#when I finally see ryoma admitting he has feelings for her then I can rest in peace

[slccpiehead]

they were showing the ryosaku and prince scene early in this show whoa!

when he smiled at her when he said you never change.

my boy you're still mada mada dane but you're on the right path. keep going!

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hi! Could I request the V3 boys reactions to their s/o becoming the blackened because they were trying to save them.

Yesssss more angst! These were fun to write!

TWs: Blood, Death, Suicide Mentions, and Major DRV3 Spoilers

..............

Ryoma

No..it couldn’t be true..could it?

Ryoma couldn’t believe you’d actually kill someone, though your reason came as a shock: It was to save his life.

Kirumi was plotting to murder him after the second motive came out. And she obviously panicked when you showed up instead of him, so she tried attacking you.

But you retaliated, leaving her body in the bathroom and altering the crime scene to make it look like she slipped while cleaning it.

You didn’t want to kill anyone, but you were terrified she might target him some other time if you didn’t stop her.

Yet Ryoma vehemently denied you did anything, arguing with Shuichi up until he pointed out incriminating evidence.

He was crushed, knowing he’s going to lose another loved one.

He can’t understand why a criminal like him was worth saving.

But the deed was done. And as your final wish before being executed, you plead for him to survive and see that life’s worth it.

While he’s never been good with promises, he’ll try to keep this last one...for your sake.

Shuichi

He learned the truth earlier than anyone else.

Someone knew he was too smart, always leading the trials and making the swift deductions.

So they believed eliminating him would guarantee them escape from the academy, as everyone would arrive to wrong conclusions without him.

However you put a stop to their plot, accidentally killing them with their own weapon they prepared.

Shuichi didn’t want it to be you--not you, of all people--so he’s far more reluctant to accuse you of murder. 

He’s pretty much mute throughout the trial, but you take notice fast and see him slipping back into that cowardly detective persona.

“Shuichi, don’t you dare go back into hiding. Don’t you dare look away from the truth again.”

“..but...”

He just absolutely refuses to. He can’t....not this time.

So instead, you reveal the truth about your crime. Every last detail--from when the motive came out to how you disposed of the evidence.

By the end of your explanation, he’s in tears--realizing you saved his life..in exchange for your own.

Every night since then, he cries as he hugs the Helping Yacchi plush you gave him the day before the body was discovered.

It hurt so much to condemn you, someone he truly loved.

Kokichi

You learned very quickly that Miu was plotting to kill Kokichi, after noticing her put a bottle of poison in his seat before returning to hers and logging in.

That made you livid. But more scared than anything else.

So you formulated a plan after learning everything (or almost everything) about the virtual world.

You overheard Miu and Kokichi planning to meet on the mansion rooftop, and you didn’t like that idea one bit.

Little did you know, he and Gonta were conspiring to murder her, too, but you beat them to the punch.

Obviously he was pissed someone foiled his plans....but imagine his shock when it turned out to be you.

The two were suspects for a long time as they explained the “Killing Game Busters” scheme.

But since Miu died by your hands--their names were cleared.

Kokichi was in frustrated tears, yelling at you for not telling him sooner.

But he ultimately breaks down when your punishment was announced.

He clings to you, crying and begging you not to leave him--he even pleads with Monokuma to let him die with you.

This time it’s not an act.

He feels genuine sorrow and heartache for a long time after the trial.

Gonta

It’d be impossible to think anyone would try to kill him.

But someone tried taking advantage of his gullibility. And you happened to be there at the exact same time, attacking the assailant while your entomologist boyfriend ran off in fear.

You cleaned as much evidence as you could before finding and consoling him, lying that you just talked to them.

He believes you and is relieved---until the body discovery announcement plays later on.

Even though you lied, he doesn’t blame you. Not even during the trial where you made up an alibi.

But when Gonta himself is questioned...he clams up, knowing exactly what happened and being too scared to say the truth.

He doesn’t want to condemn you! Gentlemen don’t-

You reassure him it’s okay. Shuichi has you in a corner and there’s no point in letting the trial drag on.

So he eventually admits what he saw, and he can only cry as he votes you as the Blackened.

You two share one last hug, and he says he’ll never ever call you a killer, thanking you for protecting him even if he failed to protect you.

Korekiyo

It doesn’t come as a surprise that someone would try murdering him. He could see the hatred in their eyes whenever he looked at them.

His menacing appearance seems to be more than enough of a reason to target him.

However, after finding their body and signs of a struggle surrounding the crime scene, he arrives to the conclusion that the culprit knew he was in danger and killed to protect him.

Ah...how beautiful that realization was.

Or so he thought.

When it’s revealed you carried out that deed, using his golden sword to swiftly kill the victim, his heart is completely shattered.

‘No..no, no, no, no, no!!’

He feels anger, sorrow, confusion, and..so many other unpleasant things at once as you confess to the crime.

Not even Sister calms him down. He becomes belligerent, trying to steer everyone away from the truth and claim he killed the victim in self-defense.

You have to step off your podium to console him, as he was screaming his head off and scaring everyone.

When the trial is over, he just holds you close, begging Monokuma not to take you--his one true love--away from him.

But alas, it’s all for nothing as you’re sentenced to your execution.

Though you remind Korekiyo of what he’s taught you about death, as you didn’t fear it, and you promise you’ll watch over him in the afterlife.

Kaito

He’s incredibly outraged when everyone suspects you as the culprit in spite of the evidence that piles up.

“Shuichi, you're not actually gonna believe their crap, right?! Stop screwing around--!”

“He’s not, Kaito. It's the truth."

Stunned, he looks at you. Since your podium was conveniently next to his, he didn’t have to look far to see the guilt in your eyes.

Learning your motivation, however, is what ultimately crushed him.

You killed...to protect him?

No..

That couldn’t be right! He was suppose to protect you! Didn’t he always tell you how killing was wrong and-?!

But the truth was you did try talking some sense into the victim...but they attacked you instead, and you retaliated in self-defense. So it was purely accidental.

Kaito is pissed when Monokuma jests that “murder is murder” no matter what and he actually tries fighting the Exisals.

You insist he doesn’t interfere, and plead for him to use that strength to help protect everyone else instead.

His spirit is broken for a while, but...he’ll recover and keep fighting on. For your sake.

K1B0

Something in you snapped when you overheard Kokichi taunt your robot boyfriend for the last time, actually hurting him physically as well as emotionally.

K1B0 went to you in tears, not understanding why he hated him so much.

After comforting him, you’ve finally had enough. You were sick of him being harassed nonstop.

So you sent him to see Miu while you met with Kokichi to “talk”. 

While the Ultimate Supreme Leader seemed suspicious, he let his guard down...sealing his fate as you strangled him with his own scarf.

Then you inflicted numerous wounds on his corpse to disguise the true cause of death.

But when the truth was revealed, K1B0 was in total shock at your motive.

He couldn’t believe you’d do something so barbaric.

Even if Kokichi bullied him relentlessly, there’s no reason you had to go as far as murder him!

However he understands anger can be a powerful emotion--one that throws any and all sense of logic out the window.

Still..it hurt to watch you get executed. He went into shutdown for the rest of the day/night.

And here he was, thinking you two had finally torn down the wall of “forbidden love” between human and robot for good.

Rantaro

You managed to kill Tsumugi before she had a chance to murder Rantaro and Kaede’s final part of her plan went into motion.

The shot put ball’s sudden appearance startled him into forgetting about the hidden room and running out of the library..

And up the stairs as the obnoxious music stops and one of the girls yelled for everyone to come into the bathroom--where Tsumugi’s body was.

At that point, the game should’ve ended since you actually killed the mastermind.

But of course, Team Danganronpa had backup plans and thus the game kept going.

You had rearranged the crime scene to make it look like a suicide, leading everyone to assume the time limit’s pressures are what killed the cosplayer.

But eventually your crime was unraveled and Rantaro was utterly devastated.

You’re the first Blackened in yet another killing game he was forced to participate in.

You only killed Tsumugi because you found it suspicious she suddenly ran off on her own near the time limit’s end.

In doing so you unknowingly saved Rantaro’s life in exchange for your own.

He was upset you did something so rash when he clearly told everyone not to, but...at the same time he’s grateful to be alive because of you.

He swears your death won’t be in vain. He’s gonna escape this game with everyone else.

[kirumod]

Thank you for the Genocider Syo ask, I really liked it! If you're willing, I would like to see a sequel for the V3 class.

hello, dear! i'm very glad you liked my writing! for those who are unfamiliar, this is a continuation of the request for a genocider syo that instead of killing people, cuts all their hair.

also, i must say that i apologize deeply for how late this is. i could not see it until late, and only started working on it even later.

Kaede Akamatsu would be upset that one of her classmates/schoolmates would do a thing as horrible as.. cutting people's hair without their permission, and would worry about the rest of her friends. She'd take this very, very seriously, and would be annoyed if people joked about it. It's a big deal to her, and once Syo is confronted, she'd firmly lecture her about her harmful actions.

Angie Yonaga would believe that God willed her sudden disappearance of hair, and once she cheerfully presents this to her classmates as a definite proof of God's will, they would hesitantly tell her that it is very likely that someone else is the cause of this. Angie wouldn't mind it much, for God would punish the culprit in due time if he so wished.

Gonta Gokuhara wouldn't be too upset. He never really took care of his hair, and this would be an opportunity to finally start. His classmates would ask him about the reason for the sudden change, and would be very worried when he admits that he woke up like that. They'd start the search for the guilty immediately.

Himiko Yumeno would be annoyed but consider it too much of a pain to care. She'd insist that she can use her magic to grow it out, if it wasn't a pain. Tenko would make be very worried about her, and would look for the culprit on her behalf.

K1-B0 / Kiibo wouldn't find themself hairless, as their hair is metallic. Instead they would be left with scratches and peeled-off paint, which would be fixed with light maintenance. Despite the minimal damage, they would be very upset that someone tried to hurt them, and consider it a robophobic crime.

Kaito Momota would be devastated. He wouldn't let anyone know, but it's very easy to read Kaito. He spends a lot of time styling his hair, so it makes sense for him to be as upset as he would be. In the end, he does tell Shuichi about what happened, and the detective helps him find the culprit.

Kirumi Tojo would be more worried about the occurrence happening to others rather than her hair. She already has pretty short hair, and it wouldn't take too long for it to grow out to its previous length. She'd voice her concern to her classmates, warning them of what might happen and offering to search for the perpetrator on her own. They'd end up helping her despite her insistence.

Kokichi Ouma would be really upset, crying dramatically about what happened. Needless to say, his reaction isn't sincere, and no one can really what he really feels about the situation. He'd rapidly switch from joking about it to treating it seriously as if it upsets him greatly. In the end, everyone ignores him and brushes it off as one of his pranks.

Korekiyo Shinguji would be displeased, to say the least, considering that he grew out his hair for his sister. Admittedly, his sister was a terrible person, and this may be the push he needed to realize that... But for now, he'd refuse to leave his room. If Shuichi was close to him, he'd tell him the reason of his self-isolation, and Shuichi would promptly look out for the culprit and might even ask Tsumugi to make a wig that looked like Korekiyo's hair, without telling her any details. When Korekiyo's hair grows out a bit, perhaps shoulder-length, he'd stop wearing it.

Maki Haruwaka would be infuriated. She spent a very long time growing her hair out, only for that effort to be wasted because of some rogue trouble-maker to throw that away. She'd threaten her classmates until someone confesses, and while she won't actually kill one of her classmates, she'd make sure they'd never do it again.

Miu Iruma would be pissed off and would start yelling insults at anyone who looks at her. After calming down, she'd say that she doesn't need long hair to be the beautiful genius she is. She'd still hold a grudge towards whoever hacked off her hair and would insult them at any given chance.

Rantaro Amami would approach the situation logically, not too bothered about the results but rather by the actions. He'd probably laugh at the absurdity of the situation, joking that he's no longer the pretty boy of the class.

Ryoma Hoshi wouldn't mind much. He hides his hair under his cat hat anyway, so nobody would notice. He would warn his classmates about the possibility of it happening to them, but true to his personality, he'd phrase it in a vague way. Most wouldn't know what's coming until it's too late.

Shuichi Saihara would go back to wearing his hat in a failed attempt to disguise the mess that is his new hairstyle, and discreetly search for who might've caused it. After being teased by the others, he'd include them in his search. He'd probably take their teasing too personally, though, and they'd soon let up and help him.

Tenko Chabashira would be quick to blame one of the men in her class. Shuichi offers to help her find the culprit as a peace offering, and she'd agree while still being cautious of him. She wouldn't really mind having short hair, though. Especially after Kaede tells her she'd look cute with short hair.

Tsumugi Shirogane would use this as an opportunity to walk around in cosplay, wearing a wig of whatever character she was obsessing over that week. Of course, she'd be upset at the loss of her hair, and would ask Kaede to help her with her predicament. Kaede would ask Shuichi for support, and eventually, word would reach the entire class, who volunteer to help Tsumugi.

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 4, daily life (Part 1)

Note of the author: I'm not the type to beg for comments but if no one talks about the 37 moments worth commenting about I'm gonna fucking cry

Also there’s a possibility I’ll go on a short hiatus for the story after the second or third part of daily life.

Chapter 4: Dance, dance, hanged puppets - Daily life

Day 13 since the beginning of the game.

8:00 AM.

Shuichi woke up to the morning announcement.

He had a lot of trouble sleeping. Which was also the case after the other trials.

They felt like nightmares in themselves, but the aftermath was always hard.

The violinist didn’t even feel like leaving his room.

What was the point?

With every murder came other motives, and other murders.

He wanted to keep hoping for the best but... That felt useless.

He wanted to get out of here. To see his uncle again. His cousin. Even the obnoxious clients he would play for.

Anything to get out of here.

After staring at the ceiling for who knows how long, he finally decided to get up. To take a shower and eat something.

Now that he thought about it, did Kirumi and Miu prepare breakfast? He wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t. Especially Miu.

She probably felt really bad after hearing Kaito’s words after the trial.

“... Stop trying to be everyone’s mom. It’s annoying. I’m not your damn kid.”

Shuichi knew good it felt for her to take care of others and to feel like a mother again.

He should tell her that it’s more than okay to care for others. That she doesn’t have to feel guilty about it.

He also mentally noted to tell Kaito that he should apologize to her.

Speaking of Kaito, what was that about yesterday?

“... Supposing this is true...” he turned to the rest of them. “This is the first and last time I want someone rummaging through painkillers. I want to be here if any of you want some painkillers, since I know it’s easy to take the wrong doses.” 

Just a few days ago he and Kaito had gone to the medic’s lab to get painkillers, and he specifically said he told Rantaro about it.

Even when they were searching through the lab during the investigation...

“That’s not the solution everyone likes, but keeping secrets is more useful than you would think.”

Although he tried to hide it, Kaito flinched. Was he hiding something?

Was it about his health? He even noticed him limping the day the two were hanging out.

But was it really worth asking? Shuichi was worried about him, but perhaps he should wait until things calmed down before questioning him.

He shook his head. For now, let’s just focus on getting out of this room.

After a quick shower, he stumbled out of the dorm.

No one was out. Were they still in their rooms or was he the only one still here?

He stopped thinking about it and left the dorms.

He didn’t see anyone on his way.

However when he reached the main building...

... He came across an almost completely exploded Monophanie, her mechanical insides visible.

To each trial, a monokub died with the blackened, and this trial was not an exception.

“How tragic! My sweet Monophanie died in such a horrible way...”

Shuichi flinched at the ‘horrible way’.

No, Himiko and Angie died a horrible way, not your damn kid.

He ignored the bear and continued his way towards the dining hall. He also ignored the yells about how insensitive he was.

Before he could reach the dining hall, he could hear voices. Were people arguing in there?

After opening the door, he noticed Kirumi, Miu, and Kiyo seemingly discussing an important matter.

Kirumi immediately turned to the violinist.

"What is going on?" He asked.

Kiyo hesitated at first. "I know this sounds odd but..." He paused.

"Have you taken a knife from the kitchen last night?"

Shuichi blinked. "Huh? No I didn't..."

Miu put her face in her palms, elbows on the table. "It couldn't have disappeared like that, did someone take it?"

The boy could only glance at the others in confusion. "Is... There a knife missing?"

The mercenary nodded. "Yes, one of the huge knives is not here anymore. Monokuma has replaced everything so someone must have taken it."

They already had a trial yesterday, was someone acting that soon? Why?

Whywhywhywhywhy-

“We should check on everyone just to make sure no one is hurt.” Kirumi suggested.

Shuichi snapped out of his thoughts and nodded.

But just as he was about to join the other three, Kirumi turned to him. “Take this.”

She threw him a tangerine that he caught easily.

“At least eat something.”

“... Thank you.”

They headed to the dorms, worry growing inside them. From what Shuichi managed to see on their faces, none of them managed to sleep well, especially Miu.

She looked more tired than worried which was... Unsettling considering her attitude the last few days.

The usual Miu would have been worried and determined to make sure the others were okay.

After all, he didn’t miss her bringing breakfast to Kokichi the day after the second trial.

Once they reached the building, they decided to separate.

Miu glanced at Kaito’s room, but quickly shook her head.

“Do we tell them about the missing knife?” she asked.

Kiyo shook his head. “For now we just tell them that it’s to check on them to see if they’re okay.”

The street artist nodded.

“So, who checks on who?” Kirumi asked.

Miu immediately headed towards the girls’ rooms. “... I’ll be checking on Tsumugi.” she mumbled.

Shuichi took a look at the doors.

Now it was getting difficult to distinguish which rooms were occupied and which were not.

He approached Rantaro’s door, but before knocking, he overheard Kirumi and Kiyo’s conversation.

He decided to pretend to think about what to say and listen in on the two. Judging by the volume of their voices, it was clearly not about which rooms to check.

“Why did you lie about not knowing who took the knife?” Kiyo muttered under his breath.

“... I’m not lying about anything.” she raised an eyebrow.

“I’m a therapist. I may have failed my judgment on Angie, but I know you’re hiding something.”

“... Check Kokichi’s room. I heard sobbing last night. I don’t know if it has anything to do with it but you should check on him.” she left to approach Ryoma’s room.

... What was that?

He knocked on Rantaro’s door. After a few seconds he heard a muffled noise from behind the door, then the door opening.

“... Shuichi?”

The medic still had dark circles under his eyes from the last few days. He was wearing his usual shirt and pants. He looked like he was getting ready, but hadn’t woken up long ago.

“Oh, um... You doing okay?”

Dammit. He should have thought about something.

“Yeah, I just continued sleeping a bit after the morning announcement. My bad. Did something happen?” he replied.

“Oh, not at all! We’re just checking since we were only four in the dining hall.” he lied.

“Huh. Just give me a few minutes, okay?” he smiled faintly. It was a fake smile, but it looked like he tried.

Shuichi nodded and closed the door.

When he turned back, he saw Tsumugi and Ryoma talking to Kirumi and Miu.

At least they were okay.

Kiyo was still in front of Kokichi’s door. His attempts at getting him out of his room seemed unsuccessful.

“Miu, perhaps you should check on Kaito.” Tsumugi noted.

The girl stiffened at the remark. “Oh um...”

Shuichi felt bad. She probably didn’t feel like talking to him for now. “I’ll do it.”

Miu blinked and gave him a weak smile.

He approached the biker’s room and knocked.

...

No response.

He knocked again.

“WHAT??” he faintly heard from behind the door.

Thanks to his good hearing, Shuichi could sense that Kaito was yelling from his bed.

He wasn’t sure if Kaito would hear him back, however.

So he knocked again. Big mistake.

“Fuck off, I’m trying to sleep here!” he shouted, the noise muffled by a pillow.

Shuichi took a deep breath.

“I-It’s Shuichi, I’m checking to see if you’re okay...”

He heard movement and... Kaito falling from his bed.

After two long minutes of muffled noise and struggle(?), the biker finally slightly opened his door so only his head could be seen.

His hair was messy and that’s when he finally noticed how his natural hair was different. It almost reached his shoulders, but the natural look felt strange.

It didn’t take a genius to guess that he was not dressed up in the slightest.

“What.” he grunted.

“Um... We’re just checking on everyone to see if they’re o-”

“I’m fine, as you can see. I just want to sleep.” his tone was passive-aggressive. Very much not the usual Kaito.

He immediately closed the door.

Shuichi sighed and turned to the others in the building. Rantaro was out and Kiyo had probably given up on Kokichi, for now.

After going down the stairs, the others noticed Kaito’s absence.

“Huh? Kaito’s not coming?” Rantaro asked.

“He... Doesn’t want to be disturbed, to say the least.” he admitted.

The others glanced at each other.

“... We should at least get breakfast.” Ryoma suggested.

“Agreed.” Rantaro nodded.

The group went back to the dining hall, Shuichi eating the tangerine Kirumi gave him earlier.

He hoped Kokichi and Kaito were okay anyway.

He turned to Kiyo to ask him about the former. “Hey... Is Kokichi okay? Since you were the one checking on him...”

The therapist winced a little. “He didn’t open the door but he told me he wanted to rest for now.”

Shuichi looked down. He was not taking Himiko’s death well, whether he admitted it or not.

“However I cannot let him continue self-isolating, I’ll have to find a solution, and fast.”

He sighed. “Which is also the case for Kaito I presume?”

Shuichi looked away. “Pretty much... I think.”

The breakfast was eaten in silence. It wasn’t an organized one since Miu and Kirumi didn’t prepare anything. And no one complained.

After all the last trial was exhausting for everyone.

From the ill ones trying to understand the events, to the ones directly affected.

Even though some of them were good at pretending everything was fine, it was clear that no one left the courtroom indifferent.

Even Rantaro, who was always the one taking the leader position, felt powerless over the situation.

Perhaps it had something to do with being drugged with his products.

Just as they finished, Monokuma appeared in the room.

“Oh my! I’m sure you guys were thinking about me again! You must love me!”

Kiyo sighed. “No, we weren’t. Go away.”

“Never mind that... You guys are probably eager for it, right? My prize that is.”

He started sweating from pleasure. “Right? You guys can’t live without getting a prize right now, right?”

“That’s what I thought, so I brought a prize!”

They heard the jingle they all resented now.

“Rise and shine, ursine!”

Now it was just Monotaro and Monodam.

After what felt like an eternity of the annoying shenanigans from the two, they finally decided to give the ‘prizes’.

“Ta-da! The legendary Levistone, the priceless Octobrush, and...”

Monodam took a bunch of what looked like cards.

“CARD-KEYS. THEY-WILL-BE-IMPORTANT-FOR-THE-LIFE-AT-THE-ACADEMY.”

“Which just so happen to be part of the motive!” the red bear exclaimed.

Each of them received their card key. They all looked grey and bland, with the symbol of the academy printed in the corner. The only thing differentiating them from each other was the names written with each talent.

“A part of the motive...?” Shuichi muttered.

“Yep! Those mysterious card keys are part of your next motive, which is not ready yet! Make sure you don’t lose them!”

Rantaro frowned. “And what if we do?”

“Puhuhuhuhu! Glad you asked!” the black and white bear laughed.

Shuichi heard his monopad vibrating.

“I added a new rule concerning the card keys! Make sure you read them!”

A new rule indeed appeared.

#16: If a Sanzu key gets destroyed, the owner shall be executed.

“A Sanzu key?” Kiyo frowned.

“Well, since you guys obliterated the motive videos, I made a rule this time! Bears learn from their mistakes, you know!” He raised his paws in the air.

The others stared at their card key.

Shuichi Saihara Ultimate violinist - Sanzu key

“Also, I forgot to mention this, but I’ve hidden another flashback light somewhere. I wonder what memories you’ll uncover next! Happy hunting!”

The bears left.

Sanzu key... What did it mean? Why were they important enough to be executed if they were destroyed? It sounded like they were part of a grander scheme.

For now, they had to see which labs opened... And search for the flashback light: The only connexion they had with the outside world.

“Should we perhaps give the card keys to Kaito and Kokichi?” Tsumugi took both of the cards.

“I’ll do it. Don’t worry about me.” Kiyo volunteered.

Rantaro weakly smiled. “Thank you.”

He turned to the rest of the group. “For now let’s just do as usual. We split up and search for what’s new.”

The others agreed.

“How do we split up?” Shuichi asked.

“I suggest we go into three groups.” Kirumi raised a hand. “Since there’s a higher chance both objects will be used in the main building, two groups go there, and one group searches outside.”

Rantaro nodded. “It sounds like a solid plan. Does anyone object?”

No responses.

Kirumi and Shuichi decided to investigate the Octobrush.

Ryoma and Tsumugi took the Levistone.

Rantaro requested to be with Miu since he had to talk to her. They were the group checking outside.

As for Kiyo, he was going to give the card keys to Kokichi and Kaito.

The searches began.

Kirumi and Shuichi ended up using the brush rather quickly since it opened the fifth floor.

The floor in itself had a strange atmosphere. Almost from a fantasy universe.

Now that he thought about it, Kaede probably would have been inspired by these large corridors.

There was a lab next to the stairs. The doors looked rusty but really heavy and solid. The aspect almost reminded Shuichi of the warehouse.

But after inspection, the door was locked with no possible way to open it.

“It looks like something I could work in, but I guess it’s not for today, huh.”

Ryoma came from behind, putting a hand on the door.

“Too bad.”

So Ryoma’s lab was on this floor, but not opened. Strange.

The group decided to head to the other parts of the floor.

The corridors were stunning. Who even built this academy?

They came across a door that seemed unlocked for once. It looked both fancy and casual.

After coming inside the lab, they starred at the cozy interior. A warm ambiance that looked like you could have a nice hot chocolate in. It felt relaxing. There were a few bookshelves on the sides, a fireplace, a desk with a chair and a sofa. It almost looked like...

... A therapist’s room.

It was definitely Kiyo’s lab.

Tsumugi approached a bookshelf and grabbed a random book. “Freudian psychology... Interesting. I will have to borrow books from here at some point.”

Shuichi noticed a faint grin on her face. It was rare to see her genuinely smile.

“Tsumugi, we have another room to explore. We’ll check back later.” Ryoma called her from outside.

The two left Kirumi and Shuichi.

Shuichi looked through the drawers. There were empty notebooks waiting to be filled.

“I know this is a bit ironic considering the place we’re in but...” Kirumi brushed some dust off the sofa.

"Yesterday’s trial was rough. Even I have to admit I felt sick looking at Himiko. Are you handling the situation well?”

That was... Unexpected.

“Um... It could be better but it could be worse, I guess...” his gaze shifted to nothing in particular.

She hummed. “I see.”

The mercenary approached the exit. “... Remember to seek out help if you need to. Kiyo is qualified for this, but anyone is fine. Perhaps not me since I’m bad at comforting others.”

He didn’t expect Kirumi to care but a part of him was getting worried.

Did she herself have trouble with reaching out for help? Or is she considering herself not worth helping because of her past?

“You too, Kirumi.”

She quietly nodded and left the room.

Tsumugi and Ryoma had gone to the room next to the lab. And after entering they discovered...

A computer room?

That’s what it looked like at least.

There were chairs on the sides, and what looked like a giant cubic machine in the middle. There was a huge contrast between the dreamlike ambiance of the floor and the futuristic look of this room.

What could this computer even be used for?

“We’ve inspected this giant thing through and through, and we didn’t find anything. It looks like a piece is missing for it to function.” Ryoma explained.

Shuichi frowned. “So this thing is useless?”

Tsumugi approached the two. “Pretty much.” 

There was nothing left to look at, and yet they hadn’t used the stone. That must mean something was outside.

Just as they left the room and started walking through the corridor, Miu and Rantaro appeared.

Did Miu look... Happier? She looked more refreshed than this morning. Rantaro must have said something to cheer her up.

“Hey there. We were looking for you guys.” Rantaro waved at them.

“We found the use for the stone!” Miu exclaimed.

“I figured as much.” Tsumugi said. “Where is it?”

The medic took out his monopad and pointed at a part of the map, near the shrine of judgment. “There’s a black cube with a hole the size of the stone in it. There’s no building around but I think it will work like Gonta’s lab.”

Shuichi hummed. “How did it even work anyway? One day it wasn’t there and the next it appeared.”

Tsumugi sighed. “I do not know, unfortunately. Perhaps we’ll finally see the mechanisms.”

