#sometimes even a feather floating on the air makes me jump it's so pathetic

[wellfell]

CHARACTER INFO SHEET ;

NAME : akina mori ( 森明菜 )

NAME MEANING : bright greens / spring flower

ALIAS : mori , doll , nosey little shit 💅🏻

ETHNICITY : japanese / born in yokohama but moved to tokyo when she was four

ONE PICTURE / ICON YOU LIKE BEST OF YOUR CHARACTER :

THREE HCS YOU NEVER TOLD ANYONE :

alright so she has three old women friends down the block she lives in . they're sisters , they insist they're witches and akina always goes to them after a date so they can tell her if the guy is good for her or not dhsjsja . she also makes them sweets every week .

i think i talked about this before but when the weather gets cold , she brings this black stray cat home at nights . she's not disgusted by it but she will clean her entire house after a month or two ( – actually she's a neat freak so she's cleaning the house almost daily ) .

she buys these ugly bracelets from an old man on the street near her house every time she goes to work . and she hates them ew but the old man is cute and he needs the money so .

THREE THINGS YOUR CHARACTER LIKES TO DO IN THEIR FREE TIME :

dancing / getting drunk in a club hehe .

cleaning — it's boring yeah but she loves cleaning . maybe cooking her favorite meal afterwards heh .

alright it's weird but ,, she gathers lots of flowers and piles them in a drawer sometimes and she makes portraits with them .

PEOPLE YOUR CHARACTER LIKES / LOVES :

anita ; her little sunflower , her sunshine . listen their mom tried to make anita hate akina , and she did but after their mother left anita started to grow softer on her sister . she was still a rebellious teen and she fought with akina a lot , but eventually it got easier . actually she became akina's bestfriend . they played board games at night while drinking hot chocolate , they did each other's makeup , they talked about the boys in anita's school . ' alright akina , but i'm not following your advice because your love life is so messy . ' fhsjskka .

ryuji ; yeah no surprise to anyone . but she definitely wasn't acting like it fjjskaba . eventually , she realized she's mean because she likes him , and she didn't really cry at his funeral either because yeah they were fooling around but they weren't official . she was just numb . the first time she cried because of him was when he came back from the dead , which was later revealed wasn't him and just a clone if you will . he has ryuji's memories but he's not him . weird stuff fr . but he was quiet , not shy and never shied away from saying what he thinks , he didn't interfere when akina wore her provocative outfits unlike literally any other man she's seen and he believed in her enough to know she'll even survive sad.ako and death .

jito ; i mean she adored him . a lot . he was the lonely , mean boy in the class that never talked to anyone . he was sketching her one day on the bus and akina was almost immediately interested in him when he grumbled at her to leave him alone . his death happened about a few days after her sister's and akina believes she couldn't mourn him like she had to , it's always a little bit of nostalgia and sorrow when she remembers him .

TWO THINGS YOUR CHARACTER REGRETS :

not trying to talk to her mother ,, listen yeah yui was a difficult woman to comminute and she never wanted to talk to akina about anything but her school maybe . but akina felt useless and guilty whenever she saw her crying on the kitchen table at nights . she felt guilty because maybe yui could have a better life if she wasn't born .

leaving anita alone at home and going out with her boyfriend the night anita died . akina wasn't aware of the tape , didn't know anita watched it but she still thinks she could have stopped it if she was there . idiot .

ONE PHOBIA YOUR CHARACTER HAS : things that can fly . it doesn't have to be a bird or even an insect tho she's scared of them too . even drones freak her out , fjhdsgfa .

tagged by : uh many people but i remember @cartelheir so hehee . get ready bc i will do one on gan.gjae and you'll be terrified babe .

tagging : @heamatic ( bihan / hanzo heheh ) , @artmadc ( señor berlín grr ) , @mythvoiced ( ereh or karube my kids ) , @yaoogui ( sen or dai choose someone heh ) , @amplichor , @vulpesse , @worldhell ( mikasa 👀 ) , @leadersguilt , @teufelme , @flmed , @unsnare .

[ramblesanddragons]

Under The Moonlight

(For @lemonfodrizzleart based on her wonderful Mystery Farm AU mixed with Monster Falls. I really like Jackie as an OC and I hope I did her justice. A little treat for the spooky season. Normally I believe Gargrunk Stan can’t fly but maybe in this dimension he can!) 

Words: 1967

Warnings: None! Just some fluff with a little bit of feels.

As the sun set low in the October sky Stan was trying his best to put on something nice. The wings were making it a little difficult. Maybe it would be easier to go shirtless than mess up a good flannel, but he wanted to look nice. Jackie was looking forward to this, he wasn’t going to let her down.  

With a little fashion help from Kelvin, Stan was able to get his wings through some neatly cut holes. His tail wiggled into the hole in his jeans after a few tries. Shoes were a no go but at least his hat could rest in-between the horns on his head.  

Getting ready for a date had never been so frustrating.  

It was worth it though when he saw the smile on Jackie’s face. She was floating down the stairs, well more like fluttering. Even with all the draw backs of being a monster Jackie was enjoying being able to fly. The past few days she’d practically flown all over the farm.

Her dress was an off the shoulder affair in a deep black. A bit too fancy for a moonrise picnic but it was probably easier to deal with than anything else because of her own wings. He thin tail poked out of the bottom of the dress. Stan didn’t really care if it was too fancy. She looked incredible.  

“Ready?” She asked.  

Stan motioned to the blanket and basket in his hands and Jackie looped her arm around his stony one. Ford looked up from his notes. He was currently measuring the size of Kevin’s ears. It was only due to the golden fur covering his face that his twin wasn’t blushing up a storm being that close to his crush.  

“You two be careful. I’m not sure how well any of the town folk would react to seeing you.”  

“Look I’ve been planning this date for a week, Ford. No little monster curse is going ta stop us. You shouldn’t let it stop you either.”  

