#no clue about clan politics

[eskumii]

yandere!genin!sasuke uchiha + darling who's secretly half uchiha hcs

TITLE: " LIKE WATER, LIKE BLOOD " — navi. — general yandere!sasuke hcs.

NOTES: i've been randomly feinin over naruto again and this idea just won't leave me alone :'D don't press me on lore specific stuff i just yap and pretend it's true ok. also i accidently posted this b4 it was finished ... if you read that, no u didn't.

☆ you're no stranger to the fact that your mother had an affair with an uchiha man a few years before the entire clan was slaughtered like cows. your father had been a high-ranking official in fugaku's inner circle, but you had never learned his name, even when he secretly visited you and your mother on weekends between his missions and clan dealings.

☆ this is not to say, of course, that he was a bad man. he often tried to instill core uchiha values into you (never dishonor the uchiha clan name, always seek to carry on its legacy and strength, etc..) but nothing ever seemed to stick. you were more interested in the little trinkets he would bring you: necklaces, bracelets, hair ribbons, hand fans, and various other accessories that were often branded with the uchiha symbol. none of it was ever worn out in public, though, so you just hung them on your walls instead.

☆ after your father's death, you eventually distanced yourself from the uchiha side of your identity as it had always been steeped in secrecy and the fear of scrutiny from the third hokage/konoha elders/villagers who felt strongly about the nine tails attack. after all, you aren't supposed to exist. you're not sure what your mother was thinking when she got knocked up at such a politically fragile time, when the uchiha clan were still under fire for conspiracy and treason.

☆ at the academy, you intentionally avoid sasuke. you've probably spoken to him a handful of times—many of which were him telling you to get out of his way, or to shut up if you were talking too loud with your friends (your assigned seat was directly behind his, unfortunately).

☆ it isn't until much later after you graduate from the academy and are placed into teams that sasuke somehow finds out you're also an uchiha. whether someone told him or he just... knew, you do not know. at this point, you haven't seen him in months (you're on different teams), so him appearing on the landing outside of your open window is a very startling jumpscare.

☆ he takes one look around your room, which has uchiha merch strung up all over the place, and is immediately pissed at you. all this time there was another surviving member of his clan and he had no clue? and it was you, of all people?

☆ sasuke always thought you were weird and suspicious during your days at the academy. whenever he interacted with you, you would cower from him, almost looking ashamed. you were adept at everything he was and, as much as he used to hate admitting it, you were often his competition when it came to scoring at the top of various skill tests. looking back, it all makes sense: the blood in your veins is special, as uchiha children often are. as he is. and now, instead of callousness, he feels a kindling of pride at your excellence.

☆ it takes no time at all for everything to change between you and sasuke. after he barges his way into your room (you don't how he found out where you live in the first place?!), he forces you to explain why you lied about being an uchiha. you have no choice but to comply after his threatening glares pin you into submission and he refuses to let you past him until you talk.

☆ sasuke really doesn't care that you're a "half uchiha." you descended directly from a member of the uchiha clan so as far as he's concerned, you're his kin through and through. this discovery immediately sparks something primal in sasuke, like a desprate clinging to preserve what has been, and to protect what can be.

☆ you're often dragged away to secluded places by sasuke—the training grounds, usually. you try to fight but sasuke is just stronger than you and you are easily wrestled into defeat; a reoccuring pattern that makes you feel unsafe around him. but despite your growing feelings of contempt towards sasuke, he is brutally relentless in his pursuit of you or, rather, his pursuit of molding you into a proud uchiha who is willing to restore the legacy of his clan with him.

☆ the uchiha boy is a little worried that you lack so many of the values that he himself has been taught by his parents and itachi. you don't know much about the sharingan nor the clan's signature great fireball technique. so he starts there.

☆ let's be honest though: you're not interested in being lectured on the history of the clan by sasuke, but you're not entirely opposed to learning a new jutsu so you allow him to train you for now. whenever you mess up or ask too many questions, he'll sigh in very clear annoyance but bites back any insult as a mercy to you.

☆ you notice how much more patient he is towards you. how he quietly praises you when your little flame grows, how he immediately checks on you when you're winded from using too much chakra. there's a general closeness that never existed before (sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, physically guiding your hands into signs, or poking your forehead when you say or do something he thinks is dumb). it's all strangely... intimate.

☆ the frequency of his visits begin to increase as the days go by, and there were a few times where you would wake up in the middle of the night to see him standing over you. obviously, this scares you, and you have to keep sasuke's sudden intrusions into your bedroom a secret from your mother, so you begrudgingly agree to his strict schedule of meeting at his apartment at least four times a week instead of him breaking into yours.

☆ in the following months, you see a side of sasuke that you're sure no one else has seen. one that isn't carefree, but deeply emotional and reactive, especially when it comes to you. soon enough, he reveals his plan of revenge against itachi to you. you're shocked that he would go to such a length, and the sentiment is not shared by you at all.

☆ before sasuke leaves the village, he of course tries to convince you to come with him. you aren't a fool, though. despite settling into your uchiha heritage at this point, you're no destined avenger. you followed along with sasuke's strange intrusion into your life thus far, but this is where you draw the line. you refuse.

☆ "no? what the hell, [name]? you're an uchiha." he'll spit heatedly, arresting you by the hand when you turn to walk away from him. "your duty now is to kill itachi and restore our clan. don't think for a second that you can just run away from this. from me."

☆ and... he's right. one way or another, you find yourself a traitor to konoha for the sake of the blood that binds you to sasuke. what happened to his family, he won't let happen to you. this time, he's the one who'll kill to protect the one he loves, even if you hate him for doing it against your will.

[crushmeeren]

༝ ᭝ ༝ ARRANGED MARRIAGE AU — PART ONE ༝ ᭝ ༝

⤷ ⋆ ft. itachi uchiha ⋆

⋆ note ; this was inspired by this post. credit to @majesticflyingwalrus ! sfw! small bit of angst!

⋆ note x 2 ; i believe this is going to have to become a miniseries…. so let’s say this is part one — centered around a small snippet of your connection with Itachi before, your feelings on the day of, and the first year of your marriage.

master list

You’d spoken to your husband maybe a dozen times before you were married.

Before you were thrown headfirst into a life long commitment with someone you could only comfortably consider an acquaintance for the sake of your clan.

Itachi Uchiha is polite. He’s collected, calm, rational. As children, he’d never been rude. He was a quiet boy, heir to the Uchiha clan. Someone who understood what it’s like to carry the weight of being the eldest child and all the responsibilities that accompany it, which you found comfort in.

Your families were close - ish, both high up on the social food chain. Whenever you’d been forced to spend time with him as a kid, he’d sit quietly nearby, working on a puzzle or reading some sort of book. Every now and then he’d invite you to join him and complete a puzzle, which featured pretty pictures of crows quite often, but you never spoke much outside of that.

Those memories you look back on with fondness, peaceful moments in an otherwise stress filled life.

As the years passed, and you reached your early twenties, your families renewed their bond, strengthened it. You remained unmarried, and so did Itachi. Your parents gave you grief over it, and when they brought up an arranged marriage, more than willing to give your hand away to Itachi, it didn’t surprise you. You’d been expecting it.

Itachi’s handsome, you respect him, and he’s kind, so you ignored the sensation of the ocean echoing in your ribcage and sucked it up. For your clan, you went along with the proposal. For your clan, you resigned yourself to a lifetime of loneliness.

Besides, you could do much worse than Itachi, right?

The planning was a breeze, over half the preparations being done for you. Your Mother, and Itachi’s, asked for your input considering certain aspects, but this wedding seemed more about the two of them instead of celebrating your union.

You have no clue if Itachi got a say in anything.

⇣ ༝ ⇣ ༝ ⇣

The day of the wedding you sat alone. Your Mother had been droning on and on about “proper etiquette”, and the “importance of sticking to the itinerary”, when the reality of the situation crashed down on you. Hard.

Your entire body chilled, a rush of icy slush replacing your blood, heart caught in your throat. Sweat beaded on the back of your neck, palms clammy. Once your hands started to shake your Mother stared at you in bewilderment, her questions concerning your health muffled and far away to your ears.

You excused yourself without waiting for permission, locating the nearest vacant room to hide, crouch down, and to breathe.

Through the window you gaze at the small children from both families playing in the field. Jealousy burns hot in your chest at their carefree nature, the little ones living in ignorance and bliss. You squeeze your eyes shut to shake off the dark direction of your mind, allowing their high pitched peals of laughter to afford you a moment of calm. Reaching up you wipe the tears off your cheek with the back of your hand, careful of the delicate makeup that’d taken hours to perfect.

A soft knock on the door startles you, both eyes opening wide. You sniffle once and rise to your feet, smoothing out any wrinkles in your outfit, regaining your composure.

“Come in,” you call out, voice scratchy with the evidence of your recent crying. You clear your throat as the door opens and, to your surprise, it’s Itachi who steps in. The door swings shut behind him, not producing a single sound. Your eyebrows shoot up and Itachi gives you a small, comforting smile.

It’s silent as he walks closer, the air around you somber and achy. He sits down with enviable grace in the chair next to where you stand, patting the seat beside himself in invitation.

“I’m aware this day is…difficult,” he begins. He tilts his head up to meet your gaze, eyes warm and calm. “Your Mother told me you were in here. I wanted to be sure you were okay, so, are you alright?”

You sigh through your nose, resigned, and take a seat. Itachi reaches over and hovers his hand an inch above your knee, hesitant, before making the decision to rest it there. You stare at his hand, the lump in your throat returning, only this time it’s due to the sudden surge of affection swelling for the man.

“I’m doing well, all things considered,” you say light heartedly. You sneak your hand underneath his, thread your fingers together, and lift your head to lock eyes with Itachi, the corner of your mouth curling upwards.

Itachi laughs, and for the first time, you notice the movement crinkles the sides of his eyes. How endearing.

His expression switches to something more sympathetic, tender. “I apologize this has been forced upon you. If it helps, I’m very content with you being the one chosen for me. It’s comforting to me that I’m marrying someone who I’m on friendly terms with.”

“Yes,” you agree, eyes twinkling as his sweet words lift your spirits from the floor. “Although, I have to admit I’m heartbroken to be marrying you instead of Sasuke.”

Itachi’s jaw drops open, eyes going round like saucers before laughter bursts out of you, squeezing his hand tight as he rolls his eyes and joins in with you.

“A pity,” He teases. “I know for a fact my menace of a little brother would be ecstatic to marry someone as wonderful as you,” Itachi says, humming as he pretends to be in thought. “Don’t be surprised to find Sasuke waiting for you at the altar.”

You gasp in fake shock, leaning in to bump his shoulder with yours. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The sincerity of the statement leaves you searching for the right response, a small horde of butterflies demanding their presence be known in your belly. Things grow quiet between you once more, the silence comforting rather than awkward while you find your voice. “I am truly grateful that it’s you, Itachi. I doubt I could survive this with someone else.”

Itachi shifts his body to face yours, expression determined and serious. “I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make our life comfortable. Even if our relationship is not romantic, I’m grateful to be on the receiving end of your friendship. We’ll find our rhythm, promise me you won’t give up hope.”

You do promise, even going so far as to lock your pinkies together. Itachi exits first, and you follow his footsteps a few moments later.

When you leave your heart’s lighter than air.

⇣ ༝ ⇣ ༝ ⇣

The first year of your marriage, Itachi lives like he’s your roommate. Nothing more, nothing less.

You sleep in different rooms, you’ve made your home in separate bathrooms, and Itachi keeps busy enough with clan affairs that his appearance throughout the day is sparse. Somehow, dinner happens to be the time you’ve both allotted for the other. It’s not in writing, and you don’t speak about it, yet Itachi joins you nearly every evening to share a meal.

You’ve created quite a comfortable routine for yourself within your new life as Itachi’s wife. That’s all it is though, comfortable. Just as Itachi promised.

Loneliness is your shadow from day one. On your wedding night, you’d harbored a shred of hope that you’d share an intimate night with your new husband. When you’d kissed Itachi in your bedroom, fumbling to undress him, his response was to break the kiss as gently as he could. He declined with a strained smile and manners that never seem to abandon him.

Crying into your pillow, alone, was not what you expected to be on the table.

Itachi sat prim and proper at the table the next morning when you tried to apologize for making him uncomfortable. He assured you that wasn’t the case, but asked that you didn’t bring it up again, as he felt that enough had been pushed onto your shoulders already. He refused to add sex that you wouldn’t enjoy to the list.

You swallowed your pride and respected his wishes, assuming it was his way of letting you down easy and that Itachi had no real desire for you besides that of a simple companion. Yes, the situation was a blow straight to the gut, but you agreed to this life, so did you really have any right to complain?

Ever since, a distance remained between you. Day after day, you took up new hobbies, doing anything to fill the hole in your heart. As ironic as it may seem, you found yourself spending tons of time with Sasuke of all people. As if you did marry him instead.

You’d decided to start going on more walks, eager to explore and appreciate the beauty the Uchiha compound had to offer, and that’s where you discovered Sasuke.

Halfway through the journey you spotted him relaxing on a stone bench, watching koi fish swim circles in the pond, peaceful as you’d ever witnessed him. You’re sure Sasuke heard you approaching, because he was not surprised in the slightest when you took a careful seat next to him.

Quiet small talk about koi fish flowed through the air, and you mentioned your wish to tend to the gardens nearby. Then, on a whim, and before you could regret it, you asked him if he’d be interested in joining you on your daily strolls. The shock must have shown on your face when he accepted, because he snickered in response.

So that’s how you filled out your days. Occupied with different things such as drawing, gardening, baking, and going on walks with Sasuke. It shocked you to the core as you found a friend and confidant in the younger Uchiha.

A month after your one year anniversary with Itachi, you join him for dinner one night. He sits stiff as a board, shoulders tense when you arrive. A quick uptick of his lips becomes your singular greeting after you say hello.

“Is everything alright, Itachi?” You ask, tone weary as you settle down in your spot across from him.

He nods once, a quick jerk of his head. “Of course, I’ve just been meaning to speak with you about something. Before that however, tell me about your day.” Itachi sets his hands in his lap, waiting for your answer with an unreadable expression.

“Oh, well it was fine. Sasuke helped me —,”

“Sasuke?” He interrupts, voice tight.

Your eyebrow raises. “Yes,” you answer slowly. “I’m sure I’ve mentioned before we go on walks together.”

“Oh, yes. You’re right. I fear I’ve been quite forgetful today.” Itachi does seem distracted, which is odd in of itself. You’re certain you’ve discussed your walks with his little brother before and he never had an issue with it. You blink in Itachi’s direction, the atmosphere turning tense and unsettling. You’re able to hear to the crickets chirping outside.

The silence is awkward. “Is there something you needed to tell me?”

Itachi’s brows pinch together, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. “Forgive me for being so out of it. Yes, something important. I spoke with my Mother and Father today, they’ve informed me the elders have been pressuring them to tell me that I need to fulfill my duty and…,” he pauses to clear his throat, gaze firm. “That you and I need to have a baby, to produce an heir.”

Your stomach drops, body flashing white hot, and your cheeks become hot to the touch within seconds. “Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t lie.”

You let out an incredulous laugh. Once again you’re smacked in the face with the life you signed up for. If you’re honest, you’d forgotten about having children over the course of the past year. It’s inevitable you suppose, making little Uchiha babies with Itachi, you’re his wife. “No, you wouldn’t.”

Itachi opens his mouth to speak but you hold up a hand to stop him.

“Don’t you dare apologize, Itachi. I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to be your wife. All I ask is that you be gentle, I’m not so experienced after all,” you try to joke, but it falls flat.

His gaze softens, posture loosening. He remains quiet for a moment, thoughtful. Then guilt appears to be written all over his face. “I’m a virgin as well, so know you’re not alone in this.”

No beating around the bush with Itachi. At least he doesn’t apologize again. “I’ll keep that in mind,” you say, voice soft. You suck in a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, and let it out slowly, steadying yourself. You’ll find time to spiral over this when you’re alone. “When are we going to start?”

Itachi shoots you a small smile, the same one full of comfort and reassurance he gave you on your wedding day. You hadn’t even realized your shoulders were hiked up with tension until they relax under his gaze. “In order to answer that, I have to ask you another uncomfortable question. When does your next cycle begin?”

⋆ ⋆ should this mini series arranged marriage au continue? lemme know what you think! ⋆ ⋆

[evilminji]

Okay, but... now I'm wondering >.>

@the-witchhunter We talked about Danny being Morningstar's feral, probably engineering oils and ectoplasmic goo covered, mad scientist/himbo hybrid (attack) purse dog. His special lil guy.

But!

I seek your Knowledge(TM).

From second hand accounts? He seems to HATE the hypocrisy. The blaming HIM for humanity's own choices. The rat race and endless song n dance of "Righteous Good VS. Cartoonish Evil". Because it let's humanity paint themselves the helpless victims. Because it's all surface level. Because it is not so easy to escape the ugliness of your Sins, yet they keep trying to scapegoat him.

Fuck um.

He was tired of it.

But? He still has CONSIDERABLE POWER. It's probably written down. And the Ring Of Rage? Is proooobably not the loveliest of artifacts? I imagine, like the Crown, it's NOT leaving Danny alone. One of those "we don't CARE if there is no throne left to sit upon, you WILL wear us, as King" sort of systems.

It genuinely would not and DOES NOT matter, if not a single soul in all the Zone bows to him. Did he defeat the previous holder of their Right To Rulership? Yes or No.

If No, fuck off.

If Yes, new monarch.

Is it hurting him? Not the rings problem. Nor the Crown's. Heavy is the weight, etc etc. But! DANNY would certainly care. He is... is ANGRY all the time now. Has no idea who would even MAKE this bullshit ring. Why JUST Rage? Yeah, it makes ghosts stronger, but at what COST?

He can't even get rid of it!

......by himself.

Luckily, he's still clear headed enough to know that he's NOT in this by himself. And it's amazing what "mom, dad, this ring is trying to drive me insane. Help me" in a terrified and tearful voice, can brush over. No one threatens their baby and all that.

It would honestly be hilarious, seeing the extended Fenton clan decend like LOCUSTS on Pariahs Keep, searching for clues, terrifying the local ghosts, if... if he wasn't so tired.

God he's so tired.

It's Aunt Alecia who... "politely encourages" a passing scholar to lend them the book they need. Took the poor sucker right out of the sky. Guy never stood a chance. RIP.

He learns he has to head..... over? Like... 27 that-ish way, then up. Huh. 27 WHAT?

Realities, apparently. He's in the wrong bundle. Branch? Neighborhood? Eh. Clan Fenton rolls back out, he packs his bags, and hilariously enough? Goes off to the devils night club. Hopes he likes rings. Or hates them.

Thankfully, being "king" means the Zone? Kinda... humors him? Like... it still has RULES(tm). He can... can FEEL that now. But it's willing to bend some for him, if he asks. And anything NOT against the rules? If it's in the right mood? He need only ask. It's weird. Being suddenly so powerful, yet NOT, at the same time.

Cause none of it's his.

All he has is the Zone's attention. The ability to ask pretty please. If you don't mind. And then? The highways between... ALL will just? Shift and change for him. He can see how it went to Pariah's head. The Zone is pretty agreeable. Is by nature Amoral, cause it's not a Being, it's... well, it's the Zone.

And everyone wants him to ask things. Do things. Demand this or that. Use this power.

Maybe he doesn't WANT too! Maybe he didn't WANT to be king! Doesn't he have the right to say NO? To refuse? Why do they think he OWES them service? An eternity of politics and people trying to kill him, for something he never wanted in the FIRST PLACE.

He's so tired.

The nightclub's pretty cool.

So he comes to ask, politely of course, cause the guy's probably busy, if Morningstar could... dunno, fix or destroy it? Want a ring, maybe? Also he heard you MADE the stars. Huge fan of all of that. Can I ask about the process? Or are you in the middle of something?

And? Lucifer? Turns around, from where he's Leaning Seductive Yet Elegantly(tm) to see... scrawny. Tiny corpse child. No... half? Corpse? Alive. Dying. Alive yet dying. Huh. Well, that is different. And here he didn't think he'd get see anything NEW. You, child, are NOT a zombie. What are you?

Halfa.

I have no idea what that is. What do you want?

He gets shown the ugliest, crudest, peice of shit ring imaginable. A genuine foul little curse. Really stinks up the place. He destroys it, obviously. This club has STANDARDS. Hope that wasn't important?

Kid just smiles the biggest fangy lil grin. No. No it was not.

Obvious, lie, but cute lil teeth. He'll allow it.

He gets dragged into talking about the stars. And talking. And talking. Mostly bragging and explaining. Kid hangs off his every word. Follows him around as he makes his rounds. Asks good questions. Completely focused, dispite the booze and barely dressed dancing all around him.

Lucifer can't help notice the crown.

Lovely little thing. Space ice and star dust, glittering like jewels and light catching the mist. If he remembers right... that one iiiiiis..... not Limbo, it's.... Zone! That crown is the Zone, it changes to suit the wearer. He recognizes the vibe. Awfully young, aren't you?

And.... it all burst forth. He didn't even need to press. Use persuasive words and honeyed tones. Like an inflamed, festering wound. The merest brush is enough to spill everything.

