#she could have been Yuki's upperclassman

[silver-sandstone]

just had the galaxy brained realization that Kaori and Yuki could have known each other in high school...

[eleanorose123]

older gx fankiddos lol Expanded bios for what they're like under cut since they get a little rambly-

Keisuke Yuki - Growing up, he enjoyed dueling a lot but didn't care about things like winning or losing. However, due to his connection to his deck being so strong and giving him lucky draws, by the time he attended middle school, his winning streak grew to record levels. The unintended pressure he felt from his peers, teachers, and even his parents ended up escalating to his graduation duel in which he gets an unlucky draw in a pinch and loses. He snaps, claiming his deck had "given up" on him and refusing to use it until he was a stronger duelist. He enrolled in Duel Academy as a Ra Yellow (due to his grades being below average and his breakdown at the graduation duel), but set up a tent in the forest and dyed a Slifer Red uniform to be purple instead, claiming himself to be "purple" to avoid any sort of expectation or legacy from the other dorms. He's quite rude and awkward with his fellow students, but he does still love dueling a lot and puts his all into his current deck so he can one day return to his original deck. Judai ends up taking him out of school for a bit during his third year so they could travel the Spirit world together as a trip, helping his son reconnect with Duel Spirits as a result.

Maddie Phoenix - Maddie did everything she could growing up to better her dueling skills, despite her setbacks from other kids refusing to duel "a Phoenix" and having to go by a stage name in secret. She was extremely annoyed when she arrived to Duel Academy when she learned all the girls shared one dorm together rather than being grouped by skillsets like the boys. Maddie said as much, making a lot of the other girls stay away from her, thinking she was looking down on the weaker girl duelists. In truth, she is perfectly content with training and helping any other female student that wants to improve, and manages to make a few friends that way. She was Keisuke's opponent for their graduation duel, and was upset by her rival's behavior and change of personality. She keeps an eye on him while they attend Duel Academy together and makes sure he gets to class. She remains extremely protective of her brother once he enrolls. Her coat came from an upperclassman she respected that gave it to her as a parting gift.

Julian Phoenix - Still rather soft spoken and meek, Julian isn't a confident duelist and duels casually, instead pursuing game design related goals at the academy rather than "the next king of games" sort of thing. He has a constellation themed phoenix Duel Spirit companion he nicknamed Stella and treats it as his best friend, despite most people being unable to see it. Ended up taking after his parent immensely when it came to other people finding him to be "a complete weirdo", but Julian is either oblivious to this or simply doesn't care. Despite his scaredy cat personality, he is a very skilled and confident skateboarder and will sneak around the island to do reckless boarding in the middle of the night just for the thrill of it all. He tries to reconnect with Keisuke, since they had always been close with their ability to see Duel Spirits, but Keisuke pushes him away and hurts his feelings for a while until Julian learns more about his situation. Some other upperclassman in Red do harass Julian into believing he is a disappointment for his pro duelist father, much to his own sorrow for never thinking about that.

[sevenxvirtuesx]

clavicula-ovis​:

     ›› While Yuki was enjoying herself, Satan was absolutely focused; every little detail jotted down, every question noted, leaned in off his seat far enough to practically be hung off the edge of the sofa. It wasn’t until he felt the touch on his cheek that he remembered where he was and what he was doing. Right, Yuki was watching too. His body eased back and he’d listen to her theory crafting, a hum leaving his throat to denote that he was starting to mull on the details as well.

    ❝ I’m more suspicious of the upperclassman, ❞ ›› Satan started casually. ❝ While he hasn’t been talking much, there were matching keychains on his and the victim’s bags. Yet he seemed indifferent and almost aloof about the murders; that wasn’t just numbed emotions, he seemed downright unbothered. Of course this could be a red herring; if we assume that, then I agree that the detective could be the culprit — or at the very least an accomplice. Someone on the inside who could tamper with the evidence. ❞

     ›› One glance at his hands would reveal the notes he was writing being a whole scrawling mess, just about every inch crammed with something or another be it words or illustrations to punctuate his points, all done up near the end when there was a moment to do so. He really did take his murder mystery novels rather seriously, and even with all the inaccuracies he seemed mostly unbothered. At least, until…

    ❝ However, I’m more concerned about who in the hell they “consulted” for that summoning scene. ❞ ›› Satan’s face darkened as he flipped through his notes, a scowl on his lips and his brows knit down tighter than before.

    ❝ That circle was done all wrong! Wrong materials, wrong placements, too close to magical interference, and the wrong symbols too! If they thought they were going to conjure up a powerful demon, at best they would have gotten a smoke devil from the southern reaches, assuming the damn thing worked at all. They even did the chant backwards, and put emphasis on all the wrong spots; it was abhorrent! I’m almost tempted to reach out to the scriptwriters and flay them myself! ❞

     ›› Oh dear, his anger was beginning to peak a bit now.

“The upper classman?” She repeated, muttering to herself. She’d not considered them a suspect. “They’ve been doing and saying all the right things, but you’re right they HAVE seemed aloof. They say the right thing but the emotion? Totally wrong.” Weird, she’d just brushed it off as grief at first but Satan was right. It was completely unusual considering their relationship.

“But you know, there could be more to it. They may not have committed the murder, they might just be happy the victims gone. A relationship that deep can sometimes crack, can’t it? Maybe things weren’t so happy between them. After all, the upperclassman DID seem surprised at some of the things they were told about the victims last movements! There were secrets there.” 

Still, she could theorise all that she wanted, but detective Satan had all the information in his notebook. She’d expect nothing less, yet Yuki was still impressed. Her mind could never be so logical and orderly as his, and she was always branching off into tangents. 

Whilst she admired the writing and scribbles (and was that a DRAWING? She was shook), Yuki missed the slow changes to his expression and did not notice the building anger until he next spoke.

Yuki would never want his rage to be directed her way (even the few times she’d been collateral damage caught in the middle had been enough). It was a great and impressive thing - though completely terrifying. 

Not that she felt at all scared right now. In fact, she crossed a leg under her and began to speak. “Several points... One, just because the summoned demon stated he was some all-powerful being surely doesn’t make that the truth? Couldn’t he be lying? That could be why some things are going wrong, because the summoning circle was incorrect and the offerings wrong. The summoned the wrong demon.” She held up one finger as she spoke, then added a second, “Two, due to the cross-overs with human demon life can’t we think this in some strange realm? Maybe the demon is being summoned from elsewhere? Look, the humanity side of this is all over the place. Like, FOR REAL. It’s so wrong that it’s FUNNY. So maybe this is some weird new dimension!” Okay, that point was lame.

“And three!” A third finger held up, before she dropped her hand and grinned at the seething demon, “I would absolutely love to watch a show you had consulted on. I really would. Just think how amazing that would be. If these guys have done a crap job, you should try it yourself~”

[sunfish-studies]

VS Umbrella

✄・・・ Feathery Ink [Karasuno Manager Series]

➜ Pairing: Karasuno x Manager! Reader

➜ Warning: none

➜ Notes: This is a separate series from Crisp Leaves. Similar to Crisp Leaves, manager in this story will be portrayed as a girl. She will be tall. This is just my appreciation towards tall girls, you guys are amazing.

Previous:  ‹ Illusionary Hero › | Next:  ‹ Cogs ›

↷ SUMMARY ↶

A new special move!

The third day of summer training camp and the temperature was still rising. Under the cool shade of the tree upon the hill, you, Shimizu, and Yachi were preparing cool electrolyte drinks for the team. Usually, you three done it in the gym but experiencing how hot the weather was, you three decided brought the bottles uphill so the team could drink immediately in order to avoid dehydration.

“That’s a different type of brand you use, [Name]-chan.” Shimizu commented, seeing a different colored package of electrolyte drink in your hand.

“Oh, Kageyama-kun usually used this particular brand,” you replied, pouring the powder into the bottle and turn the lid close, then you shook the bottle so it would mix thoroughly. Your upperclassman hummed in understanding from your answer.

While it was the third day of training, it’s also marked the three weeks of Kageyama and Hinata not talking to each other even though it didn’t hinder their practice. It worried you a bit, but you knew the two of them would talk eventually.

“Great work,” you said, offering the bottle to Kageyama when he and the rest of the boys arrived uphill. He rasped out a thank you before immediately downing the drink.

“Hinata-kun, this is yours!”

“Thank you!”

You purposely be the one to delivered the bottle straight to the person–Hinata was keeping a quite distance from Kageyama and you didn’t want to force the orange-haired boy to get closer with the raven-haired setter.

“Wuaah, it’s nice and cool,” Hinata sighed in content, placing the bottle upon his cheek–enjoying the coolness radiating from it. After satisfied in cooling down his face, he soon downed the drink. Now that you think, you rarely talk to Hinata these days with him busy with his practice.

“[Name]-san, is your arm okay?” ah, he must be referring to the long cut on your arm.

“It’s already a month, Hinata-kun, it’s healed but it does leave a scar,” you lifted your arm, showing a faint lighter line present on your skin where your wound previously at.

“Oh, sorry,” frowns don’t suit Hinata at all–he’s a bright ball of beaming energy, a warm figure who could lit your day in an instant. It’s his nature, and seeing him becoming dejected from the start of the day was worrying.

“It’s fine, Hinata-kun, it’s not your fault anyway. It was an accident,” you dismissed his apology. “And if you need anything, just call out for me, okay? I’ll do my best to help you.”

You didn’t know what force that made you say those words, but you know you couldn’t take it back–you didn’t intend too anyway. Hinata always worked hard by himself, so you want to support him as much as possible. The orange haired boy looked taken a back before a giving you that infamous wide, sunny grin.

“Okay! And call me Shoyo, then! I call you by your first name so it’s fair if you call me like that too!”

“Alright, then, Shoyo-kun.”

.

.

The temperature was still rising–the burning hot atmosphere exhausted your boys even further than before. It would get rough, both for their body and mind eventually. You could feel your skin prickling–the tension was rising faster than before, tiredness building up, and sooner or later it would get to them.

“Damn it!” you gripped on your hand a little tighter after hearing Hinata’s scream of frustration. He failed to get the ball over the net because he lost in terms of strength with Lev. For the past three days, he couldn’t hit any ball comfortably, and with the battle of height always looming over him he had nothing to fight it with.

The match continued–Nishinoya tossed the ball perfectly, and then Kageyama went up to made a toss. Hinata, noticing there was a chance for a quick immediately jumped. Even though the ball barely being hit, it still got over the net and fell on the opposite court.

“You held back, didn’t you!?” his upperclassmen’s praises went over his head as Hinata yelled in anger at Kageyama.

“Held back?” the raven-haired setter also didn’t like the approach, glaring back menacingly. “Me? With volleyball?”

Thankfully before a fight could break, Takeda-sensei already asked for a time-out–with that, at least the two could cool down for a bit and not causing ruckus on the court in the middle of a match.

“That wasn’t the falling toss!” Hinata’s next words, caught you off guard. He noticed something’s different with the toss? It looked the same to you.

“It wasn’t?” Takeda-sensei questioned.

“I mean, looking back, it technically may not have been.” Coach Ukai answered, a thumb under his chin. “I think what just happened is that the toss right now wasn’t like the falling tosses he’s been getting, but more of a parabola.”

It clicked in your mind–the abrupt change suddenly made sense. “Does that mean Kageyama-kun is trying to get Shoyo-kun to hit the ball no matter what?”

“It’s on purpose?” Yachi turned to look at you.

“But what for?” Shimizu’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Hinata hasn’t hit a spike comfortably for a while now,” Coach Ukai was the one who answered to their question. “That’s pretty stressful for a spiker. Kageyama might have subconsciously been worried that Hinata’s might not play as well because of that.”

You frowned in worry, seeing how Hinata still rooted on his spot despite Tanaka’s attempt to dragged him off the court. And it also worried you that Kageyama was looking utterly dejected–maybe he realized for a moment that he pulled his punches. Thankfully it was only a moment–everything was resolved rather quickly and practice resumed.

.

.

After practice at night, you found yourself helping Bokuto, Kuroo, and Akaashi in the third gym. The owl captain immediately dragged you away as soon as the last practice was over (you swore you could hear Tanaka and Nishinoya’s screams of fury), so here you were, throwing balls to Akaashi so he could toss it to Bokuto. Surprisingly, Tsukishima was present as well–now, he’s learning to block with Kuroo’s guidance.

“Oh? Tsukki, [Name]-chan, did you bring a friend today?” Bokuto suddenly asked, which confused the two of you.

“Pardon?” Tsukishima questioned.

When you threw a look over your shoulder, you immediately took a notice of an extremely familiar figure with orange hair by the door. Calling out, you gave him a smile. “Shoyo-kun!”

“[N-Name]-san!”

“What happened to your partner?” Tsukishima asked.

“Kageyama’s practicing on his own again,” Hinata answered. “I was trying to get Kenma to throw me tosses, but he ran away after the fifth one.”

“It’s amazing that you got Kenma to even give you five during practice,” Kuroo remarked.

“So, please let me practice with you!” another surprised for you because Lev showed up and asking the same thing.

“Lev!”

“Oh, Hinata,” the silver-haired boy then noticed you and immediately waved his hands enthusiastically. “Otohaku-chan!! You’re here too!!”

“Lev, quit flirting with the manager and I thought you were practicing receives with Yaku.” Kuroo said and of course, the mention of Nekoma’s libero, Lev stiffened.

“He said I was doing well today, so he let me go!”

From the looks of it, it was no doubt he ran away while Yaku was having a bathroom break or something else that required him for leaving the gym. But Kuroo, being the lenient and laid-back captain he is, dismissed it.

“Well, whatever,” he sighed. “Then, we have the right number of people, so let’s play three-on-three. [Name], you’re in charge of the score.”

Nodding in understanding, you pushed the score board closer and changed the names above–cats and owl, it reminded you of the two captain’s characteristics. You were fine in looking over the match, but this match was quite ridiculous. Thankfully, you’re not the only to think so.

“Um, isn’t this just a bit unbalanced?” Akaashi questioned. He was in the same team with Bokuto and Hinata, whereas the opposite team was clearly having more advantage in height–Kuroo, Lev, and Tsukishima are all above 185cm. Still with the disadvantage he got, Hinata was excited for sure.

The match was interesting to watch–even with the lack of extra height for Hinata’s team, they were still on par with Tsukishima’s team. But soon it was stopped by Yukie and Kaori’s appearance.

“If you don’t wrap soon, the cafeteria will close and you won’t get any dinner.” Yukie informed. “Oh? [Name]-chan, you’re here too? That explains why you don’t show up for dinner.”

Frustration was clear to Hinata because he clearly enjoyed the match and he didn’t want it to end, however, with Kuroo’s reassurance that they would continue this tomorrow, he was back bouncing on his feet. You couldn’t help but smile at the captain’s attentiveness.

“Thank you for cheering Shoyo-kun up,” you said, as the seven of you walked towards the cafeteria. Yukie and Kaori said they had to handle other things first so they couldn’t accompany you (it was hard for them to let you go with the boys). “Today’s not a good day for him so this match definitely cheers him up.”

“It’s nothing, and we probably have to apologize to you too,” Kuroo remarked. “Bokuto’s dragging you here, you stuck with us, and missed dinner. Bokuto, you have an apology to make!”

