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ramblingkat · 4 years ago

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Fic: Toebeans

More UraIchi week. This time: Touch starved

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai

Summary: Kisuke has a last resort trick in case of a major injury. It gives him a chance to recover in an alternative form.

A much fluffier form.

Ichigo blinked at the cat.

The cat blinked back.

Then it came up to him and rubbed its body against his leg, leaving a trail of pale fur. A second rub and the cat popped itself into Ichigo’s lap, making a little chirp up at him.

Ichigo blinked again, and then looked at Tessai. “You are kidding,” he said flatly. Tessai shook his head.

“Unfortunately, no,” the man said with a sigh. “It is a last resort action, but until Tenchou has recovered enough that he can use kaido on himself easier, he’ll stay in this smaller form. It requires less reiryoku to function.”

They both looked down where Kisuke, now in the form of a long furred cat, was making himself comfortable in Ichigo’s lap. Ichigo tensed a moment as he felt the prickle of claws against his thigh for a moment. Then Kisuke got settled and started to knead at the jeans Ichigo wore, a deep rumbling vibrating out of that fluffy body.

“He seems to enjoy your company. Usually, we have to hunt him down and catch him. Which is...difficult.”

Ichigo could imagine it. Cats were hard enough to catch. One with Kisuke’s brains…. “How do you ever find him?”

There was a faint frown. “We typically don’t. So when he came right out to greet you, I was very grateful that you came when I called.”

Like Ichigo was going to do anything else. Tessai calling and saying that Kisuke had a small accident and if Ichigo could come be of assistance? Of course, Ichigo was coming over.

He did not expect a lap full of feline Kisuke.

“If you could watch him until I am able to get things cleaned up and repaired, I would greatly appreciate, Kurosaki-san.”

What was Ichigo supposed to do other than agree, now that he was here. Then Tessai vanished, and there was another chirp from Kisuke. Looking down, Ichigo saw that there was definitely plenty of brains in that head still, the look a familiar one.

Ichigo shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t.

“Don’t scratch me,” he said. Then he carefully rubbed the fur around Kisuke’s ear. It was surprisingly soft, the long fur almost clinging to his skin as he scratched Kisuke’s head. Absently, Ichigo wondered if Kisuke’s hair was like this.

There was a startled jolt from Kisuke, then he closed his eyes and the purr doubled in volume. After a moment, he even pressed his head up into Ichigo’s hand.

Waiting for some teasing, and wondering why Kisuke hadn’t said anything yet, Ichigo went with it. He had noticed that Kisuke rarely touched people. Nor did he let others touch him. It happened now and then. But, like when Ichigo had thanked Kisuke for saving his life the first time, it always seemed to startle the other.

Now, the man, as a cat, was rubbing his head up into Ichigo’s touch. It startled Ichigo a bit, how eagerly Kisuke pushed into the touch. But….

Ichigo normally only got a feel for others when he crossed blades with them. When he sparred with Kisuke, he got the feel of the other’s determination to win, and to teach Ichigo. Both in equal parts. It sometimes came through even when their swords weren’t touching one another.

Now, though, as clear as if he was battling the man, Ichigo could feel the hunger there. The need for more touch.

He wondered if this was just because of the cat body, or….

Ichigo flushed because the idea of Kisuke wanting to be touched led his brain to places he shouldn’t let it go. He wasn’t sure if the other was interested, even if they did flirt. A lot.

Cat or not, though, Ichigo could understand wanting to have some sort of connection, and feeling that from Kisuke was something he had to fix.

“Such a brat,” he muttered, trying to not blush as he used both hands to pet Kisuke. The other managed to purr even louder, standing up to push up into Ichigo’s hands. That was something that worked for a bit before Ichigo had to stop and adjust where Kisuke’s pointy little feet kept digging into muscle.

There was a gleam in Kisuke’s eye, and he flopped onto his side, then wiggled around to drape across Ichigo’s lap, belly exposed.

“This,” Ichigo said as he watched Kisuke’s paws kneading the air, “is a trap.”

But the other looked absolutely adorable. There were little flashes of little pink toebeans, and Ichigo was weak. He caught one of those paws, rubbing his thumb across the toebeans. They flexed under his thumb as Kisuke continued to knead, as happy a cat as Ichigo had ever seen.

Then Ichigo took his life into his hand and started to scratch that belly. It was likely a trap, but Kisuke hadn’t taken an eye out yet.

The other went limp as Ichigo got his fingers into that soft, soft rub and rubbed Kisuke’s belly. He purred more, the vibration of it traveling up Ichigo’s arm. There was a flex of energy, and it warmed Ichigo’s chest because it was the same feeling he got when he and Kisuke were having one of their talks. Just the two of them, discussing something random and just spending time with each other. It was one of the few times he got to feel another like that without having to be in a fight.

Though this was probably the cutest thing Ichigo had ever seen, and he was happy to rub the cat’s belly until Kisuke gave a large yawn, and wiggled around to go to sleep on Ichigo’s lap. Even then, Ichigo kept rubbing Kisuke’s head, and the feeling of happiness did not fade.

Having Kisuke sleeping on his lap, just getting to spend this quiet time with him, made something click on Ichigo’s brain.

Oh.

Looking at Kisuke, Ichigo realized that he definitely needed to ask the other out. Once he was human.

Ichigo couldn’t decide if he wanted Kisuke to be like Yoruichi or not. Because naked Kisuke would be interesting to see. But naked Kisuke would make Ichigo flustered about asking him out.

Well, he’d find out sooner or later.

Ichigo just smiled faintly and kept petting the cat in his lap. Maybe he’d get a chance to help Kisuke with that touch hunger when the man wasn’t an adorable lump of fur in his lap.

#UraIchi Week 2021 #Bleach #Kurosaki Ichigo #Urahara Kisuke #Tsukabishi Tessai #shapechanging

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lokislytherin · 4 years ago

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MASTERPOST :>

SIDE BLOG @rinarchive52 WITH REPOSTED FICS COZ I GOTTA KEEP TRACK OF MY STUFF YK

i gotta stop getting lost in my content / losing my content to the tumblr void so here is a neatly compiled list of everything i’ve ever written and posted, as well as everything i want to start / get done!