Ford gave Stan a look that said, “Shut the hell up!” while Kelvin was distracted with the bone left over from his steak. Out of all of them he was rolling with this monster thing the best and seemed to embrace his wolfish side. Ford was indulging in riddles more but most of his focus was trying to find a cure. His twin needed to take a break before he burnt himself out. The occasional accidentally catnap wasn’t enough.  

Stan could bother Ford to relax later. For now, he’d let him study Kelvin in peace. Maybe it would get him to finally ask him out. The official couple squeezed out the door with a wave and began to walk out into the orchard.  

If this curse wasn’t lifted by next week, the fall apple festival they held each year would be turning into a costume festival as well. Sure, folks around town were used to the weird but even they had their limits. That was something for next week Stan to worry about. Right now Stan wanted to put all his attention on Jackie.  

Jackie, who was also barefoot, would hop every few feet trying to catch a breeze. When she did, she’d flutter around the tops of the trees for a bit and return with a handful of apples.  

“Honey, tonight’s ‘posed to be about relaxing.”  

“Oh, I know. It’s just annoying to do it in the daytime. Sun hurts my eyes,” she explained. The picked apples were placed in bags and left by the trees. They could pick them up on the walk back.  

“At least you can go out in the sun,” Stan grumbled.  

Jackie gave him a sympathetic peck on the cheek and his grumbling morphed into a happy purring noise.  

“It’s so cute when you do that.”

“Yeah, yeah just don’t tell Ford.”  

She laughed and fluttered around the trees some more before they reached their picnic spot. The hill at the end of the orchard was silhouetted by the harvest moon. Maybe he needed to take Jackie on night dates more often. It was beautiful.  

The two of them settled their blanket down and began to eat. Stan wasn’t as good of a cook as Jackie, but he had made the fanciest sandwiches he could with homemade sides. Every item had a somewhat ridiculous amount of meat in it to satisfy his new carnivore diet, but Jackie didn’t mind.  

The two of them ate and talked and laughed. Stan offered her a blanket when the wind blew but Jackie declined.  

“Apparently demons don’t get cold. It’s nice.”  

“You know you might look like a demon, but I think of you as an angel baby.” Stan said with a smile. The smile faltered as Jackie laughed.

“How long have you been wanting to use that one? Very smooth lover boy,” she teased.  

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I love you no matter what you look like! Yeesh. I try to be sweet.” He rolled his eyes playfully before remembering that no one could tell when he was rolling his eyes anymore. His eyes were currently glowing orange orbs.  

Jackie’s eyes had a reddish cat in the dark like gleam to them. They were staring deeply at him. “I appreciate. At first, I was a bit weirded out by being turned into a succubus of all things, but you haven’t made me feel weird or different. I appreciate it.”  

“Of course. You’re amazing no matter what you look like.” Stan wrapped a stony arm around Jackie, and they sat and watched the stars for a few minutes.  

“Hey. I just got a great idea. We should take advantage of this who demon and gargoyle thing while we can,” Jackie said playfully.  

Stan gulped. “Well, I haven’t really pushed any ideas since I didn’t want you thinking that you being a succubus would effect anything. I love you for more than that and-”

“Let’s go flying!”  

“That...that is not what I thought you meant.”

“Oh, that can happen later. I know you’ve had a hard time keeping your hands off me.” Jackie winked and hopped-up leaving Stan slack jawed in the dirt. She laughed and stretched her wings wide.  

“I think we could get some good air from here but maybe we should head up on the cliffs.”

“I don’t think I can fly. Too heavy,” Stan said.  

“I bet you can. If your furball and feathers of a twin can, so can you. Although just in case we probably shouldn’t start with the cliffs. Let's try from here.  

The hill wasn’t high enough to set off Stan’s heights fear, but it was one of the best places to sled on the farm. With the right wind it could be enough for a decent take off as Jackie was proving. She ran a few feet and stretched her wings, diving down to catch speed then turning up. She whooped happily as she climbed higher and higher. It almost looked like she could touch the large moon.

“Come on baby you can do it!” She shouted from the sky.  

Stan gulped. He took a deep breath and went down the hill at a run. He jumped like he saw Jackie do but then tumbled head over tail down the rest of the hill. As he finally rolled to a stop Jackie landed beside him.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Hard head remember.” For emphasis Stan tapped his head and it made stony thumping noise.  

“How about I do it with you? That might help.”  

“Jackie I... there’s something I haven’t told you.” Stan frowned, he hated admitting it. “I’m afraid of heights.”

Jackie tilted her head in confusion and then something clicked. “That’s why you get Ford to do anything that involves a ladder! That’s why you like to use the apple picking tool instead of climbing!”  

“Yeah. Pretty pathetic huh.”

“Of course not! Being afraid of heights makes sense! It’s not like humans can fly...normally that is. I just can’t believe we’ve been together this whole time and I didn’t realize it.”

“I did my best to try and hide it.”  

Jackie petted his head causing him to purr again. Her claw like nails made a scratching noise against his stone skin. “Don’t be afraid to tell me you’re afraid Stan. I know you got it in your head you’re supposed to be this tough, sturdy guy-”

“What gave you that idea?” Stan asked in faux offense. Jackie shot him a look and gestured to his gargoyle body. He chuckled and let Jackie finish her thought.

“What I was trying to say is that it’s okay to be afraid and all those other human things. You don’t have to put on an act for me.”  

Stan’s smile faltered and he took Jackie’s hand in his. “...I know.” Logically he knew that but there were times he could still hear his pa’s voice in his head telling him to be a man. Men weren’t afraid of things. Men didn’t have feelings. Men were tough as stone. That wasn’t the kind of man he was though, deep down, despite his current appearance. Sure, he was tough, but he felt all these other feelings too and he didn’t want to deny them. It was just hard sometimes. He was thankful to whatever above that Jackie was patient with him about it.  

They sat at the bottom of the hill until Stan’s head finished spinning. Then he hauled himself up.

“Let’s try again.”