“That’s right, Bokuto-san, you made Otohaku-san missed dinner.” Akaashi piped up. “Tomorrow she has to wake up early to prepare breakfast, too.”

As if struck by lightning, Bokuto froze and turned stiffly to look at you before he went on a full apology-mode–as far as dropping on his knees, taking your hands in his, and begging for apology. You laughed nervously, but you knew he was sincere with it.

“I’m sorry, [Name]-chan!! I’ll make it up to you!! Do I need to replace you handling breakfast tomorrow!?”

“N-no, it’s alright, I will be fine and you don’t have to apologize, Bokuto-san. I don’t mind helping you practice.”

“Bokuto-san, you’re making Otohaku-san uncomfortable.”

“Have my back for once, Akaashi!!”

.

.

Now that you think of it, your after-practice time was automatically reserved for the third gym. Bokuto would bound towards you, asking for your help as soon as you’re done with your managerial duties. With your nod, he then reached out for your hand and pulled you to ran towards the third gym.

Akaashi already informed you to just dismissed his captain, but you found yourself couldn’t possibly rejected Bokuto’s invitation–especially when his eyes practically shining, you didn’t have a heart to ruin it. That goes for Daichi also, he even offered to talk to Bokuto about it if it bothers you. You were grateful for the two’s offer, still if you could help, you want to be helpful as possible.

It’s probably the third time you helped them practice by throwing balls and keeping an eye on the score board. Well you did your usual managerial duties as well–refilling the water bottles, giving them towels, sometimes wiping the floor when it became too slippery. Kuroo mentioned that you didn’t have to do it since your work hour was over and him, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Lev weren’t from your team.

Again, you dismissed it–it’s not a heavy duty, anyway. In between water break, Tsukishima asked about why on earth Kuroo wanted to help them when they would end up being rival in the end.

The captain cleared his throat. “I want to make the Battle at the Garbage Dump a reality. It’s what our coach wants more than anything. But who knows how much longer our coach is going to continue coaching? So, because of that, we need you guys to keep winning too.”

Overall, you understood Kuroo’s reason, but there was something that piqued your curiosity.

“Uhm, I know this question might sound strange, but, what is Battle at the Garbage Dump?” you asked.

“Oh, that’s right, we haven’t explained anything to Yachi-san and [Name]-san!” Hinata said.

“To put it simple, it’s like destined match between Karasuno and Nekoma.” Tsukishima explained. “It’s been going since the previous Coach Ukai’s time.”

“Karasuno and Nekoma will climb up until they could go to nationals and then will meet up on the orange court.” Kuroo grinned, reaching up to ruffle your hair lightly.

“That’s… so cool,” you muttered. You couldn’t find the exact words to express the awe you’re feeling. A match in the orange court between destined rivals, it’s almost like straight up from a manga or a movie. Other teams could research but playing against a team that knows you really well is going to be an absolute thrill–probably the best match Karasuno could get.

“Right, right!?” Hinata went up to you and asked excitedly.

“Come on. Let’s get back to practice!” Kuroo informed and all of you immediately went to your assigned place.

Practice went on–still between the Owl and Cat group. When Bokuto had to score against someone tall like Lev and Tsukishima, he didn’t kill the ball instead he hit it purposely against the block–returning it to the team for a more proper toss. Knowing how Hinata was hungry for development, surely he wouldn’t miss this.

After Bokuto managed to kill the ball with an intense straight towards the back line, he instantly approached him to ask about it. Soon, the game continued. This time, it was Lev who went for the score but managed to be soft-blocked by Akaashi. The last ball went to Hinata and you witnessed an absolutely underhanded way of blocking.

“Ah! Hey!” Bokuto screeched, also feeling the unfairness. “You guys are playing dirty!”

Hinata had to face three blockers above 185 cm with not a good toss.

“Nowhere to aim,” you muttered, narrowing your eyes in slight annoyance.

However, Hinata intended to face them–he hit the ball to Lev’s fingertips and it flew over before dropping to the inner-side of the opposite court. He jumped high enough and landed on his back instead.

“Shoyo-kun, you’re amazing!” running and kneeling beside him, you praised. Technically, you’re supposed to check on him but it flew over your mind for a second. “It’s an amazing block-out!”

“Did…you actually aim for that?” Kuroo questioned in disbelief. “That was an amazing wipe!”

“Well, I did aim for Lev’s fingertips.”

“What!?” Lev took a full offense in this.

Still, Bokuto was impressed by the lack of fear the younger had. The owl captain was showering him with praises as the rest of you watched from the sidelines. It went well until Bokuto proposed a ‘special move’–which made almost everyone dropped their beliefs, Hinata seemed to be excited by it though.

[amesstm]

The Suspended Cousin

WC: 1332

A/N: Have I hit a writer’s block? Maybe. Also, I’ll be creating a masterlist for this series so keep your eye out for that! I’ll probably edit this to the other parts.

P.S. If you guys want me to start making these longer as compared to short ones on a certain ‘schedule’, tell me!

series masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A soft knock came from your door. Yuki opened it to show Ushijima, who was slightly sweaty from his run. You had seen him run around the campus before school, only if you woke up early enough though. The only reason you’d willingly get out of bed that early was if you couldn’t sleep or you were really craving some street food as breakfast.  

Maybe once your concussion heals, you should join him. Actually, his long legs would leave you in the dust. Unless you were going to miraculously grow a few inches, keeping up with him wasn’t going to be easy. Given that you were the libero for a reason, growing probably wasn’t going to happen.

Ushijima waited in your doorway, taking up the majority of its frame. Something about his chest heaving and hair clinging to his forehead from his sweat made your heart accelerate. You managed not to stutter, “Ah, good morning Ushijima.” 

Yuki turned to you and winked. No doubt she was going to ask you about this later. You blushed and waved her off, to which she chuckled aloud. “See you two later.” Yuki sang.

You groaned internally, envisioning how you’d smack her later. For now, you put on your sunglasses and walked towards Ushijima. He walked a bit behind you before taking his place by your side. “Do you want me to carry you?”

You chuckled nervously, “No, no, I’m fine. Thank you, though.”

Upon nearing the stairs, nausea overwhelmed you. You always had a hard time with drastic changes in height if you were driving up or down a mountain. Perhaps it was the depth perception? You wouldn’t know, you’re not a doctor.  

To your side, you felt a nudge on your hand. You looked up to see Ushijima, who was sheepishly reaching for your hand. “Yes Ushijima?”

“I thought you’d want to hold hands like yesterday.” He stated, simply blinking at you.

Was he being shy? How cute. You smiled reassuringly, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

After having your consent, his hand clutched yours gently. Of course, his hands were calloused but something about that made his secure hold more comforting. For such a big man that plays rough on the court, he was surprisingly gentle with everything else. No one would’ve thought that the stone-faced ace would be such a big teddy bear.  

“Y/N, you’re red. Do you have a fever?” Ushijima asked, about to touch your forehead with his other hand.

“Nope!” You squeaked, “I’m fine!”

He didn’t ask any more questions – thank goodness. Until he did, “Do I know your cousin?”

You chuckled nervously, “I hope you don’t for your sake. He’s suspended right now.”

Ushijima looked at you with slightly widened eyes, no doubt thinking the worst of your cousin. You immediately went to your cousin’s defense. “N-no! It wasn’t for anything too serious. He just did something stupid to make his principal upset.”

Ushijima nodded, but didn’t look too convinced. “Is he as short as you?”

“Ehhhh?” You whined. “I’m not short! You’re just very tall.”

“That’s a fact,” Ushijima allowed. “But it’s also a fact that you’re short.”

You didn’t reply to that, knowing it was useless by now. But you did say, “Well, my cousin is very short now that I think about it. I am a bit taller than him, though!”

You realized you said the last part too confidently, but Ushijima displayed a small smile. His silence wasn’t awkward. On the contrary, it was comforting.  

“Oh, I guess we’re at class now, aren’t we?” You chuckled. “Thank you, Ushijima. You don’t need to do anything for me the rest of the day.”

“I’ll still do something,” he deadpanned.  

“I don’t doubt that Ushijima,” you said before waving goodbye. Of course, you’d still see him in some of your classes but you weren’t sure you could casually speak to him yet. Then again, Ushijima seemed to do whatever he wanted without much worry. So, there wasn’t much use in arguing with him either.

~

“Tendo, what do I do for Y/N?” Ushijima asked as his red-headed friend joined him for lunch. Despite asking such an out-of-character question, he casually ate his rice without any concern. But for everyone else, it might as well have been the first moon-landing.

“Are you finally making a move?” Semi asked, raising an eyebrow and lifting a small smile.

Ushijima nodded. As Tendo sat down, he drew a thoughtful expression. “I know that she really likes Pocky. If you get her the Cookies & Cream flavor, she’ll definitely fall in love with you.”

Against Ushijima's will, his cheeks blushed profusely. “She’ll love me?”

“Can our ace not understand sarcasm?” Goshiki mockingly asked.  

Imaginary characters floated around Shirabu’s head, as if warning the first-year to tread carefully. The characters seemed to get the message across: Oh, you think you’re so good at picking up social cues? What makes you think you can even compare?

Effectively, Goshiki was silenced by his upperclassman. “A-anyways, how did you finally talk to Y/N-san? All you’ve ever done is stare at her.”

“I gave her a concussion when we practiced together,” Ushijima replied casually. He bit the inside of his cheek, feeling the same guilt from the day before.  

So, I need to get a pretty girlfriend by giving her a concussion, too?! Goshiki internally screamed to himself. The poor first-year wheezed out, an imaginary ghost leaving his body.

Shirabu only blinked at the bowl-cut boy before returning his attention to Ushijima. “And now you’re her servant?”

“It’s not like that,” Ushijima defended, but didn’t portray any anger.  

“I think it’s ‘cause he likes that,” Tendo said with a dirty smirk. Semi and Shirabu groaned, with Goshiki dying once more.

~

“Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you to the café?” Ushijima asked as he walked you to the school gate.  

You nodded with a smile on your face, “I’m sure. Have fun at practice, Ushijima!”

Before he could say anything else, you ran off. He knew you were just meeting up with your cousin, but he wished that he could have some more time with you. Ushijima frowned, clutching the pocky he had bought for you.

Oblivious to the boy you left behind, you journeyed to the café that your cousin said you’d meet at. You entered the restaurant and searched, looking for that familiar spiky hair. Huffing, you didn’t see that he was there yet. You sat down and decided to look at the menu.  

Then, he arrived.  

“Y/N!” You heard your cousin scream.

Although you cringed, you still smiled. The small boy wrapped you in a hug, making you giggle. “How are you, Yu-chan?”

Letting you go, your cousin grinned, with that classic Nishinoya grin from his side of the family. Although you smiled, your brain still throbbed. Perhaps you should’ve moved this to a different day. “Please don’t be so loud.”

“Wait a minute – do you have a concussion?” He asked, frowning with concern. “How’d you get it?”

“I was practicing with...” how should you address Ushijima? “Uhhh, someone.”

Yu sneered and started to make fists and throw jabs, “Well that someone is gonna get beat when I see them.”

Never in a thousand years would you want your family to fight with your crush. However, imagining Yu trying to fit someone literally twice his size made you giggle. “For your sake, don’t.”

“Do I need to remind you that I’m the best libero ever?”

You pursed your lips, not wanting to ensue another rant about his superiority. “No. But, just don’t please.”

He rolled his eyes, “Okay, fine. But I’ll get help from this guy I know if you want.”

Yu might’ve been just talking about some friend he had. Or, in the short time he’s been suspended, he had joined a yakuza. Either way, you knew that this simp would probably create a gang to protect you. If only you knew how that friend group would impact your relationship.

A/N: For clarification, you and Nishinoya are related through your mothers’ side so you can keep your last name lol. Plus, it won’t be too confusing if I need to use both of their last names later on :p

[blueberrysets]

Alright so I may or may not ha e just seen your navigation post and diOaksnsks ma'am you now have yourself a top fan soaowisis anyways, may I request headcanons for Yaku, Kenma, Akaashi, and Sugawara with a same year as them s/o who's part of the music club and the younger members look up to said s/o like a big sister? I wonder how they'd react...

From: The one and only BucketofForks

To: You :DD

okay, this request is sO CUTE!! AHH!! thank you for being my first request and I hope you enjoy it! :) 

their musical s/o that acts like a big sibling  to the younger members

sugawara 

suga met you after school when he just so happened to walk by the music room on the way to practice.

his ears picking up such a beautiful sound flowing from the cracked open door that his body just seemed to move by itself over there.

through the small window, he could see that someone was obviously practicing the violin. their eyes closed with a pleasant look on their face.

he was mesmerized, his eyes following along with the way their body would sway along to the music and their foot-tapping to keep the rhythm

he couldn’t help himself to push further into the room and clap after they were finished, a bright red blush spreading across your face as you realized someone was watching you

“that was amazing,” suga exclaims, his bright smile livening up the room

“really?” you ask, “I’ve only had the piece a couple of days, but we have a show coming up soon so I want to get it down.”

“well I think you definitely have it down alright, can you play me another?”

yes, he was late to practice that day, but BOOM romance erupted from there.

the first time the boys met you, it was when you walked into the gym to give suga some notes for one of his classes. of course, you walked right into the fifth kageyama and hinata argument of the day.

of course, all of the other boys are tense and not sure how to stop them from bickering but DUN DUN DUN suga’s s/o to the rescue.

“alright, it seems like you two need to sit down and have someone guide this conversation,” you blurted out, everyone’s head snapping towards the unfamiliar voice.

“hey sugar,” suga voiced as he jogs his way over to you, wrapping his arms around you before placing an obnoxious kiss on your cheek, “don’t worry about them, they do this all the time.”

“is that so? well, it seems like they’re holding everyone else up, I’ll sort them out.”

coach ukai is just like please, I’m begging you.

so kageyama and hinata are dragged over to the bleachers where they are scolded by their upperclassman and lead through a very thoughtful and successful conversation

even made them hug it out, which was great blackmail for tsukishima later on.

the boys knew that if you could calm down kageyama and hinata, then you definitely need to stick around.

and you did, in fact becoming very close with them.

you’re seen at every one of their volleyball games, cheering so loudly for the boys (well, mostly suga.)

you probably yell embarrassing things like “SUGA YOUR BUTT LOOKS GREAT.” “HINATA SWEETIE, PULL UP YOUR PANTS.”

the boys are in the front row for every performance you have, asahi has definitely cried once when you had a solo

you’re one of the few people that can pick on tsukishima, and him not having a comeback for it

you walk around and make sure that the boys are eating properly at lunch

you help yachi with breathing exercises when she gets too overwhelmed

you always make sure that they all get big hugs after the games

you tease nishinoya and tanaka by telling them that someone was going to ask kiyoko out today, just to see their reactions

but most importantly, you give them all emotional support when the boys need it the most.

overall, suga’s s/o would be just as chaotic as him. but loves to give them bear hugs, a good scolding, and sneaks them some snacks throughout the day to make sure they have enough energy.

akaashi

akaashi met you during one of fukurodani’s talent shows, hosted by the music club!

you signed up to perform, deciding to play your guitar and sing as well.

akaashi couldn’t take his eyes off of you, his heart fluttering with every note that you would sing.

he loves the way you let yourself get lost in the music even though you’re performing in front of hundreds of people right now.

he had to talk to you, and he gathered up the courage to after the show.

