fushimi-kun, sir. He’s found Kusanagi Izumo. Kushina Anna is with him.” Awashima couldn’t stop the small note of relief that crept into her voice when she said Kusanagi’s name.

“Excellent.” Munakata stared at the scroll in his hands again, smiling. “I believe I have decoded Miwa Ichigen’s last message. All we need is the information from Kushina Anna and we will at last be ready to begin.” He stood. “You may start the preparations, Awashima-kun. Once Fushimi-kun returns, our counteroffensive begins.”

[bowl-of-shortness]

Okay, well if you're gonna offer, I have to ask about Cloqwork 👀 I know how they meet in the AU, but how does their relationship evolve?

Well at first Oz is (understandably) terrified of Qrow mainly because he’s seen this kid around and he’s not the nicest dude out there.

Once he starts tutoring Qrow he kinda just chills out a little bit, mainly because he was just taking his frustration of not adapting to city school well. In turn I imagine Qrow gives him advice in a fight, specifically defensive stuff bc if anything happens to this lanky, greying, pale, and short kid he’s going to feel really really bad.

The two become friends after a while of them tutoring and they begin hanging out outside of school. Qrow introduces him to his team, they all really like Oz (even Raven despite what she says). The first time they actually go and hang out outside of the academy, they run into the issue that neither of them really know what to do.

Qrow sorta freaks because he thought this kid knew everything and it turns out he’s hardly ever stepped out of the house until now. Eventually Ozpin just looks at stuff on his scroll and they decide on an arcade. While there Oz makes a comment that his parents would’ve killed him had they known about that, not intending for said comment to turn into anything and Qrow just sorta looks at him like “why?”

And thus enters the entire arc of Qrow trying to get shit out of Ozpin bc Oz is way too scared to actually say anything that happened in his childhood.

After that whole mess they both promise to try and be more honest to each other, and eventually Oz gets the courage to ask Qrow a favor, which is getting long memory.

Now at this point Ozpin has been dealing with grumpy-and-really-an-ass-king Ozymandias whose been demanding he go and get the cane. Problem is, it’s in a museum. So STRQ and Ozpin do what anyone would do.

They break in and steal the cane.

Which was surprisingly Ozpin’s idea, he was the one who wanted to do crime while the others were like “mmm but are you sure?”

This leads to the long discussion between Ozymandias and Ozpin that’s basically: “Why tf would you steal the cane?!” “Idk, did you have a better idea?!” “._.”

But mainly throughout the timeline it’s just a lot of slice of life, sometimes angst, between the two, and ofc we know that it takes them a while to actually get into a relationship because they’re ✨in denial/self hatred✨

But yeah!

[saythemahae]

fictober 22, day 3: "that was not my intention"

summary

“Stop doing that, for fuck’s sake! You’re only spreading the coffee even more, dude.” Mark said even angrier than before. “And also, you’re bleeding.”

In which college-boy Mark is having a bad day and Donghyuck makes it even worse (but fixes it).

Mark was having the shittiest of days, really. He had to wake up incredibly early for an exam that he didn’t studied for because he had a shift at his job until late at night, his laptop charger broke for no reason, he run out of his favorite perfume and, on top of that he was hungry as fuck. That’s why he ended up in the cafeteria when class already started —he didn’t wanted to meet any of his classmates that morning, blame him— and ordered a sandwich and a strong coffee.

The boy loved to eat alone in the bright cafeteria and just look through the window to see the beautiful landscape Seoul would offer every morning. He knew coming to South Korea from Canada for university was a good idea —even if at first he fought a lot with his parents trying to stay in Toronto—, but at times like that, he missed home. He left lots of close friends there, and he knew he would lose them when years started to go by. He was right, of course. That was his last year of university and he hadn’t spoken to no one from the other side of the ocean since his second course. But at least he made some nice friends there.

When Mark was thinking of calling his mother to ask about her and the family, he saw a boy entering the cafeteria and going straight to the counter. He had seen him several times at college or even at some parties —his bright, purple hair was hard to miss— and he only knew he was a year younger and what he was majoring in, as they had only spoken a few times. He was wearing a pair of golden glasses that were maybe too low on his nose, a pair of ripped jeans and a black dress shirt with matching boots. He definitely looked too good for being so early in the morning, unlike mark, whose dark circles almost reached his cheeks and his white shirt was wrinkled. At least his jeans were nice?

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts —“I really need to buy some new clothes”— that when the cold beverage run down his back he could do nothing but gasp soundly.

“Dude, what the fuck?!” Mark exclaimed, trying to see who had stained his white shirt.

“Oh my God, I’m so, so, so sorry! Here, let me clean it,” the boy that got Mark’s attention just a couple of minutes ago was now standing before him with a mortified look and an ugly scratch on his left knee. He also was trying to clean the stain with a couple of napkins he got at the counter while he ordered his iced americano.

What Mark didn’t see was that the poor boy stumbled over a protruding slab and fell to the floor just behind him, which resulted in his drink flying in the air and ending up on the older boy.

“Stop doing that, for fuck’s sake! You’re only spreading the coffee even more, dude.” Mark said even angrier than before. “And also, you’re bleeding.”

“Hey, I’m sorry! That was not my intention,” the younger replied matching his tone, while he also tried to clean his wound. “And by the way, my name is Donghyuck, not dude.”

It was then when Mark realized he was being considerably rude to Donghyuck and sighed. “You’re right, sorry,” he said taking his hand to his own nape and massaging it. “I’m just having a really, really shitty day and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.”

Donghyuck felt sympathy for him, since he could notice how tired he was just by looking at his face. “It’s okay! Mmm…” he bit his lip, wondering whether he should say his next suggestion or not. He did, anyway. “I have a clean shirt on my car. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll give it to you? So you don’t have to go around college all day with a wet and stained shirt.”

“Oh?” Mark said surprised. “That would actually be really nice, to be honest,” he replied with a light chuckle.

The younger’s face lighted up, clearly happy because Mark wasn’t giving him a scary expression anymore, but rather a cute one. “Then let’s go! I always park really close to the cafeteria because I need my daily dose of caffeine as soon as I arrive here.”

After another small laugh, Mark finished his coffee in one sip and followed the boy out of the café. He could see he didn’t like awkward silences, because he wouldn’t stop talking all the way until they got to the car.

“And that’s why I chose the Musical Theatre degree!” he finished happily. He looked at Mark’s face and saw him smiling. “I’m sorry, I definitely talk too much. I—“

“No, that’s okay! I mean it. It was a nice story. I’ve seen you at some plays and I must say you’re extremely good at singing. I envy you.”

And he was absolutely right. Donghyuck always participated in the plays that were done at university and Mark was fascinated by his talent every single time. They even collaborated before for a big project. His major was Music Production, so they studied at the same building, and the purple-haired boy was pretty much famous between all the students and teachers. He was the ace. And he was also a good person, as the older noticed that day, because, as promised, he took out of the car a clean, grey shirt with some message written in the middle of it and gave it to Mark. It smelled like the boy: sweet vanilla.

“I hope you like it! I always take a spare one just in case something happens, and today it has finally served its purpose,” explained the younger with a laugh at the end, which Mark mimicked.

