#mugs for izumi and the kids too!

[literaila]

I was thinking, if reader and gojo decided to have a baby of their own, I'd wanna honor Haibara and name that baby after him but I have this gut feeling gojo would hate it. Also most ffs I read where they have a baby, the child inherits gojos limitless but I have a feeling that wouldn't be the case. Watchu think?

“kaoru?”

“boring.”

“izumi?”

“too common.”

“ami?”

“blech, no.”

you sigh, shaking your head at him. “ami literally means beautiful.”

“and boring.”

satoru is sitting at the end of the couch and rubbing your feet (because you threatened him) and you’ve been at this… well, technically six months. but currently? fifteen minutes.

it’s not like you agree on most things—but you didn’t expect satoru to really care all of that much about a name. he might care about the color of the nursery, but he’s not that sentimental. indifferent, if anything.

though, if satoru can defy your assumptions in any way, he’s sure to do it.

it would be kind of sweet… if it wasn’t completely annoying.

“you know you’re supposed to make your own suggestions?” you ask him, wearing his pout. “not just turn down all of mine.”

satoru grins and you groan on instinct. “i like megumi for a girl.”

there’s a cabinet closing from the other room and then a brief: “shut up,” like megumi can’t be bothered to care any further.

you refrain a smile and point a finger at your antagonistic husband. “don’t ridicule the blessing,” you tell him, and very sternly too.

“i heard that too,” megumi mumbles, setting down two mugs on the coffee table.

you grin at him in thanks. “i know.”

while satoru pours a gallon of sugar in his tea and megumi idles through the baby names book you’ve been hoarding, you close your eyes, thinking again.

“how about sayuri?”

“that’s too close to mine,” satoru resumes his methodical feet massage, much to your relief. “we’d get confused.”

“that’s not even remotely close to satoru.”

satoru make a face. “besides i don’t want any flower names. too girly.”

megumi frowns, snorting. “she’s a girl.”

“and you’re a boy but you still—“

“don’t even,” you interrupt satoru, kicking his leg. he sticks his tongue out at you because he is very mature. “you make a suggestion, gojo.”

“i already did,” he wags a finger at megumi tauntingly.

“so two megumi’s in the house is fine, but god forbid her name shares a syllable with yours?”

satoru pretends to consider it. “yup.”

“i’m moving out soon,” megumi tells you, rolling his eyes at his father—they have a very loving, respecting relationship (obviously).

you pout again and megumi nudges your mug—more of a mother hen then you’ll ever be. you grab it reluctantly, and he turns away.

“see!” satoru points at him, reaching over to ruffle the boys hair—and failing. “he’s okay with it.”

“i do not find you funny, satoru.”

“yeah, you do,” he grins at you, tickling your feet just enough to make you squirm. you would have a fond look on your face, of course, if you didn’t have a reputation to uphold.

no one can know that you actually like satoru and the stupid things that he says.

and you both glare at each other for a minute—or two—but then megumi murmurs, “i like akemi.”

you blink and look at him, but he’s staring down at the book in contemplation.

hes really been so helpful with everything. cooking dinner when you’re tired, dealing with satoru constantly, going with tsumiki to find baby clothes and useless (but adorable) baby shoes.

you can’t help the little twitch of your lips, or the admiration the pit of your stomach holds for him. “that’s pretty,” you whisper, sitting up again, “bright, right?”

megumi nods.

you turn to satoru, eyebrows raised.

he immediately rolls his eyes. “no.”

“what? come on, that’s nice.”

satoru crosses his arms, your feet aching with his absence. “i’m not taking suggestions from a fifteen-year-old.”

“are you kidding?”

he frowns at you, eyes shining much too bright for the middle of the day—or anytime, really.

you nudge him with your foot and lean back again, readjusting. “why are you better at this than your father, megumi?”

“hey!” satoru sits up, looking dejectedly at both of you. “he just has more room in his brain to think.”

megumi snorts and you laugh, sipping on your tea again.

“it’s true,” satoru insists, “it’s hard being gojo satoru.”

you roll your eyes and nod exaggeratedly. “oh, i’m sure. big decisions to make.”

satoru pouts.

megumi hums. “glasses or blindfold, today?”

“should i threaten this kid with execution, or save his life?”

at that, megumi actually laughs and satoru slides even further down on the couch, arms still crossed.

“that was once,” he says, glaring at the both of you.

you blink at him.

“twice.”

“and yet you still can’t decide on a name,” you tut, megumi is still flipping through the book, trying to hide his smile.

“where is tsumiki when you need her?” satoru whispers, looking back towards the hallway. then he scoffs. “and i would decide if your names weren’t bad.”

“your name is literally satoru—“

“kazue?” megumi interrupts, tapping on the table.

satoru rolls over, groaning. “ugh, no.”

you sigh again, looking down at your belly. the baby is lucky that she has three more months before she has to deal with any of this.

“we may need to replace your father,” you tell her.

at that, satoru basically squawks.

***

of course. they are having a girl because megumi needs another sister. so no haibara—but reader does suggest yu.

and besides i think she would want to save that name for nanami and refrain from crying every time she has to fill out a school form for her third child.

to answer your other question—it does seem unlikely for the baby to inherit satoru’s techniques (considering he’s the first in a century) but maybe the genetics are just that strong.

i wish i knew more about the actual statistics of cursed techniques and how often they’re passed down/how many people receive a technique from their parents. based on what megumi says (“how many people have you met that can actually see curses?”) it’s probably more likely that their baby has no cursed energy at all.

it would be fun to play around with their techniques though. and to imagine satoru teaching another poor child how to manage cursed energy.

[ran-orimoto]

Can I avoid commenting this🤣? I did explain what this is on other socials, but really staining Tumblr with this is embarassing ahahah.

Let’s say I’ve underrated my idiocy, okay?🤣 And ……. Let’s say sometimes you have to be careful while drinking hot chocolate from a mug that vaguely reminds you of SOMETHING.

Izumi, why have you bought that mug, hm?🤣 Maybe you were meant for the Thunder Spirit, after all?🤣

PSA Tell me, wouldn’t you want a mini Junpei too? If I could knit, I would make a doll Junpei for myself🤣💕. So I could finally put a Junpei to bed, you see…!

[textsfroma3]

i love having this blog bc every now and again i forget the running gags in the tags, so have a list of my personal favorite bits from my tags & posts

tsumugi is a grandma (self explanatory)

tsumugi watches full house and is kinda too invested in it

where in the world is citron

local taco bell terrified of company of acting pretty boys

bullying sakuya for being a theatre kid

isuke genuinely not realizing that misumi works at mankai and being scared every time he sees him

surprisingly eloquent inebriated citron

kumon fucking loves space jam

lovingly slutshaming azuma

akigumi teambuilding retreat: prison cell edition

akigumi teambuilding retreat the squeakquel: emergency room edition

me giving the mankai boys increasingly specific king titles

petty icon tenma sumeragi

the ever expanding list of musical artists that the mankai boys stan en masse

fuyupoly chaos. you’d think that the fuyugumi boys would be the most sensible and stable in relationships but you’d be wrong

omi immediately succumbing to the need to drink alcohol when one (1) thing goes wrong in akigumi rehearsals

fashion disaster banri settsu

isuke is tired of everyone’s shit

everybody outside of mankai aggressively wondering if the house full of theatre boys is *limp wrist* y’know

masumi collects swords

accordion player misumi

mankai boys getting tased

tasuku getting unreasonably angry at sports

there is a high likelihood that at least one thing within the mankai dorms is on fire at all times

taichi nanao: arsonist in training

chikage putting out increasingly complicated hits on hisoka and his plans getting foiled every time

guy being absolutely indestructible

taichi laughing while getting mugged because he doesn’t know how else to cope

masumi rebels against authority via selling tsuzuru weed sometimes

izumi accidentally offending tasuku by mentioning cheese around him

a whole new world

chikage utsuki scares the fuck out of me: a saga

this is a tag word for word: (it’s fine masumi is impervious to fire damage)

absolutely roasting haruto’s given name

banri dating juza as an example of malicious compliance

welcome back to comedy central’s roast of itaru chigasaki

and finally: kamekichi putting the fear of god in all of these twinks

[vickyvicarious]

Miego, FMA au!

Diego leaned in his doorway, watching with idle amusement as his wife countered every attack from her new student while barely bothering to even glance up from her lawbook.

"Take THAT!" Phoenix yelled, trying out some sort of flip maneuver. Mia kicked him aside and turned a page.

"You're telegraphing your moves too much," she scolded. "You need to be able to bluff that you're going to do one thing, and then do something else instead. Don't be so predictable."

The kid rolled to a halt in front of Diego, panting heavily. Their eyes met - or, well, his eyes locked onto Diego's automail mask, at least. He looked sort of pleading, like he hoped Diego would give him some helpful advice or encouragement or something. Like he hadn't been the one to cheerfully abandon him on that island last week.

Still looking directly at Phoenix, Diego loudly slurped another long gulp of coffee.

"Kitten," he said, still not looking away, "how long will it take you to destroy his spirit this morning? I'll put another pot on for when you finish."

The kid slumped in disappointment, before steeling himself to jump back into the fray. Diego smirked, and watched his wife watching her protege stand on shaky legs; she looked so fond. He still didn't really get what was so great about the kid, but anyone who made Mia feel happy had his approval. And it was kind of fun to get to see her practicing her alchemy and martial arts again; it'd been a while.

"Oh, I think we'll be out here at least an hour or two more," she called back. "Phoenix doesn't look done, quite yet."

The kid puffed up as though she'd given him some great compliment, instead of promised to beat him black and blue for even longer. Despite himself, Diego couldn't help a tiny bit of fondness.

"He makes it to two, I'll make him a cup as well," he promised on sudden impulse.

Phoenix whipped his head around to stare at him in surprise, but Diego's attention was entirely on Mia. Her warm smile, red-tinged though it was now, went straight to his heart like always. He grinned back at her, thinking again how good his life was, how lucky and undeserving he was to be married to this woman, to live in peace and happiness together like this. Her smile softened immeasurably, and he knew she felt the same; Dublith was as much an escape for her as it was for him. For a long, long moment, they simply smiled across the yard at one another, both basking in this quiet joy they'd built for themselves.

Then her student tried to take advantage of their distraction, and Mia turned away to punch him halfway across the grass. Diego lifted his mug to take another drink of his coffee, admiring the way her hair shone in the sun as it spun out around her when she kicked Wright's ass.

.

Mia's definitely more the Izumi in this verse. I thought about giving her and Diego more Mustang/Hawkeye roles but it just doesn't fit her character to have joined up with the military I think. I mean, it could, but I like her more as like... the Feys being like the Armstrongs, a prominent family of mostly military/State Alchemists, and while she still becomes an alchemist she leaves to pursue her own life. Diego could definitely be a soldier that she met when she was training though. He mostly lost his eyesight in some battle (possibly between Mia and another alchemist with a grudge against her??) and got an automail aid that helps him see. Instead of getting killed by Redd White, Mia tried to commit human transmutation to save him or maybe her mother, and had some internal organs taken from her. They've both retired to be lawyers in Dublith, because I want them to still be lawyers for no particular reason and it still lets them help other people.

Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Larry are very loosely Ed, Al, and Winry. Phoenix and Edgeworth were friends who did some human transmutation to try and bring back Edgeworth's dad, Larry was just their childhood friend who didn't do alchemy. The difference is that afterward they were separated and Edgeworth becomes a little bit more of a Mustang/Ed fusion figure as well, with von Karma basically adopting him and training him up to join the State Alchemists (dismissing Phoenix who is hurt worse and maybe he assumes will die?), with Gumshoe and some other characters being part of his team, while Phoenix and his new BFF Maya (who he meets when he saves her using his alchemy after going to Mia for more teaching - this all probably after the failed resurrection, leaving her still only Phoenix's mentor) fill more of Ed and Al's roles in the main story with searching for the philosopher's stone magatama or whatever, and then uncovering more conspiracies and starting to work with Edgeworth's team to protect people, etc. I don't know if Phoenix has lost his body or what but something, and he still wants to 'save' Edgeworth, and so forth. The timeline of the Ishval genocide would change as well, and a lot of other little stuff but I think it could be really cool overall!

(I thought a lot about making Mia and Maya Ed/Al, and Misty being Hohenheim, and Morgan Fey be Father, etc. It works really well and I really love that for the whole Fey emphasis and especially Mia and Maya taking center stage. However, this scene popped into my head first and I had to write it here. It's nicer for Miego too probably, with them being just very in love and very competent, and getting a happy ending.)

.

send me a relationship/set of characters and an AU, and I’ll write at least 3 sentences for it!

[mochiiwrites]

🍁✨Autumn Troupe Headcanons!✨🍁

Hooray for more uncensored swearing! Sorry, this took so long! It’s hard to think of things for the Autumn Troupe since I don’t know them super well!

🍁🧡Banri Settsu🧡🍁

Whenever it's time for practice, Banri begins by smacking the back of Juza's head! (Not super hard, but enough for it to piss him off)

Diluc main, that is all. Before he got Diluc he was an Amber main, and somehow was good. Still uses her every once in a while!

Slightly intimidated by languages sometimes, I dunno how to explain it, so hopefully the dialogue does!

“Banri, come here for a second.”

“Hell no, I’m in the middle of a match right now.”

“Banri.”

“Sit your ass down and wait, Chikage! I’m busy!”

"Halika dito! Huwag kang humintay na papatayin kita at iwanan kitang dumugo sa lansangan! Inumin ng mga aso ang iyong dugo at kukunin ng mga uwak ang iyong laman. Gusto mo yan?!" ("Come here! Don't wait for me to kill you and leave you bleeding in the street! Dogs will drink your blood and crows will take your flesh. Do you want that ?!" ) I'm unsure of the translation, since the filipino was from Irumaaaaa_saaaaamaaaaa's comment on my Ao3! I just put it into google translate

“Damn! Fine, fine, I’m comin! Chill out!”

His older sister gave him a leopard plushie when he was a kid, which is why he’s fucking obsessed with animal prints!

Plays drums and almost broke the coffee table because he “jammed too hard” on it!

Constantly messing up Taichi’s hair, or he’s drumming to songs on his head.

*boom boom bap boom boom bap*

“Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise, playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday! You got mud on your face, you big disgrace! Kicking your can all over the place, singin'-”

“We will, we will rock you!”

“Haha! Hell yeah!”

🍁💜Juza Hyodo💜🍁

Likes carrying Muku or Kumon on his shoulders! Sometimes they still parade around!

“Are you sure about this, Ju-chan?”

“Yeah, you’re real light, y’know.”

“What the hell are you doing, Hyodo? Practice is soon.”

Chews on things a lot when he’s nervous! He always has gum or a lollipop to avoid chewing on his shirt, his nails and other inedible things!

Uses shorter Mankai members as an armrest, but only the ones who are okay with it! He’s polite like that.

On nights where he just can’t sleep, he’ll go on walks or drive around on his motorcycle!

Terrible with eye contact and looking like he’s paying attention. Sakyo has to snap his fingers at him to make sure he’s listening!

Y’know the awkward sibling hug from Gravity Falls, he and Kumon have done that...a lot. It’s not actually awkward though, they just liked the show!

“Awkward sibling hug?”

“...Awkward sibling hug.”

*embrace*

“...pat, pat.”

....

“Hyodos, what the hell?”

🍁💖Taichi Nanao💖🍁

Cried twice when he got his piercings, the first time was because he was very, very afraid, the second time was because he was so happy that he looked good with them!

Has Heelys! One time, he tried to 'heely' into the rehearsal room, but he immediately fell over!

Plays the ukulele! He wanted to play guitar because he saw someone serenading their partner with it at school! He borrowed Masumi's guitar but bar chords suck and his hands are kinda small, so he settled for the uke!

