#sorry u said the thing and now he's going to eat you about it :pensive:

[altarfates]

He must have realized by now how diverting the candour of his expression is; the anarchic fury that darkens his eyes, furrowing his elegant brows into a summit of exasperation. It’s because he offers these in earnest that Luo Binghe doesn’t find their interactions monotonous, instead, he is inexplicably intrigued by the desperate way Liu Qingge reaches and fails to seize control from his hands. It was different with Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe wanted to be good for his sake, as innately selfish as that desire had become it all began with avariciously craving his shizun’s attention, approval, acknowledgement. That is why he cannot resist the temptation to bury his fingers beneath the other’s hostile exterior, coveting the things that made him a worthy cultivation partner in the eyes of someone so significant, so important. It stokes a fire in him, a degeneracy that has no right laying claim over Liu Qingge, or so he berates him. He is unbothered, for his inextricable connection to his shizun cannot be severed by his shishu’s feelings, even if they were reciprocated. Fighting was, after all, all he was good for, wasn’t it ? This was the language he explicitly understood, that when the eloquence of compromise was whittled away to the bare ivory of its bones it could be conveyed with fists and smatterings of blood. Luo Binghe is more adept at harnessing his qi, can simultaneously wield both of his inherited bloodlines at will now, he has become a force so dangerous that, at times, it seemed paramount that Shen Qingqiu keep a firm hold on him. Who could say who he might endanger if he lost control again. “ The only thing.” he repeats it, the absence of that choleric demeanour turns the words acerbic, something about the way he retaliates annoys Luo Binghe, like an incessant smarting that pounds alongside the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Because, wasn’t that the same as saying fighting took precedence over the person Liu Qingge had stolen from him, that smearing vermillion across the prominent ridges of his knuckles was tantamount to his shizun’s life. Perhaps it is merely because he is already bristling, settling on the verge of an incandescent flame of bitterness, that his eyes narrow upon him like twin daggers, even as he’s effectively pushed away, only slightly burying in his heels despite his stubbornness.

“ Are you good for anything other than fighting ?” he asks churlishly, appraising the proud breadth of the other’s tense shoulders with a look of open disdain, who was truly beneath who here. Did Liu Qingge know the way shizun preferred his tea, the foods that he found appetizing, the gentle way his fingers might part the tangled knots of Luo Binghe’s tousled hair. His curt laugh is dismissing, finally revealing the sharp contours of his teeth, fingers resting absently upon the intricate hilt of his blade, the one Liu Qingge had so courteously returned to its sheathe. Did he want this fight to be fair, as equals ? The very prospect was absurd considering he had never seen that beast of a disciple is anything close to his equal, even as they strove as bitter rivals towards the same goal of devoting themselves to Shen Qingqiu he was still looked down upon. His vexation whets itself on that seared ego, the brittle, blackened thing that became his heart growing restless as Liu Qingge’s tirade bears down upon him. “ Would he think the same, that this is taking advantage ?” his retort is sharp, the glint of its edge as keen as the tumultuous emotions swirling around his slitted pupils. He moves precipitously, closing the distance between them in the second it would take to draw breath, knowing that he will either have to effectively dodge or repel his spiritual blast. That shishu isn’t stronger than he is, doesn’t possess the mettle to truly vanquish that despicable disciple and in the end he will not be able to prevent his advent either. “ Say it again.” he’s closer now, the demonic energy that evinces him as something other, something that could never truly belong here, curls sinuously around his fingertips, it’s hue ominously dark. Even if he were able to dodge one of his blows a subsequent one will follow, tracking him as he encroaches further and further into the space he desperately seeks to wedge between them. “ How you think I am taking advantage of him ?” it’s his turn, a spiritual blast that withholds none of his potent energy is directed at the other's legs, if he will not kneel willingly then he will force his hand. It’s then a clemency when his gaze slides off to the side, lingering amongst an arbitrarily stacked series of books and scrolls. “ Fight me properly.” and he draws Zheng Yang, pointing it’s lustrous blade towards his chest. 

                   even  when  it  looks  like  Liu  Qingge  has  the  upper  hand,  he   –   no,  the  both  of  them  know  it  will  never  truly  be  the  case.   he  is  like  a  mouse  caught  between  the  jagged  edges  of  the  cat's  teeth,  pierced  flesh  oozing  streaks  of  blood.  the  harder  he  writhes,  the  further  those  bones  dig  in  and  thoroughly  gore  him.  yet  like  that  helpless  animal   –   with  his  basic  instinct  to  survive,  he  still  struggles  anyway,  even  if  it's  in  vain.  the  sword  gripped  within  his  palm   –   the  hand  coiled  around  Luo  Binghe's  throat   –   it's  all  part  of  that  piteous  attempt  to  place  himself  in  a  space  higher  than  what  he  is  right  now.  he  intends  to  appear  the  hunter,  but  it  is,  and  will  always,  be  Luo  Binghe  who  truly  holds  the  reigns,  leaving  Liu  Qingge  utterly  at  his  mercy.  but  like  hell  Bai  Zhan  Peak's  lord  was  going  to  just  bend  the  knee  and  allow  himself  to  be  toyed  with  like  some  kind  of  doll:  not  without  a  fight.   “  beneath  me?  ”   two  words  spat  like  sharp  icicles,  carrying  all  the  icy  chill  with  them.   “  fighting  is  the  only  thing  i  care  about.  if  you  can't  match  me  in  battle,  i  have  no  use  for  you.  ”   oh,  how  little  it  would  take  to  carve  open  Luo  Binghe's  flesh  and  expose  raw  sinew  to  the  cool  summer  air.  blood  glides  down  the  glimmering  blade  like  an  elegantly  dressed  performer  on  a  stage   –   it's  not  enough.  Liu  Qingge  wants  more.  he  wants  bruises  and  cuts,  split  flesh  and  broken  bones.  he  wants  to  hear  them  snap;  he  wants  to  taste  metal  on  his  tongue. 

                  he  knows   –   better  than  anyone   –   that  what  Luo  Binghe's  trying  to  do  right  now  is  just  a  ploy  to  get  him  to  lower  his  guard.  there's  an  insatiable  hunger  blazing  in  that  disciple's  eyes,  a  hunger  that  Liu  Qingge  can  see  with  such  startling  clarity  that  it  sends  a  savage  chill  unfurling  down  his  spine.   “�� disgusting.  ”   to  what  this  comment  is  particularly  aimed  at  is  unclear   –   perhaps  it's  just  an  amalgamation  of  all  of  Liu  Qingge's  turbulent  thoughts  arranged  into  one  word.  he  lowers  the  sword  after  a  moment  and  actually…  places  it  back  in  it's  sheath?  he  had  a  weapon  now   –   it's  unlike  him  to  relinquish  it  so  easily.  even  if  Zheng  Yang  is  nothing  more  than  a  simple  tool  when  held  in  his  hands,  it  was  still  better  than  leaving  himself  completely  unarmed,  wasn't  it?  Liu  Qingge  grits  his  teeth,  takes  both  of  his  hands  and  presses  them  to  Luo  Binghe's  chest…  and  exerts  the  full  force  of  his  strength  in  pushing  him  away,  even  going  so  far  as  to  utilizing  spiritual  qi  to  ensure  he  could  pull  it  off.  he  puts  enough  space  between  the  two  of  them  that  he  can  breathe  for  a  moment,  and  quickly  dodges  to  one  side  into  more  open  space.  now  there  is  no  longer  a  wall  pinning  him  underneath  the  demon  lord   –   he  has  better  access  to  an  escape  route  if  need  be   (   and  knowing  Luo  Binghe   –   it  need  be   )   as  his  gaze  frantically  sweeps  over  the  room,  trying  to  locate  Cheng  Luan.  he  considers  simply  trying  to  summon  it  with  his  spiritual  qi,  but  at  the  risk  of  accidentally  hurting  Shen  Qingqiu   (   because  who  knows  where  Luo  Binghe's  hidden  it   )   he  has  no  choice  but  to  refrain  for  the  time  being.  no  matter…  he  still  had  his  fists.

                   Liu  Qingge  is  still  a  cultivator  first  and  foremost;  one  that,  even  without  a  sword,  could  still  be  excessively  dangerous  to  challenge.  plenty   of  beasts  have  died  by  just  his  bare  hands:  he  wasn't  incapable  just  because  he  didn't  have  his  sword.  he  can  tell  Luo  Binghe  is  trying  to  keep  him  rooted  in  place  by  dangling  supplications  in  front  of  him   –   it  wouldn't  be  that  easy.   “  Luo  Binghe,  quit  mocking  me  and  make  plain  what  you're  planning  to  do.  whatever  it  is,  i  won't  let  you  get  away  with  it.  Shen  Qingqiu  might  coddle  you,  but  in  my  eyes,  you'll  always  be  that  abhorrent  beast  that  took  advantage  of  him.  that's  still  taking  advantage  of  him.  ”   hand  raised,  Liu  Qingge  gathers  an  adequate  amount  of  spiritual  power  in  his  palm  and  holds  it,  ready  to  fire  it  at  Luo  Binghe  on  the  drop  of  a  hat.  he  absolutely  refuses  to  give  him  anything  he  wants   –   not  without  a  fight.  that's  just  how  he  is   –   how  he  always  will  be.  saying  fighting  was  beneath  him  was  basically  the  equivalent  of  mocking  his  every  achievement  on  and  off  the  battlefield.  he  grits  his  teeth   –   his  eyes  are  narrowed.  sparking  within  them  is  a  mixture  of  revulsion  and  apprehension.  Liu  Qingge  knows  that  he  doesn't  stand  a  chance  of  winning,  no  matter  how  much  he  preens  his  feathers  or  puffs  his  chest,  at  the  end  of  the  day  it's  all  just  show.  he's  been  beaten  down  by  Luo  Binghe  enough  times  to  understand  that  his  cultivation  is  overpowered  by  Luo  Binghe's.  the  thought  makes  his  stomach  roil  with  a  hatred  that  seeps  into  the  glittering  dark  pools  of  his  eyes.  he  idly  twitches  his  other  hand  as  if  he's  trying  to  shake  something  of  it.   (   get  the  fuck  off  my  hand  red  string,  you  don't  belong  here.  don't  connect  me  to  him   )

                “  don't  forget,  i'm  only  here  because  he's  my  cultivation  partner.  don't  you  dare  look  at  me  like  i  belong  to  you  too.  ”   even  admitting  it  out  loud  has  another  sickening  shudder  crawling  through  his  limbs.  the  urge  to  vomit  rises  in  his  throat,  but  he  defiantly  swallows  it  back  down  and  glowers  at  Luo  Binghe  with  a  fierceness  that  could  rival  the  king  of  hell  himself.  he  opens  his  mouth  for  a  moment  as  if  he  wants  to  say  something  else,  but  ultimately  elects  to  keep  his  thoughts  to  himself.  enough  talking.  Liu  Qingge  doesn't  like  to  talk.  his  words  are  his  fists,  so  he  does  what  he  knows  best  and  fires  that  spiritual  blast  right  at  Luo  Binghe's  heart  without  another  word.

[thewiscryptid]

SHE’S SO BROKEN INSIDE -- C - R - A - Z - Y !!

a reboot of my sentence starters for crazy ex girlfriend season 1 please change any pronouns/words to make it more applicable for your usage! some mature themes apply!

“This is what Happy feels like. This is what I’m supposed to feel like.”

“Why aren’t you happy?!”

“You didn’t even break skin and you inconvenienced a lot of people.”

“Remember you said that if I was in the neighborhood I should give you a buzz? Well… BUZZ!”

“I’m taking a few of these until my business cards come in, just so if anyone asks why I’m here, I can say ‘It’s for work! It’s legitimate!.”

“Because you’re pretty and you’re smart and you’re ignoring me so you’re obviously my type.”

“I’m not good for much but I do know it’s not right to hook up with a crying girl.”

“You half Italian? I can always tell.”

“He should be a search term on porn sites.”

“He made me feel warm inside— like glitter was exploding inside me.”

“I’m not in love. That would be stupid.”

“I’m crazy and I’m irrational and I’m everything my mother ever said I was.”

“If we play this right, it’s gonna hit him like a bag of nails to the balls.”

“Could we have a postmortem on the whole make out-crying situation?”

“Bras are in aisle one.”

“I’m going to gracefully exeunt and be chased….by a bear.”

“Maybe I will throw my saddle on that filly and take her for a ride around the paddock. ...Wow. Men are disgusting.”

“They spread a rumor that I slept with the English teacher! Which was totally a lie because we only did hand stuff!”

“Of course we’re friends because what other agenda could I possibly have?”

“I want to cut the silky hair right off your head and slurp it up like spaghetti.”

“We were just being cute! Cute kissing! For attention!”

“I can’t be friends with women. Everyone wants to have sex with me!”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that telling the truth from the beginning was probably the right option.”

“Luna bars are for women. I think they have menstrual blood in them or something.”

“A true friend loves you no matter what, even if your downward dog is horrible.”

“Now, if someone pulls a gun on me, I pull out my knife!”

“Come sit on my lap like I’m Santa and listen to me—”

“Put those things away, you’re going to poke a kid’s eye out.”

“I don’t leave when there’s whiskey left.”

“It was weird and sad and kinda beautiful in a pure and unironic way.”

“You’re really starting to fit in here. That’s not a compliment.”

“She’s seriously ‘bonker balls’.”

“The last thing you need right now is a conversation with a pathological narcissist!”

“How are you? UTIs under control?”

“Hey, don’t skate sad!”

“Let’s leave the children outta here for a sec.”

“Shut up, I love that fire! It’s my favorite fire!”

“How could a guy with a man bun know what’s authentic?!”

“You took some guy home from our date and SLEPT with him? What’s WRONG with you?!”

“I make no sense and you shouldn’t waste your time on me, can’t you see that?”

“I have an IQ of 164. On the entire SAT, I only got two questions wrong and in subsequent years, those questions were removed for being misleading.”

“You are a good person. He is a good person. …. We are good person.”

“What do you want me to say, people? That she doesn’t have the softest hair? And that I don’t watch her while she sleeps? Because I do! She’s an Angel.”

“She had flyaways! I can’t have her walking around like that.”

“You know I want to turn you in so much, because you’re an actual piece of human garbage.”

“Can I get a free beer? I’m down like $10,000.”

“My parents are alive. They’re just frigid and unloving.”

“Parents love brown nosers but men? Men love a woman who looks like me.”

“Chicken soup is just gross, hot, fat water.”

“I got a tongue scraper! Things are looking hhhhhhhexcellent.”

“Look at you, old man. You loooose! You have tubes in your face!”

“You promised me a drink and I got tired of waiting.”

“It was like Pearl Harbor meets the movie Pearl Harbor.”

“Why does Netflix always want me to watch Leaving Las Vegas? Is it trying to tell me something?”

“That basset hound could benefit from a juice cleanse.”

“Twilight is only the greatest love story since Shakespeare… in Love!”

“I needed that sage to cleanse the house of evil spirits. Ghosts are obsessed with me.”

“Do I really need to tell you to not take a pill from off the bathroom floor?!”

“I’m not going to listen to you. You talk silly.”

“I’m half of him so I am half of what you hate!”

“I’m glad you stood up to me because when the Cossack’s come, I know you’ll survive!”

“I want to melt into the chair like a butter lady.”

“Get realsies with me or I’m outskies.”

“Thanks for showing my boyfriend your cervix.”

“Charm and wit is a weird name for your boobs.”

“Where am I? Who am I? Am I in the Matrix? Am I Neo?”

“If you can’t even send me a whole word, then I’m not taking my clothes off for you. At least send an emoji. A chipmunk eating a block of cheese. I get that. I’m coming over.”

“Be the boat. Don’t be the hole. Nobody likes the hole.”

“Oh, you know what people say. One person’s blackmail is another person’s love story.”

“Okay, you can sleep at the foot of my bed tonight. Like a dog. …. Please don’t look so excited.”

“Oh, I don’t like her. She looks like she orders everything on the side.”

“He looks like a Kennedy. But a sober one.”

“What’s a pretty, showered girl like you doing here?”

“I think my life is a giant turd.”

“Why doesn’t he love me? Why doesn’t anyone love me? Why am I so alone?”

“I don’t want to say I don’t like anyone as much as you … but I just said it.”

“Love does not last in my life. I’m loveless.”

“I want to haunt Hitler and make him rethink a few things.”

“She’s not just a kid! She’s your daughter, you ass!”

“Oh, come on! Let’s make bad decisions together! We could run into traffic!”

“I’m not a sourpuss. I’m pensive and deep.”

“Are we being pleasant now? Sorry. I don’t know your rules.”

“He has the flat top of a Greek God.”

“If it were any other situation, I would take off my heels, my earrings and my extensions and curb stomp you.”

“Chasing someone who isn’t into you is a terrible move.”

“You have been Single White Female-ing me since you got here.”

“I have, like, the smartest face here.”

“Boo work and life and clothing.”

“You need to realize that ‘U up?’ is text speak for ‘are you horny?’.”

“You gotta force love, everyone knows that.”

“You weirdo face, put me down!”

“You just scooped me up like a basket of muffins…— PUT ME DOWN!”

“Why is he always talking about his theater major?! I know a lot of theater majors! They don’t talk about it! They just are!”

“I appreciate you Schwarzenegger-ing out back there.”

[ichor-and-symbiosis]

Obedient. (Shigaraki x f!Reader; NSFW)

Commission for @kazooli​.

Shigaraki knows you are upset. Not that he needs to use his intuitive perceptiveness to notice your downtrodden mood -- you are, and always will be, an open book of emotions. 

You try to be on your best behavior. You always try. Nobody needs to see their teammate moping around the decrepit hideout when everyone has their own problems to deal with. It could always be worse, you tell yourself. And you need to stay strong for your leader. 

But he knows. Finds you pouting on the ripped up sofa, even though you are the one who should come to him when called. You look up at him with your doe-eyed, downtrodden expression, and Shigaraki’s expressionless eyes sweep over you before walking past. Your gaze lingers on his broad back, wishing you could reach out and grasp the fabric of his coat just to keep him around a little longer. 

He pauses in front of the door. “Come with me,” he commands, and you are on your feet before you even think to ask why or where you are going.

-

The exhilaration of walking by your leader’s side through winding streets is enough to keep your mouth shut. Better to be quiet for now, anyway. Better to move like a shadow, like Shigaraki’s shadow. It must be a mission. You keep your eyes and ears sharp and primed, ready to take on the next challenge. 

Until Dabi’s words ring through your mind and you feel yourself deflating all over again.

Shigaraki pays no attention to you. He leads and leads, guides you towards a destination only he knows, and you are grateful for the chance to simply follow. You try not to question him when he stops at a food stall. Two orders of takoyaki, spoken with a quiet, serious request. Your stomach grumbles and you grip it in embarrassment. When was the last time you ate?

The worker holds out your meal. Shigaraki looks at you expectantly, and you realize he wants you to take it. And you do, rushed and mousy as you thank the worker, and then you spend the next minute mentally berating yourself for saying thank you at all. You are a villain. Why would you thank a random nobody? You should be thanking your leader instead. And you do.

He offers a grunt and keeps walking. Your heart flutters at the sound. 

You end your journey on a rooftop. The building is not familiar to you, and you doubt Shigaraki knows it either. A random building with a roof that smells like asphalt and cigarettes. You take a deep breath as the wind wafts the takoyaki steam toward you, and your stomach growls demandingly. 

You wedge yourselves into a narrow space, hidden from surveillance or anyone who may come onto the roof. Your only view is that of Shigaraki sitting across from you and you are perfectly okay with that. Very okay with that, in fact, especially since his legs are forced to bend and rest on either side of you. Your only choice is to sit cross-legged for his comfort, and you try your very best to avoid staring at his crotch.

It’s right there in front of you. He just brazenly has his legs spread out and brushing along your knees and you shove the takoyaki into your drooling mouth to keep yourself occupied. All you would need to do is bend forward, and it wouldn’t be the takoyaki in your mouth anymore. It would be something else entirely, something musky and warm and solid, and you squirm in your spot as heat pools below your belly. 

Shigaraki silently eats the first stick of takoyaki and sets the box aside. You pause your eating and wait, because he has that pensive look in his eyes right now. His arms are limp and resting on his knees, and you allow yourself to admire his beautiful hands. Beautiful to you, long and slender fingers, blue veins peeking through pale skin, oh how desperately you want him to touch you - 

“So.” The word hangs in the air between you. You stare at him, obediently waiting for him to continue. He doesn’t look at you. “What happened.” 

“U-um … “ You wrack your brain as your anxiety builds. Did you do something wrong? Were his plans compromised? “I’m sorry, I don’t - “ 

“You’ve been looking like a kicked dog all day.” 

“Oh.” You muster up a weak smile. “It’s nothing serious. Maybe I was just hungry, or … you know. Present circumstances and all that.” 

“Don’t lie to me.” 

Perceptive. You don’t want to burden him. It really was such a silly disagreement with Dabi. “Really, it’s - “

He says your name. You look at him, transfixed by his solemn stare. His eyes are sharp, commanding. “Tell me.” 

And you do. Nothing at first, trapped in your throat, and then all at once.

“Dabi is just such an asshole,” you blurt out, and Shigaraki’s snort encourages you to word vomit. “He took me with him on a scouting mission and things didn’t go as planned and he kept blaming me! He said it was my fault and that - and that I’m … useless.” Your head hangs in shame as you stare hard into your lap. “He said I’m useless and that the League doesn’t need me. So I’ve been thinking all day about that. If I wasn’t useful to society and I’m not useful to the League, then ... “ You don’t know where your trail of thought was going. “I don’t want to feel useless,” you whisper. “I don’t want to hold anyone back. I don’t want to waste your time like - like right now.” 

