#pick her up and overhand throw her ] | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thearmyprof · 2 years ago

Text

Endless Sea, but the water is warm here Ch. 8

Rating: E

Pairing: Yoongi/Original Character

Word count: 6174

Chapters: 8/?

Genre: Modern Fantasy!AU, Idol!AU, Canon Divergent,

Warnings: NSFW, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Explicit Sexual Content

Overview post: https://at.tumblr.com/thearmyprof/endless-sea-but-the-water-is-warm-here/h8ruhjcuzs62

Summary:

Sometimes Eunha imagines herself living by the sea. She imagines herself sinking in sunbaked sand and Mina happily jumping in playful waves. She thinks there might have been a time in her own childhood when she visited the ocean. A time before her first visit to the realm of death. A time when she let the pull of the sun-warmed waters pull suggestively at her ankles. When she collected seashells. A time when she could take a big inhale and smell the salt water mixed with the smell of tide, the smell of life.

But daydreams and memories of oceans and sand always morph and twist eventually. The grey waters that ebb and flow with their own mystical tide, the river as vast as an ocean, are what Eunha knows. That river has no smell. She is well versed in the tugs and pulls of the water, urging her to continue her journey onward, out into that vast expanse of monotone darkness. There are some days where it almost feels easier to give in and let the river’s tide do what it wills.

Life is hard and dark until an accidental meeting on a train and an encounter her vampire landlord's ghoul throws Eunha's world colliding with Min Yoongi's. Does this become a fleeting career opportunity or the chance at a better life?

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45497923

Full Tags:

Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Vampires, Fae & Fairies, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Idols, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, World of Darkness, Necromancy, Blood and Violence, Death, None of the guys though, or our two original main characters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Magic, fae bts, Soft Min Yoongi | Suga, Protective Min Yoongi | Suga, Protective Bangtan Boys | BTS, Explicit Sexual Content, Sex Work, Single parent original female character, Softness, Soulmate!AU kind of, Mafia AU, referenced past traumatic birth (not explicit), soft adopted dad Yoongi vibes, Hospitals, referenced police, no jealousy, good communication, we believe in healthy relationships in this house even if the world is burning down

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Eunha picks up a heavy rock, a little too large for her fist and throws it overhand past the small waves lapping at the rocky shore. It makes a satisfying plopping sound as it hits the water’s surface.

“Did you see that?” the boy calls out from several paces down the rocky shore. ��I think it bounced like seven times before it sank!”

“Good job, Dan,” Eunha says with a smile.

The boy runs over to her, brilliant smile across his face. He pulls her to him with one arm around her shoulder.

“What’s up, E? You’re so grumpy today,” Daniel frowns down at her. “What’s going on?”

Eunha shrugs, keeping her eyes out on the grey horizon. It’s not a true muted grey, like the other expanse of water she’s had the displeasure of seeing, but a beautiful, multidimensional grey mixed with blues. The cold wind whips up around them, enveloping them in the salty smell of the ocean.

“What if we just stayed here?” she asks, eyes still trained on distant sea and sky. “Just got a little house and stayed here together?”

“Middle of nowhere Oregon coast? Sure! Sounds good to me,” Daniel replies. “We could open an ice cream parlor. Maybe we can trick the dumber tourists into thinking this is the Twilight town.”

Despite her melancholy, Eunha snorts out a laugh. “It’s fucking freezing, Dan. Ice cream? Really?”

“Well, maybe hot chocolate when it’s cold out. Ice cream for the tourists in the summer?”

“So, a hot chocolate parlor for ten months of the year and an ice cream parlor for two?” Eunha says as she grins.

“Now you’re talking,” Dan says. “But why are we suddenly moving to the beach?”

Eunha’s smile fades and she lets out a sigh. After a pause to watch a blue heron fly overhead, she says, “My uncle just came back from Korea. My parents want me to go to school in Portland and apprentice with him.

She kicks at a rock that rolls haphazardly to the surf, but never makes it. The young man squeezes her shoulder tighter.

“I never asked for this,” Eunha says with a strangled voice. “I never fucking asked for this shit.”

“I know,” Dan says quietly. “We’ll figure it out. We’ll both be 18 soon and graduated and fuck ‘em. Right?”

“Right,” Eunha chokes out with an aborted sob. She takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. “Fuck them. Just because it’s in my blood does not mean I have to follow them.”

“Fuck yes, that’s right. First step, graduation. Second step, Seoul. We’re young and we’ve got the whole world at our feet,” Dan says with a manic grin on his face. “Your dreams are going to come true. I can’t wait to be there with you when they do.”

Eunha wakes with a startled cry as the memory-turned-dream still echoes in her head. She immediately bites down on her lip to keep more sounds from waking the rest of the house. She looks down in the dim light to see Mina sleeping peacefully. Eunha lets out a sigh of relief. Mina is safe. That’s all that matters.

If she looks back on the past week, it comes to her in snapshots. Oddly still images, the movement slightly blurred. Yoongi orchestrating her discharge from the hospital. Eunha spending the rest of the day snuggled up next to Mina, whispering assurances and checking the girl over as if she were the one that had disappeared. Seeing her box of belongings sent from Rancid House. Knowing she’s been fired for being abducted. Knowing this as soon as her eyes landed on her things. Not feeling anything about it at all.

Not feeling much of anything at all.

After a day of watching movies and reading books in the living room, Eunha says she’s ready to talk. Yoongi brings in his head of security, Kim Minkyu, to sit down with Eunha to get every detail she could remember of her abductors, the club, and anything else that would help him keep everyone safe. She glosses over some of her own magical abilities, leaving her escape up to more coincidence and luck than anything else, which, if she’s honest, is fairly true. She also avoids mention of the Sidhe in Incheon or any other supernatural connections.

Upon her insistence, Yoongi sits with her for the entire conversation with Kim Minkyu. His jaw clenching and his nails digging crescents into his palms as he listened to everything that Eunha went through. Eunha, on the other hand, remains stoic and emotionless. Possibly that makes Yoongi even more furious at the situation. Despite his internal agony, he keeps his thoughts and emotions to himself, letting himself be a rock for Eunha to lean against.

Eunha also remembers at one point during the week, Yoongi and one of Yoongi’s lawyers filing an extensive grievance against the hospital for the way the staff conducted themselves around her. She had been reluctant but the lawyer made some very convincing points about accountability and the other patients that will eventually land themselves with the same awful staff. Mostly she went along with it because it took more energy to fight it than not. Mostly she just did not care to feel anything about it at all.

The week had been a lot. Eunha feels a little bit lost, as if floating outside herself, and very exhausted.

Still reeling from the dream of another seaside from a lifetime ago, Eunha slides carefully out from under the covers, biting her tongue as the pain in her rib radiates through her chest. The more superficial wounds had healed, but the rib would take weeks, the doctor said. Eunha gingerly clutches her side as she makes her way to the bathroom.

After splashing water on her face, she shuffles out to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. The silent clock on the wall says it’s 4 in the morning, as she leans against the counter squinting at it while the water heats up.

“Can’t sleep?” Yoongi’s scratchy voice sounds too loud in the otherwise quiet house.

Eunha grips her own arms where they are crossed against her chest, trying not to show how startled she is. She shakes her head in reply. After a breath she asks, “Tea?”

“Please,” Yoongi murmurs and sits down on one of the stools at the counter.

Eunha glances at him. He’s in an oversized white tee and his dark hair is sticking up in odd places. What’s most alarming to her are the dark circles under his eyes.

“Are you okay, Yoongi?” she asks.

He gives a half-hearted grunt in reply.

Eunha gets two mugs out of the cupboard along with some calming tea. She lets the silence blanket them while the water begins to boil.

Once the tea is steeping in the cups and she’s leaning against the counter again, she says, “Shall I distract you with a story?”

Yoongi eyes widen in what she thinks must be veiled surprise. Eventually, he replies, “Sure.”

“When I was a teenager. My best friend and I would take these trips out to the coast. To the beach. There was a campground that almost no one, but locals knew about. I don’t remember how Dan found it in the first place, but he was good with stuff like that. Finding hidden gems.”

Eunha pauses at that comment, realizing the deeper meaning behind it—he had found her, hadn’t he, when she was hidden.

Yoongi waits patiently, eyes curious, but otherwise his body is unmoving.

“They had these yurts. Like little one room cabins, but not nearly as nice as a cabin. Honestly, they had seen better days and probably that’s why we were able to rent them for so cheap. So, when school got to be too much or we needed to let off steam, we’d just hop in Dan’s car and drive out to stay in a yurt for the weekend.”

Eunha watches as Yoongi’s lip twitch in the beginning of a smile. She grabs the mugs and sets one down in front of him.

“Thank you,” he murmurs. After a sip, he asks, “Your parents just let you take off for the weekend like that?”

“Well, they didn’t strictly know,” Eunha laughs faintly at that. “They certainly didn’t know I was driving all the way to the coast to stay in a one room cabin with a boy.”

Yoongi quirks his eyebrow at that, taking a long sip of his tea.

“We weren’t really troublemakers though. Dan was a straight-A student. The worst thing we did on our beach weekends was hustle the local arcade out of their cute stuffed toys because they didn’t know how to stack the crane machine the right way. Made it way too easy to win the toys.”

Eunha smiles at the memory. She laughs as she says, “The stink eye that the manager of that place gave us. Dan would shove the stuffed animals into my arm, grab my hand, and whisper dramatically ‘run’ and we’d be off running back to our little yurt.”

Eunha takes a sip of tea, trying to hold onto the happiness of the memory a little longer. She says, “I don’t know why I was thinking of that all of the sudden. I had a dream about it. That’s why I woke up. Remembering those weekends on the coast. Feels like another lifetime. I guess it is almost like another lifetime.”

“Sounds fun,” Yoongi says. “Sounds like my teenage self who used to sneak out to underground rap shows and competitions.”

“Yeah,” Eunha smiles in agreement. She winces slightly when she chuckles, rib aching. “Growing up in Korea must have been so different. I feel like I had a lot of freedom, growing up in the States.”

“You grew up in the U.S.?” Yoongi asks. This time the surprise is clear on his face.

“Yeah, my parents moved us over when I was pretty young,” Eunha says. “We were living in the middle of nowhere Oregon. Very pretty, but very lonely. Dan was one of my only friends growing up. Mina was actually born there.”

“Oh,” Yoongi says as he contemplates this information.

Eunha finishes her tea and rinses her mug in the sink. When she turns back Yoongi is sipping down the last of his cup.

“Where is Dan now?” Yoongi asks as he stands to take his cup to the sink to rinse.

Eunha feels the lump in her throat and tries to swallow it down. When she trusts herself, she says, “He died. But it was a while ago now. Guess it’s been a little over 9 years.”

Yoongi is frozen at his place at the sink. After a few seconds, it’s like someone hit the “play” button and he unpauses to set the mug down on the drying rack. He turns to face Eunha and she can’t bear to look at his face when he says, “I’m really sorry, Eunha.”

Eunha just shakes her head. “It was a long time ago.”

“Sometimes that doesn’t matter. Not really,” Yoongi says softly.

Eunha shakes her head again and can feel a single tear track down her cheek. “No, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Before she knows what’s happening, Yoongi embraces her in a hug. Nothing too overpowering or intrusive, just enough to be considered a hug. His chin is lightly hooked over her shoulder, barely touching. But it’s the most friendly contact she’s had with another person who isn’t Mina in a long time. And everywhere his body is touching hers, she can feel the warm buzz settling under her skin. Instead of the frenetic feeling of life that overwhelms, she feels settled, sated. It’s almost like the resonance between his soul and her own is at such a harmony that everything feels a little bit more complete.

“You feel so alive,” Eunha whispers before her filter snaps into place.

“What?” Yoongi asks, his hands gently pressing, palms splayed, up and down her back.

“I- I can feel souls through touch,” Eunha says. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m saying all of this.”

“I want to know, if you want to tell me,” Yoongi murmurs. She can feel his warm breath along her neck, sending goosebumps rising across her skin.

Eunha swallows. She is surprised at how very much she does want to tell him. “I can feel a person’s soul, but mostly on physical contact. It can be a lot.”

Yoongi tenses and goes to pull away, but Eunha shoots her arms forward to wrap around his waist and pull him back in. She plants herself more firmly against his chest, chin tucked in, face buried at his collarbone.

“Please stay,” Eunha whispers so quietly, she’s positive Yoongi can’t actually hear her. “You make me feel safe.”

As soon as she says the words out loud, she feels like she’s plummeting off a cliff—a very tall cliff. Yoongi does make her feel safe and that’s terrifying. She’s not trusted or relied on another person, let alone allowed someone to make her feel safe, in almost a decade. Instead she has only known fear and loneliness and death. While she supposedly is the one that can tame the waters in the river of Death, she feels death follows the people in her life as if vindictive against her personally. As much as she wants to feel safe in Yoongi’s arms, to feel the beautiful resonance of their two souls, she wants to keep him safe more.

“I- I need to go check on Mina. You- you should go back to sleep. There’s still time left before the day really starts,” Eunha says as she’s pulling away from Yoongi’s embrace. “Good night, Yoongi-ssi.”

Without looking back she walks quickly down the hallway. There is an aching hole in her chest that has nothing to do with her broken rib.

Eunha stands in the shower, staring blankly at the tiled wall in front of her, letting the hot water run over her, steam clouding the room. A week passes and sleep becomes increasingly elusive. Each night, she awakens, unrested, not from reliving nightmares of the club or Park Donghyun, but of bittersweet memories of a time long past. She feels exhausted and utterly numb. She doesn’t know how long she stands in the shower, feeling nothing but the sensation of hot water massaging her tired muscles, until she finally goes through the motions of getting out, drying off, and padding back into the bedroom.

She watches moonlight track across the floor of the guest room while Mina sleeps soundly next to her. After so many nights awake in the wee hours, Eunha’s become accustomed to the silence. She’s not thinking of the dreams (nightmares) that woke her up. She’s not thinking of the tasks she needs to complete tomorrow (there are none). She’s not thinking about the fact that she’s unemployed and needs to find a job. She’s not thinking about Mina, holed away in this fancy Hannam the Hill apartment, who deserves a normal childhood. She’s not thinking of anything at all. If anything, her mind is blessedly blank—grey like the river in Death and just as calm.

The sun rises and Mina stirs. Eunha continues to sit while her daughter gets ready for the day and leaves the room, presumably to get breakfast Yoongi most likely prepared—as he has been doing every day since their arrival. Eunha ignores the goings-on around her, feeling heavy like her limbs are filled with stones. Her head is fuzzy, like it’s been stuffed with cotton, and all the thoughts she might have are too sleepy to come out.

“Eunha-ssi?” Eunha hears a voice calling her name. How long have they been calling her name?

She looks up to see Seokjin standing a little awkwardly in the doorway. Jacket on as if he just arrived or is just leaving. The hand he has leaning against the doorframe is fidgeting with the wood edging.

“I was wondering if your Mina would like to come to a birthday party for my nephew. He’s young, but some older cousins are invited. I thought it might be nice for her to play with some other kids? I thought it would be nice for her to get out of the house for a little bit,” he says, looking a little nervous.

Eunha blinks at him trying to process his words. After a moment, she asks, “Did you ask her already?”

“Oh, well, I did mention it, just to see if she was interested,” he answers. “She seemed interested?”

“Oh,” Eunha says. That’s unexpected.

“I can go with her, if you don’t want her going with hyung alone,” Yoongi chimes in as he sidles up behind Jin in the doorway. “She didn’t seem that worried about it though. You could stay and get some rest.”

“Oh,” Eunha says again.

The two men in the door watch Eunha carefully. She doesn’t notice the worried creases in their brows or their slightly downturned lips or the tension they are carrying in their shoulders.

“Okay, I mean, if she’s okay with it,” Eunha says. She thinks her voice sounds far away, but she’s pretty sure she’s the one talking. “But please go with her?”

She asks the last question directly of Yoongi, giving him a glance in the eye. She drops her gaze again as soon as she sees his quick nod of assent.

When the men leave the room again, Eunha continues staring at the floor wondering how long she’d been in the same position. Her joints creak and her head pounds as she finally moves to get up. She realizes, for the first time since the abduction, that maybe something is wrong with her. The word “depression” floats through her consciousness, but doesn’t find much to attach itself to.

Still, despite the weight in her limbs and on her chest, feeling more motivation than she’s felt since fleeing the rooftop apartment, Eunha showers and changes into fresh clothes. Then she retrieves her haegeum case from the corner where she’d stashed all the things Yoongi had rescued from Rancid House. She looks around the room and decides on the spot of carpeting that is currently bathed in afternoon sunlight.

Sitting cross-legged, she opens the instrument case and runs her fingers lovingly across the picture tucked into the pocket. Then she pulls out the haegeum and bow, tightening the strings, thinking of the symbols she wants to use first. She pauses for only a moment and then bends over to grab a pen out of the haegeum case as well.

Knowing how well spelled and protected the apartment building is, Eunha does not waste too much energy on the protective spell around her own body. It’s only there as a precaution and as a warning to any other apartment occupants not to accidentally disturb her. Then she pulls the symbols for warmth, entangling them with the sunlight already present around her body. Strengthening the natural environment is easier than conjuring something from scratch. This type of heat, too, should help carry her as far as she needs to go in the river—much further than her latest jaunts into death.

Before she steps into death, she visualizes the symbols for messages, light, and connection, with a drawn out note on her haegeum. A small paper lantern appears in front of her lap. Taking the pen, she writes a small prayer on the outer paper of the lantern and then tucks it to herself, careful not to rip the delicate construction.

The river is cold, but the sun-strengthened warmth that encases her body helps fight off the frigidness. Eunha allows herself a moment to get her bearings. She lets herself do something she hasn’t in over a decade. She shuts her eyes, feeling out with her senses, the terrain under the water, trying to triangulate her location. Once she has a good idea of where she is, she makes sure her haegeum and bow are secure in one hand and the delicate lantern is secure in the other. She slowly steps forward, feet finding their way on well worn paths beneath the tricky water’s surface. While she might fight the memories of her training in the ways of death, her body remembers. So, she walks, carefully but confidently, further into death.

Yoongi already regrets letting Seokjin-hyung convince him to take Mina to this birthday party. It’s chaos. There are children from infant to pre-teen running around everywhere, seemingly hopped up on candy, cake, and excitement. He and Mina stand, his hands resting protectively on Mina’s tense, tiny shoulders in front of him, and watch as children run past screaming.

A middle-aged woman, wearing a green apron and looking considerably overwhelmed, walks by. She pauses at the two strange statue-like people in the front hallway.

“Come on it, no need to stand at the door,” she says and waves the two into the home. “There are drinks in the kitchen.”

There’s a look of faint amusement on her face as Yoongi startles, realizing they are being somewhat rude. He remains speechless, though, as another (or is it the same and they are just running in circles?) gaggle of children run by screaming.

The woman chuckles to herself and says, “Once you settle your daughter, the adults are all in the dining room. They are going to do cake in about a half an hour.”

Trying to process what the woman is saying with chaos continually erupting around them, his brain also catches the fact that this stranger had assumed Mina is his daughter. His body reacts first, flushing hot in embarrassment. He can feel the blush blossoming across his skin all the way to his ears. He’s thankful for the bucket hat pulled snugly over his head and the mask on his face.

He glances down at Mina now, checking to make sure she’s not too uncomfortable. She’s standing directly in front of him, back plastered to his legs. His large hands are still draped carefully on her shoulders. She doesn’t seem to be listening to the woman at all, but focusing on the chaos swirling around them.

What Yoongi asks out loud, when he finally realizes he should be conversing instead of staring, the horror clear in his tone, “You mean these children haven’t even had cake yet?”

“No, of course not,” the woman answers curtly, completely missing the tone of Yoongi’s question. Before she can continue talking to Yoongi, something catches her eye from the other room. She yells, “Oh Minho, put that down this instant. I will call your mother!”

She storms off without a backward glance to dumbstruck pair in the front hall. After a few moments of standing frozen, Yoongi moves to kneel in front of Mina, hands still comfortingly grasping her shoulders. He doesn’t know if it’s for her comfort or his.

“Mina-yah, if this is too much, we can go home, okay?” Yoongi looks into the little girl’s face to see if he could read how she’s feeling.

She looks at him distractedly, eyes flickering back and forth between his face and the chaos swirling outside their little bubble.

“Mina-yah?” Yoongi tries again. “Do you want to go?”

She gives a small, quick shake of her head and takes a step closer to Yoongi.

“You want to stay?” he asks, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Mina nods one quick nod, but otherwise remains still.

“Okay,” he says as he gives a squeeze to her shoulders. “How about we stick together for a bit?”

Another quick nod from the girl and Yoongi stands slowly. He relinquishes her shoulders to face the maelstrom within the apartment.

They find a semi-quiet corner to sequester themselves in. Mina sits, nestled up against Yoongi’s side as if he will disappear if Mina loses physical contact, and watches the children run around. Yoongi is scrolling through his phone, perfectly content to spend the entire party just like this. Fate and busybody mothers, it seems, feel he need not be left in peace.

A group of women, perhaps a decade older than himself, gravitate toward him from wherever they had been previously, clearly drawn to the new face in the crowd.

“Who do we have here?” one of the women asks.

Yoongi looks up from his phone to see the women, five of them, and all pretty, put together in a bougie Seoul-elite way, and all staring at the awkward pair of wallflowers. He can’t tell who spoke as they ring around him, so he doesn’t know who to address, which is just as well since he doesn’t really want to respond anyway.

“I think they came with Seokjin-ah, dear boy,” a woman with platinum blonde hair says.

Another one of them titters and says, “Hyorin, you sound like such an ahjumma. Seokjinnie-ah is not that much younger than us. Are you Seokjin’s friend?”

All the women turn to face Yoongi expectantly. Yoongi swallows. He says with a small bow, “Uh, yes, nice to meet you. I’m just escorting the daughter of a family friend today.”

He winces to himself internally when he realizes he’s thrown Mina under the bus a bit, but she doesn’t seem to mind. When he glances at her, she doesn’t even seem to be paying attention to the now-gawking women at all, but rather watching further into the room as children continue to run around screaming.

“Did you want to go and play?” Yoongi murmurs to her. A quick shake of her head lets him know they will probably be sitting here for a bit longer.

The women soon give up trying to converse with Yoongi and Mina once they realize one is only going to give them single word answers and the other doesn’t speak at all. However, much to Yoongi’s dismay, they don’t leave either, but instead stay floating around the quiet pair gossiping amongst themselves. He does realize at some point one of them actually recognizes him and somehow telepathically relays that information to the rest of the group because, while they don’t pry, they do seem very keen on keeping him a part of the conversation.

“Did you hear about Counselman Yong Songjin?” the blonde woman asks, leaning in as if worried about being overheard.

A couple of the women nod and they all look solemn as if someone had died.

“You mean that young, good looking one?” another woman answers eventually. “The one with the video scandal?”

“Yes, that’s the one!” a different woman replies.

The blonde nods and says, “Some are saying they want to hold an emergency election and have him removed.”