Negligence, greed, blood lust. Bigotry and xenophobia. A tyrants endless quest for power. Ah, humans. They truly don't change do they? Realities away, dead or alive. Now they're harrasing a child. He honestly looks miserable. Whereas just a moment before, listening to Lucifer talk about his work on the stars, his soul practically GLOWED with light. A tiny little star unto himself.

.......maybe it's the big ol "I'm you BIGGEST FAN" eyes. The sad wet cat aura. Perhaps the scrawny "could snap you like a twig" teenager, all elbows and knees. The fact he is, in fact, NOT human; for all that he once was. But?? The kid? Is... not terrible company.

He'd even go so far as to say? It's like having a pet intern.

He can sleep on the couch.

Tell you what, you stay here? I'll keep taking about stars and YOU can do the chores I don't feel like doing. I'll take care of you and all that.

And Danny? Honestly was sold at the word "stars" but? This sounds like a phenomenally terrible idea... and he has yet to meet one of THOSE he hasn't made out sloppy still with, so deal! But as a minor, that DOES make you his new gaurdian for the next four-ish years. He's legally obligated to finish schooling.

Ah.

.....well shit.

(Just? Local stressed 14-15 year old Ghost King does RESPONSIBILE thing and finds Adultier Adult. With more qualified Adult powers. Unfortunately for everyone, the adult is Lucifer Morningstar, night club owner. Even MORE Unfortunately, said ghost kind has pack bonded with the Nice Star Man, who saved him from the Bad Ring, and effectively offered to let him crash on his swanky couchs.

Now Morningstar has to? Somewhat VAGUELY pretend he gives a shit local schooling system, as he puts his charge INTO it. Actively giving waking terrors to the magical community. What evil plot is afoot? Where did he get this tiny minor death god? What is his end goal FOR said child?

No one knooooows~

But Lucifer is just doing this cause he's a Being of his word. He hates the tedious minor chores he'll be foisting off onto Danny. And? Most importantly? Look at that face. *shoujo sparkly eyes of Star Sempai Noticed Me!* it's like having a golden retriever puppy. Ffs he has STANDARDS.)

(It'd be hilarious to watch the hostile 5th dimensional chess DC characters have going on in the background, all while? Danny is like? Man! Isn't this universe GREAT? Everyone here is so CHILL! And nice to me! I'm so relaxed now! Finally, I can finish my education in peace.)

@hdgnj @hypewinter @lolottes @babbling-babull @nerdpoe @mutable-manifestation

[wisheslost]

The white-eye warbles, the camellia blooms.

As a writer of Yae Publishing House, you have to visit the shrine for work purposes quite often— and it is on these shrine visits that you came to be even more acquainted with the yashiro commissioner, of whom you were previously known to only as that writer he had bumped into at the Irodori festival, in his sister's words; the most cliché way possible.

cw : mutual pining, friends/strangers to lovers, fluff, reader gets screamed at but its fine its not by ayato, no use of y/n, reader is technically an oc but is never referred to with a name. pls lmk if I should add more!

a/n : ive been meaning to post this but i kept stalling😭 sorry

wc : 5.4k

Kamisato Ayato is a smart man. The revered head of the Kamisato clan knows all there is to know about what's going on amidst the different commissions in Inazuma, but not a single clue does he have about the feelings you harbour for him, and who knows when he will?

You seldom had the opportunity to go to the shrine, and so, everytime you came down from the shrine, everytime you hurriedly made your way through Chinju forest, you did with the same intention in mind— to see Ayato. It didn't matter if he didn't notice you, just a glimpse of his face made your day better.

One of these very days, Ayato saw you pass, and much to your surprise, invited you in to have tea. In an attempt to be polite, and since you were done with work at the time, you accepted his sweet offer.

And so it continued — each time someone of the estate saw you passing by, they'd invite you in and offer you tea, while you tried your best to decline most of the time, sometimes it was just… not doable. Convincing Thoma was a hard job, but to persuade Miss Furuta to let you go was even more difficult. 

Now, Ayato wasn't always there, sometimes he was out for a meeting or was doing work in his chamber ( the same chamber you found yourself too unimportant to enter, the chamber that felt almost suffocating to you the one time you went in there. ) but even when he was, if he heard of you having came, he'd offer you to tea with the condition that you had to wait till his work was done. You loved his company, so who were you to deny it?

And perhaps that love you had for the time you spent with him turned into the love you had for him. 

You two weren't strangers. No, not at all. You bumped into each other during last year's Irodori festival, and in the most clichesque way ever, all your documents had fallen down, and being the gentleman he was, Ayato helped you pick them up ( obviously !).

Ayato found himself writing you a letter ever so often, and your reply to it that laid there among his official documents was the last to be opened of the day—but not the least, no, it was a way for him to conclude his day positively, or so he had told you. And as you two grew closer, you only found it easier to share your work with him, snippets of something you wrote that you were somewhat proud of , but that didn't make it into the published version of the story, a verse from a poem you gave up on writing, anything you thought he would like— you sent him, and eagerly waited for his reply. 

You'd read him some of your poetry time to time— each time you came by his castle of a house, and each time he simply stared at you until you finished, and would then ask you why you used a certain metaphor to describe a certain thing, to which you'd happily answer, or commend you for having thought of something in such a different way, and at the end, he'd pass a rather funny comment, even if unintentionally, such as one like "I want this framed on my wall." to which you could do nothing but laugh, while he simply gazed at the beauty the sky harboured, seemingly deep in thought. Why he always did that, you did not know, and you could only wonder, what exactly did he think of each time?

Is showing your unpublished work to someone outside the Yae Publishing House breach of contract? No... Well, not exactly. You had agreed to abstaining from showing anyone anything that has to do with your unpublished literary pieces, but you knew the publishing house wasn't ever going to publish the poems you wrote on your own. They would say things like the topic's too vague, the metaphors don't make sense, and that the writing didn't flow, whatever that meant. So, what you wrote for the publishing house was what they demanded from you— quite different than what you actually wrote. Alas, they don’t understand your words when they're not catered to them. But it's fine, Ayato did, and what more could you ask for? 

Actually, if given the chance, you would definitely ask for something more.

Kamisato Ayato understood social cues quite well, or atleast one would think he would, as that was a big part of his duty. So why he couldn't comprehend your feelings for him, was a mystery to you. But I guess understanding if someone likes you or not isn't really something listed in the skillset a Yashiro commissioner requires. 

Now, what he could and couldn't understand was not your problem, and would no longer be, not after you confess your feelings to him. You figured it would be easier to do if you just played it out like one of your usual interactions, and so you wrote a poem. A poem you'd innocently read out to him one of those days you happen to stumble upon his house, and with it, he'd finally understand. Finally understand you liked him. 

Something else popped up. A question much unappreciated. The worst outcome possible. “But what if he didn't like you back?” Well the poem isn't even for him then! It's from the point of view of one of my original characters— yes, that excuse is good enough.

But then the day finally arrived, you were finally there, sitting in Kamisato Estate's courtyard eagerly waiting for Ayato to be done with his meeting that had started just as you came, it was not often Ayato had meetings in his chamber, so it seems you just happened to have bad luck today. Sitting on the cushion, waiting for Ayato to be done, you found yourself making multiple revisions to that poem of yours, and in the middle of that, you were suddenly reminded of the meeting at Yae Publishing House you had this evening, but the thought soon slipped your mind as you thought of another line for the poem.

He had promised it would not take too long, but one hour had gone by just like that, and before you knew it, you were barely keeping awake, you couldn't help it, running on 2 hours of sleep from having worked all night, your mind was starting to shut down. Resting your head on the table was probably the first mistake you made that day— but one could argue there were plenty other mistakes made before that, such as not having slept in the first place. 

You usually came to meet Ayato around the evening, not only because his workload was lighter that time of the day but also because the publishing house's important meetings and discussions of the sort were held most often, if not all the time, early in the day. And that was precisely why you had forgotten about that meeting you had this evening. Was it the two hours of sleep or the anxiety from the whole confession thing? whatever it was, it was just making your day harder and harder.

It had been an hour and a half since you arrived at Kamisato Estate, the hour spent waiting and scribbling, and the half spent peacefully sleeping as no one bothered to wake you up. It wasn't that the staff of the estate couldn't care less about you, in fact, everyone around noticed you having succumbed to slumber. But who dare to awaken you, Clan Head's possible significant other?

It's true that Ayato was unbeknownst to your feelings towards him, but those at Kamisato Estate weren't. It was easy to tell you had a thing for him, much too obvious that every time you saw him in the eye your heart skipped a beat, and practically every one of the estate's staff thought you two were together, and just trying to hide it. To them, the way you looked at Ayato, was the way he looked at you. His, a loving gaze that never lets go of your frame, and a soul that so desperately wants to tell the whole world how much he loves you(— but hell, he couldn't even fathom telling you) and Yours, a stare that quickly tries to focus on something else when noticed by him, a heart too heavy with emotions— emotions that cannot find their way through speech, and are expressed only through words. 

And that serene and loving gaze was the first thing you saw being woken up, because in that whole house, no one except Clan Head himself would have the courage to wake you up. 

It's not until Ayato's voice echoes in your ears accompanied by the faint pitter-patter of the rain that you realise your noses are barely inches away from touching as he knelt down to your level.

“Oh, my writer, it seems you've slept most wonderfully in my absence, and on Thoma's jacket, huh?” his tone had a bit of sneer in it, as if he was jealous of the fact you had used Thoma's jacket as a pillow. And there was that— “my writer”, it stemmed from an inside joke, wherein once when he was transcribing a poem you wrote, you called him ‘my personal calligrapher’ which warranted the “That would make you my writer, hm?” and you knew it was a joke but goodness, he called you that only when people weren't around, and the way he said it everytime, Oh Archons!

But wait— You weren't supposed to be swooning over Ayato right now! You should be at the publishing house, attending that meeting— and so you rose up frantically to leave, apologies leaving your mouth rapidly,

“Lord Commissioner, I'm so sorry but I must go, I had an important work thing and I- I'm sorry! I should hav-'' and that is when you get cut off by Ayato's forefinger upon your lips, if that was an attempt to shush you- it worked. “Just go. I understand.” he said, and the reassurance in his voice and the slight smile on his face brought you right back to your senses.

And so you hurriedly put on your shoes to make a run for it, uttering one final ‘sorry’ to him, much to his dismay. And as you made it out the door of the estate, you heard Ayato's voice calling to you- “Take an umbrella!” to which you could only respond— “I'll be fine! The rain's not that bad!” because right now, saving face at the publishing house was far more important than a few drops on your clothes. 

Except it wasn't a few drops, you had greatly underestimated the power of the Hydro Archon, because by the time you reached the doors of the publishing house, you were completely wet from head to toe— and saving face was no longer present in your dictionary. In fact, you never even wanted to show your face again- and god, how many and who even were the people attending that meeting? because you were going to embarrass yourself in front of all of them right now.

The second you entered that room where the meeting was going on, as if your bad luck wasn't bad enough, you saw a figure too striking, bright pink hair.. fox ears.. and those eyes, those eyes that didn't take even a full two seconds to notice your presence and announce it to the whole room.

“Oh, look who's here! did the Yashiro Commission- er, reject you, my dear? or did you finally realise where your priorities should lie?” and right after she had said that, you could feel that theories about you and the commissioner had already began floating in the air of that room— whispers of a mixture of words like yashiro commissioner, head of the kamisato clan could be heard, and among them was that name a bit too familiar- Kamisato Ayato. How she knew about your yashiro commission shenanigans, you had no idea, but you weren't about to question her— Guuji Yae was no god, but people were convinced she definitely was omniscient, the way she never lacked information about the people she worked with. 

You could swear on your life that the stutter after the words ‘yashiro commission’ was done on purpose, and you'd live. What she was trying to imply wasn't too obvious, in fact, the way she said it, it could easily be interpreted as something entirely different— but what was also true, only it wasn't something you were comfortable with everyone in that room knowing. You couldn't manage to respond to that, ‘tleast not in a way that would allow you to keep your job. And so Guuji Yae's lips spoke again, this time out of pity for you. 

“But hey, better late than never.” she said, gesturing for you to come sit next to her. 

And so the meeting went on like normal. You were trembling terribly from the cold, dripping wet still but there wasn't anything you could do about it, and as the guy sitting next to you took notice of that and offered you his jacket, you could feel watchful eyes throughout the room landing upon you two, waiting for your response. With the amount of writers present in this room, you knew this interaction was making its way into a light novel soon. Thinking of a response was hard, accepting it would give birth to more conspiracies, but not accepting it would blatantly prove Guuji Yae's previous comment about the yashiro commissioner right. And before you could think of a response to that awfully nice gesture, you were snapped out of your thoughts by your editor, who was currently explaining something on a whiteboard, something you failed to understand because of the preoccupations your mind currently had. “(Name), are you even paying attention !?” were his words, and as if enough people weren't already staring at you, now the whole room was. A nervously spoken ‘sorry’ was all you could let out, and it wasn't even a proper answer to his question. 

The meeting dragged on for another 15 minutes— 15 dreadful, cold minutes. And when it was finally over and people were getting out of their seats and as if your luck wasn't already the worst, it only got worse-r as your editor called out to you right as you got up, “Not you. I still have to talk to you.”  Did he not see you shivering? Looking like a sopping wet cat? Did he not have an ounce of sympathy? 

As everyone else exited the room, you were forced to sit until who knows when. Guuji Yae was the last to leave, and before she stepped out the room, she called the editor over to speak to him, uttering something along the lines of what you thought was “Go easy on the poor thing, ok?” and was that poor thing in question you? most likely, yes. And good for that— he shouldn't think to disobey the owner of this whole establishment right? 

But he did. Or atleast, the words that followed after she left did not seem like him ‘going easy on you’ at all. 

The way he had his arms on the desk, the way his figure loomed over yours, that expression on his face… oh, you were about to be scolded big time.

“You, tell me. What exactly is your problem?” 

“I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again, I apologise.” You couldn't even make eye contact with him as you spoke, and while your attempt at an apology was well delivered, it was terribly timed. 

“If you were so fucking sorry as you claim to be, tell me, what the hell has been bothering you so damn much to arrive late to an important meeting when i had reminded you so many times the previous day!?” 

Oh. That was a first— never before had you heard him swear like this, and you're pretty sure it probably falls under top 10 things you shouldn't do if you don't want to lose your job, but who were you to say? your job was being held together by a single thread made of miracles. 

“I'm really sorry sir, it was just something personal- I can guarantee you, it won't ever happen again.” Ah yes, the infamous personal issue: the inability to manage a schedule.

“Did someone pass away?”

“..No.”

“Someone fall gravely ill?”

“..No”

“Family issues?”

“No-”

“Then WHAT the hell’s been bothering so much you show up late to a meeting with GUUJI YAE? Do you seriously not understand how fucking embarrassing it is? For the writer I had to practically beg for the higher-ups to not fire even though you kept being late and crossing deadlines, to show up late again?” He had yanked you out of your seat with his right hand midway through his speech out of the anger he possessed as of current, becoming physical when angry wasn't uncommon, but for someone who you always saw as calm and cool, for someone who always put up with you no matter what, the breaking point had arrived, and it was wholly your fault. 

But you understood. Understood the reasons behind his furious reaction, for he was right, it was truly embarrassing, because that thread made out of miracles that was holding your job in place wasn't made out of miracles at all— it was made out of your editor's continued efforts to keep you in this organisation. 

When you didn't, well, more like couldn't respond to him, and he realised the outburst he had just made, he let go of your upper arm, and his hand went back to the desk with his other arm, and as he regained his senses, looking down at the desk realising what he just did, he tried to apologise-

“I didn't mean to-”

“I-it's fine. You don't have to say anything.” Cutting him off was usually not something you would do, but at this moment, it felt right.

“I'm sorry, Please leave. And please, please don't tell anyone about this.” You could see the regret in his face as he sat down on his chair, head in hands refusing to make eye contact with you and instead choosing to stare at the hardwood floor instead, and you knew if anyone found out about this you both would be kicked out the publishing house together.

“I won't. Good night, sir.” and as you exited that room, you could hear a faint “good night” from your editor, who was too ashamed to even speak any louder. 

And as you left, you failed to notice the bright pink figure of the Guuji beside the entrance of the conference room, who had eavesdropped on that entire conversation.

________

It had been 11 days since then. 11 days of Ayato wondering whatever it was that you wanted to tell him that day, hoping you would at least write him a letter. But no letter came, and neither did you. 

While the Kamisato's days went by quite peacefully and ordinarily, yours were much, much different. 

Back at Yae Publishing House that day, the Guuji held your editor back to tell him to get you to write some sort of romance novel around this plot– A careless writer who has amazing skill in writing, but barely manages to keep her job due to the troubles caused by her family, and her editor who has to beg the higher-ups to let her keep her job, who's also hopelessly in love with her.

While the plot is good, you weren't too happy having it recommended to you in that way. Does the Guuji think you have romantic feelings for your editor? or is it vice versa ? 

Whatever it is that the Guuji thought, it didn't matter right now, because she demanded the first volume of the comic book that was about to be serialised be done in 15 days. With 11 days already gone by, and everything done on your part, you finally had some leisure time to enjoy, leisure time you were spending laying on the floor in front of the fan sipping cold lavender melon juice peacefully, almost on your way to dreamland.

That is, until you heard a knock on your door. When you went to open it, no one was there, or so you had thought, not having noticed the little kid dressed like a mujina at your doorstep at first, looking sleepy as ever.

“Oh, hello! What is it that brings you here to my doorstep, little one ?” as you bent down to greet the sleepy child, you felt a muscle in your back ache. Ah, the consequences of having the worst sleeping posture known to man.

“I'm not ‘little one’. My name is Sayu. I'm from the shuumatsuban, and Mr. Yashiro Commissioner sent me to relay an important message to you.” as she finishes her sentence, she hands you a little paper from her back pocket that says “I have something important to speak to you about. Come meet me.  -your personal calligrapher” 

 Oh. You're done.

What could it possibly be about !? What could Kamisato Ayato, Clan head of the Kamisato Clan and the Yashiro Commissioner have to talk about that would be important to you !? Whatever it was, it was scaring you. 

“Do I have to go right now?” as nervous as you were, you were also curious, what the hell was this man upto? and actually, was he even upto something, or was this just something to get you to come to the estate as quickly as possible?

“Yes, that's what he said anyway.” as she said this, Sayu sounded so, so done with you and Ayato that you couldn't really do anything. It seemed like if you didn't go right now, as soon as possible, Sayu would fall asleep right on your doorstep. 

“Alright, then, let us leave. But wait- just one thing-” and so, you went to your bedside table to pick up that diary you always took to Kamisato Estate, the one you wrote that damnee confession in- but, it wasn't there? surely you placed it somewhere else when under the influence of fatigue and forgot.. Well, with Sayu's patience running thinner- you should probably just leave finding that diary to your future self.

Sayu was not at all interested in whatever it was that went on between you and Ayato, she kept quiet the whole way from your house to the Kamisato Estate, except for a yawn or two in the middle.  

Your attempt at distracting yourself from whatever it was that Ayato wanted to talk to you about by looking at the flowers and the trees as you made your way to the estate was not quite successful.. for as the dew drops fell off from the roses, you could feel yourself perspire as well.

When you finally stepped foot in Kamisato Estate, you saw him, Kamisato Ayato, simply leaning on his balcony ledge gazing at the horizon, unaware of your resence and all he made you feel. You were quite sure this amount of sweating could submerge Jinren Island. 

Jinren Island being submerged aside, no one was there at the estate except Ayato. Miss Furuta wasn't standing at her usual place, Koharu wasn't busy cleaning something that doesn't even look like it needs cleaning, and even Mr. Madarame was nowhere to be seen.

As you were busy analyzing the current state of the ground you were standing on, Sayu's voice spoke—

“Mr. Yashiro Commissioner, I brought them.” 

Ayato turned around, his eyes finally meeting yours after what seemed to be an eternity to him. 

“Oh, thank you Sayu. You may go now.”

As the man came to sit down, he signaled you to sit near him as well, contrary to how you would usually sit, on the opposite side of the table. “Sit here, you sure look like you need to.” his voice beamed, and you could feel your heart burst into eight thousand pieces upon hearing him talk to you again. 

While you were most delighted to finally talk to him again, you couldn't help but wonder where the staff went, therefore naturally, you asked him as he poured his tea from the kettle into his little cup,

“So… where's all the staff gone?” 

“Disappointed no one's here to give you free snacks, huh? Don't worry, I'm quite generous when it comes to my food, Here, want a sip?” and as his sentence came to an end, he offered you a cup of tea by raising it to your lips, which you pushed away as politely as you could. “You know I don’t drink tea, right? You asking me multiple times isn't going to change that..”

“Well, it was worth a try.”

“But seriously, where are all the staff? in all my days spent procrastinating here, I've never seen it so empty..” 

“I told them to take a break as I was going to have an important person over to discuss some very important, urgent matters, and for that discussion, I need some privacy.”

“But then why not have the meeting in your chamber? Enough privacy there, no?”

“Of course, of course, but you see, this client of mine, they think my chamber is really stuffy and feels suffocating. So naturally, I decided to have said meeting here.”

“Oh, so uhm, when is this meeting of yours? considering the staff are already gone..It must be soon, yes?”

“Oh yes, yes.. Infact, for the staff, the meeting has already started.”

“Wait.. Am I..?”

“Go on, you're almost there.”

“Jackass, I'm the ‘super important’ person you were meeting, huh?”