Shigaraki waits for you to finish. He looks a little surprised. “That’s a lot.”

Your mouth gapes like a fish before you shut it tight and dig your nails into your thighs, hoping the pain would counteract your burning embarrassment threatening to swallow you whole. “Sorry. I talk a lot.” 

He eyes you with a calculated expression while you silently flounder in your awkwardness. “Come here,” he suddenly says, and your confusion makes him grow impatient. “Turn around. Back to my front.” He motions to the space between his legs. “Right here, puppy girl.” 

You nearly choke on your gasp.

Your body moves mechanically, too stunned by shock to make your body look anything other than enticing. You sit as he directed, back to his front, and wrap your arms around your knees as you try to calm your breathing. A gap remains between you, because there is no way Shigaraki would want you pressed up against him, except he does and you let out a startled squeak when he places his arms beneath your thighs, spreads your legs over his, and makes you lean back onto him. 

“What are you doing?” you breathe out, heart stammering in your chest as you soak up his body heat and pray to god that this moment will never end. 

“Testing out your obedience,” he off-handedly comments, and your clothed cunt immediately becomes flooded from the vibrations of his voice, the low rumble so close to your ear. His hands move to grip your forearms, and you jolt at the contact, all wired up with frayed nerves and anticipation. “I want to know what makes you think I’m wasting my time here.” 

“W-we’re talking about me.” 

“Yeah. And you know what I learned?” His mouth is close to your ear now. You shiver at the feeling of his breath tickling your skin. “I learned that you’re not at the top of your game right now. You’re drowning - “ He taps a finger to your temple. “ - from all of these fuzzy little thoughts in your head. And I can’t have an obedient puppy girl if she’s thinking too much.” 

“I - “ 

“Quiet.” One hand cups your throat, middle finger poised over your pulse. The hold is firm and encompassing around your neck. It makes you tremble with desire. “We have to get rid of those thoughts, don’t we?” His other hand brazenly cups your mound, and you let out the most pathetic sound of your life. “There’s a lot of ways to release pent up feelings,” he continues conversationally, fingers delving past the waistband of your bottoms. “I’m feeling charitable enough to help you out.” 

Your endless stream of thoughts fizzle out as soon as he finds your swollen clit. “Thank you,” you sob, gripping his arm and gyrating your hips for more of his touch. “Thank you, thank you, thank you - “ 

The hand at your throat moves up to cover your mouth. “Shhh.” Fingertip moves lower, runs itself through the slickness oozing out of your tight heat. “Relax.” You whimper brokenly, slump back against him as he rubs your clit in feather-light strokes. His hand moves from your mouth and rests on your temple, fingers buried in your hair. “This is what you’re good for.”

Shigaraki is not an expert by any means. Sometimes he loses his momentum, rubs too hard or too slowly, doesn’t really know how to set a proper pace. But you have never felt more wet before. Never has your heart raced this quickly, never has a simple touch driven you to mindless pleasure. 

He plunges inside you unexpectedly, shushing you once more as you let out a wordless cry, and even through the pain of being stretched far too soon, you feel your pussy loosen to accommodate your beloved leader’s thick fingers. He works you open good and proper, thorough in his thrusting, forcing you to take him down to the last knuckle. You lie there and take it, moaning and writhing in his lap as he fucks your sloppy cunt. 

“Just let it all out,” he murmurs in your ear. “It’s not good to keep the bad shit locked away inside. Or else one day … “ His fingers ease out of your pussy and leave a trail of juices clinging to his fingertips. You try your best not to whine as he brings his fingers up for inspection. “ … It’s all gonna come pouring out.” 

You don’t know what he is trying to do. You don’t know what he wants from you when his fingers tap against your bottom lip, but your mouth falls open all the same to let him smear your juices onto your tongue. A pathetic, desperate whimper escapes as you taste yourself on his fingers. And you taste him. Your leader’s fingers are buried in your warm mouth and your stretched cunt contracts from dizzy exhilaration. 

Your tongue licks away the evidence of your arousal, and for one delirious moment you think you hear Shigaraki hum in approval. He pops the digits out of your mouth and you begin to ramble before you can stop yourself. “Y-you don’t … have to do this,” you shyly stutter, cheeks burning from shame as his hand drops back between your trembling thighs. “I was being dumb, I’ll get over it, you d-don’t have to worry about me like this - “ 

You break off into a choked gasp as he traps your clit between two fingers and slowly runs them up and down. 

“It’s fine,” he murmurs, lets your head fall back onto his shoulder. “A leader takes care of his subordinates.” 

A burst of emotions burns your chest at the statement. How could something sound so detached yet intimate? You wonder what this means to him. You wonder if he’s done this for anyone else. The very thought of it makes tears well up behind your closed eyelids, but you do not let them fall. This is your special moment with your leader. Here and now, he chose to take care of you. You focus on those words instead, focus on how full they make you feel, just as his fingertip rubs your soaked entrance and slips back inside with ease. 

“Just trust me,” he murmurs. “I’m gonna train this greedy puppycunt to only think about me.”

Shigaraki keeps talking. He is so, so chatty, and it is hard to focus on his monologuing through the sound of your wet pussy being played with so thoroughly and invasively. You bury your face in his neck to stifle the whiny demands on the tip of your tongue, ignoring your monumental need for him to stop talking and just kiss you. It’s a selfish thought. Your leader is speaking to you. You should listen, you should let him take care of you, you have to trust him, you have to chase the high and let go, just as he always does on the battlefield. 

“You’re doing so well for me.” 

A heavy pit of pleasure builds deep within. 

“Always so obedient.” 

The thumb buried in your hair strokes slowly. 

“My favorite puppy.”

Your pussy clenches, fighting to suck him in and keep him inside. 

“Mine.” 

You come with a shrill keen, trembling and shaking through your orgasm as Shigaraki’s fingers pump in and out, squelching and sloshing your juices as loudly as he can. Your mind is adrift, completely gone. All you can do is lay limp in his arms and breathe heavily, letting him settle your underwear back over your messy cunt. 

There is silence for a moment. Only the sound of your breathing. His hand settles over the top of your head properly this time, ruffling your hair in a movement that might have been accidental if not for the fact that Shigaraki never makes mistakes. “I like you like this,” he says. “No thoughts or worries. Just a properly trained cunt and an obedient subordinate.” You smile a little at that. If only he knew how badly you wanted to be used by him. “I decide who’s useful to me, not Dabi. You’re around for a reason, got it?” 

Your heart aches with happiness. “Yes sir. I’m yours.” 

[hellfire-menace]

How Comic met Fresh

Comic' backstory basically, throughout this Comic is refered to as Ralz, because the name change didn't happen yet

My friend helped with like half of this

Enjoy!

---------------------------------------------------

Ralz teleported away from his bullies, his skull bleeding from a crack they made, he looked around, panicked.

Fresh was wandering in Classic's AU just across the bridge near Snowdin looking for chaos to cause when the damaged skeleton teleported in.

"Hey yo you look like you're not from around here little homeskillet, wassup?!" Fresh grinned at Ralz for a moment then paused. "Yo, you know your sauce is leaking bro?"

Ralz looked at him and backed away. He's really scared, he looks like someone or even multiple people attacked him. His eyesockets are filled with tears.

Fresh halted, his glasses changed to read "woah," and held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Heyyyy. Yo, no need ta be spooked bro. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You uhh.. You hurt brah? Ya lookin' like you might need help or somethin my dude."

Ralz is shaking, he managed to slightly nod. Tears are running down his cheekbones alongside blood on one side.

"Uhhh ok ok umm... What do ya want me to do? I mean to be honest brah, I don't know how to help."

". . . h-head . . ." Ralz is in pain. He looks like a child, maybe 10 years old. He's small, weak and fragile, he's barely standing.

"Ok yeah.. Gotta stop that business from leakin. Hold up. I got this, check it."

Fresh takes his jacket off and starts tearing it into strips. he then approaches Ralz slowly, holding out the torn strips of fabric.

"Can I?"

Ralz slightly nodded, he's looking at Fresh.

Fresh used his ruined jacket to bandage up Ralz's head. It was oddly colorful for your usual bandages and a little tight but it definitely did the job.

Fresh looked Ralz up and down and let out a low whistle. "You got Jacked. Up. What even happened to you bro?"

" . . . b-bullies . . .th-they b-beat m-me up . . ." Ralz is trying to calm down, everything hurts him.

Fresh frowned and his glasses changed to "un-rad."

"Bullies? That's whaaaack bruh. ... So uhh what next? Wait, food helps you guys heal, right?" Fresh pulls out his inventory and rummages through it. Ralz is looking at him, waiting.

Fresh pulls out a carton of eggs and holds it out for Ralz with a triumphant grin.

Ralz looks at him, confused.

Fresh looks at Ralz, confused too "Not a fan of eggs brah?"

" . . . r-raw eggs a-aren't g-good . . ."

"Oh... I thought they totes were super healthy." Fresh without warning drops the carton of eggs and begins sifting through his inventory again.

Ralz doesn't say anything, He's still not entirely calmed down.

"Hah!" Fresh pulls a box of gushers from his inventory. "This is food... It's good too." He rips open a packet and hands it to Ralz.

Ralz took the packet and quietly began to eat the gushers.

"Good, right?" Fresh smiled at Ralz. The small skeleton just nodded.

"Well that's as bout as much as I know how to help ya with on my own broski." He held out his hand for Ralz to take.

"Can you trust me?"

Ralz looked at him, thought for a second and took Fresh' hand. Fresh chuckled.

"Probably a bad choice bro." and suddenly they were teleported to a different AU. They arrived in a dimly lit workshop with beakers and blueprints scattered about haphazardly. There was a skeleton slumped over a worktable snoring softly.

Ralz looked around, curiously.

Fresh walked up to the slumped over skeleton and shook his shoulder. The skeleton woke up with a start and rubbed at his face "C'mon couldn't you let me slee- F-FUNK!"

Fresh chuckled "Yo mind your manners Sci, there's kids present."

"I thought I told you not to come in here again, last time you contaminated everything and broke- wait kids?" Sci looked around and spotted Ralz, his eyes widening in alarm.

Ralz is nervous, he looked at Sci. He's slightly shaking.

Sci looks to Fresh angrily "Did you do this?!"

"Nah man, nah. Dunno what happened 'zactly... They said somethin about bullies but that's all I got." Fresh flicked Sci's glasses "Take a chill pill dude I just want ya to help me fix this little homeslice up."

Sci ajusted his glasses and gave Ralz a nervous glance. He switched to a low whisper Ralz couldn't hear. "Why? So you ca-"

Fresh interrupted Sci leaning in close, a dark aura radiating off of him. "Don't worry about it bro."

Sci gulped and nodded. He looked to Ralz and stood up. "Hey. they call me Science Sans, Sci for short... You are?"

"R-Ralz"

"Nice to meet you Ralz." Sci smiled warmly at him.

"Lol I totes didn't think to ask their name."

Sci shot Fresh a look and approached Ralz slowly. "Can I check that head wound of yours?"

Ralz nodded slightly, He's hurt in many different places too.

Fresh distractedly picked at his braces and Sci pulled out a chair for Ralz to sit in.

"Sit, please."

Ralz sat down on the chair.

Sci carefully unwrapped the impromptu jacket bandage and visibly winced at the damage underneath. "Sh-SHIZZ, this is bad."

Fresh looked up at the two of them.

Ralz is still shaking, He's scared and cold, a tear rolled down his cheekbone. He's still looking at Sci.

Fresh frowned and started digging through his inventory again while Sci frantically pulled out some antibacterial wipes and began gently cleaning around Ralz's head injury.

"This might sting, I'm sorry..." Sci said.

Fresh blipped behind Ralz and draped something around his shoulders.

"You were lookin a little too chill there dude..."

It was a soft blanket with neon squiggles and shapes on a dark background.

Ralz wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, "Th-thank you"

"S'nothin..." Fresh turned to Sci who was now applying something to the cut to get the bleeding to subside.

"Yooooo can I do anything to help?"

Sci looked at Fresh distrustfully.

"Maybe, if you promise to listen. because last time I-"

"I got it, I got it. Seriously, take a chill pill dawg."

Sci gave Fresh one more sharp look and nodded. "Ok."

With Sci's instruction Fresh began cleaning up Ralz's other injuries while Sci used healing magic on his skull.

Ralz is silent, He's just looking between them, sometimes reacting to the stinging and pain, He's behaving well.

"You're doin so good kid, don't worry we're almost done patching ya up." Sci gave Ralz a sympathetic smile.

He handed Fresh bandages and instructed him on how to properly use them and turned back to Ralz.

"We're mostly done here, but your glasses look busted. I can fix you up a new pair if you'd like."

"y-you can do that? i don't w-want t-to c-cause problems . . . o-only if it's o-okay . . ." Ralz is mostly calm now.

Sci laughed "I've busted mine more times than i can count. Had to figure ways to easily replace them before. " He adjusted said glasses on his nasal ridge.

"I might be able to figure out your prescription with your broken ones, it really wouldn't be too much trouble."

"A-alright" Ralz looked around the workshop.

Sci took his glasses and left the room, leaving Fresh, who had been mostly silent besides the occasional question for Sci, to continue bandaging up what was left of the major damage on Ralz.

Fresh was diligently following Sci's instruction, carefully and firmly wrapping some major scrapes and cuts on Ralz's shin when he spoke up.

"Yo... So I've been wonderin... What happened exactly? And like... Why'd they go and funk you up like this brah?"

Fresh looked up at Ralz, his expression pensive and his glasses displaying "??????"

"b-because I'm weird . . . I look weird . . ." Ralz is sad, he curled up a bit

"i was going back home from school, it was the only day my parents couldn't pick me up . . . so I was going home alone . . . and this one older kid with his group of friends attacked me . . . just because of the way i look . . ." His eyesockets are filled with tears again.

"That's super whack bro. There's not a funking thing wrong with the way you look." Fresh's mouth was pressed in a displeased thin line.

"black isn't a normal color for skeletons . . ."

Fresh shook his head and moved on to bandaging up one of Ralz's ankles.

"There's nothing wrong with you, or what color ya are. Just 'cause it's not as common in that AU don't mean jack.... Diversity is a good thing yo, what if there was only one kind of skeletons? All carbon copies and junk. It'd be mad boring all up in here." Fresh looked up at Ralz the same dark aura from earlier emanating from him.

"I'd like to see them come at me for bein different bro. Show them what I think of bulling." Then as quick as a switch the aura was gone, Fresh beaming at Ralz.

"Don't worry little homeskillet, you don't gotta worry about them again."

"but I would have to see them again when I go back to school . . ."

"Nahhh man you got options, you could come live with me if ya wanted."

"Really?" Ralz looked at Fresh.

"Heck yeah brah!" Fresh flashes a charming grin at Ralz. "And if ya ever wanna go back, you just say the word my dude."

"alright" Ralz smiled at him.

"Nice! I needed a buddy." Fresh chuckles.

"hm?" Ralz slightly tilted his skull to the side.

Just then Sci entered holding a new pair of glasses for Ralz.

"Had to replace the frames... But lucky you I had a similar style as yours already. Why don't you try these on and tell me how they feel." Sci made his way over to the two and handed Ralz the glasses with a smile.

Ralz put on the glasses and looked around, "It's great! Thank you" He's smiling.

Fresh stood up, done bandaging, and Sci nodded.

"Perfect." Sci pulled a small medicine bottle from his lab coat and handed it to Ralz. "This should help expedite the healing process, just follow the instructions on the bottle aaaaand you should be good to go. I'm- I'm sorry though.. I don't know if that crack to your skull will ever heal properly.."

Fresh looked at Sci, surprised. "It won't?"

"I mean I'm not positive... But..." Sci trailed off into uncomfortable silence.

"it's okay i guess . . ."

"Pshhhh It'll just make ya look cooler, no worries brah." Fresh waved a dismissive hand.

"Before you go.." Sci raised a finger "Are you gonna be ok? If you're getting bullied I can-"

Fresh clapped him on the shoulder, interrupting Sci. "It's all good bro, I got 'im."

Sci looked nervously from Fresh to Ralz.

The small skeleton curiously tilted his head to the side.

"Well ok then..." Sci sweats "Guess I better get back to my nap. Oh! Wait first..."

Sci hurried over to his desk and messed around in a drawer, his back to them for a second.

He turned around holding a pill bottle and handed it to Ralz. "For pain, you probably can't feel it too much right now thanks to the healing but your headaches gonna be killer tomorrow..."

Ralz nodded and took the pill bottle.

Sci nervously looked at Fresh and hugged Ralz without warning. He stealthily slipped a note in Ralz's pocket. "It was nice meeting you... Be safe." Sci said a little intensely.

"it was nice meeting you too"

"Wow Sci, brah... You never hug me like that..."

"That's because you always destroy my lab!" Sci snapped at Fresh.

Fresh raised his hands in surrender with a chuckle "'Aight then." He turned to Ralz and held out his hand. "In that case, let's bounce."

Ralz took Fresh' hand with a slight smile.

Sci gave them a halfhearted wave and the two disappeared with a fresh poof, reappearing in an obnoxiously 90's disaster area of livingroom.

Furniture that were just large cushioned shapes, an overly fluffy neon rug on dark flooring loud colorful walls with skateboards, tastefully framed pictures of Furbies and such hung up. A cluttered coffee table with things like tamagotchis, worms on a string, and a spilled over container of slime.

The whole place was littered with various odds and ends and Furbies strewn about everywhere.

"Welcome to my crib" Fresh said with a grand wave. "Mi casa es su casa."

Ralz is looking around, curiously.

"First things first I'mma get you some fly new digs, because your wardrobe is looking heckin whack right now." Fresh looked Ralz up and down.

"You're kinda small... But I think I gotchu. Hold up, be right back my dude." Fresh backed out of the room shooting finger guns "Careful of the Furbies, they get weird around newcomers. But make yourself at home dawg."

Ralz sits down and just waits for Fresh.

There's a loud thud in the other room and a rubber duck noise.

Ralz ignored the noise and looked at the note he got from Sci.

In barely legible chicken scratch it read "He's not a normal skeleton kid. Not sure what exactly it is, but there's something weird about him. DON'T TRUST HIM."

Ralz frowned and put the note back into his pocket.

Fresh skidded into the room sporting a new jacket and an armful of clothes. "YO!" Fresh dumped the clothes in Ralz's lap "Try these on for size homedawg."

Ralz tried on the clothes, the size is good, a bit too loose but it's okay.

Fresh grinned at Ralz "Ayyyyy lookin good, baggy is in ya know." Fresh's glasses flashed the words "fly af" for a moment.

Ralz smiled at him "you didn't tell me your name"

"Oh! You're right." Fresh laughs. "Call me FRESH!" There's a little fanfare and confetti pops from out of nowhere. "And I can already tell we're gonna be the tightest homies."

Ralz giggled, he's smiling "Probably"

[forceful-cupid-from-heaven]

Tsathoggua's (Forced) Day Out - MC4

"I don't like to go outside, it's too sunny... and crowded... and I see it as unnecessary. I'd rather play stay in my room than do something like that."

That's... what he practically said. Tsathoggua is definitely... somewhat of an obstacle to go through. Everything I had said related to going outside, he didn't want to do. Go eat outside? Nope. Play outside? He'd rather play video games. At least walk? He'd think it's a very tiring activity.

Honestly, it felt like his head had a huge talking stone wall connecting to his consciousness and this "wall" just said no every time I invite him out to go do something. Unless it's a really really urgent matter, he won't do anything! Huh, what should I do...?

.

.

.

It was a Friday. Almost every student in the vicinity was talking about what they'll do on the weekend. Basic student mentality. Based on the clock, it was also 12:46 PM so almost every student that is missing is either finishing their lunch or having an activity outside. Either way, I don't really care that much.

"Hey, Shinjou!" Kengo, along with Ryota and Shiro, approached my table. "Did you do the homework today?"

"Of course I did. I did it last night," I answered truthfully. "Wait, don't tell me..."

"Ehehe..." Kengo scratched the back of his head.

"As always, Kengo. Very unprofessional." Shiro shook his head in disappointment.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I didn't understand the lesson!"

I wanted to help him, I really did, but he needed to learn the hard way... And Shiro would probably scold me if I do such a thing.

"Anyway, what are your plans tomorrow, Shinjou?" Ryota interrupted.

"I think..." My eyes looked down to my lap while unhesitantly answering, "I think I'm gonna try and force Tsathoggua out of his habitat again."

"Seriously?" He raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't like going outside. Unless you have a card up your sleeve, I don't think just words are going to work on him."

"Yeah!" Kengo shouted. "And you should be spending your time fighting with me, instead!"

SMACK!

"What's that about fighting, Kengo?"

It was Mononobe who was standing right beside the door and bonked his head with a heavy-looking book.

"E-Ehehe! I-I meant that he should... p-practice fighting! Yeah!"

Mononobe, like Shiro, shook his head in disappointment and dismay. "You really should be focusing on your grades and balance your strength and noggin. You're... unsurprisingly failing your subjects."

"Ahhh..."

The whole five hours were just Triton, Jinn, and Ziz teaching us the different subjects while Kengo was just drooling around, bored of the class.

.

.

.

The whole day was over. The bell rung. And the clock struck five. Though the whole time, I was thinking about what gift to give to Tsathoggua.

