#we cut her and sora a lot of slack

[incorrectvtuberquotes]

A-chan: Look, if you're counting on me to be the voice of reason and sanity around here, we're all in very serious trouble!

[razorblade180]

Nothing to worry about

After many, many attempts to decode the data to find Sora, Riku was spent. A thought came to him that maybe if he messed with data with the difficulties all the way up, then something might change. It had to be his third day screwing up on the same attacks over and over again. He didn’t remember fighting the organization to be this hard! Riku was a prideful guy that managed to beat most of them but enough was enough! He had been stuck on one obstacle for far too long and his hands hurt from hitting the wall the one time he rage quit. It was time to bring in backup, and he knew just the people…

Xion:You want me to want?

Riku:Beat data Xion for me. You’re too strong.

Roxas:It’s a computer…

Axel:Dude, you don’t get to say that when you smash computers instead of pressing keys.

Saix:You What?

Riku:Focus!!! I called you specifically because you’ve fought Xion, fought Sora, and some of you have done both while technically being connected to Sora; so you know how to play him well.

Axel:I feel like you’re missing people.

Riku:People are busy. You are the only ones that are still around a lot.

Xion:Am I really that tough?

Riku:Painfully.

Xion:Hmmm. I’m not sure how I feel about fighting myself. Something about it feels...depressing.

Axel:I’ll do it. I’m great at games! Plus we’ve fought a bunch of times! I know your moves.

Xion:But you lost…

Axel:Still learned them! *sits down* Watch the master!

That was the statement he made. It’s been three hours since Axel had that confidence. Now he was face down on the bed in the committee room along with Riku. If he heard “why do you fight” one more time, he’d lose his mind.

Axel:Since when do you bounce around like a ball of light!?

Roxas:Why are you surprised? I do it all the time.

Axel:I don’t even understand how you do it!!!

Saix:I can’t believe you didn’t even get half health.

Axel:Think you can do better!?

Saix:Nope, but I won’t act like I can to look cool. Xion, I’ve never seen you do half of the things that program does. Is it an exaggeration or…?

Xion:No, it’s possible. Doing all of that just makes me tired.

Saix:...(I never stood a chance in that graveyard. Then again I try not to go full berserk for the same reason.)

Roxas:My turn! I’m not exactly thrilled about fighting any version of you but helping Sora is the goal here. I just hope Cid didn’t program all of your armors. Not a big fan of the second one or you being the size of the central station tower.

Xion:*red* Hehehe...yeah that was pretty wild.

RAS:You can do what…?”

The change of players was getting better results. Roxas was in his third attempt when he started getting a good rhythm. Watching Axel helped, but there was something else. A weird six sense. Riku was right about him controlling Sora, it felt natural. Battling data Xion was the same. The way he predicted her movements were scarily good.

Axel:Wow, look at you go.

Roxas:Sssshhh, I need focus. I wanna do this as fast as possible. It might be data but hurting Xion feels wrong.

Xion:*red* Roxas…

The man makes it to the desperation move. It’s the second time he’s made it here and he wished data Xion had the armors instead! He didn’t last long before another game over screen. Everyone groaned while Roxas rested his head on the wooden desk.

Roxas:Gah! I can’t even begin to understand those patterns. Your columns of light move way too wildly!

Riku:I hate the fact that if you recover from a strike raid then the next one is delayed to change your rhythm! Why are you so smart Xion?

Xion:Sora does that too. It’s how to survive relentless attacks sometimes. I’ve told you all the timing so-

Roxas:Xion, I really don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, but you might as well grab the controller. The only person who knows you, is you.

Xion:And Ven, and Namine, you, Sora, Kai- fine I’ll give it a try!

Riku:Thank you.

Xion died immediately going into the fight. All eyes looked at her in disbelief as her face got red.

Xion:I wasn’t ready! Let me get a few warm up rounds in! I have never done anything like this. Roxas, can you go back to Twilight Town and get a small white bag in the usual spot?

Roxas:Okay.

A few warm up rounds turned into a dozen. Riku even saw her scroll through the settings once or twice. Then she wouldn’t do the fight right away. Instead she’d press bottoms to see how Sora reacted and fast. He didn’t want to be antsy but a piece of him wanted to try again. Riku went over to ask when Roxas came through the door to hand her the bag. Xion ran the program again. She reached in the bag as it loaded and pulled out something Riku didn’t know she still had. Her organization gloves.

Riku:You kept those?

Xion:Gripping a keyblade barehanded feels weird. So does messing with computers…

Data Xion:Why do you f-

Xion:Yeah we know the line…

Riku never considered himself good at things like video games or computers, but he didn’t think he was bad either. That was until he watched Xion start moving her fingers faster than he could keep track off. The whole room was silent except for the sound of clicking. Data Sora was moving at speeds and performing tricks Riku and the others didn’t even know about. He wasn’t getting hit at all!!! Axel could quietly hear Xion mumble numbers. A set amount when she attacked, and then a different set when the data version did. The sets kept resting and ending differently depending on what weapon she used or magic. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Axel:H-How?

Xion:How what?

Roxas:How are you doing this!?

Xion:Like you and Riku said. I know me, as well as Sora. I’m only gonna get hit so many times before I find a chance to counter. Also, there’s only so many moves you can program. It’s still just code!

She made it sound so easy, yet Riku. Can only think about how many times late last night he couldn’t figure out a single time to appropriately heal or attack. Yet here Xion is, perfect blocking and interrupting the desperation move. She even found time to take a picture before delivering the final blow!

Xion:Boom! Easy!

Riku:FINALLY!

Saix:You really should’ve gone first.

Xion:But it was thanks to you guys that I was able to watch and learn without stressing out. It was a group effort. I guess we’re done here. Thanks Riku, that was kinda fun. *stands up*

Riku:Ummm haven’t beaten master Xehanort either. Do you think maybe….

Xion:*Sits down* You owe one for this.

Riku:I know a good spot to find the best seashells.

Xion:Deal!

The crew let her get to work on the baldy while they occupied their time. Half an hour passed before they sat around a table eating. Riku looked over to see Xion learning how to deal with every move possible. It looked impossible. Most of the organization did. Another game over screen appeared and Riku sighed.

Axel:You alright champ?

Riku:It might be data, but seeing Sora lose is depressing. I hope he’s alright.

Roxas:Why wouldn’t he be?

Riku:He’s not the luckiest guy. Danger might as well be a spell when it comes to Sora. All of these data fights made me realize just how dangerous the organization really was. The thought of him running into something or someone as dangerous as that alone doesn’t sit well with me.

Everyone:......

Roxas:You know Riku, you can be pretty dumb sometimes.

Riku:Huh!?

Xion:Roxas!

Roxas:What!? All I’m saying is you would think after seeing a program based off of him successfully beat crazy strong people like Xion that you’d have the most faith in his skills. I mean who else do you know has enough different moves to handle so many kinds of fighters?

Riku:....Heh, thanks Roxas.

Roxas:*red* Yeah whatever. Just stating the obvious.

Axel:Yeah! Sora’s alright. I mean he was able to beat me after all.

Saix: If that’s the bar then maybe we should worry.

Axel:Hey!

Xion:I mean we did tie when I was tired.

Roxas:I beat you with amnesia.

Riku:Sora did too.

Axel:Who’s side are you on! This is the thanks I get for trying to cheer you up? Cut me some slack.

The friends shared a good laugh teasing Axel. Even he couldn’t help but join in on it. Riku should know better than anybody just how capable Sora is.

(Wherever you are, I’m sure you’re just fine.)

xxxx

Fine was the appropriate word to describe it. If a Riku or the others used anything more positive then they surely would’ve bit their tongue. If only they could see their friend right now, dodging and struggling on a rooftop under a starry sky dome. A swarm of gigas closed in on our young hero to overwhelm him, but to avail. Sora whipped out a storm flag and slammed it on the ground to summon the watery beast of the seven seas. It’s tentacles whacked away and crushed the gigas flat. Now wasn’t a time to rest though. Yozora, his opponent, wasn’t done yet. Sora saw rapid flashes of red lock in on him and switched to the counter shield.

He hyped himself “Come on!” Spurs shouted. The first attack came from the left, then right. Four more were dead on before another six ferocious slashes came from the left. Collision after collision conjured sparks that lit up the impacts of each attack. Yozora finally thought he had an opening to stab from behind but was sorely mistaken when Sora had already pivoted already and unleashed a barrage of fists that knocked Yazora in the air. Sora leaped up to follow up with a change into the second form. “Get back here!” He pulled his opponent back in with a magnet burst then went right into an ars arcanum. Blades clashed faster than anyone could keep up with before Sora’s ferocity gave him an edge that turned into full blown hits that ended with him spiking Yozora to the ground. As he fell, Sora was shot in the back by a laser that sent him to the metal floor behind. He had no time to dodge the cross slash that connected against his chest. He watched Yozora vanish and switched right into ultimate form to do the same.

This disappearing and reappearing act made their sparks seem more like fireworks. Crackles and pops

Danced up and down the battlefield as each person kept attempting to warp for both offense and defense until Yozora got the better of Sora by trapping in an exploding prism that launched Sora sky high. Yozora finally had room to breath and could plant fis feet long enough to charge his blade. He watched his target recover mid air and unless a salvo of fireballs with double arrow guns. A good idea if it wasn’t so far away that is. “Sorry but-huh!?” A blue light washed over Sora and propelled him directly at Yozora with his attack. Yozora was quick enough to slash Sora away but decided to pull back by backflipping the fireballs; a big mistake. He had underestimated Sora’s speed. Before he could even reach the ground, Sora was already in front of him again. This time with a massive rocket propelled hammer that hit him in the direction of the fireballs. The magic projectiles curved midair to hope in on his location and blasted him right in the chin. This was bad, really bad. To think he’d have this much trouble with someone who looked so clueless moments ago. He had to switch things up and vanished again.

Sora switched to nano arms and stood perfectly still. “Three….four….” he pulled a barrier right as a glimmer of red formed into Yazora that blasted some strange wide shots from his crossbow before vanishing again. Sora turned the machines into yo-yos next and swung straight. “There!” Yozora appeared right as expected and hit dead on. Sora pulled himself to wards and shifted to his frozen blades for additional slashes.

“You’re Just full of surprises aren’t you!?” Yozora grimaced.

“Don’t Give me that look! I didn’t want to fight!” Sora went for a kick but was too slow. Yozora managed to warp behind Sora and summoned a massive red orb that started pulling everything into it.

“Let’s see how you dodge this one.” Yozora turned up the pressure and started warping as fast as possible at Sora again and again, cutting and slashing him cleanly to knock him off balance until Yozora delivered one more powerful slash across his body that sent Sora flying into the orb. He quickly up to it and glided his blade along it to trigger a massive explosion that made Sora scream. Smoke and fire filled the air for a moment. That was a move not even Yozora himself was too good at avoiding. Nobody was gonna get it right from the jump.

Finally, the battle was over. It was longer than expected but the end result was the same. “Sorry, but I don’t lose-” Another shockwave from the explosion accorded suddenly and dispersed the smoke. That’s never happened before. Yozora shielded his eyes and scanned the ground, no Sora. Just black puddles. He dared not walk closer to them when they started to increase in size until a bigger one formed near his feet and Sora hopped out with glowing eyes and drenched in darkness. “This guy…” Yozora mistakenly readied a block for the keyblade as was then punched by Sora’s free hand, throwing him off and into a world of rageful attacks he had no choice but to receive. Sora was fast, too fast. The patterns seemed random. It was impossible to know what to look out for with the addition of kicks thrown in as Sora instinctively warp in numerous spots to bat Yazora around. Any attempt to escape the loop was met with a primal roar that kept the loop going until one final monstrous attack came. Sora went right through Yozora and into the ground. Strange black orbs rose up from bigger pools of black from earlier and detonated repeatedly, leaving Yozora no room to escape.

What was once a dark night turned into blinding light as Sora once again appeared above Yozora’s falling body in a new form; and with two blades. It was hard for him to understand what happened next. All he could see was light and feel the pain it inflicted everywhere as pillars of them struck down around Sora, who remained airborne and glowing. A look of pure grit on his face as he shouted.

