#so i jumped out of a ground floor window and i didn't hurt myself at all so don't worry

[jazzycurls]

You belong to me - part 5.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!Reader

Summary: It's a surprise 😉🤫

Warnings/Tags: 18+ minors dni! Cheating, angst, hurt & comfort, smut, stalking, and pregnancy (let me know if I missed something)

An: Sorry this took so long you guys, between work and a serious case of writer's block lol... this took way longer than expected. Love you guys, and thank you so much for the support, hope you enjoy ❤

Word Count: 7,613

The ceiling fan circles overhead, emitting a soft hum. Used to the sound by now, Eddie barely notices it as he stares at the cracks forming in his ceiling listlessly. With a heavy sigh, he turns over to check the clock, once again reading the time to be 12:50 in the morning.

You were supposed to have shown up two hours ago. Worry gnaws at him as he chews on his nails. He's called your house numerous times by now to no avail. Not wanting to seem clingy, he held back from racing over to your house after an hour had passed with no word from you.

His telephone rings and he jumps, bumping his knee against the end table. His astray falls to the floor dumping cigarette butts and ashes onto the ground. "Hello!" he yells into the phone.

"Hello to you too handsome," Steve says laughing on the other end.

"Ugh, it's just you. What do you want Harrington, I'm waiting on a call." Holding the phone in between his ear and shoulder, Eddie stoops down to pick up the fallen debris from his astray.

"I just wanted to check in with you. You know, since you've had a stick up your ass lately. I wanted to make sure you were okay," he says, feeling slightly offended at being rushed off the phone.

"I'm okay. Sorry for being an asshole lately. I've just been going through a lot and I took it out on you, sorry for that man." He dumps the ash butts in his hand into the nearby wastebasket, clapping his hands together to dust off the remaining pieces.

"It's okay, no harm no foul." The phone fell silent for a moment before Steve spoke again. "Sooo, who were you waiting to call?" Anyone who knew Steve knew that he could be nosy at times. It was in his nature to want to know everything going on around him, even if it had nothing to do with him.

"Y/n," Eddie replied easily. Unless it was something too personal, he usually didn't mind sharing. He and Steve complimented each other, whereas Steve liked to hear gossip, Eddie tended to overshare sometimes. Though they would never admit it, they often would call each other just to gossip like mother hens.

Steve let out a small hum. "She left work about two hours ago. You sure you didn't miss her call?"

"I'm sure, I've been glued to this spot waiting on her call all night!" Eddie's felt his stomach clench in fear, you should have called by now. Maybe he was jumping the gun but you didn't seem like the type to ghost him.

"Okay, okay, settle down. I'll call Robin and have her go over to her house, I think she lives close to her."

Eddie was already up, pulling on his shoes and jacket. "Fuck that, I can't wait any longer, I'm going to go check myself, thanks." He drops the phone onto his bed not bothering to put it on the receiver, racing out the door and jumping into his van.

It takes him less than 10 minutes to make it to your side of town. Gripping the tattered leather of his steering wheel, he pulls up to the curb in front of your home with a screech. Not bothering to cut the car off as he jumps out of the car, leaving it idling.

His nerves are shot, leaving a jittery feeling in its wake. The windows are dark as he pounds on the front door. After a few minutes pass, he walks around your house, peering into the windows.

He knows that if anyone saw him, they would call the cops with no hesitation. It's the one place he refuses to end up— well that and being stuck in this shit town. But at this moment that was the farthest thing from his mind.

That feeling that something was wrong kept nagging at him and he wouldn't be able to rest until he saw you in person.

After he had walked around your house a few times, he jogged back to the van, hopped into the seat, and began to head toward Family Video. Maybe you had stopped somewhere near your job and had lost track of time or maybe your car had run out of gas and you were stranded.

Countless scenarios run rampant through his mind as his foot pressed down heavily against the gas pedal. The entrance to the trailer park is a blur as he zooms toward the wooded highway. It's a straight shot from your job that would pass by his house on your way home. This road was known for its creepiness at night and he hoped that you weren't stranded on the side of the road somewhere.

Before he could reach the bend up ahead, the flickering of blue lights flashed in his rearview mirror. "Fuck me," he groaned as he reluctantly slowed down and eased to a stop on the side of the road.

Minutes tick by slowly as the officer takes his precious time before stepping out of the vehicle. Eddies lets out an aggravated huff of breath when the officer finally reaches his car.

Letting down his window he greets "something wrong officer?"

The man tips his hat upward revealing himself to be none other than the local town sheriff, Jim Hopper. "Where you going in such a hurry kid?" He places a large calloused hand on top of the roof as he leans through the window, peering around Eddie and looking towards the back of the van.

"I'm looking for someone," Eddie's response is short and clipped. It's not that he doesn't like Jim, to be honest, he liked him as much as he could like an officer of the law. His history with law enforcement was a shaky one. With him being the spitting image of his father and with his extracurricular activities, Eddie felt as if he had been doomed from the start.

With that being said, Jim was the only officer who had judged him on his merit and not his family name. Even though that merit was dead and buried after being busted a few times, he still treated him decent and he was thankful for that.

"Well driving like a bat out of hell won't get you there, it'll only have you in a hospital somewhere or God forbid in a grave. That's the problem with you kids, always rushing off somewhere, never taking time to just relax and enjoy life." Taking a cigarette out of his shirt pocket he quickly lights it and takes a deep inhale before exhaling the smoke into the night air.

"Yes sir," Eddie says in a monotone voice, tiredly rubbing at his eyes. His mind is too wired to focus on what the older man is saying, concern for your well-being is the only thing filling his brain right now.

Jim lets out a sigh at Eddie's response. He takes another drag of his cigarette before flicking it onto the cracked road. His eyes are soft as his gaze settles on Eddie. "Just drive more carefully kid. I don't wanna see another one of you out here tonight, crashed out on the road."

His eyes snap onto Jim's at his words. Ice-cold fear runs through his veins and his hands begin to shake in response. "What are you talking about? Who was out here!" his words are a rushed and jumbled mess as he waits on bated breath for the officer's response.

Jim jumps, startled by Eddie's outburst, before quickly converting back to his usual calm demeanor. "A girl crashed out here earlier," he says shaking his head sadly.

"What was her name," he demands shakily. His thoughts are static as fear takes hold of him, pumping throughout his veins leaving an ice-cold sensation in its wake. 'Please don't be Y/n,' he chants over and over to himself.

"Hmmm. I think it was a young girl last name Y/l/n. Why? Did you know—" His question is cut off abruptly as Eddie quickly puts his car in drive and takes off full speed down the desolate road. "Hey! What the hell," he jumps back from the car. The tire from the van narrowly missing his foot.

Tires screech against the asphalt as Eddie guns it down the highway leaving smoke in his wake. The sound of sirens can be heard behind him but Eddie is no longer in control of his actions. His body is on autopilot, tears streaming down his face as he heads toward the hospital. He's praying, something he hasn't done in a long time that it's not you. Hoping that Hopper had it wrong and that it was someone else. Not you, anyone but you.

He doesn't know how he makes it to the hospital in one piece but he does. Parking in front of the entrance he runs through the entrance at full speed. Unable to come to a stop, his body slams into the front desk, startling the old lady seated there.

She gasps loudly, holding her chest in shock. As her nerves begin to settle she pushes her wire-rimmed glasses up her nose with a pointed look at the young man in front of her. "Can I help you?" she asks cautiously. Sometimes strange people come into the hospital and she's usually the first person they come into contact with, so she's always careful of her interactions with people.

"Y/n L/n! Where is she? I need to see her!" His words tumble out of his mouth breathlessly.

Taking a quick look at the computer screen in front of her, she glances back at Eddie. "Are you a member of the family? I can't give out information if—,"

"Yeah! I'm her family, now where the fuck is she!" he shouts slamming his palm against the counter, attracting the attention of the people seated in the lobby.

"Sir, p-please, calm down and give me a moment so I can find her room number, okay?" Turning towards the computer, she quickly taps away on her keyboard, the glare from the screen reflecting off of her glasses. "3rd-floor, room 211 but you can't—," she trails off as Eddie takes off sprinting towards the elevators.

"Kids these days," she mutters to herself. With a shake of her head, she lets out a shaky breath before turning back to the magazine in front of her.

Unable to wait for the elevator, Eddie takes the stairs, reaching the 3rd floor in seconds. Bursting through the heavy metal door, he glances at the numbered halls as he skirts around the visitors and staff walking the halls.

Soon, he's at your door and he comes to a complete stop, unable to move any further. The chart on the door has your name on it, solidifying that you are indeed in the room.

Not giving himself time to think about it, he pushes the door open. Tears spring to his eyes as he takes in your small frame layered underneath the thin blankets. Shuffling forward he stops at your bedside and takes your hand into his. His gaze takes in the numerous dark bruises marking your swollen features.

"Y/n?" his voice is small, a sharp contrast to his usual boisterous tone. There's no response, only the steady beeps of the machines echoing loudly throughout the room. A choked cry breaks out as he hangs his head down, bending over the rail closer to you as the enormity of the situation hits him. Hot tears run down his face, dropping down onto the white hospital blankets.

He squeezes your hand, trying to find that sense of comfort that being around you normally brings. Your hand is cold to the touch, lying limp within his own. Your body doesn't react as he massages the palm of your hand tenderly.

Regret sits in the pit of his stomach as he thinks about all the time he wasted not being with you, not getting to know you better. He swallows thickly at the raw emotion flowing through him. He hasn't felt a pain like this ever since his mom died and even then he was too young to even process it, choosing to just accept that she was gone and never coming back.

He should've never gotten with Chrissy. He wishes he hadn't been a coward back then and had asked you out before you had moved away. It seems like as soon as you guys stood a chance at being together, life would come, and fuck it all up.

There's a knock at the door bringing him out of his thoughts. After a pause, the door opens and a middle-aged man enters, closing the door behind him. "Hello, I'm Dr. Raymond. Are you the patient's family?"

"Yes, I'm Eddie— her boyfriend," he states with a firm tone. His hands come up and wipe away the fresh tears steadily falling, uncaring that a stranger is seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

The doctor pauses for a moment, taking in the young man's words before continuing. Usually, they would only give information to immediate family but something tells him that the person in front of him wouldn't take that decision lightly.

Looking at his clipboard he starts rambling off medical terms, gesturing towards you briefly. Eddie stands there in confusion, not understanding a single thing he's said.

The doctor looks up in midspeech, realizing that he isn't following. "I'm sorry," he says with a small smile. "Sometimes I forget how hard it can be to understand all of this."

Eddie shakes his head in agreeance and the doctor continues. "Simply put, Y/n has suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. You've probably noticed that she hasn't responded to you being here right? The reason is that at this moment, she is unresponsive. When an injury damages specific parts of the brain, the nervous system sometimes doesn't send normal signals to the body. This can cause a person to fall into a coma." He stops, allowing Eddie to process the information he's given.

Putting on a brave face, he struggles to hold back the emotions threatening to break free. "So does this mean that she's not going to wake up?"

"We're not giving up yet. There's a possibility that she could wake up. However, there's also a chance she might not wake up."

His heart soars at the idea that there's a chance you could wake up. Refusing to think anything differently. "What can I do to help," he asks desperately. If he could do anything to help you, he would definitely do it, no questions asked.

The doctor smiles warmly at the sincere look plastered across Eddie's face. "The most important thing you can do is just be here for her. You can talk or read to her, believe it or not, it helps."

With a surge of hope, Eddie nods in confirmation, looking back over at you with a soft look. "I can do that. If there's one thing I'm good at— it's talking," he replied with a humorless laugh.

The doctor patted him on the shoulder before turning around to head out of the room. He stopped before the door, turning on his heel suddenly. "Gosh, I almost forgot," he says with a smack to his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Eddie's nerves instantly shoot back up at the doctor's words.

"That's the point," he says as Eddie stares at him in confusion. "The baby I mean— the baby's just fine. Although it's still early, it appears your little one will be just fine." His pager goes off and he darts out the door not waiting for a response.

"Baby?" He looks over at you in bewilderment. He stumbles, catching his fall by holding onto the wall for support. His air intake is limited as his breathing comes in deep harsh gasps. His vision begins to swim, and not wanting to pass out near you, he takes a step away from you towards a chair, before crashing onto the ground.

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Eddie woke up with a low groan, blinking up at the harsh lights above him. He yells your name, sitting up with a jolt as his memories come rushing back all at once. Looking around the room he notices that he's in an entirely different room than before.

He tries to get up when he realizes that he's cuffed to the bed. "What the fuck? Hey! Let me out here! Heyyyy!!!" Panic quickly rises in him with his sudden predicament. He doesn't know what he did to get handcuffed to the bed and he doesn't care. The only thing that matters is you and the fact that these stupid cuffs are keeping him from you right now.

He yells again as he yanks on the cuffs, causing the metal to bite painfully into his wrist. Just as he's about to start up again the door swings open and enters Hopper.

"Fuuuck," Eddie moans throwing his head back onto the pillow.

"Fuck is right," Hopper quips, walking over to the wall and leaning against it.

"I don't have time for this. Y/n needs me!" Tears of frustration begin to slip out the corners of his eyes.

"She's okay— I checked on her after you fainted." Hopper's gaze is steady as he stares at Eddie under the perch of his hat.

"I did not faint," Eddie grits out harshly.

"Sure kid— whatever you say. So, you mind telling me why you ran off like that huh?"

Letting out a sigh Eddie explains who you are to him and how that was the reason why he had reacted toward Hopper last night.

Hopper stood silently, taking everything in as he waited for him to finish. Once he was done he stood still for a moment in contemplation. Never taking his eyes off of Eddie he pushed away from the wall, walking over to Eddie on the bed.

Eddie's eyes are wide as he watches Hopper dig a set of keys from his pocket and unlock his cuffs. Rubbing the bruised flesh on his wrist he hurriedly got up from the bed, making his way over to the door.

"Hey kid," Hopper calls out and Eddie stops in his tracks. "Drive safer next time. You won't do anyone any good if you're laid up in a hospital too."

Nodding his head, he throws a grateful look his way before slipping out the door. In no time he's back in front of your room. He takes a deep breath to steady the flutter of nerves in his stomach. The news of you being in a coma and on top of that you were pregnant had left him in a stupor.

He knew without a doubt that it was his. That must have been the news you wanted to share with him last night. A fresh wave of guilt sets in at the thought of you crashing because you were hurrying to get back and tell him. You had to be at least two months now. He wondered how long you'd known and why you hadn't told him sooner. You must have been so scared of how he would react.

He shook his head, causing his curls to swing wildly. It didn't matter why you didn't tell him, the only thing he cared about right now was you and his baby's health.

With another deep breath, he opens the door to your room, entering silently. An older woman sits near your bed with her head resting in your lap as she wept silently. He stood near the door, not sure what to do next. Her head popped up at the sound of the door clicking shut.

'This must be your mom,' he thought to himself as she looked up at him in confusion. "Can I help you?" She croaked, clearing her throat as she wiped away the tears coating her cheeks.

"Hi— um I'm Eddie. Eddie Munson, I'm Y/n's boyfriend." He knows that you would give him the side eye at the self-appointed title he had given himself but he panicked! He couldn't say you guys were two people who used to fuck each other and that he had fallen in love with you but he wasn't sure if you even felt the same. Shifting from foot to foot he stood nervously waiting for her to respond.

After what felt like an eternity she finally responds "Hello, I'm Y/m/n. I'm sorry but you're her boyfriend? I've never met you," she replied with a soft sniff.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Yeah, our relationship is kinda new?" His eyes drift over to you and he couldn't help but move closer to you towards the other side of the bed.

She watches him as he carefully takes ahold of your hand, his thumb stroking your knuckles soothingly. The care shown in his movements and the sincerity in his eyes has her deciding right then and there that she liked him. However, she didn't like secrets and she wouldn't make it easy on him.

A knock at the door sounds off abruptly,  causing both heads to turn toward the source of the noise. The door opens and in walks the doctor from yesterday.

"Hello, good morning," he says looking over at Eddie. Turning towards your mom he extends his hand to her "Hi, I'm Dr. Raymond."

"Hello, I'm Y/m/n and L/n, Y/n's mother." She takes his hand and shakes it briefly before dropping it back into her lap. Her hands grip the small pocketbook on her lap nervously as she casts a glance at you. "Doctor give it to me straight. Why is my little girl not waking up?"

He proceeds to explain the same thing that he told Eddie yesterday. That you were in a coma and had sustained severe head trauma but that you had responded well to some of their tests, so they still had hope that you could pull through this. "Mrs. Y/m/n, the best thing to do is, be here for her and let her know that you're here for her. Also, as the pregnancy progresses you can speak to the little one as well. Studies have shown that the fetus responds positively to music and even talking."

"I'm sorry, did you say pregnancy," she whispers, cutting her eyes over to Eddie as he shifts uncomfortably under her cold gaze.

The doctor also begins to get nervous as he notices the shift in her demeanor. "Yes— um, your daughter here is about 9 weeks gestation. The baby is perfectly healthy from what we've seen so far but we'll make sure to keep an eye out for any complications due to your daughter's condition."

Sweat begins to trickle down the nape of Eddie's neck. This was not how he envisioned meeting your mom. He's glad that looks can't kill because if they could he'd be a goner.

"Did you know about this Mr. Munson?" Her stern eyes were locked on his, refusing to allow him to look away.

"No ma'am, I just found out yesterday," he replies with a grimace as he rubs the back of his tender head. "Kinda took me by surprise too."

Pinching the bridge of her nose with a tired sigh, she takes a moment to collect her thoughts. Not only did she just find out that her daughter was in a coma from a car crash but she was also pregnant! She wants to be mad but knows it's not the time or the place. "It's okay— I'm not mad. I'm just surprised is all," she replies a moment later.

"Ma'am, I plan on being here for Y/n and the baby every step of the way," Eddie states firmly,  doing his best to assure her.

"Oh, I know you will, Eddie. I wouldn't allow it any other way." Her tone is icy as a chilling smile settles across her face. "I guess we'll be getting to know each other very well, huh?"

A shiver runs down his back at her words. Nodding his head in agreeance he looks at the doctor who took that as his cue to speak again. Even though he had meant well, sometimes he couldn't read a room and had caused many uncomfortable situations. Clearing his throat he began to explain the next steps moving forward.

All issues pushed aside, momentarily, Eddie and your mom sat silently as they listened to the doctor explain the pending surgeries, treatments, and overall care needed for you and your baby. This was going to be a rough journey and Eddie was determined to be here for you every step of the way.

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Eddie hums quietly to himself as he walks briskly up the flight of steps. A habit he's formed over the past few months of taking the stairs to your room other than the elevator. It was just something about being trapped in a confined space that irritated him so he always chose the stairs instead. He had written you a song and couldn't wait to sing it for you.

To be honest he still hasn't really adjusted to you being unresponsive but he still comes to see you every day after school. Some days he comes late at night after work and would just spend the night, sleeping on the small pull-out couch in your room.

On those days when he had to work or had DND, Robin, Steve, or your best friend would come in his place until he was able to get there. It had become sort of a routine, to the point where they had memorized each other's weekly schedules. You had a great support system and he was forever grateful to them for the help they had given him and you.

In no time he makes it to your floor, giving brief nods to somewhat familiar faces along the way. This floor is for long-term care and most of the people who frequent here, have been here for just as long if not longer than you.

Holding the fresh set of flowers against his chest, he opens the door to your room. There you are laying peacefully in your bed. The bruises that coated your face have long since faded leaving a small scar running through your eyebrow.

Eddie was the first to notice the mark, he had commented to your mom how the scar resembled a lightning bolt and how metal that was. After switching the flowers out in the vase on the table with the fresh ones, he quickly crosses the room to you.

"Hey sweet thing," he greets you with a soft kiss. His lips linger on yours as he feels a faint twitch as your body responds to his touch. The first time that happened he had shouted for joy, causing the staff to come barreling through the doors at the commotion.

After examining you and Eddie to make sure he hadn't lost his mind. They had explained to him that sometimes your body would react to certain things and not get his hopes up. Eddie, however, knew that was bullshit, he knew that deep down, wherever your mind was, it was calling out to him and whenever he touched you he hoped that it was bringing you closer to him. So whenever he visited you he would talk to you while brushing your hair or he would sing to you as he massaged your limbs.

His gaze travels down your body stopping at the growing swell of your belly. Pressing his ear against your stomach he places his hand on your lower belly massaging gently. "Daddy's here," he says as he taps rhythmically against your skin covered by the thin blanket.

A sharp kick pushes against his hand in response and he grins "I missed you too angel." Your leg jerks at the movement causing his eyes to turn back toward you. "I think mommy's tired today, so take it easy on her okay?" He presses a sweet kiss to your stomach before turning his attention back to you.

With a smile, he goes through his usual routine of telling you about his day. He sings to you as he rubs your favorite lotion onto your arms and legs, pausing when he sees the subtle shift of your stomach causing your eyelids to flutter. You look so peaceful that he sometimes thinks that you're just playing a joke on everyone and will wake up at any moment.

A sad sigh escapes and he shakes his head in an attempt to war off the negative thoughts. He mentally shakes it off, refusing to think that you won't wake up.

Cuddling up in bed next to you, his legs bent slightly at the knees as his journal rests in his lap. His tongue rests on his top lip as he jots down some new ideas for his campaign. The first time he had climbed into bed with you, he was scolded something furious by your mom and the nurses. They told him that there was simply not enough room to hold the both of you without putting your safety in jeopardy, something Eddie had quickly debunked as he slipped in beside your small frame without disturbing your peace.

The doc was the one who had gone to bat for him, explaining that it might help you to have his presence as close as possible. So by your side was where he laid, unless your mom or dad was there and out of respect, he usually took the seat by your bed instead. Your mom and him had gotten close over the past six months, bonding over the gravity of your situation. Your dad showed up every blue moon, never sticking around long enough for Eddie to get to know him. He imagined that was a song and dance that your dad had perfected throughout your life, never being around to form an actual connection with his loved ones.

A knock at the door snapped him from his thoughts. Pressing a kiss to your cheek, he slips from the bed, making his way to the door. Whoever was knocking had to be someone who didn't visit often. Most of the regular visitors would knock and just come on in. He wondered briefly who it could be before opening the door.

Surprise spread quickly across his face at the sight of Chrissy standing there with a bouquet of flowers in hand. "Hi Eddie," she whispers, trying to sneak a look behind him into the room.

Not wanting to let her in just yet, he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. "Chrissy," he replied, glancing at the flowers she held nervously in her grasp.

"How have you been?" she asks cautiously. They hadn't spoken ever since that day in the gym. Whenever she would try and speak to him at school, he would blatantly ignore everything.

"What are you doing here Chrissy?" His tone was short, not in the mood to play any of her mind games.

Taken aback, she pauses, before giving him a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I just wanted to check on you and Y/n of course," she adds quickly. "I think it's honorable how you come here every day to visit her."

"There's nowhere else I would rather be," he replies, shrugging his shoulders in response.

Silence ensues as she struggles to come up with something to say. Conversation use to come easy with Eddie and now it's as if they were strangers. Ever since you came along he had all but cast her aside to be with you. The thought still burned her up inside and she wanted nothing more than to go into that room and finish what she had started.

"Well, thank you for coming but Y/n isn't accepting any visitors at this time." Done with the conversation he steps back towards the door putting his hand on the knob.

"Eddie please I— I know that we aren't on the best of terms but I do care," a small smile sits across her face as she holds his gaze imploringly.

His instincts are screaming not to let her in but he can't help but feel that maybe you would want to make amends with Chrissy. Throwing his head back with a loud groan he mutters a short "sure" before turning on his heel, back towards the room. Before he can even step over the threshold, his name is called down the hall.

It's one of the friendly nurses at the nurse's station. They look out for him by letting him pick whatever he wants from the Cafe menu at no charge. His dedication and loyalty to you is something that has caused most of the staff to treat him kindly, despite the usual treatment he receives from his outward appearance.

Glancing back at Chrissy whose hands are held behind her back with the flowers crushed between them. A worried look flashes across his face as he halts mid-step.  

"It's okay, we'll be fine." She says sweetly, crossing her fingers behind her.

"I'll be back, kay?" He gives her a long and wary look before turning and making the trek down the hall.

As soon as his back is turned, the smile drops from her face, replaced with a sinister sneer. Gripping the knob she twists it, causing the door to open. Slipping inside the room, she shuts the door softly and scoffs at her behavior. She doesn't know why she's being so cautious, it's not like you would wake up from the sudden noise.

She cackles at the thought that you might not ever wake up, taking pride in her handiwork, before covering her mouth to stifle the giggles. You might not be conscious to hear her but that doesn't mean nobody else could.

She takes a minute to catch her breath before stalking over to you. The flowers hang limply by her side as she observes your current state. Your face is pale but still somehow holds a natural glow. It's obvious that someone has been taking good care of your appearance for you and the thought of it being Eddie sickens her. Her eyes travel from your face until they stop at the swell of your stomach.

Hot anger pulses through her at the sight of your baby bump. Although the thought of having kids this young didn't appeal to her, the knowledge that you were pregnant with his child made her green with envy.

Taking a step closer to you she rests her hand on your stomach, snatching it back quickly at the sudden movement she feels beneath her hand. The silence of the room presses against her as she's suddenly filled with the urge to end you, once and for all. She's sure that with you gone, her life can return back to normal. Hopeful that these negative feelings threatening to overwhelm her would be gone, once and for all.

She hasn't ever stopped to think that the foreign feelings she constantly feels may be the result of something much deeper than the feud between you two.

Placing one hand on the oxygen tube near your nose, she pinches it, cutting off the flow of circulation. The beeps of the machines start to rise as your heart rate accelerates steadily. She can see a slight movement beneath the lids of your eyes but other than that, you still show no signs of reaction.

She begins to wonder just how long this will take when a series of noises begin to sound off as the machines send off alerts of your distress. Your heart rate is dropping and before she can take joy in that, she hears footsteps running down the hall towards the room. She keeps ahold of the tube, wanting to be sure this time, when she sees a dark wet spot spreading over the blankets where your hips lay.

Before she could get a grasp on what that even meant, the door swung open, slamming into the wall behind it with a loud smack. Yanking her hand back she looks behind her to find Eddie glaring at her with an accusatory stare.

"What the hell did you do!" he shouts as he rushes to your side, knocking Chrissy out of the way.

"Nothing! I was just standing here!" she yells back. She drops her gaze at the intensity of his eyes on her, while creeping towards the door.  

A flood of medical staff fills the room and just as she is about to make her exit, her eyes meet Eddie's. His eyes are dark and cold, filled with silent rage as he stares her down. He doesn't know what happened but he's willing to bet that whatever it was had been Chrissy's fault.

She leaves the room not turning back. "Good riddance," Eddie thinks as he turns back towards you. Concern and worry are etched deep into his face as Doctor Raymond and several nurses check your vitals.

One nurse takes note of the wet spot on the bed, mentioning it aloud to the doctor. Eddie looks on, feeling helpless as he watches the doctor take his place at the end of the bed, lifting the sheet. He mentions something about checking a cervix but he has no clue what that means.

With a sense of urgency, the doctor begins firing off orders sending the nurses scrambling. "Doc! What the hell is going on?? What'd happening??!!" Eddie's hand holds onto yours tightly but is still delicate in a sense. It gives him a small sense of peace as he tries desperately not to freak out.

"She's dilating and I believe she's having contractions which would explain the spikes in her heart rate. Plus her water broke which is always a sign that the baby is coming," he answers while scooting past Eddie, to maneuver the bed, causing you to sit up slightly.

"But I'm not— I mean, they're not ready yet. She's only 8 months and she still isn't awake yet," he yells, grasping the lapels of the doctor's coat with his free hand. His eyes are big and wet as he struggles to keep ahold of his emotions.

The doctor's look is one of pity as he stops what he is doing to try and calm the young man down. "The baby is coming whether we want her to or not. Be strong you got this." He sets his hands atop Eddie's shoulders giving them a firm squeeze.

"But what about Y/n? Will she be okay," he asks in a small voice, sick with the thought of what this is doing to you.

Uncertainty is written across the man's face. "I'm not sure, medically speaking this could cause even more trauma to her body." He turns back towards you as the nurses begin to prep you for delivery. "But off the record, I believe that Y/n is strong enough to overcome this. She's made great progress over the last couple of months."

His words quell the fear coursing through him and with a look of resolve he grips your hand firmly with his. He whispers words of praise into your ears, praying that you can hear him. Soon your mom hurries into the room, taking her place on the other side of the bed. Your best friend and dad sit in the waiting room as your body attempts to deliver your baby naturally.

Hours pass as the team of doctors and nurses oversee the delivery, while also staying out of the way to not overcrowd the room. Eddie stands in the same spot, not having moved an inch since everything started. Not trusting that something terrible won't happen as soon as he leaves.

He takes a small towel handed to him by a nurse as he wipes the thin layer of sweat coating your brow. "Doing so good baby," he says, pressing a small kiss between your brow.

The high pitch beeping of monitors takes his attention from you towards the foot of the bed where the doctor sits perched on a stool. "Alright everyone, it's showtime." His head disappears underneath the high tent of the sheet where your legs sit perched with the assistance of your mom and a nurse.

His heart thunders in his ears as he waits on bated breath. A small twitch against his hand catches his attention immediately. He whips his head towards you, noting the faint look of pain on your face. If he hadn't spent the past few months staring at you incessantly, he wouldn't have caught it.

"Sweetheart— can you hear me?" He says, feeling small petals of hope bloom in his chest. He signals to your mom who looks at you with a hopeful expression.

The look of distress grows deeper and deeper until finally, a tiny cry fills the room suddenly. Eddie's gaze snaps towards the sound as he sees the doctor hand off a small bundle to the nurse, who rushes off to a small station to clean the baby off and suction out any fluid from the baby's airways.

At that moment a loud hoarse cry fills the room, bouncing off of the walls, and sending echoes down the hall. All eyes are on you as your eyes spring open.

"Baby!" Eddie says in a soft voice filled with joy. He doesn't want to scare you with any loud noises but he can't help the onslaught of feelings coursing through him right now. His eyes begin to water as his emotions began to get the better of him. Your eyes meet his and it feels as if a piece of him falls back into place.

"Who are you?" you ask as tears leak out the corners of your eyes.

Dread fills Eddie from head to toe as he realizes that you don't recognize him. You try and snatch your hand away from his but your body is too weak to do so. Eddie knows he should give you space but he can't bring his body to cooperate.

Your mom speaks up, laying a kiss on your forehead "Hi sweetie, mommy's here and so is Eddie." Her eyes flit over to Eddie's with a look of pity as you don't react to his name.

The nurse appears at Eddie's side with a small bundle wrapped in a pink and white blanket. "Here you go dad," she says with a small smile.

The frown on his face is replaced with one of adoration as he stares at the baby lying in his arms. Any doubts he may have had are quickly dispelled at the sight of his daughter. Black curls peek out from under the pink-striped hat on her head. Deep brown eyes stare curiously back at him as he looks at her in awe. She's a perfect mix of you both, the best parts of both of you.

"Hey princess, I'm your daddy, and this is your mommy," he says in a sweet tone. Eddie turns toward you and his eyes meet yours again. Uncertainty clouds your eyes as you look from him to the baby in his arms.

You don't know what's going on but something inside you tells you that this is right. That this is your family, even if you can't remember the strange man in front of you or the fact that you had been pregnant. "Can— can I hold her?" you wince at the strain the words have on your throat.

"Of course sweet— I mean Y/n." Eddie catches himself before the pet name falls from his lips. He leans over you slightly as he places her into your arms gently.

His fingers rub against your arms softly as he moves away and it feels as if lightning is coursing through you. You ignore it for now and focus on the baby lying against you. Her eyes are big and brown, an exact copy of the boy next to you. Warmth spreads in your chest as a feeling of love begins to overwhelm you.

Eddie looks at you both with tears streaming down his cheeks. He feels a slew of emotions, the main ones are a sense of joy and sorrow at the irony of it all. He had prayed every night for you to wake up and when you did, the fact that you didn't remember him anymore hurt worse than when you were in the coma. At least then he had hope that you two could be together again someday but now that seemed impossible.

He looks over to you again and your eyes meet. You stare into his eyes, holding his gaze with a small smile painted across your lips. He feels so much love for you at that moment and although he may not know what tomorrow will bring, he knows for sure that he will never leave your side again, no matter what. He vows that he will do whatever it takes to protect you both.

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[weirdmorefics]

Hi I just finished watching Bridgerton and I am in love with Benedict

so can you make one where the reader is the youngest Bridgerton brother and he accidentally ruins Benedict's painting and he gets mad at him and the reader tries to apologize by drawing a picture for Benedict so a little bit angst and a lot of fluff

(I'm not good at English so sorry if there's bad grammar or spelling mistakes )🐼💕

A/N- Thank you for the request! I hope you like it and I think your English is great by the way! Fun fact crayons did not exist in 1813 when Bridgerton takes place so I just went with pencils lol.

Warnings-None

Pronouns- He/Him

Word Count- 911

Summary- You sneak into Benedict's room to see his new painting drying and there is a slight accident.

Accidents Happen

Benedict informed the whole family of his new painting in his room and warned us sternly not to go in. He said something about the paint being oils and how it takes longer to dry blah blah blah.

I decided one peek can not hurt. I mean I am just going to look at it. It is not like it should matter he usually shows the family his paintings before they dry. What makes this one so special?

I try to be as quiet as possible when going to Benedict's room. I must be cautious not to trip and draw attention like I usually do.

I slowly open the door to make sure it does not creak. I tiptoe on the wooden floors so no one can hear me downstairs. The painting is on the easel facing the open window. I sneak over to finally get a look at the painting.

On my way to the painting, I tripped on my pants and fell into the easel knocking the painting onto the floor. I let out a gasp I really should have gone with Daphne to Madame Delacroix's to get my pants hemmed.

I think my fall must have been loud because right after it I hear loud footsteps coming from the stairs. I scramble to stand up as fast as I can when Benedict slams open his bedroom door swiftly.

"What have you done!" He yells pushing me out of the way.

"I am sorry I didn't mean to. It was an accident!" I stutter out between tears.

I have never seen Benedict this angry and I hate that I am the cause. 

“I specifically told you not to come up here and you did anyway! I can not believe you!” He shouts picking up his painting in examining it.

I get a glimpse of the painting as he looks at it. The painting is badly smeared. but I can make out some of the faces. It was a family portrait which somehow makes me feel worse than I already did.

I look at Benedict fighting back my tears which just causes him to glare at me. “How dare you be the one to cry when you are the one who destroyed it.” He scoffs throwing his painting to the ground and storming out.

As he leaves tears start to pour down my face I quickly wipe them away with my sleeve and run to my room. I try to compose myself by thinking of a way to make it up to Benedict. I think of what Benedict loves the most and of course, the first thing I think of is his art which just makes me sadder. However, the thought of his art sparks an idea! I will make him a new family portrait.

I swiftly open my desk and pulled out my pencils. Then I grab a piece of paper from the stack on my desk. I decided to bring my materials under my bed to draw because the Summer heat was making it unbearable to sit at my desk. I spent what felt like hours on my drawing and the next thing I know I am dozing off under my bed. I am not sure how long I was asleep but when I woke up I heard shouting. I jump at the noise hitting my head on the bottom of the bed and let out a yelp. Then I hear rushed footsteps getting closer to my room. I quickly crawl out from under my bed to see what the commotion is. 

As soon as I am out from under my bed I am drawn into a tight hug.

“You’re suffocating me” I can barely breathe out.

“We have been looking for you for hours! I was so worried! I am so sorry Y/N I never should have yelled at you like that. I know it was just an accident.” Benedict says loosening his grip.

I shake my head no aggressively “No! I deserved it I should have listened to you! That's why I made you this drawing hopefully it can help at least a little bit.” I move to my bed to pull out the small family portrait I made.

Benedict smiles widely “Is my little brother secretly a great artist? Are you going to be my little twin?” After he says that he messes my hair up roughly.

I laugh “Stop Mother will be mad if my hair is all messed up for dinner.”

“Do not worry about that little brother of mine because our family will be too captivated by this beautiful portrait to notice!” Benedict says holding up my drawing.

“I am sorry it is not as good as the one you made,” I frown.

He pats my shoulder “I am sure you will be a great artist one day maybe even better than me if you keep practicing. Though I can certainly say this portrait is better than mine because you made it for me.”

I make a face of disgust “Benedict don’t get all lovey on me”

“What I can’t love my little brother?” He gasps out in fake shock.

I roll my eyes and Benedict laughs “Come on let's go tell the others I found you they are worried sick about you. They are also mad I yelled at the baby of the family.” He says the last part in a baby voice making me roll my eyes again and laugh.

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[greyyson-but-no]

is this real? | tommyinnit

genre | fluff, angst

warnings | heavy suicide tw (reader throws themself off different heights to feel pain that they can't feel), fighting (tommy vs technoblade)

pairing | c!tommyinnit x reader, platonic!wilbur x reader

word count | 1.4K

a/n | same dsmp version as 'come with us' but set much later on with some unknown contexts. reader has died lol. a cheesy reunion at the end.

the skatepark hadn't changed. it never did. in all eight years i had been here, not once did anything change. i would have been thankful for a new broken window at this rate but no: simply, nothing ever changed.

that morning i had woken up, grabbed the block of chalk that was settled next to the block of wax and drawn another line on the shortest wall. stepping back, i had looked at it all, seeing that it was nearly ready to move onto another room. there was one for every single day i had been there. it was just something to do each day that wasn't skating, and helped me keep track of how long i had been here, even if i'd forgotten the exact number. and it stopped me from going insane. probably.

thoughout the day, i had thrown myself off the edge of the tallest half-pipe at least ten times. i had learnt yet another trick, perfected it, and then climbed up the walls to the ceiling, hung from the fixtures and then dropped from them to celebrate. alas, still not pain. i didn't scar anymore, i didn't get bruises or cuts anymore. it was as if i was completely untouchable now.

but it was nearing the end of the day when it happened. when one by ne, the wood that blocked up the windows slid down and crashed against the floor. the first one had made me jump to the floor prematurely, but even when i didn't know, i didn't take any damage.

at first, i was too scared to leave. they had never given me a chance to leave before, what if it was a trap? or a test? it could simply be some sick, cruel joke made to ruin my life even more than it had already been ruined.

but then the metal double doors swung open, and a blinding light was let in.

still, i didn't want to leave. still, i didn't trust it but it didn't matter. they didn't care. it was as if i was being dragged through the doors, into the blinding light. i was on the other side of the warehouse, though, and due to my hesitance and resistance against the force, it took too long for their patience so the ceiling simply started falling in. first it was the strip lighting, then the lighting fixtures but somehow i had managed to dodge all of that. until each plank in the ceiling was slowly falling down.

one of them, of course, hit me on the head and knocked me out. but it hurt. it actually hurt and for the first time in eight years i felt pain.

when i woke up, the first thing i saw was daylight. a blinding, seething hot sun against my skin but it was still feeling things. it was still incredible. slowly, i sat up, the grin on my face growning wider and wider against my lips as the feeling of the grass beneath me processed. my eyes opened and i was in a forest, but at the edge of it, and laying against a hill.

and there was a voice. many of them, actually, all chanting something incoherant but definitely the same thing over and over again. and it was almost certainly coming from the inside of the moutain.

swiftly, faster and with more motivation than i had had in years, i pulled myself up off the ground and dug through the grass. using my bare hands to pull at the dirt and grime, getting it in my fingernails but not caring because there were people. only, it opened up into a small starter base. there wasn't much there, simply a crafting table, furnace and a selection of chests with basic survival tools in there but the chanting had gotten louder. there must be a cave somewhere then.

in the corner there was a hole. there was a ladder attatched to it so deep that i couldn't see the bottom but the people were down there. there were chants echoing up from down it, so i descended the latter, listening for the voices that got louder and louder the further i got down.

a large cavern but revealled, with so many signs of life i could almost cry. i knew i was definitely in the right place so i scaled down the levels and stairs to the very bottom, spotting the large group of people that i couldn't identify. it didn't matter if it wasn't my friends because they were people. after years and years of complete solitude there were finally people that i could talk to and socialise with.

but it was better than i could have imagined. it was my friends. they were the people i had grown to know and love like i had never before.

wilbur, standing taller than most of them, turned around at the sound of feet on the stares and although the look on his face was worry at first, when he saw it was me his face lit up.

"y/n!" he cried, and everyone spun around, fast enough to give them whiplash but there was only one person i wanted to see. i pushed past everyone, wilbur catching my arm and look down at me. "y/n, you might not want to see this."

my eyebrows furrowed immediately, the grin on my face dropping at his words. "see what?"

"don't."

"wilbur." i warned. "i don't care." and i pushed passed him, nearly falling into the pit but being pulled back by wilbur again. then, i could see everything.

it was tommy and technoblade, fighting again, like i made him promise he wouldn't, but it wasn't even going well. tommy was cowered into a corner with techno punching him again and again. my heart was being pulled, insinctively i jumped into the pit, wrapping my arms around techno and pulling him off tommy, facing him and pointing, not even bothering to say hi to tommy.

"why the fuck would you do that! you broke pit rules!"techno shouts, standing up and pulling himself toegther.

"y/n?" i could barely hear him.

"you were going to kill him, techno!" i shouted. "i don't care about fucking pit rules! he's on his last life and i won't let him go through what i did!"

"y/n!"

"i just got back." i told him, calming my voice and explaining. "i don't want to come back to find the love of my life dead in a ditch because of some stupid fight rules, techno. why were you even fighting in the first place?"

tommy must have stood up, but it made me jump when he placed a hand on my shoulder. "y/n, fucking turn around! "

and finally i did. spun around on the balls of my feet to look at the one person I'd missed more than the sun. more than the feeling of pain or happiness, I'd missed him more than I thought humanly possible and here he was standing in front of me, a black eye slowly forming but safe, and alive like I made him promise he would stay.

"tommy."

his hand moved to my cheek, a look of disbelief in those gorgeous eyes, his other palm clutching mine like his life depended on it. "is it you? did it work? is this real?"

"i think it is. i don't know how, or why, or even if this is real or if we're both hallucinating but I don't care. oh, tommy."

and if I were to say I missed one thing more than anything else while I was dead, rotting away in a warehouse alone, it would be the feeling of his arms wrapped around my waist, his nose buried in my neck and the warmth, the pure radiating warmth that came from him that made me feel so alive. more alive than when I had woken up from death.

"fuck, i love you." he mumbled into my neck, the feeling of hot tears against the skin.

it made me pull myself off him, looking up at the boy that was so much more than a survivor, and certainly much more than mine simply mine. i reached up and wiped the tears from his cheeks, everyone else having been zoned out, as if they weren't even there because all that matter was that i was back, i was back and everything was okay for now. i had the love of my life back, and everything was okay. everything would be okay.

i squeezed his hand. "i'm never leaving again, tommy. i promise with my life that I will never leave again. if death tries to take me i will drag it to hell and storm right back to you, okay? you never have to worry again."

#dsmp #tommyinnit #c!tommyinnit #fanfiction #dsmp fanfiction #tommyinnit x reader #c!tommyinnit x reader #c!tommyinnit fanfiction

[paralyze-fic]

Paralyze.

Chapter 26

What did I do?!

Why?! Why did I have to kiss Katsuki last night?!

He's gonna hate me now, and he won't talk to me, everyone was gonna be talking about the 'disgusting gay' in the hero course, I'm gonna get expelled, my family would dishonour me and I'll live on the streets for years, and I will die by a headshot because of-.

"(M/n)!" A loud yell woke me up from my panicking, and just now realized I was staring blankly at my breakfast. I blinked and looked up.

Izuku was sitting in front of me, and Todoroki sat by his side.

"Is there something wrong, (L/n)?" Todoroki asked me and I just sighed, hiding my face in my hands.

"I've made a mistake, guys..." I whispered to them, and I felt a weight on my shoulders.

"Bakugou wants to talk to you, (M/n)." It was Eijiro mumbling against my ear.

The mere mention of his name made me shiver and curl up in myself. My head shook on its own. I wasn't ready to face him just yet, not after that kiss.

"If you don't go, he's going to come and get you, you know that, so just go now." He pulled me, trying to get me to stand. I knew what he said was real, so I just sighed and got up. "He's in his room."

I nodded keeping my head down and I turned around to walk to the elevator. On my way to the fourth floor, I couldn't stop thinking of what to say. The outcomes that I imagined were pretty bad, lots of them involved Bakugou hating me for the rest of our lives.

When the elevator stopped, I hopped off and slowly walked towards Katsuki's room. I took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

"It's open!" The sound of his voice made me tremble and I was about to turn around and bail, but the thought of him later looking for me to talk made me stop.

I had to talk to him one way or another, sooner rather than later.

I grabbed the doorknob and pushed it down, opening the door. I didn't look at him at all, I just closed the door behind me and rested on it while felt my body extremely sweaty. He also wasn't saying anything.

God, this is awkward... and it's all my fault, damn it (M/n) why did you have to kiss him?! I wanna jump out the window or bury my head in the ground.

"So?" He said making me flinch and grip my t-shirt. "Are you gonna explain yourself about yesterday?"

My body wasn't responding and my brain seemed to have stopped working, making the situation even worse.

"(M/n), I'm waiting." I bit hard on my bottom lip as I thought of something to say.

"It..." my voice was trembling so I cleared my throat, "It was a mistake, sorry... for kissing you, it didn't..." I stopped, the next words I was going to say were the ones that hurt me the most, "It didn't mean anything, I'm sorry Bakugou."

The silence that followed made me anxious, so I looked up at him.

Bakugou was staring at me with a weird expression. He seemed relieved but also... sad?

He scoffed after some time and turned around, walking to his bathroom. "I'm expecting my breakfast done by the time I'm out." He closed the door without another word.

I was just staring blankly at the closed wooden door, my mind somewhere else. Until I heard the shower water go off. That snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned around to leave.

It wasn't right of me to say that, that wasn't what I thought at all! I just... panicked, and I couldn't confess to him. But, there's a good side to this; Now I know that Bakugou doesn't like me at all.

Yeah, that wasn't good at all, at least for me.

A heavy, defeated sigh got out past my lips. What did I just do?

//////

"I think I said it yesterday, but now, class 1-A would focus on getting their provisional licences," everybody said in unison 'Yeah!', making me chuckle a bit at their synchrony. After that, Aizawa explained some more and said something about how only 50% percent of heroes-in-training get their licence each year. "That's why, today you'll have to think of at least..." the classroom door opened, revealing Ectoplasm, Midnight and Cementoss, "Two special moves."

While everyone was excited once more, Ectoplasm sensei and I made eye contact, I was happy to see my former teacher, so I nodded to him as a greeting and he did the same.

After the three pro-heroes explained to us what we were doing, Aizawa told us to go change into our costumes.

///////

Now we were all fighting against Ectoplasm's clone. I would talk to him at times, even if it was just a clone, seeing as he used to be my homeroom teacher.

"Have you talked with Shinso yet?" Hearing Hitoshi's name made me stop the special move I was trying to make.

Hitoshi... it's been way too long. I haven't even bothered sending him more texts since last time. And I think my sigh was enough of an answer for him.

"I've seen him talking a lot with Eraser Head lately, maybe you can talk with him." I nodded and tried to concentrate again on what I wanted to do, but that well-known yell echoed.

"I need another, this one died!" I looked up at where Bakugou was and I snickered at his antics.

So cute.

A hard kick to my gut made me fall back and hit my back forcefully into the ground.

"Ugh, why did you do that, sensei?" I groan in pain as I get up.

"You shouldn't get distracted in a fight, a villain would've simply killed you, (L/n)." He stood straight and stared at me. "Concentrate."