"Alright, everyone!" Jinn smiled and faced everyone. "I hope you all learned something today! You are all dismissed!"

"Goodbye, sir!"

Jinn grabbed his notes and book as the students began to grab their bags and leave. The doors were wide open and the room was filled with noises, mostly from the students chatting with one another.

Ryota stretched and yawned. "Hah~ Good thing there weren't many assignments today. I think that's a positive sign!" His eyes almost teared up from my observation.

Hmm... What will be a good gift for Tsath? Anything worth going outside...

Then, an idea got into my head.

"I have to go, guys!" With excitement, I stood up almost immediately and ran to the door. "I'll catch up with you in the dorms!"

I'm sure they were left dumbfounded but I had to go before the store closes!

.

.

.

A day had passed. It was a Saturday. Shinjou was looking forward to hanging out with Tsathoggua... if he ever succeeds in doing so. What was inside his backpack is a secret only he knows and is a... well... a "hostage" for Tsathoggua. Maybe you can take a guess?

Though, to save money, he instead walked throughout the journey. Regret was written all over his face. Ugh... I should've saved up some money to get a ride... Now I'm sweating all over.

But after that thought, he finally saw what seemed to be the building he was destined to go to.

"Ohoho~! Look who we have here! You're Shinjou if I'm correct. What are you doing at our guild~? Perhaps you want to serve me in my harem?"

Shinjou almost immediately walked around her and shook his head. "U-Uh, no, sorry. But have you seen Tsathoggua?" What a stupid question! Of course he'll still be in his room...

"Oh, you're looking for that huge lump of laziness?" Her expression seemed to have turned from joy to disgust. "He's in his room playing, as you may have guessed already." Her hand held her chin as she looked sad. "I thought you would've been wanting to become a part of my harem."

"Thank you! And no, I'm not joining your harem..." he added.

--**--

Creeeaaak...

Tsathoggua turns his head to find Shinjou entering his room, hands behind his back and smiling like he just found the love of his life.

"Shinjou!" he excitedly calls out and hugs him. "Why are you here? You here to play games with me, yeah?"

"Actually... quite the opposite." The high schooler looks down shyly. "I want you to spend your time with me outside!"

A deadpan face was written across Tsathoggua. Shaking his head, he declines. "Nope. I already told you, I'm not going outside. I'd rather—" He then widened his eyes. "Is that Hack and Slash 2?!"

Waving the disc, he nodded. "Mhm! I heard that the game still hasn't released its digital version yet. It only released the disc version."

"Gimme! Gimme!" Tsathoggua pleaded but Shinjou just shook his head.

"Come out and spend the whole day with me first~"

Tsathoggua's mind was then challenged. Should he risk going outside while getting the prized item or...? "Hmph! I'll just wait for the digital release, then! No deal!"

The student pretended to look pensive. "Ah, that's quite sad, then. Since I don't really play that many videogames, I'll just sell it to someone else—"

"AHHH! WAIT, NOO!"

--**--

"Ugh, I hate you so much..." The blue bear transient grumbled as the two of them walked inside a crowded mall. "You promise that you'll give me my disc after this trip!"

"Alright, alright! Promise! Geez..."

The mall was bustling with customers from left and right. Clothing stores, arcades, and even restaurants.

It was, as expected, crowded. And it's also what Tsathoggua hates the most—being around people.

"Why did we even come here...?" he asks.

"Why, of course, to spend some time! Staying inside your room isn't healthy, you know?" The student, not with a white shirt and casual clothing, smiled at the transient.

"I'm a god! I don't need to be healthy!" He scoffs, tightly grasping the vase he was currently holding along with the other blue jelly-like monsters inside.

A promising restaurant caught Shinjou's perspective. He pointed at it and said, "Hey, we should eat first over to that restaurant!"

Hesitantly, Tsathoggua agreed to that idea instead of declining. Just for his game disc, of course.

.

.

.

Their energy was spent after spending their time on many of the stores. Playing arcade games, eating snacks, and buying new clothes. Everything they did was quality time spent. Now all they had to do was to go back home since it was already getting late.

"T... That was actually... kind of fun, yeah?"

"See?" Shinjou pointed as a matter-of-fact. "You don't have to go outside, just you spending some time with me outside is good enough. Oh! Before I forget—" he rummaged through his bag and handed Tsathoggua the game that he's been waiting for. "Here. This is the game you've been wanting to get, right?"

Tsathoggua hesitated a bit before grasping it into his hands. "I guess this can wait to be used. I'll get you to your dorms first, yeah? Lots of weirdos might try to hurt you, yeah?"

"Wait, what do you—"

Before he could even process the idea, he was immediately teleported in front of his dorm by Tsathoggua's hands, bride style carry.

He gasped for air, trying to scold the transient. "H-Hey! Could you have warned me first?!"

"I see no harm in it." He grinned smugly. "Anyway, you should go and rest now, yeah?"

"Alright..." Shinjou smiled and chuckled. "Stay safe, Tsath."

"You too, yeah?"

--**--

Before Shinjou opened his dorm room, he saw someone that he had never seen before. "Oh! Are you new around here?"

"U-Uh, yeah... You are...?"

"The name's Shinjou from Shinjuku Academy. And you are?"

"My name is... Seiko."

[ewankoseyo]

perfectly you || mark imagine

A/N: Finally finished (with extra cheese!) after having sat in my drafts for weeks! This is probably best to read on desktop rather than on mobile since mobile editing is being wonky. Decided to try something new with the OC. Also realized I could kill three birds with one stone by fulfilling three requests in this imagine. Enjoy!

“your mark imagine about the car ride made me tear up, your writing is so good ! i was wondering if you could write another fluffy mark drabble about a girl who is super focused on school and doesn’t rlly have any friends, but suddenly mark comes around and insists on being her friend, but she doesn’t want any friends. so she’s totally in denial when it’s obvious he likes her and she likes him. dk if that made much sense but hopefully it did to you! thank u sm in advance <3”

——

“Kang Jisoo? Are you related to—”

“Yes, she’s my sister.” Jisoo took her uniform from the teacher with a short bow and not another word.

She was used to it, expected it every time she entered a new space.

“Oh Kang Jisoo, you just got your uniform? Great, you can sit right over here by the window!” The giddy teacher chirped. Jisoo slowly made her way to the only empty seat, ignoring the stares from her new classmates as she passed. “What a coincidence! You know, Jiwoo also sat there when she was in my class two years ago!”

Jisoo gave a feeble laugh. “Yes, well...”

“I’m sure you’ll be a delight to have in class just like she was!” The teacher said before addressing the rest of the class. “Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get started. Welcome to high school orientation everyone! You will all be my homeroom students for the year...”

For Jisoo, it was just another day stuck in the the shadows.

——

“Hello, are you even listening?”

Mark glanced at the boy sitting in front of him before letting out a bored sigh. “Yes Jackson, you did look so cool at your match yesterday.”

“Ugh you weren’t even listening!” Jackson groaned, putting his head down on the table in defeat. “I've been asking if you could volunteer for the fencing team’s carwash fundraiser this weekend since one of our members can’t make it.”

“Yeah sure, whatever,” Mark replied dismissively, returning his gaze past Jackson. For Mark, it was just another day at lunch with some of his closest friends. Jackson would blab about some random topic of the day while the others would passively listen as they ate, occasionally taking jabs at the talkative boy.

Jinyoung, sitting next to Mark, had noticed between bites of his lunch that Mark had been checked out of their group’s usual silly conversation. He turned to see where the boy was staring and let out a snicker. “Why are you staring at Kang Jisoo?”

Jackson, being the King of Subtlety, quickly whipped his head around to the object of Mark’s attention. Jisoo was sitting alone at her usual spot a few tables down, completely engrossed in the book she was reading for a class. She would take a sip out of her milk carton every so often, but never put her book down, completely unaware of the stares she was getting. Jisoo was often seen eating by herself during lunch, so Jackson thought it was odd how Mark was paying her mind that day. “Oh? Does someone have a thing for Ms. Kang?”

“Jisoo? That’s her name?”

“You don’t know her?” Jaebum, usually half-present during these lunchtime conversations, looked at Mark incredulously. “It’s the last year of high school!”

“Exactly! I know I only transferred here in the second year, but don’t you think it’s weird how I’ve never seen her before? Or wouldn’t think of talking to her? It’s our last year yet...JB, do you know who that is?” Mark quizzed his friend, pointing to a boy tossing his trash.

“Uh...I actually don’t know...I think I have him in bio?”

“And Jackson! That girl over there!” Mark pointed to another girl walking into the cafeteria. “What’s her name?”

“Kiso? Miso?” Jackson scratched his head in confusion.

Jinyoung raised an eyebrow at Mark. “Is this your way of telling us you’re tired of us?”

“Of course not,” Mark assured. “All I’m saying is that even though our school is so small, we don’t even know our own classmates. We’ve been stuck in a bubble, not that there’s anything wrong with our group, but it’s our last year of high school. I think we should try getting to know our own class, don’t you think? JB, Mr. Class President, you of all people should agree.”

“You do have a point,” Jaebum agreed pensively. “So what? Are you going to try and be best friends with Jisoo now?”

Jinyoung sneered. “Yeah, good luck with trying to even talk to her.”

Mark looked at the three boys curiously. “What do you mean?”

“That girl will not give you the time of day unless you are a textbook,” Jackson joked, going back to picking at his food. “She’s all about school and grades so she doesn’t have a lot of friends. Or any friends, really.”

“See, all the more reason to try,” Mark contended.

“I’m surprised you don’t at least know of her,” Jinyoung said thoughtfully, hand under his chin. “Don’t you know her sister?”

“Who’s her sister?” The simple question was met with audible gasps.

“Wait, you really don’t know?!” Jackson looked around, making sure Jisoo—though far away and still not paying attention to anything around her—wasn’t listening. “Her sister is—”

“Hey Jackson!” A boy had sidled up to their table, notebook in hand. “Here are those notes you asked for earlier.”

“Oh thanks man!” Jackson took the notes and brought the boy in for a pound hug. “See you in math!”

“You’re hilarious! I’ll see you in English!” The boy chuckled before heading off. The three friends looked at Jackson with amused expressions.

“You have no idea who that is, do you?” Mark asked dryly.

Jackson simply shrugged. “I could have sworn the only class I needed notes on was math.”

——

The next day, Mark made it a point to hunt down Jisoo. He didn’t know why he was particularly drawn to attempt befriending her, perhaps it was the challenge? Mark wanted to prove his friends wrong. Was it so bad to want to try making new friends? Maybe she just didn’t have a lot of friends because people were jerks. And Mark wasn’t a jerk, he got along with people really well, even if he was the more soft-spoken one in his friend group. But there was a first time for everything. Mark could break out of his shell and make a new friend.

But if he didn’t know anything about her before, how was he supposed to find her now?

Luckily he had made it a point to actually look up when he was walking into his classes today rather than scroll on his phone as he strolled in, because he finally spotted her sitting in the back of the classroom—nose shoved in another book—during his third period.

“Hi, is this seat taken?”

Jisoo glanced at the seat next to her. “No, go ahead,” she replied, removing her backpack from the chair so Mark could slide in next to her. Before she could return to reading, Mark spoke up again.

“Thanks. I’m Mark, by the way.” He stuck a hand out to Jisoo.  

She only smiled at his hand, returning her attention back to her book. “Mark, I know who you are.”

He shyly retreated his hand to his lap. “You do?”

“Yeah, I’ve only been sitting a few rows behind you the whole year.” She smirked, eyes still glued to the pages before her.

“Oh, but—”

“Just because you don’t know me doesn’t mean I don’t know you,” Jisoo interrupted, glancing at the boy in amusement.

“Oh.” Mark didn’t expect their first interaction to turn out this way. He imagined Jisoo to be more...shy and soft-spoken. Lost when it came to people. Kind of like him, but more so. He didn’t expect her to bite. Dumbfounded but determined, Mark pressed on. “I know you like reading. What are you reading now?”

“What are you trying right now, Mark Tuan?” Jisoo put her book down and gave Mark a bemused expression. “You’ve never spoken to me a day in your whole life, despite us being in the same Honors English class for the last three years, and now you’re coming up to me asking what I’m reading?”

Mark looked up at Jisoo ashamedly, suddenly feeling small under her gaze. “It’s never too late to make new friends, is it?”

Her gaze softened a bit. “It’s a book of poems in English. Mrs. Baek let me borrow it to practice reading English prose.”

“Oh, cool.” Mark nodded, wanting to relate. “So do you like writing? Are you planning to go into it after you graduate?”

Jisoo shook her head and gave Mark a wry smile. “You don’t need to try so hard Mark, I don’t need your pity.”

Mark was silent for a moment. “I wasn’t taking pity on you. I was just thinking about how weird it was that we’ve been in the same classes but I didn’t know you, though I should, and that’s why I wanted to talk to you.” He averted his attention to the front of the classroom. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”

Jisoo continued reading until the silence became too unbearable for her to handle. 

“Do you really not know who I am?”

Mark shook his head. “Should I? You know, I didn’t imagine you as the type to have an ego.”

She grinned to herself at the boy’s cluelessness. How refreshing. “I do like writing, but I may go more into journalism later. What about you? What are you thinking of doing, Mark?”

Mark returned the smile, giving Jisoo his full attention. “Well I’m glad you asked...”

——

The usually empty desk next to Jisoo in her English class had become Mark’s self-assigned seat. Every day at the beginning of class, he would cheerfully slide into his seat as she was hovered over some assignment due the following week. 

“Good morning Jisoo!”

“Good morning Mark,” Jisoo would greet back quietly with a small nod before returning to her work. 

Despite having sat next to her for weeks, Mark felt he had barely learned anything about Jisoo. Jisoo had a tendency—and was really good at doing it without him noticing—to deflect questions back onto Mark whenever he’d ask questions about herself. When he asked her what she liked to do for fun outside of school, she had said she didn’t have much free time because of all the work she had to do for her other classes.

“But what about you Mark?” Jisoo asked before Mark could press on. “You’re on the volleyball team, aren’t you? What’s that like? When did you start playing?”

Seeing as only fifty minutes of class every day was not enough for Mark to get closer to Jisoo, and Jisoo would quickly leave to her next class as soon as that one was over, Mark knew he had to try even harder. 

Which brought him to lunch today. 

“So are they like...together now? Or something?” Jackson, Jinyoung, and Jaebum were baffled as they watched the unusual pair sitting together tables away from theirs. “Mark always sits with us during lunch.”

“Of course not, Mark would have told us if he was seeing someone,” Jinyoung assured Jackson, though he was half-convincing himself. His friend wasn’t one to step out and talk to others, but here Mark was, speaking animatedly to Jisoo. “I guess he was serious about trying to make new friends.”

“Still, this is the first time I’ve ever seen him talk to her,” Jaebum stated confusedly. “With Jisoo, Mark looks almost...outgoing.”

“See Mark, your friends think this is weird too.”

“What do you mean?” Jisoo nudged her head in the the direction of the three boys burning holes into the back of Mark’s head. They immediately busied themselves as Mark turned around, attempting to seem like they weren’t staring. Mark chuckled as he turned back to Jisoo. “So what? They think everything I do is weird. They can’t talk though, they’re really weird too.”

“No wonder you guys are friends,” Jisoo stated pointedly, stabbing at her salad. “So why aren’t you sitting with them right now?”

“Why? I can’t sit with my other friends?”

Jisoo looked at Mark skeptically. “You think we’re friends friends? You sit next to me in English and we talk before class starts.” 

“Hey, I told you about the time I split my pants in elementary school in front of my crush, and not even the guys know that,” Mark explains, darting his eyes at the aforementioned boys. “We are friends.” 

Jisoo studied Mark’s face for any sign of insincerity before relenting. “Okay Mark Tuan, I’ll bite. So what brings you here to sit with me today of all days?” 

Mark simply shrugged, finally allowing himself to start eating. “Well I realized that you know a lot about me, but I wanted to know more about you.”

“What do you want to know?” Jisoo closed her notebook, giving Mark her undivided attention. It didn’t seem like Mark was going to budge, so she knew there was no point in trying to get some studying done for tomorrow’s quiz. Jisoo was also just genuinely curious as to what Mark was getting at. 

“Oh! Uh...” His eyes darted around as if searching the cafeteria for the right question. Mark hadn’t expected her to open up that easily. “What is your favorite...color?”

“Mustard yellow.”

“Why?”

And that’s how it started. Jisoo went into a story of she had an affinity for fall colors and was compelled to buy everything she saw in those shades. Jisoo and Mark amicably went back and forth sharing stories of the random things about them, Mark feeling touched by the sentiment that these were now things only he knew. Jisoo was obviously very closed-off so Mark felt a sense of accomplishment with how much she was sharing with him, trusting with him, in such a short amount of time. Judging by how rarely he saw Jisoo talking to others, he thought that people also knew very little about her. Though he did vaguely remember the guys saying something about knowing her—

“So what does your family look like?” Mark asked after finishing a story about how his sisters used to dress him up when he was younger. “I think Jackson or Jinyoung mentioned something before about you having a sister too?”

The small smile that had inched its way onto Jisoo’s face instantly dropped and she looked almost panicked. She abruptly got up from her seat and started to gather her things. “I should probably start getting to my next class, it’s a bit of a walk.” 

Mark frowned at her sudden disposition. “Sorry, did I—”

She gave a small bow before leaving him. “See you tomorrow!”

He sat there watching Jisoo’s retreating form, completely dumbfounded by what just happened. Mark turned around, meeting the now-shameless stares of his friends who had watched the whole interaction happen. The three of them just shrugged at Mark, at a greater loss than he was. 

——

Jisoo found herself inexplicably looking forward to her daily interactions with Mark. 

After she brushed him off that day in the cafeteria, she was really worried about how she was going to talk to him ever again—Jisoo was even more shocked that she wanted to talk to him—but it turned out that she had nothing to worry about. The following day, Mark had sat next to her during class like usual and talked to her normally, asking if she had understood the assigned reading. He never mentioned anything about family ever again, conversing happily with her as if the end of their lunch together had never happened.

That’s when Jisoo realized she considered Mark a friend. 

And it was normal for friends to look forward to seeing their friends every day, right?

“Good morning,” she greeted teasingly as Mark lazily slid into his seat. “You look awful. Did you stay up late playing video games for the fourth night straight this week?” 

“Very funny. It’s the only way I can play with friends in other timezones.” He laid his cheek on the desk and side-eyed her. “But I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” 

“Oh no, it pains me to see you looking tired. It means you won’t be listening to me nagging you to put as much effort into your homework as you do video games.” Mark rolled his eyes before rolling his head on the desk so that he was facedown. Jisoo let out a hearty laugh as she finally took notice of his outfit. “Mark, were you too tired to even turn the lights on this morning? You look like you dressed yourself in the dark!”

“Wait, what do you mean?” He shot up in his seat and looked down at his clothes.

“Your shirt’s inside-out! How’d you even button up your shirt this morning?!” 

Mark quickly put on his cardigan, slightly hiding his little mishap. “Oh my god, I’ve been walking around like this all morning, and no one told me anything!” Jisoo, amid her fit of giggles at her friend’s troubles, wiped away the stray tears that had formed in her eyes. Her laughter subsided when she noticed Mark silently staring at her, an impish smile quirked on his lips. 

“What?” 

“You look prettier when you laugh. You should do more of that.”

Jisoo’s face quickly flushed. “Prettier? What do you mean by ‘pretty’?”

“What do you mean what do I mean? You’re pretty!” Mark shook his head and chuckled. “Oh wait I remember, the Kang Jisoo has a bit of an ego. Fine, when you laugh, you’re so beautiful,” Mark corrected himself with another laugh. “Happy now?”

Mark broke into more fits of laughter as he noticed Jisoo’s face turning shades darker by the second. She slouched in her seat and covered her face with her hands. “Mark, why would you just say that so easily? What am I supposed to do about it?!” To Jisoo, Mark had said it as if he were talking about the weather. 

“I don’t know, I think it’s Jackson’s sappiness rubbing off on me. We’ve been hanging out too much lately,” Mark joked, turning to the front of the classroom as Mrs. Baek walked in, signaling the start of the period. For the first time ever, Jisoo couldn’t focus on the lesson, Mrs. Baek’s words going in one ear and out the other. 

It was also normal for friends to call their friends beautiful, right?

——

Jisoo told herself she only let Mark walk with her home because her house was already on the way to his and the days were getting shorter. It’s better for a girl to walk home with someone, especially a guy, when it was starting to get dark, of course. 

And Mark most certainly forced his jacket onto her when a gust of wind had whipped past them that afternoon. She hadn’t asked to use it and she definitely did not exaggerate how cold she was by wrapping her arms around herself so that Mark would notice. Jisoo really was cold and Mark, being the nice friend that he was, had forced his jacket over her. 

“See if I weren’t walking with you, you’d be freezing!”

Jisoo rolled her eyes as she returned the jacket to Mark. “We were a block away from my house, I think I would have been fine.” 

 “Yeah, yeah whatever you say,” Mark replied with a sneer, waving you off. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, if you don’t oversleep and actually make it tomorrow,” Jisoo joked, earning a playful shove from Mark. “Bye—”

“Jisoo, you’re home!” 

A middle-aged woman donning an apron and with fresh dusts of what seemed to be flour on her face had emerged from Jisoo’s front door.

“Oh Mom, yes, I just got back.” 

The older woman walked up to Jisoo, lacing Jisoo’s fingers with hers and beaming brightly. “I just got the best news today! We’ve got a special surprise arriving tonight!”