She leans even further in and all the other women follow suit, creating a tight wall of bodies around Yoongi and Mina. Yoongi shifts uncomfortably at their proximity and regrets leaving his bodyguard in the car.

“Mental illness,” the blonde whispers. “That’s what they’re saying.”

The women let out surprised gasps. Yoongi works hard to not roll his eyes at the dramatic scene.

“But he’s so young,” someone says.

“And handsome,” another says.

The women titter. As if the mental stability of a government official is some light-hearted joke.

“What scandal?” Yoongi hears himself say out loud. He immediately clamps his jaw shut with a click. He is not interested in participating in this farce of a conversation.

More gasps from the women, this time at his horrifying ignorance of current events.

The blonde is the one that gives him a pitying look before explaining, “Counselman Yong Songjin has been going around saying that vampire and magic are real. And not only real, but happening all around us.”

“Of course vampires are real, Hyorin-ssi,” another woman says. “Just because that sort of thing doesn’t happen around here, doesn’t mean it’s not real. No, what Counselman Yong is saying is that vampires are in control of everything. He’s saying they control the banks, the businesses, the government.”

A couple of the women shudder.

“Soyeon-ssi, not so loud,” the blonde says. Then her eyes flicker down to Mina, as if remembering there is a child present. “Let’s not speak of such taboo things now. If the Counselman is correct, then I hope he does as he says and steps up to fix things. We can just have magicians and vampires running around the nicer parts of Seoul unchecked, now can we?”

“You don’t think this is a ploy for the next election, do you?” one of the other women says.

“Well, he’s handsome enough for my vote, crazy or not,” the blonde retorts, giggling. The other women respond with their own conspiratorial giggles.

Yoongi’s brow furrows as he thinks about what he just learned. Granted, he’s been a bit distracted the last few weeks and not been keeping up with current news. He files the conversation away for now, and mentally reminds himself to look up more about this counselman later.

Suddenly, the woman in the green apron that had talked to Yoongi and Mina in the front hallway appears, shoving her way between two of the women. She looks around, suspiciously, and then says, “We’re going to light the candles on the cake now. Come sing.”

All the women disperse immediately, excited at the birthday party’s progress. Yoongi stands up, grumbling under his breath about how the children at this party certainly did not need any more sugar. He reaches down and takes Mina’s hand in his. She sticks close to his leg as they follow the gaggle of tittering gossips to the cake.

The waters of death can be quite tricky. When one looks out on the river, their eyes meet an expansive grey plane, as if looking on the largest and calmest of oceans. However, any good traveler in death knows this is an illusion. The river itself has many currents that pull a wanderer this way and that. And the ground under one’s feet is not a flat riverbed, but rather a terrain all its own with elevation gains and losses and treacherous cliffs. The river at the entryway to death is shallow, flat, and calm. The deeper into death one walks, the more perilous the path becomes.

Eunha doesn’t know how long she’s been walking for. Time also loses much of its meaning in death. Here, time is slippery and doesn’t match the plane of the living. Here, everything is hazardous.

She trudges forward, slowly and carefully, feeling for a sure footing with each step. While her body propels her further down her path by rote memory, the river is also eager for her to continue, not putting up much of a fight as she walks. If anything, the waters seem to playfully pull and tug at her body, urging her on, urging her to be faster.

She doesn’t give into that playfulness, though. She knows to keep her guard up. One wrong move and she can slip. Once under the water, it would surely pull her along further faster than she wants. She’s not ready for that journey yet.

The further Eunha travels on, the colder the water becomes around her. The depth has water lapping at her waist as she walks and she’s glad for the extra-strength warming spell she cast before she entered the river. Even with it warming her corporeal body, the iciness of the water is starting to numb her lower half.

Finally, she reaches the spot she’s been looking for. To the untrained eye, nothing looks different about this spot in the river. If not for the water being waist deep, this could be the entrance of the river. However, Eunha feels the insistent tug here and feels the bend in the path at her feet. She’s come to the first gateway in the river.

The gateways, like the river itself, can be tricky to travelers. They are meant to be the passageways, seven in total, that the dead pass through on their final journey. As they are carried along by the river, the gateways signify the distance the soul has from their previous life. Souls trying to come back to life must be incredibly strong to pass back through the gateways upriver. Each gateway holding its own traps and deceptions to prevent such malfeasance.

The air here is different, too, not the stale nothingness that the river has smelled of thus far. The air has hints of dark and damp, an earthy and loamy scent. Despite the smell and the almost-frantic pull of the current, the gateway is soundless—the embodiment of a deathly silence.

For what Eunha is about to do, she knows she needs to be at least to the first gateway. She hopes this is far enough for what she’s planning. She’s not come prepared to travel further than this today.

Haegeum and bow still held tight in one hand, Eunha holds the paper lantern in front of her face. She squints at it to make sure no harm came to it while she was traversing the river. Happy that it is still intact, she sets it gently on the surface of the water.

She bends over to get closer to the floating lantern, bobbing softly in the current. She imagines the symbols for summoning, visitation, and smooth sailing. After taking in a deep breath, Eunha lets out a hum and blows on the lantern. A small flame flickers to life inside of it and it sets off on the course made by her breath.

She straightens up and watches the lantern float away past the gateway and out onto the horizon of the river. She repeats the prayer she had written on the outside of the lantern’s paper to herself as she watches it go.

Only when the lantern and its faint glowing light are no longer visible against the monotonous landscape does Eunha allow herself to think. The first thing she thinks is to question whether she should be doing this. She doesn’t let the thought plague her for long. Instead, she turns her attention to the heavy feeling inside of her, the numbness of emotion that’s overtaken her the last couple of weeks. Something is wrong, she knows it. However, that worry doesn’t spark the anxiety she thinks it should. That thought in and of itself is worrying. Still, it’s a worry that feels distant and apart from her.

Everything below her waist slowly goes numb. She thinks she should be worrying about that too. If her legs and feet are numb, it’s going to be harder, more treacherous, on her way back to the doorway home. She can’t do anything about that now, though. She’s already used the lantern. She knows to turn back before it has had its effect will be a waste, with the lantern’s limited uses. Plus, she rationalizes to herself, if she doesn’t stay to make sure the lantern has worked the way it is supposed to, she won’t know what other accidental souls might be summoned.

Mostly, thought, she just doesn’t feel enough to care. She knows she should be preserving her life. There are reasons to be home. Mina. Her music. Yoongi. But she doesn’t feel much of anything at all. Only a logical, disconnected voice in her head, telling her she will want to be alive later when emotion returns, keeps her from letting go entirely where she stands.

Before long she can see the shimmer of a figure approaching on what appears to be the horizon of the water. The shimmer is faint, the greyness infusing the person, as happens to all souls who reside here. At first, the shimmer is faint and Eunha has to squint to see it. But soon, the figure is getting closer, making their way up the river.

They aren’t walking, but rather floating along the surface, as if their feet are made of light buoys under the water. They bob and float, rather than walk like a corporeal body would. The stillness of the water helps them traverse the space quickly.

In what feels like a blink of an eye, the person—or rather, soul of a person—is before Eunha. They are all grey and blurry, edges all undefined. The waters of death have eroded away this soul as it does all souls who come here, until they are simply part of the river again, ready to be poured out again in life.

Eunha smiles at the floating soul in front of her, not really able to make out recognizable shapes or patterns of the person they used to be. But their vibrations she recognizes. Their soul she is intimately familiar with. Even though the soul doesn’t have a discernible face, she feels them returning her smile.

However, when the soul comes to a floating stop in front of her and speaks, the voice is the same as it has always been. Waves of nostalgia and longing run through Eunha’s body as she hears the familiar, “What’s up, E?”

#thearmyprof #bts ff #bts fanfic #myg #bts fantasy au #fae bts #bts angst

2 notes · View notes

mayhemproduces · 9 months ago

Text

Brody King and Matsumoto start things off for their respective sides, the two heavyweights and former partners staring each other down before locking up. Brody is able to overpower them, tossing them into the corner. Matsumoto charges King, locking up again. They reach a stalemate and break, before colliding with a trade off of shoulder tackles. Then trading forearms each, then chops. A true meat slappin, meat fest happening right inside The Showboat. Matsumoto is clearly feeling the pain from these heavy shots, but manages to shove King back with a shoulder tackle. He bounces off the ropes, and flattens them with a shoulder tackle! Finally taking them off their feet, and now Violet tags herself in. As she hops into the ring, Malakai becomes the legal man, and the two begin to circle one another. Side headlock by Black, bringing Violet down to her knees before trapping her in a headscissors. Squeezing her with his thigh. Malakai tries to hold Violet down as she attempts to handstand out of it, instead rolling out and to her feet. They circle, Violet ducks and gets a waistlock, but Malakai hits an arm drag. Kicking him to the ropes, Malakai rolls off her back, and sits down in one fluid motion. Black stares up at Violet, the hints of a smirk beginning to form, but Violet wags her finger, not falling for his tricks. Malakai tells her to bring it, before ducking a kick. Kipping up, Malakai hits an arm drag, holding onto the arm, before Violet fights up to her feet and dropping into a split, nailing Malakai with a jawbreaker. Matsumoto tags in, and nails Malakai with an uppercut. Violet hits the ropes as Matsumoto picks Malakai up, Violet taking him down with a clothesline! Matsumoto covers.

1… 2… Kickout!

Throwing Malakai into the corner, Matsumoto peppers him with alternating forearms to the jaw, before Black sneaks one in. Matsumoto lands another before Violet is tagged back in. Jumping into the ring, Matsumoto picks Malakai up, but Malakai slips out. Nailing Violet with a knee, before catching a clothesline from Matsu, hitting them with a back elbow. Chest kick lands on Violet, and Matsumoto gets swept off their feet with a barrel roll. King is tagged back in, but Malakai misses a running knee on Violet. Violet ducks a shot from King as well, but Black nails her with a boot to the face. Spinning her around, and into a MASSIVE lariat from Brody King, nearly taking her head clean off! King stands over his fallen foe, the fallen champion, before nailing her with a massive chop to the chest, Violet tensing up after the force of that one. Another chop, this one in the corner, and Violet drops to her knees. Brody plants her with a body slam, and crushes her with a senton! King stalking, a lion hunting its prey, before picking her up and throwing her into the corner, crushing her with another overhand chop! Tagging in Malakai, Brody holds Violet in place as Malakai slips into the ring, and nails her with another kick! Violet stumbles out of the corner, dropping to her knees, and holding her chest. The skin is beginning to blossom with dark shades of red, and Malakai adds to it with even more kicks. Matsu cheers their partner back into the fight, as Malakai whips her across the ring. But Violet lifts herself up, and drives Malakai face first into the turnbuckles with Deadly Nightshade! Rolling back, she lets Malakai drop to his knees, before spiking him with a front flip DDT! Shoulders down!

1… 2… Kickout!

Putting Malakai in ANarChY's corner, and Matsumoto tags in. Matsumoto knocks Brody King off the apron with a forearm, before battering Malakai in the corner. They scoop him up, planting Malakai with a tilt-a-whirl Powerslam! Matsumoto picks him up, and nails him with a big forearm, but Malakai throws one back. A double handed chop plows through Malakai, and Violet tags herself back into the match. ANarChY keeping themselves fresh as they wear down Malakai. Matsumoto puts him on the top rope before turning into an incoming Violet, scooping her up into a powerbomb position. They hold Violet up as she hooks her arm around Malakai's head, and brings them crashing to the mat with a Superplex! Violet into the cover!

1… 2… Kickout!

Tagging in Matsumoto, Malakai shoves Violet through the ropes, before battering Matsu with chest kicks, before hitting a roundhouse. He goes to tag in Brody - but Violet pulls him off the apron! Malakai gets wrapped up, and dropped on the back of his head with VX! Violet slips back into the ring, calling Black up, as Matsumoto lifts him into a fireman’s carry, tossing him into a big kick from Violet! As Malakai is lifted again, Violet goes to the top rope, wanting to hit a missile dropkick on Black - but she moves, and hits Matsumoto instead! It only stumbles the Machine, but the momentary miscalculation gives Malakai the chance to jump across the ring, and tag in Brody King! King comes in like a freight train, landing chops on both champions, knocking them into opposing corners. A clothesline for Matsu, a clothesline for Violet, before Violet gets whipped into her corner. King charges them, and squashes both members of ANarChY! They slide down to the bottom turnbuckle as Brody marches across the ring, barking, before he charges and CRUSHES the champions with a cannonball senton! King pulls Violet out of the wreckage, and covers!

1… 2… Kickout!

King then picks her up, getting Violet across his shoulder, but Matsu pulls her down. King instead tries to pick them up, but Matsu shoves them into a superkick from Violet! Matsu follows it up with a brainbuster, Violet following up with a cross-legged corkscrew moonsault, bouncing off the top rope! Cover!

1… 2… Kickout!

Brody King out at two! Violet once again tags in Matsumoto, bringing them into the ring to lift King up for the final blow, the Skull Fuck, but Brody fights out of it before he can be lifted off his feet. King tries to finally take them down, landing a BIG, powerful clothesline, but it can’t take The Machine off their feet! Another clothesline, another thud, but Matsumoto won’t go down! They scream in Brody’s face, before they both go for clotheslines, colliding into one another, but they both remain on their feet! The heavyweights staggering, when both Malakai and Violet come into the ring. They’re taken down by Matsu and Brody respectively, tying them into Boston Crabs! Matsu and Brody coming face to face, and they start slapping each other! Eventually they hit each other hard enough they have to release their submissions, standing up and continuing to slap the hell out of each other. Matsumoto eats two straight forearms from King, before Brody runs the ropes. On the rebound, he runs straight into a running superkick from Violet! King gets dazed, but Violet gets wiped out by a flying knee from Malakai Black! Black gets taken out by a running uppercut from Matsumoto! They turn to Brody King, and they both have the same idea in mind, pulling each other down with clotheslines! All four wrestlers down on the mat!

Matsumoto and Brody King are the first ones to rise, and King hits them with a forearm so hard they fall to their hands and knees. They have to rely on the ropes just to get up, but they stand. They stand, and power back with a forearm, but Brody chops them back. Matsu hits a chop, but Brody then grabs them by the back of the head, and hammers their jaw with a handful of uncontested forearms. From the left, Malakai nails them with a jumping discus knee strike! Black gets wiped out by a spinning leg lariat from Violet, and she nearly gets her head taken off by a discus lariat from King, but she’s able to duck, and Brody EATS a Superman Punch from Matsumoto! He gets turned around into a superkick from Violet, then an uppercut from Matsu. Hits coming from all sides, and Brody is defenseless against them all. Brody stumbles back, when Matsumoto gozzles him. Getting Brody against the ropes, Matsumoto lifts him up….

AND GETS BRODY KING INTO A MILITARY PRESS?!?!

All 6’5, 285 pounds of Brody fucking King is in the air, above Matsumoto’s head, and the Showboat is on their FEET! Holy fucking shit!!

He’s dropped onto Matsumoto’s shoulder - and hit a MAT SHAKING YOMOTSU HIRASAKA!!

As a THUNDEROUS “Holy shit!” chant echoes throughout Atlantic City, Matsumoto rips off their straps, beating their chest, that undeniably impressive show of strength filling them with adrenaline. Violet directs traffic, Matsumoto lifting Brody onto their shoulders, and they hit it! Boot of Doom! They cover Brody, it’s over!

1… 2… BROKEN UP!

Malakai Black saves the match! Matsumoto throws him right back out of the ring as Violet grabs one of Brody’s wrists, Matsumoto grabbing the other. They twist, before hammering him with alternating forearms. Malakai slides into the ring, and NAILS Violet on the back of the head with a skull rattling kick! Matsumoto immediately throws Malakai into the corner, and CRUSHES him with a cannonball senton! They whip around, charge Brody King, and nearly gets put through the mat with a Black Hole Slam! For the second time this evening, everybody is down - except, now, Malakai Black. He stumbles to his corner, slipping out to the apron long enough for King to tag him in, before getting right back into the ring. He lifts Matsumoto up in a front facelock as Brody gets in position for Dante’s Inferno - but Violet pulls brody out of the ring! Matsumoto shoves off of Malakai, but eats a boot to the chest, putting them down on their ass. As Violet slips into the ring, she spins Malakai around - and EATS The End! Malakai hits it flush on the jaw, and it’s lights out for Violet!

Malakai gets floored by a discus lariat from Matsumoto, before they lift him up across their shoulders. Arms out for a moment, before Matsumoto cradles, and drives Malakai head first into the mat with The Gallows! They turn him over for the cover!

1… 2… KICKOUT!

Still not enough! In MPW, the Kings of the Black Throne have gone 8-2, with their only two losses coming against The Rip City Shooters at State of Emergency 2, and at Cibernetico de Mayo, where they were eliminated in the main event of the one night tournament. You don’t get a record like that without being resilient as all fuck, and ANarChY are learning that the hard way.

But Matsumoto wants to put them to rest with the Skull Fuck - but Malakai turns it into a Dragon Sleeper! Violet rushes into the ring to break it up, but gets swept off her feet by Brody King, and locked into a Sleeper! King pulls her out to the apron, dangling Violet in the Sleeper, as Matsumoto struggles to get themselves to the ropes. Turning themself over, Matsumoto reaches out with their feet, trying to get to the ropes, as Violet fades in Brody’s sleeper. Matsumoto gets inches away from breaking the hold, when Malakai rolls them over, and back towards the center of the ring. Back to square one, and it looks like Violet is out as well. Matsumoto is able to sit up a bit, and throws Malakai off! They fall back to the ropes ,trying to pick themselves up, while Brody King turns to put down the unconscious Violet. Malakai aims at Matsumoto’s head, looking for the killing blow, looking for The End - BUT MATSUMOTO DUCKS! MALAKAI HITS BRODY KING!

Brody falls to the floor! He’s out! Malakai can’t believe it - and he gets rolled up!

1… 2… 3!

“Here are your winners, and STILL MPW World Tag Team Champions, ANarChY!”

Matsumoto steals it for their team!

0 notes

jeanjauthor · 7 months ago

Text

...A good portion (though not all) of the Western perception for centuries of women being "unable" to fight "as well as" their male counterparts probably stems from the fact their male teachers were trying to teach them to fight based on male physiology.

Women have longer thighs, deeper pelvic sockets, and thus cannot stand and face their opponents for punching in the same way that a man can--a man can swing a decently strong punch with his off-leg forward. A woman gets partway to the end point of the punch, but because her thighbones are set so deeply into her pelvis by comparison, her body twists to the point of binding up, and up to half of her punching power is "cushioned" by her own body compressing in the effort to make her punch connect.

That same woman, putting her punching-leg forward, will have hips and shoulders align squareliy, with nothing binding, and thus can deliver all of her body's power to that punch. Literally just switching up which foot is forward changes everything.

But wait, there's more.

Men holding a pencil in their fist will hold it at roughly 90 degrees to their forearm. This aligns the bones in their hands so that their first two knuckles (index finger and middle finger) are in a position to transfer the impact forces straight down to their forearm bones. So men are taught to throw a punch by focusing on making those two knuckles the impact point. It's powerful and easy and doesn't hurt much. But if he were to punch using his outer two knuckles, it would hurt, and he could even get microfractures from misaligned bones, so men don't punch well that way.

...Except it doesn't work that way with a woman's hand. When she grips a pencil, it points outward at a 45 degree angle, not 90. The bones in her hand align strongest in this natural-for-her grip...and all the bones in her hand that align best with her forearm bones start with her ring finger and pinky finger. Not the first two, but the last two knuckles of her fist.

If she tried to make a 90 degree angle fist and punch with the first two knuckles, just like her male instructor is telling her to do it, she is going to microfracture the bones in her hand. (I know this from personal experience.) He doesn't know that this isn't the way her hand aligns...and when she punches like that, and complains of pain, and pulls her (misaligned) punches instinctively to keep from damaging her hand...he calls her a "wimp."

...If a guy were to throw a punch with a 45 degree angle and hit with his outer two knuckles, his bones would be misaligned and would start picking up microfractures, too.

So in order to transfer her full power, she has to throw with her punching leg forward, and hit with her outer two knuckles. In this way, someone whose body is physiologically female can and will punch powerfully. All the bones, tendons, joints, ligaments, cartilage, muscles, all of it aligns so much better.

But for many centuries, Western men have completely overlooked and ignored the physical differences, assuming that if it works for them, "it works for everyone!"

That's like being a double-jointed contortionist and expecting everyone else to bend their body like you can. (Hint: It doesn't work that way!)

The Asian martial art of Wing Chun is an offshoot of Kung Fu that was developed by a woman for women, which makes it one of the most effective martial arts forms for women to learn. A lot of the techniques used are designed for a woman's body.

When wielding a weapon, it uses more underhand rising blows (think of the motion you use when swinging a bowling ball), rather than overhand blows (more of a hammer crashing down motion). This is because the tendons that attach muscles to bones are also differently aligned in female bodies versus in male bodies.

Male arms are very capable when doing an overhand downward smash motion, and can deliver far more power than female arms. But female arms are much more capable at doing the "scoop something up off the ground" move (aka bowling ball or "butt wrap shot" as it's called in the medieval society), and it's super easy for females to deliver a LOT of power with that motion. More so even than a man! Her physiology aligns very well with this movement, more so than a male's.

These are just 3 examples of why women, when taught to their physiological needs, can be just as powerful as men when fighting...but seem to be "wimpy" when only taught according to the way male physiology works.

If you take someone who learns best visually, and try to make them learn by audio means only, of course they're going to have trouble learning, and perform poorly in their academics. If you take someone who learns best by audio and only give them visual media, of course they're going to perform poorly, too! Neither party is stupid! It's just not being presented in a way that they can learn best.

Anyway...go read The Armored Rose by Tobi Beck. That book saved my hand from being broken, instead of just microfractured (which it was, yay for X-rays), by my fuckwit of a karate instructor who insisted I had to make a fist shape exactly like his.

"If there is one fact about the amazons that is indisputable, it is their consistently outstanding performance in combat. Not unexpectedly, practically the only author to cast doubt on this was Burton, for whom the idea that black females (not to speak of males) might excel on the battlefield was hard to accept: “The ‘Amazons’ boast themselves invulnerable, but readily retreat: an equal number of British charwomen, armed with the British broomstick, would - I lay, to speak Yorkishly— clear them off in very few hours.”Elsewhere he damns them with faint praise:‘The women are as brave as, if not braver than, their brethren in arms, who certainly do not shine in that department of manliness.”

The first inkling that the women soldiers of Dahomey might be first-class fighters comes from Labarthe’s informant who, in 1776, watched them perform shooting drills at Abomey and found them “very resolute”. By 1830, as Conneau learned at Whydah, their “bravery [was] a noted fact and [was] proverbial with the natives.” By the next decade the amazons’ reputation was established among Europeans too. At Cana in 1843 Freeman saw a “brigade” of them fire their guns. Not only did they shoot well, he says, but they “appeared totally void of fear”. The next year de Monléon remarked that the women had “often given striking proof of courage and audacity”. In 1845 Duncan saw amazon officers being rewarded for their “valour”.

