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iohourtime · 4 years

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Kiokuya (The Memory Eraser) Review - With Spoilers

Since I read the book, sort of followed the filming progress, and read a bunch of interviews (that all sounded the same after a while), I should finish off by writing a review for the movie itself!

Thanks to the pandemic, I was stuck at home watching Netflix for 7 months, so I’ve watched all sorts of movies & TV; sadly most are in the average to crappy category. To me, Kiokuya was probably in the average to slightly above average category. In other words, there are elements I like and there are things I feel the movie can improve on.

The review is a bit long since apparently I have a lot of thoughts about the script.😅 I pretty much summed up my thoughts in the “theme” section. If you are interested in the book / movie differences & things from the DVD visual commentary, I included those in the script & characters section. (Movie Walker included highlights from the visual commentary here.) . If you want to discuss the movie but don’t want to put spoilers on Twitter, leave me a message.

Theme:

The movie’s main theme is obviously about memory. If a memory is making your life miserable, or even stopping you from living, is it better to erase it? Or do all memories, even bad ones, shape you as a human? If someone’s memory of you is gone, are you killed in their minds? If you think someone is better off forgetting you, do you have the right to ask Kiokuya to erase their memories of you? Are the memories gone forever? If you have the power to erase someone’s memory, what are your responsibilities? And to some extent, what are the criteria to evaluate each request and what due diligence should you do before you accept this task? These were the questions the movie wanted you to ask. You know because the movie kept hitting you on the head through the dialogue! That’s probably my main complaint about the movie.

I didn’t study film so I don’t know the theories, but I think being heavy handed at telling you what you should be thinking is like listening to a textbook; it robs the audience of the chance to experience and internalize what they saw, and as a result, they are less able to connect emotionally to the film. That’s not to say people are not moved by the movie and empathize with the characters. I feel that it had more to do with the actors than the script though.

I think the cinematography was generally nice. I liked how they used the drone shots to film the beautiful Hiroshima scenery. The sunset scene was beautiful. The music did not seem intrusive. Other than that, I’m not sure I have more to say. (Fine. Yamada looked good in the plaid shirts and his hair was on point.)

Script vs Book: (Spoiler alert from here on!)

Kiokuya, the movie, was an adaptation of a “horror” novel of the same name. Although there were horror elements, mostly because Kiokuya was kind of a shadowy figure, even the novel itself was focused more on humanity. The original story was divided into 4 parts; the first 3 parts were really 3 separate short stories that explored different reasons people have for wanting their memories erased. The final part was about Kiokuya herself. The Ryoichi character simply served as a bridge between the stories. Here’s a brief description:

Kyoko - A while ago, she was attacked in a dark alley but was saved at the last minute. Even though she was unharmed, she developed a crippling phobia of the dark, so she locked herself inside her home at night and was not able to live a normal life. She and Ryoichi were kinda but not really dating, and Ryoichi, being a typical guy, figured he could fix her. Kyoko tried everything but as a last resort, she asked Kiokuya to erase her memory of the attack. Since her relation with Ryoichi was based almost entirely on overcoming the phobia, she forgot him too. Through this incident, Ryoichi remembered how Maki had her memory erased when she was 5 or 6 - she saw her mom confessing to her dad that she had an affair with her uncle. Kiokuya might have erased Maki’s memory a second time when she was 10-12. Finally, he realized he “forgot” about his year-long investigation of Kiokuya with Takahara & others. It seemed like he was doggedly pursuing Kiokuya because he felt violated more than his undying love for Kyoko. In his own words, he didn’t try to rebuild his relationship with Kyoko again after she forgot about him. There was nothing stopping him, so his feelings towards Kyoko were not that deep.

Takahara - He was a 30 year old ikemen lawyer, though like the movie, he was dying. The chapter focused on his touching friendship with his assistant. Takahara was also close with Nanami, a suicidal, 17-year-old daughter of a client who became very attached to him. When Takahara found out Nanami planned to kill herself after he died, he asked Kiokuya to erase her memory of him so that she would live on.

Misao & Kaname - They were childhood friends and Misao started crushing on Kaname. She confessed and was rejected, but after that, they were not able to be friends like before. She figured if she erased everything about Kaname, they may be able to start over and become friends again without the awkward feelings.

Maki - Ryoichi thought Maki was looking for Kiokuya to erase some unpleasant memories. Then he found out she was Kiokuya, who inherited her ability from her grandfather. In the end, Maki confessed to the burden of being Kiokuya and Ryoichi told her he would support her and that she didn’t have to do it alone. Maki decided to erase anything Kiokuya related in his memory, but their friendship remained intact. Oh, Maki was 17 in the book and also had a crush on Ryoichi. She erased his memories many times before. Like in the movie, she also would like Ryoichi to love her just once, although he never ever saw her as anyone other than his annoying little sister. 😅

The director of the movie, Hirakawa Yuichi, also wrote or co-wrote the script. While the movie stuck to the themes of the novel, the motivations were completely different. Kyoko and Misao were both rape victims, Takahara now wanted to protect his young daughter from the sadness of his death, and Maki was herself kidnapped by a psychopath when she was a kid. I guess Hirakawa needed to pump up the drama and felt the stakes were not high enough for a 2 hour movie? There is always some uneasiness with using rape and trauma to move the story along. I guess there is a difference between this and the usual example of “fridging a female character”, i.e. kill a love interest of the hero to motivate him on some journey. Ryoichi was motivated by being erased and he actually gradually realized he should not push for restoring Kyoko’s memories if it was her wish. He only found out what happened to her at the end of the movie. Considering their relationship in the movie was a lot more serious, they couldn’t really use the phobia of darkness reason. However, it would also take something really big for Kyoko to want her memory erased while not talking to Ryoichi beforehand. Anyway, I really don’t see a way out of this.

For Misao though, I didn’t think they needed to make her a victim of the same serial rapist, especially when they use the same reason as the book for erasing Kaname. I suppose they need to explain why Nanami (and later Ryoichi) was looking into them? But they could just have the doctor referred the case (who appeared to be breaking doctor-patient confidentiality?! Just me?) In fact, the whole Misao / Kaname storyline didn’t really do much other than allowing Ryoichi to find out from Kaname that Kiokuya was a young girl.

Maki’s childhood trauma was also a bit excessive. I can’t see it as anything other than to get Ryoichi out to Hiroshima to talk to Grandpa. While finding out mom was “dealing with” uncle would be traumatic for a young child, it might not be dramatic enough for a movie.

Ryoichi & Maki’s origins were also changed. They were now raised in Hiroshima and moved to Tokyo to attend university. The only reason was to place Grandpa-Kiokuya in Hiroshima after the bombing. While I liked the grandpa scene, was it necessary? They already covered the “Kiokuya after WWII” with the interview with the elderly woman. I think they could still keep Grandpa, since he was Kiokuya (and ironically suffering from Alzheimer’s) but maybe just skip the elderly woman part and use those minutes to build Ryoichi & Kyoko’s relationship!

Upgrading Ryoichi & Kyoko’s relationship to being engaged gave him more incentive to look for Kiokuya, but all we got to see was 1 proposal scene and some snapshots, which made it harder for us to understand the loss Ryoichi experienced when Kyoko forgot him. Ultimately, I feel that more time should be given to the “before” times. They don’t even need that much. If done effectively like the movie Searching with John Cho, 5 minutes or so of clips would be enough to get us to care more. I’m not saying people won’t care, but it’s true that there are people who didn’t quite feel it. Yamada basically had to sell it with longing looks at Renbutsu, so how deeply you feel for them depends on whether you buy it or not.

Takahara’s story might have been changed because of who they cast. Also, Takahara & Nanami’s relationship in the book was kinda weird, considering Nanami actually loved him and she was 17 while he was 30. I definitely cannot agree with how Movie Takahara wanted to erase his daughter’s memory to spare her the pain of losing him. It reminded me of that Black Mirror episode where the mom put in a blocker to shield her daughter from bad things. It ended up messing up the girl & broke their relationship. Young children are resilient and the sadness would eventually change into something else, which would shape their characters. Also, just because she forgot her birth father didn’t mean she would suddenly get along with her stepfather. I won’t even get into the whole consent thing. It was a good thing Maki did not follow through.

Less good was what Movie Maki did to Ryoichi & Kyoko though. When I found out Movie Ryoichi & Kyoko were engaged instead of “pre-dating” like in the book, I was quite worried they would have Movie Maki erase Ryoichi from Kyoko’s mind for selfish reasons. I was hoping that maybe he got erased by mistake, but unfortunately, the script did go with the jealousy angle, which made Maki extremely unsympathetic.

In the visual commentary, they said they rewrote the ending because it didn’t fit. Maki erased her entire existence from Ryoichi's mind as penance for what she did. (I think initially, they were going with the book ending where Maki just erased Kiokuya from his head.) In the end, the actual cut used in the movie was more ambiguous - they “left it to the audience” to decide how much Maki erased and whether Ryoichi & Kyoko got a second chance at happiness. (The director said it ended on a hopeful note. Take it how you want.)

It’s unclear if Movie Maki erased Ryoichi’s memories more than once, but Book Maki had done it many times. Even though Book Maki seemed more responsible with her powers and didn’t slip up like Movie Maki, she did wipe part of Ryoichi’s memories without his consent. Ryoichi said that she didn’t have to do this alone and she could lean on him, so why didn’t she? Also, losing all that memory got to have some long term effect on him, right? In the movie, it was worse because Maki took the “easy” way out by erasing herself. Yes, she was punishing herself, but shouldn’t the more courageous thing to do was to own up to what she had done and work for Ryoichi’s (& Kyoko’s) forgiveness?

Speaking of Ryoichi’s forgiveness, I actually saw some viewers calling Ryoichi a cad for telling Maki that he would always protect her and be by her side to protect her. Apparently they seemed to think he was in love with Maki and forgot all about Kyoko. Well, I think in that moment, there were 3 things going on: 1) Takahara told him that it was better to forgive and that there will be justice in other ways, 2) he understood why it was devastating to Kyoko to remember what happened and 3) Maki was like his little sister. His immediate desire to comfort his friend overrode the anger and betrayal he might have felt. Had Maki not erased his memory around 2 minutes after, who knew if they would have a more substantial talk? He didn’t even have a chance to talk to Kyoko. (I suspect Maki would have tried to “spare him” by erasing his relationship with Kyoko as well. He still ended up at the cafe because he could remember physically going there a lot.)

Overall, I think the movie was a bit unfocused due to some extraneous storylines and having too much exposition, which was a disservice to some of the characters. It failed to show how their relationships build, like Ryoichi & Takahara became buddies over what seemed like a week! I wish they trimmed a couple of the minor stories and used that time to go deeper on the main lines.

