#something something even then he still died right after so he kinda fell victim to his own curse anyway if you look at in the right way

[alastair-1205]

POV Me rn trying to make the fact that Lizzie died first this time something Cool and Thematically Interesting (tm):

[greenflamedwriter]

Killing Stalking AU:

Okay when I read Killing/stalking I was a bit disapointed. Too much killing not enough stalking -_-

And so Imagine Luo Binghe who is a serial killer instead of wives it's girlfriends and instead of marrying them he kills them. And Shen Yuan, who bought the apartment just to observe such a thing ends up obsessed he calls the victims 'wives' till death do they part, and he has an obsession with the seriel killer.

Like bordering on gay but he's still in denial.

Already he has a list of all the names of the girls, Ning Yingying was the first and now he's up to Qui Haitang, already he counted that Luo BInghe was accumilating an anti-harem.

Shen Yuans room is FULL of photos, clothes, even HAIR of Binghe as well as Luo Binghe in a apron, bloody and cleaning up his mess.

Shen Yuan loved him. Quircks and all.

But he wasn't stupid, not only was the evidence of Binghe's crimes in this room, footage and videos of girls going into Luo Binghes house then NEVER returning, wanted posters and last places they were timed perfectly. A little plushie doll of Luo Binghe as well in a corner. But he also hid evidence around the city, places with his name on it, most were holding his anime stuff but after the first five lockers the rest were filled with nothing but Binghe's crimes. He never went back to the old ones, to obvious instead he would pay for a new locker and fill that one up.

NSFW undercut

And Sy whose still in the closet probably thought it was normal to react, esp seeing the stallion having sex with the women in his bedroom, with his camera Shen Yuan could see everything.

At one point it even felt like Luo Binghe looked up and locked eyes with him, it made Shen Yuans breath hitch. It wasn't possible, it was dark, lights out, and Shen Yuan shivered palming himself, so hard it was the point of pain.

And this was when he decided to get closer.

Shen Yuan wears a disguise, Luo Binghe didn't like men, only women. So Shen Yuan wears a wig, with a hat and glasses and actually nice clothes. He dresses nicer as a women than he would as himself, in just sweats and loose jumpers.

He sits at a cafe and watches a girl on Luo Binghes arm Wife #32 Shen Yuan couldn't believe he was sitting right next to them.

And each time he would get closer, changing his looks, and disguise, practically listening in. Listen to the lies Luo Binghe would say, his favourite colour? Song? Movie?

Shen Yuan saw into his house, he knew what Luo Binghes interests were better than these wives.

He got too close once, when a wife dropped her wallet, he picked it up.

"Excuse me?"

She turned with a sneer on her face, that was usually how people reacted to Shen Yuan, like he was gross. He knew he would look alright with decent clothes hair cut, but he had that attention before, he didn't want it again.

But seeing it was just a small girl with a face mask pacing her her wallet with kind eyes, the sneer fell away into surprise.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you!"

"It's no problem, I understand the stress of losing your credit cards and having to cancel them and start over- I'm overally clumsy like that aha."

Luo Binghe was staring at him, and Shen Yuan couldn't help but shiver at the attention.

At that moment thats when Shen Yuan realised something, back in the comfort of his home. He may actually like Luo Binghe...

well...it's just Luo Binghe, right? maybe he's just bi and only likes him?

Either way, he kept skirting around him, until the wife inevitably died and he sat at the cafe, waiting for Binghe with his next fiance-

"Hello, miss. I thought I'd find you here."

Shen Yuan held back a flinch as he glanced up, "Ah hello there, I kinda recognise you," Shen Yuan leaned closer as Luo Binghe sat down before him but internally he was freaking out.

Was he wearing the same disguises over and over!?

Did Luo Binghe figure him out!?!?!?

"My names Luo Binghe, and you are?"

"Um," Quick think of a name! "Xiao Gongzhu."

"Little palace mistress? Hmm suits you."

Like hell it does! But that was the only thing he could think off!

"I was just wondering," Luo Binghe looked bashful, and it broke Shen Yuan out of his thoughts, he looked so boyish it was cute.

"Could we trade numbers?"

What? He killed Wife #32 already? wait- was Luo Binghe seriously seeing Shen Yuan as a potential wife!?

This was bad- it was going to mess up Luo Binghes streak! He was the protagonist, he couldn't mess up because he was accidently tricked by a man!

Also the not-dying thing would be great and if Shen Yuan didn't go back to his apartment and pay rent then the landlord will come in and SEE all of his evidence, Binghe would go to jail!

"Uh yeah sure- I mean yes!" Shen Yuan spoke then grimaced at how flustered he was, even so he still couldn't believe it- Binghe's number!

Luo Binghe hummed "Hmm I'll put you as Princess, if thats okay I like giving pretty girls like you pet names. You can think of a name for me too."

"Hmm, I like Bingpup, you're like a cute puppy who deserves head pats!" Shen Yuan spoke and saw Luo Binghe's smile stiffened.

Shen Yuan immedietly preened aha thats right! Luo Binghe hates being called dog or mutt! He found out that Luo Binghe had an awful teacher who would call him that in school! He found that out by waiting for Binghe to take wife #16 on a date and bugged his house!

When they were getting intimate after their pillow talk Luo Binghe admitted such a sad thing.

Because wife#16 called him a good puppy during foreplay, and when she said she'd never do it again he agreed and said she won't then straggled her. Shen Yuan listened to that footage over and over again.

When Luo Binghe stood up, Shen Yuan giggled "Oh and one more thing." He stood up too, flipping his hair over his shoulder.

"If you think you can take me as the next wife, you can forget it."

Luo Binghe paused looking confused, "I'm sorry?"

"I know your type, playboy. You have a fiance wine and dine, but after the first night your the type to believe in death do us part." Shen Yuan emphansised the smile on Luo Binghe's face faded. "This is amazing, the Luo Binghe! I'm such a huge fan," Shen Yuan kept his voice low, so the other patrons at the cafe wouldn't here. "I actually liked Liu Mingyan, such a good girl she knew martial arts as well. Pity, but I don't plan to be accumulated into your 'harem' I don't like to share. No, I prefer to watch."

Luo Binghe eyes narrowed, "Do you think it's a good idea to be telling me this?" Shen Yuan looked at him with pity, "I can't help it, your so cute and I didn't want to lie to that face when I turned you down. it's not any of Binghe's fault, I just genuinly like to watch, if we cross that step I'm afraid I'll have to die of shame." Before he left he also glanced back, "Oh, and I'm a collector by the way, I have evidence all around Shang hai completely hidden unless I mysteriously disapear, someone is bound to find everything. See you around, Husband."

Shen Yuan flaunced away, knowing he was being followed, thank GOD for public bathrooms, he walked in, immedielty removing his wig, hoodie and skirt and pulling on his baggy and drabby clothes, and oiled up his hair to look more greasy and gross espeically from wearing a wig, he dumped the back in the bin and walked out, slouching and on his phone, he walked past Luo Binghe who stayed leaning against pillar waiting for the 'women' to leave the bathroom.

Shen Yuan still didn't trust it, hailing a taxi and purposfully going the awkward way to get to his apartment. Even then he decided to back track and couch surf on his friends sofa instead, just to be safe.

Even so, when he recieved a text from Binghe, vaguely threating him, promising he'll find him and kill him, Shen Yuan shivered feeling his breathing hasten.

"You can try, Husband."

-

So long story short, Liu Qingge is the policemen interogating his sisters mysterious death, finds Shen Yuan and believe him to be a victim of domestic abuse, and yeah both Luo Binghe AND Shen Yuan are playing cat and mouse the power imbalances keep changing, and at one point, Shen Yuan finds himself actually going on dates with Luo Binghe, even helping him take down a wife with his 'husband' it's such a rush. And for a moment even Luo Binghe felt affection for Shen Yuan and didn't care that it was revealed he was a guy, even started having some fucked up moments of his own, comparing Shen Yuan to his mother. Shen Yuan: Hello police? Theres a man with a milf kink send him to jail!

Even so theres honeymoon moments, SY actually spends a night in Binghes house but thats where it all goes wrong, SY is now a wife, he just doesn't die straight away, forced to being trapped in the kitchen dressed as a women and still playing their cat and mouse game as Luo Binghe is trying to force him to reveal his evidence, he claims he'll stay with Shen Yuan properlly if he does. And then SY at one point escapes the house, finds Liu Qingge and confesses everything and even gives him the keys to his apartment and the locations of the lockers with the evidence.

Luo Binghe finds him, says he saw SY with another man, had he grown bored with him?

Pretty much ends the same way as Killing Stalking both die in the end, Luo Binghe dying alone, and SY still thinking he's alive and is frazzled ends up going into on-going traffic.

-I think with the story it was supposed to end tragically, because neither were good people, but I just hated how the character in KS was reduced to an innocent uwu who was sexualised but didn't have a braincell- I would've preffered if there was some intellectual schemes, like KIRA VS L both smart people trying to one up the other and maybe just a hint of romance, delusion on both sides, Binghe finally seeing SY as his partner in literal crime but then because of jealousy ends up trying to kill SY after he's another Wife isn't he?

[sayakxmi]

[Magi reread] Night 74: Something Sublime

Bro, my heart is not ready. But let's go.

1 - I was like "man, Cassim's just living his worst life ever, and then my brain was like, yeah, that's kinda the point..."

2 - Once again, Cassim contributed to Alibaba living that kind of life. And "you [...] wanted to lead a legitimate life" is bullshit. Alibaba had offered to help Cassim & his troupe, it was Cassim who told him not to. And Alibaba listened. But it's not like Alibaba's been actually all that concerned about staying pure and shit.

It's a huge theme for Alibaba, tbh, just people assuming things about him. I'm especially thinking aboout Cassim and Hakuryuu, but you could probably add Sinbad if you really wanted. They have this idea of Alibaba, who is a pure and naive child, and they look down on him, and in hindsight, it makes sense that there's envy involved. Why were they treated differently by fate? Why was it Alibaba who was allowed to remain innocent? This happy-go-lucky idiot? They really delude themselves into believing all that stuff, too lost in their self-hatred and despair to actually confront the reality of them being just plainly fucking wrong about it.

A small reminder that this is something that happens not that long after Cassim had killed his father, and, yeah, I know I kinda criticize the guy a lot, but I can't fully blame him. At least for the feelings. Like, yeah, no shit he needed Alibaba to stay that pure child, a beam of light, Alibaba and Mariam, really. If they were gone, if the world destroyed that light, then what was the point of that world in the first place? It was just awful, end of story. Why keep living in it?

Whether either of them had realized that, Alibaba was giving Cassim hope, especially after Anise and Mariam had died. Hope that there were still good things in this world.

But just as he needed Alibaba to remian that innocent child, he also needed Alibaba to fall. He needed him to fall, because he fell, and if Alibaba went through the same hell as he did but didn't turn out like him, then that means... Cassim could've, too. It meant Cassim was right to hate himself, that there was always something wrong with him.

And he created that narrative in his head to justify giving up on himself. It was easier, after all, than to keep trying over and over again.

But you know who kept trying? Alibaba. Cassim thinks the slums (or any other tragedies in his life) didn't influence him in any way, but that's wrong. Alibaba is extremely insecure & he hates himself, too, but not to the point of giving up completely.

But at the same time, Cassim isn't completely wrong. Fate set him up for failure by giving him that scum of a father, who abused him until he disappeared, while Alibaba had a loving mother who kept him safe. Cassim was severly traumatized, and it was something that never healed. He was a fucking child.

Like, bro, I have so many thoughts about it all, I just struggle to convey it right now. It's such a mess that cannot be perceived as good-vs-evil dilema, bc it's not. It's too complicated for that. You can see where everybody's coming from, and even though you can't condone Cassim's actions,you can at least understand why it happened. What led him to that place. And you can't fucking blame Alibaba for not doing more, because he was a goddamn child, too.

Two victims of circumstances, too young for any of this and living in a world that just didn't care about them. It was always going to end in tragedy.

It is unfair. It's extremely, extremely unfair.

Fucking sick. Cassim's feelings are just that overhelming.

I've already said it. But Cassim's perspective on things is just like that.

And by GOD it's fucking cathartic to se Alibaba fight back. Because

That's exactly what it is. Cassim just assuming things about Alibaba, and then getting mad about it. It'd be different if he was actually mad at Alibaba, but he isn't. He's mad at his image of him, and Alibaba has every right to be furious. Especially right now, after hearing all that cruel shit, and after all the other things Cassim had done to him. To realize that all of this happened not becaues there was something wrong with him, but because Cassim had put him on some weird pedestal he also wanted to throw him off of. Like, bro.

This looks kind of funny, ngl.

I can't fucking believe I'm already starting to tear up. Idk man, just look at Cassim's face when Alibaba says there's no need for that between them. It's like his anger is evaporating.

And all it does is leave soul-deep exhaustion.

This fucking imagery. God.

Bro

I was busy being sad, but my brain decided to point out that it looks like Alibaba is eating himself. I just can't.

So, uh, fun fact, since I worked out my issues with dissociation, it turns out I tear up pretty damn easily.

Anyway, I'm fucking just

Bro, I can't do this man. And also, Alibaba isn't stupid, he's actually pretty damn perceptive, but he just doesn't always... do much about it. Admitting it and confronting... It's horrifying. After all if he admits it, he risks their already shaky friendship, he also risks outing himself as "too different". He never belongs anywhere, too royal for the slums, and too much of a slum kid for the royalty. No place accepts him fully, and he knows it, at least on some level, so he clings to what he can even if it means running away from the issue. Becaues he can't risk it. He hates being alone.

I know I've made this point several times, but tbh, it's such a intrinsic part of who Alibaba is that it just keeps on being relevant.

Back to depression k

Bro. You can't fucking do this to me. Sorrowful as shit.

Yeah. And, like, there's nothing wrong with being different. That's just how it is.

This what could've been always gets me, but I'll give the anime props when it's deserved, bc I feel like it hits harder.

Idk man, I just. I always end up crying for this dumb bitch

[littleonixel]

I may or may not got very bored and wanted write about this au bc I had a lot in mind :]

Context: Purple goes missing for 8 months and is accompanied by another stick and goes in different adventures, situations and other stuff,also Cg becomes worried and has their own adventures

.

.

.

Purple one brave adventurer were they,know all over stick city and friends with the color gang, the color gang is also known quite a lot, as they have explored the weirdest part of the world

today Purple wanted to go explore the new caves, or course to find new ores and items, nothing quite compares to a new Vaubell, right? As purple said their goodbye(or more of a see you later) once again, they set off on another adventure

It doesn't really take that long to for purple to come mostly a week or so... A week past, Purple didn't come home, maybe delayed? There was a storm just two days ago, oh well they'll wait once more... Another week went by still no sign of the purple figure, what happened?... They waited and waited, still purple still wasn't back.

.

.

.

As with purple, they may have stumble into a part of a world no one has ever been, they joked it was ghost town, until Purple heard... Walking? More like running,running from something or someone, Purple turned around to see a gray figure with a very long scarf, almost covering the figure's face, they both looked at each other

"hello?" Purple called out to the them, the figure froze where they were, after a few seconds, the figure finally spoke "Hi, w-who are you? Your not s-supose to be here... " the figure faintly said, "well Iaq decided to find a place to stay, but kinda got lost, so here I am i guess?"

"Oh and by the way, what are you doing? You seemed like running from something?"... They said, the figure once again froze, they murmured, so of course purple couldn't make out what the other was saying "I'm sorry, but what?"

All of a sudden the figure suddenly grabbed Purple wrist and pulled or dragged Purple somewhere, it was probably the others home "Okay what the actual fuck is happening" Purple said, the figure turned to him and spoke "It's here, it's coming" Purple was now in literary confuse "Okay what? I have no idea what is happening nor do I know who you are" Purple once again spoke

"*sigh* the names victim, I'm one of the mountain hunters... Or at least the last-" Victim said, "last?" They said "That BEAST killed them, all of them..."After that both sat in silence as night fell, and darkness roamed the sky once more.

Morning arose, both sticks stared at each other, the silence was floating around the air, the silence was awkward, very, very awkward, until purple faked a cough and spoke "Well uh, how long have you lived here?" They asked

"oh... Ever since I've been born, this place wasn't always like this, it was more lush, more colorful and lively, and that thing that calls it self the night walker attack out village, only a few survived the attack, the not so lucky ones were also my parents.So some of the sticks rebuilt and trained, and of course some were getting old and now, as my teammates went off they were...attack, and now I'm the only one left... " Victim let sigh as they ended, and purple felt bad for what the other had lost

The moment was interrupted with a load roar, it sounded so near, and it wasn't any roar but the Night Walker's roar, Victim stood up from where they were, and look at the window to see the Nw(night Walker) just outside "Wait here" Victim said as they took their enchanted sword "WAIT! " purple said "I could help, plus it'll be dangerous on your own" Victim looked at purple before he could open the door "You can't be possibly serious, my team of 5 had died, are you even sure about what your about to do?!" The gray figure said, Purple let out a smirk, "I'm sure, and who couldn't defeat them with this?"

Purple said as they pulled something out of their Inventory "Is that the-" Victim couldn't even finish by their fascination to item or weapon if you prefer, "It sure is! "

Anyways that's the end for our story for part 1 :]

Hope you enjoyed ^-^

Follow of you what to see part 2 lol

Anyways see you all next time! Bye!

[tears-of-boredom]

yeah i fell asleep. and had a dream about finding someone dead in my kitchen. i really panicked when i found them, and just tried so hard to find something to help the bleeding from their head, I dont even know what I was looking for tbh. after a while i gave up on searching, and touched their ankle. it was cold. i went to wake up my brother while shaking terribly. we walked into the kitchen and I think I apologised, no idea for what. we deduced that they couldnt have died long ago because they were actually his guest, and he was with them until 2:14, and I found them at 3:47. i was thinking that it couldve been the robbers, that had become quite an everyday occurence. then like in the morning some random guy came over, and said he was like, the leader of the ice rink? so obviously i tried slamming the door in his face. but then he shouted something about like knowing the victim, and everybody else in the house was convinced that he could help us solve the murder, so they dragged him in. I was literally thinking that this guy was the murderer.

then uhh something else happened and i bought like 6 or 7 baby chicks from just like a regular supermarket. i bought them home without thinking too much, and our cats immideatly went crazy, especially Maija. i chased her and a chick she was pursuing around the house for a while. finally I went into the kitchen and found every single chick dead. or like, they weren't moving, and their eyes were literal crosses. but then I found one that was still alive oh my god. and I took them into my hands and started preparing to go take them to safety. when I was putting my jacket on I found out that the chicks werent actually dead, they just Do That sometimes. so I took a second one with me and left for the conveniently placed hen farm right next door. when I was walking down the stairs, the three robbers whom id seen plenty of times appeared. they were wizards. and so was i apparently. so we had a wizard battle in the stairwell. but right as i was going to defeat the last one, 4 more appeared. and one of them was firing really evil spells at me. also I had an ally by my side suddenly, no idea who. we did kinda lose that battle, but the super evil wizard decided to let us go home. we had for some reason been transported like 300 meters away from the apartment building. i asked the wizard if I could go quickly drop off the baby chicks i was carrying to the hen farm, because it was on the way anyways. wizard said no. there was some fancy party going on and we had to walk through it to go home, so I took that opportunity to be sneaky and found a safe place for the chicks. some rich guy and rich lady from the party came to see what i was doing and i showed them the baby chicks. they were in a paper bag, so I took the first one out. the rich lady said that she would take it home if she didn't have cats. i took the second thing out the bag, it was in a plastic container, and it wasnt a chick, it was a really tiny monkey, like so small that they could barely wrap their hands around my thumb. i dont know what i did to it. but then I took the third thing out the bag. it was a dragon. a really flat dragon. like if a manta ray had the coloring of a dragon. and it was tiny as well, fit in the palm of my hand. one of the rich people said that I could take the dragon home since it's a bit bigger than the chicks and my cats wouldnt be able to kill it. not true at all, i let it fly into nature. the northern woods are probably not a dragons natural habitat, so I can only assume that it died immideatly.

then i was woken up by my brother asking about playstation controllers.

