#so she makes sure its not troublesome for him to have people assume things like that and hes just

[moeblob]

I'm on an OC kick and also super indecisive so I spun a wheel (thank you for choosing for me, RNG).

Ricardo is a body guard and is bffs with Marlo. Ricardo's current job is watching after a celebrity's daughter who the public doesn't know even exists. She's just a teenage girl vibing with her mom and getting texts and calls from her dad (who loves her a whole lot and keeps her out of the spotlight very purposefully) and has this bodyguard and his weird friend. Marlo is just vibing with his best friend.

(Also Marlo would absolutely laugh if he heard Ricardo say "someone called me eye candy and it wasn't you and now I think you should call me that")

[a-tale-of-legends]

Legendverse Posting: Silver edition.

~~~

At this point, Silver does suppose that Ilex Forest is his second….third home by now. He would visit it as often as he can, making sure things are in order- as orderly as wildlife can be anyway- and almost always leaves a gift at Celebi's shrine. Usually their treats, as Silver quickly learned how much of a glutton Celebi is. He assumes that being the guardian of Ilex Forest and time travel and the purification of shadow pokemon leaves very little time to really indulge whatever you want, huh? Though, the Celebi that Silver knows….the Celebi that Chose him, is still pretty young and new to its role. New to the world. That probably has more to do with it, he thinks.

Arriving his destination, Silver kneels down to the shrine placing his offerings at the stump: some berries, freshly made berry juice ( poured into a celebi sized cup for convenience ) and finally, a rage candy bar. Silver made sure to write ' EAT LAST' on the cover, since the last time he gave Celebi the bar, it didn't even touch the berries he given it, which is troublesome since that's not healthy. Yeah, sure, it's Ilex Forest, and berries are everywhere and Celebi probably already eaten enough of those as is, but it's the matter of being healthy-

( He's choosing to ignore how much he sounds like Lance right now)

" Nium?" Hibiscus looms over his shoulder, giving her trainer a little nudge.

" Hm? " Silver turns his head to his partner, who nudges him again,a slight look of concern on her face.

" Meganium!" She cries softly and it takes Silver a second to understand what she's so concerned about.

"Oh, was I spacing out?" Silver guessed correctly, as Hibiscus nods her head. Silver smiles graciously at her, petting her head.

" Sorry….long day. You know,". Hibiscus does know. She's been used a lot in the Battle Tower today. It still baffles him how he ended up running the place. But then again he is an amazing, talented, and strong trainer so is it really a surprise?( Stay humble, Silver)

" Hmmm…..it's late. Want to sleep here for tonight?" Silver asks, as if he didn't already know the answer. Hibiscus loved this place, even back when she was a chikorita ( back when he wasn't a good trainer to her. He still can't stop apologizing for it). Staying here for the night is something she would agree to in a heartbeat. And she did.

" Well alright then let's-" he yawns " Let's get some rest,"

Sleeping on the floor of the forest was kinda nostalgic for him. Not because of the forest itself, but because of it was something he used to do a lot when he was a kid. Don't get him wrong, he loves his bed and his room and being in a safe place inside. But he would be lying if sleeping around in the wilderness isn't a tiny bit nostalgic. Even if that nostalgia comes from a time where he was homeless and hungry and honestly very very scared and angry.

Ahem.

Silver rests on Hibiscus' body, already having taking off his jacket so it's spikes wouldn't hurt her. Almost immediately, a drowsiness washes over him as he stares at the starry night sky. He used to hate the stars. He always felt like they were mocking him. Living lavishly, shining brightly like he dreamed of doing. Now? Now he just thinks there is a nice thing to look at as he falls asleep.

…Besides. He's one of the strongest trainers in the world and have people in his life that actually cares about him. So who's laughing now?

~~~~

Silver wakes up with a weighted feeling in his chest. It wasn't heavy by any means, but he knows that something is on his chest. He braces himself before looking down at his chest….to see a sleeping Celebi. Ah. That's. That's cute.

He looks towards the shrine, where he left the offerings from earlier that night. The rage candy bar was eaten, as expected….but so where the berries and the berry juice. Silver smiles, a wave of pride washing over him. He rests his head back onto Hibiscus, who's snoring softly. He pets Celebi on its back, watching as it slightly shifts, curling up closer to him.

….maybe Celebi would like pofffins. They're sweet by nature but are still decently healthy. Or maybe some pokeblocks? The forest already have so many berries as is. And then there's the hassle of making them….

It isn't before long until Silver falls asleep again,thinking of the different delicacies that would be up to Celebi's taste.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 34

Man these parts are getting harder and harder to churn out. A lot of plot points converging and real life ramping up. Hopefully you all enjoy this. Please comment your thoughts on the chapter. And if you really liked it, Reblog it. Thats the best way to get others to see it. Also, Please let me know your thoughts. Your comments fuel me.

(Master Post)

_____________________________________________________________

Masquerade surveyed the classroom. Her former classmates now her masked servants. It was fitting how they were all silent. Before, they listened to her because she told them exactly the things they wanted to hear, now they listened because she had power over them. It was kind of poetic in a way.

She looked across the classroom, she realized that there seemed to be more people missing than she initially realized.

“We are missing someone. Aside from Marinette, who is missing?”

The controlled classmates looked amongst themselves. Trying to figure out who was the one that was not in the class.

“Is it Chloé?” Miracular inquired, trying to answer her master’s request.

The akuma looked around.

“Huh… Oh yea, she isn’t here. Well she isn’t important. I was thinking someone else.” Masquerade answered. She looked to her most recently made akuma servant.

The Bubbler, the akumatized version of Nino stood motionless. As if he was not registering what was going on.

“Bubbler? Do you know who is missing?”

The multicolored akuma said nothing. Not even looking in the direction of the mask maiden.

“Bubbler! I order you to answer me!” She commanded with fiery rage.

The akuma turned to face his master, now responding.

“Adrien is missing.” The bubbler answered, his voice robotic and as emotive as a speak and spell.

“So, Adrien isn’t in the room. What a shame. I was planning on turning him into my handsome little knight.”

Masquerade thought for a moment.

Has Adrien been akumatized? Lila wasn’t sure she had ever seen or heard about him getting akumatized. She knew that the class had pretty much gotten hit at least once or twice at some point from what she had heard and read from the ladyblog. But if that goody-goody Marinette hadn’t been akumatized, Adrien likely hadn’t been akumatized either.

“Alright my servants! We have a new mission. I want you to lock this school down! No one is allowed in or out. Anyone you find, bring them to me. If they can be akumatized, then they are joining our cause.”

“Time breaker. Guard the perimeter outside of the school. Anyone outside of Ladybug and Chat noir trying to get in. Tag them, but only if they are suspicious of what’s going on. Stay hidden otherwise.”

“Timebreaker nodded and began skating out of the room in a rush.

“Horrificator, once Timebreaker is outside, seal all the exits in the main building.”

The masked monstress nodded and sped out of the room.

“Dark Cupid, Stoneheart, Princess Fragrance, Miracular and Reflekta. I want you to split up check all of the rooms and bring me potential akumas.”

The five akuma nodded and made their way out the door.

“Gamer and Robostus. I want you to hack into the airwaves. I want access to every Electric device in Paris when I give you the signal. But make sure to be subtle. I don’t want anyone to know about us until I tell you.”

The two nod and start working to get that ready for her.

She focuses her attention to the bubble making akuma that was giving her problems earlier.

Considering how hard it was to break him down, it was understandable. She had saved him for last for a reason. Because he was the hardest one to crack.

He was a relatively calm individual, able to keep a level head. But even he had his weakness. His confidence. Once that was shaken, seeing his entire class taken, knowing his girlfriend was under her control, he couldn't resist another moment. In a way, it was the most satisfying charm on her bracelet.

“Now Bubbler, you are going to go and locate Marinette and Adrien for me. Put them in a bubble and bring them to me. Help that girlfriend of yours.”

The bubbler nodded yes despite severe shaking. Seems even now he is trying to resist the control of the mask.

“Troublesome, but it is only temporary. He will break soon enough.” Masquerade mused to herself.

She looked at the near empty room with contempt. This was hardly a place where she could exact her vengeance. It was so… lame. Though a thought occurs as she realized who she had left standing at attention without orders.

“Evillustrator, I have a special request for you.”

________________________________________________________

“What is this?” Chloé screeched. “My daddy bought me the best phone plan in the city. How can I not have service right now?!”

The nurse felt a chill run down her spine. Could the akuma block out phone signals? Is that why there is no attention being given to the school? How could they call for help? How would anyone know of the akuma attack? Would Ladybug and Chat noir be able to help them?

The nurse started to feel herself going pale, she was just supposed to be a school nurse. Worst thing she needed to deal with was a scraped knee or give a kid an ice pack. Now she has a woman that collapsed on the bed and an akuma that is somewhere in the school. She had just moved to Paris a few months ago. It was her dream to live in the city of love, get her career going, find a nice guy, and just live the good life. But no one told her that supervillain attacks would be so personally connected to her situation? She had heard about this crap in New York and in America. But Paris? It was too much. What if Ladybug and Chat noir didn’t fix everything? What if this was where her story ended. What if…

“Hey!”

The nurse turned to her attention to the voice. It was the brash blonde teen that was complaining.

“You look like you’re going to pass out. Just a heads up, I am not taking care of you.” Chloé commented.

Angela felt her face heat up with annoyance.

“Listen you brat. I don’t have time to deal with your attitude. I have a woman that is out cold from exhaustion in a building with a hostile akuma.”

“Good, at least you aren’t going to faint. I don’t need any more whinny women fainting on me”

The nurse paused, did the girl say that just to help her not succumb to the grim situation?

Chloé started making her way to the door.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“You already got your hands full with the annoying assistant. I need to make a call to daddy. So, I am going to head out the building and try there. Try not to get ripped apart by an akuma, I still need more ice when I get back.”

Angela blinked. This girl wasn’t scared of the akuma. She was actually going out to do something reasonable. If she could call for help, it would mean that this whole thing blows over.

“Okay, I’ll stay here. Be safe.”

“Yea whatever.”

Chloé headed out the door.

Angela felt a ghost of a smile grace her face.

‘Maybe that girl isn’t a complete brat after all.’

__________________________________________________

The shapeshifting sentimonster growled as it smacked the locker. It lost both primary targets. And worst of all, Ladybug appeared to make this even harder. Masquerade needed to hear about this.

“Master, Marinette and Adrien have escaped my sight.”

The sentimonster heard a sigh of disappointment from the other end.

“It is fine Simularé, They wont be able to escape the school anyway. They will be found soon enough. If anything, this is a blessing in disguise. Having them be the last targets will have them bare witness to how devasting it will all be.” Masquerade answered. “Any news on Ladybug and Chat noir?”

“That’s the other bad news. Ladybug arrived, I am assuming that’s how Marinette managed to escape, and ladybug also took Adrien away as well. No sign of chat noir. But if you know one is here, the other is likely soon to follow.”

There was a brief moment of silence, as masquerade mulled over the information she had received.

“Actually, that works out well for us. Meet up at my location, I have the other students out looking for them, I need your power for something more important.”

“Yes master.”

Simularé shifted back into its phantom form, moving quickly down the hallway to obey her master’s request.

Just as it left, Ladybug popped out of a nearby locker. Relieved it didn’t notice.

“That’s not good, Masquerade likely got everyone in the classroom.” The red heroine said aloud.

She activated her communicator and tried to contact chat noir. But there was no sound.

“Damn it. No signal. Lila likely cut the communication as soon as she realized it.?”

“No worries Buggaboo, I happen to be on site.” A voice called out.

Chat noir jumped out of another locker to reveal he was there.

Ladybug felt a bit of relief at her partner’s appearance. She could tell he felt the same. Better a situation with two heroes.

“Been here the whole time?” The spotted heroine asked her cat crimefighting comrade.

“Just arrived a few minutes ago, I figured something was up, so I decided to take a quick peek. Cat curiosity and all that.”

“And you assumed it was with Collège Françoise Dupont?”

“It seemed like a solid guess.”

“Considering the track record, that is reasonable.” Ladybug conceded.

“Ever wonder why it is always this school and never any of the other schools? Paris is a big city. You would think Hawkmoth would decide to branch out to the other schools in the city.” Chat noir inquired as they started walking down the hall.

“I assumed its just a coincidence.”

“Shot in the dark, maybe he has a kid that goes here. He is pretty old” Chat noir dissed.

“I can’t imagine anyone that would want to date Hawkmoth.” Ladybug joked.

“What about the blue lady? She seemed crazy enough.”

“And now that image is burned in my mind. Thanks kitty.” Ladybug sarcastically commented. “Despite the mental scarring, I am glad you got here. Seems a repeat offender got herself an upgrade in the akuma powers department.”

“Lila.”

“How did you know?”

“I was reading the ladyblog, Alya did great work on that article.” Chat noir praised. He mentally applauded his quick thinking.

“Right, kind of the reason I felt the need to keep an eye on this place. But sadly, I was too slow.” Ladybug responded a tad gloomy.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. We will finish this akuma before lunch.”

Ladybug heard a footstep from the end of the hallway.

“Get down!”

Ladybug tackled the cat hero down. Just narrowly avoiding a neon pause symbol, which now suck on the wall.

“Looks like Lila has been busy.” Chat noir noted as he turned his face to the direction of the attacker.

Ladybug looked at the akuma. The white mask covering her friend’s face. Lady Wifi was back.

“Alya…”

The two heroes got into a fighting stance and prepared to take down this controlled akuma.

________________________________________________

The halls were empty and lifeless as the two visiting teens made their way cautiously down the halls.

“Oddly quiet in here.” The fencer commented. “What do you think Luka?”

“Well last time we entered a place with an akuma in it, it was brimming with armored minions. Maybe this akuma has more stealth?” The Musician commented. “So, I don’t think you will be fighting as directly as you are use to Kagami.”

Kagami nodded at that, not exactly happy or sad regarding that remark. Her plan was to see if she could help her friends get out of the building, grab her textbook, and get out. She wasn’t really that interested in fighting a superpowered foe at this moment in time.

The two ceased speaking when they heard approaching footsteps.

“Someone’s coming.” Luka noted.

The two duck into the nearest room.

The two stayed close to the door as they listened to the sound of the approaching figure.

Kagami dropped to the floor silently as to check and see if she could get a visual.

She could only see what appeared to be costume boots of a larger figure. Which made the expert fencer believe it was not friendly.

The figure stopped, looking at the door. The two teens felt their neck hairs stand on edge as they did their best not to make a sound.

After what felt like an eternity, the figure passed the door without checking. Once the sound of his footsteps could no longer be heard, they let out a sigh of relief.

“That was way too close for comfort.”

“Agreed. I would prefer a direct confrontation next time, much less nerve-racking. “

The two carefully open the door and exit the room.

“Seems we found the akuma.” Luka commented. “Now we just need to avoid it and.”

“You mean akumas.” Kagami corrected.

“Akumas?”

Kagami tilted the boys head to look in the same direction she was looking, and sure enough she saw a rather large rock like creature walking the halls.

“Oh… well that is bad.”

Kagami pushed him back into the room and closed the door. Locking it before the rock giant could notice them.

“I’m surprised.”

“By the fact there is an 8-foot-tall rock beast outside?”

“No, by the fact you didn’t try to fight it.”

“I don’t have a weapon.” Kagami replied flatly.

Luka raised a brow at the comment, unsure if the fencer was serious or not about fighting that thing if she had a foil.

“Is something wrong?” A third voice came from behind them.

The two teens turned around, preparing for the worst. Though they were relieved to see it was just an old janitor… in a Hawaiian shirt. Despite his odd dress, he did give off a kind aura. One of a trusting old grandpa.

They noticed that the room seemed to be a sort of teacher’s lounge, with a small counter with a sink and cabinets. As well as a fridge to keep food cold and stored. A place in the school where teachers would come to get a quick coffee or store their lunch.

“Oh good, you aren’t an akuma.” Luka sighed with relief.

“An akuma?” The old man asked.

“Yes, it is very dangerous out there right now. There are multiple villains outside. I would recommend staying put while we go out there and help handle things.” Kagami explained.

“Quite bold of you to go out there against those monsters.” The man responded.

“Don’t worry, we will be careful. We just need to make sure we can get as many people out as we can so Ladybug and Chat noir won’t need to worry.”

“Ah, how selfless of you. You both seem quite capable for ones so young.”

“You’re very kind, but we are just doing what we can. Our friends are out there and they need our help.”

Kagami goes to the door. Checking to ensure the coast is clear again.

The old man pats the musician’s shoulder.

“I am sure you two will figure a way to help your friends.”

“There are too many outside this room.” Kagami grumbled. If only I had a way to fight them.”

The mysterious janitor smiled.

“Say… I did happen to see Ladybug earlier.”

The two teens turned their attention to the old man.

“You did?” they asked in unison.

“Yes, she happened to drop something while rushing. Would you two be so kind as to return them to her when you see her.”

The two of them glance at each other and shrug. The old janitor might be senile.

“Sure… We can give it to her.” Luka assured the old man, trying to remain polite.

The old man moves to a closet, where out of view of the two teens, an elaborate chest with the symbol of the guardian’s decorates the top. He quickly gets two smaller boxes and closes the closet.

“Ah! Here they are.”

He hands the two a small box each. Their eyes go wide.

“They seemed important, so I didn’t want to just leave them on the floor. But I have a feeling you two will take good care of them.”

The two teens were engrossed by the boxes in their hands. They recognized them immediately. These were the boxes Ladybug used when handing out miraculous.

“Where did you find…?” Kagami tried to question, but noticed the old man was no longer there.

“He’s gone…”

“Actually, I am over here.”

The teens look in the opposite direction they were looking in order to see him at the end of the room getting a snack from the fridge.

The duo decided that maybe this old guy wasn’t all there after all and figured it would be best to go somewhere and utilize the ‘gift’ they were just given.

“Stay in the lounge where it’s safe okay?” Luka asked politely.

“Of course. I am not paid if I am not working.”

The two teens checked the door again, and once the coast was clear. They both slipped out of the room.

After he knew they were out of sight, the old man chuckled.

“The senile routine works every time.”

“Master, you really cut it close with that one.” A small turtle creature exclaimed as he popped out from the closet.

“The universe works in mysterious ways Wayzz. What are the odds that there would be an attack on the school the very day I decide to hide out as a janitor?”

“Considering the frequency of akuma attacks, very likely.”

“True, but how about running into two individuals that Marinette had picked to be heroes.” Fu followed up.

“That is quite a coincidence.”

The guardian pulled out his phone and noticed he didn’t have a signal.

“It seems I can’t get a signal to notify her of the reinforcements I sent her way. Likely it would be the same on her end. So, it is a good thing I acted in advance.”

Fu moved to the closet where he kept the miraculous.

“I can’t help but shake the feeling Ladybug and Chat noir will need all of the help they can get.

“Don’t worry master, I am sure Ladybug and Chat noir will be successful.

“Let us keep an eye on things. They might need another ally to turn the tide.

________________________________________________________

“I am guessing you are also familiar with what’s inside here?” Kagami inquired as the two stealthily moved in the hall.

“I may be familiar with it.” Luka commented.

Kagami contemplated the statement. She figured out the truth.

“Seems we both have used a miraculous then?”

“It appears we have. Though I am not sure Ladybug will be thrilled that someone knows I have helped her.”

“I understand the sentiment. Though lets simply agree to keep it between us.” Kagami answered. “Friends do keep secrets like that if I’m correct.”

Luka smiled at the comment.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Luka assured.

“As is yours.”

The two found the locker room and quickly moved inside.

“Coast is clear.”

The two opened the boxes and as they did two magical creatures appeared in front of them.

A floating creature with multiple spikes appeared in front of the fencer, while another floating creature that resembled a cobra stood in front of luka.

“It is a pleasure to see you again Mistress Kagami.”

“It’s been too long, Longg.” Kagami smiled. Happy to see her kwami friend.

“Hello Luka, itssss been a while.” The snake kwami greeted.

“Happy to see you too Sass.” Luka fist bumped his kwami.

The kwamis stop and turn to see the other kwami there.

“Does Ladybug know about this?” They both ask in unison.

“We will inform her after. Right now, there is a lot of danger.” Kagami exclaimed. “Ladybug needs our help.”

The two kwami nod and prepare to fight.

“Consssider us accomplissses.” Sass answered.

The two teens put on the miraculous.

“Sass! Scales Slither.”

“Longg! Bring the storm”

The two teens transform into their heroic alter egos.

Kagami shifting into the dragon miraculous hero Ryuuko, and Luka changing into the Snake hero Viperion.

The two stop to glance at the other.

“So, what should I call you.” The snake hero asked curiously.

“Call me Ryuuko. And what about you mister snake?”

“Viperion is what I am going with.”

“Fitting.”

“As is yours.”

The two give a nod of comradery before making their way out of the locker room. They had to go help Ladybug.

__________________________________________________

Ladybug dashed across the hallway, avoiding pause symbols being flung at her by the conniving akuma.

She slid underneath one of the symbols and preformed a daring slide kick to knock Lady Wifi off balance.

While she was unstable, Chat noir charged and used his baton to make contact with her white mask. Believing it was the obvious weak point.

“Got it!” Chat noir exclaimed triumphantly. The strike of the staff knocking Ladywifi a good several meters. Before lying flat on her back.

“Wow, that is a tough mask. I thought for sure that was the weak point.” Chat noir commented.

Lady Wifi stood up robotically.

“There must be a way to snap her out of it. Unless Hawkmoth is learning from his mistakes.” Ladybug hypothesized as she got up from the ground.

“Well I got nothing.” Chat noir shrugged.

Another set of footsteps approaching caught the hero’s attention. The recognized the multicolored bubble maker the moment they saw him.

“Nino… You too?” Chat noir said under his breath.

The Bubble maker used his bubble wand to summon two large bubbles to capture the heroes. Bringing back flashbacks of their first encounter with the bubble akuma.

Chat noir and Ladybug expertly slide between the gaps of the attack, resulting in Lady Wifi getting hit with the large bubbles and being sent flying into the wall via bubble prison.

Chat noir lunged at the Bubbler, his quick pounce pinning him down before he could attack.

“Maybe I can destroy his mask with…”

“Wait Chat noir!” Ladybug called out.

Chat noir paused.

“What if your cataclysm doesn’t free him?”

“And then I am left without the power before a recharge.”

“Exactly. We need to hold off on using our powers right now.”

Chat noir wanted to save his friend. But he knew his partner was right. They needed to conserve their powers before facing Lila.

The Bubbler managed to get the cat hero off of him with a burst of strength. Knocking Chat noir to the ground.

Lady Wifi had gotten free from the bubble attack and was now blocking the other entrance.

Ladybug and Chat noir moved back to back, Ladybug facing the ladyblogger turned mindless akuma slave and Chat noir facing the akumatized DJ.

“Any ideas, Buggaboo?”

“Seems they can’t adapt. They are pretty much mindless slaves. Which makes sense since Lila wouldn’t want them to think for themselves.”

“So you’re saying their movements are simple.”

“Which means they are exploitable.”

Chat noir felt relief watch over him. He knew Ladybug had a plan.

_____________________________________________________

“EWWWW!” Chloé screeched in disgust. The front entrance to the school had been covered in a pink slime.

She wiped her hand on the cleanest section of wall she could find. This was not her day.

“What is with this nasty gross akuma? First, I can’t call Daddy to come and pick me up. I can’t even post about it! How will Ladybug know to save me? Or better yet, get me the bee miraculous so I can help her save the day?”

Chloé decided to try another exit, since she had no plans of sticking around without knowing if she was going to be given a miraculous or not. Plus, she did say she would call for help, and doing that would make her look good in potential hero points.

As she was walking, she bumps into something in the middle of the hall. Which was bizzare since the hall was clear.

“Ouch, right on my bruise. What the hell is…”

Chloé felt her anger shift to fear when she watched as the empty hall now contained a familiar akuma.

“Sabrina?”

The akuma turned to her, her face covered with a white face mask.

“Eww. Your akuma form looks even tacker than before.”

“Take potential akuma to master.” The akumatized Sabrina stated in an emotionless tone. Repeating the order, she had been given.

“Oh no you don’t! Sabrina, I order you to listen to me!”

The akuma ignored the blonde’s command and slowly walked towards her.

“Sabrina… I am warning you. I am going to yell at you over this later if you don’t stop right now.”

Chloé started slowly backing away. She wasn’t sure of what to do.

“Listen… if you stop right now… I’ll uh… let you take a pick of one of my old sweaters.” Chloé bargained, not intending to let her pick one of the ones she actually liked.

Chloé felt her hand touch the sealed door, and knew she was at the end of the hall. She was boxed in.

“This is so unacceptable.” Chloé stated, preparing to get captured. But a flash of Red and Black came out of nowhere and kicked the akuma hard to the wall.

“Ladybug! I knew you would like save me!” Chloé jumped and hugged her savior.

“Im not ladybug.” The heroine spoke.”

Chloé released the hug as she examined who her savior was.

“Who the hell are you?”

Chloé had never bothered to learn the names of any of the other miraculous heroes. She sometimes forgets chat noir’s name.

“Ryuuko.” The dragon heroine stated calmly, almost regretting saving Chloé.

“Did Ladybug send you? Cause it would have been better if she got me to help.”

Ryuuko decided to ignore Chloé’s comment.

“Now we need to leave before she… Where did she go?” Looking at the dented locker that no longer had an akuma lying on the ground.

Suddenly the akuma popped out of nowhere about to strike from above with her tonfa and steal Ryuuko’s powers, but was stopped when a small harp smacked her face.

“She appears to have invisibility.” A voice called out.

The two turn to see the snake hero as he caught his harp on the rebound.

Chloé took a moment to look over the snake hero. She had to admit, he was pretty cute. Not Adrien cute, maybe she would start learning the names of the other heroes.

“Quick thinking Viperion.” Ryuuko thanked the snake teen.

“Just following your lead.” Viperion responded. The two giving eachother a respectful smile. They both seemed to have gotten used to working together.

The akuma got up. Its white face mask making the akuma’s expression unreadable. But its body language exuded rage.

“Seems we aren’t going anywhere until she is taken care of.” Ryuuko said as she stared down the akuma.

Viperion turned to chloé.

“You need to go and get to safety.”

“Okay!” Chloé says as she runs off.

“How come she didn’t give you any sass?”

“Because I already have him.”

Kagami had to admit that was a clever response.

“Not what I meant, but Chat noir would love that joke.”

“I will be sure to tell him it later.”

“Stick to playing guitar. You’re a better musician than comedian.”

Before they could get off anymore banter. The akuma went for another attack.

________________________________________________________

Simularé entered Ms.Bustier’s classroom.

“I am here.” The ghostly sentimonster announced.

“Excellent.”