“This is perfect, Donghyuck, thank you,” he said bowing his head in gratitude. “I’m glad my ruined shirt with a considerable coffee stain has been of any use.”

“Ahh, I’m genuinely sorry for that, Mark,” his voice sounded really sincere as he bit his bottom lip once again, ashamed. “But talking about that… I really wanna make it up to you, so… Would you like to come to a café with me tomorrow? My trait! And I promise your clothes will be safe.”

Mark was taken by surprise by the boy’s request, but he was being just so cute that he couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face.

“Are you asking me on a date, Lee Donghyuck?” he asked with an eyebrow raised and a smirk.

The shocked expression of the later was priceless. “I-I mean, if you want to, it could be a date, yeah…”

Donghyuck was as red as a beetroot and Mark thought it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

“It’s a date then.”

author note: hello hello hellO! there you have the third entry for fictober 22! i didn't had too much time to think about this one since i've been out today, but i'm happy with it! this will have two chapters, the second one coming out tomorrow. hope you enjoy it!

love, irene. ✩

[rieamena]

passionate about you

kenji sato—

synopsis: you and kenji spent a day with chiho which got him thinking… when can you have one of your own?

content warnings: fem!reader, smut..., fluff-ish?, ken calls you "mama" and "mommy" just once though, riding, mating press, squirting (i think thats it............)

nsfw links!: in the beginning, youre going too slow..., in the shower, what he sounds like, what he sounds like ver 2 <- this one is NOT a twitter link!!!!

mdni after the nsfw content divider pls :(

kenji's hand was comfortably on your hip as you both waved bye to chiho. you leaned into his shoulder, whispering quietly, "she's adorable." ken closed the front door, nodding in response. he led you into the kitchen, lifting you onto the counter, his body between your legs, his eyes searching yours for a moment before speaking again. “have you ever thought about... having one of our own?” your heart skipped a beat at his words, the suggestion hanging in the air between you. kenji’s fingers traced gentle patterns on your hip, his touch sending a shiver down your spine. “i have,” you admitted softly, your gaze holding his. “have you?”

“yeah,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion. “seeing you with chiho made me realize how incredible it would be to have a little one with you. to create a family together.” your breath hitched at the intensity in his eyes, the sincerity of his words. kenji leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, his lips lingering there as if to seal a promise. “imagine it,” he whispered against your skin. “a little boy or girl running around, laughing and playing. us, being their parents. teaching them, loving them.” the image he painted was vivid, and you could almost see it—the life you could build together, the love you could share with a child of your own. kenji’s hand slid to your lower back, pulling you even closer, his body warm and solid against yours. “i want that,” you whispered back, your voice barely audible. “i want that with you.”

kenji who immediately rids you both of your clothes, lifting you up from the counter and into his arms, forcing your lips into a deep kiss. "i've wanted this for so long…" ken whispered, his hands gripping and palming at your ass. you moved your hips slightly, shuddering when you feel his length hit your cunt so easily. throwing you over his shoulder and giving your rear a few playful slaps, kenji walked to your shared bedroom, tossing you on the bed. he was achingly hard, and it was all at the thought of getting you pregnant.

kenji who begs you to ride him; he loves it when you're on top of him. and you can tell. his body becomes so sensitive and you can feel his lengthy dick pulsing as you praise him, "kenji, you feel so good~" he groans in response, breaths heavy and hot as he latches his mouth onto your chest, trying his hardest to not flip you on your back and push all of him into you. "mmm, might cum early if you keep talkin' like that." "you know i wouldn't mind, baby…"

kenji who desperately fucks up into you when you're going too slow. you moan his name over and over again, clinging onto his shoulders for support, the feeling of him ramming himself into you overwhelming. sending you into oblivion, tears welling up, moaning "more~ more~" and "'s so good…" you could barely understand his question. "you want me to get you pregnant?" kenji's voice was rough, breaking a couple times to let his own sounds of pleasure slip. all you could do was whine and nod, mewling when his hand laid a harsh slap against your ass. "use your words, baby." "y-yes ken, please!" his moans mixed with yours, muffling them as he pressed kisses to your neck and collarbone.

kenji whose voice gets so loud and whiny when he's close. "[name], please. please. please. oh fuck— yes baby, i— i— oh… you're so pretty…" removing his hand from your waist, it snaked up, cupping under your breast and gently squeezing at your neck, before holding your tear streaked face. "i'm gonna— princess—ah, i'm gonna—" you laid your body against his, choking back gasps and groans as you whispered in his ear, "give it to me."

kenji who pushes his cock deeper inside you as he paints your insides with his seed, holding onto your waist so hard, it could leave a bruise. your pussy spasmed around his dick, voice babbling incoherently. the only thing he could make out was his name. "ken— ah! ngh~ fuc-mmm— kenji~!"

kenji whose libido is insane. near immediately after he gave you his cum, he placed your head on the pillows, "thank you, baby…", he said against your lips, kissing you softly; before pushing your knees to your shoulders, and fucking his liquid deeper inside, determined to give you another load. a white ring formed where you and him met, a sweet mixture of your cum and his. your mind went blank, long and heavy moans on your lips. legs shaking at the overstimulation, you mewled "fuck— too much! 's too much ken…" kenji rubbed your shoulders for comfort, "i know you can take it, baby. i know you can." briefly pulling out, ken groaned loudly as your squirt covered his abdomen. "fuck mama, that was so sexy…" he shoved right back into you, wincing at how tight you were and how you spasmed. massaging your thighs sweetly, he leaned down to kiss your cheeks and jaw, "calm down girl… i'm right here… think you can do that for me again?"

kenji who offers to clean you up in the shower but ends up buried inside of you again. "just to make sure, okay…" your back pressed against the glass door, the steam from the water and the pure pleasure you were feeling threatened to render you unconscious. "stay with me, sweetheart. last time, i swear…" kenji held your body tightly as he came in you for the final time, groans so uncontrollable, they were borderline whimpers, "thank you, thank you so much. you did so well for me… i love you, 'm gonna make you a mommy…" clawing at his back in response, you took heavy breaths against his neck like you were desperate for oxygen. pulling out of your warm cunt, kenji stared at your fucked out face. your eyes were lidded, a tired smile on your face as you gave ken a quick kiss to his lips, collapsing into him directly after. and if somehow you didn't get pregnant from all of that, best believe kenji would try much harder next time.

UGHHH LOVED LOVED LOVED WRITING THIS had me kicking my feet and blushing SO hard..... may have lied earlier today.... first time writing smut i hope yall liked it 😭😭😭 reqs + asks are open <3

taglist <3

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@reit0o @luvshleyyy @lovingyeet @stickypaperstarlight @raee-dreeaaamz 

@rreasonablydumbb @bandolls @gingersnap126126 @automalvo @spiderboogie 

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@purplegobrrrrrr @sillybillyp9 @cyberpsiko @swaggyv1v1 @l-charl

[snapheart1536]

Bad Arguments

Elizabeth I

She Never Said Nuffin!

Every excuse defends Seymour:

Me: Oh no! He's breaking into her room again!

Them: Listen up, stupid: Girls Could Marry At Twelve.

