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charming-mage · 3 years

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The Search For Marinette Dupain-Cheng

This is my take on my prompt The Search For Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

You know, I always wondered about Marinette taking care of Akumas while overseas. If she takes too long, she’ll scare her loved ones half to death. Can’t rush too much or else she risks losing her miraculous because of it. Since no one is aware of her identity, she doesn’t have anyone to cover for her. Friends who are unaware of the truth will cover her for so long before they have to fess up.

In salt fics, the class usually doesn’t care where Marinette is on Gotham trips. Here, they give a shit.

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In which Lila messes with some signs and Marinette gets lost when she comes back late (via Kaalki) after dealing with an Akuma attack in France.

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The two week school field trip in Tokyo was supposed to be an enjoyable experience. There’s booked reservations at classy restaurants, a fancy hotel with a big pool, shows, and tours throughout Tokyo. Lila is most looking forward to the fashion expo. If she doesn’t do something soon, it looks like she’ll miss out on that too. Marinette been missing for two days and Lila is already sick of it.

All because she miscalculated in a spur of the moment plan.

“Marinetteeee! Where are you,” shouts a crying Alya. The girl spots a few tourists and shoves a flier in their faces. Nino joins in with his own fliers. “Have you seen my friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Cutest French girl you’ve ever seen with a heart of gold. So kind she’d innocently help a stranger, unaware they’re a bad guy.” The tourists each give a half hearted ‘no’ before speed walking away.

“Walk faster Lila! Marinette can be anywhere.”

Lila puts on a concerned mask. “Of course.”

All this time wasted just because she moved some signs.

She hadn’t meant for Marinette to go missing. Only to buy some time so she can guilt trip Adrien to be her partner for the fashion expo.

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The day before, the class went to a big nature park. It’s notable for its many trails. The deeper you went into the park, the denser the trees are. They all partnered up and to her dismay she got Nathaniel instead of Adrien. The best thing about the artist is that he gets so into drawing the sights he doesn’t notice when she wanders off. It gave her more time to plot how to switch partners with the least amount of fuss.

During one of her secret plotting sessions, she heard a very loud conversation farther down the trail she’s on. Rose shouts for Marinette to not split up, and Marinette screams back a blatant lie about wanting to see a moose in the Relaxation Trial. Also to not expect her for forty minutes. Total hypocrite this girl is. ‘We can only be friends if you stop lying.’ Sure, and it’s okay for only Marinette to lie. Everyone else who does so is bad. Can’t even tell Rose you honestly want to ditch her.

When Lila noticed the Relaxation Trail sign nearby, an idea formed in her head. She ducked into a bush to hide. When Marinette ran into the trail and her map fell out of her bag Lila burst into action.

It took a little adjustment to the multiple sign post. It wasn’t too hard as the signs on the pole were already a little loose. Just needed to switch the sign that led back to the meetup with the Reflection Trial sign. According to the map, the Reflection one is a winding trial leading to a dead end. Marinette would be forced to walk all the back as the park employees told them it’s easy to get lost if you go off the trial. Aside from putting some sticks on the map, it was left mostly alone as she wanted her rival to use it to get back to base. She may not have liked Marinette, but she didn’t want anything horrible to happen to her.

By the time it got dark, Marinette still hadn’t gotten back to the meetup point. Forty minutes had already flown by. Lila hadn’t noticed as she was trying to convince Adrien to switch partners and tell everyone it was his idea. If Marinette was here the noisy girl would have interfered.

Rose’s cry of alarm got the others to find out Marinette was missing. The goodie two shoes wasn’t answering Rose’s calls. A quick check near the Relaxation Trial sign revealed Marinette’s map had flown into a bush.

The field trip went downhill from there.

The police were called. Afterwards, it’s discovered the cameras in that area were down much to Lila’s relief. Even though she feels a bit responsible, she’s not admitting to anything. Even if she did confess, it’s not like it’ll help the police. Doing so will get her in huge trouble and gain scrutiny in her actions from then on. How will telling what she did help find Marinette? It’d be for nothing.

When it comes down to it, Lila’s self preservation is above Marinette’s well being.

Some good fun will keep her mind from unpleasant things. Too bad no one besides Lila is interested in the scheduled events. This is a vacation, so going to a few events is a must. The class just want to spend time searching for Marinette. The transfer student wouldn’t have minded hanging up missing posters or spreading the word. This class takes it to another level.

Every waking moment is spent looking for Marinette. Breaks become a treasured time. They walk many miles each day. Max posts missing posters in Japanese forums. Alya bothers the police for updates. Adrien even got Chole (who stayed in Paris) to pull some strings to get more attention in the local news.

Because of Marinette’s disappearance, they have to stay in groups of at least three. No exceptions. So if Lila wants to do anything, she needs to convince any group she’s in to go with her.

It’s more challenging than expected.

Day 5

"Hey guys, why don’t we take our break inside the museum we were supposed to go to? It has air conditioning and we can look at some stuff for a bit while we’re sitting down.”

“Sorry Lila, I’m not in the mood to admire art.”

“I agree with Nathaniel. Just doesn’t feel right.”

Day 8

“Let’s go on the sightseeing tour. We can look for Marinette while we’re on it.”

“No thanks.”

“Nah, a taxi is better as we can choose where to drive.”

Day 10

“.....my leg injury is acting up. It’s okay to leave me here. I don’t mind.”

“No way Lila. We’re not leaving you alone on a bench outside Universal Studios. What if we lose you too?”

“.............”

Day 11

Lila has had it with these people. Reservations and events have been canceled. Solemn, awkward moping. Refusal to do anything but looking for Marinette. The only event left is the one she’s been most looking forward to: the fashion expo. Through some maneuvering and sneakiness, no one remembered to cancel the expo tickets.

There’s no way in hell she wants to miss this event: a lecture by Edna Mode herself. There’s rumors circling the fashion industry the famous designer is going to explore a new clothing line. Along with finding a muse for it.

The previous class activities can be let go without much struggle. Not this one, though. This could be the golden ticket to a very prestigious job. Even more than being a Gabriel model.

There’s a chance things might go right this time. The group is filled by pushovers Adrien, Rose, and Juleka. As long as she stays firm, they’ll go along with her plan.

With the directions in mind, Lila manages to slyly maneuver the group to walk outside Tokyo Big Sight. The sight of the Edna Mode banners hanging outside the arena fills her with excitement.

Lila coughs for their attention. “Guys, it’s time for our lunch break. We need the energy to keep this up.”

Rose reluctantly says, “Oh you’re right Lila. Can you pass out our lunches please?”

“Sure thing.” She reaches into the bag and whoops. There’s conveniently no lunch bags in there. “Oh no guys, there’s only water bottles in here.”

“It’s okay Lila, we can buy some food nearby.” Rose digs out her phone. “Hmm... I think there’s a cheap fast food place nearby.”

“There’s no need to look far. We can just go into the expo. They have to have some food near the entrance.”

There’s silence at her words.

Juleka narrows her eyes. “Why do I feel you just want to go to the expo?”

Lila is surprised Juleka of all people is calling her out. “No, no. It’s just, why walk more when there’s food right here.”

“Lila, do you not care about finding Marinette?,” a sad Rose asks.

“How could you say that? Of course I do! We worked so hard and we deserve a break. Marinette would understand.”

Rose snaps. “Understand? Every minute counts! We might never see Marinette ever again. She could be injured and alone, kidnapped, or worse! If one of us was missing, she wouldn’t give up.”

The fire in Rose’s eyes startles Lila. Never thought she’d see the bubbly girl break her happy persona.

“No one said anything about giving up. Besides, the police are looking-”

“That doesn’t mean we should sit by and do nothing.” Rose tears up. “It’s my fault Marinette is gone. If I didn’t let her run off on her own, she would still be here.”

Juleka gives a comforting hug to Rose.

Adrien speaks up. “I know you don’t like Marinette, but I never thought you would sink so low. It’s one thing if you’re not interested in helping. It’s another to actively interfere in something our friends care about.”

“I d-d-o care. We can pick up search after we eat.” It’s not like Lila wanted to prevent them from searching for Marinette. Ms. Bustier has forbidden anyone from being on their own. So she needed someone to be with her in order to do something.

Lila spent so much time reassuring them, they missed the lecture.

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“---Breaking News! A French teenager stopped a missile launch by terrorists. Marinette Dupain-Cheng went missing during her class’ field trip. Miraculously, she disabled their base of operations, rescued a Princess, fought against pirates, escaped on the back of a deer, got their leader to surrender to the authorities-”

“That’s our every day Ladybug.” Alya hugs the TV with tears of joy. “Obviously she’d save the day while missing.” The reporter actually hissed when a stranger tried to tell her to stop hogging the TV. No one attempted removing her after that.

Since Ms. Bustier is currently with the police to bring Marinette back, there’s no one to reign in the partying classmates. Alix somehow convinced the hotel to give them a big complementary celebration cake.

The only person not celebrating is an angry Lila. Glaring at her phone, the headlines riles her up every time she sees it.

Edna Mode’s First Baby Fashion Line

The Inspiration Behind the New Designs

“My godson is my inspiration-”

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Jack-Jack is Edna’s muse. Lol.

To save you a google search, this park mentioned in this fic is made up. It’s based on a bunch nature parks I’ve been to before. Tokyo does have parks and nature trials, though. In case you missed it, an attack happened in the late afternoon and Marinette got back at night (when it got dark) in Japan Standard Time. Keep in mind there is a 8 hour difference between these countries.

With this completed, I can finish chapter two of Dupont’s Worst Nightmare. :)

#lila salt #lila rossi #miraculous ladybug #answeredprompt #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #thesearchformarinettedupaincheng

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luminois · 3 years

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ok omg prompt idea!! where do you think the boys would take someone they love on vacation? like a resort/city/diff countries!! and what would they do <3

idk if this makes sense but yeah

omg yes this is super cute bby thank you for requesting it 💞 and yes it totally makes sense!!

chan

i think chan would take you somewhere where it’s just the two of you (not the creepy kind ofc)

maybe a chalet in the mountains!!

you’d wake up and drink hot chocolate while enjoying the snowy view from a wall made of all windows

and chan is curled up around you, with his chin resting on your shoulders as you whisper to each other to not break the early morning magical atmosphere

then you’d go on hikes or just play around in the snow making snowmen and angels

or maybe you’d just stay in and do something fun inside the chalet, like playing games

imagine curling up in front of the fireplace with him in the evening

complete bliss

and sexy times are bound to happen, maybe in front of that same fireplace, being just the two of you in such a romantic place

minho

he feels like another nature vacation

probably a lake house, like a lovely house made of wood on a lakeshore

days spent having picnics on soft grass

he would probably attempt to fish and catch something to cook for dinner and i feel like he could even succeed

it’s just so blissful, with just the sounds of nature filling the silence

and it’s warm like early summer days

you’d probably spend the entire day in a swimsuit or soft shorts

you’d definitely find a cute little boat to lay on while minho takes you around the lake

who’s going to tell him you’re not actually looking at the beautiful trees around you but at his arms, courtesy of the sleeveless shirts he’s been wearing for the entire vacation?

changbin

somewhere super relaxing like a spa

just getting massages all day and eating fruits served on polished trays

trying out healthy smoothies that don’t taste that good but make you feel cleansed

yoga classes but for couples!!

you’d both most likely start laughing while trying to get into proper positions

doing each other’s facials instead of having the staff do it for you because it’s so cute

lounging around and feeling like royalty the entire time

he’d take you there after a very stressful couple of weeks so you can escape from both of your busy lives for a little while

or maybe for a special occasion like an anniversary!! in that case he would make sure you’re even more pampered than usual because he doesn’t mind spending money at all if it’s to make you feel good

hyunjin

definitely a city man, new york kinda style

getting settled in a cute apartment in the middle of the city that you’re probably only going to be in to sleep

wearing matching outfits and going around the city to take cute pictures of each other

trying out all the most popular food places and typical dishes because “that’s the most important part of traveling”

getting lost trying to follow what the gps says and just giving up and wandering the streets aimlessly because there’s something to see in every corner

visiting museums and taking aesthetic pictures with the art

totally taking advantage of the nightlife and going dancing in the most iconic clubs

going to sleep late and waking up early because you don’t want to waste any second of your vacation

once you’re back home, decorating your apartment with memories from your trip and sighing in content every time you think about it

... and already starting to plan the next one!!

jisung

a fun kind of vacation

WAIT- DISNEYLAND

definitely will insist on staying at the park’s hotel which is all disney themed, like every room is a different disney movie and it’s all so magical and fun

entire days spent around the park trying out every ride and watching the daily shows the actors perform

he would totally try to get as many autographs and pictures with the actors as he can

buying couple mickey mouse ears and taking the iconic picture in front of the castle where people always propose even if he’s not going to propose (or is he????)

eating all the most unusual disney themed dishes and also the most delicious ones from the movies that you’ve always wanted to try

waking up early to get in line before the park has even opened and staying until it closes and the staff has to convince you to get out

at the end of the vacation you’re exhausted but you haven’t felt that happy since you were kids and it’s now one of your favorite memories

felix

cottagecore vibes, like a cute little house in the middle of a flower meadow

laying in the grass and letting the sun warm you up while you read to him and his head rests on your lap

baking cakes and cookies and the whole house smelling like a bakery

afternoon naps on soft sheets that always feel freshly washed because the room is chilly

picking up fruits and berries and playing with the little bunnies living in the meadow

visiting the small town nearby and being greeted by gentle grandmas who insist that you two stay over for lunch

bike rides with the wind messing up your hair and making you laugh

doodling and playing games while sitting on the house’s porch

stargazing without any light pollution blocking the stars and wishing on falling stars that you’ll be together forever

seungmin

i feel like he would love to visit a european country, like italy or france

just being surrounded by beauty and art all day

finding a cute local cafe to have breakfast at every single morning

and a bakery to pick up lunch from as well as small family managed restaurants

visiting nationals parks and beautiful villas and taking aesthetic pictures with the sculptures in the lush royal gardens

going shopping and dressing up just to wander through the streets

being mistaken for a young couple on their honeymoon and being flustered while asking people to take pictures of you

going to watch operas or plays in theaters and getting lost in libraries

lowkey actually fantasizing about your honeymoon and thinking of ways to permanently move to the beautiful place you fell in love with, with the man you love

jeongin

he feels like another city man, but tokyo style

staying in an extremely modern hotel and feeling like you’re in a sci-fi dystopian movie

sleeping all day and being out all night

eating out for every single meal and basically stacking up food to bring back home

geeking together over how your favorite characters can be found in every corner

finding an arcade to play the most futuristic and complex videogames you can find

taking a day to explore the historic parts of the city and actually enjoying the culture for a while instead of just the city life

asking to take pictures of the best dressed people you find in the streets and then going shopping after you fall in love with a particular aesthetic

buying tech gadgets you’ve never seen before

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ellgrimm · 3 years

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Sweets (OHSHC bakery AU)

He lightly dusted the rectangle of dough with fine, white flour and ran it through the sheeter one last time. Mori peeled the slightly bouncy dough off the machine bed and placed it on a tray lined with a piece of plastic film. Wrapping the film snuggly around the croissant dough, he smoothed out the indents impressed by his fingertips. He scooped the tray off the maple wood table and spun around gracefully, with habitual movement, to slip it into the fridge along with the other identical trays of dough.

With that done, he slid out of the floury work apron and traded it for a fresh one he kept tidy for sales at the front register. He washed his hands and checked for any errant streaks of flour on his face. Satisfied, Mori walked out from the fairly austere kitchen and into the world of rich woods and shining glass cases that was the customer-service side of the French patisserie shop and cafe.

Haruhi was in the middle of preparing a cup of drip coffee for a patron. Another customer just arrived at the pastry counter and stood politely, waiting to place his order. “Why don’t you see to our guest, Mori?” she asked cheerfully, as she held a gooseneck kettle and slowly circled hot water over the fresh coffee grounds, keeping an eye on the weight of water being poured. A rich, gold-black coffee dripped out the bottom of the cone filter into a ribbed glass pitcher.

Mori turned to face the pastry case and reflexively picked up a set of tongs. He performed a test click: *click*. Then he looked out over the top of the case and said in a deep and calm voice a phrase he had said at least 500 times before: “Good afternoon, what would you like today?”

But there wasn’t anyone there?

He scanned left and right.

Then he directed his gaze down and his heart skipped. A pair of enormous, caramel eyes were looking up at him from underneath a glorious mop of flaxen hair. The boy spoke, blushing a bit, in a voice that rang out clear and light, “Good afternoon! I would like one tartelettes aux fraises, please.” His French was pretty good, or at least it sounded good, Mori thought. “For here,” the boy added.

“Of course,” Mori replied, as he carefully lifted the mini tart off the ceramic tray. A glazed strawberry, sliced and fanned out over piped pastry cream, sat like a glistening red jewel. He placed it on a round plate and brought it over to the register counter. “Anything else today?” Mori asked.

“Can I… get a caffe mocha?” the charming and petite lad said reluctantly after reading through the coffee menu.

Mori caught the hesitation. “Yes, sir. How many shots of espresso?” he asked attentively.

The caramel eyes wibbled a little, damply, and he burst out suddenly “um? No shots? Please?”

Mori was relieved. Now he understood what the problem was: the menu did not list “hot chocolate.” He made a mental note that he should suggest a menu update to the manager. Making cute boys cry was already not his preference; and this boy in particular deserved the world, he immediately and definitively decided.

Mori nodded and completed the cash part of the transaction. “I will bring your strawberry mini tart and no-shots ‘caffe mocha’ to you in a minute, sir. There is a table with a nice view by that window, if you like.” He gestured to a small, round table that offered a glimpse across the street of a park with a duck pond. A coveted sight in urban Tokyo.

The boy smiled and practically floated over to the promised seat. He caught sight of a mama with her raft of ducklings zooming past and gasped with delight. Mori had to work incredibly hard to suppress a grin. It was everything he had hoped for.

Haruhi noticed. She noticed a lot of things, to be clear. Here, she was shocked and intrigued that Mori had said the longest continuous string of words than she had heard at any point over the past two years since he had started working here.

To be honest, she had been surprised when Kyoya had hired him on, considering how much talking is often involved in customer service. Kyoya, in an uncommonly forthcoming reveal into the inner workings of his mind, succinctly told Haruhi once that “diversity is a strength.”And that meant, in stark contrast to longtime coworker Tamaki’s effervescent and somewhat scattered personality, a staunchly grounded giant who is almost religious in keeping up on the daily labors of a bakery is certainly an asset.

Haruhi grabbed a silver dessert spoon and placed it and a napkin on the wooden serving tray, next to the strawberry mini tart. She winked at Mori as he finished making what was honestly a hot chocolate. He grunted softly, as if to say “hush, you.”

---

He came in every day that week. And every day he tried a different sweet pastry. As far as Mori could tell, he loved them all equally.

And Kyoya saw no objection to adding Hot Chocolate to the official cafe menu. “It’s not seasonally appropriate, but there has been an anti-caffiene health trend picking up lately,” he said decisively.

On the last day of his work week, Mori once again watched the boy leave the shop for the day. This time, the boy, busy looking at his phone, bumped into a trio of well-built, strong young men. He started to apologize for running into them, and Mori panicked a little, instinctively leaping over the counter and dashing past the other customers sitting at their tables. A blur of hyperactivity in an otherwise amazingly calm and inviting space.

And then Mori stopped, his heart beating hard.

“Haninozuka-sensei! We are so very sorry for getting in your way!” the trio barked, stiffly and respectfully bowing. Honey smiled kindly and waved them off.

