#nekomatas make everything better

[quietplace26]

Solving the Future au (2)

It's been a whole month since Akito found himself back in the past, and he's been very busy since then.

First thing he did was tell Mari EVERYTHING. She didn't really believe him at first, but seeing how odd her brother was acting, how happy he was to see her, practically crying as he hugged her, it made her believe.

Oh, and the glowing lines on Akito's hands certainly help her believe him as well.

When she pointed this out to Akito, he was shocked to see the familar glowing lines on his hands. But that shouldn't be possible since KK wasn't possessing him anymore!

He quickly goes to test things out, seeing if it was still possible for him to be able to use KK's etheral weaving. To his shock, he could still weave!

Wind, Fire, Water, he could still use had them all! Also, unlike before where KK's etheral weaving was gold in color, Akito's was silver instead!

Mari stares down at Akito's hands in awe, lightly poking at the glowing lines in curiousity before looking up at her brother. "So what now Aki?"

Akito sighs and tugs Mari in for a hug. "For now lets start looking for a new place to live." He wasn't taking any chances of the fire happening again! "And... we'll go from there."

After that, it was a slow process for Akito. He had to get used to having Mari with him again, and that wasn't counting his aching body.

Wounds from all the visitors he fought in the last timeline now covered his once scarless body. One of which was a giant scar in the center of his chest where Hannya had shoved his arm through.

When Mari accidentally saw his new scars for the first time she cried... and then became enraged.

"So not only did he try to use MY body for some freaky ceremony, but he also hurt you! I'm gonna-" Needless to say, if Mari ever got her hands on Hannya, Akito got the feeling it wouldn't end well for the other man... Not that Akito cared.

Speaking of Hannya, it brought up the subject of what Akito was supposed to do with all the information he had. Should just stay out the way and let things run their course?

Akito... didn't like that idea. That would mean knowingly letting Shibuya fall into chaos, letting people get hurt or even killed, and... letting KK die again.

But what could he do?! There was no way he could just walk up to KK, who didn't even know him, and tell him, 'oh, I'm from the future'. The older man would probably laughed at his face and tell him to fuck off...

His answer finally comes to him one night while he was eating dinner with Mari. She suggests that maybe he should help from the shadows.

Help from the shadows... That could work! He could help KK and the older man's team from the shadows of the background!

He could do this! He could help KK, keep him alive this time!

"Mari. You're a genius!"

"I know, right? Now then, teach me how to fight monters, bro!"

"...What."

In the end, Mari wouldn't back down, so Akito reluctantly said she could fight. But only if he was their with her! He couldn't lose her again...

Now with a battle plan, Akito sets his sight on getting some weapons and talismans.

Originally, he had the bow KK leant him and some talismans, but when he found himself back in the past, both the bow and talisman disappeared from his person.

He could break into KK's apartment and steal the bow, but that was too risky, so Akito turned to the next best thing. The Nekomatas.

Using his knowledge from the past timeline, Akito quickly manages to gather up some of the relics the Nekomatas once asked for, and with Mari by his side, the siblings went hunting for a Nekomata merchent.

"Oho? You're an odd human~" The Nekomata merchent purrs out as he stared at Akito in interest. Akito just smiles, politely asking to see the Nekomata's goods as he set the relics on the table.

Akito ends up buying two divine bows, one for him and one for Mari, and a bunch of tailsmans. He even bought some katashiros just in case.

"Aki? Can we get these masks?" Mari holds up two masks that had feline like faces carved into them.

"Sure." Akito thought they looked cool, and besides, he and Mari needed something to disguised themselves with. Can't risk either KK or Hannya seeing their faces while they were out hunting!

Mari suddenly makes an odd sound. Akito glances at her in worry. "What's wrong?"

She points behind him, her eyes wide in shock. "B-Behind you."

Thinking there was trouble, Akito whips around, prepared to fight when- "Mmrr?" A tiny, TINY paw pokes at his nose. The tiny, TINY paw belonging to a tiny, TINY Nekomata. Was this a Nekomata kitten?! It was so cute!!!

Behind him Akito hears Mari squeak in delight when more floating kittens started appearing around them, all purring and very curious of the humans.

By the time, the siblings were done shopping, there was purring and cooing Nekomata kittens all over them. The kittens just seemed to adored the siblings, and neither of the humans were complaining in the slightest!

The Nekomata merchent seemed very amused by this. "Not everyday do you see humans covered in Nekomata kittens and enjoying it~"

Sadly though, the Nekomata merchant ends up having to break up the fun and shoos the kittens off. The kittens quickly start whining, saying they wanted to play with the nice 'nii-san and nee-san' more!

"Well, if it's alright with your parents, me and Mari could come back to visit you later on, okay?" Akito suggests as he looks over at the merchent and older Nekomatas for their approval.

The older Nekomata didn't mind thankfully. In fact, they even offered the humans a small job. "Watch the kittens every now and then and we'll give you a special bonus everytime you buy our goods, okay~"

Now that they had weapons now, Akito could move onto the net step. Training Mari to fight visitors. Oh, he wasn't a veteran yokai hunter like KK, but Izukis learn fast, so Akito had no doubt Mari could pick up using the bow fast like he did in Shibuya!

And learn fast she did! The younger girl had no trouble aiming, and barely ever missed! But even so, Akito still stood by decision that Mari could only fight if he was around! He had etheral weaving on his side, she didn't.

Besides training Mari, Akito also trained himself. He no longer had KK in his head to guide him this time, so he had figure out how to weave himself.

It was hard, as he had to be careful with his body. His old wounds, even though they're healed, ached, and if he wasn't too careful, he'd actually start coughing up blood!

He hasn't told Mari about this yet. Hell! He hasn't even been to a doctor yet. Like, how could he? There's no way he could explain to a doctor how he got all these wounds and sound sane!

So instead he goes to the Nekomatas and is taken straight to a healer.

"Hm... You've been through quite a lot, haven't you young one?" The elderly Nekomata healer hums as he looks Akito over, eying all the human's scars. "A normal human would've been dead with half these wounds."

Akito lets out a nervous laugh. "G-Guess I was lucky..." Or had a wraith that healed everything...

After the check up, the elderly Nekomata healer gives Akito some special medicine for him to take. A whole box of it! "Make sure to drink a bottle of medicine everyday, and the pain should go away gradually."

Akito thanks the healer and goes to pay when the elderly Nekomata wave his money away. "Bah! It's on the house! You and your sister have been a delight to us yokai folk, so considered this a gift between friends~"

Another month passes, and Akito knew it was time. They had a few months before Hannya could enact his grand plan in Shibuya, and Akito planned to do everything in his power to stop him!

He had too! For Shibuya, it's citzens, and for... for KK.

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

ZZZ Headcanons

Help this game has taken over my free time I love these characters sm <3 Billy Soukaku and Ellen my beloved

Nicole: has a not so secret hobby of bedazzling anything and everything. It’s a real problem in the Cunning Hares apartment, nothing is safe from pink rhinestones and stickers

Anby: cracked at rhythm games to an alarming degree. Can do a 2 person extremely hard DDR song all by herself

Billy: I don’t know how they did it but they programmed an android with autism. Has his own version of a skincare routine which is basically just maintenance on all of his tiny mechanical parts. Can also gain power multiple ways, including solar power. The apartment complex where the Cunning Hares live had a blackout once and everyone used Billy as a personal charging port. Nicole promised to pay him in Starlight Knight merch.

Nekomata: cuts her own hair and offers to do it for other people. DO NOT trust her when she says she’s good at it

Grace: did gymnastics as a kid which is why she’s able to pull off a ton of backflips and flexible maneuvers in battle

Anton: uses actual cement to keep his hair spikes in shape. Koleda caught him in the act once and instead of chewing him out, she decided to apply some to her own hair and now they’re cement combover gang

Ben: is completely vegan and loves chilling at hot springs a lot. Still sleeps with stuffed animals btw

Koleda: I’m making it canon right now Koleda is trans and you can’t do shit about it. Also has welding as a hobby and made most of her accessories from scratch

Corin: when not in Victoria Housekeeping Co uniform, is a Jfashion junkie. I’m talking super dedicated Lolita fits, menhera inspired clothing, the whole shebang. She ofc designs a lot of her own stuff like her bear backpack and is also responsible for a lot of the accessories Victoria Housekeeping Co wears (Rina’s bows, Ellen’s shark jaw head and neckpieces, Lycaon’s eyepatch and tail straps). She also has a massive crush on Ellen and is too scared to admit it

Rina: has a fur allergy and can’t keep animals around. Which also means she’s allergic to Lycaon. She has to take so much Zyrtec before clocking in but has such a good poker face that Lycaon has no idea. Ellen knows tho

Lycaon: specifically wears the heeled boots and has his odd posture because he’s self conscious about his digitigrade legs, he thinks they’re unsightly for a butler of his standing to have. He also tries to encourage Ellen to wear a long maid dress like Rina does to hide her tail.

Ellen: coincidentally falls into a lot of shark stereotypes. She loves seafood, has to constantly be fidgeting or she feels like she’ll go mad, and the kicker, she gets frenzied around blood, or if the thing she’s fighting puts up a struggle. Corin accidentally cut her hand while repairing her saw blade once and both Lycaon and Rina could barely hold Ellen back once Corin began bleeding. Ellen feels awful for scaring the already timid girl. Corin secretly thought it was hot and would die on the spot if anyone knew that

Soukaku: despite being a huge foodie this girl cannot cook for shit. Is also physically cold to the touch and during the summer her coworkers will ask her to hold their drinks because they’ll stay cold. Soukaku always secretly sneaks sips every time they do this to her.

Miyabi: has the worst sleep schedule known to man. Sometimes you’ll find her awake at 3AM and conked out by 4PM, other times she goes to bed at 8PM and wakes up at 4AM. It’s inconsistent and irregular and a gamble trying to contact her outside of work because she might not even be awake

Harumasa: GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY. Also pretty cracked at chess and other strategy games. Is also a major old fashioned guy and doesn’t own a lot of modern technology. He’s not into retro or old stuff, he just doesn’t like new stuff

Yanagi: her glasses are fake. When she was younger she needed them, but her vision had naturally gotten better over the years, so she now wears contacts, but for some reason still insists on wearing her glasses. Loses them constantly during battle.

Lucy: even though she was forced to play piano as a kid, she really wanted to be a sporty girl and play stuff like soccer and baseball. Now she has the freedom to take part in the sports she likes and watch them surrounded by the people she likes

Piper: insanely picky eater to the point it drives Lucy up a wall. Is also picky about a lot of other things, like how different fabrics feel, different comfort levels of chairs and beds, girl is a complainer and will always find something to complain about

Lighter: has a side gig as a tattoo artist, has really stable hands too

Soldier 11: has 5 younger brothers, a younger sister, and 2 older siblings who she doesn’t see super often. Has divorced parents who also liked to adopt, which is why she has such a huge family. Her younger brothers love it when she comes home and plays secret agent military with them

Seth: can’t drive. That’s it send tweet.

Qingyi: is outwardly dismissive of meditation tricks and hacks and tips but utilizes that shit in private ALL the time.

Zhu Yuan: shares the vegetables she grows in her garden with all her neighbors. Is also a REALLY good cook to the point people have encouraged her to potentially consider a different career path

Jane Doe: the rat girl has pet rats go figure. But in all seriousness she’d die for her little guys. She has a white one named Cocaine and a brown one named Tobacco and a gray one named Crystal Meth. She thinks the names are hilarious and every time she introduces the rats to other people their facial expressions are priceless

[trendywaifus]

Okay,how Nicole demara with an S/O that loves taking care of her and helping her out with her business.

i’ll make this a hc!

— getting spoiled by you is an experience she grew to absolutely adore (she won’t admit that).

she’s looking at her nails, grumbling about how it’s time to get it done. the polish is peeling from her nails and it’s starting to annoy her. you gently grab her hand, bringing it up to your lips to kiss the pad of her fingers. nicole’s already red, pink lips parted with surprise as she verbally questions what you’re doing.

“ do you want me to pay for them, nicole? we can get them done today. “ you offer, kissing her pointed finger one more time before letting them go. secretly over the moon by your gesture, she shyly averts her lowered gaze to somewhere else that isn’t you.

“ y-yes, i would like to, (name). “ she trails off, stifling back a dopey smile on her face. she’s def gonna brag and show off later.

— when it comes to doing little side gigs like selling drinks, food, or whatever, you’re the one who’s prepping the items. nicole’s the one setting the prices. nekomata, and the other two are either doing their own thing or helping out in some way. for some reason, you sell the most between you and nicole and it annoys her. it annoys her because you’re very easy on the eyes, so people are naturally drawn to you and find the need to flirt with you while you’re trying to do business. you’re hers, damnit. does she have to stand by you so those pesky people can stop the funny business, buy her stuff, and go?

“ meow, it seems like they’re at it again.” nekomata comments, looking at the growing line of people waiting to buy a popsicle from you. nicole merely grumbles, quietly watching everything from afar as you politely hand the two women cold treats.

“ oh before we go, you have such a beautiful smile. are you single? “

“ no, i’m not. sorry. “

“ aw, well i hope to see you around, cutie! “

nicole’s brows twitch.

you wave goodbye at the two women before welcoming a group of men. one of the men shoves a guy from the back to the front, appearing awkward and fidgety. “ erm, can we all get a popsicle? is there a deal going on? “

“ mhm, since there’s like 5 of you. 5 for 10$. “

“ damn. 5 for 10$? “

“ u-um, i’ll take it, “ he stutters, digging in his beach short’s pocket for his wallet. he hands you a ten dollar bill and you give him the pack of popsicles.

“ al-also, i’ve been watching you—not like a stalker or anything! but like—“

“ meow? you totally sound like a stalker.” nekomata remarks, hearing the conversation closely. “ what? nekomata! what are they saying other there? i can hardly hear anything because of these damn seagulls!” nicole snarls, adjusting the visor on her head to block off the sun from her eyes.

“ the guy is hitting on (name), but, he’s. . not scoring. “

“ good! (name)’s is my partner, anyways! they better go search somewhere far away to find someone perfect like them, hmph! “

— i can imagine you and nicole being the best duo when it comes to collecting money from scamming clients.

the four, beaten up men kneels in fear as you tower over them with a smug smirk on your face.

