#the way tatsuo only smiles around his daughter-

[flovoid]

THE MAJIMA FAMILY CELEBRATING THE ‘FESTIVAL OF LIGHT’ 🎏

[i-need-entertainment]

Haikyuu!! Boys as Bad Dad moments

Characters: Akaashi, Washio, Konoha, Kita, Suna, Ushijima, Yahaba, Iwaizumi, Futakuchi, Daishou and Numai

**These are ways they “failed” as fathers. I am not talking about ACTUALLY failing as fathers, just things dads have done that most of us either remember/get told about NOT TO BE TAKEN  S E R I O U S L Y  it is just for      f u n  I also gave them all at least 2 kids cause SibLiNgS**

A ‘*’ means it happened to me lol

TW- Mentions of giving too much medicine, accidental pain caused to child, these are things I either experienced/knew people who experienced them, allusion to cursing/a FEW bad words (but I substitute a letter for something else :)

*Akaashi Keiji: 

He had been working in his office when his son had come in.

You had been putting your newborn to sleep for a nap when your son decided he wanted to be with his dad.

His son was only 3, so when Akaashi was held up in his office editing his son, Kenji, would sometimes come in and plop himself in Akaashi’s lap.

His sons small feel padded on the floor while he made his way to his father, softly tugging on his pants as he stuck his arms up.

Akaashi smiled and softly chuckled before gently picking up his son from under his arms and placing him on his lap.

He got to work soon after, reading and revising the pages.

Other than having his son on his lap it wasn’t unusual for him to be drinking coffee while working.

Keep in mind, your son had inherited a lot from Akaashi, and not just his looks or personality.

But also his habits.

Because of this, your son was very fidgety, usually toying with a string or your fingers.

That meant he tended to move around a lot.

Akaashi had just lifted his not-so-cold coffee to his lips when his son had made a sudden movement, causing him to knock his arm and, “AHH” Akaashi’s eyes snapped open as his son started crying, cursing under his breath he stood up gently holding his son in his arms as he carried him to the bathroom.

Sitting him down on the counter he dried the coffee off of his son, luckily it hadn’t been hot enough to burn him, but it was still hot enough to hurt.

“What happened? I heard crying, is he okay?” Akaashi sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, he’s okay, he bumped my arm and I spilled my coffee on him. He’s okay! It didn’t burn him, but it did hurt...” Your frowned as you stood in front of your son, giving him a soft smile before kissing his arm, cause kisses always make it feel better~

You carefully picked him up from the counter, rocking him slowly side to side as he burrowed into your shoulder.

“Are you okay little man~” He nodded as he sniffled into your shoulder, little hands clutching onto the fabric of your t-shirt.

“You know daddy didn’t mean it, it was an accident.” He nodded again, lifting his head to rub his eyes and reach out for his dad.

Akaashi gave a wobbly smile before reaching over to grab him, kissing the top of his head as he carried him back to his office, making sure to have some iced coffee instead.

Washio Tatsuki: 

This would be the first time Washio was left alone with the twins.

5 months ago, you and your husband had had your first children, your adorable fraternal twins Natsuki and Tatsuo.

Today would be the first day you would be away from them, but with your mother being sick and you being the only one available to take care of her you had to go.

You weren’t too worried about your husband, he was already a good dad so you had no doubt they were in good hands.

But it was never an enjoyable experience to have to leave your kids, especially your babies, and for the first time. 

So, you decided to leave early in the morning, give them their good morning kisses and head over to your parents house.

Before you left you changed their diapers, letting them play in their little play pen while your husband tried to get up.

Rubbing his eyes Washio walked into the play room.

He had to go to the gym today for a meeting, fortunately EJP had a really good daycare system in the stadium, so he could leave his kids there while he attended the short meeting.

He stopped in his tracks as his face blanched and he felt his breath stop.

You had changed the twins’ diapers...but you hadn’t dressed them.

The twins were still young, so without looking at their, uh, biological differences you couldn’t tell them apart....

Now, usually when this happened you guys would just check the diapers, but you had just done them..

And he was already running a bit late.

So, he made his best guess, got them dressed (one in pink, the other in blue), fed and in the car driving them to the stadium.

Once he got there he quickly dropped them off, rushing to his meeting.

The meeting had been fairly simple, just some pre-season info he’d need.

After chatting with his coach/teammates, and stopping Suna and Komori from pulling a prank, he made his way back to the daycare.

He walked into the building when one of the younger care takers, Yui, walked up to him, One twin in each arm.

He smiled as he carefully put them into their carriers.

“Uhm, just a question...” He looked up to her and motioned for her to continue.

“...Were you aware that Tatsuo was wearing the dress?” Washio sighed as he ran a hand down his face shaking his head. Yui light heartedly smiled, “Don’t worry, we switched them.” Thanking them, he picked up his babies and went home.

He was not prepared for the way you cackled when he told you what happened.

*Konoha Akinori: 

You had gone away for a business trip, leaving your husband Konoha home with your 3 kids. (You guys have 2 girls and a boy)

Your middlest child, your son Akira, had recently come down with a cold making the poor thing miserable when he tried to sleep.

Being the good dad that he is, he gave his son some benadryl!

The next morning he woke up, and after letting his kids sleep in for a little bit he woke them up too.

...two of them.

He tried several times to get his son to leave his bed, but the little kid couldn’t so much as swing one foot over the side of his bed with out falling asleep again.

He didn’t think too much of it, the kid had a cold after all.

So he let him sleep for another hour or so before making him get up for real.

A day later you got home, and everything was pretty much normal.

Until you went to put your son to bed, and realized he had crashed on the couch.

“...Uhm, Akinori?” Your husband lifted his head at your voice, setting the dishes in the sink and drying his hands with a towel as he made his way over to you. 

“Yeah babe?” You took a look over towards your son before looking back to your husband.

“...Has Akira been like that all weekend?” Konoha ran his hand through his hair as he sighed. “No, only since Saturday. He wasn’t feeling good so I gave him some benadryl, he’s been dead to the world since.” You slowly nodded.

“Uhm, Akinori?” He raised an eyebrow at you. “How much benadryl did you give him?”

He left to grab the box, coming back with it in his hand as he continued to look at it.

He shook his head in confusion. “I gave him the amount the box said, 1 teasp-”- He paused.

Uh oh.

He in fact, had not given his son a teaspoon of benadryl.

He had given him a tablespoon.

*Kita Shinsuke: 

You had to leave early one morning for a doctors appointment; you were pregnant with you and Kita’s second child. 

Usually for these appointments Kita’s grandmother would watch your 3 year old daughter Kyoka.

But she had something to do that morning so Kita was the one responsible for getting her ready for preschool.

Kita was a good father so you weren’t worried.

You knew she would be put together, fed, and on time.

There was just one thing you couldn’t account for.

“Daddy?” Kita looked away from the mirror he was shaving in and down to his daughter, washing away the traces of shaving cream. “Yes sweetheart?”

She held out her small hand, 2 bright pink hair ties with little butterfly charms on them held out in her palm.

“Can you do my piggy tails please?” His eyes widened.

He hadn’t done hair...like...ever.

But from the puppy eyes his little princess was giving him, how could he not do it?!

Plus, it couldn’t be that hard...right? I mean, he had watched you do it plenty of times, and it was pretty straight forward.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed he had her stand on the ground in front of him.

He grabbed her brush and put the two hair ties she had given him on his wrist.

He brushed her hair and parted it as evenly as he could, trying to be gentle in the process.

Now time for the pig tails..

He pulled her hair back, trying to make it tight to it would stay.

...But he might have made it a little too tight.

He turned her around and realized he had made them way too tight.

Not only did her hair look like he had slicked it back with x4 strength hair gel, but it was so tight that her eyebrows had been stuck way up on her forehead.

He was quick to turn her back around, loosening the hair ties so she looks like a 3 year old again.

His face turned undeniably red as he told you what happened later that night, you light heartedly laughing at his misfortune.

Suna Rintaro: 

Suna had just gotten out of practice, and now he was on the way to his kids school. 

You and Suna had 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. 

The youngest 2 had a doctor’s appointment earlier that day, which you had taken them too. Meaning Suna needed to pick the older 2 up from elementary school.

He had been listening to music, his music to be specific.

He had pulled into the parking lot, changing the playlist to a kid friendly one right before his children got in the car.

After they had told him about their days, and he had told about his, he switched back on the music.

It had been fine for a song.

Until he realized that he had a few songs qued.

The fun little song had just ended when the bass dropped, the color draining from his face as soon as the song started.

The mentioned song being “Big Bank” by YG, 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj of course~.

He was quick to turn the radio off, waiting until he could pull over, empty the que, and turn on kid friendly music.

He told the kids to ‘forget what they heard’ and he continued on his drive home.

Now, you’ve got to remember, his daughter is in kindergarten and his son is in 2nd grade, so they’re still kind of at that “monkey see, monkey do” age range.

Or rather, “monkey hear, monkey repeat.”

He thought it was gonna be okay, they were good kids so he figured telling them to forget they even heard it, they would let it go.

There was just one thing about his children that he didn’t account for.

As obedient and well behaved as his children were, they were also very curious.

That night at dinner they had all been sat down at the table, eating dinner and talking about their days. 

You had been feeding your infant son while Suna had been watching the 3 year old, the other 2 older children happily eating their food. Until...

“Hey mommy?” You looked at your daughter with a smile, “Yes baby?” She continued to eat her dinner, “What’s a b!tch?” Your eyes widened as your husband choked on his food, your baby laughing at the scene before him.

Hitting his chest and taking a sip of water Suna tried to catch his breath.

“Nezuko we don’t say that, where did you hear that?!” She tilted her head as she looked at you confused before turning to look at Suna, pointing a small finger at him.

“It was on the radio, daddy told us to ‘forget’ but I didn’t know what it meant...What does it mean?” You sent a glare towards your husband as you sighed.

After explaining to your daughter why it was bad to say those things and not to repeat everything she heard you cleaned up your kids and put them to bed.

...You had quite the conversation with your husband later that night.

Ushijima Wakatoshi: 

Ushijima had been on grocery duty this week since you had a meeting with a friend.

He had the Friday off, and since you weren’t home he took the kids with him.

Now, I would like you to know that you guys have 6 kids. S I X.

Growing up with no siblings and divorced parents, Ushijima wanted to make sure none of his kids were lonely.

Originally you guys had two, each kid had a buddy.

...but then you had a third, and you couldn’t just leave him alone...

so you had another...then another...

And now you guys have 6. But it’s okay cause you both love kids anyway~

He was doing his best, he truly was. He had his 2 youngest sitting in the little seat by the handle bar, 2 kids in the basket, 1 hanging onto the side and the oldest walking alongside him.

When they got to check out he had to take one of the kids out of the basket, so he opted for his 3rd oldest, his son Kazue, figuring he was older so it’d be a-okay.

He checked out his extensive amount of groceries before loading them up into his car, and his kids.

He pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and got on the road, his kids singing along to the radio and chatting amongst themselves.

They had been driving for 6 minutes when his oldest child, Ren, spoke up. “Uh, dad?” He hummed, briefly checking the rear view mirror before returning his gaze to the road. “When are we going back to get Kazue?” His face lost all color as his eyes widened.

As swiftly and safely as he could he pulled over to the side of the road, whipping around in his seat to take a head count. ‘1..2..3..4..5...oh sh-’ Turning back around he got back onto the road, taking the nearest u-turn and rushing back to the store. 

Unbuckling his kids from their carseats he hurried them back into the store, his oldest holding the 2nd borns hand, as he held all 3 of the younger ones in his arms.

He frantically entered the store, almost collapsing with relief when he saw his son sat at the customer service desk with the security guard, eating a lollipop before smiling when he saw his dad come to pick him up.

After giving proof that yes, he was his father, he took all of his kids back home after getting them some ice cream.

...this would be one conversation he was not excited to have with you....

Yahaba Shigeru: 

Yahaba and his 2 sons had been hanging out in the living room while you finished making some snacks in the kitchen.

Yahaba had been trying to set up a DVD player, you guys were going to watch some home-videos from your high school days but they were all on CD.

So, after borrowing one from his parents house, he set out to hook it up to the TV.

...Which was proving much more difficult then he first anticipated.

His two boys, Itsuki (6) and Hayato (8) were in there with him, ‘helping’ as they had called it.

Yahaba groaned as he sat back, a hand ruffling through his hair as he racked his brain to think of the problem.

You had finished preparing everything so you came in, with the food, and set it down on the coffee table.

You came up behind your husband, kneeling down behind him and placing your hands on his shoulders.

“How’s it going?” He sighed, leaning back into you.

“Well, I think I know what I need to do, I’m going to have to stick my hand back there though. Hey Hayato, can you help me out buddy?” The 8 year old excitedly nodded.

“Great, I need you to hold this flashlight here, hold it steady okay?” Hayato nodded with a ‘Yup!’ before Yahaba laid down on his side, maneuvering to where he could see the back of the TV.

All had been going well, he had just got it hooked up, and after having you test it, it worked!

He tried to get himself out from behind the TV, until a sharp edge caught his finger.

“Sh!t!” Your eyes widened, “Shigeru!” He hadn’t realized his slip up until he was out from behind the TV, faced directly with your glare.

“Kids, don’t say that.” His youngest blinked at him. “But why?”.

Kneeling down in front of him Yahaba tried to explain, but it was a little hard when you were glaring holes into the back of his head and his oldest was giggling at the situation.

*Iwaizumi Hajime: 

It was a weekend in summer vacation, and you and your husband were both off work.

This meant, you guys got a whole day to spend with your 3 boys, and one of the things you guys loved to do as a family was play games.

On this particular afternoon, your sons had chosen to play twister.

You were a little skeptical because you had 3 competitive, rambunctious boys. 

And an equally competitive rambunctious husband.

But after getting 4 identical pouts you couldn’t say no...

But, you elected to be the spinner. (..for your own safety)

“Left hand, green.” This put your middlest son in quite the predicament.

The only space available was the Green directly by his fathers hand, meaning he’d have to crawl under Iwaizumi.

“Okay Hajime, right hand, yellow.” Iwaizumi grimaced as he tried to reach it.

 This wasn’t good, the mat was slick, his hands were sweating-

“oOf” Before he could catch himself he had completely lost his balance, landing right on his son.

You gasped in horror as you saw the life get squeezed out of your 5 year old, scrambling from where you sat to check on your now pancaked son.

“...Hiro..are you okay..?” 

His small head shot up with a “I’m okay!” Before he, albeit wearily, stood up brushing off his godzilla t-shirt before continuing on with his life.

You took a deep breath as you sat back down, flashing a warning look towards your husband who sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

And after checking that yes, your son really was okay, you guys continued on with some...safer games.

Futakuchi Kenji: 

You had left for a weekend visit to see your parents in your hometown, leaving your husband and Your 3 girls alone.

It was a friday night, so after having a less than healthy dinner, ice cream and a fair amount of other sweets, Futakuchi figured a movie before bed would be a good way to finish off the night.

He scrolled through netflix trying to find a movie he could watch with his girls.

“Daddy, can we watch snow white?!” Futakuchi looked down at his oldest, Hayami, before he shrugged. “Sure.”

He may be a guy, but he was not above watching princess movies if it meant his babies were happy. Besides, it was a disney movie, what bad could be in it!

Everything was going swell, until the witch showed up.

He felt the sick feeling of dread in his stomach as soon as he felt his middlest curl in tight to his side, his youngest hopping off of the couch and climbing into his lap.

...Disney SHOULD have been a safe bet, but with the way his 3 girls were clinging onto him for dear life, he probably should have previewed it first..

That night he put them to bed, reading them a quick story before giving them each a kiss on their forehead and tucking them into bed. 

15 minutes.

15 minutes of almost sleep when he heard you guys’ bedroom door creak open, 3 sets of little feet pad over to his side of the bed.

“...daddy..?” He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he opened them, brown eyes meeting the teary ones of his 3 children as they stood there. Speaking in as soft of a voice as he could he tried not to sound as tired as he knew he was.

“What is it munchkin?” His daughters all fidgeted where they stood, fiddling with the hems of their princess night gowns as they stood there.

“...We’re scared...can we sleep with you..?” Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get them to sleep like you could, and being incredibly tired himself he moved to the side, opening the covers and making room for all 3 of his princesses.

...This was going to be a long night for him.. 

Daishou Suguru: 

Daishou had been playing outside with his kids, his 2 year old son Kento and his 5 year old daughter Shizuko.

His son was sat on his shoulders, one of Daishou’s hands wrapped firmly around the boys ankles while the other pushed his daughter on the swing.