“Stan, you got nothing to prove.”

“I know that but when am I ever going to have a chance like this again. With luck these wings are gone within the week.”

He trudged back up the hill and watched how Jackie took off running and caught the fall breeze in her wings. She swooped up and flapped her wings hard to get higher and higher. Waiting until the wind picked up again Stan charged down the hill on all fours. As dumb as he felt it worked and he was able to feel a lift on his body. He beat his wings as hard as he could and the ground under him disappeared. The sudden disappearance of the ground spooked him, and he stopped flapping. His stone body went tumbling again.

“Stan!”

“I’m okay. I almost got this. Stay there!”

Determined he tried one more time. This time the wind was with him as a strong gust rolled across the orchard sending leaves and some apples flying. He flapped with all his might and didn’t panic this time when he took flight. His body was heavy. He could feel the strain in his back from the effort, but it was worth it to see Jackie’s delighted face.  

“How are you doing?” She lowered herself down a few feet to meet him where he was steady.  

“Alright if I don’t look down or think about being 20 feet in the air.”  

“Come on! Just keep your eyes on me.” She took Stan’s hand and together they started to soar through the starlit sky around the farm. As terrifying as it was it was also beautiful. The two of them danced in the sky for as long as Stan’s wings could hold him.  

Landing was tricky but when they made it back to their picnic spot Stan managed to stay on both feet despite tripping. He was even able to catch Jackie in his hands as she landed.  

“That was amazing,” she said breathlessly.

“You’re amazing,” Stan responded.  

“You might not agree with that after this. Tag you’re it!” She yelled pushing him slightly. She took off into the air again.  

“Hey now hold on!” Stan laughed and shouted after her, taking off into the sky again.  

[amayamiyaki]

Artwork by @emilyisnursebaymax​

Characters/Pairing: Shisui x Sakura; eventual Uchiha x Sakura; Sasuke

Title: Bewitched [Part One]

Rating: General

Bewitched

The woods surrounding Konoha are beautiful in every sense of the word.

They lie friendly in the day, with their evergreen needles and their redwood trunks. But at night, they’re darkly ominous. The endearing chirrups of gold-winged sparrows are nonexistent, instead replaced with the trills of crickets and the rattle of cicadas. A low hanging fog settles in, swirling mischievously at Sakura’s feet, while pathetic streams of moonlight dapple through the thick canopy. It's so dark now that the pitiful flames of her lantern are nearly swallowed whole and the only thing keeping her from stumbling are the outstretched hands of the surrounding trees and the unsettling churning in her gut.

To step into the embrace of the woods so close to the witching hour, is to welcome darkness, because these woods are thieves. They rob visitors of their senses—blinds them in exchange for the ears of a wolf and the nose of a rat. Envelops them in a claustrophobic entanglement of shadows and susurring branches. And sometimes, if the woods feel impish enough, the woods take more than that.

Ignoring the anxiety constricting her chest, Sakura carefully reaches for the holster draped at her waist and pulls out her panflute. The woods grow hushed as the first notes of her song carries through the void. There are no more crickets, no more birds. Not even a whistle of wind. Only her footsteps and her melody. Her song is low, ominous like the entirety of the woods, with quivering down notes and eerie high ones, and to the untrained ear, it nearly sounds like true fairy music.

Sakura diverges from the rutted path, turning right then left; her cloak sways with her movements, its frayed ends dancing around her protectively. She can feel the dirt packing between her toes as each step sinks the soles of her feet into the earth, and while jagged roots bite into her skin, it's nothing she isn’t used to. And the deeper into the woods she goes, the more she feels like she’s being watched. Her cloak brushes against bodies that may or may not be there, shadows morph and wings flutter.

She can taste the mischief in the air.

Carefully adjusting her basket and lantern so they dangle from the crooks of her elbows, and with her grip on the flute tight, Sakura allows her free hand to float at her side as she walks. She caresses the outreaching brambles and low-hanging leaves in hopes that her touch will appease the woods’ growing apprehension of her, stopping only when the rocks and dirt make way for fairy rings.

Her melody soon lifts into a more tranquil tune as the woodland fae giggle and sing in approval. Their fairy music joins her own, accompanied by the fluttering of wings and the appearance of squirrels; she doesn’t look down as the fairies breach from the chests of their hosts, fully aware of the danger she’s now in.

Because as beautiful as fae folk are, they’re ten times as dangerous.

Carefully, as not to break her song, Sakura sets her basket and lantern down, exposing the blueberries and quartz she brought as offerings, while scanning the void for any signs of life. A crow watches her, its head jerking curiously as it observes her. Decayed leaves crumble beneath heavy paws. A thousand eyes weigh her down while a million whispers ghost her skin.

She plays on, ignoring the playful tugs to her rose tresses and to the scarlet threads of her cloak, and she doesn’t stop even as magic scents the air. It compresses, fluttering around her with moonlit glitter, kissing her knuckles as she plays. Splashes of watercolor and silk constellate her vision, making her nose twitch and her belly drop, but she refuses to fall to the fairies’ mischief.

It’s only when the flame from her lantern abruptly dies away that she ends her song. Her breath shakes but she doesn’t show her nerves; Sakura stands tall with her chin tilted high and her shoulders straight.

Because the woods has accepted her offering.

“I call upon the gift of air,” She begins, bringing her hands to float at her sides again. A trickle of air intertwines with her fingers. “Gusty winds and breezes fair.”

Sakura smiles to herself a little more confidently as the tails of her hair tickles at her nose, kicked up with the breath of wind that drew by. The leaves shudder overhead, scattering decayed slivers of orange and red amongst the void. She closes her eyes, and says loudly, “Carry this witch’s greeting across distant lands—take flight! A hearty welcome for a familiar, I invite.”

A crow squawks and a wolf howls; the wind picks up, making her cloak lash out with a ferality that comes with an angry fae but Sakura is not deterred.