Regarding the terror the women aroused among neighboring peoples, Chautard relates an anecdote from the 1880s. A group of amazons traveled from Whydah to Agoué, a port town beyond the kingdom near what is now Togo, perhaps as an escort for traders. The whole population crowded the town square to see the legendary ladies up close. The female “general” confronted the local male warriors and challenged the very best of them to a duel with swords to determine which sex was stronger. “In less than two minutes”, she boasted, “his head will adorn the tip of my sword!” To the shame of his sex, says Chautard, not one warrior volunteered.

The adjectives applied to the amazons over the decades were brave, courageous, valorous, valiant, fearless, intrepid, cruel, pitiless, merciless, implacable, relentless, bloodthirsty, fierce, ferocious, furious, audacious, impetuous, ardent, fanatic, disciplined, devoted (to the king), indomitable, redoubtable, formidable, vigorous, resolute, tenacious, determined, persevering. Often they were said to surpass their male colleagues — in valor, in intrepidity, in courage, in bravery, in cruelty, in discipline. “In this singular country”, Vallon reported, “the women’s army is accounted much more warlike than the men’s.” According to Bouët, there was no memory of any of the amazons fleeing combat whereas men had often been punished for doing it."

Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey, Stanley B. Alpern

48 notes · View notes

yersina · 2 years ago

Note

Okay so. I know in canon that Bak Yerim, Moon Hyuna, and Kang Soyoung + Riette (occasionally) all hang out together and are friends. They go out for game night and go to restaurants together.

I think it’d be really funny if you wanted to write a mini thing where this group goes to an arcade together for game night and just demolish the place. Figuratively or literally! Who’s better at the claw machine? Who’s a sore loser? Who breaks the most things? These are all fun questions you can answer!

(This is obviously if you’re still taking requests. I love all your writing so much, have a nice day!)

One day after meeting up for dinner, Hyuna is walking Soyoung and Yerim to their respective bus stops. The two younger girls are a step ahead of her, chatting animatedly about a dungeon Soyoung cleared earlier that week (“There were wyverns, Yerim-ah! Almost dragons!”), when Yerim breaks off with a gasp and presses her face to the window of a dark building.

Hyuna peers inside. “An arcade?”

“I’ve always wanted to go to one,” Yerim says, and there’s more than a small trace of wistfulness to her voice.

“You’ve never been?” Soyoung asks curiously, pressing her nose to the window next to Yerim and knocking their heads together gently.

“Never had the time or money.” Yerim says it with a nonchalant shrug, but Hyuna has some suspicions, pieced together from different fragments of their conversations and dinners together.

Well, there’s no time like the present.

“Let’s go,” she declares, and pushes open the doors without waiting for agreement.

1. Skeeball

“Oh, I remember this!” Soyoung makes a beeline for the back of the arcade, dragging Yerim with her, while Hyuna pauses to pay for some coins. “You just throw the balls into the holes over there,” she’s explaining when Hyuna joins them again.

“And you just have to get a high score, right?” Yerim bounces on her toes, giving her arms a stretch for show. “Should be easy!”

It’s not until Yerim has already slotted the two necessary coins into the machine and she’s winding up her arm like a baseball pitcher that Hyuna realizes that maybe they should’ve explained the concept a bit further. “Wait—”

A loud crash answers her as Yerim throws the ball full force at the target with the highest points. The new point total flickers on the screen for a brief moment before the machine croaks and completely dies.

All of them stare at the broken skeeball machine.

“Oops?” Yerim squeaks.

“You’re suppose to toss it underhand,” Soyoung chimes in helpfully.

Hyuna pinches the bridge of her nose and thanks whatever dungeon gods or higher beings might be out there that she’s an S-Rank and can afford to pay for a little property damage.

2. Basketball

“Here, let’s try this one instead,” Hyuna suggests, steering Yerim in the direction of the basketball game after several reassurances to the arcade proprietor that she fully intends on compensating any damage that they cause. “This one’s overhand—it’s just basketball but miniature. You know basketball, right?”

“Of course I do, eonni,” Yerim whines. “There’s a basketball court at my high school, you know.”

“Let’s see who can get the higher score!” Soyoung chirps excitedly and quickly goes to claim a machine for herself.

Hyuna, as much as she’d like to join in or wander off to find her own game to play, figures that having at least one person on guard duty to do damage control probably wouldn’t be remiss. “I’ll be referee.”

The first half of the game goes well. Hyuna alternates between cheering for Soyoung, who’s obviously played before and is making most of her shots, and Yerim, who picks up the movement quickly and doesn’t lag too far behind. “Fighting, Yerim!”

And then, with about fifteen seconds left on the timer, Yerim takes a glance at Soyoung’s score and lets out a wail. “Eonni, you’re beating me by so much!”

“Twelve seconds left!” Soyoung screeches in return.

The next ball that Yerim picks up audibly crunches beneath her fingers. Hyuna stares. Soyoung pauses in the middle of throwing a ball. “Game over,” the machines declare within seconds of each other.

“Uh.” Yerim hesitantly presents the squashed ball to Hyuna. “Sorry, I got excited?”

Hyuna sighs and mentally adds it to her tally of damages.

3. Air hockey

“Maybe let’s stay away from ball games.” Hyuna pushes them in the direction of the rest of the arcade. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices that the few other arcade patrons still lingering around are openly staring at them, and bares her teeth at them in a smile. All of them, satisfactorily, immediately flee.

“Oh, oh!” Soyoung grabs Yerim by the hand and pulls her to a neon-lit table near the middle of the hall. “Air hockey! This was one of my favorites as a kid.”

Yerim runs a hand over the dotted surface skeptically. “Air hockey?”

“Yeah! Hyuna-eonni, wanna play a game with me to help me demonstrate?”

Hyuna cracks her knuckles with a grin. “Get ready to go down.” She doesn’t care that Soyoung is almost ten years younger than her. Hyuna doesn’t plan on showing any mercy.

Unfortunately, Soyoung ends up winning the air hockey game too, if only because Hyuna hasn’t stepped foot inside an arcade since she was in college. “That was fun, eonni!” she says with a wide smile. “Usually people can’t even score a single point against me, but you got two in.”

Hyuna rolls her eyes and hands her spot over to Yerim. “Yah, Soyoung-ah. I’m up for a rematch anytime.”

Yerim steps up to the table, a comically focused expression on her face. “Go easy on me, eonni.”

“We can start slow.”

Yerim plays her first game like most beginners do, just protecting her goal without much thought, too focused on keeping track of the puck. After Soyoung wins that game, Yerim immediately tugs on Hyuna’s sleeve. “Again!”

Hyuna obligingly slots a few more coins into the machine and starts up another game . This time, Yerim is able to get a few more attacks in and, to Hyuna’s relieved delight, doesn’t even cause major property damage while she’s at it.

And then, while she’s bending over to add even more coins for a third game, she notices grooves in the side of the plastic rink that definitely hadn’t been there before. Grooves that, if she checked, she’s certain would match the side of an air hockey puck.

Hyuna might as well buy the entire establishment at this point. “Actually, how about let’s try something else?”

4. Punching bag machine

When Hyuna spots the punching bag machine, she does a few mental calculations and decides that it’s perfect. It’s made to be hit. “Here,” she says, slapping the machine. “We can punch the bag and see who’s stronger.”

Yerim’s hand shoots up. “Oh! Let me go first!”

In hindsight, Hyuna really should’ve anticipated the way the bag completely flies off with the force of Yerim’s punch.

5. Claw machine

“Okay,” Hyuna says, grasping Yerim by the shoulders and leading her around the arcade until they’re situated in front of a claw machine. “This one takes patience, okay? Delicacy and patience.”

“And money,” Soyoung chimes in, scanning the variety of claw machines available. “Oh, this one’s cute, with all the stuffed animals!”

Yerim joins her, nose pressed against the plastic. “Oh, hey, that one kind of looks like Peace, doesn’t it? Ahjussi’s horned lion?” There is indeed a particularly red lion plush with yellow tufts of fur making up its mane that reminds Hyuna of Yoojin’s horned lion pet lying near the drop area, though it’s unfortunately buried beneath another stuffed animal.

“Oh, the lion? That one’s cute, but I think that dragon over there is even cuter.”

“I’m gonna win the lion,” Yerim declares determinedly. “I’ll give it to Ahjussi.”

Hyuna hands the necessary coins over to Yerim and both she and Soyoung watch as Yerim puzzles through the controls and positions the claw over the dog plushie lying on top of the lion plushie with the utmost of care.

“More left, I think,” Soyoung suggests.

“More forward,” Hyuna chimes in.

Yerim cranes her neck and squints. “Are you sure? I feel like it should be more towards me.”

“No, I think it’s good where it is,” Soyoung says.

Hyuna gestures impatiently at the controls. “Just push the button already.”

Yerim pushes the button. They all watch as the claw sways downwards, weakly grasps onto an ear of the dog, and fails to move it even an inch. “Well, at least you touched it,” Soyoung tries.

“Eonni, another try.”

The other ear slides out of grasp this time.

“One more time.”

A foot.

“One more time.”

The same foot.

“Please?”

The claw misses the dog entirely this time.

“You know, the lion is underneath the dog plushie,” Soyoung points out helpfully. Yerim groans.

“Well, this is your last try,” Hyuna says, handing over her last two coins.

Yerim takes them sullenly. “I’d have to get both of them at once with this.”

“You never know until you try.” Soyoung pats Yerim’s shoulder. “You can do it.”

They all watch with bated breath as Yerim pushes the last of the coins into the claw machine and once again positions the claw over the dog plushie. “And… go!” A slap of the button and the claw begins to descend.

Down… down…

The claw once again grasps a leg of the plushie and begins to valiantly tug it upwards. The dog is raised maybe halfway out of its slump before the claw gives up and it droops back to sit on the lion’s face again.

Yerim turns to her with teary eyes. “Eonni.”

Hyuna manages to hold out against that expression for a valiant ten seconds. “Don’t… do this when you go to an arcade again,” she tries, channeling her inner ‘Yoojin when he’s talking to the Haeyeon guild leader’ energy. Yerim gives her a confused look. “Don’t do what I’m… Y’know what, never mind.”

She gives up and moves to the back of the machine with a sigh. She spends a moment trying to puzzle through the cords and wires coming from the back of the claw machine, before giving a mental shrug and lifting the whole thing, dangerous creaking and popping be damned, and gives it a gentle shake.

“Oh! Oh! Eonni, you’ve almost got it, do that one more time!” Yerim calls, and cheers when Hyuna does just that. “Okay, I think I can reach it now!”

She sets the claw machine back down as carefully as possible, wincing when the whole floor shudders at the impact and the metal buckles. Just another thing to add to the bill, she supposes.

When she peeks around the side of the machine, Yerim has amassed a small pile of stuffed animals, no doubt also shaken loose, and is in the process of pulling her prize out of the flap. “Eonni,” she crows, presenting it to her proudly. “Look, isn’t it cute?”

“Very cute.” Soyoung nods in agreement.

The beaming smile that Yerim gives them both is definitely worth the hefty bill that Hyuna is no doubt going to have to pay.

Mission success.

#definitelyhuman10 #sina writes #sctir #s classes that i raised #fanfiction #i have been to an arcade two (2) times in my life I am vastly underqualified to write this asksjdks #hyuna has unofficially been regulated to babysitter and occasional partner in mischief when it comes to these two #I’m pretty sure it’s canon that there are game centers made specifically for awakened ppl #hyuna makes the financially wise decision of switching to one of those after they start making the arcade a recurring thing

25 notes · View notes

ssa-sapphic-inactive · 3 years ago

Text

words: 2.3k

type: emily prentiss x fem!reader

warnings: cursing, mentions of shooting/guns, small age gap (10 years)

summary: you and your girlfriend enjoy a cute date at the fair, until emily goes a little too far at one of the shooting games (based on a scene from a movie lol)

“Let’s go over to one of those games!” You spoke excitedly, as you grabbed Emily’s hand and dragged her over to a cluster of lit up booths.

The two of you were currently enjoying a small date night together after she got off work, which was a very rare occurrence. Usually Emily was too busy with a case, given her new job as a profiler for the FBI.

You on the other hand were flooded with your schoolwork and classes. Yes, you were a college student. However, you were much older than your classmates since you applied a few years late after graduating high school. Now, you were 26, and Emily was only ten years older than you. It may have seemed like a huge difference in age, but for the both of you it wasn’t an issue in your relationship at all. You were mature, and she never viewed herself as superior or higher up just because she was older. The two of you were equals, and the age difference was never a concern.

“Y/n, you know how I feel about these games.” Emily protested. “They’re all rigged and just a ploy to get your money while making you look like a fool in the process.”

“You don’t think I know that?” You chuckled, stopping in front of the ring toss booth and reaching for your wallet. “The point is that it’s fun! Besides, everyone knows not to get taken advantage of when it comes to these games. Let’s just set a certain limit now of how much we’re willing to spend, sound good?”

Emily shook her head and pulled out her wallet, insisting that she be the one to pay because of her new job. “Oh, I’m not planning on playing any one of these penny pocketer’s. But I’ll gladly sit back and watch you.”

“Fine.” You sighed, grabbing your basket of rings from the man, and setting them down on the counter in front of you.

Emily stood behind you with her arms wrapped around your waist as you picked up one of the blue rings and lined up your shot. She watched in admiration as your tongue slightly poked out of the corner of your mouth in deep concentration.

Tossing the ring with a quick underhand throw, you pouted as it bounced off one of the bottles and landed on the ground. Going straight for the next one, this time, you tossed it without as much power and watched as it landed on the table between the bottles.

“Come on baby, you can do it.” Emily cheered you on, lightly squeezing your hips. “Last one, make it count.”

“Will you kiss it for good luck?” You joked, as you brought the last ring up to her lips.

“Hell no,” She laughed. “Do you know how many germs are on that thing? Here,” She kissed your cheek instead, making you blush. “There’s your good luck.”

Smiling, you faced the bottles once more and took a deep breath as a look of determination washed over you. This time, you didn’t underhand it, but you practically threw it at the table, watching as it bounced off the bottles until it finally landed around the neck of one.

“Oh, my god! I did it!” You gasped, before jumping up and down with excitement and quickly hugging your girlfriend triumphantly. “What prizes can I choose from?!” You asked the man behind the counter, as he collected your discarded rings.

“Unfortunately, I can’t give you a prize.” He said, before motioning over to the rules on the booth’s wall. “No overhand throwing allowed. Five bucks and you can try again though.”

“Are you kidding me?” Emily scoffed at him, frowning as she saw your smile falter. “Dude we’re like the only ones here. Can’t you let it slide this once?”

“Sorry.” He shrugged. “Rules are rules.”

“RuLes aRe rULes.” She mocked him under her breath as she grabbed your hand. “Come on, Y/n. Let’s play a different game.”

The two of you walked away from the first booth, Emily being the one to drag you away this time, and after that you both put out money for a few more. We’re talking the balloon darts, basketball hoops, frog leap, ladder climb, fishbowls, and basically anything the fair had to offer. You won a few little token prizes here and there, but nothing major, so Emily made it a personal goal not to leave the place until you had your hands on one of the bigger prizes. She was competitive, and she knew that, but add stubbornness to the mix and you’d get the reason why Emily had so willingly put out extra money for those “penny pocketer’s” when only an hour ago she absolutely refused.

“Maybe we should call it a night, babe.” You spoke up, growing tired from the walking and also feeling slightly irritated by your losing streak.

“No way.” She immediately refused. “I’m not leaving until I win you one of those big stuffed plushies.”

“I appreciate the cliché romantic in you, but it’s okay, Em. I don’t need some fancy teddy bear.” You chuckled. “Besides, I think we’ve practically played all of the games here.”

“Not all of them! We still have one more left.”

She pointed across the lot to a game called Shooting Star. Sighing, you let her drag you over until you were both standing in front of it.

There was a young woman slouched over on a stool playing on her phone. She didn’t see the two of you approaching until Emily caught her attention by snapping her fingers impatiently.

“Hello? We’d like to play.”

“Five dollars per round.” The girl replied, before grabbing one of the plastic guns and loading pellets in it. “You two know how to play?”

“Oh it’s just going to be her playing.” Emily stated, motioning over to you.

You waved awkwardly as the worker looked you up and down, clearing judging your appearance. This type of game was usually popular with old men and hunters alike, so you certainly seemed out of your element. However, she still handed the weapon over to you anyway.

“Rules are simple. A few feet ahead of you is a small piece of white paper hung up with a little red star in the center of it. The goal is to shoot the star out from the paper so that no more red is showing. If even the tiniest bit of star remains, it counts and you lose. You only have 50 pellets to shoot and they’re like the size of a sesame seed so make sure you strategize. Got it?”

“Yeah, seems easy enough.” You replied, picking up the long shotgun and pointing it at the target.

“You got this.” Emily encouraged you. “Just shoot around the perimeter of it and then use your last ones to pop it out.”

“Okay.” You nodded, taking a deep breath and steadying your hand on the trigger. Once you felt steady enough, you began shooting at the paper. It turned out to be way more flimsy than you anticipated and you wasted a good portion of your pellets from shooting them at the wall when the paper didn’t stay still.

By the time you ran out of “bullets” (which was faster than you anticipated) you still had several pieces of red still showing on the paper. “Damn,” You cursed under your breath, before chuckling. “That is hard.”

You then went to turn away from the booth, but Emily quickly grabbed onto your arm.

“Woah, woah, woah, you’re not giving up already are you?”

“Babe, it’s okay. I’m not wasting any more of our money on these games. Like you said, they’re all rigged.”

“Wait, please just give it one more try? I have an idea.” She smirked, mischievously, before leaning over and whispering in your ear. “I read the rules while you were playing and it specifically states to ‘shoot out the star’, but it doesn’t say what you can and cannot do in order to achieve that.”

“I’m lost, what did you have in mind?” You whisper back, sparing a cautious glance at the woman behind the counter only to see her staring back at her phone and chewing her gum obnoxiously. A devilish smile quickly found its way on your face at what Emily muttered to you next. It was a brilliant idea, and you kissed her nose for being such a genius. If these games could bend the rules only when it benefited them, well who’s to say you couldn’t do the same?

Making your way back over to the booth, Emily immediately smacked another five bucks on the counter harshly, catching the woman’s attention.

“Oh, back so soon?” She questioned you both, with sarcasm clearly evident in her tone. “Do you remember what to do or should I tell you the directions again, more slowly this time?”

You tried to ignore her taunts but your girlfriend wasn’t having it.

“Listen here…” She glanced down at her name tag. “….Rebecca. We are not leaving this booth until one of those huge ass bears is in our hands. Got that? So just load the damn gun and hand it over.”

At this point, her patience was running extremely thin and you knew if she stayed at this fair for another minute she would blow. And although “Angry Emily” could be very hot at times, you also knew that she could be very aggressive when provoked. Which is why you wanted to make this next round quick and get the hell out of there.

Rebecca rolled her eyes as she handed over the plastic weapon, fully loaded. “Good luck, I’m sure you’ll need it.”

Emily’s eyes grew ablaze as she stepped up closer. “What did you s—”

However, not knowing for certain if she would actually hop over the counter and attack the woman, you quickly started shooting at the paper to distract her.

“—Look, babe! I’m getting the hang of it!”

Your girlfriend’s attention snapped over to you, and just like that her demeanor completely changed. “That’s my girl!” She exclaimed proudly, watching as you used the technique you two secretly talked about.

Instead of working your way around the star, Emily instructed you to just use the pellets and shoot a horizontal line across the top of the page, so that the whole thing would fall off and take the red star with it. There wasn’t anything on the rule list saying you couldn’t do such a thing, so it didn’t seem like cheating. All it specified was to make sure no more red was left, and that’s exactly what you were going to do.

Using your last shot, you effectively sliced the paper in half and caused the bottom portion holding the star to fall to the ground.

“Yes!!” Emily cheered, as she engulfed you in a bone-crushing hug. “I knew you could do it! Suck on that, Rebecca!!”

You laughed at her childish antics before facing the worker again, “Can I choose one of the prizes now?” You asked, hopefully.

However, Rebecca continued sitting on her stool with no move to get up. She looked at the two of you with a bored expression, and popped her bubblegum rudely. “Sorry, but unfortunately that was against the rules. You can’t shoot out the whole paper.”

“What?!” Emily scoffed. “But I read the rules, it didn’t say we couldn’t do that!”

“Well, it’s implied. I thought the FBI was supposed to be smart but apparently they take just about anyone these days.” She spat, while gesturing down to her badge.

“Excuse me?!”

“Uh-oh…” You mumbled, already knowing this wasn��t going to end well. (For Rebecca anyway.)

“That’s it!” Emily practically seethed, before turning to look at you. “I think it’s my turn now, babe. Back up for me, would you?”

“Of course.” You smiled, knowingly, kissing her cheek and doing as she requested.

With that, Emily faced the booth once more and threw the last of her money at the woman, who was about to hand her the weapon, but was quickly stopped.

“Oh, I won’t be needing that pathetic piece of plastic, Rebecca.” She chuckled, humorlessly.

Within the blink of an eye, Emily removed her gun from its holster and cocked it, before lining it up and taking a shot at not one, but all of the targets. Unlike the small pellets, her bullets had power and force, and echoed around the whole perimeter of the fair. Rebecca quickly took cover behind the counter as she covered her ears with a scream, and everyone else in the park ran for their lives. It shouldn’t have been funny to witness, but it was, and you knew that if this fiasco got back to Emily’s boss she would most certainly be in big trouble.

Once the firing had finally come to a stop, Rebecca slowly and cautiously made her way out from her hiding spot like the coward she truly was. Her wide eyes immediately landed on Emily standing there with a smirk of satisfaction as she blew nonexistent smoke from her gun. You, however, walked back up to stand beside her as you watched her safely holster it back onto her hip. Looking towards the targets, you saw that all of the white papers remained, but every red star was completely knocked from only one bullet each.

“What the hell?! Are you crazy?!” Rebecca shouted, looking at your girlfriend with a mix of fear and anger.

“Yup.” Emily chuckled, as she wrapped her arm around your waist. “Crazy in love.”

The night ended with the two of you leaving the fair hand in hand, as you both somehow managed to haul every last stuffed animal that you cleared from the “Shooting Star” booth. Making your way back to the car, you both were laughing your asses off, while trying to come up with names for all of them.

Hopefully, they would all fit in your dorm room.

a/n: if you can guess the movie scene that inspired this, you get a cookie

tag list: @reids187iq @ughilovesupergirl @crindy123 @avogotyournumber @yipyipjemily @madmaddi-1 @romanoffprentiss @nocreditinthestraightworld @taralewiz @aemilycarterwood @ssajemilyprentiss @spencers-renaissance @kgkoana @alexbllake @utterlycomplicated @maxinish @onlyalittlebumblebee @sweetprentiss @emilyprentisslittlewhore @sturmmhond @ssaprentisswifey

#emily prentiss x fem!reader #emily prentiss x y/n #emily prentiss x you #emily prentiss x reader #criminal minds #emily prentiss #paget brewster #criminal minds lgbt #ssa emily prentiss #emily prentiss one shot

152 notes · View notes

sokkascroptop · 4 years ago

Text

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 11

part 1 | part 10 | part 12

A/N: I’m over here like, “how to write Sokka and Y/N simping over each other, but like lightly simping?” Also, I guess we learn some more about Y/N family?