See? Stepdaughters are fair game now I've said that.

DON'T JUDGE HIM.

But damns Elizabeth:

Me: Poor baby. I do feel sorry for her.

Them: Um? She Was An Adult.

AH-DULT.

You know, gagging for it.

If she didn't totally want rape she would've done the honourable thing and died at birth.

Bitch.

Amazing how their oh-so precious Context always absolves him of guilt, yet brands her a whore in the exact same Perfectly Normal situation.

Funny that.

Now you forgot all about Elizabeth begging Seymour not to touch her and take this seriously like a true pearl-clutching Intelleckchul, for this line pops out when the other two don't work.

WELL! Well! I mean...well!

Well...she...she...She Nevah Sed Nuffin about it, did she?

Ah! Ah! Well that just shows, doesn't it!

Why are they so adamant Elizabeth enjoyed sexual abuse?

No matter the evidence we give, it's NEVER enough, yet we're pressured to accept the most warped readings of history as true.

All so they can vilify a thirteen-year-old girl.

Class.

Apparently Elizabeth not rushing down the pub and giving it good gossip about her uncle-step-dad feeling her up is proof positive she loved every minute; saying nowt precisely so the happy days just kept on rollin'.

Otherwise all those innumerable, ultra-powerful killjoy relatives o' hers might swoop in and put a stop to it, the bastards.

Strange. I thought staying silent was the textbook reaction to child abuse.

Nah. Turns out behaving like your typical victim proves it was never abuse at all.

Mmm-hmm.

I'm wondering now what evidence is acceptable, if even the tell-tale signs of distress aren't enough.

Why, nothing! Nothing at all!

Yeah. A girl whose mother and stepmother were murdered on false charges of sexual shenanigans naturally should've gone round bragging how she was on the receiving end of 'em for real.

As that'll turn out well.

Weird, innit? She grows up knowing society kills women for adultery, and then gets desperate to preserve her own reputation.

Come on, love. Lighten up.

What's the worse that could happen?

Nope. No downsides here.

Yet who was she supposed to tell?

DUH! Her parents, dummy!

But they're dead.

...

Well OBVIOUSLY her guardians.

But they're the ones molesting her.

...

AH! AH! How about her brother, eh? Eh?!

You want a thirteen-year-old girl to explain to a nine-year-old boy how his uncle and stepmother are interfering with her body?

AND for this to go through his other uncle, and thereby spread about the court?

...

OH! Whaddabowt Mary?! Ah, you forget that!

So she'd side with Anne Boleyn's daughter in a 'sex scandal', would she, withstanding all the resulting controversy whilst fully convinced of her innocence?

As if!

You're telling me Elizabeth had NO ONE to turn to, but should be ripped apart anyway?

For they can't sympathize on instinct; she's gotta earn it like a dog, jumping through an endless line of ever-shrinking hoops, which she doesn't even know are there.

It's up to her to fulfill their impossible demands to 'deserve' pity.

And THIS is moral righteousness?

But the worst part?

Abused children live in shame and terror, convinced they brought it on themselves and won't be believed.

Then here come the 'experts' blaming adult perversions on Elizabeth for turning twelve, interpreting everything she did in the worst light to justify their own raving hatred.

In doing so they confirm the fears every victim feels, perpetuating pædophilia by keeping the suffering silent.

[gentrychild]

You're a BNHA expert, and you mention sometimes that the society of BNHA is somewhat dystopian. I was just wondering if you could elaborate on that, if you don't mind.

The basis of my "bnha society is a dystopia" is the fact that the hero society is funded on making people believe that they are still normal human like before the Dawn of Quirks and distract them with flashy heroes so they don't realize that their quirks aren't just powers: they influence them.

In order to survive the Dawn of Quirks and how crazy things became, the society gaslighted the population into believing that the "no quirk use in public places or in your work without a license" rule was viable.

They literally put the right to use their quirks as much as they want into the hands of those who have a license from the government. Uraraka, someone whose quirk could be incredibly useful in the building company of her parents, can't use her own power unless she goes through a three years cursus where she has to learn how to fight and must obey the Hero Commission.

But the real problem is that quirks want to be used. The more powerful the quirk is, the more it will influence the holder.

So you have most of the population who is discouraged from using their quirks. (And isn't it interesting since several persons pointed out that the more you use your quirk, the stronger it becomes.) As for those who already have a strong quirk but unsuited to the hero life... Well, they become villains.

There is a reason why we keep getting examples of Personality Powers and Bad Powers, Bad People tropes.

The ultimate example in-universe is Toga, who repressed the urges linked to her quirk until she snapped. But we also got Tomura, who was indeed messed up by AFO but I don't think it's a coincidence that he has constant urges to destroy everything when his quirk is "Decay." I will even argue that Touya (family issues aside) being the way he is has something to do with him having a powerful quirk and suddenly being told to never use it again.

I have the absolute conviction that there would be less villains if the hero society got rid of the anti quirk laws. But the problems with less villains is that you suddenly get a ton of heroes who are doing nothing since there isn't enough criminality to justify their existence, and people start to wonder "Mmm, do we really need so much... trained soldiers? Offset of the military?"

The BNHA society is a society where the government showcases the heroes in order to have the most powerful members of society with the necessary outlets for them not to go bonkers and in order to have the general population living through them in order not to notice that they are slightly influenced by their quirks and with part of the population sacrificed into becoming the bad guys so they can justify the existence of said hero society.

+ the fact that despite what Izuku said, technology has marched on since the Dawn of Quirks. You just have to look at the support gear and the technology on I-Island and in Tartarus. However, it's explicitly stated that support gear, unless it's obtained on the black market or because you have a medical condition, is limited to heroic use.

+ the fact that since they made heroes, who are government agents, into celebrities, the Hero Commission has done some incredibly shady things behind the side in order to keep selling their fairy tale.

[mianavs]

Love Me Wrong [07 ; Reconcile]

content: corruption, manipulation, yandere themes, smut, angst, blood, violence/death, non-con elements, oral sex, mentioned fauxcest

featuring: mikey x reader, bonten, takemichi, kazutora

note: haha let's pretend it didn't take me almost 2 months to write this~ regardless, i hope you all like the ending. it's the ending i had in mind since the beginning! a huge thank you to everyone who liked, reblogged, and commented on this story~ you guys mean the world to me <3

words: 8.2k

other: masterlist

A part of you had always known that your memory would come with a myriad of problems and emotions, but you never expected them to include the worst parts of yourself that had been buried in the darkest recesses of your mind. The putrid feelings that naturally arose in a child from a broken home. The kind that made you seek out others in similar situations just to make yourself feel better because misery really did like a little company. Those were the terrible feelings that propelled you to look for your half-brother, the product of your father’s affair, and the only person that seemed to have it worse than you.

It was only after you found him, that you started to feel better about yourself. You appreciated the refrigerator at home that was always full, your clean and comfortable bed, and even the constant influx of toys gifted to you by your absent parents–all of the things Tetta didn’t have. And when you realized that the one thing he did have was a mother’s love, you selfishly weaseled your way into his home and took some of that love for yourself while replacing it with your warped affection for him. A transaction you considered to be generous compared to the material things your parents gave you instead.

