#when i was little I once put marshmallows in my top ramen

[constantwarriorblogs-blog]

Finally getting around for a sequel to this post

I'd imagine there are some points where Sonic and Tails stop showing each other cursed images for a few weeks or months depending on schedules, missions and motivation, neither of them acknowledge their food atrocities, and no one still knows why they abuse their cooking skills, no one can get proper answers out of them.

Until either Sonic, or Tails commits a crime in the kitchen and the cycle starts over again

The first time it happened, Amy thought Sonic and Tails finally gave up on the multiple food sins, it really gets out of hand sometimes. At first, it was just beans being poured into places beans shouldn't be and now it's just unhinged (No amount of bleach can ever wipe the memory of the chilli pickle)

It's all quiet until she hears Sonic audibly gag in the other room while Tails has the widest, most maniacal grin she's ever seen him have.

She manages to catch a brief glimpse of his phone and saw what Tails had sent.

You know that Vanilla extract meme from a while back, the poll that started the whole thing leading to that wonderful picture? That's what Tails did. It was nothing but sludge and a very heartbreaking sight for Amy.

In retaliation against the sludge, Sonic sent a picture of Top Ramen with marshmallows poured into it, followed by whipped cream, chocolate sauce and sprinkles like it's a fucking sundae

Both Sonic and Tails have been banned from cooking at any of their friends' kitchens since they started this but it hasn't helped at all because of all the live in labs Tails has, that and they don't even need to cook. Sometimes simply having access to anything remotely edible is enough. Tails once received a picture of a lemon or lime with a bite taken out of it. The fruit wasn't peeled or cut (though it would have been just as cursed), Sonic straight up bit through the peel

Vanilla herself doesn't want Cream to be exposed to the atrocities that has been described by Amy.

Sonic and Tails technically aren't banned from cooking at Vanilla's house, they don't dare to.

[siren-dragon]

Do Androids Bleed Silver? (Ch.1) -- The Cat Returns fanfic

Hey everyone, I wrote another story and this time it isn’t a one-shot but a chaptered one. Yay! This is my first time doing a sci-fi story, so if it seems a little strange or odd, I apologize but I wanted to get something out before I go on vacation. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it! Also tagging @catsafarithewriter because they have been a wonderful support and inspiration.

Ao3 story link

Summary: Cyberpunk/Android AU

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‘Next stop; Shibuya Station. I repeat, next stop Shibuya Station.’ The automated voice sounded over the train intercom, ‘please wait until the train comes to a complete stop and stand away from the opening doors before disembarking.’

Looking down at the half-crumbled note in her hand, Haru took hold of her frayed but well-loved duffle bag and stood from her seat. “I guess this is my stop,” she muttered aloud before the exiting the train and out of the station.

In the year of 2207, the use of androids and cybernetics had advance to a level where their use was a common practice and the backbone of modern society; even in her much smaller hometown. But after entering Shibuya Crossing- Haru felt her backwater home was definitely not on the same level as Tokyo. The famed metropolis was well regarded as the forefront of robotics and cybernetics throughout the entire world but the invention of CREATIONS was the achievement that truly put the city into a category all of its own. Though technically possessing a robotics classification, many who’ve had the chance to see a CREATION regarded them as so life-like, it was almost as if their creator had conjured life itself….

And it was part of the reason why Haru wanted to study robotics in Tokyo; as the only robots that her hometown possessed were generic models of the Alpha and Beta-Classes. She wanted to see the daily technological wonders always taking place in Tokyo. But in truth, the real reason Haru wanted to go was because she loved to help others and repair problems. It was why she decided to study robotics and cybernetics in the first place- with the exception of her apparent talent in the field.

At first, many had viewed the cheery but ultimately clumsy brunette to be a bit of a hazard; and it wasn’t exactly a secret to Haru herself either. She could remember constantly stumbling on her impromptu runs to high school after having slept in- or when she once tripped cleaning the trash disposal unit in the classroom and ended up spilling the contents everywhere. But the moment she sat behind the small desk in her bedroom among the clutter of spare parts and tools, her once graceless movements sharpened and Haru would smile as she’d begin to skillfully repair whatever tech the residents of her hometown brought her. So, with the encouragement of Hiromi and Tsuge, she applied for various internships everywhere in Tokyo in the attempt to join someone’s Workshop team.

And it seemed that only one person was willing to give her a chance…

Walking further into the depths of Shibuya Haru gazed in amazement at the 3D holographic displays and looming skyscrapers that was a far cry from her small hometown. The streets were littered with people possessing a variety of enhancements the young woman had only seen before in adverts that managed to be broadcasted back home. Quickly shaking off her awe and hurryingly pulling out her note of directions once more, Haru began the walk away from the train station and towering skyscrapers while weaving her way through the small alleyways, the brunette teenager came to a halt once more on a rather isolated street. Glancing down once more at the paper in her hand, Haru glanced up at the sight before her with a bit of surprise.

“This… is the Bureau?” Haru spoke, looking at the old, neon green sign that flickered slightly with a smaller neon sign saying the Workshop was open beside an open doorway that was partially blocked by a dark noren curtain. Next to what was meant to be the entryway into the shop was a pair of roll-up garage doors- one of which was already lifted up to reveal the illuminated Workshop within. Tools ranging from chisels and wrenches of all sizes to a designated soldering station, making her maple-colored eyes glow with delight.

“If you don’t have any business Chicky, keep walking. This isn’t a museum.” A gruff voice sounded, causing her to jump slightly.

Standing up from beside what, to Haru’s surprise, was an AeroCycle on a hydraulic lift was probably the largest man the young woman had ever seen. He was tall and rather stout with ivory crew-cut hair and a dark stubble about his mouth and chin while dark brown eyes gave her an unimpressed stare as he crossed his arms; with the left being a robotic prosthesis baring a shade reminiscent of a dark coffee. As the man took in her short height, petite frame, and slightly disheveled ponytail; Haru only hoped he didn’t immediately send her back home based on looks alone- after all, she knew her appearance didn’t exactly scream ‘mechanic’.

“Well? Do you have business here or not Chicky?” He asked again, a hint of impatience coloring his tone.

“Sorry sir, my name is Haru Yoshioka… I’m the intern assistant you made the offer to.”

It was here a skeptical eyebrow lifted as his hands soon went to his hips. Haru mentally scrambled for a way to defend her skills should this man end up turning her away, but he only asked one question. “Can you cook?”

“…Yes?” Haru answered, still a little confused.

“Show me; head up there and make something then bring it over. We’ll talk after.” And with that said, the man returned to his work on the AeroCycle without another word.

Haru could only stare with a slightly dumbfounded expression before letting loose a soft sigh and followed his brief and general directions. Up a set of steel stairs lay a large viewing window, which oversaw the garage, and another door that lead into the living quarters that was surprisingly clean; if a bit cluttered. To the left lay a small kitchenette while the right had a simple living room and a corridor that led further into the flat. Turning to the kitchen and figuring not to keep the man who’d likely become her boss waiting, Haru was quick to fix a lunch from a hamburger steak with a fried egg on top and rice (it was either that or one of the instant ramen containers nestled in the pantry) and returned to see the stout man now talking to a customer while gesturing to the AeroCycle. “Next time learn to drive properly bird-brain.”

“And I told you before, lard-ball, it crashed during a chase!” The customer, who was dressed in a police officers’ uniform, snapped in response all the while glaring at the mechanic.

The mechanic merely grinned savagely, as if he was used to the explosive behavior from the officer. “While you were chasing what? A nearby bird.”

“As if you’re one to talk, you over-sized marshmallow. I’m surprised you can even climb the stairs to your flat without them snapping from the strain.”

“You say that again, you big chicken!”

“Umm… excuse me,” Haru spoke up, causing both men to swerve their heads to her immediately. “Is everything alright? I’ve got the lunch ready.”

“Thanks, Chicky, I’ll just take that off your hands.” The larger of the two men spoke, retrieving the succulent smelling meal with a gleam in his eyes, “and congratulations- you pass my test; welcome to The Bureau. The name’s Muta and this idiot here is Bird-Brain, a regular.”

“The name is Officer Toto Tsubame, nice to meet you and please, ignore this fatso.” Toto replied instead, bowing in greeting with a kind smile. “Are you new to the district? You are a bit young to be on your own…”

While Muta was large and hefty, Toto was his complete opposite with a slim frame and long, layered black locks tied into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck; reminding the brunette of a bird’s feathers. His skin was a tad darker than the larger mechanic and his clothes the standard dark navy-blue police uniform with the exception of knee-high shock absorption boots and a black carbon-fiber and titanium woven shirt that rested under the uniform with the cuffs rolled to his elbows. But what truly caught Haru’s attention was the unique dark-grey coloration of his eyes that she had only seen a few times before in holo-books or advertisements. “Oh wow, you have an optical upgrade on your eyes, I’ve never seen that before. That’s really cool…”

Here Toto gave a good-natured laugh, “you’re definitely new to Tokyo if this is your first time seeing something like that, but well spotted. My eyes have been altered with increased monocular vision and can see with UV and Infrared, alongside night vision. Plus, the color is a rather nice aesthetic as well- but that’s enough about me; what brings you here to the city Miss…”

“Haru. Haru Yoshioka, and it’s nice to meet you too.” She smiled, giving a bow of greeting in return. “I am here for an intern job at the Bureau. But, I’m not sure what cooking really has to do with robotics and engineering.”

Muta bit into the hamburger steak and sighed happily as he devoured the plate of food while Toto groaned at the mechanic’s table manners; or lack thereof. “I didn’t want some assistant who couldn’t take care of themselves, I’m not a babysitter. Besides, if you weren’t skilled enough to be here, I wouldn’t have offered you the job in the first place.”

“O-Oh, thank you.” Haru beamed, more than relieved that though he seemed to be rather rough and intimidating, Muta wasn’t that bad- arguing with Toto aside. “I promise I’ll do my best, and thank you for your help Moo-ta.” Haru quickly gasped, raising her hands to her mouth in horror as if attempting to prevent the words from being heard, but it was too late.

“What?! Did you just say Moo? Like I’m some kind of fat cow!”

“No, no, you’re just fat! Oh- um…”

Toto, meanwhile, had lost all pretense of professionalism and started laughing with tears of amusement threatening to spill from his eyes. “Bahahaha! Oh, you’re going to fit in here quite well with nicknames like that Haru. I’m definitely going to be using that one.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up bird-brain.” Muta grumbled, glaring at the still chuckling policeman, “and you Chicky- you got anything to say for yourself or to me, your boss?”

Haru gave a nervous smile, “I’m sorry Muta, it really did slip out. Would you accept an Insta-Pudding with my apology?”

The ivory-haired man stared down at her with an irritated look before sighing, “make it an Angel Cake from Osono’s bakery down the street, and we’re even.”

“Coming right up!” The young woman chimed before quickly making her way toward the aforementioned bakery.

Toto and Muta both watched her leave with the former giving a thoughtful hum, “Yoshioka huh? I don’t suppose she wouldn’t happen to be related to Hayata Yoshioka, would she?”

“His daughter apparently, if you’re that curious. And she’s only a few good years younger than you and me, idiot.” Muta answered, releasing the AeroCycle from the hydraulic lift while wiping the oil and grease from his hands. “I didn’t know he had a kid, and thought the name was just a coincidence till I saw the resume file Haru and her friends sent me. She was apparently fixing Alpha-class mechs at 11 years old.”

Toto gave an impressed whistle, “well, she’s certainly her father’s daughter if that’s the case.”

"I thought that too, but it was the fact that she has no personal cyber-enhancements that really sealed the deal." Muta added, that information causing the slim police officer to splutter in shock. "So I thought ‘why not?’ and decided to give her a shot; and it wasn’t like I was going to turn down the help- so here we are. But the fact that she can cook is a definite bonus.”

“Do you ever not think from your stomach?”

“Shut up, bird-brain!”

Toto sighed, “well, just try to keep an eye on her, alright? Not everything is exactly safe here, so if you ever need anything give me a call.”

“Thanks… you big chicken,” Muta answered before giving a devious grin and holding out his hand. “Now for the repairs, that’ll be 3,500 credits.”

“What?! That’s daylight robbery!”

“Is that so? And here I was giving you the ‘Friends and Family’ discount. But if you would rather pay full-price, who am I to deny you that.”

By the time Haru returned to the Workshop, she could hear Toto and Muta starting to argue once more and was glad she decided to buy two cakes in order to pacify both parties. Though slightly nervous about her new job, Haru couldn't help the feeling of joy at the upcoming work ahead of her.

[everykindofnerd13]

The Adventures of Hayato Kamitani and his Life with the Kashimas

After highschool, Hayato and Ryuuichi moved in together in an apartment in their hometown. Ryuuichi was going to college for education so he could hopefully be a primary school teacher, and Hayato was going to school for a chemistry major, but he was actually on a scholarship for Baseball, which Ryuuichi couldn’t be more proud of him for. Unsurprisingly, Kotaro has been moved into the apartment with them as well.

And while he may only be 7 at the time, once he’s 9 at least he’ll want his own room, so Kotaro stops sleeping with Ryuuichi every night, in favor of staying in his own bed in the apartment. This meant that there was a special opening in Ryuuichi’s bed that Hayato was all too happy to take. There were nights that Kotaro would wander into the room, looking frantic, and Hayato would have to scoot away from Ryuuichi to allow the still surprisingly small child to snuggle between them.

It reminded Hayato of their first year dating, back in highschool. Kotaro was still only 4 years old and he still slept in the same bed as Ryuuichi. Hayato had stayed the night a couple of times, and had of course been forced to let his annoying little brother tag along, the toddlers always ended up tucked between Ryuuichi and himself, sleeping like, well, babies, while the teenagers smiled cheerily at eachother over their heads.