“See, this is exactly why this meeting is being held. The way you address me, the way you talk to me.. it's not exactly the usual way I'm addressed.. Not even my friends behave this way with me.”

“You have friends?”

“Of course I- See ! that's my point, you talk so nonchalantly to me, what do you think people would think of you as when they see you acting like this in public ?”

“Disrespectful? Discourteous? Rude? Impolite? Ill-mannered?”

“My beautiful Oxford dictionary, that's not what I meant. Don't you think people would look at us joking around and think of us as lovers ?” 

As soon as you heard that “beautiful”, oh goodness, you were done for. you had fallen so deep in love with this man it was beyond any find and rescue team to help you. you couldn't make an answer to that statement, no, you were busy in dreamland wondering if all these people at the estate saw you and Ayato talk to each other and thought, “oh, these two definitely have something going on.” 

Snap. one snap of his fingers in front of your face, and you were thrown right back into reality. 

“So?”

“Uhm, we don't go out much, actually, we've never gone out together, so that's not a problem as far as I'm concerned.”

“The way you say it.. it's almost like you're mad we never go out.”

“Well, we don't. I've never even stepped foot on the east side of the estate.. let alone go anywhere with you.”

“Hm? Let's go there then.” near the end of his sentence, he placed his teacup down and got up, walking to the same place he was standing before you came here, and so you followed. 

As he leaned on the ledge of the balcony, his body facing the horizon, he looked at you, hands crossed, yours facing him. 

“So? What do you think, are we qualified to go out now?” he spoke, turning towards you, and as he turned, he looked up at something and then smirked, his eyes returning to you. Goodness, he looked so hot— but wait, what was he staring at? before you could fully turn your head to face behind you, his left arm quickly got hold of the side of your neck that you were about to turn, “Why are you-”

“Answer my question first.” throughout this exchange, his hand was still there on your neck holding it from turning around.

“Yes, we can go out together, but what the hell is behind me that you don't want me to see?”

Leaning in towards your ear, he spoke. And to say his lips were one breath away from touching your temple is an understatement. “You remember the thing i told you about the staff, right? Well, they've all gathered near the first window of the second floor, and are currently looking at us, waiting for something to happen.” while he said all this, he was staring daggers into Thoma's soul, who, being the one who accidentally spread the rumour that Ayato was going to confess his feelings for you today, was awkwardly smiling at the slightly pissed off clan head, whose confession of love was about to turn into a source of entertainment for his staff, and of course, something to tease him about later for his sister, also present with the staff. Finishing his sentence, he finally pulled away from you. 

“But.. waiting for what to happen..?” trying to get the butterflies in your stomach to calm down from what just happened, you focused back on the conversation. 

“Waiting for me to confess.”

 Stop the clock. He didn't mean confess his love, did he? Surely there's no way.

“C-confess what!?” 

“That- ah, I can't believe I'm saying this in such an ordinary way, but listen, I'm not a man of poetry, or atleast, writing it. I tried to, believe me, but it just looked so awkward to me, nothing compared to what you wrote for me in your diary-”

“YOU READ THAT POEM?”

Ayato put his hands on your shoulders, and in an attempt to calm you down, spoke forth. 

“Hey now! Let's calm down, alright? I didn't read anything beyond the 9th line because Ayaka snatched it away from me, so please, don’t be mad. I should have realised I was in no place to open someone else's very personal diary, and I don't even know if that poem was meant for me, but I just-”

“No.. Ayato, you're.. You're too sweet. I'm sure you had no ill intentions, I only freaked out because it was so surprising, and since it was indeed meant for you. And you can read the whole poem afterwards, but for now, please, please go on about what you were telling me.”

“I can't just go on like this, not after you've told me you wrote about me- Me, of all people! Me, after you've written about the sun, the seas, the sky, the surreal- after all that, you wrote about me. And so beautifully, too, I can't go on, not with my life, not with whatever it was I originally wanted to say.” his expression was one you had never seen before, so full of innocence, he looked like a wet puppy in the rain, like he'd die of a cold if you didn't shelter him right away, and you could swear you saw tears welling up in his eyes, and all this because you wrote about him, all this because his feelings were returned, all this because he finally felt loved. 

You couldn't even respond, hell, you couldn't even choke back tears, and so as you were processing his words, you wrapped your arms around his torso and went in to hug him, sobbing into his chest. He returned the hug, one arm around your shoulders, and one running over your head, a tear dropping on your head as he did.

When you both pulled away from the hug, it was just laughter and wiping away each others’ tears, until you both were staring at each other fondly. And then Ayaka's voice could be heard from the back— “I told you they wouldn't kiss!” followed by a subdued Thoma, “my mora..”

“You know we can hear, right? And betting on my love life? Seriously?” As Ayato turned to reply to his sister, the staff scurried away, not wanting to be noticed by him, and as amused as you were, you didn't join in on the conversation, instead choosing to pull Ayato's collar towards yourself and pulling his lips onto yours. Before Ayaka could respond, Ayato leaned in to the kiss, cupping your face with his hands, and you could feel him smirk a bit.

He chuckled while pulling away from you, turning to a very surprised Ayaka and Thoma, mouths open in bewilderment,

“So... I guess Thoma wins?”

[lgbtlunaverse]

One underdiscussed aspect of the bone-deep lack of mutual understanding during the nieyao stairs scene is that Nie Mingjue doesn't know - and can't know - what he's actually asking of Jin Guangyao. Not because he doesn't understand how his father treats him, or how tenuous his position is. But because he has no clue Xue Yang is a demonic cultivator.

Remember: Nie Mingjue is still alive, which means the position of chief cultivator doesn't exist yet and Jin Guangshan is facing heavy pushback for suggesting it. Most of that is coming from a fear that the Jin will try to become the next Wen. So having an outer disciple murder an entire clan and then not even punish him properly? This is a collosally bad move politically! You might as well be waving a red flag around yelling "I want to kill other sects with impunity!" There's a reason that years in the future, the moment Jin Guangyao becomes acting sect leader, he will immediately order Xue Yang's death (He doesn't actually die, either by accident or on purpose on jgy's part. But the point is that as far as the public is concerned he had Xue Yang executed.)

From Nie Mingjue's perspective, Jin Guangshan just shot himself in the foot politically for some random outer disciple. It's morally wrong, but it's also incredibly fucking stupid. In his eyes, he is asking Jin Guangyao to do the glaringly obvious right thing, even when exclusively looking at the Jins' self-interest. The thing that surely everyone else in the Jin also wants Jin Guangshan to do! Jin Guangyao can say that he has no influence on his father all he wants, but it is obvious how much work he does and so, as much as his father may not respect him, he clearly at least trusts Jin Guangyao's competence. Nie Mingjue has already tried shouting directly at Jin Guangshan during the trial and it seemed to work, but then Jin Guangshan went back on his decision like a complete idiot. So now Nie Mingjue is asking the guy who is famous for being good at rhetoric and convincing people to convince his donkey of a father to do the obviously correct thing with minimal downsides because again, to Nie Mingjue, this is all about some random outer disciple. It makes sense to ask this! It's a pretty reasonable request! Jin Guangshan can't possibly care that much.

Except of course he does. Because Xue Yang isn't some random outer disciple. He's the only good shot Jin Guangshan has at recreating the yin tiger tally. And Jin Guangshan reaaaaaally wants the yin tiger tally. So bad that he is fully willing to tank an ungodly amount of political goodwill to get it. Jin Guangyao is fully aware that not only will Jin Guangshan never kill Xue Yang, he isn't planning on keeping him locked up either. In fact, after Nie Mingjue is dead, he'll free Xue Yang and strongarm Chang Ping into denying the guilt of his family's murderer. Jin Guangshan cares a lot about keeping Xue Yang in his employ.

And Jin Guangyao knows this. But he can't tell Nie Mingjue that! Because then he'd have to admit they've been doing demonic cultivation. That the fucking ghost geneal is in their basement. That, oopsie, they actually also killed a whole other entire clan just a while ago after framing their sect leader for an assasination attempt and then used their bodies as fodder to make more fierce corpses. You know, in case one mass murder wasn't enough!

So obviously he's not gonna say that. Which means Nie Mingjue has no idea what he's demanding from Jin Guangyao, and therefore no idea why he absolutely can't fullfill that request.

I get why it's not mentioned very often because there are a lot of other problems which are both more obvious and more fun to talk about. (Who doesn't love a little overcomplicated trolley problem?) But I think it adds just another layer to the chasm between them in this scene. They're not just disagreeing, they're having completely different conversations.

[leggerefiore]

cw: a little angst, pla ingo, pasio verse

pairing: Ingo/Reader

“Hey, Ingo, were you dressed up as a decrepit version of yourself for Halloween by any chance?” you caught the older of the Subway Bosses as he was taking a break from training for the tournament he and his brother were hosting. He blinked as he took your question. It seemed that he had no idea what you were talking about. Honestly, you had not been so sure either. But, it was clearly Ingo. You had seen his face. His attire definitely had been a bit strange, but it had been Halloween. The simplest explanation was that he was wearing a costume.

“No, I was not,” came the reply from him, “… I was wearing my current attire. Emmet and I obtained these costumes and opted to wear them together.” His hand came to hold the brim of his hat. “Perhaps you simply saw someone dressed up as me… I cannot say that it is impossible,” he attempted to explain away the situation, “People have dressed up as my brother and me before.” You had already considered that, but the issue was that the face was certain his own. There was no question in that despite the goatee.

“… It was you,” you deadpanned, “Ingo, I know your face. That was you.” He tensed up at your insistence. It was clear he had not been expected it. For a moment, you both stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak first. You were not backing down. That had been Ingo that you saw. Even if his coat was ragged and tattered, those shoes were simply impossible not to recognise. Though, the tunic had been an odd choice.

“… Dearest,” he simply replied, “It was not me.” His hand came to hold his chin. The gears in his head were clearly turning as he debated just what you could have seen. He closed his eyes. With no doubt in his mind, he knew it was not him. “A Zoroark, then,” he tried again, “Or a Ditto. There is not a chance it was Emmet or myself.” You were still unconvinced. The costume was too elaborate for either pokemon to have done that.

Yet, just as you went open your mouth again, you both heard footsteps approach. Turning your heads toward the direction they came from, you both saw a familiar coat. A tattered one. Ingo tensed up. You blinked. What… was this…? The man truly had Ingo's face. His steps drew to a halt just before you both. He gazed at Ingo intensely. They both seemed to lock eyes and not break away from it.

“… Excuse me,” his voice was a bit lower and raspier than Ingo's own, yet sounded nearly identical, “Who might you be?” Ingo's eyes narrowed. He clearly was on edge by this apparent clone. You, however, found yourself fascinated. Grasping Ingo's arm, you tugged on his sleeve. He let out a breath.

“I am the Subway Boss Ingo,” the older twin politely answered his question, “I return the sentiment to you; who might you be?” The identical stranger blinked a few times – His mouth coming to hang open in apparent shock. Something was clearly at play here, yet you and Ingo had no idea clue as to what it could be. He did a similar movement to Ingo, grasping the brim of his hat and pulling it down over his eyes.

“… I am warden Ingo of the Pearl Clan,” he offered in reply. You blinked. That was the group that the one Hisuian woman had mentioned being the head of. Why would one of her people seem so similar to Ingo? You did not recall him mentioning any Sinnohan ancestry. Even he seemed baffled at your side. “… By any chance, do you know a man who looks like you?” he asked simply. Ingo stood even more stiffly.

“… In fact, I do,” he replied, “Why do you ask?” The other Ingo seemed lost in thought. His eyes gazed at the Ingo at your side with a strange fascination.

“I… Can barely recall anything but my own name,” the warden explained, “… Yet, this identical man flashed into my mind. I feel like I must see him at once.” Ingo's eyes grew lidded. Your own heart pounded with empathy. This situation had grown truly bizarre. Ingo fished out his phone from his pocket and called Emmet, asking him to head over to the area you both were at as soon as he could. The younger twin was hesitant due to their current training regiment, but a simple bit of pushing made him relent. You telling him to come probably also helped.

It was not long until a third person with the same face stepped forward. Emmet stood in even more shock at the sight of the pair of Ingos. You watched as he took careful steps to your Ingo's side. The Warden observed the newcomer with a strange expression. His eyes were wide as he observed the two standing side by side. Then, tears began to swell in his eyes. They fell down his cheeks as he remained silent. The twins were beyond confused. Slowly, you began to have an idea.

An idea you disliked immensely.

Letting go of Ingo's arm, you rushed to his counterpart. Unconsciously, you brought a hand to help wipe away his tears. He allowed you to do so. Your eyes met his own. There was a familiar gentleness in them that you did not dare fail to recognise. He brought a calloused hand to your cheek. “D-Dearest…” the word was more like a whimper from him. Your heart hurt. He suddenly clung to you, making Ingo and Emmet gasp from behind. You allowed him to hold you.

The future seemed much less bright with this knowledge.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Ooh, the Stone Egg coming out when Xiaotian is courtnapped by Ruyi? Xiaotian is already stressed out from being abducted by a creepy older guy and now having to deal with Demon Bull family drama and Ruyi's incel/conservative uncle behavior-

But-

*slides idea that DBK's parents still alive and FURIOUS when they learn that their great-grandbaby is being born early because their son's an idiot and adding to the drama when the grandchild they never met SLAMS down the door to get to his mate*

Best way to describe my idea of the Immortal Ruyi is somewhere between "Scar" from Lion King + a stereotypical dark wizard.

Ruyi feels inferior to his older brother, banished or not. He feels that he must scrounge and hoard whatever power he must in order to secure his position - everything except changing a thing about himself.

When the Pilgrims encountered Ruyi; he was busy extorting the Kingdom of Women for access to the Abortion Spring - water that acted as a 100% guaranteed birth control for women (and unlucky monks) who did not want to have children. It wasn't just a matter of money - Ruyi has some pretty backwards ideas of what women should be "thankful for".

Makes sense why the Pilgrims beat the crap out of him and steal back all the money and treasures he's extorted from the women.

The Underworld is pretty inuslar - not much commincation between Realms happens down there. Even in the capital city of Youdu, communities are pretty self-isolating.

Except ever since what happened with the Ten Kings...

Yama/Yanluo needs to hire new staff.

Ruyi thinks he'd be a shoe-in for one of the Ten Kings! If only he had a good piece of arm candy to show off to the court...

Ruyi has a Compliant Hook that acts very simialrly to Wukong's Staff - and he might just use it to "hook" himself a stolen bride.

MK: (*finally managed to sneak out of the apartment to get a limited flavour of cheese tea*) Ruyi: (*whisks him away like an old-timey dastardly villain*) The Stone Egg, waking up: "Oh? It's game time now?"

MK of course; is NOT HAPPY with being kidnapped by some old incel demon to a corner of the Underworld!

Even more so when he realises from context clues that this is Red's Uncle!

Ruyi thinks it's foolproof. MK is a creation of Nüwa herself, and helped stabilise all of creation with actions - having him as a spouse would be major Rep points!

MK: "Dude! I'm taken! By your nephew!" Ruyi, preparing a concoction of spring water: "Do not worry. I will remove that roadblock when we come to it. Now you be a good wife and stop scolding me." MK, growing more and more furious: "I AINT YOUR WIFE!"

MK's own kaiju-form tries to activate, but can't due to the immense discomfort he's in. Only he knows the real reason for the cramping. He whispers to his baby to hold on just a little longer, as he staunchly refuses every piece of food or drink his captor tries shoving at him.

The chaos of the courtnapping, plus MK's own loud objections - alert the true masters of the Underworld Ox Palace...

I imagine DBK assumed that his parents had passed in the centuries he'd been gone - only to realise that they weren't dead, just retired from the political scene.

Ránshāo/燃烧 ("to ignite") and Fādǒu/发�� ("shivering") were an arranged pair from birth - the union of two royal oxen clans spanning both the Hot and Cold Narakas of the Underworld.

One a dense, long-haired plume of fire. One a stern pillar of ice. Unseparable. If DBK respected anything of his parents; it was their bond.

From their union came the one who would be named "THE Demon Bull King"... and their second-born Ruyi.

They try not to play favourites but... the incident in the Kingdom of Women has soured their opinion over Ruyi's political standings. They have tried hard to throw off the imperial politics their own predecessors had imposed, and return to the "old ways". But clearly their current heir isn't wise to change.

The only thing stopping them from welcoming DBK back into their home is ultimately; Pride. If he didn't seek them out, neither would they.

Cycle of bull-headedness.

Until they smell and hear that their second-born has courtnapped himself an unwilling bride. One already with child.

MK: (*terrified and heavily pregnant*) Ruyi, showing off his prize: "Well..?" (*both ox demons look at one another... before slapping Ruyi across the head.*) Ránshāo: "YOU FOOL. Courtnapping is only legitimate if the other party accepts your affection!" Fādǒu, leaning down to MK: "The poor thing is shaking! Did you steal them from their maternity nest!? Their birth clan will have our heads if talk gets out!" Riyu, scrambling: "Well uh- I feel that they would be the perfect spouse for the heir of the Underworld Ox clan! Sun Wukong's successor is-" Both Oxen, so loud it shakes the palace: "THE WHAT?!" Ránshāo: "Are you telling me, this child is the successor of the ONE DEMON able to match our family in battle!? And you dared to kidnap him for your own selfish desires!?!" Fādǒu, hugging MK to her cool fur: "And what of their mate? Surely the existence of the calf in their stomach signals an existing sire!" Ruyi, kowtowing: "The child they carry was immaculately formed! Like the waters of the Mother-Child River! If it is an issue, I will remove it using the Spring-" (*Ruyi receives angry huffs from both parents, their breaths combining to create a boiling mist that forces him back*) Ránshāo: "Get out of my sight. We'll deal with you later." Ruyi: (*scuttles away by a cockroach*) Fādǒu, voice soft: "Child, does your clan know where you are?" MK, calming down: "No... but I imagine that they won't rest until they find me. Macaque can hear for miles, and Mei put trackers on my phone." Ránshāo: "We should prepare for guests then. We must apologize to them for the distress our second-born has caused." Fādǒu: "Is what Ruyi said true? That your child has no sire?" MK, little embarassed: "Uh! Well! It's a stone monkey thing I accidentally did. Baby is technically being made by me alone, but with Dao my body absorbs from my closest peeps and mate." Fādǒu: "Then who is your-?" (*The gates of the Underworld Ox Palace burst open as a stampede of kaijus arrive on-scene; dragon, demon, and celestial among them. The lead of the charge is a fiery cloud in the shape of a bull - the eyes burning with True Fire. The bull crashes through the front gates and throne room, trampling any obstable in it's path. It's charge only stopping when they see the monkey demon.*) Kaiju!Red Son, bellowing deep: "RETURN HIM." MK, surprised but delighted: "Red!!" :D! Both Oxen: (*share same looks of confusion and wonder*)

The sight in the palace is adorable; the tiny monkey demon waddling as fast as he can to embrace their mate, their furry arms not even able to encompass the snout. The massive bull gently nudging their smaller mate's face and belly, as if to ask "Are you okay?" The fire receding back to it's natural shape and size as more desperate kisses are shared.

No arrows or swords drawn - the appearance of Sun Wukong in his War Form put the fear of Buddha in every single one of the Oxen Palace guards.

And the appearance of the prodigal son put joy in their hearts.

DBK: (*arrives seconds later in his regular form, PIF on his shoulder. He looks confused as he realises where Red Son's trail has lead them.*) DBK, seeing the royal couple: "Mother? Father?" The Oxen couple: "Jǐn Cài Niu!?"

Ránshāo and Fādǒu don't even question why their first-born is there. The fiery tornado that ripped through their palace was nearly identical to the kaiju-form of their elder son - only now sporting the True Winds of the boy's celestial mother.

PIF herself is caught in the embrace. She's shocked by the closeness. She had not seen her in-laws in millennia - but now they greet her as if she were beloved kin? She barely manages to squeeze out of the giants' hold to watch her husband reunite with his parents.

Fādǒu: "A grandson! Xiaoniu - a grandson! And you never told us!" DBK, crying with frustration and joy: "I assumed that you did not care for him! I sent many letters to Father's office over the centuries!" Ránshāo, angry growl: "My office... the same office your younger brother as occupied for the last eon?" DBK, realising: "That bast-" Fādǒu, pulls his ear: "Do not finish that exclamation, calf." Ránshāo: "Do not blame him, my snowdrop. If Ruyi is only responsible for what happened today, he should be so lucky to live to see the next one." PIF, floating above the oxen: "I take it you've met our son's intended?" Fādǒu, gasping: "The expectant one!? Oh dear... barely a moment to adjust to knowing we're grandparents..." Ránshāo: "Now we are to expect our first great-grandchild!" Wukong, leans in to whisper: "So. We aren't in a fighting mood now, right?" DBK: "No. Now is not time for quarrel... unless you wish to catch up with my little brother. Odds are; he's already fled the palace." Mei, racing past in dragon-mode: "I CALL FIRST DIBS!"

Reunions and curb-stomps are cut short however - as MK is forced to reveal something that has been causing him grief ever since Ruyi kidnapped him.

Macaque, ears flickering: "He's in labour." Everyone present: "WHAT!?" MK, smiling through winces of pain: "Surprise?" Red Son: (*turns Kaiju-form off and in a feral rush, carries MK to a soft surface*)

Everyone is panicking, even the ones trained in midwifery. Wukong is stammering as he tries to manifest supplies from his transformed hair. Pigsy and Tang are screaming - realising that they need to grab the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha just in case babies aren't supposed to be born down here.

