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#hopefully fix her inability to eat and breathe by herself
vulpesse-arc · 3 years
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au verses added  /  updated  /  still in the work  !
♡     ⸻     𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐚𝐮:   a woman with neither past nor future,  she is lamentably part of an ancient lineage of servants and gisaengs who never bothered to fight for a better present,  for a brighter future.  even in the current day,  with naught but few houses still working in the business of entertainment,  that’s where she has grown up and that’s where she will die:  there is no need for humans in the chambers where she dances and sings and performs,  for humans break easily and can never be truly fixed  ;  what is needed is a doll,  one that can be torn apart just as many times as it is necessary to do so,  only to easily put her jagged pieces back together.  but what happens when the doll becomes a monster,  a half-monster  ?  ever since the entity took residence in the depth of her mind,  ahri understood that this was her one and only chance to be more than a fragile little woman wearing garments of silk and velvet:  this was her one and only chance to have others beg at her feet.  and thus,  with a subconscious much too twisted and fragmented to be wholly dominated by the entity,  ahri is slowly learning how to control her monstrous self,  her freshly birthed desires,  her vicinity to the freedom that she has dreamt of for the entirety of her life.     
***   [   i miss my sweet home oc a lot but i don’t think i have time to be on so many blogs at the same time so this felt like the best solution to my love & adoration for this media  !  obviously,  ahri’s monster form revolves around the features of the nine tailed fox:  when she is only partially transformed,  she will have a constantly changing amount of tails and only when she will be wholly transformed,  will she actually resemble the beast of the myths.   ]
♡     ⸻     𝐏𝐒𝐘𝐂𝐇𝐎-𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐚𝐮:    a criminally asymptomatic woman,  who once foolishly dreamed of becoming a famous pop singer:  unfortunately,  due to the inability of the sibyl system to properly scan and categorize her value and thus decide on a path for her,  ahri soon became an achromatic ghost in a colorful society where everything was strictly and ultimately decided by the artificial mind & heart of the city.  thrown to the side and cruelly shunned by everyone around her,  ahri struggled for many years,  fighting against an impending sense of doom and drowning in an ever-haunting loneliness,  searching for a place in which she could finally be herself,  a place in which her colors could have shone as bright as those of anyone else.  in the end,  she found what she had been looking for in the illegal underground,  where anyone willing to oppose the dictatorship of sibyl gathered.  there,  she started performing for her “comrades”,  donning a fox mask in pursuance of concealing her real identity and focused on gathering as much information about the system as she could  ;  with her knowledge about technology and especially drones / bots,  she built herself a little family of artificial foxes that now serve as spies,  defenders and even hunting beasts.  although she does not have a real purpose in her life,  she is continuously searching for new stimuli and experiences,  intoxicated by the awareness that she can easily avoid the lethal shots of the dominators thanks to her curse,  thanks to her blessing. 
♡     ⸻     𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐚𝐮:   a creature of old,  one that hauntingly lingers in the most ancient of legends and in the most gruesome of tales narrated to naughty children before their bedtime:  ahri is an ancient creature,  a fox who has lived long enough to accumulate an enormous amount of mystical power within herself and who is now capable of freely molding her physical self at will.  her little home,  situated in the heart of an “enchanted” forest,  is rarely treaded ‘pon,  for the inhabitants of the nearby villages have yet to forget and move on from the inhumane screams that sometimes echo throughout the entire land.  in order to earn her favor and hopefully soothe her childishly irritable disposition,  each month the villagers leave jewels and incenses and books and exquisite fabrics in the outskirts of the forest:  truth to be told,  she does appreciate these little offerings a lot.  believed to bring good luck to lovers and dismay to hunters,  it is not too unusual for desperate lovestruck souls to seek for her help,  for the miraculous love potions that she is said to be crafting...  unfortunately,  one may never know which side the fox will take,  nor whether she will be willing to help or not.  despite her desire not to engage with the power plays between the royals and the grisha,  she is not against the idea of lending a hand   /   for the right price,  of course. 
***   [   ahri is ancient and capricious,  someone who has observed the world change from the comfortable safety of her little forest.  despite her innate hostility towards humans,  she is easily intrigued by the desires and goals of others,  especially if they are harbored by peculiar hearts:  the only way not to be eaten by her is indeed this,  to pique her attention.  she could be a valuable ally,  but is it really a good idea to trust a fox  ?   ]
♡     ⸻     𝐈𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐘𝐂𝐋𝐄 𝐚𝐮:  tba,  because i’m really struggling with this.  on one side,  she could easily be a “werefox”  (  since we canonically have werecats in the novels  )  but i don’t know if this sounds interesting...  or,  maybe she could simply be a spirit who has taken on a humane physical appearance to mingle with mortals  ?  still thinking about this,  might even re-read the books to see if i get any sudden inspiration.  one thing that i might work with is the fact that in the first book,  it is said that “The Spine was one of the only places that King Galbatorix could not call his own. Stories were still told about how half his army disappeared after marching into its ancient forest. A cloud of misfortune and bad luck seemed to hang over it.” so maybe that’s where ahri resides  ?  far from everyone,  in her own little realm,  ready to eat anyone who dares interrupt her peace. 