main fandoms: tower of god, lookism, nijisanji EN

COMPLETED

tower of god:

tog calendar: sandwiches, summonings and supernatural beings

japan boarding school horror story: toilet bound viole senpai

joseon dynasty ehwaryun: 火花

khundeath crack ft whipped reaper bam: no body no crime

khunbam soft tango dancing ft hwaryun: permission to dance

deep voice khun x writer bam: my mind turns your life into folklore

vday / white day exchange: you are in love

aguero is not scared of eldritch bam: wake me in the moonlight

bam gets yeeted out of bed: how to share a bed by khun a.a

soft sadist!maschenny: we're going crazy, 본 적 없던 naughty girl

beauty and the beast, nekokhun: dinner here is never second best

alice in wonderland, kidnapped cop!bam: we found wonderland

khun maria character study: twit

gumiho!khun x hwarang!bam with a lil plot twist: stay gold

tog x bnha au with todoroki!khun and villain deku!bam: bad guy

mafia spy!khun x cop!bam in khunfam party: bang bang bang

kiki’s delivery service khunbam au: cruel summer

nijisanji EN:

vox akuma + eldritch kindred: love me only til this spring

cop au!vox vs fulgur: cyborgs roll the dice, demons roll their eyes

debut lore fulgur gets isekai’d into a barn: how baa-thersome

sonny brisko creates chaos as goose: it’s time to HUNT

pickpocket konbini tenchou alban: welcome to the nekonbini

fulgur ovid attempts to babysit noctyx: baby, baby, baby, NO

vox akuma bday fic for akumazine: and there is happiness

uki gaslight gatekeep girlbosses legatus: the ‘leg’ in legatus

yandere student council president sonny x reader: PSYCHO.

cartographer!fulgur ft mer!uki: something fishy in the water

fulgur sheep transmigration fic, the sequel: yes i read you

merry crisis to hako tenshi: no shame, that’s where i’m at

akumazine round 2 ft hako tenshi: i do wish me a lovely night

noctyx 2nd anni zine nya: borg dreams of holly and ribbon

akumazine round 3 ft luxiem and hako: cause destiny is mine

lookism:

social anxiety awkward jay au: hong jaeyeol can’t communicate

chainsaw man!lookism au: 努力、未來、a beautiful star

idol!daniel x med student jay + plot twist: all eyes on me now

joy pov jay sick fic ft sibling feelings + daniel: made with love

5 wingmen vs 1 potential valentines janiel owo: hit and run

fluffy angsty gundaniel hurt and janiel comfort: finally clean

idol!daniel x med jay sequel + fox ears: you know i hype you boy

komi!jay finally confesses for white day: baby i love, i love you

janiel ft crystaljay arranged marriage: i found myself dreaming

janiel finally get their happy ending: and i hope i never lose you

byelingual gun x izakaya!reader + plot twist: speak no evil

idol daniel x pianist med jay: hey piano man, your dancing hands

assassinseok fails to kill jay 4 whole times: come a little closer

marine biologist x selkie jay ft ocean puns: when i sea you again

tattoo artist dan x gay panicking jay: nineteen’s kitsch

jay finds out ui dan is a closet cuddlebug: marshmallow cheeks

jaeseok meet cute + dan’s first time on a plane: city of stars

samuel and eli take care of yenna: and at last i see the light

flirty hyungseok x batman![guess who!]: hero in black armor

park jinyoung character study: hopes for tomorrow

prince!dan x protective guardian angel!jay: hikaru nara

vampire!dan x werewolf!jay rom com: mabushikute

spiderjay for nanowrimo: hong jaeyeol, superhero

jangseo hostel christmas ft yenna: snowing in my heart

lunar new year dragonjay: raging fire, roaring flood

disaster streamer daniel x hot gay jay: straight guy turns bi

jaydan post-first affiliate cuddles: and every time my heart beats

taesoodg beach shenanigans: hello, blue ocean view

firefighter dan x vet jay: cause baby you’re a firework

trigun stampede:

aboverse plantcest fluff and theoretical cuddling: koko ni, nai

millions knives? no he’s a worm now: would you still love me

the grandmaster of demonic cultivation | 魔道祖師:

mid autumn festival wangxian ft glowsticks: 舉頭望明月

bts:

handsome detective kim seokjin says be gay solve crime: save me

joon has heart cancer but it’s not what you think: 나 너를 사랑해

bwl era sope confession: i want to see the stars in your eyes

vampire!jeon jeongguk x human!reader: euphoria

waiter jeongguk coffeeshop au, u’ll get diabetes: hot stuff, beware

TO COMPLETE

tower of god:

khunbam idol au, singer!bam x manager!khun: ships in the night

khunbam merfolk au (title is a spoiler / pun btw): fish out of water

snow queen!khun + angels/demons: it’s always you, crystal snow

harry potter chosen ones!khunbam (title pun): works like a charm

bts:

detective jin says be gay solve crime part 2: i’m fine

beauty and the beast werewolf!joon x fairy!jin: the truth untold

circus au with photographer!jk + journalist!suga: burn the stage

mermaid!yoongi x human prince!jimin (same universe as ttu): run

lookism:

star tears disease ft pining jaeyeol x oblivious daniel: starshatter

sussy ceo dg x journalist reader: devil by the window

jay adopts 5 y o kid!daniel: the single father to husband pipeline

dan accidentally moves in with ghost!jay: haunted

valentines secretary x ceo jaydan: my new boss is a himbo!!

niji:

reverse isekai with writer ike eveland: hope in the dark

TO START

tower of god:

little red riding hood yuri x big bad wolf mas: i’m a little monster

genshin impact:

鲸鱼之歌 (whale song): singer!childe x retired pianist!zhongli

fearless: jeanlisa dancing in the rain ft klee (no electrocharge)

niji:

noctyx tog au ft other niji members: spiral to the abyss

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takoyakitenchou · 4 years ago

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誕生日おめでとう!! (part 2)

a continuation of collab w @polar-stars

10:30 AM EST, February 14th

“How does one art?” asked the tenchou with a depressed groan.

Lea glanced over at the tenchou’s screen. Thirty-three shots of espresso and half a latte macchiato later, they were done writing the fic and the tenchou was now staring down what vaguely resembled a chaotic slew of random lines and squiggles.

“Are you doing abstract art?” Lea asked curiously.

Reina gave her a look. “This is just the first layer.”

It took all her self control and then some not to laugh, but Lea managed to clear her throat and resume working on her masterpiece.

“I need a break,” the tenchou announced. “I’m going to buy food. Do you want anything?”

Lea shook her head. “I had breakfast on the plane. Thanks for putting me in business class, by the way.”

“Of course! I have a shit ton of mileage.”

It was no surprise when the store manager returned bearing five shots of espresso. “I’m setting a deadline,” Reina explained when Lea raised a concerned eyebrow. “I’ll be done with the art before I finish the coffee.”

“I thought you were getting food?”

Reina waved it off and sat down. “Brain food.” She cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck. “Crunch time.”

Intrigued at the sudden life in the tenchou’s eyes, Lea gave a smirk. “See you on the flip side.”

under the cut :}

4:00 PM EST, February 14th

“How does… one… gradient?”

