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chosonore · 3 years

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part one | calmness

calmness [noun. the state or quality of being free from agitation or strong emotion]

pairing: kamo choso/f!reader

summary: falling in love with choso was a gradual and slow process, creeping up on you so inconspicuously that you don’t realize until the feelings hit full force. he’s become a constant in your life, your sun, your home. but does he return the feelings?

wordcount: 8k

content/warnings: roommates au, friends to lovers, fluff, slice of life, mentions of alcohol, language, some pining but not really, the amount of oblivious reader and choso will kill you, slow burn, characters are aged up if not already obvious, lowercase intended, [UNEDITED]

a/n: [hello this is a re-post because my blog was banned for a few days! so if you’ve seen it before, i’ve had to delete it i am so sorry if you’ve saved it. but it’s here to stay now!] here it is, the long awaited roommate!choso series wehfuhuehw if you’ve lurked around on my blog before, you would’ve seen the little drabbles i’ve sent suki a while back. this idea has been floating around in my head for so long and there isn’t really a lot of plot to it, it’s really just a really long slice of life thing. wanted to explore falling in love with choso, i just... love him a lot ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡ i’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how he would be in situations like this and i hope you enjoy!

masterlist - next

you were pretty sure that you’d scared all the costumers away with your constant sighing – even yuuji was looking at you concerned now although you’d told him that you were fine hours prior. the entire apartment hunting issue was now getting to you; a few months prior, your landlord had announced that he would be selling the apartment, leaving you with no other option than to find a new apartment. but rent was astronomically high and you were already struggling as is. even finding roommates was proven to be a difficult feat, you weren’t sure why but you kept attracting weird people and now two weeks before the moving out date, you still didn’t have a place to stay. worst case scenario, you’d have to rent a storage space and crash at your friend’s place.

“y/n, are you okay? you look… very stressed,” yuuji asked gingerly, after he’d closed the store and helped you clean up the cash register area. “uh if it helps, you can vent to me! we’re friends right? so what’s bothering you?”

you were hesitant. sure, despite not knowing him so well since he’s only been working at the store for a month or two now, you would consider the two of you friends. but you felt bad just dumping the entirety of your worries onto him. so you opted to tell him the… short truth.

“ah it’s just- i’ve been looking for a place to stay because, essentially, i’m getting kicked out of my place but it’s been pretty unsuccessful,” you sighed, scrubbing at the counter more vigorously now. “i need to move out in two weeks but i haven’t found a place yet and the people looking for roommates just seem to be people who would drive me insane.”

“oh really?” yuuji sounded hopeful- wait, why did he sound hopeful? “my older brother is looking for a new roommate! his former roommate recently moved in with his boyfriend so the room is vacant right now. if you want, i could arrange a date for you to look at the apartment and meet him? i promise my brother isn’t weird or anything, he’s pretty diligent with chores and is always up to hang out.”

your jaw dropped; yuuji was your lifesaver. he was incredibly friendly and polite, always helping others and looking out for everyone. you were overwhelmed with joy and relief, maybe you were naïve and too hast in trusting his words but his brother had to be similar to him, you couldn’t imagine them being polar opposites. it couldn’t be that bad and at this point, you were desperate. “i would love that! when are you guys free?”

“ah we could actually head over to his place after clocking out,” yuuji put the boxes and pens back into place before ushering you to the staff room and turning the lights off. “he’s been home quite early lately, so i can just let him now right now if you’re free?”

you nodded in agreement, almost too eagerly, as you threw your jacket on and grabbed your bag, waiting for yuuji outside of the store. it was already dark outside and you almost felt bad for taking up his time like this but he had offered after all. yuuji was furiously texting as he stepped out of the building, screen lighting up his face in a comical way. in the dim light of the street lamps, you clumsily fumbled with the keys before finally being able to lock the door.

“you’re in luck, he’s home right now!” yuuji announced, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his red sweater. “said it’s okay if we drop by real quick.”

you hummed in thought, matching yuuji’s pace as you walked across the street. “does he live far away from here?”

“nope, it’s basically around the corner.”

thankfully, the apartment was within walking distance so you had a slow stroll while talking about work, friends and uni. although you shared the same friend circle, it was almost impossible to have both of you in the same room – yuuji was often busy with club activities while you were constantly studying or working. it wasn’t until he started working at the store that you finally got to know each other, immediately getting along much to your friends’ relief. he had never talked about his older brother before so you were surprised that he had siblings at all. but he sounded genuine when he said that his brother was cool so you didn’t think much of it.

“okay so this is the place,” yuuji stopped in front of a building, pressing the doorbell. “please don’t be too intimidated when you meet choso, he looks unfriendly and unamused sometimes but that’s just his face.”

turning around, you took a closer look at your surroundings. it was an apartment building that looked rather cozy, surrounded by tall, expanding trees. to your relief, it wasn’t a sketchy neighbourhood - you’d always felt wary about walking home by yourself after a late shift. in the distance, you could see a playground and screaming, laughing children. it was harmonious and peaceful, easing your soul and initial doubts.

“oh okay,” you bit your lip in nervousness as the buzzer went off, following yuuji into the building. the closer you got to the apartment, the squirmier you got, anxious about meeting his older brother. the door was already left ajar so you could enter, the smell of food wafting out of the apartment to the hallway. you peeked inside before entering, immediately feeling more at ease upon seeing that the apartment was organized and clean. coats and jackets hung up on the coatrack, shoes lined up neatly along the wall. several photos were stuck to the wall - one of a younger chubby-cheeked yuuji, one of what looked like a garden party, another one of a happily smiling group of people. your heart was warming up; yuuji’s brother seemed like a rather attentive person who appreciated his surroundings and close friends and family.

“choso! did you make dinner for me?” yuuji called out as he kicked off his shoes and stormed inside before you could stop him, leaving you to your own devices as you awkwardly stood in the hallway of the apartment after closing the door. you took your shoes off slowly, stalling as much time as possible. should you just wait for yuuji to come back? or should you come in and greet them with the same energy that yuuji just exuded? but then his brother might think that you were weird and reject you straight away. you froze when a deeper voice rang out.

“didn’t you say you’d bring a friend? where are they?”

you hastily took off your shoes and tiptoed deeper into the apartment, hiding behind yuuji as you looked at the taller man in front of him. his brother looked at you curiously, placing the cooking utensils he was holding onto the counter. so yuuji and him did look like polar opposites. yuuji, for the lack of better terms, looked like a soft peach while the man in front of you had tied his dark, long hair in twin tails and was sporting a huge white shirt with sweatpants but perhaps the most striking thing about him was the face tattoo. you hadn’t expected that at all. he spiked your interest, you couldn’t deny that he was attractive. you had to snap out of it, this was your potential future roommate and you did not need to have any further thoughts. not of that kind.

“hi,” you greeted quietly and held your hand out for him to shake. “i’m y/n, nice to meet you.”

“choso.” he shook your hand, giving you an approving nod.

maybe you stared at his hand a little too obviously, admiring his long fingers, his nicely shaped fingernails and the veins on his hand. yuuji cleared his voice, slightly elbowing you in the side. you gasped in embarrassment, jerking your hand from his and hiding it behind your back. choso didn’t seem like he had caught onto your staring. and if he did, he had enough mercy to not bring it up.

“let me show you your room first,” choso explained unfazed, patiently waiting until you followed him. he walked across the living room, pointing to the side. while yes, he was attractive and seemed to be an enjoyable person to be around with, you couldn’t shake the wariness in your bones. choso switched on the lights, letting you step into the room first. it was empty for the most part, aside from a few boxes that were neatly stacked and placed in the corner. the room had a comfortable size, big enough to fit everything that you owned but not too big so that you’d feel uncomfortable with the empty spaces.

“sorry about the boxes,” choso apologized, turning to you. “i’ve been storing some of the stuff from our studio here, since i sometimes work from home and it was more convenient to have it here instead of my room.”

“i see…” you nodded, trying your best not to peek at the contents of the box. “if you don’t mind me asking, what do you work as?”

“some of my friends and me, we’ve opened a tattoo and piercing studio earlier this year. i only do tattoos though, some of the others do piercings additionally,” he explained to you, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. your mouth fell open, making you look like a fish. you couldn’t hide your excitement, eyes gleaming like you’d just discovered the biggest treasure you’ve ever seen.

“really? that’s so cool! yuuji never told me you were a tattooist, i would love to see your works someday,” you grinned from ear to ear while choso looked away from you, not being able to handle the praise. although he appreciated the sentiment, he didn’t know how to respond to compliments - the feeling was foreign to him.

"yeah, sure," choso replied with a strained voice. in the dim light, no one would be able to make out how the tips of his ears reddened and choso was thankful for that. he cleared his voice, slowly trudging outside of the room to show you the rest of his apartment.

when yuuji had mentioned that he’d found a potential roommate for choso, he didn’t tell anything else. choso didn’t expect it to be yuuji’s co-worker, much less someone whose energy was so bright and happy unlike his gloomy self. he briefly wondered whether you were okay with living here - even if you were desperate to find an apartment, surely you'd at least want someone who was… more open and less intimidating than him.

you trailed behind his broad frame, carefully taking in the entirety of the apartment. it seemed like there was nothing to worry about. even though you've only known him for a few minutes, you felt at ease with him and that gave you a better feeling about moving in with him. yuuji was innocently sitting on the couch, spooning the soup choso had prepared earlier while watching tv. his eyes followed the pair, relieved that there was less awkwardness than he anticipated but slightly suspicious because… there was something.

as choso showed you the rest of the apartment - kitchen, living room and bathroom - he comprehensively explained expenses and house rules to you. there weren't many rules to begin with; choso simply disliked clutter and expected everything to be put back to its original place after use, being noisy was a no-go as well. everything in between was negotiable. by the end of the apartment tour, you joined yuuji in the living room. he shot you a questioning look, raising his eyebrow in curiosity. you were certain that you'd take the offer. there was no way this opportunity would go to waste.

"thank you for showing me around, choso," you smiled at him gratefully. "if you're okay with me moving in, i'd love to become your roommate. i think we'll get along well."

the last box was haphazardly tossed in the corner of your room, earning you a disapproving glare from choso. exhausted, you flopped on the bed and spread across it like a starfish. choso placed the remaining boxes on the floor. moving day was, despite choso coming to your rescue, utterly chaotic and tiring. your muscles were aching from overexertion and there was no remaining energy or nerve for you to attend to unpacking. you felt like a jellylike mass.

"i'll cook something for us. do you have any preferences or dislikes?"

you lifted your head slightly to peek at choso who was standing in the doorway, on his way out. “you’ll cook for me? what are you, an angel?”

choso didn’t reply, simply stared at you. he was used to such antics - it reminded him of his childhood when he was still living with yuuji and taking care of him. lethargically, you shook your head and planted your face back in the pillow. "no, i'm okay with anything. will inhale anything as long as it's edible," though your voice was muffled, choso understood you nonetheless. he made a confused, albeit affirmative noise before disappearing. a long exhale left your lips. truthfully, you were lucky to have an amazing roommate like choso. even though you didn't know each other well and he wasn't very talkative, he was very much willing to help. with time, you were sure he would warm up to you and become great friends. your eyes were slowly drooping, the exhaustion settling in your bones. within minutes, you dozed off into a deep, comfortable slumber. you didn't wake until a knock roused you out of your sleep, startling you in the process.

"huh? yeah?" you scrambled hastily, trying to fix the bird's nest that was your hair. choso did not need to see you in this state - delirious from being woken up from your deep slumber, feeling as if you'd woken up in a new century and with imprints of your pillows and blanket on your skin. before you could make yourself presentable, choso had already opened the door and stared at you unabashedly.

you blinked dumbfounded, staring back at him.

“food’s ready. you coming?” choso gave you a questioning look, waiting for a reaction. so apparently, he did not care what you looked like after waking up. he didn’t even bat an eyelid at your messy state, unfazed by it.

“uh yeah, give me a minute,” you replied after a few moments passed, sitting up tiredly. choso nodded before closing the door behind him as he returned to the kitchen. grabbing yourself a fluffy blanket, you wrapped it around yourself and waddled outside. whatever he had prepared, it smelled divine. you hummed in content as you took a seat at the dining table. the table was already set, dishes still steaming and looking so inviting that you had to stop yourself from drooling. choso padded to the table, placing some drinks on the table before taking a seat as well. as he described the dishes he'd cooked for the two of you, you inconspicuously looked him up and down. this time, without yuuji catching wind of it.

you knew choso was tall and very broad but you only realized the full extent of it seeing how the chair seemed tiny in comparison to his frame. his hair was down for a change, falling just above his shoulders. as usual, he was wearing comfortable clothes; a big shirt, big enough that you could admire his arm muscles and hands every time the sleeves moved. not only was he attractive, he was incredibly attentive and helpful as well, not expecting anything in return.

"thank you for cooking, i really appreciate it. looks really good," you complimented choso, taking a bite from the dish. you hummed delighted, wiggling in your seat happily. "oh my god, this is so delicious! where did you learn cooking like this?"

"i used to cook for yuuji and myself a lot."

"i wanna return the favour too but now i kind of feel inadequate," you joked lightly, smiling at him sheepishly. while you weren't the worst cook, you weren't outstandingly great either. choso however, was probably the best cook you knew.

"i don't mind. as long as you do your best, it's the thought that counts."

you nodded in agreement, taking a sip from your drink. silence fell over you; a comfortable silence however, both of you just enjoying the food. you supposed it wasn't too bad if you took your time getting to know each other - after all, choso seemed like someone who would quickly recoil if cornered. it wasn't too much of a concern.

after finishing the meal, you helped him clean up and wash the dishes. nudging him gently, you asked: "do you want to watch some movies after? yuuji recommended me a few that i have yet to check out."

choso took the plates, drying them with the towel before placing them back to their designated spots. "sure, you're responsible for the movie selection then."

spending time with choso was easy, almost too easy. you were glad that the two of you were off to a good start, he didn't seem to mind your company and you enjoyed his. cheerfully, you put the movie on, snuggling the blanket that was wrapped around you. the way you were laying on the couch was reminding choso of a little burrito. unbeknownst to him, the corner of his lips lifted a little at the sight. he waited until you noticed him and shuffled a little so he could sit on the couch as well. the movie you had chosen was a lighthearted comedy, one that yuuji had highly praised and recommended you watch first.

midway through the movies, the exhaustion was creeping up on you, making you feel heavy and sleepy until you slumped against choso's side. he glanced to the side, observing you to see whether you would wake up. soft and steady breaths left your lips, already asleep within seconds. choso pondered whether to wake you now, worrying that you would miss out on the movie that you were so eager to watch. you looked so peaceful that he felt bad, deciding to wake you once the movie was over. but even choso couldn't shake the tiredness, gradually slumping against you until sleep overtook him as well.

as the sun was rising, light was flooding the apartment, filling it with warmth. you scrunched your eyebrows at the brightness, attempting to move so it wouldn't blind you. the first thing you noticed was your strained neck - probably because of the weird position you had slept in - and the second thing was that something heavy was laying on your lap. blinking in confusion, you peeked, groaning inwardly at the blinding light. black hair was splayed across your lap, connecting to… choso? oh no. oh no. you must've fallen asleep while watching the movie and judging how choso was comfortably using your lap as a pillow, he did as well. embarrassment spread throughout your body; this wasn't supposed to happen, much less with someone you didn't know so well.

now that you were unintentionally watching him, you felt creepy. the situation was too perplexing to you - should you wake him now? or just wait… until he woke up? but what if you had to pee. what if choso wasn’t going to wake up until a few hours later? what if he woke up and saw you staring at him like a creep? though you did think he looked vulnerable and peaceful in this state, unusual from his intimidating, unwavering self. it made your heart tingle with an unknown feeling, softly bubbling with curiosity.

beneath you, choso was moving slightly, shuffling around until he felt comfortable. you stayed still, tensely watching his next movements. he remained still for a while, making you exhale in relief. until he didn’t. choso blinked a few times, trying to make sense of his surroundings until his gaze fell onto yours. and you stared back, frozen in fear. even if he was the one laying on your lap, you felt anxious.

“uh i… we must’ve fallen asleep last night, ha ha…”

“you fell asleep early on and i was going to wake you after the movie ended but fell asleep myself, i’m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable,” choso apologized sincerely and sat up right away, rubbing his eyes sleepily. even though he looked rather deadpan, there was a trace of embarrassment on his face.

“oh no, it’s okay! we both fell asleep after all… ah, since we’re roommates, we’re sort of friends now, right? so don’t mind it too much, it happens!” you gave choso a reassuring smile, showing him that there was no bad blood between you.

choso nodded slowly. “i guess so. i’m glad you don’t mind. "

an awkward pause.

"do you have classes anytime soon? i can make breakfast for us.”

and just like that, the tension between you was alleviated. not completely gone, but barely noticeable. choso stretched like a cat, yawning quietly before he got up. you couldn't help but glance at his toned stomach, eyes almost bulging at the sight. turning to the side, you hid your face and cleared your voice. "i don't have classes today but i have to go to work later. so i won't say no to breakfast if you're making it."

"how's living with choso?" yuuji questioned you curiously, leaning against the counter. lowering the pen and writing board you were holding, you hummed in thought. in the past few weeks, the two of you had settled into a comfortable routine. there were minor hiccups here and there but the issues were easily resolved - somehow, you silently understood each other, an important foundation for a good friendship.

"pretty relaxing, to be honest. he's a good roommate and friend," you replied, clicking with the pen which earned you an annoying glance from yuuji. "you should've told me he was a great cook! i don't think i've ever tasted any dishes that were as good as his."

"he cooks for you?" the surprised tone in yuuji's voice startled you. was that out of the ordinary? you just thought he was being a good friend when he prepared dinner for you whenever you had a late shift.

"uh yeah? mostly when i come home late or when we have movie nights together. i always tell him that i can definitely help but he insists that he's fine doing it himself."

"i see. choso just doesn't like people messing with his cooking routine, that's all. i'm not even allowed near the kitchen, even though i'm not that bad of a cook either," yuuji laughed, scratching his head sheepishly. he wasn't going to tell you why he was perplexed by the fact that choso willingly cooked for you. it was too early to make any assumptions; he just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something at play. no one knew his brother better than him - choso would never do any favours for persons he didn't care about, persons that weren't family or extremely close friends. while they had talked about choso's thoughts about you, he never mentioned anything more than getting along well and often spending time together. for choso's standards, you were a quite close friend.

"oh, and here i was, thinking that he must really hate my cooking skills. so it's just that," you concluded, grinning happily. he was weirdly persistent about it but knowing this detail about him, you'd stop pestering him in the future. "hey do you wanna come over tomorrow? it's movie night again, i'm sure you'd enjoy it too."

"hmm, sounds tempting. if you can convince choso to cook, i'm in."

"pff, who would say no to this face," you retorted mischievously, showing yuuji the best puppy face you could muster up. he groaned, pushing you gently.

"show off," he told you jokingly and rolled his eyes. "i don't know how choso tolerates you."

"you're just jealous, huh? didn't think you had that emotion in you. choso and me are the bestest of friends, of course we get along well," you stuck your tongue out at yuuji before leaving him to his own devices as you bolted to the cash register to help a customer. as you animatedly conversed with them, yuuji shook his head. it was obvious that there was some attraction but that was something he'd let you figure out. cupid wasn't a well-fitting job for him. friends, my ass.

"huh, did you say something, yuuji?"

"no, not at all."

soft, melodious music was playing in the background as you silently sat at the counter, watching choso prepare some meals before yuuji was visiting. this time, you heeded his advice, not pestering his brother about needing help and instead just opting to watch him and make light conversation. choso seemed to have noticed as well, mood ever so slightly lifted when he saw you simply taking a seat and asking about his day. he liked this routine, being able to go about his day without someone unwantedly poking their nose into his business until he felt comfortable enough to talk about it. as you absentmindedly doodled on a napkin, choso casually told you about his day at work. about squirmy customers who were getting their first tattoo done, about those that had interesting ideas that he was still trying to find ways to implement, about how noisy his co-workers were and that they wanted to have a night out soon.

“do you wanna join us? you said you wanted to meet my friends,” choso asked, briefly glancing up at you as he was dicing the vegetables. it was true, you did inquire about his friends at some point, more so jokingly and out of curiosity - although he complained about them every now and then, you could tell that he deeply cared about them. choso was the kind of person who acted like a mother hen around friends and sometimes nagged a lot more than you anticipated. but then somehow, miraculously, every minuscule task that would stress you was completed and topped with a freshly made, warm dish by the end of the day. he wasn't good with words but his actions made up for it.

you didn’t expect him to offer you to tag along. he was comfortable enough to introduce you to his friends, even seemed to trust you with them. it felt… strangely heartwarming. "i would love to join you but i have quite a lot of assignments piling up; i'll have to do some night shifts to finish them," you replied and sighed ruefully, putting the pen away. "i'll tag along once i've finished everything, okay?"

choso frowned slightly. "but don't overwork yourself. you'll end up frustrated and burnt out," he told you earnestly, reaching out to pat your head. you gaped at him, the fond gesture making you feel flustered. it was nice knowing that he was looking out for you. choso stared back at you, seemingly startled by his own gesture as well. his hand had moved faster than he could react - he didn't know what to make of it.

the ring of the doorbell interrupted every trail of thought and you jumped up quickly. "i'll get it!" you sprinted towards the entrance, letting yuuji in. perhaps you greeted him too overzealously, yuuji looked at you like he knew something was up. nonetheless, he didn't mention anything, instead presenting you the bottle of wine and some dvds that he brought. choso gave his younger brother an acknowledging grunt, too absorbed in his tasks. taking in his surroundings as he got comfortable on the couch, he noticed some subtle changes in the apartment - the numerous pillows and fleece blankets littered across the couch, the set of matching mugs as well as choso's sketchbooks and, presumably, your textbooks on the coffee table. it was obvious that the two of you spent a lot of time together.

even throughout dinner, yuuji realized that choso had taken a liking to you, more than he probably realized and let on. he almost felt like a third wheel watching how you animatedly talked about trivial things and even more so when it was movie time. like a little burrito, you were wrapped in a blanket, leaning against choso. though it surprised yuuji to see his older brother opening up to you so rapidly, he was happy about it. although chaotic and clumsy, you were a good person and a positive influence. having witnessing how choso had closed up and how hurt he had been after the break up of his previous relationship, yuuji was glad that he wasn't cautious around you and welcomed your presence. even though… both of you were painfully oblivious.

"should we wake her?" yuuji asked as he saw you snuggling into choso's side, peacefully sleeping while the movie was still on.

"no, it's okay. she often falls asleep midway through movies, i just let her sleep. probably exhausted from uni."

yuuji looked at him as if he grew three heads. "so you just let her sleep? and you… sleep on the couch too?"

"hm? yeah, kind of. i feel bad about waking her and we're friends so it's not that big of a deal," choso replied innocently, shifting slightly so he was comfortable while keeping his arm around you. ever so slightly, he leaned onto you.

yuuji buried his face in his hands, silently screaming. don't comment on it, don't say anything, it's none of your business. you might have pink hair but you're no cupid.

utterly exhausted, you made your way into the apartment. you flopped onto the couch, grunting in irritation when you heard choso calling your name. staying put, you just laid there and listened to his footsteps nearing. "you okay? did anything happen?" he questioned, leaning over the couch to look at you. you weren't even sure what to answer, whatever you were feeling at the moment was an accumulation of stress across multiple weeks. you were frustrated with your projects, feeling like you weren't making any progress and not having time for yourself whatsoever. all you needed was a break, a pick me up.

"do you wanna talk about it?" choso repeated again but you shook your head, lifting your head slightly to look at him. he almost felt bad for thinking that you looked adorable, the way you huffed in frustration with a little pout on your lips. you shook your head, hugging one of the pillows.

"not now, later maybe?"

"okay. i'll make you a cup of tea." he disappeared from your field of vision. you listened to the sound of the kettle, closing your eyes as you focused on it. slowly, your erratic thoughts came to a halt. your breath and heartbeat steadied and you gradually felt more calm. clack. choso placed the cup of tea on the coffee table, taking a seat next to you. he was hesitant to touch you just yet, waiting for another reaction from you. sniffling quietly, you sat up and thanked him quietly.

"choso?"

"hm?"

"can i have a hug?" you inquired meekly. he didn't reply, simply pulling you into his arms. without hesitation, you wrapped your arms around him, nuzzling your face in the crook of his neck. he smelled nice, like freshly washed laundry and the shampoo he was using. it reminded you of home, making you feel more at ease. gently, choso rubbed your back; wherever his fingers moved, it left a trail of goosebumps on your skin. not that he noticed anyways, fortunately. for a few minutes, only the sound of breathing resounded. it was calming and warm - choso was warm, so warm - you almost fell asleep. humming quietly, you moved closer to him.

"today was just really… bad. everything went wrong," you confided in him. "it made me feel like shit, like i couldn't do anything right. i guess i just feel really stressed so i can't concentrate on anything."

choso leaned forward, reaching out to grab the cup of tea. you squeaked in surprise, holding onto him so you wouldn't drop backwards. his left arm snaked around your waist, keeping you in place as he leaned back again. you moved back a little, as far as choso's arm allowed you to, and took the cup from him, taking small sips. "i think you're doing okay," he told you, drawing patterns on your back. "it's only natural to feel this way when everything's been piling up. what you need is a good rest and have a reset, you'll feel more refreshed and inspired to work on your projects. and don't hesitate to ask for help, no matter whether it's a professor or classmate."