♡     ⸻     𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐚𝐮:   an ancient and malicious sorcerus hailing from the forgotten kingdom of ashkahi,  ahri has sacrificed her humanity in the name of the moon and his cult in pursuance of earning the abilities to manipulate the hearts and souls of others.  once her beloved home was lamentably eradicated from existence by the falling of the deity’s skull,  she began traveling across the world,  earning riches and breaking hearts and painting her hands in red whenever the situation called for it  ;  left without a purpose and without a hearth to ever come back to,  the soulless woman began to ultimately lose herself,  becoming naught but the selfish and hollow ghost of who she once was.  things,  however,  changed once she was requested to become part of the red church.  even though she currently does not appreciate the ones who rule over the church,  she remains loyal to the murderous cult of the mother...  waiting for something to happen,  for a reason to finally breathe again.
♡     ⸻     𝐏𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐚𝐮:   a coordinator with a dark past,  ahri is continuously struggling to find her place in the world.  after leaving floaroma town,  she and her vulpix were scouted by the team galactic with deceitful promises to create together a better future for everyone.  she fought hard and did her very best to blindly obey to every order that she was given but after the first real defeat of their leader,  she ended up abandoning the team out of all-devouring guilt.  in order to try and cleanse her hands from all the crimes that she had naively committed,  she started traveling from one region to the other,  capturing new friends,  strengthening her own mind and slowly growing interested in the world of contests:  rather than relying on violence,  these contests relied on beauty and grace and that felt like the fastest way to move away from all the pain and ache that she had previously caused.  currently, she is pursuing a career as a coordinator and is chasing the dream of spreading the traditions of the pokemon festivals across the other regions, as well  ;  her couple of ninetales has become two of the hardest foes to defeat in the field.
more tba. 
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writingpaperghost · 3 years
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Like Father, Like Daughter (Part 9)
A secret is revealed.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22967815/chapters/81380860
It was a pleasant day, though perhaps a bit on the chilly side. The sun was out, but out in the way where it seemed to do little to warm anyone up. The weather had been becoming increasingly colder as the days went on. Overall, though, the day was rather pleasant. There were plenty of people out and about that day.
A perfectly normal, pleasant day.
Unless you were the Igaguri family, which was anything but normal, even on a good day. It was hard to call yourself a normal family when one member was known by the others to have been a host to the disaster known as Ultraman Zero and another was not known by the others, but still was also a host to the disaster known as Ultraman Zero. It was some degree of importance to note that Ultraman Zero was also apart of this family, but given that only one of them knew, at that exact moment, that he was present, it’s not terribly important information. At the moment, at least (it would be important later).
The point of it all was, it was a normal day, but the family that was currently indulging in it was not. It had been a while since the family had spent a day out together, between Leito’s work and Mayu’s school and after school activities – which had a few months ago grown to include Ultraman Zero and all that unfortunately came with him, alongside an entire baby – it had been hard to find time to spend all together as a family.
But this day together came with good timing, as to some extent Mayu was still reeling from the wild day she’d had a week or so ago, when the Alien Pitts had appeared, and she’d learned that her friend Ayumu – or Kurow – was not at all what he seemed. She hadn’t seen much of him since, he’d disappeared from school, which he hadn’t even done after Moa’s freak out. She thought she saw him out of the corner of her eyes, sometimes, but she was never sure.
She wondered if he had been avoiding her again. She wouldn’t be surprised. Though they’d had quite the argument, and then quickly made up, more or less, things had… Well in a way they’d changed. She knew he was an alien and they’d both made it clear just what extents they were willing to go for others. There wasn’t much more she could do for Kurow, though, not without him coming to her, or at least speaking with her.
It bugged her that he seemed to still be avoiding her, but today, she was choosing to set that aside. Other things she chose to ignore were Zero, to some extent, the fact that Riku had a little brother now, the looming threat of Emari, and whatever else came with Zero. Because as it turned out, when it came to Zero, you got stuck with a lot more than just an annoying voice in your head.
There was also the whole problem of how she was avoiding telling her parents about the whole Zero thing. Her dad had been Zero’s host once before, so it wasn’t like it would be all that complicated to explain. No, now the problem was she had avoided it for so long she had absolutely no clue how to tell them. That and she was running out of excuses to put it off much longer. She didn’t want to worry them, though she now worried that her change in behavior since Zero’s arrival has done just that.
How precisely did one tell their parents something like that anyway?
But today, she wasn’t going to worry about, not one bit. Or at least, she’d try not to. Knowing her luck, she probably wouldn’t succeed very much with that, but it was worth a shot. Though some of it had less to do with luck and more her increasing inability to keep calm about everything and not really worry about all of that.
Today would be, hopefully, a nice, relaxing day where she could just spend time with her parents. She felt that she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries in asking the universe that much. Then again, she’d been proven wrong before. With any luck, though, today would be relatively boring.
And by part way through the day, things were shaping up to look that way. Mayu and her parents had been enjoying themselves and were now sitting in a park. This was a different one than where Mayu usually went, a bit farther away. It had a cute sort of mascot, this huggable looking creature that was red and looked a bit spikey, but judging by the way children hugged it, it wasn’t. It held a bunch of balloons in its hand, giving them out to the children. Zero makes a sound when Mayu notices the mascot, but he doesn’t say anything else and Mayu doesn’t ask.
Her mom made lunch, as even Mayu knew that her dad wasn’t always the most coordinated and often dropped and spilled thing when he was trying to cook. Such was just the way that Leito was, a bit clumsy at times. Regardless, Lumina was a wonderful cook – though that was Mayu’s totally biased opinion – and even sandwiches seemed so much better when she made them. Zero offered a single comment on the matter, and it was simply that it was “certainly better than anything he could do”, which was not reassuring in regard to Zero’s cooking skills. Not that Mayu knew if Ultras even had to eat, it sure didn’t seem like it, as far as she could tell.