“Oh, no, it was my fault entirely! I must have been busy with my own thoughts,” Haninozuka offered brightly. And after a quick exchange of pleasantries, he turned and walked up the street.

The trio lingered and talked amongst themselves. Mori tried not to listen, sort of. But he desperately needed to know more about this Haninozuka person. Their… sensei?

“Sensei was so...” Said the first one.

“I know! He’s been such a goddamn hardass at the dojo lately. I wasn’t expecting it.” The second offered.

“I was ready for him to beat us up right here on the sidewalk.” The third expressed, now relieved.

Mori was dumbfounded. This bubbly slip of a lad who giggled at baby ducks and was afraid to ask for a coffee without coffee... was apparently also a brutal martial arts teacher? He couldn’t possibly... and the name was familiar, but he couldn’t finish the thought.

Mori swam in his thoughts for a minute, completely adrift in the dissonance, before Tamaki finally caught his attention and brought him back to earth. “Mori-senpai!” he practically sang, “you left this winsome young lady before giving back her change~”

Mori’s eyes flashed and he looked back, embarrassed. “Very sorry, miss.”

“Um, well, I don’t mind!” she chirped. And she honestly hadn’t minded. He had been athletic and lithe --like an action hero-- when he vaulted himself over the counter, and it had made her think spicy thoughts she would never say aloud. Not something she had expected to experience during her trip to the nicest pastry shop in the ward, but it was a surprise she would treasure for years.

---

It was an agonizing week before Haninozuka came back into the patisserie.

Mori spent every shift that week dutifully doing his work, to the best of his ability. But his ability had degraded because a solid half of his brain was fixated on this mystery. Cute? Cruel? Sweets? Sensei? It consumed him, and he was beginning to hate himself for it. It had been much easier to do this job before he had someone he so looked forward to being around.

Then Mori caught himself. Sure, the work was easier before, when he had been habitually focused entirely on the tasks. Separating eggs. Measuring flour. Shaping butter into thick slabs. Pouring coffee and picking croissants out of the case. Even washing dishes. It had become a somewhat mindless rhythm.

But Haninozuka had made him want to come to work. It made the work feel more purposeful, somehow. It was like Mori had a specific audience in mind when he wiped tables. An audience he wanted to feel safe and comfortable and happy in his domain.

But what if Haninozuka was a bad person? Those three guys had been so sure that this was an unusual side to him. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for their comments to color his idea of this boy. But he also was afraid it would be foolish to not heed their words. Surely they knew their sensei better than Mori could possibly have gotten to in a handful of hours over a few days?

But eventually, he did come back.

This time, he was escorted by the trio from before, as well as a new face. The fourth person, who had similar facial features to Haninozuka, but was a bit taller than him, also had a permanent scowl topped with a grown out bowl cut and glasses, and he was nervously eyeing Haninozuka, watching to see what he would order.

Mori was ready to push the register icon for in the hot chocolate part of the order, and jumped ahead to asking “What pastry would you like today, sir?”

Haninozuka, looking resolute, jaw clenched and without the usual gleam in his warm eyes, stated plainly “I’ll take a plain croissant and black coffee today. Thank you.” The bowl cut kid visibly relaxed a little.

Mori felt the pain in his unusually flat voice, but only nodded. “Excellent choice. Is this together or separate?”

Once he finished taking the group order, they paid and left to go sit down at a pair of tables outside on the sidewalk, well away from the previously frequented pond-viewing seat.

Mori turned to the task at hand. He brought out a set of wooden half-trays, one for each order, and selected pastries for each guest while Haruhi got to work on the drinks. Mori used the tongs to pick up the plain croissant and paused. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. It felt so wrong.

He put it back and selected a hazelnut and chocolate ganache filled croissant instead. It looked nearly identical on the outside, especially if you weren’t paying close attention. Only a small seam with chocolate peeking through could be noticed, and even then, that was on the bottom side of the pastry.

He then turned to Haruhi and said, without room for question, “make the black coffee a hot chocolate. And put all the drinks in to-go cups.”

Haruhi smiled, and used a marker to write “black” on the paper cup that would be destined to not, in fact, have any coffee in it whatsoever. She was already thinking similarly, but had been waiting for Mori to declare it officially.

Haruhi helped Mori carry the trays of drinks and pastries out to the sidewalk tables. He carefully placed the correct one in front of Haninozuka and gave a half smile. Haninozuka barely noticed, staring dead ahead, bracing himself for what would be an absolute trial of bitter drink and plain food. She distributed napkins and utensils appropriately. They both chimed “Thank you, please enjoy,” and turned to head back inside.

“Why don’t you wipe down table 3?” prompted Haruhi, who magically produced a clean damp rag and offered it to Mori. Table 3 was inside the shop, but aside from the large pane of clear glass, was right next to the sidewalk tables. The audio was barely muffled. Mori took the cloth and singlemindedly started wiping at a table that was cerftifiably already clean.

Haninozuka tremulously started with the pastry. He nibbled cautiously at one corner. He sighed.

Mori cursed silently. “You have to take a bigger bite to get to the filling!” he thought.

Haninozuka couldn’t bring himself to try a sip of black coffee yet. He went back to the croissant. This time a luscious double whammy of chocolate and hazelnut hit his tongue. His eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.

Haninozuka Yasuchika, his brother, was taking a bite of his own pastry and found the kouign-amann satisfactorily salty as well as only lightly sweet. He grabbed his latte and brought it to his lips, then paused. He couldn’t help himself. Squinting suspiciously through his glasses, which light glinted off of even though they were all fully sitting in the shade, he prodded verbally “what about your black coffee, Mitsukuni-san?”

Mori kept pushing the cleaning rag over a now polished strip of an already spotless table and watched intently. “Mitsukuni” he thought to himself. “A nice name. And… I feel like I know it?”

Mitsukuni tried to not lament the inevitable ruination of his surprisingly edible, nay delicious, croissant. He reached for his cup and brought it closer. Holding his breath, so as not to overpower his sense of taste, he sipped delicately. Yasuchika grinned.

“Why it is perfectly tasty, brother! As usual, I mean.” Mitsukuni smiled, practically florid.

Yasuchika was caught between doubt and relief. His alien brother had so obviously hated giving up sweet things this past month. How could anyone go from entire cakes to once piece of (albeit very nice) plain bread? And from the most syrupy, whipped cream-bedecked drinks to black coffee? It was an unprecendented transformation. But on the other hand, Yasuchika felt accomplished. He had singlehandedly pressured his older brother to reform his ways. It was for the best, obviously. What sort of dojo is led by someone who would do anything for a chocolate bar? The lack of self control was shameful.

The other three guys were completely oblivious to the intimate details of sugary drama. They had simply thought it would be a good idea to bring their sensei to the only place they had seen him happy in recent memory, as part of a quiet campaign to improve the captain’s mood. Practice had gotten shockingly intense this past week, and, if they were to survive next week they needed their sensei to ease off a touch. Not that they could EVER say so to his face.

Mori checked that Mitsukuni was happily enjoying his hot chocolate and pastry, and that Yasuchika remained none the wiser. Satisfied, he decided the table’s newly worn hole was deep enough and turned back to his work behind the service counter. Haruhi winked and said nothing.

---

It was almost another week before Mitsukuni came back to the patisserie. Mori had been more patient this time. He felt firmly confident that Mitsukuni would find his way back when he was ready.

And his patience was rewarded, in a way.

Mitsukuni staggered in, after dark and only twenty minutes before closing. His eyes were bleary and his countenance groggy and listless. Mitsukuni, usually so sprightly and upright, dragged his bookbag on the ground and pulled up to the duck-watching table. Mori wasn’t sure what to do. Hand the man a hot chocolate as usual? Or… ask how he was doing???

Mori decided to walk over and offer some direct, compassionate human interaction. “Good evening,” he said, simply.

Mitsukuni looked up, with dark circles under his eyes.

He slammed his hand on the table, which startled Mori for but a moment, and said “I wanna shot!”

“...” said Mori.

“Of chocolate syrup, I mean. Like, a couple pumps in an espresso glass.”

Mori left and came back in an inhumanly fast turnaround with exactly that, and offered the teeny glass full of viscous sugary syrup to Mitsukuni, who promptly sucked it down and smacked the glass upside down on the table. “Another!” he garbled.

Mori didn’t remember grabbing the entire syrup bottle, but it was in his hand already. He decided not to think too hard about that and just left the entire thing on the table and walked away, back to cleaning up behind the counter for the night.

Well after the shop closed, with most of the lights off, save for the one over the register, Mori was done closing with one exception. Mitsukuni was finishing the last of the chocolate syrup. He had perked up considerably, and was now waving his arms animatedly, talking fast about his troubles.

“And Chika-chan comes up to me, and says, you know what he says?” Mori did not know. “He says that real men don’t like sweet things! He tells me I won’t be able to get any respect from my men if I keep eating midnight cakes and carrying candies in my pockets!”

Mori assumed Chika-chan must be the grumpy boy in glasses from the other day. He couldn’t say he liked him, particularly. Or, to be more precise, he didn’t like anyone who dared tell Mitsukuni that his respectability was dependent on having “appropriate” and “masculine” interests.

Mitsukuni blurted out a final exclamation of “Chika doesn’t have the balls to talk shit about Usa-chan, though!” and he… passed out.

Mori didn’t know who this Usa-chan was, but he did know that the shop was closed and that Mitsukuni needed to go home. But where was home?

He decided to try something. He looked up the name “Mitsukuni” along with the words “Bunkyo ward” and “dojo.” The search results were conveniently helpful, offering a website that encouraged serious karate students to sign up under the tutelage of Haninozuka Mitskuni.

“Oh. He is really that Haninozuka,” Mori thought to himself. Ages ago, there had been a falling out between their families. Once a close bond through fealty and eventually marriage and bloodline between the Haninozuka and the Morinozuka families, had been broken a couple generations back. The stories we still told, the wounds still fresh. Mori hadn’t even thought about them as “real” since they had become more of a background radiation to his life than a pressing influence. Until today, that is.

He grabbed the leather book bag and slung it over his shoulder, and then picked Mitsukuni up gingerly. Mitsukuni remained unconscious, a few smears of chocolate around his mouth. A legendary sugar crash.

Mori locked up the shop, without even having to put the boy down. He walked towards the Haninozuka family dojo, which was close by.

The lights were on. It was fairly quiet on the grounds. Only once voice was shouting from inside the dojo training hall as they practiced the forms.

Mori called out. “Excuse me. I have your sensei.”

A surprised face poked out. It was Yasuchika. “My… sensei? Oh, you mean my brother, Mitsukuni.” He looked suspiciously at Mori. “Who are you? What did you do to him?”

“I work at the French pastry shop up the street. I didn’t do anything, he was just very very tired.”

Mori purposefully “forgot” to mention his name. And he didn’t want to stick around to find out what Yasuchika really thought of him, especially with their families at odds.

Instead, he gently deposited Mitsukuni’s slumbering form on a training mat and put the book bag down next to him. Mori looked into his calm, round face and committed it to memory. Then he issued a quick departing bow and turned away, leaving the compound. He didn’t look back with his eyes, but a small part of him looked forward with his heart, in a complicated way.

He couldn’t shake that, despite it all, he still wanted to see this Haninozuka back at his patisserie and cafe. He walked home, tired.

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writer-akihiko · 3 years

Text

Chapter 2 - Hanging Out [STARISH]

Chapter 3 →

Otoya Ittoki

You were with ST☆RISH in their studio, coming up with their new song. Masato decided that everyone should take a break, so he, Tokiya and Syo went out to get some food for everyone.

Ren and Cecil had a costume fitting, so they went with Haruka. That left you, Otoya and Natsuki in the studio. Natsuki went ahead and took a nap on one of the couches.

Things between you and Otoya were... awkward to say the least. After completely being frozen on first contact, you didn't strike up any conversation with Otoya.

You decided to relax yourself by fidgeting with your laptop. You played around with one of the downloaded songs you had.

"That sounds great YN-san!" Otoya complimented.

"A-Ah, thanks..."

Otoya then proceeded to sing along.

"Your voice is nice Otoya-san, I'm glad I'm working with you," You complimented back. Internally, you were having a mini panic. I just complimented a guy... Your face turned red at the thought.

"Really?!" Otoya said. "I... was never that confident about how my voice sounded!"

"Trust me, it's great! Better than mine..." You said sheepishly.

Otoya asked, "Do you sing YN-san?" You shook your head. It was one of the reasons you decided to become a DJ anyway. You could make good music, but never have a voice for it.

"Then do you play any instruments YN-san?"

You nodded. "I play the [instrument]."

"Then we can do a duet together! Wait here, I'll get my guitar!" He says. He ran out, and quickly came back with an acoustic guitar.

Since your instrument was in the room as well, you went to it and Otoya struck up a chord. You knew this song. It was one of your compositions. You played along to him.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier," he confessed.

"Don't be," you said. "I was just extremely shy. It's not a good thing really..."

"Eh? But you were really cute YN-san!"

"Really... Cute..."

Your whole face reddened to the tips of your ears. You stopped and froze like a statue in place.

"Oh no I've done it again!"

"Otoya?" Cecil says as he walks in. "What did youー"

Haruka exclaimed, "YN! Oh no, come back to me!!"

Let's just say that things continued to be awkward between you two.

Masato Hijirikawa

After finally getting a break well-earned from your senpais, you met up with Masato to show him around.

"Hey Prince Charming!" You waved over to him. He came to you with his group of friends.

"So you guys are from Saotome Arts?" You said after introductions. Masato nodded.

"Thank you for showing us around."

"No sweat. Least I could do for beating you in basketball."

A few of his friends snickered at what you said. "Stop that!" Masato says to his friends.

"What do you guys want to see first?" You said. The red-haired boy named Otoya said he wants to meet the football team.

"Sure! They're near the food stalls so we can grab a bite as well," You led them ahead to the wonderful walkway of street food.

His friends went along and left Masato with you to find a bench to sit on. He's a little stiff... you thought. I know how to get him to relax...

Once you two found a table, you went to a friend of yours on the track team. She was handling a yakisoba stall.

"Hey! Mina, add a little kick in it alright?" You reminded her. Mina nodded. You came back to his friends. You took a seat next to Haruka and handed Masato his extra 'kicked up' yakisoba.

"The best yakisoba of this academy!" You said proudly. You watched as he took a bite. He coughed, begging Tokiya for water.

You casually ate yours, pretending that you could handle the spice. "Wanna swap?"

"Please..."

"Okay, glad to see you're not so stiff anymore!" You smiled at him. You could handle your spice, so you were fine.

"You sure have the appetite YN-san," he commented.

"Are you saying something about my weight?!" You mockingly said. You laughed when he made such an apologetic face. "Sorry, you're just fun to tease Prince Charming. Your face gets all red and you just stand there..."

"I-I deny your accusation!" He said.

"You're doing it again! Also, what do you expect? I played at least 3 hours’ worth of game back there. Of course I need some compensation," You said. "Anyway, don't be so stiff! It's a festival after all!"

You left since you needed to go back to the club.

"She's interesting..."

Natsuki Shinomiya

He had come to the café again, but this time he was alone. He brought stacks of books and folders along as well.

You noticed he bought a lot of sugar filled treats today. He had his cell phone close by and was texting whenever he had a puzzled expression.

Since the shop was empty during the evening, you decided to get yourself a warm muffin and sit across from him.

"Natsuki-san?" You said, trying to catch his attention. "Are you okay?"

He continued writing.

"Exam week?"

He nodded.

You were about to leave, thinking it would be better for him to concentrate without you bothering him.

"AHHHH I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS!!"

"Natsuki-san?"

"YN-senpai, I don't like this! Masa keeps scolding me when I ask for advice! He also talks in a language I don't understand."

"U-Uh... What subject are you learning?"

"Math..."

You pitied the teenage boy. You took a look at his notes. His handwriting... was something. It was quite cute actually.

"I think I can help," You said. You rushed to the apartment you lived with your uncle upstairs and looked through your shelves. You took out a (f/c) translucent folder.

You returned to Natsuki. You handed him the folder.

"What's this?"

"My notes from high school. I didn't have time to clean out my books, so I still have them. You can use them," You explained. "I have no need for them anyway."

"Elizabeth!" He yelled and hugged you.

"Natsuki-san, that's not my name."

"Ah sorry!" He quickly released you and skimmed your notes. "Your little doodles are really cute!"

You blushed at the comment he gave you.

"YOSH! I CAN DO IT!"

"I knew so," You said, applauding him.

You allowed him to study until...

"YN-senpai, I don't know how to solve this question..."

Ren Jinguji

You were navigating through troublesome Tokyo with your cousin. She brought the idol group she is working with since they too had some errands.

Haruka left you and Ren alone since she decided to go to the bathroom.

Ren, curious, decided to play 20 questions with you.

"So fairyー"

"I am not a fairy."

"Sorry, YN-san. So... what's your favourite food?"

"(F/f)."

"Favourite colour?"

"(F/c)."

Ren paused as he was thinking about another question. Unbothered, you asked him one since he was taking a while.

"Is there a purpose asking me all these questions?"

He coughed, "Well, to get to know you better."

"Then may I propose that we do something productive while asking them?"

"What do you suggest?" Ren asked, intrigued by your statement.

"A shogi match." You showed him your portable shogi board.

He led you to a park where there was a bench. You sat on opposite ends, the shogi board in between.

He started to ask the questions again, halfway through the game. "You surprise me, YN-san."

You eliminated one of his kyosha. Placing his piece on your side platform, you commented, "How so? The fact that I captured your kyosha or was it something I said?"

"Something you said," He clarified. "I first thought you were... a tsundere of sorts. But then throughout this trip, I found that you simply speak your mind and are open-minded as well. However, you rarely speak. Even if you do so, it's barely a few words."

You snickered. "You are observant, Jinguji-san," You said, moving your piece. "However, not observant enough."

He glanced at the board.

"Checkmate."

Cecil Aijima

You were at your rehearsal in the auditorium. With your fellow classmates, you were practicing the steps for a dance sequence.

Of course, it was a classical dance. Which you often struggled with. Your senpai ーwho was also your dance partner ー was noticing that you couldn't keep up and asked for a break.

"We'll rehearse again after a 15-minute break. Prepare for the next scene as well," He told the crew.

You plopped on the ground with your head hung low. "I just can't get it right..."

"Hey Goddess YN!" Cecil called to you. He was watching you the whole time. You forgot that tiny detail. You waved back, getting off the stage. You were slightly embarrassed at the nickname as some of your peers stared at him.

"You don't have to call me that Aijima-san," You told him.

He held out his hand to you.

"Huh?"

"Allow me to dance with a goddess," He sweetly said.

"Sure... I guess..." His smooth talking seriously caught you off and you couldn't respond properly.

He then positioned himself in the exact same dance as you were practicing just now.

You were assuming he did not know the steps and began to lead him. Once you had finished half of the steps, Cecil lifted you up and twirled you around.

"Cecil! What are you doing!"

"Hey Leader-san!" Cecil yelled to your senior. "YN can do it!"

"W-Waitー"

Your senpai was speculating the entire scene. "Your friend is actually right... You're actually better at leading! I apologise for never noticing LN-san."

After your break was over, your senior made changes to the dance breaks. Finally when rehearsal was over and everyone had left, Cecil was still hanging around.

"Cecil, I want to thank you for your help today," You bowed to him. "I would've never figured it out..."

"It's nothing really! You can get up ー I was just serving a goddess, that is all!" He said, winking.

You laughed. "You never really stop it with the goddess thing, do you?" You noticed Cecil twirling around the stage.