"Aghhh! How do you play that! That hurts my fingies!"

"I have bigger hands and more experience."

"But you're only like an inch taller than me!"

"Height doesn’t really have anything to do with this."

Has a Tiktok! He doesn't post often, it's more for looking at memes or sick outfits. (He does the dances though! He's pretty good at them but they're all in his drafts since he's not super confident in them!)

Y’know how kids crawl up the stairs really fast. He does that. Constantly. Kazunari joins in, sometimes. It pisses Sakyo off a lot, but he gave up on trying to get them to stop.

"Taicchan, what are you doing?"

"Kazu-kun! I got the zoomies!"

"Nice! Can I join ya?"

"For sure!"

*Rapid thumping up the stairs*

"Aren't you gonna stop them, Sakyo?"

"...If I had that ability, they would've stopped a long time ago. Those idiots don't listen."

He LOVES Sk8 The Infinity! Langa's his favourite character! He's also probably a Reki kinnie!

🍁💙Omi Fushimi💙🍁

(It's blue like his regular shirt and Tumblr doesn't have any other colours ;-;)

Despite being tone-deaf, he hums a lot when he cooks! No one seems to mind it!

Enjoys scrapbooking! He kind of prefers scrapbooks to albums, since scrapbooks have a more homemade vibe, you know?

Gives the best hugs, and tends to hold hands with the younger members when they cross the street!

Regularly has this conversation!

“Banri, have you eaten?”

“I dunno Omi, have YOU eaten?”

“...I have. But that's not what I’m concerned about.”

“...I had a granola bar like, an hour ago.”

“...I’m making you something.”

When he first joined the company, he took notes on what everyone liked and didn't like to eat, plus if they had allergies! He still has it, he just doesn't need to use it anymore!

I feel like something like this has happened once!

“Ah, Omi! Can you help me grab something?”

“Oh, sure. What do you need, Sakuya?”

“Homare asked me to get some of that tea, but I can’t rea-”

*lifts Sakuya like Simba*

“Ah! Omi, haha! What are you doing?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it! Do you want me to stop?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine! It’s kinda fun actually.”

🍁💛Sakyo Furuichi💛🍁

Absolutely blind without his glasses, like it’s really bad. He walked into a doorframe without his glasses. Thankfully, no one noticed (he thinks).

He has a bit of bubble-wrap in his a pocket all the time and sometimes he uses it as a threat! (Hopefully that made sense...)

“Settsu, move over.”

“I literally can’t! Your fat ass is taking too much space!”

*pop*

“Just scoot your lazy ass over.”

*pop*

“I can’t I already-”

*pop*

“...Alright, I get it! I’ll shut up! Jeez, how is that so threatening...”

“...Asshole.”

*pop*

“...Sorry.”

Definitely told Azami that Santa wasn’t real when he was like 6.

Sakoda got him a mug that said #1 Dad but he crossed it out and replaced ‘Dad’ with ‘Aniki’! Sakyo still drinks out of it, sometimes!

Azami also made him a friendship bracelet when he was a lot younger. Sakyo doesn’t wear it (because it doesn’t fit him anymore) but he still has it! He likes rubbing the beads between his fingers.

Good at trivia! Like, really good. He somewhat enjoys Trivia Murder Party. (I just watched a play through and skipped to a random question, I have no idea if it’s actually hard lol.)

“Which body of water connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean?”

“Wh- How are we supposed to know that?!”

*Sakyo answers ‘The Strait of Gibraltar’ and is the only one who answers correctly*

“Fuck, my thumb slipped.”

“That shouldn’t be allowed. Sakyo’s shitty and old, he shouldn’t be able to know and remember things.”

“Oi, brat. I’m not that old. You’re not the one who got the answer right.”

“You’re not the one who literally never learned this!”

🍁❤️Azami Izumida❤️🍁

Has smacked too many cans/cups out of Itaru and Tsuzuru’s hands!

“Wh-”

“Drink actual water. And jeez, go take a nap or something. Your skin is even worse than I thought it could get. Aren’t you supposed to be the responsible one in the Spring Troupe?”

“Ah... I guess, you are right. Thanks for looking out for me.”

“W-well! W-we can’t have you on stage looking like a raisin! S-so!”

Often criticizes Izumi’s eyeliner and ends up just doing it for her. N-not that he minds or anything!

Played Love Nikki at some point, I do not take that much criticism.

Because I think the troupe/play themes are canon, he definitely helped with Shake the Shape and wrote some of RESPAWN!

Always has extra hair ties on him, even though most of the others don’t really need them. Most of the time, the hair ties end up being used for...other purposes.

“Ready.”

“What?”

“Aim.”

“Azami, I swear to whatever god is listening, if you fire that elasti-”

“Fire.”

“...You shitty brat-”

“Oh shi-”

Part of the ‘wears nail polish’ squad! He hates stickers. (Most of the time they somehow fall off) His go-to is an alternating pattern of black and red.

[derireo]

Sakyo wakes up on his birthday to find the Akigumi boys "acting" like he's their dad (maybe similar to what happened with Itaru in the Spring Year 1 arc?)... Bonus points if they somehow convinced Izumi to play "Mom" instead of Omi, for one day only 😉⭐ (btw sorry if this is too detailed 😅 I got super excited)

𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐰. . .

It started once Sakyo opened up his newspaper and sat at the head of the table.

“Morning, dad!” Taichi said like an excitable puppy when he danced his way into the kitchen (he street dances when he has the time, leave him alone), Omi following after him.

There was an oddly ominous feeling to the tallest member of the troupe as he smiled and gave Sakyo a salute.

Sakyo jutted his chin in greeting.

He ignored the nickname Taichi tacked on at the end of his own greeting and took a sip of coffee from his cup, shaking his newspaper like an old man would as Taichi popped some bread into the toaster.

“Nanao.” He said, indifferent.

Taichi pouted at Omi who chuckled.

“Hey, pops.” Banri strutted in with a crooked smile and caught the apple that Omi tossed in his direction, teasingly wiggling his fingers at Sakyo who was grimacing at the weird nickname.

What is going on.

“Dad.” Juza greeted softly with a polite bow towards Sakyo who pursed his lips; just a little unimpressed.

Omi handed the oldest Hyodo brother a plate of pancakes and began to start on Izumi’s breakfast before she arrived.

“Hey, Ma.” Banri said with an endearing smile when Izumi entered the kitchen after a while, still disoriented and sleepy even though she took ten minutes in the bathroom washing her face and brushing her teeth.

“Mm.” She mumbled tiredly and rubbed her eye with a yawn, patting Juza on the head who was already digging into his pancakes.

“Mom! Do you know what today is?” Taichi shouted from the other side of the kitchen where he was toasting another few pieces of bread.

Sakyo frowned at the weird atmosphere Taichi and Banri were creating.

Mom? Dad? What the hell are these kids thinking?

Izumi squinted at Taichi who was now slathering an ungodly amount of butter onto his finished toast, running a hand through her hair with another yawn.

“What is it?”

And with her answer did Taichi suddenly break into a gasp, a hand clutching his chest as he stared wide eyed at Izumi who was trudging towards Sakyo who was glaring at the kid over his newspaper.

“MOM. I know your relationship with pa isn’t that good, but you can’t tell me you forgot his birthday!” Taichi cried out loud, shoving his toast into his mouth due to his stomach growling. “Don’t tell me this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“You two are divorcing?!” Banri shouted equally as loud much to the dismay of Sakyo, Izumi rubbing a hand down her face as she tried to make sense of it all.

Banri slammed his palms on the table while Juza continued to shove his pancake into his mouth, eyes exaggeratedly sad as he looked at a barely coherent Izumi.

“Who’s taking custody?” Omi was asking the real questions, but it didn’t matter when the whole situation happening right now did not make any sense.

“Will you guys shut up?” Sakyo groaned, too annoyed to even feel embarrassed. What the hell kind of skit was he taking part in this time?

“You’re all brats.” Izumi sighed tiredly and placed a hand on Sakyo’s shoulder to soothe the angry man, slipping her hand beneath her shirt to scratch at her stomach.

Lazily, she leaned down and went to greet Sakyo with a kiss to his cheek, her lips warm on his skin.

“Happy birthday, pops.” She said casually, voice still laden with sleep as she brushed her nose along his cheekbone before placing one more kiss to his temple. “Be nice to the kids.”

Sakyo froze, nearly dropping his cup of coffee. Thankfully Izumi decided to steal his mug though, and she sipped at the hot beverage while trailing her hot palm along the back of his neck as she walked towards where Taichi and Omi were slapping each other’s arms.

“Wow.” Banri whistled. “The outcome was even better than I expected.”

Juza nodded in agreement and smiled at Sakyo whose face was burning up.

“What the fuck.” Azami stood at the doorway; having witnessed the physical affection. “What the fuck.”

Izumi looked over to where the youngest member stood and smiled lazily, waving Azami over.

“Jealous? Does my little one want a kiss too?”

“No fuckin’ way in hell.” Azami seethed, pink dusting his pale cheeks as Taichi raised his hand with a bright smile.

“I want one!”

Izumi laughed faintly and ruffled Taichi’s hair, making the kid bend down so that she could kiss his forehead while Sakyo pinched his nose between his fingers.

“I’m literally a head taller than her.” Azami complained as he sat down beside Juza who was raising his hand too, Banri also waving his hand.

Azami cried into his hands when Izumi started handing out motherly kisses to everyone else in the troupe, Sakyo watching on with an amused (and in love) expression.

[uwua3]

hmmm can i request masumi moving on from the director to the assistant director (reader)? like how he would transition and realize that he doesn’t actually love the director and is falling in love with the reader instead? thank you so much. i love your headcanons. theyre super lengthy, and they capture the emotions of the characters perfectly!! keep up the good work, love! :)

thank you so much!!! i’m so glad that i can portray the emotions of a character somewhat well 🥺 i often have a hard time pinpointing exact feelings so i’m so happy it doesn’t hold back my writings! i will keep doing my best to bring you the coolest pieces ever, mark my words!!! but this prompt is so ??? interesting that i’ve been thinking about it outside of tumblr, you know! i’ve held this off until i had a solid idea so here i am! ready to bring this to justice, wish me well!!! ♡

summary: masumi’s love language is making playlists, apparently

warnings: absent parents, one (1) argument, unrequited love

author’s note: please understand masumi was a hopeless romantic teen who grew up without love so his crush on izumi is definitely unhealthy, but it makes sense for his background TT i hope he overcomes a character arc where he “falls out of love” and loves himself more :D

word count: 3,666

music: breakfast in the park – scotty sire

one playlist, one song.

🌸💌 usui masumi

everything masumi did was for izumi

he acted on stage flawlessly by the script just to hear her approval from backstage. he put his acting career before his studies to have her praise the next day when he memorized his lines. he woke up for izumi, and fell asleep to see her sooner. eat, sleep, and breathe for izumi. masumi was in love

it didn’t matter if she loved him back, it was the feeling he wanted

growing up, no one loved him. so this unrequited love wasn’t painful, maybe it’s what he deserved for being so hard to love. if only he was better, did everything to improve, used every waking hour of his time to become the person izumi wanted him to be, then maybe he’d be deserving

masumi loved izumi, at least, so he thought

(but was this true love? why did the people he love always reject him? what was wrong, what did he have to do to be loved?)

it was another day, masumi opened his eyes and his first immediate thought was to greet izumi “good morning” and make sure she had her breakfast the way she liked it. he would pull a chair out for her, sit across the table after preparing her favorite coffee perfectly, and spend every second in between with her until they had dinner together

it was a cycle, a pattern misumi couldn’t find himself not doing. he lived for it, it’s what he was born to do

when masumi hurried to the kitchen to remain on schedule, he stopped by the entrance. someone else was in izumi’s place, a mug in your hand with a packet of papers open on the counter. you didn’t notice the teen by the door as you read through the stack

huh... you weren’t izumi

you looked up from the fine text and saw a boy staring at you with an apprehensive expression, as if he was wishing to will you away with the sheer force of his glare. in fact, he even appeared frustrated, his eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest

(of course he was angry! you were in izumi’s place, you interrupted his entire plan of the day! this was taking time out of his “loving izumi” schedule)

before you could say anything, the director walked into the room and you knew what was going on. the teen’s eyes practically became hearts, you could hear the pulse of his heartbeat from where you were, he instantly smiled and his whole face changed

it didn’t take any skills whatsoever to know izumi had a (not so) secret admirer in the dorms

“masumi!” izumi said, smiling back at him and missing the way he immediately melted at the way she pronounced his name. masumi suddenly wanted to hear it again and again. if he had a tail, it’d be wagging everywhere from how overwhelmed he was with emotion

he trailed after her like a puppy, seeking her attention and touch as he mindlessly followed with wide sparkling eyes and a permanent blush

as he tried to continue their day as normal, izumi led him to you with a big grin as she placed him in front of you. he didn’t bother turning to look at you, his entire focus was on izumi like he was stuck in a daydream

it wasn’t until izumi said those words that changed the rest of his life that he snapped his eyes towards you

“—meet our new assistant director! they’re going to be your acting coach!”

and ever since then, masumi’s hated you

it didn’t take long before the spring troupe members confessed izumi used to be masumi’s daily acting coach after practice. now that you took over her position, you basically stole him away from her (meaning less time for masumi to try to win over his true love)

(truthfully, izumi was grateful you replaced her. it was mentally draining to have to reject every single advance from the lovesick teen without breaking his heart. she pulled you into a hug with a relieved exhale, thanking you for your service as you wondered what she meant by that. you found out very quickly afterwards)

masumi couldn’t have ditched extra practice or else he’d let izumi down. so, he stayed against his will, using every chance to silently express his complaints about spending his limited time with you instead of izumi

of course, you didn’t react. you wanted to make a good impression for your first official job as the mankai assistant director (thank god your high school had a connection to offer apprentinceships), knowing this was an opportunity of a lifetime to even be inside the theatre business

(yet, you were questioning if masumi was a test or not. was this a test to prove you were patient, respectful, and willing to adapt to different types of actors? there was no way this kid was this in love with a grown woman, he couldn’t have possibly been this infatuated with izumi to the point of desperation)

(he was)

a week or two into extended practice and you were already stretched thin. masumi never took off his goddamn headphones, his volume on max with rock music damaging his eardrums as he barely paid attention to you. just nodded whenever you attempted to reprimand him, he didn’t care at all as he treated you with no respect

you were tempted to snatch his headset off and make him actually do something. you stood across from him in the practice room, his slouched posture completely not fitting the character he was portraying and his mumbled words the exact oppoosite of his performance whenever izumi was around

as he skimmed over his part and boredly stated the line in a monotonous attitude, you took a deep breath in and out with a forced smile

“masumi, perhaps you should emote more, with feeling.” you advised, your cheeks hurting from how strained your facial expressions were. masumi hummed, rolling his eyes as he turned the volume up higher (how was that even possible?)

