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Shinobu Mustard Episode 5

036

In the end, Shinobu seemed to have given up on showing off, and thus Araragi Koyomi appeared to have lost the opportunity to show off his skills as an actor.

Once they actually met, such a contrived scheme would have been ridiculous—thinking about it, Suicidemaster was essentially sealed in the form of a little girl, too, so in terms of being a disgrace of a vampire, she was on the same level.

Incidentally, I was using vague wording like "seemed to" and "appeared to" because, along the way, the two little girls had put the humans (including the god that was formerly human) off to the side by beginning to speak in a foreign language—but what language was it, exactly?

Perhaps a language that had been used in one of the many countries that had been destroyed by "Princess Beauty"—regardless, we'd been completely left behind.

However, watching the two little girls act so cheerfully was such a pleasant sight that I couldn't get mad. It felt like the first time I was seeing Shinobu make such expressions, and from what I could tell, Suicidemaster seemed to be warmly greeting her old friend after such a long time. It was possible that some effect of the mummification remained, because she didn't seem to be able to pick herself up off of the rush mat, but her expressiveness made it clear that shew as truly glad to have reunited with Shinobu.

In a way, it was like our hard work had been rewarded—although, I suppose most of it was just me needlessly worrying.

Not to mention, you could say things had gone just as planned.

The interrogation. About the serial vampirism incident.

Assuming Shinobu hadn't forgotten about our original objective...

"They seem pretty happy, and the conversation seems to be going smoothly, so let's leave Hachikuji-chan to be the witness while we humans step away for a moment. Koyomin, come here."

"Huh? Um, no, but, Shinobu is tied to my shadow, so..."

"I set things up so that within the barrier, the two of you can act separately even while maintaining your pairing, so it's fine. Hachikuji-chan, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes, leave it to me!"

Hm? Putting aside the fact that Hachikuji had become a loyal subordinate to a person of power despite being a god, what did she mean?

We could act separately?

I wondered if I could do such a thing—wasn't it like the pairing between Shinobu and me was severed, even if it was in a limited area? And did that mean Gaen-san had anticipated from the beginning that their reunion would go well? To put up such a complex barrier—no, before that.

Regardless of whether it went well, had Gaen-san made plans for Shinobu and I to act separately from the beginning?

I didn't really understand her intentions—but, with Shinobu not introducing me to Suicidemaster as her slave, I couldn't exactly interrupt their conversation (the foreign language courses I chose were English and Spanish. Hola!), I guess I had no choice but to follow Gaen-san. Whatever Gaen-san was planning after recovering from the darkness, or mud, in the hearts of those high school girls, I had better hear about those plans—

"I would've liked it if she could have reunited with Shishirui Seishirou in the same way."

That was what Gaen-san murmured, with her words feeling more meaningful than just light conversation, as she led me through the house. And our destination ended up being Kanbaru's room—she sure knew her way around someone else's home. As expected of the onee-san who knew everything.

She was well aware of the location of her niece's room.

"If you know anything about architecture, you can pretty much tell the layout of the rooms from outside—but this is pretty awful. So, like my sister, Suruga's a messy girl, too."

However, it seemed she'd been surprised by the mess, giving her impressions in a shocked manner as she entered the room.

"I'm sorry. Normally I was supposed to have come and cleaned her room yesterday, but Higasa-chan was there, and if I went and started cleaning in front of her friend, Kanbaru would lose face."

"If that's true, then it's exceedingly mysterious why you would go out of your way to care for Suruga like that, Koyomin. Rather than just Suruga's senior, it's almost like you're her mom."

You're even more motherly than her actual mother, said Gaen-san.

I'd been described in many different ways before, but being described as motherly might be a first for me. But, being compared to the famous Gaen Tooe-san didn't exactly make me happy.

"So, what's the matter, Gaen-san? I know Hachikuji is watching over them, but Shinobu and Miss Suicidemaster—or should I say, Little Miss Suicidemaster? Well, it doesn't really matter, but I do feel a bit uneasy just leaving them on their own."

From the atmosphere around them, it didn't seem like it would suddenly turn into a scene of carnage with them saying "I came to eat you, Shinobu" and "I'll let you eat me" or anything, but I wasn't too optimistic—to get to the point, oddities were oddities because you couldn't predict what they might do in the next instant.

I wanted to return as soon as possible.

"I have two pieces of bad news," said Gaen-san.

With my life as it was, it wasn't too surprising to hear that there was no good news, but for there to be two pieces of bad news.

That was twice the sense of foreboding.

"I'll keep it short. The first is that the last missing member of the girls' basketball team, Kiseki Souwa-chan—her belongings were discovered."

"Her belongings... Just her belongings?"

"Yes. Not just her cell phone and school bag, but her school uniform, gym clothes, and basshoes. Ah, 'basshoes' means..."

"Basketball shoes. I've read 'Slam Dunk', too, so I know what it means. But... Finding only her belongings but not the girl herself...?"

I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that her mummy hadn't been discovered yet, but the fact that only her belongings were found was certainly bad news—or, perhaps not bad, but ominous.

In the same way you can't start a particularly pleasant story with a school bag being abandoned by the road—I could only assume that something had happened to Kiseki-chan.

"Where were they discovered? In her room, or...?"

Remembering that the second mummy, Honnou Aburi-chan, had been discovered in her room, I brought up the location that would be least discomforting for her belongings to be discovered.

"That's a good line of thought," said Gaen-san. "Where they were discovered was in the gymnasium of Naoetsu High, in a locker in the girls' locker room."

"The girls' locker room...?"

"Don't react to the thought of the girls' locker room. No need to worry, I had a female investigator perform the search."

"It wasn't like I was wondering why you hadn't sent me to perform that task."

Regardless of whether they were male or female, Gaen-san had already crossed a line at the moment she sent an outsider into the school—she was always this sort of person, I suppose.

Alternatively, perhaps there was a student currently attending Naoetsu High that held a connection to Gaen-san, like me last year—it was certainly a possibility.

"More precisely, it's the girls' locker room exclusively used by the girls' basketball team. Each member is provided with their own locker."

The girls' basketball team sure was treated favorably.

If there was stuff like that, I guess it could be pretty hard to quit.

It was all thanks to Kanbaru's achievements, and I couldn't deny that the rest of the athletic department was a bit sloppy—but, in that case, though it wasn't as good as her own room, her locker wasn't all that discomforting to find her belongings in, right?

"In the first place, even if your subordinate managed to invade the girls' locker room, how did they manage to unlock her personal locker?"

"Koyomin, the fact that you think of invading the girls' locker room as completely natural is something I love about you. The personal lockers have combination locks, you see. From the register of names that you borrowed from the previous captain—a treasure trove of personal information—I was able to deduce the combination."

Even if she didn't use her date of birth, it wasn't as important as a bank account password or anything, so I figured she'd use a number associated with her personal information—said Gaen-san, as if it was something obvious to her.

Leaking personal information was pretty scary.

"Using that same approach, I tried to crack the passwords of the cell phones owned by the first three mummies, but unfortunately, that didn't go as well."

"Well, it would certainly be more secure than a locker. Not to mention, if you get it wrong too many times, it could erase all the data inside—but, putting that aside, how should we evaluate this discovery? Isn't it normal to find one's uniform or gym clothes in their locker?"

"If it's 'uniform or gym clothes', then yes."

That was what Gaen-san said.

"But if it's 'uniform and gym clothes', then that's very strange indeed. Was Kiseki-chan going home naked when she went missing? It would be a big deal, even if she wasn't mummified."

A big deal...

Even if she revered Kanbaru, she probably wouldn't do anything like go streaking (not even Kanbaru had done that. She was all talk, no action).

"It seems unlikely she had a spare uniform or gym clothes, either. It wasn't as messy as this room, but the belongings had been stuffed in the locker pretty sloppily—as if they were getting in the way and thus disposed of."

It was possible that Kiseki-chan was just bad at keeping things in order, but there was another interpretation—the person responsible for attacking her had roughly crammed Kiseki-chan's belongings into her locker in order to hide the evidence.

Not the person responsible.

But perhaps—the demon responsible.

"Thanks to your reconnaissance, Koyomin, it ended up occurring in the opposite order, but if Kiseki Souwa-chan's mummy had been found first, stripped of all her belongings, it would have been quite an ordeal to try and identify her... In other words, it would have been quite an ordeal to try and resolve this case."

"Is it like how, in mystery novels, the culprit destroys the victim's face and fingerprints?"

When the victims were mummified, you couldn't tell the difference.

As long as there was no blood relation like with Shinobu and Suicidemaster... As long as there was no bond, unbreakable even over six hundred years.

"But it's a little strange. Why is it that they did such a shoddy cover-up job for only Kiseki-chan?"

"It wasn't shoddy, it was malicious. Her cell phone had, of course, been turned off—for items that were shoved in so roughly, the culprit was very attentive to detail. And the fact that a vampire was able to enter the school makes it extremely dangerous for the girls' basketball team."

"......"

That was true—it was an alarming situation.

Although I wasn't sure if that was something that the specialist that had entered the school in the same way should say.

"However, to do such a cover-up job, they wouldn't just need to enter the school—they'd need to be able to open Kiseki-chan's personal locker, right? It may be possible for another member of the girls' basketball team that shares the locker room with her, but I don't think an outsider vampire would have been able to open the locker, wouldn't you say?"

The suspicion on the remaining members of the girls' basketball team had already been cleared—how had that "attentive" vampire unlocked that locker?

A combination lock. A password.

How could you open and close that without breaking it?

Gaen-san's response was clear.

"They spoke with the locker's owner. They had to have heard it from her."

They had to have heard it from her.

There was no other way.

"And then, if I were to presume the reason that the cover-up job was only done for Kiseki-chan, I would arrive at a rather unpleasant conclusion, Koyomin. Basically, it would mean that the fact that we were using the mummies' belongings to identify them has been leaked."

"Ah."

"There's a high chance that our information is being exposed to the vampire."

Rather than bad news.

It was the worst possible news.

037

Despite my apprehensions about leaking the girls' personal information, there ended up being a high probability that information regarding our investigation had been leaked, which came as a shock—but the worst news was yet to come.

Earlier, I had likened the culprit's actions to destroying the victim's face or fingerprints in a mystery novel—but could you even take the fingerprints of a mummy? That was what came to mind, so I asked Gaen-san.

The response was a simple "no".

"It's just like how we can't distinguish between their faces. They're just skin and bones, after all. If we could accurately get their fingerprints, then we could've used them for cell phones with fingerprint locks, though."

That's right, in this day and age, fingerprints were also a mass of personal information in that sense, as well—however, coincidentally or otherwise, my question happened to connect to the second piece of bad news that Gaen-san wanted to convey to me by temporarily severing the pairing between Shinobu and me.

"Speaking of a mass of personal information, there's DNA analysis."

That was what Gaen-san said.

"However, we certainly wouldn't be able to do that—if we tried to analyze genes that had undergone vampirification in a hospital, that in itself would be considered a strange disease. It would turn into a panic."

"Yes, of course. That's why I've avoided going to hospitals and getting physical examinations."

"On the other hand, it doesn't mean that the analysis of vampire genes in itself is impossible. We've managed to analyze the DNA of the four mummies discovered so far, rough as it was."

"Hm? Um... What does that mean, exactly?"

"Originally, it was done for the sake of identifying whether all four of them were done in by the same culprit. Considering all the possibilities, it's not necessarily the case that the same vampire attacked all four high school girls, right? You could even come up with the theory that there were four, or perhaps even five, vampires that had visited this town."

What an insane theory.

Especially in this town, which had become overrun with monsters during the absence of a god.

"So, um, what were the results? Don't tell me..."

"Ah, to start with the conclusion, all four mummies had their blood sucked by the same vampire—they're all, so to speak, thralls of the same vampire."

It must be like a DNA test done to determine parentage.

Perhaps, as a result of corporate efforts, the world of oddities has also advanced.

Like Hitagi, who kept going to the hospital because of her symptoms from the omoshi-gani, perhaps one day oddity phenomena will end up being simply a rare disease capable of being treated.

"Then, there's no reason to change our plan of action, right?"

"Rather than not changing, at this rate we're going back to the starting point."

Gaen-san said as she folded her arms.

"The problem is that those vampire genes were a pretty close match to Suicidemaster's genes, which I collected last night."

A DNA test to determine parentage.

Gathering evidence based on corporate efforts.

"......"

That—was bad. No, it wasn't that bad, but the reason Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicidemaster had been listed as the prime suspect was primarily because of circumstantial evidence and process of elimination—the cryptic message that had been left at the scene of the crime, and the fact that she had come to this town with such perfect timing.

However, DNA analysis was a completely different beast in terms of evidence. In the modern judicial system, it was like the king of evidence, brought out as a trump card.

"That's a dangerous way of thinking about it. There are plenty of examples of DNA analysis having failed, and it's a field with plenty of room for development. Not to mention, human error is something that's unavoidable—treating it as the king of evidence could mean it ends up a hotbed for false accusations."

That was true. It was too early to decide.

Even Gaen-san had been careful enough to word it "a pretty close match"—and, even if Miss Suicidemaster and the four mummies' genes were a match, logically, the vampire genes of Shinobu or me would also be "a pretty close match".

A parent-child relationship—from Suicidemaster's perspective, I was essentially her "grandchild"... Although, right now, Shinobu and I didn't exactly have any bloodsucking abilities...

"Right, so, it's a fact that the suspicion on Suicidemaster has gotten stronger, so the implication of tonight's interrogation has changed—no matter what that little girl says, we're going to have to secure her. That's why I set up this special barrier, although I'd also like to avoid it turning into a battle if possible. Putting aside me being a pacifist, even if it may be easy to exterminate the starved, weakened Suicidemaster, I don't know how the now-cooperative Shinobu might react to that chain of events—and not knowing how Shinobu might react means not knowing how you might react, Koyomin."

"Um, I probably wouldn't—"

But I didn't exactly know myself well enough to speak at that moment. And last night, I had lost quite a lot of trust, so that would make what I said even less convincing.

"...Even if Suicidemaster, that anorexic vampire, let hunger get the better of her and started laying hands on every high school girl in the area... If we manage to return all the mummified girls back to normal, would she end up not being judged for this incident?"

In the first place, oddities couldn't be judged based on human laws. Even if I couldn't expect her to be certified harmless, couldn't we be flexible enough to let her go in secret...? Although that still left a problem that couldn't be ignored...

"Once a bear has gotten a taste of humans, you have no choice but to kill it—it depends on how much you subscribe to that opinion. In a way, Suicidemaster has been on a diet for six hundred years. Ever since you became a vampire, Koyomin, you've probably never needed to diet, but once you break a fast, you end up on an incredible rebound—you end up eating mountains and drinking oceans."

"But—"

"There's no need to rush, Koyomin. I may have started with the conclusion, but I don't want you to jump to conclusions. There's still evidence to negate the theory that Suicidemaster was responsible for the crime—even if we put aside how much of Shinobu-chan's testimony to believe, there's still the strange idea that an ancient vampire that had lived for a thousand years snuck into the girls' locker room and messed with the lockers. How probable would you say that is?"

It was as she said—and, in the same vein, the attempt to delay the discovery of the fourth mummy, Kanguu-chan, by submerging her in the reservoir was also a weird trick unbecoming of a traditional oddity.

And, under that theory (strange idea?), there was still no explanation for why Suicidemaster herself had turned into a mummy.

There was no logic to her cryptobiosis.

Nothing fit together.

While the suspicion grew stronger, the credibility faded.

In the end, the air of tension had abruptly increased, and there was still no change in the fact that we had to hear from the vampire herself—and it was as I thought that...

"My master."

From behind the sliding door that I'd closed earlier, Shinobu's voice spoke.

"Suicidemaster wants to speak with you. Will you talk with her?"

038

"I'm the death-prepared, death-inevitable, death-certain vampire, Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicidemaster. You may approach."

It seemed she'd managed to get up, for she was now sitting down on a stone in the rock garden of the Japanese mansion. She greeted me with quite the ghastly smile, not caring about the white clothing that had fallen open when she'd broken the seals earlier. I'd thought this earlier when they were exchanging their roar of laughter, but it seemed the characteristic smile of Shinobu, or Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade, was apparently something that was inherited from her progenitor who birthed and named her.

Or perhaps, since they were both golden-haired and golden-eyed, their impressions were similar... However, though they were both little girls, though they had the same expressions, it probably wasn't just my imagination that led me to feel that she didn't resemble Shinobu all that much.

Rather than not resembling Shinobu.

I suppose you could say she resembled Shinobu from the past.

That was how easygoing and worldly this vampire had become over the past year—and Suicidemaster must have felt it as well.

"N-nice to meet you. I am Araragi Koyomi. Erm..."

How was I supposed to introduce myself?

Even though I didn't have to pretend to be a slave, it didn't mean I should be honest and explain the situation as-is—it surely wasn't just putting on airs when Shinobu had feared that I might be blown to death if she learned of the situation in which Shinobu had been sealed in my shadow and turned into a slave.

How much of it had Shinobu explained in that foreign language of hers...? In the first place, did she understand it if I introduced myself in Japanese? Judging from her own introduction, she seemed pretty proficient at it...

"I didn't live such a long life for nothing. I've learned most languages by now."

Ooh.

That was something I wanted to tell Meniko about.

"Conversing with your food is one of the fundamentals of a good meal."

...I definitely couldn't tell her about that.

And please don't say something that made you even more suspicious—even though there was some distance, Gaen-san, the administrator of the specialists, was still over there, sitting on the porch of the mansion with Hachikuji.

The value system of food, huh?

Well, even though humans can live just fine on a vegetarian diet, they still go through the trouble of raising and eating meat not "to live" but "because it tastes good", so I couldn't exactly say anything haughtily.

Taking the wrong logic would probably lead us to the conclusion that plants, living on photosynthesis with sunlight and water, lead the most ethically noble lifestyle.

But, you know, something about her character seemed chic compared to her juvenile appearance. It was pretty dashing the way she wore her white clothing like a gown or a robe, and, well, at the age of six, she wasn't that different from a boy of the same age.

The genuine vampire, the ancient vampire.

What a dandy.

With that in mind, her open white clothing seemed more like a cape than a gown or robe—the little girl held a charisma that made me want to kneel, in a way different from how I felt with "Princess Acerola".

"No need to humble yourself. I won't bite you."

What a fancy figure of speech.

On top of that, the way she said "you [kisama]" was a nice touch. I wasn't offended at all—this little girl was like a cluster of dandyism. I'd thought of myself as an expert on little girls, but it seemed there was a type like this, too.

"I called you here to give you my thanks—well, not just that, but first, my thanks."

"Th-thanks...?"

"For several things. First off, for reviving me after I'd died—and, even before that, for reviving my former thrall, Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade."

I give you my thanks.

Said the little girl, bowing her head—even the way she lowered her head was cool. If she was like this in the form of a little girl, how much charisma could she have had in her heyday?

Or rather, if she so straightforwardly thanked me like this, then it felt like I was beaten to the punch—she'd splendidly gotten the drop on me.

Even though I'd approached this face-to-face meeting with suspicions in mind—and when I looked to Shinobu for help...

"Well, I've more or less told her everything."

That was her curt response.

No, rather than curt, Shinobu herself seemed to be a bit bewildered.

"However, it was a bit meaningless. I myself haven't exactly grasped the full extent of the situation. At this point, I figured it would be better to have you participate, my master, rather than just talking between us two."

At any rate, she's denied the suspicion of being the culprit behind the serial vampirism incidents, said Shinobu, as if tacking that on at the end—but was that something you should just tack on?

That's like the crux of the crux of things.

Despite my disorientation, Suicidemaster continued.

"Though she was a thrall, Princess Acerola—Kissshot—soon became manager of her own branch. She became independent from me. It's kind of uncool to come crashing in like this as if I were her guardian, but I couldn't stay in hiding when I heard a rumor that she had been exterminated in this country. I just wanted to make sure that she was okay—although she doesn't exactly look okay, but I'm glad she's still alive. In any case, I'm glad I could see her again."

"Uh-huh—"

After six hundred years of no communication, it seemed like a fitting reason for her to come see her at this timing—but with her answering my question before I could ask it, she'd beaten me to the punch again.

Two moves in a row.

That wasn't exactly fair, was it?

In any case, Suicidemaster said that she was worried about Shinobu's safety and came all the way to this country, beating her old bones, to see how she was doing.

It wasn't that she came to dine on Shinobu as gourmet food at all—

"Hmph. I'd thought you'd died, too."

Shinobu spoke bitterly, but she didn't seem all that mad about it.

If it was true that she became manager of her own branch (a phrase that surely sounded strange because she was forcing herself to use Japanese, although it probably wasn't a mistranslation), then it seemed likely that what existed between them wasn't a master-servant relationship, but a friendship.

Friends that could talk to each other and laugh together on equal terms.

Thanks to my relationship with Meniko, I can more or less understand how important that is—there's no room for doubt that I have friendships with Hanekawa, Hachikuji, and Kanbaru, but I couldn't help but feel that our friendships were tied down by love and hate, or by advantages and disadvantages, or out of the obligations of this transient world.

The best example of this would be my childhood friend, Oikura, but even if our friendship were to end, there would still be the sense that we were inextricably linked.

But the strange thing about human relations is that it's not really desirable to break off relations, like what happened with Sengoku.

"Well, that wasn't the only reason. Even though I'd learned Japanese, I had never actually been to Japan, see. So I wanted to get a look at Mount Fuji."

"What a blatant lie!"

Shinobu sounded as if she was amazed, but look—you told the same lie last year.

A parent-child relationship—a parent-child determination.

"......"

"So, I had a favor to ask of you, former thrall of the former Heartunderblade. I've already confirmed Kissshot's safety, and I'd like to go back to my hideout right about now, but I heard there's something fishy going on. So I was wondering, you think you can help me get out of this country?"

I wondered if she was thinking of the current situation as if she messed up the departure procedures for her destination. Well, that would be a pretty serious situation, too.

"'Specially since there seems to be this scary lady glaring at me," said Suicidemaster, glancing in Gaen-san's direction—but she wasn't a scary lady, but an onee-san that knew everything.

It made for quite the visualization of this interrogation.

"Oh yeah, speaking of scary ladies in this country—nah, that's not important right now. So, how about it? Former thrall of the former Heartunderblade?"

I wasn't sure about how she called me that.

I never thought that she would come ask me for help in fleeing the country... But if Gaen-san wasn't making any move to interrupt, did that mean we should continue with this clumsy conversation?

"I gotta say, I'm pretty happy. Since that 'Princess Beauty' ended up finding her ideal prince and getting her happy ending. But now that I'm here, I figured I'd take this chance to see what that prince can do—how about it? Won't you help me out for a bit?"

Won't you help me out?

Araragi-kun was weak to those words.

The tragedy of my high school years could be said to have all started with those words, and in the end, even Ougi-chan took advantage of them.

However, since then, I'd grown just a little bit (specifically, about a year)—I knew that there were things I could do and things I couldn't.

Even if my girlfriend called me a prince, I knew for sure that I wasn't one.

"Don't say something so embarrassing!"

Shinobu was acting bashful with an unusual level of excitement. What's with that casual language?

Where'd your usual character go off to?

"...A friend of Shinobu's is a friend of mine, so I'm willing to help—but before that, there's something I'd like to make clear. There's something that I absolutely need to make clear—"

She'd called it fishy, but she surely wasn't so uninvolved as to describe it like that—how should I ask this?

If she'd already denied the charges to Shinobu, then it would be pointless to ask her the same thing—should I change my approach, then?

She may have already talked to Shinobu about this, too...

"Suicidemaster. How did you end up turning into a mummy and getting buried in the dirt? An existence as great as yourself."

I didn't really know Suicidemaster well enough to describe her as a great existence (I'd only just heard of her yesterday), but as the progenitor who birthed and named the King of Oddities, it was enough to make me revere her.

Fundamentally...

"Ka ka. I can't say I know how I ended up in the dirt. I figure someone went and buried me on their own."

"Someone..."

"Turning into a mummy? That's a bit easier to explain. I haven't told Kissshot about that yet, either."

Was that so? I looked to Shinobu to confirm, and she responded, "Ah, yes, that's right." Maybe you'd gotten a bit too excited, but if you take such a lazy approach to this interrogation, which was the original goal, then that would be bothersome.

But, well, I guess it was to be expected.

As vampires, where death was a regular occurrence and life was of little importance, the question of "why were you dead" could possibly be too fundamental to be discussed.

Like her catchphrase, "Somehow or other, it seems I've died again"—or perhaps like the nickname, death-prepared, death-inevitable, death-certain vampire—for Suicidemaster, dying was not at all anything major.

That was how I understood it, but.

"Despite having lived for a thousand years, that may have been the first time I died like that, as far as I can remember."

I couldn't help but react to that comment—that was pretty major.

"Wh-what do you mean? What—what was the cause of death?"

Asking the victim directly about their cause of death was what you'd only see in spirit medium-like mysteries, but as I acted that out in real life, Suicidemaster responded pompously.

"Food poisoning."

"F—food poisoning?"

"Yeah. I ate something weird. Let's see, in Japanese..."

Said Suicidemaster.

"I guess you would call that type of food, a high school girl?"

039

"I guess it was like a week ago?

"The unit of time differs from region to region, and, as an ancient vampire, it's the same to me whether it's a week ago or a thousand years ago.

"So I dunno if it was a week ago or a thousand years ago—but anyway, a week ago.

"That was when I arrived at this town. The rumored Far East island country, Japan—huh, is 'Far East island country' not a compliment?

"Either way, I think it's a big deal when things are taken too far.

"I came to check on the safety of the legend I gave rise to, Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade, so it was pretty hilarious that I couldn't ensure my own safety as soon as I arrived.

"Since I failed to land and shattered.

"Somehow or other, it seemed I'd died again.

"But for me, there was something that shocked me more than the fact that I died—according to the god that came out to welcome me, there'd been some kind of barrier that'd been put up.

"A barrier to protect the town.

"They say, 'Devils out! Fortune in!' as part of the traditions of this country, right? Ka ka, 'Devils out', huh—that's a pretty tough greeting for a vampire.

"But that barrier wasn't the reason I'd broken into pieces, y'know? My certain death, my thousandth, millionth, billionth, or trillionth death was self-destruction from a failed landing.

"Happens pretty often.

"I dunno if that barrier set up by that god was something that she took over from someone or whatever, but it's not anything with any offensive power—just an interfering barrier that makes you lost.

"In a sense, it's a pretty nasty barrier compared to the aggressive type of barrier which is easier to understand, but the problem is that that nastiness didn't work on me at all.

"The security.

"The metal detector at the entry gate, if you will.

"Didn't respond at all to this Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicidemaster—in other words, it didn't even take me as a threat.

"Yeah.

"It wasn't like I came into this country by breaking through a strong barrier with my tremendous power—it was because I didn't have that tremendous power that I managed to slip into this country.

"Never thought I would end up being this weak.

"Growing old sucks, huh?

"I didn't even notice it right away. Kind of a bother that I couldn't really feel the symptoms—like some old man who doesn't realize he's old. Especially when that causes problems for others.

"As I was undergoing an immigration check by that god over there, I belatedly realized what I looked like.

"I've heard rumors that Japanese people have baby faces even as they age, but the gods of this country were really this young, was what I thought, excited beyond my years to experience the exotic cultural differences. But there was something wrong.

"Compared to the young god.

"I was even younger—the tough and cool me was shorter, with a thinner torso, smaller hands, thinner arms, shorter eggs, and a lighter body.

"If there was anything that was long, it would be my hair.

"So that's what it was.

"You don't notice changes in yourself until you talk to someone else, until you use them as a mirror—and I've been living in hiding for a long time.

"Not that vampires show up in mirrors. So that wasn't good, either.

"While I was dying uncontrollably and running from vicious vampire hunters, it seemed that I was driven to the point where I couldn't maintain my perfect body, even in appearance.

"Somehow or other, it seemed I'd regressed into a younger form.

"Before worrying about Kissshot, I needed to worry about myself, first—wasn't it like I was the one on the verge of death, here?

"According to the god's meaningful navigation instructions, the legendary vampire whom I named Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade was indeed in this town, but if I were to see her in this state, I would only end up worrying her instead of renewing our old friendship."

"I had a trauma.

"A trauma of letting my once beloved thrall die after making them worry—not to mention I was also in a young form at the time.

"Ka ka.

"It's ironic that an old vampire, who has stubbornly refused to kill herself, should take on a younger form after living for so long—no matter how many thousand years I live to see history repeat itself, I don't think I want to repeat my mistakes.

"That's just me being cool, though.

"To describe it using the words of this language, it would be 'putting on airs'.

"I held pride in having lived for a thousand years—I held pride in being a progenitor that birthed and named my thrall. Saying I didn't want to worry her was just a figure of speech.

"Basically.

"I wanted to put on airs.

"I didn't want to disappoint my bud that I'd reunited with after six hundred years—I didn't want her to think, 'she's changed', but I didn't want her to think, 'she's the same as ever'.

"I just wanted her to think this.

"'That's my friend for you.'

"That was what I wanted.

"Now that we've met like this and the punch line was that we'd both taken on young forms, it's obvious how unnecessary trial and error such a thing was, but I was very serious at the time.

"Tough, cool, and serious.

"Of course, I'm making it sound like it was a crazy long time ago, but it was just a week ago—a week ago indistinguishable from a thousand years ago.

"At the very least I thought I'd come in full dress for the occasion, at least on the surface level—even if I couldn't show up in a complete form, I thought I would at least try to dress up.

"That's why.

"I made a move on the local food here.

"I bared my fangs—at a high school girl."

040

Wasn't this different from what she said earlier? Hadn't Suicidemaster denied that she was the culprit in the serial vampirism incident?

Plus, didn't she suffer from anorexia, unable to take in any other "food" after being entranced by the taste of the food known as "Princess Beauty" six hundred years ago?

Wasn't it that she turned from a mature woman into a little girl because of malnutrition, not because she got older? —Those were the question marks running through my mind.

However, I couldn't say anything.

I couldn't interject into Suicidemaster's narration—and Shinobu stayed silent as well.

What was she thinking. What was she deciding?

To stick with humans, or to stick with oddities.

Was she thinking about that?

Or perhaps, was she still believing in her friend's innocence, even after such a grand confession?

So innocently?

Though it was natural that Hachikuji, a neutral and mediating god, did not interfere here, it was a bit surprising that Gaen-san remained seated on the porch, not moving—with this confession, you would think that it would confirm Suicidemaster's guilt and allow for concrete measures to be taken immediately.

In the end, although we considered various things like if she knew about prime numbers or if she would be able to cover up a crime, but the bottom line was that it was Occam's razor and that ancient vampire was the culprit—was that just the uninteresting truth?

No matter how many question marks danced through my mind, were there any major points of doubt left before the current confession that deserved special mention? Was it right to take the results of the DNA test and the "B777Q" message as they were?

She bared her fangs at a high school girl.

For the sake of putting on airs.

Suicidemaster's nonchalant attitude as she told me that was something that was familiar to me—needless to the say, it was the same attitude that Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade had during that hellish spring break that I spent.

The fact that they were both trying to make themselves look good for the other party made it sound like a fairy tale with a moral lesson, and I could see how that might be an example of like attracts like, but when it came to the similarity in their lack of guilt, it wasn't as funny.

During that spring break, that King of Oddities had no qualms about feeding on humans—she even thought that humans were born to be eaten by vampires.

The top of the food chain.

The apex, far above us.

Insensitive to the point that she didn't even consider unabashedly speaking like that insensitive—but as far as Suicidemaster was concerned, it would be not only insensitive but also suicidal to make a speech in front of us here, in the name of confession.

A suicidal act.

A vampire with suicidal tendencies.

That was also familiar to me.

It was memory fresh in my mind—it would never fade.

Even if a year or a thousand years passed, it would never fade.

Without guilt, without shame, but rather with pride—Suicidemaster continued.

041

"I went down the mountain where that god lived, and I set my sights on a high school girl walking alone at night—to be honest, anyone would do.

"They were emergency rations.

"Yeah, yeah, of course I know. That way of thinking was opportunistic—really, growing old sucks. I understand why you're silent here, Kissshot—were you disappointed at my way of thinking?

"If you ask me if I really wanted to bend my policy as a gourmet just to make myself look good, I can only say that I really did at the time.

"That's why I incurred a punishment.

"If I was going to throw away my policy anyway, I should have thrown it away completely, but I stubbornly clung to my pride as a gourmet.

"Because I still thought in my head that they were just rations for the sake of emergency, I failed to carefully inspect my food.

"I figured I'd eat noncommittally, halfheartedly, without being choosy—if I chose, it would make it seem like that food was 'special' to me, y'know?

"I didn't want that.

"But even though I didn't want that, I also didn't want to eat something reluctantly—the ideal scenario would be the food jumping in when I opened my mouth, so that I had an excuse to eat food not in accordance with my will, not measuring up to my level, and not consistent with my beliefs.

"Yes, former thrall of the former Heartunderblade. Just as you treated me to the soup from the Blood Pond Hell—I heard that's how you 'reverted' me, isn't that right? You have a complex expression on your face.

"Well, once you've tasted nectar like from six hundred years ago, you can't hope for anything better—no matter what you eat, it's bound to be tasteless.

"Once you know the best of the best, there's nothing you can do but settle for less—I knew that, but I couldn't help but still obsess over it.

"So, even it was for the sake of dressing up, if I went about choosing my food, I would inevitably compare it to 'Princess Beauty'.

"I guess it was also putting on airs to try and minimize the angle at which I bent my policy? I wonder if it's like getting old and trying to straighten out your bent back?

"Well, whatever it was, in hindsight, I didn't exactly have much respect for my food.

"In this country, you have table manners where you say 'Thanks for the meal' and 'It was delicious', right? I just don't really get those, y'see.

"There isn't a phrase that makes me less thankful than 'Thanks for the meal'... And saying 'It was delicious' is practically the opposite of delicious.

"That was what I thought.

"Just didn't understand feeling gratitude towards my food—or the idea that it's great to eat with gratitude, that it's impolite to leave leftovers, or that we shouldn't kill living things for reasons other than eating them.

"Originally, at its best, eating is supposed to be an act of toying with life—it's entertainment.

"So that's why, for me.

"Eating wasn't living.

"Eating was loving.

"At that time, I should have said 'Thanks for the meal'. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. That was what I should have done.

"Nevertheless, in an unprincipled way.

"I sank my teeth into a high school girl as if I was sampling food, like a dieter saying, 'This doesn't really count as eating, okay?'—and so I incurred a punishment.

"The result was food poisoning.

"Thanks to the poison of that high school girl.

"Somehow or other, it seemed I'd died again."

042

...Huh? What the heck?

Her story had ended so quickly that my comprehension couldn't keep up—to that heavily thematic and therefore weary downer of a story, what had the punch line been again?

Food poisoning?

Was she saying that the blood of Japanese high school girls wasn't suited to her constitution? Just like how travel guidebooks always have it written down somewhere whether or not you can drink water at your destination—whether it's soft water or hard water, unboiled water or drinking water...

Of course, there was also the simple fact that if you suddenly eat something right after starving yourself, you can get sick from it. There have been cases where people have suddenly eaten meat right after dieting, causing an upset stomach—or, in the worst-case scenario, stomach rupture—

Or perhaps.

The high school girls' poison. Mud. Murky.

Even Gaen-san, hardened by years of experience, had been brought down a notch by the murky depths of the girls' basketball team of Naoetsu High, but could that murkiness have come through in their blood, yet another mass of personal information? That's exactly what the Japanese would call, "affected by toxicity"—that murkiness.

Was it in their blood, too?

All of this was just conjecture, and it was probably a complication caused by a multitude of reasons—the explanation that should not be forgotten is that, no matter what country, what shape, what type of non-toxic food, blood or flesh, Suicidemaster's body simply could not accept any other human besides "Princess Beauty".

Rejection. Anorexia.

That in itself was fine.

That in itself, along with ethics, could be put aside for now—in that case, it would end up that Suicidemaster desiccated immediately after biting into a high school girl.

Falling into cryptobiosis.

It would end up that she turned into a mummy.

Though there was some embellishment in her talking about herself, it didn't seem like she was lying... But wasn't there something weird about that?

There were four, perhaps even five victims.

But if she turned into a mummy the very first time, then the serial nature gets cut off—the serial nature?

Serial nature?

Shinobu had said that Suicidemaster had denied being the culprit of the 'serial vampirism incidents', if I remembered correctly—but that would mean?

"...Oops. Even this onee-san that knows everything has lost her edge."

Gaen-san's voice came like a downer from where she sat.

"In this state, I won't be able to look good to my juniors. I swear I'll never call myself 'Gaen THE Know-It-All Izuko' again."

Er, it's not like you've ever called yourself by that bizarre name before.

What's with that 'THE'?

"If I was going to use as a basis the idea of turning into a mummy after failing to become a vampire, I should have kept in mind the possibility of turning into a mummy after performing the act of vampirism—I'd known about it, but examples of such are pretty valuable."

Basis [kichou] and valuable [kichou].

To that usage of homophones, our visitor from abroad raised her golden eyebrows curiously, but I felt similarly—what did she mean?

It didn't really help if you figured it out first.

Even if the cause of her mummification was food poisoning, didn't that just add to the number of mysteries?... What was going on?

At least, I understood the circumstances that led to her mummification.

There are two reasons why you want to eat something. Because you like it, and because you hate it—and there are two reasons why you don't want to eat something—because you like it, and because you hate it.

Both were wise sayings from Hachikuji Mayoi, but for that reason, that's why Suicidemaster went for whatever she could lay her hands on, without being particular or fussy about what she chose.

She went for whatever she could lay her hands on, in a manner quite unbefitting of a gourmet—not to mention, not counting her consumption as a "meal", like the wisdom of a dieter.