You had been inside getting dinner ready while they had been outside; smiling fondly at the smiles that were plastered on their faces.

When dinner had finished you walked to the sliding glass door, opening it and calling to them. “Dinners ready! Come inside and wash up so we can eat.” Your daughter and husband replied with ‘okay!’ as you went back to get plates. 

Slowing down the swing Daishou brought it to a stop so Skizuko could safely get off.

In all honesty, he was a good dad.

He was very mindful of his children and their surroundings, so they didn’t get hurt too often.

He was also very careful not to accidentally hurt them.

But accidents happen.

Walking to the back door, he, somehow either forgot or the thought didn’t register in his mind that his son was still perched on his shoulders.

He didn’t remember until a loud *whack!* was heard, and his sons cries sounded above him.

..He had tried going inside, through the door, with his son on his shoulders.

Bringing him down from his shoulders he quickly brought him inside to set him down on the counter, you almost screaming when you saw the bruise forming on his little forehead.

“Ah-wha-how- SUGURU! What happened?!”

Groaning Daishou gently put a small ice pack on his sons head, “...He whacked his head on the door frame...” You looked at him, “And how did he do that?”

Daishou sighed as he looked down, grimacing at the purple mark already present on his sons head.

...For the next few nights the couch became a good friend of his.

Numai Kazuma: 

Today was your son, Kazuya’s birthday. Today he would be turning 1.

Kazuya was the first, and so far only child you had with your husband of 3 years Kazuma Numai.

You and Numai were still learning how to be parents, and it had been an interesting journey to say the least, but you guys were doing good!

Your relatives and friends had just left, leaving you, Kazuma and your son.

It was pretty late so you started cleaning up in the kitchen and Numai started in the living room.

Kazuya had been pretty fussy, you both figuring he was tired, but when you tried to put him to sleep he wouldn’t even close his eyes.

So, deciding it’d be best to get it out of the way Numai held Kazuya as he was cleaning.

Things had been going just fine before Kazuya had reached out to grab at something on a nearby book shelf, causing the book shelf to start tipping over.

At that moment the only thing going through Numai’s mind was ‘stop the book shelf’, because at the moment, getting his son and him crushed by a bookshelf seemed like a very bad thing.

But what he hadn’t thought of was the fact that reflexively he had used both of his arms to stop said shelf (which didn’t even fall), the same two arms that had been holding his- “WAAAHH”

His eyes snapped down to the BABY he had just let go of, now crying on the floor.

You rushed into the living room, seeing your husband now cradling your still crying son, whispering apologies into his hair as he kissed the top of his head.

“Kazuma what happened?” 

He avoided eye contact. 

“...Kazuma...” Looking down he spoke.

“...I dropped him...”

...

“...you what?”

[misscorn]

Day 7: Future/Post Confession

I can't believe yet another @takaritsuweek has come and gone so fast 😭❤ everyone in this Fandom is so talented and im obsessed with the nostalgia content 💘 please enjoy my last one shot for this week ☺

***

Onodera Ritsu was being weird, which could only mean one thing: something was wrong and he wasn't talking to Masamune about it.

Masamune had really hoped that things would go smoother after Ritsu confessed, but that was foolish. Masamune was so, undeniably happy, but they weren't perfect people. Both of them still had things to work on, separately and together. One of those things was more readily relying on one another. So, Masamune was determined to find out what was wrong.

Ritsu just seemed a lot more...spacey than usual. And anxious. And maybe a little gloomy? Masamune couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew that he didn't like it.

Currently, Ritsu was over at Masamune's apartment, helping to clean up the dishes as the two of them had just finished dinner. Ritsu was at Masamune's place quite frequently and Masamune always brought up the idea of moving in together, but Ritsu hadn't quite come around to it yet, mostly because he knew for a fact that it would affect any work the two of them brought home. Masamune got...distracted easily and Ritsu tended to get swept away. So, for now Ritsu was content with a lot of sleepovers.

Once they finished cleaning, Masamune led Ritsu into the living room by his hand. He sat down unceremoniously on the couch before pulling Ritsu down with him and on to his lap, making Ritsu's face burn red.

I kind of hope he never gets used to this, Masamune thought, loving the sight of Ritsu's adorably embarrassed expression.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ritsu asked, trying to sound scolding, but he only succeeded in sounding nervous.

Masamune wrapped his arms around Ritsu's waist. "I just want to talk and I figured if I have you like this you won't be able to run away." Like how you love to do.

Ritsu couldn't even argue against that logic, but he made a displeased face anyway. "Fine. What is it?"

"Is everything okay with you?" Masamune asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." Ritsu said dismissively.

"You just seem like you've had something on your mind lately." Masamune said. "Making me worried."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." Ritsu apologized immediately.

"Don't say sorry, there's nothing to be sorry for, I just wanna know if there's something going on." Masamune said, trying to sound reassuring.

Ritsu chewed on his lower lip nervously before he spoke again. "I guess I have been thinking a bit..." He started vaguely.

"What about?" Masamune pressed gently.

"Well, my mom's gotten off my back about An-chan, but not about settling down. She's been trying to set up matchmaking sessions, introducing me to daughters of friends of hers whenever I visit, sending me info about singles events." Ritsu tried not to cringe at the thought of going to one of those. "And I just...I think maybe it's time I tell my parents about you. About us." Ritsu said. "I mean, I know we only started officially d-dating not too long ago, but I feel like we're both kind of in this for the long haul." He laughed nervously. They've both been in this for the past ten years, after all. It was hardly too soon to let his parents be in the know. "So, um, it seems only right to tell them..."

"If you want to tell them then you should." Masamune said.

"You make things sound so simple." Ritsu sighed. "It could go really, really wrong, you know?"

"I know. But the other option is keeping it a secret forever. Which, you can if you want, but it might be difficult to eventually explain to your parents when they visit why you have a longterm male roommate and you both wear matching wedding rings and share a room and take care of a little girl who calls both of you dad."

Ritsu's face flushed at Masamune projection of their future together, his heartbeat picking up in pace. "You want to have a daughter?"

"Someday, I think it'd be nice. But we're not even past the step of me meeting your parents, so I don't think they're going to get grandchildren anytime soon." Masamune planted a quick kiss on Ritsu’s shoulder.

"W-Wait, meeting?! I was just going to tell them, I didn't plan on having you meet them yet!" Ritsu said quickly.

"Ritsu, this is your mom we're talking about. If you tell her I exist she will track me down and interrogate the hell out of me whether you want her to or not." Masamune deadpanned.

Ritsu groaned and slumped against Masamume, knowing that he was right. "Maybe I should just test the waters first? It doesn't seem fair to throw all of us in at once."

Masamune hesitated to agree, subconsciously playing with Ritsu's hair. "I want to be there." He said firmly. "I understand you're worried, but like you said, things could go wrong and I want to be there for you if they do."

"You're only one door away." Ritsu said.

"Too far." Masamune insisted, pressing a kiss to Ritsu's forehead.

Ritsu rolled his eyes, trying hard not to smile. "You're absolutely ridiculous."

"Mhm. Besides, I can't charm the hell out of your parents if I'm busy next door worrying about you."

"Oh, is that your plan? To be all cool and suave until they can't possibly reject our relationship?" Ritsu asked sarcastically.

"Yes, exactly."

Ritsu shook his head before he refocused and took a deep breath. "How's this weekend?"

"I can do this weekend." Masamune said.

"I'll invite them to my place for dinner and hopefully it will be totally boring and uneventful and they won't care about us being together at all."

"Yeah, the woman who has hounded you about marriage for over ten years is going to not care about you being in a romantic relationship." Masamune said sarcastically.

Ritsu groaned loudly.

Masamune chuckled. "What about your dad? How do you think he'll react?"

"No idea, which is honestly worse."

"We'll handle it." Masamune promised and sealed it with a kiss.

-

"I can't do this, I think I should call them and cancel, tell them I'm sick." Ritsu said as he and Masamune cooked dinner together. Technically it wouldn't be a lie since Ritsu was feeling pretty nauseous.

Ritsu had spent all day yesterday making sure his apartment was spotless and then earlier today he and Masamune had gone grocery shopping together since Ritsu’s options for dinner had been a little slim.

"Oh, yeah, tell your mom that you're sick, I'm sure that will make her stay away instead of making her want to come over more." Masamune said sarcastically.

"You're no help."

"I thought I was being a lot of help, unless you wanna cut the onions." Masamune said, not looking up from the cutting board where he was working on the veggies.

Ritsu huffed and turned away to sit at the kitchen table, putting his head in his hands. He couldn't do this, he was such an idiot for ever thinking that he could. Introducing his parents to Masamune? He had never even mentioned liking men to them! And now suddenly he was going to announce that he had a boyfriend! There was only one way this could go: badly.

"Hey," Masamune said softly, abandoning his cutting station to sit next to him. "Its gonna be okay."

"You don't know that."

"I know, and honestly I'm kind of freaking out too. I don't think there's anything that could prepare me for meeting your parents. I want them to like me, I want them to think I'm a good fit for you because I know they're always going to be a big part of your life. Even if they can be a little overbearing, they love you, and it would kind of really suck if the people who loved you the most hated me." Masamune said. "But, either way I know that no matter what happens we'll still be together and for me that's enough." Masamune placed a comforting hand on Ritsu's knee.

"Even if my mom spends every single family gathering trying to drive you away? Even if she keeps trying to set me up on blind dates? Or, worse, tries to convince my dad to mess with your work?"

"Ritsu, the only thing your mom could do to keep me away from you is put out a hit on me."

"Don't joke about that."

"Oh come on, your parents don't have that many connections." Masamune said. "...right?"

"I really couldn't tell you."

"Jesus Christ." Masamune said, breathing through a laugh. "Look, the point is; we're gonna be okay."

Ritsu placed his hand on top of Masamune's and gave it a squeeze as he slowly nodded. "Okay...okay." He said. "Let's hurry and finish dinner then. My mom likes to get places early."

Masamune smiled softly and stole a swift kiss before happily helping Ritsu in the kitchen once more.

Eventually, there came a knock at the door. "I'll keep an eye on the food while you go get it." Masamune said. Dinner was just nearly done.

Ritsu swallowed hard and nodded, turning to leave the kitchen.

"Wait." Masamune grabbed his hand and kissed him quickly. "For good luck." He winked.

"Y-You're such an idiot." Ritsu scolded before quickly going to the front door and opening it.

Youko and Tatsuo Onodera stood side by side at Ritsu's door. Youko broke out into a smile and threw her arms around Ritsu before anyone could get a word out.

"H-Hi, mom." Ritsu smiled nervously as he hugged her back. "Hi, dad." He said to Tatsuo over Youko's shoulder as he was still being tightly squeezed.

"You feel skinny." Youko said as soon as she pulled away, pouting at her son. Ritsu was not surprised to be scolded instead of greeted, but he knew his mother meant well.

"Well, its a good thing I've invited you over to eat then. Come in." Ritsu said with a sheepish expression, attempting to play it off.

"It smells good." Tatsuo said.

"Ritsu, don't tell me you've left the food unattended for long." Youko said worriedly as they shuffled toward the kitchen.

"No." Ritsu's hands started to shake. "The foods being watched. Right now. B-by my b-boyfriend."

""Boyfriend?!"" Both Youko and Tatsuo exclaimed.

"How long has this been a thing?" Tatsuo asked.

"Oh...ten years or so..."

"Ten YEARS?!" Youko had heard enough, marching into the kitchen with her husband and son following not far behind.

"M-Mom, wait, maybe we should talk a little more-"

"You." Youko pointed accusingly at Masamune. "Are you my son's so called partner?"

"I am. My name is Takano Masamune, it's nice to-"

"Takano? I'm not familiar with that name. What's your family background?" Youko interrupted.

Masamune blinked, glancing between Ritsu and his parents, a little confused by the question. "Uh, my mother is a lawyer and my step father is a doctor, but I'm not on speaking terms with either of them."

"A boy with a troubled family history? Hardly seems like a good choice for a partner." Youko commented to Ritsu.

"Mother! That's incredibly rude!" Ritsu defended Masamune immediately. What was she even going on about?

"What do you do for a living?" Youko asked Masamune.

Masamune played along with her questions as he didn't know what else to do. "I'm the editor in chief for Marukawa Publishing's shoujo manga department: Emerald."

"Emerald? Onodera Ritsu, do you mean to tell me that you are dating your boss?" Youko said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I've heard about the great things you've done for Emerald, Takano." Tatsuo admitted. "But it does seem to be a conflict of interest to be dating a subordinate."

"I've been in love with him since I was twelve! Way before he ever became my boss!" Ritsu said quickly before a realization dawned on him. "Wait...these are the things you're upset about? His family and his job?"

"They're very important things to consider when picking a partner, Ritsu." Youko said. "You know, if you had told me that you were rejecting all those lovely girls because they were girls I could have been setting you up with perfectly charming and handsome men!" Youko pouted.

Ritsu wanted to laugh. And cry. And hug his mom and kiss Masamune and melt into the floor in total relief.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to object to any matchmaking sessions." Masamune jumped in.

Youko frowned sternly at him. "Just what exactly makes you worthy of my one and only son?"

"I know I'm not the kind of person that you would normally want for Ritsu, but I love him. I've loved him for over ten years and there's nothing that could ever stop me from loving him. I will always, always take care of him and make him happy and if there ever comes a day that I don't then please feel free to come back and snatch him away from me because just like you I think Ritsu only deserves the best. I will always be loyal, reliable, and honest with him. And, if you'd still like to join us for dinner, I can show you that I'm not completely useless around a kitchen."

Youko did not move, nor did her disapproving expression melt away, but Tatsuo stepped forward to put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"So, ten years huh? That's a long time. Why don't you tell us how this all started?" He smiled as he ushered his wife to sit down.

Ritsu beamed, tearing up a bit.

"Well, I was in our school's library..."

[dissonantaki]

Étude in E Major

"Be a good girl for Suzuki-sensei, okay?"

Kaede hid behind her mother, Yua, and tightened her hold on the back of her sweater as she shook her head. She was only about as tall as the center of her mom's back, what with being six years old and all. "I don't wanna..." she whined, refusing to look at Tatsuo, her father.

He sighed, kneeling down next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Kae. You’ll be fine, alright? We signed you up for an hour. I know this is scary, but this is only going to make you better. You’ll do great, we know you will." He handed the binder he was holding under his right hand out to her, and the kindergartner hesitantly let go of her mom’s sweater, slowly taking the binder from her dad. “There you are. Be on your best behavior, alright?” Already starting to feel herself tearing up, Kaede nodded, stepping up to the doorstep, standing on her tiptoes, and ringing the doorbell.

About ten seconds later, a girl with wavy black hair answered the door, her dark brown eyes lighting up when she saw the six-year-old. “Oh, you must be Kaede Akamatsu-chan!” she beamed. The girl looked to be around high school age. 

Yua nodded, as if to confirm the girl’s assumption. “We’ll be back in an hour. Is that alright?”

The high schooler nodded. “Of course! We’ll be ready for you by then.”

Soon enough, both of Kaede’s parents were gone, with only a wave and a goodbye. She watched them go, tears starting to spill over as she did so.

“Akamatsu-chan?”

Kaede turned around to see the girl kneeling down, so they were at a more equal level. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kirie Suzuki. I go to the big high school down the road, and your parents asked me to be your piano tutor,” she greeted, with a soft smile. “Why don’t we go inside?” she suggested, standing up and opening the door for her. Hesitantly, Kaede stepped inside, far enough so Kirie could close the door behind them.

The small girl followed her inside, and when Kirie reached the piano room, she sat down on the piano bench, patting a spot beside her. Kaede hesitantly sat there, looking up at her new tutor.

“So, what do you have there?” she asked, pointing to the binder that the younger pianist was holding.

Kaede glanced down, before holding it out to her. “Songs mommy and daddy gave me to learn,” she explained.

The high schooler took the binder, flipping through it and cringing a bit at what she saw. “Akamatsu-chan, this is all... really, really hard. Can you play any of this?”

She nodded. “I’m learning them.”

Kirie blinked. “Wow. You must really like to play piano, huh?”

Kaede averted her gaze, hesitating for a moment. Be on your best behavior, alright? “No...”

“...what do you mean, no?”

She winced a bit at that response. “I don’t like playing piano. It’s not fun. It makes me tired.”

Something softened in Kirie’s eyes. It hadn’t been clear to Kaede at the time, but it was easy to tell— she felt bad for the little girl. “Well, um... what kind of songs do you like? Maybe you might like piano a little bit better if you got a fun song to play. Do you have a favorite song?”