PIF is holding MK's hand, coaching him through the contractions and kissing his sweat-soaked brow. She knows the pain he's enduring.

Red is holding MK's other hand, not minding that the bones are most certainly broken by the stone monkey's grip. He's silent with excitement and fear.

Nezha briefly disappears, returning with Guanyin and Xiwangmu themselves at his side.

Guanyin: "When Nezha told me you were due - I certainly did not expect to come here! It's been some time." MK, Wukong & Macaque: "Same!"

It seems that the second MK is assured everything is prepared; the Egg pretty much shoots out - cracked and ready to go. The other monkeys barely have time to collect the broken rainbow-quartz shell when the baby starts howling to the universe.

The Room: (*stunned silent*) Newborn Haoye: (*immediately chirping and clinging to MK*) Macaque: "Wow. That kid did not wait at all to be born." Wukong: "Stress from the courtnapping probably scared him out." (*angry growls radiate around the room. Ruyi will be lucky to be found alive after tonight.*) Red Son & MK: (*both unintelligible blubbering*) "He is so small!!" "And orange!"

Xiwangmu nearly roars at seeing her great-grandcub alive and so loud. Her fellow great-grandparents do not hesistate to embrace the Empress when she hugs them out of joy. ("He's beautiful!" "He is!" "His taigong would have adored him!" "Did he get his fur from you Empress?")

The Underworld and the Celestial Realm are united fully in this moment... all for a tiny orange puffball who's barely a minute old.

Tang faints obviously. Pigsy holds it together long enough to say hi to his grandpiglet before passing out on the nearest sofa. Wukong and Macaque get a few sniffs in before joining Pigsy on the sofa.

All is calm.

Then Haoye sneezes and rainbow-coloured flames shoot out.

The Room: ( 0_0)? MK, laughing nervously: "Oh yeah. The Five Stones! Ha ha ha-!" Nezha, defusing: "To be fair... I spit rainbows." Mei, taking photos: "Aww, our little rainbow monkey man!!" <3

Now the baby has another set of great-grandparents to visit!

If one of the Man Yue gifts is a familar ox skull - MK doesn't comment on it.

[rainybyday]

Second part of the first time travel team 7 idea

So next on the list are Uchiha’s

So the Senju patrol found out about Sasuke and Tenzo

The Uchiha?

They find Sakura and Kakashi

(Yes Sai and Obito are out for now)

So I think the beginning problem is how Team Seven are all separated and are all trying to find each other

Tenzo actually found Obito first but they split up for Obito to grab Sai and Tenzo got Sasuke once they felt both got their location from Tenzo’s ability to be a tree whisperer

Sakura found Kakashi and they both were going to find the rest of the pack but they met a returning Uchiha party from a job well done

The party has Izuna 

This will happen for two reason

One is so that they understand at least roughly at what time they appeared in

And Two is that they have an important figure of the Uchiha clan to see Kakashi. No, he doesn’t have Obito’s eye anymore but the prospect of seeing a Hatake so close to their clan compound is what I’m after here

Unlike the Senju patrol who immediately went after Sasuke, the Uchiha’s just stop

Cus like, that’s a HATAKE

SHIT

Like on one hand there is another clan claimed name on their land without their permission 

But on the other, its a Hatake, one of the few clans you want to be wary of and think carefully about when you interact with them

Even with the mask on Kakashi, they still don’t want to test their limits on getting fucken mutilated by Hatake teeth

Feral or not, a calm Hatake is still a Hatake

So Izuna, politely mediates and tries to understand why Kakashi and his cub? Packmember? Are on their land

Especially when said cub/pack member looks like they went through hell and back

Who is the stupid person whom attacked a Hatake pack/cub member???

I have no clue what this conversation will entitled but Sakura and Kakashi are allowed to leave relatively safe by all means

Even though they are freaking the fuck out of what they are just witnessing because was that Sasuke? No? You're not Sasuke??? Then who the fuck-?

Meanwhile, Izuna and his party are booking it back to their compound to tell Madara about the wild Hatake in their lands and to make sure to warn the rest of the clan because if they make a mistake like, oh i don't know, FIGHTING THE HATAKE, then there will be problems

On their end not the Hatake’s 

The Hatakes, while not animals are very protective of their own, a slight against one is a slight against all Hatakes. 

These issues must be mediated carefully. 

So Team Seven!

Kakashi does not have Obito’s eye and Obito has both eyes and has the classic white hair and half white/half tan body. 

Tenzo and Sai aren’t as worse looking as the rest of the team but that doesn’t mean Tenzo lost a vest somewhere in his dimension or how sai doesn’t have any scrolls or that his ink supplies is all over him

Sakura and Obito look the worse off, no questions asked

Sasuke literally looks all bloody from overuse of his Sharingan and he still has the Rinnegan so thats going to go over so will with everyone else

Ah zetsu will find out about that huh….

Naruto looks… okay

The boys going through it

They are all almost chakura depleted but not empty, still have the little bit to survive you know

Ok so back to story

ON the team 7 side I know they will probably find each other and probably make a makeshift base of operation in the location where Konoha will be

Its temporary for them since its the close place they know of in their time and they need to rest

So they rest for a prompt of a few days without any issues

Why is that?

Well on the senju side they just got reports that a uchiha was seen on their land so they of course are angered that their enemy was so close on their land and will have Madara’s head

But at the same time that very same Uchiha was saved by a Senju with the mokuton of all things

So its a whole political shit show with Hashirama trying to understand that not only are an Uchiha and senju in kahoots with each other but that this implies a missing senju member was left unaccounted for by the clan, Tobirama is more uneasy by the multiple chakra signatures that in the forest and the Senju elders are convinced that the Uchiha’s found and used a senju as a tool for war

Meanwhile, the Uchihas are sweating bullets trying to warn the rest of their members about a Hatake pack most likely near or on their grounds and Madara is going through a mountain full of paper trying to write the best most polite but not-directing-blame-nor-accusing letter to the Hatake clan to ask if they had 1) a that a Hatake pack was seen in their lands and 2) that someone may or may not have attacked said pack (but it wasn’t them they swear on Amaterasu’s sake)

Yeah so Team 7 has a lot of time to rest before everything gets set to motion

Mostly it is Tenzo and Sai getting caught up in what happened in the battle of Kaguya, the realization that everyone they ever known are now gone, and trying to survive in this new environment 

Of course there is a lot of self blame and guilt in this

Obito and Kakashi definitely have guilt with each other and their actions that got reflected in their battle

Everyone but the Uchiha’s are realizing who they left behind in their old world and its just… crashing on them

Sasuke is still on the Itachi thing but he is not as emotionally invested like the rest of this team, probably thinking about the battle and the information that he was told of being Indara’s incarnation or somth

Sai has left the people he wanted to be friends with and his chance of being happy with them, yes he still has team 7 but his dream was to befriend everyone and now that's just…. Gone

Tenzo is not stable either ngl

Yeah so first few days are basically the calm before the storm

Then the Uchiha’s get a letter, a letter they expected but not by who sent said letter

They were expecting the Hatake’s to contact them first, not the Senju’s

Then the Madara is reading a letter from Hashirama about the incident the portal had a few days ago and lost it

Part 1 | Part Three

[skyclan-funny-name-squad]

Okay wow I was not expecting my kittypet fae post to take off overnight like this, but I'm glad you all like it! I've been thinking about kittypet culture so this is what I think is the reasoning behind the beliefs.

Kittypets are often well groomed and well fed no matter the season, while wild cats are often groomed there's a softness to kittypet pelts that you don't find in wild pelts. Along with pretty accessories that a wild cat would have no clue what they are like bows. As such they start to seem a bit uncanny valley because they look like you but not Quite. Especially because of more purebred cats who have brighter pelts or unusual colors or strange muzzles or weird ears. Which helps spread the thought that kittypets aren't fully cats, but something similar, something different but the same. Firestar as a purebred orange cat is just a lot naturally brighter or vivid then the more muted oranges that appear in the wild, and that scares cats.

Kittypets also like to share with their wild friends, they see their friend skinny and cold and want to bring them inside where they can get food and get warm. So they tend to offer it pretty often, however cats that do this start to get used to the ease of food and warmth of the den and find it harder to stay wild or to stay away from twolegs. Some kittypets may even aid twolegs in trapping their friends for the sake of protecting their friends from the harsh outdoors. Which everyone knows once you've bonded with a twoleg whether you want to or not your transformation into one of them is nearly complete.

Kittypet food is also meant to fill a cat as its been fine-tuned to fit the needs of a cat so even if a cat doesn't think it tastes as good as mouse, it still fills them in ways they may struggle to get with hunting. So cats that risk taking a bit start to go back for more, especially in harder hunting series. Sure sparrow may be a bit tastier but if its a sparrow once a week during leafbare or kittypet food every day, cats are going to be tempted.

With kittypets not being in a war culture and often just chilling beyond mild spats means there's more room for other activities like a lot more gossip and stories, news travels fast between cats because kittypets are horrendous gossips which means if you fuck over a kittypet, every other kittypet is going to hear about it and shame you for it. To clan cats it's shocking because kittypet news travels throughout an entire twolegplace and even beyond it thanks to some kittypets that travel in like trucks and stuff, so it can seem like despite being nowhere near the original kittypet, everyone still magically knows how you messed up. This extends to their friends as well, if you beat up a cat that the kittypets consider a friend over a border dispute all the kittypets are going to be like "hey why'd you do that that was mean" and potentially chase you away.

Now for names is something I think is interesting because kittypets are never really like "my names Mouse but the twolegs call me Mittens" so clearly twoleg names have some priority here for kittypets, while the significance of this can very between whatever you want really, its clearly important. So if you get taken in by a twoleg to heal a wound and the twoleg starts calling you Pants, then suddenly all the kittypets call you by that name. No matter how much you insist your name is Twigpounce, you're Pants now. Plus if you're actively stuck with kittypets, you'll start going by Pants as well. Thus the kittypet's steal your name.

Cats that come back from twolegs always come back changed, from how they talk, to how they walk, to what food they eat, to the things they say. They can still shake off the influence and return to the wild, but they'll always be a bit off, a bit different. Everyone knows Tallstar was pet-touched a long time ago from how he acts, but everyone politely doesn't bring it up.

Avoid kittypets! They're tricksters that look like us but they're liars with their fake mice and fake warmth! Do not trust! They aren't true cats! They're something different! Something more dangerous! Do not be tricked!

Also Longtail still throws down with Rusty because he's an idiot and also probably hoping that this will make the scary fae child leave his clan alone.

[oh-no-its-bird]

<climbs in through your windows and falls fca first onto the floor>

Hey so uh I don't remember if you found a third to Huohua and Hana's team and I just wanted to jump in real quick with a suggestion that I think is around the same age as them-

Nara Ensui

My reasons are thus:

1. While the Ino-Shika-Cho trio is a big thing, clearly not all Yamanakas/Naras/Akimichis can be in one of those cells, and based on the naming convention, it seems to mainly apply to the clan heirs/main family, probably for political relations reasons

2. Ensui (seemingly) wears eyeliner and I feel like that should make him pivotal to the plot

I did actually choose someone to be their third on the team !! They're getting stuck with Kabuto bc I find him fascinating and it'll be a fun way to get Houhua dropped onto Orochimaru's radar

However Ensui is such a fun choice too, I might have to put him in my back pocket for later use. Ur so right, any character w eyeliner immediatley deserves to be elected for plot significance

I will say, I think it'd be so fun if he was added and we did play with like. There weren't enough kids to make an even number of ino-shika-choi teams. Do u think he'd feel left out? How do you think he'd be chosen to be the one excluded that year? So many fun thoughts ,,

Might have to play with that later actually, I like the crumbs of that narrative. Idk if Houhua is gonna pass the chunin exam yet so if he doesn't, maybe his second team can include him? Hana would pass for sure, and Kabuto's whole thing is that he fails it every year.

Actually quick side, note: the fact that this is possibly Kabuto's first chunnin exam (how old is he again ?? I don't fucking remember but not that old) is interesting too, he won't know what he's going into like he does other years

Anyways team (whatever number) my beloveds <3

Does their team number change w the teachers they're given ? Bc like, they were handed to Kakashi first, which would make them team 7 (for like half a day) but after that, are they still team 7? Could be cute if they're called smthn like team 7 and a half

Their team number is constantly shifting w each new teacher they're thrown at, the other teams just start calling them team 7 and a half to make fun of them and it sticks

Team 7 and a half my beloveds <3

Actually. Thinking ab Kabuto now. Having thoughts. Experiencing emotions.

I do think the most interesting result in Houhua being on a team w him would be he recognizes that Kabuto wants to fail the exam on purpose, then somehow, some way, tricks or corners him into passing.

VERY big wrench in Kabuto's plans and Houhua is suddenly on his list of least favorite people. He has BEEF. No idea how we'd get there tho, or if I even wanna fr take it there, I just think it'd be interesting.

ANYWAYS UHH

While I'm here and talking ab the au, take this comment from the vault fic chapter where I posted about the au:

I absoloutley think Jun and Kisame should get to know eachother for sure, itd be so fun !! Idk how exactly, but if nothing else Kisame seems to be great at handling standoffish ice prince bitches (*cough* Itachi *cough*) so he should be surprisingly good w interacting w Jun !

Which also brings up the fact that like. Jun and Itachi interacting would be the funniest thing ever. Because before Itachi hearing that Houhua has some mystery relationship w this guy, they're probably just standing next to eachother in dead silence (it's very peaceful)

But then Jun gets potentially rather violently recruited into Akatsuki, so now he's being very frosty (they are still standing together in dead silence)

And then by the time he melts a little, Itachi has noted the weirdness w Houhua. And now he's being super frosty and incredibly passive aggressive. And also possibly plotting a silent murder.

But Jun has no fucking clue who Houhua even IS so he literally has nothing he can say to explain this shit to calm Itachi down. And also does not care enough to even try to explain. And also Itachi is Itachi and isn't explaining why he himself is mad anyways so Jun has no fucking way of knowing why he's even mad. Or even telling that he is mad bc hes shit at reading people

(They are still standing next to eachother in dead silence)

Kisame comments on how whenever they're w Jun, Itachi is the most animated he's ever seen him. Very impressive work there Jun!

I do not think that Itachi would make a conscious plot to pretend to be in a relationship with Kisame. But I do think it'd be really fucking funny if Itachi, completely without thinking it through, blurts out that he's in a relationship w Kisame w some very vague (and possibly a little manic) only half-thought idea of making Houhua jealous.

Kisame is ???????? but doesn't argue bc Itachi is... probably going somewhere with this? Tho he doesn't understand where.......?

Itachi immediately regrets it (his face is still dead blank and unreadable, but he's screaming internally) but refuses to backtread bc that's embarrassing. He has never admitted to a mistake in his life, and he is not going to start here. (Kisame is going to RUTHLESSLY make fun of him for all of this later, and he will deserve it)

Itachi also blurted this out like. Totally unprompted and probably in the middle of a battle. No one (especially not Houhua) fucking asked. So Houhua, very very confused, goes "????? Good for you ???????? You still murdered our entire clan tho so um ?? I'm gonna keep fighting u? If thats ok?"

(No one in this conversation is leaving with their dignity intact)

I THINK ITD BE SUPER INTERESTING IF HE DID ACTUALLY? Hmm I might have to think ab that one. I wanna make sure all the mangekyou awakenings in this au are as heavy and significant as they really should be, yk? So idk if I'd wanna use Houhua's play dead jutsu for it, it'd feel a bit cheaper to me, just a bit. But then if I played it right ig it could be as heavy as it deserves. Mmmm, choices

Kabuto and Houhua are making direct eye contact going "I smell a rat in here and I KNOW it's not just me"

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

An ode to a scar and the shoulder blade

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial with the prompt #FFF284 noticing small things. (Thank you once again!) Missing Ron’s 96 scar that I wrote this on a whim. Methinks this is only a prelude and I might add more chapters if I can. If you haven’t seen nor read the Shibuya arc, then treat some of these as spoilers.

—

Fandom: Kamonohashi Ron kindan no suiri / Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

Characters: Totomaru “Toto” Isshiki, Ron Kamonohashi, brief appearance of Spitz Feier

Word count: 1095 (I struggled with this)

TW: mention of suicide, biting

HAND on his heart, Toto could still pinpoint the time and place Ron’s “96” scar had bewitched him.

Well, bewitch might be a strange wording, but the very first time he found himself staring at it was the day he returned to Ron’s apartment to talk about the first case they shared together and the aftermath.

Ron sat on the floor with his thigh muscles bulging from his grey sweatpants, looking up at Toto. From this perspective, the police officer knew that he was not wearing a shirt underneath that beige pullover. He had a beautiful view of the scar. He was still aghast, mind, after Ron told him of his flaw, that is sending the suspects to kill themselves through his power of hypnosis, in which Toto experienced firsthand. But the scar kept on disturbing his peace.

Of course, that time Toto thought it was a tattoo. Who would in their right mind let himself be tattooed with a number? Especially when the Japanese people do not have a positive attitude toward skin ornaments. And yet, he did not ask Ron. Japanese men, the polite ones mostly, would never do such a thing. Besides, what would his grandma say? Oh well, the old woman knew that he had the habit of not holding back things from his mind, saying them aloud without filter.

“It is not a tattoo. It is a scar.” Ron told him at the onsen. It had been a month since he learned to know the younger man and they already saw each other naked.

“Not a tattoo?”

Ron smiled at him and explained the instances he got the scar.

“Ah, I have learned to like it. It has become a part of me.”

“Definitely…”

To be honest, one could not overlook the “96” scar as it was so huge. But what fascinated him more was the intricate firmness of Ron’s shoulder blade. Toto realised later that Ron was not fond of wearing T-shirts underneath his hoodies or pullovers. The shadow of a bare chest followed his sleepless nights.

Toto thought about it long and hard when they were on the rooftop battling against Winter Moriarty at Shibuya. Ron asked for his help about searching for clues that had something to do with his scar and that could be found within the surrounding areas. The police officer could not help it, but his vision went straight toward Ron’s gorgeous left shoulder blade where the huge 96 was. The wind blew the collar away that it exposed the skin. Ron was not wearing a shirt with only his pullover hiding his upper torso. Toto gasped.

Damn it. They were in the middle of a crime scene exchanging wits with a Moriarty clan member and all he could think of was Ron’s white smooth skin and the muscles that defined his shoulders. Ron followed Toto’s line of sight, and an image of a lighted bulb appeared on his mind.

“As expected of my partner,” Ron said, who tried to lighten up the mood a day later after Toto informed him and Spitz that the cadaver in the morgue was not that of a suspect but someone else.

“What do you mean, Ron?” Spitz asked, curious, putting down the iced black tea on the table. The three men were at Ron’s apartment to go over the recent case.

“I asked Toto for clues. I never thought that the M Family henchman meant me and my scar. That was the reason I realised that Toto’s supervisor and the victim were in the same building.”

Quick thinking. Another asset that Ron possessed. Toto was so lucky to have known this person.

Spitz said his goodbyes mentioning that he could not stay longer and had to fly back to London as his students were waiting for him. The police officer, however, stayed.

“Are you still feeling distraught concerning the suspect and the victim?” Ron grabbed his drink, which consisted mainly of ice cubes and kuromitsu.

Toto found out from Amamiya that the victim chose to kill himself hours after Ron saved him. It made him wonder how huge the M Family’s influence all over the world was not only in England.

“There was a split second where the suspect looked scared though after you guessed it correctly. Do you think he was talking to the boss?” Toto focused on the floor.

Caught off guard, Ron spilled his black sugar syrup drink on his T-shirt.

“Ahh… apologies, Toto. I think I must change.” Ron took off his shirt right there and then that made Toto freeze on his seat. His mouth forming an O.

Mesmerised with the scar and the shoulder blade before him, Toto forgot to ask anymore questions.

He touched his forehead then shook his head in disbelief. Suddenly the room began to feel warm despite the ventilator running on the ceiling. He untied his necktie, rolled it nicely and pocketed it inside his grey suit.

“Are you all right, Toto?”

“Y-yeah… I felt so warm. Is all.”

“The room has a nice temperature, don’t you think?”

The police officer nodded. Vigorously. He supposed. The younger man came closer to him still undressed.

“Lately, I have been noticing things, albeit small, on you, Toto,” Ron began his speech. “You have a penchant for my shoulder blades, my left one specifically, is that so?”

Toto did not, well, could not, answer. He was tongue-tied and so Ron continued.

“Would you like to touch them?” Ron took the police officer’s hands and put them on his shoulders. “There… there…”

Like a scorching hot pancake, he put them away at once.

“Toto…” Ron sat then on his chair gesturing Toto to sit on his lap. “Come here…”

Like an obedient child, Toto followed Ron’s orders. He looked at this former shut-in with delectable blue eyes and an intellect so great he could not believe his luck.

At first, he hugged Ron and then placed his face on his left shoulder. Sensing that the forbidden detective was waiting for more, he sniffed it then bit Ron’s shoulder without further ado. It made the latter moan. Like a victim of a vampire, Ron made it more accessible to Toto, who was trying to control himself that he did not go for the overkill. Like a cat, he began to lick the “96” scar down to his shoulders.

“If you do not continue this Toto, I would be very disappointed…”

“Huh?”