“masumi, please pay attention.” you warned, an edge to your voice as masumi didn’t even acknowledge you. he glanced towards the door, as if hoping izumi would come through, then at the clock with a very disappointed sigh

“masumi.” you said, clutching the script in your fist as you tried to not cross your arms. your patience was on thin ice, how long would his bratty and arrogant attitude hold? you exhaled sharply, trying to maintain your composure for the sake of your internship

he didn’t respond. he yawned and stretched, as if he had just woken up. was masumi spaced out this entire time? you went to open your mouth and ask about his well–being (perhaps, you were being too critical of him. you were also a high school student, he must’ve been pressured in class), but before you could speak, he turned away with a curse

“shut up already, you’re so fake.” masumi mumbled, about to push his headphones over his ears completely but you threw the script onto the floor, startling him as it was your turn to glare at him

“usui masumi!” you shouted with disappointment, not believing your ears. why were his first words to you an insult? you wanted to go back to the stage of your relationship where he didn’t speak at all

masumi stared at you with an impatient look, as if he was waiting for you to get it over with already

“you want the truth, then? well, here it is!”

before you could stop yourself, you released all the anger you bottled up ever since you worked with him in a singular sentence

“izumi doesn’t love you, she never did and she never will, so give up already.”

this was the first time masumi even reacted to your words. his eyes widened, his hands frozen hovering above his headphones and his breath hitched in his throat. you instantly knew what you said was out of line, and when you tried to apologize, masumi sprinted out of the practice room rubbing at his eyes

the door slammed close, echoing in the corridor as you released a breath you weren’t aware you were holding. what could you do now? practice was over early, apparently

you were waiting for it to come, you knew you were being fired. you anxiously paced the floor, checking your phone multiple times to see if a notification with your resignation was arriving. it never did, even throughout the night, as you arrived to the mankai dorms with the weight of your outburst on your shoulders

as usual, you greeted the other troupes with respect despite being around the same age as them. in terms of their careers, they were leaps and bounds and years ahead of you and you made sure they knew that. they responded back friendly enough, offering sympathy most times whenever it was time to work with masumi

this time, the dorms were awkwardly quiet. it looked as if everyone was wary, looking out for something, on edge as they quietly moved around and tip–toed outside a certain door. members shushed each other with a hiss whenever a cabinet door slammed shut, or a bowl clattered against the table surface too long. it was an organized plan to not die, apparently

“what’s—” you started but were immediately silenced by a few pushing their pointer fingers to their lips with a warning expression. you bowed slightly as an apology and lowered your voice, glancing around you for the threat

“what’s wrong?” you whispered and everyone didn’t hesitate to point to masumi’s dorm room door. you learned that, to your surprise, masumi refused to leave his dorm and didn’t even let izumi in (you also found out he didn’t tell anyone what had happened between you two and your lack of professionalism)

you guessed this was going to be your apology then for not making you lose your job on the first day

when you straightened your back and confidently made your way to masumi’s door, the hushed warnings and pleas not to perish right then and there faded when you rapidly knocked on the surface with a stubborn intent to your actions

“masumi, it’s time for practice.” you called through the door, able to pick up on the vibrations of the music he was blasting through a speaker. no response, as expected of the drama queen (he was a teenager, after all)

“masumi, come outside or i’m making you.” you demanded, knowing he heard you when the volume was lowered a bar. it was instantly increased to the max, making most of the boys wince and cover their ears as the floor beneath them shook. you knew what this was: a challenge

scrolling through your albums, you found it and pressed play

without warning, masumi whipped his head towards his door as he heard something other than his own music

were you... were you playing the latest single of his favorite band?

you pressed your phone speaker below the door frame, letting it pass through the crack as he slowly turned down his own volume, staring at where the sound was coming from

after more than half the song, you breathed a sigh of relief when his door finally opened. masumi stood in front of you, his headphones pushed down to his neck, as he observed you (it was like he was really seeing you for the first time)

“you...” masumi paused, unsure how to continue. the song was winding down and fading out, coming to an end as he blankly stared at you. you fidgeted under his stare gazing through your soul, wondering if you had gone too far before—

“you know my favorite band?”

you blinked in surprise, as if you were expecting literally any other accusation but that. you nervously laughed, rubbing the back of your neck as you looked anywhere but at him. was it weird to admit that?

“y–yeah, of course. you play them all the time, so i assumed. i took a listen, they’re not bad.” you rambled, about to continue before masumi bent down to grab your smartphone. he held it out to you, which you took as he glanced at you up and down. was that, an impressed look to his face?

“of course they’re ‘not bad’. i listen to them.” masumi said, taking his script and leaving in the direction of the practice room without another word. you scrambled after him, attempting to keep up (you were usually the one dragging him to go)

masumi tried not to think about it too hard, but he did anyways

izumi didn’t even know what type of music he liked, but you did

it was during that fateful practice where masumi actually made an effort to try, and it’s like the fight from yesterday didn’t even happen

mankai couldn’t believe it—you actually managed to coax masumi out of his toxic mood swings. even izumi had a hard time processing it, confirming her gut feeling that she hired you for a reason

your hours with him increased, coincidentally enough

ever since then, you began learning more and more about who masumi truly was. any other person would’ve dismissed him as problematic for his borderline–creepy attraction to izumi, but past that, you realized there was a deepy rooted traumatic reason why masumi sought love from a select few

masumi was more than his love at first sight crush on izumi. you learned through his short, slightly rude responses, that his parents were absent from his life. when you put two and two together, it was obvious his guardians abroad didn’t give him the approval he needed as a child

(you made an effort to praise him more, genuinely complimenting his talents and encouraging him to do even better. you never noticed, but masumi’s face burned from being appreciated for once)

yet, you weren’t afraid to discipline him. you knew uninvolved parents meant a lack of authority in his life, resulting in his indifferent approach to everything. in a way, your ability to keep a level head but still reprimand him when necessary kept practice productive and functional (you learned being honest didn’t hurt his feelings one bit)

your relationship with masumi bloomed to be more than two aspiring actors. if you were lucky enough, you would even consider him a friend

he liked checking out new physical music releases in the form of cds and had a huge collection of post/progressive rock organized on his desk. when you gave him a mixtape of your favorites to share your music taste, you noticed it was closest to his player

(one time, izumi was worried about him. it had been quite some time since the last time masumi tried flirting with her. she was about to walk into his room before izumi noticed it was left open a crack. she looked in and saw masumi was lying in bed, staring at nothing with a small smile on his face as he listened to an unfamiliar song. it was your cd on repeat)

after school, you and masumi often rode the train back home if the mood called for it. he always leaned against the doors, staring out of the blurry windows with his headphones on and seemingly thinking of everything at once (probably izumi, considering how many times he subconsciously smiled to himself)

you sat beside him, focused on your apprentinceship work and staying on top of all your tasks. it was pretty much a quiet ride home, your friendship with masumi didn’t require talking to fill the silence. the comfortable gap between you two was expected, just two people co–existing with one another

except this time, it was different

you opened your laptop, about to start working before you glanced at masumi and stopped. he didn’t have his classic white headphones on, he always had them

before you could offer your own, masumi turned towards you, holding out one earbud with the other in his left ear

when you took it and placed it on your own ear, masumi slid over to sit closer and the casual distance suddenly closed. he shuffled through some playlist, he liked making them even if he did it rarely

masumi turned his head to look at you, and he seemed to be quietly asking what your opinion was on the track

(how much time had you spent with him that you had familiarized yourself with his complex body language?)

you closed your laptop and put it back in your bag. scooting closer, your legs were touching as you leaned over to read the title, humming a sound of agreement

“this is one of my favorites.” you confirmed, moving back only to realize how close your faces were. one wrong move and—

“me too.” masumi said, and he smiled

you wondered where you had seen that smile for and remembered: it was the smile he had given izumi every time he saw her in the morning

could it be?

you two listened to the music for the rest of the train ride, feeling as if you were trapped in a timeless space as no rules applied here. it was like your own little world, with masumi by your side and the background soundtrack of all your favorites

(misumi remembered your favorites, too. at the departure, you noticed he had messaged you a link. it was to the playlist he played earlier and a comment: thanks for the mixtape)

you two headed to the dorms, hands brushing and no words exchanged, like always. you weren’t aware how close you had become with the boy in love until now, especially with a singular cord keeping you two together

yet, it was as if nothing changed. when masumi saw izumi, he became the character everyone thought he was: a lovesick teenager in an unrequited relationship. he left you and sought izumi’s nonstop approval, his earbud pulled out of your ear as you watched

why was he such a different person around her? which version was his true self? and why did you want to know so bad?

(maybe, you wanted to be the one who knew masumi inside and out)

after that, you asked to ride the train home more. it was one of the only times you had him for yourself

sharing music became a way of communication over talking. you could predict masumi’s mood based on what he was listening to, and you always knew what to do when it came down to it. if masumi had something to express without his usual bitterness, he’d send a song and wait for you to listen it in full just to be understood. sometimes, his playlists even spelled out sentences

your relationship with masumi was mutual, and that was a first for him. he didn’t feel like he had to spend every second with you to confirm your friendship. he sometimes saw you irregularly throughout the day, but enjoyed it regardless

what was different was you made an effort to see him, you showed up to practice early with new song suggestions and plans to attend more music concerts. you included him, didn’t let him off easy, and had high expectations without being like his parents

no one wanted him around like you did, he had never felt this before. was this what it was like? being loved?

as you guys kept walking home with his earbuds connected, masumi was fully aware of how he wanted to hold your hand

“what is it?” masumi began, pushing his hand in his pant pocket to keep his voice steady. “love?”

you stopped, causing him to pause with you as he felt the tug of the cord. masumi turned towards you, the lyrics still played in the background as the instruments continued. a verse passed before you answered slowly, as if you were unsure and contemplative yourself

“love... love is what you feel. it isn’t defined, but it’s what you have for something that makes you happy, that motivates you to do your best.”

masumi didn’t seem to understand, so you explained further

“like, doesn’t music make you happy?”

masumi nodded

“then you love music!”

masumi seemed to understand as you two kept walking. but, masumi was even more confused, because didn’t that mean he loved you? you made him happy, you were his source of motivation

“then do you love me?”

you didn’t stop this time, but walked faster as you fell out of step with masumi. a new song was playing, but you couldn’t hear it over your own heartbeat

“don’t ask things like that, especially when you love izumi.” you laughed, but there was no humor whatsoever. masumi didn’t say anything else and the silence returned, it wasn’t as comfortable anymore

when you two walked through the front door, masumi hesitated. wasn’t this the point where he quickly latched onto izumi’s side? why did he want to stay with you? masumi glanced at you and before he could say anything, you gave him back your earbud and left to do your job

izumi waved at him, and masumi followed. for some reason, he questioned if izumi had ever heard his music before

(he realized, he never made a playlist for her)

it was nearing the end of your shift, you had blocked out your thoughts with the masumi method: maxing out your headphone volume as you revised masumi’s lines and corrections for next practice

your phone pinged, making you flinch at the sudden sound as you pushed the papers to the side. you sat with your chin on your knees, leaning against the practice room mirror as you lazily grabbed your phone, unlocking it to see a new text from masumi

it was another playlist titled “you make me happy, you motivate me”

you opened it and was about to press play before you noticed there was only one song

“i love you”

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Sheltered By Memories

Summary: The night after the Promised Day, there’s a thunderstorm. 

Ed hates thunderstorms. 

He can’t exactly wake Al to keep him company through it, not when he’s only just able to sleep again.

But Hohenheim’s awake, and as the weather rages outside, Ed and his father begin to tentatively rebuild the bridge between them, starting with memories of a similar storm many years ago. 

Rated: G

Sheltered by Memories

One would have expected the night after an event as momentous as the Promised Day to be clear and still, with the stars shining brightly and a big full moon. Ed knows that he can’t hope for a full moon since it was an eclipse today, but he can still be utterly furious that he’s woken up in the middle of the night to find that it’s hammering down with rain and howling a gale, with lightning flashing across the sky every five seconds and thunder rolling loud enough to wake the dead.

Ed curls up, pulling the thin hospital blanket over this head in a futile attempt to block out the storm. Across the room, Al is sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by the weather outside. Ed feels a pang of something he can’t quite define. Al’s never been bothered by thunderstorms. Even when they were little kids, Al was always at ease with the weather, never flinching or cringing at the bangs and crashes and flashes. 

Al never normally sleeps through storms, though. Even back before the armour, he would always stay awake with Ed if there was a storm.

Ed can’t wake him now though. Not when he’s been unable to sleep for so long and now he finally can.

“Edward?”

Ed peers out of the blankets and as the next flash of lightning plunges the room into brightness again, he sees Hohenheim sitting in the chair at the foot of Al’s bed. 

“Hohenheim? How long have you been here?”

“I’ve been here the whole time, you just weren’t awake.”

“Oh.” Ed’s not exactly surprised. After the adrenaline of the final battle with Father and that final trip to the Gate to get Al back had worn off, he’d all but collapsed. He has a vague memory of Hohenheim catching him before he hit the ground, and the haziness of waking up in this bed a few times before the thunder started and woke him properly. He thinks he can be forgiven for not paying attention. 

Hohenheim gets up and comes across to perch on the edge of Ed’s bed. 

“Your mother hated storms too,” he says. “I remember the big storm of ‘02. Al slept right through it and the rest of us had a terrible night.”

It’s jarring to hear Hohenheim talk about events from Ed’s childhood that Ed himself can’t remember. He missed so much of their lives that it’s easy to think that he wasn’t paying any attention to any of it, and easy to forget that he was there until Ed was five, however much he might have stayed in the background. 

That said, now that he’s mentioned it, Ed does have a vague memory of being three years old on a night like this one, and tiptoeing into his parents’ bedroom because the light was on. He remembers Mom curled up tight against Dad (because he was still Dad back then, he hadn’t left yet and lost the right to that name), her fists pulling his undershirt out of shape and mangling it more with every flash of lightning. He remembers crawling into bed with them and Dad pulling him in close, one arm around Ed and one around Mom, keeping both of them safe from the storm. 

“I forgot Mom was scared of lightning.” He feels bad about it. How could he have forgotten something like that? He tries to reason with himself - it’s been ten years since she died, he was so young, Resembool so rarely gets thunderstorms like this one - but he still feels a gnawing guilt at having forgotten something about Mom.

“It’s all right. Trisha was always so brave and strong. It’s hard to believe she was ever scared of anything.”

The lightning flashes again, illuminating Hohenheim’s face. He’s off in the middle distance, deep in memories of Mom, but he’s there, and against all the odds, Ed feels safe. His heart is still leaping to his mouth with every roiling rumble of thunder, but he’s not alone, and Hohenheim doesn’t mock his fear. 

Strange. Just as he can’t really believe Mom was ever scared of anything, he can’t really imagine Hohenheim being scared of anything either. Maybe it’s because he was always so distant, always concentrating on something else. The only emotion Ed can remember on him from his childhood is frowning.

“What are you scared of?” he asks presently. 

Hohenheim doesn’t answer for a long time.

“My worst fear came true,” he says eventually. “So I don’t think I’m scared of anything now. I lost you and Al and your mother. I think that was always what I was most scared of.”

There’s a kind of catharsis in hearing him admit that. He and Ed and Al are all in the same room and all three of them are alive and comparatively well, but he still admits that he’s lost them, that he messed up royally when he left. Even though Ed now understands why he did it and why he didn’t really have another choice, that he would definitely have lost them all if he hadn’t done anything, it still soothes the sting of it all. 

“Did Mom know?” Ed asks. “About the souls, and Father, and the Promised Day and everything?”

Hohenheim nods. “Not all of it. She knew about the souls. I didn’t think it was entirely courteous to start a relationship without her knowing about the several thousand voices in my head. She knew I was immortal. That’s why we made that promise; that I’d find a way to get back to normal and she’d outlive me. She knew about Homunculus, because I’d told her the story of how I got this way. I didn’t tell her about the Promised Day and why I had to leave. She knew I had to do something that only I could do, but I didn’t want to worry her with the scope of it.”

“She always believed you were coming back. Even right at the end.”

“I always was coming back.” The lightning flashes, and Hohenheim’s eyes look old, every one of those four hundred odd years showing in his expression. “I didn’t realise I would be gone for so long, but I was always going to come back. I dared to hope that once it was all over, we could have a normal life and not need to worry about anything again.”

Outside, the storm continues to rage, and Hohenheim continues to watch it calmly, just taking it in.

“I think it’s fitting that it’s storming tonight,” he says. “Washing away the old, getting rid of it all in one big rumbling explosion. Nature’s last act of violence to drown out the violence of the old world and make way for something new and peaceful. There’s always sun after a storm.”