Characters / Actors:

Yoshimura Ryoichi (Yamada Ryosuke)

I was watching the movie and halfway through when it hit me… Yamada’s Ryoichi was… normal? I mean obviously quite good looking in the boy-next-door kind of way, but Ryoichi was a regular, run-of-the-mill university student, who was normally an optimistic and forgiving but happened to be dealing with heartbreak at the moment. Seriously, if you’ve watched Yamada’s other works, his characters are usually kind of comedic, sort of pathetic, occasionally brilliant, psychotic, or… non-human. (Very odd roles for a Johnny’s actor.) He probably has not been this normal since the 24Hr drama. He still cried a lot, so that’s familiar.

OK, let’s get back on topic. Since Book Ryoichi functioned more as a character that connects the short stories rather than a real character, I didn’t have hopes for the movie version. Surprisingly, Movie Ryoichi came across as a real person and I did care what happened to him. While we didn’t get to see how Ryoichi & Kyoko were in happier times, he was able to convey the longing and slight awkwardness in their interaction when he tried to talk to her after. Similarly, in the scene where he learned of Takahara’s death, you could tell what was going through his mind even though he said nothing. Same with the final “confrontation” with Maki. Even though he didn’t say much, his eyes conveyed the emotions subtly: the longing, shock, confusion, etc. Overall, he was quite subtle and natural. As the articles say, he managed to “suppress his aura” and played an average guy. I hope he can play more of these subtle types of roles in future. (It is unfortunate that a lot of people have preconceived notions about Johnny’s actors, to put it politely. It’s like the reverse of the “fan blinder” that we sometimes get accused of having.)

Now there are some discussions as to whether he overacted in the crying scenes. The main “crying” scenes were probably 1) confession to grandpa in Hiroshima, 2) in the rain, and 3) reading the letter. I’ve seen people say he overacted in either 1) or 2).

When I first watched the Hiroshima scene, I did feel that his crying may have been a bit much because I was watching the movie with just Japanese subtitles, so I missed an important detail: Ryoichi told his mom he was going to Hiroshima to confront his past. When you consider that Ryoichi had been carrying the guilt for “causing” Maki’s kidnapping for 15 years, it was totally reasonable for him to prostrate himself in front of Grandpa. He would also be relieved when Grandpa told him the statute of limitation was over and he should forgive himself. As an aside, according to the director in the visual commentary, Yamada cried in the first take of the scene. Hirakawa said “Aren’t you crying too much?” Yamada said “OK, I’ll do another take without crying.” However, when the Director was cutting the movie together, he suddenly saw Ryoichi’s mental journey and ended up using the first take because it was the logical conclusion to the closure he got.

In the rain scene, he just learned about Kyoko’s attack. Knowing how much hurt she endured and how he did nothing to support and comfort her, he was still in a state of shock when he got knocked down. Then the dam burst and he cried hysterically. That seemed quite reasonable to me. I was more shocked that nobody checked on the guy who fell on the pavement and was crying. Pedestrians were cold! So I don’t really understand the objection to that scene. Maybe they thought this was something that happened a while ago and/or he didn’t love Kyoko that much, so he wouldn’t be that emotional?

I don’t think people have issues with the letter scene? Narratively, it made the most sense since he was close with Takahara, who was literally speaking to him from the grave via the letter. Oh, they talked about filming the letter scene in the visual commentary. Yamada was just reading the letter in silence and they added in Takahara’s narration in post production. Since he wanted to save the emotional outburst for the real take, he did not dare to look at the letter during the rehearsal.

One last thing, Yamada and Yoshine spoke in Hiroshima-ben when they were talking amongst each other. I have horrible listening skills and while I think he used some slang or phrasing, his accent still seemed mostly Kanto. It’s like if I call a bunch of people “wankers” with a Canadian accent; it doesn’t make me sound English. Maybe someone can tell me just how well (or not) he did.

Kawai Maki (Yoshine Kyoko)

I have only watched Yoshine in the drama Stay Tuned and I liked her there. She played this airhead character who could be super annoying if the balance was off, yet she came across as likeable. I think she portrayed Maki very well in this movie. Of course, I knew she was Kiokuya going in, so even at the beginning, you could see some of her subtle reactions to the Kiokuya discussions. I really liked her chemistry with Yamada - they felt like they could have been lifelong friends. While she played the annoying little sister part quite well, you could also see the pain she felt when she had to make difficult choices like erasing Nanami’s memory. Throughout the movie, you could sense her regret for what she did to Ryoichi. Her emotions in the final scene were also very raw. While Maki’s characterization was problematic, Yoshine was really good at playing that character and you might even be sympathetic towards her. Also, I feel that her Hiroshima-ben might be more on point? Some people didn’t buy that she was in love with Ryoichi the whole time. I thought the flashbacks made it pretty clear but I’ve also read the book, so there’s that.

In the visual commentary, they were talking about their various acting styles. Yoshine said she carried her emotions with her even after the director shouted cut. So when she was shooting the last scene, she was still crying furiously afterwards. Yamada said she was like an acting monster - she could get right into the emotions even during the table read. It was funny how different she is from Yamada and Renbutsu. They are the flip-the-switch type - when the director yells cut, it was like they woke up from a dream into a different world. She also apologized to Yamada when they were watching the scene where she confessed to selfishly erasing Kyoko’s memory of Ryoichi.😅

Takahara Tomoaki (Sasaki Kuranosuke)

I have not seen Sasaki’s other projects, so I had no idea what to expect. His Takahara came across as pretty charming, easy going, and playful, though you could feel his love for his daughter and the hard decision he had to make. He also had a natural chemistry with the other cast and was very believable. While I disagree with what Takahara wanted, Sasaki’s acting as Takahara made sense. I don’t know what more to say. It is probably expected since he is a veteran and is generally well regarded as an actor.

Sawada Kyoko (Renbutsu Misako)

I have only seen Renbutsu in Hagaren. I liked her character there. I also liked how Yamada decided to break the ice with her back then by asking if she has any friends. (She had more friends than him. 😅) To be honest, there wasn’t much for her to do in this movie, although I think she was believable as the very confused Kyoko. She was apprehensive about Ryoichi in the “after” scenes, who was honestly coming across too strong. I don’t think Ryoichi & Kyoko really had crackling sexual chemistry based on the proposal scene, but they seemed like a cute couple. They were pretty cute together in the behind-the-scenes featurette when they took the “dating photos”. I wish those dates were included in the movie.

Conclusion:

As you can see above, I have some general issues about the script but I think the actors elevated the story. The movie could have been better if it streamlined some of the storylines. Right now, it was trying to go for a deeper message but the stories themselves were a bit too superficial to accomplish that. I suppose the problem was that the original novel was more like an anthology of short stories dealing with memory, so it was hard to create a through line for a movie.

#Kiokuya #anata ha wasurenai #yamada ryosuke #yoshine kyoko #sasaki kuranosuke #renbutsu misako #review #spoilers #the memory eraser

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chaoticgearz · 3 years

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Tsuna in Dateko: Missing Cookies

It's mostly a rewrite from one of Haikyuu-buu's chapters feat Tsuna!

"Your cookies went missing?" Tsuna asked, raising an eyebrow. He was taking a water break with Aone next to him when Nametsu came up to them. She nodded her head. "Yup, I bought a big box of it since I know you'd love them and I was hoping to hand them out to everyone." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I left them in the clubroom, but now they're all mysteriously gone. I'm not trying to blame anyone here, I just want whoever ate them to come out and say it." Tsuna hummed, eyes scanning at everyone in the gym. "And you're telling us this because...?" He looked back at her. Nametsu clasped her hand together.

"You two are the only ones I trust right now. Will you please help me find out what happened to those cookies?" She said in a pleading tone. Aone thumped his chest with his fist, signifying his agreement.

Tsuna just shrugged. "Eh, sure. We're in. I've always wanted to play detective." Nametsu smiled at them. "Thanks! You two are a lifesaver!"

______

"And so...."

Nametsu motioned to where Aone sat with Tsuna sitting on the table he was in, both of them crossing their arms and had serious expressions on their faces.

"I'd like everyone to give a detailed explanation of exactly what they were doing that day." She went out the door and pushed Futakuchi in. "As the captain, you go in first." The door closed behind him. Futakuchi sighed, walked to the table and sat down, getting himself comfortable.

___(Suspect #1: Futakuchi Kenji)___

Tsuna hopped down from the table and walked behind Futakuchi, trying to look intimidating. "Well, well, well~ Tell us captain, what did you do today?"

Futakuchi just scoffed at Tsuna's question before he leaned back and tilted his head backwards to look at the first year. "You two really are gonna hunt down this cookie thief.."

"Nametsu is really serious about this, huh?" He asked. "Yeah, she promised us a new batch of cookies if we managed to find the culprit." Tsuna chirped in. "You mean she promised you a new batch of cookies if you find the culprit." Futakuchi leaned forward again to face Aone.

Tsuna just shrugged. "Same thing." He said. Futakuchi rolled his eyes when Aone tapped the table to get their attention and motioned for him to start talking.

"Well, we are the iron wall of Date and of course our clubroom's security is also iron clad." He placed his hands behind his head. "All things considered, the culprit has to be one of our club members."

Aone shook his head to disagree. "Nii-san, I know you don't wanna doubt anyone but you can't just put blind faith on them." Tsuna said, walking to stand next to his brother again.

"But whoever did this is nothing short of gutter trash. You'd normally say something, right? Or at least make some kind of throwaway comment, especially you Tsuna."

"Like you're any better, Kenji."

"Anyway, maybe make comments about how good those cookies looked and maybe about the different flavours it offers... There were dozens of them after all-"

"I'm gonna have to stop you there because what you just said sounds oddly specific."

"...."

The three occupants in the room stared at each other long and hard. Then, Futakuchi gave a sigh of defeat and placed both his hands on the table. "So hear me out..." The two opposite of him leaned forward. "I may have... Eaten one of those cookies...." He bowed his head in shame.

A hand struck down and smacked the captain on the back of his head. He quickly pulled his head back up and rubbed the area that came into contact with the hand, glaring at Tsuna. "Ow what was that for, you midget!?" Futakuchi yelled out in anger. "Who the hell are you calling a midget!!?" Tsuna retorted, equally pissed.

"Who else is the fucking dwarf here!?"

"That's it! Get ready to suffer! I'm telling Nametsu!!!"

"No wait please hear me out first!! I really did just eat one! I don't know anything about the rest!" Futakuchi raised one hand and placed the other one over his heart with a panicked look on his face. "I swear my life on that!! I thought it'd be awkward if they just sat there untouched, so all I did was open the package and eat one to make them more appealing!"

"Why didn't you say anything then!?" Tsuna growled out. "Because if I say anything now, it'll be one big misunderstanding! Please Aone, keep this a secret between us!"

"Seriously!? You're gonna stoop that low now!? What happened to that confidence earlier, huh!?"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

Aone placed a hand on Tsuna's shoulder to placate him and nodded at Futakuchi, answering his request. "Nii-san! You can't just give in like that!"

"Thanks Aone! I owe you one!"