And much like the constant influx of toys your parents sent you to make up for their absence, you showered Tetta with affection in spite of his scheming and terrible actions against those in his way. You knowingly turned a blind eye to his misdeeds and continued trailing after him like the good little sister you fooled yourself into believing you were. Because if you didn’t, then you would’ve been forced to face your true ugly self. The one you’d worked so hard to hide and forget. The selfish, miserable girl who had everything Tetta wanted and thought that being a clingy and annoying sister would’ve been enough to make up for it.

But in the end, it wasn’t. Tetta’s power-hungry spiral led him to an early and terrible death, and you coped the only way you knew how– burying your guilt and acting the part of the naive little sister whose only fault was loving her lost cause of a brother. It took everything you had gone through with Mikey and Bonten to strip the veil from your eyes and see that your brother had been a despicable person who had gone so far as to kill in cold blood.

As the faces of Izana Kurokawa and Emma Sano swirled around in your mind, you felt Kaku’s warm breath stutter behind you as his body shifted.

“Mmm can’t sleep?” His morning voice came out gruff as he tightened his hold on your waist and drew you closer until you could feel the calm beating of his heart over his warm chest. It was the middle of the night but your thoughts were running haywire and you were finally coming to terms with your past actions–or inactions–particularly when it came to someone the man holding you had cared for deeply.

“Did you ever hate me… after what he did to Izana?”

The question left your lips before you realized you’d been thinking aloud. It took him a moment, but he sucked in a breath when it dawned on him who exactly you were referring to.

“I hated Kisaki… but never you. I could never hate you.” He admitted slowly, tasting the words as they slipped from his lips to the shell of your ear. “I know you had nothing to do with his crimes.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to your temple before settling back into bed with a tired yawn, his thumb tracing circles over your hip. You knew it was meant to comfort you but his touch only made your skin prickle from guilt. You couldn’t help but feel that you didn't deserve it. His comfort. His love. His faulty faith in your innocence. All of those things weighed heavily on your conscience along with the knowledge that you could have done something to stop your brother and perhaps prevented the tragedy that occurred on that frigid February day. The one that ripped two of Mikey’s loved ones–a brother and sister–and probably led him down that path of self-destruction.

And for the first time since your memories returned, you felt something other than fear and resentment toward the man who’d held you accountable for your brother’s sins. Your heart clenched with pity for Manjiro Sano and just like every night since you’d woken up from your accident, you fell asleep thinking of him.

The following morning, you woke up to a crippling fear when you realized you would have to face Mikey and pretend you hadn’t recovered your memories and were planning your escape. It swirled in your belly and scarcely let you keep down the couple bite of breakfast you did manage to swallow. It was all you could think about despite Kaku’s best efforts to distract you with plans for your future together.

He spoke of different places the two of you could visit, at home and abroad, but your mind kept going back to the penthouse and your white jail cell. He even talked about the childhood friend that would be hiding you in the meantime, Takemichi Hanagaki, but the only piece of information that stuck with you was that he’d been close to Mikey before Bonten’s inception. But it wasn’t until the two of you were in the back of a cab heading back to the penthouse, that your strained string of composure snapped the moment Kaku hung up on Koko and disclosed that Mikey and the rest of Bonten would return in the evening.

“I-I can’t go back there!” The declaration came out rushed and desperate. With your head tilted downward, you wrung your hands together over your lap.

Kaku’s concerned gaze weighed heavily on you. “What do you mean you can’t go back? You don’t have another option, Y/N.” He reached for your hands but you jerked them away and looked up.

“W-What if I can’t escape?!” you demanded, not caring if you had an audience. “What if Mikey finds out or what if I just can’t leave–”

You barely managed to stop yourself from giving yourself away, from voicing that dark and twisted feeling you’d been struggling to snuff out since last night. The ‘him’ was on the tip of your tongue, but you swallowed it and turned away, shame bubbling in your chest. You were sick. There was no other explanation for why you were having those feelings of regret when it came to Mikey, and you feared returning to his side because you weren’t sure you would have the strength to leave him if you did.

A choked sob ripped from your throat at the thought of sentencing Kaku to death over your betrayal. Hot tears welled up in your eyes and you clapped a hand over your mouth to muffle your cries.

Unable to see you cry, Kaku pulled you into his arms and held you close, tucking your head underneath his chin. He smelled of the hotel room’s soap and his signature musk. He smelled like safety and everything you should’ve wanted without a shred of doubt but didn’t, so you buried your face in his chest and cried even harder while he held you tighter.

“I’ll meet with Takemichi today so we can get you out of there tomorrow before first light, okay?”

You wished you had the means to leave on your own and not have to depend on a knight-in-shining-armor to come to your rescue. But you didn’t and you probably never would even with Kaku.

Unable to voice your response, you nodded against his chest and braced yourself for your reunion with Mikey, hoping you’d put an end to your traitorous feelings toward him once and for all.

For the first time since your imprisonment at Bonten’s penthouse, you were alone. Kakucho had left you there with a kiss on your forehead and the promise of freedom early the following morning. A promise that had lost its sweetness now that you had returned and were left to your own devices in facing Mikey. Once you retreated to your white room, an overwhelming sense of helplessness settled into your bones and made your escape seem impossible.

You tried working on a variety of tasks around your room to keep your mind off Mikey but everything you touched made you think of him and the things he’d done to you. The lies and manipulation he used to have you do his bidding. The encounters with the Bonten members he orchestrated that you now realized were meant to punish you but quickly snowballed into something messier. Something that had started off as a sick revenge ploy and contorted into an unhealthy obsessive relationship. Mikey wanted to make you his and you didn’t know if you could part from him in spite of everything done to you.

In the end, you gave up on keeping yourself busy and settled for a shower before heading to bed. It was a futile attempt to avoid him, much like a child covering its eyes and thinking they’re safe just because they’re blind to the dangers surrounding them, but it was all you could think to do in order to prevent yourself from going mad with worry. Perhaps if luck was on your side, you’d be able to avoid the reunion altogether and leave without ever facing him.

Unfortunately, it’d been some time since luck had genuinely been on your side, and you were stirred awake by the sound of the heavy door and Mikey’s strained voice.

“I know you’re awake,” he said as he approached you. “Why aren’t you greeting me like always?”

Your heart dropped at that, but you braced yourself before drawing the covers back and sitting up on the edge of the bed, slowly taking in the man you resented yet cared for. The person who was your enemy, captor, pretend brother, and lover. Seeing him dressed in black and covered in blood, you recalled the last thought you had before succumbing to your injury; a thought that likened him to the personification of death. And just like your first encounter, Mikey came to you–only this time you didn’t pass out. His hands, although clean, smelled like blood and gunpowder as they gingerly held your petrified face. As he searched your face. his pools of endless black widened before his brow furrowed and a glint of melancholy shone only to be replaced by a hardened look–one he’d only directed at his men but never you.

His lips twitched into a smile that didn’t meet his eyes and your throat constricted. You gripped the covers as you peered up at Mikey and to your horror, his thumbs wiped away tears you hadn’t realized you’d shed.

“Your memories are back, aren’t they?” It was a statement posed as a question that left no room for you to answer it. “You’re looking at me the same way you did when we first met.”