“I guess...my power isn’t needed after all.”

xxxx

Xion:I beat him! But...I don’t think there’s anything here that might help. Sorry Riku. I know you wanna find him as soon as possible.

Riku:Hmmm, that’s alright. *smiles* Wherever he is...I’m sure he’s doing just fine.

[x0401x]

Hoshiai no Sora: Production Note #01

Interview with creator, screenplay writer and director, Akane Kazuki

Raw || Index || Ko-fi

――Why soft tennis?

Akane: I played soft tennis until my first year in high school, but after that, I forgot about it completely. The reason is that very rarely does soft tennis ever become a topic among society. Many professional hardball sports are hot topics, but not even the “so” in soft tennis is mentioned. I chose soft tennis just like that, and once I started the planning, my memories revived like a flash, and I came to think that perhaps soft tennis was a sport quite fitting of adolescence. For example, we also went to the Soft Tennis Association for interviews, and it seems that middle schoolers are the largest number of competitors. They reduce by half in high school. When it comes to college students and working adults, very few people play soft tennis. I thought it really overlapped with puberty. As in, this feeling that it has an enormous sense of presence until a certain point, but then is suddenly forgotten. Also, soft tennis is played on ground courts, so you get muddy all over. That is teenage-like too.

――Regarding Katsuragi Maki and Shinjou Touma.

Akane: Maki is a character who had been there since the beginning of the planning. It was already decided since then that he would have the image of a slightly mature boy. On the other hand, we could not decide at all about Touma, who would become his pair. There was also a time when I thought of making him into a character with more of an antagonistic role or confronting relationship. Maki also has quite a twisted side to him personality-wise, so I thought it could have been interesting if both formed a nasty persona combo (laughs). While thinking about all sorts of things in that manner, around the time I somehow found a common ground close to his current form, we did the auditions. That was when I heard Hatanaka (Tasuku)-kun’s voice. It was a big deal. When I listened to Hatanaka-kun’s straightforward acting, I thought, “Ah, so Touma is this kind of child”. That was where the character named Touma was completely concretized.

About Hanae (Natsuki)-kun, immediately as I listened to the audition tapes, I thought, “Ah, it has to be him” at Hanae-kun. Meeting him was close to a miracle for me. It felt like I had found an actor who was Maki himself, so if Hanae-kun is the one speaking, any line will sound like Maki. Thus, this time, I have received a lot of motivation from the two leading actors. In regards to Maki, it felt like I could fully trust Hanae-kun, and in regards to Touma, it felt like I discovered that “Touma is this kind of person” upon observing Hatanaka-kun.

――About middle schoolers.

Akane: There is the fact that I have experience with it, but I also think that soft tennis is a sport similar to a special characteristic of puberty and boyhood. Even though there are so many competitors amongst middle schoolers, it cuts by half when they become high schoolers, and when they turn into college students and adults, nearly no one is playing it anymore. I thought this tendency was the same as teenage emotions in some aspect.

――What was put into the characters who changed.

Akane: Kanako is a character I included with the intention of making her into a representative of the viewer. I think that, for children of this generation, throwing yourself into a sport with all your might is something lame and embarrassing. Even so, if it is florid sports like the baseball and soccer clubs, aren’t people considered an “elite” of sorts just by being part of them (laughs)? But there are no professionals in soft tennis, and it has no big tournaments in high school such as Koushien. So isn’t it a bit embarrassing to do your best at it in spite of that? Kanako was observing them with this kind of feeling at the beginning. But they gradually inspire her. She likes drawing, yet she had never approached it face-first in the form of drawing seriously or wanting to go to an art university in the future. She would probably be able to say this if she thought of herself as a genius, but since she cannot say that much, she thinks it is better to make jokes, and that taking on such attitude will prevent her from getting hurt.

I have the impression that children these days are extremely scared of getting hurt because they are very kindhearted. That’s why, by the instant they think they have been tremendously hurt when they are met with frustration despite doing something with all their might, they themselves attempt to deny that they were doing utmost effort. If they are not doing their best, they try to be able to say that “it’s okay since I slacked off” in case they fail. For said people of that age, failing is truly terrifying, and they have this sense of fear that they will never again be able to recover if they break once. This is why Kanako pokes fun at the guys from the boys’ soft tennis club and always says bitter things. But they change little by little, and even at the practice matches against Misaki Academy, they put up a good fight. Seeing this, Kanako realizes it is not about winning or losing, and becomes able to tell her teacher directly that she “wants to study art”. I have put in her my hopes for the children who watched this series to become able to change like this, without being afraid.

――Aired until episode 12.

Akane: The reason why the members of the boys’ soft tennis club pretend not to have motivation at first is that they have preoccupations regarding their family circumstances, and also because there is a side to them that sees life in a distorted manner. If they try their hardest at club activities and even then are not good enough, they will lose their place to stand. It is due to them perceiving this air about each other that their camaraderie is strong. Then the foreign matter named Maki comes in, and by facing soft tennis seriously, confidence follows them even if they lose. They become able to think, “We can also do it if we try”. “Since they have this confidence, they will likely become able to confront their family issues as well”... is what the part that was broadcasted is about.

Maki’s home environment was severe, so he had to become an adult mentally, thus he stirs everyone up through his words, with a grown-up gaze. But by throwing himself into soft tennis, Maki is also able to go back to being a boy and to purely enjoy himself. Hence the word “fun” appears countless times in his lines.

[moontheoretist]

In the third post about episode 10th of Hoshiai no Sora I want to highlight everything else portrayed, cute and sad alike. So let’s start from GREAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MAKI AND HIS MUM. Because this is precious thing we get in every episode and I cannot stress how much I love that! Also the fact that they actually talk like normal people is stunning. I want to have a parent like that, who listens to me and tells me why she cannot be somewhere where it would be nice if she was, because I will perform there. If I had Maki’s mum as my parent my life would be so much better, just saying. We stan Maki’s mum!

Below the cut you will find:

1. Oji Arashi and his detachment from real life. (Pretty obvious stuff, sorry).

2. Rintaro’s meeting with his mum foreshadowing.

3. Praising the relationship between Rintaro and Itsuki.

4. Takada Kei as rare female role model for boy’s club.

5. Touma and Student Council President meeting.

6. Kasuga Kaori’s quick analyze.

7. Toxicity of fans vs Mitsue.

Another thing shown in the episode was Arashi’s complete obliviousness of the life of the people in the world around him. I mean there wasn’t much about him other than establishing him as someone who doesn’t know how real world works and that people don’t usually drag made at home food with them around, and that he can be easily persuaded to talk when he gets the food he wants, but also there was something else there to him. We all know that Arashi is self-centered prince like character, who thinks he is awesome in everything, but it looks like not everybody thinks in the same way about his behavior. 

The twins Arashi met today definitely think of him as if he was the dumbest person on earth. Though important thing here is that Arashi's business with the twins sounded either as if they thought he chose bad school or as if Misaki school got tough route through tournament. For both of them it is very funny that Arashi thinks he is this one person who can ensure his school victory and twins just couldn't take it without laughing it off as a good joke. They are also the only people whose strength Arashi not only acknowledges but also explicitly points out that they are more awesome than he is in general. If I was to call him anything I would say he is Naruto Uzumaki type of character, just without emotional trauma of being the most hated orphan in the village attached.

I feel a little bad for him though, mostly because he is being treated like animal to feed and get information from by Maki. Maki, that’s not cool! But to be fair, Arashi isn’t without blame here too, because he literally treats Maki as the free food supply and didn’t even give him money back for everything he ate. He is a rich boy after all, he thinks everything should be handed to him on silver plate. It was his life all those years, so he isn’t even able to consider it’s not normal.

Next thing is Rintaro’s meeting with mum. There is not much to say about that to be honest, because it’s just a short scene put out here in order to establish future storyline in regard to Rintaro’s life. It didn’t even manage to affect the game he played. Just like Nao’s problems with his mum didn’t show up too. Everybody were so focused on the match that nobody really thought about their real life problems, too preoccupied with actually trying to win the games. 

Though I wonder what this whole thing with Rintaro’s knee is supposed to foreshadow as well, because it like appeared out of nowhere, but also it seemed that whole club knew about that before, outside Maki who noticed it during the match. Is it some drama-related injury or just regular thing which Rintaro dealt with all his life? It really made me wonder if the two situations, his knee condition and his mother’s sudden wish to meet him aren’t by any chance related. I am also worried what losing a match because of a knee can do to Rintaro, considering he feels as much responsible for the club as Shinjo does, but just shows it in different way, by self-blaming himself for “being useless”. It like screams drama to me. Rintaro really wanted to win this! Rintaro! ToT

Also once again I want to point out another great dynamic between the pair shown. Just like in the cases of Shingo/Tsubasa and Taiyo/Nao, here we also can see how great companions Rintaro and Itsuki are to each other. They do not blame one another for mistakes and Itsuki really tried to make Rintaro as relaxed as it’s possible by bringing up Takada. To be honest I loved the fact that he actually mentioned her, because it’s not only a sweet and tasty female character praise based on the fact that female soft tennis club is really a big deal, which is rare in sports anime, but also that they both look up to Takada as a player.

It’s also worth pointing out, that when Rintaro’s leg starts giving up Touma isn’t really mad because of that. It’s one from probably two situations in the whole episode when Shinjo is actually calm and at peace with what is happening.

Second time when he is calm and collected happens in the most unforeseeable circumstances for him as a character, meaning when Student Council President comes to the soft tennis courts to inspect the clubs. I was really surprised that Touma wasn’t at all angry, but it just speaks a lot about how quickly he can get over something bad if he finds a way to reforge it into something good. In this case he reforged Student Council President’s decision to disband his club into motivation and necessary pressure which his teammates needed to become better at soft tennis. He also acknowledges that they were slacking off before.

Speaking of which I loved that we also got another glimpse into Student Council President personality with this one worried “Am I a bully?”, which speaks volumes about how insecure she feels about herself. We knew that she comes from a rich house and didn’t really want to go to the school, which she goes now and that her mother and grandmother both use different names to address her, because both see Kaori as someone else and enforce that by using those names and treating Kaori in different ways to be sure that she grows the way they want her to grow. But Kaori also isn’t stupid, and plays their game by allowing herself to act as they wish her to act, while in truth she has her own vision of herself which she realizes outside her mother and grandmother influence. Part of that vision is probably making school run better than it did before, hence why she was so adamant about closing clubs which waste funds. It doesn’t though mean that she doesn’t doubt herself, because of authority she has and the way she acts, which this one glimpse of anxiety expresses so well. Also the fact that Touma is the one who assures her she is fine and right about what she says was so heartwarming OMG! He is such a good person! ToT

The last and probably the most important thing for me as an artist was the mention of world reaction to Mitsue’s art style and theme change on her artistic twitter account. Her fans literally bashed her over that, which not only shows how internet pressure looks like from the perspective of the creators, but also highlights the toxic fandom practices of pushing creators to change back to what they were before, because “they liked them more that way, and they hate the new them”. This practice can be powerful when it’s about social justice and ensuring that big companies won't leave out or misrepresent minority groups, but it has also the darker side which always presents itself as bunch of people being shitty and disrespectful to their favorite creators in hope their abuse will change them back to the image they are the most accustomed to and prefer to see. Yes, that’s abuse, the worst kind of abuse to be honest, which can make artist quit.  The second those fans do not get what they want they start acting like entitled fans and white male gamers combined. I do not want to draw a line between gender here, because I believe some of those nasty people were girls as well, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that this behavior was the exact same which I saw in every “white male gamer” who made a drama of every game in which female character is treated as she should be, as a person instead of an object. And I think it’s important to point out here due to the fact that Natsuko is known mostly from drawing goth stuff, probably mostly young women, and we knew before that her fans were all squealing over the so called “knee-skirt” gap, which all on it own was already sexist and disgusting for me to be honest.

And this is what I want to tell all of them! SCREW YOU! Also I am happy that the hate she got didn’t discourage Mitsue, and she still posted the last picture.

[goodwriterwithbadhabits]

Phantom Lover

Master List

This is a doozy! I got so carried away. You wanted angst? I give you Detective Yixing x College Reader. 