Jisoo smiled as she dashed her finger across her mom’s cheek and flicked the powder off. “Is that why you’re going crazy in the kitchen?”

Her mom nodded. “It’s not every day we get this surprise, so we’re having a feast tonight.” She looked behind Jisoo to see Mark still standing there in the walkway, watching the interaction. He waved when Jisoo’s mom looked his way. “Oh! Is this a friend from school?”

Jisoo gave a nervous laugh. “Yes, well...” She nudged her head and gave Mark a slightly-panicked look, motioning for him to come over. “This is Mark Tuan from my Honors English class. He lives a few blocks that way so we walk home together sometimes.”

Mark stuck his hand out to the older woman. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Kang.”

She gladly took it, shaking his hand profusely. “Very nice to meet you, Mark! You must join us for dinner, I made a lot of food and this is the first time I’ve met one of Jisoo’s high school friends. More of a reason to celebrate!”

“No Mom, Mark is really busy—” Ignoring Jisoo’s protests and before Mark could get a word in, her mom had dragged the two of them into the house. 

Jisoo’s house was simply decorated, the mustard yellow walls doing most of the eye-catching. It was warm and cozy as the smell of her mom’s cooking wafted in the air. One thing Mark noted to himself was that he couldn’t spot any family pictures anywhere. 

“I think I’ll be learning more about you today than I have in all the time I’ve known you,” Mark teased, giving Jisoo a nudge as her mom ushered them to the living room. 

“Whatever you do, don’t ask too many questions, answer all of my parents’ if they have any—but be vague when you answer—and just give me your food when my mom’s not looking if you can’t finish it,” Jisoo hissed quietly as she pulled Mark to sit on the couch. She turned back to her mom. “So what’s the surprise?”

The older woman shook her head, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Well it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now would it? Your father is picking it up right now.” She was about to return to the kitchen but quickly turned back to Jisoo. “I almost forgot! Dear, could you go over to Mrs. So next door? I asked her to fix my pants and was supposed to pick it up today before she went on her trip with Mr. So, but I still have so much to cook.”

“I can come with,” Mark volunteered. 

Jisoo gave him a hesitant look. “No...you better not. Mrs. So gets weird about strangers coming over. You can just relax, I’ll be right back.”

Mark went to join Jisoo’s mom in the kitchen. “Mrs. Kang, I can help you finish cooking or set the table while waiting.”

She clapped her hands gleefully. “Oh, I’d appreciate that Mark! You can help me make the cheesecake, it won’t take too long to make. Here’s an apron!” Mrs. Kang lowered her voice to Jisoo as Mark busied himself with the apron. “He’s handsome. Bring him around more often.” 

“Mom!” Jisoo gave her mom a frightened look, silently ordering her to stop, before turning to Mark. She stifled back a laugh as she noticed he was wearing her dad’s “kiss the cook” apron. “I’ll be back. Don’t make too much of a mess.” 

Jisoo was at Mrs. So’s longer than expected. As soon as she rung her doorbell and the older woman came to the door, Jisoo found herself answering a parade of questions. Mrs. So claimed to have not seen Jisoo in so long and wanted to catch up, even though Jisoo would sometimes join her mom and the other older women in the neighborhood for weekly tea. Mrs. So had occupied Jisoo with so many questions that she had almost forgot the reason why she was there. 

Taking a breath after finally leaving Mrs. So’s with her mom’s pants in hand, Jisoo headed back to her house, hoping her mom wasn’t similarly bombarding Mark with questions or embarrassing stories about her. She was also really looking forward to whatever surprise her parents had in store. Perhaps it had arrived when she was gone? Maybe they were finally getting a dog? With that exciting prospect in mind, Jisoo happily bounded to her doorstep and opened her front door, ready to be greeted with a—

“Surprise! I’m home!”

Frozen in her spot, Jisoo allowed herself to be engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by her older sister. 

“Unnie...you’re—”

Suddenly Mark emerged from the kitchen, looking as giddy as a kid at a candy store. “Jisoo! I didn’t realize your sister was the Kang Jiwoo! I see her on tv all the time! I should have put two and two together. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Yes, well...” Before she could even begin to formulate an answer, Mrs. Kang had enjoyed them in the foyer.

“Come and take a seat before the food gets cold!” She ordered, ushering the kids into the dining room. “Jiwoo dear, you must be starving! I made all your favorites!”

Jisoo felt like a lost scubadiver with only a couple of breaths left in her oxygen tank, a few seconds away from drowning.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to get away. But she could only sit there and watch silently as Jiwoo seemed to bewitch her friend at the dinner table like she did with everyone else she encountered. Jisoo couldn’t even enjoy her mom’s cooking. 

“This is top secret information, so keep this on the down low,” Jisoo advised jokingly as Mark pretended to zip his lips. “But we’re shooting the music video for our comeback single. One of the locations is a half hour away, and the other girls are just staying at a hotel, but I decided it was close enough for me to come home and spend the night.”

Mark had stars in his eyes as he conversed with Jiwoo. “Wow, a comeback? You must be super busy! You probably have a tour coming up too! I saw some footage from your concerts overseas before on the news, you guys got really big!” 

Jiwoo gave a shy laugh, looking down at her plate in modesty. “Yes, well...”

“Jisoo does that too!” Mark pointed out, turning to the silent girl next to him. “You probably get it from her, don’t you?” Jisoo could only shrug as she occupied herself by tossing the food around on her plate, not wanting to answer and confirm his speculation. 

“Oh, Jisoo gets a lot of things from me,” Jiwoo added with a lighthearted laugh. “When we were younger, she used to always follow me around and copied whatever I did. I remember I used to get so annoyed when she’d mimic what I’d say.”

“Really, she used to copy you?” Mark looked back and forth between the sisters. “But you two are nothing alike!”

Mark had no ill-intent behind them, but as those words left his mouth, Jisoo knew she was done for. He had finally seen Jisoo for what she really was—everything that Jiwoo was not. 

Out of breaths in her oxygen tank, she was drowning.

——

Mark was certain Jisoo was avoiding him. 

He thought nothing of it initially. She had been quiet during dinner at her house, but Jisoo was always quiet, so that was nothing out of the ordinary to him. The next day during their class together, she had arrived just as class was about to start. She had no choice but to take one of the seats up front, so Mark had no chance to talk to her in class. Perhaps she had been running from her last class? Mark knew Jisoo could be a bit of a grade grubber. He speculated that she was probably trying to negotiate her grade up from a 99 to a 100 with a teacher, and that’s why she ran a little late. 

But then it happened again the next day. And the day after that. And after that. And so on. He noticed she wouldn’t look his way during class. Then she’d quickly leave as soon as class let out. Jisoo was also nowhere to be seen during lunch. Nor was she at her locker after school, where Mark would meet with her so they could walk home together. 

Jisoo didn’t answer any of his texts or his calls. Had he not seen her every day during English, Mark would have been really worried that something happened to her.

But it had been a week after the dinner at her place and Mark was still worried because something did happen to her, otherwise she wouldn’t have been ignoring him for that long. He felt helpless, he didn’t know who to ask about her whereabouts. 

Jisoo had really opened up to him in the last few months, so why was she closing herself off again?

Mark finally caught her on her walk home. As soon as school finished that day, he had made it a point to race to her block so she would run into him. Jisoo was a good girl, she surely wouldn’t be skipping out on class just to go home early so she could avoid him. 

Jisoo found him leaning against a lamp post near her house. Waiting. She was about to make a run for it when Mark turned and saw her. 

“Jisoo, wait!” 

“Mark, jus-just leave me alone.” She tried to sound assertive, but sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Mark instead. 

He walked up her, eyes boring into her skull, willing her to look at him. “Why have you been avoiding me?” She stayed silent, averting her eyes in any other direction but his. Mark knew she was trying to figure out a way to make a run for her house. Jisoo knew he was a fast runner and could easily catch her. “Did I do something wrong? Was it something I said at dinner to your parents? To your sister?” Taking her chances, Jisoo attempted to dash past Mark. With cat-like reflexes, he grabbed her arm, spinning her around and holding her in place so she was forced to look at him. “Whatever it was Jisoo, I want to apologize for it properly, but you need to talk to me.”

She had never been so close to him. She found looking Mark in the eye unbearable so she averted her gaze elsewhere. “Why do you care?”

“Why do I care?” Disbelief laced heavily in his voice. 

“Yeah, it’s fine, it’s not like my sister’s going to hate you for not checking on me or anything,” Jisoo said offhandedly, slipping herself out of Mark’s grasp. “She loves all her fans.” 

Suddenly it all made sense to Mark. 

“Jisoo, do you really think that lowly of me?” 

Whatever resolve Jisoo had built up came crumbling as soon as she heard the hurt in his voice. “Mark...”

“I always thought that you were only distant from others because you were so focused on school and people misunderstood you, but you were doing this deliberately, weren’t you?” The heartbroken look on Mark’s face tore Jisoo to shreds. “Jisoo, how could you think I was being like everyone else? We’re best friends.”

Jisoo could feel herself getting choked up. She felt like a fool. Of course he wouldn’t purposely use her like everyone else did, Mark Tuan was the nicest person she had ever encountered. Never did he ask anything of her, except for her time. 

Which is probably why she had fallen for him, slowly but surely. 

“I’m sorry,” was all she could say, with her head hanging down. 

Mark looked at her with a stern expression. “You know what your problem is? You push people away before they can hurt you. You’ve never let anyone in long enough for them to see how amazing you are.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small mustard yellow gift bag. “Talk to me when you like yourself as much as I do.” Without another word, he tossed the bag to Jisoo and left in the direction of his house.

——

“Do you...mind if I join you all?”

It was an odd sight to take in. The boys looked to Jaebum for guidance, always yielding group decisions to the unofficial leader.

“Sure Jisoo,” Jaebum choked out. The boys hurriedly moved their stuff from the table, shifting themselves to make room for her. Jisoo quietly took a seat directly across from Mark and began digging into her lunch, unaware of the stares she was receiving. 

“So Miss Kang...” Jisoo made a funny face at Jackson’s formality. “What brings you here to sit with us?”

“You guys are always staring at me during lunch, I figured I’d join you so you wouldn’t have to strain your eyes so much,” Jisoo teased, side-eyeing the boys as she ate.

“Oh, she bites!” Jackson bellowed. All of the boys, except for Mark, laughed at the usually quiet girl’s uncharacteristic jab. 

“I was also just thinking about how it’s our last year. It’s kind of weird how I see all my classmates every day but I’ve never really made the effort to talk to them. So I guess, here I am now.” Jisoo gave them a sheepish smile, as if asking for permission.

“Well you’re more than welcome to sit with us during lunch whenever you want,” Jinyoung invited graciously with one of his signature eye smiles.

She smiled warmly at them. “Thank you.” 

Mark could only stare silently across the table at Jisoo as she conversed easily with his friends, his eyes fixated on the mustard yellow bow tying up her hair. It had been over a week since he had last spoken to Jisoo. Joining him and his friends at their usual lunch table was the last thing Mark expected her to do. Watching as she blushed and giggled softly at one of Jackson’s typical flirtatious jokes, he didn’t expect her to get along with his friends so well either.

“Better get going,” Jaebum announced as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. They all got up to clean up after themselves. “Don’t forget about the meeting after school. And Jisoo...”

“You’ll have lunch with us again tomorrow, yeah?” Jackson asked, looking at Jisoo hopefully.

She glanced at Mark who looked back at her with an unreadable expression. “Well...if it’s okay with you guys...”

“Of course it is,” Jinyoung reassured. “Anyone who’s able to completely debunk Jackson’s stupid conspiracy theories is all right with us.”

“Hey!”

“Sure, see you guys tomorrow,” she replied gratefully, waving the three boys off as they headed to class.

“Jisoo...”

“I’m sorry, am I overstepping boundaries?” She looked at Mark worriedly. Of course he’s still mad. She silently scolded herself for imposing. “I knew I should have asked you first if it was okay.”

Mark shook his head as he pulled Jisoo aside from the other students leaving the cafeteria. “No, not that. You always sit at the same table or spend lunch time cleaning lab supplies for Ms. Kim. What are you trying to do here?”

Jisoo sighed as she gazed up at Mark’s questioning eyes. There was no point in trying to come up with a lie, Mark had already seen right through her once before. “Can we talk and walk at the same time? I really can’t be late to History, we have a quiz.” Mark rolled his eyes before gesturing Jisoo to lead the way to class, a small smile playing on his lips. That was the Jisoo he was used to—always prompt.

“I missed you.”

Now that was the Jisoo he was not used to.

Mark stopped in his tracks. “Are you sick?” He placed a hand on her forehead. “Your temperature seems fine. Are you really the Kang Jisoo, the one who thinks nagging someone about how much sleep they’re getting is a sign of affection?”

She removed Mark’s hand before continuing to walk. “It means I care.”

“So do I.”

“And that’s why I missed you.” Jisoo stopped walking again to look at Mark properly. “Mark, you were right. I do tend to push people away because I’m afraid of getting hurt. Like before. I thought I was going to get hurt again so I pushed you away too.” She gave him a regretful look. “I’m sorry I thought so little of you, Mark. Of course you weren’t going to be like everyone else. You’re my best friend.” 

“But why do you keep pushing people away?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” She smiled sadly as she looked down at herself. “I’m not Unnie. She’s a beautiful and successful Hallyu star that everyone wants to be or be with. I was always compared to her ever since we were kids, and whenever people talked to me, it was always about her—they would ask if I could get them tickets to her concert or an autograph or if I could give her a letter and to let them know what she says when she reads it. I was always living in her shadow.”

Now Mark was the one looking apologetic. “That must have felt awful.”

“That’s why I’m so focused on school. I can finally do something that Unnie didn’t get a chance to finish. When it comes to my education, I can just be me, not Kang Jiwoo’s younger sister.”

They gazed at each other for a moment, letting Jisoo’s words sit. Though she had said that he was right, Mark now felt horrible about berating Jisoo before. He suddenly took her hand and started walking hurriedly. 

“You’re right, you’re not your sister,” Mark announced undoubtedly. Jisoo didn’t have it in her to protest. She could only stare at Mark’s grip and let him tug her along. “Jisoo, you’re you, perfectly you. You’re Kang Jisoo, the girl who silently judges my unkempt hair in the morning even though she’s basically had the same haircut since the fourth grade.”

“Hey!”

He gave Jisoo’s hand a gentle squeeze as he continued walking, unintentionally causing her stomach to stir. “You’re everything you should be and nothing less. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither should you.”

They had arrived right outside of her History class. With her hand still in his, Jisoo scanned Mark’s face with uncertainty. “So we’ve confirmed that we are best friends, but still, how could you be so good to me? I feel like I’ve always given you 10 when you’ve given me 90.”

“Because I like you,” Mark replied simply, releasing her hand with a shrug. “And don’t worry, you don’t have to say it because I already know. Otherwise you wouldn’t be wearing the bow I got you.” 

Jisoo felt her face flush red. “But I—”

The bell rang again. “I better run to class before Mr. Jeong gets mad again. Meet you at your locker after school?” Unable to produce a proper sentence, Jisoo nodded dumbly, earning an ecstatic smile from Mark. He quickly pecked her on the cheek before heading off in the opposite direction. “Go be the educated Jisoo that I like, bye!”

She grinned to herself like an idiot as she slid into her seat, Mark’s words replaying in her head over and over again. More motivated than ever, Jisoo happily greeted her classmates around her as she got ready for the rest of the period. 

“Because I like you.”

Slowly but surely, with the help of a good friend, she was beginning to like herself too. 

——

[nie7027]

Super5 headcanons part 3

Part 1   Part 2   Part3   Part 4   Part 5

Thank you everybody for saying such nice things of part 2 (as i said i wasnt that confident so it made me really happy to know you liked it) and sorry for taking so long but school is a bitch and almost killed my inspiration. Anyway here comes part 3

Minegishi: i just got out work. Can someone care to tell me what happened?

Hatori: uhh, yeah . sorry

Hatori: i got out of work like an hour ago and came home to find Shimazaki sleeping on MY bed

Hatori: Shibata was already at the gym and shimazaki hasnt waken up so i dont know much more??

Hatori: i dont know either what to do...

Shibata: is he still there? I told him to take my bed!

Hatori: well he clearly didnt...

Minegishi: ok but HOW did you find him exactly?

Shibata: ill tell you later guys. My next class is about to start

Shibata: And dont worry Hatori! i dont think hell wake up anytime soon.

Shibata: You should have seen him carrying the dog! It was cute <3

Shibata: in a strange way

Minegishi: dog?? WHAT DOG?

Hatori: did you just say "carrying"?

Shibata: sorry guys gtg

Hatori: shit WAIT

Hatori: where am i supposed to sleep now? I cant sleep on the couch!

Shibata: you can sleep with me

Hatori: WHAT? NO

Shibata: Do you prefer to wake him up?

Hatori: I pick the right side

Minegishi: No homo

Hatori: fUCk U

Shimazaki wakes the next morning to the sound of someone gagging to his right

"THE HELL IS THAT SMELL? WHY DO YOU STINK SO MUCH?" yells Hatori before letting out a muffled yelp when the pillow Shimazaki threw hits him square on the face

Shibata, probably alerted by Hatoris screams, comes running and asks from the doorframe "Whats going here?"

"THAT BASTARD SMELLS LIKE POOP AND NOW MY BED WILL SMELL TOO" says Hatori while pointing at the man on his bed who is just groaning clearly annoyed at being awaken

"Hmm it was probably the dog" says Shibata pensive and then looks carefully at shimazaki "You dont have more clothes dont you?"

"Holy shit! Thats true. Youve been using the same clothes since then..."

Shimazaki cant understand why it suddenly matters so much to them "No i dont. Now that that has been cleared up can i go back to sleep?"

"You have to change first. Hatoris clothes wont fit you. so take a shower while i search for something to lend you" says shibata and then turns to Hatori "you gotta go now or you are gonna be late. Dont worry todays my day off, Ill wash your bed"

"Thanks man" says Hatori and then quickly discusses something abouy dinner with shibata before leaving the apartment. Shimazaki can only stare. He just wants to sleep.

But before he can turn his back and return to sleep Shibata is already on him hurrying him to the shower.

Shimazaki doesnt like the idea of giving up his clothes to Shibata (he doesnt like letting go of his possesions because Mental eye cant find inanimate objects and he learned early on life how easy it was to lose things) but even he is starting to get nauseous at the smell of trash and he isnt in the mood to deal with it himself

Shibatas clothes fit loosely but they are comfy, besides once he gets out the shower the man has breakfast ready for him (theres still a box of his favourite cereal) and leaves him to his own devices while he does laundry.

By the end of the day Shimazaki has his own clothes back and they are softer than he remembers ("its the softener" says Shibata, "the what?" responds shimazaki)

Minegishi and Hatori arrive later with boxes of take out and they eat together in awkward silence until Minegishi casually asks with a smirk if Hatori and Shibata slept well at which shibata laughs and tells them Hatori is a blanket hogger which in turn makes Hatori complain about shibatas snores.

The childish fight continues and even though Shimazaki doesnt take part in it he listens atently

At the end he returns to minegishis apartment that night and sleeps on the couch. Neither of them uttering a word of what happened.

The next time Minegishi asks him to go grocery shopping he accepts.

This is stupid. This was a waste of his time.

Shimazaki couldnt read price tags or labels and he didnt know what he was doing here or why Minegishi had brought him

At most he could tell apart boxes from cans and the weight of things but he couldnt differentiate whether he was holding a can of tuna from a can of yakitori sauce or 1k of salt from 1k of sugar without having to ask somebody else.

It was even worse when it came to liquids if the milk/juice failure was anything to go by

After the first few failures of trying to pick stuff Minegishi had tried to teach him about couponing and discounts but then again he had to ask him the price everytime and they both soon got tired of it

All he could do was to touch and feel the fruit and vegetables trying to tell apart the riped from the rotten/damaged

Looking for any bump, hole, softness...things Minegishi taught him

It was stupid.

Minegishi could ripen/fix any plant with his powers and they both knew it

This was a waste of time.

He hated every second of this and wanted to go already but Minegishi had been hellbent on him learning at least this and left him in the fruits section to pick whatever he deemed best while he finished the shopping.

And that was what he was TRYING to do when a store clerk had the brilliant idea of addressing him

In his defense they had been almost 3 hours here and he had been done since the first. The fact he didnt even know what the hell he was holding anymore except that it was round and ripe not helping his annoyance.

He turned to tell her to fuck off. He just wanted to intimadate her. Force her to leave him alone.

He may have gone a little bit overboard.

He opened his eyes.

"Excuse me sir. Customers arent supposed to grab the tomatoes with their bare hands. The bags are-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Her scream could be heard all around the store

Before he could teletransport away the tomato he was holding twisted and tangled its newly grown vines around his hand in a tight grip. (The sight of it clearly didnt help the girl's panic)

"Dont even think about it" hissed a pissed Minegishi when he passed by his side on his way towards the screaming girl.

Minegishi couldnt feel more stupid than he was feeling a the moment.

In his haste to initiate Shimazaki on the path of becoming a civil person he had somehow forgotten the man was actually blind (not his fault it was so easy to forget when you have seen him destroying entire buildings).

He had tried. He had really tried to come up with any way to fix this mess of a trip but it was getting late and they hadnt even started their actual shopping.