Y/N thought back to when she learned how to use a sword. She was young when her father told her she needed to choose something to master. If she couldn’t train to be a firebender, she was going to train to be something. She’d picked the sword because she’d seen him practice with her two older brothers in their courtyard, and spirits, she just wanted to make him proud for once. She worked nonstop and became the best she could be because there was no margin for error. Failure wouldn’t be tolerated.

“And this is supposed to train me how?!” Sokka asked. His arm dropped six inches. Y/N lifted it back up so it was even with his shoulder and straightened out his elbow more.

“Holding my sword out straight for hours will not only show me that you have the dedication to learn but it will also help you build up strength.”

“Hours,” he echoed.

“Look, if you don’t want to do this, that’s fine!” Y/N started to walk away.

Sokka grabbed her shoulder and spun her back around. “I’ll do it. I’m not happy about it. But I’ll do it.”

Sokka widened his stance and looked out over the water as he settled in. Y/N joined Toph in leaning up against the railing. “Is this really something that your teachers made you do?”

“The sword was much lighter but yes, Father said it was essential that I show my commitment.”

“Sounds like a nice guy.” Y/N didn’t miss the sarcasm in Toph’s tone. She also couldn’t refute it. He wasn’t a nice guy, and he was a worse father.

---

Half an hour and Sokka’s arm was shaking, Y/N could see it from across the deck.

“Tired yet?” she asked. Even though it was still morning, the sun was blazing. A drop of sweat dripped down his face and the tip of the sword dipped before he corrected it. “Nope,” he grunted. “Just peachy.”

“Sure. Let me know when you’re done?”

“What?!” the sword dipped again. “I thought you were the one telling me how long I was doing this.”

“I never said that.”

“But… that’s what you meant right?”

Y/N shrugged. And Sokka didn’t move.

“How long has he been at it?” Katara asked as she sat down next to Toph and Y/N. She handed them each a bowl of rice and smoked fish.

“Three hours,” Toph said around a bite of fish. Katara’s eyes widened in disbelief. “And whenever Y/N goes to check on him, his heart races like he’s afraid she’s going to make him do something else ridiculous.”

“Hey!” Y/N protested. “It’s not ridiculous. He’s training.” Even Y/N couldn’t keep a straight face while saying it. She hopped to her feet and approached Sokka.

“There it goes again!” Toph yelled.

Y/N ignored her. “You hungry?” she asked Sokka.

Sokka’s arm seemed to tremble a bit more. He forced a stoic look across his face. “Nope.”

“Are you sure?” Y/N asked. She picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and held it out. “If you’re so adamant about holding the sword, I can feed you lunch, if you want.”

An expression that Y/N didn’t recognize crossed his face and for a moment she thought he was actually going to say yes. But then he looked over her shoulder. “I’m good.” His voice was strained.

“Oh, for spirits sake, Sokka put the sword down and come eat!” Katara called from where she was sitting.

Sokka looked back to Y/N, his bright blue eyes drilled into her own. She held his gaze longer than necessary, because this was more fun than she had anticipated. And then Y/N realized what was happening. He was waiting for her to say something. Her stomach flip-flopped.

“Put down the sword,” She murmured.

She flinched when the blade clattered to the deck and her reverie broke. Sokka’s arm hung limply at his side and he collapsed on one knee. “Tui and La, that was the worst thing I’ve ever done!” He fell sideways on the deck and rolled onto his back. “My arm is numb. I can’t feel it. Is that normal?”

Y/N picked up her sword and examined the edge for nicks. “Sure.”

He leaned up and snatched the bowl of food from Y/N’s hands.

“Hey!”

Sokka balanced the bowl on his stomach and shoved the biggest piece of fish in his mouth. “I desermph it!”

“You didn’t have to hold it that long!” Y/N exclaimed. “I told you, you could stop anytime you wanted to!”

“I thought you were joking!” he shouted back.

Y/N turned back to the girls. “Is he always this dramatic?” She asked.

“All the time.”

“Always.”

“I am not dramatic!”

---

“No. Do that move again. Your shoulder is flying open too far. You’re leaving yourself vulnerable.” Y/N poked Sokka in the stomach to prove her point.

Sokka did, lunging forward with his sword but keeping his shoulders turned inward. He looked towards Y/N for any critique.

She leaned back on the rail with her arms crossed. “Much better.”

Sokka grinned. “Can we spar now?” He was always tired of just practicing new moves. He wanted action.

Y/N unsheathed her sword. “If we’re careful. Katara nearly killed me when I cut your arm last week.”

They’d been at sea for a few weeks now. Sokka and Y/N practiced every morning and every evening on the deck of the Fire Nation ship. There wasn’t much else for them to do but spar which meant that Sokka was learning a lot, and learning it fast. Only last week had she started letting them use real swords though; Sokka had taken a Jian sword similar to Y/N’s from the ship’s armory. In the weeks before, they had just used broken broom handles to make sure no one got hurt. After days of splintered hands and bruises all over from the “beatings” he said Y/N gave him, Sokka begged to use swords. With great reluctance she’d said yes, as long as he made sure he listened to her. It was an extra precaution for Y/N too, she was worried that if something happened to Sokka, they’d throw her overboard.

“Arm up, yes!” Sokka parried as Y/N thrusted her sword. She ducked under his sword and landed a punch to his side. “Gotta be faster though!”

She quickly backed away smiling as he caught his breath. “Was that necessary?” He asked with his hands on his knees.

“Absolutely. How else will you learn?”

Y/N waited a beat before she threw an overhand cut that Sokka blocked, reflexively. He swept at her in a long arc that she knocked away easily. They danced in a few lazy circles, blocking and striking before Sokka got bored. He moved to disarm Y/N, twisting the flat of his blade under her wrist. And lucky for him, she didn’t expect it and the pressure caused her to drop it. He let the point of his sword fall just beneath her chin.

Sokka’s eyes widened. “I won!”

Y/N pressed the flat of his blade between her two palms, moving it away from her face and kicking him in the wrist. The sword dropped from his hand as he sucked in a sharp breath. She swung the blade up and caught it by the hilt. She dragged her leg behind his and shoved him to the ground. He fell hard on his back and she pressed a knee to his chest.

“What did I say about being cocky?”

“It gets you killed,” Sokka grumbled.

“It looks like you lost!” Bato shouted from where he and Hakoda watched from across the deck. Hakoda laughed loudly and then said something unintelligible that sent them both into fits of laughter.

She moved off of Sokka’s chest and helped pull him to his feet. She held the hilt of his sword out to him and retrieved her own from the deck. “Again?”

“Will you please let me win one so my dad and Bato will stop making fun of me?”

Y/N looked over at the two men, who were just getting over their fit of giggles. Momo was perched on the chief’s shoulder and Hakoda reached up to pet his head.

She smiled at Sokka softly, he grinned back.

“No.”

Sokka’s face fell. “Oh come on!”

---

Y/N leaned her back up against the railing of the ship as she watched Sokka put his Fire Nation armor back on. She bit back a laugh as he slid his helmet on over a fresh bruise on his forehead. He caught her anyways.

“Yeah, thanks for that!” He kicked the bottom of her boot.

“Sokka, I told you I was sorry! If you’re in a high bind like we were you need to expect that the other person is going to hit you with the hilt to knock you down.”

“It hurt.”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah, I know it does. And I’ve had much bigger people do it to me so you should be happy.”

Sokka sat next to her and tapped her foot with his. “Thanks for teaching me.” He said that a lot. Y/N was pretty sure there wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t say it.

His face was covered by the helmet. It made it easier to talk to him when he looked like a nameless, faceless Fire Nation soldier. “Oh you know. The price for my life,” she sighed.

“You know that’s not how it is anymore, right?”

Y/N blinked up at the sky and fiddled with the clasp to her Fire Nation cape around her neck. It was dark and the air was humid. “It’s going to rain.”

After a minute, Sokka looked away from her and looked up too.

Just then, there was a crash on the deck. Sokka and Y/N both jumped to their feet and went running towards the sound.

“Twinkle-Toes, that’s got to be you!” Toph exclaimed. They all created a semi-circle around the airbender, who stood hunched over with Momo on his back. The lemur was furiously licking the side of his face. Y/N was surprised to see the Avatar's head covered in dark brown hair.

“Aang, you’re awake!” Katara moved to embrace him in a hug.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“You’re not dreaming! You’re finally awake.” She promised.

Sokka brushed past Y/N to hug him as well. “Aang, good to see you back with the living buddy.”

“Sokka?” Aang muttered. And then he fainted.

---

After making sure Aang woke up okay on the deck, Sokka nudged Y/N and walked her back to her room for the night.

“So, he’s awake.” Sokka said. Y/N didn’t meet his eyes; just looked back down the hallway to the staircase that would take you above deck. “I’m sure Katara will tell him everything. Nothing to worry about.” Then he did something unexpected. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t worry about it,” He repeated.

Y/N shook her head, at a loss for words. Sokka had never initiated contact with her when they weren’t sparring. In fact, he actively avoided it.

“Training tomorrow, before breakfast?” he asked.

“Yeah.” And then he was gone. Back down the hallway to his room.

Y/N closed her door and leaned up against it. She was worried. And somehow Sokka had figured out exactly what she was anxious over. Being on the ship with Aang unconscious was one thing. They had nothing better to do other than stay and let him heal there. But now that he was awake, he, Toph, Katara and Sokka were going to complete their mission to save the world and there was no place for Y/N in that story. Her point of leaving was never to join the Avatar’s mission, that just happened to be a side to the same story.

And she was sure the others didn’t want her to join either. It didn’t matter how nice they were to her, or how friendly her and Sokka had gotten over the last few weeks; she was still Fire Nation. And she wasn’t one of them.

A knock at the door startled Y/N. “Come in.”

---

A/N: I think this might just be my first official cliffhanger!! We got some fightin’, some Sokka, we even got our Boy Aang back!! The next part will be a little short, but very important for Sokka and Y/N’s development.

Taglist: @myexgirlfriendisthemoon @reclusive-chicken-nugget@astroninaaa @aangsupremacy @beifongsss @crownofcryptids @welovediaaxx @littlefluu @lozzybowe @thebluelcdy @ohjustlookalive @sugarmoongey @fanficdepot @teenbiology @13-09-01 @riespage @davnwillcome @naanlianid @creation-magician @lunariasilver @vintagerose1014516 @bcifcng @rockinearthbending-marauders @francesciak @thia-aep @aphrcditeee @milk-n-cheese

385 notes · View notes

starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years ago

Text

HASO, “An Honest Conversation.”

Addressing the elephant in the room, and beginning to deal with a problem that has been ongoing for a few months. Hope you all like :)

The room was half dark, it wasn’t due to the time of day or anything, but mostly because he considered it the perfect ambiance for practicing. Besides, it was easier to see if the lights were dimmed just a little. He adjusted the holographic headset over his head and eyes and dropped into a low crouch. In front of him the small Drev warrior in the hologram did the same. He followed it’s movements repeatedly practicing the forms laid out before him. Forms that were unfamiliar.

The forms of what the Drev were now calling the Resurgence….. The new spiritual fighting forms brought about by their new saint and distributed to Drev all over the galaxy, brought down from the mountain and their saint. The saint of the Sun.”

Sunny

His current weapons specialist and ex.

She had returned to the ship after the incident with the writing not everyone could read.

He spun the spear in a tight circle.

Now that was another can of worms entirely considering that he had been taken over…. Possessed? By some kind of cosmic being who said he both was and wasn’t Deus, but was and wasn’t Adam himself, which of course Adam took issue with considering --the last time he checked-- he didn’t have any unfathomable godly powers. From the short and…. Admittedly awkward, conversations with Sunny, it seems that that same being had helped her to develop the fighting styles, coming to her in the middle of some ritualistic trance, taking his form and also claiming to be him at the same time.

Due to these encounters, the UNSC and GA had added this Deus/not Deus to a watchlist of possibly dangerous alien species which included, right now, only the space dragons and that weird organic structure which had given him the vision. Anything they couldn’t explain or understand went on the list.

And yes of course there were a few people who had managed to study the space dragon, but they still didn’t understand how it could so easily travel from one area of space to another, or how it seemed to move faster than it should be able to even when it wasn’t creating its own warp tunnels.

And now there was this Deus, who seemed to be able to read people’s minds, encroach on their dreams, and had the power to survive in environments hostile to man or alien.

He jabbed forward with the spear and spun back.

He was practicing the human form, which he found to be the most pleasing and convenient.

Not that he was biased or anything.

Around him, a few more bodies filtered into the room heading to the periphery where the TVs and games were set out. No one bothered him, where he practiced in the center dueling ring.

At least not until.

“Try keeping your elbow a little higher.”

He was startled out of his rumination, and turned to look towards where the voice had come from, only to freeze when he saw Sunny standing at the edge of the circle, shimmering spear in hand.

Ever since she had come back , there was something different about her.

A cool, poise and confidence that hadn’t been so evident.

In his opinion it just made her more of a badass, and tried very hard to intimidate him though he didn’t let it.

He adjusted his elbow, “You mean like this.”

“Better, you’ll get more power out of a thrust.”

He lowered his spear and rested it against the floor. An awkward silence reigned between them for a moment. But based on the calm expression of her face, he knew it was only awkward because of him.

He sighed and then straightened himself, smiling. He lifted his spear gently swaying the tip back and forth in her direction, “So what does the great Saint think about a little friendly duel.”

She looked at him in mild amusement, and he knew that she knew that he knew she was going to kick his ass, but what else was he supposed to do? Talk? What would he even say?

Getting his ass kicked was much easier.”

“I’m not sure about that….”

She trailed off

He shook his head, “Oh come on you’re like the best warrior on Anin now, it's not like anyone is going to give you a really GOOD fight. But if you’re looking for a mediocre one, you might as well pick me.”

The corners of her mouth tightened, ‘I don’t thin-”

“I challenge you to a duel.”

She cut off and looked at him.

He continued to smile.

He had made a formal challenge, there was really no way for her to back out and the two of them knew it. That didn’t stop her from looking mildly concerned as she stepped into the circle. Adam kicked off his shoes looking for better grip against the floor with his bare feet. Sunny set herself up on the other side.

Adam’sl challenge had drawn attention from a few of the Drev in the room, who wandered over to watch the fight, no one had seen Sunny in combat just yet, and everyone was more than a little curious about what she could do now, Adam most of all. He knew that she had gone and practically been exalted, but also, he had always thought she was a talented warrior. He had trouble imagining her being any better.

He was about to eat those thoughts in a moment as one of the Drev took the opportunity to referee the fight.

They clicked out the starting command, and before he really knew what was going on, he was surrounded by a mailstrum of metal as her spear whipped around this way and that faster than he could have thought possible. He came out of the first attack surprised that he wasn’t dead and unsure how he had kept her back. Though he was sure that a large portion of that had been luck.

She came at him again, and he threw himself into a wild dodge, careening backward around the outer edge of the circle as she continued to advance.

He tried to fend her off, but that was about the only thing he COULD do.

Months and months of practice, and another month fighting with the neospartan colony on the archipelago and the only thing he could do was just not die.

She whipped her spear around and he deflected it to the side, but she came back again reversing the momentum of his deflection and nearly catching him on the arm. He quickly switched hands and caught her third attack which came from under and up. The clattering of their spears had brought the attention of the rest of the crew, who turned in their seats to watch.

Sweat rolled down from his hairline.

Then she did something she had never done before and kicked at the back of his knee with her forward foot. Drev didn’t do kicks, but there she was, and suddenly he was on the ground. She came in for an overhand strike which he just barely caught and had to struggle to keep off him. His eyes were wide.

He was losing.

And losing badly.

He tried not to think about it, but couldn’t help but be reminded how Drev battle partners worked…. How they had to be equal in a fight.

She was just toying with him.

His hands trembled as the spear bore down towards his chest struggling against her strength. He was going to lose…. Just like that, right here on the floor… on his back.

He had given into the inevitability when.

NO!

He could do better!

With a primal yell of anger and frustration spurred on by adrenaline he thrust his arms forward, throwing her back and nearly off balance. Around the circle the Drev muttered as he leapt to his feet. His teeth were gritted, and this time it was he who attacked his focus and frustration meeting at a sharp spearhead point.

This time it was her backing up around the circle as he came forward.

It might have been her surprise that allowed that sudden lapse, but soon she was throwing her own attacks in, sharp and snapping like a whip. He caught them, just barely.

Their fight grew faster and faster, the blows grew harder and harder, until his hands grew numb with every strike struggling to even keep hold of his spear.

Together they fought back and forth shedding sparks.

A crowd had gathered, a few of the humans looked as if they wanted to intervene, but Drev stopped them.

Adam came in for a side blow, which she caught, but this time the vibrations were too powerful, and his spear was knocked from his hands to go rolling across the floor and out of the circle. The Crowd stood with a cry of shock expecting the fight to be over. Sunny swung at him, and he ducked following up with a tight twisting kick that somehow caught the shaft of the spear against the ball of his foot. The blow was so powerful that her weapon was reached for her hand to go spinning after his own.

The room stared in shock and awe as they ended up on opposite sides of the circle from each other.

Sunny glanced over at the proctor as if expecting him to reset the match with their weapons.

But by then he was too far gone. All his pent up frustration at himself came out in one fell swoop as he rushed forward across the circle leaping into a flying tackle which threw both of them violently to the ground.

The sound they made as they hit the floor was like the crack of gunfire.

Four hands against two they fought, Sunny kicked him off, and he skidded across the floor onto to right himself and came running back. He caught her around the neck this time, grabbing her around the throat with one arm in a choke hold squeezing at the arteries on the slides of her neck, just similar enough to work like a human did.

Her hands scrabbled at his arms, and for a moment he forgot about her second pair of arms.

That was at least until the sharp carapace of her elbow came down on the inside flesh of his thigh. That loosened his grip sufficiently enough for her to throw him off. Unfortunately things didn’t work out well for him.

And there was a sharp crack and sudden roaring pain in his temple as his head hit the ground and bounced.

There was an audible gasp from the crowd as he rolled to land on his stomach on the other side of the circle. He was dazed and his head hurt horribly, but as if he was being guided on autopilot, he got back up.

Across the circle Sunny was just getting to her feet, and with a grimace she looked as if she was about to speak, but he didn’t let her, coming at her again.

Their grappling took them to the floor on multiple occasions, only for them to jump back up when one or the other broke free.

Across the circle the proctor motioned for their attention, and with the flash of metal on metal, their two spears were tossed back into the circle. Adam caught his from the air, as did Sunny, and then they were back at it again with no holds barred, full speed and full strength.

He caught Sunny high on the shoulder causing her to stagger and hiss in pain.

She caught him on the thigh, which almost caused him to keep over in agony sure that the bone had been fractured.

Around the circle the faces looked uncomfortable.

He snarled and rushed forward. They caught each other in a sharp exchange of blows that left his fingers on fire.

And then, it happened. He saw it in her eyes as a subtle narrowing, and before he knew what happened, she spun her spear around and cracked it against the side of his prosthetic knee. In the dead silence of the room, he heard something snap, and then the steel eye whirring grinded to a halt.

He was suddenly helpless tipping onto the floor and unable to rise.

WHen he lifted his head he saw only the spear pointed towards his face.

The room was silent.

He tried to get to his feet, but the prosthetic did not respond. He was left to sit on the floor under the point of her spear.

The narrowing of Sunny’s eyes faded and she looked down at his leg…. The leg she had modified for him in something close to shock.

“Adam I….”

He tried to move it again, but it only dragged like the limb of a useless doll.

The thought repulsed him, and he quickly unlatched the leg causing it to drop to the floor with a dull thud.

There was a mummering around the room as people hurried forward to help. Nairobi picked up the leg to examine it. Ramirez helped haul him to his feet. He bit back the sudden feeling of helplessness that came with a handicap he often forgot about, but looking, looking at the broken prosthetic in Narobi’s hands he became acutely aware of his own physical weakness.

Someone sat him down in a chair, while all the engineers gathered around the leg trying to determine what had caused the crack. Krill hurried over, giving him a look like thunder. Adam hadn’t even noticed he was bleeding until that moment.

Sunny knelt next to him, “Adam I-”

He held up a hand, “It’s ok, it was my fault. I got carried away.”

He didn’t let her continue.

It was thankfully, and almost mercifully at that moment when the Celzex showed up bringing the Tricar scientist with him. It took much of the focus off him and Sunny, and gave him time to spew some orders. He tried his best not to think about the fight, and his missing leg though limping along on the aluminum forearm crutches was hard to forget. With calm, patience and poise he dealt with their stowaway in good humor, allowed Krill to treat his head and check for a concussion, and then gave himself leave to retire to his room.

With the door shut, the turned to face the mirror across from his bed.

He wasn’t used to this picture of himself, less the admiral of the UNSC and more a veteran of the Drev war, with his missing leg, and the shitty aluminum crutches that had been military issued.

He hopped over to the edge of the bed and sat down, looking at the cold metal of the crutches, remembering the first time they had been given to him, on his return trip to earth. He didn’t really understand why he had kept them.

Adam often forgot about this particular handicap. Or that of his missing eye, most of the time he thought of his new robotic parts as augmentations giving him advantages over other humans, but now he realized how dependent he was one them. When the lights were off and the augmentations were removed he was reminded of the past.

Sure there were times in his day where he remembered. The early morning before he put his leg on, and the fact that his on suite shower had a bench so he could sit, but those were minor things he could almost forget about. Looking down now, that didn’t seem possible.

There was a knock on his door.

He didn’t want to see anyone, but no. He could deal with this just as he had everything else.

“Come in,” He called

He had not expected Sunny, sitting up in surprise as she walked in.

His first instinct was to throw the crutches to the side and cover his messed up leg, but he didn’t resist the urge and looked at her straight on. He leaned against the crutches, “I’m going to go ahead and apologize for earlier, I got carried away.”

“I think we both did.”

There was silence as she stood in the doorway.

He sighed. He knew what was coming, “Why don’t you sit down.” he patted the bed beside him, “or go grab that chair over there.”

She didn’t bother with the chair, instead, walking over to sit next to him. He adjusted himself as her weight sank the cushioning next to him. They both stared into the mirror across from them meeting eyes in the mirror.

“I’ll fix your leg. I just need a single part.”

“I didn’t doubt that someone would.”

She glanced over at him, “I’m sorry….. It was a…. Low blow.”

“I thought it was more good tactics honestly.”

“You don’t need to lie to me.”

There was another silence, as he looked inside himself for the truth. Granted that was part of it, but there was more. He wondered how honest he should be before deciding it was time to just say it. The worst that could happen was she would leave, and while that would kill him, it wouldn’t “kill” him.