[kaveuh]

hi, i’m so happy ure back! (assuming u were @chifuyous if not im gonna be embarassed LMAO)

shawty boo thang can i request smth?! bcs requests are open and you know im ur fav anon 😍 /hj … ok so yk those character!reader aus and how im obsessed with yours … so i was thinking 🤨 hutao!reader with petshop trio bcs i remember she was the first one u did 😼 ty in advance!!

— suki <3

[ note ] : IMAGINE I WASNT AND YOU JUST SENT THAT TO A COMPLETELY RANDOM PERSON LMFAOAKA but omg im actually so touched that u could tell it was me

hutao!reader — chifuyu, baji, kazutora

masterlist | requests are open ♡ | warning(s) : spoilers obv

m. chifuyu

• i feel like he’d be the most patient out of all.

• he’s perfect so 🤪‼️

• ok but seriously, chifuyu would also get so nervous when he’s hanging out with you LMAO

• especially if you guys are with baji … lord, have mercy on him.

• "[name], please refrain yourself from doing anything reckle—" before he could even finish his sentence, you were already off doing god knows what.

• ok but imagine a pet shop owner & a funeral parlor director dating 💀

• you’d show up at his shop promoting ur fucking business

• "oh? wanna die? here, have some 50% off coupons! we customize coffins as well by the way!"

• cute scenario tho ‼️ he’d definitely let you put posters on the windows of his shop, and you’d promote his while you’re talking with a client sometimes LMAOO

• "about the coff—" "oh! and by the way, if you have time, you know, maybe after the funeral, my sweet precious boyfriend’s pet shop is right across the street from here~ maybe you’ll find something cute there!"

• baji loves hanging out with you ‼️ that means extra stress for chifuyu /j

b. keisuke

• PERFECT COUPLE TBH

• especially if ya’ll were still in middle school, which obviously u would be cos yk… he’s kinda 🪦…

• omg imagine you two burn cars together…

• he’ll join in whenever you’d go and prank people, and even plans some with you that you could pull on toman members.

• one time baji and mikey had an argument bcs mikey fell for a prank that you and baji planned LMAO

• but, he thought he was safe… baji’s also been one of your victims and it was hilarious.

• yk how he’s scared of his mom right ?! you’d def convince his mom to go along with your shenanigans LMAOAOA

• his mom would pretend she had found out about baji’s grades at school, and force him to leave toman, obviously baji was confused because he hasn’t failed one single subject since

• HE EVENTUALLY FOUND OUT IT WAS UR DOING ONCE HIS MOM REVEALED THAT IT WAS A PRANK HE DIDNT TALK TO YOU FOR A WHOLE DAY LMAO

• then he eventually came over because he loved you a little bit too much :(

h. kazutora

• he thought you were one of a kind tbh 💀

• kazutora met you after he got out of juvie and immediately he went ???????? bcs u started promoting ur fucking business to him outta nowhere like

• "hey, u wanna die or someone died? come visit the wangsheng funeral parlor!"

• literally doesn’t even know how he fell in love with you 😐‼️

• "lmao remember when i met you after u got out of juvie"

• "?? why are you bringing that up?"

• "idk kazutora it was kinda funny."

• 24/7 victim of your pranks :/ literally so tired of it

• actually touch starved tho and yk that so you always try to show that pranking him is ur love language :(

• but he gets so caught off guard whenever you’d slide ur hand in his LMAO

• "what are you doing?" "oya? getting shy now, are we~?"

• honestly loves you alot but doesnt know why he thinks ure braindead /j

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Altered Carbon- Out of the Past (1.01)

Pairing: Nova Griffiths (OC) x Takeshi Kovacs

Summary: When Nova is contracted for a new job, she's introduced to a part of humanity's past. The job seems to be a bust, but it becomes clear that it's anything but.

Warnings: mentions of suicide!, cursing, guns, rebirthing(?), sword+knives, blood, mentions of shitty parents

Word Count: 6441

“Just…” I sighed, looking out through the droplets of rain on the windows of the bus stop, “I just want you to be safe, E.J.”

“I know. I will be, Nov. I promise.”

“Alright, good. Look, bug, I’ve gotta run.”

“New job?”

I snorted, looking at his grin on the holographic screen. “Possible new target, yeah.”

He nodded. “Promise you’ll be safe too?”

I nodded right back, a smile on my face. “Promise, E.J. Love you, bud. Talk to you later, yeah?”

Another nod. “Go.”

I sighed as I checked the time.

Shit.

I was going to be late if I didn’t haul ass. I flicked the display of the watch away and pulled my helmet on. I straddled my bike and kicked the stand up. Hopefully, this payout would be worth it.

***

“Justice! Let the dead speak! Justice! Let the dead speak!”

The chant became static as I pushed my way through the crowd, and up the steps of Alcatraz prison. Lieutenant Ortega from the local police department had reached out and told me she would give me a ride up to the Bancroft residence.

“Griffiths!”

I popped onto my toes and saw the lieutenant waving me down. A blond man stood next to her, his face angry, but eyes seeming disoriented.

“Ortega, hey.” I held a hand out for her and she gave me a firm shake. “I’ve been trying to find you for the last twenty minutes.”

“These people are something else. Nova Griffiths, you’ll be working with this gentleman here.”

“Nice to meet you.” I stuck my hand out, and he did the same.

“You shouldn’t have come back!” A man shouted over my shoulder, cutting my new partner off before he could start his sentence.

The crowd’s chant changed, “No resleeving!”

“Well shit, let’s get outta here.” I gave Ortega a grimace, letting his hand drop.

We began to push our way back through, dodging the picket signs and the face painted protestors. A man with white and black markings on his face took a step towards us and pushed me out of the way. I stumbled backwards, and my partner reached out, preventing me from falling off my feet.

“You will not be forgiven!” The protester spat in his face.

I used the existing grip on my arm to pull myself back in front of him. I spat in the protester’s face and shook my partner’s grip loose.

“Well, that’s gonna keep him busy a while.” My partner guided me to walk in front of him as we continued to push through the crowd.

***

“Spirit savers and Afterlifers. 653 failed, and still they can’t stop yelling.” Ortega spoke.

“What is 653?” He asked, looking up from the paper.

“Something about spinning up murder victims to testify who killed them.” I kept my eyes on my feet, feeling nauseous.

“Why wouldn’t you spin them up if they’re witnesses to their own murder?”

“Archdiocese says you only get the sleeve you’re born with. Once it dies, they spin you back up for anything, even to identify your killer, your soul goes to hell.” Ortega looked in the rearview mirror. “What do you think?”

“I think no one in the archdiocese has ever been murdered.” He looked out the window, and then to me. “Nova?”

I snorted, finally looking up. “I think they’re all full of shit.”

He fell quiet as he observed the city. I studied his silhouette as he stared. The sleeve was handsome. Strong features, a strong jawline, a deep voice. Light colored eyes and swept-over hair.

“So what were you in for?” I asked, trying to get a sense of why he was so silent.

“Ah, little bit of this, little bit of that. Blew some shit up and killed some people.” He caught a look from Ortega in the rearview. “Some people just need killing.” He grinned.

I felt a grin rise on my own face, but Ortega didn’t seem to share the amusement.

“And how do you decide who deserves to die?”

My partner shook his head with a small sigh. “Depends on the day. I mean, anything can set me off. Interstellar dictatorship, genocide, people who talk to much.” He looked over at her for the last part before letting out another sigh.

I giggled, and Ortega shot me a look.

“Right now I’m feeling pretty hostile towards Laurens Bancroft, whoever the fuck he is.” He pulled something from his pants pocket.

“Oh, come on. Everyone knows Bancroft, he’s one of the first founding Meths.”

“What’s a Meth?”

“You don’t know what a Meth is? How can you not know?” Ortega chuckled. “You're dressed like one.”

“Like I said, I’m not from around here.” His demeanor changed.

I eyed him. He was fidgeting with his hands. Ortega went on, reciting something from the beliefs of the Meths. I decided to unbuckle myself and slide into the middle seat. He took notice and looked down at me, eyebrows furrowed.

“How long have you been under?”

He looked away, sighing again.

“How long, man?” I whispered again.

“Two hundred fifty years.” He didn’t look my way again.

“Shit.”

We busted through the clouds, and I slid forward, still unbuckled. He caught me by the hood of my jacket before grabbing my upper arm, pulling me back into my seat. I swallowed my pride and buckled back up.

“They call it the Aerium.”

He leaned forward, eyes wide.

“Guess they don’t have this where you come from either, huh?” Ortega gave a teasing smile.

She guided the car to hover over the property as we sat in silence. He readjusted himself back in his seat, and Ortega seized the silence once more.

“So, where were you born? Home planet, that kinda thing.”

“Not here.” He was dead-pan.

“That’s a little vague.” Ortega chuckled.

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“That’s my abuela. She always said, Kristin, you can find a way to talk to anybody.”

“Especially when they’re trapped in a car with you.” He shot back.

She looked forward with a sigh, and I stifled another giggle.

“Our quick and messy little lives are so small to them. They build their homes up here so the clutter of our existence is out of their sight.”

We only shared a look in the backseat.

***

The landing of the hover-car was rough, accompanied by various quick remarks.

“Come on, last chance. Just give me a name.”

“Takeshi Kovacs.” He got out of the car and straightened out his clothes. “Look me up.”

Ortega immediately did so while I scrambled out of the car after him.

“Holy shit. Is that why…”

Kovacs glanced at me over his shoulder. “Yep.”

“You can’t be who you say you are. All the Envoys died.” Ortega tried to catch up with us as she shouted.

“All except one.” Kovacs caught me by the arm, pulling me to stand behind him.

I peered around his frame, only to see Bancroft’s multiple goons with their guns pointed toward us.

“Not another step, Ortega.”

“Aw come on. I’m Bay City PD and you know it, Curtis.” Ortega continued to walk toward them. “So lower your weapons and tell me where your boss is, because I really would like a fucking word.”

“Lieutenant Ortega, you’re trespassing on private property. Apparently, you’ve stolen one of our limos as well. I could have you shot.”

Ortega snorted. “Yeah, go ahead. Try.”

A police vehicle landed to our left, and Kovacs covered me a bit more with his own body.

“Why did you drive the Envoy? Isaac was supposed to do that.”

The police car door opened, and a man in a suit dragged a boy out.

“Look, I’m not drunk, okay? I was just loosening up a little. Let go of me.”

“We picked him up on a DUI.” The man explained to Mrs. Bancroft.

“Which is how we came into possession of your vehicle.” Ortega explained.

Mrs. Bancroft whispered something back and forth to, presumably, her son. She turned back to face us. “This is police harassment.”

“Yeah.” Ortega scoffed again. “There’s your kid, there’s your car, here’s your mercenary, and there’s your… new pet terrorist.” She gestured towards Kovacs, annoyed. “You’re welcome.”

“Bounty hunter, not a mercenary.” I scowled.

She walked past us, and Kovacs scoffed this time. “The terrorist can hear you. I’m standing right here.”

“Yeah, good. Cause we’re not done, you and me.” Ortega snapped at him before getting into the police car. I inched my way out from behind Kovacs until I was standing next to him.

Mrs. Bancroft chuckled as she walked toward us. “Forgive me. I’m Miriam Bancroft. We’ve not been properly introduced.”

She gave Kovacs a weak handshake, followed by a snake-like smile my way.

“Welcome to Suntouch House.” She turned on her heel, and we followed.

***

“Shouldn’t that be in a museum?” Kovacs asked as we walked under the branches of a large tree.”

“I have a weakness for Elder civilization artifacts. I collect them, among other things.”

“This must’ve cost a fortune to ship here.”

She hummed as Kovacs reached for one of the lower-hanging tendrils.

“A few lifetimes, as well. But cost was no object. This is the only Songspire tree on Earth. No one really knows what they are. They could’ve functioned as part of Elder civilization architecture. The largest ones ever recorded are thousands of meters high.”

The look on Kovacs’ face was one of recognition. “I know. I’ve seen them.”

“Stronghold. Of course.” She nodded. “Laurens is in his study. I’ll show you up.”

As if voice-activated, the elevator doors to her right slid open. Kovacs and I eyed each other before following her into the small room. Something felt off. We stayed silent as the elevator began to ascend. I kept myself tucked in between him and the corner, and Miriam stood opposite of him. She continued to eye him before beginning to play with her necklace. The metallic clicking caught his attention, and he looked up.

“Is it true you can look into a person’s eyes and know exactly what they’re thinking?”

Kovacs hummed. “No, Envoys don’t read minds.”

“What a pity.” She smiled.

Kovacs seemed uncomfortable, and the elevator dinged before anyone could say anything else.

“Good luck, Mr. Kovacs, Ms. Griffiths.”

Kovacs gestured for me to exit first, and he followed close behind. We let out simultaneous sighs as we heard the doors close again. We began to walk down the long hallway, trying to keep pace with each other. The study was silent when we walked into it, and I began to feel sick to my stomach.

“Mr. Kovacs, Ms Griffiths.”

We looked up to see Bancroft on the balcony of his study, drink in hand. “My apologies, my son failed to drive you here. You have to forgive my endlessly misplaced optimism.”

“That’s alright.” Kovacs looked back around the study. “The ride was very instructive.”

“Hmm, yes, I’m sure it was. Details are, after all, an Envoy’s stock-in-trade.” He began to walk down to the level we were on. “Or were, I guess I should say. Immersion and total absorb. Wasn’t that the term, hmm? Whatever answer you may seek, it is precisely where you are not looking.”

“You’ve read Falconer.” Kovacs finally spoke, eyes on me as I kept my own on him.

“I was alive during the uprising, yeah.”

“Yeah?” His eyes didn’t stray from mine. “So was I.”

“Oh, y-yes, my apologies. It’s all in the distant past for me, but for you, of course, it’s all rather different. There are very few of us now, who saw firsthand what the Envoys could do. Ah-ha. Yes. A-And I have to admit that I had a grudging admiration for you. Trained by Quell herself to be the most formidable fighting force that the galaxy had ever seen.”

“Well, that would sound better if we hadn’t lost.” Kovacs quipped.

“Although this might, might interest you.” Bancroft handed Kovacs a small leather-bound booklet. “Oh, it’s all corneal streaming now. There’s something about the simplicity of holding the written word in your hand. The very-very heft of it. As men have done for countless centuries before us.”

Kovacs seemed to leave the current plane of existence as he flipped through the book, fingers gingerly running over the pages. “Where did you get this?”

“I bought it at an auction. Supposedly, it is written by Falconer in her own hand. Judging by your reaction, it appears I might have got what I paid for.”

Kovacs snapped out of it, bundling the book back up and clearing his throat.

“Listen to me. I spent this entire morning being well and truly fucked around with, so, uh, let me be painfully clear. Some things can’t be bought. I’m not sure about Ms. Griffiths here,” he glanced down at me, “but I, for one, cannot. Now, I didn’t ask you to bring me back into this world. In fact, I fought a war to stop people like you from happening.” Kovacs began to step closer to Bancroft. “So, if someone doesn’t tell me right now what the fuck this is all about… I might very well lose my temper.” He smacked the booklet into Bancroft’s chest, and I felt my cheeks begin to grow flush.

“Understood. Now, this is a full pardon, signed by the president of the Protectorate.”

Kovacs only gave a look of disbelief. “Power is a matter of influence, Mr. Kovacs. And I have had a great deal of influence at the UN. If you agree to my terms, your sentence will be reduced to time served. And then I will open up a very generous line of credit in your name. DNA trace accessible. And when the investigation is over, you may keep this sleeve or choose another. To your own specifications.”

Kovacs said nothing, and I hung back. Bancroft turned to me.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Ms. Griffiths. Your parents will be pardoned as well.”

My heart immediately felt like it was going to blow a hole through my chest.

“Finally, I will pay you both a salary of 50 million UN credits. That’s a fortune. You can have any future you want.”

Blood kept rushing to my head, and my ears felt red hot. My vision blurred, and my body began to shake. I felt ready to pass out. Bancroft began to speak again, walking away this time. Kovacs gently put a hand on my waist and guided me to follow, sensing the loss of equilibrium within my body.

“All I ask is that you solve a murder.” Bancroft pulled a white sheet off a wall.

“Whose?” Kovacs stopped us both in front of the blood-splattered wall.

“Mine.”

“This is where I died. When Miriam found me, my head had been vaporized.”

Kovacs’ hold on me had grounded me enough for him to let go. He began to pace the room, and I looked over the brains on the wall.

“It’s an energy weapon?” Kovacs asked.

“Yes. A particle blaster. I keep one for personal protection in a biometric safe that only Miriam and I can open.”

Kovacs and I immediately shared a look, and Bancroft caught on. “Go ahead. Say it. Everyone else has. Either I committed suicide, or my wife murdered me.”

“But you’re still here, meaning your stack is intact, so… you must remember what happened.” The light hit Kovacs in a new way, and I noticed the scar on his sleeve’s eyebrow.

“I’m afraid it’s completely destroyed. RD’d, as they say.”

“So how?”

“Full-spectrum DHF remote storage backup?” I asked.

Bancroft nodded and Kovacs looked at me with a scowl on his face.

“Do you know what that is?” Bancroft asked him.

“Yeah. Just never met anyone filthy rich enough to afford it.” Kovacs scoffed.

Bancroft seemed like his pride was hurt, but he shrugged it off. “Well. I need to show you two something.”

He led us up the stairs to where he had been lurking when we arrived. Kovacs and I shared a look as we followed. I had to double my pace to keep up with Kovacs, who was more likely than not over a foot taller than me.

“Sometimes I come up here when I have decisions to make or difficulties to face.” Bancroft began. “I think about the ancient explorers, back when one could spend a lifetime pursuing the possibilities of the Earth, the oceans, the stars.”

My eyes flickered around the maps and old news articles framed up on the walls. Humanity had landed on the moon for the first time over 400 years ago. These artifacts must’ve cost fortunes.

Bancroft sighed. “I was born in London. When I first moved to what was then, of course, known as the United States, it still had the faintest echoes of the new and brash culture that it once was.”

I glanced over at Kovacs, who was tinkering with something on one of the multiple desks. Bancroft said something about the age of adventurers, and I heard the beeping of a screen. I pulled my eyes from Kovacs and followed his line of sight. A telescope spun our way, and Bancroft gestured toward it.

“Take a look. Tell me what you see.”

Kovacs and I shared another look, and he sensed my hesitation. He placed a reassuring hand on the small of my back before taking a step forward, peering through the eyepiece.