I huffed and went back to practice my special moves.

Keep a Plus Ultra mentality, eh?

//////

"I'm gonna die," I plopped straight down to Bakugou's bed, he scoffed and tried to push me off his bed. I just groaned and held the headboard so he wouldn't drag me to the floor.

"Get the fuck off my fucking bed, fucker!" I chuckled and sat up. Bakugou just growled and sat on his bed beside me, taking his phone out.

"That's the most amount of 'fuck's and variables I've ever heard you say in a single sentence, I'm impressed Bakugou." I saw him flinch slightly but he huffed soon after it, got up and walked to his couch.

"Come here, imma beat your ass this time." The TV screen loaded with Mario Kart in it, and I laughed, lazily getting up and sitting on the floor, next to his legs.

Usually, I would sit beside him or in between his legs, but seeing how things were a bit awkward between us, I decided to take my distance and try to fall out of love.

"What are you doing? Come on." Bakugou moved behind me and trapped me with his legs on each side of me.

But that seemed almost impossible to do.

#paralyze fic #bakugou katsuki fanfic #bakugou x male #bakugou x male reader #male reader #reader insert #x reader

[final-girl96]

Firefly Chapter Thrity-Four

Authors Note: I decided to do a smuty flashback for this chapter. The next chapter will continue the Grand Hotel in chapter 33.

Boston QZ 2007

I was sitting on the couch, back against the arm, with my legs stretched out. I had a book in my hands, a book I couldn't seem to focus on. My mind was on the time and Joel was yet to be home. It was past curfew like four hours after curfew. He was outside the walls again. I was hoping he didn't bring Tess back here like he did when I first met her a year ago.

I sighed, closing the book, and sat it down on the table beside the couch. I swung my legs around, planting my feet on the floor, and stood up. Then I padded over to the window. Where our apartment was, you could see outside the walls of the QZ walls. The abandoned buildings that were slowly being taken over by nature, some of them leaning to the side from where they bombed. It was pitch black outside the walls.

Where there used to once be lights that filled the night sky was nothing but darkness. It was so eerie how dark and quiet it was. It's been four years since all this shit happened. Four years, and it already looks like it's been longer than that. Shit happened so fast. It was like everything was fine one minute, and then with a snap of your fingers and a blink of eyes, the whole world was…gone.

I looked up at the sky only to see dark clouds and no stars. Drops of rain started to hit the window, slowly getting heavier until it was a full-on downpour. A loud crack or thundered and a bright flash of lightning made me jump away from the window. "Fuck! Where the hell are you Joel?" Even though it had still been warm outside, the rain was cooling everything off. The only thing I had on was one of Joel's flannels, which was one of four. The man never had a big wardrobe.

I turned around when I heard the clicking of the lock, and then the door swung open. Joel walked inside, shut, and locked the door. "It's about fukcing time!" He spun on his heel and let out a long sigh. "Jesus. What're you still doing awake?" He asked, setting his stuff down on the table. "Waiting for you. What happened? You said it wouldn't take you that long. That you weren't going too far outside the walls."

My mind was jumping to all kinds of assumptions, but I pushed them away. I didn't want to start a fight because of my insecurities. Joel sat down on one of the chairs at the table and began taking his boots off. "Ran into some trouble, that's all." He slipped one boot off and started on the other. "What kind of trouble? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked. He slipped his other boot off and set it beside the other. "No, I ain't hurt. Just some raiders. We took care of them. Come here," he said, holding his hand out.

I looked at his hand then up to his tired eyes. I walked forward and put my hand in his. He pulled me so I was standing between his legs, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pressed his forehead against my stomach. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, weaving my fingers through his hair. He hummed and looked up at me. "Yeah, I just missed you." His hands trailed down to rest on the back of my bare thighs.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "You're the one who didn't want me to go with you." Not when you have…" He jerked me forward until I was straddling his lap. "Don't even start with that shit." He pressed me down further onto his lap, pulling me closer so my chest was against his. He moved my hips back and forth. "I was distracted all fucking day because I couldn't stop thinking about you."

I gripped his shoulders and his hand ran under the flannel of his I was wearing, lifting it up enough so he could grope my ass. "Damn near got myself killed because all I could think was getting home and fucking that attitude you had this morning out of you. I've been half hard all fucking day." His hand came down on my left ass cheek, making me yelp in surprise. I ground my hips down onto him, feeling his very hard erection through his jeans.

The roughness of the denim rubbed against my clothed clit, a small moan escaped me, and I rocked my hips back and forth harder. Another slap from Joel to my ass made me moan louder. "Someone's needy, hmm?" Joel stood up, hands gripping my legs to pull them around his waist. My arms wrapped around his neck and I leaned down to attach my lips to his. I always end up getting dumb when his hands are on me.

He walked over to the bed and dropped me. "What the fuck!" I looked up at him to see his brown eyes darkened and his hand shot out to wrap around my throat. He didn't put any kind of pressure on it just pulled me closer to his face as he leaned down a little. "Take this off, now," he said in a deep whisper. I felt my pussy clench around nothing. My fingers fumbled with the buttons of the flannel, struggling to get them undone.

Joel got tired of my struggling, grabbed a hold of the shirt on either side of it, and pulled. Button's went flying in different directions, and a shuttered gasp came pushed past my lips. "Too slow, darlin." Now you owe me a new shirt." All I could do was nod. Joel liked to be dominant, but he was usually always soft and gentle. This was one of those moments where I knew he was going to be rough. He knew when to be soft and when to be rough. He knew exactly what I needed…always.

"Scoot," he said, backing away from me. I moved up the bed and watched as he made quick work of his clothes. His hard cock springing free, slapping against his stomach, and standing tall. He kneeled on the bed, lowering his body down so he was on his stomach and between my legs. His lips trailed up the inside of my thigh, moving closer and closer where I wanted him. Where I needed him.

He left a kiss on my clit, flattening his tongue and locking from my entrance up to my clit, sucking it into his mouth. My head fell back, pressing into the pillow, a moan falling from my lips. The tip of his tongue flicked over the small bundle of nerves, his hands spread my legs wider, one coming to rest over my lower stomach to keep my hips planted to the bed. He pushed his tongue inside of me m, fucking me with it. My fingers laced themselves into his hair, pulling and tugging, moans of his name falling from my lips.

"Joel. Fuck, please just fuck me!" I tried to push my hips up only for him to hold me down. He pulled away to look up at me, eyes dark and hungry. "Behave and take what I give you." His hand came down on my pussy, leaving a slight sting on my clit. I moaned and tried to buck my hips again.

"What did I just say?" He slapped my clit again and then sucked it into his mouth. I moaned loudly, gripping his hair. Two of his thick fingers slipped inside of me, stretching me open a little, pumping in and out. He scissored them, opening me up more, pushing further inside and curling them, and hitting that spot deep inside of me only he could reach.

My walls tightened around his fingers. He flicked over my clit, sucking harder, fingers hitting that spot over and over again until I came undone. He slowly pumped his finger in and out of me until I came down from my high. When he pulled away he had a smile on his face. "Such a good girl." He kissed up my body, mouth latching onto my right nipple, fingers coming up to pinch the other in between them.

My hips lifted up, pushing myself against him. He groaned and let go of my nipple, coming up to capture my lips with his. He kissed down my jaw to my neck, leaving a mark behind. Then he leaned back, spreading my pussy with his fingers, thumb coming in contact with my clit. He drew small, slow circles, taking his cock in the other hand, and pressing the tip against my soaking wet hole.

"How bad do you want it, baby? Hmm? Beg for it." His thumb left my clit and the tip of his cock replaced it, nudging against it. "Come on, beg me. I wanna hear you beg me to fuck you." He slapped the head of his dick against my clit a few times, moving down to push the tip into my tight hole. I whined and tried to push myself forward to force more of him inside of me.

He pulled away and flipped me over, pulling up onto my hand and knees. His hand came in contact with my ass. "You're not being a very good girl." His hand wrapped around my hair and pulled my back against his chest. "Maybe I should just leave you like this and take care of myself." I shook my head, "Please. Please, fuck me, Joel. I need you!" He turned my face and kissed me then pushed me back down onto the bed.

His hand pushed on my back until my chest was flat against the sheets. He ran his fingers between my wet slit, slipping his fingers into me before replacing it with his thick cock. "That's it. Open up for me, darlin'." He stretched my walls open, sliding inch by inch until he was full seated inside of me. Slowly pulling out and slamming back into me. "Fuck! That's it. God, your so fucking tight." His thrusts were fast and hard, the tip of his cock hitting that spot deep inside.

"Ahh…Joel, please! Please, I need to come!" He brought his hand down on my ass again, kneading it with his hands and spreading my cheek apart. I felt his spit hit the tight hole before he pushed his thumb inside. "Shit! Come for me, sweetheart. Come on my cock like a good girl!" My walls were squeezing his cock more and more with every hard thrust.

My vision darkened at the edges, a loud moan filled the air, and I came completely undone around him. He fucked me through my orgasm then pulled out and shoved himself inside my ass. I gasped, trying to pull away but he held me tight against him. This was the first time we've done this. This was the first time I've ever done this. "Relax, sweetheart, just relax."

He pushed himself further, settling himself deep inside. I did as he said and relaxed my body. When he felt me relax, he pulled out halfway and pushed back in a few times before pulling completely out. "Turn over, darlin."" He helped me flip onto my back. He was on his knees, hands pushing my legs apart as far as he could. He pushed himself back into me slowly. "Good girl." His thrusts were slow at first and picked up pace the more he stretched me.

He pinch my clit in between his fingers, switching to press the pad of his thumb against it, drawing tight circles. I felt my pussy clench around nothing, my ass clench around his cock. He groaned and picked his pace up more, leaning over me, pushing himself deeper. My nails dug into his arms. A loud pronagraphic moan slipped out of me. "Joel!"

He thrust a few more times before pulling out. Shooting hot ropes of cum onto my stomach. "Fuck!" His eyes were screwed shut, mouth hung open, then he collapsed beside me. Our breaths were labored as we both lay there coated in sweat. After a few minutes he got up and walked towards the bathroom, coming back with a wet cloth, and cleaned me off.

"Are you okay?" He asked, pulling me into his side. I nodded with a hum. "So, what really brought this on besides my attitude this morning?" I asked, looking up at him. He looked at me, hand rubbing up and down my back. "We went through the hotel today. Got me thinking about that time you, me, and Tommy staying in that one hotel. The night we had together. There was a thunderstorm going on. Became fucking obsessed with the feeling of you wrapped me that night. Fell deeper in love with you too."

#joel miller x y/n #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x yn #joel and ellie #ellie williams #ellie tlou #ellie the last of us #ellie x reader #the last of us x you #the last of us x reader #the last of us hbo #the last of us #the late late show #the last of us game #joel miller tlou #tlou show #tlou x reader #tlou hbo #tlou series #tlou fanfiction #joel tlou

[votestaynight2]

15th Day - limited. (Scene 4)

"I'm still taking you home. I'm not going back by myself." I don't even need to think about it. There's no alternative in my mind.

"――――" Ilya just stares back at me in surprise. I take her hand. "Let's go, Ilya. We'll go home before they find us." I pull her small, light body and start to walk.

"I'm stunned. Anything I say to you is useless." Ilya starts to walk without resisting. "Really. There's no way this will turn out well." She happily closes her hand over mine.

"What are you waiting for?" ―――Then. Kotomine jumps in through the window I broke.

"Kotomine…!?" Ilya pulls her hand from mine and stands on guard.

"Oh, wait, Ilya…! He's on our side. We're cooperating just this once. We made a quick team." "What!? No way, you're working with this guy!? Shirou, you can't, he…" "We can talk later. Let's go outside before they catch up to us." "Eh, kya――――!?"

―――He moves in an instant. Kotomine grabs Ilya's arm and jumps out the window without any hesitation.

"Wha――――Ilya……!!!!" I dash to the window.

…Kotomine has already landed. Ilya is in his arms. At once, she shakes off his grip and slaps his face. …She hit him so hard that I can hear it from up here.

"――――This isn't the time to be amazed. So he wants me to jump…!?" There's no time to hesitate. I can manage this height if I land properly.

"Fuh――――" I charge as much magical energy as I can into my feet. I can't strengthen my own body, but this should soften the landing――――

――――Or not!!!!!

"――――Uhhhhhh…!!!!" I jump down twenty meters and roll the instant I hit the ground. It's only the third floor, but the third floor of a castle is very high up. In a normal house, it'd be somewhere around the eighth story.

"That hurts… I thought my brain would pop out." …Damn, my feet are so numb that I can't even stand. But I'm lucky that it's grassy here. If this were asphalt, I would've broken my legs, and then I'd never be able to escape.

"I'm surprised. You're tough, Shirou." "Indeed. It is amazing that you jumped from that height without using any magic. ――――Are you suicidal?" The two stare at me. Setting Ilya aside for the moment, Kotomine's comment makes me forget about the pain.

"Shut up! I had to do it because you jumped! I don't want to do this ever again! You'd normally break your leg, and I almost fainted right when I started the jump!"

"But you have no injuries. You have no right to complain… But it is certainly a surprise. Why did you even consider jumping from that height? Even a magus would not think about jumping from that height without using a spell."

"Eh――――" Well, I was left behind, and since Kotomine jumped with Ilya, I thought I'd look bad if I didn't do it too――――

"It's not Shirou's fault. Archer's influencing his mind as well as his body. That's why his body's so tough. He thought he could handle that drop the way Archer could."

"…Eh? What does that mean, Ilya?" "I see, that is reliable. Please demonstrate that strong attitude during battles. Here's your sword." He throws me the sword I left here.

"Whoa…" "You can run, right? Our lives depend on it now." Kotomine turns to the castle gate, telling me there's no time to talk. And in challenge to him… "[wacky len=14]" An odd sound shakes the winter castle.

"…I thought so. You kept him in this world, eh, Sakura?" ―――That roar was definitely a signal fire for the hunt. Telling us that the most fearsome hound has been unleashed. It's like a death sentence placed upon a fleeing prisoner by an honorable, yet ruthless, lord.

"―――Berserker." "――――――――" My mind shifts into full alert. Berserker. I hear the name that embodies danger, and every last ounce of composure is squeezed from my body.

"Kotomine." "We'll retreat. We can do nothing even if we fight him. We will be killed once he catches up to us." Kotomine leads the way to the castle gate.

"Don't look back, Ilya…! Forget about him, Berserker isn't like before…!"

I take Ilya's hand and start running. ―――We can't be holding back now. If that mad warrior is after us, the only way for us to survive is to run with all our might for the whole three hours to the forest's edge…!

―――It's hard to breathe. A darkness I can't ignore no matter what is overtaking us.

"……!" I run through the forest. I still don't see anything behind us. All I hear is the sound of raging wind. The pursuer is not a hound, but a huge monster. As he cannot slip in between trees like us, he instead follows by knocking aside whatever blocks his path.

…It feels like we're being chased by one of those heavy drills used for digging tunnels. It's like there's a black wall bearing down to engulf us.

"Ah… haa, ha… no, I can't run that fast…!" "…!"

I slow down to Ilya's pace. …This is bad. The enemy's speed and ours are about the same. He'll catch up to us in a minute if I try to run while carrying Ilya――――!

"No…! I'll stay here, so escape by yourself, Shirou…!" "He hasn't caught up to us yet…! Get on my back! One little girl's weight is nothing…!" "Idiot, that's not true…! If you do that, he'll be on us in no time for sure…!"

"Kuh――――" What should I do? Should I carry Ilya and run, or――― ―――Or will I fight that monster? And I can't even match Assassin. Fight one-on-one against the strongest Servant with this borrowed sword――――?

"――――Ah――――" No. Stop. Please don't make me. There's no way in the world I can beat that monster…!

I'll die if I stop. He'll definitely kill me. The moment I face him, my body will be sliced in half, my torso crushed by strength like a machine, all while I'm still conscious, and――――

"―――There is no need for that. I will carry Ilyasviel." ""What?"" We both turn around. ―――I don't even have time to be surprised. Kotomine walks over to us, picks Ilya up, and starts running.

"――――――――!" He's fast…! Kotomine has a good build. With his height, he should be able to easily carry Ilya and run.

But we're in a forest. Even though the ground is uneven, trees are scattered everywhere, and his arms are full, he's not slowing down――――!

"Kotomine…!" I run full-speed after him. We're at equal speed now. Kotomine is carrying Ilya while I'm running without any shackles. In a forest where we might trip at any moment, we run at a pace of a hundred meters per seven seconds.

"――――!" My heart's beating rapidly. This isn't normal. I'm running too quickly. It's not possible for a human to run at almost fifty kilometers per hour through this terrain.

My left arm throbs. It feels like my left arm expanded beneath the cloth.

…This is probably what Ilya was talking about. Archer's battle experience isn't the only thing flowing into me. His physical abilities are flowing into me now. An overdose of strength-enhancing drugs. The poison seeps into my body, letting me demonstrate abilities beyond my limits.

――――That's fine. Even if this may be contamination too great for a Geiger counter to measure, I appreciate it for now.

But Kotomine's different. I don't sense any usage of magic or leak of magical energy. It's unbelievable, but he's running with Ilya in his arms without any magical assistance…!

"Hey, are you really human…!" "Not as much as you. But have you noticed? We can get away if we maintain this speed. It seems he cannot see through his eyes."

"…!? He can't see?" "That is the only reason I can think of. He is faster. The trees in the forest are like pebbles beneath his feet. But he has yet to catch up to us, which must mean something is wrong with him."

Kotomine plainly talks. I don't know why he's talking about this with such disinterest, but…

"…We can manage to get away. So it all depends on our cardio!?" "No. It seems things will not be that easy."

A voice filled with hostility. Before I'm able to tell what he means… "――――Assassin――――!" My left arm writhes.

"……!" I see a white skull. Assassin slips through the trees beside us, as if laughing at our attempts to escape…!

"Cra――――" By the time I realize how much trouble we're in, it's already too late. On the other side of the trees is Assassin, raising his left arm over his head and―――― ""!?"" Someone parries before it can pierce my skull.

"――――――――" I gasp. There's only one person that can do such a thing. Kotomine, still carrying Ilya, parried the attack that was fired without any indication…!

"―――How annoying. He never appears when your hands are free, but he shows up as soon as you're preoccupied." Kotomine slows down. …The priest frowns and glares at the black assassin keeping pace with us.

"Kotomine?" "I will leave Ilya to you. I shall take care of him in turn. I am a priest, after all. I have experience with exorcising evil spirits." Kotomine stops and lets Ilya down.

"Wha――――are you serious!?" I pull the bewildered girl towards me. At the same time―――three daggers are fired like bullets…! "Kotomine――――!"

"――――It's sharp, but too direct. The course of the attacks is too easy to read for an assassin." "――――――――" I doubt my eyes. Assassin fired three sword flashes. The priest easily knocked them all aside――――!

"[wacky len=12]――――"

"…!" Berserker…! Damn, that was close! He'll catch up to us if we slow down here…!

"――――!" This is no time to be indecisive. I have to go ahead with Ilya…!

"It's fine, right…!? I'm going, Kotomine…!" "That is what I am telling you. You do not need to worry about me." ―――I hold Ilya in my arms. I can't run as fast as Kotomine, but this is still faster than having her run with me…!

I turn my back to the priest. The dark roar is coming from another part of the forest. It's surely coming closer while destroying everything in its path.

I have nothing to say to Kotomine. Trusting him with my back and running with all speed will be my best reply. ―――And right when I'm about to start off…

"―――Emiya. Do not kill the person if the one you saved is a woman. Having her die in front of you hits you pretty hard." The priest says something strange, his voice heavy with self-derision.

"……Eh?" "It's just a meaningless warning. Hurry. If your only pursuer is Berserker, you should be able to escape. The rest of the fight is up to you, Emiya Shirou." "――――――――" I nod and start off.

―――Their shadows recede into the distance. His back is so far away. …I have a bad feeling. I think we will never see each other alive again.

Interlude 15-2

―――It's a bit abrupt. But driving away evil spirits is not a priest's duty.

A priest preaches about the teachings of God, but doesn't drive away evil spirits. Their god is one and absolute. Supreme and all-knowing. A spirit that created the perfect world. Such a god would never allow evil to disgrace the world that he created.

But evil still exists, corrupting men and tainting the world. God's world is being desecrated by something that should not exist. This is how they defined the contradiction. That even the evil that threatens mankind is a necessary part of the world. It is something worthy of love.

In this regard, evil is a messenger from heaven. If what brings out the goodness of men is holy, it follows that what brings out the malice of men is evil. They are both angels sent by God. As one who teaches the word of God, the priest has no right to eliminate them.

But. Evil does exist, corrupting men and tainting the earth, producing gruesome tragedies surpassing human knowledge. At times, the trials from heaven made people realize how powerless God is. The inhuman deeds of the evil caused people to desire for miracles from the great God.

Consequently, an exception was created. Apostles, humans that carry out the will of God instead of spreading his word… Trials that should be observed. Heresy that should be denied. People who possess what should not exist, the 8th Sacrament. Executors, destroyers of evil devised by the 120 Cardinals, were born.

They drive away darkness, purging all things that are not part of God's teachings. They hunt down that which doesn't exist in the doctrine, so they're not bound by the doctrine. Their immorality is forgiven. There's only one thing they must protect: the great name of God. For this purpose, they will destroy the evil that God created. That is the only difference between them and the Exorcists.

"―――Executors, eh? I hear the Church teaches to be frivolous as the pigeon, yet adaptable as the snake. …I see that you are no exception." The white skull laughs. The priest Kotomine Kirei doesn't answer, but checks his weapons.

Five Black Keys on each side, and a Command Spell on his right arm, unused since the last war. These armaments are more than sufficient against a low-ranking spirit. But he cannot kill a Servant even if he hits every one of his weapons. Even if he may be nameless, Assassin is a heroic spirit. He can't possibly defeat a heroic spirit unless he has a weapon of the "Scripture" scale that the selected Agents carry.

"What's wrong? It looks like your weapon is a projectile weapon as well. Would you like to try a match?" "――――――――" The priest doesn't move. He stares at the skull that lurks between the trees, listening to the sounds in the forest. Rustling leaves. The breath under the mask. The sound of slowly melting flesh. And the mad warrior crashing into the distance.

"…He went that way, as I thought. It seems you are not doing well with Matou Sakura, Makiri Zouken." He talks while staring at the skull.

"――――Ka. Kaka, kakakakakaka! I see, so you felt my presence, Kirei! Why did you stop in spite of that? You could have used the boy as bait to escape. So why are you conducting such a good deed as to be the bait yourself? Do not tell me you are moved by kindness!"

The laugh echoes through the forest. The white skull slightly wavers. The priest doesn't even move his brow. "――――I did not intend to save Emiya Shirou. I merely had business here." And he speaks with no sign of hostility.

"Oh? You had business with me?" "Of course. Either way, Emiya and I will not get out of the forest. I know we will both die eventually. Then―――it is only natural to do something for yourself before you die, correct?" "Hm……? Then you do not mind what happens to Ilyasviel? You came to rescue her, right?"

"I care not. I can do nothing, even if I defeat Assassin here and move to help the boy. Whether Emiya Shirou succeeds or fails to save her is no concern of mine." He holds three Black Keys in his left hand. The priest stares at the skull in front of him while holding the swords in a fan form.

"…Oh. Then you stayed here because…" "Yes. I must keep Ilyasviel from you, or…" …The hostility disappears. The white skull melts into the forest without trace.

"―――Or kill you here."

―――The blades run. The sword held by the priest and the daggers flung by Assassin clash…!

"Ku, haha, hahahahaha! I see, so that's why you came to die! Fine, Kirei. We have unsavory ties. I shall see through the battle of the Church's outlier――――!" The laugh echoes. The holy man who wards off evil meets Malak al-Maut, knowing it's impossible to win――――

"Ha――――Haa, haa, haa, ha……!"

I run through the forest with Ilya in my arms. I can't turn back. It feels like a black wall would be behind me if I turn back, which would kill my spirit to escape alive. I don't have energy to waste on that. He'll catch up to us if my resolve wavers. He'll catch up and kill us both.

"――――Ah, haa, gah, ah, ah……!" ; " "

It feels like my feet will tear off. Ilya may be light, but carrying someone still slows me down. Making matters worse, the forest isn't the best place to run in. Each step nearly causes me to trip.

"Ah――――! Haa, ah, ah, haa……!" ; " !"

Faster. Faster. Faster. Faster. He'll catch up to us unless I run faster. The presence behind me is getting closer by the second. This is no time to be moving this slowly. I have to run faster――――run fast like Kotomine and run away with Ilya…!

"――――――――Ah, ――――――――guh…!" ; " !"

My heart feels like it's about to explode. It's painful. I can't breathe. The muscles in my legs are about to tear apart, and my bones are screaming to break.

"――――――――, ――――――――!" ; " !"

It's painful. How long have I run for? I'm running frantically through the forest with Ilya in my arms. I've covered five kilometers already. Then again, I'm so short of breath that I can't think, so it might've been twice that. I ran full speed without slowing down.

"[wacky len=13]――――"

"Ah――――――――" ; " !"

But it won't go away. I'm running full speed, my heart and muscles are about to stop, and yet the presence behind me is getting larger.

"――――――――Kuh." ; " !"

Ilya is heavy. Oxygen is heavy. My legs are heavy. Death is heavy. I'll die if he catches up to me. I'm burdened with the fear of being killed in a single blow.

"Ah――――――――!" " !"

I mentally kick myself before I can falter. Run. Just don't think and keep running. So what if my legs are about to rip off? What's the point in worrying? Think about that when it actually happens. For now, I just need to get out of the forest as quickly as possible. Fill my chest with gasoline. Turn the key and ignite the engine that's stalling with fear. Keep the gear at the top. Remove the brakes.

"Ha――――ah, ah――――!" " !"

Run. Run. Run. Run to shake the uneasiness from my back. Run to ignore the fear behind me. Run so I won't think negative thoughts――――!

"[wacky len=14]――――!"

Shut up. Don't yell in my ear. My eardrums are about to burst just because of my breathing. I can't spare the effort to listen to your loud voi――――

"No, stop, Shirou……!!!!!!!!"

"――――――――!?" Ilya screams in my arms. My mind reacts to her frantic warning before my body does.

"Haa――――――――" I stop. My feet slide to a halt in the dirt, and I put Ilya down on the ground.

"――――Trace…" I ready the sword I had on my waist and create a Magic Circuit at the speed of 200 miles per hour.

"On――――!" Nothing comes to mind. In an instant, I manufacture everything without even thinking about it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" I resist the impact with all my strength. The whirlwind comes from the side. The pursuer has attacked us from the side, smashing away all the trees in his way――――!

――――I'm sent flying. All it took was one blow. The Black Key, which I strengthened to be as strong as diamond, is bent like melted candy. The impact goes through the sword into my body, permeating damage from the tip of my head to my toes.

"――――――――Ah." I'm flying. The attack I made with all my might was deflected like nothing. ――――I'm no match against him. I'm no match against him. Emiya Shirou isn't allowed to even stop that monster.

My body's floating in the air. No, I'm flying. I'm like a thrown lance, hurled dozens of meters by the impact. I might fly back to the castle. That's how much stronger he is. Escape is impossible.

Time has stopped. I'm still flying, and I should die when I fall to the ground. Having seen the difference in our power, I accept my fate, but…

"No way… No, Berserker…" …I see Ilya crying in disbelief, with the black monster in front of her.

"Gah――――……!!!!!" I frantically reach out. I stop my flying body by hitting myself against a tree.

"Ah――――haa………!!!!!!!!!" It feels like I've been hit in the back with a hammer. My heart, already pushed to the point of bursting, expands still further. It cries in pain as though there's a crack running through it.

"Haa――――ah――――ah……!" I can only draw a single breath. I need oxygen, but it feels like I'll explode if I take another.

"Haa, gu, haa――――――――!" But my body moves. That single breath gives me the strength to run. I use all of my Magic Circuit to move my muscles and―――

"Hey, what's wrong, Berserker? It's me. Can't you tell?" Entranced, Ilya doesn't move. She just calls out in a weak voice, trying to deny the unrecognizable figure before her.

…That's the black enemy's true identity. Kotomine said his eyes can't see. He's right, but he's not accurate.

…That Servant has no eyes, nose, or mouth. His glowing, red eyes are there to emit hostility. His body is covered by the black mud, and the wound he received from Saber is left alone.

…That's something completely different. Engulfed in the mud, he is a monster who can only destroy. He doesn't even see who he's attacking. The mad warrior can't recognize Ilya's figure, let alone mine.

"[wacky len=14]" He raises his axe-sword against the living thing in front of him.

The priest is about to end his life. "Fu――――Fuu――――fuu――――" Kotomine Kirei leans against a wall, staring at the white skull. His outfit is slashed up. He's breathing hard, with three Black Keys as his only remaining weapon.

"Hm, this looks like the end. I should commend you for lasting this long against a Servant." The old man's laugh echoes through the sky.

"――――――――" Assassin remains silent, in contrast to his talkative master. Battle is merely work for him. The Darks that go for his opponent's vital spots are also weapons to measure the strength of his opponent. He measures his opponent's mobility with the first dagger. He measures his opponent's action principles with the second. He always keeps seven meters between him and the opponent. He maintains a distance at which only projectile weapons are useful and measures his opponent's skill.

If he cannot kill his opponent in one blow, he will force his opponent to a place where he can. He will drive them into a corner by cutting their limbs and tiring their bodies. For Assassin, the daggers are merely preparation for his fatal attack. He uses them to analyze his target's skill, creates the perfect opportunity, and smashes his enemy with his evil arm. It's just a chore for Assassin, bringing him no joy.

It's a boring chore, but the priest is better prey than he expected. He has used at least twenty daggers already. Although he uses them to determine his opponent's skill, each one is still meant to kill. The priest has blocked them and reached this ruin. He dismissed the priest as a mere human, but his powers are admirable.

"Fuh――――fuu――――fuu――――" But this is it. His energy drained, the priest leans against a wall and stares at Assassin. He has three hidden Black Keys left. The seven he threw were all dodged.

"Then this is the end. Show him some grace, Assassin." The skull wavers. Assassin fires the daggers without motion. Aiming for the temple, pancreas, and diaphragm. The priest challenges the lightning flashes with his Black Keys.

There is a term called "fatal attack." A move that will kill, a move that will determine victory. This is it. The three daggers are a feint. Kotomine Kirei will die the instant he deflects them.

"――――Die." The wing flaps. The cursed arm, the one-winged spear, is developed. ―――It's an unavoidable attack. Assassin knows the priest's capabilities. He knows his prey is tired and wounded.

―――That is why this will kill. The prey should prevent death from the Darks. But that will be all. Even if he saved up his energy for a counterstrike, his body is incapable of carrying it out.

After repelling the three daggers, all the priest can do is jump sideways. And only three meters at that. He cannot escape the arm―――!

――――The cursed arm stretches out. The priest has no fear. He's prepared for it. He knows that the daggers are a feint, that the cursed arm will strike him the instant he repels the daggers, and that he has no way to avoid it.

No matter what he does, he will die. That is why… "Set――――" The only thing he can aim for is a double-kill―――!

"――――――Fuh." The skull laughs. The cursed arm going for the heart and the Black Keys cross. But there's no problem. Assassin's cursed arm is the only one that will directly hit the target.

The Black Keys will certainly hit him. But how unfortunate. No matter what magic he puts on the swords, the Black Keys cannot kill Assassin. The three swords will pierce through Assassin, sticking to the tree behind him. But that's it. The priest will inflict injury, but will have his heart torn out in turn――――!

Assassin's arm does its job first. His Noble Phantasm, Zabaniya, sticks to the priest's chest and creates a fake heart. But he feels no solid response. The man's heart gives no reaction, as if it's empty.

"Wha―――" At that instant, the impact hits him. The three Black Keys hurl Assassin backward, nailing him to a tree.

"What!?" There are two surprises. One is that the Black Keys have sealed his movement. And the other is…

"Impossible! Why are you not dead, Kirei――――!?" "――――――――" The priest's black outfit flutters through the air. He jumps. The inhuman action is like a cannon firing. Amassing his strength and releasing it, he covers ten meters in an instant. Up to the trees above. He instantly seizes the head of Matou Zouken, the one who has been observing the battle.

"Hm――――What are you doing, Assassin…!?" It does not need to be said. His bodyguard is sewn to a tree by the Black Keys. To Assassin, this is only a scratch. But the holy nails make it impossible to save the old man.

"I will kill. I will let live. I will harm and heal. None will escape me. None will escape my sight."

Why challenge an enemy he knows he cannot defeat? This has always been his announced intention.

"Damn you…!" "Be silent. You'll bite your tongue off." The priest grabs his head and drops to the ground.

"Gi――――!"

"Be crushed. I welcome those who have grown old and those who have lost. Devote yourself to me, learn from me, and obey me. Rest. Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, and do not forget me. I am light and relieve you of all your burdens."

He shows no mercy. The priest smashes the old magus's body on the ground, crushes his bones, and slams his head against the wall.

"Ha――――I see, so you will kill me!? Very well, do as you wish. But what will change? Do you think your wish will come true!?"

"Do not pretend. Retribution for forgiveness, betrayal for trust, despair for hope, darkness for light, dark death for the living."

He walks. Leaving a smear of blood across the stones as he goes.

"Hahaha, hahahaha! Such a hopeless wretch! Do you still seek mundane happiness!? Do you not understand that such a thing does not exist for you!?"

The blood and flesh paint a picture on the wall. All that remains of the old magus is his head. His body has been ground away against the stone.

And not even half of his head remains. Even with his brain pasted to the wall, the old magus gives off his last laugh.

"Relief is in my hands. I will add oil to your sins and leave a mark. Eternal life is given through death. ――――Ask for forgiveness here. I, the incarnation, will swear."

"You will never find it. Kirei, you were defective from birth. Just stand and watch, never fitting into the world…!"

"――――Kyrie eleison."

――――The laughter is cut off. The shape that can't be seen by human eyes withers away.

Baptismal chant. Within the systematic basis of their magic, the teachings of God are considered the greatest weapon against spirits. The key of providence that eliminates wandering souls. It sublimates the wish of the five hundred-year-old magus with great mercy.

End of Interlude

Time is stalled. "――――No. I don't want this, Berserker…!!!" Ilya pleads to the giant. But he doesn't even try to figure out who is talking before he swings his sword――――

"ILYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" I run. I was flung about ten meters. This distance is nothing. I'll definitely make it if I run. One breath. The blood, drugs, and propellant running about my body are like a jet stream, and the igniting thought is like an electric charge――――!

―――I step in. My body feels light. Time seems to stand still.

―――I'll make it. I'll definitely make it. But even if I do…

―――I couldn't do anything with the Black Key. I couldn't match him. So…

―――I search, retrieve, and create it. What can beat him. What can match him.

―――It's clear. It can be nothing less than the sword he carries―――!

――――I block it. Projection succeeds as a matter of course.

" Ah." A crack. A crack runs through the axe-sword I projected. At the same time…

"[wacky len=15]!" "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" I'm hit with feedback that's almost strong enough to kill me, punishing me for using something forbidden.

I'm flung away. My axe-sword shatters beneath his second attack, and my body slides across the ground like trash.

――――Fading. My consciousness is fading.

I can't think. I can't think even if I gather up everything.

My left arm revolts. My blood overflows. The restraint is still on my left arm, but my intelligence is half lost, and I feel a chill as though it'll never return… The ominous feeling will turn out to be true, and I'll start losing what I value the most.

"Ah, ――――" I'm enveloped by a rushing wind. I'm enveloped by intense light. I lost it, I lost it. I lost it amidst the agony. I can't find it, even though I search. My mind turns into a grain of sand within a desert, lost to everyone, drying up, drying up, drying up, drying up――――

"Shirou! Get yourself together and find yourself…!" There's Ilya. I'm on the ground. I'm about ten meters away from the black giant. His red, glaring eyes are looking around, as if trying to find me.

"――――――!" My consciousness returns. This is no time to be on the ground. My body still moves. The only external wounds are scratches from tree branches. It's just pain. My tongue tries to gasp for air. There isn't any oxygen in my body from all the running, so I want air.

That's all. What's important is inside my body――――I don't really want to know what condition it's in, but I can still fight――――!

"Let's get away from here, Ilya…!" I grab Ilya's hand and stand up. My body's all right, but I need air. I have to get out of his range to regain my breath――――!

But. "…Why? Shirou, do you even understand what's happening to you?" Ilya pulls away, as if denying my assistance.

"――――――――" Something's wrong. Berserker is right behind her. I'm myself, my head's not working due to oxygen deprivation, and I can't think why Ilya might say such a thing.

"Ilya?" "……I'm sorry. But it's fine now. Run away by yourself." "――――――――" Ilya hangs her head. I can't think straight. I can't, so I get pissed off instead.

"Man, don't throw a tantrum now! Let's go, Ilya! Now's not the time for that!" "Kya…!?"

I pull her arm. Her small body. Her desire to help me with that tiny body feels sacred.

"Hey, what are you doing, Shirou!? I said you've done enough…! You can still make it alone, so run…!" She hits my head. I ignore her.

"Shut up…! I wouldn't be here if I could do that…!" And I pull her close.

"Wha――――" Ilya's eyes ask me why. She's got to be kidding me. I don't even need to explain myself――――!

"I don't have a reason! I'm just selfishly protecting you! Look, an older brother protects his younger sister!" "What!? Are you stupid? I'm not your younger sister!" "It's fine! I'm an older brother since you called me Onii-chan! Even if we're not blood-related, you're still my younger sister!"

"――――――Shirou." The black giant turns to us. "Run, he's coming…!" I can think later. For now, I have to get away from him as fast as possible…!

――――It's a bit strange. I'm pulling Ilya and running at a speed far beyond Emiya Shirou's capabilities.

I come out into a familiar clearing. "Ah, haa, ha, ha――――!" Ilya's the one breathing hard. I'm not out of breath, maybe because my body's numb. My lungs are burning from lack of air, but I'm not breathing. I'm just like a corpse. My heart's gone on strike.

"Oh… I'm… fine… I can… run…!" Ilya's fingers are unnaturally hot. She's never had the energy necessary to run. Her design didn't account for ordinary human exercise.

"――――――――" I have a headache. Knowledge I never knew flows into my mind. Thoughts are useless. I have to get away for now. The mad, senseless giant is close on our heels.

I somehow widened the gap between us, but I can't hope for that speed again. My legs are shaking, and I calmly analyze that I can only run for about ten more meters.

Ilya can't keep this up either. There's nothing here for us to hide behind, even if we wanted to. Well――――hiding wouldn't accomplish much, since he can't see anything.

"――――Perfect." But we're fortunate. There's a crater. It's a scar on the earth made by Saber's Noble Phantasm.

"This way, Ilya――――!" I take Ilya's hand and jump into the crater.

The trench easily holds two people. "Haa――――" I lean against the dirt. Raising my head for air, I see the sky. A small cut-out patch of sky, as if I'm looking up from underground.

"Haa――――ah, ah――――" I just focus on breathing. For a bit, I relax and rest my body.

"……!" But it's only for an instant. The giant will not lose its prey. No matter where we run, he'll track us down and kill us.

"……Ah………! ………!" The suppressed voice is from the girl beside me. Ilya's frantically hugging herself so she won't be a burden on me.

"――――――――" This is the end. We can't run away, and we can't take much more of this. I look down at my left arm. The sole weapon to overcome this situation is waiting for its release.

I'll die. Kotomine said this is the switch of a time bomb. I recall the pain. Using projection nearly broke me. I can't imagine what the pain would be like if I released my arm.

The firing hammer is always in my head. Untying the red cloth is the same as putting a gun in my mouth and pulling the trigger. Once I remove the cloth, the firing hammer will go down. My brain will splatter out the back of my head, and everything will end there.

"――――――――" I have to be determined. The answer's already there. I need to bring Ilya back and save Sakura. I know what that means. I have to protect Ilya, defeat the shadow, and remove it from Sakura.

I wished for a miracle that I can't hope to accomplish. I'm still wishing with all my might. I know it's a dream that I can't make come true, but I've never even thought about giving up.

"――――――――" Then I have to go. I have to save Sakura and Ilya. It's impossible. Sakura's facing death, and only destruction awaits her. Someone said it'll take a miracle to save her.

――――That's right. Aid that's impossible with human powers. If I'm to perform a miracle that exceeds human capabilities, I'll need an appropriate compensation. I can't protect myself and someone else. If someone has to take Sakura's place in order to save her…

The ground's trembling. The embodiment of the storm is closing in.

"―――I'm going. I'm going to defeat him, Ilya." "Eh…?" She looks up in surprise. Ilya notices that my right hand is on my left arm.

"No…! You can't do that! You won't come back once you use Archer's arm…! You'll die. No, you'll be killed first! You haven't done anything wrong, so you don't have to go that far…!"

"I'll bear it. I'll somehow bear it even if I almost die, so you don't have to worry about me. Oh, and let me correct you. I've done bad things too."

"Eh――――Shirou…?" "Then I'm going. Wait here, Ilya." I pat her head and walk away.

I get away from Ilya. I'm going to attract his attention and fight him head-on. I have to get away from Ilya so she doesn't get involved in the fight.

"――――It's time." I place my hand on the knot by my shoulder. The knot by my wrist is tight, so if I'm going to take the cloth off, it'll have to be from up here. I just need to pull it all off after that. Then I'll be assailed by pain that's ten times worse than all I've suffered until now.

"――――――――" Kotomine said it's the switch of a time bomb. The fuse will be lit once I take it off. I don't know if it'll explode in the next minute or the next day. All I know is that I can't put out the fire once it's lit.

―――My mouth goes dry. Fear doesn't go away with determination. I want to scream out of sheer dread. ―――If I'll be sane or not. I'm scared of myself.

My death is only natural. I'll be killed even if I stay here. If I'm going to die either way, I'll choose the method that'll keep me alive longer.

So there's only one thing I'm scared of. And that is the possibility of losing my mind before my body dies.

"Ha―――――――aa." Will I be able to bear the pain? I might lose my sanity and forget about Ilya and Sakura. I might even forget the promise to protect them.

That's what I'm scared of. That's the only thing I'm scared of. That's why I sealed it. I know I can't use this arm even if my life's at stake.

…Berserker's appearance isn't somebody else's business. I'll be like him if I give in to the pain and lose my mind. No, the fear will always be with me so long as this arm exists. This arm's the embodiment of a nightmare that seeks to kill me. But. Why did I keep this arm in spite of that?

――――Then cut it off. There's only one reason. This arm exists to be used, and he entrusted me with it because it will be needed.

He said I'll be judged by myself. Ilya said I haven't done anything bad.

"Yeah――――that's good enough." The atonement lies here. I betrayed myself and sacrificed many lives. There's something I can't give up, and that's why I continue to live.

I put my hand on the red penalty. Live or die. I take a deep breath and rip the clot――――

At that instant. The world crumbles apart.

" [p] Ah."

Blowing despair. A strong wind that's going faster than a hundred meters per second. A fierce wind that doesn't allow the existence of living things, let alone allow one to stand up. Therefore, it's not a wind. It's steel, and my body's crushed by the pressure.

" [p] Gah."

My eyeballs are squashed. My back sinks into the wall. I can't lift my hand or fingers. My blood flows backward. My mind is bleached white. There's no pain. Feeling pain and enduring it are too human-like to happen here.

" [p] Ah, ah."

I'm melting. I can't even groan in protest. There's nothing. I have no way to fight it off. I have to move forward, but I can't move a finger.

" [p] Ahh, ah."

I'm melting into whiteness. My body and mind impassively crumble apart. Go forward. Why am I here? Keep going forward. For what am I here? Go to the other side. Why am I fighting? Pass through the wind and move forward.

" [p] ――――"

――――I'm disappearing. My body lost already, but I clench my teeth, not letting my mind lose… but my mind is disappearing.

I won't make it. I can't move, no matter how hard I try. I can't stay, no matter how determined I am. I try to clench my right fist with my whole existence on the line. If I can, I'll be able to hang in here. If I can move any part of my body, I can use that to move forward.

I can't move a finger, let alone make a fist. My left eyeball is crushed. The rush of the wind ruptures my eardrums. My vision fades away. Within it…

I see an unbelievable image.

" [p] Ah."

He's standing. He's standing in this wind. He's standing, walking to the other side. ―――As if it's a matter of course. The wind of steel has no effect on him. He walks forward, his red coat billowing behind him.

" [p] Ahh, ah."

Strength is back in my jaws. I grit my teeth. My right hand is already in a fist.

The red knight takes no notice of me. Set in a stern expression, his face is slightly turned away, showing no interest in me as the wind rushes to engulf me.

For him, this result was expected. Emiya Shirou cannot stand against this wind. He knew there's no future for the man who betrayed himself and wished for something out of his reach.

He's right. The crimes I've accumulated will judge me. But he…

'――――Can you keep up with me?'

As if to scorn me, as if to believe in me. He's waiting for me to get there.

" ――――It's not 'can you keep up with me.'"

My vision fires up. I force as much heat as I can into my body. My limbs cut through the wind like giant swords.

"You keep up with me――――!"

I pass the red figure with all my might.

"[wacky len=14]" I step up onto the ground. The wind's died down. There's about thirty meters to the black giant. It'll take him less than three seconds to close this distance. ―――Therefore. The outcome of this battle will be decided in the next three seconds.

My mind's clear. I know the scope of my power. Projection using creation concept, basic structure, composition, production technique, growth experience, and accumulated years. A Reality Marble that inverts the world engraved on your soul, the embodiment of the mental world using theory of magic, the world egg. Inheritance of battle technique, experience, and physical strength from Archer. Correction. Failed to read physical strength. I'll still be killed in one blow.

Reality Marble, "Unlimited Blade Works", isn't usable. Archer's world and mine are different. I can't reproduce it. I can only reproduce what Emiya Shirou has learned, or the Noble Phantasms he has recorded. If I'm to use a Noble Phantasm from my left arm, I have to search within "Unlimited Blade Works" for the Noble Phantasm best suited for the situation and reproduce it.

But be warned. Projection is a two-edged sword. If you use it once, it will――――

"――――――――" I hold my breath and put all my magical energy into my left arm. I only need to understand the weapons I can use. I already know the precautions. I have to move forward. I have to go beyond that wind and defeat myself――――

"――――Trace, on." I stare at it. I see through his giant sword. I open my left hand and grasp the imaginary handle of the weapon that has yet to exist. An extraordinary weight. Emiya Shirou cannot handle this giant sword. But―――my left arm will definitely reproduce the strength of my enemy.

"Ah――――――――" It breaks. A part of my brain explodes. My bones break, not being able to withstand the overflowing magical energy. It's unsightly like apple skin.

"Here I come――――――――" There's no need to worry. will reinforce the broken parts. I will give my undivided attention to killing him for certain.

"[wacky len=12]!" He notices me. His hostility now has a focus. Recognizing my use of magic as a threat, his eyes move.

They're like ominous stars. The giant gives a death cry and runs to kill his enemy.

―――Mad warrior. The giant is insane, but still the same. He's still fighting his battle against Saber. He is blind and insane, his life has ended twice over, and his body is rotting, but he's still fighting to protect Ilya.

――――――――――One second.

"――――――――" The running giant won't stop with one blow, and normal projection is useless against him. Tracing won't do the trick. I can't beat that giant unless I use projection past my limits. Therefore―――

"――――Trigger, off."

Nine in my head. I use all twenty-seven Magic Circuits in my head and smash it in one blow――――

――――――――――Two seconds.

He's right before me. His massive sword is upraised. Torrent and swirling vigor. He steps forward, and I confront him by also stepping forward. Upper arm, collarbone, windpipe, temple, diaphram, rib, testicles, and thigh. I take aim at the eight targets. "Set――――Nine Lives Blade Works."