Kaede’s face brightened a bit, but she seemed hesitant to get her hopes up. “...the, um... the Ponyo song?”

“I love Ponyo!” the older girl beamed, earning a genuine, excited smile from Kaede. “That’s great! Okay, so here’s what we’re gonna do. Between this lesson and the next one, I’m going to find you sheet music for the Ponyo song, okay?” A quick, happy nod from Kaede. “And then for right now...” she thought for a moment. “You know what the best part about learning songs on the piano is?”

She tilted her head to the side. “What?”

“Getting it right for the first time!” She started to flip through Kaede’s binder, smiling a bit and placing it on the music stand, open to ‘Etude in E Major’. “Is this one hard for you?” Another nod.

“Well, I’ll tell you a little secret,” Kirie continued. “This is actually my favorite song. I only learned it a few months ago, and I started playing the piano in middle school! So you’re already way ahead of me! Can I play it for you so you can see how it sounds? You might have an easier time playing it that way.”

Her parents couldn’t have picked a better tutor for her, Kaede thought to herself, nodding.

______________

“We sent our child to you to learn the classics, and she gets back in the car practically jumping up and down about that silly movie we took her and her sister to earlier this year! We hired you because we knew you were the most skilled pianist at Shining Star, and now I find out that we paid you to waste our daughter’s time for an hour. I’m glad we found this out now, and not weeks down the road, when we might have wasted even more of our money!”

Kaede was practically hiding behind her father, letting the tears that were welling up in her eyes start to spill down her cheeks while her mother yelled at a very timid-looking Kirie. “A-Akamatsu-san, I’m so sorry, but if you’ll just let me explain, I was trying to get her interested in—”

“Nobody in a concert hall wants to hear a song from a ridiculous children’s movie! They want to hear Yiruma! Beethoven! Debussy!”

Kirie looked defeated, glancing back at Kaede with an apologetic look.

Yua let out an agitated noise, turning and walking back to the car. “Tatsuo, we’re leaving.”

Kaede’s father took her hand, gently leading her back towards the car. Kaede, on the other hand, looked back over her shoulder at Kirie. “G-Goodbye, Suzuki-sensei,” she called over her shoulder, her voice breaking.

Kirie rubbed tears out of her eyes. It had only been an hour and she’d already gotten attached to this kid. “Bye, Akamatsu-chan,” she called.

______________

A week later, Kaede was called to the principal’s office. Worried she was in trouble, she left her classroom quickly, walking as fast as she could manage without it being considered running. 

“Oh, Akamatsu-chan! One of the high-schoolers came by to drop something down for you,” the secretary told her, holding out a few sheets of paper.

Kaede blinked. What high-schoolers did she know...? She carefully took the paper, reading the title at the top.

Needless to say, the secretary was sufficiently confused when Kaede started getting teary over sheet music for the theme song to Ponyo.

[ Kaede is open for asks about this memory! ]

[suntory-toki-senpai]

Chapter 6 | Eyes on Fire

A/N: Thank you guys for letting me take a bit of a break. I’ve been very tired lately. I hope you enjoy this installment. I just love flowers a lot. I wish fire lilies were real. 

Chapter 6 – The Fire Lily Festival

“Tatsuo, stop moving. You’re going to fall off and hurt yourself!” I shouted. Tatsuo was standing at the very top of a rickety ladder, attempting to place a large cloth banner over the Tavern’s outside entrance. The banner read: “Welcome, Fire Lily Viewers!”. Pop had had us make special boxes for tea, plum wine, and sake to-go for Fire Lily viewers to take with them on their picnics. He’d also made sure that we closed the Tavern early so Tatsuo and I could also enjoy the festivities, much to Tatsuo’s displeasure. Tatsuo came down from the ladder to see if the banner was crooked. It wasn’t, but he was convinced it was.

“It’s still not right,” Tatsuo said.

“It’s fine,” I responded. He got back up on the ladder again and fidgeted with the banner.

“There,” he said coming down from the ladder. “It’s perfect.” It was now slightly off-center, butI just rolled my eyes and went back inside the Tavern to close up. I charged Tatsuo with nailing the sign on the front door explaining we would be closing early all week for the Fire Lily festivities. I went around the Tavern telling our guests that they had a few minutes to finish up their drinks and pay their tabs. The patrons in the Tavern were buzzing with excitement about the festival. It was a welcome shift in the usual drab of everyday life. As the summer draws closer, everyone in the Fire Nation eagerly awaits The Fire Lily festivals. They are one of our most celebrated events.

After making my rounds I returned to the bar, and as I counted the money in the money chest, I heard from outside Tatsuo groaning in exasperation. I looked up, thinking he’d hit his finger with the hammer again. But to my surprise, it was a Royal Messenger who entered the Tavern, not Tatsuo.

“Sayuri Fujiwara, a message for you from Fire Lord Zuko,” the attendant said.

“Thank you, sir,” I said, taking the scroll from his hand. I opened the scroll to read  an invitation to join Zuko in the Royal Fire Lily viewing, as his honored guest.

“Wow, an honored guest of the Fire Lord for the Fire Lily viewings!” I said.

“Is that what they call a girlfriend nowadays? An honored guest?” Tatsuo asked as he walked in the door.

“I’m surprised you even know what a girlfriend is,” I retorted.

“Should I tell him you’ll be there, miss?” the attendant asked.

“Tell him I am honored to join him,” I replied. The attendant bowed and hurried out the door.

“Can you finish closing so I can go home and change?” I asked Tatsuo.

“Oh, sure,” he responded sarcastically. “Just leave me behind and do the dirty work while you go mess around with your Royal Boyfriend.”

“He hasn’t asked me to be his girlfriend yet.”

“Pft. Of course, he hasn’t. You’re not royal material, Sayuri. He’ll just keep using you until he’s done with you.”

“Shut up, Tatsuo. You don’t know anything about him or our relationship!” I shouted.

“I’ve seen enough,” he said sharply.

“You haven’t seen anything! All you’ve done is go on and on about how you don’t like him or his leadership. You haven’t even tried to get to know him or ask me about him! You’re too busy being a judgmental idiot! Just close the store and get out of my face.”

“I’m just worried about you getting too involved with him, Sayuri,” he said, reaching his hand to touch me.

“Just leave me alone,” I said, moving his hand away from me and walking out the door.

I left the Tavern and walked home. As I walked inside the house, I was greeted by Pop, who immediately understood the sour look on my face.

“What did you and Tatsuo fight about this time?” Pop asked.

“He got upset because I’m going to the Fire Lily Festival with Zuko. I asked him to close and he started going on about how he’s upset that I’m “involved” with him,” I replied.

“Tatsuo has many strong feelings about the Harmony Restoration Movement. He is not convinced it will bring any good because it leaves us looking weak.”

“What a pity,” I said sarcastically. “He’s worried I’m being used, Pop.” I hesitated. “Do you think he’s right? I mean, Zuko hasn’t even asked me to be his girlfriend yet…”

“I don’t think the Fire Lord would go out of his way to pursue you the way he has if he didn’t want to date you. That would not be honorable. And the Royal Family knows honor more than anything else. This is uncharted territory for both of you. I don’t think a member of the Royal Family has married a commoner in a very long time.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Don’t doubt Fire Lord Zuko’s feelings, Sayuri. Let him love you. Tatsuo is just being overprotective.”  

“Thanks, Pop,” I said, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, Sayuri, my sweet dove,” Pop said, pulling me in for a hug. “You are my greatest treasure. I think the Fire Lord knows that.”

He released me from the hug and I walked into my room to change. I picked my favorite red crop top and loose, flowing red and gold skirt. For accessories, I opted for a pretty red hair piece, a jeweled necklace, and a gold armlet my mom had found on one of her wanderings. Shortly after I finished putting my outfit together, I heard an attendant come to the door. I came outside, expecting to see Zuko there to greet me.

“Where’s the Fire Lord?” I asked.

“The Fire Lord asked us to collect you, miss. We are taking you to him,” the attendant replied.

“Oh,” I said, disappointed. I looked back at my grandfather.

“Remember what I said, Sayuri,” Pop said.

I nodded and got into the carriage.

“Another trip up the twisty mountain,” I mumbled to myself.

After another long and nauseating ride up to the Royal Caldera, I poked my head out of the window and saw we were a short distance away from the Caldera’s main plaza, sitting behind a row of carriages. Each carriage was being checked by guards before being directed to drop off their passengers.

A guard opened the door to my carriage. “State your business,” he ordered briskly.

“I’m here as a guest of the Fire Lord for the Fire Lily festival,” I said.

“Are you sure? Only members of the nobility are considered honored guests of the Fire Lord for the festival.”

“Yes, I am,” I said through gritted teeth. I grabbed the invitation scroll and handed it to him.

He read it quickly. “Oh, Miss Fujiwara. Please accept my most humble apologies,” he said.

“It’s not a big deal,” I sighed. I crossed my arms over my chest in annoyance. “Maybe Tatsuo is right. I’m just a placeholder until he finds a high class girl,” I thought.

The guard closed the door and directed the driver to go to a different area , away from the rest of the carriages. When the carriage stopped and the attendant opened the door, I realized I was in front of the Palace gates, rather than in the plaza where the festivities were being held.

“Where’s the Fire Lord?” I asked nervously.

“His Majesty will be out shortly. He wanted to ensure he could properly accompany you to the festival,” the attendant replied.

I stood in front of the gates and nervously twisted my hands until I heard the creak of the gate beginning to open. Behind the massive gates stood Fire Lord Zuko in full Royal dress and regalia, with a host of officials and attendants behind him. I dropped to my knees and touched my head to the floor. When I stood up, the Fire Lord was in front of me with a smile on his face.

“When will you stop bowing when you see me?” he asked.

“When you don’t come and greet me with a legion,” I replied.

I stood up on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips.

“Hi,” I said, inches from his face.

“Hi,” he said back.

“Shall we continue to the festival?” a familiar voice asked. I peeked around Zuko’s shoulders to see Kira’s dad standing behind him.

“Mr. Yamamoto!” I said greeting him with a bow, then moving in for a hug.

“Sayuri, I’m surprised to see you here, as an honored guest of His Majesty,” Kira’s dad whispered as he embraced me.

“It’s a long story,” I said.

“I look forward to hearing it. Kira and Mrs. Yamamoto are coming, too. It’ll be nice to have both of you around for the festival,” he said.

“We should get walking,” Zuko said. He took a step forward and offered me his arm. I linked my arm through his and we made our way to the plaza. Traditionally, the Fire Lord would travel throughout  the Royal Caldera by servants carrying the palanquin, but Fire Lord Zuko had abolished use of the palanquin and opted for carriages pulled by ostrich-horse instead. Walking to the Fire Lily Festival was just another way Zuko wanted to change the way royalty was perceived by the people of the Fire Nation.

As we walked to the plaza, I could see that the entire Caldera was decorated with lanterns and paper Fire Lilies. Paper lanterns hung in criss-crossed patterns above our heads, casting hues of red and orange on the streets. The long plaza was lined with food vendors, with an elevated space for the Royal Musicians to perform, while a seating section of ornate chairs lined each side of the alleyway, presumably for the Fire Lord and his retinue.  

“All bow for the Fire Lord!” a voice cried. The crowd of nobility and upper-class members of the Fire Nation turned and fell to their knees. I stood back to join their bow, but Zuko grabbed my arm to stop me.

“That is enough, please stand,” he said. The crowd stood to their feet and waited for the next move. Zuko turned to the crier and said, “A simple introduction of my guest and I will suffice.”

The crier hesitated. “ What’s her name?” he whispered and pointed to me.

“Sayuri Fujiwara, daughter of Commander Tadashi and Seiki Fujiwara,” Mr. Yamamoto replied quietly.

“Oh, uh,” the crier cleared his throat, “Introducing His Majesty Fire Lord Zuko and his most honored guest, Sayuri Fujiwara, daughter of Commander Tadashi and Seiki Fujiwara!” Zuko motioned for me to take his arm again as he began to walk down the alleyway. The crowd clapped and cheered as we walked by the line of people, each bowing their heads as we passed. As we got to the end, Zuko took a seat on the main chair, and motioned for me to join in at the chair next to him. It felt awkward to take a seat of honor at a festival when I didn’t have a drop of noble blood in me. After I sat down, Zuko reached for my hand. He must have noticed I looked uncomfortable.

“It’s okay,” he said, soothingly.

“I really don’t belong here,” I whispered back.

“But I want you here.”

I looked away, slightly embarrassed, as the musicians took  the stage to perform. I noticed Kira mounting the stage steps, her  erhu in hand.

“Kira!” Iwhispered, waving  my hand frantically. “Kira!” I said, more loudly. She turned and her face lit up as she saw me and the Fire Lord.

“Kira!” the conductor on stage barked. She hurried to her seat, her bow in one hand and erhu in the other.

“Do you know her?” Zuko asked.

“That’s my best friend,” I replied with a smile. “She’s studying to be a music teacher at the academy.”

“Ah. She must be quite talented then.”

“She is.”

The conductor lifted his hands to signify the performance was about to begin, and the crowd quieted. He dropped his hands and motioned for a woman to come join him on the stage. She was dressed in beautiful orange and red robes with long flowing sleeves.

“Fire Lord Zuko, honored guest and court, it is an honor to be here today,” she started. “My name is Mai Lee and it is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you my dance troupe in their first ever performance. Introducing the Fire Lilies!”

The crowd clapped as rows of women in beautiful yellow and orange robes and long flowing sleeves came filing out from behind the stage. They organized themselves in straight rows in front of the musicians.

“The war stripped us of our ability to express ourselves through dance,” Mai Lee continued. “It was a rarity that we were given the ability to dance and perform with music. But thanks to our new Fire Lord, we have renewed expression and life. My troupe has resurrected old Fire Nation dance traditions and combined them with dance from the Earth Nation. We call this first performance ‘The Dancing Lily’. I hope you enjoy it.” Mai Lee bowed gracefully and exited the stage.

The conductor raised his hands once again and moved them rhythmically, signaling  the beginning of the song. The dancers took their cue and began to move with the music. The flow of their bodies combined with their robes gave the appearance of fire spreading in an open field. It was a truly magical performance. They danced to several other songs before retiring behind the stage, and Mai Lee returned to speak once more.“Thank you for watching our inaugural performance. We hope you enjoyed it. And thank you to Mr. Chi for his brilliant conduction of the Royal Musicians,” she paused to allow for applause. “I now only ask that you all take one dance lesson from me: the Ba Sing Se Waltz. I need a volunteer.”

The crowd paused before a lone hand shot up from the back, and  a young man came forward.

“Excellent,” Mai Lee said. With the young man as her partner, she instructed us in the ways of the Ba Sing Se Waltz with rhythmic steps and counting. It looked beautiful.

“Now, it’s your turn,” she instructed the crowd. The Royal Musicians played a slow tune that fell in cadence to the waltz and slowly but surely a few couples took to the floor to dance. It was awkward at first, as many of the couples tripped over their own shoes and robes, but slowly, the festival patrons began to ebb and flow with the music.

“I didn’t know there was going to be a dance lesson,” one of the nobles murmured behind me.

Fire Lord Zuko straightened in his chair and stood up. He turned to face me and offered his hand.

“Will you dance with me?” he asked.

“I… don’t know how,” I replied, hesitantly.

“It’s just like fire bending, you just move with music.”

I offered him my trembling hand and he guided me to the floor. He secured his hand on my waist and interlocked his other hand with mine. We began to move as the song progressed. I immediately looked down at my feet, to make sure I wasn’t stepping on his robes, or anyone else. Zuko lifted my chin with his fingers, bringing my gaze  to meet his.

“Stop looking at your feet and let me lead you,” he said. I took a deep breath and relaxed a little, counting the steps in my head but letting Zuko’s movements guide mine. I glanced over to see Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto watching me from their seats, Mr. Yamamoto beaming with pride. I watched Kira play her erhu, carefully watching the conductor but making eye contact with me for a brief moment. I looked back up at Zuko, who suddenly seemed nervous.

“Sayuri, I need to ask you something,” Zuko said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I wanted to ask if—”

A large pop and a crash drowned out Zuko’s question. We both looked up to see the sparkle of fireworks glittering in the darkened sky.

“They weren’t supposed to start those for another 20 minutes!” the conductor groaned. The music faded to a stop.

We stopped dancing. I grabbed Zuko’s hand and led him through the crowd to a less-populated area so we could watch the fireworks together. There was a bench near a dimly lit, secluded part of the plaza. Zuko and I sat down and were immediately swarmed by attendants and guards.