Well, you could say the moral to this story was that such cunning wisdom comes at a price, just like in dieting—however, the mystery of who buried Suicidemaster in the mountain after she fell victim to food poisoning and became mummified via cryptobiosis was never fully resolved.

Though I'm sure Suicidemaster herself felt like she wanted to climb into a hole, who was it that literally put that vampire that failed to suck blood underground?

Who was it that buried her alive?

"The high school girls that became mummified after failing to become vampires—the vampire that became mummified after failing in her vampirism—if I were to add one more pattern to this."

It would be a high school girl that succeeded in becoming a vampire.

That was what the administrator of the specialists said as she stood up.

"I finally understood the reason the series of crimes didn't seem to fit together—it wasn't just one vampire master. Along the way, the vampire was replaced by another."

"R—replaced?"

In mysteries—and this wasn't just limited to Ellery Queen—there were tricks that were considered fair... But I thought having multiple crimes was considered unfair?

And it wasn't like vampires were coming to this town in droves, not to mention there was the results of the DNA test that I'd just heard about—ah.

Late as it was, I finally arrived at understanding.

Upon realizing what the conclusion was, I realized it could only be that—a replacement, a substitution.

Until just the day before yesterday, I hadn't really thought about what would have happened if I had failed to become a vampire, and for some reason at some point, I had assumed that all vampirism had failed in this specific, unusual case—but of course, there was a case where that wasn't for certain.

The case where they succeeded.

The case where, even if the vampire master became a mummy as a result—the thrall was still alive and well.

In other words, if you consider that the high school girl, who was arbitrarily bitten by Suicidemaster the moment that they met, continued on to bite the other high school girls afterwards, then that resolves the strangeness of the crimes not fitting together.

It's no wonder that the DNA test resulted in a "pretty close match"—if it's a parent-child relationship or a descendant relationship, then of course the vampire genes would match.

Whether it was heaven or paradise, as a person who tasted Princess Acerola's saliva in that place, I had to say that it was extremely unnatural how lacking in etiquette it seemed for a gourmet vampire who had experienced the same taste to go on to target only the youth of Japan. But if it was a high school girl targeting other high school girls, it made perfect sense—no.

It wasn't just a high school girl targeting other high school girls.

If it was a member of the girls' basketball team targeting other members of the girls' basketball team—it made even more sense.

I could think of any number of motives—their murkiness.

Spartan training. Peer pressure. Frustration. Envy. Rivalry. Punishment. Disharmony. Collective responsibility. Discord. Suspicion. Paranoia. Injuries. Stress. Unease. Academic decline—

"Eh? But, wait just a moment, Araragi-san. Hasn't the suspicion on the girlsbas been cleared up already? Have you already forgotten my distinguished contribution as intermediary for your phone call?"

"Hachiku-jin, it would be troublesome if you went that far to take responsibility for acting as intermediary for my phone call."

True. That was true.

Using the list as a reference, Gaen-san had already confirmed the safety and innocence of every member of the girls' basketball team—on top of safeguarding each of the hundred members, they were also supervising them.

However.

There must really be something wrong with me, to not have realized until now that there was one member of the girls' basketball team that was not being supervised—Kiseki Souwa.

I'd more or less assumed that the "missing person", as Kanbaru had described it, had also fallen victim to the vampire, but even if that had been the truth.

That didn't necessarily mean that she'd been mummified.

Perhaps, she had succeeded in becoming a vampire—and perhaps, in the darkness of the night, she may be seeking revenge on her former human friends.

043

The ups and downs of realizing that the girl I'd been worried about was actually the vicious assailant of her teammates made for a bumpy ride for my weak mind, but if I were to give up everything now, I wouldn't be able to say I'd grown since my spring break at seventeen or Golden Week at eighteen.

For now, let's pretend that I'm a tough guy that can handle a full revolution on a roller coaster, and sort this out.

Kiseki Souwa.

If I remembered correctly, she was a second-year—of course, even though her name was on the list, she had already gone missing, so unlike the other members of the club, there was no confirmation of her safety. If anything, they were still out there looking for her mummy.

But they wouldn't be able to find it.

If that mummy didn't exist.

How do you account for the uniform, gym clothes, cell phone, and school bag stuffed into the personal locker in the girls' locker room of the Naoetsu High gymnasium?

If she was the one who stuffed everything into the locker herself, then breaking into the school and into the girls' locker room would be a piece of cake—she would use her own route and unlock her own door with her own hands.

If the information on our side of the investigation had been leaked, and if she knew that Gaen-san's team was out looking for Kiseki-chan's mummy, then she could have tried to disrupt the investigation by shoving those personal items into her own locker—even though there was no way to find the mummy itself because it wasn't there, by shoving the uniform and gym clothes in at the same time, the search target pretended as if the damage had already been done.

By fabricating the assumption that she had already become a mummy, she would be able to move as she pleased—and in that case, that would apply to the two living messages, or signatures, that I had asked Meniko to decipher.

"D/V/S". "F/C".

Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicidemaster, and Fan Club—those interpretations of the code were probably right on the mark, but in the end, they were just fakes set up by Kiseki-chan.

When Kiseki-chan had her blood sucked by Suicidemaster, not like a moth to a flame but a high school girl to a vampire's mouth, Suicidemaster would naturally have given her name—as she did to me, she would have given her name as "Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicidemaster".

In other words, Kiseki-chan remembered the name of the vampire that attacked her—and, assuming she was the one to bury and hide Suicidemaster's mummy in the mountains.

Her scheme was to blame her own vampiric activities on Suicidemaster.

Like a human.

As Shinobu was now, it seemed that being vampirified by Suicidemaster would lead you to "inherit" golden hair and golden eyes, so I could imagine that her appearance and atmosphere would have changed greatly from her human days.

When I was vampirified by Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade, I didn't gain golden hair and golden eyes, but my body had still become rather muscular even without any training.

We'd wondered whether or not the high school girl had left the school naked with both her uniform and gym clothes being stuffed into the locker, but if Kiseki-chan did in fact bury Suicidemaster's mummy in the mountain, then that could be explained without a hitch.

The naked little girl's mummy.

Hachikuji had said that the little girl's mummy hadn't been naked from the beginning.

When she was Suicidemaster, before becoming a mummy, she naturally had to have been wearing clothes—so where did those clothes go?

If they weren't buried with her, then someone might be wearing them right now, after an adjustment to the size—someone who had buried Suicidemaster.

Taking the name of the death-prepared, death-inevitable, death-certain vampire, pretending to be her, dressing up as her, and attacking her teammates—it was possible that Kuchimoto Kyoumi, who left that dying message on her flash cards, may have fallen for the fake and left the message "B777Q", not realizing that the vampire who attacked her had been her teammate.

Or perhaps the message itself was a fake left by Kiseki-chan for the criminal investigation squad—at the very least, "F/C" was certainly that.

I couldn't imagine how it happened, but when Kiseki-chan found out that suspicion was directed at the members of the girls' basketball team, she tried to make the investigators look in a different direction.

In other words, Kanbaru Suruga's fan club.

If she was a member of the girls' basketball team, which was strongly influenced by Kanbaru, then there was no way she didn't know about this organization—although it didn't seem like she knew that the group had been disbanded without a trace.

At any rate, she tried to hide herself, hide her crime, try to pin the blame on others, make up evidence, et cetera—

All of these things were things that vampires were not likely to do, and such unnaturalness, more novel than innovative, made sense if you considered that she had just become a vampire.

Destruction of evidence, creation of an alibi, fabrication, disturbance—it was a rather human-like crime, by a vampire filled with humanity.

With this, disregarding the mummification of Suicidemaster herself, the mummification of the high school girls may not even be a failure.

In fact, I couldn't help but think that it was Kiseki-chan's revenge to put them in a half-dead state, neither alive nor dead—she could have taken the texture of Suicidemaster's mummy as reference when she was burying it.

And if I wanted to, I could take it as a good sign that she didn't want to fully kill off her friends from when she was human...

"After unraveling all the confusing parts, the problem was just a matter of order. Just like how the second and third mummies were discovered were actually attacked by the vampire third and second, Kiseki Souwa, whom we'd assumed had become the fifth mummy, was actually the first victim—no, the zeroth victim."

In other words, like this.

The order in which the mummies were discovered was:

The first mummy——Harimaze Kie

The second mummy——Honnou Aburi

The third mummy——Kuchimoto Kyoumi

(The little girl's mummy——DVS)

The fourth mummy——Kanguu Misago

The fifth mummy (assumed)——Kiseki Souwa

However, the actual order of the victims was:

The zeroth victim——Kiseki Souwa (Culprit: DVS)

(The 0.5th victim——DVS (Food poisoning))

The first victim——Harimaze Kie (Culprit: Kiseki)

The second victim——Kuchimoto Kyoumi (Culprit: Kiseki)

The third victim——Honnou Aburi (Culprit: Kiseki)

The fourth victim——Kanguu Misago (Culprit: Kiseki)

That's how it was.

Since all of the mummies were vampire mummies, there wasn't anything like an estimated time of death, so it would be hard to ascertain the time of the mummification for Kanguu-chan, who'd been submerged in the reservoir... But this was the truth behind the serial vampirism incidents that had taken place from the night before last, to last night.

"Oho, is that so. You think of some pretty clever things, both you guys and that high school girl."

Suicidemaster spoke as if she was truly impressed—although it sounded, or at least seemed to sound, like she was making fun of me.

Well, to an ancient vampire who'd seen the fall of a country firsthand, was born in a castle called the "Castle of Corpses", and bore witness to numerous wars, a discussion about five members of a high school club may seem like manual labor on a tiny, millimeter scale to her...

Moreover, while Suicidemaster was not the culprit behind the serial vampirism, she did confess to having started it all—she was the one responsible for the first bloodsucking.

Once again, a progenitor of vampires.

Like a plea bargain, she'd asked for help with the process of exiting the country, but unfortunately, this was not enough for her to get off scot-free.

It wasn't enough—but what sort of verdict would be laid down in a case like this? I didn't have the slightest idea.

Kiseki-chan had been the victim in the beginning, but if she became the main culprit afterwards—a composition in which the victim becomes the perpetrator.

"It kind of resembles Sengoku-san's case, doesn't it?" said Hachikuji.

An unnecessary comment.

"The kanji for Sengoku [千石] and Kiseki [木石] are pretty similar, too."

That one was really unnecessary.

However, Sengoku's case was different.

It wasn't nearly as close as their kanji were.

A high school girl who unexpectedly acquires vampire superpowers makes full use of her power to relieve the anger of her "past life"—if anything, it was a more serious problem than the physiological phenomenon of vampire sucking blood, which was more similar to hunger.

If I had to say it, she was exerting the fury of a vampire while maintaining her human values... If she was careless, she could meet the conditions for the "Darkness".

"It ended up not being really clear whose fault it is, right?"

Hachikuji murmured as if troubled, but it was pretty vague to begin with—it wasn't something I could do anything about by taking on all the stigma myself, like I used to do in high school.

She was too much of a stranger for me to do that.

I wasn't a politician. I couldn't work that hard for someone I didn't know.

It's not easy to help a girl you've never met, never even brushed past—a girl you have no connection with.

"We can think about the rest later, but if there's anything you need to do now..."

And, as if the composition's polarity had been reversed, the one who brought up a plan of action to this deadlocked state was none other than Shinobu.

"Don't you need to stop that vampirified high school girl, a distant little sister in my eyes? Even if the composition has been turned over on its head, what you need to do hasn't changed much, I should say."

That was true—however, the way you searched for a dried-out mummy was quite different from the way you searched for a glorious vampire with golden hair and golden eyes.

"If the King of Oddities takes charge, I'll be put out of business. So, let's say that the personnel currently assigned to search for the mummy will be assigned to search for Kiseki-chan—who do you think she'll go after next, Koyomin?"

"Eh... Um, that's, well, one of the girls' basketball team members she had strife with... right? So, if we're trying to anticipate it—"

That wasn't it.

We'd already more or less anticipated everything—all of the members that were on the list were currently under protection.

There was no way that Kiseki-chan, who somehow got information about our investigation, didn't know about that—she wouldn't make the mistake of jumping into the web herself.

"What if she just gave up on the whole revenge thing and just went home to sleep? That's what I would do."

Suicidemaster made quite the crude statement with such a serious face—at this point, I had to wonder how I even suspected that this pompous little girl was actually a highly calculating criminal.

She was not highly calculating, just loud.

"Well, it's true that Kiseki-chan is trying to avoid us. The diversionary tactics and cover-ups are evidence of that—in that case, she probably wouldn't think of attacking a girls' basketball team member even through the surveillance. To begin with, it's pretty doubtful that there's enough resentment pent up in her that she'd want to make everyone a mummy—I'm sure she had some good friends like normal," said Gaen-san.

The four people that had been discovered as mummies were either the four people that she held the deepest resentment towards, or just the four people that were the easiest targets because they happened to be returning from school alone or had a lot of openings—was it possible she'd relieved all her frustration by attacking those four people?

But I couldn't be optimistic. Rather, as a member of the investigation team, I should assume that the crime would escalate—just as an unreasonable diet leads to rebound, a teenager forced to be stoic in her club suddenly obtained superpowers like in manga, so it should escalate like an escalator—

"! This is hella dangerous, Gaen-san!"

I used a tone of voice I'd never used before—but no matter. I continued.

"Tonight, Kanbaru is having a pajama party at Higasa-chan's house with her friends!"

I was making it sound as if Kanbaru's pajama party was unhealthy, immoral, and outright reprehensible, but that wasn't the point.

It was bad, however, that the retired third-year members of Naoetsu High's girls' basketball team, the OGs of the golden generation, were all in one place, as if they'd all been rounded up.

The golden generation that could even be called.

The mastermind behind the current state of club activities.

The most fitting prey—the main dish.

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yourstrulytrinaextras · 3 years

Text

Third Time’s The Charm: Best Man and Maid of Honor

“And when will it be your turn Zoey?” a few of Avery’s aunts teased the bride’s blonde best friend. Like always, Zoey took it in stride and flashed them a polite smile.

It was exhausting.

“When I meet the right person,” she replied easily, “I’m still waiting for the Leon to my Avery.”

A round of laughter erupted the small circle and Zoey held back from releasing a sigh, hiding her disdain behind her champagne glass as she took a sip. Don’t get her wrong, she was beyond happy for Avery and every moment watching her best friend fall in love with Leon had been nothing short of a great memory.

But she was admittedly jealous. No, not because she wanted Leon, but because she also wanted to fall in love and have that special person by her side. Her love life, in the simplest of terms, had been absolute shit.

Men would always approach her and she hated those leering looks. The one guy she genuinely liked, Christian, turned out to be an asshole. It was a miracle that she managed to salvage her friendship with Lauren, although it became a little awkward between them.

Should’ve listened to Avery when she said that he wasn’t good for me.

Right, her best friend was the one more experienced with love between them. She was one of those girls that constantly had boys chasing her, but she was oblivious to them most of the time.

Mostly because she had tunnel vision for the guy she liked.

She was loyal to Leon, even when they were apart for college. Zoey had lost count how many times she complained that some guy was hitting on her even after she told them that she had a boyfriend. Other times, she was oblivious that someone was already making moves on her. Her popularity surged a number of arguments between Leon and her.

Because even though Leon was handsome and had a lot going for him, he used his cold personality to shake off anyone who might be interested.

But Avery wasn’t like that.

She was warm, kind, and very welcoming. If you add that to her beauty, it would be understandable that it was easy to fall for her.

Perfect Avery.

And Zoey was so proud that her best friend was so admired, even if she felt left out at times.

Although she would have loved it if her aunts didn’t bombard her about the fact that she was single. With another internal sigh, Zoey hatched her escape plan, “I think the alcohol is getting to me. Mind if I step out a bit for some fresh air?”

Nobody opposed and she swiftly made her way out towards the back garden as elegantly as she possibly could. She had been busy during the weeks leading up to the wedding as the maid of honor, she would now use the remaining time of the rehearsal dinner to relax.

Once the outside air reached her skin, she finally felt like she could breathe. They’ve decided on a venue away from the main city and it was nothing short of gorgeous. Leon’s parents didn’t spare any expense for their only son and future daughter-in-law’s wedding.

Avy really did choose the best one.

Leon had many admirable traits, but the thing that she liked the most about him was how he treated her best friend. Sure, there were arguments here and there but that was normal for any couple. At the very end of the day, he was always attentive and loving. He made sure that Avery knew that he was hers.

Just as she repeatedly assured him that she was his.

“Zoey?” she heard someone call her name and she internally cursed. It was either one of the older relatives who would badger her on her relationship status or it was one of the men daring enough to hit on her.

But when she whipped around, she was instantly relieved at the man standing in front of her.

“Patrick,” she let out a smile, glad that it was someone she knew, “Are you also here to escape?”

Patrick Vincent was the groom’s best man. If she was being honest, a bulk of what she knew about him was from the past months they’ve been talking in order to help their best friends plan the wedding. Since he was the best man and she was the maid of honor, they spent ample of time together.

Whether it was accompanying Leon and Avery with choosing their reception menu or diligently sending off the invitations, they were together.

“If I get asked one more time when it’s my turn to get married, I might explode,” he chuckled, nervously eyeing the door as if another relative would jump out and ask him again.

“Seems like we’re in the same position,” Zoey laughed, “So shall we make a run for it?”

“What?”

She pointed beyond the parts of the garden that was visible, “There’s an area where garden chairs and tables are set up, I saw them when I was wandering around during daytime. Nobody will bother us if we’re there.”

A grin immediately found its way onto his face, “Lead the way!”

She walked ahead with him a few steps back, watching as her blonde hair swayed and the skirt of her dress moved with every step.

Beautiful.

He was admittedly attracted to her from the first time he saw her – that moment in the café. Avery, who had just rejected him, was sitting there on a table with a friend that had her back turned to him and Leon. Patrick saw the small pink hue tinting Leon’s cheeks as he looked at their brunette classmate.

Patrick figured it out before that Leon liked her and in fact, he felt guilty that he was openly displaying his affections in front of him. But when he realized it, and also that Avery might have felt the same way, the rejection became easier to accept.

Because at the end of the day, both Avery and Leon were his friends. Even though he was crossed out of the picture, he learned how to be happy for them.

He knew that Leon was too bashful to call her attention, so he took it upon himself to do it, “Avery?”

Just to save his best friend the embarrassment, he chose to ignore the small smile that appeared on Leon’s face when Avery acknowledged them and subtly gestured for them to go to their table.

“Hey fancy seeing you here,” Patrick greeted in an attempt to be casual.

“Pat, this is Zoey,” Avery said, gesturing to her friend, “Zoey, this is Pat.”

And that was the first ever time that Patrick laid his eyes on the woman who would soon turn to be his longest standing crush.

He was, to cut it short, smitten by her at first sight.

She captured him, she had his every single ounce of attention. At that very moment, the bustling café turned quiet and everything ceased to exist. All he could see was her – the way her lips curved up into a smile, the way her delicate fingers released the fork she was holding, the way her blue eyes became more prominent under the café’s lighting.

She was beautiful and that was the moment he knew that he was fucked.

“See?”

His dwelling on the past was cut short when he realized that they finally stopped. Zoey was gesturing grandly to the small chairs and tables, waiting for his reaction.

He plastered a smile and pulled out one of the chairs, bowing his head playfully, “Have a seat, milady.”

Her tinkering laughter entered his ears as she lowered to the seat, causing him to blush. He was glad that it was still rather dark even with the few garden lights so it wasn’t obvious.

Zoey finally released a sigh after masking her exasperation since the day started. Dealing with nosey people left and right was exhausting, she was glad that she could at least be herself even for a few moments.

Because Patrick was someone she grew to be comfortable with.

And a small fact that she desperately hid from Avery – she had a crush on him.

She didn’t know when it started but she found herself staring at him when she thought that no one was looking, she got all giddy if she heard from Avery that he would be accompanying them, she looked forward to the small moments that they were alone.

She started looking forward to seeing him.

He was a very sweet guy and treated everyone around him well. Leon was never short of praises for him and even Avery shared the same sentiment. She always said that she loved Patrick, as a friend of course, and always went on of how good of a person he was.

And he treated Zoey with nothing but respect, he never tried to test his boundaries.

Zoey, no matter how dense she was when it came to dealing with the opposite sex, figured out long ago that he liked her. He was so obvious with the way he constantly blushed and stuttered whenever they were talking. However, she was still stuck on her crush on Christian back then so she chose to pretend that she didn’t know.

Then years passed by and their interactions were limited to when Avery and Leon were there.

But when they started becoming close because of all the wedding prep, it was her turn to become a mess in front of him. It was a good thing she knew how to handle her emotions well so she was always composed around him, but if he only knew what was going on inside her head whenever she was in his presence.

She wanted to be with him.

And she prayed with all her might that he would ask her out. She wasn’t sure anymore what he felt – mostly because Patrick also learned how to control his emotions so now he was composed in front of her.

But the wedding was tomorrow and after that, they would no longer have any reason to be alone together.

As much as she wanted to be with him, she was afraid to make the first move. She was highly inexperienced with relationships and again, she was unsure how he felt towards her.

Was she simply his best friend’s wife’s best friend?

“I can’t believe they’re getting married tomorrow,” Patrick said, tilting his head back to look at the sky, “Seems like yesterday when Leon was throwing a hissy fit because Avery called him a pet name.”

“Wait, that happened?” she gasped. If Avery didn’t tell her that then it meant that it was a minute detail, so insignificant that it probably didn’t matter much.

But she was still excited to learn a new piece of information. She admitted that she was slightly upset that there were things she wasn’t aware of that others were, but it was understandable since they did go to different high schools.

“Yeah, it was the first time Avery called Leon angel,” he laughed lightly at the memory, “He was against it, but he was already weak to Avery’s whims even before they got together so he just allowed her.”

“It would have been so fun to watch them get together,” she hummed wistfully, causing Patrick to look at her. She had this small sad smile on her face, her eyes pointed towards his direction but her gaze went past him, “I’ve known Avery the longest but since we went to different schools, it felt like we both missed out on huge chunks of each other’s lives.”

She was also jealous of how easy it was for Avery to get along with people. She was definitely the more sociable one of the two and making friends was like breathing air for her. Zoey, even though she acted forward at times, was still rather shy compared to her. And even if she gained a friend, she would have a tough time deepening their friendship to the point that they would hang out beyond school days.

Lauren was the exception and she was so happy that she met her, but because of her fleeting relationship with her brother, that turned into dust.

“You know, Leon once told me that he thought he was the second fiddle,” Patrick spoke with a small hint of amusement, trying to get her attention away from her musings, “Because Avery always ran to you first before him. Whether it was good news or bad, you are the first person she would call.”

Funny, Avy said the same thing about Patrick and Leon’s friendship.

“Don’t stress yourself out too much that you never witnessed those moments, because you know more about Avery than anyone else,” he assured with a smile, “Even after your speech earlier, she called you her sister in front of all the guests. She loves you a lot.”

She knew already of everything he told her because she always felt so secure of her friendship with Avery. But to still hear it out loud brought a sense of warmth to her and it enveloped her being, stripping her away from her brief moment of sadness.

Oh no, I really do like him.

As if her first realization of her feelings weren’t enough, now she just had to remind herself all over again. Now it was her turn to blush and she internally cursed – it was his fault for being so kind and charming.

But Patrick, who had his gaze fixated on her face watched as her eyes widened and the skin on her cheeks to the tip of ears turned pink. He was sure that it wasn’t the make-up she was wearing.

It was his turn to be flustered.

No matter how much he liked her, he didn’t dare to get his hopes up. This was Zoey he was talking about, she was practically perfect in every way. No matter how confident he was in flirting with other girls, he was never sure with her.

No, she just might be touched because of what I said about Avery.

So he took a deep breath, willing his nerves to calm down before pushing himself up to his feet, “I think we should go back now. The maid of honor and best man shouldn’t be away too long.”

Right now, she really did hope that she had Avery’s bravery when it came to the guy she liked.

She remembered that Avery was the first one to approach Leon when she asked for his number. Zoey was envious how forward she could be.

“Just one time,” she whispered to herself, “You can do it just one time.”

Her hushed voice still caught his ears, causing him turn back to her, “What did you say?”

Her hands balled up her skirt momentarily, trying to pull out any guts she had in her, before standing up with this look of pure determination. She stared at him in the eyes, her face probably beet red at this point, “Please go out with me.”

And that one sentence somehow exhausted her because she collapsed back onto her seat, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She had eyes trained on the hands on her lap because she felt like if she looked at him, she would faint.

He was silent.

Is this the part where I wave it off as a joke?

But then she heard movements and suddenly, she saw his feet right in front of her. She gathered whatever bravery she had left and lifted her gaze to meet his.

Shock, confusion, and pure unadulterated happiness.

“Don’t say it’s a joke,” he muttered, his knees bending so he could bring their faces closer, “Please, for the love of all things good in the world, don’t say it’s a joke.”

Zoey was mesmerized to see him this close and even if she was still a ball of anxiety, she didn’t move away. Instead, she dared to lift a hand and softly grazed his cheek, “I’m not joking.”

Without a moment too soon, he gently brushed his lips against her, testing the waters. She was taken aback at first, but she ached for more of that tingling sensation.

So she wounded her arms around his neck to pull him down to her and captured his lips. For him, it felt like years of tension melted away with the kiss and a wave of relief hit him. The girl he admired since high school liked him.

And for her, it was hope. She felt it in her that he was the one who would treat her well, that he wouldn’t hurt her. All those years of staying single, of those laps of heartbreak, were just a build up to this very moment.

He placed his hands on her waist and tugged her up to a standing position so it would be less comfortable for him. They briefly pulled away and when they caught each other’s eyes, they exchanged a small laugh before resuming their kiss.

Everything felt so right, like even the universe was waiting for this very moment.

Unknown to them, there was another pair hidden behind the tall hedges nearby, grinning ear to ear at them.

Avery and Leon started to get concerned when neither the best man nor the maid of honor was anywhere to be seen inside the venue. So they went around to look, holding back their gasps when they saw the two in a lip lock.

“Finally,” they whispered at the same time, causing them to rip their gaze away from the newly formed couple in order to look at each other. They laughed quietly at this as they slowly stepped away.

They were truly soulmates.

“Come on, we have to walk the aisle tomorrow,” Avery grinned, taking his hand and leading him back into the building, “My dear husband.”

“Yes, my dear wife,” Leon chuckled as a response, falling into step next to her.

Side by side, as the universe meant it to be.

#tltc

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dumbest-creature-on-earth · 4 years

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The Big Bang-Bakugo Katsuki

2.1k

*for the full experience, play the song The Big Bang by Rock Mafia. You’ll know when to start it :)*

On the floor in the common area of your dorm, Class 1-A sits in a circle. Each of you holding a red solo cup filled with whatever concoction Kaminari came up with. Tonight, you’re celebrating your graduation from UA. In the past few years, all of you have grown and matured as heroes. Now prepared to defend humanity from all sorts of evil. Tomorrow, you will be adults. Tonight, however, you’re a group of tipsy teens playing truth, dare, or drink. “l/n truth or dare?” asks Midoriya. “I chose dare last time,” you say, “so I choose truth.” Deku nods, obviously thinking of a question, “what is something you did to help yourself become a better hero, or to help control your quirk, that you have never told anyone about?” you take a second to ponder your answer. You have a quirk called ‘Snake Charmer’, you can hypnotize any living thing when you whistle certain tunes. Each tune causes a different reaction. Although you had a cool quirk, you had terrible body awareness and at one point had been terribly clumsy. If you couldn’t charm your opponent quick enough, your lack of bodily control always made you lose in hand to hand combat. “Well, you guys remember how unaware of my body I used to be, and how clumsy?” Everyone nods in response, Bakugo saying something about how you used to look like an idiot baby deer first learning to walk. “To combat that, and teach myself bodily awareness, I learned how to pole dance.”

No one said a word for several moments, the boy's mouth dropping open. “That’s so cool!” Momo exclaims, “I’ve always wanted to take a class but I never got around to it!” “it was a lot harder than I had originally expected but I absolutely loved it,” you responded. You scan the room and it’s obvious that the boys were incredibly interested in this new information, so you were quick to shift the attention to someone else. “It’s my turn to ask! Uraraka, truth or dare?” and so the game continued.

Eventually it was Kirishima’s turn to ask, “l/n, truth or dare?” “Dare!” kirishima smirks, “so you told us you know how to pole dance?” “.....yes?” his face breaks into a full on grin, making you regret ever having chosen dare. “So you know how to dance?” “I hate where this is going, but yes” you groan out. “I dare you to give Bakugo a lap dance, if one of you yields before the song is over you will have to prank aizawa.” you roll your eyes, “knowing how to pole dance does not mean that I know how to strip, but fine I’ll do it.” Everyone starts giggling, Bakugo exclaims “WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ME SHITTY HAIR.” Laughing, you stand, brushing off your legs “you can just yield now Bakugo, there’s no shame in admitting defeat.” “tsch, as if I’m going to lose to you,” he rolls his eyes. “Okay then,” Kirishima says, clapping his hands together “let’s get this party started”

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

Bakugo, now sitting in a chair, is obviously nervous. He rubs his hands over his pants several times in the few moments you were watching him. “Okay l/n, what song have you chosen?” Mina asks from where she’s sitting with the rest of the group against the wall across from the chair. “I choose The Big Bang by Rock Mafia.” you say, smirking.

You hear the first couple notes of the song and you roll your head, then lock eyes with Bakugo, slowly approaching him and thread your hands through your hair.

I don't wanna lie, I’m gonna take what you’re givin’

You drag your hand across his back as you walk around his chair, hearing him sharply inhale. “Nervous already?” you ask, running your hands down his chest and then back up again. “You wish.” he replies, even though he visibly stiffens from your touch and shifts in his seat.

You’ve got me right here, combustible, and I can’t wait to finally explode

You walk around to the front of him, place your hands on his knees and spread his legs apart. Slowly you sink down onto your knees, leaning back to sit on your calves in front of him while maintaining eye contact. When the chorus hits you roll your head back and run your fingers through your hair. You then move your body up off of your calves in a rolling motion, removing your hands from your hair and sliding them up his legs towards his crotch. You sit back again, kick your right leg up in a circular motion and stand from the floor.

Some people like to talk, but I’m into doing what I feel like doing

Bakugo is now visibly rigid, barely breathing as he watches your movements like a hawk. You stand in front of him once again, leaning over him and spreading your legs. You bend your legs and crouch right in front of his crotch, then run your body up his, barely touching him. A tease of a touch. He inhales sharply as your hands find purchase on his broad shoulders. You twist and sit on his thigh, pulling your shirt off leaving you with only a bra covering your upper half.

When all the stars collide, in this universe inside

His hand moves to your back and tries to slide down to your ass but you slap him away. “No touching” you scold, standing and walking behind him, dragging your fingers across his shoulders lightly. He shudders, gulping hard enough that you can hear it. You once again sit on his thigh, only this time your legs are on the outside of his. You bring the leg closest to him up and over his body, making it so that your legs are on either side of his chair and your chests are nearly touching. Bakugo holds the sides of the chair with a death grip, attempting to ground himself. His neck and ears are red and his breaths are shuddering and shallow. You lean forward and whisper in his ear “just give in baby, you know you want to.” As you pull back you pull his earlobe with your teeth and he gasps.

The big big bang, the reason I’m alive

You sit back, holding his shoulders and rolling your head. As the beat drops for the final time you grind your hips down in his lap, holding eye contact while you do so. You smirk at him, because now you’ve felt just how aroused he really is from your actions.

Whoa, babe

Bakugo grabs you by the hips and nearly throws you off of him, exclaiming “I YIELD STUPID I YIELD.” You look at him smirking, he avoids eye contact with you and stands from the chair walking towards the group. The back of his neck is red and his whole body is shaking. He sits down next to Kaminari, grumbling, and runs a hand over his blushing face. You look at the group and everyone’s eyes are blown wide. All of the boys are readjusting themselves and can’t look you in the eyes. You look at the girls, their facial expressions are a mix of pride and awe. You sit down, pull your shirt back over your body and say, “so, whose turn is it to ask?”

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

The next day, Bakugo can’t take his eyes off of you. Last night he couldn't stop picturing, remembering the drag of your hips against his, and how he would do anything to feel it again. You can feel him burning holes in the back of your head during your graduation ceremony, and when you walk in front of him to accept your diploma, you purposefully put a little bit more swing in your hips. Bakugo growls, his upper lip curling, watching your ass as you walk away. He knew that there was one man to blame for all of his troubles. Kirishima.

That night, the last night you were living in the dorms, you made your way to the kitchen for a glass of water. Instead you overheard an interesting conversation. Before you even entered the door frame, you heard the distinct voice of Bakugo snarling “Why did you choose me, shitty hair? Did you find submitting me to torture funny?” you heard Kirishima reply saying “bro you should be THANKING me, not threatening me!” “and why the hell would I THANK you for this?”

Kirishima sighs, then says “You’ve had a thing for l/n since year one, this is the furthest you’ve EVER gotten with her and it’s because of MY dare.”

You gasp, both of the boys whipping around to look at you. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation, idiot.” Bakugo growls out lowly. You roll your eyes, sauntering over to him “didn’t anyone teach YOU that it’s rude to talk about someone behind their back Kacchan?” “tsch” he looks away from you. “Now, now,” you say, “is that any way to react to the woman you’re apparently in love with?” His eyes snap to yours, “as if I could ever love an extra like you.” You smirk knowingly. You have known him long enough to know when he is lying to you, and that statement was a big fat lie. “That’s too bad,” you whisper, “because maybe the extra loves you too.” you smile at him, and walk back out of the kitchen to your room. If you were right about this, which you will be, Bakugo will follow behind you.

After entering your room, you sit on the edge of the bed and start to count the seconds passing. You barely get to 32 before you hear a knock on your door. You open it to see Bakugo, just as expected. You step back and gesture his welcome. He steps in the door and you shut it behind him. “I lied.” “I know” “I don’t want to ruin my chance with-” he pauses and blinks. “What the fuck do you mean, YOU KNOW.” you giggled, “I knew you were lying, you aren’t very good at it.”

Bakugo Katsuki was confused. First of all, he has no emotional intelligence whatsoever so he has no idea how you’re feeling. Second of all, he was just told he is a horrible liar, making him rethink all of the lies he has ever told and how many of them he actually got away with. Third of all, the girl he is in love with KNOWS that he loves her now. Oh God she knows she knows she knows-

His train of thought is cut off when a pair of soft lips meet his own. For a beat, he doesn’t react. His brain moving into hyperdrive. Then he reacts, one hand coming up to cup your cheek softly, the other settling on your hip pulling you closer to him. Your hands wind around his neck pulling him into you. After several long moments, you both pull away. Your eyes bore into his, as if you were searching for an answer to a question your soul had asked. “I love you.” you state, as simply as if you were saying that grass is green or the sky is blue. Bakugo inhales sharply, his breath catching in his throat. “I love you Bakugo.” you say again, this time more forceful, tugging on his neck. “Katsuki,” he breathes, “call me Katsuki.” he clears his throat, then grins down at you “and for the record, I love you too y/n.”

You squeal, giggling and tugging him into a tight hug. He barks out a loud laugh and winds his arms around you. You stand there wound together for a breath, and then you’re kissing again. This time more desperate, there was no question of your feelings. No more barriers. His lips press forcefully to yours, slipping his tongue into your mouth. You move together in perfect sync. Katsuki pats you on your hip, signalling you to jump up so he can hold you. You jump and wrap your legs around his waist, his hands moving to rest under your ass. You can feel him walking somewhere. The backs of his knees hit your bed and he falls back, pulling you down on top of him. You start giggling and he grins up at you. He moves up to kiss you once more. You pull away, but stay close enough that he can feel your lips moving on his as you speak, and you whisper “I love you ‘suki” he looks at you, and grins wider than you had ever seen him grin. “I love you y/n” he whispers, pressing your lips back together.

#bakugou imagine #bnha bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugō #bnha #mha fanfiction #fanfic #bakugou fluff #bakugo fanfiction #fluff #love #cute #kaminari denki #kirishima #myhero #my hero imagines #my hero fanfic

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camomills · 4 years

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Title: Stars of Soot Relationships: Silica/Sinon Fandom: Sword Art Online Word Count: 3083 Summary: Sinon shows off GGO to Silica as a date, at Silica's request. As she experiences the different sensations of such a hardy world, Silica wonders why this world means so much to the other girl. Notes: Made for SAO Pride Week 2020 - Day 2: Stargazing. This one wasn't beta read because I was a bit pressed for time, so please forgive me for any glaring errors. It's been a while since I wrote Silica/Sinon! It was quite fun to revisit the ship. As per usual for me, this wound up as a weird mix of fluff and character study.

AO3 Link

The air in Gun Gale Online smells like gasoline and gunpowder, but Silica doesn’t mind… much. Not when she clings to Sinon’s back as they speed down the highway on a rental buggy, pigtails fluttering in the wind as her cheek finds rest in-between her girlfriend’s shoulder blades.

“I still can’t believe you want to try out this game,” Sinon says, the metallic hairpins on the sides of her face clinking lightly. She’s still not that used to driving, in the game or otherwise, so she keeps her eyes on the road instead of turning her head back as she talks. Vehicular collisions are not particularly romantic.

I just want to know what you see in it , Silica replies in her mind, raising her head.

She understands that, for all the time they spent together in ALO ’s fairy realm, that wasn’t Shino’s ‘world’, not in the way this place is. When she doesn’t bury herself in the curve of Sinon's back, the gas and soot is more apparent to all of her virtual senses, and even though it was her own proposition, she has to ask, why? Why choose colorless tiles and cracked pavement over the boundless hues of fantasy?

“I’d be lying if I said I… particularly get it,” Silica admits. “But this world is important to you, right?”

“Yeah,” Sinon replies. “ GGO might be an acquired taste, though. This game is gritty.”

She rolls her shoulders, leaning further back onto Silica.