Ed huffs, pulling the blankets up again. “There’d better be.”

Hohenheim smiles. “There will be.”

Ed closes his eyes, the bright flashes and sudden cracks of thunder no longer making him shiver. Even as he’s drifting off, he can feel that Hohenheim’s still sitting on the bed, still watching the storm. 

Still there. 

X

The sky is bright blue and sunny without a cloud in it when Ed wakes up. The birds are singing and the dissonance from the previous night is almost mocking. Still, the storm is over, and the rest of their lives can now begin in calmness, just as Hohenheim said last night. 

Ed sits up, looking around. Al is still asleep, and Hohenheim is nowhere to be found, but Izumi is sitting in the chair. She gives him a tired smile. 

“Hey Ed.”

“Hi, Teacher. Where’d Hohenheim go?”

“The men’s room. And I think he’s probably searching for coffee as well.”

“Oh.” It’s such a mundane explanation for his absence and Ed has no idea why he was expecting something more weird and wonderful other than the fact his father seems to be a magnet for the weird and wonderful.

Ed is prevented from any further contemplation by the sound of Al yawning from the other bed. He scrunches his face up before he opens his eyes, and Ed’s missed that goofy expression so much. 

“Hey. Welcome back.”

“Hey.” Al looks over at Ed, and then at Izumi. “Hi Teacher.”

“Hey Al.”

“Was there a storm last night? I think I remember hearing thunder at one point.”

Ed laughs. “Yeah, it was ridiculous. I’m amazed you slept through it. Guess you really needed a nap, huh.”

“Yeah. I hadn’t realised how much I enjoy sleeping.” Al stretches out his thin arms and looks over at Ed again. “You could have woken me. I wouldn’t have minded.”

Ed shakes his head. “I think the nurses would probably have minded. You need all the sleep you can get to get your strength back. I was ok. Da-- Hohenheim was here.”

Al quirks an eyebrow at the slip but doesn’t say anything, and it’s another expression that Ed’s missed. He’s always known when Al’s making that face, even in the armour, there’s something in his silence that Ed knows equates to that little quirk, but at the same time, it’s so good to finally see it again. 

There’s a knock on the door and Sig and Hohenheim come in bearing coffee, handing off a mug each to Izumi and Ed. 

Hohenheim smiles on seeing Al awake. 

“Good morning Al. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thanks. Honestly just any sleep is amazing right now.”

“We did check with the nurses but no coffee for Al,” Sig adds. “It’s good to see you awake, kid.” 

“That’s ok.” Al waves the arm with the IV line in. “Probably for the best right now.”

Ed just sits quietly, sipping his coffee, watching them all. It’s going to be strange now; his life has been completely turned on its head, but he knows that no matter what, he’s got Al to see him through it, and it seems like Hohenheim’s going to stick around. Maybe before Ed wouldn’t have wanted him to; they’ve got this far without him, they don’t need him going forward. But this is a time for new beginnings, and maybe a time for his feelings finally beginning to thaw, now that he knows Hohenheim takes that responsibility that has so long lain on Ed’s shoulders, now that he’s taking back that burden that has been Ed’s to bear alone for so long. 

It doesn’t undo everything that’s already been done and suffered; those memories will always be there and will always be painful. 

But it’s a start, and that’s all they need.

[zukoshotleafjuice]

And can you please add cool aunt suki with the group. And sokka and suki helping lin get over tenzin after breakup if you're okay with canon or bumi being the wingman and helping find kya a gf.

omg I love this! and yes I do try to be canon-compliant wherever I can

all the kids (especially the girls) are a little bit in awe of their Extremely Cool aunt suki

izumi, especially, is close to her - suki is zuko’s bodyguard so she spends a lot of time with her in the fire nation

when izumi wants to wander around the city without being recognized, she asks suki to disguise her as a kyoshi warrior

she also trains bumi to fight in the kyoshi style. she draws the line at teaching him chi-blocking, though, because she knows full well he’ll try to use it on his siblings

suki spends tons of time teaching lin and suyin self-defence. lin especially adores it and will look for any excuse to spend more time with her

when lin and tenzin break up, lin is devastated. tenzin starts dating pema pretty much immediately and lin isn’t only heartbroken, she’s genuinely insulted that tenzin just went straight to another woman

lin is lin, though, and she puts on a brave face and pretends not to care. suki sees right through it and the first time lin lets herself cry over the breakup is when suki hugs her. lin feels almost embarrassed going to sokka and suki about it (they’re tenzin’s aunt and uncle!) but sokka shuts it down and tells her that he considers toph a sister, and that makes them family too

the first time lin sees tenzin after they break up, she just loses it - that’s when she nearly destroys air temple island with her earthbending. suki’s the one who calms her down

__

bumi being kya’s wingman

well, kya doesn’t actually need help finding a girlfriend, but bumi insists on being her wingman anyway

she first comes out when she’s 13. he and aang decide that to demonstrate their support, they find her a girlfriend. katara rolls her eyes and tries to convince them that there are other ways to be allies, but when bumi and aang decide something they are unstoppable

bumi has absolutely no gaydar and tends to accidentally flirt with lesbians on the regular. when they tell him they’re gay he grins with delight and says “oh! my sister’s gay too! would you like me to set you up??” the girls are pleasantly surprised

by the time kya is 18 she has a string of exes. bumi and aang quickly realise that their wingman efforts are futile since kya apparently has no trouble dating girls. they decide to be Super Extra Allies instead. they wear matching shirts that say I SUPPORT MY GAY SISTER (aang’s says daughter, of course). they hang a pride flag in the balcony. they buy rainbow mugs. kya is extremely embarrassed but she secretly loves her dorky brother and dad. this turned into a slightly modern AU but it’s fine just go with it

[hajimariwaquartet]

izumi, chikage, and tsumugi for the ask meme!

omg hi anon!!! yes i want to talk about them!!

(under the cut bc it got a bit too long for me)

Izumi

What I love about them: I honestly love how Izumi is her own character, instead of being a blank slate! I love how you can see a distinct personally in her, and how she's not your standard joseimusuke mc. What I hate about them: I can't think of anything. Favorite Moment/Quote: Act 11! I'm trying not to spoil it, but I love how she has her own arc, as if she's just one of the main actors! What I would like to see more focus on: Act 11 had set-up her own director's arc, so I'm thrilled to see how they write her in the next main stories (probs in 2022/2023 orz but yknow). What I would like to see less focus on: I can't think of anything. Favorite pairing with: Sakyo, August (sorry for liking ridiculously rare rarepairs) Favorite friendship: Homare, Hisoka, Tsumugi, Tasuku, Citron (thank u ocam for opening my eyes), Itaru, Chikage, Shift (#curryudon) NOTP: With the highschoolers ofc Favorite headcanon: The first gen dote on Izumi as if she was their daughter, especially after Yukio left. It's a bit contrary to canon, but c'mon!! I think Yukio was the first one in the troupe to have a kid, so I'm pretty sure they would've doted on her and Izumi would've called them uncles/aunties/big bros/big sis!

Chikage

What I love about them: I will be brief (1/15283610) OKAY BUT LIKE, I CAN'T REALLY ENUNCIATE EVERYTHING BUT JUST KNOW THAT I LIKE WRITING HIM What I hate about them: I'm gonna be honest, I didn't really like him because of Act 5, but I think he's a cool character now. Favorite Moment/Quote: The sleeping on the stage in Act 5!!!!!! And that one scene in his recent Halloween backstage where Tsumugi told him that the hawthorn plant/flower (?) doesn't fit him, even if Chikage thinks it does. What I would like to see more focus on: HIS PAST!!! I mean, sure, secret agent bullshit and all, I still wanna see his life pre-Organization or how even August found him (manifesting this for the Mankai Memory cards) What I would like to see less focus on: Can't think of anything. Favorite pairing with: Itaru, Citron, Tsumugi, Sakyo Favorite friendship: Rookies and Izumi!! NOTP: Gekkas bc I see them as family Favorite headcanon: He has a ridiculous amount of bunny-themed items, especially after getting comfortably settled in Mankai! He's been also gifted a bunny hoodie, blanket, slippers, and even a mug! He pretends to find it kinda cringey, but everyone can see that he likes it (can you imagine Chikage wrapped in his bunny blanket in winter).

Tsumugi

What I love about them: I will be brief (1/21516313) I may not talk about Tsumugi much, but he was one of my first oshis, so he has a special Tsumugi shaped place in my heart What I hate about them: Nothing comes to mind. Favorite Moment/Quote: The quote on his Act 11 countdown screen! As an artist myself, I vibe with it so much! What I would like to see more focus on: I wanna see if he does guest appearances on Veludo!!! What I would like to see less focus on: Can't think of anything. Favorite pairing with: Fuyupoly, Itaru, Izumi Favorite friendship: The A3ders (bc they always carry my ac team and I think their dynamic is super cute!) and Chuuni group (bc I think he should be a bit silly as a treat)! NOTP: The kids. Favorite headcanon: He once had a chicken. Okay, so he was supposed to cook breakfast with eggs he won at a market fair, only to have an actual chick in the box. Zabi was a bit jealous of the newcomer, but they became besties after a while! Tsumugi treated the chicken like it was his son, and Tasuku just vibed with it.

[addercharmer]

Izumi felt accomplished, she had been able to spar against every hero at the agency, and over half of them had been enthusiastic about having her use her quirk on them after she promised to leave their brain and hearts alone. 

She had also worked her way into Eren and Ari's lives, she was armed with promises of more work studies offers for herself and Shōta, and the couple's cell phone numbers and promises to keep in touch between the tri-yearly inturning opportunities. 

Izumi and Shōta had left midday Saturday so they would have that night and the next to try correcting their sleep schedules. The train ride home was quiet, Shōta falling asleep on Izumi's shoulder again. He had a deep purple bruise on his jaw, one of the other pros had spared with them the night before and had hit Shōta hard enough to knock him out, Izumi had been frantic until the dark haired male woke up again. 

Brushing her fingers along Shōta's jaw she lost herself in thought. 

"Next stop, Ultra station." The speaker blared, breaking Izumi out of her thoughts, her cheeks red and eyes wide. 

"Shōta." She whispered and shook him a little, he didn't say anything as he got up and made his way to the door, and Izumi was thankful. 

Once off the train Izumi forced herself to give him the brightest smile she could.  "See you on Monday Shō." She chirped before spinning on her heel and jogging away. 

"Dad! Dad! We have a problem!" Izumi yelled as she burst into the house and ran to the living room. 

"Izu-nee?" Keigo asks from where he's sitting on the floor working on something on the coffee table. 

Izumi collapses into the floor and tries to suffocate herself with the carpet. 

"Ugh! Rosefinch, growing up sucks. Don't grow up ever, you catch stupid things like feeling." Izumi says in utter despair. 

Izumi hears Nezu's squeaking laugh and footsteps enter the room and whimpers. 

"Daaaaaaaaaad!" She whines in protest. 

"Sadly Izumi I can't help, try Kayama-chan or Mitsuki-san. I do not understand most human emotions, but what you are feeling is very much out of my knowledge." Nezu doesn't sound sad, he sounds gleeful like he's about to watch absolute chaos. 

"But I just want them to go away!" Izumi whines again as she rolls over to pout up at the two males. 

"Ah, but I need you to understand them so you can help Keigo when he's older." Nezu argues, and Izumi feels panic well up in her. 

"No." She says and gets on her hands and knees to crawl over to Keigo, she sits behind him and wraps as much of herself around him that she can. 

"Nope! My rosefinch isn't going to grow up ever." She pouts harder up at their dad. 

"Yes." Nezu tells her again and Izumi saggs all her weight onto Keigo who actually squawks like a surprised bird. 

"Fine." She groans.

"What's wrong with feelings? The commission said they were bad, and Izu-nee is making them sound bad too." Keigo asks from half under Izumi.

"Nothing!" Both Izumi and Nezu say firmly. 

"Nothing, Izumi has a crush. From what I understand, she likes a person romantically." Nezu tries to explain, and Izumi is sure he is doing the best he can. 

"Like dad said, I have a crush. It means that I want to date, hug, and kiss them." Izumi expands on Nezu's explanation. "When you're a little older you will understand, and probably will have it explained better by your teachers and peers." 

"Then why don't you like it?" Keigo asks her, he sounds so confused and it kills Izumi a little inside. 

"I had a bad childhood, not like yours, but people used to be really mean to me. I don't like complex emotions because I grew up with very few basic ones. It scares me cause I don't fully understand them." She explains in simple terms. 

Keigo nods but still looks confused, Izumi figures he has accepted he needs to be older and have more experience with life. 

"Go shower and get changed. We are to meet with the Bakugou's for our new clothes." Nezu tells her. 

Izumi scrambles up the stairs, to follow his directions. She's as quick in the shower as possible for a girl with thick curly hair. Dressed in the only outfit she had been allowed to buy herself, a pair of bright pink skinny jeans and a black tank top with the kanji for tee-shirt on it, over her arm she's got a gray zip up hoodie that has bunny ears on its hood. 

When Nezu sees her he just shakes his head and herds Keigo to the door, Izumi follows close behind pulling on her hoodie and shoes. 

Izumi did not hesitate to ring the bell this time, she had given herself the evening after they had first met to mourn her auntie Mitsuki and uncle Masaru, she could now face Suki and Masaru. 

"Suki!" Izumi jumped at the blonde woman. "I need female advice." She all but demands and drags Mitsuki away. 

Izumi pauses long enough to greet Masaru and snatch Katsuki up in her arms before she takes the woman to her own kitchen. 

"I have a crush." Izumi says in the most serious tone she can. "On my two best friends." She slumps into a chair at the table and snuggles Katsuki closer, he is awake this time and watching her. 

"Oh." Mitsuki sounds halfway between surprised and thrilled. "When do I get to meet them?" It's not a question Izumi knows but a demand. 

"Suuuuuuuuuuki!" Izumi wails quietly.  

Mitsuki laughs as she starts the electric kettle and pulls out two mugs behind Izumi. "Oh come on, Zuzu. It's not every day your little sister comes to you about a crush." 

The kettle clicks off and suddenly Izumi has hot chocolate in front of her. 

"Fiiine, I don't know but I need help. It's two boys, they are two of my first four real ever friends Suki, I dunno what to do. And they are totally opposite of eachother." Izumi says as she wiggles her fingers at Katsuki. 

"Why isn't Nezu helping you through this?" Mitsuki asks curious, but not judging. 

"He's not human, he doesn't understand complex emotions, and with all the time in the hospital I don't really understand them either. So expect Keigo in a few years." Izumi tells the blonde seriously. 

"Kay, but tell me about these boys and how I can help." Mitsuki prompts her. 

"Well, Zashi is stupid tall. Like he's six and a half feet tall. He is really kind and happy, a bit of a dork. He has a lot of energy and is loud even without his quirk. He's really amazing with kids and isn't afraid of how smart I am." Izumi sighs and untangles a clump of her hair from Katsuki's grip. 

"Then there is Shō. He is logical, and tired. He's been hurt a lot by people just like I have. He likes to put up this front that he doesn't care but he's so good and caring. He's even better with kids, Keigo took to him right away. He uses my strength to push himself both physically and mentally, but he's already so, so strong and smart." This time Izumi's sigh is longer and more frustrated. 

"I realized that I liked them when I was on the train home from inturning and Shō had fallen asleep on me." Izumi blocks a baby fist from hitting her in the throat and laughs softly at the fact that Katsuki was a fighter before he could even walk.

"They sound like good kids, how do I help though?" Mitsuki says after Izumi falls quiet. 

"What do I do?" Izumi asks softly, she's feeling very vulnerable. 

"Whatever you want." Mitsuki answers, at Izumi's look of confusion and betrayal she keeps talking. 