“Please, just give me a few moments with my guest,” Zuko asked. The attendants dissipated but two guards stayed on each side of us.

“I guess this is as alone as alone gets,” I joked. “What were you going to ask me earlier?”

“Ah,” he said as he began to scratch the back of his head.

“Ah, what?” I teased.

The fireworks stopped and the entire plaza grew quiet. An attendant came up and knelt by the bench.

“Your Majesty, a brief meeting with the Royal Musicians and Fire Lily Dancers has been requested,” the attendant asked.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. “Okay, I’m coming.”

He got up from the bench and motioned me to follow him. We went back behind the stage. Kira saw me and ran up, nearly knocking me over with a hug.

“Sayuri!” she shouted. “You looked beautiful dancing out there with the Fire Lord! I can’t believe it.”

“Thanks, Kira. Your performance was beautiful. I couldn’t be any prouder.” I turned to face the Fire Lord. “Your Grace, this is my best friend Kira Yamamoto, her father is a member of one of your councils.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Fire Lord Zuko,” Kira said bowing.

“It’s an honor to meet one of Sayuri’s friends. She tells me you’re studying to teach music,” Zuko said.

“Yes, I will be finished with classes soon. I play with the Royal Musicians in my free time,” Kira said.

“Your Grace,” an attendant said. “The Fire Lily Dancers are waiting.” Zuko was swept away to meet the dancers. They all bowed at once in one swift motion. Once they got back up, they all giggled loudly. Kira and I both looked at each other.  One of the girls stepped forward and boldly offered her hand to Zuko, as if she wanted him to take it.

“My name is Jun, Your Highness,” she said, batting her eyes. I felt rage begin to bubble up inside me. I balled my hands into tight fists and began to take a step forward when Kira grabbed my arm.

“Not here,” Kira said. “There’s too many people around.”

“What do you mean?” I said through gritted teeth. “I just want to talk.”

“Ha!” Kira laughed. “You and I both know you’re going to drag that girl by her hair if you go over.”

Zuko kept his hands behind his back and politely introduced himself to each girl. I felt my anger begin to  fade, until one girl gently touched his arm and leaned in to whisper in his ear. An attendant quickly stepped forward and firmly moved her away from him. My anger boiled over into rage and I felt my face burning, I turned and walked quickly away, leaving the backstage to find a food vendor. I knew a bag of sizzle-crisps was something I could actually have to myself right now. I glanced at each of the vendors' offerings before finally finding a bag of sizzle-crisps. I offered the vendor a coin but he waved his hand at me.

“It’s on the house, anything for the Fire Lord’s girl,” he said. A wave of guilt came over me. I left my coin on the counter and walked away. I found a bench and sat down, eating  my sizzle-crisps in peace for a while before Kira found me.

“There you are!” she cried out. “The Fire Lord is looking for you.”

“And here I am,” I said, sarcastically, shoving a sizzle-crisp in my mouth. Kira sat down next to me and reached over to grab one of my crisps.

“You know, he didn’t look at any of those girls twice. They tried to crawl all over him, and he plucked them all off,” she said.

“I should count myself lucky.”

“You actually should, because that man likes you. A lot. After you left, he looked all around and instantly sent his attendants after you. I went too because I know you have a strong affinity for sizzle-crisps. The vendor told me you went this way.”

“I guess I just feel really insecure around all those dancers. They’re so beautiful. And being here makes me feel out of place, even if I’m with the Fire Lord.”

“You really shouldn’t feel insecure, their beauty does not take away from yours, Sayuri. You of all people know that. Plus, the Fire Lord wants you around, it’s obvious.”

“Ugh,” I sighed. “You’re right. I’m being stupid.”

“No, you’re in love,” Kira said, taking another sizzle-crisp.

“Same thing.” I saw an attendant weave his way through the crowd to find me sitting at the bench with Kira.

“Miss, Fire Lord Zuko has asked me to find you and bring you back,” he said, slightly out of breath. I stood up with Kira and the attendant and followed him back through the crowd to a secluded area where the Fire Lilies were blooming. The dim light from the lanterns made it the perfect spot to sit. The Fire Lord was sitting on a cushion in a patch of grass, with an empty cushion next to him. He waved at both of us.  

“I think it’s time for me to find my parents,” Kira said.

“Okay, I’ll see you later then,” I said, giving her a hug. I walked over and sat on the cushion next to Zuko.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” I replied. He turned to the attendant that found me.

“Please,” he said softly, “no more interruptions. The palace had better be on fire the next time I’m interrupted.” The attendant bowed respectfully and left.

Zuko took my hands in his. “I’m sorry about tonight, I had planned this going very differently in my head.”

“You mean, you didn’t want to be pulled in 100 different directions and viciously hit on by dancers?” I said, with a smirk.

“Ah,” he grimaced. “Sorry about that. Kira mentioned that you were upset. I hope you aren’t too mad at  me.”

“I was upset, but I calmed down. I guess I was being a bit dramatic.”

“I thought I was going to get mauled to death by those dancers.”

“Don’t push it.”

Zuko reached behind him and pulled out a bouquet of Fire Lilies. “I’m sorry today got away from us.”

“Oh, Zuko. These are beautiful! You didn’t have to.”  I looked up at him from the flowers to see him looking at me nervously.

“I wanted today to be special. I wanted to ask you to officially be my girlfriend.”

I smiled and leaned over to give him a hug and plant a big kiss on his cheek. “Yes, I would love to.”

The fireworks started up again. I sat next to Zuko and leaned into him.

“I can’t believe you actually want me to be your girlfriend.”

“I can’t believe you said yes.”

taglist: @imcravingyou​ @panini-the-bird-killer​ @eury-dice3​ @nats-the-geek​ @mixedfeeelings​ @abuskinswarrior​ @cciinnaa​ @imagine-yourself-happy​ 

[artxyra]

The Empress of Mean (Queen of Mean AU)

The day started off fine and calm for the two teens in the bedroom of the black-haired with blue tips male. Kagami had some free time and decided to spend with Luka and Marinette, but when Marinette wasn’t answering their calls worry began to set in.  

“Luka, I’m telling you, something is wrong with Marinette.” Kagami speaks with a hint of concern in her monotone voice.

“You’re right, her music has shifted to something dark.” He hums a soft tone to think.

A loud knock is heard on the window, Luka moves to see what caused such noise. Master Fu? Luka waves towards Kagami to come closer; Kagami sneaks over. Her nerves calm down when she caught sight of the small figure of the current Miraculous Guardian. Luka opens the window and helps the poor man inside.

“Master Fu, is everything okay?” Luka asks but when he saw the distant look in his master’s eyes, it was then that he knew. “It’s Marinette isn’t it.”

Master Fu nods, “Those classmates of hers finally broke her. Hawkmoth sent an akuma and she accepted it. Thankfully, she on a mission that doesn’t follow the path of his desires.”

Luka glance at Kagami, who nods and turns to her attention back to the master. “What do you need us to do?” She accepts the challenge even if that meant defeating her best friend.

Master Fu hands the two their miraculous. Never had they once thought that would have to battle Marinette, their friend, the sweetest and kindest person to ever walk the streets of Paris. Kagami takes the dragon miraculous and put it on as Luka does the same with the snake.

“Find her and bring her back to us.” Master Fu requests as the two chosen say their magic words and transformed.

Leaving the houseboat, Viperion heads towards the school as Tatsuo heads over to the bakery. It was better for them to split instead of being together in case something goes wrong.

As Viperion approaches the school, he notices that something was wrong. It wasn’t long before he saw what the Empress of Mean was doing to Adrien Agreste, a male that he was exactly friends with but made do because of Marinette. He waits until she was alone.

“Marinette!” He shouts catching her attention.

Two Months Prior:

Kagami and Luka knew that something was wrong when they saw Marinette standing outside in the rain by herself. Luka immediately takes off his jacket to warm the poor teen up as Kagami quickly moves her umbrella over her.

“What happened?” Kagami asks, then a light bulb went off in her head, “Wasn’t Agreste supposed to walk you home today?”

Marinette silently nods, tears roaming down her face at the mention of his name.

“Let’s get you home and warmed up,” Luka suggests and Kagami quickly agreed.

The small group of three made it to the bakery within a minute, Sabine caught sight of her drenched daughter and quickly usher them into the back. Grabbing a heating blanket, she places it around her daughter and looks at the two dark heads for some answers.

“We don’t know what happened today, Mme. Cheng, all we know was that Adrien promised to walk her home today but from what it looks like either something came up or he ghosted her.” Luka explains as Kagami comforts Marinette in the best way that she can.

Sabine silently growls at that explanation and took a breather. “This isn’t the first time this happened since those two started seeing each other, but she keeps vouching for him.” Sabine couldn’t understand why her daughter was continuously doing this to herself.

“Mme. Cheng, we can watch her while you maintain the bakery. I’ll make sure everything goes smoothly.” Kagami sincerely offers the worried mother. Sabine nods and walks out of the room with the promise of hot tea.

Kagami looks towards Marinette and sighs in disbelief. “Marinette, you have to leave him. This is doing nothing for your mental health especially with what’s going on in that classroom of yours.”

Marinette regains her sense and pulls the blanket closer, “I got a text saying that he would be right out, but then a minute or so later, he texted me saying that something had come up and that I should head home by myself with the promise of stopping by later.”

Kagami scowls and looks to Luka for help. Luka started humming a soft tune that would match the volume of a lullaby. “Should I talk to Agreste, this is not the way of courtship.” Kagami crosses her arms while Luka could only silently agree.

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” Marinette’s smile was dull, it didn’t even reach her eyes.

“Luka and I have somewhere to be tonight. If you want, we can come over and watch movies.” Kagami suggests trying to move the conversation away from the Agreste model.

“You don’t have to do that. You know Okaasan will freak if you’re not home by a certain time.” Marinette refuses the offer.

“You and I both know 母, treats you like a daughter just as much as she does me.” Kagami counters with a small, yet quick smile. “Call us if you need anything. I mean it.”

Marinette lets out a short giggle and nods. Sabine walks in with a cup of tea for the three teens. When she saw that the Kagami and Luka were leaving, she insisted that they take the tea to go and say hello to their mothers for her. Kagami and Luka promise and takes the tea. Sabine turns her attention to her daughter and places the warm cup of tea in her hand.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Sabine asks as Marinette takes a sip.

“Yes Maman, I don’t want to talk about it.” Marinette hesitates for a second but stays firm with her answer.

“Alright then, you get yourself warmed up and I’ll call you down for dinner when it’s ready.” Sabine gently places a kiss on her daughter’s temple and walks away.

Marinette takes another sip of her tea, sets it down, and push the blanket away. She makes her way up the stairs, only to sit down next to the trap door.

You need to leave him.

Your relationship isn’t healthy.

Her mind is plagued by the words of those closest to her about her relationship with Adrien. Yes, it was freshly new, but she didn’t care. Marinette was able to snatch the boy of her dreams. Her biggest accomplishment against all the drama at Collège Françoise Dupont.

“You need to rest Marinette,” Tikki advises her chosen knowing that today’s event will plague the mind of the teen. “Remember you have patrol tonight.” She must get model out of the bluenette’s mind and what better way than to mention patrol.

Marinette hums in agreement and trudges over to the chaise, she lays down. She closes her eyes and within minutes her breathing evens. Tikki flies over to the chest to grab a blanket and place it over the sleeping teen. Making sure that the alarm was set, Tikki cuddles her way into the arms of her chosen and finding comfort in the teen’s breathing.

Nightly patrols haven’t been the same with Chat Noir’s constant disappearing acts and reappearing only when the trouble has subdued. Ladybug sits on top of a random roof, checking her yoyo for messages from her partner. Nothing has been sent.

Another night alone, I guess. Ladybug gets up and goes into a running start to jump onto the next roof.

Ladybug thoroughly examines the area; nothing was catching her trained eye. If nothing was going to happen, she might as well head home for the night, but this odd feeling in the back of her mind said to stay and continue for another hour or two. When have her nerves ever let her down before?

Ladybug jumps across of few more buildings staying out of the streetlights and citizen eye sights. She rests for a second before a chill went down her spine. Quickly, she gets into a defense position.

“Good evening, milady.” A certain flirty cat finally decided to show up.

Getting out of her position, she straightens herself out and mentally prepares herself to yell out her partner. “You’re late, and I’m just about to be done.” Ladybug folds her arms and waits for his answer.

“Oh c’ mon, Bugaboo, please don’t be mad at me. I knew you could handle a few hours alone.” Chat Noir attempts to reason.

“Chat, this is no time for fun and games. I messaged you six times to see if you were coming and I heard nothing.” Ladybug scowls and turns around. “You can handle a few hours by yourself, I’m heading home.”

“Milady, wait!” The black cat hero shouts, but it was too late, Ladybug had jumped down the building and disappeared into the night. He pouts, kicks some debris around before extending his baton. “She never stays long enough for me to explain” He groans and jumps onto a different roof to continue the patrol over Paris.

When Marinette snuck back into her room that night, she wanted to scream. How could her partner have fallen so short in just a few months?

She hands Tikki her cookie jar and makes her way up the stairs to the bed. Marinette yawns and tosses herself onto the bed, not being bothered that she was still in her day clothes. Tikki finishes the last cookie and settles down next to the now sleeping teen.

The next morning, Marinette barely even heard her alarm go off. In fact, if it wasn’t for Tikki, she probably would have slept through it like normal. Getting herself ready for the day took some time. She had to mentally prepare herself for whatever lies would come out of Lila Rossi’s mouth, the usual reminder from Adrien that they had to keep their relationship on the down-low along with not exposing Lila and Alya inconsistent bullying towards her person. So far, everything has been okay.

Making sure that Tikki, had her usual package of cookies in her purse, Marinette takes her seat next to Alya, who at any moment of the day would trade her in for Lila. Speaking of Lila, the pathological liar herself enters the room with the brightest, yet fakest smile Marinette has ever seen. Behind the liar stood Adrien, who takes his seat in front of her.

“You wanna tell what happened yesterday?” Marinette whispers over his shoulders, wanting to give him the benefit of doubt for his behavior.

“I’m so sorry, Mari, Natalie called me about a last-minute photoshoot.” He whispers to the bluenette, who nods and leans back into her seat.

Mlle. Bustier walks into the class and immediately starts taking attendance. When she got to Marinette’s name on the list, she was surprised to see her student on time for once. She was showing what it means to be the class representant.

“Good morning, class; today I have exciting news for you all. All teachers just got the word for the annual school dance that will be happening in two months.” The class goes wild. “Quiet down, I still need to give you the theme. This year’s theme is royalty” Mlle. Bustier then allows the class to break into small discussions about the dance.

“Vote for me for Queen!” Lila shrieks to her loyal peers. Was she really handing out fliers to them?

“Mlle. Rossi, the ballets for King and Queen hasn’t opened yet; however, there will an announcement posted on our school’s website.” Mlle. Bustier calls attention to before turning to the board. “Now for today’s lesson…”

Marinette tries her best to pay attention to the class, but she was getting distracted by the design plans for her dress. She wants it to be perfect for the event. A gown that would scream, she’s a queen of all fashion.

Class ends and Marinette couldn’t help but wonder if Adrien would ask her or should she just assume that they go as a couple.

The moment when Marinette was out of hearing range, Adrien pulls Nino aside. Nino gives his friend a concerned look.

“I need your help,” Adrien asks rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sure, I’ll help you, dude,” Nino responds making Adrien smile. “What do you need?”

Adrien explains his plan to ask a certain girl to the dance.

“Whoa, dude, you sure she’ll love it?”  Nino was skeptical. The plan was out there, and someone will end up being hurt. There is a lot of girls that would give anything to be Adrien’s date.

“I’m sure of it. Also, can you get Alya to help you plan the courtyard while I figure out my speech and outfits.” Nino could hear the desperate pleas hidden in the blonde’s voice.

“She’ll agree seeing it’s for her best friend and all.”

Their conversation ended and Adrien goes into the bathroom as Plagg was poking his chosen from his hiding spot.

“What was that for, Plagg?” He nearly yelled at the Kwami of Destruction.

“Your plan is stupid and the girl your claim to love will get hurt.” Plagg scowls, glaring at how idiotic his chosen has become over the last several months.

“No, she will understand, Marinette always understands.” Adrien counters with a sly smile thinking about his Princess.

“Then stop whatever plan you have in mind and stop playing with her heart.” Plagg hisses hoping that the blonde teen would get the message.