“So what’s this new friends of yours like?” Lumina asks as the family eats their lunch.
“My new friend?” Mayu wasn’t entirely sure what she meant. Could she be referring to something to do with Zero? Was her mom onto her and she didn’t even come close to realizing it? (Please don’t let it be that)
“You mentioned to your dad the other day about a friend. It didn’t sound like you were talking about Noa.” Her mother explained, prompting Mayu to breath a metaphorical sigh of relief. Lumina was probably just referring to Kurow. Mayu could work with that.
She takes a moment to consider how to describe Kurow, in a way that doesn’t involve mentioning he’s an alien. Which is a lot harder than one might think, given she’s known him about as long thinking he was a human now as she had knowing he wasn’t. “Ku-Ayumu’s… Quiet, I guess. I mean, he doesn’t really talk.” She finally began explaining, hoping neither of her parents noticed her near slip up. After all, they still needed to think he was a relatively normal human teenaged boy. “I’d say we get along pretty well. We’re classmates, but we didn’t really interact with each other until we were paired up for a project together.”
“We’re glad that you’ve made a friend other than Noa,” Leito smiles, “I know you’re happy with the friends you have, but it doesn’t hurt to make more.”
It wasn’t the first time that Mayu had heard similar things from her parents. To some extent, she understood where they were coming from, given her dismal amount of friends. But on the other hand, she was quite happy with the number of friends she had. Even Kurow’s status as her friends was up in the air, not that her parents needed to know that.
“Yeah, I know,” Mayu sighs, “Though, you know, I like the friends I have.” Which was a nice way of asking them to please stop saying things like that every time she mentions a new person. There’s a sound in the back of her head that she recognizes to be because of Zero, but she once again chooses to ignore it. If he has something to say, he’ll be able to get her to listen, it’s not exactly like she can stop him from talking.
It’d be possible – and understandable – to notice that Mayu has been a bit… short with Zero, lately. It’s not so much to do with him as it is to do with her general tiredness about… well nearly everything, at this point. She was tired of all the crazy things, of worrying about what might happen. After everything that had happened with Kurow before, she just didn’t know what else to do. Zero wasn’t directly responsible for any of it, but every time he spoke up, she was reminded about it. Reminded that she probably wouldn’t be dealing with all of it if he hadn’t come along. (She’s not mad, she’s not upset… She’s not sure what she is.)
She’s grateful for what he’s done for her, but at this point she’s teetering on the edge of apathy and isn’t entirely sure what to do with herself to try to fix it. Or, as a matter of fact, if it could even be fixed at all. She’d gotten fairly good at tuning Zero out during class, so she just started doing that the rest of the time. A part of her was relieved to have managed to trick itself into thinking she finally had peace of mind, the other part felt a bit bad about it. She was aware it was rather rude; she just couldn’t figure out a better way to deal with things.
Zero, to his credit, didn’t seem to be terribly upset. Either because he didn’t care, or because he was very good at hiding it. Mayu wasn’t sure which would be worse.
Though back to the matter at hand, regardless of how Mayu felt about her parents in regards to her friends, her parents seemed happy. Leito, though, was the one to pose the next question, “Did the two of you make up? You mentioned before you had an argument.”
That was a good question. Too bad Mayu wasn’t entirely sure of the answer herself. It would be easy to lie and just say yes, but Mayu didn’t really like lying to her parents. That and she was a terrible liar. She understood that Kurow was trying his best, but he’d probably never act exactly like a human. That was okay, he didn’t have to. But his whole thing with half having emotions, mostly the negative ones, probably wasn’t good. Mayu had more or less forgiven him, but had he forgiven her? It was hard to say, given he’d been avoiding her, probably. She was inclined to say he hadn’t, but Kurow worked in mysterious ways that she didn’t understand. Has he actually been avoiding her, or was it something else? Who knows?
“I guess,” She finally answered, after her deliberation, “He’s been busy so we haven’t seen each other much since. But I guess we have.”
Her mother frowned but didn’t comment. Once more, it was Leito who spoke, “Well, I’m sure it’ll clear up eventually.” Mayu wasn’t as sure, but she didn’t say that to him. Kurow was a degree of her social life that her parents didn’t need to know the details about. (The fact that the details about Kurow were only known by Mayu, Zero, Noa, and to some lesser extent, Moa, was not necessarily important at the moment – nor would it really be important until a bit later. There were quite a few things that were not important at this moment but would become important sooner or later.)
They returned to their peace, talking about one thing or another. Mayu doesn’t recall what exactly, mostly because her attention was, rather rudely, pulled towards something else. This attention stealing was, of course, performed by Zero, who called her attention towards something or other outside her vision.
“Mayu,” He called and, to his credit, he did sound concerned. Still, Mayu couldn’t say she was happy that something was interrupting her day with her parents. She can’t see what Zero sees, but she figured that with how quiet Zero’s been all day, it’s probably important, no matter how annoyed by it she is. “It looks like there someone unusual over there.”
Doing her very best to conceal her frown, Mayu responds, “Whatever you’re seeing, Zero, it’s too far away for me to see.”
“I’m… realizing that,” He comments, “Well it looks like there’s some suspicious guy.”
“How descriptive,” Responding dryly, Mayu wondered if it was too late to go back to bed, “Anything else? Like an actual cause for concern?”
“You’re not taking me seriously are you?”
“’Suspicious’,” Mayu began, “Is not necessarily a cause for concern.” If they worried this much about every suspicious person they saw, they probably wouldn’t get much done.
“I just have a really bad feeling, alright?”