"Seriously brat. Tell them if you want, but tell them together. Don't tell them and see if the feelings fade. Personally I would tell them, it could give you the most amazing thing in the world, and the worst that can happen is they don't feel the same and you have a bit of a strained friendship for a while." 

Izumi nods reluctantly, she will think about it, Mitsuki is probably right anyway. Maybe talking to Nemuri a little will give her some more insight. 

Izumi sighs deeply again, before chugging her now cool hot chocolate. Katsuki is starting to fuss and Izumi hands him to Mitsuki. She leaves the mother and child alone and goes to find the males. 

[mankaithings]

Miyoshi Kazunari

Kazunari was nine years old 

It was the first time somebody from his class invited him to a party so he was really excited! He looked around the room, a smile suddenly growing onto his face as he watched everybody greet the birthday boy a happy birthday and hand him his gifts and join the others in the ball pit to play. Around him, everyone was laughing while they all throw balls at each other, running around and having no care in the world

He joined the others upon singing happy birthday, clapping his hands and following the rhythm of the song until the birthday boy finally blew his candles. Everybody cheered as the fire went out and once again everybody was having fun

Kazunari decided that, he also wanted to have a birthday party 

Kazunari turned ten

He did everything for his birthday. He asked his parents if they can give him a party which they agreed on. He even made the invitations himself! He was really proud of his work, at a young age he already had exemplary skills for art and seeing how his invitation turned out made him even prouder of his talent.

 As he handed out the invitation, Kazunari felt excitement bubbling in the pit of his stomach. It was the first time he was going to spend it with so many people, he was even imagining the games they would play for the day! Maybe through the party, he could get closer to the kids in his class? Then he wouldn’t have to feel lonely anymore 

By the day of his birthday, everything was ready. The streamers that he helped made were hung up on the wall, accompanying the banner that said ‘Happy Birthday Kazu!!!’, the food was cooked and Kazunari wore his best clothes. Out of excitement, he waited by the entrance of his house until somebody decided to turn up

But nobody did 

From that day as he sang himself happy birthday and blew the candles, Kazunari decided that he didn’t need a party or even a gift. He just wants to be greeted a happy birthday by his friend and he would be content and happy 

The remaining years of elementary and three years of middle school yet nobody remembered his birthday. He couldn’t help but feel jealous as he watched both girls and boys greet their friends with a happy birthday and run to them with a hug or invite them out to karaoke or surprise them whenever the special day came 

Kazunari entered highschool 

He changed himself completely. He wore cooler clothes, updated his vocabulary and even became more extroverted in hopes of making friends and it did happen! He was always in the middle of his group of friends and the one to start the fun!

His birthday came and he had high expectations for it. He does have friends so there’s no problem if he gets excited by it, right? 

But despite the number of ‘friends’ he had only a few remembered to greet him a happy birthday. Maybe it was because he was always focused on making the other party laugh and never actually talk about himself or anything personal that had to do with him that nobody remembered it, but he had expectations and once again, he was disappointed 

By nineteen he found a family, he was turning twenty and after ten whole years he finally learned his lesson. He wasn’t even sure if anybody remembered or if they even knew it was his birthday 

Kazunari shook his head and headed down his bed, ready to start his day. He was happy enough that he found people who he could call his real friends 

The first ones to greet him were Omi, Izumi, Tsumugi and Tasuku and Homare

“Ah mornin’ Omimi, director, Tax, Tsumu-tsumu, Aririn.” He greeted the group merrily who sat among themselves discussing their plans for the day 

“Ah morning Kazunari, here you go.” Omi handed him a plate which was filled with his scrumptious breakfast

“Woah Omimi is this from a five star restaurant?” Kazunari asked, staring at the plate of neatly stacked pancakes that was neatly drenched in honey with whip cream and blueberries on top. He couldn’t help but take out his phone and snap a pic of the perfect instablamable food in front of him

“Well I thought it was a good way to start your birthday,” Omi smiled softly at Kazunari

Kazunari was caught off guard, so they did know it was his birthday. For once he was left speechless, he felt his chest swell with happiness at the thought of somebody actually thinking and making something for him 

“Happy birthday Kazunari,” Izumi greeted the art student energetically and ruffled his hair, “ You actually turned older today.” She smiled at him fondly as she handed him his usual mug of coffee, “You might need that for today,” Izumi advised 

“Thanks,” Kazunari looked down on his food, feeling bashful. 

“Happy birthday Kazunari,” Tsumugi said, “I’ll try to arrange the flowers later so you’ll be able to take a picture for your instablam.” Tsumugi suggested 

“Thanks Tsumu-tsumu!” 

“Miyoshi, happy birthday.” Tasuku said but despite the few words Kazunari beamed at him making the older actor’s mouth twitch up

“Ah for this special day I have made a special poem just for you Kazunari!” Homare announced proudly 

Kazunari spent his morning filled with laughter as he dug in to his food and listened to Homare’s poem, sure he got confused by a few verses but it was the thought that counts 

“Ah you’re finally finished,” Yuki’s voice cut through the adults as he walked in the dining area. “Everybody’s waiting in the lounge so hurry up Friendly mcExtrovert.” Yuki said and left the adults 

Kazunari looked at the adults in pure confusion but they just smiled among themselves and continued with their meal

“Kazu~” Misumi was the first to greet him as he went towards his friend and gave him a small hug, “Happy birthday Kazu!” He smiled

“Kazu-kun happy birthday,” Muku followed with his usual cute smile

Kazunari couldn’t help but laugh, “Thanks guys!” He said as he placed an arm around the two, “Oh Tenten’s also here,” He said, surprised. “I thought you have your own schedule for today?”

“Well…” Tenma trailed off, feeling embarrassed at the question

“He cleared it for today,” Yuki answered for Tenma who glared at him

“I just wanted a break, okay?” He looked at Kazunari, “Ha-happy birthday.” He muttered loud enough for Kazunari to hear

“Thanks Tenten, Yuki too.” He grinned at Yuki who remained silent. Kazunari wondered how many thanks he already said and it wasn’t even afternoon but he just wanted to show his gratitude to them who was actually making an effort for his birthday

“Come on let’s go!” Misumi ran outside, leaving the other troupe members no choice but to follow the free spirited actor

“I told him to wait for us,” Yuki sighed, running after the actor,

“Sumi wait up!” Kazunari called after Misumi who abruptly stopped and grinned at his fellow actors who were all out of breath 

“Sorry~ I got too excited!” Misumi apologized and went beside Kazunari

“Kazu let’s go find triangles!” 

Kazunari laughed, “Yeah let’s go!”

“Geh we should’ve just waited in the park.” Yuki looked at Tenma who was avoiding his eyes 

“How was I supposed to know it was going to turn out like this?!” 

“G-guys they’re getting away!” Muku went in between Yuki and Tenma pointing at Kazunari and Misumi who were already meters away from them 

“Hurry up hack,” Yuki ignored Tenma who yelled indignantly upon hearing the word hack leave Yuki’s mouth 

While the summer troupe busied themselves to make sure Kazunari had fun for the afternoon, everybody in the dorm worked for the evening party

“Come on Kazu! There’s a triangle here!” Misumi called up from the tree branch

“Sumi I can’t climb trees!” Kazunari called from below while Yuki and Tenma were beside Kazunari and catching their breaths 

“Oh there’s one there!” Muku pointed at the other side which Misumi easily jumped onto

“Kazu I’ll get you the best triangle!” Misumi grinned from below them, “So you’ll feel very happy today!”

Kazunari wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to. He was already happy with spending time with everybody 

“Thanks Sumi!” He grinned at Misumi who also smiled widely and continued to look for triangles from the tree

“That was dangerous.” Tenma commented after hours of searching for triangles, “Besides why would you take a traffic cone?!” He turned to Misumi, it was a good thing that there wasn’t any police or he didn’t want to even think about the consequences that they would have to face

But Kazunari didn’t mind if he spend his birthday in jail, if he was with his friends he thinks he could do it

“It was the biggest triangle!” 

“Still…” Tenma trailed off while Kazunari laughed

“Don’t sweat it Tenten!” He placed an arm around the highschool boy’s shoulder, “We’re here to have fun!” 

Tenma looked at Kazunari’s bright face and looked away, “Fine whatever.” He muttered while they all followed Misumi and Muku who were talking about today’s collection infront of them towards the park. It was the reason why they decided to head out anyways, to make sure that Kazunari haves fun

“Welcome Kazu!” Misumi spreads out his arms as he presents the picnic set out for him 

Kazunari could only stare in surprise, he thought they were still looking for triangles and besides, he wasn’t even expecting anything like this well, it’s not like he expected anything 

“Oi Friendly mcExtrovert are you just going to stand there?” Yuki cut off his thoughts as he sat down on the blanket laid on the ground, “Hurry up, we’re all hungry from that hunt.”

“‘Kay Yukki~” He basically skipped towards his four troupe members who were all waiting for him before they start eating 

“Woah this is totes so cute!” He praised as he took out the cupcakes and other foods from the basket 

“Hehe thanks,” Muku scratched his chin, “I helped Omi-san bake those.” He smiled widely, “B-but I’m not sure how it would taste.”

“Tastes good Mukkun!” He complimented the middle schooler as he took a bite after taking a picture of it. Muku smiled widely and nodded, also grabbing a piece of his own

“Should you be eating dessert first?” Tenma asked, grabbing a bento that they also made in the morning even before Kazunari wakes up

“Wah! You all helped make these?” Kazunari gasped in amazement 

“We did, hack almost burnt the whole kitchen.” Yuki pointed at Tenma who choked on his food and turned bright red

“Sh-shut up it’s not like I often cook!” He argued 

“Let’s head to the mall afterwards,” Yuki ignored Tenma who sulked, “There’s a sale and the hacks paying for what you want.” Yuki pointed at Tenma who just sighed and rolled his eyes 

“Really?” Kazunari once more asked in surprised, “Tenten you don’t have to-”

“It’s my gift, okay?” He looked away, his cheeks turning a light shade of red, “I wasn’t sure of what you wanted so this will be my gift.” He mumbled and focused his attention on the meat in his bento 

“Tenten…” Kazunari trailed off, no wonder the guy was always gazing at Kazunari the past few weeks and muttering to himself, he was thinking of potential gifts for him! But really, Kazunari was okay in whatever Tenma gets him, just like he said, it’s the thought that counts 

“Hurry up, alright! We have to get back-” Tenma didn’t get to finish whatever he was going to say for Yuki gave him a look that shut him up

Kazunari shrugged, and continued eating his meal as he listened to Misumi talk to the cats 

They got the idea that it was going to be chaotic, Misumi would run off once he sees a triangle (He almost did but stopped mid run and smiled at Kazunari) Yuki and Tenma would be arguing (They are but not as loudly as in the dorms) and thankfully Muku stayed as angelic as he is 

“Kazunari-kun, I think this would look great on you.” Muku pointed a hat inside a store, “Right Yuki-kun?” Muku turned to Yuki who stopped and thought about it 

“It does go with your usual outfits.” He nodded, “Do you want it?” 

Kazunari smiled, it was true that he already saw so much stuff already but he was enjoying himself more as the summer troupe hang out, with the usual noise with everybody in the troupe as they walked along store by store 

“We should head home by six.” Tenma looked at his watch, 

“Eh? That’s way too early Tenten!” Kazunari pouted 

“We’ll eat with everyone!” Misumi bursted out excitedly, “Director cooked curry!” He beamed as the other grimaced at the mention of curry for dinner that they already had the previous night and the night before 

“Okay, should I go for the hat? Maybe the shirt earlier?” Kazunari thought out loud, “Yukki what do you think would make girls go crazy?” Kazunari winked at Yuki who just sighed

“Buy all, the hack’s paying.” Yuki shrugged but Tenma argued

“Do I look like someone who picks money on trees?!”

“Hah? You make more money than all the company combined!” Yuki countered as they continued to argue in the middle of the mall, thankfully Tenma was wearing a disguise

“Besides why would he buy a shirt you already made him one!” Tenma’s voice rang, Kazunari blinked. Once again surprised at the revelation 

“Yukki made me a shirt?” He mumbled, slowly as if he was trying to decipher the simple sentence to himself. He knew the workload Yuki had as the designer for the whole company yet the thought that he still managed to make time to make him something… 

Yuki glared at Tenma and turned his head to the side, “What about it?”

“Nothing, thanks Yukki!” Kazunari grinned sheepishly, “Should I just get the hat then?” 

“Add the coat from earlier,” Yuki advised, “The color would look good together,” 

“But…” Kazunari trailed off as Tenma took out his wallet, he didn’t even need to use a card he just took out cash from his wallet like it was nothing

Perks of being rich 

“It doesn’t even cost that much,” Tenma said

“Show off.” Yuki commented which sparked another argument between the two which went on until they paid for the clothes 

“Ah today was so much fun!” Kazunari grinned as he walked beside Muku who nodded

“I’m glad to know you enjoyed today Kazunari-kun.” 

“Ah we’re almost there!” Misumi basically ran towards the dorm 

“We should’ve taken the car,” Tenma muttered

“Shut up if you didn’t get lost we would be home earlier.” 

Kazunari chuckled at the banter as he followed Misumi through the door and entered

“Wah it’s really quiet, did everyone leave?” Kazunari commented, he wasn’t going to say it out loud but he felt disappointed, he guess he was looking forward to partying with everyone

Their little group went towards the lounge and suddenly the lights turned on and he was faced with everyone wearing a party hat, a colorful banner behind them that screamed “HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAZU!!!” and food lined along the table as everyone in the company stood behind it with huge smiles on their faces as they waited for Kazunari to reach them and blow the candles 

Kazunari felt the corner of his eyes brim with tears, wiping them away he smiled widely and walked towards everybody that was waiting for him

Kazunari turned twenty 

It was the day he was already expecting everything to be minimal, but at twenty he finally got to have a birthday party, filled with food and laughter as everyone enjoyed themselves through the party. At twenty Kazunari’s childhood dream finally got granted, he was spending his special day with the people he can proudly call his family

[digimonadventuretimelines]

[15 - Ken vs Lupinmon!!]

Daichi, Ulforce and Natsu followed the horde of Bakemons carrying tons of families to Tokyo’s Big Sight as Natsu predicted, or as she could remember of the original story. They couldn’t go inside and take part of the fight, so they watched carefully the revolution led by the adults to break the Bakemon barrages and leave the building. Natsu used a pink bubble shield to hover over the building.

“Hikari’s there!” Natsu pointed at the group of kids in front of Tailmon, who was forced to identify every children in a long queue “Yes, the events of this world are a bit altered. Daisuke’s the eighth child, and Hikari is probably the future Chosen Children from year 2002.”

“We can’t interrupt those events…” Daichi mused, his D-TimeRune on his hand “If we save everyone here, Hikari might not be chosen in the future.”

“Exactly, let’s focus on the other people-- Wait, hold on a second…”

Vamdemon appeared in front of the kids, giving shivers to Natsu. The boy didn’t get it at all, but someday he would. They heard the children’s screams, they were having a hard time to deal with those events. The nightmare Natsu know thanks to how Daisuke reacted to those memories.

“This is the part Vamdemon is noticed about their soldiers had found the eighth kid” she muttered, Daichi looked at her and saw Natsu’s frown and fist clenched “I need this pendant to get full as soon as possible, I don’t want to show you WHAT happened on this day. It’s almost full… Just a few minutes...”

“What happened?” the boy asked “Natsu, you can’t hide important information from us!”

“You see, Daichi kid” Ulforce put a hand on Daichi’s digivice, “This is a thing we shouldn’t show you, or tell you. It’s terrifying, and you father from this world… Well, he will witness it by himself and have something that probably will change him forever.”

“But what is!?”

“Oh, it’s full! Thank goodness, let’s get out of here as soon as possible!!”