The group went to the spot Miu and Rantaro pointed out, and Ryoma placed the stone. It levitated, span for a moment then crashed onto the block once again, but this time a blue light flowed through it like the roots of a tree.

The earth shook for some time, and a building suddenly appeared from the ground.

From the looks of it, it felt like a garage.

Unlike some other labs, it had more of a steampunk look than a modern look. Gears were decorating the walls, as well as wheels on the side of the building.

From Shuichi’s guess, it was Kaito’s lab. Unfortunately, the biker was not with them to see this.

Tsumugi was the first to move, directly heading to the door without questioning anything.

“Hold on, perhaps we should wait for Kaito since it’s his lab...” Shuichi stopped the prodigy.

She briefly glanced at him. “For now he locked himself in his room. Perhaps the flashback light is in there. We don’t have time to waste.”

Before he could say anything, Tsumugi opened the door.

In there were dismantled motorcycles as well as barrels of oil and multiple toolboxes.

However, on the other side was a bar. It felt like one of those underground bars you could see in movies, where gangs would assemble and talk about their next move.

At least it was in a better state than Kokichi’s lab. There were a few tables, with chairs and sofas around. Even some small shot glasses.

Was Kaito an underage drinker?

He brushed off the thought and approached the various motors.

Without something to attach them to, they were pretty useless. Perhaps Kaito could do something with them?

After looking around, they left the lab.

On their way to the main building, they came across Kiyo, who had the flashback light in hand.

“Oh, you found it?” Shuichi asked.

“Yes, it was near the dormitories.” he replied.

“What about Kaito and Kokichi? They should join us for the flashback light.” Kirumi questioned.

“I told them to come as soon as they could since we would be waiting for them in the dining hall.” he declared.

The others nodded and made their way there.

Shuichi approached Miu quietly. “You look happier. Did Rantaro tell you something?”

She almost jumped at the remark. “It’s- um...”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. Even though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, Miu and Rantaro’s relationship was interesting to watch evolve.

“No, he just told me that I shouldn’t give up on taking care of others and Kaito probably didn’t mean what he said... That even though it sounded silly, treating people like family had a great impact on them. So I think I’ll continue being the mom here.” she explained with a chuckle, slightly blushing.

Shuichi smiled. At least she could go back to her mom habits. But he noticed a tiny bit of disappointment on her face.

“You look disturbed anyway... Did something happen?”

She glanced away for a second, looking embarrassed.

“I didn’t know he was aromantiiiiic...” she planted her face in her palms, the embarrassment still showing.

Shuichi giggled and tapped her back. “It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s not like he hates you right?”

“No but I feel dumb now... I didn’t know what rejection felt like until now.” she mumbled.

The violinist quietly chuckled so the others wouldn’t notice. He knew Rantaro wouldn't return her feelings but didn’t dare to tell her.

“Oh and...” she put her hand in one of her pockets and slapped an object onto his palm, and he closed his hand immediately. “I know you saw me take it so I’m giving it to you. You’ll probably need it more than me.”

Shuichi glanced at the object. It was the love key she had bought at the casino. “Why giving it to me?”

“It doesn’t feel right for me to use it. So knock yourself out if you have the hots for the bookworm or the femme fatale. Or one of the guys if you swing that way.” she winked at him. 

... What is that supposed to mean??

He shoved the key in his pocket.

“But...” she muttered. “He was acting strange. Like he was only pretending to care.”

Shuichi narrowed his eyes, looking at Rantaro talking to Ryoma peacefully. “Are you sure?”

“Perhaps it’s just my imagination.” she sighed.

They reached the dining hall. To their surprise, someone was already there.

It was Kokichi, the hood on his head as usual and his head in his arms, staring at the void.

The dark circles under his eyes were bigger than Rantaro’s, which was worrying.

He thought back at what Kirumi said to Kiyo before the latter could check on Kokichi.

“... Check Kokichi’s room. I heard sobbing last night. I don’t know if it has anything to do with it but you should check on him.” 

But the girls’ rooms were not close enough to the boys’ for something to be heard from a boy’s room to a girl’s. That must mean she had seen something.

Was it why she told him to seek out help if he needed it?

He could ask her, but that would mean he would have to admit he listened in on their conversation. So perhaps it is not a good idea.

... Now that he thought about it, she had a bigger heart than she let know.

Miu looked at Kokichi, but he didn’t seem interested in a conversation at all. Like he just left his room not to make them wait but will go back to his room without a word after that.

“It’s nice to see you up, it’s a good start.” Kiyo smiled at him.

The boy just hummed and went back to a half-asleep state.

The therapist discretely gestured to them that they should stay silent for now.

Now they just had to wait for Kaito.

After a good ten minutes, just as Shuichi was about to suggest that they should go check on him, the door opened, revealing the biker.

Even after using probably a liter of hair gel, his hair was messier than usual, tie hastily put on and... That’s just when the violinist realized he was probably putting eyeliner before.

Miu, glanced at him, a hint of worry on her face that she wanted to repress.

Tsumugi stood up, reaching for the flashback light. “Is everyone ready?”

“What’s the point?”

Everyone turned to Kokichi. “Huh?”

“What’s the point of recovering memories? We’re dead to the rest of humanity anyway. We might as well die here like... Like nothing.” he muttered.

“... Say whatever you like, but I’m not wasting an opportunity to learn more about what’s happening. We need that to piece it all together.” Tsumugi argued.

“The question is: Are they really safe to use? We all know what happened to Keebo. Who says it doesn’t have side effects on us as well.” Ryoma asked.

“Keebo’s a damn robot. We know that’s why he completely got screwed.” Kaito rolled his eyes.

“Didn’t we agree that your maintenance mistake was the fatal blow?” Tsumugi raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not my fault if those fucking flashlights screwed his program!” the biker approached her, clearly mad.

“It doesn’t change the truth and you know that.”

“You fucking-” he grabbed Tsumugi by the collar.

“Let’s not fight now.” Kiyo interrupted before things heated up. “Kaito put Tsumugi back down and Tsumugi, don’t cause unnecessary conflict. Please.”

Kaito glared at the therapist before putting the prodigy down. “... Fine.”

Tsumugi fixed her collar and bow.

Rantaro took the flashback light. “I think if it had any physical side effects on us we would have seen it by now.”

The others glanced at each other to see if anyone objected to the use of it.

It seemed as though Kokichi gave up on convincing them not to use it.

After one last collective glance, the medic activated the flashback light.

The memories all flashed back at once.

The meteorites, people claiming that humanity deserved damnation...

Shuichi stumbled on his feet.

“The meteorites...” he mumbled.

“The meteorites- I was hearing about them non-stop!” Miu exclaimed.

“Some of the buildings where I lived were destroyed. There was a constant panic here.” Kiyo frowned.

Tsumugi put a finger on her chin. “Researchers were claiming that it was the same phenomenon from millions of years ago and that our species would become extinct.”

Kaito clenched his fists. “And those fuckers claiming that we deserved it...”

Kirumi nodded. “I remember getting more and more requests from those people... But I never accepted any of them.”

“Hold on, the what?” Rantaro blinked.

“Shuichi raised an eyebrow. “You don’t remember? People were in the streets claiming that humanity deserved to die...”

“Well, some people don’t live in cities here.” Ryoma glared at him. “Some were busy somewhere else working their asses off to make sure their clique stayed alive.”

Ah... He forgot about Rantaro and Ryoma being soldiers. Those groups were in the streets, so it’s understandable they never heard about them.

“Wait, meteorites? But we would have seen them from here! Everything looks fine!” Miu changed the subject.

“It is possible that they overestimated them and humanity is still alive?” Rantaro suggested.

Tsumugi shook her head. “No. I was working with researchers on the phenomenon. The meteorites would have impacted all Earth, creating a heavy atmosphere and destroying all life on this planet, and even if we somehow survived the meteorites we would die anyway because of the lack of food, breathable air, and all resources necessary for us to live.”

Shuichi didn’t quite follow.

“... In other words, to me, the most plausible theory is that we’re in a very strong bunker underground and the sky is actually made of screens to simulate day and night.”

In a bunker? That felt unreal.

Kiyo put a finger on his chin. “Could this group claiming that we deserve damnation be responsible for our situation?”

Shuichi tried to think. “But why would they make us go through a killing game? And why us?”

“What I want to know is what happened to that so-called ‘project to save the world from meteorites’?” Kaito put his hands on the table.

That’s right... It was...

The gofer project.

“I vaguely heard from it. Just that it failed.” Ryoma put his hands in his pockets.

“Hold on, what?” Miu turned to him.

“That’s what I’ve also heard.” Kirumi explained. “I’ve heard that it failed, but I can’t seem to remember what it even was.”

Kiyo put a hand on the table. “Let’s recap all we know.”

“We were part of some ultimate hunt, where some people were after us. We even erased our memories because of it.”

“Then we remembered the funerals, and that to humanity, we were officially dead, that either we faked them or the people who captured us faked them.”

“And now we remembered about the meteorites and a group wanted humanity to die.”

Tsumugi paced around. “To me, the group wanting us dead is the one who created the ultimate hunt, and after capturing us, faked our funerals. I would even dare to say...” She stopped.

“That the leader of this group is the mastermind behind the killing game, and is watching us in this very moment, controlling Monokuma.”

The mastermind... Wanted them to kill each other? He thought it was by pure pleasure, but it was to eradicate them? What was the point?

Did the person behind this whole movement get pleasure from watching them suffer?

He didn’t know. That felt like too much information at once.

Tsumugi glared at Kirumi. “Say, you claim that you never accepted requests from those people, but you also claim to have nothing to go back to outside. It sounds pretty suspicious to me.”

Kirumi’s gaze was still as cold as ice. “I’m specialized in quick and painless deaths. Besides, I work alone.”

“Now isn’t the time to fight.” Kiyo interrupted a fight once again.

Kokichi stood up and left. “... I’m going back to my room.”

Just as Kaito started doing the same, Miu stopped him. “Wait-”

“I don’t know what you want, because there’s nothing to say, Miu.”

She approached him, just centimeters from his face. “I’m not letting another person isolate himself because of this entire game.”

“And what does it give you? Good conscience? Or you want recognition from others?”

“And what do you gain from self-isolating??”

“Don’t try to say you understand anything from me because you don’t!”

“I know more than anyone else how you feel, I tried to kill you for fuck’s sake!”

“I didn’t fucking kill Keebo! It was an accident!”

“That’s why you don’t need to act like this!”

“I told you yesterday, stop trying to babysit us like we’re k-”

A slap echoed across the room.

Miu had just hit Kaito in the face.

The biker reached for his cheek, reddening from the hit, his eyes wide from the shock.

“... You’re nothing like the biker I admired for so long. The Kaito Momota I admired gave money to children in hospitals, won every race he competed in with passion and hard work, even with that in the way. He cared for his gang like a family and rejected offers of sponsorship from anything other than charity.”

“The one standing in front of me is yelling at everyone to protect his own ego. And right now I’m feeling bad over one single thing.”

“It’s that in reality, you are nothing like the Kaito Momota I used to look up to as a hero.”

There was a moment of silence that felt like an eternity.

Shuichi could see hints of tears in the corner of Miu’s eyes.

She left the dining hall without a word.

Kaito left shortly after in another direction, still recovering from the shock. Shuichi could faintly see defeat in his eyes, even though it was mostly hidden by anger.

The others glanced at each other, trying to apprehend what just happened.

Tsumugi approached the door. “... I’ll be doing researches in my lab. Please don’t disrupt me unless it’s urgent.”

The others left one by one.

Rantaro claimed he wanted to talk to Ryoma outside.

Kiyo wanted some time to think alone in his lab.

That just left Kirumi and Shuichi.

The two looked at each other.

“Do you... Plan on doing something?” the violinist asked.

She thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I’ll keep exploring, I think.”

“Is it okay if I go with you?” Shuichi hesitantly asked. “To be honest I don’t think I want to be left alone with my thoughts for now.”

She stared at him for a second. “Sure. If you wish to.”

The two went to the fifth floor to explore in detail.

Shuichi noticed how thorough she was in her research, almost like she expected a hidden button to be here somewhere.

He decided to observe the details of the stained glass. The cathedral atmosphere felt unsettling, yet relaxing. It was strange.

The monokuma statues were the oddest ones. This whole academy felt like Monokuma was the one who built it.

Perhaps looking for hidden traps and passages was useless.

That’s what Kirumi must have felt as well since she went back to him.

“I don’t think anything is going to help us here. But there’s one place I want to check in this building.”

Shuichi blinked. “Huh?”

“Follow me.”

The violinist felt uneasy but decided to trust her.

The two went to the library.

Kirumi, with no hesitation at all, activated the button to make the bookshelf in front of the hidden door move.

“What are you-”

She glanced at the panel and the card reader. With a swift hand movement under her dress, she grabbed a knife. Did she have weapons hidden on herself??

“I’m tempted to destroy the panel, but I don’t know if it will either block the door completely or open it.”

Shuichi raised his hands. “P-Perhaps there’s a less risky solution? I mean what if Monokuma notices, there’s a possibility he will execute you...”

She sighed. “Besides, even if it blocks the door, I don’t think this is the only way to enter. But perhaps it isn’t in the main building. It would look too easy.”

Shuichi pondered. “But what if they wanted to put it in an easy to access location? They just need to know where it is and how to hide it.”

The mercenary nodded. “That’s also a possibility. My instinct is telling me that it’s not on this floor. There’s a thin line between easy and too easy.”

“Then perhaps the first floor?” Shuichi suggested.

“We could try.”

The two walked up the stairs. Shuichi turned his monopad on.

“Let’s see... I think we go way too often to the dining hall for a secret passageway to be here.” he theorized.

“Agreed. I don’t think it’s in a lab either. That would be strange.” she replied.

Shuichi looked up and stared at the hallway. “I know this sounds odd but what about the restrooms?”

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. “... I never exactly searched through here. But we could give it a try.”

The two approached the doors.

“Should we split up since we’re... You know...” Shuichi muttered.

The mercenary looked at him unimpressed. “Don’t take this personally, but I don’t trust somebody claiming something without anyone else to confirm it. Especially in this killing game.”

She stepped in the boys’ bathroom.

There was no use in stopping her, so they might as well search through it.

After five minutes of handling the mirrors, going through the closet, the restrooms, and even moving the closet, nothing came from this.

So the two went to the girls' bathrooms. Same process, and yet...

Still nothing.

The two gave up on searching through this room.

Since lunchtime was coming soon, Kirumi went to the kitchen to prepare the meals. However, she wanted some time to think, alone.

Shuichi, in the meantime, decided to check on anyone. Just anyone.

Miu was in her lab. Perhaps he could try to see if she was doing okay after she argued with Kaito.

After he reached the lab, he knocked on the door.

... No response.

He stepped in anyway.

She was tagging a huge canvas tapped on a wall with black and dark hues from turquoise to purple. This didn’t look like a concrete painting, more like something abstract. Or perhaps it just wasn’t finished.

“Hey...” she turned around at his call.

“Oh, hey.”

He took a look at the wall, then back to her. “You feeling okay? After... This morning...”

She stayed silent, eyes on her work.

“... He hasn’t been himself recently. I know that. But if giving him a piece of my mind wasn’t enough, then perhaps I was right.”

She is obviously talking about Kaito.

“Somehow... I think you got through him. Maybe just a little, but still.”

Miu placed a finger on the paint to see if it dried yet, then sighed.

“That’s what I want to believe. I know he isn’t a selfish prick I just...”

She paused.

“He just needs someone to snap him back to reality.”

Shuichi nodded. “I think... He needs time as well.”

Miu approached the other part of her lab- where she was making her own paint.

“I don’t care how much time he takes. I just want him to be back to his usual self.”

Shuichi frowned. “But... Don’t you think it was a little harsh? You still slapped him pretty hard...”

She stopped in her tracks. “... I’ll have to apologize too.”

After a few minutes, she came back with four paint sprays, each labeled using a black marker.

“Turquoise”, “Sky”, “Royal” and “Purple”.

She shook one of them and started spraying the wall, a brighter hue of purple appearing.

Shuichi sat down to look at Miu working for a while.

If she was painting a concrete thing, then it certainly didn’t look like it.

But that didn’t matter. Perhaps all she wanted was an abstract canvas of colors. At least the gradient was nice.

After she was done with the bright colors, she put back the spray on the ground and placed her hands on her hips. “Now I just have to way for it to be dry so I can continue.”

However, before she could say anything else, Rantaro came through the door.

“Hey there. Lunch is prepared. We're waiting for you two.”

After washing their hands, they went to the dining hall.

Everyone was already there aside from Kaito and Kokichi, who were probably still in their rooms.

However, Tsumugi was also absent. From what Kirumi said, she asked for her lunch to be brought to her lab since she was deep into her research, dozens of books stacked on her desks and she was aggressively writing on the blackboards of her lab.

The prodigy was never that deep into her research, was she? On second thought, she didn’t have much time to enjoy her lab after it opened because of the despair disease.

They ate in silence, no one really wanted to talk after this morning’s events.

Shuichi finally noticed what Miu meant by ‘Rantaro faking his smile’. He also remembered how silent he was after the flashback light.

What was going on with him?

After lunch, Shuichi approached Rantaro. “Hey, you free this afternoon?”

He scratched his neck, glancing to the side. “Sorry, I kinda promised Ryoma to go to the casino with him. Perhaps another time?”

Miu was right. It was hard to spot, but he was definitely faking a smile.

“No, it’s alright, have fun!”

He hoped his fake smile was convincing.

Shuichi decided to follow Miu back to her lab.

She was preparing a stepladder, wearing a belt with a small bucket of white paint attached to it.

“Oh, you here again?” she turned her heels to him.

“I don’t have much to do, so might as well watch you paint but...” he turned to the canvas. “What... Exactly are you drawing?”

She put her feet on the stepladder and started climbing.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

She took out a small paintbrush in her right hand and a paper on the left. Wasn’t the brush from Angie’s lab?

After a couple of minutes, he finally realized.

She was painting a night sky.

It took her a huge amount of time to cover the whole canvas but watching her paint was relaxing.

They engaged conversations from time to time. Her biggest regret was not having her signature hoodie. A custom made black one with fluorescent markings similar to her boots on the sleeves, and a white fluorescent firefly on the back.

The world didn’t know her as ‘Miu Iruma’, but as ‘The firefly of the city’. her actual name and intentions were unknown to other people. She was just a prodigious artist whose only known info was her gender and the color of her eyes.

It felt nice to know the artist behind those paintings as a person.

She also drew a few planets and a bright, white star.

The whole artwork was wonderful.

By the time she was done, it was around 6 PM.

There was still time before dinner. Miu left to help Kirumi prepare the meals.

After all, last time she left Kirumi alone in the kitchen someone ended up dying.

Looking at his monopad, he saw Kiyo leaving the dorms to go to the main building. Perhaps he could hang out with him for a while.

After joining him, the two went to the therapist’s lab. He was satisfied with it, saying that the atmosphere was perfect to talk to people. Especially during those times.

The violinist sat on the sofa. It was comfortable.

“You look troubled, Shuichi. Is there something wrong?” he sat at his desk.

Now it looked like he was his patient.

“Huh? Nothing, really.” he lied.

... He was not buying it.

“You heard our conversation with Kirumi this morning, didn’t you?”

Touché.

“Ah... Yes I did...” Shuichi admitted.

He took out a notebook from his pocket.

“Do you... Know what’s going on with Kokichi?” the violinist hesitantly asked.

He stopped going through the pages. “... I tried to talk to him during the afternoon and even this morning. However, he refuses to speak about his issues.”

Kiyo closed the notebook and approached the bookshelves. “I do have an idea of what’s going on, though.”

Shuichi perked up. “Really?”

He nodded, taking one of the books. “From his attitude, his way of thinking, and how he acted during the trials, I would say the symptoms he is showing are those of a person with PTSD.”

He blinked. “PT... What?”

“Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short. It is often seen in people who experienced traumatic events. The symptoms vary from a person to the other, but there’s a high chance Kokichi has experienced something traumatic in the past. However, I do not know the extent of it.” the therapist explained.

“But please refrain from telling anyone about what I just told you. This should only be a matter between Kokichi and me unless he wishes to talk to you guys about it. I explained to you only so you wouldn’t try to do anything risky. Mental illnesses should not be taken lightly, especially when you do not know how much it affects the person.” he added.

Shuichi nodded. “Understood.”

The two talked about more cheerful stuff for a while.

At some point, Kirumi knocked on the door to tell them that dinner was ready.

When Kiyo asked her if Kaito and Kokichi were there, she explained that she brought them the meals already, for lunch earlier and dinner.

Kokichi was in his room, but surprisingly, Kaito spent the entire day in his lab.

As for Tsumugi, she finally left hers.

The dinner was less silent than lunch, which was a good thing.

This day hadn’t been that exhausting, but everyone still went to their rooms anyway to rest.

Shuichi preferred to stay outside for a while. To take a walk before going to bed.

After going around for some time he went back to his room.

But a small object caught his attention.

A small folded piece of paper on the floor.

He grabbed it and unfolded it.

...

He didn’t understand a single thing written on the paper.

The violinist went back to his room to examine it, just in case someone walks out and notices him reading a suspicious piece of paper.

After making sure he locked the door, he sat on his bed.

-. --- - .... .. -. --. / -- .- -.- . ... / ... . -. ... .  .. / .... .- - . / - .... .. ... 

Was that morse code? It certainly looked like it.

However, he didn’t know how to read it. Not in the slightest.

Damn it.

He put his ear on the door to make sure no one was roaming around.

He folded back the paper and left his room to put it back where it was. If anyone found the paper in his room for whatever reason, that could be bad.

Shuichi went back to his room with unanswered questions and worry about the next motive.

Could he even hope for the best? He didn’t know.

He fell asleep. Hopefully, he will sleep better this time.

--

“...”

“The next few days are gonna be painful to watch.”

“But that’s the price to pay for the grand finale that I’m preparing.”

“...”

“This whole motive is going to be a huge gamble.”

“... And I’m going all in.”

[imagine-a-killingharmony]

V3 Boys (Getting Embarrassed Infront Of S/O)

um, can I get a imagine of the v3 boys embarrassing themselves in front of there s/o? and the s/o is laughing at them. how do the boys react? please and thank you!

First V3 BOYS since opening the ask box! I’ll add in different ways to get embrassment, as per usual! Haha!

Kiibo

Did you know? Robots can get embrassed, they can make mistakes like anyone else can! S-So laughing at him, like that... s-stop it! I-It’s so mean- robophobic- gaaah!

Kiibo has... well, you found him watching “Bug Rangers” in the middle of the day, singing along to the theme song- adorably might I add... his face went bright red- as you chuckled at his reaction than the implications here...

He was on the verge of scolding you for being so mean about his interests, then on the verge of... crying, if he actually did have tears...! *Hic...!* D-Don’t laugh at him like thaaaat!

... Oh, your boyfriend? Now letting out choked little sobs as he says it’s not his fault the show is pure genius, well... you should have known Kiibo be emotional about a show this dear to him...

You have to explain you were only joking around... and watching the finale with him, he was right! It... is a pretty good show.

Shuichi Saihara

You were out to this cafe that Shuichi recommended for the both of you, he thought the coffee tasted good so you both brought something for yourselves and made small talk with eachother with a few laughs and chuckles...

When the order came by Shuichi had gotten too relaxed, sipped at his burning hot coffee and screamed in the highest pitched “UUUWEEEH” imaginable, he almost dropped the cup but put it down... before he could spill it over himself to make a bigger mess.

You giggled at the noise he made “UWEH?” that’s- how, who does that?

Shuichi apparently, who pulls his hat down over his head his face beating up as he silently begs using his eyes that you don’t dare tell a soul.

You kiss his cheek. “It was cute.” His blush intensfies, you get on with your day.

Ryoma Hoshi

Ryoma Hoshi? Embrassing himself? Wow, he thought it was impossible but here he was... his hair a mess after pulling his hat off for the first time in what seemed like decades, it was puffy and all over the place. It was laughable, two tiny messes of hair stood up just like cat-ears.

Ryoma never had the insatiable need to die more than right now, you were laughing- holding his hat above your head on the verge of tears from laughing so damn hard.

“It’s not that funny.” Hmnnnnggggbnh,,, not like he admit it... but he thought he couldn’t feel shame anymore, guess he’s wrong. He seriously wants to just jump into a hole, never ever come back out.

“I-It’s like cat-ears! Oh my god, let me take a picture Ryoma!” You take our your phone, taking some pictures of Ryoma trying to snatch his hat back only getting a sigh of annoyance (and utter embarrassment) back in return.

“Hmph... yer’ sense of humor’s pretty dry, isn’t it? Teasing ’ a guy like me just for the thrill of it.” Ryoma couldn’t even pull his hat down over his face to cover that faint red blush that cast over his features, heh... he still has a ways to go.

Kaito Momota

Kaito Momota Luminary of the Stars doesn’t make mistakes! He makes happy accidents, this is a GOD DAMN happy accidents....!

So... S-So when he makes the small mistake of letting you into his room, yes, him room which has a teddy bear in it- which you actually noticed he tells you he’s NOT sleeping with toys still! He- He’s a god damn YOUNG MAN but he’s not a kid!

You hold the bear delicately in your hands noticing how it’s in a spacesuit of it’s own, dressed as a tiny astronaut- it’s kind of old too from what you can tell.

“So you won’t mind if I throw him out the window?” You ask, grinning when he violently reacts.

“DON’T DO THAT TO MR BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! H-HE CAN’T FLY! H-He hasta’ use a spaceship for a reason, y’know?”

When you laugh- Kaito swipes the bear from your hands and tugs him close, grumbling as he goes to explain you can’t just diss his first EVER assistant ever! Even if... they are a snuggly soft bear, screw off!

... He’s left in a grumbling mood for the rest of the day, kind of pissed off from what you can tell, did... you actually anger him by dissing a stuffed bear? You’ll need to apologize later... to both him and Buzz Lightyear.

Rantaro Amami

His makeup. Rantaro usually knew how to handle it... he did it every day of his life, decided he needed to buy the mascara that doesn’t run that gets wet later, he used it all up so that be later- right now he’d improvise, it’s not like he’s the type to cry!

... He’s the type of person to get a bucket thrown at him as a prank from Kokichi Ouma, a bucket filled with water, it was almost hilarious how quickly he saw ink dripping down his face- you were already snorting and laughing at his face right now, he could only imagine how silly he looked.

So he laughed along, asking you to take a picture- he’s brought more make-up along this is easy to fix. But wow! The one day, who would of thought right?

Maybe he’s the Ultimate Unlucky student, it’s not that big of a deal! You got a laugh out of it, didn’t you? That makes him happy enough, haha! Happy enough to forgive Kokichifor throwing water on him, he’s all wet now too...

Wait don’t take that out of context-!

Gonta Gokuhara

“Embrassing”? What’s embrassing to Gonta’s standards well... actually, that would be... this! Miu’s pickup lines strike again, he got told they be a “really good way of making you happy!” So he tried using them on you...

Only to be told that he was conplimenting dirty and wrong places, his face flushed and he was instantly apologizing for the sins he commuted which stop him from being a gentlemen!

You were laughing all the way trough trying to get it through his innocent yet thick skull that it wasn’t his fault nor was it something to apologize so much over.

“G-Gonta can’t ever become a gentlemen now although, S-S/O! O-Only way to redeem Gonta is apologizing... Gonta sorry! R-Really sorry! H-He still doesn’t get why the number 69 is bad... but-!”

While choking on your own laughter you accept Gonta’s apology and comfort him, it’s hilarious how pure your boyfriend is... now time to wait to get your revenge on Miu for making Gonta feel such agony.

Kokichi Ouma

There’s no explanation other than this, Kokichi Ouma laughed so hard at a joke MIU IRUMA made to the point he fell out of his chair. It was a crappy joke at that one, something something- we’re keeping this PG!

You began to giggle under your breath, but Kokichi carefully picked himself up trying to make it look like a pure lil’ lie! “Wow! That joke was soooo bad, I fell out of my chair cringing! Neeheehee!”

Yet you still giggled at him, underestimating him, are you? Well... he knows a way to shut you up. Of course he pouts, glares as hard as he can at Miu for ruining his reputation like this... Then goes to make his next move! Heehee.