“ so boys, “ nicole comes up behind you and rest a hand on your shoulder with her other hand on her hips, “ we now have an understanding, right? “

“ y-yes—yes! we do! please, no more! “ one of the men begged, clasping his hands together desperately.

“ good~ make sure you pony up the cash by tomorrow or we’ll make sure you won’t be able to piss straight for a month. “ nicole threatens, smirking menacingly at the men. they all let out noises of fear and nervously bobbed their heads.

with an arm wrapped loosely around her waist, you add on, “ you better listen to my girl, or i’ll make it two months for your goofy asses. “

[starguardianniom]

Stupid headcanons for Billy Kid from Zenless Zone Zero

I just thought the stupidest headcanons for Billy Kid and I'm gonna make it everyone else's problem, here goes:

Billy is immune to acid, in a mission he once got send in a huge vat of acid and then walked out of it completely fine, just without his clothes (they melted) and The Girls (he lost his grips on them when flying so they didn't take the acid bath with him). Hell, Billy is so immune that the acid actually cleaned him up and made him shine as if he had been polished, Nicole, Anby and Nekomata were half sobbing half laughing at the whole thing because they were so relieved that he was ok but also the stress of thinking him gone and then seeing he's fine and in better shape than before made them stress laughing, and also because Anby actually had made a joke about how if Billy would be thrown in acid he would actually get out of it in better shape and polished like a mirror like that one robot from one of her movies, only for her to regret it when she saw him go in the acid, and then being beyond shocked when Billy just came out looking exactly like she and her movie predicted. Billy was mostly mad that his clothes melted, do you know much he loved that jacket? But to Billy acid is like hot water to him, it will just make all his gear and system runs more smoothly because it will melt all the impurities away from his body, so he'll really end up cleaned like never before, oh and his hair also is completely fine too, yeah.

This goes hand in hand with headcanon number 1, if Billy can survive acid, he cannot stand the cold, and will actually frost all over if it's too cold, so he always wear several layers during winter, otherwise he literally won't be able to move, and it also freeze his system so he will be extremely slow to react and answer, Nicole and Anby learned it the hard way on their first winter with him, he was shocked too, though given he's always been living in the Outer Ring before where the whole palce is a desert all year long he quickly adapted, so he has several warm blankets and an heat fan. Also not recommended to try to lick him like kids try to lick something frozen, your tongue will get stuck on him to his utter embarassment, Anby learned it the hard way too.

Billy doesn't charge like other stuff do, when he goes to sleep, he actually stays offline for 8 hours straight afterwhat in sleep mode, so it's literally impossible to wake him up before he finished his 8 hour sleep, his system is locked that way, he's never been able to change it and the Cunning Hares have just accepted that if they get ambushed during the night they will have to defend Billy until morning. The girls tried everything to wake him up, not unlike the Sons of Calydon before, but yeah Billy can't be woken up before his 8 hours are over, so that's really annoying but after that he can toughen up the longest days without problem, and only needs sleep for his 8 hours. Sleep mode is his biggest weakness alongside the cold.

Billy doesn't hide his past because he's actually ashamed of it but because he's so infamous that if words got around about who he truly was he would be arrested immediatly the moment he's recognized by the police, so he doesn't want the Cunning Hares to go down with him so he keeps quiet and never talks about his true identity. He does remember his days in the Outer Ring fondly but also chose to leave it behind and adapt to a new environment purely for the challenge and because he got one good excuse in his old boss no longer being around, so he decided it was his time to try something new. Unlike Lycaon he hasn't changed at all deep down, he just hides it more, but he's just as ruthless as he was back in the day, it just so happens that he just prefers to follows the orders of whoever he lets be in charge of him and Nicole just happens to have more morals than his old boss, otherwise the Cunning Hares would be very infamous very fast with him doing anything in extreme ways to send the message, as he was fond of doing in the Outer Ring, which led to his infamy in the first place. This is the only reason why the siblings aren't in prison right now, otherwise Billy would have sold them out to the Police in the Prologue right there and then. To him it's pretty clear that Nicole is the "nice one" of the Cunning Hares but she is so cunning that he respects her for it and follows her around just because she impressed him that much with it. And given her morals are higher than his are, he doesn't tell her what he did because he's pretty sure she would fire him on the spot if she did (she wouldn't but he won't risk it) and he doesn't tell Anby because he knows that she'll eventually tell Nicole anyway given how she can never shut up about spoilers.

Billy is Quigyi's prototype older brother. He was made first because his creator wanted robot soldiers to fight wars so they could spare more human lives on their sides, and made Quigyi after using Billy's blueprints but made her more human looking to make her a spy, while Billy stayed more android looking as to be easier to identify on the battlefield. Billy and Quigyi pratically won the war by themselves, the former by being unstoppable on the battlefield and ending the army pretty much by himself and the latter by dismantling the other country's government and killing all the ones calling the shots. They were then hailed as war heroes and treated like royalty, until some accident happened that caused most people of their country to be wiped out, but because of their android nature they survived and later got separated because they wanted to do different things, on top of also having to lead different lives, since Billy couldn't integrate himself completely to society because he wasn't too human looking and also fighting was literally in his program so he couldn't stay away from any fighting for long less he goes insane while Quigyi could because she looked like one more and was build more for socialities more than fighting.

Billy's clothes are a nightmare to clean because his body gets dirty a lot with the oil he use and his body just making stains sometimes so his bill to the cleaner is always higher than Nicole's. He eventually just decided to buy several times the same clothes in the end and just changes them when they are too dirty or too much in tatters for him to continue wearing.

Billy is the best liar of the Cunning Hares, if he doesn't want to tell a secret, you'll never find out. This is the one thing Nicole trust him more than Anby for.

Billy can't swim, so if he gets stuck underwater, he won't drown, but he'll also be stuck at the bottom so he can just walk back until he gets out or jump out.

Billy acts childish because his true personality would scare the Cunning Hares, so he keeps his true nature a secret and just play pretend, but he actually ends up liking to play pretend, and if he acts scared sometimes, in reality he is listing everyone's position and scans around to check for any surprise, but sometimes he will just try to act like he got jumped on to check if the rest of the Cunning Hares are battle ready and sharp. See if they keep their wits. He's always doing little things like that to be sure that the Cunning Hares are ready for everything, he secretly trains them but they are too used to his antics to actually notice that he's putting on a show and actually is much more aware than they think.

Billy has a crush on Monica because he actually used to date her before she was a movie star, she was actually someone of the Sons of Calydon before she left and became a movie star and they dated briefly before that, so he really likes to watch her in her job and has bought everything that has her face on it and he is still so very proud of her. He let her go because she wanted to have a new life, he didn't want to leave his old boss behind, and when his old boss bit the dust, that's when he decided to go to New Eridu to try and seek her out, and when he learned that she was famous and stuff, he just decided to let her live her life in peace but also decided to keep supporting by being a fan, not knowing that Monica would take him back anytime the moment she knew he was in New Eridu.

[falling-star-cygnus]

Actually here's another Billy angst idea just with him being a cyborg/robot, what if he glitches out and is out of commission for days maybe even weeks and then he powers on to see everyone's shocked faces

oml, this has been sitting in my inbox for FAR too long. -> i am so sorry TT^TT

side bar, i was just introduced to the wonderful WiseBilly and BillyBelle agenda, so maybe there will be some of that in the future :D -> not in this fic tho, in case shipping isn't your style

someone legit sent in an ask a few days ago asking me to tag my works with 'fanfiction' so that they could block them all 😀 bc 'they didn't want to block a million different fandom tabs' -> BUT THAT'S LITERALLY WHY I USE A 'KEEP READING' CUT. SO THAT IT'S BITESIZED TO SCROLL PAST 😭 Master List

Something was very

very

wrong.

Currently, it was 8:24 in the morning. Nearly an hour past the time Billy normally woke up. And almost excatly the time he knocked on Nicole's door each day to tell her breakfast was ready.

Nothing had crashed yet.

Or shattered. Or banged. Or 'thudded.' Or 'thwacked.'

No one had started yelling.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Nicole stared at the ceiling and ignored the growing worry in her gut. It was probably nothing, she conceded. He had used a lot of power yesterday, so... the android was probably just taking an easy morning. God knows he deserved it after everything that had been going on.

Maybe he had found a movie to share with Anby.

...yeah, right. The boss of the Cunning Hares' bursts into quiet giggles thinking about it. Those two couldn't share that old thing to save their lives. It's why the schedule was made.

Her alarm clock buzzes. 8:30.

He'd come knock any second now.

Annny second.

…

8:31 blips on to the alarm’s face.

8:32.

8:35.

Nicole can feel her limbs growing cold- despite the relatively comforting warmth of her bed- and it cements in her stomach like gum.

8:44.

She was being ridiculous.

8:50.

Just because the android wasn’t knocking didn’t mean anything was wrong. Billy wasn’t required to do so by any means, it was just a habit he had picked up to make sure they all ate.

8:52.

…but he did like his routines.

8:55.

Was he mad at her?

9:00.

Nicole throws herself out of bed decisively and slams open her door.

“Where’s Billy?”

He's not with Nekomata or Anby, from what the boss can tell from her survey of the room. The two smallest members of the Hares' were cuddled together on the couch. Which was frankly- adorable. In any other situation.

But she had an android to find.

"Billy hasn't come out of his room yet," Nekomata answers, looking somewhat weary of Nicole's warpath. Anby pauses next to her.

"Really? He hasn't?"

"E-eh?"

The cat thiren suddenly looks very uncomfortable as the Demara's pin her with twin stares.

"There was a rerun of a Starlight Knights special playing this morning, it's why I came to bother you," Anby continues, ignoring her former cuddle buddy's squawk of indignance as she moves to stand up.

"Wh- what? I thought you said you wanted to bond!"

"I can want two things."

"Anby!"

Nicole leaves them to their squabbling, striding towards the android's room with deliberate steps. It was far too early for this sort of worry, he better be fine in there-

His door isn't fully closed when she pushes on it. He didn't exactly have a 'room' like the other Hares' did- he didn't exactly need one- but it was sort of mutually agreed that the garage was his domain.

Billy wouldn't leave it open like this if he could help it- not when it could mean unwanted visitors got inside.

Maybe she had a valid reason to be worried...

Or maybe not.

The android is still plugged in and leaning against the wheel of their car, not a scratch on him. His eyes are slanted in as closed as they can get, and his signature red jacket is hung neatly off the ground.

He looked fine.

So-

Why wasn't he awake? Why would he miss an airing of his favorite franchise? Why couldn't the boss hear the familiar whirring and clicking he always gave off?

Something wasn't adding up.

Nicole is pressing her ear to his chest before she can even process she's moved.

The metal is cold as it bites into her cheek, and it's silent.

Anby and Nekomata peek through the doorway, for once taking due care to make their presence loud enough that Nicole can hear them approach. Probably for the best, the boss of the Cunning Hares' felt like a fraying thread about to snap.

There was a burn under her chest, nestled into her ribs like a hot coal she'd been forced into swallowing. Billy didn't move.

Calm down, she scolds herself, There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. He's not dead.

She hoped he wasn't dead.

Wordlessly- because she didn't trust herself to speak yet- Nicole begins checking his dormant form over. The other two join in with a silent nods towards each other.

Anby carefully tilts his head from side to side to examine his neck.

“Wires are fine here.”

There's no damage to his auditory processors either, or his faceplate, or any of the joints visible to them. And they resolutely refused to take his pants off. It didn't matter if he didn't have anything down there- maybe he did, they wouldn't know- that felt... too invasive.

Unless absolutely necessary, that was a bridge that would remain uncrossed.

"Oh-! There! His charging thingamajig!" Nekomata suddenly exclaims, somehow having weaseled her way behind Billy, "It's all burnt around the edges!"

"Burnt!?" Nicole all but flattens the thiren against the wheel as she takes a look for herself.

Sure enough, the silver metal around the cable was a charred black that flaked off onto her fingers. Hm.

The boss of the Cunning Hares finagles the cord out of the port, and yelps when Anby grabs the back of her shirt to fling her away. Nekomata lands next to her.

"Anby! What the hell-" the boss is cut off when she sees the white... powder? Paste? Thing that bubbles up out of the opening. It smells foul, whatever it is, and clings to her tongue in a way that makes her sick.

"That's battery acid," Anby explains, jaw tight in a way that was usually reserved for boss battles, "Given the burn marks, it's likely his battery fried itself and exploded. We shouldn't touch it barehanded."

Billy's battery had what.

"Exploded."

Oh, Nicole said that out loud.

"What do you mean exploded," she demands, getting up to her feet.

The smaller Demara throws a pair of latex gloves Nicole's way in lieu of answering. Out of all the Cunning Hares, Anby really was the only one who knew shit about batteries. Well- Billy did too, of course, but..

"It happens when they get too overrun with electricity. Considering that Billy used a lot of power yesterday, only to get accidentally tased by Phaethon right after, there's a 98.96% chance that he overloaded his battery by charging it. If we take care of it before it can corrode any of his wiring, we should be able to minimize the overall damage."

That... sort of made sense. Right. They had an objective now.

Nicole can feel her title as the boss settle over her like a second skin, clarity cutting through the haze of morning and worry like a cut from a blade. She knew what they had to do, now to execute it.

"Ok then," Nicole nods once, overcome with a false sense of confidence, "You're the expert, Anby, what do we need to do?"

For a moment, things don't seem so bleak. Everything was going to be fine, and Billy would be back to his rambunctious big-brother ways in no time.

They end up not having the means to replace the battery- or the skillset to open the android up and remove said battery- so...

"We can't take him to Grace," Nekomata insists, something like a shudder rolling it's way through her spine and tails, "She's so- so weird about him."

"Agreed." Anby nods, crossing her arms sagely, "Grace is out of the question. But we need to get this fixed somehow, and Belobog is the only group close enough that has the skillset we need."

Nicole couldn't help but agree. The last time they had interacted with the eccentric mechanic of Belobog Heavy Industries she had practically glued herself to the android's hip! It didn't matter how many times he had edged away- or downright hid behind one of the girls, she just kept coming on to him!

It didn't help that she also referred to Billy as an it at first; even if she took it in stride when the Hares' had corrected her. Swiftly and firmly corrected her. Anby style.