I surpass the crashing speed of sound using godspeed―――!

"[wacky len=5]―――……!" But he doesn't fall. His entire body has been torn through by his own weapon, but Berserker's still alive.

"Haa――――ah――――……!!!!" I step forward. His weapon is in my left hand. I'm faster. I can land a finishing blow before Berserker, who's missing an eighth of his body. I raise the giant sword up to his chest and thrust it like a lance.

"[wacky len=16]――――!!!!" But I lost. I put all I had into it. I used every ounce of the unfair advantage I have, but it still wasn't enough. Berserker's attack draws near. It's swung down with hurricane force.

"――――――――" I twist my body. I use all my abilities to evade his attack. I saw it coming. So I can dodge it. Berserker's attack will only graze my head.

――――But that will still kill me instantly. Even a grazing blow from that monstrous blade will be the end. A direct hit can even destroy the ground. Even a brush with the tip of his sword will scatter my head like tofu.

The giant sword comes crashing down. My vision freezes the instant my head is blown away. ―――But. The sword swung with blinding speed… …Is stopped with blinding speed.

"――――――――Eh?" The deathblow never comes. "――――――――" The black giant is looking forward. Not at me, who's under him. He's staring at the white girl who emerged from her cover.

I pierce him. Without hesitation or mercy, I drive the giant sword into his heart.

There's no counter-attack. Berserker exhausts the last of his life force and crumbles to dust, for good this time.

…And at that moment. As his red eyes fade away, they remain focused on the girl, telling me to protect her.

――――The battle ends in an instant. It really does end in one breath.

The boy, with trembling lips, said he was going. He suppressed his fatigue and fear, put his hand on the red restraint, and walked away from the girl.

She went out to stop him. She hesitated for a second, wondering what she could say. She couldn't come up with anything, yet still followed after him. It wasn't even ten seconds. But that slight hesitation determined the outcome.

"Shir――――――――" She emerges, following the boy. The battle has already ended. The giant who once protected her disappeared, his eyes fixed on her. Wind blows through the clearing, as if signaling that the conflict has ended. The figure is all that's left in her vision.

"――――――――" The battle has ended. It's not the power of the heroic spirit's arm. Using his own power, the boy fought against his death and won. The girl keeps staring at his back. He will never turn around and look back again.

He has released the Shroud and defeated the giant. His figure looks heroic and powerful. There's no doubt left in him now. He cast away all agonies when he released the cloth and used projection.

"―――――――――Shirou." The girl keeps watching him, filled with sorrow. His body looks like someone else's now. ―――It's a foolish and sacred end with no return.

"――――――――Haa." I resume breathing. My left arm burns, and I ache all over. Snakes with electricity are in my body, wriggling around like mad.

"Ah――――guh――――" I can't stay standing. Quickly. I have to quickly cover my left arm with the cloth and escape this pain, or the time limit will come.

"Haa――――Haa――――" But I can't do that. Suppressing my left arm and resting… …Comes after defeating her.

"――――Saber." I endure my pain and stare at her so I won't lose spirit. "…………" Maybe she's been following Berserker all along. She slowly comes closer to me, as if resuming the giant's task.

……Seven meters. Saber stops once I am within range.

"――――――――" "…………" We face each other straight-on.

―――I'll be killed. After my fight with Berserker, I can't move anymore. I'll be cut in two without being able to fight back.

No. Even if I were in perfect shape, I wouldn't be able to beat Saber. I can't project anything stronger than her Noble Phantasm. So there's no competition. To beat Saber, I need an appropriate user to use his Noble Phantasm that equals her Noble Phantasm.

"Ha――――――――" There's a contradiction already. Saber's Noble Phantasm is the strongest. There may be heroic spirits whose Noble Phantasms exceed hers, but there are no such people in this Holy Grail War. If anything can beat Saber, it'll be her own sword.

Therefore, a contradiction. Saber's the strongest Servant in battle. …Sakura did have extraordinary amount of magical energy. But even Sakura wouldn't be able to defeat Saber. Saber is literally invincible now that she's released from me and has a great source of magical energy.

"―――What a futile effort. I warned you that you cannot save Sakura, and this is the result?" There's no emotion in her voice. "―――――!" That's the signal. She mercilessly comes to take my life.

"――――" So what? I can't be killed here. I can't lose, even against Saber. I may not be able to beat her, but I should be able to escape with Ilya――――

"But you are fortunate. I have no time to spare for someone who will soon die in any case. Sakura is calling for me." "Eh――――?" Saber turns around and walks off.

"…No. It is not merely luck. You earned your life with your own hands. You defeated Berserker. Your determination yielded this result." Saber leaves without turning around.

…I can't call out to her. She's my enemy. No matter the reason, I'll thankfully accept the fact that she spared my life. I'm covered in wounds, leaving me nothing to spare.

"――――――――" I stifle my pain and turn my back to Saber. I have to leave the forest with Ilya. …Saber's not my only enemy. Even if I do separate Sakura from the shadow, Zouken will get in our way.

"Guh――――" I know what happened and what's going to happen to my body. I can project three more times at most. …No, even projecting once is dangerous if I don't want any physical defects.

I can't fight Zouken and Assassin in this condition. There'll be no point if my body explodes after I beat them. Then I should keep my last projection to keep my promise with Tohsaka. Then there's still hope, even after I die.

"Shirou…?" I hear Ilya's voice from somewhere.

"…Yeah. Let's get out of this forest as quickly as we can. We won't be able to get away if Saber―――no, if Sakura changes her mind." I can't see Ilya. My heart's thumping loudly, jumping around inside my skull.

Interlude 15-4

―――Purification by the holy word. The priest's exorcism disperses Matou Zouken's spiritual body. Only two figures remain. One is Kotomine Kirei, leaning against a wall with wounds all over his body, his cloak red with blood. The other is the masked assassin, bound to a tree by the Black Keys.

"―――You completely eradicated the magus, Executor. Did you know he was just a collection of worms?" "――――" He turns to the voice. Assassin is no longer there. The only things on the tree are the Black Keys and a small trace of blood.

"…I've known him for a long time. I knew he was a spirit that used worms to tamper with this world. It would do no good to rip his body to pieces. If one were to kill him, one would have to completely eliminate his body, or…"

"Attack the spirit itself, as you did, eh? I see. The magus had a strong binding to the world, but he's vulnerable to the holy words of the Bible. Exorcist, eh? One might say you were Matou Zouken's natural enemy."

"――――――――" The priest doesn't answer, but checks on his wounded body. The bleeding has stopped. He's out of weapons, but he suffered no fatal wounds, and his strength should return once he rests for a few minutes.

"So, what are you going to do, Assassin? Your Master is gone. My holy words should have an effect on you now that your source of magical energy is gone." "…I would assume so. My body will soon disappear. Without a Master, I am no different from the wandering spirits in this forest. My body will degrade to that of a lowly spirit within a day, and I shall disappear from this world."

"Correct. I can harm Servants without Masters. So, what will you do? Will you avenge your Master?" "I am not so foolish as that. He suffered defeat because of his own arrogance. It is not my fault. But still, something does not make sense, and that I must ask of you."

"You must mean how your Zabaniya failed. I believe you obtained your arm from Shaytaan, but it will have no effect on me as long as it bears the name of the fallen angel. That arm punishes humans, so it cannot curse one of its own kind. As my heart is not human, it is strong against such a curse."

"――――I thought so. Your heart was the same as that girl's. You must already be tainted." The priest doesn't answer. He merely smiles ironically.

"…But how did you know? You could not act as you did unless you knew my arm would have no effect on you. Your intention was to have me use my Noble Phantasm, correct?" "Yes. I already knew about your arm, Assassin. A cursed arm that creates an image of the target's heart and swaps it with the real heart. That's how you killed my Servant."

"――――! Then you…" "Yes, I watched it until he died. It's natural that I knew about your arm. Your blunder was made the instant you killed Lancer." "――――Damn, that was indeed a blunder." Assassin tut-tuts in self-deprecation. His hostility disappears at the same time. He must be satisfied with the answer, as he quickly retreats.

"…So he went to look for another Master. I'd assume his next Master would be Matou Sakura―――" That's not a problem for the priest. It's fine as long as Matou Zouken doesn't kill Matou Sakura.

Zouken's wish is immortality. He can achieve his wish by having Sakura's body turn into the Holy Grail. The curse in the Holy Grail will not hatch if the old man is alive. It's meaningless if Sakura becomes his tool. She needs to remain a Master. Because…

'――――You will never find it. You were defective from birth―――'

"――――――――" He gets dizzy. It must be because of the fatigue and loss of blood. The priest leans against the wall and closes his eyes.

It all happened ten years ago.

'Defective from birth――――'

The man did everything he could after accepting the fact. He couldn't understand morals, but had common sense. So his teenage years were spent trying to overcome his defect. But it never happened. The man's purgatories and sufferings were entirely useless. And his final attempt was a woman.

It's a simple story. Every human wishes to love one of the opposite sex, have a family, and die peacefully. Even if one may detest the peace, one can only dream about it. This man is no exception. He wished for such a thing, even though he felt no fascination in it. He loved a woman, trying to earn ordinary happiness.

The man chose a woman with no future. She was terminally ill, only expected to live for a few years. Did he choose her because of that, or was that his only choice? He still doesn't know.

Their life together lasted for about two years. The man tried to love the woman. The woman tried to love the man, did love him, and even had his child. But the result didn't change. It was because the man derived his happiness from the woman's suffering and his child's despair. The more he tried to love, the more their suffering saved him.

The contradiction didn't make the man suffer. He doesn't even know if he suffered. But the more the woman tried to cure him, the more he wanted to see her grieve.

The woman was a saint. She was sickly, but she was still a saint for him. It need not be said how faithful she was or how deeply she understood his anger. That's why the man was in despair. No human will ever understand him and try to heal him to her degree. And this woman still could not fill the void within him.

Then――――there was no need to live and question right and wrong. He was born defective. His birth was some kind of mistake. He concluded that if his existence was a mistake, it was best to disappear. And he went to bid goodbye to the woman before he died. He made her his wife as an experiment, so it's his natural duty to go tell her of his end.

The woman loved Kotomine. Kotomine tried to love the woman. That's all there is to this story.

The end came relatively quickly. "I could not love you." That's all the man said in the room made of stone. The dying woman smiled. She was unable to stand up, because her body was now composed of just skin and bone. "―――No. I love you." With a smile, she took her own life.

There was no way to stop her, and stopping her was meaningless. The woman had a fatal disease. She would eventually die. He knew that when he chose her.

The woman, covered in blood, looked up at the man and smiled. "See. You're crying." He wasn't crying, of course. It's just that the woman saw it that way. The woman used her death to prove to him that he could love, and that he deserved to live. The man silently left the room and broke away from the teachings of God.

―――Yes. He certainly felt sad. But not because she died. The man, at that time, thought… 'How terrible. If she was going to die, I wanted to kill her myself.'

He grieved over losing the chance to enjoy her death.

――――It happened long ago. He can't remember her voice or her face. But sometimes he thinks, 'I wanted to kill her.' Is that for his pleasure, or――― Is it grief over wanting to kill the one he loved with his own hands?

He cuts off his thought process whenever the answer flickers in his head. It's something that should be hidden forever. The woman's death was meaningless. Her devotion couldn't change him. But the man didn't want to consider her death to be worthless. ―――So he stopped searching for answers.

…It all happened long ago. The memory of the man who feeds on others' misfortunes. The man later meets his nemesis. Emiya Kiritsugu. A magus that cast away what the man might have wanted――――

"――――――――" He opens his eyes. It seems he fell asleep. He checks his condition, starts to walk to catch up to Emiya Shirou, and…

"――――No, you can't go anywhere. Because you die here."

…Is interrupted by a girl.

She has completely changed. Her black outfit is her shadow. She's covering her body with her own dark magical energy. ―――The amount and the presence of her magical energy is beyond human capabilities. She's at the same level as pure heroic spirits, the Counter Guardians.

"…You are completely tainted, Matou Sakura. You cannot change to that degree unless your mind is attuned to the curse. ―――So you've accepted the fact that you're a human-eating monster." Even though the priest wished for it, he still criticizes the girl. As if to blame her for being intoxicated with her power.

"…Hah. But is it wrong to be drunk with your power? It can't be helped. Everyone picked on me too much. I think I would've endured it longer if everyone was nicer to me." "――――Oh. Endure what?"

"Myself, priest-san. I finally understand now. I hate this world. The Tohsaka family that threw me away. Nee-san, who lived without any troubles. My scary grandfather and my pitiful brother. The people living peacefully without knowing about my pain."

"I can't allow such things now. …I know I'm just taking my anger out on others. I know it's wrong, but I still think this way. ―――Yes. I wonder what kind of face the people who haven't helped me will make when they realize I exist."

The girl smiles, as if it's a sacred pleasure. The priest doesn't change his expression. He keeps staring at the girl as if regarding something foul.

"You have changed, Matou Sakura. I see, your darkness was one of the qualities to adapt." "Yes, I've changed. I'm not the old Matou Sakura. That weak girl doesn't exist anymore. …Yes. Everyone tormented me until now. So I'm just getting back at them. The me who sat there and endured is gone."

She laughs. Double personality. The original Matou Sakura disappeared, and the other personality surfaced. That's the only logical reason for her change. But… "―――What are you talking about? You don't need to hide it, Matou Sakura." The priest quickly denies it.

"W――――What do you mean?" "I said there's no need to hide it. You are not another personality. You were swallowed by the mud and have become addicted to violence, but you are still Matou Sakura. You don't need to prepare another personality to excuse yourself." Her face stiffens. He's absolutely right. The girl grits her teeth and glares back at the priest.

"What are you saying!? You're the one who made me like this…!" The girl's shadow reacts to her hateful voice. ―――A blazing infringement. The shadow covers the ground in an instant.

"I won't deny it. I kept you alive so that you would remain its Master. You measured up to my expectations, and you are about to give birth to Avenger. You have easily accomplished what I could not."

"It wasn't easy at all…! You don't know how painful it was, how much pain I'm going through right now…!" "I don't know, and there's no need to know. I'm not so mad as to listen to a girl's complaint."

"――――! …………I see. You're right. I don't want you to know. I won't let you feel compassion. I'm in a position where I can make anyone realize whatever I want." She smiles cruelly.

"――――――――" The priest retreats without any hesitation. He quickly backs away, like when he captured Matou Zouken.

―――The priest retreats with one jump. She may have vast magical energy, but she's still inexperienced. She has no experience with battle, and she's unskilled as a magus. It's easy for him to retreat.

"―――How foolish. Do you think you can get away from me?"

She smiles. The priest falls to the ground at that instant.

"Guh――――gah……!" He rolls down. He falls to the ground, coughing up blood. "Haa――――hm, guh……!" It doesn't stop. He can't stop coughing up blood. Every time he tries to breathe, it wells up in his throat.

"How does it feel to have someone grab hold of your heart? Your life's under my control, no matter where you are." "Mm――――guh――――!" "You died ten years ago. Emiya Kiritsugu shot your heart and you died. But you stayed alive because of one reason."

"You're that… hmm, who was it? It's the Servant I ate before, but I guess his name doesn't matter. That gold person was showered with the contents of the Holy Grail, which connected him to it. But it couldn't taint that man, so it flowed into you, his Master. Right? And you were resurrected. Avenger. Your life was saved because Angra Manyu supplied you with magical energy."

"Ha――――I see. Then this is…" "Yes. You're connected to Angra Manyu. But I'm Angra Manyu. ――――So I squashed it. I destroyed the fake heart that kept you alive. I can squash your organs too if you want. I can pull out your insides, no matter where you are."

She raises her hand. How can she say 'if you want'? The girl has no intention of keeping him alive. No matter how much he may beg for his life, she'll laugh as she kills him. He'll give her back his fake life. Because it's hers. Even if it's just a speck next to her total magical energy, there's no reason for her to let the priest keep it.

"Goodbye. I appreciate the fact that you saved me." She grasps her slender fingers together as if to twist apart an invisible doll. A crushing sound. The priest's body is squeezed like a rag. One more twist. The priest will die in the next second. But right before that…

"――――! Ah, uh, ah――――!?" The girl doubles over in pain. …She coughs up blood. She scratches the ground, as if begging for help.

"Ku――――it hurts, no… don't… come in――――!" The shadow expands. …What happened? The shadow on her body expands, then slowly shrinks back to the original size.

"……No way…… Berserker lost…?" There's no other explanation. Berserker was defeated. He died, dissolved into pure magical energy, and was consumed by her, the Holy Grail.

"――――Ah――――Ah――――" Her mind distorts. The personality called Matou Sakura is pushed even further into a corner now. …She can't move any farther, but the great soul pushes her against the wall.

"――――――――――――Ah." …She'll disappear. She'll disappear. Matou Sakura will disappear. "――――――――Before that…" She thinks of killing the priest, looks up, and is annoyed by her failure to follow through.

"――――Fine. He's… going… to die… anyway." There's no one at the ruin. On the ground where Kotomine Kirei lay is his blood-soaked outfit.

End of Interlude

We reach the forest's edge faster than I expected. It's probably because I had Ilya's guidance. The car I arrived in is gone. We started walking to town, stopped a car, and got a lift.

We're both filthy after running through the forest, making us look really suspicious. So I jumped out in front of a car to stop it, and Ilya used suggestion on the driver to make him pick us up. Man. I never thought I'd get a ride like this.

"We're home, Shirou. Let's go in." "――――Eh?" We're back at my place in an instant. The sun's setting. It seems I fell asleep on the way back.

The sun has set by the time I make it to the living room. It's past seven o'clock already.

"―――――――――" Something's wrong. Time's passing by too fast. It was afternoon when I stepped into the house, so it's not possible for it to be night as soon as I step into the living room.

"Ilya. Isn't time passing by too fast?" I talk to Ilya, standing beside me.

"――――――――" But Ilya isn't there. Ilya is… "Hm? The dinner was good, Shirou." …Already in the living room, saying strange things.

"――――――――Dinner?" "Yeah. I was surprised you wanted to get energy before anything, but I'm glad we did. You were so enthusiastic while you were cooking."

"――――――――" There are remnants of dinner on the table. There are dishes in the sink. Come to think of it, I feel pretty full. It seems I really did make dinner.

"……That's strange. Did we have this in stock?" "Nope. That's why we were dropped off at the shopping district to get some groceries."

"――――――――" I look through my memory. …… ………… ……………… ……………………Well. I guess that's what happened.

"I see. I guess I'm talking nonsense. So we had dinner, huh?" "Yeah. All that's left is to rest."

"Hm―――yeah, we have to rest. I'm going to go change in my room. I need to talk, so please stay up. I'll be back right away." Ilya nods. I raise my hand in apology and leave the living room.

And the next thing I know, I'm in my room. The instant I step out of the living room, I'm on the floor in my bedroom.

"Ah… Guh――――!" I wake up because of the piercing pain. A sword's pierced in my chest. That's the first thing I imagine because my chest is hot and numb, and it feels like my life is draining out from it.

"Guh――――" There's no sword, of course. It's just an illusion. The left side of my chest is simply rebelling against my left arm. But I finally realize. My sense of time. The intermittent scenes are…

"…I see. It's not my sense of time that's odd." It's just that my mind is screwed up. It's not that I have no memory. I just can't record the events into my brain.

I can't hold events in my mind unless I concentrate on them. It's natural that I can't remember anything that happened after I left the forest. I can't stay conscious unless I'm in pain, like now.

"――――――This is bad." I frantically grasp at my fading consciousness. Unless I consciously focus my mind, Emiya Shirou will disappear. Only pain or the utmost concentration can preserve my memories. In short, I have to maintain the level of concentration I had when I was trying to insert the Magic Circuit into my spine.

"――――――――" …I'm stumped. I can't keep this up forever, and I don't know how long it'll work.

"…Wait. That means I shouldn't sleep." Once I fall asleep, I won't be able to wake up. Once I fall asleep, "Emiya Shirou" will never return. Even if my body's unwounded, my mind would be scattered.

"――――――――――" I raise my body. I search through my desk. I need a small blade. Something I can hide in my right hand that'll dig into my flesh if I make a fist. I can't keep up the concentration I have during training. I have to clench my fist every time I relax so that the pain will keep me conscious.

"…Oh. It's not a blade, but this might do." I find the crystal from that day. …The pendant I found beside me after I was killed by Lancer. I don't know how much magical energy was originally in this, but now there's not even enough for one strengthening magic left in it.

…That's right. Now, I can clearly think about who this pendant belongs to, and who could have saved me that night. After all, she was the only other person at school at that time. I don't know why she saved me, but she wouldn't need a reason to save a life.

"Ah――――!" My consciousness starts to fade away. I'll think about it later. I'll fall unconscious if I think about happy things and relax.

―――I check my condition. I released the seal on my left arm. I put the Shroud back on it, but it's only there to ease my mind. According to Kotomine, the switch would be tripped if I used Archer's arm. He said there'd nothing I could do after that.

"――――――――" But I can still move my body. The problem is my mind, but I can stay conscious as long as I stay awake. As for projection… I can probably project three more times using Archer's arm.

I know I can manage it once. I'm scared about the second time. The third will be fatal. I think my body will self-destruct, even if my mind's still alive.

"…………" I close my eyes and strain my ears. …I hear creaking sounds along with my heartbeat.

…The thing invading my body from Archer's arm. It gets harder to suppress his Reality Marble the more I use his Blade Works. Eventually, an infinite number of blades will be created inside my body instead of outside. …I don't even want to imagine what'll happen. A thousand blades will pierce my body from within, killing me instantly.

"―――――Don't kid me. I won't kill myself." I'm in a hopeless condition. I accept the whole situation. But I reject the facts as they stand. I won't die, and I won't self-destruct. Not waking up after I fall asleep is just a product of my frightened imagination.

―――I'll be saved. I'll be saved once I do everything I need to. It's meaningless otherwise. I said I'll protect Sakura no matter what. So I can't just die selfishly.

"―――That's right. I have to contact Tohsaka first." I don't have time. I'll go to her house. I'm worried about whether Kotomine's all right, but he's not my ally anymore now that we've saved Ilya. I can't ask for his help again, but the promise to…

It's past nine o'clock. I thought I came back right away, but it's been two hours already.

"―――Sorry to keep you waiting, Ilya. I'm going to Tohsaka's house, so let's go together." "Rin's house? I don't mind, but why?"

"Eh… why? We have to meet up with Tohsaka. And I'm worried about how she's doing. Kotomine said she'd heal by tonight, but I can't really trust him. If she's not doing well, I'll need to look after her."

"Okay. That's fine, but Shirou…" Ilya points to the wall. ――――Then.

"I'm glad to know you're worrying about me. As you can see, I'm all right. But if you were that worried about me, I wish you'd have come by my house before heading off to the forest."

"T-Tohsaka…!? When did you get here…?"

"I was here about an hour ago. I heard from Ilya what happened at the forest."

Tohsaka's in a bad mood… No, she's angry. It seems she doesn't like the fact that I went to the forest without her.

"I can't help it. I thought I had to act as quickly as possible, and Ilya was in serious danger. …Right, Ilya?"

"……Yeah. I wasn't locked up anywhere, but I could've been taken to the Great Holy Grail and had my heart taken out at any time. Zouken wanted to open the gate as soon as he took control of Sakura. I would be dead right now if Shirou and Kotomine had come a bit later."

"―――See. I wouldn't have made it if I'd waited for you." "Who knows? So it all depended on Sakura, right? Tell me the truth, Ilya."

"Oh, you can tell? Yeah, there was a bit more time. Sakura's strong, so she won't easily break. I think there was about one more day to spare until she lost herself and fell under Zouken's control."

"I thought so. You shouldn't pamper Shirou too much. A little strictness is just right for him." "―――You're right. I'll be grateful if you see to that."

The two criticize me. But if the time limit was a day, I don't think we would've made it if I'd waited for Tohsaka. I was faced with an important choice in the forest, but in exchange, I'm able to regain the time the three of us can spend together.

"――――!" …I concentrate hard, since I'm starting to relax. It seems the tension faded away during the conversation.

"……Hm……? Hold on, Ilya. You said Sakura might last one more day. Then the remaining time we have is…"

"Half a day at most. …No, no matter how hard Sakura tries, Avenger is about to be born. Once that happens, she will change completely. Nobody can save Sakura, and nobody will be saved."

""――――Avenger…?"" Tohsaka and I frown at the strange word.

"Yes, Avenger. It's the eighth class in the Holy Grail War. It's a 'violation' that the Einzberns summoned by breaking the rules. That's what tainted the contents of the Great Holy Grail. It's the main body that assimilated with Sakura, projecting the shadow because it couldn't go into the outside world. It's something that should not exist, consuming human lives to take form."

"That's Avenger―――an anti-hero that the Einzbern Master summoned in the third ritual."

"You know about it, Ilya…!? You know what that shadow is, and what Sakura's possessed by…!?" "Yeah. I got the information out of Sakura, so I understand what's going on. What we have to do. What, exactly, you've made into your enemy."

Ilya closes her eyes once. …Is that resignation? Ilya sighs and then stares at us.

"What I'm about to talk about is the heart of the matter, and it's nothing that concerns you two. You shouldn't be burdened with this. Shirou, Rin. As you two are the last Masters in the Holy Grail War, I shall tell you the truth."

"Ilya――――?" Tohsaka looks at Ilya in surprise. I do likewise. Ilya shows calmness and emptiness as if she's someone else.

"Everything started two hundred years ago. No, the journey of those who seek the Holy Grail began long before that. But two hundred years ago, the ritual was begun in this land."

"I'll start from there. The Holy Grail grants any wish. Einzbern, Makiri, and Tohsaka cooperated to conduct a ritual to summon the Holy Grail. That's how the Holy Grail War came to be. A murderous battle between seven summoned Servants to determine the ownership of the Holy Grail. Magi who are chosen as Masters become the hosts of the Servants and kill each other until only one magus remains. That's the ostensible reason for the Holy Grail War that you two know of."

"You don't look surprised, Rin. So you had some idea of it, huh?"

"…Somewhat. I knew all along that I was being used, but I didn't mind it too much. I'm reaping the benefits by using somebody else's system. We're both using each other. I'm not stupid enough to get angry over something so trivial."

"Really? Then I don't have to explain that the order is reversed? How about you, Shirou? Did you already know that the process of making the Servants fight is unnecessary?"

"――――――――" …Well, I did know.

Servants are summoned by the Holy Grail. The heroic spirits are summoned to determine whether the summoner deserves the Holy Grail. Once summoned, they make a contract with a Master to stay in this world and obtain the Holy Grail. Then they go out to defeat the other Masters and Servants.

…In and of itself, that's not a problem. But once I found out the defeated heroic spirits are absorbed into the Holy Grail, something felt off. Heroic spirits―――Servants are only a factor in determining which Master is suited for the Holy Grail. So why are they taken into the Holy Grail after their purpose has been served?

"…So does that mean heroic spirits are needed for the Holy Grail War, and Masters are just a tool to summon them?"

"Right. In the ritual of the war, Masters are mere receptors to summon the Servants. Once they've done that, they can die at any time. The heroic spirits are the only ones needed to complete the Holy Grail. Heroic spirits are pure souls separate from the time axis. Though they are outside of this world's logic, they can still influence it."

"That's the power they needed. They tried to exit into the outer world using that power. That's the real purpose of the Holy Grail in this land. The Holy Grail Wars were waged to create a phenomenon, a miracle, that is still out of human reach."

"That's the great ritual to attain immortality that's said to have been lost by the Einzberns. Not a heroic spirit or a holy spirit, but a soul of a mere human that's fated to disappear from this world. Bringing it about is an act of God."

"―――The name of the miracle is 'Heavens Feel'. It's the golden cup that's the third of the five existing sorceries."

"S――――Sorceries!? You mean 'those' sorceries…!?" "――――――――" The air tenses up. Ilya says that the Holy Grail is a ritual to perform a sorcery.

Sorcery. A divine mystery that cannot be reached with magic. An impossible phenomenon that cannot be achieved by modern people. It's the ultimate goal of every magus, and those who achieve it are called "sorcerers" with envy and awe.

There are five sorceries acknowledged by the Magic Association. As I'm not even in the Association, I have no way to know, but I've heard that there are five sorceries and that there are about four sorcerers.

"W-Wait…! So the Third Sorcery is the materialization of the soul!? But Servants are materialized souls too…!"

"No. The system does use a part of the Third Sorcery, but the heroic spirits are summoned. Servants aren't alive as part of this world or time. It's too imperfect to be the Third Sorcery. And heroic spirits can take form in this world without the help of sorcery as long as they have a host."

"Heavens Feel is not a spell that duplicates a soul perceived in the past. It's actually a spell to make an existence of a higher dimension that can take a spirit form and still influence the physical world. It takes a soul and elevates it to the next level of life."

"Next step――――that's certainly serious, but… Even though the details are different, all sorceries are a way to reach the origin! What does it have to do with the Holy Grail?"

"No. First of all, there's only one administrated land in Japan that can activate a sorcery. I know the ley line in Fuyuki is first-class, but there's not enough distortion to connect to the origin."

"Right. It's not distorted enough to reach the origin. That's why you make a hole. If the path is obstructed, you have to destroy the wall yourself, right?"

"The Holy Grail War is the process of destroying the wall. The process accumulates enough magical energy to grant any wish. But that's just a secondary matter for the Einzbern family. And it was also an advertisement to call for the Masters, the sacrifices."

"The Einzberns only needed a giant magic circle that could store great amounts of magical energy without attracting the notice of the Magic Association. The head of the Tohsaka family at that time cooperated with them. This country doesn't receive much attention from the Association, and there aren't many first-class lands that rank next to Aozaki's land. Fuyuki City was almost the perfect test site, meeting all the requirements."

"You should be able to figure out the rest. There are two kinds of Holy Grails that govern the Holy Grail War. The Holy Grail in this land and the Holy Grail Einzbern prepares. The former is a magic circle that uses the land administrated by Tohsaka. This is called the Great Holy Grail. The key that the Einzbern family prepares for each ritual is called the Holy Grail."

"The Great Holy Grail administers the system of the Holy Grail War. The Holy Grail collects the souls of the defeated heroic spirits and acts as the reactor core to activate the Great Holy Grail."

"And once the Holy Grail collects enough souls to activate the Great Holy Grail, it uses the heroic spirits' souls to open a hole. The Great Holy Grail fixes the small hole created when the heroic spirits return to their original place after their roles are fulfilled. This opens up the passage to the origin that humans cannot reach."

"Of course, this is just the first step. Your wish isn't granted even if the hole is opened. The path to the origin is too far."

"But―――the one who obtains the Holy Grail gains access to unlimited magical energy. The other side has large quantities of unused mana unlike anything seen on this side. For an ordinary magus, it's nothing short of a miracle."

"……I see. So the Great Holy Grail is the magic circle which serves as the foundation, and the Holy Grail is the key to activate it. The Holy Grail Wars must occur on a sixty-year cycle to accumulate enough mana to summon the heroic spirits."

"There's no way you can carry out such a summoning with one person's magical energy. The Great Holy Grail draws mana from the land slowly so as not to deplete it, and once it's full―――"

"Yes, it summons the heroic spirits as Servants. But you need an incentive to summon the heroic spirits. They won't heed your call unless you give them what they want. That's why the Holy Grail was prepared to reward them."

"…Well, that's a deception from the start. The Einzberns just wanted the souls of the heroic spirits. They didn't care about their rank. They just wanted strong souls. To hide that fact, they created the Holy Grail War as a cover. They deceived the Servants and Masters and made them kill each other."

"…Well, I guess that started from the second ritual. The first was conducted in a foolishly honest manner and failed right away because the three families fought for its exclusive right."

"So the rule was made starting with the second ritual. ̠ Outsiders were called and made to fight for the Holy Grail. Masters from outside the families were just an inconvenience after the Servants had been summoned, so it more efficient to have them killed in battle. It was convenient for the three families because they could legitimately kill their collaborators."

"Unbelievable. So the rule for Masters to kill each other exists because they couldn't decide who gets the ownership by talking and had to resort to violence?"

"Yup. But choosing the last magus standing proved to be an even better method than expected. It's just like you. There were Servants and Masters that found out they were tricked, but it seems they didn't care. It's because you obtain the Holy Grail if you win."

Tohsaka's convinced. "………" …In short, the Holy Grail War is not a battle to obtain the Holy Grail, but a ritual to escape to the outside world.

Attempts to reach the outside world. According to hermeticism, there's a power that governs dimensional theory outside of this world. It's called the 'swirl of the origin', and it's a coordinate that's considered to be the beginning of all things. It's the start and the end of all creation. It's the seat of God, recording everything and able to create anything.

"………" But I really don't care about that. My father would've understood what a big deal it is, but it doesn't concern me. What's possessing Sakura is much more important to me than how it all started.

"Ilya. I don't care about the real purpose of the war. It has nothing to do with us, just like you said. More importantly, tell us about the thing you mentioned earlier."

"It has nothing to do with us!? We're talking about sorcery here! And the Third Sorcery at that! It's the taboo out of all taboos that's been kept a secret even within the association! If you're a magus, you can't ignore something like this――――"

"I can. …Man, why do you have the wrong idea, Tohsaka? This isn't the time to be talking about something that can't succeed anyway." "C-Can't succeed? What are you basing that on?"

"Hey now. I don't know why, but the Holy Grail War has never had a victor. That means there's something wrong with the ritual. …First of all, how will you explain what's happening to Sakura? If the Holy Grail's a path to reach sorcery, does that mean Sakura's like that because of sorcery?" Maybe I convinced her, because she shuts her mouth.

"So, Ilya. Why did the Holy Grail War turn out like this? Kotomine said there's something in the Holy Grail. So is this that Avenger thing? And he's not in the Holy Grail, Sakura or Ilya, but in the magic circle you called the Great Holy Grail?"

"Oh, Kotomine would know, wouldn't he? He's a magus tainted by Avenger, just like Sakura. He already knows what's inside the Holy Grail." "Eh…? Kotomine and Sakura are the same…?"

"That's right. This concerns you two. This is about what Zouken's trying to obtain, what's changing Sakura, what's hiding in the Holy Grail, and what's tainting the souls of the heroic spirits. Its class name is Avenger. The heroic spirit that's about to take a living form through the power of the Holy Grail, a successful example of the Third Sorcery."

"…What? What was all that about sorceries not having to do with this? It does concern them."

"No. Avenger's materialization isn't sorcery carried out by the Holy Grail. From the start, it is a heroic spirit with that specific attribute. It can take form within the Holy Grail because it's Avenger. The Holy Grail merely summoned an avenger that can use the Third Sorcery, so it doesn't mean that the Great Holy Grail used the Third Sorcery."

"……? So in short, it's a monster that can materialize? It's someone who can embody the Third Sorcery even if the Great Holy Grail doesn't?"

"Yes. It all started during the third ritual. The first one was a failure. Einzbern was defeated quickly in the second war, and in desperation, they summoned a spirit that specialized in killing."

"They used an old scripture, a foreign folklore they obtained, as catalyst to summon the worst evil possible. They summoned what they shouldn't have summoned to kill all the other Masters, to activate the Great Holy Grail, and to keep all the achievement to themselves. ――――The spirit's name is Angra Manyu. A murderous anti-hero that embodies every curse in this world."

"――――Angra… Manyu?" …Hold on. Angra Manyu is the name of the ancient Persian devil. It's the embodiment of evil, the greatest devil in Zoroastrianism. It fights a nine-thousand-year battle againts Ahura Mazda, protector of human goodness. Zoroastrianism is a story mainly about the battle between these two gods. It's the first religion to come up with the doctrine of duality, the angels and the devil.

But the story contains no hero named Angra Manyu. First of all, how can someone crowned with the name of the king of devils become a heroic spirit?

"That's not possible, Ilya. The Holy Grail can only call on heroic spirits, and you don't need the Holy Grail if you can reproduce phenomena on the divine spirit level. No, first of all, there can't be a heroic spirit with the name Angra Manyu. Even if there was, it would be a nameless evil spirit that left no mark on history. Even if it were summoned, its soul wouldn't be compatible with the Holy Grail."

"…Ilya. What did the Einzberns' Master summon?"

"I said Angra Manyu, Rin. …He was certainly nameless, and not a devil. But a hero with the name Angra Manyu did exist."

"…Yes, the story takes place a long time ago. Insanely long ago, in a very small world. It was a hero that lived in a small, nameless village that practiced Zoroastrianism."

"I don't know how distorted their doctrine was. I don't know what led them to that idea. But they lived cleanly and righteously in accordance with their precepts. People are supposed to value goodness, protect the light, and live virtuous lives. For these people, segregated from the rest of the world, this supplication was absolute. It was probably the only source of human pride that they knew."

"――――Yes. The people in the village earnestly wished for everyone to live in peace. So everyone could be free from malice and live pure, upright lives. They renounced such human concerns as hunger, conflict, love, and hate. They were proud to be worthy of God's blessing."

"But it was impossible. People can't be freed from malice just through clean, righteous living. From the moment we are born, there is evil in us. You must take certain measures if you want to separate evil from yourself. And――――those measures were taken."

"They came up with a way to save not just their small village, but the whole world. It's hard to make everyone do good. But you can prove everyone's goodness. …You just need one person. If one person embodies all the evils of the world, the rest of the people cannot be evil, no matter what. They seriously believed in such a simple, child-like theory."

"And one young man was chosen as a sacrifice. They captured him, carved every cursed word onto his body, forced every sin imaginable upon him, and held him responsible for all evils in the world. That's all. A small world. But an ultimate evil was born in this one complete world."

"The people cursed, scorned, feared, yet adored this man. They believed they were pure and righteous, since all the world's evil was within him. They seriously believed it'd save everyone in the world and created a devil. To demonstrate human goodness, they continuously tortured one man until he went insane. No, they would not allow him to die until he succumbed to old age."

"…The name of the devil that corrupts men. He was given the name Angra Manyu, and was irrationally hated by everyone in the world."

"I don't know if he really did turn into a devil during the process. But everyone in his village believed him to be so, and they treated him accordingly. They hated and feared him, but he was the proof of their goodness. They revered him as the sign of their salvation."

"He was the object of everyone's hate, but he saved people. His existence pardoned everyone of their evil deeds. Though his method was unusual, he still saved people. He became a hero for the villagers."

"And a hero was born. Hated by people, losing his self… Someone who transformed into exactly what they wanted. A helpless sacrifice that came to represent all the world's evil."

"―――That's the anti-hero Angra Manyu. An ordinary person without any special talent that was determined to be all evils of the world. The king of devils that approves of all six billion evils in Zoroastrianism. He's a curse made by a concept of ancient people."

Ilya finishes her story with no sign of bitterness or contempt. …Anti-hero. Kotomine introduced me to the term when the war started.

"…………" …But. If Ilya's story is true, the guy who turned into Angra Manyu is still burdened with all the sins. It's because that's his reason of existence.

A heroic spirit who's had six billion sins pushed onto him. …If a guy like that is summoned, all that'll happen is a big massacre. It'd only be natural for him to hate people, and first of all, everyone around him established him to be evil.

…Angra Manyu. So the man is using Sakura to take revenge on the people… no, to carry out the role people pushed onto him?

"So I understand the story of Avenger… Angra Manyu. But why is he in the Holy Grail? He's just an ordinary person, right? Even if he's given a devil's name and treated like one, he's still just a human. That wouldn't turn him into a monster capable of eating the entire town."

"…Yeah. Angra Manyu is human. He was just an ordinary man, but was forced to become a heroic spirit. So there wasn't any problem, originally."

"…The Einzbern family summoned Angra Manyu in the third war. But the summoned heroic spirit was weak. The anti-hero was defeated in the early stage of the war, and the Holy Grail took him in. The Master of Einzbern grieved how this ordinary human could be a devil that destroys the human world."

"…Yes. The heroic spirit was merely human. A human that cursed the world. A human who everyone wanted to represent their evil. …So he had no power. He was merely constructed by the people around him. But everything reversed the instant he was taken in by the Holy Grail."

"The Holy Grail grants wishes. When defeated, Servants are reduced to raw magical energy and are taken in by the Holy Grail to await their release. They lose their individual personalities and stay in the Holy Grail as an omnipotent power. But Angra Manyu was different. He was a heroic spirit that others wished for. He was intended to be evil, regardless of his personality."

"――――No way. Could he…" "Yes. The Holy Grail grants every wish. He was a mere human, but wasn't treated as one. So he was an embodiment of people's wishes. So―――the instant Angra Manyu was taken in by the Holy Grail, the Holy Grail accepted a wish."

"An existence that should not be. The heroic spirit constructed from people's selfish wishes was finally given flesh within the wish-granting Holy Grail. …Five hundred years under the Makiri and a thousand under the Einzbern are nothing. After all, he's an ideal human that has been wished for since the age of gods, over two thousand years ago."

"That's what that shadow is. It finally obtained form as a heroic spirit. Angra Manyu used Servants' colorless magical energy to embody all evils of the world. Wanting only to be evil. It slowly matured with an ability to curse all six billion people."

"―――Then what? The contents of the Holy Grail have already been tainted by him? The wish the Holy Grail grants is already determined, and the fourth war took place only to store up the magical energy needed to give him form?"

"Yes. I don't know how much Kiritsugu knew about Angra Manyu. But believing the shadow leaking from it to be dangerous, he destroyed the Holy Grail."

"And his course of action was right. No matter what the previous Angra Manyu was, the Angra Manyu that formed inside the Holy Grail is real. It will become the greatest evil in the world, a devil that will kill every human being alive."

"But thanks to Kiritsugu's resolve, Angra Manyu was left unborn within the Great Holy Grail. Kotomine and Sakura received parts of it. Zouken must've known that a Servant was about to be born in the Holy Grail. That's why he implanted a piece of it in Sakura, creating a link between her and that Servant. He made Sakura a Master so that she can control the Servant once it emerges."

"No matter what Avenger is, it's still a Servant. No Servant, no matter how strong, can disobey his Master. That's Zouken's plan. He wants to use Sakura to obtain Angra Manyu."

――――Hold on. Does that mean Sakura has a contract with this Servant, Avenger?

"Are you serious? Even if Sakura controls Angra Manyu that way, she can't resist the taint of the magical energy. She's already changed that much when Angra Manyu is still inside the Holy Grail, so her personality will disappear completely once it comes out. Then being a Master won't matter."

"That's fine. Zouken isn't worried about Sakura's personality. What matters to him is her body and its connection to Angra Manyu."

"He's planning to take over her empty body after her personality disappears. …I don't think you know, but Zouken can take over anyone's body as long as the worm bearing his soul exists. That's how he stayed alive until now. From the start, Sakura was just a body to eventually possess."

――――Then what? The thing possessing Sakura. If what's changing her is a contract with a Servant――――

"Zouken kidnapped me, probably because he didn't want to let Sakura open the gate. He wanted me to take the role of the Holy Grail, allowing him to take over Sakura's body once she became Angra Manyu's Master."

"I guess he plans to take over Angra Manyu in time, since a soul given flesh is a living example of the Third Sorcery. It's like speaking ill of a perfect God because you're a human with desires."

"……The definition of God's creation… It's something that's made from people's wishes, but not affected by people's intentions. Well, I bet any god will turn into a devil if it reflects Zouken's personality. That must be why Kotomine considered him his enemy."

"I get it. That's enough, right, Shirou?" "――――Huh?" Tohsaka's voice brings me back to the present.

"It's not 'huh'. We know our enemy, and we know Zouken's intention. Then we don't even need to talk about the rest."

"――――――――" …We don't even need to talk about the rest, huh? She's right. What's in the Holy Grail. The disaster from ten years ago will be repeated if he comes out.

…No, that's an understatement. He'll kill countless people if we let him be. ―――Yes. Sakura's creation will take many lives.

"――――――――" I can't allow that. Then I have to stop it. I have to make whatever sacrifices I can to keep Sakura from being burdened with more deaths. ――――Stop Angra Manyu. I have to end the war before he emerges from the Holy Grail.

"I guess you understand now. We have to fight and win. And there are only two ways to do this. Kill Sakura, Angra Manyu's Master, before he comes out. Or destroy the Great Holy Grail before he comes out."

"…The former's the more certain method. Sakura and Zouken will surely get in our way if we try to destroy the Great Holy Grail. We won't be able to do it without defeating them. So it's easiest to defeat Sakura."

"Yeah. Fight Sakura and separate her from Angra Manyu. That's the easiest way, and the plan's easy to understand." "Oh. You have no problem with going after her?"

"…That's the only thing we can manage right now. If Angra Manyu is what Ilya says it is, it's not something humans can match. We lose the instant it comes out. Then we have to take the quickest and surest route. More importantly, Tohsaka. I don't mind fighting, but do you know where Sakura is?"

"That's not a problem. If Ilya's right, there's only one place the Great Holy Grail can be. Right, Ilya?"

"…Yes, you're right, Rin. Angra Manyu is about to be born, so Zouken is at the Great Holy Grail. The degraded ley line. The origin that was chosen by the three families two hundred years ago. Angra Manyu is being conceived in the large cavern underneath the Ryudou Temple."

"――――Under the Ryudou Temple…" …That's where Sakura is. That's where we'll be heading, the place where the Holy Grail War will end.

"………" I take a deep breath and allow my tense mind to relax slightly. The cold pendant in my hand settles my thoughts.

"――――――――" Fighting Sakura. Tohsaka isn't lying. It's just that our methods are different. Tohsaka must intend to finish the war by killing Sakura. But I'll end the war by saving Sakura's life―――

"…..!?" My body trembles. The house is beset by pressure, making the air feel like water. And… "Sakura――――!" The instant we realize the pressure's coming from the shadow, we run out into the yard.

――――We go out into the yard. The whole world is covered by the shadow. My entire body is numb with fear.

…The black shadow is standing in front of us. It can crush this house if it wants to. The difference in our power is obvious. It has transfigured to an existence that's unlike anything I've ever seen.

"……………" …The black shadow does nothing. It's not Sakura, but a shadow shaped like her. The real Sakura is under the Ryudou Temple. The thing in front of us is a virtual image.

"――――Hmph. So you're sending the shadow instead of showing up yourself? You've gotten arrogant during the short time you've been away." "………" Does she not hear Tohsaka's provocation, or does she not hear anything at all? Wavering in the moonlight, her shadow looks lonely.

"………" Her eyes look at me. 'Senpai'. Weak, as if she'll reply like always if I just reach out.

"――――――――" But I don't. What I must do is determined. I can't say anything to her, as doing so would weaken my resolve.

She looks away. After hanging her head for a moment, "Did you hear the whole story from Ilyasviel, Nee-san?" She confronts Tohsaka with a cold voice.

"Yeah. I heard about what's possessing you and the abilities of what's about to be born from the Holy Grail. So, Sakura. Let me ask. Do you have any intention of cutting ties with Angra Manyu?" Tohsaka's voice is the same. Completely cold, showing no concern for Sakura.

"No. I said the weak me disappeared, didn't I? I was able to obtain this power, so I don't intend to let it go. I couldn't even if I wanted to. …This is how Matou Sakura has to live from now on."

"I see. Then one more thing. How complete is the Servant you're boasting about? Ilya said it's coming out soon, but what do you have to say as the mother? Is it already born?"

"…Of course not. When that happens, this town will be consumed in a second. I can't allow that yet. Senpai's still here. So I won't let him out as long as I still exist."

"Oh, so there's no reason for us to hurry, huh? So you're going to keep Angra Manyu inside as long as Shirou's with me? That's good, Shirou. Sakura seems well enough."

