#yone league of legends x reader

[saey707]

Paranoiac

✿ Prompt: You make a home video with Yone, Kayn, and Ezreal ✿

♡ champion focuses: yone, kayn, ezreal ♡ tw: HEAVY nsfw, vulgar language ♡ Female reader

Author's Note: I needed a break from all the requests and wanted to make something a tad more self-indulgent to help myself get out of writer's block/burnout ໒꒰ྀིっ˕ -｡꒱ྀི১ This piece is probably going to be my most NSFW work to date so please read at your own discretion!! Hope you guys enjoy! (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ

It was your first time making a home video, and frankly, you weren't sure what to expect... At the very least, your three friends would be at your side to help you, and capture all the best angles! Well... To their best ability, of course...~

There were cameras pointing at you from 3 different angles, but only one of them was giving any good results...

The first was the camera in Kayn's hands, trembling between his shaky fingers. He would have been able to hold it steady, completely focused on you... If only you weren't about to give him the best fucking head of his life!

"Wrap those pretty lips around it, princess..." Kayn hastily huffed out. You were apprehensive about the idea of allowing Kayn to speak to you so obscenely... But at the same time, you fucking loved the desperate, raspy tones of his voice, encouraging you to let him fuck your mouth.

Kayn was standing before your sitting figure atop the bed. The camera stuttered as he moved his hand to roughly grab at your exposed breast, giving it a generous squeeze and massaging it between his fingers.

He soon after took hold of your chin, gently caressing your soft skin. His grip was firm to keep your eyes directed up and locked with his own. His cock was buried deep inside your mouth as you rocked your head back and forth, servicing his length.

A series of choked sobs and moans bumbled up from the back of your throat, the bad boy's attention fixed solely on you through his phone's cracked screen. Steadying himself, Kayn began to tangle his fingers through your hair, allowing his hips to rock in unison with that pretty, pretty mouth of yours.

"Ughhh, princess, that's it... Take all of my fucking cock inside that dirty mouth of yours~!"

Kayn would happily admit that he absolutely fucking loved seeing such a pained expression on your face. Was it because of him or the man you were romping up and down on...

"Agh~ Yes! Yes! Yes! You feel so good... Keep sucking~" Kayn begged, "Do you like how Yone's dick feels inside of you, princess? Huh? Do you want him to keep fucking you?"

"Mmmmhmphh~!!" You responded against Kayn's length, eliciting a quiet chuckle from the man beneath you.

"You're such a filthy fucking whore~" The producer spoke.

The second camera was, in fact, Yone's, partially capturing you bouncing up and down on his dick. His length was flushed red, slicked over with a film of precum, sliding in and out of you effortlessly as he slammed his hips up into your pussy, while you simultaneously sucked and bounced.

His free hand slid up and down your back, slapping your ass every time you went up and following it with a gentle rub. "Mm~ Your pussy feels so good, sweetheart..."

Pent up and unable to hold himself back any longer, Yone slid out of you, positioning the camera to capture a high-quality clip of him climaxing all over your backside. You gasped at the sudden hot, sticky sensation. Hell, you felt a little empty without Yone's dick pounding and filling you up... but were shut up almost immediately when you felt someone climb behind you.

"Knock yourself out, Ezreal~" Yone mumbled sleepily.

The final camera was Ezreal's, and he was all for assuring his section of the film had you and him in it. His arm was extended, capturing a selfie of you sucking off Kayn while he kissed your cheek. His chest was pressed against your back, sandwiching you between Kayn's cock in your mouth and Yone laying beneath the both of you.

"Come here, kitty kitty~ Smile for the camera... Uh huh~ Lift that ass up of yours for me… That's it!!"

Ezreal held your hips with his free hand, slowly pushing himself inside of your ass. The pain was almost unbearable. You never allowed anyone to take you there before! Still, Ezreal was gentle, allowing you to adjust to his size before he began to rock his hips.

Your arms gave out on you from the pressure, but that wasn't going to stop Ezreal. He positioned his camera against a pillow, letting it go so he could wrap his arms around you, holding you up in his strong embrace. "A-Ah~! Mmfph~ It feels so fucking good!" The pop star prince exclaimed while he fucked you.

It didn't take long for Yone to regain his sense of control, pulling your thighs back down so he could push himself back into your throbbing pussy. His fingers massaged your clitoris, amplifying your pleasure until you felt entirely numb. "Yone, you're going to make her pass out!" "Nonsense Ezreal, she's a good girl. She can take it!" "Hey, make sure you losers keep her clean! I want to fuck one of her holes next!!"

Every hole of yours was being generously filled, every camera capturing you being abused by three handsome men. And you loved it. You loved being used. You loved the way their cocks felt inside of you. You loved how they treated you like their little fuck toy... And you loved the way all three of them climaxed simultaneously inside of you!

Their savory moans drove you beyond the boundary, your eyes rolling back as you finally got your first fresh breath of air. Your body shivered, permitting them to move you like a ragdoll as they repositioned themselves differently.

You wanted more... No, you needed more~!

"Use her well, boys... Our next stop won't be until we're in the next country over!"

[milksuu]

Sorry, Mom. I'm The New Cleaning Lady For Heartsteel

Pairings: various!Heartsteel x f!reader

Status: on-going (Cross posted on AO3)

Content/Warnings: 18+ content, explicit themes, suggestive language

Summary: Identity theft was a crime—that was obvious. But when it meant paying off the bills for basically existing and your mother’s hospital expenses, committing a felony didn’t seem like a bad thing. It was like that one quote, from that one band, with that one hit song: “Two sides to a story but they never tell me side.”

Or…something like that. Wait, what was their name again? Heartsteel? Sounds like a dating sim game.

[Reader takes the identity of her mother, who had been hired to be the new cleaning lady for an up and coming boy band named ‘Heartsteel’. Obviously, there’s no way they would ever find out. But that was a joke. Because they’re definitely finding out: one by one.]

“You…brought your own cleaning supplies?”

“You always need to be prepared, young man,” you replied, adjusting your duck-yellow cleaning gloves. They squeeked and flopped comically around your hand and fingers. 

“Ma’am, you do understand today is solely the house tour.” The man folded his arms neatly against his chest, white brow raised. “In order to rely on you fully, you’ll need to be familiar with the estate first. I thought we discussed this beforehand. That and…we have cleaning supplies to provide you with here.”

You paused at the grand modern entrance. You lifted your bucket full of sponges, brushes, and cleaning spray from the dollar store. 'Buy-one-get-one' on all cleaning supplies was the grand deal of the day. How could you pass a penny-pinching bargain? Swallowing your shame, you settled the cheap items on the pristine granite floors. 

“Oh, is that so? Must’ve slipped my mind. Age will do that to you.” You forced a chuckle, adjusting your sterile mask across your youthful face. “That and, I have such a passion for cleaning. I can't help myself. I see the inside of a house, and I just have to clean it. I’m sure you could understand that.”

“I don’t believe I could,” your employer said dryly. “Anyway, if you will, follow me.”

You nodded and shuffled along accordingly. As you stared into the back of his immaculately pressed business attire, a new-found horror struck through you: you had no clue what your employer’s name was. Frantically, you scavenged your pockets. From it, you pulled out a business card, holding it so close to your face you smelled the tinge of clean cologne.

YONE

RIOT RECORDS

DJ / PRODUCER

 EMAIL: yone123@riotstudios.com

TELEPHONE:  XXX-XXX-XXXX

“The bottom floor consists of all of the amenities; gym, entertainment area, recording studio and so on.” Yone stated as he stepped into the open-kitchen plan. When he regarded you again, you awkwardly plunged the card back into your pants pocket. “The boys have their own scheduled chores every week. They’re expected to do it without you having to help them. I’m trying to keep them humble, but easier said than done. Refer to the chore calendar on the fridge. And try not to interfere with it too much.”

“Okay—who switched my protein powder with flour?” Behind an opened cabinet, a heavy-muscled stacked man growled. “Guys. Seriously. This stuff’s expensive. Where’d it go?” When he poured the contents out into the trash can, he plucked out a note from the bottom of the canister. The small print read:

‘Protein powder tastes like dog food.’’

The weight of realization punched him square between the eyes. He threw open the pantry, where dog kibble was stored in a tub at the bottom marked ‘Ernest’. Sett pulled open the container, and sure enough, found his  protein powder and scooper. There was no mistaking his favorite smell of cinnamon crunch isolate, now mixed with the scent of dry-bacon kibble. Another note pasted the inside lid:

‘Woof–Woof ฅ՞•ﻌ•՞ฅ’

“A–phe–li–os,” the name gritted between his canines. His ears flattened against his untamed hair, and crumpled the note to dust in his palm. “Oh–Ho. Mess with me all you want; but never mess with my gains. I’m gonna’ prank him back so hard tonight, he’s gonna’ be begging me to stop.” 

“Sett,” Yone coughed, grabbing the Vistayan's attention. “We have a guest today. Our new cleaning lady.”

“Oh, sorry about that.” Sett wiped his powdered hand against his sleeveless shirt. He reached and took your rubber glove with a squelch. “Hey, how’s it goin’, Ma’am. The name’s Sett.” 

You swallowed hard, hoping your glove would remain securely covering your hand. You feared if he pulled back, he would reveal a hand that wasn't so wrinkled for someone supposedly in their late-fifties. And that was according to your mother’s age printed on her driver’s license. Thankfully, you could tell he restrained himself to a delicate shake.

“Would talk more but gotta hit the gym. Nice meetin’ yah though,'' Sett started away, and called back over his shoulder. “Mom, can you take care of Phel for me? I dunno' where he hid the dog food for Ernest.”

Yone exhaled a silent sigh, and part of you felt pity for your employer. He seemed like a parent with a tag-team of overbearing children running around the house. Being a single parent was difficult; you knew this first hand from your own up-bringing. It made you grateful for your mother’s patience and attention. It was the reason you were here in the first place. 

“Let’s continue with the tour upstairs,” Yone said, motioning you to a loft-style staircase. “The second floor consists of all the bedrooms and laundry room. At the end of the hall is my room. As it stands, it’s completely off limits to everyone, including yourself.” He turned a sharp chin in your direction, “Am I understood?”

You gulped and pressed your shoulders straight. “Of course.”

“Mommy, help me!” A bed of green hair bounced to Yone’s side, tugging at his tailored suit. “Kayn’s bullying me again. But I didn’t do anything wrong, I swear.”

“You’re such a crappy liar.” The presumed assailant, Kayn, stomped out of the hallway bathroom. Magenta hair stuck to his furrowing brows. With just a towel wrapped around his steaming waist, his abdominal muscles tensed, pointing aggressively at his target. “I was trying to shower in peace, until bubblegum pop princess over here came barging in trying to take selfies of himself. Did you know people usually shower naked? I’d like my junk not to be posted on social media, unless I’m the one doing it. For cash.” 

“It’s not my fault you’re always going over your shower limit. News flash: we each only get fifteen-minutes. But you’re always breaking the rules! You know I take my selfies at the same time, at the same place, every single day. So how about you do us all a favor, and get some better time management?”

Kayn raised a vein popping fist into the air. “How about I get you a better face instead?"

Ezreal cried fake sparkling tears, cowering further behind their producer.

“Enough. The both of you,” Yone tightened around his words like a leash, restraining the quarreling pair. “For once, I’d like for you two to at least pretend you get along in front of others.” 

The two whined and grumbled under their breaths till they fell to a silent agreement. But the peace treaty wasn’t upheld for long. You saw a zap of yellow from the corner of your eye. The image was so fast, you thought you must’ve imagined it—Nope. You definitely saw something. Kayn’s towel knot popped loose. And it wasn’t caused by an event of divine intervention.

The towel billowed towards the ground. And the world felt as if it was turning in slow motion, like one of those car chase movies with excessive explosions. Except, the only explosion here would be your very own heart.

Sure, you took an anatomy class here and there. In high school, you remembered the penis joke’s and games, and they never flustered you. Heck, not even when your friends set your desktop screen to a .gif of dicks spinning in circles—you found that hilarious. And when anatomy classes began in college, they were all very clinical, rudimentary, and otherwise a snooze fest. 

But seeing one in real life when you’ve never had a boyfriend or a one night stand, was truly groundbreaking. Earth shattering, even.

Penis (en)counter: 1

While you were stuck in your prison of naïve embarrassment, Ezreal laughed and pulled out his cell phone, camera light shuttering a mile a minute. 

“You little shi—!” Time sped forward again. With fast reflexes of his own, Kayn whipped the towel and knot back in place. “That’s it. You’re dead.” 

“Uh–Oh. Time to run again,” Ezreal quipped, zooming off down the stairs.

With all bark and full bite, Kayn vanished like a cloud of smoke in pursuit. You coughed against the smog, while Yone merely swatted his hand back and forth, dissipating the gray wisps.

“You’ll have to excuse them,” he commented. “They share the same room, but have vastly different personalities. I arranged most of them together, thinking it’d help them understand each other on a deeper level. And ultimately, help them perform better together in the studio and on stage. My efforts are…yet to be determined.”

“That’s alright. Can’t be easy for young men their age to share anything. Especially with them being full of energy, testosterone, and other things. O-Oh, to be young once more…ah-ha…” you laughed nervously. Oh, God. What the heck were you saying? Honestly, you had to give pardon to yourself. You were still trying to recover from seeing your first penis up close and personal.

The image would be forever burned in your mind.

You were pulled from your self-conscious thoughts. Down the hall, a pair of shadowed eyes peeked through a sliver of door and frame. When your gaze locked together, the other pair of eyes shifted shyly from side to side. As if a poltergeist existed within the room, the visage faded back into the uncanny crack of darkness. The door creaked closed, with an audible click and lock.

Yone pursued straight to the door, and you stood a few paces back. If there was any chance that a ghost was inside living rent-free, you wouldn't be the first it possessed. You weren't a certified Ghostbuster.

But you also weren't a certified Dustbuster, either. No one will know, know one will know, you chanted the comforting hymn. 

“Aphelios. Open the door. I know you’re in there. I can see the computer light flashing,” Yone stated, rattling the door knob. “Where’s the kibble for the dog? Sett told me you have it somewhere.”

There was a beat in the air. From behind the door, you heard feet pacing back and forth, and the sounds of finger taps against a phone screen. Yone’s phone pinged with an alert. He pulled it out, and opened his text messages.

‘I can’t open the door all the way. I set the bucket of dog food to fall on Sett’s head when he comes in. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ’

“For the love of…no more pranks today." Yone pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan. "But I doubt you could even manage that. Whatever trap you’ve ensembled, take it down—now. And put the dog’s food back in the pantry. Unless you want to donate a cut of your earnings every month to Ernest’s pet store bill.”

Another pause, followed by begrudging phone taps. 

‘Fine, m O T h E r…(¬_¬")’

“That might take him a few. Depending how intricate the set up was. I would be surprised if the only thing involved in this scheme was just the dog food.” Yone motioned you back down the stairs. “Last thing to see is the outdoor space.”

Continuing with the tour, you passed through the lower floor, stepping down a hallway decorated with awards and magazine clippings. From commercial modeling gigs to sold out venues, your eyes glistened at the polished look the group was slowly cultivating. Which you had to admit, completely contradicted their personal lives.

When you reached a sliding glass door that stretched from floor to ceiling, you stepped out onto a landscaped deck. Lush modern garden trims, a shaded outdoor lounge, and smooth sandstone pavement decorated the space. At the backend, an infinity pool rested in pristine stillness. 

At the head of the pool, a person of sculpted bronze physique posed in swimwear on a lounge chair. When you approached along with your chaperone, he picked up his tropical drink, and tilted it in a cheering gesture.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Mama gracing me with his presence. And look's like someone else is with him, too.” The man basking in the sun's rays and oil slicked, shucked his sunglasses onto his dread locks. “Let me guess. This must be the new cleaning lady you hired to pick up after our mess.”

“To a certain degree,” Yone replied. “But not all of the mess, K’Sante. Out of everyone, you should know better.”

“I only joke, Mama.” He grinned smoothly, taking a sip of his frozen alcoholic refresher. “Say, have you seen Sett? I told him to come join me for a tan by the pool. If he wants his muscles to truly pop, he needs to use some oil and not be allergic to the sun. The man is whiter than the sky is bright today.”

As he laughed to himself, Ernest left his chew toy at the far side of the pool, and came to sniff your shoes. With a smile, you slipped a very small piece of your long sleeve up, allowing him to sniff at your skin. The dog lapped his tongue around his slobbering chops, barking delightedly and pawing for you to pet him. You were more than happy to oblige.

These gloves came in handy after all, you thought pleasantly as globs of saliva fell in heaps over your fingers.

“What’s this? Ernest taking a liking to the cleaning lady already,” K’Sante mused at the sight. “Barely warmed up to us when we first met. We won’t mention the illegal trespassing but, call me impressed.” 

With a wink, he flicked his sunglasses back down to the bridge of his nose. “That or he has a ‘ting for older women. Can’t say I blame ‘em. An experienced woman has a certain power that’ll make any grown man cry. And from my own experience, it is never for mercy.”

Oh, boy. You couldn’t imagine your mother being interested in the cougar life-style. Not that you would approve of it. And you were certain your father would descend from the heavens and deliver the backhand of God to any young man who dared otherwise.

Before Yone could address the unsavory statement, Ezreal burst through the backyard sliding doors. Still possessed with laughter, he hopped and skipped over pool chairs and tables. The merriment stopped short when Kayn caught up to the cheeky idol, snatching his wrist which held the phone. From the staggering halt, the phone slipped from Ezreal’s hold, somersaulting towards the pool. 

“M-My phone!” Ezreal paled at the thought of losing thousands of stored photos of himself—Oh, and the blackmail photos he was going to use against Kayn, too. 

Yanking his wrist free, Ezreal pursued the device. But Ernest’s rubber hotdog toy squealed beneath him, forcing him off balance. Kayn latched an arm around Ezreal's slim waist, and pressed him safely against his bare chest.

He huffed against Ezreal's ear. “You can’t swim, you idiot. Remember? Just let it go.” 

Ernest barked at the surmounting commotion. Being the valiant guard dog with the perfect pedigree, he bounded on his thick paws to catch Kayn by the towel, with all the intent to keep them both from falling in. What a good boy! Unfortunately for Kayn, Ernest bit a bit more than he could chew.

Kayn’s voice bass boosted ten-octaves lower. “MY DAMN ASS!”

W-Whose voice was that? Was that even the same person? The thought rattled through you.

A chunk of Kayn's soft meat condensed in the jaws of a furry devil. A shock travelled up the nerves of his spine, into the the muscle fibers of his arm, shoving Ezreal forward. Ezreal flailed his hands in the air, desperate to find some semblance of balance—with no luck, at all. Fumbling on his tip-toes, Ezreal plummeted into the pool with a splash. Kayn stumbled from the after-shock of his spirit being bitten straight through his buttcheeks. His feet met the cursed rubber squeaker, sending him following suit into the pool. Except, the towel had its own plans. It decided to stay behind and not get involved.

Penis (en)counter: 2

“I heard some commotion, fellas. What’s goin’ on?” Sett stepped out from the sliding doors. He caught witness of Ezreal’s face treading water, gasping for bouts of air. Sett’s muscles popped at the sight, barreling towards the scene. “Don’t worry, Ez. I’m coming for yah, buddy!”

Sett launched himself into the air, preparing the most athletic Olympic dive ever conceived.

Kayn inhaled sharply as he broke through the water's surface tension. Recuperating his breaths, he slicked his wet hair back from his face. Looking down at the waters crystal reflection, an odd shadow grew in size around him. And according to the forecast earlier; there was no chance in Hell of clouds or rain. Lifting his nose to the darkening sky, he blanched in sheer horror. A body, massive enough to eclipse the sun, hurled down like a meteor descending to Earth.

What day was it today, Doomsday? He must've forgot; Kayn never bothered to look at calendar's, anyway.  

Back to the painful mistress that was his life; a weak, painful moan escaped him. “You can’t be serious. This isn’t the cool death I deserve—”

Those were Kayn’s final words. A wave rivaling a tsunami consumed him, a random pizza chair float, and the immediate surrounding pool area. Standing in the designated splash zone, pool water soaked your soles, leached into your socks, and dampened your pants to the knees. From K’Sante’s spot, a shot of chlorine or two spiked his drink. He snatched his sunglasses off and shouted the words; “This was the last bit of banana daiquiri mix, you aboas! Now I have to go down to the liquor store and hope they sell it frozen already.”

Yone, with all the grace anyone could hope to be blessed with, merely side-stepped away. A single speck landed on his polished shoes. He narrowed his steely eyes, flicking away the insignificant drop.

You caught something flashing on the second floor of the estate. Looking up, you shielded your eyes from the glaring sun. From one of the windows, you spotted someone holding up a sign. You assumed it was Aphelios. The poster read:

‘4/10 Ezreal. 6/10 Kayn. 10/10 Sett.’

With a dramatic burst through the water, Sett hurled Ezreal over his massive shoulder, and walked out of the pool. Placing Ezreal onto his soaking back, he coughed and gagged against the awful taste of treated water.

He smiled at his new-found savior. “Thanks, Sett. I’m fine, but what about Kayn…”

The group shifted their attention over the silent, lapping water. After a bubble or two, the sight of Kayn’s bare bottom surfaced to the top. Floating like a wet and rounded land-mass, with the additional landmark of a pink dog-bite. 

“Kayn! Hang in there, pal!” Sett launched himself once more into the water, creating another wave of soaking magnitude.

Although the drink had already been spoiled, K’Sante reflexively covered the top of his daiquiri glass. “For God’s sake, Sett. Take your time. It’s not like you’re saving the life of an innocent man.”

As chaos continued to ensue around the gang, Yone placed himself at your side. With a shake of his head, he crossed his arms, and sent a ghost of a smile your way.

“Welcome to Heartsteel,” he said. “Your first day starts tomorrow.” 

Looks like your identity was safe…for now, at least.

an: thanks for reading! the rest of the this story will most likely just be on my AO3. You can find me @ milksuu. comments and suggestions always welcomed. <3

[pxuvalentinx]

Atta girl ✧ High Noon Yone x fem!reader tw: degradation, creampie, abuse (i think??), spanking, forced breeding, dub con (if theres anything else let me know<3) an: i wrote this a while ago when hn yone got first leaked, so if any new lore dropped - i wouldn't know. ✧ ˚ 　· 　　 . You swore to yourself that you’d kill every single one of those damn devils — without a single exception. You promised to avenge all the poor souls that got killed by those who made a pact with a devil. Not only that, but you’d give your life to free the west from its curse. It was the least you could do after failing so miserably to save others. So why were you bent over the saloon counter while a man rutted into you? Why were you moaning and whining his name? The name of a man who had made a pact with a devil. Bounty hunter Yone. Such an ironic title when you consider that there’s a high bounty on him as well. He hated devils, too — more than anything. His hatred took him so far that he became one of them. And god, you were thankful for it. Your thoughts were clearly getting manipulated by your tight cunt that was squeezing around his girth so deliciously that it made him growl into your ear. He wasn’t even trying to be quiet — the saloon might’ve been empty, but he wanted everyone to hear that walked by, how he was fucking this once so proud and snobbery woman into his little bitch. How she slowly became his dumb slut. Yone’s hands were on your hips as he thrusted into you from behind, pressing his pelvis against your ass while he leaned forward to whisper sweet nothings into your ear. One hand wandered up your throat, grabbing your chin with it and pulling your head back. His lips were barely two inches away from yours — “Aren’t ya just so pathetic?” He purred. “Just half an hour ago ya were soooo confident about killin’ me, tellin’ me how much ya hated ‘my kind’, how selfish I am, and now… You’re soakin’ and suckin’ in my cock like it’s ya’s life purpose.” The low growl in his voice was making your walls flutter around his dick. You hated to admit how good this felt. His hands were cold, freezing even. They sent shivers down your spine with every touch. He had this frightening and overwhelming aura that seemed to become more distinct with every thrust. His hand let go of your face after he saw the tears roll down your cheeks, proud of his work. From the corner of your eye, you could see his cocky grin. 

squeeze 

“Oh, fuck…!” He cursed. “Makes you this horny? Nasty bitch. Gon’ teach ya a lesson… Make…Ah~ ya regret facin’ me.” Your walls kept pulsating around his cock, massaging all of it like your cunt was made for him. It was driving him crazy, low grunts escaping his throat. 

He spread your ass cheeks with his two broad hands - one gloved. Groans of satisfaction as he looked at the sight. Letting go of one and giving it a hard smack right after, leaving a stinging pain which made you whine out. Music to his ears. Another smack. 

And another.

And another. 

“That ass already looked good in those tight ass jeans ya were wearin’ - but I didn’t expect it to look this good without ‘em” He could feel himself getting harder at the sight, growing even bigger inside of you. “Gon’ make you ride me next time. Want to see that pretty ass bounce on my fat cock. Better show me how much of a cowgirl ya truly are.” 

You turned your face to him, where he was already looking at you with the same cocky smile he had before. The pale skin in combination with his flaming orange eyes made your heart skip a beat. You never thought you’d think of a devil as handsome. Tears were streaming down your face as he continued to abuse your cunt to the best of his abilities. 

Yasuo warned you of him — No, everyone warned you of him, but you didn’t want to listen. You were so confident in being able to defeat him, in being able to get one step closer to peace in the west. And here you were, squirming underneath him, sobbing because his cock just hits all the right spots too damn good, begging him to fuck you harder, to abuse your cunt just a little more because in reality you were a pathetic masochist, who loved that he treated you like a piece of fuck meat. You were begging him to fill you up with his hot seed, to make a mess out of you and your cunt - to mark it as his. 

You didn’t care about the peace of the west anymore. All you could think about was Yone’s cock buried deep inside your pussy while his hands were kneading your ass in such a nice but rough manner. You wanted to cum all over his dick again and again and again. 

“Oh shit, darlin’ - gonna cum. Gon’ fill your tiny little pussy with my seed, ya want that? Fuck~ Tell me how badly ya want it, sweetheart. Tell me how badly ya want to get bred by me.” Yone commanded, the same low husky tone as before. 

Oh, how much this man turned you on, with his stupid low voice and his stupid grunts. “Yo- Ah~ Fuck… Please…fill me up…” 

“Atta girl!” 

His sloppy thrusts eventually ended up in him burying himself deep inside you, filling you up with all he has. The twitching feeling of his cock and the noises he made really hit you hard, making you squirt around him, ruining his chaps. Soft whines and pants leaving your lips. Yone threw his head back at the feeling, his hat almost falling off his head.  A split second before he pulled his cock out, looking at his cum oozing out of your cunt. Yours and his fluids were mixing together on the floor. He slurred out some quiet words, while spreading your pussy to really take in the view. "Think ya can take another round?"

[naisilla]

Heartsteel x Reader

Heart Stolen.

Content: You make some new online friends

The lobby was empty. Your icon stood alone amongst the five spaces. No one showed up tonight. You sigh, leaving your mouse hovering over the 'find match' button. Was it worth gaming tonight?

You didn't blame the others. Now that high school was over, everyone had begun branching out into their new lives. Some grew further than others. At least everyone kept in touch through Discord. But tonight, only you were online.

It's a shame. You didn't get the privilege of being able to stay up late as frequently as the others because of the work shifts you had. Some days, you have to wake up early in the morning at 5. On others, you finished the closing shift at 9. To get enough sleep, you would have to go to bed before your friends would even get online to game.

The only nights you could indulge yourself were nights before your days off. Three nights a week, you could finally catch up with your friends. If only they were available those nights. Sometimes, they were busy, tired, or "not in the mood." Honestly, it pissed you off.

Looks like it was turning out to be another lonely night, another disappointment. You weren't mad at your friends, but it would be nice to have some company tonight. Your eyes trained onto your monitor. The find match button beckons you.

Finding a match alone was a little intimidating. What if you messed up and made a mistake that cost your team? You were a little sensitive to mean comments. Going competitive where players were toxic didn't seem so alluring anymore.

A defeated sigh escapes your lips. You needed to become emotionally independent. Perhaps a warm up game might calm your nerves. Dragging your mouse, you select draft pick and choose bot lane for your autofill. Finally, you click Find Match.

You wait with bated breath as your client searches for a match. With each passing second, you became increasingly regretful of your decision. You should've just given up on gaming and gone with binge watching something.

The client suddenly displays the message "Match Found!" and you get grouped with four strangers onto a team. You're assigned bot lane, and you go to select your ADC. After clicking on "Daughter of the void." you pause. Another player had also selected an ADC champion.

You hiss under your breath. "Shit." this was awkward. One of you needed to go support, but this other player had already chosen "The Weapon of the Faithful." You squint, taking a look at their username, 신자의 무기.

Korean? On an Oceania server? How strange. A message pops up in the lobbies chat window. EZ: uh oh EZ: glwt

Sighing, you force yourself to scan through the available supports, both in your inventory and free rotation. "Maven of the strings" had a simple kit right? Honestly, you weren't sure but the countdown was ticking and you needed to pick something.

Perhaps you could dodge? You wouldn't mind waiting in queue with low priority. You frown as a spike of determination hits you. No way you were backing out, you were assigned bot. This other player was given support, it should be them dealing with this.

10 seconds left

Ugh how serious was this matchup anyways?

5 seconds left

Screw it you're dodging this.

Your mouse clicks on the exit button and you breathe a sigh of relief as your client continued to search for another match. A blue light reflects in your eye as another 'match found' widget pops up on your client and you readily accept it.

What the fuck!?

To your disbelief you get thrown into another lobby matchup with 신자의 무기 and EZ.

EZ: no way...

You groan and rub your temple before leaning forward in your seat and typing into the chat:

(Y/U/N): Hey, do you want to go ADC or SUPP?

Your eyes remain fixated as they await a response...

A little blip appears on your screen, drawing your attention to the friend request from 신자의 무기. You frown, you don't typically accept friend requests from anyone you don't personally know. But it wouldn't hurt to select 'accept' if it doesn't go well you can always block them.

Seconds after accepting the request you receive a message, a discord link.

This isn't a bot is it?

Your monitor switches over to Discord inviting you to join a server "The Boyz". You can feel hesitation in joining the group, the last thing an introvert like you wanted was to listen to another one of those obnoxiously loud and annoying boys that scream on call like a prepubescent loltyler1.

Screw it, you had already gone out of your comfort zone enough might as well continue the streak.

You join the call:

"AYO THEY JOINED!"

The Discord call erupted in a chorus of excited greetings from EZ, his icon almost glowing a constant green from his excited chatter. You were surprised by how charming and friendly his voice sounded, nothing like the usual screamers you're used to on voice chat.

"Hello (Y/U/N)" says 자의 무기, his voice is barely louder than a whisper, yet it still manages to cut through the noise with surprising ease.

"Hey!" You chime back, trying to match their energy.

"Sorry about the misunderstanding with Phel, he's new to League." You tilt your head in interest. Phel? That's an odd name.

"Liar" Phel retorts. "I wasn't paying attention to my role, sorry for stealing your adc."

"Don't worry about it." You reply reassuringly.

"Wanna try again? I can go "The Redeemer" as support."

"Sure let's give it a shot."

And just like that, you were now playing with two new friends. It didn't take long for you to find two extra random players to join your team in lobby and this time there was no drama in champ select.

The match starts spawing your and your teammates on the blue side, you and phel guide your champions to follow your jungler to leash at the red buff. While you wait at camp for the brambleback to spawn you decide to try and get to know these two.

"So is Phel short for something? I've never heard a name like that before."

"Oh uh yeh, My actual name is Aphelios."

You raise a brow intrigued. "Where does that originate from?"

"I believe it's Greek, roughly translates to: far from the sun"

"Oh? Are you Greek?"

You can hear Ez snort. "He most definitely isn't"

"I'm Korean actually."

"Ah I see, I didn't want to assume from your username."

Aphelios laughs, his voice so soft and delicate.

The red brambleback crawls out of the ground and you jump straight into lowering it's hp with your auto attacks and Q, Letting your jungler finish it off before moving onto the krugs.

"I also have a very interesting name too" Ez chimes in, his voice slightly whining at the end. A chuckle escapes your mouth.

"My bad, what's your name then Ez?" You ask, voluntarily taking the bait as you and Aphelios walk to the middle of bot lane.

You can feel Ez smirking over the voice call his voice reverberates in your headset. "It's Jarro" His voice goes on a tangent explaining the origin of his name while you focus on your bot lane as you come across the enemy team. "The Sheriff of Piltover" and an "Empress of the elements"

"The plauge rat" suddenly appears in front of you, landing two auto's as you back away sending your Q missiles at him. Damn they ganking this early?

You fall back, trading attacks with the enemy adc as the red minions crash your wave, heading towards your first turret. Jarro is still rambling on.

"So what's your name?" Jarro asks, his voice finally breaking into your focus.

"I'm (Y/N)."

Jarro let's out an "ahh" in response, his tone warm and friendly. "What does that mean?"

You shrug even though no one can actually see you. "I don't know it's just my name." you say, your eyes darting from the screen to the vc every now and then.

"I think you have a nice name." Aphelios says, he had been quiet up till this point, also focusing on your lane as you traded with the enemy laners together. There's a soothing quality to his soft-spoken voice. Despite his shyness, he felt compelled to compliment you on your name.