"i also told you not to overwork yourself, didn't i? and don't think i can't tell that you've been pulling all nighters," he scolded you, pinching your cheek playfully. it made you giggle, tilting your head to get away from his hand.

"yeah i know, i know. just couldn't help it, it's a bad habit. i'll try to get better at it," you promised him, giving him a reassuring smile. "thank you for listening to me."

"it's the least i can do."

a comfortable silence fell over you. choso continued to rub your back in an attempt to soothe your nerves while you sipped your tea. you were grateful for him, he was an amazing friend - you didn’t even know how to show gratitude to him. awkwardly turning to put the mug back on the table, you then leaned against him. “choso?” you hummed against his chest, snaking your arms around his waist. “you know you can talk to me about problems too, right?”

“what do you think we’ve been doing these past few weeks?” he retorted and chuckled in amusement. “you should try to go to bed now. get some rest, you’ll feel better tomorrow.”

you pouted, not wanting to move. fortunately, he couldn’t see the face you were making - you weren’t ready to let him go just yet, wanting to memorize the expanse of his chest, his warmth, the way his arms felt around you. it made you feel safe, like a temporary relief to your anxiety. “can we… can we watch a movie maybe? i’m not sleepy yet.”

of course, choso saw right through you. “you always say that and then you fall asleep midway. you just don’t want to move, huh?”

“okay, you caught me,” you giggled hysterically as he stood up slowly and pretended to let you fall, catching you before you fell. clinging onto his shoulders, you wrapped your legs around his waist. you refused to let go. unbothered, he held you by your thighs as he waddled across the living room towards the console to choose a dvd to watch. while clinging onto choso, you could hear his heart beating rapidly - you chalked it up to how strenuous it must be to carry you around. choso, on other hand, couldn’t put a finger on the warm, tingly feeling inside of him. did he like having you around like this? stupid, of course he did, you were good friends after all. spending time with you was relaxing for him as well. back on the couch, he let you use his lap as a pillow, absentmindedly combing his fingers through your hair. the two of you remained in this position until both inevitably fell asleep, movie still playing in the background.

“y/n. earth to y/n. dude, can you hear me?” nobara was frantically waving papers in front of your face, rolling her eyes as you snapped out of your trance and took them from her. to your delight, the two of you shared quite a few classes this semester which meant that you could usually share the workload as well. you copied some of her notes, hastily scribbling them in your notebook.

"sorry, i was lost in thought. what did you say?"

"i asked you whether you wanna go out later? the whole crew is coming, it's been a while anyways," your friend repeated, placing her little cosmetics bag on the table to check her makeup and apply another layer of lip gloss.

"ah sorry, i already have plans for today, maybe ano-"

"with whom?" she asked pointedly, narrowing her eyes at you. in recent times, you've been rejecting her offers to hang out a lot; whether it be because of studying or hanging out with… "wait, are you having a date with that roommate of yours again?"

"it's not a date!" you briefly paused, giving her a dirty look. nobara was weirdly persistent about this dating thing, claiming that you would never get anywhere if you didn't make a move. "his name is choso, yuuji's older brother. i told you a million times already. he's been a really good friend and taking care of me when i feel stressed, so i thought it would be time for me to do the same for him."

"a really good friend?" a doubtful look was shot your way.

"yeah, i mean yuuji cooks for us all the time, how is it any different? anyways, i'll join you guys another day, okay?"

nobara stayed still for a moment. you truly didn't realize how much you's been mentioning choso. choso this, choso that, choso here, choso there. even yuuji had confided in her that he thought you might have developed a crush on his older brother though he wasn't certain. nobara, however, was sure. but operation make y/n realize things proved to be more difficult, considering you hadn't had a crush before as you were never interested in relationships.

"fine. but in return, you have to tell me about choso. what do you think of him?" nobara stuffed her belongings into the impossibly full handbag. propping her chin on her hands, she leaned closer to you with a shit-eating grin. you sighed, putting the papers away. it was no use trying to focus on your assignments when she was in an investigative mood. she wouldn't let go of the issue until you gave her a satisfactory answer. and for some reason, it irked you that she was inquiring about choso. why was she so curious about him? couldn't she have asked yuuji instead? it was his brother after all. maybe nobara was… interested in choso? you narrowed your eyes at her.

"i think he's great. might be intimidating at first and not very talkative but when he opens up to you, he's actually a softie. very respectful and polite towards people, always thinks of others first. and not to mention, he's really talented too! he often acts like he's annoyed by people or minds his own business but he really does care a lot. you feel comforted by his presence when you're close with him," you rambled, trying to list all the positive points about him that you could think of. nobara nodded slightly as she was listening to you, making it difficult to gauge her stance on him. was she going to confess now? maybe you should confront her about it. yeah, she would never admit it otherwise. "nobara, are you interested in choso? if you wanted me to introduce you to him, you could've just asked."

nobara stared at you with an open mouth. checkmate.

"you know i wouldn't have judged you at all! after all, choso is handsome too. so really, you don't have to sneak around about this," you concluded triumphantly, patting her arm in reassurance. it filled you with pride to be able to catch nobara off guard for once - usually, she was very composed and ready to give you a sassy answer.

"y/n, sweetie. you're so very wrong." nobara sighed, dejectedly pushing your hand away. you were incredibly dense when it came to feelings and relationships. maybe it would be more amusing to just watch everything pan out. “i don’t really care about choso, that’s your man after all.”

“yeah, yeah, i- wait what?”

thankfully, you arrived home earlier than choso did - for once. and for once, this friday was going to be a relaxing one, seeing as you’d finally finished your projects and assignments and could finally engage in a much needed self care day. placing the groceries bags on the counter, you went through the ingredients again just to make sure you didn’t forget anything. yuuji had given you a recipe for his famous meatballs recipe, claiming that it was one of choso’s favourite dishes. in recent times, choso seemed to be exhausted and sometimes even easily irritable after work - considering how much he did for you, it was only fair for you to treat him as well. surprising him seemed to be the best course of action.

making quick work of the ingredients, you took your time to clean the apartment while the soup was still cooking. yuuji was kind enough to lend you a few dvds, not even asking you whether you were going to watch them with choso anymore. while you felt bad about turning your friends down yet again, you promised yourself to make it up to them in the future by inviting them over for a sleepover or movie night. though knowing them, they would not let you stay in the comfort of your home but drag you to a party or club again. especially nobara would always insist on dragging you along, while megumi and yuuji didn’t really care about where they would be going for the night. her excuse was to find you a partner, claiming that it was about time you realized how cute you were, which you vehemently denied. even maki had told her to pipe it down at some point. all the more, it made you suspicious that nobara had not brought the topic up anymore. you couldn’t imagine her giving up so quickly, considering how persistent she had been for almost a year now.

the jingle of the keys and the soft click of the door made you stop whatever you were doing, peeking around the corner to see choso coming in. giggling quietly, you watched as he stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air, seemingly confused about the scent of the soup. he turned around upon hearing you, a small, almost unnoticeable smile on his lips. “up to no good?” he questioned you teasingly, placing his bag and jacket in the wardrobe. huffing, you stuck your tongue out at him and shook your head. you padded over to him, softly tugging at the sleeve of his shirt to make him follow you to the kitchen.

“since you always cook for me, i thought it would be time for me to do the same for you. yuuji showed me your favourite dish but i’m not sure if it turned out as well as he always makes it,” you sheepishly explained, showing him the pot of soup and the bowls and cutlery that you’d already laid out. choso hugged your side, squeezing your waist gently before patting your head and muttering a quiet thank you. your chest filled with pride, finally being helpful to him for once. if you weren’t careful, it would burst - he fuelled your ego even more as he complimented you, telling you how well the soup turned out and that he really appreciated it. you knew he wasn’t lying, for one because he was a sincere person and always offered heartfelt compliments, and because of how eagerly he was eating, practically inhaling the soup in one go. he even looked like he was in a food coma by the time you finished dinner, making you ban him from the kitchen to take a rest on the couch.

after washing the dishes, you came back to the living room to see him lie across the couch, eyes closed and calmly breathing. he looked like he was taking a nap, until he opened his eyes to peek at you as you approached. giddily, you joined him on the couch, showing him the hair products that you’d already placed on the coffee table. “can i give you a massage and do… uh hair stuff? i really like it when people brush my hair and stuff and i thought you might enjoy it too,” you explain to him. choso contemplated for a few seconds before shrugging nonchalantly. yes! you signaled him to sit on the floor in front of you as you pressed play. with the sound of the movie in the background, you focused on choso’s hair and took off the hair ties first. he got comfortable, turning towards the tv and learning his head against the edge of the couch. gently running your fingers through his hair, you made sure to detangle rough knots before massaging his scalp gently. you could tell that choso was beginning to relax by the way his shoulders were slowly sagging. in silence, you worked through the entirety of his scalp before moving on to brush his hair.

if you didn’t already know that choso was a naturally withdrawn person, you would’ve been concerned by how quiet he was and how he didn’t show any reactions to the movie. you were glad that he seemed to like the entire hair spa ordeal; he didn’t even seem to mind that you were using your hair products on him, the soft floral scent now emanating from his hair as you massaged it through the tips and then brushed it in slow strokes. by the time you were done, he looked utterly relaxed, struggling to keep his eyes open as he climbed back on the couch and sat next to you. without having to ask, he wrapped his arms around you. yawning quietly, you moved closer to him, turning your attention to the tv. habitually, his hands moved against your back, drawing shapes and patterns. slowly, choso could feel the heat in his body rising and chalked it up to the close proximity. it did make him feel a little uneasy however; he shifted you around on his lap until he felt comfortable. abruptly halting his movements, he froze as you turned to him, ass grazing his groin. an electric shock ran through him. subconsciously, he jolted at the friction. the tips of his ears turned red in embarrassment but he reassured you he was fine when you looked at him concerned. what the hell was that? was his body now not listening to him after being so relaxed?

“choso, can i ask you something?” you leaned back slightly to look at him.

“you already did. but yeah, go ahead.” choso grinned at the little huff you let out, grasping your hand in time as you tried to hit his chest and intertwined your fingers so you couldn’t move.

“uh this might sound weird but i think a friend of mine is interested in you. nobara, do you know her?” you squeezed his hand, moving it around with yours. “she asked me about you the other day.”

“huh, really? isn’t that one of yuuji’s friends too?”

you nodded in agreement. “yeah, we’re all friends. i only told her good things about you, of course.”

choso hesitated. he wasn’t sure what to tell you, not wanting to say something about your friend that could upset you. but the truth was, he wasn’t really interested in anyone right now. the recent breakup had done a number on him and he felt like he hadn’t properly moved on just yet. not when the thoughts were still obsessively circling in his head. but when choso was with you, they miraculously seemed to disappear, making him feel more at ease. “i’m not really looking for anything right now, sorry. i don’t really want to disappoint her, i’m just not really up for a relationship right now,” he told you truthfully, giving you an apologetic smile.

you stopped in your movements, nodding slightly in understanding. and still, it made your heart seize up for an unknown reason.

ps.: the story of how it takes reader and choso ages until they realize their feelings or alternatively: nobara and yuuji unwillingly turn into cupids

#jujutsu kaisen #choso #kamo choso #choso kamo #choso x reader #kamo choso x reader #choso kamo x reader #choso x you #kamo choso x you #choso kamo x you #choso imagines #choso kamo imagines #kamo choso imagines #jujutsu kaisen fluff #jujutsu kaisen imagines #fic: home #writing

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szivtalan · 3 years

Text

love is in the words unspoken

all these moments are golden,

forever is mine with you

the blossoming of the cherry trees always puts hawks in a strange mood. he thinks they’re romantic, magical - reminds him of a time when he was more naive, more dreamy, didn’t know much about the world. it’s nostalgic, to see the carpet of sakura petals on the streets, reminding him of what is and what could’ve been.

‘hawks!’

it’s ironic that he runs into endeavor’s child just as the flowers begin to fall.

‘hey, it’s todoroki.’ he grins, glancing at the two heroes behind the one already rushing up to him: deku and dynamight. ah yes, the three musketeers, as they call themselves. it’s nice to see the top three teaming up that way. ‘where’s the honorific though, kiddo? i’m still much older than you.’

‘not that much.’ shoto replies, and it feels like a shot to the heart. that’s right... they’re both in their twenties now. ‘and i figured i’d drop the honorifics now that i’m above you on the hero ranking list.’

the tilt of his head would be adorable if he weren’t such an asshole. tokoyami was right when he said that his youngest was different than endeavor - hawks only wished to see such a playful side of him.

‘the disrespect.’ hawks laughs, slapping shoto on the shoulder. he hits harder than what would be necessary, but the boy doesn’t even bat an eye. sturdy. and tall. holy shit, is he taller than hawks now? ‘anyway, i really don’t mind. are you guys patrolling around here?’

‘GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE HALF-AND-HALF, BEFORE I GO THERE AND BEAT IT!’ one youngster yells at them.

‘kacchan, don’t be so rude! he’s talking to hawks-san!’

‘friendly bunch.’ hawks snorts, and shoto just shakes his head with a smile.

‘they’re the best. i’m just trying to catch up.’ he admits, sounding sincere.

‘DON’T IGNORE ME, FUCKFACE!’

‘what are you doing around here anyway?’ shoto asks. ‘isn’t your office in a different city?’

‘yeah, i just came here to stretch my wings, take a walk.’ hawks says, ruffling his feathers a little for emphasis.

‘are you walking on your wings?’

‘n-no...?’

‘then how-’

‘WRAP IT UP NOW!’ at dynamight’s next shout, shoto visibly flinches. he seems more irritated than scared, at least to hawks.

‘i just wanted to thank you for helping my dad all those years ago.’ shoto says then, bowing his head a little. hawks takes it back, he doesn’t have an ounce of disrespect in his body. he’s just a little warped in the social area, and hawks has a fairly good guess where he gets that from. ‘i’ll be going now.’

‘wait, ah- how, how’s the old man?’ hawks tries to aim for anything but desperate. ‘i haven’t heard from him since the retirement.’

shoto looks at him thoughtfully, and those dual-colored eyes make hawks immeasurably nervous. he feels like he’s staring into his soul, opening up the secrets he’s got locked inside.

‘he’s well. i go home on weekends.’ shoto says, pulling up a notebook and a pen. ‘here’s the address. i think he’d appreciate the visit.’

the road to the todoroki estate was the most tiring one hawks had taken in a while. it’s not like it was far from where they met with shoto, but he spent the entire time worrying if he’s dressed well for the occasion, if he should just walk instead of flying to not get gross and sweaty - if endeavor will even let him in, or he’ll just pass by and get told off.

the house is huge, traditional, designed in classic enji taste. hawks could see the roof from a street away, almost walks into a lamppost while staring, his heart picking up the speed both from the scare and the nerves. his feet feel heavier with every step, walking down the street, finally getting to the gate-

and seeing todoroki enji, former number one hero, the feared endeavor sweep the walkway to his door, the scene way too casual to not send an already spring-up hawks into hysterics.

‘what the hell is that?’ hawks spits, laughter erupting from deep in his belly. the look on endeavor’s face just makes him shriek louder, his abs clenching with it. ‘is that- a fucking broom for ants, endeavor, you look so funny-’

‘can’t a man just do his chores in peace?!’ endeavor’s yelling now; sparks fly on his heated skin, and then they burst into flames.

‘now that’s the endeavor-san i know and love.’ he laughs, holding onto his own stomach, wiping his tears. endeavor’s face appears red under all that fire, he walks up to the gate to let him in.

‘what are you doing here, anyway?’ he mumbles, extinguishing himself as hawks walked in. he holds his broom under his armpit rather awkwardly, with the gracelessness of a man not quite used to doing the cleaning. hawks looks at him, observes: the slouch in his shoulders, the specks of grey in his stubble, the blush high on his cheek, the early wrinkles. he smiles to himself, reasons unknown, buried deep in a secluded part of his heart.

‘ran into your kid downtown, he said i should drop by and say hello.’ hawks lifts the nylon bags he’s been carrying, offers a lopsided grin. ‘i brought takeout.’

‘hmpft.’ endeavor is elaborate, as always. a man of few words and plenty actions, something hawks has always admired in him. ‘you can stay. only for the food.’

‘so you’re still very much hopeless in the kitchen, eh?’

‘don’t make me change my mind, brat!’

the house is huge on the inside, at least five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big kitchen and dining room, and one living room all fit into one floor. all of it echoes from their steps, empty and lonely.

‘your boy said that he’s visiting you on weekend.’ hawks pries, shrugging his coat off as he hands over the bag. his fingers brush against endeavor’s fight-hardened, calloused ones and his heart feels like it could jump out of his chest again.

‘whenever he has the time. shoto’s a busy man.’ endeavor nods, his voice dripping with pride. hawks doesn’t need him to say any more to know how fond he is of his son. it makes him smile, actually. ‘why?’

‘and the rest of your family?’ he asks, a little more cautious.

‘i see rei and natsuo on holidays, and fuyumi usually spends her school breaks here.’ enji sets down the bag at the low table, grabs a pair of chopsticks from the dish rack. there are plates piled high there: it seems like he can clean up after himself, but refuses to put things away. hawks figures it’s pretty comfortable, considers that for a second before he realizes how much he can see into endeavor’s private life.

they sit down at the same time, and their eyes meet. ‘i’m not lonely.’ enji immediately turns defensive. there’s probably pity or sadness in hawks’ eyes, he wasn’t paying attention to his expression for a second.

‘i wasn’t suggesting you were.’

‘being alone is something i deserve. so i take my punishment with pride and strength.’ enji squares his shoulder, sitting up impossibly straight at his uncomfortable seat. he takes the boxes out, scatters them across the table for them to reach. no plates, though. ‘itadakimasu.’

they eat mostly in silence, warm, comfortable, and hawks can’t take his eyes off him. endeavor looks so casual, so approachable like this. he looks soft, in the slightly frayed sweatpants, a little weary from use, and the soft cotton shirt hugging his bulging muscles, stretching across his enormous shoulders. his face is a little thin, the wrinkles obvious on its unharmed half. from this close, hawks can see the grey hairs on his temple, too.

‘i’m looking for a place to stay.’ hawks announces once they’re finished eating. the look of surprise and something else - hope? no, it can’t be... - flashing across endeavor’s face startles him, but he’s not about to back down, now. ‘what-... ugh, how much do you think you’d rent out a room for?’

‘what?’ endeavor appears shell-shocked. ‘wh- why?’

‘well, because my apartment building is remodeling, and i’m pretty sick of living in the busier side of the city anyway. figured i’d change it up, move into the suburbs-’

‘that’s not what i’m asking.’ he snaps. ‘why me? don’t you have friends who’d let you stay with them?’

‘not anyone i’d like to move in with.’ hawks shrugs, playing with a few leftover grains of rice. ‘you know, i can cook, and i’m also willing to dry off and put away your damn dishes.’

‘hawks...’

‘c’mon, we can have sleepovers! i can braid your hair and you can braid mine. it will be fun!’

‘i can’t let you do that, hawks.’

‘okay, yes, i admit, your mane’s a little short for a proper french braid, but i can make do-’

‘hawks.’ enji’s voice booms. ‘no.’

‘you’ve known me for almost a decade, old man.’ hawks is talking back, suddenly fired up. ‘why won’t you just let me take care of you?’

‘because i’m a perfectly capable person who doesn’t need anyone to take care of them.’ he huffs, steam seeping from his nose. ‘and because i can’t let you do that to yourself.’

‘what, enji?’ he’s loud. is he shouting? he can’t tell.

‘waste your time on a bitter old man who isn’t worthy of you.’

now they’re pulling up the big guns. hawks deflates, props his head up on his elbows.

‘retired, but still on your self-deprecating bullshit.’ he sighs. ‘will you take it to the grave?’

‘hawks, i’m serious-’

‘and i’ve been serious, too. my entire life, about my feelings for you. you kept shaking me off, saying it wasn’t appropriate for someone your age dating someone so young, saying you were married, but all this time, i kept getting refused because you hate yourself too much to allow yourself to be loved?’

hawks doesn’t know when he stood up, but he’s falling to his knees beside enji now.

‘what kind of an asshole does that...?’ he whispers, staring right into enji’s fearful eyes.

‘an asshole who cares about you.’ enji murmurs, letting hawks hit him in the chest.

‘this isn’t “caring” about someone! this is just lying to yourself and keeping yourself from being happy!’ his fingers tangle in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer.

‘keigo-’ enji hisses, losing his balance and gripping the edge of the table so he doesn’t fall against the other man.

‘tell me no.’ hawks proposes, his free hand coming up to cradle his jaw, so prickly and manly and strong, the shudder that ripples through him from the gentle touch, making him so weak and vulnerable. ‘no more running away, enji, no more games. tell me no right now, and i won’t ever bother you again.’

endeavor furrows his brows, the skin around his scar pulling grotesquely over his face with the struggle. he takes a deep breath, and hawks gets goosebumps as the hot air from the exhale hits his skin.

‘i can’t...’ enji whispers, and hawks can barely hear over the sound of his heart shattering. he starts to let go, but he forgets to breathe and move altogether as enji leans in instead, hand coming up to hold him close by the back of his head. ‘i can’t say no, not anymore...’

the first touch of lips against his have his insides flutter, almost working him into a panicked frenzy. he can only hope that enji can’t feel his heart beating in his throat as he kisses him, deep and desperate and oh so careful. hawks clings into him, lets him chase him for a change, holds on for the ride.

when they separate, hawks feels dizzy, drunk with heat and pleasure. enji looks just about as much present, he seems dumbfounded.

‘well, uh.’ he says, and hawks would kick anyone who says he doesn’t have a way with words.

‘i can come on thursdays and fridays.’ he offers, for now. ‘that way your kids can still have you on weekends.’

‘thanks.’ that’s all endeavor says before he pushes a few stray strands of hair back from hawks’ face, leans in for another kiss.

it’s a date, then.

#bnha #endhawks #anime #enho #todoroki enji #takami keigo #todoroki shouto #vmine #fluff #future fic #oh look at me not respecting my art and writing in a tumblr post again #oh but well i worked on it all afternoon so enjoy?#tododekubaku #if u squint lol #bakugo katsuki #midoriya izuku

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nix-rose · 2 years

Text

OC Insert. Guardians of the Galaxy

Phoenix sat on the edge of her balcony four stories up.

She watched the colorful planet's crowded, busiest city. The morning sun makes the dust create a hazy filter over the buildings and small roads.

All the hustle and bustle of the streets fascinated the young woman. How everyone could live so close together and not go crazy was a mystery to her.

She remembered back in her old life, before she was abducted and taken to a far away lab in space.

She has always lived on Earth on a farm, a huge, empty, no human in sight. The way her parents had liked it.

She was just a small child at the time but not everything that's good can last,

Phoenix had been tested on and experimented on for only about a year, that's when she met Rocket. She was quiet and scared of everyone and everything at the time.

Rocket was cold to the girl at first but soon took her under his wing. He showed her little gadgets he made from parts he had snatched from around the lab, he tried to ease her anxiety, make her laugh, anything, to keep her mind off her wounds and internal pain.

Sometime after her ninth birthday Rocket helped Phoenix break out of the lab. It was the happiest Phoenix had been in years. She thanked Rocket profusely to the point where she made it awkward.

Phoenix chuckled at the memory, also remembering what had happened after.

Rocket had finally told her to shut up before he turned away but the young girl saw a toothy smile stretching across his fluffy face.

"Man, where did all that time go," Phoenix whispered to herself in shock. She clearly remembered the day, a few years later, that she had brought Groot home with her and how Rocket had freaked out.

She had been about 11 by then and Rocket had gotten caught on a previous junk run in a high-end area and thrown in prison. Phoenix followed his protocol for if any of this ever happened,

"Stay away from anyone and everyone, kid. Go back to the ship. I'll be there in two days. If anyone comes knocking, stay silent. Don't show signs of livin'."

On her way back to the ship she came across a tree being. He was taller than a regular man for sure and only thing he could seem to say was "Groot"

His eyes looked so innocent and kind that Phoenix just had to bring him back with her.

By the time the second day rolled around Phoenix had taught Groot to say two other words. 'I' and 'am'

Let's just say, when Rocket walked in the back area to see a 6 foot tree being with his little human, he wasn't very happy.

Phoenix had never seen Rocket so angry actually. It was really scary for her, even though Rocket only came up to her hip.

In the end, after a lot of grumbling and pleading mixed with an occasional 'i am Groot' Rocket decided Groot could stay.

That was Phoenix's second happiest moment that she could remember.

The odd group flew around the galaxy the next few years, Rocket teaching Phoenix how to shoot and also taking on the responsibility of being a bounty hunter with Groot.

Phoenix was never allowed on these missions, bold to assume she went on ANY missions.

Instead she found ways to scavenge toys or crafts around the ship while both older beings were gone.

Phoenix fiddled with the hem on her gray t-shirt. She still had some of the toys she and Rocket had created tucked away.

Unfortunately only one of the ones that Rocket had tinkered up had survived her recent years on the road.

Years on the road.

Those words haunted the young woman ever since that one mission.