“Kotaro, can you go get Ryuu please?” He asked quietly one evening. Kotaro was sitting on the kitchen counter watching Hayato stir a pot of ramen. He looked up at the request and nodded dutifully, just like he would have when he was three.

“Thank you Ko!” He exclaimed after him then turned back to the pot.

Not even five minutes later Kotaro was hopping back up on the counter and Hayato felt his arm being pushed up as Ryuuichi wormed in between he and the stove to look at the pot of ramen.

“Well hello,” Hayato grunted, resting his chin on Ryuuichi’s head. Ryuu hummed and leaned back while Kotaro leaned over to put his head on Hayato’s shoulder. He chuckled, deciding to cherish these few years that Kotaro would join their cuddly moments rather than scrunch up his nose and make a face the way Taka did.

“Your mom called,” Ryuu muttered, pulling his two favorite quiet boys to attention. He almost laughed when they gave him practically the same look.

“Yeah, she was wondering if we could take Taka this weekend, apparently she made plans and forgot that you wouldn’t just be there, again.” Hayato groaned at the prospect of keeping his brother at his apartment for a weekend but when he saw the look in Kotaro’s eyes he felt his resolve practically disappear.

“Fine...” Hayato grumbled and Ryuuichi laughed.

“That’s good, because I’d already accepted,” Hayato glared at the pot of ramen but figures he couldn’t very well argue, considering he’d just accepted.

“You shouldnt make decisions without talking to Haya-nii, Nii-Chan,” Kotaro pointed out from next to his brother and (practically) brother in law. Both Hayato and Ryuuichi looked surprised at his words of wisdom but Ryuu actually looked down at his shirt in thought, brows pulled together in that cute way he always had when he was thinking particularly hard. He looked up apologetically at Hayato after a few seconds.

“He’s right, sorry Hayato,” Hayato only shook his head and kissed Ryuuichi’s forehead.

“It’s fine Ryuu, you didn’t do anything terrible,” Hayato conceded, “But I think it’s a good thing that Kotaro is so observant, otherwise I’d probably just let you push me around,” Ryuuichi laughed , pulling a similar chuckle out of Hayato’s lips. They bantered together for only a few minutes more before sitting down at the table to eat the now finished Ramen.

•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•

Ryuuichi wasn’t home when Hayato heard the apartment door open and close, and the telltale sound of Kotaro trudging to his room. This wouldn’t be so strange if Kotaro didn’t usually come to Hayato to ask for a snack, and then sat on the couch to eat it, not bothering Hayato for about thirty minutes before he would come in and ask for help on homework.

Hayato stood cautiously and walked quietly to the now 10 year old’s bedroom. It was decorated with pandas and ladybugs mostly, as those were his favorite things. There was nothing wrong with the childish room other than the clearly distressed child sitting in the middle of his bed, knees pulled to his chest as he choked back sobs that were racking his body. Hayato’s heart clenched seeing Kotaro like that, he rarely ever saw him cry, let alone son, and that was usually when Ryuuichi was in some kind of danger or he had been scolded.

“Kota?” He asked softly and the mint haired child gasped as he looked up at Hayato, eyes bloodshot and cheeks wet from tears.

“Hayato...”he muttered, voice far too deep and raspy for a ten year old boy.

“Can... I come in?” He asked carefully. Kotaro wasn’t very territorial, but if there was anything that both Hayato and Ryuuichi wanted to get across to him it was that this room was his space, he didn’t have to let Ryuuichi or Hayato in here, and he was free to do whatever he wanted in here, as long as he didn’t make it too big of a mess.

“Yeah...” Kotaro has muttered and Hayato had carefully walked over to the bed and sat down. He had never been much good at comforting, but he’d had a little practice with Ryuu and his stressful fits or frustration. He opened his arms, once again offering Kotaro the hug, in case the quiet kid didn’t want to be touched. Luckily, he practically sprang into Hayato’s arms, beginning to sob into his chest.

“What happened Kota?” He asked softly and the boy sniffles , still buried in Hayato’s chest. He began to rub up and down his back and run his fingers through his hair, this is what always calmed Ryuuichi down and it seems to work well for Kotaro as well.

“There were some kids at school...” Kotaro explained and Hayato immediately tensed, willing his overprotective senses to weaken, he needed to comfort Kotaro first.

“What did they say?” He asked softly and Kotaro hiccuped again.

“They said it was weird that I talk about you and Nii-Chan so much...” he elaborated, still shaking with silent sobs, “Then they said it was weird that I lived with my brother instead of my parents, and they wouldn’t stop calling me an orphan, but I’m not because you and Nii-Chan are my guardians, and I’ve still got Saihara and Obaa-Chan on top of that, I don’t understand why they would say that!”

Hayato hugged him tighter and kissed his head while Kotaro sobbed violently again.

“Kotaro, you’re not an orphan okay, and you’re not weird, and it’s okay to talk Ryuu and I, you’re in a unique situation and that’s okay, because you’re doing great,” he assured the child in his arms, “Don’t listen to those kids, some kids just don’t believe that you can be happy with a sibling, you saw how convinced Taka was when he was younger, and they’re probably angry that you’ve got such a good relationship with Ryu, okay?”

“I don’t want people to think I’m weird because my parents aren’t around, I can’t control that!” Kotaro shouted, and Hayato was admittedly taken aback, he had never seen the boy so angry.

“You’re right Kotaro, you can’t, but you also can’t control how other act, and what they say. What you can do is control the way you react,” Hayato soothed, rubbing Kotato’s back.

“When those kids say those things, ignore them, and tell a teacher, okay? And if the teachers don’t help, tell Taka, I’m sure he’d have plenty to say about it.” Kotaro nodded into his chest and then confused to cry. Hayato tried his hardest to be as comforting as possible for the next few minutes. Kotaro eventually fell asleep, curled together against Hayato like the man was a pillow.

Hayato heard the door open and close not even ten minutes after Kotaro fell asleep.

“Hayato?” He called, clearly confused by the lack of welcome from his fiance and brother sitting in the living room.

“In here!” Hayato called, trying to stay quiet but wanting Ryuuichi to hear him. He heard Ryuuichi appraching the bedroom door and when his fiancé popped his head in and saw Kotaro curled against Hayato, he was immediately not only confused but confirmed.

“What happened?” He asked quietly, sitting carefully on the bed next to Hayato and moving his hand to also run his fingers through Kotaro’s hair.

“Some little assholes making fun of him for living with his and not having parents,” he explained and saw the immediate anger on Ryuuichi’s face.

“That’s awful.”

“Yeah, like I said, Assholes.” Ryuuichi sighed and leaned his head on Hayato’s shoulder, looking concerned at his little brother.

“I knew it was almost inevitable that kids would question it but... that they would make fun of him baffles me...” Hayato hummed in agreement and kissed Ryuuichi’s forehead, moving the hand in Kotato’s hair to Ryuuichi’s running his fingers through his hair.

“Relax Ryuu, we can go talk to the teacher about it tomorrow when we pick him up, okay?” Ryuuichi nodded reluctantly and closed his eyes, falling asleep on Hayato’s shoulder.

•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•

Hayato was standing at the sink doing the dishes when he heard the all too familiar sound of a gaggle of teenagers entering his home. He sighed and turned off the water, placing the pan he’d been holding on the drying towel and reaching for the cupboard, he already knew what was to come.

He pulled down 6 mugs and started the kettle just as the teenagers came in to collapse at the counter. Kotaro stared off into space looking exasperated, Taka and Kirin dropped their heads onto the counter, and Takuma, Kazuma, and Midori all huffed and dropped their faces into their hands.

So hot chocolate it was then...

“What’s going on guys?” He asked and they all groaned in unison. He pulled down the box of hot chocolate mix, then also the whipped cream from the fridge and the marshmallows and chocolate syrup from the pantry.

“Middle school sucks, he heard his overdramatic younger brother grumble, causing him to snort.

“Yeah, imagine having to watch a demonic younger sibling through it all,” he jabbed at his little brother, who only glared back.

“Shut up Nii-Chan! This is an actual problem!” Hayato sighed and nodded.

“Okay okay,” he emptied all the hot chocolate packets into their mugs, and turned to look at the teenagers while he waited for the water to boil.

“What’s going on?” Everyone erupted into complaints, except for the all-saint, Kotaro.

“Woah! Guys he can hardly help you if you all talk at once!” Ryuu exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen. He stepped over to Hayato, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, drawing a fake gag from Taka, some coos from Kirin, Midori, and Takuma, and uncomfortable silence from Kotaro and Kazuma.

“Welcome Home Honey,” Hayato whispered and pulled Ryuuichi up to kiss him again, simply because he knew that it would annoy Taka. Ryuuichi laughed and swatted at his husband’s chest.

“Stop purposefully embarrassing your brother,” he scolded then turned around to look at the teenagers at the table while Hayato kept one of his hands around his waist, rubbing his hip with his thumb.

“You two are disgustingly... what’s the word Kirin?” He asked, looking at the evergreen haired girl expectantly. She huffed and glared at Taka, but there was no heat in it.

“Domestic?” She asked and he nodded.

“It’s gross.” He concluded and Kirin rolled her eyes.

“No Taka, it’s cute, you’re just a stupid boy who knows nothing of love,” she scolded him, and he just rolled his eyes at her. Ryuuichi and Hayato shared a knowing glance with each other then the same look with Kotaro, who looked absolutely exhausted by his friends.

“Anyway, what’s going on guys?” He asked them all and then picked up his hand as they all began to talk at once. The kettle began to whistle so Hayato turned away, begrudgingly taking his hand off Ryuuichi’s hip as he began to pour the hot water into the mugs. Ryuuichi stayed turned around and pointed at Takuma who was sitting on the far left.

“You first Takuma, what’s your conundrum?” He decided and Takuma took a deep breath.

“I’m stupid.” He decided after a moment and Ryuuichi glared at him.

“None of your are in any way stupid, and I’d honestly prefer if you stopped saying such awful things about yourselves, but what’s going on?” He asked, then turned around to start putting the whipped cream on the mugs full of hot chocolate and marshmallows, then dribbling chocolate syrup over them.

“I’m doing really badly in my math class, and if I fail this next quiz they’re not gonna let me play in the next practice match!” He exclaimed, clearly very stressed by the consequences of failing, rather than the prospect.

“Well, what are you having trouble with?” Ryuuichi asked as he set a mug of hot chocolate in front of each he and his twin brother. Hayato set one in front of Midori and Taka, then Ryuuichi set one in front of Kotaro while Hayato brought his over to Kirin.

“It’s not that I’m bad at the math, when the problem is laid out I can solve it, but understanding the question is the problem!” He groaned and threw his face into his hands.

“Well, why don’t you just start studying as a group, it always helped me to sit down with Maria, Yuki, Nezu, Yagi, and of course Hayato when I was struggling, why don’t you?” Takuma looked around at his friends and they all nodded encouragingly so he nodded as well.

“Okay!” He exclaimed, and Hayato couldn’t help but think about how some things really never changed.

“Right, next, Kazuma, what’s on your mind?” The muncher more docile twin sighed deeply.

“I have art block, and that’s stressful because I have a whole canvas painting due in a week!” Kazuma brought his hands up and entangled his fingers in his hair, pulling, hard. Ryuuichi panicked slightly and rushed over to grab his hands, encouraging him to let go. Kazuma eventually did and Ryuuichi sighed, moving his own hands to the blonde’s hair and running his fingers through it comfortingly. Hayato moves over to the kitchen counter and sat on it, waiting for Ryuuichi to ask the next question.

“Alright, Kazu, is there a prompt? Or a subject I guess?” The boy sighed, and nodded.

“The prompt is comfort, but it has to be a scene, and I know that everyone else is gonna paint like, a hug, or their own canvas, but that’s just not what I want!” He exclaimed frustrated again. Ryuuichi hushed him and patted his head.

“Kazuma, you are one of the most creative kids I know, I believe that you can figure this out, okay?” Ryuuichi kissed the top of Kazuma’s head then walked over to stand between Hayato’s legs, facing the 14 year olds.

“Alright, Kirin, you’re next,” he said while Hayato wrapped his arms around his chest.

“Alright, so we’ve got that new music teacher this year right?” Ryuuichi nodded, and she continued, “Well, apparently she heard about me before she came here, and now she expects more from me than the other students! And like, I know that I can be better than the other guys in a lot of things, but I’m not perfect! Now she’s getting angry when I can’t get something and I don’t know what to do!” Kirin threw her hands up in the air hysterically and then fell back onto the counter. Ryuuichi looked sad for a second, then took a deep breath and began to speak.

“Kirin, you are very talented, and it is true that you are above most people with your skill, and maybe that makes it seem like she should push you harder, and I agree with her, you need to be challenged so that you can improve, but if you genuinely believe that what she is doing is too much, you need to tell her that, and explain that you have limits just as much as the other students do.” Kirin smiled at Ryuuichi and nodded.

“Okay...,” his eyes moved down to the next teenager, “Kota?” He asked his brother shook his head.

“I don’t have problems Nii-Chan, their problems are my problems, and your problems are my problems, but I don’t have my own problems...” Kotaro explainer, pulling a laugh from Hayato and the other kids. Ryuuichi just looked at him for a monent.

“Okay, but if you do,” Kotaro held up his hand, but before Hayato could scold him for being rude he spoke.

“If I have problems I go to my friends first, because maybe they can help solve it without getting an adult involved, then I need to come to you if it gets worse, if I don’t want to tell you I should talk to Hayato, I know, Nii-Chan.” Ryuuichi blushed and Taka snickered. Hayato also let out a small laugh at his husband and brother in law.

“Alright, well um... Taka, you’re next then,” Ryuuichi pointed out, looking to his brother in law. Taka nodded and then dropped his head again.

“Okay, so this problem is...” Taka trailed off and Hayato and Ryuuichi immediately got worried.