"Thanks but I really can't be compared to a name like yours, you sound like you're a fantasy character."

a hint of embarrassment in his voice. He didn't see himself as a fantasy character, and he was never comfortable with accepting compliments.

"My name is nice too right Phel?" Jarro's voice chimes in cheekily fishing for compliments.

Aphelios lets out a soft sigh and rolls his eyes at Jarro's question. He knows he is only looking for compliments, but it's all in good fun.

"Yes, Jarro, yours is nice too." He says with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Aphelios glances at your profile on his screen and his expression softens.

The next few minutes are solely focused on your laning. You play your champion passively using your ranged W to your advantage while your health is low as you focus on poking the enemies from a safe distance while farming.

Shortly after, your jungler comes down from jungle and you aggressively go in to chase down the support who tries to run back to their turret. The enemy adc is slain by your jungler, leaving it just between you and the empress. You ignore your low health and follow them as she runs, she casts ignite but with a single W you take the kill then quickly recall in a bush.

"That was close, good job (Y/N)" Aphelios says, you smile.

"Thanks."

You notice the dragon is up and your jungler is pinging it, you cancel your recall and quickly take care of it before the enemy laners can get there. You run around the dragon camp picking up the honey fruit as the three of you go to recall in the bush behind dragon.

The enemy adc appears in your vision, walking towards your bush where the three of you hide, poor thing walked right into her death. You can hear a "pfft" pick up on Aphelios mic as you finally recall to base.

The game continues as you return back to farming minions and trading with the enemy bot laners, Aphelios manages to take out the adc forcing the support to go into a bush and recall before he can chase her down. You make sure to place a vision ward at the bottom of the river to keep an eye out for enemy ganks while Aphelios goes to the top to place another.

The support returns and begins to attack you and boy does she hurt, you fall back as your health bar is hacked at. Lucky Aphelios returns to bot to heal you and you both go back to pressing on as the jungler chases the enemy midlaner nearby, killing her. The three of you easily over powering the other two as the adc dies and the support retreats leaving their turret vunrable.

You enter the mid game phase and things are going good, none of your turrets have been taken down yet. You did die shortly after taking their turret but you were quick to bounce back. There was a comfortable silence in the chat when suddenly you hear someone humming.

Surprisingly Aphelios starts humming, not just generically either, whatever tune is in his head is a beautiful melody. His voice was so smooth and delicate, the way it danced along the notes in perfect rhythm, it was enchanting.

You feel nervous bringing it up but eventually, your thoughts escape through your lips. "Wow, your singing voice is so beautiful Phel."

Aphelios' humming stops abruptly, clearing his throat. "Sorry, I thought I muted my headset."

"What are you apologizing for? You have a great voice my guy" Jarro voice says.

You nod from behind your screen looking back to Aphelios' icon. "He's right you genuinely sound good". You say encouragingly.

"Yeh and I know a thing or two about singing." Jarro chimes.

"Oh really pretty boy? You wanna show us what you've got?" Aphelios asks chuckling.

"Nah I wouldn't want to overshadow your spotlight"

You snort rolling your eyes. Focusing hard as you take down another enemy turret.

And so began your new friendship circle with the boys, after a successful league game you would start another, then another. Talking and gaming late into the night.

You were breathless from singing along with the others quite horribly to their request. At least Jarro was also terrible but you could tell that he was singing bad on purpose. Aphelios was too busy laughing his mic barely picking up on the noise as he tries to cover his mouth as Jarro continues to sing on.

"DO YOU THINK TIME, WOULD PASS US BY?

'CAUSE YOU KNOW I'D WALK A THOUSAND MILES

IF I COULD SEE YOU TONIGHT BANANANANANANANNAA-" Jarro started to sing the riff in a terrible screech the gain on his mic becoming painful to hear.

Aphelios is practically in tears at this point, his face red from laughing so hard. He covers his mouth with his hand, desperate to hold in his laughter, but it's futile. His shoulders shake from the effort, and his eyes are squeezed shut as he laughs. He is having the time of his life, sharing this moment of laughter with the friends he had quickly grown fond of.

He lets out a gasp, trying to catch his breath between fits of laughter.

"Stop… stop, I… I can't breathe.."

He tries to speak, but he can hardly get the words out through his laughter. His breathing is ragged, but he manages to force out a few more words between giggles.

"You guys are… the worst… singers… I've ever heard.."

Jarro and you let out an obnoxious gasp, mocking offense. "

"Excuse me?! Worst singers?" Jarro exclaims loudly, dramatically placing his hand over his heart.

"I'll have you know we are both phenomenal vocalists." Jarro crosses his arms, lifting his chin up in a fake air of superiority.

Aphelios can't help but laugh harder at Jarros exaggerated reaction. He tries to bite his lip to keep from laughing, but the mirth is too strong and his laughter escapes in a series of short gasps and giggles. He wipes a tear from his eye, his cheeks flushed from the laughter.

"Seriously, you're all terrible… Especially you, Ez…"

He says, shooting an amused grin towards Jarro's avatar.

The days passed and the friendship between you and the boys, Jarro and Aphelios, continued to strengthen with each game. Hours spent gaming, laughing, and creating memories together.

Late-night calls filled with laughter, banter, and the occasional musical performance, became the norm.

Both Jarro and Aphelios found themselves looking forward to the moments they spent gaming with you, considering you a valuable and entertaining member of their gaming circle.

Ez, remains as cheerful and energetic as ever, always ready to make you laugh with his dumb jokes.

Aphelios especially began to open up more and more, sharing bits and pieces of himself with you. You had learned that he was currently stationed in Perth Australia, which surprised you as you yourself were living in Sydney.

Apparently, he and his twin sister were long-term exchange students at one of the local universities...

"Oh cool! What are you studying over there?" You asked your voice sounding enthusiastic.

Aphelios would scratch the back of his neck behind his monitor shyly as he bashfully answered. "Oh, I'm taking the Composition and Music Technology course."

A low whistle picks up from Jarros's mic. "Sheesh Phel I didn't think asian parents let their kids do anything other than be a lawyer or doctor."

Aphelios rolls his eyes at Jarro's comment, scoffing slightly.

"Well, I'm a rare exception to that stereotype I suppose."

He says, a small smile on his lips. Despite his shy exterior, he had a hint of sass when it came to his responses at times.

"My parents are surprisingly supportive of my interests, especially my music. As long as I'm working hard and pursuing something I'm passionate about, they're happy."

Jarro nods along with a chuckle. "Hey don't you live in Aussie too y/n?"

"Yep I'm over a few states though, down in Newcastle."

"Newcastle? Where the hell is that?"

You glare at Jarro's icon. "It's in New South Wales."

"..."

"A few hours above Sydney"

"Ah Sydney! Why didn't you say so!?"

You and Aphelios collectively roll your eyes in unison.

"What about you Jarro? You have an Oceania account so you should be either here or New Zealand?"

Jarro's cheeky chuckle can be heard again in your headset. "Nah I'm over in beautiful Canada."

You can't help but let out a confused sound. "Canada? Sir are you lost? How is your ping not crashing your PC on lol?"

Jarro's chuckle returns, unperturbed. "Well, I figured I'd come over here and show you Aussies how it's really done."

He boasts, his ego as big as ever.

"And let's face it, the competition's just a little easier over here."

He adds, a smirk evident in his voice, and Aphelios rolls his eyes again.

You enjoyed having these online friends, they were almost always available to hang out with after your shifts at the cafe, no matter how exhausting your day was Jarro and Aphelios were always there to help you destress. You were more than grateful for those two.

Aphelios would occasionally share his music projects for his assignments with you on the group server, he was certainly talented at composing pieces. His base work was giving indie, atmospheric, lofi but he would try and experiment with other genres to fit the criteria of the assignment.

"Why don't you try singing over some of these tracks?" You ask after finished listening to another one of his pieces.

Aphelios responds a bit shyly, a hint of self-consciousness in his tone. He's never had much confidence in his singing, even though he loves music.

"I mean… Singing for fun is one thing, but performing in front of a whole class is a lot of pressure. I'm not sure if my voice is good enough for that…"

Jarro chimes in, his tone light and casual, as usual.

"Oh, come on, Phel. Your voice is seriously amazing, you don't give yourself enough credit."

He reassures him, trying to boost his confidence

"You're a talented composer and you've got a killer vocal range. You should definitely try singing for your class, I'm sure they'll love it. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Aphelios lets out a soft sigh, considering Jarro's words. His friend's confidence is endearing.

"I suppose you have a point… But it's still nerve-wracking, you know? What if they don't like it? Or what if I make a mistake?"

You shake your head, quickly disagreeing with him.

"Come on, you're being too hard on yourself Phel. I've heard you sing before, your voice is beautiful. You could easily charm the whole class with those smooth vocals."

You reassure him, genuinely believing in his talent.

Aphelios smiles at your words, his heart feeling a bit lighter. He was grateful to have friends like you and Jarro who believed in him and encouraged him.

"I don't know… I'm just not used to people hearing my voice outside of you guys, you know? It's kind of intimidating…"

He admits, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Look you don't even have to sing in front of everyone, you can record from the privacy of your home then when you go to present all you have to do is press the play button"

Aphelios slowly nods his head in agreement, considering your suggestion.

"That… That sounds tempting…It would definitely take away the pressure of performing in front of a live audience… That's not a bad idea, actually. I guess that would still count for the assignment…"

He says thoughtfully, his mind running through the idea. Recording from the comfort of his own home does sound less intimidating than having to perform in front of the entire class.

Jarro chimes in again from the other side, his tone cheerful and encouraging.

"That's the spirit, Phel! Record it at home, give it a few final touches, and then just hit play in class. Easy peasy."

He says, seeming to like your suggestion, too.

This is what friends are for right? Supporting each other and encouraging them to reach their full potential? Aphelios could definitely count on you two for that, behind that little discord profile a small smile appeared on his lips, barely illuminated by the glow of his monitor.

And that's how you convinced your online friend to give singing an actual shot. You and Jarro could only laugh and give knowing "I told you so" looks when Aphelios would return the next gaming session flustered by how well his classmates took his singing. He had become a local star in his university overnight.

"I guess singing in front of the class wasn't as terrifying as I thought. They actually seemed to like it… a lot."

He confesses, fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he speaks.

"I don't know what to do, I've never had this much attention before… It's a bit overwhelming…"

Jarro grins, clearly enjoying Aphelios' newfound popularity.

"See, I told you they would love it. You're a natural talent, Phel. It's about time people started noticing."

He says, sounding proud of his friend.

"Don't let it go to your head though, you're still the same shy guy that we know and love".

He teases, chuckling.

You giggle along with him. "Don't forget about us while you're famous."

Aphelios had yet to get use to his immediate rise of popularity, it was as if all of a sudden everyone in the university had him on their radar.Typical mornings of quietly walking to and from classes, hiding under an oversized hoodie had now changed to being stopped by every student in the hall to be greeted.

All of a sudden the quiet invisible introvert was now the center of attention with people wanting his insta, to being invited to hang out during lunch and even a few girls and guys admitting their crushes to him.

It was overwhelming to Aphelios in a positive way, it felt really good to be liked by everyone. He finally felt this surge of confidence boost his social life. He had begun to upload covers and original songs to youtube. While he didn't become viral online, he did gain plenty of likes and views (most of said views came from Jarro and yourself).

It had been a few months since he took that first step out of his comfort zone. However, he still found himself hanging around you and Jarro more than anyone else. You were still the people he trusted the most and the ones he felt the most comfortable around. He didn't need to be "popular" or "cool" around you two. You always had his back.

Jarro, always the supportive friend, was ecstatic for Aphelios as he watched his confidence grow. He often joked about how he was a proud "big brother" watching his "little bro" succeed.

Meanwhile, you were more than happy to see Aphelios blossom in his newfound popularity. You'd often chat with him about classes, school life, and of course, music. The three of you had grown closer, not just online friends but real friends.

It once again was a night where you were all on to game, you had started the call in the group chat and chatted to Jarro about your day while the two of you awaited for Aphelios to join. Classes were over according to this week's schedule which meant he should've joined by now.

"Have you heard anything from Aphelios? He's running late" you say as you type to mention Aphelios in the group chat to get his attention.

Jarro on the other end shakes his head. "Nah he still hasn't responded to my dm."

You frown. "You think something's up?"

"Unlikely, he's only half an hour late. He probably got caught up by another one of his fans~" he says with a chuckle.

Just as Jarro says that the tiny pop up "Aphelios is typing" your immediately notice it your eyes widening as you await his message.

신자의 무기 is typing...

신자의 무기: Sorry guys I'm feeling sick, I've got a cold so I can't really join vc.

As you read his message, a mixture of concern and disappointment washed over you.

Jarro, who was also reading the message, let out a sigh. He had been looking forward to gaming with Aphelios as usual, but it seemed like it wasn't going to happen tonight.

"He can still play right? just not talk?" You ask with a hopeful tone in your voice.

Jarro's icon glows green as his mic picks up him typing your question into chat.

Aphelios replies with a thumbs up.

You knew Aphelios would be unable to chat for a couple of days but it had been over a week since Aphelios had gotten sick, you were starting to worry for him.

Opening your dm's with him you begin to type.

(Y/U/N): Hey Phel, still got the cold?

신자의 무기 is typing...

신자의 무기: Yeh, it's just a sore throat... it won't go away.

You frown while reading this.

(Y/U/N): Have you considered seeing a doctor?

신자의 무기: Actually I have an appointment later this afternoon.

You sigh a little relieved.

(Y/U/N): Ok good

(Y/U/N): Update us when you can k?

Aphelios replies with a cute emote of a cartoon bunny with a thumbs up, making you smile.

(Y/U/N): ight see you later

And so you and Jarro would spend the afternoon gaming while you waited for Aphelios to come back online. You were in the middle of laughing at one of Jarro's jokes when you noticed he's gone quiet.

"Jarro?" You ask, checking if he's there.

"(Y/N) check the group chat."

You had barely noticed the discord notification sound, clicking on your task bar where awaited two messages from Aphelios.

신자의 무기: Guys

신자의 무기: I have some bad news.

A/N: And I finally did it! Chapter 1!! Lets fucking go!!! Original Heartsteel lore!!!!

[orangechicken2299]

How they would eat you out | Yone & Sett

Theres no good Yone and Sett smut so ig i’ll have to do it myself 😤

F x M, explicit, minors Do Not Interact

Yone

With Yone, it’s soft, intimate, full of tension and burning desire. It would start out as sweet nothings whispered, his breath ticking the shell of your ear, so close that he could touch it. Saying, rambling really, on how much he misses, wants, needs you like the very air he breathes.

“My darling, all I could think about was you. I wanted to rip through the Azakana that kept me from you.”

His kisses are short and light like a butterfly traveling along the column of your neck steadily making his way downward as he gently pushes you to lay back. Strategically he undoes all the fabric that dares to keep you from him and gives a light, soft, kiss to the place that aches for his attention.

Deftly, he goes to kiss and lick and tease the inner parts of your thighs, not once breaking eye contact with you. His eyes are a deep color that’s so full of lust that you start to almost feel intimidated by it. By how his gaze never wavers, even if he just switched to the other thigh while giving the slightest brush to your clit. You whine.

He smirks. But only for a second while he gives attention to the other thigh.

For what feels like time has slowed, he finally, finally, gives attention to your aching clit. You can feel just how slick you are and you whine again about how much you need him.

With a practiced motion, he gives a lick to the underside of your clit, making you spas a little. With a knowing smile, he happily starts drawing shapes with his tongue around your clit, licking the underside to tug it upwards to really get you whining and reaching for his hair. He then dips his tongue inside, not deep inside, not yet. Just at the entrance is where he likes to tease you, just barely dipping in and only playing with it. Even with the tugging and pushing his head further in does he remain steadfast in keeping his warm tongue in the entrance. He licks back up to your clit to start sucking.

All of a sudden your back is arching up, your hips are angled more down, and your legs have enclosed around his head. He thinks about how the face-framing sections of his mask are no doubt digging into you but you don’t seem to even notice. Especially with how his tongue is playing with you like he does his own instrument. He knows exactly what strings to pull to get the sweetest music out of you.

He brings his fingers from holding your hip to your slick entrance. His long, slender, calloused fingertips feel rough at first. In all honesty, it’s the only thing rough about him. Yone has clearly put a lot of work in his swordsmanship for years upon years as well as playing that stringed instrument of his for who knows how long. Two of the tips of his fingers are rough but only for a moment, the wetness of you quickly coats his fingers as they slowly go deep inside of you. Whines of his name are practically sung out of your throat.

“That’s it.” He whispers, his gaze not once leaving yours, no matter how much your eyes squint in pleasure. It’s almost like he has committed every part of you to memory that if he was blind that he would have no issues pleasing you like this.

His fingers slowly come in and out of you, making sure to press on that spot you like. Just one pass is enough to completely coat his fingers, so much so that it’s practically dripping off of him. His fingers come in and out of you like waves on the shore. Time seems to go by rapidly and slowly at the same time.

“Yone… please. I need more of you.” Your hands are locked on to his hair, your knuckles are almost white. He lifts his head of your aching clit, fingers still working at you. He smiles.

“Alright, my love.” He gently takes his fingers out of you and gently frees your hands from his hair. He gives them each a soft kiss across the knuckles before softly laying them down on your chest.

“Anything for you.” He says while he sits up and starts taking off the thick red rope that keeps the masks around his hips.

Sett

With Sett, it’s fast, rough, and full of passion. It would start out the next instant he gets you alone after someone challenged him for the throne of the fighting ring and he won by a landslide. He’d come to you a little battered and bruised, maybe even a split lip, with a huge, proud grin across his face.

“Hey Doll. I need ya real bad sweetheart.”

He’s grabbing you by the waist and sitting you down on the closest surface he can get to and immediately starts tugging away all the fabric that is between him and his prize. While he’s doing that, he’s kissing you, albeit a bit sloppy but he’s so full of energy that its rubbing off on you. The feeling of his tongue in your mouth is making you feel hazy and tingly all over.

Tongues are clashing, teeth are knocking into one another. He’s biting your bottom lip to really start getting you worked up. He’s is rushing a bit but you understand. This is how it goes when someone challenges him and ultimately loses against him. Sett gets an adrenaline rush off the fight that he just has to release it with you. But you know that he just secretly wants the praise from you for defending his throne and title as ‘The Boss.’

As soon as he possibly can he is rubbing circles of your clit, helping you get wet for him. He parts from you so the both of you can breathe, and as he’s making eye contact with you he brings his fingers up to his mouth to get a taste of you. You notice his pupils get larger.

“You taste as good as you look, how ‘bout I just drink you up?”

He kneels on the floor and immediately takes your clit into his mouth sucking on it that it gets you to yelp in surprise. Your hands finds purchase in his hair behind his ears as they stand tall and towards you. The expression on Sett’s face is one of concentration, the bridge of his nose is scrunched up, his eyebrows are knitted together, and his eyes are closed. It’s like he’s putting in all of his effort into pleasing you. Like he would die on the spot if he didn’t.

All of a sudden he opens his eyes and locks them in a gaze with yours. He takes his tongue from you but gives it right back as he takes the flat of it and licks one big and long stripe from your entrance to your clit.

It is erotic to say the least.

In the next moment he’s shuffling off his jacket with the big clunky gold embellishments that decorate the fur on it so he can lift and spread your legs around his broad shoulders. The next moment he takes a finger and thrusts it inside you and you nearly fold on top of him from the sudden feeling of being full.

“Just gotta prepare you for what’s coming next Doll. Just gotta hang in there a little longer, i’ll get ya ready to take me.” He grins.

You nod along as you see him go back to sucking on your clit, his tongue poking out to lick it up and play with it. Time seems to fly by as Sett manages to fit a second finger in you. This time though, this devious man flashes his k9s at you and he gently nibbles and bites at your clit. It’s so much sensation that it nearly has you howling in pleasure.

“It’s too much Sett!! To much.” You say grasping tightly at his hair, your eyes scrunched closed.

“Hang in there sweetheart, you can take it like a good girl.” He says with your clit between his teeth. He gives another long, broad lick to you and you shiver. He speeds up his fingers and even curls them a little. You tighten up as all of a sudden you feel a knot in the pit of your stomach. You’re so close.

“Sett, I-I’m gonna-”

“Let me see you cum sweetheart.”

You tighten and spas on his fingers as you moan for him. All too quickly he takes his fingers out and shoves his tongue in, licking and drinking all that he can of you. Once he has had his fill he lets your legs down off his shoulders as he stands up before you.

“I told ya Doll, we were just gettin’ started.”

He smirks widely as he watches you look down from his face to his well built chest and abs down to the raging buldge that lies underneath his white pants.

[duckchu]

How would Heartsteel react to being proposed to with a ring pop? Alternatively, would they "propose" back?

(Honestly, if Ez or Phel said yes, I'd be like "cool, let's have the honeymoon now")

Ily btw 🩵⭐️

That's so cute 🥺

Kayn

"oh?"

He'd have this stupid smirk on his face

"well of course you want to marry me" he'd laugh

But he, ever the benevolent, would accept

He loves you so of course

Ezreal

"Sure" He'd say with the brightest smile

He wouldn't tell you, but this would give him butterflies

He'd look at you with a smirk, teasing you afterwards

"So you want to marry the prince huh?" He'd laugh, hugging you

Would 100% propose back

Aphelios

He'd accept it with a happy nod

He thinks it's silly, but oh well

If you're in private, would kiss you all over your face

If not, a quick kiss on the cheek will have to do

Would probably propose back

Yone

"uh... thanks"

He doesn't really know how to respond

But doesn't want to hurt you so he'd accept, though he thinks the entire thing is silly

Would still give you a smile, which he doesn't do often

Sett

"YES" he's so enthusiastic

Almost like if it was a real proposal

He loves you so much so of course

He's a gentleman, so he'd 199% would propose bwck

K'Sante

He'd accept it without question

Grinning like an idiot

But he'd tease you after

Also becomes more touch starved for some time

You just made him a little softer with this

He wouldn't propose back, but would take you out for your favourite food

[mazosstuff]

Heartsteel boys × classical singer!reader

Pairings: Aphelios, Ezreal, Sett, Kayn, Yone, K'sante (separately) × gn reader

Cw: maybe reader being a little insecure?

Words: 1.1 k

Aphelios

• You sometimes forget he's in the house, so, thinking you're alone, you start singing a little.

• You were no master at it so it was a little hard for you to say if you were singing with your throat or not, and that was one of his reasons why you never sang infront of him, but following some advices from your vocal coach helped alot.

• You were cooking something when you remembered the part of an opera you did when you didn't know Phel.

• Not noticing him, you started singing the solo and, my my, our boy was shocked.

• He realised you didn't know he was there, but he just stared at you awestruck.

• You never raised your voice in front of him, but to hear it so loudly, he was certainly amazed by it. (Doesn't mean that you were screaming, but it is pretty loud when someone sings right next to you, been there, done that myself)

• It was powerful, and even if he didn't understand a word of what you said, he still thought it was beautiful.

After ending your solo, you turned around and saw him, completely frozen in the spot.

Your cheeks went red

"Phel!" You exclaimed. "I didn't know you were home."

He grabbed his phone and wrote on the notes: do it again

"You... wanna hear me sing?" He nodded his head.

"And to think people say I'm too loud when I sing like this... don't you mind?" He shook his head to indicate a no.

Ezreal

• He kinda knew you sang a little, but he never knew what kind of genre you would be into.

• When you heard their song for the first time, you liked it a lot, so he thought your favourite genre of music must be electronic or pop.

• Truth to be told, you were really versatile with your taste in music.

• You two have a shared playlist where you once put an aria by accident, and you didn't notice until he told you.

"Babe, do you listen to classical music?" You stared at him. How did he know?

"Yeah... I usually sing it too..."

"Shut up, let me hear you! I wanna hear you sing the one you put in our playlist."

Panic. Total fucking panic. What if he didn't like it? What if you messed up the high note? What if...?

"Okay" you finally gave in.

"Let me just prepare a little... I don't wanna hurt my vocal cords."

After preparation, you started. Your heart pounded like crazy.

All went smoothly. You were so scared of having a voice crack but it never happened.

He got his yellow glasses and put them on his face just to push them down (like the scene in the MV).

"Why didn't you tell me I have a soulmate who sings better than me?"

"What...?"

"You can do high notes and everything! I need to tell this to everyone! My soulmate is already special by themselves, but this? You're amazing!"

Sett

• I feel like his mother would turn up the volume of the radio whenever classical music was put.

• He usually rolled his eyes when he was younger, but with age he started to understand the work and the vocal training people put to reach those levels. He respected it.

• Once you were going somewhere so he turned on the radio to put some music and the station the radio was on was the one of classical music.

• Before he could change the station you started singing.

• He secretly started to record you.

• He was impressed to say the least.

You looked over to him. "Delete that. Now."

"Oh come on, babe. You have millions of videos of me singing. Why can't I have one of you?"

"Touché..."

"Do you think I can sing whatever you sang now?"

"Do you wanna end up like Phel?"

"Omg, no"

"Then don't"

Kayn

• Bro rolls his eyes whenever he hears the words classical and music put together.

• He will pretend to throw up whenever you make him listen to a song that's not rock, pop, metal, or anything that doesn't have fast rhythm.

• One time it happened that you found a recording of you singing.

• He wanted to listen to make fun of your taste in music, but he was...

• He couldn't understand.

• Something he thought was lame just became... angelic.

"So... what do you think...?"

"It's okay, I guess"

"Wait... you are telling me that you liked it? Kayn, sweety, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. And what's with the sweety now? Don't say that again"

So, under that façade of the bad boy, there is a golden heart after all.

Yone

• He listens to the classic music playlists on spotify. You can't tell me otherwise.

• Would be delighted to know that you two shared this little interest.

• Would let you sing him to sleep if he allowed himself to rest.

• Once, because you had a minor argument, you slept in separate rooms.

• He couldn't sleep so tried with the music he had saved of spotify but nothing worked.

He knocked at your door.

"What?" You asked him, still pretty pissed off, but probably because of the tiredness and the sadness.

"I can't sleep."

"Me neither"

"Can... can you sing me that one melody you sing me everytime?"

"Can't you just listen it on your own?"

"Why deprive myself of the better version when I have it right in front of me?" The reality was that he needed your voice and not some of a stranger.

If your body wasn't a solid, it would have melted right there.

"Fine..."

(But no seriously, how can you not love this man)

K'Sante

• He would start humming with you some famous pieces.

• I don't know why but I have the feeling that he also has heard somethings so he has a basic knowledge of classical music.

• He asked why didn't you join a choir yet. With your talent, you should.

• He once tried sneaking up on you while you were reading a music sheet.

• With how scared you were you hit a high note that wasn't even in your range, or at least you thought it wasn't.

• The man was too stunned to speak.

"Did you just...?"

"I didn't even know that was in my range..."

"What were you reading anyway? Did you join a choir?" He gasped in excitement.

"Yeah... I followed your advice. It's actually more welcoming than I thought it would be"

"I'm so happy you're comfortable there!" He picked you up and hugged you.

A/n: Hi there! Paranoia has been stuck in my mind for quite some time, so I thought I might write something for the boys from the perspective of someone who grew up in a family of musicians and professional classical singers.

Riot... you gotta tell me why do you create them, make them drop a banger, and make them disappear into thin air.

I am waiting for a comeback of both K/DA and True Damage.

I hope you liked this! As always, requests are open. Check my pinned post!

[writerblue275]

How Heartsteel would react catching their S/O singing/dancing to “Paranoia” (to their part if applicable)

Inspiration: Me being a dancing/singing/lip syncing fool every time I listen to the damn song, especially while I’m cleaning my apartment.

Genre: Headcanon

Category: FLUFF

Gender: Gender Neutral Reader

TW: Swearing

^^(How did they get this GIF of me dancing?? 😂)

General things:

Setting the scene, let’s say it’s the first time they’re coming home after the song has released so they’re really getting your reaction to the finished song for the first time.

Ok let’s be clear, all of them would be so flattered and would love this.

Having a supportive partner means EVERYTHING TO THEM.

So even if I don’t put “it means a lot to them to catch you doing this, etc…etc…, it’s still implied.

Aphelios:

He’s had a long day in the studio working with Yone on the next album’s instrumentals after doing a debut music show, so he’s very ready to be home with you and to take it easy tonight.

Grins under his mask as he opens the door and hears “Paranoia” blasting on the Bluetooth speaker he got you for your birthday. He knows how much you love to jam to music!

Sneaks to wherever you are, not wanting to disrupt you and absolutely wanting to grab a photo he can send to Alune (after swearing her to secrecy [not that she would send the photo of you to anyone anyway! You and her are good friends too]).

Manages to get an excellent photo of you using the duster as a microphone, a smidge of dust on your cheek.

You’re so absorbed in your “performance” you don’t notice him at all.

Right after you mime the *ding ding ding* of the bell in Sett’s verse, your smart watch buzzes with a text message.

“I hate to disrupt your award-worthy performance, but what would you like for dinner? (Also you have a little dust on your cheek, cutie.)”

When you spin around and finally see him, he’s spinning his mask on his finger and giving you a sly grin, winking as you gasp in surprise and blush at being caught.

He grabs a tissue and gently wipes off your cheek before giving you a gentle kiss hello.

(I have a headcanon that he would primarily communicate to his partner using sign language)

*Signing* “I’m glad you enjoy our work, love!”

Seeing you love something he put so much effort and time into really brings him a LOT of pride and will continue to motivate him.

He helps you clean and asks you more about your thoughts on the song.

You were in the studio while he worked so you’ve heard parts of it, but you and him agreed that you shouldn’t hear the finished song until it released to the public. It was your suggestion actually. He was ready to let you listen to it early but you wanted to experience the full excitement of waiting for their debut just like everyone else.

Which he LOVED.

Ezreal:

This litTLE SHIT (said lovingly)!

Smug man #1

He will NEVER LET YOU FORGET THIS.

The SMIRK he has when he walks through the front door and hears the all-too-familiar intro to the song.

And when he hears you RAPPING along with Kayn’s part??

NO WAY is he missing this!!

He immediately makes his way to wherever you are and positions himself so he can see you without you seeing him.

Phone camera is at the ready.

Starts recording a video right before the pre-chorus begins and his part starts.

He can’t help but smile as you switch to lip syncing, clearly wanting to hear/focus on his voice.

You’ve told him many times how much you adore his singing voice.

(And he’ll never admit to anyone how much hearing you say that means to him but that’s a different story)

It takes every fiber of his being to not reveal himself while he’s recording.

He’s about two seconds from giggling.

Records through the end of the chorus before stopping the recording and immediately sending the video to the Heartsteel group chat with all the members and Alune. They all love you so he knows they’ll love seeing the video.

He puts his phone away and plans to sneak up on you. (Lmao sneak up? I mean flash.)

This man is an EXPERT at surprising you.

Flashes right behind you before the second pre-chorus starts and starts singing, bursting into laughter as you let out a surprised scream.

He gets a well deserved pillow to the face for that.

Later Yone texts you and tells you that he’s “glad you like the song enough to sing and dance to it throughout your daily tasks.”

And Aphelios hits you with the “:)”

And Ez gets another pillow to the face before bed.

Followed by a kiss because he is POUTING.

Kayn:

This SMUG motherfucker!! (Again, said lovingly!!!)

Smug man #2!!

Comes home to you cooking dinner for you and him, using the spatula as a mic.

Does THE shoulder lean against the door frame (y’all know what I mean, especially if you read romance novels) and just watches you with the biggest shit-eating smirk on his face.

That smirk only get bigger as the song ends and restarts and you don’t change it, telling him you’ve had their song on repeat for who knows how long!

If anything, you’re getting even more into it, starting to dance a little more now and adding some little ad libs while he raps.

Ex: “If you try to step to me, it’ll be the last time” You *in rhythm*: “FUCK YEAH”

He absolutely loves it.

Honestly you’re making him fall in love with you all over again.

Also gives him the idea to ask Alune if you can help make up the fan chants (although he’s sad because he knows they’ll have to be a bit more PG)

Can’t help himself as he lets out a chuckle, giving himself away in the process.

Holds his hands up peacefully as you spin around, ready to throw the spatula if needed.

“Sorry baby, I’m afraid you can’t use me for target practice.”

“God Damnit, Kayn, you know I scare easily! How long have you been home?”

“There’s a reason I stayed over here instead of startling you over there where there are a bunch more kitchen utensils you could have reacted with. And to answer your question, enough time for me to understand how much you seem to enjoy our song.”

You playfully, roll your eyes, shake your head, and smile as he comes over and wraps his arms around your waist, kissing you hello.

He’d definitely tell the guys what he saw, but he wouldn’t film or photograph you (this time 😉).

K’Sante:

I get such immaculate vibes from Heartsteel K’Sante.

Like I’m a BTS fan (woot woot ARMY) and I get very very similar energy/vibes from K’Sante and RM.

Like I do not know what it is, but I would trust K’Sante with holding/watching my drink at a club if I needed to run to the restroom. He has that sort of good energy.

I suppose it’s the…safe? energy??

