#sinister smile vs sunshine smile

[obisamya]

I, like all humans, contain multitudes. TED LASSO, 3.10

[littlelovelyspiderling]

littlelovelyspiderling’s writing masterlist

i caved and made an AO3 so i can actually do this now!! all links under the cut

ATLA

Mending - What if Zuko was the one struck by Azula's attack in The Chase? And what if instead of fire, it was lightning? A short exploration of what would have occurred between Zuko, Iroh, and the Gaang in that scenario. Hint -- the Gaang has a LOT of fun messing with him.

The Competition - The avatar gang competes to see who can get Zuko to laugh first. Adorableness ensues.

Legacy - After a string of losses, Zuko is acting uncharacteristically dejected. Iroh employs one of Ursa’s old methods to reanimate his despondent nephew.

Weaknesses - Zuko is captured while pursuing the avatar gang. They want to know what he knows about the Fire Lord, but they don’t want to hurt him to get him to talk. A hungry Momo enlightens them on how to do just that.

MCU Spider-Man

Meeting The Real You - Peter Parker can't wait to meet the newest superhero team to enter the scene: The Fantastic Four. More importantly, he can't wait to finally meet another superhero his age: 16-year-old Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch. That is, until he does. And Johnny turns out to be a grade-A dick. But maybe there's more to Johnny than Peter initially thought. Maybe he's not just an egotistical media star, or a short-tempered hothead, or an alarmingly pretty face who makes Peter's pulse race. Maybe they have more in common than they realize. And maybe this feeling that overwhelms Spider-Man anytime Johnny is around isn't jealousy after all...

Sunshine Boy - After losing May to the Green Goblin and everyone else due to Dr. Strange's memory-erasing spell, Peter Parker is on his own and struggling to adapt. Fortunately, a pair of unexpected interdimensional visitors stop by to help him adjust, and remind him how to feel joy despite his tragic circumstances.

Interrogation - After the battle in Germany, Captain America kidnaps Spider-Man in response to Tony capturing his teammates. He, Bucky, and Antman try to get the kid to tell them where Stark has taken their friends. All attempts turn up fruitless, until Scott propose a new tactic—one that might just be silly enough to work.

Venom’s Vengeance - After being dragged into the MCU universe, Venom wants to kill Spider-Man, but Eddie makes him heal the wounded hero instead. Upon binding to Peter Parker, Venom learns of a new weakness humans have, and realizes there are ways other than biting your enemies' heads off to exact revenge...

Unmasked - Spider-Man is forced to fight the Sinister Six while he’s sick, which leads to his enemies making unexpected discoveries about their arch nemesis.

Finger Painting - Peter decides to prank his teammates in attempt to cheer everyone up, only for his teammates to prank him back using their new favorite mood-lifting method.

Dialed to Eleven - The spider bite that gave Peter his powers has an unexpected (not to mention, embarrassing) side-effect that he wants gone. The kid turns to Tony Stark for help.

Stab Deterrent - Peter gets stabbed and requires the assistance of Dr. Cho and her cell regenerating device to heal. What follows makes Peter never want to get stabbed ever again.

Truth or Dare - Peter, Ned, and MJ decide to play truth or dare. After a certain truth about Peter is revealed, Peter finds himself fiercely regretting his choice in party games.

The Photoshoot - Tony needs a photo of a young and happy face to put on Stark Industry’s website and requests Peter’s aid. When the grumpy kid can’t seem to smile normally, Stark takes matters into his own hands.

A Sinister Situation - Spider-Man is caught in the clutches of his worst nemeses. A deadly predicament turns into a fun little game, which turns out not so fun for the web-slinging hero.

Doc Oc - Peter is captured by Doctor Octopus. While trying to get the young hero to talk, the evil scientist learns a few interesting facts about New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Science vs Magic - Tony and Stephen argue over whose abilities are better. Via a very unconventional method, the pair use said abilities on Peter to prove whose are better.

Tickle Monsters - Sam and Bucky can tell Peter is hiding something. A special persuasion technique is found very effective on breaking the young hero’s stubborn disposition.