"Hey Cecil, I can teach you some of the routines in the play. How about it?" His eyes sparkled when you told him. "Really? I can? You're too kind! Your performances are really enchanting to watch!"

You and Cecil spent the entirety of the afternoon learning the dance. Cecil made a few jokes here and there, making you crack up. Soon, it was time for you go. "I have dinner with friends," You told him. "If I ever meet you at the twins' studio, let's hang out!"

"Sure thing..."

You closed the door.

"My goddess..." His voice echoed through the empty auditorium.

Syo Kurusu

You and Syo had grown immensely close after the shooting. Syo admired your hidden strength and you admired his determination. Weeks went by, and you went back to your shrine duties and Syo to his idol work.

You had to admit, more visitors started to come due to ST☆RISH's new release. Oh, the power of fame.

One particular day, you were about to close the shrine and a man in a suit carrying a briefcase walked up to the gate, approaching you.

"Sorry, we don't accept salesmen," You said, about to shut the door.

"Wait!" The man called out. "I'm a TV producer and after ST☆RISH's music video, I hope I can film a short variety show here!"

"What?"

"It's a short promotional show about their new album. This place was recommended by Haruka."

"Nanami?"

"Yes."

You let the businessman in and called for your cousins. As your cousins were discussing regulations with the man, you decided to call Nanami.

"Did you recommend the shrine to Mr. Kagurazaka?"

"Yes. Well, not really... Syo actually said it. I had to say it in place of the group. He said since we filmed here, why not promote here?"

After much discussion with Mr. Kagurazaka, the shrine once again welcomed ST☆RISH.

You were in no contact with Syo most of the recording. You didn't make an appearance in the show as well, for privacy's sake. You did see him once in a while.

You had finished your duties early and decided to get some archery practice in. You weren't a big fan of kendo, so you settled for traditional archery.

"You're really good!"

You yelped in surprise and turned around. Syo was watching you. You prayed that it wouldn't be for the whole time.

"Kurusu-san! You surprised me. Please don’t do that..." You said to him. He was wearing a casual yukata, most likely from just shooting the show.

"I didn't mean to! I mean I didn't want to disturb you, but you were so focused, and I didn't want to bother you, but I still wanted to talk to youー"

You smiled. "I get it. Nice to see you too.”

You two caught up which somehow eventually led to Syo wanting to try out archery. You agreed and took out another set for him.

"Don't shake. Try to steady yourself," You said, straightening his arms.

"Okay."

Syo released the arrow which landed on... a black.

"It's okay Syo! You can try again!"

You stood behind him and adjusted his arms behind him. "I can't see the target since you're taller than me..."

"I'll try my best!" He said. His voice sounded a little nervous.

He shot the arrow. It landed on a red.

"That's a good score!" You congratulated him. "Hey Syo..."

"Hmm?"

"Your face is a little red. Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. It's nothing! I should... go now. Masato's gonna kill me so... bye!"

"Um... Bye!"

Well, he's still an odd boy. Nonetheless you still quite liked him.

Tokiya Ichinose

You two walked around the convention and talked about the mangas you have similar interests with.

His other idol friends were dragged around by Natsuki, who wanted to check out the Piyo-chan booth. You pitied the boy in the fedora who was especially victimised.

After a tiring walk around the tables and booths of the convention, Tokiya suggested that you two went outside for some fresh air.

"To be frank, I also wanted to ask your permission for a picture or two..." He sheepishly said. "I didn't ask before since the others were around."

"Ah! Send me a copy of it too!" You said. "I'd like to rest for a bit though. We can take the photo near the fountain outside!"

He nodded in agreement. You two sat near a bench which was close to the other cosplayers who were posing in front of their photographers. Tokiya volunteered to get some drinks. You gave him some cash for your drink.

"Excuse me Miss, can I take a photo of you?" A man asked.

You agreed, thinking nothing of it. From the distance, you saw Tokiya. He was coming closer to the scene. However, when he was right behind the photographer, he snatched the camera away.

"Tokiya-san! What are you doing?!"

"Saving you," He said. He passed you the camera. This man had taken panty shots of you!

The other photographers and cosplayers nearby heard the commotion.

A camera man spoke up, "Apologise! It's people like you that give us a bad rep!"

"Yeah! Apologise!" A cosplayer shouted. Many joined in asking the harasser to apologise. Before he could, the security had noticed the noise and came over. He took away the man and the camera.

"Thanks," You said. "You really are like an ikemen!"

His cheeks reddened at the nickname.

"Wait!"

You whipped out your pen and notebook. "An ikemen character in the fantasy series. One who doesn't look for trouble and just gets by his own way, with his good looks!"

You scribbled away and Tokiya was confused. "Sorry," You said. "I get too excited when I get inspiration for a story."

"A character... based on me?"

"Yeah! You were really cool back there." You commented. "So how about that picture?"

You two sat near the fountain and posed.

Click!

"Hey Tokiya-san, see you at school!" You waved at him, as you had to go back to your crew.

He waved back.

"Sure thing, my writer," He whispered to himself.

Chapter 3 →

#uta no prince sama #utapri boyfriend scenarios #utapri ren #utapri natsuki #utapri syo #utapri otoya #utapri masato #utapri tokiya #tokiya ichinose #ren jinguji #uta no prince-sama #masato hijirikawa #otoya ittoki #syo kurusu #natuski shinomiya #utapri cecil #cecil aijima

26 notes · View notes

janaikam · 4 years

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This is my fic for the @kagamizine! I really enjoyed writing this and I absolutely love Kagami. This zine was just amazing as a whole and I’m so glad I got to participate! Thank you @masilvi for organizing! Summary: Kagami's trip with her mother took an unexpected turn when she decided to ditch her tutor and have fun with an interesting pair of siblings.

Seven-year-old Kagami stared out the window, watching as the Parisian landscape passed by in a blur. Kagami wasn’t very happy about her mother’s sudden decision to take a trip to Paris. Especially not so soon after losing her dad.

It had only been two months, but it felt like an eternity to Kagami. Her father had been her best friend. He hadn’t been a typical father, but that’s what she loved about him. While her mother started her own successful business, her father took care of her, and they created so many special memories together.

Her mother, not willing to stay in the same town where her husband passed, moved them to Tokyo. It was quite a culture shock because her home town of Nagoya had been quiet compared to Tokyo’s bustling energy. Kagami personally believed that her mother’s decision to move was more business motivated rather than grief, but she wasn’t about to accuse her of doing something so insensitive.

Honestly, everything was happening so fast that Kagami could hardly comprehend it all. Like this trip to Paris; she knew it was one of her mother’s ploys to cheer her up. So far, it wasn’t working. Despite claiming the trip was for both of them, her mother had been in meetings most of the week.

This left Kagami with her French tutor throughout the whole trip. Kagami thought that the woman was nice enough, but she’d rather hang out with someone she was friends with.

“Kagami, we’re here,” her tutor, Yama-sensei, said as the car came to a stop in front of the Trocadero.

Sighing, Kagami dragged herself out of the car to trail after the tutor around the plaza. She hoped that this trip wouldn’t be as boring as the other excursions they had been on previously.

--------

Kagami was proven wrong. Apparently, Yama-sensei knew a lot about the plaza that they were in.

As Yama-sensei was droning on about when the plaza had been built, Kagami noticed two children running around playing a version of tag by zig-zagging through the columns of the Trocadero.

There were a boy and a girl. The boy had dark brown hair with some bright green highlights. He was wearing dark wash jeans and a dark shirt with some band name on it that she couldn’t make out from where she was standing. The girl had straight dark brown hair and was wearing a dark purple dress with black polka dots all over.

While the girl looked to be about Kagami’s age, the boy seemed to be a bit older. If she had to guess, probably by two years.

Watching the two of them play in the Trocadero made her want to join them and have fun. Even if she didn’t know them, it would be so much better than staying here and listening to her tutor recite facts about some battles from long ago.

As if a light switch were flicked, Kagami thought of an idea to get her tutor off her back and to have some fun of her own.

“Hey, Yama-sensei, what’s the history of that pond?” Kagami pointed towards the little pond area in the opposite direction from the two kids.

As expected, her tutor started walking over spouting off some facts that Kagami didn’t care for. Instead of following her, Kagami snuck off to where the two kids were playing.

“Uh, hi,” Kagami said, shyly walking up to the two kids. The girl noticed her first and waved shyly back at Kagami. The boy, who had still been running around, noticed that his friend wasn’t behind him and turned around and saw Kagami standing there.

“Hi!” he greeted brightly, waving along with the girl. “I’m Luka and this is my sister, Juleka. What’s your name?”

“Kagami! Where did you go?” It seemed that her tutor noticed her absence, and that wasn’t a good thing.

“Could you hide me from her?”

The siblings nodded and gently urged Kagami behind one of the many pillars surrounding the plaza. She ducked down a bit and the siblings covered her body so other people wouldn’t be able to see her.

From her position, she watched as Yama-sensei’s black flats hurriedly walked away from the plaza.

Kagami let out the breath she didn’t know that she was holding. “Thank you, I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“No problem. So why are you hiding from that woman?” Luka asked, reaching down to help Kagami up.

“She’s my tutor. She’s supposed to be taking me to all the places I wanted to see in Paris, but all we’ve done is gone to all these boring places,” Kagami explained. “I just wanted a little break is all.”

“Well, Jules and I don’t have to be home for another three hours, so we could show you around our little Paris.”

Kagami’s eyes lit up at the prospect. She had been planning on just asking to hang out with the siblings at the Trocadero, but having them show her around the city was something completely unexpected and surprisingly welcome.

“I would love to join you!”

--------

Their first stop was the Pont des Arts. There was a surprisingly large amount of people at the bridge, but Kagami assumed it was just that popular.

On the walk over, Kagami learned that Juleka was very shy and often mumbled her words when she wanted to say something. Luka was able to perfectly understand his sister, but Kagami was still having trouble trying to understand her.

Juleka mumbled something and pointed over to a crowd of people.

“Oh, you’re right, that is Andre!” Luka translated for Kagami.

“Who’s Andre?” Kagami knew a few things about Paris, but Andre was an unfamiliar name.

“He sells the best ice cream in Paris. He’s really famous for his lover’s ice cream. If two people share it together then they’re supposed to be together forever,” Luka explained. “He’s a really nice dude and he sometimes gives us free ice cream just ’cause.”

Luka walked over to the crowd and right up to the front of the cart. Kagami was somewhat surprised at Luka’s forwardness, but when he walked back a minute later with three small ice cream cups, Kagami couldn’t complain.

“Let’s go sit over there.” Luka pointed towards a bench in the middle of the bridge, away from the crowd at Andre’s.

Kagami nodded and followed as Luka led the way.

When they got to the bench, Luka held out the ice creams he had gotten. From what she could tell, her choices were vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Kagami picked up the ice cream that looked like vanilla and Luka passed the strawberry one to Juleka.

Taking the little spoon from the cone, Kagami took a small bit of the ice cream. The sweet flavors of the vanilla filled her mouth and caused her to hum in satisfaction. She noticed that there was a slight orange aftertaste, which made everything all the better.

“This is the best ice cream ever,” Kagami said, quicking grabbing another spoonful to put in her mouth.

“Yup! Andre’s ice cream never fails to amaze.” Luka grinned, taking a bite of his cone.

--------

“Welcome to Place des Vosges Park!” Luka announced as their little party walked through the gates.

“This is where Luka comes to lie in the grass and cry,” Juleka whispered, coming up beside Kagami.

Kagami couldn’t help but giggle at Juleka’s statement as Luka tried to defend himself, but it was too late. She could already imagine the dark-haired boy lying in the grass with tears streaming down his face.

“ANYWAYS, is there anything you would like to do here? There’s a lot that goes on in the park. Sometimes there's a show, and then there's also the playground and the merry-go-round.”

Kagami’s eyes lit up at the mention of the merry-go-round. She had heard so many fun stories from people back home about how the rides were fun and magical. Merry-go-rounds weren’t very popular in Japan, so she always dreamed of the day she would be able to ride on one.

“The merry-go-round!”

Luka and Juleka laughed at her obvious excitement but led her over to it nonetheless.

There wasn’t a long wait for the next ride, and the trio was able to get on without a problem.

There were so many different-looking horses that Kagami had trouble picking one to get on. In the end, she ended up picking a tall white one with a golden mane.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t as tall as the horse, so she had trouble getting on. After her third failed attempt, she turned to go find another horse, but a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist and lifted her up onto the horse.

Turning around, Kagami saw that it was Luka who helped her up. He gave her a thumbs up to confirm that she was comfortable and she smiled back.

It didn’t take long for the ride to start up, and it was amazing. From her horse, Kagami was able to see most of the park when it lifted up. She watched as the carousel spun around, making the park slightly blurry.

Letting go of the post on the horse, Kagami held out her hands and closed her eyes. It was so easy for her to imagine herself flying on top of a pegasus and it felt just as magical.

--------

After riding on the merry-go-round, the trio spent a couple more hours playing in the park with some of the other kids.

It was definitely an experience Kagami would never forget. She had never played with kids her age back home, so it was a welcome change of pace.

A girl named Rose was teaching her a hand game when they were interrupted by a soft grumbling coming from Kagami’s stomach. Luka, who had been next to her, smiled softly and lifted himself off of the ground.

“It is getting a little late. We can go grab something to eat and then take you back to your hotel.” Luka reached out his hand to help Kagami up. Luka waved over to Juleka, and she quickly said goodbye to the kids she was playing with.

“It was really nice meeting you!” Kagami waved goodbye to Rose and followed Luka out of the park.

As it turned out, they were just going across the street to a bakery: Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

“They have some of the best pastries in Paris. Trust me,” Luka said, opening the door. And she did. After all, he was right about Andre’s ice cream.

Immediately, the scent of freshly baked bread and sweetness filled her nose. She couldn’t really explain why, but the smell felt like home.

There wasn’t really a line, just one woman with her son. They were just finishing up their order and Kagami was able to get a glance at the boy. He was blonde and looked about her age. When their eyes met, he quickly hid behind his mother’s leg.

His mother just looked down and laughed. She grabbed her order and ushered her son back outside.

“Hello,” the friendly woman behind the counter greeted. “What would you like?”

Luka ordered three croissants for them with various jams while Kagami and Juleka looked at the pastry case. They all looked so good, and she couldn’t help but want to try all of them.

She noticed a young girl behind the glass with a tray of pastries in her arms. She seemed to be filling the case. When the girl caught Kagami’s gaze, she waved and gave Kagami a big smile. Kagami waved back and the girl resumed her task.

“That’s Marinette. She goes to school with me,” Juleka informed Kagami. “She’s really nice.”

Kagami looked back at Marinette, who had finished filling the cabinet, as she walked towards the back of the bakery.

--------

Kagami had yet to eat her pastry as Luka rushed them out of the bakery after paying. It had apparently gotten later than they expected, and Juleka and Luka needed to be home soon.

They wanted to properly send Kagami off, so they decided to walk her to Le Grande Paris. The siblings claimed that it was on their way home. Kagami didn’t buy it, but she let it drop. After all, she wasn’t ready to leave her new friends just yet.

Sadly, the hotel came into view too quickly for Kagami’s liking.

Turning to her new friends, she held back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She was a Tsurugi. She would not cry.

“Thank you for this amazing day. I am so fortunate that I met you two today.” Kagami sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“I think I speak for both of us when I say we’re glad to have made a friend in you today.”

Kagami grabbed Luka and Juleka and pulled them into a hug. It was probably one of the warmest hugs she had had in a long time.

Pulling away, Juleka mumbled something under her breath and Luka nodded. “Juleka says next time you’re in Paris you should try and find us. We live on a houseboat, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

“Until we meet again.” Kagami smiled, slowly backing away into the hotel. She promised herself the next time she was in Paris, she would sneak off to find Juleka and Luka. She wanted to see her first friends again.

#miraculous ladybug #janais fic #janais writing #kagami #luka #juleka #they all children #fluff #kagami zine #fanzine work

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fandom-collective-writers · 4 years

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Reader x Jihyun Kim {MysMes} - Letters to Heal a Broken Heart

Title: Letters to Heal a Broken Heart Fandom: Mystic Messenger Character: Jihyun Kim Genre: bittersweet? romance Warnings: spoilers for his good ending! Intended Gender Audience: Neutral Audience Word Count: 2040 words POV: second person Other comments: no smut but im proud of this! please note that everything with the push back is a letter! i think its pretty clear, but i wanted to make sure it’s understood <3 Written by: @mythiica Req:

Dear –

I’ll admit, it feels a bit strange writing a letter for you, but my therapist recommended it. He told me to explain my emotions with words, saying it would help me become more confident.

See, the reasoning behind it, at least from what I remember, is that there is no pressure to think quickly. Writing allows a flow, a sense of movement between the words before you pick which one you wish to use. Talking is different because it follows a completely contrasting rhythm. To keep a conversation going, you have to speak rather quickly so the person stays engaged in the topic.

It’s all really interesting, and my therapist has given me a book over the fundamentals of other practices like this. I read half of it on the plane to Japan.

To clarify, I’m writing this from my hotel room in Tokyo. I landed a few hours ago and the jet lag has yet to hit me, so I decided to take advantage of this time to write.

I think you’d like it here – the sakura are in full bloom and I have three days dedicated to photographing the sea of pinks as they ripple in the wind. Until now, I’ve only seen pictures of the famous parks, and I never thought that I would be able to witness them in person.

I didn’t think I’d

I never conside

Ah, I should mention, I’m not allowed to erase or cross out sentences I start. Another confidence booster? It’s a bit sillier, but it’s meant to force me to say what is on my mind, rather than letting it fester. I’ll try again:

During my years under Mint Eye, my vision was narrowed, and I had only one duty. However, I am learning to broaden my horizons and expand my mind to encompass everything. The urge to explore bubbles in my chest, waiting for the moment to come out. There are so many chances to do anything, and I’ve got all the time to do all of it.

I’ve also realized that I went over my word limit. I have to stick to 300 words or under. Confidence booster #3! Express yourself with less words. Take a guess of how many times I’ve opened the thesaurus, looking for better synonyms for words? At least seven times in the past five minutes. It’s crazy!

For now, I’ll sign this off and try better next time.

よりご多幸を祈って

Jihyun Kim

PS, I’m practicing my Japanese! That says best wishes… I think.

नमस्कार

Hello and greetings from India! I took a long nap on the plane, and forgot to write. Although I’m only passing through, I ate some delicious food (that I should really try to replicate for you). India is absolutely beautiful – from the sunrises to the bustling markets to the colorful fabrics hung at every corner. I’ll inhale the air and smell six things at once, albeit, not all of them are the best, but I embrace it nonetheless.

More about what I’ve been doing: funnily enough, my phone died on the bus ride, but I made a new friend named Sunmi, and she was kind enough to lend me her charging cable. Instead of ending the interaction there, we spoke for a few hours at least. I learned she was traveling with her friends on a photography excursion. She gave me all the information, and I’d like to look into it when I have wifi again.

You wouldn’t believe what they’ve seen! Last year they went to Antarctica through South America. She got to pet a penguin! Apparently the company also takes people to Greenland and New Zealand – some places I’ve been dreaming of visiting since I was a young boy.

I’ll use my last 100 words to mention that… I’ve gotten a bit homesick. I miss the RFA – well, the people from the RFA minus…

Don’t tell Jumin about the company though, he’ll insist on flying me around with his private jet. I want to experience for myself. Saeyoung is somehow messaging me when I don’t have service? I don’t… understand. Anyways, I also saw Zen landed a huge international role (someone had a magazine on the plane). Otherwise, I hope Jaehee and Yoosung are well. And Elizabeth the 3rd of course. Send them my wishes.