“Everything will be fine, Plagg. Marinette wouldn’t hold this against me, and everything would be back to normal.” Adrien, in his oblivious haze, couldn’t understand the meaning behind the words of his kwami.

“Ugh…why do I even bother?” Plagg groans as he flies back into his hiding stop as the first bell rang for class.

When Marinette returns home, Kagami and Luka were waiting for her at the bakery’s waiting area, talking amongst themselves.

“Hey, you guys are early.” Marinette set her purse down and joins them on the couch. “Did you hear the news?”

Kagami turns to Luka then back at her bluenette friend. “You mean about that dance. Then yes, unfortunately, I will not be able to make as it is the same week as a tournament my mother schedule.”

Marinette’s mood slight deflates, “Are you sure you can’t come? It would be nice to talk to people that don’t talk about me behind my back.”

Luka pats the Marinette’s hand, “I’m sure you will be fine. The dance isn’t for two months, maybe they will change.” Luka’s words didn’t make Marinette feel any better.

“Well, I do have an idea of what my dress would look like.” Marinette pulls out her tablet and turns it on.

“Show us,” Kagami demanded in a somewhat playful manner.

Marinette shows the two an outline for a long-sleeved trumpet style gown with a large slit on the side. She has small notes dictating which color should be used, such as pink and silver, the type of fabric she needs to buy, and the different types of patterns that would be used.

“You never cease to surprise me, Marinette,” Luka whispers examining the design. “You sure you’ll have time to create the gown?” He looks up and saw that Marinette winced a little bit.

“I can but I would have to sacrifice a weekend or two.” Marinette shrugs taking her tablet back and setting it aside.

“Did he ask you?” Kagami queried to the fashion designer.

Marinette shoulders slouch and she lightly grabs onto her right forearm. “He didn’t.” before Kagami could get angry she adds on, “There’s still time for him to ask.”

Kagami didn’t want to accept the answer but she also didn’t want to burst the young fashion designer’s dreams of being Adrien Agreste’s date. “Okay, but keep us up to date about anything.”

Marinette smiles and nods.

Waving goodbye to her two good friends, Marinette quickly runs up the stairs to get started on the dress.

Adrien was getting weary of the upcoming event he’s been planning, there were only two weeks before the school dance. His mind was clouded with his proposal words and how much trust he put into his two best friends into making such an event happen when the time is right.  

“Remember Adrien, your father wishes for Mlle. Rossi to come to the studio for her dress fitting.” Natalie reminded her charge. Adrien nods and walks over to the school’s steps where Nino and Alya stood.

“Hey, guys is everything going according to plan.” He asks.

“Yep, and whoever is your lucky lady would be in for a surprise.” Alya gloats adding a wink towards the blonde.

“Thank you, the pressure has been getting to me as we get closer to the dance.” Adrien rubs the back of his neck and tries to keep the conversation going.

Alya is the first to notice the petite bluenette coming their way and breaks away from the conversation. “Hey girl, I hear good things are coming to you soon.”

“W-what do you mean?” Marinette asks, tilting her head to the side.

Alya chuckles at the oblivious female in front of her and winks. “You’ll know what I mean.”

Marinette looks over Alya’s shoulder to see Nino and Adrien in the middle of a conversation. “We should join the guys.” Alya nods in agreement. “H-hey Adrien, how was, uh—is your morning?” Marinette purposely stutters in her greeting.

“It was okay; you look a little red, Mari, are you feeling okay?” He counters taking a few steps closer to the fashion designer.

“I’m alright, just a little heated and all.” Marinette mentally screams, why were her emotions betraying her like this. “S-so about that dance, are you taking anyone?” If she wasn’t over-heating before she defiantly was now.

“Yeah, I have someone special in mind to take to the dance, I just have to ask her.” He responds with his usual model smile.

Marinette looks down and slightly nods getting the hidden message.

“Let’s go to class, dudes, and uh dudettes.” Nino finally speaks which grabbed Marinette’s attention to greet her oldest friend.

There were only five days left before the annual school dance and Marinette has been impatiently waiting for the moment to come. However, between her classmate (mainly Alya) constantly hinting that something big was going to happen, she couldn’t wait any longer especially with how distant Adrien has been with her.

Everything was set in the school’s courtyard and Adrien couldn’t help but adjusts and readjusts his suit and tie. This was going to be the perfect moment to “propose” to the girl of his dreams. Since the beginning of this plan of his, he had rehearsed his lines multiple times in front of the mirror and sometimes to Plagg, who was trying hard not to gag at every attempt. Prepping for this may have taken a while but it will all be worth it when she hears the news.

Slowly all his peers swarmed into the courtyard, during the lunch hour as promised. Alya had texted Marinette to come to the courtyard for lunch instead of opting to go home. Walking into the courtyard, she was already a nerve wreck. Was this the big event that Alya and Nino were talking about?

Nino cue the music to turn on, as he handed Adrien the microphone. Doing a mic check, Adrien subconsciously knew that someone was going to get hurt.

“This person has been a blessing to our school and has become our everyday ladybug, has treated us with care and kindness. And I wouldn’t want anyone else to be my date to the upcoming dance, you are my queen just as much as I’m your king…” He gets down on one knee and pulls out a green corsage.

Marinette’s heart flutters, clenching her hands together as her cheeks blush with red. This was it; he was going to tell their class about their relationship.

Adrien takes a deep breath, turning his attention to the person in the center of the crowd. “Lila Rossi, will you be my queen?”

Lila shrieks with happiness. Marinette’s heartbreaks, a gut-wrenching cry tries to escape her lips. She couldn’t breathe no matter how much she gasps for air. Her chest tightens as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Lila joins her king, front and center to accept the green corsage, everyone cheers for the happy couple as if they were the king and the queen for the classroom. Which was somewhat true as they were voted the king and queen for the dance. Lila smiles at her corsage as Adrien pulls in her closer.

Marinette had to get out of there as her breathing was becoming dangerous non-existing. Her eyes dart around for an exit, her mind moving several miles per second trying to comprehend the event. Adrien and Lila, Adrien, and Lila, Adrien and Lila. Nothing in her mind could prepare her for this.

Miraculously, she made it home, but more importantly to her bedroom. Red streaks glisten on her cheeks as she looks around. All she could see was red. Tikki tries to get her chosen to calm down, but her voice was drowned out by Marinette screams of frustration. Glass shatters, papers are thrown, years’ worth of gifts rip to shreds.

It's a good thing that her parents were out of town for a delivery because they wouldn’t be able to bear the thought of their daughter suffering like this.

They finally did it. They finally broke Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She was blind to give them so many chances, blind to see the truth behind the model that claimed her heart, blind to see who her real friends are.

Stumbling over to the mannequin, where her snow-white trumpet gown, with rose-pink ruffles like skirt details that look like stairs coming down from the waistline; white laced sleeves that lead into the gem cover embellishments along the bodice, and long length slit that was almost centered, Marinette pulls off the gown and clings to it.

Tikki flies over to her chosen to whisper comforting words, only to be ignored by the distraught teen. As Marinette begins to tear apart the gown, Tikki notices the familiar dark colors of an akuma flying into the room.

“Marinette!” The kwami of creation screams out to her chosen; however, the pleads did nothing as Marinette takes off her earrings and place back into the Miraculous box that found its way onto the floor during her throwing fit.

After months of fighting it, Marinette finally welcomes the akuma, who soon enough found its way onto the nearly destroyed gown. The feeling of anger, frustrations, dies down as purple mist surround the female and when it finally disappeared, the teen takes pride in her new look. Her lips painted black, her hair no longer in it typical twin-tails but now reaching her shoulders with an ombre of dark pastel colors top with a Chaumet tiara. The once nearly destroyed dress now clings to her body with darker than ever colors. The whites turned black as the pink transformed into varies colors of purple.

She was no longer Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she’s now the Empress of Mean (or Empress for short).

Feeling the power transforming the girl, Hawkmoth made his appearance known, “Empress, I am Hawk—”

“Save your breath, Hawkmoth, you can try and take control over me, but you will lose.” The Empress smirks at the familiar glow of the Hawkmoth’s communication power. Staring at herself in the mirror, she breaks the control as an evil laugh escapes her lips.

Far away from the bedroom of Marinette, Hawkmoth roars in frustration. He tries to contact his victim, but the Empress was blocking him. He truly has no control over this akuma. Her rage was too powerful, to begin with. De-transforming, he calls out for Natalie to make a back-up plan acquiring that the mansion is heavily protected.

Back with the Empress, she looks around the room and spots the miraculous box.  She could easily give the box back to Master Fu for the time being, but where is the fun in that when the only person that can save her is her. Placing the box in a safe place, Empress couldn’t wait to rain hell on those that have ruined her. A sinister smile appears on her as an old class photo catches her eye.

Taking the photo off the wall she sneers, “congratulations you official made me out to be the villain.” She sets the photo next to a lite candle, “Let’s see how that plays out for you.” The flame slowly consumes the photo and all the memories that belonged with it.

Master Fu couldn’t shake this off feeling he’s been having. It didn’t help that there hasn’t been an akuma sighting in days nor has Ladybug been seen by the citizens of Paris these past few days.

“Wayzz,” He calls out to the kwami of protection, “Can you sense Tikki?” He only hopes that his fear isn’t correct and that Marinette is simply sick or something.

Wayzz closes his eyes, he gasps within the second. “Master, I cannot reach Tikki, I fear something bad has happened.”

Master Fu turns to the miraculous box, this cannot be happening. Ladybug is the only one that can purify an akuma, so whatever happened to disconnect Tikki, it must be bad. Maybe it was time to make some miraculous users permanent for the time being.

The day of the dance couldn’t have been a better time for the Empress of Mean to start her quest for vengeance. For the past four days, she has been plotting her movements, whom she’ll attack first and what punishment everyone shall receive.

Let’s begin with the liar that started this mess.

Lila couldn’t have been happier, her dress for the dance was beautiful, fit for a queen, and hand-made by the one and only Gabriel Agreste. Staring at her vanity she lightly touches upon her make-up and proceeds to place her hair in a bun leaving a few strands out.

“I was hoping that you would still be here.” Lila glances at the mirror and suddenly screams when she caught sight of the figure standing behind her. However, her screams were muffled by an eerie pink glow of dust particles.

The room grows cold as the Empress of Mean pulls the liar away from the vanity. “Screaming would do you no good.” The glow fades away leaving Lila shaking her in the chair.

“I-I’m friend with Ladybug. S-she’ll be here to save me any minute now.” Lila threatens, but her threat was empty seeing as the current Ladybug is the one standing before her.

“Doubtful,” Empress remains emotionless, as Lila continues with empty promises and threats, “I’m getting really sick and tired of your voice, Lila.”

Lila hands instantly move to protect her neck, but the Empress wasn't interested in that. The thing that she was interested in was the dress. Her fingers caress the gown’s fabric examining its textures and details. “You have such a pretty dress, too bad I hate it.”

“Please, Marinette, I would do anything, just leave the dress out of this.” Lila pleads but it was all too late.

The Empress of Mean shakes her head, “After everything you put me through, you don’t deserve happiness.” A ball of the pink dust forms in her hands, and out appears a wood-like staff with a rosewood color orb surround by small branches of rose thorns. “My original plan for you was a sleeping spell, but now I see you’re too good for that.”

Empress waves her staff and an eerie pink glow swirls around Lila as she panics. The glow engulfs the teen and disperses leaving the once beautiful looking teen to her darkest nightmare.

“No!” Lila screeches as her once precious gown was turned to nothing but rags.

The Empress lets out a sinister laugh, “You better hope for a Cinderella moment because everyone is expecting you at the dance.”

“Get back here and change me back,” Lila demands while sitting on the floor. The Empress shakes her head and waves her staff for a final time in front of the devastated teen.

Within a second, Lila was alone in her bedroom in nothing but a horrendous red-brown dress, a dress she so desperately tries to take off, but it wasn’t budging.

The dance was official about to start and the Agreste limo just so happens to pull up in front of the school, and the king steps out of it in all his glory. The once bright smile that would make Marinette blush only agitates the Empress where she stands on a nearby roof.

Adrien walks into the school expecting to see Lila waiting for him or conversating her latest tall tale, but he couldn’t find her. Alya spots the blonde model for her boyfriend and pulls him alongside her to their friend.

“Did Lila show up with you?” Alya asks with concern flooding her voice.

“We planned to meet here. Do you think something happened to her?” Adrien now was on edge. No one has seen or heard from Marinette in days and now Lila could possibly be missing.

“Lover-boy, I’ve been flooding her phone with messages and known of them has been answered.” Alya nearly shouted if wasn’t for Nino rubbing her back.

“Babe, you need to calm down, maybe she’s stuck in traffic.” Nino suggested to calm the situation down.

Alya scoffs, “Traffic at this time of night? Yeah right. There is a better chance of an akuma attack than traffic.” Well, she’s not wrong.

An idea pops into Adrien’s head, “Maybe I should go look for her. At this point, this is our only option. You guys go and enjoy the dance.” Adrien walks back out of the school, not realizing the figuring standing in the shadows waiting for her moment.

Making sure that Adrien was out of sight, the Empress knew that this was her moment to strike. Making sure her staff was firm in her hand, the doors magically swing open. The music stops as everyone turns their attention to the dramatic entrance of their former nice classmate.

“Why stop the music, I’m only here to have fun.” The Empress fake pouts as she makes her way to the center of the floor. “Carry on, I don’t want the fun to stop because of me.” She waves to the DJ to play the music only for the DJ to panic and run off the stage.

“M-Marinette?” Alya stutters, “Please tell me this is a joke?”

“No, not a joke. I simply just want to have fun.” Empress secretly mocks her peer’s foolishness.

“No, you’re akumatized. Matter in fact when were you akumatized, when haven’t seen you in days and now you show up looking like that.” Alya realization began to sink in. “It was because of Lila.”

The Empress huffs and sways her staff around, “You know NOTHING, so don’t pretend that you do, Césaire. In fact, NONE of you do especially if you think I became like this because of a pathological liar.”

“Marinette, that’s got to be it!” Alya shouted not fully understand her position in this mess.

“Then you truly don’t know me at all.” Marinette slams her staff down onto the floor and immediately the eerie pink dust from before slowly fills the room. One by one the student of Collège Françoise Dupont was turned into stone.

The Empress of Mean smirks at her work and dramatically swirls around and disappears.

As Adrien was heading in the direction of Lila’s home, something ached him to go back to the school. Running back into the school, he froze. Everyone he cares about frozen statues made of rock. As much as he didn’t want to, he found Nino’s stone.

“Nino…” Adrien desperately cries out. “I will find the akuma that did this and make them pay.” That was a promise. Running out of the building, he transforms into Chat Noir and went to higher ground.

Opening the communication panel within his baton, he messages Ladybug. No answer. He growls in frustration; this is not the right moment to go AWOL on him. Funny as he’s been going that for months to his female partner.

Master Fu walks alone in the streets of Paris in search of the akumatized version of Marinette. He had handed the snake and dragon miraculous to their users and hope that they would find her in time. Sensing someone behind him, he stops.

“Well if it isn’t Master Fu, oh how I’ve been waiting for you.” The Empress greets to her master.

“Marinette…” He starts but the Empress shushes him.

“It’s the Empress of Mean actually. Marinette is not here right now, but do leave a message after the beep.” The Empress licks her lip. “Beep.”  

Master Fu sighs as he wasn’t used to this version of his trainee. “Marin—Empress, what did you do with the earrings?”

The Empress chuckles, “How cute, you actually believed that Hawkmoth would have any control over me to give him the earrings. They’re safe.” She circles around him like prey. “Did you do it?”

“Of course, I did, it’s the only way to stop you.” He firmly replies.

The Empress smirks, “Good.”

Chat Noir is growing tired. He’s been jumping from roofs to roofs, with no luck in finding the akumatized victim. Ladybug still wasn’t answering any of his messages and he could feel Plagg growing tired. Calling in the transformation, Adrien hides in an alleyway not far from the school.

Plagg hovers close to his chosen groaning about needing cheese while Adrien thinks of every possible being that would want to harm his classmates, no one was coming to mind.

“Hi boo,” He jumps going into a defensive mood as Plagg hides somewhere within his clothes. “You missed date night.”

“M-Marinette?” He walks over to her thinking that she needs comfort and that is was all a bad dream. “How did this happen? Tell me where the akuma is and I can help you.” Adrien tries to reason with her.

“This,” Gesturing to herself, “Has been a long time coming. You promised me a lot of things, and you broke each and every one of them.”

“By why take it out on the class? Our friend.”