“Well... I’ve wanted to play baseball like Nii-Chan for... years, like forever basically, but I know that I’m not as good,” Taka explained and Hayato felt his chest clench. So it was this kind of problem.

“The problem is that the coach thinks I should be as good or better because I grew up with the legendary Hayato Kamitani as a brother and mentor...” Taka explained, getting quieter and quieter.

“And I want to play but it seems like everyone knows about you and I’m just... here, and they expect me to be more than I am and I just don’t know what to do.” Taka brought up his hands to press the heels to his eyes as he began to cry, whether out of frustration or distress neither Hayato or Ryuuichi knew but they didn’t really care. Hayato tapped Ryuuichi’s wrist and walked over to Taka.

“Don’t cry, you oversized toddler, it’s fine,” he assured his brother, rough-love always being his strong suit. Taka took a deep breath and nodded, but didn’t look at his brother.

“I don’t want to disappoint you...” he muttered and Hayato felt his chest clench again.

“Taka, just because my thing is baseball doesn’t mean it has to be yours, you’ve been doing MMA since you were like, 6 and you’re better than some of your teachers, it’s okay to be average at some things,” Hayato reaches his hand up and began to run his fingers through Taka’s hair.

“Taka, do you want us to talk to the coach, do you want to?” Ryuuichi asked softly and his brother in law looked up at him in surprise,

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, I took a major in education and a minor in child psychology, I know how things effect children, I’ve been studying child psychology practically since I was ten, and I know that expecting so much from you isn’t good for you, I want to talk to your teacher, but if you don’t want me to, you can,” Taka gasped and looked at Ryuuichi with wide eyes then he looked at Hayato.

“I want... I want you guys to...” he concluded and Ryuuichi nodded, walking over to hug Taka.

“Do you want us to talk to your teacher too Kirin?” Hayato asked and she hesitated for a moment before nodding. The two adults nodded back and then looked at Midori.

“Alright, what about you Midori?” Ryuuichi turned, asking for her to elaborate on what her problem was. Ryuuichi pulled out the bench on the other side of her and sat down, Hayato taking his place behind Ryuuichi, hands around his waist and chin on his shoulder.

“Mm, it’s not such a big deal compared to these guys...” the significantly younger girl muttered and Ryuuichi shook his head.

“No, if it’s enough to trouble you, it’s enough to solve, now tell us,” Kotaro and Taka cracked a smile at Ryuuichi’s words.

“Well... there’s these girls in my class, and they started talking to me at the beginning of the year, and I thought that they actually wanted to be my friend, but lately they’ve been asking a lot of questions about Taka, Kotaro, and the twins and I don’t want to just sit around and talk about the boys! I wanna do other things too!” Ryuuichi looked down and smiled, shaking his head. He then looked up at Hayato who averted his gaze. He practically cackled before turning back to Midori.

“Drop them, they’re interested in the boys, not you, and they don’t deserve your attention,” Ryuuichi suggested and Midori nodded, Hayato spoke up next.

“You should hang out with the boys specifically in their sight, just to rub it in their face,” he suggested and Ryuuichi swatted at him.

“It’s kinda funny that you four kinda became the equivalent to Hayato, Nezu, Yagi, and I when we were in middle school.

“But the weird thing is that Kotaro is more similar to myself, and Takuma is more like you,” Ryuuichi laughed, ignoring the bewildered faces the teenagers gave them.

“And Taka is like Yagi!” He pointed out. Hayato threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh.

“What are you guys talking about?” Kirin asked and Ryuuichi struggled to catch his breath so he could explain.

“When we were in highschool, Hayato, Yagi, Nezu, and I were what people called the Favored Four. We were always being asked out and confessed to, Hayato even had upper class men into him,” he explained and Taka stuck out his tongue.

“Gross.” He said and Ryuuichi giggled.

“Yeah, I was exhausted, imagine being in love with your bestfriend and everyone just keeps asking you out, everyone but him!” Hayato complained and Ryuuichi smacked him.

“Hush!” He scolded while Taka, once again, fake gagged at his brothers’ antics.

“You’re really good at giving advice Ryuuichi,” Kazuma spoke up and the man was stunned.

“Uh, thank you Kazuma,” he muttered and cast his gaze down, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Mama always said you’d make a great parent...” Midori said and Ryuuichi blanched. He’d never thought about having kids.

Or, well he’d never talked to Hayato about it, they had enough on their plate, with Kotaro and work, but he’d definitely thought about kids before.

“It’s true! And Kotaro will be gone soon! You two should start thinking about it!” Kirin said and Ryuuichi blushed brighter. Hayato huffed and looked at the teenagers annoyed. It was funny how one of his expressions could say an entire sentence.

Like, “Shut up you idiots, you’re embarrassing him and we’ve got other things to worry about right now.” Everyone of the kids mouths were shut and they didn’t talk any more. After a couple seconds Hayato walked to the closet.

“So, what are we watching this time?” He asked as he pulled down a few blankets and pillows. Taka, Midori, Kirin, and Takuma lit up, and the other two got about as excited as it gets with the two of them, and they rushed over to the living room.

“Let’s watch a horror movie!” Taka shouted and Hayato rolled his eyes.

“Absolutely not.” He growled and his little brother glared back. Hayato kicked him lightly as he walked over to drop the pillows and blankets on the floor. He then went back to the closet and grabbed some metal poles and the same amount of metal plates with small holes in them.

Ryuuichi smiled at him as he took the poles and set them up on four corners. Two next to the couch, and two next to the tv stand. One more was placed in the center. They began pulling a string of thin but strong rope through the holes at the top of the poles and then they began to put blankets on top. The metal plates were used as bases at the bottom of the poles, and they had a drawer in the corner table that had a box of rubber bands in it. With the kids help, Hayato and Ryuuichi put the blankets on top of the poles then secured them in place with rubber bands. The girls were inside setting up pillows and blankets in a comfortable way while the boys were outside, helping the adults with the fort. Kotaro was also inside the fort, looking through movies and trying to find one he thought both Kirin and Taka would agree on.

They’d started doing this regularly when the kids were ten years old, hence the ready and waiting closet of fort supplies, and Hayato had quickly designed a kind of easily set up structure for the blankets to rest on. Using kitchen chairs and furniture was not doing too well for them. The Kamitani-Kashima apartment was the usual hangout for the kids, though Ryuuichi couldn’t help but dread the day they decided hanging out in the same house as their older siblings wasn’t cool.

The adults both settled on the couch, Ryuuichi cuddled into Hayato’s chest. Kotaro and Taka were sitting on the other side of the couch while the other four teenagers sat on pillows on the floor in front of them. They watched a random movie that Kotaro had put on and just chilled out for a couple of hours before Ryuuichi insisted on driving the twins, Kirin, and Midori home, Taka just stayed with them.

•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•

“Nii-Chan!” Kotaro shouted from his bedroom, where he was doing homework. Ryuuichi jumped up from where he was laying down with Hayato. Hayato folllwed as well.

“If you don’t control your overenergetic brat of a child, I’m moving in with the Kamitanis.” He growled. Kotaro was never very aggressive, so Hayato was immediately very confused by his words. When they came into the room, they saw Kotaro’s chemistry homework on the bed, Kotaro standing next to his bookshelf, his panda ceramic they’d bought him when he was young, shattered, and Akari sitting on the ground looking on the verge of tears as Kotaro glared at her. Ryuuichi gasped and rushed over to get Akari away from the broken glass while Kotaro just continued to glare.

“What happened Kota?” He asked as he passed Akari off to Hayato.

“That- f-...” Kotaro took a deep breath.

“That brat, wandered in here while I was trying to do my homework, and decided to try and climb my shelf! She shattered my panda, and started wailing, which has definitely completely thrown me off and I’m honestly just getting more annoyed.” He explained, all in one breath and fuming. Ryuuichi took a step forward to begin scolding Kotaro because Akari is only young but Hayato put his hand on his shoulder, silencing him. He offered Akari to him and gestures for him to leave then turned back to Kotaro. The 16 year old was still visibly fuming as he grabbed the trashcan next to his desk and began to throw away the remnants of his panda ceramic.

“Kotaro, look at me,” Hayato commander, trying to stay calm and understanding. Kotaro looked up at Hayato, anger, hurt, and, terrifyingly, fear in his eyes.

“What’s it gonna be Haya?” He asked, still mindlessly throwing the glass into his trashcan.

“Kotaro, I understand that you’re annoyed, but she only 4,” he reminded him and Kotaro couldn’t help but grimace at his words. He knew that. He knew that Akari was only 4 years old but he was annoyed, that was one of his oldest possessions, and one of his favorites, he couldn’t help the anger.

“I know, Haya, but this is the sixth f-,” Kotaro has to catch himself again, he didn’t like to curse in front of his brothers, “this is the sixth thing that she has broken this week, and I’m just getting sick of it!” He exclaimed, clearly feeling awful as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. Hayato sighed and nodded. He walked over to kneel down in front Kotaro, avoiding the broken ceramic.

“Why don’t you just shut the door? She can’t reach the handle,” he pointed out, and Kotaro shook his head.

“No, because I only shut the door whenever I’m made at you or Ryuuichi, and I don’t want No-Chan to think that I’m mad at him,” he gritted out and Hayato nodded in understanding.

“Do you want to... put away some of the more fragile things until she’s older or you move out?” Kotaro took a deep breath and shook his head again.

“Okay, well we can hardly keep her locked in her room, this is her house too,” Hayato pointed out and Kotaro nodded with a sigh.

“I just, I want her to stay away from my things, I don’t mind if she’s in here, which is why I put the fragile things higher up but she just, climbs the shelves!” Kotaro was getting frustrated again so Hayato reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

“What about a glass cabinet, I’ll get you one so you can keep things on display, but the cabinet would have magnetized doors, she wouldn’t be able to open them.” Kotaro took a deep breath and nodded. Hayato nodded as well and went to go get the broom.

“Is he okay?” Ryuuichi asked from where he was sitting in the kitchen, watching Akari carefully as she sat in her high chair eating orange slices.

“He’s frustrated, Ryuu, he’s 16 years old and feels like his space isn’t being respected,” Ryuuichi nodded in understanding, worrying his bottom lip. He looked at the ground, casting his gaze away from his husband.

“I almost yelled at him Haya...” he muttered, Hayato could barely hear him. But when he did, he was shocked, Ryuuichi didn’t yell at anyone, let alone at his little brother.

“I don’t know what came over me, but I just got so angry when he talked about Akari like that...” He muttered and Hayato sighed when he watched a sob rack his husband’s body.

“Ryuu, do you remember when Taka drew all over my autographed baseball?” Ryuuichi took a deep breath, brows furrowing in thought before he nodded.

“Do you remember what you said to me?” He asked next and Ryuuichi shook his head softly.

“Well, it was something to the affect of, ‘You can get angry over things like this, but you can’t punish them, they don’t understand’, and you’re right, and I was the bigger person, but you also have to understand that Kotaro doesn’t get angry like that easily, he’s genuinely upset that Akari keeps breaking stuff, and I think that’s even more upset that neither of us made a move to prevent it.” Ryuuichi nodded in understanding then fell forward, resting his forehead against Hayato’s chest. He began to cry softly, and Hayato wrapped his arms around him.

“It was so much easier when he was still a baby, and he didn’t fight with me...” Ryuuichi whispered and Hayato laughed.

“He still doesn’t fight with you, he just has things of his own now,” Hayato pointed out and Ryuuichi let out a breathy laugh.

“Daddy sad?” Akari asked from behind them and Ryuuichi sat up and wiped his tears.

“No, honey, I’m not sad,” he assured her and she furrowed her brows.

“Daddy angry?” She asked this time and he shook his head again, she nodded then pointed down the hall of their home.

“Ko-Chan angry...” she elaborated, and Hayato sighed, letting go of Ryuuichi to walk over and pull Akari out of her high chair. He held her to his chest and bounced her as he spoke.

“Yeah, Ko-Chan’s angry, but that’s because you weren’t being very nice,” he said and tears welled into her eyes, Ryuuichi rushes forward to take her but Hayato turned away giving Ryuuichi a stern look. Ryuuichi looked kinda upset but backed down.

“Akari, you really hurt Kota’s feelings when you break his things,” she sniffled and Hayato patted her head.

“Just wanna play...” she muttered and he nodded in understanding.

“I know that baby, but those are Kotaro’s things, and when you break them it makes him very sad, how would you feel if Kotaro broke your toys?” He asked and she gasped. Looking at him with shiny eyes. He nodded with a matter of fact face.

“Yeah, I know, that feels bad doesn’t it?” She nodded and he nodded back at her.

“Do you want to apologize?” He asked and she nodded quickly. Hayato looked back at Ryuuichi with a face that basically read, ‘She needed that,’ Ryuuichi nodded in understanding.

“Okay, lets go,” he said and pointed at the broom and vacuum. Ryuuichi nodded in understand and reached for both, following Hayato and Akari to the bedroom. When they reached the doorway, Hayato knocked softly.

“Kota?” He called, drawing Kotaro’s attention to him, “Can we come in?” Kotaro looked wearily at the toddler in Hayato’s arms but nodded, shutting his chemistry book and ushering all of his papers into a pile on top of it. Hayato came and sat down, setting Akari on the bed next to him. She looked up at Kotaro with wet eyes and crawled toward him. She wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him. Kotaro looked shocked by the action, but wrapped his arms around her in return.

“I’m sorry Ko-Chan!” She shouted into his chest and his eyes widened.

“I forgive you Akari...” he whispered and she snuggled into his chest. He sighed, resting his head on top of her’s, and looking up at his brothers.

“I’m sorry...” he mouthed and Ryuuichi shook his head quickly while Hayato did so much slower. After a minute, Hayato have Ryuuichi a look, and he nodded while Hayato carried Akari out of the bedroom, he laid her down in her bed to take a nap then went to sit outside the door in case he needed to step in and moderate.