Billy was not an it.

"What about Phaethon," Nekomata pipes up, her tails moving in swishing waves, "they might know someone!"

"That's right!" Nicole snaps her fingers, and ruffles between the thiren's ears for her good work, "Our dear proxy is sure to have some better information."

In the spirit of fairness, she pats Anby's head too. The smaller Demara had been the one to point out the problem with the android's battery, after all.

Nicole looks to the downed member of their team.

And pats his head.

It felt... wrong, somehow, to leave him out when he was like this.

"Don't worry, Billy," the boss whispers, in some vain hope that it'll reach him, "We'll get you fixed up in no time."

.../^\...

Nicole doesn't realize how badly she'd miss this part of her routine until it was gone.

It'd been three weeks since Billy had gotten repaired.

Three weeks of waiting, three weeks devoid of Starlight Knight references, three weeks of radio silence.

By all accounts, it should be peaceful. But.. in the end, she just missed him. For all her scolding, it had never really been an issue to listen to him ramble. And his optimism always stopped anything from feeling too hopeless on a mission.

Anby had stopped doing the little braid in her hair, the same as she did when that scrapper had taken the android for parts, and even Nicole had stopped putting her own hair in it's little half-up half-down pigtails.

She'd had them even before Billy came barreling into her life, of course, but there had been numerous occasions where she simply felt too tired to want to deal with the hassle of taming her bedhead.

Two black strips of cloth sit innocuously on her nightstand.

"We have to meet up with that contractor today, remember Boss?" Billy had said one morning, as he began to brush through pink frizz- starting at the bottom and slowly worked his way up until it was all neat and shiny.

Nicole hadn't even realized what happened until her hair was already tied up with cute bunny ear bandanas and the android was clipping in her usual barrettes.

That was the moment that had won her over, she thinks privately, as she fiddles with an errant strand.

Her clock buzzes for 8:30.

Time for another quiet day...

knock, knock.

....huh?

The boss of the Cunning Hares throws herself out of bed, praying to whatever higher power that would listen that this wasn't some sort of cruel joke.

knock-

She flings the door open, with maybe too much desperation, but she can't really bring herself to care when-

"Oh- morning, Boss!"

"BILLY!"

Metal bites into her cheek as Nicole wraps her arms around his lanky build and squeezes until her arms ache. It hurts for a second and it's real, he's real, and he's warm, and he's loud. There's no stench of acid, or charcoal, just the dim whir and click of machinery under his plating.

"Boss-!?" the android startles, hands hovering uselessly around her back before settling gently on her shoulders, "did you.. have a bad dream?"

Something like that, she thinks.

And really, Nicole is more than willing to write it off that way.

bonus: *a few weeks later, after a taxing raid on their resident android* *Billy is sitting in the Remodelling Shop* Enzo, patting Billy's shoulder and wiping his hands clean: Battery's all good. Billy: uh... Boss? Is this really nec- Anby, Nicole, and Nekomata: Yes. Billy: ...okay.

[authorautumnbanks]

How To Tame A Sorcerer: Side Stories (18)

Main Story

Side Stories

"I am not pleased by these recent developments," Buyo meows as he stomps one paw on the floor. He wrinkles his nose. The problem with Megumi-kun's shadows is there is no sound to emphasize the slamming of his paws on the inky black floor. How is he to get his point across? The shikigami look at him and laugh. "This is no laughing matter! We must take control back before more of these... these eggs are created."

Why don't they see the writing on the wall? More shikigami is a terrible thing! Buyo eyes the vast darkness of Megumi-kun's shadows and huffs. Well, it is no wonder they cannot see the writing on the wall when there is no light in this place. Perhaps he should bring some kind of light with him? Brighten things up a little. Make it feel a little more alive.

"You don't like me?" Ryuren asks. His eyes widen and his jaw wobbles as though he is going to cry.

Buyo curls his lips back in slight disgust. There is something wrong about a dinosaur-like creature attempting to cry. A train wreck. A catastrophe waiting to happen. It is too much. It is disgusting. And frankly, he will have nightmares from the visual alone. "You are a strange, strange creature."

"Leave the baby alone," a rabbit says.

"He's upset because he can't talk," another rabbit says, falling onto its back and kicking its hind legs up with glee.

"And he's not a shikigami," the third rabbit points out. "Awwww, is the wittle Buyo jealous?"

"Stop laughing! This is serious! We are being overrun with these-these children! This is NOT a daycare."

Mahoraga sighs and crooks a finger at Ryuren. "Come here, little one." His palm is bigger than Ryuren's body. "If the cat continues to pester you, tell the priestess." Mahoraga pats the much smaller shikigami's head.

Everything comes to a stop. Tell the priestess? NO! They can't tell Kagome or she'll give him that stern look or worse, a talking to. No, he has to put a stop to this.

"This is between us, not Kagome," Buyo meows and then clears his throat. Damn hairballs are always clogging his throat. He should ask Megumi-kun to brush him later. "This does not require human intervention. This is between us demons and shikigami only!" Buyo lets out a mighty roar and then coughs. His body is overcome with tremors.

"Is he okay?" Ryuren asks.

"Buyo has not been keeping up with properly cleaning himself," the other cat shikigami, Shiro, says with a sniff. "At his age, he should know better, but he depends on Megumi-sama to do the work for him." Her small wings flutter behind her.

If he wasn't too busy hacking up a hairball, he'd give that kitten a piece of his mind. Buyo coughs one more time and then shakes his body. "Enough! I take care of myself plenty. Why—why, you shouldn't talk to me that way," he splutters. "I have been around longer than you and Megumi-kun and I have a special relationship that you could not comprehend!" How dare she try to turn the others against him! And after all he has done for her?

"Someone is jealous," the rabbits sing, wrapping their arms around one another and hopping in sync. "Jealous. Jealous. Oh, Buyo Jr. is jealous. The jealous of the jealous. That is Buyo Jrrrrrrr! A big ol' whiny nekomata." They clasp paws and go around in a circle, giggling. "Buyo Jr. is a big ol' whiney nekomata. Jealous. Jealous. Oh, he's soooo jealous."

"No one is jealous!" Buyo growls. "You, Shiro, are nothing more than a kitten. If it had not been for me, then you would have been gone. You can't even fly properly with those tiny wings."

Shiro blinks her large blue eyes. Her bottom lip pokes out.

Oh, meow's sake! Is she about to cry?

"Mahoraga-san!" Shiro cries. "Buyo is being so mean."

She cannot be serious! Those are such fake tears. No one would fall for that.

Mahoraga grunts and stands. Buyo tilts his head back and stands, too. He is not and will not be intimated by some overgrown wannabe divine general.

"That is enough," Mahoraga says, grabbing Buyo by his scuff. "Enough of your pity party. You are nothing more than a spoiled kitten."

Kitten! He is over three hundred centuries old! A kitten, he is not.

"How dare you! None of you have any self-preservation! You aren't even Megumi-kun's shikigami!"

"Why aren't you tamed?" Shiro asks.

Buyo rolls his eyes. What does that matter? Who cares? He takes a swipe at Mahoraga, but the general keeps him at arm's length. Hmph. Oversized general is lucky he is not in a murderous mood today or he would wipe his ass all over these shadows.

"Megumi has not tamed me. He must go through the ritual. None have tamed me."

"Oh." Shiro looks down at her feet and then up at Buyo. "It is nice of you to attend these meetings, still. Perhaps one day, Megumi-sama will tame you. You would be of great help against Sukuna."

Wait.

"Let me down!" Buyo meows. "I need to talk to the runt." When Mahoraga sets him down, Buyo flicks up his two tails and sticks his nose in the air. "Oi, you, dinosaur."

"It is Ryuren," the dinosaur shikigami corrects, ruffling his arm feathers.

"Ryuren," Buyo says, rolling his eyes. "You can talk to Megumi-kun, which is more than what Shiro can do."

"I can learn to talk." Shiro sniffs.

"Anyway," Buyo continues, because no one asked her for her opinion. "I need ya to give word to Megumi-kun about a plan."

"P-plan?" Ryuren's yellow eyes blink so much it gives Buyo whiplash. "What plan?"

Buyo holds up a paw. "First, stop blinking. Second, stop talking. Third, I am about to tell you the greatest plan of all plans."

"Oh, this should be good," a rabbit crackles.

"You think he'll hack up another fur ball?" another rabbit asks.

"I just hope the next shikigami is another canine," the wolf says. At that, Buyo snaps his fangs, but the wolf shikigami lays his head on his paws and yawns.

"Or something that is not a predator," the owl shikigami quips.

"You are a predator," the elephant says. "So, you just want another prey shikigami?"

"SILENCE!" Buyo bellows. "I am trying to explain the glorious plan. You keep it up and I will drop hints to Kagome-san that the next shikigami should be a mouse."

"That wasn't very nice," the third rabbit says. "What a meanie."

"A meanie poop," one rabbit says.

"A poopie kitty," another one crackles.

Buyo closes his eyes and paws at his face. Why must he be stuck with such idiots? "Can we focus for five seconds? Why is that so difficult?"

"You need to treat others how you want to be treated," the deer shikigami speaks up.

"No one invited you," Buyo mutters.

"I am just as a part of Megumi's shadows as you are."

"Anyway." Buyo rolls his eyes so hard they nearly pop out of his skull. "Back to the plan at hand. We have an immediate threat, and that is the abomination known as Sukuna. He must be stopped and then we will deal with the shikigami apocalypse."

"What do you propose?" Shiro asks, scooting closer to him. Buyo scoots away, but every time he moves away, this damn kitten moves even closer.

"Why are you touching me?"

"You're warm."

Buyo sighs. "As I was saying." He glares at Shiro before continuing. "We must put a stop to Sukuna. And Shiro, as much as it pains me to admit, has brought up a great point. You, Mahoraga, would give Megumi-kun an edge."

"Perhaps," Mahoraga says slowly, "but Megumi has not tamed me and Sukuna has already defeated me. He knows what to do now."

"He defeated you without a buff."

"Oh? You would share some of your energy with me?"

"I am a kind demon. Some would say the greatest."

"No one says that," one rabbit says.

"Some may call you a brat," another one says, elbowing the other rabbit in the side.

"The brattiest of all the brats! Buyo Jr. the bratty nekomata." The rabbits link arms again and kick their hind legs up. "The biggest brat of them all. Bratty, bratty, Buyo Jr."

"One day I will eat you," Buyo deadpans. He needs a hit of catnip to deal with these rabbits. "As I was saying, once again. Ryuren, you will tell Megumi-kun that it is time to tame Mahoraga... and the deer. Start with the deer. You can heal, right?"

The deer shikigami snorts. "Is water wet?"

"I don't...is this a trick question?"

"Of course I can heal."

Buyo squints. What happened to treating others how you want to be treated? "Why didn't you just say that? I was confirming that it was one of your abilities." Buro curls his top lip back. It is not as though he, Buyo, the greatest nekomata ever, concerned himself with what the ten shadow users could do. He got the information from the rabbits, and they are trickier than foxes, so naturally, like the smart demon he is, he asked simply to confirm.

None of them deserves his greatness. It is simply for Megumi-kun's sake that he puts up with them. Boosting their abilities with his demonic energy.

"Can we wrap this up?" Shiro questions, yawning. "I can't stay awake too much longer. I'm growing."

"Me too!" Ryuren chimes. "I'm gonna be as big as Mahoraga-san!"

Disgusting. Buyo grimaces and then musters the energy to continue. "Instruct Megumi-kun to tame the deer shikigami first, as it can heal him. I am not limited by his cursed energy and neither are you and Shiro, since you were born of Kagome-san's energy."

"So, we get to hit Deer with the one, two, three, four combo?" The rabbits smile and it is something made of nightmares. Their red eyes are unsettling.

"... Sure. We attack at once. And then we move to taming Mahoraga."

"Even so, at his current state, you think Megumi can tame me? I have fought stronger sorcerers, and he is not the strongest ten shadows user."

"Can others join in?"

"It would be invalid," Mahoraga quips. "So no, neither Gojo nor Sesshomaru could take part in helping Megumi to tame me."

"... Does Maki count?" Buyo asks weakly.

Mahoraga clamps his lips shut and leans back.

"Is that a, no?" Buyo walks over to Mahoraga and sits at his feet. He places a paw on his leg. "The zero cursed energy, Zenin. Does she count?"

Mahoraga taps his fingers on his knee and refuses to look at Buyo.

So, it's like that.

***

A/N: Wishing you an awesome week! Next side story will be the Accidental Multiverse and Teen Satoru is going to be jealous of Adult Satoru. No body take over for the Accidental verse.

Sorry I didn't update as frequently last week. It's been a little rough. Promise to get to everyone's questions this week.

Take care! Have a great Monday and make sure to drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest!