I didn’t forget about you though! The keychain you gave me reminds me of home every day. It might have lost an eye, but I found a button and stitched it on. And I also wanted to ask you–

Ah, I’m over again.

Next time.

Jihyun Kim

Iyi günler! I am in Turkey now and actually writing this on a boat. The sun is setting over the horizon, making the sky change colors with every passing minute. It’s breathtaking, but I wish you were here with me. The other passengers and I take turns standing at the front of the boat, and I sometimes linger, trying to take pictures.

Good news! My vision is getting better. I’ve been taking some Greek herbal remedies, and the seem to be helping. Either that, or they have a wonderful placebo effect. Has that ever happened to you? To think something is working, but you’re just imagining things?

I apologize, maybe that stirred bad memories for you.

Back to Turkey: I stepped out of my comfort zone and spent a night camping. Honestly? I was terrified of doing so, but now I want to do it every night. It is the perfect temperature for hiking, even though I am a bit sunburned.

So many people have been commenting on my hair. Good things mostly, and I started styling it with a bit of gel to keep it out of my eyes. It feels good to look people directly rather than through a curtain.

What are you up to? Hosting anymore parties? I imagine that you are keeping busy, as always of course. My therapist said it would be best to wait messaging you until I return home. I nearly called you a week ago, but I didn’t want to break my vow. It’s like lying to myself, and I know better than that now.

Still, it doesn’t stop me from dreaming.

Sending love,

I’m genuinely angry, but writing to you always calms me. Someone stole my bag – I luckily didn’t have much in it, but your keychain… can you make me a new one please? Now that I don’t have it, it’s almost like I’ve lost a part of you. It hurts a lot, but then I wonder if I am being silly. It’s just a keychain.

Otherwise, France is nice. I didn’t want to go to Paris, so instead I traveled through the countryside to visit a few wineries.

Yes, I did… drink a bit, but I wasn’t impaired when my bag was stolen!

You would laugh at me if I told you what happened, so I will save the story for another time. Before coming to France, I went through Germany and visited some of the most beautiful castles I’ve ever seen. They all looked like they could be straight from a fantasy movie set, and I was convinced one – Neuschwanstein Castle – actually was.

I’ve barely written anything despite so much happening.

I got a haircut (finally), because it was becoming a hassle to tie it back at night.

One evening, I fed some stray cats and they followed me home.

And a drunk (?) tried to play cards with me. But he didn’t have cards. He was dealing an imaginary deck.

Other stories will have to wait until I see you again, and I feel better now. It’s okay to be upset, but it won’t hinder my trip any more.

Je t'aime,

Jihyun

Alaska doesn’t have a night.

That’s not exactly true, but it’s basically true. The hotel has special curtains that block the light, and it is only dark for a few hours.

It has been many miles since I last wrote, but I was caught up in visiting show after event after party after exhibit through America. Their art has given me a new perspective on point of view and emotions, so I hope that the ten camera chips I’ve filled with photographs will be able to convey the same sense of awe.

I’ve also been mistaken for an idol? Like – multiple times. Interesting to say the least, maybe I’ll say yes to the next person that asks. What should my stage name be? I’ll spare you the embarrassment and not share my ideas. They are all very silly and no one would believe me if I told them my name was Cam Ra. Do you get it? It’s bad, I know.

I’ll be returning home soon, unless I get distracted or impulsive and go down to California and Hawaii before coming back. I want to – it doesn’t feel right to return just yet. But that doesn’t mean anything about you!

Really, I think about you and everyone else each day.

Have you met new people? We’ll exchange so many stories…

See you soon,

J K

You pace around, waiting for the last guest on the list to appear. The party started an hour ago, but he still has not arrived. Then again, it has been three months since anyone heard a whisper from V, and you start to lose hope. Swallowing hard, you remind yourself that V is having a wonderful time exploring the world and finding himself.

Taking a handful of your dress, you turn and head through the doors to the main room. Jumin tries to pull Saeyoung away from Longcat, Yoosung explains his most recent surgeries to a group of nurses from his work place, and Jaehee receives many compliments for her majestic cake.

Everyone is happy and has moved on.

You hope V has too.

Maybe all the wishing and praying finally paid off, because you hear his familiar voice calling out behind you. It’s a long shot, but you turn around nonetheless, thinking it is a different guest.

Instead, you see Jihyun, wearing the most dazzling smile you’ve ever seen, running towards you. He’s carrying a folder filled with papers, but that doesn’t stop him from embracing you. He smells rugged, like his voyage has transformed him, but you rather like it.

“Jihyun!” You melt against his hug. “You’re.. Here… you’re here!”

Your squealing draws everyone’s attention, but he focuses on you and only you. “Of course I’m here. I missed you more than I can verbalize.”

His stance is open, welcoming, and confident, much different from two years ago. He is a different person now, brave and proud. Jihyun offers you the folder. It is strange to gift something in the middle of a party, but you accept it anyways, happy he has returned.

Jihyun’s heart races as he explains. “I wrote you letters every time I went somewhere new. These are just a few of them, really I have so many. But each shows something I’ve learned.” He takes a breath and laces his fingers with yours. “This is sudden, and I’m sure you will need time to think about it, but I’m trying something new: asking without being afraid. Over the past two years, I’ve… longed for you. Art has shown me the power of friendship, joy, perseverance, and most importantly, dedication. I want to dedicate my art to you, if you’ll stand by my side.”

You can’t find the words to express yourself because you are so awestruck. He truly has changed, but he has embraced himself and his life. Tears start to roll down your cheeks from the overwhelming surge of emotions. Jihyun brushes them away and presses his forehead to yours.

“I still have much to learn, but I want to do it all with you.”

“I’d like that a lot, Jihyun,” you whisper, captivated by his intense gaze.

“And I can finally say this without fear–”

You tip your head up, and Jihyun kisses you the next moment. His lips are chapped and the warmth radiating from his skin envelops you. He doesn’t need words to communicate it, because you understand perfectly what he is trying to say.

#mysmes #mystic messenger #mysmes v #mysmes jihyun #jihyun kim

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flatlineforest · 4 years

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First Heat {Hanzo Shimada/shimadacest overtones}

Warnings: A/B/O dynamics, Omega Hanzo, Alpha Genji, primarily Hanzo x Guards, loss of virginity, underage, breeding kink,

Wordcount; 2515

Read on AO3 here. Originally posted on 12/15/2017.

Hanzo had never experienced a heat. When his heat didn’t arrive by the time he was fourteen, his doctors assured him that he was simply a late bloomer and that it would come when his body was truly ready. At sixteen, they talked to his father about options for inducing his heat but Sojiro stubbornly assured them that he would not risk making his heir infertile just to rush nature’s processes. Genji had his first rut on Hanzo’s seventeenth birthday, at the expected age of fourteen. It infuriated Hanzo and made him feel ashamed, hiding in his room for the rest of the day as servants bustled about getting things for his younger brother. He didn’t come out for three days after that, either, shirking his duties and wondering why he was a defective omega. As the heir and an omega, Hanzo had many responsibilities to prove to the rest of the clan that he was just as capable of leading as an alpha would. But he could not rightfully take his place as leader if he was unable to produce any heirs.

Eventually, Hanzo gave up on waiting for his heat. He threw himself into his work two fold - taking over the clan’s drug and brothel operations in the regions Chubu, Kanto, and Tohoku as well as amping up his training in martial arts and bowmanship. He began to make himself known - he was going to be the clan’s next oyabun and it was vital that he started building his reputation early. His father had high expectations of his strong omega son, expecting to mate him off to a powerful alpha of another clan and have them all come together under the Shimada clan name. And to accomplish that plan, Hanzo was going to need to be more experienced and more respected than any other potential clan leaders. He took his tasks very seriously, and often spent weeks away from the Shimada estate.

He was in the middle of one of his extended trips to Tokyo - checking over his various brothels and dealers there to ensure their quality had not gone down in the months since his last visit, when he got a call from his father. He would have to come home for a few weeks - attend to the estate in his father’s honor as the other went overseas to work on a weapons deal. He asked after his younger brother, if the second son could watch over the estate while Hanzo finished his quality control visit but his father would not hear it for a second and instructed Hanzo to return home immediately.

Hanzo left most of his belongings in his Tokyo apartment and traveled back to Hanamura the following morning, settling back into the estate with an ease and comfort as the cherry blossoms bloomed around him. He inquired after his brother only to find out that his brother only returned to the estate to shower, eat, and get money from their father. Only fifteen and yet so...unruly. It annoyed Hanzo, and he decided that he would just have to set his brother right before he returned to Tokyo.

Or...At least, he planned to.

What he hadn’t planned on was to wake up naked covered in sweat and slick, his whole body on fire and aching.

His heat.

He wasn’t sure if it was a curse or a blessing to have his first heat finally arrive and to arrive in the comfort of the Shimada estate. On one hand, he had as many servants to bring him toys and drinks and food at his leisure, but on the other hand...The number of alphas willing to knot him and hold him down until his instinctual need to be bred was satisfied was greatly reduced.

He reached between his legs, trembling fingers shyly sliding through the folds of his leaking cunt and shivering at the feeling. He hadn’t given himself the time to explore his body and bring himself off in months - he had too much to do and his last orgasm had to have been more than six months prior. He rubbed at his swollen clit slowly, gasping out into the silence of his bedroom as his hips pushed up into his own touch. His cunt leaked out another wave of aromatic slick, announcing to every alpha and beta in the area that he was in heat and in desperate need of a cock in his sensitive, omega pussy to breed him right up.

He couldn’t ignore the pulsing in his cunt, aching for something to dip inside and yet...He couldn’t do it himself. Whether it was the shame of having to fuck himself or out of an unfamiliarity with his own body, he couldn’t bring himself to dip his fingers into his aching hole. He stayed there, fingers hovering over it for a few minutes, before another lick of heat up his spine had him rolling out of the bed, uncoordinated and dizzy as he looked for his phone. He called his head of security, Mr. Soto, attempting to explain the situation but failing at finding words. As his subordinate started to ask questions, sounding vaguely concerned, Hanzo managed to finally say, “I need assistance. Come to my quarters, quickly.” The other man did not need any further instructions, and hung up the phone quickly.

Hanzo tossed himself back onto the bed, spreading his legs out wide in an attempt to ease the aching of his pussy as he rubbed at his clit. He didn’t need to wait long, however, his head of security busting open Hanzo’s bedroom door as he was accompanied by three of his top men. They looked around the room, guns in hand as they attempted to identify whatever situation that their precious heir needed assistance in. But the mean, determined looks melted off their faces after a few moments, turning their attention to Hanzo where he sat on the bed, his virgin pussy at the apex of his spread legs looking like nothing less than a crown jewel. Hanzo had the pleasure of watching them sniff, alphas and betas finally picking up on the thick layer of heat pheromones permeating the room.

It seemed to register to the four of them at once, as they all rushed to be the first to take advantage of their boss. Soto arrived between Hanzo’s legs first, pulling Hanzo closer to himself roughly by the omega’s strong thighs, growling viciously at the other men in the room as he claimed the heat-stricken omega for his own. For a moment, it seemed as if two of the other men were willing to attack Soto for the right to breed such a sweet smelling omega, but Hanzo’s purring seemed to calm them down.

“Why fight, when you can share,” He coo’d, spreading his legs wide as Soto shoved his pants and boxers down to his knees. He reached out for the other guards, his purr loud between them before it stuttered to a stop as Soto pressed into that wet, welcoming pussy.

For a second, Hanzo forgot what it was like to breath. Perhaps it was because of his heat or maybe this was what it was truly like to lose his virginity - but he was suddenly aware of every sensation, of the warmth of that thick cockhead spreading open his pussy, of the sudden hands against his body as the alphas took full advantage of Hanzo’s invitation. He tensed up for a few second, the room spinning around him as he held his breath, before Soto pressed his hips forward until they were flush together and Hanzo was forced to exhale.

“God, you’re soaking,” Soto moaned above him, his hands on Hanzo’s trim waist as he started to grind his hips forward. “Are you okay down there, sir? God, you look like you’ve never taken a cock before.” Rather than fucking his hips forward and taking the omega beneath him, Soto seemed to relish in taking his time in satisfying his needy boss. From the way Hanzo blushed and shivered beneath him, Soto could only conclude…”You really haven’t, have you? So busy being the little heir that you never took the time to enjoy yourself. The precious heir...and I’m here poppin’ your cherry.”

Hanzo was singularly focused on Soto above him, even as the other guards fished their cocks from their pants and approached the bed. He reached his hands out for them, following his instincts as his pussy was spread wide on Soto’s thick alpha cock. His heat seemed to be quelled for the moment, satisfied by all of the alpha pheromones in the room as he was finally, blessedly, being bred the way his body had desired for years. He couldn’t even muster up any embarrassment at Soto’s comments as he was fucked.

He was snapped out of his trance, reaching out to take one of the guards in hand. He stroked carefully, as he had seen in the various brothels he managed. Seeing these actions and actually performing them were two very different things - he wasn’t sure if all of his experiences watching his whores perform had prepared him for the weight and warmth of some nameless guard’s cock in his hand. He stroked methodically, doing his best to stay in focused and still please the alpha in front of him.

The other occupants in the room came forward slowly, one to Hanzo’s right and the other coming to kneel next to Hanzo’s face. He didn’t need to be instructed on what to do- mouthing at the length presented to him and moaning as his sense of taste was assaulted with alpha musk. He adjusted himself - a hand on each of the cocks presented to him by the guards on his sides and started suckling at the length of the dick jutting out in front of a face.

For a virgin, it was a bit overwhelming but he was just following his instincts on what he should do...And perhaps a bit influenced from watching others do these same sexual acts over the years. It seemed to be working - above him Soto was moaning and growling as he pressed his hips forward, forcefully thrusting his thick alpha cock into Hanzo’s tight, formerly virginal pussy, and the other operatives had their heads thrown back or were watching him with intent, satisfied eyes.

It was motivating to say the least - pheromones swimming through his system as he eagerly serviced the cocks presented to him. He could feel his mind drifting - losing himself to the pheromones and hormones slowly but surely. It felt like they had been going for hours yet he was sure that it had only been a few minutes - a handful of short minutes into his heat. He started pressing his hips back as he suckled on that juicy cock, hands turned into loose tunnels to allow his guards to fuck into them.

He could feel pleasure building underneath the warm, squirmy sensation below his skin. He wished he could chance a hand between his body and where Soto was still thrusting away at his hot, wet pussy but his hands were occupied. He kept pushing his hips back, feeling as if things were starting to come to some sort of climax, like the kind he had read about in the erotica novels he kept hidden under his mattress.

He was shocked from his reverie by the guard whose cock Hanzo was currently worshipping grabbing him by the hair, tugging at it pleasantly as he pressed his hips forward. His virgin mouth was not nearly prepared for such a thing - neatly gagging around that cock as he was forced to take it. The second shock came as his mouth was flooded with salty cum. Where his normal set of standards would have had him spit rather than demurely swallow (as he so readily fought against the idea of obedient, omega servitude even in uncomfortable situations) he was not in any place to push away the man by his hips. He swallowed the thick spend and didn’t dwell on it greatly as Soto started to grind his hips forward. Eventually the guard pulled away, sitting back on his haunches as he watched Hanzo service the other two guards.

With one less cock to attend to, Hanzo was able to really work the other two. They seemed entranced by their young, pretty heir, especially as their eyes traced the path of a stray drop of cum sliding down his lips.

“Ahh fuck~ Look at him. So cute, staring up at us all starry-eyed,” one sighed, continuing to press his hips forward into the warm tunnel of Hanzo’s delicate, but calloused hand. “Just makes you want to eat him right up - claim ‘im as your own.”

That had Soto growling possessively, pressing his body into Hanzo’s and pushing the omega back onto the bed. His teeth hovered over where Hanzo’s mating mark would go, at the junction of his neck and shoulder - wanting desperately to claim such a gorgeous, coveted omega but knowing it would be his doom if he did so. It was widely known that Hanzo was off limits to such things - his father’s plan of marrying him to an important alpha in a business move was well known and established among all of Sojiro’s employees and associates.

Of course, Hanzo was needy in his heat - a surge of need gripping him as he was pinned down underneath a large, powerful alpha. He pressed up, such that Soto’s teeth were just barely grazing against Hanzo’s perfect, unmarked skin. On some base level, he wanted to be mated and claimed and fucked until he was swelling with an alpha’s child.

That simple action - pressing up into Soto’s jaws and feeling those sharp canines graze his skin - was enough to send Hanzo over the edge. His pussy clenched around Soto’s cock in eager waves as he arched his back and moaned loud enough for the entire estate to hear.

Soto couldn’t help it - he changed the trajectory of his bite to instead hit purely on Hanzo’s shoulder, biting down to keep the omega in place as he humped his hips forward. Between them, his knot was swelling. Every backwards pull sent flames licking down Hanzo’s spine, his tight pussy being forced to spread wide for the alpha cock breeding him right up.

Soon enough, Soto’s knot was locking the two of them together while he hummed contentedly at the moaning omega beneath him. Besides them, the two unsatisfied guards were stroking frantically at their cocks, knots half inflated simply because of all of the omega pheromones in the air. They seemed to reach completion in tandem - aiming their cocks over Hanzo’s blissed out face to give him a nice facial.

Lying beneath a powerful alpha while having his womb filled with thick, creamy cum...Perhaps it wasn’t what Hanzo had planned for his day, but it was more than satisfying. He couldn’t wait to see what he would get up to for the rest of his heat.

#shimadacest #hanzo shimada #old fic #forest writes

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ignis-scientia-estrogen-brigade · 5 years

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~ISEB in Japan: A Photo Journal~

If you’ve been following me on Twitter lately, you’ll know that I’ve been traveling through parts of Japan the last couple of weeks with my Ignis Play Arts Kai figure in tow. I posted a few pictures over there during the duration of my trip, but those barely scratched the surface of everything I got to do while in Japan. So I thought I’d put together a blog post of my journey while it was still fresh in my mind, featuring everyone’s favorite strategist in what I’ve been dubbing my Great Final Fantasy XV Adventure of 2019!

[Image-heavy content + commentary under the cut]

A brief backstory: I’ve wanted to go to Japan my entire adult life. For years, I’ve watched friends make the trek while I’ve been stuck at home with a severe case of FOMO. The only thing that ever stopped me from going was money (or a lack thereof), so I made the decision last summer to buckle down and sock away every dime I made to make it happen. My only concern before hopping on the plane was that I had missed the wave of FFXV popularity by about a year, but I would quickly learn that—other than not getting to eat any of Ignis’ recipes at the Square Enix Cafe—I had little to worry about.

Literally the only reason I brought my Play Arts Kai figure was so I could take this picture of Ignis at the Citadel (a.k.a. the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building), which was the very first place I stopped at on my first full day in Tokyo. The building + the surrounding plaza, while not 100% accurate, is a fairly impressive facsimile of the one in the game. It’s located in Shinjuku, which also boasts a lot of similarities to Insomnia. Having finished Episode Ardyn mere hours before jetting off on my trip, it felt like I had stepped off the plane and right into the game!