“I would like to go on please… let’s go to my room!”

And Toto could not say no to that.

~tbc~

[risuola]

I — A PRINCESS // F. READER x TOBIRAMA SENJU

There wasn't much that Tobirama wouldn't agree to do in order to keep the village he loves safe and strong, so it didn't take him long to agree to an arranged marriage that was meant to give Konoha a valuable ally.

contents: no specific warnings. slight objectifying of women, underage marriages mentioned, arranged marriage duh — 3,4k words

POLITICALLY LOVELESS || SERIES MASTERLIST

When Hashirama informed about the newest political arrangement that was already set and decided, Tobirama couldn’t disagree to fulfill his duties. As the fresh settlement between Konoha and the neighbor village of the land of Hot Water bloomed, it was required to join forces with them. In order to ensure peaceful co-existing and gain protection from the Land of Fire, Yugakure offered their princess. The Kage, Minozuki of the small, but powerful clan Yasu, as a sign of ultimate unition let go of his daughter to marriage, but demanded a husband of the highest rank for her. Joining forces with the village of hot springs made a direct impact on Konoha’s forces, as the shinobi from the smaller nation were well seasoned in war, for years offering their combat-related services, taking part in many conflicts. Knowing the importance of matter, in time where wars were hanging in the air, Hashirama agreed to the requirements, offering the highest available individual for the princess. His brother.

Tobirama was always convinced he’ll end up in loveless, political marriage, as love and affection were things he couldn’t afford. He had his hands full in the village, making sure every decision made was the best one possible. He was the brain of Konoha, taking care of politics, formalities, negotiations and on top of that, he was a curious and ambitious man, so every time he had spared, he used to develop new techniques, research topics that he deemed interesting and resting. When the idea of arranged marriage with a foreign princess was brought up to him, he agreed with no further discussion, unbothered by the thought of now sharing his life with someone. A princess.

Whilst traveling to Yugakure to meet Minozuki and to take his daughter away from him, Tobirama took time to refresh everything he knew about the village of hot springs. It made for a small dot on the map, but their shinobi were one of the best: skillful, all-rounded ninjas that took part in conflicts that Senju fought in as well and Tobirama could recall few of those that stood with him side by side, facing dangers that frightened others away. Having a diplomatic conciliation with them was highly beneficial to Konoha and silently he was proud of Hashirama for making such a great deal, politically speaking. But besides that, Tobirama was also aware of a culture and traditions that Yugakure cultivated for decades now, that he found odd enough to feel uneasy at the thought of marrying one of them. A princess. Being a man so informed, so engrossed in research and so hungry for knowledge, the young Senju had never even heard about Minozuki having a daughter. She was well hidden for many years and it was troublesome enough to make him worried about the age of said princess. Yu leader was relatively a young man, by the looks of him, so his daughter could possibly be any age and although it wasn’t uncommon for males to tie with underage wives, for Tobirama it was troublesome. With Hashirama he had fought for years to let children be children and give them time to grow before they face adult responsibilities.

Arriving at the gates, the young Senju was escorted into the palace in the middle of the village. The place was warm and welcoming, but he knew that the smiles plastered on everyone’s faces as he was passing by them were artificial. Given five hours to rest after travel, Tobirama changed his clothes and familiarized himself with the details of agreement, searching for any clue about the mysterious princess. A princess. It told him just enough to know she’s a female, but he would like to know more. It wasn’t necessary for the political issue for him to know the person he marries, but his curiosity was unfulfilled. Tobirama was a man that liked to be informed about every detail possible and if there was no one who could explain things to him, he would do his own research on the matter. This princess wasn’t a matter that could be researched as there are no traces of Minozuki even having a partner, not to say a child.

Feeling the heavy tension in his shoulders, Tobirama sat down on the pillow cushioned floor, facing the leader of Yugakure. The man situated in front of him had a slight smile glued to his face, being visibly proud of the deal he managed to get with Konoha, but no princess was around him. As the maids spread down various snacks on the short table between them, following closely with a porcelain tea set that was soon filled with greenest tea Senju had ever seen, the meeting was cued.

“I hope your travel was eventless, lord Senju,” Minozuki said, beginning with trivial questions to loosen up the tension buildup in the air. “How was your arrival? I delegated my best soldiers to escort you.”

“The travel was calm,” Tobirama spoke, internally hating the plain talk. “Thank you, I was welcomed well.”

“I’m glad. I’ve already expressed my gratitude towards the Lord First, regarding the agreement that we managed to reach but I feel obliged to also show my deepest respects towards you. As you might know, I’m offering my dearest daughter to the marriage and I can only hope she’ll meet all your needs and desires.”

“I hoped to meet your daughter here, before I take her tomorrow to Konoha.” The Senju spoke, already hating the way Minozuki voiced his statements. He was offering the daughter like he would offer a blanket – golden, but blanket nonetheless – hoping it’ll meet the requirements.

“My daughter is attending her last traditional lecture with elders before leaving the village and moving to the Land of Fire, but I can assure you, Lord Senju, that my daughter is pleasing to the eye. I made sure she remained as pure as possible for her future husband. I’m sure she’ll be done before we finish revisiting the details and then, I’ll invite her here.”

“That would be appreciated.”

If Tobirama was to point red flags, Minozuki would be the biggest and reddest one in the entire proximity of Konoha but Senju was aware of traditions and rituals Yugakure cultivted for decades, so he couldn’t question them too much. If anything, he was worried about tearing the princess out of the world full of said habits. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Tobirama spent nearly three hours talking with the kage of Yu, making the most out of his diplomatic skills and making sure no misunderstandings were left hanging, as he wasn’t present in the initial conversation between Yasu and Hashirama. Everything that needed to be said and discussed, regarding the formal procedures was covered during that meeting and when it was coming to an end, one of the servants entered the room, bowing lowly and apologizing for interruption.

“Is my daughter finished with elders?” Minozuki asked and the servant confirmed. “Please bring her in. Lord Senju wishes to meet her.”

With another bow, the man left and a mid-aged woman entered, leading another, much younger girl. A girl, that Tobirama assumed was the mysterious princess, was dressed in a simple, dark kimono with bright flowers embroidered on the bottom and fading the higher they reached, with sleeves long enough to hide her hands completely and with another layer of fabric, that covered her chest up to her jaw. Minozuki raised up and so did Tobirama, as the father approached his daughter, leading her a little further into the room. When they were close enough, she bowed ninety degrees and sat down on her knees next to the kage, after both men situated themselves back on their seats. The princess. You.

Looking at you, Senju couldn’t focus on anything other than the black strip of satin fabric that was tied around your eyes.

“You probably wonder, why would I keep my own daughter blindfolded,” Yu leader noticed the interest. “As I reassured you before, the princess has been kept pure, protected from the shameless men that arrive at our village to enjoy the hot waters. I did everything to keep her out of foul experiences.”

“I see,” Tobirama nodded slightly, understanding nothing from the tradition that was presented to him. You were quiet and by the look of your body-form, slightly tensed as your father kept his iron grip on your forearm, claiming his control over you. From what Senju could see, you were quite tall but petite in figure, with the length of your hair unknown as they were neatly tied at the back of your head in a low bun. Your skin was clear and supple but nothing more than that he could tell. Your face remained a mystery, due to half of it being covered and it didn’t truly matter how his wife would look like but it would for sure give him a little clue about your age. Without it, he could only assume you were in your teens or, preferably, early twenties, judging by the curves that your kimono accentuated. “May I ask how old is your daughter?”

With the most disgusting smile Tobirama had ever seen in his life, Minozuki responded redundantly, “she’s old enough to fulfill her duties. I can assure you, Lord Senju, you won’t be disappointed by the transaction. Now, as our discussion has been completed, I’d love to give my daughter the last lecture before her departure but if that’s what you’d wish for, I’m willing to send her to the chamber you’re staying in at night.”

“We’re set to leave early in the morning so I’d prefer to have her well rested. The walk is quite long.”

“As you wish, Lord Senju. My servants will lead you to your staying chamber.”

With a firm handshake, the meeting ended and you were taken away as Tobirama was walked to his room, confused as ever. He had been offered many women during the short time since Konoha has been established, which all of them he had to reject simply because of lack of the benefit to the village but this… you. You were such a mystery to him, with no face, no voice, no signs of personality. You were kept hidden as gem by your village, but Senju wasn’t stupid. With his exceptional sensing abilities, he felt the chakra that was hidden inside that petite frame, he felt the captivating mixture of light and darkness filling every cell of your body, he felt the power of which one would never suspect you just by glancing at you. It was well known the Yasu clan in which you were born is powerful and it’s only right to assume you, as the successor, are powerful as well. Hashirama even told him, that in his initial conversation he was made aware of the training that the princess had to go through to be worthy of her position.

With the thought of how many changes he’s probably not ready for are coming, Tobirama tried to rest at night. Being bothered five times by the maids and servants wasn’t benefiting his sleep, but he pushed through the night hours, overthinking every single one of his life decisions. Yes, he was ready for marriage that’s purely political and yes, he’s more than alright with it being loveless. Hashirama had the luck to marry Mito Uzumaki, that although it was more on the arranged side, they fell in love and created a happy couple for which Tobirama couldn’t be happier. His brother deserved a good family, he needed someone who could cherish him and his angelic character, his loving heart, his kind intentions and Mito checked all of the boxes, with the addition of having enough power to proudly stand next to the hokage. When it came to himself, Tobirama knew his partner would have to be higher-rank to keep the appearances but he couldn’t imagine himself being all lovey-dovey with anyone. With so much war tattooed in his memory, so many losses and so much blood, his emotions were buried deep inside of him but he enjoyed the calm that his home is and this calm was about to end.

Early in the morning, he got ready and led by a servant he met Minozuki at the gates to Yugakure. He was there, with you by his side, controllingly keeping his grip on your arm as your eyes were kept covered. You were dressed less formally but still far from travel ready, in long dress with a high collar and a black blouse underneath, so your arms were covered. Everything was kept in dark navy color that complimented your skin tone and hair. It was also a shade that Tobirama himself felt the best in and he wondered if they chose your attire based on that.

“Lord Senju,” he welcomed and you bent in half, bowing with excessive respect that was forced upon you. It was clear that it was your father who pushed you lower than you’d probably go by yourself. With a soft nod, Tobirama acknowledged the head of the village, addressing him officially. “I’m devoting my beloved daughter to your hands in hopes for her safety and our successful cooperation.”

“I will make sure to send a notice when we arrive in Konoha.”

“That would earn you my endless gratitude. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend the wedding ceremony but I hope you’ll visit our land soon, to celebrate the marriage in our wonderful hot springs.”

“If the duties allow. Now, it’s best if we take off already. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Pleasure’s on our side.”

With the exchange of bows and the short goodbye you said to your father, you left the village, led by Tobirama’s hand placed delicately on your shoulder. The Senju decided to keep the blindfold on for a little longer, until the gates closed and then he stopped you.

“Excuse me if I sound disrespectful towards your traditions, but I find this ridiculous,” he informed bluntly and pulled the band off your head, finally revealing your face. “You can open your eyes and talk.”

It took you a moment to accommodate your eyes to the bright morning sunlight. “I find this ridiculous as well,” you said quietly, finally raising your eyes to look at the man you were given to. From the deep voice you expected someone older, but as you took in his features, you could tell he was in his mid to late twenties. He looked stunning in the morning sunrays with his pale complexion marked with three thin, red lines; his light, almost white hair and long, sharp eyes. Way taller than you, strongly built, he looked almost godly in the early aura of the day. You bowed to him already, but as you saw him for the first time, you felt the need to lower your head once more. “It’s an honor to meet you, my Lord.”

“Your father refers to you as his daughter or the princess. Could I know your name?”

“My name is y/n. Y/n Yasu.”

“Tobirama Senju,” he introduced himself, slightly relieved you were not so strictly tied by tradition as you seemed before. “I’ve noticed your father is quite… protective towards you.”

“If by protective, the controlling is meant then yes, I would say it might be true,” you gave the thought a slight nod and both of you moved forward.

“I see. Well, we have a long walk ahead of us, so if you have any questions that would be the best time to ask them. Tomorrow we will be a husband and wife and after that, I’m afraid I’ll be consumed by my duties.”

“I’ve been told that you are busy in the village. I’ll do my best to not interfere with your duties, my Lord,” you said and thought about the questions you had. There were so many things that you had no idea how to even ask about. Last thing you wanted to do right after meeting him was to annoy him. “Could you tell me what is your role in Konoha?”

“I’d say I’m the voice of reason to my brother, Hashirama, who is the hokage. I take care of diplomacy, negotiations, I’m part-taking in decisions and I do research on the art of ninjutsu or train,” Tobirama said bluntly and you nodded, understanding his role as the right hand to hokage was indeed important. You could also already tell, Tobirama wasn’t the warmest of a person, by the way he spoke and looked at you, it was clear that marriage is one of his duties and he treated it strictly as one. That hinted a loveless, lonely life.

“I would like to know the history that stands behind founding Konoha, so if that’s something you, or someone else, could familiarize me with, I’d be grateful.”

“There are documents on that matter in my, no, in our home that you’ll be more than welcome to read,” he said, smiling slightly, pleased with your curiosity of his homeland. You were, after all, meant to represent it, to protect it, to fight for it and, if necessary, to die for it. That was what his wife was required to represent – the love to the village he loves.

“That would be wonderful,” you smiled as well and sighed right after, deciding to ask questions that were important to you, risking his annoyance. “Am I allowed to touch you?”, questioning it you expected a scoff, but were met with quiet hum that told you to extend on the topic. “I’m by no means clingy, don’t misunderstand me, my Lord. But I was told by people around whom I’ve been raised that my love language is physical contact. I wouldn’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“I see. Well, we will be husband and wife tomorrow and I would only assume it comes with its delicacies. Although I find it hard to answer as of right now.”

“Understood,” you nodded, taking a mental note to stay cautious. “In that case, if I do anything you find uncomfortable, please inform me so I can act on it.”

“Of course.”

“Ah yes, I recall you asking about my age,” you reminded yourself, replaying the short conversation you’ve witnessed the day before. “Is that something that still interests you, my Lord?”

“Yes. The information was kept hidden and that concerns me. You do look young and it is known that what me and my brother wanted to achieve was letting children live their lives as children, before they face adult duties. Saying that, it only worries me that you might be younger than I’d want my wife to be.”

Chuckling quietly, you felt the weight dropping off your shoulders. Ever since you were informed about the marriage, your father assumed the younger you are, the better for a man that was about to marry you. You were told to present yourself as sixteen to seventeen, which was the smallest number believable with your youthful looks. In Yugakure it wasn’t a foreign concept to girl being given up to marriage even at the age of thirteen and Minozuki assumed, and even openly told you, you’re too old to find yourself a husband.

“Is there something funny?”, Tobirama asked seeing your amusement and you shook your head.

“I apologize, my Lord,” you lowered your head slightly, showing respect. “I was instructed to say I just turned sixteen in assumption that the younger I am, the more attractive you might find me. It’s well practiced in my land to arrange marriages at very young age for females. We have girls as young as fourteen to give birth to their first child.”

“That’s what I heard as well, hence my worry.”

“I’m 21. Is that closer to what you’d expect your wife to be?”

“So, five years age gap. Sounds reasonable. I’m relieved.”

“I’m glad. I have no muscle memory to act sixteen and by the few moments I now spent with you, I can tell you’d find it annoying, wouldn’t you, my Lord?”, asking that, you already knew the answer even if he wasn’t going to say it out loud.

“By this pace, we’ll reach Konoha by evening,” he said after a moment of silence, internally annoyed by the slow walk. On his way towards Yugakure, he managed to reach the village in just few hours and now it seemed like a waste of time to just walk slowly on the ground. There was a wedding tomorrow and he needed to fill few formalities by the ceremony. “Would you mind if I use my technique to get us faster into the village?”

“Please,” you agreed, aware of his reputation for speed.

[hornyhermitry]

These are not the Zenins you’re looking for - Naobito & Naoya ramblings and then some

Since there’s no real alternative for longer rants with a personal flavour, let’s give this a shot here on tumblr I guess? Heh.

Preface

General Naobito facts:

71 years → born in 1946, died 2018

Curse Technique: Projection Sorcery

Special Grade 1 Sorcerer

One younger brother - Ogi Zenin

Probably one older brother - unnamed, father of Toji Zenin

(I assume Ogi is younger because they are clearly not twins from the way they look, Ogi looks younger and Ogi’s children Maki & Mai are ca. 10 years younger than Naobito’s son Naoya).

Three sons - youngest son Naoya (27 years in 2018 - born when Naobito was 44)

Fastest Jujucist (except for Gojo Satoru)

Both Naobito & Naoya are names that translate to honesty & straightforwardness. Naobito’s further includes a meaning of “helpful/support”

Hobby: Anime

Favorite food: Sake

Least favorite food: Fishcake

Observations & conclusions from his manga scenes:

Confident, determined, affirmative, tactical (ref. Dagon fight + Jogo appearance right before the burn, doesn’t mind losing an arm, thinks ahead of Toji going for Dagon and jumps in to distract in support)

Cocky & playful, enjoys fighting (often grinning, excited to see Dagon evolve, taunts Nanami “Two 1st grades cannot exorcise (Dagon)?”)

Petty (annoyed by everyone fixated on 4K 60FPS and stupid numbers, retorts to Maki wanting to take Clan Lead)

He was drinking and did not care about Maki leaving the clan. There was no mockery and no attempt to stop her. Only when she said she’d become the next clan head, he asked if he should make her life harder.

He showed up to Shibuya to help out the rest (Maki mocks his drinking habits, with cans next to him he shouts over to her to bring him drinks, but later he nonchalantly breathes into Nanami’s face and we see he actually has not been drinking) and is excited to hear Gojo has been sealed, wants to celebrate.

Maki antagonizes him uncalled for, a bait he does not take but tells her matter of factly she should be the one to go home, to which Nanami agrees.

Assumption based on minor clues

Clan head since the 80s or 90s — depending on circumstances.

→ 2018-1185 (Zenin at the very least date back to Heian times) = 833 years with 26 Zenin clan heads= average leadership of 32 years = his latest “starting date” would have been 1999.

IMO it is very likely he took over earlier than that, because as far as averages go, it usually is way longer spans that are interspersed with very short ones.

(see: “medieval life expectancy was just 31” which did not have most people die at 31 but caused by a high infant mortality seeking the average - you either died as a kid or lived into your 60s).

I think he took over in the mid to late 80s because that sets up the unfortunate situation his family line had to deal with.

On a factual level it’s also not unlikely, because the first half of the 20th century was a chaotic time all around the globe, full of societal shifts and political conflicts that may have potentially led to Naobito’s father/Naoya’s grandfather dying “early”.

Anyway. I present to you:

THE LIFE & TIMES OF NAOBITO ZENIN aka HOLY HEADCANON

The historical context is what makes Naobito so interesting to me and further supports my personal controversial headcanon that:

Naobito & Naoya Zenin are NOT the major players in the, let’s call it “traditional Zenin camp” that exiled Toji and used all kinds of shady internal clan politics to keep power systems up.

Let me take you on a very exhaustive detour on what Naobito being 71 years old in 2018 translates to.

He was born at the brink of World War II and in the wake of the atomic bomb.

During his lifespan, Japan went from a humbled country on its knees to a major player in the global economy, driving technological advancements. During his youth, Japan’s patriotism loosened and a lot of American culture was adapted - the yankii subculture rose to prominence.

JJK readers were told that the Heian era was the peak of jujucists. IRL historically, it was a time famous for many violent conflicts and natural disasters.

Since JJK establishes negative emotions breed curses and cursed energy, this means Naobito‘s young years must have been infested with stronger curses than ever, spawned from the aftermath, suffering, resentment and personal tragedies of WWII, Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

Born in 1946 within months of arguably the worst moment of Japanese history, emerging with a new technique utilising modern animation processes, his potential power upon birth likely matched the new level of curse threats, enabling him to eventually become the fastest Jujucist alive with the use of his modern technique. Growing up in a strongly American-influenced Japan in a rapidly changing world, he was a completely different person than his father (who had seen multiple wars but no massive technological and social progress yet) likely was.

Being the middle child, his father was likely 25-45 years older than him (men back then often fathered their first child between 19 & 23, so I assume he fathered his middle child at 25+), therefore born between 1921 and 1900. This makes him very likely a very hardline conservative patriot who took great pride in the battles he fought in - either during WWI or WWII or even both. A man raised in the spirit of a proud nationalist Japan at the peak of its expansionist mindset across Asia, high in spirits from the successful war against Russia and winning military campaigns in China, Singapore and more East Asian territories. Japan during Naobito’s father’s youth wore uniforms and kimonos.

Whereas Naobito’s social upbringing (outside of his father’s direct influence) was shaped by a more globalist approach and culture, appeasing to the West and showing e.g. through the Olympics of 1964 what a modern country they had become. So when Naobito was 18, Tokyo modernised its post-war infrastructure and built both the Metro as well as the Shinkansen connecting Tokyo and Osaka which kicked off the economic growth in a global spotlight and highlighted how well Japan had rebuilt itself after the defeat 20 years ago. Japan during Naobito’s youth wore slacks, jeans and white shirts. He is old in 2018, but he is a "modern man" in comparison to what came before and he is accustomed to change and progress.