“I’m sorry Kotaro,” Ryuuichi muttered and he heard Kotaro sigh.

“No, it’s not your fault...” he insisted, he heard what he assumed was Ryuuichi sitting down on the bed.

“Kotaro, this is your space, and those are your things, and I’m sorry that she broke them, I need to take responsibility, because admittedly, that’s what I did when you did something wrong as a baby,” Kotaro took in a shaky breath and it sounded like Ryuuichi hugged him.

“I’m sorry that I expected so much for you, I forget sometimes how hard I worked so that you didn’t have to grow up too fast, but I think I might be comparing you to me at your age, and I’m so sorry...” He heard Ryuuichi begin to cry and poked his head into the room, making eye contact with Kotaro who moved one of his hands grasping Ryuuichi to reach out for him. Hayato smiled and stepped closer to his boys, pulling them into a hug.

“It’s true that you had to grow up too quickly Nii-Chan, but I’ve always been really mature, so I don’t blame you for expecting better from me,” Kotaro muttered and Ryuuichi cried harder. Hayato sighed, hugging them both tighter, he didn’t interject, he just acted as a comfort.

“You’re still a child Kotaro, no matter how much you don’t act like it, you’re a child, growing into an adult who wants what’s to have his own space and things because you have that ability and I don’t know why I didn’t think about it...” Ryuuichi muttered and Kotaro spoke up again.

“Because you never experienced that feeling Nii-Chan. You’ve always been so giving and incredible, you never wanted to inconvenience anyone, and you never wanted to see me unhappy, so you sacrificed a lot...” Hayato rubbed both of their backs as they cried.

After a while he ushered them both out of the bedroom to calm down and watch some TV for a bit.

[mostlycompetentwriter]

“Be Mine”- A Sunshine AU Drabble

F/M Pairing: Y/N x Han Jisung (Stray Kids)

Word Count: 2,500

Warnings: Language, some mentions of smut, it’s mostly cute

Genre: Married Life AU

Notes: Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!

“Is that the best you can do?” I groaned, fixing Hyunjin with what I hoped mimicked the effect of Jeongin’s notorious puppy dog eyes.

Instead, my best friend and business partner scoffed, grabbing a towel to wipe away the flower painting the side of his cheek. “What the hell did you expect? You tell me to bake your husband a cake an hour before we’re supposed to close!”

I winced at his tone, realizing that Hyunjin's frustrations were completely warranted. But I was growing increasingly desperate, especially while the clock continued to tick away in the background. Because, like the forgetful idiot that I was, I totally missed the giant heart circling today’s date on the calendar in my bedroom. 

In my defense, I was completely disoriented after Jisung woke me up between my legs this morning, tongue circling against my clit with urgent movements. It was the first sign that I should’ve been paying more attention as opposed to losing myself to a well-deserved orgasm. "Happy Valentine’s day, Y/N,” Jisung said with an arrogant smirk, clearly proud of his early morning efforts.

Of course, there was also the additional surprise of pancakes waiting for me in the kitchen. My plate was stacked high with the doughy breakfast food shaped into misformed little hearts. Bless his soul, but Jisung was definitely inept when it came to cooking. 

I ate quietly, trying to ignore the way Jisung watched me from the counter, cheeks squished between his palms. “It’s good,” I lied to him, trying my best not to choke on the burnt edges, but it was worth it to see Jisung’s face light up with his beautiful smile.

“Baby,” Jisung had finally stopped me on my way out the door, pulling me into a passionate kiss. “I’ll see you later tonight. I have something special planned for you.”

Fuck. My. Life.

“Hyunjin, I’m so screwed,” I groaned, pulling the tiny cake closer to me. “Thank you for this.”

“Y/N forgot Valentine’s Day again,” Hyunjin sighed, reaching behind him to undo the strings holding his apron together. “What a surprise.”

I glared at him because I was determined not to make a repeat of last year when Jisung had spent a fortune on a new pair of earrings to offer as a gift for the cheesy Holiday. I remember accepting them hesitantly, wondering why my husband felt the need to buy me jewelry. “What’s this for?” I had chuckled, feeling my heart sink in my chest when I recognized the familiar look of disappointment in Jisung’s eyes. 

“It’s a stupid holiday,” I muttered. “I don’t understand why Jisung even likes it so much.”

“He’s a hopeless romantic,” Hyunjin said, tone rising dramatically. “But yours truly will celebrate at home. Alone. With a case of beer and a bag of stale pretzels.”

“Good for you, Jinnie,” I teased him, patting his shoulder while he glared at me from the corner of his eye. “Close up shop, yeah? I have to run through the streets begging someone to sell me some flowers.”

“Whatever, Y/N,” Hyunjin said. “You should be more grateful that you have someone to celebrate this hellish day with.”

“I’m beyond grateful,” I said, rolling my eyes as I dismissed him curtly, wrapping my jacket tighter around my shoulders when I walked outside.

I felt like a complete imbecile driving through the empty streets of the city, looking out my windows for any familiar sign of those ridiculous flower stands that popped up rampantly around this time every year. Yet, another obvious warning that I had blatantly ignored which could’ve saved me a lot of grief when it came to pleasing my husband. For once in my life, I’d like to feel more prepared for Valentine’s Day because Jisung enjoyed it so much and I always felt obligated to entertain the things he liked even if I didn’t share his enthusiasm.

“Aha!” I cheered triumphantly when I spotted a bright neon pink cart set up outside an empty diner. I parked my car as close as possible, locking the door behind me before approaching the stand with determination. 

“Evening,” the owner greeted me with a faint hint of amusement which I chose to ignore as I scoured my few pathetic choices.

“I guess I’ll have those,” I said, indicating my hand in the direction of a modest bundle of flowers that definitely had been turned over by countless other patrons who had probably enjoyed a much more vibrant selection.

“Of course,” the man agreed. “That’ll be fifty dollars.”

“Fifty dollars!” I exclaimed, frowning at the wilting bundle of roses. “What the hell?”

“Valentine’s day is almost over,” the man shrugged. “It’s about time for the really desperate ones to come out.”

“I’m not desperate!” I lied, muttering under my breath as I reached into my wallet. “Just give me the damn bouquet.”

The man smirked, snatching my money while handing me the saddest excuse for Valentine’s Day flowers I had ever seen. Still, at least it would be something thoughtful to give Jisung as I hurried back to my car. I had about half an hour to make it home since my husband had insisted on making dinner for the two of us, something I protested whole-heartedly because Jisung was a nightmare in my kitchen. However, regardless of my protests, nothing could stop Jisung when he was set on doing something. I could only hope that he managed to keep the heat on medium when he was cooking Ramen.

I reached back into my coat pocket for my discarded keys, growling when I realized that a parking ticket was stuck underneath my windshield wiper. “Fuck,” I cursed, groping for the door handle of my car before gently placing the flowers down in the front seat. I glared at the ticket before tossing it on top of the dashboard. “Who the hell is patrolling the meters this late at night?” 

Of course, there was nobody present to address my grievances, leaving me to stew quietly by myself as I maneuvered my car onto the highway. 

Ever since I could remember, my husband always insisted on celebrating Valentine’s day with the most passionate displays of declaring the modest “I love yous” we always shared on our way out the door in the mornings. I had never properly understood his obsession with the Holiday as I made no secret of my own dislike for the commercialized occasion. I mean, who does Walmart actually think they are by charging over three dollars for a box of marshmallows with chocolate on top?

Distracted by my unpleasant brooding, I turned off the exit ramp without remembering the brand new traffic light the state had recently built to control rowdy teenagers who liked to handle the curve at maximum speed. The bright red of the light caught me completely off-guard and I slammed on breaks instinctively, realizing too late that the jarring movement had sent my precious cake careening into the floorboard. 

“NO!” I cried, resisting the urge to bang my head against the steering wheel when I looked down and saw Jisung’s cake had tragically been completely destroyed, flowers joining the terrible mess that would be impossible to clean. “What the actual hell,” I bemoaned, searching for a spare tissue to try and at least clean the icing from my leather seats. 

When the light turned green, I eased out into the intersection knowing that I now had nothing to give Jisung for Valentine’s Day. The thought was rightfully sobering and I pulled into our apartment complex with a heavy heart because there was no back-up plan waiting to save me. I was left with nothing and my husband would suffer the consequences of yet another year of my poor planning. 

As soon as the ignition was off, I did my best to reform the cake and gather the flowers together. It was pathetic, both their appearance and my blatant disregard for appropriate planning. “I’m sorry, Jisung,” I whispered into the cold night air, holding the pathetic excuse for a cake tightly in my arms as I entered our building. 

I wrestled with my keys at the front door, managing to catch the lock before using my foot to help me inside with what was left of my Valentine's Day surprise. With a deep sigh, I placed the cake and flowers on our side table, studying them as I tried not to imagine Jisung’s reaction to my gifts. “Y/N!” he sang, peeking his head out of the kitchen wearing an adorable smile. “Guess what?”

“Hmm?” I feigned noncommittally, hanging up my coat before fidgeting with the cake and flowers on the side table. 

“I made dinner!” Jisung said. “And I didn’t burn the kitchen down.”

“I’m proud of you, babe,” I told him sadly, wondering if the Universe was conspiring against me in its determination to ruin my marriage on the one day of the year meant to celebrate love.

“How was your day?” Jisung asked from the kitchen.

“Fine,” I grimaced. “What about you?”

“It was interesting,” Jisung said. “Come here for a second. I want you to look at the cards my kids made for me.”

I put on my best smile, accepting a kiss from Jisung before my husband was ushering me against the counter. “Aren’t they adorable?” he asked, shuffling through the tiny Valentine’s cards decorated with a variety of familiar cartoon characters. 

“I Dumble-ADORE you,” Jisung giggled, handing me the Harry Potter themed card. It reminded me distantly of my own childhood where I would drag my mother through the grocery store, determined to find the best box of childish cards for my classmates.

“To the most handsomest teacher,” I read, offering Jisung a mischievous look. “Does this little Sarah have a crush on you?”

“She’s just a kid,” Jisung said, fingers nimbly massaging the skin at the back of my neck. 

“It’s okay,” I grinned. “I understand her opinion.”

“Is that so?” Jisung questioned, pulling me in closer from his grip around my waist, offering me a searing kiss that ignited a familiar desire to bend over the nearest piece of furniture for my husband. “Dinner’s ready,” he said, releasing me despite my whine as he started to arrange our plates. I wasn’t surprised to see that Jisung had created a romantic set-up in the dining room complete with a pastel-pink tablecloth decorated with our finest wine glasses and cutlery. There were even a few lit candles arranged with the centerpiece. 

“You worked hard, I see.”

Jisung offered me a sheepish smile. “Do you not like it?”

“Of course I like it, babe,” I said, taking a seat next to him at the table. “I know you did your best.”

Jisung filled my plate with a steamy offering of whatever delicious concoction he had somehow created. “It’s some kind of pasta.”

“You don’t know?” I questioned, enjoying the way Jisung’s ears turned red at the accusation.

“Changbin might have helped.”

“Hmmm,” I giggled, reaching for the wine bottle. “Does that really count, Sungie?”

“Well, I bought the wine myself.”

“And I’m so very proud of you for it.”

I carefully poured us both a glass, sipping the delicate liquid. “An appropriate choice.”

“Yeah? Minho recommended it.”

“Jisung,” I laughed. “I feel deceived.”

 “Don’t worry,” Jisung reassured me. “Your present was completely my idea!”

I stuffed another bite of food into my mouth at the mention of a gift. “Oh?”

“I think you’ll love it,” Jisung said, obviously very excited at whatever thoughtful present he likely purchased for me again this year. Unlike my unsuitable offering still sitting on the side table.

Jisung continued to fill the majority of our conversation, talking about a new assistant principal at his Elementary school. Meanwhile, I tried to maintain a neutral expression, hoping that Jisung wouldn’t notice how nervous I was about whatever he had planned to give me that would pale in comparison to my wrecked cake and dying flowers. But I was naturally a bad gift giver, you could ask any of our closest friends. They would all recount a similar nightmarish scenario involving my inability to understand the basic mechanics behind the concept of exchanging gifts.

“Join me in the bedroom,” Jisung eventually said, gathering our plates together while I tried not to hyperventilate.

I stood up to fix my skirt, returning to the foyer to find the cake and flowers waiting for me mockingly. I grabbed both meager selections, managing the walk of shame to our shared bedroom at the other end of the hallway. Soft music played from inside and I briefly entertained the idea of a fully naked Jisung splayed out across our bed like some kind of filthy pornography.

But I probably wouldn’t get laid after Jisung saw my cake and flowers.

“Sungie,” I said, stepping inside the room only to find Jisung fully-clothed and waiting next to our dresser with hands behind his back. 

“Babe,” he said, smile contorting into a frown as he realized what I was balancing precariously between my hands. 

“I’m sorry,” I sighed in defeat. “I got you a cake and flowers but they didn’t survive the trip home.”

I gently deposited the cake and flowers on our desk. “Y/N...”

“I ruined it again,” I cried, falling back against the bed before he could finish his sentence. “Jesus, Sungie, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I tried so hard to make this special for you, but I always manage to ruin everything.”

“Baby,” Jisung said, crawling onto the mattress next to me. “What are you talking about?”

“The stupid cake and flowers!” I exclaimed, covering my eyes with my hands. “I just don’t understand,” I sighed. “I mean, I guess it’s alright, but I don’t really get why you love Valentine’s day so much.”

Jisung smiled, thumb brushing across my lower lip. “February 14th,” Jisung said. “The day Y/N told me that she loved me for the first time.”

I froze at his unexpected explanation, my next deprecating sentence dying as soon as my lips were forming the words. “What?”