[aslongasimhereyoureinvincible]

haikyuu!! the dumpster battle ramblings

saw it earlier today and am going to see it again tomorow with a friend, am very Full Of Thoughts, if u dont wont spoilers for the movie well take this as your warning ig

okay first of all the sound direction, the sound direction was INSANELY good

this is absolutely a movie that needs to be experienced in cinema, the soundscape of tokyo gymnasium and the karasuno v nekoma match felt so vividly real it was like i was at an actual game

the soundtrack was great too, i mean it always is w/ hayashi yuuki

there were i think two tracks that used the leitmotif from 'above', good shit

the animation was also really great, overall it didnt look massively better than season 4 of the anime

which is fine, season 4 looked great imo (minus that outsourced episode)

but holy shit when the sakuga hit it hit HARD

tsukki and lev blocking, kageyama doing his thing, kenma and kuroo's quick, there were lots of really great sakuga moments

they also reused some shots from earlier on in the anime and idk maybe thats 'lazy' or whatever but i liked it, it was very nostalgic :')

they did re-animate and i think re-voice hinata and kenma's first meeting tho, framing it from kenma's POV, loved that

i think my favourite sakuga shot had to be hinata and kenma with the knives at each other's throats tho, that ate

not sure how i didnt know about this before hand but it made perfect sense to me when i saw studio trigger in the end credits, some of the sakuga, esp the blocking, had a bit of that trigger flair to it

so obviously they werent gonna fit in everything from the manga, and the movie definitely had kenma as its focus, but i think overall they did a decent job in picking and chosing what to cut

the one thing im annoyed about is the removal of old coach ukai and coach nekomata's backstory, i really i think it makes the handshake at the end of the game hit that much harder

other than that tho i dont think the movie suffered from not adapting everything in the manga, i mean obviously i wouldve LIKED it, but i dont think the movie NEEDED it to be a good movie

it very much felt like kenma was the main character of the movie, and the main focus, with kuroo and hinata as his deuteragonists

which i liked!!! i think framing the match from kenma's POV for the most part makes sense, and its fun to spend more time in outsider POVs of karasuno

rlly loved the adaptation of kuroo and kenma's childhood flashback, im pretty sure kaji yuuki voiced kid kenma too

watching their friendship grow and seeing them play togther now as high schoolers, AUGH RIGHT IN THE FEELS

theres also a montage of kid kuroo barging into kenma's room to demand they go play volleyball together that ends on kuroo doing so whilst kenma's changing/putting on trousers which was rlly funny and silly

the stuff with kuroo and tsukki was so good too

'thanks to everyone, occasionally it's fun', 'thank god i wasnt wrong', 'he's a man who walks ahead of me'

AUUUGHHHHHH IT WAS SO GOOD :')

the scene that completely stole my breath away though was kageyama setting the open toss to hinata

i know ive already lost my mind over the whole 'threat of trust' thing and truly, the inarizaki match goes insane with that concept i will always adore it

but holy shit that scene smacked me over the head, HARD, with the concept of 'setting as a love language'

i just... i literally dont even have words for it it was SO amazingly good, i legitimately teared up in the cinema

speaking of other great scenes;

'stay interesting, 'kay?'

OHHHHH GODDDDDDDDDD

they did it perfectly

the music and the soundscape completely cutting out, the background whiting out so its just kenma and the net, kaji yuuki's delivery of the line

it genuinely felt like something out of a horror movie, it was creepy, and unsettling, and PERFECT

also;

hinata's reaction after kenma collapses and says 'that was fun'

murase ayumu's delivery was so VISCERAL, dude got in that booth and CHEERED

you really felt hinata's sheer utter come through in that little scene, same with kuroo's incredulous laugh

the end of the match was slightly a mixed bag for me

on the good hand;

having done from kenma's first person POV was cool, i dont think haikyuu's ever really done that before, and it looked awesome

cutting back on the music and background soundscaping so we just focus on kenma's breathing and the sound of the ball/players jumping/shoes squeaking etc was a great way to really immerse the viewer in the scene, and put us inside kenma's head

on the bad hand;

it was anticlimatic, and i KNOW the whole point of the end of the match is that its anticlimatic,

but i had always imagined the scene with dramatic swelling music and the characters running frantically, only for it to all cut away when the ball slips and all you can hear is kenma's 'ah-' and there'd be a close-up of his facial expression

the stage play did a very similar thing and it worked EXTREMELY well imo

instead by doing it in the first person POV and already not having music it just,,, didnt feel quite as impactful as it shouldve imo??

like the match points for the seijoh, shiratorizawa, or inarizaki matches were done really dramatically

and i know the whole point is that the nekoma match is kinda an outlier in that it ends in that anticlimatic way with the ball slipping, and theres that big beat with hinata calling out 'nice serve' to tanaka before the realisation sets in that theyve won, but jusstttt

idk like it certainly wasnt BAD, i still DEEPLY DEEPLY enjoyed it, but just personally if i'd been the director i wouldve done it differently

also!! because it was from his first person POV we didnt get to see kenma's face on the 'idiot! the ball hasn't dropped yet!!!' line, which was pretty disapointing ngl i rlly love that scene how it is in the manga

ok enough complaining tho back to the infinite list of stuff i loved about the movie

the camera work! good god the camera work was so fucking cool

it really made the space of the gymnasium feel 3d and real, the way the camera would move over and through the net with the ball helped emphasise the physicality of the players and the court

i know jack shit about cinematography but yeah, after the sound design the camera work was prolly the best thing

the post credits scene was great!! daishou trying and failing to neg kuroo cracks me up every damn time

and the set up for the kamomedai match was so hype

speaking of; the very vague forshadowing for hinata's fever of him having flushed cheeks and not being all exhausted after the game like the others, auughhh my heartttt

if he isnt already, this movie will make kenma one of your top 5 haikyuu characters

seriously i love how they switched the perspective and framing so it was a bit more like kenma was the 'main character' of this match and hinata was the 'rival'

overall the movie was cool, creative, and a really clearly loving adaptation, im more than happy to be paying to see it again tmr lol

i'll probably have even more to say after seeing it a 2nd time so tune in for that ig

[tetsukuroos]

k.t | Take A Chance

Part 5. Maybe He's Not Too Bad

There used to be a time when seeing my name pop up every so often on my timeline was exciting. A new story after every game. Nekomata Izumi scores the final shot! Nekomata Izumi leads her team to victory! Now, after a year, seeing my name just makes her angry. It’s crazy how something could change so quickly, seeing my name spoken about with such greatness and pride, to then everything about me being tied to meltdowns and failures, and now with malicious undertones. 

I don’t remember when I started to care, having ignored the past two posts that included my name. I don’t remember when I found the time to check my phone amidst the training sessions with Nekoma or the attempts to hide from the Fukurodani team. I don’t remember when a casual glance at the time turned into hours of scrolling through a thousand responses, most of which called me a leech, a desperate bitch, a disgrace. All I could remember was why I tried to leave everything behind in the first place. Through the hair pulls and tears, I remembered why I tried to forget. The pain never got any better or any easier to manage, it only hurt even more that people wouldn’t let it go. They wouldn’t see past the one thing that happened, wouldn’t acknowledge who I once was or what I was once able to achieve. 

I ran a hand through my hair with far greater rigorousness than intended, letting out a choked sob at the throbbing pain circling my head as strands of my hair came out along with my fingers. I tried to turn the phone off, to turn it face down and leave the room, but I couldn’t. Every second I spent scrolling was because I couldn’t help myself. Curiosity fuelled my fire. 

Three short knocks tapped against my door and I tried to suck in a deep breath as the man on the other side called my name.  “Izumi? I’m coming in,” Kuroo said quietly. So softly that I couldn’t help but think it meant someone cared– couldn’t help but cry a little harder. 

“Go away Kuroo!” I yelled, voice strained, tone unforgivably weak. 

There was silence and I thought that maybe he had listened to me for once in his life, but then the doorknob turned and the door creaked open. My eyes widened, realising the state of myself and my head whipped to turn away from him, his reaction unreadable. I heard the door knob click as he closed the door behind him and soft footsteps padded forward shortly after. 

“What are you doing here?” I couldn’t help but shout, pressing the palms of my hands against my eyes, willing the tears to stop flowing. “Get out!”

“I’m not leaving,” He whispered. The bed dipped beside me, holding his weight up as he scooted an inch closer. “I just… wanted to make sure you’re okay.” 

“I asked you to leave!” I yelled, finally turning back to him. My hands acted on their own, pushing furiously at his chest. He didn’t budge, only flinching at the movement but regaining himself once I started crying harder. 

My head was pounding. As if someone was hitting my head with a brick a million times over. The tension in my shoulders was unbearable, holding the weight of a thousand thoughts and regrets. I widened my eyes when my hands came back to their original position, sobbing loudly into the corners of my arms. 

“I’m sorry–” I blubbered. “I didn’t mean to– I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Kuroo..” The inner corners of my eyes were on fire, burning as another tear fell right after the other. “Just please leave me alone, I want to be here alone.” 

“I don’t know you well enough to know what to say to make you feel better,” He said with a small grin. I looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows, scoffing at his response.

“What?” 

“But I’m going to sit here and wait for you. You can yell at me, you can hit me, you can swear and you can do whatever you need to. You can pretend that I’m one of those people that says shit but knows absolutely nothing about you.” He continued and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. Off of that gentle smile, the warmth of his eyes, the care in them. 

“But I’m going to wait. I’ll wait until you’re feeling better, and then I’ll leave.” 

Wait. Patience. The one thing I’ve always hoped for. The one thing I wish people would have done for me back then. I looked at him through the tears soaking my eyes, I sat through the silence he offered, waiting for a response. Just waiting. 

My head dropped, my chin touching my chest, and my body leaned forward, pressing my forehead against his chest. I let go of my lip, red and bruised from biting it, just wanting to cry. I just wanted to cry. The sobs came harder than before, ripped from my chest, and laid out on the floor. My stomach hurt, and cramped as I tried to catch my breath and my head began to feel light, as if someone was finally holding the bricks that slammed against me. 

And there he sat. With a soothing hand rubbing the back of my hand, he sat there and waited.  I don’t remember how much longer we were in the room. All I remember was that Kuroo waited until I was feeling better, and then he left. 

Masterlist | Next

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Take A Chance Synopsis

After a year in hiding, Izumi Nekomata is tasked with coaching the Nekoma High men's volleyball team after her father falls ill. Izumi reluctantly agrees despite her past with the sport and swallows her pride to fulfill her father's wishes.

Meeting the rowdy team and their charismatic captain, she is taught to love what she once lost and let go of what had been holding her back.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Pairing

Kuroo Tetsurou x F! Reader

A/N: Took me a minute to post this because uni has finally started up again!

[lilimonarch]

Overthinking the Injury - Haikyu!! Oneshot

WC: ~4452

Yaku has been overthinking a little too much lately. His fencing performance has not been to par and he needs to redeem himself if they have any hope of qualifying for nationals. He has his strategies planned out and everything is going to according to plan! Well... until he hears a cracking sound on the strip and realizes it's from his ankle.

Or

Yaku sprains his ankle at a fencing meet but decides to keep going anyways.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56901724

~

Yaku has been overthinking everything as of lately.

School was being more annoying than it should be, his fencing was not as good as it should be, and the Nekoma Men’s Fencing team was on a very annoying losing streak as of lately. If there is something Yaku hated more than his perfectly functional techniques not doing their job, it was losing, as a team. Of course, in preparations to hopefully break their losing streak, Nekoma was up against Nohebi Academy this weekend… with Coach Nekomata unavailable, and Kuroo was stressed.

This left the big three; Yaku, Kai, and Kuroo, in the locker room on Friday night with their captain pacing back and forth, overthinking everything almost as bad as Yaku was, at this point of the evening. “Guys what if I like… die,” Kuroo looks at his fellow third years, his squad, with a look of idiotic worry. “Who’s going to coach the second years and do all this work if I die?”

“Your vice-captain, me.” Kai sighs.

“You’re not going to die,” Yaku rolled his eyes, but deep down, anxiety was eating at him. He knew he was off his game, and if they continued this losing streak (half of which was Yaku’s fault, he swears it), he could kiss their shot at nationals goodbye. “Just don’t get injured between now and tomorrow, we beat Nohebi, and then all is right in the world.”

Kai shakes his head, locking up the room as the three of them exit and start to finally call it a night. “Yeah, we’ve just got to hold the fort down. We can last one competition without Coach. You got this, substitute coach Kuroo,” Kai gives a gentle punch at Kuroo, only feeding into Kuroo’s shenanigans.

“Damn… it sounds like I got demoted. Captain sounded way cooler!”

The three of them start to walk home, and Yaku notices his mind starting to wander. It wanders to their last meet the weekend prior against Fukurodani, losing an embarrassing 2-7, and much to everyone’s surprise, Yaku couldn’t snag a single bout. Sure, all his bouts were close, two 5-4 losses and a 5-3 loss against Bokuto, but that was terrible! He was considered one of Nekoma’s best, how did he manage to fumble all his bouts the week prior… that badly?

Practice this past week was not much better. He kept consistently losing to Kuroo, the only person who was much of a challenge on their team, and he even let Lev score two whole points on him. Lev! If Lev is even managing to score points on him, it must be a terrible practice.

It's just a slump, Yaku figures. He just needed to get his groove back and all would be right in the world. All he had to do was get it together, try a little harder, and not be the reason Nekoma did not qualify for nationals because of their regular season record.

“Yaku?”

Yaku shakes his head, and he realizes he is standing at the intersection where he is supposed to turn while the others continue forward. He was totally overthinking it all again. "Gosh, sorry guys. I must have zoned out. I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” he flashes a grin and starts to turn away but is stopped by a gentle tap on his shoulder. “What is it?”

“We got this,” Kuroo reminds him, giving a dorky thumbs up. “Nohebi? It’s lightwork. We got tomorrow in the bag.”

“Oh… right. Of course we do!”

~

This meet was far from being considered lightwork.

With Kuroo running from one end of the gym to the other to make sure all the sheets were filled out to each squad’s liking, and Kai being off making sure the blades passed weights, it left Yaku alone in his thoughts to overthink his strategies until it was time to face the Men’s Nohebi Academy Fencing team: Kuguri, Numai, and that bitch called Daishou.

Yaku stammers at the thoughts. No, be polite. It’s Kuguri, Numai, and Daishou. Just their captain.

Of course, Yaku was the first one on the strip, against the bitch.

He knew Nohebi Academy and Nekoma had their… rivalries, to put it lightly. Especially Daishou and Kuroo specifically, which extended to the rest of the main lineup. With Daishou being their captain and likely their best player, the feeling could be described as annoyed when Yaku figured he had to go first.

No matter, he’s fenced Daishou before, and beaten him. He’s got this.

The referee is about to start the clock. “On guard. Fencers ready? Fence!”

The first of many exchanges had begun and Yaku, finally, seemed to be getting his groove back. The first point was his! The second point was his! He was winning 2-0 in the first match of the day with no issues!

Maybe we do have this in the bag.

“On guard. Fencers ready? Fence!”

Out of the gate of this exchange, Daishou is practically charging at him. Yaku’s eyes widen in surprise as the sudden attack completely catches him off-guard, and Daishou scores his first point. Even beneath the mask, Yaku can vividly see the evil smirk from his opponent. Almost as if… he’s being mocked!

That bitch!

Okay… in and out. It’s just one point. We just have to go back to what we were doing before. It was working, no problem!

Yaku takes another deep breath, gets into position, and the next exchange begins. Strategic movements turn into attacks of desperation, as Daishou scores again and again. Here, the overthinking began again, because in theory, Yaku should be winning the match! He’s doing everything right and correct but Daishou can just run in and take points which should be rightfully his? Yaku was winning 2-0 before, how is he trailing 2-3 now?