Mayu held in a sigh, “I don’t think a feeling’s enough to-“ Unfortunately for Mayu, she wasn’t exactly able to finish her thought, as out of the sky appeared some kind of robot. A rather large one.
The robot resembled a dinosaur or lizard of some kind. In place of hands were pincer like appendages, with another attached to the end of its tail. Primarily, it was colored white, with small amounts of black and gold here and there. At the center of its chest was a bright glowing red light, the same as the one in its eyes.
“What is that?” Mayu couldn’t help but say out loud. In the distance, she could hear screams.
Her parents looked at the robot, surprised. But there was something else on Leito’s face. Not entirely surprise, there was a glimmer of something that wasn’t exactly fear, but was close. (That was far more scary than any monster that had appeared so far.)
As the three stood up, Zero gives the answer to her question, “Galactron,”
“We should-“ Leito began, “We need to go. Obviously.”
Lumina spared him a worried glance, something wasn’t quite right about it either. It was like there was something here, something to do with Galactron that Mayu didn’t know about. She’d ask, but the mere presence of something like Galactron made it not a good time for that. Besides, she still needed to figure out how to how to get away from her parents in the least worrisome way possible, so Zero could go fight this robot. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the way her parents were reacting or what, but somehow, she didn’t think that Geed would be able to handle Galactron on his own. (She’d been proven wrong before.)
“We’ve fought Galactron before,” Zero began and it doesn’t take Mayu long to figure out that “we” probably meant him, Leito, and Geed. “It was the day that we got the Ultra Capsules for Zero Beyond. Leito had been in danger, and I had to protect him. For a moment, I think we’d both thought I’d died.” There’s something solemn there, in Zero admitting that even he was capable of actually dying. That there had been a time when he’d thought he had. (That Zero could have died ten years ago and everything from that day on would have been totally different. What would that world be like?) That Zero had felt that he’d rather die and protect Leito than anything else. Yet Zero sounded a bit… off, as he spoke. A bit quieter. “But that was the moment that I think Leito really understood what it was all about. I knew, when I felt his conviction, that it couldn’t be the end, that we had to do more.”
He didn’t say it directly, but Mayu understood. That was how Zero Beyond had first happened, after they both held the thought, the fear that Zero was dead. That sort of thing wouldn’t happen again (not here, not with her) but it wouldn’t need to. He already had Zero Beyond and whatever else he had access to, with Geed’s help, no one had to nearly die.
“But what do we do?” Mayu couldn’t help but wonder. She hadn’t meant to think it in a way that Zero could hear, but she realized too late that she had. Mayu wasn’t her father, far from it.
“Well we fight Galactron, hopefully Geed will be here soon,” Zero answered, “We probably shouldn’t waste any more time, though.”
Therein lied the problem, though. Her parents were right there, about to move, to get as far away from Galactron as possible. The logical thing to do, if you didn’t have an Ultra hanging out in your head. The solution to the problem was obvious (goodness did she hate it though).
Shouldn’t waste any more time. Hah.
“So, this is… not ideal,” Mayu finally said, though a lot less time had passed then it felt like. Conversations with Zero could be strange like that (She was getting too used to it). “Um, but like. Galactron.” She gestures towards the robot, which hasn’t started moving yet, but still stood imposingly. Then Geed shows up, a moment later, and Galactron begins to move.
Leito looks surprised that Mayu even knew the name of the robot. She continues, pulling out the Ultra Zero Eye, “Um, Zero says hi, by the way,” Then she adds, as an awkward addendum to an already awkward conversation, “Probably.”
The last thing she hears before Zero takes over and transforms is Leito gasping, “What?”. Then, there becomes more pressing matters. Like the robot that was currently trying to squish Geed. Geed was in a primarily blue and white form, which Zero helpfully supplied as being called Acro Smasher. Dodging out of the way of Galactron’s tail once more, both Geed and Galactron notice that Zero has now arrived, skipping straight to Zero Beyond.
“Zero!” Geed notes, clearly happy that Zero had arrived, “Er, Mayu’s probably annoyed about this, huh?” Annoyed was an understatement, but at least Zero didn’t comment on it. (If he had, Mayu would probably figure out a way to strangle him.)
Instead, Zero turns to face Galactron, “Sorry, Galactron,” He then points at the robot, “But you’re twenty thousand years too early to beat me!”
Galactron did not take too kindly to such a boast. One of its hands switches to a blade and it lunges towards Zero, slashing. Zero dodges out of the way and retaliates by punching it. Geed comes in, switching forms to one that had similar markings and colors to Zero, but also very large horns. Magnificent, Zero provides, briefly.
Mayu has a feeling that it’s probably the form that uses Zero’s Ultra Capsule, given the similarities. She doesn’t know much about any other Ultras, but she imagines that if she saw the other Ultra whose capsule was used in this fusion, she’d probably be able to tell. She really doubted that many Ultras had that big of horns. Or horns at all, probably.
Between Geed and Zero, they’re probably making good headway into defeating Galactron, it’s only been a minute-ish so they still quite a bit of time even if they weren’t. After another attempt at shooting at the pair, and another attempt at grabbing one of them with its braid thing – it only succeeded in grabbing a piece of a building – Galactron stops, a good distance away from the two Ultras. The light in its chest begins to glow.
“What’s that?” Mayu asks hesitantly, though she’s often found that such glowing things are never good. Some part of her was hoping that this was an exception (It’s not).
“Geed!” Zero called out, quickly and clearly concerned, “Don’t let that beam finish charging! Remember what happened last time!”