Excluding Silica, Sinon has never been one for bubbly and cute, so GGO would always be a better fit for her. But this virtual world was made with inhospitality in mind, so not exactly the perfect dating spot. The fact that she’s here for one surprises her more than it does anyone else.

“Well,” Silica says, “good thing you’re here, then! Having a tour guide to show around should be a huge help.”

Sinon wheezes. “So I’m your tour guide, now?”

“Yes!” Silica proudly proclaims.

The sniper smirks. “Okay, then.”

Sinon twists the handlebars, and the bugey roars as it peels through the road. She can’t help but smile as Silica’s high-pitched yell reaches her ears, just barely audible over the revving of the engine.

The howling of gunfire can’t be heard as much within GGO ’s hub city, but the loud advertisements that echo from the bright signs serve as a fitting substitute, volume-wise.

Silica’s only knowledge of this game comes from watching Sinon and Kirito fight for their lives, real and virtual, through a tournament broadcast. The fact that Sinon still logs in daily to Gun Gale even after that incident would be odd to anyone other than people like the beast tamer and her friends, who are all VR addicts despite their time in Aincrad.

The two years in the floating castle, despite the pain it caused her, was where Silica grew the most. She’d never openly say that there’s a part of her that misses the days after the one year mark, when she’d settled into her reputation in those lower floors and tried to forget the outside world so much that she succeeded. None of her friends would. It’s a silent understanding and an untold promise; not to admit missing those days, so they don’t have to, either.

What does GGO, a medley of grit, greys and metal, mean to Sinon?

Their circumstances are different, but the scars they bear stain their skins in similar ways. The masks offered by virtual worlds, Silica knew, gave one the opportunity to confront themselves in ways one couldn’t anywhere else. There was something to the kind of place one chose to do so that Silica found important to know.

Sinon got to see New Aincrad, walk over the same plains wherein the beast tamer had met Pina, bask under the same electronic sunlight she experienced for two years.

It’s not fair if only one of them gets to do it, is it?

The sun sets while they stroll through the city, and Silica understands more of the acquired taste Sinon had mentioned. The approaching dusk was somewhat nice on itself, but the place was still a palette of monochrome then, all steel on sand, black on white. Once it’s officially night time in game, 6:00 PM sharp, however, everything changes. The dark of night makes the huge, floating billboards pop, neons of purple and blue scattered through the cyber landscape. The virtual city night lights become luminous streaks in her vision while they dash on the way here on the buggy, not unlike how she imagines speeding through one of Tokyo’s nightlife districts in a motorcycle would feel like. It’s movielike, but not fantastical or unreal, but maybe that’s the point; she doesn’t think she’d have the guts to go at such high speeds with her flesh-and-bone body, nor would Shino have the confidence Sinon presents.

There are things from real life that one can only do in a game like this.

***

They stop by an equipment shop at the center of the now-luminous city. Unlike the last time she was here with someone else, Sinon has no tournament sign-in to get to after shopping, so they can take their time.

Sinon is surprised when Silica picks an overall sensible combat outfit; a tactical green and black leather outfit with red accents, along with a dark, moss-colored poncho. We kind of match! Silica beams as she presents herself, pointing back and forth between her and Sinon’s outfit colors. She frames her face delicately and comically she does so, her eyes shining like a cartoon fawn’s. Sinon knows it’s on purpose, this over-the-top display of sweetness, but it makes her smile anyway.

Of course Silica found a way to make this cute.

It’s also cute, albeit in a different way, when Silica’s eyes look away from the armor section of the store and widen as she takes notice of a display of combat knives. They’re military-grade blades, absolutely indistinguishable from the real-world articles. Unlike just a moment ago, the shine in her eyes is unfeigned.

“Oh yeah, this game has these!” Silica exclaims.

Sinon turns to her with a quizzical look.

“... You’re interested in the knives?” That makes it two for two, the times she’s taken someone new here and they thoroughly ignored guns. Are all fantasy game players like this?

“Of course I do!” Silica exclaims, like it’s obvious. Her look all but says, I spent years fighting with daggers, remember?

Silica takes one of the knives from the demo display. It looks comically large in her hands, and yet it pales in comparison to the ones she’s grown used to in fantasy games. She spins the handle in-between her fingers, resting it on her knuckles. The hand flourish when she bumps the blade upwards, sending the knife spinning high, and then catches it from the air with her open palm is almost too fast to see. She gleefully changes the grip a few times before finally settling it in a simple reverse grip.

“They have such a better feel than those bulky daggers!” Silica exclaims in glee.

“ Impressive,” Sinon mutters under her breath. She can’t help but be hit with a sense of deja vu .

There’s a sensible distance one can gain when looking at someone brandishing a bright sword that looks more like a cosplay prop, or a fantasy dagger coated in filigrees. But there’s no distancing from seeing Silica, in all of her titanic five feet of height, doing knife tricks one would expect of a special forces soldier, or perhaps a movie greaser, when the blade is so realistic.

Sinon would be lying if she said she doesn’t find the display at least somewhat attractive.

Sinon heads over to a small menu in front of the knife section as she selects the same blade Silica had in hand. Soon after she goes through the proper transaction steps, holding Silica’s hand and laying it over the holographic display, one of the store robots scoots over to hand Silica her item.

Silica’s smile makes the credits Sinon spends all worth it.

… Is a knife a weird gift to give your girlfriend? Sinon thought, but that was a bridge already crossed. Then, she remembers the real reason they came here.

“I know you’re mostly here to look around, but you’ll still need some sort of main weapon if you’re to experience the game. Pick whatever gun you’d like to test out and we can go to a shooting range.”

****

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am absolutely serious!”

Instead of the shooting range, the two find themselves by a station near the edge of the city, connected to the game’s starter fields.

The vehicle’s mounted weapon protrudes from a hatch on top. Its long, steely frame glimmers as it reflects the sun’s harsh light. The heavy machine gun could be mistaken as some sort of cannon for the uninitiated in the ballistic arts, with its bulky, long barrel, but it’s a high-RPM, lightning-fast automatic weapon, nothing short of a reinforced harbinger of death.

“You said I could pick any weapon,” Silica reminded the other girl. “I’m picking this mounted gatling gun.”

Machine gun, actually, Sinon thought of correcting. Other than the regular shooting ranges in GGO, there were also training grounds for driving by the outskirts of the city, by the game’s starting area - it had been where Sinon had trained her bugey skills, in fact - but the knowledge of that, or of the existence of mounted weapons, is the sort of knowledge most newbies wouldn’t have.

Silica did her research for sure... and was probably planning this.

Sinon’s original plan was to simply show Silica around the game, so buying an expensive armored vehicle sounds unwise, especially when there’s only two people.

The sniper squints her eyes at the shorter girl. Noticing Sinon’s glare, Silica fans her eyelashes pleadingly, and Sinon’s resolve falters.

… I guess I was thinking of getting everyone else to convert and help me out, anyway?

“... Fine,” Sinon concedes. “But you better help me convince everyone else to hop on here for the PKer problem, then.”

Silica immediately jumps in excitement. The humvee’s engine purrs to life as Sinon turns the engine key, and the newbie gunner excitedly hops to the top hatch.

*****

Silica is small, but she doesn’t feel so when she holds onto the trigger in the huge weapon’s handlebars, the generated mobs in the starting fields shattering into red sparks. She loudly laughs in excitement as the high speed vehicle traverses the shifting sands.

The ride is a feeling unlike her other experiences with virtual worlds. It might be due to what Sinon earlier described as a “commitment to grittiness,” but the game still replicates hints of discomfort; her small frame vibrates from the gun’s recoil, her fingertips feel a bit too warm, and she has to ask Sinon to stop every so often because of dizziness.

It’s annoying at first, but it grows on her.

Silica wonders if this is part of what draws Sinon to this world.

******

Silica finds the pink hue that covers GGO ’s desert sands endearing.

She gets a good vantage point to admire the landscape as she’s wrapped in one of Sinon’s arms and they zip up a rocky structure. The grappling hook’s line is taut with their combined weight.

Despite the pleasure found in their proximity, as her hand holds Silica’s body close to her by the waist, Sinon does so primarily out of practicality, as Silica doesn’t possess a grappling hook of her own.

Silica, however, finds herself smitten by the situation. Being carried in the arms of a cool girl as she takes in the sights of a foreign world, the warmth of her body providing solace in the cold, simulated night, is a scene befitting a dream she’d have long ago if she’d known she liked girls sooner.

Silica sighs in disappointment as they reach the summit, going from dream to simulated reality. As she looks at Sinon, she’s glad this reality, virtual as it is, is still dreamy aplenty.

The plateau atop the rock formations, where monsters couldn’t reach, was the perfect stargazing spot. It allows them to wind down after spending an entire day driving, shooting, and in Silica’s case, shouting in excitement. Sinon is not exactly the romantic type, far from it, but even she recognizes what the beauty of GGO’s night sky can do to one’s heart. She’s glad she gets to watch it with someone else now, instead of only her sniper rifle for company.

Sinon sits herself by a boulder on the plateau that she manages to find snug. The wordless invitation she gives Silica, as the spot to her side seems like it would fit her perfectly, beckons the younger girl, who hasn’t acquired the same grit to be truly comfortable on the hard surface. Thankfully, Sinon’s shoulder is softer than the rocks.

“So, what did you think?” Sinon asks. “Was I a good tour guide?”

“Yes,” Silica answers. “I give you five stars!” She nuzzles closer onto Sinon’s side.

They stare out at the sky. The moon is hidden behind drifting clouds.

“I have a confession to make,” Silica admits, in a tone that sits between jokey and serious. “I didn’t want to try this game only to shoot guns.”

“Oh?” Sinon’s surprise is clearly feigned. Even she would be able to understand that Silica’s request to see this game was a date proposition. There was a reason she decided to cap the night off with stargazing.

“Yeah. I guess I figured… playing this game would make me feel closer to you.”

“Oh.” Sinon’s surprise this time is genuine. “Well… do you?”

“Hmm.” Silica looks at them, sitting side by side, sharing warmth, and yes seems like the obvious answer here. “I mean, yes. But I suppose I was looking for an answer.”

“An answer… did you find it?”

“I’m not sure I did. I think I found… something,” Silica says. Her grip on Sinon’s arm tightens, a mix of affection and nervousness. “I think there is something important about virtual worlds, and why we’re drawn to them. I... now that I think about it, maybe I could’ve just asked you from the beginning.”

Her heels pitter-patter on the rocky surface.

“What does this… What does GGO mean to you?”

Sinon looks at Silica, a bit puzzled.

Silica doesn’t know how fair of a question it is, really. Could she explain what drew her to virtual worlds? Why thinking of Aincrad, her former prison, makes her feel homesick? But she’s nothing if not sincere, and she wants to know. She figures Sinon, introspective as she is, thinks about those things more than she does.

“GGO is, you know.” Sinon makes a meaningless hand gesture. She thought obsessively before about this question - her objective, her growth, her path towards becoming stronger , she called it. She doesn’t know how to distill it in a sensible way, is all.

A place to face my fears?

Where I met Kirito, thus, how I met you?

“ Home?” Sinon says without registering.

Oh.

It’s under this night sky, beneath a red moon, that Sinon realizes this is the first time she got to enjoy this world with someone she truly cared for, life-or-death situations notwithstanding. This place, with its odd smells, rattling sounds, and even unpleasant sensations, has been one of the few places of respite she had from… everything. Others. The world. Herself. It’s more evident now, with someone to share it.

“I came to this world because I wanted to surpass who I was. I wanted to become stronger,” Sinon explains, unsure of whether she sounds pretentious. Sinon’s jaw clenches, and Silica gives her a reassuring squeeze. “When I first came here, there was nothing I wanted more than to erase my real self with this- this stronger version of me. This better version of me.”

The image of Hecate II, her sniper rifle, her companion, comes to mind. She’d thought before, at times, what was she without its weight on her back, other than a fragile girl who can’t help but retch at the sight of gun replicas? Without burnt fingertips and trembling shoulders from gun recoil, how could she call the strength she built here real?

This place is home because it was under this same carmine moon that she realized Asada Shino, the high-schooler, was just as much of a warrior as Sinon, the elite sniper. Under this virtual sky, nothing but code threads woven into a reality, was where she accepted who she was.

She fidgets with her fingerless gloves as she continues. “It’s hard to give a simple answer,” she concedes. “But if I had to try, I’d say… this is the place that showed me it was okay for me to be myself. To recognize my strength, to connect with others. Back then, before this game, I never thought I’d get to have... this, I guess.” Sinon nudges Silica’s shoulder with hers, playfully. “Who knows. Maybe I just wanted to be proven wrong.”

Silica’s heart tightens. She moves a hand to Sinon’s cheek.

“I’m glad you were proven wrong, then.”

In what Silica is pretty sure is the first time, Sinon is the one approaching her for a kiss.

It’s quick and sweet. Sinon’s thin lips press onto Silica’s lightly. It’s easy to forget they’re in the virtual world then, with their eyes closed the way they are, the waves of warmth radiating through their faces as the only signal their AmuSpheres send to their brains.

*******

The night goes by quietly as they stare to the sky, save for the distant sounds of underground monsters shifting the sands and Silica’s occasional comment of how she’s sure she can tell the constellations even through the thick clouds. They have little time before GGO’s short day cycle robs them of this sight.

That sky, this world, are virtual, and they know that. It’s hard to tell, though, when it shares stars with the real one, when it shares warmth with the real one, when the strength they gain, the bonds they deepen, the sights they see, carry over to the real one.

The air in Gun Gale Online smells like gasoline and gunpowder, but Silica doesn’t mind… at all, really, when it grants them the opportunity to be so frank and close, so near when they’re so far.

When it grants them the opportunity to be themselves more than anywhere else.

#SAO #Sword Art Online #saoprideweek2020 #Silinon #Silicon #Fili writes

12 notes · View notes

sunritual · 3 years

Text

Let’s try this again

They should make a law where if the police don’t read you your Miranda rights you get out of jail free, like if you don’t get your receipt at fast food restaurants you get a mail free

The shaggy law - There should be a law that if you continuously and shamelessly deny doing something, no matter how indisputably obvious it is that you did it, you should get off free for pure savegery.

Confederates as “rebels for tradition” is laughable

Ram rainbow spiral horns profile.

People think grammar rules are etched into the universe — they’re not. When people say AAve is incorrect and ignorant, they say that their conception of how one should speak is inherently correct despite no evidence/truth. Grammar is agreed upon not mandated

Hippie sauce infusion pizza joint

Plain nude balconette with little purple and pink flowers at wiring

How could anyone predict anything happening but how could any be surpised either

Hierarchies - nahhhh

Humans aren’t inherently higher than any other creature or thing, but as humans i don’t think it’s wrong to prioritize other humans. There no better or worse but there is optimal for certain environments and lifestyles.

What differentiates a piece of art from a slightly different replica - when is it an entirely different piece altogether? Moving a figure slightly? Adding a splash of paint ? Changing a color to the point where no one could tell? Is the persons perception the deciding factor or what’s actually on the canvas. If abstract art is about the perception, and the waning behind it - does it change with these things?

An exhibit where people are invited to paint over and destroy or change the art

The differences between us and other. Are feeble - not illusory but

Periwinkle sky blue black and white each of a half circle . Faded out

Uni should be about exploring ideas — new and old famillar and foreign - honeing writing reading reasoning debating listening etc skills.

Umm, Karen were your parents married when you were born?

Ummmm no, umm i mean , uh ,yes —what??

Then why are you policing what other people do?

Dark blue light blue orange lemon circles layer on top of each other, several difffent sizes

Job apps tip!! For every job you apply to , Change your last name on your resume to the last name of the hiring manager and they will think you are related to them and hire you with nepotism. ( then, or coarse, legally when you get the job)

Unpopular opinion: i don’t really mind diarrhea

I for one think it’s incredibly brave of the brats girls to reclaim such a derogatory term

Starting every Describtion of every British show with “its kind of like skins but..”

Beanie baskin took that treat she snatched it - she ain’t even askin

The squad bod - a group of ghost friends share one body in which they have to live their lives -

My playlists are a matter of fact, not opinion. They reveal truths about the human experience

A cats gorilla imeritive of aesthetics.

I don’t chose them, they are not for joy but for truth. They are not intelligible but feel able

📝 narrative - longing

👼 chaotic

🌾 childlike wonder

Things that seem homo and phobic ATST

- Woodstock

- Brown eyed girl

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on ya when you think everything BG a gone wrong and everything bows up in your face

If women can’t do drag because they have an advantage then what is drag? Is it having good looking tits and a waist ? Looking like woman? or is it about having charisma uniqueness nerve and talent?

Examining Tik toks through different philosophical lenses

What makes it so they put parenthesis around lyrics in a song? What intonations and such make it parenthesis worthy

What’s an article of clothing from your childhood that you viscerally remember for seemingly no reason

I feel like the problem with the property brothers is they had too good of a childhood

Do you ever wonder if personality traits would be diffferntnin different cultures? Would a quiet person be even quieter if they were brought up in North Korea? Or the same amount of talkativity? Do we have the traits no matter what, or are we inclined to be more of one way than the others around us. Are personality traits created by comparison to those around?

Maybe the anxiety comes from knowing your not “supposed” to be as quiet as you are. You don’t really want to talk, that’s okay , but it’s expected that you do. So you are anxiety that your not living up

I find happiness every single day

This feeling has made me so appreciative of my mental state usually. How many people feel like this on the regular? How many people have this as their default? I am so lucky. My default is happy. I have my issues, but i need to appreciate the gift i was given. I was given elation. Childlike wonder. Curiosity. Adventurousness. Self completion and fullness. The rest will come.

If you see a celebrity you want to talk to in public but don’t want to bother them, make sure they don’t see that you saw them and start a fake conversation telling a friend that they should buy a product they are a sponsor for, and that they should use their coupon code. When they approach you to thank you for being such a loyal fan, obviously pretend to be shocked that they just so happened to be there

Christianity excuses selfish politics and beliefs

Things i never would’ve noticed if they weren’t pointed out to me:

-Left and right handed ness

Rating sports teams by uniform colors

Balloon animals but make it clothing!

Logics doesn’t care about your feelings, but it certainly cares about your biasees.

He who findeth keepith, whilst he who loosith weepith.

Religious thought often starts at the conclusion they want and attempts to make arguments justifying it.

Jewish debate starts with an agreement that we are going to follow the book, but argues about what the book truly says. Not good enough when you are still just following the book

Why did Jesus need to die for our sins

Dream - swimming in a lake and bump into something you think is a human tying to save to but is it! Oct 29 9:03

Candle company logo etc

I’m sorry for your loss

It’s not oka

If people can accept that stupid bad jokes can be

Is there a reason for each thing existing? Sufficient reason

Understanding if an area is a matter of perspective or fact? Is it Emperical ?

If you assume you have free will you limit your critical thinking ability and therefor stour actual free will - you need to navigate technology such as algorithms that show you why at you want to see or you completely loose free will - you cannot chose when you don’t even know a choice. there is Somthing controlling you

Revelation is within it doesn’t involve others - can happen in a moment

Revolution- requires work and years and years of convincing others m

What counts as a second chance? What counts as a first chance? What does giving someone the benefit of the doubt entail ? Letting them out of jail , or letting them have a 2nd term as president.

**Picture of coke or Pepsi book**

Trump supporters be like: THIS is the BALLOt sleepy crooked joe SEND to MY neighbor. So much FOR democracy

One flew over the coup coups nest

Ashge-nazi = Jewish trump supporter

The heathers of the USA are Cali, New York and Texas. Florida, too

Shape shifting would solve all of this. I could go to Washington DC, pretend to be trump, concede then leave. It would be hilarious, however if me and trump looked identical and had to so the most idiotic crazy shit to prove to America that we indeed are the true DJ.

Coup busting outfit - light cute short sleeve camo shirts , army green super utalitarian cargo pants , double sash belts in leather with grommets studs or spikes (to be decided by team (with democracy) or left up to the individual) leather (vegan available) lace up knee high boots (maybe with spikes if not too 2012) and the pies de resistance two army green denim shoulder high gloves that fold down as far as needed for the comfort of the fighter. Will be adorned with patches decided by the wearer. Edges will be frayed to honor to the coup busting aesthetic and spirit of the endeavor. We can decide on a signature lip color, but spf is required for all fighters. Of coarse we will have those football stripes below the eyes, don’t be stupid.

How far away can something be from a face and still have humans think it’s a face

Senator Portman - i hope you are well, and want to thank you for the hard work you have put in to this election. However, it has become abundantly clear that joe Biden and Kamala Harris have secured more than enough electoral and popular votes to warrant recognition as president and vice elect. Upon reading the transcripts of he hopeless court cases, there is absolutely no evidence of vote measurable fraud. is time you stand up for democracy and face reality by congratulating he pair on their success. Americans and scared and they need a powerful republican voice to demounce the unsubstantiated conspircy theories that attempt to thwart democracy in this beautiful county. Please do the right thing , and stand with sanity, freedom and democracy. History books and citizens will thank you. May god bless you, your staff and loved ones

Could mermaids exist through evolution in the future

Me learning about real us history - all the nations destroyed by the USA—- I’m the baaad Guy

The rest of the world - duh dodododosodo

Print that looks like a page of writing that has been sourced in water so it’s bleeding and darker in speckles

Zamps= examples

Clothes with green screen cut outs

Robots don’t need to be sentient to destroy us.

Navy mock neck long sleeves big orange and little white stripe on tube cage sides

A veritcal line stretch waistband

Cross cross and straps back

Square high neck

Scarlet polka dots around can light blue text and beach image as front

Blue stroke red inside square, blue triangle rainbow with eye and funky font

Y either know a particular topic or not , but it’s hard to pin down intelligence on one category

Cream background , ice cream pink script name kinda bev hills hotel script looking ish

Move your mouth in a differ way

Supersonic vibrating butt cleaner

Half magenta half red violet a blue teacup in the center with white floral frills thick serif font

Pink background am orange flower in a vase white present ribbon n red as a table

An app that familiarizes people with science - through experimental learning ― hands on experiences that make it seem less top down and authoritarian , and more like a set of steps that we take, things that anyone can do to get closer with nature and the world

A social media philosophy app - teaches what others said and gives people a chance to express their views , postulate, argue, etc gadfly? How would be avoid a shit show, how can we make social media more humanitarian. how can we care about people while also expressing deeply held ideas , how can we encourage users to examine their deeply held ideas without alienating them. How can we discourage hatred and abuse and groupthink with design? How do we slow people down and encourage them to recognize the human behind the screen. Street epistemology? Socratic dialogue?

Socrates - asking questions. Breaking it down to bits. Deeply understanding their argument. Asking about different possibilities and circumstances. Take vast assumptions and show scenarios that make go against them.

Build fact checking into apps

Narrative self vs experiential

Walks you through steps of the sciefitifc method and encourages you to explain how you feel each step actually helped you- then walks you through a scientist doing the same for their reasarch

Republicans only want to be free in the specific ways that benefit corporations

Are Christians more willing to support the death pen early because they already believe in the cruel and overstepping punishment of hell?

Where did the idea come from that you need to remain impartial when trying to persuade

The idea that there is someone in a similar but different dwelling, hearing similar but different sounds and feeling similar but different feelings is wild

We synthesize sets of traits, and particular actions in a super biased culturally constructed way

With the way we see things as humans- we categorize things into groups that aren’t really reaaal ― paratheletic groups

I just want the people and jobs that benefit society

Connection to nietzsches Dionysian art and eckheart tolle/Taoism

No matter your personality, there is probably a part of the world that you would fit in with naturally.

An ordinary girl is selected as one of the representatives of earth in the first meeting of various alien species after one advanced planet discovered and United 10. Confused as to why she was chosen, she goes on her journey meeting

Wha ba Bada da da da da dada he’s a wha ba ba dadada as a matter of fact it’s not my fault if you came up here thinking that you would win

Wanting to break boundaries and rules for the sake those who are hurt by the rules

You are imagining the best case scenario of the life you want to have and experience Ming the reality of the life you so have.

Yes her drips cosmetics line to students i. Class

Chez it people can goldfish people

Your personality flows where a system needs it to go to maintain balance

0 notes

forunfeltimaginations · 3 years

Text

Let’s try this again

They should make a law where if the police don’t read you your Miranda rights you get out of jail free, like if you don’t get your receipt at fast food restaurants you get a mail free

Confederates as “rebels for tradition” is laughable

Ram rainbow spiral horns profile.

Hippie sauce infusion pizza joint

Plain nude balconette with little purple and pink flowers at wiring

How could anyone predict anything happening but how could any be surpised either

Hierarchies - nahhhh

An exhibit where people are invited to paint over and destroy or change the art

The differences between us and other. Are feeble - not illusory but

Periwinkle sky blue black and white each of a half circle . Faded out

Uni should be about exploring ideas — new and old famillar and foreign - honeing writing reading reasoning debating listening etc skills.

Umm, Karen were your parents married when you were born?

Ummmm no, umm i mean , uh ,yes —what??

Then why are you policing what other people do?

Dark blue light blue orange lemon circles layer on top of each other, several difffent sizes

Unpopular opinion: i don’t really mind diarrhea

I for one think it’s incredibly brave of the brats girls to reclaim such a derogatory term

Starting every Describtion of every British show with “its kind of like skins but..”

Beanie baskin took that treat she snatched it - she ain’t even askin

The squad bod - a group of ghost friends share one body in which they have to live their lives -

My playlists are a matter of fact, not opinion. They reveal truths about the human experience

A cats gorilla imeritive of aesthetics.

I don’t chose them, they are not for joy but for truth. They are not intelligible but feel able

📝 narrative - longing

👼 chaotic

🌾 childlike wonder

Things that seem homo and phobic ATST

- Woodstock

- Brown eyed girl

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on ya when you think everything BG a gone wrong and everything bows up in your face

If women can’t do drag because they have an advantage then what is drag? Is it having good looking tits and a waist ? Looking like woman? or is it about having charisma uniqueness nerve and talent?

Examining Tik toks through different philosophical lenses

What makes it so they put parenthesis around lyrics in a song? What intonations and such make it parenthesis worthy

What’s an article of clothing from your childhood that you viscerally remember for seemingly no reason

I feel like the problem with the property brothers is they had too good of a childhood

I find happiness every single day

Christianity excuses selfish politics and beliefs

Things i never would’ve noticed if they weren’t pointed out to me:

-Left and right handed ness

Rating sports teams by uniform colors

Balloon animals but make it clothing!

Logics doesn’t care about your feelings, but it certainly cares about your biasees.

He who findeth keepith, whilst he who loosith weepith.

Religious thought often starts at the conclusion they want and attempts to make arguments justifying it.

Jewish debate starts with an agreement that we are going to follow the book, but argues about what the book truly says. Not good enough when you are still just following the book

Why did Jesus need to die for our sins

Dream - swimming in a lake and bump into something you think is a human tying to save to but is it! Oct 29 9:03

Candle company logo etc

I’m sorry for your loss

It’s not oka

If people can accept that stupid bad jokes can be

Is there a reason for each thing existing? Sufficient reason

Understanding if an area is a matter of perspective or fact? Is it Emperical ?

Revelation is within it doesn’t involve others - can happen in a moment

Revolution- requires work and years and years of convincing others m

What counts as a second chance? What counts as a first chance? What does giving someone the benefit of the doubt entail ? Letting them out of jail , or letting them have a 2nd term as president.

**Picture of coke or Pepsi book**

Trump supporters be like: THIS is the BALLOt sleepy crooked joe SEND to MY neighbor. So much FOR democracy

One flew over the coup coups nest

Ashge-nazi = Jewish trump supporter

The heathers of the USA are Cali, New York and Texas. Florida, too

How far away can something be from a face and still have humans think it’s a face

Could mermaids exist through evolution in the future

Me learning about real us history - all the nations destroyed by the USA—- I’m the baaad Guy

The rest of the world - duh dodododosodo

Print that looks like a page of writing that has been sourced in water so it’s bleeding and darker in speckles

Zamps= examples

Clothes with green screen cut outs

Robots don’t need to be sentient to destroy us.

Navy mock neck long sleeves big orange and little white stripe on tube cage sides

A veritcal line stretch waistband

Cross cross and straps back

Square high neck

Scarlet polka dots around can light blue text and beach image as front

Blue stroke red inside square, blue triangle rainbow with eye and funky font

Y either know a particular topic or not , but it’s hard to pin down intelligence on one category

Cream background , ice cream pink script name kinda bev hills hotel script looking ish

Move your mouth in a differ way

Supersonic vibrating butt cleaner

Half magenta half red violet a blue teacup in the center with white floral frills thick serif font

Pink background am orange flower in a vase white present ribbon n red as a table

Narrative self vs experiential

2 notes · View notes

eskalations · 4 years

Link

"My persona is a flirt." She whispered, lowly. With her hands wrapped around his neck, she dragged him down far enough so that she could breathe against the skin of his ear. She could feel her grin turn proud as she felt him shiver in response. "You make it more believable by leaving marks."

A set of Genderbend AU Royai One Shots

Read from the beginning (x)

A/N: Don't worry, I didn't forget about these two lovely characters! It took me a long time to figure out which scene I wanted to tackle next and this one just seemed to keep on popping up in my head. Now, I warn you - it's kind of spicy. Now there isn't anything explicit, but it's certainly enough to get the blood pumping. I don't think it's enough to warrant an "M" rating, but if it makes you uncomfortable leaving it at "T", just let me know and I'll change the rating. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

East City - Spring of 1909

Ray Hawkeye wasn't sure how it had happened, but he found that the mechanics of it mattered very little. The truth of the matter still stands – in all its guilt-ridden glory.

He had taken his father's ex-apprentice to bed.

The words made his toes curl in a less than pleasurable way from the hour before, bile rising in his throat at the thought. How could he have done this? How could he have turned his back on his promise to protect this girl against all harm that came at her? How could he be so stupid?

The answer was plain and simple – alcohol.

The war had ended earlier in the month and both he and Raina had made their way to East City. Ray had returned to the Academy to finish his training for graduation in the summer – and Raina, after a brief stay with her foster mother in Central – had decided to put in a transfer out East. Though most saw it as a dead-end position, Raina insisted she had it on very good authority, that it was the right place to get her start. Ray didn't question that.

They hadn't spoken much since the end of the war. Ray was busy with his training and Raina was busy with the responsibilities that came along with her recent promotion. Upon her arrival back from Ishval, the young woman had been given the title of 'Lieutenant Colonel' – making her the youngest soldier in history to wear that rank. While anyone else would be proud of such an honor, Raina remained relatively quiet on the matter. She accepted, but there was no happiness behind it.

All Ray could see was determination.

He knew from speaking with Maes Hughes at the end of the war that Raina had all but committed herself to reaching the seat of Fuhrer. She saw it as the only option she had to repent for all the sins she had committed in Ishval.

Ray didn't exactly know what he was going to do, but he felt he would know once he was freed from the curse written into the skin of his back.

Raina had been fighting demons that night, causing her to call out to him in the most unexpected way possible. When his superior had told him he had a call from a young woman, he had hardly believed it, unable to imagine who would be bothering to call him at such a late hour. However, when he lifted the phone to his ear, he recognized the voice instantly.

"Ray?" She had asked, her words slurred against the sound of raucous laughter in the background. From the clank of glasses and drunken shouts, he deduced she was at a bar. "Ray, are you there?"

He hadn't heard his name from her lips in so long, having gotten use to her normal address of "Hawkeye" while they had fought alongside each other in the war. There was a vulnerability in her tone that had his heart clenching in fear, as though he somehow thought she couldn't handle herself in her current state.

"Where are you?" He asked, not bothering to confirm his identity to her, knowing she would recognize his voice. The anxiety in his words were obvious as he pressed on. "Do you need me to come get you?"

There was a pause over the line. From her side, he could hear another round of laughter break out and the snap of a pool stick before she finally came back with an answer.

"Yes."

He had retrieved her from the bar, shocked at the sight that met him. She was a vision to be sure in a low cut, black sleeveless dress with a pair of heels that looked like they had been made to kill. However, it was the look in her eyes that made him pause. While she had certainly had the eyes of a killer for well over a year now, the pain he saw within those dark depths was new.

He imagined it had to have been from the alcohol.

They hadn't spoken as he walked her to the apartment she now resided in. The building was near Eastern Headquarters and just a few blocks down from the barracks where he was currently staying. He hadn't realized how close in proximity they were to each other and part of him was glad he hadn't. With the current state that they were both in, he doubted them hanging out together would do much good.

He had walked with her up the stairs and had even turned the key for her when they had made it to her door. He had intended to leave once he was sure she was safely in her room – however, it seemed the younger girl had other plans, tugging his hand and leading him into her apartment. Cautiously, he chose to follow.

Her home was nothing spectacular. From what he could see, her living area was sparse with a single green couch in its center and a fireplace against the far wall. There was an entry way that led to what must have been her kitchen and dining area with a hall on the opposite side. Certainly, these were not the plush quarters of a Lieutenant Colonel that he had been expecting. It was simple; it was minimal.

Raina had ditched her shoes at the door, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to release the tension that had settled into them. She still wobbled to the side as she made her way to the living room, but she wasn't nearly as inebriated as she had been when he first retrieved her from the bar.

Ray didn't bother removing his coat, resolute in his decision to only stay for a few minutes to make sure that she was alright.

"Want a drink?" She had asked casually, swaying her hips as she walked towards the kitchen. Her long black hair fell down her back in an intoxicating fashion – so intoxicating that Ray felt himself swallowing harshly.

This was a bad idea.

Despite every warning whistle that was going off in his head, telling him that he was playing a dangerous game, the man for whatever reason answered in the affirmative.

"Yes." The words made a smile appear on her features, though it didn't touch her eyes. Ray could still see the pain from earlier swirling in those dark depths. "But only one."

The one drink had eventually led to two, which then became three, and things slowly escalated from there.

They spoke of what they had been doing since they last saw each other. Ray shared with her the topics of his last several trainings while she spoke in return of the work she had been doing in Eastern Headquarters. At nineteen-years-old, the older soldiers respected her very little, seeing her as nothing but a flirty upstart – however, she had become quite good friends with the old General Grumman who was at the head of the region.

They both avoided the topic that they had been mulling over for the past several weeks, neither forgetting the promise they had made upon their departure from Ishval.

After throwing back his third drink, Ray reveled in the relief the alcohol provided. He had been burying himself in his studies to avoid the pain of his memories of war, but it seemed to him that Raina had been conquering them in a different fashion. She had certainly developed a tendency to drink in Ishval, something told him though that it had only gotten worse since her arrival home.

It was after this last drink that he noticed a change in Raina.

She had shared one drink with him, but was nowhere near as intoxicated anymore. He figured that after how much she had drunk in the past year, her tolerance was probably even better than his. He had a buzz at the moment but was still completely aware of his actions. Surely, he could still make rational judgements in this state.

That was until he felt a warm pair of lips on his own.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. It was if the world had stopped and all had ceased to exist at the touch of her lips. It took him a moment to realize what was happening and that the whooshing sound that was plaguing his ears was actually the sound of his erratic heart.

Before he could respond, Raina had pulled back, her dark eyes peering into his own and waiting for a reaction. He imagined the shock he was feeling translated on to his features. There was a warmth to his cheeks that hadn't been there before and he tried to convince himself it was from the drinks.

Raina raised a brow, still waiting for a response.

"No."

His words had been sharp, despite the alcohol and despite his shock. He knew what her eyes were beseeching, though he had very little experience in that department, but he simply couldn't give into such desires. This was the girl he had vowed to protect and taking advantage of her in such a position, certainly wouldn't help him with that.

Raina pouted at his refusal. "Why not?"

"Because you're not thinking straight." He had answered, glued to his seat. His mind was telling him to run, to return to the Academy and to wait a few weeks for all of this to blow over before meeting with her again – however, his body was saying differently. Just from one touch of her lips, it was though he had fallen under a spell.

It made him uncomfortable. It made him feel out-of-control. It made him feel dirty.

"I'm thinking perfectly fine, thank you. I'm not as drunk as you think I am." She had answered, scooting closer to him on the couch. Her bare thigh was touching his own, her warmth seeping through the material of his sweatpants. "And I know you're not drunk, either. I think we are both perfectly able to make decisions for ourselves right now."

"Well I'm making the decision to say 'no'."

The words had not been the ones she wanted to hear.

"Why?" She asked, venom laced in her tone. "Because you still see me as that child who showed up on your doorstep? Because you still see me as a girl rather than a woman?"

"That's not it, Miss Mustang."

"Yes, it is!" She exclaimed, jumping from the couch to stand in front of him. She stood with hands on her hips, her black eyes piercing into his own. "If it wasn't about that, you wouldn't have just called me 'Miss Mustang'. I haven't been 'Miss Mustang' in years!"

It had been a slip of the tongue, but Ray knew better than to take it back. Maybe if he let her rage long enough, she would fall into a drunken sleep and this would all be forgotten.

"You know what the major difference between 'Miss Mustang' and I is?" She didn't give him an opportunity to answer, instead poking a shaking finger into his chest. "That girl had never killed anyone and never thought she would have to. That girl had never taken advantage of her friend's trust and used the power he gave her to murder."

Ray could tell that her anger stemmed less from his response and more towards her own actions. Behind such furious words, guilt was evident in the wavering of her tone.

Ashamed, Raina turned from him. Though the fireplace was unlit, she stared into it, as if it would give her an answer to her problems. In a show of vulnerability, she wrapped her arms around her chest, hands pressing down on her shoulders.

The sight nearly broke the young Hawkeye's heart.

Silence drifted between them, the only sound coming from outside in the hall, as a band of friends walked drunkenly past her unit. The tension in the room was thick, so thick that Ray felt even a knife couldn't slice through it. There was a charge in the air and he hated to admit what that electricity was stemming from.