“It’s a Protectorate satellite. Military grade.”

Bancroft hummed. “It is military grade, but it’s not the Protectorates. It’s mine.”

Kovacs’ face took on an unreadable expression as he straightened up, making a subtle effort to keep himself between Bancroft and I.

What had I gotten myself into?

“Every forty-eight hours, my stack is automatically needle cast to it.”

“So your current self has no memory of what happened?” I peeped up from behind the six-something, two hundred-something slab of muscle in front of me.

“No, whoever killed me pulled the trigger ten minutes before my backup went through.”

“Which means all of your memories from those forty-eight hours are gone.”

“Completely. There was an attempted hack on my satellite feed moments after my death. Somebody wants me dead.”

Kovacs peeked back at me over his shoulder. This time, I understood the look in his eyes. Who wouldn’t?

Kovacs took a breath before beginning to slowly circle Bancroft. “For all we know, you did try to kill yourself.”

“You just botched the job.” I deadpanned.

“Mr. Kovacs, Ms. Griffiths, I am not the kind of man who would take his own life. And even if I were,” his eyes turned toward me with a menacing glaze over them, “I’d not have bungled it in such a fashion.”

Kovacs noticed and, once more, took a step in front of me.

“If I’d meant to die, I’d indeed be dead.”

Kovacs chuckled. “I don’t want your money. Or your pardon. I’m not sure about Ms. Griffiths here, but I’ll take eternity on ice. Thanks.” He turned on his heel, and I scurried to stay at his side.

If he was out, then so was I. I didn’t trust Bancroft and I sure as shit wasn’t gonna be stuck in this alone.

“You should take the day, Mr. Kovacs. Go into the city, remember what it is to feel alive. And then, give me your answer. O-oh, and please do take the book. Like everything else I’m offering you, it’s yours if you want it.”

Kovacs looked down at me, and I nodded up at him. Without another word, we made our way out of his study and, with the luck of Miriam not being around, out of the house.

***

In the car, Kovacs stared at his hands. He was beyond deep in thought. It seemed like a flashback that he was struggling to fight his way out of. He was adamant in his decision to be put back under. The driver was going to drop me off on main street in Bay City. I was going to see E.J. for the first time in almost a year. Kovacs would, as Bancroft had suggested, take a night in the city. After that, he would return to Alcatraz, and I would never see him again.

“Ms. Griffiths.” The driver caught my attention.

I looked up, seeing that we were pulled over on the main road. I blinked, and looked up at Kovacs.

“Guess this is goodbye?” I grinned.

He chuckled, but his own grin fell and he shook his head. “Don’t get involved with Bancroft again. I’ve been around long enough, and people like him don’t change.”

I nodded, watching his eyes as they deepened while he thought. “I won’t. Don’t worry about me.”

He met my eyes, and his grin returned. “Stay safe, kid. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, I suggest you keep it.”

I nodded. “I will. Be safe, Kovacs.”

“Takeshi.” He spoke as I opened my door, ready to get out.

“What?” I looked back.

“Call me Takeshi.”

I smiled, knowing I’d never see him again and that it wouldn’t matter what I called him.

“Goodbye, Takeshi.”

“Goodbye, Nova.”

***

I ran through the rain, dodging the group of teenagers doing the same. I shouldered the metal door open and ducked in, out of the weather. The air inside was stale and there were cobwebs in each corner of the lobby. After it had begun to pour, E.J. had called and asked me to meet him here. It looked like the hotel hadn’t been touched in a few years, give or take. More likely give.

“Eli?” I called out, clutching my bag over my shoulder.

“Ms. Griffiths, welcome.”

“Holy shit, it’s still you?” I turned to Poe, the AI that ran the place.

“It’s not like anyone stays here anymore. No need for an upgrade.”

I turned on my heel and saw E.J. sitting at the bar, drink in hand.

“Dude, you are nineteen, put that shit down.” I made my way over to him, stealing the glass of liquor and downing it. “Poe, stop giving my little brother alcohol.”

“He’s a paying customer, Ms. Griffiths.”

I rolled my eyes and held my arms out. E.J. stood from his seat and embraced the hug, rocking me back and forth from side to side. We had stayed at the Ravel Hotel on one occasion, for two months straight. Our parents were off-planet for a racing event, and they had left us with our uncle. He died in a gang-related shootout two days into our parents’ trip. After a week on the streets, we found our way into The Raven. We had gotten in contact with our dad, and he sent the money to Poe.

“How’ve you been?”

I sighed as he finally let go of me. “It’s been kind of crazy.” I sat down next to him.

“Tell me about it?”

I took a deep breath. “Hey, Poe?”

“Yes, Ms. Griffiths?”

“Nova.” I corrected him. “You’ve known me since I was 12, you can call me by my first name. Can I get a-”

“White Russian, White Russian!” E.J. shouted.

“Eli, stop.” I giggled before looking back at Poe. “Fine. Two White Russians please.” I grinned.

I held my finger to the pay-spot on the bar, pulling it away once it clicked. Poe shuffled our drinks out, and I handed one off to E.J. The door opened, and Poe fluttered over to the front desk. E.J. and I didn’t bother looking over. Probably just some sick freak who needed to get his rocks off. He grinned and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. I rolled my eyes as he held the pack out to me.

“You can’t say shit, I’m 19.”

“Stop being cocky.” I pulled one between my lips and held it up to the lighter he held in his hands.

“Never.” He grinned again as he took a drag of his own cigarette. “So. Who’s the target?”

I scowled. “It fell through.”

“What?” He raised an eyebrow. “You? Lose a target? What happened?”

I rolled my eyes and leaned in. “You know Bancroft?”

E.J. snorted, blowing his cigarette smoke in the other direction. “The fucker who thinks he’s god?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Made this whole big deal about how his last sleeve got his brains blown out but his stack stayed intact.”

“Sounds like he just fucked the job up.”

I grinned. “Exactly what I said. So we split.”

“We?” He repeated, again raising an eyebrow. “Since when do you play well with others?”

“Shut up.” I shoved his shoulder. “It was gonna be a special case. Turns out god is just a fucking moron.”

The door opened again, and this time we looked up. There was no way that many people were just coincidentally here. I immediately rose and pulled E.J. along with me as four men and one woman, all with guns, barged in. I looked toward their intended target.

Takeshi?

“He won’t be needing a room. So much for Envoy Intuition. Voodoo bullshit.”

“Envoy?” E.J. hissed at me as I pulled him to duck behind the bar.

“Just shut up. Do you have anything on you?”

“What?”

“Weapons, Eli.” I hissed back.

He patted himself down, and I pulled my blade from my bag and flicked it open. It was the only good thing my father had left me with. A dagger that transformed into a sword with the flick of a wrist. Eli twisted a silencer onto his gun and matched my position.

“Pardon me, wayfarer, we’re in the midst of conversation.” I heard Poe.

“Shut up, you piece of digibrain shit. My microwave is smarter than you.” The man with his gun on Takeshi’s neck snarled.

“I just want one thing to go right today.” I heard Takeshi’s gruff voice.

“Clearly.” Poe sighed.

“Too bad.”

I began to creep up from my toes, onto my knees. Takeshi turned to face the first man, holding his hands behind his back.

“They said you’d be dangerous. I thought you’d be bigger. They made me bring all this backup. What a waste of my time. I don’t need them.”

By now, I was on my haunches, peering up over the counter of the bar. Poe made eye contact with me and gave the slightest shake of his head. Although he was just a bundle of code, Poe had become more human than some people. He cared about E.J. and I, in his own strange, AI way.

“Fuck you, Dimi.” One of the men hissed, only to earn a bullet to the head.

Dimi? I had to take this fucker down for sure. I’d never have to work another day in my life.

“I have to clean that up.” Poe sighed.

“What?” Dimi growled.

“Uh, he had it coming.” Takeshi nodded. “He was rude.”

E.J. had made his way up next to me, gun held tightly. Poe shook his head at us once more.

“I could take you myself without even breaking a sweat.” Dimi got in Takeshi’s face. “Move.”

He shoved Takeshi to the middle of the group, which meant that they all now had their backs to us. Takeshi caught my eye over the counter, and his eyes widened. I gave him a cocky grin, and E.J. looked between the two of us, confused.

“Good sir, I cannot assume host prerogatives without payment.” Poe urged Takeshi.

“You want to get him a hot towel?” Dimi taunted. “You’re some kind of moron, staying in an AI hotel. Possessive like a crazy girlfriend. No one stays in them anymore.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard that.”

Dimi hit the top of Takeshi’s spine with his gun, and the Envoy crashed to the ground with a grunt. I made my choice. I tapped Eli’s gun and pointed my sword toward the woman, who was the closest to us.

“For guest amenities, please, touch the screen.”

Dimi hit Takeshi in the face this time, sending him sprawled onto his back. Eli and I stood slowly, boots silent against the wooden floor. He was taller, and by now, far stronger. We nodded at each other, and he clapped a hand over her mouth. I knocked her gun out of her hand with my sword, catching it in my hand before it could clatter to the floor. The others were too distracted with beating Takeshi up to notice.

Poe’s cold eyes flickered between Takeshi getting his shit rocked and us. The woman struggled, and I made another quick decision. I cut her throat, and Takeshi began to speak at the same time, covering the gurgling sound. E.J. grabbed her now limp sleeve and dragged her to the side.

“It’s not voodoo, which, by the way, absolutely is bullshit. It’s a form of subliminal pattern recognition.” Takeshi began to explain, keeping his eyes ahead as he crawled back toward Poe.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Dimi grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him up, putting his gun to Takeshi’s face.

As Dimi continued to threaten Takeshi’s sleeve, if not his stack, E.J. and I continued our quiet routine. Another man down, another sleeve thrown aside.

“You know, it’s about the details.”

Another hit, Takeshi landing back onto the coffee table. I flinched, surprised it hadn’t broken under his weight.

“Where’s the big bad boy Envoy killer from the past?” Dimi shouted.

“Twenty seconds.” Poe reminded him.

I grimaced. I couldn’t make my way to the front desk and do it for him without being noticed.

“Fight, goddamn it! What, you lost your balls? Did something change while you were down?”

Takeshi got back to his feet, staging himself between the back desk and Dimi. “Nothing changed.”

Two kicks to the stomach. I had enough. I looked at Eli and gave him a nod.

“People like you are still stupid.” Takeshi ended up at the front desk, finger in the right place.

E.J. took his first shot, and Dimi turned at the small noise. I thrusted my sword through another man’s chest. Poe lowered the machine guns from the ceiling, and I dropped to the ground, ducking behind a column to keep myself safe. I watched as E.J. did the same. Poe cocked a shotgun and began to shoot people down, and Takeshi began to pummel Dimi.

One of Dimi’s people tried to back behind a column, having the same idea we had. I counted the rounds that Poe’s machine guns fired, finding the right timing. I ran from the safety of my cover and plunged my sword into the man’s chest, dropping his sleeve down into the open fire. The men dropped like flies, and I kept my eyes on Takeshi. He round-house kicked Dimi in the stomach, and I swallowed hard. It was rather difficult to deny just how attracted to him I was becoming.

“Nova!”

I turned toward E.J.’s voice, only to see a man much bigger than me coming my way, a knife in his hand. I struggled to scramble to my feet, slipping in the blood of the sleeves I had killed. I fell flat onto my back and held my sword up, hoping I had enough coordination to shield myself from his knife.

There was the sound of Poe’s shotgun, and the men fell down on top of me. I groaned as I felt his knife slice through the skin of my thigh. The only person left was Dimi. Takeshi had him cornered against a sofa, fist raised.

“Who sent you?”

Dimi laughed, and I coughed, spitting blood aside as E.J. came running, pulling the sleeve off of me. I felt my consciousness begin to slip away, and I struggled to stay awake. E.J. pulled me up to sit, letting my back rest against a column. I watched from behind heavy eyelids as Takeshi put Dimi in a chokehold.

“Who sent you?”

He squirmed his way free, putting himself in the direct way of the machine guns. Takeshi urged Poe to hold back, but Poe didn’t listen. Dimi went down, and Takeshi sighed heavily.

“Ask this of your microwave, miscreant.”

Poe became quiet once he sensed that he had done something Takeshi didn’t like. “Apologies. Your room beckons.”

“Bite this.” E.J. shoved his leather belt between my teeth and didn’t give me time to react before pulling the knife from my leg.

I couldn’t help the scream that tore through my throat. Takeshi’s eyes went wide and he scrambled to our sides, hand immediately coming to my shoulder. He ripped a sleeve off and immediately began to tie it around my wound, flinching when I did.

“Nova, what happened? Are you okay?”

I coughed, and blood speckled onto his white button-up. E.J. brushed my hair out of my face and I winced.

“Sorry, Takeshi.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Fucker nailed me when he dropped.” I pushed out, feeling light-headed once more.

“I can stitch her up.” E.J. grabbed my hand, squeezing it to try and keep me awake.

“No.” I hissed.

E.J. knew what he was doing, but it always hurt like a bitch. Takeshi looked me over and sighed, pulling me off the column so that he could hoist me into his arms.

“I’ll help you hold her down.” He adjusted me bridal-style and stood.

“God, fuck you both.” My voice was scratchy, and the lights began to look spotty.

“Just rest, Nov. We’ve got you.” Eli whispered, and I let the darkness consume me as my sleeve went heavy in Takeshi’s arms.

***

“What happened to a meal, getting laid, and restacking forever?”

I looked up from my plate to see Ortega walking over to us, hands on her hips. Takeshi took a drag of his cigarette before looking her way.

“I got interrupted.” He downed a shot.

“Who the fuck are these guys?”

“I don’t know.” Takeshi shrugged. “But they knew me.”

“Di-”

“They called you by name? Are you sure?” Ortega cut me off and I sighed, going back to pushing around the pasta on my plate.

“Eat.” Eli urged me.

I sighed again. “I really don’t want to.”

“Kristin!” The man Takeshi and I had seen drop off Bancroft’s son was there, working on the scene. “Four of them are just local muscle, but this sleeve is registered to Dimitri Kadmin. Ulan Bator registry.” He showed Ortega the tablet in his hands.

Ortega punched his arm, excited. “We got him.”

“Got who?” Takeshi looked over at me.

“Dimitri Kadmin, hitman out of Vladivostok.” I cut Ortega off this time. “Otherwise known as Dimi the Twin. Does a lot of work for the yakuza. Bastard doesn’t trust anyone, so he double-sleeves.”

“Isn’t the penalty real death?” E.J. asked.

Ortega’s partner nodded. “We hold onto his stack, and sooner or later we catch the other version of him out there, and then he’s done.”

Ortega let out a string of curses, and her partner looked her way. “What, what’s going on?”

“Stack is fragged. Not enough left to spin him up to interrogate. Fuck.”

“You couldn’t just disable them?” Ortega hissed at Poe.

“I was coming to the defense of my first guest in about a decade.” Poe took a shot of his own.

“With enough firepower to bring down an airplane.” Ortega spat back.

“Hey, Poe is fully licensed for customer protection. You know that. Not to mention, I got fucking knived.”

“You’ve shot people for less.” Her partner reminded her, and she brushed him off.

“So, Dimitri’s a high-end hitman?” Takeshi spoke up.

“Yeah, top of the line.” Ortega scowled.

“Then Bancroft’s death wasn’t a suicide.”

“Of course. Because who would wanna kill an asshole like you?” Ortega’s partner scoffed.

“Plenty of people. A few centuries ago.” Takeshi lit another cigarette.

Resleeved in the body of a hard-core nicotine addict was how he had put it.

“Kovacs doesn’t merit this kind of hit unless they wanna stop him from looking into Bancroft’s death.” I put together what Takeshi himself had been getting at.

“Instead of blaming us, how about you apply your impressive policing skills.” Takeshi scoffed at them.

“Less than eight hours out of the tank, and you’re already up to your eyes in organic damage and real death.”

Takeshi grabbed his unicorn backpack, which I had learned an hour ago was full of illegal street drugs, kissed the top of it, and slung it over his shoulder. He held his hand out for me, and I looked between him and E.J. My little brother nodded at me, and I took Takeshi’s hand, letting him help me off the stool.

“I could find a way to arrest you two for this.” Ortega threatened.

“Yeah?” Takeshi taunted as he led us past them. “You make up your mind, we’ll be upstairs.” He helped me stay steady as we wove through the sleeves strung on the floor.

Ortega tried to come after us, and her partner grabbed her, pulling her back and telling us to leave it. My foot slipped over a piece of glass, and I winced, grip on Takeshi’s hand tightening.

“Here.” He held my hand with one of his and grabbed my waist with the other, letting my weight rest against his side.

I felt like I was going to faint as his muscles moved under his shirt, rubbing against my own body. He hit the button to our floor and closed his eyes. I felt his body relax, but his grip on my waist stayed firm.

“Takeshi?” I whispered, looking up.

He met my gaze.

“I need to take the case. These people know who I am. I can't put my brother at risk like that.”

He only nodded and looked forward once more. His eyes fluttered shut, and he seemed to be absorbed into another flashback, like he had been in the car after we met Bancroft. It seemed to entrap him even as he led me to my room. He was fighting hard, his fingers beginning to bunch up the material of my shirt. I said nothing, returning the reassuring hand on his back. He helped me get to my bed, and, without a word, tears forming in his hazel-green eyes, turned and walked out of the room.

I laid on my back and sighed. This man was torn apart beyond belief, but he was a force to be reckoned with. This would be, by far, the most intense job I had ever and would ever work.

[yandere-ac]

Can you write a little bit Mondo x Girly! Reader?

Yandere Mondo Owada X Girly Reader

Promise

⚠️ Spoilers for chapter 2 ⚠️

Ever since Mondo was little he’d have one thing drilled into his brain. When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him. That is what his brother Daiya had taught him and that was something he was never going to forget. And he never did, no matter how difficult it could get he never ever broke any of the promises he made. So when it finally happened, the shame hit him hard.

He had remembered his utter confusion when he first woke up at hopes peak academy. He had rested on a desk in some classroom all by himself, which only confused him more. Why was he here? He was just walking into the school and now he was sleeping on a desk? Had he just...slept through a lesson or something? As he gazed around the room he saw a big clock hanging above the big blackboard. Nope, he couldn’t have slept through any lesson. There was still 15 minutes left before the school started. So why was he here? Never mind, he had to get to the entrance.

Walking out of the classroom he felt a sudden shiver up his spine as dread crept up his back. He didn’t know why, but something about this place was freaking him out. But he hadn’t had any time to process this new uneasiness as he heard the faint sounds of footsteps running towards him. Immediately he tensed up and got ready to defend himself in case anything happened. But he hadn’t gotten any time to process this new threat as something, or rather, someone ran into him. They had turned a corner in the hallway and didn’t seem to see him before it was too late. As they crashed into him they fell backwards and landed on the floor. Mondo was pushed back slightly by the crash but unlike the person before him, he didn’t fall. It only took him a few seconds before he regained his posture. Letting out a grunt he turned to the person still on the floor.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING DUMBASS!" He could now see the other person more clearly. They wore a puffy white blouse which they tucked into a pink skirt. They had pastel pink knee high socks that reached their thighs and they had a small bow in their hair. They were rubbing their head as they groaned slightly. After a couple of seconds they looked at him and their face immediately turned from dazed to panicked. "Oh my god I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to run into you like that!" They apologised to him profusely as they put their hands together, still on the floor. Mondo rolled his eyes and extended his hand to them. "Quit fussing. I’m not gonna hit you or anything. Just get up." Their face turned slightly pink as they realised they had been rambling. "Oh, yes of course." As they grabbed his hand Mondo could feel something in his chest for a split second. But he quickly brushed it off as he pulled them up off the ground. As soon as they stood up, they let go of his hand and brushed off their skirt. And that for some reason made Mondo a little bit irritated, but he didn’t understand why.