She furrows her brows and huffs defiantly, brushing aside the amused songs of the surrounding fairies as she continues, “Fae of the forest, hear my plea. Come forth and seek me, and equals we will be. Not master to servant, but familiar to familiar. To protect and honor, always and forever.”

The woods are alive with the presence of fae folk. Gold eyes appear from across the void while fairies creep from the bodies of their birds and the bark of trees. But no one approaches. And in the blink of an eye, the woods becomes just that—woods. Just knobbed trunks and crickets.

The fae are gone. The wolves disappear. The crows are silent.

But Sakura waits. She waits and waits and waits until she can’t anymore and it infuriates her because she knows the spell was correct. The fae acknowledged it. They heard it, responded to it. So then why—

“To protect and honor, always and forever, huh?”

Sakura stiffens, startled at the sudden voice around her and tries to whirl around only to find herself frozen. Hands settle on her shoulders for a moment before one slowly drifts down her arms with a feathery lightness that evokes chills in their wake. It travels to her wrist, encircling it, keeping her just out of reach of the dagger at her hip while the other hand ghosts along the curve of her neck.

She tries to ignore the breath on the back of her neck and the overwhelming scent of caramel and Hellfire that envelops her. “To protect and honor,” She reiterates, calm despite the fear winding down her spine. “Always and forever.”

Whoever��or rather, whatever—is behind her hums. “Forever is a long time, Witch.”

Sakura swallows the lump building in her throat. "I'll have you for however long you'll have me."

His responding laugh and the way he drags his fingertips down to her wrists raises a garden of goosebumps along her arms, and it's not completely pleasant. He opens a hand, palm up just below her own while the other lifts a strand of hair. "Your name?"

Sakura smiles to herself, shoving aside the uneasy shiver that threatens to crawl down her spine. She knows their tricks. She can hear the mishief in his voice. To give her name is to welcome trouble, because who knows what the Fae will do with it?

And the way his hand hovers, waiting like the hand of an expectant child, he's not asking out of formality.

"You can't have my name," Sakura says. "But you may call me Sakura.

The Fae's chuckle is a warm one full of summer evenings and pine trees, thunderstorms and something dangerous. "Oh I like you," He laughs, brushing the pads of his fingers against her knuckles. "Then you may call me—"

He's interrupted by a loud snarl and the beating of approaching footsteps, but neither are human. Quickly, Sakura frees the dagger against her hip just as a large wolf jumps out at her, jaw unhinged and crimson eyes wild; but as quickly as she sees it, its gone, replaced by the heat of a body against her chest.

The snarl of the Fae enveloping her is otherworldly, feral—demonic—alighting Helfire all throughout her body, but it evokes a sort of comfort that Sakura can't say she's ever felt before.  She blinks, cautiously moving in the grasp of the Fae to chance a glance at him, only to find her view obscured by a wall of feathers.

Wings.

Entranced by the glossy feathers, Sakura tentatively reaches for them, carefully skirting her fingertips along the jade sheen.  The feathers sway, ruffling slightly at her touch, and piercing, scarlet eyes peek through so she pulls back as if burnt.

The wings lower slightly and the arm around her waist loosens, allowing Sakura a glimpse of fangs embedded into black cloth and blood on dark fur. The wolf's eyes meet hers, narrowing, and then there's a pained grunt as the beast's jaws tighten around the arm in its mouth.

"Sasuke," She hears. "Stop."

The wolf is reluctant, its hackles high and body vibrating with its rage, and it gives one last huff before releasing the Fae. Sakura feels him relax, and the softness of his touch compels her to mimic him.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Gone is the wolf, replaced by a man—a man with skin like snow and hair like a raven's wings. His eyes are sharp, dark like a reflection of the deepest reaches of an underground cavern and sprinkled with red.  But what makes her breath still in her chest, are the horns that stand out atop his head. They're tall, curving down once before shooting straight up and spiked on the bend, with scales colored an iridescent shade of indigo that makes her think of a slick of oil. And they're adorned with silver bands.

A demon.

Sakura feels her blood turn to ice, not just at the way the demon spat her title, but at the weight of the older one’s stare landing upon her. Fae are dangerous on their own, but Demons are something in a league all their own.

And she had spoken her name to one.

"Are you stupid?” The Demon-Fae called Sasuke hisses. “Entertaining the call of a Witch?”

She can feel the bloodlust radiating from the enraged Demon-Fae and considers running.  She mulls over the incantations in her head—banishing spells, protection spells, binding spells—but ultimately, she finds herself rooted in place, pinned to her Fae’s chest by an arm and feathers.

“Is my baby cousin concerned about me?” He has the gall to tease. “How cute!”

Sakura pushes the feathers aside to look up at her Fae.  His expression is calm, with only the faintest down-turning of his brows hinting towards his irritation.  But his eyes, dark and murky, glow with mirth. He’s handsome, even more so than the Demon-Fae behind her, with strong features and moonlit skin; his hair falls in devious curls that part around his horns.

He has two sets of them—a testament to his age.  One set curves out, then in and up, nowhere near as high as the former’s; while the other set curls down and straight back, their points just barely peeking out from the angle he stands.  The shadows dull their color, unfortunately, but she can glimpse where the moonlight catches on the jewels draped along them.

And when he peers down at her, from beneath enviously long lashes, Sakura has to force herself to breathe.

Sasuke’s growl is predatory, so powerful that Sakura can feel it palpate in her chest. “Quit playing around!  You know that fraternizing with a,” He pauses, glancing in her direction with his nose scrunched in distaste. “Witch is asking for trouble.”

The Demon-Fae straightens, his shoulders stiffening and chin raising, and then wings that gleam with a hint of jade outstretch.  They spread so wide, they eclipse the moon and morph into the darkness between the trees.

“This Witch, Sasuke,” The Demon-Fae begins, and his hands come to rest at the base of Sakura’s neck and around her wrist. “Is under my protection.  For always and forever.”