Kokichi moves in to kiss you on the lips to hold you in place, right, Miu’s still in the room to see this occur and cringes at the entire show infront of her- but that’s not important... he leans in, close to your ear- grinning ear to ear.

“Just to prove Miu’s can make all the dirty jokes in the world and yet she’ll never get some.” He sticks his tongue out at her, revenge at it’s finest.

Korekiyo Shinguuji

Sometimes even he doesn’t understand how his own complicated mask works, it was yet another day of observing you, eating breakfast together... yes, you were quite stunning then, he didn’t notice such an obvious oversight.

“Korekiyo?” You were snorting, he didn’t know why. Well, that is until he looked down to find himself pouring burning hot tea on himself, his mask zipper completely closed, ah. His pain tolerance was higher than he expected, honestly that felt quite nostalgic.

“... Is something the matter?” And it’s all over himself now, Korekiyo puts the tea down. “I don’t believe there’s anything that needs to be discussed.”

“... K... Korekiyo it looks like you should go get a change of clothes- pfft- oh my god-“

“Everything is fine.” No it’s not, but he’s not admitting a thing. Despite how harshly you try to explain how that might stain... you can’t convince him, what tea? He doesn’t know about any tea, oh my, he is rather parched although- look at that, some totally fine tea he wasn’t pouring onto himself.

Nothing is wrong here.

[lightningbug-lane]

Kagetora, older brother to Kagero.

A rogue ninja from Hoshido, he serves no master unlike his sister Kagero. Has trained diligently to overcome health complications from his youth and now hopes to serve in the army as he was meant to. He has the most drive for self-improvement.

this turned out way longer than I thought it would;; sorry ;w;

- The firstborn of his clan, Kagetora was meant to serve the Hoshidan royal family as a retainer for Queen Ikona. Unfortunately, he was born very frail and struggled immensely to keep up in his training throughout his schooling years. He was unable to reach even an average level of competency in the different skills necessary for a ninja, as he was too small and weak.

- As the representative of his clan, his failure to meet expectations reflected on his family as a whole. The inability of the next clan head was considered the inability of the clan. They were criticized by others and their honor was at stake.

- Kagetora took the brunt of this from both his clan and those outside of it. His whole existence was meant to fulfill his duties and serve the queen - and although Ikona had an unfavorable reputation herself, it was considered even worse that he could not protect even someone like her. Some had questioned if they would not serve her because of her reputation, and that they were only loyal to useful royals as opposed to Hoshido as a whole.

- He took this very hard, and often pushed himself too hard in training and pushed too much to take on a real mission to prove his worth. Backed against a corner with no real option in sight, his clan relented and begrudgingly let him take on a mission to pursue a known bandit camp outside an isolated village, accompanied by another ninja of the clan only to report on what happened to him. By this point Kagetora was only a preteen.

- Although he swore he would complete it, his strength, stamina, and small stature encumbered him the entire way. But he knew this was his last chance, and he didn’t want to even think of what would happen if he failed.

- While spying on the camp, he was caught by some of the bandits and was forced to flee for his life. Unfortunately, he was caught up with and almost killed in the ensuing fight. The other ninja left him, although Kagetora isn’t sure if it was because they assumed he wouldn’t make it, or if it was because it’d be easier if they just let him die.

- Kagetora more than likely would have died from his wounds if he hadn’t pulled himself to a house on the outskirts of the nearby village. The man living there found him and nursed him back to health.

- Finding out that the man who saved him was a skilled warrior in his own right, the two agreed to start training together at the man’s house from then on. Even if his clan would give up on him, Kagetora still had a burning desire to be a ninja his family could be proud of.

- He had to return home however, where his family was surprised to see him alive. In the meantime since his disappearance, Kagero had taken up his training to fulfill the duty of their clan. Kagetora was shocked and more than a little worried for his sister, but the clan and Kagero herself had already decided upon it, so there was little he could do.

- The feeling of shame of not being good enough, of not even dying when it was convenient for everyone else, of his own little sister having to take his duties for him just so their family wasn’t shamed, crushed him. The pity and cold reception from the rest of his clan made him feel unwanted and alone.

- And yet, he still wanted to prove himself. He didn’t want his sister going on dangerous missions just because he was too weak to do it himself. So after a few weeks he returned to the man who had saved his life, to take on the training he had offered. Since his clan no longer cared about his activities, he was able to sneak out to train fairly regularly.

- Although his training took far, far longer than the average person because of his health, he continued diligently for over a decade. All the while his family treated him like a decorative piece at home as they instead shifted their expectations onto Kagero.

- Kagero wasn’t able to serve Queen Ikona before her death, but she did serve Queen Mikoto and eventually Prince Ryoma. Although she and Kagetora were close as children, their relationship became distant as adults. Kagetora still wanted to serve by her side to keep her safe, to at least fulfill his duty as an older brother.

- Finally, shortly after the war between Nohr and Hoshido broke out, Kagetora embarked to meet up with his sister as he felt he reached a point where he was a skilled enough ninja to protect her. Whether or not he and Kagero live is up to which game you play but shhhhh

- About his personality: he’s very serious and is a really poor conversationalist, mostly because he’s not used to talking to people on behalf of being avoided, pitied, or talked down to most of his life. He also has a habit of only saying half his thoughts, so he accidentally paints the wrong image of himself to others and can seem more cold and uncaring than he really is.

- He’s really into calligraphy! He’s pretty good at more artistic pursuits as a result of his lack of duties at home. Kagero’s scarf also belonged to him, but he gave it to her after finding out she was taking on his role as royal retainer.

- He’s not very close to his family anymore but he dearly loves his sister, even if he also has complicated feelings over her taking on his duties so much better than he ever could. Yet he’s closest by far to the man who saved him and helped train him for so many years. If push comes to shove he’d admit he’s like family to him.

[blackwxtchmccree]

Sometimes I think about Xander and I just… love him. I’m on a Fire Emblem kick rn, so bear with me please. This is one of my FE:F OC’s x Xander, so apologies for that, too. I wanted to write something super emotional and we ended up here. Enjoy?

Also a note: Etsuko is my other FE:F OC. You may hear more about her one day. Who knows.

Warnings: fluff, angst, emotional smut, an apologetic to-be Nohrian king (because Revelations is the only acceptable path don’t @ me) -Valk

This can also be found on my AO3 >>> here

He hadn’t stopped staring at her since he had arrived at the bridge below where the skies change.

She was actually here in front of him and he wondered now if she could forgive him.  

Xander’s heart hadn’t stopped aching since Noelle had disappeared from the castle, telling him she had to leave—that Corrin was right and she couldn’t stand being the commander for an army who was ordered to slaughter innocent people. He had scoffed at her then, unable to see how far gone his father was—unable to believe that Nohr’s king would give orders contrary to what was good for their people, but he knew now that he had been wrong. An unfortunate consequence of a change in circumstances he had purposefully blinded himself to.

Now, they were standing in the hidden kingdom of Valla after free-falling through the Bottomless Canyon. Noelle had smiled at him mischievously before gracefully falling backwards into open air, her gray eyes silently telling him to have faith. She promised that, no matter how this ended, she’d see him on the other side—whatever that other side may be.

The prince’s heart had skipped a beat when he watched her disappear over the edge and into the darkness below, but he had come too far only to not follow. If this was his end then so be it—he hoped whatever afterlife he was met with—if there was one—that she’d be there.

She had never broken a promise before—at least he knew that now, too. Had you asked him that a month ago, he would have called her a traitor and a deserter, but hindsight was 20/20 and she had yet to break her promise to protect Nohr in it’s darkest hour. That’s what they were here for, after all.

When he had opened his eyes at the bottom, he had expected to be met with darkness—an unending, eerie darkness that meant death wasn’t far away. Instead, he was met with a view of Noelle reaching down for him, offering a hand so he could pull himself up and take in the new world around them. She had smiled at him then, too, and his heart had skipped a beat as he searched her face for some kind of malice or anger or contempt, but he only found what seemed to be relief and concern reflected in her beautiful eyes.

She had never looked more alive than when they were running from the Valla soldiers, either; her gait was urgent, but each step was purposeful. Her eyes followed Corrin and Azura as they rushed through the ancient forests and ruins of what seemed to be a once great civilization, always turning back every now and then to make sure everyone was able to keep up and that they weren’t being followed. He was sure she was planning escape routes and battle plans in her head with every obstacle they encountered—it’s why she had made an excellent commander, after all, but the crown prince felt at ease knowing she was back at his side.  

They had eventually stumbled upon another castle—slightly less decrepit than the others with mostly functional walls and a stable ceiling—and decided to rest there for the night after determining they were no longer being followed, needing shelter from the unexpected rain that had begun to fall and determining that escaping to the astral plane was too dangerous—Corrin didn’t want to let any Vallite soldiers in on accident.

They knew they couldn’t stay in one place for long, but Elise and Sakura were growing increasingly tired and Leo and Takumi were quick to make their discontent with the constant running apparent. Everyone could at least get a few hours of rest—that might put them in better spirits.

But Xander wasn’t tired—the insomnia had come from spending countless nights awake training, his blade bathed in moonlight while his forehead was bathed in sweat. He had a kingdom to protect and that always weighed heavily on his shoulders—the only respite was that Noelle had been there with him then, too, offering to be his sparring partner on nights when the memories of blood-stained battlefield bled into her dreams and she found herself staring at the ceiling, unable to rid her mind of the images of her soldiers lying dead on the grass.

He knew she always beat herself up for making bad calls, not being able to save them—not being able to defend them. He had told her that was the price of conflict—the price of protecting a kingdom, but she had just given him a sad smile, raising her sword and tome in preparation for his assault.

Now, the crown prince of Nohr was walking the castle halls looking for his commander, intent on apologizing for his short sightedness in case he didn’t get a chance later. It probably wasn’t wise—drifting away from his siblings and Corrin’s friends, but he was sure they could fend for themselves. Etsuko and Ryoma were there, regardless, and that was enough to rid him of any uneasiness that floated in the back of his mind. He had experienced firsthand how skilled both the crown prince of Hoshido and the captain of the Hoshidan royal guard were.

Their kingdoms may have been enemies in the past, but he respected Ryoma—Xander knew what it was like being in his position all too well. They were more alike than they realized, but Xander wasn’t ready to admit that to himself just yet, though the thought crossed his mind, causing a small smile to creep onto his face; had they met under better circumstance, they likely would’ve been friends. He hoped he’d see the day when Takumi and Leo got along, too.

The smell of rose and lavender drew Xander out of his thoughts and he caught the flicker of light down the hallway out of the corner of his eye. He was quick to track it, coming upon a door just around the corner, slightly ajar, but open just enough to where he could peek inside.

He found the room bathed in a faint glow—the candles scattered about the room highlighting the surrounding area with just enough light to make out the faint outline of a bed in the back corner and a small, wooden dresser in the opposite corner. A cracked window sat between them and he could make out the faint outline of a ward surrounding the pane, likely meant to reinforce the glass and keep their enemies out. He could see the rain pouring down outside and the soft pitter-patter of the downpour against the window brought him a bit of comfort.

A familiar shadow moved across the stone floor and he pushed the door open, making enough noise to alert Noelle to his entrance, not wanting to scare her. She looked up as he entered, smiling softly as she closed the tome strapped to her side, dismissing the fire in the palm of her hand.

“I’m not keen on sleeping in the dark when we’re fighting enemies we can barely see,” she mused, scanning her handiwork, crossing her arms across her chest. “Besides—shadows don’t lie.”

“I see your cleverness has yet to escape you,” he chided playfully, watching as she shrugged and unstrapped her sword from her belt, propping it up against the wall beside the bed before doing the same with her tome.

“Did you expect any less,” she asked, raising a mock-offended eyebrow when she turned back to the Nohrian prince, her gray eyes slowly scanning him, making sure he was unhurt, though noting the way his shoulders seemed to sag a bit from what she was sure was exhaustion.

“From you? Of course not.”

Noelle nodded in approval at his answer, moving past him to quietly close the door, leaning her forehead and forearms on it once it was shut, finally letting out a bated breath. She hadn’t had time to breathe properly since they had woken up here, much less relax her aching muscles in relative peace and quiet.

There was a long pause as Xander examined her again, admiring the curve of her back and noting the tension in her neck as she rested against the door, eyes closed. He would get it over with—leave her in peace.

“Noelle I-,” but she was quick to interrupt him.

“Don’t.” His brow furrowed in confusion and he opened his mouth again, but the Nohrian commander pushed herself off of the door, deftly turning on her heel and approaching him.

“Not right now—don’t,” she continued, reaching up to cup his face, the pained look on her face enough to break his heart. “Whatever mistakes you feel like you’ve made—whatever you feel like you need to say to me to make things right—don’t. I forgive you. I’ll keep forgiving you for whatever mistakes you make until the day I die.”

“I don’t deserve that forgiveness,” he replied, reaching up to place his large hand over one of her much smaller ones, leaning into her touch and closing his eyes, relishing in the feeling of her warm skin pressed against his. “I should have listened to you—should have trusted you when you said something wasn’t right.”

“You can’t change it. I know you wanted what you thought was best for Nohr—so did I. That’s why we’re both here—now. That’s better than I could have asked for.”

“Watching you walk away should have been my first clue that I should have followed this time instead of led.”

“Walking away was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” she murmured, resting a palm on his chest just over his heart, the metal of his armor cold under her palm. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again—afraid that if I did it was because we’d be burying our blades in each other’s chests.”

That gave Xander pause and he gently interlaced his fingers with the hand over his heart, kissing her palm, then her wrist, before moving up her arm to her shoulder, his lips eventually finding the sensitive skin of her neck. Noelle felt her skin tingle at the intimate gesture, sparking the flame in her core.

“I’d rather bury my sword in my own chest before I’d ever hurt you, little princess,” he whispered against her skin.

Her breath caught in her throat at the pleasantry and she tilted her head back ever so slightly, allowing him better access as he nipped and sucked gently at her flushed skin, kissing his way up her jaw, attempting to capture her lips. She pushed gently on his chest, forcing him to take a step back, but she followed through, guiding him back towards the brass bed in the back corner. The back of Xander’s knees met the edge of the bed and he sat back, his hands coming to rest on Noelle’s hips as she crawled into his lap, straddling his hips.

“I’ve wanted you for so long, but the kingdom…,” he murmured, looking her up and down almost desperately, uncertainty flashing in his brown eyes.

“We’re not in Nohr anymore.”

“No, I suppose we’re not,” he mused, the small smile that graced his lips causing Noelle’s heart to skip a beat.

She dove down this time, capturing his lips fully, tangling her fingers in his golden hair and giving it a teasing tug, causing Xander to elicit an unexpected growl, the sound going straight to the apex of her thighs. He was quick to bite playfully at her bottom lip, his hands gliding teasingly just above the smooth skin of her thighs, seemingly unsure of where he should touch her—what she wanted.

Noelle could feel his normally steady hands shaking when she took them in her own, finding it endearing, guiding them under her armor, craving his touch. He may have been a bastion on the battlefield and a beast with a sword, but Noelle would find that he was a surprisingly gentle and attentive lover.

Xander felt like wherever he touched her, he would poison her—taint her pale skin with the blood on his hands and soil whatever righteousness had guided her here, where he should’ve been, but uncertainty had clouded his judgement and the heaviness in his heart refused to fade, even when Noelle said she had forgiven him.

He let out an unsteady breath, pulling his hands away momentarily, suppressing a smile at the disgruntled huff Noelle gave, though she quieted as she watched him remove his gloves, the sound that left her mouth one that he would never forget when his bare hands met her burning skin. She was breathing quicker now, the rise and fall of her chest enticing enough to make Xander forget any regrets or qualms he may have had for now. With Hoshido at his side now, he had a new conquest in mind.

Somehow, though, as he stripped her of her armor and dragged his calloused hands over the delicate expanses of her scarred skin, he realized all of their evenings spent laughing and brushing shoulders as they planned troop movements and all of their late nights spent sparring had culminated in making her far more than a conquest.

Looking at her now, her blonde hair splayed out across the mattress around her head like a halo and her gray eyes glowing in the candlelight, she could pass for a goddess—the pinnacle of grace and innocence.

But her flushed cheeks and the sounds falling from her slightly parted lips said otherwise as he pumped his fingers in and out of her wet slit, sitting between her parted legs, his strong thighs forcing her to present her wet pussy to him.

It was a striking realization—one that should have hit him far earlier, the spark when they first kissed having finally clued him in on the simple fact that he loved her.

But he wouldn’t admit it to her—not tonight—not now when everything else in their lives was uncertain, but he would soon. She was pulling at the sheets now, her head tilted back and her entire body trembling—so close to her release. He’d never heard her beg before, but her soft voice and intoxicating tone was music to his ears and he finally obliged when she dug her nails into his wrist, sweat dripping down the delicate curves of her bare breasts as her chest heaved.

Xander was content to watch her orgasm consume her, feeling her clench around his fingers as pleasure burned through her veins—a feeling she hadn’t experienced in so long she forgot how good it felt to have someone else drag it out of her. He couldn’t help the satisfaction that settled inside of him as he watched pure bliss consume every fiber of her being. He’d be lying if he said the thought of what she would look like under him hadn’t crossed his mind, but his imagination couldn’t even compare to the sounds she was making, the way her back arched gracefully off of the bed and the way she shivered and squirmed when his mouth found her left nipple, his tongue teasing it to a peak as he rode with her through her high.

Noelle collapsed against the bed gasping for air moments later, her nerves on fire, the hand Xander had interlaced with one of hers providing a loving squeeze. When she opened her eyes, he was licking the fingers on his opposite hand clean, the action causing a slight blush to highlight her cheeks that didn’t go unnoticed, causing him to smirk.

The high prince of Nohr considered it a privilege to see her like this—his commander naked, stripped of any indication of her rank and left bare in front of him at his mercy, but only on her terms.

He wanted her.

He needed her.

He hoped she felt the same.

“Xander-”

Fuck the way his name left her lips—he had heard it thousands of times before, but this was time it left her mouth effortlessly, breathlessly, desperately and for once their titles didn’t get in the way. To her he was just Xander—not Prince Xander, not your highness, not my liege—just Xander.

“-take me.”

It was a request he could hardly refuse, especially with the way she was looking at him now, nails raking down his abs to the hem of his trousers and eyes gazing up at him expectantly through thick lashes.

They could pretend later their first time was indeed their wedding night if they lived to see the day—but he’d be a fool to deny a request like that.

“Gladly, little princess.”

He was quick to gather her small wrists in his much larger hands, pinning them just above her head, his face finding respite in the crook of her neck as he pressed a tender kiss to her collarbone. Noelle pulled against his grip, but found her attempts futile—not that she minded, as her attention was quickly stolen by Xander pulling his cock out, running the head teasingly through her wet folds. The look she gave him in response nearly made him laugh out loud, her eyes glaring daggers at him and silently promising his end if he didn’t move.

They both groaned when he pushed inside, Xander relishing in her warmth as it enveloped him, an excited tremble wracking Noelle’s body in response as he buried himself slowly to the hilt. She felt unbelievably full—felt whole for once in her life as if he was meant to be there. She watched with satisfaction as the crown prince’s chocolate eyes fell closed, his brow furrowing as if the feeling was almost too much for him.

His inexperience would show eventually, but he was no fool—not wanting to move out of fear he would hurt her, so he took a moment to relish in the feeling of how perfectly they fit together, how tightly she squeezed around his cock, sending a wave of pleasure up his spine. Noelle took a shuddering breath, adjusting to his size, moving to slowly roll her hips once she was comfortable, her eyes falling closed as she finally got what she had been desperately craving for so long—him.

They met in the middle again and again, Xander thrusting into her from the tip of his cock to the hilt and back with precision matched only by his swordsmanship. The Nohrian prince had every intention of dragging every moan and whimper he could get out of her, but she was doing just the same to him, unwilling to go so quietly into the rainy night and fall so willingly under his ministrations.

He had wanted this—wanted her for so many years that it felt like a dream and now that he was finally buried inside of her, responsible for every needy gasp and wanton mewl that fell from her pretty pink lips, he couldn’t help, but feel guilty after all of this time.

She looked far more incredible in this position than he had ever given her credit for in his head, her breasts bouncing each time his hips met hers and her body quivering as he filled her completely, her true other half that she missed dearly in the split second that he left her empty before filling her again. Xander didn’t deserve her and he decided their first time couldn’t be their last—they would see the light of day again, see their kingdom again and bring news of peace with them.

And he would make up for all of his past mistakes—refusing to accept her forgiveness. It was just another thing he wasn’t worthy of accepting.

“X-Xander I-I-,” Noelle’s voice trembled as she tried to form a coherent thought, pulling harder on his grip now, her head tilted back as she let out unabashed moans.

“Say it again.” He couldn’t get over the way his name sounded rolling off of her tongue.

“F-fuck Xander.”

It came out as a warning that time, he realized, and he finally chose to release her wrists, a satisfied groan rumbling up from his chest when her hands went immediately to his blond hair, pulling him down to kiss her, each of them swallowing every sound the other made.

Xander has watched her cum once, but feeling it around him was beyond heavenly and pulled him over the edge, too. He spilled inside of her as she quivered, soaking up the quiet chant of his name that fell from her lips as she rode her high with him, her legs locked around his hips and his face buried in the crook of her neck.

They stayed like that for another moment, unsteady breathing filling the air. Xander moved to rest his forehead against hers as she ran her fingertips idly across his shoulders and over the muscles of his upper back, appreciating the power they held—the power she had felt. The Nohrian prince closed his eyes, drinking in the feeling of her fingers on his skin and her body pressed against his—it was better than he could have ever imagined.

The prince was loathe to move away from her warmth, but he was sure she was growing uncomfortable under his weight and their skin had grown sticky from dried sweat, so he peeled away from her, running an idle, calloused hand from her shoulder down her chest and abdomen to her hip, giving her a loving squeeze. The small smile and shiver he was met with made his heart skip a beat. She looked exhausted, but content, with half-lidded eyes fluttering closed as she laid back.

Xander moved to the edge of the brass-framed bed, intent on getting dressed and going to check on his siblings and their friends, scanning the clothes and armor that were scattered across the stone floor to determine what belonged to him.

“Stay with me.”

It was said in a sleepy voice—one he would soon find that he could never get enough of on early mornings when the sun had barely peeked over the horizon and they had nowhere to be and nothing to do just yet.

Glancing over his shoulder at her again, he realized she may have looked stunning at any other time of the day, but she looked devastatingly gorgeous bathed in dim candlelight, trapped in a post-sex haze with her hair burning golden and her stormy gray eyes seemingly on fire themselves. The rain falling outside battered the window, the sound filling the comfortable silence that had settled, calming Xander’s still racing heart.

He nodded.

[crystalelemental]

FE Fates Replay - Part 2

“A big focus for Fates was beefing up the storyline, which most agreed didn’t really go anywhere in Awakening. While Awakening was an excellent game to play, I can’t tell you what happened.”

Listen, I’m sincere about wanting to replay Fates with a bit more of an open mind, and a desire to come to appreciate more of the cast and viewing it as its own entity.  But this interview is the one thing I cannot possibly set aside.  Because when you get right down to it?  They drew the comparison themselves.  They wanted us to think “Oh yeah, Awakening sure had a pretty weak story, so making a complex story everyone can enjoy is our goal in Fates!”  They made the comparison themselves, and were so cock-sure that they were convinced Fates was going to blow Awakening’s story out of the water.  So no matter how much I look over Fates on its own merits, I can’t get away from drawing the connections.  And neither should you.  So whenever events like today’s chapters occur, I want you to make that connection.  Think about the moments in Awakening that were designed to evoke similar feelings.  Think about Emmeryn sacrificing herself to stop a war waged by a despot.  Think about Lucina finally getting to meet her father for the first time in her life, and the moment they share.  Think of how much emotional impact Awakening had, and compare it to this.  Because we can never forget: they thought for sure they did a better job.

Chapter 4 begins to introduce us to the Hoshidan side.  The worse side, if you ask me.  Rinkah and Kaze are solid characters in their own right, but the rest feel lacking.  Ryoma is fine and serious, but he doesn’t really do anything to demonstrate the compassion that Xander has.  He mostly just does the thing all the Hoshidans do, and calls all of Nohr a bunch of scum.  Hinoka is fine, and seems to genuinely care about Corrin, so she’s probably the best of the four so far.  Sakura didn’t do anything too interesting either, and is mostly just there to be the shy younger sister.  Takumi...look, we’ll get to him.

Chapter 4 is focused on showing you what the war is like for the Hoshidans.  The Nohrians seemed to be on the offensive, while Hoshido seems to be trying to manage against weird creatures called Faceless that the Nohrians create to bypass their Passivity Barrier.  See, Hoshido has a barrier created by their mother, which makes anyone passing into it unwilling to fight.  A bit contrived, but fine, I’ll just accept that at face value and move on.  The Faceless, as entities that are without will or purpose, are unaffected by the magic, and are thus the preferred method of attack.  The Faceless, unfortunately, are also without direction, and attack randomly across villages and harm innocents, which Corrin is none too fond of.  The chapter itself is a rescue mission, going to help Sakura and Hinoka, but honestly?  They...kinda had it under control.  If Sakura were able to figure out the concept of “moving away from the bad man,” they wouldn’t even need our help.  Hinoka had that well under control.  Anyway, you get the reunion with them, and everyone in this kingdom refers to you as family and does seem to care, but there’s a lot of emphasis on you being blood related here.  It’s a large focus of who your “proper” family is, and I feel like the appeal to that concept is important for your decision.  Again, more on that later.

Azura’s introduction is nice.  You’re pretty fast friends.  Mikoto attempts to have Corrin sit on the throne of Hoshido to hopefully get her memories back, and again we’re just very focused on getting memories back and proving that they’re the real blood relatives.  It’s honestly about all they focus on.  They’re definitely glad to have Corrin back, I just wish we could move off of it.

Which almost makes Takumi being such an unrelenting prick refreshing.  I’ll admit, I remembered disliking Takumi right away because he was a jerk, but I had forgotten how much of a jerk.  Look, I get it.  Corrin showing up and being the assumed favored child is frustrating for him.  That’s fine.  I was ready for him to be an ass to Corrin.  What I didn’t expect is him being an asshole to Azura, who’s lived with them peacefully for as long as Corrin’s been gone.  Seriously, what is this guy’s damage?  He’s the perfect representation of Hoshido as a whole, I think.  Like I mentioned in part 1 of this replay, every time the Hoshidans reference Nohr, it’s usually with “scum” or “filth” inserted in.  They’re so trained to utterly despise their opponents, to the point Takumi tells someone who’s been living with him as a sister for what is apparently the better portion of a decade that she hasn’t earned the right to say his name.  Seriously, fuck you, Takumi.

Chapter 5.  Here’s where the intro text becomes relevant.  Mikoto has decided to announce for everyone that her long-lost daughter, who was kidnapped by Garon, has returned home.  But oh no!  There was a surprise plot, and this weird magic man used your obvious evil sword to explode the barrier!  Shards of the sword go flying toward you, and Mikoto blocks them with her body, sacrificing her life to protect you!  Corrin is so distraught that she becomes a full-on dragon, in what is honestly a pretty cool transformation scene.  Ryoma rushes in to fight this hooded figure, and the rest of you fight your way to support him.

Pause.  Show of hands, how many of you actually felt something about Mikoto dying?  Because...I sure didn’t.  We’ve known her a grand total of like 10 minutes, and she’s already dead.  The only thing she did was announce that she’s your real mom, try to get your memories back, and die.  This entire sequence is incredibly lacking in any form of emotional impact, which is funny, because they wanted to make a good story with Fates, better than Awakening even!  And yet...Emmeryn’s death, which was designed to evoke similar feelings of loss, hit way harder.  Because we spent time around her.  We got a feeling for how she acts and engages with others, in a way that isn’t just Azura saying she’d like to stay in Hoshido because Mikoto is a peaceful ruler.  Nothing substantial is shown to us through Mikoto’s actions, and despite being your birth mother, Corrin’s memories aren’t back yet.  She has stated time and again that she doesn’t really feel anything about Mikoto, yet when she dies it’s like the biggest tragedy in the world.  Don’t get me wrong, Mikoto sacrificing herself for Corrin is a pretty selfless move that would definitely have upset Corrin, but why is this the event that makes her dragon out and not Gunter’s death?  Gunter has been with her the whole time, and Hans came out of nowhere on what was said to be a peaceful mission and kicked her kindly uncle into the bottomless pit.  Sure, she got some dragon power in that moment, but given the history and connection she must’ve shared with Gunter throughout her life, you’d think that would hit harder than the death of the mother she never knew.