He turned to look at her, “Yeah…. I suppose I don’t like being reduced to this.” He motioned down at himself, “but that's a personal issue, plenty of people handle it better than me. And I think I was honestly asking for it. You’ve been sainted in our time apart and I…. well I have done nothing of note, so I guess I was just trying to prove something to myself.”

She turned her head to look at him, and this time they made eye contact for real.

“Prove what to yourself.”

He gave her a brittle smile, “Prove that I could still match you in battle on the vein hope that one day I could repair what I did, but knowing I probably can’t.”

She stared at him, her golden eyes unblinking.

He found himself continuing to talk, “And it's not just that of course. I admire what you went and did. I wish I could be more like you. I wish I knew what I wanted and I wish I could make myself better.”

She was silent for a long moment.

Before.

“You hurt me you know.”

He knew she wasn’t talking about the fight.

Adam wanted to look away again but didn’t , “I know I did.”

“But I also understand that humans are different from us. You often do things against your best interest to protect people. I believe that that is not the way, but, in the end, this is subjective.”

They waited quietly.

“Do you think…. I will ever be able to repair what I did.”

His heart hammered in his chest, but he took a few long, deep breaths.

He wasn’t sure what he expected. Maybe some cryptic answer like, I don’t know, or you’re just going to have to find out.

The kind of answer you’d expect from what popular media says about relationships.

Of course he should have known better. Sunny wasn’t like that.

She tilted her head to look at him, “Really, Adam?”

He felt as if his heart was sinking into the stub of his leg.

“I see.”

She rolled her eyes in a very human manner, “Not that you moron. You didn’t even do anything that bad, at least not in your culture. So YES of course you can fix it. Now I can’t exactly give you a timetable on that, but obviously I would be interested. You seem to have worked some things out, and from what I’ve heard about your escapades these last few months I’m not the only one who has been seeking higher knowledge.”

She stood, “Anyway, I’m going to see if I can’t rig up something to hold you over until we can get parts at Europa.”

She ruffled his hair a little before turning and walking out the door.

He blinked in her wake.

Why did she always manage to throw him off balance?

And why had that been the most adult conversation he had ever had in his life?

He sighed and leaned back on his bed.

Ah yes 27 and he was finally becoming an adult.

How nice.

213 notes · View notes

ssamie · 4 years ago

Text

three. how strange

oikawa tooru x fem langa!reader

(hq x sk8 the infinity)

warnings: spelling mistakes, swearing, 2k+ words, u have langa’s blue hair sorry

gen masterlist. “snow” masterlist.

"so, you should tell me about yourself, y/n-chan" rika hummed "all i know is you're from canada and nothing else" she said

y/n hummed and took a small bite from her sandwich, munching lazily as she stares at rika from across her. "there's not much to say" she said. "oh cmon, there must be something" rika exclaimed

"favourite food?" rika asked "burgers." y/n responded with a look of glee "or fries. or poutines. or japanese bentos" she added

"see? im getting to know so much already!" rika said with a grin. "hm, how about your hobbies?"

"hobbies?" y/n repeated. "i like to skate.." she muttered. "what about you?"

"oh me?" rika hummed excitedly "well i play volleyball! im the girls team captain!" she exclaimed. "volleyball.." y/n mumbled as she recalled the brief conversation she had with cherry. "how do you play that?" she asked

"hm, well you just hit the ball and try to keep it in the air for as long as you can!" rika explained

"oh.. that's a bit boring" y/n said with a huff

rika spluttered and silently sulked "what do you mean?!" she exclaimed "volleyball is so fun! you get to play with your team and win! and go to competitions and-"

"rika-chan?" a girl's voice called out "who're you with?" another asked

y/n looked over her shoulder to see two girls walking towards them, holding what she assumed was a volleyball and their lunch. "oh, this is y/n-chan, she's our new classmate" rika explained. "oh, you're the transferee?" one of the girls asked

y/n nodded and quietly picked at her food, not wanting to look up and interact with the girls.

"not much of a talker huh?" the other girl mused. "well that's fine" she shrugged "mind if we eat with you guys?"

"not at all!" rika exclaimed with a grin. y/n grumbled in slight discomfort as she awkwardly sat along with the three girls.

"oh, sorry. im yuka" the girl beside her said with a wave. "i'm yuri!" the other said

"hasegawa y/n. nice to meet you." y/n replied with a straight face as she waved back at them

"hey, y/n-chan, yuka and yuri are twins and both third years too! they're my teammates in volleyball" rika exclaimed. "is that so.." she replied "that's cool" she smiled

"man, you are really bland" yuka said with a chuckle as she slung her arm around her shoulders

"what?" y/n mumbled back as she stared up at the girl with a raised brow "a-ah! yuka meant that you're not really that expressive!" rika explained with a nervous grin "yuka-chan is bad at wording things so she comes off as mean"

"oh.." y/n muttered. yuka laughed and patted y/n on the back. "that's right, don't take it too seriously!" she said

"you should be nicer to her" yuki said with a frown as she watched y/n rub her back right at the spot where it got hit. "what do you mean?" yuka playfully scoffed "im nice! i mean why wouldn't i be?"

she then tucked some of her blue locks behind her ears and smirked. "how can i be mean to a cutie like this?" yuka cooed

rika and yuki face palmed while y/n simply stared back at the girl with a blank smile, blinking cluelessly as the flirty remark seemed to fly over her head. "you're cute too." y/n said with a small smile as she continued munching on her sandwich

rika and yuki averted their eyes to y/n and deadpanned. "is she really that dense?" yuki sweat dropped. "it seems so" rika chuckled

"i like you, you're cool!" yuka exclaimed as she slung her arm around the girl once more. "you should join the team"

"team?" y/n mumbled in confusion. "I AGREE!" rika exclaimed as she slammed her hand on the table. "can you even play volleyball, y/n-chan?" yuki, who seemed to be the only sensible one, asked

"no" y/n replied

"i'll teach you!" yuka said with a grin "im the ace, this'll be easy!"

"well, it's all y/n-chan's desicion if she wants to join or not" yuki said with a smile.

"NOPE IT'S MINE!" rika interjected "im the captain so im scouting you to join!"

y/n sweat dropped and shook her head. "can i decline?" she asked. "absolutely not." rika replied

"this is.. strange." y/n said as she inspected the ball in her hands. she dribbled it back and forth as she eyed the net. "what's with that net?" she asked them. "are we supposed to jump over it?" she asked

rika paled and immediately shook her head "ofcourse not! no one can jump that high anyways" she said. "were supposed to keep the ball from touching it. it also divides the court, as you can see."

y/n hummed and nodded in fascination. "oh. so we throw it over?" she asked

rika sighed and shook her head. "nope we hit the ball so it could fly through the air. kinda like this..." she took the ball from y/n's hands and fixed her stance to perform an overhand serve.

y/n's eyes followed her hands, watching as her palm made contact with the ball, and making it real through the air with immense speed and power.

"heh. hows that!" rika grinned. y/n looked at her with sparkling eyes, her expression laced with awe and admiration. "that's so cool!" she exclaimed "can you teach me?"

rika nodded excitedly and grabbed a different ball for her to practice with. "okay, so pretty much just throw the ball with your hand and hit it with the other" she said

"go as hard as you can. we're only practicing anyways” y/n nodded in determination and did as she was told. except, when she did her attempt, it was quite unsuccessful to say the least.

she threw the ball in the air, her aura changing into a more concentrated one, as she readied her other hand to hit.

"ouch!" she yelped as her hand missed the ball, which led to it falling ontop of her head.

"ah, don't mind" rika chuckled "it's your first try, you'll get it right soon!"

"right!" y/n replied

wrong. they were wrong.

y/n couldn't perfect or let alone perform one successful serve or receive. it always ended with her tripping, missing the ball, or accidentally making it bounce onto her face

"i can't do it" she heaved out as she laid on the gym floors . "yes you can, you're just.. different.." rika sweat dropped "learning new things comes differently to others, so maybe with more practice you'll do well" rika said

"i can't anymore" y/n huffed out as she sat up from the ground "it hurts." she gestured to her arms and face which was covered in bandaids. her arms were as red as they could be from all the impact it had been receiving. and her face was honestly close to being battered. she felt as if it was worse than the injuries she got while learning how to skate with reki.

"but volleyball seems awesome and fun.." she muttered out in distress "i wanna play it. but i don't think i can" she said, making rika frown.

"well.. we could always try again?" rika suggested with a smile. "im afraid if i get more bruises i won't be able to skate or move properly anymore" y/n replied with a grunt

rika hummed in agreement. "well youre not wrong" she said

"i wanna play volleyball.. but i also don't.." y/n said with a soft laugh "i wanna learn about it.. and be involved" she said "maybe reki would be proud." she muttered with a smile. "..is that weird?" she asked

rika looked over at her and shook her head with a smile "not at all!" she said "actually, it might know just what you want"

"and that is..?"

"please accept her as manager!" rika exclaimed to the coach as she bowed down in respect. "please!" y/n repeated as she went to stand back up, only for rika to push her head back down.

rika sweat dropped and cupped her mouth, whispering to him with a frown "well, she's kinda bad at it so.." coach nobuteru sweat dropped and nodded. "i see." he said.

coach nobuteru chuckled at the two and urged them to stand. "i don't understand, rika" he said "if she wants to play volleyball, why not let her join your team?" he asked

"hasegawa y/n, correct?" he mused. y/n nodded in response, way too distracted by the boys' gym that seems to look relatively different from the girls'. "well, our manager spot is indeed open for offers" he said "we still haven't found one that's reliable and fairly compatible with the team."

"yeah, most of the volunteers just wanna flirt with oikawa" rika explained, causing nobuteru to laugh but agree nonetheless.

"..." y/n stared at them in confusion and tilted her head to the side, looking absolutely clueless. "who's oikawa?" she asked

a few murmurs and snickers could be heard from outside the gym entrance, followed by some whines from a boy saying things like 'don't laugh!' or 'she's just playing hard to get!'

"he's our team captain." nobuteru explained with a smile. "he's arguably one of the best players in the business, im sure he won't disappoint."

"oh.." y/n muttered. "who are the other players?" she asked, not really wanting to discuss a boy she don't really know

laughs and murmurs once again echoed through the gym walls, followed by some teasing remarks like 'oh the pretty girl's not interested in you' and the likes

"well, we have our vice captain iwaizumi" nobuteru said. y/n then perked up at the familiar name and gasped in awe "iwaizumi-san's from our class" she said to rika who only nodded in response

"i see he's got a fan?" coach nobuteru mused. "iwaizumi is a wing spiker and our 'ace' as we may say" he said. "so cool!" y/n exclaimed with sparkling eyes as she invisioned iwaizumi spiking a ball through their opponent's blocks

"enough!" a loud whine echoed throughout the gym walls, followed by various laughter from boys

the three of them looked back to see oikawa crossing his arms and huffing in annoyance while some of the boys teased him

"oh, you finally decided to show yourselves, huh?" coach nobuteru chuckled

"coach!" the boys greeted with sheepish smiles as they put away their bags

"well anyways, i'm guessing you've already heard our conversation" nobuteru said. "y/n seems like a nice girl.." he trailed off "she also seems interested in the sport.. and a specific player" nobuteru chuckled as he watched her discreetly look at iwaizumi with sparkling eyes and amazement

"i'm thinking of giving her a chance."

y/n's eyes averted towards him and blinked in surprise. "really?" she asked with a smile

"yep. but it's only like a trial type of thing. we'll see how well you'll do, then we can all decide if you're cut out for it" nobuteru explained. "okay! i'll do it!" she agreed with a determined look in her eyes.

beside her, rika yelped and bright her down to her height to whisper. "these boys are very rowdy so if you can't handle it, i'll totally kick off our shabby boy manager and take you in instead!" she said

y/n looked at her in confusion and simply nodded. "okay.. but they can't possibly be that bad.." she whispered back. y/n then turned to inspect the boys, looking them up an down and studying their white and teal uniforms down to their shoes.

"reki would look good in that" she mumbled to herself ".. the color's kinda like my hair.." she felt her cheeks heat up, causing her to jump and quickly cover them with her hands

"um.. when do i start?" she asked coach nobuteru

"right now." oikawa answered with a smirk. "nice to meet ya, manager-chan~" he winked. she raised a brow and looked him up and down. with a look of dread, she muttered; "you're the boy from class..the noisy one.."

oikawa's face paled as he watched her bow at him then swiftly move along to greet the others.

"eh?" he muttered in confusion. the brunette looked at her with furrowed brows and watched as she bombarded iwaizumi with questions.

"are you really the 'ace'?" she asked him. "ah yeah.. i guess coach told you" iwaizumi replied with a sheepish smile. "are you good at spiking like rika?" she asked with sparkling eyes. "i guess so.." iwaizumi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck

"so cool.." she mumbled in amazement "can you teach me?"

"ah, that's not a good idea" rika quickly interjected "at least let your bruises heal first" she sweat dropped

"bruises?" matsukawa hummed in confusion "why'd you have bruises, hasegawa-san?" he asked

oikawa simply watched as her expression morphed into one of slight embarrassment and dread. "i.. i tried to play volleyball.. but i suck" she sulked

the boys sweat dropped and nodded in understanding "i see." matsukawa chuckled

"well no worries, we'll teach ya if we ever have the time" he said. y/n was seemingly cheered up by that statement alone, seeing as her lips curved into a small smile. "thank you" she said

"hey, quit staring you pervert" iwaizumi said as he nudged oikawa with his elbow

oikawa looked over to him and chuckled. "im not staring" he said. iwaizumi rolled his eyes and lightly hit oikawa's head with his fist. "don't even think about flirting with her" he said

"she seems to hate you enough." iwaizumi snickered "that's what you get for annoying her in class"

"im not gonna flirt with her—"

oikawa abruptly paused as his eyes caught hers. she kept eye contact for a while longer and sent him a faint smile before looking away.

the brunette blushed as he watched her walk off along with rika and coach nobuteru

"iwa-chan.. i think im gonna have a problem with that request of yours" oikawa muttered out as he watched her blue locks sway in the air

iwaizumi huffed and slapped him on the back. "geez. you got love at first sight or something?" he teased

"yeah.. i think so.." oikawa responded with a hazy smile, watching her figure disappear with a blush sprawled across his cheeks

"wait what? seriously?" iwaizumi asked in surprise "you can't be serious.. don't mess with me or her like that" he warned him. "im not!" oikawa huffed "im telling the truth, okay!"

"whatever" iwaizumi rolled his eyes "let's get practice going"

on the other side of the gym, y/n shuddered, which gained rika's attention. "something wrong?" rika asked her. "oikawa-san was staring at me..." she said with a small whimper ".. creepy.."

rika sweat dropped and patted her back comfortingly "maybe he likes you" she jokingly said with a laugh. "i mean, it's not a bad thing. he's cute and nice. he's actually pretty fun to be around"

"reki's like that too.." y/n muttered with a smile, completely disregarding the topic about oikawa.

"who's reki?" rika asked with a curious hum. "he's my best friend." y/n replied "he's in okinawa right now."

"i wonder what he's up to.."

"oi, redhead where's SNOW?!" "SNOW's been gone for a few days, the beefs are getting boring!" "i miss betting on her" "we wanna see SNOW!"

reki gulped as he watched almost the entirety of S rampage about the absence of their favourite rookie "ah, she's just taking a break for now!" reki exclaimed with a nervous smile

reki sighed and simply walked back to his friends, groaning in exasperation as he sat on the ground next to miya "its no use, they won't buy it" he said. "well yeah." miya huffed "they love betting on her cus she always wins"

"yeah right, she didn't even get injured last time" "he's totally lying!" "just tell SNOW to come!"

"why don't we just tell em" shadow shrugged "not like she's coming back any time soon"

reki frowned and shook his head. "that would stir a lot of commotion" he said "but i guess you're right. y/n can't really come to S anymore if she's not here." reki sighed in distress "AGH, WHY DID SHE HAVE TO LEAVE ANYWAYS?!"

"SHE COULD'VE STAYED HERE INSTEAD OF MOVING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY!" reki whined "now i don't have my best friend!"

"no, it can't be.."

everyone froze as the oh-so-familiar voice rang across the air. they looked back to see ADAM with his jaw slightly agape, and his hands shaking from either anger or disbelief. maybe both.

"no way, it's ADAM" reki clenched his fists "what the hell is he doing here?"

cherry frowned and nodded along. "yeah. there are no major beefs of events tonight.." he said

"my.. my little y/n.." adam whimpered "she left me.."

reki grimaced at the nickname and glared at the man, looking at him in utter distaste as he stood up warily.

"NO! I WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN!" adam exclaimed in anger. he was seething, basically shaking from anger in distress.

"you." he pointed at reki. "where is SNOW." he asked through gritted teeth

"im not telling you ADAM." reki said with a glare. "leave her alone."

adam scoffed and turned on his heels, picking up his board and walking off with tadashi following suit. "tch. i do not care." he said. "i don't need an interposing nuisance like you." adam scoffed

"it doesn't matter if i have to search the whole country or let alone the world.." adam trailed off

he placed his hand on top of his pounding chest and grinned. in a menacing tone, he muttered;

can you tell im a fucking wattpad author with how fast the oikawa suddenly liked her

"i will find you, my eve."

38 notes · View notes

littlegiantposts · 4 years ago

Text

Episode 2

Kageyama x f!reader

warning: may contain manga/anime spoilers! strong language probably!

description: In which Y/n is a new addition to Karasuno’s Girl’s Volleyball Club

I’m pretty sure this is the pilot episode but hopefully I did this right:

a/n: Okay! here is the next episode! Idk why but I like naming these episodes. Also, if you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to keep in the timeline as season 1. Hopefully that’s not going to be a pain in the ass later, but yeah! I hope you enjoy!

Y/n approached the gym and entered by sliding the steel door. The whole team was there and they were finishing warming up with serves. Everyone was mostly doing overhand serves. But what caught Y/n’s eyes was Etsuko. She had her eyes closed and taking deep breathes. Y/n slightly tilts her head to the side.

What is she doing? Y/n ponders. Yuma sees Y/n and approaches her. She sees how Y/n is staring at Etsuko.

“She can do a jump serve?” Y/n watches as Etsuko starts a run up. The ball hit the middle of the net.

The whole team erupts in fits of laughter.

“No, she can’t.” Yuma clarifies.

“Woah, Etsuko, you’re gonna give Y/n a run for her money!” Rinko exclaimed and continued to chuckle with the other third years. Other players snicker and make some harmless, little jokes.

“Oh, please. At least I am trying!” Etsuko huffs in protest to the teasing. Y/n approaches Etsuko.

‘You’re right. It’s good that you’re trying. The toss was great, the timing was off, but that’s what practice is for.” Y/n says honestly.

Etsuko was not really expecting Y/n’s hard-hitting honesty but it was a breathe of fresh air from the teasing. She takes a long look at Y/n, for a teenager, she sure is mature.

Nonethless, you’re flattery made her cheeks tinge with red, “I was really just copying what you did earlier.” She says shyly.

At this, Y/n eyes widened, “Do I really look that serious?!” She had never really paid any attention to what she might look like towards others while she is in play. Up until now, she only focused on the game because, well, that’s just how she plays. Etsuko and Yuma chuckle at Y/n’s reaction.

“Yeah, it was as if your looks could kill.” The 3 first years turn to the voice to see the captain, Michimiya Yui, “so, I hope you’re all warmed up cause we will be starting the three on three.”

“Right, who will be playing?” Y/n inquires.

“I was thinking Moe and Yuma will be on your team. Then, the opposing team will consist of Aoki, Yua, and I.” Y/n nods at the captains words.

“Wait, WHAT?!” everyone turned to Etsuko’s outburst.

“Oh no.” Yuma quietly mumbles.

“I wanted to play in the three on three!” Etsuko almost sounded like a child that was ready to throw a tantrum. She had her arms crossed, thinking of a plan to get her way somehow. “What about we make it more interesting. The first years versus the third years.” She smirks.

“Etsuko, you turd, don’t go against the captain!” Yuma bonks Etsuko’s heads. Etsuko instinctively held her head and dramatically fell to the ground, “OW! You know my head’s sensitive”, she pouts.

Yui laughs at the interaction and starts to think about her offer. Sudou approaches Yui, “You aren’t actually thinking about that as an actual option, right?”

Yui smiles, “I mean, why not? I already know Y/n is an exceptional player. This three on three really serves as a nice introduction through friendly competition.”

Sudou thinks over Yui’s words, “You aren’t wrong.” She looks over at the first years. All three of them. “What about we add to your idea, Etsuko. Whichever team loses has to be the other team’s servants for,” Sudou puts her hand on her chin and looks up, acting like she is in a real deep thought, “three whole weeks”.

“THREE WHOLE WEEKS?!” Etsuko begins to regret opening her mouth.

“What would we have to do?” Yuma almost didn’t want to ask, afraid of the severity of the word ‘servant’.

“Oh, just the simple, worshiping the ground they walk on, get them or make food when they ask, and help them with virtually anything if they ask a favor.” Sudou smirks.

All the previous color on Etsuko and Yuma’s face were practically gone, looking like they are going to faint. Y/n looks at their state worriedly, How little do you think of yourselves?! You guys can’t be that bad, right? Y/n turns to look at the 2nd years and some are already on their knees, hands together. They’re praying for us?! Y/n gulps.

Y/n reverts her gaze back at Sudou Rinko, the third year. Her classic, neutral face making a comeback as she takes a calming breathe. This girl sure knows how to think of a punishment.

“You’re on.” Y/n holds out her hand. Rinko firmly shakes your hand. She was pleasantly surprised by the guts that Y/n has for not backing down to a challenge.

“Splendid. So, it will be you three, against Mao, Yui, and Chizuru.” All the girls who weren’t playing in the three on three were buzzing with excitement as they took their seats on the sidelines. They made small talk such as conversing on who they think will win.

“Oi, get up. We’re going to start.” Y/n ordered the two first years. Both of them grudgingly got up and stood in front of Y/n.

“Okay, so what can you tell me about Mao and Chizuru?”

The pair looked at each other as if they were talking with their eyes, deciding on who should talk first.

Etsuko scratched her head, “Yeah, um. I don’t really know what to tell you. I don’t really know how to, like, analyze people like you probably do.”

Y/n was mentally pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I know Chizuru has been really working on her receives.” Yuma chimes in. “As for Mao, well, she’s the tallest person on our team, so I’m guessing her blocks and spikes will be difficult to pick up.”

Y/n nods. Interestingly enough, Y/n did not ask the worried pair this question for the actual information they would give her. She asked the question to see how well her current teammates analyze their opponent from prior knowledge.

Y/n has seen the third years play. At times they lacked the spirit and in some areas, the technique, to carry through with both defense and offense, which is coincidentally really important. As third years, they do serve as an example for the grades below them. So, if they are lacking, it’s only probable that the team will follow behind.

Only in some spur-of-the-moment instances she would see the fire ignite within them, but that was really it. While there are many holes in their team, it doesn’t mean they are hopeless.