The sentimonster looked up to see that the classroom it was expeciting to see had been altered into what appeared to be a rather glamourous throne room. The windows covered by white curtains with the design of an akuma in black. The platforms and stairs had been altered to be marble. And at the top, where Lila’s desk once was was now a golden throne akin to something one would see in a castle. Though despite the impressive change in the classroom it was still being designed. The akuma known as the evillustrator was still creating more furnishings for the room.

“Simulare, I have an order for you.” Masquerade stated as she sat on the new throne. Clearly confident in her position.

The sentimonster approached her master. Stopping only a few feet away.

“I want you to create a mirage over the school. Since Ladybug is already in the school. It would be best if you made sure no one notices whats happening here. I don’t need any additional heroes popping in yet. Let’s handle her before making things public.”

Simularé nodded.

“Understood. But what should we do if she…”

“I have everything under control. Just follow my orders.”

Simularé ceased her questioning.

“As you wish master.”

The sentimonster shifted into her Volpina form and headed out of the classroom.

“She is getting arrogant in her power. If things do go south, I will need to step in.” Simularé said to herself. But for now, she knew she had a role to play.

_____________________________________________________________

And that ends part 34.

Seems things are REALLY heating up. Will Viperion and Ryuuko be able to help Ladybug and Chat noir?

Will Ladybug and Chat noir be able to get through to their brainwashed friends?

Will Masquerade's gambit be enough for her to get her vengeance?

Whats Simularé's deal?

Find out by staying tuned and sharing. Remember Reblogs help content creators and if you do enjoy my content, the support really does help

[starshipsofstarlord]

A Stark Contrast | Bucky Barnes

Summary; living in the shadow of Tony, your brother, always was the way, and you accepted it. That was until he expected you to sign the accords, that was one thing that you couldn’t do.

Warnings; Angst, mentions of death, mentions of being controlled, funeral, mourning, anger

The form, bound in a weighty book laid on the table, making the room fill with utmost tension. Tony was hellbent on signing the thing, and handing away any freedom that all of you had.

No matter how long you had supported him, this was not one subject that you could agree with him on. Whilst you understood his perspective, it would only end up with you in a hamster wheel, running around and following the orders of executives.

They wanted less destruction. To put boundaries around their country’s heroes, and limit them to the lengths they could go to in order to save lives.

That was also wrong, the entire ordeal had you bent backwards with a conflict of interests. On one hand, it would be ordinary to sign for such a cause, whether you trusted their backgrounds or not, simply because your elder sibling had.

There was nobody that you trusted more than Tony, he had half raised you after your parents were killed, you felt indebted to him. But being an avenger, on a team where your personal opinion had been valued, it opened your eyes to a whole range of possibilities.

Whilst you were loyal to Tony, you had also became in tune with your own gut. It grumbled at the prospect of giving in to a contract, which decided what you were permitted to do. It was like a child’s parent permission slip, but on a much grander scale.

“People died!” He reminded the lot of you again, which inclined you to look down. There was blood on all of your hands, and he was making it as red as it could possibly be seen. “At least y/n agrees with me.” He reprimanded Steve, whom was still far on the fence regarding the entire ordeal.

Once he said that, all eyes had shifted towards you. Nat had already basically given in to your brother’s convictions, and Steve suspected that you would do the same. You were always one step behind Tony, you were far too loyal to your sibling for your own good.

“I have yet to make up my mind.” You spoke, standing, no longer wishing to be in the room where there was far too much tension. How you wished Banner and Thor were here, they would make an equal divide. The God of Thunder would not scribble his signature upon the paper, you thought to yourself, if he knew their reasons and affects.

However, your words were taken as an assumption that you would join your sibling in providing a peaceful surrender. It is what he and the public would assume of you, and to be truthful, you were tired of sticking to the stereotypes that were made of you.

“I’m surprised that you came.” Steve spoke, as you opened the boot of your car, and revealed the shield that he was so often adorned with, as well as Sam’s wings. He, like most others, had suspected that you would join your brother in his guilt ridden cause, however, thinking for yourself gave you a sense of freedom.

“Don’t be so quick to prevail into what everyone else thinks of me.” You smirked at the captain, your eyes drifting over to the other super soldier, whom had temporarily been imprisoned by the government.

But he had escaped, and if luck was not often a Stark trait, Tony would have died. You had watched from the cameras, but you could boil no bad blood in between the pair of you, Barnes was not in his right mind. He was controlled, and put into a incomprehensible mode of himself. That was, unless, he had managed to kill Tony.

Then you would have changed your own deciding mind, and stuck to what the eldest Stark believed in. “I won’t, ever again.” Sam smiled, picking up redwing from the composed pile, and kissing the machine.

“Bucky.” You reiterated his name, the one that he had chosen to correct the unknown and deceiving man on. The nod you earnt was brief, but it gave you a sense of hope that whirled in your middle. 

It was clear that he was an attractive man, and alike his righteous friend, he was frozen through time to be in this current moment. As Sam and Steve began to get their things together, you walked over to the historical stranger, a smile upon your face. “I’m y/n Stark, I don’t believe we have had the fortune of meeting before.”

“You sure do speak like a Stark.” He softly spoke, a matching smile on his brawn face. “And you seem to have other things in common, like that necklace.” At his words, you looked down at it, a hint of anguish within your gaze.

“It belonged to my mother.” It was nice to reminisce about her for a moment, you knew that she would have made her own decisions too. In some retrospect, you were following in her footsteps.

A feeling grew in the back of Bucky’s throat, but he said nothing. If he were to spill, or reveal his dark secret, it would mean nothing more than the loss of a powerful asset, they could not afford that right now.

“Do you ever think about what would have happened if you got to return home?” It had been a stressful day, fighting your friends, and your last living family member. Bucky turned at your words, you had saved him from being killed, he felt indebted.

“Probably do what every other soldier did; find a woman to marry and have kids. But that’s far out of the picture in this modern age.” Steve was flying the aircraft as you and Bucky spoke in the back. It gave the two of you a moment alone, and you were truly knowing as though you knew the soldier.

He was a good man, misinterpreted by the deeds that he was controlled to do. No one chose to have pity on Barnes, they instead viewed him as a country danger, and wanted to lock him up in a cage, which was how he had come so far in the first place.

“I wouldn’t say that.” For a moment, you looked into his deep blue eyes, feeling as though he were freezing you with them. He didn’t want to look away, but you were inclined to, for you could feel the contrasts of hot and cold heat working its way up your neck, and onto your face. “There’s definitely a woman that would want all that and more with you.”

If things were simpler, you would be convinced that you could share such an intimate bond with him, but alas, everything had to be complicated. And if things could work out, they surely couldn’t last.

“We’re here.” Steve informed the both of you, as he slid out of his front seat, and you prepared to finish this for once and for all.

“How could you?!” You couldn’t defend him as Tony blasted him away, Bucky had played you, and done so well. He and Steve knew of the blood on his hands, and yet they hadn’t thought once to inform you of the one true treachery regrading you.

Bucky had killed your mother, from the intake of information alone, you felt sick. Physically sick. But you choked it down, and as Steve unsurely came towards you, you ran at him, angered by his lies.

From the start, the patriot of America, someone you had considered a friend had deceived you. You had helped him, stood with him, fought your friends for him, and not to mention Tony, and he had known all along.

“Y/n-”

“Save your apologies Rogers.” You stared him down, as he had Bucky held up by one arm, seeing as Barnes had lost one of his own again. “And you, you’re right, there’s no perfect picture, you’re nothing but a monster.”

“Listen.” Steve commanded, but you couldn’t. He was no longer considered your captain, he was a sick liar who had helped to break you. This was the last time that you made your own decisions. Tony was always right.

“You don’t deserve that shield, my father made that. It’s government property-” swiftly he dropped said item, an exhausted and tiresome expression upon Steve’s helmet wearing face.

As soon as they trudged by, you instantly went to Tony, checking his wounds. “You were right brother, I should have listened to you.”

“Your dad loved cheeseburgers too.” You laughed lightly to Morgan, blinking back the tears. It was Tony’s funeral, there were so many people here, even Fury, but there was someone else, who was walking towards you. “Why don’t you go and ask Happy, I have some business that I have to tend to quickly.”

“Okay auntie y/n.” She ran off. She was so innocent, she didn’t deserve to be going to her father’s funeral at five years old, it was truly cruel. But that was just the way the world worked, and Tony was a hero.

“Hi.” Bucky spoke, adorned in all black, same as you. It had been a long time since you had seen him, not since he was being carried away by Steve. You hadn’t fought in Wakanda, instead you had ended up on Titan with your brother, and you would have surely died without him.

“Hey Barnes.” You greeted him with a forced smile, but nevertheless allowed him to step closer.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” He said, the guilt still burning behind his eyes. It seemed that his time in Wakanda had changed him, for the better.

“Which one?” You quipped back, instantaneously. 

“All of them.” He gulped, he was going to give you one truth before you found out after. It was his attempt at redemption, and a sorrowful one at that. “Steve’s returning the stones later.”

“I know.” You responded, the captain had already informed you about that part of his plan.

“And he’s not coming back.”

“Anthony Howard and Steven Nathan Barnes, the two of you better get back here this instant!” Your voice hollered through the house, as well as the duo’s endless giggles.

The front door opened, no other than Bucky walking through. He was quick to recognise the flash of motherly anger upon your face, and quickly dropped his serene smile.

“What have they done?” Bucky asked, watching as you crossed your arms in an unimpressed manner.

“Why don’t you ask your sons?” Your husband sighed, but despite that, he was a happy man. He had returned from a war, and found a lovely wife, of which he had two troublesome boys with. For the first time in a long time, y/n Stark and Bucky Barnes were happy.

[sup-hoes-its-me]

I have a Shikamaru request! It’s a bit long winded so dust with me 😊. Shikamaru is assigned to protect reader who is the last of her clan that a lot is not known about. (So he also has the secret mission of finding our more about the clan and their abilities). They end up falling for each-other (of course). And after reader finds out she is pregnant she learns that Shikamaru was meant to learn about her. I’m seeing some angsty fluffy goodness! And hopefully a happy ending. 🥰

Healing You (Shikamaru x Reader)

A/N: Thank you for your request! These long detailed ones are perfect and give me just enough information to give you the perfect story. I skipped the pregnancy part because im not totally comfortable with that...hopefully you still enjoy.

word count: 5500

Shikamaru had been anticipating this mission for a while. The Hokage told him it was of utmost importance to be ready at any time for this clan princess to show up. He was expected to drop all other missions or plans to escort this woman, whoever she was across the country to her homeland deep within Frost country. He wasn’t expecting much, actually he was expecting probably the worst client ever.

For someone to request escort at the drop of a hat like that, someone with enough money to do so as well... Shikamaru could only assume they were an asshole of the highest caliber. Probably some old woman or a spoiled little child, someone he definitely would not get along with for a month long mission just the two of them. He could remember the urgency in Kakashi’s tone when he assigned the mission, the amount of trust behind his words.

Shikamaru walked into the office casually, hands shoved deep in his pants pockets. Kakashi sat there alone at his desk, looking through paperwork and sifting through piles of white sheets, each with different names and faces. He must have thought long and hard about who he was to pick for this mission, the boy concluded.

This was going to be tiresome, he deduced quickly. Another tedious mission.

“Shikamaru, I have an important mission for you,” the man said clearly. “You can look through these files, if you want, but we don’t have any clear information on this one, I’m afraid.” He tossed over a folder full of records. Death receipts, birth certificates, first hand accounts of battles witnessed. He didn’t know what to make of what he was looking at other than a common last name running across the pages.

Hirawa.

“What is this about?” he questioned.

“In about a month's time, possibly longer, possibly shorter, I don’t have an exact date, you will escort Princess Y/N Hirawa, of the hidden Hirawa clan to the Land of Frost.”

“Who’s on my team?”

He shook his head at that question. “No one. This is a solo mission, and I’m entrusting you alone with this. It’s important you keep your mouth shut about all of this until we know it’s safe, for you and the princess.” Safe? Just what kind of mission was this anyway? Obviously it had something to do with this clan, not that he’d ever heard of them. “She has a bounty on her head, quite large at that. But we believe she can become the key to mastering some ninjutsu, particularly medical jutsu.”

“Well, what’s her clan’s kekkei genkai?”

“That’s what we don’t know, and for you to find out. All we know is that there's some dangerous people out there who want this power, and we need to protect her at all costs, you understand,” he stressed, and Shikamaru nodded. This wasn’t that big of a deal, he guessed. Protecting one girl from some rookie bounty hunters, not to mention he was being sent out alone. This was going to be a walk in the park.

The worst part of it all would be putting up with some troublesome girl for an entire month. Making conversation and having to pretend she wasn’t getting on his last nerve. That would tire him the most.

“Rumor has it, she was never able to awaken her ability, so I’m hoping you can help coax it out of her and see what we’re dealing with.”

“Of course. I’ll figure it out.”

“Good. I’m counting on you. You should take the files to look over in your free time, you’ll have lots of it before this mission. I have copies here for myself,” he motioned to another folder on her desk filled to the brim with papers just like the one he was holding. It was strange to have so much information at their fingertips, but not enough to put a description to their kekkei genkai. They must be secretive, similar to how the Uchiha hides their secrets on the stone tablet, or something.

He left the Sixth Hokage’s office and walked away to his home, where he could more closely go over the information in this folder, try to deduce something from all this random information. He would get to the bottom of this, he was a genius after all. Whether he had the help of this woman or not, he would figure it out for the Hokage.

And so, here he stood outside of Kakashi’s office with all his supplies packed in his bag, dressed for a long mission away from home. The princess had arrived. He was to meet her and then immediately they were supposed to leave off to her homeland.

The Anbu officer to his left opened the door, and motioned for him to walk in. So uptight for just a little meeting, was all this security really necessary, he wondered to himself. As he looked into the room, he spotted Kakashi standing along the window behind his desk with a smaller woman at his side, wrapped up in thick robes made of wool, embroidered with thick silver and white yarn.

Admittedly, her clothes looked incredibly expensive. He questioned how she wasn’t sweating bullets with the typical warm weather outside here in Konoha. He was expecting her to turn around, to be this hideous creature.

“Ah, Y/N, it seems your escort has arrived,” Kakashi hummed, placing a soft hand on the woman’s back as she turned around. When he finally got a good look at her face, he was taken aback, nearly enough to throw him off balance. She was decidedly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life. Wrapped up in those blankets was a young woman, who couldn't be much older than he was, with piercing eyes that immediately cut through his.

Her hair fell just perfectly around her face to frame her features, the soft color suiting her eyes and skin perfectly. Her eyelashes flickered over her eyes a few times as she gazed over at him, and he felt swoon. She had the softest skin he’d ever seen combined with those mesmerizing eyes and the shape of her face which looked like it belonged cradled in his hands.

He felt this inert urge to run in the opposite direction from her, out the room and down the hall, back to home where he could catch his breath. He already knew his cheeks were turning bright red under her stare, and he could tell Kakashi was judging him with those dark eyes of his.

“It’s nice to meet you, Shikamaru Nara,” she hummed, and he felt faint. Even her voice was precious, almost like she was singing. He choked down his breaths, trying to keep his cool the best he could. It was uncharacteristic of him to act this way with a client. He was just her escort, not some pervert. They were going to live together for basically a month, he needed to get a grip on his emotions. “Your Hokage was telling me great things about you.”

“Oh, uh,” he paused, frozen without words to leave his lips, just an empty mind full of her image. He shook his head a bit, eyes now glaring down at the floorboards beneath him. “You too, Princess.”

“Please, just call me Y/N. Princess is just too formal for me,” she told him, waving off the title almost as quickly as it left his mouth. “Kakashi, it was nice getting to know you this morning, I hope to see you and your wonderful village again soon.”

“You’re welcome back whenever you like.”

She rounded the table and approached Shikamaru carefully, eyeing him down as she did so. She took in his appearance and his stance, the emotions she could see radiating off his person from his body language. From the looks of it, he simply appeared flustered and confused. Not exactly the most ideal for the situation at hand, but they would manage. Men usually had a similar reaction when they saw her for the first time, either they were in awe or they were trying to kidnap her.

He nodded in her direction and then to the Hokage before turning around and starting out the door, the girl following closely behind him. He could hear the swishing of her thick robes around her ankles, just barely skimming the floor. He still didn’t know her personality at all, but he wouldn’t mind looking at her once in a while on this trip.

“So, why are you heading to the Land of Frost?” he asked, and she sighed.

“One of the village elders is dying. They believe my kekkei genkai is the only way to reverse the incoming death, and its consequence on my people,” she explained.

“Why doesn’t another one of your clan members do it? Surely the rest of your family lives-”

“There is no one else. I am the last living Hirawa,” she told him simply, and he could sense a bit of ice dripping off her tongue at those words. How could she not be upset recalling the annihilation of her entire clan. “The problem is that I haven’t been able to awaken my kekkei genkai. I’m not sure what they want with a useless Hirawa like me.”

“Listen, I’m sorry about your clan, but calling yourself useless really isn’t-”

“How would you feel, Shikamaru, if you were the only person in the world with the ability to save a human being from their certain death and you couldn’t even activate that gift? You have to understand how that feels for me,” she told him solemnly, her head hung low as she walked toward the gates of the village right beside the boy. People looked at her as she moved through the village, they stared in awe at her clothes and her face and the unique glimmer in her eyes. And she cowered inward, tucking herself into her robes and the fur of her hood even further, away from the prying eyes of this village.

He stayed silent, not really knowing how to respond to what she’d said to him. The sadness and the anger in her tone, deep within her words, was immeasurable. She was in pain, a conflict with herself. He wasn’t going to get into that just yet. They’d only met a few minutes ago.

They left the village together and started on their journey. It was going to be a long month, that’s for sure.

________

It had been a week of walking through the forest already, days of sleeping on the ground beneath the stars, eating rations out of his bag over the fireplace. Originally, he thought this mission would be easy, that she seemed like a normal-ish girl who wouldn’t give him any trouble, but he was wrong.

She was too quiet. It was strange, walking with someone for hours without a single word shared between them. He tried to start up a conversation, and she would reply with one word answers, sometimes if he was lucky, two or three words. She rarely looked at him, choosing to either stare at the ground where she took each step, or up at the stars and the vastness of it all. She was lost in her own mind.

Every night, as they were falling asleep, he could hear her looking over at him, scanning his form for a sign that he was still awake. He would remain still, facing the opposite way on his side, head propped up on his bag. Then, when she thought she was safe, he would hear the sobs run through her weak form. She would shake and quiver, curling in on herself and crying out into the forest for only Shikamaru and the moon to hear.

He felt terrible for her, needless to say. The guilt he felt just from hearing her cries, and knowing her internal struggle was enough to make this trip difficult. His heart hurt for her, as strange as that was to say. Normally, it was easy to remain objective, but with Y/N, it was different. He felt attached. He felt like her problems were also his. It was maddening.

She laid on the ground beside him, the majority of her soup still in her bowl and her water bottle resting at her side. She stared up into the clouds, occasionally, her eyes would slide over to see what he was up to and then she would look back at the sky. “You need to eat. We have a lot of walking until we reach the next town, probably a week’s worth. I can’t carry you if you get too tired,” he told her, pushing her bowl closer to her side.

“You know, Shikamaru, sometimes I wonder why people like you Leaf nin even protect someone like me. What’s the point? I’m useless to you and the enemy,” she muttered hopelessly. He still pushed the soup closer until she sat up and took the bowl into her hands, taking a small sip from the spoon. “I just don’t get it. How can you call me princess when I’m just as normal as the next woman on the street?”

“Listen, I don’t know what anyone else has told you, but that’s a load of bullshit.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, just because you can’t access your abilities right now doesn’t make you useless. You’re still a person just like everyone else,” he explained, stabbing his spoon into his soup as he found himself getting a little worked up. He couldn’t stand this self-pitying bullshit from her. Yeah, she was sad and all, but she didn’t have to rub it into the wound like this.

She looked surprised at his words.

What did she expect him to say? That she was right and then just abandon her out in the woods? He was beginning to think this girl was just plain stupid.

“It’s just been impossible since the incident to think of anything else. I’m sorry for upsetting you,” she sighed, taking another sip of her now cold soup.

He questioned carefully. “What incident?” He was on a mission after all. To discover her clan secrets and bring them back to the village to study. Even if she was being emotional, he could still gather some intel.

She bit her lip, and looked up to the sky again, blinking back tears from gathering in the corners of her eyes. She took a few deep breaths before explaining herself. “The day my clan was massacred. The day that those people slaughtered my sensei in front of the entire village and then killed my parents.”

He paused, lifting his eyes to look at her. She was crying, as he expected, silent tears dripping from her eyes into her lap. But she was holding strong otherwise, not a falter in her voice or a catch in her breath. She wasn’t even shaking. She was really serious about keeping these emotions private, in the middle of the night where he couldn’t hear or see.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he assured, but she shook her head.

“I’m fine. I should talk about it anyway. I haven’t had a person to talk to in years, you know.” Sitting on her face was the saddest of all smiles, a weak attempt at remaining strong. She wiped at her eyes with her wrist and continued. “I’m not even sure why they wanted us all dead, but it had something to do with the war and my clan’s actions. They were barbaric. They slit the throat of my sensei in town square and we watched her blood drip across town while they carried her head.”

“Oh, damn.”

“I know,” she agreed, “As sick as it is to say, I’m glad they only stabbed my parents with a sword. We used to be royalty, it took them killing an entire army of soldiers to get to the throne room to kill them. I was only a child hiding in the curtains, I had to watch without making a sound. I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t even breathe, or they would have killed me too.”

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. That’s horrific.”

“When they left, it was only me. I had to walk my way to one of the outer villages for help. I was a mess, covered in my parents blood. They’d stolen everything. All the secrets of the clan. I never got the chance to read the sacred texts. I only know from my Sensei the very basics of what we can do.”

He absorbed what she had said, taking in each word. Admittedly, she lived a terrible, horrible life, one to rival Sasuke at that. He asked, “You haven’t been able to retrieve any of the texts, have you?”

“No, unfortunately. That’s why it’s taken me this long to figure out how to unlock my ability. I literally do not know how,” she confessed, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. “It feels strange, knowing I have this ultimate healing ability and I can’t even use it to save anyone.”

“Ultimate healing ability?”

“Well, yeah. That’s our kekkei genkai. We can heal basically anything besides death. Blindness, deafness, rotting limbs, in some cases, paralysis. I’m not sure how it works, but that’s what it does. That’s why they want me to come home so desperately. I’m the only one left who can heal her.”

“You’ll figure it out,” he stated bluntly, and she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“What?”

He reiterated, “You’ll figure out how to use your kekkei genkai. I believe in you. You’re beautiful, smart, and modest, not a fool.”

She found her cheeks begin to heat up at his words, and she leaned back, her eyes catching onto his. “Thank you, Shikamaru. It’s not everyday I get earnest compliments like that.” It was true. Normally, she did get compliments, but not the nice kind. She would often get harrassed on the street by men without brains, or recieve backhanded comments from people of her own village who hated her for what she could not be.

He shook his head, “Well, you should. You’re a strong woman, you just need more faith in yourself. You have almost no self-confidence whatsoever.” He was right about that too. Sad, wasn’t it? “You’re obviously a good person, so be proud of yourself. Not a lot of people could have gone through what you did and still be on the good side to this day.”

“I-” Y/N froze, her eyes growing wide. “Did you hear that?” she asked, her eyes flickering from Shikamaru into the woods. There were voices, soft and quiet voices, but they were still there, hush in the background. He stood up on his feet, and motioned for her to stay down close to the ground.

“Come out, whoever you are.”

And, indeed, a group of men emerged from the forest, at least ten of them. They sauntered up to the pair and the leader smirked. “We’re not here to hurt you, Leaf shinobi. Just hand over the princess and no harm will come to you,” he said, his voice musty and disgusting, like he’d been smoking cigarettes everyday for the past ten years. They knew, clearly, that a leaf shinobi wasn’t just about to abandon their charge and go running for the hills. His request was a joke.

Y/N wasn’t a fighter. She couldn’t help even if she wanted to. She was solely a healer, and even then, her skills were shaky at best. She could only do the most menial and mediocre of work on her patients. Shikamaru was against these men completely alone.

She felt fear creeping up her spine and sending shivers through her body. She barely knew the boy, had only known him for a week or so, but damn, did she like him. He was kind to her, one of the kindest people she’d met in a long time. She wanted him to be safe, to save her and come out on top like the shinobi of the Leaf are supposed to.

He turned around and waved for her to run. “Princess, Imma need you to run. I’ll come find you when it’s safe. Just go.”

She was hesitant to take off, but one stern look from him shot down any thought of staying. The woman gathered up her robes and ran in the opposite direction of the crew and her protector. Immediately after she left, she heard screaming from behind, the shouts of men in pain and men filled with anger. So much yelling. She held her breath, and kept running, running until she could only hear the faint yells of the men. She couldn’t hear Shikamaru. He was far too quiet to have those loud theatrics on the battlefield.

Y/N took cover in the roots of a tree, and just listened, felt what was going on around her. She studied the chakra signatures floating through the air, counting how many men still lived and how many were alive and well. Likewise, she kept close track of Shikamaru’s energy, making sure he was still going.

If he died, she didn’t know what would come of her. Would she be sold off? Murdered? She knew of the unspoken bounty on her head amongst the criminals, and that struck fear in her heart. All she could do was pray for Shikamaru’s survival.

After what seemed like hours but in reality only about 10 minutes, the screams and shouts finally came to a halt. The chakra signatures of most of the men were completely gone, meaning they had died sometime during the battle. Only some remained, and they were weakened severely, probably passed out or bleeding out.

Shikamaru’s alarmed her. It was weak, almost as weak as the rest. She crawled out from under the tree and started back in the direction of the campsite, keeping her head low nearly in a crouch to stay unseen. There was no telling what was happening over there or who was still out here.

When she got to the campsite though, her eyes widened and she nearly screamed. While the rest of the men collapsed on the ground in bloody heaps, Shikamaru lay in the middle of them, bleeding out from a ginormous wound protruding from his side. She fell onto her knees beside his barely breathing form and held her hands over the wound, trying her best to run her chakra through her, but she was weak. Only a faint light emanating from her hands, not enough to come close to saving him.

“Shikamaru? Shikamaru, can you hear me? Please, try to stay awake, okay?” the girl pleaded, resting one of her soft hands on his cheek. He sighed into her touch. It was just as he imagined. Warm and gentle, like the caress of a feather. At least, if he were to die, it would be in the arms of an angel, he decided.

“You need to head back to the Leaf. Tell Kakashi what happened,” he sputtered out, blood leaving his lips and dripping down the sides of his face. “I lived a good life.”