Absolutely hilarious to use that word considering the batshit things they did in that movie studio.😂

But you know what I mean!

And being in a relationship with someone who has this sort of energy would be A++++.

(I know this is a bit of a tangent but I swear it’s relevant to the topic)

K’Sante’s part in “Paranoia” has that same sort of energy to it. (It’s so hard to explain what I meannnn)

And when he catches you singing and dancing along to his part, the bridge of the song, while you’re folding/putting away laundry, I think he’d watch you for a couple moments.

But only a couple.

He’d make his presence known a bit earlier

Because then I think he’d come join you! ☺️

He’d start singing with you and encourage you to keep singing with him.

He’d gently pull you a little closer to him.

And obviously the slower paced part of bridge doesn’t last forever, but even then I think he’d still dance with you once the song ramped up with you (hard to explain but think casual dancing with a partner at a club/bar).

It would be so FUN??? Such a fun sweet moment between the two of you.

He’d of course then help you fold the laundry.

“It’s only fair since I distracted you from it for a bit!”

You’d keep listening to music with him as you both get some chores done around the house.

Definitely making sure to take time for more dance breaks (duhhhh).

Sett:

(A/N: I love the entirety of “Paranoia” but something about Sett’s verse makes me absolutely FERAL!! THE LYRICS. THE VIBE. THE INSTRUMENTALS. PerFECTION! ØZI fucking nailed it.)

When I first started thinking about this, I thought that Sett would be smug guy #3.

Now I’m not quite so stuck to that idea.

Oh don’t get me wrong, he’d definitely hug you and tease you once you saw him watching you and blushed a deep red.

But they would mainly be half-hearted teases.

And internally? You know this man is melting about you and how lucky he is to have you as his partner and how much he loves you.

Sett clearly has such a soft side for the people he truly loves and cares about.

Have you seen how much he adores his Mama???

You are like the only other person who can really bring that soft side out of him.

And catching you already having the lyrics to his verse down 100% is something that would bring that out of him.

Speaking of his Mama…

Sett would absolutely take photos or videos of you.

But they’re only going to one person.

That’s right, to Mama.

We’re going to assume that his mother really likes you and you really like her. (You think this man is going to be with someone his mother doesn’t get along with? BFFR)

Though let me say I think she’d be very easy to get along with.

Like I definitely don’t think she’s the mother-in-law from hell I keep seeing stories about on TikTok.

But anyway, he just wants to show off his favorite person to his other favorite person (who also adores his favorite person).

And little do you and Sett know but that just inspired Mama to knit you a sweater that matches the beanie she made that he wore in the MV. As like a holiday present!

(I’m so sorry this one was admittedly a little self-indulgent but I think it’s so cute!)

Yone:

Oh this man.

Obviously everyone has worked extremely hard so that Heartsteel can debut. Everyone has had late nights and long days on little sleep.

But as Heartsteel’s main producer…

(Not to mention band mom!!)

Yone really had a record number of late nights at the studio.

Reworking a passage over and over and over….

And OVER

Until it’s right (or until Aphelios/Alune drag him out of the studio at 3am telling him to work on it tomorrow with fresh ears).

And he’d never tell you, but you know he’s felt really bad about all those late nights. All those nights he wasn’t with you.

Potential dates missed because of deadlines.

Not that you were angry with him or anything.

You love him and you know how much pressure he’s put on himself.

And the last thing you want to do is potentially add more pressure on him.

In fact, you and him made a routine the past couple months. Whenever he’d have to work on the weekends, you’d come over to his studio each night during the weekend and bring a movie/couple episodes of a show and takeout.

And he gladly lets you pull his attention away from work for other media and cuddles.

(I feel like in private Yone would be more cuddly than one might expect of a stoic man like him.)

But during these media breaks??

This tall man was like a damn koala the way he cuddled you (not that you were complaining).

So seeing you sing and dance to the song he produced…

Even though the production of this song meant you often went to bed alone….

Was so fucking cathartic for him.

It made him feel like every sacrifice was worth it. Just to see how happy you were to dance and sing to the song he put so much of himself into.

His expression would be so soft as he watched you.

And after you noticed him and gave him a smile, he’d come over and give you a hug, burying his face against your neck.

You are his MUSE, and don’t you forget it.

Ahh thank you for reading! This is my first bit of creative writing in over 5 years, so apologies if it’s not great!

Shout out to @coco6420 for telling me on my main account to not stop myself when I talked about being tempted to post headcanons for Arcane/Heartsteel. Well here we go. 😂

[prime-adeptus]

HEART SHAKER! – YONE X READER

Yone usually regrets saying yes to what Kayn or Ezreal rope him in, but this time around, he doesn’t regret it at all.

CONTENT.⠀Idol AU. Gender-neutral reader. Tooth-rotting fluff, first dates, hopeful ending because Yone deserves happiness. Requested by @fictionfordays. Hope you enjoy! ~1.3k words

CROSS-POSTED ON AO3 / @angelshub @bitchcraftinc

Yone thinks he’s too old to be putting up with whatever shenanigans Kayn and Ezreal keep pulling him into.

Between promotions, interviews, production, and taking care of the group, he’s dedicated the majority of his time to being responsible and ensuring everything is in tip-top shape. He’s not unfamiliar with having responsibility be the key pillar in his life. Since he was a child, he took it upon himself to be someone his younger brother could look up to. He did everything he could to help his parents, working himself to the bone to ensure his family’s comfort. Not much has changed even when he’s become an idol.

Despite his weariness on some days, he can’t deny that he’s grown fond of his fellow members. He’ll put up with Aphelios’ pranks, Kayn’s ‘forgetfulness’ in doing his chores, Ezreal’s little jokes, and whatever else his life in HEARTSTEEL brings him. He supposes it’s why he found himself saying yes to Ezreal’s idea of a blind date.

Indulging in a silly idea once is harmless, he thinks. Maybe if he just went along, it’ll sate Ezreal enough to leave him be for a while. As happy (well, not really) as he is to indulge in his friend’s antics, he’d also prefer it if Ezreal didn’t bring up the idea every other day. And even if this is just to keep his all-too-enthusiastic friend at bay, he’s also not one to do things halfheartedly. For the first time since his audition, Yone is somewhat nervous.

Meeting new people isn’t all too familiar. He always greets his seniors, juniors, staff, or anyone he may come across on the job. But this isn’t a job, it’s something meant to potentially spark romance in his life which is far from professional. He hasn’t even been on a regular date. He’s well aware of what it usually entails, but he’s never actively sought out this sort of thing. He hopes whoever his date will be won’t feel too disappointed if he doesn’t catch their interest. He knows they’re Ezreal’s friend, but that doesn’t quite narrow it down.

He fiddles with his face mask (for safety measures, really) as he waits for his date at the table. Thanks to Kayn, the street where the restaurant is located is completely silent save for its employees and the occasional unknowing passer-by. He’s not sure what Kayn did—in fact, he’s not even going to ask—but if it means not having to stress as much about paparazzi and overly eager fans, he’s not going to pass up the opportunity. 

“Gosh, sorry I’m late—Yone?”

Said man looks up from his drink with wide eyes, surprised to see that you’re standing right in front of him. Or, more accurately, one of Ezreal’s best friends, and the fact that both of you are surprised means that the guy’s got more talent for discretion than he let on.

“Did Ezreal put you up to this?” you ask with an amused lilt, taking a seat in front of him. He nods quietly. “Hm. So that’s why he’s been so suspicious lately. Seraphine just told me she wanted me to meet a friend, but well… I didn’t think it’d be you.”

“Are you disappointed?” Yone blurts out.

The corners of your lips curl into a small smile. “No, of course not. I’m pretty happy about it, actually. But what brings you here?”

He doesn’t know you that well, he realises. While you’re always there for the group dinners or parties, he’s never had a proper conversation with you aside from simple hellos here and there. He’s not too familiar with the warmth rising in his cheeks either, but if he has to guess, it definitely has something to do with the way you’re looking at him.

“Ah, well…” He’s not sure if he should say the truth. He’s aloof, yes, but he’s not insensitive. “Ezreal thought I should try something new.”

“Hey, that makes both of us! By the way, I have the same Poro keychain! They’re really cute, aren’t they?”

He feels relieved that you seem to be carrying the conversation just fine even if he doesn’t think he’s great at it. Usually, the extroverts of HEARTSTEEL are responsible for answering interview questions. Yone’s there for the more professional and practical side of things, like speaking to other producers or the company president. As you start to talk about your day, he listens to every word and finds himself getting lost in how much he likes being in your presence. You’re more animated than he is and you still ask about his day even when he doesn’t believe it’s as interesting as yours.

He really likes that about you, he concludes.

“I forgot to mention this, but isn’t this district usually full of people? Why’s it so quiet today?” Your curious expression practically has him melting at how adorable you look. He prides himself on keeping his composure, but your presence alone is making him doubt his ability to be calm.

Yone is never nervous. The only other time he’s felt that way was when he first stepped through the company doors as a trainee. But the longer he sits here with you, his heart races and it’s getting harder to focus when you’re undoubtedly quite a perfect match for him.

(Damn that kid and his ‘super senses.’)

He clears his throat. “Kayn’s responsible for it.”

Perfect . He zoned out thinking about you when you’re right in front of him and he completely forgot to answer your question. Lucky enough, you don’t seem to mind.

“I’m… not sure I want to know the details.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t ask, either.” He chuckles. “I think it’s better not to.”

Your laughter rings beautifully like every song he’s ever loved. Everything feels new, and his thoughts are running a mile a minute, but he thinks he wants to take this jump into spontaneity and adventure with you.

“It’s getting late… I should head back. Gotta be on set early tomorrow.”

“Could we do this again?”

Your features soften into a teasing smile. “You like me already, don’t you?”

“Well, yes—”

“Of course, we can do this again,” you say gently, “I like you too, Yone. You don’t have to be so nervous around me.”

You reach over the table to take his hand in yours and he damn near short circuits at how your hand fits in so perfectly with his. He can barely process the coy glint in your eyes from how flustered he feels.

“I’ll walk you back.”

“Oh, a gentleman!” you chirp, “Now I wish I’d spoken to you sooner.”

The walk to the train station is too short for his liking. He’d really like to spend the rest of the night with you, but you still have things to do and Yone can’t be away for too long lest something happens in the dorm. As if you could sense him sulking, you gently tug on his sleeve and urge him to look at you. Before he can ask, you’re already leaning up to press a chaste kiss on his cheek, an action that has his eyes widening and his heart racing once again.

“I’ll see you again, Yone.”

His face feels like it’s burning as he watches you skip and disappear into the crowd. How can a single person reduce him to such a state so effortlessly? Still, he can’t help but look forward to the next time he’ll get to spend time with you again. He thinks you’re going to be quite the presence in his life and he’s more than happy to let that happen. 

Yone usually regrets saying yes to what Kayn or Ezreal rope him in, but this time around, he doesn’t regret it at all. He couldn’t wait to see you again. Maybe without his friends meddling in this time, but he supposes he does have them to thank for leading him to you.

Plus, he still needs to get your number.

[timetoeatthebread-blog]

Heartsteel! Members suddenly have to take care of a child; Headcanons (Gender neutral and in an imaginary world where police is THAT useless. I like to think it isn't)

How they found you and how they reacted :

Kayn:

- He was literally minding his own business

- You ran up to him because of his pink eye and pink hair.

- Just straight up grabbing his left leg and not letting go, like a little menace.

- He tried to shake you off

- Almost fell face first into a wall while jumping around with his free leg.

- The little tic (You) had the grip of a true warrior.

- You bit him in his calf.

- Didn't hurt him that much. Instead it spooked him because he didn't expect a small child to have such sharp teeth. He hit his face on a pole on the sidewalk.

- What are you, a vampire? You little menace.

- You didn't know what menace meant, but vampire sounded cool. You pretended to be a vampire from this moment on, trying to bite him.

- At some point he finally got you off his leg and carried you under his arm like a bag.

- Wha- THE FU--

- Yes, you bit his arm

- Dude was so confused that he didn't even call the police

- Instead he took you home so Yone can take care of you.

Yone:

- Was grocery shopping, rolling his cart and checking the list if he needed anything

- Suddenly there was you, running around with a mini shopping cart.

- Totally proud of yourself. You were acting like an adult and you liked it (Because rolling the cart is fun).

- At some point you got lost from your family and then you saw Yone.

- It's not everyday you see someone in a zebra (in your child words. It wasn't a zebra print) shirt print.

- Like the young and cultured child you were, you asked if he saw your parents.

- The mom of the group tried to find your parents.

- Failed.

- The police wasn't really much help either. No one reported you missing.

- They (Police) were trying to take you but you cried so much because you didn't want to be separated from the gentle giant.

- One thing led to another and the police have his number and they will call him if they have any information.

- Brought you a pair of clothes so you have a change of clothes for later.

- Everyone was surprised when Yone didn't return with groceries and instead with a child.

K'sante:

- Was walking out of the gym and through a park

- Instantly noticed that you were alone on the playground.

- Checks for anyone in the vicinity of the park.

- The nearest residential area was a long way from the park.

- Walks up to you, crouches and greets you.

- Another gentle giant. But more energetic.

- Your sibling left you here as a prank to scare you.

- Parents gone on a trip.

- Cue inner anger at your sibling.

- Takes you to an ice cream shop. Buys you your favorite. With extra whipped cream/fruit.

- Contemplates his next options.

- Decides to take you home since it was getting dark, left his number at the police station and let them know the situation.

- Let's Yone know. Yone buys you a few things.

- Shows you his big armadillo plushie.

- The rest doesn't know that you are there yet (minis Yone)

Aphelios:

- Yes, he was in a store.

- Yes, they sold plushies.

- Yes, he bought a plushie gun and he was buying ammo.

- It's all for a prank I swear.

- You were hiding under one of the tables.

- Initially didn't care for you. Was sure your parents were nearby.

- They were not.

- Walks with you hand in hand, slow peace isn't a problem for him

- Thinks how you follow after him with your steps is cute.

- Calls his sister for help. She is completely serious and comes to you guys.

- She falls instantly in love with how cute and precious, scoops you up in her arms and carries you around.

- Aphelios kinda regrets not picking you up sooner.

- They go to the police station and they do nothing.

- Time to let Yone know what was happening...

- Since you were cute and you made his sister happy, he was quite happy himself to join his sister to buy cute things for you.

Ezreal:

- Was buying himself boba in a mall.

- And a new phone charger.

- His last one got destroyed by a mistake by Aphelios' prank.

- Saw you in the cutest, silliest outfit.

- Dude loves cute things almost as much as Aphelios.

- But you were alone. Like sitting in the corner alone and looking at people.

- You noticed him.

- Big pant look cool.

- Cue you running up to him and asking all about his pants, not understanding why it had so many unnecessary accessories.

- He discovers you were left alone by your sibling (again).

- You've been in the mall since the early morning. It was almost evening now.

- Goes to the police. Police is useless.

- Carries you around on his shoulders. Your laugh is precious and so is your happiness.

- His (not biological) little sibling! His little angel!

- He swore to protect you until the end.

- Gave you his boba since you were thirsty.

- MMm boba balls. They pop. It's cool as frick.

Sett:

- Was totally practicing basketball

- Found you alone. No one around.

- You asked about his ears. Reminded you of a dog.

- You love dogs.

- So does he.

- Instant connection.

- Calls his Mama for help.

- She is far away now but tells him to get you something to drink and eat and then take you to the police.

- Does as told.

- Buys you something to drink.

- Buys you dino nuggets.

- You both love them.

- Hols your hand and walks with you.

- Gives up when his back eventually starts hurting from bending so much and walking so slowly.

- Police is useless.

- Comes home and notifies Yone so he can take care of it.

- Feeds you more dino nuggets and sugar, while Yone does all the work.

[collidescopeeyes]

Hey all, know I've been quiet but I'm in the home stretch!! Just gotta survive three more days and then exams are over, pray for me 🙏

Anyway in honor of me spending my weekend fighting for my life trying to memorize formulas that look like alphabet soup:

Heartsteel helping you study headcanons

Kayn

- Let's be real he ain't helping. Like he understands this is important and you need to focus but he also really, really wants your attention, are you sure it's not time for you to take a break? No? :(

- Like you'll be taking notes and you'll just see him in the background slowly vibrating out of his skin restraining himself from bothering you. But also, he ain't gonna leave unless you ask him to, he'd still rather hang out with you ignoring him than not spend time with you.

- Let him quiz you or something, please he'll do such a good job just pleeeease pay attention to him. Or just talk him about whatever it is you're working on, he'll do his best to follow along but really it doesn't matter if he doesn't understand, if having someone to bounce ideas off of helps you then he's absolutely there for that.

- Largely mollified if you work while sitting on his lap. He'll do his best not to be distracting, he promises. That being said, if you try to work one minute past when you said you were gonna stop your laptop is getting ejected and he will be pouncing on you, he's been so patient goddamnit.

Aphelios

- Will actually help you study. He's pretty well read so there's a few subjects he can help you with, otherwise he just sits next to you and keeps you on track. There will be no getting distracted by your phone on his watch, and you will be taking regular breaks. Mostly he's doing his own thing so he doesn't bother you, like mixing tracks with his headphones on, but trust me he Will notice if you start slacking off.

- Honestly he's the kind of guy who appreciates just spending time in the same space as you

- Recruits Alune to retrieve snacks. She's also very willing to help if it's a subject she's familiar with, but she's also very talkative with people she likes so Phel will shoo her away if she's distracting you.

- If he can, will help organize your notes or put together flash cards. Great at quizzing you, though he also tends to ask insane niche question that really tests your understanding.

Sett

- The only reason he had decent grades in high school was because he didn't want to upset his mom, so he knuckled down and worked his ass off. He sucks at studying otherwise, he never had the patience for it, so he really respects your determination

- If you tell him you're gonna work and then end up on your phone he Will notice. He knows all the tricks in the book, he used them himself, you are not gonna start after just one more video, you're gonna start now. He's pretty hard to argue with when he's got his Boss voice on.

- That being said, he ain't gonna be much help with academics–even the stuff he's great at, like songwriting, he doesn't really consciously think about; he just has an intuitive sense of what does and doesn't work, and goes purely off of what feels right.

- Any other support he can offer though, he's There. You want snacks? A quiet spot to study? Coffee on the hour every hour? He's got you, ask and you shall receive.

- He's drawing the line if you start going overboard though, working tired is worse than not working at all so you're gonna call it for the night and come back when you're back on your game.

Yone

- Another man who's likely to actually know the subject you're studying. He'll sit down with you and help you make a study plan, and then he'll make sure you actually stick to it. A firm yet gentle hand–he’s used to dealing with that lot, keeping you on track is easy mode comparatively. Also, he'll find a way to minimize potential distractions so sneakily you won't even notice, like you get the urge to go on your socials but your phone's somehow all the way over on the couch so it's too much effort.

- Offers to let you study at his place. It's a very quiet and relaxing space, and also he point blank bans any of the other band members from bothering either of you while you're working.

- You thought that thing about herbal tea helping with concentration was an old wives tale but whatever is in this little clay cup is legitimately a god send. He also makes his own wagashi, and it's so pretty you'd almost feel bad about eating it if it didn't taste so good.

- Helps you with flashcards and quizzes and anything else that will help you feel prepared. Will go out of his way to read up on the subject so he can help you better.

Ezreal

- This guy 100% has undiagnosed ADHD, I don't make the rules. Unlike Kayn who has some pretty obvious hyperactivity symptoms, Ez is one of those people whose like ‘nahhh I can't have that, I get on just fine when it's something I'm interested in :)) in fact I'm so good at studying things I'm interested in that I'll do it for hours at a time without taking breaks! :)) that's normal!’. So while he really wants to be helpful, he has horrible studying habits and honestly he's impressed you're starting before midnight the night before your test. If you need someone to keep an eye on your bad study habits, he is not the guy. If you need a quick confidence boost or moral support though, he's absolutely there for you.

- Extremely knowledgeable on a very specific and eclectic range of subjects. If you happen to by studying ancient history he will explode with excitement, babygirl he knows facts you couldn't even begin to be assessed on.

- He'll bring you your favorite snacks and drinks! Occasionally he'll start talking to you only to remember you're busy and cut himself off mid word–he doesn't mean to, it's just whenever he finds something interesting he immediately wants to share it with you.

- Second you say you're done he'll insist on doing something to celebrate, whatever gets your batteries recharged, whether that's going out and doing something fun or snuggling down and watching a movie, he thinks you deserve a reward.

K’Sante

- Actually very studious, he knows how to knuckle down and get something done. If you have trouble keeping on track he can help with that. Like he gets this gaggle of dumbasses to meet deadlines, he's pretty good at figuring out what motivates people

- His knowledge base is mostly music theory and visual design, but he'll help out if he can.

- He'll invite you to his place and make you lunch as a treat, which is very motivating because he is a fantastic cook. Plying you with food is also his way of maneuvering you into taking breaks when you need them.

- He can tell when you start slowing down and need to call it for the day, and gently extracts you from your work by suggesting you take a walk and stretch your legs or something.

Bonus

- Whole band is throwing you a party as soon as your exams are over, whether it's a celebration of your hard work or a ‘thank fuck it's over’ bash. There will be another party when you get your results back, they'll take any excuse for a party if it means you'll be there.

[saey707]

I SEE YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN "HEARTSTEEL" I LOVE THEIR INTERACTIONS ON TWITTER AND EVERYTHING (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA) It's cool, just cool :') Well, the point is... could you do a Yone x fangirl!reader? (I've been thinking about an anonymous online friendship and then a BIG surprise when they just meet face to face) Anyway, have a good day <3 -🍄

✿ Prompt: You have a chance encounter with Yone ✿

♡ champion focus: yone ♡ tw: none! ♡ Gender-neutral reader

Author’s Note: YES HELLOOO! ૮₍´｡ᵔ ꈊ ᵔ｡`₎ა Thanks so much for requesting! I tried my best to get the premise of your idea in, but I did make some changes to improve the flow of the short and make it more authentic! Hope you enjoy! ૮₍˶ •. • ⑅₎ა ♡

You and Yone met through an online board long before he went off the grid- hell, you met long before Yone even became legendary!

While it wasn't the conventional way to meet someone, you couldn't help but become fascinated by him and all the discussions he participated in. It's not every day you meet a (kind) man so invested in the history of Japanese warriors, DJ'ing, cold brew, and meditating!

You've never met Yone in person, but you figured from his messages alone he was either an old man or a kind soul... Even both. Every email Yone sent you was well punctuated and wise. He always knew exactly what to say, to an extent where you didn't know if he was just researching everything he was telling you or was telling you something based on his life experiences!

The day Yone sent a photo to you was the day you were convinced he was an old man now. It was clear that the photo was printed when he took a picture of it. His long, black hair was neatly kept, and he stood tall and sharp in a suit... Not to mention, there were orbs on the edge of the photo, and his eyes were as red as a demon!

You knew, eventually, your anonymous pen pal would stop replying one day, but it still hurt all the same. For years, you wondered if Yone was okay. You wondered where he was now, what amazing things he was doing. You wondered if one day he would ever email you back again... You wondered if he was dead.

"Hey, Warrior! I know it's been a few years since we last spoke. I know you won't respond, and I don't carry any grudges against you for it. I just can't help but wonder: How have you been? Were you ever able to get that red motorcycle you wanted? Are you still DJ'ing?"

That was the first email in years you sent to him... And you couldn't help but find some comfort in having a one-sided conversation. In a way, it felt like it healed the past few years you were left wondering and waiting.

"Hi, Warrior! You won't believe what happened yesterday: I finally got myself to meditate for 30 minutes straight! I'm still not sure how you can do it for an hour, but maybe someday I can get just as good as you. Hope you respond soon. I miss you!"

It became a regular habit for you to email him, even knowing you would never get a response. But maybe someday he'll be able to see what's going on in your life. Maybe someday, he'll open up his emails and respond to you... It's just wishful thinking.

"Have you seen the new band going viral? They're called Heartsteel! Their producer has the same name as you and even rides a red motorcycle in the music video! Isn't that cool? I know it isn't you, but at the very least I can imagine that it is you. I can imagine it's you out there doing great things with great people. And maybe it makes sense to me now why you won't respond. But just know I'm proud of you. No matter what you're doing out there. I'll email you again in a few days. Bye, Yone."

You sent the email, shutting your laptop now.

Waiting in line for a cold brew, it came as a surprise to you when you saw a man in front of you looking down at his phone, not even realizing that the line had already cut down to his turn to order.

You waited a few seconds... Then another. Then another.

Soon enough, you were annoyed. "Uhh, hey?! It's your turn to order..!" You tapped the man's shoulder, watching as he turned his head to you, confused as he shook himself from the alternate dimension his head was just in.

Your eyes widened as you stared at him for a moment, taking in the intricate details of his face. You recognized the sharp look in his eyes. You were familiar with the shape of his jawline. From the moment you got a good look at him, you knew it was him.

And while it seemed as if he didn't recognize you, the moment you spoke, his eyes lit up. It was you.

"Warrior?"

"Deer..."

[milksuu]

❀. │GIRL DINNER (O2)│. ❀

❥ prompt: You're hungry. You want food. You want a snack. You just want SOMETHING. You send your HEARTSTEEL boyfriend(s) on a food-run adventure. Let's see what each boy brings back. ❥ content/warnings: sexually suggestive themes, fluff ❥ characters/pairings: v!Heartsteel (sett, yone, k'sante) / f!reader

SETT

foot-long sub and gatorade

When it comes to feeding you, Sett isn’t willing to compromise. He goes big, or he goes home. And he’s not going home empty handed. 

He Facetime’s you when he’s at the Deli counter of the local grocer, where the sub-meat selection is divine, options are abundant, and the portions are unbeatable. 

When you say you want double amounts of meat, you’re getting it. When you tell him you want more toppings, it’s done. Oh, you want your bread extra toasted and slathered in condiments? Baby, it’s yours. No problem—he’s got you.

When he comes home, you get a running head start, and jump into his arms without warning. The man has no trouble catching you, ever. 

As he greets your neck with a kiss, you lean and whisper into his soft ears about wanting to ‘share some’ with him. Since Sett has an uncontrollably tendency to go over-board with anything portion related, he’s more than willing to help you out. He understands you can't finish most things by yourself. Especially if he's the one serving you.

You huff with an embarrassed whine, shaking your head. You weren't talking about the food! 

Sett finally catches on by the squeezing of your legs around him, the flush of your cheeks, and the hot puffs you tow against his twitching ears. He hums a low and warm grumble at the insinuation. That large hand cradling your bottom squeezes in all the right places. It's enough to elicit a satisfied cry from your lips.

Sett really didn’t come home empty handed. In more ways than one.

YONE

home cooked meal and water

Yone was an expert and perfectionist—especially in the kitchen. Why would he buy you anything processed and unhealthy when he could make anything you desired? He wasn’t going to tolerate you poisoning yourself. Not on his watch. 

Insisting on cooking for you, you watched at how meticulous he was in the kitchen. His expertise with a knife was incomparable. You never realized chopping vegetables could be a discipline and an art form.

When he finished garnishing the plate, he served you. If you didn’t know any better, you would think the dish came straight from a Michelin five-star restaurant!

Not allowing it cool, you burned your tongue on your first bite. Yone chastised you (one of his ways of showing affection) before taking the next helping, and blowing away the steam. He raised the fork to your lips.

Yone was always cool, calm, and collected—but would then do things that were heart-pounding, sweet and seductive. You felt silly with embarrassment. You shook your head, declining his help.

Unacceptable. Yone took your chin without a word, pressed his lips against yours, and slipped a tongue to open your mouth. When you gasped a moan, he abandoned your mouth, and placed the food inside. He encouraged you to chew thoroughly, but all you wanted to do was collapse.

Yone was definitely an expert and perfectionist—at driving you absolutely mad about him.

K'SANTE

take-out and bottle of wine

K’Sante was never about the ‘Netflix and chill’ thing. More like the ‘Netflix and serve my Queen’ scene. And that’s exactly what he planned to do.

Knowing your favorite restaurant, he orders express delivery and pops the cork off of a pricey bottle of wine.

K’Sante has everything ready for the night. Lights dimmed, scented candles lit, and Netflix show ready to go at the press of a button. 

Like the Casanova he is, he serves you everything first. All the while showering you with compliments about how beautiful you are. K’Sante isn’t ashamed of expressing himself to what he likes—which is obviously you. 

After eating and having your fill of wine, you relax further into the couch with him. All the while, watching your shared guilty-pleasure reality TV-show; 'Too Hot To Handle'

The wine seems to get the better of you two. Spooning you from behind, you turn over a cheek expecting to see K’Sante watching the TV. Far from it—his lustrous gaze is on you. He graciously takes your mouth. Slow and passionate. And you can taste the spice of the wine. 

With eyes closed, you feel his trained hand slide across your waist, and slip between your thighs.

K’Sante wasn’t done serving his Queen. And that’s exactly what he planned to do.

[puffcap-factory]

Feelings, Love, and... Misunderstandings? (Heartsteel Yone x Reader)

Heartsteel!Yone x gn!reader; fluff, crack, bits of hurt/comfort plotwise.

When an overthinking reader (co-manager) meets the overthinking producer of the Heartsteel group.

Warnings: 

Alcohol drinking, self-doubt, emotional breakdown. I assume that all Heartsteel members are big enough and legal to drink.

**The story was written in more of a light-hearted tone, but I put the warnings here just in case. 

Words: 4k

Notes: 

Working on (non-angst) Yone’s fic is harder than I thought. But I really like the dynamic of the heartsteel boys, and their presence really helped oomph up the stoic producer of the group. So… here’s another heartsteel fic for you! Again, I did not think too much of the title...

I hope you enjoy! :D

((Update: There's a bonus at the end of the story))

•~•~•~•

"Not joining in, hmm?" 

You jolted up from your seeming trance, the owner of the voice shifting casually closer to your seat. Turning your head, you met Alune's twinkling eyes, mischief dancing within them as she flashed a teasing smile.

“O-oh,” you smiled sheepishly as she gave you a knowing look at you, understanding well where your attention had been. “I’ll join in soon, later.” 

The week had been packed with schedules, and now the group found themselves in an arcade bar at night. You and Alune lounged on a sofa, sipping drinks and soaking in the lively atmosphere. The boys were off in their fun games, laughing and competing at darts and billiards while the latest music filled the air.

To your front, Yone and K'sante were engrossed in a game of billiards. You had to admit you have been marveling at the tall, lean, and handsome sight of the man who was gracefully playing the billiard. And, Alune had always been aware of your not-so-secret crush towards the group’s talented producer.

She leaned in closer as she whispered, rather enthusiastically, “Play a game with him, have some fun, try to get under his skin!”

Get under his skin. Right. I’d win a nobel prize for discovering his feelings.

Yone, for all his cool exterior, was just as cool as he looked. Unfortunately, he was particularly hard to read, at least for you. You couldn't tell if his kindness towards you was simply that — kindness — or if there was something more behind it. He was generally polite to everyone, though a bit stricter with Kayn and Ezreal – to no one's surprise. Yone was easygoing and pleasant to talk to, which only added to your curiosity as you tried to decipher his true feelings. 

There were occasions when you found yourselves spending time together, but it was never labeled as a date. It was either due to work duties, given your role as a co-manager, or simply a friendly hangout that happened naturally. Each time, you tried to read between the lines, wondering if there was something more beneath the surface, to no avail. 

"You know what, Alune, you're probably right. First, let's try billia-" You began, standing up with determination, but before you could make your move towards the billiard table, Ezreal appeared, blocking your view.

"Y/n! You owe us a round of darts, remember?" Ezreal exclaimed, slinging an arm around your shoulders and pulling you away from the table, despite your silent protests. 

Great. What a timing, Ezreal.

"Sorry, Alune, I'll be borrowing her for a while," he added with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. "Don't tell me you forgot about the deal, hmm?" Kayn chimed in, raising an eyebrow as he waited in the dart booth.

You had mustered up the courage to take a shot at a round of billiards with Yone, but Ezreal and Kayn were quick to rope you into the dart booth before you could voice any further protests. Alune simply watched with an amused grin, clearly entertained by the turn of events.

You ended up playing a few rounds of darts with Ezreal and Kayn, snacking and sipping on some of their peculiar concoctions of 'potions' they had whipped up on a whim. It was a fun challenge you had agreed to, having lost a dare to them before. When it wasn’t your turn, you couldn't help but throw quick glances towards the billiard table, particularly at Yone, admiring his oh-so-smooth movements. 

You were feeling a bit lighter in the head, the effects of the peculiar potions finally catching up to you. Though clear-minded, you were certainly getting full from the incoming food. As you prepared to take your next throw in the dart game, a brand-new top-chart song began to play in the background, its music video displayed on the monitor above the room.

Ezreal, caught up in the music, started to nod off, vibing with the beat. Meanwhile, Kayn shifted his attention towards the music video, his eyes widening in recognition.

"Ooh, wait, I saw that lady with Yone before!" Kayn exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "Hah, Yone, so that's your type, huh?"

Wait… what?

You quickly glanced at the screen, only to see an incredibly sexy and charming actress starring in the music video.