Anyway, following the map itself, Azura trying to calm the raging Corrin, and eventually succeeds, though it takes some effort and Corrin almost kills her in the process.  Everyone else moves on from their mom being dead surprisingly fast, mostly marveling at Corrin’s dragon form, while Takumi has an understandable tantrum and snaps at Corrin and Azura that they should fuck off.  Honestly, earlier dickitude aside, I can actually see where he’s coming from on this one.  Again, it made sense he was mean to Corrin.  How does he know you’re really his sister?  He feels nothing for you the same way Corrin felt nothing for Mikoto, and that makes some sense.  So when your arrival meant that Mikoto died, I can get why he’d be pissed.  And in this moment, at least, I can understand why he’d snap at Azura too.  He’s lashing out at everyone, and is clearly grief-stricken.  So fine, that’s cool.  He’s still an asshole, though.

Chapter 6 ramps up as the Nohrians enter Hoshidan territory after the fall of the barrier, and prepare to make one last push to conquer the kingdom and put an end to the war for good.  Both sides reach out to Corrin, asking her which family she chooses to side with.  That decision...will be made next installment.  Which basically means in a few hours, probably.  I’m in a good headspace to want to keep playing, so I’ll probably do that, but need to take care of some other stuff first.  Which side will I pick?!  Oh man, it’s such a mystery!

[lore-a-lie]

Chapter 3, Act 3: Neo World Symphony

Daily Life

When Kaede, Kaito, Kokichi, and Ryoma made it to Kibo’s pride and joy, as Kibo predicted both Gonta and Korekiyo were there waiting for them. But neither of them looked particularly comfortable around the machines; Korekiyo in particular kept glaring at one of the ceiling’s vents as if it was solely responsible for his discomfort. Kinda like how Kaito kept giving the hallways outside panicked looks. (But not me for a change! Honest.)

Kibo was too busy to notice; he was fiddling with some of the wires hanging off the machine instead of telling everyone what this was supposed to do. If Kaede had to guess, he was probably trying to buy time for Tsumugi so he wouldn’t need to explain the same things over and over.

“Must we all really be involved with this showing? I have no interest in modern technology, which also applies to this… “X Box” of yours, Kibo. This is hardly a time for games yes?” Korekiyo asked.

“...Dude, you can’t be serious.” Kaito said, looking completely dumbfounded.

“It’s a large cubical computer with an “X” on it and headsets attached to it, what else would I think it is?” He replied, tilting his head a bit as if hehe were confused about why Kaito now had his face in his hands. (Obviously not that! How could a game console ever be this big and mass produced? Even I knew that.)

“W-while you are right in that it is something of a game system, it’s more complicated than that! And while our situation is obviously serious isn’t escapism good to help humans in stressful situations?”

“Escape-ism? Kibo found way out in that kon-poo-ter box?”

“In a way yes! But please, let us wait for the others before we get to into it.”

Kibo was obviously nervous about what his friends would think about his work and went back to making sure everything was still as it needed to be for this demonstration. Kaede and the others didn’t need to wait too long at least, as an out of breath Tsumugi fell through the door a moment later.

It looked like she had tried leaning on the door before it opened by itself, so Tenko needed to catch her before she landed on the floor as Angie giggled. It looked like Tsumugi had run all the way outside to get these two, but the run back hadn't affected either of her more hyperactive companions at all.

As Kibo double-checked that everyone was there and that there would be enough visors and chairs for everyone and he started to explain.

“I realize this may seem suspicious to some of you, seeing how this technology was granted to us by Monokuma, and one of his cubs, Monosuke, helped show me how this program was meant to work. But I assure you, I took every step I could to ensure that the other world this opens up to us will be completely safe! What began its existence as a “killing game simulation” is now merely a “simulation” with little to no risks for its users that even Monokuma can’t interfere with.”

Kibo looked nearly as proud giving this introduction as he did when he was trying to brag about his inventor’s ingenuity or his own features.

“Wait, what? C’mon man, why would you tell Gonta this is some type of exit then? You just said this was something that was meant to help kill us!” Kaito shouted, looking frustrated about getting their hopes up for nothing.

“I didn’t say it was an exit, I said that you could see it as a way out! Your mind leaves our current school setting and enters a safer space for us all to interact in. No Exisals, no Monokuma, no risk of motives.”

“So it’s just like a virtual world, like the Matrix?” Tsumugi summed up, nervous but clearly interested.

“Basically, but it should be incredibly realistic for all of you. I only say “should be” on the off chance my sensory input data works a bit differently than for everyone else, but I can tweak things if I need to! This includes any changes you’d like me to make for the avatars you each will have in there.”

“Neat! Sounds fun. But do we allll need to do this? I mean if Kiyo wants to stay out why not let him?” Kokichi said with a cruel Cheshire cat grin, as Korekiyo looked hopeful at the suggestion.

“I would very much prefer he in particular comes with us actually." Kibo said. "While your consciousness is hooked up with these machines you won’t be able to feel your real bodies anymore in favor of moving your avatars, so even with Gonta’s supervision not including him could be… ill-advised.”

“What’s an “ah-vuh-tar”?”

“A physical incarnation or embodiment of a deity or concept so that it may interact with the world as we know it. Very commonly found among various religions, this word specifically relates to Hinduism. In virtual contexts, it refers to how humans may interact with the worlds created in these spaces, as in essence humanity would all be considered “gods” to those made specifically for their entertainment.” Korekiyo quickly supplied, cutting off Kibo's attempt to explain.

“... Gonta not sure he understand.” Gonta admitted as he scratched his cheek, much to Korekiyo’s disappointment. Before he had a chance to try again Kibo offered a simpler explanation, ignoring the room’s chuckles.

“Uhh… It’s like I made a smaller Gonta for you to control in the world in the box, since you wouldn’t fit.”

“Oh, okay!” Gonta said with a smile, while the probably pouting Korekiyo gave Kibo a bitter look. The robot responded with a nervous shrug, which did little to stop Angie or Kokichi’s laughter.

With a resigned sigh, Korekiyo took a seat. “May we please get this over with quickly then?”

“H-hey, we didn’t agree we’d even be doing this yet so don’t you menaces go making decisions for us!”

“Indeed, indeed! Atua doesn’t trust anything with Monokuma involved either. Angie can understand wanting others to experience your work firsthand, but are you sure it’d be safe? How do we know he didn’t hide a motive in there to take us by surprise?”

“I checked everything, there is no way he could have something like that still in there, and if I did find anything I would have told you all. I highly doubt there’s any way left for me to make this system safer for everyone. I deleted absolutely everything that I thought could ever be used as a weapon, nothing can be broken, and I don’t believe the avatars should be able to take any damage.”

“You don’t believe they can?” Tenko incredulously asked.

“I couldn’t test things too much by myself! But I wouldn’t ask this if I had any doubts about your safety.”

“At least try it you two. If we all stay together what’s the worst that could happen?” Kaede asked, trying to convince them.

Both girls looked pointedly at Korekiyo, who in turn looked at her as if to ask what else could she expect. Kaede just glared at him, while Kibo looked like he had a solution but didn’t think he should mention it yet. Not that Kaito needed to hear it to get back onboard.

“Yeah, we should have faith in Kibo! He’s not the sort of guy to lie about technical stuff.”

“Or at all.” Ryoma teased.

“Pfft, Not well at any rate. It’s not like a robot like him could intentionally put humans in danger, riiight?”

“I told you already Kokichi, I’m not entirely three laws compliant! The professor feared it could create loopholes that may harm my mental development or sense of self-worth if he made them impossible to disobey.” (Wow, that didn't help as much as Mr. Idabashi was hoping then. Poor Kibo.)

“It probably would have been better for you to have gone with that excuse, Kibo. But your honesty also plainly proves your point, doesn’t it? I believe you at least!” Tsumugi agreed, with surprising conviction for a change. (Or maybe it isn’t. Technically this could make us all 2D, or “fictional”, for real right?)

“It’s not that we don’t trust what he thinks he did, but it was the degenerate Monokub that helped teach him how to change Monokuma’s program and he’s still new at this on top of that! But if it means so much to him… Fine. I’ll do it,” Tenko reluctantly grumbled. “But if anything goes wrong in there someone’s gonna pay big time when we wake up!”

“Nothing is going to go wrong, I promise! I honestly believe you all will greatly appreciate this.”

“This isn’t more of your “inner voice” stuff, is it? Haven’t we all moved on from that Atua-type nonsense?” Kokichi asked, obviously trying to get a rise from Kibo again. And as always he got one like clockwork.

“Of course it is, and this has nothing to do with Atua. My inner voice wouldn’t steer me wrong. And while I no longer believe in it either it’s still very rude to dismiss Angie’s beliefs as being “nonsense”!”

“I’m just saying Pinokeebo. For us humans, hearing voices isn’t exactly a good sign of anything.”

“Just because your conscience has given up on you doesn’t mean the rest of us are crazy for having one.” (I’m not really sure I’d call that an “inner voice”, but Kibo is a robot. Maybe that’s just how it is for him.)

Kokichi gave Kaede a scowl when he heard her giggling, but he let Kibo have this little victory and took a seat. It wasn't like he was normally good at comebacks in the first place, and Kibo looked so proud of this.

With all of their biggest concerns addressed as well as they could be, everyone still standing found their own chairs and started setting up the visors the way Kibo told them too. Kaede was a bit confused as to why Kibo hadn’t put the red and blue cables into the ports already, but he claimed it was because he didn’t want to risk making a tripping hazard for anyone as he helped make sure no one made any mistakes.

Gonta nearly did thanks to Angie distracting him for a bit, as he initially put the red “consciousness” cord in the left port that was made to handle the blue “memory” cord, but the mistake was quickly found and corrected. When Kibo was satisfied that everything was finally ready to go without incident he told everyone to put the headsets on and press the button near their temples to enter the simulation.

He quickly mentioned he’d be the last to arrive as he wanted to make sure no one was experiencing any difficulties before going in, since their bodies would be relatively defenseless and wouldn’t feel anything in this sleep-like state, but that was the last Kaede heard before the world went black.

It was an odd sensation, watching as the data passed her by. She expected things to be instantaneous, but there she was, staring at the Ultimate Academy’s handcuffed and scarred emblem with a “Welcome to the Neo World Program” message in the corner of the startup screen.

Something about the name felt familiar, and not just in regards to this machine. But before she could place it a feeling like a flashback light’s vertigo overtook her and she found herself in a parlor.

It was comforting to see she wasn’t alone, as Kaito, Ryoma, Tsumugi, and Gonta appeared at around the same time she did. But they all looked… Different. Her pants were gone in favor of her skirt for starters. And everyone else was… well, cuter, for lack of a better term.

It was like she woke up to find themselves in her Magical Melody game she and her sister would play, with how small and round they all were now. Tsumugi would probably describe this as them being "chibified" if Kaede remembered right. Only these designs might have been even more simplified than any game she'd ever played. And for whatever reason Ryoma looked a lot taller, but he didn’t actually change much otherwise, so the feeling was just surreal. She didn’t even need to look up as much to see Gonta’s face either.

“... Is this what being tall feels like?” Ryoma asked as he looked around, and adjusted to being at eye level with everyone else for a change. His beanie’s horns almost looked like cat ears now with how they‘d been squatted down, which made Kaede giggle and got Ryoma trying to hide his blush.

“I think you mean more like “being average size” in your case. But I was expecting something different too...” Tsumugi said mostly to herself, her disappointment clear as she slouched and stared at the ground, ignoring the almost offended look Ryoma sent her way for her comment. She even got those comical blue lines floating above her head as she did it, like one of Dr. Shrunk’s expressions.

“This feels weird. I can move this avatar so freely it’s like it doesn’t even matter what condition my body was in before.” Kaito said as he did some stretches to prove his point. (Why didn’t he say so sooner?!)

“What condition are you talking about? Did you pull a muscle during last night’s training or something? Jeez, you should tell us when something like that happens you know!”

“Y-yeah, that’s it. Sorry, I didn’t wanna to worry ya.”

“Liar. Like you ever do enough during training to pull or strain much of anything.” Ryoma jokingly scoffed.

“Hey! Come one, don’t be like that-” Anything else Kaito might have wanted to say was cut off by Korekiyo’s arrival, much to Gonta’s relief. Korekiyo was a lot less pleased by this development.

The second he showed up it was like he was on edge, looking around like he was missing something before taking in the state of his new body. Which didn’t improve his mood any. “... I want to leave.”

“No! Kibo say he want to show friends his ver-chew-ul world, so we stay! Kiyo barely here at all, he at least need to thank Kibo for making this for friends.” Gonta scolded him, so Kaede followed suit too.

“Yeah! No need to be so quick to judge it.”

“But everything’s so… quiet now. Warmer too. I don’t like this.” (What’s he talking about? This is the same temperature as it was in the lab, and I thought being warmer would be a plus to him anyway.)

Before Kaede could ask what he meant Kokichi, Angie, and Tenko arrived at the same time, like Kaede’s group did.

“Oh~ so this is the Virtual World huh?” Kokichi started rambling with his little nods and Mm-hmms as he took note of everything around him, toying with the loose belts on his avatar a bit as he did so. He started walking around the room, getting a look at everyone else’s avatars, before he stopped behind Korekiyo with a wicked smile on his face.

Korekiyo barely had a chance to respond before being punched in the face, given the lack of their previous height difference. Angie laughed at that while Korekiyo rubbed at his cheek where he was hit.

“What exactly was THAT for?” (You want the full list? Because we all know you’ve had it coming.)

“Kibo said avatar’s couldn’t be hurt riiight? So I’m just testing that to see if it’s true! Soooo, did it hurt?” Kokichi asked with a grin as if he already knew the answer.

“Of course it did. However I believe he phrased it as making them immune to damage, not pain, so I’m not sure this disproves his previous claim. But you could have just pinched yourself to test this, yes?”

“Nope! Doing it this way shows our senses are connected in here, since we know I didn’t actually punch you. Besides, that trick never worked when I dreamed either, so what’s the point?”

“I see, I see. This place could be considered like a shared dream, couldn’t it? A peaceful dreamland we can enter by sleeping in our own paradise~” Angie hummed to herself.

“If this was Tenko’s dream there definitely wouldn’t be any males in it. But I love how CUTE we are now!” Tenko gushed as she bounced around, getting a look at everyone while nodding her head appraisingly at each of the girls.

And speaking of males, with everyone else accounted for Kibo finally entered the simulation. But his avatar was the most different by far.

His eyes were blue again like they were before Miu died, and the robotic lines under his eyes were gone. He was also wearing a fairly normal buttoned-up school uniform, instead of having his robotic parts exposed and styled to imitate one. There was even a pair of black gloves to hide his hands from view.

It was like he was trying to look more “human” in here, despite everyone else being made to look largely the same. Kaede wasn’t sure if using a virtual program to change himself like this was ironic or upsetting.

“So, what does everyone think? If anyone has any issues with their avatars appearances I can easily make some changes for you later, like my own. I just thought some equilibrium might be appreciated, and making their designs like this made them a lot easier to edit than what the system already had for us.”

“You mean in terms of heights?” Kaede asked him, looking between Ryoma and Gonta again.

“Well yes, that too! But all of us also have the same strengths and speeds, so we’re on equal ground. It’s not like anyone should really need them in here, since nothing can be broken.”

“W-wait, so Mini-Gonta weaker than real Gonta?! Then how Mini-Gonta protect girls from Mini-Kiyo?!” Gonta nearly shouted, while Korekiyo perked at this information.

“O-oh, not to worry! Kiyo’s avatar already has some personal adjustments to it. If he comes into contact with a female avatar, for any reason, he’ll be paused for as long as he’s touching her and for a brief window after it stops. This way Tenko’s not the only girl fully capable of defending herself!” Kibo quickly explained. This did little to comfort Gonta, and Korekiyo merely shrugged as if he saw this catch coming.

“Did that mean you had to make me weaker too though?... YOU REALLY ARE A MALE AREN’T YOU?! MASTER WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG!”

“No he wasn’t, there was no way he could have known this would happen. You’re just way too gullible.” Kaito replied in a teasing tone.

“So you knew about the way our senses would connect, and thus our avatar’s ability to feel pain yes?”

“A-ah. Right, I did leave that out didn’t I? I mean, I haven’t been able to test that much so I didn’t want to worry anyone. The program directly affects the brains of everyone in it in real time, and by affecting the brain every sensation that you think should be occuring in here, like pain, will actually be felt by you. This applies to all five senses, and it’s hard to get rid of any impulses that might be read as negative feelings.”

“Doesn’t that mean that if we think something should have killed us we really could die?” Angie asked.

“I really don’t think so! I mean, even if you think you should be in pain if you can’t see an injury on your avatar that should help right? Please, let’s not linger on this stuff right now. Let me show you the map! So you can all get a better idea of what this world is like.”

Kibo led them all from the room to the main hall to explain all the other changes he’d made to the program, clearly ecstatic to finally have something to show off for himself. And from what Kaede could see he had every right to be. She wouldn’t be surprised if the only other person who could have gotten this program working and made it so (relatively) safe for them would have been Miu herself.

He may have even solved part of their problems with what to do with Korekiyo if this all worked out. The world he had here might not have been that large in the grand scheme of things, but if he couldn’t attack anyone he wouldn’t need to be watched like a hawk. It could give him, Gonta, Ryoma, and Kaito all more freedom in a sense, which everyone could use more of in this hell.

She was impressed by the map she could see at least. There was a church to the left of the mansion they were currently in, that could probably be seen from the dining hall, and even a forest behind them. She wasn't sure where the bridge over the rightmost river could lead to, as there were just squiggles beyond there. There were more squiggles at the end of the road past the church too, which Kibo kept calling it a “loading point”.

However, as he was explaining what he meant by “loading point”, there was a knock from the salon door.

Tsumugi was the first to respond to it, but everyone had a similar thought. “... Huh?”

“Are there NPCs you haven’t gotten to telling us about yet Kibo?” Kaede nervously asked.

“N-no! I mean the program does have the ability to make those in theory but in practice they were way too complex for me to get my head around. We really should be the only ones in here! Monosuke said not even Monokuma or his siblings would be able to harass us since they aren’t compatible with it.”

Everyone was panicked at Kibo’s admission and stayed as far from the door as they could. According to the map there was only one way out of the salon so whoever was inside had nowhere else they could go.

But the figure that did eventually come out wasn’t someone they could have expected.

Kaede looked to her left just to make sure Korekiyo was still there, before facing this anomaly again. He looked to be in just as much shock as everyone else at the sight of his slightly disoriented doppelganger.

“What is going on Korekiyo?” The person with his face asked. But it wasn’t in his voice, though it spoke with the same sort of cadence he had when he used his falsetto at the party rather than his natural register. It was clearly a woman’s voice now. One they had all heard once before, using his full name.

“S-sister?” Korekiyo said, nearly breathless as his eyes darted between her(?) and Kibo, looking for an explanation. But Kibo clearly didn’t have any, if he was even able to follow what was going on.

As it dawned on him that this wasn’t some sort of sick joke he wasted no time going over to his once dead sister and embracing her. Which was still pretty odd looking with Kibo’s avatar designs contrasting with Korekiyo’s normally creepy appearance, and both of them looking identical didn’t help matters.

Kaede tried not to listen to the whispering between the two that closely, which was made easier by having the confused conversations between her friends to focus on instead. It seemed rude to intrude on this unusual reunion.

“Ooookay, will someone explain what’s going on and who the hell this is now? Because I’m confused.” Kaito spoke up when it looked like the two had finished talking amongst themselves.

“R-right, my apologies. Everyone, this is my older sister-”

“And that’s all they need to know. Also, you’re stuttering again Brother. Do try to get ahold of yourself.”

“I… Beg your pardon? I was only going to introduce you to them.”

“And I have no such desire to be put on such casual terms with your bullies, brother of mine.”

“Then how are they supposed to address you Sister? Please be reasonable. And I’m fairly certain that’s a gross oversimplification as well, they are all well within their rights to be distrustful and angry with me.”

“They’ve threatened your life on more than one occasion now for crimes which aren’t even as severe as those of some of their other so called friends. Not to mention one that has proven to be to everyone’s net benefit thus far. And this is ignoring how they’ve been inclined to keep you at arm’s length even before that... minor episode. I do believe our surname should more than suffice for this situation.”

“Kirumi’s murder was no “minor episode”, and now we have Monokuma focused entirely on us!” Kaito interrupted, despite looking almost as ill as he did when the Necronomicon came up.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about how particularly rude you were at the party either, you blowhard!” She countered him with a glare as she removed her mask. Unfortunately for her any intimidation this could have had was undermined by the red blinking lines that appeared over her head to show her anger.

Apparently Kibo had tried his best to recreate Korekiyo’s face underneath it, but since the only time he saw it was at the party the resulting form still had his lipstick. Not that she’d be able to that know yet.

The way it suited her more than him wasn’t lost on anyone else watching though, particularly not Korekiyo himself. But Korekiyo’s face was harder for Kaede to read in the simulation than in person.

“Woah-woah-woah, how do you know this stuff in the first place? And why are you not dead!?” Tenko asked as Kaito began taking a position more behind Ryoma to avoid Korekiyo’s sist- err Miss Shinguji’s wrath. And Kaede had thought Korekiyo was weird before. (And it’s the last person I ever wanted to meet.)

“Because of my beloved baby brother of course.” She brushed her fingers through his hair as she rested her head against his. (Okay Korekiyo having his big sister back was almost sweet but this feels super weird. No wonder he comes across like he has a complex if this is how she normally acted before.)

“Yeah you’re gonna have to give us more than that lady.” Kokichi deadpanned.

“I… suppose there is no other way around this, is there? I assume she’s been the 17th “student” the Monokubs had referenced before, and as they said she’s been here for quite some time now. I do believe I had mentioned having been host to spirits in the past yes? This is whom that event was referring to.”

“I’m still here because he wanted me to be... In addition to some less pleasant circumstances. This is actually my second time having the chance to speak with you all directly. Not that most of you noticed.”

Tenko’s jaw dropped as the gears began to click in her head before sharing her conclusion. “... KIYO REALLY WASN’T A DEGENERATE MALE AT THE PARTY!” (... What? But… I… Huh??? My head hurts.)

“Oh! Gonta see. That why Kokichi thought Kiyo’s lying ticks kept changing. Kiyo’s twitchy side is different from Kiyo’s sister’s twitchy side.” Gonta said softly, as if mostly talking to Kokichi beside him, before the lair tried covering his mouth with his hands.

“Shut UP Gonta, nobody needs to know about stuff like that yet!” Kokichi quietly hissed, looking around as if hoping no one heard what Gonta said. (Lying ticks? You mean like tells? I’ve heard of those before. Was that what Kokichi has actually been trying to teach him about? To keep him from being tricked?)

To Kokichi’s relief it didn’t seem that anyone else did as their focus was more on Shinguji and Tenko still.

“My little brother has NEVER been a “degenerate” you moronic misandrist! Cease your slander.” (Okay no, I’m pretty sure being a remorseless serial killer counts. But you’re probably not much better either.)

“Sister that is really uncalled for. We don’t know why Tenko takes such issue with men still but I’m sure she has plenty of fine reasons for it beyond her Master's teachings.” (I’m pretty sure she really doesn’t. Or she’s just one hell of a hypocrite. I mean why else threaten to hurt or kill my friends for being guys?)

“Justifications are not excuses Brother. My statement stands as firm as it does for the other sexist swine.”

“I believe you are blowing his chauvinism out of proportion. If memory serves Kaito even brought more girls than he did boys when he first tried to make a plan to directly fight back against our captors yes?”

“Did you hear the way he spoke to me, thinking I was you? Did you see the way he reacted to us!?”

“To be fair, trying to make our switches as subtle as possible, without compromising your freedom, was part of the idea was it not? I was honestly more surprised his reaction was part of the minority there.”

“Korekiyo, being surprised people were less horrid than they could have been is never a good thing.”

Kibo cautiously spoke up, to try and curb the sibling’s arguing. “... Do you two need a moment? I could continue showing everyone else around and fill you two in later.” (YES! Thank you Kibo, save us! Wait...)

“Yes, that would be greatly appreciated Kibo. Would a warden still be required for me?”

“I can just wait outside of the salon and they can talk in there if you want. That should work since I can pause both of them if I need to, right?” (And maybe figure out what’s going on here. Just because our strengths have been equaled that doesn’t mean Kibo altered how strong some of our senses were.)

“If you really want to Kaede. But do you really want to? Not being a danger to others was the point of that feature, so I’m not sure a warden is really needed anymore at all.”

“Yup, don’t you worry bout a thing!”

And if I’m outside the door I can listen in and see how any of this fits with the whole “friends” thing. I mean she’s making it pretty clear she doesn’t like any of us, so would that mean Korekiyo’s lost his reason for killing people? Or is this part of an act? But his reactions here have been genuine I think.

“What exactly does she mean by “pausing” us, Brother?”

“Ah. Kibo said he made these digital bodies with a particular quirk in my own, and as you seem to be stuck with my design it would stand to reason it applies to you as well. If we come into physical contact with an avatar that is considered female we won’t be able to move for a brief period of time.”

“Pardon? But I’m touching you just fine.”

“Because you are using my avatar, so it’s considering you to also be male as I understand it.”

“Now that’s ridiculous, why would it-” Miss Shinguji began as she brought a hand to her heart as if she were offended before stopping herself as she noticed something wrong. She tapped at her chest again, before looking down at her hands. Or rather seeing what wasn’t under them anymore. “Oh. That’s new.”

“Huh~ How is that “new”? Didn’t Missy Sissy say she took over Kiyo’s body outside too?”

“What did you just call me? ” (Oh god we’ve actually been dealing with the less horrifying sibling up until now haven’t we? And he doesn’t actively hate us, he’s just a horrible person. This… doesn’t sound good.)

“Moment to talk first, addressing Angie’s antics later if we may?” Korekiyo “suggested” as he urged her through the door, sending Angie a glare over his shoulder best he could as he tried to pacify her state.

Kaede gave a bit of a wave as the others headed towards the dining room before settling next to the door. Ryoma seemed the most reluctant to leave her there alone, but Gonta urged him forward anyway. A little weird, since normally the positions of the two would be opposite, but she wasn’t complaining.

Instead she closed her eyes and focused on listening to the siblings inside. It might still be rude, but this was more a matter of safety than her own interest at this point.

Korekiyo’s voice was as soft as a whisper as he began their conversation. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I know. I’ve missed this too. I nearly forgot what my own voice really sounded like, it’s been so long.”

“If… I may ask, why are you so hostile to everyone? Do the girls here not all live up to your standards?”

“No, no it isn’t that. However it’s difficult for the dead to not envy the living, so I don’t wish to struggle trying to smother that feeling by befriending any of them before you can arrange for a true introduction. You understand, don’t you? It’s like how I could get rather… contrary in regards to your traveling before.”

Well so much for that hope. And now I know she’s definitely as much a part of his crazy schemes as he is, instead of just trying to make excuses for him. But if being around the living upsets her why doesn’t this apply to Korekiyo? Because he’s her “host”? Or because they’re related and been together for so long?

“I see. Sorry, Sister. But still, aren’t you going a bit too far? You know they are all good people at heart.”

“Good people wouldn’t even give the notion of killing you over something so inconsequential a second thought. And yet the people here who don’t openly endorse such a thing can be counted on one hand.”

“Seeing good people pushed to such extremes was part of what I was hoping my discovery would cause, so must you blame them so harshly for that? Murder is hardly a sin that should have carry no aftermath.”

“Your safety matters more to me than your pet project, Korekiyo. At least one of us should keep your well being in mind. But fine, I’ll try to be less… disdainful of those “friends” of yours for you. Within reason.”

“Thank you so much, Sister. And might you consider at least letting some of the girls here get to know you a little better in the meantime? Since I likely won’t be able to make any “arrangements” for a while still.”