It had been approximately five and a half hours of radio silence between the two in the cafe. The New York afternoon was flitting by but neither registered the time nor the passersby making the most of their Valentine’s Day; every single one of their senses was honed in on their screens and the food (because Lea insisted that no, the tenchou could not in fact survive solely off caffeine).

“What program are you using?” Lea asked without looking up from Kuvira’s left eyebrow.

“I invested in Clip Studio recently. Fuck! That clears the canvas.”

Lea pointed at the left dock while simultaneously contouring Kuvira’s eyelid. “The gradient is under the brush.”

“Oh! Thank you.” Reina messed around with the background gradient for what had to be at least twenty years. Then she sat back with a relieved sigh and said, “I’m done.”

Lea examined Reina’s screen and the gradient—or rather, lack thereof.

“Where’s the gradient?”

Reina blinked. “That is the gradient. Jujutsu Kaisen but pastel.”

Gradient, my ass, Lea thought with a pronounced eyeroll, and the tenchou laughed as if she knew what Lea was thinking.

“My handwriting is giving me an aneurism,” she continued, “and I seriously don’t know what Akane is sitting on, but it is how it is. Are you done yet?”

“Just about,” Lea said, adding final touches to Baatar’s glasses. “Should I call the birthday girl now?”

The tenchou nodded and saved the Krita file—to lose progress now would be tragic indeed. “Tell her to be here tomorrow morning at nine and ask her what her favorite coffee is. I’ll get the fic printed in 52 point font when I go back to Jyard tonight. Care to get dinner?”

For what must’ve been the first time since they’d sat down that morning, Lea took the opportunity to absorb how gorgeous New York City actually was, the sunset an idyllic canvas streaked with pastels. “Have we seriously been sitting in this cafe for six hours? Do you even know how many couples should’ve been enjoying the cityscape from this table?”

Reina shrugged and Lea wondered if she should admire or chastise how emotionally dead the tenchou was. “You’re my interim Valentine’s date. Let them deal with it.”

[ok ok listen i have no clue what kind of restaurants are in nyc so we’re just ~casually~ skipping that scene]

9:00 AM EST, February 15th

The birthday girl had just sat down in the otherwise empty cafe when a waitress approached her. [also do wait staff approach you in cafes or are you supposed to order of your own volition bc i have 0 memory of pre covid]

“One cappuccino, please,” she requested, and she swore she saw a flicker of recognition in the waitress’ eyes.

In a few minutes the waitress returned with the cappuccino… and a latte macchiato and ten iced americanos.

The birthday girl’s eyes bugged out. “Um… I don’t think this is the right order?”

“It’s the right order,” said the conservatory student with a knowing grin.

Just as the birthday girl opened her mouth to courteously question just what kind of caffeine-addicted dumbass one would have to be to drink a dozen coffees in one sitting, Lea appeared out of nowhere and added, “It is most definitely the right order.”

“Nah,” corrected the tenchou. “There were supposed to be twelve of mine but Lea made me cut two.” And then they dumped all seventy-two pages of heavyweight paper on the birthday girl lmao ok yeah that is not good for the environment but hey it’s yo birthday! hope your 2021 is completely crammed with joy and fortune and lots of good food. you are an amazing writer and human being with some litass electromagnetic oscillations, so keep living life as always :}

#next time i will use hex codes instead of guessing colors #and hopefully your posture isn't as bad as raiden's #happy birthday lol

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tokai-teio · 4 years ago

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"Tenchou best holoEN" ELITE TASTE, PREFIX o7

kiara won me over with her overall kindness and very pure-hearted nature, we joke about bottom left but she’s just so good.

youtube

i love the crazy antics of the others, but we gotta appreciate those who are kind.

#also i’ve talked about how i admire her for being a translation ambassador #prefix answers #sfw #flannelflightsoffancy

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lo-55 · 4 years ago

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Shattered Chains of Fate Ch. 5

Heart Breaker

(Spoilers for Fate/Apocry[ha Inheritors of Glory.

Also Achilles is Gay and you can’t change my mind)

Mash was turning out to be a real heartbreaker.

Right outside of Alcatraz and they’ve been accosted by Fergus and Diarmud, who is a Lancer her and not a Saber like Ichigo was used to. Not only were they now fighting two servants, but Fergus had the gall to propose to Mash.

Which is how Ichigo ends up breaking all rules of a holy grail war and he, the master, stomps over to their opponents and punches Fionn on the head as hard as he can. He would have done more damage to the brick walls but he thinks he gets the point across because -

“She’s a kid! Don’t go proposing to someone like that you goddamn creep! I’ll kick your ass!”

Medusa has to catch him in her chains and forcibly drag him back to the group while he threatens bodily injury to the opposing servant.

“And for that matter stop being a dick to Diarmud! Asshole!”

“Well now that’s a foul mouth. Are all masters like you?” Fergas rubs his head, looking unruffled and honestly? Ichigo’s pretty sure he just broke his damn hand. Totally worth it.

“There are no other masters,” Ichigo scowls. The ground rumbles as a whole army of celtic warriors crest the hill. They’re caught, between the sea and the army and the servants. And to top it all off, there’s a crack in the sky. Along with the ring of solomon, a jagged smile rips through the sky and crawls with dark teeth. A monster crawls out and Kyo grimaces.

“If you keep releasing your reitsu like that, you’re going to summon a whole army of them here,” he said frankly. Ichigo stares at him.

“Huh?”

“You didn’t even notice, did you?” Kyo looks him over, something thoughtful in his eyes. “I suppose you wouldn’t. You’re only human, isn’t that right?”

“Uh yeah. Just human.”

“Master,” Cu elbows him, “It’s time to fight.”

“Right,” Ichigo turns to the living and clenches his fist in front of his chest, his command seals burning against his skin. “Let’s take them down! Rama, show us what that sword of yours can do!”

“Yes!” Rama helfts his blade and fire erupts, scorching and hot. He grins, a king and a warrior at one and-

Throws it like a frisbee.

Ichigo stares, mouth open, as it rips through the enemy like an overpowered saw blade. That was on fire.

“So that’s his Noble Fantasm, huh?” Ichigo runs his fingers through his hair. He can feel it draining his mana, but he could probably stand for it to be released a few more times before he collapses.

“Okay,” Ichigo focuses on the battle again, his mind whirling. Two lancers, and they have one Saber, one Berserker, on Lancer, one Rider, one Shielder, one Caster and Ichigo himself. Lancers were weak to Sabers, and strong to Archers, which they don’t have.

He can work with this.

“Mash, get ready. Cu, you too,” he keeps his plan quiet, his directions firm and the world focuses down to this point, this battle. Diarmund and Fergus are stronger than them by far but Ichigo will not accept defeat or failure. Together, they can drag victory out of their jaws.