And I am so sorry about this one, it seems both too long and also so rushed at the same time.

Warnings: Certifiably fucked up. Torture, death, blood violence, cops, swearing

Enjoy

~~

When Detective Yixing woke up, he was not expecting the first thing he saw to be a woman standing in his bedroom, but there you were. Your was face covered in scrapes and bruises, your clothes torn and bloodied and your fingertips dripping blood onto his bedroom floor.

Of course he did the logical thing, the thing any police detective would have done at that sight at 9:30 in the morning.

He screamed. Loudly. 

You took a step back, shocked at his outburst, and stumbled back further when his bedroom door burst open and his roommate burst through the door. Suho looked around wildly, brandishing a baseball bat.

“What the fuck, Lay?” He huffed, “Scaring the shit out of me this fucking early.” Yixing looked at him incredulously.

“Do you not see the girl? The bloody woman standing right there?” He gestured to where you stood but Suho seemed to look right through you.

“Lay, there's no one there, you're just overworking yourself, dude.”

“No, she's right there!” He practically shouted. Suho sighed in annoyance and walked over to you, and then through you.

“No one here, Lay. Seriously, its the missing persons case, its got you going crazy.” Suho sighed, patting his friend on the shoulder and leaving the room. “Maybe you should ask for someone to take over.” He offered from across the house.

“Yeah maybe.” Lay breathed, still staring at you. “Are you real?” You looked down at yourself, examining the blood on your fingers before looking back at him and saying something he couldn't here. “What? I can't hear you.” You spoke again, clearly attempting to enunciate every word but there was still no sound. “You can hear me, but I can't hear you, right?” You huffed, shrugging.

“Lay! Come eat, you're gonna be late!.” Suho called.

“Could you, um, could you turn around? I need to get dressed.” He asked, tugging the duvet closer to himself. Your cheeks went red and you pointed to the door. He nodded and you practically ran out of the room.

You were aware of everything, your name, the dull throbbing pain that coursed through your body. Even what had happened right before you found yourself seemingly astral projected in some stranger's house. You didn't feel dead, you could feel your pulse when you checked it, but you couldn't touch anything. Your hand just went right through it, which made making your way through the house so much easier.

You wandered his house, waiting for him, for a few minutes. It was fancy, two stories, a nice view, a huge pool in the back, very art deco meets log cabin vibes. Lay's roommates, Suho and Sehun, a friend of your roommate's, were sitting in the spacious kitchen, discussing Lay when you got there.

“I think we should talk to Xiumin, it's not healthy for Lay to be working so much.” The other one said.

“Maybe, but he seemed really sure about there being someone there. I went to college with him, I've seen what he's like when he's hallucinating.”

“When was he-”

“I'm not telling you that story, Sehun. Don't you have class?” Suho immediately cut off the younger man.

“Not for another hour, but if you're sure he isn't hallucinating, have him talk to Professor Do.” Sehun shrugged.

“The creepy occult professor?” Suho questioned, setting a thermos next to a lunch pail on the counter.

“Yeah, but he knows a lot about ghost stuff. It's a long shot, but maybe he can help him out.”

“Whose gonna help who out?” Lay inquired as he entered the kitchen, now clad in crisp slacks and a cream-colored button-down with black suspenders standing stark from the cloth.

He looked good, like every detective from the movies and TV shows you had grown up watching and knowing that he couldn't hear you, you told him so. 

“Professor Do, he's an occult expert and he might be able to help out with the girl your seeing.” Sehun explained. Lay nodded, picking up the lunch box and thermos. “I'll check him out after work. See you later guys.” He waved to his roommates as he jogged out to his car. Once outside he glanced behind him to see you following. “Do you recognize any of the buildings in the area?” He asked you, to which you shook your head. He opened the driver's side door and rested his head on the roof of his car. You, in some half-assed attempt at existing in the corporeal plane, grabbed at the handle of the passenger side door and shockingly, were able to open it.

“Holy shit.” He breathed, “Well, climb in, you can come with me to the precinct and we can see if we can't find out what's happening.” He instructed, and you both climbed into the car.

Back inside the house, Suho and Sehun slowly turned towards each other as Lay pulled away, both having seen, not only the car door opening on its own but also the reflection of a beaten-up woman in the window of the car.

“Did you see?” Suho asked the younger boy.

“So he's not crazy.” Sehun admitted.

“And he's not hallucinating.”

“But who the hell is she?”

~~

“We just received another missing person's report.” Police Captain Xiumin announced to the group of detectives gathered around the report board. “A young woman L/n, Y/n. She went to work four days ago and never came home. Her roommate, Kim Jongin, says he thought she might have gone to her mothers and forgot to tell him but when he called this morning her mother said she wasn't there.” The captain tacked a picture to the board and Lay had to hold back his gasp, there you were, staring back at him from what looked like a school ID. “Zhang, do you have anything on this case?”

“I think so, we've noticed a pattern.” Lay started, loading a presentation on the projector. You were sat at his desk next to him, staring at your own picture on the wall. Had it really been four days? “Whoever is doing this only seems to be taking college women, that was obvious. We didn't see any possible connection until last night. None of them are in the same major, they don't look alike, but they all have one thing in common. They have all modeled for an art class on campus. The class meets at 2 on Thursdays. Lee Sora, two days before she was taken, Yang Hyunjoo, three days prior, Kim Sunmi, one day prior.” CCTV images of girls you vaguely knew popped up on the screen, all posing some sort of way on the dais in the middle of the room. “Hwang River and Boo Hana were both the day they modeled, I'm almost certain if we check, Miss Y/n will be on the list of their models.” A few of Lay's colleagues gave him looks of awe while others stared at him like he was their archenemy.

“Do that. Who would have this list of models, who would know?” Xiumin inquired.

“Only the teacher, whose been at class nearly every time one of them was taken, and the students in the class.”

“I want the names of every kid in that class, I want them brought in and questioned and I want this figured out yesterday. And who the hell is that?” Xiumin nearly shouted as a shadow fell in front of the projector screen, you had stepped in front, pointing to the photo of yourself.

“There's no one standing there.” Someone noted, “Just their shadow.”

“Zhang? Is this part of the presentation?” Lay smirked, making eye contact with you.

“No sir.”

“Then who is that? And why can't we see them?”

“Sir, I believe that is Miss Y/n.” You nodded, which made everyone gasp. “ I think she's going to be able to help us out.”

“Alright.” Xiumin mused, still staring at your shadow. “Everyone get to work. Yang, I want you on the list of students, round up who you need to. Zhang, meet me in my office, and bring the girl.” The lights came back on, and the projector turned off, rendering you invisible once again. Xiumin walked to his office as Lay set his things back on his desk. You made your way over to the report wall, seeing the faces of the other girls.

“Recognize anyone?” He asked you. You nodded, pointing to Lee Sora, a girl you had met in the cafeteria during a study group. “Just her?” You gestured to the others and made the motion of kinda with your hand.

“So you can see her then?” Homicide Detective Lu Han asked, looking towards the report board where Lay was looking. “How come?”

“No idea. She showed up in my room this morning. Suho walked right through her but she managed to open my car door.” Lay explained.

“Hmm, maybe it's just your things she can touch.” He offered, “Y/n! He called, lobbing his badge towards you. You tried to catch it only to have it fall right through you.

“What was that going to accomplish?” Lay asked.

“Give me your badge.” Lay complied and Lu tossed it in your direction and to his shock, you caught it. “Hey, I was right.” He grinned. “If she holds on to it, we'll be able to see her too.” He shrugged. “Either way, you need to go see the boss.” You walked over to Lay's desk trying to hand him back his badge.

“Hold onto it.” He ordered, before leading you towards the boss's office.

~~

“Care to explain whatever this is?” Xiumin asked, leaning on his desk and staring at the floating police badge in front of him.

“I don't know how to, sir. She was in my room this morning, no one else can see her.” Lay explained. “It seems she can only touch my things, I was shocked she even cast a shadow.”

“But she's L/n Y/n?”

“It would seem so. The problem is, I can't hear her when she talks, and I don't understand sign language.” 

“We need to know what she knows.”

“I was going to stop by Professor Do, the occult studies professor, see if he might be able to help.”

“We'll go now. Take her in your car, I'll meet you there.” Xiumin ordered. Lay nodded and the two of you left the office.

“At least someone believes me, and I know you're not just a product of my hallucinations.” Lay laughed, gathering his folders on his desk. You plopped in his chair, hand immediately going to pick up his letter opener, spinning it in your bloody fingers, effectively smearing your blood across it. “Hopefully Professor Do will be able to help.” He sighed, “Let's go then.”

~~

Xiumin met the two of you in front of the administrations building of the university.

“Hello, can I help you?” The receptionist inquired. The young man, whose name tag read Jongdae, smiled at the two men, not noticing the floating police badge that was now attached to a chain around your neck.

“Captain Minseok, Busan PD, this is Detective Zhang, we need a few things from you.” Lay pulled out your picture from his files.

“Recognize this student?” Jongdae nodded, smiling. “What can you tell us about her?”

“She's a wonder. Investigative Journalism major, though she hasn't been to class in a few days.”

“Since when?”

“Well, she came in for her Friday morning photojournalism lecture but hasn't been to class for the last two days. I'm getting kinda worried.” He confessed. You smiled, thankful that one of your friends cared.

“Thank you, we may have more questions for you. What’s the best way to get hold of you?” Xiumin asked, Jongdae immediately grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled his number on it.

“Here, call or text me. For any reason.” He winked at the captain, who wasn't sure how to respond. You burst out laughing, thankful that no one could hear you.

“We, we need to know if Professor Do is in today.” Xiumin stuttered, tucking the paper into his breast pocket.

“The occult studies professor?”

“Yes.”

“Let me call.” He picked up the phone, while Lay and Xiumin took a few steps back.

“I'm going to stay down here, I want to ask this guy if he knows anything about the other missing girls. Take her up to the professor and call me if anything comes up.” Xiumin decided.

“Yes sir.”

“Excuse me.” All three of you looked to Jongdae. “The professor is in his office. It's in the human sciences building, I can give you a map.” Lay looked to you who pointed to yourself, telling him you knew the way.

“That's alright, I know the way. Thank you.” Lay turned back to his superior and nudged his shoulder. “Don't have too much fun Captain.”

“Shut up Zhang.”

~~

Walking through campus was strange, you saw people you knew, but they couldn't see you. At one point you walked right by your friend group and heard them asking Jongin about you.

“I don't know. She didn't come home Friday. I filed a missing persons report this morning.” He explained.

“Why'd you wait?” Sehun asked, “I've got some friends at the police department, I could have asked them to look into it.”

“Sehun.” Lay chastised, as he walked by. “Don't go getting any ideas, you'll end up owing me favors.”

“Lay, what are you doing here? Is it about-” Lay cut the younger man off.

“I'm just here to speak to Professor Do. Although.” Lay pondered for a moment. “Have any of you attended the live model art class?”

“I have.” Your friend Tao, raised his hand. “The one on Thursday right?”

“Anything you can tell me about it?” Lay asked, pulling his notepad out of his pocket. “Anything that's changed in the past few months?”

“Well, the class only started a few weeks ago, but it's been losing its intrigue. Only a few of us still attend the class. Most have dropped it.” Tao explained.

“Would you be willing to come down to the station and answer some questions, Mister...?”

“Huang Zitao. And yeah, that's no problem.” You smiled, watching Lay and one of your closest friends talk. You couldn't pretend not to like Lay, he was smart, kind, and hard working. There must have been some sort of connection between you two, it was the only explanation for why you showed up in his bedroom.

“Thank you, when you can, go to the station and ask for Yang. He's the one who gonna want to ask you some questions.” Lay bowed to the group who bowed back before walking off.

“Detective. Are you gonna find our friend?” Jongin called. Lay stopped, locking eyes with you as you both smiled, slowly turning back to the group.

“Yes.”

Lay continued pouring over his notes as you made your way to Professor Do's office. A few students seemed to notice you, or at least the floating badge, and do double-takes, but most were scurrying between classes. You paused in front of the classroom as the professor said goodbye to the students, waiting for him to be finished speaking to the last of the stragglers.