Breaking Point - Peter’s got too much on his plate but won’t accept any help. This does not sit well with Tony Stark.

Cranky Cassie - Peter is upset about a bad test grade. Tony hosts an Avengers movie night to try to cheer him up. It does not go as planned.

New Suit - Tony gives Peter a new suit that ends up having a few bugs. As usual, things go south for Spider-Man very quickly.

The Experiment - Peter Parker agrees to help Black Widow test a new device. When he gets stuck, some of his fellow Avengers decide to have some fun.

[lnarizakis]

haikyuu: sparknoted | all about hinata shoyo

masterlist

all about hinata shoyo

foreword: Hi, everyone! I’m so glad you’re reading this. I’ve always wanted to do an analysis series of Haikyuu!!, and I think now that I have so much free time on my hands, this is the perfect time to start. I decided to start out with a character analysis on Hinata Shoyo, since he’s the protagonist of the series. The three topics I will cover are: his character, his character development, and the final arc. The topics about his development and the final arc contain spoilers, so beware! Please enjoy, and everything I say is left up for debate, addition, and correction!

HINATA’S CHARACTER

NOMENCLATURE | Since we are talking about a character, we should look at his, well, character. This kid’s name is Hinata Shoyo, and according to the Wiki, his name means “Place in the sun/Sunny place” (Hinata), and “Flying heaven” (Shoyo). Part of his last name, Hina, means a chick or a baby bird. We should know by now that the meaning of his last name is intentional - multiple times he is referred to as the sun in the manga and anime. He is often compared to Tsukishima, who is referred to as the moon. Like Hinata, he was given that name also with intention. I’m pretty sure the story mentions this, but the reason Hinata was given this name was because of how much he shines. Not just because of his personality, because of course, he is a very bright person, but his whole character shines. He radiates - the effects of his “sunshine,” per se, is found in the character development of multiple people - Yachi, Kenma, Hyakuzawa, Kageyama, and even Tsukishima.

MOON AND SUN | I’m going to side-track and talk about the relationship between Tsukishima and Hinata for a little bit - the story mentions this, but it’s worth noting and it leads into what I’m going to say next. Tsukishima and Hinata are like night and day, respectively. Hinata is bright like the day - he shines and radiates the sunshine off on other people. They bask in his light and become better people because of it. Tsukishima, on the other hand, is more lowkey; he prefers not to talk to people rather than to interact, and, initially, he has no interest in improvement. Plants don’t grow during the night (I will refer to this analogy later). The point is: one can only see the moon when sunlight reflects off of it (I think that’s how the moon’s brightness works; all I know is that the sun’s light is involved lol). Therefore, the effects of Hinata’s presence and his “shine” has affected Tsukishima so much that he is able to shine even “in the night”. So besides Kageyama and perhaps Kenma, Tsukishima is one of the people to be most affected by Hinata’s personality.

APPEARANCE | Okay, now I’m going to talk about Hinata’s appearance. He’s short, he has orange hair, and always has the brightest smile on his face. Except when he has to make a point like “We haven’t won yet,” where he’s got that awfully creepy and sinister smile on his face. But I’m going to get back to that. First- his height. When we first get to know Hinata, the very first note of his height is where he stands at 162.8 cm/5’4 ft. (April 2012). He’s as tall as I am! But he’s not tall enough for volleyball, and he is constantly looked down (literally and metaphorically) for that fact. His opponents, and even his teammates, don’t realize the hidden potential that hides within Hinata. So it becomes ironic when there are people who are taller than Hinata, and they “look up” to him. Notably, Hyakuzawa. During the first-year’s training camp in Season 4/To The Top (AKA Ball Boy Arc), there’s a scene in which Hyakuzawa is sitting on the ground while leaning against the wall. He’s looking up at Hinata, who stands in front of him. He tells Hinata that he should have been invited instead of him, which is very ironic because when Karasuno played against his school (I don’t remember which school oops), he was seen as this very intimidating guy despite his lack of experience. Anyways, the point is - despite Hinata’ s height, he makes up for it with ability and talent, to which others who are much taller than he is are just in awe, and perhaps jealous, that he could go past this misfortune of his and strengthen his other skills instead.