By the time the fight ends he realizes that Kyo is staring at him intently. Ichigo scowls at him in return.

“What?” he asks irritably.

“I was just wondering… What on earth is happening here?”

“Huh? It’s a holy grail war,” obviously. But the ghost just stares at him, and Ichigo realizes that he’s going to have to explain. About the singularities, about the incineration of humanity. About the end of the world that they’re trying so hard to prevent.

By the time he’s done, Kyo is pale and his mouth is drawn tight.

“That’s- that’s insane! If the living world ends, so will the worlds of the dead!”

“Oh yeah?” Ichigo hums. “That’s fucked up. But, we’re not gonna let that happen. Even if our assination attempt failed, we’ll just have to meet them head on.”

“You say that like it will be easy,” Rama comes to his side and looks vaguely in the ghosts direction. “The truth of the matter is, even with all of us, our chances at winning are still going to be slim.”

“So?” Ichigo crosses his arms over his chest. “This isn’t our first rodeo. We’ll win. We have to.” He says it like it’s simple. And to him, it is.

“If that’s the case,” Kyo eyes Ichigo speculatively. “You might want to suppress your Reitsu. How you still have it when other people are eating it is beyond me… You’re like a fountain, still bubbling up even as everyone drinks from you.”

“Couldn’t you make a less weird analogy?” Ichigo frowns at him. “And how do I do that?”

“What do you mean ‘how’? You take your reitsu and draw it into yourself.”

“... I have no idea how to do that.”

“Well, if you don’t figure it out you’re going to keep attracting those monsters,” he nods towards the fading corpses he’s left after his fight. Ichigo recognizes the dust they leave as a type of magic ingredient. Void dust. How weird…

“Fine then. I guess until I figure out how to do that-” Ichigo grabs the ghost by the wrist and starts dragging him towards the east. They need to find Robin, fast.

“You’re coming with us.”

“Sorry but, uh, who the fuck are you?” Ichigo asked when he finally regained consciousness. “And more importantly why the fuck are you in bed with me?!”

Which is a sentence he never thought he’d have to say. But here they were. Because fuck everything.

Instead of answering him the man, one of Urahara’s associate’s if he remembered, started shouting right next to Ichigo’s ear for ‘Tenchou’. Whoever that was, Ichigo planted his foot into the man’s chest and shoved him viciously off. A twinge of pain shot through his back, but he pushed past it. He was well on the mend, and he’d always healed fast.

He closes his eyes and takes a breath. The coldness of Rukia’s energy inside of him is gone, and he’s only a human once more. A human with high reitsu, but still a human nonetheless. What had happened?

Ichigo looks up when a more familiar face walks into the room. Urahara.

“You shouldn’t move around too much. Your injuries could still kill you.”

Ichigo snorts derisively. “Not at this point. If I was gonna die, I already would have. You were the one who saved me, right? There was someone else there too, another kid about fifteen-”

“He’s fine,” Urahara interupts. “I fixed him on the spot and he left. In fact, he asked me to take care of you.”

“Huh? Uryu did?” Ichigo can’t help the start of a smile. “I knew he liked me. He was just in denial.”

“He also said, ‘the only one who can save Rukia is probably Ichigo’.”

“Ah? That’s a lot of faith,” Ichigo crosses his legs under the sheets, staring down at the wrinkles in them. Uryu didn’t even know everything he could do, everything he had done. No one alive did and he was starting to regret it. To save Rukia though… How was he going to do that? “I’ll have to find a way to Soul Society… And, I couldn’t do it on my own. I wonder…”

He didn’t have enough mana to keep a servant around full time. Normally the holy grail maintained most of them. And during his tenure at Chaldea Chaldea’s system had managed about eighty percent of the upkeep. He definitely didn’t have the mana for a summoning, which took more all at once than just having a servant by his side. Otherwise, he’d have called someone to his side ages ago.

It didn’t help that he didn’t really have any catalysts. Almost everyone he’d ever summoned had been pure luck. And now he had nothing of any of theirs. Waver might have something, but still.

Would he even be able to take his servants into the afterlife? Or would they be drawn back to the throne of heroes?

What about Ereshkigal? Where was she in all this? The age of gods was over, and they had faded from the earth, but was she toiling away in the afterlife? Trying to bring beauty to Kur?

“I should have asked Rukia…”

“If it’s any consolation, I know a way into Soul Society.” .

“Do you?” He wasn’t even remotely surprised. No, this guy seemed like someone who would know a way to traverse dimensions.

Ichigo made a private vow to never let him anywhere near Merlin.

“I do,” Urahara was giving him a strange look from under his mask, but Ichigo was too tired and in too much pain to care. The only thing that mattered was saving Rukia. Once he figured out how to get there, he could set about figuring out how to get his servants too. If Renji and Byakuya were any indication, he should be able to make it with most of his closest allies. Assuming he could summon them.

“Alright. And what do I have to do to get you to tell me? I doubt you’ll do that for free, even if she is a regular of yours.”

“Oh my, do you really have such little faith in me?”

Ichigo just gives him a look, and the airy smile starts to fade.

“Alright. The condition you have to meet is simple. Starting now, for ten days, you have to train with me.”

Ichigo cocks his head. “Do I have that much time? Rukia’s supposed to be executed.”

Urahara breaks down the timeline for him. A month, he has one month to get strong enough to beat Byakuya without Rukia’s powers to help him. Ten days to train, seven days to get there, and thirteen days to save her. There’s something else going on, Urahara has no need to help him this much, but he’s learned not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

There’s definitely something going on here that he doesn’t understand. And Urahara is using him for something else. But…

‘A scumbag who will do anything to win.’ That was what Roman had called Merlin. And this man, his eyes are just the same. Willing to do anything to win. To win what? He’s missing something big. Had Rukia had something important to him? Was she more than just a customer?

So far, Urahara has done nothing but help him. So Ichigo has no reason to distrust him.

“Alright. How do you plan on training me? With weapons? Or magic?”

“Shinigami call it Kidou,” he says helpfully, but Ichigo knew that already. “And if you must know, I plan to restore your shinigami powers.”

“That’s not possible. Rukia’s powers are gone from me now. I can’t feel them anymore. It’s not cold like it used to be.”

“Cold? I see. So you could feel her zanpakuto the entire time. That’s quite impressive.”

Ichigo just shrugs. “If you say so. I was only a demi-shinigami, so it’s only natural that I can’t feel her power inside me anymore.”

“A demi-shinigami? I’ve never heard it called that before. Substitute is the proper term.”

“I don’t really give a shit. The point is, I don’t have those powers anymore, so there’s no way to ‘restore’ them.”

“That’s true. Perhaps I should have put it this way. ‘I will make you into a shinigami in your own right’. Without Rukia’s powers. Only your own.”