Phoenix shuddered, recalling the day Rocket and Groot left and never came back.

She was 16 then and Rocket had said it might be a dangerous bounty but it would give them a crap load of credits. Before he left he told Phoenix one thing "If Me and Groot don't make it back, you get this ship. If we aren't back in 3 days, drive to a different planet. You know what you're doing. Keep surviving. Don't ever let them break you down. You're a ball of fire kid and if anyone tries to dim that, you better run or fight like hell….. I-.. I'll miss ya Nix."

That had been 9 years ago.

One thing the young woman had learned was that She hadn't just survived without Groot and Rocket, she had lived.

She traveled to a lifetime of different planets and found many townspeople to befriend in each area. Of course she made enemies. Everyone had enemies here and unfortunately Phoenix was a bit of a confrontational character.

Her phone started buzzing, startling her from her daydreams.

Glancing down, she saw the text was from the baker, an announcement saying he had just finished a batch of blueberry muffins and he could hold one or two if she'd like.

Phoenix grinned and replied with a "That would be great, thanks!"

She flung her legs over the railing and walked back through her sliding glass door.

Today was her 26th birthday and what a better way to start the day than with blueberry muffins.

The cool morning air hit her face as she walked out of her apartment, the breeze gently playing with her brown curls.

Phoenix walked down the road with a bounce in her step, every one bringing her closer and closer to her tasty destination.

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

After picking up the muffins Phoenix headed back to her apartment. As she was walking through downtown, a loud war cry came from across the street.

Phoenix whipped around to see a stocky gray man thrown out the door of the local bar.

Followed by him came a woman with green skin and….

A Groot and a raccoon….

Phoenix's muffin box dropped to the pavement along with her jaw.

'It couldn't be…'

Her theory was proven correct when the green woman started telling the male beings off and used a name she hadn't heard spoken aloud in years.

"Rocket and Drax, what the heck do you think you were doing? Threatening the bar keeper wasn't going to get us anywhere- ROCKET ARE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION?!"

The raccoon had spotted Phoenix across the street and taken a furry step closer to the young woman.

Rocket's face went slack "Oh my god. Kid-?" He drifted off, not wanting to assume without knowing for sure, but his answer was given at Phoenix walking shakily across the road.

It was like her voice had been stolen from her. In the past she had thought up so many things that she would've liked to say to him but at the moment she couldn't remember a single one.

"I can't believe you're alive, kid. Look how much you grew. "

Phoenix felt her eyes watering and choked out a 'I- I thought you had- had… died. I thought I would never see you guys again.'' the young woman dropped down to her knees and hugged the furry male.

"I missed you Rocket.'' she whispered her voice cracking and tears freely dripping down her face, onto Rocket's head.

"I missed you too, Kid." He mumbled. He was obviously trying to hide the fact that he was also crying.

A cough interrupted the moment and Phoenix looked up to the beings staring down at the situation.

The gray man spoke first "Rodent, Who is this tiny female?" He demanded.

Phoenix stood, wiping her eyes and gave the man a piercing stare through her tears. She replied right as Rocket did,

"He is NOT a rodent, you jerk"

"This is Phoenix, ya a-holes "

The man glared at Phoenix "Spare me your foul gaze, woman"

Phoenix just about growled at him, she instead rolled her eyes at the brute-ish man but before she could give a snarky reply, the green woman spoke.

“It is nice to make your acquaintance Phoenix. My name is Gamora and the man with no manners is Drax.”

Phoenix tore her gaze from the gray man and turned her attention to Gamora.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too, Gamora”

"I am Groot'."

Phoenix laughed, her tears threatening to spill again "Yes, I missed you too Groot."

Drax squinted at Groot, opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by a man being thrown out of the pub.

"Hey! I didn't actually shoot him,' the man yelled at the door and his response was a barrel of a gun that appeared in the open frame "Woooah, okay. Okay. Yeah I'll just get going.." he trailed off obviously not wanting to push his luck.

He turned to the group, "Well that guy was a complete a-hole, what do y'all think about going for a joy ride around this dump?" He asked, not seeing the extra person in 'his' group.

Phoenix took this time to take in his aura and looks.

'Light brown curls, green eyes, red leather jacket, has an extroverted personality… arrogant and ignorant it seems '

Gamora groaned, rolling her eyes at this new man "Quill. You were our last hope at getting information out of him and you ruined it," She growled angrily.

'Quill' looked bewildered, but covered it with a look of confidence "I did not ruin anything. I have a plan-"

"Like we haven't heard that one before" Rocket scoffed, making 'red leather' turn his attention to the racoon and Phoenix.

"Rocket, I don't even want to hear-...' He did a double-take at the extra being in the group 'Um, Who is this?"

Quill took a step closer to Phoenix gazing down at her.

"This is Phoenix." Rocket snapped, obviously annoyed with 'Quill's' antics.

"Oh? So this is the lady you guys used to travel with,"

he asked to which Groot answered "I am Groot'"

Phoenix's heart started racing as he took her hand and kissed the back of it, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

"It's lovely to make your acquaintance, doll. I'm Peter Quill but people call me Starlord."

The entire group simultaneously groaned and started telling Quill off.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody called you Starlord-"

"Stop playing around, she's my family Quill, you keep going and Imma shove my foot up your-"

"I am Groot" Groot snapped, earning a "Wooaahh, language!" from Peter.

"Yeah?" Rocket asked sarcastically, "Then don't talk to her. Easy, Quill."

#peter quill #star lord #drax the destroyer #guardians of the galaxy #gamora #i am groot #rocket raccoon #oc insert #before the second movie #fanfiction #short story #new writers on tumblr #boom #marvel #space #80s music

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moos-cow · 3 years

Text

’Tis The Season For SMUT

Like what I’ve posted before, I’ll be participating in @voltage-vixen‘s ’Tis The Season For SMUT Challenge!

So, without further ado, my first post for the challenge:

Day 1 Prompt: Kiss me under the mistletoe

Pairing: Lancelot Kingsley / Reader Fandom: Ikemen Revolution Genre: Fluff-SMUT Word Count: 2021 Warning: Graphic

“Zero! Over here!” you yell from across the street, waving a hand overhead to the wandering Ace of Hearts. Once your eyes met, he immediately walks over to you with a couple of bags in hand.

You had volunteered to head in the decorating of the Red Army Headquarters for Christmas-- a job usually taken by Jonah due to his ‘high standards of style’ as he’d call it. But like all the other officers, the closing holidays made him busier than usual; events with the nobles happening one after the other, and meetings with the Black Army for their joint Christmas event for the citizens topped his already packed-to-the-minute daily work.

Now that December has finally kicked in, you don’t hold back in your decor shopping escapades; you’d been waiting for this day to come since Halloween anyway. So, you go from shop to shop with Zero, buying all the decorations and trinkets on your list that you'll need to dress up the Headquarters.

“What’s this?” Zero questioned the new bag you have in hand. It was a small, light-looking, brown bag that was sealed neatly with Christmas designed tape-- a standout from the colourful paper bags you carried.

“It’s a secret!” Excitement beaming from you as you began skipping back towards headquarters, looking forward to a certain Christmas tradition you'd surprise Lancelot with. “Come on, Zero!”

As huge as the headquarters is, with the help of some of the soldiers and maids, it took you over two weeks to completely decorate the manor from top to bottom, and inside out. It was a winter wonderland.

“One last piece,” you spoke to yourself, clutching the little brown bag you had when you went out with Zero. Where you’d choose to hang this little decor had to be special, not only to you but also to Lancelot, so you walk around the building to scan for viable locations. “Where, oh where can I hang you…”

“Y/N,” Edgar’s chipper voice called out to you just as he left Lancelot’s office with Jonah, wondering why you were walking aimlessly around the halls with a small bag in hand. “Anything the matter?”

“Edgar! Jonah!” You spun in surprise as the two sauntered towards you, Jonah’s eyes were immediately drawn to the bag in your hands, probably thinking that Edgar has given you a part of his stash of contraband sweets.

“I’m just looking for a nice place to hang these…”

Jonah arches a brow questioningly, and Edgar’s smile unwavering, as if asking you what the contents of the bag were. Your words slip out to answer the unspoken question, “... decors.”

Jonah frowned as he held out his hand, asking you to hand the bag over. You promptly hide it behind your back; but as you shift it around you, Edgar snatches it from your grip. His grin reaches from ear to ear as he and Jonah take a peek into the bag.

“Edgar!” You reach out to take the bag back, but he holds it just a little farther back and higher away from you. He may be the shortest among the officers, but he is still a good couple of inches taller than you.

“Now, now, Y/N. Why don’t you leave the hanging of this to us, hm? Besides, you’ve done a wonderful job decorating headquarters. My, you’re even better than Jonah here!” Edgar teases and chuckles at his own statement.

“Hey!” Jonah scowls at the younger man, then pouts as he turns to you, trying to get his composure back. “Anyway, Y/N, mistletoes are poisonous. It’s better to have Edgar poisoned rather than you.”

“You hurt my feelings, Queen.” Edgar banters back, waving a hand as he turns to walk away with the bag. Jonah soon follows in suit, excusing himself from you to head to his troops’ training session.

Another week has passed, and the red and white manor now basked in the scarlet rays of the Christmas Eve setting sun. Up until now, there was no sign of the mistletoe Edgar took from you that time. After searching high and low, you finally shrug in defeat, resigning yourself to the idea that the little ornament would never see the light of Christmas that year.

A little mistletoe won’t ruin my Christmas! You commit yourself to that simple idea as you walk back to your room to get dressed for the evening’s party. A red and gold embellished off shoulder cocktail dress laid on your bed, with a small note and a single white rose. Your heart raced at the simple gesture-- Lancelot always knew how to make you smile.

You added a scarf to your ensemble and headed out for the common area. The delicious scents and joyful sounds filled the halls of the Red Army Headquarters. Soldiers and officers alike greeted you with smiles and laughter-- long gone was the Red Army you knew when you first arrived in Cradle.

“You look beautiful.” Lancelot greeted you the moment you arrived in the common room.

“Who do I have to thank for then?” You wrap an arm around his waist and pull him close into a hug of sorts, chuckling into his chest. “Thank you, Lancelot.”

“Well, isn’t it Mr. and Mrs. Claus!” Kyle, clearly tipsy already, raises his voice as he saunters closer to you and Lancelot with a Christmas hat in hand. He swiftly decks it on Lancelot’s head and looks at it as if it were his prized masterpiece. “Perfect.”

To your surprise, Lancelot doesn’t dare move, nor remove the said hat; prompting you to turn to him with a slightly confused look on your face.

“The idiots made me into Santa this year,” Lancelot answered with the straightest face imaginable. You lightly cough to try to hold back your laughter; alas, your shoulders shook, giving you away to the man beside you. He was just too adorable.

“I’m sorry, it does fit you.” you laugh and fan your face with your hand, fighting back the tears of joy threatening to fall from your eyes. “You’ll make a great Santa, Lancelot.”

A smile graced his features as the events of the night started. Overflowing food and drinks were served, music and chatter filled the air, and gifts were exchanged. You scan the room, burning the scene before you into memory-- Kyle, already on his umpteenth bottle of beer, started challenging soldiers to an arm-wrestling challenge, while Edgar and Zero stood by to watch and further insight until the whole thing goes down in flames; Jonah was receiving gifts from the soldier members of ‘Jonah's Heart Defenders’ at the other end with a fresh plate of mille-feuille before him; and, Lancelot… You strained your eyes to look for him in the busy crowd, and finally, find him alone by the Christmas tree, tinkering with one of the hung ornaments.

You saunter to him, bringing two flutes of champagne for each of you. He turns to you just as you arrive. With a clink of your flutes, you greet each other just as the grandfather clock struck 12 in the main hall.

“Merry Christmas, Lancelot.”

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.”

Lancelot cupped your cheek in his hand and gently pulled you close to meet your lips with his-- a soft and delicate kiss that started to heat up with every passing second.

“Ahem- King Lancelot,” Jonah interjected, prompting you to cut your quick make-out session with Lancelot. The Queen’s brows furrowed and his eyes looked away, yet his cheeks contradicted his expression as he blushed a light shade of pink, “Your speech.”

Lancelot gave Jonah a curt nod before facing back to you. You smile at him and lightly squeeze his hand, “Go get ‘em, Santa.”

His hand never left yours for the duration of the party-- through the officer’s speeches, to the farewell greetings. He only let you go as you both stopped in front of your bedroom door, twirling you in the hall and straight into his arms.

Hands to the small of your back, Lancelot pulls you in closer for another kiss.

“Mm- What was that for?” you look up to him, only now noticing that his eyes were red, and not their usual blue. "Hey!"

He chuckles and points a finger up towards a floating mistletoe over your heads, the mistletoe you've been looking for the past week.

"Oh- Why is that with you?!" Your cheeks warm up from the thought of Edgar handing the little bag to his King.

Drat. Edgar.

You wanted to surprise Lancelot by kissing him under the mistletoe, but now, the complete opposite seemed to happen.

"I’ve always wanted to try that." Lancelot suddenly confesses, eyes locked onto the floating mistletoe above.

"You know you have to ask first, right?" you chuckle at his innocence.

"I suppose." he straightens up and holds you closer, tilting your head up with a finger to meet his gaze. He starts again, "Y/N, may I kiss you under this mistletoe?"

"Of course."

You meet his lips in a fervent kiss, and when you break, Lancelot's lips travel down, leaving a wet trail to your neck as he rids the scarf off your skin. His warm hands make their way down to the curve of your sides, eliciting a sigh from you as you call his name.

"Mistletoe kisses don't always have to be on the lips, you know." He says between nips, breath blowing against your heated skin; sending shivers straight down to your core.

"Mhmm," you hum at the feeling of his fingers brushing the underside of your clothed breast, and you lightly tug at the front of his uniform before reaching up to run a hand through his blonde locks.

Lancelot bites down and sucks onto your flesh as he pushes you flush against the door. A soft moan escapes your lips at the sudden mix of pain and pleasure; "Lance-"

"Yes?" he drags his sultry reply as slowly as his hand travels down to the front of your skirt, raking the clothing up until his fingers could skim across your skin.

"We're in the hall." You shudder in his hold as the heat between your legs started to grow more intolerable, throbbing at the need for more.

"So?" he teases, bringing his lips up to your ear to nibble on your lobe while his hand continuously skims across your inner thighs, purposefully missing your clothed womanhood.

Words won't get to him, so you reply in kind-- hand skimming over his uniform before resting over the growing tent of his pants. He growls and slightly bucks his hips against your hand at the faint touch, chasing the friction his body longs for.

He catches your grin in a hungry kiss, swallowing your moans as he presses his fingers against your clothed sex, coaxing agonizingly slow circles against the little bundle of nerves. You tremble in his grasp, panting heavily from every shock sent throughout your body.

"Lancelot," you whine, instinctively grinding against his hand. He doesn't stop, nor does he speed up. His clear blue eyes lock into yours for a moment, heavy and full of lust.

He strains his ears to hear the approaching sound of company-- muffled footsteps and faint chatter coming from the west wing. Your eyes widen once the sound reaches your ears.

Lancelot quickly wraps an arm around your waist and opens the door behind you, causing you to both stumble gracelessly onto the carpets of your room with a thud.

You find yourself laying on top of Lancelot, with his arm still wrapped around your waist protectively. Both of you were still caught in a daze from the last minute's incident.

You break into a smile, then burst into a laugh; prompting the man beneath you to laugh as well.

"So?" you spoke, trying your best to impersonate Lancelot's earlier reply despite your intense laughter.

Tears rolled freely down your cheeks from the laughter, and Lancelot wiped them with the pads of his thumbs before pulling you into another kiss.

A Merry Christmas indeed.

#ikemen revolution #ikemen kakumei #ikemen fanfiction #ikemen revolution fanfiction #lancelot kingsley #lancelot x reader #ikerev lancelot #edgar bright #Jonah Clemence #zero #kyle ash #IkeRev Jonah #ikerev edgar #ikerev Kyle #ikerev zero #’tis the season for smut

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frostmarris · 4 years

Text

Ensnared

ZetsuSaku - Monster Hunter AU

notes: this was supposed to be a drabble for an ask request but i got hella into it and 7500 word later, here we are

enjoy!

: :

She's on day five of her cross-country trek, with no actual sign of the beast besides the aftermath of its attacks. Normally she sticks to bounties on monsters she's familiar with - rabid werewolves, feral vampires, giant ogres, and demonic beasts - but the Royal Council in the capitol city has promised her a hefty sum for the head of the creature that's ravaged eleven villages already.

Well, not her personally. It's a general bounty that any monster hunter can cash in on, but she knows a majority of the hunters who had initially set out have either been killed or abandoned the quest altogether. She's been tempted to quit as well since it was a full two weeks of tracking and following other hunters' trails before she finally caught up and then another week of hunting when the trail went cold.

But the bounty is a price she couldn't say no to, so here she is, a full kingdom away and still at least an entire day behind her quarry.

There hadn't been many first-hand accounts of the beast's attacks but, from what she's been able to gather, it sounds like some sort of forest spirit. Sprouting from the earth itself, commanding the plants to do its bidding, and always disappearing into the woods once it has had its fill of destruction and makes its escape.

However, last time she checked, forest spirits don't tend to eat humans.

Sakura clicks her tongue to urge her horse onward, peering out from under the hood of her cloak to watch the trees that lined the sides of the road, searching for movement. The fae blood in her veins sing at the presence of Danger in this forest and she's not one to ignore her instincts.

She'd left the small river village - the location of the creature's latest attack - yesterday morning and had crossed the plains to reach the forest to the west. Reports from the village survivors had claimed that the monster had gone south-southwest, bypassing the plains entirely to disappear into the woods, but Sakura is thinking further ahead. The nearest settlement lays here to the west, with not a single town within a week's travel southward. She'd been mapping and tracking the trail of carnage enough to note that, while the monster's path wasn't straightforward, it was undoubtedly heading to the ancient Faewood forest - one of four on the continent - on the other side of the mountains.

Her father hails from the eastern forest - where the trees are taller than castles and wider than houses, with red bark that smells like honey, blue-green leaves bigger than her head, canopies that are always blooming with flowers, and roots that rise out of the ground to make bridges. She grew up in the Spring Court with her fae father and human mother until she eventually set out on her own, taking up this business of hunting monsters and visiting lands she'd never even heard of.

To the west lies the forest of the Fall Court and, while she'd love to see the canopies who's colors rival those of her home, she intends to stop the beast before it can disappear into the Faewood.

Her calculating has been meticulous. She's measured out how much time passes between attacks and accounted for distance between villages, arriving at a rough estimate of how fast the beast can travel. Having figured out how much ground it can cover under a certain amount of time has led her to the conclusion that she'll have a full two and a half days to bunker down in the village ahead before it makes its arrival. If it's traveling purely through the forest that surrounds the southern half of the plains, it will take it a while to reach the town, giving her enough time to prepare.

All she has to do is make it to the village by nightfall and wait.

: :

Sakura settles down for the night in her room at the inn, satisfied with her prep work thus far. She's planted several of her spy poppies around the perimeter of the village, tiny dots of red amongst the browns and greys of buildings that will warn her of any signs of approaching magic. Her weapons are sharpened and her belly full with her first warm meal in two days, the dining hall and tavern below still loud with the evening's patrons.

She'd met with the village leaders shortly after stabling her horse to warn them of the attack she's expecting in two days' time, finally convincing them after she had shown her extensive mapping of the monster's previous sightings. They would announce a curfew in the morning to give their citizens the best chances of staying safe without eliciting a panic and had given Sakura their permission to set up her traps.

The creature's attacks always came at night, with its victims caught unawares as they travel the streets of their home. Oftentimes there were multiple kills, as one meal a night didn't seem to be enough to satisfy its hunger, but it had yet to break into any homes or buildings.

So, as long as none of the villagers stayed out past the impromptu curfew, there should be no casualties.

She lays restlessly under the covers until, eventually, she manages to fall asleep, dreamless but peaceful and undisturbed until morning. Sakura awakens with the sun and is quick to dress and set out to search the town and its surrounding woods to get a better lay of the land. The villagers give her a wide berth, but she's used to it and pays them no mind, instead focused on making sure she knows every nook and cranny and path in and out of the town.

The monster would likely come in from the south, but she wants all of her bases covered, unwilling to let the beast escape her blade.

She takes her lunch in her room, prepping her tools and supplies to lay her traps later that evening, when the townsfolk are in their homes and less likely to bother her. Her sword never leaves her side out of paranoia as she works by the light of the sunset and the moon as it rises and she eventually returns to the inn once she's satisfied with her work, a little frustrated to find a few too many patrons still hanging around in the tavern. Sakura had hoped the villagers would take the curfew seriously, but at least they weren't out on the streets.

Still, she would shadow them once they were finished with their merrymaking, ensuring that everyone got home safely. Her traps wouldn't activate without her magic, but she didn't need any curious drunks disturbing her work.

So, Sakura takes up a seat in the corner of the tavern, keeping to herself as she eats her dinner and maintains a watchful eye on the rambunctious guests. They mostly avoid her, only sparing a few side-eyed glances, but one of the men is drunken enough to stumble towards her table, his grin a little too friendly and his words too slurred. She's polite in her refusal to join him at their table and ignores his attempts to persuade her as she suddenly stiffens, her gaze becoming far-off as her poppies call to her.

There's movement in the woods north of the town, the scent of the supernatural caught on a breeze and carried to the flowers she'd planted. They sing in a language none of the humans can hear, warning her of something approaching through the trees.

Sakura stands abruptly and shoves past the drunkard, headed for the door to the tavern and looking to the innkeeper with a serious gaze.

"Lock the doors and stay inside," She calls, the fierceness behind her green eyes leaving no room for argument. The innkeeper pales as she draws her sword and the drunken man, now a little annoyed at her dismissal and not seeming to feel the changed mood in the room, approaches her, calling her a few rude names.

She places a delicate hand on the center of his chest and forcefully shoves him back, sending the man halfway across the tavern and onto the bench at his companions' table. They all stare at her with wide, shocked eyes and she turns, nodding to the innkeeper as she steps out onto the street. The doors are hurriedly shut and barred behind her and she slinks into the shadows, headed for an empty cart next to the blacksmiths. She hops onto it with ease and leaps higher still to access the rooftops of the town, running near silently across shingles and thatched roofs until she arrives at the northern edge of the village, where her poppies are singing the loudest.

She crouches low in the shadow of a chimney, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she eyes the trees. It's too early and the wrong direction - had she miscalculated the monster's traveling speed? Had it decided to circle around the village and come in from the opposite direction? Perhaps it was smarter than she had first anticipated.

Sakura is completely still for about five minutes until she finally sees movement, her expression becoming even more confused as she spots a wolfbeast through the trees, its grey fur catching the moonlight through the occasional break in the canopy.

Her eyes are the only things that move as she watches, catching sight of another huge wolf, slinking quietly through the trees and brush, and then a third and a fourth. Her eyes cut up to the moon to confirm that it isn't full, but these wolves are too large and oddly shaped to be normal animals.

It's a pack of feral werewolves, too far lost in their transformations to turn human ever again, and they're headed straight for the village.

Surely this wasn't the beast she'd been tracking for nearly a month. She'd been so sure it was some sort of forest spirit based on the reports she'd heard - a creature of the woods, its body split between black and white with golden eyes full of hunger.

But, as Sakura watches the pack cross through the less wooded area and into the small northern wheatfield, she notes that one of the wolves is pure white. It's an odd coloring, yes, but not exceedingly rare.

Her bewilderment grows when one of the beasts exits the tall wheat stalks and she sees pitch-black fur and golden eyes.

She's still unsure if this is what she’d been hunting or just a very strange coincidence, but Sakura isn't about to let the pack attack the village.

Still hidden in the shadows, she watches three of the wolves climb the low stone wall and pass the buildings to enter the town while the fourth, the white one, disappears to circle the perimeter. Her poppies keep her altered to its location and Sakura follows after the pack as they head down one of the streets, searching for a villager still out late. She runs across the rooftops from shadow to shadow as clouds pass over the bright moon, a twitch of her finger making the mimic bells down one of the alleys ahead begin to jingle.

They chime with the sound of laughter and the wolves take the bait, their ears twitching as they head in the direction of what they presume to be a pair of drunks returning home. Turning a corner, they enter one of the side streets and crouch low, almost as silent as Sakura's steps.

The laughter is coming from around another corner some 30 feet ahead and they approach their presumed prey cautiously, ready to make a quick kill and not alert the sleeping town. Normal wolves would typically go for the livestock, but the past lives of the werewolves makes them crave human flesh, desiring that which they have lost.

They've obviously picked up the scent of the bedsheet Sakura had snatched from the inn before the staff could take it to be cleaned and they draw closer to the alley corner, a low growl building from the black-furred leader. She crouches on the roof of the building at the corner and waits until they've reached the intersection, barely giving the pack a moment to realize the alley with the laughter is empty before she sends a burst of her magic and activates the trap they're standing on.

The wire netting hidden under layers of dirt between the cobblestone path springs to life, fully ensnaring one of the smaller werewolves and part of the one with black fur. The third wolf managed to jump aside to avoid the trap and Sakura clicks her tongue in annoyance when the leader manages to free itself before the sharp wire can fully constrict. The dark red blood that splatters on the ground is proof that it had at least been sliced up fairly well and the fully trapped wolf howls in pain as the netting tightens around its restrained body.