“Excuse me, professor Do?” Lay interrupted, “Detective Zhang, I need to speak to you.”

“Of course, I'll see you next week Hyunjin, and I hope you find your friend.” He told the student, turning his attention to Lay and the floating badge as the student ran off. “Come in you two.”

The inside of his classroom was surprisingly normal-looking, a few dead animals in formaldehyde and some ancient texts hanging on the walls, but his office was another story. Giant bookshelves full of decaying texts, charms, and crystals on the walls and strange devices on shelves across the room. “I suspect you're not here about the missing girls.” He started, motioning for Lay to take a seat. “You here about that.” He pointed to you and the badge. “Your ghost friend.”

“Actually, it's a bit of both professor, this is L/n Y/n-”

“One of the missing students. Is she dead?” You had spoken to the professor before, but the way he was staring at you was freaking you out.

“I don't think so. She looks pretty alive.”

“You can see her? Tell me everything, feel free to have a seat Y/n.” He sat on the other side of his desk, eyes never leaving you as Lay explained everything.

“So others could see her, and she can't touch what isn't yours?” He mused once Lay had finished.

“That seems to be the case professor.”

“Call me Kyungsoo. I think I've seen something like this before.” Both of you perked up at this.

“You have?”

“Its a very rare soulmate bond. The ability to astral project to the other if the need arises. Eventually, you'll be able to do it whenever you want.” Kyungsoo explained, moving to one of his bookshelves.

“Hold on, did you say soulmates?” Lay asked.

“Yes.” Kyungsoo's blunt reply made you both look at the other, and you felt your cheeks heat up. “It says here that we may be able to see her using a mirror.” He read, setting the book down he grabbed the large mirror from the corner and set it in the middle of the room. “Y/n, come stand in front of this please.” You did as you were told and were shocked when you finally got to see yourself.

You looked like shit.

Your hair was ratty and greasy, you were covered in cuts and bruises and the shirt you were wearing was cut in places and covered in blood, likely from your own hands which had finally stopped bleeding.

“Well hello again, how are you feeling?” You shrugged, not really sure, everything felt kinda fuzzy and yet damp, like your actual body was somewhere wet. “Alright, try speaking, tell us your name.” You did and once again, no sound. “Well, do you know sign language?” You nodded, thankful to finally be able to communicate. “Alright, well tell us your story, slowly, and I can translate.” He glanced at Lay, who was fishing out his notebook again. When Lay gave you a thumbs up, you began.

“I was leaving work, walking through the park. It was late at night and I hear someone behind me. Then someone put their hand over my mouth, I smelled something awful and I woke up in the dark. I could see a door of some kind, there was light around it, I went to it, but it was locked and the stairs leading to it were wet. I banged on the door and tried to pry it open with my hands but someone hit it from the other side. I got scared and hurried down the stairs. I don't know how long I was there, but sometimes a tray of food, usually a sandwich and a glass of water was shoved in a hole in the door. I found what felt like a window but it didn't let in any light. I had been trying to pry open the door again when someone hit the door and I fell backward, I think I fell down the stairs, but when I opened my eyes again, I was laying on your floor, you woke up a moment later.” Kyungsoo glanced at the detective who was still frantically writing notes.

“What do you recall of the room you were in? Did you get a feel for the size?” He was kinda hot when he went full detective mode.

“She says it felt small, and it was possibly underground.”

“Was there anyone else in the room?”

“I don't think so. I never heard anyone else, and you say I've been gone for days.” You paused, frantically trying to remember something else. When it hit you you frantically waved your hands before carefully signing what you had to say. Kyungsoo's eyes went wide and he hesitated. “Are you sure?” You signed it again, slower.

“What? What is she saying?”

“She says, I heard screaming like someone was being hurt, not very far away.”

~~ Back at the precinct, you and Lay stood in the interrogation viewing room as people were interviewed by Yang Jeongin and Lu. Most of them said the same things, they only knew you from the class, never spoke to you afterward and never thought there was anyone who might get mad at you for anything.

Then Tao came in. You were practically pressed to the viewing glass, wanting to walk through it and comfort your friend who looked a little scared.

“Huang Zitao, martial arts expert, fashion and design major, what are you doing in an art class?”

“Honestly, there's a guy I have a thing for who was in the class for a while before he moved back home to China. Then it was too late to quit and the people there are pretty nice.”

“Did you know any of the models in the class?” Jeongin asked, to which Tao nodded.

“I know Boo Hana, she's in my interior design class and L/n Y/n is a close friend of mine.”

“Was there anyone in the class that might have had it out for any of the girls?” Tao hesitated, nervously looking around. You quickly pulled off the badge and walked through the wall, moving to stand behind Tao and set your hand as close to on his shoulder as you could.

“Zitao, we need you to be honest with us if there was anyone that gave you even a bad vibe, we need to know, we won't be able to find your friend unless you tell us.”

“There was one guy...”

~~

“We can't just run in, it could get somebody killed. We need evidence Zhang, you know that.” Xiumin was trying to remain calm as Lay pleaded with him.

“But Captain, this guy is our only real lead-”

“If you think he could have something to do with this, get some more evidence and give me a reason to put out a warrant.”

“But Captain-” “Enough, need I remind you what happened last time your went rushing in to danger?”

“No sir.” Lay sighed.

“Go home, Lay, you have until the end of the day tomorrow to bring me something substantial, or I'm taking you off the case.”

“Minseok,” The older boy looked Lay in the face, being as professional as possible.

“You've become too emotionally invested, get your head clear and find something in the morning. I have faith in you, you're my best detective.”

“Thank you sir. I'll see you in the morning.”

~~

“None of this makes any sense,” Lay groaned, tugging at his hair. It was nearing 3 in the morning and Lay was still pouring over his notes and files. You were sat next to him on his couch, wishing you could help him more. You weren't even sure if you could touch him to calm him down, you hadn't tried. “Tao said he was the one, but he's a straight-A student, captain of the debate team, even in choir. He's like a damn angel, and if he is the one and I can't find him, something might happen to all of you and you could get hurt or worse. I can't have that on my conscience-” You stopped his ramblings by setting your hands on his cheeks, turning his head to face you. You looked at him sternly, making him sigh and press his cheek further into your hand. “You're right, I'm way too stressed about this, and freaking out won't help.” He chuckled, “You aren't even speaking to me and you're already putting me in my place, maybe we are soulmates.” You chuckled as well, the smile on your face making his broader. “I don't know what to do.” He finally sighed. You had an idea and slowly trailed your arms down his neck and to his shoulders. “Woah, darling, I don't plan on having sex with a ghost.” You smacked his chest, grabbing the notebook from beside his leg.

“Why don't you google his name, ya nasty.” You wrote on the notepad.

“Darling you're a genius.” He declared, grabbing your cheeks and planting a chaste kiss on your forehead. “Why didn't I think of that? Don't answer that.” He pulled his laptop closer to himself and pulled up the browser. “What's his name?” You flipped through the notebook, scooting closer to him in order to show him his own notes. “What would I do without you?”

~~ “Captain! Captain, I have something.” Lay nearly shouted as the two of you entered the precinct.

“Good, because I couldn't get the art teacher to cancel tomorrow's class.” Lu added, joining Lay as he walked towards the captain's office. “Most of the student's have been accounted for, and they have some pretty solid alibis.”

“Zhang, Han, tell me you have something, preferably something we can act on before tomorrow afternoon?” Xiumin greeted, opening the door of his office for them to enter.

“Actually yes, sir.” Lay practically grinned. “I looked him up last night, he's a recent transfer student, the last town he came from had a string of serial kidnappings and subsequent murders right before he came here. He lives in some big farmhouse looking thing on the very outskirts of town.”

“That's not enough to get a warrant.” Xiu sighed.

“Maybe not, but combined with the character reports from the interrogations yesterday, it's enough for us to be able to go talk to him. And if we see something, we can act.” Lu explained, setting a stack of transcripts from the previous days down on the captain's desk. Xiumin looked at the papers in front of him, then to the two men.

“Go together, I'll have everyone here on standby, if anything sets you off, I want you to radio backup, unless someone is dying, you are not to go in by yourselves. Understand me?” Both men stood straight, saluting their captain.

“Yes sir.” He saluted them back.

“Go find our girls.”

~~

Lay in full tactical gear was hot, you weren't even gonna lie. The bulletproof vest, the boots, had you been one of the weirdos on the internet you would have asked him to step on you.

“It looks like an old bunker, a barn built on top, and a farmhouse.” Lu explained from the passenger seat. You were sat in the middle of the backseat, that way Lay could continue to keep an eye on you. As you got closer to the farm, your arm started to burn. Not like the building was on fire, but more like someone was stabbing you with a hot poker.

“I'll check the barn, you knock on the front door.” Lay decided. “Y/n, are you okay?” He asked, seeing your pained expression in the rearview. You shook your head frantically, clutching the burning spot on your arm. “We're almost there, we'll get you out of there.” He assured you, but when he glanced back at you, the backseat was empty. “Shit.” He growled, stomping on the gas and turning on his sirens.

“Lay, what the hell?”

“She's gone. Something's happened.”

~~ When you opened your eyes, you were laying on a cold metal, something, possibly a surgical table. Your arms were strapped down and you could still feel the burning in your arm. You frantically looked around the dimly lit room, seeing a figure with purple hair slumped against a far wall.

“Ah, there you are.” A man's voice said. “I was wondering when you'd come to.”

“What did you do to her?” You asked, voice hoarse. He chuckled darkly.

“Sora? She's still alive if that's what you're wondering. I'm not going to kill any of you yet.”

“Why are you doing this?” He slammed his hands on either side of your head, leaning above you.

“Because you and your little whore friends deserve it. Parading around in practically nothing while pretending to study, then having the audacity to be a nude model.” He growled you could feel the tears leaking from your eyes, into your hair. “I'm going to make you hate this body, then, I'm going to kill you.”

“What are you gonna do to me?” Your voice was quiet and squeaky, not something you'd ever want someone to hear.

“I'll do exactly what I did to Sora, I'm going to make your skin so horrifying you'd never let it be seen, then I'm going to do the same to your face. Then I'm going to kill you.” He moved around you, standing between you and Sora, but not enough to entirely block your view of her. “I can't do it all at once though, too much pain and the body shuts down, but as long as you don't pull a Sora, you'll be fine. For now.” He raised a small scalpel and from the corner of your eye, you saw Sora shift.

~~

It was beginning to be too much. Your voice was shot from screaming, and your arms were burning from the missing skin. He was flaying you, piece by piece. He paused finally, setting down his tools to check his phone, and you looked behind him, shocked to find Sora missing. The sound of tires outside made you both look towards the doors of the barn you were in.

“Help!” You cried, voice much quieter than you'd prefer. “In here!”

“Shut up!” He whisper-yelled, “You stupid-” He was suddenly cut off and you turned your head to find Sora holding a large piece of rock above her head as he fell to the ground.

“Oh my god, Sora!” You gasped. “Outside.”

“I heard, let's untie you.” You would have been startled by how calm she seemed, despite missing chunks of skin on her arms, but all you could think about was how much you wanted out of there. She started working on the knots on your arms as you continued shouting. Something must have been blocking the doors because it was obvious someone was pushing on them from the outside.

“Lu! Lay!” You called, your head beginning to swim from blood loss and exertion.

“Y/n? Is there anyone else with you?” Lu called thought the doors.

“I'm here, Lee Sora.”

“I need to get my partner, will you be alright?”

“He's unconscious right now. Just hurry back please.” Sora called, finally freeing your arm. “Don't sit up, you'll probably pass out.” She instructed you.

A moment later the barn doors exploded inwards as Lay drove the car into them.

“We need back up and at least one ambulance here ASAP.” Lu ordered into the radio as Lay jumped out of the car.

“The others, do you know where they are?” He asked Sora, eyes still trained on you.

“Down in some sort of sub-basement.” Sora explained, “There's a trap door over there.”

“Hey you.” He finally greeted you. You smiled up at him weakly, trying to lift your arm to grab his hand.