“Yaku! Shake it off!” Kuroo shouted from the sidelines, Yaku nodding from underneath his helmet and banging the sides of his legs. He’s better than this, and with the way the match is going, he can’t afford to lose, especially not to Daishou.

It was eternally frustrating, watching his opponent rush in recklessly and still score those points. The worst part of it all, Yaku knew that was Daishou’s game, to bring his spirits low enough to where the bout would be lost, and he would be off his game for the rest of the match!

Daishou was taller, and would have point priority from the start, but Yaku was quicker. Sure, Daishou was good at offense, but Yaku was great at defense. All he had to do was retreat faster than Daishou could advance. All he had to do was use the open distance to hit that stupid blade and go in for the attack.

All he had to do was work a little harder.

“On guard.”

Yaku took a deep breath in, feeling the flow of his blood throughout his body, his presence anchored to the ground.

“Fencers ready?”

He extended his blade, bringing it back to position with the tip of the foil aimed for his opponent’s eye-level. He was not going to lose.

“Fence!”

As predicted, Daishou practically ran at him right out of the gate, but Yaku was prepared this time. His back foot retreated, followed by his front, repeated until he felt the space open up for him-

Crack!

It all happened too fast for Yaku to even understand what happened. One second, he was retreating on the strip, attempting to open the distance to prepare his parry-repost. The next, he had heard a crack-like noise from his left ankle before he came crumbling to the ground, his entire side hitting the gym floor with a bang.

He didn’t hear the halt! From the referee. He didn’t hear how the rest of the gym went silent. All Yaku felt was the instant throbbing in his ankle, the odd sensation not perfectly described as pain, but a numbness.

Yaku immediately went to sit up from where he was pathetically laying on the ground, going to clutch his ankle while he watched Kuroo jump up from his spot on the sidelines. “Yaku!” He shouted, rushing to his side with a spare hoodie in hand. “Don’t get up too quickly, okay? Does it hurt?”

Yaku looked up, still trying to formulate his words and compose himself after the adrenaline spike while Kuroo used the hoodie like a sling, lifting up Yaku’s ankle and elevating it as the referee neared the duo, Daishou standing at the other end of the trip with a look of almost concerned. “Do you need five minutes? We can call a medical timeout and…”

A medical timeout?

“We’ll take the five minutes,” Kuroo answered, the referee setting a clock for five minutes. While they waited for the athletic trainer to arrive, Yaku just sat there, acknowledging the growing awkward feeling in his ankle.

No, this can’t be happening! It’s just a little twist, I moved it wrong. It’s not actually sprained. Not now! Not like this!

“Yaku.”

He blinked a few times, looking up to see Kuroo lowering the makeshift sling, the medical trainer now standing between the two of them. “Hi, Yaku, let’s see what’s going on with you, okay? What happened?” She asked, and Yaku tightened his fists as he tried to form the words.

“I fell on it.”

On the inside, his brain was running a million miles an hour. He’s never needed a trainer before, he’s never missed a competition before, he’s never had to forfeit! What if he has to forfeit this match, what if he’s benched? There is nobody at his level who can replace him, they would be absolutely screwed! He could kiss their chance at nationals goodbye and it would be entirely his fault!

Oh my God, Kuroo was left in charge! The one meet where Kuroo was left in charge of the team, Yaku goes and gets injured! He’s screwed!

The trainer brought her hands to Yaku’s ankle, pressing down on an area he already felt swollen up, Yaku doing his best to suppress a wince at the awkwardness. That’s what worried him the most. It was not exactly pain; it was something else. He was not sure if not being able to feel the pain was a good thing or a bad thing. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad does it hurt?”

Seven.

“…Three?”

Again, it didn’t necessarily hurt. It was more an awkward feeling of his muscles being ripped apart on the inside, but maybe the pain was starting to set in. Yaku figured that it would be fine, he could still fence… right?

“I think you’re fine.”

Oh, thank God.

Slowly, Yaku got up on his feet, slightly staggering as he tried to stabilize his left foot again. His eyes move to the score on the strip, down 3-2. He hasn’t scored a point in over a minute. “You ready to go?” The referee asks him, ushering Kuroo back to the sides.

Yaku holds the helmet in his hands, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest and the continuing throbbing in his ankle. He looks at where Kuroo is sitting on the edge of his seat, a face of worry. Shifting his stance so his weight is balanced better, Yaku flashes a smile at his squad before turning to the director and giving them a thumbs up.

“Alright. On guard, fencers ready?”

It’s only the first bout, and Yaku hates how unsteady he feels on his feet. That being said, it was not as if he had better options. He would not be caught dead losing his only bout just to get injured.

Not yet at least.

“Fence!”

Once again, Daishou is practically charging at him with his blade far out leaving his body open. Yaku attempts to retreat once but feels this numbness start to grow, crouching down on instinct and stabbing up as Daishou does not have time to stop himself.

Two seconds and a sigh of relief later, the point is awarded to Yaku. He has to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from outwardly wincing as he returns to the starting line of the strip, gripping his blade extra tight.

“Nice! Good job!”

“Way to go, Yaku! That’s how we do it!”

That’s the reason he did this. This sport was practically his everything… and he was plenty good at it too. The added bonus was watching that smirk wipe itself off of Daishou’s face. Yaku was back in this.

Back in it enough to win.

He wins. He watches as Daishou walks away in defeat, and the bouts continue on and Kunimi is easy enough to beat.

He wins again.

His ankle is getting worse.

Yaku keeps overthinking.

“Damn, you can’t be serious, why is it always on me?” Yaku rolls his eyes and groans at the realization that both Nekoma and Nohebi were completely tied 4-4, and the winner would be determined by this final bout; Yaku’s final bout. “Kuroo, how do you sell to Daishou? You said you were going to beat him 5-0!”

Kuroo huffs as he sits down on the bench with a huff as Kai helps Yaku hook into the machinery, sneaking worried glances while Kuroo rants about his damaged ego. “I don’t see you criticizing Kai for selling too!”

Yaku rolled his eyes, shifting his weight onto his good foot as he clipped the wires on. “Well at least he got points, Kuroo.”

“Okay… so it was bad. Just focus on your game, little guy.”

“Oh- you little…”

Kai gives Yaku a pat on the shoulder, Yaku wincing at the sudden increase of weight on him. “Are you okay?”

No.

Stop overthinking it. You’re fine.

“Yes,” Yaku forces a smile, even though his ankle is starting to kill him. “I’ll be okay.”

Yaku heads up to the strip, Nohebi’s anchor on the other end. He was taller and stronger, and a much more offensive player (as Nohebi does, Yaku can’t help he will always be a defender first). While the bout proves incredibly difficult at first, Yaku manages to get his footing with a healthy lead of 4-1.

It’s as if his past matches have come to hunt him when his ankle starts to throb.

It’s the desperation as his injury worsens to get that final point and get the hell off the strip.

Yaku will admit it later, it was a reckless first lunge forward which is the start of the change in pace. He stumbles a bit on the lunge, leaving his torso wide open for a counterattack from Numai.

Current score: 4-2.

“Shake it off! Focus!”

The next exchange begins, and Yaku is advancing further into the other side of the strip, holding his blade out in hopes of that final point. When Numai advances towards him, Yaku rushes in for an attack which is quickly parried as another hit lands in the center of his chest.

Current score: 4-3.

“Come on! Watch your distance!”

Yaku can feel the pressure building up, and the ache in his foot as he is practically limping back to the starting line of the strip. He can feel eyes looking down on him, as if he is weak.

He’s not weak. It’s just a slump.

His breath is shaky as he gets into position again, giving a nod to the referee to show that he is okay, he has to be. Once again, Yaku is rushing it, but so is Numai. The distance is closing in and the shouts of his teammates begging Yaku to get out of that battle, to reassess his options before going in again, go unheard.

The infighting continues, and Yaku is pushed down in hopes of getting a clean shot in the flurry of remises when he is aiming from a lower level. His back knee is touching the ground as Yaku desperately tries to hit something, anything to end the exchange.

Crack!

Yaku’s ankle twists the wrong way, feeling the bang as the side of his foot hits the floor.

The machine blares white, an off target from Yaku’s side.

Current score: 4-3.

Yaku shouts in agony before he falls to his knees, clenching his fists as he tries to catch his breath, the pain traveling from his foot up to his lower leg. His vision blurs from the pain as tears threaten to pour right in the middle of the strip. Yaku’s used up his only medical time out, he can’t back out now.

In the corner of his vision, he sees Kuroo jump up and call a timeout, the referee nodding before she can card him for the outburst. “Yaku, just breathe. Alright, I’m going to help you up and then we’re going to talk strategy,” Kuroo brings his hands to Yaku’s, slowly getting him back on his feet.

For the first time in ages, Yaku is genuinely doubting himself. His breath is heavy, beads of sweat are pouring down his forehead, and his hands are visibly shaking. “I’m so sorry, Kuroo,” he mutters, looking at his opponent across the strip. “I don’t think I got it.”

“Oh, shut up, you got this in the bag. Lightwork, remember?” Kuroo leans down a bit and forcibly lays his hands on each of Yaku’s shoulders, pushing weight down to stabilize him properly. “You got this. You’re the one who’s up, remember? Why the hell are you trying to force that last point when you’re winning and there’s only 15 seconds left? Especially on an injury, just play defense. Wait for him to mess up, he’s the one rushing for a point, not you.”

“Timeouts over, on guard?”

“You got this.”

Once again, Yaku is left alone on the strip.

His breath is shaking as Numai stands across the strip, getting back to where they stood before that unexpected pause. Behind the mask, Yaku watches as Numai flashes him a smile, genuine even.

Right, I’m up. I got this.

“Fencers ready?”

Play defense, Yaku. You’re good at defense, just do that.

“Fence!”

Immediately, Yaku holds his blade out, threatening a touch as he slowly retreats backwards, biting the inside of his cheek as his ankle throbs with ever step. 15… 14… 13… 12… There are only 11 seconds on the clock now as Numai cautiously tries to find the opening to tie the game.

Defense. Just play defense.

10 seconds left and Numai charges in with his blade too low. There! That’s the opportunity Yaku was waiting for! A quick tap on his blade and the tip is flying straight to the middle of Numai’s chest. The opening has never been clearer as the buzzer in the background goes off, glowing with a satisfying green.

“Touch left. Score is five to three, bout,” the referee finally lowers their hands signifying the end, and Yaku breathes a much-needed sigh of relief. Taking off his helmet, he brings it under his arm and goes to shake Numai’s hand.

They won! Losing streak? Eradicated. They won and nothing went wrong! Yaku is practically beaming as he makes it back to his teammates, but collapsing right into Kuroo’s waiting arms, his ankle absolutely doing him no favors.

Shit. Almost forgot about that part.

“Yeah, sit the hell down. We’re getting the trainer back, and you’re not getting on strip again for a while,” Kuroo sits Yaku down, Kai propping Yaku’s left leg on the rest of the bench.

“What? Kuroo, I swear I’m-” a shock of pain soars in his leg, and Yaku is immediately shut up. “But what about shaking hands? Signing scores?”

Kai shook his head, ruffling Yaku’s hair much to his dismay. “I got that. You don’t move a muscle,” the vice-captain nods before heading to the referee to do all the sportsmanlike activities while Kuroo runs to get the athletic trainer. It leaves Yaku alone to gather his thoughts, trying to take his mind off the never-ending pain in his ankle.

What if he’s out for longer because he pushed himself too hard?

What if he hadn’t, and they had lost? What if this was the deciding match before their win-loss record became too low and they were out of the running for nationals?

What if when he returns, he won’t be able to fence the same way he did before?

“Um… Yaku?”

Yaku blinks a few times before adjusting the ice on his ankle, looking around him to see the three players from Nohebi Academy surrounding him, Numai being the first to hold his hand out for a handshake which Yaku accepts. “Good game, hope the ankle is not too bad. I just came back from an injury; I know how much it sucks.”

“Yeah, thanks. Good game,” Yaku is typically the much more talkative one, but now, he can hardly muster the energy to do anything but briefly compliment his opponents and shake their hands before laying down across the bench, waiting for Kuroo to return, with Kai to keep him company.

He even shook Daishou’s hand. That really took a lot out of him.

“You really pushed yourself there, didn’t you?” Kai comments, sitting on the bench beside Yaku, taking an absentminded swig from his water bottle. Post-match fatigue was no joke, but that’s just Yaku overthinking it again. “We would’ve found someone to sub you in. I’m sure Yamamoto would’ve jumped at the idea of being on the main lineup and delivered…” he pauses. “Or were you overthinking everything again?”

Yaku’s face lifts up at the thought, glancing at Kai who had this all-knowing soft smile only someone like Kai could wear. “How did you…”

“It’s obvious. Both you and Kuroo were stressed out of your minds about this. Him more outwardly than you, but it’s pretty easy to see,” he chuckles, handing Yaku his water bottle.

“This means everything to him… and to me. I haven’t been doing the greatest at practice, I wanted to redeem myself!” Yaku sighs, bringing his hand to try and ease the pain in his ankle. “I’m usually so reliable, last week really shook me up. And now?”

“You like fencing, right?”

“Yeah! Of course!”

“Then remember that part first. It’s a sport, stop overthinking it. Sure, there are all the strategies, but you’re just a good fencer. It’ll get you out of your head,” Kai smiles, Yaku absentmindedly nodding at the advice before seeing Kuroo start to make his way back.

“Yaku! How are you doing, buddy? Hanging in there?” Kuroo jumps up from the side, the same athletic trainer from earlier arriving.

“Hanging in there is one way to put it.”

The trainer shoos the two other members of the varsity lineup to the side, repeating the same process as earlier in the day. “I want you to be honest this time when I ask if it hurts, okay?” She sighs, rather exasperated. If Yaku was not going to before, the glares from Kuroo and Kai are enough to keep him honest. The trainer moves her hands to the middle of the ankle, before Yaku immediately winces at the touch. “Yeah, sorry about that. It’s pretty swollen, definitely a sprain. I’m going to wrap it up for you, and I’m sure your lovely teammates can help with your stuff and making sure you don’t put any weight on that for a while.”