Before the two beasts can try to assist their packmate, Sakura leaps down to land on it and, in one fluid motion, stabs her sword through the top of its skull. It instantly falls still and she removes her blade as the two werewolves roar, standing tall on their hind legs in a mockery of their lost human forms. They charge and she flips backward to avoid the swipe of a huge clawed hand, the rest of the street they'd been traveling on at her back and the alley to her right.

Her poppies warn her that the white wolf is coming to answer the pack's call and she ducks to avoid the snap of a snarling jaw, kicking out her leg to swipe the grey-furred wolf off its feet. She swings her blade and manages to catch its belly as it turns and scrambles back onto its paws, screaming in pain as the silver threaded through the core of her sword reacts with its flesh.

Werewolves can recover from even the most gruesome wounds when they're dealt by normal blades, but silver is the one thing they can't heal from.

It clutches at its middle, a burning ache filling its body from the touch of silver, and lunges wildly at Sakura. It's lost in its rage and pain and attacks without caution, growing more furious as she dodges its claws and fangs. The black wolf manages to circle around to her other side and swipes at her back, catching her off-guard and ripping through her cloak, leather brigandine, and tunic to reach her flesh.

Sakura curses and twists away, ducking low and diving into a roll to put some distance between her and the pair. She pops up into a defensive stance with her sword raised, rolling her shoulder and flinching at the pain shooting up her back. The cuts aren't too deep, but werewolf claws always sting.

Fortunately, she can deal with a few scratches - it's the teeth she has to worry about.

She hears the white wolf approaching from behind and leaps upwards just in time as it sprints at her angrily, backflipping in the air to bring her boots down on its back. The force drives it to the ground and she plunges her sword through its shoulder, missing its neck by inches.

Sakura grins viciously as it screams, but the wolf she'd nearly gutted tackles her with a burst of unanticipated speed, its head barreling into her stomach and knocking her off its packmate before she can remove her sword. They both tumble and roll backwards, landing in a heap, and jaws snap at her face as Sakura tries to get on her feet again. Her weapon is still buried in the white wolf's shoulder and she snatches the dagger holstered on her thigh, ignoring how the grit of the stone street irritates her injury.

The grey wolf is on top of her, its eyes glowing with fury as she braces her feet against its chest to keep its jaws from reaching her and ripping out her throat. Her strength surges with a burst of magic and she kicks it off of, her body rolling and twisting until she's got one boot firmly planted on the ground and her other knee braced under her. She swings her arm upwards as the werewolf lunges and stabs her dagger up through the bottom of its jaw, grunting under the weight of its body as it collapses. Sakura quickly shoves its corpse off of her and returns to her defensive stance, brandishing her silver knife.

The remaining pair of beasts - the stark contrast between their fur is rather haunting in the moonlight, she notes - stare angrily at her, the white wolf clutching its mangled shoulder and blood dripping from the other's maw from where the netting had caught it. She pants as she unclasps her cloak, letting it fall, and all three hunters watch each other, waiting to see who would make the next move.

Sakura's gaze flickers to the side to spot her discarded sword, too far for her to grab before they could reach her, and she clutches her dagger tightly in her fist. Her body lowers slightly as she tenses and the wolves growl in fury, their fangs bared and their gazes dripping with malice. She turns on her heel moments before they drop to all fours and she sprints down the street, listening to the wolves racing after her.

She avoids the residential area and cuts through the market, less concerned with a few broken crates, to head for the west edge of the village. Sakura dives over a stall, the cloth canopy hanging over it brushing against her back as she flies through the opening and lands with a roll. She glances back as she hears the wolves simply barrel through it, sending splintered wood flying, and keeps running. Following the main road that cuts through the center of the town, Sakura spots the west entrance and urges herself to run faster, needing to get closer to the woods.

She can feel hot breath on the back of her neck and she drops to the ground suddenly, ducking and curling to roll across the ground for a quick second before she kicks her legs out as the white wolf looms over where her body had been. It's caught off-guard mid-lunge and Sakura’s kick to its chest sends it flying into trees, crashing into a sturdy trunk as it gives a pained yelp. It lands upside down with its back against the tree and Sakura springs to her feet, avoiding a swipe from the black wolf.

The white beast is still while she slices her dagger at the remaining packmate, ducking and dodging its attacks but not landing very many hits herself. An uppercut to the chin catches the wolf by surprise enough for it to stumble backwards, giving Sakura enough room to spin into a roundhouse kick. Her leg connects with its side and it's sent into a different set of trees from the force, its body smashing right through a large sapling. The other wolf seems to have regained its senses but, before it can get back on its feet, Sakura drops into crouch and slams her palm against the earth.

Thick vines burst out of the forest floor, quickly ensnaring the werewolves. They wrap around their limbs, chests, and necks, binding the black wolf to the sturdy trunk of an oak and dragging the white one to the ground. Each vine they manage to get their teeth around or break with sheer strength is replaced with two more, completely restraining the monsters until they're immobile. She lets out a relieved sigh and stands, watching as the wolves roar and howl their frustration.

Sakura turns, knowing the vines will hold true while she retrieves her sword, and heads back into the village. The commotion of her battle has woken most of the town and lights begin to appear behind shuttered windows, a few brave villagers peeking out of their doors to see Sakura passing by. None fully exit their homes, still wary of danger, but they begin to grow curious enough to more openly watch her as she finds her sword from where it had been discarded and heads back to the west entrance, her expression grim. The werewolves are right where she left them and their growls turn ferocious at the sight of her blade, realizing her intentions.

She heads for the white wolf first, its gaze too focused and intelligent for her comfort as it lays pinned to the earth, completely still and staring at her with fury. She's only a few feet away when it suddenly shifts, it's face turning just barely more human as its fur thins enough for actual skin to peek out.

The partial transformation, a last ditch effort that likely took a lot of willpower, shrinks its body a full size, allowing it just enough time and space to pull free from the vines and lunge at Sakura. It can't hold the transformation long and almost instantly returns to its wolfbeast form, its claws skimming Sakura's shoulder as she dodges as quickly as she can, caught off-guard.

She's knocked off balance and lands on her back, one hand firmly planted on the ground and her fingers curling into the dirt. The white wolf leaps at her and a thick tree root surges out of the earth at Sakura's silent call, spearing the beast through the chest and exiting out the other side in a spray of blood and flesh.

The werewolf's horrible scream is answered by a roar from the black wolf, still pinned to its tree and forced to watch as the tree root drives through its packmate's chest to dig back into the ground. Thoroughly immobilized but still living despite the hole in its body, the white wolf screams and claws at the root, its gaze frantic and furious as it watches Sakura rise.

She pants, holding a hand to her shoulder, and approaches carefully. As she straightens up, she brandishes her sword in both hands and takes a breath.

Sakura twists her torso and swings, decapitating the werewolf with one clean slice.

There's an enraged roar from the black wolf and she's startled when it manages to break through its bonds with sheer strength, dislocating one of its arms in the process and likely breaking one of its legs, judging by the horrible snap Sakura hears. Her connection to the vines was broken when her hand left the earth, so there's nothing to try to snatch the wolf back again and she drops into a defensive stance, cursing under her breath.

The wolf stands, panting and staring at Sakura with furious golden eyes as it clutches its still-limp arm. Bloodlust is radiating off of its form as it watches the hunter that killed its pack and she glares back, ready to end the fight.

But she's surprised when it suddenly turns and disappears into the woods, leaving Sakura to chase after it through the trees.

Sakura curses again and breaks into a sprint, but, three hours of hunting later, she's lost its trail and is forced to return to the village, frustrated with her only partial victory.

She's unaware of a different set of golden eyes in the trees, watching her every move.

: :

The village leaders may be convinced that the werewolf pack was the monster she'd been hunting, but Sakura isn't so sure. Even if she had miscalculated when it would arrive -

(Which she did, she just didn't know that yet.)

- it still didn't explain the dissimilarities between the reports she'd heard from the other villages and the monsters she had fought last night. It didn't make sense.

And there was still the problem of the lone wolfbeast that had escaped.

So, Sakura stays an extra four days in the village, routinely checking the perimeter and searching the woods for any signs of danger, in case the forest spirit finally makes its appearance or the black wolf returns. The villagers become less wary of her but she still tries to keep her distance, admittedly flattered by the gifts she finds outside the door to her room.

On the morning of the fifth day, Sakura finally packs to leave. There's been nothing out of the ordinary and she worries that maybe the creature she'd been tracking had skipped this village entirely and gone to wreak havoc in another. It would be another four day's ride to the next town and she didn't want to waste more time waiting for something to happen. She's supplied with more food than she needs and is given quite the send-off by the thankful villagers, their calls and cheers making her smile under the hood of her cloak.

Her horse seems eager to be traveling again and he breaks into a canter once they're on the road, the village eventually disappearing behind the trees. Sakura rides all day with just a quick break around midday for lunch, unable to keep her suspicious gaze from traveling to the woods lining the road. It's well into the evening when she comes across an obstacle on the road and she dismounts to inspect the massive fallen tree blocking her path.

It's too tall and wide for her to risk trying to guide her horse over so she leaves the road and enters the trees to the right to look for a path around. Several smaller trees had been crushed under the huge oak and she doesn't find the base of the trunk until she reaches the river, clicking her tongue in annoyance. The current is too rough and the water too deep for her to cross, even on horseback, so she backtracks and tries the left side of the road.

The canopy of the oak had landed in a large thorny thicket, the wall of brambles rising above her head and extending out further into the forest. She isn't sure how far off the road they have to go to find a way around it, but going through is certainly not an option. Even the shortest of the thorns are two inches long and, as she's in unknown land, there's no telling if the plants were poisonous.

Sakura kneels in front of the dangerous brush, her horse standing just a few feet behind her, and presses a hand to the earth, hoping to convince the plants to part and allow them safe passage. To her frustration, however, the brambles refuse to budge and she sighs, standing and turning to grab her steed's reins.

She follows the edge of the thorny wall on foot, growing more concerned the deeper into the woods she's forced to travel. It's not a straight line, fortunately, and the bramble begins to curve upwards, giving Sakura hope that she'd reach the end of it soon. It's half an hour until she finally finds a break in the thicket, the thorns thinning out enough for her to carefully guide her horse through with a sigh of relief. They barely make it five steps before there's a sudden rustle and groan behind them and Sakura spins around to find that the hole in the bramble wall has closed, barring off the way they'd come. The thicket seems to shudder, brandishing its sharp thorns, and Sakura steps back, wary and angry.

The forest seems to come alive with sounds now, a breeze dancing through the canopy overhead and the trees groaning as their branches bend and wave in the wind. Each rustle makes her horse more and more anxious and Sakura struggles to calm him, speaking softly and keeping a tight hold on his reins. It's more than just the noise frightening him - she can feel it too, that disturbing aura that had fallen over the woods, filling Sakura with worry as well. She tries to keep calm and her gentle words seem to eventually do the trick and he settles down, shaking his head nervously but not trying to pull free any longer.

She lets out a relieved sigh but barely has a moment to relax before a sudden loud snap to her right startles her horse enough for him to rear back with a frightened whinny. Sakura leaps to the side to dodge the flailing hooves as they land heavily on the forest floor. The horse breaks off into a run, heading deeper into the forest and leaving her behind as she scrambles to her feet with a curse.

Sakura races after him with only a moment of hesitation, not wanting to get lost in the woods but unwilling to lose her horse. She manages to keep him in sight but, when the brush grows too thick, she reluctantly picks a tree and climbs its trunk with unnatural ease. Carefully running along the branches and leaping between them, she manages to recover the distance she had lost and follows her horse through the canopy, aiming to get ahead and drop down onto the saddle.

The trees of her home were much larger and sturdier than this forest and she'd grown up with little worry of something breaking under her weight as she traveled by treetop, assured that she would never fall.

But these woods are small in comparison and there are too many thin and flimsy branches, so her pace is slower and more careful than she would like. Still, it's the only chance Sakura has, so she continues on, startling when a branch suddenly moves under her foot.

A branch trips her and she's falling before she realizes what had happened, reaching out blindly to try to find something to grab and stop her descent as smaller branches scratch at her face.

(She'd later be annoyed when she comes to the realization that the larger branches actively moved away from her hand.)

Something grabs her ankle and stops her just feet from the forest floor, her leg aching slightly from the sudden halt. Sakura glances up in surprise to see a vine wrapped around her boot but, before it fully registers, the vine suddenly loosens its hold and she's dropped the rest of the way, landing with a yelp. Hissing as she sits up and rubs at her sore neck, Sakura freezes and hurries to her feet as she hears something rustling through the brush around her. She'd landed in a relatively clear area but the canopy of leaves is thick overhead, blocking out most of the moonlight except for the stray beam here and there.

There's the crunch of leaves and the snap of a twig and her hand flies to her hip, startled when she doesn’t immediately feel the hilt of her sword. She looks down in shock to confirm that her sword is missing and glances up at the canopy overhead in horror, spotting her blade, scabbard and all, caught in the branches.

Sakura's attention snaps forward once more as she hears movement ahead of her and she crouches defensively, her other hand slowly moving to the dagger still strapped to her thigh.

She stills entirely as a pair of golden eyes appear in the darkness, her heart pounding in her ears and a cold pit dropping in her stomach. The eyes are unblinking as they stare at her and the forest falls unsettlingly silent. Sakura's breathing sounds too loud in comparison and she holds the golden gaze, unwilling to look away for even a moment.

Nothing moves for a full minute but her dagger is in her hand within moments as the creature suddenly surges forward and breaks through the brush. She'd been expecting snarling jaws and black fur but is met with sight of a more human-shape, a blur of black and white when it passes through the rare beam of moonlight.

In the second it takes Sakura to raise her knife, a thorny vine snaps forward from behind to wrap around her wrist, making her gasp as her arm is yanked backwards. She twists to dodge the tackle from the creature and the vine gives a sharp yank, leaving her shrieking as it pulls her arm at an odd angle and twists. Forced to drop her knife, Sakura turns and spins to right the angle of her arm and catches a glimpse of the creature disappearing into the brush again.

She hurriedly grips the vine wrapped around her bloody wrist, hissing at how the thorns seem to grow to dig deeper into her skin, and bares her teeth as she sends a surge of her magic through it. It burns and shrivels at the intense energy, the length wrapped around her wrist turning to ash while the rest of the vine quickly pulls away to slink back into the darkness.

Sakura's hands burst into a green glow as she quickly heals the worst of her wounds, the cuts from the thorns still stinging. Panting, she glancing around cautiously but, as she moves to grab her knife, she's yanked backwards as something catches the end of her cloak.

She lands hard on her back and is dazed slightly when she hits her head, but the feeling of her cloak being pulled and restricting around her throat quickly brings her to her senses. Sakura glances up and back, panicking, and sees the thorny bramble from earlier clutching the end of her cloak, dragging her backwards into the brush. Her shriek is choked and cut short and she scrambles to undo the clasp around her neck, leaping away and gasping for breath as she lands on her knees.

But she's not given a moment to rest as something tackles her from the left, gold eyes appearing as she's knocked hard onto her side. Large hands find her shoulders and she's forced onto her back, sharp, pointed teeth catching the moonlight as the creature looms over her in a crouch.

Claws dig into her shoulders, making her hiss, and Sakura takes in the sight of a mostly human face - half black and half white, split right down the middle. she can't resist her shudder as it lowers its face to drag its tongue over the exposed skin of her neck. Up from her collar and over her jaw to her cheek, catching blood from one of the scratches from her fall.

For a monster that eats human flesh, its breath smelled oddly like pine.

The grin that spreads across its face is terrifying and Sakura manages to pull herself out of her frightened stupor, tucking her knees against her chest and rolling back on her shoulders until she can slip her legs up between their bodies. She wraps them around its neck, ankles locked behind its head, and squeezes, twisting her hips sharply to throw it off of her. It seems surprised by the action, growling angrily as it rights itself, and Sakura rolls into a crouch, having put a bit of distance between her and the monster.

It sits up on its knees, moves one leg forward to plant its foot in a half-step, and raises its hands, fingers clawed and curled inwards. Teeth bared, vines suddenly surge out of the darkness behind it and dart towards Sakura with frightening speed, covered in wicked looking thorns.

Sakura drops from her crouch to her knees and slams both of her hands onto the ground with an angry scream, demanding the forest to obey. The vines stop their assault just inches from her face and Sakura stares past them to glare heartedly at the black and white creature. It seems shocked that she'd managed to wrestle control from it and those golden eyes stare back at her.

It pushes its body forward slowly to test her strength and the barrage of vines in front of her twitch but don't otherwise move. They stay locked in the stalemate and Sakura takes the moment to look the creature over more thoroughly.

Besides its odd coloring and the sharp teeth and claws, it looked almost completely human. Most of its - his features are lost on the black half of his body but she can clearly make out the sharp jaw and high cheekbones on his white half. His ears are pointed at the tips, much like her own, and his messy, grass-green hair is kept short and shaggy. She's surprised to find him actually partially dressed, his black pants likely hiding a multitude of bloodstains in the darkness of the forest.

His head tilts as he inspects her just as closely for a few moments before that grin returns and he presses forward again, still knelt several feet away from her and unable to regain control of the vines.

Sakura's mind is racing for an escape from this situation but she's startled when he suddenly speaks

"You smell of the forest," Comes his voice, his tone surprisingly soft - until he continues and his voice takes a raspy, harder turn. "But you taste like human."

Disturbed, Sakura barks out a sharp reply.

"Who are you?" Her eyes narrow, sweat beading on her brow and her fingers digging into the dirt from her desperate attempt to maintain control of the vines still pointed at her. "What are you?!"

His expression turns curious before his eyes light up, his grin stretching unnaturally far across his face.

"You wish to know me? Give me your name and I'll tell you mine."

Sakura's eyes narrow and her lips curl in a dry smirk, her own green gaze glowing briefly in the dark.

"Nice try, but I won't fall for that." Her fingers dig deeper into the ground and the vines pull back from her slightly, surprising the odd monster. "I was raised in a fae court - those old tricks won't work on me."

He blinks for the first time since he'd attacked her, his grin falling but his lips still parted just enough for her to see his teeth. His hands lower and the bloodlust that had been radiating off his form disappears almost entirely.

"You're like me," He says incredulously and Sakura nearly stumbles forward as the force she'd been bracing her body against to keep the vines in check suddenly dissipates.

Her eyes go wide for a moment before she catches herself and her expression turns furious.

"I'm nothing like you, monster." She hisses, digging her hands harder into the ground until they're mostly buried under the earth. She sends the wave of vines racing back at him, barreling into his chest and sending the faecreature flying backwards into brush.

Sakura can't spot her dagger anywhere but her sword is still caught in the branches overhead so she sends another surge of magic into the earth, the nearby trees shuddering and untangling their branches. Her weapon falls free and she leaps to her feet, quickly catching it and breaking into a sprint as she spins around to face the opposite direction.

She's undoubtedly lost and her horse is gone for good but she needs to get out of this damned forest.

Her breathing is haggard from her panic and she runs as fast as she can, desperate to put some distance between her and the strange monster. Just enough for her to get a brief moment of respite before she faces him again.

She won't return home empty handed.

Sakura barely realizes her screaming instincts aren't her frazzled nerves before something suddenly charges out of the darkness to her right and slams into her, a vicious snarl filling her ears and rough fur against her face. All she sees is a blur of black as she crashes into the ground and tumbles with her assailant on top of her, sharp claws digging deeply into her back.

Through her scream, all Sakura can think is 'Great.'

She manages to kick the familiar werewolf off of her, only a little satisfied at the sound of its ribs crunching from the force, but it takes a chunk of her flesh for its efforts. Sakura manages to get her feet under her and lets out a shout of frustration, unsheathing her sword and keeping ahold of the scabbard with her free hand as an impromptu weapon.

Panting, she can feel thick rivulets of blood dripping down her back to puddle under her on the forest floor and she grits her teeth. A bright green glow bursts from her back for a partial healing, trying to at least stop the bleeding, and she watches the wolf as it crouches low and slowly circles her, fury behind its gold eyes.

She's feeling drained and nearing exhaustion, but Sakura refuses to die here.

When her vision just barely starts to swim, she abruptly cuts off the healing and turns, keeping the werewolf in her line of sight. Its hackles are raised and its claws dig into the dirt as it slowly walks around her on all fours, its eyes wide and feral.

Sakura ignores the pain in her body and brandishes her sword, her gaze darting from its shoulders to its paws to its eyes to its legs, searching for any tensing of muscles or signs that it's about to attack. Its back claws dig a little deeper into the earth and she braces herself, ready to dodge and defend when it strikes.

The wolf lunges forward and rears up on its hind legs as it sprints at her, a ferocious growl echoing through the forest and the beast just a couple feet away when a blur of white and black tackles it from the side, sending both bodies careening away from Sakura and into brush.

She stands there in shock for a moment before she races after the two monsters, finding the faecreature pinning the larger werewolf to the ground. His teeth are buried in its throat and the wolf rakes its claws angrily down his back as it tries to kick him off. Both beasts are snarling and growling as they rip into each other and Sakura is unsure what to do. She startles when the wolf finally manages to get a good grip on him and flings the faebeing over its head in her direction.

Moving on a whim, she lunges to the side and catches him with her scabbard-holding arm. When he looks at her with that split-color face, gold eyes full of surprise, she simply nods and rights him. A furious roar pulls their attention back to the wolf and it charges in a wild, unguarded attack.

Almost simultaneously, Sakura and her unlikely ally drop to a knee and send a flurry of tangled vines flying out of the forest brush behind them, his hands raised while her palm is slammed against the ground. The barrage of strong vines hit it square in the chest and wrap around its torso before the wolf can be sent flying backwards. They constrict tightly around its throat and the werewolf howls as the thorns dig deep, brought to its knees as the vines thoroughly restrain it.

The faecreature stays in place, his fingers curling inwards, and Sakura rises with a stony expression, a breeze dancing through the forest to blow her escaped hair back as steps forward. She drops her scabbard to wrap both hands around the hilt of her sword, forcing her breathing to be even as she stands to her full height despite the wounds in her back. The wolf gives one last enraged roar and she strikes, stabbing her blade forward and into its maw to punch through the back of its skull.

It instantly stills after one last choked growl and Sakura yanks her sword back out of its mouth, her shoulders slumping as her exhaustion begins to set in. The vines slowly release their tight hold and disappear back into the earth. She turns and isn't sure if she should be relieved or worried to see the black and white creature standing behind her, looking over her intensely.

"...thanks," She eventually says, giving him one last nod before starting to make her retreat. She was too tired to fight anymore tonight and she wanted to get away before he decided to try to kill her again.

"Wait," He calls and Sakura curses herself for pausing and glancing back. He holds out his white hand, her dagger resting on his palm.

"You dropped this."

The raspier voice makes her shudder but she turns, lips pursed as he smiles at her.

She honestly shouldn't have been so surprised when, as she reaches to retrieve her knife, his other hand darts out to snatch her wrist. Sakura hisses under her breath and tries to pull free, but his grip is strong and he pulls her a little closer, golden eyes searching her face as his smile falls.

"I'm Zetsu," He says, his voice soft and full of a yearning she doesn't understand. His grasp around her wrist is gentle despite its strength and he reaches his free hand up to caress her face, his touch light and delicate and too familiar for her tastes. Zetsu's thumb runs across her cheek and he brushes a few stray pink hairs away from her face, pulling her closer still.

"Please," He whispers, begging almost desperately as both of his voices speak at once. "What is your name?"

She can't seem to bring herself to look away from his gaze, her struggling stopping as she stares up at the strange being. She wets her split lip, blushing when the movement makes his eyes flicker down to her mouth, and finds herself reluctantly answering.

"I'm Sakura."

#zetsusaku #sakura haruno #sakura fic #monster hunter!sakura #thirrinwrites #thirrinfic #i got so damn into this i knew i was fucked when i started adding Lore #hope you like it anon!#the other requests wont be NEARLY as long as this one sorry

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rubyleaf · 4 years

Text

Whew, what a LONG, long oneshot! I’m still not done with Tatsumi, so here’s my take on reincarnated Tatsumi’s life before he finds Yumeko. Guest starring the rest of the gang getting a second chance at happiness, have fun!

I have always been searching for something, for someone.

I don’t know what it is. I have a feeling that I should know, should remember, but I can never piece together more than the whisper in my heart, the sense of urgency pulsing through my veins. Sometimes I think I am this close to understanding. And then, at the last second, it slips from my grasp.

All I know is that, whatever it is, I will find it. I must.

After all, I know someone out there is waiting for me to make it.

---

They named me Tatsumi, like the hero who slayed the usurping fox in the Night of the Dragon.

It was, they tell me, my father’s idea. I have never met my father; he fell in battle against the Hino shortly before my birth, but my grandmother says he always liked the story of the brave young shinobi who slayed a god alone. My mother originally wasn’t too fond of the name, worrying it would bring me bad luck—the original Tatsumi was possessed by an oni, they say, and became half a demon—but after my father’s passing she agreed to it to honor his wish and his memory.