So at the end he gave up and left Shimazaki to the only task he thought could keep him busy and at the same time allowed minegishi to keep track of the mans position anytime while he hurriedly finished the shopping. It was a good plan. What could go wrong?

The moment he heard the scream he knew everything could and will go wrong where it concerned Shimazaki.

Thankfully he could feel he was still holding something vegetal (a tomato?) so Minegishi quickly dashed (shopping cart forgotten) to the mans position and the screaming girl.

His first instict had been to go and calm the girl even though he didnt know what had happened but when he realized people were starting to stare he quickly grabbed Shimazakis arm and dragged him the way he came.

"The fuck did you do?" Minegishi asked once they were in another aisle safe from curious stares

"I did nothing!" responded Shimazaki somewhat offended

" As if! What did you do to her? "

"I didnt do shit to her! I was just doing the fruit thing you asked me!" he raised his hand to show the tomato still holding onto it

"And? Why was she even near you?" mineshiki asked while his powers disentagled the vines and took the tomato

"ITS YOUR FAULT APPARENTLY WE ARENT SUPPOSED TO PICK THE FRUIT"

"Huh? What? I always do-THATS NOT IMPORTANT! Why was she screaming?!"

"I told her off"

"What? People dont scream like that when someone tells them off, even when you..." Shimazaki was clearly hiding something "How did you do it exactly?" minigishi asks with narrowed eyes

"....i may have opened my eyes"

"Your eyes?" minegishi stares increduously "whats that- oh" hes about to ask what was that supposed to mean when he remembers Shimazakis bottomless eyes caused by his physic powers. He may have gotten used to his hollow stare but he still remembers what he felt the first time he saw it. The girls scream finally making sense "You never open your eyes unless you want to threaten someome...did you want to threaten a simple clerk?? "

"No"

"Then?

"i just forgot!" shimazaki huffed

"You...forgot?"

"YES CAN WE GO NOW?" irritation lacing the mans tone

It was that moment that Minegishi realized this trip was taking a bigger toll on shimazaki than he (and probably even the man himself) anticipated and sighed.

"Yeah, i was almost finished anyway lets find the cart"

Shimazaki silently followed.

They finished the shopping without any further accident and while they waited in line to pay something caught minegishis eyes. It was just what he needed.

There was a row of cheap aviator glasses hanging in display.

After some considerantion he grabbed one of the pair with the mirror lens kind and handed them to a now calmer Shimazaki "Here, put this"

Shimazaki who had been following Minegishis movements asked curiously "whats this?"

"Glasses. In case you forget to keep your eyes closed again people wont be able to see your eyes. Put them on and open your eyes. i need to see if they fit and if they'll work"

He miraculously did.

The frame was thicker than it was supposed to be for these kind of glasses (a crude imitation of the stylish kind people wear in magazines) but they fitted and the mirror lens hid perfectly shimazakis glowing irises(?) (Hell never know)

"How do they feel?"

"Strange"

"You could wear them only when you are out in public. They are cheap. Ill buy them and you can do whatever you want with them"

Shimazaki took them off and when it was time to pay he handed them to minegishi

Once outside shimazaki at first refused to teletransport the bags back to the apartment but complied once Minegishi told him he would force him to help carry the bags all the way if he didnt do it AND promised to buy take out to eat.

Minegishi thought the glasses had been left forgotten in the bags but the next morning while he was getting ready to work he noticed they were laying folded on top of a sleeping shimazaki

When Hatori and Shibata inevitably asked about Shimazakis new glasses(that he now used all the time) minegishi told them about what was now deemed as the "supermarket incident"

The next times they went shopping Minegishi stayed all the time with Shimazaki and kept teaching him about vegetables and any thing that came to his mind.

Once they finished (everytime quicker than the previos) it became Shimazakis job to drop the goods at the apartment in exchange of picking what they were going to eat that day

It wasnt exactly what Minegishi had planned but it was a progress (or that was what he thought until Hatori complained about tripping on shopping bags that suddenly appeared in the middle of the hall whenever Shimazaki dropped something there)

Shibata was annoyed because even though they all agreed Shimazaki was behaving nicer the others didnt still believe him about the whole puppy ordeal

so that, coupled with the nagging feeling he had left after washing shimazakis clothes and after hearing about the market incident made him come up with a plan

"A mall trip?? What for?" hatori asked perplexed

"He has just one shirt"

"So?"

"He has been wearing it since we were together, actually i dont remember him wearing anything else ever"

"Thats his problem!"

"HIS JACKET HAS BULLET HOLES " replied shibata getting impatient with how much it was taking Hatori to understand

"He probably likes it that way??" said Hatori still not getting it

"Actually ive been thinking the same. I noticed the bullet holes too" finally came Minegishis voice from the receiver. He was was working at the moment because if they wanted to do this he had to work a double shift to free one day. "I dont think he has anything else"

"See? Minegishis with me!" exclaimed thriumohantly Shibata which only made Hatori roll his eyes

"Fine! i get it! Ive seen the bullet holes too...but i dont get why does it have to be us?"

"Because we are his friends" easily replied Shibata causing Hatori to frown at this

"Are we really? When has he done something for us?" hatoris tone suddenly turning serious "You are literally asking me to spend one of my few days off shopping clothes with MY MONEY for a guy who wanted to kill me mere months ago?"

"We dont know that" said shibata

Hatori trew him a glance that clearly was supposed to mean 'you gotta be kidding' "Look, do we even know if he likes us back?"

At this both men kept silence until shibata dared to speak "he is wearing the glasses"

"God forbid me for forgetting those damn glasses! Guys, im just saying we are already doing so much for him for nothing! why do we need to do more?"

"Because thats what good people do" came Minegishis response and shibata nodded firmly making hatori huff. He was gonna regret this.

" fine! But do we even know if hes gonna like what we buy? If hes gonna even wear it? As you said we had never seen with other clothes"

"Thats why we are gonna take him with us!" said Shibata, glad that this was finnally getting somewhere

Hatori turned to look at the phone "didnt you said you believed shopping stressed him?"

"Mmm these last times had been better" said minegishi

"What if he actually doesnt care about the clothes or-"

"He does" replied Shibata and Minegishi in unison making Hatori stare confusedly

"How do you know?"

Shibata thought back to the hesitance he noticed on shimazaki when he handed him his clothes but didnt think the man in question would like it if he went and tell this to the others and was debating this when minegishi spoke again "Ive noticed someone has been using my softener and i doubt its the plants"

Hatori frowned and then sighed

"You both have settled your minds dont you?" hatori asked and then grumbled when an unison "yes" was heard

"Do you realize we are working with a lot of 'maybes' and 'probably'?"

"Maybe" said the voice from the receiver and Hatori could swear he could hear minegishis smirk

"C'mon man! We have done worse than this" said Shibata happily clapping Hatoris back

"Ugh FINE That bastard better be grateful" grumbled Hatori

This part forced me to think of shimazakis past and now i made myself sad (this isnt the first time he wears glasses)

So the market incident and the glasses scene was stuff i thought about since i started these and was really excited to write it. I hope i did them justice .

I didnt realize how much longer part II was compared to part I so i think part III ended in a nice middle ground.

Haha i again didnt reach the scene i planned to reach(the prank) and at this pace this thing will have 6 parts. Someone save me

Anyway hope you like it and for those of you who dont know I am writing a Teru-centric fanfic about his decision to visit his parents and the aftermath and ill appreciate it if you could check it out (link here) and tell me what you think or at least share it so more people can see it because tumblr sucks and wont let me do it.

See you next time

[yukiwrites]

Time for a Happy Hunt

Thank you for commissioning me, Anon! I’m sorry for the delay and I hope you like it! ;D

Summary: Keaton was still the leader of the wolfskin back at Mount Garou, even after Kamui’s coronation as Queen of Valla. That meant that he would often travel back to his home to whip them into shape. One night, however, he comes home to hear wonderful news...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

Part 1 - Part 2

As Queen of Valla, it wasn't viable for Kamui to leave the Silent Kingdom to live with her beloved Keaton all the way up at Mount Garou. She planned to go one day, of course, once all the Sealing Rituals were done.

However, for the time being, they had to make do by opening a portal at the foot of the Mount that led straight to the inner garden of Castle Gyges.

As leader of the wolfskin, Keaton was frequently summoned back home to take on any aspiring cubs intent on taking him down from leadership. The strongest would always be the leader of the pack, after all. Although no one had managed to land a single blow to him for the three years following the war, he always welcomed a challenge.

He would also lead raids in search of treasure as well as hunts for colossal animals. He was about to get ready for one that would take at least a week to complete, using the remaining time to snuggle and sniff his wife.

Ticklish, Kamui giggled as her husband sniffed her neck and back of her ear, hugging her from behind. "K-Keaton, I can't laugh anymore...!"

He nipped her earlobe, licking it afterward. "Your smell's been different lately, Kamui. Didja do something? Eat anythin' strange? Or use a different, yuck, perfume?" He licked her entire neck, biting her trapezius so it would leave a mark.

"Eh? Do I stink? N-no, get away...!" She clutched her heart, worried that he'd find her disgusting.

"No way!" He bit harder, sucking so as to leave a love bite. "It's not bad, it's just different is all. I like it. Your taste is still the same, too." His hands groped her body from under her sleeping gown, making the Queen flinch with sudden pleasure.

"You pervert..." she pouted, tilting her head to the side so he could keep on licking and biting her, pulling her hair out of the way.

"It's meal time!" His tail wagged as he threw his wife on the bed, getting ready for yet another night of wild love.

After the following morning, they would part ways for over a week, after all, so they needed to bask in each other's warmth for as much as they could.

As a nocturnal beast, Keaton left hours before sunrise, his instincts blaring him to return with a fine haul for his wife. He didn't understand the urge to come back quickly, but he wasn't about to object to his instinct of all things.

Hours later, Kamui woke up to a cold bed, feeling fulfilled and lonely at the same time. Rough as her beloved was, she would feel him with her whole body for a few days, but she already dreaded the moment she started longing for him.

Distracted, it took her twice as long than usual to complete her duties, her mind somehow foggy and her body heavy.

"Are you feeling unwell, milady?" Jakob asked as he poured the afternoon tea, placing one hand over her forehead to check her temperature. "It doesn't seem to be a fever..."

The Queen sighed, sipping the piping hot tea. "I'm fine, Jakob, just a bit tire-ugh..." She grimaced, putting the cup away. "What blend is this? It tastes," she groaned, "I-I can't drink this, Jakob. Take it away, p-please, I don't feel..." Kamui placed one hand over her mouth, her entire body rejecting even the beverage's smell.

"M-milady!" Jakob ran to his liege, placing one hand behind her back. "F-forgive me, my lady! I must've messed up-"

"It's okay, j-just take it away..."

"At once, Lady Kamui!" Jakob stuttered, swiftly cleaning the table. Once he placed the cart outside, he came back, apologetic. "Would like to lie down for a bit? You're pale!"

Huffing and nauseated, Kamui accepted the butler's extended hand. "I will. Thank you, Jakob, and forgive me for the trouble."

"It's no trouble at all, milady. Do find it in your heart to forgive this absurd blunder of mine." He guided her to the bed, worried for her health. "Should I bring my staff?"

Placing her head on the pillow, Kamui relaxed. "No need, Jakob. I'll just rest for a bit and go back to my duties. We had a sealing ritual scheduled for the day after tomorrow..."

"Perish the thought, milady! Think about your health first and foremost! I am certain that Lady Azura will not mind postponing the ritual should the need arise." He bowed. "I'll excuse myself now, however do call if you need anything."

The didn't wait for her reply and quickly left the room, ashamed for making his lady feel unwell. He tasted the tea himself a few minutes later, finding nothing wrong with it.

"I wonder fi it's simply not to Lady Kamui's liking any longer?" He wondered, pushing the cart back to the nearby pantry.

Discreet as he is, Jakob didn't mention Kamui's nausea so as not to rise unwanted attention to his lady. He would be the first one to step in should she feel worse, however.

The following day, Kamui felt oddly impatient regarding everything. Somehow, each little thing she did was a tad slower than she wanted it to. Why didn't she already finish writing that sentence? Why is that person with whom she was in a meeting with spoke so slowly? Why is the smell of tea so unpleasant lately? Why is the cake soggy? Why couldn't she just scream atop of her lungs to put everything working back at its usual place?

"Milady, you've been drumming your fingers for so long I fear that you'll scratch the table sooner or later." Jakob commented, learning his lesson and bringing coffee instead.

"I'm just- hahh... I'm sorry, Jakob. I've been irritable lately. I thought it was only for today, but now that I think back -- I've been feeling antsy for a few weeks already." She sighed, relishing on the coffee's bitter taste.

"I wish I could do more, milady. I fear that you are too burdened as Queen." He humbly bowed.

Feeling bad for making him worry, Kamui clutched her chest. "It's okay, Jakob. I'm sorry for dumping all this on you. I'll... be okay." She breathed heavily. "This coffee is making me feel better, already! Thank you so much for all the little things you do."

Moved to tears, jakob hid his face under his bangs. "You flatter me, milady. However I am overjoyed that today's drink is to your liking."

"Oh... Sorry again about yesterday." She placed the cup on its saucer. "I'm sure it was a blend I usually drink since it was you who brought it, but somehow I couldn't even be near it without feeling nauseous."

"Hm...?" Jakob narrowed his eyes, wondering about such strange symptom. He shook his head moments after, dismissing such silly thoughts.

"Alright, bring it on! I'll do better today, you'll see!" Kamui puffed her chest, feeling recharged. "Can you bring me a slice of that special cake you made the day before yesterday? Suddenly I feel like eating it."

"Of course, milady. However, only after dinner. You've had your fill of sweets for the afternoon."

Kamui grumbled. "Alright."

Hearing about the cake from the servants, Camilla used that as an excuse to visit her beloved little sister. "Aren't you lonely, darling? I hear Keaton is quite insensitive... leaving you by yourself for days at a time! The audacity!" The princess held Kamui's hand, slightly pouting her lips.

"W-well, I'd be lying if I said that I don't feel lonely at all, but... But I fell in love with his free spirit and wildness." The Queen poked at her cake with the fork, relishing on all the delicious spread melting right off of it. "B-besides, he makes it up with me when he... comes back..." increasingly embarrassed by what she was saying, Kamui lowered her head to hide her rosy cheeks.

"My, oh my! The fire of youth!" Camilla chuckled, putting a tuft of hair behind her ear. "Be sure to tell him how you feel, dear. I'm afraid you married a man that won't notice things unless they're expressly thrown into his face."

Kamui snorted, almost spiting the cake she munched. "Y-you're right on that." She gulped everything down with a large sip of coffee, feeling refreshed. "I'll be okay. Thank you so much for the visit, Big Sister."

"Anytime, my dear." Camilla pinched Kamui's cheek. "Should I sleep with you tonight? I'm sure your bed's cold without your little wolfskin to warm it for you."

"N-no, I'll be okay-" Kamui shook her head, but suddenly felt a carving for human affection and lowered her head. "Actually... maybe you should."

Camilla's fork fell out of her hand in surprise. "Indeed?! Ah, darling! How long has it been since you allowed me to sleep over!" She wrapped both arms around Kamui, squeezing the dragon Queen on her chest. "I'll warm you through the entire night, you hear?"

Mildly regretting the decision, Kamui laughed nervously as the air was robbed of her. "A-alright, Big Sister..."

Camilla wasn't lying when she said that: she hugged Kamui senseless through the entire night, carefully rubbing one hand up and down the Queen's back. It was a night Kamui wasn't used to, but one she didn't wish it hadn't happened.

However, once morning came, she felt nausea hit her so hard she had to quickly jump out of the bed (over Camilla, as well) towards the latrines. She threw everything up, coughing nervously. "W-was it the cake? But I felt fine eating it..." She commented with a hoarse voice once Camilla worriedly brought her a glass of water.

"Darling, how long have you felt this way? Tell your big sister everything."

Pensive, Kamui placed the glass away and tried to remember how often that's been happening. "Actually, this isn't the first time I throw up in the morning, but it always happens whenever Keaton isn't here, so I never really noticed them..."

Camilla nodded, holding Kamui's hand. "What else?"

"U-um... that's it? I don't think I felt particularly strange... Oh."

"Hmm?" Camilla's grin grew. If her suspicions were correct, she would finally be an aunt!

"I've been irritable lately, but again it's only when Keaton isn't here. I also can't drink tea anymore."

"Mhm, I noticed how you had Jakob serve coffee yesterday instead of your usual blend of tea." Camilla hummed. "My dear, I believe we should call a healer as soon as possible! I am absolutely sure you are pregnant!"

If she had still been holding the glass, it would've shattered on the floor. "P-pregnant? B-but..." she remembered all of the wild nights she had with her husband, clearly not throwing that possibility away. "I'm...? With Keaton's...?"

"Child, yes!" Camilla hugged her sister, rubbing Kamui's face on her chest. "What joy! Call the healers at once!" She laughed, so very much looking forward to smothering a little wolf baby with everything she had.

Shocked, it took Kamui a few moments to compose herself before a wide smile took ahold of her face. "A baby!"

Somehow, with the confirmation of her pregnancy, it was as though the other unpleasant symptoms has lessened: she didn't feel as irritably as before, the joy of expecting Keaton's baby making her hop instead of walking. She performed the Sealing Ritual as expected, feeling renewed and refreshed.

Soon it was time for Keaton to return, and Kamui eagerly waited by the portal at the garden. Fidgety, she turned her weight from one foot to the other until Keaton jumped out of the portal, huffing. "Keaton!"

"Kamui?! You waited for me?" He leaped in her arms, licking her face all the way to her lips, deeply kissing them.

Losing the strength on her legs, Kamui wrapped both arms around Keaton's neck, losing herself on his wild kiss. "K-Keaton, I have something-"

"Mhmmm... your smell's getting better and better everyday..." He hummed, sniffing her neck and pulling her up with both arms.

Then it hit her: maybe he'd been smelling their BABY instead! "Keaton? How long have you been smelling this different smell on me?" She pulled his hair so he would detach himself from her and look her in the eyes.

Wagging his tail, he pouted as he searched in his memory. "Hm... I dunno, about two months? Maybe more? Why'd you ask?"

"You buffoon!" Kamui laughed, nudging his shoulders. "You've been smelling my pregnancy this whole time, silly!"

"Preg-" With a frozen smile on his face, he tilted his head to the side, still not fully understanding.

"Maybe you've never been around pregnant women? I'm sure you'd be able to tell the difference once you've caught a smell."

"B-back up, Kamui. You're- mine- A PUP?!" He yelled, brusquely lifting her overhead, twirling around himself. "MINE?! A PUP!!" He laughed. "AROOOOOO!!"

"K-Keaton, people are sleeping, hahah!" She tried to cover his mouth, but he simply put her on the floor and transformed, running around her while he howled.

"WAIT HERE!" He huffed, jumping back into the portal.

"Keaton-" Barely was his name out of her mouth, he came back, holding some kind of an animal's colossal leg on his mouth. "Let's have a feast to make our pup's stronger!"

"W-what kind of animal is this?!" Kamui marveled. Only the leg was as large as he own dragon form.

"I dunno! It was flying around Mount Garou and we decided to hunt it! Now, let's eat!"

"I'm not eating it raw, you silly man!" Kamui laughed at his eagerness. "Why don't you take me back to your village so we can all eat together?"

"AND TELL EVERYONE ABOUT MY PUP! AROOOO!" He ran in circles, dragging the giant leg around Kamui. "Hop on! We're running full speed back to the mount!" He huffed, his giant eyes sparkling with glee.

Laughing, Kamui climbed on her husband's back. "I love you!" She giggled, holding tightly as he sprinted towards the portal.

"Arooooooooooo!!!” He howled, letting his companions know he was coming. “I love you too! Arooo!" He said, uncharacteristically honest, too happy to pretend he didn’t care. "Tonight we party! It's my pup's celebration!"

[taejinchronicles]

BV2EP3 | Taejin theory masterpost: U ok Tae?

So it was highly requested by you pretty cupcakes (tks for the asks and messages!!!) the continuation of my Bon Voyage 2 Taejin masterposts with analysis, pix and my two cents on the Taejin cause. Let me tell ya, this will be a huge masterpost, so grab yourself some snacks and lets do this!!!

Even upset, VV looks like the most gorgeous creation in the universe:

If you read my Ep2 masterpost, Taehyung was really annoyed about the Namj*n bromance day and decided to go full possessive mode with Jin. We have been left wondering what would happen since our boy was clearly sad and jealous of Jin’s day with RM and about the exchange of gifs between them. The sculpted turtle that RM gave to Jin was something symbolic to V cause he and Jin went on a beach date by themselves on day 1 and saw the turtle. Perhaps this is why the turtle gift was so upsetting to V, he knew that this moment was stolen from him because to the grand public the turtle thing would automatically become a Namj*n thing. I put myself in VV’s shoes, and knowing his history with being overshadowed by Namj*n I understand why Day 3 was mostly about him sulking, avoiding Jin, sulking, possessive about Jin, sulking, annoyed with Namj*n and so on...

1. Matching red hats + close watch on Namj*n: BTS’s first commitment was the hike to the waterfall. V was wearing a red cap to match the red hat he gave to Jin cause ya know how Taejin has a thing for couple’s outfits right. And also V was legit breathing on Namj*n’s neck during the hike.

2. The Namj*n pas de deux: Poor V was jamming violently to Spine Breaker while being exposed to Namj*n’s happy dorky pas de deux.