[writingpaperghost]

The Power of Our Bonds Will Persevere! (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1: What a Strange Sensation Inside of Me, a Feeling of Entrapment Holding Me

It's been a few months since Asahi returned to Ayaka, and she had fallen back into some groove or another. But then, through a mostly unexpected series of events, she finds herself and her brothers back in the other world she'd been in before. There's a lot that the three of them have to deal with there,  but they're not working alone. They have each other and Asahi's friends in this world, ready to do whatever they can to protect the planet from the foes that are coming their way.

I have started the "movie"! I sort of know what I'm doing with this.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28124817/chapters/68911023

Asahi had been back in Ayaka for what was probably close to six months at this point. And it was boring. A part of that, at least she was pretty sure it had something to do with it, was simply going from having so many Kaiju attacks to having only a few. Another part was probably how whenever a monster appeared, her brothers usually dealt with it on their own. It wasn’t like they didn’t let her help… It was just they didn’t let her help all that much. Probably because they were worried she’d get hurt. Which was ridiculous! She could take care of herself, especially if her brothers were fighting with her!

Probably the oddest part of it all was how it seemed like the monster attacks were starting to happen more and more. There was two months between her return and the next monster, then a month between that. Then two weeks, and now an only a week. While it seemed to have stayed at a week for now, there was no garuntee that it would stay that way. Sometimes, there were two a week, sometimes more. But it was worrisome, even if Katsumi and Isami were trying not to show it.

Their parents weren’t trying to hide their concern nearly as much. It was probably their mom who actually voiced the observation of the increased Kaiju attacks, at least while Asahi was around. Their parents were always a certain degree of worried about them, but it was far cry from what Asahi had witnessed when it was just Katsumi and Isami, when they went to fight Reugocyte.

As for Asahi herself…

She didn’t really know why, but she’d been feeling restless lately. Going out to practice – with her bow, with her sword, with her Kaijus, anything – seemed to help a bit. But it never really made the feeling go away, at least not entirely. She’d help out with small things, those really didn’t make her feel any better. It wasn’t so much like a feeling that something was going to happen and more just a feeling of wanting – something! She wasn’t sure what that something was, though, which made the whole thing a lot harder.

Asahi wasn’t sure what to make of all of it. She wasn’t sure what she ought to do to deal with the feeling, and she wasn’t sure what to do, if anything, about all the monster attacks. Not that Katsumi and Isami really let her help with the monsters much, anyway. But all the monsters… Something just didn’t seem right, even if she didn’t know what.

Right now, though, she was helping her dad set up a display in the shop, as Katsumi and Isami were looking into some weird energy that Isami and their mom had found. Jasyuline was standing on one of the tables, giggling as they tried to stand as still as they could, most likely preparing to startle the next unassuming soul to walk near them. Asahi placed a stack of shirts on one of the tables, next to Jasyuline and gave them a brief pat on the head, eliciting another giggle.

“Jasyu,” She said, “You can’t just scare everyone who comes in,” It was teasing and not horribly serious, everyone who Jasyuline startles just assume they’re some kind of Halloween prop or something that they keep out.

Over hidden in the nook that she made her nest in, Litra lets out a quiet cry, which Asahi had learned was a laugh, this one at least. Though she may have been used to her Kaijus existence, her family took a bit to get used to them. At this point, they were all used to her Kaijus and her Kaijus were all used to their home. Litra had long since set up a nest in a little nook and Nova often sat himself on a chair or table. Regina, on the other hand, was happy with every but her brothers. She often hissed and growled at them, if they got too close, she’d try to bite them.

Regina always reminded Asahi a lot of Saki.

She was humming a song when there was the ground shook, causing Jasyuline to fall over and Litra to fly out of her nest. With a small growl, Regina appeared on the table beside her, pretty much glaring out the window at the front of the shop. Asahi stopped and frowned, walking over to the window to look out.

She was expecting to see a monster, certainly. She expected to soon be seeing her brothers there to deal with the monster, as they always did. She expected the three to fight and then she expected her brothers to win and save the day, like always. She expected nothing unusual. She expected it to be like any other day.

There was no way she could have known how wrong those expectations were.

What Asahi saw when she looked out the window was not even close to what she expected. Standing in the center of the city, now with her brothers opposite, was Kenshin. Who was decidedly not dead.

“Oh shit.” With all the urgency of oh shit that guy you were like seventy-five percent sure was dead is not actually dead, she runs out the door. She wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Should she trust her brothers to be better suited to deal with him? They were stronger than her after all, but she certainly wasn’t sure what Kenshin was capable of. Maybe she should transform and join them either way, so that way they could become Gruebe. That was probably the better idea.

With her decision made, she pulls out her Gyro and the Grigio Crystal. She didn’t want to take any chances when Kenshin was involved. “Color me with your power, Grigio!”

She lands a bit behind her brother, prompting Rosso to glance back. “Grigio, why are you here?” Blu takes a brief glance back as Rosso speaks.

Grigio huffs, “I’m here to help you,”

Before she can say more – which she truly wanted to – Kenshin cut her off with a laugh, “Well now, the siblings are all together…” He wears an unmoving mask, but it’s clear in his tone that whatever expression he might have, it would be a sickening one. “That’s… Well, that’s rather dangerous, isn’t it?”

They turn their attention back to him. Blu calls to Kenshin, “Listen, you might have hidden for a while, but that doesn’t matter. We’ll beat you all the same.”

“Isanii,” Grigio tries to speak up, hoping to catch even one of her brothers’ attention. They may have encounter Kenshin before, but certainly they had to have realized that he wouldn’t be defeated so easily. It seemed almost clear that Kenshin didn’t want them to be able to become Grube, and there had to be a reason for that. He wanted revenge, but why would he need them separated for that?

The conclusion was obvious, at least to her. Kenshin knew that he’d be defeated if they became Grube, so he would do everything in his power to prevent that. Now if only she could get her brothers to listen. Alas, the two wasted no time in becoming Rube, causing her to huff again. Fine, she’d just help from here, even if they weren’t willing to let her help with Grube. Or at least not yet, she was certain they’d realize the necessity soon enough.