"…Don't be ridiculous. You should know how much longer I'm going to last. Please run away with Senpai. I won't last long. I don't know when I'll disappear. I might only be able to hold out for one night."

"So I'm warning you before that. …Nee-san. Please take Senpai and run far away. Then I can be at peace and take his life with mine."

Sakura says she's going to kill him using her life. Tohsaka trembles a bit. Is that because she believes her, or…

"…Humph. You don't know when you're going to disappear, huh? You're wrong. You just don't know when you'll run out of patience." "――――Nee-san."

"Oh well. I don't know how you're going to kill Angra Manyu, but you can kill yourself without hesitation if I run away with Shirou? You'll kill the Servant within the Holy Grail along with you, right?"

"…Y-Yes. So please run away. I-I don't want you to see me change. It's fine as long as Senpai gets away. So――――please don't come after me anymore, Senpai."

She's desperately begging us. Sakura's shadow can kill us right now, but it asks for salvation by letting us go.

"――――――――" But I can't answer her wish. I can't leave Sakura and run away, nor can I let her kill herself along with Angra Manyu. And… "We'll go there. We'll go and kill you for sure." Tohsaka breaks away from her sister.

"Wha―――――――" "What did you expect? As Tohsaka's magus, I can't ignore you. And I can't believe you even if you say you'll kill yourself. Don't you get it, Sakura? You're not making any sense. You want to kill, but you're telling me to run. Geez, you're trying to act like a good girl because you're in front of Shirou."

"…What?" "Oh, you can make a good face. That's what you should've done from the start. So, is that all? Then get lost. You don't have to hurry since we'll go see you right away. Look, Sakura. I'll kill you with my own hands."

Tohsaka declares with voice that even contains kindness. …The shadow wavers. After freezing on the spot like a statue… "Yes――――I'll be waiting for you, Nee-san." …It smiles violently and disappears.

The shadow covering the house recedes. Tohsaka and I are the only ones remaining in the yard.

――――I get dizzy. I thought I was concentrating, but it seems I was agitated after seeing Sakura's image. …It seems Sakura's not the only one that's running out of time.

"――――Shirou. You heard what Sakura said. But what're you going to do? If you want to run, I won't stop you. But if you do, that'll be after you project the gem sword."

"You don't have to confirm with me. I won't run away, and I'll somehow project the gem sword. We're cooperating, right? Then I'll follow up by doing things you can't do."

"…I see. That's good, but do you understand, Shirou? Coming with me means killing Sakura. The same goes for the gem sword. You're going to prepare a weapon that I will use to kill her."

"…Yeah. The gem sword thing is contradictory. But Sakura's out of our control, and projecting the sword is a promise we made. If projecting the sword means we can match Sakura's shadow, then it's something we definitely need to do."

"Oh. So…" "Yeah, I'm taking the opposite measure. I'm going to end this war by saving Sakura. I've decided to be Sakura's ally."

"Even if letting Sakura live means killing everyone else?" "We don't know that yet. There should be a way to save Sakura and not let there be any more victims."

"…I don't know about that. Sakura's already killed many people. Is it justice for you to save such a person, Shirou?" ――――Her inquiry is decisive. A sin I can't talk myself out of. She puts it into words, and I finally…

"―――That's right. I'll protect her even if she's not human. I'm going to protect her from everything, including the part of her that wants to kill me. That's all I want to do. That's what it means to be someone's ally, right?" …I'm able to tell her what I think.

"……Geez. You really can just come out and say it." I nod back, feeling no shame.

"……I see. Well, I knew there was no point in arguing with you, but I didn't think it'd go this far. You beat me." "Huh? Where are you going, Tohsaka?"

"I have to go prepare for the battle. Sakura gave us that warning because she really doesn't have time to spare. So I have to get ready quickly." "That's true, but we were talking――――"

"We're done talking now. In short, you're going to save Sakura as long as you're still alive, right? …Hmph. Fine, do as you want. I'm not going to say anything now. Go struggle to your heart's content."

"Hm…?" Where did her nervousness go? Tohsaka looks angry now.

"But don't get me wrong. This is in exchange for making the gem sword. I'll leave you in charge of Sakura as long as you're trying. I won't do anything until you can't move anymore. …That's good, right? You might be able to save Sakura, if you try hard enough."

Tohsaka leaves with that. "………" The uneasiness in my chest goes away. We're thinking oppositely. But Tohsaka still wants to save Sakura.

Then I can entrust her with Sakura. We both like her. Then Tohsaka should be able to save Sakura.

It's ten o'clock. Tohsaka said we'll prepare for battle and go to the Ryudou Temple before the date changes.

"Well. I'm going to have you project the gem sword, but how do you feel? Can you project it while suppressing Archer's arm?" "Oh――――" …I see. Ilya hasn't told her how I took the Shroud off. "Well――――um, yeah…"

"Oh, that's good to hear. Then the rest is up to Shirou and Ilya. The Azoth Sword, which is as close as we're going to get to the gem sword, Shirou's projection, and Ilya's support. We may not be able to replicate it, but if all goes well, we should at least be able to reproduce half of its original ability." Tohsaka hands me a dagger.

"………" The dagger is a ritualistic equipment. It might be something she favors, as it looks well-used. Not only that. Even an amateur like me can feel how much magical energy is stored in this thing.

…Well, this is nothing compared to the shadow, but it's still a hundred times more than my magical energy capacity.

"…This is amazing. You had something like this up your sleeve?" "Of course it's amazing. I used all the jewels I had, which contained ten years worth of magical energy."

Tohsaka sulks, like she didn't want to use them. …She seems generous, but maybe she's really stingy when it comes to money. Well, with that aside…

"Hmm, but is that really okay, Tohsaka? You don't have any left for yourself if you've used everything you have, right? I know you're still not fully recovered, so can you still fight?"

"Well, I can manage to move around. But I haven't healed to the point where I can use magic again." "Wait――――then…"

"You don't need to worry. It's fine as long as you can project the gem sword. The sword has absurd powers said to have even stopped the 'falling moon'."

"…?" I don't get what she means, but Tohsaka has great confidence. …Well, if she's so sure of herself, I won't worry either.

"Let's start, Shirou. It'll take a long time to project that sword, even for you. We have to get started or the date'll change."

"You're right. Then let's go back to your room. If we're not someplace where you can relax, our chances are lower." Tohsaka heads back to the living room.

"Oh, hold on. I'll do the projection in the shed. And I want to be alone with Ilya while I do it, so can you wait in your room?" "Why? I have to be there in case something happens, right?"

"There's no need. It's a bother if you're here. Shirou gets distracted easily, so we might fail if you fall and get his attention when it counts the most."

"…Hey, that's rude, Ilya." Tohsaka complains with a sour look. She's not arguing back, maybe because she can't deny the possibility that she'll screw up at a crucial moment.

"…All right. Then I'll wait outside the shed. Is that all right, Ilya?" "…I guess it can't be helped. That's the biggest compromise we can make."

"Rin. Don't come in until I tell you to if you want us to reproduce the gem sword. I'll call for you if something's about to happen, so please stay outside until then no matter what."

"You're being persistent. I said I understand. I won't come in even if I hear Shirou scream." "………" It doesn't really matter, but I wish she'd picked a better example.

"Well, let's go, Shirou." Ilya goes into the shed. I decide to ask Tohsaka something before I follow.

"Tohsaka. Can I have this sword?" "…? You're going to be projecting using that. The Azoth Sword will go away once the gem sword's projected."

"Yeah. You can have the gem sword, so can I have this in return? See, this might break if I fail. I can't concentrate, thinking how you might get angry if I break this."

"…Geez. Fine. You can have the Azoth Sword if that'll help you relax." "Thanks. Then I'm going to go do my best."

…I shut the door. I can't let Tohsaka see this. I'm sure she won't stop me now, but she'll definitely feel responsible. If I'm to smooth this out, I have to tell her I used it after everything is over and get retroactive approval.

"…Are you ready, Shirou? You've released Archer's arm already, so I don't need to explain the steps, right?" I nod. Ilya tells me to sit down, and I do so.

"But Ilya. I can only project what I've seen or what Archer made. I have no information on the gem sword. I can't project it even if we have a blueprint and a dagger that's just like it."

"I know. I'll first have you come inside my memory. I haven't seen it either, but the record of the gem sword is in me. Tohsaka's great master was there when the Great Holy Grail was made. I'm sure the sword was there at that time."

"Whoa, Ilya――――" "Just close your eyes. I'll keep your body here and send your mind somewhere else. We did this before. I'll send your vision into my memory, so analyze the gem sword there. …I'll release your left arm once you're inside. You'll be hit by the pressure of two hundred years and the invasion from your arm at the same time. Brace yourself and try to finish the projection as fast as you can."

"――――――――" Ilya's voice is trembling. …Her arms are as well.

"…I'll take you to the gem sword, so you just need to hold your breath. Clear your mind and don't look at anything unnecessary. You just need to draw out his Zelretch――――"

――――Space splits. Is it because all my senses are within her memory… or is it because my left arm is released?

There's no pain, the cognition of pain doesn't matter now, I'm swallowed by my injury, I'm falling into a swirling maelstrom of pain.

I don't know where I am.

I don't know who I am.

I don't know what it means.

It's a large circuit. Multi-layered Crests are carved on a bare rock that's over fifty meters in radius. It's like a large observatory, rotating by itself in the deserts of Arizona.

The circuits cover the area in many layers. The geometric figures turn in place. A white girl stands in the center of the beautiful spider's nest.

Her name is Lizleihi. Lizleihi Justizia von Einzbern. She's the magus that devised the Holy Grail War. The great magus who was called the winter saint. A magus accompanied by Makiri Zouken and Tohsaka Nagato.

The Great Holy Grail is activated. Justizia becomes the key reenacting the ancient sorcery. Yes. The Holy Grail is just a Holy Grail without her. Her will is needed for Heavens Feel. The old man knows as well as Makiri and Tohsaka do that the Holy Grail is a mere wishbringer.

――――My vision narrows. The world expands. I concentrated on something needless. I did, so my body was ripped in half.

The world is too big for this small body. I'll eventually see nothing. The process behind this two-hundred-year-old ritual doesn't matter. There's only one thing I need to look at. I concentrate on the man standing in front of the Great Holy Grail. I concentrate on the dagger in his hand――――

――――That's the original. A ritual dagger with a jeweled blade. The kaleidoscopic gleam sears through my eyes and into my brain.

"――――――――, ――――――――"

I understand the instant I see it. I understand that I can't comprehend it. All I can imitate is its shape. I can't analyze its structure and project it.

What kind of a magical theory was it constructed with? The old man's dagger is still a mystery, even if I use Archer's arm and every last piece of knowledge in heroic spirit Emiya. It's alien technology. The old man is embodying general knowledge from a far future, beyond the reach of modern man――――

"――――. ――――……!!"

I'm repelled. I can't be repelled. I can't reach it. Not reaching it is unforgivable.

I reach out. I reach out. I reach out. My eyes are burned out, my brains are burned out. I extend my left arm for dozens of meters, extend, extend, extend――――――――

"Stop! Come back, Shirou…!"

I hear Ilya's voice. But I'm not there yet. I don't even have my fingertips on it. I can't back out now. How can I back out after seeing that miracle, the ultimate one…!?

"Give up…! Do you want to disappear, Shirou!?"

Get there――――

Get there―――――――――

Get there――――――――――――

Get there――――――――――――― ――――――――――――――――――――――― ――――――――――――――――――――――

"Haa, ah…….!!!!!!!!" "Shirou――――!" Did I jump myself, or was I pushed back by something? I'm flying, and I land on my back.

"Ha――――ga, ah――――!" My left arm pain . My tongue my fingers the trembling won't . "Ah――――uwa, ah, ah――――!" . , .

"Stay ! I'll Shroud !" "Haa, guh, ah……….!" A big knife stabs me from the side. It's so uncomfortable that I repel the one wielding it――――

"Oh… Ouch――――" And I realize I just punched Ilya. "……! I-I'm sorry, Ilya, I――――" She pats dust off herself and gets up. …Good. She's not hurt.

"I told you not to look at unnecessary things, you idiot! …Geez, I'll let you off the hook this time since it paid off, but I won't forgive you if you disobey me again!"

She points at my face as she scolds me. …Wait. Feeling something hard in my left hand, I look down.

"――――――――" ……I managed to project it. It's projected, but it doesn't seem like the one I saw. First of all, I don't feel any magical energy in this thing. Tohsaka's Azoth Sword is many times better than this, and this blade wouldn't cut paper.

"Yup. I have a lot to complain about, but thanks for your hard work, Shirou. Your projection was perfect. You showed me a flawless blade works." "Uh――――I don't know, but is this any good? It looks pretty crappy."

"That's fine as is. The sword is an extraordinary demonic sword that can only be used by Schweinorg's lineage. Well, I guess it's fate. Sakura is receiving the protection of the third and Rin's going to try to use the second. It wouldn't end up as mere investigation if the Association were here. Every department would be running to put them on trial." Ilya laughs.

"…Wow. So this dagger is that amazing?" "Yeah. To be more accurate, it's a multi-dimensional refractory phenomenon, Gem Sword Kishua Zelretch Schweinorg. It's called Gem Sword Zelretch, and it's the old magus's favored sword and Tohsaka's heirloom."

"But the sword wasn't passed down the Tohsaka line, just the blueprint. It's an assignment from the sorcerer that the Tohsaka magi must pursue for a long, long time."

"Assignment from a sorcerer… Wait, the great master Tohsaka was talking about is a sorcerer…!?"

"Yeah. But Zelretch is an oddball among the sorcerers in that he still associates himself with this world, so I'm sure he has other apprentices. I don't think Zelretch is in this world, but he might show up once Rin's capable of making the gem sword by herself."

"Hmm……?" He's not in this world, but might appear all of a sudden? Isn't he just a wanderer that likes to travel?

"――――――――" ――――Whoa. I let my guard down. I get dizzy. I clench my right fist, feel the pendant digging into my torn flesh, and keep my consciousness.

"――――, ――――" I steady my breathing so Ilya doesn't notice. My limbs――――I still feel my limbs.

"――――――――" ……Good. I thought I'd lose something if I used projection, but I'm not missing anything yet. My head's still working. The biggest proof is that I can check on my condition. I should be able to use one more projection.

―――No, I have to use it. I have to save Sakura in a way different from Tohsaka. Archer's arm will make it poss-

"So means. In short, the sorcery parallel worlds. So his nickname Kaleidoscope " "――――Tohsaka?" " ? , ?"

"――――――――" I can't understand her. It's not that I can't hear her. She's just speaking in a language I don't understand. She's talking in some strange language and holding something dangerous in her left hand.

…Tohsaka's holding a sword I've never seen before. Never seen before? That can't be. I projected (I think) that sword just now, and my left hand is empty, so it must mean I handed it to Tohsaka.

"Shirou? from . Was the projection ?" "――――――――"

I get a chill. My memory's vague. I can't recall anything. My understanding and the details don't match up.

"Guh――――, ……….!" I clench my right hand. My eyes finally focus in exchange for dripping blood.

"――――Um, Tohsaka." I get up. My limbs are light compared to my disconnected head. They're so light that I think they may be empty inside.

"It's not 'Tohsaka'. Ilya and I will go test it out, so you should rest―――wait, what's with your hand…!"

Tohsaka grabs me. Her speed is surprisingly slow, but… "Eh……? Why do you have this…?" My mind isn't working, and she has ahold of my hand before I know it.

Tohsaka's looking at the pendant in my palm with astonishment. I don't know why she's surprised. But I have this because…

"Shirou. Why do you have this? And are you crazy, holding it this tight?" "Why? I just have it as a charm. This is…"

…Something I picked up. Why did I pick it up? It's something I shouldn't forget, but I can't remember. But the stranger in my left arm knows what it is better than I do.

"……Um, it's something important. I have to have it on me until the end."

Words that are not mine come out of my mouth. "……… Shirou. I also have that pendant."

"Eh?" Tohsaka takes out a pendant from her pocket. It's certainly the same. It's a simple design for a jewel user like Tohsaka, but I think something simple like this brings out her beauty.

"Wow, they're the same." I nod back.

"No. Mine's empty, but there's still a bit left in yours. It's not significant, but I'm sure there's a meaning behind the usage of it." "…?"

"Keep that. It might come in handy." Tohsaka puts her pendant away and walks off with Ilya.

"Hey, Tohsaka. Where are you going?" "I need to talk to Ilya. I'll let you rest for an hour, so stay in your room. And I'll get seriously mad if you don't treat your hand right away."

"――――――――" Tohsaka's bad temper borders on outright hostility. She takes Ilya, who follows her without a word.

"………Oh well. I guess I'm saved." I have to find out what happened to me before I start moving around. I'm still conscious. I can figure out the situation if I don't let my guard down.

"……So. Why am I here?" I think about why I'm here in the shed. Sakura's warning. Sakura warned us to run, and Tohsaka said she'd fight. Then―――that's right, we have to go beneath the Ryudou Temple.

"So… Why am I lying in the shed when we have to go to the Ryudou Temple?" I'm on the ground. I realize that I'm inside the shed. My right hand is hurting. Thanks to that, my consciousness is back.

"―――――Damn. Pull yourself together, idiot." I get up and check how my limbs are doing. …Don't lose spirit. I'm certainly losing something at hopeless speed. But it's not fatal. At the very least, I should be able to fight normally until the day dawns.

"You look terrible. Do you recognize me, Shirou?"

"――――!" I quickly turn around. …In the back of the shed… Shrouded in darkness just beyond the moon's reach, there stands a Servant in black.

"Rider. You…"

"Yes. I was watching you. My mission is to protect you, but Sakura is my Master. So long as she is the one trying to harm you, I can offer you no assistance. That is why I did not help you in the forest. It was your own fault to be attacked by Berserker."

Rider explains lightly. …She speaks without emotion. It seems she was waiting for me to be alone.

"…I see. Then you came here to…" "To kill you. You and your allies are Sakura's enemies. Thus, I cannot let you meet her." Rider's holding a nail-like dagger. …I feel her hostility creeping up my spine.

"――――――――!" Rider's serious. I――――

#votestaynight

[wjforever]

Shatter me again. Chapter 67

It turns out to be much more difficult to coordinate my actions than I thought. At first, I even think that I'll fail, that I'll fall down, but the loop on my body holds me. It's very hard to get into the correct posture when you're already outside, to straighten your legs. But still I manage to do it, and I start going down, step by step. My hands hurt even through gloves, the rope cuts through my torso, legs, despite my dress and extra fabric. But I don't hold myself only by the strength of my arms, I don't get down too fast so that my skin is cut to the bones and smokes, I'm not startle of the speed of free fall, I control my descent. And adrenaline helps me to endure it better, it makes me reckless, tougher, bolder.

After getting a little used to the sensations, I start pushing off with my feet, increasing the speed of descent. We have so little time. But at some point I realize that the rope is almost over. It didn't reach the ground even before, and I also made an additional loop. Adam is shouting to me from below, telling me to jump, promising he'll catch me. I’m too ashamed to admit I’m afraid of the fall.

But I have no choice. I couldn't go up anyway, even if I wanted to. And I don't have enough strength to stay on the rope for too long. I look up and see soldiers in the window. They seem confused, perplexed. This is not surprising. I can imagine what a picture appeared before them.

I'm afraid they'll try to reel me back inside. I can already feel them grabbing the rope. I have only one way. So I look down one last time to make sure Adam is still there, and then I let go of the rope.

The feeling of free fall is discouraging. But it doesn't last very long, I hit Adam, his open arms. We fall to the ground and it hurts. The breath is knocked out of my lungs for a moment, and I can't breathe. I need time to recover, but Adam acts instantly. He jumps to his feet, grabs my arm and pulls me up.

We start running. And I'm running with all my might. My legs are still weak after the rope, and this weakness with uncertainty and fear makes them noodle, but I'm trying very hard. And then I look up and realize that I'm not. Adam is way ahead of me. And I'm desperately trying to catch up with him. I didn't even think I was that slow. My nasopharynx is burning with fire, it stings, my right side starts to prick and I can't breathe properly. Adam quickly notices that I'm behind, comes back, pulls me.

"Come on, Juliette, hurry up, come on."

I'm so ashamed. And I don't even know how bad it is, whether they're chasing us or not. Because I don't have time to look around, because the whole world is in a mess in front of me. And I'm just running as fast as I can.

Ahead of us is broken asphalt, naked trees, some buildings in the distance. The loudspeakers are already working against us. The sound of a young, smoothly mechanical female voice drowns out the sirens.

"Attention all units. This is a code-red emergency. Take your positions immediately. Attention all units. This is a code-red emergency. Take your positions immediately."

I can't run anymore. I know I should, but I just can't. Adam seems to feel it. He stops abruptly and throws me over his shoulders like a scarf, wrapping his right arm around my right leg and arm. It's terribly embarrassing, inconvenient. I feel such shame. Although Adam is much taller and stronger than me, although I'm short and weigh very little, I understand how much I slow him down, what efforts it requires him to run not only with bags on his back, but also with someone on his shoulders.

But he's running. I hear screams in the distance. We are already being chased. But Adam knows what he's doing. We run to a stand-alone armored car. Adam immediately takes me off his shoulders, opens the door and puts me inside, and then sits himself on the other side. He starts the engine without bothering to close the door, and pushes the pedal to the floor. The car takes off and we rush through the territory.

I can see the soldiers gathering together to try to stop us. But Adam doesn't even think to stop. I understand that we are moving straight to the checkpoint. Usually there are much more people there, but now, obviously, most of them have left the post because of the exercises. The barred gate is closed and I cast a startled glance at Adam, but he doesn't look at me. We break through the fence at full speed. I can barely hold back my scream, I see several soldiers jumping to the sides, I hear shots. But it's too hard to shoot up a car like this.

We race forward, away from civilization, across the wasteland, until I see a ruined town ahead. These are the remnants of the former world. Old houses, shops and restaurants, narrow side streets, abandoned playgrounds. Adam tells me that this is now an unregulated land and being here is strictly prohibited. For everyone, including soldiers. That here we have a chance to get away from the chase.

The car stops and Adam yells for me to get out. I do. We run through the old streets. Everything is broken, rusty, closed, lifeless. Locks and barricades, fences and obstacles. We change direction all the time, we try to avoid open areas and wide streets. Once it was a small but very cozy town. Now it's a warehouse of garbage and suffering.

Running is still difficult for me, but Adam is no longer carrying me. Instead, he slows down. It's obvious that he's tired as well, though he carefully controls himself.

It's clear that cars will be sent for us, that's why we abandoned ours. But it seems that so far we've managed to put some distance between us. The sun is sliding across the sky and stumbles over the edge of the earth. Night will be coming quickly, and this should be in our advantage. It will be harder to detect us in the dark. But it will be also much more difficult for us to move around. I understand that we can't stay here, I realize that they will lift up every pebble in an attempt to find us. As soon as the entire army regroups, they will descend here with all their destructive wave.

I never expected so much to happen so quickly and I never expected it all to happen on the same day. I just have to hope to survive, but I have no idea where we can go. And I'm already regretting that I didn't ask Adam about it. I feel insecure, anxious, uncertain right now. Even with Adam by my side.

My strength is running out. Even when Adam is running slowly, it's too fast for me. He's a trained soldier, practicing on a regular basis. He's built for such situations. He understands how to flee, how to stay inconspicuous, how to move soundlessly in any space. I, on the other hand, am a broken girl who's known no exercise for too long. My lungs are burning with the effort to inhale oxygen, wheezing with the effort to exhale carbon dioxide.

Suddenly everything starts to darken before my eyes, there is a noise in my ears, I feel a terrible feeling of nausea, sticky cold sweat covers my skin, I'm pulled somewhere to the ground and I can no longer breathe. Clutching at the remnants of consciousness, I feel Adam dragging me to the side. He breathes unusually heavy, fast, but my weak body becomes completely useless.

I feel like I could die right now. That's probably how people feel when they die. My legs give way and I fall, unable to stand anymore. Adam sits down next to me, takes my face in his hands, gently pats my cheeks. It's unpleasant, although he doesn't touch me hard, but my face feels numb and everything inside me resists being brought back to life. I hear Adam's voice, he's trying to explain to me how to breathe properly. He's so infinitely patient. And he teaches me. Just like Warner did when he wanted me to calm down.

But breathing is not helping, not now. Breathing can't help to restore the expended energy, breathing can't make the muscles stronger. And I don't want to be touched, I'm too sick for that. I'm shaking with a small shiver.

"I can't, Adam, I can't."

We hear gunshots in the distance. I never realized how that sound could destroy every functional bone in my body. But there are no soldiers in sight yet. We haven't been found yet. They're just trying to intimidate us, I understand. 

"It's okay, you can do it, come on."

"You need to run alone, Adam, save yourself. I can't."

"Don't talk nonsense, I'll never leave you."

These words warm my soul. Adam looks at me for a couple of seconds, as if making a decision, and then lifts me back onto his shoulders. I'm like a heavy burden, a useless load.

I allow myself to close my eyes for a moment. The gunshots are still sound somewhere behind us. But they didn't come close to us, I think they are on the contrary somewhere in the wrong direction. Adam seems to have outmaneuvered them. Their cars are unable to find us because we avoided the main streets. Adam knows exactly what he's doing. It seems he has his own map of this town. And I can rely on him only, because that's the one thing left for me.

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[the-land-of-eternal-winter-novel]

Chapter 23 – The Split

One day, Sveta decided to take any risk and try to escape. She spent all morning trying to measure the distance from the window to the ground outside. There was a very thick layer of snow, but she didn't jump right away. She woke up her children and also Ingrid and she tried to explain to them how to climb down a rope.

"I thought you were too scared to do this!" said Ingrid, confused and taken aback.

"Not for myself; I feared the children might get hurt. But now, from what I've gathered, the snow would atenuate my fall if I should fall, and I'll be down, outside, ready to catch them if they fall off the makeshift rope. I say we throw all the mattresses, pillows, blankets, abd everything else out the window. After I descend I'll arrange them so that they could break any fall softly."

"I'm too scared to do this. Have you even done something like this before?"

"Yes, I was required to do a few years in the military school. Petya knows how to climb up and down a rope, too."

"Mom, what about Katya and Volodya?" he asked when his name was mentioned.

"I'll help you," Ingrid chimed in, "but I won't be able to go too. I have to take care of Oleg."

She explained to the children that they were to hold tight onto the sheets knotted as a rope while she tried to lower them slowly. The two women tried their best to improvise a sort of harness. The children were scared, but they listened to their mother and their aunt, also wanting to get put as soon as possible.

"I didn't expect you to come up with such an idea, Sveta..."

"I decided I have to get over all of my fears, at least during such a desperate situation. I've taken every single precaution I can. Now I can only hope and pray that nobody gets hurt. What are you going to do, since you don't want to go on the rope?"

"I'm going to have to find some of the tunnels. I'll manage, don't worry for me. I hope we'll be able to meet again soon, in more peaceful times."

The two hugged goodbye and put their escape plan into action. Sveta went down first, then her children, from oldest to youngest, and she was prepared to catch then and move the mattresses where needed. Ingrid also tried her best to help the children get to their mother safely, which they did. Afterwards, she threw them their bags and heavier clothes. Sveta and her children began walking in the direction of the small country's capital, as indicated by the routes of some sleds.

No sooner had Sveta left than the guards came into the room and noticed it. They tried to question Ingrid but she refused to cooperate. They came closer, but she grabbed books from the bookshelf to her left and threw them at their heads, sometimes hitting them. After much struggle, she managed to take the gun from one of thee guards' hands, she took Oleg in her arms and ran forwards, without thinking of anything else or even seeing more than the narrow path ahead. She ran and ran, going in down in spirals: halls, then stairs, then halls again. She was now in the cellar, and she knew one of the doors would lead to a greater tunnel. She broke a few wine bottles, spilled the liquid and the foam on the floor, as well as the shards of glass, so as to slow down the guards when they reach that point. She hurried, checking every door. She managed to break the lock using the bayonet of the gun, and she followed the tunnel which seemed deepest to her.

With the door closed behind her, she only had a torch, a gun and the clothes off her back. She tried to calm Oleg down, lest the guards hear him crying and track them down. She went ahead at a lower pace, being already tired, but she remained alert. She knew that the house of a prince, even one distant from the capital, like Grigoriy's, had to be connected to a nearby town or any other human settlement, most likely a resort. She walked many hours before she stopped, now sure that she wasn't being followed anymore.

"I wonder how I can learn to shoot this thing... What will we do if I have to hunt? I don't know how to shoot, or how to cook... I'm not good at anything!" she ranted to herself out loud, much to Oleg's confusion.

When she found a written sign at a crossroads in the tunnel, she arranged a sort of bed, having decided they would travel the next day to one of the villages mentioned in the sign. She bundled Oleg up, being even more careful about his health, and she kissed him goodnight, then lay down next to him. She prayed before going to sleep, and she wondered where she would go, as an ultimate destination.

Some conflicts seemed to surface among the revolutionaries. The original rebel group were trying to persuade people to leave Mantas and come back to them, as the new leader, whom they disregarded, diverged from their cause. One of the ongoing debates centered around the circumstances of the first leader's death.

"We've said it at first, we'll say it again: it wasn't suicide! There was a scientist who confirmed there was a rare poison in his glass."

"Not to mention the scientist died soon after publishing this. Certainly, they were killed by the same person."

"Most likely one of the royals" said Mantas. "They could afford such substances."

"Which of them do you suspect?"

"The current Emperor, of course. He's the one who's been pulling all the strings. He had all of his rivals for the throne eliminated, his brother, his nieces and nephew, and even grand nephews. That's why I say we ally against him, he's our real threat now."

"We won't follow you!"

"Why not? Because I'm unrelated to your first ruler?"

"You took advantage of our crisis to prop yourself up."

"That's how the kingdoms you idolise started as well."

"If you really believed that, you wouldn't 'stoop to their level'."

"What makes you think I can be compared to someone who thinks he can rule just because his great grandparents won a war, when the people have designated me as a qualified enough ruler?"

"Have you been voted in, or did your buddies decide to make your own revolution and you stepped up?"

"You can't accuse me of nepotism if you still support the monarchy. You'd better understand that such institutions need to be done away with in order to achieve your goal of freedom and equality."

"If you were truly equal, there would be no leader to your movement. At least we admit the need for certain hierarchies."

"And you think a lawless mob is any more useful than a headless chicken?"

"So we agree on the need of leadership. But I ask you again: who chose you as their leader?"

"I did, as I began the movement in the first place. I'm way older than you, I have plenty of life experience and useful skills, so I'm quite qualified. I, for one, like meritocracy, unlike you, who decide who decide who gets to rule based on who's the favourite second cousin once removed of some king."

"I've never met anyone as humble!..."

"Imagine being so self righteous that you think having self esteem is a bad thing!..."

"You're not worth debating with!"

"Who's arrogant now, little boy?"

The first movement revolutionaries continued their attempts at persuading the public elsewhere, and Mantas minded his business as usual. One of his soldiers began talking to him:

"You sure have a lot of patience if you talk to them."

"It's entertaining to me. The truth is that our movement is much stronger: they only have the ones in their country who both reject the empire but wish their own king, while we have people from all over the empire, united by the dream of an equal society."

"There's also the anarchists."

Mantas smirked, struggling not to laugh.

"They'll never accomplish anything of substance. People in their movement are migrating either to the first movement or, in larger numbers, to us."

"Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away, Sava."

"How are you so sure that the current emperor is the one who killed the first revolutionary leader?"

"Tell me who else?"

"Maybe it's the queen regeant, or her son, or who knows?"

"Does it matter who it was, precisely?"

"Well, the implications are a bit different if it's not somebody from the empire. Take, for instance, the queen..."

"If it's the queen Regeant, we can convince the old revolutionaries they're wrong about the monarchy."

"What if it was another revolutionary?"

"Look at that ragtag bunch and tell me they could afford a poison like that."

"Many of them are from more well off backgrounds. And, after all, they could've stolen."

"Alright, but why would anyone want to take over a movement that seeks to put somebody else on the throne?"

"Maybe he was considered a traitor, and that's why the others did him in."

"The first leader?"

"Yes, because many are wolves in sheep's clothing. I have a feeling he was one of us, trying to trick the others into starting the revolution for him."

"Where do you get these wild ideas from?"

"I was in the empire military before I joined your revolution. I happened to hear some things. I met that man when he was imprisoned. He told his colleague he wished he killed the emperor and took his place. He must've thought I don't speak his language."

"Oh, why didn't you say so from the beginning? You possess useful information and skill."

"If you need a right hand man, I'm right here."

"I'm seriously considering it. What other things do you know?"

"I know my way through the tunnels and the palace. I could help when it comes to infiltration."

Later, Sava's assistant, who happened to overhear, questioned him.

"What do you mean, the revolutionary who wanted to conquer the empire was one of you?"

"Weren't you busy elsewhere?!"

"I was passing by!"

"If we wanted to conquer it, what's your problem?"

"People who follow you think you'll help them out of poverty and give them a free country."

"Which we'll do. Why did your mind suddenly jump to dictatorships? Not to mention that I thought you were on board with killing the emperor."

"I am... but I just had a bad feeling..."

"That's what happens when you don't mind your business. As long as you're good, you'll get your fair share."

The young soldier regretted his cowardice, as, when he thought the conversation through again, he realised he had raised good questions, but instead he accepted to be silenced. He became convinced that the two actually planned to keep the empire, but for themselves. Secretly, he began talking to other revolutionaries from the different movements, even trying to persuade some of Mantas' followers to leave him. Be began to sympathise with the anarchist movement, but he also kept in mind the original independence one. As he did so, he also met Melynė and her father.

In the meantime, Svetlana was walking through the snow with her three children, trying to protect them and wondering how she'll provide for them during the following days. Eventually, they were met by a familiar looking sled with some soldiers in it. They were the Queen Regeant's guards.

"Thank God you found us! I feared we would get lost for good!"

The guards took the children inside the sled, but they closed the door as Sveta was trying to get in.

"Let me in!"

"The Queen ordered we take her grandchildren, as you have endangered them, unable to take care of them."

"I'm their mother! I did my best to protect them! Don't you know the circumstanceswe were in?"

"Kidnapped by your tyrant uncle. Hunted by the revolutionaries. If you stayed in our castle, you would endanger us as well."

"How much is order from the queen and how much is you stepping your bounds?! She wouldn't do this to me, she knows I have an empire to rule. She's my mother-in-law, too!"

"That's precisely the reason, your Majesty. She'd make a better ruler than you, anyway. This is her message; you'd better leave such responsibilities as parenthood and leadership in the hands of the qualified."

"Where is my husband?! Does he know about this?! Give me back my children! You are committing treason!!!"

The sled took off suddenly and with great speed, knocking her off the steps below the door. The children were screaming in panic as they realised their mother was left behind. Sveta picked herself off the ground and started running with all of her might, but the sled went faster and faster and she eventually fell in exhaustion, the sled going farther and farther, until away from view. She lay in the snow hopelessly, crying as she thought that she was, indeed, incompetent, otherwise this wouldn't have happened to her.

As soon as Anatoliy, Radek and Akim healed completely, leaving the hospital, they went their separate paths, as decided. Radek headed towards his mother's palace, prepared with questions. Anatoliy helped Akim navigate the many tunnels and snow covered roads leading to the capital. As they wished to keep anonymity, they avoided taking a sled or other such transportation, instead walking through less traveled routes, hoping not to be noticed at all.

"Back in my country there weren't tunnels like these." said Akim. "I knew about them when I still lived here, but I haven't gone inside one before. Are they secret in any way?"

"Some certainly are, but many are like regular, but less travelled roads. People, understandably, prefer to walk above ground."

"I think they taught something about this at school but I totally forgot. The only thing I liked about military school was learning how to shoot, anyway."

"Well there are many reasons for building the tunnels, and not all of them have had the same purpose. Some of the oldest ones were certainly secret roads built during one of the wars a few centuries ago. Many are historical monuments, actually."

"I think I saw one during a school trip once!"

"The majority, though, just link people's lower rooms to eachother."

"Cellars?"

"No, now it's the norm to build several levels below ground, as well as above ground. The lower levels are shelters from the cold. They have better insulation than wooden walls, obviously."

"I thought only the palace had those. And I was never even allowed there in the first place, so I thought it was some secret."

"Our lower levels are emergency escape routes, for the most part. Normal houses have those, too. But from what I've learned, people like to keep their basements as fully functional rooms, for use during the coldest months, snowstorms, and the like. The winds get harsh sometimes."

"Why don't people build brick or stone walls instead?"

"Where would you get clay for bricks? Even if we had such a soil, it's covered in ice half of the year! And I doubt people want to tavel the whole country just to get stones for building houses. It's more convenient overall."

"I don't remember it being so cold..."

"It has always been like this. The tunnels and lower rooms are inventions dating two centuries. Even back then people knew it was warmer below. But in the last few decades I think it's been getting even colder, somehow."

"As I can see!" he said, warm vapor coming out of his mouth. "I wonder why it's like this, though... Even in my country the scorching summers have become mild."

"You call those summers mild?!"

"By their standards, yes. You white bears have forgotten what summer looks like, it seems." he laughed.

"Your father is one of those 'white bears'. You were born here!"

"After 25 years, I'm more accustomed to warm weather, believe me."

"You know, I've read a number of history books, and it seems like it wasn't always cold here. Sure, we've always been the coldest country in the world, but we used to have four distinct seasons. People wrote of the shocking contrast between the winters and summers. How this weather gained an advantage in battles. They even worried the weather was growing too hot, if you can imagine! As you read more, you see: this and that strait has been permanently blocked by ice, this and that town has become uninhabited, famines here, famines there. I wonder if it was the same in the past millennium. Sadly, we only know about history from the past 500 or so years, and only the books surviving from that period give us hints of times earlier than this. The world has been around for 8000 years, and we only know the last 500 in detail..."

"...The War of The Great Earthquakes..."

Both remained somber for a few moments.

"...and to think there have been wars ever since..."

"It's human nature..." responded Anatoliy. "On the brightside, their weapons were destroyed."

"...and their inventions, as well..."

"Don't be so disappointed. We've had our own inventions. And scientists are still discovering many things, especially in chemistry."

"I don't ask for much. As some people live in the harshest deserts, and your people live in the most painful cold, some underground, and even underwater for short term settlements, I wish we could live on the moon. I'd be the first to move there."

"How do you think it's up there?"

"Warm and dry, like a desert. Otherwise, we could see its seas and greens from here."

"Maybe it's very cold. Maybe it's frozen over, and that's why it looks so white."

"Do you think there are living creatures there?"

"I don't believe such a thing. But, if there ever were, they must've died during The War 500 years ago. You know what the historians said: toxic clouds rising up to the heavens..."

#the land of eternal winter #my novel #draft 1 #chapter 23

[txciaz]

Hi!! So,

it's my ( literal ) first time writing fanfiction, so I'm pretty new at this stuff, but Lady Dimitrescu is all I was able to think about for weeks and I >needed< to do something about it.

( If you want some context, I wrote this thinking “what if Alcina survived?” - Alcina's pov )

———

The fall,

The end of everything you once loved

Ethan Winters.

You woke up... somehow, you woke up. The frigid air hitting your fresh wounds felt like a jolt send by reality, as if one says "you're still alive" -

- and oh how you were starting to hate that feeling.

Laying on the demolished floor of your castle, muscles twitching in pain, mouth open gasping for air... that's how you are, how you will remember yourself from now on. A defeated dragon, a crushed woman, a dead mother.

You should get up, you should let go of your carcass and crawl your way back into the warmth of your home, you should—

—you should be dead, actually. Resting on death's cold embrace along with your daughters.

Daughters.

God, your daughters.

The memories flood your mind with a painful, unbearable reminder; they're gone, dead, crystalized - gone. They're gone. Your lovely daughters, your pride and joy, the main reason you'd open up your eyes in the morning...

...Bela,

Cassandra,

Daniela....

Their names are long cold, not yet forgotten - no, never forgotten - but somewhere else, as they don't belong here anymore; not on your arms, tucking them to bed. Not on your hands, caressing their faces. Not on your lips, kissing their foreheads. Not on your tongue, as you say them.

A raspy scream leaves your throat, it sounds disturbing.

You sob, hot tears trailing down your cheeks and neck, small cries for help find their way into the wind, disappearing with less importance then when they materialized.

You cannot recall for how long you stayed at that very same position, perhaps some hours, perhaps a day, but you are certain that at some point you were overcame by tiredness and collapsed - probably the best to do for now.

xxx

And so, rises the moon and the stars watch upon your limp body, the night howling a merciful wind and singing a melodic song. Grunting, you push yourself up with your elbows, sitting up and facing the sky through the hole you've made on the roof... and the levels above...

A huge carcass sits besides you, it's wings bended on itself and it's big mouth open to whoever would like to have a peek; you probably changed back into your normal body while unconscious... Now that you can see it clearly, you notice the damage that man-thing did to you... by heavens, how were you still alive and...

Oh. The castle. You look forward, taking in the horizon - the stars look exclusively shiny tonight - you breath in, the dusty air causes you to chough a few times. Stretching your neck a bit to see your whole house, you tell yourself it looks.. fine, actually, ignoring the broken windows. The broken windows.

It's cold. You shiver harshly, panting as the air meets your bare back and rumbles through your lungs, making you hug yourself, - you're naked, you just realized - the winter in Romania is truly kind to no one.

Your legs tremble with just the thought of trying to stand on your feet. You don't rush to do it either, let the wintry breeze take in your wounds, make it sting, burn it, freeze it; freeze your body along.

“To die. To die is to live. To live without them, that's torture. To live without their presence, absent of their scents, to not hear them, nor see their faces again, that's worse than death; far, far worse. How could I ever walk into that damned house without the heavenly sounds of their laughs, the tapping of their feet as they walk free, the steadiness of their heartbeats, reminding me that my own still beats.

Beats for them. For them only.

And they're gone.

So who shall my heart beat for? Myself? No, that wouldn't do. I will rip it out from my chest if I must, sacrifice it to any god who may hear me, all so I could spend five more minutes with them. Then I'd die in peace and find them at my arms again at whatever comes after this poor life.

But I'm here.”

You still hold yourself as you stare at a castle's - broken - window, new warm tears hanging the same trail the old and now dry ones did, a silent cry.

Your intrusive thoughts were abruptly cut by a loud noise from the inside of the castle, making you jump up, gathering all your last strengths to stand and walk a few shaky steps closer to home. The more you walked, the louder the noises got; a little rustle became a bang, and your tiptoing became a sprint, you hold yourself as tight as you can, ignoring the bleeding, the cold air spiking your lungs, how insanely fast you heartbeat was. You need to get there, protect the last remnant of them you still have.

The gates felt heavy now, even for you, who would open them with one hand. Where is your strength now? The fearless dragon who'd do anything to protect her house? Perhaps she died on that fall, and now all there's left is a shadow of what you were one day.

With much pain, you open the big doors, leading to the comfort of your house; you don't get in, you throw yourself in. The warm atmosphere engulfed you like a summer kiss on a winter storm, all you needed to ground yourself to reality for now. Grabbing some sheets laying over an old counter, you wrap yourself in it – oh, that's gonna get soaked in blood, but that's not of your concern now – moving incredibly fast for someone as hurt as yourself, you follow the continuous sounds that could not mean something good. The main doors are open, the cellar is unlocked as well, that idiotic man-thing couldn't even close the doors once he finished slaughtering your home? Imbecile.

You stand at the library's door now, suddenly frozen; you know what happened in there... do you really want to get in? Are you truly ready to face it again? Maybe you should take a step back and walk away, it would be the most logical decision to take now.

But what is logic when the heart screams? What is the brain for once your emotions take the best of you? You can't walk away. Put some honor on your name. Save the last bit of your daughter that fate is still conceiving you. Your chest rises and falls completely out of coordination, your fists close around the fabric involving your body; get ready, you're going in; gather the last bit of courage you have inside yourself and blast these doors.

And so you do.

You bring those pieces of wood to the ground, the only barrier between you and the reality you couldn't accept; a guttural growl forms in your chest as you see a lycan approach your child's crystalized body; you're blind with ire, sorrow, protectorship - you name it - and it makes you shout at the top of your lungs as you dilacerate the filthy beasts you'd bat your eye at. A bloody trail of corpses marks your way through the castle grounds, your claws dripping with fresh sanguine fluid - which you can't tell if it's from the creatures or from yourself - the crimson path follows you all the way to the other wing of mansion like a spirit who must haunt you for eternity.

You scream like a feral animal, blood soaking the once white cloth around your form; the scream becomes a shriek, which descends to a yelp, ending as a furious cry. You can feel the anger leaving you, like the waters of a waterfall; explosive, big portions of water falling into a numb, deaden lake. Hopefully those waters will carry you with them, you shall fall and sink at a anesthetizing lagoon.

You kneel, eyes closed, eyebrows frowned; a loud sigh fills the deafening silence in the air, your mind is blank – better, your mind is red, scarlet red mixed with black, ire and grief. Slowly, your head lower itself so you're facing the floor.

The big Lady Dimitrescu,

kneeling on a pool of blood, defeated.

•

“Lady Dimitrescu!”

Who..? The voice was so far yet so close, you try your best to focus on the direction of the calls but your nerves just won't cooperate.

“Lady!”

Who would be calling for you? Is your mind playing tricks on you now? And since when you were laying on the floor? Too many questions for too little answers. You try to stand up, but a sharp pain on your side made you cry out and fall on your back, face knotted in pain – perhaps your adrenaline rush was keeping you from feeling what was really happening with your body, and now you feel like you're betraying yourself for that.

A small figure approaches you in a fast pace, causing you to unleash your claws one more time and snarl at the not-so-possible threat; you were hurt. Vulnerable. Letting someone close was the last thing you wanted now. The humanoid thing backs away a few steps with your aggressive reaction, hands on their chest, visibly afraid – even though your vision is quite blurry, you identify their expression: scared, desperate, sorrowful – they call out once more, almost shouting.

“Please, Lady Dimitrescu, let me help!”

Ah... Help... The now clearer feminine voice washes over you - a wave of compassion - as if hope has found its way to your house again. Well, it better go away again, or you'll drag it out yourself.

“Out.” was all that left your lips, your intense gaze locking with hers, a silent yet not so discrete warning; although you had only said one word, it was well understood by the woman, who stepped away, eyes still meeting yours, a dreadful cast hang on her face.

Still, she didn't left.

Is that girl testing her luck? It can only be. Once again you warn her: “Leave. I will not repeat myself.”

Her posture stiffens, after a moment of silence she looks at the door, truly wondering about leaving or not; her body turns around, her knuckles going white from how hard she was grabbing the fabric on her chest – she's conflicted. But why? Who is she, after all? – A long, defeated sigh leaves her, as if she knows there is no choice left.

“Allow me to help.” A failed effort on trying to sound confident; her voice is full of tears and her tone is oscillating – it makes you wonder if she has been crying – The human walks towards you, trying not to make any eye contact; you can't stand on your feet, you left hand is pressed on your injured side, the other is open and directing your now extended nails towards her.

Oh how funny it is, no?

The predator being cornered by the prey. The dragon being trapped by the rabbit. How ridiculous it is.

Her extremely shaky hands hang in front of her, trying to say she won't hurt you – oh if she only knew it's going to be the other way round. – One step closer.. Her lips and chin tremble; Another. Your claws grow bigger, eyes peering through her soul; another step, your eyebrows frown, her eyes are teary. The last step - your blood is boiling hot, your nerves on edge; you are still the predator. - a slicing sound and a half-scream saturate the air for a millisecond, just for silence to overfill it once more. Red splashes over the room again, on your face, on your chest, but mostly on the floor, where the girl was thrown at.