“hey,” he stutters slightly as he approaches you, you’re even more stunning up close, “you did amazing up there.”

“oh gosh,” you laugh slightly covering your red cheeks, since you’ve always had a crush on the observant setter of fukurodani, “you’re too kind, but thank you.”

“would you teach me how to um, play the guitar maybe?” he blushes

you couldn’t believe it, THE akaashi keiji is asking YOU to help him learn how to play guitar? you obviously agreed to it, anything to get close to him

the weekly guitar lessons, turned into weekly dates, that turned into finally becoming significant others. 

the first person you meet is bokuto, naturally. he forgot his lunch at home that day and didn’t want to spend money to get something to eat. his hair all frumpy as he goes into emo bokuto.

but lucky for him, you always pack an extra lunch in case one of your friends forget theirs. so you offer it to him, and bokuto looks at you as if you put the stars in the sky. bokuto happily eats your food, complimenting it with every bite. then invites you to come to their practice.

akaashi was nervous to have you come to practice, what if he messes up? what if you think volleyball is lame? what if the boys hate you?

yet when you stepped into the gym, you seemed to fit right in.

you help them set everything up, you get along with yukie and kaori, you compliment bokuto when he seeks your praise, you help toss to konoha, and sneak in little kisses for akaashi

since that day, the team seems to stick to you like glue

they always ask you for help when it comes to studying

you give them little performances during their breaks in practice

you give them head pats and words of encouragement before every game

you even invite them to every single one of your performances, knowing exactly where they in the crowd from bokuto’s prominent voice.

basically, you become the teams' second mom behind akaashi. you support them with motherly love and they support you back by being your number one fan.

kenma

you were a mystery to kenma at first

every day after school, kenma would hear the most beautiful voice singing in the stairwell of the school. yet, he could never see who it was since they left before he reached the bottom.

but one day, he was determined. it was like figuring out who the mysterious voice was that was guiding him in a video game, so he left earlier to wait at the bottom of the stairs. lo and behold, here comes you singing to your heart's content as you descend the stairs. 

stopping in the middle of a long note as your eyes land on kenma, sitting on the bottom step looking up at you with a slight smile on his face.

“you have a nice voice,” his soft voice states as your cheeks become redder by the second

“oh, thank you, I don’t really sing in front of others,” you state bashfully

“you should join the music club,” he casually states as he picks up his volleyball bag, “they would accept you right away.” then he walks off, gaming on his phone.

the next week you come racing towards him, a bright smile on your face as you explain to him that you got into the music club. 

“but,” you explain as your smile drops, “I still can’t get over the nervousness of singing in front of others.”

“you can start by singing in front of me, if you’d like,” kenma states, his eyes lowered in shyness, “then maybe once you’re comfortable around me, you can work your way up.”

“oh! like leveling up in a video game,” you exclaim.

kenma swears his heart stops for a second at that statement, his cheeks a bright red.

“yeah, exactly like that.”

so every day, either before or after school (depending on his practices) you would sing in front of kenma. while either walking to school or from, eventually kenma couldn’t hold his feelings in any longer and finally asked you on a date. and then you became love birds.

you met the boys by kenma’s idea actually

“you’re comfortable around me, what about we move up to my team?”

you agreed, reluctantly of course. but here you are, in the gym about to sing to a group of boys. 

but you put your big kid pants on, and you did it. you ended up making lev cry from how beautiful your voice was, you had to console him with hugs and head pats.

the boys were in awe of not only your talent but the way you just casually hugged lev. soon enough, all of the boys wanted hugs. then they became your little clingy cats.

you had Yamamoto hissing at people in the hallway when they looked at you as if kenma did already do that.

you sang the periodic table song per kuroo’s request

you always listened to lev excitedly explain something and explain something to him if he didn’t understand

when it came to your first ever performance on a stage, the boys sat in the front row so you had familiar faces to look at.

it was at that moment that you would’ve never been where you are without kenma.

yaku

the boys were curious, why has yaku been showing up to practice at the last minute every day?

he would run in, out of breath, with a sappy look on his face. 

so, they followed him (as sneakily as lev and Yamamoto would let them) and see what he did after school every day.

that's when they found you and him in the music room, you were playing the piano while GASP, YAKU WAS SINGING?

the boys were astonished, not only because he had this talent and he never told them. but because he has the voice of an angel??

his voice is what made you approach him in the first place, you heard him singing loudly with his headphones in his ears while he walked home from school one day. you just so happened to need a voice to test out the new song you just wrote.

so you asked, well more like begged him. but you were too cute to say no to. you would meet every day after school, he even helped you fix some things for the song. eventually, you two would start hanging together at lunch and even after school. leading you two to start dating.

but now here we are, with all of the nekoma men's volleyball team in too much shock to move as they find their libero singing beautifully in front of them.

oh but don’t worry, lev will say something.

“yaku, you sound like an angel!” he exclaims as he steps into the room.

“LEV?”

“Actually we’re all here.”

“WHAT?”

cue yaku running around the music room to hit each and every single one of them for a. stalking him and b. finding out his secret.

which leads to you introducing yourself, and having another shock to the team as yaku actually has a significant other?

“whaattt?? yaku got someone before me?” kuroo whines as he pouts with his arms crossed. leading you to karate chop him on top of the head, because no one disrespects your mans >:(

that small action would make the team realize that they now had two mothers to yell at them.

and oh boy would you.

you had to scold lev if he would say something mean to other teams (without realizing, he's a precious boy he doesn’t mean any harm) 

you drag Yamamoto by the ear when he over girls for too long

you take kenma’s gaming devices so that he eats during lunch

you also scold kuroo every time he hits lev with a ball

but they wouldn’t have it any other way, because they adore you (and you keep yaku calm)

when it finally came to performance time for your song and for yaku’s big singing debut, you wouldn’t want any other team to be in the front row.

[animeloverskylarmoon]

Tensa Kurosaki AU Chapter 6 (Bleach)

It's a pretty lazy morning. You're just strolling to school. It's only when you enter the gate that you notice the small commotion. A few students are gathered around, and you faintly make out Tensa's dark hair in the distance.

"Not this again. "

You weren't if it was the expressionless look he forever wore, but there seemed to be a lot more guys trying to pick a fight with him.

"Think you're hot shit because a few girls have a thing for you huh."

"I'm not certain why they would be hot, but I believe they should see a doctor about such a condition. If you're experiencing similar symptoms my father owns a clinic down the street." The blond male's eyebrows twitch in aggravation.

"Are you messing with me you punk!" He looks like he's about to take a swing, his two man squad behind to back him up. That stops when they hear the hurried pattering of feet against the pavement.

"Hey assholes!!" 

All that's seen is a pair of feet coming at an alarming rate. You kick the first male square in his face and he pitches back, bouncing on the floor at least three times before his body skates to an ungraceful stop. His other two friends look scared shitless.

Tensa blinks, watching you land easily, swinging your bag over your shoulder.

"What are you staring at? You want a piece of me!" They both scramble off without a word. You turn back to Tensa, pissed.

"And you! Were you just going to stand there and let them beat the crap out of you? "

"If they were to beat me, I'm sure nothing would come out." His smartass comments, no wonder they picked a fight.

"Let's just go, I don't wanna be late for class."

He was a hopeless case.

You take his hand storming forward, and Tensa follows behind silently. His eyes direct on your joined hands.

"Warm.."

He's never held anyone's hand like this.

"It's..nice."

He squeezes your hand softly, and you don't really react, because you're still pretty much fuming. But he smiles a little.

"Arigatou, (Y/N)."

~~~~

"Did you hear, Tensa beat all three of them without so much as lifting a finger?"

"That's so hot!"

"Do you think he has a girlfriend?"

"Whoever she is must be pretty lucky."

Once again, crazy rumors are spreading. Tensa would forever be the topic of the girls at this school. At the beginning you didn't mind, but now it was a little irritating the way they talked about him. He wasn't a piece of meat. He was a person. Your friend.

Walking through the halls, you do your best to just ignore it. You didn't like other girls talking about him. Looking at him.

"He's mine."

You froze at the words that popped into your head, blushing furiously.

"W-What the hell am I saying!!" You slap your cheeks a few times.

It must have been the heat making you delirious. Yep, must be.

"Hey (Y/N)-san." you turn, and Keigo walks over casually.

"Keigo. Have you seen Tensa?" You've been searching for him since the beginning of the lunch break. It's like he just disappeared.

"I heard Yuki Koji from class B was talking with him. It looked pretty serious."

"Yuki.."

She was a beautiful redhead, an upperclassman. What the hell could she want with him?

~~~~

Keigo instructed you on where you could find him, the cafeteria of all places. Tensa hated crowded areas more than anything. He was more comfortable around small groups. It's why he only ever hung around with Tatsuki and the others. Ichigo may have been a bone head, but he was good at making friends, decent ones too. Tatsuki was pretty protective over not just Orihime, but also her friends. You could always trust her to have Tensa's back whenever guys were being idiots.

"Please be my boyfriend." The words you hear bring you to a stop. You can see the glistening red hair, right next to her the dark locks of the boy you'd been looking for.

She was smiling at Tensa, basically glowing. Just the energy she was giving off had some of the boys in the area blushing.

"Boyfriend?" of course he would be lost.

"Y-You know, like lovers." She's playing with her hair bashfully, batting her eyes at him.

You pause. Of all the places that she could have confessed, why the hell would she do it in the cafeteria for the whole school to see.

"I'm sorry, but I can't accept your request. "

The expression on her face turns sour. You can tell she doesn't expect that response, neither does most of the students watching. Yuki is easily one of the prettiest girls at school, so a guy turning her down is almost impossible.

"Y-You jerk!" all you hear is a smack and Tensa's head lowers. Yuki is huffing, and your eyes widen at the red print on his face.

"HEY!" 

You storm over, standing protectively in front of Tensa. At that very moment you want to floor her. How dare she hit him. It's not like Tensa asked for this.

"If you cared about his feelings you wouldn't have put him on the spot like this, I bet you choose it just so he would have no other choice but to agree."

She stammers.

"J-Just shut up! Who are you anyway! You're a nobody. So is he! I was giving him a chance to date someone as amazing as me but he passed it up. He's nothing but a weird little freak. I shouldn't have even felt sorry for him."

"Why you-" with clecnched fist you fully intend to put a dent in her stupid face. Tensa takes your hand, and you can't really act. He just starts tugging you along as he turns to leave.

"W-What are you doing? She just treated you like shit let me punch her lights out!" you protest.

"It won't solve anything. " He mumbles. You're finally away from the prying eyes in the cafe. This infuriates you. Tensa hasn't released your hand, and it takes a while for you to realize where he's heading. One of his favourite places aside from the roof. The courtyard. During breaks it's pretty vacant, and there's a lot of trees that offer shade so you can just sit and relax.

"You're way too nice, I would have drop kicked her." he doesn't reply, just pulls you to a tree. He lets go of your hand, taking a seat. You just stand over him. Tensa folds his arms and closes his eyes, leaning against the bark.

"Are you really not mad!!"

"I think you have enough anger for the both of us."

"That's not the point!!"

Why did he have to act like nothing affected him. It's like he thought he wasn't allowed to be mad or angry or irritated. He showed nothing to the outside world and it ticked you off. You were friends. You wouldn't think any less if he told you.

"She was mistaken in her request, that's why I'm not mad."

Mistaken?

"Girls would be foolish to want to date someone like me. I was just saving her the trouble. Her reaction was perfectly normal. "

Now you weren't just angry, you were furious. Was he being serious, did he really think that little of himself.

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!" your yell startles him, the confusion clear on his face. Kneeling down to his height, you clench your fist.

"You idiot! If anyone isn't worth the time of dating it's Yuki. She's a shallow hag! You're amazing! Tensa you're reliable, caring, hell you tried to jump in front of a baseball to help me and you'd barely even known me that well. How could you not know how great you are? Any girl would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend." with a sigh, you reach out, fingers brushing the mark on his cheek. Your little rant has slowly died off, and Tensa looks utterly speechless.

"If I hear you talking that shit again, I'm gonna slap you too." you finish. You never want to hear him put himself down like that. Not ever. When you smile at him, he's still a bit at a loss for words.

"Do you mean that.." you lift your hand, dropping it on the top of his head, rolling your eyes.

"I do, now stop being an idiot." Tensa just nods. He's still mentally processing your words. You take a seat right next to him, leaning on the tree. Tensa's eyes drift to the side, over to you. You still have an adorably angry expression on your face, although now your eyes are closed.

"(Y/N)-san.."

He knows that you want him to be more forward with how he feels. It isn't like he intentionally pretends to be unbothered, it was just sort of natural for him. He wasn't easily riled. The complete opposite of Ichigo despite them being brothers. With you, it's like you can tell whatever he's feeling, even if he doesn't show it. It's why being around you is so easy. He smiles a little to himself.

"Arigatou, (Y/N)."

This is just another one of those things he has to thank you for.

[hanacantwrite]

𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: ☽ “𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩, 𝙨𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙮.” nekoma’s volleyball club finally gets a manager and one that’s cute to boot, her personality is just part of her package deal.

m.list — one — two

𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠.

it was impossible for you to ever catch up with then. 

one normal step for them was basically fifty steps for her and the fact that they never noticed it was the thing that got on your nerves the most. 

sure, you weren't exactly the tallest person ever but the fact that they were taller than almost everyone they met didn't really help things. 

even when it came to someone like yaku you still couldn't keep up with him. 

getting lost was something that was starting to get annoying, couldn't they at least try to pay attention to when you suddenly disappeared?

you could only stand in a corner as you stared distantly into the crowd that filled the only area that you could walk through, there was no way you were going through there. 

sure, you wanted to meet up with them considering your position required it but your will to do your job was overshadowed by your will to live. 

of all the clubs you could've joined, you just had to join the club with members that were basically giants. 

talking to all of them forced you to crane your neck to even look at them, it was no surprise that they lost you, once again. 

the mere fact that this wasn't the first time and most likely not the last time something like this will ever happen just made you accept your fate. 

you just had to accept the fact that you weren't made to be tall and that you should've joined the debate club, at least you wouldn't have to worry about getting lost due to your height with that club. 

all you could do was glare into the distance as you slid down the wall, getting yourself situated as you waited for the crowded walkway to become a bit smaller. 

there was no way you were going to risk dying, not yet anyway. 

you sat in the corner with a dejected look on your face and a surprisingly dark air surrounding you as almost everyone around you looked at you with confusion as they tried to walk away. 

"i get that i'm not that tall but did they really have to lose me in the crowd because of that..."

the walkway was still as crowded as it was a few minutes ago, if anything it was even more crowded than it was only a few minutes before.

ugh, you weren't going to catch up with them anytime soon.