“Babe,” Jisung sighed fondly, leaning down so that we were at eye level. “I don’t really care about the gifts, but I always make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day because it means so much to me. It would be enough for me if we just sat together on the couch all day and watched those sappy soap operas you like.”

I didn’t realize I was crying at his tender resolution until his fingers were carefully capturing each successive drop. “Jisung, why the hell are you determined to turn me into mush?”

Jisung chuckled, kissing my forehead with affection. “Honestly, it wouldn’t be Y/N if she was actually organized,” Jisung said, fingers carding through my hair while I leaned against his chest. “And, for the record, I actually like the cake and flowers, even if they weren’t necessary.”

“Don’t lie to me,” I mumbled against his shirt. “They’re both terrible.”

“I would never lie to you,” Jisung gasped with feigned outrage while I rolled over on top of him, planting my hands on either side of my head. “Are you interested in what I got for you?”

I nodded eagerly, allowing him to rise slowly with one hand maintaining a grip around my waist. He reached behind him for the discarded box and held it out for my awaiting hands. I gasped when I realized what was waiting inside, shimmering brilliantly under the lights. “It’s sort of like a replacement,” he said, nodding to the wedding ring I wore on my finger, compliments of a very nice discount Jisung received at the pawnshop. He had been so embarrassed when he offered it to me back then, promising to find something better in the future. But even now I made sure to tell Jisung that I loved both rings equally because they came from him and that’s all I cared about. “Beautiful,” he declared when I slipped it on next to my other ring. “Happy Valentine’s day, Y/N,” Jisung murmured soothingly.

And I sighed happily in return. “Happy Valentine’s day, Sungie.”

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: TokyoTreat Oct 19

I think I’m doing pretty good progress wise, please be patient with me as I continue to try to review old boxes~

“October is here, bringing with it those spooky Halloween vibes! Halloween has been growing in popularity in recent years, and since Japan loves their seasonal snacks we had plenty of new, interesting items to choose from! In the spirit of being spooky but kinda cute, we’ve created a Poke-Monster Night for you to enjoy! No sharing these tricky snacks though!“

For this months contest, the winner could receive figures of Naruto and Sasuke from Naruto, while runner-ups won a cute pokeball candy and stamp. Lucky Treat consisted of Full Metal Alchemist, Dragon Quest, AND three devil fruits from One Piece, the Gomu Gomu (Gum), Mera Mera (Flame), and Ope Ope (Operation. Also, they accidentally mislabeled as the “dark dark fruit”). I was very excited that they included the 3 belonging to 3 of my favorite characters~

Pokemon Ramune & Strange Syrup DIY

(Please see top pic for images)

For this month, we get a basic, straight-laced ramune drink. Thank goodness :P as much as I like to try new flavors, sometimes I forget the original is probably the best... especially in comparison to those yucky flavors that I’m still traumatized by <_< and this month we even get a really cute pokemon label.

Ramune is basically that “soda“ flavor you’ll see in Japanese candy. It has a sweet, sort of lemon-ish taste but its not sour. It’s a little like sprite, but in my opinion it tastes way better. It’s especially yummy whenever it’s warm out or if you worked up a thirst. It’s also really fun to open because of the marble inside!

If you have ever wanted to try out Ramune, I would suggest checking on Amazon (they have a variety of fruit flavors too), or maybe the Japan Haul website (the website made through Tokyo Treat and its various brands).

- - - - -

The DIY I just included a bonus pic of because I’ve done it several times. It’s a super-sticky, thick syrup like candy that only requires you to mix the 3 flavors, which are strawberry, soda, and lemon. Together they make grape... which looks like this:

Because this candy was a little old, I think it was a bit off. The lemon and soda flavors were fine, but I noticed that not only was strawberry orange instead of pink, which might explain this... greenish-honey color. It’s usually a little purple if I recall.

Also, it didn’t really taste like grape this time, and it wasn’t as good in my opinion- but I guarantee if you open it as soon as you get it, it tastes much better. If you don’t like sticky/gooey textures you might wanna skip this one though.

Halloween Milk Senbei & Bloody Cola Marshmallow

Since I subscribed like 3 years ago, I’ve only seen senbei in a box once; I was very excited to see it again! It’s stuff like this I wish they would include more of, because I want to try the unique foreign flavors you know?

Anyway, the milk senbei is a plain, very thin melt-in-your mouth cracker-like snack that pretty much tastes like ice cream cone, but a teensy bit sweeter. This one comes with a cola flavored sauce to put on top of it. Each 1 (or one pack, not sure) is around 25-27 calories.

♥ ♥ ♥

I really like the taste of ice cream cones, I don’t know why, I just always have. Meanwhile, the jelly/sauce is purple, but it indeed tastes like cola ♥ it’s very yummy. However... together, they get a strange taste and that I’m not very fond of. I can’t even describe it, but its weird. But eating it in small doses is tolerable.

- - - - -

Speaking of cola, we also got a really cute marshmallow filled with a cola jelly! It’s like they combined two of my favorite things~

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It’s very soft and yummy, the jelly inside tastes about the same as the sauce from the prior item, but it tastes so much better with the marshmallow.

Apple Pie Kit Kat & Brown Sugar Sweets

Instead of orange kit kats this year, we get to see fun purple one :D these kit kats are inspired by an apple pie. As you can see they also come in a large pack to share with others or to eat yourself. Each pack is 65 calories. 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love the coloring of these, first of all. It’s such a pretty purple, and its fun too. The apple flavor is very prominent, and it has a very small hint of spice, while the wafer brings to mind a sugary crust. It’s sweet, but mildly.

- - - - - -

These are popular for their melty and soft texture, with a very thin, crisp layer of rich brown sugar coating. Each one of these is 17 calories.

♥ ♥ ♥ 

These are kinda basic, but it’s a yummy sweet that isn’t overly sugary. I think it goes good with the apple pie kit kat, and maybe some milk.

Disappearing Taste?! Mixed Gummies, ZomB Grape Gum, & Blue Green Soda Gum

We got 3 gums this month! Our first is very familiar, because we’ve had this gum before. The only difference is this is its washed out, slightly different cousin. Basically, you’re given a set of flavors of gum, in this case yogurt, strawberry, orange, and white grape/muscat. You can eat them as is, or mix the flavors to make new ones, like a fruit drink, melon soda, or different fruits.

What makes this one special however, is that there is a special gumball that supposedly makes the flavor disappear? I mean, isn’t that what gum does normally?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This gum is really nice, you get a lot of them per-resealable pouch, and the flavors are always pretty good. Plus I like how the gum is smooth and soft in texture. I didn’t really notice any difference with this one from the last pack I had other than flavors.

- - - - -

Next up, we have the ZomB Gum; a popular Halloween item that we have seen before; I think about 2 or so years back, when we got the red cola vampire version. What makes this gum really fun is that it colors your tongue as you chew it, and it has a delicious grape flavor.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This gum has the same texture as the other gum, so I really like it. The color effect isn’t nearly as strong as the package shows, but it’s a cute little gimmick, and it tastes great. The flavor lasts about 5 minutes.

- - - -

Our last gum is another brand I’ve had before. I have had both this flavor, and their cola version. It’s pretty much the same concept as the ZomB gum (they’re made by the same brand), but its in two sticks and you get a soda flavor, and a melon flavor.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’d pretty much say the same things as I did about the previous two gums. All three were delicious and I would recommend any of them.

Poteco Pumpkin Gratin & Pringles

Here we have two salty, savory snacks for the box. But of course, the Poteco are not new to us, in fact I think last Halloween we got the exact same pack; minus slightly different packaging. Poteco is good and all, but I got so tired of seeing it that I tend to... shy away from it now. This flavor wasn’t really that different from the original/normal Poteco either.

- - - - -

I was a lot more excited for this item, a unique pack of Japanese Pringles :D Looking at the package, this is a type of ramen or noodle bowl flavor. It’s a mystery item in the booklet so I’m not really sure, but for this small can it is 267 calories!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Honestly, these are so yummy that I don’t even care how many calories there are. The flavor is very strong, it tastes exactly like this cup ramen I like to buy. Trying to describe the flavor, I would say it’s sort of like beef or soy sauce broth, with a hint of a corn taste?

Pokemon Halloween Chocolate & Pikachu Gummies

These are both snacks we’ve had before, so I’ll try to just gist this one.

These crispy snacks are shape like pikachu heads and come in fun, colorful packaging featuring a variety of Pokemon, while the back usually has a fun puzzle or image. Each bag is 83 calories and they are by the brand Tohato.

These are really yummy x3 they have a slightly bitter chocolate taste and remind me a lot of the coco crispy cereals.

- - - - - -

The other snack is also pikachu-shaped, but besides its head, there are also the occasional tail you might find ;3 These are by Lotte, and each pack is 90 calories. The flavor is grape and they taste really good too.

The only real thing to bother me about these is that they didn’t cut the gummy around Pikachu’s ears. It’s a minor thing but it bothers me a little.

Halloween Corn Potage Umaibo

Okay, so... because I talk about this a lot, I’m not actually planning on saying anything about it this time :P long story short, corn potage Umaibo is the best.

Squid Legs & Halloween Pizza Corn Snack

Don’t let the name fool you, these are not real squid legs- they just have a fishy taste. I’ve had these before too, and I have fairly complex feelings about them. On one hand they don’t taste terrible, but I don’t like seafood and the flavor is still unappealing to me. I like their crunchy texture though.

- - - - -

Next up is this corn puff snack featuring a delicious pizza flavor! They taste exactly like the pizza-flavored combos, if you never had those before I would recommend them too~

Pokemon Cola Chewing Candy

This is our final item... and now that I look at it, it kinda looks like a wafer cookie doesn’t it?

Anyway, these are sticks of chewing candy that come in various series and flavors. Before we had some grape Thomas the Tank Engine ones, and this time we get some cola Pokemon. Each wrapper usually includes a unique design, craft, or puzzle of some sort.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ I don’t know if these are hard because they had to sit around for a while, or because that is just how they are. I don’t remember the Thomas ones being so hard, but they weren’t as thick as these. But if you suck on them for a few minutes they soften up, or you can crunch them to softness. The flavor is very yummy, I think it might be my favorite cola flavored item in the box.  

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 4.5 out of 5. Everything is very yummy, even though a fair amount of it was repetitive. I really liked it. Theme - 4 out of 5. Well, given the packaging and theme, I could say yeah they did pretty good. We had a decent amount of Pokemon items, but they could have done a little more too I think. Total Rank: 9 out of 10. I really liked this box, I just wish maybe we would have had a couple more unique items.

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

(I’m sorry, but by this point I’m not really feeling well. I want to finish the review so that I can go lay down DX)

[yjminseok-blog]

FACECLAIM: Kim Taehyung + V + Idol. CHARACTER NAME: Lee Minseok PRONOUNS: he/him. GENDER: cismale. AGE/BIRTHDAY: 23. February 15th ZODIAC SIGN:  aquarius sun + leo moon ROOM: haean building - 1e.

hey!! im lore resident gg elitist and this is my shitty robot building kid. if u wanna plot please message me on the discord? :smirk: ( PatheticGirl43#6578 ) 

POSITIVE TRAITS: passionate, bold, goofy, extroverted, honest NEGATIVE TRAITS: reckless, fickle, overconfident, loud, stubborn OCCUPATION: apple in the codex galleria / etsy store owner for his useless robots SONG THAT DESCRIBES THEM: moderation by florence and the machine HOW LONG HAVE THEY LIVED AT THE YUJAEN?: three months FOUR MUSE AESTHETICS: lucky charms with only marshmallows, scattered nuts and bolts, empty diet coke cans, ugly patterned shirts

BIO ( kind of ) 

minseok used to be in computer science in university, his family runs a business that offers firewalls and online protection to some of the biggest companies in the world. he ended up dropping out and his parents cut off his money because of it. he now works at apple and jailbreaks iPhones in the parking lot to make some extra cash.

he makes terrible robots, you know the kind that are supposed to pour your milk into cereal for you but miss and just pour it on the table, a power drill with toilet paper meant to wipe for you but just unspools the entire roll, an alarm clock with a hand on it that just slaps you in the face. some of them are a bit more practical than others… but not by much. he’s always been interested in engineering and not what his family was up too.

hes a massive prankster, was one in high school and it still persists into his adult life and now that he has the dumb robots. it comes across even more.

he has a shitty bike that he uses to get around everywhere, he’s never driven a day in his life, one time someone stole his bike wheel and all he had was a skateboard to get around and skateboarded into work.

homemade beyblades that are actually dangerous because they’re made out of real metal, yugioh cards, old terrible movies that the general public thinks are bad, parties, being out in the middle of the night acting like a hooligan, coffee at 6 am after no sleep, not caring, being an airhead despise how he used to be an honour student.  cant cook just eats instant ramen, mac and cheese and 7/11 food.

got a marble stuck up his nose once because someone told him he couldnt.

chaotic

i have a pinterest board if ur interested! x

Wanted connections:

an ex any gender is fine. id like if i could have maybe one that is good terms and one that definitely ended on a more messy note. i have no problem with minseok being the dickhead of the relationship or if you have something that you need filled in the respect of an ex. lemme know!

a childhood friend i really want someone who grew up with minseok. just someone who was like there through it all. they probably got into a lot of trouble together in school. maybe they met in detention once? wouldn’t that be funny. pulled pranks together.

a former classmate from when he went to university. maybe he bought answers from them. maybe they stole answers off him because he wasn’t terrible in school. he just slacked off because he didn’t care about computer science and wanted to do other things.

bought a really bad robot from his etsy store. maybe the lipstick one that misses your mouth entirely. or the beer pourer that pours it on your table and then tries to bring it to your mouth but it just dumps it on you because it goes too quickly. or he jailbroke their iPhone in the parking lot for a little cash and they just kind of hit it off from there.

maybe he made a really shitty battle bot with them. or they like did some weird shit like battled beyblades or something like that. just goofy shit!

party mates. or people that he hangs out with. minseok loves to party - he loves to be the life of the party. so when he gets drunk he does what he can to have fun and make sure everyone else does. these could just be his regular friends they don’t always have to get drunk. he just loves to go out maybe there is an all night arcade that they go to a lot. he’s competitive.

hookups. i do want an awkward one where maybe he shook their hand once afterwards because he didn’t know how to talk to them. but also some regular hookups and just yeah. you know how it be.

someone who’s annoyed with him. just find him grating. he tends to be very over the top and intense he’s so much of a goof and doesn’t seem to care about anything and that can be super off-putting to people.

anything? we just going rn. 