Ichigo freezes. Because what? How will that even work?

“My own power.” He repeats. He’s never-

The concept is so foreign. Never has he fought only with his own power. It’s always been someone else's. Mash’s, Cu’s, Medusa’s, and the dozen other servants that have fought at his side. Rukia’s power, snow through his veins.

To fight with just his own power… To go toe to toe with Byakuya and Renji using his own strength.

Is it even possible?

“Aren’t Shinigami dead?”

Urahara is strangely quiet.

“Yes. They are.”

“So for me to be a shinigami, you would have to kill me.”

“Yes.”

He’s honest, at least. “Give me a day to consider it.”

A day to talk to Waver, a day to try and summon his friends, a day to decide what he’s going to do. Because Servants run on Mana, life energy, and if he’s dead-

Will he ever see any of them again? Will he ever dream of Merlin again? Will he be able to keep his promise to him, and break him out of his prison at the end of time?

“Of course. Go to school, have some time alive. Then come back tomorrow, and give me your answer.” It sounds like Urahara thinks he already knows the answer. And maybe he does, but Ichigo needs a while.

He leaves an hour later, wrapped up like a mummy.

* *

Ichigo is a time traveler. He is in the middle of time travel right now. So, it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that alternate timelines, along with time travel, are a thing.

That doesn’t mean that he expects to be pulled into one in the middle of an already difficult singularity. He’s still not one hundred percent sure who is one his side, if anyone is besides the three he’s come with, but Nightingale seems to be willing to follow him, and Rama as well. And Liz is here, again, and as much trouble as she can be she’s still pretty reliable in a pinch. And Kyo was at his side now too.

So there’s a few people on his side, and he’s glad for them, but the american’s are a pain in the ass and the celts are trying to end the world, and he’s had a hard enough time falling asleep when an honest to god dragon appears before him (in his dream, he thinks) and whisks him off to a castle and a city and an alternate timeline where apparently Fuyuki never even happened and instead a bunch of giddy millenials (or whatever the fuck their names was) stole a grail and fought a saint and now inside the grail the war is starting again.

Which - what?

How is this even his life?

But the dragon turns into a human, and then there’s a sorta-centaur trying to teach them how to fight and Achilles is so. Very. Gay.

“A chariot isn’t meant for just one,” and a cocky smile and Ichigo is pretty sure he wants to punch him. But he takes his hand instead, stands at the head of the chariot with one arm buffering him on each side and they fly.

They’re lightning in the sky, all divinity and invincibility and power. They mow down the opposing faction like they’re cutting down grass instead of heroes from ages past and Ichigo knows at once that as soon as he can he needs to find a way to summon this hero.

Even if it meant dealing with bad flirting. And his weird aversion to fighting with women. And his stupid, cocky attitude.

Ichigo can work with a lot of things. Plenty of people (mainly Kiyohime) are already trying to get in his pants. What’s one more person? Especially such a powerful rider.

Powerful Rider.

And that puts mental images in his head that he did not need, thanks all the same. He can’t look at Achilles for a full three hours afterwards.

The dragon, Seig, turns out to be a homunculus, created by the Young Millennials or whatever as a sort of battery to power their mage craft. Which is beyond fucked up, and Ichigo privately vows to strangle any of the ones he meets.

On top of that, when he wakes up the next morning there’s a little kid at the edge of his bed, covered in scars, not wearing any proper clothes and calling him ‘mommy’ and Ichigo decides then and there that alternate universes are more trouble than they’re worth. This kid, he's met her before. Jack the Ripper, and she calls him 'mommy', again.

“I’m not even a girl damn it!”

But the kid’s persistent, and cute in a really creepy way, so Ichigo can’t really do anything besides constantly telling her not to call him ‘mommy’. But that works as well as trying to get anyone else to use his given name instead of ‘Master��.

They end up having a picnic in a garden hosted by a berserker and a Saber he’d met in london. There are a lot of people he'd met in London here. The little girl, Jack, the Saber, Mordred, and Fran too of course.

They didn’t recognize him. Why would they? These were memories of servants, and technically they’d never met Ichigo at all being from another timeline. And only existed in the dream he’d been having for like three days.

He was going to make his head hurt if he kept thinking of all this.

They fly to the Hanging Gardens, and take their owner onto their side. Ichigo is starting to get used to the idea of beating someone’s face in and them being his friend afterwards.

Together, they finally reach the center of the chaos. A mad man who had turned himself into a servant before being killed. Darnic Prestone Yggdamellenia. One of the people who had made and tried to kill Sieg. Ichigo has to fight not to strangle him when he offers to fulfill the wishes of all of his friends. Bribing them with what they want most, if they only surrender to him.

It’s Achilles who steps forwards.

“I hate to break it to you, but I’m gonna have to pass. I woudln’t really be a hero if I went along with you now, would I? We’re meant to live life to the fullest. If we stumble along the way, that doesn’t invalidate what happened before the fall, or after. And reproduction or now. Servant or not. As long as I’m still me…”

“I’m not doing anything a real hero wouldn’t do!”

Mordred scoffs at Ichigo’s right. “For once, you carrot looking weirdo, we’re on the same page.”

“Carrot looking weirdo?!”

“I can’t exactly say I got the cleanest hands around here, but there’s still no way I’d side with you! Even I’d feel gross going along with your plan, asshole.”

They each step up, one after the other. Denying their dreams, denying immortality, for the sake of staying true to themselves. What is a dream worth if you lose yourself along the way?

They fight. They fight against the castle, they fight against themselves, they fight against reproductions that will not quit spawning, one copy after the other until even Mordred is nearing exhaustion. But they do not falter, they do not stop.

And in the end, they are saved by a vampire. The Gardens collapse and the dream has to end, but before they leave, they say their goodbyes, their thanks.

Achilles even goes so far as to pull his orange sash off and drape it around Ichigo’s neck like a scarf that matches his hair.

“You know, it’s kind of nice,” he says, his smile half cocked. “Even though this is the end of our time together… When I was alive, I never could relax after a battle because I knew there was always going to be another one on the way right after. But now…”

“I’m satisfied. We won, and there’s no civilians around so we didn’t have to worry about massacres or any other atrocities. That’s nice. Oh, and Hektor’s not around! That’s good.”

Hektor. The one who’d shot him down.

“You must hate him, huh?”

“Not exactly,” Achilles frowns, “But if you ever summon us at the same time, I’ll find a way to get around it. We’ll work it out, we just have to think positive. But,” he shakes his head, “That’s not what I really want to say.”

“Then just spit it out already,” Ichigo orders. Achilles grins at him.

“I’m trying to say, I hope you summon me again. It’s been fun fighting alongside with you! So if you ever find yourself in a tight spot in Greece, just call for me and I’ll come running no matter when or where you are. And that’s a promise!”