That’s HIS type?

"Ooh! Right, I saw her talking to you at the bar before," Sett added, joining in on the conversation as Yone sighed dismissively, a small defeated smile appearing on his face.

…AND he’s not even declining? 

You held onto your dart a bit tighter, trying to contain the emotions swirling inside you. There was no way you could compare to her. Despite the mix of sadness and frustration stirring up inside, you maintained a smile onto your face, determined to keep up your appearances.

I might be just overthinking this. Get it together, y/n.

You tried to reassure yourself. But the sound of the atmosphere began to blur and others' conversations turned into a mumbled background noise as your thoughts took over. The insecurities crept in, overshadowing the fun of the night. Was this the effect of the alcohol or was it just me?

"Y/n, y/n!" Ezreal's voice cut through your thoughts as he patted you on the shoulder. "You okay?"

You blinked, snapping back to reality, realizing you had drifted off into your own world. With a forced smile, you nodded at Ezreal, trying to brush off the uneasiness that had settled in your chest. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got lost in thought for a moment," you grinned at him.

Ezreal studied your face for a second. "Hmm, if you say so..." he trailed off, before leaning in to whisper with a wink, a playful glint in his eyes, "Let's just leave the drinks for Kayn, shall we?"

You couldn't help but let out an amused smile at Ezreal's comment, feeling grateful for his attempt to lighten the mood. Determined to shake off your thoughts, you focused on the dart game, teaming up with Ezreal against Kayn. Together, you managed to make Kayn taste his own creations, and the laughter that followed was pleasant.

After a while, feeling a bit light-headed from the stir of emotions, and Ezreal and Kayn's concoctions, you decided to step away from the dart game for a bit to head to the bar to fetch a water. Taking a seat at the counter, you ordered the much-needed refreshment from the bartender. Leaning on the counter, you rested your chin on your hand, letting your thoughts drift as you waited for your drink.

As you gazed into space, lost in your own thoughts, you suddenly realized that someone had taken a seat next to you on the counter. And to your surprise, it was none other than the handsome producer himself, Yone.

Out of all people-! Him? Now?!

Your eyes widened in surprise as Yone caught you off guard, scrambling to sit up straighter. The bartender had just placed the glass of water in front of you, but you couldn’t just leave now.

"Mind if I join you?" Yone's voice broke the silence, his tone polite and soft.

“No—of course not.” You forced a smile at him, hoping it appeared natural as he smiled back in response.

Oh god, I hope my smile looked all normal.

Yone proceeded to order some Japanese sake from the bartender. When it arrived, you couldn't help but look at the elegant bottle and the sake cup with curiosity.

Just as you were about to ask about the sake, to break the awkwardness that had settled between you, Yone beat you to it. “Everything alright?” he inquired, his gaze gentle as he looked at you. You realized you had been silent for a moment, mentally cursing yourself for the lapse in conversation.

“Uh, yeah, of course, everything’s going well!” you replied, plastering a smile on your face.

Yone gazed at you for a moment, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. He seemed to sense that something was off, but thankfully, he didn't press further. “If it’s anything about work, you can always talk to me-"

“No, it’s not.” 

Oops. You realized that you had blurted it out too quickly. 

“Oh?” Yone turned to face you, his expression now more attentive. “Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked carefully, his tone low mixed with a bit of concern.

You sighed defeatedly. This man always seemed to be able to read between the lines, and you couldn’t hide it anymore. “So… There’s a guy that I like…” you admitted, taking a sip of your icy water.

Yone’s eyes twinkled in curiosity, his body shifted a bit to face you.

“But he doesn’t seem to feel the same way about me, I don’t know,” you grumbled, frustration beginning to pool inside you, as you held your forehead. 

“Does… he not give you any signs or anything?” Yone asked carefully, his expression filled with genuine care.

“No! You know, he’s insanely hard to read!” You started to rant, your emotions rushing out from beneath you. “And recently, I learned that I might very well just not be his type.”

Yone fell into silence for a moment, sensing your frustration, as he also felt something stir inside him. He wanted to help, to offer some words of comfort, but nothing perfect came to mind.

“…Does he–“ He started to ask, wanting to gather more information before commenting further, but you interrupted him.

“I don’t know anymore, Yone, maybe I should just give up! I don’t know what to do—!” The frustration and sadness bubbled over, and before you knew it, tears were pooling in your eyes.

No, no, no, brain, work more! Am I going to cry now, in front of him?!

Despite your mind still functioning clearly, your emotions won the battle, and you couldn't hold back the tears. You felt a mixture of shame, sadness, and frustration wash over you as you tried to compose yourself in front of Yone.

“Gimme that!” You snatched his sake cup and chugged down its contents, still full. Yone was taken aback by your sudden action, at a loss for words as he watched you. Your tears were now streaming down on your face, you didn’t care anymore if it had smudged your makeup.

“Y/n…” he began, lifting his arms as if to reach out to you, but you quickly reached for his sake bottle to refill the cup you were holding, determined to drown your sorrows in another shot.

“How can I compare to that woman, Yone, tell me!” You didn’t know where and how that came from, but you blurted it out.

“H-huh? Which woman?” Yone's confusion was evident as he tried to follow your train of thought.

“Which woman?? You had lots?!”

You swore your head was in some eco-friendly energy-saving-mode as you couldn’t seem to process the information, making the situation seemed even more hilariously stupid.

“…Y/n, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to reason with you, his voice soft and concerned. 

But you were just going to leave him there at the counter, tears still streaming down your face, and leave him you did. Without another word, you hurriedly made your way to the bathroom, leaving the poor man on the bar counter all alone. As you stood in front of the mirror, you realized how much of a mess you were. You looked like a metalhead who had just gone through a breakdown, with black streaks trailing down your cheeks.

“Oh no,” you whispered to yourself, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over you as tears started to well up again. How had it all gone so wrong?

You looked at yourself in the bathroom, breathing in and out slowly, trying to regain your already lost composure. Moments later, Alune entered the bathroom, her expression filled with concern as she looked at you.

“Let’s rest for today, hm? I’ll drive you back,” she offered softly, her tone soothing. You nodded at her. “Don’t worry, I told everyone asking that you were not feeling well,” Alune reassured you, offering a comforting hug.

You found yourself crying again, this time for her considerate gesture. Alune chuckled softly as she patted your back, offering you comfort.

You then fell deep asleep in the car on the way back.

•~•~•~•

The next morning, you woke up feeling the slight hangover from yesterday. You sat up on your bed, trying to piece and remember the memories of whatever chaos had happened last night. Your mind then went through the memory of your interaction between you and Yone, realizing your actions, each one making you cringe with regret and shame. 

I- I’m an idiot!!

You groaned, massaging your temples as if trying to erase the memories. The more you remembered, the more ashamed you felt. You wanted to curl into a ball under your blanket and hide from the world.

You admitted to yourself that you hadn’t consumed that much alcohol at one time before, and last night, the mix of emotions and frustrations had likely been heightened by the booze.

“Yone must hate me now…” you mumbled to yourself, still rubbing your temples in a feeble attempt to alleviate the headache. Now, the problem was clear in your mind: How were you going to face him today? 

The fact that the members had their apartment room just right in front of yours and Alune made the situation even more daunting. You couldn’t simply avoid him forever, especially since you were part of the same team.

You went out of your room to find Alune making pancakes for brunch at the kitchen.

“Morning!” she greeted you cheerfully, despite the late hour.

“…Morning, Alune. Thanks for yesterday, though…” you mumbled, scrubbing your eyes as you yawned, meeting her grinning face, clearly waiting for your recount of the previous night. You realized her expression and groaned inwardly, knowing you'd have to relive the embarrassing story by telling her.

You sighed, grabbing a glass of milk before sitting down. “Okay, so…” you began, recounting the chaotic events of the night before. You explained how you had let your emotions get the best of you, the tears, the rambling, the chugging of sake... It all came tumbling out as you told her about your breakdown in front of Yone.

Alune listened intently, offering considerate and understanding comments throughout your story. When you finally finished, you felt a mix of relief and embarrassment wash over you.

Alune reached out and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Hey, we all have our moments. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

You nodded, grateful for her understanding. But then her expression shifted to a mischievous grin, and you couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

“And…” she paused, her grin widening. You looked up at her, wondering what she was about to say.

“You should definitely confront Yone as soon as possible, tell him how you feel” she said plainly, her grin now almost playful.

“What?! That’s the last thing I would do!!” you protested, feeling a wave of panic at the thought of facing Yone after your embarrassing display.

But Alune held your shoulders firmly, her eyes serious. “Believe me, y/n. Trust me on this one.”

•~•~•~•

Throughout the day, you had been clearly avoiding Yone, much to his concern. There were three chances where you two crossed paths, but each time you quickly averted your gaze, trying your best not to interact with him due to your lingering embarrassment. But Yone appeared to have a different thought to himself.

…Did I say something wrong?

His mind was busy replaying the events from yesterday morning, wondering if he had made a misstep towards you. He was trying to connect the dots, trying to understand why you seemed upset with him yesterday.

To be honest, when you admitted to him that you had a crush on another guy, he felt a pang of hurt inside his heart, though he was adept at masking it, maintaining his calm demeanor. But he was genuinely concerned for your well-being. Learning that the guy you liked might be interested in someone else made him feel a sense of disappointment, though he didn’t let it show. He wanted the best for you, and seeing you upset about it only added to his concern.

When you left him alone at the counter, he knew he had to tell Alune about you. Alune was quick into action, helping you up at the bathroom. Later that night, Alune and Yone found a moment to talk in private, much to Yone’s request.

Alune listened intently as Yone recounted the events of the past day and his feelings of confusion and concern about your behavior. He explained how he couldn't shake off the feeling that he had somehow upset you, and how he wished he could make things right. Alune listened with patience, nodding in understanding as Yone spoke. However, he still kept his feelings about you tightly guarded. 

Throughout the day, Yone appeared somewhat… off, lost in his thoughts. Everyone noticed his change of demeanor and seemed to check on him frequently.

“Gee, Yone, are you alright? You look like you stayed up all night,” Ezreal asked him in the afternoon, noting how drained Yone seemed.

“I’m fine,” he answered flatly, his mind elsewhere.

Another time, he found himself behind the wheel of the car with K’sante beside him. “You good, Yone?” K’sante asked, noticing Yone's distant gaze.

“I’m fine,” Yone repeated mechanically. By now, it felt like he was a broken record, constantly reassuring others that he was okay when he really wasn't.

He knew this would get him nowhere, as he felt he desperately needed a clear space. So, as dusk began to settle, Yone decided to retreat to one place where he often found solace: the rooftop. 

•~•~•~•

After contemplating for what felt like an eternity, you decided to practice how you would confront Yone at a place where no one would usually go. The sun was setting, casting a warm glow over the rooftop as you ascended the stairs. You were rehearsing what you would say to him in your head, repeating it a few times as you walked to the spot you had in mind. 

However, when you reached the spot, you were taken aback to find Yone already standing there, overlooking the cityscape.

Crap!! Why is he here!? 

You knew you weren’t good in last-minute study and the exam was just right in front of you now. He seemed to notice your presence, but you couldn't bring yourself to meet his gaze. Reluctantly, you stepped closer to him, maintaining a reasonable distance, and faced the city view in the sunset. The air between you two was heavy with unspoken words, both of you itching to talk but unsure of where to start.

As the silence stretched on, you both seemed to come to the decision to speak at the same time.

“About yesterday…” you both began simultaneously, only to pause when you realized you had spoken at the same time.

“Go ahead,” Yone offered, his voice quiet and careful.

“Uh... you go first…” you replied, feeling the awkwardness settle in like a heavy fog.

Once again, silence enveloped you both, the tension palpable. You felt like screaming as loud as you could, but you knew you couldn’t back down now. You exhaled deeply as you began.

“Yone, I– I’m sorry about yesterday, I was all messed up. The alcohol–, I mean, I was…” you stumbled as the words you had prepared all got jumbled up in your throat. You paused before regaining yourself, and you continued. “But I feel like you need to know something,” you gazed up at him as he turned at you, finally meeting his gaze.

“The guy that I told you about… it was… you…,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper. Heat crept up your cheeks, and you couldn't bring yourself to meet his eyes. Instead, you focused on the ground beneath your feet, feeling a mix of nervousness and vulnerability.

You were about to speak again, but the wind suddenly picked up, blowing your hair into your face and blocking your view of the man in front of you. Before you could move to brush it away, you felt Yone's hand on your cheek, gently tucking the strands behind your ear. His touch was tender and caring, sending a jolt of surprise through you.

As you faced him directly, meeting his gentle gaze, he smiled softly at you. The city lights twinkled around you, casting a romantic glow over the moment.

“Y/n,” he began, his voice barely above a whisper but filled with sincerity, “You don’t know how happy I feel when you told me that I was the guy in your story.” He chuckled softly as the dots finally clicked, “And I also owe you an apology, I believe.”

“H-Huh… so you don’t hate me…right?” you asked, still in disbelief at the turn of events.

Yone chuckled again at your incredulous expression. “I don’t think I would ever… I like you, y/n,” he admitted, the heat rising to his cheeks as he also casted his gaze to the side for a second. “I mean– not just as friends, but...”

Before he could finish his sentence, you moved forwards to press your forehead on his chest, feeling in total relief and joy as he confessed to you.

“I like you too, Yone,” you whispered, your voice filled with happiness and relief. “More than I can put into words.”

Yone held you close, his arms enveloping you in warmth and security. The world seemed to fade away as you both stood there, lost in the moment. It was a moment of pure bliss, in contrast to the chaotic night you had spent the night before. 

As you pulled back slightly to look into his eyes, you could see the tender affection reflected in his gaze. You also noticed the faint pink shades starting to show up on his cheeks, which only made you giggle softly.

He’s also shy, how cute.

“I was getting really concerned about whatever I did yesterday that made you upset,” Yone confessed with a soft laugh. “I’m sorry, I should have been more expressive to show my feelings.”

“O- Oh, don’t apologize. I was definitely overthinking things,” you replied, laughing at the absurdity of it all. “I thought you were into that… super famous sexy lady…who’s on the…” Your voice trailed off as you recalled the memories from yesterday, embarassment creeping over you.

“I met her once at the premiere party, her producer introduced me to her, and we just had a plain talk, nothing more,” Yone explained with an amused smile. 

You grinned back at him, feeling a wave of relief wash over you. “Okay, so I was actually making a fool of myself.”

The tension between you both seemed to dissolve into laughter and shared understanding. It was a moment of pure relief and happiness, knowing that the misunderstandings had been cleared up.

“So, what now?” you asked, still grinning.

Yone took a moment to ponder before replying with a smile, “Well, I was thinking... maybe we could go on a real date this time? Just the two of us.”

Your heart skipped a beat at the suggestion, and you couldn't help but nod eagerly. “I would love that,” you replied, feeling a rush of excitement at the prospect of spending more time with him. 

As the sun set behind the city skyline, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink, you both stood on the rooftop, arms in arms, looking towards the horizon. The city lights twinkled as the sky darkened, and the night breeze began to tingle against your skin. You released from the hug, taking in the beautiful sight.

Just as you were about to turn back, Yone stepped in front of you, offering his hand with a warm smile.

“How about dinner, tonight?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bonus illustration right here

[withlove-xixi]

— THE IMITATION OF ART: heartsteel!yone x reader

KINKTOBER DAY FOURTEEN: HUMILIATION ᥫ cw: nsfw, humiliation, teasing, masturbation, a bit ooc yone i think (oops) ᥫ wc: 1997 ★ i need this man so badly .. so very badly i need this man ... anyway this was an idea ive had since . like 2018 but never had the proper character to write it for lol (yone my saviour) wahaha i hope yew enjoy it (ᗒᗨᗕ) cross posted on ao3 — MINORS DNI! —

— DATING A CELEBRITY WASN’T SO BAD.

[♡]: not when you were dating a guy like yone; smart but not to the point of being obnoxious, loving but not to the point of suffocation, playful but not to the point of immaturity, he was the perfect package, wrapping carefully in tightly fitting dress shirts and adorned with fresh bouquets every visit to your apartment. it came with additional perks too, like the small slice of fame that reflected off your boyfriend and onto you.

IT WAS A GUILTY PLEASURE, one you didn’t dare indulge as often as you’d like, mostly out of worry it would turn into a habit.

But there you were, sitting half-naked on your desk, a hand shoved between your thighs and the other tightly gripping your mouse. You swallow heavily as you scroll, bit by bit, eyes scanning over filthy words as you read— read about you and your boyfriend.

Yone kissed their neck, hungry. His fingers trail down their stomach like butterfly kisses, stopping to rest just above their core.

They whimper, a soft thing that drives Yone insane. He leans against their ear and growls.

“I’ll ask you again, what exactly were you doing with Kayn?”

Oh, it felt sinful. Completely and utterly so.

You didn’t intend to get hooked on reading internet fanfiction of you and your boyfriend, truly it started out as curiosity when a fan had asked the group about it during a live they did, and you had overheard. You overheard Yone’s confused tone as he processed the idea of fan-made fiction about him and his bandmates.

So, out of pure, innocent curiosity, you looked it up later that night. You wanted to know what his fans wrote about him, you wanted to know how they thought of him, how they saw him. Very quickly you learned that they thought of you too. At first, it was strange reading your own name like that, to essentially be a puppet to their silly fantasies, like children playing with dolls and mashing their faces to make them kiss.

And at first, you found some pretty sweet stuff. People writing about how they thought Yone would surprise you at work (not that they knew what you did for work), people writing about what sweets he would spoil you with (though they completely missed your preferences), people even wrote about how things might’ve been if you two were married (and it was such a sweet thing to think might happen).

Then, as quickly as the small peek you said you’d take, you found a multitude of certain, more mature stories revolving around you and your boyfriend. Even some of your boyfriend and his bandmates, Hell, even some of you and his bandmates. It was strange, far weirder than reading about Yone taking care of you when you were sick or being strictly work partners and having to share one bed. Yet, you were drawn to them, far more than you’d like to admit. It was definitely something to read other people’s sexual fantasies of you and your boyfriend, but at the same time it let a pit of arousal bubble in your gut.

His fans were definitely imaginative,even more than you and Yone. They’d write such nasty things about what they think you two did or what they’d like you two to have done, all of which were definitely things you hadn’t even considered trying with your boyfriend. Honestly, part of you felt a bit ashamed for not thinking these things sooner. Reading fanfiction of you and your boyfriend filled your head with all sorts of new fantasies, new possibilities; ones you couldn’t wait to bring up to Yone the next time you had him naked in bed.

But for now, when you’re still too shy to bring them up and Yone is still too busy for anything too intricate in bed, you settle on getting yourself off every now and then reading some smutty fanfiction on the internet in the darkness of your room.

Your hands move along to the words on your screen, immersing yourself in the story by following them like they were instructions. A soft whimper leaves your lips as you picture Yone doing all those filthy things to you, his big hand keeping your hip in place while his other hand pressed just below your navel, his hot breath fanning moist huffs and groans into your ear, his large, muscular body eclipsing yours. 

Yone’s fingers stroked at their inner thigh, teasing them as they whimpered and arched their back against his chest. His chuckle vibrated against their back. He used his other hand to turn his lover’s head to face him, pulling them into a hungry kiss. Their tongue fought for dominance as Yone’s hand continued to stroke at their thigh, inching closer and closer to their core.

You gasp as your hand does the same, rubbing slow and gentle circles on your skin until you reach your heat. Following the fic, your fingers lightly trace over yourself, a shiver running down your spine at the contact. You moan, softly and quietly, somewhat restrained as it usually sounds whenever you find yourself lurking through the depths of some fanfiction website for a new fic to read. You buck your hips when you slowly move your fingers up and down the length of your heat, almost languidly stroking yourself as breathy groans spill from your lips like a plea. Your back arches slightly and it’s getting a bit harder to keep reading, but you try your best to anyway, straining your eyes to focus on the words, to read and reenact every single word. 

Yone’s hand caught their juices, further lubricating his fingers as he fluidly moved them up and down.

Your fingers slick up from your actions, the sticky, wet feeling engulfing each digit, lubricating them.

He pulled his hand off his lover, earning a desperate whine from them. He brought them up to his face to examine the juice on his fingers.

Your hand meets your face, eyes watching the way your own slick drips from the tips of your fingers and spills down to your palm.

He smirked as he licked his lips before bringing his fingers into his mouth. His tongue ran over his fingers as he licked them clean.

Shakily, your fingers press at your lips. Your quiver as you let the part and bring your fingers into your mouth, the salty and slightly bitter taste instantly meeting your tongue. You whine at the taste, muffled by the way you involuntarily press your fingers against your tongue.

Strained, you whimper around your fingers as you lick at your digits, lapping at your slick and making yourself savor the flavor. Instinctively, your hips buck, desperate for some more friction. Every noise from you is suppressed by the occupancy in your mouth, saliva drips from the corners of it as you gingerly thrust your fingers in and out, as you press them against your tongue. Your head tilts back, eyes shut tightly as you part two of your fingers and let your tongue run between them.

“‘Yone pulled his fingers off his mouth and whispered into your ear. ‘Taste so good, baby.’ Oh my, how naughty. Is this really what you do when I’m not around, my love?”

You nearly choke on your fingers as you jolt at the voice behind you and at the sudden weight that leans over you. You quickly withdraw your fingers and hesitantly look up, only to meet exactly what you’ve been dreading; your boyfriend catching you in the act.

His handsome face is illuminated only by the brightness of your computer screen, his expression unreadable from the angle you’re looking at, but you can make out the faintest trace of a smirk. His hand finds its way above yours, taking the mouse and scrolling a bit further down to read more. You sit there in perfect stillness, mortified that your dirty little secret was out, not only out but out to your boyfriend. Your boyfriend knows you’re reading fanmade fiction of you and him fucking. He knows you’re reading fictional porn.

You feel embarrassment— humiliation, even —seep into your veins, gradually replacing the pleasure that once coursed through them. With furrowed brows you watch him, hawk-like, as he reads paragraph after paragraph. Still, you feel your thighs twitch with anticipation. Watching Yone from an angle like this was very hot, the contrast of light against the shadows on his face made it shine in such a mesmerizing way and the way he had his chest firmly pressing against the backrest of your chair, ultimately pressing against you, was so assertive, it was dizzying. You swallow dryly when he stops scrolling and glances down at you with a curious expression.

“Well, don’t let me stop you, my dear,” he says, his tone almost taunting, “you’re barely half-way through this story. Wouldn’t you want to finish it? Aren’t you curious to know what Yone does to you?”

You draw in a shaky breath. “Y… Yone, that’s—”

“Hm? Shall I read it to you then?” He asks in faux innocence, then transfixes his gaze back on the screen.”’Yone leaned against their ear and growls in it.’ Ah, so like this?”

Yone mirrors what he’s read, leaning closer to you so that his lips are barely grazing your ear. You whine quietly as he chuckles, deep and rough sounding against your ear.

“Do you like this, my darling? Is this fun to you?” He asks, and you notice he’s making his voice sound just a bit huskier.

You gasp. Slowly and shamefully, you nod your head. “I… It is…” Your voice is quiet, almost a ghost of a whisper.

Your boyfriend chuckles again. “It is? Then why won’t you finish it? I want to hear you read it out loud, my dearest.” He punctuates his demand with a tender kiss on your temple. “You’ll do that for me, won’t you?”

Again you swallow dryly, feeling your heart pound against your chest as you give a small nod in response. He nods his head towards the screen, urging you to read off it as you touch yourself. Yone’s hand remains on the mouse while the other rests on your bare thigh, soothingly and tenderly rubbing against it, encouraging you further.

You draw in a shaky breath and return your slightly trembling hands to your core, sliding them up and down the length of your heat. A whimper leaves your lips and a shiver runs down your spine.

“Can you read what’s on the screen?” Yone asks, voice gruff and deep.

You swallow again. “‘Y… Yone’s… uhm… Y-Yone th-throws hi-his lover over his shoulder… a-and…’” You pout, looking up at your boyfriend, pleadingly. “I-I can’t… it’s—”

“Embarrassing?” He finishes for you in a tone similar to the one he used when he scolded his bandmates. “Tell me then, my dove, what’s embarrassing about it? Seems to me you’re quite used to reading these things. Ah, then perhaps it’s because I’m here, hm?”

You open your mouth to speak, but quickly find the words dying in your throat and crawling out of it in whines and incoherent pleads. You see the dangerous glint of amusement shine in your boyfriend’s eyes, and you get the feeling he isn’t going to let you off the hook so easily.

On one hand, you were embarrassed beyond what words can describe. You felt sort of guilty too, like you had been disrespecting him behind his back for too long, which really, you kind of had been. Looking at Yone now, you can’t fully tell what he thinks of your actions, if he’s condemning you for the sake of condemning you or if the amusement in his eyes leans a bit closer to arousal. But then again, on the other hand, the whole situation felt hot to you. Caught getting yourself off to fucking fanfiction of you and your boyfriend of all things? It felt like you were living in one of them right now.

“Hm…” Yone hums, his gaze returning to the screen for a second before turning back to you. “I think it’s best to start over from the top, don’t you, my dear? I’d love to see you recreate this for me.”

A wiper leaves your lips as he tilts your chin forward, forcing you to face the screen. Perhaps dating a celebrity had more perks than you thought���

[ao3komorii]

Lonely Regrets (Yone/Reader)

Yone is finally done! Taking a break and then next will be Heartsteel Sett. Hope everyone enjoys :)

----

There was so much blood.

Your parents’ empty eyes stared back at you, limbs twisted unnaturally, bodies broken. Blood like a red lake covered the entire ceremonial chamber, the blood of every member of your village spilled for only you left to see.

“Oh, dear daughter of sorrow,” the twisted black shadow above you purred as it grew only larger, its blurry shape hard for you to make out its form in any detail. “Your soul will be the most delicious.”

So then why were you still alive?

You had watched with wide eyes as the shadow had grown, had overtaken all of the white walls with its deep black, before it had seemed to snap, disappearing and leaving you to your world of red.

You had thought that day would be boring, filled with expectations you had lived your life being ready to meet. Your ascension to official leader-to-be of your village, a position promised to you as the only child of the current leader. Your eighteenth birthday was supposed to be a joyous day for the village, but now the only person that remained of the village was you.

When your parents had told you of a surprise, a deal they had made to ensure the prosperity of the village and the strength of your leadership, you had assumed they had bartered a marriage partner for you, or made a deal with a nearby village. A deal with a demon had been so far out of the realm of possibilities that you never could have thought of it in a million years.

It was clear the demon had not intended to keep to any terms as it rose from the floor, a dark shape of too many teeth and eyes… and took the heads off of half of the village in one cruel swipe. Your parents had been terrified, outraged, but all they heard in response as they screamed their last screams was the demon’s laughter, the last sound they ever heard as they too fell to the ground in pieces.

But why had it left you alive? The demon’s words spoken to you in that room that stunk of blood still haunted you, even ten years later, even now that you knew more about the demonic azakana.

Demons with endless hunger who preferred to slowly feed on a person’s negative emotions before consuming them entirely, and then onto the next victim. Each azakana had its own preference for certain emotions, whether it be rage or despair or loneliness. And as someone who had experienced all three, you had seen and killed more than your fair share of azakana since that day, but you had never found the one that killed your village.

You had been a walking azakana magnet for years before a solution had prowled its way into your life.

You had been staring down a tempting abyss, a cliffside overlooking a pit of thorny spikes so far below, an easy way out that would be so much simpler than continuing your lonely life of pain. Just a few steps, and you would no longer have to carry the mantle of last of your village, no longer have to fight for your life every other week, you would just be nothing.

It was then that you sensed something behind you, turning sharply with your daggers at the ready to see a four-legged jagged shape of darkness with a bone white demonic mask on its face, its hungry eyes focussed in on you.

You had prepared for a fight, but staring at the unmoving azakana, you momentarily wondered if it would be better to just give up, to stop living this life of loneliness and pain and go fully into the dark.

Through your contemplation, the azakana stayed still and silent, and if not for its horrific shape, you could almost have thought it was just a curious animal, but this one was seeking your soul rather than some scraps of food.

You weren’t sure what it was, maybe the silent stare, unknowing of your past, only seeking to fill its belly, that made you open your mouth instead of its flesh with your blades. Nobody understood, nobody would be able to hear your story without sprinting away from you. And nobody would ever hear your story if you died here. With those thoughts in mind, you spoke, quietly regaling the animal-like azakana of your pain, your loss, of every emotion you felt since that day.

You didn’t know how long you had been talking for, just that by the end, you were on the ground, tears soaking your face as you stared at the still-silent azakana through tear-blurred eyes as your words turned fully into sobs.

It was then that the silent azakana moved, slinking towards you like a predator. Your chest felt tight, but not with fear, instead feeling the full weight of all of your bad memories still heavy on your heart, hardly a surprise given how emotionally repressed you had been for so long.

Closing your sore eyes, you expected your death to come, but were instead surprised by the brush of thick fur against your skin, opening your eyes to see the azakana nuzzling its masked face against your side, a deep red glow surrounding its body.

You were stunned, having never seen anything like this with any azakana you had encountered in the past three years. The interaction was almost petlike, if you had a demon for a pet.

You slowly began to notice that the longer you sat there with the azakana’s head in your lap, the lighter the ache in your chest felt. It was as if your feelings were flowing into the beast, but instead of feeling numb and close to death, you just felt… better. Better than you had felt since your village had died.

Many would call it a parasitic relationship, but you preferred to look at it as symbiotic. You occasionally fed him your worst emotions, and you could get through your days unhunted by azakana, instead able to become the hunter yourself.

The azakana was only able to talk as much as an animal could, and you had named him Kosen, after a gentle tiger in your favorite bedtime story that your mother had told you as a child. You could hardly pass through towns with an azakana at your side, so Kosen had been taking to staying in the form of a white tiger and that was how you had lived for the past seven years.

It was easier to be around people now, but you couldn’t bring yourself to settle down in one place, still afraid to develop any relationships only for them to be taken away. You had contacts all over Ionia, but you were the strange woman with the magic daggers and the tiger, not someone anyone could call a close friend, aside from Kosen.

And now, many years after your first azakana encounter, you and Kosen were on the trail of a firey azakana who had left too many charred corpses behind to possibly be a coincidence.

You had finished bathing in the spring you had come across on your way to the next village, redressed and intent on scouting the area for anything edible, Kosen stubbornly remaining in the water, as he always did whenever you found a body of water big enough for him to lounge in.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a real tiger,” you commented with a huff of laughter, Kosen choosing to shake his body and spray you with water in response. “Okay, well you had better be done by the time I get back. We have a lot more walking to do if we want to get to Tevasa by tomorrow.”

Kosen huffed, turning his back to you in his usual show of brattiness; at least he wouldn’t blow his cover if anyone happened to stumble upon the scene, as unlikely as that was this deep in the forest in the middle of nowhere.

You preferred the days of solitude to the days spent in the cities anyways, always worried deep down that every person you met could look inside you and see all the lives that had been lost because of you.

You had overheard the occasional comment about your now-dead village, usually from town gossips. They talked about the massacre of the entire town, their suspected culprits ranging from Noxians to dragons. It was hardly surprising that you had yet to hear someone mention demons as the suspected culprits. After all, azakana were the things of children’s stories, creatures that would come to devour bad children who didn’t listen to their parents, and you and Kosen would continue to do your best to keep it that way.

The pickings in this area were disappointing, as you had expected. It was a good thing Kosen only fed off of other azakana and feelings, as there was definitely not enough game in miles to sustain a real tiger.

With a sigh, you crouched down beside a bush of berries you knew were safe to eat, but were always too sour at this time of year, so it would be an unsatisfying dinner for you, but far from your first. Popping one in your mouth, you winced at the unpleasant taste, almost tempted to just toss them back at the bush, when a sound pierced the air.

You immediately knew it was Kosen, the sheer panic in the cry enough to startle you to your core. You had heard his growls, his roars, but you had never heard him make this sound before, like he was being torn apart.

The sour berries fell from your grasp, left behind and forgotten as you began to sprint back towards the spring, daggers at the ready, having no idea what you were running into but just knowing that Kosen needed you.

You emerged back into the clearing, spotting Kosen, now out of the water, growling ferociously as he continued to lose ground to a strange figure with two glowing swords who seemed determined to take his life.

Without a word, you darted in, blade aimed for the man’s neck with deadly precision. It was quite rare for you to end up in fights with humans, given you travelled with a large tiger, but you wouldn’t allow this man to hurt Kosen, so you struck without mercy. If Kosen’s cry was anything to go off of, then this man was clearly a threat to be taken seriously.

You knew you were silent, your moves practiced over years, but just as your blade was about to cut into him, the man vanished, moving faster than you could see. Frowning, you shifted around, still able to sense the attacker in the trees nearby, unmoving.

Turning your head back, you took in Kosen, who quickly came to your side, looking roughed up, but not grievously wounded. “Are you okay?”

The azakana growled affirmatively, his tail lashing in frenzied strokes behind him as he too attempted to survey the trees for whoever had attacked him.