“I might. But don’t be too surprised if encouraging me to do so makes me reconsider the exception you tried to make for Miss Akamatsu. Just because she changed her mind doesn’t mean I have yet, and she’s still the girl here who’s been least spiteful towards you. Truly impressive of her, all things considered.”

“Except Tsumugi you mean? She’s one more for avoidance than aggression, so she hardly changed at all.”

“... Technically I suppose that’s true. But from what I’ve seen of her I’m not nearly as interested in Miss Shirogane in the short term.”

“My apologies, but what exactly did she do wrong? She’s passionate, humble, and clearly talented in the ways of making various types of clothing. So you’d have at least that interest in common, yes?”

“Irreconcilable differences of opinion.” (... Please tell me this doesn’t involve Tsumugi’s “shipping” or something like that. I’m not sure I could handle it if things got that stupid with these lunatics.)

“... About what, pray tell?”

“Cultural reenactor erasure.” Her voice sounded, clear and as deadly serious as can be. Kaede couldn’t be sure at first if the long pause was real or just her losing focus while she brought a hand to her face.

Okay yup this is definitely Kiyo’s sister. Maybe I should I have been broader about what sort of dumb I didn’t want to deal with today. ‘Cause I’m not sure this is that much better than the shipping alternative.

When Kiyo did speak next it was clear he was also baffled. “I’m… afraid I’m not quite following, Sister.” (Thank god, at least he’s still normal enough to see how stupid this is too.)

“Her petty “Cospox” must be a fictional construct so she couldn’t be accused of impersonating anyone in this game. Anyone truly concerned with cosplay as an art that serves as an expression of their love for a subject has no reason to try gatekeeping against those who merely have a different preferred topic!” (What? I mean this sounds ridiculous, but also why would Tsumugi ever feel she needed to go that far?)

“... Are you accusing Kaede of lying about what she saw then?”

“No, her honesty isn’t the one I’m doubting. I’m quite confident that the effect was staged, as anyone sufficiently skilled in fabric work and special effects could do it. Either through the placement or prior knowledge of materials she would have a genuine allergic reaction to in order to sell her idea or clever quick use of makeup, as most people wouldn’t want to look too closely at another person’s pain or ills.”

“Might this be something we should bring up to the group then? If there are concerns of a mastermind being hidden amongst ourselves, one of our number still hiding the true scope of her talent would be most suspicious yes?” (Or maybe I should. It’s a fair point at least, if it’s really true. But it’s Tsumugi!)

“I hardly think it’s anything so drastic, Korekiyo. I merely have no desire to argue with her over what should and should not qualify as valid forms of costume play until we really have the time for it.”

Kaede didn’t need to wonder what she meant by that. Time shouldn’t really matter for the dead.

“I see. I’ll… see what I can do to give you both that time then, when I’m next able to.”

“Would you? Thank you Korekiyo. I know you won’t disappoint me.”

The next thing she could hear was a soft organic click and a hum, but Kaede couldn’t be sure what the source was. In another situation she may have mistaken it for a kiss, which would be kinda weird here.

At least she thought it would be, platonic family kisses aren’t really a thing she’s ever been used to, but if she remembered right that was more common in Europe or something. It could be something they picked up from Kiyo’s travels. Assuming that if she did guess it right that the kiss was actually platonic.

Wait why would I even think that?! Of course it is!... But Kiyo never actually said he didn’t have a sister complex, did he? He just got mad when people would accuse him of it. Or maybe the wrong sibling has the “complex” here, with how protective she’s being towards him- GAH brain stop it! Not going there.

No matter how weird something about the two of them feels, it’s probably nothing. Her being so touchy could just be related to how long she’s been dead. It might feel different to touch things for herself again instead of using Kiyo to do it. I really don’t want to think about what this means about the party crush...

“...Brother, if unit Kay One Bee Zero designed you to be male why are you still wearing my lipstick?” (WHY ARE YOU NOT HELPING ANYTHING?!- Easy Kaede, maybe him taking off his mask made that sound. Perfectly innocent explanation. I mean there’s no need to wear it around his own family right?)

“Sister, please don’t actually call him that. I’m fairly confident that’d greatly upset him. It’s only because of him you are here, even if only as a glitch in his system caused by our unique situation. The least you can do is use his creator’s family name for him, yes? He probably just included it because he’s only seen my face with it on. We likely both have your nail polish on under my bandages too for similar reasons.”

“Oh? That’s comforting at least, I merely took your mask off out of habit before. It’d make things go more smoothly for us if we give your friends visual indicators for which of us is which, no?”

“Tell me you aren’t just suggesting this to trick them by switching later. You don’t sound like me anymore so that ruse would end as soon as one of us speaks. And neither of us could keep quiet for that long.”

“... Fair point. I guess we’ll need to settle for only playing that game outside. Shall we rejoin them now?”

“If that’s what you want, then by all means, let’s.”

Kaede tried not to seem suspicious when the two finally came out, but if she failed they didn’t call her out on it. Kiyo’s mask was back in place and Miss Shinguji’s bandages were off, so they were easier to tell apart. With everything in order, the three headed to the dining hall to regroup with the others.

It sounded like Kibo was explaining minor tweaks he'd made to the program in the kitchen since he didn’t have the maps from the entrance to show things off, and specifically going into why the program was made to accommodate certain expectations for what a mansion should have, even though for avatars they wouldn’t work. Eating wouldn’t do anything to mitigate a person’s hunger, and at Tenko’s bizarre prompting he pointed out trying to use the bathroom would likely cause an accident in the real world.

Shinguji got an odd look in her eye as Kokichi pointed out how weird it was to make toilet paper that couldn’t tear. She pulled out her bandages, gave them an experimental set of tugs, and gave a malicious grin at the back of Tenko’s head. Which fell as soon as Kiyo snatched them from her hands.

Luckily for the two of them, no one but Kaede noticed this brief exchange, helped by Kiyo placing himself between his sister and the others. It didn’t stop her from scowling at him, which was nearly enough to make him cave in and return them to her before Kaede intervened and took them away herself.

Shinguji was even less pleased with the realization they still had an audience, but Kiyo looked rather relieved that he couldn’t be the focus of her displeasure anymore. (I’ll definitely need to tell Kibo to simplify those handwraps into gloves or something later, so they can’t be used to strangle anyone.)

In an effort to move on Shinguji chose the most recent lull in the conversation to pose her own question. “I don’t suppose you have an explanation for us too, Idabashi?”

“Huh? Do you mean me? W-well, that depends. I mean the visors are meant to import your consciousness into the program, so I suppose if Kiyo entering the program caused you to take over his body shortly after, it just automatically went through the process again. Which is probably a good thing, as if you tried taking the headset off I’m really not sure what would have happened to either of you.”

“You aren’t really buying her being a ghost in the machine, right Kibo?”Kokichi teased.

“Why not? I mean if they kept exchanging information between themselves mid-party this can’t be a case of Dissociative Identity Disorder, right? At no point did either of them show any signs of confusion, as if they lost time while the other was in control. If they had we would have noticed this all sooner.”

“Huh? But can’t they still “talk” to each other with DID?” Tsumugi asked.

“I believe that’s only in outlandish and inaccurate depictions in the media Miss Shirogane, be you referring to “talking” as either a mental or physical process. Leaving notes or recorded messages is obviously a different story, but multiple alters can’t all be “active” at the same time last I checked.”

“O-oh. I see. I… Didn’t know that.”

“That doesn’t rule out something like schizophrenia though!” Kaito spoke up, probably looking for ANY explanation that didn’t prove anything occult existed.

“Hearing voices is one thing, the voices being able to act on their own accord through the one hearing them is another I imagine. I did research as much as I was able to ensure Sister’s explanation fit. It wouldn’t have surprised me in the least if my grief over her passing had driven me mad after all.”

“It’s not like this matters anyway right? She’s clearly here now, so whatever Miss Shinguji is she’s “real” enough. I’m certainly not going to look a gift horse in the house if it means we get another girl!” Tenko pointed out and gave Shinguji a welcoming smile. (WHY ARE YOU SUCH A BAD JUDGE OF CHARACTER?!)

“Right, right~ And now that we’re all back together you can start going over bigger areas of your “world”, right Kibo?” Angie urged as she turned Tenko away from Shinguji and started marching her forwards.

“Right! So, let’s see… Well, with everything else going on the outside might be better left to tomorrow. For food breaks and everything, I wouldn’t recommend anyone else staying hooked up to this for too long. I’m a different case as I can even charge my batteries while my mind’s still in the machine. Hmm… I haven’t explained the logging out process yet, right? We could either go back to the salon for that, or you can all get an idea of what the area outside the mansion is like by heading to the roof if you’d like?”

“Let’s have a quick look at the roof and then call it a day then!” Kaede offered, which seemed agreeable to everyone. But when they did get to the door at the top of the stairs it became a slightly different story.

It was snowing! Like, actual snow! It was one thing to see a mostly white map and another to see it in person.

Any excitement Kaede felt about the change of scenery was quickly dwarfed by Kaito’s, and surprisingly enough Shinguji’s as well. Though her brother was a lot less pleased about this development, as he appeared to be turning blue out of disgust.

“Whoa! It’s snow! Look, Ryoma! SNOW! Did you ever think you’d see this again?!” Kaito exclaimed, like an excitable puppy experiencing it for the first time, while Ryoma merely shook his head and chuckled.

“And it’s cold! Actual cold, and wet too! It even smells like winter here!” Shinguji agreed, all smiles as she gracefully danced a bit, before realizing the person she primarily enjoying this with was Kaito. When he came to the same thought both paused in their merriment as they glared at each other like squabbling children.

At least before Tenko and Angie interrupted, knocking them over, made stranger by how the pause effect meant Shinguji was stuck mid-air from the impact for a moment. The moment did give Tenko the time to pose her so she wouldn’t fall on her face after she got over her initial confusion, while Kaito was left a grumpy pile on the floor as Angie laughed at them both.

Kaede nearly missed Kiyo’s reply over the sound of her own laughter, but there was no mistaking the pain in his whisper or sadness in his eyes as watched them and he clenched his fists. “But it’s all so fake.”

No one else seemed to hear him, as Gonta and Kokichi took off to look at the binoculars on their left while Kibo showed the nearly empty storage room to Tsumugi to go over how many objects he deleted.

“Kiiiibo, d-did you have to make the snow so-so cold? Angie would like to pl-play too, since she’s never s-seen snow before, but she’s really not dressed for this!” (Poor Angie, her teeth won’t stop chattering.)

“I’d also appreciate my ability to feel the cold lessened if you could,” Kiyo called from his spot near the door.

“Of course, sorry I forgot about that. I’ll see what I can do since I don’t think it’d be good for you to lose the sense entirely. Pain may not be pleasant, but it’s useful, and I think keeping the pleasure centers working is important.”

“Kukuku, now that sounds fun.”

“Hey, no fair! Kiyo said I wasn’t allowed to say any Miu type stuff anymore, so you can’t either! No double standards!”

“... You all do realize that the avatars aren’t detailed in, um… “that sort of way”, right?” Kibo said as he blushed and twiddled his fingers, oddly lacking the steam that would show up when he got like this in the real world. “I kinda forgot that was a thing, Sorry!”

“Oh? So that’s why his body isn’t as different to me as it should be. No matter. That just means we’d need to get a bit more creative, no?” Shinguji teased, though while Kibo sputtered indignantly and Kokichi snickered at his expense, Kiyo tried hiding his blush with his hand and groaned.

“A l-little cold is fine! Like an air-conditioned room would be simply d-divine~”

“Isn’t this place artificial enough as it is? Can we all please leave now?”

“Come on Korekiyo, it isn’t that bad if you give it a chance. When was the last time you even saw snow?”

“About six months ago I’d assume, give or take,” came his dry response.

“Pssh, liar. You keep scheduling trips away whenever the winter months come around,” his sister continued to tease.

“As I now have reason to believe that acting as your host means I’m often colder than those around me are, I’m very sorry if you felt slighted because of that but I don’t think I was out of line for doing so.”

“It’s fine, at least this place helps me make up for lost time. Though Idabashi, why aren’t we leaving any marks in the snow?”

“Oh, that’s a good point! If footprints don’t appear that means we can’t make snow angels later either!” Tenko exclaimed, and began to mime how exactly they worked to Angie after she whispered to her.

“Sorry, it’s a feature from the killing game simulator I can’t override. To make it harder to find murderers in this classic “closed circle” setting I assume,” he said, making the three girls’ faces drop.

As if to test something Ryoma took some snow and rolled it into a ball before rolling it down the sloped roof, and watched as it grew bigger as it went down despite not leaving a trail behind it. “Snowballs still work though, so you guys could prolly make snowmen or something if that will help.”

“We could play “war”!” Kokichi shouted, which made Tenko smile and whisper something again to the confused Angie until she brightened up too.

“What? No, war bad!” Gonta objected, appalled.

“He doesn’t mean an actual war, just a large-scale snowball fight with snow forts and stuff! It’s harmless fun Gonta, I promise.” Tsumugi assured him, before giving Ryoma and Tenko a glance. “Especially if no one can really throw any fastballs now.”

“Ugh, why’d you have to remind me? Where’s the fun in that if you can’t send one of these degenerates flying with a pre-emptive strike?”

“You can still pour snow down their necks or put rocks in the snowballs though. That’s always good for a laugh no?” Shinguji offered with an otherwise innocent looking smile.

“... I vote both Shinguji’s are banned from playing now,” Kokichi said with a nervous look on his face, while Shinguji crossed her arms and pouted which wasn't helped when she saw Kiyo happily nodding with that suggestion.

“I vote we find a better name for her than “Shinguji” too! It’s long and weird.” Angie chimed in with both hands raised above her head as if on a rollercoaster.

“Excuse me? No. Names have a power to them and I won’t have you disrespecting mine. Or ours rather.”

“But it’d make things sooo much easier. Like how about… Miyadera? That’s kinda the same as “Shinguji” right? And it kinda sounds like “murderer” in English too.” Kokichi said, leaping at the chance to troll his fellow troll.

“... Korekiyo how have you not killed him yet?”

“If I killed him wouldn’t we both still be stuck with him?” Kiyo replied with what was probably some sort of smirk.

“Ah, nevermind then. The annoying púca lives.” (The what now? Like that silly cartoon about the girl with a crush on a ninja boy?)

“W-what’s that supposed to mean?! Are you telling us Kiyo’s been killing girls to make a dead harem?!” Tenko shouted, looking ready to attack him for her assumptions. (And why shouldn’t she be for once? She’s not really wrong or anything based on how he described it to me. Still, what the heck's a "pooka"?)

“Of course not, don’t be so crude-” Kiyo started, face red with anger, before his sister chimed in.

“Of a mostly platonic sort yes! More for me than him of course, which is why he uses my standards instead of his own. He’s far less picky.” She was practically beaming while he gave her a blank stare.

“... Sister, I’m not comfortable with you addressing your friends like that.”

“Well Kirumi’s not comfortable being my friend yet, so I think that balances out. She’s still a workaholic, so it’s taking time for her to adapt.” She countered with a wink, which only made Kiyo go pale. Er, paler.

“Seriously, that’s what this was all about?! Making you “friends”?” Kaito nearly shrieked, horrified. As was everyone really, though Kaede and Gonta’s reactions were less surprised than the others.

“Yes, so what? Would you rather it be something more crude, like his own pleasure being his motive? At least he knows I take good care of the lives he sends to me, very few have such comforts for an afterlife.”

“So you think that makes this okay?” Ryoma challenged, eyes dark as he glared at them both.

“Of course it doesn’t! But neither was leaving her as lonely as she was. Possession would only help for as long as I’m still alive, so it was clear a more… permanent solution would be needed to ease her pain.”

“I… don’t think anything good will come of this conversation. Shall we all just log out now?” Kibo offered.

No one was in the mood for playing anymore, so everyone agreed and began going down the stairs one by one. It was almost like they were being filtered, so only one person could go through a door at a time.

“Why not just keep them both here?” Kokichi asked with a cold glare as they reached the salon.

“I told you, I don’t know how that might affect a human! But this does provide a safer means for Kiyo to have a larger degree of freedom, without putting the lives of others at risk, doesn’t it?”

“So, this is the hell you devised for me as punishment for what I did to Kirumi?”

“It’s not like that! I just thought it would help. And if your sister’s here it isn’t that bad, is it?” Kibo asked, looking like he could nearly cry over how his attempt at a kind gesture was being twisted.

“... No. No, it’s not. And I do thank you for your consideration, Kibo. But everything else about it will take more… “adapting” to.”

“I understand. It’s all a bit too sci-fi for me too at times. And there’s still so much left to show you all! But for now, the logout process. In order to log a person out their name will need to be said into the phone you see there. It doesn’t have to be your own name either, just in case someone got stuck or something. But this is the only landline the simulation has in it, which is why it’s also the room you’d log back into.”

As Kiyo’s process seemed the most likely to cause more glitches, and he wanted to leave the most, Gonta wanted to be the first to test it, so that someone would be there to make sure everything stayed safe when Kiyo woke up on the other side, and still be one of the first to get out. And it seemed to work at first, as he disappeared with a bright light just like Gonta had, in much the same way they initially all appeared.

Except his sister was still with them, and Kibo wasn’t sure about how to fix that.

“I may not need to sustain myself the way the living do but I would much prefer to not be limited to this place either, unit Kay One Bee Zero. I recommend you fix this soon.”

“HEY! I’m not a “unit” and don’t call me that! I-I know I need to fix this! I’m just not sure how exactly we need to tell the program to let you out too. I mean you didn’t need to press the button right?”

“Correct. I wasn’t paying too much attention to your little demonstration, but after Korekiyo disappeared with no sign of returning, I took over his body to find out what happened only to see an odd series of computer messages and woke up in this place.”

“Well, it could be good for you to stay in here. This way you could try making friends in a much healthier way than that- than your brother tried to do for you.” Tenko suggested, catching herself at the ghost’s glare. (Oh no. Bad idea Tenko, just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean you can trust her at all!)

Shinguji looked ready to snap at her, before thinking better of it with a grin that had more malice than she likely intended to show. “You may have a point there if you wish to try spending more time with me, Miss Chabashira. It’s not like I’ve really had a chance to get to know you, without your cruel bigotry.”

“S-sure! And a bit of distance would probably do you both some good from what I’ve seen! I mean the way you two treat each other… Doesn’t exactly seem sibling-y. No offense!” (HOW IS THAT NOT OFFENSIVE TO BRING UP EVER TENKO?! I mean you’re not wrong , but it’s still super creepy!)

“No, I understand. You heard before, he’s the only company I had for quite some time before my end. Whether I liked it or not. And well, you know what they say. A brother is a poor substitute for a lover.” Shinguji said, voice smooth as silk as she… flirted with Tenko? Tenko certainly seemed to think that’s what this was. Her face burned crimson and held her hands up as if in surrender when the former leaned close to her. Close enough that Kaede suspected she forgot the avatar's pausing trigger again.

Before things could go any further, not that they could without freezing her, Tsumugi felt the need to correct what Shinguji said with a cold, serious expression on her simplified face. “You mean “son”.”

“What are rambling about now?”

“The line was “A son is a poor substitute for a lover.” And a “poor substitute” is still a substitute, isn’t it?”

“Well, what do you know, the otaku does know at least some true classics. So, what’s your point?” Miss Shinguji’s grin was nothing but ice as she dared the girl to accuse her of what they probably all suspected by this point. (I can only hope everyone’s hoping this isn’t true just as much. It’s just so… sick. And gross.)

“My point is you’re not saying “no”.”

“And why should this matter to any of you? Particularly you, Miss Shirogane. You strike me as the type to be more than interested in these sorts of relationships .” (EWWW. Nononono. WHY?! EVEN IF IT’S A LIE, WHY GO THERE?! Goddamnit both of you, what the hell?! Isn’t two sickos enough? Fucking anime.)

“T-that’s different! I’m an only child after all! Ages and relations don’t matter if they’re all fictional-” (THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY OF THAT SHIT OKAY TSUMUGI, YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO CONFIRM THIS!)

“Hypocrite.” Shinguji hissed with so much hate the word felt like a curse. “I know what you are. You can tell yourself all the lies you like to make yourself feel more at ease over your “taboo” interests, but make no mistake. Fiction isn’t just a harmless means of expression when it encourages “unhealthy” mindsets. Out of everyone here, if you start tossing stones your own glass house will take just as much damage.”

Kaede took a deep breath before asking the one thing she really didn’t want to. “So, it is true?”

“So what if it is? Is there any point in denying it at this point, Miss Akamatsu? Why should this change anything? Aren’t you all just glad to have yet another “moral” reason to hate Us?”

“Why the hell would we?! We don’t want to dislike him! Or, uh “you”? Fuck it, you know what I mean. Both of you just keep giving us reasons to distrust you! I mean hell, are you listening to yourself? You have to know how wrong this is!” Kaito challenged back, despite obviously being disturbed. On more levels than one, considering what he’s talking to right now.

“If we don’t intend to procreate, why exactly is it “wrong”? Did that make Izanagi or Izanami “wrong”? Zeus or Hera? Obviously yes, humans indulging in relations like the gods only begets genetic misfortune in the long run. But that hardly kept royalty with the “divine right of kings” on their side from wanting to keep things “in the family” so to speak, no? And it’s not like I had many options to choose from before.”

“You’re the one who said “justifications aren’t excuses”, so why are you doing the same thing huh?! You can’t just pretend genetics are the only issue here, power dynamics are too! The breach or exploitation of trust. The drastic change of expectations and boundaries. Not to mention how hard it makes the idea of “consent”. No matter who pushed for it, with your extreme situation could the other really say “no”?!” Kaito shouted back, looking like his anger was outweighing his phobias for the time being. (If she isn’t a ghost what would that say about any of this? This is so screwed up. Would this be more or less disgusting if she’s just an overactive figment of Kiyo’s imagination after all?)

“Well, why should that matter to you?! Even if it started out of pity he clearly came around eventually. If both parties are happy what else should matter? You aren’t going to claim you care about him are you?” Shinguji snapped back, hair wild like a ball of writhing snakes and eyes nearly glowing in their intensity. She leveled her glare at everyone, as if looking for one to claim she’s wrong, that felt like it froze them in their tracks like a monster of myth. (No wonder Kiyo said it was a favorite. The resemblance is uncanny.)

But before the argument could go any further another light flashed and Kiyo was back in the room. He looked about as disoriented as Shinguji did when she arrived, like he was barely able to hold himself up.

“Huh? Kibo, why didn’t that work?” Kiyo began asking before he started to process the looks the others were giving him. “... Did something… Did I miss something?”

“Nothing dear, nothing at all.” His sister replied as she helped hold him steady, taking his hand in hers.

“What? Then why are they all looking at me like-” There was a panic to his voice Kaede wasn’t sure she ever heard before. Not during his motive video, and not during the last trial.

She understood the look in his eye this time. He was afraid of them, as the realization dawned. “... You…  didn’t?” (After scaring the rest of us for so long it should feel better to have it go the other way, right?)

“Apologies brother, I shouldn’t have doubted you when you said they could be quite clever. Would you have rather I lied?” She asked, smiling like nothing was wrong. As if daring him to deny her in a final effort to save some face. Knowing he never would, not with the way he adored her so much. Too much.

“I… see. So no more use hiding it then?” His voice was quiet, as if hoping they wouldn’t hear how nervous this change made him.

“Well, to be fair neither of you did much to hide anything! Like… EVER,” Kokichi snarked.

“Shaddup Kokichi! Let’s just… Focus on leavin’ for now, okay? Any ideas why Kiyo came back Kibo?” Kaito snapped, trying to focus on anything else.

“I think I do. As long as one mind’s still in the machine their body can’t wake up I think, so logging only one out will just result in a loop like this. And if she has his avatar, using his name might work to log them both out. So let’s just try that, and if it doesn’t everyone else can go while I stay and work this out.”

Kibo’s theory seemed right on the money, as this time when “Korekiyo Shinguji” was said into the phone it was his sister who vanished instead of him. Before he had time to panic over that he was logged out in the same breath, and after giving it a minute to assure them neither would be poofing back Kaito was the next to leave.

After Kaito went Ryoma, followed by Kaede and Tsumugi, while Tenko and Angie left right before Kibo so he could catch any other errors that may have occurred. But nothing did for a change.

The only oddity to be found was when they woke up to see Kiyo with his mask off again. Or rather his sister, judging from her painted smile and colder gaze, sitting beside a very confused looking Gonta. Explaining this mess to him later was not going to be pleasant. But her voice was different when she spoke this time, now that she was back to using her brother’s falsetto as a pale imitation of her own.

“I hope you understand if He’s not really up for conversation right now. If there’s no need to hide anything from you all anymore then there’s no problem with me showing up more often, no?”

“Hell yeah, we have a problem with that, brotherfucker! We have enough crazy judgy bitches in here.” Kokichi was quick to claim, earning him her ire again. But this time she kept calm as she replied.

“I’d be more respectful of your elders if I were you, brat.”

“Pretty sure being dead makes ages a biiiit of a moot point.”

“I disagree. While I may have died before I could graduate, and thus “count” as a student, had I not I’d be 23 right now. I’m reasonably confident that makes me the eldest “student” here, as disgraceful as it is.”

“... Wooow. So we got ourselves a case of incest, necrophilia, and statutory rape on our hands! You take the evil bitch cake, that’s for sure. No wonder you’re both so fucked up, with Kiyo having your voice in his head for so long. Did you start telling him to kill people for the funsies, or was that just his brand of evil?”

“Excuse me?! Strictly speaking, the defilement of any bodies has never occurred between us, and if you do wish to claim my age “shouldn’t count” I would still be 17!  So I’ll ignore that last bit of slander for now.”

“It’s only slander if it’s a lie you know, and if you think of yourself as being 23 while your brother is still a teenager I think it still counts. But no matter what the answer really is I’d say you’re both still to blame. Takes two to tango and all. Standing or sideways.”

You do realize if they were intimate before she died he couldn’t have been older than 12 or something right Kokichi!? Assuming Kiyo’s 18 now, which I’m not sure he is. Blaming both for his murders and trying to kill me I understand, but not anything sexual, that’s her fault regardless of who wanted to start it! … Wait, if Kiyo was that young, or younger, when she died was he lying about when she made his uniform?

“Stop talking you two or I’ll make you! Can we all just go now?! It’s late and I’m feeling pretty nauseous.” Tenko said, thoroughly uncomfortable by this conversation.

“Yeah, I agree. Let’s all just call it a night. We can deal with…” Kaito took the second to pause before vaguely gesturing at Shinguji, with a hand to his mouth as if trying to hide how sick he felt. “This, tomorrow or somethin’. ‘Cause we might need a change in the containment plan from now on.”

Angie was the first to leave with that option made available to her, and the others quickly followed suit. She must have been really unsettled by everything, since she'd gotten so quiet. But if she needed any help Tenko was probably the person best able to do it right now, rather than Kaede. Maybe Angie’d be able to help encourage Tenko to stop being so open-minded to people just for being girls while they’re at it.

But before bed, Kaede went by the wisteria again for Ryoma and Kaito’s nightly training, despite Gonta’s vain attempts to encourage following Angie’s nightly curfew before he was dragged off by Kokichi.

As it turned out the pants didn’t help much at all, and sit ups were only slightly easier on her body than the hell known as push-ups. But she still managed to do more reps then Kaito did. Which admittedly wasn’t saying much, particularly not with how having a “ghost” among them was still affecting him, but helped her confidence a little anyway. (Err, wait. Are they “reps” or “sets”? Stupid weird exercise terms. At least with everything going on it’s easier to ignore Maki’s absence now. I’m sorry Maki. I couldn’t help you.)

“Come on Kaito, is that really the best you can do? You’ve still got a ways to go as an astronaut trainee if you can be outdone by a rusty prisoner and a pianist. She even got dressed up just to show you up.”

“H-hey, it’s not my fault! It’s, uh… that pulled muscle acting up again!”

“Where, on your funny bone? ‘Cause it’s sure not anywhere that involves actual work.”

“Ow, you sure they didn’t call you “Killer Tennis” ‘cause you always go for the jugular?”

“At least I had the skills so that I was known for something Captain Usopp.”

Kaede couldn’t help but laugh when the two started bickering. (Pretty sure the only reason he acts so lazy with these is to make us laugh. What else could it be? He can’t really be sick and hiding it, right?)