Achilles grins at him, and disappears in a cloud of gold glitter.

When Ichigo wakes up, the scarf is still around his neck, and Kyo is staring at him like he’s grown a second head.

* * *

There’s a cat across the street from his house.

Not his house, but the house that is his and not his families. The one that is empty, and not meant to be lived in. It’s… hard, to be around his family. To be around people who don’t understand war and pain and loss and trying, trying, trying, and still losing so much even if you win in the end.

There’s a cat across the street from his house and a plain brown package on the doorstep.

Ichigo pauses, the keys in his hands, and turns to the cat. Pitch black, with gold eyes. It trots across the street towards him, neatly avoiding the only car coming along, and Ichigo kneels down in front of it. He offers his hand, and the creature gives him a dainty sniff.

It doesn’t have mana.

Any mana.

That is… not normal. No mana but reitsu. A soul in a body?

“Oh. Are you a familiar?” he runs his fingers along the crest of the cat’s head, scratching carefully behind the ears. “You’re not Wavers. Or anyone’s local. Are you from the Mage’s Association?”

Ichigo stands and moves to the house, picking up the box on his way in. The lock turns with a click and hums with magic before it let’s the door swing open.

“I hope this isn’t a bomb,” he says idly. “That would be a really sloppy way to assassinate someone, don’t you think?”

How mad must he look, standing on his doorstep and talking to a black cat.

To be fair, the cat seems to nod at him before making his (?) way into the house. A discrete glance and Ichigo changes his assessment. Probably a her cat. A lady cat? Did female cat’s have a particular name? Like a bitch or a cow or mare?

He shuts the door firmly behind him and makes his way into the kitchen, where he sets the package on the table. He puts a kettle on to boil water and pulls out a small carton of milk from the fridge for his impromptu guest.

Ichigo does not have a familiar. He had been lent Fou for a long, long time but he’d never had one of his own. They’re an extension of their master, an extra eye and ear and, Ichigo privately thinks, a way to battle off loneliness.

Mage’s are strange creatures.

Typically, they only have one or two children. An heir and a spare, no more. And even then, only the most promising of the two is taught the family mage craft and given their magic crest. Mage’s are viciously protective of their secrets and their magic, even amongst their peers, and Ichigo has seen the life as lonely.

Ichigo, contrarily, is a pack animal.

He’s no chatterbox. He’s not bubbly or outgoing or honestly all that talkative, but he thrives on other people being nearby. They give him purpose and drive, they strengthen him.

That might be why he’d clung so hard to Rukia Kuchiki.

She had given him power, yes. Power to fight on his own, power to save his family, and for that he would always be grateful. But she was also a warrior, a survivor, and something in her was jagged and fierce. She was a survivor, even if he didn’t know what of.

She was, just a little bit, like him. In a way that no one else he knew was.

Ichigo was alone.

He had his friends. He had his family but they didn’t understand, they couldn't understand.

They wouldn’t understand his sudden need to sit with the door in plain sight and the window’s far from his back. They wouldn’t understand the abrupt change in his priorities list, that put ‘survive’ on top of everything else when it used to be ‘take care of the girls’. They would not understand the sudden feeling of weightlessness that comes from stepping out from under the weight of the world for the first time in years and loss that came with that same victory.

He has no servants. He has no Romani, no Da Vinci. No Mash.

Ichigo is utterly alone.

He is alone, and Rukia had alleviate that in a way that even Chad, his best friend, his partner, couldn’t.

War has alienated Ichigo from the very people he fought in it to protect and doesn’t that just fucking figure?

Ichigo stands in the kitchen, watching the cat finish her milk.

“I’m going to bed,” he announces. Maybe Merlin will have some ideas.

He completely forgets about the package that is hopefully not a bomb.

* * * *

Ichigo is getting sick of all of their potential allies trying to kill him at first.

It seems like every time they turn around someone wants them to ‘prove their worth’ or test them in battle or something equally annoying. It doesn’t help that this is scathach and the second she showed up Cu started acting like a totally different person.

And by that, he means he’s jumpy like a beaten dog and ramrod straight like a student on the shit list.

And, she can totally see Kyo.

Even if all she does is throw him a wink that had him bristling.

She’s… bewildering. She’s fierce and vicious and Ichigo is very glad she’s not the enemy. She’s one of the only people he’s seen that might be able to go head to head with Cu Alter and win. Instinct tells him that she’s dangerous, that she’s darkness in a way that threatens to draw him in. He can see, in the way they move, in the way they fight, how she might be Cu’s mentor.

The queen of the shadow lands, and doesn’t that have Kyo’s attention?

“That fool,” she looks to the east, “That pitiful fool. I’m sure he’s only this way because of the wicked queen’s wish. He found one thorn unbearable. To be covered in them must be torture. He must he out of his mind, burdened with a thousand.”

“But by paying that price, he has surpassed even me. They say an idiot without hesitation is strong, don’t they?”

A warm hand lands on Ichigo’s shoulder and he looks up, to his Cu, his faithful watchdog, his Caster. “All power has their price, Master. Think about the weight of a sword before you draw it.”

All Ichigo can do is nod. What is he meant to say to that? His heart hurts for the Cu so alike and so different from his owns suffering. He didn’t ask for his position anymore than Ichigo did. But, he will not hesitate when he has to fight him. He needs to win. He needs the grail.

If he doesn’t win, he’ll never see his friends again. He’ll never see his family. His father, his sisters. They’ll all be gone. And he won’t let that happen, no matter what kind of sympathy he might have for the enemy.

“Right. We should get moving soon. Before the enemy catches up with us.”

It still doesn’t sit quit right with him.

“You’re troubled,” Kyo notes, falling into step with him.

“Yeah,” Ichigo can’t deny that. “Each one of these wars gets more and more complicated, and each time the people we face are stronger. I feel like I’m trying to pull apart headphones from my pocket sometimes.”

“...excuse me?”

Ichigo ends up explaining to Kyo, and apparently to everyone else too, how headphones work, what a cell phone is, how they work (and honestly all he knows is there’s satellites and that brings about a whole other conversation) and by the time he’s exhausted his already limited understanding of radiowaves and electric currents they’re in the desert and Scathach wants him to fight a pack of wyverns off with his bare hands.

He (somehow) manages not to die, and he suddenly understands Cu’s attitude towards his teacher.

* * * * *

“Do you know-”

“I’m in a dream, Merlin,” Ichigo interrupts him before he can even get the full sentence out out, and the mage cocks a brow in question. Ichigo sits up and leans on his shoulder. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“My, your life never is dull. Why don’t you tell Merlin all about it?”

“...Are you going to start talking in third person if I do?”