“Already!?” Ulforce gasped “Wow, how did you do that!?”

“I don’t know… But let’s open the gate and-- Daichi? Daichi, please we need to get out of here!”

“Why can’t I see what’s going to change my father in this world?”

“... When you get ready for that story, I will tell you. Please let’s go home.”

He pointed the digivice to the pendant, opening a gate in front of them. They left that world so fast that he wasn’t sure what it meant.

Oolong tea on a mug saying ‘the world’s future’ on it. A dark room only illuminated by two screens with a streaming site open and a chat box there. She had been watching carefully the events recorded by Mitsuki, who had now knocking on her room’s door.

“Come in” a girl voice was heard from outside, and Mitsuki opened the door.

“Wow, you’re fired up today Mirai!” he exclaimed, turning the lights on “My dad says it’s not a good idea to use the computer in a dark room.”

“I know,” she didn’t look at him because she was typing furiously on the keyboard “I needed to keep myself focused on the data.”

Izumi Mirai. A girl at the same age as Taisuke. she has reddish short hair with a headband to give her a cute-ish appearance. her bangs covered her forehead and the two sidebangs are a bit longer than the rest. Her eyes are purple-ish, reflecting the monitor screens on them as she works on the PC.

“Ok but why are you doing it?” he sat on her bed, seeing a few printed papers on it  next to him “School’s homework?”

“Oh no, Daichi asked for my assistance” she said, her eyes running through the recording video “I know he got a digimon, he told me first.”

“Aw, and I thought I was his favorite friend…” he added a chuckle at the end.

“And you? You found a digivice today right?” she stopped typing to look at him, “It looked like a phone? An old phone?”

“Yes it does” he then showed her it “Not sure how, but it appeared to me when I met that mysterious Blue Greymon’s warrior today… And when I tried to protect…”

“HA, I’M NOT THAT WEAK!! But really thanks for saving my life!!” a voice came from the digivice, a Yellow D-TimeRune. On screen there was a purple-ish Patamon -- Tsukaimon -- pouting at first, but now he was smiling.

“It’s okay, Pit” the boy responded, “But really, what was happening?”

“Huhu, according to my investigation… This incidents are happening to cause a clash between the worlds!” she took impulse to run the desk chair to the side and let Mitsuki take a look at the screens, “All those attacks are directed to the portal areas, the Digital Gates. But huh, why are those digimon attacking their own species?”

“Because some digimon are refugees of the current enemy, kiddo”

“Oh right right… To add this to another evidence list!”

“Speaking of that… you got a digivice thing too, Mirai?”

“Shh, my dad has a database of Chosen Children around the world and he might not like to know I got one!” she whispered, taking a purple D-TimeRune from her dress overalls’ pocket “And Koh isn’t a very good at fighting emulation…”

“Koh?”

“Mi-Mirai I didn’t know you got visitors… Hi, I’m KoKabuterimon. Or Koh, as Mirai calls me by.”

“Oh… A digimon who I never had seen before!”

“Well, he appeared on the internet on the same day Daichi told me about his secret. Since then, I’ve been researching about Koh and the digivice. For short, this digivice gathers data of your dominant trait and transforms it into energy. But! Each digimon has a compatible energy with yours, which we call it ‘rune fragment’ and it is important for evolution...”

  …  which means you have to unlock it to achieve a temporally higher form for battle. Human and Digimon partners have to be connected by a special ‘link’ formed by this digital device. To evolve your partner, you need to perform a few steps.

Step one, scan the back of your hand and activate it by the command…

“Scan DigiRune!”

Step two, point the device at your digimon partner and unlock the power by saying…

“Load Evolution!”

Then it’s done! Evolution is unlocked! But, if your digimon runs out of stamina… The evolution might not hold for much time.

“Ack, be careful at how you evolve me kid!”

BlackAgumon growled, since the kid wasn’t very aware of what to do.

“... No stamina?” the boy looked at the digivice’s screen. It was an orange with white model “Ok, we need to eat now. Also, I need to go home please don’t make a fuss inside the digivice.”

“Of course I ran out of stamina! You can’t force a digimon partner evolve like that!” the digimon complained “How many of those refugee digimon have we helped until now?”

“Hm… 15. I sent them straight to the authorities.”

“Fair…” he then glanced at his tamer, “What’s wrong kid?”

“More children with digivices like this one are appearing. Does it mean… I will have to reveal myself to them? N-No, if I do that… they will tell my parents and I’m not here to be scolded by them!”

“... Take your time kid.”

 “Fascinating huh?” She put the digivice back to her pocket and returned to type on the computer keyboard “Ah, now that you know about this peculiar information maybe you want to talk with Daichi about further details.”

“I see, but what ‘further details’ are you talking about?”

“You will see, now go ahead I have to investigate who is this mysterious kid you found today.”

“Huh, kicking me out?” he smirked “How rude~”

“Oh please, Mitsuki…” she grinned “If you want a literal kick…” and laughed.

“No, I’m not here to test your current invention~ See ya!”

 “You’re late” a girl with brown-ish hair, green eyes spoke once she saw Hoshi approaching. The boy next to her had the same color of Tachikawa Mimi’s hair and eyes, but his haircut seemed similar to Michael’s -- the American Chosen Child.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean it. A digimon attacked and I… I had to take another route! I’m fine though!”

“Your excuse is well elaborated” the boy smugged “We were watching Mitsuki’s stream. You were in battle with a digimon” Hoshi gasped “Don’t worry, we got you covered.”

“But then… wha-what’s the news?” Hoshi babbled “Reika’s message said it was important!”

“During the stream…” a second boy spoke. He resembled Kido Joe, safe for his haircut being different from his father “a light came and we got… These.”

Then, the trio showed her three D-TimeRune digivices: One gray, one burgundy and one green.

“You three!?” her jaw dropped “B-but how!?”

“We don’t know” Reika replied, “Mike and Jin don’t know either. And what do you mean by that reaction? You have one too?”

“Yes, here” Hoshi showed hers “But is a bit different from yours… Yours look like Eiji’s and Kiyoko’s…”

“Them too?” Jin raised an eyebrow “That’s… strange.”

“Why strange? Kiyoko was the first!” after that reveal, she sighed and “Will you tell your parents? Did you get digimon partners already?”

“A digimon?” Mike, the boy next Reika, talked “No, we didn’t get any digimon either.”

“Are we supposed to get digimon with those old phones too?” Jin asked, Reika and Mike looked at him and then the three gave a glance at Hoshi.

“Yeah, you supposed to! I think… We got ours when we were… trying to save our digimon partners…”

“How odd…” Jin fixed his glasses.

“As you can say… We’re late to the party” Mike shrugged.

 The gate opened by Skuld to send the trio home actually…

“Huh, we’re in the Digital World!?”

… sent them to the wrong ‘home’ and they saw Lupinmon dashing thru the forest, lightning sparkles floating in the air. And behind them, Stingmon carrying Ken in his hands. Natsu covered her mouth, and Daichi bit his lip. Ulforce gave a concerned gaze at his friends, knowing that this means Daichi had to prevent officer Ichijouji from beating Lupinmon.

“What should we do!?” the blue digimon babbled.

“Natsu, follow them!” Daichi ordered with a determined glare “Move this forcefield faster as possible to reach Lupinmon. If officer Ichijouji hurt Lupinmon… He will be petrified when he learns that Lupinmon is my father!”

“R-right…! I will… I will try!”

 “You’re slow, human!” Lupinmon laughed, jumping from branch to branch with the speed of the thunder. But Ken wouldn’t give up at all, no matter how long it takes… But suddenly, Lupinmon missed a jump, his speed downgraded drastically “Ugh!”

Stingmon and Ken reached him. When Lupinmon tried to speed up, Ken used the improvised whip made of the vine to tie Lupinmon. They had won the game.

“I guess you are slower then” Ken smirked; Stingmon grabbed the vine.

“You think so?” Lupinmon’s smug hinted something. Soon, the digimon cut the vines and disappeared quickly… “GOT YOU!” … to reappear behind them. An electrical slash made of blue sparkling claws sent Stingmon and Ken to the ground, “Oh wait… I bluffed. You’re not going home, pal.”

… Pal? Ken found that oddly familiar, but ordered Stingmon to attack back. Stingmon nodded, put Ken on the ground carefully and then flew against Lupinmon. the opponent kept smirking, and dodged Stingmon’s Spiking Finish’s stingers. The kicks thrown by the insectoid digimon were dodged as well. HOWEVER, at a very critical part of the dodging…

“Ugh…”

Lupinmon stopped moving, and his eyes flashed from red to brown. Stingmon took the opportunity and threw a kick at the enemy, sending him against a tree. Lupinmon fell on the floor. But still didn’t try to move. Ken was still watching, yet unable to know what was happening, why was Lupinmon not dodging or blocking Stingmon’s attacks anymore…?

“Stingmon, get him--”

“NO!!”

Natsu landed the bubble between Stingmon and Lupinmon. Ken growled.

“Stop, officer Ichijouji!” Daichi spoke, his voice of tone was deadly serious.

“If you didn’t notice we weren’t trying to kill him” Ken replied after regaining composure, yet he was a bit of aggressive with that line. Typical of him.

“You have to believe me!” Daichi continued “Lupinmon is my dad!”

“Wha-- Hm, that makes sense…”

The kid, Natsu and Ulforce looked at Lupinmon. Daichi frowned, “Dad please snap out of it… You can do that! Come back… to us!”

“Ngh… ARGH! YOU AGAIN!!?” Lupinmon’s eyes turned red again “I will… I WILL END YOU FIVE RIGHT NOW!!”

“Stingmon!” Ken shouted, and the insectoid grabbed the three then Ken and flew away from there.

“But… But he stopped, why can’t he return back to his consciousness!?” Daichi desperately tried to find the answer, but Ken put a hand on his shoulder “O-officer Ichijouji?”

“If he can get control over himself for a few minutes… There’s a chance of him coming back.”

“But what should we do?” Ulforce asked, “Lupinmon is the one leading the troops against the human world.”

“The Roar of Freedom are controlling him. I have to tell the others, but I won’t let them take a drastic decision about it. He’s a victim, not the true enemy.”

[musicprincess655]

Atsushi blinks his eyes open, wincing at the crick in his neck. He uncurls from the ball he had to sleep in to fit on the chair. It’s better than the floor, but only marginally.

They all agreed yesterday that he would stay with the Akutagawa siblings. Even with the murderous intent growing in Akutagawa’s eyes, it was still preferable to going with Dazai and Chuuya. For one, they didn’t have the space, and for another, they fought like cats and dogs.

“Why do they live together if they hate each other so much?” Atsushi had asked Akutagawa. Akutagawa had just rolled his eyes at Atsushi.

“They’re married,” he snapped. Atsushi had decided he didn’t really want to know. 

It isn’t like the Akutagawa siblings have all that much more room, though. They’d taken a larger room in the underground bunker – Atsushi thinks it might have been a bank vault, once – but at the cost of taking most of the storage. The room is covered in shelves holding all manner of strange items, everything from books to spare machinery bits to gear to things Atsushi can’t even identify.

Because the siblings, Dazai, and Chuuya are all part of a smuggling ring. Atsushi hasn’t quite gotten all the details, but the four of them steal just about anything they can get their hands on from No. 6, and that’s how they make their living.

It’s a life, or so Atsushi supposes.

The cluttered room means there’s not much room for furniture, though. There’s the skinny twin bed Gin uses, the couch that’s nearly as wide that Akutagawa sleeps on, and a pair of chairs that have seen better days. Between one of them and the floor, Atsushi took a chair.

He’s starting to think he might have been better off on the floor.

Both siblings are already up, already sipping at mugs of what Atsushi thinks might be coffee, based on the smell.

“Do I get a cup?” Atsushi asks, voice cracking with the sleep that hasn’t quite left his system yet.

“If you make it yourself,” Akutagawa says. “The kettle’s behind the last bookshelf. Don’t touch anything else.”

Atsushi glares at him, but doesn’t say anything. Despite Akutagawa’s desperate need for an attitude adjustment, he did save Atsushi’s life. And then gave him a place to stay. Even if it was only because Dazai told him he had to.

Dazai and Akutagawa’s relationship is something of a mystery. There’s strain, that’s for certain. Akutagawa doesn’t hate Dazai, though. If anything, Atsushi thinks Akutagawa is trying to win Dazai’s approval, and Dazai doesn’t seem to want much to do with that.

It doesn’t quite make sense to Atsushi. Akutagawa is so quick to hate Atsushi, for reasons Atsushi can’t fathom. He hasn’t done anything, after all, and when they were kids, Akutagawa seemed to tolerate him just fine.

There’s history between Dazai and Akutagawa, and Atsushi can’t help his curiosity.

There’s a lot Atsushi doesn’t know about Akutagawa, actually. He only just learned that Akutagawa has a sister. Why he was arrested, why he’s keeping an eye on No. 6, why he stays so close when the safest place for him would be far away from here…Atsushi doesn’t know the answers. And not knowing is not something that’s ever sat well with him.

“So how does all this work?” Atsushi asks. He mixes hot water with instant coffee and hopes it’ll taste okay. He sips it as he walks back up to join the siblings. It’s not the best, but it seems effective. “The smuggling business, I mean?”

“That’s not your concern.”

Akutagawa isn’t even paying Atsushi any attention. He’s flipping through a book. Gin almost looks like she’s meditating, staring blankly at the wall while she sips at her coffee. She’s pretty without her mask on, which is a comment that would probably get Atsushi murdered twice.

“I still want to know,” Atsushi insists.

“Just because Dazai let you stay here doesn’t mean we have to work together,” Akutagawa snaps. “And I’d really prefer not to.”

“So, what, you just want me to sit around here?” It comes out hotter than Atsushi intends. Akutagawa raises a single nonexistent eyebrow – had he shaved them off? Atsushi remembers him having eyebrows at fourteen.

“Quietly, if that’s possible,” Akutagawa says, returning to his book. Atsushi wants to throw it away from him. He squashes that urge down.

The door swings open. Atsushi tenses, but neither Akutagawa nor Gin reacts much.

“Hope everyone’s decent and caffeinated,” Dazai says, strolling in. “Atsushi-kun! How are you settling in?”

Atsushi throws Akutagawa one more baleful glare that doesn’t even make it past the book in front of his face.

“Fine, I guess,” Atsushi says.

“Good! I’m here to offer you a job.”

Dazai looks entirely too pleased with himself. Atsushi isn’t sure whether he’s trustworthy, but he is the one that insisted Atsushi stay with them, and it’s a damn sight better than chancing his luck with the West Block. He might just have the kind of face that’s hard to trust because he’s so good at controlling it.

Atsushi has no real reason to believe Dazai isn’t genuine.

“A job?” Atsushi asks. He was just asking for something to do. And he’s never been the kind of person that takes to sitting still all that well. Maybe a job is just the thing he needs. “With the smuggling business?”

“In a way,” Dazai says. “It takes all kinds to make this work.”

“You’re introducing him to her?” Akutagawa asks. Atsushi blinks at Akutagawa. Her? Who is she?

“I think they’ll get along marvelously,” Dazai says.

“She’ll eat him alive,” Akutagawa says, and he looks inordinately pleased. Atsushi’s just getting annoyed by the extensive round of the pronoun game.

“Come on, then, Atsushi-kun,” Dazai says. “I’ll introduce you to our spymaster.”

That’s more than enough to get Atsushi moving. If there’s anyone who can answer his questions, it’s a spymaster.

“What kind of person is she?” Atsushi asks as he and Dazai walk. He’s picturing an older woman, greying hair tied tightly in a bun away from her face, kimono perfect and spotless, a katana on her back.

“She’s fairly unique,” Dazai says. “Most people have a hard time getting to know her, but she can be perfectly sweet if she thinks you’re worth her time.”