Due to this clash of ideals and lived realities in the world around them, I think Naobito and his father had a very rocky relationship once Naobito entered puberty (and listened to jazz, blues, rock and dressed in blue jeans and leather jackets) and that they had some fundamentally different views on things.

The realities of external life could not have been more different between Naobito’s father and Naobito. Whether it was the world around them or the eventual standing of their clan, Naobito was dealt a very different hand of cards than a very very long line of Zenins in previous generations had been dealt for many centuries.

Due to going up against a man with so much pride and confidence when emancipating himself as his own person, I believe Naobito grew a strong backbone and was a very genuine, upright person - within the limits of his time and upbringing. Much more progressive and less patriotic than his father in any case, which surely was a source of conflict. Yet, I suspect that succeeding in spite of his father’s disapproval is what fueled him to become a more capable and autonomous person than his brothers are and to show that an allegedly inferior curse technique will not hold him back. But Naobito and his father did not only clash about this. In the later Hakari introduction chapter, JJK establishes there are several political factions and some are in favor of traditional millenia old curse techniques like Megumi's 10 Shadows or Gojo's Six Eyes and shun new curse techniques like Projection Sorcery and Idle Gambling that only emerged with new technology. Since sorcerer grades are based on Jujutsu strength and such, people with a modern curse technique are clowned on and not properly being recognized - which applies to both Naobito and Naoya.

The realities of life for Naobito and Naoya are very similar and Naoya’s life is dealing with similar challenges as his father’s. Unlike his father, Naobito was confronted with the reality of established values, routines and social hierarchies becoming horribly moot and due to his own curse technique not being a prestigious one, he was forced to reevaluate the legitimacy of what his father had taught him and what old clans perpetuated. Both in light of the changing world and also his own value as a person and a jujucist. Naoya was confronted with a similar road to growth and reevaluating the classic Jujutsu society & clan values, also having received the same modern technique as his father and witnessing the new kind of strength Toji wielded.

While I do say that Naobito is a different man than his father, I am a firm believer that “the apple does not fall far from the tree” and very much see the likeness between Naobito and Naoya. I feel I should clarify this applies more to personality traits than opinions and I think all three of them are more straightforward and more blunt than the other family lines.

The people readers are told to be suffering by the Zenin family’s actions and opinions are Maki and Toji.

Both of which are not Naobito’s children. They are children of Naobito’s older and younger brothers.

Naobito’s unknown older brother exiles Toji due to him being resented and seen useless by the majority of the clan for not having techniques or energy, Naobito’s younger brother Ogi and his wife raise Maki & Mai in a cruel way, on top of that Ogi is shown to secretly plot behind people’s backs and be involved (with e.g. Jinichi) in inner-clan intrigues and betrayal. Funny enough, Toji himself is shown to be as much of a schemer (as seen through his bounty plan) and backstabber (pun intended) in line with his upbringing.

Naoya & Naobito on the other hand speak their mind openly, announce their gripes and do what they want. Naoya and Naobito are not schemers, they very much are -in accordance with their names - straightforward.

Naoya is many things, but he is not a liar.

Both Naoya and Nabito are eccentrics with a very flashy style that does not conform to plain traditions:

Naoya with his piercings and dyed hair (I’ve previously mentioned his white hakama being unusual for men, which still holds true, but it is not uncommon for high rank swordsmen to wear white ones, so I have now come to conclude these indicate his rank as Chief of the Hei) and Naobito, as an old man, sporting this over the top moustache.

There is an idiom about Japanese society that the nail who sticks out gets hammered down. Both Naoya and Naobito are doing everything to stand out and refuse to fall in line with unreflected traditional actions.

Both have not inherited the Ten Shadows technique but Projection Sorcery - as a result, both are on their own side which aligns more with the reformer side (that contains other Jujucists such as Hakari & Kirara who also have modern techniques), than the conventional conservatives (such as the higher ups or the Kamos. On that note, take a moment to reflect on the implications of Maki and Mai wearing modern school uniforms while Kamo Junior wears a uniform that much more resembles traditional clan attire: The Kamos are as conservative as the Zenins and probably more so than Naobito).

Both Naobito and Naoya are denied their perceived birthright purely by the unfortunate existence of Gojo Satoru and his Six Eyes, and Megumi having the 10 Shadows Technique, for the first time in hundreds of years denying the Zenin’s claim to fame.

Since Gojo was born 1989, I personally like to imagine Naobito tasted clan leadership as “the strongest” (and, in his case, fastest) for at least a few years before the one to change the world’s balance was born - simultaneously stealing Naobito’s position at the peak of the Jujutsu world and also denying that of his at that point two sons. Toji was already past the point of manifesting a cursed technique and therefore all existing “sons” of the Zenin family were ruled out to take their clan’s glory back from Gojo Satoru.

So Naobito tried and succeeded in having another son - I believe this is why Naoya was fathered by him as late as at 44 years. All hopes to restore the waning Zenin power were now on this little boy growing up. Would he be the one to manifest 10 Shadows and make the Zenin a worthy competitor to the Gojo clan again?

No.

Naobito, at this point already several years into watching his clan’s decline, lost the last bit of hope to restore its glory by traditional means and standards when his son manifested his very own curse technique: Projection Sorcery. Personally, I believe that your curse technique is heavily related to your personality - or call it soul if you like - and both Naobito and Naoya having the same technique reflects their similarity in character.

So Naobito raised Naoya to try and surpass the competing Gojo Six Eyes boy even without inheriting the jackpot technique.

While I do believe that Naoya was pampered by servants and women growing up, being the son of the Clan Lead and future Zenin heir in a long line of proud Jujucists, I also coin Naobito as one to give tough love, and demand a lot and would assume Ogi resented him because he would remind him of his own lack of potential, lack of power and lack of future.

On the topic of Ogi:

He is a weak, bitter man who holds resentment for everyone around him and blames everyone but himself for his shortcomings.

Being the youngest brother, his upbringing was different from Naobito‘s and I imagine that especially after witnessing his father and older brother argue and clash, he tried to suck up to his father by being a yesman to all his views and often tried to throw his older brothers under the bus and snitch about his activities.

He has always been a miserable rat with no backbone, hoping for another authority figure to spoonfeed him power.

He never learned that power is not given but taken and failed to take ownership for his life and actions right until his death.

Toji‘s father/Naobito‘s older brother:

I have little thoughts about Toji‘s father/Naobito‘s older brother, but I think he also clashed with his father and (this is super out there) maybe refused to take responsibility despite being the firstborn son and had no interest in leading the clan. I think he was on good terms with Naobito either way and I can see the two of them in their late teens/early 20s out in town, wearing jeans, pomade in their hair, smoking, flirting and riding around on motorbikes with Ogi nagging on the backseat how irresponsible, shameful and reckless they are while they tell the miserable virgin to shut up and learn to be a man.

(In fact, this is the Zenin backstory I want to read and write about, hahaha).

I consider it possible Ogi remained unmarried/a virgin for most his life and only decided to marry a few years after Naobito‘s youngest son Naoya had also failed to manifest Ten Shadows, in a last ill-guided attempt to steal his brother‘s superiority by fathering a child with the golden curse technique. Unfortunately Maki and Mai did not get it either and, to add insult to injury, were girls. Ogi must have been seething about his unlikely decision to marry after all. Possibly he was talked into it by others in the Zenin clan who did not hold Naobito and his ways and his son Naoya in high regard - considering them too unruly and progressive, affirming their future support to Ogi‘s line if he ever takes action.

Either way, I think Ogi and Naobito (and Naoya) are on bad terms and Ogi is a weak rat that deserves to be stepped on by greater people.

Most readers sympathise with Maki and Megumi and their goals and views because that‘s the lense through which we see the story, but take a step back to think about the legitimacy of it for a moment.

Maki leaving the clan is fair, but why would she (or unwilling Megumi) be suitable candidates for leading what‘s essentially a business with lives and salaries and adult people in national positions of power and military units? The thought of it is absurd. It‘s only natural for Naoya, who was raised into this responsibility from a young age, to be outraged over a noname teenager stealing his legacy from him the moment he was supposed to get it in his mid to late 20s. It’s as outrageous as Gojo taking it from Naobito.

My personal headcanon on Naobito’s drinking habit is that it formed in his later years, after Gojo’s curse technique emerged. Struggling to come to grips in his mid 50s, after a life lived for the Zenin legacy for ultimately nothing, watching the power loss and decline of relevancy the Zenin hold after the unfortunate event series - Toji energyless and exiled - Gojo born with Six Eyes - Naoya not having Ten Shadows - from the sidelines of history and the center stage of his clan, with his older brother & his father definitely already dead at this point and him being left with the joke of a person that Ogi is, he took to drinking. “If it‘s all drifting into irrelevancy, I might as well sit back and have a drink in my remaining years.” Something to this extent. In line with this, writing Megumi into his will was a drop in the ocean and at this point no dent in the current state of the clan already past its prime in his eyes.

And yet, old Naobito, leader of the most powerful and wealthy Jujutsu clan (who does not need money) goes to help with the curse outbreak in Shibuya. Sober, despite Maki‘s claims.

And he does not pull a Kusakabe avoiding the curses roaming around but genuinely puts in effort to defeat Dagon and save Maki (who left the clan) after telling her to go home (which against all reason she refuses out of teenage thickheadedness and nearly dies burnt to a crisp as a consequence).

Whereas her father, Naobito‘s little brother Ogi, throws her into a cursed pit to die.

Now, as for Naoya.

Unlike Maki's mother, he does not try to stop her from getting to the curse tools. Unlike her father, he does not throw her into a cursed pit to die. Unlike Jinichi he is not involved in a plot to have her killed.

He mocks her for having an ugly face, rendering her a total failure (on top of not having CE and being a bad fighter). Compared to what everyone else is doing to her, that is really tame.

What I find interesting and most people oddly gloss over, is how he asks her if her plan is to stay in the shadow of Megumi and Yuta.

The implication of this is that he looks down on her choice to tag along behind two other boys — instead of rising up to defeat the odds stacked against her which he potentially considers her capable of. If he was not considering her worthy of being her own person, why would he mock her for being in the shadow of those two? Much like Naobito raised Naoya with tough love, I think this (unconsciously) is a jab at Maki to take Naoya and Naobito as a role model (instead of her weak father) and rise to greatness despite the odds. Somewhere in that douchebaggery of his, he considers her biggest fault her passiveness and acceptance of other people’s low opinion of her and tries to get her to snap and rethink. Be the rebel that Naobito and Naoya also are and were.

I think Naoya, with his definition of and thoughts on strength, his contrarian taunting of everyone else in the clan after his father’s death, had plans to reform the Zenin clan in his own vision once his time as a head comes, to mare sure it will be sustainable in a new age of Jujutsu with less outdated ways of thinking. Naoya has his own agenda. He is not following anyone else's. He does not care for Sukuna's plans, he does not care about Kenjaku's plans. He does not care about Gojo's or Maki's plans (the latter ofc only up until she is all up in his face with her actions) he just wants to get promoted, nothing more. That's not any bizarrely evil masterplan, just a guy trying to steer his life in accordance with his personal vision and goals.

One of my most genuine headcanons about Naoya is that, without Maki and Megumi, he’d have been with Hakari’s and Kirara’s reformer faction and wouldn’t ever have been perceived as an antagonist at all. Because he is not a villain, he is an antagonist, and specifically for Maki & Megumi - he has zero personal agenda with the rest of the cast (aside from Gojo in the broadest sense, but in the same way his father already had it and just lived with it).

Naoya’s whole life revolved around two things: eventually stepping up to lead the clan and to prove himself worthy despite an inferior curse technique, so naturally Megumi stealing the head position from him with contractual fineprint pisses him off to the max. And then to add insult to injury, his “untalented, ugly little cousin” runs amok and slaughters the clan he was supposed to inherit right under his nose. Which he, interestingly, kind of brushes off like water under the bridge and just mocks her for being heartless. He holds no sentimental feelings towards those people murdered there, going by his lack of reaction. And does not care about the Zenin legacy being wiped out for the most part. Which hints at him having prepared for a reform that has now become moot through Maki’s actions.

Now only his other goal in life remains. To be the strongest next to Toji and Gojo. And had Maki not challenged that, had it been anyone else over a different topic, he would not have cared. But his biggest insecurity aka driver was prodded and his arrogance and refusal to acknowledge strength in another Zenin child not him became his downfall. On that note, I also do not consider him a misogynist in particular - he is a petty, spiteful instigator and goader and shittalks everyone. He baits Jinichi into attacking him, he baits Maki in a sexist way, he shittalks women in front of his aunt and he shittalks his brothers to Choso. He does not exclusively single out women to disrespect, he disrespects ANYONE. (Like young Gojo by the way, who behaved the same before he met Geto - all these kids raised into clans, especially as child prodigies set up for future greatness, have little respect for others. A baseline a big ego and a certain arrogance and always feeling better than the rest, no natural instinct to care for others and no respect for established rules are traits both share. Fortunately, Geto opened Gojo’s eyes on the responsibility of strength and taught him some consideration and at least a little humility and kindness. Otherwise, Gojo and Naoya would indeed be standing right next to each other, in arrogance and disrespect for those lower than them).

For what it’s worth, I think Naoya is sexist but the one who is an actual misogynist is Ogi. And that’s why Naoya’s treating Ogi’s wife and daughters mockingly the same way their father/husband does. Yes, there is a difference between sexism (crude prejudice and discrimination) and misogynism (actual contempt and dislike/hatred of women). And while we’re at it -- most of Jujutsu society’s clan-raised peers (vs. random recruits like Yuji, Yuta, Todo) will be sexist. They just don’t get a chance to show it in the manga because their arcs revolve around other things. Kenjaku, Sukuna, Gojo, are all certified sexists given their upbringing and backgrounds.But their stories are different ones, so it’s not likely to come up. Although there has been Gojo’s remark about scary women and Sukuna looking forward to killing women - just saying.

Personally, I don’t see characters or people IRL as good or bad, that’s a childish way of thinking and in such narrow simplistic boxes that only fit in children’s cartoons. People are people. Flawed. Everyone has flaws and everyone has reasons why they have those flaws. Some people click better with your own flaws, some end up causing issues in your life. One bad trait and deed or one good trait and deed doesn’t make or break a person. It’s the sum of what you repeatedly do. Intentions are secondary, the outcome of your actions makes it real. “Who’s worse? The demon who killed 2000 humans or the human who told another human her face is ugly?” is a stupid game to play, especially on childish claims like “oh but sexism is real” like death and murder aren’t just because your sheltered little life has been free from them so far. Grow up and start recognizing the realities of physical violence. Anyway. Naoya mocked Maki for being unable to find a husband with her scarred face, her father threw her into a pit to kill her. People who think Naoya is her issue need to get a grip.

The Zenins you are looking for are not this line of the family but the rest.

And I wanna drink sake and watch anime with Naobito. And listen to him telling me stories from his 30s in the late 1970s.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[mynamesaplant]

Day Trip

This one took a lot to get out of my head. Thanks to Mons for their endless inspiration and for urging me forward. --------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: Dawn spends the day with Mai, and Gaeric is pissed about it.

Don't like to read on Tumblr? Find it here on AO3.

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Diamond Clan wasn’t too far offshore, the village nestled in the deep channels of a mighty river delta that flowed through the whole of Hisui. The waters were considerably warmer than that of the northern shore and, although Dawn’s mer body was well adapted to that kind of water, it was a welcome change. She would be cold when she got out of the water, but she wouldn’t be at risk of hypothermia when she clambered out from the sea…

Dawn was caught mid-thought, Adaman sweeping his arms this way and that around the settlement while she lagged behind. Where did her clothes go when she transformed? Did her clothes turn into her pearly coat? Her hair was usually soaked when she exited the water, it was why she started bringing a towel down with her, but her clothes only got wet when she was out of the water and her sopping wet hair dripped on her warm clothes.

Magic could be so weird.

“Dawn,” Adaman calling her name pulled her out of her contemplation and she worked to catch up to the clan leader, his young face pinched with annoyance. “Mustn’t waste any time, Mai is waiting for you.”

This was news to Dawn. In fact, this whole situation was a little odd to her.

The Diamond clan was not unfriendly, far from it, it was just that the Pearl clan tended to gather her up rather protectively and whisk her away to the cold waters of their territory. Adaman had specifically intercepted Ingo and Dawn on their way to the settlement. The man’s scales glittered in the late morning sun as he circled around them in a hypnotic sort of dance. It was relaxed, especially for someone like Adaman who Dawn was sure was unable to relax given his impeccable sense of time.

Although Adaman could be deceptively fast with a few quick swishes of his tail, it didn’t seem like he wanted to attack or to lull them into a false sense of security, but he was acting decidedly un-Adaman-like with his small talk. Ingo chatted with him politely but was bristling with each interruption as the Diamond clan leader managed to insert himself between them and their intended destination.

It took Dawn a few passes to realize, but Adaman seemed to be herding them back to Diamond clan territory with his ever-tightening circles. He knew that infringing on Ingo’s space would make the warden want to put more distance between himself and Adaman, the blue haired mer was taking advantage of that.

“Lord Adaman,” Ingo’s voice finally cut through the conversation like a spear launched through the water. “I’m terribly sorry, but I must get Dawn to the settlement posthaste. Mistress Calaba has a lesson for her today about the practical uses of seaweed for dressing wounds.”

Unbeknownst to Ingo, Dawn made a face of revulsion. Seaweed was not amongst her favorite things. Seaweed was both slimy and rubbery to her adolescent taste buds and smelled of rotten dead fish to her, from the kombu that Beni used to make his seafood-based broths to the seaweed salads she distantly remembered her mother trying to feed her when she was young. When Dawn swam in the sea, she was the only one to screech in panic as pieces of seaweed clung to her bare legs, her brain conjuring images of sea monsters that would drag her to the deep to drown her.

She would rather die than learn more about the disgusting vegetation that the sea had to offer.

“Ingo!” She hissed, loud enough for both of them to hear, but low enough to clue into both of them men of the conspiratorial nature of her beckoning hand. Ingo excused himself and leaned down, his ear close to Dawn as she whispered to him, “Maybe I should go with him. We don’t want to offend Adaman by rejecting him, y’know?”

The warden paused to consider this. It wasn’t that he didn’t take it under advisement, he just wanted to keep an eye on Dawn, and he would not be permitted to tag along to Diamond clan territory with them. His concerns lie with her… chatty disposition. Dawn was a friendly girl, it was nearly impossible not to like her, but she often spoke first and thought later.

“Is there a specific purpose for Dawn’s departure to your station?”

He was trying to stall without being perceived as rude. Adaman waved his hand, mentioning something about Mai needing some help with some items Dawn would find of interest. Ingo was not listening.

He would not be there to help her recover if she said something suspicious. He would not be able to protect her if Diamond clan saw through, at times, tissue thin lies that she had to spin on the fly. If they tried to hurt her – No, Ingo didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to think about how small and delicate she was compared to every other mer. He didn’t want to think about how Melli and Iscan were already suspicious of her.

All he had to do was say no, then it would be the end of that discussion. Adaman would have to accept his choice.

“Ingo,” she must have seen something in his dour expression change minutely, she poked his cheek with a pout on her face. “Trust me. I promise not to say a word.”

He truly wanted to believe that.

“Exhibit caution around Melli and Iscan if they are there. Understood?” Dawn gave him a thumbs up and a bright smile. This was a fun, new adventure for her. “Please do not take this lightly. If anyone were to find out-”

“I’ll be careful!”

She insisted, big black eyes pleading to let her go. His ear twitched and his eyes softened at the expression, nodding in Adaman’s direction in a wordless acknowledgement. Ingo knew Diamond clan was just as protective of pups as Pearl clan was, she would be safe with them.

“I believe Calaba will understand… I will expect you back here promptly before sunset, so that I might escort Dawn back to the settlement unscathed.”

Adaman nodded, offering his reassurances as Dawn joined him at his side. The warden tried to ignore the uneasy churning in his stomach as he watched them go.

After Adaman’s little tour of the settlement, he and Dawn joined Mai at the outskirts. The warden was chatting with some of the other clan members when she noticed their approach and broke off the conversation to greet them. Dawn liked Mai, she was the second mer she ever met, and she had been nothing but kind to her. She was one of the few who didn’t outwardly said anything about Dawn being unusual for a mer. Not even weird looks. Mai was easy-going and took every Dawn said in stride with a serene, unbothered expression.

“Ready to go on a little adventure, kiddo?”

Mai asked after her initial greeting, smile widening when Dawn nodded emphatically. Ushering the teen away, the warden explained that she needed Dawn’s help searching the insides of a wreckage from one of the rifts.

Dawn encountered many rift distortions on land and in the sea, they came in the form of dark bubbles that blotted out the light around it. They would only last for a few minutes, but strange things would appear in them that seemed familiar to Dawn. She explored them, hiding from the animals that were going berserk – like being inside the rifts was driving them into a state of madness. Captain Cyllene, Professor Laventon, and Ingo all warned her to stay out of them, Laventon saying half heartedly because he was also so excited to see what things appeared inside those mysterious distortions.

“What fell through the distortion this time?

“Not sure if I’m being honest.” Mai hummed, allowing Dawn to race ahead and play in the water in her excitement. “They’re big, almost as big as me, so I can’t get inside to investigate.”

“Why not ask Arezu or Sabi?”

Mai was silent for a moment, long enough for Dawn to swivel her head to look at the warden.