ELEMENTS OF HORROR | “We haven’t won yet,” Hinata says, with the most sinister smile on his face. No, man, it’s not sinister. He’s just in the moment. Of course, he doesn’t mean to pull off that kind of scary face, it’s not in him. Yet the face he makes, along with the tone of voice he uses when saying those four words, just gets people. It chills them right to the bone because it’s so unlike Hinata yet it is so like Hinata. He is the type of person to persist on and encourage himself and others just by saying “We haven’t won yet,” but he doesn’t make that type of face. So… why does he make that type of face? The reason is the author’s choice. Furudate loves horror and drew Hinata’s face with a sinister expression. That’s the simple reason, but I believe there is so much more to that. Furudate could have based his entire style on a horror-like manga, despite it being quite out-of-place as it is a manga about volleyball, but if that’s what he wants, that’s what he wants. However, he chose to draw that particular scene with a horror-type feel because that’s what the others see. That’s what everyone who watched Hinata say those four words saw. His expression, his eyes… everything about it chilled them to the bone and Furudate wanted it to make it clear to the reader that that’s how we are supposed to perceive his words. Because if he drew it any other way, it would have come off as Hinata jumping up and down exclaiming with a super-happy voice, “We haven’t won yet! Let’s keep going, guys!” But no- it’s supposed to be creepy because everyone else saw it as creepy.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

SPOILER WARNING! | This section is very spoiler-heavy! Please don’t read this section if you do not want to be spoiled for the outcomes of the nationals!

THE BALL BOY ARC | I will be covering Hinata’s character development all throughout season 4 because I think that this is the most important development to Hinata’s character. I’ll begin with the Ball Boy Arc, where Hinata must swallow his pride after entering the first-year training camp uninvited. Of course, Hinata had good intentions when he arrived, but he did not realize the consequences of his actions. Before, when he heard that Kageyama and Tsukishima were invited to these training camps, the first thought that ran through Hinata’s mind was “Why wasn’t I invited?” Yes, Hinata realizes his strength and the growth he has made throughout the time he had been practicing volleyball, but it seemed to him that he just wasn’t good enough. Upon arriving at the training camp, Coach Washijo immediately denies him to practice with the rest and so Hinata swallows his pride and announces himself as only the ball boy, nothing more. This is important because he is actually telling everybody there that he really just is not good enough.

KAGEYAMA’S SUPPORT | Coach Washijo tells Hinata that he is no good without the support of Kageyama. This comes across as a slap to the face for the poor boy, but I believe the coach told him this for two reasons. One, Washijo does not want to admit to the fact that Hinata is definitely strong and is an amazing player, but, two, Hinata is not strong without Kageyama and so he therefore cannot participate in a camp where Kageyama is not there to support him. This opens up Hinata’s eyes and he realizes that he must not rely on Kageyama all the time; after all, Kageyama is his rival. I don’t know if I’m right on this, but this is one of the two times where Hinata trains and learns without Kageyama’s help. The other time was when he practiced with Coach Ukai, the senior. If I’m wrong, please let me know!

HINATA’S COLLAPSE | Progressively throughout Season 4 we see that Hinata gains lines under his eyes. I saw two twitter posts that mention these- the first about how they could be “crow’s feet,” and the second about how they are lines of exhaustion. I agree with the second post. Throughout the season we observe how hard Hinata works and that sometimes he pushes his limits. He calls his coach to ask him about what he should eat, but I don’t know if we ever see him eat what Ukai tells him to eat. If we do… then, okay then. Lol. Anyways, not only are his eating habits being rearranged, it is also assumed that Hinata bikes home very late at night every day during the training camp at Shiratorizawa. He goes home with his heart pumping so he probably goes to sleep at an even later time. So Hinata also has a bad sleep schedule, and you know how hard it is to try and revert a bad sleep schedule… Hinata is also shown at times during nationals to be wide awake at night. With this, we can tell that he is exhausted. He is tired and in need of a rest. But he doesn’t give himself a rest, because all he wants is to prove to others, and himself, that he is good. And this leads to his downfall- his collapse in the middle of the Kamomedai VS Karasuno game. Hinata catches a fever all because he couldn’t take good care of himself. It’s so unfortunate, but it’s another wake-up call for Hinata that tells him that good things take time to come. He can’t magically hone his skills overnight.