There just so happened to be an Animate right near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, so I popped in to get a feel for what kind of FFXV merch I’d be able to find two years after the game’s release and a year after its height of popularity. Turns out, there was quite a lot of swag to be found! Truth be told, I’ve never been one to chase down official merchandise (unfortunately my job doesn’t really afford that luxury), but I gave myself special permission while on vacation to buy anything I wanted. So I did! Including everything you see above. ^^;;

The next thing I did was take the train to Ginza to meet Lyle/@landscape-gonna (@landscape_gonna on Twitter), and I simply cannot say enough nice things about her. If you don’t know who she is, there’s a 99.9% chance you’ve seen at least one of her Ignis costumes, and they are A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. We had chatted a bit previously on Twitter before I went full-on stan mode, asking her if she'd be willing to meet up with me (a total stranger) to have lunch and talk Ignis and Final Fantasy. Not only did she say yes, but she gifted me with copies of her incredible cosplay zines and was not the least embarrassed when I busted out my Play Kai Arts figure in the middle of a busy Japanese dessert restaurant haha.

See? Zero embarrassment here.

We even did Noct’s ultimate pose! In public!

I can’t begin to articulate how special meeting Lyle was for me—being brought together from opposite sides of the world to share in our love for Ignis/FFXV is a memory I will cherish my entire life. So Lyle, if you are reading this: どうもありがとうございます ! ٩( ᐛ )( ᐖ )۶

Lyle wasn't the only friend I had in Japan. Another friend of mine, Asuka (who happens to be well-versed in anime/video game culture), volunteered to be my guide through Ikebukuro/Otome Road the next day. Quick otaku lesson: Kbooks is a chain of stores that specializes in the resale of licensed merchandise. For example, if you missed out on some of the limited availability items from the Movic and the Square Enix Cafe collaborations, you might be able to find them at a Kbooks. Otome Road in particular has something like seven different Kbook shops in a 3-block radius, each one specializing in different products (sports anime, idols, cosplay, etc). I, of course, beelined for the video game shop...

...which is where I found this fucking thing:

I’m not gonna lie, I almost bought it. I just didn’t know what I would do with it besides scare the living daylights out of people when they least expected it lol.

Yoooo Adam I found ya boi in Ikebukuro

We popped into the cosplay Kbooks shop since it was right across the street and I found an Ignis costume for sale! Please enjoy this picture of me pretending to come up with a new recipeh (since this is likely the closest I’ll ever come to cosplaying as Ignis).

One of the things Asuka introduced me to was Hanami (picnic under the cherry blossoms, basically). I had timed my trip to coincide with the blooming of the sakura, and the experience of being in Japan during that time was indescribable. I took a bajillion pictures of the sakura while I was there and unfortunately none of my photos ever quite captured the beauty and magic of them in person, but here’s a lil’ pic of a tree in bloom at Yoyogi Park (with the Movic Ignis charm I bought at Kbooks earlier that day).

Another item on my Japan checklist was to stay at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Hakone, a town famous for its onsen/hot springs. Nothing in Hakone is cheap (at least, not during peak sakura season), and I had spent an absurd amount of money on a night at one particular ryokan with a private bath (shy husband haha). The private bath could only be reserved in 30-minute increments, and by the time we finally rolled into Hakone the bath we wanted only had one slot available for the rest of the night. So what did I do?

If you said, “Waste the first 15 minutes of your 30-minute, super-expensive onsen experience taking the perfect Ignis-in-a-hot-springs photo” then you would be absolutely correct lol.

I actually wasn’t planning on taking a bunch of photos of my Ignis figure on this trip, but after my husband tucked Ignis into my futon while I was in the bathroom, documenting my trip vicariously through Ignis ended up taking on a life of its own. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I popped back over to Tokyo after my stay in Hakone, which is when I finally got to make the Great Nerd Pilgrimage™ to the Square Enix Cafe! Had the FFXV collab been going on while I was there, I might’ve forked over the cash to eat at the cafe, but I opted to skip out on lunch so I could spend more money in their shop. They still had a small collection of FFXV merch...

...including this acrylic Ignis stand that I wanted but thought I would never own after failing to find it at Kbooks earlier in the week. Huzzah!

Also, I just feel the need to let everyone know that this is what the outside of the Square Enix Cafe in Tokyo looks like lmao.

Our next stop was Kyoto, which we arrived in on Gladio’s birthday (April 2nd). Unfortunately I didn’t have time to draw anything for his b-day, but we did stop for a Nissin Cup Noodle in honor of Gladio!

One of the most memorable moments of my trip was when this boating incident happened, and it requires a little bit of backstory. On my first full day in Kyoto, I attempted to field two of the most popular tourist destinations in Kyoto: the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, and the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Both places have their beauty and historical significance, and I suspect during the off-season are inspiring sites to behold. In my case, both places were absolutely swarming with tourists, which really put a damper on my enjoyment of them. Defeated, I followed a local canal back toward my hotel, which is where I spotted a miniature boat enthusiast controlling a boat that looked eerily similar to the Royal Vessel. I pulled my Ignis figure out with the intention of simply taking a photo of the boat in the background; when the man saw me holding my figure and fumbling with my phone, he flagged me over and gestured for me to put Ignis in the boat. I wish I had documented how it all went down a little better, but as I was literally wheezing with laughter, the above was the best I could capture.

One of the more off-the-cuff decision I made was to dress in kimono for a day while in Gion (Kyoto). As the cherry blossoms were at their height during my stay there, you couldn’t sneeze without hitting someone who was dressed traditionally for the numerous festivals that were taking place throughout the city. As a white foreigner, I initially had reservations about wearing a kimono (for fear of cultural appropriation), but I did everything I could to be as respectful and reverent whilst wearing the garb (and the rental shop was certainly happy for the patronage). It was an amazing experience and I would definitely do it again!

Speaking of being respectful, I made it a point not to take pictures of Ignis while visiting any shrines (because nothing screams ‘douchey American’ quite like whipping out an action figure on sacred grounds), hence why I don’t have pictures of any of the major shrines we visited in this post. I did, however, spot this miniature shrine arch in an alleyway, and thought it would be okay for my equally miniature strategist to pay his respects.

Literally, a tiny shrine in an alleyway. I suppose even alleys have their deities!

Osaka is about 20 minutes away from Kyoto by train, and since I had already traveled all the way out to Kyoto, I went the extra few miles to stop by the Square Enix Cafe in Osaka. They actually had a smaller selection of FFXV merch than the one in Tokyo and I didn’t end up buying anything, but I would’ve never stopped wondering if I had missed out on something if I hadn’t gone and seen it for myself!

My last day in Kyoto was a week into my trip, and I still had five days left to go. After walking ~10 miles every day (no joke, I have the GPS screenshots to prove it!), I was really starting to feel the grind. I’m sure Ignis was also desperate for an Ebony after being lugged around in the bottom of my purse for a week lol.

Back on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo!

Weeeeeee (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Said hi to Fuji-san!

Stopped for a delicious matcha parfait! (Shout-out to my husband who never once got annoyed with me whenever I busted out my figure in public spaces lol)

This was without a doubt the craziest and most unexpected find of any of my merch runs. I had gone to the video game Kbooks in Ikebukuro earlier in the week and had sifted through all their Ignis merch with a fine-toothed comb. This particular Movic charm was one I had been on the lookout for, but it was a rare pull even when they were readily available a year ago, and the only Ignis charm I came across in my first trip to Kbooks was the normal Ignis one (see my Hanami pic). I had no real reason to return to Ikebukuro after I got back from Kyoto, but on a whim I went one last time and BAM—this guy was hanging out there in his lil’ baggie, just waiting for me to get my grubby little hands on him. Jackpot!

All in all, I spent way too much money and I couldn’t be happier for it. The only thing I couldn’t find for the life of me was the Ignis cologne by Movic, but after searching through several Animates and Kbooks, I began to suspect it might be an online-exclusive item that wasn’t available in stores. (Which was probably a good thing for me cause I was already stretching my budget to the limit by this point haha.)

On my last night in Japan, I went back to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building—only this time I went at night when it was all lit up! I also went up to the observation deck on the 45th floor (something I didn’t know you could do the first time I was there) and enjoyed a fantastic view of nighttime Insomnia Tokyo. It was the perfect bookend to a perfect trip, and my heart is absolutely overflowing right now with love for both Japan and Final Fantasy XV!

#final fantasy xv #ignis scientia #ffxv

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another-blog-bites-the-dust · 5 years

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The Week.

Summary: You and John spend the week together in Tokyo, Japan. A week that would change your lives for good.

Warnings: Little bit of drinking but that’s all

A/N: Here it is! I’m so excited to share this with you all! The first part is a little short just so we get the baseline for how reader and John meet. Enjoy! 💖

Day 1.

—————

You traced your fingers over the lukewarm, milky bath water making faint rippling noises. The bubbles had dissolved down into the water and eventually they had disappeared completely, as if they didn’t even exist.

You looked out of the large wall to wall window that the bath was up against and let out a sigh, your exposed skin was sending chills throughout your body. Even though it was just your head, décolletage, the top half of your back and knees, the water droplets that had stuck to your exposed skin made you feel colder than it was in the bathroom. You pulled your hand out above the surface and drops of water fell from fingers like rain falling from a gutter. It mesmerised you for a whole four seconds.

You arrived in Tokyo from London a little over two hours ago and already threw yourself in a bath to get rid of the travel and jet lag that had stuck itself onto you like a leech. As relaxing as the bath was at first, it didn’t help and you slowly emerged from it creating a loud sloshing noise that echoed through your hotel suite.

You dried yourself off looking over a city that was just beginning its day. ‘You should really be in bed by now!’ Your body clock screamed. You were convinced it resented you since you traveled so much.

The people below looked like ants you were up so high in the hotel and you could see for miles from one side of the city to another. Mount Fuji towered over the city, constantly making its presence known.

It was the furthest you had traveled just to write a five hundred word piece on, you’d finish it easily in a day- or even on the plane home. You weren’t really complaining though, you would be able to enjoy the rest of your time in the city. Five hundred words printed in the paper you worked for, published in it’s own little spot- like it was every month. Sometimes being a travel journalist had its perks…like an all expenses paid trip to Japan.

You grabbed a top and a pair of underwear before walking through to the bedroom and turning on the TV to a channel you didn’t understand due to the language barrier. You sighed and collapsed onto your bed, grabbing the menu for room service. You could order as much or as little as you liked- you weren’t paying for it, the paper you worked for was.

You didn’t feel like eating however. Travel had taken its toll on you and all you wanted now was to sleep. You lay back on the pillowy, white sheets and grabbed one of the many remotes scattered across your room to shut the blinds. You made a mental note to include how technology was slowly being introduced to do even the most mundane of tasks- like shutting the blinds. You picked up the remote that turned on the music system. Groaning, you turned it off and tossed away the remote in frustration before picking up the right one and shutting the blinds, depriving the room of daylight.

It was hard getting to sleep in a world that was awake. Most noises disturbed you. But after managing to successfully nap for an hour, you woke up starving so decided to make use of the room service.

The food arrived under pristine silver cloches, the plates of food themselves were like little works of art. You took some photos to document what the food was like, giving your readers an idea of what you experienced. As delicious as it was, you were still far too exhausted to fully appreciate it. You sat on the ledge and looked out the large window as you nibbled away on bits of exotic fruit you never knew existed and watched the world go by. You then wondered if you’d venture out to the unknown or rather stay in the confides of the hotel for the rest of the day.

The tiredness and jet lag still inside your body were in favour of the latter- so hotel it was.

You pulled on a pair of leggings and grabbed your keycard, heading down to the spa, pool and gym that was inside the hotel. Spending a few hours lazing in the spa might help with the jet lag. You went into the lift and pressed the button that had -1 on it. It stopped off on the floor below and a man stepped in. He looked around your age and had long brown hair and silently greeted you with a thin smile. He also looked very familiar. Perhaps you had seen him when you were checking in or something.

You watched as he pressed the button that would take him to the lobby and then stood in the confined space in silence- almost silence- piano music was playing over a speaker. A few more people entered the lift, mainly to travel to the lobby. They pressed the button despite clearly noticing that it was already pressed.

The man who got in the lift on the floor below yours stepped out when the lift reached the lobby, sending you a quick glance as he did.

You continued your journey to the spa and showed the receptionist your keycard. They handed you a pair of thin, fluffy, white terry cloth slippers, a towel and a robe made of the same material then motioned you to where the sauna was. You stripped off in one of the changing cubicles and wrapped the towel around you before putting your things in a locker and making the code your year of birth.

As soon as you stepped in the sauna, the wave of warm air hit you and you let out a blissful hum feeling it ease the tension in your muscles. Sitting in an airplane seat for hours on end meant that your muscles weren’t very happy.

Two hours easily passed in the empty sauna and you decided to get out before you spent the rest of your life in it. Your hair was a a little damp and frizzy and your skin was glowing with sweat. You headed into the shower and quickly washed away the little droplets clinging onto you before changing into your clothes and then throwing on the cosy robe around you, your hair was still damp. You kept on the slippers the receptionist gave you and decided to carry your shoes.

You walked down the corridor back to the lift and noticed a familiar face walking towards you dressed in a robe just like yours and sporting the same pair of slippers. “Is the sauna along there?” He asked in an English accent, pointing to where you had walked along from.

“Yeah, just on the left. There’s no one in it, I’ve been sitting for two hours and not one person came in.” You smiled “Enjoy.” You continued walking on and the long haired stranger did the same, glancing over his shoulder to you before you vanished out of sight.

•••

The later it got the more awake you became. You had changed into a light jumper and pair of jeans and were now roaming the halls and exploring your home for the week. It’s lobby was full of new, futuristic technology- despite it only being 1976. There was a gift shop that sold plastic Mount Fuji’s that were made in China- among other things. You looked at the directory and noticed the word 'BAR’ in English underneath the Japanese words. You headed up in the lift, it was two levels above your suite and by the time you reached there, the twinkling lights of Tokyo were shining through the panoramic window like stars.

The bar itself was a fairly relaxed environment. It was a mix of dark red and mahogany but with touches of gold and black and specks of green. You sat down at the bar and ordered yourself a whisky, squinting your eyes at the bottle the bartender was holding. A bottle of Suntory. You raised the glass to silently thank him and then began sipping away on it.

Most of the people in the bar were with someone or in a group. One group of Japanese businessmen were roaring drunk already and were hysterically laughing away at something. You checked your watch that you adjusted when you arrived and wondered how people could be so drunk at almost seven at night. You envied them a little.

“Can I have a double measure of whisky, please?” You were surprised to hear an English voice next to you. The same one you had heard earlier before the voice headed to the sauna. You looked out of the corner of you eye and saw the familiar stranger taking a seat beside you at the bar. “Can I get you another?”

It took you a moment to register that he was talking to you. You turned and politely smiled “I’m alright just now, but thank you.” He nodded with slightly pursing lips. Whoever he was- he was gorgeous. The little grin he sent to the bartender as a thanks was almost effortless and his eyes twinkled just as much as his drink swirling in the glass that captured the low lights of the bar.

He placed down his glass. It looked like he was thinking about what to say. “So…Tokyo…”

And that was the best he could conjure.

You let out a huff of amused air. “Unless I took a very wrong detour- the last time I checked I was in Tokyo.”

The long haired stranger cleared their throat. “Yes! Right!” He quickly spoke, the nerves starting to get to him. “Beautiful place.” You hummed in agreement. “Or so I thought.” Your eyebrows furrowed together and you looked up to him, slowly raising one of your brows in confusion. He had a huge smile on his face and gave you his wholehearted attention. “Until I looked into your eyes just now…wow.” He breathed out and you felt your cheeks burn more than your throat did drinking the whisky. “Sorry. Sorry, that was forward of me.” He bashfully chortled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve uh…seen you around today. Have you been in Japan long?”

“No just- just arrived this morning.” You replied with a tired smile. “What about you?”

“Been in Japan itself for a week but arrived in Tokyo yesterday- first time I’ve been to the city. I still can’t sleep.” He sighed. You knew the sleepless feeling. “Tokyo is a wind down week really- my band are here. We’ve been touring and doing press interviews but we have a week and two days to enjoy the city.” He explained to you as if he had known you for years. “Apparently we’re a successful band.”

You played with the napkin that was underneath your glass a little. “I don’t think you can measure success with popularity,” you began and looked at him, he was listening and full of curiosity of what you were going to say. “I think being successful is being happy. To me anyway. Even if it’s for one second a day. You’ve succeeded. It’s the ultimate success- even that one second of it.”

He smiled. “That’s a very nice way to see things. I like your outlook.” He was taken back with how profound your words were. He then snapped back into reality when he realised he hadn’t properly introduced himself. “John Deacon, by the way.”

He held out his hand and you shook it. “Y/N Y/L/N. I’m here working too. I’m a travel journalist but I’ll probably finish my piece on Tokyo on the plane and just jot down notes while I’m here. Try and enjoy myself a little!” You said with the ends of your mouth curving upwards. “Forgive me if I haven’t properly recognised you- I’m jet lagged and my brain feels like it’s been through twenty rounds with Muhammad Ali!” John chucked at that. “But you wouldn’t happen to be the John Deacon from Queen, would you?” You asked, eyeing him up a little. Your brain was well and truly melted by this point.

He smiled and nodded his head “I am. And I completely understand how you’re feeling!” You both laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, Y/N.”

“You too, John. I love your, and your bands, work.” You finished the last of your drink.

“Thank you! Means a lot. Can I get you another?” He asked, motioning to your empty glass.

“Uh, sure! I’m going to get barely any sleep tonight anyway- may as well spend my time in the bar with you!” You chuckled.

“That would be time well spent,” he shot you a wink and you discreetly bit down on your lip to refrain yourself from smiling too much.

John had spotted you from across the bar as soon as you walked in. He was sitting near the window, mindlessly humming a tune and tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair to create a beat when he saw you. He froze completely and felt his nerves tingle with joy. He was worried he wouldn’t see you again after seeing you in the lift but then he saw you down in the spa and now you were meters away from him at the bar. The fact that you both stayed in the same hotel was a sign to John. And now he would have been stupid to pass up the opportunity of having the chance to talk with you.

Your drink arrived and you clinked your glass with John’s. “Cheers.” You both took a gulp “How was the sauna?”

“Amazing! Although I did almost fall asleep in there!” You let out a fluttery laugh and John’s heart ecstatically leaped at the noise you had created. It was no less than stunning. “My hair was unbelievably frizzy when I stepped out. Spent the best part of the afternoon brushing it down and then using a whole can of hairspray on it! When you’re blessed with fabulous hair you’ve got to treat it right!” He dramatically swished it with his hand and you laughed even louder.

“You’re funny, John Deacon.” You sent him a toothy grin and took a sip of your drink and continued talking well into the night.

“So…a travel journalist?” He finally asked as if to confirm and you nodded with a half smile. “Favourite place you’ve been to?”

You took a sharp intake of breath “That’s a tough one! I couldn’t possibly pick. Every country I’ve been to has had something uniquely beautiful about it. I could never choose.”

John understood your answer and decided to ask you another question. “Weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?” You raised both brows and he smirked, shrugging his shoulders. “C'mon if you’ve been to lots of places you must have eaten some weird stuff.”

“Lamb brain. That was certainly…different.” John grimaced slightly and washed away the imaginary taste on his tongue with a gulp of whisky. “Okay a question for you,” you looked around while you thought of one. “Uh…favourite plant?”

John almost choked on his drink as he burst out laughing. “Favourite plant?” He asked and you nodded “Favourite plant?!” He said again and you giggled, resting your head on your hand.

“I spotted a little palm tree in the corner and it was the first thing I could think of!” You laughed while defending your choice of question.

“Alright- Robert.” John jokingly replied and you didn’t know wether it was the drink, the lack of sleep or John himself that was making you laugh so much at his Led Zeppelin reference.