“Sabi gets distracted to easily, and Arezu is… indisposed.”

Although the moment was stilted, Dawn shrugged it off and allowed herself to drift back to fall alongside her. She knew why Mai and Adaman had wanted her help as soon as the water grew colder and colder. Gaeric wouldn’t attack Mai for entering their territory with Dawn in tow. It sucked to be a chess piece, but if it got Dawn out and about in the ocean then she supposed she didn’t mind.

------

Ingo returned empty handed and prayed that he ran into Calaba first. He knew one person who would not be thrilled that his ward was not accompanying him. Although Gaeric was only slightly smaller than him, his fellow warden had mastered a level of stealth that would have been envied by the likes of octopi and flatfish. Despite his best efforts, Gaeric had found him, and he was watching Ingo’s impassive face closely. They hadn’t known each other long, but Gaeric was inexplicably good at catching the minute details that his closed off expression had to offer.

“You look more mopey than usual. What’s the problem?”

Before Ingo could get a word in edgewise, he noticed Gaeric’s nostrils flair and his eyes moved around the cavern, not seeing Dawn and instantly becoming suspicious.

“I assure you I am not moping.”

“Uh-huh,” Gaeric hummed, clearly not listening, and leaned in closer to peer around him. Dawn was nervous around him thanks to past interactions, so she took to hiding behind the large mer. “Where’s your pup? You smell like her, but I don’t see her.”

Ingo was not the lying sort, especially not with his clan mates, and, despite knowing Gaeric would not like the answer, he told his fellow warden the truth.

“Ah, she is spending the day with Diamond clan to get better acquainted with them.”

“SHE WHAT?”

------

The long metal tube that Mai eventually led her to looked as though it had been here for a while. There was no crater that would have telegraphed the momentum of such a large object crashing into the ocean floor. The sand had settled around the outside of the tube, like it had been here for a while.

“There shouldn’t be anything in there that can hurt you, but I’ll be right here if you need me, alright?”

Mai pried opened the double doors, a flurry of bubbles escaping the tube just before Dawn poked her head inside. The warden didn’t let the door close. She wanted to leave an easy exit for Dawn just in case something was in there.

Dawn prodded around. The tube was pretty barren, a few blown out glass windows and what seemed to be structural polls, and colorful bench seats. Whatever had been in the tube had most likely drifted away by this point or was scavenged by the local sea life.

Limp safety posters had turned mostly transparent from the salt water dotted the walls, the symbols seeming somewhat familiar to the teen as she swished before them, squinting at the assemblage that offered a warning. She remembered that big red text often indicated something important or dangerous to the reader.

“Is there anything specific I should be looking for?”

She asked Mai, tearing her eyes from the posters that seemed to only grow blurrier the longer she looked at them.

“No, nothing in particular.” The warden admitted, peering into the car with a massive eye. “I know you take an interest in this stuff.”

“Oh! Thanks Mai.”

“Sure thing, kiddo.”

Huh, how funny, Gaeric referred to her by the same little nickname. Actually, she and Gaeric bore a lot of similarities.

Dawn didn’t spend nearly as much time with Diamond clan as she did with Pearl clan, especially since many of their number were more suspicious of her, but she did know Mai was the eldest warden and everyone seemed to look up to her like everyone did with Gaeric.

Somehow, what they felt resonated with Dawn. She felt like a lot of people looked up to her for guidance wherever she was from. That was when she felt a mild buzzing blooming at the back of her head, uncomfortable and hot when she lifted her hand to run the spot tenderly. This always happened when she tried to remember something from before she dropped into Hisui. Did she maybe have siblings or people close enough to call siblings? She felt like she knew the pressure of having all eyes on you and she could sympathize with Mai and Gaeric.

“I don’t think there’s anything in here, Mai.”

“That’s unfortunate. Some of the things you find are real treasures.” That made Dawn blush, a sheepish smile coming to her face as she exited the tube. Mai was always taking interest in what the pups did and said, listening with an idle fascination, a soft smile, and infinite patience. “There are a few more of these closer to the drop off, let’s go take a peek. Stay close to me.”

------

Ingo expected the roar of indignation, it rattled the very foundations of the icy space. He attempted to be calm, but knew it was fruitless, nothing was going to keep Gaeric calm at this point.

“The situation is temporary. She was quite insistent that she go to maintain the piece between the clans.”

The interrogation that followed wasn’t unexpected, but his fellow warden’s explosive reaction was not entirely expected at the mention of Mai.

“Mai? MAI? Ingo, we have to go get her right now!”

Ingo looked at him, utterly perplexed as Gaeric’s whiskers twitched with a barely contained frustration. Mai was the least of his concerns among the Diamond clan. She was kind to Dawn, she knew how to be gentle, but also knew when and how to treat her like the teenager she was. This was something, Ingo noted, that Gaeric failed to understand. He wasn’t sure if it was because he harbored suspicions of Dawn, if he didn’t quite know how to deal with a runty teenager, or a combination of the two. Gaeric was an excellent mentor to the pups, and they all seemed to adore him in return – perhaps Dawn’s distrust of Gaeric made their already tentative relationship more strained.

“I fail to see the issue.”

“Mai’s going to corrupt her!”

“Pardon?”

Gaeric grit his teeth to stifle a growl, hands resting on his shoulders and claws digging into the black fabric as if for emphasis.

“Mai is going to corrupt Dawn. She’s going to twist her mind so that she might be more receptive to the ideologies of their false god.”

Ingo stared at him blankly. Although he practiced the teachings of Pearl clan, Ingo didn’t really understand the nature of the schism and the lingering animosity that arose from it. He was looking at it as an outsider and understood they had differing truths and ideals, but much of what he was able to glean from listening to Melli harp on and on about the topic, much of Diamond clan’s ideology matched up with Pearl clans.

“I understand your concerns, however I think it would be unwise to barrel into a station at full steam.”

 His fellow warden closed his eyes slowly, his jaw clenched and a tight smile on his face when he reopened them. Ingo knew Gaeric did this whenever he started to get frustrated with Ingo and didn’t know how to tell him that politely.

“We’re going to go get her.”

“I don’t-”

“Now.”

------

“You don’t like any fish?” She shook her head. “What does Pearl Clan feed you?”

“I eat cooked fish.”

Dawn said, rummaging through the detritus at the bottom of the overturned tube. Some of the things she recognized. Bottles. Little colorful wrappers for sweets. A little hard case that reminded her of a clamshell with a pair of spectacles inside. Glasses case. Dawn lifted the glasses to her eyes and looked toward Mai with a grin. The warden was extremely blurry through the lenses of the glasses.

“How do I look?”

Mai exhaled sharply, less startled and more amused.

“A little silly, but I think you could pull it off.”

Dawn giggled and removed the glasses, finding the shift between her own eyesight and the lenses disorientating.

“I think I might keep these. If you focus the light with something like these, you can start fires pretty quickly.”

“Really?” Mai said mildly, watching her as she tucked the glasses and their case into her little bag. “Who taught you that?”

Dawn was about to answer when she suddenly was met with a wall of white. Not literally, but mentally. Whatever had just been on the tip of her tongue was gone just as quickly.

“I… Don’t know. Not Pearl Clan.”

Not Galaxy Team either. They used a little flint and steel to create sparks for flames.

No, this was knowledge that preceded her time in Hisui. The realization made her heartache with a familiar emotion for a home that she no longer remembered with extreme clarity. A fog that clouded her mind and misted her eyes when something almost seemed familiar. The sensation was hollow when she knew it should ache. Surely, she left people behind – people who missed her… right?

“Dawn?”

Mai’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She didn’t reply but resumed her sweep through the tube with little to show for her searching. A slip of paper with faded colors and letter that seemed familiar. Greens and reds that were nearly opaque from the salt water, but it reminded her of something… She used a slip like this for a boat – a ferry – to take to an island. This tube wasn’t a boat as far as she could tell. Not unless it was a weird underwater boat (which wasn’t even remotely possible to build, how would it be airtight?). In any case, she stashed the slip into her bag. Maybe if she kept it, it would spark something more in her head.

“How many more of these are there?”

“Just one more. The swim is a little longer so, if you get tired, grab my hood and I’ll tow you.”

Dawn insisted she could swim but found it hard to keep up. With each stroke of Mai’s tail, Dawn had to do five to keep pace adequately. She held onto Mai’s hood.

“Mai?” When she hummed in reply, Dawn asked, “Did you ask me to come so you wouldn’t get in trouble with Gaeric if he came across you looking for these tubes?”

The warden snorted, her eyes crinkling at the sides in amusement.

“I’m not worried about that ball of blubber. I could beat Gaeric with one fin tied behind my back… But you’re not wrong.” Mai paused for a moment, seeming to consider what she said next, before admitting to her, “It would be a bad look for Diamond clan if I were to just poke around in Pearl clan’s territory. I might not be causing any problems, but I don’t want Gaeric to fly into a tizzy about this. You being here might at least give him pause.”

In all honesty, Dawn had expected Mai to say something more akin to a reassuring lie. She knew Ingo and the other members of Pearl clan did that, but the Diamond clan warden said each word with sincerity.

Mai didn’t treat her like a baby.

Dawn appreciated that.

------

“Don’t you think you’re worries are a bit… premature?”

Gaeric deliberately ignored him. Nothing he said was going to derail him – Gaeric would march right over to Diamond clan, reclaim Dawn, spit a half threat-half warning, and return to the settlement to scold her. Ingo didn’t think he would let his fellow warden get that far.

Dawn didn’t deserve a scolding for a pragmatic decision.

“Where was the last you saw them?”

Ingo heaved a great sigh and told him where, following in Gaeric’s wake to avoid an incident between him and Mai. Of all the Diamond Clan wardens, Ingo liked Mai best. Not that he disliked the others! No, he just found himself relating to her more. Much in the same way that he related to Gaeric. It made him wonder if, at one point, if he had younger siblings he looked after.

Ingo felt like he must have, that or he had people who looked up to him as if he were an older brother figure.

The orca mer shook the thought from his head and focused on catching up to Gaeric. His expression was dark with annoyance. It did not improve when Ingo asked him his next question.

“Is there a particular reason why Warden Mai in particular makes you concerned?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Gaeric asked, jerking his whole body around to reply. He was puffed up with an indignation that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to ingo. Any time that Mai was mentioned, there seemed to be a near instant irritation from Gaeric. Ingo blinked, slowing to a stop, and waiting until Gaeric’s brow twitched and he exhaled sharply, shoulders slumping.

“I was not trying imply anything, Gaeric.”

“I know… Mai’s a lot more conniving than she looks. She’s a Diamond, she shouldn’t be trusted.”

“Do you have reason to believe she would harm Dawn?”

Gaeric hesitated and then shook his head. The next words looked as though they physically pained him to admit aloud.

“No, I trust her to keep Dawn safe. I just don’t like the idea of them spending too much time together.”

Ingo offered a nod.

“We will go retrieve her, but I must insist to calm yourself before we get back on track.”

------

The last tube looms in the distance, the whole thing sticking up vertically in the sand and creaking with their approach. Dawn edged closer to Mai, not liking the look of this one even a little. The sounds, the lack of other sea life, and the precarious way it jutted from the ground made her stomach queasy.

“You’re sure it’s safe, Mai?”

The older mer tilted her head, dark eyes sweeping over it.

“You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to. I have a feeling that this one might have more little trinkets that you might like just because of how isolated and undisturbed it is, but you can say no and we can head back to the settlement right now.”

Mai gave her an indifferent shrug and a neutral smile, allowing Dawn to make the decision by making her own thorough examination of the tube. This one seemed to be a lot more intact than the others as Mai suggested. This one had what looked like wheels on one side and it dawned on Dawn that the tubes were a vehicle. The word “bus” flashed in her head, but that didn’t sit right with her. It was some form of transportation, but that was the only thing that seemed clear to Dawn. She didn’t voice any of this, of course.

Swimming to the top of the transport, Dawn peered through the cracked glass and saw a few things dangling from the ceiling and a few colorful posters on the opposite end. Those were obscured by dark and sand, but Dawn immediately saw something that jumped out at her.

There was a symbol that stood out as clear as day on the right poster.

“I’ll go in. I’ll be extra careful.”

Dawn insisted, tugging on the doors but unable to open them. She waited, holding back the quiver in her hands when Mai pried the doors apart. She made a beeline for the poster and stared at the shattered glass covering, the same symbol that was on Ingo’s hat was on the poster, albeit almost as faded as the badge.

It was surrounded by symbols that had no meaning to her, but she recognized it as some sort of advertisement. There were… Silhouettes? Gray figures that were all lumped up. Nothing really distinguishable. Gingerly, Dawn pressed her fingers to the glass, absently wondering if there was a way for her to take this out of here to show to Ingo. It truly didn’t even occur to her just how odd that this symbol was here, in this transport that was clearly too small for the massive orca. Her discovery simply excited her for the rationale to cross her mind.

Eyes drifted around, trying to mentally map the space as she thought of other potential problems with this half-cocked plan. The paper would be super fragile, virtually untouchable without disintegrating, in all honestly, but Dawn was unwilling to admit that because she wanted so desperately wanted to show this to Ingo. Could she maybe pry the poster off the wall in its frame? It seemed to be bolted down tight.

Maybe if she had enough leverage…

Dawn’s eyes fell onto the other poster on the other side of the door, and she froze.

She recognized a word on that poster! In fact-

Dawn moved closer to that poster, the uncomfortable prickling in her head growing into a stabbing pain as she forced herself to look.

Sinnoh

That… That was Mount Coronet. But how was that possible?

Something was boiling in the back of her head. The burble of a voice that sounded familiar. It reminded her of Volo for some reason.

… There is a statue of an ancient ... Have you seen it already? According to myth, it was an extremely powerful ... Who knows? You may encounter something like it while you're traveling …

Dawn gasped sharply, her mind and body putting distance between the memories and the poster that were causing her such pain. The water around her face suddenly felt so warm.

------

Finding Dawn and Mai wasn’t too much of an issue. Gaeric had a sixth sense for Diamond clan members, probably from having to deal with sneaky little Sabi, and Ingo had his own sort of sixth sense to Dawn. Her habit of getting into her own sort of mischief made him hyperaware of where she was at all times. To both their surprise, Dawn and Mai were in Pearl clan territory – dangerously close to the drop off.

Why they were there was unimportant, it was imperative that they get them out of there. The drop off was absolutely not a place for pups. Not even a good place for adult mers because of all the strange things that lived in the drop off.

Ingo couldn’t help but shudder at the memory of his first and last hunt over the drop off because he was surprisingly awful at hunting and because he became Lady Sneasler’s warden. However, a hazier recollection was percolating just beneath the surface when they came upon Dawn and Mai. His limbs froze up, stopping all together as Gaeric pressed forward, completely unaware of Ingo’s sudden distress.

A burning pressure in his lungs as if he were holding his breath underwater too long, his thoughts molten from the lack of oxygen before he blissfully passed out. His next memory was of Palina’s dark eyes about six inches from his nose, the pain coursing through his body immense as… what was that thing? Ingo didn’t know, but it was crushing his tail.

The structure - That thing….

“Gaeric-”

Ingo began to say, but the mer was surging forward toward Mai with an intimidating growl. She looked their way, and her expression didn’t change much, indifferent if a little amused by their appearance.

“Warden Ingo. Warden Gaeric.”

It was polite for Ingo and a little frosty for Gaeric. It wasn’t hard to tell they had a history. If Ingo wasn’t acutely aware of minute changes in body language, facial expressions, and the tone and pitch of voices, he wouldn’t have realized. He almost didn’t realize now as a sudden and uncomfortable sensation crawled the length of his considerably long spine.

The structure…

“What is the matter with you? What would possess you to take a pup anywhere near the drop off?”

“I like to give the pups I watch over the benefit of confidence. They get a little more independent when I let them explore and do the things they want to do. I offered Dawn the chance to explore these… things, and now she is, and she loves it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

This structure… why?

“We can’t afford to waste time and coddle our pups into adulthood.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but the space around us is a little less hospitable than your filthy river.”

They said there were no more. Just the one they found him in.

“As precious as you are about your space, at least we were more strategic about picking a location to settle than a damn glacier.”

“What do you know? What do you know about what we’ve gone through when we-”

“Gaeric.”

Ingo’s voice was sharp and cold like an icicle shattering into fragments on the ground. The other Pearl clan warden flinched. His bitterness and agitation in Mai’s presence evaporated when he heard that tone. He had rarely heard Ingo use it and it was petrifying when he did. Even Mai when still and quiet, a breath stuck in her chest as she waited in fearful anticipation. She had never seen Ingo mad – but she wasn’t sure she could call this mad.

“Ingo-”

Gaeric was not permitted to finish.

“You said there weren’t more. You explicitly said there weren’t more. I may have a faulty cab, but I know this is not the same one.”

Ingo did not understand the structures, but they triggered something in his head. Something familiar. He wanted to know so badly what it was. He was found being crushed by one, but nobody really had an explanation for it. Ingo had explored that one top to bottom once he had recovered, trying to find any clues or remnants of information that might clue him into the significance of these things.

Irida had told him after a long search that there were no more. He tried to ask for permission to look for himself and Gaeric jumped in to shoot the idea down. Ingo barely knew the area, he had said, and they had already checked all over – there was nothing left.

Gaeric had lied.

His fellow warden had a flash of something (was it fear?) cross his face before he recomposed and began defending himself.

“What difference would it have made if you had known about this? You couldn’t get in there even if you wanted to. It would have been a wild goose chase.”

“Wow, didn’t realize how much disarray the Pearl clan was.”

Mai smirked, folding her arms and leaning back to watch the show. Now that she knew the anger wasn’t directed at her, she could afford to watch Gaeric get verbally berated. She doubted Ingo had it in him to hurt Gaeric, he was remarkably gentle for a mer of his size, but Ingo could talk circles around people.

“Shut up, Mai.” Gaeric hissed before cutting his eyes back to Ingo. “Listen, I didn’t really know you back when Irida had us fan out to look for your pod. We came across a few of these, but they seem less related to you and more to the rifts that kept popping open. I’m sure they have nothing to do with-”

“You’ve known about this for that long?”

The tone was verging on disappointment, but it was hurt in a way that felt sharp going in and jagged coming out. Gaeric unconsciously crossed his arms and rubbed his biceps, growing more defensive with each passing second and he emitted an incoherent snarl of frustration. Yes, he recognized that he was making excuses. It would be no good to anyone to have Ingo distractedly swimming all over kingdom come.

“What difference does it make?”

There was a flash of wickedly sharp teeth and a deep growl that seemed to make the water vibrate. Behind him, Mai tutted disapprovingly, but Gaeric made no attempt to round on her – his attention was on his clan mate.

“All that time wasted, what a shame.”

“How long?”

The words were ground out with a note of impatience, like Ingo was moments away from lunging forward to shake some sense into him until Gaeric spat out the answer.

“We knew about a month after you arrived.”

“Hm, how peculiar that your Sinnoh did not deem you worthy enough to know of these things in your space sooner.”

A warning growl from Gaeric, but Mai ignored it. It was amusing to watch someone other than herself give Gaeric a hard time. This was easy pickings, but Mai allowed herself to be petty this once. A smile curved her lips, displaying rows of sharp teeth for only a millisecond before it disappeared.

“You kept this knowledge from me? There could have been remnants of my pod there – and now they’re most likely scoured by scavengers and wiped clean by time. This…” He seemed to be at a loss for words, casting his gray eyes around as if seeking out the right string to really emphasis how painful this felt for him. “Your actions are disgraceful.”

“Disgraceful? You think my actions are disgraceful?”

Gaeric bristled with rage, leaning closer to Ingo who remained unmoving and glowering. He opened his mouth, gnashing his teeth like he was between tearing Ingo’s throat out with them or just to intimidate the orca, when something white streaked across his vision. Ingo flinched and Gaeric immediately drew back, Dawn was shoving Ingo’s cheek as if to push him away.

“Stop! Stop! Let’s just go! Come on Ingo, let’s just go. Please? I want to go back to the settlement.”

Fright laced her words, pushing him with all her might until Ingo relented, moving in the direction of the settlement without so much as a backward glance. Crisis narrowly averted for now.

“Ah well.”

Mai sighed, stretching and eyeing Gaeric’s back, his shoulders still tense. She didn’t get to see them tussle.

“Mai?” He hadn’t turned to look at her, Gaeric was still watching the duo retreat into the gloom. “Do you think there’s something off about Dawn?”

It should have been something she laughed off. Gaeric? Asking her something like that? How ludicrous. However, Mai heard something in his voice, something that resonated with her all too well, and it made her pause and really consider what he was asking. He was asking as someone concerned for his people and, even if it felt a little preposterous that Gaeric would be worried about a pup like Dawn, she gave him the benefit of the doubt, just this once.

“I… think I know what you mean? But I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“Neither can I.”

Gaeric admitted. He didn’t ask anything else. He wasn’t even really sure why he brought it up, unsure of what prompted the thought in the first place, but it was out there now. Mai slipped away without further comment and Gaeric returned to the settlement, remaining under the radar until the necessary space would give him and Ingo time to reflect on their words.