"Well, since first impressions are out the window," the person began as they smiled at Mondo. "Hi! My name is Y/N L/N. It’s nice to meet you!" As you introduced yourself to him you gave him a little bow. Mondo had eyed you up and down. You looked to be about his age, but you seemed nothing like him at all. You were like the personification of the colour pink, cute, polite, feminine. It wasn’t his style at all. And yet, something about you, it intrigued him. "Names Mondo Owada." He stated bluntly while putting his hands in his pockets. "So I’m guessing you’re a student here. What class do you belong to?" You gave him a slight smirk while you asked this. Something about it seemed almost endearing to Mondo. "Yeah, Class 78th. I was just heading to the entrance ceremony." This made you perk up. "Oh? Me too! I was just going there actually. That’s why I was running before. Sorry about that again." You flashed him a smile as the two of you continued. So you were his classmate huh? He didn’t know if that was good or bad. You sure seemed to like chatting, that’s for sure.

And that’s what you two did on your walk to the entrance. During said walk he learned that you were the ultimate makeup artist. And it really showed, you’re face was full of makeup. And Mondo would be lying if he said that it didn’t look good. But he would never admit something like that out loud. Still, you had given him a compliment about his makeup, the eyeliner he wore specially. Which made him kinda happy, it was good to know he was doing it right. But sooner or later, you came to the entrance. The two of you weren’t the first ones to arrive. There were about 8 other students there, standing around and waiting for something to happen. But what was weird about said entrance was that the door had been replaced by a giant vault door. Suspicion was rising in Mondo as everyone started talking to you both.

The way you two met was...less than optimal. But you hadn’t let it get in your way at all. You hung out with Mondo a lot. You kept reaching out to him, which he appreciated. You made him feel strong. From little things like grabbing his arm whenever you felt uneasy or uncomfortable to telling him you felt safe with him. He felt good around you. Like he was actually as strong as you beloved him to be. But the one thing that you ever did that made him feel good was after the Sayaka trial.

He remembered it clear as day. It was nighttime, a couple of hours after the first ever class trial. And it had hit him hard. That Sayaka was dead, that she had tried to kill Leon and blame it on Makoto, that Leon had been executed in such a horrible and gruesome manner. It fucked him up. He sat up in bed, just staring at the floor while he rested his head in his palms. Sayaka had always seemed so nice, so sweet. She and Makoto very obviously had a thing going on. So to know that someone like her would blame it all on him in order to escape, it made him question who he could trust. Sayaka had been the first to attempt something like this, now that you had gone over the line of comfort anyone could be next. He couldn’t die now, not after years of maintaining the Crazy Diamonds. He couldn’t fail Daiya! He couldn’t-

Knock knock

Someone had knocked on his door. No, he was not answering that. He wasn’t gonna become a victim like Sayaka and Leon. But the knocking continued, and continued, and continued, until he couldn’t take it anymore. He walked up to his door, and opened it slightly. Through the small crack in the door he could see it was you. And you saw him. You’re eyes were glossy and your nose was red. "Could you let me in? I’m not armed I promise." Mondo hesitated for a few seconds, should he? He knew you. You would never hurt someone, let alone him. But...he thought the same about Sayaka. Mondo looked at you once again. You were hugging your sides and wiping your tears off your cheeks. You didn’t have any makeup on, which was unusual for you. But most of all, you just looked so small. You were pretty much cowering together as you waited for him to open the door. You couldn’t be here to kill him. He refused to believe it and mentally cursed himself out for even thinking about the possibility. With a swift move, he opened the door and let you inside. You thanked him as you walked into his dorm.

"Are you okay?" That was the first thing he asked you after he closed the door. You sat down on his bed, clutching your hands together as your eyes fastened to the floor. You didn’t give him an answer, you just stared at the floor, just like he was a couple of minutes ago. After a couple of seconds of silence, Mondo sat down next to you. He let out a sigh and used his hand to stroke your back. "Hey it’s okay, or well- it’s not okay right now but uh..." Damn it. He wasn’t very good at this was he? "Hey, look at me." He cupped the side of your face in his hand as he turned it towards him. "It’s gonna be okay, I promise. This shit sucks, it’s fucking insane. But you’re going to be okay." You let out a sniffle and a sob as he stroked your cheek. "But how can you say that? Two of our classmates are dead! How can I, how can any of us be safe when two of us has died!" You cried out, and as your voice cracked under pressure Mondo could feel his heart break. "...Y/N, do you wanna know the one thing that my brother made sure to teach me? When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him." Mondo told you, now letting go of your face and grabbing your hands. "It’s something I’ve always told myself, every single time I ever make a promise, I think of that. And I have never in my life broken a promise. So when I tell you this I want you to listen. You’re going to be okay. You’re gonna survive this shit, no matter what. I promise you will Y/N. Do you wanna know why?" You looked at him as you let out another sob. "Why?"

"Because you have me."

You spent that night with Mondo. The two of you keeping each other company and keeping each other calm. That night Mondo not only made a promise to you, but to himself. He had to protect you. It didn’t matter if he thought he could or couldn’t, he had to. He wasn’t gonna loose someone like you.

And for the most part, he was able to keep that promise. There hadn’t been any other deaths until then and Mondo was happy about that. What he was also happy about was that you and Taka got along well. After all, it would be a little awkward if his best friend didn’t get along with his...partner? Friend? He didn’t know. You two hadn’t made anything official or put any labels on your relationship but it was obvious that it wasn’t strictly platonic. You and him have shared a bed multiple times, much to Takas dismay. But it didn’t matter, because you and Taka got along. He wasn’t sure why, but Taka was the only guy that he felt comfortable with you being around. But anytime you hung out with any of the other guys he felt this burning sensation in his chest. He didn’t blame you or anything, he knew you weren’t gonna get with one of them, but it still felt bad. Like they were trying to take you away from him. He wasn’t so sure about the girls since he didn’t know if you were into that, but you were into him, which meant you were into boys. He hadn’t told you about this, he knew that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do. So he just kept all his feelings inside of him. Which also wasn’t a smart thing to do. He already struggled with a lot of self worth issues, so mixing in the paranoia about the other guys only made it worse. What if one of them convinced you to leave Mondo? And what if you realised that he wasn’t as strong and tough as he made himself out to be? What if you left him? He couldn’t loose you. Not now. Not ever.

But strangely, you didn’t spend much time with a lot of the guys. You mostly spent time with the girls. Him and Taka were the only guys you seemed to hang out with most of the time, but most of the time, it was with the girls. The one you spent most of your time with was none other than Chihiro Fujisaki, the ultimate programmer. You and her talked a lot, which at first annoyed Mondo slightly. An annoyance which you noticed pretty quickly. So when you asked him about it and he answered, you couldn’t help but laugh slightly. Which only made him madder. With a quick peck on the cheek, you explained to Mondo that you and Chihiro were like best friends. "Don’t worry Mondo. Chihiro is like my Taka." Chihiro was like your Taka. Once you had put it like that Mondo felt better. He started to wonder why he was even worried in the first place.

But then came the accident.

It had been a rough evening for Mondo. Monokuma had given all of you new motives in order to get you all to kill. This time it was embarrassing or scandalous secrets. If a murder didn’t happen within the next 24 hours he was gonna reveal them all to the outside world. He had wished his motive was just one of the embarrassing things he had done when he was little. But no. His secret was the murder of his big brother, Daiya. He remembered the pit that had formed in his stomach as he read his motive. Everyone in The Crazy Diamonds were gonna find out. After keeping the gang together for so long it was all gonna be ruined. He felt shitty, he felt MORE than just shitty. And he didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. So when you had asked him what was wrong he simply stated that he wanted to be left alone. Maybe a bit more aggressively then he wanted to. And he beat himself up over it. Why couldn’t he just talk to you! Why did he have to be so stupid! That day he spent hours in the gym, working out and releasing his anger. But it wasn’t working. His thoughts kept flowing back to Daiya, and you, and his secret. What would you think of him after you found out? What if you started to hate him? He couldn’t let the last conversation you had with him before you find out be the one you had before. The one when he snapped at you and stormed off when the only thing you did was ask if he was okay. What had he done?! He had to find you!

But right as he opened the door to the gym he was met with Chihiro. She let out a slight yelp as Mondo had opened the door rather violently. "O-Oh! Mondo. There you are. Is this where you’ve been all day?" She asked him. "Yeah, what’s it fucking to ya?" Mondo answered, once again getting more aggressive then he wanted to. Chihiro frowned slightly as he raised his voice at her. Damn it, he knows he shouldn’t yell at Chihiro. "...I’m...did you want something or what?" Mondo asked, his voice a little lower then before. "Huh? O-Oh yes! I wanted to ask you...could I train with you?" This question caught Mondo completely off guard. "...train with me? Can’t you just train with Sakura and Aoi instead? How would you even get into my training room?" Mondo asked. Chihiro looked a little uncertain for a moment before taking in a deep breath. "Because..." she grabbed the door to the men’s room and closed it. Then she pulled out her tablet and pressed it against the automatic door lock. And with a small click, the door opened. Mondos eyes widened as he saw this. Soon he looked down at Chihiro. "I wouldn’t be able to get into the girls room..."

Chihiro told Mondo about her secret, or rather, his secret. How he’s been dressing up as a girl his whole life. How he’s always thought of himself as too weak. How he...how he wanted to change. He told Mondo about how he’s tired of hiding, tired of living a lie. He wanted to be like Mondo. He wanted to be strong like him. He told him that he admired Mondo. Admired him and his strength. As Mondo listened to him, he couldn’t help but think how, how did he have this much courage?! How could he face his flaws like it was nothing? He was so strong...and it just showed how much weaker Mondo was. Chihiro was strong, he faced his problems and wanted to change. But Mondo, Mondo was the opposite. He had hid away the entire day, working out just to distract himself. He had kept it all inside of him and refused to work on himself in any way at all. He had lashed out at one of the people he cared about simply because he didn’t want to be vulnerable around them...he was nothing like Chihiro...Chihiro Fuji-fucking-saki. That bastard. How dared he sit there and act like Mondo was as strong as him. As if he was anything but a coward.

"Are you making fun of me?! I’m strong? Are you fucking with me right now?" Mondo raised his voice slightly as anger seemingly seeped through him. "I’m not making fun of you. You really are strong Mondo." Chihiro tried to explain himself, thinking that Mondo got the wrong idea. "What do you want me to do? What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to just sit back, let my secret get revealed and ruin everything? Let my best friend and partner know I’m a murderer!?" Now Mondo started to shout. "Wh-Whats wrong?" Chihiros voice became fearful and worried as he tried to approach Mondo. But Mondo quickly snapped at him, turning his whole body towards him rather violently as he looked Chihiro dead in the eyes. "Why did you have to tell me all that? Are you trying to rub my failure in my face!? Huh?! Is that it!?" Mondo started to approach him as more and more fury built up inside of him. "N-No, I just- I really admire you! I admire your strength! I promise Mondo, I just want to become as strong as you are!" Chihiro backed up, but for every step he took, Mondo took one as well. And soon enough, Chihiro was backed up against the wall. He was shaking. Tears spilled out of his eyes as the taller male towered above him. "That’s right, I am strong...I’m strong! I’m strong! Stronger than you ever will be! You hear me?! I’M STRONG!" As Mondo shouted this, he bent down and picked up the object closest to him. A dumbbell. "Mondo you’re scaring-"

THUNK!

Chihiro didn’t get to finish his sentence as Mondo struck him with the dumbbell. With one hit, Chihiro fell down. With one hit, blood started to pour from his head. With one hit, the ultimate programmer known as Chihiro Fujisaki was dead. Dead and gone forever. One hit. That’s all it took. And with that one hit, Mondo came back to reality.

"....o-oh...oh fuck. Fuck! FUCK! CHIHIRO!" He fell down to his knees as he grabbed ahold of Chihiros shoulders. He started to shake him slightly. "Chihiro? Chihiro get up man! This isn’t funny! Wake up!" But his pleads fell on deaf ears. Because Chihiro wasn’t there. Chihiro was dead. He was dead because of Mondo. Chihiro trusted Mondo enough to tell him his secret and ask for help, and Mondo had killed him. Tears started to prickle Mondos eyes very soon. He let out one last breathy "fuck" and brought Chihiro close to him as he realised what he had done. He used to be the one that feared what someone might do to him. He used to wonder who he could trust, who might betray him. But in the end it was him, him who betrayed someone. Someone who could barely defend themselves. Someone who trusted him. And he betrayed that trust. "Chihiro...I’m so sorry..."

•••

And that brings us to where you all were right now. Mondo hadn’t said much during the trial. As everyone was discussing who might have killed Chihiro, the guilt was eating at him. He was a monster. He had killed someone who looked up to him and wanted to be like him. Every time he would try to focus on something else his mind just repeated what Chihiro had told him. Chihiro was strong. Strong enough to not hide away from himself. Unlike Mondo. Mondo did it when he was informed about the motives and he was doing it now...he couldn’t do this. As he looked around the room he saw that everyone was deep in their discussion. He looked at you, you had a frown on your face, he remembered the scream of pain you let out once you found your best friend tied up in the girls gym, blood pouring from his head. And even if this case clearly hurt you, you had to focus. You were gonna find out who did this. Your eyes were intense with raw emotion. That is, until you felt Mondo staring at you. You turned your gaze over to him, and as your eyes met his, they softened slightly. And that broke Mondo. He promised to protect you. And here he was, trying to get away with murder. If he got away with this, you would be executed. But if he spoke up...he would be the one dying. And as his hands started to shake he remembered what Daiya used to tell him. When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it. Even if it kills him. "Even if it kills him...." he said to himself in a very low voice. He had promised to protect you, that you would make it out alive. So even if he had to die, he had to do this. "Hey. Hey!" He said loudly, quickly getting everyone’s attention. Even if it kills him. "I have something to say..." for the first time in his life, for the last time in his life, he was gonna be strong. He was gonna be strong, like Daiya.

Like Chihiro.

Even if it kills him.

“WHY MONDO!? WHY WHY WHY?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?! HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM!" As his best friend shouted at him he felt like curling up and hiding away. His words cut deep into Mondos heart, even if all the words were true and justified. But what hurt the most were the words he didn’t hear. Taka was screaming at him, but you, you just stared at him in silence. You looked at him with hurt and betrayal in your eyes, and yet, not a word left your mouth. Tears were running down the sides of your face, tears that he was responsible for. “It would seem like you’re all ready to vote!” Monokuma said gleefully, much to Kiyotakas horror. “W-Wait! No! Hold on!” Taka cried out as he wanted to get answers from his best friend. “No more waiting! No more holding on!” Monokuma trailed on. But Mondo didn’t listen. He knew what was going to happen. He was going to die. But at least he died for the people he loved. He looked at you. You had tear filled eyes and a big frown. Suddenly, the levers you were all supposed to pull appeared. As everyone pulled their levers, only you, Mondo and Kiyotaka had been yet to vote. “Y/N! This can’t be happening! Tell me this isn’t happening! We’re not...WE’RE NOT VOTING FOR MONDO!” He yelled out as sobs escaped his throat. “Hey...Taka...Y/N...” Mondos voice rang through the trial room. You both turned to him. “It’s okay...vote for me...be safe...” and so, he grabbed his lever and placed his vote. “No! Don’t do this Mondo! Don’t do this!” Mondo gave the lever a big yank. Finalising the vote. He looked at you, you looked at him. Through your tears you saw him nod at you. And so, you pulled your lever.

•••

Taka was violently sobbing into the long coat that you had placed on his shoulders, Mondos coat that flew off him during his execution. It was the night after the trial. And Taka was completely destroyed. He was hysterically crying, letting out a sob in between every single breath he took. You stroked him on his back while trying to calm him down. “Hey...shh...shh...it’s...it’s not okay right now. I know that. But it’s going to be okay. We’re gonna get through this Taka. You and me. For Mondo. For Chihiro. He looked at you for a second before pulling you into a hug. “It’s gonna be okay. You and me, we’re gonna get out of this alive. Because...” you trailed off for a second. “....because you have me.” Kiyotaka only started to sob more after you told him this. And you just kept stroking his back. “And I have you. We have each other. And we’re gonna be okay....”

“I promise you...”

[hazzoranstories]

Damon Salvatore x Reader One-Shot | Emily’s House

Requested by anonymous

A/N: I don't know if this would count as a Damon one-shot, but I can't think of anything else to categorize it as. Also, sorry this sucks, but I've had a little writer's block. Last thing, would you guys like more human/past Damon or would you like present day?

________________________________________________________________________________

Includes: Blood, angst, several murders, mild language, and triggering

________________________________________________________________________________

"Y/N? Tell me, damnit!" Kol screamed at his best friend, who merely smirked it off and popped her neck. She examined the "home" Klaus designed for the Mikaelson family in Mystic Falls, with Kol trailing after her.

"You just got out of a box after a century, and you want to know about my past love life? Kinda sad, Kol, not gonna lie," Y/N snickered, and Kol ran up in front of her, stopping her from walking into the dining room. Encouraging her to continue her story. The girl sighed and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. Letting him into her memories.

~:*:~

*Mystic Falls, Virginia; 1864*

The sound of Y/N's sobs rang through the empty Salvatore house. Despite Giuseppe's earlier attempts to usher the girl out, her rage was much stronger than her sadness. She would never forgive Giuseppe for what he did. Shooting his own sons was a heinous act, even for the man who beat his eldest child. Y/N hadn't actually witnessed the murder, but she heard the gun firing. And neither Salvatore brother had returned in the last two days. She went around town to check, and once she saw Giuseppe drawing sympathy for his lost sons, she rushed back inside.

"Y/N, you must leave. Return to your family --" Giuseppe said, somewhat irritated.

"I no longer have any family, Giuseppe. You killed them in cold blood, remember?" Y/N snapped, cutting off her crying to glance behind her shoulder and notice the horrific man at the door. Giuseppe glared at his deceased son's wife and growled lowly, storming into his office. As much as he loved Damon getting married and even expecting a baby, he desperately hated Y/N. She was a nice girl, but man, did she have a temper. A temper so bad that it blinded most people about what they liked about her. But not Damon. He considered it attractive, and Giuseppe always thought that was the reason he married her. I guess he'll never know now.

The night following, Y/N escaped through her window out the house. She wanted to visit her friend Emily for comfort. The Salvatore wife was still in denial and assumed Damon or even Stefan would bust open the door any moment, but neither did. They were gone, but she didn't want to admit that to herself.

She was too lost in her thoughts to notice a figure following her in the shadows of the thick woods on the way to Emily's house. Emily lived near the Quarry, so it was a long but worthy journey. The figure had a female curve to it, but her large dress made her look thinner. In seconds a wrist was forced across Y/N's lips, with the metallic taste of blood spilling onto her tongue. Y/N tried to scream, but a thick stick was shoved into her stomach before her mouth could part. The attacker looked down at her struggling victim and chuckled darkly.