Mayu wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what happened last time. Still, she asked. Zero response was plain and simple, “I nearly died,” he said.
Mayu didn’t want to know anymore. (She was too scared to.)
Switching forms once more, this time to one that was gold and purple and had a cape, plus some kind of weapon, Geed attacks Galactron with what was clearly much effort. His goal was clearly to stop it, one way or another. Zero threw several of his Sluggers at it, but Galactron seemed unphased, its beam still charging.
Zero grumbled as both his and Geed’s timers began to blink and beep. Hesitantly, Mayu offered up her suggestion, in the same way someone who recognizes that they don’t know much about what’s going on would, “Maybe you need to try something else?”
“Something else?” Zero repeats, “Maybe another form.”
It shouldn’t surprise Mayu that Zero has another form other than his main one and Zero Beyond. Zero continues, “Yeah, let’s try Strong Corona and see if we can’t knock some sense into this guy.” Mayu doesn’t know what “Strong Corona” is, nor does she know if it’ll be more effective against Galactron than Beyond. Zero returns to his normal form, then, with a shine of his bracelet, changes. His actually body doesn’t really change, just his colors. Now, he’s entirely red, with gold and silver accents, his Sluggers now gold.
With a swift kick to the chest, Galactron is sent flying into a nearby building. Mayu cringes at the damage, but supposes it’s probably better than whatever would happen if it fired its beam. Whatever the change that Strong Corona brings, it seems to be doing better than Zero had been with Beyond. Zero wastes no time in rushing towards Galactron, with Geed following not long after. Zero follows up with a punch, and Geed attacks with his weapon – Mayu still isn’t sure what to call it.
With a double attack of the two Ultras’ finishing attacks, Galactron begins to spark. Zero turns away, because he thinks he’s a cool guy and cool guys don’t look at explosions. Then, behind him, Galactron explodes.
“How many action movies have you watched?” Mayu couldn’t help but ask.
“That’s not important,” Zero answer and while it’s a non-answer, it is, in itself, an answer. The answer being “probably way too many”.
In a flash, Mayu finds herself not to far from where she’d been when Zero transformed. She looks around, then notices her parents running towards her. Oh boy, this was probably not going to be a fun conversation.
“Mayu!” She hears Leito say, before the two arrive and Mayu finds herself in a hug. As nice as hugs are, she can’t help but find herself still dreading the inevitable conversation.
“How long has Zero been here?” Lumina asks, even though all three of them know the answer. Well, four if you count Zero himself.
Mayu gives a shrug, because she knows that they know the answer. “I’ve been… meaning to say something,” She says and she really does feel bad about keeping it from them, “I just… wasn’t sure how. And then it kept feeling like it would be really awkward and weird and just seeming like it would be more and more so. But this is also awkward and weird and terrible and so that didn’t really help much either way and-“
“Breathe,” Leito says, rubbing her back, “It’s… It’s alright, Mayu. We were worried, but…”
“If anyone will manage to keep you safe,” Lumina laughs lightly, “It would be Zero.” She gives Mayu a pat on the head and a mischievous look, “You should have heard him, back when he was with Leito. He was really fond of you.”
“Oh no…” Zero sounds a mix of mortified and nervous. Mayu really wanted to hear what her mom meant by that.
“What do you mean?”
It was Leito’s turn to laugh, “Oh yeah, what was it?” He wonders aloud, before parroting what was clearly something Zero had once said, “’Nobody hurts my daughter’?”
“Leito please,” Zero pleads, even though Leito can’t hear him. “My dignity. Mayu still thinks I’m cool.”
“I haven’t thought you were cool in months, Zero.”
Leito releases Mayu from the hug with a chuckle. He puts his hand on Mayu’s shoulder and says, “Alright, I think that’s all been enough excitement for today. Let’s head home.”
Mayu laughs a little and nods, “Yes please!”
---
Elsewhere in the park, the mascot, named Masami, looks around. Today hadn’t been terribly unusual, up until that robot had showed up. But that wasn’t what was bugging him. There’d been a family that had shown up, they had an older girl, a teenager, so they hadn’t come close. But Masami could tell there was something off about… Well one of the members, they were too far away for him to tell for sure.
It kind of reminded Masami of his friend, ‘Boshi’s, friend, who he didn’t know the name of. But Masami wasn’t sure.
On a similar topic, Masami should probably see about getting in contact with ‘Boshi soon, they hadn’t talked in a long time and… Masami had kind of forgotten that he was supposed to keep in touch with him. Well, it probably wasn’t a big deal, all things considered. ‘Boshi and the person he was working with were probably too busy to really notice that it had been months since Masami last was in contact with them.
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ladysnausages · 6 years
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Where There’s Smoke_C3
Pairing: NaLu
Modern Day AU ~ bodyguard/heiress
Cover photo courtesy of @fainttwinkling
Summary
Lucy, a cynical heiress, longs to find meaning in life. At a party, she meets Natsu, a strange man who drags her into a world she never expected to be a part of. Greed, espionage and organized crime, it becomes a three way battle for her life – one to kill her, one to exploit her and one to save her.
Chapter Links
C1 C2 C3 C4
Where There’s Smoke
Chapter 3
Open Impetus
It had been a long five minutes upon her return. She was surrounded by guests vying for her attention. Their shallow conversations laced with puffery and tittering and she was unable to focus on any of it. Her mind kept going back to one person, their banter still fresh in her mind and easily leading her thoughts astray.
Natsu.