“No, no, no. You are not dying on me. Not happening,” she whispered. She continued to pour her chakra into his wound, not that it was doing anything serious. Tears filled her eyes and she bit her lip, trying to keep them from falling, but she couldn’t help it. All these tears plagued her life. Memories that made her cry. All the pressure. All the death. Poor Shikamaru lying here dying after saving her life. “I’m going to save you,” she muttered firmly.

Pressure built up in her chest and she pushed further and further, digging deeper into her chakra reserve. It actually hurt the amount of effort she was putting in. It was exhausting, and after about a minute, she was gasping for breath. “Stop. It’s okay, princess.”

“Dammit, Shikamaru, I told you not to call me princess, “ Y/N shouted, and in that moment, she felt something shift inside her. A well of energy she never knew she had opened up and she felt it being filled not by her own chakra but by the men around her. Her body absorbed every last bit of chakra in their bodies, filling hers completely. When Shikamaru looked up at her, he noticed a slight glow coming from her skin that wasn’t there before.

It seemed she awoke her kekkei genkai.

With all the newfound energy she had, she channelled it into saving Shikamaru. Right in front of her eyes, his wound began to close and blood sunk back into his body. He groaned at the feeling, shifting uncomfortably on the ground. Finally, she had done something great.

And as she watched the last bit of his wound shut and the blood to seep back into his body, she found herself grow lightheaded.

As she was passing out, she heard him calling her name, and the only thing she could do was smile. She did it. She saved him. Her vision went black and sleep overtook her swiftly.

________

After Y/N saved Shikamaru and awoke her kekkei genkai, the boy gathered up both of their belongings, hoisted them over his shoulder, and then carried her in his arms to the next village. She wasn’t waking up anytime soon, he found that was probably a bad side effect of using the ability. It completely drained her. He just knew he had to move before any of those guys woke back up. He was not ready to fight again.

He enjoyed feeling her in his arms, pressed tightly to his chest with her head lolling side to side. Y/N was sweet and cute, with her little, “don’t call me princess” proclamation before saving him. It seemed she was just as much a princess as everyone thought she was, and a powerful one at that. She basically brought him back from the dead, and he would be grateful for his entire life for what she’d done for him.

The two of them rested for the night in a village inn just a couple miles away before waking up the next morning and setting off with a new bounce in her step toward your homeland where she was sure she could save the village elder now. He watched as the girl walked eagerly in front of him, swinging her robes by her sides and letting her hair loose instead of a tight braid.

This side of her, it was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. Maybe, he found himself harboring just a tiny crush on the girl who saved his life, the girl who took his breath away when they first met. Maybe he liked her a lot. It was pointless to have such feelings for a girl he would probably never meet again after dropping her off in her homeland.

But he could enjoy his time now, with the girl of his dreams at his side.

He found himself wanting more time with her. Much more time. He knew they only had about a week before they arrived in the Land of Frost, and it was depressing him. He wanted her to come back to the village with him and live there, just so he could see her face everyday and hear that sing-song voice run off her tongue.

Was that so much to ask for? Well, yes, but he still wanted it…

They found themselves stopped for the night or two in a village on the coast. She was tired from all the walking and sleeping in the grass. She was willing to spend a few dollars to have a nice bed to sleep in for the night. She booked a room at one of the inns in town and collapsed into the mattress in the room, throwing her robes to the side and cuddling into the comforter. It had been so long since she was living in such comfortable conditions.

He took a seat beside her and pulled out a book, flipping to the most recent page and diving in. He was more than happy to finally rest. He was lazier than she was, after all. They had been walking for almost a month now, he was tired of it. The only thing that kept him going was seeing her smile every now and then, especially the ones directed at him, or in response to something he said.

Something about those smiles just made him feel good inside. It was sickening. These mushy, gushy feelings he was having. He was beginning to think he might be falling for the girl, like, falling in love. He was disturbed. Was he really that weak to a pretty face, soft hands, and a warm heart?

“Shikamaru?”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll be home in a week, and you’ll have to go back to the Leaf Village,” she said. He nodded. At that point, they would go their separate ways and it would all be over, this friendship they had. He’d never felt so torn about a mission until now.

He replied casually, “Yeah. Time flies, huh?”

She held her breath for a moment, thinking over her next words very carefully. She’d actually been pondering when she was gonna tell him over the last few days, thinking over every way the scenario could play out. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want to leave you, Shikamaru,” she confessed, finally letting go of the breath she was holding.

He raised a brow, setting down his book and turning to face her. “What do you mean?”

“Well...it’s just that your Hokage seems to really like me, and I don’t really have a home anymore with my clan gone,” she mumbled, twiddling her fingers in her lap. “I was thinking maybe after I heal the elders and the village that I could go home with you instead. Live in the leaf village.”

He just looked at her. Had all his longing been for nothing? Could she really mean it? Coming home with him? Could his future really involve seeing her every day, introducing her to his best friends, and healing his people when they were injured?

“I mean, if you don’t think it’s a good idea, though, I totally get it-”

“No! I-I love that idea, actually.”

“Really?”

“Would I say it if I didn’t mean it?”

He watched as her lips curled into a bright smile and she clasped her hands together. “Shikamaru, I’m so happy. You and the other Leaf nin are the only people to show me any kindness in a long time. I get to go home to people that will care about me.”

“Yeah, we’re pretty good at that back in the Leaf. Caring, that is.”

She fell back against the bed and sighed, curling up in the sheets once again. He watched as she smiled into the covers and closed her eyes, relishing in this feeling of newfound freedom and happiness, of the hope she found in him and the village. Despite finding women troublesome most of the time, he was willing to go through trouble for her. He felt like he’d do just about anything for this girl.

So unlike him. Tch. Get a grip, Shika.

Her next words had him melting like putty in her hands though. He just couldn’t help it.

"I'm glad you were assigned this mission with me. You helped me awaken my abilities, and I think it was fate that brought us together for that to happen," she sighed. "This meeting, you and I, it was always meant to be. I'm sure of it now."

"Maybe you're right. I wouldn't know," he replied.

It was quiet for a while, just her lost in her own dreams, her own thoughts. Her eyes trailed over to him, and she just knew she was swoon. With his lazy grin and his thoughtful gaze. It was so obvious to her now.

She confessed, “I think I like you. As more than just a friend, Shikamaru. I know I probably shouldn’t be telling you this considering I still need you to escort me to the village and all, and you might not want me to go back to the Leaf with you now, but I just-”

He couldn’t wait anymore. He was going crazy. Finally, he kissed her.

She felt his hands resting on either side of her head and his lips pressed carefully to hers, testing the waters. She brought her own hands up to cup his own, bringing him closer and deeper into the kiss. She smiled and sighed, enjoying the feeling of pure bliss. It had been so long since she felt something so good. Something so sweet.

“You like me too?”

“You’re dumb as hell.”

And he kissed her again. And again. And maybe a couple more times after that.

[pastelsandpining]

Congrats on 300!!! You are one of my favorite fan fiction writers!! Literally everything you write makes me scream loudly. Or sob.

Could I request a drabble on OoT. Maybe link struggling with his feelings for all the girls he’s met on his journey & also pining for Zelda? 💕💕💕

aww omg thank you!!! i see you in my notes a lot and i am SO APPRECIATIVE i'm always like its them!! it's the person that can eat a house!! i hope this is to your standards <333

wandering hearts

Masterlist | Small Drabbles

requests are still open so feel free to send me a little prompt!

----------

Wandering hearts were such troublesome things to a weary traveler. The Hero of Time had met so many people on his journey—one that seemed to have no end. He could move backwards and forwards, ricocheting off the vacuum of time, as much as he wanted and still, nothing would make sense to him. He was lost; a lost soul, a lost cause, and a lost heart. He was lonely and not alone all at once, and this state of heaviness pressed against his chest so tightly that breathing became a chore to him. Surviving became a chore, and he could not stop because he needed to get to her.

How guilty that made him feel.

Princess Zelda was so far out of his reach, he didn’t even know if she was alive. The fate of the world was a heavy thing to rest on the shoulders of one man.

“Your worry is understandable,” Sheik told him from their spot on the windmill in Kakariko. “But I am honest when I tell you that the princess is safe.”

Link let out a quiet sigh and tilted his head, fixing his gaze on the stars just starting to peak out and twinkle against the purple sky. Zelda was only one of his many worries, but he assumed having the sort of fate he did, did not come without struggles. But these were things he felt he shouldn’t have had to worry about. He had too much on his plate to worry about something as trivial as…

“I don’t think I understand love,” he spoke at last, leaning his head against the bricks. “You mentioned young love turning to deep affection–back at the Ice Cavern.”

“Love is not to be understood,” Sheik said with a small shrug. “It’s a complicated thing. Are you in love, Hero?”

Link frowned, furrowing his brows. His gaze flickered from where he knew the castle was, to Lon Lon Ranch, to Kokiri Forest, to Zora’s Domain.

“I don’t know,” he replied.

He didn’t know if love was something he was even capable of. Admiration, sure. It was easy to admire the people he met and the world around him on the rare occasions that Ganondorf did not ruin the atmosphere with his utter terribleness. But with so many years stolen from him, when he could not tell where his childhood ended and his adulthood began, he could not, in any confidence whatsoever, say that he was in love.

Saria was his first. A dear friend, a role model, a big sister. Childhood infatuation and wonder made her so lovely in his little eyes, and now she was really nothing more than a spirit to him. Sage of the Forest Temple–he had to fight for his life to free her, and there was no reason to believe he would ever see her again. She deserved better than having her cherished ocarina shattered by an evil king, all because a silly little boy thought he could protect everyone. Did he love her? No, not in the way that he loved others. He couldn’t–not when he was running around in the body of a seventeen year old. He’d never belonged in Kokiri anyway. There was nothing ageless about him, except maybe the sadness he carried in his heart.

The Zora Princess was a complicated thing. She grossed him out all those years ago when she started talking on and on about marriage. It was funny now, but at the time, he’d stuck his tongue out and made a face at the idea. She did force him to carry her around inside the stomach of the Zora deity, which was disturbing in itself, but to swear herself to him on top of that was something else. She’d grown into a beautiful Zora, but her utter insistence on having his hand steered him away. She admired him, and he could appreciate her persistence, but there was a heavy guilt that hovered over him any time he thought of her. Ruto was kind-hearted and true, but he did not love her. Not in the way that she wanted him to, and he could only hope that she would be able to forgive him for that.

There was a farm girl with a sweet voice and affinity for music, too. Malon had red hair that caught the sun and turned to flames, and soft freckles covering her sun kissed skin. She was strong and steady and beautiful, and seeing her after a long seven years of slumber caused his heart to twist so painfully, he thought he might die. She was playful and sweet, and though he did not know her as well as he wanted to, there laid an undeniable affection for her in his chest. But she did not want him. She told him one night beneath the stars, when she could barely recognize him outside of ‘fairy boy’, that her dream was for a knight in shining armor to sweep her up and take her far away. He was no knight. He never would be, unless Princess Zelda asked him to be. There was guilt there, too, because it didn’t matter what he felt for Malon–he would follow the Princess to the ends of the earth.

He had not seen Zelda in years, but the time Link spent with her in the courtyard of the castle were precious days he would never forget. She always laughed at his masks, and they always caused trouble for her Sheikah caretaker. She was who he’d wanted to protect when he faced down Ganondorf as a mere ten year old boy. And then she was gone, tucked away somewhere, where the King of Thieves could not put his tainted hands on her. They were supposed to do this together. They were supposed to face this evil man as a team, and he was not going to let that go because it was the only thing he had left to hold on to. There was something there, something that he couldn’t explain, and maybe he was just fishing for ways to understand fate, but sometimes, Zelda was his everything.

And then there was Sheik. A traveling bard, a mysterious warrior, someone Link swore he’d never seen before in his life–but he felt like he knew him. He felt some sort of deep connection to this man that had helped him in almost every step he took. He’d started pushing his way through dungeons for the hope of seeing Sheik again (and getting closer to Zelda), and it had yet to fail him.

“Love can manifest in different ways for different people. It is not so straightforward,” Sheik said, turning to look at him. Link tilted his head, those eyes as red as blood searching into his mind, his heart. “Do not let it trouble you, Hero. If you are in love, then that is alright. No one is here to hold it against you. We are social creatures at heart.”

“And if the one I love isn’t… if she doesn’t–” A frustrating thing indeed. Link took a breath and shook his head. “I need to serve Hyrule first. If I don’t get to Ganondorf and slaughter him where he stands, then I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“Do what you must,” Sheik said. “But whoever this woman is, she will be waiting for you.”

Link leaned his head against the brick again, letting his eyes close. He wanted to ask if there was a way to undo the tangled knots in his heart, or if Sheik would wait for him to figure himself out, too.

But love was not meant to be understood. It was a complicated thing, and wandering hearts would do what they did best.

[neoheros]

fuckboy! nishinoya

— find the fuckboy! masterlist here ♡

nishinoya has always been popular around campus, considering that he was extremely attractive and highly reputable for his skills in volleyball — how could he not be?

you’ve had the honor of meeting him once or twice and you won’t deny that he was definitely a character to take interest in

but something about him didn’t sit right with you and though you can’t exactly pinpoint what it was, you were sure that you didn’t like it

it’s not that you wanted to come off as rude or impolite; it’s just that you were well versed with how troublesome he can be in regards to his behavior

rumors about his suspension from the volleyball club would envelop the school’s atmosphere and it always had something to do with another crying girl in the bathroom because she got her heart broken by the boy in question

at first glance you’d never even thought of someone as kind as him to be a heartbreaker but then again you had your fair share in life of being too assuming

your locker would be directly across from his and you’d get a front row seat to catch a random 1st year girl try to slide in a love letter when she thought no one was looking

it always amused you to see the series of events turn out because knowing nishinoya from all the times you’ve unconsciously analyzed him, he was most likely gonna throw that letter away

people in school made him out to be as a player but you knew first hand that the only reason he got that reputation was because of the spiteful girls that he politely turned down

you: one of these days you’re gonna get murdered by a yandere type floozy because you keep on rejecting them

nishinoya, startled: do i know you

you, an asshole: i’m the yandere type floozy 😤🪓

that was how nishinoya properly met you and to be honest? he couldn’t think of a better way to have done it

days where you used to ignore each other’s accidental glances in the halls turned into high fives and inside jokes

most of the time the jokes involved a love sick murder spree that some people would consider as inappropriate

you, upset because someone heard you joke about helen keller: what a bunch of snowflakes

nishinoya: you are actually going to hell, like, you know that, right?

you, more upset: SHE WAS BLIND AND DEAF AND SHE STILL WROTE 12 BOOKS ??? I SMELL CAP 🧢

when people looked at you they usually voiced out their concern through their judging gazes and you almost laughed at all the faux sympathy you were getting

one time a girl pulled you by the arm and she went on and on about how you shouldn’t hang out with nishinoya because of how he’s just gonna end up breaking your heart

????? HUH

how dare they try to speak badly about your best friend 🤬🤬🤬

nishinoya: that’s so kind of you 🥺

you: like i already know that you’re dumb and annoying but that doesn’t mean they can say it >:(

nishinoya: nvm

regardless of how you spoke to nishinoya, he’s never gonna get over the fact that you manage to get him smiling after every sentence

the only reason he kept turning down the love letters and confessions he’d get on a daily was because of the cute girl that occupied the locker right across from his

and the day you finally talked to him honestly felt like a dream since he recalled how much he’s been trying to build up the courage to speak to you first

he had a feeling that you only saw him as nothing more than a friend but that surely didn’t stop him from trying his best to spend every free time he had with you

surprisingly enough, you attended his practices more often and even he’d take actual leaves to go to the stuff important to you

it almost felt surreal that he had you by his side and he knew that no matter how many more love letters he’d get, he’d say no to all of them until you’d be the one to ask

you look at nishinoya, the sun making its way to set as the two of you walked along the concrete.

you smile, “food for thought— i pegged you as a guy i’d never find myself hanging out with.”

he glances at you, nodding with a shrug and he feels relief freshen in his chest as he sees your house nearing by.

he’d been walking you home since the day you admitted your friendship and it was one of the few things that made him feel like there was the possibility of something more.

you clutch your bag, your footsteps stopping at the sight of your front door and you wave him a final goodbye before he leaves.

“now, i guess you’d be a guy i’d kinda be into.” you laugh, the words leaving your mouth as quickly as you ran inside your house— not giving him the chance to say anything back.

nishinoya feels his face redden lightly, a smile forcing itself on his lips and he takes in a deep breath to urge himself to refrain from showing his happiness until he was in the privacy of his own room.

but until then, he was satisfied with the smile that adorned his features as he thought about how lovely you made him feel.

[summonerscenarios]

So, mc adopting at least one of each of the Child mobs, how would that go?

IT MAY BE 4AM BUT THAT'S NEVER STOPPED ME BEFORE LETS DO SOME MF HCS.

Sadly I was only able to work on two of the mob kiddos as I didn't want this to get too long but I still hope its okay~!

Also just a heads up a lot of this is a pure waffle of information based on my own interpretations of the mobs so here's hoping I did a good job with them lmao.

---------

It wouldn’t have been the first time you’d ended up inadvertently adopting someone, nor will it be the last knowing your luck. It’s not like you intentionally do anything to draw people to you, it just so happened that the things that you did and situations you got wrapped up in led to you getting to know all kinds of people in the process. And those people saw you in all kinds of ways - most saw you as friends, others saw someone else in you, more than a few made no attempts to hide their blatant flirting - and, rarely, a few would even see you as a role model,a mentor or parental figure to look up to.

You honestly have no idea why, after all, it’s not as though you go out of your way to make particularly responsible decisions (if anything, you get yourself in enough trouble that you’d imagine you’re anything but a role model) but a lot of the younger transients and students seem to flock towards your presence, looking for comfort, advice, or just someone who respects them. At first it was just the younger members of your guild that you technically took under your wing - as the Guildmaster you assumed it was only natural to look out for them, and you’d long gotten used to protecting Agyo and Kijimuna, wanting to make sure that the only thing they had to worry about was having the chance to be kids rather than getting dragged into the Guild’s app-based affairs. It’s not like responsible parental figures are easy to come by in this world of app-battles and fighting, so that’s perhaps why when you start taking a more protective, nurturing role with the younger ones that more of them begin popping up.

Surprisingly, the ghosts are some of the first mob children that you noticed began flocking towards you. Roaming spirits are unusual but certainly not rare, and it honestly breaks your heart a little to see so many young ghosts lingering around in the unexplored corners of the city, searching for one thing or another. Things feel...off, for a while before you can pin down the issue - you start feeling as though you’re being watched when you’re in the guildhouse by someone other than your teammates, and when your attempts to shake off the uneasy feeling doesn’t work, you decide to bring it up to your fellow Guild members in case it’s someone trying to spy. You want to make sure it’s not someone who can bring danger to the guild, but you don’t have much of a chance to set up a search of the building when the D-evils come tottering into your field of view, screeching up a storm and motioning towards an otherwise unassuming corner of the window.

Turns out you weren’t the only one noticing the other presence, as Shiro’s D-evils seem to have picked up on it to - and when your attention snaps over to the window to see what they’re pointing to you barely catch a glimpse of the flickering figure of a ghost child as they disappear from view. From that point on you start spotting the child more often - he’s shy or wary, always lingering someone just out of the corner of your eye but never getting any closer almost like he’s afraid. He seems to have taken an interest in you though, especially whenever the younger guild members come around to spend time at the guild, and it isn’t long before you notice that he’s intently watching the way you watch over and care for the kids of the guild - he looks almost sad in these instances, but never dares to get any closer and disappears as soon as you turn to look at him. Over time it becomes almost normal to have a resident ghost at the guild (though Agyo still shudders at the mention of ghosts despite having seen the kid plenty of times since arriving). He seems to be more at ease after a while of watching you, and things finally come to a head one day when you’re playing videogames with Hanuman and the other kids, noticing that the little ghost has wandered far closer than he’d ever done in the past, watching the small screen setup on the floor with an avid interest that seems far happier than the forlorn looks he’d had before. Taking a chance you tilt your head to look over at the ghost child, motioning him to come over and join; he disappears for a moment, startled, but right as you start to worry you may have scared the kid off he rematerializes, inching hesitantly closer and closer till he’s hovering beside the rest of your group, eyes fixed to the characters on screen with a child-like wonder.

You aren’t quite sure how this ended up with you adopting the ghost child yourself. It’s just one day you were talking about how you were pretty much adopted by the teachers at school and how you’d like to pay it forward some day, and the next you were talking about ‘son’ this, and ‘might as well take the kid under your wing’ that - you were practically acting like an impromptu parent for like a fifth of the people you knew anyway, so what was actually adopting a child? Toji had just about choked to death when you’d made the unfortunate decision to announce that fact mid-drink, and Shiro spent more than his fair share of time probing you with the legal questions surrounding a student adopting a child, ghost transient or not. Ryota seems incredibly excited by the idea however, gushing about being an uncle and wondering if your new son can eat and if so what his favorite food is - plenty of questions for a later time.

Ghost is certainly the most clingy of the children you end up adopting, and it’s clear from the get go in the sense that the poor little one is essentially glued to your side from the moment you take the venture to actually adopting him. With few things remaining in the physical world to cling onto, the familial bond is something that the little one cherishes and he absolutely refuses to budge on letting it, and by proxy, you, go. For a while he actually fears you’re going to leave him and take back what you said about protecting him and being a good parent. He of course had parents once, and their lack of presence at his side now paints a tragic picture no matter what way you look at it, so the kids got more than a few attachment issues you need to work through. Ghost doesn’t really talk too much, instead relying on gestures and interacting with things around him to talk to you and others - it takes a little bit to get used to if you’re unfamiliar with some of the gestures but it’s easy to pick up as time goes on.

Definitely one of the more well behaved children of the bunch, given that once you’ve convinced him that you’re not abandoning him he’s dead set on making you proud. He gets antsy when you’re not around, spending most of his time at the guild when you're at classes, but he takes to following Agyo around instead during these times. Agyo’s more than a little startled at first, and is a bit awkward about the whole situation as he processes it, but before long Agyo’s not only getting along with your ghostly son, but he’s also teaching him the ‘lion dog duties’ that he’s been teaching you - you’ll never quite forget walking in to Agyo giving the poor kid a detailed rundown on the upkeep of the guildhouse and all that it pertains.

It was supposed to only be the one child, you swear, but damn if you haven’t got a bleeding heart and a knack for attracting trouble. Word travels around fast about your adoption, and as more people learn about your impromptu push to parenthood people start coming to you for help - namely, kids with nowhere else to go. Maybe it’s your bleeding heart or savior complex, but before long one kid becomes two, and then two becomes three, and soon enough you’ve got four kids on your hands.

There’s no denying that things get a little bit rocky when you start taking in other children. Despite the other kids in the guild, Ghost has technically been the only child up to this point, and with your attention shifting from both him and the other children at once it’s a sudden change - one that you thankfully discussed with him first to make sure he was okay. Even with the okay though, Ghost is more than a little anxious when you bring the second child, a nether sprite, ‘home’, especially because of how loud she is by comparison. Nether sprite is an absolute ball of energy and mischievous to boot, so she more than makes for an interesting parallel to the otherwise quiet Ghost you’ve been taking care of the past few months.

She’s a handful, especially during the first few weeks that she’s settling in - it takes her a while to really start seeing the place as home, and even longer for her to even consider you a parental figure (she’s seen you as more of a babysitter till you proved you were willing to stick around and put the effort in to be a good parent). Once she does settle in however she takes to the place quickly, and, to your surprise, your two kids become thick as thieves. The Nether sprite catches on quickly to how Ghost communicates, and given his penchant to linger around those he’s close to and follow them around she’s more than happy to drag him all over the shop from one activity to another - it’s a surprising development but one you actively encourage. Unfortunately as I mentioned she’s still mischievous, though tones it down from anything too troublesome if it’ll cause you too much grief.

However that hasn’t stopped the amount of times you’ve gotten calls from someone about the kind of trouble you two little ones have wound up getting themselves into - looks like they both picked up your knack for getting intentionally and unintentionally dragged into the weirdest events (sure, it’s fun when you do it, but having your kids doing it only serves to give you grey hairs from the stress.) And things only get crazier once the other kids end up coming along, for both better and worse - but that’s a story for another time.

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

27. Harry's dance partner

Prompt used- pulling the other one towards them | Harry and Draco take Dance lessons for the famous ball| this took me almost 3 hours, it's pretty long | thanks for all the love |

" honey, i know this invitation is important but my training right now is more important, i hope you understand harry. Please do take these lessons though, you really do suck. I'll try to come up " and with that ginny flooed for her practices,

" well i guess, i'll be on my own then " harry mumbled to himself as he dropped the leaflet on thr counter of the kitchen.

But harry was more afraid to go alone than doing the dance itself, the fact that he'd have to position his hand in the invisible air or dance with somebody else scared him, even if it actually wasn't scary at all. He could've asked ron to come with but with hermioone being his fiance now, he knew ron was much less likely to fuck up. That left him standing in front of the muggle dance studio, alone.

" um, excuse me i signed up lessons under the name of harry potter and ginny weasley, unfortunately my partner can't come, so i was wondering if you could cancel my registrations ' harry asked the boy sitting behind the counter

" may i ask why ?" the boy grinned

" there's some personal complications " harry replied fidgeting his fingers over his jacket's zipper.

" well, if that's the case . I can cancel the registrations-"

" thank you -"

" - but you won't be refunded " the boy added

" oh "

" do you still want me to cancel ?" the boy asked. Harry pondered on for a moment

" these are not that bad you know and there's plenty of available dance partners " the boy said as he read harry's face

" well- if thats- fine i'll do these classes " harry sighed giving up, not that he had much to do at weekends at home.

" well there you go then, that would be room 3 "the boy grinned. Harry exhaled before he made his way towards room no. 3 and softly opened it to see a  bunch of people standing in couple and some talking in groups.

Harry oozed his way into the room and kept his jacket on the open shelf in the back of the room and rubbed his palms together in sheer nervousness.

" nervous ?" suddenly someone asked

" uh- yeah a little " harry replied to the girl who was keeping her bag in the shelf

" first timer ?" she asked with a smile

" yeah " harry answered, maybe he could ask her to be his partner but he obviously didn't wanted to seem too eager.

" it can be a little overwhelming at first but you'll settle in fine " she grinned

" i hope so "

" so who's your partner then ?" she asked placing her hands over her hips

" actually- " but he was cut off by the door opening and who seemed like an instructor walked in,

"alright everyone, i'm sarah and there's nothing more you need to know. lets begin with warm ups then " harry raised an eyebrow before he followed her command and repeated everything that everyone else did. It was a bit troublesome at first but once he got the hang of what everyone else was doing, his nervousness seemed to diminish, only until sarah spoke up again.