"what do you mean you lost her?!"

kuroo was on the verge of blowing up at the first year if it wasn't for the fact that he was more confused than anything. 

how on earth do you lose someone exactly?

if anything considering the fact that you were probably one of the only girls there it would've been impossible for you to get lost and if you did then you would've been found almost immediately.

lev looked away from his dark-haired upperclassman, a nervous look making it's way to his face as he avoided thee glares given to him by his upperclassman.

to be honest, he was more concerned about the reactions from the older teens rather than your own well being, it wasn't like it was something new. 

you always seemed to disappear into crowds. 

it's been something that has been happening since the two of you were in primary school, things didn't really change and he wouldn't have worried about it them. 

but back then he didn't have to deal with fuming upperclassmen that looked like they were holding back the urge to hit the grey-haired middle blocker. 

"i just lost her! i was talking to her one minute and when i went to look at her she just wasn't there anymore!" 

he was really trying hard to defend himself. 

keyword. 

try.

without any warning, the first-year was interrupted in his terrible defence by the third year libero kicking at him as he shoved his elbow into his side. 

"yaku-san, what was that for?!"

"it was for being even more of an idiot than usual!"

"huh?! are you saying i'm always being an idiot?!"

the rest of the first years, shohei, and kenma only watched on with varying expressions as the third years scolded the first-year endlessly. 

yuki and inuoka tilted their heads at the sight before glancing at each from the corner of their eyes. 

"uh...should we do something?" inuoka asked. 

"just ignore them, butting in is more trouble than it's worth," kenma deadpanned. 

as expected, things with the boys weren't going any better than it was with you. things weren't turning out well for either of you, not in the slightest. 

"you're amazing senpai!" you gazed up at the older teen with stars in your eyes. 

shohei gave you a curt nod as he let you loop your hands around his own as the two of you made your way back to the others who were still trying to look for you.

after a few more minutes of waiting for the crowd to disperse nothing really happened much to your disappointment. 

that was of course until you were saved by your saviour of the day and the person you were sure was the best member of the volleyball club, shohei fukunaga. 

it didn't take too long for the two of you to finally make your way back to the others, though you were wondering if it would've been a better idea to just go home instead of returning to them. 

'why are they acting like a bunch of clingy relatives?'

you were somewhat annoyed with them but at the same time you weren't exactly annoyed with them in the slightest, it was something you had expected from them strangely enough.

turning away you let out a relieved sigh before a scheming smirk snaked it's way to your lips, the corners of your lips curled up as you looked into the direction of the grey-haired middle blocker. 

it was payback time. 

you were more than sure that he was probably blaming you getting lost on the fact that you being small meant it was easier for you to get lost into the crowd. 

"lev was really the main reason i got lost in the first place."

everyone turned to the first year with yamamoto and the third years (save for kai) shooting sharp glares at him causing him to spew as many excuses as possible. 

it was really interesting to see how many mediocre excuses and explanations he was able to give in only the span of a few seconds. 

though it would've been much more interesting if he was able to say everything and make everything make sense rather than have everything contradict each other. 

even the things he said in the same sentence didn't seem to match up. 

he always did clam up whenever he was under pressure and that seemed to be much more noticeable ever since he joined the volleyball club. 

"-so it's not really-"

before he could get anything else out the first year was interrupted by the third-year libero walking up to him as he kicked at shin leaving no one really that surprised. 

"yaku-san, you could've given me a moment to finish!"

"shut up already!"

ah, now that was satisfying revenge. 

"kai-san, aren't you going to do anything about them?" yuki asked the older teen. 

"don't worry about it, i'm sure everything is fine."

"wha-"

you looked up at the libero. "come on, there's really nothing bad happening yuki-kun."

his eye twitched. 

for people that seemed to always look so nice, he was really starting to doubt that. 

"of course..."

why did he have to join the volleyball club of all things?

they seemed to be a lot more stranger than he ever thought they would be, he never expected them to be like this, not in the slightest. 

"i'm really having regrets right about now."

"huh?" 

you and kai looked at the black-haired teen with curious looks, tilting your heads in unison. 

he let out a sigh. 

"nevermind, i'm sure whatever you guys say is just going to make things even more confusing than they already are."

[politesper-moved]

INTUITION COMMENTARY 27:  tsuruya’s challenge

okay this..... this is very interesting. and it’s lead me to realize something very important. im going to have to reread surprise to take some notes but. let me make some notes

- itsuki is unsure if T is a normal human or not - nagato was staring very intently at T at the end of the book after mentioning the DNA tech stuff- which is something mikuru was interested in bc that’s closer to the technology she’s familiar with. (the beginning of this book also reestablished first person narrators like kyon to be unreliable- that was the entire point of this book. his explanation as to why she was doing that could be wrong) - nagato also strangely responded more to T than she did to koizumi. kyon comments on how weird it is that someone who wasn’t in the brigade could have half a conversation with yuki - she’s a foreigner. blonde hair is a very key feature here. she says she has a twin brother- one can easily assume he shares the same hair color and there is only ONE other character in the series that’s blonde - fujiwara is CONVENIENTLY left out of the conversation kyon has w/ itsuki about the anti-sos brigade (sasaki, kuyou, and tachibana are all mentioned by name but fujiwara isn’t even referenced once) - we know fujiwara isn’t his real name. kyon said it was obvious he just stole it from the fujiwara clan in surprise (will find quote later) - FUJIWARA---- get this: may not even be mikuru’s brother. calling someone big sister/big brother in japanese isn’t always family related. it literally could’ve been a sign that they were once close (platonically, most likely) and kyon misinterpreted it (again see the beginning of tsuruya’s challenge describing unreliable first person narrators) - fujiwara not wanting to reveal his name makes sense if you consider the fact he knows that they might meet T in the future.  - her twin brother is MISSING yet the family seems unconcerned about it. which...... is concerning to ME considering that if T is an upperclassman like mikuru and tsuruya she’s probably 17-18. which means her brother is too. and idk i’d be concerned if my 17-18yr old kid suddenly just vanished.  - fujiwara and T genuinely look similar. like. i put pics of them side by side and their hair kinda moves in a similar fashion and their face shapes are also kinda similar. tho we also gotta remember there was an art style change. - “not fit for polite society. incapable of reading a room? rude? arrogant? bohemian?” that is literally fujiwara’s character. like... im sorry that’s just how he is as a person to a T (pun not intended). she also seems genuinely a bit uncomfortable talking about him which is interesting - it’s a theme in this story that a mysterious person/culprit/etc is always someone the audience is aware of because if it was just some random person the story would just kinda be mean since you wouldn’t actually be able to guess. also, they mention chekhov’s gun at one point- you don’t mention a detail or a plot point without the intention of bringing it up again. everything is added for a reason (kyon says sometimes details can be for fun but he’s unreliable as stated earlier). which means there HAS to be a point in mentioning she has a twin and describing him in this way. - T glaring at kyon, calling him rude, and saying her traits are very normally seems very defensive for someone who’s normal.

[brigadeleadxr]

*disappearance             [prev]/[next]   literally just a dream i had [1/3]

                           — — — — ❅ — — — —

HARUHI GAPES. “ You need a WHAT ? ”

 "A computer.” Yuki repeats quietly ; dark eyes unwavering. 

“How is that gonna—? And this clubroom doesn’t already have one?” Her hands move to her hips. That would’ve been the first thing she’d want. “Geez, what kind of club is this? ” She reinspects the space with her lips flattened into a tight line. Kyon looks at her from the corner of his eye. She looks paler...unusually worn. 

( She’s so tired. )

“Fine, I know what to do.” She sighs, “Computer research society’s next door right?” Haruhi gathers up her strength and grabs the wrist of the cute upperclassman and starts to drag her teary-eyed and all, but a firm hand on her shoulder stops her before she makes it to the door.

“ What? ” 

Kyon shakes his head. Through her protests he tells her that he remembers that plan and said plan was veto’d. 

“You don’t get veto power.” She retorts flatly, yet still thinks it over for a moment. “Buut if you want to sacrifice yourself, that’s fine by me. I gotta change back into my Kouyouen uniform then.” 

Just seconds later, Kyon is diving out the door. Koizumi, strangely calm as he follows suit, closing the door behind them. When Haruhi does come out, and explain the plan.... Kyon’s brow can’t help but twitch......and he thinks:

What a stupid plan.  

“ Koizumi, rough up his uniform.” 

           — — — — ❅ — — — —

HARUHI KICKS OPEN THE DOOR. “ WHICH ONE OF YOU IS THE PRESIDENT? ”

From the stunned silence, a boy in the corner raises his hand. Her eyes lock onto him faster than a targeted missile. 

“You know who I am?”

From the back, you can hear one of the boys whisper ‘isn’t that Suzumiya from Kouyouen?’ The fear is palpable. She has to hold back the smile tugging at her lips as she strides in. “Oh, good, so my reputation precedes me.” She says, pushing her hair off her shoulder. 

Kyon thinks ‘she’s acting like a cartoon villain’ .

( meanwhile Haruhi is busy soaking it all in. ) 

“Then you all know what happens to anyone who gets in my way.” She yanks Kyon by the tie so hard that he tumbles to the ground in front of her. He looks a mess. And thanks to some questionable makeup work, when he looks up at the president,

There’s a big blotched bruise around his eye. 

“You’re the president? So president’s got the best stuff.” Her eyes flit greedily to the computer, before looking down at Kyon, commanding as ever.  “Take it. ” 

Kyon doesn’t even have to act reluctant to start unplugging the computer. ‘Sorry about this...’ he mumbles. 

The president opens his mouth to protest. Haruhi’s shoots him a sharp glare.

The president closes his mouth.

She leans in close. “And if you say a word to anyone...” She whispers something in his ear.

His adam’s apple bobs nervously. 

           — — — — ❅ — — — —

She’s got a weary grin as they leave. She can’t help but radiating how pleased she is, though the beams aren’t the usual SUN level strength today, in fact, they probably wouldn’t be able to microwave your dinner. Kyon hefts the tower in disbelief with Haruhi striding out cradling the monitor. She immediately hands it off to Koizumi who’s waiting in the hallway, and switches her expression back to a scowl as she closes the door behind them. Just as the boys starts to head back to the clubroom, Kyon checks over his shoulder to see that she’s still fiddling with the handle. 

“What’re you doing?”

“I’m buying us some time.” She whispers, pulling bobby pins from her hair to JAM them into the keyhole. “Or did you really think they’re gonna keep their mouths shut?” Her leg lifts, and drops down mercilessly on the handle, snapping off the ends. They could be locked in there for hours. Amazing....

There isn’t even an ounce of remorse on her face. 

[grellsuke]

do you have any good lgbt manga recs? i just finished shimanami tasogare and loved it

yes!!!

Authors:

yuhki kamatani - the author of shimanami tasogare! kamatani is x-gender (and ace!) and thoroughly incorporates lgbt characters into their works. the others aren’t like focused on the lgbt experience like how shimanami is, but they’re all wonderful and beautiful and have lgbt characters and i highly, highly rec them.

akiko morishima - a lesbian mangaka who i really like! she’s really good abt tackling the traditional stereotypes in yuri manga as well as writing stuff about older characters and frankly discussing sexuality and shit. she also has works that are not yuri manga-centric but iirc a good chunk if not all of them still have lgbt characters, so they’re worth checking out as well! (she does have a few works with some fuckshit in them tho, fair warning)

takako shimura - i don’t personally know what her sexuality is (tho shes a woman, i know this), but shimura is pretty well-known for her lgbt works. wandering son and aoi hana are probably her most famous, at least over here in the west! she also tends to incorporate lgbt themes into her works that don’t center on lgbt characters as well.

ebine yamaji - another lesbian mangaka! yamaji’s works are very... realistic, usually about lesbian working through things. there’s a lot of trauma and a lot of sadness in her works, as well as sexual content, and i really love her art. i haven’t read ALL of her works, but what i have, i’m enamored with. they’re sad but rarely TRAGIC.

hiyori otsu - i don’t actually know otsu’s sexuality, but she’s a shoujo ai/yuri mangaka who writes a lot of genuinely sweet stuff. her works tend to very much be on the softer side of things, even if they can be bittersweet, and i’ve really enjoyed all i’ve read by her. it’s nice to just, be able to read a simple and nice lesbian manga without any major angst or tragedy or even sexual content sometimes, you know?

Autobiographies:

honey x honey by sachiko takeuchi - a slice of life little manga about the author and her girlfriend! it is abt a decade old, which you can see some of, but it’s a really cute peek into their lives and japanese lgbt culture. there ARE sequel(s?), but i unfortunately haven’t managed to find any english translations for them. if you do, let me know!

my lesbian experience with loneliness by kabi nagata - i own this manga! i keep it squirreled away in the bottom of my desk and pull it out every few weeks or so because it’s deeply, deeply relatable to me. the first time i read this manga i sat down and cried because i felt it deep in my soul. absolutely rec!!! there’s also a sequel, my solo exchange diary.

the bride was a boy by chii - a cute little manga about a trans woman named chii, recounting her early years up to her current life, her transition and how she met her husband (+ abt their relationship). it’s super cute and sweet, and very informative!! an absolute rec!!

i was born the wrong sex! by mayufu konishi - i haven’t quite finished this one yet, but this is a highly informative manga about a trans woman heading to thailand for her surgery! it’s extremely extremely informative about every single step of the process, and the author is an absolute delight, so it’s one i’d absolutely rec.

our journey to lesbian motherhood by emiko sugiyama/koyuki higashi/hiroko masuhara - have you heard of the lesbians that got married in disneyland tokyo? this is them!!! this is their autobiographical story of, well, their journey to lesbian motherhood! it’s very good, i definitely enjoyed it - it IS a sequel to another manga by them, but i sadly couldn’t find an english translation anywhere… it’s completely understandable without having read it, though!!

fictional manga:

my brother’s husband by gengoroh tagame - this is one i haven’t read myself, but is pretty damn high up on my ‘next to read’ list. the author is a prominent gay bara author - this is his first dabbling into more family-friendly series. he’s also recently started another family-friendly one called our colors that may be worth looking into as well!

whispered words by takashi ikeda - it’s been a good long while since i’ve read this, but i really enjoyed this when i was younger! (has it already been almost 8 years since it ended?? i feel old) it’s about two lesbians who are best friends - one of which is secretly in love with the other. unfortunately, she’s very much not her friend’s type. :( i vaguely remember some kind of weird crossdressing shenanigans with one character, tho, so tread lightly with that.

koimonogatari by tohru tagura - if you liked shimanami, this is also probably right up your alley! it’s a very realistic manga about a boy finding out that one of his classmates is closeted and gay - and he promptly decides to tell no one because he’s not an asshole, which leads to him being one of this boy’s main confidants. it realistically deals with the homophobia that gay people face, as well as the main character’s slow realization that he’s not necessarily straight, either (or at least, that’s my hypothesis - it’s still ongoing!!). i really enjoyed it.

lonely wolf, lonely sheep by fuka mizutani - two women with the same name, same birth month, and same injury end up meeting by complete coincidence at the hospital. i genuinely adore this manga and all it is. despite it only being one volume long, it deals with heavier topics such as depression, self harm, homophobia, and iirc even suicide. it’s really, really good though and i wish all the best for them.