“Wait, why didn’t you ask anything about Captain Yui?” Etsuko jumped back into the conversation.

“Well, I already saw how she spiked when I sent some sets her way. She’s got power and stamina backing her up, but she is lacking in technique and in game sense, so that will give us some points when blocking.” Etsuko and Yuma looked at each other as Y/n kept talking about what she has observed over the limited time she has been in the gym. They were plainly shocked at how observant Y/n is and can only imagine what she thinks of them.

“Okay, let’s go out there and have fun, guys.” Despite the literal meaning of Y/n’s statement. Her tone and face did not match, so it really just was uneasy for Etsuko and Yuma to experience as Y/n smacked their backs before walking towards where she would start in the game.

“Would you guys want to receive?” Yui asks as she grabs a volleyball.

“Yeah, we’ll receive.” Y/n confirmed, getting into position.

Yui send a overhand serve there way. Etsuko receives it.

“It’s short, sorry!” Etsuko calls out

Y/n runs under the ball, “got it!” And lifts the ball towards, “Yuma!” near the net.

Yuma jumps to spike, however Mao is there, ready to block. They make solid eye-contact that felt like years to Yuma, It’s as if she’s piercing my soul with her eyes. Unfortunately, Yuma got psyched out and almost forgot to make contact with the ball. Yuma ends up accidentally just lifting the ball right over Mao’s block, committing to a feint.

Yui flies towards the ground with her left arm stretched out, she’s able to put the ball in the air.

“Chizuru!” The timid third year bumps it towards the net. Y/n makes a judgment call.

“It’s over the net.” Other players would probably yell that comment, but Y/n never really saw the point in yelling when her teammates are merely a couple feet away from her. Her pain level of volume almost made her two other teammates more on edge due to the unfamiliarity of it, rather than someone screaming the comment.

As Y/n suspected, the ball just barely made it over the net.

“Again!” Mao yells as she bumps it towards Y/n.

With a side glance, Y/n notices that Yui and Mao are guarding Yuma. She takes a quick look to Etsuko and mentally smirked, no blockers, Y/n needed to somehow tell Etsuko without giving it away because with Yui’s speed, she will definitely be able to retrieve it.

It was merely seconds, but Y/n stared Etsuko down and gave a slight lift of her chin in an upwards direction, hoping that Etsuko can decode it and define it as, jump.

Relying on her instincts, Etsuko miraculously picked up what Y/n was getting at. At least, she thinks.

That nod was for me, right? I think she wants me to spike it from where I am. Oh, but I’m a bit far from the net. I’ve only done spikes close to the net because I’m scared of it not going over. Despite Yuma insisting on how Etsuko never thinks before she acts, Etsuko is quite the overthinker.

The thing was, Yuma was confident that you were going to send the ball her way. After all, according to Yuma’s knowledge, Estuko typically put too much power into her spikes, sending them out of bounds. She thought Y/n would pick up on this on how over-zealous she is about practically anything. Thus, Yuma started her run up.

We’ve got you now, Yui and Mao solely focusing on Yuma, making sure they jump at the correct time.

Despite their efforts in blocking, which would have been a perfect one that would kill the ball, the ball hit the ground loudly with a smack. All that could be heard was the ball bouncing from its earlier impact.

The look of surprise on everyone’s faces in that gym was priceless. However, the most shocked person was the person who actually did it. Etsuko looked down at her slightly red hand. She clenched her hand into a fist. She will never get tired of the feeling.

Etsuko looks at Yuma and they both give out unintelligible sounds of excitement. They hug each other as if that one point meant a hundred points.

Y/n let out a breathe she didn’t know she was holding. And she looks over at her teammates. It looks like they opened their hug, expecting a third person.

That’s you, dumbass. You’re the third person. Y/n physically jolted at the realization. Etsuko motioned her hand for Y/n.

Y/n hesitantly put both her arms on the middle of their back, barely touching as if they had a disease. She didn’t know what was too close so she played it safe. Etsuko and Yuma didn’t pay any attention to the awkwardness of Y/n and was rejoicing.

“Hold on, wait a minute! Did you actually use your stupid head? How did you do that? Usually you knock it out of the park.” Yuma didn’t want to praise Etsuko too much, knowing it would inflate her ego too much.

“Oh, shut up. I got the first point, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you’re the most surprised out of everybody. I bet it was a fluke.”

“Shut your mouth or I’ll shut it myself!”

“HA! I’d like to see you’re scrawny ass try!”

“If I’m scrawny, then what are you?”

The teasing would never stop. Y/n intervened, “That wasn’t a fluke.”

Yuma, and even Etsuko, was confused at Y/n’s statement. With her spike track record in recognition, it makes sense for that success to be a one time thing.

“Are you sure, Y/n? You don’t have to be nice to Etsuko if you don’t want to. She’s not intimidating.”

“Why do you always find a way to diss me when you aren’t even talking to me” Etsuko grumbles. “But I agree, partly, with Yuma here. I’m pretty sure it was a fluke too.”

Y/n shakes her head side to side. “It wasn’t.” She turns to Etsuko.

“Etsuko, tell me if I am correct, before this three on three, you have always spiked the ball that was tossed to you right near the net.

Um, isn’t that where you are supposed to spike? Etsuko questions in her head.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Right now, you spiked the ball behind the attack line, and let me add how you didn’t even use a running start.” With this, Y/n now turned to Yuma.

“Now correct me if I am wrong, Yuma, Etsuko will swing at the ball with all her might, regardless of how tired she is.”

“Yeah, you got that spot on”

“You see, where Etsuko lacks in technique-”

Etsuko deflates.

“-she makes up for raw swinging power.”

She immediately straightens her posture and smiles at the complement.

Y/n continues, “it is because of your distance from the net that gave you leverage on actually hitting it within their side of the court.”

“Wait, Etsuko hasn’t ever shot a spike from there, so had did you even know she would even make it over the net? And how did you know that Etsuko would know to jump?” Yuma brings up a good point.

“I didn’t” Y/n simply stated.

Yuma and Etsuko looked almost disturbed at her answer. She didn’t have anything backing up her decision?

“You really tried something as risky as that when the stakes are so high?” Yuma questions in shock.

“I know I don’t seem like a person to do something like that without thinking it through but-” Y/n turns her head to the side to look at them, “I feel like I can trust you guys to back me up.”

Etsuko and Yuma almost teared up at Y/n’s confession. The morale in their team was boosted to a hundred because of this, which is just what they needed to keep them motivated. They felt they can take on the world-

“We still need 24 more points to win one set. And then another set.” Y/n looks over at the scoreboard, seeing the 1-0.

At Y/n’s sudden statement, Etsuko and Yuma embarrassingly looked down at how this is the only beginning.

On the other side of the court, the third years gathered to tell each other apologies, to shake it off, and assuring they will get the next one.

It’s Etsuko’s serve.

“Protect your head, Y/n.” Yuma instructs.

“Oh shut it, Yuma!”

Etsuko exhales. I can do this. It’s not that hard. I will be the strongest volleyball player there is. The last statement is basically a mantra for Etsuko. The thing that is special with Etsuko is that she is never afraid to try new things. Even when the probability of her failing is so high and her probability to succeed is so little. To her, that little probable outcome still stands as a chance. And she always takes it, no matter what. She will try anything, finding what works and hone that skill. On the court, it’s deadly. For the opposing team, that is.

She’s not actually trying again to do a jump serve, is she? Rinko questions as she notices that she is far away from the court line.

Yui smiles with a shake of her head, this kid never stops trying.

Etsuko looks straight ahead, just get it over the net.

She hears the whistle blow and she takes her run up and jumps. Her serve whizzes past the net, the third years not touching it.

However, it was out.

Etsuko grumbles and hangs her head in shame.

“Hey. shake it off! It’s alright” Y/n reassures. Yuma merely chuckles, but Etsuko hears her.

“What are you laughing at?! Do I have to beat your ass again?” Etsuko starts to animatedly rolls up her sleeve of her sweatshirt with a prominent vain on her neck. The two start to bicker as per usual.

This is going to be a long game. Y/n exhales a big breathe as she gets down for the next serve.

The score is 23-24. Both teams are clawing for each point. There was never a severe point difference, neither team was able to break away.

It’s Y/n’s serve.

Yuma and Etsuko felt comforted that she will be serving, if anything, they feel confident they will be able to at least do a deuce.

Chizuru mentally groaned. God, her jump serves are so hard to receive.

Y/n looks so focused, many thought who viewed the skilled first year.

She does her run up.

Chizuru instantly recognizes and smirks, This isn’t her usual jump serve! This is a jump float! Just like I’ve practiced.

“Chizuru, it’s all you!” Yui calls out to her, she knows that she has been dedicating most of her time in personal practice on her receives. This is her time to shine.

Just like in practice from all those hours, Chizuru gives in to her muscle memory and makes the receive look so effortless.

Damn it, thought it was a good idea to pull that serve out. So she has specialized receiving jump floats. Impressive. Y/n recollects her thoughts and moves up for defense. Mao sets it to Yui and she spikes, but Yuma is there, block timing on point, killing the ball’s momentum.

Etsuko made the mistake letting her guard down for a split second, mainly because Yui is known for her perfected flying receives, but she thought she wouldn’t be able to pull one off as she just spiked and is on the other side of the court in regards to the ball.

Despite this, Chizuru flies onto the ground and is able to pick up the ball.

“It didn’t hit the floor.” Y/n informs her teammates. They both are shocked, thinking they had it in the bag.

The ball barely cleared the net, Etsuko, being the closest, tried to attempt the same type of receive, but her hand was not able to make contact, resulting the ball to bounce right in front of her eyes.

“The first set goes to the third years!” Rinko annouces.

“Uhg, I’m sorry, guys! I shouldn’t have let my guard down, it’s my fault.” Etsuko furiously bowing up and down again. It’s mainly to Y/n because she has yet to know how Y/n will deal with this. Yuma on the other hand, “Hey, it’s alright, you were bound to make a mistake at some point”, she smirks, taunting yet again just to get her riled up.

“Oh, shut up! I don’t care what you think!” Her apologetic tone disappearing as she talks to Yuma.

“It’s okay, Etsuko! It’s not your fault. We are a team, we take it together. We may have lost the first set, but we still got another one so there’s no time to think about what we could have done.” Y/n explains.

There is a small break to rehydrate and a breather. Nonetheless, the second set was about to start as the three on three switch sides.

The second set was harder than the first. Not because both teams were exhausted, it was as if something was ignited within both teams. They were continuously pushing each other as the set went on. Like the last set, there was no big point gap, but this time, the first years were surprisingly in the lead, as the scores are 19-21.

“Damn, this time the first years beat them in getting in the 20′s” one of the second years said, which was the official setter, Manami Aoki, a second year.

“I think they might take the set!” Another second year chimes in who plays middle blocker, Takei Katsu.

Just like she said, the first years did take the second set. Yuma was able to snuff the ball’s momentum from Yui’s spike for the winning point.

“I honestly thought this wasn’t going into a third set.” Matsuda Yua, a second year. She’s a middle blocker and an outside hitter, she voices her thoughts.

“Hm, yeah. At face value, it seemed the third years would win in straight sets, but it seems the first years got some spunk that’s saving their ass.” Takai rationalizes.

“Yeah, I see that” Aoki agrees with her.

“Yeah, but I think they got more than spunk with that volleyball prodigy on their team.”

The second years turned one to one their fellow classmates, Watabe Nozomi, their libero. She wasn’t one to really talk to other people, which includes her teammates. She was silent most of the time, but she was super reliable, both on and off the court. They never wanted to force her in opening up about herself so for the most part, they let her be one of the most reserved people on their team.

Because of their knowledge of her personality and attitude, they were shocked at how she was actually taking part in the conversation. Not that they minded, they always wanted to get to know her better. The way their team works is that they are more than just teammates, they care for each other outside of volleyball and want the best for them, regardless of what happens on the court.

They form this bond with one another, which makes their actions on the court to be more naturally cohesive. This is one of the strengths that their club possesses. And it’s not that they force this bond, it’s the love for volleyball that brings them together.

“She must be really something if she got Nozomi talking about her.” Rinko looks over the second years as she stands on the side with her whistle.

Nozomi’s cheeks tinge with some red as she gets called out. The second years chuckle a bit at her reaction.

��You really think she is a prodigy?” Aoki asks.

“She seems really in tuned with her body. It’s like she is hyper-aware of her surroundings and makes fast decisions that almost always ensure a point.” Nozomi comments. The second years nod in agreement and acknowledgment.

“I don’t think she’s a prodigy, I mean, those types of people are born with skill. While, Y/n seems she has built upon her skills over the years, which is impressive in itself.” Rinko adds in.

Rinko had it right. Y/n was not a prodigy or some sort of genius. She was someone who practiced, practiced, and practiced some more. She devoted so much of her time and energy into volleyball that it only made sense that she excels in it.

As the third set nears the end, the first years make a surprising break away. The points being 23-19.

“We might actually be getting our own servants” Etsuko pants as exhaust dawning on her.

“Yeah, if we continue to play smart, we might win this thing” Yuma continues.

“We can do this, guys. Let’s play strong till the very end.” Y/n gave a thumbs up at her teammates. And smiled. Well, she tried.

“Uh, what’s up with your face, dude? If you gotta take a shit, then go ahead. We can take a short break” Etsuko assures Y/n.

“You idiot! Can’t you see she’s smiling.” Yuma karate chops Etsuko’s head, resulting in a yelp and her hands to fly to her head at the impact.

Poor Y/n is truly trying her best, but she was not preparing to show much emotion today, or any day for that matter. She had to shake it off and she can worry about being not emotionally available later.

It was Y/n’s turn to serve. All three third years internally groaned. She decides to serve it over to Chizuru, specifically right behind her left foot.

The ball actually lands behind her right foot. Despite being at game point, Y/n couldn’t help but feel irritated at how inaccurate her serve was. The girl holds herself to a high standard. She sighs, she knows she’s getting tired. She needs to assure this win, but what’s the best option?

Y/n is deep in thinking as her teammates are rejoicing at the mere possibility of having the third years as servants.

Then, it becomes so obvious. She does a short serve. The ball flying just over the net, forcing Moa to retrieve the ball with a bump. Yui then spikes the ball over. Y/n smirks.

Yuma receives the ball, sending it over to Y/n.

“Etsuko!” Y/n calls out to her.

They are thinking of doing that attack from earlier, where Etsuko spiked from behind the attack line! Yui resolves.

Yui and Mao push their forces opposite of Etsuko, waiting for the awaiting spike.

However, the spike never comes, but the ball is already bouncing on the third years court.

A SETTER DUMP?! everyone thought they were going to lose their minds.

Yuma and Etsuko was the first to scream out of pure exhilaration of winning against the third years. They tackled an unexpecting Y/n to the ground. Y/n sort of short-circuited. She was not used to this.

“We did it! We actually did it!” Etsuko exclaimed.

“Can’t believe we pulled that off.” Yuma added in.

“However, I really thought you were sending it over to me.” Etsuko crossed her arms and pouted.

“Sorry about that.” Y/n raises her hand to the back of head, “I knew if I got you on the ropes, they would be as well.”

“And hey, think of this way, your gullibility actually paid off this time!”

“Don’t make me beat your ass again!”

“You wanna go?!”

“You guys make a good team” Yui chimes in.

The two stop their bickering at the sound of their team captain’s voice.

“Ha, yeah. I guess we do.” Y/n stood up, while helping Etsuko and Yuma up as they are still looking at each other with looks that are like daggers at each other. “You guys played a good game as well.” Y/n reassured the third years, “I’d be honored to play on your team.”

Yui looks over at Rinko, “You already have it, don’t you?”

“Of course.” Rinko responds. Much to Y/n’s confusion as to what they are talking about.

Rinko walks over to a package that was on the sidelines, opening it up and pulling out a black jacket, representing Karasuno.

Y/n’s eyes widened. She doesn’t understand why she’s acting this way. It’s just a jacket. She had a strong feeling she was going to get in the club, so why what was this warm feeling in her chest?

Before she realizes it, the jacket is in her hands and she is enveloped in a group hug from the whole time.

“I won’t let you guys down!” Y/n declares in a rather former manner.

“We know.” Yui confirms.

Y/n felt safe, but there was a hesitant feeling that she shouldn’t get used to it.

“Okay! Today was meant to be an easy day, but don’t think tomorrow is going to be the same. In fact, it’s safe to say it’s only going to get harder from here.” Rinko announces.

The team collectively groans.

“After we clean the gym, we have some important news. So, hurry up!” Yui ordered, resulting in the team to scatter in cleaning and disassembling the net.

It didn’t take too long, and the team soon sat on the cool gym floor as Yui and Rinko stood before them.

“So, as you may know, we have been lacking the coach department, as in, we have no coach.” Rinko stated blandly.

“But, someone has graciously volunteered to coach us, and just to reassure you guys, so you guys think its not some rando. I did some research on him, and let’s just say he’s like a legend in the volleyball world.” Yui says.

Oo’s and awe’s can be heard among the team.

Who could it be? A legend?! Why Karasuno of all places? Many questions were flying about in the gym.

“Okay, okay. In addition to that, he’s known to be, well, harsh with his training.” Yui continues.

“Harsher than Rinko?” Etusko interrupts.

“Oi, don’t make me give you laps.”

“You’re proving my point!”

“Anyways, we will meet him tomorrow and he has requested that we start immediately in order to see what we need to work on. So, come tomorrow mentally prepared for that.” Yui informs.

“Alright, that’s all. Get out of here and get some good rest!” Rinko instructed.

The only noise that was coming from the gym was now faint conversations of the mystery coach and homework, shoes squeaking, and bags getting picked up. The girls started to leave the gym in pairs or trios.

“Hey Y/n, you want to walk home with us? It’s seems our game went a bit longer than expected and it’s pretty dark outside.” Yuma proposed to Y/n.

Y/n’s cheeks turned pink at the friendly gesture. They want to walk? With her? It’s not that big of a deal but it’s enough for Y/n to feel like she might be actually real friends with them. Y/n smiles fondly at them.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

The three first years make their way out, but before they leave the area, Y/n spots Asahi! With some new-found confidence, Y/n decided to call out his name, “Hey, Asahi!”

There were some boys that were with him, and Y/n could only assume that those were some of his teammates. Asahi tensed up at the sudden call, but as he found the source of it, he reverted back to a calmer state.

“H-hey Y/n”

Y/n noticed that there was a grey haired boy and a dark haired one on either side of him. They were pretty tall in comparison to Y/n.

“So, how was practice?”

Asahi realized how confusing this looked to his fellow teammates. Sugawara and Daichi just looked at each other with puzzled looks.

“Oh, it went good! I think, I’m back on the team.”

“That’s good to hear. I’d like to set for you again sometime,” Y/n looked back to see her new friends who weren’t as puzzled as Asahi’s friends were, but more intimidated by how big Asahi is, “I got to get going. Goodbye!” Y/n waved and started to head back to her friends as they began to walk to the school’s entrance.

“Set?”

“Again?”

“You’ve played volleyball with her?”

“Is that the real reason you’ve been gone for a month?”

“She’s cute.”

“Yeah, is she in our grade?”

“G-guys! I just met her today, I swear!” Asahi waved off all their overwhelming questions. “I don’t know her that well, but I do know she plays volleyball,” he then takes a glance over to Y/n’s retreating figure with her two other friends who seem to laughing at something, “and she seems to be really dedicated to it.”

Little did Y/n know, a certain black-haired boy with blue eyes was also staring at her retreating figure and couldn’t help but overhearing Asahi’s conversation with Y/n. He grew curious and wanted to learn more.

“Hey Kageyama, are you even listening to me?!”

omg ok i hope this was good lol if u liked it pls let me know!! If you want be apart of the taglist, idk really know to do this, but just like comment and say u want in and i’ll just add u lol

Taglist: @riceballsandanime

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagines #haikyuuxreader #kageyamatobio #hinata shoyuo #hinatashoyo #asahi #sugawara kōshi #daichi sawamura #kageyama x f!reader #kageyamaxreader #kageyamaimagine #kageyama #kageyama x y/n #Karasuno #tanaka ryuunosuke #oikawa

19 notes · View notes

lonelypond · 4 years ago

Text

Parent Trap, Ch. 8

NicoMaki, NozoEli, Love Live, 3K, 8/?

A chapter full of conversations.

And We Talk

Clack...clack, light but solid, bamboo striking bamboo, Nico sliding closer to Umi, the pace of her blows picking up, as Umi manuevered her sword to parry, easily absorbing the increasingly frantic energy Nico forced into each strike. Sensing Nico’s flagging stamina, Umi dropped to one knee, rising with a strike that forced Nico to block behind her, Umi’s blade sliding off, and Nico leaping into a overhand strike, which Umi parried and then forced Nico’s sword down.

“So are you going to tell me now why you’re paying me three times my normal rate to choreograph a fight scene for you.”

Nico stepped back, freeing her sword, then attacking again, sliding forward, dodging to the side, pushing back, but found Umi always there to calmly parry.

“It’s like a dance.” Nico struck Umi’s sword rapidly and repeatedly as she slid to the right, then pushed forward, Umi responding to each movement.

“Perhaps.” Umi held up a hand, “Let’s take a water break.”

“If you need one. Nico’s fine.”

Umi raised an eyebrow at the obvious sweat rolling down Nico’s face. Nico scowled as she swiped a forearm over her forehead. “It’s hot in here.”

“You were too hasty. I prefer to work at half speed to perfect techniques.”

“Nico needed a workout.”

Umi chuckled, “My training dummy rates are much cheaper than even my stunt choreography hourly.”

Nico grabbed her water bottle, “Ha! Nico will pay both.”

Umi watched, concerned. She didn’t know Nico that well, but something was obviously disturbing her. Nico sat on the bench, slumping forward, head hanging down, more than physical exhaustion weighting her.

“Hypothetically…” Nico began.

“Yes?”

“Let’s say you were a guy and you found out you had a child you didn’t know about.” Nico glanced up, her ruby eyes challenging Umi to flinch, but Umi remained solid. “What would you do?”

“Everything I could to help the mother.”

“Just like that.”

Umi shrugged, “If I had a child, I would have had a committed relationship with the mother of the child. If she chose not to include me at first, but then later reached out, that does nothing to change my responsibility as a parent or my affection as a…” Umi stumbled, Nico leaned forward, curious. Umi had always been almost prudish about her relationship with Kotori, “a former paramor.”

“No one night stands.”

“No.”

Nico raised her water bottle in a salute.

“Is this about Maki?”

“I thought you didn’t spend time on TWIG?”

“Kotori does.”

“Nico knew that. What does she think?”

“You never looked like you had baby weight. And she wants to design you a dress.”

“We’ll talk. And not hypothetically, like Nico’s question.”

Umi did a slow sword sequence as she considered how to continue the conversation. “What does this hypothetical guy want?”

“Romance, love, being there...the complete package. ” Nico was slumped again.

“Can’t Maki be part of the complete package?”