[petri808]

Snowbound

@inuvember Day 26 AU Weekend

She must admit, as they travel along the winding mountain road that the scenery is just breathtaking.  There was a light dusting of snow along the roadway and on the tops of many of the Japanese pines they passed by.  It was winter break from college and Kagome’s roommate Sango talked her into taking this trip.  Come on, the older girl had said, let’s get out of the city and just relax for the two-week hiatus.  Who else was coming was the first question.  Well, her boyfriend Miroku and his roommate, Inuyasha.  No way, was the immediate response, there was no way she was bunking with a guy.  But her friend assured her, it would be two cabins, one for the girls, one for the guys.  “Give him a chance, you might like him…”

The two men sat up front, with Miroku at the wheel while the girls were in the back seat.  The trunk of the SUV was packed with all the necessities and food for the long stay.  Cases and cases of dried ramen seemed like overkill to the young brunette, but Sango had explained Inuyasha’s penchant for the instant meal.  It had been a two-hour drive, and they were nearing their destination, so Kagome sat back and stared out the window…  

~~~

“How did I let you talk me into this?”  Inuyasha grumbles as he helps his roommate load up the car.  “I’ve spent enough years in the woods to not wanna go back to it.”

Miroku just sighs, he was one of the few people that knew the young male was no ordinary human, and one of the few who tolerated his sometimes, temperamental nature.  ‘Maybe if he just had a girl he wouldn’t be so damn grouchy…’  Deep down he knew his friend had a heart of gold that matched the true color of his eyes, but his lonely upbringing and years of fending for himself had left the hanyo distant.

“We’ll be in cabins… Inuyasha, not the woods.”

“Keh, it’s still the middle of nowhere.”

“Please just try to be nice to Sango’s roommate as a favor to me.  She’s really sweet.”

“The freshman, right?”

Miroku looks up and sees the two girls walking towards them.  “Here they come.”  He drops what he had been holding and goes to help them with their things.  Inuyasha follows his friend but can’t help the gaze he levels at the girl beside Sango.  Something in her aura is calling to his yoki and he doesn’t know why.  “Kagome, I’d like to introduce you to my roommate, Inuyasha.  Inuyasha, this is the girl I was telling you about.”  

“Nice to meet you Inuyasha.” She bows politely

“Likewise.  I, um,” mumbling, he takes her bag, “can load that for you,” and quickly hurries away with her things to the car.

Kagome stands there a bit dumbfounded, “He’s kinda odd…” she mutters.  

“Yeah…” Miroku exhales, “don’t mind Yash, he’s shy around new people.”  

“No, he’s not.”  Sango interjects, “I’ve never seen him offer to help with anything before…”

Miroku tilts his head, “Huh?  Your right...” Leaning in closer to his girlfriend he whispers, “It gives me an idea…” and as she listens, a smirk grows on her face…

~~~

She’d been quiet for most of the ride, whispering to Sango every so often, but with his hidden ears, he could hear most of the conversations, Hiking…  Smores…  ‘What’s a smore?’ he wondered…  Is he a senior too…  Yeah…  Is he usually this quiet?  No, he can be a little irritating…  ‘Irritating?!’  That’s just great…  But he’s got a sweet side too…  ‘No, I don’t!’  Really…  He looks over at the freshman through the side mirror; she’s staring out the window again, but it’s like she was thinking about something and if he wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks seemed flushed for some reason.  This girl was intriguing to him.  Yes, she was pretty, and to him, smelled nice, but she also reminded him of his mother; not necessarily in appearance but her poise, her energy.  His mother had been the only real soothing presence in his life and this girl was exuding that same essence…  

“Inuyasha?”

He turns to his friend, “Huh?  What is it Miroku?”

“Kagome?” Sango taps her shoulder.

“Yes?”

“We um, have something to ask you guys…” Miroku starts off

and Sango finishes “…we were wondering if you two wouldn’t mind letting us use one of the cabins for the night.”

“No way!” Inuyasha and Kagome both yell at the same time.  

“Please Yash…”

“Please Kagome…  it’s just one night.”

The girl sighs, “Just, one night?”

“Just one night,” Sango begs, “I promise.”

“Ugh…” Inuyasha hangs his head. ‘Damn you Miroku!’  “You didn’t need to cave, Kagome.”

“She’s my friend, and they don’t get a lot of alone time.”

“Thank you, Kagome!”  Sango hugs her friend.