As the two dealt with Kenshin up close, Grigio jumped back a bit, summoning her bow. Arrows appeared in her hand as she took aim, careful to try to avoid her brothers – not that they were making it easy. One moment they were in one spot the next they’d moved somewhere else. Still, if she got close to them, they’d all have to fight around each other, which would be no easier than what they were currently doing. So for now, she’d just grit her teeth, so to speak, and deal with it.

After adjusting her aim several times, she finally was able to launch her arrows, certain that they’d avoid hitting Rube. Though there were a few that flew rather close, none so much as scraped the duo, landing to hit their target. Following after, Rube punches Kenshin, succeeded swiftly by a kick, knocking him to stumble back.

With an annoyed growl, Kenshin stood straight, glaring at the three of them. “Huh…” He wondered aloud, “Only the two of you? I was expecting… Something a little more, I supposed.” Grigio suppresses a shiver when he seems to look past Rube, to her.

“We have more than enough strength to beat you,” Rube spoke, sounding of both Rosso and Blu. They rush forward, closing the space between them and Kenshin with a punch. Grigio moves to the side, activating the power of Mebius’ Crystal, causing the arrow she held to alight with fire.

Rube dodges out of the way of Kenshin’s attack, feathers floating in the air around him. He fires a beam at them and they backflip out of the way, giving Grigio plenty of room to fire. Her arrow flies through the air, splitting into many, all burning with the same bright flames. When they make contact with Kenshin – despite his attempts to swat them away – they cause little explosions, the flames still burning.

“Really though,” Kenshin intones, “This whole thing is rather pathetic. Like this, the three of you don’t stand a chance.”

The feathers that floated and fluttered around him seemed to suddenly freeze, suspended in mid-air. The three watched for a moment, trying to discern what he was doing. Not that they had to wait long to see – with a leisurely wave of his hand, the feathers flew quickly towards Rube. Grigio rushes closer, an attack charging in her hands. The feathers seemed to be cutting and slashing at him, clearly causing pain.

Once she’s close enough, Grigio releases the energy she’d been charging, “Grigio Cure Burst!” The burst of energy destroyed the feathers, healing whatever damage they might have caused to Rube. It also caused Kenshin to stumble back with a grunt.

Rube looks to Grigio, “Asahi,” They began.

Asahi really didn’t need to be told what they needed to do. She was certain that in order to beat Kenshin, they’d need to become Grube. She begins to move closer, before she sees something appear behind her brothers.

There isn’t a chance to say something before something appears in front of Rube and their pushed through. She realizes it was some kind of portal the thing behind them was Kenshin. She isn’t able to so much as let out a cry of surprise before Kenshin moves and pushes her through the portal.

Going through the portal is an odd sort of feeling, one that’d she’d felt before though. Months – hell, closer to a year ago – when she’d fallen through that portal and ended up in Kurokita. In the back of her mind, she can’t help but wonder where this portal might lead her this time.

Would it be another Earth, like the first time? Would it be another planet, like when they first encountered Tregear? There were so many possibilities… Really, it could even send her back to Kurokita and KPaRS’ Earth. Though she didn’t think that she’d end up in the same place as her brothers – that just wouldn’t make sense, since Kenshin was presumably trying to prevent them for becoming Grube.

After an indeterminate amount of time, she stumbles out of the portal. She looks around, taking a moment to gain her bearings. She thinks she might recognize the city, but they all look pretty similar so she’s not sure. Regardless, she decides she shouldn’t stay in Ultra form too long. Who knows what type of attention she could attract like that, especially if she was just standing around the city.

Thus, in a manner not unlike when she arrived in Kurokita, she became human once more, finding an alley to land into. Then, she walked out, minding her own business, though there were many questions whirling around her head. Where was she? Where were her brothers? Was Kenshin still in Ayaka, allowed to do whatever he wanted unchecked?

A cheerful tune plays from her phone as it vibrated, catching her off guard. Who was calling her? She didn’t think that cell phones could make calls across dimensions, so that would imply that it was someone who was in this world with her. There were only so many possibilities she could think of. At first, she thought it was Katsumi or Isami, but she had specific ringtones for them, so that didn’t make sense.

But who else could it be? She pulls her phone out and stares at the screen for just a moment. “Tomomi”. What were the odds that she was back in Kurokita? With a small shake of her head, she wasted no more time to answer it.

“To-Tomomi?” Asahi hopes she sounds a little less unsteady than she thinks she does, though she doubts it.

“Asahi, so that really was you…” From the phone, she hears Tomomi’s voice respond. It’s… well it’s only been six months, but it’s nice to hear even one of her friends again.

She gives a small little laugh, “Yeah…” Then she decides to breach the most obvious elephant in the room, “So… As it turns out… Kenshin isn’t quite as dead as we thought.”

“Ah,” Came Tomomi’s response, “That’s bad.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

[ecotone99]

[HR] ZANACH

ZANACH

Her cries were little more than pathetic whimpers against the roaring of the air. The child stood in front of the now open door that had once protected her from the screams, clutching her favourite toy — a night-light in the shape of an angel — and watched as the sinister entities’ knife-like fingers slowly left the corpse of her mother. It turned to glare at her, its body coiling around itself, a shadowy cloud of black, boiling air. Its four oily wings slowly rose, then shuddered violently, and the little girl saw its ‘feathers’ fall to the ground and dissolve into a hundred puddles of ink. A halo appeared above its head, and she froze. She wanted to keep crying, to call out for her mom, her dad, even Uncle Aiden, but her throat seized up, her jaw shut closed, and her eyes were forced to gaze upon the dark majesty of this being that seemed to be made of pure shadow.