___(Suspect #2: Koganegawa Kanji)___

"I... I'm next! F-First year, Koganegawa! I'm coming in!" The first year entered the club room, obviously nervous. "Pleased to make you acquaintance detectives!"

"Kogane, chill. It's just us. You're not going to jail." Tsuna said, trying to calm down his friend's nerves. "Sit down. Relax a bit. Just tell us when you're ready."

"So.. how is the search going? Did you find the culprit yet?" Kogane asked. Tsuna was about to answer when his half brother stood up abruptly and held his arms up high, making a blocking pose, shocking both the other occupants in the room.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! That must be classified information!"

"Nii-san! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!? Warn me, please!"

After taking a moment to calm down, Kogane sat down and was suspiciously quiet. "Kogane? What's wrong?"

"Umm..... Well, a-actually..." He became silent for a second. Tsuna was about to ask again when he suddenly bowed his head. "It was me! It was all me!"

"Wh- Kogane! I thought you were better than this! Couldn't you have at least snagged an extra one for me!? You know how much I love cookies!"

"Wah!! I'm so sorry Tsuna!"

Their conversation was interuppted when Aone suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on the table.

"Wait, wait! I only ate one of them since they were sitting right there in the club room! I promise it was only one!"

His hands were clasped together as he continued to talk. "I know it might be hard to believe me, but I really did only eat one! Please, Aone-san! Tsuna-kun! I beg of you! Keep this a secret!!"

No one made any movement for a bit until Aone looked away and nodded slowly.

"Ugh, I'll make this the only exception. Never do this thing again, okay!? Ask first before you eat something!"

Kogane looked relieved. "Th...Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you two!" He mumbled when he made his way to the door. "Futakuchi-san can be a bit terrifying.. Ah! Keep that a secret too!"

"Just get outta here! Let's meet up later!"

"Okay!"

____

"So far, we have two suspects, both claiming to have taken one of the cookies." Tsuna recounted, leaning his back on the table. Aone nodded his head in agreement.

He hummed a bit, a distant look in his eyes. "I have a bad feeling about this."

___(Suspect #3: Yutaka Obara)___

The shaven head teen took a seat across the two half siblings. "This incident does involve food, so I suppose I would end up on the suspect list." He muttered, loud enough for them to hear. Aone shook his head at Obara's statement. "Sorry about this, Obara-san. But we just don't wanna leave anyone out." Tsuna said, a hand behind his head.

"It's okay, I know you're talking to everyone about this." He waved his hand a bit to reassure the two. "So, uh.... Yeah...."

"I kinda... Ate one of them, maybe..." He looked away, felling too ashamed to lookal at the two.

"..…I knew it."

"N-No! I mean they were right there! I'd already eaten it before I even had time to process to process what happened!"

"I may not be the appropriate person to say this, but Obara-san, you should really learn some self control."

"Please, if I say I only had one, no one will believe me! Let's just keep this a secret, okay!?"

"Just get out of here. We've heard enough."

___(Suspect #4: Tarō Onagawa)___

"..........They were really tempting so I ate one.."

"I feel ya on that one in a spiritual level. Now leave."

___(Suspect #5 and #6: Kaname Moniwa and Takehito Sasaya [Absent])___

"Sasaya and I just wanted to come say hello. We spotted the cookies purely by chance, but the two of us only had one each."

"Senpai, I expected better than that from you. Never knew you could be like this."

"Please don't tell Nametsu about that. We really did just come to say hi. We know nothing about the rest."

"You're excused, Senpai."

___(Suspect #7: Yasushi Kamasaki)___

"I did come by to say hi, but the one who took the cookie wasn't me.." Kamasaki rolled up his sleeve and flexed his arm, showing off his muscles.

"But rather these splendid guns of mine."

"Just say you took the goddamn cookie! No one cares about your guns!!"

"You're just saying that cuz you're jealous!"

"I ain't jealous! I'm just saying stop showing off! Everyone is getting sick of looking at your gross arms!"

"HAAAH!?"

Aone had to physically hold them apart until they both cooled down and apologized to one another.

___(Suspect #8: Gokudera Hayato)___

"Gokudera Hayato! I'm coming in, Jyuudaime! Aone-san!"

Without missing a beat, Tsuna said. "Gokudera, be honest with me, you took one of the cookies didn't you?"

The silverette froze, his expression similar to a deer caught in a headlight. They all stayed silent for a second, Tsuna sat at the table, crossing his legs while Aone had opted to stand after sitting for so long with his arms crossed as he stared at Gokudera long and hard.

In an instant, he was on the floor, his forehead pressed into he floor as he begged for forgiveness.

"Forgive me Jyuudaime! I did take one of those cookies! I assumed it was okay since I saw Kamasaki-san take one!"

Tsuna just sighed. Be walked up to Gokudera, crouched and pet his head. "Hayato, it's okay. I was just asking. I'm not mad at you."

It took them about an hour to calm Gokudera down that No Tsuna isn't going to chase him out because of that and No he didn't commit a thievery for taking ONE cookie.

________

Tsuna and Aone had just finished the last of their interrogation, feeling a bit conflicted. Should they tell Nametsu or not?

"Ah, Aone, Tsuna!" The two stopped, watching their club's manager walk up to them. "How's it going? Have you found the culprit yet?" She asked. They both shook their heads, deciding to just lie to her for now. She just looked disappointed and look at the ground. "I guess they're not willing to be honest about it."

Tsuna just shrugged. "It's okay. We'll just have to try harder." She just dismissed him with a wave of her hand and turned her back to them, appearing to be deep in thought. "Nah, you don't need to. All I wanted was for them to just say it outright. I wasn't going to get mad at them or anything."

"Yeah, you did buy it for everyone after all." Tsuna said, crossing him arms. Nametsu just turned back to face them, her arms behind her back.

"I'm just surprised that such a large amount could disappear so quickly. If someone really ate all that and stayed quiet about it, then it's only natural I'd want them to say something, right?" She said before she looked back at the two. "Sorry for making you two help me out, Aone, Tsuna."

Tsuna was about to reassure her not to worry about it when Aone beat him to it. "Don't worry about it." The sudden sound of his deep voice scared Nametsu.

"Woah, that scared me! If you're gonna talk, say something beforehand!" Tsuna sweatdropped at her statement. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of him warning you if you get scared by his voice alone?"

_____

The next day during morning practice, Sakunami had pointed out to Tsuna that Aone seemed to be deep in thought. Tsuna pat his arm, feeling worried. "Are you okay, Nii-san?" He asked to which the white haired male shook his head. "Really? You're making quite the face there. You know you can tell me." He said.

Tsuna watched his brother for abit before he realized what was bothering him. "Ah, is it about the cookies? Why? Did you get a lead?"

He shook his head.

"Huh.." was all Tsuna said before he went deep into thought himself. "Wait, Nametsu said she bought a dozen of those cookies right?" Aone nodded. "But so far, we only have about eleven people who all said they've only taken one cookie." He furrowed his eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips. "What happened to the rest?"

"Ah, Tsuna, Aone. Can I talk to you two for a second?" Their coach called for them, leading them to the corner of the gym. "So... Uh... I wanted to talk about that whole cookie incident.." He was interuppted by Aone who was quick to make a blocking motion.

"Woah there! You can't just limit how much I get to say! What are you, Twitter!?" The coach said, annoyed by the sudden interuption. Tsuna just wheezed in the background.

"Anyway, you two are the only ones that I can say this to... But uh... You know those cookies?" Tsuna and Aone nodded. "I actually threw them away."

"WHA-MMPH!!" Aone was quick to cover his younger brother's mouth, preventing him from yelling out. "So yeah. I'm not sure if its because the clubroom has some actual iron walls. But the air quality there isn't too great.."

"And if you combine that with the humidity lately... Well.. those cookies were giving off this horrible stench." Tsuna made a gagging noise behind Aone's hand. "I just didn't want the players to get sick from eating them. I know they were from Nametsu! That's why I want to keep this a secret!" He explained, panicking a bit at the look of Aone's expression.

He came closer to them, speaking in a hushed tone. "As long as neither of us says anything, the the horrible truth will remain buried forever. We won't have to question anyone else! Got it!?"

What else were they supposed to do in that situation but to just nod in agreement.

"Well, it is fortunate that nobody ate any of them."

"Actually, about that.."

That's when another voice rang out through the empty gym gaining everyone's attention. "Weird.. Everyone's running pretty late today."

Just as Sakunami said that, the doors to the gym slid open. "So.... Sorry.... For being late...." The raven haired boy turned his attention to the door. "Ah, Futakuchi-san, you're.."

"LATE!?"

Everyone who was late for practice are all at the door clutching their stomach in pain, except Gokudera who was supporting Kogane.

"S...sorry, I was in the bathroom..." The captain said, pain evident in his voice.

"Are you all okay!?"

"Aone... Did they..." The coach wouldn't finish his question when Aone raised his hand to silence him while his other hand held Tsuna close to him, still covering his mouth.

"Aone!" Nametsu called out. "Do you know what happened to everyone!? Tell us if you do!" A flash of yesterday's events flooded the large teen's mind and he started to think long and hard about whether he should lie or just tell the truth.

In the end, Aone let go of Tsuna and made a blocking motion as his response.

"He blocked us!?"

"What are you, Line!?"

Tsuna just facepalmed at his brother and his everlasting kindness. And thus, the truth of Date Tech Volleyball Club's food poisoning incident remained buried for eternity.

Bonus:

"Hey, Gokudera." The silverette snapped to attention when Tsuna called for him. "Yes, Jyuudaime? What do you need?" He said, seemingly eager to serve. "How come you were the only one who didn't get food poisoning? You did eat the cookies, right?" His question seemed to cause Gokudera to freeze in place before he placed his hands on Tsuna's shoulders.

"Jyuudaime... It's best if you don't think about it." He said with a dark look on his face.

Somewhere in the Italy airport, Bianchi sneezed.

#katekyo hitman reborn #haikyuu!!#gears are turning #dateko

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shctteredillusions · 4 years

Text

The vampires and preferences. Taken from @arcxnumvitae and @thewolfisawake. I’ve also written out who is taken relationship-wise just to make sure it’s not confusing.

Megane: What isn’t this woman into? Pretty much everything and anything. She literally is the furthest from picky you can get and is the literal definition of pansexual. Men, women, any gender, any species, she’s the type to find something attractive about everyone.

Haru: Women with an attitude. A woman who isn’t afraid to tell him no. Confidence, long dark hair with no particular preference on a color other than that. He likes a woman with style, someone who can take his BS and fire it right back. A baker is a huge selling point since he has such a big sweet tooth. And he’s definitely not into a woman who shows too much skin, funnily enough. He does actually like some modesty in that department and keeping certain things to the imagination until they’ve gotten to that point.

Minami: Intelligence, a man who can give her a challenge in some way shape or form. She has what usually comes off as a harsh and severe type of personality, can be quite controlling and is a bit of a neat freak so they’d have to be able to handle that with ease. Mystery is a big seller for her though because she’s so used to knowing mostly everything that when she comes across someone or something she doesn’t know or can’t figure out she’s instantly intrigued.