“Ya know what? Why don't we take a break and just talk tonight?”

“And so the guy who roped us into this nonsense finally gives up. What’s on your mind?”

“I dunno, you’re not supposed to have a topic in mind when you do this sorta thing, right?”

“What? If you don’t have an idea to serve how do you expect anyone to react to it? All a conversation is a back-and-forth of ideas you know. Someone has to put things into motion.”

“... Was that a tennis pun Ryoma?” Kaede asked with a sly smile. Ryoma took a moment to go over what he just said before laughing at himself.

“Old habits die hard I guess.”

“Hm, well here’s a question: Next time we have the time ya wanna try teaching me some piano Kaede? I’m pretty sure I asked you about it before. We could even do it in place of training one of these nights!”

“That depends. How serious were you about using it to talk to aliens?”

“...What?” Ryoma asked, holding back a laugh that nearly lost him his candy cig.

“Dead serious! Music can communicate beyond language barriers!”

“You really liked Macross as a kid or something, didn’t you?”

“Don’t you go dissing Minmay on me man, at least I’m not stealing finishing moves outta manga.”

“Hey, of all the crimes I’ve committed no one's ever tried getting me for copyright infringement.”

“Yet.” Kaito shot back with a cocky smile.

“I don’t think copyright laws even work like that, you guys.”

“Still, is that a yes? Not for tonight of course.”

Ryoma leaned over to her and stage whispered. “Just let him have this excuse to be a lazy bum. We all know he’s just scared that if you keep practicing you’ll be able to deadlift his ass one of these days.”

As Kaito sputtered and started giving his tall tale excuses again Kaede could only laugh.

“You could always ask Kaede to try teachin’ ya something too you know.”

“Yeah right, because clearly I can reach all the keys and foot pedals no problem. Pretty sure I’ll pass.”

“W-well I mean for duets that isn’t really true! Since when you have another person you don’t need to focus on as large of an area on the keyboard after all. And those pedals aren’t always needed either.”

“Heeey, now there’s an idea-” Kaito teased as he ribbed his friend some more.

“Shut up.” Despite his harsh tone Kaede was pretty sure Ryoma had started blushing again, but she wasn’t really sure why. (I mean sure it’d be a beginner duet but there’s nothing to really be embarrassed about. Should I offer to teach him with a smaller piano or something outside? Hopefully one that’s tuned right.)

She hardly noticed when it was time for them to head back to their dorms as they hashed out some ideas for future piano lessons. Hopefully they wouldn’t all just end up being idle talk, but even if it was at least it was fun. Maybe it’d even open the door to watching Kaito and Ryoma play a tennis match soon too.

Though I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to play it myself. I mean, I’ve never really been allowed to since a pianist can’t really afford to let anything happen to their hands. I’d even need to sit out in gym a lot. … Probably why it’s still so hard for me to keep up with these athletic types. Even Kaito’s holding back. I think. Why else would he offer to train with us so late at night if he really wasn’t able to do it himself?

It was all almost enough to forget the chaos of the day by the time she got to her dorm. But when she did, she saw Monodam’s “bed” was still untouched with the little Monomi doll she'd tucked into it the night before, and it all came rushing back. She hadn’t even been in the mood to do her doll checks anymore.

Hopefully that wasn’t a bad sign of anything. Sure, she’d felt kinda… empty at times, but with everything going on Kaede figured that should be expected. Between the flashback lights, and Kiyo-

When exactly did I start thinking of him as “Kiyo” again? It’s not like I’ve forgiven him at all. But it is shorter and who knows what Angie and Kokichi might try as far as “naming” his sister goes. God that’s a mess...

Kaede shook her head as she went to bed, but at least it felt like it didn’t take long to sleep this time.

That just made Monokuma’s visit and pestering about her Love Key all the more annoying though. But despite her nearly literally kicking him out he didn’t seem bothered by her anger. If anything he just found it all the more amusing, for whatever sick reason he had this time.

But whatever it was she decided to ignore it and get whatever rest she could. She’d probably need it.

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[poet-of-deimos]

TENIPURI

Not a new fic, by the way. I’m in the process of archiving my fics in just one place so old stuff like this may pop up here often.

Ignorant Boy, Beautiful Girl (Ryoma, Sakuno) Everyone expected them to get together by the time they turned fifteen. And yet, they didn’t. A RyoSaku fanmix.

Angus & Julia Stone - Just a Boy Do you believe that there is treasures in the ocean Did I say I’m just a boy One kiss from you and I’m drunk up on your potion That big old smile is all you wore

Tim Minchin - You Grew On Me You grew on me like a tumour And you spread through me like malignant melanoma And now you’re in my heart I should’ve cut you out back a the start

Guillemots - Made Up Love Song #43 You got me off the paper round, Just sprang out of the air, The best things come from nowhere, I love you, i don’t think you care.

Melpo Mene - I Adore You Lost in a daydream of blue I feel so free And then it’s like I fall from the sky Everything that I see is you And you should know that I’m thinking about what you said When you held my hand Oh, I adore you

Jack Johnson - Better Together MMM, it’s always better when we’re together Yeah, we’ll look at the stars when we’re together Well, it’s always better when we’re together Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together

Loney Dear - Ignorant Boy, Beautiful Girl

Everyone expected them to get together by the time they turned fifteen.  After all, it was fairly obvious to everyone that she liked him (those daily lunch boxes had to mean something!)  and that he liked at her (surely, he didn’t come to her rescue every time just because he was bored or was feeling altruistic.). How else should their story end?

But when Sakuno was fifteen, she stopped giving Ryoma his daily lunches and started going out with a boy from the photography club, a handsome young man named Ichiro. A month later, Ryoma dated one of Sakuno’s friends from the tennis club. It boggled everyone else how they could date people other than each other.

But he was Ryoma and she was Sakuno.  They were never the type to follow conventions–or expectations. They just did not operate that way.

Sakuno had no doubt in her mind that she liked Ichiro.  He was nice, he was polite and he treated her right. What’s not to like?

Yet, Ichiro still could not make her heart flutter the way a certain Tennis Prince did (and still does!).  What was wrong with her anyway? Here she had a boy who liked her but she was still pining over someone who’d never reciprocate her feelings in the manner she wanted.

It made her quite guilty, using Ichiro to forget Ryoma and her stupid feelings. A good guy like him deserved better and more. But she was desperate. She needed to get Ryoma out of her system or else he’d stay there forever and she’d be forever hurting. Call her selfish for thinking about herself for once; she didn’t care.

She’d learn to love Ichiro in the same degree. She’d learn to forget Ryoma. It was bound to happen.

Eventually.

It was just a matter of avoidance.

The disadvantage of having their shoe lockers right next to each other was that even if they tried to avoid each other for the entire year, there still stood the probability that they’d find themselves in the same  place at the same time.

Of course, neither Ryoma nor Sakuno would admit that they were indeed avoiding each other. The idea was ridiculous. They were just busy, that’s all and the timing was never right.

“Hey…”

“Hi…”

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes, it is.”

And then there was silence, followed by an air of awkwardness. Sakuno wanted to ask him a lot of questions. How are you? Are you happy? Did you miss me the way that I missed you? But she kept these thoughts to herself and all she managed to say was, “I heard from Tomo-chan that you won yesterday. Congratulations.” She smiled as naturally as she could. Ryoma replied with a blank stare.

“You did not see the game.”

Sakuno could have sworn that he sounded upset and/or hurt. But it might just have been her imagination. Her brain had this awful habit of making her think of things that weren’t there.

“Ichiro needed help in his project so…”

“Ah.” Ryoma nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine, Ryuuzaki.”

But it wasn’t; he wasn’t. He couldn’t grasp why she would miss his game for some project that Ichiro guy had. Surely, it wasn’t that important? Then Ryoma silently chastised himself for being silly. Of course, she’d choose Ichiro over him. It wasn’t even up for debate.

“I have another game on Friday,” he declared casually.

It was an invitation, a plea. Come and see me,please.

“Really? Good luck then.” She wanted to tell him  I’ll be there, just like the old times, but saying that would be a lie. She didn’t want to lie–or at least, not to him anyway.

If Ryoma was disappointed (he couldn’t possibly be, could he? ), he was quite good in masking it. “Ah, thanks.”

They stared at each other silently, a thousand and one things were running inside their heads; a thousand and one things they wanted to say but wouldn’t. Couldn’t.

Ryoma eventually broke the silence. “I have to go.”

“Me too. I have to meet–” Sakuno stopped herself from continuing. “Uh, I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, see you.”

They set off in opposite directions.

Ichiro could not help but notice that she was distracted. Not that she did a great job in hiding it, with her glancing at the clock every five minutes or so. It was one of those things that she had yet to perfect.

“Are you supposed to go somewhere else , Sakuno-chan? Because you can go if you want,” Ichiro offered. “We’re almost done anyway.”

Sakuno wanted to take him on his offer. God knew how tempted she was to simply leave and run off towards the tennis courts. It took much of her self-control not to do it. That and her  nagging feeling of guilt.

She shook her head. “No, I have no other plans today.”

She wondered how Ryoma was doing right then.

If  there was one sure way to annoy Ryoma, that was to tell him that his dating habits  resembled his dad’s–or Ryoga’s. They were not the same at all. Ryoga would change his dates as often as he would change his clothes. Ryoma on the other hand, had gone out with five girls in a span of a year. Big difference as far as he was concerned.

“I’m not like either of you,” he declared one time, to which Ryoga had rebut by saying, “Yeah right, and I’m a poor, ugly turd with no sex appeal whatsoever.”

Ryoma smirked, throwing Ryoga a mocking glance. “Well,aren’t you?”

Ryoga shrugged nonchalantly.“I don’t know, Chibisuke. Why don’t you ask all the lovely ladies begging me to go out with them?”

“Your modesty never fails to amaze me.”

“And I should the say the same thing for your stupidity, dear brother.”

Ryoma’s eyes narrowed. Naturally, he did not appreciate any jab on his intelligence “And care to tell me how I’m being stupid?”

The older boy smiled. “Because you keep on going for substitutes when you could have gone for the original.”

Ryoma cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Would you like me to elaborate?” Before Ryoma could say ‘not really’, Ryoga raised a hand and started. “You’ve gone out with five people this year. All five have long auburn hair which they like to  tie in twin braids. Obviously, there is a pattern.”

“Is there?” Ryoma shrugged. “I did not notice.”

Ryoga rolled his eyes. “Right.”

When Sakuno turned 16, she experienced getting dumped for the first time. A guilt-ridden Ichiro confessed about liking someone else, about  using her to forget this other girl who never acknowledged his existence.

“I’m sorry.It’s not  you. It’s me.”

If only she weren’t getting her heart broken, Sakuno would have laughed at the irony.

“Hey, did you hear what happened?!”

Ryoma didn’t intend to listen. School gossip, after all, was never one of his interests. He didn’t want them nor did he ever seek  them. To him, they were nothing but a complete waste of time.

“What?”

So he tried not to focus on their conversation.  

“Sakuno-chan and Ichiro-kun broke up!”

“Seriously?! Too bad. They were so cute together.”

"Yeah. Why did they break up anyway?”

“Well, here’s what I’ve heard….”

Donning an expression of boredom,Ryoma leaned forward on his desk and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. Anyone who had seen him would think that he had other things on his mind.But he was listening to the conversation around him with complete interest. He didn’t mean to. Swear to god, he didn’t. But he ended up doing so anyway.Not that he had a choice. His classmates were talking so loudly, he couldn’t block their voices even if he wished to.Not that he wished to. For once, some school gossip actually ended up being relevant.

“Wait…what?! You broke up with Chiaki-chan?! Why?!!” Ryoga exclaimed, throwing Ryoma an incredulous glance. “Dude, she was hot!”

Ryoma shrugged. “It wasn’t working out anymore.”

“That’s what you said the last time too.”

“Because it really isn’t working out. What else should I say?” Ryoma deadpanned.

Ryoga eyed him suspiciously. “Chibisuke, are you sure that this sudden decision has got nothing to do with the knowledge that a certain pigtailed girl we know is  now back on the market again?”

“Oh lord, here we go again,” Ryoma sighed. “How many times do you want me to say that I don’t like Ryuuzaki before you start believing it?”

“I’m never going to believe it because I know you like her.”

“I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do!”

“No, I don’t.”

“Fine!” Ryoga cried out. “So can I date her then?”

Ryoma glared. “Fuck off.” And he hurled a pillow towards Ryoga’s face.

By chance, they saw each other by their shoe lockers again.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

And the encounter was no less awkward than the other times they met.  Sakuno wondered if they would ever go back to the time when they were actually behaving as friends would. She missed those days.

Ryoma stared at her, looking a bit conflicted. He seemed like he wanted to say something; he just didn’t know how to start. Finally, he managed to blurt out, “So, how are you?”

Sakuno blinked. “Eh?”

The black-haired boy ran his fingers through his hair. “I heard…”

“Oh.” She gave a small smile. “I’m fine.”

Ryoma nodded. “That’s good.”

Silence.

“Um… I better go ahead. Tomo-chan’s probably waiting for me.” She bowed. “ I’ll see you around.” She turned to leave,but he called out to her before she could take a step away.

“Wait.”

She gave him a curious glance.

“Well, I’m going that way too,” he stated casually. “Why don’t we walk together? If you don’t mind, that is.”

To say that Sakuno was surprised by his offer would be an understatement. But it would be a total lie if she claimed she wasn’t pleased by it.

“Not at all.”

Ryoma came up beside her and together they walked down the hallway, stealing glances at each other every chance they could get.

There was something up with Ryoma that he was not telling. Ryoga was sure of this the moment Ryoma barged into their bedroom and caught him red-handed, eating  his last box of Pocket Pancakes.Normally, Ryoma would be upset by this and then he would rant about Ryoga’s parasitic tendencies and  inability to buy his own food. But today was different from all other days and Ryoga wondered why.

“What’s up with you?”

Ryoma shrugged. “Nothing.”

“You’re in a weirdly good mood.”

“Am I not allowed to have a good day?”

And Ryoma went on to whistle a happy tune. Ryoga was certain he just entered the Twilight Zone.

Fin.

[drv3imagines]

Hey, what up friends of this blog. If you were expecting Mod Ouma, But Ironically (Mod Tojo) to answer an ask, I deeply apologize because that’s not what this post is about… HOWEVER. I would like to pay special attention to a few characters we’ve missed out on for birthday bashes. I was waiting until Rantaro’s birthday to go ahead and compile the birthday bashes we’ve previously missed out on. I had no intention of JUST doing Korekiyo, Ryoma, and Kirumi (Everyone deserves the love the killing game didn’t give them). I’m gonna go as far back as Angie Yonaga, Kokichi Ouma, Tsumugi Shirogane, Shuuichi Saihara, and finally our boi who’s birthday is today! Rantaro Amami! No one placed these asks in our boxes, so technically we aren’t obligated to write for them? But, I like being fair, and those poor kids deserve more.

So without further ado. Have a VERY LONG POST.

Angie Yonaga You weren’t exactly sure what to get Angie, which is a little more complex than you thought it should have been. She found a lot of gifts from you pleasing through the eyes of Atua. New art brushes? Atua thanks you for the offering of tools to further Angie’s craft for His eyes. Cute hair pin? Atua says that s/o is kind to bring forth ornaments to decorate Angie’s hair~ Once you tried to make her dinner, but that didn’t work out too well… Atua said it sucked and you ended up ordering out instead. Atua was right on that one, pizza was much better than eating burned meatloaf… You didn’t want to separate Angie from her religious views, but you honestly wanted to hear what she had to say for once. Even though you’ve been dating for so long, was it possible to hear just her thoughts on something? Especially since today was her birthday. That’s when you started to formulate your plan… Angie had just finished leading a prayer, when you stopped her just before she could go off. “Hey Angie, y'know what today is right?~” You asked in a sing-songy voice. The artist closed her eyes -probably asking Atua- before humming out the answer. “Atua says… Today is the day we celebrate a devout follower!~” “That’s right! And I got you som-” “S/o finally wants to donate blood for sacrifice!” A twinge of panic caused your heart to leap. Not that you didn’t wanna appease her wishes in donating…it’s just that you already agreed to do that nearly four times this month…any more blood and you’d end up in the hospital… “Maybe…next month…or three. Actually, it’s your birthday~ And I got you something! I think you’re going to really love it this time, Angie!” “Ah, but Angie already loves everything you offer. As s/o’s kind heart is pleasing in Atua’s eyes. He sees you and loves how you treat his dear children.” Perhaps…Angie really does appreciate everything you do behind her religious veil…if this is the best she could do to admit her feelings then you’d just have to accept it. You’d love her either way… You pulled your gift to her out of the bag anyway and she squealed. “It’s an avocado!~ Thanks!~ The gracious avocado is a blessing that Atua sends to Angie’s island as a gift for our devotion to Him! However…Angie thinks the best gift she has received from Atua…is you, s/o.” You blush at her comment before muttering, “do you think you can ask Atua if I can kiss you?” Angie pretended to think for a moment before cheerfully giggling, “Atua grants you permission~”

Kokichi Ouma It was never a quiet day at the Ouma household. Your boyfriend was as childish as he was in high school, always the jokester and prankster. Still cuter than a button, and a huge tantrum throwing crybaby at times, but that’s what made him special. Who cares if he’d grow to be a man-child? He was loving and cared for you like no other. That’s why you reserved all your rest for his special day. Each year since you’d known him he’d been a guy to go all out- But… When you woke up this morning…it was quiet. You immediately thought he just got a super early start and wasn’t here, but you found him in the kitchen making a breakfast. It was a tad cleaner than when he normally cooked but- “Okay, who are you and where’s my energetic boyfriend?” He turned to you with that infamous devilish grin of his accompanied with his ‘evil laugh’. “Nishishishishi~ Good morning s/o~ I decided this year I’d shake things up for my birthday~” What. This was automatically suspicious. What was this dork planning? “Awww, don’t you trust me, s/o?” No Well, of course. But if Kokichi made an unexpected change, something very bizarre was going to happen…you’d just have to keep a close eye on him for the day. Unfortunately…you were left with nothing. Your boyfriend was completely unreadable all throughout the day. You spent a whole day with him, indulging in activities you wanted to do??? Was it like some April Fool’s Day prank he was pulling?! But it isn’t April… maybe he’s got something really strange planned up ahead…better brace yourself. Yet nothing happened. It was actually well into the evening and the two of you were having dinner at a restaurant the two of you would frequent on really special date nights. Okay, seriously what is going on?! “Kokichi…are you alright? We spent your entire birthday doing things I liked to do? Did you do something I need to know about?!” That same smirk he gave you this morning reappeared, but it was softer…and very loving�� “You’ve been so suspicious of me today, s/o,” he whined, “don’t you trust me?~” This time you vocalized your answer, “yes… I trust you, Kokichi. Please tell me why you’re doing this?” “Well, since you’re so nosy today~ I guess I should spill, huh?” For a moment you thought he blushed, but whatever it was, it immediately disappeared. “You’ve trusted me this long. I guess I should start acting like I like it or something. Every year you’re always making my birthday memorable, so I thought I’d be selfish and make this next memory one I create for us~” You didn’t have the slightest clue of what he was talking about until he pulled out a small box from his pocket and kneeled down at your side.

Tsumugi Shirogane Plain. That was the single thing your girlfriend asked from you on this day. She wanted the day to be a reflection of who she was. Plain. No surprises. No cake, unless it made a specific cameo from her favorite anime episode. And definitely no parties. Definitely no. She just wanted to cuddle her human dakimura and watch some of her favorite classics. Even though Sailor Moon was typically for normies, she was glad the remakes were staying true to the classic. You decided you would obey her demands…for now…and cuddle your otaku til her heart’s content. Eventually, noon rolled around and you had started to get hungry. Offering her lunch was pointless when she was fully immersed in whatever you two had been watching (Sailor Moon had to go when a new episode of her fave was on), so you took it upon yourself to make her something cutesy. While you were cutting up vegetables to put on her side, you checked your cell phone really quick before returning to your otaku. You thought you heard her mumble something, but you figured it was about the show, and started your at lunch. Just as the next episode began, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” even though it was pointless to announce when she wasn’t paying any mind.

Tsumugi had finished her lunch a while ago, but her focus was on this crucial exchange between the protagonist and the antagonist. It would determine whether a successful escape would be possible for the protagonist and the future of anyone else who received this fate, or if the antagonist would have the advantage and would continue their plot even after death. She figured it would be a pretty cool reference for her next cosplay. Maybe she should discuss this matter with someone who had appreciated her– Oh? But… where had you gone off to. Tsumugi paused the episode, worried that she had lost your interest by being to delved into her favorite show. Even though it was her birthday…she should have considered your feelings too. Deciding she’d apologize, the cosplayer picked up her plate and placed it in the kitchen, before searching the house for you. “S/o? I-I’m sorry I got lost in the show again… Ill do my best to give you more attention if that’s what you- Oh?” Had she somehow reentered the fictional reality she just left? Blinking repeatedly, she made sure she was awake, but nothing had changed. You stood before her, dressed as her favorite character, but not only that, you turned your shared bedroom into the world the character came from. It was nearly perfect, almost as if she had done the work herself. “I know you said you didn’t want a surprise, but I just wanted to do something special for my not-so-plain girlfriend. I had a speech prepared, but I think I’ll wait to deliver it when I’m not in character.” Her heart is completely overwhelmed at the work you put into impressing her. You’re almost worried she might faint, so you embrace her gently, steadying her balance. “Th-thank you… For not only taking the time for putting this together… making my belief that cosplay is an expression of love real.”

Shuuichi Saihara Today is my birthday. Shuuichi thought to himself. A few years ago if he said that to himself, he’d have mixed feelings about it. He didn’t really like big social gatherings and only kept the celebratory matters amongst his family members. And even then, he insisted they kept everything on a low profile. That is…until he met you. You were very exciting, and persistent. You always helped him out of his shell every now and then, allowing him to comfortably be able to celebrate this renewed day knowing love and care. He couldn’t wait until he found out what you had in store to- He turned over to see your side of the bed very much empty. It wasn’t even like warm, meaning you had been absent for some time. Curious of the situation, Shuuichi climbed out of bed and began to investigate. And investigate was definitely something he was going to have to do today. He smiled at the sticky note on his door, a symbol scribbled on its surface. So this is what he had in store today. After getting dressed, Shuuichi had accumulated nearly twelve sticky notes all of which had some kind of symbol scrawled on it. But he was at a dead end when he collected all of the notes. This can’t be right, none of these sheets have words on them. Shuuichi closely examined each of the notes splayed across the table, then he examined the area once more before his eyes rested on an out of place book. It looked like it had been recently removed from the shelf as the other books were more settled. Shuuichi removed the book finding his guess to be accurate when he discovered a sticky note with a smiley face tacked on the first page. It was a book of codes, you’d bought him for his previous birthday. He didn’t want to spoil himself as to what could be in store next…but he was practically bouncing in his shoes with excitement at his guesses. Turns out he was right! You had used previous gifts to give him clues as to where you could be hiding…all leading up to the final destination. Shuuichi saw you patiently waiting underneath a gazebo in a local park…the scene had looked vaguely familiar to him… but he couldn’t recall why… After your normal greeting, Shuuichi followed your movements carefully, trying to note what was it about this place that was ringing so many bells at once?! “Would it be too much trouble to ask you out on a tea date next time? I could perhaps bring my novels and we could talk about our favorite characters.” Almost on instinct, Shuuichi replied, “that wouldn’t be any trouble at all. If it’s with you, I would-” Oh. My. Gosh. You were recreating the moment when the two of you first met! “I see the light bulbs going off Mr. Detective, have you finally solved the case?” “I think so. I think the culprit is definitely you this time. The crime you’re being charged with……stealing my heart.” He’d have to look up some better pick up lines next time! He was not prepared at all, but at least you blushed. Maybe even-…even after all these years you still took his breath whenever you kissed him.

Rantaro Amami “S/o!~ Rise and shine (ursine…//shot).” You grumbled in response to the cheery voice, turning over to put your pillow over your head. “Come on, s/o, you promised.” You could almost hear the pout he was doing. Rantaro was easy to understand in these moments… But it is his birthday today, so it was understandable. And, honestly, you were looking forward to it. Heck you were really excited to celebrate with him……but this year he had a little something daring saved up for this afternoon. And that thing was rock climbing. We aren’t talking about your basic run of the mill indoor plastic walls with artificial hand and foot holds. No, we are talking a real terrain. A real terrain with steep cliffs. A real terrain with natural sharp rocks. That kind of extreme rock climbing that only your boyfriend would suggest. You trusted he would make it safe for you since your skill was no where near his, but you still had your doubts. The bed sunk as you felt an extra weight approach you. He was getting persistent. You mentally sighed; it wasn’t fair for you to lie in bed and make him go by himself…especially on his birthday… “Okay, okay… I’ll do it for the birthday boy.” You mumbled in your half-sleep state. Whatever he was planning, stopped and he immediately retreated. “Great, I’ll see you at the rendezvous then?” Wait?! We’re leaving now?!? “By that I mean breakfast~” he chuckled and headed out of the room, leaving you to reluctantly get ready.

“Rantaro…are you sure you want to do this today? Have you checked the weather? Do we have enough supplies? What if we get lost and our phones die? Or they lose signal?” Your worried state didn’t phase your lover as he winked to you and passed a slice of cake to you. “It’s early, but consider it our last meal together.” He stated gravely, holding back a laugh. “Rantaro, that’s not funny! I’m being serious!” Your green haired lover froze at the graveness of your tone. It was silent for a moment before he turned back to the counter and moved the entire cake to the center of the table. You weren’t sure what he was up to, and became even more confused when he returned to the table with some candles and a lighter. He offered you some of the candles and you begrudgingly assisted him. Once he lit each candle, he gave you a small smile, then closed his eyes and blew out the candles. “Hopefully, that will keep us safe and not make you worry any more.” Huh? “What are you talking about? What did you wish for?” “If I told you it might not come true and we really could die~” “RANTARO!!!”

[tea-cup-writes]

Come Back

Fandom: Fire Emblem Fates

Characters and Pairings: Nohrian Royals , Hoshidan royals , Male!Corrin

Rating: K

Warnings: Aftermath of violence, threats, kinda angsty 

Summary: Corrin has chosen Hoshido. His Nohrian siblings are not accepting that. 

Notes: I’m starting to like Takumi... poor guy. 