“Hey you.” You whispered back, as he found your hand with his.

“It's nice to hear your voice.” Your eyes shut as you chuckled weakly, and the last thing you heard was him calling your name faintly.

~~

When you finally woke up, someone was holding your hand, and someone else was having a quiet conversation somewhere else in the room. As your vision cleared, you could figure out you were in a hospital room, Jongin sitting in the chair beside you, holding your hand as he scrolled on his phone.

“Kai?” Your voice made him jump and drop his phone as his face erupted in a smile.

“Oh my god, you're awake.” He jumped to his feet, hugging you tightly. “I was getting so worried.”

“I'm okay. How are the others?”

“Hana, Hyunjoo and Sunmi were discharged this morning. River is filling her discharge paperwork out now and-”

“And I'm right here.” You turned your head to find Sora in the bed next to you, with one of her friends sitting next to her. “I wasn't going to leave until I knew you were okay.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at you, but her attention was brought to the doctor that had just walked in.

“Good afternoon, miss Y/n. How do you feel?”

“A little weary, and like I rolled down a street in my swimsuit.”

“Well, your arms are a little worse for wear but we have pain medication and an ointment for you to apply once you're discharged. You should be alright in a few weeks.”

“Awesome. When can I leave?” You laughed, hating hospitals.

“Lets check your vitals and we could have you out of here in an hour.”

Down in the waiting room, where you and Sora were wheeled by your respective best friends, stood a cluster of people. Two men in crisp suits helped Sora out of her wheelchair and pulled her into a tight hug, one that seemed more intimate than brothers. Another man in a suit was talking to Xiumin and from the look on the captain's face he didn't like the guy.

“I am so ready to go home.” You groaned, standing up and popping your back.

“I bet you are, but I'm going out to lunch with Kyungsoo.” Jongin told you, handing you your keys.

“Oh, how am I getting home?” You asked, earning a shrug from him.

“I'm taking you. I'm also taking you out to lunch.” Lay made his way through the crowd, stopping right in front of you. “I think its time we got to know each other, right?”

[midnightmunchies]

Papa

Read it on fanficition.net 

Pairing: SasuSaku 🌸aka Uchiha Fam

Rated: K

{A/N}: Secret Santa Gift for @ladywithpurplehair for @narutosecretsanta ‘s 2018 event. 

Here’s a fic with Papa Sasuke and Little Sarada ft. Mama Sakura. Hope you like it as much as the fanart that I received from you! Hope you like it! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

“Why don’t your Papa ever come and pick you up?” A young boy called out to her from the top of the stairs.

Turning her head around to see who it was, Little Sarada pouted at the sight that she saw. There, making his way down the stairs of their preschool was none other than the grade’s bully, Sora. He was so mean to everyone, even to girls.

Little hands clutching the handles of her backpack tightly, she ignored his question and continued to walk away, eyes searching for Mama’s black sedan. The faster she got to Mama, the better. Mama can protect her.

Tiny feet hurriedly shuffling away, Sarada continued to ignore his shouting insults as she looked around at all the cars parked up front, searching for the familiar car. But after a couple minutes of searching, a small pout slipped onto her face as she failed to find her Mama’s black sedan.

Hands clutching her backpack tightly, Sarada whispered, “...Mama’s never late…” Just as she turned around to head to the school’s office to call her Mama, a hand reached out towards her and yanked her back by her hood, nearly causing her to fall.

Snickering, Sora said, “What? No Mama to pick you up today either?” With a shrug of his shoulders, Sora added, “If you had a Papa, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Nearly on the verge of tears, Sarada yanked her backpack from his hold. “I do have Papa!”

“No, you don’t!” Sora argued with her. “You only have a mom.”

“I have a Mama and Papa!”

“Where’s your Papa then? It’s always your Mama.”

Wiping away her tears angrily, Sarada sniffed. Sora wasn’t wrong. It was always Mama. Papa has never picked her up from school or come to her school events with her. Mama said that he was busy with work. And Sarada never minded, she knew Papa was busy at the station. She liked having her pretty Mama at school to show off to the other kids anyways. No one had a prettier Mama than she did. But right now, Sarada wished her Papa was here to save her from this mean boy.

“Papa is busy. He has work.” Sarada shouted back at him.

“You’re lying! You don’t have a papa!”

“Yes I do!” She shouted again. Then turning around, Sarada scanned the rows of parked cars with watery eyes, looking for her Mama. But as she did so, she met with a sight that she didn’t think was true.

There standing in front of her, was Papa, still in his police uniform, with Chidori at his side. The German Shepherd barked at her happily when he saw her. Eyes widening, Sarada smiled happily, with tears still in her eyes. Running towards him, she shouted, “Papa!”

.

It was usually Sakura’s thing to pick up Sarada from school after she got off work. It wasn’t because Sasuke couldn’t do it, Sakura just preferred to do so. And it had been this way for a while, ever since Sarada started school. Because of this, he would always end up staying longer even after it was time for him to leave work to work on extra cases or whatever job that needed to be done at the station.

But today, Sasuke figured that he could cut his wife some slack and leave work early to pick up their daughter. It has been a while since he got off work early anyways. The station could survive with him leaving work a couple hours early. There wasn’t much work to be done this week anyway.

He had left work so early that Sasuke even had time to stop by a bakery on the way to get Sarada her favorite sweets. Sakura was surely going to murder him if she knew that he had given Sarada sugar before dinner, but it’ll be a secret between him and Sarada. A little sugar wasn’t going to kill her.

As he pulled up into the parking lot of Sarada’s school, he spotted her right away at the front. Sarada was standing with another classmate it looked like. But as he parked, Sasuke saw the way she was angrily shouting at the other boy, with tears running down her chubby cheeks; it was definitely not a classmate. He had seen how she liked to shout and banter around with Naruto’s son, Boruto, when they had play dates together. So, this made him frown deeply.

Opening the door and letting Chidori jump down from the car, Sasuke held onto his leash. Then closing the door behind him, he began to walk up to where his daughter was. As he did so, he began to hear snip bits of what the two children were arguing about.

“You’re lying! You don’t have a Papa!”

“Yes I do!”

Eyes narrowing on the boy that was bullying her, Sasuke was not pleased to hear that he was the reason for his daughter’s current state of distress. Despite Sakura’s constant reassurance that it was okay for him to not to come to Sarada’s school events due to work, Sasuke couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty towards Sarada sometimes.

Sasuke watched as his daughter yell some other things to the boy before stomping around angrily towards his direction, only to stop as soon as she started, eyes widening. Beside him, he listened as Chidori wagged his tail happily at her and barked.

“Papa!” Sarada exclaimed happily as she ran towards him, her tiny arms opened.

Catching her as she threw herself at him, Sasuke picked her up, smiling at her. “Hello, Sarada.” Wiping away her tear stained cheeks, he asked teasingly, “Why are you crying? Are you not happy that it wasn’t Mama who picked you up today?”

“No!.. I mean yes but I love you too!” She retorted, clutching onto him tightly. “You’re not busy today, Papa?”

Shaking his head, Sasuke kissed her forehead. “No, not today.” This left his daughter in nothing but a fit of giggles and smiles, much to his heart content. Then turning his attention to his daughter’s bully, Sasuke’s eyes narrowed on the little quirt. “Are you the one that made Sarada cry?”

The little boy stepped backwards in fear, stuttering, “... I’m s-sorry Mr. U-Uchiha…”

“You should say sorry to Sarada, not me.”

“...I’m sorry that hurt your feelings Sarada…”

Then looking at his daughter, Sasuke tilted his head over to the little boy. Exchanging a look with him, Sarada pouted. After another moment of eye contact, Sarada huffed in defeat.

Shouting from her father’s arms, she said, “Apology accepted.”

Ruffling her hair lovingly, Sasuke took his leave along with Chidori. “That’s my girl. Alright let’s see if we can beat your Mama home.”

.

Sakura looked at the time on her dashboard worriedly as she gnawed down on her bottom lip.

Sasuke had called her earlier today that he would be leaving work early and that he could just pick up Sarada from school. At first, she was ecstatic to hear this. She knew that Sarada would be thrilled to see her Papa today. But as she reached the end of her hospital shift, it just hit her that Sasuke hasn’t been to their daughter’s school since they’ve enrolled her. He couldn’t possibly know where to pick her up from. It wasn’t hard really, since it was just at the front gates, but this would be the first time that her husband would pick Sarada up. Sarada wouldn’t know to look for her Papa’s car instead of her black sedan. And it didn’t help that Sarada was just a tad short for her age class, Sakura wasn’t sure if Sasuke would be able to find her in the sea of school children.

Taking one last glance at the clock, Sakura decided to hit the accelerator as she sped around the car in front of her. As she did so, not soon after she passed a couple other slow cars, she heard a distinctively familiar siren creeping up behind her.

Groaning, Sakura noticed the flashing blue and red lights behind her as she pulled over to the side of the road. Of course, the one and only time that she decides to break some speeding laws that she gets caught. Angrily whipping out her wallet and digging around for her license, she cursed her bad luck.

In the middle of doing so, she heard someone knock on her window asking her to roll down her window. Sighing, she did as was asked and replied back as she dug around in her purse, “I know. License and registration. Right me a moment.”

“Actually just a kiss would be okay.”

Pausing in her search, Sakura blushed at the familiar voice. Looking up, she was not shocked to find a smirking Sasuke looking back at her. But she was shocked to see, their daughter, Sarada giggling back at her in his arms.

Waving at her happily, Sarada giggled, “Hi Mama!”

[violetstar-writes]

An Unlikely Bond

Inspired by the lovely doodles and headcanons from @kingdomsaurushearts, Here's a drabble about the lost trio. Hope you like it!

******

"Hey, quit being such a showoff!"

Lea rolled his eyes as Kairi started to giggle. Sora and Riku were watching them train, along with Naminé. She was sitting in a chair, doodling something in her notebook. She would look up on occasion and snicker at their antics.

"I need to show that I'm tough!" Kairi grinned. "Not my fault if you can't keep up."

"I was cutting you some slack, princess." Lea smirked.

"...But if you wanna be like that, I'll start getting more serious."

Kairi got into a fighting stance.

"About time!"

"You show him, Kai!" Sora cheered. Riku shook his head with a mildly amused expression.

"Oh!"

Sora and Riku looked over at Naminé. She stood up after her sudden outburst, hokding her notebook against her chest.

"I, um...need to be somewhere right now. I'll be back later!"

Namine rushed towards the door to the training room, but Riku blocked her path.

"Hold it. That would be the fifth time this week you've left the tower for some unknown reason."

He crossed his arms, looking skeptical.

"...What are you hiding?"

"It's nothing bad, I swear!" Naminé curved her lips. "...It's just...I..."

"I see what's going on."

Naminé looked up at Sora in shock. He raised an eyebrow as a smile formed on his mouth.

"...You've got a new friend, right?"

Namine blushed, kicking her feet back and forth. She nodded sheepishly.

"...M...more than one, actually...."

"That's awesome!" Sora fist pumped. "I'm so happy for you! Can we meet them?"

"NO!"

Sora was taken aback by that. The others seemed just as confused. Naminé bit her bottom lip, then bowed apologetically.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell..." Naminé lifted her head back up.

"...They just...aren't comfortable with other people yet. You understand, right?"

Sora scratched his head. It didn't make a whole lot of sense. But there were people out there who didn't like or care about having friends, or were simply too afraid to make any. So...

"I'll...try to?" Sora shrugged.

"Thank you. It means a lot that you respect that. Even if you don't get it." Naminé smiled.

Kairi cleared her throat. "Well, when they're more comfortable with other people....let them know they're welcome to visit! We're all friends here."

Naminé laughed a little.

"Of course. I'll be back soon."

Naminé waved as she opened a corridor of darkness and stepped into it. Once the portal vanished, Sora groaned in frustration.

"Now I'm really curious! I wish she'd tell us..."

Riku patted Sora's shoulder.

"You'll survive."

*******

Naminé pushed the large doors to Castle Oblivion open. She looked back to make sure no one had followed her, then stepped inside. As the door shut behind her, she looked down at the sketches she'd been making earlier.