Surprising even himself, Ray stood from his position on the couch. He walked without thinking towards his old housemate and turned her around to face him. Once he saw the tears streaming down her face, he knew he was a goner.

He pulled her into a tight hug, one hand drifting to the back of her head. After her initial shock had worn off, Raina responded by wrapping her arms around him, her hands meeting over the expanse of his broad back.

They both tried not to think of the ink that his shirt was hiding underneath her touch.

"Why?" He was finally able to whisper, his breath rustling the hair that laid over her left ear. The sensation sent a shiver down the young girl's spine. "Why did you ask me to come get you? Why did you ask me to come over?"

Burying her face into his jacket, she tried to hide the blush that warmed the surface of her features. "I wanted to feel something besides shame. I wanted to feel something besides guilt."

Ray pulled away from her, holding her at arm's length. While they had been tentative friends during his stay in her home, he couldn't remember a time when he had been this close to her. Even when she had studied the plane of his back, they had always been careful to remain at a reasonable distance.

But now, in the dim light of her living room, both broken from their experiences during the war, it seemed that every wall that they had ever built between them came crashing down.

Ray just had one question. Well, he actually had a million – but there was only one that was burning in the back of his mind.

"Why me?" He asked her quietly, his eyes never straying from her own. "Why would you chose me over some random guy you could have found at the bar?"

The question didn't surprise her – however, it did have her face heating up once more. When she answered though, the words came out simply, as though they were a truth he should have known all along.

"Because I trust you."

There was no hesitation in her voice, just a quiet acceptance.

The trust she put in him was surprising, especially after he had spent so long questioning his trust in her. After she had taken the secrets of his father's alchemy and had committed such heinous acts, he really began to question whether she was the girl he thought she was.

It turned out though, that he had a monster living inside him as well.

He couldn't fault her for falling into the military propaganda in Ishval when he had done exactly the same. She wasn't the only one with blood on her hands – in fact, he had killed so many in Ishval that he was being given the 'honor' of graduating and gaining an instant promotion to second lieutenant upon his entrance into the State Military.

He was just as guilty as her as far as he was concerned. They had both committed war crimes and both deserved to be punished somewhere down the road.

For now, he couldn't deny that he too had been seeking some kind of validation for being alive other than the constant pain and guilt he felt. He had begun to wonder whether he had died back on the battlefield and his body now continued on in an endless loop of time. It was so hard to get a grasp of reality when all you seemed to do was live in the past.

It was that kind of thinking that got him moving.

After little hesitation, Ray leaned forward to place a soft kiss on the plump surface of his companion's lips. He could feel her surprise, even with his eyes tightly closed – however, she soon responded, her arms coming up from around his waist, to wrap around his neck.

He kissed her gently several times, allowing all the affection he felt for her to pour into his actions. Though he could feel Raina's own eagerness, she responded to the ministrations in kind, letting her fingers play with the ends of the dirty blonde hair that rested against the skin of his neck.

"I don't want to take advantage of you." Ray murmured against her lips, pulling back momentarily to catch his breath. Raina was breathing heavily as he leaned his forehead against her's. "I don't ever want to hurt you."

His honest words had a smile appearing on her lips, this one finally reaching her eyes as she unwrapped one of her hands from his neck and placed it on his cheek. Their eyes met and in that moment, Ray knew he was gone.

"This is what I want."

Her words weren't slurred and her actions were as sober as they could be after the one drink she had partaken in earlier that hour. This confirmation was all his body needed to jump into action, even with his brain still telling him to stop.

The truth was…he wanted this, too.

His lips descended on her's once more, gently pressing against the smile on her mouth. They stood there for a few moments, reveling in the gentle kiss, arms wrapped around the other before progressing any further.

Just as she usually did, Raina commanded the situation. While keeping the kiss soft, she sighed in invitation, allowing him access to the contours of her mouth. He hesitated for a moment, struck by her boldness, before tentatively sticking his tongue through the slit of her lips. The girl moaned in approval, her own tongue reaching out to dance with his.

As the kiss became more heated, Raina found herself pressing closer to Ray's chest. The hand at the back of his head now tugged roughly at his hair, causing him to grunt in pain, though he didn't break away from her lips. The sound itself sent a shiver down her spine and had an unknown heat pooling at the bottom of her belly.

They were all feverish limbs as they made their way to the single bedroom in the apartment. Neither bothered to turn on the lights, the moonlight pouring through the window enough to guide their hasty actions.

Though their movements were heated, Ray laid Raina down on the comforter with a gentleness that spoke of years of hidden affection. She could see the emotions behind his eyes as he hovered over her, his lips swollen from the kisses they had shared earlier. His expression was so soft, it had her eyes closing in shame.

She truly didn't deserve such a gaze.

Tilting her head back, she led him right where she wanted him. In the lonely nights she had spent in Ishval, she had always imagined what it would be like to have his lips on her neck. Now, she was determined to find out.

"I don't want to leave marks." He wheezed, his breathing heavy from restrained desire. She could tell he was making an effort to go slow for her, unsure of her reaction to the experience.

The woman simply smiled in response.

The alcohol still coursing through his veins took that as a good enough reason to proceed.

At the first touch of his lips against the tender flesh of her neck, Raina closed her eyes in bliss. He started by leaving small, wet kisses against the skin, before following them up with a puff of air that had her toes curling over the edge of the bed. She couldn't hold back the breathy sigh that left her lips once he paused to suck at the particularly sensitive flesh over her pulse point.

Though she expected the act to be rough, he sucked gently, still pouring every ounce of affection he had for her into every heated movement.

After pulling a bit too roughly with his teeth, Raina let out a moan, which had the man lapping at the faint marks he had left behind on the pale surface of her neck. The bite had been gentle, Ray still fearful to try anything too extreme, not knowing the girl's preferences when it came to bedroom activities, but Raina didn't seem to mind. In fact, she pulled his face closer to her neck, her quickened breath practically begging him to continue.

He continued these ministrations for a few minutes, remaining careful in his actions, until Raina had decided she had enough of following his lead. He couldn't remember how, but at some point, she had rolled him over and on to his back, her legs straddled on either side of him, and her own lips attacking his neck.

Ray hissed at the pressure he now had on his lap, trying hard not to give in to the animalistic urges that threatened to make their way to the surface. His breathing became harder as she began to unbutton his shirt, her kisses drifting down the planes of his abdomen and causing the muscles to contract.

Maybe he had been right all along. Maybe he had died in Ishval and somehow found his way to heaven.

In a whirl of limbs and scattered clothes, the two found themselves bared to each other, the moonlight the only other witness to their act of desperation. They had both said they wanted to feel something and now they were getting the opportunity to provide that validation to the other.

Ray was gentle as he pushed forward, but became concerned as he saw the pain etched on his childhood friend's features. After a few minutes, though, she seemed to find herself lost in their closeness and thoroughly enjoying the act of making love to one another. Finally, she wasn't only feeling grief and guilt, she was feeling pleasure.

As they both came undone, their teeth clenched in an attempt to keep quiet in case Raina's neighbors were listening in, their sweat slicked bodies automatically clinged to the other.

Just like magnets.

Although he enjoyed the actions in the moment, it wasn't until after it was all said and done, that the guilt finally replaced the heat at the bottom of his stomach. With Raina curled against his chest, he couldn't help but hate himself at reveling in such actions.

He had tainted her once again.

It wasn't enough that he had given her a powerful alchemy at too young of an age, but now he had also taken the last ounce of innocence she had if the blood on the bedsheets was any indication.

In the aftermath, Ray found that his breathing still would not slow. Though Raina was relaxed in his grasp, a peaceful expression alight on her features underneath the sweat soaked bangs of her forehead, such peace would not find him in this situation.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The room had been silent for several minutes, the only sound being that of their gentle breathing. Raina looked up at him, her dark, tired eyes staring curiously into his.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice was deep, the remnants of passion still lingering in her tone as she reached a hand up to lay on his cheek. "What did I not tell you?"

"That I was your first."

The words caused a blush to develop on the girl's exotic features, bringing forth more bashful a reaction than the act they had been partaking in just minutes before. "I thought you knew."

Her words were honest, so Ray had no reason to suspect deception. Sighing, his breath fanning over the bare skin of her shoulder and causing her to shuffle closer, Ray fought the urge to dig his nails into her side in frustration with himself.

Of course, he should have known.

Despite Raina's bold personality and naturally flirty nature, he had never seen her come close to a man in any intimate fashion. The only man she seemed to spend any amount of time with alone had been Hughes and everyone knew that Hughes' heart belonged to another. With how young she was when she joined the military, he guessed he should have assumed that she was not as experienced between the sheets as she appeared.

However, with the way the recruits that he bunked with at the Academy acted, he had suspected that her experience during training was similar. He figured with her extroverted nature and rather alluring features, she had had no trouble at all finding men to keep her company during her time at basic training.

He guessed he was being a bit of a hypocrite.

"You were my first, too."

The words were so quiet that, for a moment, Raina wasn't even sure she had heard him. In the pale moonlight, she searched his features, looking for any sign of jest. She saw none.

"Really?" She couldn't hide the surprise in her voice, her arm finding its way to his chest so that she could rest her chin against the back of her hand. "I would have thought you would have gotten plenty of experience in the Academy."

The man gave her a wry grin; his thoughts having been the same in regards to her. "I guess we were both wrong in our assumptions then."

Raina smiled in return, her cheek resting against the skin of her hand. The look she gave him was so affectionate that it sent his heart into another round of palpitations. His guilt still weighed heavily on his mind though.

"I hate that you wasted your first time on a lecherous man like me."

Raina's brows furrowed at the term. "Lecherous? You're four years my senior – that's practically nothing when you consider we're both adults."

Ray knew he was being ridiculous pulling the age card – however, it still didn't sit right with him. "I just hate that I took your last piece of innocence from you."

Raina huffed, sitting up so that her face was level with his. Ever the bold one, the young woman didn't even attempt to hide the sight of her unbound chest from him. Ray fought to keep his eyes locked on her's, refusing to gaze upon her in a disrespectful manner after what she had given to him.

"Ray Hawkeye," The young woman poked her hand to his chest, the accusation clear in her tone. "I chose to give this part of myself to you. You took nothing that I wasn't willing to give. If anyone should feel guilty, it should be me. I had no idea that I was taking the same thing from you."

Ray wouldn't have her feeling any remorse on his part. "Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't have given this to you unless I wanted to. Even though I feel guilty over the whole thing, I don't feel regret for anything I've given you."

"Not even Flame Alchemy?"

Well…

"No," He finally answered. He gazed up into Raina's deep black eyes, his words brooking no room for argument. "You are the only person in the world that I trust enough to share that with and I know you will repent for what was done in Ishval. Once you burn my back, we will no longer have to worry about the evil that Flame Alchemy can cause."

Raina grimaced at the mention of their promise. She sunk back to his chest, her chin resting on her hand once more. Unlike before, her eyes averted from his gaze.

"You promised," He reminded her, bringing a hand up to brush a few errant strands of dark hair away from her forehead. Her eyes still wouldn't meet his. "Once I've graduated, I want you to hold up your end of the deal. I want you to set me free from my burden."

"You'll hate me," Raina muttered quietly, staring at the crisp white sheets wedged between their bodies. "I'm glad I had this moment with you, because I doubt you'll ever be able to look at me the same again."

"That's not true," Ray assured her, pulling her in closer. His actions caused her to glance up, her eyes finally meeting his own. "I could never hate you. I tried – oh, trust me, I tried. When I found out what you were doing in Ishval, I wanted to hate you – but I couldn't. It turns out, you're just as human as the rest of us."

This did little to help quell her fears. All she could think of is the smell of burning flesh and the fear that would grip her heart knowing that it was his. They still had a few weeks before he graduated and Raina hoped it was time enough to get him to change his mind.

"This can't happen again."

His words brought her back from her thoughts, fear gripping her heart for another reason entirely.

"What do you mean?" She heard herself ask, but it was almost as if she was listening in on a conversation from far away. Though she knew what he was going to say, it didn't help her increasing heart rate or the nervous sweat that broke out over her skin.

"We can't have an intimate relationship with each other," Ray clarified, back to his usual blunt way of wording things. "Once I've graduated, this will become fraternization. If you plan on one day becoming Fuhrer, the last thing you need is a court martial on your record."

"So you have decided to stay in the military?" Raina asked, knowing that before they had left Ishval, Ray had begun to question his path in life. She knew he had always wanted to become an engineer and she found herself secretly hoping that he would still pursue that career at some point in the future.

"Not yet." Ray admitted, his eyes narrowing pensively as he stared at the ceiling. "But you're not the only one who needs to repent, so I think I will likely follow in your footsteps."

"Just as you did before."

Ray smiled, though it held no humor. "Yes, just as I did before."

"You know," Raina's brows rose, her hand guiding his chin so that he was once more looking at her. "That didn't work out so well the first time."

"It didn't." He admitted, placing his hand over her's where it lay on his cheek. "But I have a promise to live up to as well."

Raina couldn't help but think that one day these promises were going to be the death of them.

"Hm, we'll see."

#royai #roy mustang #riza hawkeye #fma #fullmetal alchemist #fmab #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai fanfiction #fma fic #fma fanfic #fma fanfiction #royai genderbend #genderbend au #my fanfiction

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evil-overlord-scriptology · 4 years

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But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 2 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 8, 9, & 10

Chapter 8: Don’t Mess with Yanagi

“Damnit Yanagi, have you seen my goggles?” Obito asked frantically as he shunshined all over the house looking for those stupid things. I rolled my eyes and ignored him as I guzzled down my morning tea. I didn't need ruckus this early in the morning, especially not when I was going to have to deal with Naruto later on in the day. It was always the same. Obito was always able to find his goggles on any normal day, but the rare days that his team got called for missions was when he lost the things.

I spoke, “Why does it matter? Rin knows you and Kakashi are going to be late. That's why she set the meeting at Godforsaken four in the morning.” If there was anyone who knew how to manipulate the Copy-nin and the Uchiha Prankster, it was Rin.

“Stop making snarky comments and help me, woman!” Was all my brother responded with.

Sighing I looked directly at the object he was looking for. Obito's battle goggles were laying on the kitchen table, where he always tossed them after his police squad finished for the day. I contemplated in telling Obito, but then that would take away the fun it would be to watch him tear apart the house looking for his goggles.

“Why do you even wear them anymore? It's not like you still have that eye problem.” I called. Obito had been born with some kind of defect that made his eyesight weak. When we were younger, his eyes would constantly dry out, forcing my brother to carry around an eyedropper and wear goggles to protect his sensitive eyes. When Obito finally activated his sharingan, the eye problem disappeared but he didn't stop wearing those stupid goggles.

Obito made some remark about his goggles being part of him or whatever. It's not like I ever understood what he was talking about half the time anyway. I knocked back the rest of my tea and turned around to set the cup by the full sink. My eye twitched at the sight. Reason Number 27 why Obito and I didn't get along: I was a clean freak and he wasn't.

“You forgot to do the dishes again!” I yelled as I made my way towards the door.

Obito poked his head out of my room, “That's not important right now, Yanagi. I need to find those goggles!”

I glared at him as I sat down to put on my sandals, “Well they're definitely not in my room. Have you even looked in the kitchen yet?” I heard Obito grumbling about something, but I chose to ignore it. Whatever he was saying would only piss me off anyway.

There was a spike of chakra that told me Obito was shunshining into the kitchen, followed by his exclaims of delight. I stood and retrieved my weapons pouch from the small table by the door where I had set it last night, trying to ignore the cheering coming from the kitchen. I was tempted to tell Obito to find a room, but that would only start another yelling match. It was too early in the morning for fighting.

“Bye! Have fun on your mission!” I called as I ran out the door and into the foggy predawn morning. For some odd reason I felt as if I were a genin again, eagerly running to meet my team and show off the cool new jutsu my brother had taught me the night before.

Not that I wanted to be around Team 7, of course.

Training ground six, where I trained my genin, was one of the lesser used training grounds that the Uchiha clan owned. Obito and I were normally the only ones who actually used it since it was the closest to our house, so making Team 7 meet there wouldn't be a hassle to anyone. I didn't need more of a headache than what I got by just standing in those brats' presence. Anyway, I liked training ground six. When it wasn't being used, the area was very quiet and peaceful. If one ignored the burn marks and notches in the woods from stray weapons, one could say it was very beautiful.

Settling myself in the crook of my favorite tree, I pulled out my book and opened it to the well-worn bookmark and began reading. I only had an hour of this peace before a certain knucklehead blonde came and ruined it with his loud mouth.

It wasn't long after I arrived that my first genin did. I had maybe read ten pages when I felt the presence of a puny amount of chakra. Well... puny to me. For a genin, that amount of chakra was quite a bit; but considering that I had two clan kids on the team it wasn't surprising they'd be more advance.

“Come out, come out.” I called softly, like the antagonist in children tales. Like I expected Hinata shuffled into my view, her cheeks dark with a blush and twiddling her fingers in anxiety. I easily leapt from the tree and landed in front of her, “You know we still have an hour until the team meets right?” I questioned.

Hinata just fidgeted nervously, “I-I...” She started then stopped, her throat working as she tried to spit out words and failed.

I raised an eyebrow, “I'm not going to bite.” I pointed out, feeling that I probably should. This poor kid was obviously terrified of me. I wondered what I did to make her so nervous, I hadn't been that bad... hadn't I? I waited for a little longer, but when it was obvious she wasn't going to make a peep, I rolled my eyes, “Well, it's a good thing you are here early, now we have an hour to get rid of that shyness. Sit.” I put a hand on her slight shoulder and pressed down, making the girl sit on the dewy grass.

“Here.” I said and shoved a book into her hands. Hinata looked down at the cover and immediately blanched, so she recognized it. I laughed, “Best way to get over shyness, read that book.” I said.

Hinata swayed, looking faint. I rolled my eyes again and snatched my brother's copy of Icha Icha from her hands, “Alright, maybe not.” I said and tossed the book over my shoulder, not caring where it landed. I had planned to rip the pages it out and make wallpaper for Obito's room, but I didn't want to touch the book longer than necessary. Sitting down in front of the shy Hyuuga heiress I tried a different route, “Did you know when I was in the police force I had a teammate who talked less than you?”

Pearl colored eyes glanced up at me nervously, as if I were some type of monster luring her into a false sense of security. I decided to ignore her look and continued talking like she wasn't there, “Yep, his name is Uchiha Ibo. He's extremely shy, more so than you. He uses hand signs to communicate.” Hinata seemed surprised that, for whatever reason. I guess it was surprising to hear that someone was worse than she was.

I clapped my hands loudly, making Hinata jump, “Right then. You're a kunoichi, so you're going to have to get over that shyness one day. Best start early before you're stuck in a jam because you put this off. Any questions before we begin?”

“D-did y-y-you h-ha-have p-p-prob-problems?” Hinata asked shakily.

“Are you kidding? Obito-nii would have beaten any shyness out of me before I was five.” I deadpanned. It was probably true. I'd never know since I grew up assertive and stubborn, being an Uchiha branded that personality into me at an early age. I honestly didn't know how Ibo had managed to keep on to his timid nature for so long. The clan saw timidity as a weakness, so to find a twenty year old man who rarely spoke and blushed almost constantly was a rare find. “Now, first lesson of the day...”

vvv

“S-sensei?” Hinata asked later that day, while we, or rather they, were cleaning out the dumpsters behind one of the Akimichi restaurants.

I ignored her and continued to read my book.

“S-sensei...?” Oh great, she was even more hesitate now. I kept my eyes firmly glued to my book, taking note that Sasuke and Naruto were pausing in their work to watch Hinata. I had told Hinata that I wouldn't speak to her unless she addressed me without stuttering. Until she said 'sensei' without stuttering I wasn't going to look up from my book.

“S-s-sensei?” Nope. Ignore.

“Hey! Hinata-chan is talking to you!” Argh, I should have known Naruto would butt in. It would be uncharacteristic of him not to. He wouldn't be Naruto without messing up something. Still I wasn't going to say a word until I got what I wanted. These kids would soon learn that no one could break my silence treatments.

“Sss...ensei?” That was better, but not perfect. I licked my thumb and flipped a page of my book. I flicked my eyes briefly towards Hinata, enough to show that I was listening but not enough to acknowledge she was actually speaking. Hinata would know what I meant. The girl took a deep shaking breath and said, slowly, “Sensei?”

I finally turned my full attention on her, “Yes, Hinata?”

“C-can,” My eyes narrowed and she blushed red before starting over, “Can I... ask you a q...estion?” The Hyuuga heiress managed. I rolled my eyes at her almost mistake and waved my hand for her to continue, “W...hy do we... h-ave to... to do mi...ssions? Won't y-ou t...each us some-something?” I frowned at the stuttering towards the end.

I stood from my seat on a pile of wood pushed up against the back fence, “Tired of D-rank missions already?” I asked amused.

Sasuke and Hinata said nothing, but their expressions said 'yes'. Naruto was more vocal about his opinion, “Yeah! These don't teach us anything! I want to get out there and fight some bad guys!” He said pumping his fist to show his eagerness.

Sighing, I pressed my fingers to my forehead and shook my head sadly. Woe to those who has to deal with Naruto. “Slow down, brat, you'll get killed that way.”

“But if you teach us, then we won't get killed!” Naruto snapped back.

“No matter how much I teach you, that kind of recklessness can get you killed.”

“Won't! I'm going to be the Hokage!” Naruto yelled childishly. And just was did that have to do with getting killed on a mission? I could tell him that there were thousands of people who wanted to become Hokage and they all died before their first B-rank mission because they had the same reckless behavior Naruto did. But I didn't since I wasn't that cruel.

I gave up on the argument, since it was futile to argue with stupidity, “Keep telling yourself that, kid. I'm going to enjoy laughing at your failure at tree walking.”

“Hey! I won't fail at... wait, are you going to teach us something?!” Man, if anyone needed to have something announce, they should just hire the Kyuubi brat. I swear the people in Kumogakure could hear him.

“That's what I said, didn't I?” I questioned dryly with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto leapt into the air with joy, whooping and cheering that he was going to learn an awesome new jutsu while Hinata and Sasuke looked mildly excited. I guess doing chores all day was really getting to them.

“Alright, finish up this mission then I'll teach you tree walking.” I should have known disaster would strike then. What would Team 7 be if a mission went without incident?

vvv

“Tree walking is one of the hardest but most common chakra controlling exercise. It's also the first step to water walking, which is an essential tool in many fights.” I started, glaring at Naruto when he opened his mouth to interrupt me. The boy immediately quelled under my harsh gaze and didn't speak. I waited a moment to be sure that he didn't go ahead and interrupt before I continued, “To walk up a tree, you must use the right amount of chakra to stick your foot to the tree; too much and the tree explodes underneath you, too little and you slip and fall. Observe.” I turned and walked up the tree I was leaning on with ease. Though tree walking wasn't as commonly used in combat as water walking, it was still useful–mostly as a way of traveling through trees. Especially in Konoha. I turned to face my team with I was a good two meters up the tree trunk, “Any questions?”

“Yeah, what the heck does this have to do with learning kickass jutsus?!” Of course it was Naruto.

I leapt off the tree and landed in front of the three genin again, “Simple. In battle, ninja fight with jutsus. Jutsus require chakra to perform. Having good chakra control enables the user to perform jutsus to their maximum efficiency without wasting any chakra. Thus it also gives the user more chakra to use in a battle. Understand?” All three shook their head 'no'. I sighed, well damn it. Why did I get stuck with the stupid kids?

“Look think of it this way, say a person can use about twenty different jutsus with medium damage in a battle without learning to control their chakra. If that person does learn chakra control, they can boost the number of jutsus they perform from twenty to say... thirty as well as boosting the power of their jutsus. Learning chakra control also is essential to learning medical ninjutsu and Konoha has a rule that there must be a medic nin on each team. One of you will be learning medical ninjutsu as well.” I stared right at Hinata when I said that. The kunoichi was usually the one who learned medical ninjutsu since women have better control than most men.

Naruto, being the dramatic brat that he was, groaned exaggeratedly and fell back on his back, “But why?” He persisted.

My eyebrow started twitching in irritation. Up until now I had been almost civil to the brats, they were highly amusing after all, but my patience was starting to wear thin... not that I had that much to begin with anyway. In a sharp voice I started counting off the benefits to tree walking, “Increases chakra control, gives you better balance, can be used in battle, is the first stepping stone in walking on water...”

There was a slight breeze that suddenly shot past me. Being a jounin I immediately flinched to the right, automatically thinking that I was being attacked. I spun around, hand already going for my kunai pouch in preparation for whatever came at me. Instead all I got was the sight of Naruto's blazing orange back racing towards the tree I had walked up.

He got three steps before falling flat on his back. I didn't even feel a spike of chakra coming from the untrained genin. By the time someone reached my level of experience, even lower actually, there was hardly a sign that they were focusing chakra to their feet. A genin however, especially a dead last like Naruto, needed time to focus their chakra.

“You didn't even use chakra, did you?” I questioned dryly, already knowing the answer.

Naruto went from rubbing the back of his head and grimacing in pain to shouting at me, “That was just a practice run!”

This kid was just like Denryoku...

“Sure it was, brat. Now why don't you try for real this time. Focus your chakra first, then run for the tree. You'll get better results.” I said before glancing at Sasuke and Hinata. They hadn't moved from where they were. As a Hyuuga and an Uchiha they should have already been introduced to exercises similar to tree walking, especially Hinata whose clan fighting style relied on strong chakra control. “Alright you two, practice even if you already know it.” I said and the two kids strode after Naruto.

I sat down where I stood and pulled out my book. Now that the brats were occupied with training, I could finish it.

vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

“Hey...” Naruto said in a creepy mysterious voice. Both Hinata and Sasuke stopped practicing their tree walking to look at the blonde. Of all three of them, Naruto was the most bruised since he had no prior training. Sasuke fared a little better, his clan focused more on ninjutsu than building stamina; while Hinata remained unscathed.

Naruto looked to the right then left in a shifty manner, “What do you think Frizzy-sensei reads? She's always reading that book.” He whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards their oblivious sensei.

Sasuke had to admit that he was curious. He hardly knew anything about either of his cousins, other than that they were related to him through Kaa-chan and that both were extremely ill tempered. For some reason, Obito and Yanagi didn't get along with Otou-san; but why exactly, Sasuke didn't know.

“Shisui says that Obito-itoko reads perverted books.” Sasuke said, mostly to himself. The navy haired Uchiha glanced at his sensei/cousin, could she...?

“Eh? Who's Obito?” Naruto asked, his eyes squinting in confusion.

Surprisingly it was Hinata who answered, “O-O-Obito i-i-i-is S-sen-sensei's b-b-b-b-b-bro-broth-brother.” She managed to wring out, blushing red. Sasuke was tempted to tell her not to try and talk to Naruto. Hinata risked fainting every time she even looked at her crush. How Naruto hadn't noticed their teammates affection yet was beyond Sasuke.

“Oh... then who's Shisui?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Shisui is my Aniki's best friend. He is close to Obito-itoko. Shisui says that Obito and Kakashi-san read Icha Icha all the time. It's their favorite book series.”

Hinata was turning even more red. Sasuke glanced at his female teammate curiously. Normally she only blushed when she was thinking about Naruto, or speaking to him, or looking at him, or hearing his voice... basically anytime Naruto was within ten feet of her. So why was she blushing now when all Sasuke did was mention a book series?

Shrugging it off as strange girl behavior, Sasuke continued, “Do you think that sensei might read the same thing?”

Naruto started snickering, “I knew there was something weird about her!” He said between snorts. Then he suddenly lit up with an idea. Sasuke had learned already that that usually didn't bode well for the team's health or sanity. “Hey, what if we...” More shifty looks, “found out if she does read those smutty books?”

Sasuke had a mild panic attack. Trying to go against Yanagi would be like trying to prank Obito: suicidal. Sasuke had already learned his lessons about messing with his cousins and he didn't wish to repeat either of them.

Bamf!

Hinata fainted, of course. Luckily Sasuke managed to catch her before she hit her head on the ground. He glared at Naruto, “Do you have a death wish?” It wasn't that he feared Yanagi; but he had noticed that everyone in the clan, save very few people, usually took steps to avoid her when Yanagi was pissed. Caution was always a good trait to have when you're a shinobi.

“Of course not! Frizzy-sensei can't be that bad.” Naruto defended hotly. Then he immediately went back into his 'scheming mode' “Now... here is what I was thinking we should do.”

Why Sasuke even listened, he'd never know. But the young Uchiha had to admit that his blonde teammate did have a talent for pranking. Though... it was no where near as good as Obito's talent.

vvv Normal POV vvv

“Sensei?” I glanced up at Naruto and raised an eyebrow. The kid's expression was uncharacteristically serious. I automatically suspected something.

“There's no way you're finished with the exercise.” I said, my voice carefully void of all suspicion. I had learned from growing up with Obito that you never let the prankster know that you know they're up to something. Besides, with Naruto's one track mind, I might be able to distract him.

No dice.

Naturally, being an Uchiha and a powerful jounin, I refuse to admit to anyone what happened next. One minute the Kyuubi brat was standing in front of me, almost frowning, and the next he was tearing across the training grounds with my book in his hands. It took me a second for it to click that some damn newly made genin just stole something right out from under my nose.

Someone was going to die.

“UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!” I roared as I shot to my feet. I was delicate for both my height and age–I barely looked like a proper jounin let alone a chunnin–but I had a pair of lungs courtesy of having a fire chakra nature. All shinobi with Katon ninjutsu had to have a healthy set of lungs, especially to pull of the Uchiha style Grand Fireball technique.

Plus growing up with Nii-san helped too.

I had nearly caught the damned brat when he tossed the book across the clearing to Sasuke. If I wasn't so pissed I'd be impressed by his arm strength. My cousin caught the book easily and leapt up into the trees, taking off to a destination unknown. I shunshined twice to narrow the gap between us and reached out to grab the brat by his Uchiha collar. I'd never understand why most of my kinsmen liked those stupid high collar shirts.

Sasuke stopped abruptly and dropped the book, letting it fall towards the ground, before evading my grip. Great. Now I had to change trajectory and free fall to grab my book.

I was going to murder whoever thought this was a good idea.

Three Narutos passed in below me, one nabbing the book out of the air while the other two stalled me for a brief moment, allowing the first Naruto to gain distance. What made matters even worse, they started jeering at me. I glared and grabbed the Naruto to my right and swung him into his partner. They both disappeared in a puff of smoke. That took me by surprise. I hadn't known that Naruto could create shadow clones.

Maybe he wasn't such a dead last after all...

But he was still dead.

Shunshining closer to the culprit who had my book I yelled out, “Stop right there or else!”

Naruto grinned at me over his shoulder, “What will you do? You can't even catch me!” He teased. I stopped on the branch I had just landed on and watched with a flat expression as the still mocking Naruto slammed into a tree.

I take it back. He was a dead last for sure, he just had a very unexpected high ranked jutsu in his arsenal. And probably the only one too.

“You gonna hand the book over now? Or do I have to get serious?” I asked boredly, my arms crossed over my chest, when Naruto finally caught his bearings.

The kid squinted at me, “What is this book, anyway?” He asked curiously. I was surprised he didn't think to open it and look for himself; but he was dumb enough that I doubted he knew how to even open a book.

“Hand it over and we'll forget this stupidity on your part.” I said, holding out my hand for my book, “You won't ever bring it up and I won't make your life hell, alright?”

He tried to open the book.

I snatched it from him before he could read the characters on the page. For extra precaution I stuffed the thin volume down my flak vest, not trusting my genin to try and sneak into my weapons pouch where I normally kept it. Without a word I turned away from Naruto, who was blinking dumbly at his suddenly empty hands.

I was so signing them up for the 'Retrieve Tora' mission tomorrow. I deserved some damn entertainment after this stupid stunt!

Chapter 9: Cats, Aunts, and B-ranks, Oh My!

“Good job team! Real nice action out there today.” I said cheerfully as Team 7 walked back to the Missions Assignment Office after a hard day's work of one D-rank mission. Though, considering it was the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission, I guess I couldn't blame them for taking all day. Honestly, some teams took weeks to capture Tora.

I heard Sasuke mumble behind me, “Why do I get the feeling Sensei enjoyed this?” I ignored his comment, since it was true. I loved watching Naruto getting beaten by a cat, again; I had a feeling the blonde was starting to really hate cats. Especially after he nearly deafened the rest of Team 7 with his declaration of loathing cats for all eternity.

...Shouldn't have stolen my book yesterday.

Naruto answered Sasuke's rhetorical question in a much louder voice that I couldn't ignore, “Because Frizzy-sensei is in league with the devil! Look at her, Sensei is holding that demon cat!” It was true, Tora was purring happily in my arms, not at all like the creature who just kicked Naruto's skinny ass into next week.

And if Naruto called me 'Frizzy-sensei' again, I was going to kick him into the next century.

“Oh Tora, my precious baby! You must have been so scared!” The Daimyo's wife cooed when we returned Tora to his owner. “Mommy was so worried about his fuzzy little face! Oooooo I'll never let you out of my sight again~!”

Naruto laughed, “Ha! That kitty deserves to be squashed.”

My eye twitched and I contemplated on swatting the blonde upside the head, but decided against it with both the Hokage and Iruka in the room. They were too overly protective over Naruto that I couldn't get away with hitting the idiot. Especially Iruka, he had a trick that he could use to get revenge. The guy knew about my silent treatment towards Shisui; if I hit Naruto I didn't doubt that Iruka would sic Shisui on me in retaliation.

While the Daimyo's wife, Lady Shizimi, continued to smother her cat with affection, the Hokage began reading off more missions. Babysitting, shopping, gardening... the normal boring D-rank stuff.

“Noooooo!” Naruto whined, putting his forearms up to make an 'X'. I glared at him for interrupting the Hokage. “I wanna go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this kids' stuff!” I frowned a little, thinking what I could do to make Naruto's life more interesting, since he obviously thought everything he was doing was 'kid stuff'. And by interesting, I meant more entertaining for me. Maybe if I made his life hell enough now, he wouldn't beg for a higher ranked mission.

I glanced at the two silent clan kids. Sasuke was ready to go on C-rank missions, I'd admit that. But Hinata was nowhere near ready. While the girl was more advance in training than the boys, her personality was a major fall back. Hinata wouldn't last well outside the village, she'd probably faint when a rabbit hopped across her path! Still C-rank missions were simple. There was supposed to be little or no enemies on C-ranks, in fact C-ranks were generally just D-ranked missions that went outside the village. Maybe Hinata wouldn't do so bad on it...

I punched Naruto in the head when he started yelling at Iruka about D-ranks not being real missions, causing the brat to facefault. “Cork it, kid.” I said flatly. Ha! Now Iruka wouldn't get mad at me for hitting Naruto since I was only controlling the rowdy brat's behavior. While I watched the blonde whine and moan, though I didn't hit him nearly as hard as he was making it out to be, the Hokage began another monotone speech.

Ugh. Kill me now.

Immediately Naruto turned his back on the Hokage and began talking about the ramen he had over the past week. Out of sheer boredom, I listen to him. Hinata was the only one really listening to him though, Sasuke and I were doing it so we didn't have to hear the Hokage drone on and on.

“Silence!” Hiruzen snapped, though not very loud. He didn't seem like the person to actually yell–at least to people who didn't really know him. Hinata jumped like she had gotten caught drinking heavy sake or something; the rest of us just turned our attention casually back on Hiruzen.

I glanced at the Hokage, “...Sorry.” I said in a 'not-so-sorry' tone. If the Hokage wanted people to listen, then he should really learn to put inflection in his voice.

Naruto, still sitting for some stupid reason, turned back around, “You're always lecturing me like you're my grandfather or something,” Well... he kind of was. Naruto did call the Hokage 'jiji' sometimes, “but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!” Oh really? Than was do you call yesterday? “I'm a ninja now and I want a real mission!” After the somewhat speech, Naruto crossed his arms with a childish pout and turned around again. Whatever credibility he had just made, it was thrown out the window by his actions.

I sighed and wondered why the karma demons hated me to much.

The Hokage laughed. I mentally cringed, that laugh meant that I wasn't going to like what came next. “Naruto wants us to know that he's a former brat, and he wants a mission... so be it.” Cue surprised looks from all three genin and a groan from me, “Since you're so determined I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey.”

Damn it. I hated when I was right.

Naruto cheered and leapt up, “YES! Who? Who are we guarding? A princess?! Or some big league councilor?”

The Hokage still have that evil smirk on his face as he said, “I'll bring him in now. Send our visitor in.” He called a little louder.

The door behind us opened and we all turned to see a wizened old man, though he was younger than the Hokage, come stumbling in with a sake bottle hanging loosely in his grip. “Wha tha? A bunch of snot nosed kids?!” I raised an eyebrow, it wasn't even noon and already he was drunk. I liked sake as much as the next person, but I drew the line at being drunk during the day. The client took a swig of his sake and pointed to the team, “And you, the short one with the idiot face, you expect me to believe you're a ninja?”

I glanced at my team and smirked. Naruto was the shortest, even Hinata was a full inch taller than him. The kid predictably cracked up and glanced at his two teammates, not understanding that he was the one our client was talking about. I had to hold Naruto back when it finally dawned on him that Mr. Drunk was talking about him.

“You can't kill the client if he's annoying, Naruto... that's my job.” I said patiently as I griped the struggling genin by his appalling orange jacket. I could feel the Hokage and Iruka's equally disapproving looks drilling into my back. I ignored them.

The drunk introduced himself as Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. He gave a nasty little speech about protecting him even if it cost us our lives. I glared at him for that. I believed in sacrificing yourself for the life of a friend just like anyone else; but it was an automatic 'screw you' if someone who wasn't my superior, namely the Hokage, was telling me to give my life for them.

I wondered if the Hokage would dock my pay if I hogtied the man and dragged him to the Land of Waves by his hair.