It's funny, how your entire world can change in such a short time. For several years, when locked into the Northern Fortress, Corrin would fantasize what would happen when he finally got to travel around the world. The things he'd see, the places he'd visit, the friends he'd make. And now he was out in the world, seeing amazing things, visiting interesting places and making odd but wonderful friends. It was just like he had pictured it. Except now he was visitng the interesting places just praying they wouldn't run into monsters or anything else dangerous. Now he was travelling while trying his best to protect the firends he made, constantly worried they'd be snatched away from him in the blink of an eye. Now he did it with different siblings then he had imagined when in the Northen Fortress. Only a couple weeks ago he had been the prince of Nohr, trying to prove himself to his Father. Now, he was the returned prince of Hoshido that had betrayed Nohr and his siblings there, turned his sword on the country that had raised him. He had hoped his Nohrian siblings would understand if he explained, if they could just listen, but he never got a chance to reason with them. All he could do was hope he would ever get the chance to explain. The look on their faces when he sided with Hoshido, the hurt and their broken hearts painted over their faces, was still etched into Corrin's memory, and always would be. And for eaching passing day, for every Nohrian he struck down, Corrin could feel himself slowly move further away from his Nohrian siblings, the gap between them growing and building bridges becoming more and more complicated. But he could manage. He could be the returned prince of Hoshido, the traitor of Nohr, the odd one out in the army. He could manage that. Becuase in the end, after King Garon was defeated, he might still be able to reach out to his former siblings. Maybe they'd understand if they just listened to him. Maybe... But Corrin should have learned to be careful what he wished for. The sun was shining down on them, filtered down between the trees' crowns of leaves. The fresh air carried the smell of the flowers that grew in the woods, and the warmth was filitered away a bit thanks to the trees. Corrin was smiling for once while marching down the road. He stretched his arms above his head, a small groan of pleasure making it's way through his lips. Behind him Hinoka and Sakura were talking about the fruits in the forest, and Kaze was walking next to him, as he always was after he pledged himself as Corrin's retainer. It made Corrin feel at ease, relaxed. His body felt light, his mood was on top. It was one of those rare days when he felt like he could actually manage this, that peace was within reach, not just a lost ideal. It almost made the march to Mokushu village pleasant. It made Corrin have hope for finding traces where Ryoma and Takumi were too. If his good feelings were to be trusted, they might even find them, safe and sound, at the Mokushu village. But his good feelings quickly vanished when Saizo suddenly appeared right in front of him, making Corrin jump back and maybe let out a short gasp. "Stop doing that!" he complained. It was annoying enough to know that Saizo was watching all the time, suspecting him of being a Nohrian spy, but having him suddenly appear was worse for Corrin's poor heart. Saizo didn't seem to care, because instead of apologizing or explaining himself he got straight to the point. "Nohrians ahead", he said, reporting on his scout mission. Corrin sighed. Here he had thought he could have at least one single day without running into trouble, someone calling him traitor or being threatened with death. Apparently not. "Any way we can sneak around them?" he asked. He didn't want to fight anymore pointless fights if he could avoid it. There must be other ways to reach the Mokushu village. "Afraid not", Saizo said. "It's the royal family." Corrin's heart stopped in his chest. "The... royal family?" "Yes. And they sent two men to talk. They know we're here." "They want to talk?" Corrin said, raising an eyebrow. He clearly remembered Xander attacking him last time Corrin tried to talk to him. But... maybe he had calmed down enough to listen to him? Maybe he could finally explain... why he had done this... what had happened on the square that day... his mother... "Where more exactly are these men?" Corrin asked, but before Saizo could answer they were interrupted by a voice ten metres ahead of them. "Long time no see, Lord Corrin." Corrin glanced towards the voice, Saizo swiftly moving out of the way. The voice belonged to exactly the man Corrin had guessed. On the road, the sun shining them on them, stood two of the most notorious retainers. A man with silver hair, eyepatch, and a smug grin on his face and a bow in his hands. Beside him was a blonde man in the dark and yellow outfit of a dark mage, standing in a dramatic and just a bit ridiculous pose. The blonde was the next to speak up to the Hoshidans, placing his hand over his face dramatically, concealing parts of it. "Hoshidans, prepare for your blood to run cold, for your legs to shake, and for the darkness to consume you, as I call upon the greatest name, feared of anyone of hears it. Beware, for my name-" "Hi, Odin." "Lord Corrin!" Odin called out in dissappointment as he dropped his arm from his face, revealing the sad look on his face. "Haven't you learned not to interrupt a man's introduction? You completely ruined the mood!" "I thought it was pretty good, man. Your best one yet", Niles offered as comfort. "And now it's completely ruined!" Odin complained and threw his hands up before crossing them over his chest, pouting. "Lord Corrin, do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with new ones all the time?" "You actually put thought into those?" Corrin muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. "Why are you here?" Hinoka demanded to know, tired of whatever it was that was going. She held her lance in a tighter grip, ready to beat someone if she had to. Niles glanced at Odin. "Do you want to give him the message? To make up for the introduction?" he offered. Odin just waved a hand to him, still sulking. "No, you do it, Lord Leo wants us back soon anyway." At that answer Niles shrugged and cleared his throat, turning to the Hoshidans again. "Lord Leo sent us to deliver a message for you. The message is: We do not wish to fight, we only wish to talk. Message ended." "That sounds very trap-ish to me", Hinoka said, her eyes narrowing. "How will we know you won't just ambush us?" "You won't", Niles said, smiling. "But if you refuse we will simply attack you instead. Our army is greater than what your group is, and you should know that the Nohrian royals will not sit out the fight should it come to that." Corrin glanced over at Hinoka, who looked ready to chuck her lance at Niles. The chance that she would hit was small, but she looked ready to try. Sakura held her staff in a tight grip, trying not to look worried. Kaze was quiet, his eyes fixed on the Nohrians in front of him, without a doubt ready to attack. No doubt the army would gladly fight if Corrin told them to. But.. the Nohrian royals. Elise, Leo, Camilla... Xander. Facing off against Leo and Camilla was hard enough, but Xander? Without Ryoma or Takumi? That was more or less suicide. Plus, even though he didn't want to admit it, Corrin was curious why his siblings suddenly wanted to talk. He couldn't help but hope that maybe he would be able to talk to them, make them understand, make them join his cause... Corrin took a deep breathe and nodded. "We're coming", he said, making his army stare at him, some whispering their concerns, but Corrin didn't acknowledge them. "Let's talk." Niles and Odin's faces lit up at that. Odin struck a new pose as he dramatically stated: "Of course! No one on this earth can resist the persuasive powers of Odin Dark, the bearer of raging blood, the weilder of darkness, the-" "You literally didn't say anything to persaude us, though", Corrin interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Lord Corrin!" Odin called out again, before he dropped his pose, turned around and, while throwing his hands into the air in a frustrated gesture, started marching back towards the rest of the Nohrian army. Niles excecuted a small bow before turning to follow Odin. Corrin started to follow, the army slowly following him, some of them more hesitant than others. Hinoka and Sakura made it up to him quickly, whisperingly voicing their concerns. "This is a trap", Hinoka said straight out. "Y-yeah!" Sakura agreed. "I know, but I don't think we have any choice. If Xander, Camilla and Leo is here... we don't stand much of a chance at the moment", Corrin explained. "And if they really wanted to attack us I think they would have just done that by now. Why go through the hassle of a trap?" Hinoka and Sakura glanced worriedly at him, but didn't say anything, deciding to just follow him for now. Kaze seemed uncomfortable as well, but decided to just keep quiet, following his master's lead. So they followed Niles and Odin through the forest, and before too long the trees parted ways and opened up for a field with green grass waving in the wind. The Hoshidan army stopped by the trees, not wanting to go too close to their enemies. In the middle of the field was, as promised, a big portion of the Nohrian army, and facing them in the front was the Nohrian royal siblings. The sun shined down on them, making the blonde hair of Elise, Leo and Xander shine like gold. Camilla's were shining as well as she flipped it over her shoulder, glancing towards the forrest when she heard the sound of the army's feet against the ground. Her face lit up in one of those overprotective smiles that tipped Corrin off that someone he knew was about to die. "Leo, your source of frustration is back~", she cooed, petting Leo's head. He looked away from his conversation with Elise when he heard Camilla's words, a smile crossing his face when he saw his retainers and then falling from his face when he saw the Hoshidans behind Niles and Odin. Elise turned to look as well. "They came!" she exclaimed, a bit surprised. Xander was the last one to turn, busy talking to Laslow and Peri. When he turned to look at the Hoshidans the sun caught his hair, making it look like gold shining in the sun, the details of the metal crown around his head glimmering as well. Corrin could feel his heart beat faster as he saw his siblings again. His jaw clenched. He could do this. He could do this. They were just gonna talk, nothing else. He had never done something like this before, but he could manage somehow. He had Hinoka, Sakura, Kaze, Silas and all the others to back him up. He could manage. When Niles and Odin had crossed the field and joined the Nohrians, Xander stepped forward. Not by much, not making himself an easier target for any archers or ninjas, but enough to clearly show that he was the leader. "Corrin", he said softly and his eyes wandered up and down his brother. Corrin stepped forward in the similair way to Xander, just a few steaps ahead of the rest of them. He was the leader, he was the one who was responsible for the life of his army, his friends. He decided he might as well act as it. "You wanted to talk?" Corrin prompted, showing he was ready to listen. Across the field Leo shook his head and mumbled about no manners and why wasn't he even greeting them. "We have a proposal to make", Xander said, skipping the greetings and going straight to the point, just as Corrin, and Leo groaned louder in the background. Corrin nodded with a stern expression to show that he was listening. "Come back to Nohr, Corrin", Xander said, his eyes burning into Corrin. Corrin was quiet for a moment as he waited for the rest. But Xander remained quiet for some reason, like he was hoping Corrin would agree already there. Without even a glance behind him Corrin could feel the anger building in the army behind him. Hinoka was glaring daggers, gritting her teeth like it took every ounce of self discipline in her to not attack the man that was trying to take her newly found brother from her. "Or?" Corrin prompted, growing uncomfortable. The air was heavy, tension thick. He had a bad feeling, worried they would have to fight either way. At the question Xander turned his head to Laslow and Peri, and gave a command in the form of a short nod. Without hesitation they walked away and soon came back, dragging something with them. The blue and white colours were dirty, torn and bloody, the feet dragged over the ground, the white hair messy and dirty. When Corrin recognized the person being dragged into view his heart stopped in his chest. He could feel the colour drain from his face. "T-Takumi!" Sakura gasped, covering her mouth when she saw what had happened to her big brother. Takumi was forced down on his knees facing the Hoshidan army. His hands were tied behind his back, his clothes torn and covered in blood, revealing bruises and cuts. Some of the wounds were bandaged, but no bandage had been wasted on the smaller ones. His face was bruised. Clogged blood had dired in his dirty hair, by his mouth, and by his blackened eye. He was breathing heavily, like every breath hurt. Had they cracked one of his ribs? "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU HEAR ME, NOHRIAN SCUM?!" Hinoka shouted at them. "HOW DARE YOU LAY A HAND ON LORD TAKUMI?!" Oboro screamed, raising the spear into a fighting pose. "YOU'LL REGRET THIS", Hinata followed, unsheating his katana. Camilla, completely unfazed by the threats, waltzed up to stand next to Takumi and held out her hand. "Beruka", she requested in a sweet, honey voice. The voice that sent chills down Corrin's back. The voice that meant someone was dead. Worries that were confirmed when Beruka retrieved Camilla's heavy battle axe and handed it to her mistress, who smiled at her. "Come back, Corrin", Xander said. "Or Hoshido will lose another prince." Corrin felt the wolrd crashing down around him. Return to Nohr?... To his Father? To willingly subject himself to whatever punishment his siblings, and his Father, deemed fit for betraying them. The memory of the square in Hoshido exploding, the rubble flying against him, his Mother shielding him before dying in his arms floated in his mind. He... couldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't go back to King Garon after that. But he couldn't sacrifice Takumi for his sake. He couldn't lose Takumi. Couldn't let Takumi die in his stead. The torture and pain Takumi had suffered through already was bad enough. Takumi raised his head, and locked eyes with Corrin. "DON'T DO IT, CORRIN! DON'T-", he screamed, before Camilla's heel was buried in his leg, making him scream and double over in pain. "Now, now", Camilla said, still smiling. "Don't go saying those kind of things, or you might end up with two broken legs~" "Big brother!" Sakura screamed, panic in her voice, sounding very similair to the panic that had settled itself in Corrin's chest. He knew his siblings. He knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill Takumi if they thought they had to. Xander wasn't the type to come with empty threats. Camilla's axe wouldn't hesitate as it fell against Takumi's exposed neck. "You have 30 seconds", Xander said, raising Corrin's panic. "Lord Corrin", Kaze said and looked at Corrin. "I won't let them kill Takumi", Hinoka said, before turning her eyes to Corrin. "But I won't lose you a second time, Corrin." "I-I don't want to lose any of my big brothers", Sakura said, on the brink of tears. Their words did little to help Corrin, because he knew what he had to do. He knew there was only one way to save Takumi. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Time's up." The cold heavy words from Xander cemented Corrin's decision. "I'll do it." "W-what?" came Sakura's shocked reply. "Xander, I'll do it! Don't hurt him!" Corrin repeated, shouting it across the field. Xander looked at Camilla and nodded, and she let her battle axe rest against the ground. Takumi's shoulders hanged, but if it was because of relief that he wasn't dying today or frustration Corrin couldn't tell. Corrin took a deep breath and started walking towards the Nohrians. "N-no! Big brother, no!" Sakura yelled, stepped forward and grabbed his hand, stopping Corrin in his steps. "Sakura, let go of me", Corrin said without looking at her. "N-no!" "I have to do this. For Takumi. Now let go." "What if I never see you again?" she cried. The words stabbed Corrin in the heart, twisting and turning. But he couldn't falter. He had to do this. "Sakura... I'm sure we will meet again someday. Now let go of me", he said, finally looking at her. "If you think we're just going to let you turn yourself over then you're wrong!" Hinoka exclaimed, grabbing Corrin's arm. "Hinoka..." Corrin sighed. "Let me go this instant. I need to do this, or Takumi dies." "But... but!" Hinoka clenched her jaw in frustration. Corrin forced himself to smile at her. "I'll be fine, big sister." Her hands dug a little harder into his arm. "Promise me you'll be okay", she finally said, holding his arm tightly. "I promise", Corrin said. With a heavy breath Hinoka let go of his arm. Corrin started walking again. Heavy steps hit the ground as he made his way over to his adoptive siblings. But he didn't make many steps before Kaze suddenly appeared by his side, making Corrin jump. Corrin opened his mouth to tell him to go back, but Kaze wasn't looking at him. Instead Kaze's eyes were on Xander. "Lord Xander!" Kaze called out. "I'm Lord Corrin's retainer. I have pledged my life to him, and to protect him to my last breath. I can't do this if I'm not with him. WIll you permit me to join him?" "Kaze?!" Corrin stared at Kaze. What was he doing?! He couldn't abandon his country, his clan. He couldn't be branded a traitor just for Corrin's sake! But Kaze had his eyes fixed at Xander, who was measuring him as well. "You may not", was Xander's final decision. "We have no need for some Hoshidan ninja in our ranks. We'll make sure Corrin gets a retainer worthy of a Nohrian royal." Kaze's jaw clenched and he looked at Corrin. "I will not let you go unprotected into this", Kaze said determined. "You have to", Corrin said. "Lord Corrin, I can't-" "Kaze, I order you to go back right now." Kaze looked like he had been struck in the face, like the order caused him physical pain. Corrin reached up and carressed his cheek with his finger tips, trying to leave him with a memory of affection instead of pain. "Don't worry about me. I grew up with them, and I'm not dead yet, am I? I came back to you once before, I'll come back to you again", Corrin promised. "And until I do..." And with that he pulled Yato from his waist and held it out to Kaze. "Lord Corrin... the Yato chose you... you are the weilder, you should have it." "I can't use it to hurt Hoshidans. I still have my dragonstone, I can protect myself", Corrin said softly. "Here, take it. Until we meet again." With hesitant movements Kaze took the sword, pain and hurt painted over his pretty face. Corrin smiled for him, trying to send him off with a smile to remember him by. "Until we meet again", Kaze replied, and bowed. Corrin bowed back, and then he turned towards his siblings. As he once again started walking, leaving his siblings and his friends behind, the wind grew in strength and made his cape dance behind him. Xander reached out his hand towards Corrin, like he did that that day when Corrin had been forced to choose between Hoshido and Nohr the first time. Corrin kept walking, his back straight and his head held high. When he reached Xander he stopped in front of him. He didn't take Xander's hand, he just stood there, staring up at his older brother with a quiet challenge in his eyes. He crossed his wrists over each other and held his hands out towards Xander, allowing himself to be tied up, showing his surrender. But instead of tying him up or hitting him or anything like it, Xander just grabbed Corrin and pulled him into a hug. "Welcome back, little prince", Xander mumbled in his ear, hugging him tightly for a few seconds. Corrin did not hug back, but before he could stop himself he leaned into the embrace, allowing himself to for a second pretend that this was all a bad dream, and when he opened his eyes he would be back in the Northern Fortress, his Mother alive back in Hoshido and his siblings without pain. Xander let go after just a few seconds, not allowing himself more just yet. Corrin glanced at Takumi, who looked back up at him, his healthy eye wide, hurt and pain written across his face. Takumi stared at him in frustration. He hated that he was so helpless, used as leverage for the Nohrian scum. He hated that he was used to cause his sisters so much pain, that he was forced to give up the brother he had finally gotten back and accepted as his own. Camilla put her hands on Corrin's cheeks, smiled widely and kissed his forehead. "I'm so happy to have you back here with me~", she cooed, and petted his hair. Corrin forced himself to smile at her, even though he would rather cry right now. "Big sister...", he mumbled. "Can we return Takumi? Sakura is crying..." "Oh!" Camilla said, as if she had forgotten Takumi existed at all. "Of course, sweetie~ I'll be back in a second, and then we can leave!" With a smile she turned from Corrin and roughly grabbed Takumi by the blue jacket, dragging him towards the Hoshidans a few metres before simply dropping him on the ground. She kicked him a little closer to the Hoshidan army. "There you go, he's all yours again", Camilla said, with an ever present smile on her face, before she turned and walked back. Hinata and Oboro rushed forward to release their lord from the rope, tripping over their words as they asked if he was okay and how was he hurt. Sakura rushed forward to heal him, and Hinoka joined them to help get Takumi back to camp. While this happened, Leo put his hand on Corrin's shoulder and smiled at him. "Glad to have you back, idiot", Leo said. Corrin looked at him, but couldn't force himself to smile or say anything. He stole a few glances back towards the Hoshidan side when Elise suddenly wrapped her arms around him, crying into his chest about how happy she was that he was back, and to never do that again. Corrin hugged her back, feeling tears burn in the back of his eyes, threatening to spill. When Camilla had returned they all sat up on their mounts. Xander lifted Corrin up on his own horse before getting up in the saddle, seated behind Corrin. Since he was holding the reins his arms were around Corrin, effectively trapping him with Xander. Corrin wasn't tied up, but he still couldn't escape. As they started riding Corrin forced down the urge to look over to the Hoshidans again. Instead he stared down on the horse's mane. Fear and anxiety mixed and stirred in his gut, growing bigger and bigger for each step the horse took. What was going to happen to him now? How would he be punished for his crimes? Just the thought of facing Father again... A hand suddenly petting his hair brought Corrin back to reality. Xander's fingers slowly ran though Corrin's white strands. Corrin had to fight against the reflex to lean into the touch, a memory of all the other times Xander had petted his hair. But even if he couldn't show it, the touch calmed him down, made him feel at ease. It felt like evidence that Xander didn't hate him, not completely at least. He would have to answer for his actions, but Xander would forgive him. Xander would always forgive him. "Well, little prince", Xander said in a low, soft voice as he let his fingers play with Corrin's hair. "Let's go home." 

[louhilainen]

Better late than ever, chapter 3. FINAL

Here is the final chapter! Sorry for taking so long with this, I had trouble with this chapter and I lost my motivation for a while. I also started my work and haven’t got much time after work to do anything. Okay, I started drawing after a long break, which takes surprisingly lots of time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the final chapter!

****

“Here you are, milady. Please enjoy your breakfast.”Jakob placed in front of Corrin a generous sized breakfast; a piping hot, scrambled eggs, bought from a market, with greasy sausages and bread rolls, baked by Jakob, fresh from the oven.

“Oh, Jakob, you spoil me too much these days. But I’m not complaining.” She flashed him with a smile and took a knife and fork to her hands.

“You need all the energy you can have, since you are going to lead the trip to out realms.”

“We are just going to collect some food and utensils from the village. We should be back before late afternoon.” She took a bite of sausage. “It feels good to do simple, logistic tasks like that for a change. We have been fighting too much lately, so I like to give breaks for the army whenever we can afford it.”

After his birthday, the army had been involved in numerous battles. Fighting was starting to make its toll on soldiers, so breaks like this were good for their morale as well. Jakob thought he saw Lady Corrin looking tired these days as well.

“But milady, weren’t you just shopping the other day?” Butler teased her, trying to light her mood and take her mind elsewhere.

“That doesn’t count, we didn’t even buy anything!” Corrin quickly retorted.

While chatting with her, Jakob turned around to pour her some tea. Jakob had woken up earlier than normal to cook her breakfast than as the logistic group had to leave early. It had taken an enormous effort for Jakob just to rise from the bed to sit on the bed’s edge. Eventually the thought of his mistress leaving weak with hungry had finally gave him enough motivation to hurry to the kitchen, where he prepared Corrin’s breakfast. He had even added mushrooms to scrambled eggs. Of course, he had made sure not to smell mushrooms by wearing a scarf on his face while frying them.

Corrin stopped chewing her food and turned her head to Jakob. “Wait, Jakob, there’s mushrooms in the eggs.”

“Yes, there was surplus of them and I knew they would go well with the eggs. I hope you have not grown tired of them?”

“No, I haven’t. But you hate them. Don’t you find it nauseating to cook them?” Corrin looked at Jakob in wonder.

“Well, I don’t particularly enjoy it.” He admitted. “But I knew milady would enjoy them.”

Corrin was silent for a while. Butler wondered had he done something wrong after all.

“Thank you, Jakob.”She said in a quiet voice and continued her meal. Jakob was perplexed a bit of her behaviour, but decided to let it go. Maybe she was nervous after all from the upcoming trip despite her peppiness.

Corrin sipped the last of her tea. “Thank you for the breakfast, it was delicious. Do you mind doing something else for me before I leave?”

“You need only to ask, Lady Corrin.”

“I want to have my hair in different way than usual.”  

“I see. Then I ask your ladyship to graciously step to the vanity.” She usually kept her hair by check wearing her favourite hair band, so her asking for a different hair style was a change from usual.

Corrin jumped up excitedly and almost skipped to her vanity, where she sat down to the step. Jakob stood beside her, took a comb and started to comb her long, almost white hair.

“What does our esteemed customer require today?” Jakob said in a playful voice.

“Do you remember that lady we saw the other day?” He nodded. They had visited quickly one of the villages in the outrealms as Corrin had wanted to visit the shops. She was curious about many things other people found normal, after spending most of her life in a lone castle. Jakob remembered it vividly, as Corrin had noticed passing lady’s hairstyle. She had her hair in a large bun, with a plait around it and a ribbon. “I want to have hair like she had! Can you do it?”

“Hmm…. Milady’s hair is challenging, but I will do my utmost best.” Although Corrin’s hair was soft, it was wavy and never quite stayed in place. That’s why princess usually kept her hair free with just a headband.

“If there’s anyone who can do it, it’s you!”

Jakob blushed from the compliment.

“You really shouldn’t shower your retainers with compliments like that all the time, Lady Corrin. Servants are fickly people, they can get too prideful and haughty if their master puts them on a pedestal all the time.”

“I thought you couldn’t get any more prideful than you already are! You once said you would manually extract the fangs from a dragon's jaw for me!” Corrin teased.

“Milady, that was not being too prideful, I was being simply honest.” Jakob said humbly.

With them bickering playfully, Jakob started to work through her hair. The hairstyle was a bit complex, but he had an idea how the hairstyle was to be made. Luckily he had made sure to learn how to do different hairstyles when he was younger. It was time to put those skills to work. He handled her hair with care, making sure not to pull too hard. Sometimes his eyes wandered to the bare, white nape of hers and every time Jakob had to pull his gaze back to his task.

Jakob finished with tying a blue ribbon around the plait and handed Corrin a small mirror.

“Does this look satisfactory, Lady Corrin?”

“It looks more than that! Thank you, Jakob!” Corrin used the small mirror to admire his work from the large mirror. It did look good on her, Jakob allowed himself a feeling of accomplishment. Jakob had made sure not to leave any lose hairs hanging and had made every step of the hairstyle carefully.

“I really should be going, I don’t want to make others wait for me.” She rose from the chair and turned to face Jakob. “Thank you again for the breakfast and the hair.” She said while looking into his eyes.

Jakob blushed a little from his mistress’ sudden proximity and stepped back and bowed to hide his embarrassment.

“No need to thank me, milady. I’m simply doing my duty.”

“Yes, I know.“  Jakob couldn’t see her expression, but thought her voice sounded… different? “Well, I’m off! Have a nice day Jakob and see you later!”

“As you, milady. Have a safe trip.”

Jakob could hear Corrin walking briskly to door and grapping her sheath. When Corrin had closed the door, Jakob raised his head and looked to the door.

Jakob turned to table and started to collect the dirty dishes. After his birthday, he felt they were closer than ever. While they had lived in the Fortress, he had been a close friend of hers, sharing her worries and joys. In turn, Corrin had treated him with friendliness and familiarity that usually was not reserved for mere servants. When war had started, he had become one of her confidents. But now there was a certain easiness, relaxed feeling in their relationship. When he was a child he had vowed to become her butler, her retainer. His dream had come true, he had a certain place by her side. He was among the most trusted persons in her life, save Lady Azura and her siblings. Jakob should have felt content and satisfied with that.

So why did he did not feel satisfied? When he was with Lady Corrin, he felt some kind of… yearning.  But could he possibly want, when he had everything he had sought for? Sometimes he could feel something vague yearning for his attention, but Jakob brushed those feelings in a hurry. He buried them carefully deep inside him.

****

Late afternoon, Jakob started to get worried. Lady Corrin and the rest of soldiers should have been back already. He was not the only one who noticed this as there was a buzzled confusion around the castle, soldiers talking to small groups in hushed voices with arms crossed. He saw Princess Camilla with worried expression her on the courtyard and decided to approach her.

“Princess Camilla. May I speak with you?”

“Is it about Corrin?” Camilla knew Jakob was utterly loyal to her younger sister. “I admit, it’s worrying they haven’t returned. Ryoma, Xander, Hinoka and I had a talk about it and we decided to send soldiers after them.”

Camilla had hardly finished her sentence, when a portal to the outrealms opened. People began to gather around the portal, but not too close to hinder their arrival.  Carriages, meant for transporting food arrived first driven by silent looking soldiers. There were signs of burns on carriages with looked were results of magical attacks. Jakob’s heart leapt to his throat. Has Lady Corrin been hurt? Prince Leo was the first royal to arrive from the portal. He looked pale, but there were no visible wounds on him.

“We were attacked on the village, we need all the healers to heal the wounded!” Leo shouted and waved his hand to the direction of the barracks reserved for injured. Jakob heard Camilla gasping. Carriages were not transporting food as was theirs original purpose, but the wounded instead.

Jakob ignored the order and stayed to watch the portal anxiously. He needed to see Lady Corrin emerging from the portal himself, it was unlikely she was among the wounded. Finally, few infantry soldiers walked in leading the horses and he could see Lady Corrin. Her armour looked bloody and there was weariness on her face, but she did not look wounded.

Jakob and Camilla rushed to her side at the same time.            

“Sister, darling, are you hurt?” Camilla embraced her sister, while Jakob tried to look for any possible wounds on her body.

“Lady Corrin, are you alright?” Jakob asked concerned.                      

Corrin embraced her sister back weakly.                      

“Oh, both of you, I’m fine. Jakob, please go heal with the others.”

“What about you milady, do you require healing?” Jakob stepped closer to his mistress. Camilla petted her hair while whispering comforting words.

“No, I’m fine. I need to talk with Camilla. Don’t worry about me, really. The wounded need you right now.” She smiled, but corners of her mouth fidgeted nervously.

Jakob could not defy her any more. Relieved she was not wounded he hurried to the barracks. He figured the situation must have been bad, like the last time his healing was urgently needed. He was a healer, but not that good as Elise and Sakura, so his healing was not always required.

Butler grapped a healing staff from the doorway of the barracks. He could already see Felicia and Azama tending to the wounded lying in beds, but no Sakura or Elise was seen anywhere.  Usually Princess Sakura was in charge of healing, directing other healers in their work, but now he himself had to make fast decision who needed healing the most. He saw Silas sitting on bed’s edge holding his bloody arm awkwardly in his lap with a pallid face.

“Oh, Jakob. I was pretty careless...” Silas breathed heavily as Jakob stepped closer to him.

“I can see that. Hmmp, no doubt you were doing something reckless, idiotic and heroic at the same time.” Jakob inspected the wounded arm closer, making sure not to touch the wound. The knight’s arm looked pretty bad, but Jakob had seen worse and knew Silas would be alright as long as he started healing.

“Haha, you really are cold…” Silas smiled weakly, sweat drops dripping on his forehead.

“What happened?” Jakob started to concentre his magical power on the healing rod.

Silas grimaced. Healing, which consisted of stopping the blood flow and closing the wound was actually not a pleasant feeling, despite the outcome was welcome. “It was a trap… There were enemies waiting for us in the city. They managed to separate us and went for the healers and carriages on the back. Luckily Corrin had placed few soldiers near them, but Elise had to take part in battle as well. She was hurt pretty badly, so Princess Sakura is healing her.” Silas fell silent after his tale.  

Even if Princess Elise was gifted tome user, she was not suited for front lines, like her older brother Leo. She usually was in the rear, healing and unleashing her magic attacks from a safe distant. This must have been the first time she was hurt.