~:*:~

The bleeding light of the sun burnt through Y/N's eyelids the next morning, and she winced. It wasn't like any morning where she didn't want to get up, but it hurt her. Physically. She sat up and saw she was lying in the woods. Left for dead by whoever attacked her. But how could she be alive? A stick was plunged into her abdomen, and no one could aid her. She gazed down at her stomach, which was drowned in blood. Not just her own. Y/N's eyes widened, and a scream finally fell from her lips.

Her cries began again as her shaky hand fell onto her fully healed wound. But the blood remained stained on her dress, which was just a reminder about what happened. She stumbled up, and her first thought was how close Emily was. Her legs carried her weak build across the woods, and not much later, she reached Emily's house.

She pounded on the door, and soon it was whipped open by the witch herself. Emily noticed her friend's state and immediately got anxious. Y/N began weeping again and engulfed Emily in a hug. The black girl was shocked but closed the door and raced Y/N to the living room. "What happened, Y/N? What's wrong? Why do you have blood on you? Is this yours?" she interrogated eagerly, but Y/N kept shaking her head to try to bring him back. She couldn't lose her baby boy, too, not after losing Damon.

"I -- I think he's go -- gone. He's gone, Em- Emily," the Bennett girl knew of Y/N's pregnancy since she was in her third trimester, and people tend to point it out.

"What? What do you mean he's gone? What happened to you? Why is there blood on your dress?!" Emily panicked. Usually, she was relatively calm, but she couldn't contain herself.

"Emily? What's happening in here?" a male's voice asked as he walked in with caution. Stefan stopped once he saw his brother's wife, and both girls looked at the youngest Salvatore. Y/N gasped, and her breathing increased dramatically.

"Stefan? Stefan, how are you here right now?!"

"Y/N! You need to calm down!" Emily yelled and grabbed Y/N's face, forcing the girl to look at the witch's calming brown eyes.

"No, no, what's Stefan doing here? He died, Emily. Giuseppe shot him I --" Emily cut Y/N off with a shush, placing her hand on her stomach, which was flatter than it should be.

"Are you sure?" the Bennett questioned. Y/N nodded and sniffed. Emily stood up and ran around the house to try and find a spell to heal the possibly dead baby.

"Are you not going to explain how my husband's dead brother is here?!" Y/N shouted towards Emily, who didn't reply. The wife looked to Stefan with hopeful eyes. "Is he alive too? Is he here?" Stefan nodded and gestured outside. Y/N didn't hesitate to run out.

She saw Damon sitting near the water, tears falling from his eyes mercifully. "Damon?" Y/N cried, and the brunette whipped around, every action of his stopping. His jaw flew open, and he stood up. The Salvatores sprinted into each other's arms, both bawling. "Ho -- how are you alive? I thought --"

"I'm in transition," Damon interrupted his wife, who broke the hug.

"What?"

"Katherine, she gave me her blood before I died," he explained, but Y/N was still confused. "Are you okay? I heard a commotion going on inside and thought it was just Emily doing some witchy voodoo. I never expected you to come out that door," Damon smiled in joy, but Y/N's face fell.

"I . . . . last night someone stabbed me in the stomach," - Damon's expression became worried - "he's gone. Emily is trying to find a spell, but . . . . my attacker killed our boy in the process of trying to murder me," Y/N muttered, and Damon stepped back. A look of pain shot across his face, and he choked on the right words to say.

"Do -- do you know who --?"

"No. I don't even know how I'm alive right now, but I'll have Emily figure out that later," Damon put his face in his hands before tugging at his curly dark hair.

"He's not gone. I refuse to believe that. Emily!" the oldest Salvatore snarled and sped inside. Leaving Y/N to leer out at the flowing bay.

~:*:~

*Mystic Falls, Virginia; Present Day*

Y/N let go of Kol and huffed, snatching up a bottle of bourbon, an obsession she picked up from Damon. She strutted past Kol and into the dining room, plopping into one of the seats. She took a swig of the alcohol as her best friend came back down to Earth. "Wow. I had no idea -- "

"Yeah, I know. Only the Salvatores and my friends in 1864 knew I was pregnant. Oh, also that bitch Katherine. She was actually the one that did the deed," Y/N answered, sipping some more.

"Katherine? As in Katerina Petrova? She turned you and killed your unborn child while doing so?" Kol gawked. He had his fair share of drama, but this was a whole new ball game for him. No one, not even Klaus, would stoop that low.

"Bingo," - another drink - "would you like a special star or something?"

[ryoryeonggu]

Inspired by the bromance between Kang Tae and Sang Tae from “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay” and some drama Kwak Dong Yeon played psychopath (how amazing an actor he is, he could play different roles so naturally), I just think of a plot but like all of time, I’m so lazy and impatient to write a series fanfic so I hope if there are anyone interested in, they could write it for me. 

Imagine Han Seok somehow (probably after his death) fell into another universe which was kind of reversed everything from the original one. In this universe, Han Seok and Han Seo were still brothers, but from very poor family - the bottom life of the society, they were growing up with the brutal abuse of their father. They didn’t share the same mother, like the original universe, but both of their mothers were also the victim of his father, either one killed herself or left. So the brothers was left alone in a nightmare house and only had each other, they loved each other very much and would do anything for each other. Han Seok in this universe was a very sane, sweet and innocent person, and definitely very protective over his little brother. Once time he tried to protect Han Seo from their father, he got hit in his head very bad, resulting in damage to his brain and he had a mind of 5 year old child since then. This got Han Seo snapped eventually, so when his father dared to lay a finger on his brother again, he murdered his father, burned his house from the ground to make it look like an accident, then ran away with his brother to built a new life. They moved into another town, got the new identity and Han Seo had been working his ass off everyday to take care of his child-mind brother until the psycho Han Seok came. 

Han Seo recognized almost immediately something was wrong since he knew his brother very well and he was smart and subtle himself. He slammed Han Seok into the wall very hard with a knife pointing at his heart, demanding to know what the hell happened with his brother (he thought his brother was kidnapped or something). Han Seok was a bit terrified and confused with the situation, and he was already traumatized with something about to stab in his heart because of the way he died, so he quickly told Han Seo about what was going on. After checking every scars and specific details in Han Seok’s body, Han Seo finally believed his words and that’s how their life together started. 

After recovering from shock and adapting the new situation, Han Seok went back to his usual maniac behavior. Despite the overpowering impression from the start, Han Seok intended to treat Han Seo like the way he used to treat his Han Seo because he had the same face as his weak, obedient brother who was always terrified of him. So when Han Seo showed up and interrupted his killing spree, he expected the horrified expression, the utter fear in Han Seo’s eyes like the day he killed their father in the hospital. Instead he looked dumbfounded as Han Seo calmly picked up a hammer and finished the job himself, then complained with a blank face about how Han Seok made a mess and draw the unnecessary attention as he got rid of the body and cleaned off the scene, like he had done it a thousand times. That made Han Seok realized this person was nothing alike his brother and he was just as crazy as him, probably even more. The next days, Han Seok tried very hard to reclaim his authority only to fail, whenever he came up with some murderous insane plan to do anything (mostly just to try to scare Han Seo off), Han Seo just pointed out all the illogical and ridiculous plot holes in his plan and called him an idiot with a straight and very bored expression in his face. It was kinda the karma biting in his ass because this time, he was the one who was treated like an useless unworthy person who couldn’t do anything right and was looked down, like the way he used to treat his brother in his previous life. But unlike Han Seok, Han Seo never laid a finger on him because Han Seok was in his brother’s body and he would never ever hurt his brother or let anyone hurt him, so he just casually dodged all the attacks every time Han Seok went violent on him or tried to kill him. Han Seo would always protect his brother even it was only just a part of him (and he still believed that his brother would come back someday), and in his perspective, brothers should always look after each other, so he usually shot Han Seok a dirty annoyed look as hearing him ramble about how he abused and treated his younger brother back then. 

Of course there were also back and forth, right after finally figuring out the strong love Han Seo had to his brother, Han Seok took advantage of Han Seo’s abilities as he was running around to cause problems because he knew Han Seo would come to rescue the day and clean off his mess anyways. To the point that Han Seo eventually pissed off and reminded Han Seok (in a very threating way) that the only reason why he was alive was because of “his Han Seok” and if he kept getting the dirt on his brother’s hand and name, he would murder him in the most painful way he’d ever known then kill himself. And then there were a kind of good detective showing up to their place to look for the brothers, asking questions about the accident of their previous home and their dead father, forcing Han Seok and Han Seo work together to cover it up once and for all. Then they ran off again and became infamous murderous brothers xD    

[zuffer-weird-girl]

No way out...

Drinking with the gang.

That was supposed to be joyful one, isn't that right? One single moment where you just can say fuck the world and enjoy the least bit of sanity you're suppose to have while being a part of the league... well, now Paranormal Liberation Front.

At least the clothes and the condition of living were better than sharing a room in a dirty bar or just moving into abandoned buildings...

He wasn't someone who ever thought about getting lucky on this shit called life of his. Yet now he had some fucking food and a partner to just wrap his arm around their waist, and behind closed doors kiss amd fuck with all his heart content.

And it made it better when your morals happen to be similiar with his ones. You didn't gave two shits about Shigaraki's plans besides having a huge respect towards him... somehow.

He knew about how you lost your parents to heroes. Two people whose was only trying to provide for their kids only to be caught stealing food at the wrong moment and wrong place...

Despite all of his issues and yours. You two made a good match... and he was, dare he say, happy. More happier than he ever was.

Right now, on the middle of drinking your heads off, Toga and Twice had come up with a game. Throwing a fucking knife around and just hoping no one got actually hurt by it. Simple, if you catched the bottle without breaking it, you had to tell a story or just do something stupid.

Similiar to truth and dare but... a bit more spice on it.

"CATCH (Y/N)! OH SHIT DUCK!" Twice yelled and Dabi didn't even bothered to move as his arm continued on your shoulders as you merely lifted one of your fingers up and stopped the knife on mid air.

"Metallokinesis". Your quirk was quite an ordinary but by no means less useful.

"Buuuu you're no fun (Y/n)-chan!" Toga whined on her seat with a pout as you chuckled and rotted the knife on the air while swirling your finger along with it.

"Right right, as if I would be let to be stabbed here." You commented, giggling at the snort Dabi let out before you actually grabbed the knife "So, embarrassing thing or story of my life?"

"You just happen to be the second most mysterious one of this league excluding crusty over there." Spinner pointed with his can at Dabi "Say something about no one here knows."

"Huh..." you poked the tip of knife on your chin with a thoughtful expression before letting out a gasp.

"Found one aparently." Mr. Compress spike from his seat.

"Welp, guess it wouldn't hurt to it." You leaned more on Dabi as he sighed in content.

Neither his own blue flames could compare to the warm feeling you brought to his uncharacteristically cold soul.

"There was this one last time I saw my brother. He was such a dick, but he took care of me after my parents died so I own my life to him kinda of."

"Brother huh?" He opened of his turquoise eyes in amusement. You never mentioned about a brother even after everything you told him about your past, so that was new.

"Yep. He told me how to especially control my quirk-" you levitated the knife and made her twirl in the air "His quirk wasn't something useful sadly.. his hands turned into diamonds but for only what? Two minute s or less I guess. Yet he never stopped being a fighter and a trouble maker." You giggled.

"You're a magnet to shitty assholes. HE SOUNDED NICE!" Dabi only threw a half glare at Twice as Toga giggled.

"But back on. One time we were walking on the middle of the night, comminting some robberies to put at least a piece of bread on the table... but then we just happened to cross by the current number one hero himself!" You spoke on a venom tone who only made him snort. He could care two fucks about Enji yet it was fun to see how fucking pissed you are with the bastard.

"And he beat your brother's ass." Spinner spoke as you only took a sip form your own drink.

"He beat my and his ass." You let go of the drink "My brother just happened to pull me out of the way of his flames, he used his quirk to prevent a potential burn yet he got some scars outra of it."

Dabi suddenly tensed... he remembered one night he was doing his researches fro recruits... Usually you would go with him, but Shigaraki demanded your services for something else on that night...

"Scars?" Toga asked with a sick smile.

"Yeah. A burn that crossed from his jaw until the midsection of his nose and a deep cut that crossed his forehead to his lef cheek. Almost lost vision of one eye."

Memories clouded his mind... it was cold... his footsteps echoed on the empty streets before they come to a stop when he saw someone.

"He got burns all over his body yet his hands remained intact... probably because of his quirk sure."

.

.

.

The guy stared at him while he demanded to be on the league... the quirk wasn't useful to them... the man was cocky and didn't care about morals and didn't even gave him a reason to be there, just a "I need to."

.

.

"He was always a thick head. If he wanted something than he get it or got beaten up because of it... so when Endeavoyr fought him... he gave his best." You spike proudly as a shen of sweat started to appear on Dabi's forehead.

.

.

Doing a backflip after jumping and dodging one of his attacks he cursed and sended a huge wave of flames towards the man whose shouted curses at him.

.

.

"Then what happened?"

"Endeavour focused more on my brother as his sidekick chased me. My brother shouted at me to run that he would find me on our usual spot...then I made a run for it and attracted the sidekick far away from the fight to not cause my brother more trouble."

.

.

The guy was totally fucked up... laying on the concret as Dabi took one bar of metal from a trash can and stared down at him... the motherfucker made him loose a few of his stables so he had to fucking pay...

"Still alive I see..." he muttered in boredoom as a thunder echoed... rain drops appeared and fell on them as his victim's haw trembled yet his (E/c) remained that pathetic determined infuriated look.

"F-Fuck.. off..."

"Huh." he heated up with his quirk one part of the metal and pushed against the guy's chest as he steeped on him with one foot... enjoying hearing his screams of pain. "Not as confident as it looks huh..?

.

.

"I couldn't find him and honestly it was for the better. No deaths or prisons were notification so that's how I knew and know he is okay.." you smiled as Dabi clenched his hand on his leg as his breath quickened.

.

.

He tortured the man on that filfh and wet alley... the guy's was with closed eyes, whimpering yet his body still thought to stay alive...

"Last words scumbag?" He arched one of his eyebrows up as he had the burning hot piece of metal right on aim on where the human heart lived.

He gagged on his own blood and coughed... opening one of his beaten up eyes at the sky as he muttered something before Dabi pushed and kicked down the bar of metal... letting the man at least exhale his one last final breath...

.

.

"I met Dabi one week after and the rest you guys know." You leaned back in smugness as they clapped but furrowed your eyebrows when Dabi shuffled his arm away from you noticing how tense he was.

He now remembered... his last fucking word was a name... Your name.

Your brother died by his hands...

"I need a cigarette." Dabi muttered before leaving the room abruptly while everyone stared at him in a mix of worry and confusion.

"Is Dabs okay? gO CRY LIKE A LITTPE BITCH-!" You sighed at Twice's comment before using your quirk to threw the knife at Spinner who yelled when it got stuck on the wall he was leaving against at.

On the balcony Dabi exhaled shakily a cloud of nicotine as he stared at the sky with a regretful look... he killed a member of your family... one you cherished and hoped to see again and believed he was still out there... breathing.

"Never took you for the type to just leave a room to smoke baby." You hugged him from behind and he looked over his shoulder to see you smilling sweetly up at him...

Gosh he felt terrible... should he tell you or be selfish...?

"Hey... are you.. okay?" You started as you got by his side when he didn't teased you back for your comment.

He stared at the cigarette on his hand and sighed before flipping it out of his hand and watching it fall...

"Doll..." he sighed before giving you a one sided painful look "I'm... dammit." He scoffed, burying his half burned face on his forearms... feeling your gentle carres and hugs didn't bringed him any calm like before because he fucking knew what he had done...

"Hey.. whatever it is is okay my prince." You cupped his face on your hand and smiled up at him "Just tell me..."

He furrowed his eyebrows as a wind passed by... his indigo strays of hair flew as he stared in remorse at your face...

"What you told back there..." he sighed before looking away from you as your hand dropped and tugged on his own "(Y/n)... I am.. sorry."

"For what?" You giggled in astonishment "Dabs, it was not your fault my brother got into a fight with Enji! I'm going to find him again as soon as this hero society is collapsed." You smiled but soon it fell when Dabi only brushed his scarred hand on his face and looks as he looked at the city...

"Dabi?" You spike after a few minutes of silence before he muttered, shoulders hunched.

"Remember that night I came back to the bar and had almost half of my staples out? And when you shouted at me I said I killed the motive of me being all beaten up and we started dating?"

"Yeah it was when I admitted my feelings towards you dumbass. What's with it?" You nervously giggled

The way his turquoise eyes locked with you were what hurted you the most. It showed his true emotions... Fear, regret, sorrow... grief...

"Doll... you wont be meeting your brother anymore... he won't come back..." he managed to whisper but soon a shot in his heart was felt by the way your eyes widened...

You took a few steps away from him and he hissed mentally when he stepped closer to you and you only got more far away from him.

"No..." tears started to gather on your eyes as Dabi furrowed his eyebrows and extended his hand towards you only to widen his eyes when you used your quirk to move plataforms of metal to make an escape... far away from him.

He shouted your name when you jumped while using your quirk to get on the ground... running away from... everything as he tried to follow... ignoring the questions from his commurates.

.

.

.

He couldn't even find you since the heroes started to attack...

Hawks was a traitor. This didn't surprised him one bit...

Yet what caught him out of guard was the fact that both Twice and you were... killed.

Jin had at least made it to Toga to speak his last words to her... but you in favor of saving him, got the most hurt.

Couldn't even mutter a word to him as he held your limb body on his arms.

He was sad... but something more consumed him.

Anger. His wrath was enough to keep a smile on his face as he burned the wings of the responsible for his lover's death.

He was a bastard that deserved living on a personal hell... yet, he could at least keep alive to keep the promise of crushing this hero fake society and comply to his lover's words that always made him want to tear up.. but he couldn't due to his condition.

"I love your smile Dabi."

[salamanderdr]

Lost Family in a Mad Town

My ‘Town That Went Mad’ one-shot

By @salamanderdr

tw: death/child death/trauma

Featuring: c!Karl, c!Dream, c!Corpse, and Robin

Authors note: Also I am in no way a writer so sorry for any typos. I’ve never actually written a fanfiction so the only place I can put it is here. I wrote this because I couldn’t get the idea out of my head and I had to get it down. Karl and the others did such a good job on the stream. I literally wrote this in one sitting, I hope ya’ll like it qwq. 

/////////////////////////

Karl had been having these dreams for a while now. It didn’t seem like anything special. To him, they were just interesting stories to tell his friends. These stories are what he became known for, and he enjoyed the attention. What made the dreams so special is that most of them involved Karl’s friends getting into unusual shenanigans, which inspired most of the young men’s hangouts. However, one dream, in particular, caused Karl to reconsider if there was more to them. 