“No. You’ll probably hit me.”

Ichigo manages a wan smile. “You know me so well.”

Ichigo does end up telling him what happened with Rukia. About almost winning but getting his ass kicked and his borrowed power ripped away. And Urahara’s offer to kill him.

“If I die, would I even be able to see you again?”

Merlin cocks his head. “Well. If you’re asking me what happens after you die, may I remind you that I am one of the least qualified individuals to answer that question, being an immortal. If you had more time I would suggest you make a trip to scotland, or even greece. Places where the afterlife have been reached in the past. But, I suppose that’s out of the question.”

“He said I have a month before she’s executed.”

“You’ve done more with less time. ”

“And significantly more backup.”

“True. You could always ask that Quincy boy to give you a crash course in your mother’s powers. Although…”

“What?” Ichigo narrows his eyes at him.

“This man said he can give you Shinigami powers. I doubt that they’re something that can just be taught. Like mage craft, I’ll bet it has to be inherited, or brought on by mutation. Perhaps it’s only a lingering spark from your little friend, but in any case, I don’t see why you’d need to die. You’ve projected your soul out of your body a half dozen times before.”

“This isn’t ray shifting. And even if it was, I don’t have Chaldea or a coffin to help me.”

“No. But I suspect that the answers are somewhere inside of you, instead of merely with this shady shopkeeper.”

“... like you have room to call anyone shady. “

Merlin laughs, a soft breath on the wind.

“No, I certainly don’t. “

He’s still staring at Ichigo.

“What?” It makes his skin crawl when Merlin does that. When he seems to read Ichigo like he’s a book. Easy to flip through and find the information he wants.

“That’s not all that troubles you, is it? I know you’re not afraid of dying, but you’re hesitating. You never do that. “

“It’s just like I said.” Ichigo draws one leg up to his chest. “If I die for real, I don’t know if I’ll ever see you, or any of the others again. I don’t have enough quartz to summon someone to help me, and if I let Urahara do what he wants, it might not matter. I can’t summon my friends if I don’t have any mana. “

“But if you don’t, another friend might die. Quite the dilemma. “

“You could stand to sound a little more torn up about it!”

“Huh? But I don’t even know the girl! Besides, you’re not exactly weeping yourself. “

Ichigos mouth shuts with a click and he looks away, his stomach turning. Merlin isn’t wrong. He’s not crying. He’s not even panicking.

“... Ichigo?”

“It’s. It’s pretty fucked up. But when she showed up I was relieved. For the whole tone between Chaldea and her I felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the next disaster. Like I was gonna get a call saying there’s another singularity, or someone else was trying to end the world. Going to school? Eating dinner with my family? I just felt lost. I didn’t know what I was doing. I don’t even remember what I wanted to do when I graduated anymore.”

“But then Rukia came. And I fought hollows but they’re not strong enough to give me a real challenge. And then she was taken and everything is just-“

“Clicking into place. It’s horrible, but it’s been so long, I don’t remember how not to fight anymore. I don’t know how to not be at war. And this… this choice between life and death. This mission to save her. It’s almost comforting. Isn’t that fucked up?”

A warm hand cups his cheek. Long sleeves, heavy with the smell of gardenias, brush across his shoulder.

“Ichigo,” Merlin begins, his voice strangely genuine. “Whatever happens, I know that you’ll figure it out. And that eventually, you’ll find your place. You always have one more crazy idea, one more play, one more chance. Once you get your friend back, you’ll figure out how to be human again. Or, something close to it. In the meantime, you can always find me here. I can’t exactly leave.”

Ichigo is so struck by Merlin, if all people, being candid and complimenting him that he wakes up catching flies. But, he at least has an idea on what to do now.

* * * * * *

#bleach #bleach fanfiction #bleach/fate grand order #Kon bleach #Merlin Fate/Grand Order #urahara kisuke #Ichigo Kurosaki #BAMF!Ichigo Kurosaki #Ichigo Kurosaki is Ritsuka Fujimaru #Urahra Kisuke #Achilles #Achilles Fate

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uraharashouten · 4 years ago

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@ichxgo said:

He sat up straighter, half out of surprise that his presence would cause any sort of commotion and half to be more prepared for whatever might come next. Urahara was a good guy, but he was also unpredictable as hell.

Ichigo’ brow furrowed. Someday, he would figure out what it was about his name that made people say it that way. He stood to accept the invitation to follow Urahara inside.

“It hasn’t been that long.” Or has it? He was somewhat preoccupied with university. Maybe it had been a while. He shrugged, looking around to see if anything had changed. “Just checking in, I guess. I can lend a hand if there’s anything you need help with.”

“Hasn’t it? —I do lose track of time...” The shopkeeper padded across the dining room as Ichigo entered behind him. Things were arranged more-or-less as they’d always been, the large cabinet against the wall to the right as one entered, with the round platter displayed on top; the short telephone table beside it; the circular table in the center of the room... how often had they gathered ‘round it like a war council? How many presentations of charts and diagrams, how many shared pots of tea... it had reverted of late to its primary purpose of enjoying family meals, with the occasional homework spread across it, depending on where Jinta or Ururu chose to do their work on that particular day. There were now, of course, other residents that one might encounter — the shopkeeper felt at times he was running a sort of boarding house for strays of all stripes. But at the moment, but for the two of them, the room was vacant.

Kisuke slid open the door to the kitchen and poked his head in. “Tessai? Did my myosatellite bioreactor end up in here?”

Tessai glanced up from his position behind the counter, pausing in his fileting with fish knife in hand. “Alas, I’m afraid not. The offer was made to leverage that botched batch into burger night, but as Tenchou may recall, your humble servant politely declined.”

“Ah, so you did, so you did...” Kisuke nodded absently. “I must have passed it on to Kouta downstairs, for his antibiotic experiments... Oh!” He held up a finger. “Please set an extra place for dinner; we have a guest!” He grinned widely and stepped back from the door to give Tessai a view of Ichigo.

“Ah! One more, one merrier.” If Tessai found it an imposition, he did not give any indication. How high was their headcount for meals these days? —Fortunately a table without corners roundly accommodated as many as necessary. But of course that would mean more dishes to wash.

“He’s offered to help,” Kisuke smiled, not altogether benevolently.

“Excellent,” replied Tessai, with a flash of the knife and gleam in his eye. “Are we thinking along the same lines?”

“I believe we are,” he answered. “The entire holiday stock of wagashi are yet to be made — by hand, of course. It’s painstaking, tedious work, and Santa needs elves...”