Whoever he was, they seemed content to simply watch you from the shadows of his hiding spot. You could try to flee, but something about the man didn’t sit well with you, something telling you that he would not hesitate to cut you down if you tried to run. You were in unprecedented territory here, and it unnerved you deeply. Your best shot here would be to confront the man directly.

“Who are you?” you demanded coldly. “This tiger is my companion. Look elsewhere if you intend to hunt game.”

“Your companion is no tiger,” came the man’s reply, his deep voice sounding strangely sad. “And if I had found you any later, you would be prey for its true form.”

His words immediately put you on edge. Besides their direct victims, you had never met anyone who was aware of azakana, much less could recognize one in its disguised state. That couldn’t be what was happening, could it? But how else were you supposed to interpret those words?

“His true form is none of your business,” you spit viciously, eyes darting over the trees, trying to pick out his location. “We are passing through this area in peace. I know no clan has dominion here.”

“A human aiding an azakana?” he sneered in response. “To side against your own kind and feed them to demons… truly despicable.”

His words made you angry, the man clearly feeling free to judge something he knew nothing about.

“You’re quick to judge for someone who won’t even show his face,” you hissed, Kosen snarling in support at your side.

There was a long silence before a shift in the air, and then the man was before you, swords still held at the ready but making no move to attack, which gave you the chance to get a good look at him, his appearance bringing a quiet gasp to your lips.

He wore the shape of a man, his shirtless torso well-muscled, arms and stomach wrapped with bandages despite no injuries being apparent in his movements. His hair was long, longer than you had ever seen on a man, dark hair reaching his lower back. But none of his features caught your attention like his face, one eye hidden under the shadows of the mask he wore, the dramatic shape of the mask that sloped down over his nose putting you on alert immediately, its appearance distinctly azakana in nature.

Your alarm only deepened when you looked to his belt, seeing a variety of masks left behind by dead azakana strung along his belt. He didn’t seem to be an azakana himself, the air missing the usual crackling of energy that denoted the presence of one of the demons, but if not, then what was he?

“You wear the face of an azakana but call me a slave to one?” you spoke harshly, refusing to lower your weapons as you glared at the mysterious man.

“I understand the dangers of azakana better than most,” he spoke, his uncovered eye impossible to see even as he took a step closer. “That demon will bleed villages dry if left alive. I have heard of azakana taking on human guises, but never human shields. I will strike you down regardless if you place yourself in my path.”

So a fight it was then. But you would not allow him to make false statements about Kosen.

“He is an azakana,” you admitted. “But he’s also my friend. And the only thing he bleeds dry is his own kind… and me.”

Your admission seemed to surprise and disgust him in equal measure, his frown an obvious indication of his distaste. “Then it is a parasite.”

“I don’t expect you to understand,” you hissed, sheathing your daggers and reaching down to touch Kosen’s head, the faux-tiger nuzzling against your palm. “But Kosen is no danger to anyone who doesn’t attack him first. And I won’t let you kill him just because of what he is.”

“I would call you ignorant, but you recognized my mask,” he admitted somberly. “And yet I find it difficult to take you at your word. It would be safer for Ionia if I were to cut you down here.”

“And I’m supposed to just trust someone like you has Ionia’s best interests at heart?” you pressed, insulted that you and Kosen were being cast as villains you knew you weren’t. “I’m supposed to believe you wear the mask of a monster but aren’t one? Maybe we should be cutting you down for the sake of Ionia.”

Kosen growled beside you, prowling forward to take a protective stance in front of you, fangs bared at the stranger.

The man said nothing in response, the silence stretching out, pricking against your skin. You had no desire to kill this man, not if he wasn’t an azakana, so you would give talking one more try.

“Let us pass, and then you can go and find an actually dangerous azakana to kill,” you insisted. “And we’ll go do the same.”

You knew you weren’t the most eloquent, a life only occasionally interacting with civilization leading to somewhat awkward social skills. But given he started this conversation with swords drawn, he didn’t really seem to be the conversational type either. If you had to fight your way through him, then so be it, because he wasn’t taking Kosen from you.

“You ask me to trust in a demon defying its nature?” he spoke quietly, but his swords did not move.

You didn’t have anything to prove to this strange man, and you were not about to go baring your soul to him just so he would let you live. But at the same time, you wanted to avoid killing him, especially if you shared a common goal, which gave you an idea.

You stepped forward, Kosen staring warily at you, but trusting your judgment. “We’re hunting a fire azakana who we’ve tracked to somewhere around Tevasa. If you don’t believe us, then come with us and see. If you can’t trust my word, then trust my actions. But I won’t let you kill either of us because of your own assumptions.”

The man was silent again, and you chose to act, assuming his silence at least meant he wouldn’t attack you. “Or don’t. But we’re leaving.”

The moment you turned your back, you heard the quiet sound of metal cutting through air as the man sheathed his swords. You didn’t turn, but were secretly relieved that your gamble had not gone as poorly as it could have.

The man easily caught up to you with quiet footsteps, allowing you a closer look at his face.

He was pale, the eye closest to you a deep red, the other covered by his mask, its outline glowing an eerie blue. Beside his open eye was a long-healed scar, crossing from beside his eye to pass through the corner of his lip. You couldn’t decide if he was handsome or not, any beauty in his face equally disturbing given his demonic mask. You knew he wasn’t an azakana, so just what was he?

“So you’re joining us then?” you prompted, looking him in his exposed eye.

He stared solemnly back at you, and you wondered if he knew any other way to be. “Our paths cross… for now.”

“As long as our swords don’t have to,” you remarked, trying to alleviate some of the obvious tension in the air. “Could I at least get your name, if we’re going to be killing azakana together and all?”

A sigh. “…Yone.”

Yone wasn’t much for talking, that much was clear. His footsteps were steady beside yours, but his answers to your attempts at friendly questions were short and evasive. Eventually you gave up, instead choosing to focus your attention on finding a replacement meal for your spilled berries, Kosen eventually tiring of your poor attempt at a search and disappearing briefly, only to come back with a giant flop rabbit clutched in his jaws.

Yone said nothing, merely watching as you paused to set up a quick fire, not really feeling like being poisoned by some undercooked meat, Kosen curling up around the fire, his eyes open and on Yone, as if daring him to try anything.

“Do you want some?” you asked as you rotated the rabbit over the dancing flames.

“No,” Yone answered shortly, and you wondered if maybe he was just being polite.

“I don’t mind,” you pressed with a smile you hoped would reassure him. It felt so awkward to sit here and hog the rabbit all to yourself when you had company. “And Kosen only kills what we eat, so don’t worry.”

“I have never known an azakana to exercise restraint,” Yone commented, clearly still wary of Kosen. “Theirs is a hunger that can only devour.”

“Well he’s been with me for seven years now, and I’m still here,” you protested idly. “I’ve killed enough azakana to know what they’re like, but Kosen isn’t like the rest of them. He saved my life.”

You didn’t feel like elaborating, not to the strange masked man who had told you no more than his name. Though really, it was more likely that habit was kicking in; you had lived for so long with only Kosen to confide in, painful secrets inside you locked closely to your chest. It wasn’t terrible having company who shared your burdens, even as quiet and serious as he was, but you knew that he wouldn’t be around long after he realized that you and Kosen were no threat, so there was little point in getting attached.

You sat in silence other than Kosen’s gentle purring, only slightly broken-sounding to your ears in his imitation of a tame house pet. You knew better than to think he was doing it to aide his own case, the false tiger knowing that his broken purrs always calmed you down. You had thought you were doing okay, but you must not seem great if Kosen felt the need to wordlessly comfort you.

You picked at your dinner, feeling the intensity of the staring contest you knew was going on between the other two members of your group. Kosen was uninjured, but you knew that he would not relax until Yone was long behind you, and who knew how long it would take for the strange man to be convinced that you were not a threat.

Knowing the tension would be better abated sooner rather than later, you pushed your feet harder than usual, making it most of the way to Tevasa, the journey much quieter than it usually was with just Kosen. Maybe you should’ve just taken the fighting option, at least it wouldn’t be so awkward now if you had… unless Yone killed you, that was.

“So how long have you been hunting azakana?” you asked him, figuring you should at least give it another try despite your rusty conversational skills.

Yone looked up from where he sat polishing his sword, seeming to take a moment to consider your question. “I do not know.”

“It feels like that for me too sometimes,” you admitted, settling back against Kosen’s fur. “I’ve killed so many that I’ve lost count.”

“…I still haven’t decided to spare you, you know,” he reminded you, not unkindly, but as if stating a fact.

Kosen growled from behind you, not taking kindly to his statement, but you just felt strangely calm. Danger was your pastime, you rationalized; it had been ever since the last day your village had been alive. Maybe you were more comfortable around danger than safety now, a sad thought to realize, but you would never be able to go back to the you of ten years ago, no matter how badly you wanted to sometimes.

You slept against Kosen’s warm fur that night, as you usually did. You had no idea if Yone had slept at all, as he was up and gazing out into the distance when you woke up.

You were only a few hours walk from Tevasa now, and with how many victims the azakana you were after had left in its wake, you knew you would need to feed Kosen to get him to full strength for the fight to come. You would just have to hope that Yone wouldn’t react poorly to the feeding.

You placed a hand on Kosen’s head, petting his fur with slow strokes, the tiger immediately sensing your intentions, looking up to meet your eyes.

Yone clearly sensed something was wrong, as he stopped his pacing around to assumedly raise an eyebrow you couldn’t see from under his mask at you.

You met his sharp gaze warily, trying to look reassuring. “I have to feed Kosen. It’s safe, I promise.”

“Holding azakana to promises is foolish,” he replied tersely. “But I have resolved to assess your claims for myself.”

Satisfied that he wasn’t likely to interrupt, you braced yourself for the feeding. You really would have preferred to send Yone away for this part, considering you would now have to bare your most vulnerable thoughts in front of the bloodthirsty stranger, but this was to protect Kosen, so you would do what you had to.

Closing your eyes, your hand stilled on his head, knowing that a physical link helped to more easily transfer your feelings to the feline azakana. Beneath your fingers, you felt Kosen shift to his demonic form, his soft fur turning coarse and hard, which told you that he was ready for you to start.

With your eyes closed, you had no way of knowing how Yone was reacting to the situation, but he seemed to be keeping his feelings to himself, so it wasn’t like a visual aid would help you that much. He hadn’t attacked Kosen though, and you supposed that would be as good of a sign to start as you were going to get.

You let out a long, shaky sigh before beginning.

“I can’t see their faces anymore,” you admitted morosely. “Not while they were alive. I try not to think about them because all I can see is their dead faces, their frozen expressions… all I can smell is their blood. I don’t even remember what the sweet buns mom used to make smell like. All I can smell is blood.”

As you talked, you felt your surroundings fade away, and as always, the tears came quickly.

“I forget their voices, but I still remember their screams,” you sobbed, feeling the tears roll down your cheeks, lost in the darkness under your eyelids, the images from that day coming to your mind’s eye as you talked. “It would all be so much easier if I had died that day too, if I was just nothing. If I didn’t have to live like a ghost, never able to see them again. Never able to ask mom for advice, or get a hug from dad on a bad day. All I have left is the screams.”

The more you spoke, the less you cried, feeling calmer as your sadness was eaten by Kosen, the tears drying as you talked, as they always did. Finally, when you felt truly calm, you stopped, opening your eyes to see Kosen, already shifted back into his disguise, kneading his paws into the ground as he felt new strength flow through him.

Reaching a sleeve up, you wiped off what tears remained on your face, feeling emotion return to you, manifesting as nervousness as you looked over at Yone, only to find his visible eye already on you.

“See?” you spoke, waving a wrist at him. “Still alive.”

“I have never known anyone to be brave enough to keep a leech as a pet,” he replied, voice thoughtful, even though his words told you that he still didn’t understand you.

With a tight smile, you stood up, brushing the dirt from your pants as you tried to stamp down your anger before it got to a level you’d have to feed to Kosen again. What were you were doing, trying vainly to prove yourself to a man that had shown you and Kosen nothing but contempt?

“Without him, I’d be dead,” you spoke at last, shocking yourself with the anger that soaked your words, even as you felt it under your skin. “I would have been eaten by an azakana years ago without him helping to keep my emotions steady. Now we’ll be heading to Tevasa if you’re still so insistent on killing us.”

You turned away, stalking off in the direction of Tevasa, Kosen quickly at your side, letting out a smug huff when he reached your side.

“Sorry,” you apologized to him. “I really should’ve said something much sooner.”

Kosen’s reply was a dismissive grunt, telling you that he wasn’t upset with you. You really didn’t deserve the amount of luck you had that day he had found you. Now you just needed to kill the fire azakana so you could get rid of the pest you had attracted and go back to just being you and Kosen.

Yone was predictably silent, but continued to walk with you, his persistence merely annoying to you now.

Neither of you talked until Tevasa came in sight, the small village bustling with activity.

Tevasa was especially small, housing little more than a hundred people, which would make your job easier. This azakana really should have picked a larger village if it was going to have a hope of hiding its next target. It wouldn’t be too hard to pick out a person emotionally damaged enough to be a tasty meal for a demon with so few people to choose from.

Stopping at the far side of the small bridge that led into the village, you turned to acknowledge Yone at last.

“I’m not sure what your process is,” you said, trying your best to sound patient. “But I like to ask around town to see if anyone has suffered any recent trauma, and then we trail them until Kosen detects the azakana making itself known.”

“I have never thought deeply about my methods,” Yone admitted, one hand drifting to his blood red sword as if he needed something to do as he spoke. “I sense the azakana, and then I kill them, ideally before they claim any lives.”

“Sounds like we can work together just fine then,” you said, Kosen snorting his obvious displeasure. “I think I should handle the talking part though.”

“Fine,” Yone acquiesced easily, removing his hand from his sword and striding ahead of you across the bridge, leaving you and Kosen to catch up with him.

You were an eye-catching group, the villagers’ eyes roving over your party as you entered the village, probably wondering if you were here to cause trouble. While the smaller villages were easier to narrow down victims in, they did tend to be more closed-off in terms of information gathering, your equally closed-off companion not likely to be much of a help in that regard.

You looked around, trying to meet a friendly eye, but most of the villagers averted their gazes from you, clearly afraid of the trouble they thought you posed to them. Maybe this hunt was going to be more difficult than you had thought.

“Kitty!”

Just as you began to despair, a high-pitched voice rang out, turning your head to see a small boy break out of his mother’s grasp and run at Kosen, tiny arms outstretched to the tiger.

You felt Yone tense up immediately, turning to face him and quickly shaking your head once. You hoped he would understand and stand down, but he was still too unpredictable. Maybe it was the insistence in your eyes, but Yone merely averted his gaze from yours, watching as the boy made his way over to the faux tiger, his mother too slow to catch him as he reached his arms up to catch Kosen in a hug around his neck.

There were cries of alarm, fear on the mother’s face as she stumbled her way forward, but the tension in the air turned sharply to stunned silence as Kosen leaned down to nuzzle the boy’s head with a loud purr, ruffling his hair and drawing a giggle from the boy.

The boy grinned happily, petting Kosen’s head, the azakana eagerly accepting the attention, not unlike an overgrown puppy. Soon, there was a group of kids happily playing with Kosen, riding on his back and giving him his highly-coveted chin scratches.

The villagers that looked at you with suspicion and fear now watched the scene with fondness. Having seen this situation play out a thousand times before, you turned to Yone, an exasperated smile on your face.

“He loves attention,” you explained, secretly satisfied by just how puzzled Yone looked as he too looked upon the scene.

Eventually, the mothers called their children back, not wanting them to bother the strangers for too long, and Kosen trotted back over to you, throwing a haughty look and huff Yone’s way, clearly having sensed his earlier tension.

“You’re still a demon,” Yone hissed pridefully, clearly refusing to admit defeat so easily.

Leaving the boys to their petty squabble, you approached the first boy’s mother, who noticed you coming and paused her speech on manners to smile awkwardly at you.

“I apologize for Yuten,” she said, bowing her head politely. “I have told him again and again not to bother visitors.”

“It’s okay,” you dismissed gently, Kosen’s display helping to unravel your tension as well. “Kosen doesn’t get chances to play often, so he just eats up the attention.”

“Kosen…” Yuten muttered in awe, the tiger mewling in response, happily accepting a few more pats from the boy as you talked to his mother.

“I was wondering if I could ask you a question,” you broached gently, hoping your rusty social skills would still do the trick. “We’ve been on the trail of a killer, one who seems to target people who have suffered a tragedy. I was just curious if anything strange has happened in Tevasa lately, if you’ve noticed anyone acting strangely.”

The woman looked concerned, and then perplexed, making you doubt that you were going to get any useful information from her.

“We’re a peaceful village,” she said, clearly wracking her brain as she spoke. “There have been some disappointing harvests for trade this year, but nothing like a murderer. Do you really think we’re in danger?”

She glanced worriedly at her son, who was still distracted by Kosen, the direction of her thoughts plain on her face.

“Children should be safe,” you said, leaving out the reasoning behind your words. Children were too young to have developed emotions deep enough to be appetizing to azakana. “But anyone especially alone or emotionally vulnerable would be at risk.”

“They are more likely to strike when their target is alone,” Yone said, surprising you by speaking up. The woman’s eyes flitted nervously to him, clearly somewhat unnerved by his appearance. “And at night. Keep your children close while we do our work and they will be fine.”

The woman nodded, looking nervous, which you couldn’t blame her for, being given the news that there was a murderer in their midst. Clearly in a hurry to get her son inside, the woman wished you luck, telling you to visit the village leader if you wanted more information. Her son was less than enthused to be pried off of Kosen, but obeyed his mother, who stopped every few paces to have hushed conversation with other adults, who then quickly ushered their own children inside as well. You hated stoking fear everywhere you went, but it was necessary.

“To the leader then?” you asked, looking down the street while keeping the woman’s directions playing on loop in your head.

“If we must,” Yone acquiesced, clearly not used to doing things the talking way.

You followed the main road until you spotted a small building with a sloped blue roof, clearly the building you were looking for based on her description.

“I can talk to him alone, if you two would rather stay out here,” you offered, stopping just before the small walkway that led up to the house.

Your suggestion was as poorly received as you imagined it would be, Yone and Kosen staring at each other with blatant distaste.

Kosen was the first to move, trotting past you to the door before turning to Yone, reaching a paw up to groom himself, a clear challenge in his expression.

Yone stared for a moment before sighing in defeat and walking past you as well. “I will not leave you alone to claim any more victims, azakana.”

Smiling to yourself, you followed them to the door, the boys parting to the side to allow you to knock on the door.

The man that came to the door was older, his white hair in a topknot and deep red robes neat. He eyed you with suspicion, likely wondering about the strange company you kept. You were used to it with Kosen, but it definitely didn’t help your case that Yone looked like anything but a friendly face.

Smiling, you fell back to your well-practiced speech. “Hello. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time to discuss a threat in your village. I was hoping to get some information from you to aid in our search.”

“If you’ve any interest in the village coffers, you’re about a day too late,” the man joked, confusing you. You had been accused of swindling before, but that didn’t seem to be the man’s intention.

Clearly noticing your confusion, he gestured behind him “You’re not with him?”

“Him?” you echoed, not really able to see whoever he was referring to.

“Oh, you…” He seemed to come to some realization, taking a quick look around before stepping aside to allow you in.

He looked wary when Kosen followed you in as well, but said nothing, closing the door behind you before speaking, clearly favoring meeting your eyes over Yone and Kosen.

“I had thought you were also sent by the council to help us,” he admitted, looking unsure.

“No, we’re just passing by,” you half-lied. “We’ve been trailing what we think is some sort of creature that preys on the weak and alone, and we were wondering if you knew anyone fitting that description who may be more at risk.”

“I’m not so sure,” he pondered. “We have our outcasts like anyone else, but you should probably talk to the council’s hunter. From what he tells me, there’s a herd of creatures hanging around just waiting to strike. He already killed two of them last night, in fact.”

“Is that so…” you replied, not really knowing what to say to that. There wasn’t a pack of azakana here, was there?

You dismissed the thought as soon as you had it. Azakana didn’t like to share, and the thought of several sharing only a few victims across this part of Ionia was ridiculous. So did that mean that this village was also dealing with a pack of man-eating creatures and a hungry azakana?

“I will fetch him for you,” the leader insisted. “He is our guest while he slays these awful creatures.”

The man then quickly shuffled from the room, leaving you an opportunity to talk to Yone and Kosen.

“He is clearly being lied to,” Yone sneered as soon as the leader was out of earshot.

“Are you sure?” you whispered back, though having your own doubts as well.

“If there is anything else in this village, they are not azakana, and they are none of our concern,” he replied, Kosen letting out a growl of agreement.

You wanted to reply, to insist that while you were here anyways, you could clear out this threat too if it did exist, but you heard two sets of footsteps coming your way and were forced to save the thought for another time.

The man that followed the village leader in was dressed flashily in a bright purple jacket over shiny gray pants, the silver armor sporadically dotting his outfit looking both impractical and illogical for combat. His dark hair was slicked back in a short ponytail, his wrists laden with sparkling silver jewelry.

His eyes were dull with distaste as they roved over your companions before they settled on you and an unsettlingly wide smile appeared on his face.

The man strode towards you, taking hold of your hand before you could stop him, and you were glad you had your gloves on as he pressed a kiss to the back of your hand.

“Didn’t expect to see such a beautiful woman around here,” he spoke flirtatiously, testing your ability to keep up your already terse smile.

You pulled your hand back as the leader spoke up. “Shusho is here on behalf of Ionia’s magical threats council, to rid us of the threat this pack of creatures pose to us.”

Magical threats council? You had been all over Ionia, but had never heard of the organization this man claimed to be from. He clearly wasn’t Kinkou, given their only interest was balancing spirits with nature. Part of you wanted to just ignore the strangeness of his claims; after all, you didn’t know everything there was to know about Ionia, but Yone’s doubts had settled uncomfortably under your skin.

“You’ll understand, of course, that I cannot share the council’s mandated creature removal fee,” Shusho added with a sly smile that only deepened your suspicions that he was some sort of con man, and hardly the first one you had ever encountered. A quick glance at Yone told you that he had not changed his opinion of the man.

“We don’t need payment,” you replied smoothly, used to this question and refusing to allow their leader to believe that you were the same as Shusho, despite the fact that you knew he believed the man had come to solve a real problem. “I was just hoping to discuss another matter.”

“Oh, the outcasts, was it?” the leader hummed in thought. “I’m not so sure myself. If you’re willing to stay the night, I can ask around and see if I can find you some answers by tomorrow.”

“Of course,” you agreed, uncaring of Yone’s opinion on the matter. If he was still intent on following you and Kosen around, then he would have to just put up with one more day here.

“Excellent,” the leader smiled. “We would be happy to have you as guests in our modest inn. We don’t get as many travellers passing by here as we used to.”

You wanted to be polite and refuse, but you did miss the comforts of a real bed and a bath. “Thank you. We should only need the one night if all goes well.”

“If it’s one night, there’s plenty of room in my bed,” Shusho grinned, Kosen growling warningly behind you in response.

The leader laughed good naturedly, as if the sleazy line had just been a joke. “I will inform our innkeeper. Please let me know if you need anything, both of you. I will do anything to keep our people safe.”

Shusho’s face turned calculated, and you quickly took your leave, deciding to later see if you could talk to the leader alone about the predatory council member. Kosen bared his teeth at the man as you passed, Yone simply following silently until you were outside.

“Honorless,” Yone sneered as soon as you were outside.

You let out a loud sigh. “I’ll try to talk to him later without Shusho around.”

Yone wasn’t quite done, staring at the closed door you had just left. “My time hunting azakana has made me forget the monstrous nature of people.”

“Some people,” you insisted. “I know you’re still deciding about me, but we need to find that azakana before it attacks whoever here is its target.”

“And we will,” he confirmed solemnly. “I can sense a bloodlust about this place. The azakana is undoubtedly biding its time before it strikes.”

“Then we have to find whoever it’s after before it does,” you spoke resolutely. You didn’t have time to wait for everyone to ask around and get back to you; you would have to do it yourself.

Talking to the villagers went much in the same way as it had upon first arrival in the village. You talked to the villagers while Kosen tried his best not to look threatening and Yone stood silently behind you, willfully oblivious of how he was undermining your efforts.

Most people had either said they knew nothing or seemed to throw out a name just to get rid of you, making the endeavor thoroughly frustrating. It wasn’t until you got frustrated enough to ask the children until you got a lead.

“Ehnisa’s mom doesn’t leave her house ever since Ehnisa went away,” a boy shrugged, clearly eager to get back to playing with his friends who were waiting nearby with a ball. “My mom says Ehnisa went to see the gods, but I dunno where that is. Can I go now? It’s my turn to throw next.”

“Yes, thank you, you’ve been a big help,” you replied, relief flooding through you at having an actual lead.

After getting directions to the woman’s house, you watched as the boy joined up with his friends to play before turning back to Yone, who you saw was also looking at the boys playing, his eye coming to meet yours as you turned.

For a moment, he had looked almost sad, like watching them playing reminded him of a sad memory. The moment gave you pause, but you certainly weren’t close enough for you to be prying, so you let the moment pass.

“We should probably go find her before it gets dark,” you said, heading off in the direction the boy had said to.

The woman’s house was on the outskirts of the village, which was another bad sign, the area around the home basically deserted. It was a small home, and didn’t look particularly run-down, at least not on the outside, but the strange quiet in the area helped to uphold your belief that you were on the right track.

The three of you made your way to the door, with you taking the lead as usual, knocking firmly on the door.

You could hear some shuffling footsteps from inside the house, but it still took at least a full minute for the door to open up a crack, the silver of space revealing a blue eye on a haggard face.

“Hello,” you greeted, before realizing with dread that you had not gotten her name from the boy, just the name of her daughter, who you had presumed from context was dead. Deciding to press on without mentioning her daughter just yet, you continued. “I was hoping–”

You watched as her eyes darted behind you at your companions, and you reasoned that she was probably scared of Kosen.

You opened your mouth to reassure her, but she was faster, drawing back from the door with fear.

“No,” she gasped shakily. “No men.”

Oh. You hadn’t been expecting that to be her issue with your current company. Looking back, Yone didn’t seem to be bothered by her words, so you tried again, placing a hand on the door.

“Would it be ok if just I came in to talk with you?” you asked gently. “He can wait outside.”

“I… I…” she breathed, eventually nodding.

“Okay,” you replied softly, before turning back to them. “I’ll be fine, but can you two stay out here without fighting?”

“I do not go back on my word,” Yone replied, eyeing Kosen with distaste, the azakana huffing in response, bearing his fangs at Yone.

Well, that was going to have to be good enough for now. Warily eyeing the two one last time, you entered the home behind the woman.

While the exterior of the small house was in a relatively good state, the inside was completely different. It wasn’t dusty, but the air inside had a sour taste to it, and it wasn’t hard to guess why.

Whenever this woman had lost her daughter, she must have lost her will to function as well. The house was in horrible disarray, belongings strewn across the floor, leaving barely a walkable path through the filth.

The path led up to a worn gray couch, which is where the woman had retreated to sit in. She had clearly established a routine, as the seat of the couch looked so sunken in that you wondered how often she left it at all. She looked so small and frail, curled up on herself, staring at you with sad, tired eyes.

“Are you… feeling alright?” you asked gently, choosing to stand instead of take a chance on any of the filthy-looking chairs scattered all around the room.

“How I feel doesn’t matter anymore,” she said, voice dry and cracking. “What do you want? Tell me what I can do to be rid of you so everything can be quiet again.”

If she wasn’t the azakana’s target, sitting there drowning in her own emotions, then you would be astounded. This was always the hardest part, getting the victims to accept your help. Just killing the azakana did nothing but delay the inevitable, you knew that much yourself. And it’s not like anyone else had Kosen to constantly rely on to keep their emotions in check, which meant that your job was often quite difficult. Some people could just not be saved from themselves, no matter how hard you tried.

“How long has your daughter been dead?” you asked, figuring you should try and break through her walls if you were going to get anywhere.

“Too long,” she moaned pitifully. “She should be here, and he should be dead. I should be dead.”

“Would you like to talk about it?” you asked, trying your best to catch her downcast eyes. “I know it’s hard and I want to help you.”

It took another twenty minutes for you to convince her to open up, and through many tears, she told you of her husband, her daughter, her happy life… at least until her husband had taken their daughter on his fishing boat, but came back alone, her resulting grief at the loss of their daughter leading to him leaving her. Her whole life had been destroyed in the span of a week, her pain driving her farther away from everything and everyone until she was little more than a living corpse.

You hated yourself for how clinical you had become in these conversations, years and years of most of your social interactions being hearing stories of the worst moments of people’s lives, but it did help you to keep calm as the woman shared her story.

Finally, it was time for you to say your part, never looking forward to this part of the process. The woman wasn’t looking at you now, her sad, tired eyes trained on an empty chair across the room, one you assumed had belonged to her daughter, given the toys scattered around it on the floor.

“I came here because I think you may be the target of a… creature,” you said, not feeling like this woman was in the right state to hear your tale about azakana. “I’m a travelling hunter, and I know one of those creatures is in the area. Have you noticed anything strange lately? Like hearing voices or things moving around you?”

“I… don’t know,” she answered lifelessly. “I hear her voice sometimes, telling me to come to her, but I can’t find her. I think she’s lost.”

“Your daughter isn’t here,” you spoke quietly but firmly. “You can’t listen to anything you hear. We’ll try our best to find it before it attacks, but you are in very real danger.”

The woman didn’t reply immediately, her head slowly lifting to stare into your eyes, the dark black now consuming her eyes startling you.

“Not as much danger as you, sweet daughter of sorrow.”

“I–” you gasped, blinking rapidly and suddenly realizing that the woman was staring at you with concern in her eyes. Her normal-colored eyes…

“I’ll try to remember that,” she spoke quietly, her tone suggesting that she was repeating herself. “It’s just been so lonely…”

But she… no, you dismissed. The strange words you had thought you had heard were definitely a product of your recent poor sleep. How pathetic were you that this woman was worrying about you instead of herself?

“I understand,” you replied, focussing back in on your task. “I can help calm you down for tonight, and we’ll be back tomorrow to take another look if that’s alright. My tiger will stay here tonight to protect you, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I…” she mumbled, but looked like she wouldn’t protest. “Why me? Why not just leave me to rot like everyone else has?”

“Grief makes people strange,” you replied, though her situation was so different from your own. You had no community left to distance themselves from you, everyone obliterated in one moment. “I think people will be more receptive if you meet them halfway.”

The woman just blinked, and you decided it was probably time for you to go. She clearly needed time to think, so you would regroup with Yone and Kosen first to see what other information you could find. It would do no good to smother this woman who was barely coping as is, especially with Kosen here to watch over her from outside.

You left the home to find Yone and Kosen waiting outside, spaced thirty feet more apart than they had been when you had left them. Kosen got up from his position laying on the grass as soon as he spotted you, rubbing his head against your thigh and receiving a head pat in response.

Yone was slower, pushing back from the tree he had been leaning back against and walking over, Kosen’s tail curling around you in response in a likely show of pettiness from the azakana.

“It’s very likely her,” you said, cutting to the chase. “Her daughter died and it seems like she’s been a shell of a person ever since, but I didn’t notice any signs of an imminent attack.”

“I can’t sense it here either,” Yone admitted, voice sounding frustrated. “It is not like azakana to wait so long.”

“It shouldn’t be long before it strikes,” you said, looking back at the small home, part of you wondering if it would strike now, if your presence here would provoke it, as had happened in the past, but the house remained quiet and still. “All we can do now is be ready for when it does. I’m going to start by asking around to see if this woman had any friends.”

“Friends do not help you kill an azakana,” Yone stated harshly, his thought process so clearly different from your own.

“I know how to kill an azakana,” you snapped back, reaching a hand down to pet Kosen. “I’m just concerned about her afterwards. She needs friends to check in on her, or this is just going to happen all over again, and next time, she’ll be consumed.”

“You cannot protect anyone forever,” Yone shot back, but without malice in his voice. “Some fates cannot be avoided, merely postponed.”

“Then I’ll do that,” you replied. “That’s what we always do. Give them enough of a push to save themselves.”

Yone’s silent stare told you he likely didn’t see the point of your methods, but that was fine. After this azakana was dead, you could go your separate ways and your methods would again be your own business.

“Kosen, I need you to stay here for tonight,” you told the tiger, who predictably was reluctant, nudging your hand with his head with a huff. “I’ll be fine for one night, but I need you here in case something happens. If her emotions get too loud, I need you to calm her down.”

You could feel Yone’s stare and turned your head to return it. “She’ll be safe. I gave you my word that Kosen doesn’t consume souls.”

“I can hardly expect a beast to resist a juicy cut of meat when it swings before his face,” Yone replied, Kosen growling in offence in response to the accusation.

“Alright,” you acquiesced, shrugging your shoulders. “If you want to keep an eye on him, sure. But I think it would be faster if we all split up.”

Yone stared at Kosen for a long moment, the tiger licking his paw, purposefully paying him no mind. You had never seen Kosen be so petty; he certainly didn’t act like this with you, and it was taking a lot for you to not laugh at the scene in front of you.