He was a peculiar young man, abrasive and tactless and he carried with him an air of mystery. But he was warm, kind and straightforward. Someone who actually seemed interested in her for her and not her name or the money that came along with it. He had an inviting presence, disarming and friendly, and though he seemed rather inept in social situations, he had the unique ability to lift a person’s spirits with nothing but his smile.
She had gotten used to reading people, easily discerning who was sincere and who was not. A trait she inherited from her father and honed through her lifestyle. But unlike her father she did not use that knowledge against people but instead to avoid them. It was just a very small few people who she had encountered in her life that she felt comfortable getting close to. And she was hoping that he could be one.
She wondered where he had gone. She got back just moments after him and thought he might still be close by trying to convince the guard against any perceived wrongdoing but it seemed he too had gotten swept away by the crowd.
She separated herself from a small cluster of people, trying to scan the crowd for him. If nothing else, she figured, his hair would give him away.
              “Miss Heartfilia.” She was snapped out of her thoughts and search and turned to the source of the voice. He was tall, with dark hair and a distinct tattoo above his right eye. “What an honor it is to finally meet you.” He was imposing, invading her space and acting overly familiar with her like so many people did – an action she detested.
              “Hello, mister…” She trailed off and noticed the two glasses of champagne he held.
              Acknowledging her glance, he held one out to her. “You can call me Bora.”
              She accepted the glass. “Thank you.”
              “My pleasure.” His voice was like velvet, smooth and soft, and along with his good looks, he was probably popular with women. Something about him though made Lucy uneasy. “I was hoping to have the chance to talk to you a little more if you wouldn’t mind.”
              She nodded respectfully and moved the glass to her lips but she paused. Natsu’s words crossed her mind.
“I recommend you not drink anymore tonight. You reek of booze.”
She was simultaneously self-conscious and annoyed. She thought about not drinking it but if he was watching, she would happily do it just to spite him. I’ll show that jerk. Forgetting about Bora, she brought the glass to her mouth and tipped it back. She could feel the chill of the liquid touch her lips and took one large, unladylike gulp. But suddenly, the glass was pulled back and out of her hand.
She blinked, stunned as Natsu stood to her right, her glass in his hands and smirking at the now very irritated Bora. “Natsu?”
He shoved the glass back in his hand. “You can finish that. This one has had more than enough to drink.”
Bora frowned, growing irritated by the sudden intrusion while Natsu maintained a calm demeanor, the smug look on his face only baiting the other man. “Who do you think you are, interrupting our conversation—”
Natsu cut him off. “Well, to be fair, there was no talking going on when I got here.”
“Why you…” Bora growled and took a step forward.
Natsu pulled Lucy just slightly, positioning his body so it was partially in front of hers. “I promised Lucy a dance and it would be rude of me to leave without giving her one. Perhaps when we’re done, you can have her back.” He looked at her, that charming smile on his face again. “Provided she would want anything to do with you.”
Lucy was in disbelief as she watched him, dumbfounded as he took her hand and led her to the dance floor. They began a very simplified waltz. “I thought I told you not to drink anymore tonight.”
“I thought that was none of your business.” She turned her head away, cheeks puffed in annoyance but made no move to separate from him. It had been a long time since she had danced with someone like this, even longer since she had done so willingly.
              Their dance was slow and modest and she could tell he was not familiar with the steps.
              “Yes, I know, I’m not very good at dancing. Hopefully I don’t step on your feet.”
              She giggled. “I hope not, I’d rather not have all my toes broken.” She adjusted slightly, moving to take a modified lead to help him. “You can follow me.” And so he did. They chatted and laughed and smiled and many of the other guests stepped aside for their somewhat sloppy but innocently charming dance.
              For Lucy, it almost felt like being a kid again, being able to experience something just for the fun of it. She had long forgotten this feeling but as it came pouring back into her on the dance floor, she could not hold back her laughter and her happiness. Nothing was being expected of her and she expected nothing of him and they were able to just follow the music, flowing to the beat of a song that only they could hear.
              Lucy stepped out, their arms stretched as far as they could and he pulled her into him, far stronger and faster than she anticipated so her spin was awkward and clumsy and almost sending them both stumbling. He caught her and laughed and she did too. She spun away, going back into the slow, small steps before the song ended and he dipped her, leaning in close with the smile that had become so familiar to her in such a quick time. Teeth white and straight, with canines that were just slightly more pronounced, sharper and peaking her curiosity.
              She blushed.
              Lucy, who had spent so much time pushing people away, who had never felt she could trust anyone and as such unwilling to give them a chance, found herself allowing this strange man, that she had known all of fifteen minutes, to charm his way into her safe space. She no longer knew how to react and so she just let herself do as her body and subconscious felt. She was being natural, she was being herself. And as she was, she found it easy to forget everyone and everything around her.
              “Lucy!”
              She paled, recognizing the level voice as that of her father. He was angry.
Natsu pulled her up and let go of her. She felt her hair tickle her back and she breathed a heavy sigh, closing her eyes. A lot of the guests went back to their mingling, their interest quickly lost in the unique couple. The rest feigned apathy in her father’s incoming reprimanding of her but she was well aware of the peripheral stares and whispering.
“You’re not presentable like this.” His frown weighed heavy at the corners of his mouth, eying the loose waves that bounced on her shoulders. “I don’t have time to send you to get fixed up, you’re already later than you were supposed to be.” He put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her away.
She looked over her shoulder. She caught Natsu’s eyes for just a moment before he disappeared in the crowd.
“Who is that man?” The tone was demanding, easily read as a statement rather than a question.