" okay, everyone line with partners now and we'll begin where we left off last time " sarah said in her normal raspy voice and everyone lined up except harry. He by now simply wanted to die out of second hand embarrassment as his cheeks tint up with a pink shade

And just then as if somebody controlling him from up above wasn't ready for him to die just yet made the door jerk open

" shit- sorry, i'm late " the guy almost tripped over his own shoe lace before he stumbled back to see everyone staring at him. Unfortunately because of crowding harry couldn't see who it was until the crowd had cleared up a bit and the guy walked to the back of the class.

" draco ?" harry gasped as soon as he laid his eyes upon the boy.

The guy seemed to hear harry's voice and immediately his eyes followed the propagation of sound, it was indeed him.

" enough, back to class " sarah rolled her eyes at everyone and the everybody hustled back into their positions.

" what are you doing here ?" draco whispered as he settled his jacket and shoes on the shelf in the back.

" training for ballet " harry rolled his eyes. Draco almost laughed out loud if it wasn't for harry nudging him not to.

" you two in the back, enough chit chat, partner up " sarah shouted at them. They both stared at her as if not believing with what she had said but if glares could kill, they'd be dead and they hustled together in strange union,

" now try to hear the rhythm of the song, the beats, the harmonies and let it flow in you. Let it take over your body, your soul, let it dance. Dance isn't just something you can do like cooking, its an art, if done wrong, would be a disaster, but if done right it'd be like van gogh's painting " sarah said as she moved through the class

" van who ?" draco whispered to harry

" van gogh, he was a really famous muggle artist " harry whispered back

They soon got carried into listening to sarah and everything was fine until they actually had to take positions

" i'm not going to be the follower " draco harshly whispered to harry

" well i am not going to be the follower either, you be it " harry whispered back.

" why should i be the follower ?" draco asked agressively whispering

" why should i ?" harry asked in the same tone as draco's

" would you two shut up, you tall one, be the lead and you be the follower " sarah ordered as she passed by them. Draco teased harry by sticking his tongue out to him. Rolling his eyes harry and him adjusted into the position, harry's hand resting over draco's waist and draco's hand resting over harry's shoulder and waist.

And as the song started playing, they fell into a pattern of harry stepping over draco's feets, draco harshly stumbling over harry and swearing at each other for being stupid.

" we must be looking daft " harry sighed as he carefully watched his feet

" ow, look up you idiot " draco bashed as Harry's head hit his chin

" well i can't look up and not step on your feet at the same time " harry mumbled

closing his eyes for a moment, draco sighed "okay, just look up at me, alright. We just need better coordination, that's all. You just keep looking up but be careful of how far your feets are from mine, just - well - just loosen up, you're too tensed "

harry blinked at draco " how do you know this ?"

" i've been taking these for a week now " draco truthfully said.

" so should i assume i'd see you at the ball ?" harry asked

" probably " draco hesistated

" why isn't your partner with you ?' draco asked before harry could reply

" yeah- ginny had to go for practices " harry replied looking down at his feet to avoid eye contact

" what about you?" he asked

" i don't have a date for the ball yet but i'm hoping to find one soon " draco answered

" how have you been practicing then ?" harry asked curiously as he let his body move unconsciously

" well I had a partner from other class until she sprained herself 2 days ago, so " Draco shrugged.

" so this will be it for today. Great work everybody. Some of you still need to work a lot on coordination of your body work but with practice you'll all be fine. Off you go then. Bye bye " Sarah announced.

" she reminds me of Ms. McGonagall " Draco Whispered to harry.

Chuckling Harry nodded" she was a feared woman "

And soon everyone started to depart the class.

" hey,Draco wanna catch a cup of coffee ? I know the best barista here ?" Harry asked casually.

Draco frowned in confusion for a moment

" only if you want. No pressure. I need caffeine, this was a bit stressing and I've got a stuff to get back to to and coffee,-"

" sure harry " Draco cut him off smiling.

Harry bobbed his head forward and collected his things.

" never thought I'd actually meet Draco malfoy at a Muggle dance studio taking lessons " Harry teased as they walked out of the doors

" you tell this to someone else and I'll cut your dick off " Draco threatened friendly

" sure malfoy-"

" Draco" he corrected

Harry blinked at him, taking a moment to understand why he corrected " of course "

And then they headed for coffee.

Within the next few days it became a ritual, dance classes, teasing, coffee. It didn't even take them time to become friend's and forget why had they hated each other in the first place. Harry would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy being with Draco, he enjoyed it very much that he wanted to spend more of his time with him than anyone else. There was a strange understanding between them , a strange bond that felt as if they had known each other their whole life and it wasn't even surprising how easily they got along with each other.

And as time went on Ginny got more busy with practices and spent lesser time with Harry. In normal situation Harry would've hated how he felt to be left out but this time he had someone else to look forward to. For the first time he wasn't alone while Ginny was gone and he much appreciated it. He didn't felt as alone as he once had but it had resulted in huge amount of anxiety with different sort of insecurity, as though how he felt around Draco. He had never cheated on Ginny and he wouldn't do now but there was something with Draco,a spark that had long died with Ginny and him. But he assured himself everyday that It was just exciting to be with someone new after a long time.

And this assurance worked until one day when Ginny had returned from practices early and had agreed to go to the dance lesson with him.

" oh " Harry sounded disappointed

" I mean we paid for it, makes sense I should at least take one of the class " Ginny crossed her arms in front of her

" right- I hear you but I- I hurt myself " Harry suddenly said

" what ?" Ginny frowned

" I have a little twitch on my ankle from last practice. I didn't tell you Because I didn't wanted you to worry. I think it'd be better if we laid it off for today. We can go again someday " Harry said biting the inside of his cheeks

Ginny frowned at him until she sighed and dropped wanting to enquire him " well if it's bad, just tell me-"

" it's fine Ginny. Just a little twitch. Just don't wanna take risk. Know what, we should just rest today, watch a movie or something, order in tonight, how does that sound ?" Harry asked her eagerly

She sighed " well we both have been working off pretty hard the last few days and barely spent time together, so it doesn't seem such a bad idea "

" great, you select the movie, I'll get Blankets and something to eat " Harry kissed her cheek and immediately ran to the bedroom. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he pressed his back against the door and huffed, rubbing his hand over his face. He was disgusted In himself to know he had lied to Ginny when he could've easily asked her to come with, he didn't know why but he just did and he hated himself for lying to her. Not thinking much over it, Harry collected the blankets and stopped on his way to get things to eat and joined Ginny in the living room.

" you okay ?" He asked as he settled next to her. Broken out of her mind whirling thoughts, she grinned and nodded.

Halfway through the movie Harry knew what Ginny felt but he didn't say anything else. He didn't wanted to hurt her but had obliviously ended upon the path.

They didn't talk about anything but quidditch and his job until the day of the ball. Harry felt strange the whole day, as if the whole vibe was off, something was lingering heavily in the air but he was too afraid to ask anything. So they silently got ready and left for the ball.

The ball was extravagant with hundreds of witches and wizards, friends, families, children, everyone. It was a beautiful palace with light's hanging up in the air, elves on the door to welcome everyone, and beautiful entrance decorated with all sorts of flowers. It sure was a huge, expensive and friendly ball yet all harry felt was a strange feeling pulling him down that wasn't sadness.

" it's beautiful " Ginny said as they walked into the palace. Harry hummed in reply with a small smile.

Everything was nicely dealt with, people, food, speeches. The last thing was dance. And harry was scared to death about it. He hadn't danced with Ginny once and was sure to fuck it up and at this moment he only wished to meet the silver blonde head to seek assurance, to talk him through it.

" you seem lost Harry " Ginny finally said as they were stood against the bar.

" feel a little upset is all. You enjoying yourself ?" Harry asked

" yeah, the place is great. This dress however is extremely uncomfortable " Ginny rolled her eyes at her dress. Harry chuckled at his girlfriend's reaction, probably for the first time in a few days.

" shall we dance ?" Ginny asked soon after. Hesitantly, Harry nodded.

They stepped in the dance area with everyone else and bought themselves into position. Harry placed one of his hand over the small of her back and pulled her closer and other hand rested on her shoulder. Accordingly Ginny rested her hands over Harry.

And despite the fact that his beautiful, understanding, elegant girlfriend danced with him, his eyes only searched the room for his dance partner. He searched and searched until he felt Ginny place her head against Harry's chest.

" everything fine ?" He finally asked concerned.

She hummed in response but Harry knew better, she wasn't.

" Ginny, tell me " harry put his hand under her chin, forcing her to look upto him.

" do you love me Harry ?" Ginny finally asked as tears sparkled in her life eyes

" of course " Harry immediately replied

" no, Harry, do you really, really love me ? " Ginny asked again. Harry stared at her for a long moment, his movements dead. He wanted to tell her yes but his mouth had shut down, his brain had shut down, only his heart told him to follow the line of honesty.

" thought so " she said as she leaned again to hug him.

" is there someone else?" She whispered in his ear

" no, Gin, you know I'd never cheat on you. I'd never do that to you " Harry immediately replied.

" that's good to know " she sniffed against his shoulder. Harry shuddered a breath before he broke the hug and pulled her away from the crowd to the empty courtyard.

" I love you Ginny, I do -"

" just not the same way anymore?" She asked

Harry remained silent, did he ? He didn't know.

" do you still love me the same way Gin ?" Harry finally asked her.

And then they fell into silence, soft music pouring through their moment, the intensity of the melody changing with the way their conversation had taken a turn, the softness in the jazz with the deeper sound of piano, the song sounded softer.

" tell me ? Do you love me the same way you loved me when we first moved into the city or the same way you said you loved me on our first Christmas together or the first time you stayed over at my place ?" Harry asked her following his heart.

" I- Harry- the spark can't always stay alive " Ginny lightly protested

" is it so or this is just a way of consoling ourselves another year into thinking that we are meant to be together when you and I both know that we aren't " Harry softly said.

" so what, we just give up ?" Ginny snapped lightly. Harry's eyes softened and approached her further.

" do you think it's fair to both of us to tie ourselves into something like this ? Even if we continue on Ginny, you know where it'll end, I know you do. You saw it the day I lied to you. You know me better than anyone Ginny, you know you do, you just didn't-"

" wanted to believe it's true " Ginny huffed.

Harry took her hands in his own gently and kissed her knuckles

" it's not your fault alone, it's me too. Maybe if I hadn't been so busy with my DMLE investigations or if I had quit when I should've or if I had spent more time asking you what you like than telling you about my auror meetings, maybe we wouldn't had to face this day " Harry told her.

She looked at him longingly, knowing he was right " maybe if I hadn't spent so much time with my friends the field or in quidditch or talked more about us than matches, we'd had been fine " she sighed.

"so ?" Harry finally asked her after moments of steep silence.

" I can't believe we're ending this here, I mean out of all the nights, although a fancy place to break up " Ginny smirked. Harry chuckled.

He hugged her soothingly, kissing the top her head " I know Ginny, I know. We'll figure it out " Harry assured her. She hummed in the hug until finally she let go.

" I'll collect my things-"

" you keep the flat, I still have grimauld place. We don't have to deal with his right now. Let's just, maybe go and enjoy ourselves in there like friends " Harry told her.

" we would, if there wasn't Someone I know you have to meet. He's there " Ginny pointed behind him. Confused Harry followed her sight. Draco.

" how do you-"

" just like you said,I know you better than anyone else- I'll be fine. Go. I Want you to " Ginny assured him with a small smile.

" you sure you're fine?" Harry asked furrowing his eyebrows, concerned.

" trust me on day I'll be happy to have let you go. Now go, don't make him wait " Ginny smiled and pushed him back and started taking her steps back. Harry knew what she was doing but he knew Ginny, she wouldn't tell him how hurt she was, if it meant Harry could have something. And before Harry could've said anything else, she apparated away with a smile as if she had faded into the air.

Harry stood there watching the spot where she left off from as if he still hadn't processed what had happened but he had ultimately accept, Ginny was gone.

Harry finally turned around with a strange sadness, seeing Draco sitting there alone.

" where's your date ? " Harry asked as he walked over to Draco. It all seemed too fast, too fast yet everything so slow. Draco looked up to find Harry coming and sitting next to him .

" I never had a date in the first place " Draco truthfully replied.

" but you-"

" my dance partner was Astoria, she- she broke off with me during the first week of lesson's but I- well I was waiting one day she'd come back. The day I was late, I was actually not going to come but then I had came and met you and just like that you became a reason for me to attend those lessons. It all seems so fucked up, I mean I just had a break up few days before and then you, it all happened too fast but we-"

" we just clicked " Harry finished

" yeah" Draco agreed looking at him.

" you were waiting for her to show up tonight, weren't you ?" Harry asked

" yeah " Draco Answered as his lips pressed in a thin line.

" well " harry finally sighed after long moments of silence " we practiced the hell off with Sarah, we can't let that go to waste. So , Draco malfoy, dance with me " Harry said as he stood up and offered his hand

" but you- Ginny ?" Draco frowned

" we just broke up " Harry replied. Draco sympathetically stared at him until Harry jerked his hand forward for him to take and finally Draco did take it.

Taking the lead Draco pulled harry closer towards him until they were few inches apart.

" are we moving on too fast ?" Harry asked thoughtfully

" what if we're moving too slow ? Years late ?" Draco asked. Harry forced himself to look up at him, his body unconsciously dancing around Draco. That was the difference, he knew what he was doing with Ginny but right now, he seemed to flow into the music, he didn't need to know what he was doing, he Just knew.

" you've-?" But harry stopped

" people like us don't belong together Harry. I've liked you for ages but I had prepared myself ages ago for this to not happen but now that it is, I Don't-"

" don't want it to stop?" Harry asked

" yeah " Draco replied as he bored his eyes into that of Harry's.

Harry stared at him for longer than he thought he knew until they head heard fireworks go off, breaking them out of their trance.

" what now ?" Harry asked finally

" we finally be ourselves " Draco replied and another firework went off.

This is more platonic than romantic but I just needed somewhere Harry and Draco develops into something.

Requests open .

Day 26- after all this time, always the same |

Day 28- I'll catch you

[ddarker-dreams]

How do all the other stands feel ab sr? I’m sure they all somewhat get along, right?

i’ve been wanting to give a longer, traditional hc style post about this!! since you’ve asked it’s the perfect opportunity to express my thoughts on it. it’s more of a combination of SR with the user and their stand, i hope that’s okay hjrktme

Bruno Bucciarati;

Sticky Fingers is the first Stand from Bucciarati’s group that you got to see! So there’s a special place in your heart for it. By extension, Bruno was the first person to see Scarlet Ribbons. SR was very inquisitive during their initial meeting, since it’s the first time she ever saw a Stand other than herself. She was looking around a lot, and lowkey wondering where are this things bows at?? 

Though Stand powers wildly vary from one another, Bruno was able to give you a general explanation of what to expect from SR. He didn’t want to go too overboard with advice because he feels a natural fighting style stemming from your own abilities/instinct is best, especially since your Stand is created from your soul. He basically just told you to go with your gut, which at the time felt a bit frustrating... it turned out to be good advice though! 

Sticky Fingers and SR have almost opposite abilities in a way? SR can close up gaps whereas Sticky Fingers opens them up. It’s not uncommon that when you and Bruno are chatting, that your respective Stands are just kinda messing around in the distance. Sticky Fingers likes making zippers in walls, and SR tries to see if she can close them with ribbons... it doesn’t work like that, but it’s kinda endearing to see them interact with one another lmao.

Giorno Giovanna;

It’s gonna be super cute okay. Giorno in general might give the impression of knowing what he’s doing when it comes to romance, but he really is just winging it and kinda going ??? the entire time. Meanwhile, Gold Experience is going ham with SR, pulling all the stops to impress her (and you, by extension). His Stand makes flowers of a striking red color, trying to match the shade of SR’s ribbons!! Mostly poppies, tulips, and occasionally roses. 

Giorno is kinda curious how SR seems to be out a lot of the time, he’s thinking should I do the same thing with GE...? You’ll be doing exercises, and SR is there bringing a water bottle over to you. Or when you’re cooking, SR is hovering over your shoulder wanting to help out as well. She’s just almost always around, even if only in the background to explore her surroundings. It makes Giorno let GE out more often, subconsciously. 

He does ask you about it once, and you just kinda shrug and say SR likes the freedom to do as she pleases. Since she isn’t rambunctious like Pistols, you don’t see the harm in letting her roam around.  

Gold Experience wants to try making ribbons, but the best it can do is creating ribbon eels. It’s not quite the same, but it’s a solid effort. Giorno just has to stop GE from putting the ribbon eel on his head in the same way SR has a ribbon on hers. Mista was around to witness this historical event, and no, he does not intend on letting Giorno live it down. Giorno’s grateful he stopped it from actually happening though. 

Guido Mista;

Let’s just say your Stands together can be pretty chaotic. The first time you met Mista, and he realized you were a Stand user like himself, he had a very pressing question. When you showed him SR, he looked at it for a moment, as if in deep thought. 

“D-does... yours talk too?” 

Mista passed Polpo’s test only to be gifted talented, albeit troublesome little gremlins. Before he realized giving Pistols food is a reliable method of calming them down, it was a war zone. One of the mornings where the two of you had to do some standard protection fee collection, he looked like a borderline zombie. Lamenting that the Pistols refused to let him sleep, and asked if you’d please use SR to cover their mouths lmao. They were protesting the entire time, trying to convince you not to do it.

When Number Five starts crying, SR makes a little ribbon to put on his head!! It’s super cute and Mista’s heart is just leaping in his chest. Then, of course, all the other Pistols want one bc equal attention!! When the two of you aren’t paying solid attention to your Stands, you’ll sometimes spot SR testing how many accessories she can fit on the tiny Pistols. It isn’t a lot but they’re insistent on trying. 

Pistols are always trying to get SR to do crazy stunts for their entertainment. Eventually, you had to lock your refrigerator with her ribbons to prevent the Pistols from stealing your food. But when you’re busy, the Pistols keep trying to convince SR to undo them so they can snack. She actually felt bad for them once, released the restriction, and the Pistols went to town on your leftovers. : (

Mista felt pity for you though and offered to take you out to get more food!! So it all worked out for his benefit in the end. The Pistols do not take issue in reminding him of this as well, saying that they’re the reason he got to go on a date with you. :’ )

Pannacotta Fugo;

He remained fiercely adamant on keeping Purple Haze from you for the longest time. Fugo hates how his Stand practically comes out of its own autonomy whenever you’re in the vicinity, wanting to get a closer look at you. There have been a lot of close calls when you first got to know when another, leading to Fugo abruptly leaving in conversations. 

Your Stands get along well once Fugo feels comfortable enough to let Purple Haze out around you. Since SR is a long ranged Stand, she can do her cute ribbon tricks from a distance outside of the virus’ range!! Though she has a habit of trying to get closer, just out of curiosity. Fugo gets freaked out when this happens though, so she waits until he’s distracted with talking to you (a little genius)! 

Purple Haze makes the biggest puppy dog eyes at SR, which humiliates Fugo to no end. He gives his Stand intense talks when you’re not around, telling him to keep it cool, he doesn’t want you thinking he’s an idiot. But as soon as he even mentions SR, Purple Haze gets all thrilled and is like !!! So it’s ultimately counterproductive. Fugo just hopes you don’t put two and two together, over why his soul likes yours so much. It’s his daily prayer...

Fugo has an embarrassing habit of doodling ribbons on stuff he’s working on, when he starts zoning out. When he realizes what it is he’s doing he gets flustered about it, cursing underneath his breath and hoping that you don’t happen to come by and notice. Unfortunately for him, as SR likes to see what everyone is up to, she came over and saw what he was doing. After putting two and two together, she gave him a nod and a thumbs up on his doodles. Didn’t snitch to you though, so the two of them have a mutual understanding. :’)

Narancia Ghirga;

He wants so badly to impress you with Aerosmith. Narancia will whip his Stand out in your presence at any given opportunity, having it do a few flips and tricks more than necessary. Then he stares over to see what you and SR think about it... she once clapped in Aerosmith’s honor. It was all Narancia could think about for the rest of the day. 

The two Stands typically just play around with one another. Aerosmith likes to make little ribbon shaped clouds, and SR attempts making a plane shape out of her ribbons. It’s not quite the same, but she’s trying!! Narancia finds it adorable, and tries to make requests of shapes and stuff for her to make. SR does her best to fulfill the requests, concentrating hard on the task!!

Since SR enjoys making hair accessories, she’s tried to make a bandanna similar to Narancia’s for you. Though she ultimately scrapped the idea, giving you a disapproving look and fastening it back into the normal bow it normally is lmao. When you mentioned this behavior to Narancia he was like wait, what?? Lemme see! But if SR doesn’t find something fashionable, she doesn’t have any intention on doing it again. So he’s outta luck...

It doesn’t stop him from asking about it. He just can’t believe that your Stand thought about him when he wasn’t around!! It touched him in a way he never knew possible. It’s also a bit of a relief since you’re often the subject of his thoughts. 

Leone Abbacchio;

Similar in a sense to Fugo, where he didn’t want Moody Blues around you that much at first. He takes a much more serious approach to his Stand than others, since it’s deeply rooted in his past trauma. It’d actually be one of the few moments he might snap at you, should you ask to see his Stand one too many times. Not out of malicious intent, he’s just... very disillusioned with Moody Blues at first.

You two had a job which required some investigative work, the client having seemingly disappeared with some goods that belonged to Passione. Figuring out what happened with the merchandise was essentially child’s play for Moody Blues, a replay showing the full extent of the events. Abbacchio wasn’t keen on showing you his Stand, but it couldn’t be helped any longer.

Unlike the others who tended to pester him on the extent of Moody Blues’ abilities, you just complimented him. Saying that it’s similar in utility to your Stand. You willingly comparing yourself to him, and in a positive light nonetheless, kinda had him at a loss for words. 

He didn’t really offer a strong rebuttal like he normally would, so you assumed he didn’t think much of your comment. Which, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth. If you could see good in him of all people, then well... there was a lot for him to think about that night.

After this incident, he’s noticeably just a tad kinder to you in general. What you said meant a lot to him. Obviously not enough to make all his self deprecation go away overnight, but it just gave a small glimmer of hope. That maybe he can someday be better.

Trish Una;

Another person that I picture SR being especially adorable with!! After the events of Bruno betraying the boss, you and SR would be feeling hurt on Trish’s behalf. You instantly draw the parallels of living a carefree life, only for Passione/gangsters to come in and essentially ruin everything.

While dealing with the pain of rejection from her father figure, Trish also wonders if you consider her less important. Since your original job was to protect her, due to being the boss’ daughter, wouldn’t it make sense you don’t care about her now that it’s no longer your job to?

SR covers the spot where her hand was severed with a bow, even after Giorno properly heals it. Trish just looks at you confused, and you explain it’s your Stand’s way of wanting to help her feel better. That where her father had inflicted pain, Trish has the support and strength from you and herself to overcome it. 

Needless to say, Trish thinks highly over you, the feeling extending over to Spice Girl. During your meetups after everything is over, Spice Girl and Scarlet Ribbons come out and embrace one another!! Well, it’s more like SR goes for the hug, and Spice Girl is just :’) woah affection. Trish finds it a little embarrassing at first, but secretly loves and it and looks forward to it. Though she does wish Spice Girl was a tad more discreet. 

During Trish’s travels for her singing career, if there’s anything that even vaguely reminds her/Spice Girl of you, she snaps a photo to text to you. It’s mostly red hair accessories and clothing, which she of course purchases. Spice Girl misses SR a lot, so expect to receive a lot of texts asking how you and your Stand are doing. 

When Scarlet Ribbon spots Trish’s name popping up on your phone, she immediately brings it over. The Stand impatiently shoves your phone in your face, as if to say respond now!! It’s Trish, it’s important!! Scarlet Ribbons loves her a lot 🥺 especially since Trish sends her accessories...

[akitokihojo]

Monster - Chapter 1

And, here we go. Chapter 1 of this monstrosity (no pun intended) is now up and running below, on AO3, and on FF.net.

I'm going to be completely and 100% honest with everyone before you start reading, so please heed this warning! This first chapter is rough in the sense where it contains a bit of brutality and the death of a child. So far, this is the only gruesome chapter, and while the gore is NOT detailed, I still want my more sensitive readers to be wary.

This is the most action-packed fic I've ever written, and also the most expansive world I've ever built (in my humble opinion). With that being said, while the setting is a bit more on the historical side, there are plenty of modern references. For instance, not in this chapter but in future ones, a bathroom is just a bathroom. I don't mention plumbing or the lack thereof. My attention and energy was on more important things and I just didn't care about those details, lol. Additionally, a lot of slang, jokes, and references are fairly modern. Don't @ me (but also do). All-in-all, what I'm trying to say is I built my own damn world where there is no historical accuracy, so don't go looking for it, lol.

Unless otherwise stated, I plan to post each new chapter every Friday. So, yeah... I think that's all I've got to say.... have fun! Enjoy! Thank you for reading! Ily! Bon Voyage! Don't hate me!

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The responsibility is ours.

Kagome gasped as her feet slid in the mud, the small decline of the path she and her younger brother hurried down gradually becoming more slippery as the rain began to pour harder. Through the noise of the droplets and the sloshing of their boots, she heard a slight commotion; horses’ huffs, heavy feet, and boisterous men barking orders. Initially, she’d figured it was the village men ushering their families indoors, their livestock into barns, their carts and tools under shelter, and their firewood into a dry place as the storm reared its ugly head. The sunset sky was shadowed in gloom, thunder making it’s entrance in the far distance as it was bound to be banging on their doors and windows in no time. But, at the tug of her arm by her sibling, her attention was shifted to the actual cause of it all: Naraku’s henchmen.

“Again?” She shuddered resentfully.

“Third time this month.” Sota confirmed, clenching his jaw as he slightly tugged his sister behind his smaller frame. He was perfectly aware that he was only twelve, well in the know that he stood no taller than her shoulders, but he’d be damned if he did nothing because of it.

This time, there wasn’t a hoard of them. No, there were merely four, all of which were already off of their horses on the main path through their little village, making demands and threatening anyone who got in the way of their objective.

Throughout the last four and a half years since Naraku rose as a fearsome demon that easily brought down peaceful powers and attempted to control the world Kagome knew, she’d become more than familiar with this procedure. It wasn’t until just recently that they’d started coming more often than a monthly visit, though. And, it was no secret what, or who, they were after.

Her.

Anyone of her kind, really.

She was different. She was hunted. Those like her were supposedly powerful, but matters being what they were had caused anyone who shared a similar fate to subdue their abilities to the point of total lack of recognition of their true potential. At least, that’s how it was in most cases. Because, if they were found out, they were killed on sight. The reason for it was entirely unknown. Naraku didn’t just target them, though; he made everyone’s lives hell, especially if they stood out in a supernatural manner. So, while she figured there had to be a yet-to-be-identified reason, she felt it was safe to assume it was also just because he could. Maybe he didn’t like the threat of other, similar forces that could collide against him. Maybe he was egotistical enough to think he was the only deserving being. Whatever the case, he was cruel.