An agonizing scream leaves her throat - what a miracle, she remains alive - both of her hands cover her face, blood spilling all over her; what a sight, you would most definitely enjoy this very much on another situation. She cries out in despair, making you face the ceiling and close your eyes, a tired look on your face – you just want all this to end, you don't have any more patience for this. You want to crawl back into your bed and starve, you want to destroy this place, make it abandoned ruins of what one day was a home; you want to kill that damned sickening man-thing, kill this foolish girl for perturbing your grieving, and then yourself.

The woman captures your attention once again, she is kneeling, her body facing yours, her right hand presses her ripped face, the other makes its slow way up to you, although she is trembling, she manages to keep her hand steady enough to hand you a little green flask with a yellow-y label; You look closer, 'treatment disinfectant' it says... Oh you can only be joking. You feel like slaughtering the girl right this instant, but takes in a deep breath and holds the flask, her hand immediately falling along with her body. Is she dead? No, her slow yet consistent breathing exclaims that she is still alive – you honestly find it a bit offensive – You should, but you cannot bring yourself to finish the human; you should end her suffering, but now she caught your attention; and besides, she wants to help, doesn't she? then the price she'll pay is staying alive.

———

hahaaa I'm so nervous about posting this,,, ,

and yes! It is a alcina x maiden fic! I do plan it to be slow burn, and if some you liked it and read it till here, please like and/or reblog and I'll post chapter 2!

( posted on Ao3! Name: “The woman in your castle” )

( chapter 2 posted!! )

#lady dimitrescu x reader #alcina x reader #alcina dimitrescu x reader #lady dimitrescu #help idk what im doing

[ama-kuu]

Abandoned and Rehomed Ch 2

Warnings: Panic attacks, Depression

Hawks brings you home after picking you up as an abandoned stray

Feline quirk reader

Sorry this is gonna be another sad one. I promise that it's gonna get better as the story progresses. 😅

Link for Chapter 1:

Hawks landed gently on his balcony, tenderly gazing down at your sleeping form. He lightly adjusts you in his arms, as few feathers detach to unlock the keypad and maneuver the sliding doors open. Now under the awning, he shakes out his wings, bristling each feather to expel the water droplets. Glancing back, the rain still falling heavily, he moves swiftly into his penthouse.

……………………

You groaned as your ears flicked at the sounds of a nearby shower starting. Ugh. Your head was pounding. You sat up from the very plush mattress underneath you, rubbing circles at your temples, you slid off the bed. You rocked slightly unbalanced when you straightened up. You peered around the room, your gaze catching at the large wet spot on the bed from your rain soaked clothes, you lowered your ears.

Guilt dug at your gut, your head quickly turned to bathroom the door, it was cracked but you didn't see any movement. You moved your attention back to the bed. In your mind, you were indebted to Hawks for graciously picking you off the streets only to inconvenience him.

You tried to work quickly to remove the sheets and bedding before Hawks returned. Once you had all the bedding gathered in your arms you searched around for the hamper. You were so absorbed in your task you didn’t even notice Hawks leaning against the bathroom door frame snickering at you.

He stealthily moved behind you. You were so focused that you didn't even notice him until his hands gripped your hips pulling you flush against his own. You yelped involuntarily followed by blushing hard.

He shook with laughter as you clutched the bedding close to you. “What are you doing Kitten?” His head cocked to the side trapping you with his intimidating golden gaze.

You faltered under his attention, “Oh..Um..” You looked down at the bedding in your arms, your ears drooping forward as you contemplated your response.

“I wanted to clean up after myself before you came back.” You kept your head down, unwilling to hold his gaze. Did you mess up? Was he upset with you for touching his things? Wha-

He clicked his tongue, breaking you out of your downward spiral. Feathers swarmed the bedding, pulling them from your hold and floated off out of the room. Hawks spun you in front of him, now facing him. He held your chin up to maintain eye contact.

“Kitten…” He leaned in closer, “I didn’t bring you home to be a maid…So let me pamper my new pet properly.”

Your mind was spinning leaving you speechless as you gaped at him. Your mouth hung open stunned for only a brief moment before you sighed in relief, leaning up on your tip toes and purred loudly against his neck. Thank goodness he wasn’t mad. He pet your head gently before gathering you up, his arms scooping you up under your thighs. His hands brushed over your tail causing you to shutter against him. In the short time you were with him it seemed like you spent most of it in his arms rather than touching the ground, it was amusingly pleasant. You melted against him.

You couldn’t help but notice his own wings flutter gently at your reactions. You leaned over him as he carried you towards the bathroom, your fingers gingerly batting at the feathers at the peak of his wings. He deeply inhaled and dipped through the bathroom doorway, careful to make sure you didn't hit your head on the door frame.

He set you down on the marble vanity. The steam from the shower caused a thick fog to coat the room. You took in the room, not only the counter was marble but the floors and the walls as well. It was honestly intimidating to take in. Beside you sat a neatly folded pile of his clothes. Your attention was quickly redirected by a brief flap of his crimson appendages, as he leaned into the shower to check the water temperature. You sat there in a trance as your senses zoned in on his wings. You fought your quirk’s instincts to run your claws through the feathers pulling and tugging at the quills.

Hawks felt the intense stare on his back. Peeking his head subtlety over his shoulder, his pupils narrowed at the sight. You sat there, eyes fully dilated with your claws flexing in between your spread thighs. He slowly expanded his wingspan, eager to watch your expressions. You reacted immediately, claws elongating and digging into the stone counter. Fuck. Watching you restrain your impulses to jump him was HOT.

He shook his head, he was in control. At least that’s what he told himself as he raked his gaze over you. Still in your soaked outfit, he knew he needed to make sure you were taken care of first, before his own needs. He slowly exhaled, regaining that control, he stepped closer to you.

“Kitten. You are going to shower then change into these.” He motioned to the clothing beside you.

Your pupils readjusted back to normal as you listened to his commands.

“Got it kitten?” His eyes flashed with dominance challenging you……

“Yes.” His eyebrows raised surprised to hear you for the first time since you woke up. You smiled gently at him, your heart warm at his efforts to pamper you.

His hands braced your shoulders, “Kitten if you need me, I’ll be right outside the door.”

You nodded as you slid down from the counter. When your feet were planted on the floor he gave your forehead a light kiss before retreating out of the room.

With Hawks no longer around to distract you, the headache you woke up with became more apparent. Your head throbbed as you slowly peeled the heavy clothes from your body. They fell to the floor with a thud as you stumbled to the shower. The steam was now thick and difficult to see through, as you entered the luxury glass shower. You stood under the water stream with your ears tucked down to prevent water from getting too far down into your ear canals.

Your hands grazed up your body as the shower heated you back up. Heat. You froze when your fingers made contact with your collar. Your stomach dropped. Hands become numb as they clenched onto the collar. Even though you were the one left behind, you could not help but feel… guilty… Dabi….Tears flooded your eyes as your legs buckled under you. You couldn’t stop what came next. You began to hyperventilate, you choked on the shower steam as you tried to get air into your lungs. You needed to collar OFF, NOW. Your fingers fumbled with the buckle as you fought back sobs.

“HAWKS!” You screamed for him, fighting to get the words past the tightness forming in your throat. It was getting harder for you to breathe, it felt as if the collar itself was strangling you with your own feelings.

He was on you in seconds. Red blurs flew around you as the shower was shut off, plush towels wrapped cocooned around you and mainly the collar choker removed from your neck. You got one last glimpse of it before it was flown out of the room. Taking deep breaths, you cling to his shirt as if it was the only thing keeping you grounded.

“Everything’s okay kitten, you are safe with me.” His hand cradled your head against him. He didn't dare move you, not until you calmed down. “I’m going to be right here. You can get through this, just keep breathing with me.”

You focused on him and made a conscious effort to sync up with him. In and out. He continued to rub gentle circles on the back of your head with his thumb, as your respirations became slower.

You nodded against his chest, “I’m okay.” Your heart was still pounding in your chest, but you felt better.

You lifted your head and wiped the stray tears from your cheeks, “ I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.” You smiled to ease your embarrassment.

“No. No apologizing, If you ever need something, you call me. Period.” He squeezed you against him. “Am I alright to pick you up now?”

“Yea, can we go back to bed.” You tugged lightly at his shirt in your hold.

“Anything for you”, he scooped you up effortlessly and carried you back to the bedroom.

You looked at the freshly made bed as he passed it and set you down on the bench at the foot of the bed. It puzzled you as you turned up to look at him.

He leaned down to you, “I'm gonna dry your hair before we go to bed, hang out here for a second.”

You sat there in silence. What time was it anyway? Glancing around you noted the large thick curtains that covered what you assumed to be a large wall of windows. Knowing Hawks, you bet he lived somewhere high up. You internally kicked yourself for not being able to stay awake during the trip here, to get a general idea of where you were.

Hawks returned shortly with a small hair dryer and wet brush in hand. He kneeled behind you carefully brushing through your hair. You pulled your knees to your chest so you could rest your head against them.

“Is this okay? Does it hurt?” He paused to wait for your response.

“No, it’s nice.” He continued to comb through your hair until the brush passed smoothly. Then began section by section blow drying.

You soaked in the warmth as you purred in content. Your chest vibrating from the sounds, you would honestly be surprised if Hawks couldn’t hear it.

You dozed off as he tended to you. Once he finished, used his feathers to return the tools into the bathroom. He pulled you up onto the bed throwing the covers over you and positioned you as the little spoon against him.

His wing covered you, as you held his arms around you. It felt nice to be wanted again. His arms pulled you tighter against him, it was very noticeable now that he was shirtless. Your face flushed at the realization that you never put any clothes on, after your episode you completely forgot.

“What’s the matter?” he blew seductively into your ear. “Your heart rate seems to be increasing rapidly.” He chuckled as he teased you.

Fidgeting with the blankets, you pulled them tighter to your chest. Your cheeks burned from embarrassment, you turned to face him and pouted.

Hawks spun you in his arms, so that you were now fully facing him. “Kitten relax, tonight I’m just gonna cuddle you.” He moved his arm to prop his head up on the pillow. “Besides I wanna make sure you are a little more settled before I scare you away” He winked suggestively at you.

You giggled into his bare chest, “I’d like to see to try”. You scraped your teeth against his skin, giving a brief nip before curling into him and drifting off to sleep.

Taglist:

@sunaswife @viol3tcr3am

This isn’t the end. I promise there will be more chapters to come. I have a lot of ideas and directions for this story to go. I hope that everyone is enjoying it. This is my first series, so I’m doing my best. Thanks for bearing with me. 😸

#Abandoned and Rehomed #hawksbnha #soft hawks #cat reader #hawks x reader #panic anxiety #protective keigo #keigo x you #bnha keigo

[besotted-eros]

Visit from a Ghost

Eren x Fem!Reader

Content: Angst, smut, unprotected sex, oral (f! receiving), pining, overstim, dirty talk, slight blood, bruising, established relationship, canon compliant

A/N: so this is a companion piece to my obsessed! Eren headcanons and fic. References to manga spoilers, heavy on the angsty sex. Very self indulgent. Hope you enjoy!

When you saw the figure at your bedroom window, lounging upon the sill as though he was meant to be there, you drew your gun.

It was a small, angry thing, wrestled from the grasps of a Marleyan soldier and entrusted to you to help protect the queen. You had yet to use it, but levelled it naturally now, letting out a growled command for the shadowed being to raise his hands.

When you saw the figure turn from your bedroom window, lazily leaning his head back so his viridian gaze met yours, you dropped your gun.

It hit the floorboards with a metallic thud, and in a better context you would have held your breath, jumped away from the risk of a bullet discharging from the fall. But you were motionless, staring at the apparition in front of you. That was what he felt like. A ghost, conjured from beyond the veil.

"Eren." You said it like one calls to the dead, your voice shaky and unconfident. But brimming, with hope. With fear.

"I come all this way to see you, and your first reaction is to shoot me?" He murmured, his rich voice creeping through the dark to find the holes in your heart.

 Moth bitten, hung up in a closet and forgotten, you had lost the memory of the pain and euphoria that Eren brought you. But you could feel it now, searing your chest.

"You deserve worse. Months. It's been months." The words tumbled from your throat as you fought the urge to cry. "I didn't know where you were. For months. And they won't tell me what what happened, no one will." You felt like a child, choking on your words as your hands bunched into fists. The only thing you knew is that you were meant to raise the alarm as soon as you saw him. But you couldn't. Not for him. You wanted to fall to your knees, to see how he'd rush across the room to gather you in his arms.

"You don't want me to answer that truthfully." He moved from the windowsill, feet silently hitting the ground as he faced you completely.

You didn't recognize him. Those were the eyes of your lover, those the lips you kissed, the brow you rested yours upon. The man who was once the boy you slept beside, you fought beside, you grew beside. The face you had seen overcome with passion, with pain and glory. But he was stoic, as grey as the three walls. You had felt him slipping before Marley, but now?

Even though he was in the same room, breathing your air, he felt gone.

"I do. I know you're the one who pushed me onto this duty, you made Hisu call for me, and for what? To keep me stupid and ignorant?" You spat the words at his feet, and it made him bristle.

"To protect you, why else? This stupid farm house is the safest place on the island. Safer than any of the walls, or the inner castle, or-"

"Safer than with you?"

That touched him. The repetition of his vow, that as long as you were by his side you would come to no harm. That he would hold you with his heart and protect you with his life. As long as you stayed within reach of him.

"Yes. Safer than with me. So much safer." He didn't want that to be true. He wanted to be where you belonged.

But he needed to make the world safe for you.

"I needed to make sure you were taken care of, that I could do the things I was meant to do without risking you." He crossed his arms in front of his body, and the tone of his voice bordered on petulant. But despite his stoic face, you could tell he was nervous. The clench of his jaw, how his eyes looked past you instead of at you. This wasn't a man who had forgone emotions. Just a mask.

Maybe that was your Eren after all.

"I know you hate me-"

"I don't hate you." You cut him off sharply, reaching up to touch the pendant at your throat. It was a piece of sea glass, tumbled by the waves to the colour of his eyes. You had picked it up on a beach patrol, and told him how it matched him perfectly. He had stolen it out of your pocket that night and fashioned a cage with stolen wire. The next morning it hung from the leather cord his father's key once did, and found its permanent home upon your neck.

He told you it was his eye and his heart, and to keep watch over it as he kept watch over you.

He had been so gentle. You remembered how the sea breeze rustled the hair, grown to the nape of his neck, how he had given you a smile that had become so rare. He had known then that the boat would be returning without him.

"I don't hate you even if I want to. I never could. I... I miss you." The dam in your throat broke as you hiccuped a single sob. And the dam in his face broke, eyebrows upturned with remorse.

He had made you cry. 

"No, no, no." He murmured, crossing the floor to take you in his arms. He was taller, his body somehow even more wiry than when he had left. Toughened by hardship. But the way his fingers curled around the back of your head, the way his arm wrapped around your waist. That was how he held you. How he always had. The familiarity made you weak, and you clung to him desperately, fists mangling the fabric of his shirt as you buried your face against him.

"Y/n." He said it through gritted teeth, and then repeated it. And then again.

You thought back to every time you had embraced after being apart. The sound of his feet pounding the stone of Wall Maria to throw his arms around you, his cries of your name loud enough to send birds flying. How he had whispered your name when you saw him after Shiganshina, his face buried in the crook of your neck and the weight of the world suddenly so much more heavy upon his shoulders.

"Eren." You reached up, taking his face delicately in your hands. His malachite gaze was wide, wild with desperation and hurt. "What happened to you, 'ren?" You asked, and his eyes shut tightly. "What did you do?"

"Please. Don't ask me. I'll answer to God, but I can't answer to you."

You could have pressed. He would have given up, at least... The Eren who loved you a lifetime ago would have. But the darkness in his mouth when he pressed his lips to your forehead convinced you not to.

He had followed you so diligently when you were young. Seeking the peace he had somehow found in you. And as you pulled him towards your lips, you knew it was that same comfort he was searching for. Peace, amongst his life of nothing but war. So you kissed serenity onto his lips, knowing that this may be the last taste of it he would ever have.

He groaned softly against your mouth, still for a moment before pressing into the touch. His fingers were gentle as they brought you closer, and closer still. Tugging at your hips, your shoulders, your hair, coiling around your neck. He was rediscovering you, reminding himself of the map of your body. It was like he was finding his way home again.

"I missed you. I thought about you, so much." He exhaled over your lips, and you tried to keep the welling of your tears from spilling over again. You had needed that. Needed to know that he still breathed for you. "Even when it hurt. I thought about you."

"I thought about you too." You whispered, stroking your hands through his silken hair. "I hoped... I didn't think it was smart, but I hoped. You would come to me."

Your hands traversed his chest and back, running down his shoulders and muscular arms. You grabbed his wrists, feeling the bump of your hair tie still upon it. He lifted for you to see, and you pressed a kiss to his hot skin, unable to hold back the tears anymore. You watered his skin with them. 

"See? I kept you with me. Always." his mouth was against your forehead, tendons in his wrist flexing. "I lost a lot of myself. But I never lost you."

You let out a choked whimper and he pressed his cheek to yours, murmuring your name softly. Finally your knees gave out, but his arms were vices around your waist, holding you as you leaned against him. But he came down with you, kneeling with you in the puddle of moonlight. It painted him white and black, his shadows so much deeper but where it graced him, he glowed.

"I'm sorry." You sighed into his shoulder, all but pawing at his back. "I just... Am I dreaming, Eren? Are you going to be gone when my eyes open in the morning?"

He didn't answer for a moment, face buried in your hair. "I'm real. This is real. I promise."

"Prove it." You whispered, turning your mouth to his ear like a bloom to sun. "I've had this nightmare, every night since you've left. Prove this isn't one."

His fingers curled around your upper arms as his eyes bore into yours. They were shadowed, haunted by things you knew you'd never know. "Tell me how. I'll do anything for you."

Almost, you wanted to correct him. He'd do almost anything for you.

"Love me."

"I do." He murmured, voice strained as he moved to cup your face, his thumb stroking across your lips. You parted them, inviting his digit to press against your tongue. His eyes widened slightly, and you saw something spark. It encouraged you to wrap your lips around him, suckling at his first knuckle. You let it pop from your mouth, dragging your tongue from his palm to the pad.

"Show me. Show me the way only you can." You spoke softly against his skin, and he let out a soft groan, from deep deep within his chest.

"Only me?" He whispered hoarsely, hands squeezing the sides of your face. You nodded as best as you could. "You haven't touched another since I've been gone?"

"Of course not. Since that first night, since that first kiss..." You gripped his wrists tightly, voice thick with emotions you couldn't name. "It's only been you, forever just you."

He kissed you like he wanted to consume you. Open mouthed, hot breath, all teeth and clawing fingers. You fell into him, letting him pull you up and push you towards your bed. You fell backwards, welcoming the soft mattress against your back. A stark contrast to his body, all hard lines and firm hands.

Eren's heat was enough to melt you. You didn't realise you had been so cold. Your legs wrapped around him, pulling his warmth further against your core. He grunted softly against your mouth, jutting his hips forward so you could feel how you made him.

Your lips trailed from his, kissing along the sharp line of his jaw, up to his ear. You didn't need to say anything into it, just your breath made him wild. He tore at your shirt, sending buttons flying across the room as the moonlight met your skin. In response you pulled at his, unhooking your legs to push at his pants. You wanted skin, you wanted bare vulnerable touch. You wanted to see the parts of him he kept hidden.

He never scarred. Your hands traced the unmarred landscape of his torso as he flexed underneath you. No matter what horrors his body faced, it would never leave a lasting impression on him. The titan in him assured that.

You wondered if it was the same for love, as your teeth pricked at his skin, making him shiver. You marked him, delicate and light. In the sun it would look like stepping stones, tracing the path of a lovers touch. If it would even last till morning.

But you loved him anyway, even if it was temporary.

"So beautiful." His voice was guttural, hands cupping your breasts after yanking your bra down. Your nipples didn't have time to harden under his thumb before his mouth was upon them, suckling gently. You gripped his chestnut hair in response, letting out a soft whine of pleasure that encouraged him to suck harder. He switched sides, leaving the cold air to caress the wetness at your precipice.

"I can hear your heartbeat" he murmured, pausing for a moment to press himself against your flesh. "It's so fast."

Your nails traced vows on the back of his neck, down his back as far as you could reach. "You make me like this." You whispered, and his teeth sunk into your skin, making your back arch. "You scare me. You turn me on. You make my head dizzy and my st-stomach fill with butterflies." He stripped you as you spoke, pushing down the soft fabric of your pants, then the cotton of your panties. You felt the kiss of the cold night air for a moment, drifting through the window. And then his fingers were upon you, slowly stroking along your aching entrance and your slick lips.

"I make you wet." He murmured against your skin, and you flushed, nodding.

"Yes, you do." You responded, moving your hips along his hand, encouraging him. He obliged happily, digits wet with your desire now sliding into your hole. You had been so long neglected, not feeling the desire to even touch yourself without him there to see. He could feel your tightness, how you gripped his fingers.

"My sweetheart," he purred, lifting his face to gaze up at you. His eyes were heavy lidded, almost hiding the jade irises that haunted your dreams. "You're so tight, spread your legs." You obeyed him as easily as breathing, opening your legs as he began to kiss his way further down. You whined again, and his fingers gripped your thighs, forcefully enough to close them slightly.

"The fucking noises you make..." He hissed, breath hot against your pussy. He dragged a tongue from the bottom, to the very top, glancing off of your clit in a way that made you cry out. "I want you to keep quiet so we don't get caught but..." Another languid lick, another lewd gasp. "I want to make you scream too."

Your hand came down hard on the back of his head, gripping his hair tightly. He groaned against you, sending vibrations through you. You didn't mean to be hard, to have tugged so roughly. But Eren loved it, eyes glinting as he sank his tongue into you, letting your plush walls envelope the muscle eagerly. Each time your hand twitched, responding to the waves of pleasure he drew from you, you'd pull more. And it would drive him forward, tongue sliding across your lips desperately, lips closing around your clit to suckle at it.

Your body was uncontrollable, hips lifting from the bed and chest heaving. At points it felt like he was drinking from you, loud slurps as he thumbed your clit. The movement repeated, becoming faster and faster. The pleasure mounted, a  knot tightened where his tongue touched you.

"Do it." He purred against you, feeling how your legs trembled and thighs touched his ears. He knew you, knew what every jerk of your body meant. "On my tongue, want to taste you."

That was what made the bud burst, your hips rocking desperately against him as your pussy fluttered, overcome with its first orgasm in months. It coursed through you, and you felt the bed wet with your love. 

Your toes curled with pleasure and you moved onto your elbows, staring down at him.

"Eren," you whimpered, and his eyes opened once more. From your vantage point you could see how his hips moved, thrusting slowly against the mattress. He was as desperate for you as you were for him."Eren I need you. I need you so bad." With a final pop of your clit, one that made you gasp, he pulled back and straightened up. His cock bobbed as he looked at you, eyes filled with a dangerous mixture of love and lust. He was dripping, your wetness from his chin and his pre-cum from his mushroom head.

"How badly?"

You brought your legs to your chest slowly, and his eyes dropped from your face to your heat. Your hole closed around emptiness, so desperate to be filled. "More than anything."

His fist closed around his shaft, stroking slightly as he stared at you with a slack jaw, face softened with awe. He always looked at you as though you hung the moon. As if you were responsible for everything soft and wonderful in the world. You watched as he touched himself and his mouth twisted into a grin.

"Did this..." He whispered, his hand moving faster, the noises filling the room. They were hot, lewd. The hot slick of his skin, your moans rising to meet it. "Did this when I thought of you."

The thought of him, so far away from you, deep in trouble but still overcome by his want, the aching need of you. It was enough to make you gush visibly, and Eren moaned at the sight. Before you had the chance to beg again he was at your entrance, hands pushing on the backs of your thighs. You pulled at him, bringing him to your lips so you could kiss your moans into his mouth.

Because the moment he started pushing, moan you did. Loud and desperate, feeling how he spread you. How he made you stretch to fit him like a glove.

He was mumbling in your ear, alternating between sweet calls of your name and darkened swears. Your nails dragged down his back, digging into his smooth skin and making steam rise. His hips were slow, but only for a moment. The need took over quickly, and you bucked to meet him as best as you could. But he was long, long enough to make you start each time he bottomed out in you.

"Eren, Eren, Eren," you whispered into the dark, each iteration becoming more and more sloppy. He grabbed your face, pulling himself up so he could stare at you. Sweat beaded on his elegant forehead, his long hair slicked back. But his eyes glowed in the lowlight, focusing on your face as though nothing but you existed.

He pounded you in time with your chants, each drill concentrated on getting as much of himself into you as he could. He filled your needy hole like he filled your heart. Wholly, fully. Enough to make your eyes well with tears.

He caught one that trickled down the side of your face, lapping it up with his long tongue. You gasped for air, twisting his hair in your fingers as legs wrapped around him desperately. You wanted to stay like this, stay connected to him forever. His hands traversed you, finding the places he had made home. The curve of your waist, the precipice of your hips, the valley under your ass as he pulled you up further, hitting you now at an angle that dragged across the nub on your inner wall.

And then he lifted you, pulling back to sit on his heels and to suspend you in his arms. You grasped his face as you looked down at him, your hair falling like a curtain. Hiding him from the world, the world that would take him from you. He was beautiful. All wild eyes, soft pouting lips. His fine features were shadowed, his expression twisted with pleasure. You kissed him, once. Twice. Three times. Each time deeper.

Stay here.

You wanted to say as he began to bounce you, sliding you upon his length, fingers digging into the soft plush of your ass.

Stay here, we can be okay.

His mouth was hot on your neck and shoulders, leaving bruises that you worried would outlast him.

Stay here, I can love you safe here.

But all that came out of your mouth was a keening moan, your walls fluttering as you came like a river, washing over him. Your head was thrown back in ecstasy, the wave of euphoria making you tremble and making him growl. He bite your shoulder, drawing soft droplets of blood, and you felt his hips stutter, and the telltale wetness that heralded his own cum. Filling you, as it should. He moaned, vulnerable and wanton into your shoulder.

"That's fucking it, baby. Cream on my cock." He cooed, his pace unrelenting as he fucked you through both of your orgasms. You were relieved when he let you fall back onto the bed, eyes opening to pull in for a kiss.

But he didn't stop.

"Er-eren..." You whimpered, and he kissed you hard, enough to bruise the pulp of your lip.

"Hold on... Hold on to me..." He whispered, teeth dragging across your sensitive flesh. You obliged, throwing your arms around his neck, legs circling him and pulling him in to the hilt. He pulled back, snapping in quickly, his pace sloppy and hurried.

"Need more...need more of you and I..." A gasp, a throb from deep within you. "need to give you all of me."

You were seeing stars. Bursting across your vision like supernovas. Though your limbs clung to him, the pleasure grew almost unbearable. A burning fire twisting between your legs, making you jerk and throb. It's like you could feel him in ways you never could.

The drip of his sweat, watering the forgotten lands of your body. The way his skin soothed yours, healing empty wounds. How his hair shifted, a lock falling to caress your cheek.

And his heartbeat. You felt it. Inside you, beating as though it was your own. The sensation drove you wild, clawing at his shoulders and yanking at his ochre locks.

"Gonna- it's gonna..." You whimpered, unable to form coherence. He drove into you faster, nodding against you. You were reduced to a babbling mess, eyes rolled back, mouth slack.

"Yeah, yeah baby yeah me too. Gonna cum in you again. Take it, take me. Take it all." He said, his voice thick with lust as he clawed into you, the slam of his hips hitting you in the most unimaginable of ways. He reared back suddenly, gripping your face hard enough to hurt as he placed his brow to yours.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." You replied, and with that you were both over the cliff, bodies shaking with pleasure. He filled you, his hot cum spurting from the slight space between you. His hand slammed against the head board, chest heaving, hips stuttering. But his eyes never left yours, gaze glazed with pleasure. His weight collapsed against you, and you cradled him, murmuring as his lips pressed to yours.

"Say it again." He demanded, hand moving to cup your cheek. "Say you love me."

"I love you." You turned your head to kiss his palm. "I love you, Eren. I love you."

He let out a soft sound, resting his mouth against your cheek. "More." He demanded, rolling over now and pulling you with him. His arms caged you, in a way that made you never want to be free. "I want a lifetimes worth."

"I'll give you a few months." You muttered, and could feel him smile against the top of your head. You wondered when was the last time he did that. When would be the next. "Just to catch you up." His hands stroked through your hair, teasing knots from it. You laid your ear flat to his toned chest. "You'll have to get the rest next time." His hand faltered and then tightened, pushing you into him. You could hear his heart pick up speed.

"Y/n-"

"Don't." You interrupted him. It was sharper than you intended, but you thought you had the right to it. "Don't say a word."

He went silent, resuming his grooming of your locks.

"Tell me we'll see each other again. Even if it's for a moment. Just once more. I don't want this to be it." His hands flattened on your back as he held you.

"I promise." He murmured. "We'll see each other again. But by then you'll hate me."

You didn't argue. Somehow you knew.

"For now, I love you." You pulled yourself to him, kissing his mouth with sweetness. You whispered it, over and over. Like a promise. Like a prayer. You said until your voice was hoarse, curled up on your side as his body surrounded you. You fell asleep with it on your tongue.

And you woke up to an empty bed.

#eren jaeger #aot #attack on titan #eren x reader #snk eren #attack on titan fanfiction #eren jaeger smut #eren x y/n #aot angst #shingeki no kyoujin eren #eren yeager #eren yaeger smut #angst #aot reader insert #aot fanfic #snk smut #snk #shingeki no kyoujin #eren jaeger x reader #attack on titan eren #blood tw

[kiri-ah]

Something To Sink My Teeth Into || she/her pronouns version

Themes: Supernatural AU, Vampire AU, strangers to lovers, angst and fluff (so much fluff), something similar to those symbiotes from Venom and Hanahaki disease combined, interplanar travel, Jaemin and the reader are oblivious and Chenle gets mad about it, long conversations about vampires, vampires can't cry

Pairing: Vampire!Jaemin x Female Human!reader

Warnings: mentions of blood (minor), mentions of eating (human food and vampire food), character death, Chenle is kind of a butthole, in depth conversations about humans and vampires which include biting and blood drinking, Yuta's house gets set on fire

Word Count: 26.4k

Taglist: @bluejaem, @heyyyun, @generantionct (untaggable), @stayctday, @kunrengui, @allegxdly, @leetaeyonglover, @koishua, @choppedupcactus, @hyuckworld, @alexameliamg, @notbeforelong, @jaemotel

Summary: A trip to Poland goes terribly wrong - or maybe terribly right - when you're bitten and kidnapped by a vampire. Between passing out, almost dying multiple times, and falling in love, you have a lot on your plate. Oh, and the magic. Right. Teaser here.

A/N: This is so much longer than it was meant to be... *sigh*

This has only been edited by myself and a friend of mine, please excuse any errors. I worked hard to make the best experience possible. For that reason, please note that this is the !she/her pronouns version! He/him pronouns may be found here, they/them pronouns here. Please enjoy!

You were on holiday in Krakow, Poland. For your twenty first birthday, your parents had gifted you a weeklong trip over Spring Break, and you had been having the time of your life. You had found Krakow rich in historical influence - it had been the capital of Poland until 1596 and still had remnants of the past, like a Renaissance-era trading post and sections of the medieval walls that surrounded the city. Plus, the section of the city that you were staying in was very close to the city center, where you discovered aforementioned trading post, called the Cloth Hall, and an old cathedral named St. Mary’s Basilica.

The first night of your stay, Sunday night, you had struggled to sleep, because of the time difference and the excitement of arriving. You stayed in Monday morning, trying to at least rest a bit, and then ventured out to the nearest coffee shop when that didn’t alleviate your sleepiness. The barista had whipped up your favorite pick-me-up morning drink, and you went to sit outside in the fresh air, surveying the plaza over the rim of your cup. It was just the right time of year, you thought, because it was nice and warm without being too hot, just how you liked it. The sun had started to rise about the buildings around you, illuminating certain structures and giving them an unearthly glow.

When you finished your drink, you put the cup into the collection bin and walked back out onto the main square, just enjoying the sun on your face (over the sunglasses you had bought in the airport after forgetting to pack yours) and letting the warmth sink through your limbs after the tired night. One of the unfortunate things about the time of year you had travelled was the tourists. There were families and older couples and people your age taking trips with their friends, and most everyone stayed right where you were staying as well: right in the heart of the city. To avoid as many crowds as possible, you had booked a tour of St. Mary’s Basilica for Thursday morning, and reserved entry to the underground museum for this afternoon.

Tomorrow you planned to go and see Grodzka Street, where you were going to try and find a souvenir. In the same neighborhood was an ancient church called St. Andrew’s Church, which dated back to around 1079. On Wednesday, you were going to brave the crowds of people in the Cloth Hall for the same purpose, and also because it was a historical landmark that you just needed to explore. Wednesday afternoon was blocked out to be a rest period, as was Thursday morning. Then on Friday you were planning to go and see the Wawel Castle and Cathedral. From there you would explore the various attractions on the property, and then return to the plaza later to eat. That afternoon, you planned to go to the Jewish cemetery. Saturday was blocked out for a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was a Nazi concentration camp and a Holocaust memorial out of the main town. When you returned to the hotel late that afternoon you would pack and get ready for your flight Sunday morning. It was going to be a very full and very fun week. Or at least you hoped it would be fun.

You explored the main square a little bit that first day and unpacked your things, making sure you had everything you needed for your trip and you didn’t need to walk to one of the convenience stores nearby.

The days passed quickly, and you finished each one completely satisfied. Everything and everyone here was so wonderful and you started to wonder how you had never heard of this place before this trip. It was absolutely one of the best places your parents could have picked.

On Friday morning you got up bright and early (well, actually, it was dark and early) to go to the Wawel Castle. You had heard from a travelling site that tickets sold out fast and it was important to get there early in the day, and you tried to heed that warning. At 7am when you arrived it was already busy, but thankfully not so much that the lines were too long. You wandered through the small exhibits and around the grounds. It was a bit more chilly today and you wrapped a scarf around your neck as you shivered, trying to find a less windy spot to hide out for a second. You found a little spot where you could take a moment and recharge your inner heater and were doing just that, burrowing into your small scarf mountain, when you realized that a person stood next to you. You looked up through your lashes at them and caught your breath - holy cow he had good genes. He had a sharp, sloping jawline that stopped at a chin less pointy than you had expected. His lips were plush and round, although he needed some chapstick. His hair was pushed around by the wind but despite that he looked, well, amazing. Sections were bleached, giving his hair an almost halo-esque look. His nostrils contracted as he inhaled and then his eyes cut down to yours, dark and deep and was that eyeliner?

He smiled then, a smirk that seemed far too self-assured for the situation, and leaned over towards your exposed ear. “I can feel you staring, sweetheart,” he murmured. The top of your ear, which had been feeling rather numb, flamed hot at his words. It almost hurt, the sudden jump into heat. You turned towards him fully, only eyes exposed by the scarf mountain. Your hair whipped around as the wind shifted again, but he didn’t seem cold, although he was in only a pair of black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black jacket. The jacket caught your attention for a second - it was studded with thousands of little rhinestones, like a varsity jacket gone shiny. Then he shifted closer into your space and you were forced to look back at his eyes, glittering in a way that seemed almost predatory. You sucked in a breath through your mouth and started to back away.

“S-sorry,” your breath came out in a whisper. Nobody seemed to notice your interaction. “I didn’t see you there, I’ll just leave.” You turned to go before his hand, surprisingly strong, clamped around your arm and pulled you back into his chest.

His voice came out in a growl as he blocked your scream with his other hand. “I am far, far too hungry for you to leave right now, precious.” The strength in your legs seemed to dissipate at his tone, you knew you needed to defend yourself, but ‘hungry’? What was that about? And precious? The hand wrapped around your arm let go and started unwrapping your scarf, exposing your face to both him and the frigid wind. He started to lean down, and you pressed your lips together tightly. At the very least, he wasn’t getting in your mouth. You may have lost the strength in your legs, but not in your will. Then he bypassed your mouth and leaned into your neck, inhaling and causing cold air to course along the column of your throat. He chuckled when you shivered, then bit into your neck.

The pain was overwhelming, you could feel each individual blood cell crying out, every organ protesting, your head started to pound with it. It hurt far more than even a dog bite should. It hurt like a shot at the doctor going on and on, echoing through your body and you were powerless to stop it. The pain flared in your neck and your brain seemed to slow down as the blood flowed away from it and into his mouth. You crumbled into him, and without detaching from your throat, he scooped you up into his arms, holding you there to be his personal bloodbag. You had long since stopped trying to scream, it was too difficult, too much effort.

Vampires, your thoughts whispered, before the pain covered you and you passed out, collapsing completely.

☽༓☾

You woke up in a... cozy cottage? There wasn’t any sign of your attacker and, in fact, no sign of anything vampire esque either. You looked around the single room at the soft fabric couch (covered in boho style throw pillows), the kitchenette (complete with pre packed food), and the window, through which you could see a combination flower and vegetable garden. There were two doors off of the room you were in, one that led towards the lush green outside, and one that must have concealed the bathroom.

The moment you realized this, you also realized that you really needed to use said bathroom, and struggled to plant your bare feet on the floor. Your legs didn't want to hold your weight, and you crumbled to the rug with a whine. Two seconds later, the door to the outside opened with a swish of fresh air and there, outlined by the sun, stood the most gorgeous person you had ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on. When he saw you on the floor, he groaned and ran a hand through his pink hair. "Shit, I'm so sorry, let me help you!" He ran over and you allowed him to half carry you into the bathroom. It wasn’t like you had any strength to protest, and he seemed nice. He smelled like sunshine on fresh earth.

Once you had finished using the toilet you tried to stand up again, now that you at least had some semblance of strength in your legs. After a few tries you were able to support yourself against the bathroom counter, with more than half of your weight against the frigid tiles. Your legs shook as you started standing more straight up, and you made a high pitched keening sound that you didn’t even know you could make; the man’s worried voice came through the door. His voice was higher and slightly panicked.

“Are you okay? Do you need help? Are you hurting too much?”

Your voice, which you hadn’t managed to make work properly, came out lower than usual and scratchy. A portion of your throat ached as you tried to make the sounds audibly. “Yeah,” you rasped out. “I can’t stand up properly.”

“Do you need me to come and help?” There was something about his voice that just made you want to trust him. It was soft but strong and even though he had toned down the panic, it still had soft tremors of worry running through it.

You thought about it for a second and considered yourself in the mirror. You looked, quite frankly, horrible. Your hair was a mess (more than usual), your eye bags were sagging unnaturally, and your eyes themselves were dull. You did look like you needed help. You sighed. “Sure.”

A moment later he opened the door slowly and stepped into the space with you, putting one arm around your waist to help support you. You relaxed some of your weight onto him and closed your eyes briefly. It would have been a wholly relaxing moment if not for your stomach. It grumbled up at you and you thought for a moment that it sounded like an angry octopus trapped inside of you. Then you blinked to clear the thought away as the man laughed. It was deeper than you expected from a man with pink cotton-candy colored hair, a low chuckle that rumbled through his body and, in turn, yours. You shook against him slightly with the movement and his other arm came to help you lean more against his body. He was stronger than you expected and you could feel the muscles in his arms shift as he reoriented himself.

“Let’s get you some food,” he said, smiling. “Unfortunately I’m not sure I’ll have much you’ll like.” You just nodded. Your throat was still throbbing uncomfortably where you were bitten and you weren’t sure you had the energy to even debate his statement. You were sure you would eat whatever he gave you. He led you into the main room again and helped you settle onto the couch. He walked over to the kitchenette and picked up a can of soup, then walked back to you to verify it was a kind that you liked. Once you had approved it, he went back and put it in a pot on the electric stove, starting to heat it up. As he stood over it, you had some time to think as you sat on the couch. The first thing you realized was that you still didn’t know what his name was, which was an issue. You couldn’t thank him properly without knowing his name. The second thing you realized was that you didn’t know where you were, exactly. The third was that you had probably missed your flight back home and your parents were going to murder you for it when you eventually got back. You shifted so you were more comfortable before trying to speak again. You started with the easiest vocal warmup you remembered and the man looked over at you with eyebrows raised.

“You good?” he asked. You nodded in response, hoping that your throat would relax and stop throbbing.

“Yeah, I think so,” you told him. “The side of my neck really aches where that man bit me.” His eyebrows furrowed at this and you thought maybe you just imagined it, that nobody actually bit you, but the pain was real enough in that moment and it was certainly real enough when he bit you. “Also,” you continued, “I still don’t know what your name is.” He seemed to think about this for a moment.

“I’m Jaemin Na,” he said eventually. “This is my house. And I think maybe we need to take a closer look at your bite, I didn’t realize it still hurt. Usually the throbbing goes away after a day or two.” You found yourself nodding along before his words sank in.

“Okay, uh, nice to actually know who you are now. I’m Y/N,” you said. There were suddenly many more questions floating around your brain. Usually he had said, which meant he had dealt with vampire bitten people before. How? Was he one? Why weren’t you a vampire? And how long had you been asleep for? They circled around your head like a dog chasing its tail until you realized that Jaemin was in front of you. It seemed like he was waiting for you to say something.

“Sorry,” you murmured. “What was that?”

“I said we have all the time in the world for you to ask me the questions I know you must have. Don’t psych yourself out. You’re safe.” Despite the fact that you knew next to nothing about him you found yourself once again trusting him without reason. He just seemed like a genuinely nice person, someone you could believe to tell you nothing but the truth.

“Okay,” you agreed, and it came out like a sigh. Your throat gave a particularly unpleasant throb and you unconsciously brought a hand up to rub at it. Jaemin’s hand fastened around your wrist and pulled it away, looking closely at your skin. He sighed.

“You’ve probably figured out by now that the man who bit you was a vampire. If you haven’t, have your moment of denial now.” You just looked back at him, surprised.

“Denial?”

“Yeah. Usually when humans find out about vampires for the first time they aren’t very accepting of it. I’ve had to replace my windows a few times from thrown objects.” You almost laughed before realizing that he was serious.

“Okay, well, I already got that, so go ahead,” you prompted.

“Great!” His eyes got just a little bit less heavy with your statement and he continued, “contrary to popular belief, vampires don’t actually turn humans all that often. If we had that little self control the whole population would be dead or turned already.” You noted his use of the word we and shuddered a little. He could attack you too? He seemed so gentle.

For the first time you noticed your soup in a bowl on the coffee table. Jaemin reclaimed your attention by speaking again. “We’re also pretty good at choosing who to bite, and when. We’re not heartless. We try to choose people with good metabolisms so that we can return them to Earth quickly.” At this you inhaled so sharply that he paused, looking over at you.

“We aren’t on Earth anymore?” you asked shakily. He shook his head with a quirk of his lips. That distracted you enough to calm down for a moment. He really was a gorgeous person. Was the word person still applicable to vampires? You didn’t know. He sucked you out of your thoughts again with a hand waved in front of you.

“No, we’re not on Earth. Where we are… it’s like a parallel plane of existence. Vampires can live here, do live here, in bigger bunches than we can on Earth. We call it ‘Vahmpyr.’ I always thought that was a really unoriginal name, but I was turned after it was discovered so I didn’t have much of a say. It would be like you trying to rename Earth.” He picked up your bowl of soup and stirred it around, handing it to you, before continuing.

“This is my vacation house of sorts, where I nurse humans who have been bitten back to their healthy selves. Generally we vampires try to keep one certified nurse or doctor in each coven just in case, more if the coven is large. It’s a handy skill to have. Especially if you happen to have parts of your coven who are as chaotic as ours.” He looked over at you and smiled wryly before adding, “I didn’t poison the soup, you know.” You looked down at your lap where the warm bowl sat and laughed under your breath before picking up the spoon and taking a bite. It was delicious. You flashed him a thumbs up with your mouth full and he smiled brightly again.

Once you had swallowed you asked, “how can you bite humans and not turn them? I didn’t know it was possible to not turn us.” He nodded like he was expecting this question.

“It’s kind of a strange feeling,” he told you. “Biting, I mean. It’s not like the human feeling of biting into a piece of meat. It’s just… it’s amazing. It’s like cold fruit on a summer’s day, hot chocolate while snow falls. It’s at once a feeling of absolute power and absolute devotion because tasting a human’s blood puts them above everything else, at least for a few moments. At the same time you’re aware that their body is falling apart and right into you. It’s intoxicating. Every once in a while you’ll bite someone that just tastes extraordinarily good, or meet someone with a unique and, pardon my language, delicious, smell. Then your body sort of automatically realizes you want them to stick around and releases the venom.”

“So,” you said, interested by his version of vampires, “if you bit me right now, I’d be fine?”

His eyes sparked with something new. Anger, you thought, or something close to it. “I just spent four days nursing you back to health and you want me to bite you just to see what happens?” he asked incredulously.

“No! I was just confirming. I’m sorry,” you murmured, and shoved another bite of the soup into your mouth for good measure. He sighed.

“I’m sorry too, it feels so easy to talk to you. I forget that you’re new to this.” You choked on your soup while he and he hurriedly patted your back as you regained your breath. “Are you alright?”

“Did you say you spent four days nursing me back to health?” you asked, head spinning. Four days. Four days. Four days. “I’ve been missing from Earth for four days?”

He deliberated for a moment. “Yes, and no. You’ve been off of Earth for four days, yes, but you aren’t missing.” You raised an eyebrow in response and he hurried to explain more. “I mean, obviously you’re here, and yes, you’ve been here for four days, asleep, recovering from Jisung’s bite. On the other hand, there’s still a you on Earth right now. That’s the interesting thing about Vahmpyr. We can bring humans back, with some effort, and while they’re here, a version of them is still on Earth. It’s still you. And if you go back, from what I understand, you get your other half’s memories back, like you never left. It’s quite the phenomenon.” He seemed completely serious and you were inclined to believe him, but this was insanity. Another you, a perfect copy, walking around on Earth while you hung out with the vampires in their parallel plane? You pinched yourself. It hurt, and you winced. Jaemin looked at you with this horrible understanding glimmer in his eyes like he was saying I know how this is. It’s weird and unimaginable but it’s here. Please don’t break any of my things.

Eventually you just kept sitting and looked back at him. “This really is good soup,” you said. He looked at you in surprise before bursting out laughing, face lighting up like the horizon at sunrise.

“You’re not going to attack me?” he asked between chuckles. “That’s the normal response. And thank you, that’s my favorite kind of soup too.” You shook your head, smiling back at him.

“I decided that there’s no changing it even if this is just a fever dream induced by an infected human,” you explained to him. “And wait, can you actually eat still? Like stuff besides blood?” In response he ran over to the small kitchen and grabbed a spoon of his own, dipping it into the bowl and moving it to his mouth. When he was done he smiled at you.

“I can still eat human foods. Nothing is as good as blood, of course, but I can still enjoy it. It’s just dulled by the transformation. And I’m glad that’s the stance you take on being transported to a different plane, I’ve known humans to react rather badly.” He took a moment to think. “For example, there was a woman who was convinced we had sexually assaulted her, which is a fair thought, but she wouldn’t let me explain anything to her. She ran outside as soon as her legs were strong enough and ran right into Lucas. He’s a really big guy, wide and tall and strong and such. She was so terrified she ran into my bathroom and I had to give her the spiel from through the door. Not the finest of interactions.” In spite of yourself you laughed. You could imagine the woman’s fear, especially if this Lucas was as infuriatingly gorgeous as Jaemin and the man who had bit you. You probably should’ve felt the same way, but something about Jaemin was just relaxing, and you felt safe with him.