“I’ve got to admit- that was quick.” You were impressed.

The bartender cleared his throat and the pair of you looked up to him. “I’m very sorry, but the bar is now closing for the night.”

You and John looked around- the bar was empty and it was just the two of you, the bartender, and soft piano music on the speakers. You then both looked at each other and smiled while shaking your heads. You didn’t realise it was so late. One in the morning to be precise. You both settled your bar bill- John insisted on paying yours but you had already handed over your cash along with a tip.

You walked John to the lift and he pressed the button “What floor are you on?” He asked.

“Eighteen. The one above yours,” you replied stepping in beside him. “Thanks for a good night. And sorry for not really recognising you!”

John smirked “That’s alright. I actually enjoyed not being recognised and also not having someone get all flustered and hysterical around me! Makes a change.” He smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I had a great night too. I hope we can do it again sometime.” He asked with a different smile on his face- one that did reach is eyes.

The lift dinged when it reached your floor and you stepped out, pressing your hand on the door so it wouldn’t shut just yet. “Well, I’m here all week. You’ll find me at the bar- and I’m talking about the one with the alcohol and breakfast.” John loudly laughed. “Goodnight, John.” You sincerely smiled.

“Goodnight, Y/N. See you around.”

You took your hand away and the doors of the lift shut. You had a funny feeling that wouldn’t be the last you saw of John Deacon this week.

——————————

•All parts•

Tags- (Tag list is open! Just let me know if you want to be tagged or not or if I’ve forgotten to tag you!)

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notoriousgrd · 4 years

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Hello again.

So, provoked by a card from a friend, I realised it had been over six months since I last posted. I'm okay, despite real world events sucking throughout 2019, health is pretty much the same, hands are a little worse (a Lego kit I'd put off building for ten months was a bit of a struggle) and I honestly lose track of how long it's been since I last did something (posting here, tested for health stuff, bought things and not gotten round to wstching/playing them) but I've also come to terms with my health, made some adjustments and just get on with things as best I can.

So in 2020, going to try and post at least every couple of weeks here. Finally upgraded to a good tablet, so can access Tumbdlr easier now. So, a few important things from last six months.

Just before Halloween, Oscar who'd been with us for seventeen-and-a-half years sadly passed away. She was the best cat.

At the beginning of December, April became part of the family, she's a two year old adopted from a local shelter, she's settled in quickly and I always look forward to visiting every couple of weeks and seeing her.

Also got out and voted in December, overall result was bad but our county saw sense and voted the SNP back in after th e last election's bizarre result.

Christmas was the usual chilled out few days visiting the folks, got some useful stuff, a new hat and a lovely book from my brother.

I just got back from a another London trip, down to see Pro Wrestling EVE again with some other things over the weekend. Saw Rise Of Skywalker on the Friday night which I really enjoyed overall. Saturday morning visited the Cartoon Museum which had so much excellent art. On Sunday spent the morning and half-the afternoon at the Camden Markets.

Then a trip to the London Dungeon which was fantastic, A walk through the darker side of London with various scenes acted out in front of you, a couple of short rides, a Brian Blessed projection, great laughs and great effects, well worth the trip.

The weekend's highlight was of course Wrestle Queendom 3, three hours of fantastic wrestling and a meet and greet where we met most of the performers, we were less nervous this time so had some nice chats with them. Best of all was meeting the wrestlers from overseas, Nor "Phoenix" Diana is a hijab wearing wrestler from Malaysia and her ring gear is amazing, like a real life suoerheroine. From Tokyo Joshi Pro we had the magical girl Yuka Sakazaki and the cutest in the world Maki Itoh, who were both great to meet.

We had second row tickets in the smaller venue so had a great view of the action, throat is still raw from all the cheering, booing, chanting, singing along and being the buzzer for the rumble match. Again, an excellent show throughout and just what we needed after a depressing couple of months.

You can be sure we'll be doing our best to get to Wrestle Queendom 4 when it comes round.

Already, my hat is full of pins and badges and only had it three weeks. :)

Was a bit of a struggle at times and I was really ill when we got back to the hotel Saturday night, to the extent I thought we might have to cancel Sunday's activities but I'd recovered enough by the morning and there was almost always somewhere for me to sit and rest for a bit if needed. We never walked too far in one go, used the tube and buses to get around mostly.

Apart from that, been upgrading things just in case my fitness for work reassessment (due in April) doesn't go well, waiting on the arrival of my first Doctor Who Blu-Ray set (Season 26, I had to) and a four hour 80's horror movie documentary called Into Dsrkness that me and my brother's names are in the credits for as we pre-ordered a collector's edition.

Can't think of anything else right now, will try to post semi-regularly and hopefully mire longer posts now I'm not using my phone. :)

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softforday6 · 5 years

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좋아합니다. You x Young K (feat. DAY6). Chapter I

Summary: Younghyun is in love with his best friend and decides to do something about it. It won’t be an easy task, will he be able to overcome his fears and change his reality?. Genre: Romance, smut (in the future). Note: Hello! I wrote this fan fic for DAY6 but here, the characters, are not musicians. Younghyun writes some songs but is a businessman, he owns two coffee shops in Tokyo and Seoul. This fan fic is my own creation and I apologize in advance if there are any spelling mistakes, I speak spanish and learned english on my own lol. Also, I got inspired and thought it would be fun to write a story, I just finished college and decided to dive into new things, this is one of them. Never done this before, so I hope it’s a nice story for you to read. Jae, Wonpil, Sungjin and Dowoon will make their appearance pretty often and you’ll find out about them as the story continues. Park Jimin (MC) and Im Jaebum (GOT7) will appear as a couple (I always thought those two looked cute together). Also, the Point of View will change in each chapter.

Enjoy! ————————————————————————

Chapter 1: Heart Surpassed By Soju.

I like you. I tried to hide it but I can’t do it anymore. It took me a while to say this: I want to love you.

-좋아합니다-DAY6.

Friday, 9 am. Tokyo, Japan. Younghyun’s coffee shop. [Younghyun’s point of view].

Wonpil, my friend and business advisor, and I arrived to Tokyo three months ago to open a second coffee shop in town. Before coming back to Seoul, where the first shop is, I served the costumers and tried to establish a warm vibe to my shop, making them want to stay and enjoy their cup of coffee.

-Have a nice day!-I said while delivering a latte to a costumer.

I’ve heard my friend coming closer by the sound of his shoes on the floor.

-How are you feeling today?- he asked.

-I still have a headache.

Last night we went to a bar with some people we know from here and I made the terrible mistake of drinking way too much soju and when we came back to our rented apartment I confessed one of my best kept secrets: I’m in love with my best friend. Wonpil said he wasn’t surprised at all, after all, he always knew how to read right through me.

I’ve known her for fifteen years now, we went to the same school together and I like her since the first time I saw her but out relationship went on as a friendship. Nevertheless, lately it’s been getting harder for me to be just her friend. She’s dating this guy Hongseok for about a year and a half now, so I couldn’t find the right moment to say what I feel.

-Hey, I think you have something that belongs to me- I said, extending my hand.

He laughed and took my smartphone from his pocket to give it to me.

Last night, my heart surpassed by alcohol was so sure that it wanted to confess but my friend saved me from a potential disaster when he noticed that I was calling her, yelling I’ll tell her! she needs to know, I can’t go on like this, or at least that’s what he told me.

-I’ve saved you from embarrassing yourself. Although… You do know you have to do something about it, right?.

I sighed. I knew it. It was just a matter of time, I was going to burst in the worst moment. But… What if I ruin our friendship? I really like spending time with her, her heart is so warm and makes everything that is good, better and any kind of problem seems like nothing.

-Think about what you’re going to do when we come back- he said before leaving.

Friday, 5 pm. [Videocall with you]. [Younghyun’s point of view].

-So, that was my week. How about yours?-I said.

-Pretty busy too… Actually, I need some rest like now-she stated while throwing herself on her bed as she sighed.

Just like Wonpil can read right through me, I can read through her. I’ve been thinking there might be something disturbing her for a while now but she didn’t wanted to talk about it.

-Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on?.

-A month ago we found out that one of our co-workers was giving our ideas to the brand we’re competing with. I had to work even harder.

She works as an art director in a make up company in Seoul. They were so close to the release of a new product.

-Who was it?.

-Someone from my creative team… However, I think we’ll get through this- she said, convinced.

Of course they will, anything is possible with her leading the project. When she’s passionate about something she works so hard to get the results she wants.

-Hey, can we meet when you come back?-She asked.

I smiled.

-You don’t even have to ask me that. Come to my coffee shop tomorrow and I’ll make you your favourite cup of coffee.

-Yes! I miss that, no one makes it like you do.

Friday, 9 pm. Gimpo’s airport, Seoul. [Younghyun’s point of view].

-Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the airport of Gimpo. Please remain seated with the seat belt fastened until the plane stops completely…-they announced.

-Have you decided what you’re going to do?-Wonpil asked.

After talking to her before our trip back home I wondered what would happen if she decides to stay away from me because she doesn’t feel the same way that I do.

-I think I should just forget about it for now, the timing doesn’t seem right.

-Again?-he said, dropping his head on the back of the seat and looking at the roof- What if Hongseok wasn’t in the story? What would you do?.

-Maybe I would…

-You wouldn’t do anything, would you?-he interrupted.

I sighed.

-Admit it, you’re just looking for excuses because you’re too scared of how she could react-he said, dropping his hands on his legs.

-You say it like it’s so easy!

-It was always easy for you! You get everything you want, no exceptions. Why would it be different this time?.

Silence invaded us for a few minutes. I don’t know what was going on in his mind but in mine, all the moments I spent with her and how in each of one of them I found myself smiling more than usual.

All of a sudden, he dugged his hands on my seat.

-What are you doing?-I asked confused.

He took the notebook I always have with me where I write the things I have to do and some songs. After searching through the pages, he finally spoke.

-Look, here it is. I like you. I tried holding it back but I can’t anymore. Now I can tell you: I want to love you. You wrote this, not me. Add to this the show you’ve made thanks to the soju… My friend, you need to act on it and now.

When he read my own words I felt the same way as I felt when I wrote this. This made me feel tired and like I needed to release it.

Once we arrived, we met with our friends. When I saw them, I noticed that they didn’t change, not even a bit, while we were gone. Sungjin, a serious and responsible guy, was looking for us with his eyes while Dowoon and Jae were laughing out loud.

-Oh! the handsome boys arrived-Sungjin said.

We went directly to eat some barbecue at Jae’s. It’s really nice to be back homeI thought while looking at us, reunited. Chapter 2. I missed you.

#day6 #day6 fan fiction #day6 imagine #imagine #day6 scenario #kpop fan fic #kpop scenario #kpop imagine #you and young k #young k #younghyun #jae #wonpil #dowoon #sungjin #I like you

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littleredinmotion · 6 years

Photo

live through this and you won’t look back by royalklaroline

(ff) (ao3)

Caroline left Rousseau’s determined to keep it together. Determined not to cry because if she did she’s afraid she’d never stop.

It wasn’t until the frantic drive down to New Orleans a few hours before that she realized that the reason Klaus dying affected her this much was because somewhere deep down she always knew that they’d end up together. Like fate.

But apparently, she was wrong.

Now it seems that fate is ripping them apart before they’d barely begun.

She’d lost a loved one before. Quite a few times actually. But this time was different. She thought losing Stefan, her newlywed husband, on their wedding day was as bad as it could get. But Stefan was human. Part of her knew that someday he would leave her, she just hadn’t expected it so soon.

Losing Klaus was different. She always imagined that once all her loved ones were gone, she’d always have Klaus. But now…

She felt like she’d lost her future. Her forever.

Klaus was the one who’d helped her embrace the joys of being immortal. Now the thought of a future without him felt empty and uncertain and scary.

In an attempt to keep from falling apart and to keep any last bit of him that she could, she turned and headed back to find the street painter they’d admired together earlier. She found him sitting in the exact spot with the now finished painting at his side while he started on a new one.

“I’ll pay you however much you want for that painting,” she inquired to the man.

“Sorry miss. It’s already been sold.”

“Please. I’ll pay double whatever they paid. I’m begging you,” she pleaded now on the verge of tears.

“I wish I could help you but the owner was very specific that it had to be this painting. I can paint you one like it, if you wish.”

Defeated, Caroline thanked the man but declined. She was once again reminded of how much she regretted shredding the drawing he once gave her.

She took her time making her way back to her car before leaving New Orleans with nothing but the fading sensation of the man that promised her the world on her lips.

Two weeks had passed since she had gotten back to Mystic Falls. Two weeks since Klaus had successfully sacrificed himself for his daughter. She had hoped that returning home to her girls would help her fall back into the same routine that she’d had for the past 7 years. She’d gone 16 years without seeing Klaus up until a few months ago, so she thought that going through life without him now would feel like normal.

She was wrong. Being back at the boarding school now made her feel like she was just going through the motions. A school filled with history of the Salvatore’s also meant a school filled with the history of the big bad Klaus Mikaelson.

Everywhere she turned, something reminded her of him. The snowflake painting hanging in the dining hall. A hummingbird outside the window. The British accent of one of the new werewolves she’d recruited to come the school.

With each day, she felt a rising panic that time was going by too fast. To her, it felt like only yesterday that he was chasing her all over town, but now she is the mother of two teenage girls. What happens when they grow up and she doesn’t? When Alaric, the girls, Elena, Bonnie, and all her other friends die?

Even after his death, she began to understand how loneliness had been his biggest enemy.

“Mom, there’s a package here for you!” Josie yelled from the front door downstairs, jolting Caroline out of her racing thoughts.

When she reached the door to find a large package, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. “This isn’t…” she whispered.

But it was.

She ripped the paper away to find the painting from New Orleans. The last memory she has of him. A piece of artwork to remind her of the man who introduced her to the beauty of it.

But that wasn’t all.

Stuck to the back was an envelope. Sealed with the all too familiar Mikaelson crest and penned with the handwriting she’d know anywhere that only said “Caroline”

Her breath caught. The little voice in the back of her head said “Maybe he’s still out there…” but she knew that couldn’t be the case.

With shaking hands, she opened the letter and read.

My Dearest Caroline,

For almost eight centuries, whenever I defeated an enemy all I would take from them were their love letters. I guess somehow, I thought stealing the love from their letters would help me to find some of my own. It never worked. Yet after a thousand years on this earth, I find that the tables have turned. Now I am the one writing the letter with death waiting on my doorstep.

When you came into my life, I was a shell. Fueled by greed and anger with no care for life other than my own. Until I met you. A mere eighteen years old and you spoke to me with more honesty and strength than I’d experienced in centuries. You never cowered in fear of my darkness because your light turned it to shadows.

I know that I once told you that I intended to be your last love, alas fate had other plans for us. But know this. I always intended for you to be my last as well. I find comfort knowing that you were. And you being here for me today, just as you have been for the past few months, means more than you could ever know. Your presence somehow makes everything I do easier and harder in equal measure.

My biggest regret is that I never got the chance to show you the world like I told you I would someday. Rome. Paris. Tokyo. But I keep my promises. Included in this envelope are four tickets to London Heathrow. For you, Josie, Lizzie, and, if I may add, Hope. Caroline, I beg that you be the one to bring her to these places. Though I know my family could very well take her, I’d like her to experience it with you. And don’t worry about hotels or any other requirements of the sort, it’s all been taken care of my love.

Also attached, I would like to include a list of a few tips for your travels abroad.

There’s a small pub in Blackfriars called Williamson’s Tavern where Elijah and I lost quite a bit of money once while gambling after a few pints. Still I’d do it all again. Though I hear they’ve cleaned up the place and it’s more family appropriate now.

Located on a far wall on the second floor of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg you’ll find a landscape I did of the view outside our home in southern Italy in 1475 titled “Landscape of Fallen Leaves”

In Berlin, look up a man named Alexander Schütze near the East Side Gallery. Tell him I sent you and I’m sure he will show you the best of the best. He owes me a favor.

San Miniato al Monte has one of the best views in Florence. Though I did sire one of the nuns for fun, so if you meet a woman named Silvia tell her that I finally got what I deserved.

The only way to explore Rome is on a Vespa.

The best flavor of gelato is pistachio. Trust me.

At the Louvre, the painting across from the Mona Lisa titled “The Wedding Feast at Cana” is an incredible piece by an old friend of mine Paolo Caliari. I visited him often as he was painting it.

Be sure to rent a bike to ride around Luxembourg Gardens.

When at Versailles, go as deep into the gardens that you can. Spend the whole day if you must. Get lost. That’s the fun part, love.

Lastly, once back in London visit the Tate Britain and go find the painting entitled “The Hummingbird.” I think you may find it quite amusing.

There are a million more things I would have liked to show you but I don’t have enough time left to write them all down. So, I’ll leave the exploring to you in hopes that you find everything that I did and more.

If you were anyone else, I’d end this by saying I wish to see you again someday, somewhere, somehow in whatever there is after all this. But alas, I won’t. More than anything I want you to live your life to the fullest. I hope you have a thousand more birthdays and that you get everything you ever wanted out of life. I pray that my daughter learns as much from you as she ever learned from me. Please look after her as you always did for me. May your lifespan far outnumber mine and that they tell great stories of the mythical Caroline Forbes who loved with her whole heart to everyone she encountered, even those who did not deserve it.

Forever yours,

Klaus Mikaelson

She spent that summer exploring all that Europe had to offer. She’d brought her girls and Hope with her just as Klaus had wanted. They had ticked off numbers 1 through 9 on Klaus’s list and added much more to it over the past few months. On their last day in back in London where they started their trip, they were set to finally visit the Tate and knock off the last sight on the list.

She wasn’t sure if she was ready to finish the list and head back home. Being in Europe had made her feel closer to him in a way that she didn’t know was possible and he wasn’t even here.

Over the past couple of months, she had become quite an art enthusiast. She thought he’d be proud. She finally understood how art had this ability to transport the viewer somewhere else and fill them with emotion with just a glance. Now she knew that’s why he loved art so much. It was his escape.

They’d been exploring for just over an hour, hoping to stumble upon “The Hummingbird” on their own. The looking was always the fun part.

“Oh my God. Mom. Over here,” she heard Lizzie say from around the corner.

She’d expected just some picture of a hummingbird. She should have known better.

Wide eyed, she gasped because there, in the middle of the Tate, was her.

Blonde hair. Blue dress. It was the night of the Mikaelson Ball. The portrait of her wasn’t looking at the viewer. She looked calm, collected, and confident. Surrounded by other party goers that blurred in the background. She was the only focus.

It was then that everything clicked into place for Caroline. She’d finally gotten the thing that she’d always wanted.

She was finally the one.

The one for Klaus.

Now that Klaus was gone, she was surprised that she didn’t feel sad at this revelation. She felt thankful. Thankful to have known him and that he’d given her everything she’d ever wanted. Culture. Art. Beauty. The world. He’d given her the world. But most of all, she felt thankful that he was intelligent enough to know that she loved him too. Even if she never had the guts to say it to him aloud. He had to of known.

She walked over and read the description.

The Hummingbird (2011) by Niklaus Mikaelson

“This portrait is for a woman much like a hummingbird. Small and beautiful yet fierce. She showed me how satisfying life can be every day with her. I’ll wait for her to fly back to me someday. However long it takes.”