“No, no, no, they are your friends. They haven’t been my friends since Lila came back. You told me to stay quiet and let her run the classroom, saying that she wasn’t hurting anyone. But you were wrong, she was hurting me.” The Empress sighs and caresses the model’s right cheek. “You’re too good to be a statue, Adrien.”

“W-what are you going to do?” He asks trying to break free from her grasp.

“It will all be over soon.” She whispers, waving her staff. The pink dust particles surround the model.

Adrien tries to utter his transformation words, but it only came out as a soft meow. A pile of clothes and a small black cat stands in the place of Adrien Agreste.

Picking up the poor kitty, Marinette cuddles him and walks out the alleyway. For as long as she is the Empress of Mean her reign would remain which means she has won.

“Marinette!” She turns to see the familiar snake theme superhero.

“Viperion,” She smirks allowing him to get closer to her.

“Let the cat go,” He demands trying not to make the situation more hostile than it already is.

“How about, no; besides where’s your partner?” The Empress taunts to her competitor stroking the fur of the black cat that was formally Adrien Agreste.

“She’ll be here soon enough, Marinette,” Viperion comments knowing full well what she is doing.

“Well there is only one of you right now, so you gotta catch me to de-kumatize me first. How about that a little game of hide and go seek?”

“I don’t have time for your games, Nette, please tell me where the akuma is so that we can save you.”

She gives him a heart-breaking smile, “I don’t want to be saved.”

The Empress of Mean swiftly waves her staff only for the dust particles to be blown away from taking any effect over the snake-themed hero. Unfortunately for them, the Empress had escaped.

“We may have a bigger problem then what we expected, Tatsuo.” Viperion says walking over to the dragon-themed hero who suit has greatly changed since the first appearance of Ryuuko.

“What do you mean, is worse than what we thought?” Tatsuo speaks folding her arms. Viperion nods which make Tatsuo say in disappointment. “Well, how do we stop her?”

The two takes a minute to think about possible attacks to their friend in need of help. Tatsuo pounds on her hand as an idea comes to mind. “I think the akuma is in her dress.”

Viperion’s eyes widen, “Uh… why would you say that?”

“When I went over to the bakery, everything was a mess but the only thing that was missing was her dress,” Tatsuo explains in which made Viperion groan knowing what they had to do.

“What are the chances of me seeing Mari naked?” It was an off question but he needed to know to prep for the revival of the akuma.

With missing a beat, Tatsuo answers with, “Eight out of ten percent chance of seeing her naked. It depends on what she was wearing before the attack. If she was holding the dress then we’re looking on the low end of the scale to see her naked, however, if she was wearing the dress then we’re looking at the higher end of the scale.” She bumps shoulders with older teen. “You better hope she was holding the dress.”

Viperion lets out a small hiss as Tatsuo makes a run for the rooftops.

The Empress knew that her friends were coming for her. To save her, but did she really wanted to be saved? No, for the first time in a long time she felt like she was in control. No one to tell her what to do.

She could sense the only two miraculous users left in Paris approaching her position. It was only a matter of time before this all ends. Closing her eyes, she summons the cat to her side.

Adrien never thought that she would turn him into a cat, a black cat for that matter. He would meow and attempt to communicate but it always fails.

“You may have broken me, Adrien,” She caresses his fur, “And for that, I can never forgive you. I loved you so hard, and when you blatantly ignored me, embarrassed me, I knew we had to stop. You never wanted to protect me, you wanted to protect Lila.”

Adrien lowers his small cat head in shame. He never wanted to hurt Marinette.

She sets him down and walks over to the window. “My revenge is complete, the dance is ruined, Lila is ruined, and you’re a cat, just like the scaredy-cat you are.”  Her voice withers away leaving her completely vulnerable for the moment. Adrien meows in protest.

“Marinette,” The Empress summons her staff and immediately waves it towards Viperion. The eerie pink glow flows around the green hero freezing him in place.

In a quick moment, he adjusts the bangle and says, “Second chance.”

“I knew it was bound to happen but I’m not down without a fight.” She sends him a beam of lightning, but Viperion quickly deflects the attack by ducking. The Empress growls in frustration.

Suddenly, Tatsuo swings in and kicks the Empress in the chest sending the akumatized victim afar.

“You okay,” She to Viperion only to see the glow wrapped around to disappear.  Viperion nods and gets into a fighting stance.

The Empress of Mean shakes her daze away and shoots beams of lightning towards her enemies. Each one is deflected until Tatsuo calls upon her power for the lightning dragon.

“NO!” The Empress shouts, locking the two into lightening battle.

The Empress overpowers the dragon miraculous user sending the hero over the edge of the building.

Viperion screams out to Tatsuo, “Second Chance.”

Time is reversed.

During the Empress’s speech, Viperion gets a hold of his harp and sends a quick message to Tatsuo.

“You won’t win this,” Viperion states irritating the Empress.

She walks over to him, gently grabs his chin into her hand and purse her lips then whispers. “I already won.” Viperion eyes widen with fear, this cannot be. How could she already have won when the battle was just getting started.

Viperion smirks and reminds her, “Oh, have you forgotten, I’m not alone.”

The Empress of Mean staggers a few steps back, immediately her staff is activated ready to fire at the missing dragon-themed hero.

Tatsuo’s battle cry enters the scene as she kicks the Empress from behind. “It so nice to see you again, Empress.” She mockingly greets.

“Ugh, why you.” Summoning the powers of the staff, the Empress shoots lightening only for it to be countered by Tatsuo’s own lightning abilities.

The two struggles to maintain control.

Seeing how much effort Empress is putting into her staff, Viperion starts to play the harp to distract the Empress of Mean from the heated battle.    

The music began to soothe the ombre haired villain, and the two heroes could see that. Memories of her time with Kagami and Luka flashed before her eyes enabling the lightening to be less effective.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette.” Tatsuo silently whispers.

The dragon theme hero readies her sword and dashes over to the Empress with striking speed.

“No!” The Empress cries out as the sword lashes through her dress. She wasn’t fast enough to reuse her staff leaving her to watch as pieces of the dress fall to the ground.

Purple mist surrounds the teen before dissipating into nothing leaving a knocked-out Marinette in its mist. Viperion quickly goes to bring the girl into his arms as Tatsuo goes to grab the freed akuma that was flying away.

“It’s over, Marinette, it’s all over.” He whispers to the sleeping teen.

“We to need de-akumized the akuma, but we’ll need Ladybug to do that,” Tatsuo states looking over the three living beings in the area. The cat meows, strutting over to sit in Marinette’s lap only to be blocked by Viperion.

“Haven’t you caused enough damage to her?” He seethes, glaring at the black cat.

“You did well, Tatsuo and Viperion, but I fear that something is wrong with Marinette. She’s been the Empress of Mean for days compared to your old foes. It’s impossible to tell how this will affect her.” Master Fu makes his appearance known to the group.

“What do you mean?” Tatsuo asks.

“I fear that her life is in danger if we don’t work quickly. Viperion, grab Marinette and bring her to my shop. Tatsuo, I need you to retrieve the Ladybug miraculous.” Master Fu instructed but before Tatsuo could ask him where the miraculous is, he whispers the location into her ear leaving the hero in shock.

Opting to leave Adrien on top of the building, Viperion bridal carries Marinette through the dark streets of Paris and into the massage shop of Master Fu.

Setting her down on the mat, Viperion ends his transformation and hums Marinette’s favorite lullaby. Master Fu arrives not soon after.

“Luka, I need you to grab these items from the back.” Master Fu writes down a list of items and hands the paper to the dark-haired teen. Luka nods and rushes into the back.

Kagami enters the shop with the miraculous box in hand and the akuma stored in a jar in her other. “Is she really Ladybug?”

Master Fu nods. “I need you to summon Tikki and transform.”

“But why me?”

“No time for questions, Kagami. Luka, have you retrieved all the items on that list?”

Luka walks back in with the several items that Master Fu needed to use. “Thank you, my dear boy.” Master Fu takes the items and began to place them around Marinette. He then gestures for Kagami to transform.

“Tikki spots on!” Kagami transform into her version of a Ladybug themed hero which consisted of an outfit similar to the yakata. She then shouts out, “Lucky charm,” which conjured a teapot into the hero’s hands. She hands it over to Master Fu who sets it down and proceeds to work on Marinette.  

Releasing the akuma, Kagami de-evilize the butterfly and then she calls out, “Miraculous Ladybug”.

The magic of the miraculous swarms around Paris returning everything to normal. The student was freed from stone, Lila’s dress turned back to normal, and Adrien was turned back into a human.

Luka and Kagami stand concern for their friend as the magic did nothing to help her, only those that she had wrong over the night.

After an hour of constant worrying and stress, Marinette’s eyes flutter open. She looks around, confusion was written all over her face.

“Please tell me that was all just a bad dream?” She asks in the quietest tone ever. However, the looks on her friends’ face gave her the answer she was dreading. Breaking down into tears, Marinette hides her face in shame. Luka and Kagami pull her into their arms letting the poor bluenette to cry. Master Fu watch with the utmost concern for the next guardian.

“You couldn’t stop it. You’ve been fighting for so long, Marinette, that no one can blame you for letting loose.” Luka’s words could only comfort the grieving girl so much.

“I don’t blame you, Marinette.” Tikki chirped in flying over to her chosen and hugs the girl’s cheek.

“Oh Tikki, I’m so sorry.” Marinette cries out.

Marinette ended up crying her problems away for the first time in a minute. That night she knew there had to be changed from her own choices to the friends she made in her class. Luka and Kagami supported her decisions and help her get past this the incident over the weekend.

That Monday, Marinette was wary of walking into the classroom. She didn’t know what would happen after the Empress of Mean stoned everyone and turned Adrien into a cat. Walking into the classroom, her peers’ goes silent, as she makes her way to the back.

No one would speak to her and she wouldn’t speak to them either. Maybe it was for the better. It was time for her to move on anyway.

Tag List: @traveling-with-thedoctor | @nexitye | @blueberrinette | @seraphichana |

[krystaldragonart]

@ryukotoweek day 2: athletics (Bonus: Father’s Day!!)

Short Fanfic included: “Fourth Place Prize”

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This time around has been intense. The running, the crowd. He can see the finish line up ahead. He has hit a wall long ago, and he can tell he’s been slipping up at the very end. But, it doesn't matter now, as his family cheers him on from the distance, waving their hands telling him to keep going. He shoots a wide grin, picking up the very pace he needed to finish…

Fourth place.

He stops, bending over to catch as much breath as he needs. Sweat drips off of him like rain, his breathing was raspy as he was lent a towel to wipe himself off. He was definitely sweating from his neck and pits, and the remaining racers approached him with a good sort of sportsmanship.

“Sakamoto-San, it’s nice racing with you! You did very well compared to the practice run before.”

The faux blonde nodded, giving off a rough laugh and wise smile, patting his shoulder. “Man you were awesome though. I bet you made your family proud.”

The other racer made a soft laugh. “I sure hope so. This is the first time I made it this far. Honestly, Sakamoto, I have to thank you. You’ve been pushing me way farther than I could do myself. You have my gratitude.”

Even though Ryuji haven’t made it to the top himself, he felt just as proud helping someone to reach that point, as it makes it all worthwhile. “Hey, you’re still young, ok? It’s the least I could do. Now go and celebrate to your heart’s content. Just don’t go overboard though!”

The two shared a laugh, as the racer champ sets up to gather with the others. “Thank you, and you go have fun yourself!”

“Sure will….” He watches from the distance, smiling proudly as he continues drying himself with the towel, discarding it with the rest. He then hears a familiar shrieking sound, turning towards the direction as he sees a boy running up to him.

“Daddy!!”

“Hey, there’s my little kiddo! Did you enjoy watching the race?”

Ryuji kneels down to catch Tatsuo in his arms, seeing his mother, daughter and wife walking their way towards them. He couldn’t smile any wider as he then slowly stands up and waves a hello.

“It was awesome! You really showed the slowpokes who’s the real racer!” The daughter, Nyoko, caught up with the rest making a running stance to show what she meant. The son nodded in agreement, looking behind him hoping the others would catch up.

“I have to say, I guess seeing us cheering really brought the best in you in that last lap. You really did great out there, and we’re all proud.” Makoto gently comes up and kisses him on the cheek, giving off a genuine smile.

“Thank you guys. Just seeing you coming was the best part of the race. Sorry squirt, I guess I didn’t make the top three like I promised.” He looks over at his son, rustling his hair showing his appreciation. He mentioned to him multiple times like he would, saying he’ll sure to win a medal and take it home. The son just shook his head in response.

“It’s okay dad, I have even something better anyways!” Tatsuo takes off his backpack that he had on him from school, setting it down before him. “Now, kneel as I give you your most ultimate prize to date!” The boy declared, almost too adorable to be taken seriously.

The blonde father just scratched his head amusingly before kneeling. “Alright, you have my humble presence.” He played along, even bowing his head slowly so he could give his son some time to take out whatever he would have, not spoiling himself on the sort he may be showing right away.

“Don’t peek-!” He slowly takes out the prize, looking over at his dad to make sure he wasn’t looking.

“Heh, no worries, I’m not peeking.” He then kept his eyes closed, showing his trust. He has him take as much time as he needs, he can hear him shaking the item as if he’s trying to straighten it out. Shortly after, he felt his arms over his shoulders, a strap then lays around his neck with a sort of clanging noise. As the son was finally done, he took a few steps back.

“Ok, open your eyes!”

Ryuji did just so, looking down and seeing a rather matted shine on his chest. He holds it up with one palm for a closer look, a gray plastic like badge tied with a strap he felt earlier. He smiled warmly, looking up to Tatsuo as he seemed eager to know what he thinks.

“Wow, this is for me?” He asked with a surprised tone. “I love it! I’ll cherish it and have it be the start of my future medal collection!”

The boy just smiled proudly, crossing his arms and looking over at the sister. “See! I told you he’ll love it!”

“And, what’s this?” He noticed some glitter was on his hands, then looked at the strap that’s covered in it. “You added some special sparkles to make it extra special!?”

“Uhh…” Tatsuo looks at his sister once more, like he’s irritated about it. “That was Nyoko’s doing. I hold her not to since it wouldn’t look good. But she went and did it anyway, without me looking.” He shoots a glare at her, as she only laughed in response.

“Well I think it’s great!” Ryuji responded cheerfully. “Sometimes it’s better to add that little extra shine to make it stand out more. You can never go wrong with that.” He then stretches his arms out, offering a hug to his kids as they gladly come over to return one. “This is the best you guys, thank you!”

Makoto couldn’t help but place her hand over her smile on the ‘aww’ moment with the kids giggling, Ryuji’s mom seeing her reaction and chuckled lightly.

“You kids are so innocent these days. Wait till they get older sweety, it’ll be from tender moments to raging attitudes. But I’m sure you'll be just fine.” The mom mentions, knowing that teenagers are more unpleasant but also requires more heartening to take care of.

Makoto rolls her eyes on that thought. “That’s why I’ll want to spend as much time with them while their youth lasts. Unlike me, I won’t make them grow up too fast and have to deal with things they don’t need to yet, until the time is right of course.”

“Oh, knowing you I’d thought you would already be teaching them how to do their taxes!” The mother laughed, knowing Makoto being a serious type when it comes to educating her kids.

She just shook her head, returning a laugh. “No, Ryuji would totally be against the idea of intense work like that at such a young age. Not that I blame him of course. He says that fun is another kind of ‘work’, and therefore more important with their age. Honestly, he amuses me with those quirky answers.”

The mother just nods, smiling on the subject. “He wants them to live happily while possible. You two know how cruel the world can be. It’s only fair for him to make certain they enjoy their best times before realizing so.”

Makoto understands the matter, and smiles over to her. “Well, Nyoko seems to take interest in sports, we have been showing her the ways with that. Ryuji, mainly.”

“I’m glad she got herself a hobby. For all we know you may just be raising a future delinquent.”

“Oh- mother…” Makoto facepalmed on that thought, never wanted to think of it that way. The mother just laughed as Ryuji stood back up, ready to go.

“But boy am I starvin’? I gotta get my energy back! Where should we eat?” Ryuji decided to ask, getting the kids all excited about the idea.

“Big Bang burger!” Tatsuo mentions, already eager for the idea of a burger.

“Awww but we should go to LeBlanc! We haven’t been there in forever!” Nyoko retorts, as she favors Boss and his delicious curry that she always orders.

“Well what’s wrong with Auntie Sae’s place?” Makoto asked, almost as if she was offended. “She does enjoy having you two around.”