“I get it,” you told Jaemin. “All of you guys; the guy who bit me - what did you say his name was? Jisung? Yeah, him. Jisung and you and probably Lucas, you all look like models which I guess goes with the vampire narrative, but it’s a little shocking since I’ve never seen someone so good looking. It’s nearly scary.” You looked back up to see Jaemin looking surprised.

“You think we’re good looking? Even after you got bitten by one, abducted by another, and have only heard of the third in a story about someone running away screaming?”

You shrugged. “All of that doesn’t change the facts. You’re still some pretty perfect looking human beings.” A moment later you realized what you had said and wrinkled your nose. “Sorry, uh, creatures. Is that offensive?” Jaemin laughed again and wow you could get addicted to that laugh. It was so carefree. You supposed that came with immortality.

“Technically ‘creatures’ is more accurate but isn’t very nice-sounding, even if we are unnatural monsters.” He said this as though he had come to terms with it. Even if we are unnatural monsters.

“I don’t think you’re unnatural,” you told him. “I mean, if there is a higher power out there then He or It or They created a whole plane for you and if not then nature did. I don’t think Vahmpyr would exist if you were unnatural.” He looked at you without speaking as you took another spoonful of soup.

“That’s… that’s a new way of looking at it.” He looked conflicted, like he was trying to reconcile your view of him with his view of himself. “I don’t think our plane was meant to exist though, by higher power or nature. Humans are beautiful because they age and there is room for change within your society. It’s hard to change an entire plane full of the unchanging.”

“Maybe so,” you argued, “but you’re obviously gorgeous on the outside, and on the inside it seems like you have a good system too. If I was a vampire I don’t think I’d take care of the humans I had bitten. It wouldn’t have occurred to me. They would all die. I would be dead, come to think of it.”

“That’s true,” he conceded. “You really do have a unique view of things.”

“Thank you?” It came out sounding more like a question than you intended. You finished your bowl of soup, licking the excess off of your upper lip. Setting the bowl back down seemed to break whatever spell had kept you in eager conversation with him. You supposed all of your questions had been answered, for now. Jaemin helped you get set up with Netflix on his TV and went back outside to his garden. He explained that you could call for him through the open window if you needed him, he would be right nearby. You nodded, already distracted by the opening scene of your show.

After a while you realized that there were low voices coming from outside. It sounded like Jaemin was talking to someone. You turned the volume down on the TV a little bit to listen. Maybe you could meet the infamous Lucas or someone else in Jaemin’s vampire family.

“... have to bring her to me?” Jaemin was saying. “You tasted her, you know her scent. This is painful. Her scent is all over my things, my bed.” He let out a small groan and the other man with him chuckled breathily.

“Hyung, I didn’t mean for her to smell so good I swear, it was a spur of the moment decision. I was hunting in her area and her scent was so enticing. Plus, I was hungry!” You shuddered at the mention of hunting. This one, who must be Jisung, was far less civilized than Jaemin, it seemed.

Jaemin made an angry noise and his words hissed out when he spoke. “You think it was enticing out in the open air of Poland? On a windy day? I’ve been smelling her acutely on my things, in my house, for four days and it hurts. My venom has been going non-stop for the entire period and it’s not like I can just change her, she’s got a life ahead of her!” Part of your heart went out to Jaemin - he was trying so hard to take care of you and even caused himself pain for it. That explained why he had reacted so negatively when you asked what would happen if he bit you. You wouldn’t have been fine. You would’ve become like him. The thought didn’t cause the anger or disgust you thought it should have. It sounded nice, almost, to be like him. To stay in his safety for eternity.

“Jaemin,” said a new voice. It was strong and rough like tree bark lined his throat. “You can return her back to the real world in just a few more days and you’ll be free of her. It’s not like she would want to stay here anyway, her friends and family are back on Earth. We can keep Jisung home and have him feed on Chenle until he learns his lesson.”

Someone, presumably Jisung, made a wounded noise. “I can control myself, I promise. Don’t make me feed on Chenle, Hyung, he doesn’t taste anywhere near as good.” Definitely Jisung.

“Jisung,” said Jaemin’s voice. “Don’t argue, you brought this on yourself. And me,” he adds as an afterthought.

Jisung’s sullen voice responded, “fine, Hyung, but Chenle isn’t going to be happy either, you know.” You thought maybe Jaemin must have nodded or something because nobody said anything for a while. You turned off the TV, suddenly bored with the program and head full of new questions. The top one on the list was why. Why did you affect them this way? Why did Jaemin treat you so nicely when you were hurting him? Why did Jisung sound like a puppy who had been reprimanded? Why did Jaemin and the other man have the power to ground him, essentially? Then there were the who questions. Who was the man with the voice like tree bark? Who was Chenle, and why wouldn’t he be happy? Lastly were the when questions. When would you be going home? When would you see them again? Would you see them ever again? When would Jisung be allowed to hunt again?

You were so deep in your head that you didn’t notice the door opening and Jaemin coming in, two men behind him, until he stopped and waved a hand in front of you.

“Y/N, you okay? I brought you some people to meet.” He stepped back and you forced your eyes to refocus on what was in front of you. When you looked up at him, he presented the two other guys like he was a car salesman and these were his favorite models. “This is Jisung, you’ve met him already although I don’t know if you remember him.” You nodded, looking over him. He had on a grey crewneck sweatshirt over a pair of black sweatpants today and looked far less terrifyingly beautiful flanked by his hyungs.

“I remember him,” you told them. “You’re the one who bit me.” You didn’t think it was possible for him to look more sheepish than he already did but he managed to, and shrank back so that he was standing half-behind the other man. The other guy had bleached hair falling messily over his forehead, and even though he was shorter than Jisung, he seemed to command your attention more. He had on a green sleeveless shirt that showed off arms rippling with muscles. You gulped, looking up at him, but then he smiled at you. His whole demeanor changed. He felt less like he was about to kill you and more like he might accidentally strangle you to death in a hug. His eyes scrunched up into little crescents and you found yourself smiling back.

“I’m Jeno,” he said, walking forward to shake your hand. “Sorry I didn’t come to visit earlier.” His voice still sounded like bark lined his throat, but less so now that he wasn’t bothering to limit his volume.

“That’s fine,” you replied. “I just woke up earlier today.” You glanced towards Jaemin; he looked like a proud mom watching you interact with his friend. “Jaemin fed me, and since then I’ve just been sitting here watching TV. I can’t find my phone, and even if I did I’m not sure I could walk over to it. My legs are out of practice.”

Jeno smiled again. “That’s pretty common for Jisung’s victims. We found out he has these little back teeth that make it more painful for the people he bites so they usually need more bed rest to recover from the strain on their bodies and the blood loss.”

You nodded, as though that made sense. They still let Jisung hunt with his unpredictability and extra teeth? That seemed a little irresponsible of them, but you supposed that Jeno and Jaemin weren’t that much older than him in the first place. You tried to bring up your next subject subtly.

“Speaking of recovery, when do you think I’ll be going back to Earth?” The change in the room was immediate. Jeno’s smile faltered enough for you to see his eyes, Jaemin’s shoulders slumped, and Jisung’s foot started tapping against the rug. “It’s not that I don’t like it here,” you interjected, “I'm just worried that my, uh, double self will get up to trouble and stuff. What if someone notices it’s not me?”

Jisung looked at Jaemin. “You either did a really bad job of explaining this or she wasn't listening, Hyung.” Jaemin glared at him in response and chose not to dignify the statement with an answer. Jisung huffed at him and turned to you. “It’s you, y’know, back on Earth. Like… when a starfish gets cut in half, both halves grow into full starfish again. Something similar happened to you. Same organism, same you, just two different places. Is that a weird comparison?”

“What he means,” interjected Jeno before you could reply, “is that the you down there has all of your experiences and memories and the same brain. It’s the exact same person as you, just two versions of you. When you go back you won't even have a bite scar.” At this you lifted your hand to rub at the mark on your throat. You saw Jisung’s eyes follow the action and he licked his lips. You put your arm back down into your lap and swallowed, the sound echoing in your head.

Finally Jaemin spoke. “And to answer your question, as soon as we get you strong enough to walk on your own you can go back. I mean technically there’s a body waiting for you down there, but we don’t know what would happen if we sent you back faulty, so we like to be careful.” You laughed at his use of the word faulty and nodded.

“Okay. Do you guys have a portal or something that’ll take me back?” At this all three men burst into laughter and a high pitched squeal joined the mix, coming from the doorway. Yet another man was standing there, thin orange-dyed hair flopping as he doubled over laughing.

“A- a portal,” he wheezed out between laughs. “No, we don’t have a portal.” You threw him a disgruntled look.

“I was just asking…”

Jaemin looked equally off-put and said, “Y/N, this is Chenle, Jisung’s best friend and our second child. Sorry about his lack of a filter.” His lips pursed unhappily and you rushed to reassure him.

“No, that’s okay, I don’t know if that was stupid question. No feelings hurt, he’s fine.” Jaemin looked unconvinced, so you sat up more towards Chenle and reached out a hand. “I’m Y/N.”

“Oh is that your name?” he replied breezily, shaking your hand quickly. “They were right, you do smell good.” Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Jaemin shift protectively.

“Chenle.” His voice came out a growl, raising hairs on the back of your neck. “Don’t you dare.” It was interesting, you thought, how this dynamic worked. From what you had heard with Jisung, Jaemin had always contained himself, like he was reprimanding his favorite child. With Chenle he seemed almost dangerous, like it was possible for him to hurt a fly, and things much bigger than a fly. You wondered if he was this way with all of his patients, or if Chenle just bothered him more with you than usual.

“I’m not going to, mom, chill out a moment.” Chenle, you decided, must be the bad egg of their group. Every family had at least one, and here was theirs. He seemed the most likely to hurt something for the fun of it, and it almost seemed like he should have been the one to attack you, not Jisung. You wondered, in the distant back of your head, whether he had extra teeth for biting like Jisung did. Maybe it was better not to find out.

“Please don’t call me mom,” Jaemin sighed in response, all of the fight leaving him a rush. His muscles were still tense, though, and he ran a hand through his cotton candy colored hair.

“Chenle,” said Jeno, “I think you and Jisung should go talk. He has news for you.” Jisung shuddered slightly, his nod small and tense. You remembered his reaction earlier, when he had been informed that he needed to feed from Chenle for the time being. Chenle looked between Jisung and Jeno and an expression appeared on his face that didn’t seem natural on him - uncomfortable confusion. What you had seen in this past tension filled minute was that he was self assured and rambunctious. Now you wondered if he respected Jeno, regardless of that. You supposed you didn’t really have time to find out, you would be going home as soon as you could walk on your own. Speaking of which-

“I need to use the bathroom again,” you said as Jisung walked out of the house with Chenle right behind him.

“You should try getting up on your own,” Jeno suggested. “The more you sit around the harder it’ll be for your legs to get strong again.” You nodded and used the arm of the couch to haul yourself to your feet. Your knees started shaking again and Jaemin hurried to support you a little, until you felt a little more steady on your feet. Once you did, you tentatively took a tiny step towards the bathroom. Your arms flew out to your sides to help with balance and Jaemin took the mother bird stance, worriedly standing within arm’s length to catch you if you started to collapse. Jeno watched from a few paces away and smiled at you.

“Let’s see if you can get to me, okay? Then we can help if you need support.” You nodded and gritted your teeth, shuffling forward on your weak legs slowly. The good news: you made it to him without falling or using Jaemin’s ever-there assistance. The not so good news: you practically fell into Jeno when you got to him, using his body for support. He helped you find your center of gravity again before acting as a crutch to get you to the bathroom.

“If you need anything,” Jaemin told you, “I’ll be right out here. Don’t over-exert yourself.”

“I’ll be fine, it’s just like one step to the toilet, and there’s a nice strong counter” you assured him, and closed the door behind you as you stepped away from Jeno’s warm strength. Immediately you felt weak again but you reached out to hold on to the edge of the counter while you walked and got safely to the toilet. Your legs screeched at you as you lowered yourself onto the seat and you relaxed a little bit once you were seated. Recovery was going to be hard.

☽༓☾

Two days passed in a blur of pain and people. You met quite a few new people, like the infamous Lucas (who was a giant baby and who adored you), a woman named Joy who had actual red eyes like the legends said, and a man that everyone called Ten. Actually, you weren’t sure if Ten counted as a man. He dropped by Jaemin’s house the third day, right after Jisung and Chenle had just left after getting some flowers from Jaemin’s garden. He walked in on tentacles, long and thick ones that wrapped around the door frame and curled and uncurled as he talked. He muttered something about wishing they would just admit they were gay and asked Jaemin if he happened to have clams. Jaemin, looking amused, supplied him with an entire bucket of the little creatures. Ten gave him a jar in response and flounced out the door without even looking at you.

“Jaemin,” you asked, “what, or who, was that?” Jaemin laughed happily and the sound was so perfect that you wished he would just keep laughing forever.

“Ten is kind of unique,” Jaemin said. “Obviously, he’s got tentacles, which is unusual, and then he’s also not a vampire so none of us can quite figure out how he can get here, to Vahmpyr. But he can see the future, sort of, which is pretty helpful sometimes. Warns us when we’re getting too active and need to be careful of humans. He’s also convinced that Chenle and Jisung are gay and that they just need some guidance.”

You couldn’t decide on a question to ask about these revelations, so you settled for a very intelligent sounding “huh,” and continued your walking around the house. You were doing a lot better now with your exercises and had been able to make it around the room without holding onto anything for support four times now. Jaemin laughed again and you felt yourself actually flinch from the force of his happiness. It was addicting, almost. He went back to his Gaelic scrolls, which he was translating for a man called Kun, who you had yet to meet.

You had a sudden thought and you found yourself needing to talk, to explain about the other day. “Jaemin,” you said, dropping into the seat across from him at the table with a low groan. “The other day when Jisung and Jeno came, you guys were talking outside, you know?” He looked up from the scrolls, giving you a raised eyebrow like ‘so?’

“So I may or may not have listened to your conversation,” you told him, watching as he gave you his full attention, clicking his pen closed and rolling up the scrolls gently. He didn’t look angry, exactly, more apprehensive than anything. Like he was back to worrying about you throwing things and breaking his windows.

“And?” he prompted, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them you saw something strange there, like fear. But certainly the immortal and beautiful Jaemin couldn’t be scared of you. You must’ve been interpreting it wrong.

“Well you guys were talking about my smell,” you started slowly. “And, uh, you said that you- that I was causing you pain. And I was just wondering, why keep me around? Why not take me to a human hospital, or just kill me? Or turn me? Why did you make yourself suffer?”

He inhaled deeply and then shivered a little bit. When he spoke, his voice was soft and a little scratchy. “For one, we’ve never had a case like this before. I mean obviously there have been people who have smelled good to me before, but usually I’m able to ignore it. With you… it’s like my vampire body can’t get enough of your scent. It wants to turn you, to keep you, in its selfishness. That part of me is weak, in its greed. And of course I couldn’t kill you, I could barely control myself when Chenle- when he-” Jaemin took a deep breath to steady himself. “He wanted to bite you. You smell good to our whole coven, to everyone who’s met you, at least, which is a first. Thankfully you don’t appeal to Jisung the same way you do to me though, because by now you’d be a full fledged member of the family. Jeno is really good at hiding it, but I could tell he wanted to drink from you too, when you used him to help you walk the other day. I think the only ones not affected by it are Lucas and Ten, although that could be because they’re both gay, I’m not sure.” As an afterthought, he added, “actually Lucas is demisexual but I’ve only ever seen him date guys.”

Skipping over the bit about Lucas’ sexuality, you spoke, horrified. “I’ve been hurting all of you? Seriously, why not just make me go to a regular hospital on Earth?”

“Well it would be a little hard to just give you to a hospital on Earth and be like, ‘here, take this body which may or may not have a vampire bite in its neck,’” Jaemin told you. “And also because I haven’t given up on a patient yet, and I didn’t want the first to be because I can’t control myself. And as to why I didn’t turn you… I didn’t want to take your life away. I still don’t. I think your life is going to be a good one and I don’t want to steal that. That’s why you’re going back tomorrow.”

An empty feeling settled in your chest. “You’re sending me back tomorrow? I still haven’t met so many of your friends though!”

He leveled you with a stare. “The rest of my patients never got to meet any other members of the coven. This was a one and done. You don’t need to know the rest of them. Especially not Yuta or Hyuck, good gracious.”

Who are Yuta and Hyuck? you wanted to ask, but his tone implied the end of the conversation, so you refrained from forming the question. “Okay, uh, I’m going to go sit in the garden.”

Jaemin flashed you a barely-there smile, opening his scrolls again and clicking his pen open. “Mhm. Be careful.”

You went out to sit under a tree in his front yard. Actually there were a lot of trees in his front yard - his house was in a forest. He had neglected to mention that when he first told you about his home and you had found it fascinating how it worked. When you walked out, there wasn’t any path out of the small clearing that housed his cottage. When you imagined a person, though, a tree tunnel would open and you could go any which way you wanted. You had tried imagining your parents the first time Jaemin told you about it and it hadn’t worked. He had explained that it only worked for people on this plane of existence, which made sense. When you had imagined Joy, it had shown you a way to a small town. Jaemin had forbidden you to go anywhere without him in case someone got territorial or hungry and killed you by accident. You respected that, you didn’t want to be murdered, but you wanted to see Lucas, and talk to him. He had fun stories to tell of his best friends. Jaemin seemed a bit huffy. It would be fine to go and see him, right? You’d just go and be back quickly before Jaemin even realized you were gone.

You decided that you just needed to talk to a friend right now and focused your mind on Lucas, finding an apartment building on the outskirts of the largest vampire city you had seen so far. With a little more effort you could find his apartment, although you couldn’t see him. The trees opened and you glanced back at Jaemin’s cottage before setting off.

As you walked down the path you reveled in your ability to walk. After two days of walking in short bursts and trying to regain strength in your legs you were finally able to walk like a normal human being, no flailing arms or stops every few meters to take a break and rest your muscles. It was nice, after so little freedom within Jaemin’s one room cabin. You liked being out here better. You avoided tree limbs and roots as you went, always focused on getting to Lucas. At one point your focus switched from his apartment to a convenience store and you panicked, realizing that you couldn’t go there. There, you might actually get murdered like Jaemin had predicted. He hadn’t nursed you back to health and struggled through your scent just for you to go and get yourself killed. You waited, walking more slowly, until the view at the end of the tunnel switched back to Lucas’ apartment’s front door. You breathed out a sigh of relief and continued on your way.

It was fascinating to you how there was no life in the forest besides the plants. You didn’t hear or see any insects or birds and you wondered if that was because they were afraid of the vampires or if they just didn’t exist on this plane. You decided to ask Lucas when you got to his house. After a while you realized that the image at the end of the tree tunnel was no longer a moving image of where you wanted to go, but rather the actual thing, growing bigger as you progressed down the path. You found yourself increasing your pace in your hurry to see Lucas.

When you left the comfort and relative safety of the forest, you nearly ran across the street separating the apartment complex from the trees. You stumbled at one point and almost fell to the pavement but recovered and kept going. You entered the main door and started up the stairs, still hurrying a little faster than your body thought was necessary. You speed walked until you reached the third floor and started looking through the numbers, looking for a door marked with ‘311,’ the one you had seen in the forest while looking for Lucas. After a good few minutes searching, you located the hallway his apartment was in and walked down it, looking at the odd numbers on the right. They counted down from 39, so you had a ways to go. Part of you wondered if the vampires just didn’t care about your presence, because apparently your scent was pretty strong and you were sure that you were stinking up the whole hallway with your human-ness, but nobody had come to murder you yet.

When you finally got to the door labeled with a faded ‘311,’ you stopped to take a breath before knocking on the door. An uncomfortable pause (where you wondered if Lucas was out after all) later, the door opened and you breathed out a sigh of relief, only for the air to stick in your throat at the sight of a man shorter than Lucas, but much scarier.

He had dark brown hair, obviously lightened but only a bit. It fell over his forehead and stopped just short of his eyes. His lips set in a grim line as he looked over you before they pulled back into what should have been a heart stopping smile, but was instead a snarl, a grimace of distrust and anger. The feature that stuck out most to you were his eyes. You imagined that when he was happy, his eyes would glow with an inner light. Now they were dark and they promised violence.

No sooner had you come to this conclusion before he had you pinned against the opposite wall. “Give me one good reason,” he hissed, “why I shouldn’t just kill you.” His arm pressed into your throat, keeping you pinned against the wall, on your tiptoes to accommodate the height of his arm.

Lucas, I came to see Lucas, you tried to say, but it got stuck on the way out of your throat and instead what came out was a weak, “Lu…” followed by a wispy groan. The man furrowed his brow and moved to hold you against the wall by your arms so you could speak. “Lucas,” you gasped, air rushing back into your body and allowing you to speak once more. “Friend.” The man put you completely down now, on the floor, and you moved to massage your throat before his eyes, dark and threatening, halted your movement. Lucas certainly has a knack for choosing friends, you thought.

“Don’t move,” he growled, “Or I’ll throw you out our living room window. It may not kill you, but it will hurt.” Then he turned around slightly and called, “Xuxi! There’s someone here to see you!”

You heard shuffling inside before the figure of Lucas appeared, tall and thick and seeming like safety incarnate in the presence of someone as terrifying as the man who still had one hand next to your head.

“Yang?” he asked. “Is everything alright?”

The man, Yang, shifted so that Lucas could see your face. “This one just came knocking on our door and said he wanted to see you. Do you know her?”

Lucas gasped slightly and sped up, blurring a little, so that he reached you in less than a second. “Oh my gosh, Y/N, are you okay? Yangyang, this is the human that’s been staying with Jaemin for the past week, she’s my friend!”

“Hey Lucas,” you said weakly, finally reaching up to massage your throat now that you had someone to protect you from being thrown out the living room window. “I’m okay, I think. Just a little lightheaded.” Part of you wanted to add, Is his name Yang or Yangyang? but you figured now wasn’t the time to ask.

A strange look crossed Lucas’ face. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright, come inside and sit down, I’ll get you some water.” You followed him into the apartment, Yang (Yangyang?) behind you. He still slightly scared you and you stayed as close to Lucas as possible. Lucas spoke again as he grabbed a water bottle for you. You noted idly that it was Dasani. “But, uh, didn’t Jaemin tell you to, like, not come out here? So you didn’t get murdered? Cause that could’ve ended a lot worse.”

“Not you too!” you cried, exaggerating the syllables. “I know I could’ve died, but I wanted to see my friend! How hard is that to understand? Did it bother you so much that I wanted to see you?”

Lucas figited uncomfortably. “Well I appreciate that you came to see me, that’s really nice of you. It’s just that Jaemin was right. This really isn’t a safe place for you to be. I mean Yangyang could’ve killed you if he didn’t have such a heart of gold.” You threw a disbelieving glance towards the man in question and he shrugged, mouth tugging up in a mischievous grin.

“Okay, I mean, I can go back if you don’t want me here, I have to be back before Jaemin realizes I’m gone anyway,” you said, drinking more of your water. Yangyang and Lucas both froze.

“You didn’t get his permission?” Lucas asked in a tone that confused you. Was he scared of Jaemin? “Or tell him you were going for a walk? Or anything?”

“No, of course not. He would’ve said no!” you protested unhappily. This was not how you imagined this trip going.

“Okay,” Lucas said. “I’m taking you back right now. Jaemin will- well, he won’t kill me, but he’ll be scarily close if he finds out you came here.”

With a heavy sigh, you stood up. You knew that if he needed to, he could just throw you over his shoulder and carry you all the way back to Jaemin’s cottage. Darned vampire strength. “Fine.”

You got down the hallway and into the stairwell before Lucas tensed up again. “Shoot,” he muttered, looking down the stairs below. You couldn’t hear or see anything, and you were about to tell him so when he sighed and you heard a pitter patter like rain, growing louder by the second.

Moments later Jamin appeared in front of you, pink hair mussed and eyes wild with a mix of fear and anger. For a moment he didn’t even speak, just glared at you. The fear faded from his eyes. When he did speak, the words seemed like poison being spit off the tongue of a snake.

“I can’t believe you,” he seethed. “I kept you in my house, fed you, nursed you back to health. I let you use all of my things and was even going to send you home once you were perfectly healthy again. I gave you one rule. One! Just to keep you safe! And you go and break it. You could have died, Y/N, do you understand that? I did everything in my power to keep you in an environment where you weren’t in danger! I didn’t allow Hyuck to come over, I made sure that you were prepared to meet Lucas and Jeno and even Jisung! But all of my efforts faded to nothing when you opened that doorway to the city. I’m taking you home right now, I can’t bear to keep you here any longer, not when you obviously have no sense of self preservation!”

He picked you up before you could even blink and you felt a sharp wind on your face as he ran home. His steps sounded like raindrops falling on pavement, sharp but small, a pinprick of sound in an otherwise silent stairwell. Lucas had disappeared from view in less than a second and you shut your eyes against the vertigo of being carried at such a speed. Everything blurred, everything was indistinct and most things weren’t even worthy of notice. Jaemin smelled like ink, and you had space in the very back of your mind to wonder if he had spilled his, in his haste to find you. It didn’t seem like a very vampire-like thing to do.

A few moments later you entered the canopy of the forest and every once in a while you heard a stick break under his foot or a rock get catapulted out of the way. Then you felt the sun on your back again and you gasped as Jaemin dumped you onto the warm grass, standing tall before you. He said something in a language you didn’t know - it sounded vaguely like Latin - and the grass fell out from under you as the ground opened up and you fell into space.

☽༓☾

When you woke up the next morning to your alarm, you wondered briefly if your entire experience with Jaemin and the other vampires was a dream. The puncture wounds that had been on your neck were utterly nonexistent, and there was no evidence on you that you had even left the comfort of your bed. On the other hand, you had clear memories of your time in Vahmpyr, short as it was. You remembered how it smelled and how the trees had felt as you walked outside. You remembered the feeling of the cool granite of the bathroom countertop. Mostly you remembered being with Lucas, Jeno, Jisung, and Chenle. You remembered almost dying at the hands of Lucas’ roommate and you remembered the terrifying flight in Jaemin’s arms.

Jaemin.

You grimaced at yourself in the mirror and spit out your toothpaste. There was no way your mind could have made up someone as excruciatingly kind and beautiful as Jaemin was. At the same time you felt anger bubble up inside of you. He hadn’t even given you a chance to say goodbye - he had just put you through to your Earthly self without any words between the two of you. You hadn’t said goodbye to Lucas or Jeno either, nor had you seen the rest of your new acquaintances. The anger flared, hot against your insides, and you could swear you actually felt your chest twinge. You spat out the last of your toothpaste and replaced your toothbrush in its holder, going to get ready for your day.

The next few days were spent alternately missing the simplicity of life on Vahmpyr and being angry at Jaemin. Assignments piled onto your shoulders and in addition to that, you discovered some sort of disconnect between you and the part of you that had stayed on Earth while you were out. That part of you seemed to dismiss your time in Vahmpyr as something it had dreamed up all on its own. It didn’t acknowledge you and liked to take control of your body whenever you weren’t paying full attention to it. Every time it did that you felt the twinge in your chest again, except it got more and more painful. You started having headaches that the other part of you didn’t seem to feel but which pressed against your skull like tiny war hammers thudding into the bone by your temples and occasionally your eyes.

Your vision would go blurry and you started having lapses of consciousness, only to wake up and find yourself doing just fine with your other part in charge. During these lapses you would dream of being in Vahmpyr again, and you saw Lucas smiling with Yangyang, Chenle rolling his eyes at Jisung before hugging him tightly. Other men you didn’t know and other women you hadn’t met also flew across the screen of your eyes but they disappeared quickly. Ten even passed by once, haughtily scrolling past everyone until he sidled up to a tall man with long blond hair who smiled down at him and pressed a gentle kiss to one of Ten’s tentacles. A man with red hair and an eyebrow slit served coffee to a man who chewed like a rabbit. A group of three guys held up a sign that said “Go Taemin!” as a group played football. A woman in a suit jacket over jean shorts sat with a box of papers, crying. Joy played a game with other girls where they tried to push lockers over on each other. Everything (with the exception of the lockers) looked like fun. It was better than Earth, at any rate. Every night you went to bed wondering if you might just die by morning and leave the other half of yourself behind to control the body. You were just along for the ride at this point.

The evening of your fourth day back on Earth you went to sit outside the dorm building on a bench, just for some fresh air. For once you had control of the body and you let your head tip back, closing your eyes and just feeling. The bench pressed up against your back in a way that hurt slightly, but your body had been wracked with pain for two days straight and it didn’t ache so much as behind your eyes or inside your skull. The evening breeze blew across your eyelids and brought with it the scent of sun-warmed dirt.

It smelled like Jaemin, that first morning you woke up in his house. When he had helped you across the cottage towards the bathroom and been outlined by the sun, when he had made you soup and sat with you on the couch while he explained where you were and what he was.

Your body shook with a particularly painful pound on the inside of your ribs. You let yourself relax against the bench again and the sensations enveloped you once more. You felt yourself let go of your body on Earth and float away, less falling and more weightlessness, floating away on a wind that smelled of sun on dirt and felt like arms wrapping around you while rain fell on summer-warmed pavement. You floated away on this wind and it lifted you endlessly until you nodded off, finally free of the pains that had kept you company for the past few days. You wondered if perhaps you had died of it, if being back on Earth had perhaps been more detrimental to you than beneficial.

Then your back hit something hard and the breath was knocked from your lungs, waking you up again and telling you that something had gone very very wrong or very very well. You gasped air back into your body and rolled over weakly, now in a body you recognized as the one you inhabited on Vahmpyr. Grass poked your inner arms and you pushed yourself up to sitting with your legs crossed. You massaged your chest as you inhaled and found yourself miraculously free of pain, aside from the slight burn of breath inhaled too quickly after loss of oxygen. The war hammers in your head had vacated the premises and the aches of your ribs had subsided, making it easier to breath and just sit without drawing in pained gasps.

You registered a return of cold as a shadow fell over you and looked up to see none other than Chenle, with Jisung behind him. Did they never go anywhere without each other? Well, besides hunting.

“Y/N?” He gaped down at you, and you looked back up at him.

“The one and only,” you said, before you realized that didn’t apply to you anymore. “Well, one of only two in existence.”

He laughed that weird dolphin laugh he had again and reached out a hand to help you up. You took it, standing unsteadily on two feet that didn’t ache the moment you put weight on them. “What’re you doing back here? Jaemin-hyung said he sent you back to Earth.”

You feel the corners of your mouth tug down almost instinctively at the mention of Jaemin. “He did. I don’t think Earth agreed with me,” you told him. Jisung walked forward and looked you up and down.

“Maybe we should take you back to Jaeminnie hyung, he’ll know what to do.”

You groaned. “I really don’t want to deal with him at the moment.”

“We can take him to Kun-ge,” Chenle interjected smoothly. “He’ll know better than Jaemin-hyung anyway, he’s been a doctor and a vampire longer.” A side of Chenle appeared that you hadn’t seen yet, a side that took charge in a way that wasn’t just insulting anyone near him. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. He took your hand with one of his and grabbed Jisung’s arm with the other.

“Come on, let’s go see Kun-ge!”

☽༓☾

Kun, as it happened, lived in the same building as Lucas. Actually he lived one apartment over, behind the door labeled ‘313.’ When he opened the door he seemed strangely unsurprised to see you there, just breathed out a sigh and let you in. He had nice light brown hair that worked well with his skin tone and eyes that smiled even when he wasn’t. He had this aura of parenting around him, like he took care of everyone he knew. It was comfortable to be around him from the start. Once Chenle had explained where he found you, Kun sat you down and asked exactly what had happened.

“Listen,” he said seriously. “I’ve never seen a human react the way you did. Nobody has ever come back, from what I know. We have to figure out exactly what happened, why you came back, and how to get you back to Earth.”

You inhaled deeply, relishing in the painless breath. “Okay, uh, I’m not really sure where to start,” you told him.

“Tell me about how you got sent home.”

“Okay. So, I left Jaemin’s cottage to come and see Lucas and I guess Jaemin is a lot scarier when he gets mad, because he was not happy when he found out I had left. He did this, like, superfast running thing, very Twilight, and carried me to this random clearing, I guess, I didn’t look around much.” You paused to let Kun write that down on his very professional looking clipboard, but he waved you on. Right, he was a vampire. He could write stuff fast.

“So he sort of dumped me on the ground and said something in a language I didn’t know, it sounded like Latin but I’m not sure. Then the ground sort of opened up and I fell and fell and fell until I rejoined my, uh, Earthly body.” You paused to take a breath and think about how to convey what happened when you got back to Earth.

“When I got back there was this weird disconnect with my body. Like, uh, there was me, in my body, and there was also this other part of me, the part of me that stayed behind when I came here the first time. That other part sort of took the main control of the body we lived in, and it felt like I was along for the ride. It liked to pretend that I wasn’t there, that my time here in Vahmpyr wasn’t real. It was weird. Then a little into my stay, I started getting these super bad pains all over my body.”

Kun interrupted you by holding up a finger. “How long were you home before the pains started?”

You thought back, struggling to pinpoint when they had started. “I think maybe a little longer than twenty four hours? When I got back I woke up in that body, and about one sleep later I started getting the pains, which would be like twenty five hours. Twenty four and a half, maybe. At first it was just these weird twinges in my chest, like my ribs were popping every time I took a breath, then it progressed. I got these horrible headaches, and my chest hurt all the time, and walking felt like attacking my feet, and my neck was always super achy. The thing is, my other half didn’t feel any of that. It was just my half of our consciousness. Then about on my fourth day back I went outside and sat on the bench outside my dorm. I laid back and, uh, it felt like I died or something. I just felt my consciousness leave the body and I guess the other half is still there living down there and now I’m here.”

Kun, Chenle, and Jisung all sat on the couch together, Kun looking over his notes while the other two guys just sat in silence. After a minute Kun spoke. “I don’t really know what happened to you, but I’m almost certain that your connection to your human self is gone. Or at least, your Earthly self. I don’t think we can send you back anymore, I’m sorry.” He looked at you, eyes full of remorse. You expected to mirror that feeling, but you discovered that it didn’t bother you so much. The other half of yourself would keep all of your friends and family from having to mourn you, and you could stay here, painless.

“I’m actually kind of glad about that,” you told them, and Chenle’s head snapped from picking at his jeans to look at you.

“Glad?” he demanded, incredulous. “To stay here?”

“Well yeah, I mean I was in pain most of the time I was back on Earth so it’s not like I’m eager to go back there. Plus, since I didn’t actually die nobody has to mourn me. And part of the time I was like… seeing Vahmpyr. Like is Ten dating this super tall guy with blonde hair? And Joy was pushing lockers over on her friends? And you two!” You turned an accusatory finger at Jisung and Chenle. “You two are adorable together!”

Jisung sighed. “Not you too…”

Kun shushed him. “You could see what was going on here in Vahmpyr?”

“Well, sort of,” you told him. “I saw that Lucas and Yangyang were having, like, a picnic?”

Kun’s eyebrows furrowed and he muttered, “I knew they had one without me.”

“I also saw this guy with red hair giving coffee to a man who sort of chewed like a bunny. And there was this group of three guys holding up a sign that said “Go Taemin!” I think, and I guess Taemin must have been playing football with the others I could see, although I couldn’t recognize any of the people playing. Oh, and there was this lady with really pretty hair who had a box of papers and she was just, like, sitting there and crying. She had the part of her hair near her neck bleached and the outer layers were still black, and she was wearing a suit jacket with jean shorts, which is kind of a weird combination.”

Kun looked over his notes. “That’s really interesting. All of those things have happened since you left, definitely. Joy and her friends like to play games where they try to kill each other, because they’re all immortal. The red haired man was probably Taeyong, and the bunny man would be Doyoung. Ten is dating Johnny, and yes, he is pretty tall and has blonde hair. I haven’t seen Taemin-hyung in a while so I don’t know if he’s playing football again or not. I don’t know about the woman with the cool hair either.”

“Definitely Taeyeon-noona,” Jisung interjected. “She broke up with her boyfriend a few days ago, and she does have hair dyed like that right now.”

Kun raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “Huh, I hope she’s doing okay. Actually I think maybe we should worry more about whoever she broke up with, she’s not exactly good with breakups.”

As though it’s a secret, Jisung’s next words came out in a whisper, and he leaned closer to Chenle and Kun. You had to strain a little to hear. “I heard it was a human. He, like, got super insecure about the fact that she wasn’t aging with him and broke up with her. It’s killing her. She really liked that guy.”

“Why did she get with him in the first place?” Chenle sounded absolutely confused. “She knew it would end like this. That’s how the last two ended.”

“I don’t know, but now I’m really worried for the guy,” said Kun. “We might have to cover up for her.” The implications of his words sank in and you made a small sound. All three men snapped their heads up and it looked as though they forgot you were there.

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry Y/N! Do you have anywhere to stay where you’ll be safe for at least a few days? Jaemin’s cottage should be pretty easy to stay hidden in.”

“She doesn’t want to go and see him after what happened,” Chenle supplied helpfully. “I’m taking her back to my place once we’re done here.” Kun appeared to consider that, and then nodded his approval.

“That sounds alright. Tomorrow we can go out and get her some things to make her stay more comfortable. Maybe we can find one of the Outer Plots to put her on.”

“Outer Plots?” you asked, because the way he said it demanded capitalization in your head.

“They’re sort of exactly what they sound like,” Kun explained. “There are these pieces of land around the edges of the towns that nobody really lives on but they’re solid places to live, if we can get a good one. It’s a little bit like Jaemin’s land out there, lot’s of forest, so we can set up tree tunnels for you to get here fast, if you need to.”

You nodded. “That does sound pretty good. I don’t know what I’m going to do though, it’s not like I have all that many hobbies. I was midway through getting my bachelor’s when I left.”

“That’s fine,” Chenle said. “I have plenty of things to keep you entertained, and we can get some of the other guys to keep you company if we’re busy. There are a lot of us with a lot of open time. I also have a ton of extra textbooks from learning languages, so if you want you can spend your life becoming fluent in Japanese, Latin, French, German, Scottish Gaelic, Hawaiian, or one of the others I have. Or multiple, if you learn fast.”

“Thanks Chenle.” He wasn’t actually so bad, you thought. He had brought you to Kun and he was offering to let you use his house and his things. “I might just take you up on that.”

“You guys should probably leave now, actually,” Kun said. “At human speeds you’ll get home right on time.”

Chenle checked his watch and nodded. “He’s right. We should get going.”

You thanked Kun again and Chenle led you out the door, Jisung following behind you. You separated ways with him once you left the apartment building, his figure disappearing swiftly into the trees. Once you blinked there was no finding him again.

You walked behind Chenle quietly, choosing to observe your surroundings. You didn’t see much in the way of low quality or old houses here. It seemed as though a lower class had been eradicated entirely and the vampires could choose where they wanted to live. When you asked him how that was possible, Chenle laughed that peculiar screech of his and said, “when you’re reborn into a family of beings that has been around for millenia, you accumulate some shared wealth. Especially when some of the coven members have doctorate degrees and work on Earth full time, and some of us had familial connections as well, like money left in wills and such.”

You nodded. “So you guys are basically like the elite class of the universe.”

“Pretty much. My house is probably the biggest you’ll ever be in, because I like to splurge a little bit. Unfortunately you might get lost, though, and if you do, just call for me. I’ll make sure to be listening all night in case you need me.”

“It’s that big?” you asked in disbelief. “Do you live in Buckingham Palace?”

He grinned, showing off his incisors. “Bigger.”

“And you live alone?”

“Well, I haven’t always. Jisung and I will probably have sleepovers for all of eternity, and whenever a new coven starts they stay with me for a few days while they get their own living quarters set up, but for the most part , yes. I don’t actually spend a ton of time in the house, it’s more just for the sensation of owning a building that large.”

You shook your head. “As a broke college student, I find that completely unfair. I was working two jobs just to keep my head above water and you’re on this alternate plane just chilling in your house that’s bigger than Buckingham Palace.”

He smiled again. “Nobody said life was fair, Y/N. Nobody.”

☽༓☾

Three days and a shocking amount of Gaelic verbs later (you only got lost in Chenle’s palace four times), a house was ready for you to move in. Johnny and Ten had furnished it for you, and Chenle had explained that the two of them were the stylists of the coven, for the most part. The mysterious Yuta had also taken part in finding high quality fabrics to fit their vision. You had thanked the whole group of vampires who helped with the house profusely for not only building said house, but also for getting you a bunch of comfortable furniture. They had smiled and said it was their pleasure and all of the typical things, but what really stood out was Ten’s reaction. He had barely paid attention to you - he barely paid attention to anyone besides Johnny and Yangyang, who he called their baby - this whole time. When you had thanked him, however, he wrapped all but four of his tentacles around you in a surprisingly dry hug.

“It’s refreshing to have you around,” he had told you. “I’m glad we could help you get settled.”

Later as you reflected on it, you figured that it probably got pretty boring to know what was going to happen all of the time, and maybe you had disrupted the usual happenings of his visions and the vampires in Vahmpyr. Maybe you made other people happy too, to have a new person around.

One person who didn’t seem thrilled to have you back was Jaemin. Every time you made eye contact with him (twice, over the three days), he grimaced and turned away like the sight of you hurt him. Maybe he was mad that you were back within scenting range. He wouldn’t get near you, so it wasn’t like you could ask.

While settling into your new normal, you discovered that Chenle was actually a good friend. His love language was insults and pointed jabs, but he actually did care for his friends quite a lot. He had watched Jaemin from across your front yard as they were laying down grass seed and sighed.

“I wish he would just talk to you,” he told you sadly. “I’ve never, in all our years together, seen him like this. I’m not sure anyone has, even Taeil-hyung.” He didn’t elaborate on who Taeil was, and you didn’t press him. Was Jaemin really so mad that he couldn’t even look at you?

“Well,” you had said, “I don’t want to talk to him. He dumped me through an interplanar tunnel without warning me and yelled at me like the world was ending when I took a walk. I don’t think there’s much to be talked about. He must hate me.” Over Chenle’s shoulder, you had seen Jaemin flinch slightly. How strange. Part of you hoped that he felt the same pain that you did, a sort of ache that told you that you were unwanted. Another part of you murmured quietly in the back of your mind that you were being petty. You had chosen to ignore it for the time being. You were being petty, but so was he. He had thousands of years on you, so he should be the mature one, right?

“I don’t think he hates you. I think you both need to grow up and talk like adults,” Chenle had said flatly, orange hair seeming to flash in the sun. Jaemin sort of curled in on himself.

“Tell that to Mister Millenia before you lecture me on growing up,” you had replied. Then you reopened your Gaelic textbook and pretended to bury yourself in it, blatantly ignoring Chenle’s judgemental gaze.

“Fine,” he had muttered angrily. “You can both suffer for all I care.” Then he had stalked off and started pounding fence posts into the dirt so hard that Jeno had to tell him to take a break before he broke them.

You found yourself thinking about that moment as you walked through the trees, ironically on your way to see Jaemin. Since you had close to nothing to do , you had offered yourself up as an errand person to anyone that would hire and found yourself working for Kun running scrolls across Vahmpyr while he translated and examined them. It kept you busy and in shape, and Kun seemed happy with your service. This morning he had sent you to get the Scottish scroll back from Jaemin, along with a few other documents to pick up and drop off. You had saved this one for last, procrastinating on having to see him again. As his cottage came into full view, you sighed, preparing yourself for a cold shoulder and a very quick visit.

“Jaemin?” you called, knocking on the front door. It was closed for once, usually he kept it open for better air circulation. A moment later the door opened and there he stood, in all his cotton candy colored glory.

“Y/N? What’re you doing here?”

“Kun sent me, he wants that Scottish scroll back. He said he hopes you’re done translating it since you’re had it for a few weeks now,” you replied, willing your voice to stay professional. You were here for the scroll. When Jaemin didn’t reply, you looked up at him. “So? Where is it?”

“I don’t know why he sent you out like this, but I sent that scroll back three days ago, on our agreed upon date. I know he got it, because he sent me back a thank you with those little stickers he likes to use.”

“Oh. Um, I’ll just go then,” you muttered, turning around as you spoke. “Sorry I bothered you.”

Suddenly a hand was wrapped around your own, keeping you in place. Your breath caught in your throat, remembering the last time that had happened with a vampire. All that came out of Jaemin’s mouth, however, was, “Can I talk to you? Please?”

“Jaemin, please let me go,” you said, trying to keep your tone even. His hand released you immediately and you stepped a pace away from him and turned around so that you could see his face. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Well, uh, do you want some tea? I have some inside…” It was clear he hadn’t expected you to actually agree and he needed to collect his thoughts, so you nodded and he led you inside, sitting you on the familiar couch while he busied himself in the kitchen.

“I actually wanted to apologize,” Jaemin said after a minute. “I worried so much about protecting you that I forgot to let you enjoy your time here. It scared me how good you were at adjusting to this world, how much you liked being with Lucas and my other friends… I’m not used to humans reacting positively.” The kettle whistled and he took a moment to pour water into the mugs, steam rising gently from them in silvery whisps.

Once he poured the water, he continued speaking. “I wanted to make sure you knew that it wasn’t all fun and games here. I didn't want you to go looking for a place in our community because I was worried that you’d get killed. Vampires are pretty possessive of their property on Vahmpyr, for the most part, and you went right into one of the biggest apartment complexes within a day’s travelling distance - and that’s vampire distance, not human distance. Lucas told me about what happened with Yangyang, and I almost tore Yang’s arm off, I was so mad. He could have actually murdered you, and I couldn’t stomach the thought. What if Lucas hadn’t been home? What if Yangyang hadn’t given you that one moment to explain yourself? What if you had met another one of us on the stairs, without any protection? It terrified me to consider.” He walked over, a mug carried in each hand, and sat on the couch, leaving a large space in between you. It was strangely reminiscent of that first day, when he had explained Vahmpyr to you over soup.

“Of course,” Jaemin started, and you refocused. “That was only after I had sent you home, that he told me about that. When I dumped you in that tunnel, it was just fear of you being unsafe that made me so mad. The fact that you would willingly put yourself in danger, when I valued you so highly? Inconceivable. And yet, it happened. So I made another big mistake: I sent you home. I thought you would be better off there, regardless of what was happening. I knew you were healthy enough to walk to the city, so I thought you were fine. Apparently not. I heard from Chenle and Kun what happened to you back on Earth and it broke another part of me apart. I hurt you, in sending you back, not just in temporary emotional pain, but in physical pain that persisted through your entire stay. We still don’t know why you reacted the way you did, but it scared me to hear of it. I had made yet another mistake that could have killed you.” He paused to take a sip of his tea, and you did too. It was pleasant, not too hot and not too cold, just warming up your insides.

“Then the last straw came when you said I must hate you…” Jaemin’s voice broke slightly. “If anything, it’s the exact opposite, I realized I missed you more than I should, given you should be just a patient. I wanted to hug you the second I saw you, but you looked so mad to see me that I couldn’t do it. I was literally building a house for you and still couldn’t look you in the eyes for more than a moment. So I went home in shame, knowing that you were right, with thousands of years under my belt, I should be the more mature one. I decided that the next time I saw you, I would talk to you, no matter the circumstances. I couldn’t have you keep living thinking that I hated you. I didn’t actually expect you to come in when I asked. I thought I’d have to follow you through the woods, honestly.”

He fell silent, took another sip of his tea, and for the first time, you spoke. “I really didn’t want to talk to you. I wanted you to realize how much I hurt from your actions, but I think maybe I took that a little too far. I knew you were protecting me, but I really wanted to see somebody, and I knew you wouldn’t let me out, so I ran away. I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I probably should have asked you to accompany me, at least. Not my finest moment.”

Jaemin laughed weakly, taking another sip of tea. “Not mine either. I should have trusted you more.”