3. Namj*n pose & jealous V: Taehyung's torture continues as Jin and RM pose really close and cutely on the waterfall group pic. When the pic is taken the camera focus on V who looks straight at Namj*n with THAT FACE...a picture worths more than a thousand words.

4. ETS and V sulking: BTS decides what to eat and VV is sitting far away. V was tired and distant. And also kinda sad. On some moments it almost felt like he was about to doze off or cry. 

5. Taejin, together but apart: At the van Taejin was sitting next to each other as they often do, but not engaging any physical or verbal contact. As RM continued talking about the Namj*n friendship day, V blocked Jin and everyone else by wearing headphones. Meanwhile Jin was staring pensively at the landscape.

6. RM’s Bon Voyage reaction: it was Joonie’s turn to do the Bon Voyage thing so everyone’s reaction to RM’s cutesy hat flip was enjoyment but V gave that “not so amused” look, esp after Jin’s spontaneous compliment to RM.

7. Taehyung love sick over Jin: I had to gif this cause, come on, that’s just so freaking cute. The way V looks at Jin! His love sick expression, eyes dancing from Jin’s face to his “south area” than up to his face again. Taehyung’s bedroom eyes, sorry but that’s not bromance, that is not complimenting Jin’s looks, that is not even a boy crush. Grab that info, take into consideration.

8. V’s territory: As BTS walked towards their picnic spot, V obviously placed himself between Namj*n (yeah, that is a trend my people) making everything possible with his body movements to make sure there was plenty of space between Jin and RM. 

9. V’s territory part 2: At the picnic table of course V sat in between Jin and RM. With an effective angular body language, V expressed the desire to create a clear barrier separating his territory.

10. Happy meal together: Meal is ready and Eat Jin is celebrated with his expertise on the yummy food. V is happier being closer to Jin and, for the first time on the day, exchanges words with the object of his angst and affection.

11. Taejin’s domestic bliss: At the grocery store RM, Suga, Jimin, V and Jin got their food cash to spend. Soon as they enter Jin goes domestic mode and starts to talk just to Taehyung about the huge american apples. RM and Jimin go their own separate ways leaving Taejin alone.

12. Side by side: it’s no biggie but I find it extremely cute how Taejin always walk side by side or close to each other. When there is no fixed formation predefined by management, you can see that they are naturally drawn to each other like it’s their second nature. The couple matching outfit makes it even cutter!

13. Visual duo doing their visual thing: on that group pic, Jin was holding V’s shoulders so lovingly. And the way their heads lean towards each other, awww so cute how the body speaks. Ahhh, one romantic scenery can mend a jealous heart.

14. Jin is taking care of V: Remember last year on BV1 that iconic moment when V was so moody texting and sulking and Jin was carefully watching him from a distance only to back hug him for centuries? There is this season’s version of it. VV is again sulking, texting and turning his back to Jin, attentive loving gorgeous Jin is watching our angsty boy’s every move, his entire body facing V and even if he is speaking to J-Hope, his eyes don’t leave him. Wasn’t that the perfect moment and scenario for an iconic Taejin back hug?

15. Third wheeling Cupid Jimin: when BTS discuss their goals Jin says he wants to perfect his guitar technique. Our official third wheel angel Jimin said Jin sent him a video of his guitar practice. Although the rest of BTS was totally unaware of the video of Jin’s evolution on guitar, V promptly said (the video or Jin playing guitar) was so cool. Lovely Jinnie was flustered by Vmin’s double love.

16. I give Jinnie my stars: At the observatory V and Jin were together and V showed him the stars and planets. Only to Jin. He was so proud of his astronomy knowledge saying he studied it! My heart was touched by this moment cause we can see how important it is for him to please and surprise Jin, to make Jin proud of him, he was like a kid all excited to tell an adult he learned something at school. And Jin the sweetheart, the true gentleman showing genuine interest and excitement, making V’s planet naming sound as important as Galileu Galilei’s life work. Not to mention that Venus is the planet of LOVE…We see you Taehyung…we see you!

17. Taejin sleeps together funny drama feat. Hobi: at BTS’s lodge, the one filled with lizards, they were playing rock paper scissors (I swear the day BTS don’t play that game, catastrophe will fall upon us) for the beds and bedrooms. Jin was playing opposite J-Hope and won. V was the “MC” of the game and soon as he knew Jin would probably share a bedroom with Hobi or someone who was not him, he grew unease. Smiling but his body language touching the back of his neck, gave away his discomfort about the bedroom situation. When Hobi also wins and Jin celebrates him him, V’s instant reaction is to cover his mouth. In body language that means he cannot speak against awful news and his hands in begging position tries to reach for Jin, meaning he is begging Jin to come back to him. Notice that after Jin’s bedroom is decided the rest of the game with the other members runs smoothly and V doesn’t respond that way to the rest of BTS. The funny thing is that V ended up sleeping with RM! Well better sleep with RM than RM sleeping with Jinnie right Tae?!

That was it! What an episode that was!

V was obviously upset about something. Maybe it was just him being sleepy, tired or moody, but it feels very coincidental that the mood corroborates his behaviour towards Jin on the previous day. As I said on my last masterposts on Jealous V vs Namj*n, I don’t think this is about RM as a treat to his relationship, I don’t think he sees RM as a rival for Jin’s love. It is about his growing desire of Taejin being the stablished Jin love reality. He knows the ARMY ship Namj*n so add it to V’s constant need to express romantic affection for Jin versus Jin’s acceptance of the necessity for fan service ships then we have a recipe to Taehyung’s angst.

I think Taehyung wants to be as public as possible about Jin cause it is in his nature to be truthful, I don’t think he can perpetuate secrets. He’s not reckless and understands he’s an idol who cannot open up about everything, but there is this real sweet boy inside the idol facade that just desires to be proudly recognised by everyone he loves. His loyal friendship with Jimin, his admiration for RM and Suga and Hobi, his big brother protectiveness towards Kookie, his respect for his family, V wants all his emotional allegiances to be out there, so of course he wants his relationship with Jin to be seen and accepted. It’s still that same 4 years ago shy Taehyung who looked at Jin as he could not believe his luck to be living with the most handsome man he has ever seen. The same boy that everybody noticed from day one he had a crush on Jin. The same boy that has been crawling to Jin’s bed for years. The difference is that now he’s got hit by the intensity of conquered affection, he has won a place in Jin’s heart so it is upsetting for V to be contradictory to his heart just cause they are in public. I can imagine the frustration. It explains the mood changes, the introspection, the jealousy and possessiveness, his need to please Jin and praise/defend him to earn his love and respect and the passive aggressiveness when he feels that Jin denies him or promo another ship loudly in front of the cameras.

Because that adoration is so intense and he is so young, I think when it comes to Jin he even forgets BTS is their job and he’s got to separate what’s performance from what’s real. Someone as gentle and emotional as V is, really wants to wear his heart on the sleeve, he wants PDA, he needs to touch, hold, hug and confess to the four corners of the world that Jin makes him happy. So when he sees Jin being affectionate to RM, someone who is legit shipped with Jin by the fandom “stealing” his official role as Jin’s (visual BTS pair?, lover?, boyfriend?, partner?, platonic sleep together for years buddy? true ship?) number one interest, he snaps and shuts Jin out. It’s the same possessive-jealous pattern we saw on ISAC because of KenJin, Jin running around after V like a lost puppy while he ignored Jin like some sort of punishment. And we can notice that behaviour pattern only happens with Jin, he is not possessive with the other boys not even with his bestie Jimin.

Jin on the other hand loves to socialise with all the members (not only RM but also Kookie on this episode) and even talk to total strangers. He is comfortable in being social and he is aware of their roles as entertainers and how to separate business from personal life. Although he is not impulsive and explicit about it, he cares about V’s feelings more than anything even if that means the need to keep a safe distance to protect what they have. I feel like Jin tries constantly to shelter him, to create a safe haven when the innocent beautiful and delicate true Taehyung can be free and happy, even if the price is to have Taejin as a ship ignored by the fandom. It’s in Jin’s nature to protect and love all his boys but with V it’s like he is always walking on thin glass. There is deep affection but also Jin’s necessity for secrecy, not cause he is ashamed of V but cause he is protective of what they have.

Because the nature of their relationship in my perspective romantic, Jin doesn’t know how to behave in front of the cameras with him. Jin refrains himself to be engulfed by affection like on that iconic stage kiss or like when he shares too much information (we shower together, we sleep together and so on) so he prefers not to focus on V while on camera. Both Jin and V can’t quite behave bro-like around each other actually. Since the start there has always been awkwardness and tension between Taejin, it used to be polar opposites they were superglued platonic flirting or just pretending they didn’t exist. Although now things have changed and we don’t see that unrequited love tension anymore, I think both Jin and V go back to that pattern when things go a bit sour. They oscillate between “you are all I see" to "you don’t even exist" all the time, there is no in between “bro-like” Taejin. For a ship that legit doesn’t have promo at all (for instance there is never vlives with just Taejin like there is with jinmin, sope or jinkook) Taejin is the one pairing that despite of the lack of fan service push, do behave like two people who know each other intimately and really spend a lot of time together (notice that semi off-camera like on BV2 with their beach date, matching hats shopping, V picking Jin the shirts he wanted him to wear and off-camera like on their fancafe talks, secret dates, singing the same love songs of each other’s spotify playlists, sleeping together, matching outfits, walking around holding each other’s arms when they think nobody is watching, answering the same things about what they plan for their future...they act like well...like partners).

Jin being the business driven man he is, understands the responsibilities of being and entertainer, he gives his body and soul to BTS, he is professional about it and knows he is protecting V and the boys by keeping their thing (and all the boys personal relationships) private. With V’s emotional nature, RM’s introspection, Suga’s dedication to his craft, Jimin’s loyal heart and Jungkook’s innocence, Jin and J-Hope are the ones who really are conscious about the importance of protect their privacy, Jin being the entertainer one and J-Hope the practical one. This is why of all the members of BTS Jin is the one who really engages dynamic relationships with all the other boys constantly, regardless of the predefined ships and subunits management and the fandom has specified. He doesn’t exclude anybody and in a sense he is the heart of BTS, the loving glue that keeps them strong.

This is a study and analysis, I dunno the boys so situations can have a complete different meaning since no one knows what’s going on on their private lives. This is why rather focus on behaviour and body language, cause that is an unconscious way to express the truth and one’s emotions. So it doesn’t really matter the nature of Jin and V's intimate emotional bond, we can see that Jin doesn’t need his personal relationships to be publicly accepted therefore understands the need for privacy while Taehyung is keen to make his affection known therefore he is often jealous of sharing Jin with others either by insecurity or by fear of non-acceptance. This is a pattern that has been going on for quite sometime and I’m afraid it’s the pattern we will keep seeing in the near future. 

Oh boy that was one huge masterpost! This episode was a full angsty trip on jealousy, understanding the dynamics and differences between Jin and V and the dynamics between ships. Regarding the ships, I still have not done the masterposts on some subjects I often got messages about like comparing Taejin to Vmin or Namjin and Jinkook (send me msgs of what ship you want me talk about first) or the rest of BV2 (gonna do those...weekly I hope!!!), tks for the patience dear readers. You can also read the first episodes analysis here:

BV2EP1 | OH TAEJIN LOVE VOYAGE, OOPS, I MEAN BON VOYAGE 2 EP.1

BV2EP2 | TAE VS. NAMJ*N STRIKES AGAIN

Lots of love.

[sanerontheinside]

Cliche AU fic prompt: do you write Codywan??? Because I have a sudden need for some fluffy Codywan fic. I'd love a Celebrity AU or a Cops AU, but really anything, I'm not picky!!

jawejf;aoiejr I ran out of steam on this I’m sorry but anyone’s welcome to pick up? Or you can throw it back into sw’verse and make Obi-Wan Space Anderson Cooper, that would actually be fantastic. 

@aidava and I would be glad to see it 

especially “if you can incorporate the ‘the less anderson cooper is wearing, the more dire the reporting situation’ joke”, as aidava says :D

oh yeah! so basically since ‘sharing a cab au’ landed on that prompt list twice I figured I’d feel free and make another. so I smashed together cops au and celebrity au and got bodyguard au so uh there u go

Cody checked his watch as he popped the cap of the cheap coffee he’d picked up at the bagel shop near his apartment complex. It was quarter to six and raining, a cold, wet, and absolutely miserable start to the day.

Not that it was the start of the day for him—no, that had been at two in the bloody morning, waking up in a cold sweat and shaking with adrenaline, tangled in his sheet on the floor. It wasn’t the worst he’d been in the last couple months, but it did smack a bit of irony that now, when he finally had a job to focus on, the nightmares immediately came rushing back to ruin his first day.

All he had to do was drive some famous person around, possibly keep admirers off them from venue to vehicle to home. Not that he was currently parked and and waiting in an area that screamed ‘famous people’, but hells, what did he know. Rent-controlled apartments, Jewish community—apart from the synagogue he’d driven past, there was no mistaking the dark overcoats and hats. Cody hadn’t exactly been keeping up with the latest news and entertainment, but for the life of him he couldn’t imagine who it was he was meant to be chauffeuring. He knew where Maria Callas used to live—hello, odd bits of a past life’s study at Julliard—and he knew one of his professors’ assistants lived in this area. That didn’t give him any clues to go on.

Although, now he thought about it—Maria Callas hadn’t lived far from here, closer to West Side Highway. He tried to imagine providing security for a musician of her calibre, and couldn’t. It was too far out of the realm of his typical assignments.

He grimaced into his coffee, which got only less tolerable with every sip—he’d seen the new guy manning the coffee machine at the bagel place this morning, so he really should’ve known. At least the liquid had burned away half his tastebuds while it was still scalding.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cody caught a glimpse of something that must have been unusual. He looked up—yeah, the leather jacket and messenger bag were certainly a bit out of the ordinary, for what he’d seen so far. The man looked good, though, Cody thought—especially when he turned and started down the street in his direction. Right at that moment the windshield wipers sluiced off a generous bit of water and gave him a better view. It took two seconds for Cody to put a name to that face, and then connect it to the direction he’d taken. He choked and nearly spilled his cup of morning poison.

He knew exactly what his assignment was.

Obi-Wan Kenobi dropped into his backseat with a huff. “Good morning. I’m sorry, I thought I told Depa I didn’t need a car this morning.”

Cody swallowed. “Well, Ms. Billaba wanted me to let you know that she’d be covering expenses for as long as she thinks it’s necessary to keep you safe.”

Obi-Wan flashed him a wry grin. “Understood. I’ll direct all complaints to her.”

Cody felt his neutral working mask drop down, and put the lid back on his coffee. “We make every effort to provide satisfactory service to all our clients.”

“Oh, I have complete faith in your abilities,” Kenobi said with an absolutely disarming grin. “I’m just worried you’d be wasting your time with me, that’s all.”

Uh-huh. “Yes, sir.”

As far as celebrities went, Kenobi wasn’t exactly the first name that came to mind. In his own words, he’d been ‘uncomfortably thrust into the limelight’ about a year ago. He’d been a correspondent for a secondary paper—one that had recently gone bankrupt—enjoying his semi-anonymity. As Obi-Wan had said in interviews since, the loss of this anonymity was just about the worst thing that could have happened to his career in investigative journalism.

By all other accounts, though, it had only been a matter of time before Kenobi made a name for himself entirely without anyone’s assistance. He had a gift for finding a story, which was another way of saying he had a gift for getting into trouble.

The story that made him famous had barely even seen the papers. Kenobi certainly hadn’t penned it. Instead he’d turned around and testified in-camera against one Sheev Palpatine, then CEO of Empire Security—which is to say he went and stirred up trouble, and the fame was an unintended side-effect.

Palpatine, with what influence remained to him during the trial, had allegedly spent a hefty sum of money to ferret out a suspected whistleblower. His investigators ran up against several walls and a general or two before they finally grew an imagination and looked outside Empire’s employees, at civilians. From there it might not have been more than two short and easy steps to a bright young reporter by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Palpatine then tasked his best people with running an ugly smear campaign, with the sort of virulence typically reserved for a Senator who wouldn’t vote his way. But, as Kenobi was neither a politician nor running for office, he shook off much of the resulting noise like water. He was charming, earnest, always effusive about his love for his work. (Cody thought it probably hadn’t hurt that the man didn’t seem to have the faintest idea when he was flirting, and would likely have had chemistry with a wooden block, if it came to that, but never mind.)

Obi-Wan also left the country not long after the trial was over, vanishing into Africa to cover an ongoing conflict—aftershocks of a civil war long over. That report had gotten him hired literally within days of his return, as it turned out.

By now, Cody thought, there couldn’t be a cynic left alive who hadn’t already been aware, at least on some instinctual level, that Palpatine was bent. Palpatine’s company wasn’t particularly improved for the fact that it shared a name with a flooring company. The average citizen had never even heard of it, for the most part, and yet Empire handled a startlingly large percentage of Defense contracts. Cody’s experiences with Empire’s mercenaries had been unpleasant at the best of times.

He was beginning to see why Depa worried. Especially given that Kenobi had recently been offered a book deal for exactly the story that had landed him in the public eye, and Palpatine in prison. Particularly when there were rumours that Palpatine might get an early release.

He did stay close, though, when those nebulous rumours coalesced into verifiable news of an impending hearing. Cody watched Obi-Wan, in particular, when that bit of news crossed his desk. His smile thinned, his expression became pensive more often than not. There were more tense phone calls that week than usual, more late hours at the cramped, dark office, more takeout dinners. Cody half expected him to start sleeping at the office, though he didn’t want to know what the short couch there could do to a person’s back.

By then, Cody knew Obi-Wan’s routine so well he could almost sense the moment Obi-Wan needed his tea refilled. He’d taken it upon himself to do so anyway, having quickly realised that without someone putting a plate or a cup of tea in Obi-Wan’s general vicinity, the man would plainly forget to eat. Cody hadn’t figured out getting him to sleep at regular hours yet, but in his defence he’d never been particularly good at that himself. At least trying to keep up with Kenobi actually exhausted him to the point that he slept without nightmares—for the most part.

Cody was just passing Obi-Wan another steaming cup when he shoved the laptop aside with a heavy sigh and rubbed fiercely at his eyes. He eyed the mug blankly for a moment, then smiled.

“Oh, bless you, Cody,” Obi-Wan sighed, hunching forward and all but wrapping himself around the cup. “Your timing is impeccable.”

Cody grinned, a warm feeling creeping through him as he sat down beside him on the ragged couch. “Pressing deadline?” he asked, nodding at the laptop.

“Of a sort.” Obi-Wan sighed heavily. “You know, when I testified against Palpatine I thought that should be enough to bury him, for good.”

Cody shrugged. “He’s rich, he’s powerful, he owns three senators and their penthouses. What were you expecting?”

Obi-Wan shot him a politely abashed glare. “Pardon me for daring to be occasionally optimistic,” he said wryly—apparently completely unoffended. “In any case, I might be able to push the book out for an early release. Though, I’m beginning to suspect that was a bit ambitious of me.”

“I did wonder about that,” Cody admitted. “His trial didn’t get any publicity. Last year, no one seemed to know who he is or what he was arrested for.”

“They wouldn’t have, if he hadn’t drawn attention to me in the first place.” Obi-Wan scowled at his tea as he viciously toed off his shoes and put his feet up on the almost comically small coffee table. “It’s interesting, actually—the paper I worked for went bankrupt, and most of the places I submitted my stories to in the last year wouldn’t accept them, no matter how eager they when I pitched them. It was just starting to get a little easier in the last month or two.”

Cody barely stopped himself from turning to glare at the man. “Please tell me this isn’t why you thought I’d be ‘wasting my time’ watching your back.”

Obi-Wan seemed surprised. “Well, no, I mean—I’d just gotten a job here, and in a few months I’ll be temporarily replacing Jane as the anchor for the news. It’s not so much that I thought—oh, yes, all right. I thought it would finally stop. I got a job, I got an offer to publish the damn book. Logically, yes, I know, people like that never stop.” He huffed and buried his face in his hands, the mug resting mostly empty on the arm of the couch beside him. “Fuck.”

Cody sighed. “Daring to be occasionally optimistic, right.” That got him a faint snort.

“Honestly I just thought there had to be more interesting targets,” Obi-Wan mumbled. “I was abroad for a year, anyway.”

Cody couldn’t help himself and laughed softly, reaching out to grasp Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, I’m here to be as pessimistic as necessary to keep you out of trouble.”

Obi-Wan huffed, collapsing sideways to rest his shoulder against Cody’s. “I trust you.”

They sat that way for another few moments, until Cody drained his own mug. It was only when he tried to put the cup down that he realised Obi-Wan had fallen asleep, and smiled fondly at the disgruntled sleepy mumbling. Not wanting to wake him just yet, Cody set his timer for twenty minutes and settled back, sighing. In twenty minutes, he would wake Obi-Wan up, take him home, and that would be the end of the night, yes…

Six hours later he woke up stiff-backed and with a faint headache, with faint snoring in his ear. “Shit.”

[sagara-megumi]

SasuSaku Month - Day 21: Not Everything is Black and White || [Fanfic] Forgotten Tales from an Ancient Time - Chapter 2

Title: Forgotten Tales from an Ancient Time - Chapter 2

Rating: T/PG-13

Notes: Well, this one took me more time than I expected, sorry for the wait. Very few things this time ^^

While searching for some images, I came across an official art of Sasuke as a Tengu and a beautiful and very detailed fanart of that same picture. So I decided to use those as the main reference. Here’s the link to the manga cover: https://es.pinterest.com/pin/386324474265450027/

There’s another note after the chapter to avoid some sort of “spoiler?“.