Kagome’s kind had several names through the decades - so many, she hardly knew the correct term for herself. At one point, ages ago, they were called banshees. The title didn’t make sense whatsoever, given their powers and what a banshee actually was, and the story was so old that she didn’t know where the justification even stemmed from, but it caused them to be feared, and for that, she honestly wouldn’t have totally minded if the name stuck around. They were called priestesses, but then it sounded too peaceful, too practiced, and it painted them as “good.” They were called witches, mages, sorceresses, but they committed no typical magic of that sort. Kagome didn’t know a single spell, nor did she have nearly enough time in the day to pack an array of herbs, spices, and what have you into jars that were sealed with candle wax - though she had caught wind that there were some older women of her kind with the ability to curse. Now, they were called conjurers. Their abilities were that of the spirit, aiding with protection, purifying dark forces - passively or forcefully, bringing forth light, and more she was sure.

In Kagome’s unpopular opinion, given what they could do and what they supposedly stood for, priestess was more suitable a term, but she also understood that there was nothing holy about the world they lived in.

There was no birthmark of the conjurer. There was no dead giveaway of their kind. The powers were gifted at random, as far as she knew, not passed down through lineage. The only thing Naraku and his followers seemingly had to go off of was that conjurers were born female.

Sometimes, they’d conduct their mission by way of senseless inspections. They’d rip apart the insides of homes looking for all the wrong things in all the wrong places. Truthfully, with how absurd they carried themselves, it was obvious they didn’t know the telltale signs they were looking for and were wasting their time. Which was what made it clear that for them to be so clueless, even Naraku didn’t know all there was that made up a conjurer. They were ignorant and they were blind, but they were also relentless and ruthless.

The days where they singled women out were the worst. Kagome, so far, was spared that cruelty, but that didn’t make it any better. It was usually the more mature, the elderly, that received the short end of the stick.

More often than anything, they’d line up every woman and girl in town and go down the rows one-by-one, stimulating their nerves in one way or another to see if they could get a “conjurer’s reaction.” Kagome could only guess that meant a sudden surge of purification power. It was the main trait conjurers were known for; but they were going about it wrong. Screaming in their faces, threatening everyone, or jostling them around a bit wasn’t going to get the demons purified, no matter how much she wanted to toss something their way. Of course, she wasn’t going to be the one to tell them that.

Every so often, they’d come in a pack and create havoc with violence. They said it was their way to pressure people into giving up any information they might have, but in all honesty, the smiles some of the brute demons wore said they were bored and simply wanted a little entertainment. Apparently, screaming and pleading were equivalent to a musical number in their bloodlust eyes.

Their own little group of demon slayers that resided in the village helped prevent this from happening when they could, which was why the henchmen came in numbers. The demon slayers fought for a sense of control, not to kill. They would only allow so much, but belligerent violence was not an option. It was obvious that, as of late, their village was a targeted spot, one that got a little more attention than neighboring towns, and for what reason, no one knew. They didn’t have the fighting power to win that sort of fight, though, and the leader of the group of slayers was sensible enough to understand this and explain it to the masses that questioned them. They were made up of a handful of men with rigorous combat skills they didn’t learn from home, refused to take recruits below a certain age, and could only train so many at a time. As much as they’d all love to retaliate and end things for good, intuition was telling them not to in that manner. Even Kagome felt that. Deep in her gut, she knew that even if they could, killing them would only put the people of the village in a worse position. This wasn’t something that would stop by taking out the underlings. Not at all. Far from it. Anyone who was paying attention could see that they’d need to exterminate the head honcho in order for any positive difference to be made.

Unfortunately for them this time around, their little pack of demon slayers had left on a request to take care of a troublesome demon a little ways off just that morning. And, listening to the henchmen now, seeing them in their dark leather, their cloaks, feeling their dangerous energies wafting through the streets of their little town, Kagome could tell that they were going to do whatever they wanted tonight, despite the fact that it was just the four of them. It wouldn’t be horrible, and would most likely be a lineup, but they were definitely going to take their sweet time and see who they could break.

“There’s still time. They haven’t noticed you. We can hide you.” Her younger brother said, his tone more on the convicted side as opposed to suggestive. He should have known she wouldn’t have gone for it, though. So long as every other woman and girl had to stand in front of their villainous promises and vile breath, so long as her mother had to keep a straight face, Kagome would always stand there with them. She’d made a promise to her brother, her older cousin, and especially her mom that she’d never willingly out herself for no reason, but she just couldn’t bring herself to hide when everyone else had to stand through their harassment. She swore that if the demons were ever convinced an innocent was a conjurer, that was the reason to give herself over.

Never would Kagome allow another to mistakenly go down in her stead.

No one but her family knew of her powers, and until necessary, it would stay that way. According to her cousin, the more people that knew, the increased danger she was in.

“Let’s just get this over with.” She shook her head, minding her steps through the small slope of mud as she gently pulled her arm out of Sota’s grip.

“Miroku would say the same thing if he were with us.” He argued.

“Yeah, well he’s not. In fact, he’s probably getting himself into trouble by picking a fight with one of those goons.”

“Kagome, I have a bad feeling about this. Come on, just listen for once.”

“Okay,” She stopped, turning around to challenge his look. “Say something bad is going to happen. Knowing these assholes, you really think my absence will stop that?”

“No, but -“

“Right. They’re going to do something no matter what, correct?”

“Kagome -“

“And then what?”

“And then they’re wrong, but they didn’t get you.”

“How is that fair to the person they might hurt?”

“That person isn’t my sister.”

“What if it’s mom?”

Sota’s eyes slighted to the side, a heated huff leaving his lips just before he begrudgingly sealed them. His jaw clenched minutely as his head gave a little shake, brown eyes once more meeting his sibling’s. “Miroku and I will protect her.”

Kagome gave a fed up smile, sighing, rolling her eyes, and turning back on her heel to continue toward the main path. Families came out of their homes dressed in cloaks as they prepared to, once more, be harassed until Naraku’s men exhausted themselves, husbands and male relatives holding resentful expressions as they guarded their female family members until they couldn’t any longer.

“Kagome!”

“Sota, quit it. The louder you are, the more suspicious we become.” She quietly warned. Kagome heard her brother’s aggravated grumble before he jogged forward to catch up, his demeanor holding much like every other male in the village.

No one’s feet rushed toward the excitement. The tension of the town was up so dramatically that Kagome could physically feel the crushing weight of it all, the anxiety as they made their way closer to their disgusting visitors was causing her stomach to bubble and waver, and her throat constricted nervously as she and Sota finally met up with the crowd, her brown eyes scouring over shoulders to scout out her family. Sota’s hand encircled her wrist firmly, tugging her to the right as he found them and guided her over. Miroku stood tall in front of their mother, brows noticeably creased and indigo eyes straight ahead until he’d caught their movement in his peripheral vision. Immediately, his posture squared further, as if enlarging his shoulders so that he’d be able to successfully hide both Kagome and his aunt behind his frame. Her mother held out her hand for Kagome to take as soon as they were close enough, a peaceful smile unsurprisingly gracing her lips while she pulled her in, shoulder-to-shoulder. Somehow, no matter the circumstances, she always did her best to calm Kagome’s nerves with the simplest of sweet gestures. Sota took his spot before them, influenced by Miroku’s stature as he replicated it.

Allowing herself a brief moment, Kagome bowed her head further, bracing it on her older cousin’s shoulder. She shut her eyes, inhaling slowly, deeply, attempting to release her trepidation with a long and heated exhale before composing herself and straightening out.

“- But this is too much! Why the hell are you back again!? There’s no conjurer in our village! Don’t you fucking get that by now!?” A man shouted, livid, and it was evident she and her brother had missed the beginning of the argument playing out in the center of the uneven circle created by people.

“Get the fuck out of the way!” One of Naraku’s men yelled back.

“Not until you tell us why you’re back for the third time!”

“Would you rather we made ourselves at home!?” Silence from the opposing man answered his question clearly. “That’s what I fucking thought.” He spewed, and Kagome could hear the spittle fly out as he cursed. His attention returned to the general public, his tone shifting from vicious to gruff as he made his command. “Only girls ranging from ages five to twenty, line up! Now!”

Increased unsettlement coursed through the crowd, mothers and fathers clinging to their young daughters, little girls’ fearful whimpers polluting the air as they hid their faces in their parents’ legs, and even Kagome’s own mother’s hand tightened her grip as a breathy gasp left her lips - understanding that this meant her eighteen year old daughter was being sent into the fire without her. They were narrowing down, slimming the numbers, and the small smiles on the villains’ faces made Kagome assume that something last time may have tipped them off to lessen the demographic.

“What do I do?” Kagome whispered to her cousin, failing in her attempt to hide the sudden panic striking her.

“Nothing. You do nothing.” He urged quietly, shifting his head to look into his younger relative’s eyes. “Listen, Kagome, treat this like routine -“

“This isn’t routine.”

“Treat it like it is. Keep your head down.”

“If they -“

“No.”

“But, they’ll -“

“Kagome, no. You made us a promise.” Miroku reminded firmly, knowing exactly where her mind was traveling. In the case of an incident, which there seemed to be a higher chance of this time around, she may need to intercede.

She took a deep breath, straightening her face as much as possible so Naraku’s men wouldn’t grow suspicious as they impatiently yelled again for the girls to gather before them. “If this means they suspect something -“

“It may just be a tactic they’re using. For all we know, they have nothing and could leave here with the same. So, treat it like routine. Okay?”

“Promise.” Sota insisted during Kagome’s silence. The mens’ barking got louder, more demanding, as did the crying of little girls being pulled away from their parents. With the building weight in her chest, like a liquid filling her lungs quickly, the density making it almost impossible to take full breaths of air or move without falling forward, all she could muster was a meager nod before forcing herself to walk out. Miroku and Sota both leaned to opposite sides to part their shoulders for her to move through, her mother’s soft hand still lightly holding her own until she was far enough for their fingers to slide away from each other’s.

At most, there were about twenty girls in that age range to offer, and Kagome’s brown eyes drifted over the uneven row of heads as she approached, finding her friend in the mix trying to calm the little girl beside her. Sango glanced her way, as if feeling Kagome’s eyes on her, giving an apprehensive grin and waving her over.

“Ready?” Kagome asked, though it was completely rhetorical. It was just habit for these things. It was unavoidable, unexpected, and overall, impossible to be ready for. But, when they bounced the question off of each other, it was like one final reminder to stone.

Sango knew. Sango and her family were the one exception to the familial rule. She was Kagome’s closest friend and Miroku’s significant other. She was more than trustworthy. And, more importantly, had known since Kagome accidentally found out, herself, as a kid. Because, that’s how it was being a conjurer. You weren’t born knowing. You didn’t have an outward appearance that proclaimed your status much like demons did. It was always an accidental happenstance; in her case where she put a little too much oomph into her bow and arrow lessons and purified the evil - and life - right out of a passing crow demon after missing her target.

She remembered the feeling of total surprise, then tremendous fear because she thought she’d be in a lot of trouble. Kagome had literally thrown her bow to the ground like the thing, itself, was the culprit of the power. Miroku was gawking, Sango was covering her mouth with both hands, and their dad’s shared an identical, tight-lipped expression. Her papa was motionless for an overwhelmingly-tense sixty seconds before shifting his wide, curious eyes to her.

“Did you know you could do that?” He’d asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, daddy.” Kagome innocently answered, but she could feel the red, hot heat in her face from her lie. She was awful at those when it came to the people she was close to. Still was to this day. Give her a stranger and she could keep it straight, but in the face of friends and family, she cracked almost too easily. It was a guilt thing.

But then he’d laughed, ruffling his little girl’s hair before reassuring her that it was okay. He said they’d just have to go about her training a little differently from that point on to make sure accidents like that didn’t keep happening, and it was only because of him, his adventurism, his accessibility to knowledge from his travels, that she even discovered what she was in the first place.

Back then, though it wasn’t quite as dangerous to exist as a conjurer, her papa had still suggested they keep her abilities under wraps. She distinctly remembered binding that with a pinky promise after Sango’s dad had a private discussion with her own. Maybe it was because Sango’s dad was even more educated with the world, and knew the potential hardships that could come her way, being the leader of the demon slayers that he was - and still is. Honestly, the reasoning was hard to determine now because she didn’t put much thought into it when she could and should have. Being the young, spunky, loyal girl that she was, if her dad wanted her to keep a secret and held out his pinky to her, that was all the reason Kagome needed, and nothing pleased her more than making her papa proud. And, when he and her uncle were fatally wounded in a demon attack on their village, even though Naraku’s name had never once yet been muttered near her ears, he still made her do one final pinky promise to him saying, “Protect yourself for me, my little bird. Keep it in its cage. I love you so much, Kagome.”

She wasn’t even a teenager when that had happened. There was a part of her that wondered here and there if he was secretly clairvoyant, or if he merely studied the patterns throughout history of people of her kind and wanted nothing more than to keep her safe and make her life as easy as possible, given the reputation they had, their ever-changing titles, and the ignorance others had of their nature. If only he knew where she was now. Would he still ask his little bird to stay in the cage while the door was wide open?

“Ready. You?” Sango returned, standing straight and allowing the little girl to cling to her leg.

“Ready.” Kagome breathed.

Those not lined up hesitantly backed away, creating space and growing agonizingly silent as they seemingly held their breaths for those that were chosen. Kagome hated when they did that. It was like she could physically feel the onlookers’ anxiety, and it was the last thing she needed on top of that of those actually subjected and her own.

The four men walked back and forth, up and down the two rows of girls, criminal eyes taunting them with silent threats and menacing grins. It was creepy, but no longer was it fear-inducing. Kagome had a bad habit of not shying away anymore. Sure, she was nervous beyond belief, but the last thing she was afraid of were their snarls, scarred and dirty flesh, and crooked teeth. That, of all things, was the least intimidating factor for those who were calloused to the routine.

But, when an abrupt instruction was given by the leader, her already-loose expectations of “routine” fell apart completely.

“Hold out your left hands, palms up!”

Confusion soared through every individual, and Kagome met Sango’s brief side glance, minutely comforted by the fact that she wasn’t the only one without a clue as to what was going on. Questions weren’t allowed though, and even the little ones were well aware of that, so as the small group of men demanded everyone shut up and do it, all outward bafflement dissipated.

Slowly, Kagome raised her left palm, her arm outstretched, swallowing as she willed the slight trembling to cease. Brown eyes searched quickly as she waited for whatever to begin, weeding through the crowd and finding Miroku already pinning her with a stare. It was wary, but hard, his jaw visibly tense.

The sound of an unsheathing blade was unmistakable, and immediately Kagome’s attention bounced to her left where the leader danced the grip of a knife in his fingers, his lips curved downward into a permanent frown. The first girl in line couldn’t have been any older than fifteen, noticeably shaking as her anxious stare bounced from the man to the blade.

A man in the crowd began shouting, stirring, pushing forward through the heap of villagers to reach the forefront, “Hey! No! What are you going to do!? That’s my daughter; what are you going to do!? Don’t you dare touch -“ Abruptly silenced by a defensive elbow to the diaphragm, gifted by an all-too-fast demon.

The young teenager shuddered, not sure what to worry about first as the leader gave her no moment to react, grabbed her hand, extended it further, and gave a small slice with the tip of his knife to the center of her palm. She winced, a whimper easily escaping her mouth from the sharp pain, tears leaking from her eyes quicker than the blood that seeped from her laceration. And then he grabbed her hand in his, sealing their palms together as he stared her in the eyes for a moment. She was utterly terrified, wanting to pull away while knowing she shouldn’t, but as nothing else happened, the man released her, murmuring to stay in line as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his blade, his hand, then moved onto the next.

Kagome’s attention snapped back to Miroku as it dawned on her, his eyes holding the same idea as he gave a steady but stern shake of his head in retort. They were looking for the untrained conjurers. The conjurers who weren’t skilled in holding back. Everyone was already scared, and the wound inflicted a heightened sense of fight-or-flight. Then their hands gripping the victims’ - their demon hands against the victims’… they were working to spark a purification reaction, and they were going about it right this time. It wouldn’t be strong enough to kill them, nothing that small or unsuspecting would be, but it would hurt - much like the notorious fairytale of a vampire taking a quick step into the sunlight before swiftly turning around and heading back inside. And, that was all they needed.

Unbeknownst to everyone but Sango and Miroku, Kagome wasn’t completely helpless. Not only was she well-versed in subduing her powers, but alternatively speaking, she could knock a guy completely on his ass. She’d practiced. She’d practiced for hours at a time for several years now to see what she could do, what sort of strength she possessed, all on the far outskirts of the village, hiding near caves with only her friend and cousin who'd agreed, despite promises and secrets, that they all should try to be prepared for anything. By no means was she an expert, but she could handle her own for the most part and a situation like this was something she’d been well-conditioned for, for quite some time now.

Especially since she’d first received that message in a dream.

The responsibility is ours.

Whatever it meant, no matter how bleak it felt, it was a no-brainer that Kagome couldn’t go on without some sort of knowledge of her own potential.

She took a shallow breath, diverting her gaze to the goon before her as he happily took out his own blade, the other two following suit as they set out to narrow the time this was going to take. He stepped forward, grasping the wrist of the frightened and resistant girl beside Sango, who Sango had to hush into calming, telling her it would be done quickly. When nothing gratifying came from the occurrence, the man moved on to Sango, pinning her with a glare that she challenged right back. She hardly flinched at the slice of her skin, brown eyes never leaving the demonic ones of her assailant. When she shrugged a brow as he clasped their hands together, Kagome could practically see the heat rising in the man’s body language, quickly fuming from how audacious Sango was acting - which Kagome couldn’t help but respect, not knowing if the chuckle she forcefully swallowed was one of matched humor or nervousness.

The man threw Sango’s hand to the side, merely wiping her blood from his palm and blade on his pants before vehemently grabbing Kagome’s and extending her arm completely, bringing an inadvertent gasp to escape her throat. As the tip of his knife pierced her palm, dragging slowly to create a burning gash - one larger than Sango’s, so she suspected her nonchalant pass of amusement wasn’t as admissible as she’d thought - Kagome couldn’t stop the hiss that slid off her tongue, her brows creasing and jaw dropping as crimson dripped from her hand to the mud. With a clap, he pressed his palm to hers, fingers squeezing her small hand with unmitigated pressure. She felt a flurry in her abdomen, her diaphragm, her chest, warmth that drove her power, and that was her cue to hold her breath, to pretend everything was fine, to tell herself she was safe and trick her mind when she really wasn’t. She pretended she was holding Sota’s hand - the first person that came to mind, and the least intimidating one that she knew. Sota as an adult whose hand was finally bigger than hers. She couldn’t help but feel this was a huge insult to her younger brother, so she subconsciously apologized as she continued her visualization. It was like a lump built in her throat, the kind that grew too difficult to swallow, but she also felt completely in control, returning the man’s stare before he dropped her hand and moved onto the girl beside her.

“Shh,” Sango gently hushed the small child. “Everything’s fine now, but you have to stay quiet. Give me your hand.”

Kagome slowly let out her captive breath, the air she sucked in to replace it cold and not the least bit comforting despite the danger she’d evaded. She kept her palm face up but closer to her heart, cradling it for a moment as she tried to ignore the searing pain, diverting her attention to Sango and the kid. Her best friend was already looking up at her, using the long sleeve of her shirt to clean the blood from the girl’s hand and apply pressure so it’d stop bleeding, never minding the bleeding of her own palm. Thankfully, it only looked to be a little knick, and Kagome wondered if the creep of a demon that had handled them secretly had a soft spot for children.

“You okay?” Sango silently mouthed to Kagome. She nodded in reply, picking up the bottom hem of her own shirt and pressing it to her wound.

A sudden, deep, and broken yell punched through the air as one of the demons stumbled away, his hand yanked back, fingers furled in offense, and face twisted in rage. A little girl shrieked as he lunged forward, grabbing her by the collar of her cloak and pulling her out of the line, her feet stumbling to keep up as she cried apology after apology.

No. Conjurers weren’t common; now more than ever. How could there be two in one village? Especially one as small as theirs? How could there be more than one not even miles apart? How did Kagome not know? Didn’t conjurers have the ability to sense one another? She’d only assumed that was the case because of the seemingly-prophetic dreams she’d been having; because of the woman that had been coming to her in those very dreams. It was a weak hypothesis to go off of, but it was the only answer that made sense to Kagome. But, now there was a child being dragged into the center of where the town congregated, begging and pleading for her life while her mother screamed from the sidelines where she was being held at bay, and Kagome was none the wiser to her existence.

She wanted to yell that they were wrong, but how could they have been? It was a physical test. The accidental reaction of her powers was a dead giveaway. They couldn’t even lie their way out of this, or pretend the allegation was false. She was a conjurer. And they were about to kill her.

Kagome’s heart twisted and bunched painfully, that hard lump once more building in her throat, a murmured, “no,” barely leaving her parted lips, and her brown eyes caught a pleased grin on the approaching leader’s face that, just moments ago, seemed stuck in a scowl. He twirled his dagger in his fingers before kneeling down in front of the weeping girl.

“Found you.” He snickered, plunging the blade into her abdomen.

“No!” Kagome gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth in shock. The village was alight with terror, screams, cries, the rumble of defeat, the wailing of a grieving mother striking over all other sounds. Still, she was withheld from her little girl, reaching for her over the shoulder of the unforgiving demon who kept her away.

The knife was yanked free of the girl’s gut and she fell to her knees, her hands braced before her stomach as crimson crawled out, staining the front of her rain-soaked dress. Small hands weakly pressed into her abdomen, the wide look of horror, of pain, of fear etched into every inch of her expression as she gasped tremblingly. All too easily, the leader stood and walked away, not an ounce of remorse displayed.

“She was… she was just a kid.” A sympathetic village man stated morosely. “She wasn’t even ten yet.”

“She wasn’t dangerous!” Another testified.

“Would you like to be next?” A demon threatened, thinking his raised voice would retain order.

Kagome could hardly breathe, tears burning and brimming at her lower lid. All she could think to do was try to stop the bleeding, try to save the child, her feet moving on their own accord as she rushed out of line. Beyond the anger building in the crowd, the yelling growing louder, and the intense disturbance increasing rapidly and overwhelmingly, Kagome heard her name called multiple times. But, she couldn’t bring herself to listen, to stop, as she skidded to her knees in the mud, her arms catching the little girl as she fell forward. Her mother was finally freed, racing over and falling to the ground at her child’s side, helping through her weeping to lay her on her back.

“It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here.” She soothed as best as she could, hovering over her daughter's face so the rain wouldn’t hit it, shaking fingers pushing sopping hair from her cheeks.

Kagome grabbed the length from the girl’s cloak that stuck out on her side, bunching it and pressing firmly into the wound. The choked gasp that came from the kid was agonizing, and Kagome apologized profusely, blinking away her own tears as she whipped her head around to take in the rousing group of people, fury evident in their tones, in their bodies, as they returned threats with the offending demons.

“Where’s the doctor!?” Kagome asked as loudly as she could, her soaked, dark hair whipping her in the face as she spun her head around to try and find their town's self-proclaimed physician. “Help! We need help!”

“He isn’t here; he left for herbs yesterday.” Sango informed as she dropped down beside Kagome.

“And he still isn’t back!?”

“The storm must have delayed him.” Sango shook her head in response, her brows creased together as she glanced over her shoulder to quickly mind the budding commotion before turning her worried expression back toward the crying child. “What can I do? How can I help?”

“I don’t - I don’t know.” Kagome stammered, her breathing growing heavier as she panicked, noticing the blood was barely halting, the stain in the girl’s dress expanding and absorbing through the cloth she pressed against the wound.

“Apply pressure!” Miroku instructed when he slid to his knees in the mud on their opposite side, careful of the girl’s mother.

“I am!” Kagome cried.

“Stay with me, baby! Stay with me! I’m right here, look at me!” The woman coo’d, sniffling and gasping with her tremors while the comforting smile never left her lips.

“Hey! Leave her! Let her die, or we’ll kill you too!” One of the vile men demanded, though his shouts went ignored, easily drowned out by the encroaching, enraged men who finally appeared fueled enough to physically challenge them. Kagome could only hope they’d hold the demons back so they’d have the chance to save her.

“Here, let me see!” Miroku pushed Kagome’s shaking hands away, pulling aside the cloth of the cloak to take a peek at the wound in her stomach. Kagome had to look away then, the sight of the thick blood seeping through too much to handle. Instead, she focused her attention on the little girl, crawling up to hold her cold, bleeding hand.

Scared, pained, blue eyes focused on Kagome as she took shuddering breaths, her chest convulsing slightly as her small voice broke with her cries. Little fingers softly gripped her hand in return, and the tiniest of smiles curved her lips upward, light beginning to dim from her irises.

“Miroku!” Kagome urged. She glanced back at him and noticed the hopeless expression on his face. One that claimed there was nothing anyone could do. Her heart dropped, a nauseating weight filling her stomach. Quickly, she turned back to the little girl, leaning an inch closer. “Kikyo and the other conjurers, they’re gonna win, okay? We’re gonna win. I promise.”

“Who’s…”

“You! What did you just say!?” Heavy steps sloshed in the mud toward them, his voice low, growling, dangerous.

Kagome had spoken up to be sure the girl had heard her over the yelling, but she hadn’t realized that it could have been heard by anyone else. She didn’t think about the ramifications. She didn’t think. She’d just wanted to fill the child with some form of final hope. What was wrong with that? Was it the fact that she’d said Naraku would fall?

She’d hardly had enough time to turn and react before she was grabbed by the hair and lifted to her feet, yelping as she was dragged back and away.

“You mentioned Kikyo!” He exclaimed, giving a forceful yank as Kagome loudly gasped from her constant stumbling, the pain on her scalp, the fear racing through her. In the thick of it, she’d forgotten Kikyo wasn’t a person who was widely known. She’d forgotten Kikyo was a secret beacon of hope to the surviving conjurers, who appeared in dreams and spoke in riddles.

“No!” Was all she could manage to reply, screamed brokenly, heard clearly throughout the number of villagers around as the action died down and all attention was on them.

“How do you know her!?”

She yelped again, forcefully pulled backward and released to only trip and fall over some tools.

“Tell me, wench!” He demanded, picking Kagome up by her throat and slamming her back against the wall of a home.

“I don’t!” She adamantly swore, still able to speak. His grip was there, but not choking.

“Liar!” He said, slapping her hard across the face. “How do you know Kikyo!?”

“I heard of her in passing!” Kagome cried, wincing from the sting before she was forced to look at him again.