“And I shouldn’t have run off without even asking for your help..”

He smiled at you, that gorgeous little smile that made your heart smile back.

“Friends?” you asked.

He hesitated for only a moment, a strange sort of disappointment flashing across his face, before he was extending his hand to meet yours. “Friends.”

You grinned at him, finishing your tea. “Great. Now I need to go yell at Kun for sending me out to see you when I didn’t need to.”

“Isn’t it good that he did?” Jaemin asked with a confused frown on his face.

“Well yes, but it was a very Cupid-like thing to do, wasn’t it? I don’t tolerate my friends trying to play Cupid with myself and my other friends.” You stood up and walked your empty tea cup to the kitchen. “Do you want to come?”

He laughed. “No, you can just tell me all about it tomorrow, okay?”

You nodded. “Alright.”

You walked out into the cool twilight and started going towards Kun’s house. He had a big storm coming.

☽༓☾

A few days later, you were sitting in Jaemin’s cottage again, Gaelic textbook open on your lap. Since he was close to fluent in the language, he was helping you learn it. It wasn’t an extraordinarily difficult language, but some of the words were hard to pronounce and he had been eager to help you.

“Look here,” he said, pointing at some words on the page. “Say this for me.”

“Tha gaol agam ort,” you replied. He grinned.

“That’s how it’s written, but not how it’s said. Okay, now listen to me pronounce it. ‘Ha geul akeum orsht’. Repeat that for me.”

“‘Ha geul akeum orsht’? That’s how you say that?” you demanded. “This is like French! They don’t spell things anywhere close to how they’re said!”

“Unfortunately, most languages don’t. The same goes for Korean verb conjugations and English words and, yes, French everything, but it’s just learning new rules. After a while you understand it. I promise that you’ll get it eventually. You have the rest of your life.”

You looked over at him suddenly, questions rising to the forefront over Gaelic words. “Am I really going to stay here forever? Am I never going to see Earth again, just sit here as a useless human surrounded by powerful and immortal vampires, until I die?”

He seemed surprised by the questions. “I’m not sure any of us had really thought about it,” he said carefully.

“You all had just accepted the fact that I was stuck on your plane of existence with nothing worth doing to do? When am I going to use Scottish Gaelic, Jaemin? When will this actually come in handy, except to distract me? I’m here to do nothing, and the moment I go back to Earth, I start suffering. What am I meant to do here, Jaem?”

Jaemin gently lifted the textbook from your lap and put in on his coffee table, then pulled you into his side for a hug. You snuggled into him, inhaling the scent of sunshine and warm earth. Comfort.

“I don’t know exactly how to make you feel better,” Jaemin murmured from somewhere above your head. “But we all like having you around, you know that. It’s nice to have someone young around. We haven’t turned a human in about thirty years, so the novelty has worn off, and here we have this beautiful creature who is new in so many ways. You’re refreshing, and you’re human, so you’ll continue to be refreshing.”

“Well, thank you,” you said, muffled in his side. “But still, I don’t feel like I have anything worth doing here. You can all do anything I can do, just ten times faster. I have no unique skills or brains or anything. So what am I meant to do? I can’t even go spy on the other humans or anything because I can’t go back to Earth!”

Jaemin shifted you a little bit in his arms and started rubbing your shoulder softly. “Is there anything you particularly enjoy doing? Maybe you could do art, or gardening? Or I have this book of old forms of witchcraft?”

You turned to face him. “You have a book of witchcraft sitting around?”

He released you and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I found a papyrus scroll in this ruined Egyptian city, and I kept it just ‘cause it was cool. Then I learned hieroglyphics so that I could translate it and made a copy. Unfortunately, witchcraft is… not my strong suit, and I’m somewhat afraid of giving it away in case I never see it again. I spent a lot of time and energy on that translation.”

“And you want me to use it?” you asked, confused. Why on earth would he give it to you if he didn’t trust the perfectly composed vampires around him? “I mean it sounds super cool, but aren’t you worried about it being in my hands? I am a human, after all.”

“Well-”

Jaemin was cut off at that moment by a sharp knock on the door. At least, you assumed it was a knock, it sounded a little bit more like a wet thwap than a knock. Jaemin blurred slightly as he ran over to the door and opened it, revealing cloudy skies dropping rain onto a harried-looking Ten.

“Ten-hyung?” he asked, sounding as confused as you felt. “I’d say this is a nice surprise, but why are you here? I thought today was your Earth day? Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Ten said, gasping slightly as he spoke. “I ran straight here from the Pacific.” You took a second to think about the fact that Ten was swimming in the Pacific Ocean before refocusing on him. “-future just completely shifted, a few minutes ago. Y/N-” He turned to face you completely. “Whatever you two just did, it caused you to become a vampire in the future.”

“But we were just talking?” you told him, confused. “It wasn’t like Jaem was about to bite me.” You turned to Jaemin. “Right?”

He looked at you solemnly. “If you were going to have been bitten by me, it would have already happened. Ten-hyung, are you sure that she’s a vampire in your future? Can you see more details?”

Ten closed his eyes briefly like he was trying to focus, and in the meantime a tentacle wrung the salt and rain water out of his hair. Jaemin wrinkled his nose at the growing puddle. Ten spoke, eyes fluttering open slowly. “In the parts I can see, she’s covered in this, like, tree? It’s a little bit fuzzy. It’s green, and looks like it has brown splotches like branches. Maybe a tree falls on her or something. Anyway, you take one look at him and bite her. She goes limp... After that? Fuzzy scenes of her waking up and you taking her running. Like, really running. Vampire running.”

Jaemin took a shaky breath. “Okay, I don’t know why our conversation would have caused a tree to fall on her in the future. We were talking about, like, Earth and art and stuff. Oh, and my witchcraft book.”

Ten’s eyes refocused on him, narrowing slightly. “You’re going to give her your witchcraft book after not letting me touch it? That’s a little underhanded.” His eyes narrow briefly before looking at you. “But maybe that’s it. You’ll just have to make sure that she doesn’t practice any witchcraft under the cover of trees. Otherwise I think you’ll be fine. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Thanks Ten,” you murmured. “For warning us and stuff.”

“Of course. Now I need to go back to the Pacific. Ta ta!” Ten waved to you and walked out the door.

“Well,” Jaemin said, “that’s some news, huh?”

“Yeah. Do you think that it’s okay for me to practice witchcraft with this in my future?”

“I do. I think you’ll be fine. We’ll keep you as safe as we possibly can, and if you become a vampire… at least it won’t be because I gave in. I’ll still be strong.”

“Jaem, I don’t think that was ever in question.”

“It was for me.” His voice went dark momentarily, then he brightened up again. “At any rate, I think we can safely teach you some things that’ll keep life interesting.”

You grinned. “Then let’s get started.”

☽༓☾

You were surprised at how easily witchcraft came to you, in the beginning. Jaemin insisted that you had some sort of gift with it, and as much as you told him that was silly, it seemed possible. You could easily understand instructions on Jaemin’s careful translations that even he couldn’t decipher. You gave up on Gaelic after a while, focused more on learning the original Egyptian Hieroglyphs of the spells and potions. You trusted Jaemin’s precise translation, but there was something unique about seeing an instruction in a new language and being able to understand it.

Days turned to weeks as you experimented with the materials growing in and around Vahmpyr. Taeil, who you eventually met, turned out to be a valuable resource. He was an avid collector of ancient written works, including but not limited to an original Greek copy of The Odyssey, Chinese bamboo books saved from the book burnings of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and an exact replica of the Rosetta Stone. Taeil must have been ancient himself to have all of these valuables, but he still had the energy of the far younger members of their coven, which amazed you. He showed you different specialties of different cultures within witchcraft, ideas born from scrolls and tablets, bamboo strips and wax blocks. It was far more information than you could ever decipher or use during your short human life, but every day you got better, starting out small with poultices that you had to injure yourself to try and ward spells that exhausted you but could make your home more secure than any in Vahmpyr (or on Earth).

At one point Chenle gifted you a book covered in old stains and strangely familiar drawings that you started to use before abruptly realizing that it was an old chemistry textbook. You invited him over that afternoon and whacked him over the head with the thick pages. He told you with a disgruntled look that he put a lot of effort into that, thank you very much. And besides, chemistry was a magic in itself. (His words, not yours.) After that you made sure to thoroughly inspect any gifts you received from the more mischievous family members.

Lucas came over and helped you set up more complicated equipment that you couldn’t lift, like a big cauldron, which you actually did use on the regular after you learned how to use it, and after some consideration you set up a chemistry station for the odd experiment. At this point your house was more magical items than actual living space, something that Kun was quick to point out when he came over.

“You know, you should really be more careful about having all of these powders and dusts and-” He cut himself off with a distasteful wrinkle of his nose. “Things.” He pursed his lips, looking at you. “We don’t really know what these things will do to you in the long run. You have to be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you responded distractedly, making his coffee and a drink for yourself. “Maybe I’ll clean it all up sometime, but you know I’m awfully busy these days.” You used a spoon to stir in the milk and sugar, tapping the metal against the china in a soft clink.

He sighed tiredly. “Your health is less important than staying busy?”

You gave him a look that you hoped conveyed your need to stay busy, to continuously learn and improve. “Keeping my schedule full keeps me healthy, Kun. At least mentally.”

Kun didn’t look impressed by your reasoning. “I think your mental health will go down pretty quickly if you get sick and can’t do anything because you’re stuck in bed twenty-four-seven.”

You gave a sigh of your own at that. “And as always,” you announced to the room at large, “Doctor Kun gives amazing advice that I shouldn’t ignore but probably will.”

Y/n,” he said in a warning tone. “Seriously. You need to be careful! No human has ever lived here for so long, and I worry about you catching some mysterious illness that nobody has ever heard of!”

“Kun, I will do my best to keep myself healthy. I’ve put every kind of ward that I can around my house to protect me, I have magically circulated and cleaned air, I have literal superhumans to protect me from anything else, and I’m happy here! I finally have something to contribute. Maybe someday I’ll find some concoction or enchantment that will let me visit Earth, even. I just don’t know. But I’m going to keep trying.”

He took his coffee out of your grasp and walked back into the living room, which housed your indoor plants, magical and earthly. “That’s all I can ask,” he said, voice betraying his disappointment in that fact. “I’ll still give you monthly checkups for a while though, just to make sure.

“Can’t Jaemin take care of me?” you asked, thinking of Jaemin with his warm smile and caring words and the smell of sun on dirt and- well. Jaemin felt like safety in a person. Kun was wonderful, but Jaemin was just that little bit better, that little bit more comfortable to be around.

“He could,” Kun replied after taking a sip of coffee. “But I know he’s been busy lately though, he’s been on Earth for a few days checking on all of his businesses and stocks and his human personas. On the other hand, I hardly go back to Earth for more than a twelve hour shift here and there.”

“I understand.”

“Plus, I’m about two thousand years older than Jaemin, I have a lot of experience.”

“How old are you?” Two thousand years older than Jaemin would make Kun… pretty darn old.

Kun grinned. “I was around before and after Jesus came to Earth. I was around before the Terracotta Army was built. I was born in China circa when the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are said to have been built. Taeil-hyung turned me into a vampire when I was twenty five, and I’ve been twenty five ever since. None of us know when he was born. When you’re as old as he is, even with a vampire’s memory, history starts to blend together. He says he remembers the Pyramids at Giza going up, though, and that was after he had been a vampire for what he thinks was a few hundred years. He’s literally prehistoric.”

“Wow,” was all you could think to say. No wonder Taeil had so many artifacts. He was one. Kun was too, for that matter. And Jaemin… Jaemin would have been born AD, but how far into it? You asked Kun this question and he chuckled.

“Jaemin was born in fourteen forty two. He was twenty when Jeno turned him, and he’s still twenty, five hundred years later.”

“Who turned Taeil, then? I can hardly imagine a vampire older than him, even.”

“We’re not sure. Whoever it was is so unimaginably old now that even I can’t comprehend it. But whoever the original vampire was must have turned a whole lot of people. There are dozens more vampires just within our small community, and an entire plane full of them. From what I can tell, Taeil isn’t even the oldest. There’s this man who lives in the mountains by himself, and from what I hear, he hasn’t been seen by another vampire in nearly three thousand years. He’s almost a myth around here anymore. Taeil knew him back when Vahmpyr was sparsely populated, and he told us that the man - his name is Jinyoung Park - is older than him by so many years that he is to Taeil as Taeil is to me. He probably lived before Mesopotamia existed, even, or was right at the beginning of it. Before him, we have no idea who the first vampire was. If that vampire is still alive, he she or they hasn't been seen since, well, before living memory. If they still exist that would mean that vampires have been around since before modern humanity. I really wish we knew.”

“I wish you knew too,” you breathed. You had never really considered that immortality meant that the same vampires who existed before the Pyramids at Giza still lived among humanity today. It was mind boggling. The history in just their brains alone could fill thousands of textbooks and solve history’s greatest mysteries. But they couldn’t show themselves to the humans without risk. Even the people that they bit and sent back to Earth wouldn’t dare talk about their experiences, for fear of sounding crazy. Their gift to the world would never be wrapped up in gold tissue paper and presented with the proper awe, but here you were, in this modern metropolis of history. It truly hurt your brain to consider everything that came with that sort of age.

Just then a yell came from outside. “Kun-ge! Are you with Y/N?!” It sounded suspiciously like a panicked Yangyang. He never got panicked.

Kun stood up and hurried over to the front door, blurring in his hurry. “What happened?” he demanded.

“Well, uh, we may or may not have set Yuta’s house on fire…” Yangyang’s voice trailed off as Kun’s face reacted. First his eyebrows raised, then his mouth dropped open, and finally his eyes squeezed shut before reopening after a moment.

“You did what?”

Yangyang’s voice was small. “We set Yuta’s house on fire?” His voice was so high and squeaky that it sounded more like a question than a statement.

“Who is ‘we’?”

“Me, and Hyuck, and Taemin-hyung.”

“Oh my,” Kun said, running a hand over his face and through his hair. “I am going to murder Taemin-hyung.” He turned to Yangyang. “I might murder you and Donghyuck too.”

“We didn’t mean to,” Yangyang said. “It just happened.”

“You didn’t mean to set Yuta’s house on fire? How do you accidentally set someone’s house on fire?”

“You put on an impromptu fire show right next to the house, mess up a trick, and accidentally throw a flaming baton on their house. It was surprisingly easy. Anyway, I know that you would know what to do. You and Y/N both.”

Kun ran his hand through his hair again. You watched as a few light brown strands flew to the carpet with the force of it. “Y/N, do you have anything for flaming houses?”

You looked around your living room as though that would help you remember whether you did or not. “I think so, let me check my storage room,” you muttered, already dashing away. You did, in fact, have something that you loosely translated from the Egyptian spell scroll as “Fire Away Goop,” or something similar. It was a green, nearly transparent goop that sloshed in its bottle but it was too thick to really flow. It oozed more than anything. When it hit heat, it tended to solidify into a more solid green that would be easily removable from Yuta’s house, if said house was still there by the time you got to wherever it was. You grabbed the bottle and rushed back to the living room, panting. Kun turned to you.

“Is it okay if I carry you, to make sure we get there in time?”

“Won’t I be too heavy?”

He gave you an unimpressed look. “We’re literally the strongest things known to man. I’ll be fine.”

“Then sure. Let’s go save Yuta’s house!”

Kun carried you piggyback as fast as he could, your face tucked into his shoulder to avert most of the vertigo induced by such high speeds. Trees flashed by in browns and greens, and then you were going through the city, past the city, through more trees, in a rush that you couldn’t quite comprehend but which caused a sinking feeling to settle in your gut. Yuta’s house was far away. By the time you got there, the house was fully consumed by the flames, the fire burning merrily without knowledge that it was ruining a man’s home.

A man, presumably Yuta, stood out front, another man on his knees next to him. Once you were next to them, you realized that the standing man had the kneeling man’s ear in a tight grip. You figured that the man on his knees must have been the infamous Donghyuck.

“Yuta-hyung, Hyuck,” Kun greeted them as he set you on the ground.

“Yangyang,” said Yuta, turning around, “You’re a bit late.” He nodded at you and Kun in acknowledgement, as Donghyuck yelped at the tug on his ear. Yuta had black hair streaked through with neon green, and it framed a narrow face and startlingly pink lips. You wondered, in the back of your head, if he used lip tint. You also briefly entertained the idea that he contoured his face, because there was no way that he looked that good without makeup. He’s a vampire, your consciousness provided. All of them look that good.

“Sorry hyung,” Yangyang murmured. “We came as fast as we could!”

Kun stepped forward. “We brought Y/N, as you can see, and she has something to put the fire out.” Something like hope sparked in Yuta’s eyes as he looked over you again, taking in details of your appearance.

“Do you really? Well, go ahead.” He gestured to the house and the flames danced in your face, leaving you to hope that this gloop worked for fires this big. You took a deep breath and poured the goop onto the grass, where it oozed between the blades of grass like a big blob of snot on the lawn.

“Atlaq alnaar,” you murmured to it, and it rose into the air, following your mental directions toward the fire. The moment they made contact, the goop started to solidify and expand, covering the fire rapidly. Green overtook bright reds and oranges as you focused on the fire and made the goop cover it.

“Y/N!” Someone was calling to you, their voice out of focus as though you heard them from underwater. “You’ll get covered!” You were vaguely aware of a hand trying to lead you away, but the spell kept you rooted in place, your feet seemingly super glued to the lawn. You kept focus on the fire as the last flames were overtaken and put out. Yuta’s house was now a giant green blob. From what you could see through the jello-like goop, it had sustained a minimal amount of damage considering the amount of flames you had seen. You were so engrossed in the green substance that you missed the warning signs before it swallowed you up too, ever expanding.

It took your outstretched hands first, pulling you forward into it. Through your panic you had just enough brain power left to be amazed at how thick it was before your feet and legs were covered too, nearly encased in the goop. You leaned your head back as far as you could, trying to keep yourself in the open air, but the goop kept expanding. You felt more than saw the vampires try to dig you out, but while the spell still fueled it, the goop was surprisingly strong. A hand grasped your elbow as the goop grasped your neck and chin, keeping you completely still as it covered more of you. The hand let go. It couldn’t do anything now.

You took a deep breath just before the goop covered your mouth, nose, and eyes. You thought you felt something on the back of your neck but didn’t think much of it until it started burning. Any strength you had left crumbled as your eyes started stinging and your oxygen ran out. You couldn't see, but it felt as though the world was spinning around you, as though you had been disconnected from everything but the pain. Even through your lightheadedness the pain persisted. It had spread now, from your neck over your shoulders like the creeping vines on the back wall of Jaemin’s cottage.

Jaemin.

You realized through your hazy thoughts that you would never see him again. Your eyes and nose burned now, from tears you couldn’t cry and the pain slowly enveloping you.

You couldn’t hold on any longer.

Black.

☽༓☾

Across a forest and a small town, Jaemin was working on his Hindi pronunciation when Ten burst into his home for the second time in what seemed like a very short period. He wasn’t dripping this time, just looked thoroughly terrified of something.

“Jaemin! She needs help!”

“What? Who?” Jaemin stood up and walked over to his friend. Ten’s tentacles curled and uncurled repeatedly as he spoke.

“Y/N! The vision got sharper, which usually means it’s happening. The green blob wasn’t a tree, it was some sort of spell! She’s going to die if we don’t get there fast.”

“Where are we going?” Jaemin demanded as they ran through the trees around his cabin.

“Yuta’s house. Or, at least, where it used to be.”

“What happened to Yuta’s house?”

“Yangyang and Hyuck burned it down.”

“Ah.”

Ten was panting as he continued speaking. “I think that must be what the spell was for. Some sort of fire putter-outer.”

Jaemin tried to think back to all of the books he had given you, recalling a spell that sounded suspiciously like what Ten described. “If the one I think you’re talking about is the spell she used,” he told Ten, “we might not be able to save her by the time we get there.” A pang echoed through his chest. An empty feeling, as though your small human life had affected his own so strongly as to make him miss you without knowing that you were gone. Jaemin ran on, leaving Ten behind when he paused to rest, sprinting at his highest speed towards where you were.

When he arrived on Yuta’s plot, most of his vision turned green, not because things were actually green, but from the sheer size of the lime coloured stuff all over Yuta’s house. He had been correct when he guessed at which spell you had used. His gaze fell on Kun, Yangyang, Yuta, and Donghyuck, who stood at the still-expanding base of the blob, seemingly trying to get something out. He gasped. You were in the thing. He ran up and tried to help the others dig you out, to no avail. They couldn't do anything against the spell so long as you were alive, and he wasn’t about to kill the person he had worked so hard to protect. He tried to hold onto your elbow as it was swallowed, but was afraid of hurting you. They all watched as you took a deep breath and the gloop covered your face.

Jaemin slumped, out of ideas. There was no way to save you that he knew of. Then he thought back to Ten’s vision. He had to change you. It was the only way. You wouldn’t need to breathe, wouldn’t need to do anything. You could still be here with him. It was with that in mind that he lunged forward at the last moment and latched onto your neck, stretching his jar as wide as it would go. His fangs, already dripping uncomfortably with venom in your presence, sank into your veins, and he felt it as you stiffened slightly. You couldn’t move much in your current situation, but your muscles seized all the same. He stayed next to you as long as he could, until he was in danger of being swallowed into the goop as well. He licked the wounds closed as efficiently as possible and stepped back with the others to see what happened.

It was obvious that you had gone unconscious. The goop stopped moving so rapidly and seemed to pause in its conquest of the front yard. It started oozing slowly around again, creating something of a reverse muffin top as the top shell hardened and the bottom bits leaked out. They backed up to the edge of the yard and Jaemin used his (admittedly small) knowledge of spellcraft to create wards that would protect the house down the street and hopefully contain the goo. They watched in silence as the green kept expanding. Then Yangyang spoke.

“Will Y/N die?”

“I don’t think so,” said Jaemin slowly. “She shouldn’t, at any rate. I bit her.”

A collective tremor went around the group, as though none of them wanted to appear surprised but they all were.

“It was the only thing I could think of that gave Y/N a chance, so I had to try it,” Jaemin continued. “But Kun-hyung knows more than me on that subject.”

Kun looked pensive as he considered what Jaemin had said. “It should work, in theory. But between the wards always up around Y/N’s house, this spell, and the venom in his system, her body might now be able to take it. It’s just a game of chance, unless we can find some way to take some stress off of her body.”

They all looked to Jaemin again.

“Is there some way to break the wards that she has up?” Yuta asked.

“I don’t think so,” Jaemin said, frowning. “Not without taxing her further. We definitely can’t affect this spell without killing her, and as far as the transformation goes, we’d need to be able to get to her body in there. That’s obviously not happening either.”

“So what can we do?” Donghyuck’s voice was small and he sounded almost repentant, as though he thought this whole thing was his fault. It sort of was, but it was odd to hear that tone from him.

“We ask Ten what he can see of the future and go from there,” Jaemin said. “There’s not much else that we can do, unless anyone knows someone better with spells than Y/N.”

The whole group shook their heads. Spells could be cast by any human variant creature that they knew of, but spellcraft was a human specialty. You in particular were gifted beyond what they had seen in a very long while.

While they thought about it, Ten burst forth from the trees down the street and ran towards their group. He slowed down as he took in the blob, now pressing against the wards that contained it. Jaemin could feel a subtle sort of pressure in his head as his spells kept the goop within Yuta’s plot.

“So?” Ten asked Jaemin as he walked up. “Did it work?”

“We’re not sure. She’s not dead, or the Fire Away spell would have gone small and liquidy again. On the other hand, none of us know any way to get her out, and Kun-hyung’s worried about the toll that all of this” - he waved his hands at the blob - “will kill her while he turns. We wanted to ask what you were seeing as of now.”

Ten closed his eyes, most of his tentacles going still as he focused. There was one that whacked anxiously against the dirt beneath him, beating a steady rhythm against the earth. After a few minutes, his eyes opened and he refocused his eyes on the group around him.

“Well?” Yangyang prompted when he didn’t speak. Ten sighed.

“Good news is that she’s probably not going to die.”

“And the bad news?”

“She might die.”

“What do you mean, Ten-hyung?”

“I can’t… I can’t tell which future is the one that will come true. It’s like there are two possible ways for the future to go, and neither of them is solid. Either she makes it through, or she dies. The worst part is that I can’t tell what causes her death. It could happen two seconds from now, or two hours, or two days. I just don’t know.”

“I don’t remember your visions ever having two outcomes,” Kun said, brows furrowed.

“I haven’t ever had one like this.”

“Well,” Jaemin said, “I’ll just stay here until she wakes up.”

“And where should I go?” asked Yuta. “Maybe nobody told you, but this is my house that just got burned down.” He threw a glare at Hyuck and Yangyang.

“Go stay with Mark-hyung or something. You sleep over with him all the time anyway,” Donghyuck suggested, and Yuta grinned, a complete change from two seconds before.

“He’ll hate that. See you guys later!” He skipped a few steps before running full tilt, phone in his hands and fingers tapping. The glow of the screen disappeared quickly from Jaemin’s view, and he turned back to their now-smaller group.

“Are you sure that you want to stay here until Y/N wakes up?” Kun asked Jaemin. “I know that you don’t need sleep or anything, but that seems like a waste of time.”

“I have eternity,” Jaemin told him. “I just need to be here to watch it deflate, whether it’s because she’s turned or because…” His voice went weak. He couldn't see you die. He just couldn’t. Kun patted him on the shoulder.

“Okay. We’ll come check on you tomorrow.” As he walked away with Yangyang and Donghyuck, Jaemin heard Kun’s ‘mom voice’ come out as he lectured on the dangers of playing with fire. It made Jaemin smile a little.

His head was starting to feel uncomfortable with the pressure of his wards, so he carefully widened them, centimeter by centimeter, until there was less gloop on them. He couldn’t keep this up until you completed the transformation, he knew, but it would work for now. Maybe he could call Kibum-hyung tomorrow for help.

Until then all he had to do was sit and wait, and look at your form encased in neo pearl champagne colored jello.

☽༓☾

It was exactly twenty five hours, forty minutes, and nine seconds since Jaemin had first settled in when the goop started deflating. The hard casing that had developed collapsed in on itself when the slightly softer insides began to shrink, reminding Jaemin slightly of Honey Lemon and her chemical reactions in Big Hero 6. He sprang to his feet, rushing forward to where he could see the outline of your body inside the collapsing bubble, grabbing the empty decanter that the goop had once been held in. He scooped up the small oozing goop that remained from the spell and plugged the decanter, turning around slowly to look at your body once more.

As your still-limp body collapsed to the ground, Jaemin felt his unbeating heart sink. You didn’t move, there was no rise and fall to your chest. There was no sound of your breath in the air. Your eyes didn’t roll around under your eyelids. You seemed… corpselike. Dead. But it couldn’t be. Ten had said that you would probably survive! Jaemin opened his phone and pressed Ten’s contact to call it. He answered on the third ring.

“Jaemin? What’s up?”

“Ten-hyung,” Jaemin said, and his voice cracked. He cleared his throat before continuing. “Y/N… I think, is dead?”

Ten sucked in a breath, audible even through the phone. “Jaemin I’m so sorry-”

Jaemin cut him off. “Hyung, you said she would make it!”

“There was always that chance that she wouldn’t-”

“But you said-” Jaemin’s voice cracked again and he fell into silence. He couldn’t cry, and he had never wished he could until now. Tears might convey the hole in his chest, the emptiness of his existence without your life to partner him.

“Jaemin,” came Ten’s voice, and it was soft, delicate. “I’m so so sorry. I thought that she would make it, but there was always that second path. I can’t-” He took a deep breath. “I can’t see her anymore. I think… I think she might be gone.”

“No!” Jaemin exclaimed hotly. “She can’t be!”

“Jaemin-”

He hung up. Whatever Ten-hyung had to say wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t bring you back. He was along now, with your body and this stupid Flame Away Goop that had managed to take your life despite Ten’s prophecies and Jaemin’s best efforts. The person that you were was gone. Now you were just a still corpse, a painful reminder of what could have been and what should have been and what couldn’t be.

“I’ll give you a proper funeral,” Jaemin told your body as he lifted it into his arms gently. “I promise.”

For the next three days, Jaemin worked non-stop. He prepared a funeral for you, ignored everyone except to invite them to the event. He could still picture your smile, the way he had to support you those first few steps. He remembered how you had called him gorgeous, how you had said I love you in Gaelic to him without knowing what it meant. He recalled the trust you had for him despite his own occasional self-loathing, the way you had reminded him of his worth every time you were around him.

He missed you. He missed you a lot.

People had called him, came knocking once an hour. He eventually just shut off his phone so he didn’t have to hear their pleas for him to let them in. All of his hyungs and all of his noonas came to make sure he was okay, but would he ever be? There was a Y/N shaped hole in him that he didn’t think could ever be filled up again. Jeno came around three times a day with hug offerings, but Jaemin shut him out. He knew it hurt his friends, knew they only wanted to help, but you were gone and nobody understood. Nobody had loved you the way he had. Nobody had your blood quite literally on their hands, flowing through their veins.

It hurt to think about that. He “lived” while you were dead; he had gained life through your death and that was the most ironic thing. In his attempt to save you, he may have killed you.

He hurt.

On the fourth day since your death, Jaemin gently dressed your body in the best clothes he could find, brushed your hair, and put you in a casket, standing you in an open clearing, the one where he had tried to send you back to Earth. It was the largest clearing nearby, and all of the vampires that had met you plus Ten came to pay their respects. They spoke about the short time they had known you, and the strong impact you had made despite that. They told of how you had gone back to Earth and suffered until you had returned. They told of your feats practicing witchcraft and most of all they spoke of your kindness, the lack of repulsion towards them. They spoke of your kind smile and the way you had fit in so nicely with their community.

Jaemin started not-crying, as vampires did, and he thought he would be alone, but Jeno joined him. Lucas joined him. Jisung and Chenle joined him. Ten and Johnny joined him. He was not the only one who had loved you. Donghyuck joined him. Yangyang and Yuta and Kun joined him. He was not the only one who felt that your death was his fault.

Jaemin was not the only person who choked out their words in an imitation of crying. Jaemin was not the only person who missed you. Jaemin was not the only one who wanted you back. Jaemin was not the only one.

He hadn’t realized how much he missed his friends until they surrounded him in a huge hug. It wasn’t a warm hug, necessarily, but it was a hug nonetheless and made him feel better. He was not the only one.

He was still dealing with the hole in his chest, but he had others to patch himself up with now. Like each person who had known you could bring a part of you back through their memories of you. It was nice, almost.

☽༓☾

The first thing you realized was that you could hear again. Your ears were uncovered, and you vaguely registered words being choked out somewhere near you. It sounded like a large number of people were very sad about something. You wondered what it could be. The second thing you realized was that you were laying down on some sort of padded… thing. It felt like too much work to open your eyes, so you felt around and realized that you were in a padded box. A padded box? That was new.

You tried to sniff the air and were met with the smell of cologne, not too strong but apparently on enough people that it permeated the air. You got hints of perfume too, but it was far less strong. Something in the box shifted and you felt breaths on your face. Were people looking at you in your sleep? Come to think of it, why were these many people around you while you slept at all? That seemed sort of rude. You tried to remember getting here but came up blank. Your last memories were of the pain before you passed out. You shivered at the memory.

“She’s awake!” someone shouted. The noise hurt your ears after the deafening silence of your previous state, and you itched to get away from them. A murmur of sound rolled through the room and then a familiar scent invaded your senses, that of sun-warmed earth.

“Y- Y/N?” Jaemin asked hesitantly. “Can you hear me? Are you in there?”

He sounded absolutely wrecked, like his voice had been stripped of his usual honey and sunshine. You tried to open your eyes, but it was too bright and you just couldn’t, so you nodded slightly.

“Oh my- Y/N,” he continued. “Can’t you open your eyes for me, please?”

You shook your head no.

“Okay, that’s fine, sweetheart. Let me get you out of there.” There was the sound of something wooden being bonked against a wall, but that faded in comparison to the name. Sweetheart. Sweetheart.

You were lifted gently from your padded box and carried somewhere shady and cold. It felt nice against your skin. He felt nice against your skin. He carried you gently, like you were made of glass, but you felt surprisingly strong, just out of sorts. As though while your mind struggled to catch up, your body had strengthened. It was a very different sensation to that of your first time waking up in Jaemin’s house. He walked you through what you thought must be the forest for a bit before he sat down and nestled you into his side. You felt as though some muscles should be unhappy about the position, but you felt completely comfortable.

“Y/N.” Jaemin’s voice came to you, soft and warm and familiar. It was shaking slightly. “Can you open your eyes for me now?”

You focused on your eyelids, raising them slowly until you could see Jaemin. He had on a suit; black jacket over a white shirt, accented by a thin black ribbon tied loosely around his neck. His pink hair fell neatly in waves over his forehead and you reached up to brush away a piece that had fallen over his eyes, smiling.

“Hey Jaem. What happened?” Your voice wasn’t weak, like you supposed it should have been. It came out like a melody into the air, and you marvelled internally at the sound of it, how smooth it was. It felt nice.

“You-” Jaemin broke off for a second, rearranging your limbs next to him. “You were trying to save Yuta’s house. We had to rebuild part, but it’s fine. He stayed with Mark for a few days. For the most part, your spell worked. But then, it- it swallowed you. I got there in time to watch as you were absorbed by this green goop and I thought I was too late. I bit you, back here.” He brushed his fingers gently over the sides of your neck and you shivered. “But you didn’t wake up… I thought I was too late. You weren’t breathing, and you weren’t awake… I have no idea how you managed to cancel the spell without waking up or dying. So I-” He made a choked up sound and tightened his arm around your shoulders. “We’re at your funeral. Ten couldn’t see your future anymore, so we thought you were dead…” He trailed off.

“Wow,” you said. “I died? Then how am I here now? I feel alive?”

“It worked. It must have. You don’t have a heartbeat, but you’re awake. I don’t know what happened exactly, but you must be a vampire now.”

“Huh. I thought I’d feel more… hungry.”

He laughed. It glittered over your ears and you smiled, an involuntary reaction to him. “It’ll kick in, don’t worry.”

“What about the others? I mean, Lucas and Kun and everyone? Are they just at my funeral right now? Without me?”

“Oh.” Jaemin looked as though he had forgotten about them. “I guess they are. Let’s go see them?”

“Let’s.”

☽༓☾

After that day, it didn’t take you long to realize that the other vampires were purposefully putting you with Jaemin for just about everything. On days where you went to hang out with Lucas, he would ask you how Jaemin was doing. If you didn’t know, he would suggest that you go and visit him. Kun asked you to make sure that Jaemin was feeling okay. Yuta, who you were finally allowed to meet and hang out with, constantly suggested that you should spend more time with him. It was strange. Nobody had seemed to mind that you had your own hobbies before your transformation, but now that you were a vampire, it was as though you were meant to be with Jaemin all of the time. You asked Lucas about it once you got sick of the mysterious treatment and he looked at you heavily.

“When you got trapped in that goopy stuff, Jaemin went all weird. He didn’t move for, like, more than 24 hours, and once he thought you were dead… he didn’t talk to any of us until the funeral. We worry about him, and you seem to make him really happy, so we’re trying to keep you two around each other.”

You didn’t really know what to say to that, so you chose the very eloquent “oh,” as your response. Lucas chuckled.

“I know. It was really weird, I’ve never seen him like that. I think we’ve seen a lot of new sides of Jaemin since you came along.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s… well, I don’t think it’s bad or good. It just is. You affect him differently than anyone else we know.”

“Why is that, do you think?”

“Y/N, you idiot, he’s in love with you.”

“He’s what?”

Lucas sighed. “He’s in love with you.”

“Why do you think that? This is Jaemin we’re talking about here. Jaemin. He’s, like, beauty incarnate and he’s smart and kind and wonderful in every aspect of everything. He just can’t be in love with me.”

“He’s in love with you.”

“He’s not.”

“He is.”

“He can't be.”

“Why not?”

“I just told you why.”

Lucas sighed again, more deeply. “But you’re in love with him.”

“I-” You consider that. “I guess?”

“That wasn’t a question.” He rolled his eyes.

“Do you think it’s possible that he actually does like me back?”

“Yes.”

Somehow, after that, Lucas managed to steer the conversation onto other subjects and you refocused on those things, but it echoed in your head. He’s in love with you.

☽༓☾

Even with this new information bouncing around the forefront of your brain, you still had to go and spend time with Jaemin. Maybe it was a little strange for your thoughts to short circuit when you saw him, the little whisper of what if in your head. Maybe it was a little peculiar for a vampire such as yourself to stutter through sentences because you were busy thinking about what life would be like if he really did like you back. Maybe you spent less time talking on your walks together because you wanted to lay next to him in a clearing and watch the clouds instead. Just maybe.

If Jaemin noticed any of your strange behaviour, he didn’t call you out on it. He either really wasn’t paying all that much attention, or he knew enough about you to know that you wouldn’t want him to pry. It was strange, really, how well you knew each other in such a short time. You supposed that since you spent so much time together it wasn’t improbable, but he knew you nearly as well as your old human friends back home.

Thinking about your old memories was a strange experience. You could remember everything as clearly as your human self could, but you noticed more the lack of detail within the images, the way your human eyes couldn’t move as fast as your vampire ones, and your reflexes weren’t as fast, and the way you fixated on one part of the picture without taking in the details of the rest of your vision. You had entirely blocked out memories of driving, they were too harrowing. You recalled more easily now all of the times you had nearly hit something or someone, and while you couldn't die now, at least not that easily, you could have easily fallen prey to the fatal blind spot more times than you’d care to admit.

When you told Jaemin about that, he laughed that laugh you loved so much. “I was born in fourteen forty-two, Y/N. We didn’t have cars back then. The only thing on the street that would run me over was a horse-drawn carriage.”

“Well,” you retorted, “you should consider yourself lucky then. Carriages and horses don’t sound half so bad as giant hunks of metal flying at each other at eighty miles per hour.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he mused, stroking an imaginary beard. “Maybe I was lucky to be born in Korea during the 1400s. You may have heard of the emperor Sejong the Great? I was born during his rule. He was one of the best emperors Korea ever had, he introduced hangul and united the country under Confucian principles so that there was more love for the country and the people living in it. Peaceful few years we had there, from what little I remember. After that, though? Lots of killing, children on the throne, et cetera et cetera. Not so fun. And I was actually able to die through all of that, so that wasn’t pleasant. But then King Sejo, the one who did the killing, actually did a pretty okay job of ruling the country and we had a few more years of prosperity. He died six years after my transformation. I missed that event because I was here in Vahmpyr getting to know Jeno, who turned me.”

“How much of the group was around, at that point?”

“Well…” Jaemin closed his eyes briefly in thought. “Here, let me draw you a family tree.” He grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote ‘Moon Taeil’ at the top. “Okay so as you know, Taeil is here as the first of us. He turned Yuta-hyung, Kun-hyung, Johnny-hyung, and Taeyong-hyung.” He wrote in their names under Taeil’s, spacing them out across the paper.

“Yuta-hyung turned Sicheng-hyung and Shotaro; Kun-hyung turned Dejun-hyung and Lucas-hyung; Johnny-hyung turned Jungwoo-hyung and Mark, and Taeyongie-hyung turned Hyuck, Doyoung-hyung, and Jaehyun hyung.” He labeled all of these names, then drew more stems leading from Jaehyun, Lucas, and Dejun.

“Jaehyun-hyung turned Sungchan, Lucas-hyung turned Hendery-hyung and Yangyang, and Dejun-hyung turned Renjun.” He drew all of these connections and stemmed Renjun’s name down even farther.

“Renjun turned Jeno and Chenle, then Jeno turned me, and I turned Jisung and now you.” He finished the tree with a flourish, black ink stark against the creamy paper. They were all connected, in some way, to Taeil’s venom. And there was you, at the very bottom, your name small next to Jisung’s.

“You guys are all so… connected.”

“Yep! We’re all one big family.”

“Do you guys have, like, family reunions? And who changed Joy and her friends? Or what’s-his-face? Taemin?”

“We don’t really all get together a lot, just because most of us have jobs on Earth or spend our days doing stuff on our own. Some of them like having flings all the time. Obviously none of us can get STDs or get pregnant, so they can do that, no strings attached. We sort of hang out in our individual groups for the most part, and then hang out every once in a while. As far as the others, we think that they must have come from the same person as Taeil-hyung, a very very old vampire. There are other stories like ours across Vahmpyr, where one vampire created one member of each coven and let us grow from there. The difference is that some of them actually have good relationships with those older vampires, whereas I’ve never met ours. I’ve heard that there’s a man called Park Jae-sang who actually comes around to spend time with the vampires he’s changed. The closest we have to an old vampire is Leeteuk-hyung, and he isn’t really around much, plus he’s not that much older than Taeil-hyung.

“Anyway, to answer your question, when I was turned, nearly everyone was around already. Only Yangyang, Sungchan, Shotaro, Chenle, and Jisung are younger than me. And now you.”

“Wow, so you had to meet everyone right after your transformation? I bet that was chaotic.”

“It was, but it was also fun. I got to be the baby for a while. Then the others came around and I somehow became a mother figure.”

You laughed. Jaemin was a mother figure, for sure. He liked to take care of the people around him, including humans that his brothers had brought home for him to patch up. “That doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

He giggled along with you, that laugh you adored so much, and grinned. “I guess it sort of fits me, doesn’t it? Mother Jaem.” He rolled the name over his tongue and you collapsed into laughter again. “I think that works well, yep.”

The next few days, you called him Mother Jaem, and everyone gave you weird looks, but it made Jaemin laugh hard enough that it was worth it.

☽༓☾

One day after this, Chenle pulled Jaemin aside to ask him what on Earth was going on with this whole “Mother Jaem” thing. Jaemin explained happily how it had come about. Chenle rolled his eyes dramatically.

“When are you two getting married?”

Jaemin just gave him a blank stare. “What?”

“It’s so disgusting how much you guys love each other! When can we shove you two together in a house and call it a day?”

“Um, okay, first of all, that is not how you get rid of somebody. Second, she doesn't love me? And third, there is definitely not enough space in her house for me, even if she did.”

Chenle pinched the bridge of his nose. “Lucas was right, you guys are blind fools. Of course she loves you! She goes to see you all the time! And enjoys it! You’re both in love with each other and both of you are cowards.” He ran his hand through his hair, knocking a piece into his eye. He squinted unhappily but didn’t try to move it.

Jaemin sighed as he got the chunk of hair away from Chenle’s eye. “This is Y/N we’re talking about though! She might hate me for everything I put her through and only stick around because I turned her or something. Plus, she spends as much time with Lucas as with me.”

“My God, your logic is terrible. You love her, she loves you, you need to get together. Watch some dramas and kiss her in the rain or something. Lucas even told me that she loves you!”

“That’s astonishingly specific for someone who doesn’t have a romance under their belt.”

“That’s besides the point!” Chenle grabbed the sides of Jaemin’s face and held him still while he spoke. “You need to confess sometime or another before the rest of us go crazy watching you run in circles around each other.”

With that he stalked away, leaving Jaemin rubbing his face where Chenle’s fingertips had pressed into the skin. It didn’t hurt, but the echoes of his voice and his fingers held Jaemin still for a long time afterwards.

☽༓☾

The next week, Kun and Taeil invited the whole coven to a reunion at Kun’s country estate. Having never been, you looked forward to seeing the giant house as much as meeting the rest of the family. It didn’t disappoint, it was absolutely massive, at least four or five floors and extensive gardens in front. Kun gave you free run of the place, asking you to please not enter rooms marked with a “Do Not Enter” sign. Simple rule to follow. You entered the main hall first, feeling like royalty in such an elegant room. Twin staircases led from the upstairs, leading your eyes to an extravagant chandelier covered in hundreds of crystals, and a mint green ceiling. From either side of the large room extended hallways with lush pale blue rugs and endless vases on platforms. It felt as though you had entered the past, or maybe a very expensive movie set. You moved through hallways and rooms, gazing at velvet chairs and old paintings that screamed money. You wondered if someone in Vahmpyr painted them, or if they were from Earth. You found only two rooms marked “Do Not Enter,” one of which was in a long hallway of bedrooms, so you assumed it was Kun’s.

The other was in the back of a positively colossal library. The library caught your eye because of the sheer size of it. Rows upon rows of books lined the walls and seemingly endless freestanding shelves. It was as large as the main public library back home, taking up at least four average rooms worth of space per floor. Not to mention the height. You estimated that it was at least three floors high, perhaps four. An entire long wall was devoted to Kun’s studies in medicine, dating back to leeches and poultices on open wounds through Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the most advanced of current surgeries. He had records of patients stacked by century, and a desk that popped out of the wall to reveal his own notes on developing vaccines and other medicines. Had you still been human, you were certain that a room like this would have given you a headache, from the size and the amount of books to look at.

From the medicine section you moved to other sciences like forensics, geology (although that section was considerably smaller), and astronomy. You also discovered an entire section on aviation. In the astronomy section, you found cork boards with maps pinned to them, stars drawn in detail, space stations built for both humans and vampires, and more drawings you didn't know how to interpret. You pulled out a few books at random and flipped through them, smiling at the notes in the margins. Past those sections were books on every type of science you had ever heard of, and some you hadn’t.

Beyond those were histories, and Kun’s travel section. He had bins filled with brochures, maps, and travel magazines and accounts of, from what you could tell, every war known to have occurred past Kun’s turning. That blended into social studies, and you found books on language next to copies of the Bible in seemingly every version, translations of the Quran, and more religious texts. Stock market trends were recorded and stored next to books on how to hire smart and anthropology. Cultural studies were stored with ethics and political records. Newspapers appeared as well, although those were fewer than the books by far. They appeared to be from a singular area, a place called Taining County, in China. Kun must have some sort of tie to it. You made a mental note to ask him when you rejoined the others.

You climbed a staircase to the second floor, where you found a fireplace and sitting area within the books. It appeared that the entire second floor was books organized by language, starting each section with children’s books and working their way up to novels. You found all of the Romance Languages, German, Hindi, Greek, Tagalog, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, Cantonese, Thai, Korean, Arabic, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu, Latin and more that you didn’t know. In the back was a small compilation of different countries’ sign languages, as well.

You climbed the next flight of stairs to the third floor, finding the fiction section. These were organized by genre, with horror on one shelf, science fiction hogging four shelves on the opposite walls, romance taking up a large section next to that, et cetera. You spotted a section marked “Transcribed” and walked over to it, finding books handwritten by Kun, presumably taken from other forms and written over to fit in his library. You imagined the wax tablets and stone slabs of old books and shuddered. Even as a vampire, transporting those wouldn’t be easy. This floor was open in the middle, looking down at the second. Above you, the next floor was open as well and housed more shelves.

You walked up the last staircase and came upon a musical archive. There were phonographs on tables next to more recent record turntables, followed by cassette players and CD players. Each one was in impeccable condition, and behind them were shelves of every format that would work with those machines. These were shorter shelves, since the music was thinner than books, but there were still many many of them. You saw cassette boxes labeled with the albums contained within, records in yellowed sleeves, and CDs in thick storage cases. They were organized by decade, with the earliest dating back to the late nineteenth century. You guessed that was when recorded music had been invented. Perhaps Kun could still remember older pieces though; something else you would have to ask him about. You were looking through the most recent music to see what he liked and if you had heard of it when you heard someone calling your name.

“Y/N? Where are you?”

“In the library, fourth floor!” you yelled back.

“Will you come back to the kitchen and help me with this?”

“Sure!”