You opened your mouth to refute him, but you couldn’t form the words and just stared up at him in horror. His smile disappeared and he released your face, turning his back to you in what you could only describe as disappointment.

The plan had failed, and it was all your fault. You were unable to save Tetta and Hanma and now Kaku and Koko would be added to that list unless you threw Mikey off their scent. You wracked your brain for what to say or what to do in order to protect them and decided to ask the question you had wanted to ask him since you recovered your memories.

“Did you really want me dead?”

That caught his attention well enough. He paused halfway to the door before turning his head just enough to see his profile. The dark circles underneath his sunken eyes were more pronounced than you remembered, and you wondered if he'd gotten any sleep since the last time you slept together.

His mouth opened for a moment but he quickly shut it and looked down. Mikey had always been a force of power to you, but ever since you'd started recovering your memories, he seemed to have weakened. The Mikey that stood before you was a shell of what he had once been. Gone was the all-powerful and ruthless leader of Bonten who made grown men tremble with only a look.

He faced you head-on and you resisted the itching urge to comfort him, to make meaningless apologies and ignore the root of the problem. You’d done it countless times with Tetta and you’re subconscious forced the same habit with Mikey, but you were resolved to put an end to it all.

When Mikey seemed to realize you weren’t going to fall back on your old habits, a glimpse of panic crossed his face before he looked to his feet.

“I did… I was planning on killing you myself that day,” he looked up and gave you a rueful smile. “I didn’t think it was fair that Kisaki’s sister got to live while mine was dead.”

You repeated Sanzu’s words from that day. “An eye for an eye.”

He shifted his gaze and looked lost in thought. “Exactly.”

Silence filled the space between the two of you as you contemplated a world where your brother hadn’t delivered the blow that led to Emma Sano’s death. You eventually shook that fantasy from your head and stood up to face reality head-on.

“I’m not Tetta,” you declared, approaching a stunned Mikey, “and I’m not Emma. I’m just me.”

For the first time in your warped relationship, you had some semblance of control and didn’t hesitate in getting everything off your chest.

“I’ll admit that I did turn a blind eye to his schemes and crimes, and for that, I apologize. And while I don’t think I deserved to die for that, I do think my memory loss and everything else that happened was some sort of long overdue karma.”

He shook his head lightly, the remorse on his face as clear as day. “No matter what you did or didn’t do, what I did to you was wrong, and I want to apologize even if I don’t expect or deserve your forgiveness.”

You were speechless. An apology from Mikey was something you had never expected. He was the leader of Japan's largest crime syndicate and apologies, let alone remorse, had no place with someone like him. Yet there he was, sorry for using you as an outlet for revenge against your brother's crimes and with no expectation of forgiveness. You had already known reuniting with him would've weakened your resolve on leaving him but his lament was like a wrecking ball crashing into it and causing it to crumble with each forlorn look his midnight eyes cast in your direction.

You wondered if his remorse was enough to let you go. You licked your lips as you tried to find the right words to say, and his eyes darted to your mouth. Warmth spread across your cheeks under his intense stare. When you finally mustered enough willpower to breach the subject, Mikey beat you to the punch.

“And I'm also sorry because even though I don't deserve you, I can't let you go.” He went to you, retaking your face in his hands. You watched frozen in place as that familiar deranged expression peeked through his mask of sorrow, lips twitching, eyes glazed over, and pupils blown out. He backed you against a wall and, just like that, regained control.

“Just as I was unable to kill you.”

With his body pressed against yours–his warm breath fanning across your face–heat pooled in your core and goosebumps rose across the expanse of your skin. The power his touch, words, and gaze had over you was terrifying considering your memories had returned and you were well aware of his true motive behind your kidnapping and manipulation. It was as if nothing had changed between you–no, things had changed. You could love and be loved by him without that voice in the back of your head telling you it was wrong because he was your brother. It was now telling you something different altogether.

“Mikey, no, th-this relationship isn't healthy.” You pleaded, pressing against his chest and ignoring the growing arousal pressing against your stomach. “We can't go on like this… I-I need to leave.”

He chuckled at that and shook his head before pressing his forehead against yours, the smell of blood and sweat filling your nostrils. You watched as one of his hands pulled out a handgun from his back pocket and set it down on the nightstand next to you.

“Since we both know I'm incapable of killing you, the only way you'll be able to get rid of me is if you kill me because I refuse to die by anyone else's hand but yours.” He nuzzled against your neck, tickling the sensitive skin there as he inhaled your scent. “Otherwise, if you run away, I'll keep searching for you. I'll chase you until the ends of the earth if I have to.”

It was a threat that tasted like a promise, made only sweeter by the press of his lips against your jugular. You gasped at the sensation of his warm, wet tongue trailing up to your jaw, and that was all the invitation Mikey needed to seize the back of your head and draw you into a hungry kiss.

You wasted no time in reciprocating it and pulling him closer until you were also tainted with the blood he'd spilled. The possibility of this kiss, this encounter, being your last spurred your desperation and you matched his ardor, well-aware of where it would lead.

The two of you made your way to your bed amidst a series of messy kisses and fervent touches. His hands ran up your thighs, while you snaked them around his torso, the skirt of your nightgown bunching up around your hips in the process. When the air in your lungs ran out and he broke off your kiss, the intoxicating desire shining in his eyes coaxed a whimper from your lips. Your own lust fogged your mind and muffled the voice of reason begging you to untangle yourself from your captor and finally put an end to it all.

But how could you when Mikey's lips quirked into that satisfied grin he wore whenever you surrendered to him before reattaching to your skin and leaving a trail of marks down your throat, while his erection pressed against your aching core just enough to tease but not satiate your need no matter how much your hips writhed against him? That voice's pleas fell on deaf ears as you worked on removing the pesky bloodied clothing that separated you from what you wanted.

You took in his pale skin that shined underneath the moonlight and marveled at the sight of him. Your hands traveled up the expanse of his exposed skin, committing each groove and indent to memory while he rested his head against your forehead and watched. His breath hitched when your fingers brushed against his erect nipples. Emboldened by his reaction, you lowered your mouth to one of them and flicked at it with your tongue while your thumb mimicked the same movement on the other. He let out the needy moan when your lips wrapped around the now swollen nub and you rolled the other between two digits.

You reveled in the power you had over him and finished stripping him of his clothes by tugging on his briefs and releasing his erect cock, flushed at the tip and already leaking. You brushed the slit with your thumb, ready to pump his length, but he pulled away first, leaving you dumbfounded.

“No,” he hissed, seizing your wrists. “Your turn.”

Before you could ask what he meant, he pulled off your flimsy nightgown and captured your lips in another fervent kiss, making you dizzy with desire. He settled you on your back and helped pull off your underwear. Bare and lying on the bed at his mercy, you panted as his eyes greedily drank you in. You flushed and tried to cover yourself when you were all too aware of your current state only to have Mikey pin your arms down at your sides.

“Don’t. I want to see you.” He breathed and planted butterfly kisses down your shoulder to your clavicle. “And worship you.”

He returned your attentions tenfold by sucking and nipping at your nipples, taking his time with each until they throbbed and you were a writhing, teary mess underneath.