“I find that hard to believe.” He growled, inching closer to her face. His hold on her throat tightened, cutting off air, thick fingers pinching painfully into the sides of her neck. “Where is she?”

“I - I don’t know.” She sputtered, wheezed, her tears hot as they glided down her face. The rain was nothing but a drizzle now, though the distant sound of thunder roared angrily. She was both cold and hot, her lungs begging for air as his hand pushed further against her windpipe.

“Stop it! Let her go!” Miroku barked, and his presence was just enough to distract Naraku’s henchman and cause him to release some tension from her throat. Kagome greedily sucked in as much air as she could, though he still constricted his fingers against her. It was like breathing through a straw.

Her cousin stood there, dark hair sticking to his temples, bloodied hands braced before him as if to reason. “She doesn’t know anything; she just told you!”

“Oh, another tough guy?” A demon behind him chuckled. “A little scrawny for that, don’t you think?”

“You have me wrong, I don’t want to fight. Release my cousin, and we’ll back away peacefully. She meant no harm.”

“The harm was done when she stepped out of place to save the girl!”

“She was a child!”

“She’s a conjurer! She has no place in this world!”

“She did! She did have a place in this world, and we all know it!”

“You best shut the fuck up, boy.” The leader said from the sidelines. “Word may carry that you’re on their side. Now, you wouldn’t want that. Would you?”

“Tell him to let go of her.” Miroku sternly ordered.

“Back off.”

“Let her go!”

“Suit yourself. Have some fun.” Their leader flicked a finger at the two other demons, allowing them to do as they pleased.

Miroku hissed a low, “Fuck,” before dodging a hit from one of the two demons enclosing in on him. He was able to throw one of his own, nailing an ugly bastard in the face before he was grabbed from behind, bulky arms wrapping under and over his shoulders to hold him in place. The other demon was eager while he arrogantly approached in front of him, smiling as he punched Miroku in the stomach.

“Stop! Miroku!” Kagome squirmed against her own offender’s grasp, her instincts beginning to kick in as she felt a wild sensation build in her veins. Something righteous whispered the power she held in her ear, told her to use her abilities to save her cousin, further fueling the heat that made her forget about the nip in the air.

“Kagome, don’t!” Miroku coughed, pinning her with his indigo gaze before his eyes pinched shut from a swift hit to his diaphragm, blood dribbling over his bottom lip and down his chin.

Control sucked Kagome back to the present, the earnest crackle of Miroku’s voice ringing in her ears and overpowering the one that told her to fight. The grip against her throat tightened again, closing off her air passage as red eyes turned back to her, the lines of his frown deep.

“Don’t, what?”

Kagome wasn’t sure if he actually expected an answer or not, but he’d made it physically impossible. She clawed her nails along the thick skin of his large hand, trying to pry him away so she could breathe. It was dire that she didn’t use her powers; she understood this. But, as the adrenaline raced violently through her body, it was growing increasingly harder to keep it subdued. She’d be killed in a heartbeat; she’d already witnessed their unforgiving lack of hesitation. Her mother and younger brother would have to watch. Her cousin, too. She’d promised everyone she would protect herself, and she'd promised herself that she would protect them. Above all that, a different, deeper, more rational voice spoke to her, drowning out the one that told her to take action just a moment ago, telling her that her fight was meant for somewhere else. Something bigger. She could practically feel the breath hitting her ear, urging her of the importance. It told her to swallow it, hold it at bay, keep it buried no matter how badly it burned for release at the underside of her flesh. Keep it in its cage.

Finally, the demon released his tight hold on her neck, opting to firmly grip the front of her shirt. His upper lip twitched in disdain while Kagome sputtered, and coughed, and gasped for air to fill her lungs.

“Don’t, what?” Naraku’s henchman repeated, this time a little lighter, and it was impossible to miss that he was visibly analyzing for any sort of body language that could tip him off.

“Fight.” Kagome attempted to say, though her voice came out incredibly raspy and broken.

“Like I’d be worried about what a girl as small as you could possibly do to me. Unless,” He cocked a brow. “I’d have a reason to worry. Unless, you’re a conjurer.”

She shook her head, scared to look away from him, hyperaware of any movement she made in that moment. She was absolutely terrified of letting him know she was lying, but what if her stiffness was what told him the truth? What if the vehemence behind her objection was exactly what he needed to convict her? Where was the happy medium? Was there one? Kagome’s bottom lip quivered, resisting the impulse to glance Miroku’s way when he continuously coughed, the sound slightly gurgled, scared the shift in her eyes would be mistaken for something else.

“How else would you know who Kikyo is?”

“I - I h-heard of her in p-passing.” Kagome said, still unable to use her voice, and she wondered if the strangulation was enough to damage her vocal cords or if her anxiety was the cause of it. “I-In a nearby town. By - by the r-river.”

The demon yanked her forward and slammed her back against the wall, the back of her head smacking the wood painfully. “Are you a fucking conjurer, wench!?”

“No!” Kagome wheezed, releasing her own hold on his fist to emphatically present the blunt cut on her palm to him before she repeatedly smacked it against his forearm, smearing hers and the little girl’s blood, showing him the exact reaction - or lack thereof - they were looking for in coming today in the first place.

“Let - let her go.” Miroku was on his knees, breathing impaired, holding his side with one hand while the other braced his weight in the mud. “She’s not a conjurer. She’s not. She can hardly even hunt. I have to take her everywhere. There’s no way anyone that knows her would believe she’s one of them.”

“Being a conjurer doesn’t have anything to do with hunting, boy!” One of them spit.

“Well, how the hell would anyone know!?” Sango shouted from the side, still seated on her knees beside the child. Her cheeks were flushed furiously, and her hands were held out inches from her chest, palms up, covered in blood that she was afraid would never wash off. Their attempts were in vain and the mother wept, clinging to her little girl, her face buried in her daughter’s still chest. “Conjurers are practically going extinct; you’re all winning! We don’t know what they can do! They probably don’t know what they can do! Conjurers either have to hide to save their lives, or they don’t even know they are one yet!”

For a brief second, Kagome allowed herself to glance beyond Sango’s head, finding her family. Her mother’s hands were cupped in front of her mouth, trembling as she never removed her eyes from her daughter. Her brow was creased deeply, concern etched so thick you’d think an artist may have been too heavy with their pen. Kagome couldn’t tell if her mom was breathing slowly, or if she was holding her breath. She couldn’t tell if her mom was saying a silent prayer, or if words could barely form in her mind as she had no choice but to watch the scene unfold. Her mother had to witness a daughter torn away from another; a daughter who held the same, supernatural fate as her own. Kagome could only imagine the stress that currently laced her mom’s system.

Before her stood both her brother and Sango’s, Sota bearing a wide expression, neck tense and lips parted uncertainly, and Kohaku wearing a more cautious grimace, watching apprehensively. Knowing her onlookers were nervous, worried, should have been the very thing to cause Kagome to proceed carefully, but instead it served as the switch that flicked on in her head. She was tired of living like this, done with the dreadful thought that this was their normal. This wasn’t going to continue.

She’d been waiting for a sign, waiting for her cue. Bags were packed and weapons were stored in a hiding place where they’d been training outside of the village. Miroku, Sango, and she had discussed a while ago that they were going to eventually leave together and find the called-upon conjurers, and join Kikyo to fight against Naraku. It was their - the conjurers’ - responsibility. As much as she wanted to know why, pleaded with the apparition of this seemingly all-powerful conjurer time and time again for an answer, at this point it was no longer deemed necessary. Not anymore. Kagome figured she’d hear this magical invitation telling her when and where - which was farfetched but a fair assumption given she barely had anything to go off of. She even thought she might have to wait a while longer until she was stronger, more trained in her capabilities, before Kikyo gave her some form of clear signal instead of these ominous, detail-lacking prophecies in her subconscience that she was currently getting every other night. But now a tick in her core, an itch in her chest, a steady deepening in her resolve told her the time was now. Screw waiting, screw messages, screw rolling over, screw self-pity, and screw Naraku. If he wanted a fight, if this was his initiation all along, his declaration of war, then he was finally going to get one.

“If that’s the case, bitch, then what were you telling the girl?” The demon holding her collar jerked her slightly to demand her attention, receiving it with vexation.

“I,” Kagome took as stable a breath as she could, her throat aching and voice pathetically weak, clearly evident now that it was due to the ruthless strangling she’d received. “I told her Kikyo would kill Naraku.”

“And, why the fuck would you say that?” He asked, almost surprised at her bold statement.

“I wanted her to go with hope, not fear.”

He guffawed, his chest pumping. “You don’t actually believe that!”

Without hesitation, as straight as she could manage while she halted his laughter, Kagome replied, “Yes. Yes, I do.”

His smile faded quickly, humor replaced with anger as his fists bunched tighter and he heatedly pulled Kagome away from the wall and threw her to the floor. Kagome landed on her front, quickly pressing herself to her hands and knees just before he pushed her belly down, her wrists sliding and giving out so the side of her face planted in the mud.

“Kagome -“ Her cousin called, stumblingly crawling her way before another demon kicked him in the side he’d been clutching, a tiny crunch being heard just as Miroku choked in pain.

“Miroku, stop! I’m fine!” She attempted to say clearly, a foot braced on her back.

“Enough.” The leader stated. “Everyone back in line. We haven’t finished yet.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” A man asked disbelievingly. “You don’t think you’ve done enough damage already!? Get the fuck out!”

“Yeah, get out of here!” Other villagers began to call out, joining in. “You aren’t welcome here! You’re only taking advantage because our demon slayers are gone!”

“You think that matters?” The leader chuckled. “Go ahead. Revolt. Fight back. Make us leave. See how quickly your entire village will be wasted the next time around. You see four of us and think you stand a chance. You see a large group of us and think you’re safe because you’ve got a little pack of demon slayers protecting you. Funny, that’s never stopped our inspections before, so I don’t see why you think that’d stop us now. Either way, not a single one of you would be left alive if we brought a fraction of the wild demons under Naraku’s control, and he wouldn’t bat an eye if we borrowed them to kill you all. In fact, that’s already in the plan if we don’t check in. You kill us all, congratulations, but you’ll be worse off. Compared to him, we’re the most compassionate monsters you’ll ever meet, and I suggest you learn to appreciate that. Now, get your girls back in line.”

“It’s okay, papa.” An older girl spoke. Kagome couldn’t see from where she lay, but she recognized the seventeen year-old’s voice. Ayumi. She was soft-spoken normally, but also fairly brave and kind. The only child of a widowed father, and a girl, like the rest of them, forced to grow up too soon.

Ayumi walked forward, having backed away from the rowdiness with the majority of the girls who hadn’t run back to the safety of their parents. Notching her chin upward, she raised her left palm, “Let them finish. They won’t seem so big forever.”

“Bold girl.” The demon complimented.

“Yeah. The more I find myself hoping the conjurers win, the bolder I feel.”

“Careful, now. You’ll wind up getting yourself killed.”

“Looks like being female might just get me killed, anyway. So, I might as well go down confident that Naraku is the true evil here, and evil never wins.”

“What a disgusting cliche.” He groaned. “Grow a brain and come up with something original before you spew that sort of shit. It’s embarrassing. Look, I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but as the chick over there stated, we already are. We’re winning. Now, I won’t argue that we’re the bad guys here, but at this point in time, that doesn’t really matter.”

Ayumi swallowed thickly, eyes faltering downward for the smallest moment before she rose them to meet the red eyes of Naraku’s henchman. As sickeningly as that notion sat in her esophagus, Ayumi felt it would be worse if she’d sunken her shoulders at the validity of their power. By no means was she strong, and by no means was she actually all that courageous. Ayumi, true to heart, was a daydreamer, was a fantasy-enthusiast, was a soft, sweet, and hopeful wisher, was tired, was passive. So, while she could admit her stare wasn’t striking, her irises would never be vivid with the passionate heroism she dreamed about, her lips would never curve with a compelling and threatening snarl, she could also admit that just the act of matching his gaze was all she needed to do to defy defeat. With chapped lips parting, not a waver traveling over her tongue, she spoke. “Yes, it does.”

“Yes, it does.” Another girl agreed, approaching to stand beside Ayumi.

“The world hasn’t always been this way. Naraku only grew large less than five years ago.” A woman said, a mother, holding her fearful daughter in her arms. Several more girls got back in line, their shoulders a little more broadened than before. “I find it appalling how arrogant you all have gotten in such a short time. I assure you, conjurer, demon, human, or anything in between, I’d give them my trust sooner than I’d yield to the idea of life staying like this. Good and evil, the difference will always matter. So, yes. Yes, it does.”

“Inspirational.” One of Naraku’s demons remarked sarcastically, cringing.

“Hey, whatever blows your skirt up, lady.” The leader shrugged. “You can believe whatever you want. No sweat off my back. Funny enough, I’d put down all the money in my pockets right now to bet not a single one of them would return that trust, nor would they risk their lives to save you. I mean, not to play devil’s advocate or anything, but look at the twisted circumstances. What the fuck have you done to help them? Human’s are selfish; only looking out for themselves. You hate us showing up because you don’t want us to hurt you. It doesn’t have a damn thing to do with us hunting down conjurers, and it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with that little girl on the ground over there. If it did, you would have never watched it happen. If it did and it was just the ‘shock factor’ holding you back, you still would have done a little more than yell at us about how unfair it was. Oh, cry me a fucking river.” He grinned, stepping over to the first girl in the newly-formed line. There were less than half left that hadn’t been tested, and he got straight to work, unforgivingly slashing at the pre-teen’s palm and slapping his own to hers as he continued his heartless speech. “Even better, there’s two of your own on the floor, both of them getting quite the beating, and not a single fucking one of you did a damn thing to help. I understand the lad; that’s his - er - sister? Cousin? And, I mean, at least the chick tried to help the conjurer survive. I’ll give them kudos, but I think I speak for all of us non-humans when I say fuck the rest of you egotistical pricks. Oh no, my child might have a scar on her hand. Oh no, more trauma.” The leader mocked, his tone high and whiney. “Yeah, well, at least they’re not dead in the mud like little Suzie over there.”

There was a collective gasp from the audience at the harsh and morbid insensitivity. Still, no one challenged him. Someone should have, and no one said a thing.

Kagome tasted bile on the back of her tongue from the disgusting sentiments plaguing the thick, electric air. How cruel. She wanted to open her mouth and beg him to stop and just finish his job already, force her broken voice out to demolish his train of thought and hope he doesn’t mention the death for the remainder of his stay. The only thing stopping her was Miroku’s steady stare on her. It held more power than an order from his mouth to stay quiet ever could. With a foot on her back as a warning for more damage, the impending threat that he would easily be hurt again, and the fact that she’d said enough as it was, no matter how bold she felt in the face of this evil, she knew she was meant to face the source. She could only do that alive. So, begrudgingly, she obliged to his logical demand.

If they wanted them to finish, they needed to stop fighting. They needed to shut up. A double-edged sword. Like bowing their heads to the abuse. Enabling it. Allowing it so it ends quicker.

Kagome could feel her palms burning in the mud, a sense of humiliating defeat flooding her chest, making her feel sick to her stomach. She kept her eyes on Miroku, he kept his eyes on her. She tried to raise the volume of her thoughts, no matter how negative they were, to tune out the gasps and muffled cries of the young girls as they received the cut to their palms for testing.

How could she hold any form of power, yet still feel so powerless? How could she have the privilege of a voice, but feel so irrevocably silenced? She wanted to believe she could save everyone there if she just untied the knots concealing her abilities, but it physically pained her to understand that it was the wrong thing to do. It would be counterintuitive. It would wind up getting them all killed later. She could fight, but she also couldn’t.

“And, there you have it.” The leader finished by wiping his knife clean and slipping it back into the little holster on his hip, the hint of pride and sarcasm on his tongue. “Thank you so much for your cooperation and understanding. We’ll be seeing you.”

The demon holding Kagome down applied a small kick of pressure as he lifted off of her, chuckling as his dirty boots stuck in the mud with each step away.

There was an eerie silence, one that grew more deafening as the henchmen took their horses and disappeared from the village. It was heavy, thick, like sludge. Weighted with failure and death. Even the cries from the mother were muted. For a moment, Kagome thought that instead of drowning out the pained noises with her own thoughts, her brain had responded late to her distress by completely disabling her sense of hearing instead. But, she could hear the stickiness of the mud as she peeled herself from the ground to sit on her knees. She could hear feet slowly walking - most likely children rejoining their families. She could hear the thunder threatening them of the next onslaught of rain to come. The silence that captivated them was one that couldn’t be lifted with a simple, “Thank god that’s over.” No one could make it dissipate by asking if everyone was okay. Because, it didn’t matter.

And, that was something everyone, even the young, could recognize.

The small talk that would eventually come when everyone was back in their homes, the whispers, the crying, and maybe even tiny chuckles from people trying to find the little joys to get them through this, they would all be irrelevant. Because, outside there would be a blanket of despair thicker than the friction-inducing clouds hanging over them at this very moment, and it promised them there that it would stick around as long as it needed to.

“Hey,” A soft voice spoke in Kagome’s ear, a gentle, cold hand brushing her arm, and it was only when she gasped and jerked upright that she realized she’d been hanging her head, sights stuck on her hands on her thighs. “Sh, sh. It’s just me.” Her mother reassured, kneeling beside her and using her sleeve to try and wipe her face clean of some clumpy mud. “Are you alright, honey?”

Out of sheer reaction, she gave a meager nod.

“Look at me, Kagome. Look at me. Tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” Kagome said as convincingly as possible. When Miroku groaned, catching her mother’s attention and even her own, she was happy to have the focus off of her. Kohaku and Sango were beside him, trying to sit him up, freezing as he struggled.

“Come on, boy. Let’s get you home.” A couple, larger village men came over, better suited to help. One of them firmly clasped his hand in Miroku’s, quickly pulling him up to his feet so the pain wouldn’t be dragged out. Her cousin hissed at the shock, clenching his throat to try and swallow his grumble, and the two men supported him by pulling his arms over their shoulders.

“Can you stand?” Kagome’s mother asked.

“Yeah.” She whispered, not wanting to irritate her throat further and finding no real need to speak up right now. “I’m fine, mama. Don’t worry about me. Miroku needs your attention more.”

“Even if that were true, he’s kind of surrounded. I don’t think I’m needed there, love.” She replied, grabbing her by her elbow to support her as they stood together. “Sota, take her other side, please. Just in case.”

“Wait.” A broken voice called to them, trembling but by no means weak.

They all stopped just two steps in, looking over to the mother on the ground. Her daughter’s body, from head to toe, was covered by a long cloak belonging to one of the villagers beside her now, attempting to give comfort.

“Kikyo? Is that what you’d said? Kikyo?” She asked Kagome.

As clearly as she could, with a little nod of her head as she processed the question, Kagome said, “Yes.”

“Who is that?”

Kagome could feel the tension in her brow falter as the sympathetic, concerned curve in them wilted away to change more into dubiousness. “You - you don’t…” She didn’t know who Kikyo was. Even her own mother knew who Kikyo was. Her mom was the first to hear about her dreams before she started discussing them with the rest of her family. Had her daughter not had the same messages coming to her? Or, was she so confused, so distraught from them all, that she chose secrecy over being seen as insane?

“She’s a conjurer.” Kagome answered.

“Is she - is she a strong conjurer?”

“I think so.”

“I’m sorry, did your daughter never mention anything about Kikyo?” Sango carefully asked.

“N-no. Why would she?”

“We were just under the impression that she may have been sending survivors telepathic signals of sorts.” She said.

“That’s preposterous.” A man scoffed.

“Maybe. We heard it in passing. From an old man, no less.” Miroku said, discomfort laced in his tone.

“What - what could she possibly have had to say to a little girl?” The mother asked, her bottom lip quivering while her hand rested on her daughter’s chest.

“I’m sorry. I wish I knew.” The words were painful to speak. Not from her throat, but from the fact that she had to lie to a woman who’d had her everything stolen from her. A woman who, more than anyone, deserved the truth.

When she’d said what she’d said about Kikyo before, the little girl had muttered something in return before the demon tore Kagome away. It seemed like she was about to ask who Kikyo was. Kagome was sure now that the kid didn’t know. She hadn’t had the dreams, the premonitions, the one-sided conversations, nothing. She hadn’t had any communication with Kikyo, whatsoever. Maybe Kikyo was kind to exclude the young, and only spoke to the older, potentially more conditioned conjurers.

Or, maybe there was a possibility that Kagome was the only one.

And, it terrified her.

“Will she win? Kikyo? Will she defeat Naraku?” The crying mother asked.

Kagome was finding it hard to reply, to communicate. Her throat was tightening up as she watched the woman’s body begin to crumble once more toward her little girl’s; like she needed to be connected with her to prevent her from going cold. She could feel her eyes stinging, tears brimming, her fingers quaking and legs growing weak. Her cheeks felt hot and her chest wouldn’t allow a full breath of air - only unsteady, unmatched, quick puffs that burned. A hot hand slid into her right, her brother’s fingers tightening their grip, but she couldn’t control her body enough to grab it back.

“I refuse to believe otherwise.” Sango answered confidently.

The mother now sobbed, nodding in acknowledgment as she weeped over the covered body of her daughter. “Thank you.”

Kagome wanted to apologize profusely. For failing to protect her. For failing to try to protect her. For her loss. For the chance she was never given to learn to defend herself. For the silence she had to keep. The guilt was so heavy on her shoulders, she was ready to give in in front of them all, but the hand in hers pulled her back, made her move.

More villagers were moving toward the mother and child to help comfort while they removed the body, and that was the prime opportunity to get Kagome out of there. Sota could tell from the moment it started that she was going to break down, maybe even panic. He knew his sister, he knew the signs, he understood the stress she was under, and he wanted nothing more than to get her away and help her as best as he could. So, he disregarded everyone else and began pulling Kagome ahead. Miroku would have to move at a slower pace, Sango and Kohaku would stick by him and the men that helped, and he figured their mom would respect that they needed a moment of peace where they weren’t under more eyes than necessary.

Sota ignored the broken utterances of his name that came from his sister, he ignored the threatening weather, and he ignored anything that could potentially get in his way. He directed Kagome around their house, to the back, and toward the tree line of the woods. Three trees in past the shrubbery bush, on the opposite side of the trunk, Sota found the rope ladder to the treehouse their dad had built them hanging. Holding it steady, he released Kagome’s hand.

“Come on. Climb.”

-> | next chapter |

[wallgirl]

The Little Nereid Part 6

1800 words, part six of a XX part fanfiction (it ain’t over til it’s over, babes)

Poseidon x OC

Dynamene, youngest of the 50 Nereids, has lived most of her adolescence as a servant alongside her sisters at Poseidon’s palace. But with her coming-of-age birthday and other developments, what she initially thought was just admiration of her master blossoms into something stronger and more passionate… and painful.

Categories: Romance, angst, unrequited love, coming-of-age, earn-your-happy-ending; no NSFW content

---

"What is it they want an audience for?!" Dynamene asked, hurrying to keep up with Poseidon's long strides. "They didn't say anything earlier..."

"I have no idea. But if they didn't include you, then it must not concern you," he replied shortly, gaze fixed ahead. What else could it be about besides you?

Dynamene's expression remained troubled. "Maybe they forgot to tell me... Maybe they expect me to be there."

"On the contrary, I was asked by one of your sisters to make sure that you were in your room before the meeting begins. I plan to do so personally." His stare shifted back down to her eyes.

Dynamene's gaze flitted across his face, trying to decipher what he knew and refused to share with her. Then she processed the last few words. "You don't have to see me to my room, really. I promise I won't leave it until you've finished with your meeting."

"I would like to believe you, but you've shown in the past a predisposition to eavesdropping."

Dynamene blushed but couldn't keep from giving an embarrassed grin. "Ah, yes, I suppose you're right. But I wouldn't dare cross you again, my lord." Her expression as she looked up at him was almost mischievous.

"I don't plan to find out," he said flatly, and she turned her gaze to the floor with pursed lips. She remained quiet the rest of the journey.

In far too little time, they had reached the door to her room. Dynamene reluctantly opened it and stepped half inside before turning back to peer at him with forlorn eyes. "I'm sorry I broke your trust, my lord. I know there may be nothing I can do to restore it, but... I want to apologize again, either way."

He was quiet for a moment. She thought she heard him sigh, a quiet exhale, before he spoke one more time. "Perhaps, given enough time, you will."

Dynamene stared into the distance, an unexplainable urge to voice the question that had been weighing on her mind for over a week overtaking her. "Lord Poseidon?" she asked, her voice cracking. She dared not show him her face now, but there was something she needed an answer to. She had to ask now, while she had the courage to speak. 

"Yes?"

"I..." She faltered at the last minute. "I hope the audience with my sisters goes well." She stared up at the ceiling, hating herself for faltering. Her real question would just continue to weigh on her that much longer. Will... will you really take as consort the maiden Hera plans to present you with?

Poseidon stared at the cracked door and the slender inch of material he could see of her robes. He looked away towards the window on the far end of the hall. The sky was turning golden as the sun began its descent towards the horizon. He was no fool. Something else was troubling her, but what, she clearly dared not to say.

"I will hear whatever they have to say with an open mind," he settled on for an answer.

"Thank you," Dynamene whispered, twisting the bracelet 'round her wrist. "I... We all appreciate it." The mother-of-pearl beads glowed beautifully in the light of the sunset. She shyly peered around the door one last time. "Thank you, my lord. Goodnight."

Poseidon stood outside her room for a moment more, as if collecting himself. This all was becoming a hassle; wasn't it?

And yet, it didn't bother him as much as it had in the start.

He turned on his heel and continued towards the great hall. The other Nereids were surely waiting for his entrance now, and the sooner he arrived, the sooner it would be over.

The forty-nine other Nereids parted silently as Poseidon made his way between them to his throne. The sunset threw soft shapes of orange light across the vast room. The solemnity in each Nereid's face, no small feat to begin with, was put into greater relief by the shadows in the dimming light. Their eyes followed the god as he sat upon the chair, settling in and resting his cheek upon his hand in his usual manner.

"You have all called to request an audience with me, which I see fit to grant," he began lowly. "All of you except for Dynamene, who you requested be left out of this meeting."

The Nereids said nothing but looked to the eldest sister standing at the head of the group: Ianeira.

"As such, I have made sure that Dynamene is in her quarters." His eyes drifted from each face to the next. "My time is precious little; make your statement."

Ianeira stepped forward, her back straight and gaze direct. "Lord Poseidon, I won't make any pretenses about why we have asked for you to hear us out this evening. Something has recently come to the attention of all of us, including, I suspect, you, that we feel requires action."

Poseidon's gaze snapped to her face. He said nothing.

"My lord, Dynamene has recently come of age. She is a young woman now in body, but in mind and soul, she is still a child. She allows her feelings to run away from her; she has yet to learn to rein them in when it is appropriate. I'm afraid this may cause problems for all of us in the future." Ianeira bowed her head solemnly. Her careful wording brought her point across to Poseidon without being overly direct.