~Once asleep, Karl finds himself in a rather interesting dream. In the middle of a small village, Karl stands next to the town’s water fountain. The setting is more rustic than he is used to, and his bright multicolored hoody stands out among the bustling villagers. Despite his appearance, the quaint villagers paid him no attention. Concerned, Karl realizes that he can't interact with the townspeople. Unsure of what to do with himself, Karl spots a familiar neon green hood. Karl walks up to the figure and lays his hand on their shoulder, whispering, “Dream... is that you?” The brightly clothed man whips around, shock in his voice, “H-how… who are you?” Karl tilts his head, “It’s me Dream, Karl. Don’t you remember me?” Dream put his head in his hands, “I-I… Karl? Y-yes.. I re”. Suddenly a deep voice pulls both men’s attention away, “Cornelius! You still waiting for us?” Karl looks behind Dream to see a pale man with cat ears and tail, holding the hand of a sweet-looking boy with a hat full of lovely wildflowers. Karl’s heart became warm, something seems familiar about the boy, like if he could be an old friend. Karl speaks again, “Dream, who are they? Did he call you Cornelius? Jeez, what the honk is going on?” Dream quickly turns to Karl, “I’ll explain it later. Just go on, I’ll find you.”  Karl shakes his head “Oh, it’s fine I don't think they can see me.” Dream sighs, “fine, just stay quiet for a bit so I can focus.”

Dream walks over to the two who patiently wait for him “Sorry Corpse, I got sidetracked.” He gently offers his arm to Corpse. Still holding the boy’s hand, Corpse hooks his arm with Dreams. Dream smiles towards the boy, “Y’all didn’t miss me too much, did ya, Robin?” Robin giggles, “If anything, we’re better off without you.” The three laugh as they walk down the path as Karl follows close behind, also laughing to himself.

As the day ends and the night comes, Karl finds himself sitting beside Dream outside his little cottage. Slowly rocking in his chair, Dream speaks, “ I started remembering a little more, not much but enough to kinda understand what’s going on.” He looks at Karl, “I know you later down the line, don’t I?” Karl nods, “Yeah… so this really happened? You had a little family Dream?” he smiles. Dream frowns, “I did, a very long, long, long, long time ago,” he sighs, “this happened like hundreds of years ago, Karl, and you weren’t here. I guess those dreams you have are actually real things that happen.” Karl scratches his head, “I guess I’m learning new things about myself every day, haha. Hey, why don’t you tell me about them… if you want”. Dream looks longingly through the window where Corpse and Robin sleep, “ I found them. I was just planning to mess with the village for a bit, but then I got attached”. Karl's smile grows wider at this, knowing how Dream can be despite his usual dark intentions “and?” Continuing, “I found a boy and his blind friend, and I decided to play house… t-that’s it…” sweat starts to pour from Dream’s forehead “I lo-lost them, and it’s my fault.” Karl's face drops “W-what?”

Suddenly the dream changes and Karl faces a gruesome scene. Dream is on the ground, blood flowing from a deep wound in his chest, being held by Corpse, who is crying. Karl falls towards Dream, shaking him, “Dream! Dream! What’s happening? Who did this?” Dream splutters, unable to speak. Corpse cries for help, “Please someone! R-Robin, go get help!”. Not noticing him till now, Karl watches as Robin flees into the night in search of someone to help his dying adopted father. Corpse turns back to Dream, his voice shaking, “It’s gonna be okay Cornelius, Robin’s getting help.” In Corpse’s arms, Dream lifts his hand to Corpse’s face and wipes the tears from his sightless eyes, “Sorry, Corpse.” Karl watches helplessly as Dream takes his final breath, shocked about how tragic things have become. Karl stumbles to his feet and runs into the forest.

After several minutes, Karl leans against a tree, gasping for air. A voice suddenly speaks up, “Tragic, huh?” Karl jumps at the voice with a welp. He searches the empty trees to see Dream in his bright outfit, and this time, his disturbing clay mask with the eerie smile. Karl catches his breath and stutters, “W-wait, you died?” Dream moves closer, sitting in front of Karl, the morning sun reflecting off the mask, “Oh come on. You really think it's that easy for someone to get rid of me?” Karl shakes his head, “Of c-course not. It’s just, it was so convincing, it scared me. I’ve never seen you like that… What’s happening, what happened to you? What happened to Corpse and Robin?”, concern and millions of questions fill Karl’s head. Dream rolled his hidden eyes, “I guess I’ll be honest with you… it won’t really change anything. Well, you know I’ve been around for a while, and of course, you know I’m hard to kill. Those idiots didn’t know that though.”, he turned his head away “Karl, I bring chaos wherever I go, and I knew whatever that was wasn’t gonna last long, but I ignored it.”  Seeing the Dream he was familiar with sitting in front of him, the one who terrorizes many of his friends in the present, his voice hardens, “Yeah, that’s for sure. So you left them thinking you were dead. That’s cruel. Even for you. They cared about you, Dream.” Dream looks back to Karl, “Well, it was a different time I couldn’t just reveal myself. The ones that ‘killed’ me already saw I would only bring trouble, but they didn’t realize it all started when they decided to take a man’s life. It only fanned the flames of chaos. Hahaha, if I did reveal what I am, I’d be in real trouble. Then I would have hurt Corpse and Robin.”, he looked towards the ground. Karl narrowed his eyes, “You didn’t want them to know you’re actually a monster.” Dream didn’t respond. Then in the distance, a bell rings. 

Karl and Dream appear in the middle of the village to see the villagers in utter disarray. Dream speaks, “The Dream you spoke to was able to remember you only a little bit. When I was 'killed' I was able to show up. He should be watching right now. Heh, I guess I showed up so I could finish the story for him”. Karl looks at Dream, “so what is that story?” Dream looked at the crowd of angry townspeople, “Just watch for now.” Karl turns his attention to the mob. The people are angrily fighting about who killed the man known as The Wise Cornelius, paying no attention to the poor blind man and his adopted son, who were the real victims. As Karl watches, he begins to understand Dream’s role in the village. Yes, he was part of the family made up of a blind cat boy and a tragically orphaned child, but he also brought a lot of new knowledge to the villagers. His brilliance also seems to be what made him a target for the murderers’ Dream mentioned. To Karl, at least, the killers just didn’t understand Dream’s ideas and saw it as some sort of sin against God, knowledge, only meant to drag them all to hell.

Karl is snapped out of his thoughts to see two villagers dragging Corpse toward a prison, “W-wait! Dream what’s happening? What’re they doing to Corpse''. Dream didn’t speak. Robin’s cries rose above the crowd as he ran toward Corpse “Please don’t! It can’t be Corpse!! We’re all family, He would never hurt Cornelius!” Grabbing the arm of the villager, Robin is pushed to the ground “shut up kid! It couldn't be anyone else but him”. Corpse calls out to Robin as the other villager pushes him into the cell, “It’ll be okay, bud. It’s ok.” Tears running down his face, Robin grabs the bars of the cell as the villagers lock it, “Corpse, I can’t lose you too! You’re like a father to me!” Corpse places his hands on Robin’s “I-I know b-buddy.” Robin’s cries echoes throughout the village prison grounds, “P-please don’t go! I need you!”. Karl couldn’t help himself and began to cry too. Dream places his hand on Karl’s shoulder “They didn’t like how chummy I was with them, they framed Corpse because they believed I had already corrupted him” his grip became tighter, making Karl wince “they targeted my family Karl and I didn’t do a thing about it!”

The whole village, along with Karl and Dream, watched as the friendly local cat boy dropped into a lava trap, dying instantly. Robin fell to the ground, broken, weeping uncontrollably. No one comforted him. Dream speaks once more, “Robin was an orphan. His mother disappeared when he was very young. His father died in a war. He was so strong, and he was able to make his own family, but he lost that too. A child can only take so much really”, his voice grows cold when he says this. Karl nervously glances at Dream. 

It was suddenly night, and Karl stiffened as a blood-curdling scream came from one of the cottages. From the dark, Dream sighs, “Another innocent life lost.” Karl stutters, “H-how long do they keep this up?” Tired, Dream answers, “Till there is no one left. They let their paranoia corrupt them. The feeling they had about me doesn’t leave, so they turn to just taking everyone else to hell with them”. A shiver runs down Karl’s spine. Dream voice is ice  “They kill and kill and kill because they are too stupid to realize they are the evil they fear! Now that they have started this whole mess, they can’t stop”. Nervously, Karl whispers, “You really to cause people to go mad…”. Ignoring the comment, Dream asks, “And do you know who they blame all these deaths on?” Karl’s vision changes and his eyes widen in horror at the person in the prison cell. “A poor, innocent, orphan boy.” Karl looks directly into Robin’s eye, but the boy isn’t looking at him. He is looking at a figure behind Karl. Karl turns to find the ghostly figure of Corpse. The spirit walks through Karl, speaking to Robin and placing his hands on the doomed boy’s head, “Straight to hell buddy.” Just like that, Robin is gone. 

Karl jumps awake, his bed soaked with sweat, fear being the only thing he feels. He cries for a long time. After a while, there is a knock at the door, and wiping his face, Karl opens the door. He finds Dream in his doorway, “Well, that was a weird dream, wasn’t it, Karl?” Dream lets himself in. Karl's eyes follow Dream, “W-was that real?”, Dreams sits down on Karl’s bed “Yes, that was real. Now you know one thing that happened in my past... that I caused”.  Concerned, Karl asks, “Jesus Dream, there’s more?!” Dream lets out an unsettling laugh “Hahaha, of course, Karl! You don’t even know a quarter of the chaos I’ve caused, the villages and countries I’ve destroyed by just existing!”. Karl backs up, “so you let that happen? To your family, Dream?”  Dream leaned back on his elbows, “Don’t worry too much about Robin… Did he seem familiar to you Karl?” he nodded, and Dream continued, “That’s because he came back as Tubbo. He got another chance at life. Pffft, not like it’s any better really! Don’t know about Corpse though, bet he’s still in hell”. Shocked, Karl angrily speaks over Dream, “How can you say that? Do you not care about them anymore, Dream?”. Though Dream’s mask was covering his face, Karl can tell Dream is grimacing, “Corpse, Robin died ages ago. I could care less now”. Horrified, Karl truly realized the monster he let into his house and into his life. 

Karl didn’t sleep again for a while.

[amethystpath-writes]

Okay so this isn’t my original idea but remember that one post where it was like one soulmate is killing their other soulmate to stay immortal but their soulmate keeps on being reborn or just doesn’t stay dead for long??

If that’s too confusing basically can you do a continuation of your own prompt there the villain is the immortal, not the hero. (Prompt 41?44? I don’t remember oops)

I don't think I know that post, but if you still want me to write it and you can find it, feel free to send another ask! For now, I'll just fill the prompt!

******

“But- but I killed you.” Hero swore he couldn’t breathe. Villain wasn’t supposed to be in front of him right now. He- he was supposed to be in the morgue or wherever they kept and processed dead bodies. He was supposed to be dead. This had to be some kind of trick. Maybe there was a part of Hero’s mind that felt guilty for killing Villain, and now he was hallucinating. “I watched you die. I- I checked your pulse. You’re dead.”

Villain huffed and rolled his eyes. “Why is this always such a surprise to everyone?” He took two steps forward, watching with boredom as Hero flinched back, shielding his eyes. “You need me to pinch you? Convince you I’m right in front of you?”

“Not real,” Hero muttered. “Not real, not real, not. real. It’s in my head. It’s just in my head.”

Tossing his head back, Villain sighed. “Most of your little crew in the past at least tried to swing at me, finish the job. Some of them actually achieved killing me for a second time. I was impressed! Much more exciting than what you’re doing right now.” Hero kept muttering. Villain asked, “You really think you’re imagining me still? What’s it gonna take? Do I need to jab you in the gut? Would that help?”

Maybe I’d deserve that, Hero thought, continuing to consider the concept of guilt. What Hero was really curious about right now was, How is this so real? He acknowledged it was all fake, but he didn’t think his brain was capable of creating such a realistic version of Villain. The look, the voice, the condescending tone, everything was drawn up to a T. It shouldn’t have been possible, especially after a whole week of Villain’s death.

“Alright, this is getting old. I want to try something new since I haven’t had this reaction before. You really shouldn’t be a hero if you go into shock this easily.”

The image in front of Hero was moving closer. Villain was pulling something out from behind him. Hero already knew what it would be; Villain always kept handheld weapons back there in case his powers- whatever those were, Hero never knew- were unsuccessful. Usually it was throwing knives. This time it- Hero swallowed.

“You remember this. Good.” Villain nodded. “I figured you would, given how you stabbed me with it- rude.”

Now Hero had the sense to stand from his seated and shaking position. As a change, he was now in a standing and shaking position. This was becoming real to him- too real.

“Okay. What I’m thinking is that I clean this blade- a very pretty one by the way; love the chromatic look…I’m going to go over to that sink, and I’m going to clean this.” Villain made his way to Hero’s kitchen, turning on the sink like he said he would. He began scrubbing with the pad of his thumb. “I have two reasons for this: one, there are other victims’ blood on it now- from the morgue; they were about to cremate me if you can believe it. Props to you; that was my first time ever being in one of those places. And, two, because I want this to play out for you as it did for me- it was clean before you stabbed me with it; it should be clean before I stab you with it.” Villain turned with the blade now clear of any blood.

Hero couldn’t move, but he didn’t need to, did he? Because this was all his imagination, all his guilty conscious. Nothing else.

“You aren’t going to do anything to protect yourself,” Villain observed aloud. “You’re just going to stand there shaking like a rotting leaf stuck in a tree during October. Fine, then. Might as well take this to my advantage.”

**

Unable to move or think for himself, Hero was easily taken by Villain. All the while, Hero continued to believe this was a hallucination. Villain absolutely could not be alive because that meant- that meant he could…No. Villain can’t- can’t come back to life.

Hero knew for a fact he killed Villain. When he bled out, Hero listened to the silence of his opponent’s chest, watched its stillness. He. Was. Dead. It was that solidity in Hero’s mind that made him deny the obvious fact in front of him. Because it was impossible to become…undead. It just wasn’t possible. And since it was impossible, the person standing in front of Hero, talking to someone or something else in the room was fake- was a ghost in Hero’s head.

“-tired of this game. It’s becoming boring, but I found some entertainment for myself, and I think it can become a lesson to you. See…”

A red light was in front of Hero’s face. He looked, blinking slowly, beyond the red light to Villain. Hero didn’t quite understand where he was, or what his mind was conjuring up at the moment. He felt so tired because of his current insanity, and so it didn’t matter much what his location was.

“I think this can serve as a lesson to you- not that I care to help you, but it gives me an excuse to torture a poor soul.”

Hero blinked again. The red light belonged to a camera, he realized. Villain- or Ghost Villain- was recording him and talking to whoever was watching on the camera. In all reality, Hero figured it was he who was recording himself. Maybe he was even talking- he didn’t know. He was likely telling his base leader about how he was losing his mind and thought he was in a cellar-like room with Villain.

“I’m going to screw this back on the tripod, and then, I’ll show you what happens when you guys keep sending your men to kill me. It doesn’t work, alright? And I’m tired of dying.”

The chromatic knife was lowered in front of Hero’s eyes. He didn’t startle at it, but, as it was lowered out of his vision and Villain’s amused grin replaced it, he felt worry. Worry turned to searing pain in Hero’s leg and he let out a blood-curdling scream, grasping at the cold ground, fingers curling into fists that grasped onto nothing. The same pain magnified again as the knife came into sight once again- this time half coloured with red.

It’s real, it dawned on Hero as he finally looked down to find a hole in his leg. “A-augh!” It was throbbing and he swore he could feel his blood pulsing out of the wound. His stomach twisted with his pain and he turned to his right as to not throw up on himself.

What made the pain in Hero’s leg worse was the fact that his muscles were clenched. He couldn’t relax them no matter how hard he tried and that only meant the throb was everlasting.

The knife made its strike again- this time down the arm opposite of Hero’s now-injured leg. He hollered again, writhing and crying in anguish. “Stop! Stop it!” Quieter, he repeated to himself, “It hurts. It hurts, it hurts.”

For once his body protested as he eyed Villain in front of him. His good leg twitched like it was ready to assist in springing on and tackling Villain to the ground. But the controlled side of Hero’s mind told him it’d only make him hurt worse. Not to mention, he might land on the blade and therefore kill himself. Wait. “You’re- you’re going t-to kill…kill me.”

Villain paused, tilting his head almost curiously at Hero. “That was the plan originally, but then you fell to cowardice, and that was boring.” As he spoke, Hero could feel his limbs jumping, spasming. “So, now we’re doing something else. Kinda like it, actually. Centuries have gone by, and I never actually took my time with any of you. For once, I am seeing the true and utter fear I felt when I died for my first time.” Villain continued, “I could have been such a great person, you know? I would have been a perfect good guy, unable to die and all. But instead of seeing that vision, I was seen as a threat to humanity. They began hunting me, trying to figure out how to put me down for good. I decided to fit their little role, though.”

What Villain did and said next shocked Hero. “Go on, try it.” Villain held the blade handle out to Hero on the ground. “Take it. I’ll let you kill me again, and then you can leave.”

“You’re lying. That’s- that’s a stupid th-thing to- to offer. Why would you l-let me kuh-kill you, then let- let me go?”

Villain shrugged. “Something new. I want to live something different this time. I told you many times that few have killed me twice- and the ones who did it were killed as soon as I could find them. I want to see how far you can go if I give you a month’s head start.”

“You- you want to hunt me.”

“I do. Seeing as you did it to me, I think it’s fair.” He jutted the handle out to Hero again as an offer. When Hero took it, Villain said, “I know I took out your dominant arm out, but- well, I have confidence you’ll do just fine if it means you get to kill me again.” Villain tapped at his chest, right where his heart was located. “Go on. I know you want to.”

Hero considered this for a moment, staring at the knife- at the knife with his blood on it now instead of Villain’s. Did he ever question why his organization was going after Villain? Not really. He just knew Villain murdered every single man Leader sent out. Maybe it was self-defence, in which case Hero shouldn’t have been going after Villain like he was, shouldn’t have killed him like he already did once and was being given the opportunity to once again.

But now was different. Now, Villain really was sadistic- assuming he wasn’t before. Villain, if he was any sort of a healthy and sane man, would have had Hero jailed for trying, and succeeding, in killing him. Or, if he was afraid of the authorities taking him in for being- ahem- unkillable, then he would have only kept Hero locked up. Villain wouldn’t have had Hero in a cellar room, stabbing and slashing at him while a camera recorded it all. If Villain ever was good, that morality was stripped from him now, and that meant Hero needed to take this chance at life. Maybe he could go back to his base and demand answers. Because based off what Villain told, they knew he was immortal, and they never told Hero- or Hero’s previous teammates, who were now ‘mysteriously’ dead.

Without another word, or even a warning glance, Hero weighed the knife in his left hand, gripped the handle, and slashed at Villain’s throat. As he laid dying, Hero searched for the key on Villain’s person, and left.

[viastro]

sweet chaos | jeon wonwoo

ミ★ synopsis: you and wonwoo are the best assassins in south korea. however, underneath it all, the two of you fell in love. what will you do when you’re hired to kill him?

ミ★ genre: assassin!wonwoo, angst, suspense, slight fluff + humor

ミ★ warnings: mentions of murder, minor character death, suggestive

ミ★ word count: 3,405

ミ★ pairings: wonwoo x female reader

ミ★ notes: hi guys! this one is kinda uhh different ?? from what I usually write cause i like writing crack and fluff lmao. this prompt has been in my head for awhile after watching killing eve so i decided it was TIME. i hope you guys like this one! 