kono koi ni mirai wa nai by morihashi bingo - i recommend this one tentatively, as the last two chapters are not yet translated (as of 1/11/19), but i enjoyed what was there. despite the label as BL on many sites, this story is actually about a trans woman (tho there is also a gay man in the manga!). the note left off on the most recent chapter, chapter 10, was a very uplifting note that she is not alone and that how she feels is completely, utterly normal, and i have hope for the last two chapters! the art’s really pretty, too, and the metaphors. but again - who knows what could go down in the last two chaps. fingers crossed!

i hear the sunspot by yuki fumino - PLEASE read this one. this manga is about two college-aged young men who end up meeting when one LITERALLY stumbles across the other. kouhei, one of the boys, is hard of hearing - and the other boy, taichi, starts taking notes for him in class in exchange for lunch, and thus begins a friendship that will blossom into romance! it absolutely gets in depth on the hoh/Deaf community in Japan, and is definitely informative - and the guys are just genuinely so sweet (as well as the other characters!!!) and I wish them all the happiness. it’s STILL ONGOING so like, warning on that, but i’m really enjoying it so far. i think there’s also a movie based off it!

cirque arachne by nika saida - this one has some sexual elements to it, so fair warning on that, but i really enjoyed it! it’s a single volume manga about two acrobats that fall in love. the art was cute and i genuinely liked the characters, quite a lot. would definitely rec.

yuureitou by tarou nogizaka - i have not actually read this manga, but it’s another that’s amazingly high up on my to read list. it’s a supernatural horror manga, and the main couple is a trans man and a cis man! i’ve heard good things about it - from people i know personally, as well as just in general - and it’s one i can’t wait to check out.

ohana holoholo by shino tarino - i FEEL like this one is completed, but if it is, the translation isn’t done. either way, i did love what i read from this! ohana holoholo is about a bi woman raising her son along with her ex-girlfriend and their neighbor, nico. it’s really good, one that i HIGHLY recommend, and one of the woman is implied to be trans, too! (fingers crossed they explicitly state it please please please-) overall, i absolutely rec it, please check this out!

no. 6 by atsuko asano/hinoki kino - who HASN’T heard of no. 6? no. 6 is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the government is, well, the government. it involves two young men working to take it down alongside others and they fall in love. and one of the other characters is non-binary! ...honestly that’s probably the best i can describe no. 6 because WOW is it a wild trip. it’s a wild trip that i highly, highly recommend though! you want gays taking down the government alongside killer bees and a magical bug goddess? this is the manga for you. please read it.

asagao to kase san by hiromi takashima & bloom into you by nio nakatani - two shoujo ai manga centering around high schoolers that i haven’t actually read yet, both of which recently got animated adaptations!!! i have heard genuinely fantastic things about both of them (ESPECIALLY) the latter, and bloom into you is actually next on my reading list. they absolutely sound fantastic and i can’t wait to read them!!

seven days by rihito takarai/venio tachibana - a two-volume manga about two high school boys. every week, a boy named seryou goes out with a different girl - he treats them very well, showers them in attention, and then promptly breaks up with them at the end of the week because he didn’t fall in love with them. out of curiosity, his upperclassman, shino, asks him out one week - and thus begins their seven day romance. i really loved this, i really really did.

tamen de gushi by tan jiu - it’s an on-going webcomic about how two girls, qui tong and sun jing, meet and fall in love. the characters are all absurdly fantastic, from the two girls to all of the supporting characters around them, and it’s an absolute TREAT to read. i would highly rec it, there’s some lovely shenanigans in there.

last but not least, i highly rec manga written by the year 24 group. this group was a non-formal group of female mangaka in the 1970s that really revolutionized and influenced the shoujo manga genre. many of their works are considered classics today, with works such as kaze to ki no uta, claudine...!, the heart of thomas, and shiroi heya no futari among them. a lot of their works really dug in and examined sexuality and gender, and you can find some of the original shounen ai, shoujo ai, and trans manga among them. i’m a sucker for the classics, and i highly recommend them. i honestly could have listed every single of one these mangaka in my recommend authors list, but decided it was just easier to promote the group as a whole. the best for last, you know?

hope this helps, anon!

[scribbleranger93-blog]

Prayers and Wishes (One-Shot)

Fandom: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Words: Approx. 6,021

Rating: T

Genre: Friendship/Drama

Summary: Homura made her wish to protect Madoka because Madoka was one of the few people she could call her best friend. What happened in her past that made her desperate enough that she'd rather give up her soul than accept a friend's death? One-shot.

Author’s Note: Thank you to @takerfoxx for giving me some advice on writing this story; it really helped! 

Fanfiction.net Link

--

“Over here, Yuki!”

“Got it!”

Homura watched from the goal as the girls kicked the soccer ball around, wondering if they knew just how lucky they were to be so agile and fast, to not have to worry about overexerting themselves and having heart attacks. It must have been nice, to not have to think about those kinds of things, to actually be part of the crowd… To be normal… With her heart condition, she had been relegated to simply being the goalie. It was the easiest position during the game, maybe, but for Homura it was just another reminder that she was always a girl on the sidelines, never actually involved in anything.

“Kick it in the goal, Akemi won’t get it!” one girl cried.

“Don’t blow it, Akemi, get it!”

She saw a group of girls rushing towards her, one kicking the ball along the way. Homura readied herself, getting in position. This was it, her moment to prove that she wasn’t just the weakling in the class; she focused intently on the ball…

And suddenly imagined the blue sky turning into a red, pastel-like one glaring down at her, misshapen, humanoid figures slowly making their way towards her with menacing intent…

Her chest suddenly felt tight, her heart beating a mile a minute; knees buckling, she clutched her chest, and began ventilating, sweat falling from her forehead…

At the last minute, Homura snapped back to the present...

Just as the ball went sailing past her, hitting the net.

“Ugh, Akemi!” a few of the girls groaned.

“We’ll never win with her on the team,” someone moaned.

“It’d be better if she just didn’t even try to be in the class…”

Homura looked at all the girls glaring at her, feeling like she had been pierced by a thousand arrows like Saint Sebastian. An airy, inhuman voice seemed to whisper in her ear: “Maybe it would be better if you did just die…”

The bell rang, and all the girls began to make their way to the lockers, walking past Homura, ignoring her.

Well, not all of them. One slapped her on the forehead, which caught her off guard, and another stopped to utter a few words to the brunette.

“You. Damn. Freak.”

Homura trailed behind the other girls, dragging her feet along. She didn’t even bother to look up when she heard footsteps walking next to her.

“Homura-chan?”

That voice; Homura looked up and saw Madoka Kaname standing next to her, a concerned look on her face. There were bags under her friend’s pink eyes; she was out hunting again last night, Homura realized.

“K-Kaname-san,” she said.

“You were remembering again, weren’t you?” the pink-haired girl asked.

Homura nodded, frowning. It had been days since she had wandered into that Witch’s Labyrinth while walking home; days since she had been saved by Madoka and upperclassman Mami Tomoe, days since Homura had met Kyubey and learned of the existence of Magical Girls and Witches… And yet she couldn’t shake the memory of the fear she had felt when she found herself trapped in that Labyrinth, at the mercy of the Witch and her Familiars, her legs freezing up and refusing to let her run somewhere, anywhere…

“Don’t let them get to you,” her pink-haired friend said, placing her hand on her shoulder. “They don’t know what you had to go through; you were doing your best, and that’s all that matters.”

She gave Homura a small smile, and the bespectacled brunette couldn’t help but smile back at her. They began to walk back to the locker room in step with each other, the birds chirping in the distance.

“Kaname-san?” Homura piped up.

“Hm? What is it, Homura-chan?”

“… Thank you,” she said. “For not being like the other girls.”

“No problem, Homura-chan, that’s what friends are for, right?”

Friends. The word stung in the transfer student’s chest. It was such an alien concept to her at this point, after spending most of the last year in the hospital. She had just met Madoka, but the girl had seemed to really take a liking to her; in fact, Homura owed her life to her, and she was enjoying having another person to talk to. It made her feel less lonely.

But, the idea that she had a new friend, someone who would be there for her, who would protect her and keep her from being sad… Homura was almost afraid to acknowledge it, for fear of having it taken away from her… Again.

“Homura-chan?”

“What…?”

“Are you okay?” Madoka asked, looking concerned. They were now close to the locker room. “You seem preoccupied with something.”

“Oh, it’s, it’s nothing, Kaname-san.”  

--

“Please,” Homura said, “Give her back…!”

She tried to move towards the other girl, but the latter’s friends held her tightly by the arms, stopping her in her tracks. The girl in question, Eriko, stood before Homura, towering over her like a queen before a slave. Eriko was one of the many older girls in Saint Anthony’s Home, where Homura had spent the last year. From their first meeting, Homura had a feeling Eriko didn’t like her that much. And at the tender age of eight, she was in no position to fight back against a ten-year-old.

Eriko held up one hand, Homura’s doll held in it. It was a simple doll, with a pale face and a black dress, something that had been with her for many years. “You want her back?” she said mockingly, holding it up. “If you want your precious Clara-chan back, then take her from me!”

Homura tried her hardest to break free from the other girls—Mai and Shiri, their names were. They were all in one of the many rooms of the orphanage that had been set aside for the children to play in. As hard as she tried, she was unable to break free. “P-please… Stop,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Look at her, she’s crying!” Mai said, sounding more amused than sympathetic. “She isn’t even going to try to fight back!”

“What a wimp,” Shiri said.

“Just leave me alone!” Homura finally screamed. “I haven’t done anything to any of you!” She tried to force herself forward; in her movement, she hadn’t anticipated Mai and Shiri letting go, and she came crashing down at Eriko’s feet, her glasses falling off her face.

The girls laughed at that, while Homura scrambled to her knees.

“You’re a freak, Homura Akemi,” Eriko said. “You’re no better than the rest of us in this damn orphanage. Never forget that.”

“What’s going on here?” another voice cut into the scene. The other girls stopped what they were doing.

“Fukui-san,” Eriko said, turning to the doorway. There was a tone of resentment in her voice. “It’s just you.”

“Ono-san, what are you doing with Akemi-san?” the other girl asked, sounding cross. “Do I have to report you three?”

There was a brief pause; then, Eriko tossed Homura’s doll onto the floor. “Let’s get out of here,” she said to Mai and Shiri.

“No one likes a tattle-tale, Fukui-san,” Mai muttered as they walked away.

“Don’t listen to them, Akemi-san. Here, let me help you,” Fukui said, taking the glasses and placing them back onto Homura. “There, better,” she said, smiling. She handed her doll back to the brunette. “Your doll is so pretty, and I love her dress.”

Homura perked up a bit.  She looked into the other girl’s eyes. They were dark gray, matching her hair; Aiko Fukui was also one of the girls Homura had met when she first arrived at the orphanage. Unlike the others, she had given Homura a warm welcome.

“Y-you shouldn’t help me,” Homura said. “If you do, they might pick on you, too…” A lot of the kids had avoided Homura as much as possible, for fear of raising the ire of Eriko and her followers.

“Ono-san? Ah, I wouldn’t worry too much about her,” Aiko said, helping Homura back on her feet. “She talks a big game, but she’s only brave when picking on kids who are afraid of her. If you don’t let her get to you, she’ll leave you alone…”  Just as she was about to finish her words, she bent over, letting out a loud cough.

“Are you okay?” Homura asked, concern in her voice. The coughing went on for a while, before Aiko stood upright again.

“I’m fine,” she said, smiling. “Nothing to worry about. Now, how about we go get some snacks from the kitchen?”

“I-is that allowed?” Homura asked.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Aiko said, extending her hand. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Homura looked at Aiko’s hand, then at Aiko. “O-okay, Fukui-san” she said, giving a small smile.

“You can call me ‘Aiko’ if you want,” Aiko said, holding back a laugh when her comment made the girl self-conscious.

--

“Are you really not afraid for when Walpurgisnacht comes?” Homura asked Madoka as they walked out from the mall. They had gone after school for some food and to just hang out; Sayaka had gone to visit Kyousuke at the hospital, Hitomi had another lesson, and Mami was also busy taking care of some things, so it had just been the two of them.  

“A little,” Madoka said, turning to look at her. “But with Mami leading, we should be able to beat it!” She looked up wistfully at the sky; the city lights made it hard to see any stars. Homura gave a small smile; she had to admit that she found Madoka’s enthusiasm endearing. The other girls’ cruel remarks during PE had been forgotten for the past few hours; spending time with Madoka always managed to lift Homura’s spirits.

The sun had set over Mitakihara, casting long, black shadows over the street. Homura clutched her chest, her eyes darting back and forth at the splotches of darkness that were slowly growing. She still couldn’t get the memory of being trapped in the Witch’s labyrinth out of her head. To think that there were unspeakable horrors like that, just hidden in the corners and crevices of the city! After her experience, she couldn’t even think about willingly going into one ever again; whenever her friends went on their hunts, she stayed outside or far away. She even thought about all the people in the city, unaware of the existence of Magical Girls, of Witches, and wondered if it was good or bad that they had no idea of the war brewing beneath the glamour of the city.

“Oh, no, I didn’t realize it was getting late,” Madoka said. “I guess we lost track of time.”

“Well, it was a lot of fun,” Homura said, smiling softly.

“I even forgot to call my mom and tell her I wouldn’t be home early,” Madoka said, facepalming.

“I’m sure they’ll just be happy to have you home,” Homura said. She looked down. “You’re lucky to have them.”

The tone in her voice seemed to catch Madoka’s attention. “Oh, what I meant was—“ the pink-haired girl began to say, realizing she may have been a bit insensitive to her parentless friend.

“It’s okay,” Homura said, flashing her friend a smile. “Really.” Maybe someday soon she would tell Madoka about what she knew about her parents—about her mother who died in childbirth, or her affluent father who had perished in a fatal car accident when she was seven. After being on her own for so long, Homura had accepted what had happened to her parents; it still hurt, but she was used to the pain.

“It’s getting really dark,” Homura said, trying to change the subject. “Could a Witch be out right now?”

It was hardly a cheerful subject, but it did the trick. “I’m sure of it,” Madoka said, her tone turning serious. “Witches are everywhere; for every one we defeat, there’s probably another one somewhere preying on humans.” She shrugged. “But, even so, we have to do our best to save as many people as we can; it’s what Magical Girls do, after all.”

“Just thinking about it makes me freeze up,” Homura said, looking shiftily around at every dark corner she could find. “I really want to help you and Tomoe-san when Walpurgisnacht comes, but I think I’d be terrible at fighting Witches.” She had to admit, however, that the prospect of having a wish granted had its appeal; she had wished many times for things as a child, after all.

“You don’t know that,” Madoka said, smiling again. “Who knows? You might become the best out of all of us.”

“Even if I could, I’m not sure what to wish for; there’s so much I could pick from…”

“Well, there’s no pressure for you to make one,” Madoka said, as they began to round a corner. “And besides, I’m fine with us just being friends; you’re fun to hang out with.”

Friends. The word made Homura’s heart skip a beat. Madoka really did think of her as a friend; she had forgotten how warm and fuzzy it felt to be liked by someone. She wanted so badly to be friends with her forever, to always be by her side. In her heart of hearts, she always hoped to have a fiend like Madoka again, even though she was afraid of somehow losing her. “I like being your friend, too, Kaname-san.”

“Homura-chan…” Madoka said, half-whining. “You can just call me ‘Madoka,’ it’s perfectly alright.”