As for me, I have mixed feelings about the name. On one hand, it feels right—feels like me, more like me than anything else about me, including my face. On the other hand, it reminds me of a story they won’t let me hear in full detail until they decide I’m old enough, and I want to know, desperately want to know. Something tells me I should know already. Something tells me that, in some way or another, I was there too once.

The dreams start when I’m barely old enough to remember my own name and station. They are blurry; flickering; confusing. I can see the Harbinger, ancient and raging and huge as a tsunami wave. Then a sword in my hand, glowing purple with a presence I don’t understand. Then, suddenly, I’m flying through the air on a giant leaf, another presence beside me, but when I try to focus on it it seems to vanish.

My mother and brother exchange a confused glance when I tell them about the dream the next morning. “It was so scary,” I conclude, huddling up in my yukata even though it’s a warm summer day. “What does it mean?”

“I don’t know!” Kousuke declares with absolute confidence, his eyes wide and shining. “But it sounds awesome! Why don’t I ever get dreams like that?”

Smiling, my mother reaches over and ruffles my hair. “It doesn’t mean anything, my dear,” she said. “The story about the Harbinger just got to you. It’s your overactive imagination, nothing more.”

I try to tell myself it’s true, but the dreams keep coming. Each feels realer than the last one, but none of them show me what I most want to know: the face of the person steering the giant leaf. I try to ask my mother, then my grandmother. They all tell me the same thing: that it’s only my fascination with the legend paired with the imagination of a child, and it should go away sooner or later.

But while it’s true that I don’t always have these dreams, and they sometimes become less frequent, they never truly go away.

---

I am out with my brother, learning to fight with a sword, when I first see a shrine with foxes instead of komainu guarding the entrance.

“Big brother,” I say, tugging at his sleeve, “what is this shrine?”

Kousuke pauses, following my pointed finger. He is thirteen now, growing taller every month, and I’ll be seven in a few weeks. “That’s an Inari-sama shrine,” he answers, sounding surprised by my question. “It’s a shrine to the kami of foxes.”

I let out a gasp. “Wasn’t he killed?”

Kousuke snorts. “You’re thinking of Seigetsu,” he says. “He became a god for a few moments, but he wasn’t the kami of foxes, just a regular kitsune who got too powerful. The true kami of foxes is O-Inari-sama.”

Kitsune…

The fox statues look down at me, weathered and motionless, their stone eyes staring at nothing in particular. Something about them feels familiar, painfully familiar. I can almost picture the real, living thing: smooth red fur and golden eyes, black-tipped ears twitching attentively in my direction. I have never seen a fox in the flesh, and yet…I can almost feel the softness of their fur under my palm, like I have touched one before, like I have—

“Tatsumi?”

I snap out of my thoughts. Looking around, I find that I have wandered halfway into the shrine.

“Where are you going?” Kousuke asks. “We’re supposed to be headed that way.”

I say nothing and shake it off. But even as I follow my brother down the street, I can’t help looking over my shoulder at the kitsune statues until they vanish from sight.

---

The war with the Hino ended soon after my birth, but when I am twelve or thirteen, the situation tenses up again.

To smooth out the waves, my grandmother, the daimyo, goes to visit the Hino daimyo at his castle. She uses the opportunity to bring Kousuke and me along: to teach us about politics, she says. Mostly, I suspect, she’ll be teaching Kousuke. He’s the one who will be daimyo one day, and I’m only the backup.

Hino Masayuki is a gentle man, less belligerent than his late father who we were at war with when I was born. He seems just as unhappy with the border troubles as my grandmother is, and he greets us all with kindness. But after a warm welcome, I’m quickly left to my own devices. Just as I guessed, the adults think I’m too young to participate in diplomacy yet.

After being shown my quarters, I roam around the castle. It feels completely unfamiliar. The thought has never occurred to me before, but at home I never had to learn how to navigate the building; from the earliest childhood I’ve known Hakumei Castle like the back of my hand, almost as if I had lived there before. But the Hino castle is new to me, truly unfamiliar in a way nothing else has ever been, and I don’t know what to make of it.

As usual whenever my thoughts get too heavy, I seek solitude. There are a few large trees behind the castle, looking out on fields and the forest beyond. It’s quiet here, the noise of the city muffled and distant. My only company are a few birds.

No foxes, I think, disappointed without any logical reason.

Looking around, I make sure that no one can stop me or scold me, then I start climbing one of the trees. It’s something that has always come easily for me; for some reason my head feels clearer up high where I’m by myself and can see further and wider than I normally should.

“There he is! Oi, Kage-san!”

That voice…

A memory stirs, but before I can grasp it it’s gone once more. Footsteps rustle through the grass, and moments later a figure comes to stand at the roots of my tree.

It’s a boy, I note, about sixteen or seventeen—closer in age to my brother than me, but not quite an adult yet. He’s dressed in clean but simple clothes, but his ponytail is messy, strands of hair falling untamed into his narrow face, reddish brown like it sometimes shows up among the Hino. His face is familiar, and yet not. I feel like I’ve seen him before—spoken to him before, even though I have never come close to Fire Clan territory before.

“Kage-san,” he says, huffing and puffing from the sprint, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Couldn’t you have told someone you were planning to hide in one of the trees?”

I bow my head. “I’m sorry,” I say, remembering my manners. “I was looking for some solitude. I didn’t know someone was looking for me.”

“So stiff. As expected from the daimyo’s grandson.” Grabbing a branch, the boy expertly begins to pull himself up. “No one’s looking for you,” he adds. “They just assigned me to keep you company, so I figured I’d introduce myself. Look after the child, Natsume, they said. You’re so good with kids.” He snorts. “I’d bet my last copper kaeru they just wanted to keep me away from the grownups before I piss off the wrong person and accidentally start a war.”

He’s…so informal, I think. My family would never suffer me to talk to a stranger like that, let alone someone who is presumably far above my station. All the same, I find that it doesn’t bother me. Part of me has always felt like I don’t belong with the nobility.

“Who are you?” I ask.

Sitting down on the branch next to mine, the boy grins. “Right, I should introduce myself,” he says sheepishly. “I’m Hino Natsume. Officially I’m a samurai, but I’m more of an errand boy these days.”

Natsume. The face I remember had another name tied to it, a similar name. What was it? I can’t remember.

“My name is Kage Tatsumi,” I introduce myself, just like I’ve been taught. “Second grandson of Kage Haruko, the Shadow Clan daimyo.”

“Tatsumi, eh? Can’t believe the Kage named a noble after a lowly shinobi.” Natsume dangles his legs. “Still, at least your clan had a warrior in that battle. All we got was some useless ronin dog.”

The phrase feels familiar, so familiar that, just for a second, the boy’s other name lies on the tip of my tongue. “He was a hero too,” I reply, not realizing what I’m saying until after I’ve spoken.

Hino Natsume stares at me like he has seen a ghost, then he bursts out laughing. “Don’t force yourself, Kage-san,” he says. “He was a coward who ran away from his friends and family. He was dead to our clan, but now that he fought against Genno and helped defeat an oni he’s suddenly one of our heroes again. If it were up to me, I’d have let him stay dead.”

I furrow my brow. “Why?” I ask.

“It’s hypocritical. If you mess up you’re not part of the clan anymore, but do something great and you’ve always been one of us. Not that it helped the old guy,” Natsume adds with a shrug and a wry smirk. “At that point in time he was pretty busy being dead.”

Fought against Genno…Genno…an oni…

A wounded ronin, nocking an arrow to his bowstring. A demon, a smirk, a gruff voice telling me to go on…go on with…with…

Who was it again?

The memory slips. I blink, and suddenly I’m back in the present. Hino Natsume is still sitting across from me, a lopsided smirk on his face that now feels more familiar than anything I’ve ever seen, even at home—so painfully familiar that even the faces of my mother and brother pale in comparison.

Is it a coincidence? Or is this my soul recognizing a companion, an old friend? I can’t say. If Natsume feels the same strange sensation, he isn’t letting it show.

“What do you know about the Night of the Dragon?” I ask him, wondering if that will get any explanations out of him.

But Natsume only shrugs. “The same thing as everyone else, I guess,” he replies. “There’s a million versions of the story by now, anyway. Everyone tries to make their clan look as good as possible.”

Before I can process his response, Natsume brushes it off and starts climbing off his branch. “But let’s talk about something more interesting,” he says, and the strange sensation fades. “You like climbing trees, huh? I think I know the best place for that.”

---

A shadow creeps through my dreams, pitch-black and so enormous I can’t seem to see the end. Heavy footsteps shake the ground with each stride, hands large as boulders carrying an enormous sword that glows a cold, ghostly purple.

What are you doing, Tatsumi?

I want to respond, but my tongue is tied. Some part of my soul resonates with the deep, rumbling voice. It feels like being reunited with a very old friend, except there’s an underlying terror that I cannot seem to shake.

Is this what happened to the kid who wielded the Godslayer? The voice scoffs. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I could invade your soul so easily now, you know.

The shadow bends down, down, down. Then suddenly I’m looking at a white-fanged face with brightly glowing yellow eyes.

Without knowing what I’m doing, I reach out my hand.

And wake up.

Some part of me has just fallen into place, but I have no idea how to put it into words.

---

Under Hino Masayuki, the relationship between the Shadow and Fire Clans improves drastically. Sometimes we visit the Hino, and sometimes they visit us; and each time I spend as much time with Natsume as I can. Little by little the memories with the actual person begin to overlay the strange sensation, but the familiarity never fades. Hino Natsume is my friend, but he also feels like a part of the past I have lost, a key to the memory I’ve been looking for all my life.

When I’m sixteen years old, we all meet in Kin Heigen Toshi for the first time: my family and I are invited guests, and Natsume is part of the Hino household traveling with Masayuki-sama. I have no trouble navigating the city. Unlike the Hino castle, it doesn’t feel unfamiliar to me, and once again I find myself searching the streets for something I don’t remember.

“This is weird,” Natsume tells me in an undertone as we walk through the streets, sightseeing with no particular goal in mind. “I know I haven’t been here before, but I swear I’ve seen these streets before.”

My heart lurches. For a second all my questions lie right there on the tip of my tongue, and all I need to do is speak them out. Then I decide against it. If my family hasn’t taken them seriously, why should he?

“Me too,” I admit and then pause. “That shrine…”

Natsume follows my gaze and blinks. For a second his eyes glaze over, then he shakes himself. “It’s just a shrine,” he says. “We’ve passed one of those just earlier, so why does this…” He trails off, then stabs a hand through his hair. “Call me crazy, but it feels like home.”

To him too.

The shrine door opens, and a miko steps outside with a broom to sweep the front porch. Her eyes briefly meet with ours, but there’s no spark of recognition: not in her gaze, and not in my chest.

“Maybe our imagination,” I say, even as another image flickers on and off in my head: a miko with a giant komainu beside her, holding up a paper ofuda. “Let’s keep going.”

---

Neither Natsume nor I have ever seen anyone from the Sun Clan until the night of the Moon Viewing Party.

I don’t like standing in the middle of the crowd. I’m used to it, but somehow my instincts keep whispering to search for the shadows, hide in the dark and observe the scene from a distance. Talking to strangers gets exhausting after some time. I stay polite, but as soon as I find an excuse I slip away from the chatter and find myself in the shadow of a tree with Natsume at my side.

“There you are, Kage-san,” he says. “Good timing. I was just wondering where to get some sake.”

I squirm at the idea of getting drunk; something about losing control of myself feels more dangerous than it probably should. “We shouldn’t drink too much,” I warn him.

“Come on, it’s the Moon Viewing Party! With the best booze you can find in all of Iwagoto!” Natsume loops a playful arm around my shoulders. “You should learn to let loose a little, Kage-san—”

His voice trails off mid-sentence. His eyes grow wider and wider, fixed on some point in the distance, yet not too far away.

Following his gaze, my eyes land on a group of silver-haired Taiyo nobles. At first I don’t understand what it is that he’s seen. And then one of them turns, and it hits me at once.

Natsume staggers back, looking like someone whose very world has been swept from underneath his feet. But before he can collect himself, before he can react, the Taiyo noble leaves his group and strides over to approach us.

“Honored guests,” he says, “I don’t believe I have greeted you before. Allow me to introduce myself.” He bows slightly. “My name is Taiyo Mikoto, may I ask who you are?”

Natsume is still frozen in place, so I take over for him. “My name is Kage Tatsumi, grandson of Kage Haruko,” I say. “This is Hino Natsume of the Fire Clan.”

“Kage-san…Natsume-san.” Taiyo Mikoto pauses, his eyes widening as he realizes his mistake. “No, Hino-san,” he corrects himself. “My apologies. I don’t understand what possessed me.”

“Na…Natsume’s fine.” Little by little my friend returns back to normal. “I’m amazed you apologized at all,” he adds, a smirk spreading over his face. “Even if I got offended, it’s not like I could show it without getting beheaded, right?”

Mikoto cracks a smile. “Perhaps you could,” he says, “if I stood up for you.”

Snorting, Natsume crosses his arms, his face suspiciously red even in the dim light of the moon and lanterns. “A golden Taiyo, sticking up for one of us puny mortals?” he shoots back. “What is the world coming to?”

“Better days, hopefully.” Mikoto’s smile doesn’t waver, though his eyes darken. “Although,” he continues, the dark look disappearing, “I’m not particularly high in rank. I would say Kage-san here outranks both of us.”

I look down along myself, suddenly realizing he may well be right. The thought feels wrong. I regularly forget I’m a noble at all, no matter how well I know that I’m the daimyo’s grandson. Outranking a Taiyo shouldn’t feel this strange—there are plenty of minor nobles among them too—but for some reason it feels wrong to outrank this particular one.

“Does he?” Natsume remarks at my side, clearly just as puzzled by the concept. “Right, I keep forgetting he’s second in line for a daimyo position! You should step up your game, Kage-san,” he adds, smirking. “If you don’t start acting like a stuck-up princeling soon, people might actually like you.”

Mikoto laughs softly, and Natsume turns bright red all over again. I search for an excuse to leave them alone. The way they’re looking at each other is obvious: the same way my brother looked at his now-fiancée when he first saw her, except much more intensely. But as I start to back away, Natsume’s gaze catches my own, urgently and desperately begging me to stay.

The moon rises higher and higher in the sky. Everything about this image feels familiar: the full moon, the lanterns, the lush gardens and the glimmering palace beyond. Two young men at my side, a Hino and a Taiyo, who both feel like old friends even though I’ve only known one of them for a few moments.

In the crowd, a glimpse of red onmyoji robes flashes between the samurai and nobles.

She’s here!

My body moves before I can question the thought. Excusing myself from my friends, I throw myself into the crowd and run after the red robes. Dream and reality start overlapping. Onmyoji robes, a voice in my head keeps whispering. She was wearing onmyoji robes the last time we came here.

The last time? Tatsumi, you’ve never been here.

And…who is “she”?

Slowing my steps, I falter, turning right and left in the middle of the crowd. I can’t see my friends anymore. Where my family went, I don’t know. The figures standing around me, shooting me questioning glances, are all complete strangers.

The illusion fades. What have I done? Of course the faceless figure from my dreams wouldn’t randomly show up here…and yet, at the slightest chance, I forgot everything and ran off blindly. Nothing will harm me at the Emperor’s party—but what if this had happened in a more dangerous place? Would I have done the same?

Just as my thoughts start swirling, I glimpse the red robes again. This time I have to know: not because I think I’ve found the person from my dreams, but because I need to see who they belong to. Determined not to let them out of my eyes again, I follow, weaving my way through the crowd until I catch up to a young dark-haired woman who blinks in surprise when her eyes meet mine.

Recognition flashes, but she isn’t who I’m looking for. She feels more like Natsume or Mikoto: familiar like a long-lost friend, even though I know nothing about her.

“Can I help you?” she asks.

Before I can piece together an answer, there’s a patter of footsteps, and moments later Mikoto and Natsume come hurrying up to my side. “Kage-san, what’s gotten into you?” Natsume asks. “You’re not usually the type to just run off without warning!”

“Whatever it was,” Mikoto answers, “it appears he has bumped into Ritsuka-san.”

I look back and forth between them. “You know each other?”

“Have for a few years,” the onmyoji replies bluntly. “I’m training to be an onmyoji in the capital, and he happens to know my master.”

I bow to her, my thoughts swirling frantically in my head. The four of us are together again, my soul keeps whispering: reunited, after what, I can’t remember. And yet, one more is missing. The fifth member of our party, the nameless, faceless girl from my dreams that I now know wore red onmyoji robes.

So far, all of us have found each other again. Natsume and I found each other, and Mikoto and Ritsuka, and now the four of us are all together once more. All that’s missing is her. Could there be a chance, however small, that one of them knows who she is? Could there be a chance that she came here tonight like the rest of us?

Should I finally ask?

It’s just your imagination.

My soul tells me it isn’t. It’s more than that. The problem is that I don’t know what it is, can’t explain it, not even to myself. But who else will listen? Who will understand?

I decide not to mention it for now.

---

My dreams are haunted by red onmyoji robes, similar but not identical to the ones Ritsuka wore at the party.

A girl dances weightlessly in the moonlight, barefoot on the grass, then inside a half-lit room. Then suddenly her robes are dirtied and torn, and a cold wind whips violently at the fabric, cutting off the words she says and tearing them into unintelligible shreds. I can’t remember her voice. I still can’t see her face. The only thing I can remember clearly are the robes, bright red and vibrant in a world full of gray, real and tangible where everything else is a blur of shadows and mist.

Then suddenly she’s kneeling at the foot of a cliff, and I cup her face in her hands and kiss her. There are tears on her cheeks, but I still can’t make out her features. I try to feel for them, but my own hands are transparent, and her cheek simply passes through them like they aren’t there.

I know I say something to her, but after I wake up, the only thing I remember is one single sentence.

I will find you.

---

Taiyo Mikoto insists on guiding Natsume and me around the city for the rest of our stay, and whenever she can, Ritsuka goes out of her way to join us.

At first, all we do is sightsee. Then, little by little, our explorations go off the rails. The spontaneous fishing trip in the river, while ruining our good clothes and giving us a lot to explain later, is still fairly harmless. The undercover visit to the shady parts of town, largely instigated by Natsume, miraculously ends with none of us stabbed, kidnapped, or even recognized for who we are. The climb to the rooftop of Mikoto’s home turns out to be a little more stupid, but thankfully Ritsuka finds us trapped up there and is able to call for help.

Natsume and Mikoto are growing closer and closer. I don’t think they realize how obvious they’re being; or maybe they don’t care. But I don’t miss the long gazes they share, the way they stand so close their arms brush together, the way Mikoto will look for any excuse to touch Natsume or the way Natsume laughs when talking to Mikoto. Abruptly I find myself wondering about love too. I’ve never been in love; at least, I don’t think I have. Neither women nor men are particularly interesting to me, not in that way. No matter how beautiful the person in front of me, something always seems to be missing.

Maybe, I muse, because they all aren’t her.

Two days before our departure, the four of us find ourselves in the garden that belongs to our lodgings, sitting on the grass with the mochi Natsume stole from the pantry. The others talk and talk—though, to be fair, it’s mostly Natsume and Mikoto talking, with the occasional comment from Ritsuka.

“You know what’s missing?” Natsume remarks as the sun begins to set. “A good bottle of sake. Anyone else need a drink?”

“No, thanks,” Ritsuka and I say in unison.

“I suppose I’ll have a drink or two,” Mikoto replies. “However, where are we supposed to get sake?”

Natsume smirks.

“It’s easy,” he says. “All we need to do is break into the pantry again. Anyone coming with me, or do I do the stealing alone?”

“Stealing? Don’t be ridiculous!” Ritsuka jumps to her feet. “Are you asking to get in trouble right at the end of your stay?”

“I’m not joining either,” I say. “And you should be careful.”

“Not? C’mon, Kage-san, it sounds like a fun adventure! What’s the worst that could happen?”

“That’s what you said before we got stuck on the roof.”

“That was one time!”

Chuckling, Mikoto rises to his feet. “I shall accompany you, Natsume-san,” he says. “That way you won’t feel as alone.”

“A Taiyo who helps me steal from the pantry? You’d be disowned if your family knew,” Natsume jokes back. “Are you sure that’s worth it?”

Mikoto waves a dismissive hand. “I can talk my way out of it,” he says. And then, sobering up, he adds, “Besides, your company is worth a little trouble.”

Natsume blushes and mutters something unintelligible. Side by side the two of them disappear into the building.

And stay gone for a very, very, very long time.

“I’m going to check on them,” I say at last, getting up to follow them. “Maybe they got in trouble.”

Striding through our guesthouse, I find my way to the pantry. At the door, I pause. There are muffled voices coming from inside: Natsume’s and Mikoto’s, I find with both confusion and relief. What on earth is taking them so long?

“Your company is truly enjoyable, Natsume-san,” Mikoto is saying as my hand rests lightly against the door. “It’s a shame that you must leave so soon; I shall miss you.”

“Hey, right back at you,” Natsume retorts. “Life will be pretty boring back home without you, Peacock.”

There’s a startled beat of silence, then they both gasp at the same time. “Wait,” Natsume splutters. “I didn’t mean—”

“Natsume-san,” Mikoto interrupts him, his ever-calm voice shaken and agitated, “we have known each other before, haven’t we?”

Another silence. When Natsume replies, his voice is so quiet I barely catch it. “What are you talking about?”

“This may sound ridiculous,” Mikoto continues. “We have known each other for mere weeks, but the first time I saw you, I knew you like I know myself. Tell me, Natsume-san—does your soul not recognize mine the way my soul did yours?”

Natsume sighs. “Of course it does, Peacock,” he admits. “When I first saw you, I felt the same. But I…what am I supposed to do about it? I’m leaving in two days. And you’re a Taiyo, and I’m…” He trails off, and when he continues, he sounds surprised by his own words. “I’m…a samurai,” he says. “I have honor. And if I can be friends with Kage-san, who’s ranking higher than you…”

He falls silent. Sighs again.

“Then you can love me,” Mikoto softly completes the sentence, “can’t you?”

Natsume’s voice comes out raspy. “Mikoto-san…”

Stepping away from the door, I start to turn around and sneak away. On one hand, these two deserve their privacy. On the other hand, I’m still hung up on their words.

They have these feelings too. Their souls recognized each other too. And that means…

That means that maybe, just maybe, they will understand.

Ritsuka gives me a questioning look when I return without the others, and I avoid her gaze as I sit back down. “They’re fine,” I say. “They’ll be back soon.”

She raises her eyebrows into a knowing look. “Ah. Took them long enough.”

When the two finally make their way back to us, both their faces are flushed, even though they’re clearly sober. But they have somehow succeeded at nicking three whole bottles of sake, which they both look almost comically smug about.

As Natsume sets down the bottles, I take a deep breath.

“You three,” I say, “I need to tell you something.”

---

“I see,” Ritsuka says when I conclude my explanation. “So in short, you’re looking for a lover from a past life that you promised to find again.”

My heart skips a beat. “You don’t think it’s my imagination?”

“It sounds too long-running for simple imagination,” Ritsuka retorts. “And you’ve had it consistently since childhood. You don’t seem like the type to follow a simple daydream that far.”

Inside my chest, my soul is leaping and singing. Finally, finally, someone understands. “What else can you make of it?” I ask.

“It all comes back to the Night of the Dragon,” Mikoto muses. “To me it sounds like you fell in the battle there and left your lover behind. Do you have any clues for where to look for her?”

I look down. “The Night of the Dragon,” I say quietly. “The Tsuki Islands…maybe she’s still there. All I know is that she must still be alive.”

I stop in my tracks. Where did that knowledge come from? It was never there before.

“Still?” Ritsuka bursts out. “After almost a century?”

“What is your girlfriend,” Natsume jokes, “a yokai or something?”

I think of the Inari-sama shrine…the fox statues…the familiarity.

“Maybe,” I muse, “she’s kitsune.”

And suddenly I have a lead.

---

The years pass by. I’m more immersed in my responsibilities now, but whenever I can, I search for news of a kitsune who fought in the Night of the Dragon. Information is scarce. There are a few myths of a wandering fox, but they’re all decades old, and that kitsune hasn’t been seen again since. Otherwise, there is no information. My friends help me search however they can, but they can find no helpful hints either.

Then, suddenly, my grandmother receives an invitation to the Tsuki Islands, and I instantly sense my chance.

“We should go,” I urge her over and over. “Who knows when you’ll get another chance to visit Moon Clan territory.”

“Indeed,” she replies. “I haven’t seen the daimyo in a few decades. I’m amazed she’s still ruling.”

I want to ask her what that means, but I leave the matter be. If the Tsuki daimyo has ruled for a while, then maybe she knows the kitsune I’m looking for. Maybe she has the answer to all my questions.

As soon as we’ve been shown our quarters, I excuse myself and hurry out. Out of the palace, through the city, into the streets that have already been decorated for the festival celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the Night of the Dragon. My feet carry me all the way to the cliffs of Ryugake, but she isn’t there. The place holds no answer beyond a familiarity so intense that it almost brings tears to my eyes.

Evening falls. Frustrated, I make my way back to the town. Maybe she’ll be among the people celebrating, I muse. I barely dare to hope.

Endless lanterns float down the river, each bearing the names of those who fell in the battle against Jigoku. I watch them float, wondering if one of them is bearing my name, or those of my friends’ old identities.

And then I see her.