Nah, better not; it'd set a bad example for the kiddies.

Snapping my fingers, I brought all attention to me, “Alright, we leave at three this afternoon. Go pack for a month long mission, and be at the gate by three or you can stay in Konoha. Sasuke, you're escorting the Grandpa Drunk around. Keep an eye on him. Now all of you shoo.” Sasuke was probably the only one who could handle being around Tazuna without trying to kill him or fainting. I completely ignored Tazuna's indignant shouts and Naruto's laugh as the four of them filed out of the room.

Hiruzen gave me a brief rundown of the mission: Team 7 would escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves, protecting him from any bandits we might come across, then act as a bodyguards as he and his men finished the bridge that would 'change the world' or whatever. When the Hokage finished his briefing, I gave a small bow and left.

The Daimyo's wife was still in the hall when I closed the door behind me. Tora had long since stopped struggling and coiled up in his owner's arms, purring like he hadn't been trying to escape. I smirked and gave a small bow, “Always a pleasure, my lady.” I said, meaning it.

The woman gave me a smirk that equaled my own, “Oh dearie, you know I love teasing genin. Both me and my precious Tora.” Lady Shizimi enjoyed screwing with impressionable minds almost as much as I did. It was one of the reasons why she and I got along so well. After all, there weren't many women out there who would purposefully train cats–all named Tora of course–to give newly made genin hell. It was almost a rite of passage for genin to take on the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission. Even Obito said that Minato mentioned doing the mission when he was a genin; though if I remember correctly it had been another Daimyo's wife, not Lady Shizimi, who had 'lost' Tora.

vvv

The house was empty when I got there. Obito didn't say how long his mission with Rin and Kakashi would be, but when the best jounin squad was called out on a mission, they could be gone for months. Seriously, what kind of mission required the best medic Konohagakure had, an ANBU captain, and an infiltration expert? Whatever it was, it had better be preventing another damn war.

I went to my room and pulled out my ready made mission pack I kept under the bed. Being a jounin and one of the top most powerful Uchiha, I was used to having missions at the drop of a hat so I always kept a mission pack ready just in case I was called out. Slinging my pack over one shoulder and grabbing my haiti-ate that I wore only when outside Konoha, I went to the kitchen to scribble a quick note for Obito in case he got back before I did.

Gone on C-rank with genin brats.

I won't interact with any men.

Don't look for my candy stash, it's hidden.

Hit Shisui for me.

And yourself.

And Kakashi.

Tell everyone I hate them.

~Yanagi

I took a kunai that needed to be sharpened and impaled the note to the kitchen table so Obito would see it. He hated it when I did that. Nii-san was weird about cuts in the table for some reason. Something about the table being the only thing we had of our parents left.

Whatever. Our parents died before I turned three, so I didn't care.

I still had two hours before we left. I was a stickler for being early and all, but even two hours was too much for me. Besides, it was lunchtime, I could eat something before we headed out; but with Kakashi gone with Obito I had no one to eat with. I wasn't keen on eating by myself, too many men tried to flirt with me when I was by myself. I might not like Obito being an overprotective troll of a brother, but I hated flirty men who didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested even more.

Still... I did have one option.

“Sensei?” Sasuke questioned when he opened the door. By the look of his face, I think I successfully stumped the kid. It wasn't a secret that Fugaku detested me and my brother and visa-versa; as a result Obito and I avoided from the Uchiha Main House like the plague.

I gave my student/cousin a blank look, “Is your dad home?” I asked boredly. Sasuke shook his head 'no' and I grinned, “Perfect. Then I'm staying for lunch.” Mikoto had giving Nii-san and I an open invitation to come over for meals at anytime. But we usually declined because Fugaku was there. While I loved my aunt, I didn't want anything to do with her husband.

Before Sasuke could answer I ducked around him and took off my sandals. As I pulled my gloves off, I looked at the still somewhat dumbfounded Sasuke out of the corner of my eye, “Where's Grandpa Drunk?” Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog-

“HEY! You've gotta awfully lot of guts calling me names!”

Damn it.

I glared at Tazuna who was in the hallway glaring right back at me. Behind him Itachi stood giving me a sort of disapproving blank look. I honestly didn't know how my cousin could do that. Glares normally didn't bother me, but Itachi had a way of getting under my skin with his staring, even when he was still a brat just learning to walk. I eventually found a way to bypass Itachi's stares, by accusing someone of bothering Sasuke they got the brunt of Itachi's looks and I got to sneak away with my dignity.

“Like you have guts calling my students idiots?” I asked Tazuna in a false sweet tone. Okay so he only called Naruto an idiot, but it was worth stretching the truth to see Itachi full out glare at Tazuna while the drunk broke out in a sweat. Ruffling Sasuke's hair as I walked past him–didn't want the preteen to feel left out–I headed for the kitchen, calling out for my aunt.

To say that Mikoto-oba left the stove to hug me when I stepped into her domain was saying something. That woman wouldn't leave the kitchen if the Kyuubi attacked again... maybe. I really didn't want to test the theory though. “Yanagi! Sasuke told me you're his sensei, I hope you're not going easy on him.” Mikoto-oba said when she finally let me go.

I grinned evilly, “Of course not.” I joked, “But don't worry, I'm not singling him out for torture. All three of them get the same evil treatment.” I continued lightly. Mikoto laughed. That was the reason while I liked my aunt. Unlike the rest of our family, hell the entire clan really, Mikoto had a sense of humor. She didn't get offended over a joke... unlike two certain cousins who were glaring at me.

Little brats.

I shot Itachi and Sasuke a disdainful look before smirking and turning back to my aunt. There was one topic that made the two extremely uncomfortable. Well, at least Itachi; I didn't have much interaction with Sasuke until I became his jounin sensei. “So... any good prospect for the boys?” Itachi seemed to be choking on air behind me, but I ignored him.

Wasn't my fault that Mikoto's hobby was matchmaking.

My question launched a full hour of listening to Mikoto spouting about all the different prospects of potential girlfriends and their advantages and disadvantages. Tazuna and I got a kick out of it while the Uchiha brothers were pretty much trying to murder me with glares. I'd chalk it up as dinner and a show.

“So, what about you Yanagi? Do you have a man yet?” Mikoto asked once she finished her rant that took up the majority of lunch. The downfall of asking my aunt about her hobby, she started playing matchmaker on me.

My amused expression fell flat, “No.”

“What?! Yanagi, you're in the prime of your life! You should live a little before you become old like me.”

“You're not old, Mikoto-oba!”

“Don't change the subject! Why aren't you dating?” Mikoto demanded, glaring at me darkly. I blanched. If there was one person who truly scared me, it was my aunt. I doggedly ignored Sasuke's quiet snickering across the table from me.

“Talk to Obito-nii. He's still an overprotective prick.”

“Don't call your brother a prick.”

“Yes mother.”

“And I'll talk to Obito.”

“I never said I wanted to date anyone!”

By Mikoto's expression, one would think I had just said that Itachi and Sasuke were committing incest. Slowly her horrified expression turned into fury. I was in trouble now. I stood up and grabbed Tazuna and Sasuke by the backs of their shirt collars, “Gotta go. Mission. Bye!” I said quickly then bodily dragged my two meat shields from the house.

vvv

“Yeeaaaaah! Alright!” Naruto screeched the moment he stepped outside the village gates. The rest of us just stared at him.

Hinata, surprisingly, was the one to ask what everyone was thinking albeit more politely, “W-what is it, N-Naruto-k-k-kun?” Well at least she wasn't taking a minute just to stutter out a word anymore.

The blonde Kyuubi brat began looking around exaggeratedly, jumping around the well worn road that lead to Konoha's gates, “This is the first time I've ever been outside the village! I'm a traveler now, believe it!” The kid exclaimed then began laughing like a loon.

There wasn't a word good enough to describe his stupidity.

Tazuna look at me, “Hey, am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!” I noticed that Naruto stiffened up as he overheard the drunk.

I gave the man a Kakashi-style eye smile, “Oh don't worry about that. I'm a jounin so I'll be able to protect you should the need arise. What you do need to worry about is if idiocy is contagious; I hear Grandpa Drunks catch it very easily.” I said cheerfully.

“HEY!” Two equally offended people shouted. Three guesses on who. Sasuke was giving me a look that said 'no matter what you say, I'm not related to you' while Hinata looked horrified for some odd reason. I only giggled at their faces.

Walking forward I grabbed Naruto's backpack straps, “Come on. I don't want to be late.” I said mildly as I began dragging Naruto behind me. He was too busy shouting at Tazuna about being Hokage to pay attention anyway. Besides, he'd probably attack the client if I let him go.

…

“...and then I had beef ramen again for lunch. I really like the beef, but my favorite is pork ramen! Though miso ramen is another good one! I also like naruto better than menma in my ramen because I'm named Naruto! Plus menma tastes nasty, it's like I'm eating grass instead of yummy naruto! Last week Iruka took me to Ichiraku ramen again, that place is so great! I like it better than the instant noodles I used to eat when I was in the Academy. When I become Hokage, I'm going to eat Ichiraku ramen all day long and-”

“That's unhealthy.” I broke in. From the relieved sighs, I was guessing that everyone else, even Hinata, were glad for a break in the three hour long ramen speech.

Naruto looked up at me confused, “Huh?”

I gave him a flat look out of the corner of my eye, “Eating nothing but ramen is unhealthy. You should add vegetables and fruits to your diet. I'd say stop eating ramen altogether, but that's not going to happen.” I added the last part under my breath so Naruto couldn't hear me. If he did the brat would no doubt go into a long rant about the pros of ramen.

Naruto stuck his tongue out and made a face, “Ewww! Vegetables are gross.” He said childishly.

“Only if you don't cook them right.” I snapped right back.

“No they wouldn't! They'd still be gross.”

I leaned down so that my face was inches from the squinty eyed kid, “Oh really? Listen here, Obito Mini-me, my brother doesn't like vegetables either but he likes the way I fix them.”

“I'M NOT HIS MINI-ME!!”

“Actually... you kinda are.” Sasuke suddenly piped up. Naruto and I turned to my cousin to see him looking Naruto up and down. By the contemplating look on his face, I'd say that Sasuke was making many connections between the Kyuubi brat and my annoying Nii-san.

Naruto turned red with anger and slammed his foot into the ground, “Listen here, teme, I am not that creep's Mini-me! We are nothing alike!” I sighed as Sasuke vs Naruto Round 254 started. And yes, I was keeping count.

Hinata and Tazuna exchanged confused looked, not known Obito on a more personal level like the three of us did. I grabbed the two arguing boys heads and turned them forward, making the two keep walking. I was not going to stop for every time Naruto decided to pick a fight with Tazuna, Sasuke or me. He can learn to walk and talk like the rest of us.

“T-Tazuna-san?” Hinata asked several minutes later after Naruto and Sasuke went to sulk in their separate 'corners'.

Grandpa Drunk swallowed his gulp of sake and turned to the shy Hyuuga, “Yeah?” Hinata asked something about the Land of Waves, but I wasn't paying attention. My eyes were on that sake bottle of Tazuna's. I was going to be an alcoholic if I had to continue to deal with Naruto's idiocy, that much I was certain of. Might as well start now... if I could get a hold of that bottle that is...

“S-ensei?” Hinata questioned, pulling me out of my alcohol musings. I looked at my nervous student and raised an eyebrow. “A-are there any nin...ja in the L-and of W-waves?” She managed to say without stuttering too much. Well it was better than when she graduated at least.

Wait, I had to do a lesson didn't I? Weren't they supposed to learn this in school?! “No, not in the Land of Waves; though in some other countries there are hidden villages. Having a hidden village means having shinobi. But there's not a hidden village anywhere in the Land of Waves. There are five great nations that have a hidden villages: the Lands of Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and Lightning. There are smaller countries that have hidden villages, but they don't have a Kage. The Kages are the leaders of the hidden villages in the Five Great Nations. Konoha has the Hokage. There's also the Tsuchikage, Kazekage, Mizukage and Raikage. Those five are the rulers of thousands of ninja in their own country. Got it?” Quickest rundown on hidden villages and shinobi ever.

“So-so Lord H-hokage is r-r-eally important?” Hinata asked when I finished my spiel. I look at her, then at the two boys. From their expressions, I could tell that none of them were thinking really highly of the Hokage at the moment. But who could blame them, for all they knew the Hokage was just a grandfather figure. Not the war general the adults in Konoha knew.

Still I wasn't going to let them get away with it, it was a golden opportunity to scold the lot of them, “You're doubting the Hokage aren't you?” I asked sternly, my hands going to my hips. All three kids looked away sheepishly. I rolled my eyes, they were just making it obvious. I put my hand on Hinata's head, “Still. Don't worry about any foreign ninja. This is a C-rank, there's hardly ever and confrontations on a C-rank mission.” That seemed to take a load off the three.

Was it just me or was Tazuna stiffening up?

vvv

It was relatively quiet now. Naruto wasn't rambling on about ramen and Hinata wasn't pestering Tazuna with stuttered questions. The only sounds were the happy songs of birds in the trees and the footsteps of five people. I was tempted to take my book out and start reading, or possibly get into Tazuna's sake stash, but something was telling me not to. Twelve years as a kunoichi taught you to listen to your instincts. Man, if it was me just being paranoid again I was going to strangle myself.

My three genin walked right past a puddle and didn't even look down; Tazuna didn't notice it either. As they should have. Puddles were meant to be inconspicuous and overlooked.

Damn it. I hate puddles.

“Hold up!” I called. My four companions turned around in enough time to see me bending over as if to readjust my left sandal strap. Out of view, my Sharingan activated and gave a quick spin before darkening back into obsidian.

Try getting out of an Area of Effect genjutsu now, suckers.

While everyone was under the genjutsu I shunshined into the treeline and watched as the chunnin level Kiri nins, if their headbands were anything to go by, leapt out of that damn puddle and used their chains to cut 'me' to ribbons. Literally.

Ugh. I hate Bloody Mist nins.

Both nuke-nins went after Naruto, who was too busy screaming my name to pay attention to the Kiri nins. He froze in fear, predictably since Naruto was only a genin with no previous battle training, as the two nuke-nins came for him. Their chains were still dripping in 'my' blood. My cheek twitched a little, maybe the genjutsu I had cast was a little too gruesome for genin. I tensed, ready to intervene and screw the plan, when Sasuke jumped out of no where and pinned the nuke-nins' chains to a nearby tree.

Guess clan training/torture does come in handy sometimes.

Using taijutsu, Sasuke managed to kick the Kiri nuke-nins back and thus breaking their chains in the process. The two attackers recovered quickly, as expected from chunnin level shinobi, and went for Naruto again. I frowned, wondering what their motive was. Were the two really after the Kyuubi, or were they just clearing out the competition before they went after the real target? Regardless of their true target, it would have been strategical to finish Sasuke off since he was the higher threat.

One of the shinobi broke off and went for Tazuna and Hinata. The Hyuuga whimpered plaintively and stood in front of Tazuna, the kunai in her hands shaking so badly I doubted she would be able to even hit the enemy if he was two inches in front of her. She didn't move as the enemy reached out with his clawed gauntlet for... Tazuna behind her.

So Tazuna was the real target.

Sasuke leapt in front of Hinata, arms wide, intending to take the blow that wasn't even going for the Hyuuga heiress. Then I saw the glove move slightly down so it would stab straight through Sasuke and possibly through Hinata as well. Killing two birds with one stone, as it were. Shit shit shit shit! If they did hit Hinata and Sasuke it would ruin the genjutsu!

I shunshined out of my hiding place and grabbed the nuke-nin going for the brats and bodily swung him into his partner. They both went rolling head over tail before crashing head first into the tree that Sasuke had previously pinned their chains to. I shunshined after them, grabbed the chains and tied the annoying piss-ants up using their own weapons. If they happened to get cut with their poisons chains, too bad so sad.

Dusting my hands off to get rid of their filth I turned back to the group, all of whom were staring at me like they had seen a ghost.

Oh wait...

I put up two fingers and exclaimed, “Kai!” The world we were standing in dissolved away, 'my' nasty and very gruesome remains disappearing along with Naruto's scratch from the shinobi that attacked him. The nuke-nin twitched, “Y-You mean it was just a genjutsu?!” The one of the right with the darker clothing asked.

“Well yeah... what did you expect when fighting an Uchiha?” I said as if it were obvious. Which it should have been. I looked back at my team, “Nice work Sasuke, very smooth.” I complimented. After taking on two chunnin level nuke-nins and actually giving them trouble for a few seconds, my cousin deserved some praise from me. The others... not so much. Though Hinata did stand her ground instead of fleeing. “I'm proud of you too Hinata. That was very brave.” The two kids looked at me surprised.

Naruto on the other hand... he looked genuinely horrified as he thought back on the fight. I wasn't going to say anything. My silence would be enough of a reprimand. After all, Naruto had just thought he faced a life and death situation, anyone could freeze up like he did.

Then Sasuke decided to egg him on like the little prick he was, “Hey, you're not scared are you... scaredy cat?” The look on my little cousin's face was so evil, I didn't know if I should be impressed or swat him upside the head for teasing Naruto. Maybe both.

I settled on both, “Don't torment Naruto, Duckass.” I snapped while I was mentally cheering him on. Not that I'd ever tell him that, the kid didn't need that already big ego of his inflated anymore. “By the way, Tazuna...” The drunk stiffened and turned to me, his stance automatically defensive. Well, any doubt I had was just laid to rest, “We're going to have a nice long talk.” The man gulped.

Good.

I pointed to the two slouched over nuke-nins, “Those are chunnin level shinobi from Kirigakure, according to the Bingo Book they go by the Demon Brothers. They specialize in relentless attacks, often to the point of being suicidal.” Why they weren't trying to escape now was strange though. Surely I hadn't freaked them out enough they they actually gave up. Wimps.

The nuke-nin to the right spoke again, “How did you know about our ambush?”

I held up three fingers, “Three reasons. One, I'm a jounin. You had better damn well know I'm better than that, it's an insult. Two, I'm a sensory type, I could feel your chakra in the puddle; which leads me to my third point,” My expression turned flat. “A puddle, on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks. Seriously, how did you two become chunnin?!”

Tazuna gave me a glare, “Then why did you leave it for the genin to do the fighting?”

“They were never in any danger.” I said calmly. Everyone else shifted, obviously thinking the same thing. I rolled my eyes, “I'm an Uchiha. Genjutsu is the clan's specialty. If I can't cast a simple Area of Effect genjutsu, then I'm a lousy clan member.” There was no way I was going to explain the intricacies of my genjutsu in front of the enemy. Everyone else can ponder all they want and come up with their own damn conclusions.

I continued before someone else could ask another question, “These wimps were no problem. I could easily kill them, but then I wouldn't know who they were after... would I, Tazuna?”

“What are you blathering about?!” Boy talk about defensive.

“It's obvious that these men were after you, Grandpa Drunk, don't bother denying it.” I said flatly. The man didn't say anything else, he only blushed a little. “A C-rank escort mission is a standard escort mission. There aren't supposed to be any ninja hunting clients during C-rank missions, just bandits and ruffians looking for easy pickings. Having enemy ninja on your tail is a B-rank or higher.” Tazuna looked more and more guilty for getting these kids in his mess with each word I spoke.

Hinata spoke up, “N-Naruto-k-k-kun is b-bad-badly h-h-h-h-hurt. W-we-we sh-should get him m-me-medical treat-tre-t-treatment f-fast.” She stuttered out from her spot. I turned to Hinata and opened my mouth to tell her that Naruto didn't need any help when the idiot suddenly stabbed his hand.

“What are you doing?!” I shouted, spinning around to stare at my stupid student. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hinata faint and Tazuna catch her. Don't tell me she fainted at the sight of blood too!

Naruto shook in pain and closed one eye, his expression serious for once. “Why am I so different? I work very hard to get here! I pushed myself until it hurt and trained alone for hours to get stronger and achieve my dream! I won't let someone else rescue me again, I won't back down. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. On this wound I make this pledge... believe it. Tazuna-san, I will complete this mission and protect you with this kunai. A real ninja never gives up, and neither will I! Now let's go!”

Tazuna and Sasuke seemed awed about Naruto's speech, I just stared at him deadpanned, “Naruto... that was, uh, really ...cool... and the speech was great but... um, there's no wound. And if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die.”

Naruto slowly looked down at his now injured hand and saw only the wound he had inflicted on himself. He was turning steadily paler, whether from blood loss or from the fact that he just had a unknown emo moment, I couldn't tell.

“Bu- I did get hurt! That guy hit me and he had poison claws and-”

“That was under genjutsu. He was actually striking that tree.” I said and pointed. Everyone, including the Demon Brothers, looked where I was pointing and saw three scratch marks on the tree, “Everyone thought it was you, but it wasn't. The wound disappeared when I released the genjutsu.” Naruto started sweating bullets as he looked at his still bleeding hand. I smiled, “Now would be the time to stop the bleeding... seriously. You have like a minute to live.”

Cue the freak out.

I rolled my eyes, “Let me see your hand.” While Naruto still did his freakout dance I took his hand and turned it over to see the wound. Lifting up my free hand I started the Mystical Palm Technique to heal it, creating green chakra around my fingers, until I noticed that the would was closing right before my eyes. I stiffened slightly then narrowed my eyes.

So the Kyuubi was healing him.

“Um...” Naruto started. I looked up to see him staring at me intently, shivering in fear, “You have a really serious look on your face... I'm not going to die am I?”

Hmmmm... troll him or reassure him? Choices... choices...

Troll him.

“Naruto, I'm sorry to tell you this but...” I trailed off and sadly shook my head. Tazuna gasped behind me. Naruto turned a sickly green color, then went whiter than a sheet. I stood up abruptly with my face impassive, “But you're going to live to annoy me longer. Congrats.” It took a second for Naruto to comprehend that he wasn't dying. Then I felt a soggy something slamming into me. “Ugh! What-?” I looked down to see Naruto burying his face in my side.

He turned his face up and gave me a teary, snot filled, smile, “Thank you, thank you, thank you sensei!”

“GET OFF ME, YOU DISGUSTING BRAT!” I yelled and tried to pull the kid off me. I was a clean freak, I didn't like snot nosed sobbing kids! I especially didn't like them hugging me. Naruto clung tighter as he continued to yell 'thank you'. I continued to yell for him to let go of me.

Chapter 10: Peaches

I sighed and snapped my book closed, giving up on trying to read. This fog was so damn thick I couldn't even read! I don't know why I let Naruto talk me into not turning around and going back to Konoha after the fight with the Kiri chunnin. I just knew there was going to be another big problem before this stupid mission ended. It wouldn't be a Team 7 mission if we didn't run into some kind of trouble.

“WOAH! It's huge!” Naruto suddenly shouted. I glanced up to see what the idiot was talking about now while the boatman scolded the blonde about his loudmouth. Like that would make a difference. Still, I was mildly impressed by the bridge Naruto had screamed about. Too bad we wouldn't see it finished, since I was dragging my team back to Konoha the minute Tazuna's foot hit the shore.

Still there was one thing bothering me...

“Yo, Grandpa Drunk...” I started. The man didn't react like he usually did, which gave me an insight to how serious this was. “Tell me why there are men after you.” I was still aborting the mission when we dropped Tazuna on shore, but due to morbid curiosity I wanted to know why this guy had gone from a seemingly harmless drunk to someone rogue ninja were after. I could smell a good story behind all this.

Might as well entertain myself with story time since I couldn't read.

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when Tazuna said, “I have no choice but to tell you–no I want you to know the truth.” Man was this guy dramatic, “Like you said, this isn't a true C-rank mission, the one who seeks my life is a very short man but cast a very long and deadly shadow.” I wondered mildly if Tazuna was trying to keep us interested enough to stay, or if he was just a naturally gifted story teller.

“ 'Cast a long and deadly shadow'? Hmmm... Who is it?” I asked, deciding to play along.

Tazuna gave me a solemn look, “...You know him... as Gatou. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world and-”

“I know of him.” I said flatly, not wanting Tazuna to continue his blathering. Granted I didn't know the midget was a black market dealer who worked in dirty under-the-table tactics, but still.

Naruto was doing his squinty face again, “Huh? Who? Who? What? What?” Seriously, the kid sounded like he was five years younger than his actual age. How I got saddled with him, I would never understand. The Hokage must have some beef with me that I didn't know about.

Grandpa Drunk went on to explain the dirty deeds of this Gatou, all without losing that dramatic flair he had going. Seriously, if this guy hadn't already devoted his life to bridge building he should have gone into professional story telling. The genin were hooked; even the boatman was listening raptly, all while rowing the boat of course. Tazuna went on to explain how the bridge would break Gatou's control over the Land of Waves, and thus putting Tazuna's life in danger. Blah blah blah, boring boring boring. I got enough drama from Obito, I didn't need it from Grandpa Drunk as well. Though, I had to admit, Tazuna was better at telling the story than Nii-san.

“So why did you request a C-rank, when you knew this was a B-rank mission?” I asked, keeping the conversation on track before Tazuna could go down the road of ramblings.

The old man looked down, silent for a moment, then spoke, “Because the Land of Waves is poor, not even our Daimyo have little money. I couldn't afford something higher than a C-rank.” I gave a flat stare. It was something as simple as money? With all the drama already saturating the story, I thought it would be more spectacular than that. “This bridge will bring prosperity to my home, but if you just drop me off there won't be a bridge. They'll assassinate me.”

My three little genin looked guilty, though Sasuke hid it better than Naruto or Hinata. I just continued to stare at him unimpressed by his blatant guilt-tripping. After growing up with Obito and Shisui I was immune to all guilt-trips of any kind.

Tazuna moved on to flat out blackmail. He gave us a fake smile and said in a light tone, “But don't feel bad about that! Of course my sweet little grandson will be upset. He'll cry 'Granddad! I want my granddad!'” The change in voice was amusing as Tazuna mimicked his 'grandson's voice. Hinata and Naruto looked extremely guilty now, like they had accidentally kicked a puppy. But Tazuna wasn't finished yet, “Oh and my daughter will condemn the ninja of Konohagakure, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning me and living her life in sorrow.” The old coot added quickly as if it wasn't a big deal. The man's beady eyes darted to my still unaffected stare and continued, “Ah oh well, it's not your fault, forget it!”

I stared at him stoically.

Tazuna sweatdropped, thinking his little scheme failed.

Finally I sighed reluctantly, “Fine, we'll keep guarding you.” If I had said no Naruto and possibly even Hinata would annoy me until they convinced me otherwise. It was best just to give in for now and let the drunk have this round. Tazuna lit up and I glared at him, causing him to whiten under his tan instantly.

Beside me Sasuke smothered a snicker. He knew from experience that it was foolish to blackmail the Blackmail Queen.

vvv

I groaned when I saw Sasuke and Naruto having some kind of speed walking race. Why couldn't they acted like a normal rivalry? Why must it all be passive-aggressive and loud?! Naruto ran ahead and did a funny little 'look left and right' thing. I was about to ask what the hell was he doing when he suddenly threw a kunai, “Over there!” He exclaimed.

Everyone–read: Sasuke and I–immediately leapt into defensive stance around Tazuna and waited for the attack.

Nothing happened.

Causally Naruto stood back up, “Hm, just a mouse.”

Tazuna went off on the little brat, but Naruto ignored him by exclaiming that people were hiding around in the bushes all around us. I was about to hit him for being stupid when I felt a surge of chakra behind me.

Naruto seemed to follow my instincts and aimed another kunai knife at the spot I felt the chakra surge. Tazuna smacked Naruto upside the head and the brat and drunk had yet another yelling match while I went to investigate. Just below the kunai that Naruto had thrown a white rabbit was having a heart attack.

A white snow rabbit.

Curse my cursed damn luck. The karma demons must really loath me.

I stepped away from Naruto's sobbing apologies to casually inspect the clearing, searching for chakra signatures. I wasn't a very good sensory nin, most of it was just pure natural skill since I had spent most of my training on my sharingan and ninjutsu, so I wouldn't be able to sense anyone who was suppressing their chakra at a jounin level.

Considering that I couldn't sense anyone meant that my suspicions were right and our next attacker was a jounin skilled opponent. The right side of my mouth twitched up and I almost sang out 'come out come out wherever you are~' but I didn't.

Especially since our opponent was already attacking.

“DUCK!” I roared and immediately all members of the group hit the dust, barely avoiding the big ass sword flying through the air. I was on my feet the second that stupid sword was past me and staring up passively at the jounin now standing on his sword hilt.

Cow print arm and leg warmers. Grey striped pants. No shirt. Big ass sword. Damn it.

Time to troll.

First I ruined his sense of mysteriousness, “So... you're Momochi Zabuza, eh?” Silence from the cowboy. Guess I'd have to kick the trolling up a notch, “Feeling... peachy today?” I got a small minuscule twitch from the man and I grinned. That minuscule twitch from him meant he was extremely annoyed. One more time and I'd push him over the edge. “I have a very serious question. I need you to answer honestly.” I paused for a moment, “Is peaches your favorite food? I hate them.” Now I got a glare and a sliver of killer intent.

Naruto began running for Zabuza like an idiot. Luckily I was able to stop him. I might be able to tease Zabuza, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. Naruto would just be killed needlessly if I let him attack.

“Don't. This guy is out of your league.” I said seriously.

The blonde didn't seem to like that, “But I can take him!” He said confidently. If only he knew how wrong he was.

I gave the kid a very stern look that made him back down. Ever since I became Team 7's sensei, I had been very surly and often glared at the trio of brats. But I knew they got the feeling I was kidding most of the time, that I was only fooling with them. Now I wasn't. I was truly being serious. “Stay. Back. Naruto. When I say this guy is too powerful, I mean it.” I turned my stare to Sasuke and Hinata, “All three of you stay out of this. Protect Tazuna, that's an order.” I said and shoved Naruto backwards, out of danger.

Looking back up at the still silent Zabuza, I changed moods and called out cheerfully, “Hey, Peach-boy, any chance you'll let us go?”

Silence.

“Is that a yes?”

Silence.

“Are you mute or something?”

Silence.

“...Do you like pineapples?”

Silence.

Man, this guy was worse than I was when Shisui was around. I dropped the act and fell into a defensive stance, “Fine, Peachy, if you're not going to talk then you can at least attack. I've got things to do than try and drag answers outta you. That's T&I's job, not mine.”

Silence.

I rolled my eyes and in the process of doing so activated my sharingan. That seemed to get his attention. Zabuza perked up and asked in a raspy 'I'm-obviously-a-heavy-smoker' voice, “So you're an Uchiha. By your unusual behavior... you're Yanagi, are you not?”

I tsked demurely and flipped my ponytail over my shoulder, “Why I'm just flattered to death. You know my name, and here I thought I was overshadowed by the stupidity of my brother.”

“The Stupidly Brave Kunoichi of Konoha.” Zabuza rasped, naming one of my various catch names I had gotten.

Laughing I waved a hand, “Lame, isn't it? I don't know who came up with it; still it is a better nickname than some.” A certain nickname from an annoying Uchiha who I wasn't on speaking terms with came to mind and I frowned. Quickly I erased the frown and replaced it with a cheerful grin, “But I have to say, you're nickname is better... Demon of the Mist.”

Zabuza seemed to be getting tired of our little mind game, “Hand over the old man.” He said.

I scoffed, “Seriously? I admit I dislike the man as much as you do, but asking for me to hand him over is just lame and lazy. And your intimidation tactics aren't working, Peach-boy. It's kinda hard to be intimidated by someone with the last name of 'peach soil'.”

A thick mist suddenly began to build up. Guess I pushed the peachy cowboy too far. I smiled. Goody, now the fun began. “In the Kirigakure Bingo Book, it's listed that you had a runaway mouth, Uchiha.” Zabuza commented.

“I have a runaway mouth. I'm not dead yet, dumbass.” I corrected hotly. How dare Peachy insinuate that I was going to die!

Zabuza gave a creepy chuckle, but it didn't hold a candle to Obito in his pranking moods, “Soon.” He promised. I rolled my eyes again. As far as trash talk went, this guy was not a pro. It was almost embarrassing how predictable his insults were. Peach-boy continued before I could insult him back and show how a true master of disrespect did it, “In our Bingo Book it's said that your fire ninjutsus are some of the most powerful in the world. Too bad it won't do you any good.”

Well shit.

Being from Kirigakure, Zabuza would naturally have a water nature. I was lucky enough to have two chakra natures–fire and wind–but that wasn't going to do jack against freaking water. Water nature beat fire, and wind was practically useless against it anyway. That left genjutsu and taijutsu to fight with. However Zabuza's sword would put a hindrance on my taijutsu and just be plain annoying anyway. I was also pretty sure that Zabuza knew in advance that I was an Uchiha and would take lengths to protect himself against genjutsu.

Double shit.

“Now...” Zabuza started. Immediately my three genin leapt into a defensive formation in front of Tazuna. I shifted my weight onto my left foot, ready to spring forward at a moments notice. I might be at a major disadvantage going against this S-ranked criminal, but I was damn well going to give him a hard time and make the bastard earn his prize... if I even let him have it.

Peach-boy suddenly leapt away and onto the water. The genin and Tazuna seemed surprised that he was able to accomplish such a feat. I was more worried about the huge amount of chakra Peachy was building up. Whatever Peaches was doing, it wasn't going to be good. I thought back on all my spars with Kakashi when he used water based jutsus. None of them required this amount of chakra, so what was Peachy doing?

“Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!” Zabuza called out and the mist suddenly thickened with chakra, creating nothing but a white wall all around us. I could barely even see the kids behind me, let alone wherever that prick disappeared to.

The tension was high in the air. I stayed coiled, ready to strike out defensively if so much as a leave rustled the wrong way. I was a jounin of Konoha and the only one able to stand a chance against Zabuza. There was no way in hell that I was letting the Demon of the Mist past me and lay a scratch my genin team.

“S-sen-sensei...?” Hinata stuttered nervously. I knew the poor girl was shaking badly. Damn it, I knew she wasn't ready for real missions yet. Though, granted this wasn't supposed to be a real genin mission.

“Don't worry. He'll come after me. You just keep guarding Tazuna.” I said, my red eyes darting from place to place. But even with the highly advanced sight of the sharingan, I still could hardly see past the thick chakra infused fog.

“Who is this guy?” Naruto asked, for once sounding nervous and serious. I guess the kid finally realized that this was real and he could very much die out here without ever getting close to his dream. Strangely, I wished that he was still that naïve kid from three minutes ago.

“Momochi Zabuza, a nuke-nin from Kirigakure and former captain of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit.” That's all they needed to know. I didn't want to scare the kids. They were nervous enough as it was.

Zabuza seemed determined to tell then anyway, “Uchiha, you're forgetting something...” That raspy voice sounded eerie coming out of the mist, like some vengeful wraith looking for a soul to devour. Peaches didn't even have to explain his silent killing technique for the kids to be frightened, but he did it anyway. I glared off into the mist, no one could frighten my brats except me.

The fog thickened to the point that I couldn't even see Team 7 anymore. Shit shit shit! Zabuza spoke again, this time his creepy voice seeming to come from all around. I let loose my killer intent, my chakra swirling around me and dissipating the fog a little. I could practically feel Sasuke freezing up in fear, the killer intent coming off Zabuza and I were hitting my younger cousin. This wasn't going well, Sasuke was the best support I had out of the three. Though I hated it, I was probably going to have to call on the genin's help to take down Peach-boy. If he was unable to move because of fear...

“Sasuke!” I said, my voice cutting but reassuring at the same time. My cousin tensed, seeming to come out of his fear induced stupor, “Calm down. You've got nothing to fear,” I glanced over my shoulder at Team 7 and smiled soothingly, “I'll protect you even if I die for it. That's a promise!” Nii-san used to say those three words when we were younger, and Obito always kept his word.

So I would do it too.

Of course Zabuza had to spoil our little bonding moment with his creepy intoning, “I wouldn't be so sure... it's over.” Suddenly his voice wasn't everywhere at once like it had been. It was in one specific place.

Right in the middle of my genin team.

OH HELL NO!

With a reaction speed that could only be achieved through training with a sharingan, I leapt for the Peach bastard as my four companions leapt away from him. My kunai knife plunged deep into the man's gut. Zabuza grunted and leaned against my shoulder, his warm breath brushing against my dark brown curls that coiled around my ear. For a brief moment, a silence fell over the world, as if acknowledging that a life was ending.

But both Zabuza and I knew it wasn't.

Naruto suddenly screeched, “Sensei, behind you!”

I spun around, the Zabuza water clone bursting to spray cool water all over my back, while the other Zabuza swung his Kubikiribōchō and cleaved me in half. Blood flew from my mouth as I stared in surprise at my killer. Zabuza seemed to smirk under his bandages.

Then he frowned.

I dissolved into butterflies.

Zabuza spun around, spitting like an angry cat; though his voice retained that raspy calmness when he said, “Nice work, Uchiha. I didn't even notice the genjutsu.”

From my hiding place among the trees I leapt down behind Peachy and placed my kunai knife along his throat, “Don't move.” I growled threateningly. This guy threatened my genin, he had made it to the bottom of my 'shit-list' in record breaking time.

Peaches started a boring monologue of how I was able to distract him while I reassured my team and cast the genjutsu while he was distracted. I was tempted to kill him just to shut the idiot up. Seriously, what was the point of explaining everything as if there was an invisible audience watching this fight? It was boring and drawn out and sometimes just plain stalling.

Oh.

Yet another Zabuza appeared behind me, Kubikiribōchō once again back and ready to cleave me in half. This time, I didn't have a genjutsu ready. Naruto yelled something about being a water clone while I ducked underneath Peach-boy's big ass sword. Zabuza followed his sword's swing and stabbed it into the ground before using it as a leverage to kick me into the air.

I twisted in enough time to meet Zabuza as he jumped after me, but his axe kick propeller me into the water. The one place I did not want to be. Just like I expected, the little prick appeared behind me with an air of smug victory. I tried to spring away from the water before he could catch me, but it was too late, “Water Prison Jutsu!”