Before Homura could respond, a familiar voice beamed itself into both their minds.

“Madoka-chan!” Mami’s voice cried out. “There’s a Witch in the industrial area! We have to go there now!”

“I’m on my way, Mami-san!” Madoka thought in return. She turned to Homura.

“Homura,-chan, I’m sorry, but I have to deal with this,” she said. “You’ll have to go home on your own now, okay?”

“No,” Homura said. “I want to come with you.”

Madoka blinked and stared back at her.

“I want to be there when you fight,” the brunette went on. “I don’t want to be afraid of Witches; and, and… I can’t just stay home knowing that you’re out there fighting with your life on the line, Kaname-san!”

“Homura-chan,” Madoka said, bewilderment in her voice. “Are you sure that’s what you want? It’s dangerous, you know.”

Homura clenched her fist. “If my friends can face monsters like that, I could at least try to do the same.” She stared intently at Madoka.

Then, the pink-haired girl smiled and took her hand in hers. “Okay, if you say so,” she said. “Let’s go hunt a Witch!”

--

“Having a hard time sleeping, Homura-chan?”

Homura turned to see Aiko sit next to her on her bed, the springs creaking as she did so. Next to her she placed a lantern, its dull glow illuminating the two of them. Homura had been staring out the window, out into the night sky, at the stars. She had thought all the other girls had been asleep by now.

Homura shifted in place, hugging her knees to her chest, leaning forward. “Just been thinking about stuff, Aiko-chan.”

“Is it about Naoko-chan?”

After a brief pause, Homura nodded. Naoko had been in the orphanage for less than a year, and had already been adopted; she had left the orphanage earlier this afternoon. Homura had seen girls like Naoko leave with happy adults, off to their new lives in better homes. For the past two years she had seen adults come and go—none had seemed interested in her. Probably, she suspected, because of the hassle her heart problems would cause. It didn’t matter if she was sweet or well-behaved, they probably wanted to just avoid getting close to a girl who might drop dead very soon. And so Homura had gotten used to being passed over again, and again, and again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aiko said, patting the brunette on the shoulder. “I’ve been passed over many times, too; you get used to it. And think of it this way: you’re at least getting closer to the people who will adopt you someday.”

“How can you be so easy-going about it?” Homura asked. “I keep thinking about it, and it just makes me feel more and more like there’s something wrong with me…” Even when her dad was still alive, she had felt that he didn’t want to spend time with her; he was always busy at work, and never seemed to take much time off. She suspected, deep down, that he had blamed her for her mother’s death.

“Well,” Aiko said after a bit, “Remember what Sister Hanako told us during our lesson?”

“Don’t sneak in snacks while we study?”

Aiko playfully nudged Homura on the shoulder. “No, silly,” she said, though she couldn’t hide the smirk on her lips. “The other thing, you know, about how God closes some doors so that others will open?”

“…”

“What I’m trying to say is, just because things aren’t working out now, it doesn’t mean that they won’t get better later. You just have to have faith that God knows what He’s doing. He’s got a plan, you know.”

“You really think so?” Homura asked.

“Don’t you?”

“… I don’t know.” They had had many lessons, teaching about God’s love and how nothing happened without His knowledge, but Homura was not so convinced. She had gone to confession numerous times, admitted to the priest the doubt that was in her heart, and had done all the Hail Marys and everything else that was demanded of her to earn forgiveness, but it all felt empty. Hollow, to her.  

“Well, just don’t let today get to you,” Aiko said, smiling. “Besides, look at it this way: there’s still a lot of time for us to spend together, until we get adopted.”

Homura smiled at this. If there was one ray of sunshine in her time at the orphanage, it was having Aiko to keep her company. The two did nearly everything together—played games, studied lessons, all of that—and it made Homura feel less lonely, even as other kids still found her weird. “Yeah,” she said, “That’s true.” Just as she said that, something in the night sky caught her eye.

“A shooting star!”

Homura rushed to the windowsill just as the celestial object in question blazed across the heavens. She closed her eyes immediately.

“Making a wish?”

Homura opened one eye and smiled at Aiko. “Uh-huh,” she said, smiling.

“What’d you wish for?” Aiko asked.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true!”

Aiko playfully rolled her eyes. “Fine, you win.”

The two of them said good-night to each other shortly after that. Homura silently prayed, more as a routine than out of actual conviction, but it was what the nuns wanted, so she did it anyway. As Homura tucked herself into her bed and held tightly onto her Clara-chan, her wish was still fresh in her mind:

I wish Aiko and I would get adopted by the same family, and be together forever. 

--

Black and white. Inside the Witch’s labyrinth, all other colors appeared to have faded. Far off in the distance, the Witch’s lifeless body lay on the ground, dark liquid pouring out of its corpse. Homura clutched her chest, half-afraid that the shock of what she had just witnessed would cause her heart to give out, and half in horror of the possibility of losing someone close to her.

As the labyrinth warped and faded back into the familiar evening air of the city, she rushed towards her friend, who was currently lying on the ground. “Kaname-san!” she screamed.

She knelt by Madoka’s side and helped her back upright. “What were you thinking!?” the brunette said, her voice a mixture of fear, concern, and anger. “You shouldn’t have gotten too close to the Witch, it nearly killed you!”

“I’m alright, Homura-chan,” Madoka said, her voice groggy. “Don’t worry…”

She looked down at Madoka’s Soul Gem, and her eyes widened.

“Your Gem…” Homura said, horrified. “It’s turning black. Tomoe-san! Kaname-san needs a Grief Seed!”

“Hang on, I’m coming,” Mami said, and Homura could hear the sound of her feet running up to them. Within moments, Madoka had taken the Grief Seed and purified her Soul Gem, which now shone a bright, pure pink once again.

Homura hugged Madoka tightly. “I was so worried,” she said, “I thought I was going to lose you…”

The Witch had been ferocious, attacking with a legion of vines that stabbed and wrapped around any who dared oppose her. The Witch herself remained in the distance, silently praying in the shadow of an enormous monstrance. Both Mami and Madoka were long-range fighters, relying on their muskets and arrows, respectively. It had been difficult to get through the vines, to get a good shot of the Witch and deliver the killing blow. In the end, Madoka had rushed into the fray, while Mami dealt with the vines, and fired the final shot to kill the Witch, but not before sustaining a few blows herself.

And all this time, Homura had watched the battle from the sidelines. She had potential, Mami and Kyubey had told her earlier that night. Mami had decided that tagging along would help acclimate her to what the life of a Magical Girl would entail. “Besides,” the blonde upperclassman said, “The more the merrier, after all.” Homura had thought that her time trapped in a Labyrinth would prepare her for another one, but it had not. She looked on in fear as her friends battled the inhuman beast, getting tossed around and jabbed at by its numerous Familiars. It was Madoka that Homura was the most worried about; back when she had first seen her friend fight, she had thought she was the most amazing Magical Girl ever. Now, seeing this battle, she realized just how inexperienced Madoka was, especially compared to a seasoned Magical Girl like Mami Tomoe.  

Kaname-san can’t go on like this, Homura thought to herself as they headed to Mami’s apartment for tea and cake. Even if she wants to help others by being a Magical Girl, she’ll die soon enough if she keeps on fighting! It wasn’t right! Why did she have to keep putting herself on the line like this, risking her life battling such monstrous creatures? There had to be a way for her to stop; some way to free her from this burden!

Homura froze; a thought came to her head: What if she wished for Madoka to no longer be a Magical Girl? That would work, couldn’t it? It didn’t matter if Homura had to be the one to fight Witches, she didn’t have family that waited for her at home, and as for friends—deep down, she knew that she wasn’t worth much in the long run; there would probably come a time when even those close to her drifted away. Such was what she was used to; she had learned to enjoy what she could, and to try to hold onto what she had, as much as possible.

“Tomoe-san,” Homura said later on while they were enjoying their after-battle food. “I... Think I know what to wish for.”

Madoka had excused herself to talk to her mother; they had decided on having a sleepover at Mami’s this evening, as it was too late already, and she had to tell her parents about their plans.

The blonde upperclassman finished sipping her tea and placed the small cup on her equally small plate.

“Really now?” her senpai responded, giving her an encouraging smile. “That’s interesting, Homura-chan; tell me more!”

“Well…” Homura said. “It’s not for me, though… It’s for someone else.”

Mami’s smile shrunk a bit. “Someone else?”

Homura nodded, unsure of whether or not to continue, feeling she was crossing some sort of line.

“That’s interesting!”

The two girls turned to where the voice was coming from; Kyubey scurried on the ground with his white paws, jumping onto Homura’s shoulder. It looked at Homura with his beady, red eyes. “It’s perfectly okay to make a wish for someone else, Homura Akemi,” it chirped. “There’s no rule against it; in fact, it’s been done, many times before.”

“R-Really?” Homura said.

“Thing is, though, you have to be careful about those kinds of wishes,” Mami said, a serious look on her face. “It can be a little tricky when it comes to wishes like that.”

“What do you mean?” Homura asked, her heart suddenly feeling heavy.

“Well, the thing is,” Mami started to explain, “When you make a wish like that for someone, is it because you really want that person to be happy, or something else?”

“S-something else…?”

“What I mean is, are you sure you just don’t want that person to be grateful to you?”

It was just a rhetorical question, just Mami posing a hypothetical, yet Homura immediately piped up from it.

“N-No, that’s not it at all…!” she said, louder than she intended. “I-I just want her to be safe…”

“Her?” Mami asked, raising an eyebrow.

Homura felt her cheeks suddenly redden. “Um, I-I mean…” she said quickly, before dropping the sentence completely.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, and Kyubey didn’t seem like it wanted to add anything else.

“Sorry I took a while, guys!” Madoka said as she ran up to meet them. “What did I miss?”

Homura felt like the tension in the room was slowly lifting.

“Um, nothing,” Homura said, glancing at Mami.

“We were just talking,” Mami said. It seemed their previous conversation was done for the time being.

--

“She’ll see you now.”

Homura rushed into the hospital room, Clara-chan in hand, up to the bed where Aiko lay. Her friend had become scarily thin in the past few weeks, her skin pale as well. Her long hair was now gone, too, the result of the chemotherapy she had gone through. As Homura looked on, Aiko stirred, her eyes slowly opening to look at Homura. “Homura-chan…” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Aiko-chan,” Homura said, her hands gripping the metal handles of the bed. “I came here to visit you.”

“Thank you, Homura-chan,” she said, giving a small smile.

Homura spent the next few minutes telling Aiko about what had happened at the orphanage since she had been admitted to the hospital. She told her about the meals they had had, the activities they did, and the lessons they learned in school and at Mass.

“It’s not the same without you, though,” Homura added. “We really miss you, you know.”

“Sorry,” Aiko said. “I wish I could be there with you and the others; well, maybe not with Eriko and her friends.”

Her laughter at the end of that sentence was noticeably weaker than usual.

“Yeah, you need to come back soon,” Homura said, smiling at her. “When are they letting you out?”

At that question, Aiko’s smile vanished. She seemed to be searching for the right words to say.

“Oh,” Homura said, feeling like she said something wrong. “S-sorry, I guess it’s going to be a while…”

“I’m not leaving the hospital.”

Homura froze. “What? What do you mean?”

“Homura…” Aiko said tentatively, “The doctors, they came to me. They told me…” She looked down.

She didn’t have to finish her sentence. Homura tensed up, grasping onto the blankets on the bed. “No,” she said. “You don’t mean…”

Aiko turned to face her. “I’m… Not going to last much longer.”

“Aiko-chan, no!” Homura pulled her friend into a tight hug, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Why…?” she squeaked out. “Why is this happening…?” Homura had known Aiko was sick for a while now; she had prayed constantly that God would let her friend be healed, and not let her be in so much pain. She hoped—deep down—that it would work. It had to work. So why wasn’t it?

She felt Aiko embrace her. “I know,” Aiko said, her words choked out as well. “They said it’s only a matter of time before I…”

“Don’t say that!” Homura nearly screamed. “You can’t die, not you; I can’t...” Her throat felt like it was full of cement. “I can’t lose you, too,” she finally managed.

They held each other for a few minutes, tears falling as they cried together, finally, Aiko spoke up.

“It’s okay, Homura-chan,” she said, letting go of her friend and wiping her tears. “It’s okay… Remember what Sister Hanako told us?”

Homura stared at her, streaks of tears still pouring down her cheeks; she said nothing, not in the mood to crack a joke.

“Our time here is only temporary,” Aiko said. “And death isn’t the end for us… When we die, we go to Heaven to be with everyone else we know. That’s where I’m going.”

“But, you’ll be there,” Homura said. “And I’ll be…!”

She clenched her fists. “It’s not fair!” she said. “This can’t be happening… I won’t let it happen…!” She had no idea how she would prevent it, but she just knew she couldn’t let this happen.

Aiko gave her a weak smile. “Things will get better for you,” she said. “If you’ve gone on this long, then that must mean God has something bigger for you.”

“The same God that let my Mom and Dad die, that gave me my heart condition?” Homura rambled, unable to hide the bile in her voice. “The same God that’s… That’s letting you suffer?!” She remembered the lessons they learned in class, and on Sunday Mass, but she couldn’t accept it. Couldn’t imagine that this was part of a bigger plan, not after all that she had been through.

“You’re upset, I get it,” Aiko said. “I don’t blame you; I couldn’t stop crying when they told me what was going on.” She adjusted slightly in her bed. “But I’ve thought a lot about it, and… I think I’ll be okay. Before I know it, I’ll be with God, and maybe I’ll see my parents, too.”

“But I don’t understand it; I don’t think I’ll ever understand it,” Homura said.

“You will someday,” Aiko said. She reached out and wiped the tears from Homura’s eyes. “Just, promise me that you’ll try to make more friends.”

“I don’t want other friends, I want you!”

“I know, but our time together is coming to an end, Homura-chan,” Aiko replied, a sad smile on her lips. “Thank  you for being my friend; it was fun the past couple of years… While it lasted.”

She took hold of Homura’s hand. “Just… Try to make other friends,” she said. “For me?”

Homura sniffled a bit. “O-Okay,” she said. “I’ll try.”

They parted not too long after that, Homura having to practically be dragged out by Sister Hanako, all the while silently wishing for Aiko to not leave her. Her last image of Aiko alive was her friend waving at her, holding Clara-chan in one hand.

--

“Why?!”

Tears fell down Homura’s face as she stared at Madoka’s lifeless body. “Even if you  were going to get killed all along…!”

Today was the day that Walpurgisnacht had descended upon the city. It rode on a storm, a fierce supercell, without a care for the destruction it caused; it was a force of nature, and Mitakihara didn’t stand a chance against its wrath. The city’s only hope had been in two Magical Girls, one of which now lay half-submerged in the watery waste, her eyes shut permanently. Mitakihara was in ruins, destroyed buildings and debris everywhere. Water flooded through the city, and rain poured from the sky; the remnants of a terrible storm. The world hadn’t ended, but by the looks of things, it may as well have.

She had begged Madoka to run away with her, after seeing the Witch effortlessly kill Mami, but the pink-haired girl had refused, determined to do her best to save the city. And now here she was, dead.