"Hey, those are really nice."

Naminé jumped a little, noticing her first friend standing next to her.

"Riku! Don't scare me like that!"

The replica chuckled, putting his hands on his sides.

"Vanitas is gonna freak when you show him this."

Naminé scrunched up her nose. "...In a good way or a bad way?"

"Depends." Riku rolled his eyes. "The guy's a walking mess of emotions. Worse than even me. But I guess it makes sense."

"...The three of us...aren't like other people. We were never meant to exist."

"...Don't say such things..." Naminé looked to the side, feeling mildly despondent.

"...Even if we aren't, our bond is still real. Right?"

"Ugh. You two are rambling about this again?"

Naminé and Riku looked over at Vanitas, who had seemingly appeared out of thin air. His tapped his foot in irritation.

"Who cares what anyone else thinks? We're better than any of those weaklings."

Riku scoffed. "Then why do you always hide behind that helmet of yours?"

Vanitas tensed up. They watched as his helmet disintegrated, revealing his true face. Riku gave him a sly grin.

"Don't sell those other guys short. We've got a lot in common with them."

"You're just saying that because you have a soft spot for Sora." Vanitas turned his face in digust.

"Lousy kid...making me share his appearance and my other half..."

Riku sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He placed his hand on Vanitas' shoulder.

"Man, you have got to lighten up. Me and the real Riku got over this phase ages ago."

"Well! Sorry if I don't take the predictable route like everyone else!" Vanitas threw his hands up in the air.

Naminé laughed at both of them, covering her mouth. Vanitas brought his hands back down.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry...it's just amusing to see you guys act like brothers. Arguing over the little things." Naminé beamed at him.

Vanitas' face turned slightly red. He shut his eyes and shoved her back with one hand.

"D...don't say stuff like that. Even if I don't know what a brother is, it makes me feel weird."

A familiar sensation surged through his body. In just a few seconds, a tiny Unversed had come out of Vanitas. It seemed disoriented, walking sluggishly until it plopped down onto the ground.

"Oh, for goodness sake..." Vanitas kicked the Unversed. "Get up! What's the matter with you?!?"

"Don't be so cruel to it!" Naminé reprimanded. She kneeled down and patted its head. The Unversed made a strange noise and started nuzzling her hand.

"Hey, it likes me!"

"ENOUGH!" Vanitas snatched up the small creature. "They're not pets! They're weapons of mass destruction!"

"All of the Unversed that have come out of you lately have been like that, though..." Riku noted.

A mischievous smile formed on his mouth.

"...Is it because you've have a soft spot for us?"

Vanitas raised his fist. "I WILL PUMMEL YOU."

"Hold on. I want to show you something!" Namine got close and nudged him playfully, pressing her fingers onto the sides of her notebook.

Vanitas relaxed a bit and tilted his head, curious of what she could possibly have to show him. Naminé flipped her notebook around for him to see.

"I drew us together! Do you like it?"

His eyes widened. It was a drawing of the three of them holding hands. Vanitas felt an unnatural feeling stir within his heart. Naminé's mouth opened a little in surprise as she stared at him.

"...You...you're..."

"...Huh...?" Vanitas felt something coming out of his eyes. He rubbed them, but it didn't seem to stop. Vanitas looked down at his hands, now soaked with a strange liquid that came out of him.

"Am I...leaking?" Vanitas looked up at Naminé, narrowing his eyes.

"...What did you do to me?"

Riku snorted.

"You're not leaking, idiot. Those are tears. You're crying."

Vanitas glared at Riku.

"I do not. Cry. Crying is for saps. Like Ventus and all those other Guardians of Light."

"Then I guess that makes you a sap, too." Riku grinned as Vanitas scowled at him.

"It's okay to cry, Vanitas." Naminé took his hand.

"It's perfectly normal. You don't need to be ashamed."

Vanitas stared at her with an unreadable expression. He felt Riku pat him on the back. A ghost of a smile formed on his mouth.

"...Normal, huh? I guess...that's not too bad..."

*******

After that day, the others stopped questioning Naminé about where she went all the time. She wondered why, but at least they'd listened to her. Once Vanitas was more comfortable, she'd consider having them all meet. But for now, it was their special little secret.

It was relieving that no organization members aside from Vanitas were visiting Castle Oblivion. The last thing she needed was for that nasty group to come after her or Riku again. It seemed that Vanitas wasn't going to rat them out any time soon, either. Naminé hoped that everything would be fine for a while. Just the three of them, hanging out without a care in the world.

On one particular day, Vanitas stormed into the castle more angry than usual. Before either Namine or Riku could get a word out, he grabbed a white vase and smashed it on the ground. A tiny Unversed got close to his foot, but he kicked it away. The force of the impact against the wall destroyed it, making him wince.

"Vanitas! What's wrong?!" Naminé approached and touched his arm. He pulled away.

"EVERYTHING IS WRONG!!!"

Naminé and Riku backed away slightly. Vanitas noticed their reaction and grimaced. He rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I can't take this anymore. Xehanort. The lights. It's too much."

Vanitas lowered his head. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"It hurts. It hurts all the time. The Unversed. My own dark heart. My existence is nothing but suffering, and no one cares. ESPECIALLY Xehanort."

"...I need to it stop. I need to stop hurting. I need to be whole again. But as long as Ventus is stuck inside that moron, I can't do anything...."

Vanitas covered his face with his hands. Namine and Riku decided to console him. They got closer and rested their hands on his shoulders.

“Hey. Look at us.”

Vanitas peered at Riku from in between his fingers. His eyes darted between the two of them.

“...We care. Everything will be okay. Sooner or later, you’ll get to be whole again.”

“...You should feel lucky. At least you and Namine have someplace to go if things go south.” Riku shut his eyes.

“I know I don’t. It was Namine’s light that brought me back here. Out of a state between light and darkness. I may not be so fortunate a second time...”

Vanitas dropped his hands. He suddenly reached towards Riku and gripped him by the shoulders.

“You idiot. You think I’ll go down that easily? And you really think I’d let you die too?” Vanitas bared his teeth angrily.

“You’re not going anywhere. Either of you. And when I join back together with Ventus, I’ll make sure to break that loser in.”

Vanitas let go of Riku and turned away from them.

“I’ll prove to him that even I can make some dumb friends.”

Namine clasped her hands together, tearing up.

“Vanitas...that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.”

Vanitas turned his head back towards them with a smug grin.

“Yeah, well...don’t get used to it.”

“We don’t expect it from you, so you’re good.” Riku gave him a thumbs up.

Vanitas rubbed his head awkwardly.

“...So...what do you guys wanna do now?”

Namine tapped her index finger on her lips.

“Ice cream?”

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. “...You’re kidding.”

“Not at all. There’s a break room in this castle. Right, Riku?”

He nodded in agreement. “She’s right. The organization members ate food there all the time. We’re bound to find some ice cream and other food there.”

Vanitas sighed.

“...Lead the way.”

Vanitas followed Namine and Riku down some stairs and long, winding hallways. They both seemed to know how to traverse the castle with ease. He wished he’d been as sharp with directions when he first set foot in this place....

“Found it!”

Namine sprinted over to a door in the middle of the hallway. She opened it, then motioned for the boys to follow her. Once he stepped inside, his expression changed from disinterest to mild wonder.

“...Huh. Almost seems homey. But still painfully white.”

“Oh, quit fussing and come here.” Namine tugged Vanitas’ arm. He reluctantly allowed himself to get pulled forward. 

Riku was already digging though a functioning refrigerator (there were no outlets or signs of electricity, so how was it working?). He pulled out three small popsicle sticks wrapped in plastic. RIku tossed them over to Vanitas and Namine. Namine fumbled with her ice cream for a bit before unwrapping it, but still managed to get it open. It was a light shade of pink. Riku pulled out a few drinks from the fridge as well.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had this flavor before! I wonder what it is...”

Namine bit into the ice cream. Her eyes lit up.

“...Wow! It’s really sweet! Here, try some of it!” Namine waved it in front of Vanitas’ face.

Vanitas curved his lips. He gently pushed her hand back.

“...No thanks. I’m okay with my own.”

Riku had already tried a bit of his ice cream, which was bright yellow.

“...Tastes like something tropical. The beach, maybe.”

“Can I have some?” Namine bounced up and down a little.

Riku stifled a laugh.He handed it over to her. Namine took a small, decisive bite. Once again, she seemed enamored with the flavor.

“You’re right! It reminds me of Sora’s island.”

Riku pointed at her. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

Vanitas rolled his eyes. He pulled off the wrapper to his own ice cream. It was light blue. He heard Namine gasp as she stared at it.

“That’s sea-salt ice cream! Roxas really likes that flavor...”

“Hmph. Probably sucks, then.” Vanitas took a big bite to get all the taste in his mouth. His eyes widened.

“Well? How is it?” Namine inquired.

Vanitas swallowed. He appeared to be conflicted.

“...Really salty...but also sweet. Who would make something like this? It’s terrible.”

Namine was saddened by his statement. Riku placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“....And yet, somehow...it’s not.”

Namine looked up and smiled.

“I’m really glad to hear that.”

“It’s alright. It’s not something I’d want to eat again. Here, take it.”

Vanitas extended his arm towards her. Before he could give it to her, he froze. Namine watched as a pained expression crossed his face and the ice cream fell to the ground.

“Vanitas?” Riku looked concerned.

Vanitas abruptly spun his head towards the door. He closed his hands into fists.

“Someone is here.”

Namine and Riku called out to him as he left the room and bolted down the hallway. He could feel the pain steadily growing stronger as the darkness from his Unversed returned to him. He grunted in frustration as he kicked down every door and searched every hall. He eventually stopped on the bottom floor, where the entrance was. He saw a bolt of lightning strike down one of his Unversed, which were currently surrounding an annoyingly familiar boy, duck, and dog.

“Having fun there? You know it hurts when you DO THAT.”

Sora finally noticed Vanitas in the room. His expression shifted to complete and utter shock.

“You?!?”

“WAK???” Donald gawked at the black-haired boy. 

Goofy scratched his head. “G-gawrsh! He looks just like-!”

“Sora!!!”

Vanitas looked back at Namine, who skidded to halt. She panted as her eyebrows creased in distress. Riku appeared a few minutes later, which only served to confuse Sora even more.

“Sora, what are you doing here?” Namine winced. “I told you not to follow me!”

Sora rubbed his arm.

“Um...”

“Master Yen Sid sent us here!” Donald interrupted. “We were supposed to gather more intel about the organization, but instead we found you! Are you on their side now???”

“Donald! Ya shouldn’t make accusations like that!” Goofy exclaimed.

“I don’t care why you three are here.” Vanitas summoned his keyblade.

“But at least this makes things much easier for me. So I will demand it from you again, freak.” Vanitas aimed his keyblade at Sora.

“Give. Me back. What you’ve stolen.”

“Vanitas, that’s enough!” Namine placed her hand on his keyblade and lowered it. “You can’t attack them!”

“And why not? To me, they’re the enemy.” Vanitas grimaced as Sora and his friend gripped their weapons.

“Because!” Namine stomped her foot.

“Th...They’re my friends, too!”

Vanitas gazed at her incredulously.

“...What, so you’re picking favorites now???”

Namine gritted her teeth. “That’s not what I-”

“SHUT UP!” Vanitas snapped. Namine flinched, lifting her hand from the weapon.

“I should’ve known better than to trust you or the copycat. All anyone ever does with me is either use me or cast me aside.”

“You’re making too many assumptions!” Riku protested. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?!? I’M being ridiculous?!?”  Vanitas jabbed Riku in the chest with his finger.

 “Look at YOU! You keep pretending that you even have the right to be REAL.”

Namine covered her mouth with both hands. Riku’s eyes radiated fury. He pulled out his keyblade and smacked Vanitas’ hand away.

“Now you’ve crossed the line.”

Vanitas and Riku got into fighting stances, prepared to attack.

“No! Stop!” Namine cried.

Just as they raised their weapons, someone got in between them. Sora held back their keyblades with two of his own. Vanitas leaped backwards, while Riku simply lowered his own keyblade.