The kids just paused, showing no mere interest in coming over. “Sorry, but I think grandma is better when it comes to cooking.” The daughter said bluntly, making the rest of the family laugh out loud. Someone should get her a Coolifier Pad when they have a chance.

[hiddenleafstoryteller]

Luminescence

Chapter Two

Artwork by @discendia​

Edited by @kanwriteseverything​

The cold air stung at the fresh open wounds on Liadain’s knuckles. An early morning spent training resulted in the copper stained bandages on her hands.

She panted as she finally stepped back from the grain sack she’d strung up from the gnarled oak tree that ruled over her backyard like a war wizened king. She watched it sway back and forth from the force of the blows she had delivered.

Today was to be the first day of training with her team. A restful night's sleep would have done her well; she even promised Kushina she would go to bed soon after their goodbyes last evening. Yet anxiety had beckoned her out to the makeshift training grounds she had created as a child.

“Dani!” a voice echoed out from inside Liadain’s empty home.

“Backyard!” Liadain called back as she delivered a stream of punches to the weathered punching bag.

“Honestly, Liadain,” Mizuki Nakamoto stepped out from the backdoor, “you shouldn’t leave your door unlocked like that. Who knows what could happen!”

Liadain turned to face her with a hand on her hip and an eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Oooo look at me! I’m the mighty Tanaka!” The freckle-faced fourteen-year-old held her hands up in a mock fighting stance.

“Well, I am,” Liadain laughed as she walked towards the porch steps. When she  reached the top, she stretched her arms upwards as she leaned against the post of the porch railing.

“Yeah, well you’re also eleven. Be practical,” Mizuki huffed as she pulled the young blonde into a tight hug.

“Practicality is your thing, Zuki,” Liadain chuckled as the two head into the house where the rising sun had begun to adorn the kitchen in a cheery golden glow.

“You could stand to be a bit more practical. Look at your hands, they’re cracking and bleeding,” Mizuki pulled out a tincture from her satchel and opened it to reveal a reddish brown salve. “Take off the bandages and put some of this on. I’ll have Mother make you your own tincture soon. It will be good for when you go out on a mission.”

Liadain groaned as she began to undo her bandages, “But Mizuki! That stuff stings!” she whined as she discarded the bloodied rags into the garbage.

“You know what else would sting? An amputation because you have gangrene,” Mizuki shoved the tincture into Liadain’s hands.

She begrudgingly began to apply the salve to her cracked skin. She winced as its healing properties stung at the wounds.

“Has your Da had a chance to work on that salve I asked him for...ya know for…” Liadain gestured to her entire body and the scars that decorated it.

Mizuki, who had busied herself with putting the kettle onto the stove, looked back at her friend with sad eyes. The curl that fell in front of her face swayed back and forth as she shook her head no.

“He’s really been trying, but your scars aren’t like regular scars.” Mizuki walked over and placed two mugs onto the counter top that was between them. “He said that your scars aren’t of the Earth. They’re a gift from the sky.”

“Yeah, some gift.” Liadain huffed as she looked to her right, into the mirror that hung nearby. The faded blue and purple lines made her pale skin almost deathly, along with the sullen expression she wore as she looked at them in disdain.

“I’d sell my last bit of chakra to make these stupid things go away,” Liadain poured honey into her cup as Mizuki added hot water to their tea.

“Don’t go saying dumb things like that. You’re a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Your weaknesses need to become your strengths.” Mizuki sat down across from Liadain and gazed at her over her square glasses.

Liadain gently slid her index finger around the rim of her mug and stared at the scarring that went to her fingertips.

“So, you met your team. How did that go? You’re with Mao right? She and I are good friends.” Mizuki tried to pry conversation out of Liadain.

“Oh, oh yeah. Mao is nice—” Liadain nodded and shrugged, “—Tatsuo...Tatsuo pretty much called me a thief.”

Mizuki rolled her eyes, “Tatsuo Saito? Oh he is almost as impossible as his brother Hideo!” She clicked her tongue in disgust.  “Don’t pay him any mind, but don’t excuse his behavior either. A lot of us were brought up hearing stories of your ancestors, that doesn’t mean we should expect you to be nothing but a stereotype.”

“You know what the strangest thing is Zuk?” Liadain chuckled before taking a long sip of her tea. “My entire life I’ve heard those stories about my family. As much as they hurt to hear, I still love to hear them. It’s really the only way I’ll ever have memories of them.”

Mizuki looked down at the counter and then back at the girl in front of her.

How can someone so young really be so old? She pondered as she reached out to touch Liadain’s arm.

“Mother and Father still would let you move in, you know. The guest room could be yours. We could be like sisters!” Mizuki grinned at the idea of having Liadain in her home. All the time they could spend training together or going on adventures in the village.

Liadain gave a soft smile as she looked around her empty home.

“I could never leave this house. I promised the Widow that I would take care of it for her,” Liadain replied as she sighed softly.

When Lord Third had found Liadian in the woods, he knew of only one person he could trust to watch over her as she grew up. That dark night he had approached the lone house on the last road in the village and knocked on the Widow Adachi’s door.

She had recently lost her husband to illness and lived in the large house all alone. Her daughter had long ago left the village to travel the world and had yet to return.

She had loved Liadain as if she were her own and Liadain loved her more than anyone she’d ever come in contact with.

Last winter, the Widow Adachi had fallen ill and passed away. She left everything she owned to Liadain, including the house.

Mizuki smiled in understanding, “Just know the offer is always on the table.”

An hour went by before the two decided to head off to the academy together. The warm Spring morning brought a smile to Dani’s face as they walked down the dirt road towards the village.

“What do you think of your sensei?” Mizuki asked as she adjusted the straps of her backpack.

“Kushina-Sensei is the best. I’ve known her for all of twenty-four hours, but she’s the coolest person I know.” Liadian gushed as she recounted the night's trip to the ramen shop.

“I hope I get a sensei like her when I graduate,” Mizuki chuckled as they turned the corner and into a more crowded area of the village.

“You totally will,” Liadain agreed.

Mizuki stopped suddenly. Liadain followed her gaze as she began to wave.

Mao glided over to them. The gaze of everyone followed her as she approached the other two girls.

“Liadain! I didn’t know you were friends with Mizuki!” Mao hugged them both as they continued walking to the academy.

“Yeah, the Widow Adachi would bring me to Mizuki's parent’s shop all the time. We used to play dolls together.” Liadain explained as they stepped through the front gates.

“Hey! Watch out!” a voice called as some younger academy students speed past them. One of the boys accidentally bumped into Mizuki, causing her to drop her book to the ground.

“Ah! Iruka!” She rolled her eyes. “Watch where you’re going!”

Iruka picked up her book and held it out to her, “Sorry Mizuki, I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Mizuki grabbed the book and waved him off with a faint blush on her face. “No, no. I’m fine.”

Iruka ran off after his friends and Mizuki huffed as she regained her composure, “That Iruka is so-”

“In love with you?” Mao offered. She and Liadain burst into giggles.

“What?! Ew, no. I was going to say annoying . Just like you two!” She rolled her eyes and then stopped in front of the classroom. “Well, I’m going to head inside. I’ll see you guys for lunch! Oh, Dani take this tincture, you need the salve for your hands.”

Mizuki handed Liadain the tincture of healing salve. She put it into the tan pouch around her waist.

“Thanks, Zuk, good luck in class today!” Liadain smiled as she and Mao headed outside to the training grounds.

“What do you think Kushina will have us do today?” Liadain asked Mao, who was busy tying her braids up into a ponytail.

“No idea, maybe just some basic stuff?” Mao offered with a shrug as they spotted their red headed sensei sitting on a bench talking with Tatsuo.

“Good morning girls!” Kushina smiled at her other two students and then stood up. “I thought we could spend today really getting to know each other.”

Read more here!

[thewolfisawake]

Oh man I was inspired for an old ship in an AU and it...got out of hand. Anyway, here’s a premise and backstory for a Jianitian P.rincess P.rincipal AU. 

Background:

The land of Darkovia managed to get a hold of the eight elemental orbs, powerful artifacts of magic, and used them to ensure its prosperity. This allowed them to become a formidable force in the world. Seeing the rising of a new power, a family that sucks blue blood thought of a way to entrench themselves into a land they otherwise have no foothold in. This family was successful in their infiltration however not long after a revolt broke out. 

The proletariat were disgruntled with the disparage between themselves and the nobility and the fires of their rebellion was mighty, forcing the royals to respond. This revolt caused some of the elemental orbs to be stolen by the rebels and became a bloody affair, causing the family of liars to abandon their plan and flee. Darkovia was eventually split into the Kingdom of Darkovia and the Commonwealth of Greenguard with a wall separating them.

While the Commonwealth holds no regrets of rising up, the wall has separated many and further more whispers of Darkovia growing more tyrannical have reached their ears. So they devise a plan to gain the throne of Darkovia by using a candidate for the crown, or rather a well-made replacement. Domitian was selected for this role but when going to make this switch, he and his partner are blackmailed by their intended target, Prince Jian. He agrees to help Greenguard’s interests so long as they help secure him as king. 

Characters:

Domitian - A spy for the Commonwealth of Greenguard. He dreads his assignment to secure the throne but he also hasn’t walked away from the mission. While he is a capable spy, he always has some twinges of doubt towards his ability. He comes off antagonistic towards the prince although ultimately does what Jian wants...even if it’s not perfect in its execution. He is from the family that snuck their way into rubbing shoulders with nobility and royalty of Darkovia. He was also a vital part of his family’s plan to secure themselves.

His family had wove into the family history a child of a tryst that they had ‘rescued.’ While normally a wedlock noble child would normally be discredited as illegitimate, records, memory and timing was painted this child to be of royal blood...which cannot be turned away no matter what. And for this role, his family had used him to be this child. He was young but he did know of the deception but wasn’t concerned because his parents told him not to worry. But the revolt ruined this for his family and they had intending to flee, leaving Domitian’s role to be assumed dead from the fighting. However, instead this ensnared Jian and Domitian feels responsible for leaving Jian there. 

What the planner and executor of this plan--his maternal grandparents, Josephine and Tatsuo--didn’t know was that Domitian has legitimate royal blood in his veins. His mother, Ty, was/is (it’s complicated) the crowned prince’s lover. And the plan was a test of loyalty for Ty as she would do anything for her parents but wouldn’t put her princeling nor their children in harm’s way. One that she tried to play both sides but ended up losing on both fronts. Domitian doesn’t care about the throne and would rather see the land unified rather than dealing with the trouble his birthright wold bring. 

Prince Jian - Fourth in line to the Kingdom of Darkovia’s throne and a spy for the Commonwealth of Greenguard. A very disciplined and cunning prince that has some fanciful rumors about him. He is well-liked despite not likely to take throne. He is fluent in several languages, knows how to read others to his advantage and a renowned duelist. His cool demeanor only seems to be shaken when dealing with Domitian, showing an angry and even spiteful face. He blackmailed Domitian and Jasper into helping him becoming king. 

Unbeknownst to all but Domitian’s immediate family and Domitian and Jian themselves, Jian was Domitian’s commoner friend that often snuck either himself or Domitian out of the estate. Because this ‘wedlock child’ was such low priority (formerly being seventh in line), most didn’t keep an eye on Domitian and had mistook Jian for Domitian on occasion. They had taken advantage of this lack of attention and Jian was covering for Domitian when the uprising hit the estate. Jian was caught in the crossfire while Domitian was taken to flee. Since the revolt killed several members of the royal family, this ‘wedlock child’ suddenly became more important and Jian was trapped under the prince guise Domitian was supposed to fulfill. Jian had no idea the intricacies of this lie but knew he needed to live this lie or he would be executed. 

While it started as a goal of survival, Jian, as a boy of common birth, came to understand the trouble of the people. How they struggled while the nobles and royals lived without a care. How this wall has separated loved ones, including him from his birth family. So he resolved to gain the power to change his land.

Jasper - Domitian’s fellow spy from training. He is the oldest of thee team although he is posing to be around their age (unconvincingly, Domitian claims). He excels at disguise although he is usually the getaway driver. He can also work as a medic should need arise. 

As a child Jasper was sickly and it was believed it was becomes of his mother’s unstable genes. Jasper wonders if it drove his mother, Alouette, away as she disappeared, leaving Jasper and his father, Zain, alone. Zain never got over Alouette and resolved to see her again. Driving into his medical practice, Zain wanted to make Jasper better so his mother wouldn’t leave again. Sometimes this led to ignoring Jasper’s discomfort and pain for the sake of experimentation. Jasper believed he could get better under his own power, instead of poisoning him. Zain ignored this because to him Jasper was just ‘a sick child.’ This led to Jasper eventually running away and ended up training as a spy. 

Cordelia - A young noble and guard-in-training that was brought into espionage. She attends the academy the boys attend which has fewer numbers of females in the knight courses.  She attends as a part of her ambition and because they’re what the prince takes. She was pulled into the plot as she with Jain when he made his threat of blackmail. While she initially did not trust Domitian and Jasper, she has warmed up to them. Enough so that Jian remakrs, “If I did not know better, I would think you were their little sister.” Despite her amicable relationship with the spies, Cordelia has made it clear that she would not hesitate to take them out if they threaten Jian’s safety.

She is daughter of two knights who serve different sides of the wall. One of her fathers, Tannim, has royal blood but surrendered his claim as an appeasement towards his cousin and to serve as a knight. Her other father is a leader of regiment in Greenguard’s militia. It puts her in a special status that has her go back and forth by covert means. It puts a strain on her but she smiles through it as she hopes that there will be a time where there is no divide and she could happily live with her family. 

[dweemeister]

My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Japan)

Studio Ghibli was off to a flying start with Castle in the Sky (1986). But like Walt Disney Animation Studios in its formative years, Ghibli would also encounter early troubles. For Ghibli’s second feature film, producers Toru Hara and Toshio Suzuki – Suzuki would become Studio Ghibli’s primary producer after Hara’s departure – thought they could easily convince executives at Toho Company to finance a children’s film including woodland creatures in post-War Japan. Toho executives thought the project was too risky and initially rejected the pitch; the post-War period was still associated with poverty and nationwide suffering. Soon after, Hara and Suzuki would return to Toho to propose a double bill: Totoro alongside an adaptation of the semiautobiograhpical novel, Grave of the Fireflies. They believed that Grave of the Fireflies would draw a wider general audience due to the novel’s popularity as assigned reading in schools, but then Toho executives blasted the idea: “We really didn’t want to make a film about monsters! So now you want to make a film about graves?”

Hara and Suzuki perhaps should have realized that Japanese wartime films had fallen out of favor decades ago among Japanese audiences enjoying their nation’s post-War economic recovery. Numerous wartime films and post-War films reflecting on Japan’s role in WWII – typically repentant, deeply introspective, and unfortunately unknown to most Westerners – had been released in the 1950s and 60s, but Masaki Kobayashi’s punishing Human Condition trilogy (1959-1961) might have been the breaking point. After Hara and Suzuki’s second rejection, things looked hopeless for Studio Ghibli. But the publishing house of Grave of the Fireflies, Shinchosha, and Akiyuki Nosaka (author of Grave of the Fireflies) provided Ghibli enough financial support to have both films produced simultaneously. Neither film would exist without the other. Hayao Miyazaki would direct Totoro; Isao Takahata would direct Fireflies. Where it would take almost two decades for Grave of the Fireflies to be fully appreciated by Western and Japanese audiences (the latter begrudgingly so), My Neighbor Totoro would be an instant phenomenon. Though Miyazaki’s film exists within safe confines, it is a wildly entertaining, fantastical romp through the woods, and deserves its status as an icon of Japanese animation.

It is a summer in the mid-1950s. University professor Tatsuo Kusakabe and his two young daughters – Satsuki (the elder daughter) and Mei (four years old) – have moved to a rural house surrounded by a lush forest. Satsuki and Mei’s mother is in a regional hospital, recovering from what is implied to be tuberculosis; her absence is a source of sadness underneath the girls’ frolicsome personalities. Minutes after arriving at their new house for the first time, the girls encounter hundreds of dark dust-like mites with eyes. On another day, Mei runs into two leporine creatures that lead her inside an enormous tree where she finds “Totoro” – pictured above, and is described by Miyazaki as, “not a spirit,” but, “only an animal... [that] lives on acorns”. Totoro – this name is derived from Mei’s mispronunciation of “torôru” (”troll” in Japanese) – takes Mei and, later, Satsuki on a variety of wild adventures. A few of these adventures include Catbus – a form of transportation bound to give some riders a nasty allergic reaction (when the great Akira Kurosawa met with Hayao Miyazaki and expressed how much he adored Catbus, Miyazaki was speechless to hear that from one of his cinematic heroes). Among their new human friends includes Kanta, who is Satsuki’s age, and Kanta’s grandmother, “Granny”.