Yaku feels his heart sink. No weight on it, how is he supposed to train? “Any? But…”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll make sure he stays off of it. Right, Kai?” Kuroo smiles and Kai nods, the trainer finishing the wrap and taking the ice away, giving a quick smile to the three of them before leaving them be.

“Guys, I swear I’m okay,” Yaku gives a nervous laughter, moving his foot down to the ground and attempting to get up, immediately being stopped by Kuroo.

Kuroo shakes his head, looking at how the rest of their team is doing at the meet. “No, Yaku. You’re deflecting. It’s fine, stop overthinking it. You’ll be back before you know it. If that’s not before next competition, that’s okay too. We’ll manage.”

Yaku looks at the sincere look from Kai, many nods of agreement from Kuroo, and lifts his leg back up to be elevated and lays against the bench. He brings his hand to cover his face as silent tears start to pour. “Yaku? Are you okay?” Kai asks.

“Of course I am! It’s just, the gym lights are bright. Pollen making my eyes water,” he chuckles, though the words come out in between sobs. Yaku can’t even tell why he is crying: if it’s the pain in his ankle, the constant overthinking, or everything finally settling in, and he did not actually fail his team.

He’ll be okay.

A few minutes go by and Yaku finally composes himself, sitting up and seeing the younger squad across the gym. He’s trying to get a good look at the strip, but there are too many people in the way and it’s hard to see from his current spot. “Guys, can we go watch the second year’s match?” Yaku asks, gesturing to his wrapped ankle.

Kuroo immediately grins, but instead of sling Yaku’s arms over his shoulder like expected, he goes down and swoops and Yaku up into his arms, carrying him easily. “Oh my gosh, Kuroo! What are you doing?” Yaku shouts, giving annoyed glances to both him and Kai, who is bursting with laughter on the sides.

“The trainer said no weight on it, I’m just doing my job and making sure of it,” Kuroo shrugs, carrying Yaku across the gym with Kai close behind, giggling relentlessly. “Just stop and relax. Who’s going to judge?”

Yaku huffed, but his shoulders sank, and he finally relaxed. Kuroo sat him down on the bleachers closer to where Kenma, Fukunaga, and Yamamoto were fencing. For the first time in a while, he wasn’t overthinking anything.

Maybe a break doesn’t sound too bad-

“Fuck. Guys, I think you actually have to prepare my funeral,” Kuroo exclaims slightly dramatically, curling up and covering his face. “I think I’m going to die.”

“Kuroo?” Kai turns at the captain’s antics. “What are you even talking about?”

“The one meet where Coach Nekomata leaves me in charge, our best player gets injured… and continues on an injury! On my watch! He’s going to kill me!” Kuroo shouts, groaning at the prospect.

“Yeah… shit. My bad, you’re actually screwed,” Yaku jokes, much to the annoyance of Kuroo.

“Not helping!” Kuroo huffs, leaving the other two laughing in the middle of the bout, Yaku’s smile going from ear to ear.

For real this time, maybe a break doesn’t sound too bad.

[shinidamachu]

CHAPTER EIGHT: After You

SUMMARY: “and I’d choose you. In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” – Kiersten White. For each chapter, a prompt from the One Hundred Ways to Say I Love You list.

WORDS: 729

GENRE: angst

FANDOM: Inukag

FORMAT: multichapter

ALSO FOUND ON: AO3

They weren’t going to make it. Not this time.

Kagome couldn’t see the creatures just yet, but she could feel their creep presence in her bones, sense their imminent approximation with every raised hair of her skin.

Inuyasha was exhausted. That much was clear even if she hadn’t watched firsthand as he powered through every Tessaiga technique, strike after strike that were redeemed useless when a hundred demons were annihilated only to be replaced for two hundred more.

She knew he hated running away, but there was nothing else for them to do, nothing left for them there. She didn’t want to think about the others,  about the village, about her feudal fairy tale turned horror story.  Regardless, their screams, their faces would still haunt her for the rest of her life, however short that might be.

Any hope of salvation was shot along the last of her arrows — the only reason they even got this far — and now her only comfort was that if they were going to die, at least they were going to die together. Maybe in different circumstances, that would have been more than enough.

Inuyasha slowed down, the blur of trees gaining shape again to reveal a devastating sight.

There was no going back.

Behind them, the enemies marched closer and closer. In front of them, a cliff that led to nothing but a maroon sunset. No way out.

Her heart sank.

This is how it all ends, with the world Kagome fought so hard to return to caving and bleeding before her very eyes. Three years apart had taught her little, because how else could she have forgotten fate could be so cruel?

It was fitting, though, that they would go down fighting. After everything they’ve been through, it was the only acceptable way to go and Kagome could make her peace with that.

A familiar need to protect blossomed from her chest, more fierce than when she first found out the news a few months ago. Kagome would do anything, try anything to give them a shot. She would raise a barrier and hold it until she draws her final breath on this Earth if she had to.

With renewed faith, she noticed Inuyasha also didn’t seem dejected in the slightest. If anything, he sounded determined as ever as he shouted.

“Kirara!”

The feline came out of her hiding spot in all of her nekomata glory, floating above the edge of the cliff and ready to take them to safety. Inuyasha had planned this. In hindsight, she should have known. He knew the lands better than to guide them to a dead end.

Still, it was odd that he left her out. He never left her out anymore.

In that moment, though, Kagome was too relieved to care.

Inuyasha gently let her climb off his back and she ran to Kirara as fast as her wounded legs would take her, only to realize her husband wasn’t following.

“Inuyasha, come on!”

“After you,” he answered, unsheathing Tessaiga and planting its scabbard firmly on the ground to buy them some time. Kagome was already accommodated on top of Kirara when he finally rushed to her side.

She offered a hand to help him out, but he used his to bring her face down for a desperate kiss instead. It was over before she even knew it began and then he was gently caressing her protuberant belly, his expression saying everything and nothing at all.

“I’ll hold them off.”

“What? No!”

“Kirara, go!”

“Inuyasha!”

“Now!”

His tone left no room for discussion and Kirara took flight before she had a chance to react.

Not much longer, Inuyasha was surrounded, Tessaiga’s sheath the one thing between him and certain death.

“No! Kirara, go back!”

It was no use. No matter how much she shouted, how much she cried, how much she pulled on Kirara’s fur in an attempt to force her to obey, the nekomata stayed unwavering, set on the curse that would take them to safety.

If she was fifteen again, reckless and impulsive, she would have jumped without thinking twice, confident Inuyasha would be there to catch her, not a single doubt in her mind. Years had passed and her trust in him remained unshakeable, but although she would risk her life for him in a heartbeat…

She could never risk their child’s.

“Inuyasha!”

Tears streamed down her face as he diminished with distance, sword in his hand.

A/N.: did you guys really think I wouldn't write anything for @inukag-week? Here's a little something for the "safe" prompt. Hope you guys enjoy.

[quietplace26]

Lost and Found au (2)

After KK walked right past him that day on the streets, Akito felt absolutely awful.

"Oh my! Are you alright?" The Nekomatas imediately noticed his sullen mood when they stop by to drop off the their kittens for him to look after for the day.

With tiny, fluffy Nekomata kittens cuddled all around him, giving him the comfort he so desperately needed, Akito breaks.

He tells the Nekomatas about how he found KK again, how the yokai hunter was somehow alive again... and how the older man apparently didn't even remember him.

"H-he just walk right by me! I-I know he saw my face! So why did he-?!" Akito cuts himself off by crying. It was all too much for him to handle!

He and KK went through so much together in Shibuya! Fighting off yokai/visitors, helping spirits/yokai in need, and of course, kicking Hannya's mask ass into the underworld!

They made an amazing team! Even KK admitted it! But now... now it felt a joke, like a lie.

When he saw KK that night, Akito felt like he wouldn't be alone anymore. While Mari would still be gone, at least he'd have KK, who knew exactly what he went through in Shibuya. Understood what he saw in that hell, but in the end, it looks like Akito was truly all alone now...

A tiny paw touching his face brings Akito out his dark thoughts. The Nekomatas, both young and old, were looking at Akito in worry.

The tiny Nekomata kitten touching his face was mewing sadly and nuzzles her tiny furry face against Akito's tear stain one. She didn't like her human ni-san being sad!

Oh... A sad, but happy watery smile grows on Akito's face as he realizes he wasn't actually alone. He still had his yokai friends. He'll... he'll be find as long as they're there with him.

One of the older Nekomatas even offers Akito a special relic that could, the key word being COULD, possibly jog KK's memory.

After thinking about it for a while, Akito says no. As much as he wanted KK to remember him, he just didn't feel comfortable messing with KK's head like that.

After that, Akito accepted the fact that KK most likely would never remember him or seek him out...

A few weeks later, and Akito was working another late night at the coffee shop. He was actually planning on closing it for the night when the front door jingles, signaling a customer was coming in.

Akito swears his soul almost left his body the instant he saw who exactly this customer was. It was KK!

The barista carefully schools his face and takes KK order like he'd do with any normal customer. Akito knew he needed to be extra careful with how he acted around the yokai hunter since KK didn't know him anymore...

While Akito did KK's order, he couldn't help but glance over at the yokai hunter every now and then. To put it simply, KK looked like shit. Bags under his eyes, his once stubbled chin now almost a full beard, and his clothes looked like they seen better days!

It made Akito worry for the older man's health...

Akito originally wasn't going to interact with KK beyond giving the brooding yokai hunter his coffee, but Akito couldn't help it! He gave KK a free pastry, hoping KK would eat it cause he got the feeling the yokai hunter wasn't eating much either...

Soon Akito just couldn't help himself anymore! He asks KK what's on his mind, and he wasn't prepare for the man to actually answer him.

KK told Akito how he he lost his memories recently, and how he felt like he forgot something very important.

This important something... Was it possible he was talking about Akito? Did KK vaguly remember him?! The possiblity of KK remembering him, even if it was only a feeling brought tears to his eyes.

Eventually KK had to leave after a phone call. While sad, Akito lets him go, giving a bag a pastries to go, and an offer to be an ear to KK if he ever needed to vent again.

Truthfully, Akito honestly thought KK would never come back to the coffee shop. It was just chance that KK came in that night, there's no way he'll come back again!

But to Akito's shock/delight, KK did end up coming back!

Compared to how he looked last time Akito saw him, the older man looked like he actually got a good nights rest, and even shaved his beard back down to the familar stubble Akito was used to seeing! Hell, even KK's clothes looked brand new!

Despite being ecstatic that KK came back, Akito felt a little confused as the gruff yokai hunter was acting different.

Oh don't get him wrong, KK was still his gruff and grumpy self, but now he's acting almost shy around Akito.

An example of this odd shyness is when KK came back to visit. The older man awkwardly shuffles up to the counter, scratching his cheek bashfully, and with a light blush on his cheeks, asks Akito for his name.

Which, in Akito's honest opinion, was surprisingly adorable!

With a shy smile of his own, Akito introduces himself. "It's Akito. Akito Izuki."

"Akito..." KK repeats Akito's name and gave the barista a boyish grin, making him look much younger than he actually was. "Well Akito, just call me KK."

Oh. Oh my... A hot flush grows on Akito's face as he too started to feel oddly shy. Has KK always been this handsome? Or had Akito just never realized it until now?

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

Corin Wickes Headcanons

Yeah I’m doing Corin too, sue me

How’s that undiagnosed anxiety disorder treating you queen?

But in all seriousness she really should get that shit diagnosed

Unfortunately she can’t for one major reason: her parents

Corin is not only homeschooled, but currently lives with her parents who aren’t exactly the best people

I mean the girl literally apologizes for existing, her parents aren’t treating her right

Her parents applied to Victoria Housekeeping for her under the assumption it would teach her discipline and manners and whatnot

Within the first week of Corin being there, Lycaon realized what was going on between Corin and her parents and vowed to be a better, more caring role model for her

He has her working the most out of everyone else

A normal person would hate having such a busy work schedule but Corin loves having so much freedom at her job

She also enjoys the opportunity to be helpful, useful, and making a difference within the organization

Like? No one yells at her? Or insults her? Or is stuffy and stringent the way her parents are? Sure, being a maid entails certain kinds of rigidity and strictness, but to Corin, the way Victoria Housekeeping Co operates is the biggest breath of fresh air she’s had in her whole life

Corin is obviously not allowed to have weapons at home, so Lycaon lets her store her sawblade within one of the many safe houses their company owns. Just like how Lycaon gifted Ellen her shears, Corin’s sawblade is also a gift from him

She originally had it outfitted with the same ice technology his boots and Ellen’s shears have, but kept slipping on the ice it created, and also had a harder time sawing through things in her path from how slippery the ice made everything. So, with Lycaon’s permission, she removed the feature altogether and made it a normal saw.

You’d think a girl so frail and timid and the epitome of cringefail girlfail sopping wet cat would also be physically weak. You’d be wrong

I mean it’s already canon her and Ellen are the strongest when it comes to pure physical damage, as evident by Corin’s introduction in Nekomata’s quest, as well as the entirety of chapter 3.

Corin says it has something to do with genetics probably, something about her dad being a former performing strong man or something

Corin also internally explodes every time Ellen compliments her on her strength. It doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does, Corin loses it

Has the BIGGEST crush on Ellen and is 100% not normal about it

Like, hello? She’s a sheltered girl with strict parents who now gets to see arguably the coolest person ever (in her eyes) on a daily basis

Corin is even more nervous around Ellen than most people for obvious reasons

She also damn near had a heart attack when Ellen passed out in front of her the first time. She grabbed so many pillows, several water bottles, four different sport and energy drinks, several protein efficient snacks, and even had a first aid kit at the ready just in case

Ellen normally hates it when people get fussy over her passing out, but considering this was the first time Corin had seen it, and the fact Corin went overboard in trying to help, Ellen let it slide

Now whenever Ellen crashes, Corin is the first one to make sure she’s okay before carrying on with her work

Ellen also knows it’s Corin who leaves candy and lollipops on the pillow next to her for when she wakes back up

Corin has since stopped worrying about Ellen every time she crashes, but insists to the point of threatening others with her sawblade that she be the one to see to it that Ellen is comfortable

There was once an incident where Corin, distracted from Ellen walking into the room, cut her hand whilst repairing her sawblade. She then bore witness to both Lycaon and Rina holding a suddenly frenzied Ellen back, who was fixated on nothing but the blood dripping from Corin’s palm. Lycaon took Corin out of the room to attend to her injury once Rina was successfully able to knock Ellen unconscious.