THE FINAL ARC

THIS IS IT. IT’S REALLY THE END. | Ah, the final arc. We are so close to the end of Haikyuu!! and it makes me so sad to think about it every time. The final arc is the last match of the game. It is no coincidence that it is the last time we see Hinata use the restroom before the game. It is also no coincidence that many things that happened during Hinata’s first game are happening as well - Hinata meets Kageyama again at the restroom, he breathes in the smell of icy-hot spray, and, of course, he is going against Kageyama. That’s just awesome. But… he is not only going against Kageyama, he’s also going against Ushijima Wakatoshi and Hoshiumi Korai. This is no mere coincidence. These three people are all Hinata’s rivals. He declared one way or another that he would beat each of them and become the greater person. Hinata told Kageyama that he would, one day, beat him in a game. Hinata told Ushijima that he would beat Shiratorizawa and move onto nationals. I don’t remember if Hinata ever told Hoshiumi if he would beat him in a game one day, but we know for a fact that Hoshiumi did, at least in his mind. Let’s not forget how Hoshiumi really thought, “I’ve waited years for this day, Hinata Shoyo!!” Before the final game.

TEAMMATES: PAST AND PRESENT | I also want to mention the “commentators” for this match as well as some of Hinata’s teammates. In every game that we read/watch in Haikyuu!!, there is at least one person outside of the game who commentates on their perspective of what is going on in the game. We are not only getting the action, but also the analysis. In the final match, we are getting the commentary from Hinata’s teammates. We are finally getting their perspective in the game and how they perceive everyone’s actions. I just thought that was really cool since they were Hinata’s teammates- we never got the chance to hear their opinions about the game as an outsider. We also have some of Hinata’s teammates, Bokuto Koutarou, Miya Atsumu, and Sakusa Kiyoomi. I specifically want to talk about Bokuto and Atsumu, since the only reason I believe Sakusa was placed in the MSBY Jackals was so we could see his own ability because we never got to see him play in high school. Besides the Little Giant, I don’t know if there was any other person that Hinata looked up to more than Bokuto. I think it was great for Furudate to place Bokuto on Hinata’s team because it’s sort of a teacher-student moment where the teacher has to play with his disciple. I also think Furudate made the smartest choice to place Miya on this team as well because it shows that Kageyama is not the only one to perform a quick attack with Hinata. Having Miya on this team provides two things- it becomes a “battle of the setters” between Miya and Kageyama, and we see that Hinata has grown to adapt to perform well with other setters. It’s great character development on Hinata’s part because we see that he has definitely moved past the “he’s no good without Kageyama” thing back in high school. Good for him!

RIVALRY | Anyways, with a little analysis on Hinata’s team, we move on to the opponents. The big three opponents are, of course, Kageyama, Ushijima, and Hoshiumi. It’s a really good thing that Furudate placed these three on a team together (Talking about Romero makes their team even more OP so we’re just gonna set him aside for right now, haha) because it’s a test of Hinata’s ability. We get to see the rematch of the century, since each of Hinata’s rivals have wished for a rematch against him. Hinata lost to Kageyama’s team back in middle school, so now we wonder if Hinata could beat Kageyama now. We know that Ushijima lost to Hinata, but since he declared that he would beat Hinata in the future, we also wonder if Hinata could win against him, this time without the help of his teammates back in Karasuno. Lastly, Hinata collapsed in the middle of the match against Kamomedai, so we do not know for sure if Hinata could have won against Hoshiumi. All of these questions that we have for these three rivals will be cleared in this match; we get to see if Hinata will win in the end. We will learn if Hinata has truly become stronger. This match will let Hinata examine his current self and if his skills now can finally win against Kageyama, Ushijima, and Hoshiumi. It’s sort of like the “final exam” for Hinata’s strength.