“Did you come to kill me, my love?” Wonwoo asks as you open up the champagne bottle in the kitchen. You don’t let the question phase you, taking a sip of the expensive champagne that you brought over. Instead of answering you respond with,

“Want some?” 

Wonwoo stares at your all black attire, as if you were attending a funeral for a loved one. However, in your line of work, the both of you should not have any loved ones. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

It was in the winter of last year when the two of you met. You were attending a gala for the largest mafia boss in South Korea, Kim Hyunwoo. You weren’t there to make any friends or scope out any opportunities by any means, for you were hired to send a bullet straight through Kim Hyunwoo’s head. There was a large bounty on him from the opposing mafia in Gangnam, and that’s when you were hired. YN YLN, the only female assassin South Korea has come to know. 

“Would you like a crab cake?” You turn to glance at the voice, giving your attention to the waiter who is serving the hors d'oeuvres. Looking down at the plate, you feel yourself immediately turned off by the seafood.

“No thank you.” He bows, before turning away and heading over to the next table. You smoothen out the silk of your white dress, gazing boredly at the groups around you holding discussions. Your interest only peaks once you hear the familiar voice of your target boom through the speakers.

“Thank you all for coming to tonight’s event.” Kim Hyunwoo’s voice booms through the mic, and you raise an eyebrow, smirk forming on your lips. After taking a sip of your white wine, you sneak off towards the restroom to prepare. 

“Going somewhere?” A hand is now wrapped around your wrist, and you turn to glance at who may in fact be your next victim of the night. You give him a fake smile, trying to get out of his grasp, only for him to tighten his hold.

“What is it?” You ask boredly, trying your best not to reach out and snap his neck.

“Had my eyes on you all night, you look absolutely stunning.” He compliments, and you finally recognize the man. Park Joowon, the owner of Seoul’s biggest underground boxing ring. He’s known to have been the best back in the day, later creating his own… fight club if you will.

“Park Joowon, what a pleasure.” He smirks at his name leaving your mouth, and you give him a  grin of your own.

“You wanna get out of here?” He asks you, his grip tightening even more, showing that it’s a command rather than an offer.

“Is that really a question? Considering the grip you have on my wrist.” Joowon chuckles at that, giving you an open mouthed smirk.

“Smart girl, now keep that up when I take you out of here.” He mutters, suddenly trying to yank you away. You’re about to pull out the silencer from the slit of your dress, only for another man to rest his hand on Joowon’s arm. You and Joowon glance at the man who stepped in, and you feel yourself in awe for the first time in a long time. 

His hair is black, parted off to the side, showing off a sliver of his forehead and bold eyebrows. He’s dressed in a white turtleneck with form-fitting black pants, a silver dangle earring decorating his ear. You stare into his eyes, those that have a similarity to a cat, a glint within them. 

“Who are you?” Joowon asks, glaring at the handsome man. 

“You’re needed by Mr.Kim right after his speech, which should be ending soon.” The man answers instead, and Joowon rolls his eyes, letting go of your wrist.

“I’ll find you later.” He hisses to you, turning around and walking towards the mafia boss. Once he’s far enough, the mystery man turns to you, giving you a small smile.

“Kim Hyunwoo doesn’t need to talk to him, right?” He shrugs in response, running a hand through his hair. 

“Perhaps.” 

“You know I had it under control right?” 

“I know, just thought this could leave a good impression on the pretty girl.” He says with a cocky smile, and you find a grin appearing on your lips as well.

“I’m yn.” You tell him, holding out your hand for him to shake. Instead, he grasps it softly, raising it to his lips and pressing a kiss onto the back of your hand.

“I’m Wonwoo.” You slowly retract your hand, the feeling of his lips remaining as you let your arm rest to your side. 

“Well, Wonwoo, if you’d excuse me.” You turn around and walk off in the direction of the restrooms, and Wonwoo stays in his spot, staring at your back until you turn the corner. He lets out a small chuckle at your abrupt exit, feeling himself strangely intrigued by you. 

His mind stays on you for a second longer, before he takes notice of Kim Hyunwoo now moving to a table to initiate conversation. Wonwoo remembers the whole reason he’s even here, and heads over to make his move.

meanwhile…

You’re making your move towards one of the interior balconies the ballroom has, taking out your silencer and hiding behind the curtain. You peek past the wall, seeing Hyunwoo in the perfect spot. You let out a small chuckle, getting ready to aim when he suddenly starts... choking?

He falls to the floor and everyone surrounds the man as he starts spasming. You feel anger fill your chest at the fact that he’s fucking dying before you could’ve made a move on the bastard. Which means you won’t be getting paid, unless your employer looks at it like, “Oh, I guess he died at the event anyways. Let’s just pay her!” 

You know for a fact that this isn’t him having a stroke or a heart attack. No, you know this method. Only another person who would know how to poison another human would be able to do this, so this is when you start looking around the room, trying to find who it could be.

Only to lock eyes with Wonwoo, who’s giving you the biggest smirk you’ve ever seen. You don’t know how he noticed you among the chaos surrounding him on the level below you, but he has a look of challenge in his eye.

“You’re an assassin.” You breathe out, and he turns and walks out of the ballroom. You dash out of the balcony, running towards the entrance to catch up with Wonwoo and give him a piece of your mind, only to stop by the vibration of your phone on your thigh. You huff, reaching into the slit of your dress and taking out your phone, answering it on the third ring.

“What.”

“Meet me at the cafe the street over, sweetheart.” You pause at the similarity of the voice, and you find yourself chuckling once you put two and two together. 

“So you’re a hacker too, handsome?” Wonwoo smiles at the other end, already crossing the street.

“What can I say? I’ve got a lot on my resume.” 

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you love, you took my job for tonight. Now I won’t be getting paid.” You say, heading out of the lobby at a brisk pace to meet up with Wonwoo.

“You were too slow, I had to make a move before you did. Besides, my method was cleaner than what you would’ve done.” Wonwoo responds as he stops in front of the cafe. He turns and faces the direction you should be coming in.

“You saw the gun through my dress when you were checking out my ass?” You tease, crossing the street once the light turns green.

“No, I just know your methods of killing people aren’t the cleanest. Your ass is rather nice though.”

“So you’ve done your research on me?” You ask, rubbing your arms with your free hand to offer some warmth as you had forgotten to grab your coat as you left the building.

“YN YLN, only female assassin in Seoul. Best of the best, never failed a job.” Wonwoo explains, and he looks up to see you heading over in that silk white dress. Everyone around you is doing a double take as you pass them, and he raises an eyebrow at one man whose eyes linger far too low on your body for his liking.

“Sounds like you’ve been interested in me for awhile.”

“Guess you could say that.”

“While I’m flattered, that was a lot of money I lost tonight by you taking over my gig.” You breathe, looking up and seeing Wonwoo waiting outside of the cute cafe.

“We can split it.” Wonwoo suggests, smirking at you once you two lock eyes.

“If we split it, that means we’d have to see each other again.” You finally reach Wonwoo, taking a peek inside the heart themed cafe. You hang up the phone, placing it back through the slit of your dress, causing Wonwoo to laugh at the action.

“Why would seeing each other again be so bad?” He asks, and you give him a look that basically means, you should know exactly why that would be bad.

“Have any other ways you could pay me back?” You ask, rubbing your arms once again from the gush of cold. You look up at the sky and see snowflakes beginning to fall on the cold winter night. 

“Are you suggesting something, yn?” You look back at Wonwoo, letting a smirk come over your mouth.

“Aren’t you?” You challenge, and Wonwoo smiles. He leans in to whisper in your ear, lips brushing against it as he mutters, “I’ll pay you back in more ways than one tonight, pretty.”

“It’s been a month since I last saw you.” Wonwoo says quietly, staring at your delicate features with adoration. You don’t dare to look at his face, knowing you’d get pulled back in easily. 

“You’re still as gorgeous as the time we went to see the cherry blossoms together.” He mumbles, reaching out to rest his hand on your cheek. You shut your eyes, feeling his warm breath hit your face.

“You know that I came here to kill you Wonwoo.” You mutter, opening your eyes and finally looking back at him. You feel your breath get taken away at the close proximity between you two, realizing you’ve missed this warmth he brought in the time you forced yourself to stay away for the sake of your jobs.

You two are the best assassins in South Korea, but underneath that title, you’re both just murderers. You’re undeserving of love from the number of lives you’ve taken without as much of a blink of an eye. In your line of work, there’s no such thing as loving another when all you do is kill, and kill, and kill. 

Love doesn’t exist for the two of you, so that’s why you stayed away from him no matter how much you may have missed him. No matter how badly you wanted to run to his house and envelop yourself within his arms, being engulfed in the scent of something akin to vanilla and lavender, to mask the smell of blood that is so encompassed within your brain. 

You were becoming vulnerable, soft, and your boss sensed it. He knew that if he asked you to kill Wonwoo, you wouldn’t be able to. That’s why he suggested for you to kill Wonwoo, thinking that it would make you focus better, but he did it with the lingering thought that you wouldn’t be able to. And he was right, because you decided to just stay away for a month instead of going and killing him on the spot.

The only reason you came was because someone hired you to kill Wonwoo, writing that he murdered his family in cold blood and he wants to avenge them. The man was offering a large amount of money, so it was a job that couldn't have been turned down. Your boss told you to take the job or else he would, and you knew it was no longer up for debate.

“I know.” Wonwoo whispers, leaning down and resting his forehead on yours, staring hard into your eyes.

“Aren’t you afraid?” You ask quietly, eyes trailing down to his lips when his tongue pokes out to wet them.

“No, because I know you won’t kill me.” He answers, before pulling away and sitting down at his dining table. You feel as if you can finally breathe once again, but there’s a foot just pressing into your chest, knowing that he’s right.

“How can you say that so confidently?” 

“Because yn, I know you. You’re just like me.” You walk over and sit down across from him, feeling the unfamiliar prickling sensation behind your eyes, “How?” 

“Because I could never kill you. Me, the man who’s known to kill any person without an ounce of remorse or second thought, could never kill you. And you, the woman who was trained to be an assassin from the moment she could walk on her own, could never kill me.” You bite your lip at the truth he holds to those words, taking a swig from the champagne bottle instead of saying a proper response.

“Did I hit the nail right on the coffin, yn?” Wonwoo asks after a moment, taking notice of the drop of alcohol on your lips from drinking the champagne right from the bottle.

“I don’t know, did you?” 

“So, yn, are you still going to say that you’re going to kill me, or can we go upstairs and cuddle?” Wonwoo suggests, and you finally feel the first tear fall past your eye at the thought of how desperately you want to do that.

“We can’t, we can’t keep doing this Woo.” You say, looking up at his face. He’s staring at you with an expression you’re unable to decipher. 

“Why not? Because we’re assassins?”

“Yes! We’re not- we can’t have weaknesses Wonwoo.” You hiss, staring directly into his eyes to prove your point. He lets out a sigh, running a hand through his fluffy black hair.

“You keep trying to blame our job, but it sounds like you’re just afraid of love, having a relationship with someone. You know fully well that us being together would be beneficial for not only us, but for our employers.” Wonwoo responds, taking the champagne bottle out of your hand and pouring himself a glass, leaving you flabbergasted. You try to come up with a retort, only to fall empty handed.

“I love you, yn.” You shut your eyes at the words, not wanting to look at the man.

“I love you with everything in me.”

“Stop.”

“I want to be with you.” Wonwoo says as you stand up from the dining table, hands going up to cover your ears in an attempt to no longer have to hear the words that are tearing your resolve bit by bit. 

“Stop it Woo.” Wonwoo stands up after you, walking over to where you are and removing your hands from your ears gently. 

“I love you.” You lose it.

You shove him backwards, taking out your gun from your holster and aiming it directly at his head. He stares at you, expression having not changed a bit from when you first entered his house. He’s still looking at you with pure love and affection in his eyes.

“I’m going to kill you.” You threaten, hand shaking as you hold the gun towards his head. Wonwoo gives you a small smile, tilting his head to the side as he watches you have an internal conflict within your brain for a minute.

“Are you?”

You stare at the man you love, wanting nothing more than to just go back into his arms. Knowing fully well that he’s right, and that the two of you dating would be beneficial to your bosses. However, you’re so, so, afraid.

“I’m scared.” You mutter so quietly, and Wonwoo nods his head. He reaches out and takes the gun out of your shaking hands, turning on the safety and placing it onto the dining table. You fall to your knees, watching your hands quiver as thought, after thought, after thought, runs through your brain.

“What if they send someone else after you because I didn’t complete the job?” You panic, and Wonwoo kneels down so that you’re face to face.

“They won’t.”

“But how do you know that? How can you be so confident that it won’t happen-”

“I trust that I’m efficient enough at my job to not get killed. It’d be embarrassing for the both of us anyways.” Wonwoo jokes, and you wonder how he can be so easygoing in a situation like this.

“Let’s go cuddle, hm?” He asks, resting his hand on your cheek once again. You lean into the touch, and Wonwoo smiles at you. 

“Why did you let me in, Woo? When you knew I was going to kill you?” 

You both stare at each other in silence, serious expressions on both of your faces. You’re conflicted, knowing that killing comes second nature to you, but you can’t bring yourself to kill him. While Wonwoo wants nothing more than to just be with you.

“You wouldn’t answer my calls, my texts, my emails. I even wrote a letter to you as if it was the 18th century. So I did what I had to do, I hacked into your database and basically wrote in the system that you need to kill me.” Wonwoo responds with a smile, and you gape at him.

“It was you?!” You sputter, slapping his hand away from your cheek. He gives you a cheeky grin as your eyes bulge out of their sockets at the realization that he was the one who hired the hit on himself.

“Well yeah? I knew it’d be the only thing to work.”

“Are you stupid?! I could’ve killed you!” You screech, and Wonwoo flinches at your raised voice, one that he hasn’t heard in awhile. 

“You wouldn’t have.”

“But I could’ve! I could’ve went and hit you with a fucking truck, poisoned you, shot a bullet through your head-”

Wonwoo cuts you off from your scolding by leaning in and capturing your lips with his. It’s easy to get distracted by Wonwoo’s lips, as he’s not only a skilled assassin and hacker, but also a fantastic kisser. However, you’re not done yelling at him. You bite his lip, making him pull away and pout at you.

“I’m not done scolding your bitchass!” 

“You were so angry! I wanted to try and calm you down.” 

“Calm me down? You just wanted to makeout you horny bitch.” 

“Okay… so maybe I wanted to kill two birds with one stone.” You roll your eyes, hitting his shoulder. He smiles and presses a quick kiss to your cheek, causing warmth to rush up your face, making you look down at your hands.

“Don’t do that ever again alright? Don’t go and order a hit on yourself in order to get my attention.” Wonwoo shrugs, resting his head on his hand to stare at you adoringly. You scoff at the expression on his face, wondering how the hell he can still look at you with all that love even after you pointed a gun at his head. 

“I’m crazy sweetheart, I’d do whatever it takes to get you back in my arms.” You glare at him and he gives you that stupid, endearing smile of his. 

“Can we go cuddle now?” He asks, giving you puppy dog eyes to try and convince you. You sigh, rubbing your cheeks to get rid of any more leftover tears. 

“We’re not done with this talk.” You stress and Wonwoo nods his head, knowing fully well that once you start scolding you don’t stop.

“I know yn, I know.” You stare at him, biting the inside of your cheek. You reach up and rest your hand on the back of his neck, pulling him close to place a quick kiss to his lips. 

With your lips brushing against his, you whisper in between kisses, “I love you.” 

Wonwoo smiles, squeezing your hips with his hands he responds, “I love you too.”

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 43

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(Yang POV)

We were sitting in the train-car on the Argus Unlimited together. All of team RWBY reunited again.

My little sis was wearing Jaune's old hoodie over her usual clothes. It was a little distracting.

I really wasn't sure how to feel about that because on one hand I'd been kinda right about Jaune. On the other hand I'd been kinda right about Jaune.

I was right to try and keep him away from my sister. My instincts had been confirmed. But it broke my little sister's heart to have him as a traitor.

She'd been wearing that hoodie for two days. Like a flag of warning on where she stood on the subject. She firmly believed that Jaune was somehow a victim in all this. I… I was less convinced. I knew Blake was too. I mean the way he snuck into Beacon counted for something in all this.

I wasn't sure quite what all it counted for but it counted for something.

Weiss, meanwhile, believed in Ruby. And by extension she must believe in Jaune. I wouldn't have thought it from the Ice Queen but there she was standing beside Ruby. Metaphorically, of course. We were all sitting.

And I wasn't sure what to say. What could I say? What would get through to my sister at this moment?

There was nothing. She believed in Jaune despite everything. The wounds on Nora and Ren's bodies. The missing relic. How he ran.

All of it.

She believed in Jaune through all of that.

And besides, how could I really fault it? It was that same thing which allowed her to believe in me when I'd faltered in my course to the mission. It was that same sort of quiet patience that believed in him now that was once supporting me.

"Ruby… you need to wash that. It's starting to smell," I managed.

"It still smells a little like Jaune, though," she protested weakly. "If I wash it… it'll stop and I'll have nothing left to remind me of him."

"Ruby you'll find other things." Weiss supported me, her voice gentle. "And the hoodie won't be gone."

"His smell will be, though." She buried her nose under the collar. Her voice came out muffled.

"Ruby it's unhygienic," Blake said. "You have to give this up."

"But-but-"

"Come on. Take it off and give it to me," Weiss said. "We'll just be putting it away for now."

Ruby whined but took it off. Progress of a kind was good. And Weiss was on our side.

Ruby managed to look even more depressed without the enormous hoodie on her. Somehow. She managed to look cold.

Weiss stood up with the hoodie and deposited it in her case. She carefully folded it and set it with the bunny face up. From there she clacked the case shut.

"Ruby you have to know obsessing over him isn't a healthy coping mechanism." Blake warned. "Look where obsession always got me."

"That's different. You were obsessing over the White Fang. Jaune's a friend."

"I know you still believe that Ruby but-"

"But what? You weren't there either with Tyrian. You didn't see him put his life on the line for me like it was nothing. He would have died for me like his own life meant nothing to him."

"But he took off with the relic," I said.

"What if he didn't? What if he had to run?"

"Ruby you're just coming up with scenarios now to break your own heart. He's gone." I went on. "You're ruminating. And it's not healthy."

"We're not trying to attack you, Ruby. We just want what's best for you," Blake said.

"You believe me about him," Ruby mumbled. "Don't you Weiss?"

"I- I didn't think it was in his nature to turn on us." Weiss said when we all turned to look at her. "But the evidence against him is compelling. I saw the wounds on Ren and Nora's bodies."

Ruby let out a low whine.

"But I believe you Ruby. If you said he's a victim in this, I'll believe you."

"Weiss…" Blake trailed off in frustration.

"Come on." I said. "You saw how violent he was."

"He was no more violent than the situation called for," Weiss returned easily. "The rest of the time, in training, he took it so easy on us. You must have seen how laid back he was."

"It's hard to believe you guys." Blake intruded. "The way you all talk about him as a great fighter. It's hard to match up with my image of him from Beacon."

"He wasn't the same person," Ruby mumbled. "He changed so much and he… he did it all with me in his heart. Do you know what that's like? To watch that happen?"