***It’s already very late here and I have to get up early, so tomorrow I’ll give the chapter a final revision. Please, be lenient if you see eye-sore mistakes ^^U

Glossary:

-udon: a type of thick wheat flour noodle

-youkai: a class of supernatural monsters, spirits and demons in Japanese folklore

**‘You’: at some point of the story, Sakura says to Sasuke that he’s not going to address him as ‘You′. There are a few words to say this pronoun in Japanese, more or less rude. In this one, Sakura is obviously referring to the polite one, but I wanted to clarify this so it doesn’t sound weird.

As always, if there’s something wrong (spaces, brackets, words in another language…), please, tell me.

Words: 6838

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FORGOTTEN TALES OF AN ANCIENT TIME

Chapter 2

The sunset was tinting everything in golden colours; even her green eyes, mixed with those tones became a strange shade of light amber that seemed to shine like precious stones. Sakura watched it through the open window, pensively, sitting on the floor of her small flat. As soon as she had arrived home, she had washed her as best as she could, since she could not wet any of her bandages and changed into a mid-thigh red T-shirt with the print of a white circle imitating the stroke of a brush, even with thick drops of paint running down the red fabric. It had been then when all the tension from the day had finally taken its toll on her. Absentmindedly, she touched the bandage that she had on her forehead, bordering her hairline. Her wounds had not been really serious, though quite alarming because of so much bleeding. Apart from that and the cut in her leg, which was not deep, she was now feeling some pain in her ribs, probably from the hitting of her body against the steps, that the doctors in the emergency room had assured her that were not broken, and also she had some bruises on her chest and shoulders.

Then, she turned her head to the raptor that lay on a cushion next to her. The vet from a clinic nearby the hospital, where she had left it before going to be treated, had told her that even though the injury had not been fatal, if she had left it on the mountain, it would have ended up dying from hunger and thirst, since its feathers were damaged and it would take a long time for it to be able to fly again. She extended her hand and touched it with her fingertips, brushing over its chest, feeling its breath and the fast beat of its heart.

A black kite, he had said the bird was. She had looked it up on her laptop and the photos of it flying majestically on the skies had bewitched her, making her wish of seeing it healthy and free soon stronger.

The vet had also warned her that that type of bird was very dangerous and it was not wise to keep it at home. But somehow, she felt responsible of what had happened, though she still could not explain the presence of the bird on her lap. Or what had happened in the mountain. She was sure she had not tripped over anything. Moreover, she still could feel the sudden push she had felt on her back, so strong that it had almost taken the breath out of her lungs. Maybe it was true that there were still some Tengu on the mountain and she had managed to anger them, though she could not think of anything she had done that could be considered disrespectful. Or maybe, they were playing a prank on her. A very dangerous one, considering that if the stone against which he had hit her head had been just centimetres from its place, she would have been up there, being food for wild animals.

Despite her tiredness and that she did not feel like eating after all that had happened, her stomach rumbled loudly and she realised that she had not had anything since breakfast. Sighing defeated, not really wanting to move, and with a last caress to the bird’s neck, Sakura stood up, closing the window, and went to the kitchen, feeling as every muscle in her body protested against the action. Once there, she went to her fridge and opened it, looking at the food reluctantly. She was not in the mood for cooking or to have an elaborated meal either. Then, as she closed the door, she remembered the riceballs the old lady from the mountain had prepared for her and she went to her backpack, that she had left in the entrance. She took them out, feeling sad at seeing that one of the corners of the little parcel had been crushed. It would have been strange if, after the fall, they were still intact. Carefully, she unwrapped them. There were three riceballs, one of them still kept its shape, the one in the middle was a bit crumbled, but the third was almost squashed. She took them and put then on a plate, putting the crumpled one together and for the third, she took a fork of one of the drawers to eat it as best as she could. She took a glass and filled it with water, and after thinking about it for a moment, she took a bowl from one of the cupboards and filled it too.

When she returned to the living room, she stopped on her tracks. The kite was awake and standing up on the cushion, watching her with fiery eyes of the colour of blood. Swallowing a bit nervous, she took a step forward and it made a shrill sound as it opened its wings, though the one which was injured laid lifeless to his side, brushing the floor with its longest feathers. It was as if he warned her not to get closer.

She went still again for a few seconds and then, remembering some words from her mother regarding the living creatures of the nature, she knelt very slowly, lowering her eyes slightly so she was not staring at it. She left the things she carried in he hands on the floor beside her, and then, she nodded, folding her hands on her lap.

“My name is Sakura” for a moment, she felt a bit stupid talking to a bird, but she continued. “I was in the mountain when the branch fell by the small Tengu shrine. You were injured, so I brought you to the vet and he said that your feathers are damaged and you can’t fly yet” she looked around, not wanting to frighten the kite by using her hands to gesture. “This is my house. It’s not very big but I hope you feel comfortable here until you can get back to the mountain.”

The bird of prey had folded its wings as she talked, as if it was listening to her, and then, after looking at her for some more moments, sat down on the cushion. Sakura was bewildered for a moment. Then, encouraged by the progress, she continued.

“The vet said that you need to drink water to rehydrate” she pointed briefly to the bowl she had been carrying. “So, please, drink from this” she took it and, leaning on one hand, she stretched her arm as far as she could, pushing the bowl.

She returned to her original position and nodded lightly.

“I’m going to have dinner now.”

She stood up slowly again, still not truly believing that she had been able to convey her thoughts to the raptor, and that it seemed to understand her.

Then, she pulled the low table in the middle of the room as far as she could in the room to keep as much distance as possible from the kite. Then, she went back to the kitchen and brought a tray with her food. She turned on the television, something that startled the animal a bit, and lowered the volume. She gave thanks for the food and then, started to eat, watching the news. Outside, it was already dark.

Soon after she finished her riceballs, Sakura yawned and decided to go to bed. She stood up, looking briefly at the bird of prey, which had not taken its eyes off her, and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

As she started to scrub the plate, she heard a soft sound and very slowly, she bent backwards to see inside the living room. The raptor had stood up and was approaching the bowl, carefully. Then, after contemplating the water for a moment, it dipped its beak in it. Sakura could not help a small smile, her cheeks flushed from her excitement. When she finished, she made sure to make a little noise, and when she returned to the living room, the bird was already on the cushion again.

“Today, I’m going to sleep really soon, little one” she said smiling before making her way to the closet, which was in the corridor, just outside of the living room.

She took her futon out and extended it near the door, taking the table and putting it against the wall. Then, she went away again, and when she returned, she was wearing her nightgown. Even if it was only a kite, she did not feel comfortable with the idea of changing clothes or sleeping without them, so she resigned herself to a hot sleepless night.

The raptor watched her as she switched off the light of the room and lay on the mattress, the only sound in the room being the soft humming of the electric fan. She had been careful to position it so the air did not hit him directly.

“Good night” she whispered softly, and then, he heard the soft rustle of the sheet as she turned on her right side.

The kite watched her back, illuminated by the dim light which entered through the window from the street, listening as her breath gradually became steadier and deeper, until he was sure that she did not pose a threat for him, and then, it allowed itself to close its eyes.

.

The kite did not know how much time had passed, but it opened its eyes quickly, all its senses alert. A baby was crying on the other side of the wall and something about the whimpering made him uneasy, though it did not know what it was. Then, it looked at the bed, but the woman was there, peacefully asleep. Everything seemed calm, but the raptor trusted its instinct more than anything, and it told it that something was not right. Then, there was a quick movement to its left and it looked on time to see that a shape seemed to come off the wall. It slithered along the shadows of the furniture projected on the floor from the lights in the street, and though the raptor looked at It intrigued for a moment, thinking that maybe was one of those insects humans despised so much, the evil energy that suddenly filled the room, made it spring to its feet. Immediately understanding that it was no match for that speed, it shape-shifted into his human Tengu form as He took the first step, taking the sword from the sash around His waist and sank it on the wooden floor on one of the strange elongations, less than a metre away from the bed. The cut part wriggled and twisted, as if He had cut the head of a snake, and when he tried to grab the tentacle, it slipped between his fingers, leaving a burning trail along its way. The Tengu grunted, shaking his hand, the burning blistering his skin for a few seconds before it started to heal itself. When he looked around, it had completely disappeared. .

The Shadow cursed Its back luck as it crawled down the wall of the building and hid Itself between the bushes of the less illuminated corner of the garden behind it. When had that woman managed to get herself a supernatural guardian? And a Tengu no less.

Every fiber of Its now more tangible form shivered remembering the strength It had perceived in the blow, in his hand as he tried to grab It. He had almost done it. now, the Shadow needed to change Its plans and trace a new strategy to fulfill Its mission. A small smile made its way slowly in the darkness of Its being, realising that he had brought an unexpected thing from Its incursion, one that could help It to achieve what It desired. It would be more difficult and challenging, but not impossible.

.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly in the dim light, awoken by a strange feeling deep inside her. As her eyes wandered from the ceiling to the window, they came across a man crouched by her futon, watching her with red eyes, dressed in ancient dark robes. All her body tensed and she opened her mouth to scream, but before she could do it, the man covered it with his hand with an amazing speed, using such a strength that she felt pain on the back of her head.

“Be quiet.”

He did not move His lips to speak, but the words sounded clearly in her mind, and Sakura stiffened. It was the same voice she had heard in the forest, warning her about the branch. She fought, flailing her legs, trying to kick Him and her fingers closed around His wrist digging them into His flesh. She knew it was futile. Despite His slender figure, His force was extraordinaire, but she refused to let Him do whatever He wanted without resistance. She looked to the side, and to her surprise, the kite was nowhere to be found. Had he harmed the raptor before attacking her? Angry tears filled her eyes and she looked at him, her pupils flashing with hate. Just then, she realised that the man had two dark wings on his back and that one of them had some of its feathers crooked. She looked at the cushion again, ant then at Him, and He nodded. Then, He loosened His grip and she took His hand from her mouth with a strong pull. She scrambled to her feet backing until her back was against the bookcases that covered the wall, as the man stood up as well. He was taller than her, a dark figure only partially illuminated by the street lamps. His skin was pale in contrast with his hair and clothes; but the eeriest feature about him were definitely His eyes, red as blood with strange black symbols in the shape of a star and what looked like three slits coming out of His pupils. If in her heart she did not have the suspicion of who He was, she could have swore that He was the Death Himself. But under his robe, she could see the glimpse of a bandage across his chest, and trembling, she realised that what he had implied was true.

“Y-You are the-?”

“I’m a Tengu” he stated, moving his lips this time.

She stared at him in confusion and incredulity.

“A… Tengu…?”

He nodded and crossed his arms on his chest.

“Ah, don’t do-” she said on impulse, taking a step forward and extending her hand, but just as fast, she let it drop.

“You mean this?” he said pointing to his bandage. “It’s not necessary, I’m already fine.”

She watched Him as He pulled at the white fabric through his underclothes, a garment made of net that she had seen depicted in ancient stories of samurai and ninja.

“You should leave it like that for some more time” she said in a soft voice. “The vet said-”

“And what can a human know about us?” his words were edged with disdain, and that angered her.

“Well, obviously nothing, but he was taking care of a badly-injured bird, and put all his energy in saving it. The least you can do is show some respect for his feelings.”

He looked at her with sharp eyes, and she felt fear inside, knowing very well of what a Tengu was capable of, but His only response was to drop His hands to His sides and turn to the window, looking outside.

Sakura studied Him as the light fell on His beautiful features. Tengu were never depicted like that in books and legends. They always talked about red-skinned men or humans with bird traits; or in the ancient tales, they were monsters with bird feet or sharp teeth. Now that she could see it clearer, His hair was similar to soft feathers, framing His face and standing on end at the back, darker than the ones in His wings. He looked over his shoulder at her, and she blushed at being caught staring.

“Go back to sleep.”

Sakura could not say a word, and she did not move either. Her mind was still in a turmoil, processing all that had happened quickly, starting to understand things that before were obscure. But not only that. As a woman, she did not feel at ease having a strong stranger man in her room, even though, technically, he was not one. However, she could not tell him that.

“Do I bother you?” a small smirk drew across His lips and her face became hot, realising that He had guessed her thoughts perfectly. “Would you be more comfortable with this appearance?”

Suddenly, He was not there anymore. Instead, it was the kite who looked at her from the same place by the window. For a moment, it looked like It had nodded, and then, It took Its place on the cushion, sitting down cosily.

Sakura lowered her head, and then, not really feeling like standing up there what was left of the night, she made her way to the mattress and lay down, looking at the ceiling, trying to focus her attention in the shadows that moved each time a car passed or the air from the electric fan moved the curtain, but not being able to help a side glance to the window, aware of the eyes of the raptor on her. She did not know how much time had happened but, without realising, her eyes closed and she was engulfed in a dreamless darkness.

.

Sakura woke up with a soft intake of breath, not really knowing if what had happened the night before had been real or a product of her imagination. However, as her pupils focused and she turned her head to the open window, her eyes fell on the sitting figure of the Tengu a few metres from her. He had His head turned to the side, staring outside.

So, everything was true.

He seemed to perceive that she was not asleep anymore, because He turned His head and stared at her, His dark red eyes a bit different from the night before, less menacing, but strangely unreadable.

“This place has changed too much” He tilted His head again. “The clothes, the houses, the way society works… From here I can’t barely take in the whole city. So many buildings, so many people… so many useless worries…” he sighed. “There’s no place for us here anymore…”

“I think you’re mistaken” Sakura had sat on the futon and was threading her fingers through her short hair pulling it back. “Kyoto is still a city full of spirituality. Even though you can feel that things are not the same since you were here, I assure you that there is something special here that it’s impossible to find in most cities in Japan” she smiled a bit and got up, putting her hands in her waist and stretching her back. “If you could stay for a bit, I could show you.”

He smiled lightly, giving a last glance to the city.

“Maybe I’ll hold you to that” she looked at Him with surprised eyes, all traces of sleepiness gone from her face. “I’ll be staying here for a while.”

“Eh?” his mischievous side found her confused expression extremely pleasant. “W-What do you mean?”

The Tengu stood up and walked to her.

“You saved my life, so I’m on your debt. And I don’t like that, much less in the case of a human.”

“But, you saved mine first!” she protested furrowing her brows delicately, a very small pout appearing on her lips.

“You prayed at my Clan’s shrine” His tone became softer and Sakura was left without words to reply with. “Nobody had done it for years.”

“But… that was nothing…”

“For you, maybe, for us, it means that we’re still alive in someone’s mind and heart” a small smile drew across His mouth. “So, I hope you don’t mind having me around until I can satisfy it.”

For the moment, the Tengu decided, he was not going to tell her about the ‘thing’ that seemed to follow her around. He wanted to know first if she knew it and what type of supernatural being was. One thing was for sure, it was not a good one.

After a few seconds musing over His words, Sakura smiled, going to the window and leaning on the frame.

“But, there aren’t any trees nearby…” she said looking at the houses in front of hers. “Oh, but there’s a park near the train station” she pointed at a place she could see on her right, behind some buildings.

However, the Tengu was not paying attention to her. He was looking around the flat with evident distaste, but also with something akin to resignation in His pupils.

“I’ll live here. Though it’s quite small, I think I’ll manage.”

“What?”

“Why not?” a thin line became visible between His brows. “You decided to keep me until I recovered from my wounds, didn’t you?” the Tengu smirked. “Then, take responsibility” He nodded lightly and Sakura was sure He was mocking her. “I’ll be in your care from now on.”

.

When Sakura had looked at the alarm clock some time after the Tengu had made her flat His home and she had resigned to her fate, she had been surprised to see that it was almost midday, so she had decided to prepare an early lunch. She was really hungry, so she had made a huge dish of cold udon with vegetables, and fried shrimps, adding some pieces of grilled meat to His plate. She went to a lot of effort, trying to make everything perfect, from the food to the presentation, since she did not remember when it had been the last time she had cooked for someone.

She came back to the living room carrying a tray and put both servings carefully on the low table in the middle of the room. Then, she bowed deeply in front of the Tengu, who was still sitting by the window.

“I’ve made lunch. I’ve tried to make as nutritious as possible so you recover your strength soon” she lifted her head and looked at him with hopeful green eyes. “If you pleas-”

“I don’t eat.”

Sakura closed her mouth and stayed in that posture for a second, a deep crimson colour spreading across her cheeks. Then, slowly, she straightened.

“Ah,” an embarrassed short laugh left her lips and she averted her sight. “I… suppose so…” she fidgeted a bit. “Well, then, if you don’t mind, I’m going to…” she gestured to the table and then, she turned and sat down.

The Tengu frowned, following her with his eyes, not really understanding why she had reacted like that. It was not like she did not know, so versed as she seemed to be in legends, deities and youkai. And probably, she had been eating alone more than a few times. However, seeing her there, on her own and in silence, seemingly so far, made him strangely uneasy, and with a tired sigh, he lifted from the floor and walked to her. On his way, he picked up the bowl filled with water that she had given to his kite form the night before. She watched him, the tip of her chopsticks resting lightly on her lower lip, as he sat down at the table.

“I’d want to use this while I’m here, can I?”

She looked at the bowl. It was an old one made of ceramic, with a small chip on the brim, hand-painted with a motive of little birds and mountains. She had found it in a small village market while on a short trip with her mother, and though it was something most people would have already thrown away, it brought her memories happy memories of her childhood and could not bring herself to do it.

“Of course” she said with a small smile.

With a small gesture thanking for the food, the Tengu picked up one of the small pieces of meat and before He could bring it to His mouth, she averted her eyes and concentrated on her own food.

The alarm clock on one of the bookcases ticking away the seconds was the only sound in the living room for a while, apart from the occasional clink of the plates on the table.

“Why are you so quiet now? You were really enthusiastic before.”

She fidgeted a bit uncomfortable and, not knowing why, feeling on the defensive.

“Sorry, but… I’m not used to having lunch with supernatural beings. I don’t really know how I should behave…”

“Would it be better if I resembled a human?”

“Eh?” the question had left her dumbfounded and she looked at him with big round eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the wings disappeared and his pupils became completely black as if they were two bottomless pools of ink. He looked like a normal man, except for the blue robes he still wore, and Sakura had to blink several times to realise that it was not an illusion of her mind or a trick that he had pulled on her.

“Come on” he beckoned her to pick up her bowl again with his chopsticks, an amused glint shining in his eyes at her reaction. “Keep on eating.”

She did as she was told, but after just one bite and several glances in his direction, she set her her food down.

“Your Tengu form does not bother me.” she started and he shifted his attention to her, suddenly interested. “It’s what you said before…” he paused as he left his bowl of water on the table, having drunk a few sips. “You said you didn’t eat before…”

He lifted a brow.

“That’s what irking you?” he picked up half cherry tomato. “I’m not like humans that need to feed lots of times every day. I only do it when I get worn out, or when I receive offerings from the villagers down the mountain. It would be disrespectful if I threw them or let them spoil” he ate the bite and then continue. “You made this for me, so…” he nodded faintly. “Sorry…”

A sweet smile drew across her lips and the tense atmosphere that still lingered vanished completely. They continued eating for a few more moments before she spoke again.

“Um, I have another question.”

“You’re very annoying, you know?” he retorted back biting on a prawn.

“But it’s important” she shifted in her cushion for a moment. “How… should I address you?” he lifted a brown, looking at her with a bit of curiosity. “I mean, I can’t call you 'You’ if I have to tell you something.”

He finished swallowing some of his food before answering.

“As you please, but definitely, not 'little one'” he said frowning, pressing his lips in a thin line.

She tried to suppress a smile by hiding it behind the bowl of udon as she sipped some cold broth, thinking that it had bothered him a great deal to be called that when he was in his bird shape. As she set it down, she cleared her throat.

“But, I can’t do that” when he turned his head to her, seeing his really irritated expression, she tried to explain herself quickly. “My mother taught me that if you give a name to a supernatural being, you become its master. Even though the bond can be broken later through a ritual, I don’t want to…”

“He,” he regarded her with an amused smirk, his black eyes shining with a small spark of interest. “So you have knowledge of those details…”

“My adoptive mother is the Priestess of a Shinto Shrine” she said, smiling proudly, looking behind her at a photo that showed a blond woman with ceremonial robes and a little girl, clearly the woman he had in front of him, dressed in a kimono. “She made sure that I learnt every intricacy of the rites and rituals,  beliefs and legends, probably with the hope of me inheriting the post one day.”

“And? Are you planning to?”

“Um” she seemed to think about it for a moment before answering. “I don’t know yet. I love my work and when I decided to pursue a career, she took an apprentice…” after a moment, she looked at him with a slight frown. “But let’s not stray from the topic” he shrugged and looked at the last half of tomato before picking it up, and she sighed a bit exasperated. “Do you have a name?”

“Hm?”

“A name” she said a bit louder and slower, as if she was talking to a half-deaf old lady. “I suppose that in your Clan, you didn’t call each other 'Tengu-san’.”

He chewed slowly, looking around, clearly struggling with the question and what answer he could give, and after a few seconds, Sakura understood that maybe she was intruding in an extremely private matter for him. And also, she realised that she had been talking to him as to any of her friends. And he was not. Biting her lower lip softly, she lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, I-”

“My father named me Sasuke.”

She lifted her head and saw that his cheeks had acquired a light shade of pink and his eyes seemed distant, like in a faraway land. Or time. A soft smile made her way into her lips.

“Then… do you mind me calling you 'Sasuke-kun’?”

He made a displeased face.