Seto: He isn’t a sexually active man and isn’t really interested in becoming one. But if he were, it’d likely be with someone soft and caring, but still confident and strong. He’s got a thing for good voices and no particular preference for men or women. At the same time, he doesn’t like anyone who talks too much because he really enjoys the quiet and peaceful times.

Kensei: Strong and fierce warrior type women. Holy crap can he be weak to soldiers. Especially when she’s actually in a uniform. Skills with a weapon of any kind, good training, someone who knows how to show respect where it’s deserved and demands the same in return. Confidence but without it being overbearing.

Vasilios (unavailable): Long dark hair, coy smiles, flirty personalities, and intense eyes. He’s never had any preference of one gender over another but he does prefer thicker women, whether that’s simply curves or even those with some weight on them. Bigger girls. Men though he likes lean and fit. But more so than anything he likes a battle for dominance. Whether he ends up the dominant one or submissive doesn’t matter nearly as much as the fight itself. Plus he is hypersexual and shit if someone can match his urges, needs, and stamina then man is he in heaven.

Raiden: Women. Women. Women. Gosh, he’s far from picky. Cute girls, gorgeous girls, badass girls, dorky girls. It doesn’t matter because Raiden will find every girl he meets to be utterly beautiful in their own right. Which of course means he’s sexually attracted to them too.

Ariadne: While she prefers men more, she isn’t against women on the subject. She likes height, attitude, someone who can take her fiery personality and deal it right back. She also seems to prefer humans more so than not. But other than that there isn’t a lot she’s shown interest in.

Zephyr: Zephyr is a lover and a fighter but boy is he such a huge sap of a lover too. Big gestures, lots of teasing, old school courting type stuff gets him the most. He likes to banter, someone with a big heart and a playful side. And man he has the hots for the motherly types. Women with thick curves, nice thighs, big chests but a thoughtful and caring smile but eyes that speak of wisdom and experience. Men with more athletic builds, nice hair and a charming personality.

Odette: I don’t really know for sure with her but I think she’d prefer someone gentle. Someone she feels she can trust. She does prefer men, she’s had quite a few bad times with women before and doesn’t trust them as easily. But I don’t think she even knows what she’s attracted to since she’s never really been given the chance to explore it.

Shiori (taken): Assholes. Fuck she loves someone with an attitude, a smart mouth, and a good smirk. I mean, technically I’d think she’d have an easier time with women considering her past with men. Sarcasm, someone with a violent streak who can handle her.

Ichirou (taken): Strong, confident, independent women. Women with goals and priorities. Stylish women with curves that could break his neck from looking back. There’s just something utterly entrancing about a woman who doesn’t need anyone else.

Yuka (taken): Never really had a preference in most ways, but she likes revealing eyes, charming smiles. Oh yeah and nice voices with really good accents. She likes someone who she can talk to, feels comfortable with. And she definitely has a thing for taller people and thick hair.

Ayame (taken): someone who is calming, feels safe. Someone with a bright smile and this warmth that makes her feel alive. Musically talented in any way is a huge bonus for her. Someone with a relatively sunny disposition and affectionate. Adventurous personalities but nothing that overbearing personality wise like overly confident or self-assured. Someone with a warm and gentle presence.

Liam (unavailable): Sexual wise, Liam is far from picky. Generally, because he uses such things as a distraction more than anything else. But preference wise he does seem to have a thing for the unusual ladies. One he can’t quite understand and ones that take him by surprise. He’s a leg man and loves long legs and creamy thighs and can be so easily ruined when that’s used against him. Short skirts, heels, tight jeans, a nice rear, boy he’ll fall apart at the seams if she has a sexy walk too.

Kaname: No clue! Kaname is still a mystery to me. I know physical attraction is possible and that there’s no particular preference but he is like the image of Demisexual and won’t feel attraction in the slightest until a bond is formed.

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owletstarlet · 5 years

Note

Ooh I can't wait for these! 11 for tanunatsu please??

#11 from this list: “I almost lost you” kiss

Established relationship because I damn well said so

“Wake up.”

The plea tumbles from Kaname’s lips and it’s soft but it feels manic. His hands are shaking where they hover above Natsume’s chest; he’s barely breathing and his pulse is thready but he’s alive, he’s alive he’s alive he’s alive—

Kaname’s afraid to touch, now; as much as every instinct is telling him to gather Natsume into his arms and never let go, he can’t tell if he’s injured. He doesn’t look it, mostly he just looks cold; the pallor of his face under the clear brightness of a winter moon, lips gone blue, and actual patches of frost spangled across his damp pajamas. But he’s so still, and there’s blackened blood under his nose, trailing halfway down his cheek on one side before it had dried, and Kaname thinks he might be sick.

“I need you to wake up.” His voice splinters halfway through, and he takes Natsume’s face in his hands, so carefully. “Please.” And god, his skin is a temperature that skin should never ever be. His thumbs trace the dark divots below his eyes. He wants to grab his shoulders, shake him, yell and scream until he opens his eyes and calmly tells Kaname the blatant and oft-repeated lie that everything is just fine here.

He can’t see Ponta, he’s not changed back to a visible form but he can feel the wall of warmth at his back. He turns towards that warmth, now, where he can make out a mass of translucent white right in front of his nose, and this close to it he can barely see the trees beyond.

“He won’t wake up,” Kaname says, and it sounds so obvious, childish.

Then, a part of that white mass moves in close just beside his shoulder, where he would more or less imagine Ponta’s head to be. A gust of air, warm and strong, passes over Kaname’s hands and ruffles Natsume’s hair.

He doesn’t stir.

Kaname hears a faint sound, almost like a deep harrumph, before a white burst of smoke erupts around him. Then Ponta is there, a cat once more, just by Kaname’s knee. “No need to be so delicate,” he says, testily. “You won’t break him. He’s just sleeping. Could’ve picked a better place to do it.”

Kaname could’ve sobbed from relief. His hands shift down to Natsume’s shoulders. “What happened?”

Ponta scoffs. “That yuki-onna is what happened.”

“Where—”

“Gone, now, I’d say. And good riddance. Oi,” he adds, waddling up to the side of Natsume’s head and batting him on the nose. “Don’t nap here, moron. Let’s go already.”

Taking Ponta’s lead, Kaname shakes Natsume’s shoulders himself; tentatively, at first, then much harder, because Ponta’s right, he can’t stay out here any longer. But Natsume’s head just lolls back onto the underbrush, and Kaname bites the inside of his cheek. “Come on, come back,” he says, loud as he can through the panic still threatening to snuff out his voice altogether. “You can come sleep in my bed again, okay? It’s so cold out here.”

When that garners no response, Ponta’s eyes narrow. “This is taking too long.” Then, without warning and in a move that should’ve been altogether impossible, he spins right around and launches a sharp kick right at Natsume’s face, with enough force behind it to knock his whole head to one side.

“Don’t—”

But it’s only then Natsume’s eyelids flutter.

“Mnn…ow.”

The noise that escapes Kaname’s throat then is very much like a sob. He cradles Natsume’s face between his hands once more and leans in close, chest constricting. Natsume’s own eyes are half-mast and dull, an uncomprehending gaze drifting over his surroundings and right over Kaname, not focusing on any one thing. That is, until Ponta wriggles in between him and Kaname, putting himself nose-to-nose with Natsume and glaring.

“Idiot,” he snaps. “This is what you get for letting a snow demon possess you. You’re damned lucky Tanuma woke up in time to see you were gone or you’d have been long dead by morning.”

Natsume doesn’t seem to really register a word of that, but his eyes become a little bit clearer at the sound of Ponta’s biting tone. He squints a bit, frowns.

“Sensei…?” And, after a moment, gaze shifting upwards, “…Tanuma?”

Ponta ducks out of the way then, with a huff, and Kaname leans in close. “Yeah.” The single word feels like a burst of relief. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Natsume echoes, vaguely, giving Kaname a tiny smile.

After a moment, his forehead scrunches up, and beside him his fingers twitch in the dirt and shriveled leaves. “What—a-are we outside?”

Kaname just nods, tightly, not at all having it in him to elaborate if Natsume doesn’t remember.

“Oh…you’re crying.” And that vagueness in his voice and eyes is quickly replacing itself with distress when he takes in Kaname’s face.

Kaname just nods again, swallows hard; now is not the time for a breakdown, it’s not, he can do that later when Natsume is warm and safe and not watching it happen.

“Well, of course he is,” Ponta mutters. “A minute ago he thought he just found your corpse.”

“…oh.” The realization in his wide eyes shifts to something more like horror, then shame. “Tanuma, I’m sor—”

But the words are lost because Kaname’s kissing him, then. It’s a fierce, desperate thing, faces mashed together, his fingers curling in Natsume’s hair like he’ll evaporate into the January night if Kaname can’t hold him tight enough, every muscle in his own body rigid with residual terror.

Natsume remains motionless beneath him, cold mouth perfectly still. It feels as though he’s holding his breath.

But it’s just enough like kissing some lifeless thing, that that thought alone is enough to send him reeling back.

When he looks down, though, Natsume’s just watching him, eyes clear and soft and very, very worried.

Kaname blows out a long breath before he can trust himself to speak. “Your lips are freezing,” he says, with a little chuckle that doesn’t at all sound right. “And god, there’s ice in your hair…” His fingers comb back Natsume’s fringe.

“I’m okay,” Natsume starts, and Ponta promptly snorts. “Ah. I mean,” he amends, softly, “I don’t feel cold. Just…sleepy, kind of.”

“No sleeping.” The words come out louder than he’d meant them to, sharp and frightened. “Not until we get you back and warmed up,” he adds, forcing a calmer tone. He bends down, quickly presses his lips to the frigid skin of Natsume’s forehead, then shrugs off his jacket to drape across Natsume’s chest.

When he looks again, some of the trepidation has bled out of Natsume’s eyes, replaced with something a little warmer, drowsier. Trusting.

Kaname cups his cheek, tries to ignore the tremble in his fingers. “Let’s go home.”

***

Natsume’s recollection of the incident, of how he’d ended up half frozen in the forest, comes back to him soon enough. Kaname makes him tell it, in order to keep him awake while he’s getting him into the tub to thaw him out.

The yuki-onna had come to him initially just a few days prior, just as school was ending and the New Year’s break began. She was lost, and very weak, and Ponta had dispassionately noted how odd it was for her to have not vanished altogether. She’d strayed so far south of the more common haunts of yuki-onna, where the winters were so mild and snow so rare. Natsume never found out why she’d come, she claimed to not quite recall, but she hadn’t come alone; her sister had been by her side. But the two had become separated, apparently, on a windy night. She’d been frantic, her sister was hardly stronger than she was, but she’d heard tell from a few of the local youkai that if she were in trouble, she ought to seek out Natsume-sama for help. Ponta hadn’t been especially fond of the idea, given the particular penchant of her whole kind for killing off humans in creative ways, and skeptical about the gaps in her memory—which needless to say had left Kaname nice and anxious, as well as Taki when she’d heard. But Ponta had conceded that she was clearly frail, just on the brink of fading away entirely if she couldn’t find someone or something to possess, and he genuinely hadn’t believed that she could do Natsume any real physical harm by simply hitching a ride in his body until her sister was found. She wouldn’t dare, when endangering him would be endangering herself.