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. It had all been so sudden…. Her mom had taken her from the control room with the massive glass window down to a much smaller chamber: a room with two big, metal doors and a dozen or so small nozzles on the roof. While her dad and Uncle Aiden ‘did their thing’, her mom had lifted her up to look through the small window on one of the doors, because she wanted to see the angels, which her father had promised her she could do. But when she saw the laser fire and collide with the gate, she had lost consciousness, and when she regained it all she could hear was screaming. The big door was now open, and her mom was on the platform in front of it, surrounded by a cloud of gunfire and something that looked like smoke. Then she had heard the sound of glass shattering.

And that was when the creature had appeared.

To her, it didn’t look much like an angel. Angels had faces, and beautiful wings, and sometimes carried harps or swords. This thing, however, had no face — it didn’t even have eyes — and its wings were haggard and monstrous, each feather glinting in the faint light like they were made of steel. It didn’t have anything in its hands, either — instead, its fingers were long and grotesque, each one as long and as sharp as a blade. And it certainly didn’t glow like her night-light — it was dark, darker than she had ever thought possible, a hateful mess of boiling shadow.

Her mom had woken up, but before she could even move the dark angel jumped onto her back and slid its fingers slowly into her back, then lifted them back out again. The girl could swear that it was laughing, but against the cacophony of noise it was hard to tell.

Now, it had her attention, and was slowly moving towards her. She couldn’t stop looking at it, the thing that had killed her mom, but the longer she looked the calmer she felt, like she was floating on some distant, alien ocean. Any pain she once had dissipated. All her feeling was gone. In the distance she could hear alarms blaring and a computer shouting out random words, but those sounds were growing fainter and fainter by the second. Everything was bliss, everything was peaceful. As the creature walked towards her, it raised its wings and its hands, splaying them both so she could see each individual part. The halo atop its head started vibrating erratically.

And then a glowing white sword went through its back, causing it to scream so loud that the air turned to liquid.

The little girl was forced to the ground sprawling, knocking her out of her stupor. Another creature — this one a being of pure radiant energy — stabbed the dark angel again and again and again, only stopping once it was a mushy puddle of darkness. It turned to her in all its glory. This one looked far more like an angel than the other; although it didn’t have a face, it had magnificent silver wings that connected to each individual wing-bone in a lattice-like structure, and the feathers floated upwards, only to evaporate into small bursts of radiance. A great halo made out of liquid gold hovered just centimetres above its head, and in its hands was a sword glowing as white-hot as its skin, as if they were both made from the same material.

When it looked at her, she wasn’t frozen, either. In place of bliss and peace she felt safety and reassurance, but also weak, as if the glare from this entity was more powerful than any and all of her will. It took a cautious step forward, lowering its sword, but stopped when its foot passed through the frame of the door. This time, the girl took a step forward, wary, but still confident. She clutched her toy.

“Are you an angel?” she asked, her mouth dry and her voice weak from all the crying.

The being stared at her, cocked its head, and let out a garbled sound. The air around it started to liquefy.

l“את לא צריכה להיות כאן, ילדה. זה עכשיו מקום של מוות,”l the being said as it gestured to the area behind it.

The girl looked at the creature confused. “I… I’m sorry but I can’t understand you. If you’re an angel, maybe you can help me. Mommy she… she took me down to see the angels but now there is just noise and screams and… and Mommy is gone now. I don’t know what to do. I’m really scared.” She started to cry again. “Daddy he… he said that this would be fun and exciting but I’m not excited anymore. I just want to go home. Please…”

Another alert blared from somewhere beyond the door. The angel finally stepped through, and knelt down so that it was eye-level with the girl. She winced as it spoke again, shying away from the air that now burned.

l”אתה הורה אלא ההרס שלך. אוריאל נלחם כדי להרחיק אותך מהיבריס. אבדון רוצה לתת לך להמשיך לנהל אותו. אמך נפלה קורבן לשנאה הזו.”l

Her tears were freely flowing now. She couldn’t understand it, and she didn’t even know if it could understand her. All she wanted was her dad, her mom, but one was gone and the other, well, she didn’t know where he was. Maybe still in the room with the big window, but that was only a best guess.

The angel cocked its head again. l“אל תבכי, ילדה. אני נלחם למען האור והחיים. אתה בטוח בידיים שלי,”l it said, gently lifting the toy out of her hands. It studied it intensely, caressing it with delicate fingers. l“מלאך...”l

“I-I-I-I d-don’t understand what y-you’re say-*hic*-saying,” she choked through the tears. “I’m j-just *hic* just s-so scared.”

Her toy was gently placed back into her hands, and the halo atop the angels head shifted in colour, mutating in colour from gold to silver. “YOU ARE LOST?” it said in a voice that sounded like it was drowning in static. The air around its head no longer turned to sludge.

The girl slowly stopped crying, then gave it a weak smile. “You… you talk! I can understand you! You can help me! YAY!”

She started to jump up and down, but the angel recoiled, unsure. Taking a big breath, she composed herself and continued, saying, “I’m sorry. I won’t hurt you. Yes, I am lost. Mommy took me down here, away from Daddy, but now I can’t remember the way back. If we can find Daddy, he’ll know how to fix this. He’s very smart, Mommy always says so.”

The angel offered her a radiant hand. Its sword was now nowhere to be seen.

“COME, “ it said. “I WILL PROTECT YOU FROM THE MALAKIYM AFELIM, THE SERVANTS OF ABADDON. I WILL TAKE YOU TO YOUR FATHER. YOU WILL BE SAFE IN MY HANDS.”

Hesitantly, she grabbed its left hand with her right. Although it looked as if it was on fire, the skin was cold to the touch, and she could feel her own skin being strengthened by the radiance, like it was healing all of her hand’s impurities. The angel led her through various winding metal hallways, but suddenly started to move faster as a massive sound echoed from behind them. They raced up a set of stairs, almost tripping the girl, but although it was a struggle she managed to keep up.

“What’s happening?” she strained to say. The angel’s face almost blinded her as it looked in her direction to speak.