“It wasn’t worth saving me, if you’re not alive!” Homura screamed, before another bout of sobbing overwhelmed her. “I want you back…!”

Her mind was in a whirl, a mix of sadness and rage. First Aiko, and now Madoka… She cursed God for dangling the chance of having a new friend in front of her, before snatching her away. She cursed Madoka for being selfless to a fault, to the point of giving her life, before immediately hating herself for being angry at her now deceased friend. Above all, she cursed herself, for being such a useless waste, for not being there to fight by Madoka and Mami’s side.

She was so busy crying over Madoka’s body that she almost didn’t notice the voice talking to her.

“Is that really what you want, Homura Akemi? Would you trade your soul to have a wish like that come true?”

That voice; she recognized it. It was one that she had grown accustomed to in the past few weeks. Still she couldn’t stop herself from crying, and didn’t bother looking up. That didn’t seem to matter to the creature, though.

“If there’s something you want badly and you’re willing to accept a destiny of battling Witches,” Kyubey continued, “Then I can help you get what you want.”

Now she looked up, her eyes meeting Kyubey as it sat atop some leftover debris, staring down at her with that permanent smile on its face. Her mind began to whir at its words, at what it offered. “If I make a contract with you, would you really grant me any wish?” she asked.

“Absolutely! You have more than enough potential,” the white creature said, its voice as chipper as any other day, as if nothing that had just happened had affected its outlook on the world. Homura envied its indifference to things. “So tell me, what is the one wish you’ll have that will make your Soul Gem shine?”

“I wish…” Homura began, before pausing to glance at Madoka’s corpse. She was at a crossroads, one of those moments where one’s life would change forever. Here she had the chance to have her friend back; she thought about her original wish—she could make it so Madoka was no longer a Magical Girl, and no longer had to take on the burden of fighting Witches. But deep down, she knew that that wouldn’t be what her best friend would want; Madoka seemed to be happy helping out by fighting Witches, it didn’t seem right to take that from her. No, if she was going to have Madoka back, it would have to be different—if anyone was going to change, it would have to be her.

Taking off her glasses and wiping her tears away before putting them back on, she stood up to face Kyubey. “I wish that I could meet Kaname-san all over again,” she said, determination rising within her. “But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to be strong enough to protect her!”

What followed next happened so fast; first, she felt a pain in her chest, like something trying to burst out of her body. She closed her eyes and clutched at her chest, her knees buckling, but she refused to be forced down; she had to be strong, to be able to endure pain just like Madoka had—and would once again. A bright, purple light appeared before her, and Kyubey spoke again.

“The contract is complete,” it said. “Your wish has overcome entropy. Go now, go and unleash your new magical power!”

She opened her eyes and held her new Soul Gem in her hands… The energy it radiated was unlike anything she had ever felt before; now, she knew, she had the power to fight back against fate, to change things for the better… Could she also defy God as well? Time would only tell, she supposed.

I’ll get it right this time, Homura thought as a circular shield appeared on her arm. I’ll do what I couldn’t do before; I’ll save my friend, no matter what.

[dondake]

[kizu2aka] trial run

rating: t summary: It’s all for the sake of practice. AO3 Link

[=]

It wasn’t that the Kizuki brothers were particularly nosy or intrusive but - well, it was a well known fact that trouble found them. But to their credit, Akane had (begrudgingly) agreed to allow them to read the most recent volume of Jump but only if he was home to make sure they didn’t bend the spine past breaking or pick out another tankoban and ruin the delicate order he had for his collection. And they had seen his shoes in the foyer and had knocked (and waited for a second) before barging in, so they were well within their right to expect that the second year was, most probably, holed up in a corner in 204. For the most part, they were right. 

“Huh! So you have this kind of hobby, Prince!” 

“It’s not a hobby. My club just wants to have a table at KYOMAF and thought a small university club would have more impact if we all dressed up so...I drew the short stick and ended up like this.” Anyone else at Aotake might have crossed their arms indignantly - Yuki, maybe Shindo - or planted their hands firmly on their hips in irreverence - most definitely Kaiji, who proudly stood by all his decisions - but Akane, ever the listless wallflower, only slouched before them with his hands at his sides. He made no effort to cover any bare leg under the skirt or hide the bright red bow around his collar. 

“Really! But this looks perfect on you. Handsome guys really can do anything.” Jojiro bent down to examine the high school girls uniform at different angles. “This is...what do you always say...mohae.” 

“I think it’s moe,” Jotaro corrected. 

“Right, right. I mean, look at that. That gap between the skirt and the thigh socks. The way the sleeves of the sweater fall below the wrists. The droopy, half-lidded eyes. The flat chest. You look like a really pretty girl, Prince!”

“Part of that went into actually describing what he looks like for real,” Jotaro said. “But seriously. You could have had us fooled! I’d definitely hit on you if I didn’t know you were the Prince.”

“Thank you,” Akane said. His tone was the usual curt one he took up when someone was interrupting his reading and he wished to be left alone. Even in the dim light from the shadows cast from his mounds of books, his face was bright red. 

“I just had a genius idea,” Jojiro announced, clapping his hands together. He looked at his brother and they seemed to agree with just a look. “I personally get super nervous when I need to talk to a cute girl, so I end up running my mouth and talking about stupid things--”

“--and that just ruins the mood, so what we were thinking,” Jotaro continued, “is that could you help us practice hanging out with hot chicks? If we don’t feel uncomfortable around you, we’ll be seasoned enough to capture anyone’s heart, I feel!”

Akane frowned. “But even so, under these clothes, I’m a boy.”

The twins looked at each other again. “Doesn’t matter,” they said in union. 

Akane’s frown reached his eyes. Twisting the cuffs of his over-sized sweater, he stared at the ground and bit his lip. “You don’t want to?” Jotaro offered helpfully.

“It’s not like I wanted to to begin with,” Akane mumbled. He was pensive for a moment more before sighing. “Fine. I guess I can help you two out.”

“Yes! You’re the best upperclassman.”

“Well, then, what kind of dirty things did you want to start with?”

This brought the victorious fist pumps back to earth. “Dirty things?” Jojiro echoed. 

“You said you wanted to use me as practice for hanging out with girls so...I mean...isn’t that what you meant? They write about it in all the manga and light novels, so isn’t it normal to assume that?”

The twins brought their hands to their faces together in aghast offense. “Sexy stuff? No way! We’d never go immediately to that with a girl! You’ve got to know her first and ask her what she likes and doesn’t like. Everyone knows that.” 

“We were thinking more like...talking to you about stuff besides running or perverted jokes or part-time jobs or whatever we talk about here. We’ve got to know how our jokes land and stuff.” Jojiro glanced at Jotaro, who nodded in agreement. 

Akane looked back at the floor. “Oh. You don’t need me to do that.”

“Yeah we do! The upperclassmen would totally make fun of us if we tried our date-getting material! And Kurahara wouldn’t listen...” Jojiro trailed off and wrinkled his brow. “Hey, wait a minute. If you thought we meant we wanted to do sexy stuff with you, then why did you agree to do it?”

Jotaro gasped dramatically and covered his chest with his arms. “Does this mean you’ve been looking at our young, virile bodies with lustful eyes, Prince? I didn’t know!”

There was a low, persistent sound like an old leaking kettle, and the twins looked around the room until Akane began slowly sinking to the floor, his hands enshrouded in sleeve covering his face. The sound was bubbling out of Akane’s mouth, though it became more and more muffled as he reached the floor and pressed his face against the tatami. The twins sank down to their knees too in solidarity, leaning over to make sure their housemate was not actively perishing in the wind. “I should have just kicked you two out to begin with,” Akane groaned. “Now I’ve only kept embarrassing myself. Please leave. I’ll die, I’ll seriously die.”

Jojiro’s throat rumbled thoughtfully. “Hmm. Now I feel bad, don’t you, brother?”

“Yes, I also feel like maybe we’ve been rude to the Prince.”

With the loudest tenants falling completely silent, Akane peeked through his fingers at them. They had crouched to reach his level and were peering back at him. “Okay, we’ll bite. You offered, so I guess we’d be real jerks to look a gift horse in the mouth. Say, Jota, what have you always wanted to do with a girl but haven’t had the chance to yet?”

“Honestly? I think it’d be real cute to have a girl sit on my lap!”

“What! That’s so juvenile. I’d like to kiss a girl!”

“Hey! I’d totally like to kiss too, but don’t you know the allure of having a girl sit with her butt up against you? Shows how much you know!” As they bickered, Akane felt the pressure ease off his shoulders and he slowly rose to a seat, folding his hands in his lap. Now that Kizuki boys had seemingly changed topics, he was safe. But then they turned to him, in perfect time, and Jotaro shifted so that he was sitting flat with his legs out before him and Jojiro was leaning on his knees next to him, at perfect height for someone who would be perched off his brother’s thighs. 

“Um,” Akane said, “I’m a boy, remember?”

The twins blinked. “Doesn’t matter.”

[wishingforatypewriter]

Marui Ami and the Stuff of Legends

Shokugeki Week: Day 8 (Original Characters/Role/Cooking Specialty)

In the hours before the middle school’s opening ceremony, Ami had accompanied her mother’s gastronomy club on a hunt in the woods. Her mom, Yoshino Yuki, had to be the best shot Ami had ever seen. Her dad was the worst, but he still came along for moral support. Her older sister Yuna had always grown so faint at the sight of blood that no one bothered to invite her along anymore.  

As she crouched with her shotgun, blowing at the wisps of light brown hair that threatened to obscure her vision, Ami liked to pretend she was Diana, the goddess of the hunt. That was how she was supposed feel, like a divine force descending upon Tōtsuki. Instead, she was just late for school with dirt under her fingernails and spots of duck blood dried on her cheek. 

The whispering had started outside at the ceremony—she had just murdered somebody, she was part of a cult—and continued long after she’d cleaned up and walked to her homeroom. 

At the beginning of class, sensei had asked all of the students to introduce themselves, and that was when the name dropping started. 

Ami’s father, a professor in the high school division, had told her that the 124th generation’s class A was comprised of the twenty students who scored highest on the academy’s entrance exams—the cooking practicum in particular. These were the students who had the best chance of graduating from the junior division and surviving until their second of third year of high school. Many, like Ami herself, were legacies and most wore their parents’ achievements like armor and wielded their older siblings’ names like swords. 

She shook her head as she imagined her timid, bespectacled sister hunched over an encyclopedia. Some sword. Yuna had always been more protractor than blade. 

“Hi everybody! The name’s Ami. I’m a huntress, and six years from now I’m gonna be the first seat on the Elite Ten Council,” she said when it was her turn, and few paid her any mind. It was the surnames that made people stop and listen. 

When sensei asked them to pair up for the first cooking assignment, the clique-ing began. Isshiki with Ibusaki, Kawashima with Megashima, Hojo with Kuga. 

After all of ninety seconds only a few people were left—the ones, Ami assumed, without any academy pedigree. Her gaze landed on a smaller girl with pale pink hair and glasses. Her mom always said that people with glasses were reliable—well, except for her dad, anyway—so she decided to walk over to her. 

“Hey!” Ami all but shouted, leaning on the counter top. “I’m Marui Ami!” 

“Good afternoon,” the girl said with a warm smile. “My name is Junko.”

“Just Junko?” Ami asked. Had it already gotten so bad that people were afraid to say their last names?

“For now.” 

Cryptic, Ami thought, but the girl seemed nice enough. “Let’s be friends, okay?” 

“Sure.” They shook on it and then got started on the assignment—putting a creative spin on macaroni and cheese. 

“You said you were a game specialist?” Junko asked. 

Ami nodded enthusiastically. “You were listening to that?”

“Of course.” Then Junko leaned close to her. “I was thinking we could do a duck mac and cheese with spices and caramelized onions.” 

“Great idea! I just caught some ducks this morning.” 

Junko couldn’t help but grin. “I know.”

“But how-”

Junko pulled out a handkerchief monogrammed with Latin letters and ran it under warm water. “You missed a spot,” she explained before handing the cloth to Ami. “So you’ll prepare the meat and I’ll handle the seasoning.” 

“Is that your thing?” Ami asked, ever curious. 

“What?”

“Spices and stuff. Is that your specialty?”  

Junko seemed to flinch a bit at the question, and Ami wondered if she should apologize. “I’m nothing special,” the pink haired girl finally said.

“It’s way too soon to say things like that,” Ami admonished, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’re just getting started!”

The bespectacled girl sighed before releasing a small smile. “I guess you’re right.” 

“Look, Junko! We got an A rating!” Ami cried out after they received their grade from sensei. They were the fourth pair to finish and the first to get anything higher than a B+. 

“I see.” 

“You could at least get a little excited,” Ami admonished. “My mama always says it’s important to start things off on a positive note. If we keep this up, we might be able to get amazing upperclassman mentors!”

First year middle school students in the top eight classes were eligible to apprentice under a second or third year in the high school division. 

“Who did you have in mind?” Junko asked, her bright jade eyes fully meeting Ami’s for the first time. 

“Well, anyone on the Elite Ten would be great.” 

“Because you’re going for the first seat,” Junko said, nodding. “So you’re aiming for Isshiki Kesuke, right? Although he’s probably going to take his younger brother.” 

“Nope.” Ami shook her head and then grinned. “That’s probably what most people want to do, but my dad said third years are almost never good mentors. They’ll only be around for one year, and they’re all preoccupied with finding jobs and stuff. So I’m only looking at the second years.” 

Suddenly Ami pulled a glossy magazine out of her sky blue backpack. The journalism club had released a huge story introducing the high school second years to the academy’s newest arrivals. 

“As of right now there are six second years on the Elite Ten council,” she explained, turning to the first page in the spread. “They go as follows:

Tenth Seat: Ibusaki Sosuke. Specialties: Barbecue, Fermentation  Affiliations: Barbecue RS, Spirits RS (President & Founder), Polar Star Dorm 

Ninth Seat: Isabella-Mito Aldini Specialties: Italian Cuisine, Meat Dishes  Affiliations: Italian RS (President), Tōtsuki Women’s Association (VP) 

Eighth Seat: Maria Aldini Specialties: Pastry, Chocolate, Japanese Cuisine  Affiliations: Chocolate RS (President), Candy RS, Polar Star Dorm

Seventh Seat: Nakiri Erik Specialties: Molecular Gastronomy  Affiliations: N/A 

Sixth Seat: Yukihira Raiden  Specialties: Spanish Cuisine Affiliations: Polar Star Dorm 

Fifth Seat: Hayama Akane  Specialties: Turkish Cuisine, French Cuisine  Affiliations: Tōtsuki Women’s Association (President), French RS (President)

All of them are amazing,” Ami gushed. “But I’d walk through fire to get Hayama Akane as my mentor.” 

Junko’s eyes seemed to narrow in suspicion at this. “Why? Because she has the highest seat?” 

“It’s not just that,” Ami explained, bouncing on the balls of her feet.  “It’s because she’s always looking out for other girls at the academy. She’s only considering female applicants as mentees. And here on page twelve in her interview she says, ‘The second seat is a glass ceiling. My advice to incoming female students is to be relentless in pursuit of your goals. Be ruthless if you have to.’ And here,” she said, pointing to another spot on the page, “she talks about her Stagiaire with the authority on French cooking, Tsukasa Eishi. Isn’t she just the most amazing person ever?”