Nico glared. “It’s not that easy. Everything’s backwards. Nico’s backwards.”

Umi, not letting Nico look away, went through a series of movements that made Umi look like a river rolling along in its bed, graceful, surging, continuing. “Some things are just natural, Nico.”

“Not with everyone who has a phone and the TWIG app watching.”

Umi settled into ready pose. “So close the app. Step off the stage. Seize the opportunity.”

Nico had her sword in both hands, “Opportunity?”

“Yes.”

“Nico’s not sure. Last time Nico checked it was a locked door. No knocking. No open window. No welcome mat.”

“And you gave up?" Umi chuckled, "Doesn’t sound like Nico.”

“No.” Nico slid into attack position, shoulders squared. “It doesn’t.”

And the dance began.

###

Nico was showered, locked in the Ayase-Tojo spare room, and ready to get back into the conversation. Texting. Sexting. Remind Maki of the good things. The sexy things. The fun things. The Nico things.

N: Nico misses seeing your nightly pajama snaps.

M: Dia’s been throwing up all day.

So sexting out, sympathetic in. At least Maki was texting. And mentioning Dia instead of aggressively avoiding the name.

N: Can Nico help?

M: Don’t distract me while I’m trying to watch a using your washing machine tutorial. Laundry is not in the nanny’s job description.

N: You don’t know how to do laundry...it’s easy, open the lid, put the clothes in, put detergent somewhere, push a few buttons. Most laundry machines are super instructive.

M: I have to be careful. It’s Dia’s things. Mama didn’t pack enough for throwing up. And Dia threw up in the bag. She didn’t like the car ride. Or lunch.

N: Is she allergic to something? Are you keeping her hydrated?

M: I know how to take care of my daughter.

N: Right, Dr. Maki.

M: ಠಿ_ಠ

N: I’m sure the laundry will be fine. Text Nico sometime (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)

M: (🖒^^)b

###

Maki had finally gotten Dia to sleep, put on some Chopin, and collapsed into the couch when there was a thud at the door. She pulled herself up by the couch arm to see Raye standing there, coat and hat on, headphones off for once, and her backpack on the floor.

“My ride’s here.” Raye announced.

“Your ride?”

“Dr. Nishikino agreed that I could take my month’s leave now.”

“What do you mean?” The panic in her own voice was grating.

Raye made a skutching noise, “I’m a live in nanny in Chicago, with a personal chef on call, not a Cheesehead hostage eating frozen pizza two meals a day.” An eyeroll and a gesture toward upstairs,”I said goodbye to Dia.”

“You can’t leave...I don’t…”

“You’ll be okay, Maki. You’re a mom. Moms know what to do.”

Was there some kind of Mom superpowers that kicked in when you were alone with your child? Maki had never been alone with Dia without someone in shouting distance. Everyone she trusted was five hours away.

###

#Nico was trending. Just #Nico, not #ThatKillerSmile. Pics of her and Umi sparring, Nico’s kiss on Umi’s cheek when she said goodbye...whoever took that had a top tier zoom lens. Influencers were reposting older pics.

Nico’s phone pinged. Tsubasa. Nico picked up.

“Hey, how’s the tour?”

“Finished. Back in Chicago. Throwing a rave Wednesday. Drop by.”

“Nico will be in bed by six. Shooting for the video the next day.”

“Too bad. You could have brought Maki and hung out with Honoka.”

“Oh, Honoka, huh?”

“Yeah, she’s great. We’re really having fun. And no pressure.”

“Good for you. But Maki’s in Wisconsin anyway. Staying away from snap crazy stalkers.”

“Oh.”

That was a tone.

“Oh?”

“That’s the other reason I called. Some PR firm offered A-Rise a lot of money to boost pics of you with anyone but Maki on TWIG.”

Nico felt her lip rise in a sneer as suspicions started to gather. “That’s why Nico’s trending.”

“Probably.”

“Do you know who?”

“I texted Cocoro their name. Turns out they represent, among other clients, the Nishikino Medical Group.”

A shrewd, calculated move. Nico was impressed. And livid. But red hot anger wouldn’t do her any good now. She needed to counter. Or ignore. But she definitely needed to make sure Maki wasn’t thinking she was out there swinging for new partners.

“Nico?”

“Sorry, Nico was thinking. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Anything I can do?”

“Cameo in That Killer Smile.”

“You got it. Just not too early in the day. But think about coming to the party. You need some fun too.”

“Maybe Nico will take a nap.”

“Not much else to do with Maki in Wisconsin. Bet you have some good visuals though.” Tsubaba's tone was a conspiracy invitation.

Nico's reply was curt. “We’re done.”

Tsubasa laughed as the call cut.

One, disrespectful. Two, Nico didn’t need to be reminded of how Maki blew everyone else off the hot curve. Nico had to scheme.

###

Lilo and Stitch for the fifth time that day. Maki was about to claw off her ears.

“NICO!”

The Nico cries had stopped until this last viewing. Maki could see Dia was getting tired and cranky. Maki was also getting tired and cranky. Maki checked the time. One a.m. She should have never let Nico get into the habit of singing Dia a lullaby over the phone.

“SING!”

“Nico’s asleep, bun.”

Dia jumped off the couch and raced to the door, “Nico!”

Repetitive firmness was a necessity with Dia. Never retreat from a decision. “It’s time for sleeping, Dia. Nico’s asleep. You should be asleep. Mama is tired.” Talking about herself in the third person. Sure sign of exhaustion. “C’mon, Dia, let’s get your pajamas on and put you in bed.”

“Tsuki!”

Tsuki had fallen behind the couch, Maki picked her up, and Dia ran to grab her, then screamed “Nico Nico Ni!” right in Maki’s face. It took all of Maki’s remaining self control not to react to the volume. She picked up Dia, did a quick visual check of Dia's clothes to make sure there weren’t any closures that might interfere with sleep, grabbed her laptop with her other hand, and marched upstairs. She put Dia down gently, taking extra care not to let her frustration turn into excess energy that would unsettle Dia further.

“Nico!” The demands were getting weaker, Dia would sleep soon if she didn’t kick into tantrum gear.

“We’re going to call her, bun. Just let Mama set this up.”

Maki flipped up her laptop, moved the EFF.org sticker, hit video call. Nico sounded sleepy and had some kind of green goop on her face. Maki just stared for a minute. Nico did the weirdest, cutest things.

“Maki? What’s wrong?”

Maki woke up from her imagining what it would be like to spend the night in Nico's arms, what the green goop would smell like. Avocado probably. “Sing to Dia.”

“What? Did something happened?” Wide awake Nico.

Maki could hear Dia pulling herself up on the crib rail, “NICO!”

“Hi Dia.” Nico waved.

“Look, just sing, make sure she doesn’t fall out of the crib, and text me if she’s not settling down.” Maki let her face relax, knowing she looked exhausted, “I just need a few minutes.”

“Okay, Nico’s on it”

Maki remembered the earlier part of the day. “No Elvis.”

“What?” Nico shook her head, sitting up, setting her phone on her nightstand, “Never mind, just text Nico sometime.”

“Okay.”

“Nico’s got this. Get some air.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks for calling Nico. I missed seeing your face. Now go look at some stars.” Nico smiled. “Hi Dia. Your pretty mama is going to go look at stars and Nico’s going to teach you her new song.”

“Sing!”

“That’s right. You’re Nico’s first audience. So pay attention.”

Dia had settled back down. Maki put the laptop at a level where Dia could see Nico through the crib bars and as Nico started singing, backed quietly out of the room.

###

Stars. Inhale. Cold air. No sense of time passing. Maki half dozing, maybe actually asleep for an hour or two. Nico was keeping an eye on Dia. That was a calming thought. Was that good? Maki realized she only had vague panic flashes of her last IRL encounter with Nico, Eli calling and saying something about Nozomi and paperwork and then fear kicking in. Maki didn’t have the mental bandwidth for any news that might trigger another explosion of emotion so talking to Eli was going to have to be another day thing. She reached into her pocket for her phone, to check notifications. A message from her mother, probably about Raye; Eli, not going to deal with that now; and Honoka. Maki hit play.

“Hey, Maki! Tsubasa’s throwing a huge party and invited you and Nico. So you should really come. It’ll be so much fun. Tsubasa’s gonna have a private karaoke room, and an entire arcade and the best DJ in the world. We gotta hang out.”

Party? Why hadn’t Nico mentioned it? Maki flicked over to TWIG, searching #NICO...Nico kissing Umi on the cheek, Nico with her arms around a group of scantily dressed women, Nico at a concert, leaning down into the crowd, Nico writing her phone number on a barista’s stomach…

Maki hit call, “What the hell are you doing?’

Nico sounded sleepy. “Maki?!!?!”

“Yes, Maki, your girlfriend, not that that barista would know that when she called you.”

“What barista? Maki, what’s going on? I just got Dia to sleep. She’s so cute.”

“We got invited to a party and you didn’t tell me.”

“DId Tsubasa call you?” Nico’s question was sharp.

“No, Honoka.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. Tsubasa and Nico have different opinions on dating.”

“Does yours include giving random women your phone number. And why are you kissing Umi?”

“Slow down. Let Nico catch up.” A pause, “Dia’s still sleeping calmly. Nico does an excellent lullaby. Now what did you do?”

“Searched TWIG to see what you were up to.” Saying it out loud, Maki felt a bit sheepish.

“Cyber stalking Nico. Classy.” Nico hummed, obviously searching through pics. “The Umi kiss was friendly, the barista pic is Photoshopped, and Nico is at home in bed and has been since 7 p.m. getting her beauty sleep before a video shoot at 5 in the morning.” An inhale, “And why you’re seeing pics of Nico with everyone else in the universe is because your parents PR firm is paying influencers to flood the algorithim with pics of Nico and anyone but you.”

“They’re not.”

“They are. A-Rise got approached. Nico has receipts. I can forward you emails.”

Maki was silent.

“And the reason there aren’t pics of us is because you’re in Wisconsin at an undisclosed location because your parents think Nico is going to steal you.”

“I don’t care what my parents think.” Maki felt pressured, with a sudden urge to bolt for the woods.

“If that’s true then why are you in Wisconsin?” Nico sounded annoyed.

“Just shut up for a minute…”

Silence. Maki heard what she’d snapped at Nico echo.

“Good night, Maki.”

“Wait, Nico, I just…”

Call ended. Maki leaned forward, fingertips barely clinging to her phone. How did this work? How exactly did this happen? What had Eli said?

###

“Oh, hi, Maki…” Eli was on the couch, eating chocolate ice cream and watching a production of Swan Lake.

“Why did you call?”

“What did Nico tell you?”

“We're not talking about Nico, Eli.” Maki’s voice had no chill. “Paperwork. Nozomi. What did that mean?”

“Ummm…” No matter how much Eli had rehearsed this in her head, telling Maki was not easy. She glanced toward the door of the spare room. Nico had gone to bed hours ago because of an early set call. So no interruptions. “When I started working on the procedures, Nico was the first person I asked to help. Nico’s always the first person I ask when I need any kind of help. She’s amazing.”

Eli had expected some response from Maki, but no, just waiting, judging silence.

“Okay…” Eli coughed nervously, "So Nico donated eggs, but absolutely refused to be an anonymous donor. She wanted a family but not until she met someone she wanted to marry and was ready to stop touring as much as she had been. So I banked most of her eggs and used the rest in my early tests.”

“So Nico wasn’t just an anonymous donor?”

“No.” Eli laughed, “She was very clear about no little Nico’s running around without her knowing about it. She’s furious right now.”

Maki sounded angry. “How did it happen? Did it happen? Is Nico really Dia’s...”

Eli paused Swan Lake, and headed to the freezer to put the ice cream away. Melting chocolate all over the couch was too easy a tease target for Nozomi. “As far as I can unravel, when Nico came back for her ultrasound to make sure everything was okay after the donation, Nozomi was there and altered Nico’s paperwork. So Nico was in the system all the time, but you were the first and only to match.” Eli pondered whether or not making a pot of coffee would be worth it at this hour. She wasn’t sleeping. Not having Nozomi next to her was lonely. But Nozomi was still being infuriatingly disingenuous about the turmoil she’d thrown Nico and Maki and Dia into. “I’ve taken Nico off the donor list now that I know.”

“So it is true…” Maki’s voice was a low whisper, barely heard.

“I’m so sorry about this, Maki, but from what I can tell, Nico is your egg donor.”

And then the roar, “Why would Nozomi do that to Nico? To you? What the hell kind of friend alters your medical paperwork? What kind of wife...how can you...that’s so many kinds of illegal, unethical, just awful, Eli. Why would she do that?"

Eli winced. All of that was true. But she knew that Nozomi really believed she’d had Nico’s best interest at heart.

“I know, Maki. I’m trying to explain it to her, how I would feel if I had missed the twins’ first steps or when they said “Mama”...it’s still so amazing, Maki, to watch them be their own people, but you know that, and Nico missed so much of that with Dia and I’m heartbroken for her, I just can’t bear to think about it, but Nozomi really cares, I promise…”

Maki cut Eli off, voice in efficiency professional mode. “Is Nico okay?”

“I don’t know. She’s super busy. Super busy usually means stressed.” Eli rested her forehead on the refrigerator, “Are you okay?”

Maki made a huffing noise. “I have to go check on Dia.”

“Maki....”

And Eli was alone. Or maybe not.

“Better make that coffee, Eli-chi.” Eli turned, Nozomi stood in the archway, Eli’s robe wrapped around her. “I miss you. I haven’t been listening to what you've been trying to say. Help me fix this, my love.”

Eli was going to cry, Nozomi opened up her arms, and Eli rushed to be held, Nozomi’s fingers in her hair, Nozomi’s sweet, soft voice promising everything would work out.

A/N: Shakespeare season. How you?

#NicoMaki #NozoEli #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Nico #Ayase Eli #Tojo Nozomi #baby Dia #parent trap #angst

2 notes · View notes

mayhemproduces · 1 year ago

Text

ANarChY (c) vs The Apex - MPW World Tag Team Championships

Starting this match off is Bayley and VIOLET for their respective sides. Bayley looks hesitant to lock up with VIOLET, but manages to pull him in for a side headlock. VIOLET pushes her off on the ropes, dropping down, but Bayley rolls over him. Bayley ducks a clothesline, spinning around for a back elbow, but VIOLET ducks that as well. A leg sweep attempt from Bayley is jumped over, as VIOLET continues these lightning quick reversals, before nailing Bayley with a spinning leg lariat! Bayley gets knocked into the corner, and VIOLET charges her, hitting a running back elbow! She rolls forward, shaking her hips as Bayley slides down. VIOLET charges back in, lifting herself up with the ropes, and nails Bayley with a pendulum Bronco Buster! She stands up and spins in a circle as Bayley rolls out of the ropes. VIOLET heads to the top rope - but Rhea plays distractor. VIOLET can barely plant her feet before Bayley grabs her and throws her to the mat! Tag to Rhea, but Bayley nails her with a facebuster on the knee, and Ripley follows through with a neckbreaker, right across Bayley’s knee. VIOLET grabs for her neck, rolling outside the ring for a reprieve. Bayley nods her head, looking to take care of him, and slides out of the ring. She lines VIOLET up between the turnbuckle rungs, before charging and slipping through them, taking VIOLET out with a baseball slide under the turnbuckles!

Ripley hops out on the apron to join in the assault on VIOLET, but Matsumoto charges her, and knocks Rhea down with a yakuza kick to the back of her skull! Matsumoto wraps Rhea around the ropes and beats her chest in with huge, overhand clubs, when Rhea suddenly grabs the arm and snaps it over the top rope. Bayley sends them through the ropes and to the floor with a dropkick to the back.They share a look before locking hands, Ripley giving Bayley leverage to run up the ropes and springboard off, taking ANarChY down with a huge crossbody! Somehow, after some impressive teamwork, and maybe some missteps on the part of their opponents, Bayley and Rhea have the champs reeling.

Moving the action back into the ring, Ripley and VIOLET are still the legal competitors here, and Rhea has VIOLET on the defensive, sitting in the middle of the ring after taking a headbutt. She runs the ropes, knocking him back down with a basement dropkick! VIOLET’s lifted up once more as Ripley picks him up for what looks to be a back suplex, but slams VIOLET down on his face instead! The tag is then made to Bayley, who charges into her partner’s arms, allowing Ripley to lift her up, and they hit an assisted senton! Shoulders down!

1… Kickout!

A fast, defiant kickout by VIOLET, but Bayley wastes no time in getting her back up to continue the offense, running her mouth as she does. Bayley gets her up, trying to whip VIOLET across the ring, but VIOLET reverses. Bayley uses the ropes to pick herself up and over VIOLET, rolling back, before charging back to her, and crushing VIOLET’s jaw with a step-up knee strike! Rhea reaches out, making the blind tag as Bayley sends VIOLET down with a snapmare. Bayley hits the ropes, knocking VIOLET down with another sliding knee strike, before sitting her up, and Rhea bulldozes into her with a running big boot! VIOLET could be out, and Rhea makes the cover!

1… 2 - Kickout!

Whipping VIOLET hard into the turnbuckles, Rhea goes after him - but he moves! Rhea hits the turnbuckles instead, and VIOLET turns the tides, going wild on Rhea in the corner! Finally getting some momentum going her way, when Bayley grabs her from behind! She turns VIOLET around and slaps her across the face, opening VIOLET up to get attacked from behind by Rhea! Bayley hops inside, she and Rhea taking one of each of VIOLET’s arms, before the two trade spots, tying VIOLET up in a straight jacket, before slamming her into the corner! They draw her out, and lift her up, before slamming her down onto her back again, this time in the middle of the ring! Rhea makes the cover!

1… 2 - Kickout!

The Champions stay alive, but they’re getting more and more desperate with each passing moment. Matsumoto’s desperately reaching for the tag, and VIOLET has to catch Rhea with a boot to roll over, reaching out to them. Rhea grabs her trunks as she goes for the tag, ripping VIOLET back. Ripley runs the ropes, but she’s caught by a dropkick! VIOLET creates an opening, but collapses from exhaustion! Slowly, she’s able to crawl… inching forward… and gets the tag!

Matsumoto bursts into the ring for the first time tonight, and PLOWS through Rhea Ripley with a double handed chop! Lifting Rhea up with a forearm on the throat, Matsumoto lays into her with quick, brutal forearms, alternating between arms, until Rhea can’t hold herself up anymore. They then pick her up into a fallaway slam position, but before tossing her, Matsumoto softens up Rhea’s sides and backs with knee lifts, before finally tossing her across the ring! The momentum sends Ripley right back to her feet, and Matsumoto grabs her just as quickly, and drives her down with VX! Cover to retain!

1… 2… Kickout!

Rhea out at two and immediately vacates to the floor, needing some space between her and The Machine. But Matsumoto doesn’t give it to her. Following her out ot the floor, Rhea is scooped up, Matsumoto planting her with a running powerslam on the floor! Rhea’s spine arches up as she cries out in pain, but Matsumoto isn’t done. They pick her up, and slam her on the apron with a vicious powerbomb! Matsumoto rolls her back inside the ring and gozzles, military press, and Matsumoto hits the Spinebuster! YOMOTSU HIRASAKA could be the end of the Eradicator tonight!

1… 2.. Broken up!

Matsumoto throws Bayley right back down to the floor before they lay into Ripley with stomps to the back, picking their target, before she’s lifted up and whipped hard across the ring, colliding with the turnbuckles like a freight train! Matsumoto rolls over, making the tag to VIOLET, who continues to target the spine of Ripley. As the shots rain down, Rhea starts to have enough, and whips around, stunning VIOLET with a headbutt! She snarls in VIOLET’s face, but VIOLET doesn’t back down! He lays into her with a trifecta of forearms, before bringing her into the Lovers corner, bouncing her face off the turnbuckles, and tags in Matsumoto. Matsumoto comes in and picks Rhea up, nailing her with a nasty backbreaker! She’s drug back to the corner, where VIOLET’s tagged in once more, utilizing quick tags here to inflict more punishment on their opponent, and keep the legal wrestler fresh. But there’s a change in pace here as VIOLET whips Rhea across the ring, but she slides to the outside instead - where Matsumoto grabs her! She tried to take him out, but Matsumoto saw it coming, and dumped her onto the ring apron with a back suplex! A nasty fall for Rhea’s targeted back, and she’s rolled back inside the ring, where VIOLET looks for another back suplex - but she lands on her feet! Rhea ducks under her clothesline and rolls through, making the tag to Bayley!

She comes in hot out of the gate, nailing Matsumoto and VIOLET with a pair of clotheslines. Matsumoto’s caught by a twisting back elbow, and VIOLET takes a twisting enzuigiri, before she charges Matsumoto, nailing him with a shoulder thrust. She grabs their head for a bulldog, and on the way to deliver, takes VIOLET down with a clothesline! Bayley fists pumps the air, celebrating that mini victory, but her work here isn’t done, and she knows it. Getting VIOLET up in the corner, she lays him down into a tree of woe, when she’s caught by a knife edge chop from Matsumoto. Matsumoto whips her into the corner, but Bayley reverses, charging in after Matsumoto. Matsumoto uses the ropes to go up and over Bayley, snapping back to her, where he throws Bayley with a hurricanrana - but she’s able to use it to roll, and deliver an elbow drop to VIOLET, who was still stuck in the tree of woe! Matsumoto grabs at their hair, clearly not intending to do that, but he doesn’t get the chance to rest, as Bayley rushes into the ring, and catches him with an Exploder suplex! Matsumoto hits the ground hard enough to bounce up, allowing Rhea to lift him up, and alley-oop him into Bayley, who drives him into the mat with a Powerbomb! Matsumoto’s stacked up for the pin!

1… 2… Kickout!

Matsumoto survives, but a wicked smile is shared between Rhea and Bayley, as Bayley points to the top rope. With some work, they manage to get themselves to the top rope, poised and ready to deliver a Golden Shower… but VIOLET’s here! He rips Rhea down, throwing her to the outside, as Matsumoto jumps up and starts hammering at Bayley. VIOLET eventually joins them in the ring, joining Matsumoto up on the middle rope, as the two quickly batter Bayley down. Once she’s weakened, they hook her arms over their heads, and fall back, delivering a Double Superplex! It hurts VIOLET nearly as much as it does Bayley, all the damage he’s taken to her back, but Matsumoto encourages her to keep going - when Rhea grabs them. Her arms are wrapped tight around Matsumoto’s waist, and she’s able to muscle them up, and deliver a devastating German suplex on the apron! That could be it for Matsumoto, and VIOLET isn’t much better off, as Bayley jumps to the top rope with her, and brings them down to the mat, nailing VIOLET with a Bayley to Belly! VIOLET’s out cold, and Bayley wants to put the final nail in the coffin here, going back up top, looking for the Swanton Bomb. As she gets her feet positioned, though, VIOLET’s suddenly on her feet, and knocks her down! Bayley’s crotched on the top rope, and Rhea comes over to defend her partner, charging VIOLET, but she EATS a Superkick from VIOLET!