Across the river of light, I spot her, and all the missing pieces finally fall into place. All my dreams, all my blurry memories suddenly make sense. She is here, and my soul recognizes her, and it feels like I’ve never been gone.

I have always been searching for something, for someone.

And now here she is, finally within my reach.

Across the dark water, the floating lanterns, I meet her gaze and smile.

“I’ve finally found you.”

#this is the first oneshot that was too long for me to write in one go #shadow of the fox #night of the dragon #tatsumeko #daisukame #kage tatsumi #hino okame #taiyo daisuke #reika #yumeko #me and my writings #headcanons #night of the dragon spoilers

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blarrghe · 3 years

Note

Spending a holiday together + 14 - “Well geez, if you don’t like what I’m wearing, I can go and change.” 😂

This prompt was far too similar to something I actually wrote for the chapter of Twelve Nights I just finished, so I am going to post the whole little excerpt (which is also the ending of this chapter) here :) More body language than the actual line, but this chapter makes me very happy. Some holiday hurt/comfort for yas. The full chapter is also up now! --

The windows of Lavellan’s Crafts were dark, because of course they were — it was going on nine 'o'clock at night on Satinalia — and Dorian sat in his car in the tiny, empty parking lot on the street, staring bitterly out at them, wondering what he had expected. When he got out and walked stupidly up to the shop and around the side of the building, he found that all the windows set into it were dark. Because, again, of course they were; it was Satinalia, and Taren Lavellan had a family somewhere in this whimsical little village that loved him. He was probably sitting in front of a fireplace in one of those happy, warm looking little cabins with golden candlelight in the windows and hot cider in his mug and a collection of aunties and uncles and grandparents and children all singing holiday carols and exchanging homemade gifts around him.

Dorian stomped on down the road, his feet wet with the snow that had soaked through and probably ruined his shoes, his face stinging with the cold wind that tore thin tears from his eyes — well, no. He had no one to impress. It was Satinalia, and he was alone, and cold, and crying.

He wound up at the tree, still brightly lit and sparkling in the town square, and he very much wanted to kick it. He didn't, because it was huge and spiked and would just stab him with needles if he tried, so he kicked at the snow around it instead, now entirely unable to feel his feet, nevermind agitating his stubbed toe, and then sat down heavily on a bench. The same bench that he'd found Taren sitting on, waiting for him, just the night before.

The whole beautiful festival seemed to have happened ages ago now, even though the ice sculptures still decorated the sidewalks and the little food stands sat boarded up for the evening around him. He stared up at the dazzling lights glowing through the spiked branches of the great pine tree, and felt sharp and bitter to match it. What was he doing? What had he been thinking, last night, coming out here to take in some frivolous, charming entertainment? It had been a mistake. A great, stupid, amateur mistake. He didn't belong here, and he needed to stop wanting to. He needed to get back in his car and drive back up the mountain and stick to what he was good at. Which was being sharp-tongued and quick-witted and alone. And maybe drunk. He patted at his coat, pulling out his shining flask and tipping it into his mouth only to find it nearly empty. He needed to go back up the mountain and drink himself into a proper Satinalia stupor. He bent his head into his numb, red, cracked and possibly bleeding hands to shake out one last quietly self-pitying cry, shaking enough with the cold that it was hard to tell where shivering ended and frustration began.

"Hey!" — Dorian looked up to see a tall elf waving at him from across the square. He mastered his snivelling and tried to smooth down his hair. The elf crossed the square towards him, and he recognized the bright hair and simple tattoos of Taren's friend — or cousin or uncle or whatever — from the lodge. "Dorian, right?"

Dorian had already forgotten the elf's name, so he simply nodded grimly and attempted to look like he wasn't bitterly crying alone on a bench in the cold. The elf just sort of stared down at him with a curious glint in his eyes.

"Were you...were you looking for Taren?"

"I was…" — he stuttered, voice hoarse and teeth chattering — "I was just leaving."

"Oh. Well, he's at the community centre," of fucking course he is, "there's a holiday potluck. It's not far…" the elf continued to look him over, curiosity and blatant pity on his face, "actually, I have to carry some stuff over, if you wanted to help me and, you know, warm up a bit." He suggested, holding up one of two heavy looking cloth bags filled with boxes of paper plates and large bottles of soda.

An absolutely terrible idea, but Dorian nodded slowly and stood up, taking the heavier looking of the two bags. The elf then turned with a pleased expression and set off with long, loping strides down the road.

——

When Dorian tried to picture what was conveyed by the words “community centre”, what he arrived at resembled a large school gymnasium; some kind of generic, empty room with laminate floors and fluorescent overhead lights. Shabby furniture, maybe a basketball hoop. That wasn’t at all what he found.

The community centre building was long, all one floor and built of wood with a low roof and a tall chimney, sticking out against a wide hill of snow bearing the signs of children at play — sled marks and drooping snowmen all across it. In front of the building lay a large gated area holding back a sprawling playground of slides and climbing structures and even a small skating rink. Inside, the wood panelled walls were adorned with amateur artwork and framed photographs, display cases filled with trophies and clipped newspaper articles, and too many homemade holiday decorations. Beyond a front desk and a bit of warmly lit hall, his guide opened a door into the wide gymnasium he had expected. It was not lined in slippery laminate flooring or lit in glaring white, but continued on with the shining hardwood of the lobby. Overhead the ceiling was decorated in hanging paper snowflakes, while strings of lights and bright candles cast a soft glow over the long tables set out across it.

“Hey, Keeps!” called the elf ahead of him, shouting across the sea of cheery, chattering people — old, young, elvhen and otherwise — who were mingling about, laughing at their tables and piling food onto their plates from the long line of dishes set out at one end of the wide hall. At a table in the far corner, an elf with haphazard curls of red hair and glowing, tattooed skin turned around.

Well, there he was — Dorian's breath faltered in his lungs — Taren.

“Look who I dragged in from the cold!”

The murmuring of conversation around him quieted slightly for a moment, and then built itself happily back up, apparently thinking nothing of him. But as Taren turned to look back at the call of what was apparently his nickname, still laughing a laugh that Dorian could probably pick out of a sea of thousands, he stopped, and regarded Dorian in stunned silence.

Shit. Shit.

Taren rose from his table and walked over; cautious, curious pace increasing as he got closer and was able to make out the absolute dishevelment of Dorian's appearance — shoes wet from the snow and hair soaked through, dirt and blood on his hands and redness in his eyes — until he arrived in front of him. Taren stopped, reaching out with a firm but careful grip to steady Dorian’s drooping shoulders.

"Hey, whoa," his brows scrunched together, confusion and worry and something else that was far too bright in his eyes, "Dorian, are you okay?"

Dorian was taller, and he almost never slouched, but right now he was so hunched over with embarrassment and lingering cold that he shrank under Taren’s hold, looking up at him and his bright yet uneasy eyes. And he began, helplessly, to laugh.

“You,” he struggled through the sentence, straightening a little, resisting the urge to simply fall into him, “you have antlers,” he snorted, Taren’s mouth moved from a worried frown to a confused half-smile, “on your head.” He did. Taren was dressed head-to-toe in the most ridiculous — absurdly ridiculous — adorably ridiculous — festive getup imaginable. No; worse than anything Dorian could have ever imagined. His sweater, which looked handmade and as though it had seen many a Satinalia, was bright blue and decorated with snowflakes that were embroidered into it with shining silver thread, zigzagging white and blue patterned stripes, and a collection of little green trees around the collar and wrists. He also wasn’t wearing shoes, but large, fuzzy, bright blue slippers with white fluffy pom poms tufting the tips of the toes, and on his head, pushing the messy curls and waves of his thick hair away from his beautifully tattooed face, was a headband; a headband with antlers. They looked to be made of felt and pipe cleaner and sparkly pom poms, spiralling about in some approximation of the patterns carved into the antlers of halla, and hanging off of each one were little bows and — were those bells?

Taren reached a hand up to his head, touching the antlers as though he was surprised to find them there, and as he did, the springy felt-and-pipe cleaner accessory bounced, and the bells jingled. Taren grinned. “They were a gift,” he said, and his fingers hooked underneath the strap of the headband to begin pulling them off.

Dorian shot a hand up to his head, catching Taren’s wrist and halting his removal of the absurd thing while still stifling his laughter. “Don’t.” he wheezed, “don’t you dare. They’re magnificent.”

Taren lowered his hand, taking Dorian’s with it, and the bells on his head jingled again. “You want some food?” he asked, moving his free hand down Dorian's arm while he kept Dorian's in his other, still bracing him like he might fall.

Dorian let go, remembering himself, and took a sudden step back. "I" — what, again, had he expected? — "I didn't bring anything, I just" — behind Taren, sitting out next to a tray of sugar cookies shaped like snowflakes and what looked to be a heavily vandalized gingerbread house, on one end of a long table laden with home cooked meals and large steel vats of hot cider, was an assortment of expensive, gold foil wrapped chocolates in a beautifully carved wooden bowl. He looked back at Taren.

"I…" Taren followed his gaze, and blushed. "I don't really like sweets." There was a slight inflection to the statement, like it was a question, more than an excuse.

"I" — Dorian glanced away from Taren again, this time looking at the crowd, all comfortable and happy and paying both of them almost no mind. Then he looked back at Taren, still smiling at him in that goofy, lopsided way, while antlers made of fairy dust and stupid, ridiculous holiday magic drooped over his halo of hair. "I hate you." he said.

"Uh huh," said Taren, patting his arm once, and leaving his hand there for one infinite moment while bells jingled (on his head!) and children laughed and magic was real, "I'll get you a plate."

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wafflesrock16 · 4 years

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Ink and Blooms

So, the amazingly talented @autodiscothings updated her fantastic fic Acts Of Repetition recently, and the latest chapter featured an incredibly lovely turian tattoo artist. Smitten, I asked Auto if I could write a lil thing with her boy and she agreed.

So! Here’s my ode to @autodiscothings sweet turian bae, Nous. Naturally I have a human lady falling for him because I am predictable trash.

Zenellia D’kafi, the asari matriarch who ran Thessian Impressions floral boutique was a force of nature when it came to cultivating new clients.

“Everyone is a potential client,” she informed Faustine from behind a large mug of tea. “A random hanar apostle might wish to leave flowers as an offering to the Enkindlers. The elcor business man, away from home too frequently, would like a bouquet to send to his wife as a reminder he’s thinking of her.”

Faustine glanced up from where she was meticulously measuring out gold silk ribbon. “And Adamius Studios?” She glanced out the shop window to the studio across the street. It used to be a mattress store, though little of the building’s past life remained on the exterior.

Zenellia smiled, the light sparkling in her cornflower eyes. “Nous Adamius,” she said, drawing out the surname. “Now there’s an artist who’s in demand. The tattooist of the elite.” She followed Fautine’s gaze. “Hmm. In his case, he’s hosting an art exhibition for select clientele next week. The who’s-who of wealth and influence will be there--they always show up for art exhibits.”

“And our supplying the floral arrangements might garner other high-end customers in addition to Nous,” Faustine surmised.

“Smart girl,” Zenellia said, taking a prim sip of tea. “You know, I have a mind to let you finalize the arrangements with Mr. Adamius.”

“Really?” Faustine clasped her hands to her mouth with excitement. “A solo consult?”

Zenellia chuckled, leaning against the glass counter. “I’ve already discussed the arrangements with him, so this will just be hemming in the finer details. Where he wants the vases placed and so on. You’ve been with me on enough consultations and set-ups, you can do this on your own.”

“Thank you Miss Zenellia!” Faustine reigned herself in. “I can handle this,” she said, straightening her posture. “When do I meet with him?”

“Tomorrow morning, before his studio opens.”

**********

Faustine enjoyed fashion. And art and flowers and color. Her wardrobe was a blend of bright color and textures. Her grandmother used to say that she would have loved Earth back in the 1980’s and based on pictures she’d seen, Faustine was inclined to agree.

But today was professional. Her mentor was trusting her to make a good impression and Faustine needed to represent Thessian Impressions while also simultaneously reassuring Nous--Mr. Adamius--that he’d made a wise choice in ordering floral arrangements for his event and should consider doing so again.

Faustine chose a slate pant-suit with a violet camisole from the back of her closet. It was from an elite fashion line, but had been on clearance since it was from the year before. Still, as she slipped on black high heels, Faustine felt a sense of empowerment.

She hesitated over her hair. Did turians even notice human hair? Should she take the extra effort to curl it? Deciding it couldn’t hurt, Faustine brushed, curled, and styled her auburn locks until they gleamed under the artificial bathroom lights. Some mascara and bright red lipstick completed the look and before she could second guess herself, she was hailing a skycar and then stepping out in front of Adamius Studios.

She normally walked to work, but doing so in heels was out of the question. These were shoes for show, not practicality. Pulling up her omni-tool, she contacted Mr. Adamius to let him know she was from Thessian Impressions and here to speak to him.

The windows to the studio were opaque, but in a slow parade of light starting from the back of the building, the room lit up. The door opened as Faustine leaned closer to peer inside.

“Hello.”

“Hi! Mr. Adamius?”

He nodded, opening the door wider for her to enter. She’d seen him before, of course--he worked across the street. She’d never seen him up close, though. He was a good deal taller than her but held himself tightly like a curled fern frond. The effect gave him a shorter, hunched appearance.

He had pale plates, not quite white, but a light tan. His hide was a deep molten red with eyes that reminded her of orange, autumn leaves.

His most notable feature wasn't his eyes or plates or posture. He had bold, purple colony markings which ran in thick lines toward his eye sockets like a roadmap.The plating on his arms bore similar lines of the same color. Faustine wondered if colony markings extended all over the body. She’d never considered it before, but as she admired the bold, black, geometric patterns that spiraled away from his neck plating in a decorative collar, she decided that this was art, unrelated to the colony markings turians were so famous for.

Mr. Adamius cleared his throat loudly and Faustine realized with racing horror that she’d been staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth like he were an exhibit on show.

“Oh!” It was her turn to clear her throat. “Your tattoos are beautiful,” she murmured, looking at the floor.

“Thank you.” His voice was soft. Not at all loud and bold like his art. “You work for Matriarch Zenellia?”

Faustine released a small sigh that they were moving on. “Yes, I’m her protege, as it were. She wanted me to finalize the details with you for next week.”

She smiled, tilting her head in a friendly manner. Mr. Adamius flicked out a mandible in what she associated as a turian smile, though he avoided looking her in the eyes. She wondered if that was a personality thing or something… maybe he doesn’t like me?

“I was thinking of an arrangement on the reception desk and a few smaller vases along the wall,” Mr. Adamius said, pointing to where several bed posts were mounted and functioning as coat racks. A large, framed canvas sat beneath the racks. On it was what looked like an abstract shoal of fish with luminous, foreign script weaving through it. Faustine didn’t recognize the writing but felt it safe to assume it was turian.“I discussed using a mix of thessian, earth, and palaveni flowers,” Mr. Admius continued. “I want the color scheme to stay cobalt, gold, and white, but I’m open to flower types. Nothing too lavish, the art is the focal point.”

“Zenellia mentioned that,” Faustine said, wiping away any concerns about her likability for the moment. Pulling up her omni-tool, she moved closer to Mr. Adamius to show him the samples of different arrangements in the colors he’d requested. This close, she could smell a slightly acrid scent of what she assumed was ink. But overpowering that was a woody smell that reminded her of pine trees. Mr. Adamius smells like Christmas, she thought.

She glanced up at him from where he was admiring a proposed arrangement. He was wearing loose fitted clothes that placed his heavily inked hide on full display. Zenella had mentioned he was younger, but the asari considered everyone younger since she herself was 876 years old.

Nous seems like he’s my age. Maybe a little older. Early to mid thirties?

“I like this one best,” he said, oblivious to her internal musings. Faustine looked at the arrangement he’d chosen. It was the one she’d put together. Not the four Zenella had proposed, but the one she had done.

“I did that one,” she told him proudly.

“It’s beautiful,” he said in a softer voice, looking not at her eyes, but seemingly her hair. “It’ll work perfectly for what I have planned.”

Instead of replying Faustine responded by grinning at him like an idiot. She was high on accomplishment, she’d convince herself later. But it was thanks to this that Mr. Adamius nervously glanced away, toward a small, unassuming painting partially concealed by the reception desk.

“Is that an anchor?” She pointed at the familiar shape which was the main subject of the painting.

“Yes. I’m fond of the nautical themes found in all cultures. The convergence of design between them, be they human, asari, or turian. We’re all interconnected by the oceans of our worlds.” He let out a quiet hum, unfurling from his tightly held hunch. “It reminds me of my childhood, too, I suppose.”

“You grew up near the ocean?” Faustine asked curiously. “I thought turians weren’t the biggest fans of deep, open water. No offense!” she added, horrified she’d possibly insulted him.

His easy chuckle immediately set her at ease. “Overall, you’re right. Most turians avoid the open ocean. But my homeworld is different.” His mandibles flicked outward as he looked down at his hands. The three fingers of his left hand each bore a small fish tattoo on the knuckle. “Rocam has a huge fishing industry. I grew up around the sea and fishing boats. My childhood involved lots of fishing and playing in the surf. Eating charred salmo around a beach fire with my grandparents. Listening to fisherman swap stories on the wharf.”

Faustine watched the fish tattoos flex with his fingers. Remembering the other canvas leaning against the wall, she looked closer at the framed picture. The fish looked like they were formed from ink splats, honed with a pen to give them more definition and shape.

“You did that?” she asked pointing.

Turning, Mr. Adamius nodded. “I did all the nautical themed paintings in here,” he said. Faustine felt like the quiet, rolling subvocals under the spoken words were proud.

“You’re so talented,” she sighed, feeling mildly envious. “Do you have other paintings like that one?”

“Yes, but they’re in the back. I’ll put them out next week for the exhibit.”

“Oh.”

“I…” a soft whine escaped through his tightly clamped mandibles. “Would you, um. Like to come to the exhibit?”

“Your art exhibit next week? Of course I’d love to go!” Faustine forced herself to school her features into a more poised look. “I mean, if you’re inviting me, I’d absolutely love to see the rest of your work.”

Nous let out a huff of air. “It’s not just my work, all the artists in the studio are going to display something. But if you’d like to come, I’d love to see you. At the event.” He cleared his throat, stepping away from her personal space which at some point he’d entered.

“Thank you,” Faustine whispered, feeling a blush creep over her cheeks. “Um, I’ll let Zenella know which arrangement you selected and where and how many you wanted.” She made to head for the door, but forgetting her high heels, tripped and nearly collapsed face first into the deep blue and white rug.

A strong arm seized her around the waist and held her until she was steady on her feet again. “Damn shoes,” she muttered, more embarrassed then she’d been in years. “Nous, I--”

“Not a problem. Are you all right?”

“Fine, I’m fine. Only thing injured is my pride.” She gave him a sheepish smile, sure her face was beet red.

For the first time since she’d entered his studio, Nous looked her in the eye. “Wounded pride isn’t the worst injury,” he said in that soft, smokey voice.

She stared into the swirling amber of his irises. Turians had smaller eyes than humans, but their gaze was intense. She wondered what he thought about her own hazel eyes.

He bowed his head after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, I’ll see you at the exhibit?”

“Before that, actually,” she replied, blinking away whatever trance she’d fallen under. “I’ll bring the flowers by an hour before your exhibit starts.”

“I look forward to seeing you then.”

So do I, Faustine thought, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she headed out the door. So do I.

#mass effect #turians #turian #human/turian flirting #fan fic of a fan fic #Nous belongs to autodiscothings #he is a sweet and precious boi #Faustine would smooch #read acts of repitition #waffles writes #thank you auto!

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jemimacaleyfmpyear1 · 3 years

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As I’m looking at wildlife and nature taking over man made structures this is the perfect opportunity to talk about a really famous abandoned shopping mall in Thailand which is now being taken over by fish! The condemned and abandoned new world mall in Bangkok’s bang lam phu district was built sometime in the early 1980s, but only remained open for 15 years before shutting its doors for good. The reasons for this are multiple, with a history of misfortune, including fire, collapse, and the unauthorised construction of upper floors. The upper floors also made the mall higher than the nearby grand palace, which angered locals as it is an understood ‘no-no’ for buildings in the area to be constructed taller than this highly venerated and historical location. Due to both shoddy architectural engineering and irresponsible demolition work, there was a collapse in the mall in 2005 that resulted in deaths of nearby vendors. Unfinished demolition of the upper floors also left the building exposed to the elements, resulting 500 meters of completely flooded pond space on the ground floor. This led to an outbreak of mosquitoes which became a nuisance in the area. Local residence and vendors then began putting fish into the pond in order to combat the mosquito problem, and the fish multiplied over the years. At one point there were over 3000 koi, mango fish, striped catfish and other varieties of fish in the unusual habitat. In 2015, the story of the ‘abandoned fish mall’ went viral and resulted in great public attention due to safety concerns, the fish were removed with nets with plans to later drain the pond.

Voice of someone else who has experienced the mall — “I had recently been told that the mall is a great photo site for my area of interest in urban exploration and ‘abandonia’ photography. I woke up on a Sunday morning driven to explore and feeling that I absolutely had to get into that mall and see what was there. I parked my car near the mall and spoke with a guard at a nearby facility, asking him about how I could get in. He said that people sometimes climb the wall but he suggested I not try as it’s quite dangerous and he’s seen people get hurt trying. He was a nice guy and seemed genuinely concerned about my safety. I had heard that guards near the mall have recently told others to get lost, but I got a warm reception from this gentleman by speaking polite Thai and explaining that photography is just my hobby. I walked around the perimeter of the large complex and saw only one entrance which was gated and locked. I walked back over to the area where I spoke with the guard and noticed a large hole above a wall. Through the site is still very condemned (for good reason) and quite difficult to enter, I managed to find a way to climb up the wall and into the hole. I used a wall entwined with roots of a large tree to climb up and through an opening. There was a rusty metal gate stacked on some gathered debris which someone had put together as a very unstable ladder of sorts. It looked as if someone had jumped in and then gathered material from around the mall and stacked it up for climbing back out. There was a 3 meter drop off with deep, flooded holes on either side and plenty of debris that would provide an easy injury or worse. I sat on the wall for a while, just looking down and thinking of how to get down, briefly considering jumping (which I am glad that I ultimately decided against) so, with all my equipment strapped on to my back, I slowly climbed down the very shaky gate ladder and stacked wood. Getting in was no easy task, but once inside the immediate sight of the vast mall was almost overwhelming. I found it a bit easier to climb out, though there were still some unstable moments. Once again, I found myself totally alone in the middle of a huge metropolitan area, which is one of the most exciting aspects, in my opinion, of urban exploration. The mall made for some strong photos and I’m glad that I made the effort and took a bit of risk to get inside. The pond may not have been drained at some point, but the rainy seasons seem to have kept the water in place and fish stocks are beginning to return. I saw an array of carp and two large and colourful koi which stood out amongst the darkness of the bottom floor. It seems that the site is still visited by some curious urban explorers and street artists. There is an array of vibrant, mainly fish and mosquito themed graffiti murals on the walls of the upper floors which give some character such as a dank and dark atmosphere.”

A mall in Thailand that used to be awash with shoppers is now teeming with fish after the abandoned building was flooded. The new world mall, in Bangkok, was closed in 1997 after it was found to have breached building regulations, before a fire in 1999 left it without a roof. Rainwater slowly filled the building with water, causing a major mosquito problem. In an effort to rid themselves of the pests, the locals introduced freshwater talapia fish to eat the insects. Meant as a simple pest control measure, the talapia have now thrived and hundreds of them can be seen swimming in the strange urban pond. The fish thrived, quickly multiplied, and now fill the lower floors of the mall, swimming around rusty escalators and across the 5000sqft floor. Shops around the mall sell fish food to tourists who visit, but throwing anything else into the subterranean lake is banned in order to protect the aquatic inhabitants. From outside the mall, it is impossible to tell that there is a lake of fish inside and it is one of the lesser-known tourist attractions in Thailand.

I would love to visit and see this one day as I love the idea of nature and wildlife living within an artificial site. I think it would look really impressive and it’s a once in a life time experience.

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secretsantasides · 4 years

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Gift #1: By Day, By Night

Gift for @aggressiveshipper

Prompt: LAMP, Soulmate au.

People whispered that the town was cursed. Monsters lived in every nook and cranny for leagues. Thieves and bandits attacked the townspeople on their yearly journeys to sell wares at the marketplace. Demons prowled the forest surrounding them, and ghosts haunted the night long after they had passed on. A sorcerer was rumored to live in a tower in the woods, and the mountains were littered with dwarves. The trees surrounding the town seemed to move in the night, and most people who strayed off the path winding through the woods were never heard from again. Dragons flew overhead every night, but were nowhere to be seen in the morning. People whispered that the town was cursed. Maybe it was.