#[[ don't worry Ichigo he'll put you to work #in mindless tasks unworthy of your skills ]]#[[ you get the kitchen chore equivalent of peeling potatoes ]]#[[ except requiring more artistic ability ]]#ichxgo

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polar-stars · 4 years ago

Photo

Greetings @wishingforatypewriter ! If I’m not mistaken...today’s your birthday right? At least you told the Birthday Bot in the SoRina discord server that it’s the 15th of February and today is the 15th of February!

So, I drew you a little something for this occasion 🎉 You’re without a doubt one of my favorite writers within the SNS-community and I really enjoy your work and also connect some really fond & strong memories to a few particular ones. (Remember “Cherry Red and Green with Envy”? Yeah, I read that in a lovely summer night in Italy, on a balcony. And gosh, the sheer joy I felt that day. I send the thing to my best friend instantly and kept gushing about the work through multiple audios shdfhf And well, that’s just one examplel) Generally speaking, it’s always interesting to hear your headcanons or learn more about your characters!

By all means, if you ever publish that novel you occasionally mentioned...Please tell us the title of it. I will order it all the way from the US, shipping costs be damned!

Furthermore, I’m not the only one who drew you something. @takoyakitenchou also has a treat ready for you! She also brought up the idea to collaborate on a small fic as well & what it would be about. I’m going to post the first part of it right here and she will be posting the 2nd part a little later.

All in all, I hope you’re going to have a really good day ahead of you ☺️ And now, after all of my rambling (I just had to get some stuff out shdh), here’s Pt. 1 of the tenchou & Lea adventures, a little fictional verse where there’s no pandemic and only good vibes:

誕生日おめでとう (part 1)

in which tenchou has no regard for time zones but birthdays must still be celebrated

8:00 PM EST, February 13th (2 AM CET, February 14th) If the takoyaki store manager had had enough brain cells to promote Germany to the forefront of her nonexistent timezone awareness, she most likely would not have called Lea at two in the morning central European time. Lea picked up with a weary “Hallo?” and was all the more confused as she got an English reply back. She reached out a hand to the nightstand and the lamp that could be activated with just a touch, hoping that the light would bring more clarity to her tired mind. But instead, she just blinded herself. Completely oblivious to Lea’s predicament, the tenchou said cheerfully, “I got you a plane ticket.”

“Sorry?” “A plane ticket,” she repeated as if she were talking about the weather. “From Brandenburg Airport to JFK. It leaves in two hours. Unless I did the math wrong, you’ll be in New York by nine in the morning eastern on… the 14th. I hope.” “Was zum Teufel?” Lea choked out. The tenchou paused for a split second. “Is this not a good time for you? I can call you back.” “Reina, it is two in the morning over here.” “I think you’ll live,” she replied, and Lea could clearly visualize the offhand wave on the other end of the line. “Three coffees should do the trick. You might wanna start packing, though.” Lea sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It seemed she wasn’t getting out of this anytime soon. “You know how deranged you sound right now?” “I know, it’s crazy! I live in California but we’re meeting in New York.” Lea briefly debated telling the tenchou that her present location was not, in fact, the point, but she did not currently have the mental capacity to do so. She settled with a long sigh. “What’s this for?” A moment and a half later, the tenchou said, “You know whose birthday is coming up on the 15th?” “Yeah, of course.” “Do I need to explain further?” “Ohhh,” Lea said, finally understanding. “See you soon.” Reina grinned. “I sent the plane and hotel info via Discord. Have a safe flight.” Then she hung up. It was going to be an interesting weekend.

9:30 AM EST, February 14th By the time Lea arrived at JFK’s international terminal, Reina was waiting with a triumphant, very poorly spaced welcome to fuckin ny scrawled on a massive sign. It was pretty obvious that the tenchou was still slightly out of it from jello shots with her Juilliard homies the night prior, but there was business to be tended to. “What are we doing?” Lea asked as the tenchou took her carry-on. “I was thinking we’d collaborate on a gift.” “Art? Or… a fic?” “Either. Both. What if I started a takoyaki store in NYC and gave her exclusive access?” “That seems nice,” Lea said agreeably, noting not for the first time that the store manager was probably missing a few brain cells. “But maybe not a good idea.” “Oh, you’re right. I’d have to get a building and everything.” Reina gave a lopsided smile. “Maybe we’ll do that next year. So… art and a fic it is, then.”

10:00 AM EST, February 14th “You need a coffee,” Lea decided once they were sitting at a local cafe. “Let me buy,” Reina said quickly. “It’s the least I can do after dragging you here from Germany. What do you want?” Fair enough. Lea nodded as a sign of gratitude and replied, “Latte macchiato, please.” Five minutes later, Reina brought eleven coffees to the table. Lea gawked at the tenchou. “Are you…” she trailed off. “Insane? No. Caffeine dependent? Very.” She passed Lea the latte and organized the ten iced coffees in two neat rows in front of them. “I’ve been trying to lower my consumption this week. Normally I’d get a dozen double espressos, so this is actually pretty major progress for me.” “Subtracting two cups doesn’t seem like progress,” Lea said dryly. “These are all americanos,” Reina explained defensively, like that solved everything. Lea gave a doubtful eyebrow raise. “Oh? How many espresso shots in each?” Resenting the fact that she’d hit home so accurately, Reina muttered, “Three.” Lea decided not to press the matter further — the tenchou was pissy enough as is — and instead watched with mild concern as the tenchou proceeded to chug the first five coffees without so much as a breath in between. “Now that I’m partially functional, you wanna get started?” Reina asked. “You and I can both do an art piece and we’ll collaborate on a fic together.” “Hmhm.” Lea reflected on the offer in her head. For a short moment she considered asking if she could take just about 10 writing courses beforehand, half-joking and half-serious. But she decided against it. With a brief look at the clock and the knowledge that it once took her an entire year to update a two-part fanfiction, she knew that if they needed it done by tomorrow they’d have to get started soon. “Interesting idea,” she therefore said. “But what would the fic be about? I have the writing pace of a turtle, so it might be better if we come up with something real quick.” Reina finished her sixth cup of coffee before raising an eyebrow at Lea. “By the way, when are you gonna update—” “Not even God knows when I will update anything,” Lea sighed. “But I’ll give Tuesday or Wednesday a try. Right now, I have to focus on the collab instead. So, do you have any ideas already?” “So… Tuesday as in this coming Tuesday? Or next year Tuesday?” Lea politely declined to comment. “I wrote part of the fic while I was in line for the coffees,” Reina said, pulling out her laptop. “Want me to share a Google Doc or—” “Google Doc,” Lea cut in. She had heard many times of the tenchou’s wackass habit of writing all her fics in direct messages with fellow writers and then copy pasting them onto whatever platform was most accessible at the time. “Discord is more convenient,” Reina deadpanned, her mouth on the rim of her seventh americano. “But alright. Google Docs it is.”

#I hope you'll like it ;v;

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