“I guess,” Junko replied before flipping to elsewhere in the magazine. 

“What do you mean, you guess?” 

“I mean, she never...” The pink haired girl paused then, her expression guarded, unreadable. “Never mind. If you want her that badly, I’m sure it’ll work out for you.” 

Noticing that her new friend was still in low spirits, Ami decided to invite Junko to her father’s office for lunch. Her mom was still around to help her unpack, and in no time, they were all eating sandwiches and laughing, streaming old shokugekis and episodes of Chopped. 

Ami’s mom had subjected the girls to a million and one pictures. After posing them for the umpteenth time, she groaned. 

“Mom, it’s enough already! Junko, did your parents make this much of a fuss when they dropped you off?”

The bespectacled girl’s eyes turned downcast again. “Actually, my parents couldn’t drop me off. They’re both out of the country for work, so...” 

Ami’s mom seemed more than put off by this, and she responded by pushing even more peanut butter cookies onto poor Junko. “What in the world could be more important than your child’s first day of school?” 

“My mom’s giving a speech at the United Nations,” she explained, as though it were an every day occurrence.

“What?” Ami shrieked, while her mom turned to her father. 

“Hey, Zenji,” she started, scrolling through her social media accounts. “Isn’t Arat-”

“Hey, Yuki. Why don’t we take the girls to go see the Polar Star?” 

They would have done just that, probably, if the great bell hadn’t started to ring  then. All of a sudden, students started rushing out of office hours and research society meetings to gather at Chandra’s Hall. The bell only rang out like that when two titans were about to cross their blades. 

“Mom, dad, I’ll see you later,” Ami said, grabbing her new friend by the arm. “Junko, let’s go!” 

“I-it was nice meeting you both,” she said as she was dragged out of the room. Together they maneuvered through throngs of upperclassmen to get to the stadium. They were just outside the doors, standing on their tip-toes to see how far the line stretched in front of them, when a sleek black car pulled up on the curb. 

A young woman with shiny black hair and ruby colored eyes stepped out, holding the highest-end tablet that Ami had ever seen. Somehow, her sharp gaze found them and she immediately gave a small wave. 

“Do you know who that is?” Ami asked, her voice filled with elation as the crowd parted to create a path. 

“How was your flight, Junko-chan?” she asked. “I trust you were able to reach campus before the opening ceremony.” 

“The flight was great, and the driver picked me up from the airport right on time,” Junko replied. “Thanks for arranging everything, Sumire-san.” 

“No problem,” the woman said. “Let’s get you seated up in the private box. Your friend can come too, of course.” 

“Yes!” Ami had always admired the luxurious viewing boxes, even when her dad took her to see the Autumn Elections in her early childhood. 

As they walked a path cleared by sheer authority into the stadium, the dark haired upperclassman smiled at Junko. “Your sister will be so happy that you made it to her match.” 

It was only then that Ami saw the neon letters announcing the competitors in this high profile shokugeki: Isshiki Kesuke vs Hayama Akane

Ami’s legs turned to gelatin halfway up the stairs to the viewing box. She gripped the banister to support herself.

Junko turned around and offered the brown haired girl her hand. “What’s the matter, Ami?” 

“Hayama Akane is your sister!” She wasn’t asking as much as declaring it. The other girl cringed a little. 

“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll see if I can get her to be your mentor, but please don’t make a big deal out of it.” 

“Okay.” Ami took a deep breath, ready to move on from the situation. “But that means that your parents were both-” 

“Elite Ten? Yeah.” 

“Alright. That’s cool...” They started up the stairs again. “And you’ve met the chairwoman?” 

“Auntie Erina?” she asked with a shrug, and Ami nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yes! What’s she like?” 

“She’s nice. It’s always a lot of fun when her and Uncle Souma come around.” 

“Uncle...” Ami paused again as they took their seats. “You mean Yukihira Souma!”

“Ami, can we please not do this? At least not today?” 

“Okay, okay,” she said, and tried not to squeal when Mimasaka Sumire offered them chocolate dipped strawberries. “I’m sorry. I’ve just never met someone who basically grew up on Olympus.” 

Junko only sighed again. “It’s not that fun when you’re mortal.” 

In the months that followed, Ami would come to know what she meant. 

[ouranswer]

Resolution.

How far he had fallen from the brave, energetic upperclassman he once was. This wasn’t the man who taught her everything she knew about boxing; this, in front of her, carrying the file on the bag hanging from his arm, was nothing but the empty husk of what once was a man. His eyes were surrounded by deep abysses of sleeplessness, his hair unkept and unclean. His clothes were at a disarray, and his expression showed nothing but the utmost fear. Even now, he must have been thinking about a way to escape from her, like he had just done with the men sent by Giorgio. Which was why, the moment she saw his hand moving suspiciously by his side, she was quick to move.

For a second, his eyes were blocked. Even if it was nighttime, it shouldn’t have been that dark. He stumbled back, hitting the wall that ended the alleyway, only to realize what had stopped just an inch away from the tip of his nose.

“…Side kick. Nasal bone fractured,” She announced, before letting her foot fall back in the ground. Her eyes weren’t hollow like his, instead filled with a cold, hardened determination. “You’ve gotten weak, senpai. You really don’t deserve your title as the Ultimate Boxer at this point.”

There were no use for words at this point. He knew nothing he said would deter her from stopping him, and she knew nothing she said would prevent him from trying to kill the bastard who took her upperclasswoman’s life. After all these years without doing as much as training, his body wasn’t used to the movements he’d once mastered. But still, he was quick to try and attack Kisarijo before she could actually cause him the damage she promised. Before he could do as much as land a hit, however, he was sent flying back against the wall. His head hit hard on the concrete, and his eyes were closed shut.

A perfect reverse roundhouse kick, straight into his jaw. …She was almost certain she might have broken it with the kick. It would be hard to claim self-defense if she was anyone but Kisarijo Yukie, without having been hit at all by that… attempt at a man, but she was sure that, explaining calmly to Chief of Police Yoshimura, he’d understand the situation she was in.

She glanced one last time at the man on the ground. Twenty years ago, he would have surely destroyed her in a fight without hesitation, and laughed it off like it was nothing more than what was expected of him. If he hadn’t stopped training, perhaps she would be the one with a broken jaw. She crouched down, picking his bag—the same old, brown bag he used in his highschool years—to search for the files.

[toastnekohime]

Part seven of a 2018 Camp NaNoWriMo Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Elementshipping novel. Based on rp’s between myself ( @getyouraoion ) and my amazing, precious Twin’s Jaden ( @kiibx ), By The Pulse Of A Heartbeat tells the story of how Aoi and Jaden met at Duel Academy and formed their incredibly tight friendship, eventually falling into a relationship, and how they handle the various threats thrown at them over their three years of schooling.

There are currently no triggers, but should any arise, they will be tagged.

STILL IN PROGRESS. Please forgive any typos you may find~

Tagging @starisia, as this wouldn’t exist without my wonderful Twin <3

Summary:

Duel Academy is the place to be, the dream school for many kids. Be it through intense studying, duel prep schools, scholarships, or being rich enough to buy their way in, most kids have had their sights set on it for a long time, knowing it to be the perfect place to start towards a career as a professional duelist. Someone has to Dethrone Yugi and take the title of King of Games, and everyone wants a shot!

Except that is, for Aoi Sakazaki.

Falling in love with Duel Monsters when her father bought her several cards in her childhood, she makes the choice to try her hand at the entrance exams, despite having no idea what she wants to do with her life… And just barely squeaks her way in. Her poor exams scores, combined with even poorer grades, land her a solid spot in the Academy’s Slifer Red dorm - The lowest of the low, where students are almost expected to drop out if they don’t advance to Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue, first.

The rank comes with the rest of the school looking down on them, as well as the worst lodging the furthest distance from the main campus and fewest privileges  compared to the other dorms. But it also brings a surprise friend in fellow Slifer student Jaden Yuki, who seems to have absolutely no problem with the hand they’ve been dealt.

It’s not long before Aoi and Jaden find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of an adventure, dealing with exams, classes, ‘evil’ teachers, and somehow still finding enough time to explore the island they now call home. But living on Academy Island isn’t all fun and games; shortly after their schooling begins, things around their home begin to change, and rarely for the better.

Neither friend has any idea what lies in wait for them in the next three years… But is it an adventure they’ll be able to tackle together, or will it end their time at the school - and them - before it’s even begun?

It’s time to put their skills where their mouths are and find out!

By the time Aoi returned to her dorm room, curfew had long since come and gone. Honestly, she hadn't even known they had a curfew until Banner had stuck his head into Jaden's room to point it out, kind enough to not get angry at them for breaking a dorm rule, though still stern enough to remind them they were breaking it regardless. How were they supposed to know being in each others' room between 10:30 at night and 6 in the morning was off limits? She'd never cared about it before, let alone had a male friend!

Though she'd not expected her roommates to still be up, an attempt to quietly slip into her room bringing a stare of blue and grey from the top bunk. A stare that made her jump once she'd turned around, the two boy-crazy duelists reminding her more of lions stalking their prey than actual teenage girls with the way the peered at her from the edge of Kassidy's bunk. “You're back late. Did you find something interesting to do?”

“...Kindda.” She wasn't about to tell them of her new friendship with Jaden or the fact she'd spent the day with him, tucking her binder under her arm as she reached down to undo the straps on her boots and kick them off. The last thing he needed was the two of them all over him like white on rice! “Had a duel, went f' a walk. It's nice out here – Quiet an' got some good scenery.”

“With your cards?”

She glanced down to the binder in question. Not a bit of it was a lie; she had dueled Jaden, and they had gone for a walk after dinner, mostly just circling around the dorm while chatting  They'd just gone back to his room to talk and play a game afterwards while his roommates were still out, enjoying the afternoon and evening to themselves. Of course, between Syrus and their other roommate, Chumley, returning and Banner's reminder of curfew, she'd been uneasy enough to leave.. But at least it'd been fun, right?

Stepping around the corner, Aoi tugged open the door to their closet, drawer following so she could slide the thick and stuffed book into it. With her bunk in the middle, she didn't exactly have an 'under the bed' to keep her collection, and under her pillow just made it lumpy. “S' what? I dueled a friend. We traded.” That was a lie.

And it was a lie her roommates picked up on rather quickly, sharing a glance before Mia sat up, giving her a better look at the curlers in her auburn hair. “A male friend? Because I'm not seeing new cards. I'm seeing a glow- you're happy. Something more happened.”

The matter-of-fact tone had Aoi fighting the urge to roll her eyes. “I told y', I dueled a friend an' traded some cards.”

“Male friend.”

“Mia. Includin' us, there's six girls in this dorm. Dunno how many in Ra, an' dozens in Obelisk. Kindda goes without sayin' it's a boy.” Sighing she shrugged out of her vest and grabbed a hanger to slide it onto. “An' n', I'm n' introducin' y'.”

That was the breaking point, it seemed, a huff following her refusal. Honestly, what was it with these two and wanting dates? “Hey... What kindda decks y' two play, anyway? Y' never talk 'bout classes.” It was always boys and makeup, and while she could stand the makeup talk, they were in a school for duelists. They hadn't needed to enroll if all they wanted was a date with a student.

“Prince charming,” came Kassidy's reply a second later, the blonde rolling onto her back and lifting a hand to examine her nails. If there was one thing she'd learned, it was that Kassidy was practically obsessed with her nails, changing their polish and design every few days and constantly admiring it while checking for chips and scuffs. This had to be the thousandth time since they'd arrived days earlier, though Aoi bit the tip of her tongue and tugged her shirt up and over her head, instead, swapping it out for the pale pink tanktop draped over the edge of her bunk.

By the time she'd switched from capris to shorts, Kassidy had examined all of two nails, rubbing out an invisible smudge from the third. She loved a good manicure as much as the next girl, but this was ridiculous! “Prince... Charmin'? Really?”

“Frogs.”

Her forehead connected with the edge of her bunk before she could stop herself, the light thud cocking Mia's eyebrow as she made her way down the ladder. “Frogs. Lemme guess- Y' kiss 'em, they're princes? C'mon, we're here t' duel!”

“And what, exactly, do you play that's so much better?” A petite hand reached out in passing, flicking the ends of one pigtail. The action won a small smile at least, her eyes following her roommate until she'd crawled into her own bed.

“Charmers.” She hadn't meant to let the pride she had in her new deck slip out, though to her relief, it wasn't much. Despite her loss to Jaden, she already loved the setup, tugging the belt free of her pants before tossing them aside. Sliding the attached deck case off, she slipped it under her pillow and tossed the belt aside next, briefly watching it sail through the air. “I run charmers. S' much better than frogs.”

One more, Mia huffed, though this time she couldn't see the other girl. Instead, she focused on untying the ribbons in her hair, the silky pink fabric easily slipping free of its bows. Setting each on her deck, she undid the clasp on the back of her matching choker,  draping it over the light colored wood. As much as she loved her hairstyle, it felt surprisingly nice to have her hair down, a quick pass of her hairbrush through the raven locks further easing a light headache she'd barely noticed. Maybe the duel after spending yesterday adventuring was a little too much...

“Hand me that stick on my desk.”

“Orange stick, yeah?” Grabbing the small stick in question, Aoi pulled herself up to the top bunk, carefully balancing herself on the edge of Mia's to pass it to Kassidy. “What shade's that polish? Kindda looks like th' night sky.” A rich, deep amethyst shade, it caught the light and sparkled  with embedded iridescent glitter, though not obnoxiously so. Every twist and turn of her hand made her nails sparkle more, obscured only by her other hand and the pointed stick she'd started using to clean out the space underneath them.

Without even looking at her, Kassidy rose both brows. “You know what this is called?”

“Mhm. I like getting' m' nails done. Usually did 'em with m' mom, an' nothin' really fancy, b' I d' like getting' spoiled, t'.”

“....Dark Magic. From the LeFaye line. If you want, I could do your nails for you. I'm sure you'd look good with small hearts on them-”

“E-Er... I'm good on that front, thanks.” Dark Magic... She'd have to see if she couldn't find a bottle next time she was in Domino, or at least write about it in her next letter home. For the time being, she was just happy to crawl into her bed, sliding underneath the already mussed blankets to curl up. When had the old mattress gotten so comfortable?

“You can borrow it, then.”

“Thanks. I've got a pretty blue y' might like in return.”

“You know who likes blue? Aki.”

Mia's chirp from bellow normally would've startled her, coming out of completely nowhere, though she was thankful for the wave of tiredness crashing into her. Jaden made everything more fun and exciting, but also exhausting; she'd sleep well for the first time since they'd started classes! “Mhm...”

“Aki's in yellow. Why would he like blue?”

“It's his favorite. He's so dreamy, Kas! That voice, those eyes-!”

“Dreamy is that upperclassman out on the pier- Right Aoi? Which one's dreamier?”

Groaning heavily, the raven shoved her head inside her pillow case. She didn't care who was 'dreamier',  all she wanted was to sleep before her morning classes! Why did this have to be going on now?!

“See? The third year obelisk boy!”

“Aki!”

“Pillow, why aren't y' soundproof...” Why couldn't she just sleep on the roof-?!