And that had seemed to be the truth, at first. The New Year’s season had always necessitated a lot of travel for Dad, and with Natsume having planned to stay over most of the nights that Dad would be away, Kaname had had plenty of time to observe him, to make sure he was as fine as he claimed to be. But he’d looked to be perfectly well, not even a bit pale or fatigued or any of the general red flags Kaname had come to associate with youkai involvement. If anything, he was livelier and better-rested now that school was out and he was free to spend his days doing nothing of consequence, though he had confided that he was worried for the yuki-onna—he could barely sense her presence, he’d said, and most of the time she seemed to be asleep anyhow. Which was going to make tracking down her sister a tall order, if she couldn’t stay awake long enough to help at all, to tell them what they should even be looking for.

Up until tonight, of course. Kaname supposes in retrospect that he should’ve realized something was off when they’d settled in for bed, when he’d pulled Natsume close against his chest and frowned, realizing just how cool his skin felt all over. But Natsume waved it off when he asked, seeming for all the world to be perfectly content and sleepy, merely yawning and burrowing his face deeper against Kaname’s pajama shirt as Kaname tugged an extra blanket over them both.

When Kaname started awake, hours later, it was to a freezing room, an open window and an empty bed. And Ponta, clearly just arrived back from an evening of New Year’s revelry, asking just where the hell Natsume had gotten off to.

None of them are completely sure what changed, the coming-together of factors that finally allowed the yuki-onna to awaken, and to carry Natsume’s body away so deep into the forest that when he finally regained his senses he couldn’t find his way back again. Ponta’s best guess was that it was simply a matter of the temperature dropping in the night, enough for the ground to properly freeze for the first time in weeks. Enough to rouse the missing sister, to draw her out of wherever she had secluded herself to preserve her own strength, to start her back on her own search. And, as Natsume understood it from his own hazy recollection, she’d passed close enough by Kaname’s house in this search that her sister had sensed it, mustered what bit of energy she’d regained from resting within Natsume, and managed to well and truly take him over, enough to leave the house and give chase. The sister had fled, not realizing the possession and fearing that she was being pursued by an exorcist, until her limited strength failed her and Natsume’s body had caught up.

It was a happy ending, for the two of them, as far as Natsume knew, though admittedly they’d said little more to him than their thanks before vanishing into the night together. And in doing so, had left Natsume stranded and barefoot in his pajamas, in an unfamiliar part of the forest.

And to be fair, they wouldn’t necessarily have had any reason to know he was unfamiliar with it, or that he couldn’t just go back the way he came—after all, when they’d found him he hadn’t been that far away, he could only have gotten so far on foot. But Kaname doesn’t feel quite so forgiving on the matter, especially when Natsume told what happened next.

Because he’d scarcely begun to realize just how lost he was when he’d become drowsy, and dizzy. Not cold, he’d said; not really, and in no discernible pain, but after a few minutes he’d ended up on his hands and knees in the underbrush, his head reeling. And the next thing he’d known, Ponta was kicking him in the face.

At the very least, Kaname supposes he’s grateful that Natsume truly didn’t seem to feel the cold. Not until halfway through his bath, anyways, when the shivering set in, but by then he was well on his way to being a normal human temperature once more. And that’s the other thing Kaname can’t quite forgive, that both yuki-onna had been so apparently blind to the fact that they’d nearly frozen him to death. Natsume for his part genuinely hadn’t noticed; he’d been surprised when Kaname pointed out the ice on his clothes and in his hair. And, as Ponta had (reasonably) pointed out, yuki-onna in general were not known for any dealings with a human that a human ever walked away from, so it was likely they had no idea the kind of unintentional damage they’d inflicted. But regardless, if Ponta had found him any later than he had, it unquestionably would’ve been too late.

He’s back in bed, now, bath finished, swaddled up in every extra blanket that Kaname could find. He had been very reluctant to leave the room even for the two or so minutes it took to locate said blankets, the fact that Ponta was literally sitting perched on top of Natsume’s chest when he’d left (and sending Kaname off with a longsuffering “just go already, I won’t let him wander off again”) notwithstanding. He had tried not to visibly rush back to the bed when he returned, but the panic must’ve been a little too obvious in his eyes, because Natsume immediately tried to prop himself up on his elbows, giving him a smile that was surely meant to be reassuring but far too weary around the edges to be so. Kaname had just laid him back down, wordlessly, with a quick kiss to the forehead before he began situating the blankets. Ponta had given up his spot on Natsume’s chest in favor of settling down instead near his thigh.

“Okay,” he says, once he’s finished fussing with the bedding. “How cold are you?” Which might be an idiotic question, if Kaname’s lips on his skin just now were anything to go by, the answer is still very. But he’s learned by now, when asking after Natsume’s wellbeing, to phrase it so as not to allow him the out of merely saying he’s fine when he obviously isn’t, otherwise he’d be claiming he was just fine up to his dying breath.

And to Natsume’s credit, he does try to be more honest about it, nowadays, to Kaname, to their friends and to the Fujiwaras, though it’s so visibly difficult for him to try to relearn every instinct he has just to let on that he’s unwell.

“I’m…it’s not so bad anymore.” His voice is a little muffled; he’s buried up to the nose in soft fleece. “I don’t want to move, though.”

“You shouldn’t be moving around so much anyways, with your feet in that state,” Kaname says, mouth twisting. Natsume hadn’t really been aware of it until they’d gotten back, but taking off through the woods at top speed had torn up his skin pretty thoroughly, cuts and scratches up to the ankle that had bled in the bathwater, and the nail on one foot had been ripped clean off. Kaname had done what he could with a first aid kit, Natsume’s blood on his fingertips enough to set his stomach churning but knowing his aversion to hospital trips.

“Are you gonna just carry me everywhere, then?” Natsume’s voice is soft and sleepy.

“If you need me to,” he says, his returning smile sitting brittle on his lips, sliding his fingers through Natsume’s still-damp hair and wondering if he dried it well enough. “But it’d be better for you to just stay in bed.”

Natsume blinks up at him; he can’t seem to keep his eyes open all the way. “You know…I’m sorry about the circumstances, but it is pretty fun when you carry me.” An honest-to-god delirious giggle, then. “You’re strong.”

“I’m not that strong.” An easy counter. “You’re not that heavy.” He pauses, realizing he’d been hovering in an awkward half-crouch beside the bed that’s making his thighs ache, and sits on the edge of the mattress. Ponta shoots him a brief exasperated look, make up your mind already. “Do your feet hurt a lot? I can find you medicine if it’d help you sleep.”

“Mm…no, they’ll be alright…” he frowns a little, and Kaname feels a movement by his hip, and realizes that Natsume’s trying to work his hand free of the many blankets tucked tight around him. Kaname tugs them loose, only to have pale fingers catch his sleeve.

“Don’t you want to lie down?”

No, Kaname thinks, and if he wasn’t sitting he’s pretty sure he’d be pacing. But there’s a quiet apprehension in Natsume’s words, so Kaname gives a constrained nod instead. “Let me just get the lights.”

It doesn’t actually help his nerves any, lying in the exact same position they’d fallen asleep in earlier that night; the chilly tip of Natsume’s nose brushing against his breastbone and Kaname’s arm draped over his shoulders. When the occasional shiver comes, he rubs Natsume’s back, and Kaname does appreciate that much, it means he can feel him breathing better. Natsume always seems to migrate into this same position; it means he’s comfortable and Kaname’s glad for that but he certainly can’t say the same. Even Ponta keeping a lookout only helps so much with that; every muscle and nerve in him feels like a taut rubber band twisted over and over on itself, acid churning in an empty stomach. He starts at every little sound, every slight creak of the aging house settling around them. There’s no real noise from outside; the night is still, no wind, no forest creatures making any sound this deep into the winter. Objectively that silence should be better; but it’s not, really, it just feels all the more ominous. Kaname’s wound so tightly, ears pricked for every sound, that all it takes is for Ponta to speak out of the blue to startle him so badly that it wakes Natsume back up.

“Calm down, brat.” He pokes at Kaname’s ankle with a single paw. “I was just going to say it’s actually safe for you to go to sleep, hard as that is for you to believe, apparently.”

“I know,” Kaname murmurs, watching Natsume’s forehead scrunch up as his awareness returns. “Sorry. I’m trying.”

“Are you, though?” Ponta drawls, and Kaname sends a tired glare in his general direction.

“Hm…mm?” Natsume frowns, eyes sliding slowly into focus, reflecting the light of the single lamp Kaname had left on beside the bed.

Kaname smooths back his hair with one hand. “It’s alright.” He tries to sound surer than he feels, on that point. “Go back to sleep.”

“What’s…” His frown deepens, both his hands sliding up to the sides of Kaname’s chest under the covers. “Your heart’s beating so fast.”

“That’s because been busy picturing all the different ways you could possibly prance off and die the second he takes his eyes off you,” Ponta says flatly, and Kaname winces.

“…Oh.” He lets out a slow breath. Then, looking resolute, he inches himself upward, wriggling out from under the mass of bedclothes piled on top of him until he’s nose-to-nose with Kaname, his cheek squashed against the pillow. He’s panting a little from the effort, gripping Kaname’s shirt with both hands, but his eyes are steady. “I’m sorry,” he says.

“Don’t be.” Kaname reaches up, traces the pad of his thumb across Natsume’s cheekbone, the skin cool but no longer cold to the touch. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were being kind, not reckless. You even talked to me about it first.” The significance of that had not been lost on Kaname, either, that Natsume had come to him with this before coming to a decision, even when all evidence pointed to it being a fairly benign situation to involve himself in. At the time Kaname thought his heart might just have grown too full to ever fit properly in his chest again. And yet here Natsume is now, trying to apologize for it. “We didn’t know this would happen,” Kaname adds, gently. He’s not certain he can be reassuring when his pulse is still hammering away like it is under Natsume’s hands, when there’s a current of nausea beneath the tight smile he offers. But he can try, because Natsume deserves as much.

But then it’s Natsume who’s taking Kaname’s face into his own hands, and closing the distance between their lips. It’s as tender as it is deliberate, Natsume cupping his face and holding him there, as if Kaname’s the one that’s ephemeral, precious, who might slip away so easily. His lips are still rough and cracked from the cold, but his lashes tickle Kaname’s skin like moths’ wings.

“No, we didn’t know,” Natsume breathes, eventually, into the scant space between them. Their foreheads are pressed together still; his fingers have slid up and back into Kaname’s hair. “But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt you, too.” He pulls back a little, then, eyes searching. But Kaname doesn’t know what to say to that, so he stays quiet, his chest tight.