“I...” The replica looked between Sora and Vanitas, then averted his eyes.

“...Forget this.” Vanitas opened a portal and stepped inside of it.

“I don’t even know why I bothered.”

“Vanitas, wait!” Namine ran towards him, but the portal had already dissipated.

Namine fell to her knees. She started to cry silently, feeling guilty for upsetting Vanitas. Riku and Sora walked over to her. Riku rubbed the back of his head, looking quite distraught.

“I’m sorry, Namine. I guess this makes me a lousy protector...and a lousy friend.”

Sora shook his head. 

“No. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“...You didn’t know, Sora. It’s okay.” Namine sniffed and stood back up. “And you did nothing wrong either, Riku.”

“...I kept secrets. I made Vanitas angry. I was the one who messed up everything. Just like I always do...” She rubbed her eyes. 

“Ya shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, Namine.” Goofy took off his hat. 

“We all make mistakes. But we learn from ‘em, and we learn ta forgive. I’m sure that once he cools off, your friend will come back!”

“...You really think so...?” Namine looked over at them.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy nodded in agreement.

“...I’ve gotta ask, though...why him?” Sora had a worried look in his eyes.

Namine smiled faintly.

“...We have a lot in common. Me, and this Riku, and Vanitas. We understand what it’s like to feel like you’re all alone.”

Sora crossed his arms. He looked at the replica.

“...So...you’re not Riku.”

The replica shook his head.

“Nope. And we’ve met before. You just don’t remember.”

Sora huffed. “...That seems to be happening a lot lately...”

Namine closed her eyes. She nodded silently to herself. 

“...I’m going to stay here for a while. I’ll take Goofy’s word for it and wait.”

Sora and the others exchanged a concerned glance.

“...Are you sure? Won’t you be lonely?” Sora asked.

“She won’t be alone.” Riku approached Namine and held her hand.

“I’m gonna stay here with her. It would be a lot less confusing to handle two Rikus in the same place anyways. Not like I really want to see him, either.”

Namine smiled brightly at her friend. She squeezed his hand a little.

“...Thank you.”

Rike smiled back at her. They looked back to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who had wide grins on their faces.

“...Is something funny to you guys?” Riku asked.

They noticed how genuinely lost he looked, which made the trio snicker.

“Nope! Nothing at all.” Sora put his hands behind his neck. “Take care, you guys.”

“Good luck! And sorry for what I said earlier...” Donald laughed nervously.

Namine shook her head. “It’s alright. I understand why you were concerned. I promise I’ll try my best to be more honest from now on.”

Riku and Namine waved as Sora, Donald, and Goofy left the castle. Riku huffed and let go of Namine’s hand, resting his back against the wall.

“...How long do you think it’ll take? For him to come back?”

Namine placed a hand on her chest.

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure if he ever wants to see us again. But we should keep our hopes up.”

She smiled. “...That’s what friends do for each other.”

********

Namine and the replica waited in the castle for an entire two weeks. It felt like it had been an eternity. They would explore every once in a while, and Namine continued to make more and more drawings. At some point, she even considered trying to use her powers on Vanitas, since he was technically linked to Sora as well. Just to see his memories, and maybe figure out what he was doing....

...But she decided that that was wrong. She’d already vowed to herself. She would never tamper with anyone’s memories so recklessly again. Neither of the Rikus would forgive her if she did.

“Namine?”

She blinked, then looked over at Riku.

“You alright? You’re spacing out again.”

Namine pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She exhaled sharply.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I’ve just been thinking a lot.”

“About what?” Riku said.

“...You know.” 

Riku sighed. He sat down on the floor and motioned for Namine to join him. She crouched down next to him.

“I’m tired of waiting for that jerk, too. But it’s only fair since we’re friends.”

“...We’re the only ones he has...” Namine mumbled to herself.

“Yeah, I know. I think he’s already realized that.” Riku laid the back of his head against the wall.

“But you know Vanitas. He acts like he doesn’t care about anyone or anything. With a master like the one he has, I’m not surprised he acts that way.”

“...I was like that, too. I felt like darkness was all I needed on my side. It was you, and Sora, and even the other Riku...who made realize that I was wrong.” He closed his eyes.

“Even if I use darkness...I don’t have to go at it alone. And neither does he.”

Namine rested her head on her arms. She looked over at her messy scribbles. She felt her chest hurting a little. 

...She wondered how bad it was for Vanitas all the time.

“...Well. Can’t just mope around here all day.” Riku got back up and reached out to Namine.

“Come on. Maybe we should go someplace else for fresh air.”

Namine nodded. She grabbed Riku’s hand and got up as well. Just as she did, they both noticed a dark portal manifest in the center of the room. Riku summoned his keyblade and stood in front of Namine, just in case.

“It’d better not be an organization member...or they’ll regret it.” He squeezed the handle of his weapon.

A hooded figure came out of the portal. Riku got into a fighting stance. Once the corridor closed, the figure pulled off their hood. Both Namine and Riku gasped.

“...What. Didn’t expect me to come back?”

His piercing golden eyes met Riku’s hard glare. Riku put down his weapon, then raised his head in contempt. He smiled.

“...Nice outifit, dork. That coat looks awful on you.”

“No one asked for your opinion.” Vanitas tore off the coat and flexed his shoulders.

“It was stuffy anyways. I’m burning it later.”

Vanitas went rigid as Namine suddenly collided with him, giving the boy a tight hug. She looked up at him with watery eyes.

“You...you came back...” She squeezed her eyes shut and punched him in the chest.

“We were really worried about you!”

Vanitas scoffed. “Why?”

Namine’s face turned red with anger. She put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. Vanitas rubbed his head.

“...Oh yeah. The whole ‘friendship’ thing. I’m still not used to it, you know.”

“You should be by now!” Namine pouted in frustration.

“Sure, sure. I’ll keep it in mind.” Vanitas ruffled her hair.

“By the way...I got something for you guys.”

Namine and Riku gaped at him, clearly not expecting what he said. Vanitas scowled.

“Don’t look at me like that! It’s not a big deal.” “...If you’re gonna be that way, I might as well not show you.” Vanitas turned away from them, crossing his arms.

“You can’t do that. You’ve already got our attention.” Riku’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

Vanitas groaned, his shoulders slouching.

“...Fine. Here.” He turned around slightly and tossed two individual items to each of them.

Namine rubbed the item with her fingers, while Riku raised his up in the air.

“...Good luck charms.” Namine covered her mouth with one hand.

“I’ll be honest. I was bored. So bored that I wanted to see if I could make something like those drawings of yours. It took way longer than it should have with Xehanort constantly breathing down my neck.”

“...They’re supposed to represent an ‘unbreakable connection’, or whatever. That’s what Ventus and those other two losers used to say. It was mostly made out of spite, but I figured you guys would like it.” Vanitas waved his hand dismissively.

Namine giggled. “They’re wonderful, Vanitas. Thank you.”

“Uh, and for the record...sorry for blowing up on you guys.” Vanitas turned his  eyes to the left. “I have trouble keeping my rage in check.”

“We’ve noticed.” Riku shoved Vanitas. “But seriously. Call me a copycat again and I’ll knock your teeth out.”

“Is that a threat?” Vanitas raised an eyebrow.

Riku chuckled. “You tell me.”

Namine yanked them both by the hair, looking quite annoyed.

“Enough of that. No more fighting while I’m around!”

Vanitas raised his hands.

“Whatever. He started it.”

“Oh, no. Don’t pin this one on me!” Riku retorted. “You need to stop picking fights with Sora and his friends.”

“I’ll stop picking fights when I’m dead.” 

“That can be arranged.”

Namine pouted as they both pulled away from her and started arguing. She sighed and shook her head, looking mildly amused.

What a pain. But at least we’re together again.

[empty-aesthetic-princess]

Happier (Subaru Fanfiction)

A/N: Subaru’s birthday is September 14th so I thought I’d write a little story about my bodyguard baby to celebrate <3 it might have a part two. It might not. *shrugs*

I smoothed out my dress and adjusted my curls in the mirror for what was probably the hundredth time. Ugh, why was I so nervous? I had pretty much gotten used the fancy benefits and state dinners that I’d recently had to attend as the prime minister’s daughter by now, but this one was different. For once, it wasn’t the thought of interacting with complete strangers that was making my shoulders tense. It was the thought of interacting with him and not acting like a giddy little school girl. My fingers trembled slightly as I applied another layer of lipstick. I took a deep breath to calm myself as I stared at my reflection, unrecognizable in the floor-length gold dress and professionally-done makeup. Ever since I realized that I was developing a crush on Subaru, his mere presence put me on edge. My heart beat faster anytime he was near me and found myself tripping up on my words a lot. I just hoped to God it wasn’t noticeable. 

I hadn’t seen him today, since he had been doing security checks inside and around the perimeter of the hotel where the banquet honoring my father was being held. I knew he usually had something snarky to say about the clothes I usually picked out but lately I’d been taking his criticism constructively and I think I actually found a dress that he wouldn’t have any complaints about. The shimmery material fell effortlessly down my body and hugged each of my curves perfectly. I even went to a salon earlier and had them apply my makeup and do my hair in big curls swept over to one side. I looked like an old Hollywood starlet and I couldn’t help but smile imaging Subaru’s reaction. It would be nice to see him speechless for once.

“_______? Are you almost ready? The party is about to st-”, Kaiji’s voice rang out from the other side of the door, but he stopped talking as soon as he laid eyes on me. His gaze swept the length of my body and his mouth was slack-jawed in awe. 

“Kaiji? You okay?”, I giggled. I guess it was nice to see him speechless, too. 

“You look...amazing. That dress is incredible. You look incredible. Just...wow”, Kaiji stammered, blushing furiously as I grinned at his comments. 

“Thanks,” I said, looking back at my reflection one last time. “You look pretty good, too. You clean up nicely”, I added. The blush on Kaiji’s cheeks redden even more as he nervously adjusted his bowtie. I still couldn’t get over how much Kaiji had changed since we were younger. He wasn’t that little kid who constantly picked on me anymore. I still saw glimpses of that boy occasionally but this new mature, responsible side of Kaiji was a striking difference. Admittedly, he was a lot more handsome now but I knew I could never have feelings for him. I saw him more as a big brother, but the way he was reacting to my compliments was making me worried that he didn’t see me in the same way. I inwardly scoffed at the thought. There’s no way he liked me like that. It was probably just my current appearance that was making him so nervous. After all, I had grown up as well. I wasn’t the little girl he remembered, I was the prime minister’s daughter. 

“We better get downstairs,” Kaiji said, clearing his throat and doing his best to compose himself. I smiled at him and gave him a nod. Kaiji offered me his arm and led me out of my hotel room. I tried my best to keep my thoughts from wandering back to Subaru to no avail. For the first time since I’d met him, I was actually excited to see him. I smiled slightly at the thought as Kaiji and I entered the elevator. 

We reached the main lobby and joined the long line of politicians, dignitaries, and businessmen who were entering the hotel ballroom. As soon as we entered the ornately decorated space, Sora’s voice cut over the orchestra that was playing. 

“Whoa! ______ looks like a princess!” I heard Sora’s frantic footsteps running toward me before I actually spotted him, but just then Katsuragi’s booming voice echoed in both Sora and Kaiji’s earpieces, sending their hands flying to their heads in protest to their boss’s shouting. 

“SORA! Do not hug the prime minister’s daughter!”

“Aw, man!”, Sora pouted as he came to an abrupt halt in front of me. 

“I wish there were different channels on these things, so we all didn’t have to get yelled at”, Kaiji grumbled by my side.

“I can always come yell at you in person if you’d prefer”, Katsuragi said sternly behind us, making both of the bodyguards jump. Sora and Kaiji murmured their apologies to Katsuragi and I laughed quietly at the scene before me.

“Miss ________, you look absolutely beautiful”, Katsuragi said after he finished berating the boys. I blushed slightly at his unexpected comment and I smiled politely in return.

“Thank you, Katsuragi. When is my father making his speech?”, I asked him. 

“In about 10 minutes. Mizuki is with him now and they’ll be coming down shortly. I’m going to make some last minute perimeter checks”, Katsuragi said, walking away.