My world took on a watery blue tint and I immediately felt cold and clammy. The water that imprisoned me felt thick and viscous like honey, I couldn't move an inch. I snarled angrily at the man holding the prison, my red eyes promising a very violent death if I ever got out. I wish I wish Zabuza would just glance my way, long enough for me to cast a very painful and horrific genjutsu, but he didn't. Peach-boy seemed to know what would happen if he met my gaze; seems I'd have to think up a more physical torture to dish out then.

Congratulations, Peaches, you just managed to piss off one of the most hot headed Uchiha known in existence.

vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

Sasuke felt Yanagi-sensei's killer intent spike drastically, but strangely this time he wasn't afraid. Perhaps her promise that she would protect the team with her life had gotten to him more than he knew. Sasuke frowned, in the few weeks of being under Yanagi's tutelage he knew that she was a very powerful but... he never expected her to be taken out so easily.

“Water Clone Jutsu!” The man called Zabuza shouted. Dimly in the mist, Sasuke could see another Zabuza burst from the water and stand between Team 7 and the real Zabuza. Sasuke tensed, they would have to go through the clone first to get to Yanagi-sensei. If that brief fight with the clones was anything to go by, these water clones weren't at all weak.

The water clone suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, causing the blonde to fall back and in the process lose his headband. If this wasn't such a serious moment, Sasuke would scold him for being clumsy. Given the fact that even Yanagi-sensei wasn't doing so just went to prove how serious this fight was.

At a loss, the Uchiha genin watched as his teammate landed far away from him, too far to help. Sasuke didn't want to leave the protection of Tazuna to Hinata alone. The Hyuuga was already scared out of her wits, Sasuke doubted she would be of much use.

Yanagi suddenly shouted, her voice muffled and wavering by the water that held her prisoner, “Leave you idiots! Peaches is only able to fight you with his water clone, now's your chance to run. The clone can't follow you forever, so run you imbeciles! Get out of here, complete the mission, do you hear me!?”

Sasuke glared at his cousin, running was no longer an option. The second Yanagi got caught was the moment that Sasuke knew that Zabuza would stop at nothing to kill Tazuna. It was better to stand and fight rather than run away and prolong their life for a short time. That was the act of a coward. And Sasuke was not a coward!

With a sudden surge of confidence, Sasuke shot forward, determined to rescue his cousin and sensei. Throwing shuriken after shuriken at the water clone, Sasuke leapt into the air and, just as he reached the clone with his attack, was thrown away like nothing more than a rag doll. Naruto called out the younger Uchiha's name, fear and concern lacing the blonde's voice. As Sasuke struggled to stand back up, Naruto suddenly charged for the clone.

Of course the blonde goofball was thrown aside easily, coming to a stop at the feet of Hinata. The shy Hyuuga heiress quickly went to her knees to ask in her wobbly voice if Naruto was okay; but Sasuke eyed what the blonde had retrieved with interest. It seemed that the whole attack was just to get his headband back. Sasuke frowned, what was so important about that headband? Surely what the clone had taunted about not being a true ninja hadn't gotten to the blonde. It was just trash talk, like what Yanagi-sensei had been doing when Zabuza first showed up.

Naruto stood up, the scowl on his face dark and serious. Sasuke was slightly impressed by the blonde's change in attitude, “Hey, you no-brows freak,” Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little at the attempt to imitate Yanagi-sensei's insulting nicknames, “put this in that book of yours... the person who is going to be Hokage of Konohagakure...” Naruto reached up to tie his haiti-ate around his forehead and glared up at the impassive water clone, “he never backs down. And his name is Uzumaki Naruto!” Unlike Naruto's previous claims to become Hokage, Sasuke had to admit that this one was serious. For once, Sasuke actually believed that Naruto could become Hokage.

The serious aura surrounding Naruto turned into something akin to cocky and confident, “Alright, Sasuke, can you hear me?”

The navy haired Uchiha gave his teammate a flat look. He was standing two feet away from the blonde, of course he could hear Naruto! “Yeah, I can hear you.” Sasuke said, his tone a touch exasperated.

“Alright! I've got a plan.”

So he finally had a plan, huh? As opposed to flailing around like an idiot? Sasuke scoffed, “So you're finally thinking about teamwork? What's the plan then?” Naruto gave Sasuke a foxy grin.

Unknown to either of them, Hinata watched from her spot in front of Tazuna. If ever she doubted her awe for Naruto, it had been replenished. The Hyuuga felt as safe being protected by her two teammates as she had when Yanagi-sensei stood in front of them, promising to protect the team with her life. Whatever the two boys were planning, Hinata had no doubt that it would succeed!

vvv Normal POV vvv

Poof!

Everyone, other than Sasuke and Naruto, was surprised to see the second Fuuma shuriken transform into Naruto. I watched with anticipation and awe as the kunai Naruto and thrown back at Zabuza made it's way, in what seemed like slow motion, towards the Peachy bastard. If I could move, I would be shivering in excitement. There was no possible way to dodge that kunai, not without releasing me from my prison.

Although, it probably would have been better for Zabuza to let the kunai hit him.

It would have hurt less.

Zabuza turned on Naruto, the Fuuma shuriken he was holding spinning dangerously as he cocked his arm back to throw it at my student. Seemed Peaches forgot about me; I should be hurt, but the anger of been imprisoned–on top of my students being threatened–was overriding any hurt. “I'll destroy you!” Zabuza growled, his raspy voice finally showing anger.

I. Don't. Think. So.

Still dripping water, I raised my fist and caught on of the blades on the hand guards of my gloves. I didn't even grimace when the thin metal cut into my skin unable to take the pressure of the shuriken's sharp blade. Naruto, not having any water walking training like Zabuza and I, fell into the water unharmed. I just hoped he had enough sense to get the hell out of dodge, because I wasn't going to wait. I wanted to tear Zabuza a new one right now. Zabuza met my gaze only to find a full on Uchiha Death Glare.

It made me dance happily on the inside to see him pale a little.

“Naruto. That was an excellent plan, I'm proud of you.” I complimented, feeling the need to. After all, without that brat's help, I would still be giving glares in a water prison instead of outside like I was now. Naruto laughed like it was no big deal when we all knew it was. My eyes flickered to him, “Now get your ass back to shore. I've got a rotten peach to incinerate.” Naruto gave a mock salute and began swimming to shore.

Hmm... maybe as I reward I'd teach the team water walking. They had gotten tree walking down... somewhat.

Zabuza and I struggled briefly for the Fuuma shuriken. Being female and weaker than Zabuza, I was losing and the sharp blade came closer to my neck. Narrowing my eyes I bent backwards, my right leg flying up to kick the shuriken into the sky, then back flipping away from Peach-boy. I crouched on the surface of the water, watching Zabuza warily. I knew he would use water ninjutsu, thinking that I would have little to no defense against it.

My hand drifted towards my kunai pouch as I thought over my choices. I could block the attacks with well placed wind ninjutsu, but that risked diverting an attack to the genin, or I could copy Peach-boy's hand signs and fight ninjutsu for ninjutsu. The only problem with that option was I wouldn't have much chakra to use. Using a chakra nature that wasn't mine would use up too much chakra–especially if the jutsus were powerful like I knew they were going to be–and they would be substantially weaker. Unless...

Nii-san always said if you can't win with power, win with annoyance.

I smiled. Zabuza, suspecting something, leapt away and I mimicked him, going in the opposite direction. I copied Zabuza's stance and started weaving the hand signs he was making at an almost inhuman speed. But my sharingan eyes could pick them up.

Zabuza's first mistake: weaving signs in front of an Uchiha.

We finished at the exact same second and both called out, my voice mimicking his to the best of my ability, “Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!” Two dragons composed of water rose at the same time, moving in the exact same way. Perfect mirrors of each other. There was no way to tell whose was whose other than chakra. Zabuza's dragon crashed into mine and the weaker one flailed a little before twisting around and biting into it's opponent’s 'flesh'. Water rose from the banks and flooded the clearing, nearly drowning my poor genin.

Eh, they probably needed a bath anyway.

Especially Naruto.

While our water dragons were busy battling it out, Zabuza and I shot forward to meet underneath the ninjutsus. Kubikiribōchō clashed harshly with one of my fans I used in wind ninjutsu; I grimaced when I heard the crack of some of the fan's ribs breaking under the pressure of Kubikiribōchō's sharp edge. Maybe I should have grabbed a kunai instead...

I could tell that Peachy was thinking back on the battle, obviously confused by how my water dragon formed at the exact came time that his did. After all, the sharingan copying the jutsu, so I should have been a nanosecond behind at the least.

Zabuza's second mistake: showing doubt to the sharingan wielder.

I felt Zabuza's muscles tense and guessed his next move. Leaping back at the same time, I landed three feet from where we were struggling to get an upper hand on physical strength. My red eyes picked up a subtle twitch in Peach-boy's right leg and I matched his pace as we began running in circles, staying the same distance away from each other. I kept my mimicking up, copying the exact way his head was tilted or the way his fingers curled. He stopped. I stopped. He lifted his arm. I lifted my arm. His eyes widened. So did mine.

Zabuza's third mistake: forgetting that eyes are the windows to the soul.

“...going to do next?” I finished his thought as I dropped my arm in perfect sync with Peachy. I think I broke his brain, if that expression of pure surprise was anything to go by.

Shouldn't have trapped me in a bubble of water, now should you Peachy?

He made a hand sign as I did, “It makes you furious doesn't it?” I asked, reading the subtle twitches of his eyes.

Zabuza was starting to look crazed. “You're just copying me, like a monkey!”

“You can't beat me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you!” We said at the exact same time, in the exact same tone. I even managed to make my voice a little raspier than normal, just to match Peaches. It took Zabuza a second to realize that I had said exactly what he said at the same time, shooting down whatever claim of me copying him.

Zabuza made some lame comment about my monkey mouth as he started to weave signs. I did the same. Unknown to him, my mouth twitched up slightly, ending my perfect mimicry of the Kiri nuke-nin. My tomoes began spinning slowly, so slow that it went unnoticed to Peaches even though he was meeting my gaze fully. Zabuza faltered for a brief moment, seeing the ghostly genjutsu of him behind me as I finished the hand sign he had already been making.

“Suiton: Giant Vortex Jutsu!” I said in a loud commanding voice. Zabuza stared in utter shock as the jutsu that he had thought I was copying from him came roaring towards him. He didn't know that the genjutsu had stalled him for a nanosecond, long enough for me to read how his hands twitched and predict the last hand sign without his help. Peachy thought I had done the impossible, when I had just done was was expected of an Uchiha.

Zabuza's final mistake: he thought he could beat an Uchiha.

While I watched my vortex do it's job, I checked on my genin. Hinata was standing in front of Tazuna dutifully, her kunai knife no longer shaking with fear, while Sasuke helped Naruto out of the raging waters. They were lucky that the vortex didn't pull them in too. Then, out of the corner of my eye, my sharingan picked up another chakra source. One that hadn't been visible to me before. Outwardly I didn't show any signs of knowing, whoever this newcomer was they obviously weren't our allies. They would have leapt in by now. The question was: were they Zabuza's ally?

The vortex died down and I leapt into the tree that it smashed Peaches into. I flung kunai at Zabuza to pin him there and keep the bastard from causing any more trouble. I wasn't going to underestimate this guy any longer, he would be dead before the minute was up. I withdrew another kunai knife from my pouch, “Now your finished.” I said and cocked back my arm to throw the kunai, aiming for the spot between his eyes.

Zabuza gave me a bewildered look, the first true emotion I had seen on his face all day, “How did you-? Can you see into the future?” He demanded in an almost scared voice.

Was it really that mind blowing to go against a sharingan? Sane people usually ran when they saw the Uchiha red eyes, but no one I fought with had forced me to use the Uchiha kekke genkai for so long. Normally it was just a quick genjutsu like the one I used early in the battle.

Maybe I should ask Shisui-...never mind.

“Yes. And I see death in your future.” I said.

A tiny buzzing sound alerted me of something out of place. My sharingan eyes darted towards the source, but Zabuza's cry of pain snapped my attention back to him. My eyes widened when I saw him crashing to the ground, senbon needles sticking out of his neck.

A womanly laugh drew my attention further up the tree that I was in. Long dark hair was brushed over a white mask with a swirling red pattern that curled around the nose and left cheek. The Kiri embalm was stamped into the mask's forehead: a hunter-nin. “You're right... it was his last battle.” The Kiri hunter-nin said.

I leapt down from the tree and made a show of pressing two fingers to Zabuza's neck and felt no pulse. That didn't fool me. I could see a small amount of chakra still shimmering in Zabuza's core with my sharingan. A near death state then. There were three possibilities why Zabuza was alive: the hunter-nin was incompetent and couldn't even make a clean kill. Unlikely since she was a hunter-nin going after a A-ranked criminal. Two, she had a sadistic streak and wanted Zabuza's kill for herself, knowing Kirigakure it was possible. Or three, she was in league with Zabuza and 'killed' him before I could truly end his pathetic life.

“He's dead.” I said from my squatting position and looked up at the hunter-nin for an explanation.

She immediately bowed, “Thank you.” She said softly, “I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time.” My eyes narrowed at her voice. It wasn't... feminine enough to be a woman. A boy then? If the hunter-nin was male, then he was very young, probably as young as Team 7.

“You're a hunter-nin from Kirigakure, correct?” I asked.

The boy dipped his head in acknowledgment, “I am.”

“What is this?!” Naruto suddenly shouted. Both of us turned from each other to look at the frustrated blonde. He was pointing at the hunter-nin accusingly, “Who do you think you are!” The masked boy said nothing, irritating Naruto even more, “Did you hear me?!” The brat enunciated each word.

“Stop it Naruto. He's not our enemy.” I said. My sharingan picked up the slightest twinge from the hunter-nin's left pinky finger. A sign of guilt. I didn't look at the Kiri nin. If I let him know that I knew, he would attack. I couldn't take down a wimpy hunter-nin in this state. The two Suiton ninjutsus really bit into my chakra reserves. Soon I would have to be forced to deactivate my sharingan or risk chakra exhaustion. Honestly, I don't know how I was still standing at this point.

Naruto spun on me, “That's not the point! He just took out Zabuza, just like that! I thought you said Zabuza was powerful, and that guy killed Zabuza with one move! It makes us look like idiots! How can I accept that?!” I had to admit, from Naruto's point of view it was a little too much to take. But then again, he didn't have a younger cousin like Itachi. I grew up knowing that Itachi would always be more powerful than me so I accepted the truth and moved on.

I stood up, careful to show that it wasn't a struggle to do so, and walked towards my student. I stopped in front of him with a passive look, “You don't have to accept it, but it's still true. There are many kids out there that are younger than you but stronger than me.” Kakashi had pounded that into me at an early age too, when he was still a prick who didn't believe in teamwork.

Naruto looked away mulishly.

The hunter-nin, having gotten tired of my scolding Naruto, teleported from the tree to beside Zabuza. Easily the kid lifted Zabuza over his shoulder, ramming home what I had just told Naruto, “You're struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. Please excuse me and farewell.” The boy held up on hand, palm flat, as the wind began swirling around him again, and teleported both Zabuza and himself out of my sensory range.

I sighed as Naruto yelled about the hunter-nin's disappearance. Naruto ran to the spot that the two disappeared from. “He's gone, Naruto.” I told him in a tired voice. Didn't this kid ever learn?

“What are we doing here then?! I can't believe it! All that hard work and for nothing!” Naruto shouted as he began punching the ground, as if it were Zabuza's face he was pounding in. Behind us, Hinata stuttered out the blonde's name in concern.

I grabbed Naruto's wrist before he could swing again “Let it go, Naruto. Being frustrated will not help things. Nothing will ever be just easy, so save it for the next enemy.” That's what I did. That's what the Uchiha clan was taught. Save it for the next enemy and pulverize him with the anger from your past defeat. I turned to the rest of our group, my hand still wrapped around Naruto's thin wrist, “Alright let's move on. We'll rest at Tazuna's house.” If the old man complained then I would kindly remind him that Team 7 shouldn't have even helped him. Rules stated that we would be wise to abandon the mission instead of continuing.

Pulling Naruto to a stand, I turned to lead the group towards town. Just a few more hours and I could fall onto a nice futon and sleep until this whole damn thing blew over. I took one step, one measly little step, and my body froze. I felt my sharingan deactivate on it's own and had the strange sensation of falling.

I didn't even feel the pain when I hit the ground.

#Script's Archives #sensei fanfic #naruto fanfiction #fanfiction

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bobbichoicesfeedback · 4 years

Text

Okay, so Bloodbound is over. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t a big fan of the ending, but to be fair it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I have an alternative ending I wrote to it.

It’s dark, but no darker than the ending you got if you chose to absorb Rheya’s goddess abilities. I hope people enjoy this alternative telling. Please give me feedback if you like it or if you don’t like it. It’s just a different perspective for the story, I guess.

***

Life force drained from Rheya, her blood pouring out of her body and floating into the air like DNA helix. I stared at it, the power inside me almost intoxicating, as the life force of The First was absorbed into my veins.

“Wow,” was all I could say, sensing every heartbeat in the huge room. Adrien, Kamilah, and Lily were staring at me in horror - I could tell without even having to turn - and the cattle… the humans in the auditorium were coming out of the trance Rheya had put them under. The screaming started immediately.

“Bobbi!” Lily’s voice was suddenly all I could hear. Her hand was on my wrist, “You’re scaring me.”

“Do you know what I can do, now, Lily?” I asked, pouring sardonic contempt into my words. I could sense everything Rheya had been planning, all the good sense her aspirations to godhood represented. I felt fangs digging into my lips as I grinned.

“No, Bobbi,” Lily sounded terrified, but more upset. Saddened by what the woman she loved appeared to be turning into, “I don’t know what you can do now, and it scares me. But I know you’re still in there. The girl who cries when dogs die in movies, the girl who always tries to save everyone- urk.”

She stopped talking as my hand gripped her throat and I lifted her as though she were made of paper.

“It’s sweet that you think you know me,” I purred, pouring as much as I could into sounding seductive, knowing I was sounding like my great-et-cetera-grandmother who I’d just killed, “But you proved you didn’t two months ago, when he killed me.”

I hurled Lily across the stage, where she collided with Gaius. Both vampires crumbled to the floor in pain. Kamilah attempted to step towards me, but Rheya’s memories were in my mind now. I stopped her and Adrien with a simple thought.

“Bobbi,” Kamilah’s voice sounded hard and brittle. She’d always known what to say when I was alive, but had struggled to get through to me after I was resurrected. She didn’t know why. She was jealous of Lily for having my love, but had decided to back away gracefully, “You sound like Rheya now. You don’t want to do this…”

“Rheya was a fool,” I snarled, “She wanted a world where humans and vampires wouldn’t be a threat to each other anymore? She overlooked the obvious. I can’t do it yet…”

I turned to the auditorium. None of the humans or vampires had been able to escape, the doors would not open for them.

“I need more power…”

I heard gasps of shock, horror, disgust… Lily, Gaius, Kamilah, and Adrien had worked out what I meant at the same time. I didn’t blame them. What I had to do now sickened me. But there was no choice. I could save the world.

“I wonder if Machiavelli was a vampire,” I mused aloud, deliberately putting a childish, sing-song cadence into my voice, “The ends really do justify the means.”

I forced myself to keep my eyes open. I needed to know every death I caused. I could not absolve myself of this guilt, even if my actions were necessary. Every human in the room screamed as the blood was drawn from them, merging and vaporising into some ethereal energy which merged with my undead body, elevating my power even closer to godhood. I reached out with the psychic powers granted by my Bloodkeeper heritage.

“Not enough, yet,” I said. In an instant, I realised what needed to be done. I released the vampires in the hall from my power - the four who had accompanied me surged forwards. Lily plunged a stake into my heart. I just smiled, reached out, and booped her on the nose as the stake evaporated and I flew through the roof without blinking.

Flying was incredible. I’d reluctantly enjoyed the sensations my vampire body had given me when I’d been able to leap from building to building in single jumps, but this made that look… pedestrian.

I soared high into the air, above the peaks of New York’s skyscrapers and looked down at the city below me. The most densely populated area in the United States - more than eight million people had lived here before Gaius’ ill-thought-out war. The population hadn’t all returned, but there were still millions of humans down there.

Eyes wide open, I began to feed. For the first time since I’d become a vampire I truly enjoyed the sensation, instead of my body just lusting for more. Men, women, children. Evil as it was, I couldn’t spare anyone. The screaming reached my hyper-sensitive hearing even up here. Then it fell silent. The only heartbeats coming from the whole of New York City were from baffled vampires, reeling from the loss of their goddess and now the sudden emptiness of their home.

I reached out with my mind. It had worked. I was now psychically aware of every living being on Earth - Vampire, human, other supernatural beings - even Ferals were now in my mind, thanks to my great-umpteenth-grandfather. I clenched my fists and allowed a burst of power to soar west.

A woman in Los Angeles ran down an alleyway. Her taser hadn’t worked, the man following her had just laughed and then his teeth had grown. She was sure he was toying with her.

“You can’t run any more,” he growled, eyes glowing red. The woman, out of options, plunged the spikes of her taser into his chest again and pulled the trigger. At first, the monster seemed to shrug it off. Then his eyes went wide, fading from the red to a much more ordinary blue. His teeth retracted. He convulsed as the electricity pumped into his human body.

On an island, lost in the south Pacific, feral vampires in every form of twisted mutation, ran around in panic. One-by-one, in an east-to-west wave, they exploded into ash.

A malformed tree in the centre of the island spontaneously ignited and inside the spirit of Demetrius was finally freed. He smiled sadly, but accepted the end of his days.

“Well done, grand-daughter,” he said, as he dissolved into the aether.

The four survivors of Japan’s vampire council were gathered around in their cyberpunk nightclub, watching whatever news was coming out of New York in horror. Kano, the young, gifted psychic was there, unusually. He screamed and dropped to his knees.

“I can’t believe she’s done that,” was all he whimpered to himself, as his heartbeat slowly accelerated back to normal human levels.

Three of the four felt their bodies warming, returning to the humanity they’d lost so many years ago. They didn’t notice much, though, because the screams coming from The Evolved drowned out every thought. Her once-again human body was rejecting the mechanical augmentation she’d put herself through. There was no chance to save her now.

In Outer Mongolia, a vampire was running as fast as he could. Dusk was coming and he’d had to abandon his hiding place early.. Suddenly he felt dizzy, tripping and falling. He screamed in terror as the light of the sun shone down on his body but, to his surprise, it just felt warm.

He stood up, blinking in the unaccustomed light. He tried to flex his muscles but no longer had the unlimited strength he was used to. In a moment, he realised. He wasn’t a vampire. The sunlight wouldn’t kill him anymore. Now he just had to get back to civilisation…

Three of Dracula’s brides, imprisoned in the dungeons of his castle, dropped to their knees. The irresistible compulsion to seek out the blood of the living had passed from them. They clutched each other, weeping tears of mixed regret, relief, and horror, as they finally understood their lives were human again.

Across Berlin, Paris, and London, dozens of vampires who had been trying to work out how to live in a world without The Order suddenly felt their supernatural powers fading. A world without The Order had suddenly become a world without vampires.

In the opera house below the blazing goddess, Kamilah, Lily, and Adrien held each other closely, gazing up in horror at the shape of what had once been their friend. Gaius screamed in pain - when they turned to look, the mortal wounds that Rheya had inflicted on him started bleeding again.

Lily realised first.

“I can’t smell his blood,” she said, waving a hand in front of her face, “Why can’t I smell his blood?”

All three of them tried to draw on their senses. The terrific truth dawned on them with awe.

“She didn’t,” Adrien said, quietly, realising that his teeth were now immobile, “Surely, she couldn’t…”

Simultaneously around the world every former vampire heard a psychic scream, the last utterance of the vampire goddess. Bobbi. The last Bloodkeeper.

“I am become Death. The creator of worlds…”

At Rheya’s mansion outside the city, the last example of the tree of blood caught fire, burning into ash. The sap flared like burning oil, evaporating and removing any chance of a vampiric bloodline being reborn.

I gasped as the power withdrew from me. I had felt every moment. Every vampire who had died because they weren’t safe when they lost their abilities, their pain was my pain. Every sensation of rage at becoming human again, I knew. Every feeling of relief, mostly from older vampires who had learned the price of immortality, was a mild balm.

Gravity reasserted its authority over me. It would have been interesting to say that I hadn’t thought of this part. But it would also have been a lie. The small part of the dead goddess that had still been me knew I’d be returning to my human life more than two thousand feet above the ground.

I had accepted it. Even without the mind-perverting influence of the power I had absorbed, I felt I had done the right thing, but that didn’t change the fact that I had just become the most prolific mass-murderer in history.

I hugged myself closely and closed my eyes. I sacrificed an entire city, to save a world. I had made a world where humans and vampires would never threaten each other again. I assumed I would never know if it had been worth the appalling cost.

The sun was rising over New York. Kamilah, Adrien, and Lily blinked owlishly as they stepped out into the eerily silent streets. Drawn by some sense they didn’t understand, all three stumbled through the daylight towards Fifth Avenue.

Lily began to sob uncontrollably as they saw the crater. Just in front of the Empire State Building lay a crumpled heap that no-one would have been able to identify, if they hadn’t instinctively known who it was.

“Why did she do that?” Adrien asked, aghast, “She could have landed before relinquishing the power.”

The thought on all their minds went unspoken - why had she killed so many and then cured the vampires?

“She hated being a vampire,” the voice was Serafine’s, but it sounded hazy, “When she knocked me out, our minds met for a moment…”

Kamilah caught Lily clumsily - she had thrown herself forwards with hatred in her eyes, hands extended to punch the psychic woman who had just arrived on the scene.

“Why would you lie about that, now?” Lily screamed, struggling against Kailah’s grip. Both women were unused to the weakness in their muscles without vampiric blood, “She didn’t hate it, she would have said!”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Lily,” Serafine replied, calmly, although tears were running down her face, “The past three months, she’s loathed herself. Every second of life as a vampire. Every drop of blood she had to drink. Every tale from a vampire elder about how they regretted their elongated lives…”

At that last line, Serafine made eye-contact with Kamilah who trembled. Sadness was writ large on every face.

“She’s been harbouring resentment since the moment she woke in that coffin,” Serafine continued, slowly walking up to the pulverised mass in the street. Her breath caught as she saw the extent of the damage, then she swept off her scarf and covered Bobbi’s remains as best she could, “Her hatred of becoming one of us twisted and perverted Rheya’s goal. She wanted to make a world where humans and vampires wouldn’t threaten each other any more. I guess she managed…”

“Has she killed all the humans?” Adrien asked, his voice croaking, “I can’t hear anything in the city…”

“There’s news coming from outside…” Lily said, robotically looking at her ‘phone, “I think it was just New York… but… she killed every man, woman, and child in the city…”

“Good god,” Adrien sat on the hood of an abandoned taxi, dropping his head into his hands, “What did we create?”

“Why didn’t she tell us she was unhappy?” Kamilah asked, stalking in paces out of habit, “Why didn’t she say that this was hurting her?”

“She… ah…” Serafine suddenly looked nervous and stepped away from Lily again, “She didn’t want to hurt Lily. Since Lily admitted she Turned Bobbi, Bobbi had been lying to her. I saw… painful amounts of sadness and hatred. She couldn’t forgive your Turning her, but she couldn’t admit that because the love she’d once felt meant she couldn’t hurt you either.”

Former vampires were coming out into the sunlight. There had been a few hundred left after Gaius and Rheya’s purges. Lulu had been following Serafine. Kamilah realised just in time and caught the little girl in an awkward hug before she could see the mess in the crater.

Adrien managed to rally some assistance to remove Bobbi. Kamilah reverted to type and began to wrangle the survivors into bands to find all the former vampires left in the city.

Lily and Serafine remained at the crater’s edge, not talking. Instinctively, people left them alone. It was almost midday before Lily finally spoke.

“So…” her voice was firm, despite the tears still flowing down her cheeks, “Bobbi told you all that in the moments she knocked you out?”

Serafine smiled enigmatically.

“Even though she didn’t know that she could absorb Rheya’s power before it happened?” Lily glared at Serafine, accusingly. Serafine chuckled sadly.

“I knew you’d work it out,” she said, running a hand through her hair, “Serafine was the only psychic nearby. She was the only one who could help me. Let her link minds with you? I need to say goodbye.”

Lily gasped as the world blurred into an ethereal mindscape. She looked around and her imagined breath caught when she realised that the projections of Serafine and herself had been joined by a projection of me. Still, she wouldn’t be Lily Spencer if she didn’t have a facetious comment.

“So, is this like Doctor Strange?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, “Astral projecting?”

“Just telepathy,” I said, smiling sadly. I turned to the projection of Serafine, who looked shell-shocked and a little angry, “I’m sorry Serafine. I will be gone soon. I needed to explain why I did it…”

“What did you do?” Lily asked, drawing back a little, “We’re trying to look, but there don’t seem to be any humans left…”

“I…” I closed my eyes. Admitting this to myself had been easier than admitting it to the woman I’d once loved, “The whole city… I needed the power to make sure there was never a chance of vampires coming back… I know I’ve become a monster. Everything we were fighting against. But I wanted to make sure you could all have true lives, lives you deserve.”

“Why did you get to make that decision for me?” Lily snapped.

“The same reason you made the decision to Turn me and start all this in motion,” I said, and quickly continued before she could bring up her perfectly valid objection, “The same reason that I asked Adrien to Turn you last year. Because I love you.”

“Don’t tell me you committed genocide because you love me,” Lily recoiled, in horror, “You do realise that’s not a good thing, right?”

“I know. But, for a moment, I knew everything any vampire knew,” I closed my ethereal eyes, but could still sense every molecule of Lily’s astral projection, “All the older ones were unhappy. Eternal life is not a gift. The powers you all had were not repayment enough for the suffering you would eventually experience. Just ask Kamilah. She told me once, how only the memories she made while she was a human felt truly hers. I wanted to give that back to her. I didn’t want you to suffer the way she did. The way Takeshi did. The way even Gaius did.”

“I loved being a vampire,” Lily groused, but there was a tone to her voice, a sensation of understanding, “You killed children to take it away.”

“Lily, if there had been any other way, I would have done it,” I admitted, honestly. I realised that I was being one-hundred per cent truthful, “When I was a vampire I couldn’t love you anymore. Why do you think we never made love? I didn’t sleep with anyone else either. But, when the tree burned, and I became human again… I could feel the love. I wish we could have had more time. But I need to let Serafine have her body back.”

Finally, Lily stepped towards me. We reached out and held hands for the last time.

“You have the chance for a normal life now,” I said, feeling phantom tears stream down my face, “You, Kamilah, Serafine you could all have children if you wanted. Adrien can eventually rejoin his family.”

“Without condoning, or condemning, I understand,” Lily quoted to me, reaching up and brushing the tears away, although they were streaming down her face now, “I will miss you, Bobbi. I love you, even now…”

“Please, promise me…” I choked on the words, knowing this would be the last time I ever spoke to Lily in this life, “Take my ashes and spread them in Greece. Go to those beautiful ruins, see them in daylight. I wanted nothing more than to go back there with you one day.”

“I promise,” she said. I felt a lightness in my heart, although it would never efface the guilt I deservedly felt.

“I love you, Lily.” I said, leaning forwards to kiss her. Then my soul dissipated as I truly died.

#bloodbound3 #bloodbound #choices #pixelberry #choices stories you play #vampire #finale #dark ending #world changing #bhagavad-gita

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acuaticamber06 · 6 years

Text

Thoughts on Bendy, Chapter 5

A bit obvious, but

*****SPOILERS AHEAD!*****

If you haven’t seen/played chapter five, this will ruin it for you. Avert your eyes! XD

Okay. So, I started typing this over in the comments on Seán’s video, but I realized things as I was typing, so I’m putting down here instead.

I keep seeing a lot of comments along the lines of “the ending is unclear” and “I don’t get it” and “the ending was so unsatisfying”, but I think you guys are looking at this in all the wrong ways. Take a minute to reflect back on everything that has happened, hear me out, and maybe you’ll think of it in a different light.

Joey orchestrated the whole ordeal. Joey wrote it. Well, he drew it, actually. We saw the pictures he drew on his desk in his apartment. He had the entire story of BATIM storyboarded out there. He knew what was going to happen, and even said he was expecting Henry at a specific time- an hour later than it actually took Henry to get back- knowing that Henry would arrive. (EDIT: This is why Henry doesn’t stay dead when Bendy or one of the other monsters kills him, because that isn’t the ending Joey wrote for Henry. Henry crawls back to life through the Fallopian tube of ink because Joey has written him as the winner.)

That means that Joey is the one who wrote all of the glowing text on the walls. Stay with me here:

Alice hands Henry a magic piece of glass after a couple of scenes that are broken up by sleep cycles. She calls it glass, but I don’t think that’s what it is. I think it’s acetate.

Acetate is a special plastic used by traditional animators to add layers on top of a scene. That way, the background could remain the same while the characters did their thing on a completely separate layer. It meant less work for the animators, too, as they didn’t have to redraw the background for every frame.

Did you catch that? Acetate was used to add layers. It makes sense that it would reveal the hidden messages in this cartoon-based world.

When Henry looks through the glass, what was the first glowing text Henry saw?

“She will leave you for dead.”

And what did Alice and Tom do? Leave him behind to escape Bendy. Predicted. Scripted. Predestined. Joey had it all right there on his desk at home.

And Henry discovers even more hidden messages inside his little “cell” (appropriate name for it, too, considering a frame of animation is literally called a Cel [short for cellulose acetate]). The glowing text complimented Henry’s drawings on the floor. Drawings that weren’t there when Henry arrived, inside an enclosed area that Henry had to literally break out of with a big old pipe. The only way to get in and out of there besides breaking the boards would be to walk through the walls. And what does Bendy do in phase one of the boss fight? Run through the walls.

But if Bendy is the only character who can phase through the walls, then how would Joey-?

Because Joey created Bendy. He made Bendy in his own image. The Jesus to his God, and Bendy can be influenced by his creator, but not controlled for long periods of time. It makes sense when you think about it.

In the flashback, Joey is standing in the kitchen. There’s a wheelchair very close by, and when he turns away from the sink to address Henry, he visibly limps to the opposite counter.

Bendy walks with a significant limp.

And haven’t we seen a wheelchair before in a previous chapter? I’m almost certain we have, although I can’t place exactly when or where in my mind.

Furthermore, there is an ink machine in Joey’s apartment in the final scene. And it’s running. We can hear it glugging along as we look at the picture on the wall. It’s active and in his apartment. It kind of reminds me of when older people need machines at home to keep them alive. Oxygen tanks, IV bags, etc. They are connected to them.

Joey and Bendy are actively linked through the ink and the ink machine.

SO- They are linked and Joey can influence Bendy to walk through walls and write the messages for Henry made out of ink...but it isn’t ink. It’s something more than ink, but it comes from the ink. Whenever Henry looked through the glass, there were glowing orbs rising from the ink streams.

And since the ink is linked to Bendy who is linked to Joey, the golden ink must come directly from Joey. Almost as if it is pure creativity, untainted by greed. Or looking back on a memory with different eyes. Older and wiser eyes. It indicates Alice as an angel, even though she claims she isn’t one.

So the final question is why? Why make Henry go through all of this? Why not face his demon (literally) and beat Bendy by himself?

He’s too old. Joey couldn’t physically haul his own body down into the depths, wading through ink and falling through the floors. It would kill him. That and his creations are pretty pissed at him all the time. They would attack him and he wouldn’t have been able to defend himself. He’s an old man at the end of his life.

Henry is a good friend of his. Why else would he ask him to come over? To go down there? Henry was the one who had written the message we see on the picture in the final cut scene.

He trusted Henry to do it, because Henry was strong enough to make his own happiness in life, rather than letting the business consume him and beat him down. Joey admits to letting the cartoons become his life.

Read that again: he says “I let them become my life.”

That gets to the core of this story.

It isn’t just that Joey created Bendy and the ink monsters. Not even that he created Bendy in his own image. They exist because Joey literally gave them life- part of his own. The people who worked there fuel their ink monster-personas with their own lives, too. They were too weak to escape the ink. To escape the failing business. But there are so many more monsters than there were employees.

Because each one of them has a piece of Joey’s actual life force in them.

The glowing text... the golden orbs that rose from the ink... that’s Joey.

It’s all linked back to him. And the hell that exists down in the old studio will not cease to be until Joey dies...which is not far off, from the look of him.

The only wrench in the machine was Bendy. Bendy has a mind of his own. As one of the other characters put it: an otherworldly quality. If Joey dies and Bendy is still alive, the cartoon world will continue on without him. So, Joey asking Henry to go down there to beat Bendy was Joey accepting that his time is short and he’s going to die. He’s at peace with that.

And Bendy’s death is no cop-out. He’s a cartoon. How do cartoons end? With a “The End!” endcard. As Porky Pig said: That’s all, Folks!

When an animation ends, the characters don’t come back and have more adventures until their creators draw them doing new things. Take the Animaniacs, for example- there was a final episode for them. (Yes, I realize the series is getting a reboot, but they aren’t back yet, so this example works.) They ceased to be when the final episode finished. Sure, we remember them and watch reruns, but nothing new was created. They effectively died with that episode.

Showing the endcard to Bendy was the most cartoon-logical way to end his existence. It followed the rules of the cartoon world in which he existed.

And my last little side note:

I think the girl’s voice we hear in the final cut scene is Henry’s daughter. She calls him “Uncle Joey”, which is definitely what some families have their children do to address extremely close family friends. (I had an Uncle Pete who wasn’t related to our family at all, but was one of my dad’s closest friends.) And when Joey says that Henry chose the path that gave him a wonderful family, he gestures to the left, to the living room, which is where we hear her voice coming from in the cut scene.