His suspicions had been right. He tilted his head slightly, gaze shifting from Ianeira to someplace in the distance. "You come here to turn on your own sister?"

"We come here to protect our sister," Ianeira answered, her words almost sharp. "We come here to act on her behalf as her older siblings. And, in particular, we have come to make a request." She lowered her face to the floor once more. What would a monster like you know, after all, of love for one's family? How dare you accuse me of betrayal when your hands are full of your brother's blood. Dynamene will not be your next victim, even if I have to get gutted like Adamas to prevent it.

Poseidon remained silent. He didn't move at all, as if carved from the same stone as his throne.

In the crowd, Eione's gaze sought Thoe's. She subtly rose her arm behind her back, showing her crossed fingers.

"We request permission to bring Dynamene home for an extended visit with our parents, along with a dozen of us older sisters. It has been a while since we have seen our family, and I'm sure the change of environment will do her good."

Poseidon did not look at her. The intent behind their request was clear now. They meant to remove Dynamene from the palace in an effort to get her away from him. They were trying to keep her from falling in love with him.

And they were attempting to discourage him from taking an interest in her.

How presumptuous of them. How futile of them, to think that they had the power to keep him from what he desired. They had no right to make such demands. Where had this sudden blind courage come from? His hands tightened minutely, undetectably, on the arms of the throne. Dynamene's boldness made much more sense now.

For several seconds there was no sound in the great hall. Every sister's gaze was focused sharply on the god, their expressions ranging from concerned to annoyed. The Nereids were not happy with the possibility of their beloved youngest sister falling for the callous Poseidon. Admittedly, their worries were not unfounded. If Dynamene was taken as consort by Poseidon, she would no longer be under the protection of her family or societal customs; she would be considered Poseidon's property, and her fate would be left at the mercy of his wrath. The Nereids did not trust him to leave Dynamene unharmed. Memories of his past violence remained suspended in the air around them, a vivid warning to the fate of their sister.

What good would it do to deny their request, in the end? He had no interest in invoking the ire of his servants and their family; too troublesome for such an insignificant conflict. Surely, if he refused to let Dynamene leave the palace, word would get around. People would assume he did have an interest in the nymph if he tried to keep her here now. Well, if the Nereids so wished to keep their sister safe from his toxic influence, so be it. What was it to him?

"Your request is granted," he answered. "You may take leave of the palace for a month. I won't have need of all fifty of you during this time, anyways. I have important duties to take care of elsewhere." I won't even know you're gone.

"Thank you, my lord," Ianeira replied gratefully. "We'll begin preparations tonight, and leave tomorrow afternoon." All the Nereids dropped to a silent bow, then took their leave.

Poseidon remained on his throne. A feeling he was loathe to claim was seething in his chest. He knew the Nereids had always regarded him with caution, which he welcomed. It kept them at a reasonable distance and discouraged them from annoying him. But seemingly overnight it had culminated in this; them spiriting away one of their own because she had warmed up to him.

He got to his feet and strode briskly towards his quarters. That things had come to a head like this was ridiculous. He should have put a stop to this the moment Dynamene had looked at him with stars in her eyes. But how could he have known things would develop this way? It wasn't his fault that the nymph had taken a liking to him. The sound of her rapid heartbeat had finally become ambient noise to his ears; now, when she returned to the palace, he'd have to get used to it all over again. When she returned, he would have to get used to her overly bright smiles and bold attempts at making conversation once more. He'd have to talk to her again about the ocean, and what he did there. He'd have to show her what he saw in the deep sea, her delicate hand in his, her expression shifting rapidly as she took in the visions in her mind's eye. He'd have to hear her unfounded worries about his safety, even with all his strength and power.

No, he didn't have to do any of that. So why was he considering it a foregone conclusion already?

The doors to his suite closed behind him far rougher than necessary, and dust blew free from the stone walls. He threw his trident rather forcefully onto its wall rack before stepping onto the balcony. The waves of the ocean were growing unusually choppy for this time of day.

It would be a month until he heard that heartbeat again.

---

Author’s Notes: Aughhhh now we’re getting closer to the climax, finally, I’ve been waiting for it.

This has now become the second longest fanfic I’ve ever written. By the time it ends, it’ll probably be the longest.

Careful throwing your trident, Poseidon; wouldn’t want you acCIDENTALLY STABBING SOMEONE NOW WOULD WE?!

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Klaus x Powered Reader

Summary: Reader is part of the umbrella academy but came when they were 12 due to parents needing help for them, ya know controlling powers and whatnot. They can shapeshift into any animal and their senses are heightened n such.

Warnings: bloody, fighting bad guys, bit of Klaus fluff

You know that moment in a movie where they freeze frame and then the character says something like “you’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.”

Yeah with Klaus you have those moments more times then you could count. In fact, if you had a dollar for every time Klaus has gotten you into a freeze frame moment. (And you’ve thought about this often.)

You could probably afford a real nice apartment with actual food in its fridge. Instead of living at the Academy with some apples and Klaus’ latest alcoholic beverage.

But alas, here you are in a back alley as Klaus’ bodyguard waiting for some Italian mafia members to come get their money that he owes them. Well that’s what you’re assuming but Klaus insists they’re just some moody tough guys. Okay sure.

You watch Klaus as he paces back and forth in front of you counting his cash for about the 50th time in the past 10 minutes.

Klaus stops abruptly and turns to you with a smile, “You know what I love about you, Y/N, every time I think things could get worse I look at your pretty face and I know you got me.”

Sighing in knowing annoyance you look up at him, “Are you short.”

Klaus snorts, “No actually I’m pretty long.” He says with wink.

You look up to the sky trying not to crack, you couldn’t give him the satisfaction even if it was funny, not the time or place. Especially considering his dumbass is short some cash he definitely owes very soon.

You look over to Klaus again and raise an eyebrow.

“Alright how much?”

He twiddles is fingers while avoiding your curious gaze. “Oh you know...a couple hundred or so.”

“So that’s why I’m here, emotional support my ass”, You say rolling your eyes a bit amused nonetheless.

Klaus may be an idiot but he’s funny and kind and you love him. Also you do enjoy beating up gangsters or whoever these thugs of the hour are.

Folding your arms while giving Klaus a smirk you tell him, “Well your friends better get their asses here cause when they do. I’m gonna knock their teeth in for making us wait in this shit ally. I’ve been suppressing the urge to vomit for 10 minutes.”

He nods in agreement, glad you’re not about to rip him a new one for his latest antics.

“Wait, does it really smell that bad, I mean the dumpster is at the other end of the ally.” He says in confusion.

You put your hands on your hips glancing at the dumpster and then focusing on Klaus.

“I’ve got the whole animal kingdom inside me Klaus, I know you can kinda smell that dumpster from here, but listen. For me it’s 1000x worse and let me tell you it doesn’t smell like a bath and body works around here.”

Klaus laughs scratching the back of his head, “Right, right, sorry.”

Suddenly a sketchy looking black car rolls into the ally, coming to a halt as three angry looking men walk out. Clearly hiding something within their coats, the “leader” it seems steps up and speaks.

“You betta have that 1,000 you owe us right fucking now you little theif, I don’t appreciate you takin’ my mother’s gold necklace, rest her soul.” He growls.

Klaus raises his hands up, “Listen buddy, you stole that from your own mother at her funeral...and let me tell you she’s not to happy about it.” He says looking to his left where you assume this guys dead mother is standing.

The bald guy behind him shakes his head and says, “So fuckin what? We needed that shit for other important purposes raccoon eyes.”

Klaus now lost as to where this situation is about to turn looks over at you clearly needing assistance. While mouthing “help me”.

Walking past him you hold your hands up showing you have nothing to hide, “Now that’s not very nice, a real shit personality, your mother would be very disappointed in how you’ve turned out. Cause let’s be honest it’s not like your looks are doing anything for you either.” You say snickering trying to see how they’ll react.

The first guy smirks reaching into his coat to pull out a nasty looking knife. “See this right here, I’m a good old fashioned man, I don’t believe in guns.”

You raise your eyebrows at him, “Oh well in that case we should all be quite relieved then.”

Looking behind him you notice as his two friends pull their own weapons out, which consists of a hammer and some type of meat hook.

“Klaus couldn’t have picked an easier bunch of idiots to fuck up then these psychos.” You thought.

The bald one begins to move brushing past the first guy looking like he’s seeing red.

“Jesus, man I didn’t mean to offend, I’m just making friendly conversation.” You muse.

Baldy begins to charge holding up his hammer ready to strike. “Come here you bitch, that’s my husband you’re talking to.”

He swings as you side step him, tripping him as he falls directly onto the concrete. Conveniently dropping the hammer in the process. Klaus being the ever troublesomely fantastic sidekick, picks up the hammer and throws it at you.

Gripping the hammer tightly, baldy rises from the ground faster then you’d expected mouth bloody and boiling with rage.

But in a hot second his bearded buddy in crime sprints towards you with his meat hook seemingly out of nowhere.

Klaus yells for you to watch out but you didn’t even need to look, this guys heart beat is louder then a firework and you’re faster then a viper, your senses on overload. As you turn around in record time to grab the guys right arm with the meat hook.

With your left hand tight around this guys beefy one you hold on and push his assault giving him more power. Effectively fulfilling your plan and leading the hook right into baldys chest. Who was fortunately running towards you.

A split second later with the hammer in your right hand you swing it forcefully into the guys shins. Hearing a sweet sickly crunch sound and the wild howls protruding from your assailants throat.

“Sorry I didn’t know you were married.”

“Fuck you!” He screams.

You look up hearing the sting of metal being swung in the wind, to see a knife heading straight for your throat.

With lighting reflexes you grab his wrist, the knife inches from your vulnerable skin.

Klaus gasps in the background terrified and relieved at not getting your throat slit.

You turn your fingernails to sharp cat-like claws that dig dangerously into his flesh, causing hot blood to drip out. The man drops the knife and grimaces in pain.

“I don’t know about you but I don’t think my boyfriend owes you three motherfuckers shit.” You growl, eyes beginning to glow an electric blue while the whites of your eyes shift to black, something that happens when you start to use your power.

“Fuck you, and fuck that thieving piece of junky shit crying in the corner.”

Your mood darkens, “Wrong answer.”

Letting go of his bloody wrist you grip his throat with your left hand lifting him off the ground. He begins to choke and struggles against your tight grasp.

“I know you’ve heard of me from other friends of yours, so listen very closely. If you touch Klaus again or anyone else around here who’s just trying to survive in this city. I won’t be so generous next time. Or maybe I should rip your fucking face off right now.” You squeeze tighter drawing blood.

“Y/N.”  Klaus says softly.

“Let’s go home.” He asks with pleading eyes and you snap back to reality smelling the iron scent of blood on your hands.

Sometimes you can get carried away feeling the rush of the hunt, a taxing side affect of your power, one you’ve always struggled to control.

Letting the man go he slumps to the ground coughing and sucking in straggled breaths.

“ Alright, me..me and the boys...won’t do nothing....you have my...my word....no bullshit nothing....I swear.”

“Good cause your friends are gonna need more then some stitches.”

You quickly leave the ally and start walking down the street towards the Academy.

Breathing heavily, you look up at Klaus who’s at your side as you start to feel a bit embarrassed that he saw you lose it a little.

He holds onto your arms stopping you, “Don’t worry, we’ll have a bath and watch some movies...hey you like that Museum one?”

“The Night at the Museum.” You say smiling still feeling off.

Klaus’ face lights up, “Yeah that one, with the big T-Rex skeleton and President Roosevelt on a horse.”

He links your arms together and you both begin walking again.

“Y/N, I’m not afraid of you, you know. I never have been, I actually find it pretty sexy of you to beat up bad guys for me and keep the neighborhood safe-er. Ben thinks so too, minus the sexy part of course. Only I get to enjoy that.”

You relax more into his side and once again start to feel a bit more at ease with yourself.

“Oh wait a second, here put these sunglasses on, your eyes are still playing mood rings with us. Don’t wanna freak out the civilians” He laughs.

“Thanks, I did wonder why that kid back there looked like he just saw a ghost.”

Klaus winks, “Maybe he did, cough cough..Ben...cough cough.”

“You’re an ass.” You say while rolling your eyes

“Yes indeed my love but remember I deal with the supernatural of all sorts, from ghosts to monsters, nothing phases me.” Klaus states proudly.

You laugh, “ Okay Van Helsing, this monster wants a bath with her hunter then.”

Klaus kisses your cheek, “That can be arranged my dear.”

Smiling up at him you hold him tighter and think to yourself how weird your life is, but you wouldn’t change it for anything.

- okay wow alright, first story ever I hope it’s good or at least some people like it. It was honestly fun to write ngl.

[c-rose2081]

Storybook Days

(Chapter 1)

—

It’s Summer in Auradon, and Audrey is tasked with babysitting the VK kids while the others are busy. Not sure what to do with them, Audrey agrees to read from a book of stories Dizzy found in the royal library. Except the book is actually enchanted; and now Audrey, Celia, Dizzy and the twins are stuck inside its pages, having to go through each story until they find a way out.

—

“Ben, you can’t be serious,”

It wasn’t very Princess-like to whine, but Audrey Rose didn’t care much for being proper at the moment. It was a bright and clear Summer day in Auradon, and the young King had just dropped a last minute bombshell on the heir of Auroria, “what do you mean I have to babysit?”

“I wouldn’t do this unless I had to, Auds.” Ben said, only half-apologetic as he quickly signed off on some papers while trying to kick on his left shoe, “but Evie’s presence at the Royal Picnic has been requested,”

“So what!” Audrey insisted, following Ben across the study as he gathered up his leather jacket and motorcycle helmet, “why not take the little heathens with you to the stupid picnic?”

Ben shot Audrey a warning look as she lifted her hands and scoffed, “sorry. I just mean they are troublesome and annoying, and I don’t want to babysit,”

“Audrey, you know I’d love for them to come, and for us not to be having this conversation. But four VKids running around with a bunch of stuffy dignitaries is a disaster waiting to happen. This Picnic is really important,”

“But why can’t Uma do it? Or your parents?”

“Because Uma, Harry and Gil are on the isle this weekend doing outreach, and mom and dad will be at the picnic,”

“Ugh, but Ben...”

“Audrey,” placing both hands firmly on the girls shoulders, the boy shot her a dazzling, Kingly grin, “remember what you said to me after Barrier Day? About wanting to make amends?”

“Yes,” Audrey grumbled, “I’m the one who said it,”

“This is a perfect opportunity. It’s just one afternoon, till tomorrow, and Mal and Evie would certainly appreciate it,”

“But the VKids hate me, Ben,” Audrey insisted again as the King walked from the office with a pink Princess in tow, “Celia put chili powder on the rim of my teacup the other day. I could’ve died,”

“It was a harmless little prank, Audrey,” Ben chuckled, swiveling around on a heel to cup Audrey’s cheek in his hand, “you’ll be fine. I have full faith that you can watch them for a night.” He reassured her, “please Audrey? For me?”

Giving the girl his best beastly pout, Audrey folded her arms tightly against her chest.

“Fine. But you’ll bring something back for me, right?” Audrey asked, admitting defeat with a deep sigh and an eye roll, “a piece of cake or...”

“Something sweet for my favorite Princess.” Ben agreed, hurriedly kissing the back of Audrey’s knuckles with a smile, “you’ll do great, I just know it. Evie left some instructions on the fridge, and you have us all on speed dial. Now I have to go or I’ll be late,”

Leaving the Princess at the top of the steps, she watched Ben mount up his motorbike and speed off with an army of staff behind him. This left the castle unusually quiet, and Audrey placed both hands on her hips as she exhaled deeply.

“Babysitting duty,” She scoffed under her breath, tipping her head to rub the place between her eyes, “what a world this is.”

Once upon a time, Audrey would’ve been invited to the Royal Picnic. Naturally though, after her little stint with Maleficent’s Scepter, things had been a bit rocky with the other royal families in Auradon. She was shielded from the gossip by spending the Summer in Beast’s Castle, while her Mum, Dad and Grammy patched things up in Auroria with broad, fantastic strokes. But she still caught wind of the whispers going around. None of them pleasant.

Turning and walking back into the castle, Audrey closed the door with a shallow BANG, and rattling echo. She walked towards the kitchen, still trying to soothe the headache she already felt coming on. Of all the people in the Castle, Audrey was the favorite target for devilish pranks. The VKids were little brats, running around like they owned the place and being spoiled rotten by Evie. And though Dizzy could be sweet on her own, she was Celia’s right hand minion when push came to shove.

Grumbling nonsense under her breath, Audrey swept by the island towards the fridge. Here, a scrawled note in Evie’s hand lay stuck under a magnet. It wasn’t just instructions; it was an entire schedule of things to do.

“These kids live better then I do,” Audrey mumbled, raising an eyebrow at some of the items Evie had listed.

Bake Cookies

Croquet on the Lawn

Movie Marathon

Run Baths

Bedtime Story

“Bedtime story?” Audrey mumbled with a scoff, “you’ve got to be kiddi-EEK!”

Audrey leapt up with a shriek as something cold was dropped down the back of her dress. Shaking herself hard to dislodge the ice cube from lace and satin, Audrey groaned in frustration as she whipped around. Celia and Dizzy were on the floor, holding their tummies as they laughed. The Twins were peeking in through the doorway, not laughing but staring at her like she’d take their heads off.

“You little brats!” Audrey hissed, “get off the floor. Front and center,”

“We don’t take orders from you, old hag.” Celia cackled, rolling over onto her stomach, “why aren’t you at the Picnic? Didn’t get invited?”

“As a matter a fact I didn’t,” Audrey seethed through her teeth, “so now, I’m stuck here watching you four,”

“Awe what!” Celia complained, finally getting back to her feet and brushing off her skirt, “but Evie had a big day planned.”

“Yeah well, Evie’s not here,” Audrey hissed, holding up the list in her hand and waving it around, “and I’m not interested in catering to your every desire. So you can just forget about that,”

“You’re kinda mean,” Dizzy complained.

“You just put an ice cube down my dress, scared me out of my skin, and now you expect me to play nice? I don’t think so,” Audrey hissed, tearing up the list in her hands and tossing it on the counter. Turning to the twins, she pointed at them, “you two, in here with me. We’re gonna have a chat,”

Hesitantly, the blondes scuttled in. Four VKids now faced off with a very peevish Princess, the girl placing both hands on her hips with an animalistic huff, “alright, twerps. Here’s how this is gonna go. I don’t really care what you do. Go hide in your rooms, watch TV all day, play with swords in the armory, whatever. Just leave me out of it unless someone’s dying,”

“What will you be doing?” Celia asked, “plotting to curse Ben and Mal’s first child?”

Both Ceila and Dizzy sniggered behind their hands as Audrey clenched a fist tightly.

“I really hate children,” she managed under her breath, folding her hands together as though in prayer, “listen, I don’t like you, and you don’t like me. I get that, and I’m really quite reasonable. So just stay away from me, and you can do whatever you want. Kapeesh?”

Four pairs of eyes blinked up at her in confusion as Audrey rolled her eyes and translated, “do you understand?”

“Yeah, we understand,” Celia nodded, glancing at her companions before pinning Audrey with a hard stare, “but we want waffles for dinner.”

“Deal.”

“And we want to watch an R rated movie!” Dizzy added as Audrey lifted a brow but shrugged. If it kept the little monsters away from her, it was worth the risk.

“Fine. Anything else? You two?”

Glancing at the twins, the blondes shook their heads quickly as Audrey clapped her hands together and sighed in relief.

“Great. I’ll be out by the pool enjoying what’s left of today. You stay in here and do whatever, and we’ll be peachy. Kay?”

Nodding in agreement, Audrey turned and walked from the kitchen. Changing into her favorite bikini and hat, the Princess found her way to the pool a little while later. Not trusting the water — lest Celia put dye in it that would make her skin turn blue — Audrey found a comfortable spot on a lawn chair and dropped the sunglasses down over her eyes. For a while, the world was peaceful. But Audrey should’ve known better then to trust the VKids word on anything.

While she slept, Celia managed to drop a scorpion on her from the upper balcony. Where she had even gotten such a thing, Audrey wasn’t sure. But it pinched her fair skin a few times before she was able to knock it away, causing horrible red welts to form. Upon running inside, she slipped and fell on oil that had been lift on the marble and slammed back first into a suit of armor. There was laughter above her on the stairway, but Audrey was to busy rubbing the long cut which she now had on her forehead from the fall to notice.

It was an afternoon of one vicious prank after another. From simply stealing her clothes while she was showering, to locking her in a broom closet which they had somehow tricked her into, it was constant pain and torment. Her own little hell on earth. By the time dusk was falling, Audrey was exhausted and in pain. Her head ached from a possible concussion, and her stomach burned with the scorpion stings. Her mouth tasted a bit like ash from the Alo-Vera gel Dizzy managed to spread on her sandwich while she wasn’t looking. And she just wanted to close her eyes and sleep.

Thankfully, after putting the movie on and shoving plates piled with waffles into the kids hands, the terrible two had shut up. The film was long over now, and Audrey assumed the four had made their way to bed. She herself was trying and failing to sleep when the slow open of her door made her heart still. Not another prank. She couldn’t handle any more today.

“...Audrey?” Dizzy whispered. Ignoring the girl in hopes she’d simply go away, Audrey winced as her shoulder was gently tapped, “Audrey, are you awake?”

“...I am now,” the Princess groaned, rolling over to face the VKid. Dizzy was haloed in the hall light, but Audrey could see the tears streaming down her face and what appeared to be a book in her arms. Sitting up slightly, Audrey’s brows furrowed, “hey, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t sleep,” Dizzy croaked, “I had a nightmare,”

“A nightm-” pausing, Audrey sighed and nodded, “from the movie I bet.”

“It was really scary,” Dizzy whimpered.

“Ok. And what would you like me to do?” Audrey asked, not entirely sure how to proceed. After all, when she was young and couldn’t sleep, she never went to mum or Grammy. They just sent her back to her room with a sleepy grunt and a ‘go back to sleep, Audrey’, and that was it. Comforting a scared child wasn’t something she did, let alone something she ever had experience with.

“Can you read me a story?” Dizzy asked, “I found a book in the library.”

Glancing at the clock, it was only about midnight as Audrey rubbed her face tiredly and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, fine. Go turn on the light,”

“Is it ok if the twins listen, to?” Dizzy asked, crossing the room to the light as Audrey sat up.

“You aren’t planning on waking them just to hear a story, are you?”

“No, they’re already here.”

At being mentioned, two blonde heads in night caps glanced around the doorway.

“Ah, I see,” Audrey rasped, “well come on then. Might as well read to everyone,”

At the invitation, two short bullets zipped like mice across the carpet and landed on the mattress with a PHOOPH. Dizzy followed after, climbing to sit next to Audrey on her right side as she handed over the book.

“Where did you even find this thing,” Audrey asked, blowing dust from the beautiful embossed cover, “it’s ancient,”

“I dunno. It was on one of the bottom shelves,” Dizzy shrugged, “so what’s it about?”

“A book of fairytales,” Audrey told her, reading the inscription on the first page, “this book, bequeathed to Beast and Belle on their wedding day. May it find you well.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Glancing up at the new voice, Celia leaned in the doorway. Though she appeared casual and unbothered, Audrey could see the dark circles under her eyes, meaning the movie probably got to her as well, despite her facade of bravado.

“It was a wedding gift,” Audrey told her, “come to hear the story?”

“I thought you weren’t interested in that kind of thing,” Celia grumbled, though she made her way towards the bed anyway and crawled up to sit on Audrey’s other side. The twins laid across her legs, blinking up at her with sapphire colored irises.

“Well, one small story won’t hurt. Despite all the torture you put me through today.”

Celia said nothing to this as Audrey turned back to the book, flipping the page to the first story: Little Red Riding Hood.

“Once upon a time,” Audrey began, “in a wood not unlike this one, a little girl in a red cloak was making her way to her grandmothers house...”

[dragonsdomain]

Christmas Wish

“Who brought a human kid on the sleigh?” Ember asked with a tinge of annoyance.

@floating-pisces here’s your Christmas Truce gift! Sorry to keep you waiting! I went with your prompt “dp villains” and wrote this one-shot, which is set immediately after the episode “The Fright Before Christmas” and inspired by a certain strange thing we see in our last glimpse of the ghosts’ sleigh. I hope you like it!

“I still don’t understand why you wanted the sleigh.” Johnny 13 glanced up at the red and white accessory on his head. “Or the Santa hats.”

Kitty turned to Johnny, looking playfully offended. “Well, if we’re going to be granting kids’ Christmas wishes, we’ve got to do it in style! Flying around, delivering people’s presents? It’s like we’re Santa’s elves!”

Johnny’s mouth curled up in a smile. “Whatever you say, babe.” He leaned in for a kiss.

“Ew! Gross!” Youngblood said, holding his hands in front of himself as if to ward off the impending mushiness.

The skeleton parrot on Youngblood’s shoulder sighed in exasperation. “At least follow that with a threat like ‘Cleave him to the brisket’.”

“Cleave ‘im to the brisket!” Youngblood commanded, waving his hook in the air. He looked suddenly doubtful. “What does ‘Cleave ‘im to the brisket’ mean?”

Desiree chimed in helpfully, “It means-”

Kitty slapped a hand over her mouth. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it.”

There was a moment of silence. Perhaps some of the ghosts were using it to reflect on the lightness of heart each felt after helping Danny that night and to ponder the joy of service. Some may have even decided to change their troublesome ways if that moment had not been interrupted. “Who brought a human kid on the sleigh?” Ember asked with a tinge of annoyance.

Ember’s comment caused the majority of the sleigh’s inhabitants to stare in bewilderment at a small human child who was inexplicably in the back of the flying sleigh with the ghosts. The boy looked bashful under the scrutiny.

The Box Ghost was the first to speak. “Who is this human in our Christmas box of flight?”

The boy perked up. “My name’s Jimmy. I’m four!” He did indeed look like a four-year-old. He was short and chubby, with a smattering of freckles across his face. A disheveled mop of blonde hair was covered by a Santa hat not unlike the ones the ghosts wore.

“What are you doing here, child?” Skulker questioned, raising a mechanical eyebrow.

“I wanted to go outside and see the ghosts, but Mama wouldn’t let me go outside because it’s dark out,” Jimmy pouted. “And I was wishing I could go outside and see the ghosts, and then I was here!”

All eyes turned to Desiree.

“What?” She said defensively. “You know I can’t resist granting wishes!”

“This is so cool! You're all so cool!” Jimmy said, “I get to meet the bad guys Danny Phantom fights!”

“‘Bad guys’?!” Repeated Pointdexter, sounding offended.