She turned her gaze up at him. He did not look at her, as was usual. His eyes, even when looking directly at her, never truly saw her – always looking through her, past her and what she would bring him. A present father who was no better than one who was not. She looked down. “Natsu.”
“No matter,” he brushed it off in his typical callous manner, “there is someone I need you to meet.”
He led her through the crowd, finding a ring of people all chatting and drinking. All eyes were turned to one man in particular. He was tall and handsome, with fair skin and well-groomed blond hair. He had enraptured everyone who made eye contact with him, anyone being captured by his amber eyes unable to break free.
“Lucy, this is Larcade Spriggan. He is the head of the Spriggan Corporation in Alvarez.”
She greeted him, holding her hand out. He brought it to his lips. “Lucy Heartfilia, it is so lovely to meet you.”
“Likewise.” A simple answer for a simple greeting. She had no interest in the conversation or in him. Her mind was wandering back to Natsu, wondering where he was and what he was doing.
He remained undeterred. “If I may be so bold, I must say that you are most enchanting, Miss Heartfilia.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say.” She quickly moved past the shallow compliment. “Are you one of my father’s business partners?”
That was when Jude cleared his throat, bringing her attention to him. “Lucy,” he motioned to Larcade, “this is your fiancé.”
The surrounding crowd of people all gasped in disbelief and excitement, hands politely clapping for the newly engaged couple.
“My…what?”
He continued, disregarding his daughter’s apparent shock. “I know, we had previously agreed to letting you choose your own husband. But with your age and your inability to connect with anyone, I decided it would be best if I moved forward on the process. And I just so happened to meet Larcade last month at a meeting and I thought between your union, our two businesses would be able to thrive.”
His words began to trickle off, gradually sounding further away despite their proximity. He was acting as if it was a completely trivial matter. This wasn’t some insignificant matter of her not being able to decide on something to eat so he took it upon himself to pick, this was her life, her happiness. And he seemed perfectly content to trample all over it without a second thought. Because it would be able to benefit him and his life.
For years, this freedom was what she held so tightly to. It was the last piece of respect she had for her father and now she didn’t even have that. The final fragment of trust snuffed out by him so easily and with no remorse. It was a deal to be made and she had become the ultimate bargaining chip. It made her sick.
They were all cheering, congratulating the “happy couple” but Lucy was unable to feel or hear anything. Suddenly the people all felt too close, it was warm and suffocating and she could barely catch her breath. She needed to get out, get away. Sweat was beading at the back of her neck as she tried to fill her lungs with air. Had it always been so hot in here?
“I…I’m sorry.” She croaked out, backing away. “I need to go.” And she left, her legs struggling to keep her upright. Some patrons tried to stop her but her father held a hand up, allowing her the privacy to take in this shock. At least he had the decency to give her that much.
Anxiety was tightening her chest, her heart racing and breath coming out in short huffs. She had no way to stop it, not when this was weighing so heavily upon her. She needed fresh air, she needed to be alone, to look at the night sky and calm herself. To get away.
The quickest way out was through the back. The guards were ready to follow her but it seems they also got the message that she needed to be left to herself. Whether from her face or her father’s orders, she didn’t know, didn’t care. As long as they didn’t follow her. No one needed to follow her. This was not something anyone could just fix.
Tears were forming in her eyes as the night air chilled her flushed skin. She shivered but welcomed it. Lucy took in a deep breath, grateful for the calming air. She admired the twinkling sky, thinking of her mother and how she wished she were here to protect her from her father’s tyranny.
As she calmed, she was able to faintly hear the music in the background. She cringed. She wanted to get further away, to no longer be able to hear their raucous laughter.
Lucy could see the gate at the end of the path straight ahead, the one that lead to an expanse of land and foliage. It was a tempting thought, to run away at this moment and never look back. But it was an endeavor that would bear her no fruit. It would be minutes before she was brought back and her father would keep her on a tighter security than ever before. She longed for an escape, to be taken along with the wind and find herself in new, unfamiliar and exciting places. A pleasant fairy tale to tell herself at night but far removed from reality come morning. It was simply not possible for someone like her.
She quickly walked down the large stone steps, deciding instead to head to the gardens. Not too far but far enough.
              She was nearly at the bottom of the steps when a familiar voice called out to her. She turned around.
“Bora?” Lucy said, hesitating.
“You left in such a rush.” His voice was smooth, practiced and devoid of any emotion. “Is everything okay?” She took a step further down but he followed.
His words conveyed thoughtfulness but their tone did not. It was taunting, as if it knew exactly what was wrong but was waiting to trap her in a lie and use it against her. She had already developed a distaste for him but there was an entirely different air around him from just minutes ago.
She squared her shoulders. “Ah, yes, I just really needed to get some air. There’s no need to worry about me, you can go back to the party.” She smiled politely and turned away.
He grabbed her arm, jerking her to face him. “Perhaps instead we could talk a bit more,” he smiled, a thinly veiled wickedness in his tone, “alone.”
Lucy’s eyes widened. This was not happening. Her mind was still reeling from what her father had just told her and now this monster was threatening her. She was terrified. But more than that she was furious. About him and his lies, her father and his. About this party and the guests and all the lies they spewed to her and everyone around her. She was absolutely livid and absolutely tired of all of it.
Angry tears burned at the corner of her eyes, refusing to be held back to matter how hard she tried.
“Let go of me.” She ground out, leveling his condescending gaze with hers of rage. The smirk on his face never faltered. It just infuriated her more.
Her hand shot out, ready to deliver a pointed slap across his smug face but he effortlessly caught her wrist.
She struggled against his hold and was ready to scream for help from somebody – anybody – when a new voice brought her thrashing to a halt.