Atsushi updates his mental picture to include more lines around a tight mouth, an expression beaten into a face that’s seen too much shit. She must be a woman to be feared if even Dazai speaks of her this way.

“And she’s your spymaster?”

“She’s good at collecting rumors, anyway,” Dazai says. “There’s not a word of gossip in all the West Block that doesn’t pass through her doors.”

They’re approaching what looks like a ruined hotel building. Atsushi winces. It looks haunted, or at least, it looks like it’s in danger of crashing down.

“She lives here?” Atsushi asks.

“She sure does,” Dazai agrees. “Welcome to the hotel.”

There are dogs everywhere. It’s the first thing Atsushi notices. Dogs of every shape, size, and color lay in the yard, or play with each other, barking in a way that is happy. Probably.

The second thing Atsushi notices is a young girl standing in the doorway, watching them with dead blue eyes.

“Kyouka-chan, meet Nakajima Atsushi-kun,” Dazai says to her. “Atsushi-kun, this is Izumi Kyouka, resident master of whispers.”

Well. At least Atsushi got the kimono right.

“Who is he?” Kyouka asks, no inflection in her voice. Despite the bright color of her eyes, they seem to suck in light. It’s almost like Kyouka doesn’t feel human emotion, more robot than person. And in a world like this, that’s entirely possible.

“I figured he could help you out,” Dazai says. He either doesn’t notice Kyouka’s coldness, or he doesn’t care.

“I don’t babysit,” Kyouka says.

“It’s not babysitting,” Dazai says at the same time Atsushi bursts out “I don’t need a babysitter!” Dazai pats Atsushi on the shoulder. “He and Akutagawa don’t get along. But he’d still like to make himself useful.”

Atsushi doesn’t point out that he could get along with Akutagawa just fine if Akutagawa would stop threatening to kill him. It’s been four times already, and they’ve been reunited for just a day.

“He can wash the dogs,” Kyouka says. “If he’s bad, he’s not welcome here.”

“Perfect,” Dazai says. “Atsushi-kun, do your best.”

With one more clap to Atsushi’s shoulder, Dazai turns and leaves. And Atsushi has to somehow make peace with this new person.

“Uh…” he tries to start. Kyouka turns.

“You wash the dogs,” she says. “They’re filthy. I can’t rent them out like this.”

“You rent them out?” Atsushi asks.

He rolls up his sleeves, following Kyouka to a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. It doesn’t seem to have running water, but Kyouka uses a water hose to fill it up. Atsushi doesn’t know how people out here can have that so far from the city, but there’s also a shower in the bunker where the Akutagawa siblings, Dazai and Chuuya live, so maybe human ingenuity is just something to be respected and feared in equal measures.

“For anything people need,” Kyouka confirms, voice still a flat monotone. “Some people want the protection. Some people just want the warmth. I don’t usually ask. They tell me anyway.”

Kyouka’s quiet, that Atsushi knows already. He can easily see her listening in, unnoticed by those around her. If there’s a perfect person to play spymaster, it’s someone as easy to overlook as Kyouka.

Atsushi gets to work scrubbing at the dog. He may have been a detective in No. 6, but that came with a fair degree of physical labor, and Atsushi is stronger than he looks. The dog tries to pull away, but Atsushi grabs it by the scruff of its neck, holding it still while he soaps it up.

“Do you really not get along with Akutagawa?” she asks. There’s a small amount of emotion in her voice this time.

“That’s not my fault,” Atsushi says. “He doesn’t want to get along with me.”

Atsushi doesn’t say it, but he also can’t help remembering how easily Akutagawa slit that police officer’s throat back in No. 6, and how he’d berated Gin for leaving the other alive. What kind of person felt such little remorse for taking a life?

“He doesn’t care about anyone who can’t benefit him,” Kyouka says. “They can die, for all he cares.”

That’s certainly true. Atsushi remembers when there were other emotions in his eyes, though, when he teased Atsushi for roaring like a tiger in a typhoon and let Atsushi bandage his wounds and hold his hand, let Atsushi watch over him and protect him.

What happened to the child Akutagawa used to be?

“I guess it’s a kill or be killed world out here,” Atsushi says. Kyouka nods.

“Only the strong survive,” she says. “That’s the way the world works.”

“Or the people who work together,” Atsushi counters. “I can’t believe that people have to kill to stay alive. If that was true, nobody would care about each other, nobody would love. We’d just all kill to be the strongest.”

He doesn’t mean to go on a rant at Kyouka, but instead of telling him to shut up, she considers him carefully.

“Do you know why I deal with dogs?” she asks. “Why I only barely work with people?”

“You like dogs?”

“Dogs don’t betray you,” Kyouka says. “They’ll protect you, and they never leave you behind. They’re better than people.”

“You might be right,” Atsushi agrees, using the hose to spray the dog down. “But I think everyone still has value. I think that’s something you get just by being a person. Maybe if we all knew that, the world would be a better place.”

“You’re a strange one, Nakajima Atsushi.” It’s strange, but she’s the first one to call him by his real name other than Dazai. When Atsushi meets her eye, there’s emotion there. She looks like a regular teenager that way, kimono and all. “I’ve killed thirty-five people. Does that make you hate me?”

“Did they deserve it?” Atsushi asks. He can’t condone murder, but at the same time, a girl as young as Kyouka has to have a reason. Right?

“I didn’t ask,” Kyouka says. “I was just doing as I was told.”

“Told? By who?”

“Someone who’s not welcome in my life anymore,” Kyouka says. Atsushi knows better than to ask. “Does that make you hate me?”

“Do you want to kill anyone?” Atsushi asks. Kyouka’s eyes blink open wider, as if she’s never been asked such a fundamental question. How is that possible? What kind of life has she led?

“No,” Kyouka says softly. “I don’t want to kill anyone again.”

“Then that’s what matters.”

“But I’m good at killing,” Kyouka protests. “It might be the only thing I’m good at.”

“You seem to be running a successful business here,” Atsushi says. “So that’s at least two things. And I’ve never seen someone tie a kimono as perfectly as you. So that’s at least three. Sounds like you might be good at plenty of things.”

Kyouka’s eyes are blown wide now. Atsushi lets her sit with that, washes three more dogs before she finally speaks again.

“You’re not bad at that,” she says. “You can come by a few times a week. It’s better to rotate when they get washed.”

“I’ll do that,” Atsushi says. “Kyouka-chan, what do you like to eat?”

“To eat…?” She sounds faintly surprised at having been asked. Atsushi smiles. If Kyouka is this easy to get along with, it shouldn’t be all that hard to get used to working with her. “Boiled tofu. And sweets.”

“I’ll bring you some,” Atsushi promises.

“How will you manage that in the West Block?” Again, that surprise. Has no one really treated Kyouka like a person? Like a girl with wants and needs and emotions?

“I’ll figure something out,” Atsushi says. After all, he does know a smuggling ring.

“You have to keep promises,” Kyouka says, but something else breaks in her blue eyes, an emotion that Atsushi hasn’t seen since he left No. 6.

Kyouka believes in him.

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia – Chapter 25: Toshi Midoriya—Boyfriend, Student, Personal Trainer, Wingman

Presenting the latest raw and unedited chapter of my ongoing, next gen, My Hero Academia fan fic, Their Hero Academia!

All previous chapters (and an infrequently updated sub-series devoted to the past of the universe) can be found https://archiveofourown.org/users/zylly/works

Toshi’s hair was still slightly damp as he entered the Common Room.  He’d started the morning early, as he always did, gone for his morning run with Katsumi and Kana Tetsutetsu, then returned to the dorm for a shower and then breakfast.  Tetsutetsu had been asking a lot of questions about Haimawari, which he’d answered as best he could, though he really wasn’t sure what was up with that.   Ah well, if it was important, he’d probably figure it out.

The TV was on and he could see that Izumi and Askuka were watching it.   He could hear a little of it.  “…truck driver found dead this morning, appears to have been murdered sometime last night with no sign of his truck.  Local police are being tight lipped and have not yet named any suspects.  However, the driver did work for a shipping company with numerous government contracts…”

Well, that was a little weird.  But before he could think any more about it, he was interrupted by arms wrapping around him from behind and the feeling of something—no, two somethings—very large, very soft, and very warm pressing into his back.  “Good morning, Toshi!”

We’re sorry, Toshi dot exe has failed and cannot respond at this time. Please try again later.

It had only been a week, but he still couldn’t believe that Sora Iida liked him.  Liked him liked him.   Enough that last Sunday she’d accosted him when he’d gotten back from his morning run to confess.  And, well, she was pretty and excitable and all kinds of amazing things and he was pretty sure he liked her too.   They were young and figuring this kind of stuff out was what life was all about.  

He didn’t know if she was getting advice from Mika Mineta or if this was just her usual lack of regard for personal space amped up now that they were dating, but he was pretty sure only an idiot would complain about it.  Even if she seemed to be moving kind of fast.  Sora was… really physically demonstrative.  And he wasn’t sure he should be complaining about that, but still, fast.

…He really needed relationship advice, but he was also pretty sure, based on the stories of them in school, that Mom and Dad were not the ones to give it, nor Uncle Shoto and Aunt Momo, or Uncles Kacchan and Eijiro.

Aunt Mina had always said that any of them could come to her with relationship advice too, but he was pretty sure that was a really bad idea.  Maybe Aunt Tsu?  She was definitely the most sensible person in his parents’ class that he knew…

Sora gave him another squeeze.  He gave her hand a squeeze, before she relaxed her grip and let him turn around. She was taller than him by several inches, shorter only than Shoji and Koda.  It puts him at an… interesting level in comparison to her.

Toshi grined.  “Good morning, Sora.”  He frowned, though, when he saw the bags under her eyes, in spite of seemingly brimming with energy.  “How much coffee have you had?”

“Just three…ish cups?” she tried, hesitating as she sees his eyes narrow.  “…From the big mug.”

“Sora,” he said, “we talked about this.  Coffee isn’t a substitute for sleep.”

She crossed her arms and huffed.  “And I’m just supposed to let all my good ideas go to waste!?”

“If it’s a good idea at 2300, it’ll be a good idea at 0800.”

“Now you sound like Father,” Sora said.  “That is not proper boyfriend soundings!”

Toshi held up both hands in a pacifying gesture.  “Okay, okay, okay,” he said.  “No dad-ing. I promise.  Just… maybe ease off the coffee, okay?  I can’t boyfriend if you’re so exhausted you can’t think.”

“…Your statement is not without logic,” Sora admitted.  “I will have to incorporate these new variables!”

How did Uncle Tenya handle Aunt Mei?!   Toshi was in way over his head here!

***

“All right,” Mister Aizawa said, “settle down.  Before we begin today’s lessons, we have something important to discuss.  The Sports Festival and the work-study week that follows.”

Toshi stole a moment to glance at the back row of the classroom, where Haimawari sat.  He’d been talking his friend up to his dad fairly frequently now, telling him about his drive and his amazing Quirk.  With no heroic background and so many second (or greater) generation students in this year’s crop of first years, Toshi knew that most eyes would be on people with proven legacies and now newcomers to the field. Haimawari was a good guy and deserved whatever kind of leg up he could get.  It didn’t hurt that he was exactly the kind of person Dad almost always picked.

Toshi just hoped the shock didn’t kill him when it happened.

“We’ve had heroic legacies in the Sports Festival before,” Aizawa went on.  “But this is the first year where we have classes primarily composed of the children of active Pro-Heroes, including the majority of the Top Ten.  Combined with the uncertainty surrounding the Quirk Virus situation… needless to say, the eyes of the world will be on this Sports Festival more than any other.”

He fixed the class with an icy glare.  “I am certain your parents are planning something.  I’ve already forbidden them from extending offers to their own children, so don’t think you’re going to coast by.  But knowing them, they’ve already made arrangements to exploit the loophole in that.  However, as your teacher, I have final veto power over whatever offers you may receive.”

His eyes narrowed. “If I catch any of you at the Sports Festival performing at anything less than your best, I will see all offers extended to you declared null and void.  Am I understood?”

“Yes, Mister Aizawa,” Toshi mouthed, along with the rest of the class.

Aizawa seemed satisfied with that, nodding slightly.  He briefly looked down at the lectern to consult a piece of paper.  “Doc Clock has also asked me to pass on the message that if any of you try anything like what Deku or Shoto did at your parents’ first Sports Festival, she will refuse to use her Quirk on you and instead leave you to Recovery Girl’s care.”

A small grin of paternal pride traced its way across his face.

As for the Festival itself, Toshi wasn’t worried.  He was good with his Quirk, though he knew he could be better.  But that pretty much applied to everybody in the class.  Of course, the variable nature of the middle round made things a little more complicated and there was always the possibility of something new…  But there was no sense in getting worked up about it.

No, if anything, it was the Tournament Round that concerned him the most.  What if he had to fight somebody in from the class?  So many of them were his friends, practically his family. He wasn’t sure he could really go all out fighting them.  

What if he had to fight Sora?!

***

Two weeks.  That’s what they had to get ready for the Sports Festival.  And Toshi was bound and determined to make the most of it.  With Heroics Class replaced by free-training periods for those two weeks, they had plenty of opportunity.  The chance to show his parents, show the world, just how good he could be.

Despite having a dad who was the Number One Hero and a mom who usually ranked somewhere in the low thirties, Toshi did not consider himself having to escape from their shadow. He’d known, almost from the moment he’d decided to be a Hero, that there would be plenty of people who’d think of him as nothing more than Deku’s kid.  And Dad, as the Symbol of Hope, was a standard no one could hope to match up to. They could only do like he did, and follow Dad’s example, and give it his best.

Toshi probably wasn’t going to be the next Number One Hero… but he was going to be the best Hero that he could.  And he was going to help his friends be the best that they could be too.

Which was why he’d taken some time to help Haimawari and Shota, in one of the dojo-style training gyms. Both of them had great Quirks… but neither was the best physical fighter in the world.  Haimawari relied on speed and zooming around, while Shota tended to rely on the raw power of his Quirk when fighting.  Nejire had also managed to take Haimawari out rather quickly when she and the Laughing Man had attacked them during training, though that might have been from the speed and surprise as much as anything else.

Toshi got that.  He was used to using his Quirk to bounce around, rapidly shifting from low to high gravity to bounce around and then hit like a freight train.  But he also knew how to fight without it.  Straight up brawling techniques from Dad, Gunhead-Style martial arts moves from Mom.

He brought up a hand, palm up, and moved his fingers in a “come and get me” gesture.  “Okay, guys,” he said.  “Two of you against one of me.  No Quirks.  Let’s do this.”

Haimawari rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.  “If you say so, Midoriya…”

“Kaaaai-yaah!”  Shota let out a non-supersonic scream and rushed him. Toshi easily sidestepped his purple-haired friend and gave him a small shove, knocking him down to the mats.

Haimawari was slightly more cautious, throwing a few careful punches that seemed more designed to test him that to actually connect.  With his long arms and legs, Haimawari actually had pretty decent range.  If he could get a little power going behind them, he’d be pretty effective.

Toshi tossed off a jab of his own, probing Haimawari’s defenses.  He missed and Haimawari actually managed to take him, striking him in the face with a blow.

He instantly pulled back, even as Toshi was seeing stars.  “Oh, oh, no, Midoriya, I didn’t mean…”

Toshi just laughed.  His opinion of Haimawari as a fighter obviously needed revising.  “Why didn’t you tell me you could hit like that?”

“That was awesome!” Shota piped in, none the worse for wear in body or spirit from his tumble.  “Only people I’ve seen hit Toshi like that are Kirishima-Bakugo and Tetsutetsu!”

Haimawari looked a bit embarrassed, chuckling nervously.  “It’s nothing, just something my dad taught me, that his mentor taught him. From, ah, from when he was doing a neighborhood watch kind of thing.”