#klaroline #caroline forbes #klaus mikaelson #kcedit #klaroline fanfiction #klaroline oneshot #the originals #to #tvd #this is the first piece of fanfiction I've ever written so I'd love feedback #sorry for all the sadness #i know this is hella sad but in my headcanon Klaus comes back to life so it's fine I'm fine #I may come back and edit this later once I post it to ff.net and ao3 #my stuff #mine #my writing #live through this and you won't look back

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g0ldxplated · 5 years

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My MANIA (era) experience

Now that all my FOB related shows are over and none are coming up in the near future, I thought why not look back on what has probably been one of the best years I was lucky enough to experience, all thanks to my favorite band and the people I got to meet through them.

It all began with the three small shows they announced in Europe. I had already booked a vacation to Japan, just two weeks prior to them releasing the dates. I already knew that I had to make it to at least one of them and while Berlin was out of the question since I wasn’t going to go to Tokyo just for a couple of days, I decided I would cut my vacation short and book another 16 hour flight from Tokyo to London, so I would be able to see them at least in Brixton. Prior to that, me and three of my friends had come up with the idea to design a flag, specifically for this show.

Basically, what we did was to put the wave that had come around by the beginning of the MANIA era inside of the crown FOB logo. Needless to say the show (01/11/2018) was an absolute blast and by the end of it, we had our flag handed to Ranel in hopes he would give it to the boys. It was such a good time, seeing them after what had been more than a year and in a setting that was way more intimate than the venues they usually play in. After the show we thought that this would be the last we would ever see of our little project, but months later we would come to realize it would turn into one of the greatest memories ever.

Anyway, the day atfer the Brixton show (01/12/2018), the boys were playing a short acoustic set in Kingston, in a venue even smaller than Electric Brixton. They only played 5 songs (HMTOD, Sugar, Uma, Mmrs and Centuries) but I enjoyed every second and they seemed to be in such a great mood. Not to mention that it’s not every day we get to hear the acoustic version of those songs.

After these two special gigs, I already knew the MANIA era was off to a fantastic start for me and the adventures along the way would become some of my favorite memories. Shortly after, MANIA was released and the boys announced their Wrigley Field show, so me and a group of friends immediately decided to visit the US for the first time, as we couldn’t miss out on such a special show (it had been my dream to see them play in Chicago, their hometown for a long time). Additionally, we planned to attend 6 shows of their EU/UK tour and I spent months being excited for all that was to come. They went on to play in New Zeeland and Australia and what came next truly blew my mind. I saw footage from the first show that would kick off their tour over there and came across a very blury video of Stay Frosty. During that time they didn’t have the backdrop for it ready so the background image they used was a logo. But not just any logo, it seemed awfully familiar and I immediately thought of the flag we had made months prior. I couldn’t tell 100% if it was what we had designed, but I decided to take a chance and tweeted Pete about it to ask him whether it was inspired by the flag we had given to them in Brixton. What happened next was probably one of the best things that ever happpened to me.

Hours later, the FOB twitter account responded me, followed me and sent me a DM. Me and my friends were ecstatic and they promised to send a package to me that would include stuff for all of us. Little did I know how generous they would be. They even included a picture of the logo and one with Pete in it in their reply to me. And I wouldn’t be disappointed. A short while before I was going to leave for my upcoming FOB shows, a gigantic package was delivered, including a signed copy of MANIA, the vinyl and Llamania for all of us and additionally stickers, bath bombs, a guitar strap, a Folie poster and the bobble heads. I couldn’t thank them enough for making this an absolutely incredibly memory for me to share with my friends, especially because they would use the logo as a backdrop during Church, meaning so many people got to see what we inspired and I had a chance of witnessing it with my own eyes during the EU/UK tour. The feeling of seeing it in person was incredible. Next, the EU/UK tour came up and I saw them in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf. It was the best time I got to spend with friends, traveling to all these awesome cities and seeing our favorite band together.

It was bitter sweet when tour ended, but I knew I was going to see them again in Chicago and meanwhile decided to also see them at Leeds fest. I can’t thank my friends enough that always spent ridiculous amounts of time queueing with me, freezing with me, sitting through rain and cold wind, sharing stories and laughs together, only so we could rock out on barricade after. The whole experience was one I will always treasure. So up next was Leeds fest:

As always, the boys didn’t disappoint and Pete’s flame thrower bass made one of its first appearances. It was tough to last until FOB’s set, mostly due to how incredibly terrible some fans of certain artists behaved (I even cracked my rib from being crushed against the barricade as I found out once back home), but all the exhaustion was blown away the second they came on stage, opening with Disloyal Order, which had all of us emotional to say the least. Leeds happened around two weeks before our biggest FOB related adventure to date would begin and meanwhile I had started a small project months prior. I created a book filled with letters from fans all over the world, specifically about their very own MANIA experiences. I knew a lot of people wanted to be present for this big milestone the band was looking forward to, but couldn’t be, hence why I wanted to take a part of everyone with me to give to the boys. I had managed to snatch a Sunshine Riptide package for their Wrigley show, meaning I knew I was going to meet Pete and Andy at a m&g, so I thought I could hand the book to them in person.

This is us a couple of hours before getting on our flight to Chicago ♥

The Chicago trip turned into a little bit of a FOB tourist tour, meaning we went to the infamous Pick Me Up cafe and sat on the table they shot the cover of EOWYG on. The food was terribly delicious as well, so I can 100% recommend going there if you take a trip to Chicago.

All the days spent with so many amazing people in Chicago made the whole trip truly unforgettable. I’m so grateful for all of the friendships I’ve been able to make this past year.

I also got a tattoo done while there (not my first FOB tattoo but definitely one of the most meaningful):

What it means? Basically it’s inspired by Chicago Is So Two Years Ago, especially by the line “There’s a light on in Chicago and I know I should be home”. It just personally made a lot of sense to me to get a tattoo related to this song in this particular city. Inside the light bulb is part of the Chicago skyline and the coordinates are for Wrigley Field. Soon the big day came and I couldn’t contain my excitement, neither could my friends. I was stoked for the show, I was stoked to give them the book I had spent months on making. But mostly I was thrilled to finally, after 11 years of waiting, meet Pete and Andy. Especially Pete has been someone I’ve been looking up to for a long time, therefore I couldn’t believe it was going to happen on such a special day.

The m&g itself was rather short (sadly), though the boys were lovely and Andy said my KISS shirt was cool.

I can’t even express how much I enjoyed the show itself. It was emotional from beginning to end and I did shed some tears. I felt blessed hearing Chicago Is So Two Years Ago and Lake Effect Kid in this particular place. Despite having been to quite a few FOB shows, this one will always remain one of my favorites, without a doubt.

Amazingly enough, Wrigley Field wasn’t the end of our FOB adventures. Remember the book I was talking about? During the m&g I wasn’t allowed to bring it with me and therefore couldn’t hand it to the boys in person. Luckily a lovely staff lady took a hold of it for me. Once again, I thought I had seen the last of it. But I was curious whether they had eventually gotten it or not (also felt a certain responsibility towards everyone that had contributed), so I tweeted Pete. After the show when we got on our Lyft back home, my friend suddenly told me he had replied! Though he commented on my tweet and said the book was rad, rather than answering my question as to whether or not he had gotten it. Still, I was happy. A couple of days later I woke up to Pete having posted my book on his IG story! I couldn’t be more thankful, he’s truly a real one and made my heart super happy. So many people trusted me with their words and I decorated the book with my personal art, so it meant the world to me he cared enough to truly let me know he had gotten a hold of it.

The next day my friends and I had tickets for the MANIA experience. Yet another thing I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to say I saw in person. It felt like talking a walk through Pete’s head. We spent hours just hanging out, listening to the demos and songs they had available for people to listen to over headphones.

After the experience we decided to visit their old apartment, where everything pretty much began (the one where they also took the photo for their TTTYG album cover). This would be the last stop of our little FOB Chicago tour and probably the right place to visit last. I feel I kind of came full circle and couldn’t be grateful enough for everyone who made this trip truly special.

I pretty much thought that Chicago/Wrigley Field would be the last FOB related event I’d attend for this era/year, but then we figured out Andy was going on EU tour with his band SECT and immediately bought tickets. What can I say, no better way to let this era come to an end than meeting Andy at this show a week ago. We were the only FOB fans there so we got to talk to him for quite a while, which was refreshing since it’s pretty much impossible to spend more than 10 minutes talking to one of them unless you bump into them on the street. He was lovely, took a lot of time to talk to us, took pictures with us, signed my Wrigley ticket and even kept saying hi every time he walked past us. Once the gig was over he immediately came looking for us to hand all four of us one of his drumsticks. Andy is truly the sweetest and I’m so happy I was able to meet him in this very intimate setting (I don’t think there were more than 60 people). This year was certainly unreal and I can’t wait for next era.

Maybe it was all just a dream ♥

#FOB #Fall Out Boy #Pete Wentz #Andy Hurley #Patrick Stump #Joe Trohman #SECT #j #MANIA #MANIA era #The MANIA experience #MANIA experience #Wrigley Field

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haruki-ya · 6 years

Text

A Place to Crash (And Burn)

Summary: Kai and Kaneda yell at each other a little bit and cry over cry baby Tetsuo. There’s lots more to it than that, but like kinda a lot....so read on if you truly dare.

A/N: REPOSTING this cause fuck it y not I ain’t ever gonna be fully happy with anything I write and I must come to terms with that by EMBRACING the ART of IMPERFECTION. She a thicc one tbh, close to 7,000 words wow (do u see why i said read on if u dare), but from a new character perspective that I was hesitant to try writing in and have @fridge-04 and @totallylegitakirafic to thank for so hey! thank you ! I think my attempt turned out all right! also totallylegit, can you spy with your little eye the Makiko reference? lol enjoy my LOVES <3

Kai couldn’t really say the loud knocking on his door at one in the morning woke him up because he had already been awake, lying in bed in the dark thinking about things of the past.

It had been a rough week, a sleepless week. One spent mourning a death that others celebrated. One spent missing a friend who others considered an enemy. Kai doesn't think there will be any closure for the surviving townspeople any time soon, even three years after the great fall of Neo Tokyo.

Most of their homes are still in shambles and they like to be angry anyway. Kai will admit it’s a more fulfilling emotion than hopelessness.

Kai waits a minute before rolling out of bed. There are only a handful of people who would come knocking on his door at this hour, but that means they’re familiar enough to know he likes to end his night early to start his day earlier. So whoever this is must not care or must know that he’s not sleeping. Or it’s an important matter, but that’s pretty unlikely.

As Kai stumbles through the dark of his loft towards the door, tripping over stray clothes and a stack of old newspapers, he hears voices from the outside. Kei’s annoyed tone rings out strong.

“...come on, I can’t entertain this behavior tonight. I’ve got to meet up with Chiyoko soon, you know that Kaneda.” There’s a mumbled response that Kai doesn’t catch, probably from Kaneda, as he opens the door to a sight that he isn’t really surprised to see.

Kei is dressed in cool, neutral tones and struggling to hold up the swaying form of Kaneda, who reeks of booze and cigarette smoke under her arm, obviously more fucked up than he’s been in a while. Her face is steely with annoyance under the brim of her cap, but when her eyes meet his there is a poorly concealed concern that makes Kai sigh suddenly and drop his shoulders. There’s also a badly hidden plea for help.

“Hello Kai. I really hate to ask this, but can you look after him for a while?”

“Uh…what?” Is the most eloquent response Kai can manage. Kaneda’s stilted voice cuts in before Kai can properly respond, but to be fair he doesn't even really know what to say.

“M’fine Kei, I don’t needa be babysat by a kid.” And that kinda stings, cause hello to you too asshole, and he’s younger than Kaneda sure, but he usually acts more mature than his childish ass and the digs at his age have been few and far in between since Yamagata passed...since the Capsules fell apart. Kai only manages to be annoyed by the comment.

Kei swats Kaneda over the head and pushes him against the wall next to Kai’s door, anger bursting across her face. Kaneda rubs at his head and tries to straighten to his full height and glare at Kei, but his gaze is unfocused and more squinted in what Kai would assume is pain than anger. Kai narrows his eyes at them and stifles a yawn suddenly behind his hand, unimpressed with their familiar antics. If they came all the way here to bother him, they're off to a good start.

“Cut it out Kaneda! I’ve had it with your bullshit attitude this week. I know things are tough for you right now, but that’s no excuse to treat your friends like garbage just to make yourself feel better!” Kei turns on Kai before Kaneda gears up to answer and ignores whatever he mumbles under his breath. It sounds suspiciously like “bitch” to Kai and now he kinda understands Kei's anger. He’s never stooped so low as to glare so fiercely at her while saying that. Kai is becoming more and more confused.

“I need to meet Chiyoko and the others, an emergency meetings been called. Some cultists have been gathering around the old stadium and rumor has it they’re planning something there during daylight. I can’t be dragging his drunk weight with me, he’ll only slow me down and annoy me to death before we’d arrive.” Kaneda snorts and pushes up from the wall and brushes past Kai into his dark apartment, cursing when he trips over something that clatters loudly. Kei’s eyes don’t leave his face, but the sharpness of her gaze wavers.

This is gonna be fun.

“Uh… so your first thought was to dump him on me? ” Kai's response is more of a statement than a question really. He's still kind of lost to this whole situation. It’s been a while since he’s seen Kaneda or Kei, though they’re practically a package deal now a days, and while he is glad to see them, always, part of him also feels bitter for being left out of their orbit for this long and suddenly be expected to so easily be pulled right back into it.

Ever since the distance started growing between Kai and Kaneda, and subsequently Kei too, he's dedicated more and more of his time to volunteering around the city doing odd jobs for people: moving rubble, cleaning up trash, helping deliver food. He does it in the hopes that maybe his dedicated efforts as one will equal out to the prior three. Kai hangs out at a friend of Joker’s shop in his spare time too and does his best to learn from the mechanic, but much of the slang Joker and his pals use still goes over his head. His habit of journaling and note taking has helped greatly though, a by product of an overactive brain and an inability to keep details oriented. Kaneda could probably benefit from that too.

Kaneda and Kei used to volunteer with him, used to stay over all the time and help at the local shelter down the block from Kai’s apartment, but when the power was restored to all the remaining blacked out city blocks and a semblance of order returned to the city, Kei’s Rebel group was quick to get in touch and reignite their cause. Kei didn’t really ask Kaneda to join her, or become what many call her right hand man, but he rose to the occasion better than anyone could have expected. Kai never got a formal invitation to join their ragtag team of rebels either, but he would have politely declined any how. He’s had enough action for a lifetime thank you very much, and he knows he wouldn't have filled any shoes as well as Kaneda could. No surprise there. He's not really bitter about it.

Kaneda is hard to pin down these days, becoming more of a myth than a real man, but where Kei is he’s not far off. She got him involved with many of the old resistance outposts that double as relief shelters, not quite done with their original purpose. As Kei said, there are still people praying to the dead and gone “Lord Akira”. They’re desperate enough to believe that someone with the power to take so much away, to cause so much devastation, can just as easily bring it all back.

If only it were that easy.

They’re relatively harmless, just a scattered group of vagabonds looking for some kind of purpose in this fucked up place, but sometimes they get a little too close to things they shouldn't. Sometimes they wind up in possession of objects that three years ago were dangerous in the wrong hands, fatal in the right ones. The remaining resistance members, as well as the spirited youth who join the cause daily, have taken it upon themselves to squash any and all attempts to get too close to something that can’t simply be reburied in rubble. The emergency meeting must be important.

Today is the third anniversary of Tetsuo’s death after all and cults tend to believe in the religious power of symbolic resurgence.

Kei’s face softens as a light pours out suddenly from somewhere behind him, and her eyes follows suit as they both listen to Kaneda rifle around his fridge, probably looking for more booze. His attitude makes sense now that he's put two and two together, and Kai sighs again, sadly this time. He feels bad all of a sudden for being difficult.

“I’m sorry to come here like this Kai, with him, after we haven’t properly visited in a while...but I think it would be good for him to spend some time with an old friend. Maybe talk about whatever is making him want to drink himself unconscious with someone who can...better understand.”

Kai tries for a smile and it sort of works, despite feeling a little stiff on his face. He feel’s like there’s something else Kei isn’t telling him, another shoe that’s waiting to be dropped. There always is with these two.

Kei’s eyes narrow as the light from the fridge slowly shrinks and Kaneda moves onto his cupboards, opening and closing them a little too loudly for the time of night. Good think this floor of the building is mostly abandoned.

“I don’t trust him alone right now.” She says lowly, and there it is. Kai can’t really blame her and also can't turn either of them away even if he wanted to so he sighs, again, and braces himself against the doorway.

“Yeah, I understand Kei, last year was pretty rough too. We got him through it though, and we, eh...I'll do it again. We always look out for each other after all.” Kei looks relieved by his words but far from consoled. Kaneda trips again in his apartment but looks to have stumbled into a lamp as a minute later light spills out behind him once again. It highlights the conflict on Kei’s face.

“Thank you. I’ll be back sometime in the early afternoon. I owe you one Kai.” He shakes his head at that and sends her a smile.

“No you don’t. He’d do the same for me if he had to. Be safe out there Kei and kick some Akiraist ass for us. ” Kei smiles softly and puts a hand on his shoulder for a moment before turning and walking briskly down the hallway, gone from his sight in just four paces. Leaving him alone with a moody drunk in his apartment.

Right, he should check in on that.

Kai closes the door and takes a moment to brace himself before he turns around into the living room, finds Kaneda sprawled on the futon, one leg hanging off the back, an arm over his eyes. His boots are kicked off haphazardly by the lamp and his jacket a makeshift pillow under his head. His other hand holds a bottle of liquor Kai didn’t even know he had. Leave it to Kaneda to sniff out any hidden spirits.

“Hey. Welcome. Make yourself at home, please I insist.” Kai intones dryly and settles into a sitting position on the floor, back against his makeshift coffee table. Kaneda grunts in reply.

“Long time no see Kaneda. I thought you said you weren’t gonna be a stranger?” Kaneda makes another noncommittal sound before throwing his arm from his face to take a swig of, what is that, aged whiskey? Why does Kai even have that?

“That’s gross, dude. How much have you had to drink today?” Kaneda’s reply is wet and rough.

“Not enough.” And Kai sighs. It had been pretty much the same last year.

The previous anniversary, Kai had met up with Kaneda by chance at some back alley bar downtown. They shared a drink or two (or three) before Kai had managed to coax Kaneda outside for a walk, after letting the numbing buzz of booze kick in of course. While Kai counted that as a win, Kaneda had been plastered at two in the afternoon and adamant against parting with the bottle of brandy he snatched from behind the counter when the barkeep turned his back.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t so successful in coaxing Kaneda to leave the bottle behind.

Any other day, he wouldn't have minded indulging in their old ways of competitive drinking, but something about the idea left a bad taste in his mouth that day. Whether from the memory of vomit or just the thought of who would always be seated by his side for drinking competitions, Kai can't say.

They exchanged laughs and jokes for a while, aimlessly walked through the poorly reconstructed streets before they wandered along the memorial wall of pictures pinned up in the wake of so many deaths.

An unprecedented amount.

Kai had felt nostalgic all day, a heavy feeling that sat in his gut and curbed his smiles a little, and wasn't really bothered to wind up there. His mother had always taught him to pay his respects to the dead anyhow so Kai once again talked Kaneda into a walk, this time along the memorial wall where there was nothing to look at but smiling faces frozen in happiness, endless notes displaying declarations of love and everlasting peace. Vases of flowers, new and old, lined the base of the wall along with a few stuffed animals and makeshift shrines. He had idly thought about how nice it would be to stumble upon the picture he left of him, Kaneda and Yamagata a year prior. That would be something nice to smile about.