Alright, that’s all I have to say! If you read all of this... then wow. I am in awe. Thank you for reading! I really enjoyed writing something like this. I was writing like the end of the world was coming. If you liked this, please let me know! Disagreed with anything I said? That’s fine, let’s respectfully discuss! Thanks!

[yatorihell]

In The Darkness Chapter 12 - The Quidditch Cup Final

Words: 3,043

Summary: The final match of the Quidditch season - Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw - decides who wins the Quidditch Cup! Also, Yato finds out something important is happening soon, and beginnings to plan what he will do.

Previous chapter | First chapter

Thank you to Gio @themusicalbookworm​ for beta-ing me!

Happy birthday Jenny (@skyheaven1231​)!

Read on AO3

Yato heard nothing about the stone or the chamber. Even the extra pairs of ears he had acquired (namely, Yukine’s and Hiyori’s) hadn’t picked up on anything in class that might’ve hinted at what was going on.

“Let it go,” Yukine had whined, sick of the fuss over something that seemingly wasn’t happening. “The whole thing probably blew up in their faces.”

Yato, of course, was having none of it. With every protest Yukine proposed, Yato’s nerves frayed just little bit more. Every conversation they had become more sullen, an unspoken topic lingering in the air waiting to ignite a spark that would burst into a full-blown argument.

Hiyori was torn. On the one hand, Yukine had a point. It was now May and nothing had happened, and the teachers were their usual foreboding selves. But the niggling thought of what she and Yato had overheard pushed into her mind. Every time she tried to believe that it was all a crazy idea that their imagination had run away with, the feeling of that sinister aura of that night in the library crept back in.

The subject was locked away, suppressed, consuming their thoughts that remained unvoiced. Yato’s pent up stress had one outlet: Quidditch.

Once again, Slytherin was up against Gryffindor. He flew, harder, faster, wilder. Once the golden snitch was clenched in his fist, Slytherin rocketed to first place in the Quidditch Cup. The murderous glare contorting Bishamon’s face as her hair slowly turned its usual shade of angry red was enough to quench Yato’s irritation.

He caught sight of Hiyori and Yukine waiting for him after the game, slightly windswept and trying not to smile too much as Bishamon sent scathing glares in his direction.

Maybe they’re right.

Maybe it’s nothing.

~

The end of May brought blue skies, sunshine, and the final match of the Quidditch Cup: Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor. And Bishamon was jittering.

“There is no way we can let Ravenclaw catch the snitch,” she fretted. Her robe flowed out behind her as she paced the tent, onlooked by the rest of the team.

“Isn’t that your job?” Yugiha – the Keeper and reluctant Captain of the team – asked quietly. This earned an unimpressed look from Bishamon. She ignored the question, turning once again to pace back across the tent.

“As long as we get 50 points, THEN catch the snitch, we will win,” Aiha chirped, hoping to lighten the tension that Bishamon was starting to spread to the other players.

Bishmon nodded, eyes fixated on the ground, ears perked to listen for the announcement for them to enter the pitch. This was the only way to beat Slytherin who had managed to, somehow, steal the crown for most of the year. That would end today.

The flap of the tent suddenly opened, letting palesunshine into the tent right where Bishamon stood. She squinted slightly at the figure blocking the opening before recognising the blue robes and mess of brown hair. Ravenclaw’s Seeker, Kazuma.

He looked around the tent. The team members paid him no heed as they talked in pairs or sat alone and stared into space.

“I’ve never seen your team so despondent,” he said with a humorous smile, the sullen looks of the Gryffindor team reassuring his own team’s dominance.

“We like to concentrate before a match, not try and intimidate the other team,” Bishamon replied smoothly, shaking her blonde hair slightly as if brushing off the comment. “Are you done?”

“I would hate to make you feel like you couldn’t have a friendly chat with your competitor before a game,” Kazuma responded equally, the cock of his head making him seem more approachable. Cute, almost. Unfortunately for him, Bishamon had no interest flirting.

“I thought a rival is meant to be someone equal to yourself?” Bishamon said sweetly. The undertone of meaning made Kazuma’s head tilt back up to look her in the eye.