Something about the way he said that made Toshi think there was more to the story, but he didn’t really want to press it.  It wasn’t like he wasn’t privy to secrets that he wasn’t allowed to share.

“Seriously, though,” Toshi said.  “I thought you said you didn’t know how to fight without your Quirk.”

Haimawari laughed nervously again.  “More like… I don’t want to?  I don’t like the idea of hurting people, especially for something just like showing off like the Sports Festival.  Guess what I really need is psyching up.”

Toshi punched the palm of his other hand.  “Okay, mental conditioning.  We can work on that.”

He looked over at Shota. “You… on the other hand…”

Shota looked a little embarrassed.  “Yeah… I might need a little more help.  Dad says it wasn’t until Uncle Shota started mentoring him that he really got any kind of good at fighting.”

“Well,” Toshi said, “I’m no Eraserhead, but I’ll do my best…”

***

Fortunately, it got better from there.  Haimawari was better than he’d expected going in, even after that first punch.  There was a lot of wildness to his punches and kicks, but even without his Quirk, he was fast and had plenty of reach.  If he combined that with his Quirk, getting in a few hits and then getting away, and repeating that, he’d do great against anyone with a short range Quirk.

Getting Shota to actually think about his moves before going all in was really the hard part, and once he got past that, it wasn’t too bad.  He wasn’t going to be as good a fighter as Uncle Hitoshi was, but at least he wouldn’t be breaking his hand if he punched somebody at the Sports Festival. And they still had two weeks.

Shota was bent over, hands on his legs, struggling to breathe.  “I’m okay…  I’m okay…   I’m pretty sure I’m okay…  The room was always spinning, right?”

“Take it easy, dude,” Haimawari said, guiding him over to one of the benches and helping him sit down. He got Shota’s water bottle and handed it to him.

“Small sips, Shota,” Toshi told him.  “Don’t overdo it.  You’ll just throw up.”

Shota reluctantly complied; Toshi could tell he’d been ready to guzzle it.  “This… gets… easier, right?” he gasped.

Toshi nodded. “Eventually.  We’ll try and do a little endurance work too.”

“Don’t know if I’ve said it, but I really do appreciate this, Midoriya,” Haimawari said, taking a drink of his water.  He was sweating and breathing hard, but not nearly as badly as Shota.  He was actually in pretty decent shape, probably because his Quirk was more of a physical one.  But he was built like a runner, not a brawler, so what he could do was a little different.

“Happy to help,” Toshi replied.  “We’re all in this together, after all.”

“Not worried I’ll take your spot at the Festival?  Me and Dad watch it every year… it gets pretty competitive.”

Toshi waved it off. “Nah.  I’m gonna do my best, you’re gonna do your best, that’s all that really matters.”

“How do you think it’s gonna go, Toshi?” Shota asked, no longer panting.  He looked a healthier color too.  “I bet you’re gonna win it!  I mean, Uncle Deku did his second year and third year, and he’s your dad, so he probably taught you everything, even if your Quirks are kinda different, and…”

“I really don’t know, Shota,” Toshi said, a little bit quickly.  Sometimes, you had to fight to get a word in edgewise with Shota. “Everybody’s got really great Quirks, not just us, but in the other classes too.  And there’s always a surprise or two in the General Studies classes. Especially since we don’t know what the first two events will be.”

The first event was usually something that required covering distance and the second was always one that required teams, but that was about the only parameters that could be guessed. Toshi had seen everything from obstacle courses in the first to Quirk-backed games of dodgeball in the second and there wasn’t much predictable pattern to it.  

He held out his hand, pam to the ground.  “But when it does, we’re gonna be ready for it, right?”

Haimawari put his hand over Toshi’s.  “Right.”

Shota did the same. “Right!”

“You three done nerding it up yet?” a voice from behind asked.  Toshi turned to see Katsumi and Kana Tetsutetsu.  

“I have yet to reach maximum nerd,” Toshi said, smirking.  There’d been no malice in what she’d said.  Katsumi just had to get everyone a hard time.  It was just who she was.  “Hey Tetsutetsu.”

“Hey yourself, Midoriya,” Tetsutetsu said.  

“Yeah, yeah,” Katsumi said. “Well, make yourself useful and come show me some of those moves Aunt Ochaco taught you.  Bring the Loud Kid too.”

“Shota.  My name is Shota.  You know that, Kirishima-Bakugo!”

“Sure it is,” Katsumi said. “C’mon.”

Okay, something was clearly up.  He and Katsumi sparred sometimes, but she never just flat out asked him to show her any moves.  Did this have anything to do with what Tetsutetsu been asking about this morning? Was… was Katsumi being her wingwoman? For Haimawari?

This was a day for the record books.  

“Yeah, sure, I can do that,” he said.  “C’mon, Shota.”

Shota, however, clearly wasn’t picking up on the subtext.  “I don’t think I can fight anymore, Toshi,” he said, stifling a yawn.

“Then watch and learn, Loud Kid!”  Katsumi shouted.

“Why don’t you come along,” Toshi said.  He might as well play along with this.  If only to get Katsumi out of having to play wingwoman any further.  “Tetsutetsu, don’t think you’ve met Haimawari?  You could probably show him some moves I can’t.”

“’Probably’?” Tetsutetsu asked.  “You know I can, Midoriya.  Nice to meet you, Haimawari.”

“Likewise,” Haimawari said, smiling.  He looked like he knew something was up, but couldn’t figure it out.  He offered Tetsutetsu a hand and she shook it, leaving him massaging his fingers afterwards.

Just a couple weeks into school and everybody was jumping into relationships.  He was hardly one to talk, of course, but it still amazed him. Especially for all of them that had known each other for most of their lives.  But here, away from their parents for the first time, maybe they were just figuring out who they wanted to be.

***

“Watch and learn, Loud Kid,” Katsumi said.  She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, hands up in a fighting position, before launching a powerful right hook.  It was her signature move and she always telegraphed it.  Toshi’d also been on the receiving end of it many times when sparring with her.  Even when you could see it coming, Katsumi was fast.

Fortunately, he had time to dodge, and return fire, coming at Katsumi with a few quick jabs.  She got her guard up though, deflecting his blows easily.  “Gonna have to do better than that, Toshi,” she said, with a wicked grin.

Toshi dropped low, sweeping his leg.  He knocked Katsumi down, but she was right back up before he could capitalize on it. He dodged her return strikes, shifting left and right rapidly.  “Didn’t take you for the type to play wingwoman,” he said.

He blocked her next strike and even that stung like hell.  “All I did was get you two out of the way,” she replied.  “I wanted to spar with you anyway.  If I can help out a friend, I can put up with a little lovey-dovey nonsense.”

Toshi knew she’d been turned down by Izumi after confessing her long buried feeling.  That had to have hurt some, but she seemed to be plowing through it in her usual fashion.  Which was not dealing with her more complicated emotions.  Which probably wasn’t healthy.  But all he could do was be there for his friend.

His friend who’d nearly taken his head off with her follow-up punch!   He got his head out of the way, but she connected solidly with his shoulder.  He grunted, firing off rapid fire punches in return that she deflected, until he altered his pattern, two right hand blows one after the other instead of a left and a right and felt his fist connect solidly with her chest.

Katsumi winced and backed off, keeping herself light on her feet.  Laughing, she said, “Did you just bunch me in the boob, Toshi?  What would your girlfriend say?”

Toshi’s eyes went wide for a second, before he recovered.  “Very funny,” he said.  Typical Katsumi, always trying to get a rise out of him.

They exchanged more blows, hammering away, deflecting, retreating, and coming back at each other. But without Quirks, they were just too evenly matched with each other for there to be a clear victor.  Katsumi was probably stronger, but he was just lighter enough on his feet to make up for it.   With both of them realizing that, they took a step back and exchanged boys.

Shota broke into applause. “That.  Was.  AWESOME!  You gotta show me how to do that!”

Katsumi just laughed. It wasn’t a cruel laugh, but he could tell she didn’t really believe Shota had much of a chance in a physical contest.  “Stick to what you’re good at, Loud Kid.  Scream your way through.”

An idea occurred to Toshi and he had to turn away for a moment to hide his grin.  “I don’t know, Katsumi, I was going to get Shota up to speed anyway, but if you don’t think you can train him good enough, I guess I’ll have to do it…”

The glare she shot him was worth it.  “Oh, hell no. I didn’t say I didn’t think I could.” She snapped her fingers, then pointed at Shota.  “I’m gonna train you until your arms fall off, Loud Kid!  That’ll show you, Toshi!”

Toshi had to hide his grin again.  Shota would get the training he needed and Katsumi would have a goal she could work on to keep from dwelling on things.  If you knew what you were doing, helping your friends wasn’t too hard.

And he was going to do his best to make sure every one of his friends had a chance to shine.

[tkpro-scenarios]

[christmas/holidays] may i request a scenario where shikis just walking around the dorms and showing off his horrendous christmas sweater?

It was just too ugly of a sweater that words can’t describe it. As such, we shall leave the actual degree of horrendous-ness of this sweater up to each reader’s imagination.

- Mod nana

Takamura Shiki

“I’m sure you’re all wondering whyI called you here today…” The blond began with a grim look on his face as helooked at each member present, hands clasped in front of his seated figure in asteepling pose.

“I honestly don’t care. If you’rejust here ‘cause another bug entered your share room, then get out!” Ichirubarked with an unamused expression.

“Calm down Icchi, let’s at leasthear him out.” Eichi pat the younger boy’s shoulder with a smile, looking backto the SolidS members sitting across from him. “Did somethinghappen?”

“Ooh, something happened alright!” Theblond idol replied, tightening his grip while Rikka looked away in shame. “Somethingthat threatens to disrupt the very well-being of Christmas…”

The three Quell members blinked,Eichi swallowing a nervous gulp while Tsubasa began.

—

In the case of Okui Tsubasa:

—

He let out a loud yawn, scratchinghis stomach as he made his way to the SolidS share room.

“Good morning~” the blond greetedwith another yawn, sitting at the counter “Darling, make me a cup too, k?”

“It’s almost noon, you know? Here.”

Tsubasa blindly fished for hiscoffee mug, still tired from yesterday’s work. Lazily wrapping his fingersaround the handle, he brought the cup closer, blowing to cool it down beforedrinking it. “Ah, come to think of it, it’s almost Chris—”

The cup fell from his hand, crashingagainst the counter. The brown liquid spread, staining the surface whilst goldeneyes widening in horror at the sight in front of him.

—

“Wh-What?! What did you see?!”Ichiru asked, leaning forward in his seat.

“It was…” Taking a deep breath,Tsubasa looked to the ground, remorse contorting his handsome features. “The ugliestChristmas sweater I’d ever seen in my life.”

“…Huh?”

“I mean it! Even the mostunfashionable grandmother wouldn’t buy that for her kids‼” the blond retorted,slamming his hands on the table as he stood up. “I thought he lost a bet or wasbeing subjected to some sort of harassment by the senior idols but nope! Apparentlyhe bought it himself and now he’s parading around the dorms wearing that uglything!”

“Are you kidding me?! You got usall worked up over a dumb sweater?!” the blue-eyed teen exclaimed, sittingback with a click of his tongue. “You actually had me worried somethinghappened to Shiki or something…”

“You don’t understand, Ichiru.”Rikka stepped in, a sad faraway look in his rose-colored eyes. “Back when I wasa model I had to wear some really strange clothes…but even those don’t compareto what’s waiting downstairs!”

—

In the case of Sera Rikka:

—

“I’m back.” He announced, catchinghis breath as he headed into the kitchen to fetch himself a glass of water.

“Honestly that good-for-nothing,ungrateful little…”

Pink hues blinked at theviolet-haired male scrubbing away at the counter-top, muttering curses under hisbreath.

“Shiki? Is everything alright?”Rikka asked, turning the bottle cap. “Is Tsubasa still not up yet?”

“Oh he’s up.” Shiki replied, backstill facing his longtime friend. “Damn brat ran off screaming even though hewas the one that asked for a cup of coffee!”

“Screaming? Why did he…” his wordsstopped, replaced by a gasp as he dropped his water bottle.

—

“Oi oi, even Rikka?” Ichiruquirked an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

“You won’t understand until youactually see it!” Rikka replied, looking away while he covered his mouth withhis hand as he sniffled.

“Was it really that bad of asweater?” Issei chimed in, sapphire hues looking from Tsubasa to Rikka beforefinally landing on Dai, who nodded somberly.

—

In the case of Murase Dai:

—

“I’m back.” The blue-haired idolcalled, opening the door.

“Oh Dai, welcome back. Look at thismess…Rikka, what’s gotten into you and Tsubasa?” the stoic male chided, shakinghis head with a sigh before he turned to address the younger man. “Dai, do youmind bringing me a mo—”

Slam!

—

“That wasn’t fair, Dai! Shutting thedoor and running away by yourself…” Rikka pouted.

“I couldn’t help it. All myinstincts were telling me to get the hell outta there.” Dai replied, shuddering a little at thememory.

The twins blinked at the two thenat each other, brows arched in worry as they silently asked each other the samething. Was it really that ugly?

“A-Actually…” Eichi finally spokeup, as though he had read their minds.

—

In the case of Horimiya Eichi:

—

“Excuse me~!” The brunet called,opening the door to let himself in. “Shiki-san, I’m sorry to bother you butcould you spare some coffee beans? We’re all out.” Eichi explained with a shortchuckle, walking into the kitchen when his heart nearly stopped at the hideouspattern attacking his eyes.

“Ah, Eichi? Sure thing, just asec.” Shiki replied with a nod, searching through the cabinets.

“T-Thank you…”

—

“I can’t really say anythingbecause if I’m being honest, I was going to buy you two a pair of similarlooking sweaters for Christmas…” Eichi admitted, hanging his head. “…But seeinghow horrendous it looked on Shiki-san, I’m relieved from the bottom of my heartfor deciding against it.”

“Looks like we dodged a bulletthere…” Ichiru whispered to his older brother.

“Thank you, Shiki-san.” Isseiwhispered back with a nod.

“Sounds like everyone’s had quitethe day!” A deep voice chuckled, drawing everyone’s attention to the entrancewhere the fawn-haired leader of Quell stood.

“Shu!”

“I know Shiki doesn’t have thebest taste in clothes but aren’t you all exaggerating a bit too much?” Shuasked with a wry smile, undoing his scarf and placing his coat on the hangerbefore making his way to the table. “It can’t be that bad, can—”

“So this is where you all were.What’s going on?”

—

In the case of Izumi Shu:

—

“So…what’s everyone doing here? Imade some coffee.” The mauve-haired composer announced, stepping into the Quellshare room. Purple eyes scanned the room, everyone wearing horrified expressions: Ichirumaking incoherent sounds, Issei’s eyebrow twitching while Shu stared him asthough he had just murdered a man.

“What is it?” Shiki asked, tiltinghis head to the side.

“Shiki.” He flinched at the suddengrip Shu had on his shoulder. “I’m telling you this not as a fellow idol orunit leader but as your close friend…” Pale blue eyes looked up at confused violetones, Shiki taking a step back at the desperate look on the younger man’s face.“Please burn that sweater right now.”

“What?!”

“Issei, Ichiru. Gather things wecan use to start a fire.” Shu called, the twins immediately rising from their seats to start searching around the room while Eichi and the rest ofSolidS closed in on the two leaders. “I heard Ryota from Growth was burningsome sweaters on the roof so let’s lend him a hand.”

“What are you talking about?!”Shiki exclaimed, swatting Shu’s hand off him as he backed away.

“Shiki…this is for your own good.”Rikka assured, everyone taking a step closer.

“Get him!”

“Wait—stop‼ It’ll stretch! YOUGUYS‼!”