The memorial stretched on for what felt like miles, but Kai walked the whole length of it regardless, nodding respectfully to those who passed him by, not noticing Kaneda’s growing silence or the way he had started to slow down in front of Kai. It was easy to get lost in the sea of faces. He had figured Kaneda was simply being contemplative, and well, Kai wasn't wholly wrong.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he ran into Kaneda’s back and almost knocked over a vase full of wilted flowers trying to stay balanced.

“Let’s make a toast. To those who aren’t here today to drink with us.”

Kaneda’s voice had been rough, almost choked, but Kai couldn’t see his face when he laughed a sour note, when he overturned his bottle of brandy carelessly onto the vase Kai almost broke with it’s sad, dying flowers. They still had meaning, a purpose though, something more grand than being doused in shitty booze.

A significance in their decay.

“A toast to all those sorry bastards who died for nothin’.”

A meaning still in death.

Kai had stood frozen for a moment, not really comprehending what he was seeing, what he was hearing. Looked from the growing puddle of liquor at their feet, to the back of Kaneda’s loud jacket as he suddenly jolted into movement and tucked into an alley off to their left. Kai didn’t move until the now empty bottle Kaneda had been holding smashed into the alley wall, breaking into shards of glimmering glass that crunched loudly under his feet. Kai startled and felt something unpleasant bubble hot under his skin, coil tight in his gut.

It was rage.

“What the fuck!” Kai had run after Kaneda when the cold disbelief drained from his body and the hot fury replaced it. He noticed, a little too late, the stagger to Kaneda’s step, the sluggishness in his pace. The tell tale signs of someone too far gone to care about their actions.

When Kai reached Kaneda, he had damn near tackled him in the back alley, furious and emboldened by his blatant disrespect, at being ignored, at the pain and anger that had been stewing within Kai for a little bit too long, released by the stupidity of Kaneda’s actions. He had thought that childishness was behind them.

“Kaneda! What the fuck was that? How could you be so disrespectful?” His voice had felt shrill in his ears, anger fueling the boldness in his words. Kaneda staggered under the weight of Kai’s body, but did not tip over. Only turned to glance at Kai over his shoulder before attempting to shrug off his hold and continue on but Kai held tight.

“Hey asshole! Stop ignoring me. What's your problem?” Kaneda’s shoulders had tensed at that and he spun suddenly on his feet, almost making himself and Kai topple over. His face was a mess of emotions and his breath reeked of brandy. Kaneda had always been taller than him, but now he absolutely towered over Kai, who recoiled slightly in disgust, slightly in discomfort.

“My problem? All those dead people. My problem? Knowing who killed em. My problem? Playin a part in it!” Kai hadn’t seen Kaneda like that in a while, that angry and upset, that ready to pick a fight instead of end one. The snarl on his face was pure malice and his eyes burned with regret, glassy and shining with unshed tears that Kaneda wouldn't let himself cry. Kai was suddenly at a loss for words as Kaneda continued, looking right through him.

“Fuck! All those dead people. All the destruction. All by the hands of a fuckin power crazy kid, God...what’s my problem? Hah, what isn't my problem.” Kaneda’s voice dropped in volume, trailed off into a mumble as he turned and started walking away from Kai, who stood frozen in the middle of the alley. What had that been? Where the hell had that outburst come from?

“Kaneda…” Kai didn’t know what to say, didn’t know where to start dissecting that obvious cry for help. Not even in their first few weeks after the explosion had Kaneda been so volatile and bothered. Not noticeably.

“Kai."

Kaneda’s voice rung out loudly in response a moment later, fell hollow on his ears. Kaneda shoved his hands in his pockets, and paused for one moment longer, before continuing on. “Sorry for scaring ya. Don’t follow me. And don’t worry either. M’gonna be just fine.”

And Kai really didn’t know what else to do but listen and believe as Kaneda disappeared out the mouth of the alley. He wasn’t sure he would want to follow him anyway with the unpredictability of liquor fueled sadness up his sleeve. Kai went back to the memorial after a long moment of consideration and did his best to clean up the puddle of alcohol Kaneda left behind.

It was the least he could do.

The next day, Kaneda hadn’t really acted any differently than normal. Aside from complaining about a headache and sporting some new bruises on his knuckles that Kai didn’t dare to question him about, he was relatively the same happy go lucky, good natured guy he had always been. Kai was relieved, but couldn’t help but think that wouldn’t be the last time he saw that side of Kaneda.

He’s sad to know that he was right.

“I heard from Tanaka that you’ve started your own kiddy care center at the Old Town base camp.” Kai does his best to try and lighten the mood, both for his sake and Kaneda’s. Get their minds off the pressing matter, the elephant in the room. Small talk, he’s relatively good at that.

“I gotta say, I’m not surprised. You always have been the big brother type.” Kaneda snorts a little at that, and glances at him out of the corner of his eye. There’s a faint smile on his dry lips.

“Yeah...m’not always so good at the ‘let’s-get-down-to-business’ and stay on the topic of business thing. Annoys the hell outta Kei as you know, but I help where I can and they’re good kids.” Kai smiles and opens his mouth to make a dig about Kaneda goin' soft on him when he’s cut off as Kaneda keeps talking.

“There’s a kid there that reminds me of Tets...when he was younger. Real shy, real sweet. Got lots of hidden anger. Her mom died in a building collapse a few weeks back and I was the one who found her afterwards...she’s got no one else. She’s all alone now.”

Kai’s words get stuck in his throat, and he swallows hard around the lump they’ve formed there. Kaneda takes another swig of alcohol, and Kai watches as a drop slips out his mouth and through the stubble on his chin, along the column of his throat. It glimmers in the light and catches on his adams apple that bobs with long gulps. Kai's throat burns just watching.

“How long are you going to blame yourself?” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them, but he doesn’t regret saying them. It’s a question that’s been on Kai’s mind for a while now, one that’s probably lingering somewhere in the back of Kaneda’s own. His mouth barrels on before his mind can stop him.

“It wasn’t your fault. We did all we could for him Kaneda. You know that right?” Kai isn’t really expecting an answer, or if anything a response in the quiet, subdued tone Kaneda uses. His arm is back to shielding his eyes.

“No, I don’t think we did.”

“Well, I think you’re stupid for believing that. And I think it's disrespectful to Tetsuo to say that too.” And maybe he regrets saying that a little bit, but Kai has recently become less and less afraid to say what’s on his mind. Less and less afraid to express himself and assert his opinion. Kaneda doesn’t look impressed though, by the piercing glare he suddenly sends Kai’s way, arm resting on his forehead now.

“And I think you don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin bout Kai. Now shaddup, I came here to crash not to do couch therapy.” Kai usually isn’t so quick to rile, so quick to rise to the bait, but he’s played this game of intimidation one too many times to simply back down. To simply let Kaneda have the last word here. The topic is too important to brush under the rug any longer.

“You didn’t come here to crash, you were brought here before you crashed. Which is what you’re doing! Crashing! And burning too by the looks of it! Kei didn’t trust you enough to leave you alone, and I don’t blame her. You’re acting like a dumb reckless baby.” And that really ruffles Kaneda’s feathers the wrong way. He shoots up like a jackknife, eyes furious and focused.

“What the fuck do you know about anything, huh? What do you know about Tetsuo? You never really liked him anyway, you and Yama always thought he was a lost cause or some shit. Who are you to suddenly tell me what I did and didn’t do for ‘im? Fuck that! Fuck you!” But Kai’s still not backing down. In fact, he stands up so he’s looking down on Kaneda, a position he’s rarely been in even after growing a few inches over the years.

It doesn’t feel as good as he thought it would.

“No Kaneda, fuck you! You can’t keep acting like what happened is your problem and yours alone. Like you’re the only one who has a right to be sad, to mourn. I miss him. I feel bad for him. I feel bad for what happened because of him. And I feel bad about what happened to him, but Kaneda, we did our damn best to help him! To help the whole town! What point is there in wallowing in the past when it’s behind us? You know? What point is there in blaming yourself for his death when it wasn’t your fault!”

Kai pauses for a minute and his chest is heaving. Kaneda is looking at him with wide eyes, clouded with an emotion Kai can’t really decipher. He pushes on and hopes Kaneda will hear him.

“Everything that happened three years ago to the day, Kaneda, it was out of your control. Not your fault. There were bigger forces at work the whole time, strings being pulled and moves being made that we couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Not your fault! What is your fault is letting your sad, self deprecating emotions turn you bitter and unapproachable to your friends. It’s your fault for letting that anger and pain tear you apart and for letting it tear apart your friends too. I love you Kaneda, you’re my brother, you’re family and it sucks to see you so down right now but look around you man….you’re not the only one in pain. You’re living in a town trapped in anger and sadness, how much more do you want to keep contributing to that?”

After a long moment of silence between them, of intense unbroken eye contact, Kai turns away from Kaneda and heads towards the kitchen. He said his two cents, and if Kaneda is going to stonewall him and ignore what he has to say again, fine. So be it. He's dealt with that before. But Kai, unlike Kaneda, isn’t okay with holding onto those negative emotions until they tear him apart. He learned the consequences of that lesson a long time ago with his mother.

He fills up a cup with tap water and hears Kaneda clear his throat once, twice. “Kai…” Kaneda’s voice calls weakly to him from the living room, sounding worn and older than it is. “Did I ever tell you how I met Tetsuo?” He hasn’t .

“You haven’t.” He takes a big drink and waits a beat before making his way back towards the living room. Kaneda is still sitting up, but his head is cradled in his hands, shoulders slumped in defeat. Kai sits this time with his back against the futon, shoulder flush with Kaneda’s leg. Kai can feel a tremor run under Kaneda’s skin.

“We were kids when we met in some shitty school orphanage. He came a week or so after I did and I guess I didn’t really notice him at first, or care bout him. But one day...I saw some kids giving him a hard time. Pushing him around, laughing at him, calling him names. They stole his only toy and laughed when he cried. Real jerks those kids. The worst part though was how he didn’t even fight back. Just let em knock him around and push his buttons.” Kai listens in silence, gaze fixed on the glass in his hands.

Is it half empty or half full?

“I didn’t understand why he just let it happen until I saw his face, cause I sure as hell wouldn’t have let those jerks have their fun with me when I first showed up but...He looked so hopeless. He was such a sad kid, Kai, like...all his anger and all his pride, swap that with sadness and insecurity. I’m sure you saw it, he was shit at hiding his true feelings despite how tough he always acted...so childish.

“And I don’t know, I just...got so angry, seeing how little he cared to stand up for himself and how the kids just jumped on that weakness like a pack a wild dogs. I kicked their collective asses and got Tetsuo’s toy back for him. Took him under my wing after that and then we were Kaneda and Tetsuo, rulers of the playground…Kaneda and Tetsuo, founders of the Capsules. Kaneda and Tetsuo, brothers till the end...somethin in me just always wanted to protect him, cause he was so bad at doin it himself. I told him as much and he was glad for it at first, started to resent my help as we grew up though. I think he felt I was looking down on him or somethin', but I just...couldn’t help but want to protect that stupid, sad, reckless kid I always saw in him, crying all alone on the playground. Lookin like he needed help but not knowing how to ask.”

Kai still keeps quiet. Some part of him had always thought Kaneda and Tetsuo were actually brothers, or maybe cousins at the least despite not really looking alike. Their kinship and familiarity stemmed into something deeper than just friends, a fierce affection that Kaneda expressed in overzealous jokes and jibes, that Tetsuo showed in tolerant indignation and annoyance. Kai only understands it now, having a similar relationship himself with Kaneda. And he can kind of understand too where Tetsuo’s anger came from.

Kaneda is a great guy. Goofy, sure, carefree, considerably, but he is fiercely loyal and more clever than anyone gives him credit for. A natural born leader with his charisma, he’s always been destined for great things despite preferring to pop pills and joke around.

That’s where some of the anger comes into play.

Someone like Kaneda, someone who naturally exudes confidence and a strong presence, who makes standing up for himself look natural and effortless, he’s the kinda person Kai would be jealous of if he didn’t admire him so much, if he wasn’t lucky enough to call him family. Tetsuo always had a hard time being open, holding connections. Trusting that kindness wasn’t fueled by pity, and jokes weren’t sincere. Kai can imagine very well how hard it might have been feeling perpetually trapped in someone's else’s shadow, especially one as large as Kaneda's.

Kaneda sniffs suddenly and shakes his head within the cradle of his hands, rakes his fingers through his hair a few times before laughing wetly.

“Stupid Tetsuo, always causing me problems. Always leaving me to clean up after him even beyond the grave.” And Kai kinda cracks a smile at that one, glances up at Kaneda and blanches at what he sees. From his spot on the floor, he has a perfect view of Kaneda’s wrecked face.

There’s an impression of a smile on his lips, twisted into more of a grimace than anything. His eyes shine with tears that drip onto the floor like a waterfall, like rain in the desert after years of a brutal drought. He laughs again, or tries to, but it turns into a bitter sob that knocks him back into the futon with a sound of defeat.

Kai would normally jump up to offer comfort and words of reassurance at the sight of a friend in pain, but he’s sensed this coming for a long time now. Kei must have too. While surprising, it’s also completely expected and Kai knows that Kaneda is the type who needs to ride it out, needs to get to the bottom of his well of untapped emotions to move on from them. So he politely looks away as Kaneda proceeds to lose his usually cool composure and sits in silence as his heart aches for his friend.

For his friends.

“Fuck, I hate him Kai. I fuckin hate him. What a piece of work, a dumb fuckin asshole! I hope he’s rolling over in his grave right now, hope he hears me talking shit bout him from the great beyond. Because he's the worst ! A dumb, selfish, egotistical maniac! God, I’ll be living with his reckless messes for the rest of my life and he just got a free pass. Got a goddamn one way ticket far away from this shit circus of a town that he fucked halfway to hell. Left it all behind like it was the easiest thing, like it all meant nothing. What a jerk!” Kaneda is in near hysterics thanks to the combined liquor and outpouring of repressed emotions, caught between a mix of yelling, laughing, and crying. A truly impressive feat, if Kai says so himself.

“All those night we stayed up late talkin’ about how we were gonna change the world, how we were gonna, fuck, fix this broken town not-not break it beyond repair! In the end there wasn’t even a we anymore, not even an us. Just a -just him. Just Tetsuo. All that mattered to him in the end was his stupid, dumb self. Pathetic, he never even liked himself, that’s why I was there!”

Kai hands him his glass of water silently after Kaneda’s rant reaches an intermission and he downs it in three gulps. Takes a minute, thankfully, to dry his eyes and get control over his breathing. Kai just sits next to Kaneda and leans a little more heavily against his leg. Thinks about how weird it is to hear Kaneda sound so torn over someone leaving him behind for once. Kaneda’s scratchy voice speaks softly by his head.

“Fuck that... fuck him. Stupid cry baby bastard, can’t believe I had an ungrateful brat like that as my friend…but fuck, I still miss him sometimes Kai. Sometimes...sometimes I wan’t him back.” Kai sighs for what feels like the millionth time that night, but it’s equal parts sadness and equal parts relief. The air around them feels different suddenly, somber now instead of stifled.

Kai get’s where Kaneda is coming from, maybe not fully but well enough. He didn’t know a lot about Tetsuo before he became a wrecking ball to the town, didn't know much beyond what Kaneda would tell him or what Tetsuo himself would let slip when he was too drunk to know any better. He knows that Tetsuo was never all bad though, never quite the type Yamagata pegged him as either despite the shit he did, even to Yamagata himself.

Tetsuo too was a victim to something greater than himself, to a power larger than the confines of his earthly body. It’s taken a while to forgive his friends indiscretions and while Kai will never forget them, he thinks it’s past time to really start healing from them.

“So do I Kaneda.” Kai whispers the admission softly, almost hesitant to feel the things he does for a friend he too sometimes thinks he failed. “I know we never got along as well as the two of you, but I cared about him all the same and sometimes I wish things had gone differently. But what happened, happened, and I think he’s in a better place now, and us, we’re making the best out of what we’ve got...which, might I remind your stubborn ass, is each other.”

Kai picks himself up off the ground and plops down on the futon next to Kaneda, feeling a fatigue wash over him and settle bone deep. Kaneda radiates heat like a furnace and kinda smells bad, but his eyes are dry now, albeit puffy and red. His gaze is far away, stuck somewhere in the past, but he nods his head idly in response to Kai’s statement because they both know it's true. That sentiment has been the core of the Capsules since day one, ‘look out for our own, take care of our own: we’re all we’ve got’.

Always. No doubt about it.

“You look like you’ve got pink eye.” He says instead of just about anything else he probably should say, once again to lighten the mood, and Kaneda’s lips twitch before blooming into a wry smile.

“Well yea, I did just cry my heart out to you.” Kai can’t fight a smile either.

“Yup, just like a dumb reckless baby. No wonder the two of you got along so well, you weren’t so different after all. ” And Kaneda finally laughs something that doesn’t sound horribly bitter and sad.

They spend most of the night catching up and retelling stories about their childhood days, reveling in the golden light of the past. The usual hesitance to mention Tetsuo’s name is gone from their mouths, and they freely talk about all the stupid shit they did together, all the drunken times they had, all the recklessly childish things they honestly don’t know how they got away with. Kaneda maybe cries again once or twice, but Kai joins in and it’s a free for all of feelings, a cathartic visit for the both of them.

They collapse the futon and fall asleep right around the time the sun rises, and Kai doesn’t wake up on his own for once. The weight of another body settling on the futon jolts him into consciousness and he’s only slightly confused at the shy smile Kei sends him as she slips off her shoes and sets her coat on the floor. It’s a sight that’s very familiar to him despite having spent months alone in this apartment and he automatically scoots over some to make more room for Kei.

“You didn’t answer when I knocked, so I decided to let myself in.” Kai nods at her answer because it sounds plausible enough and he’s had worse people break into his apartment before. She stretches before lying down next to Kai, making him feel like a sardine squeezed in tightly between Kaneda’s back and Kei’s side. Kaneda snores suddenly and mumbles something in his sleep that sounds like “udon” to him and Kei rolls her eyes as Kai stifles a yawn, still closer to being asleep than awake.

“How did the meetin' go?” Kei hums to acknowledge she heard him before closing her eyes and sighing out her nose. She doesn’t respond for a long moment, but he doesn’t press it.

“Let’s talk about it later. Maybe over dinner?” Kai nods slowly. It must be the afternoon already if the light peeking in from the still closed curtains is any indication. Kei did say she would return around mid day. With the way she’s melting into the futon aside him, and Kaneda is snoring lightly on the other side of him, Kai imagines they won’t be moving until dinner time anyway.

“Sounds good....I can make udon ramen.” Kei hums again, and out of his peripheral he can see a slow smile spread on her face.

“Kaneda’s been talking about your ramen for months...I really am sorry we haven't been around lately.” If Kai weren’t so tired he would shrug, but his eyelids are getting heavier by the minute. If Kaneda is like a furnace, Kei is like a burning star, hotter than the sun. He’s starting to feel okay with being a sardine between these two.

“No worries. It was nice to catch up. Think we both needed to get some things off our chests anyway.”

Kai can hear the smile in Kei’s voice as she says softly, “Thank you, Kai. You’re really an amazing friend.”

Kai smiles back even though she’s probably not looking and responds, “Yeah, I am pretty great aren’t I?”

Kei’s pealing laughter (and Kaneda’s quiet snore of agreement) is the last thing he remembers hearing before falling back asleep.

#akira #heavy word vomit ughhh #i ain't even worried bout it #akira fanfic #my writing #kaisuke (akira)#kai (akira)#kaneda shotaro #kei (akira)

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