“I can’t allow you to be my equal just yet,” he said pleasantly. Before Bishamon could come up with another argumentative comment, the flap fell closed and shadows were cast across her face once again.

The eyes of the team were on her as she quickly glanced around, the trumpets sounding to announce the beginning of the game. She snatched her own broom up from the wall of the tent, fitting into her hand naturally as if she were born just for this moment. Mustering a confident voice and a brilliant smile, Bishamon stood poised with her broomstick, and her team stood to attention a little more.

“Right.” Her voice was determined, authoritative. She would not let her team down. “Let’s kick some ass.”

~

One advantage that Gryffindor liked to think they had was Bishamon. She joined the team as soon as she started her second year at Hogwarts, a life-long obsession with the sport and listless, dull summers practicing had refined her into a competitive Seeker. She damn-well commanded the team at this point, a legacy of Quidditch Cup champions in her family somehow giving her the right to lead.

However, she had already lost the Snitch once in the first game of the season to the ‘Slytherin bastard’, as she liked to call him after that little prank he pulled in their first year. It was enough to make her hair flare up again at the thought of it.

As chance would have it, Kazuma – rumoured to be the best Seeker the school had seen yet – had been enlisted into Ravenclaw’s team the very same year. Apparently, someone had seen him do something near-impossible on a broomstick and had coerced him into joining the team. What this feat was, Bishamon didn’t know.

Once the Quaffle was in the air, Bishamon flew out of the danger zone, Bludgers already hurtling at the players in vicious bids to knock them off their brooms. Bishamon could do nothing but sit out of reach until it was time to catch the Snitch. If it would ever appear to her.

Ravenclaw was known for their agility in the air and precision aim, just about always scoring and managing to knock the opposition off their brooms. At some point, Bishamon was sure that a well-aimed Bludger had possibly killed one of her team as they nosedived towards the sandy pitch below.

Rather quickly her team had managed to score 40 points and even deflect some of Ravenclaw’s attempts, though they had more than double their own score.

Once they had managed to hit 50 points, Bishamon was on the move, eyes combing the air for any glimmer of tell-tale Snitch. Across the pitch she could see Kazuma hovering much higher than she was, seeking out the golden orb. It just so happened that this was the first time she would be competing against Kazuma for the Snitch.

Bishamon felt the familiar tightness in her chest that preceded a chase, senses heightened. The same exhilarating feeling of being poised to soar through the pitch and outmatch her opponent, testing their nerve, coursed through her.

A sudden dart of movement next to Bishamon’s head sent her whirling around just in time to see the Snitch tearing across the pitch, right underneath where the teams were still battling it out.

Bishamon wasted no time in giving chase, her sudden movement telling Kazuma that she had the Snitch in her sights, and that it was heading straight for him. Bishamon’s focus zoned out, nothing was more important in that moment than the Snitch, than victory, even if it meant that she would crash straight into Kazuma who was hurtling directly at her with his hand outstretched.

Fifteen metres.

Ten metres.

Five metres.

Without warning the Snitch whizzed up, nimbly dodging the other players to escape its pursuers who immediately veered upwards, nearly broom to broom.

He has quite a nerve, Bishamon thoughts distractedly. The last Ravenclaw Seeker would’ve turned off and gone around the pitch, but Kazuma was here, mimicking her actions of vertically rocketing through the pitch faster than anyone could see or aim a Bludger at them.

Bishamon pressed her feet hard into the stirrups of her Nimbus 2000, extending herself with her arm outstretched, so close to the Snitch she could feel the flutter of its wings brushing her fingertips.

Then it was gone. Both the presence of the Snitch, and her competitor, were nowhere in sight. Instead the only thing that could pierce her confusion was the tannoy which rang through the air, loud enough for her to hear.

“Kazuma receives a hundred and fifty points for catching the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins!”

Through the deafening roar of approval from the crowd and the dispersing players touching down, Bishamon could see a blue-clad player, their fist raised triumphantly in the air as they flew back down without a backwards glance.

“Are you bloody serious?” Bishamon hissed under her breath.