Jakob understood now why Lady Corrin had seemed strange and why she wanted to talk with Camilla, to tell her the unfortunate news. He decided he should see her later in the evening, but now he had to focus on the healing.

*****

Healing had lasted for a good time. It was late night when Jakob knocked the door to Corrin’s quarters.

“It’s me, Jakob. I have brought tea for you milady, may I come in?”

Jakob heard light footsteps approaching and the door opened. Corrin was standing before him, in her usual night gown her hair down.

Jakob slipped through the door. “I heard what happened, it must have been awful.”

“Yes, it was.” Corrin turned around and walked to her bed where she sat down wearily. Jakob closed the door carefully after him. “But you know what? Even with all the fighting, my hair didn’t budge at all. Maybe I should keep my hair always like that in a battle.” She smiled a bit, but her light voice sounded forced.

“Lady, Corrin. I’m here for you, if you wish to speak about it.” Jakob placed the plate to the table.

“Well, I guess I do feel little… shaken about today. The enemy had prepared a smart trap for us, for a while things looked pretty dire for us.” Corrin’s gaze was on the floor, her hands gripping the edge of the bed.

“There’s no point feeling shame about your actions, from what I heard you did your best in a dire situation.” He had gathered the general picture about the battle from the wounded. How Corrin had quickly gotten realised the graveness of the situation and with Leo, had made a quick plan to turn the battle to their favour. No one was blaming them, but thanking them for their fast reaction.

“Yes, I talked to Xander and Ryoma about it. They said I did my best. I know that… They don’t blame for anything… or for Elise’s wounds.” She pursed her lips together, her lower lip shaking. “But I just… Elise decided to follow me, her big sister, since she trusts me and wants to help me. I can’t help but to feel responsible for her.”

Jakob hated seeing her mistress miserable like that. He sat to next to her.

“Milady. Princess Elise and your siblings, all the others, they follow you because they believe in you. You are not forcing them. They are aware of the risks, even Princess Elise, young she is.” Jakob said reassuringly.

“I know, I know.” She breathed in. “It’s just I’m so tired all the fighting.” She put her hands on her face. “I thought I had gotten used to this… Fearing for my allies lives and wondering it this will ever stop…” But I just hate… all of this!” Her voice broke down.

Jakob was taken aback. The last time he could remember seeing her like this, when she had made that fateful decision between Nohrian and Hoshidan forces. He did what he couldn’t even dream to do in normal circumstances. But this was for Lady Corrin’s sake, not for his. He put his hands around her and Corrin put her head across his chest, sobbing quietly. He hoped his heart would not start to beat too fast. Her shoulders shook a bit while Jakob petted her hair gently.

“I don’t think one can get used to this. But all the fighting will stop one day with certainly.” Jakob said after her shoulders had stopped shaking.

“How can you be so sure?” Corrin looked at him with teary eyes.

“Why, that’s because milady will succeed at ending this war. Have you forgotten?  It was you, Lady Corrin who brought two nations together that were practically at war with each other. When we stepped out of the castle, I never imagined it would lead to this. You leading both Hoshidan and Nohrian forces. Honestly, it’s like from one those fairy tales we read about in the Northern Fortress.” Jakob chucked.  “You can, and you will lead them to victory.” Jakob took his hands from her back and placed them on her shoulders.

Corrin’s eyes widened a bit and she finally smiled, not the weary kind of smile, but a genuine one, that made Jakob’s heart skip and ache at same time.

“Oh, Jakob, you always know right words to say.” She wiped her tears. “I will do my best to be worthy of them. You really are the best butler, Jakob.” She did something that he had not prepared himself, could not prepare himself. She leaned in close to Jakob’s face and gave him a light kiss on his cheek before he could comprehend what was happening.

Jakob’s muscles stiffened completely and his mind went blank.

“Um, Jakob, are you alright? I’m sorry, I… I was out of bounds.” She looked at him almost frightened.

“No need to apologize, milady.” Jakob cried out hastily. “You are still upset about today. It’s… natural that you feel touched.” He jumped from the bed desperate to put some distance between them.

“I suppose I do…” Corrin’s voice sounded uncertain.

“Do you require any further services tonight?” Jakob faced his mistress with a posture which Gunther would have given an approving nod.

“No, I don’t think so, but…”

“Well, then I’ll excuse myself. Good night, Lady Corrin. Please enjoy your tea, I’ll collect the tea kettle in the morning.” Jakob headed to the door with a completely natural pace and closed the door after him with a pleasant smile leaving Corrin still sitting on her bed with dumbfounded expression.

Jakob descended the stairs feebly taking support from the railing. The kiss could hardly been called romantic. It had been a quick perk on the cheek, barely even worth the mention. It had left him completely shaken, with dangerous thoughts floating from his mind. Did I really want to stay her side as just her butler? Was there something I wanted, but dismissed it completely? Maybe, always have wanted but I could not admit? Jakob could feel something growing stronger inside him, no more satisfied being buried inside him and yearning for his attention.

***

Jakob had one of the worst nights in his life. The more tired he became, the more his thoughts spun in his head. He had slept for few hours fighting a useless battle against his own mind. When the dawn came, he felt relieved but at the same time horrified facing his mistress.

Jakob had steeled himself to act as normal as he could when he came to serve her breakfast. Corrin seemed recovered from the last night, and welcomed him with her normal warmth and openness. Jakob joked with her like usual, trying to keep his voice natural and light.

“Umm…Jakob, about that kiss last night…” Jakob almost froze while raising tea kettle, but forced himself to continue pouring her tea. He had feared she would want to return to the subject.

Jakob poured her tea and chuckled. “Milady, you are far too innocent.” He hoped his hands would not betray him. “That could hardly be called a kiss. After all, it was your way of showing appreciation for me”. Jakob did not know what he was saying anymore, all he knew he had to say something, to pretend her kiss had not affected him in any way.

“Yeah, that’s right. Thank you for last night. I was so tired, I don’t know what came over me.” Something strange flashed in Corrin’s face, but Jakob was too occupied with his thoughts not to delve deeper. “I only hope you were not… offended.”

“Of course not!” Jakob cried out. “You could never offend me, milady. And allow me to say this, Lady Corrin, there is no need to thank me. I was merely doing my duty as your butler.”

“Yes, your duty. I know. I can always count on you, Jakob. What I would do without you?” Corrin smiled and sipped her tea.

Somehow Jakob managed to serve the rest of the breakfast. In the kitchen safe from other peoples’ eyes, he buried his hands on his face. What on earth am I doing? Why do I always talk about duty with Lady Corrin? A horrible realization became to wake up inside him. Always proclaiming about butler’s duties… Whom he wanted to hear it? It was for me, not for Lady Corrin… He needed to remind himself he was serving her out of loyalty devotion a servant feels for his master. The reason why he asked her to be allowed stay at her side as a butler… It had not been borne out of loyalty. He had wanted, he needed to stay near her, but he had mistaken his status. He had not wanted to have a place by her as her butler. I wanted… to be something more to her than just her butler.

Following days, Jakob could not look at Lady Corrin straight. Jakob cursed himself feeling this way. He was a butler. A servant, a retainer, a commoner, not even worth taking consideration romantically. She was a princess, of royalty, a leader of their army. He had promised to serve her. Falling in love with her was not certainly proper, it could not be allowed. He did serve her normally, but inside he felt like a tired actor trying to preserve to the end of the performance. He could see Corrin was starting to suspect something, looking at him with puzzled eyes, when he left her after having done necessary tasks.

Next time he left her with excuse of having more tasks to attend to, he could see hurt in her eyes. He hated himself for making her feel like that. He knew he couldn’t pretend rest of his life. He would have to leave. The only question was when. Jakob was in his room wondering how to tell lady Corrin devastating news, when he heard a knock on his door

“Jakob, it’s me. Are you there?” It was lady Corrin.

For an instant, Jakob considered staying quiet, then cursed himself for his cowardice. He went to open the door.                          

“My lady, it’s rare to see you in this part of the castle. How I own this pleasure?” Jakob hoped his smile was not too forced.

“I need to talk with you. Can I come in?” Corrin solemn expression made his smile wafer.

“Please, come on in. How kind of you to visit your servant.” Jakob stepped in to make room, and Corrin came in. She looked around his tidy room. It was pretty bare, but comfortable looking. Few books on his night table, a small cabinet.

“Jakob, I’m going to ask you directly.” Corrin turned around to face her butler. “Have I offended you somehow? You seem so distant lately. Honestly, you don’t seem like yourself at all.” Corrin crossed her arms. “Is it… because of that kiss?”

“No, well…”  Jakob was taken aback by her directness. The kiss was not entirely unrelated, but this went deeper than that. Jakob pursed his lips together. He had wanted to prepare himself better, but now was as good time as never.

“I’m sorry, Lady Corrin. But I have done something… very unprofessional. It’s something I should have told you about a long time ago.”

“What are you talking about? No matter what, we can work it out! So please, tell me what’s wrong!”

I’m afraid we cannot work this one out, Lady Corrin…

“It’s about our talk on my birthday.”

Corrin nodded. “Yes, what about it?”

Jakob breathed in. “Even if I asked to stay be your side as your butler, I have to take my words back. I am so very sorry, Lady Corrin.” Jakob looked at Corrin with great regret and sorrow.

Corrin paled. “WHAT! No no no no! Why, Jakob, tell me why!” She seemed almost to be in panic. He had not expected Corrin to react so strongly and felt sorry for her. But he had to keep going.

“When you told me how much I mean for… I was happy. But at the same time,” Jakob gulped, “There was a part of me that felt regret because it was plain to me you would never see me more than as a family member at most.”

Corrin froze. “Jakob, wait, do you mean…?”                                                                                                     

Jakob steeled himself. She deserved to hear his reasons. ”Yes, Lady Corrin. I have always been so fond of you, of your strength, kindness and really, everything about you! I told myself a long time I have mixed up feelings of love and admiration, since Lady Corrin is my mistress. But I cannot lie to myself anymore. I’m… in love with you, lady Corrin.” Jakob whispered his last words. He averted his gaze, not wanting to see her face, which was without a doubt filled with pity and apologetic.

“…I cannot believe what I am hearing.” He heard Corrin say blankly.

“It is understandable. I have failed you. I—cannot serve you like this. I will resign myself from your service.“

“You leaving, that’s… that’s impossible! I could not go another day without you!” There was suddenly more emotion in her voice.  

“You don’t know how sorry I am to betray your trust like this.  But I will have to leave the first thing in the morning.” Jakob turned around, hoping she would leave him. He didn’t want to draw out this any further than was necessary.

Corrin grapped his arms and forced him to turn around. “Wait Jakob, don’t say that! You don’t even want to hear my response?”

That was the least thing he wanted to hear. ”I do know you care about me. You treat me like I am your family member and a friend. I’m grateful about that, truly.” Jakob averted his gaze.

Corrin put her hand to his cheeks and turned his head to face her. ”That’s where you are wrong!” He looked into her eyes. For some reason he could not see any pity in them at all. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, like they were dancing. It was like she was actually… happy. “Because…. I love you too!”

Jakob could not comprehend what he heard.

“My lady. Are you sure you know what you are saying?” Jakob asked uncertainly. It must be a mistake… She must have mistaken…

“Of course I know! Honestly, Jakob. You couldn’t ever tell that I had feelings for you?”

Jakob had of course given a thought about it. But it had always been just that, a thought. Lady Corrin returning his feelings was like his most beautiful fantasy had come true. “Milady has… feelings for me?”  

Corrin started to look more annoyed than moved. “That’s what I just said. I thought I was dropping pretty obvious hints, but looks like they weren’t enough. I thought you didn’t like me back… So I just…. stayed quiet. I was too afraid you leaving me. I told myself that having you as my friend would be enough for me.”

All Jakob could do was to stare at Corrin and wonder how on earth this was possible.

Corrin gripped his arms harder as if she was determined to keep him in his place and fixated her gaze on Jakob.“But since you were honest with me, I can finally be honest with you and myself. I love you, Jakob! You are the reason I have good memories even in a place like The Northern Fortress. You are… my home.” She whispered the last words softly, smiling shyly.

Jakob could feel his perceptions of the world reordering itself. The world where Corrin cared for him just as her friend and her butler was starting to disappear, to make room for a world where it was possible for a butler and a princess…

“Um, Jakob. I know it’s sudden, but please don’t stand there with your mouth open! Talk to me, please!” Corrin seemed a bit worried by Jakob’s unreceptiveness.

Jakob could only echo Corrin’s previous words. “…I cannot believe what I am hearing.”

“Hey, I already said that!” Corrin cried.

Jakob burst to laughter and put his hands on her shoulders.

”Jakob! Stop laughing!” Corrin looked like she was at her wits end, her cheeks red for embarrassment and furrowing from annoyance.

“Forgive me, lady Corrin. But to think we were both thinking the same thing. Hiding our real feelings and being afraid of things changing. If I had known about your feelings, I would have confessed to you much sooner.” Jakob chuckled caressing her shoulders.

Corrin annoyed expression disappeared and made room to a soft smile. “You are telling me now, Jakob. Please, call me just Corrin.” She roused her hand on Jakob’ and squeezed them softly.

“Very well, Corrin. If I may be so bold as to embrace you…” This time it was Jakob’s turn to blush.

“You don’t even have to ask.” Corrin pressed her head without any hesitation to Jakob’s chest and he put his arms around her.

Having Corrin in his arms felt better than anything in his life. He caressed her hair, pulling her even closer, smiling to himself. He felt Corrin’s hands gripping his back.

“From now on, will you stay be my side as my beloved?” He heard Corrin murmuring shyly. He could tell by her voice that she was probably smiling as widely as he was.

“I will, Corrin. We will always be together.” Jakob promised. I absolutely, will never leave your side, my love.

“Thank you, Jakob.”

Jakob had heard Corrin thanking him a million of times before. Thanking him for serving her tea, thanking him for healing her, thanking him for being her friend, but never had her thanks made him feel so much gratitude for just being alive.

****

I think one of my problem with writing is that I my English vocabulary is limited. Although I like to think I’m pretty good in English, this is completely different writing that what I have done before. Of course, I haven’t written any fiction before so I guess that’s not surprise xD I have actually lots of ideas for fanfics, but I’m afraid to do them, since I know they would not be at that level I would want them to be. But I won’t get better at writing if I don’t work for it.  

[karkashan]

Naming Conventions

“Shiro, I think,” said Rinkah around her partially eaten drumstick. “Ryoma seemed to like it last night when we were throwing ideas for names back and forth, and I have the feeling it’ll be a strong name for our son to grow into.”

“I believe it was also the name of one of milord’s ancestors, a powerful Shogun who helped form one of the first Shogunate dynasties,” Kagero said beside her queen, having mysteriously already put up her dishes without anyone noticing she had moved to do so.

Rinkah slapped a hand good-naturedly on the ninja’s shoulder. “Yeah, you’re right. Tokugawa Shiro. Can’t believe I forgot about him.”

Corrin gave the Fire Tribe woman a questioning look. “Did this Tokugawa Shiro have some sort of impact on the Fire Tribe?”

Rinkah smirked. “He was a shrewd bastard, is what he was.”

Kagero lightly messaged her brow and sighed. “Milady Rinkah....”

Rinkah shrugged, uncaring. “You have to admit he was, Kagero. He knew just what to do to manipulate the Hoshidan clans so he could conquer the lot of them, and creating strong ties with my people was a crucial part of it that none of the Daimyo at the time could’ve seen coming.”

“This was still in the time when Hoshido was ruled, albeit in name only, by an emperor,” Azura started telling Corrin. “The official policy of the imperial family for over a thousand years at that point had been that there could never be reconciliation between Hoshido and the Fire and Wind Tribes, but that they were to be left alone. Shiro gaining the support of both was a brilliant move that allowed him to quickly move against the other lords and set himself up as the de facto ruler of the country.”

“It wasn’t until the second Tokugawa Shogunate that the line of Shogun and Emperor intertwined, and the title of Emperor abandoned in favor of King,” Kagero supplied. “Emperor Shigure, if I recall correctly, was the first Hoshidan King after he married the Shogun Tokugawa Sakura.”

Corrin had to quickly stifle a giggle after hearing this. “I’m sorry,” she said to the ninja, “but I just pictured our Sakura wearing Ryoma’s armor and I couldn’t help it.”

Rinkah cackled. “I should steal my hubbie’s lobster tiara and let Sakura wear it for her wedding to that little Wind Tribe brat. Could you imagine Ryoma’s face?”

Kagero groaned. “Saizo said your newest nickname for milord’s armor was bad, but I don’t think I was quite prepared for something that ridiculous. Also please don’t suggest that to Lady Sakura. She’s nervous enough about her upcoming wedding to Hayato as it is.”

Corrin grunted as she shifted her weight a bit on the divan she lounged on. “Not to mention she’s bullied herself into being midwife for Rinkah, Azura and myself. That’s got to put a lot on a young woman’s plate.”

“I’m surprised your little Siegson hasn’t come charging into the world yet, actually,” Rinkah commented as she had finally finished her meal.

Corrin smiled as she gazed at her protruding waistline. “Siegbert has been a perfectly well mannered boy so far, no punches or kicks or other restless activities. I don’t imagine he’s going to be doing much in the way of charging until Xander thinks he’s old enough to have a horse.”

Rinkah snorted as she rested her head on her fist. “Can’t say the same for this brat,” she said, giving her rounded belly an affectionate swat. “I can already tell he’s got the traditional Fire Tribe hot-headedness flowing through his veins. Throw in his father’s blood and you’ve got a recipe. Not quite sure for what, but you’ve got something hard-headed baked together.”

Azura laughed. “I can just imagine my husband’s many innuendos that he would make if the process of making babies was referred to as ‘baking a baby together’.”

“We praise the gods every day that you removed a terror like Niles off the market, Lady Azura,” Flora said as she bustled into the sitting room and quickly removed the used dishes and refilled everyone’s tea. Judging that everything was to her satisfaction, she excused herself from her Lady’s presence.

“Is it just me or do the rest of you find it suspicious as well that Flora always seems to be mysteriously already done with her duties any time Odin’s cousin Itsuki is as well?” Corrin asked the others.

“Oh, they’re banging, no doubts there,” said Rinkah. “I’ve seen them both exit the same room at staggered times in order to not raise suspicion. The only problem is is that Itsuki’s collar isn’t quite high enough to hide the evidence if he doesn’t have his cloak on.”

“And you’ve never told them this...why exactly?” Corrin asked.

“I told her not to,” Kagero replied.

“She said it was more fun this way,” Rinkah elaborated.

“Seeing Felicia roll her eyes every time those two think they’re being subtle is an amusing change of pace, I’ll admit,” said Azura.

Corrin blinked. “Oh, Was that what that was all about? I thought with her being nervous about her own wedding to Silas.” She shuddered. “I’m still not sure I want to know how the two of them managed to ride his horse to the top of the east tower. There’s only a ladder up there.”

Kagero shuddered as well. “You don’t, Lady Corrin. You really, really don’t.”

[ariphyll]

Weary Eyes Hide Nothing

AO3 Ver

Written for FE Rarepair Week day 2: Patient/Hurt (Takumi/Camilla)

Word Count: 2024

Summary: Being forced to sit around doing nothing was absolutely making Takumi go insane - there was only so much a person could take of their own thoughts. At least he could find a safe haven for the night, if unexpected.

It was one of Takumi’s biggest duties to himself to not get hurt on the battlefield. The fear of death aside, he couldn’t handle being out of commission and useless around camp. What good was he to his family if he couldn’t survive on his own? So, naturally, as was expected when Takumi just needed to be good at something for once, he ended up with a broken leg. It wasn’t even from an enemy - he had simply taken one too many steps back and the ground gave underneath him. A few rolls down a hill and he had landed on his leg wrong with too much force. He didn’t need to be a healer to know that the sharp crack and blinding pain meant he had broken his leg from his carelessness. If he just hadn’t been an idiot this never would’ve happened. While he had managed to be rescued before any vallite soldiers could find him and transported back to Corrin’s tucked away castle, Takumi couldn’t be more unhappy with himself. His frustration only grew when Sakura confirmed the broken bone and, while being able to mend most of it through magic, still put him on bed rest for several weeks. He didn’t want to wait for it to finish mending naturally - he needed to get back out into battle, damn it. His little sister was persistent when needed though, and Ryoma was even more stubborn. He agreed on the down time and that was that. Takumi had to deal with being useless for the next couple of weeks. A part of Takumi tried to explain to himself over and over that it was only because they cared, that his family was worried about him. It made sense right? Worried siblings would want to make sure their brother heals right, of course they would. Yet it didn’t matter to the larger more colder part of Takumi’s mind. The side that whispered nothing but harsh words and blackened insults, and spat at the idea of care. By day two Takumi was positive he was going to go insane if nothing changed. He could only spend so much time with himself before it got too loud in his head and reading only helped him stay distracted for so long. Oboro and Hinata tried to help as best they could but they still had training and work to do. They couldn’t sit around making sure Takumi didn’t drive himself crazy. He had other visitors here and there, but most left quickly. They had things to do and Takumi wasn’t in exactly a good mood to socialize. When Camilla stopped by, he had to admit it was a surprise. The only Nohrians to stop by was Leo and Elise - Leo to play chess and exchange book analysis, Elise to babble at him and try to boost his spirits. Takumi didn’t expect someone like Camilla to come by at all but by the end of the evening she was there. “You seem to be cozy all tucked away in here, Prince Takumi,” Camilla said with a smile. She walked over to sit at the edge of his bed, out of her armor for the night. She wore a simple Nohrian style dress but she still had heels on that clicked against the floor. “Having fun resting?” “Not exactly,” Takumi huffed. He glanced up at Camilla from the book in his hands before returning to it. It was given to him from Leo, and while written in Nohrian and causing him to struggle to translate it, it was holding his interest well. Camilla hummed to herself and looked around his room. Her face fell into a frown once she noticed his half eaten dinner. “Not hungry tonight?” To be truthful, Takumi had been having a hard time not gagging at the thought of food so he had just opted to set it aside. “Uh, I got busy reading I guess...” “It’s not good to skip meals,” Camilla chided. “How else are you going to heal? The bags under your eyes also tell me you haven’t been sleeping.” Takumi left the sleeping comment alone. He didn’t know how to tackle that one without having to explain his nightmares. “I'm pretty sure I can survive one meal.” “I have half a mind to forcibly feed you myself.” Takumi huffed. “Princess Camilla, I’m not going to starve from one meal - and would you stop trying to feed me? What are you even here for?” “I just wanted to check up on you. I’ve been meaning to but Xander has needed me for this and that the past few days.” Camilla ran a hand through her hair. How she managed to keep it so clean and perfect in the middle of a war was beyond him. Takumi nodded. “You’re certainly not obligated to see me. I’m sure you have more important duties than seeing some lousy Prince.” “But I do count this as important,” Camilla said. “You’re a dear friend to me, Prince Takumi, I want to make sure you’re doing alright.” “Well, I’m breathing so that should be enough for you.” A part of Takumi was getting more irritated by the moment, and it was getting difficult to not lash out. He didn’t need to make the tensions between Nohr and Hoshido flare up again because he couldn't control his mouth. “Hmm…” Camilla paused, staring at him. She crossed her legs and rested her head against her hand. “Are you sure you’re alright, dear?” Takumi’s grip on the book’s pages tightened. “Yes, Princess Camilla. Is there anything else you need?” Camilla was quiet for a moment before standing. At first Takumi thought she was finally going to leave, but before he could say a word she was sitting down next to him and pressing against his side. She reached her arms around and pulled Takumi’s head to her chest, squeezing him close. Oh gods, this couldn’t be happening. While soft and warm, having his face pressed against Camilla’s breasts was not what Takumi needed right now. He prayed to whatever god could be listening to not have anyone come in. He didn’t need rumors to spread around and then have an angry older brother breaking down his door. No, he enjoyed his body only having one broken bone for the moment. Though he couldn’t break free of Camilla’s grip no matter how much he squirmed, trapped by her strong arms. “Princess Camilla,” Takumi said, voice slow and even. “Would you please release me from your chest.” “Now, now, don’t get all shy,” Camilla said. “You need to relax.” “I don’t think this is the way to go about this. In fact I would probably be more relaxed if you let me go.” Camilla chuckled. “Just relax dear.” She started to run a hand through his hair, working out all the knots that had built up over the day with gentle ease. Whatever argument Takumi had against this started to break apart at the touch. Camilla’s fingers were cool and felt nice against his skin, leaving sharp trails wherever they touched. Takumi sighed. “Is this really necessary?” “You don’t seem to be relaxing any other way,” Camilla said. “Just let yourself enjoy this.” “The least I could be doing is studying up on strategic theory or something, not letting you pet me like an animal,” Takumi mumbled, unable to help tilting his head as she grazed by his neck. “I’m useless like this so I might as well try to be productive somehow.” Camilla hummed again but the sound was hard and firm. “You’re far from useless, Takumi, you just need to have some patience.” The drop of his title turned the conversation to a different tone, one Takumi couldn’t quite decipher alone. “Your leg will heal and then you’ll be back to being the best archer we have.” “False flattery isn’t necessary,” Takumi grumbled. “I’m not a child in need of his pride being stroked.” “I’m not treating you like a child - although children do refuse to sleep and eat.” A playful tone had taken to Camilla’s voice. “I just want you to relax. Drop your fears for a while.” Takumi grimaced, and tried to pull away again. “Don’t mock me.” “I’m not mocking you.” Camilla’s voice had gone hard again, her arms not budging against his pulling. “Simply telling you to relax. Do I need someone to make a sleeping draught for you?” So much of Takumi was begging to start a fight. Energy buzzed throughout him and over his skin as every inch of his body wanted to lash out, move, do something. Camilla’s arms made it hard though, and the constant brush through his hair made it harder. It was soft and rhythmic, and the part of him that wasn’t screaming inside wanted to comply and do as Camilla said. Rest and enjoy it. “Why are you even bothering with this?” Takumi asked, letting his eyes close. “There’s no point.” “If it gets you to quiet down for a while, I think it has a good purpose,” Camilla said. “Berating yourself is good for nothing but wearing yourself down. At this rate you’ll end up not back to a hundred percent before fighting and will just end up hurt again.” Takumi gritted his teeth. “Well, I would just love to stop but I think I would’ve by now if I could.” Camilla sighed. “I know. But for at least tonight try and relax. Focus on nothing more than right now.” It was tempting, it was so tempting to try and follow Camilla’s advice. A night of rest without a constant thrum running through his body would be wonderful. Before he knew it he was timing his breaths with hers, and letting himself focus on her touch.  Her nails were sharp but feather-light against his skin. It was easier to ignore the urges like this. The pent up frustration telling him to lash out. Takumi started to find a pattern to Camilla's movements. “All you need is patience,” Camilla said. “A bit of patience and you’ll be fine soon. Your leg will heal and… you can work on the rest.” “Don’t belittle me over this. I don’t need to be reminded I hold a child’s fears.” “They are not a child’s fears because you are not a child. You are just a man who has stronger fears than others.” Camilla adjusted to push Takumi into a more upright position. She leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Do you feel better now?” Takumi could tell he was blushing. He knew it and yet he couldn’t stop it from happening. He chose to divert his eyes instead. “Uh- yeah?” He didn’t mean to phrase it as a question, but to be fair he was a little unsure on where everything was going here. He didn't have much time to focus on the women surrounding him, and that included Camilla. However, he's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth if he's being given one. Camilla laughed, voice high and airy. “Would you like me to stay here for the night, Takumi?” He almost said no. His gut instinct to any kind of help or aid - no, always no. Yet Camilla’s face was too soft for that. Too warm with her smile for Takumi to say no. He starting to realize he was almost powerless here. “If… you want, I guess.” “I’ll take that as a yes.” Camilla let out another small laugh before bringing Takumi close again, lying them back down onto the bed and wrapping her arms around him. The running motion through his hair started up again. After a while, Takumi managed to let himself fall into a doze and curl up closer to Camilla. ‘Patience’ she has urged him. It would require patience for all of his wounds to heal, but at the moment the task wasn’t as daunting as it usually was. Right now, he couldn't even focus on something like that. Only the soft fingers running through his hair and down his back. His breathing fell back in time with Camilla's.