Miroku grins at his friend.  “Keh!  I know what you’re up to you.” But Miroku just pats his shoulder as the hanyo crosses his arms and turns his head to look out the window.  ‘Fuck, now I need to be alone with this girl for the night!’

~~~

When they walk into the cabin, Kagome immediately regrets her decision; she had expected to see two beds, not one!  Inuyasha sees the irritation on her face and starts laughing, “So which side do you want?”  

She turns, glaring at him, “This is not funny!”

“Hey, I told you, you didn’t need to cave.”

Kagome plops down on the small couch fronting a fireplace and rubs her temples.  ‘It’s gonna be fine, it’s just for the night…’  “I guess I’ll take the right.”

“If it’s that uncomfortable for you, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

She looks up, a little surprised at his gesture.  “No, that wouldn’t be very fair… Just no funny business mister.”

He throws his hands up in defense, “Hadn’t planned on it.”

Exhale.  “It’ll be dark soon; would you mind starting a fire while I fix us up some dinner?”

“I think I can manage that…”

~~

The cabin was well stocked with firewood and quick start kindling which was awesome because by the way the clouds were rolling in tonight and probably the whole time they were up here it was gonna be cold.  Inuyasha got the fire going and sits back on the couch while Kagome fusses in the kitchenette area.  They had brought mostly canned, instant, and dried foods, so they wouldn’t have to go back down the mountain, but whatever she was whipping up sure didn’t smell like it came out of a can.  Scrumptious aromas tickled his sensitive nose and sends his stomach a growlin’.  Kagome chuckles, “It won’t be much longer.”

‘I could get used to this…’ he kicks his feet up and closes his eyes.  It’s been a long time since he’s had a home cooked meal, most of the time he and his roommate ate out since neither could cook much more than instant, ready to serve stuff.  Oh, he could burn things over a fire, having survived for a couple hundred years on his own, but a nice meal; yeah that was a different story.  “So, Kagome….  How do you like college so far?”

“Um, it’s different, being away from home, but I really like it.  Sango and I knew each other from high school and she told me this college was a really good one.”

“Where is home?”

“On the outskirts of Tokyo, my family runs the Higurashi shrine.”

‘Miko bloodline, how interesting…’  

“What about you, Inuyasha, where did you come from?”

“Err, well…  I guess you could say outside of Tokyo as well.”

“Oh…” she walks over and hands him a plate.  “Here you go, I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will,” he smiles and digs right in.  Kagome sits next to him on the couch and stifles her laughter as he groans and sighs through each bite.  “Mmm…  So much better than just ramen…  But I do still love that stuff!”  

“I can tell…” she finally chuckles, “You’ve brought enough to last a month.”      

“It’s easy to make…” he takes another bite, “mmm…no more hunting for my meal…”

Kagome cocks her head to the side, “Hunting?”

“Err, I-I mean having to search for a good take out restaurant.”

Her eyebrow raises as if she thinks he’s lying, but he changes the subject.  “I overheard you talking about smores in the car, what is that?”

“it’s like a campfire dessert, do you wanna try some?”

“Definitely!”

Giggling, “Alright, I’ll make you some after dinner.”

She takes their plates and cleans up then comes back with the ingredients for the smores.  “Come here,” she pats the ground next to the fire place as she sets everything down in front of her.  Once he joins her, “So first you take the graham crackers and chocolate…” preparing the pieces, “…like a sandwich see?”  she shows it to him.  “Now we roast the marshmallows…” putting one on a stick and over the fire until is turns brown.  “…then you put it between the crackers and chocolate…”  demonstrating the last step.  “…and that’s it, simple.”  She hands the one she made to him.  “Just be careful, the marshmallow is still hot.”

He holds the concoction to his nose, sniffing it; ‘smells yummy…’  and take a tentative bite.  “Oh wow!  This is amazing!”  He devours the rest of it, grinning.  All the while, Kagome is prepping more of them.  “Could I try?”

“Of course.”  She hands him a marshmallow stick…  Kagome laughs through most of the show, eating a smore or two while Inuyasha scarfs down the rest of the batch.  The conversations are friendly and amusing, and she finds herself very relaxed around him.  She had been so worried that they wouldn’t get a long, but those fears are melting away.  Every so often he would make a comment, like the hunting one, or do something strange, like sniffing the smores like an animal would, but would quickly correct himself.  She’s starting to wonder if there is something he’s trying to hide from her, maybe from his past, that she can’t seem to put her finger on.  What was harder to ignore was other little, suggestive gestures that kept catching her attention, arousing little side glances, him lying on his side with one leg bent in a pose as he stared at her…  the electric sensations when their hands touched a few times…  Her heart would beat faster each time and she swore he grinned when it happened; could he hear it?  Impossible right, unless he had some superhuman hearing abilities?  Maybe he was just being a flirt?  Maybe it was her imagination?  Regardless of how she was feeling, the important thing is, they were getting along.  Time ticks away, minutes into hours, until 11 pm rolls around.

“I’m stuffed!” he lays on his back patting his belly, “thank you for dinner and dessert…”  When he turns to look at her, his dark piercing eyes are the brightest she’s seen so far with the light of the fire making them shine, and his smile is just…  pulling her in deeper…      

Kagome looks down at her hands, cheeks flushing a little, “You’re welcome….  It’s getting late, I think we should head to bed already, Inuyasha.”

He yawns, “You’re probably right…  But I was really enjoying our conversations…”

“W-we can talk more tomorrow…” he nods and smiles at her.  “I’m gonna get ready for bed in the bathroom, you can get ready after me, I won’t be long.”

“Okay.”  As she gets up, he watches her every movement…  putting away the leftover snacks, gathering her Pj’s and heading into the bathroom…  All the while secretly drooling over the girl.  He had thought her cute before, but now, she had become even more beautiful in his eyes.  Such poise and elegance, sweet and caring, yet with a hint of a feistier side; it was all seductive to a man who has never been attracted to anyone before.  While he waits his turn, he adds another log to the fire that should help it last for a few more hours.  He stares at the embers, remembering the days when this was the only source of light in the dark.  It was such a lonely time, but one that helped to shape the man he was today.  His ear twitches to the sound of a door opening, he turns and looks up to see Kagome now in long sweat pants and an oversized shirt walk out.  ‘Damn… she’s fucking adorable…’  

“Your turn.” She smiles at him…

By the time he’s changed, Kagome is in bed under the covers with just the fires light illuminating the room.  The cozy ambience of the dancing shadows is not helping the desire that had begun to burn in his soul for her.  He gulps, nervous now that he was about to be in a more intimate space with this woman.  “It’s gonna be cold tonight…” he blurts out as he climbs into the bed.  “I put more wood in the fireplace so hopefully that’ll keep it at bay for a while.”  He himself doesn’t get cold as easily but he knows a human’s body will be affected much easier.  

“This blanket seems warm enough… and our body heat should help…” that last part trailed off, but he heard it loud and clear.  “Goodnight, Inuyasha.”

“Goodnight Kagome.”  She turns over, facing away from him, but he stays on his back and stares at the ceiling.  ‘Now I wish we didn’t have to trade cabins tomorrow…  Maybe I can get Miroku to ask for another night with Sango…’    

“Wow… you are like having a heater in bed with me.”

“Huh?”  Oh, he heard exactly what she said, but it took him by surprise.

“I said you’re like having a heater in bed with me, your body is so warm.  Anyways, goodnight again.”  He can feel his cheeks burning a little; thank goodness, she can’t see in the dark.  

“Goodnight…”

At some point during the early morning hours, he awakens to Kagome cuddling to his side, shivering just a little.  The fire had gone out and the room was chillier but what caught his attention was the sounds coming from outside of the cabin.  What had begun as a light pattering of snow has now turned into something worse; a blizzard.  His first priority, was the girl, who even though had snuggled up to him, didn’t want her freaking out in the morning when she woke.  He sighs, this wasn’t exactly easy for him either.  “Kagome?” he lightly shakes the girl.  “You, are um, snuggling to me…  Is it okay, if I keep you warm?”

“Mmhmm…” she murmurs.  “I’m cold…”

“O-okay…”  he bundles her closer, and she shifts her head over his arm to rest against his chest.  “Is that better?”

“Very…”  the light breathing lets him know she’s fallen back asleep.  

He sighs and wraps his arms around her body, ‘hopefully she remembers this in the morning.’  Kagome was smaller than he, height-wise, by at least a foot, but she fit so perfectly, molded against him.  As he drifted back to sleep, he couldn’t help the feeling of contentment that washed over his yoki…

~~

Kagome stiffened the second she woke up, staring at a chest and with large male arms around her waist.  Light rumbling sounds coming from the sleeping man sounded adorable but at first, she didn’t remember what happened.  ‘Right… I got cold…’  Gathering up the courage, she lifted her head just enough to look at him and the vision was so sweet, the corners of his mouth were upturned in a smile, and he simply looked satisfied.  Could he be happy that she had chosen to cuddle with him?  But how could that have happened?  Before yesterday they didn’t even know each other and yet, she had to admit, it felt wonderful in his arms, as if it was where she belonged.  

She didn’t want to leave the warmth and safety of his embrace but unfortunately her bladder was calling.  As she gently tried to pry his arms from around her waist he whines and only tightens his hold; ‘wow he’s strong…’  “Inuyasha,” pushing on his chest.  “Inuyasha I need to use the bathroom…”

“Mmmm…”  he grumbles but releases her.  “Hurry back…”  

Sliding out from under the blankets, the cold air hits her like a wall.  “Brrrr…” Wrapping her arms around herself shivering, she practically runs for the bathroom; the quicker she takes care of business, the quicker she can get back to the warmth of his sanctuary.  

As she hurries back to bed she notes the time of 7 am on the wall clock and that it seemed a bit dark for that hour.  Maybe the clock was wrong, or the skies were overcast, oh well, it’s not like she was in a rush to start the day anyways.  Inuyasha had rolled on his back but the minute she crawled in next to him, he turned over and pulled her to his chest.  “Geez, you’re like a popsicle.”  He mumbles and bundles her even tighter, “humans… get cold so fast…”  

“What do you mean, you’re human too.”

“Go back to sleep wench…”

“Hey!  Don’t call me a wench!  And you didn’t answer my question.”

“Too early…  to talk…”

Kagome tries to push off him, irritated by what he had called her, but he’s too strong and holds her in place.  ‘Ugh, calling me… I’m not a wench!’  Instead of fighting, she manages to turn around so at least she didn’t need to look at him.  But he didn’t care, in fact the new position was even more appealing to him, nuzzling her hair and making himself more comfortable.  Sigh…  ‘He’s so grumpy in the morning…  and what was with the human comment?’ She wonders, ‘Or calling me a wench…  who even uses that word anymore, it’s so outdated…  Inuyasha’s human right?’  There was no reason for her to suspect otherwise, sure there were a few oddities, comments, or quirks but those could be chalked up to just a different upbringing or life experiences…  then again, strung together, they could be hints that that there is more to this man than meets the eye.  She yawns, ‘I’ll ask him more later…’  

A couple hours later, a chill on her back makes the young girl shiver and she finds herself alone in bed.  Looking around the room, Kagome spies Inuyasha staring out a white-washed window.  “Inuyasha?”  She sits up but keeps the blankets around her shoulders, “What are you looking at?”

“I think, we’re snowbound.”

“Snowbound?”  She doesn’t understand.  Tokyo would get snow, but never more than a few inches.  “What’s that?”

He turns and looks at her, “It basically means were stuck in here until it melt’s or we’re dug out.” Motioning above his head, “the snow is up to the roof.”

“Are you serious?!”  

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“C-couldn’t we call for help?”  She gets out of the bed and shuffles in her blanket wrap to the phone, dialing the park rangers.  “Hi, yes I’m calling from the cabins…  Uh-huh, yeah, the snow…  Sigh…  So, we’re…  great.  How long…  that long….   Okay thank you.”  While Kagome’s on the line, Inuyasha checks the fireplace flume, it seems clear and unblocked so he gets a fire going.  “Argh!” she hangs it up, “They think we could be stuck for a week, it’s supposed to snow heavy for the next few days…”  Without waiting for a response from Inuyasha, she dials the other cabin.  “Pick up, pick up…  Miroku?  Did you see…  That means I’m stuck with him…  N-no it wasn’t that bad, it was kinda nice;” her cheeks are warming up, “but that’s not the point!  What kind of vacation is it, if were just stuck in a cabin the whole time!...  Eww!  Yeah, I’m sure you two are gonna love it….  W-what!” She looks at Inuyasha as Miroku talks, her body feeling as flushed as her cheeks now, “H-he did keep me warm last night…  well it was cold!”  Quickly turning her head away, “…But we barely know each other…  Sure, laugh it up!  Ugh, goodbye!”  She slams the phone down.  “Friggin pervert…” she mumbles.  

“So, what’d Miroku say?”  Inuyasha could hear the whole conversation but she doesn’t know that.  

“Nothing.”  Kagome settles on the couch.  “I almost feel like they had planned this…”  

“How can you plan to be trapped?”

“Weather forecasts might have warned about a blizzard hitting the area.”  Sigh, “Maybe this wouldn’t be half as bad if it wasn’t so damn cold!”

Inuyasha laughs, “So you’re not mad about being stuck with me?”

“No,” a rosy hue graces her cheeks again, “unless you keep calling me a wench!”

“When did I call you that?”

“This morning…” she cocks her head a little, “Don’t you remember?”

“I don’t…”

“Well, I do…  I don’t think I’ve heard anyone use that word before, it’s kinda last century.”

“Eh…” he shrugs his shoulders.  “I’m gonna make me some ramen, do you want?”

‘Did he just change the subject again?’  “Sure, I’d love some.”  

~~ Kagome eats one bowl of noodles to his four, “Where do you put it all?”  

“High metabolism.”  

If only she believed that, most people can’t eat that much food in one sitting, regardless of their metabolism and ramen wasn’t exactly healthy either, these instant types were chock full of sodium and preservatives that would more likely lead to hypertension than keeping you looking trim.  Of course, one explanation was, he exercised a lot.  Shaking the idea away, more excuses; she was getting tired of the innuendos and assumptions.  She turns her body to look at him.  “Inuyasha, you said we’d talk more today, and since we’re gonna be stuck here for a while, I think it’s time for some explanations.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re either a strange guy or there’s something you’re not telling me.”  He just stares at her.  Exhale, “like the human comments, or the hunting thing, or how you sniff your food…  you’re a lot stronger than you look like you should be, and warmer than a normal person…”

Inuyasha watches her facial expressions carefully trying to sort out why this girl wants to know so badly...  She’s a smart one, he’ll give her that, having picked up on little quirks and strung them together like a puzzle that she’s trying to figure out.  But his true nature is not something he reveals lightly anymore, humans either didn’t believe in them or still feared them, and thanks to cloaking spells, he didn’t need to show his real self in public anymore.  It was only after he felt comfortable around someone over time did he reveal the hanyo.  

“Does it matter if I’m a typical human or not?”  He queries the young girl.  “I mean what is normal anyways?”

“It doesn’t matter to me, you could be an alien for all I care…  But if I’m going to be friends with someone, I’d rather know the genuine article then a facade.”

Her conviction is surprising to say the least, he leans back on the couch and crosses his arms, “Keh… you think I’m being fake?”

“No, I just think you’re hiding something.”

“What if I’m not ready to show you that side of me yet?”

“Can you at least tell me why?”

Inuyasha stands up and paces in front of the couch.  This girl is just not gonna drop the subject and if he doesn’t tell her something it’s gonna be a long, miserable week stuck in this cabin.  Would it be so bad to tell her?  His heart is saying no but still he worries…  “Kagome, I don’t…  let that many people get close to me…” he runs his hand over his face.  “Last night was…  it’s never…”  exhale, “It was the first time I’ve even held a girl…”  Her face lightens in a mixture of astonishment and sadness.  Was this guy sheltered and just shy?  Was he hurt so badly before that he’s afraid to get close to people?  She watches as he braces himself against the mantle with his head down; most likely it’s the latter.  “I’m usually much more careful about what I say or how I act so I don’t attract attention, and I don’t know how you did it but, I just felt so comfortable around you, things started to slip…”

A pair of arms weave around his waist startling him, as Kagome leans her head against his back.  “If it bothers you that much Inuyasha, you don’t have to tell me until you’re ready.”

Sigh, “You really won’t care, i-if I tell you I might not be human?”

“No.  I know that other creatures exist in this world, I’ve even met a couple that were really nice.”  Now it’s his turn to be shocked.  She’s so calm talking about the world he comes from like there was no difference between the two.  As he begins to relax she continues, hoping it helps to soothe his conscious even further.  “One was a young fox yokai boy, his parents had been killed a couple of years ago and somehow he had wandered into our shrine.  I helped him to find a surrogate tribe and I still see him around from time to time.  The other was a wolf yokai, he looks our age but I’m assuming he’s older.  That guy was a bit irritating, tried to make me his ‘woman’ but I told him it would never happen.  I think he eventually found another female from a neighboring pack to settle down with.”  By this point of the story, Inuyasha had placed one of his hands over hers.  “Is that what you are, Inuyasha?  A yokai?”

“Only half…” he mumbles.  “I’m, an inu hanyo.”

Kagome feels a pulse of energy from the young man while he exhales and mutters a short incantation.  She lets him go and steps back as he turns to face her.  He closes his eyes as the black hair shimmers and shifts into a silvery white…  fluffy canine ears pop out of the hair.  The nails on his fingers change, and morph into claws…  And when he opens his eyes again, gone are the black pupils, replaced by golden hues.  

“Wow…” she smiles, “you are…”

“Weird?”

“Handsome.”

“Handsome?!”

“Has no one called you that?”

“N-no…”

She reaches out to touch his ears, “Ahh!” she giggles, “they’re soft!”

“Keh, do you mind weirdo, those are sensitive.”

“Oh…” she stops rubbing them, “Sorry.”

He moves back to the couch and plops down, Kagome joining him.  Exhale, “Once a month on the new moon I become human again, so on that day or with the spell, what you met me as is the human Inuyasha.  When the spell is off, this is my normal appearance.”  