“I expect you two troublemakers to be doing the same!”, he added, into their earpieces this time. Sora and Kaiji whined at the sudden noise, both of them grumbling their complaints at once.

“Why do I always get put in the same category with you?” Kaiji muttered as Sora whispered defeatedly, “Just one hug and all my dreams would come true. I don’t ask for much.” 

I smiled at both of them and rolled my eyes. They’re totally the opposite of professional when my life isn’t in danger, I swear.

“Are you gonna be okay?”, Kaiji asked me as he and Sora started to leave to do their security checks. My eyes absently swept over the crowded ballroom and immediately locked gazes with Subaru. He was dressed in an all-black tuxedo, looking so handsome that I had to remind myself to breathe. I saw him draw in a sharp intake of breath and the shock was evident on his face, and the two champagne flutes he held in his hands trembled slightly. Yes, that was definitely the reaction I was hoping for. 

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be okay”, I said, reluctantly looking away from Subaru to answer Kaiji’s question. He smiled and patted me lightly on the back, then joined Sora out in the lobby. 

I turned back around to look at Subaru and to my surprise, he was still rooted in place with his mouth open and eyes wide. I slowly made my way over to him, careful not to trip over my long gown and trying to take as many deep breaths as possible to stop my heart from hammering inside my chest. My eyes never left his as I walked over and as I neared him, his grip on one of the flutes loosened slightly and it began to slip out of his hand. Subaru quickly exhibited his ridiculously fast reflexes and caught the glass effortlessly.

“Nice catch”, I giggled. I don’t think I’d ever seen him so distracted before. He smiled, dare I say shyly at me, and his eyes traveled slowly down my body as he fully took in my appearance. 

“Nice dress”, he murmured appreciatively. “Looks like you’ve been paying attention to my notes”.

“They’re more like lectures, but sure.” I said, earning a chuckle from Subaru. 

“Fair enough.” His eyes refused to leave my body and I felt a blush rising to my cheeks. I don’t know if it was his perfectly tailored suit or his cologne or just him in general, but it was like I was entranced just looking at his face. He looked up to meet my eyes once more and my breath caught in my throat. 

The look he was giving me right now...holy shit. I’d never seen his gaze so intense before and against my better judgement, I felt myself leaning into his body. He looked so unbelievably hot right now and I wanted nothing more than to just grab his face and kiss him. As if on cue, his gaze moved down to my lips. Was he thinking the same thing? In that moment, I forgot that I was standing in a huge ballroom full of important people. All I could see was Subaru and all he could see was me, and for a brief moment that was all that mattered to me in the entire world. 

“You look really beautiful, _______” he said, his voice deep and sexy. I bit my lip in response, not even realizing I had done so, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Subaru. His gaze darkened slightly at the sight of it, and a thought popped unexpectedly into my head.

Was he...attracted to me? 

“Thank you”, I said quietly. “You look really handsome yourself”. I took a risk then, reaching out slowly and gently running my hand down the lapel of his tuxedo, not breaking eye contact with him. He raised an eyebrow for a split-second at my boldness but a wide, sexy grin slowly formed on his face. I couldn’t tell what his exact thoughts were but I knew they couldn’t have been far off from my own.

“So, is one of those for me?”, I asked, leaning in closer to him and lightly tapping one of the champagne flutes. Suddenly the flirtatious look on his face completely disappeared and he furrowed his brow. I was about to ask him what was wrong, but then a voice called his name from behind me and my heart dropped straight through the floor. 

“There you are, honey. I was getting thirsty”. 

I turned around to see a gorgeous woman dressed in a slinky black gown with a plunging neckline, dark brown hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and a shiny diamond ring on her finger. 

“______, this is my fiancee Jessica”, Subaru said and his voice was twinged with a hint of disappointment. Jessica eyed me haughtily as she strolled past me to take one of the champagne flutes and place herself territorially into Subaru’s arms. I don’t ever think I’d felt so embarrassed before. I hadn’t realized he would bring his fiancee tonight, or that she’d be so god damn attractive. I knew I was an idiot for falling for an engaged man but for a fleeting moment, I let myself indulge in a fantasy, a beautiful dream that would never come true. 

“It’s nice to meet you”, I managed to say to her, desperately fighting back the tears that were threatening to ruin my makeup. Jessica smirked at me, probably because she had witnessed our exchange and knew that Subaru was hers and not mine. She had every right to gloat in her position. 

Subaru’s eyes met mine and he opened his mouth to say something, but the beep from his earpiece brought him back to bodyguard mode.

“______, your father is about to make his speech. I’ll walk you over to the stage”, Subaru said, his professional tone holding no trace of his earlier flirtation. He stepped out of Jessica’s embrace to lead me forward, placing a hand on the small on my back and his touch felt like an electric shock. My stomach was twisting in knots and I knew I just needed to be far, far away from here. Far, far away from him. 

“No, it’s okay. I can make it up there on my own”, I said quickly, jerking away from his touch. Subaru’s expression looked pained but I had to look away. I couldn’t handle his handsome face looking at me like that.

“It’s my job to protect you”, he murmured to me. 

“Yeah, you and 4 other people”, I laughed bitterly. I spotted Kaiji across the room then and silently begged him to come save me. He seemed to understand my face immediately as he hastily made his way across the ballroom towards me. 

“______,” Subaru whispered and I forced myself to look at him. His beautiful brown eyes looked conflicted as he stepped closer to me. My earlier urge to kiss him returned strong and unbidden and I felt myself getting caught under his spell again. I bit my lip once more, this time to stop my tears that were starting to blur my vision and Subaru’s hand reached up to caress my cheek.

I closed my eyes but felt no contact. I opened them up again and found Jessica back in Subaru’s embrace. She had intercepted his arm and placed it around her waist instead, much to Subaru’s displeasure. The sight was nauseating, but Kaiji arrived at my side just in the nick of time. He assessed the situation, looking at all of our faces in turn, before he linked arms with me. 

“Let’s go, ______. Your father is waiting.” I nodded at his blunt tone, gathering all the strength I had left in my body.

“Excuse us”, I muttered politely. I caught a glimpse of Subaru’s face for a brief moment but I quickly turned away from the couple and walked away with Kaiji in tow, not looking back once. 

A/N: I miss MSB. Like, a lot. Subaru was the first one of my Voltage guys that I got to marry so he holds a special place in my heart. So, happy early birthday to my first husband! *giggles at my own lame joke*

[triplet-vo]

finding each other in the drift

DigiOTPWeek Day 14: Digimon x Pacific Rim Crossover

Word Count: 912

Pairing: Ishida Yamato/Takenouchi Sora

Sora slid off of Birdramon’s back first before turning to help Mako down too. “Thanks for the ride, Birdramon. I’ll see you later at breakfast, okay?”

“Okay.” Birdramon pressed her upper beak into Sora’s face briefly before taking flight.

Mako stood at Sora’s side, watching the Digimon fly away. “Thank you for introducing me to your Digimon. I’ve never been so close to one before,” Mako said when they turned back to re-enter the Jaegar launch base. “I can tell that your bond is very close.”

“It is. Birdramon’s been at my side since I was still a young girl,” Sora answered honestly. “I can’t imagine life without her.”

“I’ll admit I never really cared that much for the Digimon before. For most of us, they seemed to be uncontrollable beasts. Then the Kaiju came through the rift, and, well… here we are.”

“And here we are,” Sora echoed. She regarded Mako seriously. “I hope that we can count on you, Miss Mori. Please let the Marshal know that while Digimon might be creatures, they’re not unfeeling weapons that can be mobilized against the Kaiju threat. They’re just as vulnerable to death if they’re wounded badly enough. Losing our partner Digimon would be as devastating as losing family.”

Though Mako was young �� she looked about Hikari’s age, maybe younger - there was a haunted look in her eyes that made Sora believe that she too had seen death before. “The Marshal and I both heard about Yagami Taichi and his partner Digimon. That’s why you and the rest of your friends are fighting so hard to join the Jaegar program too, isn’t it?”

Sora nodded, her throat tightening briefly. “I won’t lie and say that this fight isn’t personal to us. It’s very personal. Even if that hadn’t happened, though, we all have experience with protecting humanity. We feel compelled to join the fight to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Mako bowed deeply to Sora. “I’ll do my best to make sure he understands. Thank you again for the flight, it was enlightening.”

Yamato was still asleep when Sora returned to their dark guest quarters. She was tempted to wake him, but she knew well that he been pushing his mind and body to the limits with testing for the Jaegar program. She opted instead to only climb back into bed so that she could sit beside him while she read the notes on his data pad.

She’d been poking around it for maybe half an hour before he shifted, his arm sliding up her legs to rest across her thighs. “What time is it?” he murmured drowsily.

“Almost seven.” She turned to another section of the notes. “You and Koushiro got a lot done last night after I left. Was it easier for you and Garurumon to operate the Jaegar with the new design?”

“Much easier. We were able to maintain the neural connection between us a lot longer.” Yamato yawned and then reached for the data pad to flick to a different screen for her. “Turns out that it’s easy for me to drift with Garurumon’s mind, regardless of whether our Jaegar is upright or on fours. But Gaurumon said it felt more natural to operate a Jaegar mecha in the shape of Metalgarurumon instead of Weregarurumon. It ended up being way less strain on both our minds that way when we were in the drift.”

“That makes sense.” Sora set the data pad aside before slipping lower into the sheets until she could fling her leg over Yamato’s hip. She burrowed her face into his chest, laughing a little when he yawned again. “When did you go to sleep?”

He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. “It’s only been a couple hours, probably.”

“Oh, Yamato.”

“I couldn’t get my thoughts to calm down. Kept thinking about what a waste it would be if… even after all this work to prove human-Digimon drift compatibility… the World Council won’t get past their prejudices long enough to give us a chance.”

Sora slid her hand under his shirt to rest against the base of his spine. “You’d think after saving the world multiple times, they’d cut the Digimon some slack.”

“No kidding. As if what happened with –” He swallowed. “How can’t they see we’re all on the same side?”

She kissed his collarbone. “I have some potentially good news about that. I took Mako on a ride with Birdramon this morning.”

Yamato’s hand paused. “Miss Mori?” he asked, surprised.

“The one and only.” Sora tipped her head back so that she could look at him. “I figured that if I could convince her to see things our way, she’d be a valuable ally to have in convincing the Marshal to our side too. And if the Marshal can be convinced, he would be a big ally for Taichi at the World Council.”

“Did you think it worked?”

“Only one way to find out.” Sora smiled, recalling the thrilled look on Mako’s face as they soared over the Pacific sky. “I have a good feeling about her, though.”

He pulled her up so that he could kiss her soundly. “You’re brilliant,” Yamato said before he kissed her again. “You’re brilliant and I love you.”

“Sap.” Still, Sora was powerless to stop herself from luxuriating in the warmth of having him so close. She half-heartedly protested, “Shouldn’t you get some more sleep?”

“Surprisingly, I’m suddenly feeling wide awake.”

<< Day 13: Universe Alteration | Day 14 | Day 15: Freebie >>

[qallouzilliesbusinessenglis-blog]

Where is everything stored?

The last departement I had to visit for my introduction was the Warehousing Departement. Ms. Sora Amamiya the head of this departement gave me the usual tour, but I could see from her body language that she may not be that fond of me maybe because of something I said or did. I’ll be sure to make up for my mistake

She showed me around the warehouse, where all the car components are stored, I was also showed around the mechanics departement where the company trucks are repaired and under maintenance. I must say it was very boring, Ms Amamiya was unmotivated and trying to ignore my questions, one of the employee’s then approached me and said that “I should cut her some slack” as her grandmother had just recently died and she is under a lot of pressure because of her work, but she really wants to go back to her home town which is in Osaka, Japan to attend the funeral. I gave her my condelences and ended the tour, I asked her to maybe reschedule the meeting or let one of the other employees give me the tour. She opted for the rescheduling , and we will meet each other in 2 weeks

As the employee suggested I gave her a break. The introduction didn’t go as planned but these things can happen, it is my job to be flexible and adapt myself to these things. For now this concludes the tour and I will write my next and final post next week.