~

In short, Gryffindor’s crushing defeat secured the Quidditch Cup for Ravenclaw. Huddled on the pitch a safe distance away, Hiyori, Yato and Yukine watched the scene unfolding before them.

Few things delighted Yato more than seeing the once composed Lion Princess – now with a thunderous red-head – having a tantrum so violent that he thought that she might snap her broom and hex the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

“Oh dear…” Hiyori murmured. Part of her wanted to soothe Bishamon, but instinct told her to let her get on with it. Yukine hmph-ed at the childish behaviour whilst Yato enjoyed the spectacle.

“It’s time for lunch.” Yukine said. It was actually three hours past lunch but the point was clear. He began to trudge through the soggy grass, Yato and Hiyori tearing their eyes away from the pitch to follow, the hems of their robes dirtying with mud.

“She’s by far the worst seeker,” Yato drawled, arms stretched behind his head in lazy contempt. “Even Hufflepuff has a better chance at winning the cup than Gryffindor if that’s the best they have.”

Hiyori bit her tongue, something she had learned to do recently as Yato seemed to have a gift for antagonizing anyone within a five-metre radius.

“Could be worse,” Yukine called, a half smirk pressed on his lips. “Hiyori could be on the team.”

Yato let out a fake shudder of dread whilst Hiyori’s mouth dropped open.

“Hey!” she said crossly. “I will learn how to fly!”

“A requirement for flying is keeping your eyes open,” Yato said pointedly.

Hiyori didn’t open her eyes when Yato flew them up to the Astronomy Tower, and she certainly didn’t when she crashed into Yato.

She huffed, scuffing her shoe slightly on the grassy outcrop which began to give way to paved pathways. The conversation was a lost cause if they were only going to make gibes at her.

“I take it you want to join the team next year?” Yato asked.

“I do.” Yukine spun slowly as he walked so he could flash a slightly homicidal grin at Yato before turning back around. “I’d like to kick your ass!”

“Like to see you try, Puff.” Yato didn’t bother keeping the smile out of his voice, earning a middle finger from Yukine as the crowds meandered him towards the Great Hall.

Hiyori was still quiet, most likely sulking at the banter he and Yukine had at her expense. Yato playfully butted into her shoulder with his own in an attempt to cheer her up.

“Y’know,” he said, digging his hands into his pockets and whispering conspiratorially, “the first time I flew, I went straight into a tree and an owl tried to peck my eyes out.”

Hiyori looked at him dubiously, but a small smile still found its way to her lips. “Still better than nearly crushing someone.”

“Clearly, Hiyori, you don’t understand that owls can be little shits.”

~

June arrived with a clear sky and a celebratory feast to present the Quidditch Cup to Ravenclaw. Festooned with blue and silver, the Great Hall was particularly festive despite there being no holiday respite yet. Cakes and desserts on the platters had been aptly decorated with blue icing embellished with Ravenclaw’s eagle sigil.

Bishamon was trying, and failing, to act as if the fact Gryffindor came third didn’t phase her. She only cracked a smile was as the feast ended and Hiyori told her about her first flying lesson. “That’s the worst first lesson I’ve heard of,” Bishamon said with a wry smile. The part when she nearly killed Yato was her favourite.  

Hiyori’s smile matched Bishamon’s. The memory was still fresh in her mind, and now she could laugh over it rather than feel mortified.

“I’ll practice,” Hiyori said simply, spooning a helping of vegetables onto her plate from the bowl in front of her. Bishamon hummed around a mouthful of food before swallowing to ask Hiyori a question.

“So, your parents are getting you a broom?” she asked interestedly.

“Mm-hm!” Hiyori mumbled around her full mouth. “For my birthday!”

“Which is…?”

“June 28th.”

Bishamon propped her chin on her hand, a faint frown pressed into her forehead. “Y’know you can’t practice outside of school? Since you live in the Muggle world, that is.”

Hiyori stopped mid-mouthful and looked at Bishamon in surprise. Oh. That hadn’t crossed her mind. Hiyori looked down at her plate disappointedly. At this rate she wouldn’t be able to qualify for the team unless she had a miracle.