She says “Tell me another one, Uncle Joey.” Tell me another story. Maybe Joey was telling her the story that Henry was living out in the studio below. We may never know for sure.

Thoughts? Anything else to add? All in all, chapter five was a great way to wrap up the story. And I really freaking enjoyed it! All that’s left to see now is if there’s anything in the extras, any extra lore in the hidden messages that you’ll be able to see once unlocking the glass after chapter five, or if the version they released to everyone else is any different from the Jacksepticeye edition. Keep your eyes peeled, everybody!

#jacksepticeye #jse community #jacksepticeye community #bendy and the ink machine #batim #theory #bendy and the ink machine spoilers #batim spoilers #batim chapter 5 spoilers

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yeaaabudddy · 5 years

Text

A Little Crossover (3/4)

Ship: Peter Parker x Batsis!Reader (Y/N)

Characters: Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Reader (S/H/N), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Jason Todd (Red Hood), Tim Drake (Red Robin), and Damian Wayne (Robin)

Type: slight angst, fluff

Requested: Yes, by @wolfiemichele and @comicsgirlimagines

Words: 5 638

Notes: I wrote... too much. Don’t think too much about the timeline lmao it might not completely match homecoming.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Peter lived his life as a student. He went to all his classes, not skipping any no matter what he saw on the streets. Peter had stopped messaging and calling you because you were related to his superhero side.

It wasn’t true because he had seen you without your costume more than he saw you in it but he knew that if he talked to you, you would manage to bring up Spider-Man and he didn’t want to hear it. He was scared.

Ned supported him through it, advising him to at least message you to let you know but Peter knew that if he gave in once, he would go all in because he missed you.

You did call him and message asking if he’s alright. You lived in a different city so you were scared as you couldn’t even see him, couldn’t confirm if he was even alive.

You wanted to make your way down to Queens just to check up on him but you knew that none of your family would let you.

You managed to find Ned’s profile listed in Peter’s friends list on Facebook. You were nervous about messaging him as he was Peter’s friend but you were desperate to see if he was okay especially since the last time you saw him, he was so distressed and was crying.

You ended up messaging him, asking if he was alright because he came to you crying and you haven’t heard from him. Ned responded back saying that he was alright, doing okay and that you should just give him some time.

You respected the decision, knowing that Peter was still not okay and it hurt that he cut you out completely from his life, seeing how easy it was for Peter to just stop.

After a little over a month of not hearing from him, you gave up on him reaching back out to you. You saw from his social medias on him and Ned hanging out, him being happy and you thought maybe the hero life wasn’t for him.

It made you sad that he thought of you as only his superhero friend and not an actual friend but you decided not to dwell on that.

You realized how much time you had now that you don’t talk to Peter as often and instead you put your effort into your patrolling or trying to find happiness in your friends from school.

You frowned sometimes when you looked at your phone seeing all the unanswered texts from Peter but you decided not to let it get the best of you.

Peter was having fun so how could you be the downer in his new life. You didn’t know if Peter would come back to being Spider-Man and even though you wanted to wait for him, you know you shouldn’t wait for a boy who cut you out of his life with no hesitation.

You didn’t have the heart to delete your conversations or anything still hoping that Peter will text you even though you knew it wouldn’t happen.

You moved on then, went on with your life and the experience with Peter made you realize that friends could be a great thing to have in your life. You decided to spend more time with friends in your classes and became closer to them.

You hoped that you could stop thinking about Peter after the amount of time has passed. One of your closest friends you had made, Megan, had noticed you frown at your phone early on in your friendship.

You finally were able to confide into someone about the situation of Peter (not fully because of your secret identities). She told you that it’s okay to still have some feelings for him as you were talking with each other for a while and were really close.

There wasn’t really any closure between you two it was just an abrupt ending and your feelings that you felt towards him didn’t fully develop because he was gone before you could even think about it.

You pushed it to the back of your mind though, not wanting to care anymore.

“Y/N!” Megan called out to you, taking your hand to drag you to the lunch room.

“What’s going on?” You asked confused at the ruckus going on around you, everyone cheering and standing up and no teacher was stopping it.

“People are getting asked to homecoming.” Your eyes widen in surprise at the fact that the dance was coming around the corner.

“Why are they making a huge a deal for homecoming, shouldn’t they wait for prom?” You questioned but Megan just rolled her eyes at the question.

“You always try and downplay these things. Come on, have fun! It’s cute, romantic!” Your friend squealed at the aspect of getting asked out like that but it just made you cringe a bit.

Public proposals are just asking for disasters. You would hate if someone asked you like that because you felt like you would have to say yes.

“I don’t find it that romantic…” You mumbled under your breath and Megan glared at you, hearing your statement.

“Shush, I’m trying to watch.” You stretch your neck to see what was going on and saw a homemade poster covered in colour and glitter held by a young boy, asking the girl in front of him to homecoming.

She looked in happiness at the scene in front of her, nodding her head and going to hug him. It was cute, you’ll admit. Still unnecessary.

People clapped around at the success and you joined in, not wanting to be a total downer but immediately made your way to an empty table. You take off your backpack just wanting to eat after wasting 10 minutes of your lunch in the mess of school dances.

Megan and some of your other friends joined after a bit with their own food, chatting with each other. You overhear some of their conversations as you eat, most of them having to do with homecoming.

“If someone asks you, do you think you’ll say yes?” Megan turned to you, talking to you separately. You look at her as you try to finish chewing your sandwich.

“Depends on the person.” You shrug, not really wanting to think about it. You didn’t really want to go to homecoming, it wasn’t really like you to go to a dance and it’s been a while since you went.

You don’t know if it’s your thing, all the music and dancing and maybe if you had someone to go with you would change your mind but it seems like a pretty boring concept.

“I hope for our sake, someone does.” You just roll your eyes, Megan has asked you so many times to just tag along, If you don’t get asked and she doesn't either, to just go with her because she wants you there.

“Are you still waiting for Conner to ask you?” You smirk at her blushing state. Her and Conner have been in a grey area for a while as they both care for each other but aren’t admitting it to the other that they like them.

You just wanted to push them into a room and get them to confess because it was so obvious but you��ll let them figure it out themselves.

By the end of the day you managed to hear and witness more people asking others to homecoming and you don’t know if you’re jealous or not. You never really thought about it, so preoccupied with other things that when you got asked when you were at your locker.

Jack, a guy from your physics class had strolled up to you while you put any books you don’t need to take home, back into your locker.

“Hey, Y/N.” He smiled at you, his smile bright and kind.

“Hey, Jack. What’s up?” You casually ask him, confused as to why he was talking to you. You’ve seen him a couple of times around school and obviously in class but you guys haven’t talked more than needed for projects and homework.

“Well, homecoming is soon and I was thinking… maybe you’ll go with me?” He was nervous and it showed on his face and you almost took pity on him for that. You turned to look at him, closing your locker.

“Uh... “ You thought about it for a second and before you could even think about it, you saw Megan in the corner of your eye pointing at Jack and glaring at you, knowing that she was yelling at you to accept his offer.

“That sounds fun!” You smile at him, his face breaking out into a smile at your acceptance. You felt bad you took long to answer as he was starting to become anxious in his place.

“I’ll see you tomorrow in class then! I got the tickets, so don’t worry about that!” You smile at his enthusiasm, it reminding you of someone else…

“‘I’ll see you.” Jack nods at you and leaves you to yourself and Megan comes over to you.

“Damn you got asked before us all!” She pouted, you didn’t even want to go that bad and you were asked right away. “I shouldn’t be surprised cause... Well, you’re you. Now that you got a guy, you’re going to come to my house to get ready!”

You just realized how much work this was actually going to be.

Time passed fast with you (and no, there was still no response from Peter). The dance was tonight and everyone was feeling the atmosphere for the special day. Some girls were skipping the school day to spend it together, getting ready.

Otherwise, it was a normal day for you but you know that Megan would be expecting you over at her house right after school.

When you told your family that you’ll be a bit late to your assigned patrol because of the dance, they teased you endlessly at the aspect of you going to the event.

“Didn't think you were that type of girl.” Damian had offhandedly said, making you realize that maybe you should start doing more stuff like this just to see if you’ll like it.

They also asked if you had a date of course but you didn’t let up the poor boy’s name. You wanted this to be as normal as possible and you don't need your siblings stalking you because you’re going to a dance with a boy.

“Y/N the dress I picked out for you is so pretty! Don’t worry about the colour, I made sure that it wouldn’t be too bright.” You smiled in appreciation, you didn't know much about how to shop for dresses, the thought stressing you out so you asked Megan for a favour. She texted you a few options that you approved of and chose from them.

“Thanks, Megan.” This all felt so normal for you that it was crazy. Maybe Peter was right that you should enjoy being a teenager but you would never give up your night life of saving people no matter what.

Megan’s mom picked you and your friends up after school, taking you guys to her house. The excited chattering going around you in the car, the radio was turned up to a pop song and everything was too normal for you that it felt weird.

Something just felt off and maybe it’s because you’re not on edge about every single thing right now which is out of character for you.

It is a school dance so what if something happens during it? Your thoughts were running wild with ideas like that because no good moments for heroes were always good. You knew that you weren’t going to be destined with happy moments when you became a hero and so this is just out of your league.

You were getting ready, looking at all your friends being carefree while living in Gotham. They got each other ready and were just laughing saying their hopes for the night.

Conner did end up asking Megan to homecoming so she was shining the brightest of them all.

She took out your royal blue dress that she picked out for you, making you change and get your makeup done. You were all ready.

Since your school had uniforms, these were the only times you got to wear nice clothes to school.

You met up with Jack who was standing in his suit in front of the building with two tickets. You were glad that you knew Jack was nice enough to not leave you hanging, you would be totally bummed if he stood you up (you did buy a ticket just in case).

“You look really pretty.” The boy looked at you with wide eyes. It was no secret that you were pretty but he hadn’t seen you outside of uniform in person.

“Thanks, you look really good too!” He held out his hand to get you to link your arms with him, entering the gym together. Things were looking pretty good at the dance.

You were actually feeling happy as your friends hung close and you even met with some of Jack’s close friends. It was a fun night together, you weren’t with him the whole time, joining your friends in a group dance but you felt like a regular teen.

The worry in your heart didn’t cease but it did calm down a bit at the aspect that maybe today would be nice.

You sat on a chair at the tables off the side of the gym, exhausted by the amount of energy everyone else has. Jack joined you shortly after noticing you, leaving his friends to talk to you.

“Hope you had fun today, I know we don’t know each other that well… but It was nice to get to know you.” You just felt glad that Jack didn’t turn out to be a hidden asshole, you’ve dealt with enough stupid boys for a lifetime.

“Thanks, I’m just glad you weren’t like half the guys in our grade.” Jack just laughed at your ‘compliment’. He can’t believe that you actually agreed to go out with him especially with how you never took notice of him unless you were partnered up by the teacher.

Both of your thoughts were cut off when your phone buzzed. You look towards the table where you rested it against. The screen brightening up to reveal a name you don’t know if you’re happy to see.

The words flashing “PETER P.” across the screen. You stared at your phone in shock not knowing if what you were seeing was real. He ignores you for around a month and a half and then suddenly calls you when you’re actually happy.

Jack notices you pause and that you made no effort to answer your phone.

“Are you okay?” He takes a glance at your phone noticing the name on your screen, not knowing a Peter P in this school. He knew none of your brothers also had the name Peter so he wasn’t sure who it was.

“Yeah, no problem.” You flipped your phone over to hide the name from your sight. You know that ignoring him might be a bad idea but how could he just ruin this moment for you. You were in no mood to get back to the dance and you didn’t want to go home this early.

“Boy troubles?” Jack questioned, his face showing curiosity on your reaction to getting the phone call.

“Something like that, I guess.” You confirmed his suspicion. Your mood had physically dropped and he could tell that you wouldn’t want to dance anymore so he decided maybe you needed some help.

“If you want some boy advice who better to ask than a boy.” He motioned to himself and laid back a bit in his chair. You turned to him as you realized he asked for you to confide in him and you were tempted to.

Here you are trusting another boy but you have an urge to actually get his advice. It was something about how he gave you a great night in a while and that he felt genuine.

You sighed as you gave up and he also realized, straightening himself up.

“Alright, you asked.” Your phone had rung one more time after the initial call and then stopped, not attempting again and your heart was very heavy as you knew that you could’ve heard Peter’s voice for the first time in almost 2 months. You also knew that if you fought with him on the phone then your night would be completely ruined.

“Why are guys so…”

“Dumb? Oblivious?” He offered as he noticed you struggling with your emotions.

“Frustrating!”

“Ah!” He clapped his hand in realization. “How could I miss that one. You do seem very frustrated with him, would you mind telling me what he did?”

“Ghosted me for almost two months and then called me when I’m finally having a good time.” You grumbled loud enough for him to hear it still feeling pathetic for caring.

“Wow.” His eyes widened in response to what you told him. His eyes mouth going dry at what to say to you.

“Yeah, I know. I’m pathetic. He didn’t care to message me for two months and here I am, still caring.” You rest your head on your hand, leaning against the table in shame.

“No, we’re all human. We can’t really control our emotions, you’re not pathetic. Whoever that dude is, is really stupid for ghosting you.” He tried to comfort you but you still weren’t feeling it.

“Okay, I’m going to tell you something. Guys… we don’t know what we’re doing sometimes. We can be idiots but that doesn’t give us an excuse to get away with everything because you don’t deserve to be ignored like that.” You look at him as he ranted out what he thought.

“Maybe… you should call him and hear him out. Decide after you speak to him if you want to cut him off or keep him, get some closure for yourself if anything.”

You nodded at him, feeling like that was probably the best option for you.

“Yeah, I should do that… maybe tomorrow. I don’t want to ruin today with all that.” You smile at him and he smiles back in appreciation.

“You wanna dance then, end the night happy?” He got up and offered you his hand. You took it and he pulled you to the dance floor, allowing you another moment of happiness before you leave and go back home to get yourself ready for patrol.

You just got into your room, your body full of sweat from being around so many people in a confined space. You hope your patrol will go well because you wanted just this one day.

Your dress still intact but your heels were thrown off across your room. You heard a noise in your room and at first you thought it was just an accident with the creaky floorboards but it happened again and with more pressure.

You look toward your closed window, making your way to it and opening the curtains for inspection. As soon as the drapes pulled back, you saw someone you didn’t think you’d see for a while.

The homemade Spider-Man suit was still on his body like the last time you saw him. You gape in surprise at the appearance of Peter without his mask, bloodied up and looking at you, pleading.

You quickly open the window, letting him before you could even think about it. His state stressed you out as he looked like he took a tough beating.

“Peter? Oh my gosh, what happened?” You helped him inside as he struggled. You held his body up as he fell against yours.

“I got him.” He mumbled as his eyes closed a bit, you put him on your bed, he naturally laid down in exhaustion. You went and got a first aid kit you had in your bathroom and came back to see him mumbling to himself.

“Peter, sit up.” You helped him get up and sit up on your bed so you could tend to his wounds.

“I got the bird guy, h-he was going to steal Mr. Stark’s stuff and I stopped him.” He told you as you cleaned his wounds, him wincing in response but still talking.

“D-do you think he’ll be proud of me?” Peter asked you as you put some bandaids over smaller wounds and wrapped up his bigger ones.

You gave Peter a soft smile in reassurance knowing that he was too tired to really understand what he’s doing.

“Yeah, Peter. I think he will.” You laid him down on your bed as you realized he was falling asleep. You heavily sigh as you look at him about to sleep trying to search him for his phone, hoping that he had it hidden somewhere but got no luck.

“By the way, you look really pretty.” He told you before completely passing out. You look at him and don’t know how to feel but you decide to swallow it all, making sure to tell Ned yourself that he was okay and alive before leaving the room and going to sleep next door.

Peter woke up to see a young boy staring at him, he sat up and looked around realizing he was in your room, remembering that he came last night after fighting Liz’s dad.

“Who are you?” The boy’s voice brought Peter’s attention back to him and then he realized this was probably your younger brother, Damian.

“U-um, I’m Peter. I-i’m friends with your sister.” Peter was nervous as he knew how protective your brothers were over you and how Damian felt a bit rough on the outside but according to you, he just needed love.

“You don’t go to her school though.” He pointed out, calling Peter out.

“Uh, j-just her friend from… uh-.” Peter was cut off by the door to your room opening and he prayed it was you.

His prayers went answered as your face popped in through the door and you rolled your eyes as you saw Damian.

“Damian, it’s okay. I know him.” Damian just nodded and prepared to leave before you stopped him again. “Also, don’t tell the rest. Please.” You pout at him, trying to persuade him.

Damian just looks blankly at you but you knew he gave in. “It’s none of my business.” Damian left and you smiled, thankful.

You turned back to Peter who was now sitting up in your bed, your smile dropping slightly off your face but still there. Peter’s heart dropped as you held up a facade around him, not showing how you were feeling.

He knew he was an ass by not talking to you for months and he doesn’t even know why he decided to come over to your house last night instead of going to Ned or going home.

“I’m sorry,” Peter said to you to break the silence in the room that felt too heavy being that it was you two.

“How are your injuries?” You ask, ignoring his apology for now because you don’t know what you’re feeling. You knew you were sad but seeing him made you feel a bit angry and you don’t know why.

“T-they’re fine.” Peter frowns at the fact you ignored his apology but he knew he couldn’t leave your place without at least trying to patch things up between you two. You went to look at his bandaged wounds, unraveling some of the gauze to replace it or if the wound was fully healed, to take it off. “Look Y/N I-.”

“Peter.” You cut him off, wrapping up a deeper wound on his arm. Peter sat quietly waiting for you to talk, not wanting to make you mad. “I don’t know what you want me to say, that it’s okay?” You fussed over his injuries a bit more, putting more force as you wrapped up other parts of his arms.

“I just want to apologize.” Peter grit his teeth as you repatched up the old wounds with no mercy. His body did still feels sore from the amount of times he got hurt yesterday but he didn’t bother commenting on it.

“No explanation?” You huffed out, annoyed at how he wasn’t giving you anything else.

“I mean… I needed a break.” You turn to glare at him, looking him wanting to yell at him.

“That’s not what I’m talking about. The month and a half where you just ignored me, didn't even tell me that you were okay. You just left crying and then I didn’t hear from you again.” You keep your voice calm but you can feel your anger catch up to you.

“I had to ask Ned if you were okay because you wouldn’t answer me.” You calm yourself down as you knew you were getting visibly upset.

“You don’t owe me anything, I know. It’s just… I thought we were more than that.” You confess to him, looking away to put back all your first aid supplies. He grabbed your arm stopping you from getting up.

“We were- are!” Peter knew that his excuse of ignoring you is stupid but he didn’t want to lose you completely.

“Yeah, sure.” You scoffed, rolling your eyes. Peter’s hand still had a tough grip on your arm, keeping you in place no matter how much you tried to wiggle out.

“No, I swear! I-I...” Peter stumbled over his words not really knowing what to say to get you to not kick him out. Peter sighed, realizing he needed to tell you.

“The reason why I ghosted you was because I was scared…” You look at him confused as to why he would be scared of you. “I was scared because I knew that if I talked to you I would give into trying to be Spider-Man again and I wasn’t ready for that.”

“Peter, you know I wouldn’t force you to do anything. Yeah, I didn’t completely agree with you giving up Spider-Man but I told you it was okay to take a break.”

“I know and I’m sorry it’s just I feel like you wouldn’t like me if I wasn’t Spider-Man, if I didn’t have the other side of me that we always talked about.” You realized that he was just scared that you wouldn’t like him just being Peter.

“Peter… you know that I don’t think that at all. When I talk to you, I want to talk to Peter, not Spider-Man. Yeah, he’s cool but he’s not all there is to you. You have a lot more going for you than Spider-Man.” You reassure him, his hand had let go of your arm by now and you got up to put your kit away before sitting next to Peter.

“It’s just that you’re so cool and pretty and I feel like I wasn’t enough for you.” He looked at his hands, shy at his confession. His hands tapping against his knees slightly annoying you.

“I would never think you were not enough if you weren’t Spider-Man.” You let him know what he wanted to hear without walking around it. Peter knew that Liz liked him for who he was because she didn't know about Spider-Man but you were a different story.

You were someone who could do no wrong and is someone just out of his league. He couldn’t even compare to you. You were pretty, smart, funny, and you save so many people a day. Since he gave up being Spider-Man, he thought that he would give you up to because what else would you find interesting in him?

But here you were, telling him that Peter Parker was enough for you.

“Really?”

“I swear.” You put your hand on top of his that was still tapping against his knees. You wanted Peter to completely understand you this time.

He looked at you, taken aback by the feeling of your hand against his. He started feeling nervous under your gaze. His eyes looking all over your face, lingering at your lips for a half a second longer and you caught it.

“Y/N, I-” Peter’s mouth went dry at the aspect of saying something to you about how he felt even though you just became friends again but he didn't want to waste this chance.

You cut him off by bringing your face closer to his, your hand going to hold his face.

“Is this okay?” You ask, hoping that he knew what you were alluding to. Peter looked frozen in his spot, his eyes dropping to your lips and back to your eyes frantically making you a bit nervous at the delay.

He just nods after a few seconds of you waiting and you connect your lips with his right away. Maybe it was the fact that it’s been so long since you saw Peter that your feelings for him felt clear after the tiny break. You realized that Peter wasn’t being a dick to be a dick it was just that he needed reassurance and didn’t mean to hurt you.

He was just figuring stuff out so you couldn’t be mad at him for trying to understand his life even if it did hurt you and you don’t like crawling back to people but you knew how sincere Peter is because he let you into his worries, telling you he was insecure of himself.

You can’t blame him for being a teenager, you were also guilty of not having everything figured out.

Peter immediately responded to your kiss, your hand caressed his face as your lips moved together and his hand made its way to your waist slightly rubbing it. His lips felt so soft and even though they were slightly bruised up and chapped, it just felt right. Your hand went up to his hair slightly to feel the soft curls in your hand.

You pull apart because you realized that you shouldn’t put too much pressure on his injury. Peter followed you as you pulled apart, wanting more but you knew that he might start bleeding again.

“Peter, your injury.” You managed to mumble out, pushing his chest slightly because you were getting tempted to continue as well.

Peter just pouted with slightly swollen lips but then came back to reality, realizing he was here in your room and not in Queens.

“Uh- I should probably text May.” Peter patted his suit to see where he put his phone but you shook year head.

“I texted Ned that you were here last night, I told him to tell your aunt about you not coming home.”

“Oh, thanks.” Peter smiled in relief at the fact he won’t get a lecture after getting home.

“I-i uh, I don’t want to leave this unspoken but- I, I really like you.” Peter managed to calm himself down enough to tell you, he knows that you just kissed him but the thought of you actually saying that you liked him felt unreal.

“Kind of figured with the kissing but… I like you too.” You felt shy as you confessed your feelings and Peter smiled brightly at you at the fact that you guys were not just friends anymore.

He didn’t think he would be able to tell you that he liked you, he thought you were on a different level than him. Hearing you say that you liked him made him feel so giddy. The time on your clock shines bright in the corner of his eye making him realize that he did have to get home (sadly).

“I have to-” Peter hesitantly said while pointing to your window, not wanting to leave you right after you both confessed to each other.

“I get it, just… make sure to actually text me this time.” You joked, really hoping that you will get a message after he leaves. Peter winced at the comment, looking guilty again.

“About that, I’m sorry.” You just laughed at him, he was such a cutie you don’t know how you were ever mad at him.

“It’s okay, Peter. I already forgave you! Don’t worry, I’ll talk to you later then.”

“Do you think I should change?” Peter looked down at his outfit and you laughed at the suit. Peter smiling at the sound of hearing your laugh so full after so long of missing you.

“Yeah, I think you should. I have some of Tim’s sweats, he never knows they’re missing. You can wear that and this sweater.” You pulled out some clothes from your closet. You did tend to take some of your brother’s old clothing as they were pretty comfy and nice to sleep in.

Peter thanked you and just put the clothing on top of what he was wearing, you ordered a cab for him to take making sure to slip some money into the pocket of his sweats so he doesn’t worry about the cost.

“I ordered a cab for you so you better take it, it’d be too obvious if your swing around in that. Money’s in your right pocket.” Before Peter could decline, you pushed him towards your window and he started making his way out. His face showing he wasn’t happy about you paying for him but you didn't care.

“I swear I’ll text you as soon as I’m home.” Peter reassured you, making sure you knew he wasn’t going to leave you like that again.

“I can’t wait.” You both smile at each other. Peter climbed down and sneakily exited the manor area.

You can’t believe the past few hours of your life actually happened… You and Peter kissed.

So I do have another part for this, if you guys want it just let me know!

#peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker imagines #peter parker fluff #peter parker angst #spiderman imagine #spiderman x reader #spider-man imagines #spider-man x reader #spiderman fluff #dick grayson imagine #jason todd imagine #tim drake imagine #damian wayne imagine #batsis #basis reader #tom holland imagines

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shamrock96 · 5 years

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So I’ve been thinking about Polyamory lately...

I started watching this show called Siren where this couple meets a mermaid and all three of them slowly start falling in love with each other and this is my first exposure to polyamorous representation and I think it’s a great triad relationship the writers have going here to explain the more complex emotions involved in a polyamorous relationship.

If anyone gets bored gong through this or knows you’re in for a long post as least know that this is the main idea of this post before scrolling past it: The best kind of love is a healthy tender relationship to people you can trust and who love you unconditionally.

Now I’m not poly myself, I don’t know what I am to be honest, so I don’t know what’s all involved. I’ve done research and I know that there are many different types of polyamory for it to just be whittled down to one example but what really strikes me and fascinates me about the polyamorous relationship depicted in Siren is the deep love and commitment each of the partners have with each other.

In the past I’ve joked about polyamory in the sense “haha let’s just forget this bogus love triangle and have everyone just get together” and after hearing other people’s stories and learning about their relationships I know there’s a lot more to it than just saying “screw it, let everyone just have sex!”

So I’ve put together a list of other possible areas where other writers could have gone this way. Because representation is important and love triangles have become an extremely cliché and toxic trope in television and movies to the point I don’t think writers really know what a healthy relationship between partners looks like anymore.

I got a lot of these from Triad of the Day but I just wanted to explain more in depth why I think these characters would be so good together

1. Veronica Lodge and Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper

So I’ve got to admit, I don’t actually watch Riverdale and this is probably a bad example to start with because my reasoning for these three being a triad is: just look at them. They’re obviously in love. And they can all still have their men on the side if that’s what they want but from what I’ve seen of gifs and on other people’s blogs, there is a strong feminine power here that transcends just being friends/frenemies/whatever.

2. Harley Quinn and Catwoman and Poison Ivy a.k.a The Gotham City Sirens

Harley and Poison Ivy are already renown for their amazing sapphic relationship but I feel like Catwoman is a good addition to their love because of how often she gets snubbed by Batman (a man she clearly has feelings for a who has feelings for her) for embracing her darker side. Harley, more than anyone, understands being sidelined and downright abused by someone you care about and I think Poison Ivy would praise Selina for embracing the side of her that come more naturally. Harley and Poison Ivy already have a great and more or less healthy (as healthy as trauma inflicted villains can be) and Selina could really use some of that love in her life.

This is also probably my inspiration for the whole Veronica/Cheryl/Betty triad I have above.

3. Kathy and Don and Cosmo

Again, so I haven’t really seen this movie in its entirety yet (just bits and pieces) but I’ve seen enough to know they were all just meant to be together. Especially in the “Good Morning” number where they talk about “danced the whole night through”. Like what is better than one person finding two other people they can laugh and have fun together until dawn? This just seems super figured out to me.

4. Miles O'brien and Keiko O'brien and Kira Nerys

This is one where I think things get a little complicated for so many reasons. For starters it’s a great example how a polytriad relationship works when children are involved. For those who aren’t familiar with Star Trek: Deep Space 9, the story between these three are that Miles and Keiko have been married ever since they were on Star Trek: The Next Generation. They even have a daughter who is about four when the couple are expecting their next baby. Due to a transporter malfunction Kira is accidentally impregnated with Keiko’s baby. This was the writers’ way of explaining Kira’s actress, Nana Visitor’s, own pregnancy (coincidently with other co-star, Alexander Siddig, but that’s a whole other story).

Anyways, once Kira is unexpectedly carrying the O’Brien’s child she moves in with them so that they can still experience the pregnancy and become closer to their new surrogate. As a result Kira also becomes closer to the O’Brien’s and their daughter Molly. The birth of Kirayoshi is a really touching episode and it’s obvious that Kira has become extremely attached to the baby. After the birth the O’Briens make Kira Kirayoshi’s godmother (and also kind of name him after her) and she becomes a part of the family, like an aunt.

The only reason this gets complicated is because of Kira’s work relationship with Miles. While Kira and Keiko become super close and it could easily have turned into something romantic there’s not a lot of that bonding going on with Miles. And I know there are relationships where person A (Kieko) has a strong relationship with persons B (Miles) and C (Kira) but persons B and C aren’t as close, but my main objective in putting these characters together is to form a perfect triad where everyone loves and is loved equally. The writers could have also easily done this by having Kira and Miles bond more emotionally rather than professionally but they didn’t so we don’t get to see what that would have looked like except in fanfiction.

5. Elphaba and Galinda and Fiyero

Like I think a majority of the fans of Wicked agree that these three were all in love one way or the other. Some ship Glinda and Elphaba, Glinda shipped herself with Fiyero, and the mainstream is that Elphaba and Fiyero utlimately belonged together. And while the musical puts a heavy emphasis on the “friendship” between Glinda and Elphaba, anyone who ever watches “For Good” can tell you that their relationship was way deeper than your average best friends or sisters for that matter. Not to mention in “One Short Day” the two fo them make a point of saying “we’re just two friends” “two good friends” “two best friends”. The whole “just friends” has been used to keep LGBT+ couples in the closet since forever.

We also know Fiyero and Elphaba were given a wonderfully laid out relationship which has a very important role in the musical. Fiyero’s relationship with Glinda can be analyzed as what society wants to see vs. Fiyero and Elphaba’s relationship which is something society doesn’t want to see. Perfect vs. Unconventional. HOWEVER, Fiyero and Glinda did have a connection, so much so that Glinda did mourn losing him (to her “best friend” nonetheless). The reverse could also be argued that Glinda was mourning losing Elphaba to Fiyero. OR it could be argued that the two people she loved most ran off into the sunset (albeit, as fugitives) without her and she was left behind. In a polyamorous relationship nobody would be left behind singing a reprise of “I’m Not That Girl”. I haven’t seen the full musical in a while but I think Elphaba gave Glinda the chance to come with her and Fiyero and Glinda opted to stay behind in the public figure position she was given. I could be wrong about that, like I said I haven’t seen the musical in a while, but if I’m not wrong the that decision to stay behind could have all sorts of different analyses for the relationship between the three.

Let’s not forget to mention that Glinda and Elphaba were ROOMMATES! Ok, memes aside, these three had a lot of chemistry and history together that bonded them. For me, one of the saddest parts of the ending wasn’t the “For Good” scene where Elphaba “sacrifices” herself because Glinda knew full well what Elphaba had planned with Fiyero, leaving Glinda as the last one standing and being the one left behind to fix the corrupt government in the land of Oz. She was sad because she knew Elphaba had to stay dead in the eyes of the people if she was ever going to live a normal life after all that had happened. The actual ending of the book is way sadder so I’ll take the canon ending of the musical any day but I can’t help but feel like the life Elphaba and Fiyero started after running off into their official sunset probably felt a little incomplete without Glinda.

6. DJ Fuller and Steve Hale and Matt Harmon

THIS ONE. Never has an audience ever been given the run around about a heteronormative live triangle than they have been with Fuller House. As soon as I saw this on Triad of the Day’s list of polyamorous couples I was just like YES! When DJ chose Steve I was a little skeptical and torn. Both of these men seemed really great and had great chemistry with DJ. I stan the whole decision for DJ to choose herself the first time around and take some time to figure out who she was (especially so soon after the death of her husband). But immediately after that decision the writers went and gave Steve and Matt a great bro relationship. THEY EVEN HAD STEVE AND MATT KISS!!!! Although that was before they became friends. And they were SO into that kiss and we ALL loved it! The fact that it was used for laughs is such a pity. Fuller House could have pulled a Modern Family by creating a positive social commentary on polyamorous families and play off the title of the show (Fuller House) more than they already do by adding both men to the family. Instead one of them got pushed away and to be honest I stopped watching after season 2. I love the wholesome family vibes Fuller House gives out and even the ones given out by Hallmark (which Candace Cameron Bure and Lori Laughlin are major actresses in) but something these wholesome shows and tv networks forget is that you can represent LGBT+ relationships without the emphasis of sex. It’s like if someone were to pitch a gay Christmas romance movie to Hallmark the board would immediately say, “Nice idea, but this is a family friendly program.” My definition of family friendly is a group of adults who are in loving and healthy relationships with each other who all love and take care of the children in their lives. And my definition of wholesome is lack of profanity and vulgar humor and displays honest values (just for the record).

Fuller House really missed out on taking a step forward into the modern age by not making these three a polyamorous triad.

7.Victor Van Dort and Emily and Victoria Everglot

So I’m not sure about this one because I REALLY love how it ended (with Emily getting justice for her murder and then being emotionally liberated to the point she burst into a kaleidoscope of butterflies). Not to mention Emily and Victoria didn’t exactly get much bonding time throughout the movie though I think Emily can heavily relate to Victoria’s overly sheltered life and especially to getting screwed over in the marriage department (although Victoria luckily dodged that bullet). But I feel like that would make Emily (and Victor) all the more protective of Victoria when it comes to those who would abuse her. And maybe Emily could have taught both Victor and Victoria more about standing up for themselves. I know Emily can seem naive and like she doesn’t have much life experience (for obvious reasons) but we’ve seen how strong, powerful, and dedicated she is. I don’t think anybody would be surprised if Emily scorched the earth for Victor and Victoria. Also Victor needs some strong women in his life. I feel like the implications of what these three would have been like in a polyamorous relationship is pretty obvious and has no doubt been written about a thousand times in fanfiction. As much as I love Emily being released from what was tying her down to earth, this would have been a good alternative ending as well.

8. Tulio is dating Miguel and Chel

These guys. Need I say more?

I think I might because while we see the obvious attraction between Tulio and Chel and the fanmade art and fanfiction of Tulio and Miguel, that still leaves out the question of what Chel and Miguel’s relationship would be like. Obviously in the movie Miguel wasn’t a big fan of Chel moving in on his and Tulio’s “bromance” and while jealousy doesn’t have much place in an ideal triad relationship (from what I understand anyway), I think they could make good partners in crime.

9. Flora and Fauna and Merryweather a.k.a the Three Good Fairies

Now these hoes. I’ve heard some dispute somewhere that they may or may not be sisters but I distinctly remember them only being referred to as “the three good fairies”. Older women (fairies) who have known each other for a very long time. But they dead ass raised a daughter together as mortals, in the same cottage for 16 years. We’ve seen said cottage and we’ve seen Aurora’s bedroom but anyone can see that there’s no way there was enough from in that cottage for 3 individual bedrooms or even one room for three twin beds (maybe bunk beds if they had existed in the 14th century). They’re depicted as incompetent characters in Malificent but they aren’t that way in the 1959 Sleeping Beauty. In fact, they’re portrayed as willing to do anything for their daughter. Not to mention the constant bickering of Flora and Merryweather being pacified by Fauna. That is typical married old couple behavior right there. Being 1959 there’s no way anyone was ready for a polyamorous triad of fairies in a children’s animated feature but that’s basically what they gave us.

10. Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington and Jonathan Byers

This is also a hard one. Because similar to Glinda and Fiyero’s relationship Steve and Nancy were together for high school politics. In this scenario Steve is Glinda because he gets left behind to ponder on his life as a shallow popular high school king. But protecting Jonathan and Nancy with that homemade nail bat from that demagorgan is what any good partner would do for his other partners.

The reason this one is tricky is not only because Steve got left behind but also because the relationship dynamic is pretty unequal. Because while Nancy and Steve are together at the beginning of Season 2, it’s clear they’re still putting on a facade that things can go back to normal for them during their senior year of high school. By the end of Season 2 Nancy is officially with Jonathan and Steve is not only left behind but he’s left behind to take care of the kids.

Not to mention Steve and Jonathan don’t necessarily have a good relationship with each other. Although I think Steve has been humbled down in Season 3 after realizing his glory days are more or less behind him. But we don’t get a lot of interaction between these three anymore.

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this one besides the fact that I think there’s some potential somewhere here. Especially with the introduction of Robin. I feel like she could be a great sexual awakening for a lot of the characters in this show.

BONUS: Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin and just about anyone

It doesn’t have to be Raven. Honestly it could be any character who has a good relationship with both Clark and Bellamy. I think it’s safe to say a majority of the fandom is holding out for Bellark to ride off into their sunset but I think they’d be pretty inclusive to someone else they have a strong relationship with. I haven’t watched the series in a really long time so I don’t know if there is a character left alive who fits that description but the characters have definitely formed a pack mentality of survival and sticking close. I imagine if they (Clark, Bellamy, and their third partner) would have kids they’d have the same protective circle.

#My posts #my ot3

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peaches-of-1 · 5 years

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📷 Photo Evidence 🍋

Jay Park x Female!Reader x G Dragon

Summary: You and your friend are invited to a pool party for Jay Park’s not yet released song and it’s not only the water that gets you wet.

You had put on your favorite bathingsuit today for the pool party concert you were invited to through some connections. They would be using it for filming but wanted it to be a genuine party. One of your best friends was a makeup artist, so she wanted to do your makeup for it.

“I have products that could withstand armageddon.” She said.

“I’m going swimming. I don’t need makeup to swim.”