“…fine,” Yone agreed at last, breaking eye contact with Kosen.

“Great,” you replied, ignoring Yone’s sour expression. “I’ll try and see if I can convince anyone to come by and see her while you scout around for any demonic presences. I promise we won’t go far if you decide that we can’t be trusted after all.”

Yone said nothing, letting out what you hoped was an amused huff before disappearing.

Once he was gone, you turned to Kosen, who was still relaxing on the grass without a feigned care in the world, your hands on your hips.

“You don’t have to antagonize him,” you said, smiling, though you knew that Kosen was aware that you weren’t mad.

Wishing Kosen good luck, you set off for the town, your best guess as to where to start being a group of mothers you had seen socializing while their children played. The first woman you had talked to wasn’t there, but you set about your task regardless, knowing it would have to be done if the victim-to-be had any chance of a life when you were done here.

You distantly wondered what Yone was doing, as you ran around trying to drum up a social circle for the woman like you were a parent on the first day of school. You weren’t anywhere near as good at sensing the presence of an azakana from afar as Yone and Kosen, but you would be able to feel if there was an altercation, so you suspected based on the nothing you felt that Yone had made little progress.

It came as no small relief to have some breathing room, even if Kosen wasn’t here as well. You hadn’t realized how tense you were with Yone around until you had a break from being around him.

You still had no idea what to think of him, his intentions as shadowed in mystery as the mask on his face.  You hadn’t pressed, and didn’t intend to, but you couldn’t imagine there being a positive explanation for his unusual appearance.

You had garnered some concern for the woman, but nobody you talked to seemed to know her beyond normal pleasantries back when her family had been whole. You could tell people were getting a little tired of your questions, and you were ready to take your little progress and head to the inn when you saw a familiar figure heading your way.

“Have you had any luck?” the mother from this morning asked, this time without her son by her side.

You gave her a reluctant smile. “None yet, unfortunately. But we’re looking around to make sure we don’t miss anything.”

The mother looked uncomfortable, and you thought it might still be because of the killer in their midst until she hesitantly spoke up.

“I… I overheard the others talking about Mika,” she admitted, surprising you. “I haven’t wanted to bother her, so I haven’t gone to see her, but then I thought about what you said earlier and… is Mika in some sort of trouble?”

Well this conversation was already more helpful than all the other ones you had attempted since leaving Kosen at Mika’s house.

“She might be,” you admitted, hoping she would be able to help as you were running out of options. “Her being so alone puts her at risk. I can only do so much, but as long as she remains this alone, she’ll be at risk of this happening again.”

“I never thought–” She put a hand to her mouth, shocked, and you were relieved that you didn’t have to answer more questions about what these threats were, as the whole azakana thing never went down well with anyone who had never had an experience with one. “What can I do?”

“You just need to talk to her,” you stated simply. “She’s been isolating herself for so long that she can’t see a way out on her own anymore, and I can only do so much. She needs someone who isn’t a stranger to her.”

“I… understand,” she spoke shakily, sadly. “I should have gone to her sooner. Can you tell her that Sumei will come by and–”

You cautioned her to wait until the threat was dealt with to begin visiting Mika again, Sumei reluctantly agreeing, wishing you luck before going home to her son, clearly nervous to be without him in her sight after all that you had told her.

It was early evening by the time you turned back to head to the inn, desperately looking forward to a good meal and a real bed after your long day.

You were so exhausted that you didn’t see the hand coming, your arm seized in a painfully tight grip. Turning sharply, you saw Shusho’s unsettling grinning face, the light reflected from a nearby street lamp alighting his face with a sinister glow.

“What’s your problem?” he demanded, using his harsh grip on your arm to push you against the wall of the store you had been walking by.

“I don’t know what you mean,” you replied evenly, trying to shake his hold on your arm, but he held fast, pressing in closer.

“Do you know how many women would love to be in your position?” he demanded with narrowed eyes glaring in your direction. “Women throw themselves at me! You should be grateful I even looked at you!”

Was this about earlier…? You felt anger rise in you at his words; you were here trying to save someone’s life and he was more concerned over a bruised ego?

“Don’t you have some innocents to be swindling instead?” you asked, voice cold as you broke his hold on your arm, his grip loosened momentarily from shock. “Please excuse me.”

“You… you bitch!” Shusho shouted at your retreating back, not unlike a spoiled child being denied a treat and throwing a tantrum. “Nobody rejects me ever! You’ll regret treating me like this!”

You kept walking, increasing your pace in an effort to get away from him as fast as possible, a figure leaping down from the shadow of a nearby building to walk beside you.

“If you were watching me, you could’ve helped,” you complained to Yone, who raised an eyebrow at you in return. “Right, not an azakana, so not your problem. Got it.”

“You didn’t need my help,” he replied at last, the two of you walking in the direction of the inn.

Shusho punched the wall of the run-down looking store she had just escaped from. This was all turning out to be one huge disappointment for him.

He was used to leaders tripping over themselves to buy his services, women competing to be the one to warm his bed. This was not how things were supposed to go.

Who did that snobby bitch think she was? Nobody ever turned their nose up at him, looked at him like he was a bug under their shoe.

Shusho made his way into the woods, intent on taking out his rage on the first creature he found, angrily kicking a fallen branch out of his way.

Now that he was truly alone and away from all those village busybodies, Shusho’s smile had long since dropped from his face. The world around him was black, which made a sudden face between the trees stand out, its appearance sending Shusho reeling back into a tree, the bark digging into his back as he stared in horror at the scene before him.

And then it moved closer, and it became clear to Shusho that the face was a mask, a solid white mask with long horns. As it emerged from the shadows, he saw that it was being worn by a figure made of pitch black that was too tall and jagged to possibly be human.

“What are you?” Shusho yelled at the figure, brandishing his weapon with shaking hands.

The mask tilted to the side, as if assessing his question, finally leaning down towards Shusho’s face. “You want that girl to suffer?”

“I…” Shusho breathed, the inhuman cadence the voice possessed chilling his bones as he took a moment to consider its words, her sneering face coming to his mind and replacing his fear with anger.

“Good,” the black thing purrs. “I can help you get her, you know… if you assist me with what I want in return.”

He didn’t care what he had to do, what this creature would ask of him. He had never been insulted like that in his life, and the rage shook him worse than a tornado. He would not just let that woman humiliate him and get away with it.

“Tell me what I have to do.”

The shadow watched the arrogant fool stride back into the village, renewed with purpose. As always with humans, he would only realize the cost of his choices when it was time to pay. But this fool would be ever so useful in obtaining what the shadow had spent so many years biding his time in wait for.

“After so many years, you think yourself free. But you will taste so sweet, delicious daughter of sorrow, like a prized fruit finally come to ripeness…”

You were in for another surprise when you got to the inn.

“We’ve prepared a nice room for you and your husband!” the kindly older woman manning the small inn happily informed you.

“I… uh…” You weren’t really sure what to say to the clearly well-intentioned woman. Part of you was relieved she didn’t seem to find Yone frightening, but did you really look like you could be married to him?

“I’ll leave you both to it!” she said, placing a key down on the counter in front of you before making her way back over to an older man sitting back behind the counter, leaving you standing there stunned.

With a resigned internal sigh, you turned to address Yone, but he spoke first.

“I do not need to sleep,” he spoke curtly. “You can make use of the room for yourself.”

He turned to leave, and you felt something strange zap through you.

“Wait!” Yone stopped walking, and you felt embarrassed at the realization that flooded through you… that you didn’t want him to leave.

You had been fine investigating on your own, but something about the thought of sleeping alone for the first time in seven years froze you to your core. Kosen was always with you, always there if you woke up in the night, terrified that demon from your past had come back for you. Why had you never noticed how truly dependent you were on Kosen for comfort until now?

But it wasn’t like you could ask Yone to trade places with Kosen now. That woman’s life was more important than your comfort, you knew that, but you hated how desperate anxiety was making you reach out to someone who so recently stated he wanted you and Kosen dead. But as much as you hated it, you didn’t want him to leave.

“If you’re… okay with me potentially sneaking out to help Kosen consume this whole town,” you said, staunchly unwilling to disclose your true motivations, even as thinly-veiled as you hoped they weren’t.

Yone finally turned, staring at you for a short moment before the corner of his lip turned up the slightest amount, seeming to see something in your rigid posture.

“I suppose I cannot take this threat of yours lightly,” he replied, making his way back over to you, his voice lacking its usual bite.

Your face felt hot, not having expected that petty threat to actually get any results. Immediately, you became self-conscious; did he know the real reason you wanted him to stay? If he knew, then you knew he would see you as that weak girl you had been so long ago, and you found yourself desperately wanting to avoid that outcome, but not really understanding why. Wasn’t it better if he thought you were weak? Then you would be free of him sooner…

Choosing to move on from the awkward moment as soon as possible, you snatched the key before making your way up the stairs that had to lead to the rooms, easily finding yours at the end of the hall.

The room was fairly simple, a decently-sized bed in one corner and a simple wooden bath in the other, the curtains on the windows looking handmade.

The sound of the door closing behind you had you looking back to Yone, who was currently surveying the bath, the steam gently rising from the water telling you it had very recently been filled.

“You can go first if you want,” you offered half-jokingly. “Unless you don’t need to bathe either.”

You were genuinely unsure if he needed to do much of anything, since he didn’t seem to sleep or eat, making you again wonder exactly what he was. But you hadn’t gotten into your story with him, so it didn’t feel right to pry into his.

Yone continued to stare at the water for a long moment before turning back to you. “I have no need to bathe. It simply… reminds me of an old life.”

Not knowing what to do with that, you let the matter drop. He could keep his secrets if he wanted to, but that didn’t mean you were about to let the hot bath go to waste.

Yone kept politely turned away, producing a worn gray cloth to clean his swords with while you bathed.

It wasn’t that you thought he was interested enough to stare, but you were surprised someone who struck such a fearsome figure would also possess enough manners to give you privacy while you undressed.

There wasn’t a lot of conversation before bed, simply solidifying the plan to check in with Kosen the next morning before taking further steps to draw out the fire azakana if it had still yet to emerge.

Yone had made no move to join you on the bed, at least not by the time you fell asleep, hugging one side of the bed to leave room for him to avoid being rude.

You were sinking into the blood.

Your parents’ empty eyes stared you down, never to see again. You blinked, and their eyes were a pitch black that spread across their faces, dark veins of black encompassing them entirely, their mouths opening too wide, revealing only more black. And from behind them rose a dark, dark shadow, one that you hoped you would never see again, from its mouth coming a terrible rasping voice.

“Sweet daughter of sorrow… soon you will be mine again.”

You woke up with a ragged gasp, heart pounding in your chest, startled to find that you were in your dark room at the inn, and not in the clutches of the azakana who had murdered your parents.

It took you a long time to realize there was a hand on your shoulder, turning with wet eyes to see Yone at your bedside, the room too dark to see his uncovered eye beneath the shadows of his mask.

“You were speaking in your sleep,” he informed you softly as soon as he noticed you realized he was there.

“I… I’m sorry,” was all you could think to say.

You heard Yone sigh softly, sadly. “I haven’t slept in many years. I find the company of my waking thoughts less disquieting than my sleeping torments.”

You wanted to feel embarrassed about being caught waking up from a nightmare like a child, but his words sparked curiosity within you instead.

“You don’t sleep?” you asked, seizing the opportunity to ask about something you had been wondering. “But that’s not… what are you?”

“I don’t know anymore,” was his answer. “I am not alive, but this body will not succumb to death.”

“You… died?” Your voice came out as a shaky whisper.

Yone stood up, taking a seat on the other side of the bed, his back now facing you.

“I don’t mean to pry,” you said, wiping your wet eyes on your sleeve as you stared at his back, skin looking as pale as death in the sparse moonlight. “You don’t have to talk about it. I know how much it hurts to relive the past.”

“I won’t offer my words to be consumed by your pet, but it would be wrong not to let you know just what kind of monster you’ve bound your fate to,” he stated solemnly.

You kept quiet, fear all but forgotten as you waited to hear what he had to say.

“When I was alive,” he started, voice sounding tired. “I had a younger brother. He was spirited, strong, but reckless. I tried to teach him responsibility, to show him the right path… but I failed.”

“What happened to him?” you asked quietly, his story clearly leading to some sort of tragedy.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “But I think he may have finally found his place in the world. I have only seen him once since he killed me.”

“He killed you?” you echoed, shocked.

Yone turned his head back to face you at the volume of your reply, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “My apologies, I’ve never been a good storyteller, and I fear I’m especially out of practice now.”

“But how did that even happen?” you asked, unable to conceive of such a terrible fate.

Yone turned to fully face you, his face returning to the shadow of the room, too dark to see any part of his expression.

“My brother was training under a great swordsmaster when Noxus invaded,” he explained. “He wanted to fight, but he was needed to protect the master. I tried to make him see reason, and thought I had succeeded. But I returned to see the master slain, bearing wounds that only my brother could have created, and my brother had vanished.”

You tried to pinpoint the emotion in his voice, but it all felt so far below the surface, like you were trying to look at the bottom of a deep well.

“It was my duty to go after him, to avenge the death of Master Souma,” Yone spoke. “But more than anything, I wanted to know why. On my honor, I could not let him live, but he was always a better swordsman than I, and I died, without ever knowing why he claimed to not be a murderer that day.”

“You didn’t ask him when you saw him again?” you asked.

Yone shook his head. “It no longer mattered. My brother will find his way, and since I became what I am, I am no longer concerned with the worries that used to plague me as a human.”

That made you think of the one thing he had yet to address. “Then how did you become like this?”

Yone let out a long, sad exhale before answering. “I strayed from the path to the world of spirits, and I was attacked by the azakana that bore this mask. When I killed it, it became part of me, and I woke up back in this world bearing this unnatural visage.”

“I’ve made peace with what I am,” he told you, making you wonder just what kind of face you had been making that he felt the need to say that. “But I need to know what this mask means. I don’t think I’ll be rid of it until I understand why that azakana found me… what part of my soul it sought to consume.”

You felt for him. To be killed by his own brother, and then find himself branded by an azakana’s mask without even knowing what emotion had drawn it to him.

You were sure he must have had lots of complicated feelings about the end to his mortal life, but there was no knowing just what that azakana had been seeking a taste of. Betrayal? Dishonor? It wasn’t hard for you to figure out what emotion of yours drew the azakana back in before Kosen had found you, but it had never mattered to you, not like it seemed to matter to Yone.

His sudden candor made you want to tell him about your own past, feeling now as if he was a kindred spirit rather than a barely-tolerated presence.

“I know you heard some of it when I was feeding Kosen,” you spoke quietly, Yone’s eyes boring into you. “I was dreaming about the azakana that killed everyone in my village but me, back when I was eighteen.”

“An entire village?” Yone sounded unsettled.

You nodded, staring down at the sheets you were clutching and unclutching in your fingers in your nervous state. You had never told anyone but Kosen about your past, and it felt strange to form the words now without him here to ease your pain.

“My parents were the heads of the village, and that day was my leader-to-be ceremony. My parents said they had something special planned. I thought it was maybe going to be a marriage to the son of a nearby village, not… an azakana.”

It was Yone’s turn to stay silent, and you fought through the coming tears and kept going. “I didn’t really know what they were back then, and I still don’t know why my parents would try to make a deal with one. But it came to the ceremony and killed everyone. Everyone but me. I still think of that room every time I smell blood.”

You let out a slow exhale, wiping some stray tears that brimmed your eyes. “As you can guess, my mental state wasn’t so great after that. I lasted three years having to kill every azakana that came after me before I tried to end it all. Kosen found me that day and saved me. Without him, I’d still be a magnet for azakana or, well, dead.”

You thought the silence after would feel uncomfortable, that Yone would be disgusted with you now that he knew your past, how close you had come to giving up on everything, but his silent stare felt surprisingly safe. Comfortable.

A thought wriggled in the back of your mind like a worm. Why did you even care if he was disgusted by you? You hadn’t before…

“I have been on my own for so long, I’ve forgotten what it was like to have trust in others,” Yone remarked. “Even if your ally is… unconventional.”

“Kosen is a great ally,” you insisted with a laugh, Yone’s attempt at being gracious to Kosen raising your spirits. “If you could stop picking fights with him long enough, you’d see that.”

Yone huffed, the sound surprisingly childish coming from him. “Without you to stop me, he would be nothing more than a mask on my belt.”

“Yone!” you chastised him.

“You should sleep,” he insisted kindly. “I will stand watch in place of your tiger tonight.”

When he offered, you realized just how tired you still were, talking with Yone having relieved you of your emotional burdens, almost as if Kosen was here.

“And you’re not going to go attack him the second I fall asleep?” you asked only half-jokingly as you settled back down in bed, staring at Yone’s masked eye, glowing softly blue in the dark.

“Your pet demon will not be harmed by my hand tonight,” he promised, amusement in his voice.

“Good,” you replied, rolling over onto your other side, sleep easily finding you, your dreams calm in the aftermath of the unexpected heart to heart.

You opened your eyes, testing sleep-heavy limbs as you noticed Yone by the window, back facing you. The squeak of the bed as you sat up had him turning to face you, much easier to see his uncovered red eye in the morning light.

“Good morning,” you greeted him, feeling incredibly strange to greet someone other than Kosen in the morning.

As Yone returned your greeting, you thought of Kosen. You had slept through the night, so clearly nothing had happened to the potential victim during the night, but you still didn’t feel right leaving Kosen by himself for any longer.

“We should probably go check on Kosen,” you said, hoping your hair wasn’t too much of a mess as you crawled out of bed, feeling somewhat shy as you went to put on all of your gear.

It was a weird feeling, waking up alone with a man, even if you weren’t sleeping in the same bed. It was embarrassing how romantically stunted you were, never having so much as kissed a boy before your entire village had been wiped out, and it wasn’t like you had much interest since. Nobody could understand the way you lived, and you were very aware of how your strange existence looked to others.

Sparing a quick glance at Yone, you mentally slapped yourself. All he was interested in was determining if you were an azakana enabler or not, not that you thought of him in that way anyways. Your judgment was probably just clouded by the fact that he was the first person you could ever really talk to about azakana. Once the azakana you were hunting was dead, he would be gone, simple as that.

Once you had your things together, you exited the room, Yone just behind you. You were relieved that nobody was in the hallway this early, and you were easily able to make it outside without having to hear any more queries about you and your husband.

You had been walking alongside Yone for a bit before deciding to speak up, though this time at least, the silence didn’t feel so awkward.

“Do you think it’s likely to–”

“I can feel it,” Yone hissed suddenly, tensing up.

“Wait, the azakana?” you asked, startled by the timing.

“We must go,” he insisted, disappearing before your eyes.

You brandished your daggers, darting after him towards the woman’s house, hoping she and Kosen would be okay by the time you got there. You knew that Kosen could hold his own in a fight with another azakana, but you didn’t want to test out just for how long.

As you got closer, a roar pierced the air, quickening your pace and emerging into the middle of a fierce fight.

A bulky figure made of pure fire swiped a clawed hand at Kosen, who leaped back, still strangely in tiger form. Looking to the side, you saw why; a frightened form was curled up against the wall, staring through her fingers at the fight.

Kosen must not have wanted to scare her more, but it was unfortunately hindering him in the fight, an issue that was abundantly clear to you as Kosen was obviously on the defensive.

With a well-aimed slash, Yone joined the fight ahead of you, drawing the azakana’s attention away from Kosen as it was forced to contend with him as well, the silent assassin showing no mercy as expected.

While they battled the azakana, you sheathed your daggers and ran to the woman, helping her stand so you could escort her back inside her house.

“What is… what is that?” she asked, shaking, barely able to stay upright as you moved her along the wall until you got to the front door, pulling it open and ushering her inside.

You had hoped to take care of her issue before she caught sight of it, but the problem was out in the open now, which made continuing to lie a fruitless endeavor.

“It’s an azakana,” you admitted, the woman looking confused and skeptical immediately, which was the usual reaction any time you were forced to admit the truth of your endeavors.

“But, azakana…” She sunk to the floor, looking like she had lost all remaining strength to stand.

You didn’t really want to leave her alone, but you couldn’t stay here while the others fought. If this azakana had consumed as many people as you suspected it had, then it would be much stronger than what you usually contended with, which would mean that they would probably need your help.

“You need to stay here,” you stressed to the woman, who dumbly nodded, still seeming very out of it. You were somewhat concerned, but she would be safe in here for now, especially if you were able to take the azakana out as soon as possible.

With that in mind, you re-emerged outside to a fiery scene. You knew both Yone and Kosen would deny it if you brought it up later, but they were working together rather well, Kosen able to pack more of a punch now that he had shifted into his azakana form. They were covering each other so fluidly that it was almost unbelievable that they had been at each other’s throats since they had met.

The azakana looked like it had been on the defensive since Yone joined the fight, forced to raze nearby trees to try and create obstacles for its determined attackers to repel.

Even amidst all the chaos, it spotted you at the door, letting out a shriek and sending a stream of fire your way, forcing you to have to extinguish the door before you could join in the fight to avoid the house catching on fire with the woman still inside. Really you should have been evacuating her, but you knew that would put her in immediate harms way, not to mention the risk of the town burning to the ground if the azakana were to pursue your attempt to flee with her.

You had never fought a flaming azakana before, making sure to keep your strikes fast to avoid being burned. It seemed you were the most fragile of the group, neither Yone nor Kosen fazed by the burn risk; maybe that should be a given, since neither were fully human like you were.

The azakana was likely furious to have its meal snatched from its clutches, only to then be engaged by three attackers who knew what they were doing, its fury showing in the scorching jets of fire it sent all around you.

As the fight went on, it was abundantly clear to all parties involved that the fight was going to end in the azakana’s death. With a terrible screech, it raised its arms, but you weren’t going to back down, leaping towards the demon, the wind rushing in your ears, leaving you deaf to Kosen’s warning cry.

You heard a shout of your name, and then you were snatched out of the air, your face pressed against a bare chest, arm bandages surprisingly soft against your skin.

You grasped onto Yone’s arm with surprise as he leaped back just in time as a wave of fire overtook the sky, shooting against and over Yone’s back before you could blink. Staring at his face in shock, you didn’t see an ounce of pain in his expression as he stared down at you.

“Are you okay?” he asked, eye moving over you to assess you for injuries.

“Me?” You knew he wasn’t human anymore, but he still just bore the brunt of an inferno against his back. “How are you still standing?”

There was a ghost of a smile on his lips as he answered. “I’ve survived worse.”

A growl from Kosen had Yone turning around with you still in his arms to see Kosen stalking around a scorched pit, huffing angrily.

Yone set you down and you both approached the shallow pit, the large circle of burnt grass leading to a wide path through the trees, leaving scorched bark and leaves in its wake.

“It ran…” you observed in a stupor.

If the azakana had been killed, there would have been a mask left behind, which was noticeably absent, leading you to the only conclusion available, that the azakana had decided to use its remaining power to drive you back long enough to run with its tail between its legs.

“We need to pursue it,” Yone insisted, staring at the azakana’s trail.

You knew he was right, but you also needed to be the person who thought of the human aspect here, since Yone was clearly lacking in that department.

“I have to check on her first,” you insisted, looking back to see the house thankfully only suffered superficial burn damage. “We can’t just leave her here in this state. I can get Kosen to help calm her down and then take her to her friend’s house and then we can leave.”

Yone didn’t protest, which surprised you. You had expected a comment about enabling your pet to take advantage of vulnerable people, or wasting time by delaying, but he simply nodded, approaching the burnt crater to inspect it further.

You called Kosen to follow you, quickly explaining your plan to the tiger, who was now shifted back into his disguise. Kosen huffed his agreement to the plan, receiving a short head pat in return before you reached up to gently knock on the door as a warning before pulling it open slowly.

“Mika?” you called out softly, finding her curled into a ball on her floor. She looked relieved to see you, but tensed up when Kosen crossed the threshold behind you.

“It’s okay,” you tried to calm her down, Kosen keeping his head low to try and help your efforts. “He’s tame. But I think we should get you somewhere else for now. Your friend Sumei is worried about you.”

“Sumei…” she echoed, slowly sitting up, eyes glassy with tears.

“I’ll take you to her,” you promised. “But first, would you like to pet my tiger? I’ve been told it helps calm people down.”

Kosen let out his version of a meow, which seemed to help reassure her, at least enough for Kosen to approach her, her shaky hand reaching for his side, stroking his fur with more confidence once she heard his happy purr.

“My daughter would have liked to meet you,” she told Kosen, the calmer tone of her voice telling you that Kosen’s usual methods were working.

You stood there for around five minutes observing before helping her gather some things together to take with her before setting off. Yone was nowhere to be seen when you exited the house, and part of you wondered if that was because of her previous uncomfortableness when she had answered the door the first time. You were unsure if you were reading too much into the situation; it felt like your perception of Yone was changing by the minute lately.

You led the fragile woman past the burnt pit, her eyes widening as you walked her by a little faster, heading to where you recalled her friend’s house being.

“Mika, oh my god,” Sumei gasped as soon as she saw the three of you at her door.

“Is it alright if she stays here with you for now?” you asked, meeting her eyes with a look that she understood immediately.

“Of course!” she replied encouragingly. “We’d love to have you stay with us, Mika.”

Sumei went back into her house with the excuse of setting up some bedding, clearly giving you a moment alone with Mika.

“You’ll be safe here,” you promised, having confidence in her friend’s dedication to support her.

“Did you… did you kill it?” she asked meekly.

You had been hoping she wouldn’t ask, but you didn’t want to lie to her when it was her life that had been in danger. “It ran away, so I don’t think it’ll be coming after you again. When I’m done here, we’re going right after it to make sure it doesn’t try to hurt anyone else.”

She nodded, but still seemed bothered. “…did you kill the tall man in black?”

“The what?” you asked, her words prickling uncomfortably against your skin.

“He was watching,” she said quietly, staring downwards. “When the fire one attacked me, he just stood there and watched.”

“I…”

You were speechless, the horrible figure from your last moment of normalcy and your nightmare last night coming to your mind, but it couldn’t be that. She must have seen something else, like a gnarled burnt-up tree or something and thought it was watching her. You were only reading too much into her words because of that stupid nightmare. It was up to you to stay calm, to assuage her fears.

Before you had a chance to say anything else, Sumei returned, sending a warm smile her friend’s way. “I made some tea, so I think we should start there.”

“Oh… alright,” Mika replied to her friend before turning back to speak to you in a whisper. “Please be careful. It was so horribly dark.”

“I will,” you agreed, and though she still looked uneasy, she followed her friend into the house, the door closing behind her and formally ending your time in this village.

You were sure somebody would inform the village leader of what had happened, but you just didn’t have the time, not when you had an azakana to catch before there were more casualties.

Kosen huffed in question, but you brushed off his concerns. “I’m fine. Let’s just find Yone and get on our way.”

You found him back at the pit, standing in one of the burnt trees, looking out into the distance.

“I can see its path heading towards the coast,” he informed you after jumping down from the tree. “It has very likely made its way to the town there.”

You had never been by that part of Ionia before, but given it was on the coast, it had to be some sort of fishing town. You would kill for a chance to rest and recharge, but there would be no time for that, not until the firey azakana was dead.

As the three of you set off down the burnt path, you briefly considered telling Yone about Mika’s strange parting words, dismissing the thought as quickly as you had it; you didn’t want Yone to think you were getting paranoid. And besides, if there was another azakana there, then Yone and Kosen would have sensed it or seen it or… something.

All your dwelling on this was doing was distracting you from your current task. The threat whose trail you were following now was real, unlike any imagined threat in the back of your mind, spurned on by a terrified woman who had been seeing things that weren’t there.

Eventually, the burning trail faded to typical forest scenery, telling you that this had been the point where the azakana had recouped enough strength to return to its realm. But there was no question where it would strike next, given you had spoiled its previous intended meal. A decently-sized fishing town would have no shortage of meals for a starving azakana that was desperate to restore its expended strength, and you intended to be ready when it made its move to cut it down first.

While the forest floor was much less comfortable than a bed, it was always relaxing to go back to your comfort zone after a stay in normal society. As much as you wanted to belong somewhere, you knew that your place was in the shadows, only able to fake enough humanity to slay a beast, save a victim and then retreat back to the safety of your solitude. And that’s exactly how it would be again once this azakana was dead and Yone left you too.

…too?

You were being stupid. He still intended to kill you and Kosen if you took one step out of line, or at least hadn’t asserted anything to the contrary. He wasn’t someone you should want around you to begin with, especially given he had now seen you at your very worst. Parting after the death of this azakana should be a relief to you both.

It took you the better part of two days to reach Solni, as the town welcome sign proclaimed.

Despite your personal reservations, you had found yourself paying more attention to Yone. It probably didn’t help that Yone seemed much more willing to initiate conversation with you now, even though he had rebuffed any of your attempts to get him to eat or sleep. He seemed determined to present himself as inhuman, and you began to wonder if it was a defense mechanism of some kind.

Solni seemed like a typical fishing town, much bigger and more bustling than Tevasa had been. In a town this large, there was no sense in talking to the leader or canvassing door-to-door, the town was just too big for that to be of any help.

“It will be desperate for a meal,” Yone said as you stood on a large hill overlooking the town, looking for anything unusual. “It will attack as soon as it has regained its strength, so we should anticipate an imminent attack once it has isolated a target.”

You nodded, on the same page. “Should we head into town then?”

It was an easy decision to defer to Yone’s experience here, given you had never had an azakana escape you before, which made this situation all the trickier. When and where it would strike would be entirely up to chance, and as the only one in your party who didn’t have a strong supernatural sense for azakana, you were the one at most clear disadvantage.

Yone nodded. “In its desperation, it may not even bother isolating its target before it chooses to strike, and we need to be close when it happens.”

You headed into town with Yone, Kosen not seeming to be as much of a big deal to the people here, which came as a pleasant surprise. Maybe they see lots of unusual trade through their port, you reasoned, the tiger gaining no more than curious glances as you passed by people milling about the streets.

Yone seemed to be attracting much more attention in comparison, though you doubted he was aware of it. You had already noticed several women you passed giggling to their friends as he passed, and more than one comment about his toned chest and arms.

For his part, Yone didn’t even look their way, even when a pair called out to mister handsome with the mask, leading you to wonder if he had even heard them, or if he had assumed they were talking to someone else, given what you had learned of his self-perception. Now that you were a little more relaxed around him, it was hard not to notice the reality of his appearance, as much as it made travelling with him more awkward.

The you that had first met Yone would be in disbelief now, your previous scorn now turned to curiosity. You refused to put any more thought into your changing feelings, not wanting to be just like those women, pining after a man that would just vanish into the wind the moment his purpose here was achieved.

“Did you sense something?” you asked as Yone stopped to stare down an alleyway. You could sense if an attack was imminent, but detecting the presence of an azakana in hiding wasn’t a skill that a regular human like yourself could ever develop.

Yone stared at the alley for a moment longer before turning to you. “It’s… flickering.”

You frowned, not really sure what he meant by that.

“Do you–”

“I thought I’d see you here,” a voice interrupted, your vision being overtaken by an obnoxious visage that you had hoped not to see again.

Kosen growled as Shusho laid an unwelcome hand on your shoulder.

“Heard you skipped town after you nearly burnt that woman’s house down,” he remarked casually, eyes glinting with undisguised malice. “Those hicks will be out for blood soon, with you filling that woman’s head with nonsense about demons. I’d have put in a good word for you if you hadn’t been such a stuck-up whore back in Tevasa.”

You felt anger flare through you like a knife slash through your back, Kosen’s snarl telling you he had also not appreciated Shusho’s reappearance.

“Better they are forewarned about real danger than swindled by a charlatan sworn to rid them of a threat that does not exist,” Yone spoke up from behind you, the hostility in his voice chilling your anger and replacing it with shock. You hadn’t heard anger like that in his voice since the night you had met him, and even then, he hadn’t sounded quite this deadly.

Shusho’s eyes shot over to Yone in what looked to you like fear, but the look didn’t stay for long before his sneer was directed back your way.

“Sweet,” he said mockingly. “You have your little boyfriend fight all your battles for you now?”

“No,” you denied, unable to keep your anger contained. “If he did, your ass would be on the floor in pieces by now.”

Shusho’s nostrils flared, eyes dark as he glared at you. “You should watch how you treat people. I was going to give you another chance to make it up to me, but now you’ll really deserve everything that’s coming your way.”

And with that, he turned, disappearing into the crowd within seconds, Kosen’s lunge after him stopped by your hand on his fur. He was creepy and off-putting, but Shusho was not worth causing a scene in the marketplace for, not when you had an actual objective you had to accomplish here.

It was only until you drifted to the alley Yone had been looking at before that you realized your social misstep. Awkwardly, you turned to Yone, embarrassed that you had allowed your anger to overtake you.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized, finding it hard to meet his eye. “I should have corrected him about the… boyfriend thing.”

You winced at how your voice seemed to crack at the word boyfriend, but Yone seemed unphased, shaking his head in response.

“I do not fight humans,” he spoke, voice tight with anger. “But I have never been so tempted to make an exception.”

You laughed, more relieved than you thought you would be that he wasn’t upset with you. “You’d probably have to fight Kosen first for that right.”