Ellen spent the next week apologizing to Corin and explaining how her shark thiren instincts are hard to control. Corin accepted every apology, but frankly didn’t need one, because that incident was probably the most exhilarating thing to happen to her outside of hollow missions with the company

Ellen was fixated on nothing but her in that moment, which did wonders for Corin’s fragile nonexistent ego

Every time Ellen interacts with her in any capacity, Corin gets major butterflies

Ellen insists Corin doesn’t need to refer to her as “Miss Ellen” but Corin disagrees. Corin thinks Miss Ellen absolutely needs to be treated like royalty

Corin would quite literally die for Ellen. Corin fell for her, and she fell HARD

Corin keeps a small box under her bed full of trinkets she likes. So far the only occupants of said box are buttons from her first teddy bear, and the metal piece shaped like a bear that Ellen bit into shape for Corin

Ellen is indirectly to thank for Corin’s fashion sense as well. At one point the shark girl mentioned how the Victoria Housekeeping Co uniforms were “giving Lolita menhera Jfashion” to Lycaon in passing, causing Corin to look up the style on Inter Knot (on one of the work computers, no way her parents let her have one of her own) and falling in love with it immediately

Corin already had quite a bit of sewing experience having been taught home ec by her mother, so it was no surprise she picked up outfit and plushie making very easily

She’s responsible for a lot of the accessories the company wears on their uniforms. She enjoyed making the bows and jaw head and neck piece for Ellen the most. Obviously.

Ellen often rambles to Corin about school and work related stuff. Corin soon realizes that she’s the only one Ellen does this to.

“Why?” She’d ask Ellen at one point during one of their conversations. “You’re a good listener. Plus, you give better advice than Lycaon and Rina combined.”

How Ellen didn’t notice how red her face got in that moment, Corin has no idea

Lycaon often contracts Corin longer hours than need be. Corin insists she can work the full duration, but Lycaon always makes some excuse about having enough help already, and that she should just go on a break, and that he’d clock her out, etc etc

Lycaon you ain’t slick we all know you’re doing it so this girl can actually go out and do things she enjoys

Corin has no idea that that’s the actual case, but she’s certainly grateful with how much free time Lycaon allows her

When their schedules line up, Ellen even invites Corin out for boba or lunch with her friend group

Corin is almost always quiet during these meetings, not wanting to intrude on Ellen’s quality time with her friends, but to her utter shock, Ellen is constantly making sure Corin is included in the conversation

Corin, being the sheltered kid, also hasn’t tried enough things, so of course Ellen insists on getting her fun snacks and roping her into seeing a movie or going to an arcade with her friend group

Corin gets so wrapped up in it all that by the time she gets home, she misses it immensely

Work is always “good”, when her parents ask. They never press for details thankfully due to Corin and Lycaon both making up an excuse that maid work is private, there’s NDA stuff involved, blah blah blah

Eventually Corin is able to buy her own cell phone with her salary. Her parents don’t know about it.

Her parents don’t know a lot of things about her, including the fact she’s actually been able to experience a normal teenage girl’s life for awhile now

Lycaon always insists that if Corin ever feels her parents are too much, she’ll always have a permanent home in Victoria Housekeeping Co. Corin gets closer and closer to accepting that offer every day.

[2baddiesfanfics]

Birthday Inspiration

Pairing: Kirara x Chiori

Tags: Birthday, Birthday Sex, Picnics, Improper Use of Visions (Genshin Impact), Geo Visions (Genshin Impact), Dildos, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Cunnilingus, Tails

Summary:

What do you give the girl who has everything? According to Kirara, it’s a new memory in a cherished place.

Read on Ao3

The seamstress and the nekomata sat on a familiar hill overlooking the Fontainian ocean. It was a perfect day for a picnic, and Kirara knew how much this location meant to her girlfriend. Girlfriend. The term still felt weird rolling off her prickly tongue. It seemed like just yesterday she was following Chiori in her youkai form as she ventured out into the Inazuman wild in search of inspiration for her next creation.

“Kirara, dear, it is my birthday, you know. I’d like to hear you say something other than ‘Let’s eat!’”

The girl snapped back to reality. “Meow! Sorry, Chiori! I was just thinking about how we first met. Do you remember?”

She smiled at her softly. “How could I forget? It was back when I was still living in Inazuma. You kept batting at the colorful patterned fabric I was carrying through Chinju Forest. When I turned around, you rubbed your head against my ankles and then looked up at me with those striking emerald eyes of yours. That’s where I found inspiration for the design that put me on the map, you know. Imagine my surprise when a courier with those same eyes came by my shop to drop off a package,” she reminisced while scratching under her chin.

The girl chuckled. “You were always so nice to me without even knowing who I was! Well, except for that one time you called me ‘bad kitty’ because you were worried I'd leave claw marks all over your beautiful textiles.”

Chiori narrowed her eyes. “Do you have any idea how expensive that silk was? I was well within my rights. Don’t pout, love. It’s unbecoming of that adorable face of yours.”

They sat and enjoyed the summer breeze, chatting about the seamstress’ ideas for the new season and Kirara’s latest deliveries. Suddenly, the nekomata took her girlfriend’s hand in hers.

“You know, Chiori…I’ve always admired you. Back in Inazuma, I was constantly worried I’d never be seen as more than a strange, mangy cat. I’d often go to Lady Miko and ask her for tips on how to blend into human society better. You were the first one to treat me with kindness even after you discovered I wasn’t just a youkai. You even helped me tailor the clothes I'm wearing now! They sure beat running around in a beat-up hand-me-down kimono.”

The seamstress squeezed back in reassurance. “Think nothing of it. Despite our differences, we’re actually quite similar, you know. Unabashedly following our dreams and working hard to make a name for ourselves. You have a lot to be proud of, dear.”

Kirara sniffled, moved by her words. This was supposed to be Chiori’s birthday, not hers! It was time to reveal the reason she picked this spot. “Um, baby…I know you told me not to get you anything…” Her girlfriend stared daggers at her. “…AND I didn’t! But I still wanted to give you something that would be a memory we could share…if it’s something you’d be okay with.”

“Go on…”

“Well, you’d say this is a pretty remote location, right?”

“I can’t say I’ve ever seen a passerby in all the time I’ve come here to ruminate. Why do you ask?”

The nekomata leaned in closer, peering up at her with sly intent. “Youkai are really in their element…outdoors. We’ve got a comfy picnic blanket, the weather is perfect…”

“…Are you insinuating what I think you are?”

Kirara began to purr loudly, her ears shuddering in excitement.

“You bad little kitty…the way you gaze at new and intriguing things still hasn’t changed after so many years,” the seamstress whispered before closing the distance between them. The youkai pounced on top of her, pushing her backward onto the cover. The grass beneath them was surprisingly cushy, making for a comfortable alternative to a bed.

Chiori felt the nekomata’s textured tongue begging entrance to her mouth, and she parted her lips to receive her. Sharp fangs brushed against her skin, not puncturing but putting just enough pressure to make her gasp. Kirara carefully slipped a finger under the woman’s choker, pulling her deeper into the kiss. She felt her moan against her as she licked down her jawline, careful not to agitate her delicate skin too much.

“Mmmm…who needs toys when they’ve got a youkai for a lover? Maybe you should put that wicked tongue of yours to better use…”

“Gladly,” she mewed in response. “I’m well known for my outstanding customer service, after all.” Slipping the knot of the other woman’s obi, she opened her kimono, bearing Chiori’s skin to the elements. She felt her shiver beneath her, and she offered her tails to keep her somewhat warm. The youkai wouldn’t lie – feeling the seamstress run her fingers through her fur felt incredible. Kissing down her belly, she looked up at her, emerald eyes glistening with anticipation. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be. Proceed,” she confirmed. Kirara started to lap between her thighs, the vibration of her purrs immediately causing Chiori to whimper. “Archons, Kirara…this feels so nice. I’ll have to steal you from Komaniya Express and hire you as my personal stress reliever.”

The nekomata was a sucker for praise, and the seamstress had come to know this well. Spurring her on, she whispered words of encouragement that made her tails twitch in her hand. “That’s right…oooooh, faster…work that tongue of yours. I know you can do it. Such a good little kitty…” Hungry for her reaction, she licked in broad, steady strokes, her purr at a fever pitch.

“Fuck…Kirara…right there…so close…” her grip tightened on the girl’s tails, sending a jolt down the youkai’s spine as she brought her girlfriend to orgasm. Chiori pet her hair as she caught her breath, soothing the both of them. The nekomata’s tails danced against her fingers, begging for more.

“It’s a good thing no one is around to see us because I don’t know how I could keep my reputation if anyone witnessed what I’m about to do to you after that,” the seamstress murmured. “Switch places with me.”

Ever the obedient youkai, Kirara did as she was told. Chiori returned her kisses, being decisively less careful than her girlfriend had been. Purple spots bloomed on her delicate skin where her lips drifted.

“Babe…I have to look professional on deliveries…” she whined.

“Oh, hush. I’ll design something that will cover them until they heal.”

“Mmmmmrow, ok then, if you promise…”

Chiori’s fingers slipped between her folds, using her slick to lubricate her entrance. With a swipe of her thumb across her sensitive bud, her juices coated her hand. “Now, since it’s my birthday, you’ll indulge me in trying something new, won’t you? I think you’re ready for what I have in mind.”

Kirara looked at her inquisitively, apprehension evident in her expression.

“Let’s just say Navia and I have had some…conversations…about how she and Clorinde spice things up in the boudoir.”

A topaz ore appeared in her hand and the nekomata’s ears perked with anticipation. “Haha…I didn’t know visions could be used for things like this,” she chuckled nervously.

“Let me know if it hurts and I’ll stop,” the seamstress reassured her as she slowly slid the smooth stone into her. “But I think a good kitty like you can take it.” She began to thrust in steady movements, giving her body time to adjust to the intrusion.

The youkai closed her eyes as she savored the foreign feeling. “Oooh, Chioriiiii!”

“Just wait…I’ve got another surprise. I may not be a nekomata, but I do have other tricks up my sleeve.”

With a flick of her wrist, she channeled the power of geo into the ore and made it pulse. Kirara jolted with pleasure at the new sensations.

“That’s right…you’re taking it so well for me,” she praised as she increased the depth of her lunges and the power of the vibration.

“Oh…archons…feels so…meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!” she screeched as her tails curled and her claws unsheathed from her paws. The seamstress had always found her girlfriend’s signs of climax to be incredibly fascinating. Being with a youkai was an absolute thrill compared to her past human lovers.

Chiori joined her on the blanket and the two gazed up at the sky. They huddled close together to keep warm as the breeze chilled their sweat-drenched bodies. “I’m going to have to find a new thinking spot, you know.”

Kirara looked at her with concern. “Oh, I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just every time I’m here now I’m going to picture us doing incredibly naughty things. Now that I think about it, maybe I’ll start a new line of lingerie…”

[asena-graywolf]

Click here for Part I

Click here for Part II

Italic texts mean “sign language” dialogs and “texting”

——————————————————————————-

Unfaithful III

“Are you really sure about that? Do you want her to be our manager just because you love her?" ' Kenma asked, not taking his eyes off the screen he was playing on.

“So what? Ultimately she will help us. Almost every school volleyball team has a manager. Would it be bad if it was us too?"

“So what does y/n say to this?”

“She said she would think about it. If she responds in the affirmative, I will discuss this with Nekomata coach. In fact, I'd better talk in advance. At least until y/n announces her decision”

Kenma answered Kuro with a sigh. He didn't want to upset Kuro by saying a negative word, but some truths needed to be spoken.

"I'm sorry Kuro…can a really deaf girl be able to manage us?"

He tried to take a step back, feeling that Kuro was going to be pissed off.

“Don't get me wrong…Y/N is such a cute girl. I would like him to be our manager in the first place. But the girl's situation is clear, this job will be a burden to her. To you too…"

Kuro stood up and clenched his fists to suppress his anger.

“Y/n is not a burden, Kenma. If she accepts, she will be our manager, whether you want it or not. I am going. I have work to do”

Although Kenma wanted Kuro to stay a little longer, Kuro was determined to go.

“I wish you could sit a little longer”

"Another time"

Kenma pursed his lips and then let him go

“Well…see you”

Kuro left Kenma's house without saying a word. He began to walk the streets in the dusk. You had it in your mind. He wanted to see you. He checked the time on his phone. It wasn't too late. Maybe he could see you for five minutes

Just texted you

Are you available?

You were sitting in your room at the time, practicing playing the guitar. You were humming as well. Since the phone was in front of you, you could see the message falling on your screen.

Yes. Did something happen?

Got a reply from Kuro right away

Can I see you? Only five minutes.

Sure. Of course

Ok. I'll be in front of your house soon. Don't take your eyes off the phone. You come down when I call you

I am waiting

You put the phone in front of you because you couldn't hear. You put your guitar aside and waited without taking your eyes off the phone.

The call you've been waiting for has finally arrived. You picked up the phone and spoke aloud to Kuro a second time

You said "I'll be come down" and hung up

You went to the window. You saw Kuro downstairs. You went straight down and within seconds you were in front of the house. You ran towards Kuro.

Your hands are clasped together.

"What happened?" you asked out loud

Kuro let go of your hands and began to express himself

What do you think about being our manager? Will you be?

I haven't thought about it yet. But to tell the truth, I think I'll impose to you and your team.

You flinched when Kuro grabbed your shoulders for a moment. To tell the truth, you were a little scared

He then dropped his shoulders and turned to sign language again.

You are not a burden. I told you. I am your ear. I will hear everything you can't hear. Trust me y/n-chan. I’m your boyfriend. I will not let anyone hurt you. What are you saying? You'll be our manager, won't you?

Even though you weren't very keen on this job, you thought it wouldn't hurt to try.

Alright. I'd be happy to see you more if I could see you more and if watching the training wouldn't distract you, and if I could also help the team.

The corners of Kuro's lips curved upwards.

You make me so happy right now y/n-chan. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to our coach. I'm sure he will love you very much

I hope. So…why did you want to see me?