VIOLET calls for the end of it all, when the Timeless One makes her appearance on the apron. A shrill cry draws VIOLET’s attention as Toni holds her hand up, looking like she might faint. Before we can find out what is ailing Miss Storm, we see Bayley make a quick tag to Rhea in the background. Ripley sneaks in, and rolls VIOLET up deep to steal this!

1… 2… KICKOUT!

Rolling VIOLET back, Rhea kicks her square in the jaw! Pumphandle, Rhea going for the Riptide - but VIOLET reverses into a DDT! Another quick tag to Bayley, who knocks VIOLET to the floor. Off the ropes, Bayley looks to fly - but VIOLET pushes Toni in the way! Suicide dive on Storm!

Bayley tries to check on Toni and help her up, but she turns around to see VIOLET flying from the apron, taking her out with a meteora! She pushes Bayley back inside the ring and right into a wheelbarrow from Matsumoto. They grab both of Bayley’s arms into a chicken wing, and VIOLET nails her with a running knee strike! VIOLET flips her over, and locks in UltraVIOLET! As Bayley struggles, Rhea tries to make the save, but gets POUNCED right back out of the ring! Bayley taps out!

“Here are your winners, and STILL MPW World Tag Team Champions, ANarChY!”

#match

0 notes

poorlytunedukulele · 4 years ago

Text

Day 15 - Live by the Sword

September 04, 2494; Twilight Gap, Earth

Azra leaned and the blade missed by bare millimeters. It was taking all of her effort just to keep up with Shaxx, never mind beat him. He wasn’t slow like Titans were supposed to be.

The next swordstroke she could not dodge, so she brought her own blade up. Solar and Arc crashed together with a shriek and a shower of sparks. She didn’t have the arm strength to push him back and disengage, so she slid to the side. She had to hit the deck as Shaxx’s uppercut whizzed by. She managed to get back on her feet while he checked his momentum, but then he was on her again, pressing her for her space.

“You fight a lot different than a Swordbearer,” she grunted.

“How so?” Shaxx didn’t even sound winded. He leveled a thrust at her abdomen. She stepped aside and threw an elbow into his face. The helmet protected him from the worst of the blow.

“They’re not fast. Or subtle. Their swords-“ she paused to block an overhand cut, feeling the impact in her bones. “They don’t thrust. Just swing.”

“And Crota fought the same way?”

The air screamed against her exposed skin. Everything here was screams. The ground was suffering folded onto itself, the walls were dripping with pain and despair. And before her, a towering Knight, the realest thing in this place.

The sword in her hand was death. She didn’t know if it was her own death or the Knight’s. Or both. Probably both. It seemed fitting.

She was hit with a blow, cleaving through armor and muscle alike. She rolled with the force of it and ended up face-up in the dirt. The pain was so intense for a second that it blinded her.

She didn’t have time to think. The strike had rendered her right arm useless. The sword went to her left hand as she reached for the Light. The Knight was on top of her, fast, too fast-

She rolled to the side. A blade sheared through the earth where she’d been just a millisecond earlier.

Then she was on her feet and the Arc hit her. The sword in her hand rang like a bell. She could feel every imperfection in the metal, how they stopped the Light from singing true, how the blade would shatter itself if she pushed even a fraction harder.

The Knight was struggling to free its weapon, stuck in the slow-motion of normality. Bolt-Caster in her hand shrieked like a Deathsinger.

That wasn’t a Knight. That was Lord Shaxx.

He freed Raze-Lighter from the clutches of the earth and rounded on her. She tried to find the words to tell him stop, but the Arc screamed too loud in her head and Shaxx was already bearing down on her (he had no right to be that fast). She knew what to do. Even a glancing cut with Bolt-Caster would kill in this state.

But she didn’t want to kill Shaxx. For a moment she had; she’d looked at his outline and thought only of the best way to end him. Azra was not okay with crossing that line- the one between sparring with someone and trying to destroy them. Not when the air was still sparking with his genuine excitement and curiosity.

She hesitated, slowed by pain and indecision. She had enough wits to see the uppercut coming, but no more.

Then, fire and nothingness.

Her Ghost raised her on her feet. Lord Shaxx stood ready on guard, chin tilted up in challenge.

Azra shook her head and plunged her sword point-first into the earth. She pulled off her helmet to let the mountain air wash over her face. Shaxx lowered his blade in turn.

“You panic when you lose control," the Titan intoned. "You need to keep a level head, even when you’re losing."

“I forgot where I was.” Azra ran a hand through her hair to hide the shaking. “You asked me about Crota and hit me hard and I just acted on instinct.”

Shaxx eyed her critically. “I find it curious your instinct is to freeze,” he said, voice carrying doubt.

“My instinct is death,” she said, a little bitter. “It’s never going to be anything but that. But I’m… not comfortable with those intentions around people.”

“You must control your instincts, not the other way around,” Shaxx said, inclining his head in judgement. “Still. You are better than I expected. I did not think staff-work would translate to edged weapons that well.”

“I trained with the best,” Azra said. “Tevis got on the sword bandwagon centuries ago. Fencing with him always helped clear my head.”

“I would have liked the opportunity to spar with him,” Shaxx said. There was a tinge of regret on his voice, in the air- one which Azra pushed aside. Tevis was dead not three months now, but so much had changed- the Battle of Saturn, sneaking onto the Dreadnaught, killing Oryx, then ending him in his throne world, that it seemed like it had been years. He wouldn’t have stood for the moping, anyway.

“In a way, you just did spar with him,” Azra said, rolling her newly-healed shoulder. “He taught me everything I know.”

“Not everything,” Shaxx said. “Never everything.”

Azra shrugged and picked up her blade. “Bet you a hundred Glimmer I win next round.”

“I do not bet,” Shaxx said, raising his sword again.

Azra’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Coward.”

When he witnessed Bolt-Caster’s true design (throwing Arc bolts from range, a subversion of the close-range combat swords were supposed to be used for) he laughed and handed over a hundred Glimmer.

She lost the next two bouts, but eked out victory on the fifth, which counted her two more wins than she had been expecting.

“Next time I will not go easy on you,” Shaxx warned as they climbed the stairs to the exit of the Crucible arena.

“That was you going easy? Jesus.” Azra was sore, even though Spark had healed all of her injuries. Her ears still rung with the clash of metal on metal.

“Nevertheless, this has been enlightening,” Shaxx said. “I would very much enjoy a next time.”

Azra stretched her aching arms. Lord Shaxx was too loud and too enthusiastic, but he was smart, and he was honest. She figured she could get used to the noise. “I’m sure I can make some free time,” she said.

AO3 Link

#destcember #destcember2020 #destiny #destiny the game #lord shaxx #shhhh #it's still the fifteenth somewhere #no i will not stop making that joke

8 notes · View notes

authorialarcanist · 4 years ago

Text

Gracidea Blossom Chapter 5: Mischief of a Noisy Girl

(Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum x Little Busters!)

Mirror Links: AO3, Pokécommunity, Spacebattles

---

Previous - Next

---

“My name’s Haruka! And - Poison Sting! - You’ve left yourself open!” Haruka smirks at Riki, and he whirls around to see her Tentacool whip a thick grey tentacle out of the water. It lashes out at Terra, and the Turtwig recoils from its stinging venom.

“Ah— Terra! Use Tackle!” Although Terra tries to retaliate, Haruka’s Tentacool hastily drifts backwards to the middle of its pool. Terra skids to a stop before it can plunge into the water. No matter what angle it tries to approach from, it can’t get in range of Soap - ‘Soap’, I can’t believe I thought Kyousuke’s names were unoriginal - because of the size of the pool. Soap, on the other hand, gleefully slips closer whenever it can find an opening for another Poison Sting, before swimming back to the middle any time Terra seems about to retaliate.

Riki orders his Pokémon to Withdraw the next time Soap comes around for an attack, and this time the Tentacool’s tentacles slip ineffectually off of Terra’s shell as it hunkers down. Trying to ignore Haruka’s gleeful cheering, Riki thinks the situation over. Terra can’t reach the Tentacool to attack it, and although its shell can deflect many of Soap’s attacks, some are still getting through. Staying on the defensive without any way to retaliate is a clear shot to being whittled down, and while Sly can attack at range with Rock Throw, it would be at a disadvantage against a Water—wait. Riki flips open his Pokédex and points its camera at the Tentacool, bringing up the species’ profile after a moment. He scrolls through the abilities typically displayed by Tentacool, and decides to take a risk. Most members of its species don’t start using Water-type attacks until they’re fairly strong already, so…

“Terra, return! Go, Sly!” His Pokéball shoots a beam of light to recall the Turtwig, and Riki returns it to his belt, fumbling for a moment as he switches it for Sly’s ball. He sends the Bonsly out with a solid overhand throw, but Haruka takes advantage of the momentary opening.

“Use Toxic Spikes!” At her order, Soap spits out a multitude of spiky caltrops accompanied by a glob of venom. They scatter across the battlefield where they land, and Riki’s Bonsly gives a plaintive cry when its Pokéball opens and disgorges it on top of several spikes, puncturing its feet and delivering venom directly into its system. Riki can’t help but groan as he realizes they’re another hazard that’ll need to be cleaned up.

“Sly, use Rock Throw!” Sly turns to Soap with a growl, and starts batting scattered chunks of rock at it. Although many of them miss their target, the cave floor holds ammunition to spare, and soon more and more are striking true.

“Pretty bold of you to use a Rock Type against Water, Riki!” Haruka flourishes dramatically, pointing her left hand at Sly. “Do you really think your Bonsly can stand up to a Bubblebeam?” Riki’s heart skips a beat, but the Tentacool just glares balefully at its trainer. “…Is what I’d say, if Soap had learned it yet! Go, Thumbtack!” A shaky beam of light recalls Soap to a Pokéball clutched in her right hand, and a moment later she tosses a new ball into the middle of the fray. The Pokémon that emerges appears to be a grey cloth puppet suspended in the air by some invisible force. It has an ovular head with a thin mouth and wide, angry eyes. On top of it is a horn longer than the head is tall, and beneath the head the cloth pools out and wavers mysteriously in the air. This is the Ghost-type Pokémon Shuppet. It looks around and immediately gets beaned in the face by a thrown rock.

“Attacking before I’m ready isn’t very nice,” Haruka complains.

“You’ve done it multiple times already!” A vein bulges in Riki’s forehead.

“Oh, well, can’t be helped, can’t be helped~” Haruka’s sing-song voice rings out as she circles the battlefield to a new vantage point. “Use Curse - whoops!” There’s a muffled thud as she bumps into something.

“Oh? What’s going on here?” That something turns out to be Kengo as he and Masato finally catch up to the others. He watches curiously as the Shuppet punctures itself with spectral needles, sacrificing its own vitality to begin sapping Sly’s health. Between its poisoned status and the Curse, Riki’s Bonsly is starting to flag. Still, it’s not ready to go down yet, and it keeps pelting Thumbtack with rocks. Haruka shouts a command of her own and the Shuppet’s eyes begin to glow purple, causing Sly to shiver under the Night Shade attack.

Still, Sly’s assault together with Thumbtack’s own sacrifice prove too much for the Shuppet, and after another direct hit with a rock, it finally gives up the ghost. Haruka returns her dazed Pokémon to its ball before it can hit the ground. Her easygoing expression falters for a moment.

“Tch… fine! Soap, you can still finish this!” With a strong overhand throw, the Tentacool appears in its pool once more. “Poison Sting!” Soap tries to stun Sly with its tentacles. The Bonsly brushes off the stinging toxins and hits it with a rock dead-on, causing Soap to recoil backwards. The Tentacool is on the ropes… But it’s at that moment that the poison and the Curse on Sly finally finish their jobs. The Bonsly wobbles and drops to the ground, pretending to be a harmless potted plant in one last attempt to deceive its attacker.

“Sly, you did well! G-go, Terra!” Riki stumbles over his words as he switches back to his remaining Pokémon. Even as he swaps his Turtwig back into the battle, he knows that he’s lost - and that Haruka knows it as well. Thanks to the poisonous spikes covering the battlefield and the width of Soap’s pool, all Haruka has to do is have her Tentacool hold back while its poison whittles Terra down. Although Riki shouts at his Turtwig to Withdraw and protect itself against attacks, he’s only delaying the inevitable.

“W, well, that got a little close there, but it looks like that’s going to be another win for the amazing Haruka!” The girl in question wipes sweat from her brow as she speaks, panting a little and trying to catch her breath. Her Pokémon floats just outside the edges of Terra’s range, occasionally slipping closer to probe the Turtwig’s defenses. Terra growls and snaps at its tentacles each time, seemingly frustrated that it can’t retaliate.

Riki doesn’t respond, focused on the battle as Terra takes more and more hits. He can’t see any way out of this situation, but at least he can see it through to the end. “I’m sorry, Terra… You tried really hard…” He hangs his head. The Turtwig, however, growls in frustration and stands tall. With what looks like immense effort, the leaf on its head begins to glow, causing wispy motes of green to pull themselves out of Soap and flock to its leaf. The red welts down Terra’s sides heal a little and it glances back at Riki defiantly, as though to ask him if he still wants to give up.

“Eh? She’s learned Absorb?” Haruka stares at the Turtwig. “Um - doesn’t matter! She still can’t hold out for long against Soap’s poison!”

Riki is stunned for a moment, himself, and it’s only after the Tentacool goes for another Poison Sting that he snaps out of it. “Terra! Use Absorb again!” With each attack, Terra heals a little - but the special attack is still clearly draining it. Still, Sly’s rocks wore Soap down badly enough that it’s just a matter of which exhausted Pokémon falls first.

“Poison Sting!”

“Absorb!”

“Poison Sting!”

“Absorb!”

“Poison—” With a burbling cry, Soap floats lower in the water, too tired to respond. Haruka returns it and grimaces, reaching for a Pokéball set on the back of her belt… And then her hand drops. “…W…well, I guess that’s it, huh? You win, yahaha…” She chuckles weakly.

Riki blinks. It’s hard to believe he actually won — and whoops, there goes Terra. The Turtwig stumbles as the poison keeps up its work, and Riki hastily returns it to its Pokéball.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Riki looks back up to see Kengo clamp his hand over Haruka’s shoulder, as the latter appears to have inched several feet down the path through Mt. Coronet while he wasn’t looking. “Riki, what were the terms of the battle?”

“Huh? Umm…” Riki pauses for a moment as his brain catches up, and then he registers what Kengo was asking. “Wait, that’s right! You have to help us clean this place up!”

“Eh?” Haruka sweats. “I, oh look! It’s a UFO!” She points at the cave ceiling past Riki. He doesn’t look. “…L-look, isn’t that Mew behind you?” There’s a quiet creaking sound as rock settles somewhere on the mountain. “…o…oh my… don’t look now… but there’s a… a…” She trails off. “…Aw, I hate cleaning…”

——

Five friends (and one detainee) crouch around a cave entrance, sweeping spikes and marbles into neat piles out of the way of the main path.

“Trainer’s log… Day… I’ve forgotten how many…” Haruka mutters to herself in a dead voice, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’ve lost all will to escape. I can’t remember how long it’s been since I last ate. I think… I think this is the end…”

“It’s been an hour at the longest. Stop complaining.” Kengo glares at her from his post on the other side of what had been her and Riki’s battlefield.

“Why did we have to get dragged into this, anyways?” Masato whines as he hops in place, trying to yank a spike out of his shoe.

Kyousuke sighs. “Well, you know Riki, he’s always concerned about things. It’s not like we could move on without him.”

“Isn’t it your job to be worried about this?” Riki shoots back. If this is how Kyousuke always treats his Champion duties, no wonder he’s concerned about job-hunting…

“My first priority will always be to take care of you guys, Riki.”

Riki fumbles a handful of marbles, and hides his face rushing to pick them back up.

Haruka chuckles. “You’re all really good friends, huh?”

“Of course! That’s what the Little Busters are about,” Riki says with a smile.

She seems about to respond when Kyousuke speaks up. “Oh, by the way. Are you almost done over there, miss…” He pauses, “…Saigusa, was it?”

Haruka freezes.

“Sorry, was that not your last name?” Kyousuke continues casually.

Haruka responds after a moment, voice chilly. “That’s not really your business, is it?”

“Um… Kyousuke? I don’t think Haruka told us anything about her last…?” Riki looks back and forth between the two, uncertain.

“Ah well, I guess it’s not important. Just trying to learn more about the people we meet, you know.” Kyousuke turns back to his cleaning.

“Well, then, if it’s so important for your dossier, you’ll want to know I prefer my first name. I’ve cleaned up this end - that is what you asked for, right?” Haruka pushes herself to her feet. “Oh, and… Riki?”

“Hm? Ow!” Riki rubs his forehead, and the marble that just hit it falls into his lap.

“Keep it. As thanks, since you’re disposing of the spikes for me!” Haruka breaks into a run.

“Huh? Wait, hold on. I don’t know how to get rid of these! Come back here!”

“Bye-bye, Riki!” Haruka gives a jaunty wave and disappears around a corner.

“HARUKAAAAA!”

——

Riki finally steps out into the open air, laden with a bag of poisonous caltrops, and is met with a chilly breeze. Most of the afternoon has passed, and gray clouds hang heavily over Route 207. Like Route 208, very little plant life grows in the rugged terrain cradled by the mountain. Route 207 is more level than its eastern cousin, however. The road west is mainly a straight shot, carved directly out of the mountain’s rock. There’s a more mountainous stretch south of the main road, but the group ignores it. At this point, they just want to get to Oreburgh.

“You’re being awfully quiet, Rin. Is your leg alright?” Kengo’s concerned voice cuts through the tired atmosphere. Rin is walking a little behind the group, with a slight limp. She’d hurt her ankle when she and Riki fell earlier; Riki shrinks a little at the reminder that he’d been too distracted by the battle to notice until afterwards.

Rin shakes her head with a quiet jingle. “No, I’m okay. That girl was just…” She looks away, dazed. “She was noisy.”

She really does seem out of it; even when Kyousuke pats her head, her retaliation is half-hearted. Still, they’re all tired out. Hopefully, having a good sleep in Oreburgh will put her right.

After another half hour of walking, Riki notices something odd in their surroundings. “Hey, Kyousuke?”

“Hm?”

“Do you know what those are?” Riki points at a small pipe sticking out of the side of the road at an angle. Gaps in the metal open into what looks like a hollow center leading down. Little flecks of blue paint are scattered across the exterior, evidently remains from a once-careful paint job, but now the metal just looks rusty and poorly-maintained.

“Ah…” Kyousuke scratches his head. “That’s part of a ventilation system for the Oreburgh Mines. Apparently, there was a program a couple decades ago to expand the mines out further under Sinnoh. They laid down these pipes across the eastern side of Mt. Coronet, to provide them with fresh air, but in the end the project fell through.”

“Oreburgh fell on hard times after that,” Masato adds. “The mines are getting more and more obsolete, so they stopped maintaining the outer regions. At this point, the accessible areas are mostly just a training ground for people who want to fight wild Pokémon.”

“Huh. I didn’t expect you to know that much about something other than muscles,” Riki says.

“Yeah, well, you pick it up.” Masato turns to Kyousuke. “We only have to stay here for one night, yeah?”

Kyousuke nods. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back on the road first thing tomorrow.”

“Good,” Masato grunts, and picks up the pace.

Riki lowers his voice. “Is it just me, or is Masato acting unusual?”

Surprisingly, it’s Rin who replies. “I don’t think he liked it here much.”

“Wait.” Riki turns to her. “You mean Oreburgh is his hometown?”

“Mhm.” Rin’s bell rings gently with her nod. “Kyousuke and I were on a trip when we first met him.”

“Huh…”

Soon, the rock and dirt turn to scraggly grass, and the road forks. Trees dot the way north, leading to the elevated Cycling Road and eventually Eterna City. However, the Little Busters turn south towards Oreburgh instead. The terrain gets rockier again as they walk, until suddenly Kyousuke stops and Riki bumps into him.

“Ah - sorry, Kyousuke!” Riki rubs his forehead, where repeated trauma is beginning to grow a bump.

“It’s okay, Riki. Look.” Kyousuke points in front of him, and Riki follows his gaze to where the road turns into a short, messy cliff. A mud slide has blocked off the usual path down to the city. “Do you think you can climb down that safely?”

“Um… I think it should be okay, if we’re careful.” Riki glances around the group. “What about Rin’s leg, though? It’s probably not a good idea for her to try and climb on that.”

“As long as it’s just her, it should be fine. Go, Louis!” Kyousuke sends out his Nidoking, which stretches in the open air. “Rin, you can hold on while he uses Rock Climb to get down. Does that sound good?”

“I guess that’s fine.” Rin climbs onto Louis’ back, and the Nidoking carries her down the cliff while Riki and the others look for a reasonable descent. Kengo finds a jagged chunk of cliff face with several footholds sticking out, and calls them to follow him while he lowers himself carefully down. A few minutes later, they’re all on solid ground again, and Kyousuke withdraws Louis. After leaving the small patch of grass they touched down in, the group only needs to walk south for a couple minutes before they’re within city limits.

Oreburgh is an industrial city, grown off the back of its mining industry. Aside from a few potted shrubs outside houses here and there, there’s almost no greenery; the whole town is built on dirt paths. The wind whips up eddies of coal dust, and makes Rin sneeze. Tall buildings are scattered around, and when Riki looks south he catches sight of the huge conveyor belts that hang above the entrance to the mine proper. He doesn’t linger, however; the group makes a beeline for the Pokémon Center instead. Their Pokémon are exhausted, aside from Kyousuke’s team, so Riki, Rin, Masato, and Kengo line up in front of the central counter to check them in for healing. Riki warns the nurse at the counter about his Pokémon’s poisoned status, and then after handing over their Pokéballs he follows Kyousuke up an escalator on the east side of the building. Pokémon Centers are meant to be central stops for Trainers, so they typically come with sleeping quarters for travelers on the move.

After checking into one of the openings, Riki collapses in a chair.

Kyousuke sits down next to him. “Quite a first day, huh?”

“Yeah…” Riki wipes some sweat off of his forehead. “Are all of your trips this busy?”

Kyousuke chuckles. “Don’t worry, Riki. You’ll get used to it with time.”

“Is it really that important, though? I mean… this isn’t going to be that long a trip, is it?”

Kyousuke pats him on the shoulder. “It’s important to be able to count on yourself, Riki. You had fun, right?”

Riki sighs. “I mean… Kind of, yeah. It’s always fun, running off on one of your missions. But… At the same time… Finding the path blocked, running into a family of wild Pokémon, getting randomly challenged by that girl… A lot of it was honestly just stressful.”

“…” Kyousuke doesn’t seem sure how to respond. After a moment, he gets up and turns away. “Come on, Riki. We should go get something to eat.”

As Riki follows, he can’t shake the feeling that he’s said something wrong.

#Little Busters!#Pokemon #fanfiction #Naoe Riki #Saigusa Haruka #Natsume Kyousuke #Natsume Rin #Miyazawa Kengo #Inohara Masato #Gracidea Blossom #Sinnoh

1 note · View note