The pair were quiet for a moment before Hiyori began questioning Bishamon about Quidditch tryouts. When she asked what her chances were for qualifying for the team, Bishamon accidentally snorted in laughter and earned a laugh from Hiyori.

Bishamon began apologising through her unladylike laughter, but hiccups racked them and only brought fits of giggles more every time they looked at each other.

Neither of them noticed that Yato was hovering behind, listening into their conversation. He had been debating whether or not to interrupt and possibly get cursed by Bishamon for attempting to interact with Hiyori. Once talk of her birthday came up, Yato decided to stay quiet and listen in.

June 28th, Yato thought, that was a few weeks away.

A sudden turn of Bishamon’s head made him back up, turning away to walk out of the hall which now had a dwindling number of students left. His thoughts stayed with their conversation about her birthday, remembering Yukine’s and her disappointment when he made no effort to help her celebrate it.

Maybe it would be a good idea to do something for her, though term ended before her birthday. The Hogwarts Express would take them home in the third week of June, which would be the Saturday before Hiyori’s birthday.

What would she like?

Yato paced through the castle until he reached the main staircase. He tilted his head up, thinking.

How would he make it a surprise?

He thought of every place in the castle, something that might help him. The towers, the dungeons, the library…

The library.

A grin split across Yato’s face and he began to jog up the staircase.

He had the perfect plan.

~

Yukine was, rather peacefully, reading in the library until an uninvited person sat opposite him. With a winning smile and wheedling voice, Yato asked for Yukine’s help.

“Why can’t you ask her?” Yukine sounded just about done with Yato’s latest nonsense. He knew he shouldn’t have mentioned he was going to the library.

“It’s a surprise!” Yato stretched out on the desk, clasping his hands in front of him and trying to make his eyes as wide and innocent as he could so Yukine would take pity on him.

Yukine’s face twisted with distaste. “I think seeing your shitty face is a surprise.”

“Yukine…” Yato’s pitched whine earned a disgruntled shush from a nearby student. Yukine buried his head back in his book, effectively making a wall between the two of them in the hopes he would leave.

He didn’t.

Pushing down the book, Yato jumped straight into his plan of action: Yukine would casually talk about birthdays to Hiyori and find out what she liked, then feedback to Yato.

Yukine gave Yato a long-suffering look. One that conveyed all the flaws of this plan which Yato had failed to notice. The fact that Yukine was the one asking didn’t hide the fact that there would be a surprise on Hiyori’s birthday, except that it would be Yato doing it instead. In fact, he would be doing all the work and have nothing to give Hiyori at all.

“Do it yourself.”

Yato’s nose scrunched slightly. Yukine clearly didn’t understand that he wanted it to be a surprise.

“You’re getting her a present, right?” he asked, “Since she went to all that trouble for you.”

Yukine felt heat flush through his chest and hoped it wouldn’t rise to his cheeks. The whole birthday cake thing was embarrassing, but he didn’t mind if it were Hiyori who had made it for him.

“Maybe…” he mumbled. He thrust his head back into his book, which seemed to be even more interesting now he had a reason to avoid a subject he’d rather not think about.

Yato gave him a strange look. Was he blushing? He shook the question from his thoughts. More important matters were at hand.

“Well, this is your chance to do some research!” Yato persisted, hoping that a reasonable point would persuade Yukine into helping. “Do you even know what girls like?”

“As if you know any better!” Yukine scoffed.

Yato groaned and planted his head on the table with a thud. Yukine tried to act as if he didn’t care, but the seed of doubt had been planted. He didn’t know what girls liked, and he certainly hadn’t thought of getting Hiyori a present.

“Fine!” Yukine exclaimed, slamming the book shut and shoving it into his bag. He wasn’t going to get anything done if this moron kept harassing him.

Yato’s head shot up, eyes alight with conceited joy. “You’ll help?”

“Only because I don’t want you to go creeping her out.”

Yukine wouldn’t admit that he too needed gift ideas, so the off-handed remark would suffice as cover for now.

Yato leant back in his chair and turned his head to the side, watching Yukine hurry through the tall bookshelves.

“Thanks, Puff!”