I’m your boyfriend. Of course I would like to see you. I miss you a lot. See you soon, even if it's tomorrow

I look forward to seeing you every day, my handsome captain

Don't spoil me by saying that, I'll get on top of you later

You both laughed at Kuro's joke. Then he took you in his arms. He pressed his head to his chest. He dug his nose into the top of his head and inhaled the scent of her hair.

Before saying goodbye to you for the last time, he kissed your nose, which was red from the cool air.

Come on, get into home. You gonna catch cold.

You told him I love you in sign language. He responded in the same way. You kissed each other before you walked in

The next day, Kuro called you to practice. In the last lesson, you talked to your music teacher and arranged the day for your concert with Kuro. You wanted to convey this to your boyfriend right away.

As soon as the two of you met, you got straight to the point.

Do you know Kuro? I talked to the music teacher. He set the day for our concert. About 1 month later. We have to rehearse a lot. We should add other songs to our repertoire. I trust you with the song selection.

Y/N, that's great news! Let's start right from tomorrow. I am sure we will do a good job. We're going to get a lot of applause. Also, I told coach Nekomata about you. He also knew sign language. You won't have any difficulty. Maybe it's hard to communicate with the team at first, but you'll get used to it.

Really? I am very pleased. I can't wait to meet your coach.

So come with me. Coach must have arrived. I'm sure he can't wait to meet you too

You nodded ok and entered the hall with Kuro. Kuro introduced you to Nekomata coach

“Hello coach! I've told you about him before. This y/n l/n will be our new manager starting today.”

The lovely old man bowed and greeted you warmly.

Welcome y/n-san. I hope you can be a good manager. I guarantee that I can help you

I'd be honored to manage the team, coach. Thank you for accepting me even though I am deaf.

This is not an obstacle. I never see this as an obstacle. You shouldn't see either

Thanks coach.

I will teach you what to do.

After this dialogue between you and sign language, Nekoma volleyball team started training. Before practice, coach Nekomata warned the team to be careful with you

You took into account everything your Nekomata coach showed you, and you took your managerial job very seriously from day one.

But there was an unexpected controversy in practice.

“Is this deaf girl our manager now? Fortunately, the coach knew sign language. But still, don't say you didn't say it will cause us a lot of trouble,” Yamamoto said tactlessly.

Yaku poked Yamamoto's arm

“Yamamoto! Zip it! The girl is helping us, what more do you want? Tell me what is the difference between a deaf manager and a normal manager, except that he can't hear. We're going to give him some special treatment just because he didn't hear it."

“Special treatment for a deaf manager? You really messed up! Are we going to get special treatment because she's a princess of the deaf?"

The fact that Yamamoto didn't back down had now worn Kuro's patience. He went and grabbed Yamamoto's collar and started yelling at him.

“What do you have to do with this girl! Enough Yamamoto! You are exceeding your limits!”

“We had to give your deaf princess special treatment! Yaku-san says so! Take this girl away from here, she will always be a hindrance to us”

Yamamoto was really out of line, and Kuro couldn't contain himself this time either. Yamamoto was punched in the face. The size of the fight has reached the physical dimension. Everyone in the hall tried to come between them to separate Kuro and Yamamoto.

At that moment, you were busy writing down what you needed to write in the notebook in front of you. The movement in the hall caught your attention, and when you looked up, you saw that there was a terrible mess. Kuro was still trying to kick and slap Yamamoto. They were obviously shouting, but all you heard was silence

You could more or less guess the reason for the fight, but you still wanted to ask Kuro after practice.

You asked him while walking home with Kuro at the end of practice. Kuro had been punched in the face too and was icing on his face.

Was that fight because of me? Is that why you beat Yamamoto?

Kuro tried to lie so as not to upset you and passed you off

No. It is not about you. Team cliché, for common reasons

This answer didn't satisfy you and you knew full well that he’s lying

Don't lie, Kuro, I know the real reason. Yamamoto just couldn't get used to me. I guess she didn't like me. I knew it would be like this. I wish you never got me involved in the manager job.

How many times has y/n-chan talked about this before? Please don't repeat the same sentences anymore. Yamamoto is tactless. Today, he has already received the answer for exceeding the limit. I don't and I won't let anyone talk to you.

You smiled at him and took the ice he was holding on his cheek and let it go. You stood on tiptoe and kissed the reddened spot where he had just put ice

This time, Kuro's cheeks were completely red.

Is the pain gone now?

Kuro answered that question with a quick kiss on the lips. One hand caressed his cheek

It was your first kiss and he found you when you least expected it. You were shocked, but then you got used to the kiss. Closing your eyes, you surrendered yourself to Kuro's loving kiss.

Your hands tangled in his raven-black locks of hair and you started stroking his head.

Kuro's soft lips took you away from you. Your heartbeat was getting too fast, and the increased blood pressure was evident by the reddening of your face.

You were out of breath when you parted your lips. Kuro couldn't take her pace, kissed her on the forehead and nose

I love you so much y/n. I want to be with you always. Don't leave me too, will you? Promise me

I promise Kuro. I will never leave you

You hugged his chest tightly. Kuro's strong arms wrapped tightly around your body. Feeling his warmth and scent, she was truly at peace.

Come on, let me drop you home my princess

He took her hand and brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it.

He escorted you home, kissed you on the forehead as you said goodbye.

You waved to him before entering the house and entered the house

After dinner, telling your family what happened during the day—they were delighted when you told them you were the manager of the Nekoma volleyball team—and after you finished your homework, you picked up your guitar again and started rehearsing the songs you were going to play with Kuro.

It was then that he thought of composing a new composition. First you improvised, then you compose your notes and start playing the song again

You took the audio recording of the piece and sent it to Kuro via Whatsapp. Then you sent this message

A new song came to mind. Shall we sing this at our concert too?

He replied to you shortly.

Okay, baby, I wish you had thought of it sooner. There is 1 month until our concert and it is not possible for me to write lyrics compatible with the song in 1 month.

You read the message and replied

Actually, I wrote this song for you. So let our hearts write the words of this piece. While we are already expressing our love for each other, we will have already written a word for this piece.

Kuro was deeply moved by what he had said. Because now you had a song without words that only you could understand.

——————————————————————————-

It will be continiue in Part 4

I know it’s been a long time. I got round to keen on this fic.

[greycappedjester]

Hi! Can we get more background on Asahi... I want to know what it was like for him growing up and also how he managed everything in Hogwarts along with Daichi and Iwaizumi. I find it all so fascinating!

Sure! Spoilers for third story so under cut

1.) I definitely think Asahi had a lot of lingering trauma/PTSD from getting attacked when he was three. It was at such a young age that I think it contributed a lot to his general nerves and belief that the world can be a very scary place or that moments of peace can change at any moment.

2.) That said, I think being around Noya who has such a "yeah, the world can change and surprise you...isn't that amazing" attitude has really helped Asahi cope a good bit and learn that not all surprises have to be scary. What attracts Asahi most to Noya is how much genuine wonder Noya has for the world (including the scary bits) that Asahi can't help but feel it, too. It makes him feel better....maybe he'll always view himself a bit as a monster; but, he's accepting Noya's view a bit more, too that monsters are wonderous, too.

3.) Asahi is genuinely amazed by Healing and always has held a strong admiration for it. I imagine he saw a lot of Healers as he was younger as I can't imagine the werewolf change was easy and he just thought it was amazing that tehy could heal things and make him feel better. He finds it incredible that he can do that, too, now and--even if he won't admit--he really goes above and beyond to be a great Healer. Nekomata is ecouraging him in a lot of St. Mungo internships. Asahi probably has already racked up a good number of volunteer hours during the summer there.

4.) Funny enough though, Asahi actually isn't sure he wants to work in a hospital. He's fine with internships and training, he just doesn't know if he wants to do it for a job there. But he knows he loves Healing and wants to be a Healer.....he's, um, not really sure where that leaves him and is still trying to figure that out.

5.) Asahi's roommates actually guessed the werewolf thing back in first year since it was so suspicious that Asahi was always gone and sick for the full moon. They then spent another couple months debating how and if they should even mention it to Asahi since they didn't want to freak him out. Daichi eventually did. Asahi did freak out and basically avoided them out of fear for a week before they got him to listen and tell him they were cool with it. His roommates are a very large reason why no one else has ever suspected Asahi even with his frequent absences around full moons. They cover for him well and have kept their pact never to tell anyone (Iwaizumi never even thought of mentioning it to Oikawa). Basically, that Gryffindor dorm aren't exactly close friends (they have their own friend groups for the most part) but they are ride-or-die when it comes to protecting each others' secrets.

[falling-star-cygnus]

First time asking for a request...uhhh if you're still doing em. Have Billy angst of being trapped somewhere (my mental thought is under a building and some rubble keeping him pinned) and waiting for rescue, in a hollow. Make him wait a long time before help comes and debate morbidly what will kill him first: the corruption or the crushed body parts ;))

i am still doing requests!! honestly my inbox is always open to any kind of question, or thought, or request you want to share! -> i love interacting with you all, even if i don't respond right away

this is a great idea btw, yet another fantastic trope i wish was exploited more

im taking several liberties with the process of corruption :D -> brief references to Dismemberment in the beginning

All things considered, fighting an Ethereal inside a.. relatively small building was not their best idea. Neither was fighting four stories off the ground, but... well.

Nicole had taken on a client that had insisted on going with them- to make sure the Cunning Hares didn't 'pull the wool over his eyes' or whatever. Billy hadn't really listened to his tirade.

He probably should have, considering then he might've caught on to the fact that the client's Ether aptitude absolutely SUCKED.

Corruption was never a pretty thing to watch, sickening in the way stalagmite and geode petal like appendages forced their way through bone and skin and downright painful to hear the tortured wails that ripped through the air. Their former client clutches his- its?

"...Look.. if it'll make you feel better, I'll return it to you. Er- it's parts anyway."

-his newly orb shaped head and bashes it against floors and walls. Each crash spiderwebs across the feeble foundations and shakes the Hares up like a children's toys. The android's back hits the ledge of a window.

This wasn't good, if the fight lasted any longer it'd send all of them crashing down to their deaths. Billy couldn't even find stable enough footing to shoot! Which- normally wouldn't be too much of a problem, but he absolutely would not risk hitting the girls in this sardine can proximity.

He lines up a shot.

And is immediately knocked off center when Nekomata is flung towards him. Billy yelps and catches the small Thiren as softly he can, thankfully avoiding firing his gun directly into her back.

...that was going to keep him up later.

"ACk... sorry Billy," Nekomata yips out, leaping right back into the fray after getting steadied. Her cat paws navigate the crumbling floor deftly, even if her attacks don't do much damage.

None of their attacks did.

What the hell.... we need to get out. Billy takes aim once more.

"Billy!" Nicole scolds, struggling to keep her footing and bludgeon the Ethereal, "why aren't you doing anything!?"

"What? I'm trying, Boss!" he snaps back, uncharacteristically waspish in the face of their... situation, "do you want me to shoot one of you??"

Billy refocuses on the Ethereal as it lunges towards him, missing the way Nicole cringes and sputters out a cowed rebuttal. It- he was finally close enough that the android didn't have to worry about... less then friendly fire.

He slides into a dodge, lining up his shot just right as time seems to slow down and-!

The floor gives out under his foot.

The bullet goes wide, just barely glancing over the Ethereal's sickle like limbs. Thankfully it doesn't hit anybody, but Billy's head cracks into the edge that his foot fell into.

His vision sensors go white, blanking everything out in an awful burst of static.

The next thing he remembers is calloused- small- hands tugging at his jacket, raised voices, ringing, and then...

....ow..

Billy powers back on, very much against his will.

He doesn't remember powering off, ever, sure, but the bliss of unawareness had to be better than- whatever this was. His limbs hurt, and there's a crack over the right glass of his eye- and it hurts.

Heavy, heavy weight pins his lower torso down, and he can vaguely feel something stabbing between the plates of his stomach, but it's hard to make out what exactly it was in the dim surroundings.

Where was he anyway? Wasn't he just-

Awareness jackknifes through him.

The building. The building had crashed, the building had crashed and Billy was underneath it. The building had crashed and Billy had no idea if the girls had made it out okay. The building had crashed.

He could be rebuilt, if it came down to it, he could be repaired like nothing had ever happened, but their human skin couldn't. Circuitry sputters into a higher power under the wrecked metals of the android's body, a mimicry of the way a heart accelerates under stress.

The rubble refuses to budge no matter how much he scrabbles at it.

Not good... Billy thinks, giving the ground under him one final shove like it might dislodge the cement blanketed over him. The wires exposed on his arms spark in protest before deciding to fail entirely and send him back to the floor.

This had been... the worst mission the Hares' had taken.

How long had he been here already? How much longer did he have until he turned into an Ethereal? Billy had never been the best at sitting still, even when he was powered off- and he did even worse in cramped spaces. And now...

This was hell, the android was sure of it. A liminal space of torture just for him. He wanted to go back to being offline.

Why was he always getting the short end of the stick when it came to the Cunning Hares', anyway?

Billy swats that thought away as soon as it forms, feeling guilt settle into whatever was left of his wiring. It was a good thing that he took more blows than the others, he could handle it better.

He could be put back together better. Like nothing had ever happened. He could withstand Ether corruption longer, even if it made him feel sick and sluggish.

This was nothing.

...Are they even looking for me? A traitorous part of Billy's mind whispers. A seed that takes root.

But- of course they were! The android was an integral part of the team!

...wasn't he?

Green- like Anby's hoodie, or Nicole's eyes- flickers to life between the lines of his plating.

He was good firepower, at the very least. Even if Nekomata could hit twice as hard, twice as fast. Free labor? None of them really got paid to be a Cunning Hare.

...their- friend?

"Meeting Billy Kid increases my chances of survival by over 67.8%. I'm glad you're ok, Billy." "It wouldn't hurt him if he's wearing a thick sweater"

"Billy-!" Nicole had sounded worried... "Can't you be more like Nekomata?"

Metal creaks as black buds sprout between his joints.

The Cunning Hares' cared about him right? Sure- they didn't let him join in on hugs or affectionate leans or high fives, but that's just 'cuz he was metal! It was uncomfortable to touch his unyielding make.

That didn't really stop them from hitting him though, even if it didn't hurt. Much.

Physically.

...they weren't going to come for him.

The buds bloom into hauntingly pretty geometric flowers.