[13as07]

Cats and Dogs #3

(Kiba Inuzuka)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to rereren ren]

Requested by: Myself

Word Count: 4,200

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

[Reader] is a Neko (or as close as I could get with my rushed research and to go with the story line) per request

Threats of Violence

Name Calling: Mutt, Dog, Kitty

———————————————————————

     I keep my eyes locked on the ground, a mix of emotions rolling around my head; pain still sizzling from Kiba's bite marks, nakedness from the lack of my headband, embarrassment from the collar - and once again, the bite marks - on my neck, and lastly, anger towards Kiba for making me feel all of this and for taking my headband with him. Dumb, stupid, smelly mutt.

     Since Kiba still has my headband, I've spent the day trying to haunt him down. For my headband. I want my headband, and that's it. It's the only reason I'm wandering around the Inuzuka clan.

     I - and most of my clan - usually avoid their territory for many reasons. Mostly the smell; their stomping grounds always smell like, well, dogs, and wet fur. Another part has to do with our clans' tension with each other. It's not 'war with each other' level but it's definitely 'jumping each other's members' and 'political fighting' level.

     It's dumb that I'm here, especially by myself. I'm a cat prancing on the fence of a dog pound, and the dogs are catching wind of my scent. I should have shown up with a plan, I have no clue how to track Kiba down. I can't pick up on his scent, the smell of his clan overwhelming my nose. Unless he stumbles on my path or I ask someone, I'm going to be stuck wandering around.

     I glance around the road, looking for someone who is somewhat not threatening looking. Everyone out here is either whispering or shooting me a dirty look so maybe it's not the best group of people to ask. I look around again, my eyes settling on a little pop-up store. That should work, I think.

     I quickly scurry around the street, a few snapped jaws and growls shot my way as I pass people. I shove the door open, stumbling into the shop and making sure the door closes behind me. Not much of a line of defense but at least I can be certain no one will snatch me up from behind.

     "Hello, welcome into - " the cashier starts, stopping when his eyes land on me. He blinks at me a few times, eyes rolling over my form before snagging on my ears. "What the hell is an Izuno doing on Inuzuka territory?"

     "I - uh. I'm... looking for Kiba. Do you happen to know where he is?" I stumble out, my hands jumping up to cup my ears, suddenly feeling self-conscious about them. Maybe I should have taken them off.

     "And what might a sneaky cat want with our Delta?"

     "What?" I mutter, quickly blinking as I look over the man. Our two clans share a few traits; animalistic noises, collaring on occasion, heightened senses, and animal-based canines.

     My clan however has a few things that Inuzuka's don't; Ears, bells, some even sport tails, and of course, elegance, grace, and balance that our dog counterparts don't have. I'm not sure what Inuzukas have that we don't but apparently, they have weird names. Rankings, maybe? Like Captain and such. Why the hell is Kiba called a delta? What the hell is a delta?

     "I just... he has something of mine and I need it back," I shortly explain, glancing around the store. There's a stock-boy two aisles in front of me, squatting down, and poking his head around the shelves as he watches this play out. Two verses one; not terrible odds but not the best. I can take on two dogs.

     "What might he have that you needed so bad that you're trespassing?" The clerk asks, teeth barred as he inches his way around the counter. He's bigger than the stock-boy; I should focus on taking him down first if it comes to that.

     "He has my village headband. I can't go on missions without," I mutter, trying my best not to let my eyes slit; if I don't act like I feel threatened, they'll hopefully not feel threatened. Screw the village rules, screw the jounins for being the only ones allowed on missions without the headbands, and screw the Hokage for leaving my rank at chunin. "If it wasn't important, I wouldn't be trespassing. I just need the headband back and Kiba has it."

     "Seems like something a sneak feline would lie about to incriminate our leader's son," the clerk growls, full around the counter now. The stock-boy has started inching forward too, fully out from behind the shelf but still low to the ground. "Do you know why us dogs are superior to you cats?"

     "You're not," I hiss before I can stop myself, my eyes winning over and slitting. My vision slightly yellows, picking up every movement from the clerk's moving forward to the dust on the floor shifting because of the step. My canines and fingers ache too, prepared to rip something apart if a fight keeps brewing.

     "Agree to disagree," Clerk grumbles, a soft wolf-whistle of agreement coming from the stock-boy. "Us dogs are better than you cats because we have our pack. We don't do anything alone, especially enter enemy territory."

     "We're not enemies," I mutter, taking a step back. Would it be better or worse to stumble back onto the street? "Our clans have been in a truce for decades now."

     "We all know that's fake," he cackles, taking another step forward. "It's a façade to keep the village leaders out of our business. Us dogs and you cats are still at each other's throats like we've always been. Personally, I haven't torn up an Izuno in a while. Boy," the clerk calls, flicking his eyes toward the stock-boy for a moment. "Have you ever ripped apart a cat?"

     "No," the younger boy growls, his eyes glowing a soft green in the dim lighting of the store, causing my hair to feel like it's standing on end. "And - "

     " - he's not going to," a voice cuts in, a hand landing on my shoulder. "We're at peace with the Izuno, don't go ruining that peace because you're an old-time racist."

     The two men bow their heads a bit, the glow of their eyes snapping off. "Not liking cats doesn't make me a racist," the clerk says when he lifts his head, a glare still locked on me. "Even if the cat is an Izuno. The truce is as fake as the boy's hair color and you know it."

     The stock-boy grumbles about his boss calling out his dye job, turning away to go back to work. "I don't think the truce is fake," the guy behind me mutters, moving closer so his arm rests on my shoulder, his hand dangling by my side.

     The scent of Kiba envelopes me, tipping off who it is before I tilt my head back. Yep, definitely Kiba. His usual smirk isn't anywhere to be seen, his jaw is locked like I remember it being while he was chewing his way through my skin, his face as hard as stone and his eyes having a flicker of glow to them as he looks at the clerk. Unlike the stock-boy, his eyes glow a hazel color.

     "Of course, you don't," the clerk mutters, sliding back behind the counter. "Is there something I can help you with?"

     "Mom placed an order, I'm here to pick it up."

     "Yes, yes. Alph's order is all packed up and in the back for you. Feel free to use the side door," Clerk mutters, waving his hand toward one of the doors, his full attention still on the magazine he's reading.

     Kiba nods, dropping his arm down to my hips before pushing me forward. I'm shoved across the store and through the door beside her releases me. "You know," he starts, leaving me be to peek through the different boxed orders. "When I said I would see you again today, I meant it as me running into you around the village. Not as you sneaking around my clan and almost getting yourself into a fight."

     "I wasn't sneaking," I huff, rubbing my nose to lessen the smell of the room. It smells overbearingly like bleach.

     "Whatever you want to call it, Kitty. Still, you shouldn't have come around alone. You should have asked Lee or Tenten or even Neji to come with. Shino would have been the best, the clan is accustomed to him being around and actually like him, surprisingly."

     "Why are you telling me this?"

     "So next time you come around you don't almost get bitten. Well, bite by someone other than me of course," Kiba shoots me one of his grins, closing the lid of the box he checked before picking it off the floor. "Come on, Kitten. I'll walk you home after I drop this off to Mom."

     "I'm not coming around again and I don't need you to walk me home," I grumble, jumping forward to stand next to him when the door we just walked through opens. I cling to Kiba's arm, trying to ignore the feeling of it flexed from holding the box in his hands.

     "Do you mind letting Alpha know I need her order a day early this week? The Mrs and I are going out of the village next week and I haven't trained the new guy on ordering yet."

     "Sure," Kiba mutters, his tone rough and slathered in anger again. "Come on, Kitty," he grumbles, shifting his hips to push into mine. I reluctantly let go of his arm, scurrying forward to open the only other door for him.

     Once we're out of the street, alone in the alleyway of the building, the anger leaves Kiba and he relaxes a bit. "Scaredy Cat," he teases, gently bumping into me before he heads down the alley.

     "I'm not a scaredy cat," I scold, staying close to him when he leads me out of the alley and the safety blanket of darkness it offers.

     "Ya? Why'd you grip my arm so hard then?"

     "I was worried your wimpy arms were going to give out," I hiss, accidentally bumping into him, my attention focused on his clan members who are whispering and staring at us. The accidental bump paints a grin on his face again. "I have a question."

     "I have a question too. A question for a question?" He chuckles, the sound cutting short when a member walks a little too close for my liking. Kiba notices right away, jaw locked as he stares down the teenager until he gives us some space. "Ask your question first."

     "Why did the clerk call you a delta and your mom alpha?"

     "They're a sort of pack ranking thing. My mom is the chief so she's alpha, my sister is her right hand so she's the beta, and I'm ranked after that so I'm a delta. Everyone else in the clan is called an omega."

     "Like the writing thing?"

     Kiba lets out an annoyed sigh, glancing at me for a moment before looking ahead again. "Ya, like the writing thing," he grumbles, shifting the box in his hands. "My turn," he adds, his smile back on his face. "Are the rumors about my dick great enough for you to walk into a wolf's den for it?"

     He really knows how to burn through his brownie points and then some. "One, I came for my headband. Two, all the rumors about your dick start with 'five seconds' and 'three inches'. Three, you are descendants of dogs, not wolves."

     "One, I forgot I had your headband. I meant to give it back before I left. Two, I can last for about fifteen minutes and go for quite a few rounds. Plus, my dick is nine inches. Just measured it this morning and everything. Three, dogs descended from wolves, so technically I did too," he teases, making sure to add in his penis brags.

     "Of course, you're obsessed with your dick."

     "Obsessed with putting it in you, ya," Kiba answers instantly, with no shame and not even a hint of teasing in his sentence.

     "What?"

     "You heard me."

                     ————————————

     My eyes jump around the gates Kiba and I have stopped in front of. It's pretty, made out of dark black metal and twisted in a swirly design of two dogs facing each other, the tips of their noses touching in the center where the gates separate. 'Inuzuka Breeding Farm' is curved into the sign standing above the gates. I assumed Kiba's clan was in control of the in and out take of the dog population, I just never thought hard enough to figure out how much of it they controlled.

     Chatter on the other side of the fence fills the silence that made itself welcomed during the rest of our walk, breaking up some of the tension between us. "Kitty?"

     "Kiba?"

     "My key card is in my left pocket, do you mind getting it out and scanning it for us?"

     "Sure," I mutter, keeping my eyes on the ground as I carefully reach into his pocket. The smooth plastic brushes against my fingertips before I grab it. The word 'Delta' is stickered on the plastic above the scanning strip. The Inuzuka's take this dog ranking thing seriously.

     I walk up to the fence, running the card through the reader. Once it's scanned, there's a pop and then the screeching of metal moving. Kiba moves forward without a single blink, walking through the gates and continuing to trudge along. I stand still for a moment, not sure if I should follow after or wait here. "Kitty?"

     "Coming," I call back, scurrying forward to fall in step next to him. The last thing I need is to get corned by a pack of mutts. He seems to be beelining for the big barn in the middle of the field, a few smaller barns, and lots of different fenced areas surrounding it.

     "Not yet, Pretty Kitty." A chuckle follows his boyish joke, making me roll my eyes at him.

     I swear, the only thing Kiba thinks about is sex. "Is there anything rattling around that box for a brain of yours aside from your dick and using it?"

     "Your eyes, usually. How soft and smooth your ears are too... and your thighs. I like how they jiggle and how they expand when you sit down. That shit is hot."

     "You're a pervert," I mutter, looking at the ground again as I try to fight down the heat curling across my cheeks. He can't seriously like that my thighs double in size when I sit down... right?

     "That's not perverted. What's perverted is I shoved my fingers into your scratches and thought about suffocating between your thighs last night."

     "Shut up, Kiba."

     "Yes ma'am," he answers, a hint of a giggle in his laugh. My face feels like it's on fire from his line of confessions. He is just a smelly dog. A dirty, smelly, horny dog that gets a kick out of toying with me... and saving me, apparently.

     The doors of the building slide into my sight. They're barn styled, no surprise there. Like the front gate, the door is covered in a metal design; this one being three puppies dog piled on top of each other. "Is this the puppy barn?"

     "Ya, it's the most annoying barn," Kiba mutters, shifting the box again. "It's always packed and busy. The moms, their litters, people coming in and out to look at and work with the dogs. It's just a lot." I hum along to his ramble, taking a few quick steps forward to scan his keycard again and push the door open for the both of us.

     Instantly the smell of dog assaults my nose, making it scrunch up. The noise of barks, puppy chirps, and people attack my ears, the sound seeming a lot louder than it did outside of the building. Kiba was right, the barn is packed. Members of his clan are everywhere; some walking people around, some in the dog kennels, and some running around doing who knows what.

     "This way, Kitty," he mutters, softly bumping into me to lead me down the right way.

     I follow after him, my hand jumping up to cling to his elbow as I'm led through the crowd. People part for him as we walk, quite a few freezing and staring when their eyes land on me. "Where are we going?"

     "The adoption room. Well, it's the room we use to expose the dogs to their potential owners to make sure everything clicks right but adoption room just sounds better."

     "Oh," I mutter, tightening my grip on him when one of the members wrapped in a doctor's coat shoots me a glare.

     Like clockwork, a door labeled 'Adoption Room' falls into view. This one doesn't have a keypad so Kiba can shoulder it open. When the door swings closed behind us, the noise gets muffled quite a bit. He continues leading me around the sitting room looking space, setting the box down on the coffee table. "Hey Mom," he mutters, snagging my attention.

     I poke my head out from behind him, being met with a desk I didn't realize was there. Sat at the desk is a woman who looks a lot like Kiba, which makes sense since she's his mom. Her hair is crazier than Kiba's though, and a lot longer.

     "Kiba," she greets back, looking up from the paperwork she was staring at. Her eyes instantly lock on me, her frown deepening. That can't be a good sign. "Dear Lord, what happened to that poor girl?" What?

     Kiba goes to raise his hand, freezing for a moment when he notices I'm clinging to it. He switches arms, raising the one I'm not holding up to scratch the back of his head. "Me," he whispers, looking anywhere by his mother or me.

     Heat returns to my face when I realize what she's talking about; the marks and collar around my neck. I look trashy meeting the Inuzuka chief right now, great.

     His mother's face falls to her hands, rubbing her eyes as she lets out a long sigh. "When you told your sister you bit and collared your way into a partner, I thought you were kidding." Partner? Partner?! "Please tell me you at least gave the poor thing some proper disinfectant. Do you know the kind of illness she could get because you bite her too hard? The risks to her health and wellbeing they can cause?"

     "I... did not... do that. But I'm going too," Kiba answers, racing the second half out in a single breath.

     His mother mutters to herself, not bothering to raise her head from her hands. "Kiba, Kiba, Kiba," she mumbles, finally raising her head. "This is not how you treat your partner. Have you even taken the girl on a date? I doubt it. Take her on a date, do you hear me? Make him take you on a date. Somewhere nice, and expensive," she says, turning her attention towards me during the end.

     "Yep, alright Mom. Will do," he answers, turning and tugging me towards the door.

     "I'm not done lecturing you!" She yells after that, her voice being cut off by the door closing, the sound of the barn replacing it.

     "So," I mutter, letting go of him and taking a step away.

     "So," he echos, starting the walk back out of the barn. "I... might have... overshot us - you! - to my sister and she might have... told our mom."

     "That's..." I start, scanning the different dogs as we make our way out. "... nice."

     "Ya... ya... I might have... left out the whole... alley parts."

     "But not the forced collaring thing?"

     ".... No... my - uh... my sister knows... about that."

     "Cool," I murmur, dragging out the word. I click my tongue, scurrying out the door when it falls into view. "Now what?" I ask him once he's out of the building too.

     He glances at me, cheeks blown out as he scratches his head again. "Well, I did save you today. I think that gains me a bit of a hangout before I walk you home."

     "... fine," I mutter, running my tongue over my teeth as I stew on the new information just dropped on me. "We're not a thing though."

     "I don't know about that. You are wearing my collar after all."

     "By force," I hiss, crossing my arms over my chest as I wander after him. "We're not together."

     "You're just playing hard to get. If you didn't like it - or me - you would have had Neji cut it off yesterday." Dumb mutt. Dumb cocky mutt that believes he has some wolfie claim to me. Dumb smelly mutt that I don't hate as much anymore. Dumb stupid mutt that makes me excited at the thought of being his partner.

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     Kiba's house is... very dog. Four or five dogs are stretched out on the porch, one that I notice as Kiba's. Aka-something. His dog is the first to rise, slithering his way over to us. Unlike the other times I've seen him, the dog is pretty calm, even licking my fingers as his master greets him.

"Your dog doesn't hate me anymore," I mutter, rocking on my heels as I wait for him to unlock the door.

"Akamaru has never hated you. He just kind of vibes with me so he feeds off of our enemies-to-lovers thing."

"We're not... that's not a thing. Definitely not a thing we're doing."

"Sure," he mutters, holding the door open for me. Kiba is stupid. His lopsided smile is stupid. His lingering eyes on my thighs are stupid. His not-so-subtle grab of my ass when I walk by is stupid.

"Don't do that," I hiss at him, swatting at his hand. I let out a long sigh as I settle in the entrance, waiting for him to walk in. Despite the house being run by dogs, it's pretty nice. Lots of bright colors, lots of light filtering in from big windows, and lots of dog hair. Surprisingly, it doesn't smell like dog as much as I thought it would.

When Kiba does walk in, he grabs my wrist, using it to drag me around the house, up the stairs, and into his bedroom before he settles me in his bed. His blankets, along with almost everything in the room, are covered in the white fur of his dog.

My eyes jump around his room, my hands situated under my thighs as I sit on the edge of the bed. Almost every inch of his walls is covered in photos. A lot are of our teammates, a few of his sister and his mom, and a couple of random photos of things and people I don't know. My eyes snag on one of the photos. It's a picture of Neji sandwiched between Hinata and me on our last beach day. "How'd you get that?" I ask, pointing at the photo.

I glance around the room, not sure where Kiba is at. He's hunched over a laundry basket, searching the pockets of a pair of pants. At my call, his eyes flicker out, snapping toward where I'm pointing. "Whose camera do you think we used the whole trip?" Oh... ya... I guess it was Kiba's camera. "What? Sad I'm not stalking you?"

"No," I whisper, settling my hand under my thigh again. "Keeping it is stalking enough."

"You looked happy in it. It's one of the only times I've seen you smile. The only time I've managed to capture you smiling. You have a bit of a resting bitch face."

I can feel my resting bitch face deepen from the comment. "Sorry that I'm not as obnoxious as you dogs."

"It's cool," he says, a smile on his lips as he shrugs his shoulders. My headband dangles from his fingertips, the bell still securely tied to it. I lean forward to grab it, but Kiba moves it out of my reach. "Not so fast, Kitty. If you want it back, it's going to cost you."

     "I earned my headband, then you stole it. Give it back."

     "Nope," he hums, toying with it as a way to rub it in my face more. "It's mine until you pay up."

     "If you're going to make me pay for it, I'll just order a new one." I knew this trip was going to be a waste. I should have ordered a new one and taken the unwanted vacation time as I waited for the new headband to arrive.

     Kiba chuckles, tossing it onto the desk in the corner. The metal clinks against the wood, clicking and making the bell ding before it settles in its new spot. "I don't want money for it, Kitty. I want some more play time," he says, a wolfish smile on his face, canines poking out with the threat of more bite marks and eyes slit in their predatorial way as he takes slow steps forward. "So, Kitty, are you going to pay for a new headband or are you going to play with me?"

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[kamosara]

okay so,

I need to vent 😭

There was some discourse I saw on jjk twitter about Gojo’s upbringing and many fans believing that he was abused by his clan. And - I don’t really agree. Pushing the narrative that he was abused by his clan during his childhood is ignoring ALOT more context clues given about the Gojo clan and I think we’re just slapping labels to a relationship ( Gojo’s relationship with his clan ) that barely has a presence in the manga as a whole though we can all surmise has a great impact on his character. The abuse theory stems from Gojo’s obvious lack of care for himself and his struggle to see himself as more than a weapon. He was raised with his clan and in HI we see his clear understanding of the implications of being born the strongest. While I agree he was emotionally neglected in his childhood, I don’t think the neglect was with malicious intent or even suggesting anything about his clan dehumanising him.

Over the centuries it was said that Kenjaku had hunted down and killed six eyes users for his whole master plan and would sometimes go as far as to commit infanticide so the six eyes users wouldn’t grow up to interfere with his scheming- because the six eyes were so overpowered. This is what the Gojo clan had endured over many many years; having the their infants murdered in cold blood. Of course, this would instil bone deep anxiety and trauma within the clan. The understanding of what it means to harbour the six eyes technique would shift; understanding its political place in Jujutsu and it’s utilisation would become absolutely necessary for their ( the six eyes user ) survival.

The day Gojo is born, a new six eyes user,( still with its political implications in the modern world ) the balance of cursed energy in the Jujutsu world shifts and immediately curse users and sorcerers alike are aware of this. He is then hunted. Since birth. For the simple fact that he is the barer of the six eyes technique and now perceived as the strongest. His persona being degraded until he is only his strength starts here. Most likely, given the history, his clan would have made some plans on how to protect him on his years when he’s most vulnerable as a baby. I don’t think he had the choice , ever, to not be strong. Because if he wasn’t, he’d be dead.

I think Gojo’s dehumanisation is much deeper than how the society constructs the system that supports it, but also it’s quite literally just the burden of being the barer of six eyes ( the burden of being the strongest ; not being a Gojo) I think the burden of being a Gojo is the inevitable consequence of harbouring one of the most powerful cursed techniques in all of Jujutsu in your clan and the apprehension and the political implications that come with it because they will be hunted down.

Blerh.