Kosen snarled his agreement, fur still standing on end, the azakana looking just as furious as he had during the distasteful interaction with Shusho.

It felt a little strange to be on the receiving end of protectiveness from more than just Kosen, the feeling definitely not unwelcome in this moment. You tried to stamp down the hope you felt rising in your chest at his words; there was no way he had meant anything by them anyways.

You cleared your throat, figuring that you should change the subject, for your own sake. “Should we try–”

Your words cut off as you were assailed from behind by a wave of pressure so strong that you flinched, eyes meeting Yone’s, his exposed eye narrowing at something behind you.

“Fire!” someone shouted, panicked screams ringing out from all around you as you whipped around to survey the scene.

“Evacuate the crowd,” was all Yone said to you before vanishing from your side into the chaos.

What was in front of you now was not a creature made of fire, but rather a wall. You couldn’t tell where the azakana itself was in the mess, frightened people running in all directions as the marketplace was rapidly engulfed by flames.

You wanted to seek out Yone’s form in the flames, but a loud cracking noise made you spring into action instead, noticing the roof over a large section of the market beginning to crack at the seams.

“Kosen!” you shouted, the tiger already steps ahead of you rushing in to help a group of kids out of the path of a stampeding horse.

You dashed in as well, grabbing the horse by the reins, Kosen quickly absorbing enough of its panic to allow you to lead it away form the scene, handing off the reins to the first person you found that looked like they knew what to do with it before sprinting back into the action.

The area was evacuated quickly with you and Kosen’s help, braver people helping by carrying out the injured as Kosen made sure the way was clear.

You knew that Yone was inside that wall of fire, running in at last once everyone was safely out of the area, ignoring shouts from concerned bystanders for you to stop as you leaped through the demonic fire.

You emerged into an arena of fire and heat, walls encircling you making the area not unlike a colosseum, rubble from the broken roof and overturned stalls making the terrain hard to navigate, never mind the heat beating down on you.

There was a slash across your field of vision, a red line visible amidst the smoke and debris, a demonic howl telling you that Yone’s strike had hit its target. It was hard to tell how the fight had been going with how smoky the area was, but the ball of fire that impacted near you told you that the azakana still had a good amount of strength in reserve.

You didn’t waste a moment longer scaling an overturned booth, climbing past scorched vegetables and leaping to join the fight.

It was hard to miss the firey figure swiping blindly with burning claws to try and catch Yone, but clearly failing as you caught sight of Yone going in for another hit.

Yone was holding his own, but the azakana seemed way stronger than it had been back in Tevasa. You quickly fashioned a mask out of a strip of cloth on your belt to keep out enough of the smoke for you to be able to fight before drawing your own daggers and covering Yone’s flank, diving at the demon with a cut that it barely deflected, Yone’s slash to its side hitting harder as a result of your distraction.

“Has it gotten stronger?” you called out to Yone as you jumped to his side.

“Yes,” he confirmed, sounding offput. “I’m not sure how it could have gotten this much stronger on its own. If we don’t kill it here, it has the potential to decimate this town.”

Your eyes widened in shock, but given how aflame the marketplace had become in a matter of minutes, you felt stupid for not realizing until now. Had it already killed people? You hadn’t noticed any bodies in the rubble, but that was the only reasonable explanation for its wildly increased strength.

“Then what do we do?” you asked before the two of you were forced to dive to the side to avoid a falling beam sent your way by the azakana.

Yone smirked. “Kill it quickly.”

And then he was gone again, dashing through the air to land a brutal strike on the demon. With a sigh, you followed, infusing your daggers with magic to protect yourself from the worst of the flames.

What the azakana lacked in finesse, it made up for in power, throwing clumsy bursts of fire that threw you off balance, making it harder to hit. Yone also seemed to be having some trouble, the azakana able to deflect some of his strikes by shifting its flames.

You were given an assist as through the wall of fire leapt a masked figure of black shadow, sinking his teeth and claws into the azakana’s shoulder, their shared nature preventing the fire azakana from making its fire intangible as Kosen savaged it.

“Kosen!” you cried out, relieved that he had joined the fight as well.

His appearance in azakana form told you that the area was clear of anyone that could see him, which meant that you could fight the azakana without worrying about anyone getting hurt.

Kosen seemed to be able to pin the flailing azakana much better than you and Yone could, your attacks landing much easier, the azakana now caught between trying to shake Kosen off and deflect you and Yone’s attacks.

There was a strange panic in the air as the fight dragged on, the air getting hotter as the azakana’s screeches grew more frantic. Its movements got clumsier, making you almost wonder if it was running out of energy at last.

As Yone dashed through the demon, it let out a garbled series of sounds that almost sounded to you like it was speaking, but you had never heard anything like it before. A quick glance at Kosen showed you that he hadn’t reacted to the noises, leading you to think that you were hearing things again.

Kosen snarled, thrashing from side to side and giving you the perfect opening, which you knew you were running out of time to take advantage of.

The azakana only seemed to take notice of you as you were mere feet from its face, too close to do anything to repel you. In tune with Kosen keeping it in place, you sunk your daggers into its face down to the hilt, cracking its mask in half.

There was a burst of sparks beneath its splitting mask, and before you could get a look at the face under the mask, you were snatched out of the air, finding yourself in Yone’s arms again as he dashed backwards, your view of the dying azakana blocked by Yone’s shoulders.

“Yone, what’s–”

“It’s going to combust,” he quickly explained, and you put a hand on his chest in response, using it to lift yourself up to look over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the bright light expanding outwards from the azakana’s body, a terrible heat seeming to chase you until Yone jumped over an overturned stall and then you were outside the cage of fire and debris, Kosen reverting to his tiger form now that you were out in the open again.

Yone let you down and the three of you turned to watch as the dome of debris exploded upwards and outwards. Raising a hand to protect your face from the shower of splinters raining down on you, you turned to face Yone.

“Sorry I broke the mask,” you said jokingly. “I know you probably wanted it for your collection.”

Yone shook his head. “There is little point in trying to understand that azakana.”

“Is that why you keep their masks?” you asked, curiosity getting the better of you.

“This way I can ensure they will not return, if I am watching over them,” he answered. “But the only way to claim their mask is to know their true name.”

“Then… is there a risk of that one coming back?” you asked, horrified thoughts turning to every azakana you had slain over the years. It was routine for you to break their masks when you killed them, but had you been merely postponing the inevitable the whole time?

Yone thought for a moment. “I cannot sense the one we killed, so I think it must have perished. Unfortunately, new azakana are born quite frequently, so the problem is not so easily solved as long as there are emotions to consume.”

You sighed with relief all the same. “I’m just glad all the ones I’ve killed stayed dead.”

Your own words reminded you of your deal, the whole reason you had been with Yone for the past week, but your throat felt constricted all of a sudden, like your mouth didn’t want to form the inevitable words that you knew you had to say. But a deal was a deal, and a large part of you wanted to hear what he thought of you now.

“So…” you spoke up, Yone’s gaze sending pinpricks up and down your arms. “What about now?”

“Now?” he echoed, Kosen huffing as he caught onto your thought process, sidling up to you as he looked haughtily up at Yone.

“Do you still need to kill us to prevent us from taking innocent lives or whatever it was?” you asked, grinning at Yone in anticipation of his answer.

Yone’s quiet laugh gave you hope.

“…no,” he answered, the small smile on his lips sending heat to your face. Was this the first time you had seen him smile like this?

You didn’t want it to end like this. With how fast Yone was when he wanted to be, you knew that you had no chance of ever catching him if he were to vanish right now.

“Um, I…!” You winced, your voice coming out way louder than you had meant it to. Way to sound desperate. “If you have time, I was wondering if you’d like to try living like a human for the night? I have some money saved from some previous jobs. We could have a meal in town and then stay at a nice inn.”

You expected Kosen to revolt against your suggestion, but he was strangely quiet, staring at you with an unsettling knowing in his eyes. Yone, for his part, looked surprised, his visible eye wide, clearly caught off guard by your idea. But, you hoped, not put off.

If he wanted to be rid of you, then you would accept that, but you were really hoping that he would want a little more time together as much as you were realizing you did.

His stunned silence was making you nervous, which led to more frazzled babbling.

“I know you haven’t eaten since, well… but maybe if you tried, there would be something–”

Yone laughed, a real laugh, which shut your mouth instantly. “I would like that.”

It was your turn to be shocked, not expecting Yone to ever agree, too stunned to respond until Kosen nudged you from behind.

“Let’s, uh, go then!” you exclaimed, almost tripping over your own feet before you righted yourself, fast walking your way out of the ruined marketplace as if you could leave your awkwardness behind as well.

“I’ll have to trust your recommendation then,” Yone said, easily catching up to your hasty strides. “Even when I was alive, I can’t say my meals were anything particularly special.”

“Then I’ll find a great place!” you insisted with feigned confidence. You did treat yourself to nice meals occasionally when you found yourself in bigger cities, but you weren’t an expert by any means, just determined for this borrowed time with Yone to not be a waste. “This is a port town, so there should be good seafood somewhere.”

You slipped out of the crowd just as people began to pour into the marketplace to begin salvaging things, providing the perfect cover for you to blend into the crowd unnoticed. You were relieved to be able to escape without notice, not wanting the townspeople’s questions and accolades to cut into your remaining time with Yone.

By early evening, you were settled into a quiet upscale restaurant by the water, just you and Yone, the restaurant less accepting of your demon tiger than the marketplace had been. Kosen had been happy enough to return to the marketplace to survey the damage and offer comfort to anyone who was upset about the incident, which would take care of his dinner for the night as well.

“I ordered a few of their specialties,” you explained after the food had been brought to your table, just the sight mouthwatering after so many meals scrounged together in the woods.

Thinking maybe Yone needed a push, you cut yourself a piece of the center dish, an Ionian carp in xaolan berry sauce, popping it in your mouth and sighing in delight at the flavor.

Yone seemed to reluctantly follow your lead, skillfully plucking a piece of rolled fish with his chopsticks.

You watched in anticipation as he brought the roll to his mouth, before his eye flickered from his food to you, clearly catching you in the act.

“Sorry,” you quickly apologized, realizing how awkward you were being. “I didn’t mean to stare, I was just…”

You trailed off, unable to think of an excuse that wouldn’t sound stupid, but Yone didn’t seem bothered, smiling knowingly at you before putting the roll in his mouth.

Even his chewing seemed refined, making you wonder how he had grown up. The only thing he had really talked about was his brother, and you weren’t eager to dig up those old wounds again.

“So how is it?” you asked, unable to hold in your excitement.

“It’s good,” he answered simply, reaching out with his chopsticks for another piece. “The taste isn’t similar at all, but still it reminds me of home.”

“Of meals with your family?” you asked, assuming that was a safe enough topic.

“With my mother,” Yone answered. “And later, my brother. Though he could hardly sit still enough for a proper meal.”

“Then did your mother teach you your table manners?” you asked, trying to keep things light.

Yone smiled fondly. “I suppose she did. She always did say I was a model student. I hesitate to wonder what she would think of me now.”

“I think she’d be proud,” you declared, refusing to allow him to sink into gloom.

Yone looked wistful, glancing out the window at the ocean. “One son a killer, another a monster. I can only hope she hasn’t heard either of our fates. It would be easier on her if she thought we were both dead.”

“I get what you mean,” you agreed, idly cutting another piece of fish for yourself as you followed the tone Yone was setting. “I’ve overheard so many theories from people about why my village perished, but I’ve never corrected any of them. I kinda feel like if I tell anyone what really happened, then I won’t be able to mourn my parents anymore. Not if everyone knew what they did.”

“Then mourn them as they were,” Yone said, his gaze strangely calming. “When I think of Yasuo now, it is not always him as he was when he cut me down. I think of the little brother I defended from bullies, the one who always gloated when he won our sparring matches… the part of them you think of is your decision. I have spent so many years dwelling on one poor choice that I cannot judge your parents for theirs.”

You felt a tear roll down your cheek before you could stop it, hastily reaching up in a vain effort to keep Yone from noticing. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to ruin this.”

“You’re still human,” Yone countered gently. “Emotion is natural.”

You frowned at him; it always rubbed you the wrong way when he excluded himself from humanity.

“I think you’re plenty human,” you insisted strongly. “You haven’t eaten since then, but here you are, eating in a restaurant like all the other humans. Are you sure you’re still some big scary monster lurking in the dark?”

Yone shook his head in clear exasperation, but took your strangely-phrased question seriously.

“I… don’t know,” he admitted, staring down at the food spread out between you. “…but you make me not want to be.”

You were still trying to shake off the giddiness you felt from Yone’s mid-dinner admission as you walked down the streets side by side, attempting to scope out a good inn for the night, insistent that Yone also try to sleep after his success eating a meal.

You had been too nervous to ask what he had meant by those words, instead wimping out and turning the conversation back to the food.

You were such a mess of anxiety, knowing at least vaguely what you wanted, but unable to voice it. The more time you spent with Yone, the less you wanted to go your own way, but you had no idea what he wanted. But above all, you just wanted to give him at least one night of being human, no matter how he saw himself.

And as much as he called himself a monster, he had been willing to go along with your idea, the two of you having dinner as if you were average people on an average date. That had to count for something, right? Why was he so desperately clinging to being a monster?

“I have enough money for two rooms,” you suggested, not wanting to come off as too forward while simultaneously hating yourself for being so sensitive about everything to do with Yone now.

“That is not necessary,” he said, catching you off guard with the sly smile on his lips. “After all, you’ve declared your intent that I sleep. How will you ensure I keep to my word if we’re not in the same room?”

Your mind jumped to that night back in Tevasa, where you had jokingly threatened Yone into staying with you that night when you were without Kosen. Was Yone… teasing you?

Heart beating heavily in your chest, you smiled back conspiratorially. “I guess we did make a deal.”

“One room then,” Yone confirmed, turning to enter the inn ahead of you, leaving you to catch up to him.

You easily procured the room, the innkeeper too busy talking to another customer about the explosion at the market to make any husband comments, even Yone’s appearance not enough to catch her eye over the latest gossip, which was a great relief to you.

The inn was relatively deserted for the late evening, most of the patrons likely in their modest pub, if the noise coming from that direction as you passed by was any indication.

Bars were one area where you felt as inhuman as Yone, only having been in them for information gathering, the rowdiness and sheer volume of noise too much for someone like you who spent most of her time camping out in the woods with a tiger. It was a world you doubted you would ever truly know, and you were more than fine with that.

This room was much fancier than the one back in Tevasa, with a large plush bed, a glance into the adjoining bathroom revealing a bath large enough to fit two people comfortably. Scrubbing that observation from your head, you turned back to Yone, who was setting both his swords down onto a table.

“Do you… want to take a bath?” you asked hesitantly. You couldn’t wait to have one yourself after the day you had, the feel of soot and debris clinging to you since you had fought the azakana. But you were determined to let Yone go first, even if it meant you would sit in squalor for just a little longer.

“Alright,” he agreed, reaching up to begin unwinding the bandages on his arms.

The rapidly-revealed muscles of his arms were immediately too much for you, turning your face away to feign interest in a painting of what you thought was supposed to be some sort of one-legged horse. It wasn’t until you heard his lower garments hit the floor that you realized you should have insisted he undress in the bathroom, cursing your brain for its current lack of coherent thought. He had such impeccable manners at dinner, how did he not know not to undress in the same room as a woman? Maybe you would have to take back your comment about his mother being proud of him after all…

“I’ll just, uh, be out here,” you said, trying not to flinch when you heard the sound of Yone’s bare feet on the floor, but you only had to maintain composure until he walked past you and into the bathroom, and then…

“Aren’t you coming?”

You squeaked at the sudden voice at your ear, having to put out a hand against the maybe-horse painting in front of you to keep yourself from falling forward.

“That’s…!” You whipped around in shock before getting one look at his uncovered torso and turning back to face the painting. “You may not have eaten in years, but I know your mom didn’t raise you in a nudist colony!”

You heard Yone laugh behind you. “…I suppose not.”

You couldn’t relax your tense shoulders until he was in the bathroom, the sound of the door closing allowing you to breathe at last.

Staring at the closed door, you weren’t sure what to think. Where had that even come from?

You couldn’t deny that you and Yone had become much more friendly than you used to be, but the… flirting had really come out of nowhere. Even calling it flirting felt wrong, but how else were you supposed to look at it?

Letting out a weary sigh, you set your bag onto a chair, removing your dagger belt from your waist and placing it on the table next to Yone’s swords. Your eyes drifted from your sheathed daggers to rove over Yone’s swords, realizing now just how much they represented him.

You had never asked him, but it was clear that one sword was older, clearly well-cared for in his previous life. It was strange to you that he denied his humanity while still carrying the sword he had in life, but whatever his hang-ups, it was clear the issue was tightly wound inside him.

His other sword was flashy, the blade a vibrant red. Running a finger along the blade, it felt like no metal you had ever felt before. You wanted to know, but at the same time, you felt like the truth of the blade’s origin would be a painful one.

Leaving the strange sword alone, you looked around the room, trying to find something to occupy your time with.

You were fixing a tear on one side of one of your shirts, carefully angled to face away from the bathroom when the door opened again, Yone’s earlier teasing words ringing frustratingly in your head as you heard him redress.

When you were fairly certain he had at least his pants on, you forced yourself to turn and look at him, hoping you didn’t look as frazzled as you felt.

Yone looked frustratingly unbothered, dressed in only his pants, looking almost like a normal man if not for the mask on his face. He seemed to have been waiting for you to look at him, approaching the bed with a curious disposition.

“You sew?” he asked.

“I, uh, yeah,” you replied, nowhere near as eloquently as you wanted to. “You don’t make a lot of money killing monsters nobody knows about, so I try to make my clothes last. Only so much I could do after we encountered an azakana with acid saliva, though.”

You had mentioned the azakana offhandedly, but Yone seemed to latch on, sitting down next to you on the bed.

“I have yet to meet any of that variety,” Yone commented. “The azakana I encounter tend to feign human guises to lure their prey in.”

You wondered if that was because of his mask. Were there azakana you were letting slip through your fingers because you couldn’t see through their disguises? You were lucky you had Kosen to help pick up your slack in that area, but you couldn’t help but wonder if any azakana had slipped from your grasp without you knowing.

Switching places with Yone, you enjoyed another hot bath, rivers and lakes never able to compare to how nice it felt to have a real bath. Why did you ever deny yourself the comforts of normal society? You only ever seemed to realize how much you missed for your pursuit of azakana when you were able to have a taste of the normal life.

The water was nearly cold by the time you got out, unwilling to give up until you had no choice. Your mind had been pleasantly relaxed, free of any burdens as you bathed, reality crashing back down on you as you opened the door to see Yone sitting on the bed, right where you had left him.

It was dark enough now that Yone’s figure was streaked with shadow, his left side and exposed eye painted with light from the tall candle that sat on the bedside table. Yone’s swords were still on the table next to your daggers, making you wonder if he had just been sitting there on the bed the whole time you were in the bath.

Yone didn’t wear a lot to begin with, but it was strange to see him in just a pair of tight dark pants, a quick glance to the side revealing his wraps and belted sarong folded in a chair, so he had clearly done something while you had been in the bath.

He had gone along with everything you had asked, but you hadn’t really thought too far ahead to this part, given the room only had one bed. Suddenly nervous, you froze in place; would it be too weird to share a bed with Yone? You weren’t opposed necessarily, but you didn’t want to make Yone uncomfortable, not on what was your last night with him.

“Have you ever shared a room with a woman before?” you asked, trying to sound casual even as your feet were rooted to the spot.

Yone looked curious, but indulged you. “Only my mother, before Yasuo was born. After then, Yasuo was such a handful that I’d never have time to consider such things.”

You laughed. “I get what you mean. My parents were really serious about me learning to be a great leader. Dad caught me talking to a boy when I was supposed to be studying and then yelled at me in front of him… he didn’t try to talk to me again after that.”

Yone sighed. “I know that overprotectiveness well. Sometimes I wondered if Yasuo enjoyed causing trouble for me to rescue him from.”

“I can see why you aren’t eager to visit him again,” you joked, Yone’s smile telling you that you hadn’t offended him, which was a relief.

“I’m just glad he seems to have found his own way,” Yone replied. “Back when I was alive, I would have worried about him being jailed if I wasn’t there to guide his way. I look back now and feel ashamed of how I coddled him.”

“You loved him,” you insisted softly. “I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of.”

“I suppose I did,” he acquiesced, looking down at his lap.

You had meant to help, but it felt like you were just making things worse. It was then that you remembered your original goal, before you had allowed yourself to get distracted.

“Do you… want to try sleeping?” you asked hesitantly, recalling his previous reasoning. “I won’t force you though. I’ve had my own share of nightmares lately.”

“I’d like to try,” he responded, surprising you with his willingness.

Your shock was clearly a little too plain on your face, Yone laughing softly, prompting you to force your face back into a neutral expression.

“Tonight, I want to live like I was still human,” he spoke resolutely. “So I will endeavor to try. I have hope that my nightmares will not reach me here.”

Your need to protest his self-description was strong, but you got the feeling that it would shatter the moment, so you kept those thoughts to yourself. Yone had banished your own nightmares back in Tevasa, and you were determined to return the favor.

You looked from Yone to the bed, a sudden thought coming to mind. “Actually, how is that going to work with your mask? Do you need to sleep sitting up?”

Yone looked amused as he looked down at the pillow, one hand coming up to run along one of the longer spikes on his mask.

“That wasn’t a concern that had crossed my mind,” he admitted. “Are you sure we should be risking the life of this pillow?”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “I thought you were only concerned about azakana.”

“Maybe my opinion is changing,” he said, and you had to fight against the fluttering beat your heart was sent into.

He was clearly just joking, you needed to stop taking it so seriously. You were ashamed of yourself; the first real male attention you’d received in ten years and your brain can’t stop looking for hidden meanings in everything he says.

“Do you need any help?” you asked as he laid down, hastily correcting yourself when you realized how your words could be interpreted. “I mean, my mom used to sing to me, but I’m not sure you want that. Even Kosen cringes when I try to–”

“My mother used to stroke my hair,” Yone mercifully interrupted. “When I was a child, before Yasuo was born.”

You weren’t sure if Yone realized it or not, but you began to wonder when the last time he had done something for himself was. He lived for his brother, died for his country’s honor, and now killed azakana for the safety of Ionia, still no closer to figuring out the secrets of his mask, the one goal he had mentioned. You were sure Yone had meant the hair stroking as no more than an idle response to what you had said, but you couldn’t help but want to act on the unspoken desire, to grant him the opportunity to be selfish for once.

Yone stiffened as your hand met his hair, but said nothing, which you took as a sign to keep going. Yone seemed to gradually relax under your touch, while you found yourself only getting more flustered by your own actions.

You were just comforting him, you reasoned with yourself, even though your own reasoning rung hollow within your own mind. Would it even be worth trying to convince him to stay? You weren’t sure if you could stand the rejection, so maybe it would be easier to just let him go and go back even if the thought felt incredibly lonely now.

“My mom used to yell at me for sleeping in trees,” you spoke up, deciding that maybe a silly childhood story would help take both of your minds off of things. “I hated how everything I did revolved around eventually being leader, so I started hiding from my parents whenever I had lessons. Eventually they put a bell around my neck like a pet so they could find me.”

“Not a bad idea,” Yone mused, the softness in his voice making you wonder if he was getting sleepy at all. “I doubt a bell would have kept Yasuo out of trouble.”

“It didn’t stop me either,” you admitted, the memory a particularly proud moment of yours. “I used to stuff the bell with cotton. Though I had to keep finding new trees to hide in since my parents would always find me eventually.”

You smiled, remembering another funny little detail about that particular story. “My dad finally had to have one of the council members follow me around at all times. I used to make a game of losing them. Child me thought it was very worth the scolding I’d get from my parents when I came out from hiding.”

Your hand had absentmindedly continued to stroke along Yone’s hair, so caught up in recalling your own memories that you only noticed now just how still Yone had become.

“Yone?” you spoke softly, testing your suspicions.

Was he really asleep? Part of you had thought this was a foolish endeavor – there was no way that someone as uptight as Yone would be able to rest his eyes for even a second, but the proof was undeniable, Yone’s even breaths barely audible in the silent room.

Thinking on it, you didn’t even find him uptight anymore… when did that stop? When you first met him, you couldn’t imagine having a frankly pleasant dinner with him. You had been surprised you could even get him to agree not to kill you and Kosen that first day, and here you were, not wanting to part ways tomorrow…

This was all too much to think about. Your day had clearly been slowly catching up to you as you sat on the bed next to Yone, your eyes suddenly fighting to stay open.

You wanted to stay awake, to savor the peace you felt in this moment, but today had been too long of a day for you to stay awake out of sheer force of will. Reluctantly admitting defeat, you did your best to creep under the blanket without disturbing Yone, staring at his back for the few short moments that it took for you to fall asleep.

You were a mess of nerves as you stepped out of the inn and onto the late morning streets.

It was a miracle that you had woken up before Yone did, because you had nearly had a heart attack when you had woken up with your head lying against his bare chest. It had been such a palpable relief when you looked up to see Yone’s eyes still closed, his arm around your waist telling you that asleep you was clearly not the only one at fault for the predicament.

The fire azakana was dead, and you had nowhere to be in a hurry, so you decided to let Yone sleep in. According to him, he seemed to be due a good sleep-in for years at this point.

You shouldn’t have been surprised to see Kosen curled up underneath a large tree across the street from the inn. Approaching your feline friend, Kosen sensed you as you approached, treating himself to a nice long stretch before meeting you halfway, the two of you finding a spot out of the way to stop and talk.

“You look happy,” you commented, easily noticing how lively he looked. “Lots of people to comfort yesterday?”

Kosen grunted in the affirmative, confirming the obvious.

“Glad you had a decent night too,” you smiled, freezing when Kosen’s ears seemed to prick up at the word too.

“Wait,” you protested, waving your hands in denial as Kosen pinned you with a curious stare. “It’s not like that, we didn’t… ugh, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Kosen didn’t deny the accusation, his tail smacking against your side in amusement.

“I thought you were supposed to hate him,” you groaned in embarrassment.

You watched the townsfolk mill about, your hand idly petting Kosen’s back as you finally put voice to the thoughts that had been plaguing you for some time now.

“Kosen… I think I want to ask him to stay with us,” you spoke quietly, voice barely above a whisper, feeling uncomfortably vulnerable, even with your company being your oldest friend.

You had expected protest, some form of growling that was meant to serve as Kosen’s version of a hell no, his silence instead unnerving you. Forcing yourself to turn and look at him, it was very apparent why.

When you met his knowing eyes, Kosen nudged your hand with his head, his quiet groan telling you everything you needed to know, years of knowing him aiding your perception.

“…you knew?” you asked softly, Kosen’s nod like a soothing balm to your tortured heart. “Well I wish you had said something sooner. I was ready for you to hate me forever.”

Kosen growled in protest and you shook your head with a laugh. “I know you’d never leave me. But I at least expected you to drag me off to the asylum and leave me there after everything we’ve been through with him.”

You stared at the inn where Yone still slept, feeling a weight lifted from your chest. You didn’t know what you would do if you lost Kosen, his trust in your judgment meaning so much to you.

“…you think he’ll run the other way screaming?” you laughed, Kosen huffing in amusement at your side.

You stayed out idly chatting with Kosen for a while longer until you realized that you should probably see if Yone was awake. He could be pretty unpredictable sometimes, and you didn’t want him to decide to leave before you even had a chance to talk to him.

The walk back to the room was spent overthinking. If he was still asleep, should you wake him up? If he was awake, what would you even say to him? At this point, you weren’t sure which option felt harder to confront as you reached the door, feet barely cooperating with you.

You opened the door slowly, intent on being quiet in case he was still sleeping, which turned out to not matter as you quickly spotted him sitting on the edge of the bed. He had been staring out the window, but turned his head to face you as he heard the door open, though you doubted he hadn’t heard your footsteps leading up to the door.

“How was your sleep?” you asked cautiously, the question feeling strange on your tongue knowing how long it had been since he had slept at all.

“It was strange,” he answered, sounding like he didn’t fully understand either. “There were no nightmares.”

“That’s good,” you replied with a smile, relieved to hear that his first sleep in a long time had not been a failure. “Any sleep without nightmares sounds like a good night to me.”

“A fair point,” he replied, standing up from the bed.

You waited, standing too still, for it to happen. For the inevitable goodbye, for him to disappear now that your agreement had been met, now that your borrowed time had come to an end.

But he didn’t disappear, instead getting out of bed and strapping his swords back to his sides, each movement he made making you wonder if it was the last one you would ever see him make. You were still waiting with dread as he came to a stop before you, looking at you with concern.

Instead of saying anything about your demeanor, he chose to bypass it entirely. “I can sense your pet outside.”

“Oh, yeah,” you replied after a brief moment of confusion before realizing that maybe he wanted to say goodbye to Kosen too before leaving. “He’s waiting outside.”

You wanted to say it then, to ask him if he really had to leave, but fear stilled your tongue and you turned instead to lead him out of the room and down to Kosen.

The walk outside was too silent, and you hoped that Yone didn’t find it as stifling as you did. All the words you wanted to say were spoken instead in your mind, hoping that you would have the courage to say them when you got outside.

You exited the hotel, Yone still silent behind you, to see Kosen across the street right where you had left him. The tiger perked up when he saw you, but noticed your emotional state as soon as he was within five feet, his eyes piercing through you knowingly, as if to say you didn’t ask him yet?

You shook your head minutely at Kosen, who huffed at you in playful exasperation. Yone paid the interaction no mind, coming to a stop before the azakana, who turned his head away as if to snub Yone.

Yone laughed at the tiger’s display. “I had hoped a night of feasting on the emotions of innocents would have evened your temper.”

Yone’s taunt worked perfectly, Kosen’s head turning sharply to face him, ears flattening against his head in time with his ruffled warning growl.

You smiled at the scene, the courage to try coming to you at last.

“You sure you don’t want to kill us?” you asked jokingly. “Last chance.”

Yone turned to you, staring silently as if he was giving the question genuine thought, though the lightness in his exposed eye betrayed him.

“You and your pet demon will not be felled by my sword,” he confirmed lightheartedly, which brought a smile to your face, making it easier for you to make an attempt to form the words you had been idly rehearsing in your head all morning.

You could feel Kosen looking at you, likely sensing what was coming. You could only hope this would go well, knowing any thoughts in the other direction right now would make you lose your nerve.

“We make a good team,” you said, trying not to sound as anxious as you felt. You didn’t want to do anything to scare him away, or make him feel like he had to agree to stay. “We don’t have to go our own ways, if you don’t want to. You could stay with us.”

You expected pause, but your heart twinged in your chest when the look of shock, even horror, took over Yone’s features. You opened your mouth to say something, anything, when you were interrupted by a frantic voice behind you.

“Miss!” a young boy called out to you, looking out of breath as he came to a stop before you. “You’re a warrior, right?”

You didn’t want to look away from Yone, terrified that he would vanish the second you did, but something in the boy’s voice put you similarly on edge.

“I am,” you confirmed tensely, much easier than clarifying what you really were. “Is something wrong?”

“The Noxians are coming!” the boy exclaimed, the words tinging your blood icy. “The fishermen saw ships coming and they said to find all the warriors to fight them so everyone else can run away before we die!”

This was just what you didn’t need right now, the boy running off to gather others before you could ask him any further questions.

Kosen let out a soft chuff, which you answered with a nod. This discussion could happen later, after the issue of the Noxians had been handled. “We should go to the harbor and assess the situation.”

You took a few steps towards the direction of the water, noticing immediately that Yone wasn’t following you.

“…Yone?” you prompted, incredibly unnerved by the tension still in his face, his posture stiff. “We need to go, we likely don’t have much time.”

Yone’s eye went hard, all conflict vanishing from his face as if he had come to a decision.

“It does not concern me.”

“What?” You stared at him, not understanding, not until he spoke again.

“War creates more azakana,” he insisted sharply. “I have no time to waste fighting human battles when hundreds of azakana will soon be born.”

You noticed all too clearly that he had said I, not we, his words enraging you all the same.

“I know how azakana are created,” you replied, storming back over to him, his suddenly impassive gaze making you feel like you were talking to a stranger. “But there are people here now who will die if we just leave. Do you care so little about people’s lives?”

“I care about protecting them from threats they will not see coming,” he hissed back.

“There won’t be anything left for the azakana if the Noxians rip them apart first!” you argued, temper flaring. “Are you really so desperate to reject humanity that you would let this whole town die?”

You had been trying to get through to him, but by the fierce look in his eye, you realized you had done the exact opposite. You saw the warning signs on his face, reaching a hand out to him.

“Yone, wait–”

But he was gone, faster than you could ever hope to follow. Your chest was filled with regret immediately, too shocked to even cry.

Kosen nudged your hand with his head, letting out a sympathetic groan that drew your head down to look at him, and then the tears fell.

“Kosen…” you whimpered miserably, reality coming down on you with the force of a boulder. “I’m sorry, I messed up.”

Kosen’s growled reply told you he disagreed, the tiger always your fiercest defender.