Logan watched his students attack straw-stuffed dummies. The head of the class, Thomas, fought with the most vigor, stabbing and slashing, wildly ripping at the fake soldiers until they were reduced to shreds. He stood, panting, wiping the sweat and hair out of his eyes. Clapping his hands to get their attention, Logan shouted, “Very good, everyone! See you tomorrow!” The students dispersed, and Logan exited the training area as well, straightening his shoulders to rid them of the tightness. He walked down the small village street, past the market vendors who advertised amulets ‘guaranteed to protect you from dragon attacks!’ Logan snorted. Those didn’t work, obviously. He entered a small bakery, which was run by his best friend, Patton. The curly-haired baker was always smiling, handing out treats to children, and making everyone’s day just a little bit better. Every time that Patton smiled, a piece of Logan’s heart melted. He fell in love whenever the baker talked. Patton was only a touch taller than Logan, but every time he looked into Patton’s eyes, he knew he was looking at the stars. But he couldn’t be in love with Patton. He just couldn’t be. The mark tied his soul to others. “Hello! Logan, how was your class?” Patton smiled brightly behind the glasses that enlarged his eyes so well. Logan blushed faintly, but replied, “My students performed exceptionally well today. May I please have one loaf of bread?” Patton nodded, and passed the bread to him, taking the few pieces of gold. “See you tomorrow!” Logan reluctantly left the shop, clutching his bread and watching the afternoon sun drift lower in the sky as he walked to his cottage at the edge of town. He added his newest loaf of bread to the growing pile, knowing that he would end up giving most of it away to the students in his class. To tell the truth, Logan only bought bread every day so that he could see Patton more often. There wasn’t much else Logan did. Aside from... He shook off the thought and adjusted his shoulders again, hoping to find relief in the new position. Through the small opening in his wall, he could see the sun lowering closer to the ground, and he fixed his navy robe and headed out into the evening. Wandering into the forest, Logan watching the sun sink lower into the trees. A hollow oak afforded him a place to stash his robe for the night, and he shivered in his thin white shirt. He let the scaly wings that had been trapped inside his robe all day spread, bracing himself. The sun touched the horizon. Immediately, a shot of pain cracked through his body. His head spiraled, and the crown of his head felt like it had been lit on fire. Horns erupted from his hair, growing with his wings and Logan curled up on all fours, silently retching and crying. A tail wrapped around him next, and Logan grew, his face turning scaly. He forced himself to focus. Deep breath in, deep breath out. His clothes, instead of ripping to shreds, now melted nicely into his skin, which was quickly becoming shiny and tough. Throat burning, he opened his mouth to let a small flame out, smothering it with one huge claw before it could spread. He wobbled to his feet, and opened up the dark blue wings. Logiltis the dragon, tears still running from eyes he no longer had, flew into the starlit night. Virgil had been waiting at the meeting spot for a while, pacing around and around, impatiently wondering where the others were. Romulus arrived first, the fire that permanently burned at the end of his tail sputtering and flickering. He had obviously flown here fast. Logiltis showed up next, breathing flames onto their bonfire. He was the only one allowed to do that at this point, everyone else might set the forest ablaze again. Now they were just waiting on Patarius. The light-blue and grey tinted dragon came skidding into the clearing a few minutes later, panting. “Sorry, everyone!” he gasped. Virgil thought that he had seen a white strip wrapped around Patarius’s neck, but it flew into the fire and was burned to ashes. Logiltis was pacing around the outskirts by the trees. “It is certainly getting colder. Make sure your wings don’t freeze. They could be torn beyond repair.” “Hah!” piped up Romulus, who was sprawled out across the ground. “I don’t have to worry about that!” With a smug grin, he waved his tail around, showing off the flickering flame at the end. Virgil pushed it away, growling playfully, “I thought you cared, Oh Fiery One. You aren’t going to try to keep us from freezing?” Romulus let out an offended snort, smoke rising into the chilly night air. “Wha-bu-of course I would! I just wanted- Logiltis is right, stay warm when I’m not around to save you.” “What if we just migrate for the winter?” quipped Patarius. The others let out roars of laughter. This idea was pitched every year, and they had never once left. Virgil couldn’t go. He was certainly the only one who wasn’t a full dragon. What if he turned back while they were flying over the sea? Would the others notice? Or would they keep going without him? Logiltis sat neatly by the fire, curling his wings and tail around him gently. “I, for one, have no reason to doubt that we can survive another winter here, having made it through fifteen of them alrea-“ “Bedtime!” Patarius chirped, snuggling up to Virgil. Their nightly ritual was something Patarius had proposed years ago, “because we need to stay alert during the day, just in case humans come!” It was a good sentiment, Virgil supposed, but he didn’t do anything most days. He could barely understand other humans. The cuddle pile was steaming in the cold night air, and, despite Virgil’s troubled thoughts, he closed his eyes. When he woke up, it was still dark, as usual, but he wasn’t the first one to leave, which was honestly quite surprising. Logiltis was gone, so Virgil started creeping through the trees. It wasn’t safe to fly in the morning, given that farmers started working early. So silently he went on foot, dreading the pain of the sunrise. As the pink spread over the horizon, Virgil’s body slowly and painfully shrank back into a human. The only thing left unchanged, if only a little smaller, was his purple tail. His violet cloak was wrapped tightly around himself to shield from the cold, and as he traipsed through the mountains, he couldn’t help thinking of his winter coat. The red, fur-lined coat had been one of his favorite projects to make, the dragon scales feeling fresh and smooth under his fingers. And, yes, it was Romulus’s shedded skin. There weren’t many dragons that he knew in the woods, and he would have been uncomfortable taking their loose scales. But whenever the winter came around, and they shed their scales for thicker ones, Virgil always went back the next day and took them. No sense in wasting it. Virgil entered his cave, careful not to alert the pair of angry dragons that lived nearby. He started a fire and sat down by a blank stretch of wall, watching the firelight dance across it. With a sudden burst of inspiration, he dipped his hand into a crushed up berry mix and began to paint. Stroke by stroke, the picture grew, forming into a painting of a dragon, roaring towards the ceiling of his cavern. Virgil lowered himself to the ground, fingertips brushing across the rough stone to create three other dragons below the big one, their tails all intertwined. He stood up and stepped back, his berry stained hands tugging unconsciously at his shirt, revealing a mirror image of the mark on the wall burned into his chest. Patton was fuming. First, he had gotten distracted while transforming, and he tore his favorite apron. Then, he had forgotten to tell his friends about his other life...again. To be fair, he had meant to tell them for years. He just...got scared. He wasn’t meant to be half-and-half. And for sure, nobody else was like him. Who would be? Patton had woken to an empty clearing, the sun rising gently over the horizon, and a lot of pain screaming through him. He lay there suffering for what felt like hours, he got up slowly and started for his town. He was late! Before he exited the cover of the trees, he put a hand up to his curly hair, adjusting it to hide the tiny horns still poking out of his head. Once inside the bakery, he fired up the ovens and started mixing the first batch of dough. After putting in the usual ingredients, Patton stealthily added a pinch of everwort into it. Not enough for the harmful side effects, but with this extra ingredient, the bread would stay fresh until the buyer ate it. That was Patton’s specialty now. Years ago, Logiltis had proposed that they each teach the others a skill that they had, to learn more about the others. Romulus had taught them how to speak basic Gnome, Mermish, and Goblin. Logiltis told them how to defend themselves from any humans who would try and slay them. Patton had shown the others proper meal building, but ultimately, it was Virgil’s who had helped him the most. He had taught the rest of the dragons about poisonous and magical plants, and while Romulus was not-so-subtly yawning, Patton’s eyes were sparkling. He had gone back the next morning, picking all the helpful plants, and spent the next few months experimenting with them. But his experiments got a little out of hand when Molly Smith had eaten some of his healing bread with an infected cut. Not only did the infection clear up, but the wound scabbed up, then disappeared over the course of one night. Nobody suspected the bread as the culprit, but Patton resolved to be more careful. He still sold magic bread, but the magic was quieter, like the everwort. Sometimes, he would still try to give people magic bread, if he could see something wrong. Logan came in with a cut on his cheek? Patton’ll sneakily pass him some healing bread. A farmer comes in, exhausted beyond belief, but only halfway through work? There might be some energy bread in the back. He loved making people feel better. Even if he couldn’t tell them that what they were eating was magic. He tossed the everwort loaves into the oven and left them to rise, melding a new piece of dough with his fingers. Life was good for Patton. “Good work, Roman.” the king said somewhere in front of him. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” he replied, keeping his head bowed low. “I have another mission for you. The people of Maidenvale have reported angry unicorns charging them to steal their crops. Can you slay them, Roman?” “Yes, Your Majesty.” And so, Roman found himself traipsing through the woods, wishing for his dragon wings. “But no, I got the stupid fire-breath!” he yelled into the wilderness, scaring a few birds out of their tree. In a huff, he stormed onwards, waving away the little smoke puffs coming out of his nose and mouth. He approached Maidenvale, the sun already at its peak. He would have to hurry. Roman entered the town, flashing the medallion from the king and calling, “King Matthew sent me to take care of the unicorns, but please, go inside a building and wait there.” Plenty of people shook his hand, or whispered praise, or thanked him as they passed, which made Roman uncomfortable. “Are all these people this excited for the death of magical creatures?” he thought. “Because as a half-magical creature myself, I’m offended!” He drew his sword and entered the woods, ‘tracking’ the unicorns. This was all part of his act. He’d waste time ‘on the hunt’ for whatever monster he was currently fighting, after warning any nearby residents to stay inside. That way, no one could catch a glimpse of- An angry whinny sounded from a hundred steps away. Roman switched his sword to the fighting position, and rushed toward the noise. The pack of unicorns was charging through the woods, heading straight to Maidenvale. He jumped in front of them, brandishing his blade in the dim light. The herd halted, then snorted in fury, lowered their heads, and charged. A few quick flips and he was over their heads-and into his nightly pain. His nerves were screaming, but inside, Roman just rolled his eyes, waiting for it to be over. His wings spread, tail swished out, and horns erupted from his head in the dusk. The herd had continued running without Roman in their path, so Romulus flew over their heads and spit fire, creating a barrier that they couldn’t cross, though the fireproof Romulus could. “Listen,” he hissed at them, hoping he had the right words. His Unicorn was a little rusty. “You go mountains. Not safe!” The unicorns did stop cantering around anxiously, but they just looked at him in confusion. He gestured frantically at the far off mountains. “Go.” Finally, the leader seemed to get it. Romulus put out the fire fence and they galloped off in that direction. Romulus flew off-at last- to meet his friends. After all, none of them had ever missed a meeting.

#secretsantasides #lamp #fanfic #patton sanders #ts patton #virgil sanders #ts virgil #logan sanders #ts logan #roman sanders #ts roman #medieval au #dragon au #wingfic #sanders sides #thomas sanders

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grouptalekindnesssoul · 4 years

Text

The Dragon Guarded Weapon

Warnings: Contains darker themes

This is also a first draft! So, any feedback is appreciated. It’s also very rough.

As if spawning into a game, a young woman appeared in the center of the street. She then shook her short hair out of her blue eyes before slipping through the crowd with practiced ease, headed for a weaponsmith’s. She nodded to two other girls of about the same age as she passed. The black dyed hair bobbed as one slung a bow over her shoulder. The second had no obvious weapons, but a satchel was hanging across her body.

“You must be the adventurer newbie. Look around, find something to your liking. I’m guessing something lightweight?” The towering, honey-toned smith asked, his voice like boulders crashing together. I shook my head and looked around, hovering over a wicked set of knives before pointing to a hammer.

“That looks to be my style” He looked at me funny but handed it to me. I tested it out by swiping it through the air. I rested it on the ground as I strapped on the sheath, standing just taller than me.

“It suits you. Where are you off to now?” He asked as I paid. “Guards building. I’m fighting the head so we can take missions. My teammates agreed to a one on one, with me as the representative.” I smiled maliciously. He chuckled softly.

“Don’t be too inhuman with that. I’d hate for her to come to me in a fury and demand I change your weapon” I waved as I left, smiling proudly. As I walked towards the door, Rebecca and Maddie joined me, arriving just as they were starting to look for us. I brushed past them and emerged into the courtyard training area where Captain Valerie was waiting.

“Ready?” She asked. At my nod, she raised her shield and started circling me. She tried to jab at me with a solid sword, but I hooked my hammer to the edge of her shield. Pulling it back, I tapped her chest lightly before she could get in a counterstrike.

“I believe that is a win for me,” I said with a bow. She scowled at me but yielded.

“Meet me at noon tomorrow for your first assignment”. I followed my teammates out of the courtyard. We retired to the large house on the edge of the residential section that we all shared. They both had rooms on the first floor; the ground floor was the kitchen, living room and dining room; my room was the attic. The second floor was empty at the moment. We all enjoyed dinner together before retiring. Early the next morning, I slipped out to get to the weaponsmith’s just as they opened.

“Well, what can I do for you, little badass?” The Smith chuckled, using his height advantage to tease me.

“I was wondering if there was any way to protect the handle. I realized that it was vulnerable, but metal would make it hard to grip and my hold on it changes throughout a fight” I said as I unsheathed it.

“Plus this is a two-handed weapon which makes a shield useless.” He finished. I nodded, as he inspected it thoughtfully. I examined my hand as he processed my request. “The best advice is to try and move faster so they don’t get to destroy it, and carry some smaller weapons just in case” He handed me a few daggers and knives, which I paid for.

“Thank you. This helps Mr. Smith” I called as I left with a smile. He waved back

“Name’s Rhett! Better call me that or I’ll give you-” I wandered out of earshot and through town for a few hours, before returning home and changing into my travel clothes. My dark brown boots with shorts and a crop top. I swung a cloak over it all to complete the look and hide my hammer and satchel. I met Rebecca at the bottom of the stairs. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail, fingers tapping as we waited. Maddie was applying makeup since she insisted that despite leaving the town, she must still look fashionable. I played with the strap of my satchel as the time crept closer to noon. Finally, she came downstairs in a skirt and tank top, her bag draped over one shoulder. She sashayed out the door and we were forced to follow. I fell behind slightly, aiming to not be associated with that type of chichi behavior. Rhett was headed back to his shop as we passed.

“Hello, Mr. Smith!” I called cheerfully

“Why, Little badass! I thought I told you to call me by my first name!” He chuckled as I passed.

“I know! My name’s Katie by the way. Kat, Delphine, and crazy girl all work though!” I joked. I could hear his rumbling chuckle as we continued walking. We bumped into Captain Valerie just a few moments after the noon bell chimed.

“You’re almost late. Anyway, here’s your assignment. I almost gave it to another team but I suppose since you're here I’ll still give it to you.” I glared at Maddie before glancing it over.

“This is too hard. Let us warm up to our new status by giving us something easier”

“Hm...here, this is easier,” She said with a sneer.

“Perfect,” I said, headed out of town. I passed the paper to Becca as Maddie blew a kiss at a passing guy.

“You realize she gave us a harder assignment?” Rebecca asked as she looked it over.

“Of course. I was gloating her into that. We can handle it though, so don’t worry.” I shrugged triumphantly. There was a picture of a goat bodied, snake-headed and scorpion tailed creature. The subtitle read:

Herd the triple-venimeux.

“Well. Goodbye Bailymena. Hello triple-venimeux!” I drawled. Becca rolled her eyes in my direction. Our archer was fiddling with her hair. “Maddie, we’re going to leave you behind at this rate. So stop worrying about your appearance and let’s find these beasts.” I prodded her arm. She huffed in my direction before speeding up to walk beside Becca. Snatches of their conversation drifted back towards me

“Always controlling everything isn’t she?” that was Maddie

“I’ve known her...A teensy bit but...heart’s in a good place” Becca’s response was harder for me to hear since I stopped. I knew I was bad but...that bad? I started walking again to catch up. I didn’t want them to realize I’d been listening and had been affected like that. Once I caught up I smiled before pushing them down. A stream of discolored liquid landed on a tree hissing. It missed our heads by mere seconds.

“WE FOUND THEM! KATIE, LEAD THEM” Becca pushed me towards the origin. I stumbled to my feet as Maddie drew her bow. I could see that the lead one was large and brown. Behind it, upwards of a few dozens others crouched. The brown lead bared its fangs at me. I ran. Beelining for an enclosure in the distance. I ducked as I heard a hiss from behind me. Narrowly missing losing my head to another venom stream.

“My head could use a little help!” I called over my shoulder. Maddie was busy driving a smaller poison green necked one away from Becca. I threw one of my knives at its tail, causing it to whirl around and zero in on me with a vengeance. A sapphire blue diamond-patterned one lashed out with its tail while my back was turned. I rolled out of the way just as the point of its tail hit where my heart had been. I slashed at the tail, hurtling onto its back. I tried to direct it towards the cage. The one who’d attacked first raced towards it. He apparently sensed something I didn’t. I leaped off just as the one I was riding ran through and the gate closed. I lay panting laboriously as I calmed down.

“You ok?” A voice said somewhere above me. I looked into a grease-streaked feminine face. Their brown hair was wild, despite being trapped in a ponytail.

“Uh...Yea. I think? I had a few close calls there.” I said standing up, brushing off my pants.

“I tossed food in there. They would’ve come running once they smelled it. I’m Ross, designer of this monstrosity of an enclosure. I live in Bailymena as a mechanic usually though.” They wiped off their hands on dirty cloth.

“Katie. I’m a new adventurer with Rebecca and Maddie over there.” I nodded at the two running figures. “We come from the same place on our first journey. You may have seen us around.”

“I have. Ross seems to always have their hands fiddling with some sort of machine. I’m Ki, the blacksmith who rooms with this crazy girl.” A curly brown head popped up from behind an anvil. The shorter girl it belonged to offered me a hand to get me on my feet.

“Nice to meet you Ki, Ross. Thank you for saving my hide.” I said as I took it. Ki’s brown eyes twinkled as she looked into my face. Ross grumbled as they fiddled with a screwdriver, muttering something about how it wasn’t anything huge and I interrupted their flow. They then shook their head, as if leaving behind the thought.

“Glad you weren’t harmed,” They said energetically as if returning from a trance. Maddie flopped on the ground once she reached us. Becca glanced over the two.

“Come on. We have a long way to go before nightfall. Thank you both for uh...helping?” Becca poked Maddie with one toe with a scowl.

“Oh. Uh..See ya, I guess. Good Luck!” Ki said, deflating slightly. I hugged her before grabbing Maddie’s leg. She offered me a sad smile as Becca stalked off with a huff. I mouthed an apology as I dragged our prone teammate after her. Ross waved, tucking a stray clump of hair behind an ear. They seemed to recede back into her quiet concentration as we left them in the dust. I dropped Maddie and stalked up to my hazel-eyed companion.

“Why? Why did you run off like that? Nightfall is soon and we could have stayed with them!” I hissed under my breath.

“And return to town with only one task completed?! We’d be ridiculed. But you don’t care because you’re the one who can do no wrong!” Becca’s voice shot up several octaves as she shouted back at me. I threw up my hands in exasperation. I glanced at the sky to see the horizon held only the slightest hint of orange. The rest was the deep blue of night. Maddie was stacking some kindling as we fought. I bent next to her and struck one of my knives against a branch to produce a spark. Becca sat down heavily on the opposite end of the fire. I tore into a granola bar before being startled by a noise. My teammates were unbothered or didn’t notice it. I glanced around reaching for one of my weapons. I caught a pair of green eyes watching us through the fog that was forming, before disappearing back into the woods. I moved closer to the fire uneasily. Becca and Maddie went to sleep within the next hour unawares. I stayed up for a while watching the dying embers before I finally drifted off. I woke up to a gag around my mouth and my arms tied soundly behind my back. I had also been disarmed much to my embarrassment. I tried to pull my bindings over anything sharp on the ground like a rock, but there was nothing.

“Whatcha gonna do with her now? That Captain’s, Valerie? Was it? tip paid off. But why’d you grab only her Boss?” A hiccuping voice interrupted my search. Another, smoother and silkier man’s voice answered.

“The others are untouchable. Adventurers she said. This one will be sold as a slave, if she’s lucky” A sinister laugh sent a shiver down my whole body. A steel-tipped boot kicked my side, causing me to curl up and cough up some blood. The owner grabbed my arms and forced me to my feet brutally. I stared into steely amber eyes on a deep skinned man in an immaculate suit. His black hair was carefully arranged.

“We have a long way to go. Truman, keep an eye on her.” He said turning on one heel.

“Ricardo. Boss.” The man, Truman, stammered out

“I told you, Ricardo is not to be used by any other than my family or business partners! And I will NOT HAVE MY HIRED HELP QUESTIONING ME!” I stood there limp as Ricardo grabbed me and threw me towards a wagon in the distance. I felt a branch tear into my right leg. I made a vague distressed noise through my gag as I watched blood gush from the wound. “GET BACK! I WILL DEAL WITH THIS ONE MYSELF” was hurled after Truman’s fleeing figure as he ran past me. He sprinted up to the wagon in the distance. I was fumbling to put something over my wound with my limited range of movement. Ricardo ripped me to my feet. “Of course you go and get yourself hurt. Maybe I can hide it with a longer skirt..” He mused to himself. I tried to twist away from him, and he let me. I fell the moment I tried putting weight on my leg. He continued on about how that would be a problem as well as he pulled me up once more. I tried to shout through the awful thing still muting me. He drew a jeweled knife from his sleeve. I shrank back as he moved it closer to me. He scoffed and cut the gag in one neat stroke.

“No screaming girl.” He said haughtily

“Katie. My name is Katie. And I’m afraid I can’t walk since you threw me onto a sharp branch” I made known with the slightest hint of sass. He chuckled as he hoisted me into the air, still keeping my wound away from his suit.

“Don’t get used to this. I only am doing this to make sure there’s no more damage that will result in money loss” He said, silencing any hint of humor. I glared at him, which he didn’t notice. The fog had thickened to the point I feared I was leaving a trail of blood without noticing. A scream ripped through the air near us, with a response of a hoarse roaring. Ricardo stopped as Truman came bolting out of the woods directly in front of us. A scrawny golden large cat was close on his heels. It sniffed the air and stared at me hungrily. The only thing that stopped it from approaching was my growl and a horrible imitation of its roar by Ricardo. It sprinted after the poor henchman. The unfeeling man holding me dropped me right in its trail as screams echoed through the fog. He rolled me over a few times until all I could smell was the choking scent. I was still gagging as I was once again hoisted into the air. I bit back a scream as pain from my leg made my vision blur. I moaned as my vision faded in and out with every small jolt. I finally gave up and let myself pass out.

When I woke up, I was bouncing in the wagon, tied next to women of various ages, but I appeared to be the youngest. A few still had gags, but most were only tied at the hands and feet. My feet were free and my leg was bandaged up. The woman directly next to me was a short, medium-toned middle-aged one. My other side was facing the opening to the wagon, which was currently sealed. The woman beside me moaned slightly as she shifted, revealing bruises between her two-piece outfit, on the side she’d been just laying on.

“Are you ok?” I murmured to her. She looked at me with warm light green eyes. After a quick acknowledgment, she looked away again. I looked away too just as the wagon’s flap was opened. A man stood there. I could hear someone complaining that they had to change a girl’s dressings since it had already been a day. The man who had just let light in grabbed me as I realized I’d been out for at least a day. Most likely closer to a day and a half or more.

“Here you go Jayce.” The man carrying me grunted as he handed me off to a weedy, extremely pale older man. With uncaring precision, he changed the bandages on my leg. Ricardo walked over as I mumbled

“Food? I’m really hungry” Jayce glared at me. Ricardo however, stood me up and untied my hands, leading me back to the wagon, where a short distance away a fire burned beneath a pot. He handed me a bowl with soup and a spoon. I hobbled a short distance on my own to sit down. I smiled that I could support my weight at least enough. I pretended to eat until barely anyone was watching then flung my bowl into the fire where it caused a huge ruckus. I pushed myself to my feet and moved as quickly as I could to the wagon. Grabbing a discarded knife, I jumped into the wagon and began cutting women free. I started wailing as well, hoping someone was nearby and would recognize it. Other women took up the cry as I pushed them towards the woods, finishing freeing them all. I hobbled after them as two women appeared, just as the first of the group reached the woods. They stepped aside as the freed prisoners rushed away. The taller of the two watched with unblinking eyes as the last of them besides me disappeared. The shorter brushed her brown hair out of her face as she turned to return to whatever they were doing. The black-haired girl snickered as men called for her to help catch the fleeing women. She led the way back into the forest as my leg finally gave up under my weight and the stress I’d been putting on it.

#my writing #dragon guarded weapon

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badskippy · 5 years

Text

Dear Diary

From the Daily Journal of T. Durin

2019/22/04

I can’t explain it. I have no concept of it really, let alone understand it. And yet, it was real, it happened, and I will not deny it.

It was rainy, of course, and I stood standing, with a few others, close to the office building, trying desperately to avoid getting wet. Futile really, but it’s what’s one does. We try so hard to avoid the inevitable, the obvious, that we rarely see how ridiculous we are.

Which is rather ironic considering.

I stood there, only concerned with getting dry, getting home, putting my feet up and killing time until I went to bed, only to do everything I had done today all over again tomorrow. God, that sounds so pathetic. But it could not be denied. It was just at that moment I didn’t realize it.

As I watched the sky, hoping for break, wondered if I could dash to the corner quick enough to catch a cab before it drove off, I saw him. Right there, right in front of me, right across the street, stood a man I had never spoken too, had never seen, didn’t know a damn thing about, but his very presence seemed to pull at me. He was not tall, average really in height, shorter than me though. His blondish hair was starting to turn silver grey in places; his temples, his bangs, here and there. He wasn’t much older than I was, or at least, I didn’t think so; he had this look that said he could be young going grey early (very attractive), or older with good genes and a boyish face (also, very attractive). He was dressed like someone out of the past; tweed jacket, waistcoat, bow tie, and brown leather saddle shoes. Even the cross-body messenger-bag was well worn and looked ‘antiqued.’