"I do." Blake said. "With Adam it was slow. And everything he did was for the White Fang and me and our mission but soon… soon he was killing people. Soon he had destroyed himself and my love for him. I do know what it's like Ruby. To watch somebody change like that. The only difference is instead of him running, I did."

"My Jaune isn't like your Adam,"  Ruby protested.

"No?" Blake asked. "From where I stand they seem pretty similar. Even their semblances from what you told me. Adam's has a charge to it too. One that he spends on a massive final attack. Wasn't Jaune's Limit Breaker like that?"

"A little. I mean right?" I asked Weiss and Ruby.

"And it started out small. He killed one person here or there because 'the situation called for it.' Then he was killing because it pleased him. Wasn't Jaune just the same way, just before the end?"

Weiss and Ruby said nothing. Ruby looked away and Weiss reached out and took her hand and rubbed it gently. "We never got to talk much before… before it happened." Ruby mumbled.

I sighed. That was my fault. She'd felt like she'd had to hide what she felt from me. It was my fault Ruby and Jaune didn't get to talk as much as she would have wanted. And maybe that would have changed things. That was on me. It was my bad. My little sister couldn't trust me with the truth.

"But he couldn't have been a traitor the whole time. What about Pyrrha? What about when Tyrian attacked me? It meant putting his life on the line when he should have turned."

"Adam protected me too. He would have killed and died for me once," Blake said. "People change. Maybe Jaune just snapped. Maybe Salem made him an offer and he just took it up. It happened to Lionheart."

"But Ren and Nora were his family..."

"And he still killed them. Ruby…" I sighed again.

"At the end of the day, whatever reason he had for doing it, he killed Ren and Nora. And they were fighting back too, Leonardo's office was littered with evidence of it. Nora's hammer, Ren's bullets, all of it." Blake continued. "It wasn't sneaky. It wasn't fast. He looked them in the eye as he did it."

"Then he left. With the relic." I finished.

"Ruby I know it's hard. Believe me. I know what you're going through. I swear. I went through it too with Adam."

"Jaune isn't a monster."

"And Adam didn't used to be. Do you all really think I would have loved somebody who was as monstrous as Adam is now? People can change and not always for the better, Ruby."

"It hurts more your way."

"Maybe," Blake said. "But it's more true that way. Jaune was a killer."

"Is." Weiss said quietly. "Ruby's right, you all do talk about him in the past tense. He's out there somewhere right now."

"Probably on his way to Salem, relic in tow. I know it's hard Ruby. Hell, Adam is even older than me. Like Jaune is for you. And all of it from what you've told me is so similar it's scary."

"Jaune was so nice to us," Weiss muttered. "He looked after all of us."

"Adam used to feel that way about all Faunus." Blake countered. "About the White Fang. Until…"

"Until he didn't." I said. "Tell us more about Adam's semblance."

"He would stand still and charge it," Blake began. Ruby whined again. "I take it Jaune's was the same way? Anyways he'd stand still until he had the energy to unleash a devastating attack. You don't want to be caught up by him when he unleashed that energy. Yang knows." I flexed my arm. "He could also absorb other energy into his weapon and release it."

"Jaune's was a lot like that. He'd charge by standing still, forcing you to approach him." Blake nodded along with my words.

"Then it would make him change states. He'd enter a higher plane where he'd be both faster and stronger and he could spend the charge on an attack or movement option." I went on. "It was scary to fight against it, it made him better in every possible way."

"See Ruby?" Blake finished. "They're so similar it's frightening. Do you know the first time he killed someone?"

"It was so fast…" Ruby murmured. "He just spent his Limit Break and killed him before I could blink. It was over in a flash of blue. It looked like an accident."

"But you're not so sure now, are you?" Blake went on. She was relentless. "Adam's was like that too but his flavor was red, a flash of red and it was just over. He fell into pieces."

Ruby curled up, wrapping her hands around her knees in the fetal position. She looked so pathetic I just wanted to die. I felt like I was watching heartbreak in stereo.

"We couldn't have kept that many prisoners. With the bandits. A-and he was covered in blood so often." Ruby mumbled. "He came back soaked in it all the time."

"Adam was like that after his missions. And at the time I thought I was doing everything I could for him… maybe I could have done more. I probably could have done more. But by the time I knew it was too late."

"He looked… he looked more scared about what I thought about it than what he was actually doing. He said I was his moral compass. He said he did things he wasn't proud of," Ruby muttered. "I thought everything was alright but it was all collapsing."

"Ruby…"

"No, no. No. No." Ruby repeated. She shook her head. "It can't be. It just can't. He was so sweet."

"Blake… maybe you should settle down," Weiss said.

"What?" Blake wondered bewildered.

"You're upsetting her."

"It's the truth."

"Oh. Now we're good enough for the truth." I shot.

"I… I was wrong to keep this from you all. Maybe if I would have shared it at Beacon things would have been different. And not just with Jaune. Ruby… just...think about it. I won't tell you Adam was ever a sweetheart. He was never as… soft as Jaune was. At least when I knew Jaune. But from what he all told me he was a hard man after Pyrrha died."

"If only you had been there with me. We could have saved him," Ruby muttered.

"Ruby, it's nothing you did. Nothing you could have done. I used to torture myself about Adam. Wondering if I led him down that path. In the end he chose that. And so did Jaune."

"Unless he was a sleeper agent." Weiss said. At our looks she went on. "What? You don't know what happened between him and Salem and he walked into that fight willing to kill and die for Ruby. Not Salem."

"Weiss…" Blake murmured. "Don't get her hopes up. Sleeper agent or not he's dangerous and he's our enemy."

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"Hey." I cornered Blake by the train-car bathrooms.

"Oh. Hey Yang. What's up?"

"Do you think you could slow down with Ruby."

"Not you too…" Blake trailed. "I just don't want her to make the same mistakes I did."

"I know. I know. I agree with you. I do. I just want you to slow down. You're overwhelming her."

Blake looked away. "I see."

"Yeah. She still sees Jaune as a victim. It won't do her any good if she can't process it."

"What about you, Yang?"

"I think you're making a strong case. Especially when you talked about his semblance. You were getting through to her then."

"I can't believe how similar they are. It's honestly freaking me out a little."

"I hear you…"

"And Yang I should have told you. About Adam. He… well I was embarrassed by it. I was ashamed of how far I let him fall."

"And now Ruby's in the same boat."

"Yes… I wish I could save her."

"One way or another she's going to beat herself up over it."

"I beat myself up over Adam for the longest time. Wondering if I could have done more. What else I should have done."

"Well Ruby's pretty hard on herself. I'm worried about her."

"You're a good sister to be."

"Not good enough…"

"What's that mean?"

"Jaune… Ruby felt like they should hide what they had. From me. For the first time she couldn't trust me with what was going on in her life. And then this happens."

"It's not your fault, Yang. Jaune made his choices."

"I know, I know. I just wish I could have been there for her. When she needed me. That's what hurts. I wish talking to me could have been the right call for her."

Blake reached out and embraced me.

"Ruby made her choice too."

"When I caught them together I flipped out. Overreacted, maybe. He was on top of her and I slammed him against a wall. That was back when we thought he was on our side. It made me wonder if she was right to hide it from me."

"Yang…"

"I freaked out without even thinking. She knew I'd do it too. I alienated my own little sister. She felt like she couldn't share it with me and she was right."

Blake was quiet for a long time. "I don't know what to say."

"Nothing you say will make me feel better about it. I just wanted you to listen. And I want you to trust me like that. To share things with me that are bothering you like you never did at Beacon. I can't track you down like I did when we were at school. I need you to come to me. This can't work if we can't all get along. Team RWBY will be as finished as JNPR."

"I… I understand."

"Then we're square."

"I, too, have been bothered. I worry constantly about my father and mother. The White Fang won't leave them alone, especially now that I forced them back into the limelight."

"What happened?"

"We were attacked. In my house in Menagerie, I was trying to set up a peaceful alternative to the White Fang and they attacked us. They shot at my mom. My dad was almost killed. I ran into some old compatriots in the White Fang. A girl named Ilia and a few others. They ambushed me in the streets after agreeing to a peaceful meeting. They backstabbed us at every turn. And Sienna Khan is dead. Adam was in control of the White Fang until we ran him off at Haven."

"That's a lot of business." I whistled. "You've got a lot on your plate. You're not alone, though."

"I know. I know."

"This is good Blake. This is progress. Sharing things with one another is the first step."

"We should be better at it considering we're partners." She smiled.

"Well we can get better." I smiled at her. "Thank you for what you told my sister. I was worried about getting through to her. I think you really helped."

"The way she was still wearing his hoodie… it reminded me of all the time I spent hung up over Adam."

"It's not the only thing that reminded you of him."

"No. It's not. It really is freaking me out. The similarities between him and Jaune… they're really cutting at me."

"Well hopefully we can get my sister out of this crisis."

"I know Weiss thinks she's helping but she's not. She's only drawing out the wound, making the injury worse."

"I think she is. Ruby needs both. She needs the support."

"If you say so..."

"I do. We'll get through this. We're team RWBY."

We went back to our seats. Ruby was exhausted and napping against Weiss's shoulder.

"Did you two have a nice chat?" She didn't ask with any kind of vitriol and went about stroking Ruby's hair gently.

"We did. Maybe I was too hard on her. Maybe I pushed too fast." Blake said apologetically.

"Maybe she needed to hear it." Weiss dismissed her apology. "What you told us about Adam was concerning."

"You see her point, then."

"I see everyone's points. Jaune really did seem mostly the same to me. He seemed… I don't know- better, in many ways. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he was turning and I just couldn't notice it. If only you'd been there, Blake."

"If only." Blake echoed in a chorus of quiet agreement. "I had other things to take care of."

"In Menagerie?"

"My family. It's hard."

"I know a thing or two about that."

"My family isn't like yours Weiss. They truly deeply care about me. Wait I meant-"

"I know what you meant and it's fine. Team RWBY is my real family. I thought JNPR was too."

"They were." I said. "They definitely were."

"How'd we get so broken up?" Blake asked.

"Beacon's fall. Haven's near miss." Weiss listed. "History will remember them. "

I couldn't help but wonder if history would remember us, this team RWBY, for all the wrong reasons.

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-WG

[hardygalwrites]

FanFiction.Net Link

(image source)

Game/Anime: Persona 4

Characters: Yu Narukami/Persona 4 Protagonist and Ryotaro Dojima

Synopsis: As long as the case dragged on, Dojima knew he always needed to be prepared for the possibility of another body showing up. But nothing could have prepared him for this...

Yu Narukami’s body is discovered hanging from the electrical wires at the edge of the shopping district.

Note: Originally written for Whumptober of 2020 - Day 1: Let’s Hang Out Sometime | Hanging

TW for depictions of grief and TEMPORARY character death

—

It was with a sick feeling of resignation that Dojima received the report that a body had been discovered hanging from the electrical wires at the outskirts of the shopping district. With how little progress he had been making in the serial killing case, it’s as though some part of him had been waiting for another body to show up, to remind him of how useless his efforts were proving to be.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Dojima murmured.

Flicking his phone shut, Dojima robotically went about getting out of bed. He ended up skipping the coffee and was in his car, driving towards the scene, within five minutes. It wasn’t until he pulled up outside the slowly forming crowd of early morning civilians that he wondered if he should have made sure that Nanako would be safe on her way to school today.

Well, Yu always accompanied her partway while on his own school route. That boy really was a blessing that Dojima did not deserve. Nanako would be fine, as always. They both would.

Dojima quickly nudged his way through the crowd. It looked like Adachi was already there, surprisingly enough, conversing confidentially with a few officers. Since when had that man been so on top of things?

“Hey!” Dojima called as he approached.

The whole group immediately turned towards him, each of them looking rather alarmed.

“Have we identified the body yet?” he asked, already pulling out a cigarette in preparation for when he stepped away from all of this.

“Dojima…!”

Adachi rushed to meet him, looking strangely panicked. As he prepared to ask what the hell Adachi’s problem was, Dojima looked up at the body.

The cigarette fell from his mouth.

Dojima felt something inside him crack. Denial rushed to fill it, screaming that this could not possibly be real, that he must be seeing things. But there was no denying it.

That was Yu’s body hanging up there.

That was his nephew tangled up in the electrical wires.

That was his sister’s child, the boy he had promised to look after, the boy he had grown to love like his own son–

“What... the hell…?”

“Dojima,” Adachi said nervously, hands raised to turn the older detective away. “You shouldn’t be here–”

Dojima shoved him aside and rushed forward.

“Ow! Wait! Dojima!”

Adachi’s protests barely even registered in Dojima’s ears. He could not tear his eyes away from the sight of his nephew hanging above him, limp, unmoving. The officers that Adachi had been speaking to earlier hurried to intercept him, finally forcing Dojima to turn his gaze downward.

“What the hell happened?” Dojima demanded dangerously.

“Sir,” one of the officers started, “I don’t think–”

“I asked what the hell happened?!” Dojima snapped.

Adachi caught up to him, grabbing at his shoulder. “Dojima, wait…!”

“‘Wait’?! That’s my nephew up there!”

“I know! That’s the problem!” Adachi retorted as he struggled to pull Dojima away. “Listen, we know just as much as you do, but you have to step back…!”

“I will not step back, that’s my nephew!”

Throughout his time as a detective, Dojima had occasionally needed to hold back grieving friends or family members as their loved one was either retrieved or, under far more tragic circumstances, processed. It was an unpleasant task, often filled with screaming and tears, but it was a part of the job.

And then Chisato died, and Dojima understood - the lack of rationale, the grief, the desperation driving these people to their loved one’s side, as though somehow, by some crazy miracle, that could make everything better.

Dojima had felt it then and he felt it now as he fought against his partner’s hold. “Dammit, Adachi, let go!”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t!” Adachi shouted.

The officers present also began their attempts to hold him back. “Detective Dojima, please…!”

Dojima looked up again. He could make out Yu’s face now. The eyes were closed, facial features slack. It almost looked like the kid was sleeping. Dojima stopped fighting against Adachi and the officers. He could feel something inside him crack a little bit more.

Oh, god. What was he going to tell his sister…? What was he going to tell Nanako?

Dojima lowered his head.

Then, a shallow gasp, followed by a series of hoarse coughs. A few people in the crowd, now well formed outside the police perimeter, screamed and cried out. Dojima, along with Adachi and the officers, looked up in shock.

“Oh my god,” one of the officers gasped. “He’s alive!”

“He’s alive!” someone else echoed. “Someone get the fire department, we need to get him down now !”

Dojima could only stare. Just moments ago he had been struggling to believe that his nephew was really dead. Now, he could hardly believe his eyes as he watched that same nephew shake and cough before slowly opening his own eyes. The soft grey gaze was glazed and unfocused, and he appeared to be having trouble breathing, but there was no doubt.

Yu was alive .

“Holy shit …!” Adachi exclaimed. He began to tug at Dojima’s shoulder again, though less urgently than he had before. “Dojima, come on, we should probably step back–”

Yu groaned and started to stir in his precarious position. Dojima’s eyes widened.

“Yu, stop!” he shouted. To his relief, Yu did stop for a moment, looking no more aware of his surroundings but at least no longer moving.

“Listen to me,” Dojima continued urgently, choosing to ignore just how vulnerable he sounded. “You have to stay still, all right? We’ll get you down as soon as possible, but you have to stay still!”

He had no clue if any of his words were actually reaching the kid. Yu had stopped moving, but his eyes remained unfocused, and it looked like his breathing had picked up slightly. The breaths came out hoarse and halting. Dojima’s mind rushed with all the worst possibilities, and he turned to grab Adachi by the jacket.

“Has an ambulance been called?” he demanded.

“Y-Yes…!” Adachi confirmed. “They’ll be here soon, along with the fire department.”

The crowd was really starting to get riled up. No one was attempting to bypass the perimeter, thank god - they really did not have the manpower to hold back everyone - but they were all definitely excited. People talked to each other and shouted questions at the guarding officers. Those with photo capable cells were putting their equipment to use, and everyone was focused on the student who seemed to have just come back to life.

The area was buzzing with noise, but Dojima still managed to catch the groan that had him looking back up quickly. He cursed.

Yu’s breathing had not just picked up because he was struggling to intake oxygen, no, it was clear the kid was getting agitated. He began to stir again, legs and arm shifting in the tangle of electrical wires.

“Yu, stop!” Dojima shouted again.

There was no clear response this time. The crowd continued to buzz, and Dojima could hear the rapidly approaching sirens. Yu clenched his eyes shut with a gutteral whine, just as both the ambulance and fire department rolled in.

“Yu, listen to me!” Dojima called. “We’re getting you down! Just stay still!”

Adachi finally pulled him back, and this time, Dojima didn’t fight him.

The fire department worked quickly, sending up the ladder and one of their men to retrieve the student caught in the wires. Despite Dojima’s words, Yu still appeared deeply distressed, flinching when the fireman attempted to steady him. Dojima clenched his fists.

Dammit… Why Yu, of all people…?

The fireman was patient, speaking calmly and steadily to the agitated teen. Whatever he said must have gotten through at least a little, as Yu calmed down just enough to allow the man to pull him from the electrical wires. Dojima wondered how his nephew could be so tall and yet look so small as he was brought back down over the fireman’s shoulder.

Yu was quickly handed off to the ambulance crew, and Dojima rushed to his side.

“Yu…!”

God, he looked fine. Just like the first two victims, there wasn’t a mark on him. He was still wearing the same after-school clothes Dojima had seen him leave the house in yesterday morning. But the quick and shallow breathing, the way his eyes, more focused but still just as dazed, darted between the surrounding medical personnel like a hunted animal…

“Yu,” Dojima said again, the name coming out breathless.

Yu immediately turned his gaze towards him. “...Uncle…?” he whispered hoarsely.

“I’m here.” It was all Dojima could do not to laugh, or maybe even cry in relief. “Don’t worry, we got you.”

The grey haired teen did not appear to respond at first. He lifted his hand off the stretcher and grabbed blindly until his fingers snagged the sleeve of Dojima’s coat. It was like Dojima could actually see a light return to the kid’s eyes. A strange, cracked sound left Yu’s lips, and he tightened his grip on Dojima’s sleeve.

“Yu?” Dojima said in concern.

The one spoken to just closed his eyes, letting out that same cracked sound. It took Dojima a moment to realize that Yu was laughing, a weak but desperately happy, or perhaps desperately relieved sound that made his body tremble.

“Sir…?” one of the medical personnel spoke up hesitantly.

The laughter petered off, and Yu opened his eyes with a small smile. “Sorry,” he whispered. “Just kinda tired, is all…”

Dojima could not help but notice the tears pricking at the corners of the kid’s eyes.

“Detective Dojima…” The same medic looked at Dojima expectantly.

“He’s my nephew,” Dojima explained. “I’m coming with him.”

The medic nodded, and she and her partner began the process of loading the stretcher into the ambulance. Yu’s hand fell away from Dojima’s coat as he was wheeled away, and as soon as they were both in the ambulance, Dojima leant down to grip the fallen hand in his own.

“I got you,” Dojima murmured.

Yu looked up at him, a bit of surprise showing through the weariness. He smiled again, and Dojima felt his nephew return the grip. “Thank you…”