“Thank you,” Natsume says. “For finding me.”

I didn’t find you, Kaname thinks, Ponta found you. But those words don’t come. What he says, instead, half-blurted, half-choked, is: “I love you.”

…oh.

“Oh,” Natsume echoes, softly, eyes widening into twin moons in the lamplight, and Kaname fleetingly thinks of sinking through the mattress and vanishing then and there. That…he had not meant to say that, just now. But he can’t (won’t) take it back, either. He forces himself to meet Natsume’s eyes, hopes to god he says something more because Kaname’s words are utterly spent.

“You’ve never said that, before,” Natsume adds, at long last. He chuckles, the sound of it breathy and stilted. “I guess I should get lost in the woods more often, huh.”

But Kaname can only stare, tongue-tied, through eyes that have begun to sting. Natsume pauses, taking in Kaname’s face before his brows scrunch together in apparent distress. “I’m sorry, that was a cruel thing to say, wasn’t it.” Gentle thumbs brush below Kaname’s eyes, swiping away the building moisture. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

It’s too late for that, Kaname thinks with some distant degree of frustration at himself. Natsume should definitely, definitely be resting right now. Not dealing with Kaname’s apparent inability to get a handle on himself, or some ill-timed confession. But here they are, and now Kaname’s the one clinging onto Natsume’s pajamas like a terrified child, face buried deep in his shoulder and shaking. And Natsume’s rubbing his back, so gently, kissing his hair and whispering to him to breathe, it’s alright, just breathe.

It’s ridiculous, really, that he can’t calm himself down until he’s practically cried himself inside out. His chest hurts, his head is buzzing and he’s soaked through the flannel on Natsume’s shoulder with tears and snot and spit—but the words I thought you were dead, I saw you and I thought you were dead have been playing on some awful loop in his brain for the past two hours and it’s all he can do not to repeat them now—if he does he’ll just lose it again.

Once his breathing has evened out to a semi-reasonable pace, the warm weight near his ankle shifts a bit, and he hears a sardonic, “Are you finished?”

“Sensei.” Natsume angles a slight kick in the cat’s general direction, but between Kaname’s own legs in the way and the swathes of bandages and blankets packed around them it doesn’t make it very far. “He does care,” Natsume mutters, and Kaname raises his head to see Natsume scowling at the foot of the bed. “He’s just being rude.”

“Of course I care.” Ponta blinks back at them, wholly unbothered. “He promised to make gratin tomorrow. He can’t do that if he’s cried himself to death, now can he.”

Natsume pointedly ignores that, before propping himself up on a trembling elbow just far enough to reach for the water bottle on Kaname’s dresser. “Here,” he says, his gentle smile incongruent with the way he almost drops the bottle between them. “You’ll get a headache.”

And Kaname can’t contest that, really. He can already feel the pressure mounting between his temples. He accepts it and winds up downing about half of it in two gulps. When he offers it back to Natsume to take his own drink he keeps his own hands over Natsume’s unsteady ones, but Kaname’s the one whose fingers have grown cold now.

“Better?” Natsume asks afterwards, voice still infinitely kind and patient but Kaname can practically see the fatigue etched into his face. Kaname just nods, sheepish. He should never have woken him.

“Um,” Natsume continues, less sure, “I’d ask if you wanted to talk about it right now, but…”

“N-no, thank you.” His voice comes out low and wrecked, and clearing his throat doesn’t make it any better. “You should rest.”

“Okay.” A pause, and Natsume gives him a long look, making no move to get settled back down under the covers just yet.

“What’s wrong?” Kaname asks, with some trepidation. Natsume’s eyes are wide, solemn but luminous.

“I love you too.”

…oh.

“Oh.” Kaname’s mouth feels very dry, suddenly. There’s a bubble of unbelievable warmth, of hope, rising in his chest, but anxiety follows fast behind. Natsume’s face looks so open right now, the kind of transparent expression that doesn’t often come easily for him and he’s waiting, waiting and Kaname has to say something and—

“You don’t have to say it just ‘cause I said it,” is what comes out, eventually. His voice still sounds rather like he swallowed a toad, and he clears his throat in vain, gaze dropping to some spot on the rumpled coverlet between them. “You don’t owe it to me or anything. You might not even remember any of this in the morning, anyways.”

He raises his eyes again when he feels cool fingers light on his chin. “Doesn’t matter,” he says. “It’s true, and you should know it.” Exhaustion notwithstanding, his voice is clear, and his eyes are so warm Kaname couldn’t look away again if he tried. “I love you, okay? I love you.”

Kaname just nods, he’s not sure if he wants to laugh or cry again or hyperventilate or possibly all three but then Natsume’s reaching for him and kissing him and kissing him, lips, forehead, eyelids, nose and cheeks, and Kaname doesn’t have to say anything at all. It’s all slow, feather-light and lingering; Natsume’s too tired for anything more but Kaname’s content to lie there and let himself be kissed, his mind resonating with it: I love you too, I love you, I love you…

“Sorry I scared you,” Natsume murmurs, eventually. His fingertips skim a lazy circle on Kaname’s shoulder, their noses nearly touching still. “I’ll do my best to not get lost again.”

“Not without me.”

Natsume’s lips twitch. “Okay. Not without you.”

***

Thanks for reading! I’ll take one more prompt from this list before starting the next part of Never Felt Like Any Blessing if anyone would like to submit one!

#psa don't give baths to hypothermic people #but i don't expect a high schooler and a magic cat to know that #and it's magic hypothermia so whatever #i'm not happy with this #but if I don't post it now I'm never going to #natsume takashi #tanuma kaname #tanunatsu #cha-lii #natsuyuu #natsume's book of friends #ask prompt #ask meme #owlet's fanfic #nyanko sensei #natsume yuujinchou

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eternityunicorn · 5 years

Text

Elijah’s Eternity: Part Eighteen

Author: eternityunicorn

Genre: Romance/Fantasy/AU

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x OC

Warnings: Violence, Language, Smut (*Smut chapters marked +18)

Summary: Elijah Mikaelson didn’t know what to expect when he encountered the strange archer in the night, but he certainly didn’t think his whole world would be turned upside down by it. Yet, he quickly learns that she is more than what she seems, having come looking for an Original after a large spike in supernatural being populations started cropping up on Earth a thousand years ago. Now, he must help her decide if the supernatural community should stay on their home planet or leave it for good? A task that is made more complicated along the way, as his life is changed forever

NOTE: OC is from my up and coming novel series. Other elements from novel series included as well.

———————————————————————————————————

There was an awkward quiet in the kitchen, when Elijah returned with Eternity. The wolves that Loki had used to gain access to the bed and breakfast ran off. Perhaps they were afraid of what the Original might do if they stuck around. The old couple, the Mitchells as they were called, was sitting at their kitchen table, trying to wrap their heads around what they had witnessed.

Eternity knelt before Mrs. Mitchell to tend to the wounds on her head. After asking permission and it being granted, she pressed her index and middle fingers to the cuts. From there, she released a small amount of glowing blue energy that infiltrated the broken flesh and then healed it seconds later. There wasn’t any need for pretenses now. These humans knew they weren’t human, so Eternity was free to use her powers to aide their hosts.

Once the wounds were healed, Eternity smiled kindly at the little old woman, though it was mixed with regret and apology. Then she rose to her full height and joined Elijah were he stood leaning back against the kitchen counter with his hands shoved into his pants pockets. He looked at his expensive dress shoes out of awkwardness, once Eternity had returned to his side.

Elijah did catch Mrs. Mitchell staring in wonder at Eternity, pressing her own fingers to the wounds that were no longer there. Then Mr. Mitchell, on the other hand, stroked his chin in thought, but he said nothing nor did he look at either Elijah or Eternity. Instead, he looked out the broken sliding door into the night that was now peaceful.

Both Elijah and Eternity noticed the window at the same time. Without prompting, Eternity waved a hand in front of her, as if she were wiping away dirt from a surface, and the window was suddenly whole again as if a body hadn’t flown through it not even thirty minutes before.

Mr. Mitchell blinked rapidly and ceased rubbing his jaw when it happened. Surprise filled his face and for the first time since the ordeal ended, his attention fell upon them. His expression was curious, but not hostile or fearful, which surprised Elijah. He had expected some kind of negative reaction to them and the trouble they had brought. Yet, there wasn’t any to be found in the old man or the woman for that matter.

It was then that Elijah ventured to speak to them. “I would like to apologize for this terrible incident. We didn’t mean to bring trouble to your door, especially when you’ve been nothing but kind to us.”

“There is no need to apologize, Mr. Mikealson,” Mr. Mitchell replied. “Do you really think you are the first to bring trouble to our door? Hardly. Though you are the first vampires we’ve encountered.”

“Oh, I am not a vampire,” Eternity corrected him.

Mr. Mitchell examined her more closely with his old gray eyes. “No, you’re right,” he nodded. “In fact, you do remind me of someone I met during the war when I was stationed in Japan. She looked very similar to you, a shrine maiden of the Kirin Shrine, a mystical place to be sure that the all the desperate try to reach.”

“Kaname,” murmured Eternity and Elijah remembered that was her cousin’s name.

Again, Mr. Mitchell nodded, recognition on his face at the name Eternity gave, “Yes, that was her. Same snow white hair and snowy skin with those same big blue eyes that could see into any man’s very soul. I met her by accident during a nature walk in the woods. Then I couldn’t forget her after and so decided to return, but I didn’t see her. Instead, I saw a strange white beast of legend. The very sight brought me to my knees and made me, a grown man, weep. I’ll never forget seeing a unicorn for the first and only time in my life.”

“The unicorn you saw in those woods was my cousin,” Eternity told him. “The twin-like resemblance is genetics. All of us women in my family look almost identical to each other.”

“And here I thought your stories from Japan were hogwash, Clarence,” Mrs. Mitchell said to her husband with a small grin. Then she looked at Eternity, “You are a sight, missy. I can see why my husband never shut up about the shrine maiden in the woods when he came home to me after the war. I’d never stop talking about it either, if I met someone as beautiful and otherworldly as you. Now that I have, I just might not.”

“Please, you must keep me a secret,” warned Eternity. “In this world, I am not known with good reason. It must stay that way for your safety, if nothing else.”

Mr. Mitchell grinned, “Don’t worry, my lady. You’re existence is safe with us. We know how to keep secrets, trust us. Right, Clarissa?”

Mrs. Mitchell grinned and nodded in agreement.

Eternity smiled in relief.

Elijah had remained quiet during the conversation, mostly because he was surprised at how easy the old couple were taking these events. They didn’t even look afraid nor did they act hostile toward the fact that he was a vampire, as was the common reaction to his kind. Then there was the other fact that they had experienced other acts of violence in their business. They didn’t seem fazed in the least by the invasion into their home or the frightening harassment they had experienced. It almost seemed that it hadn’t happened at all by the calm way they were acting now.