Clinging to his back, your nails dug into his shoulder blades. “Mikey, please. I want you–I need you.”

You felt him smile against your skin. “Patience, sweetheart,” he kissed down your sternum to your navel. “I’ll give you what we both want.”

Mikey held your thighs apart and put his warm mouth on your cunt, sliding his tongue through your wet folds and over your sensitive nub. You cried out from the delicious shock and buried your fingers in his hair, while he growled and closed his mouth around your clit, lapping and suckling at the throbbing bundle of nerves.

A series of whines left your lips from the pressure building in your core. “Yes, yes, yes, God, Mikey, yes…”

Your orgasm overtook you, your words trailing off, and you gasped, back arching and bright white dotting your vision.

For a moment the only sounds you could make out were your ragged intakes of breath and Mikey’s mouth devouring your cunt like a starved man. It didn’t take long for another peak to build before your first one subsided, but before you could come on his tongue once more, he moved above you, spreading your legs and burying his entire length inside of you.

It’d only been a couple of days since the two of you had last fucked, but it felt longer than that. Being stretched and filled with Mikey’s cock had been amazing the first time, but the pleasure you felt now was unlike any other. You chalked it up to the knowledge he wasn’t your brother at first, but quickly realized it was probably the possibility of never seeing him again after that night. Tears dotted your eyes and you had a harder time discerning the reasoning behind them.

Mikey readjusted your legs by placing them over his shoulders before he pulled out his cock and pushed it back in, black eyes watching in fascination as your cunt greedily swallowed him up.

“Fuck, you feel amazing,” he groaned, meeting your gaze with his smoldering one. “Such a good girl for me.”

His strokes were short and shallow, rubbing against that spot that made your toes curl and your hips roll against him, but after a while, you needed more.

“Mmmm Mikey, please.” You moaned, bringing a hand to where your bodies met. “Harder… faster”

Never one to deny you in bed, he gripped your hips and fucked you the way you wanted to be fucked. He dragged his cock against your walls, pulling out almost entirely before ramming his entire length back in and hitting your cervix with each thrust. 

“God, I fucking love you.” He moaned before placing a kiss against the side of your leg. “I could stay like this forever and it still wouldn't be enough.”

“I-I love you too, Mikey.” You keened before pulling him down to seal your love with a kiss.

The delicious friction of your fucking and the added stimulation of your clit had your eyes rolling back as your orgasm washed over you. A wail ripped from your throat as your muscles stiffened and you gushed around his cock, coating your conjoined bodies with your release. Your cunt clenched around him until it was all too much and his hips stuttered as he came with a groan, filling you up with his seed.

With lidded eyes, you watched his entire body shudder as your cunt pulsed around his length, wringing out every last drop of his seed. The possibility of becoming pregnant with Mikey's child crossed your mind, and you found you didn't dislike the thought. You wanted to savor everything about him at that moment, his lithe body covered in a sheen of sweat, the tendrils of his white hair that stuck to his forehead, his pink parted lips drawing in ragged breaths from the exertions of your fucking, and the rise and fall of his chest and the erectness of his nipples, still flushed from your earlier attention.

The man you loved was so beautiful. You wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of your days in bed with him, where you were both stripped away of your problems and past. The only place where you were just a man and a woman that loved each other. Not the enemies your turbulent past wanted you to be. And if you didn't have other people involved in your escape, you might've just stayed with Mikey.

But you couldn't betray Kaku, Koko, and their friends who were willing to risk their lives to hide you from Mikey. You couldn't selfishly ignore the problems around you and pretend everything was fine anymore. So with tears burning your eyes, you gave him a forced smile before pulling him into an embrace. He settled his head against your neck and sighed in contentment, causing you to hesitate just for a moment before continuing with your plan.

With one arm slung over his shoulders to hold him in place, the other carefully reached over to the nightstand and picked up Mikey's handgun. The cool metal weapon was heavy in your palm as you handled it–almost as heavy as the pit lodged in your throat–but you swallowed your guilt and held the gun out.

“Mikey,” you croaked as the beginnings of a sob broke through. “I'm sorry!”

Mikey's breath hitched, and as soon as he lifted his head, you bashed the side of his head with the gun repeatedly until the iron tang of blood assaulted your nostrils and his head slumped against your shoulder.

It was only when Mikey laid unconscious on top of you, and his warm blood trickled onto your face that you dropped the bloodied gun and sobbed apologies into his shoulder.

Cleaned up and dressed in the only pair of pants you owned, you curled up on your armchair and waited for the first signs of sunrise. Clutching your knees, you glanced over at the bed where Mikey lay unconscious. You'd cleaned his wound and wrapped his head to keep it clean, careful to not move him too much. Every second that passed increased the risk he'd wake up, so you spent your time alternating between watching the night sky and his unconscious form.

When the warm glow of the sun finally peeked through the horizon, you stood up and walked over to where Mikey was. The moments when you got to stare at his sleeping face were rare. He looked at peace and you observed him for a moment before picking up the cleaned gun and tucking it behind your pants. With your heart racing in your chest, you walked to the door without looking back.

The penthouse was eerily silent as you shut the door behind you and made your way to the front elevator. It wasn't until you rounded a corner that someone pulled you by the arm and slammed you against the wall.

You hissed in pain and watched Sanzu's scarred mouth twist into a sinister smile. He looked like a mess. His skin was sallow and sweaty, pupils dilated to the point that his baby blue irises were barely visible, and his eyes were rimmed red. Even without the twitching and angry red scratches on his neck, you could tell he was high and having a bad trip.

“Where do you think you're going?” He sighed, trapping you between his arms and pressing a knee between your legs. “You should be with Mikey,”

He pressed against you until you felt him harden underneath his slacks. “Unless you're tired of him and want someone else.”

“N-no! Stop it, Sanzu.” You tried escaping his grasp but he only ground against you. “M-Mikey won't like it if you do this!”

He laughed and pushed off you before gripping your neck and slamming you back into the wall. You cried out in pain while also managing to conceal the sound of the gun hitting the wall.

He glowered at you. “What Mikey doesn't know won't hurt him,” he snarled and took your lips into a bruising kiss. You pushed against him with one hand while the other snaked behind you.

“You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment, Y/N. Ever since that day Mikey let me have you.” He worked his way down to your neck while you balled your hands into fists, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

“You see this is how things were meant to be, Mikey having his fill of you and then letting me have a turn. After all, it's thanks to me that he found you in the first place.” His free hand shoved inside of your panties and you bit back a yelp.

“I found you.” His fingers parted your dry folds.

“I killed Hanma.” He painfully forced two digits inside your unwilling cunt.

“I led you to him!”

He curled his fingers inside and you shifted your hips under the guise of responding to his ministrations to pull out the gun. And as he smirked at you while fingering your dry cunt, you switched off the safety and shot him in the stomach just as the elevator dinged.

“AHHHH!!!” 

Staggering back, he screamed in pain as fresh blood permeated the front of his purple vest and spilled onto the floor. His hand covered his wound and soon enough the pale pink sleeve of his button-down turned crimson. You tried getting away but your legs gave out, and you collapsed on the floor, bile rising in your throat from the overwhelming smell and sight of his blood.