“That’s not the proper way to treat a lady, y’know.”
“Natsu!” Relief washed over Lucy when she saw him at the top of the stairs.
Bora grimaced and looked at him, not releasing his capture. “And why exactly do you insist on interrupting our conversations?”
Natsu stuffed his hands in his pocket, his stance relaxed. “Because they don’t seem to be much of a conversation. And I don’t think you have the purest of intentions here.” He motioned his head behind him. “Otherwise there would have been no reason try and poison her earlier or take out her security back there.”
Her eyes widened. “Are they okay?”
He nodded. “Just unconscious.”
“Thank goodness.” She whispered, relieved.
Bora’s grip on her suddenly tightened. “Now really isn’t the time for you to be worrying about them. You may want to start concerning yourself with what will be happening to you.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
Just as Natsu moved to attack, another of Lucy’s guards came walking out. Seeing what was happening, he rushed forward to help Lucy but Natsu reacted quickly. He gripped his arm, twisting and pulling the man’s weight over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground and knocking him out.
He crouched down. “Sorry pal. Can’t have you getting caught up in this.” He whispered, patting the man’s chest.
Lucy’s jaw dropped. It all happened so quickly and her mind still could not properly process it. “W-why would you do that? I thought you were here to help me!” She shouted, confusion, anger and anxiety tightening her chest.
He stood back up, removing his jacket and placing it over man as if it were a blanket. “I am. But I can’t have you going back there to keep living life all peachy keen.” He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.
Bora stiffened but Lucy ignored him, her frustration continuously mounting. “What—” she struggled to get out of Bora’s hold, “—are you even talking about? You don’t make any sense at all!” She was seething, trying to make sense of anything that was happening tonight. No matter how much she tried, how much she ran the events of the evening through her head, nothing made sense, nothing gave her peace of mind. From meeting Natsu, to meeting Bora, to dancing with Natsu, to learning of her new fiancé, to this – whatever this was. It was making her crazy. He made her crazy.
Natsu descended the steps, that amicable smile on his face – unchanging even in a situation such as this.
The silent Bora released her, backing from the advancing man. “You…you can’t be…” Gone was the confidence and degrading nature of his character. Lucy looked at him, the terror plain on his face.
Natsu’s smile remained. “So you do know who I am?”
“St-stay back!”
Lucy was stunned. Natsu was peculiar and crass, cheerful and possibly a little immature. And seeing him so easily put one of her elite guards out as if it were not even able to classified as a minor inconvenience, basically threaten to kidnap her and strike such fear into the very core of another man who apparently just did those two very things made him seem much less the goof that had teased her on the balcony or the one she spun awkwardly with on the dance floor.
She knew she did not know him. But she honestly felt that he was genuine and sincere. So why did Bora act like he was staring straight into the face of a demon?
He held his arms out in front him, a feeble attempt to keep Natsu away from him which quickly proved to be completely useless. “I-I’ll leave. You’ll never see me again, I swear!”
“Don’t worry,” Natsu tightened his fist, pulling his arm back, “I know I won’t.”
He brought his fist down on Bora’s face, sending the man to the ground. He lay there, unmoving and out cold.
Lucy would have thought he were dead from how hard Natsu hit him if it was not for the steady rise and fall of his chest. She looked at Natsu, hesitant to say anything. She considered running but she knew he would have no problem catching her – especially in these uncomfortable heels.
For the first time, she saw the tattoo on his forearm. A black dragon with its wings spread wide. Despite its simplicity, there was a unique ferocity to it.
His hand shot out, grabbing her by the wrist and taking off in a run. “We’ve gotta’ get out of here.”
“Wait, what?” She said between breaths, cursing her shoes and how out of shape she actually is, “Why?”
“Because it’s not safe for you to be here.” He said simply, as if that provided any actual information for why she could not go back home. He expected her to just take his word for it?
“You’re not going to say something ridiculous like ‘come with me if you want to live’ are you?” She deadpanned, not sure how she felt about his actions.
“No but yes,” he stopped, turning to her and bringing his face close to hers. His eyes were firm, imploring her to listen. “You are at the middle of something big. And you can either lie down and accept your fate or you can come with me and you can fight it.”
Lucy’s breath lodged in her throat. His words were heavy on her mind and she was in complete disbelief. Lucy, who spent her life being pampered and groomed to be the ideal heiress and bride, who had virtually no experience of the world outside that of her comfortable mansion, was supposedly the heart of a conspiracy that was growing in her own backyard. It was just too unbelievable. But everything that just happened was too so she could not write it off just yet.
“How do I know I can trust you?” She whispered, unable to bring any other thought to her voice.
“You don’t. But right now, I’m the best chance you’ve got.”
She looked over her shoulder at the only home she ever knew. It was a quick realization that she felt nothing towards it, having every reason to return to it while simultaneously having none. Her home had not felt like one for a long time, just an ornate dwelling that was used to keep her caged and sheltered. She found her best memories above, not grounded like she had spent all of her life being.
Now she was here, finally being offered a chance at freedom from a life that demanded complete submission that she never wanted to give but had no choice.
It was her time to choose, to decide for herself what the best route to take was, to decide for herself her own life.
Closing her eyes, she looked up, inhaling deeply and letting the crisp air of the night envelop her. She could always find her answers here, wrapped in this pure feeling beneath the stars. Releasing her breath, she turned back to Natsu, her voice carrying a resolution she didn’t know she had within her. “Alright.”
He grinned, pulling her behind him once again. “Then let’s go!”
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