“We haven’t thanked you yet for saving us,” Mrs. Mitchell spoke then. “We would have been lost without your intervention.”

“You don’t owe us anything,” Elijah responded. “In fact, we’ll go, if that is your wish. I don’t want more harm to come to you.”

Husband and wife looked at each other and then back at Elijah.

“Why would we want you to leave?” Mr. Mitchell said. “You saved us and while we now know you’re a vampire, Mr. Mikaelson, you haven’t acted any other way, but cordial and kind, to my wife especially. You could have easily killed us and taken our home for yourself, but you didn’t. Therefore, I’d like to believe that you’re more than a monster who kills people for their blood.” He paused and furrowed his brows in thought, “In fact, I haven’t even heard of any unexplained deaths in town since you’ve come here, as one might expect. So, I don’t believe you’re a bad vampire, but perhaps a good one.”

Elijah gave a small wry smile at that, “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do try to have some semblance of civility about me. I’m certainly not a barbarian, unlike some of my less civilized brethren. Uncivilized brutes.” He said that with great distaste.

Mr. Mitchell laughed lightly and the tense awkwardness finally faded away from the atmosphere with it. “Ah, well that is good enough for me,” the old man said.

Elijah felt himself relax and he felt Eternity do the same beside him.

“Since you are not promptly evicting us from the premises,” said Eternity, “Perhaps we can offer up our services to make up for this trouble and any other trouble that might come about. Maybe we can help out around here, take on some of your burden running this business while we’re here. If you wish it, of course.”

Elijah looked at Eternity in surprise at her offer, but didn’t not object to her suggestion.

Again, the old couple looked at each other, this time with surprise. Then Mr. Mitchell smiled at her and said, “We’d appreciate that. These old bones aren’t what they used to be and there are a lot of chores and whatnots that need tending to. We could use the assistance.”

“Then it’s agreed upon,” Eternity replied with a smile of her own. “Whatever you wish of us, we will help you. Also, remember that we will guard you both well while we’re here. You have my word on that.”

The couple nodded appreciatively in response.

With that settled, Elijah excused himself and Eternity, feeling that the issue had been settled. They headed back up to their room in silence. It had been quite a night and they each had their thoughts on the matter.

Elijah was curious to know what those wolves wanted with him. He didn’t remember knowing any wolf pack in that rural area of the States, but then again, he’d been a lot of places and had met many people over the course of his long life. So it was possible that he knew them, but he would need the pack name in order to know for sure.

Once inside their room, Eternity glided over to stand at the window. She stood perfectly still as she gazed out into the night. He stayed by the door to watch her a moment, wondering what she was thinking. After her encounter with the man that struck up such powerful emotions in her, he was sure that she was troubled by it.

With quick steps, Elijah was across the room, putting his hands upon her tense shoulders comfortingly. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he waited for her to speak when she was ready.

“I want to meet with the werewolf pack,” she eventually said, though not what Elijah had thought she would say.

“You do?”

“Aye,” she nodded, “that is what we’re here for; to see the supernatural community. Besides, it seems like this pack has a grudge against you. We should deal with that, away from here.”

“Yes, I did get that impression,” he returned, “but I had thought it may have simply been your Loki’s manipulation of them.”

Eternity’s shoulders tensed more at the mention of the Trickster’s name, before relaxing a bit. She shook her head slightly, “No, Loki isn’t the type to make up grudges, but to use existing ones to his advantage; adding fuel to the fire and such. He went looking for someone to use in order to get close, to threaten, to get under my skin. Probably done it in retaliation to the defeat I dealt him before, when I had disappeared from here. Either way, those wolves have some grievance against you, meaning he knows you are my lover, and so, Loki manipulated them into acting, into giving him a way in undetected.”

“All that you’ve described actually sounds like something Niklaus would do,” commented Elijah with a small laugh. “In fact, I’m fairly certain he has at some point.”

“It sounds like those two would get on well,” smirked Eternity, turning to face him. Then a contemplative look crossed her face as she said, “We should probably meet with that wolf pack Loki infiltrated. They said they had a grudge against you and I promised to protect our hosts. We should go deal with them, in case they become bold enough to return here.”

He nodded, “Agreed. I don’t know what I could have possibly done as I don’t recall knowing anyone from this region, but yes, we need to deal with this issue quickly. Perhaps we can ask the Mitchells if they recognize any of the pack members. If they do, then maybe they can tell us where they might congregate. If not, it will take time, but we could ask around town. Someone should know something.”

She reached out and curled her arms around his neck, pulling herself to him. She gazed at him affectionately. She seemed to have relaxed some, Elijah observed.

“I swear that Loki will not get to you,” Eternity told him gently. “I will protect you with my life.”

He kissed Eternity’s lips tenderly in response. Then he smirked at her and said, “Well, for now, we should get you cleaned up. You’re filthy, covered in dirt and blood again. You require a bath and let me just say, I look forward to getting you naked again. Though this time, I think I shall join you. I’m feeling a bit dirty myself.”

That put an even bigger smile upon her face and after a beat, Eternity released Elijah and ran toward the bathroom. “I’ll race you there!” She shouted gleefully.

He grinned and gave chase. All that could be heard after was the echoing of laughter between lovers.

After their bath time, which involved nothing more than tender caring, the rest of the night was spent lounging naked together in bed. Eternity was cuddled into Elijah’s side, while he leaned against the headboard with an old vintage copy of a collection of Shakespeare plays. He would read through it and pause every now and again to mention something he knew about the famous man, having lived through that time.

He remembered that Eternity had been in England during the reign of Henry the Eighth. He had wondered if she had been there during Shakespeare’s time. When he asked her, she told him that she hadn’t been.

“After I saved Anne Boleyn, I had to leave Earth on another mission,” Eternity explained. “I didn’t return to this world for two hundred years or so. Though I do know of him, of his greatness in the realm of literature.”

They spent the rest of the night like this, relaxingly enjoying each other’s presence while not needing to sleep because of their statuses as immortals. Although, in Eternity’s case, her alertness had to do with the fact that she had plenty of rest during her two weeks worth of sleep. Of course, she wasn’t tired.

Then when the morning finally came, the two of them reluctantly rose from the bed and dressed for the day. Eternity dressed in a light blue sundress and she braided her hair with a blue ribbon of the same color as her dress weaving in and out of the braid. She was a stunning sight, though she was always that.

Elijah decided to mirror her and chose a dark blue suit with a light blue tie to wear. As he dressed, he watched her go and stand in front of the window again, as she had the night before. She appeared to lose herself in thought and it made him wonder just what she was thinking about once more.

When he thought that, Eternity looked over her should at him with a wide smile that could light a room. She looked like a woman in love and she was looking at him. Was that what age was thinking about? Was she thinking about him? About them? Realizing she was, Elijah felt his own love for her swell in reaction to hers for him.

On impulse, just as he had tied his tie around his neck, Elijah went to her and wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her lips sweetly as he did. “I love you,” he whispered into her hair, unable to resist now that they had finally said those words to each other.

Eternity smiled all the wider and spoke those words back to him, kissing him soundly in return.

For a long while, they didn’t move from that spot by the window and of course, Elijah didn’t let go of her. He didn’t want to. Just a little while longer, he told himself.

However, eventually, they had to let go. There was work to be done. They had to help the Mitchells around the bed and breakfast as promised and they needed to find out about the local werewolf pack.

So with one final kiss to her lips, Elijah released his hold upon her and went to retrieve his suit jacket. Once he had it on his person, they left their room to head downstairs and begin the day, whatever that might entail.

To Elijah’s surprise, at the bottom of the stairs waiting for them was Mrs. Mitchell with a most mischievous expression upon her wrinkled lips. “Good morning you two,” she said to them sweetly. “I hope you’re well rested because we’ve got a whole day’s work for you to accomplish. I hope you’re ready to work hard.” Then she cackled evilly, a sound he’d never thought he’d hear on such a sweet lady.

Elijah looked at Eternity and she looked back at him.

“Perhaps we’ve made a terrible miscalculation here,” he whispered to her.

“Aye, I believe we might have.”

To Be Continued....

#elijah mikaelson #the originals #the vampire diaries #romance #love story #alternate universe #ocs #my ocs

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seigaku9th-blog · 7 years

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july 15th to july 23rd 2017 ➜ tenimyu’s seigaku VS rikkai

after years of dreaming, i finally had the chance to watch tenimyu in person. I saw VS rikkai 5 times within 1 week, and it still wasn’t enough! read on to hear my thoughts, my interactions with the actors & various other reports.

THE SHOW.

where to start. probably with how i started tearing up just from hearing the classic tennis ball sounds as the room is pitch black opening sequence.

the show started off with a rikkai number. they are. wonderful. i’m a HUUUGE fan of rikkai 2nd--they are my favorite rival team along with higa 2nd--so my expectations were set very high... but rikkai 3rd managed to reach them--and some of them completely surpassed my expectations. not even 5 minutes in, i was already blown away by their powerful singing voices.

seigaku’s opening number is a new song: and hikaru sings the second!! line!! In it, and god. GOD. each time he sang it, even after seeing the show 5 times, my hand would instinctively go up to my chest, i was just overwhelmed with emotion... the VOICE this boy has. mindblowing. i cannot wait for the DVD & OST of this show so i can add his new lines to my compilation of his singing. one of my friends, when we met during intermission of the first VS rikkai show she saw, the first thing she said was; SINCE WHEN CAN KAIDOH SING!?!??!? hehehe.

the ryoma VS kirihara match was amazing to watch. i feel like ryu is 50% genki & 50% motohisa, so i think everyone will be able to love him! he has the perfect attitude, demeanor and behavior down. his face is also very interesting to watch!! but what mostly amazed me about this match were nichika’s stunts during it. i had to go rewatch dori & yuuki’s performances to make sure i wasn’t exaggerating just how cool nichika was. i wasn’t. the way he knocks off his feet and falls each time kirihara hits his ankle is so believable and intense! it’s honestly scary! he did his stunts as intensely throughout the whole week. i’m really amazed by this kid. i really love kirihara+marui+jackal’s new song too, ruby eyes. it’s so catchy! it’s been 6 weeks and i could probably sing it off the top of my head still~

the hospital scene… i love how niou would touch yukimura’s shoulder or hair or fix his clothes when he walked in hehe. yukimura’s slow solo song following this scene was much longer than the one in previous seasons. and amazing. toshiki’s singing voice is incredibly powerful, heartfelt and beautiful. this was the only solo that consistently got an applause at the shows i went to. i’m really excited for everyone to get to hear his singing... his musical voice is MUCH better than his idol band thing voice. XD

rokkaku were always there to lighten the moood and make the crowd laugh. the banedabi higawari were especially funny... the best one was when bane-san turned into jijii... and i loved saeki’s solo!! kaname’s singing is sooo wonderful, it makes me especially excited to hear him sing The Best Song ever in VS higa.