You weren’t sure who was calling you, but it sounded like Lucas, so you ran towards the kitchen. You weren’t sure entirely why there was a kitchen, since you all drank blood anyway, but you figured there was a good reason. You added that to your growing list of things to ask Kun. You understood why you had a kitchen in your house since you had lived in it while you were still human, but Kun hadn’t been to Vahmpyr before he was turned as far as you knew. Besides, he usually lived in his apartment next to the other guys. Maybe it was just necessary to have a kitchen in a house, you didn’t know. It would have felt weird, you guessed, to live in a house without one.

When you arrived, Lucas was outside as you had guessed.

“Will you run in and grab these things for me?” he asked, handing you a sticky note. “I’ve been tasked with rounding up everyone else.”

“Yeah, no problem,” you replied, walking through the doors into the room. It was industrial, like Kun cooked for dozens of people at a time, and there was a surprising amount of cooking utensils that wouldn’t work on raw bodies, like spatulas. You looked down at the sticky note for the first time. If you don’t confess, it read, I will smack you when you come back out. And you know how big my hands are, I will make it hurt.

“What?” you murmured to yourself as Jaemin walked into the room.

“Oh hey Y/N, did Chenle send you?”

“No, Lucas did. But did Chenle perhaps give you a sticky note with things to get for him on it?”

Jaemin glanced down at a hot pink slip of paper in his hand. “Yeah.” He looked back up at you before his brow furrowed and he looked more thoroughly at the writing on it. He groaned. “I am going to kill Chenle.” He ran a hand through his cotton candy pink hair. “I guess I should just get it over with then.”

He walked closer to you, setting the sticky note on the counter as he came. “I’m kind of in love with you? And I have been for a while? I mean I get if you hate me after everything I put you through, but according to Chenle you like me back? And… yeah?”

You were left speechless. Hate Jaemin? Never. And he… loved… you?

“Y/N? Are you okay?” Jaemin waved a hand in front of your face. “I’m sorry, I’ll go, Chenle must have set up a prank.” He started walking away and you grabbed his wrist.

“Jaem, hold on. I’m just in shock. I thought there was no way you could like me back…” Your voice got steadily smaller until it trailed off at the end of your sentence as a whisper.

His entire face lit up like a Christmas tree plugged in for the first time, glowing and cheerful. “It’s not a prank?”

You rubbed a hand over your face. “No, it’s not a prank. I thought Lucas was kidding when he said you liked me back. Or at least that he was wrong. You- you’re actually telling me that you’re in love with me?”

“I am.”

“Holy shit.”

He laughed, a ringing sound in the quiet of the kitchen. It echoed back at you as though the happiness of the laugh had been multiplied. “They’re going to be so smug,” he muttered.

“Oh yes they are. We’re going to have to get back at them someday.”

“Well, we have forever,” he reminded you. You grinned and held out your hand. He took it.

“Let’s go get the teasing over with then.”

You walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. “What did Chenle threaten you with if you didn’t confess?” you asked.

“Oh, he was going to tell the group about the fling I had with Jeno when we were younger.”

You looked at him in shock. “You had a fling with Jeno? Why would you choose me over him?”

“It was just sexual attraction. While that works for some people, both of us were happier just being friends, so we ended it. I actually am in love with you, which makes all the difference. Anyway, Chenle got that story out of me on a dare once and has held it over my head ever since.”

“I wonder if he’s told Jeno he knows?”

“Probably.”

You had reached the front room, and you took a deep breath as you walked forward, though it did nothing for your undead body. “Let’s throw ourselves to the wolves.”

As you walked out into the sunlight, a cheer rose up that would have sent birds flapping away, had there been any. You heard Chenle’s unique laugh paired with Lucas’ happy shouts of “yes!” and the voices of the other men you had gotten to know, paired with ones you didn’t. They stood in a group in the garden, whooping and throwing up hats if they had any. Lucas was the first to reach you.

“I can’t believe you actually did it! I thought I’d have to smack you!” He sounded far too happy at the prospect for your liking.

The rest of the boys ran over. There was a repeating round of “finally” until someone mentioned the food getting warm and there was a great rush to get back to the patio in the garden. You sat next to Jaemin in patio chairs as the sun slowly sank past the tree line and talked with friends old and new.

There was something new, something warm inside of you. A feeling of belonging more than ever when Jaemin fed you a little and the rest of the guys booed jokingly. Under the rising stars you kissed him for the first time, a quick peck at the behest of Yangyang. There were more cheers and hugs and someone had a polaroid camera out, the flash lighting up the scene as everyone laughed.

This was where you were meant to be.

End.

!!reblogs and feedback are much appreciated!!

All rights reserved kiri-ah, 2021

#na jaemin #lee jeno #park jisung #nct #nct dream #nct 127 #wayv #ten lee #liu yangyang #qian kun #zhong chenle #moon taeil #red velvet #shinee #lee tamin #super junior #na jaemin x reader #jaemin x reader #jaemin x you #nct x reader #nct dream x reader #x reader #angst #fluff #kiri writes #kiri writes angst #kiri writes fluff

[shadowsinger11]

You, The Stars And I

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Word Count: 3.8k (oops)

Requested by @amira3113: Can I request a fic abt the reader seeing Fred and George comforting a kid after Umbridge punished him and the reader helps them and Fred thinks it's so cute what she is doing and she does the same and extra mega fluff, pls?🥺 you don't gotta do it if u don't want to btw.. so no pressure ;)

Warnings: A bit more angst than intended, Fred being a soft boi™️

A/N: I don't know how to feel, I just roasted myself hardcore with this and I'm feeling even more single. I'm sorry for not being able to use a 'keep reading' tab

Masterlist

The sun fell asleep behind the endless hills, enveloped by dense, opaque darkness. Its golden rays no longer shone through the wide windows of the castle and instead let shadows creep into the long, empty hallways, revealing the ugly truth about what the school had turned into over the past few months.

The naked walls stood tall, towering over you and inching closer with every step you took, and you hung your head low, aiming to block out the singular buzzing thought in your head.

Hogwarts was no longer home.

Your heart ached at the memory of hundreds of students chattering and laughing all day long, freely walking around the school grounds and simply being children. You so terribly missed being careless and having fun without the fear of potentially facing a life-threatening punishment.

But now there was no laughter, only your footsteps echoed in the hallway.

You were headed straight to your common room, determined to go to sleep early. The curfew and the dozens of new restrictions prevented you from meeting your friends, and you hoped that sleep would at least somehow distract you from your worries for a couple of hours.

The deafening silence nearly caused you to miss the muffled sobs and quiet whispering, coming from a turn not far away. It seemed as though there were more than one voice speaking, and your chest clenched with dread.

You hurried your pace until you reached the source of the noise, and peeked from behind the wall.

The sight most definitely surprised you, but the pain in your chest only sharpened.

There, on a bench, Fred and George were sitting, hunched over a small boy, probably no older than a second year. You could tell by his green robes which house he was in, but his red, tear-stained face was what alarmed you.

You immediately approached him and fell to your knees. George was on his left, rubbing slow, soothing circles on his back, while Fred was on the other side, holding his small hand in his, on the back of which a few words glistened with fresh crimson blood.

I must not ask questions.

You sent the twins a questioning look, but Fred dismissed it by shaking his head; clearly that was not the time for an explanation, nor was one necessary to begin with.

You placed a hand on the boy's knee to make your presence known.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

This only caused the child to sob harder and you internally cursed for having to go through this routine.

"It hurts…" he whimpered, "I thought Hogwarts was fun. I met friends last year and it was great. But now… Now I really want to go home."

Your jaw clenched and you swallowed hard, furious about seeing innocent children slowly losing faith and joy in life, turning into hollow shells of the amazing people they could have grown to become.

The horrifying experience would inevitably have a massive impact on them and unexplainable guilt twisted your stomach. And even though the long-term damage had already been done, you could at least take care of the temporary pain.

"It's not going to hurt for long, I promise," Fred whispered, tenderly playing with the boy's trembling fingers. "Ours are already fading."

"That's true, see?" George showed the back of his hand on which you could make out the faint, bloody words 'I must not cause trouble.', and you felt sick. "Soon you won't even remember it was there."

Tears stung in your eyes, but before you gave them a chance to fall, you turned to the redheads.

"I can heal the wound. Well, to an extent. If anything, I can lessen the pain," you began. "But I need to grab something from the Charms classroom."

Fred frowned, confused, "Wouldn't you need a potion for that? Why Charms?"

"Snape isn't the only one armored with potions for just in case things go wrong. And we can't risk going to the dungeons at this hour. It's not wise to tell Madam Pomfrey yet either."

The twins nodded. George said.

"It's not a good idea for all of us to go at once. I suggest one of us returns and covers the others up if necessary."

"I'll go with her," Fred stated without a second thought. "I can get them safely where they need to be, let her do her thing and bring them back."

Fred's eagerness to help filled you with warmth and for once that night you had the strength to smile, even for just a second.

"That sounds like plan then. But you should really take the map," George added, already pulling out the neatly folded Marauder's Map from his backpack. "Don't wanna risk getting caught by the ugly toad, you know."

"As if she'd be strolling down the hallways late at night. Doesn't she have hobbies?"

"Does hanging creepy pictures of cats on pink walls count as such?" you commented and the second year giggled, which made you feel slightly better as well.

Fred took the map from George and you grabbed the boy's hand.

"Good luck, guys. And, like, don't die."

"Woah, greatly encouraging, Georgie," you replied sarcastically, but appreciated it nonetheless. "You sure you'll be fine?"

"Absolutely. I got the route memorized like the back of my hand. I'll be careful."

And with that, George headed towards the Gryffindor Tower while you, Fred and the boy went in the opposite direction - the East Towers.

The night was eerily quiet, only the footsteps and shuddering breaths of the three of you keeping you sane. The soft light, gleaming at the tip of your wands, didn't do much to brighten the empty hallways which now seemed like endless voids of darkness.

Occasionally Fred would warn you about Filch's cat approaching, or Peeves causing trouble nearby, but fortunately, you reached the classroom sooner than expected.

"Alohomora," you whispered, but the door didn't bulge when you tried to open it.

Fred grinned, "Surely a Charms professor wouldn't let such a cliché unlock his own classroom."

"Shut up," you grumbled. "Aberto!"

The door opened. Fred's eyes widened in amusement and you flashed him a charming smile on your way in.

You placed the boy to sit on a desk as you and your friend rushed to look through drawers and chests for something useful. Most of them were full of basic items such as old books and quills, half-full jars of salamander blood, pearl dust and gillyweed, and after long fifteen minutes of not having found anything, you slid your back down against the wall, sighing in frustration.

Sleep-deprivation was kicking in, but your anxiety was getting stronger.

You needed to do something. Fast.

"What about this chest right here?" Fred asked from the other side of the classroom, pointing at something under Flitwick's desk.

You shook your head, "Doesn't open, already tried. Even if the cure is there, we can't get it."

"I take it your brilliant spells don't work anymore?" the redhead teased and you so badly wished to slap away the cocky smirk on his face. Or kiss it. There was something oddly attractive about the way he'd set your nerves on fire, and you hated yourself for enjoying it. Fred seemed to love it too.

"If you're only here to be annoying, just leave."

"I'm here to help too. I can multitask."

You nearly jumped from the ground to strangle him, and he clearly saw through your intentions because his toothy grin almost split his face in two. That bastard.

That super annoying, devilishly handsome bastard.

"Are you gonna keep staring at me, or are you coming? Not that I mind the attention," he shrugged.

You rose to your feet and made your way over to where he was standing, not granting him the pleasure of facing him, "Don't flatter yourself, Weasley. Your stupidity is simply impossible to be unnoticed."

Fred laughed, "Oh, so I was annoying and now I'm stupid too? Make up your mind, woman."

You pulled out your wand and smirked at him over your shoulder.

"You said it yourself that you can multitask. Aberto!"

Nothing.

Fred squinted his eyes as he stared at the wooden chest. What spell could the professor have possibly used? Could you have even heard of it? The chances of ever finding the precious item were becoming grimmer with each passing second and the inevitable sense of dread had started to settle in.

After a minute Fred finally spoke.

"I think your problem is that you're using spells that only work on doors. You need a charm which unlocks containers."

"You might be right. What would that be then?" you enquired, glancing at the redhead. He took his own wand out of his robes.

"I know a spell that's come in handy before. Hopefully it will work now," he wettened his lips and said. "Cistem Aperio!"

Blinding light caused you to cover you eyes,  and the chest opened with a loud thud which could have easily alerted the entire floor of your presence if it wasn't for the silencing charm you were lucky to have used when you first entered the classroom.

You finally dared to open your eyes and kneeled on the ground, carefully rummaging through fancy-looking boxes and vials sparking with liquids that seemed to be quite important.

"What are we looking for?" Fred asked as he crouched next to you.

"Wound-Cleaning Potion. Purple."

It was weird having Fred stand this close to you; sparks of electricity would pierce your heart every time his shoulder brushed against yours, or his fingers would accidentally graze yours. And when they did, they had you longing more and more for their touch, for their warmth.

But this warmth did not belong to you.

You swallowed down the disappointment and instead attempted to focus on the task at hand.

Just as you had expected, the precious crystal bottle was carefully wrapped in sparkling cloth and placed inside a box that was hidden deep in the corner of the chest. You breathed a sigh of relief and got on your feet, determined to stay away from Fred. For his sake and yours.

"Here it is," you smiled at the boy as you walked over to him. "Fred, can you get me some bandages from the drawer in the back?" you asked, pointing right behind him, and he did as he was told.

You took the hand of the young Slytherin and examined it closely - the wound was sure to leave a nasty scar, one that would never heal.

"Can you make it disappear?" he asked, fearfully.

Your heart dropped. But you replied with all the courage you could muster.

"I can try."

Fred was soon by your side and placed the medical items on the desk; a half-full packet of cotton, some bandages and a small box of bandaids. You muttered a 'thanks', not even looking at him, and opened the middle-sized bottle. It spread a characteristic smell of ashes, mint and lemon when you lifted it towards your nose - it was ready to use.

"So what now?" Fred asked.

Not granting him a reply, you simply took a small piece of the cotton and dipped the opening of the bottle into it, soaking it with a generous amount of the purple, dense liquid. The smell grew stronger.

Fred could only watch as you yet again gently grabbed the boy's hand and carefully dabbed the back of it; a thin steam of smoke soared from the contact of wet cotton and wounded flesh, purple mixing with red, and the kid hissed in pain. You worked attentively but quickly, with measured gestures and a straight face, and you missed the way Fred's eyes seemed to soften at the sight of you helping a small kid.

But one thing baffled him - why did you suddenly start acting so emotionless? Even towards the youngling who didn't know a thing. And though your expression seemed calm and collected, the Gryffindor noticed your tensed jaw.

What he wasn't aware of, however, was the racing speed of you heart, increasing each second. He wasn't aware of the short, shallow breaths you were taking because if you had allowed yourself to breathe freely, you'd certainly let out tears along with the deeps sighs.

Every move was calculated, every word and breath.

You pressed a fresh piece of cotton against the now cleaned wound and kept it there as you began to roll the bandage over it, securing it in place. When you were done, you placed a gentle, lingering kiss on the hand.

"There. It should do the trick."

The boy's face lit up and he hugged you, not giving you another choice but to wrap your arms around his small body. At least you had managed to bring him back some of the lost warmth.

"We should get him to his dorm," you told Fred and despite not facing him, he knew the words were directed towards him. That still didn't prevent the stinging pain in his chest from being so effortlessly avoided by you, and he frowned, bewildered by your unexpected coldness towards him.

Had he accidentally done anything to upset you? Were you mad at him? What for?

The boy jumped to his feet, visibly less burdened despite the present tear stains on his puffy cheeks. You hoped he'd be able to get some sleep that night regardless of the circumstances.

The three of you left the classroom as quietly as you had entered it and went in the direction of the dungeons. Fred, as usual, did his job at looking at the map and keeping track of the names, moving on the yellow-ish piece to old parchment.

Fortunately, you reached the Slytherin common room without any disturbances along the way, and the boy went inside, eager to crawl into bed and not think about the ugly lady who had punished him so unfairly just a few hours ago.

The door closed without a sound, leaving you and Fred on your own.

His soft voice broke the burdening silence.

"Are you going to bed?"

If you were being honest, you hadn't even thought about sleep during your secret adventure and though your body was on the verge of giving out, your restless mind was sure to wander all night. And the idea of being alone with your thoughts scared you.

"Actually… I don't think so," you began, fiddling with your fingers in hopes to not let Fred see how much they were trembling. "I doubt I'd be able to get any sleep now."

"Me too, I admit," Fred scratched the back of his neck, uncertain as to how to make the situation less awkward than it was. Trying to get you to talk was hard enough as it was, but your sudden avoidance wasn't helping either. All Fred wished for was to witness the hopeful spark in your eyes, the spark that he had noticed diminish on the first day of school when the unsettling news was announced.

Fred was determined to bring the light back and see your joyous smile again.

Without skipping a beat he said.

"Come with me."

Your eyes shot up in surprise, meeting Fred's for the first time that night. You expected to see the ever-present playful mischief in them, but instead they glistened with something you could not quite recognize. The corners of his mouth had formed a smile, one that didn't intend to mock or provoke in any way, but still contained his usual boyish charm. It was humble and sincere, and along with the anticipating look in his eyes it read.

Trust me.

Your mouth went dry, any and all reasoning to stay vanishing in thin air as you tried to make sense out of your inner conflict. Fred surely wouldn't care if you said no, would he? It's not like he'd be offended that someone like you refused to go with him; why would he even be interested in you in the first place?

But the idea of spending some time alone with him did sound very tempting - you desperately needed some positivity in that moment, feeling exceptionally drained of all your energy after having to witness the emotional and psychological impact of Umbridge's dictatorship. And if there was someone who could lift your spirit even in such dark times, that would be Fred.

Screw the idea of a potential relationship, you needed a friend right now.

"Where to, Weasley?"

Fred grinned at the nickname and shoved hands into his pockets.

"The Astronomy Tower. Are you coming?"

You smiled at him.

"Sure."

It was indeed a brilliant idea to spend the night at the place where anyone rarely ever set a foot. Regardless of it being crowded during classes all day, the Tower wasn't a common choice for students to meet, them much preferring locations like the common rooms, the Great Hall, the school grounds or even the Black Lake. But the Tower did possess a magnetic, obscure charm which many people failed to comprehend and appreciate; charm only meant to lure the wandering souls seeking peace under the stars.

Fred approached the iron railing, breathing in the cold, early spring air, and sat cross-legged on the ground. As he saw you standing a few feet away from him, he patted the empty spot next to him.

"Come on now, don't leave me sitting on my own like that," he joked and his face lit up when he noticed the ghost of a smile on your lips for a brief moment. You joined Fred on the ground, settling on a polite distance from him, and though he was slightly disappointed by the gesture, he was grateful to be in your presence nonetheless.

Silence fell over both of you like soft velvet while you stared off into the horizon; the view reached the Forbidden Forest, the outlines of which had melted into the pitch black sky like ink, the lines between the two practically nonexistent in the dead hours of the night as they blurred into one endless void.

"I don't remember the last time I saw stars on the sky," Fred addressed your ever-listening companions above in a low, hushed voice that caused warmth to blossom within you regardless of the cold surrounding you.

"Me neither," you agreed, nostalgia creeping into you, but you decided you'd welcome it this time. "Such a shame we can't see the moon though."

Your friend nodded, lips pursed into a thin line, "That's because it's currently new moon. We'll need to wait for awhile until it's visible again."

You turned to Fred and the air was knocked out of your lungs. All you could do was silently admire the way the starlight was softening his sharp features and giving his usually flaming red hair a calming shade of copper. His eyes seemed to glow in the dark, and you found yourself coming to the conclusion you had realised long ago.

He was such a beautiful man.

Those glowing eyes landed on yours and you felt your face heat up.

"How are you?" he asked abruptly and you choked out in bafflement.

"Y-You mean, right now? Or in general?..."

"How are you coping?" he rephrased. "You know, with everything going on. I noticed Umbridge bothering you recently."

A shuddering breath.

"I like to think that I'm doing better than others," you nodded hesitantly, finding it hard to sort out your emotions. "I'm more worried about the most vulnerable among us, the youngest students. They're just children. They're the ones that are most terrified. I really hope Dumbledore will be able to do something about it… no matter where he might be right now."

Fred was watching you intently; he did not miss your expression, darkened with concern, nor did he miss your slumped figure, slightly hunched over for a reason he believed was other than exhaustion. Your friend moved closer and nudged your foot with his.

"I don't want you to talk to me about the rest. I want to hear about you. I can clearly see you're being tormented by her."

"As if you're not."

"That's not the point," he insisted and placed a hand on your knee, causing you to face him. His smile was gone. "I need to know how this madness is affecting you."

"I couldn't care less about what that toad puts me through," you shook your head dismissively and shrugged. Why was he getting so worked up about it? "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does! It matters to me!" Fred hissed in frustration. "Do you think it doesn't hurt me every time I see Umbridge picking at you or calling you for detention? Because it bloody does and you have no idea how horrible it feels to not be able to help you."

He gave your knee a squeeze.

"For once, just for one time, please. Please, stop trying to be the hero of everybody. Believe me, we see- I see how hard you're trying to keep your chin up despite all the shit you're facing, and that's admirable, but right now it's not necessary. Let go. It's just me."

A way too familiar lump formed in your throat and your chest constricted painfully before it harshly dilated, letting out choked breaths. Fred was quick to envelope you in his long arms before your tears even rolled down your cheeks, and when they did, they met his shoulder. Your hands flew around his neck, body falling into his and soaking up his warmth. Fred pressed his soft lips to your temple, calming the racing pulse as you cried freely and unapologetically. Darling, you feel too much.

It's just me.

Your friend didn't let you out of his hold even when your heart-wrenching whimpers were reduced to weak sobs. He continued cradling your exhausted body which was on the verge of completely giving out. But Fred didn't mind, finding astonishing strength in your vulnerability.

After what seemed like hours, you forced yourself to timidly whisper, lip quivering, "I'm scared... And confused."

"Me too, sweetheart," Fred hummed into your ear. "Me too."

You wiped away the trails of dried tears lingering on your face.

"There's just too much going on. Too much that I'm not ready for."

Realization flashed in Fred's brown eyes and they looked down at you with so much longing, sincerity, but also sympathy and understanding.

You weren't angry at him. You were afraid.

And that was alright.

There was enough time, not need for a rush.

Fred had been waiting for years to find out whether his burning feelings for you were reciprocated, constantly suppressing them in fear of scaring you away and losing you. And now that he knew your heart belonged to him like his did to you, all the stars above couldn't contain his untamed happiness, pure and hopeful.

Surely he could wait a little more for you to grow comfortable with your own emotions.

Fred tightened his hold around you and pecked your cheek tenderly, the subtle touch sending a shock throughout your body and subsiding your need for sleep.

"That's alright," he whispered. "Rest now."

@self-ship-love @susceptible-but-siriusexual @hufflexpuff @neovannii

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Masterlist

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x reader angst #fred weasley x reader fluff #fred weasley imagines #fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley #james phelps #george weasley #oliver phelps #fred and george weasley #weasley twins #harry potter imagines

[itsthestutterforme]

Second Chances (Jang Hanseok)

Summary: Hanseok was spiraling and was starting to get paranoid as Vincenzo's plan began to unravel. Y/N, his best friend, gets hurt because of him and he never forgives himself.

Characters: Vincenzo x nurse!reader (platonic) Hanseo x nurse!reader (platonic), Hanseok x nurse!reader (platonic)

Requested by @letsnotcrytoday

--

Sighing as you rest your head on the steering wheel, your phone chimed. You just finished your 12 hour shift in the hospital as a nurse and you felt tractor trailer ran over you. A scolding hot bath, a vibrating pad and a foot massage from Hanseok sounds like heaven right about now.

Speaking of Hanseok, he's been very distant lately. You've been best friends since junior high and you know each other like the back of your hands. But you haven't seen him so closed off before. It's almost as if he doesn't know who to trust. And it makes you wonder how he became that way.

Without pulling away from the steering wheel, you reach into your bag and take out your phone. You glance over at the phone to see a text from Hanseo saying, "He-." That's odd. Hanseo has been just as distant as Hanseok. Something doesnt feel fight. Was he trying to say "Help?"

You drive to Hanseo's office first but they said that he was out for the day. Then you drove to Hanseo's house and your heart bangs in your chest when you look through the window.

You see Hanseok walking around the house with a gun and Hanseo tied up in front of him. He looks to be bleeding from his head. There are two other people there, a woman and a man.

You don't want to see Jang Hanseok go to jail. He's not a bad man, he just made mistakes that led him down a terrible road. Your heart was shattered to pieces when you visited him in jail and saw him in those awful, beige jail clothes.

You can't see him there again. You grab your first aid kit from your glove box and shove it into your purse.

You slowly walk into the house and open the door, careful not to make any noise. You walk into the living room when you heard three gun shots. "Oh my God, Hanseok, what you-."

Another gun shot rings in your ears and a sharp pain struck your hand. You fall to the floor and cradle your hand against your chest to see a gaping hole in your palm.

Taking deep breaths, you look around the room to see the woman with a gun shot wound in her shoulder and Hanseo with multiple wounds in his chest. If you don't patch those up soon, he won't make it. You finally look up to see Hanseok looking at you with wide eyes. "Y/N, what are you doing here!"

The other man stands up and Hanseok pulls the trigger once again but the gun exerted a soft click. Hanseok looks at you with guilt and anger as the man rush toward him. Hanseok jumps off of the balcony and disappears. A soft whimper left your lips as blood spills from your hand and on to the floor.

You take some cloth from your purse and wrap your hand tightly to prevent any more blood loss. You wince as the pain intensifies and make your way to Hanseo, where the man was kneeling. "Can you help him?" He asks.

"I can try. Did you already call the ambulance?" "Yes," "Okay." You unbutton his shirt to get a better look at his wounds. He has a total of three wounds, luckily there are three people here.

You open the first aid kit and pressed gauze to his wounds, making him wince. "I'm alright," Hanseo says weakly. "No, you're not." You snap, angry at Hanseok for doing this to his brother. "I'm sorry, I j-" His hand comes up to touch your cheek. "You two were more like siblings to me than he was." He says.

"Stop talking and save your strength. Apply pressure to this one." You tell the man. "Miss, I know you're hurt but can you use the other arm to put pressure on his wounds? I'll tend to yours in a minute." You add. "Y/N, please. Let it run it's course." "No, I won't. You're going to live, you hear me?" you say, blinking away the years forming in your eyes.

"I don't want to live in fear anymore. I did good, right? Please tell me I did good." "You're going amazing, Han seo. I'm so proud of you." "P-proud?" More tears escape your eyes as you ease the pressure of his wounds and uncap 5 milligrams of morphine. You inject him with it and he sighs softly. "This should ease the pain enough for him.." you trail off.

"I'm so sorry, Han seo." You add, taking his hand into both of yours. He takes his last breath as you press a kiss to his forehead. Shaky breathes leave your lips and you wrap your arms around him. "I'm sorry for your loss, but can you please help my friend?" The man asks.

Wiping away your tears, you nod and made your way over to the woman.

**

It's 2 A.M. It's been five hours since you came home from the hospital and you didn't get a lick of sleep. What happened at Hanseo's house replays in your mind like some reoccurring nightmare. You wish it was a nightmare. One of your bestfriends was shot a killed by your other best friend.

Sniffling from crying about Hanseo's passing, you blow your nose a few times. That was when you hear a soft clank in your kitchen. Your nose flares with annoyance.

Whoever broke into your home was one unlucky son of bitch. You're feeling everyone emotion besides fear and you have a locked and loaded pistol in your drawer.

Taking the pistol into your hand, you take the safety off and slowly walk down the stairs. You lean your back against the wall next to the kitchen. "Whoever you are, you have five seconds to get the hell out or I'm putting five bullets in you." "Y/N?" You hear Hanseok say.

You step away from the wall and aim your gun at him, not caring about the searing pain of your hand wound opening up again. "Get the hell out," "Y/N, please. I.. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant for any of thi-" "That was your brother, Hanseok! Your blood! And you killed him, because of what!"

"I had no choice! Vincenzo threatened to kill you if I didn't." You were at a loss for words. "Don't. Please don't turn your back on me. The whole world can but the minute that you do, then I'm a lost cause." He says, making your heart lurch in your chest.

You weren't aware that he was stepping closer to you until his hands were taking the gun out of yours. Putting on the safety, he tosses the gun on the couch. His gaze fixes on the gauze wrapped around your right hand. You put your hand behind your back. "It doesn't hurt that bad," you lie.

Still unsure of whether to believe him, you thought that it was best to sleep on it and talk to him about it in the morning. Your brain was physical exhausted from work and recent events.

"You can see yourself out," you add before turning around to go back to your room. He grabs your uninjured hand and pulled you into his chest. "You could have died, and it would have been at my hand. I'll never forgive myself for that." You chose not to say anything and listened to his heart racing in his chest.

"I didn't know it was you. My body reacted before my mind could register... I know you're pissed at me but please don't lose faith in me." He adds. "What were you thinking!" You push him away from you and slap him across the face. It wasn't until you heard a faint rip of your stitches that you realized it was with the injured hand.

A shriek of pain leaves your lips and you fall to floor, cradling your hand. He kneels down next to you and you both watch as blood seeps through the bandage. "Where's your first aid kit?" He asks. "Bathroom." Without a second thought, he lifts your into his hands and carries you into the bathroom.

He sets you on the counter and sets the first aid kit on the toilet lid. Slowly peeling off the gauze, he winces when he sees the wound. Guilt weighs on his eyes and he cleans around the wound on both sides before putting an antifungal cream.

He puts a large piece of gauze on both sides of the hand and uses a new wrap to intricately wrap the hand between each finger and the entire wrist.

He tucks away the loose end of the wrap and we both sigh in unison. "We have to get out of the country," "What the hell did you get yourself into, Hanseok? Why didn't you tell me sooner, I could have helped you." "No, you couldn't." He walks out of the bathroom and you jump off the counter to follow him until you heard him scream.

"Hanseok!" You rush out of the bathroom but a hand clamped around your mouth and felt a sharp prick on the side of your neck. You drop to the ground as black wisps cloud your vision and the last thing you saw was Hanseok being dragged away.

**

Gasping for you breath, you find yourself laying in your bed. What the hell? Was last night a dream? You look at your hand and remember Hanseok wrapping it after pulling your stiches. It wasn't a dream. Someone took Jang Hanseok.

You stand up from the bed and reach for your phone. You thought of Hanseo saying that he our a tracker in his brother's watches. You thought he was crazy but now you couldn't help but to thank him. You look up to the ceiling and say, "I'll make sure you get the justice you deserve, Hanseo."

Following the GPS, you stop in the middle of traffic when you see the man from Hanseo's apartment leaving the warehouse that the GPS led you. "He's the one that forced Hanseok to kill his own brother." You say to yourself. Your blood runs cold in your veins when you see blood splattered on his face and clothes.

Horns honk at you and you park on the side of the road and waited for the man to leave. You rush into the gravel road to park the car. Running as fast your legs can take you, you follow Hanseok's screams to a large room of the abandoned warehouse.

He's connected to some weird torture device that looks automatic. There is a drill that looks to be a half an inch inside his chest cavity. "Oh God," you say. "Y/N," he says weakly and you had sudden flashbacks to Hanseo dying. You couldn't loose another one, you refuse to.

You pull out a knife and pop open the circuit of the device and you cut the red wire which prevents the device from functioning. You're so glad you took that programming class in college.

You stick the sharp end into the crease and pushed the drill out of the device so it would stay in his chest. If you took out the drill now, he would bleed out in seconds.

What kind of monster would do this to another human being? You pull him to his feet and walk him down the stairs to get to the car. "Stay with me okay?" You say when you notice his eyes starting to close his eyes.

He looked terrible. His eyes looked sunken, his skin looked pale and lifeless and his lips were blood stained. When you find this guy, you're going to tear him a new one.

Going 80 on the highway, you were at the hospital in a blink of an eye. "Help! Someone help me please!" You yell as you drag him into the ER.

"Y/N, what happened to him?" Your coworker asked. You wait until he is on the gurney to say, "Someone was torturing him with a drill." You say flatly.

"What kind of sicko does that?" When you don't respond, she adds, "Right, sorry. Not time for jokes. I'll keep you posted." You nod and watch as she accompanies a doctor's taking him to the surgery floor.

Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.

#vincenzo #kdramafans #kdrama fanfic #vincenzo fic #nurse!reader #kdramas

[thesoundofmadness]

Here's another fic owo. Also idk how to share the A03 link, but my profile is The-Master-of-Song

--

Howard hears the door open and lifts up his head. "Finally!" He groans out. Randy slowly walks into the room.

"Took you long enough!" Howard says to him. "I've been waiting all day!"

Randy doesnt respond with his usual "i'm sorry" or give Howard an excuse as to why it took so long. He doesn't respond at all. He just gives Howard a frightened look and walks upstairs. For some reason, he was still wearing the ninja suit.

Howard quickly follows him. They go to his bedroom. Randy takes a seat at his desk. He stares down at the floor, wide eyed.

"What the juice, Cunningham?!" Howard almost yells. "First you take hours to fight some mcfist bot, then you ignore me?!"

Randy just stares down at his hands. He looks.... scared, horrified even. Howard examines his hands. There were.... dark red splotches all over his hands, covering the black of the suit yet hiding in the red accents.

"Cunningham! Did you get hurt again?! Oh why didn't you tell me?!"

Howard turns around. Randy's breathing becomes heavier. He sounds like he's wheezing for air like he can't breathe at all. Tears start to drip out of his eyes.

"I.... it...." he starts to say.

"Woah, hey, Randy. No need to cry." Howard's tone of voice immediately changes from annoyed anger to comfort. Whatever happened must have been bad for Randy to start crying. "Look, i'll be right back, okay? I'm just gonna go get the first aid kit. Just take a few deep breaths."

Randys chest feels tight. His body feels like lead. His stomach keeps flip flopping like he wants to vomit. The tears won't stop flowing into his eyes. The words won't come out.

"It.... it isn't.... mine...." He says slowly.

Howard freezes. "....What?"

Randy goes quiet. He starts shaking. He felt hot, too hot to be wearing the suit. But he can't bring himself to move.

"Randy, what do you mean it isn't yours?" Howard asks. "It has to be yours!"

"No it.... Mc-McFist.... he g-got in the way and I...."

Howard stares for him at a minute, confused. “But the blood…. Oh… Oh…. Oh…! C-Cunningham you didn’t-”

"I-I tried to fix it!!!" Randy cries out. "I tried!! I tried too!! But.... I...."

"Slice knowing ya!"

The sword slices through the robot with ease. Suddenly, he hears a scream. He draws back his sword as the metal clashes against the floor. The tip of the sword is covered in red.

"Shansty! What’s this red stuff?" He can’t help but poke it. "It's sticky! What kind of robot has red sticky stuff in it?" He wipes it on his chest, spreading it. "Oh don't tell me this is the goo thing again!"

He looks down at the robot. More red stuff was gushing out. He can't help but notice another robot arm inside, a suit, and.....

He takes a step back. His eyes widen in realization.

That robot wasn't just a robot, it had McFist inside of it. How could he forget that? And when he sliced open the robot, he.... The red goo isn't goo, but...

The sword drops out of his hand and clashes onto the floor. He suddenly can't move. He can't talk. He can't breathe. His stomach flips over twice. McFist is dead. McFist is dead. He killed him. He killed him.

The Ninja Nomicon begins to buzz. He hears loud footsteps coming closer. His body begins to move without him telling it too. He jumps out the window.

"But.... but he tried to kill me first!" Randy cries out after minutes of silence. "He.... he sent dozens of robots after me.... He kidnapped me to kill me.... I.... I was just defending myself...."

He looks towards Howard for something, anything. But Howard is just frozen in shock.

Randy suddenly falls to the ground, and screams. Screams louder than ever before. And just starts sobbing, repeating "i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry" over and over and over again.

It's been a few hours now since it happened. Howard has gone home, unable to process that his friend actually.... Randy stares blankly at the ceiling. The house is quiet. His room is pitch black.

And he can't feel anything.

No sadness, no remorse, not even anger. Just empty.

It would be a lie if he had said he hadn't wondered what it was like to be a murderer, to end a person's life with your own hands. When he imagined it, he expected.... Something. Any sense of guilt, fear, paranoia, possibly even a rush of adrenaline. Not this empty, numb feeling.

Surely Viceroy had found McFist's body by now. He doesn't know where Viceroy was when it happened. How will he react? Horrified, confused, angry, maybe? There's no way he wouldn't know the Ninja did it. Would he send a robot after him in revenge? Or maybe.... maybe he's on the ninja's side on this one. McFist had been as cruel to Viceroy as he had to anyone else, maybe even more since he was his right hand man. Would he go to the public with this, or would he keep it to himself? One way or another, the public is gonna find out McFist is dead, but unless Viceory or McFist's wife says something, there's no way the public will find out it was the ninja who did it. The public can't know their protector is a murderer, can they?

What about Howard? Randy would never lay a hand on his best friend, just the memory of having to fight him as the tengu makes him sick, but..... Would they stop being friends? Randy can't imagine a life without Howard there by his side. He doesn't want to. But Howard… he left so suddenly. Usually he would just spend the night, or at the very least tell Randy he’s leaving. But this time, he just left without a sound. And, Howard can't be friends with a murderer, can he?

And the Nomicon.... The Nomicon was shocked. It tried to urge him to use the Art of Heal on McFist, but he jumped out the window before he could do anything. What would it do with him? Maybe it will force him to give up the mask and mind wipe him, making him forget he ever did it. He didn't mean to do it, but.... the Ninja can't be a murderer, can he?

He finds there's a part of him that was.... glad it happened. Glad he was the one to do it. After all, McFist did try to kill him not only that time, but so many times before Randy lost count. He put not only him in danger, but the entire city. He did his job by taking down McFist. Now, hopefully, the robots would stop attacking him. He can sleep peacefully knowing there's nothing out to kill him. What was this feeling, catharsis? It felt.... oddly better than anything he's ever felt. Like his revenge had been served.

Kinda a shame McFist had his last words ever said to him be a stupid pun, though.

#rc9gn #randy cunningham #randy cunningham 9th grade ninja #randy cunningham ninth grade ninja #ask to tag

[runwithwolvcs]

You Know I'm No Good - t w o

Temptation vs Freedom

Warnings (future chapters): Drugs/Alcohol, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Jealousy, Mental Health, (Mentions of SA, but no details)

I don't like memories because the tears come easily, and once again I break my promise to myself for this day. Its a constant battle . A war between remembering and forgetting.

Back in her darkened bedroom, Tallulah still couldn't wrap her head around her current situation. The rest of the night consisted of her being introduced to people who seemed to know more about her then she had wanted, clearly word spreads fast around La Push. Josie had introduced her to some of her friends that had arrived later, after the tribal stories. Clearly only there for the party. They seemed nice, but they were definitely not the type of people she would choose to be friends with herself.

Lenna had made herself scarce throughout the entire, to which her twin stated was typical behaviour. But Tallulah figured it had more to do with her presence than anything else. Tally couldn't help but look for the tan boy she had locked eyes with, something about him was so alluring. It was almost frustrating, Tallulah Forester doesn't get captivated by anyone, not ever. She was the captivating one, at least that's what Xander had always said. “You're like a tornado, with pretty eyes and a heartbeat. Luring in bystanders until you’ve ruined their lives..That's what I enjoy so much about you”, that was the last thing he had said to her before she had left his house party the night she had been caught. Their relationship was a mess, both of them struggling for control, even if it meant hurting each other in the process. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, but it was all she ever had. She craved it in an almost masochist way.

Tallulah's phone had been off all night, not in the mood to deal with the onslaught of messages she was sure to get, now that she had a moment to breath by herself she figured she may as well read them, 1 5 messages from Lina and 3 missed calls, her best friend, was more than likely freaking out, consumed by guilt over the fact that their lies to their parents had been crossed. 7 messages from Kit, who she figured was already trying to plan how to spin this to make herself the victim, as Kit does, and 1 lone message from Xander, the only one she read before she shut off her phone to go to sleep.

That sucks :(

Was all that it said.

-

After a lot of tossing and turning in the bed that was almost too soft, mixed with the pillows that weren’t soft enough, Tallulah drifted off to sleep. She dreamed of the boy who had taken her by storm, his smile seemed brighter than the sun and the way he laughed was like music to her ears. They were on a cliff overlooking the ocean, she could see that he was talking, but couldn't hear what he was saying, she watched as he stood up and walked towards the edge of the cliff, looking as though he was about to jump, she stood up in a panic--

Tallulah startled awake to Kira shaking her shoulder gently, a soft smile graced her face. It was raining, but Tallulah could tell it was early morning.

“Tally, sweetie, you’re dad and I would like to speak with you before he goes to a meeting” she said quietly, “Get dressed and meet us downstairs in ten minutes,” she spoke, the smile never leaving her lips. Tallulah groaned, not one to be a morning person in the slightest, she swung her legs out of bed, toes touching the cool hardwood floors. She could hear low murmurs outside her door as she heaved herself out of bed, still not used to her surroundings she walked to her two duffle bags and sifted through the clothes before settling on an oversized, green long sleeve to cover the stick and poke tattoos that littered her arms, with ripped, loose, blue jeans. One disappointment at a time, she thought to herself as she got dressed. She grabbed her hairbrush from her bag and ran it through her hair, leaving it to lay in its natural waves down her back before quietly heading downstairs to whatever talk she was awaiting.

She was met with Kira and her father sitting at the kitchen table next to each other, and as they beckoned her over to sit, she noticed the thin, blue rectangle laying in the middle of the table. The same blue rectangle she had so carefully hid in her room back in Seattle, or so she thought. She could feel anger begin to bubble in her belly as realization dawned on her, her mother had been through her room.

She sat expectantly, waiting for her dad to chastise her for using drugs, or even alcohol, as a minor and how that could affect her future, but he looked to Kira to begin. The gentle smile that was near permanent on her stepmom was almost comforting in the moment, almost. “Tally”, She starts, “We are aware of your.. pastimes, in Seattle, however, we will not be encouraging that same behaviour here.” she sounds like a damn counselor, Tallulah thought to herself. She’d honestly prefer being yelled at. “We have a few ground rules that we expect you to follow, as we do Lenna and Josette.” Kira continued, “Under no circumstances, will we allow drugs under our roof, including nicotine,” she says referring to the vape sitting in between them, “Or alcohol that does not belong to your father and I. If you are to partake in these activities and are caught you will have consequences.” She looks at Joseph, as if they had rehearsed their own parts, looking towards her dad expectantly, “Secondly,” He speaks up, “As we expect with the twins, any boy, or girl, that you are,, having relations with, we expect to meet, no sneaking them through bedroom windows.” Tallulah cringes internally, it was one time, she wanted to yell. “Curfew will be 11:00 pm on school nights and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, no exceptions.. Understood?” he asked, looking at his eldest daughter. She wants to argue with them, tell them that policing her life won’t make her change, not the way that they wanted her to at least. That was something her mother learned the hard way. She had taken the door off her bedroom when she had found out she was sneaking out in the night, which only caused Tallulah to start sneaking out the front door instead, right in front of her.

“You done?” she asks, yawning, this wasn’t new to her at all, and she really didn’t care to be frank. The two adults look at each other, Kira nodding her head in Tallulah's direction, Joseph sighed before tossing a key chain on the table next to her vape. A small house key was connected to what looked like a car key. “Choose one.”

Temptation or Freedom?

Tallulah spent the rest of the day running errands with Josie, who had offered to show her around the reservation. They had stopped at Monets, the local cafe, run by the Littleseas, its the go to hangout spot, according to Josie. Who happens to be friends with Colin Littlesea, the eldest son of the owners.

Tallulah picked at the half eaten muffin sitting in front of her as she waited for Josie to return with a refill of both of their coffees. They were so different from each other, Tallulah drinking hers black, while Josies consisted of mainly cream and sugar, just like their personalities, but for some odd reason they clicked.

The car her father and Kira gave her was originally supposed to go to Josie, so that the twins no longer would have to share their current one. Finding out that alone made her reconsider her choice, at least a nicotine addiction only really affected her, but with a lot of reassurance from Josie, and the simple ask that Tallulah help run her errands eased her guilt. She didn't want to upend the twins' life, it wasn’t their fault her parents decided to force her to move to La Push. While Josie seemed to enjoy her presence, Lenna did not, and it's clear now she was avoiding her.

Tallulah gazed around the quaint yet homey cafe, its hand painted walls consisted of the same trees that surrounded the reservation, it was peaceful. She looked towards the door as it chimed, alerting the staff of new customers entering, a group of extremely tall, good looking men walked through the door, causing the calm energy to shift with their booming laughs, everyone seemed to be used to this behaviour, considering she was the only one to look in their direction.

Her eyes followed the group of boys, taking each one in, by the time she reached the last, he was already looking at her. Paul Lahote. The largest of them all, in height and muscle, she thought to herself as her eyes raked his body.

Josie setting her coffee down in front of her broke her concentration on the boy, her attention fully shifted to her half-sister. “What do they feed the men here? They are all so tall” Tallulah asked jokingly, to which Josie laughed, shaking her head. “Not all of them. Just the ones who hang around Sam Uley. Some people say he's giving them steroids but dad swears against it. So does mom.” She watched Josie grimace, and cut her off before she could correct herself, “--I’ve seen boys roided, they look nothing like them.” she spoke before taking a sip of her coffee. Josie nodded, an almost fascinated look on her young face, “So it's true then..” At this, Tallulah raises her eyebrows, “ what's true?”

“Your mom sent you here because you got mixed up with some guys who did drugs or whatever. At least that's what Lenna said she heard dad say”

Of course she did, so much for a fresh start, she thought.

Tallulah rolled her eyes, “Sort of, I guess --”

Now she was being interrupted, a large looming figure was now standing at the edge of their table, greeting Josie, she watched as the younger girl blushed in response, before saying “Hey, Ethan. Uh, this is my older sister, Tally or um, Tallulah,” Josie fumbled over her words as she introduced her. Tallulah looked up at the towering boy with a half smile, nodding her head as a way to say ‘hey’ , Ethan nodded back before asking, “I didn’t realize you guys were sisters. Do you go to school off the rez?”

Tallulah shook her head, “I did but I just moved here from Seattle. I start at the rez school tomorrow.”

He nods before engaging with Josie in conversation about some project they were working on and she can’t help but look over at the boisterous table in the far corner, she can see Paul and another boy glance at her as they talk, she excuses herself from Josie and Ethan, the coffee in her mug no longer appetizing and itching for her little blue rectangle in that moment.

Tallulah makes her way up to the bar-like counter, the waitress coming to take her order almost immediately. She orders a sweet tea, hoping to wash some of the lingering bitterness from her mouth, hoping it would help curve her cravings. She can feel someone come up next to her but doesn't bother to look who it is as she fiddles with a napkin, the waitress comes to take their order and their voice sounds like velvet in her ears despite the hint of gruffness to it.

“You're Joseph Forester's daughter, right?” She hears him ask, she looks in his direction to see he's already looking at her, a small cocky, smirk toying on his lips. He already knows the answer clearly. She wants to roll her eyes and tell him to fuck off, but she can’t bring herself to do so. So, she nods and softly says, “Yeah, Tallulah.” This causes him to actually smile, like he's thankful she didn’t just blow him off. That hot, cocky persona is nearly untraceable now,

“I’m Paul Lahote.”

#paul lahote imagine #paul lahote x oc #twilight wolf pack #paul lahote #paul lahote fanfic #embry call #leah clearwater #collin littlesea #seth clearwater #chapter 2 #you know im no good #sam uley #emily young #quil ateara #jacob black #rachel black