“You little bitch!” He lunged at you and managed to grasp one of your ankles. “I'm gonna fucking kill y-”

A deafening gunshot reverberated off the walls and silenced Sanzu for good, the bullet going right through the center of his head. Your blood ran cold, your ears rang, and your head pounded as Sanzu's lifeless body toppled over.

There was a piercing scream and it was only when Kaku's large hand covered your mouth that you realized it was yours.

“Shhh… it's okay. You're okay.” He pulled your quivering form into his lap and held you tightly until you managed to recollect yourself.

Footsteps coming from the front elevators caught your attention and you turned to see Koko rushing to you, his face pulled into a scowl. He briefly glanced at Sanzu’s corpse before shaking his head and helping you to your feet.

“We’ve gotta get out of here,” Koko seethed, pulling you toward the exit. “All of us. There’s no oth–”

He stopped mid-sentence when Takeomi emerged from the shadows, gun in one hand and gaze locked on his little brother’s dead body lying in a pool of his blood.

It only took a moment for him to put two and two together and avenge his brother’s death but it felt much longer than that for you. It was as if the scene was played out in slow-motion; you saw everything but could do nothing to prevent it. As Takeomi drew closer and aimed his gun, Koko wrapped his arm around your waist and dragged you away. Tears burned your eyes and a wail tore from your throat as you dug your heels into the ground and clawed at Koko’s arm. Kaku turned around and offered you a reassuring smile before closing his eyes. Takeomi fired his gun just as Koko lurched you around and shielded you from witnessing the death of your most cherished childhood friend.

As Koko dragged you around the corner, you managed to look back one last time to find Ran and Rindou holding back a weaponless Takeomi mourning his brother while Mochi appeared from the shadows, defeated, as he stared at the lifeless bodies of Bonten’s top two men. Led by Koko, you stepped into the elevator and descended to what would be a new chapter in your life. Even without Koko stating it, you knew that was the last you would see of them. And by the look your companion gave you once he passed you on to his friend, Inui Seishu, you couldn’t help but wonder if you’d ever see him again too.

Seven long months had passed since your escape, and in the meantime, it seemed like the whole country had forgotten all about the ruthless Bonten gang that had disbanded in a couple of days and disappeared off the face of the earth immediately afterward. The media blamed their fall on a power struggle between Kaku, Sanzu, and Mikey that left the former two dead and the latter missing along with the Haitani brothers, Takeomi, Mochi, and Koko. But while everyone else seemed to have forgotten Bonten, your protectors, Takemichi Hanagaki and Seishu Inui, didn’t, and they made sure you were always guarded in case Mikey ever did make good on his promise of finding you–especially in your current condition.

You sat out on the balcony above D&D Motors admiring the sunset as the ex-Toman members ate, drank, and chatted away inside Draken and Inui's shared flat. The guys always got rowdy during their little reunion–especially when alcohol was involved–and while you normally had Hina's company to distract you, she was running late and you were feeling emotional at the sight of Toman without its leader. You feigned nausea when Draken sent you a worried look and Inui stopped you before letting you go with a nod.

Leaning back on one of the wicker chairs, you closed your eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, and focused on the sounds around you. It was an exercise your therapist had introduced you to months ago and one you found helped when you were feeling more emotional than usual.

The sliding door opened and Takemichi stepped out, taking a seat on the chair next to you with a sheepish look on his face.

“You okay? You were looking a little pale.” His cornflower-blue eyes were wide with worry as they trailed down your face to your swollen stomach.

“We're okay,” you assured him. “Just feeling a little emotional seeing everyone together except…”

You placed a hand over your womb to find comfort in your baby's gentle breathing and stirrings. Takemichi's gaze lingered on your hand before smiling knowingly.

“It's hard for me too. Knowing that he's out there all alone after everyone he's lost.” He leaned forward and placed a comforting hand over yours.

“Which is why I think we should find him.”

“Wait wha- Ah!”

At his declaration, your heart leapt to your throat and you jerked forward, surprising your baby and suffering the consequences.

Takemichi rushed to you with a look of panic on his face, hands lingering over your shoulders and stomach.

“Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

You rubbed your belly and waited for your baby to settle before sitting back on the chair.

“I'm fine. We're fine,” you said with a smile.“She's just a kicker, this one.”

“Like her father,” he replied without missing a beat. A silence followed as memories of the man filled the void.

“So you know where he is,” you stated. “Who else knows?”

“Just you, me, and Tora, although I suspect Inupi has an inkling,” Takemichi admitted as he returned to his seat.

You chuckled. “Of course he does. Nothing gets past him.” He nodded with a grin, glancing inside to find Inui scowling at a drunk Chifuyu.

Your gaze followed his and trailed toward Draken who was deep in conversation with Pah and Peh. “Are you planning on telling Draken?”

“Not unless Mikey agrees to come back.” Takemichi tore his gaze from his friends to the orange sky. “I don't want him to suffer through another disappointment.”

You nodded, peering down at your swollen stomach. “I understand. That's also the reason why I haven't told him my little girl's name yet.”

“So does tha-”

“Yes, I'm going to Mikey, and I'll only return if he agrees to come back with me and Emma.”

Takemichi opened his mouth, but his protest died on his tongue and said nothing, nodding silently instead.

“He's up north in one of Bonten's old resorts near some-”

“Hot springs,” you finished, recalling the time you declared your love for him all while recovering bits and pieces of your memory.

“You've been there?” He was understandably surprised.

“Yes, once,” you admitted. “Although I can't say I know the exact location.”

“No worries. I have the address and everything. If I didn't have to work this weekend, I'd take you there myself tomorrow.” He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, leaning back in his seat.

It was sooner than you expected, but you couldn't waste any more time waiting for him to make the first move. You were done with just sitting around and waiting for others to make decisions for you. After months of healing and introspection, Mikey was still the one you wanted and you were determined to meet him and see if he still wanted you.

“I'll go by myself. It'd probably be best if I did anyway.”

He wore the worried expression he'd adopted as of late whenever you did anything that would put a strain on your body, and his gaze lowered to your belly; the source of his worry.

“Are you sure it won't be too hard on you?”

Resting a hand over your protruding stomach, you gently shook your head. “I've got two months left before I pop.” You shot Takemichi a small smile. “I'll be fine.”

The following morning, you left with Kazutora so Inui wouldn't ask too many questions, but from the lingering look he gave, you wondered if he suspected the purpose behind your outing and the possibility of never seeing you again. There was a tug on your heart as you exited the shop and gave Draken a wave that he replied to with a nod. You would miss the warmth and solace that Inui, Takemichi, Draken, and to a lesser extent the rest of the Toman gang, offered, but it would pale in comparison to the hollow in your chest you had been living with ever since you left Mikey.

“You okay from here?” Kazutora asked after walking a couple of blocks.

In the months you'd come to know him, Kazutora was the one Toman member you never connected with. He'd always been distant and reserved with you, and after a while, you stopped trying to break down walls you knew he'd only build right back up again. Takemichi chalked it up to pent-up guilt he still felt toward Mikey, and in some ways, you understood. Guilt was a major reason you never spoke candidly with Draken about Emma Sano or Tetta.