“Sweetie,” Spectra began in the honeyed tone she tended to use with children, “You have to go home. Your mommie’s probably worried about you.” That wasn’t the real reason she wanted him gone of course. She couldn’t care less about how his mommie felt.

Jimmy’s face fell. “I wish I could stay here with you guys...” he confided to the floor of the sleigh.

Desiree chimed in immediately, magic leaping to her fingers, “Your wish is my-”

“The truce.” Bertram reminded her.

Desiree deflated.

The Lunch Lady frowned at Jimmy’s sadness. “It would make him so happy.” She remarked to her fellow passengers.

“It would mean so much to him, and cost us so little.” Desiree said.

“Plus, it’s Christmas!” Ember added, “We should let the kid have a little adventure.”

“Yeah!” Youngblood added with an admiring glance at Ember.

“Would it really be so bad to bring him along?” Kitty looked around the sleigh imploringly.

Johnny looked conflicted. “But babe… we already worked so hard tonight to help that Phantom kid.”

Kitty rolled her eyes at him. “That took ten minutes tops.”

“But Spectra’s right!” Pointexter protested, while the aforementioned ghost looked surprised someone was actually taking her comment seriously. “Jimmy’s mother is probably worried about him.”

“She’ll be fine.” Ember said, rolling her eyes. “We’ll have the kid back before morning.”

“Yeah, she’ll be fine!” Youngblood added helpfully.

“I do suppose it wouldn’t cost us much,” Skulker said thoughtfully, who may or may not have been swayed by Ember’s opinion. “I’m all right with the boy coming along, as long as he promises not to cause trouble.” He looked questioningly at Jimmy.

The boy was sitting there with an amazed expression as if this seemed all too good to be true. At Skulker’s implied inquiry he jumped to his feet and testified “I promise I’ll be super good! I’ll be so good. I’ll be as good as Danny Phantom!” He said, with such sincerity that all present almost believed Phantom was the flawless angel of kindness Jimmy seemed to think him. Whatever the case, Jimmy’s conviction to not be a bother was clear. Any uncertainty that might have remained was rapidly squelched by Technus, who felt the need to clarify what every ghost present had already realized.

“While we, being his enemies, do not fully agree with your view of the ghost child, your promise to behave is well appreciated,” Technus decreed.

“If that is the case, we shall gladly welcome you to our portable box of Christmas cheer!” The Box Ghost said, receiving an approving nod from the Lunch Lady.

Aside from a grumble from Spectra, who was still unenthused about the concept of toting a child around with them for any period of time, as well as a hesitant Johnny, who needed a little persuasion from his girlfriend which was tactfully shielded from Youngblood by Johnny’s shadow, it was agreed unanimously that they would bring Jimmy along for their Christmas festivities, at least for a little while.

“Are we there yet?” Youngblood asked, before scarcely a minute had passed.

“No,” Responded the undead bird on his shoulder.

The Box Ghost, who was steering the sleigh, was driving it in circles above Fentonworks, high enough to be safe from ghost-hunting weapons, but low enough to have a good view of the conspicuous house, not that that was particularly difficult. The Fenton portal to the Ghost Zone, their best way to return home, was within that house, which was unfortunately closed off from the ghosts in the sleigh by a shining green ghost shield.

“It seems we shall have to wait until the shield comes down before we can return to the Ghost Zone as well as our usual Christmas festivities,” remarked Technus, to a sleigh full of ghosts who were already thinking the same thing.

The only one who would have benefited from this remark, Jimmy, was currently being distracted by Spectra, who had immediately decided to take advantage of her current situation. She usually worked with teens, not four-year-olds, but she’d been sure it wouldn’t be much different with younger children. She was mistaken.

“Are you afraid of your parents fighting?” Spectra asked.

Jimmy seemed ecstatic at this idea. “They should fight with swords!”

That wasn’t going to work. Spectra tried something else: “Are you afraid of monsters?”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. “Like bad ghosts?”

Spectra nodded, an eager smile on her face, wide enough to expose a good number of fangs. “That’s right, like bad ghosts.”

The boy assumed a solemn expression. “Danny Phantom will fight the bad ghosts.” He shook his little fist for emphasis.

Spectra groped, “Danny Phantom won’t always be there to fight the ghosts, you know.” 

“Yes, he will.” Jimmy said, with enough stubbornness to remind Spectra that he could and would spend the entire night arguing his point with that exact same sentence if he had to.

“Honey, the truce.” Bertram reminded her.

Spectra sighed. “Desiree, I wish we were at the Fenton portal.”

Johnny sat up. “Wait, I thought we were-”

“Your wish is my command!” and suddenly they found themselves flying through the portal into the Ghost Zone.

Jimmy let out a long gasp as they flew through the portal into the green expanse. He clung to the arm of Ember, who was lucky enough to be sitting next to him, as he looked around himself in awe.

“Cool, right? It’s the Ghost Zone.” Ember commented.

“Cool.” Jimmy repeated, drawing out the word well past its usual length. “Does Danny Phantom live here?”

Ember rolled her eyes at the boy’s incessant admiration of the halfa. “‘Course not. He’s a human. He lives in Amity Park.”

“Uh huh.” Youngblood confirmed.

Jimmy frowned and knitted his eyebrows. “No, he’s not. He’s a ghost.”

Ember smirked and shrugged. “Whatever you say, kid.”

They flew along quietly for a little while, aside from Youngblood periodically asking “Are we there yet?” with a long-suffering look on his face, to which the answer was always a blunt “No,” from his skeleton assistant. Jimmy gazed in fascination at the simple green blob ghosts floating about them until he got bored and started pantomiming a gun shooting them. “Pew pew. Pew.”

This drew Skulker’s attention to the boy. “Child, what are you doing?”

Jimmy looked up. “I’m shooting the little ghosts!”

Skulker scoffed. “If you want to join in the hunt, you’ll need a weapon.” He pulled a vicious-looking gun out from somewhere and held it out to the boy, who reached out to take it reverently.

“The truce.” Bertram barked.

Skulker grimaced as he reluctantly took back the gun. He patted Jimmy’s head in approval. “You’ll make a fine hunter one day.”

“Are we there yet?” Youngblood groaned, tugging on the Box Ghost’s shirt sleeve.

“Just like I’ve told you a half dozen times,” His parrot began. “No, we are- oh.”

Because at long last they were there. Before them stood the pavilion where the Christmas festivities for this group of ghosts were to be held, the doors hanging welcomingly open with glittering decorations of a plethora of colors visible through the door.

“At last! We have finally returned to the celebration!” Technus said.

“Thank you, Technus.” Spectra said sarcastically.

Jimmy eyed the banquet laid out on a table in the back of the room. His eyes landed on a bowl of peppermints. He tugged on the Lunch Lady’s sleeve. “Can I have some candy?”

She looked down at him in concern. “Oh, sweetie. You know we can’t have dessert before dinner! We need to eat the healthy food first.”

“I already ate my dinner!” Jimmy declared quickly.

Whether or not that was true, it did the trick. “Well all right then honey. Let’s get you some dessert.” The Lunch Lady looked pleased. “Good job eating your dinner!”

And so it was that Jimmy was found only a few minutes later with his cheeks crammed full of peppermints, likewise his pockets and his hands. A sparse trail of dropped peppermints was also left in his wake, having fallen out of hands and pockets that had been overenthusiastically filled. The Lunch Lady seemed to be enjoying Jimmy’s treat as much as he was, she was so filled with satisfaction about the healthy meal Jimmy had surely eaten, and which definitely hadn’t been stubbornly left on the table despite being declared by his mother an obstacle between him and going outside.

As Jimmy proceeded with his sugary feast, Walker entered the building. “The prisoner has been detained.” He said as he straightened his hat.

Pointdexter looked up. “Ghostwriter?”

“That’s right, son,” Walker said.

Pointdexter nodded, glaring at the wall. “Serves him right for using his powers to bully someone like that.”

Walker’s eyes, which had been scanning the room, landed on Jimmy, who was currently discovering a collection of discarded cardboard boxes, which were sitting in a corner after being emptied of Christmas decorations.

“Who’s this little one?” Walker asked.

Pointdexter followed Walker’s eyes to Jimmy before answering, “He wanted so badly to see us ghosts as we were going around helping fix Christmas, but his mother wouldn’t let him come outside.”

Walker’s eyes narrowed. “His mother is his legal guardian. Disobeying her is against the rul-”

“I am the Box Dragon!” A voice at Walker’s feet bellowed.

He looked down to see a large cardboard box with legs standing before him. The box’s corner bumped against Walker’s legs as grunting and growling sounds came from within the box. Now not many people know this - it’s a very closely guarded secret - but Walker has a soft spot for small children. And frankly, this behavior was too adorable for him to handle. His heart melted, and all thoughts of broken rules and sending the child home vanished from his mind. All this happened in an instant, and thankfully Walker was self-possessed enough to show absolutely no sign of this in his countenance.

However, the prison warden was not the only one who’s attention was drawn by Jimmy’s antics. Across the room, the Box Ghost’s face had slowly lit up with astonishment, then morphed into ecstasy. He flew quickly across the room to Jimmy’s side. “Box Dragon! It is an honor to make your acquaintance!” He stuck a hand under the box to heartily shake the small hand of its occupant. “It is always a pleasure to meet one who shares my appreciation of these fine cardboard squares! Perhaps you and I, united in our love of boxes, could prove formidable in combat against our foes!”

“The truce,” Walker said in unison with Bertram, who had somehow known this statement was called for despite being halfway across the room.

“Oh, right,” the Box Ghost relented. He quickly perked up again, gripping Jimmy’s hand and pointing dramatically. “Then let us return to the corner where I have placed many boxes and we shall gather a cardboard army!”

However, a yawn sounded from underneath the box and the small hand held in the Box Ghost’s blue one seemed to lose some of its enthusiasm. “I’m sleepy…” Jimmy mumbled, pushing the cardboard box off of himself.

Kitty, who just happened to be nearby, snapped her head around at the quiet statement, as if it had been as loud and attention-grabbing as a fire alarm. She dropped a slightly confused Johnny’s hand (he hadn’t been astute enough to hear Jimmy’s last sentence,) and rushed to kneel at the young boy’s side.

She let Jimmy slump onto her shoulder as she asked “Do you want to go home, honey?” With all the tenderness of a mother.

“Mmhm…” Came the barely audible reply, with Jimmy seeming to be seconds away from falling asleep on Kitty’s shoulder.

She gently stood up and turned to her boyfriend, who had been left to shadow her curiously. “Can you take him home on your motorcycle?” She whispered.

“Uh, okay.” Said Johnny uncertainly. Kitty gently handed over the boy to Johnny, who held him as awkwardly as though he’d never carried a child before and had no idea where to put what. He did his best though and managed to transport Jimmy to his motorcycle and situate him in a fairly safe-looking position.

The ghosts at the party gathered to see the boy off. He was thankfully just awake enough to receive the goodbyes most present eagerly began to give him.

“If you ever need anything, just say the words, and your wish is my command,” Desiree told him with a kiss.

“Always be nice to people. Don’t be a jerk.” Pointdexter advised quickly.

“Follow your dreams, kid!” Ember said.

“Yeah, do that!” Youngblood agreed with Ember readily.

“Eat well!”

“Be sure and stay on the right side of the law.”

“Always remember the power of technology, I, Technus, included-”

“May you always find nice boxes!”

Walker repositioned the now-sleeping Jimmy into a slightly safer position as he said to Johnny, “Don’t test my patience. You better not break the speed limit again.”

Johnny revved up the engine and responded, “Dude, there’s no speed limit in the Ghost Zone. You made that up.”

As Johnny drove off to deliver the child home (no one realized until later that he didn’t know where Jimmy’s house was), there was a moment of silence. Perhaps some of the ghosts were using it to ponder the night they had just had. How their small acts of kindness towards Jimmy had filled him with such glee. How somehow, despite having seemingly gained nothing from the experience, each felt happier, more contented, lighter inside even than a ghost with the power to levitate usually felt. Perhaps they were drawing near to a change of heart, or at the very least a change of obsession, that might allow them to experience the bliss of helping others on a more regular basis. Perhaps some of them would have even reached it if that moment of silence had not been interrupted.

“Let’s never do that again.” Spectra moaned.

[avis-writeshq]

Akaashi Keiji x Reader (Royal AU): You can’t marry a man you just met… unless it’s for the sake of your kingdom

Requested: No

Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Fem!Reader (Royal AU)

Summary: “Your father and brother are dead." "Drat!" said the Prince Princess, "That means I shall have to get married.”

Nah, I’m kidding, that’s a rewritten quote from ‘The Princess Bride’. You were simply a princess engaged to a man you have never met. Little did you know, the prince was by far more charming than you had expected him to be.

Warnings: Fluff, and trash writing

Other: Am I selfish for being self-indulgent and writing for my own joy and satisfaction? I hope this doesn’t come off as a disappointment… also I may or may not have been watching clips of the Princess Bride as I wrote this </3

Word count: 2,700                                                                                          

 Things you probably wanna know, for all you ‘x reader’ illiterates:

(Y/N): Your Name

(H/C): Hair Colour / Color

(E/C): Eye Colour / Color

(N/N): Nickname

 ***

 “Chin up, (Y/N)! A princess never slouches,” Your mother snapped for the nth time as you sat sulkily in the royal carriage.

 “Even if I wanted to, the corset you forced on me makes it impossible to breathe, let alone slouch.” You grumbled, your arms beginning to ache as you held the book you were reading in front of your face.

 Your mother let out a sigh in frustration. “You ought to be on your best behaviour when we enter the Kingdom of Airiral. You should know that they were looking forward to your arrival.”

 “Well they should know that I’m not looking forward to meet them,” you said, not sparing her a glance.

 “(Y/N)!” Your mother scowled at your answer. “Put that book down right this instant young lady. What would your father think…”

 “If father was alive, I wouldn’t be in this situation,” Your heart ached at your own words and you delved deeper into your own imagination.

 A few hours later (you could have sworn it had only been a few minutes), the coachman had knocked on your side of the carriage. “Your majesties, we have arrived in the Kingdom or Airiral.”

 Gratefully taking the coachman’s hand, you climbed off the carriage. “Thank you.”

 You made your way towards the horses and gave them each a small pat on the head. As you did, you looked up to see the huge palace that stood before you. Even though you lived in a castle yourself, it was still a sight to see palaces of different kingdoms. Each palace and castle was made differently with different layouts and towers – this one was by far the most impressive.

 “The Kingdom of Airiral is famous for its grand architecture,” the coachman said from beside you. “I’ve been here a few times myself and I don’t think I can get enough of it.”

 “It’s straight out of a fantasy book,” you breathed, entranced by the limestone bricks that towered over you, and the dark coloured roof stood out against the brilliant blue sky. “You wouldn’t happen to know if it has a library, do you?”

 “Apparently, the royal library is the most brilliant in all the land,” he said, “but those are just rumours. I haven’t been inside myself!”

 You nodded, thanking him for the information, before catching up with your mother who was already well away from you. “You couldn’t have waited for a little moment?”

 “It is a royal’s priority to always be on time.”

 “Or in your case, always fashionably late,” you grumbled. “Anyway, who am I betrothed to again?”

 “His name is Akaashi Keiji. He’s a bright young man, I assure you.”

 You scoffed, “He can’t be worse than Suguru Daishou that slimy snake…”

 “(Y/N)! How many times have I told you to not talk about people like that?” Your mother let out yet another frustrated groan at your words and you cheekily stuck your tongue out.

 “It’s not my fault he is what he is. Besides, you didn’t care much for him either.”

 “We were wondering when you would be arriving!”

 You both looked up to see a kind man and woman standing at the palace gates, bright smiles on their faces.

 “Kenji, Miyoko, it’s great to see you again!” Your mother beamed. “How are you?”

 “We’re getting there,” Miyoko said, her brilliant blue eyes glistening in the sunlight. “This must be (Y/N)!”

 Her husband nodded from beside her, “Well, you are certainly a beautiful young lady. Please, come in! We’ll have the servants take your bags.”

 “Bags…?” You frowned, turning to your mother who had looked away guiltily. “Mother, I wasn’t aware that I will be staying here.”

 “It’s a tradition here,” Kenji cut in, “it gives the young bride and groom to get to know each other before the wedding.”

 You nodded, muttering quietly to yourself, “If there even is a wedding.”

 “Speaking of groom,” your mother began slowly, and Miyoko and Kenji’s eyes both lit up in realisation.

 “He should be here soon. He was training in the morning so I assume he’ll be getting ready.”

 As if it was staged, a tall man walked into the courtyard, brilliant blue eyes almost identical to his mother’s.

 “Mother, father, I apologise for my tardiness,” He did a bow in respect, and your brows rose at his politeness.

 “Oh, don’t worry about it, Keiji. As long as you’re here now, yes?” His father chuckled, clapping him on the back as he rose. “Now, this is (L/N) (Y/N) from the Aedurene Kingdom in the East.”

 You rolled your eyes, offering a half-assed curtsey much to your mother’s annoyance. You don’t miss the way the corners of Keiji’s lips rise in amusement. Ah, so he does have a sense of humour. In return, he sent a half-assed bow in your direction and you chuckled lightly.

 “Now that the formalities have been made… Aneko?”

 As soon as Miyoko said her name, a maid rushed into the courtyard, a bright smile on her face as she curtseyed to the queen and then to you. “Come, Princess, I shall escort you to your room.”

 “Oh, uh, right. Of course, thank you.” A gentle smile rested on your face because, well, etiquette is important right?

 “How was the ride here, your majesty?” Aneko asked carefully.

 You shook your head, “Please, drop the formalities. Just call me (Y/N), I really don’t mind. And the ride here was… uneventful. How is it working for the royal family?”

 “Average,” she shrugged, “I’ve been working here for years now to provide for my family.”

 “Do they pay well?”

 “Well enough.” After a few more turns, she stopped at an arced birch door. “This is your room! You should find that all of your bags are already inside and have been unpacked. Let me know if there are any changes you would like to be made, your majesty.”

 “(Y/N),” you corrected before nodding, “Thank you very much, Aneko.”

 You carefully closed the door behind you, and you let out a tired sigh. Well, you’re in a foreign kingdom engaged to a random prince that you know nothing about. You sat on the chair by the vanity set, loosening your corset so that it wasn’t crushing your body. Can the day get any worse?

 “Princess (Y/N)? Are you in there?”

 A groan left your lips. Apparently, it can.

 “No, this is the cat,” you responded sarcastically, opening your book to the bookmarked page.

 “Last I checked, I was engaged to a woman,” Akaashi responded, and you could hear the amusement in his voice. “May I enter?”

 “Sure,” You said offhandedly, not paying much attention to the man. “To what do I owe the honour, my prince?”

 “Please, call me Keiji. And I merely wanted to check that you have settled in well,” his gunmetal blue eyes looked over your figure. “I see you enjoy reading?”

 You looked up at him for a split second before turning your attention back to the book. “Is it that surprising that you have to question it?”

 “Most princesses that I have met would prefer to frolic around or stare at their reflection all day,” he admitted.

 “Well in that case, I am not like other princesses.”

 He was silent for a moment before asking, “What book are you reading?”

 “The Princess Bride,” you said, “one of my father’s favourite books. He used to read it to us when we were children.”

 “Oh?” He nodded, taking note to find the book later. “Perhaps you would like to visit our library.”

 At his words, you looked up at him, scanning his face for any cheek or sarcasm. You found that there was none.

 “Is it as grand as everyone believes it is?” You asked, putting your bookmark in and closing the book in your hands.

 “I didn’t take you one to believe rumours, Princess,” He smirked at you and you rolled your eyes. Of course, it was too good to be true.

 “Just call me (Y/N), Keiji,” You drawled, returning the smirk (you were quite sure you didn’t look half as good as he did, but it was worth a shot).

 He chuckled in amusement, and you let out a small laugh of your own. Rising from your chair, you sent him a smile. “Well? Are you still going to take me to the library?”

 ***

 You moved the soup in your bowl around with your spoon, watching as the white cream mixed with the orange of the pumpkin. To say you were uncomfortable was an understatement. Your mother was laughing and talking with the king and queen, leaving you to question just how much longer dinner will last.

 “Please, my daughter is probably the most troublesome princess out there,” Your mother chuckled as she took a small sip of her wine.

 The only thing you could do was shoot her an offended glare and pray that she wouldn’t say anything else. Unfortunately, the supreme deities would not listen to you.

 “She’s stubborn and ungraceful in all aspects of her life. She’s hard-headed, scoffs at tradition-”

 “If you keep talking, mother, perhaps they’ll call the engagement off,” you shot her a sly smile. “Please, do keep going.”

 Akaashi let out a small cough from beside you, and you weren’t sure if he choked on his water or if he was masking a laugh. His parents seemed to enjoy your little comment and let out little giggles of their own while your mother rolled her eye in amusement and frustration.

 “She’s witty,” Kenji chuckled, “at least she’s not boring, isn’t that right, love?”

 “Absolutely right, dear.”

 You inwardly groaned – your little comment had just sealed your fate.

 ***

You carefully flicked the pages of your book as you sat at your vanity. You had just escaped from that monstrosity of a royal dinner and you were tired enough. Sitting in your mellow pink night gown, you read in the gentle confines of your temporary room. Until a small knock at the door brought you out of your reverie.

 “Come in,” You said, just loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear.

 “My Princess, I apologise for disturbing you,” Aneko bowed in her haste and you let out a small laugh.

 “No worries, Aneko, and didn’t I tell you to just call me (Y/N)?” You raised an eyebrow and she flushed pink.

 “Apologies, your high- (Y/N),” she offered a small smile. “I was sent to inform you that your mother would be leaving for home tomorrow at dawn.”

 Frowning at her words, you carefully closed your book. “She will not be staying?”

 “She has to be present in your kingdom, (Y/N).”

 “I see. Thank you, Aneko, for letting me know. You may leave.”

 “Thank you,” and with that, she left the room.

 A soft sigh left your lips as you thought everything over. Firstly, you were living in a foreign kingdom. Secondly, you were engaged to a man you know nothing about and from everything your mother spouted at dinner, you doubted he would ever want you to get to know him. Another point was the fact that your mother was leaving you to your own devices in the morning. That would be great if it was in your own kingdom, but while you were here, you didn’t know what there was to do or who everyone is.

 You stifled a groan, slumping backwards in your chair. Why weren’t you born as a normal girl?

 ***

  You were escorted to breakfast the next morning, wearing a pale pink day dress with a boned bodice. At least it was better than your murderous corset.

 “Ah, well if it isn’t the bride to be,” Queen Miyoko greeted you as you entered the breakfast hall.

 “Please, may I ask you to call me (Y/N)?” You responded as you took your seat.

 She nodded, “Of course, of course. In that case, I wish for you to call me ‘mother’.”

 You choked at her words, a brilliant red creeping up your cheeks. “I- I’m sorry?”

 “Mother, please, you’re embarrassing me before I have even said a word.”

 At the entrance of the breakfast hall was Keiji, amusement on his face as he saw your flushed one.

 “Oh, don’t be like that Keiji!” His mother let out a childish giggle. “Anyway, are there any plans for today?”

 “It’s your choice,” the prince said, turning to you. “Is there anything you would like to do?”

 “May I… visit the village?” You asked slowly, thinking over your words. “I might as well get to know the kingdom?”

 Miyoko clapped her hands at your words. “Oh, what a wonderful idea, (Y/N)! Please, Keiji, take her there, will you?”

 “Of course, mother.”

 “Alright, alright, that’s what I’m talking about!” A booming voice exclaimed upon its entry into the hall.

 All heads turned to see King Kenji who had the brightest smile on his face.

 “Father…” Keiji pinched the bridge of his nose.

 “Keiji, my boy! Eat quickly, now, the village waits! Isn’t that right, (Y/N)?” He grinned at the both of you, raising a toast with some apple juice in a wine glass.

 Leaning slightly towards you, Keiji whispered from the corner of his mouth, “I apologise, my father is quite… lively in the morning.”

 “It’s alright, it’s better than the silence back home,” you said. “Uh, let’s eat, I suppose?”

 ***

 After the eventful breakfast that left you in uncontrollable fits of laughter, you and Keiji made your way into the village.

 “Tell me, my prince, have you been in the village before?”

 “Of course I have, princess, it is my kingdom after all.” He nodded in respect at a salesman who bowed down.

 You merely shrugged, “But have you gotten to know them at all?”

 He was silent and you chuckled knowingly. As you did, you felt a small tug at your skirt. You looked down, only to see a little girl with braids on either side of her head.

 “Hello there,” you greeted, crouching down to meet her eyes. “What’s your name?”

 “Sakura,” she said quietly. “Are you a princess?”

 “That’s a pretty name. And yes, I am a princess.” You leaned in to whisper cheekily into her ear. “It’s not like the fairy tales.”

 She giggled at your words. “You’re really pretty.”

 You swore your heart was stabbed by her cuteness. “I think you’re beautiful.”

 “Really? But I don’t wear a tiara or wear a pretty dress…” she pouted and you laughed as you pat her head.

 “My dear, the only thing that’s important is to be kind and be fruitful. Looks change over time, don’t they? Stay innocent, stay kind, and you will be the most beautiful.”

 Her bright blue eyes lit up at your words and she nodded in promise. Rising from your crouch, you watched her run off to her mother who hugged her tightly.

 “You’re quite the noble character,” Akaashi noted as you both continued to walk.

 “Nobility is a rare trait, don’t you think?” You grinned, “Are you trying to say that I’m a rare one, my prince?”

 “I was simply trying to say that you have all the traits of a good queen.”

 You laughed, “I don’t think my mother would agree with you.”

 “Is it because you’re ‘stubborn and ungraceful in all aspects of your life’?” He asked, recalling your mother’s words and he watched as you rolled your eyes. Whether it be because you were amused or annoyed, he wasn’t sure, but at least you didn’t take too much offence.

 “Please don’t remind me,” you said, slightly joking but mostly serious. “I was never the perfect child.”

 “Well, I assure you that you are going to be a perfect queen.”

 “You flatter me for no reason, Keiji,” you responded.

 He shrugged, offering you his arm which you took as he said, “Well, you are my future wife. Isn’t it a husband’s job to flatter his wife?”

 “In that case, keep going, will you?” You shot him a teasing smile.

He chuckled at your words before nodding, “As you wish, Princess.”

~~~

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Copyright Disclaimer:

All characters except for the reader and my OC’s (listed below) are the work of Haruichi Furudate (古館春一). This is not part of the canon work by any means. I do not claim ownership over the characters or the Haikyuu storyline and plot. Without Furudate Sensei’s work, myself as well as many other writers are unable to create these stories.

My OC’s:

Fukuhara Aneko(福原あねこ)

Hasegawa Sakura (長谷川さくら)

Emiko Etsudo (えつどうえみこ)

Tachibana Reina (橘れいな)