Miyazaki’s previous two films, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Castle in the Sky (1986), established a mode of storytelling that the director would carry into many of his later films: a headstrong, morally unimpeachable girl that possesses or accesses magical forces befriending a boy that never really develops as a character but is there as support. Totoro is, along with Porco Rosso (1992), the only early Miyazaki Ghibli film that approaches the narrative in a different direction. Instead, this film concentrates on the sisterhood between Satsuki and Mei. With no villains threatening to tear up the countryside or post-apocalyptic monsters on a rampage, Miyazaki allows these two girls the freedom to express their youthful curiosity and sense of fun. That lack of conflict extends to Mei’s first meeting with Totoro. Instead of recoiling in fear from the heaving mass of whiskered gray and white with lengthy claws snoring in a tree’s hollow, Mei squeals with delight, climbing onto Totoro’s body, and beaming at her newfound sleepyhead friend-who-doesn’t-know-he’s-about-to-make-a-new-friend. Watching that scene, whatever cynicism I carried with me into my first viewing of the film ceased to be. You just know that, no matter what kind of sticky situations these girls mind be in, Totoro and company will be there to make things right. This is a rare children’s animated film without villains, malice. Few films are as reassuring as Totoro is.

A scene waiting a bus stop illustrates some of that delight. Satsuki and Mei are waiting for their father at a bus stop in the woods on a rainy day – the trees block out a considerable amount of light during the daytime, and dusk is soon turning into night (pictured above). Their father is late, and there is a single light around. Totoro drops in quietly, with a single leaf on his head – ostensibly, to stay dry. It’s an absurd, comical moment, dispelling with any simple equations of darkness with danger. For first-time and hundredth-time viewers, the feelings here are not of dread for their father’s tardiness and the children’s loneliness, but of comfort.

However, that does not mean My Neighbor Totoro is without pain. The real world calls Satsuki and Mei home through the health of their mother. With no macro-themes to depict, no humanistic messages to espouse, the pain that Satsuki, Mei, and their father go through is largely beyond their control, and is deeply personal. Perhaps there is no greater fear a child might have than to lose a parent or guardian. That fear is a backdrop, a faint current that remains even in the most joyful scenes. Not that this fear of potential loss distracts from Satsuki and Mei’s play, but it informs both girls’ desire to escape and be themselves where adults might not be able to.

What both Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies accomplish in very different ways is their ability to adopt a child’s perspective and stay there. Some children’s films where children are central characters initially adopt a child’s perspective but, by design, must later incorporate adult sensibilities (2006′s Akeelah and the Bee, 2011′s Hugo). Other children’s films probably could benefit if they remained exclusively from a child’s perspective (1964′s Mary Poppins, still fantastic nevertheless). But Totoro, like The Learning Tree (1969) and Children of Heaven (1997, Iran), is one of very few films that keep with Satsuki and Mei’s views of the world surrounding them. How they interpret new people, places, things, and animals is what Miyazaki is interested in. When they speak of their curious experiences with Totoro to their father or Granny, the adults smile and question Satsuki and Mei about their adventures – never condescending, mocking. They accept these stories as true, even if the girls’ father never witnesses Totoro’s dramatic seed-growing ceremony out in his own front yard late at night (here, I gesticulated at the screen, whisper-shouting, “Dad! Look outside!” There is a magic there long lost on adults, but those adults are never discouraging of those views (sparing viewers from a tiresome “my dad doesn’t think so-and-so is real, so I have to prove him wrong” subplot). Totoro is no innovator in its depiction of children – even when just counting animated films – but the formula it uses for those depictions is just right.

The earliest Studio Ghibli films – from Nausicaä to parts of Only Yesterday (1991) – boasted watercolor backgrounds that invited viewers into each film’s artistry, and My Neighbor Totoro is no different. Kazuo Oga served as art director for his first of many Ghibli films – whether as art director or a background artist – and uses softer colors, as well as pastel-like browns for thicker foliage in the foreground. This colorful softness gradually disappeared from successive Ghibli films, as this would have clashed with the violence seen in Princess Mononoke (1997) and with the advent of computer animation and digital paint – which was not advanced enough at the time to replicate the watercolor backgrounds of the earlier Ghibli films. For the animators working under Oga, many were staffers that were pulling double shifts for Grave of the Fireflies and Totoro – at work, many of these animators found themselves confused about which movie they were working on that day. That only serves to speak for the superior animation found in both works.

Influenced by Japanese pop and the electronic music emerging from Japan in the 1970s and early ‘80s, composer Joe Hisaishi’s first three Ghibli film scores are synthesizer-heavy (Nausicaä, Castle in the Sky, Totoro). That fusion of electronic and Western classical music sources is most apparent in Totoro, which is the last Hisaishi-scored film with a heavy electronic presence. Though the title song, sung by Azumi Inoue, is a delightful, earworm-developing listen, one of the most dated parts of the movie is its music. Numerous electronic-heavy film scores from the 1970s and 80s have aged poorly (see most anything composed by Vangelis; among Ghibli films, Nausicaä’s experimental electronics are distracting), and the film’s setting of the mid-1950s does not help matters. But the motif established in the title song helps a largely episodic plotline, and Hisaishi knows exactly when to use Totoro’s theme in his score for the first time after the opening credits.

In North America, My Neighbor Totoro had a troubled distributive history. For Miyazaki – who has always maintained a distance from Western film distributors –  various cuts made to Nausicaä’s Western release saw the Ghibli co-founder adopt a hard-knuckle approach to Totoro’s North American distribution. The issue stemmed from a scene where Satsuki, Mei, and their father are all bathing together – a Japanese cultural norm. For 20th Century Fox, 50th Street Films, and the now-defunct Streamline Pictures, this would not do. Totoro would not be distributed in North America until 1993 and, as far as I could find, may or may not have been screened without cuts. If American studios thought Nausicaä and Totoro were controversial and offended the morality police, this is not even beginning to delve into Isao Takahata’s films.

But in Japan, with the box office failure of the Totoro-Fireflies double bill, Ghibli needed a box office hit to stay afloat. Financial salvation came the year after, as Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) outgrossed all previous Studio Ghibli movies combined and was the top draw at the Japanese box office that year. Takahata’s Only Yesterday would cement Ghibli’s existence as it also became the highest-grossing Japanese film of its year. Like Walt Disney Animation Studios before it (the costs of Fantasia and Pinocchio and the loss of the European box office to WWII nearly bankrupted Disney, with Dumbo and The Reluctant Dragon to the rescue), a difficult infancy was overcome, with even more beauty yet to come.

No other Studio Ghibli movie, arguably, has had a greater impact on popular culture than My Neighbor Totoro. Its appeal to children and adults is self-evident. And though this is not a work that pushes any cinematic boundaries (Totoro is meant for animation – would you want to see Totoro in a live-action remake?), this is as comforting and entertaining as movies get.

My rating: 8.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

[lazymilkshakecolor]

Cloak or jacket?

Summary:How Naruto told Sarada that she achieved her dream of being hokage.

A hawk was pecking on her window,she would of ignored it if it wasn’t wearing an orange ribbon, which signifies that it is from the hokage himself.

‘Seriously, what does he want at 1 a.m.’ Sarada thought as got up from bed and headed to the hokage tower.

On her way there she was thinking about Naruto’s behaviour these last few days.

‘He keeps his hokage hat on all day,he’s been having a lot of meetings with the elders,  he challenged to a fight a few days before,and he’s actually doing his paperwork fast without Mister Shikamaru nagging him,and Boruto did mention that uncle has stopped refiling the stock of ramen cups in his office, maybe he’s listening to mama’s advice and cutting back a little,’

Sarada chuckled knowing that that will never happen before knocking on the hohage’s door,she opened it to see him sitting on his chair,his hat on his head , and a small stack of paperwork in front of him.

‘‘Sorry for waking you up at this time Sarada but it’s very important.’’

Naruto had a serious look on his face, which is weird since he looked very happy this week.

‘Shit, this might be very dangerous, it might be a dangerous enemy, but he wouldn’t send me alone to face someone dangerous, not because he didn’t trust in my abilities but because he believed that in teamwork everything is resolved faster and safer, then it must be something political, I am the ambassador of konoha after all,and it’s gotta be very important meeting if it’s in the middle of the night, likely with the ambassadors of the other hidden villages.’ Sarada ‘s thoughts were interrupthed with Naruto’s voice.

‘‘Sarada.’‘ he said with a stern voice.

‘‘Yes sir.’‘

He took a deep breath as if getting ready to reveal a big secret.

‘‘Do you prefer a jacket or a cape?’‘ he said bluntly, stern look still on his face.

‘‘WHAT?!’‘ Sarada questioned with wide eyes.

Sarada left brow twitched when the hokage started laughing.

‘‘You should have seen your face Sara-chan.’‘ he said as he leaned over his desk.

‘And this is the  strongest shinobi in the world .’ Sarada thought, but she could feel her lips twitching upward in a smile at his childish behavior.

When he calmed down he grinned and said:’‘I think you’ll look more badass in a jacket, maybe a black one,it suits you better, don’t you think?’‘ he said with a raised eyebrow.

‘‘Yeah it does,but i don’t need a jacket, the girl on fire isn’t going to get cold uncle.’‘

‘‘Oh yeah,the jacket of the Phoenix of the leaf should be fire proof.’’he said as he scribbled it down on a piece of paper.

‘‘Well Id love a fire proof jacket, maybe with sparkly fire designs so it will go great with my fire proof  sparkly boots.’‘ She deadpanned.

‘So he woke me up in the middle of the night to talk about jackets,i would’ve expected Chou-Chou or Hima, but not the Hokage himself.

‘‘Very funny Sarada,so black fire proof jacket with some traditional fire designes on the edges, you agree?’‘

The young women just glared at him,a glare that would have intimidated the bravest of men , but his smile only grew wider.

‘‘You’re kinda mean at  night time, you know that?’‘

‘‘Yeah that tends to happen when I’m woken up after an S class mission to discuss fashion, sir.’‘ she said, lips turned slightly down in a frown.

‘‘Well, i bet on every ramen stand in the village that i can turn that frown into a wide smile in one phrase Sara-chan.’‘

‘‘I doubt that sir.’‘ she said eyebrow quirking up at the challenge.

‘‘Well then.’‘he said as he scribbled on  his paper and then handed it to Sarada.

Sarada noticed that his hand was shaking as he handed her the paper, but the kind of shaking that signifies excitement not fear or anxiety.

‘‘Hmm’’ Sarada  hummed as she read the paper which said:

Konoha fabrics product order:

-Jacket:-black

           -Fire proof

           -traditional flames on the edges (This is a special request of Tatsuo who will know what that means.)

‘Hm isn’t Tatsuo the grandson of that lady that used to make the hokages cloaks ‘Sarada thought before she continued reading.

        -Written at the back in bold red letters ‘‘ Hashidaime.’‘

Sarada looked back and forth between Naruto and the paper, mouth agape, until the paper dropped from her hands.

‘‘Please, please tell me you’re not playing some cruel joke.’‘She said while running her fingers through her hair and while taking deep breaths .

‘‘I wouldn’t dare ,you’d punch from here to Kumo.’‘ he said as got up and stood between her and his desk.

‘‘You mean i actually did it?! I’m gonna be hokage!’‘Sarada said as she jumped up and down , a wide smile on her face.

‘‘I told i can get rid of miss cranky and sleepy.’‘

‘‘I gotta go tell Boruto,oh no he’s on mission i gotta tell my parents,i gotta tell sensei and and--’‘

Sarada finaly ran out of breath, the combination of jumping and excitment and talking ran her out,but her smile was still as wide as it was when she moved forward and threw her arms around Naruto.

‘‘Thank you, thank for training me , for making me your apprentice  and for picking me.’‘

‘‘Hey! i should be the one thanking you Dattebayo!’‘

Sarada laughed as she moved away and wiped her tears,she looked at him and started laughing again.

‘‘What?’‘

‘‘That’s why you wouldn’t take off your hat.’‘

‘‘Of course not,i have to say goodbye to my darling before you take her  from me.’‘

Sarada chuckled, she normally wasn’t a giggly person, but this,this is something she fought for since she was 12,her inspiration to attain this position only grew when she knew about her clan,and she just couldn’t believe that she got here.

‘‘But why me?’‘ she asked.

‘‘Huh?’‘

‘‘You could have picked Boruto or Konohamaru sensei, but why me?’‘

Naruto grinned and patted her head.

‘‘Cause Sarada, over the years I’ve seen you fight many battles , both mentally and physically and through those battles I’ve seen that you’re will of fire will never fade,and i didn’t make you the leaf ambassador for nothing, it was to see you’re political skills, that both Boruto and Konohamaru don’t have and besides a Hokage must have the desire to connect with as much people as she can and wasn’t that your original reason for wanting this position Sara-chan?’‘

‘’yeah.’‘

‘‘Now , know why I got you here at night?’‘

‘‘Actually no, why?’‘

‘‘So that you’ll go and wake Sasuke, he’s getting pretty lazy these days.’‘

‘‘Give him a break, Saboro won’t let him rest, he always wants to train.’‘

‘‘Yeah he’s getting old.’‘

‘‘You’re the same age uncle.’‘ she said with a a cocky grin.

‘‘You know i can still change my mind on the hokage thing.’‘

‘‘And I’m going, bye!’‘ she said as she ran at top speed from the window,Naruto followed her fading back as she got closer to her parents house, he then looked at his fathers face on the mountain.

‘‘My duty as hokage to this village is over now,and I am sure i made the right choice for my successor and that the village will continue to prosper under her rule.’‘

After a few minutes of starring at the hokage faces he sighted.

‘‘Sarada’s right, I am getting old.’‘

A knock resounded on the door ,Naruto was surprised to find out that it was his son.

‘‘Hey dad i finished the mission early, what’s this?’‘ he picked the paper off the ground and read it.

‘‘Sarada?’‘

‘‘Yeah.’‘

‘‘You tell her yet?’‘

‘‘Yeah i just did, i wish you were here, she was ecstatic.’‘

A smile made it’s way to Boruto’s lips.

‘‘You know Boro,you should pop that ring tomorrow .’‘

‘‘I was planing on doing it this week that’s why i visited uncle Sasuke yesterday.’‘

‘‘Well i should probably go sleep,big day tomorrow,oh and dad nice choice on the black jacket,she looks more badass in black.’‘ he said as he closed the door to his fathers office.

‘‘Heh, and Sasuke says I have a terrible fashion sense,i just picked his daughters hokage jacket,and orange is always in Dattebayo!’‘

Loud banging was heard on the door of the Uchiha household,the Uchiha couple sensed it was their daughter that’s why they rushed down stairs and opened the door to a smiling Sarada.

‘‘Sarada what’s wrong?’‘ Sakura asked as she pulled Sarada inside.

‘‘Nee-san you okay?’‘ said the brown haired Uchiha boy, his sharingan activated checking for threats.

‘‘I’m fine, I’m great.’‘

‘‘Then why did you wake us at 3a.m?’‘ asked a grumpy  Sasuke.

‘‘Well, i was discussing jacket details with the hokage,it’s going to be black and fireproof.’‘

There was a momnet of silence until Sakura broke it, a hopeful expression on her face.

‘‘Sarada you mean your dream jacket?’‘  

It wasn’t that hard to guess after the details she just gave and the wide smile on her face.

Sarada nodded and she  was immediately squashed against her mother.

‘‘Honey i knew you could do it.’‘

‘‘Do what? tell us already!’‘ said Saboro, while Sasuke was standing beside him finally catching up after getting rid of his sleepiness.

‘’Sarada.’’he didn’t say any other thing his eyes said it all for him, happiness,pride,hope.

‘’Okay someone tell me what is going on here!’’Saboro shouted .

‘‘I’m going to become hachidaime,I did it! I did it! Shanaroo!’‘

‘‘My daughters going to become hokage shanaroo!.’‘

‘‘Hn’‘

‘‘My sisters hokage, i’m going to be the coolest kid in the village!’‘

‘‘We should go and celebrate!’‘ Sakura said.

‘‘But it’s 3 in the morning Sak.’‘

‘’So? my Sasa achieved her dream we will  wait until the stores open.

‘‘Mama! You can’t call a hokage that!’‘

‘‘Sak we will celebrate tomorrow.’‘

‘‘No, shanaroo!’‘

‘‘I want cake!’‘

‘‘Stop it guys that’s an order from the hokage!’‘