“URIEL GROWS IMPATIENT. CREATURES OF METAL AND EARTH PURSUE US. THEIR INTENTIONS ARE CLOUDED IN A FOREST OF CIRCUITS BUT I SENSE THEY WANT… YOU”

The angel paused, the energy in its face swirling around, making it look like it was thinking. It turned back to her, the little girl shielding her eyes this time.

“I WILL NOT LET THAT PASS. YOU ARE IMPORTANT. OHR’S INFLUENCE SURROUNDS YOU.” The angel stopped in front of a closed door, and tore through the reinforced steel like it was nothing but hot wax. “YOU WILL BE TAKEN TO KOR HMITSRF, TO WHERE THE SEALS STAND TALL AGAINST AN INFINITE SEA OF STARS. I WILL FOSTER YOU. YOU WILL GROW WITH DIVINITY. YOU WILL BECOME ONE WITH MY FELLOW MAL’ACH, CHILD. YOUR LIFE WILL BEGIN ANEW.”

Before she could understand what the angel was telling her, a sound reminiscent of realities breaking tore through every fibre of her being. The angel looked up, startled, then quickly grabbed the girl, carrying her through the hole in the door. They stepped into the room with the big window, but the girl saw that the window was now gone, shattered, and beyond were it once was…

The Gate pulsed and hummed, and the air around it solidified into a strange, angular, white-hot substance. Her father was on his knees in front of the broken glass, clutching his head, whispering something to himself over and over again. A blinding white light emanated from the Gate, and the angel ducked down, shielding her from the glare. Warnings were being broadcast all around her, and through the blaze of sound she could hear mechanical noises, the sounds of joints cracking and creaking. She could feel herself slipping away, as if her very being was being liquefied and poured into the rivers of time.

And then everything broke as a voice as ancient as the universe and imposing as reality itself shouted to her in a language she did not know.

​

…

​

When she woke, everything was eerily quiet. She lay on the hard metal floor, covered in cuts and bruises, and she could feel wetness around her eyes, ears, and throat. Her fingers were covered in a thick, sticky substance. Blood, she quickly thought, but where she expected puddle of red she only found a puddle of radiant white. It was then that she realised her angel was gone, reduced to nothing but a puddle of white liquid.

As she struggled to stand up, a cold metal hand grabbed the neck of her shirt and lifted her off the ground, leaving her dangling. The body that belonged to the hand was slender, almost feminine, and made of black steel. Clouds of red energy stuck to its chassis like hair to a coat, and she could see that it was slowly eating away at its chassis, replacing the steel with a viscous crimson fluid. The head that belonged to the body was a sharp, angular tetrahedron that was on its side. One end was far narrower than the other, and each face of the shape was covered in the same red energy that clung to the body. The figure let out a garbled sound, then placed her back on clear ground.

Two other robots joined the first, all of the exact copies of one another, all of them covered with clouds of red energy. The little girl instinctively clutched her toy to her chest, but found that her toy was gone, lost in the chaos. She wanted to cry, but whatever was around her eyes made it painful to even blink.

“D-do you know where the a-a-angel went?” she stuttered, afraid. The three robots looked around, confused, then turned back to face her.

“Qq-aa-omv-rrru—” the first one said in a jumble of static.

“N——nnna—c��d——hu..?” the second one replied, taking a step forward.

She looked at them, confused. They seemed familiar somehow… but even thinking was hard to do.

The third robot knelt down, and she watched as one of its small, angular shoulder ornaments travelled down its right arm to cover its mechanical fingers. With this new implement, it stabbed the ground, then gave her a sharp piece of metal. The other two looked on in anticipation, waiting for her reaction. She shyly grabbed it, but squealed when one of the jagged edges cut her hand.

Nodding its head, the second robot moved to pick her up, but she squirmed, desperately trying to get out of its reach. The robot stopped, looking at her confused. She didn’t know what was happening, and couldn’t trust these robots, no matter how friendly they were being.

“Go away!” she shouted. “I don’t want you, I want my angel! I want Daddy!”

“CCCC— unit Nicholas—.?” the first one said, the words hidden in the white noise. The girl gazed at the trio. That was her father’s name. They can understand? Maybe they’re like the angel!

*“*Where is Daddy?” she asked impatiently. “The angel was taking me to Daddy, where is he?”

The second robot let out a sad sound, then pointed to the end of the room, just in front of the shattered window. There she saw a corpse lying there, burned beyond recognition; that viscous, crimson liquid that wasn’t blood flowing out of every orifice.

“Oh,” was all she said. She knew that she should have cried out in grief, that she should have felt immeasurable sadness, but at this point it was hard to feel anything anymore. To distract herself, she turned back to the robots.

“What are your names?” she asked.

The first robot let out a high pitched whine before responding with, “R-r-r—r—uu—Rugi.”

“M—aayaya—Maya,” the second robot said, moving again to pick her up. This time, she offered no resistance. She didn’t have anyone else left, and these robots seemed to care about her, for whatever reason.

Lowering its other shoulder ‘knife’, the third robot screeched, then said, “Victor—————… Vic.”

The robot named Maya lazily carried her at arm's length, so as to not inflict her with the red clouds of energy that hung around its body. Past its shoulders she could see that the Gate was now dim where it had once been bright, and globs of that red fluid now clung to it like cancers. Below its frame, a river of white-hot material flowed aimlessly around, killing anything it touched.

The little girl went to massage her cut hand, but found that there was, in fact, no cut at all. Instead, her right hand was completely featureless: there were no wrinkles, no markings, no… anything. It was completely smooth, no bump or groove in-sight. She checked her other hand, but that one was normal, the same was true for every other part of her body. It was just her right hand that had, for some reason, ended up featureless.

“N-n—n”, Rugi strained to say, trying hard to make the words. “Name?”

The little girl yawned. She was so, so tired, and Maya was rocking her back and forth like her mom used to, making her even sleepier. “Nami,” she said, before falling asleep, to dream of nothing but gates and angels.

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