The funny thing was, I was painfully aware that had it been anyone else, I wouldn’t have looked at them twice. He was dressed as someone I probably wouldn’t even have noticed. But ... I did and I was struck. There was no other way to describe the feeling I had. Like someone had dumped ice over my head and for the first time in my life, I noticed the world around me!

Well, only him really.

Traffic slowed and for a few seconds opened up and then he dashed, right in the middle of London traffic, he dashed across the street! He was taking his life in his hands and I wanted to scream, “Don’t! Stop! Wait for me and I will protect you!” But no sooner had the voice rose up in me, the guy reached my side and stepped up onto the pavement. He smiled to himself at a job well done as he started walking in the opposite way from me.

I had to follow. I didn’t care about the rain, I didn’t even notice it by then.

I tried to keep a discreet distance so not to be noticed, despite the fact that part of me begged the heavens for him to notice. And why was that? I can’t tell. For the first time in my life I was ... well, excited and nervous. It was odd.

The guy ducked into a bookstore, the jingle of the door chime clear even six metres away.

Of course I followed him.

He greeted the owner, they chatted, though I didn’t hear what they were saying as I was so focused on trying to be nonchalant and looking over a stand newspapers. But I could hear the tone and his voice ... my god his voice was like flow of water over stones or wind through the trees; melodious. And I wondered, what would it sound like, whispering things in the dark of my bedroom?

As he moved into the shop, I tried to keep an eye on him while at the same time pretending to be looking at the books around me. He walked around the huge cases, fingers dancing over book spines. He passed through the Agricultural and Botanical section, World Traveler section, and even section with Atlases and Maps from all over the world. Finally, he stopped in History. He pulled a few volumes off the shelf one at a time, flipped through them, put them back, then picked another. He moved slowly down the row, up and down each shelf and, by the end, had chosen three.

He walked past me as I looked over a section of metaphysical books, something I had zero knowledge or interest in, but I got a good view of him from the corner of my eye; rosy cheeks, bright eyes, full lips, and the smell ... god, he smelled like apples warmed by the sun, ripe and delicious.

As he checked out his purchases and chatted with the proprietor, I again stood to one side, attempting to look a display of bookmarks, hoping to go unnoticed. I waited with my back to him, waiting for the moment he said good-by to the other man, so that I ... well, I didn’t know what to do, but I had to follow. Fuck going home or any shit I thought I had to do. There was nothing more important then my guy at that moment.

But I suddenly heard the door-chime and when I turned, he was gone!

I rushed out, I had to find him! And find him i did.

I ran right into him.

He was just standing there to one side of the door and he looked up at me, a Mona Lisa smile on his lips and raised eyebrow, his arms crossed. I wanted to die. Regardless of being the taller one, I felt very small and embarrassed and ridiculous and I wanted to crawl away and die.

But he reached up and placed something the breast pocket of my jacket. “You really are terrible at sneaking about.” He said, his smile turning into a playful smirk. He walked off.

I just stood there, leaning against the wall, thinking how idiotic and crazed he must think I was. He probably thought me a prat at the very least or even some mentally deranged psychotic!

That’s when I remembered the item in my pocket.

I pulled it out and it was a simple card. A calling card. Charming. It had only a name; his name.

BILBO BAGGINS

And there was a phone number.

A voice inside said to just go home and forget it. I’d made enough of an arse of myself, don’t add insult to injury.

But diary, I ignored that voice. I dialed that number. The moment I heard his voice, I knew. With every fiber of my being, I knew.

My life would never be the same again.

#bagginshield #thilbo

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weveneverbeenalone · 4 years

Photo

194 UFO sightings reported in Washington State Last Year.

The center reports that Washington state has the third-highest number of total sightings in its database, behind California (No. 1) and Florida (No. 2).

The reports from the Evergreen State are diverse. Many described triangular- or cigar-shaped objects, spheres, lights, disks, fireballs and even formations of multiple objects.

The reports came from all over the state at all times of the day and night. Some sightings lasted only two or three seconds while others continued for several minutes or, in rare cases, an hour or more.

Some excerpts from those reports:

- March 24 nighttime sighting of pulsating orange light off the Washington coast at Ocean Shores: "I could see a particularly bright red pulsing light stationary towards the west over the ocean. I (awakened) my wife and I told her she has to see this. ... By the time she got up and was observing it it had doubled in magnitude. ... This was orange red and it began pulsing. We both were in amazement. ... After several minutes of it getting progressively brighter, all of a sudden it got very bright then completely just vanished. I am a retired school teacher and my wife a real estate agent and are rational people but this was as clear as it could be. We have not seen anything like it before over the ocean at night here at our beach home."

- Jan. 13 nighttime encounter with a "17- to 20-foot tall alien robot" at a large business campus in Federal Way: "I was sitting in my car while my dogs were out for a run. ... About 100 yards away, I saw colored lights high up in the trees. In that same glance I saw my dogs very rapidly, running back and forth while jumping and running repeatedly. ... I could tell it was something standing (that) I quickly concluded was some kind of machine or a robot. ... It had a large round red light in the center of its head. ... On the right side and a bit lower was round medium dark blue light. On the left side was a green light and a white/yellow light. ... The robot was taller than the trees. ... The robot was looking for something and it swayed gently from side to side with each step."

- Feb. 28 sighting of a multi-colored triangle in Lakewood at about 4 a.m.: "I was outside with my dog (when I see) a light hovering behind the trees. ... It slowly starts moving out from the trees and its orange, blinking quickly. Suddenly once I had full view it started blinking a weird pattern of green and red, and moved to the east of me behind a building. Five minutes later ... I see a very bright light approaching me super slowly at tree top level, it flew right above me ... and it was a triangle. It had a red and green flashing light ... and it almost looked transparent, if all lights were off you wouldn't be able to see it. ... I've never seen anything like this before but I got a warm feeling from it, no fear. Welcome our visitors with love, don't be afraid."

- May 18 daylight sighting by a couple of a black craft near Fife: "I turned my truck towards the south and we immediately spotted a black craft moving strangely. It was shaped like a cell phone, kind of rectangular. It was falling like a leaf, then shooting forward for a distance before coming to a stop and spinning. When it would shoot forward, it would move very fast and come to a stop without noticeably braking. Just an instant stop. It would then fall like a leaf again, swaying side to side and slowly dropping, before shooting forward again. While we were watching this, another object appeared. A silver sphere. ... I turned the corner, parked again and could not see either object again. I saw neither leave."

- May 31 nighttime sighting of of an orange orb and a "human like greenish thing" in North Seattle: "I just witnessed a bright orange orb or ball across the street from 24th Ave. NW and 95th Ave. About 1:30 a.m. I walked out to have a cigarette, looked to my right, saw the orange light object at roof level and then as I watched, a streak of a grey/green human shape leaped into it from the side and then it vanished. I felt like something realized it was being watched so it stopped whatever it was doing. ... Anyway, it has me shaken up. I feel like I saw something, like a shooting or a kidnap, and I know that no one will believe me. Since I'm the only witness to this."

- June 7 daytime sighting of a "shimmering wing shape" traveling at ultra-fast speed near Port Angeles: "I was standing on the back deck, with a beautiful, mostly sunny day. ... Something caught my eye, coming from the south, moving very fast! By my calculations, it traveled from directly over my house, to east of Victoria, B.C., in two seconds! Made a 90-degree turn and headed towards Whidbey Island. ... There seemed to be a shimmer around what looked like, a wing shape, with no fuselage visible. ... The leading edge of the wing appeared dark. Looked like a flying wing. And jet engine noise. The estimated distance traveled in two seconds was fifty miles!!!"

- Aug. 13 sighting of an "ambient glowing cloud sky ghost" over Tacoma just after midnight: "As I was driving I kept an eye on it because it just seemed so out of place. ... What caught my eye is that it was changing shape, almost dancing in a very graceful way around the top of the moon. I’m not religious but I could say it looked like a huge angel. ... It wasn’t a solid “craft” or “vessel” of any sort but something that could be literally not of this physical world. ... I’m not on anything, I saw this completely sober. I’ve never seen anything like it. ... We really don’t know what’s going on up there."

- Sept. 7 nighttime sighting of a circular object in the clouds that followed a husband and wife as they drove home near Rochester: "As I made the second curve, I almost wrecked the car! I caught sight of the craft just to the left of me and a bit ahead. ... You could see 6 white lights rotating in a pattern and 4 red lights that spun, then the white lights ran to the inside or center of the craft, made a star formation, then reversed direction and made a circle around the center star like light. ... As we parked, the craft stopped and hovered. ... There was no engine noise at all! ... We got the dogs out of the kennel ... they had been raising holy hell, and were frantic! ... As I walked up the road I looked and saw at least 25 rays of light pointing up to the sky, they were like spotlights and were bouncing all over the place! ... I am still shaken up, and just a bit afraid they will come back."

- Oct. 2 sighting of a fleet of triangular craft by a father and son as they were seated around a campfire at night in the Port Orchard area: "The entire formation moved as one and traveled sideways. Each triangle appeared to be separate. There was nothing visible that connected them. ... There was no sound. It seemed to move with great speed. ... There were no lights we associate with aviation. The only light was a white-yellowish glow coming from each triangle."

- Oct. 12 nighttime sighting of 25 to 30 white pulsating objects by a retired firefighter and his wife in University Place: "The objects seemed to rise into view from the north and proceed in a relatively quick manner to the south. The objects made no sound. ... Where we live is near Joint Base Lewis McChord and we are very familiar with the various aircraft that fly in the area skies. ... These objects were not rotary or fixed wing aircraft using the regular flight paths. ... This event lasted for about 10-12 minutes and consisted of approximately 25, to as high as 30 objects."

- Nov. 30 nighttime sighting of a bright circular object emitting rays at about 2:20 a.m. over Redmond: "Woke up looking out window with open blinds. ... (Observed) very bright (appx 4x more than Venus) light emitting six to eleven rays. ... Woke up wife/partner. Asked her to stand up and report what was seen outside. Both (of us) viewed something never seen before. Both sober. Both viewed rays from object moving as if defying law of gravity. Only white in color. Only watched for appx 30 minutes."

ALL REPORTS HERE

#ufo sightings #uap #fscience and technology

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sariahsue · 5 years

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What Will You Do When Everyone Knows? Chapter 9

Ladybug and Cat Noir are having trouble with the newest akuma. She’s dressed all in black, hardly speaks, and keeps slipping through their fingers. To make things worse, she exposes Ladybug’s identity to the world. Which should Marinette be more concerned about? The world’s reaction, or her partner’s?

Rated PG for action. Chapter word count: 2,500.

Read chapter 1 here. Read chapter 8 here.

Dauphine University was a very good school a few arrondissements away, which gave plenty of time for Cat Noir to try to sell his terrible ideas to Ladybug.

"I bet I can lure her in," he yelled over the wind. "I am quite a cat-ch, after all."

Ladybug's pigtails whipped behind her as she swung and gracefully landed on a roof, already looking for the next anchor to latch onto. "I hate this identity bait idea," she said for what felt like the hundredth time. Ignoring the punny flirt was probably the best course of action.

He dropped in next to her. "We don't have many options. This will get her attention, and you know it."

The terrible part was that she did know it. This would be the most efficient. But curse him for being right.

"I promise I'll be careful." He smiled, then extended his staff and vaulted ahead of her. She angrily threw her yoyo, catching it on a balcony railing. She followed him at a distance, wondering, yet again, if she should tell him what might happen to his memories.

The rush of high-speed yoyo travel was usually thrilling, but today it wasn't enough to make her mind shut up. Would he help her if he knew? It was kind of like lying if she kept the truth from him. Would it be cruel of her to make him choose? But really, she wasn't even sure what would happen, so she might be worrying nothing. By the time she had caught up to him, she'd finally decided not to say anything.

Cat Noir was standing on a narrow peaked roof, one hand on the chimney for balance. In the other, he had his baton's screen pulled open.

"I hope you're not texting my cell again," she said as she landed. "It's not going to go through."

"Just making sure we're still going the right way."

"What?" She elbowed his side. "Don't want to stop and ask for directions?" Though, the thought of texting gave her an idea.

Ladybug – 1:22 – Hey, this is LB. Texting from the yoyo. Can you get some info for me? Chantal's got a thing against secrets. Think you could find out what her boyfriend was hiding from her?

When she looked back up, she jumped at seeing Cat Noir's face hovering next to hers. He'd leaned in to read over her shoulder, and he was so close that she could smell cheese on him. "We both know you can see from farther away than that," she said. Neither of them moved until Alya's message came in.

Alya – 1:23 – LADYBUG'S TEXTING ME! K;LAJKD KD WLKEGN!!!

Ladybug – 1:23 – Yeah, it's still just me.

Alya – 1:23 – I HAVE THE NUMBER OF A MAGICAL YOYO AS A CONTACT IN MY PHONE!!!

Cat Noir started to laugh, and Ladybug tried to sigh in frustration, but it didn't have the right effect. Smiling at her friends kind of ruined it.

Ladybug – 1:23 – Can you help? We need to hurry.

She glanced in the vague direction of the school. The sky was clear, and the sun was hot. Why would anyone just be sitting on a roof in this weather? They may have already missed their chance.

Alya – 1:24 – Absolutely! I've got a full battery and tons of questions!

Alya – 1:24 – One thing I have found out, Chantal is a HUGE Ladynoir shipper. lol

"Great," Ladybug said.

Ladybug – 1:24 – Thank you. Let me know immediately if you find something *important* out.

Closing the yoyo's screen, she searched for another anchor, making sure she was not looking at Cat Noir. She knew he'd seen Alya's last message. If she didn't acknowledge it, she hoped he wouldn't either. Her hope was vain.

"You know, it's always nice when we both have something in common with the victim."

"I am not a Ladynoir shipper." She threw her yoyo and took off, not bothering to ask him if she was heading in the right direction. The cold sting of the wind helped keep the heat off her face, but only a little.

"You are," he called out, keeping pace with her easily. "Deep down."

"NoTP!"

The buildings were short and close together, so they traveled on foot, leaping over gaps and dodging chimneys.

In under a minute, Cat Noir announced he could see the building. "It's that big gray one with the black windows," he said, pointing ahead of them as they ran. The roads were getting busier and wider.

Ladybug shaded her eyes, barely able to make it out in the distance. Dauphine didn't stick out above the other buildings very much, so it couldn't have been very tall. All she could really see was a wide, flat, gray thing. "See the akuma anywhere?" They jumped over another busy street. Just a few more buildings and they'd be there. "We need to pin her down before she fl- uh, runs off again."

Cat Noir tried to stifle his laughter. "Before she fleas?"

"You have fleas!"

In three giant bounds, they were there, and Cat Noir was still laughing as they looked around. The roof was slick and mostly flat, aside from normal roof outcroppings, like chimneys and roof access doors. She could be hiding behind any of those. The tiles were black, and her feet were already starting to feel the heat through her suit. Hanging out here would be a terrible idea, except for the fact the building was slightly taller than the ones across the street, and surrounded by nothing but more streets and some trees on the other three sides. Her yoyo wouldn't be as useful for travel without something tall to latch onto. And it was out in the open, the perfect setup for an akuma, especially one so gifted at escaping.

The school itself was enormous, and it surrounded a large courtyard filled with students who called up to the heroes as soon as they saw them. Ladybug waved, and then slunk away from the edge. Chantal wasn't down there. The atmosphere on the roof seemed muted and calm. Cat Noir crouched in the middle, looking peaceful, but Ladybug's adrenaline surged when she saw his ears twitching and swiveling.

"Is she here?" she whispered.

His ears flicked in her direction, and he nodded, pointing to what looked like a very large central air unit diagonally across the courtyard. "I don't think she's here," he said loudly. He stood, but kept his eyes closed. "I can't hear anything."

Ladybug poked his shoulder – much harder than necessary – to get his attention, and he cracked one eye open. She pointed, trying to explain her plan silently, trusting he'd understand. She'd swing around back, and he'd cross the courtyard? Cat Noir nodded, and they both took off. She dropped off the side of the building and hooked onto the top of the fire escape.

On her upswing, she saw Chantal crouching behind the unit, ready to pounce, just as Cat Noir landed on top and leaned forward to look down. Ladybug had just enough time to yell a warning before Chantal sprang, arms straight up. Cat Noir jumped backward. Black fingertips brushed the air inches away from his face. Ladybug landed and threw her yoyo again, narrowly missing Chantal's feet, but she arced over Cat Noir and took off across the roof.

"So close!" he yelled as he barreled after her. Ladybug wasn't sure if he was referring her own near miss or the akuma's. She reeled her yoyo in once again, frustrated. Why couldn't the woman stay put for five seconds?

Instead of taking her chance to escape, the woman in black turned suddenly and leapt, landing in Cat Noir's path. Ladybug watched as he stumbled to try to stop in time. He wasn't going to be able to.

Without thought, she threw the yoyo again. She didn't mean to trip her partner, but as he fell and rolled out of danger, the akuma lost her balance and missed him. Before Ladybug caught up to them, Cat Noir had untangled himself and Chantal had jumped away again.

"This is ridiculous!" Ladybug said. "We're too out in the open here!"

"We can't take the fight inside. Too many students."

"It's summer. One of these classrooms has got to be empty," she said.

Chantal was staring at them from a distance, weight shifting from side to side, ready to attack again. Ladybug spun her yoyo in anticipation.

Cat Noir cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "I know something you don't know!" The woman froze in a crouch, face angry. "And I'm not gonna tell you!"

They were standing close to the courtyard, and Ladybug chanced a look over the edge. The interior was long and narrow, and there were wide stairs leading down into the building. Perfect.

"Oh, the things I could tell you!" Cat Noir said. "Except I'm not going to!" He walked a little bit closer to her and put his baton away, making himself look like an easier target.

Using him like bait was making her insides squirm, and it wasn't even enough. Chantal was just watching and waiting for them to make a move. "I wish I could have kept my secrets!" Ladybug yelled. "Secrets are great!"

"Secrets are awful," Chantal finally called back. The dispassionate voice cracked slightly. "I'm helping you."

"What was your boyfriend keeping from you?" Cat Noir asked.

"Nothing."

"Isn't that girl-speak for 'something really important'?"

"Leave him out of this!" Her voice had started to shake.

It was working, but they needed to make her mad enough to follow them into a trap. "Why are you hiding things from us?" Ladybug asked, inching forward. "We're going to uncover all your secrets!"

"I bet he was hiding lots of things from you," Cat Noir said.

Chantal sprang.

Ladybug had barely enough time to throw herself at her partner and knock them both out of the woman's way. They plummeted over the edge, tumbling, until Cat Noir wrapped an arm around her waist and slowed their fall with this baton. As soon as their toes touched down, she grabbed his arm and raced down the steps. Screaming started behind them, but it sounded panicked, not hurt. The akuma had taken the bait.

Ladybug shoved Cat Noir forward, then took up a position hidden next to the doorway, yoyo ready. He looked back at her and nodded. He'd continue baiting her. She'd be the ambush.

"Over here!" he called. Chantal stepped through the doorway. The yoyo flew, red streaking toward black, and missed again. The akuma took off down the hallway. Cat Noir threw his baton, tripping her, but she rolled forward and up again in one fluid motion and didn't even slow down.

"Maybe this wasn't my best idea," Ladybug said. They chased her through pristine, empty hallways, and doors flashed past them. Within seconds they were lost.

"She can't go very fast in here," he said. "If she doesn't find a door outside, we just have to wait for her to wear out."

"That's a big if." Her lungs were already starting to burn, but Cat Noir said he could still hear her pounding footsteps ahead, so they kept going. Her yoyo started to beep. An incoming text message.

Alya – 1:37 – Coming as a great shock to absolutely no one, Anatole's skipped town.

Ladybug – 1:37 – Who?

Typing while running turned out to be difficult. She reached out a hand and grabbed Cat Noir's shoulder so she wouldn't run into a wall while she read the messages out loud to him.

Alya – 1:37 – The boyfriend. He ran away. No other reporter thought to interview the akuma's boyfriend's landlord, but I did! Nice guy, and he knows a ton of stuff!

Alya fired off a string of texts as they turned down twisting hallways. The akuma stayed a few steps ahead of them, barely out of sight.

Alya – 1:37 – There was a big fight at his place Saturday morning. They both sounded mad. She stormed off. He didn't hear what they were yelling about, though.

"Too bad," Ladybug added.

Alya – 1:37 – She was recently accepted at ParisTech. Starting as a freshman in the fall.

"Lucky!" Cat Noir said. It was one of the best universities in the country, about thirty kilometers south.

"Maybe that's why she was out here," Ladybug said between ragged breaths. "A school connection?"

Alya – 1:37 – The two of them have been dating for a year. Anatole asked his landlord about selling his lease and moving down there to be with her a couple times.

Alya – 1:37 – I have a theory, but I want to double check. I need to talk to her family again.

Ladybug – 1:37 – TY.

Alya – 1:37 – No prob. I'll text back in a few.

"No!" Cat Noir said. "Her footsteps changed. She's outside again!"

They put on a final burst of speed and crashed through the doors. The sudden sunlight made their eyes water. They had come out the front doors, and a short flight of stairs pointed straight to the busy street. "Do you see her?"

Chantal had probably run off again, but Ladybug put her back to his, just in case.

"I can't see anything," he said, covering his sensitive eyes. "Your radiant beauty has blinded me."

"There she is!" Chantal slipped back over the edge of the roof she'd peeked over as soon as Ladybug pointed at her. "Wait! We want to talk to you!" Not a complete lie. Talking to her was all they'd really accomplished so far. Ladybug swung herself across the street and up to the roof.

Cat Noir stumbled after her. She could tell his eyes were still streaming, but at least he could see again. "Yeah, small talk! What do you do when you're not an agent of evil? What's your akuma name?"

"I'm not like the other akumas," she said. "I'm helping you! I'm not ashamed to use my real name." She was a few roofs away from them, and she dropped into an alley. By the time they reached the spot, she had disappeared again.

"Chantal sounds sincere," Ladybug said.

"She's still annoying," Cat Noir muttered.

"Next time we get close to her, I'm calling Lucky Charm," she said. "We can't keep doing this."

"Until then, we'll just have to use our natural charm."

They took off, only to find her and then lose her again behind a building a few seconds later. When they landed to look around, a piece of a shadow broke off and hurled itself at Cat Noir. Ladybug barely had enough time to register that it wasn't a shadow and move to block the akuma. "Lucky-" Chantal had been aiming for Cat Noir's face, but got Ladybug's instead. There was no searing cold this time. She had no more secrets to give.

Chantal stumbled back, surprised, and Ladybug reached for her. She almost missed. Her fingers brushed the fabric of her clothing and got caught on a pocket, briefly exposing a folded piece of white paper, faintly glowing purple. There it is!

Cat Noir darted around them and managed to grab one of Chantal's wrists, but she broke free and jumped out of reach. "Why won't you let me help him, too?" she asked.

"I'm happy not knowing who he is," Ladybug said. "It's safer this way." The akuma was only a few buildings over, but if she called Lucky Charm now, would it be enough to overcome the distance? The woman moved so fast. They needed to get her back inside somewhere, but no ideas came to mind, and she was already getting farther away. With no other plan, their only choice was to try to chase her down again.

After a few minutes of fruitless running, they were both out of breath. Cat Noir dropped onto a roof and put his hands on his hips, chest heaving. "I lost sight of Westley."

"Westley?" Ladybug panted.

He leaned against a dormer window, hiding in the only shade on the roof. His suit was probably worse in the heat than hers. "She needs an akuma name," he said. Ladybug settled into the extra space next to him.

"But why Westley?"

"Princess Bride? Westley wore all black."

Ladybug shook her head. "The Dread Pirate Roberts wore all black. Get your geek facts straight, Cat. Plus, he wore a black mask and was blond." She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair to emphasize the point. She wished she could have felt it through the suit. It looked soft.

And then she realized what she was doing and yanked her hand backward. "Uh." She cleared her throat. "S-so Roberts is your nickname now. That's t-the point I was trying to make."

Cat Noir stared at her. Aside from a slight blush, she couldn't read his expression. Why'd she have to make everything so awkward?

Before her hand fell, he grabbed it and bent to kiss it softly. "As you wish," he murmured against her fingers.

Her heart definitely missed a beat, and her thoughts started to spin uncontrollably. He didn't just- That almost sounded like a confession. He didn't just confess to me with a movie quote. He couldn't have. He doesn't- What is happening right now?

He turned away without looking at her, but she caught the blush blossoming under his mask. There was no flirty punchline or attempt to play off what he'd done. He was serious? His fingers trembled slightly around hers. Her hand felt heavy as he finally let it fall. He did! He does!

His back still to her, Cat Noir vaulted away, following the path the akuma had taken. Ladybug watched him get smaller as she stood there in shock. She felt like a marionette whose strings had all been cut, her body slack as realization sunk in.

He hadn't been joking. He had never been joking.

Not gonna lie. That was one of my favorite scenes to write. That and chapter four. And the last chapter. :D Next week is Action Week!

Read chapter 10 here.

#ladynoir #reveal #fanfiction #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #confession

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