“Yeah, thanks.” You turned to face him while he looked away.

“I- tell him… never mind,” he sighed before running a hand through his long hair. You decided to be bolder and placed a comforting hand over his arm.

“Hey, I get it. Don't worry.”

For the first time since you met him, it felt like Kazutora was truly seeing you and not Kisaki's sister or Mikey's girl. And when he walked away with his head tilted up and a lightness to his step, you vowed to bring back Mikey to give Kazutora the closure he still needed. The same closure you planned on giving yourself when you made a detour to buy a wisteria bonsai tree and headed to visit your brother for the last time.

It was only when you saw the untended state of your family's grave that you spared a thought for your absent parents. Were they still so busy that they couldn't spare some time to pay their respects and tidy up the grave?

A sharp kick from your baby stirred you from your thoughts and reminded you of the task at hand. With the plastic wrapping of the small potted tree, you cleared off the dead leaves and dirt that covered the gravestone and placed the pot on the ledge in front of the wooden marker with your brother's name.

“Sorry it took so long,” you said, tracing the characters of his name branded onto the marker. “But here it is.”

Unlike your previous visit, tears didn't well up in your eyes and your throat didn't close up. Instead, all you felt was the relief of being released from a burden that'd been with you for so long you'd forgotten what it was to live without it.

“I hope it can comfort you in ways I couldn't,” you took a deep breath before continuing. “I-I'm done living with regret. I'm going to live my life the way I want… fearlessly and next to the people I want… and I'm sorry… for all the ways I wronged you.”

You took a step back, inclined your head, and clasped your hands together. With your eyes closed, you wordlessly offered a prayer for your brother–the last thing you would do for him–before crumpling up the wrapping into a ball and leaving, not sure if you would ever visit again.

You stood in front of the derelict resort as the taxi you had taken from the train station drove away, mulling over how different the situation was compared to almost a year ago. Overgrown foliage covered the walls and sidewalks and no lights were on despite the late hour. Instead of sleeping most of the way, you'd remained awake and took in the sights during the train ride out of the city. And whereas the reason behind your previous visit had remained unknown, this time you knew exactly why you were here and what you hoped to accomplish.

Inside, the resort wasn't in any better shape. It appeared to have been abandoned since the fall of Bonten and had been visited by looters. Most of the furnishings had been taken away or broken to pieces. Paper doors were torn. Glass shards littered dirty hardwood floors. The smell of mildew permeated the air. Bugs and small animals scurried out of your way as you made your way through the abandoned building searching for a sign of human life in a place that had once been filled with it. A sign that came in the form of a warm glowing light spilling from one of the suites. With bated breath and your heart in your throat, you nervously walked toward the room and peered inside.

Across the room, Mikey sat on the floor looking out at the neglected garden, leaning against the Shoji door frame with a shot glass of amber liquid. There was a small lantern next to him as well as a large bottle of liquor and countless others, empty and scattered across the floor. He looked different than you remembered him. His hair was longer and dyed black. His skin was sallow and his eyes wearier than before. His clothes were wrinkled, stained, and smelled of the same pungent liquor he drank. It was as if he’d stopped taking care of himself around the same time Bonten fell. He was a ghost of a person. A living person playing at being dead. A man that had lost everything including his will to live.

If he noticed your presence, he gave no indication. He turned away from the garden to look straight ahead and downed his shot. A cool gust of wind sent shivers down your spine and you adjusted your oversized cardigan before entering the room, trepidation in each and every one of your steps. You stood in front of him and only addressed him when he refused to even look at you.

“I got tired… of waiting for you to fulfill your promise.” His sunken eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the wood of the doorframe opposite to him, so you continued with just as much stubbornness. “Although I can’t say it was much of a chase… or that this place deserves the title of the ‘ends of the world’.”

At that, Mikey turned to face you, black eyes as dull and lifeless as coal and thin mouth twisted into a wry smile. “Are you finally here to kill me? To avenge Hanma, the woman from the store, and Kakucho? For what I put you through? The lies I fed you in order to manipulate you into doing my bidding? For fucking you while making you believe I was your brother?”

Each poison-laced word that spilled from his mouth was like a gash against your heart, reopening wounds you’d worked so hard to heal. Tears glazed your eyes and your throat closed up, leaving you unable to utter a word. You couldn’t remember a time when you’d seen so much anger and anguish swirling around in his orbs, weighing down on his brow, and tightening his jaw. It relieved and frightened you all at once. It gave you consolation knowing he was still capable of emotion even if it could lead to him breaking his other promise of being ‘incapable of killing you.’

But just like the other times you had been in need of grounding, your baby reminded you of her presence with a firm kick against your stomach. That was all it took for you to brace yourself against Mikey’s storm of emotions and find the words you needed to say.

“And leave my child without a father? I don’t think so.”

Anger and anguish molded into shock as his eyes lowered to your stomach. You shrugged off your cardigan and held your pronounced belly, leaving no room for doubt.

The empty shot glass slipped from Mikey’s hand and shattered on the patio, discarded and forgotten after your announcement. After recovering enough to move, he shakily rose to his knees and crawled the short distance to you, his wide eyes glued to your belly.

He sat back on his haunches when he reached you. “H-How long?”

“Seven months,” you replied, rubbing your belly. “She’s a perfectly healthy and active baby.”

His glazed eyes met yours and all you saw was warmth and amazement etched into his face. An expression you’d never seen on him but one you preferred to all the others.

“She…? Y-you mean?”

You nodded, tears welling up in your eyes. “We’re having a little girl.”

He exhaled sharply before breaking into a tentative smile. His hands trembled as they rose to touch your belly but only hovered over it in hesitation. You helped him along by taking his hands and pressing them against the front where your baby moved the most. Your daughter was as responsive as always and kicked not once, but twice for her dad.

Mikey looked up at you in wonder, causing a surge of affection to bubble in your chest. You were unable to resist the urge to caress his cheek and brought his head against your firm stomach so he could hear his daughter. He wrapped his arms around your waist and held you close while you ran your fingers through his hair. It might've been imperfect, but this was your little family and tears streamed down your face as you watched Mikey’s face light up with each movement your daughter made.

“I-I was thinking of Emma for a name,” you breathed as one hand cradled your belly and the other his cheek. “After her late aunt.”

At first you thought it was a trick of the light, but as you felt wetness against your belly, you realized Mikey was crying. You wondered how long it had been since he’d shed tears. Had he shed any for his fallen comrades months ago? Or had the last time been his sister’s death all those years ago? If he was embarrassed by the act, he didn't show it and merely tightened his hold on you while his tears soaked your clothing.

“Thank you for coming back to me.” He said after his tears ceased and placed a gentle kiss over the swell of your belly before rising to his feet and cradling your face in his hands. “And for giving me a reason to live.”

You closed your eyes and leaned into his touch, relishing in the familiar feeling of his cool, calloused hands.

“Thank you for waiting.”

And just like that evening when you confessed your love for him and Mikey made love to you, he pressed a slow and gentle kiss to your lips. That same kiss that had seemed like a promise. A promise you now realized was a promise of love. A love that had patiently healed and was ready to begin anew.