“That sounds extremely disrespectful.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to call you ’Sasuke-sama’, as if I were a teenager utterly smitten with an actor, or with her senpai at school” she took some udon from her bowl. “And period.” .

The baby started crying again sometime in the late afternoon. After lunch, some more complaints to her about the way she wanted to address him and taking a short nap, Sasuke had felt curious about her books and had spent a good amount of time taking a look at the titles and picking up the ones which caught his interest. He had finally decided on one and had settled himself in his usual spot by the window, reading.

“Is it always like that?” he asked, frowning, as she knelt in front of him and served him some green tea in the bowl beside him.

“No…” she stood up and went to the table, where she had her laptop which she had been using to check her email and the library website to see some photographs of the exhibition. “It’s strange, because she’s always been a very quiet and friendly girl” she sat down and put her chin on her hand, propping her elbow on the table. “Maybe she’s ill…”

She stood up again and made her way to the corridor.

“I’m going to see my neighbours…”

Sasuke frowned, pursing his lips a bit, musing over what she had told him. Probably, it was not important, but seeing the things that had happened lately, it was better to check if it truly was just a sick little human brat. He stood up from his position and, as he followed her, he turned into a kite. It was better to go unnoticed.

.

“I’m really sorry for the bother, Haruno-san…”

When Sakura was opening the door, she had found her neighbour already in the hallway, unfolding a baby carriage, and he had apologised even before she could greet him.

“No, it doesn’t matter” she said with a smile, moving her hands in front of her to downplay the situation. “I just wanted to know if little Youko-chan is ill…”

“We… don’t know…” the man brought a hand to his head and scratched it nervously. “We brought her to hospital yesterday and they run several tests on her, but the doctors said they did not find anything strange… We’re going back today-”

In that moment, his wife came out carrying a whimpering baby in her arms.

“Oh, Sakura-san…” she nodded with a troubled smile. “I’m so sor-”

“No, please” Sakura put her hands up to stop her. “Don’t apologise. If Youko-chan doesn’t feel wells, she has to say it in her own language, right, Youko-chan?” she said bending forward and touching her red cheek softly. “Please, let me know what the doctors said when you come back, and if I can do anything.”

They nodded and bowed their thanks profusely and Sakura watched them as they strode away with quick steps. With a sigh, she came back into her flat and took her sandals off. Sasuke was there, with his arms crossed and a pensive expression in his face.

“Is something the matter?”

He turned without a word and she followed him.

“I don’t think so…” he murmured softly. “I hope not…”

.

After an early dinner, Sakura and Sasuke agreed on going to bed soon and, after watching some television, something that fascinated him, and answering his questions about said invention, they started to get ready.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable there?” she said extending the futon on the floor, watching as he sat down again by the open window.

“Hm, I’m fine” he leant his back against the wall and bent one of his knees up, putting an arm on top of it. “I don’t sleep much anyway.”

“However, you still have to recover from your injuries.”

“I told you I’m alright now. My wounds heal much faster than those of  you humans” he pulled a bit on the bandage under his robes. “I’ll take them off tomorrow. It’s starting to get itchy.”

She made a non-committal sound and then, turned off the light.

.

A strangled cry took him out of his slumber a few hours later. Sakura was lying on the mattress, tense as the string of a bow, her head tilted back in a pained expression.

“What.”

“My stomac-”

A high pitched pained moan cut out her words and immediately, Sasuke perceived the smell of blood in the room. Her blood. Immediately, he went to her side, his pupils changing their colour to a crimson hue and a six point star appearing in them. He scanned the room, but there was nothing that rang an alarm in His mind.

A stain of blood appeared on her nightgown, growing bigger by seconds, and without any qualm, he lifted it, leaving her midsection exposed. Sakura did not have time to protest, she was in great pain, and also confusion, seeing Sasuke’s face of astonishment.

There were deep scratches on her stomach and thick drops of blood ran down her flesh, pooling around her belly button, some of them falling on the mattress. Sakura whimpered again as a point of blood appeared on her skin, making an horizontal line and then starting again, crossed it going down, and he understood that they were no scratches. Someone, or something, was writing something on her skin. He had never seen that kind of magic, though He had heard His ancestors talking about old rituals to mark preys or enemies. And He knew that it would not stop until the message was finished. Sasuke furrowed His brow as a new stroke started and she clenched her teeth, trying to muffle somehow the scream that was about to come out of her throat. How had whatever was doing this been able to approach her? He had been on alert since the night before, watching every corner of the house but He had not sensed any supernatural presence near her. However, He did not have time to reflect on that idea, as her hand searched convulsively for something to grasp and finally clenched on his hakama.

“Hey…” He whispered, feeling bewildered and uncomfortable, being that the first time a human touched Him.

Her only response was to turn on her side and curl up like a new-born. A thick drop of sweat run down from her forehead mingling with her tears into the pillow, where she was trying now to muffle her scream.

“St-Stop… i-it… please…” she whimpered tearfully.

“I’m sorry…” and He realised that He had said it from the bottom of His heart. “I can’t…”

She looked at Him with her only visible eye, darker than before because of the dim light and the pain, but he did not see any trace of  reproach o resentment against Him for not being able to help her. She panted before a new stab of pain tensed her body again. Her other hand flew in the air, fisted tightly, as if she wanted to hit whatever was doing that to her, and He caught it mid air. Her fingers opened like a flower under His palm and, after tensing in agony, they closed around His. Her hand was damp with sweat and her fingertips and short nails dig into His flesh but He did not feel any hurt.

They stayed like that for long minutes of pause and pain, until finally, she relaxed with a soft moan of exhaustion and did not move for some time, and after being completely sure that there was no other presence in the room apart from them, He returned to his human appearance. He opened his mouth to talk, but closed it again, without uttering a syllable, None of the words that were going through his mind sounded right in a situation like that. The suffering she had experienced was something that nothing that he said could alleviate. So, he decided to keep silent. Instinctively, he extended his free hand and brushed her damp hair softly, pulling some strands away from her cheek and putting them behind her ear. She opened her eyes a bit and turned her head to him, still feeling out of breath, and tried to smile. It was wavering and crooked, but it showed her inner strength, and he returned it with one of his own, feeling a deep respect for her.

“Can… you…” Sakura, letting go of his robes, moved and winced, a low hiss and a groan leaving her lips, but when Sasuke tried to stop her, she shook her head stubbornly and continued speaking, a little winded.  “Can you… take a look…?”

She finally managed to lay on her back and lifted her free arm to cover her eyes. Sasuke, inhaling slowly, took the thin fabric drenched in deep crimson blood of her nightgown and uncovered her stomach. Most of the cuts were still bleeding but the angry swollen skin that surrounded them, made possible to decipher what was written on it. Sasuke read the characters and swallowed hard, his eyes opening in horror.

“What…”

he lifted his face to see Sakura watching him with a grim expression, that became even deeper. She pressed her lips in a thin line.

“I want to see it.”

“No” that only word was said in a terminate tone,  lifting his head to her, his pupils turning hard with determination and anger.

“Sasuke-kun…” he moved his head negatively and she sighed frustrated, despite the pain. “Your expression is telling me that something is really wrong and it’s scaring me. So please, let me see it.”

“It’s better if you don’t.”

“I’m going to know sooner or later, as soon as I see myself in a mirror… I beg you…”

He looked at her intensely for a few more moments, but seeing her eyes full of resolve, he finally sighed, defeated.

“You’re going to regret it.”

“I know…” he saw the light of her pupils waver. “There is a small mirror in the second room on the right in the corridor, in the cupboard under the washbasin.”

He came back a few seconds later with the item she had requested, and Sakura had barely had time to recompose her desperate expression and clean the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She clenched her jaw as he sat down next to her and shifted the mirror, so she could see. As soon as her features showed her astonishment, he knew that that was the correct angle, and inwardly, he braced himself for her true reaction once she understood that they were not simple scratches. Her eyes widened slowly as she deciphered the upside down characters, reflecting sheer terror, her features changing into a gesture of incredulity first, a mute scream later.

'Mine.’

TO BE CONTINUED…

Extra-note:

The word ‘mine’ in Japanese is written with more characters than in Western languages, so that’s why Sakura’s “torture“ is longer than expected. For those curious, the one I used (the most neutral one) is written like this: わたしのもの

[nie7027]

Super5 headcanons part 3

Part 1 Part 2

{{Yeah im posting it again because very few people have seen the original post and Im a simple human that craves validation, so please if you like it reblog it. I doubt ill do it again but just in case i put a nifty tag so you can block it}}

Thank you everybody for saying such nice things of part 2 (as i said i wasnt that confident so it made me really happy to know you liked it) and sorry for taking so long but school is a bitch and almost killed my inspiration. Anyway here comes part 3

Minegishi: i just got out work. Can someone care to tell me what happened?

Hatori: uhh, yeah . sorry

Hatori: i got out of work like an hour ago and came home to find Shimazaki sleeping on MY bed

Hatori: Shibata was already at the gym and shimazaki hasnt waken up so i dont know much more??

Hatori: i dont know either what to do...

Shibata: is he still there? I told him to take my bed!

Hatori: well he clearly didnt...

Minegishi: ok but HOW did you find him exactly?

Shibata: ill tell you later guys. My next class is about to start

Shibata: And dont worry Hatori! i dont think hell wake up anytime soon.

Shibata: You should have seen him carrying the dog! It was cute <3

Shibata: in a strange way

Minegishi: dog?? WHAT DOG?

Hatori: did you just say "carrying"?

Shibata: sorry guys gtg

Hatori: shit WAIT

Hatori: where am i supposed to sleep now? I cant sleep on the couch!

Shibata: you can sleep with me

Hatori: WHAT? NO

Shibata: Do you prefer to wake him up?

Hatori: I pick the right side

Minegishi: No homo

Hatori: fUCk U

Shimazaki wakes the next morning to the sound of someone gagging to his right

"THE HELL IS THAT SMELL? WHY DO YOU STINK SO MUCH?" yells Hatori before letting out a muffled yelp when the pillow Shimazaki threw hits him square on the face

Shibata, probably alerted by Hatoris screams, comes running and asks from the doorframe "Whats going here?"

"THAT BASTARD SMELLS LIKE POOP AND NOW MY BED WILL SMELL TOO" says Hatori while pointing at the man on his bed who is just groaning clearly annoyed at being awaken

"Hmm it was probably the dog" says Shibata pensive and then looks carefully at shimazaki "You dont have more clothes dont you?"

"Holy shit! Thats true. Youve been using the same clothes since then..."

Shimazaki cant understand why it suddenly matters so much to them "No i dont. Now that that has been cleared up can i go back to sleep?"

"You have to change first. Hatoris clothes wont fit you. so take a shower while i search for something to lend you" says shibata and then turns to Hatori "you gotta go now or you are gonna be late. Dont worry todays my day off, Ill wash your bed"

"Thanks man" says Hatori and then quickly discusses something abouy dinner with shibata before leaving the apartment. Shimazaki can only stare. He just wants to sleep.

But before he can turn his back and return to sleep Shibata is already on him hurrying him to the shower.

Shimazaki doesnt like the idea of giving up his clothes to Shibata (he doesnt like letting go of his possesions because Mental eye cant find inanimate objects and he learned early on life how easy it was to lose things) but even he is starting to get nauseous at the smell of trash and he isnt in the mood to deal with it himself

Shibatas clothes fit loosely but they are comfy, besides once he gets out the shower the man has breakfast ready for him (theres still a box of his favourite cereal) and leaves him to his own devices while he does laundry.

By the end of the day Shimazaki has his own clothes back and they are softer than he remembers ("its the softener" says Shibata, "the what?" responds shimazaki)

Minegishi and Hatori arrive later with boxes of take out and they eat together in awkward silence until Minegishi casually asks with a smirk if Hatori and Shibata slept well at which shibata laughs and tells them Hatori is a blanket hogger which in turn makes Hatori complain about shibatas snores.

The childish fight continues and even though Shimazaki doesnt take part in it he listens atently

At the end he returns to minegishis apartment that night and sleeps on the couch. Neither of them uttering a word of what happened.

The next time Minegishi asks him to go grocery shopping he accepts.

This is stupid. This was a waste of his time.

Shimazaki couldnt read price tags or labels and he didnt know what he was doing here or why Minegishi had brought him

At most he could tell apart boxes from cans and the weight of things but he couldnt differentiate whether he was holding a can of tuna from a can of yakitori sauce or 1k of salt from 1k of sugar without having to ask somebody else.

It was even worse when it came to liquids if the milk/juice failure was anything to go by

After the first few failures of trying to pick stuff Minegishi had tried to teach him about couponing and discounts but then again he had to ask him the price everytime and they both soon got tired of it

All he could do was to touch and feel the fruit and vegetables trying to tell apart the riped from the rotten/damaged

Looking for any bump, hole, softness...things Minegishi taught him

It was stupid.

Minegishi could ripen/fix any plant with his powers and they both knew it

This was a waste of time.

He hated every second of this and wanted to go already but Minegishi had been hellbent on him learning at least this and left him in the fruits section to pick whatever he deemed best while he finished the shopping.

And that was what he was TRYING to do when a store clerk had the brilliant idea of addressing him

In his defense they had been almost 3 hours here and he had been done since the first. The fact he didnt even know what the hell he was holding anymore except that it was round and ripe not helping his annoyance.

He turned to tell her to fuck off. He just wanted to intimadate her. Force her to leave him alone.

He may have gone a little bit overboard.

He opened his eyes.

"Excuse me sir. Customers arent supposed to grab the tomatoes with their bare hands. The bags are-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Her scream could be heard all around the store

Before he could teletransport away the tomato he was holding twisted and tangled its newly grown vines around his hand in a tight grip. (The sight of it clearly didnt help the girl's panic)

"Dont even think about it" hissed a pissed Minegishi when he passed by his side on his way towards the screaming girl.

Minegishi couldnt feel more stupid than he was feeling a the moment.

In his haste to initiate Shimazaki on the path of becoming a civil person he had somehow forgotten the man was actually blind (not his fault it was so easy to forget when you have seen him destroying entire buildings).

He had tried. He had really tried to come up with any way to fix this mess of a trip but it was getting late and they hadnt even started their actual shopping.

So at the end he gave up and left Shimazaki to the only task he thought could keep him busy and at the same time allowed minegishi to keep track of the mans position anytime while he hurriedly finished the shopping. It was a good plan. What could go wrong?

The moment he heard the scream he knew everything could and will go wrong where it concerned Shimazaki.

Thankfully he could feel he was still holding something vegetal (a tomato?) so Minegishi quickly dashed (shopping cart forgotten) to the mans position and the screaming girl.

His first instict had been to go and calm the girl even though he didnt know what had happened but when he realized people were starting to stare he quickly grabbed Shimazakis arm and dragged him the way he came.

"The fuck did you do?" Minegishi asked once they were in another aisle safe from curious stares

"I did nothing!" responded Shimazaki somewhat offended

" As if! What did you do to her? "

"I didnt do shit to her! I was just doing the fruit thing you asked me!" he raised his hand to show the tomato still holding onto it

"And? Why was she even near you?" mineshiki asked while his powers disentagled the vines and took the tomato

"ITS YOUR FAULT APPARENTLY WE ARENT SUPPOSED TO PICK THE FRUIT"

"Huh? What? I always do-THATS NOT IMPORTANT! Why was she screaming?!"

"I told her off"

"What? People dont scream like that when someone tells them off, even when you..." Shimazaki was clearly hiding something "How did you do it exactly?" minigishi asks with narrowed eyes

"....i may have opened my eyes"

"Your eyes?" minegishi stares increduously "whats that- oh" hes about to ask what was that supposed to mean when he remembers Shimazakis bottomless eyes caused by his physic powers. He may have gotten used to his hollow stare but he still remembers what he felt the first time he saw it. The girls scream finally making sense "You never open your eyes unless you want to threaten someome...did you want to threaten a simple clerk?? "

"No"

"Then?

"i just forgot!" shimazaki huffed

"You...forgot?"

"YES CAN WE GO NOW?" irritation lacing the mans tone

It was that moment that Minegishi realized this trip was taking a bigger toll on shimazaki than he (and probably even the man himself) anticipated and sighed.

"Yeah, i was almost finished anyway lets find the cart"

Shimazaki silently followed.

They finished the shopping without any further accident and while they waited in line to pay something caught minegishis eyes. It was just what he needed.

There was a row of cheap aviator glasses hanging in display.

After some considerantion he grabbed one of the pair with the mirror lens kind and handed them to a now calmer Shimazaki "Here, put this"

Shimazaki who had been following Minegishis movements asked curiously "whats this?"

"Glasses. In case you forget to keep your eyes closed again people wont be able to see your eyes. Put them on and open your eyes. i need to see if they fit and if they'll work"

He miraculously did.

The frame was thicker than it was supposed to be for these kind of glasses (a crude imitation of the stylish kind people wear in magazines) but they fitted and the mirror lens hid perfectly shimazakis glowing irises(?) (Hell never know)

"How do they feel?"

"Strange"

"You could wear them only when you are out in public. They are cheap. Ill buy them and you can do whatever you want with them"

Shimazaki took them off and when it was time to pay he handed them to minegishi

Once outside shimazaki at first refused to teletransport the bags back to the apartment but complied once Minegishi told him he would force him to help carry the bags all the way if he didnt do it AND promised to buy take out to eat.

Minegishi thought the glasses had been left forgotten in the bags but the next morning while he was getting ready to work he noticed they were laying folded on top of a sleeping shimazaki

When Hatori and Shibata inevitably asked about Shimazakis new glasses(that he now used all the time) minegishi told them about what was now deemed as the "supermarket incident"

The next times they went shopping Minegishi stayed all the time with Shimazaki and kept teaching him about vegetables and any thing that came to his mind.

Once they finished (everytime quicker than the previos) it became Shimazakis job to drop the goods at the apartment in exchange of picking what they were going to eat that day

It wasnt exactly what Minegishi had planned but it was a progress (or that was what he thought until Hatori complained about tripping on shopping bags that suddenly appeared in the middle of the hall whenever Shimazaki dropped something there)

Shibata was annoyed because even though they all agreed Shimazaki was behaving nicer the others didnt still believe him about the whole puppy ordeal

so that, coupled with the nagging feeling he had left after washing shimazakis clothes and after hearing about the market incident made him come up with a plan

"A mall trip?? What for?" hatori asked perplexed

"He has just one shirt"

"So?"

"He has been wearing it since we were together, actually i dont remember him wearing anything else ever"

"Thats his problem!"

"HIS JACKET HAS BULLET HOLES " replied shibata getting impatient with how much it was taking Hatori to understand

"He probably likes it that way??" said Hatori still not getting it

"Actually ive been thinking the same. I noticed the bullet holes too" finally came Minegishis voice from the receiver. He was was working at the moment because if they wanted to do this he had to work a double shift to free one day. "I dont think he has anything else"

"See? Minegishis with me!" exclaimed thriumohantly Shibata which only made Hatori roll his eyes

"Fine! i get it! Ive seen the bullet holes too...but i dont get why does it have to be us?"

"Because we are his friends" easily replied Shibata causing Hatori to frown at this

"Are we really? When has he done something for us?" hatoris tone suddenly turning serious "You are literally asking me to spend one of my few days off shopping clothes with MY MONEY for a guy who wanted to kill me mere months ago?"

"We dont know that" said shibata

Hatori trew him a glance that clearly was supposed to mean 'you gotta be kidding' "Look, do we even know if he likes us back?"

At this both men kept silence until shibata dared to speak "he is wearing the glasses"

"God forbid me for forgetting those damn glasses! Guys, im just saying we are already doing so much for him for nothing! why do we need to do more?"

"Because thats what good people do" came Minegishis response and shibata nodded firmly making hatori huff. He was gonna regret this.

" fine! But do we even know if hes gonna like what we buy? If hes gonna even wear it? As you said we had never seen with other clothes"

"Thats why we are gonna take him with us!" said Shibata, glad that this was finnally getting somewhere

Hatori turned to look at the phone "didnt you said you believed shopping stressed him?"

"Mmm these last times had been better" said minegishi

"What if he actually doesnt care about the clothes or-"

"He does" replied Shibata and Minegishi in unison making Hatori stare confusedly

"How do you know?"

Shibata thought back to the hesitance he noticed on shimazaki when he handed him his clothes but didnt think the man in question would like it if he went and tell this to the others and was debating this when minegishi spoke again "Ive noticed someone has been using my softener and i doubt its the plants"

Hatori frowned and then sighed

"You both have settled your minds dont you?" hatori asked and then grumbled when an unison "yes" was heard

"Do you realize we are working with a lot of 'maybes' and 'probably'?"

"Maybe" said the voice from the receiver and Hatori could swear he could hear minegishis smirk

"C'mon man! We have done worse than this" said Shibata happily clapping Hatoris back

"Ugh FINE That bastard better be grateful" grumbled Hatori

This part forced me to think of shimazakis past and now i made myself sad (this isnt the first time he wears glasses)

So the market incident and the glasses scene was stuff i thought about since i started these and was really excited to write it. I hope i did them justice .

I didnt realize how much longer part II was compared to part I so i think part III ended in a nice middle ground.

Haha i again didnt reach the scene i planned to reach(the prank) and at this pace this thing will have 6 parts. Someone save me

Anyway hope you like it and for those of you who dont know I am writing a Teru-centric fanfic about his decision to visit his parents and the aftermath and ill appreciate it if you could check it out (link here) and tell me what you think or at least share it so more people can see it because tumblr sucks and wont let me do it.

See you next time