D2: kaidoh+momo VS marui+jackal. this has always been one of my favorite matches in the anime, and i loved ikeoka & kamitsuru’s version of it as well!! i don’t think hikaru & jonathan have exactly as much chemistry as their 6th cast counterparts did, but their individual performances as kaidoh & momo are incomparable. kaidoh’s solo changed a little, with similar lyrics but a different rhythm & melody. i think they’re really adapting their musicals to let hikaru’s singing skills shine, which, god bless them. yusaku is an ADORABLE jackal, and his marui feels(tm) are exactly what i like to see. as for taka, i think he impressed everyone, marui fans or not. his performance is just SO much FUN!! he has amazing stage presence! marui has a solo song now... with backup vocals by jackal... i do wish it were a legit duet, but the song is just AMAZING, so i can live with it. take~ it~ easy~ take it take it easy~

D1: golden pair VS illusion pair! i was so happy to finally see sei-chan and yu play doubles together! they were so cute. yu is an angel. i really loved his performance throughout this whole show... and i can tell sei-chan is getting better by the minute! it’ll be fun to see him play singles soon. but i especially LOOOVED yuuta and dai’s performance. they are so fun to watch together, and amazing performers and singers. i’d normally be disappointed that they changed the petenshi song, as iconic as it was, but the new one is SO. MUCH. FUN!! they perform so many magic tricks/illusions during the song, and there’s some i still haven’t deciphered. it’ll probably look even cooler and even more convincing on DVD! and... ahem. excuse me for a second. *puts on I♥YAGYUU headband & rips off jacket to reveal I♥YUUTA shirt*. Yuuta Is. My Dream Yagyuu. ok that’s it thanks

S3: inui VS yanagi. data pair’s match was possibly my favorite part of the show. isawa really impressed me considering he was the member i was the most wary about when the cast was first announced... but he looks WONDERFUL in his yanagi costume and makeup, and his singing is beautiful. but sho... sho. oh man. i LOVE this guy. since we didn’t get to see much of him in VS rokkaku, i was really looking forward to seeing what he was capable of. and he certainly did not disappoint. i’m a very big fan of inui actors and inui himself has always been one of my top 3 favorite characters, so i always expect a lot. and sho did everything right. he is exactly what i want to see in an inui. i’ll be straight up: sho’s inui is my favorite inui. i feel like he combines every previous inui’s best traits: inagaki’s appearance, arai’s smile, teruma’s singing voice, ryosei’s charisma, basshi’s weird, arayan’s extra. and their cumulative love for kaidoh, tezuka, momo and ryoma. and cumulative sexy--*i am suddenly run over and cannot write anymore*

but seriously! sho has 2.5 solo songs during this match, and he performs all of them so well. his singing voice is LOVELY, and i feel like he is constantly improving. i also think he’s the best dancer in seigaku after yuu, which should make no sense considering his size? he emotes and acts so well, and i think he really understands the balance of calculating weirdo creep and impossibly kind, loving and emotionally perceptive goof that inui is made of.

also, as an OT4 shipper, i must mention that ryoma gets really intense cheering during this match, yelling DO YOUR BEST INUI SENPAI!!, that momo has the cutest reaction and hugest smile, legit fangirling, when a tired inui leans on his shoulder after the match, and...!! tenimyu finally included this scene from the anime, where kaidoh hands inui a towel and they smile at each other huhuhu... well, sho’s hand didn’t touch hikaru’s like how they do in the anime, but. close enough, right!!

S2: fuji VS kirihara!! fuuma was sooo pretty and threatening and soft-looking but scary-acting... i really enjoyed his solo. you have to give it to fuuma for being such a good actor and by that i mean convincing us that fuji is still in love with tezuka even if fuuma seems to be unable to stand yuuya LOL... the part where fuji loses his vision is also so much more convincing and heart tugging than it has ever been before. as mentioned earlier, ryu’s kirihara is a gem. i’m looking forward to seeing his performance at senshuraku on the DVD, since i could feel him improving with each show! at first, i wanted him to be a bit crazier/shriek more ((since that’s my favorite thing about anime kirihara & motohisa’s kirihara, beautiful crazy shrieking child)), but by the last show i saw, he had it down so well.

i couldn’t believe they hadn’t changed mou mayoi wa nai, sanayuki’s duet... i’m always conflicted between laughing or crying when it comes on... i was expecting an update with a modern tune with more romantic lyrics, but by the end, i learned to love it... because of toshiki and shogo’s singing, of course. they’re both amazingly talented. and look amazing together. and sound amazing. and have great chemistry. however, i think shogo was having a hard time adjusting to the deeper voice he’s been using as sanada, because he sounded very rough and sore by the 23rd? which led to toshiki singing even more powerfully during their duet on that day... it was wonderful.

S1: ryoma VS sanada! nichika has been growing, both physically and has a performer, so fast. he was a lot of fun to watch during this match... the best moment is when he does this 360 spin and his sweat forms a misty halo around him. that sounds very bad when written down doesn’t it. anyways. shogo is so intimidating and scary and manly as sanada!! it really surprised me since he’s so beautiful and cute out of costume!! i really love him. well, i love both actors, i love both characters, and i ship this pair, but god, isn’t this match always a little too long, be it manga, anime or musical? i found myself watching the benches a bit too often XD. until samurai comes on, of course! it was impossibly difficult to stay still each time it came on!! i had to sing & dance to it at the karaoke to get my love for this song out of my system between the shows i saw.

3rd season has been amazing from the beginning, and VS rikkai was no exception. i have nothing but positive thoughts, and am proud of every single actor. (but especially toshiki and sho, who’re my personal MVPs of the show. also hikaru’s legs)

THE ENCORE.

the encore is always SO much fun! I’m actually rather happy that they changed it to in my heart in time for me to go see tenimyu, because i can’t even do the bunbun moves properly in my living room... i don’t remember all the calls we got during the shows i went to, aside from yuuta’s laserbeam and shogo’s tarundoru. i was definitely shouting way too loudly during them... i was just so happy...

15th: i got WAAAY too lucky. during my first first FIRST ever show, i got a high touch from sho. I’ve always liked him, but the way his smile got so much wider, and his handsome face, and his kind eyes... i’m totally gone now... bye... that was honest to god my favorite and most heartfelt interaction with any actor after ikkei-san, sorry to all the other inuis and tezukas who actually held my hands and talked to me

right after sho high touched us, chiba ran by and had to jump to reach our hands and high touch us! It was so cute!! also yuuya ran by and i physically reeled away in fear

19th: when i was on the balcony for once, and had an alley seat, yuuta was slowly going thru the alley and looking, waving and thanking each of us, one by one. It was so sweet and so gentlemanly. he’s my favorite member of rikkai and i’m a huge fan of yagyuu, so i was super excited and happy. I think i yelled I LOVE YOU in my daze... i probably need to be banned from tenimyu

23rd: i got ANOTHER!! high touch from sho!! I was so happy!! and then!! yuuya too!! I saw this show with a friend who’s a big fan of tezuka, so we were both so excited ;_;

funnily enough, i didn’t get any high touches or interactions when i was in the 5th row, nor in the alley seat of the 3rd row... XD

THE AUDIENCE.

one particular aspect i didn’t expect to be so weirdly excited/traumatized about was the graduates sitting in the audience to watch the show. as we all know thanks to blog posts and selfies, there are past cast members who go see the tenimyu performances in tokyo almost every day. what i didn’t expect was to be so cursedly lucky about who would show up on the days i went...

15th: satsuki, akki, kohei, ogaken & kaminaga attended the matinée show. i wish i had noticed ogaken & kaminaga earlier since i’m a fan, but i couldn’t see them too well from my seat! but i did see satsuki and akki being SUPER into in my heart and being very dedicated to doing all the moves. so cute!

19th: hideya, ryosei, miura, ikumin & mikata attended this show. now. as you may or may not know. hideya is my #1 favorite actor ever. and i was very, very sad that i wouldn’t have any chance to see him during this trip. Well. imagine my reaction when he shows up on the one and only day where my seat was in balcony 1 rather than arena, in the row of seats right next to the one where the graduates always sit. actually i didn’t really have any visible reaction bcuz i was trying very hard to respect their privacy and not stare too much bUT!!! AH!! seeing ryosei again 3 days after meeting him was kinda funny. oh, miura is sooo cute and sooo pretty. he was sitting next to the other guest seats and was super friendly and chatty with those family members. at some point he leaned over the railing and looked so cute and childish… he also leaned over ikumin to whisper in ryosei’s ear which i thought was hilarious. poor ikumin. so unloved. but the funniest was how mikata kept talking and no one reacted or replied to him... hideya and ryosei were talking together pretty much the whole time, which made me VERY happy since i’m such a fan of the both of them, and also because inutezu. I also loved how they got the biggest reaction from the audience XD everyone is always polite and respectful and doesn’t bother the guests, but you could see everyone in the arena turning around to look at them and people whispering OMG HIDEYA OMG MIURA all around me wwww

20th: aibacchi attended this show! i didn’t know it was him until the blog posted pictures of him because he was wearing a face mask, hat and very plain clothes. i just figured it was a 1st season dude since even famous 2nd & 3rd actors rarely bother hiding their faces.

23rd: sana and masa attended this show!! oh my god. i was in the last row of the arena so they were right behind me. I was feeling very conflicted about how i had just paid 130$ to see sana from the 21st row of a theater, only for him to sit right behind me... masa & him NEVER stopped talking, it was kinda funny. classic sana becoming buds with everyone because he has no notion of respect or seniority. i actually thought masa was a 3rd season guy i wasn’t recognizing due to how friendly they were with each other!!!!! but now that i think about it, they were probably just gushing about how much they love yagyuu. me too, guys. during the encore, sana’s face was like (THIS) the entire time. so cute. yuuya went up to the two of them to bow & say thank you.

MISC.

just walking around TDC was so... emotional... walking around places i’ve seen in backstage videos for years... i felt silly because all my friends have been tenimyu veterans for years while i was freaking out so badly over everything that i couldn’t even finish my bowl of ramen okay actually i’ll blame that one on sho’s high touch a few minutes before

it was also really fun to go to all the shows with friends. back home, i only have one tenimyu buddy, and i feel like in general, a lot of fans are more fixated on 1st and/or 2nd season, so being able to talk about the actors and the shows with people who love tenimyu 3rd just as much as i do was so much fun!! thank you for the emotional support, hot gossip, gifts, restaurant visits & good times sam, emma, josie, tina, jillian, vivi & keiko 😭💕

CONCLUSION.

i’ll keep it simple. seeing VS rikkai 5 times wasn’t enough, and i’m already dying to see it again. oh, and i bought my plane tickets to go see VS higa in february already. so, yes, i guess that i did enjoy seeing tenimyu in person. ((it was the most wonderful experience of my entire life, even as an avid theater & concert goer. nothing could ever quite compare.))

#admin reports #tenimyu #9th #rikkai #I'M JUST 6 WEEKS LATE #IT'S FINE #i'm joking. i am so sorry it took me so long omg.

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