“So, when the spell is on, even though you look human, you’re actually still a hanyo underneath?  It’s only during the new moon when you truly become human?”

“Basically, yeah.  It’s the difference between hanyo’s and yokai’s.  Since a hanyo is only half demon, we shed that part once a month; mine just happens to be during the new moon.”    

‘He only looks human with the spell…’  It suddenly hits her, “Wait, so all this time…” her eyes are ready to pop out, “did you hear the conversation with Miroku?!”  His cheeks flush but he keeps his mouth shut.  “Oh, my goodness you did!”  Now her face is turning red.  “Y-you heard…”  he nods, but still says nothing.  She covers her face with her hands, if she could die of humiliation right then and there she would.  

“If it makes you feel better, I’m used to my roommate’s perversions, nothing that comes out of his mouth shocks me anymore.”

“That doesn’t help my embarrassment.”    

“Why not?” he pulls her hands away from her face, “Unless, you were thinking those things too?”

“What!  I-I wasn’t…”  the more she stammers, the bigger his grin grows.  Tilting her head up to look directly in her eyes.  “…I didn’t…”  Kagome loses her train of thought as his golden orbs tug at her soul, she breathes out instead, “Your eyes are so beautiful…”  He smiles from her sweet comment and lowers his lips against hers, gently pressing against the soft pink skin.  His hands move to her shoulders, then wrap around to the small of her back.  She melts into the moment as her fingers tangle themselves in his hair.  It was a short little kiss to gauge her reaction, but the answer was clear when he saw how starry eyed it left her.  

“Not so bad huh, being stuck in here with me?”

She smiles, “Not anymore…”  

[yuzusorbet]

My 2nd Ice Show Adventure (Fantasy On Ice 2017 in Niigata)

Summer 2015, I went for my very 1st ice show, Fantasy On Ice (FaOI) in Kobe, and it was the 1st time I saw ‘nama-Yuzu’ (real-life Yuzuru) after being a fan since 2014 Olympics. 

Summer 2016, I had tickets for FaOI again but this time, Yuzu pulled out of all ice shows to recover from lisfranc ligament injury, so I sold my ticket, prayed for Yuzu’s health and happiness, sent him letters of support, and managed to survive the terribly long off-season with other long-suffering Yuzu-fans.  

This summer (2017), I am so busy with work projects that I have no time for fangirling, not to mention ice shows, and I moaned about it to a few friends. Almost like a miracle, one friend told me that if I wanted, she could get tickets for me for FaOI Niigata!  I decided I could get away for the weekend.  I must!  

The shows were on Friday, Saturday, Sunday (16-18 June) and it would be my first time in Niigata.  I took an ANA flight (yay! ANA!) and arrived in Niigata airport on Thursday.   The first meal I had was a very delicious bowl of ramen, and as I ate, I was surprised that I could taste bits of yuzu (the fruit).  I have never had ramen with yuzu before and so I was really happy!  It was really oiishiiiiiiiiii~~!!!  What a great omen, I thought.  My first meal on this trip was with yuzu. xD    

On this 1st night, there was something else that made me think of Yuzu.... I saw Bourbon ice-cream!  “Mo chotto”!  

I was way too full from the huge bowl of ramen and so I did not buy ‘Mo Chotto’ ice-cream to try.  Thought I’d try it another day but I did not pass by this shop again and I could not find it anywhere else.  Sigh.  Regret.  The snack is common but the ice-cream is not. 

Friday 16 June (ice show is at 7pm, doors open at 6pm)  

In the morning, I changed hotel.  Checked into ANA Crowne Plaza (yay, ANA!) because it’s a short walk to the ice show venue.  A Yuzu-fan friend, D-chan, messaged to say she is nearby and asked me to join her for coffee.  OK!   It was a lovely breezy walk from ANA hotel to an area called Pier Bandai and I found her in a cosy little coffee place with comfy sofas.  I ordered an iced coffee and we chatted away.  “I can’t believe I’m really here....”  “He’s somewhere near us now, you know....”  “Omg we’re breathing the same air as him....”   xD

Happiness is talking with a Yuzu-fan while sipping coffee in Japan. :)  

Soon it was time to meet another friend, Kay, the wonderful person who got my tickets for me.  We had plans for an early dinner together and then go for the ice show.  I met her at Niigata Station and we walked around looking for food. Some restaurants were not yet opened for dinner as it was too early. Luckily there was a soba shop that was open and we both felt like eating soba, so in we went.  (soba= buckwheat noodles) 

We ordered their specialty which was soba dipped in a warm broth with tender slices of pork.  And once again, I had the lovely surprise of finding yuzu in it!   I really love the citrusy fragrance it gave to the soupy noodles.  We felt so happy eating soba with yuzu.  It was a very good meal. :)  

From Niigata station, there was a shuttle bus to the show venue, running pretty frequently.  (I really love Japan;  they think of everything.) There was no real need to look for the bus-stop, just look for the long queue!  Luckily, it was a short wait as the buses came quickly and soon we were on our way to Toki Messe!   Just a 10-minute bus ride and we were there, a lovely glassy tall building by the river.  

We were early but the queue for FaOI merchandise was already VERY LONG. It’s ok, let’s admire the pretty Tanabata decorations and chit-chat while we wait in line.  Finally we could at least SEE the sale counter!  It’s going to be our turn!  I got a T-shirt, a towel and the programme booklet.  So happy to get the towel because 2 years ago at FaOI Kobe, the towel was sold out before it was my turn, on the very 1st day!  

Then Kay pointed out to me something that made me very happy.... Ice Rink Sendai merchandise counter!  I have not had the chance to buy anything from Yuzu’s hometown rink before, so I hurried towards it excitedly.  Wow, they really have a lot of pretty things!  

The photo of Yuzu wearing ‘Irene gloves’ was there.  (Irene is short for ‘Ice Rink Sendai’ and is the name of the mascot.)  And also his signature with a message saying “I will never forget, I will continue to do my best and give my support.” (my translation from Japanese)   And there is a little mushroom at the end. ^^

What a simple but heartwarming message for his hometown rink....

I bought the ‘Irene’ gloves, T-shirt, keychain and some stationery.  I love the pink theme!

There were also stalls selling really beautiful books and magazines..... I want them all!

Glad we were early.  It was hard to take a good look at the stalls when it got very crowded later.  

I was also very amused to see a counter that rented out binoculars, haha.  I did not rent one on the 1st day, but I did for the next 2 days.  Best decision ever.  I could see clearly all his cute facial expressions and who he was talking to all the time at the finale.  (Guess who. :))  

And of course, there were big boxes for fan letters and gifts to skaters.  Yuzu’s box filled up quickly and the inner bag had to be changed several times by the staff.  I used my new Irene stationery to write 2 fan letters (one on behalf of the FB international fan group and one from myself) and dropped them into the box on the 2nd day.  On the 3rd day, I decided to also drop a letter into Oda-san’s box.  I told him I enjoy his skating, his talk shows and his blog, thanked him for his great friendship with Yuzu, and may God bless his beautiful family. :)   

After all the excitement outside, it’s time to go in.  The seating arena for Niigata is smaller than some other places, so even the furthest row was not that far away.  I was somewhere in the middle, nearer one end of the rink.  

As usual, there were guys in black jackets who walk around holding up big signs that say “No taking of photos or videos”.  (I took this pic before the show, no pics during the show.  Law-abiding fan.) 

The show started and the skaters were introduced one or two at a time.  Yuzu was the last one to come out and the applause and cheers for him were huge.  It was clear who the star of the show was. :) 

After the opening number, the skaters did their individual performances.  I enjoyed watching all of them.  My favourite ones were the 2 performances by Nobunari Oda -- the music was beautiful for both and I love to watch his jumps;  it’s like he lands on marshmallow (once again I am reminded of why they gave him that T-shirt saying ‘landing with cat’s feet’);  Sex Bomb by Plushenko was hilarious and I laughed so much;  and Shizuka Arakawa-- what supreme grace and beauty.

Ice dancers Papadakis and Cizeron were very beautiful to watch. So glad they performed in this FaOI.  The acrobatic duo of 2 men in Swan Lake tutu performing ‘Notte Stellata’ was very funny.  I have seen Yuzu perform to this song so beautifully so many times in the past season (and watched it live at 4CC) and now this exact same song is skated in such a comical way..... I was so tickled. xD

For the record, the other skaters were Kaori Sakamoto, Marin Honda, Akiko Suzuki, Miki Ando, Shoma Uno, Evgenia Medvedeva, Denis Vasiljevs, Javier Fernandez, Elladj Balde, Johnny Weir, Stephane Lambiel, Jeffrey Buttle and the Chesnas.  Many of them performed twice, before and after the intermission.  Much thanks to all for their wonderful performances!     

At the end was Yuzu’s Chopin Ballade Number 1.  I had the good fortune of watching this 2 years ago, at the last show of FaOI 2015, when he gave us a surprise performance with live piano music played by Kotaro Fukuma.  At that time, he did the 2nd half of his usual Chopin, in a black FaOI finale shirt. It was awesome. So this time, I was really excited that I would see the full performance with that beautiful white Chopin top. And wow.... he really took my breath away. Although I have watched him perform Chopin for 2 seasons already, it felt like a different Chopin. It was the same and yet it was different. More beautiful, more powerful, more flow, more speed, more precision.... it was already so perfect, how can it be even better, but it is!  (based on my ‘expert’ opinion.)   I am so thrilled that he is doing this for the new season! I LOVE Chopin!

After Chopin, he went backstage to dry his sweat and then came out again to do an encore of ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ (his SP for last season). It was funny to watch LGC performed in that sweet Chopin costume. So mismatched, haha.

For the finale, Yuzu came out in a glittery blue FaOI top with a cat ears-hair band on his head. He danced in the group number and even did a cartwheel on the ice!  And he waved happily to all of us. It was so good to see him enjoying himself. I am very glad he did not do any quad battles at the end. He just did a side lunge for the 1st show (with one under a set of hurdles, so amazing!), a hydroblade for the 2nd show, and a ‘muscle man’ pose with Plushenko at the last show. And when others are doing their jumps or special elements in the middle of the rink, he would skate from his original position to the space between his idol Plushenko and good buddy Nobu. And he was often talking to Plush. Ahhh... Yuzu, still the cute fan-boy after all these years. :)))

After the finale, when all the other skaters have left the rink, Yuzu took a mic and spoke to thank all of us. He said things like please take care of yourselves, take care as you go home, have a meal, have a good rest, who is staying on for tomorrow’s show? oh that’s quite a lot of you (laughs), thank you for your support, I really enjoyed myself, eh to, eh to, there is still so much that I want to say, but never mind, it is already very late, I should stop here, I really want to thank all of you for today....... And he would end by putting the mic down and shouting as loudly as he could with his own voice “Arigato gozaimashita!”

Listening to him speak was just wonderful.... I was touched by his concern for his fans and also half-laughing at some things he said. He wanted to talk more but he did not want to hold us back as it was already way past 10pm on that 1st night. That dear talkative boy. :) Oh Yuzu, your fans would listen to you all night, if only we could. But then we want you to rest too! You need a good rest and a good meal more than us!

In his speech for the 2nd day, he also thanked the people who made the ice rink.  He said the ice was very good to skate on and they all loved skating there. Yuzu and his grateful heart. :) 

On that 2nd day, I was seated at the other end, where the stage was.  (I took this pic as I was leaving.)  When he was speaking, he was standing on the left of the stage just outside the ice.  I had a very clear side view of him through my binoculars ( I was halfway up the stands).  His face was sweaty but dazzling with happiness as he spoke.  How I wish I was sitting this close!   

The shows for Saturday and Sunday were at 2 pm and 1pm respectively.

Most skaters performed the same programmes for all 3 shows in Niigata but a few skaters did a different one for one of the shows. Like Marin Honda, for the 2nd show, she performed in a very cute Japan Airlines air stewardess costume. Elladj Balde was the skater before Marin (he did a great Michael Jackson medley) and when he finished his performance, he skated to one end with his chair and just sat there. Marin skated out in her JAL costume, went to him and said in Japanese, “Sir, would you like some coffee or tea?” Haha, that was how she started and I really enjoyed her performance.  For the other 2 days, she did ‘Crime Tale’.   Javier also had a different one in the 2nd show;  instead of his new SP, it was a funny pirate one where he was a cleaner-boy daydreaming. Johnny Weir performed ‘Amazing Grace’ in the 2nd half for the 1st 2 days, then on the 3rd day, he did a song called ‘Creep’.  His performance was so heart-wrenching, I almost cried.  I can still feel the pain he expressed even now when I think back..... Johnny’s skating is really very special. No wonder he is one of the skaters that Yuzu has looked up to since junior days.

In the 3rd show, which was the last FaOI show for 2017, Yuzu had some surprises for us. 

After performing Chopin, he went backstage as usual, and the rink was dark. As with the previous 2 shows, we waited a while and then started to call his name. “Yuzu, Yuzu....” The MC said we have to shout his name louder because he can’t hear us. So we shouted “YUZU!” as loudly as we could, expecting him to appear for the LGC encore. Suddenly, the sounds of an electric guitar filled the air. There was a guitarist on stage and he was playing ‘Parisienne Walkways’!!!! We recognised it immediately and the fan beside me turned to me with eyes as big as saucers. She grabbed my hand and we started screaming and jumping about, mad with excitement! Yuzu then skated out to all our screams and did his legendary PW wearing his Chopin costume (he did the 2nd half of the usual PW programme). Oh wow!!! What a surprise! What a treat!!! Yuzu's PW with live guitar!!! I felt like the luckiest fan in the world!!!

After that amazing encore, he went backstage and the finale started. The other skaters came out in turns to do the group number. When Yuzu came out again for his part in the finale, we all went hysterical again! Because he was wearing a yellow headband with Pooh ears!! Hahaha...... this guy really knows how to make his fans scream. He looked so adorable! It was wonderful to see him looking so happy and enjoying himself so much. (Later, I saw a Japanese fan on twitter say the Pooh headbands were all sold out. But of course. The Yuzuru-effect. XD) 

(2 pics above are fans’ screenshots of a TV news segment on FaOI.)

Then at the very end of the show, when the other skaters have left the rink, he gave a very emotional speech and made me cry.  He said that last year he could not do anything (no ice shows at all due to injury), so now he is feeling very happy to be back doing this and he loves skating and he is feeling most blessed and he is the happiest person in the world. (*may not be the exact words but the meaning is such.)  And he thanked the organisers and other people and all of us.  It was not so much the words he said but the way he said them. There were so much emotions. His voice trembled a bit at the beginning. It sounded like he was tearing and was trying to control himself not to cry. As he spoke, his feelings were just gushing out...... he was just so utterly happy and grateful for everything!

Then he did the usual ending-shout;  he put down the mic, cupped his hands near his mouth and shouted "arigato-gozaimashita!", and we all shouted back "arigato-gozaimashita!"  And then he bowed and waved and went in through the curtains.

Tears were running down my face. I continued to say softly, "Arigato, Yuzu-kun, arigato."  Thank you, Yuzu, thank you.  My tears just kept flowing as I thought back.  After going through so much... so much..... he is finally where he is supposed to be.......   

Seeing Yuzu so happy and healthy is one of the best things in the world. 

I met Kay after the show and we talked about how special Yuzu is.  And how is it that he can make us fly thousands of miles to watch him perform just those few minutes and we feel it’s so worth our time, money and energy.  She would be flying home that night, and for me, my flight home was the next day.  As with all good things, it ended too quickly but our hearts were filled to overflowing.

I am very grateful to Kay for her help with tickets and for her fun company.  We met up every day and ate some very delicious food together.  On the 2nd day after the show, we walked around and found a little ramen shop to have dinner.  And again there was yuzu in it!!!  (See the little yellow strips on top of the soup?)  Kay also ordered a yuzu sparkling wine.  I had a sip and it was lovely!   Another meal with yuzu.... ahhh life is good. :) 

On the last night after the ice show, I shopped for stuff like P&G Bold clothes detergent, Lenor clothes deodoriser and softener, Ghana chocolate and Xylitol gum.  I was so happy to find all these things near my hotel, and after I lugged my heavy shopping back to my hotel room, I realised I had forgotten to buy rice! Niigata is famous for very good rice and I had wanted to buy a small bag of rice home. :((  I messaged Kay to lament and she replied, it’s ok, he is not the ambassador for rice.  Hahaha..... I love Yuzu-fans.  (I did manage to get a bag of rice before I left for the airport the next day. :) ) 

Yuzu-fans are really wonderful and generous.  And just like Yuzu, they surprise me all the time.  On the 2nd night, D-chan passed a package to me from a fan that I don’t even know.  Inside were some Japanese newspapers and advertisements with Yuzu, and also ‘Weekend Sendai’!!!  OMG I nearly fainted with happiness.  (Weekend Sendai is a free travel magazine given out in Japan many months back.  Yuzu is featured inside recommending food and places in Sendai. 1st pic below, left side.)   Gosh, how did she know it’s something I had been coveting for ages now???  I told D-chan to give her my utmost gratitude.  And thank you, D-chan, for being a good friend and messenger!  So glad I met you on this trip!    

Another fan gave me gorgeous photos of Yuzu that she had taken herself at competitions.  And she said, “Thank you for the good work that you do in the fan group.”  Aww..... I was so touched!   Thank you, CL!

I was so happy when I was packing my luggage on the last night in Niigata.  I had so many precious goodies in my bag!   Thank you, dear Yuzu-fans!!!  Hope to see you all again! 

Below are pics of my FaOI tee, towel and booklet that I bought on Day 1.

There is so much more that I want to say, but this is already so long, I should stop here now.  Dear Yuzu, thank you for everything!!!  May God bless you and your family.  Always supporting you and hope to see you again soon!   

Note: This is written one month after the event due to being too busy at work.  If any details of FaOI are incorrect, I am sorry for my bad memory. :P   

[Credit: photos are all mine except for the 2 screenshots of Yuzu with Pooh-ears from twitter and the Pooh pics from pinterest - thanks!]