Then she corrected you, “You’ll be swimming on camera, though. I won’t do anything crazy. At least let me give you a red lip or something. Please? It’s an AOMG party. You have to let me do your makeup. Glitter. C’mon, (Y/N). I’ve never bothered you this much about makeup before.”

“Prom?”

“It was prom, and it was just foundation, eyeliner, and gloss!”

You rolled your eyes, but she got on her knees and hugged your legs. There was no way you could reject her. She was a makeup artist. You’d look fine no matter what she did.

With a sigh, you said, “Ok, only a red lip and some liner. I don’t wanna do any foundation or anything too extreme.”

“BB Cream at least? Smooth the pores?”

“Tilly!”

She put her hands up, “Ok, lip and liner. Nothing more. I’m doing eye primer though to make sure it lasts.”

“Fair enough.”

After Matilda aka Tilly finished, you were glad she didn’t do more than she said. The lips were more pink than red, but at least it matched your bathing suit. It wasn’t too extreme considering how she usually styled you for celebrity events. You weren’t even a celeb. Not an idol. Not a model. Just you.

You threw on some denim shorts, a crop top, and some sandals you wouldn’t mind being affected by the pool chlorine. After borrowing a pair of Tilly’s glasses and making sure you had everything you needed in your tote bag, you and her left your apartment and hopped into a taxi. The drive wasn’t too long, and all expenses would be paid once you showed the valet your invite. You and Tilly listened to all of the songs that had come out by AOMG artists.

To be completely honest, rap and hip-hop weren’t your favorite genres, but you loved the artists more than their art. However, 90% of Jay Park’s stuff was a bop. Tatted head to toe. You wondered if there were any that you didn’t know about and where they were.

Tilly tapped your arm, “You good, sis?”

“Uh, yeah. Just thinking.”

“You think too much.” She scoffed. “What was it this time?”

Jay Park’s possible dick tat…“Nothing.” You replied. “Just a bit nervous, ya’know? What if something happens?”

She laughed, “Like what? Jay-oppa notices you and you get into the VIP area?”

“Oh my god! Even if I did, we would only be using our lips.”

“To suck dick!”

“To talk! To ask why I’m there in the first place.”

Tilly laughed, “You don’t have to be innocent with me, (Y/N). I’ve seen your computer.”

Your cheeks began to burn, “You what?”

“I was joking, but now I’m curious.”

“Don’t be.” You shoved her arm.

The pair of you began to wonder if you should’ve gone to a cafe first even though you had eaten at home. Not too much because you wanted it to all be down before getting in the pool and drinking some booze. Once at the party, you got the driver paid and he asked if you guys needed to be picked up afterwards. Tilly said she’d let him know and he drove off.

The shorter valet asked if you girls wanted to be entered in a raffle to get backstage passes. You both said yes cuz why not? Phone number and name. They’d text you if you won. Then off to the pool deck. Lots of people had shown up already and sat around the edge looking cute. Why the hell were there heels beside some sunbathers? Ugh. Like, it’s fine to be fashionable and whatnot or like to feel tall, but it’s a pool High heels weren’t the smartest idea for footwear.

Then again, Tilly was wearing peep toes behind you. You two parked your things besides two pool chairs that were next to each other and then walked around to check things out after discarding your tops to reveal the bathing suits underneath. You had talked her into wearing matching gold body chains the day before but now wondered if it made you stand out too much.

You looked out from behind your reflective monsters that a fan gave Tilly from Gentle Monster, but she had just bought the same pair in a different color. The fan sent one was her fave color, so she gave the ones she bought herself to you. So many young fans, no one over 35 in sight, or at least they had gotten enough work done that they didn’t seem their age.

“So, we gots a bar, an off limits lounge, food, and lots and lots of pool toys.” Tilly announced. “What do you wanna do first, (Y/N)?”

“Food.” You answered as if it was the obvious answer. Cuz it was.

Where the food was located, it was all Valentine’s Day themed. The video would be coming out that day as well. In a week. You were excited to see it mostly because of Jay Park and whoever his special guest was. Most of the internet said it was Mino from Winner or one of the rookie rappers that came out this year.

If it was being teased this much, it probably was someone more famous than a rookie. At least, that was your plan of thinking. You piled your plate up with fruits and all sorts of chocolates. There was a fountain, so you stuck a skewer through some mini soft pretzels and let the milk chocolate drizzle all over them.

“Someone’s got a sweet tooth.”

A voice made you jump as you pulled the skewer back. You set it on your plate and looked back to see Jay Park smiling at you. Where the fuck was Tilly?

“Yeah,” You said. “It’s a 24/7 thing. Never a thing as too many sweets.”

He laughed, “You got that right. Wanna do me a favor?”

“Depends what it is.”

Jay smiled, “I like a clever girl. Anyways, here.” He handed you a pink camera. “Take a few good shots for me? Just stick ‘em on any board you come across.”

You shrugged, “Sure, sounds like fun.” You grabbed the camera. “Can’t wait to see you perform later.”

“Well, I just hope you like it.”

“I probably will.” To say you couldn’t breathe would be an understatement.

The Jay Park was smiling and chilling right there in front of you. Someone called his name and he had to go prep or something. You exhaled and wanted to scream, but you were able to snap a pic of him walking away with one hand. He turned around, and you just smiled.

“You told me to get good shots.” How the f were you being so smooth?

He pointed at you and then continued on his way. Internal screaming intensified. You looked around and noticed the other eyes watching. Tilly. You walked back to your seats and set your plate on the small table near it.

“Gorl,” She said.

“I know!”

Her eyes were wide with shock, “What the frick? He gave you a camera?”

“He wants me to get some good shots of the party. I don’t know what they’ll be used for, but I can’t believe he asked me directly.”

“What did you say to him?” She patted her knees in excitement.

So you told her about how you might have flirted on accident and she told you to secure the Jay shaped bag. As if you could! You decided it was just an artist to fan thing and did as told after eating your fill of chocolate covered salty bread. Most of them were taken of just the scenery and of Tilly. Some of them were taken together in cute poses.

After they were spat out all aesthetic and stuff, you went through and chose your favorites to put on the board. They were sectioned off into colors. Blue, mint, pink, white, red, and orange. You guessed it was just to make sure that’s how they made sure which pics came from where or whatever.

Then as the sun went down, an official looking person asked for the camera back. It was hard to take pics in the dark. Made sense. You danced to the music on one of the floating stages with Tilly’s hand on your hip. Some tipsy dude bro decided to dance behind her. She raised her brow, and you put your tongue in your cheek. Not her type.

The two of you jumped in the water and swam off to the next stage over.

You were now closest to the stage when the lights suddenly changed.

“Yo, waddup, waddup?” Jay showed up with a mic pressed to his lips.

Everyone cheered.

“How we feelin, tonight?”

Louder cheering.

He smiled, “That’s what I like to hear! Now I know y’all out here to hear my new song tonight, but we gonna sing some of your faves first.”

He launched into “Ain’t No Party Like an AOMG Party” and went straight into “Soju” the remix and all the other peeps he collabed with showed up to. Then your fave Jay Park song came on, and you screamed so loud that Tilly was shook. Then she laughed at you. This was your song! Your body moved to it as your mouth moved the words like it was a prayer you knew from birth. Then again, if this was prayer, you’d become a nun or a monk.

Some girls in hot pink bikinis and guys in their own bathing suits began to get into place and dance as a familiar song came one. It was the tattoo you had gotten on your hip. “Mommae” You and Tilly began to twerk to the song like every other girl at the party, even some guys to be real with you fam.

“Get it, Gold Chain!” You heard from the main stage.

Turning your head, you saw him pointing directly at you. At this point, you were loosened up enough not to care about everyone staring at you shaking your ass. So you turned around and twerked in a circle getting more cheers.

“Yeah, girl!” he laughed and copied you.

You laughed as well and onto Tilly’s shoulder. Once a new song came on, you didn’t know this one, like at all. It was a bop and a half. You danced with your bestie as he rapped and then another familiar voice was heard.

Then screams so loud that they’d break the sound barrier. G Dragon’s first public appearance since being discharged. He got a lot of the weight off, but that was the life of an idol. There was like half a love handle left and you loved it for sure. They sounded damn good together. Everyone cheered when it was over and didn’t mind the cameras and drones.

“Thank you!” G Dragon said and bowed.

Jay jumped on his back and screamed. They were such dorks. Then the two men went backstage and told everyone to have fun. You and Tilly went back to your seats to dry off and get some more drinks and food. It was greasy and carbfilled, so you hadn’t gotten too drunk yet. Maybe a little bit past tipsy.

You still had your own head and chilled on the side for a bit as other AOMG hits played. Tilly began gushing about how Jay had noticed you again. She loved coming to parties with you because of how different you seemed. Of course it was just cuz you loved a party whether there was booze or not. As long as there was music and room to dance, you were gonna have a good time.

Then you checked your phone and replied to some messages, took a selfie or six. Some Snapchat video. Insta too. Then you got a text from an unsaved number.

> Hey there, (Y/N). You win the backstage pass! Meet me by the Tiki Bar ASAP.

OMG are you serious?<

>Absolutely! Do you accept or should we choose another winner?

I’m on my way! <

“Tilly, I won the backstage pass!” You said as you pulled your shorts on. “Watch my stuff and don’t go home with any strangers unless you send me a pic of their face first.”

“I ain’t going home with anyone. Here.” She said as she handed you the lipstick she had used on you.

Just because you didn’t know what would happen and a part of you hoped your fantasies had part in it, you refreshed it and then stuck it in your pocket. You thanked her and then started walking to the meeting location.

Tilly then called after you. “Get sum dick, gurl!”

You shook your head with a smile and went to the Tiki Bar with your phone in your back pocket and praying no one knocked you into the water. Luckily, you made it to the bar as dry as possible. The woman checked your phone to make sure you were actually the winner. You also had to take a breathalyzer test.

“Good enough.” She said.

What did that mean? Then you were taken into the VIP area. Black lights and neon lights led you up the stairs.

There were three doors at the top of the stairs. One with a cloud, a pink heart, and a t-shirt. You were told to ender the cloud room, so you did.

You approached the bed and saw your pink camera there on pink fur. Well, it wasn’t yours, but it was the one that had been given to you earlier by--

“So, you won.”

“Holy fu--Jay!” You were thinking of punching him. “Stop sneaking up on me, holy crap!”

He laughed, “Sorry. But I’m glad it was you.”

You smiled and felt your cheeks blushing, “Thanks. Um, so what do we do? This seems more VIP than Backstage.”

The platinum blonde GD walked up to you two, “Depends. What do you wanna do? I mean, I have some ideas, but I wanna know if you’re up for it.”

“Tell what you have in mind and I’ll let you know.” You replied.

“You were right about her.” He smirked at Jay and picked up a camera. “First, some memorial pics.”

So the boys got some pictures of you and them being all cute in the neon scene. One of their managers took the photos when both of them wanted to be next to you. You were sitting on their laps when GD kissed your neck, and you made a noise. It was maybe a moan. More like a gasp. Jay just smirked and told the manager they’d take the rest of the pics. She set the camera down on a surface and left.

“What was...that?” You looked at him.

“My original idea.” He smirked at you.

Jay squeezed your hand, “Do you want to?”

You nodded, “Yeah, but I get to say no at any time.”

He smiled and then you looked over at G Dragon to see him grinning as well and then licking his lips as he surveyed your body.

“Of course.” Said Jay Park.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” G Dragon agreed and began kissing your neck once more.

You giggled and the other began to wrap his arms around your waist and pull you closer to his chest. Your eyes fluttered shut as he kissed your lips as if it were the last drop of water on Earth. Ring covered hands began to feel up your body through the bathing suit. Even though you felt G Dragon move from the bed, you were too preoccupied to give it any more thought. Jay’s hands rubbed up your thighs to the waist of your jean shorts.

He unbuttoned them with his lips still locked on yours and slid his hand down. You moaned into his kiss when you heard the click of a camera. Looking at the source, G Dragon had the pink camera in his hands once more...and his tank top was tucked into his pocket.

“What a beautiful shot.” He said as he grabbed the photo and fanned it to help it dry. “Very nice. You wanna see?”

You nodded and he showed you the sensual picture. Jay asked if he could keep it, and you said yes. He smiled and turned you around to straddle him as your lips met once more. Another click, but you ignored it this time as you got brave and took off Jay’s shirt to place pink kisses all over his neck and chest. This was all going to your head, but you’d let it just for tonight.

His hands grabbed at your breasts, and you could feel him smile as you returned to his lips. You tipped him over until his back was flat on the bed. He rolled over so that he was on top of you now. Another click, this time from Jay Park himself. You were already breathing hard and things had barely even started.

“God damn, Beautiful!”

He got off of you as G Dragon began to slide your shorts off. Click. Click. And tossed them to the side. You only saw wet blonde hair as his mouth tugged on the area of gold chain which rested on your bathing suit covered stomach. A moan escaped when you felt his fingers slide into your wet pussy.

Click.

“Oh fuck!”

“Who, me?” GD asked with a cocky grin.

He trailed his tongue all the way up the chain until it reached your neck. You’d be wearing turtlenecks until summer with all the attention he gave the space above your shoulders. Although you wanted to give a cocky response, his tongue was too good to even think about speaking. And the way he was grinding on you told you he wanted to use so much more to please you.

Your hands began to undo his belt and you gave breathy moans from underneath him.

“Take ‘em off.” You said and looked over at Jay. “You too.”

“Yes, ma’am.” GD said. “Eager, aren’t we?”

You bit your lip as their members sprang free. They had been ready for a while, it seemed, probably since pictures. You couldn’t help but lick your lips. Click. It wasn’t until now that you realized that the kiss marks you had left on him were glowing under the blacklights. GD’s lips had a slight glow to them as well.

A naughty part from inside you wondered what else you could get to glow as you beckoned Jay towards you. God, you just wanted his cock inside you. Wanted to taste it. So you did. You licked around the tip and grinned to yourself when you saw that there was a tattoo on his cock. It said “Handle with care”

You laughed, “Oh look, it comes with directions. Hopefully it’s not the only way it comes.”

Before he could reply, you loosened your jaw to take him in. Not spectacularly long but thick as hell. He cursed as you took him in. Click. He really wasn’t one to miss out on a photo opportunity.

“Look at me, Beautiful.” He said and took a photo when you did.

GD grabbed the straps of your bathingsuit, “Don’t want this getting dirty, so let’s get it off of you, huh?”

You let him strip you of the rest of you ‘clothing’ and noticed Jay shifting his attention to the man behind you. Click, and G Dragon chuckled. You couldn’t really look back, so you just trusted him to show you the picture once it came out of the camera, which he did. It was a photo of G Dragon opening a condom wrapper with his teeth.

Then click from behind you, “You’re so wet, Beautiful. You ready?” the blonde asked.

You nodded and he slid into your vag with much ease, letting out a lovely moan as he did. The trusts on both sides became more animalistic. Jay used both hands to keep your head still as he fucked your eager mouth. Your favorite part was that they weren’t afraid to let out their groans of pleasure and praise you every chance they got.

“Oh, god, (Y/N). You’re so. Ah! Good, (Y/N)!” the AOMG member crooned while the BigBang member left hot breath and steaming kisses down the spine of your back.

“Oh, your pussy clamps down on me when we say your name. You like us calling out your name, (Y/N)?”

You could only moan in reply. It did make your pussy tingle to hear two of the most handsome men on the planet say your name as if it were the name of a goddess. As Jay got more erratic with his thrusts, you could tell that he was close. The strings of curses got longer.

GD chuckled, “Close, old friend?”

“Yeah. Yeah. So, unf, close. (Y/N)~” He had his head thrown back, and you couldn’t help but whine at the way he moaned your name. “Close your eyes, Beautiful.”

You did as told and kept your mouth open as he rubbed himself in front of you, moaning and panting until you felt wet ropes of heat on your face. He was pleased with himself. Click. A souvenir of his work. It was soon after that G Dragon did the same, releasing into the condom and taking a moment before sliding out.

He tied it off and then the two boys switched. Jiyong kissed your cum covered lips and flipped you on your stomach, 69-ing you while Jay got himself ready again. Your legs began to shake as you came. GD kept them open as you moaned all over his cock and your eyes were shut tight as he kept lapping up your juices as you orgasmed.

When he took his cock out of your mouth, you were breathing so hard. You couldn’t recall the last time you came like that.

“Fuck.” You laughed.

“Speaking of which. We’re not done yet, (Y/N).”

You couldn’t help but smile at the wild sparkle in Jay’s eyes. You spread your legs wide enough and let himself get situated. He pulled you up into his lap so that he could kiss you while GD kissed your shoulders. Part of you told you not to be so loud, but it was being drowned out by your moans. The smells of sex and three orgasms filled your nose.

Tilly was right. The passing thought came to you. Your tongues tangled with the rapper in front of you as you gripped his shoulders tightly. The next orgasm was collecting rapidly in the pit of your stomach.

“Relax, beautiful.” Jay said. “We’ve got you.” He looked into your eyes.

You nodded, “Ok, Jay.”

That boy was tiny but knew how to work his mf’n hips! You screamed his name and GD’s as he played with your exposed breasts and nipples. You were gonna cum again, and Jay chuckled in your ear.

“Let’s do it together, yea?”

“Yeah.” You replied breathlessly.

It wasn’t even five minute later as you rested your head in the nape of neck and felt the wave of pleasure crash. Jay Park pushed your back on the bed and then slid out of you to let himself cum onto your heaving stomach and chest while GD came on your face. They laid next to you and told you to smile for the camera.

Click.

You didn’t know how long you had been gone until you saw Tilly backing dat azz up on a cute stranger. The three of you had had one more round in the shower as you got cleaned up. Your bestie quickly came towards you, drink in hand and obviously knowing what happened.

“I want details.” She smiled.

“You were right, but it was both of them.”

“Both of who?”

They had come out of the house and people cheered for them as they jumped into the pool with the remaining party guests. Mostly just AOMG members and the people they were planning to sleep with and their friends and a few managers who were off the clock. Also a few people passed out here and there. G Dragon called out to you.

“Yo, Gold Chains, join us!”

“Gorl.” Her eyes widened at you.

“Girl, I know!” You replied.

The two of you grabbed hands and ran and jumped into the pool together. You stayed until the threat of sunrise showed in the sky. The two of you were given gift bags and one of Jay’s drivers to take you both back home. You and Tilly couldn’t stop talking and fangirling as you told her everything. She was only shown a few of the pictures of you still clothed.

#Jay Park #G Dragon #G-Dragon #GD #AOMG #BigBang #Jay Park x Reader #Reader x Jay Park #Reader x GD #GD x Reader #G Dragon x Reader #Reader x G Dragon #Kwon Jiyong #Jiyong x Reader #Reader x Jiyong #lemon #pool party

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shipmistress9 · 5 years

Text

FTLOAP - 36.5 - Interlude 4: Late Insight

Fandom: HTTYD

Theme: Hiccstrid - Medieval-style AU - Romance - Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Reduced to little more than a stable boy, Hiccup, despite his noble birth, has few prospects for more in life. But when he meets a girl who came to look at the horses, being a stable boy might not be enough anymore. Together, they have tough choices to make and great risks to navigate if they want to survive and be together.

Rating: Explicit

FF-net - AO3 -

Discord-server for discussions and questions

Part 1: Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11;

Part 2: Chapter 12; Chapter 13; Chapter 14; Interlude 1; Chapter 15; Chapter 16; Chapter 17; Chapter 18; Chapter 19; Chapter 20; Chapter 21; Chapter 22; Chapter 23; Chapter 24; Chapter 25; Chapter 26; Interlude 2; Chapter 27: Chapter 28 ; Chapter 29 ; Chapter 30; Chapter 31; Chapter 32; Interlude 3; Bonus 1; Chapter 33

Part 3: Chapter 34; Chapter 35; Chapter 36

Alpha/Co-author: @athingofvikings

. – * – _ . o O o . _ – * – .

AN: I'll be honest and say... the reactions to the last chapter completely blew me away! There were some great reactions, on FFnet, on AO3, and on Tumblr, thank you all so very very much! That's what makes all the struggles and hardships of writing worth the while! :)

Now, I know you're all eager to know what happens next with Astrid and that announcement. But before we go back there in the next chapter, here's another interlude, and I guess many of you can guess who's POV we're getting. There's been quite some anger and hate coming up after the previous chapter for the King but also for Daniel, and I hope I can disperse at least part of that... They don't mean bad...

. o O o .

…so I am glad to inform you that the construction work on the fortress of Redpeak proceeds as planned. Thanks to Uncle Spitelout’s help with organizing the logistics and his recommendations on more people to help, we were able to start with the alterations even sooner than I had hoped. By now, a part of those alterations are already underway and the preparations for the remainder are complete. I trust in the overseers’ capability to supervise their execution. Thus I am confident in being able to return to the castle as planned once this last mission is complete.

Daniel reviewed the lines he'd just written and nodded to himself before sealing the paper with wax. It was just a short note, to be delivered by pigeon, and there were many points he would have liked to add, but hadn’t due to the limited space. But he couldn’t change it, and it wouldn't be long until his return to the capital anyway.

Sighing, he thought about all the things that would await him there. The report and a renewed expression of gratitude to Spitelout, because without his help, none of his current work would have worked out as effortlessly as it had. But there were also other, less pleasant duties awaiting him.

Like investigating the death of the former Count Ravenledge, for example. Even though Daniel had received the message weeks ago, shortly after his arrival in Westhill, it still irked him. By all accounts, the old man had been found dead in his cell the morning after Daniel had left the capital, letting him escape the slow and public death he’d been sentenced to as part of justice for his crimes. Even more worrisomely, the report suspected poison. With how secluded and securely the man had been guarded, Daniel could only think of one sensible explanation that didn’t involve their entire personal security having been compromised: his father had arranged for it. It also explained why the former count had agreed to confess after stonewalling: because he'd gotten a new offer, a quicker death in exchange for information. Daniel could see the… the merit in this decision, even as he didn't like it. They had needed that information far more than they'd needed another public execution. But it irked him that he hadn't been included in the plan. His father had probably thought he would be against it, would have demanded justice for the people of Ravenledge. Well, he would have been right, but still. Not knowing about the plan had made Daniel give a promise he felt more and more reluctant to keep with every day.

He had promised not to treat Angus, Harold's older brother, any differently, despite the crimes his father and brother had committed. It had been an easy promise at that time. Nothing in the reports they’d received indicated that Angus, who’d left his family in early years to receive extended education as a squire and a nobleman, had been involved in any of those crimes. But since Daniel’s return to Westhill, the young man had changed. Not enough to warrant disciplining him, but it was still obvious that he was upset about losing his birthright to title and land.

With another heavy sigh, he rubbed his face. He knew all too well that focusing on this problem – no matter how real it may be – only had one purpose right now. It was to distract him from what he really worried about upon his return to the castle: how Astrid would react when she saw him. For the umpteenth time this evening he glanced at the calendar on his small travel desk, and his heart sank. This wasn’t the first year he couldn’t be there for his sister’s birthday, what with him being a knight for two years now and a squire for many years before that. It had always pained him to not celebrate this day with her, but this year, it was so much worse. Because he knew this year was different. Maybe it was right now that their father held his speech; about the anniversary to their grandfather’s birthday, the planned festivities, and all the other made-up reasons they’d come up with to mask the real event.

Astrid’s upcoming wedding, and the time before where her suitors were supposed to compete for her favour.

It was a sickening plan, but it would certainly be effective. The prospect of the Princess’s hand in marriage would be a potent bait, potent enough to lure out even the most hesitant conspirators, and by the time they realised that the accidental deaths were only hitting the enemies of the Crown, it would be too late. But it pained Daniel to use something that was supposed to be a happy day for his sister for such a purpose, and the only solace he could find in any of this was that she would still get to choose.

It meant that not that much would change, or might even change to her advantage. He still put all his hopes in Eret, in that he and Astrid would finally be able to look beyond their sibling bond and see how good they would be for each other. But if there was someone else among the guests they’d invited, another nobleman that caught her interest, then she would be free to choose him instead. That was good, wasn’t it? It gave her more freedom than she ever could have hoped for, and the fact that all this would come two years sooner than expected wasn’t really that bad… right?

Groaning, Daniel let his head drop onto the table. She would hate it! He knew Astrid too well to fool himself on this. She would hate being used like this. She would hate being reduced to just the royal figurehead, nothing but a puppet in this scheme. And she would hate that she had no say whatsoever in this decision that so immensely changed her entire life. Maybe it wouldn’t change all that much in the end if she chose Eret as he hoped, but still.

“Is anything the matter, my Lord?”

Daniel sat up straight in an instant, looking up at the young man who had entered his private tent.

“Milburn,” he greeted his squire, buying time to recompose himself. “Yes, everything’s fine. I… just finished the letter for the King.”

Without a word of explanation needed he handed the folded and sealed paper over, and Milburn directly walked over to where the last of his carrier pigeons was waiting in its cage. It took him only a minute to fix the paper to the bird’s leg, whereupon he went to the tent’s entrance and let it loose.

“I brought you the reports from the scouts,” Milburn said as he returned, handing him a letter, probably from the captain of his guard. “It looks like the area is clear of any Malarian raiders. There’s one group of bandits operating in this general area, but they aren’t big enough to pose a threat to us. Nothing should get in the way of tomorrow’s trip to that outpost.”

Daniel nodded mutely. He hadn’t expected anything else, but it was still good to have the confirmation.

“So, now that this is dealt with…” Milburn began hesitantly. “May I ask what is bothering you, Milord? Anything I can do to help? Get you a mug of ale, for example?”

Smiling weakly, Daniel let out a snort. For two years now, Milburn had been his squire, but it still surprised him on a regular basis how good an observer the young man was. “No ale, thank you. It’s really nothing of importance, just…” he paused, considering options, then let out a heavy sigh. By now, secrecy wasn’t important anymore. Tomorrow, all the previously spread letters would become public declarations, announcing the eighty-one days of festivities and the Princess’s wedding as the crowning highlight. Telling his squire now beforehand wouldn’t do any damage anymore – the official part and his own worries, at least.

“Actually, you’re right,” he said ruefully. “There is something bothering me, but it’s nothing you can help me with.”

Milburn, easily able to interpret his master’s tone of voice, quickly seated himself on a stool, and watched Daniel in anticipation. It wasn’t often that Daniel could talk about official or personal topics with him, but when he did, Milburn was always eager to listen and often even able to help with a good piece of advice. Daniel doubted that he would ever become a skilled fighter, but he certainly would become a good advisor in a few years.

“It’s nothing… heavily important for the Kingdom,” he began slowly. “I’m mainly worried about my sister.”

Frowning, Milburn cocked his head? “The Princess? Why? Did something happen to her?”

The reaction made Daniel smile inwardly. If he hadn’t known better, he might have thought the lad had a crush on Astrid. But knowing that women weren’t of any interest to him meant that his honest concern was merely born of politeness and the tentative friendship they had developed over the years.

“No, nothing happened to her. Not as far as I know at least; she should be fine. But it’s her birthday–” Milburn nodded knowingly, “–and the King will make a big announcement today. You’ll hear all about it in the next few days, but in the end, it all boils down to her marrying in less than two months. And I’m worried how she’ll take the news. She didn’t know about this plan beforehand, so as to not trouble her. But with no time to get used to it, I fear it’s going to be a shock to her. Announcing her wedding without even knowing who her husband is going to be, and even two years earlier than is customary…” he trailed off, shaking his head. No, she wouldn’t like it, and it truly pained him that she would have to go through this and that he wasn’t there to help her.

“You don’t know who she’ll marry?” Milburn asked, a little incredulously. “How’s that possible?”

“It… it’s complicated,” Daniel sighed, unable to explain the whole scheme to lure out their enemies. “All that’s certain is that she’ll have to choose her husband-to-be from a group of selected noblemen.” Of which she barely knows anyone, he added inwardly, scowling.

Milburn’s sudden laughter took him completely by surprise. Daniel looked up, puzzled by this reaction, and tried to make sense of it.

“I-I’m sorry, Milord,” he gasped, visibly fighting to pull himself together but failing miserably. “It’s just… it isn’t even funny, but… but I’ve heard so much and… and… Oh, Gods, I’m so sorry.”

Daniel watched in bewilderment until his squire had calmed down enough to speak clearly again.

“I’m truly sorry, please believe me. I didn’t mean to laugh about a topic that upsets you so much, Milord. And I’m sorry for your sister as well, that can’t be an easy time for her. I was just laughing, because… well, I know of at least one person who will be absolutely heartbroken about the news.”

Daniel snorted. “Oh?” he asked, not really interested. Aside from her status, Astrid had grown into a beautiful woman. He wasn’t blind, after all. He was used to hearing about people being infatuated with her.

But Milburn’s enthusiasm was unwavering. “Oh, yes,” he went on, chuckling again. “You see, the guards you brought with you from the castle were talking about it a lot. Well, probably not to you, I guess, but, well… Apparently, there’s been this new fellow around the castle? And whenever he’s around the Princess, he can’t take his eyes off her. From what I heard, it goes far beyond a normal crush, he even frequents an Ástir playing the role of the Princess. He never grew past the point of endearing puppy adoration though, not disturbing at all, they said, or they would have dealt with him already, and some say he’s even friends with the Princess, though that’s just a rumour. Either way, he’s going to be devastated when he hears about this. Ah, but I better not laugh too much about this, or meeting him come summer is going to be awkward,” he added, chuckling in slight embarrassment. Then he looked at Daniel. “Sir? Is... everything all right?”

Daniel had listened to the whole speech with growing alarm. Had there been someone stalking Astrid without him knowing about it? Hearing that his men would have dealt with the man if he’d gone too far was reassuring, but still. He was still wondering who this man could be when Milburn's last addition made him look up in confusion. “You expect to meet this man? How? Is he one of the new recruits? We don’t even know where those will be going yet.”

“Oh, I know,” Milburn nodded, grinning. “But I expect to be working in close proximity with this one. As I understand, you and the ducal heirs are going to form a team, right? So I expect to spend a lot of time with Sir Eret’s squire.”

Daniel blinked. He blinked again. And then it was his turn to burst out laughing. “You’re talking about Hiccup?” he gasped out, disbelievingly. Oh, sure, there had been a time when he’d hoped for this option; it would have solved two problems at once. But by now, that hope was long gone.

“Uh, yes, that was his name.” Milburn nodded, clearly surprised by his master’s reaction.

Shaking his head as his amusement simmered down, Daniel sighed. “Believe me, Hiccup doesn’t have a crush on my sister. I can confirm the rumours: he and the Princess indeed became good friends over the winter. But his heart belongs to someone else. He’d told us about her once, you see? I’ve never seen a man that much in love before. I mean… I might have been a little intoxicated at that time, but I still remember enough. That dazed smile and the enthusiasm with which he’d talked about his beloved. No, be assured, there’s no place in his heart for anyone else.”

Milburn cocked his head. “Are you sure? I mean, no offence, Milord, and you certainly know him better, but the men were all pretty convinced he only has eyes for your sister. Ah, well, but if he told you who his love is then they must be mistaken. Less funny but also less awkward, and better for him anyway.” He shrugged.

“Actually, he never…” Daniel began, but trailed off again, his mind suddenly working with rapid speed.

Hiccup had never told them who his beloved was. Only that he would need to convince her father and brother of his worth before he could marry her… A picture was forming in Daniel’s mind, but it didn’t make much sense yet. That… couldn’t be, could it? Yes, Hiccup was seeing Cami, but not because she played the part of the Princess, but because they were friends. On that point, the rumours already were wrong. But what about the rest? What about Hiccup looking at Astrid more than most others, enough to draw the attention of the guards? If he’d had a crush on Astrid, then he probably would have hidden that from him and Eret. But from others? There would have been no need.

Could it be? Daniel sifted through his memories, trying to remember what Hiccup had said about his beloved.

She’s amazing! I only met her after we got here, but it already feels as if we’ve known each other forever. She’s so beautiful, her eyes gleaming as bright as the sky, and her hair… her soft skin, and those sweet lips. I could spend all day kissing her. But she’s so much more than just beautiful, also kind and funny, witty and smart, strong and brave. So brave… And I love her. Gods, I do. I love her so much.

Daniel swallowed, hard. It fit… He hadn’t even wasted one thought about this back then, but the description, vague as it was, certainly fitted to his sister. Was Hiccup in love with Astrid? Was she the one he wanted to marry, whose family he had to convince? But how was Astrid thinking about all this, what did that mean for her? Had he brought danger into her life by involving Hiccup into their activities? Had he brought another unwanted admirer who would upset her with his advances? But no… Daniel clearly remembered Hiccup’s words in the tavern that night.

“I want to marry her. And I will marry her one day. She’s the one for me, I know it.”

“So she feels the same?”

“Amazingly, she does.”

Yes, those had only been his words. Sure, he’d gotten to know Hiccup as nothing but honest and honourable, but could he trust him in this? Could it be that Astrid felt the same? With these thoughts, another picture rose to his mind’s eye. The picture of Astrid hugging Hiccup tight at the Grand Blot. At that time, Daniel had been stunned by her seeking this kind of closeness to a man, so shortly after Harold’s assault, and then the fear in her eyes afterwards had convinced him that it must have been nothing but a thoughtless reaction. But when he thought about it now… It was remarkable how easily and naturally the motion had come, how she’d seemed to know exactly where to place her arms. How relaxed and at ease she’d been in that moment. And the fear… it hadn’t been directed at Hiccup, Daniel realised with a start. It had been directed at him!

“Oh dear Gods,” he breathed as everything clicked into place. With unseeing eyes he gazed into the distance as his mind raced through the weeks they’d spend together. Astrid had been so different. He’d written that off to Eret’s presence and the horses, but even with those explanations, the changes in her behaviour had surprised him. But if she’d fallen in love, for real, it all made sense. Her cheerful mood, her dreamy smiles, her enthusiasm and occasional distractedness. All that made sense when she and Hiccup had been in love all this time.

He gasped out a laugh, a disbelieving smile on his face. This was everything he’d hoped for. His beloved sister, happy and cared for by a man who truly loved her, a man he respected. And a new purpose for a friend who’d lost everything.

But why hadn’t she told him? Why had they kept it a secret? She used to tell him everything…

The answer came to Daniel with a painful sting. The fear in Astrid’s eyes. She’d been afraid of him, of his reaction. And after Harold’s assault, that even made sense in a way. Daniel would have punished everyone who would have dared to lay hand on her, and he even remembered how he’d warned Hiccup to not touch her again on that first night. But did she really believe he’d do anything if she was happy? Again, he tried to go through past events in his mind, how Astrid begging for mercy had only made things worse, how he’d sworn to himself to more trust in his own judgement in the future, and realised… Yes, she did believe that. And to his own disgrace, he couldn’t even say that he blamed her.

“What have I done?” he muttered, face buried in his hands. If Astrid didn’t trust him enough, then that was on him alone, he knew that. But if he’d known, he would have done everything to support them. Talk to their father, provide Hiccup with enough influence to make him eligible. It wouldn’t have been easy, but surely possible, somehow. It had to be. But now, it was too late, he realised with a start. The announcement was made, the group of suitors already picked. Astrid was to marry one of the invited men – and Hiccup wasn’t one of them. If only she’d told him!

But no, it was not too late! Daniel refused to believe that. His father was the King, for Odin’s sake! That had to count for something. And he had promised to support Hiccup in convincing his beloved’s family.

Hastily, he reached for another sheet of paper and his pencil, startling his squire with his sudden activeness. “Milburn, get another pigeon ready. I need to write another letter to my father.” There had to be something they could do. Maybe they could make Hiccup a baron or even a count. Or he could become an advisor of some rank, just putting him into any position that would make it acceptable for Astrid to choose him if that was what she wanted. If there was a chance for her to marry for love, then Daniel would do everything to make it possible.

He started to scribble a few quick lines to his father, explaining the situation and asking for his help, when Milburn clearing his throat drew his attention. The lad was still sitting on his stool, unmoving and with a look of discomfort on his face.

“I-I’m sorry, Milord,” he said in an apologetic voice. “But you can’t send another carrier pigeon; I just sent our last one off.” He shrugged helplessly, looking truly miserable for being unable to follow his command.

“Oh, for the…” Daniel cursed. He brought his fist to the table, making the simple construction tremble. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening! Astrid’s happiness was too important to him; he just couldn’t give up. Not now, not if there was a chance that what he’d just put together was true.

But it wasn’t too late yet. There were still weeks before Astrid was to decide on a betrothed. With a grim expression and a stern face, he said, “Go, and tell the men they are to pack their things tonight already. We set out as soon as possible in the morning.”

Milburn stood up, nodding in understanding, but hesitated nonetheless. “Of course. But may I ask for the reason of this change of plan? I assume the men would react better to this news if they also got a brief explanation.”

Daniel nodded. “Calling this last mission off when we’re already so close to our goal would be stupid,” he replied grimly. “But as soon as it’s done, we’re heading back to the next fortification. I need to get hold of a carrier pigeon to the castle as soon as possible, and I won’t tolerate being held up by laziness.”

Milburn nodded and left the tent without another word, and Daniel stared at his resolutely clenched fists. He wasn’t happy about this delay, felt as if every day of waiting might be too much. But there was nothing he could do about it, and sending this letter with a delay of three or four days would certainly still be enough.

Wouldn’t it?

. o O o .

So, a short one this week, but one that answered some questions from earlier, I think. And probably posed some new ones. As always, I'd be happy to hear about your thoughts and reactions. ;)

And I want to put a warning here. I don't want to switch to a solid two-weeks-schedule just yet, but I want to say that it's possible that two-weeks-gaps may happen more often in the future. If so, then there will always be a warning here.

Next Chapter

#For The Love Of A Princess #FTLOAP #Hiccstrid #fanfiction #hiccstrid fanfiction #Hiccup and Astrid #Hiccstrid Medieval AU #medieval au #hiccstrid royal au #Royalty AU #angst #fluff #romance

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