You wanted nothing more than to sink to the ground and cry into Kosen’s fur, to mourn the loss of your high hopes, to lose yourself in your fresh loneliness and pain, but you knew you couldn’t. Your pain was not the priority, not when so many lives were at stake. So, burying your regret in your chest for now, you turned to Kosen.

“We should probably… the harbor,” you spoke between sobs, hand running along Kosen’s soft fur, the tiger patiently waiting for you to calm yourself down.

It took a few minutes for your breaths to become even again, trying to bolster your own resolve as you looked at Kosen with wet eyes.

“I guess it’s just us again,” you tried to joke, your voice just sounding miserable to your own ears. This wasn’t how you wanted this to go, wishing you could take back your last words to Yone. Maybe things could have worked out if you could have just controlled your temper. “We should… we should go.”

Kosen by your side, you had only taken a few steps again towards the coast when heavy footfalls from behind you drew your attention. Even knowing that Yone’s footsteps had never been loud, you desperately hoped that they were his as you turned, and then suddenly your day got so much worse.

Kosen stepped protectively in front of you as Shusho rushed towards you, the desperation on his face giving you pause.

“The Noxians,” he panted, clearly as out of breath as the kid had been.

“I know,” you replied, guard up, Kosen snarling at your side. “We’re going to the harbor to meet up with the others.”

“You can’t!” he protested, only spiking your ire until he continued. “I saw… a group of them in the forest. I think they intend to strike first, to push the people to their forces on the water!”

“The forest?” you echoed, horrified. How Noxian was it to corner before the slaughter. If that was the case, the people stood little chance with soldiers coming at them from both sides.

“They’re planning to strike immediately,” he insisted, gesturing wildly behind him as if the army would appear at any second. “If we don’t cut them off, nobody here will have a chance!”

You hated how right he was, hated that it wasn’t Yone here in front of you asking for your help. But Yone was gone, and you doubted you would ever see him again. What mattered now was what you could do to help these people before they were slaughtered like cattle. And then you could deal with your own issues.

Mind frustratingly made up, you unsheathed your daggers, preparing for a fight.

“Lead the way.”

You knew Kosen was unhappy; you were too, but neither of you wanted to see what would happen if you didn’t stop the Noxians currently marching through the forest.

You followed Shusho into the woods, the man ahead of you straying from the main path immediately. You hoped for both your sakes that he had any fighting capability at all if you wanted any chance of surviving this. Kosen would be no doubt eating well after all this was over, if the pain threatening to consume you alive as you ran was any indication.

The area Shusho came to a stop in was quiet, too quiet, which set off blaring alarms in your head.

“They were here!” he insisted as you could feel your suspicions rising, at least until he pointed in the direction of a group of trees. “Over there!”

You squinted, a strange black shape just visible past the trees. Given Shusho’s exclamation, you figured your element of surprise had all but fled, so you darted over, dagger raised to strike quickly, only to emerge into a stranger situation than you had expected.

There were no Noxian soldiers in the clearing, no sign that they had been there at all, but the coast was certainly not all clear.

You ignored Kosen’s growl of warning, stepping forward to get a closer look at the swirling black mass that hovered just above the grass.

The large black oval was about the size of a full-length mirror, made of swirling black shapes that looked almost like thick smoke. You resisted the urge to touch the strange shape, overcome by a sense of dread from deep within you. Whatever this was, it was deeply wrong, you knew that much.

“This feels–”

Your words turned into a scream as you were pushed harshly from behind, falling forwards into the horrible dark, which easily accepted you into its welcoming embrace.

You emerged from the portal in an instant to a world of black.

The ground beneath you looked like black glass, so clear that you could see your reflection in it. Looking around in terror, you saw tall spindly trees that looked frighteningly like human forms, their feigned limbs twisted grotesquely. Their figures looked blurry, like you were looking at them through a warped lens, the humanlike trees getting no clearer the closer you walked to them.

Where were you? The wrong feeling you had felt before was crushing you now, and it was taking all your strength to keep standing.

There was no portal in sight, so you had no way out of this place. No Kosen or Shusho either, and you had no way of knowing if you were alone here or not. This place reminded you of your nightmares, unable to keep the terror down as you looked around the never-ending black, unable to find a way out.

You wouldn’t be alone for long. Casual, unhurried steps behind you had you turning to see Shusho, who was strolling towards you like he was on the streets back in Tevasa, not in this world of dark.

“We need to get out of here,” you insisted as you rushed over to him, finding some relief in seeing someone else here, even if that someone was Shusho. “Where is my tiger?”

“Not here,” he answered flippantly, wide smile discontenting amidst all the black. “And don’t worry, I’ll be leaving soon.”

“What are you talking about?” you demanded, fear giving rise to anger at his casual tone.

“You’ll see,” he answered cryptically. “After it gets here.”

“What?” You couldn’t make sense of any of this, but something in his words unnerved you worse than the portal or the creepy trees.

And then there was what felt like a ripple in the air, one that felt so horrible that it sent you to your knees, daggers clattering to the floor in favor of clasping your hands over your ears to try and block out the feelings attacking you.

The ripple vanished as soon as it had come, leaving you feeling breathless and small on the ground as you looked up to see a figure so large that it swallowed the sky, a figure you had thought you would only ever see again in your nightmares.

“No… no…” you gasped, trying to reach for your daggers, but hands shaking too hard to grasp hold of them.

“Sweet daughter of sorrow,” it purred, voice so intense in this place that it shook the ground beneath you. “Surely you did not think you would be spared forever?”

“This can’t be happening right now…” you shuddered, breathing hard as you looked to your side, to where Kosen always was, to see only your reflection in the smooth black ground. You looked like a mess, eyes wide with fear, Shusho’s grinning form looming behind you like a sinister shadow, which drew your attention back to his strange calm.

“What are you doing?” you implored him, eyes still darting around for an escape. “We need to get out of here now. You don’t know what that thing is capable of!”

“No, I don’t think so,” he replied, and then something clicked into place in your mind. He was far too casual, too nonchalant in the face of the horrors all around you, for the nightmarish beast in the sky who seemed content to watch the scene before it with a wide, hungry smile.

“What did you do?” you questioned him, voice shaky with anger.

“Nothing you didn’t deserve,” he answered smugly.

“What did you do?” you repeated furiously, your hands finding grip on your daggers at last, up on your feet in an instant.

“All I did was pay you back for being such a stuck-up bitch,” he retorted haughtily. “I told you you’d regret thinking you were too good for me, and now I’m gonna get what I’m owed.”

“So then all that stuff about the Noxians?” you prompted, needing to confirm your suspicions.

Shusho’s laugh sounded even louder in this quiet, barren world. “Worked even better than I thought. Kid only wanted two gold to run over and cry Noxians. I knew your little boyfriend wouldn’t be one to stick around for any real threats. After that, it was easy to lure you to the portal and push you in.”

“Wait, then there isn’t a Noxian fleet at all?” you gasped, your suspicions not having progressed past the forest yet.

“You catch on slow,” he sniffed. “Good thing I’m not interested in your brains. That’s the deal.”

“Are you insane?” you shouted, keeping one eye on the azakana that had destroyed your life so many years ago. “Whatever it promised you, it lied. Azakana don’t honor their deals or care about anything but themselves!”

“It didn’t promise too much,” Shusho replied haughtily, clearly unconvinced by your words. “It’s sure got a big thing for you, not hard to see why. Our deal was easy, it eats your soul and I get what’s left over minus all the attitude for whatever I want. Win-win.”

You felt sick at the realization. This sick freak made a deal with an azakana just to get to a body that couldn’t say no?

“If you think you’ll be around long enough for that to happen, you’re stupider than I thought,” you seethed, weapons now at the ready.

Shusho actually looked briefly startled by your threat, his eyes darting to the dark shape that was the sky, who seemed to be relishing the scene before it.

“Well what are you waiting for?” he shrieked at the azakana, backing away from you with quick steps.

“She speaks true,” it drawled, coming to loom over both of you, plunging the area into its shadow. “You have brought me my long-awaited meal, but I will not overlook an appetizer. Not when it has walked itself most willingly into my den.”

It was Shusho’s turn to panic now, his face red with anger. “You– we had a deal! Fine, just eat her then, I’m leaving!”

“Where will you go?” the azakana purred. “There is nowhere to run now. It is time for a lesson that you will learn too late.”

You dashed away from Shusho as the shadow descended rapidly, plucking Shusho from the floor as easily as if he weighed nothing. His final scream was short as he was pulled apart from every direction, vanishing into the darkness as if he was never there.

You felt nothing but contempt for the conman; he had gotten what he deserved, but that still left you without a solution for your problem. If the azakana from your childhood went to these lengths to get you here, then you had little chance of making it out of this alive.

Your last thought before its attention turned to you was of Kosen. You were sorry to leave him, and hoped he would be okay after you were gone. But for now, you intended to put up a fight, daunting as it was.

Yone walked silently through the forest, accompanied by only his troubled thoughts.

He had been so close, so desperate to take your offer, to feel like he could be alive again.

But he couldn’t, and the truth of why was plain on his face. Nobody could look at him and see anything but a monster, nobody but you. He didn’t belong to the human world, given he hadn’t been human in many years, he had lost that right after all his failures.

You were so good, so human, and it reminded him of everything he could have been, if he hadn’t turned into what he was. You remained human, even amidst the worst moment of your life, while he had fallen so low that he was unrecognizable. He had become just like the monsters he hunted, and needed to remain far from you. You were beautiful, a ray of light far too bright for his eyes, one that he wouldn’t allow himself to taint. The sight of your frantic expression just before he left had nearly broke him, and again it was because of him, because his fragile control of himself was so fractured when he was around you.

He would disappear back into the darkness, kill azakana from the shadows, and never be so foolish again. To think that he would accuse you of being a monster, when he was the one whose soul was tainted by regrets that he refused to acknowledge. This was his role, he resolved, even as his soul screamed at him to return to you. He would never make a mistake like that again, never pretend to be anything but a monster.

Yone’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a strong azakana presence that was only getting closer. The Noxian invasion had to have begun then, his mind drifting to you almost against his will before he snapped it back to the present. This was familiar, this was his purpose, and with that in mind, he drew his swords, ready to go back to the dull and familiar.

What emerged from the brush stilled his swords. Kosen, in his azakana form, leaped through the brush, Yone’s frustration vanishing as soon as he noticed the tiger’s erratic behavior.

Kosen roared at him, unable to stay still in his panic. His roars sounded like nothing Yone had heard from him before, not even when they had first met. As he stared at the clearly-frantic azakana, Yone realized with an unsettling feeling that you were nowhere to be seen.

“Where is she?” he asked, unable to shake the horrible feeling that had settled over him.

Kosen didn’t waste a second, roaring furiously before turning around and rocketing back where he had come from. Fear spiking, Yone darted after him without another word, both of them easily able to move through the forest at top speed.

What would he see when they got to wherever Kosen was leading him? Yone knew the azakana cared deeply for you, and so it would likely take a very dire situation for him to leave your side to find help.

Would you be lying in your own blood, cleaved apart by Noxian soldiers, or worse? Yone had a hard time imagining what could be worse, but he desperately hoped you would still be alive by the time he got there.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He had left thinking you would be better off without him, so what could have happened in the short time since he had left you?

What Yone found instead of the bloodshed he had expected was a violently swirling portal, the tendrils of black that made up its surface whipping around like they were waves in the midst of a storm.

Kosen’s furor only got more intense as he dashed over to the portal, leaping at it, only to instead leap through it as if it wasn’t there. Turning back to Yone, Kosen yowled desperately, trying to explain what had happened to you.

“She’s in there,” Yone asserted, Kosen growling an agreement.

The confirmation only made his bad feeling grow worse. The portal in front of him was clearly demonic in nature; Yone could feel the waves of power radiating off it as if the azakana that had no doubt created it was standing before him. Wherever you were now, if you had gone through that portal, then your life would clearly be in very immediate danger.

Without a second thought, Yone dashed through the portal… only to move through it instead, just as Kosen had. Trying again, Yone was met with the same result, his failure sparking an unfamiliar wave of panic within him.

Kosen seemed equally as dismayed by his failure, which made Yone wonder just how you had gone through without Kosen. You weren’t risk-averse, but he had also known you not to be foolish. He respected your skill, but you would have to have known that this was a clear danger to you, so then why…?

Regret festered in his mind. Yone had long shied away from regrets; he was no longer who he had been back when he was alive, what right did he have to carry any regrets? Monsters couldn’t regret.

But right now, Yone knew he would regret it for the rest of his existence if he couldn’t get to you right now.

Dashing to the portal once more, Yone entered it this time, unaware of his mask slipping off his face at long last and falling to the ground.

The shadow liked to talk while you fought.

“So naïve,” it chided you, as if you were a misbehaving child. “Untainted by suspicion. Unseeing of coincidences.”

“Speak plainly!” you insisted, dodging a slash from one of its many shadowed arms. You had a feeling that it wasn’t using anywhere near all of its strength, intent on gathering as much of your tortured emotions together as possible before it devoured you, which was something you could work with for now if you ever wanted to see Kosen again.

The azakana was only too happy to indulge your request for information.

“Sweet child of sorrow, I have seen you reach for salvation,” he alliterated, which only served to annoy you more as you severed another arm at the wrist before it could reach you. “I could not allow my long-simmered meal to become tainted with gaiety, so it has become time to bring you back to me.”

“So you promised some rapist a mindless corpse to fuck?” you seethed. Killing Shusho was likely the only good thing this monster would ever do.

“He was quite useful,” the azakana replied, seeming pleased by its own work. “But it took so much more to bring you here to me. Here, where we can finally be together again.”

You grew tired of the demon not just saying what it meant, resolving not to give it what it wanted and instead focusing on hacking as many arms apart as you could, their puppet master still widely grinning down at you with sharp teeth.

“It is no matter to bend weaker brethren to my will,” it bragged, your thoughts immediately turning to the only azakana you had any contact with recently.

“Then you… made it flee?” you asked, needing to know.

“And I made it die,” it responded gleefully, which only pushed your confidence in yourself lower; if this azakana had the power to command others to die, then it was the strongest opponent you had ever faced.

Cruel laughter accompanied your realizations; it was in their nature to sense emotions, so your downswing had been detected immediately. You could not hide anything from the source of your oldest pain, and you both knew it. You had been stupid to believe that you were free, to dismiss your sole survivor status as a coincidence after so many years of being free was exactly what had brought you here.

You didn’t want to die, especially not here in this lonely black world. Shusho’s death had been quick, ultimately meaningless to the shadow that was the sky, but yours has meaning to it. Yours was a prize that it had waited so many years for and you knew there was little chance that the consumption of your soul would be just as drawn out.

You hoped Kosen would be okay without you, back there in the world you had shared with him for so many years. And more than anything else, you wish you had seen this coming.

The azakana reached out to you with so many arms, just like the twisted ones on the trees surrounding you, and this time, you didn’t think you could repel them all.

It was so silent that you heard the shout of your name loud and clear in time with the arms that dotted the sky all being slashed in half at once, the azakana’s resulting shriek telling you that it had actually felt some level of pain from the attack.

The figure that appeared next to you was so familiar in all ways, barring the two red eyes that met yours, wide with desperation.

“Yone…?”

You couldn’t believe it was him, that he was really here. You were so sure that you would die without seeing him again, whether you made it out of here or not.

While you stood in stunned silence, Yone quickly sheathed one sword, reaching out to take hold of your arm. “Are you okay?”

You were still so shocked to see him without a mask that it took you a long moment to gather yourself. He had found you. He had come back for you. The information was almost too much to accept. The tenderness in his eyes and the firmness of his touch made you immediately feel less alone.

“Is Kosen okay?’ you asked, needing to know if Shusho had done anything to your closest friend.

“He found me,” Yone explained. “He was unable to enter the portal. I’m suspecting now that it blocks unwanted azakana from interfering.”

“So he’s okay,” you said, body sagging with relief. You didn’t know what you would have done if something had happened to him.

“Why did you come here alone?” Yone asked, voice less accusing and more concerned.

“I wasn’t alone,” you scoffed. “Shusho lured me into the forest, said the Noxians were planning an ambush and then pushed me into the portal. Turns out it was all lies, Noxus isn’t invading at all. He even paid that kid off to… separate us.”

You felt too uncomfortable to admit that they had been trying to scare Yone off, not wanting him to feel bad, but his face fell all the same.

“…and I played my part,” he admitted bitterly, easily understanding the situation before his expression turned deadly. “Where is he?”

“Dead,” you answered with no shame or guilt. “Trusted an azakana to keep its end of the deal and paid the price.”

“…and his end?” Yone insisted, voice tight with the foresight that he wasn’t going to like whatever the answer was.

“I’ll tell you if we live,” you replied, noticing that the demonic arms were beginning to reforge themselves around you again.

As you stared at the azakana overlooking you both with hunger, you realized you hadn’t explained everything yet, and were rapidly running out of time for the most important part.

“Yone, this is the one from my village,” you spoke gravely, mind flashing back to that scene against your will. “It lured us here using that fire demon. I think it’s been after me for a long time and I’ve just been too stupid to notice. Just… this isn’t your fight if you don’t want it to be. I need you to know that.”

You weren’t entirely sure there was even a way out of here, but you wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself if you didn’t give him an out regardless. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I won’t leave your side again,” he replied, resolve firm as he assessed the situation.

“Okay,” you said, unable to keep the relief off of your face, much to the azakana’s displeasure.

“Sweetest sorrow, you will still end here,” it taunted you from the sky. “I think I will kill him in front of you before I claim you for mine at last.”

“Greater azakana have failed,” Yone hissed back, taking a protective stance in front of you.

You got into a fighting stance as well, unwilling to be an easy meal for the monster that had butchered your family and village. You had to believe you would live, that you could defeat the threat that was all around you. You wanted to leave here with Yone, to see Kosen again, to fight your way back to the world you wanted to return to.

The onslaught was immediate, your burgeoning hope likely souring your taste to the demon who struck out with a thousand arms at once.

He was clearly aiming for Yone, attempting to make good on his threats, but Yone wasn’t easy prey. Yone dashed forward with a sweeping slash, easily destroying dozens of shadowy hands with one swipe of his blade. There was no true wind in this place, but his graceful movements almost looked like he was dancing with the air, the azakana’s attacks ripped up as if they were in the midst of a tornado.

You did your best to cover any areas Yone couldn’t, but you still felt like you weren’t contributing anywhere near equally. Yone fought with a fury you had never seen in him, a desperation that you hoped that you had a hope of matching.

You had no idea how long you had been fighting for. Your stress seemed to warp your sense of time entirely, twisting it into being measured by the next movement you made, unable to think of anything but your survival.

Slowly, you began to feel that you were gaining the upper hand. With every limb you cut down, less and less took its place, but the small victory did not come without consequence.

You couldn’t deny your own condition was worsening, every move you made draining a little more energy from you. As you panted, Yone struck fiercely, ignoring the arms now to lash out at the azakana itself.

You were intent on doing your part, even as your muscles ached and your lungs burned with fatigue. You would not let Yone down.

The azakana had long since lost its composure, screeching out incoherently as each attempt to kill Yone fell apart at the seams.

You saw its last-ditch attempt first, veins of black slithering along the ground, twining together to create a clawed hand, each nail sharpened to a deadly point. From the size alone, you doubted it could be easily broken apart… and it was aimed straight at Yone.

“Yone!” you screamed, but your voice seemed to come out as if you were trapped in a glass box, and as you ran in the direction of the clawed hand, you discovered why.

You reeled back from the wall you couldn’t see, the contact with the now-distorted air like a shock to your system, the pain crushing until you jumped back from it. The azakana had created some sort of invisible box around you as you fought, and now you were cut off from Yone, forced to watch in horror.

You were terrified by your own helplessness, begging Yone to turn back and see what was coming, but he didn’t. Trying to break through the barrier again only brought you more excruciating pain, like you were being stabbed with a thousand needles at once, forcing you to pull back again.

“Watch,” the azakana’s voice whispered in your ear. “Watch as he dies.”

“No!” you screamed, stabbing desperately at the barrier that surrounded you, pinpricks of pain shooting up your arms, but you didn’t stop as you watched the hand slink through the dark towards where Yone confronted the azakana’s masked smile. “Yone, behind you! Yone!”

But he didn’t, locked in combat with the azakana, unaware of anything other than taking it down. The hand would wait no longer, shooting across the sky, intent on piercing through Yone, if the azakana’s continued chanting of watch him die only getting louder all around you was any indication.

Your feet spurned into action, not having even a second to spare. You were ready for the wall this time, sprinting full force at it, agony immediately catching fire along your skin.

Clenching your teeth against the pain, you pushed harder. No pain would be worse than losing Yone right now, and it was that thought that broke your head through the barrier as if you broke through the surface of the ocean.

“Yone!”

Your scream rang out through the quiet like a gunshot, Yone turning immediately, spotting the weapon the azakana had intended to end his life with. In a split second as you watched, frozen with pain, Yone moved swiftly out of the way, the demon hand unable to correct course, piercing its own mask through the hooked nose.

You felt the barrier dissolve immediately, falling to your knees as the aftershocks of pain began to ebb and then vanish completely.

It was so quiet. Looking up to the sky, you saw the azakana’s mask crumbling to pieces, the deep black demon no longer there to fill it.

You lost sight of the crumbling demon as your vision was taken up by Yone landing near you, crouching down before you, a hand resting on your cheek.

“You’re alive,” you said, still in shock.

“Because you warned me,” he replied, leaning forward to kiss you.

It was a gentle kiss, one you happily reciprocated, leaning into Yone even as your muscles screamed at you.

Pulling apart, you couldn’t help but smile. “If you still had your mask, I think it would be poking me in the eyes right about now.”

“My–” Yone looked shocked, his deep red eyes wide as he reached up to feel the face that had been hidden from him for so long. “But how…?”

“You said Kosen couldn’t come through the portal,” you said, coming to a realization that made you smile. “Didn’t you say you thought no azakana could enter?”

“I… did,” he confirmed, voice shaking, eyes trained on your face as if you were the one who was recently unmasked.

“Then you’re human, Yone,” you insisted gently, the revelation stunning him into silence. “…does that bother you?”

Yone let out a shaky breath, one that he had probably been holding in for years.

“…no,” he answered at last, leaning forward to rest his head on your shoulder, his hair tickling your cheek. “I didn’t care what I had to become as long as I could protect you.”

You reached a hand up, idly petting his hair until you noticed something forming behind him.

“Yone, I think we can go now,” you spoke, eyes on the reward for all your hard work, the shining white portal an inversion of the one you had been shoved into.

Standing up together, you made your way to the portal, your fatigue fading in the face of the way out, walking towards safety with Yone at your side.

It was dark when you both emerged from the portal, your field of vision reduced to black as you were tackled to the ground by a ferociously worried Kosen.

“I missed you too,” you laughed, Kosen rubbing his face all over you, his broken purr loud in your ears.

It took a while for Kosen to let you up as you tried to explain what had happened, the azakana especially happy to hear about what had become of Shusho, if not slightly disappointed that he didn’t get to him first.

You were petting Kosen’s head when you finally noticed Yone behind you, staring down at his hand, which grasped the mask that used to be on his face. It must be strange for him, seeing the demon whose face he had worn for so long in his hands, no longer able to hide his face below its own.

The demon was long dead, but now it would truly hold no power in this world.

Kosen noticed your new focus and nudged your hand, looking at you with knowing eyes.

“I don’t suppose I could convince you it’s not like that?” you whispered, the tiger snorting his answer, which made you smile. “Okay, maybe we kissed. Once. I think he’s staying with us, Kosen.”

Kosen huffed, his eyes clearly reading well, that was obvious. He groaned at you, jerking his head towards Yone while standing up, distancing himself from your fingers and retreating towards a thick brush.

“Wait, Kosen, I–” you tried to protest, but he was gone, and you could swear you could hear his amused huffs in the distance.

Closing your eyes tightly, you took a second to compose yourself. Were you really being the recipient of Kosen’s wingman skills that you had no idea he had even possessed?

Standing up, you made your way over to Yone, who looked up from his mask as you entered his field of vision.

“Are you okay?” you asked, your gaze going down to the mask and then back up to his eyes in silent question.

Yone sighed, allowing the mask to drop from his grip and fall back onto the grass. “I thought I had moved on from my past, let my regrets lie back in that spot where I died… I never thought I would wear regret so plainly on my face.”

“You couldn’t have known,” you said gently, resting a hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him. “Nobody wants to face the worst moment in their life head on. I know I couldn’t have survived mine again without you. I still can’t believe I’m free.”

“It wouldn’t have had the chance to take you if not for me,” Yone remarked bitterly.

“I don’t care,” you declared, boldly moving to wrap your arms around Yone’s neck, his focus shifting entirely to how close you were, hands ghosting over your waist as if he was unsure whether or not to reciprocate. “I just don’t want you to leave me again, if that’s okay with you.”

“I…” Yone seemed speechless, but then you felt his hands make contact with your waist at last, his touch steady, decisive.

Yone stepped closer to you, the crunch of his old mask underfoot ringing out in the silent forest. You looked down, barely able to see the now-cracked mask before Yone’s speed overtook you and you were pressed against a tree, his mouth on yours.

“Your guard cat has left his post,” Yone mused, pulling back only slightly from the kiss, red eyes alight with an intent that made you flush with anticipation.

You knew you had wanted his body on yours for a while now, unable to pin down the exact moment your feelings had changed while he was looking at you like he wanted you just as badly.

You had never kissed anyone before, only wondered idly what you were missing, but now, you didn’t think you could go on without knowing what it would be like to give yourself to someone entirely. In your pitiful daydreams, no man could ever come close to Yone, his heart as valuable to you as his body. But right now, all of your focus was on his body, pressed closely against you, his eyes on yours seemingly awaiting a response, a confirmation, you realized.

“Please,” you whispered, wanting nothing more right now than to have his lips on yours again.

The single word seemed to do something to Yone, his eyes fluttering shut as he let out a shaky exhale. You gave him the moment he clearly needed, the vulnerable expression on his face bringing a smile to your lips. Had he shown this face to anyone else? Even before he died, he seemed to think his own feelings were a burden to others. Seeing him like this now only made you want to push him further, to see more expressions that were for your eyes only. So when his eyes opened again, you pounced, knocking both of you to the ground.

Even as he fell onto his back, you noticed that Yone made sure to cushion your fall with his body, only making you more sure that this was what you had been missing for so many years.

You didn’t let your inexperience bother you, eager kisses pressed to Yone’s neck immediately rewarding you with a deep groan from his lips, his hand coming to anchor itself in your hair.

He looked so good under you, cheeks flushed and dark hair spread out under him, looking like he needed no more than you right now in this moment.

But Yone wanted more than to be stared at, pulling you back down to him, his tongue against yours catching you off guard long enough for him to move you onto your back, your belt off and discarded before you noticed what was happening.

“Back then,” he rasped, pulling your pants and underwear down and off your willing legs, his hand then kneading your thigh, your shirt riding up with your squirming to fully expose your pussy to his hungry eyes. “Back then, in that inn… I didn’t deserve you, but I wanted you.”

Your mind flashed back to that night, to Yone teasing you before his bath… you wished you had known how he really felt back then. For now, you wanted to keep seeing that look on his face aimed in your direction.

“I thought I was dreaming,” you admitted with a breathy laugh as Yone continued to draw circles idly on your thigh. “I’ve never wanted this with anyone but you.”

Your words spurred him into action, and then he was lifting your legs, easing your thighs over his shoulders as his mouth settled between your legs.

You were so sensitive that every brush of his tongue against you felt like a shock to your system. You felt Yone shiver against you as you moaned his name, redoubling his efforts in response, your nails digging into the ground as you tried to keep yourself still, not wanting to offset his tongue by even an inch, Yone finding the perfect angle that even you struggled to find sometimes in an instant.

You had thought he had as little experience as you, but he was eating you out like he had done so a thousand times, your cries of his name turning to babbled gibberish against your will. Nothing you had ever done to yourself could compare to Yone’s determined tongue, his breath coming out in hot pants against your sensitive skin.

“Yone,” you moaned as the pressure began to intensify too fast for you to properly explain, but Yone seemed to understand. “Please, it’s…”

Bracing one arm on your stomach to gently keep you from squirming, Yone barraged your clit with his tongue, again and again in that one spot that you needed so badly. You tried your best in your hazy state to keep your thighs from compressing his head, but Yone embraced it instead, his other hand held tight to one thigh, locking you in place just where he wanted you.

Tears came to your eyes as you finally, finally got there, your orgasm drawn out expertly by the man between your legs who finally pulled back with a satisfied smile, his deep red eyes meeting yours.

As you breathed through the tiny aftershocks of pleasure, one thought came clearly to the front of your mind. You wanted to see what face he would make when it was him on the receiving end. Chest heaving from exertion, you forced yourself up on shaky arms, reaching out for Yone’s belt that still bared the masks of fallen azakana.

Yone let you toss his belt to the side, neither of you paying the demonic death masks any mind. You looked up at Yone’s face as you untied his sarong, his red eyes watching you intently.

Any brief doubts you had of Yone’s interest in you were erased as he discarded his sarong himself, leaning into you as you ran a hand along his very hard cock, the outline clear against his tight pants.

Yone groaned your name in your ear as you continued to stroke him through his pants, the usually-stoic man clearly as desperate as you were.

“I don’t–” he panted, pressing heated kisses against your neck. “I want to be inside you.”

“I want that too,” you admitted heatedly. “Show me what you wanted to do to me in that inn.”

Your words got immediate response from Yone, who had you flat on your back in an instant, his mouth on yours and clothed hips canting into yours.

Reaching a hand between your bodies, you opened your shirt’s front clasps, exposing your bra to the air, Yone drawing back with a sharp inhale, looking entranced by you.

“I dreamed about you that night,” he admitted, rearing back to take his pants off with determined intent. “I woke up and you weren’t there. If you had been there next to me, I don’t think I could’ve resisted you.”

You shivered, again wishing that you had been there, wishing he had told you this then. You clearly had a lot of making up to do.

Sitting up, you took your shirt and bra off, tossing them to join Yone’s clothing in the grass.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, you prompted Yone back to a sitting position, his hands coming to your sides as you climbed into his lap, leaning in to kiss his waiting mouth. Yone responded eagerly, one hand coming to the side of your head, his tongue against yours making your face dizzy with heat.

He was so hard against you, and you were so impatient now, pulling back briefly enough to lift yourself angling Yone’s cock just right before sinking down onto him, the man letting out a low groan of surprise, eyes shutting briefly as he easily bottomed out with how wet you were.

Yone looked wrecked already as he opened his eyes again, his hand stroking your hair as he looked at you in a way you never thought you would ever see.

“You’re so beautiful,” he spoke, his hands going back down to your waist to begin to lift you up and down on his lap, any words you were going to say in response swallowed by his lips, which sought yours every time you came back down.

Your own hands roamed his upper body, along his bandaged arms, feeling his muscles flex as he smoothly maneuvered you, so perceptive to every little noise you made.

Just as you felt your legs giving out on you, you found yourself flat on your back again, Yone above you, hiking your legs up and over his hips. You wordlessly obeyed, mesmerized by the look of him, hair mussed, staring at you with reverence.

And then he was back inside you and you forgot everything but his name, clawing at his body, his arm wrappings coming loose from your frantic fingers.

“You feel so good,” he groaned at your ear, the words going straight to your head, the feeling in your lower stomach doubling instantly.

You needed to make him cum. Finding a second wind with that resolution, you met his thrusts, pulling his hips down into yours with an intensity that seemed to break something in Yone, his body flattening you to the ground, keeping your body tight to his as he pounded into you now, pace frantic.

You couldn’t talk, couldn’t tell Yone just how close you were again as he fucked you into the ground, pressing hot kisses to your mouth, your fingers digging into his shoulders as you came again.

Pushing through your quickly-approaching overstimulation, you rolled your hips up to meet Yone’s, leaning up to meet tongues with him for a few more intense moments before he stilled at last, clutching you to him, passionate kisses turning soft as he rolled you onto your sides, pulling back to press his forehead against yours.

Yone looked almost in disbelief as he brushed a hand against your cheek, smiling softly at you when you leaned into his hand.

“I suppose maybe I am human,” he mused, petting your hair as you cuddled up to him, his heartbeat against your ear only further affirming his words.

“Then I guess you’re stuck with me now,” you said slyly, more sure of it now than ever. “Unless you can think up a good excuse to flee into the night.”

You expected him to laugh, but he was quiet for a long moment, so quiet that you pulled back from his chest to look at his face, his mouth set in a frown that gave you pause.

“I won’t leave you again,” he promised, eyes resolute. “I won’t allow my cowardice to nearly take you from me again.”

“You didn’t know,” you replied sternly, unwilling to allow him to sink back into regret. “I think I’ve done quite enough to prove to you that I’m still alive and well.”

You accompanied your words with a clenching of your inner muscles on his half-hard cock, still inside you, the feeling sending Yone’s eyes closing shut with a groan. “…unless you need another demonstration?”

“…please,” Yone’s desperate voice relented immediately, and you were only happy to oblige.