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shadowwolflady · 2 months

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Old Comrades

Part 2

Summary: Kakashi met up with one of his old ANBU teammates. Will they pick up from where they left off? Or will things have changed?

Kakashi and Rai bumped into each other again around the village a little over a week later. It was Rai that asked if Kakashi had anything going on, seeing if he wanted to get some tea and catch up. Normally, Kakashi would have declined her request, but he had a little bit of time to kill before he had to meet up with his genin again. Pocketing his book, he turned and walked with her towards the tea shop.

It was awkward for them as they sat across from one another in the tea shop. Rai didn't know what to talk about. She found herself looking down at her hands and cup. “You… teach genin now? How is it?” She forced the words out.

“Hm? Yeah. It's not all it's cracked up to be. They're horrid. Most of them don't understand teamwork.” His voice seemed disinterested.

“Ah.” Rai was hoping for more of a catch in order to ask more questions. She assumed the teams must have been bad enough for Kakashi to not talk about them. “What about your team now?” She was hesitant to ask.

“They're better than the others.” Kakashi told her. His voice held a little more interest. He leaned back and hooked his elbow on the back of the seat.

The silence turned deafening. Rai swore Kakashi could hear her heartbeat from where he sat. She must have had a pink tinge to her cheeks because her face felt warm. This was a mistake.

“How, how have you been?” Kakashi asked. “And Tenzo? How is he as captain?”

Rai stared at her tea in her hands, her brain trying to answer his questions rather than fill herself full of worry. “It's been, hard without you. Tenzo has a big hole to fill. He's capable.” But not the same. He wasn't Kakashi.

“Well, with you by his side, I'm sure you'll be fine.” His voice echoed in her head.

Rai’s lips pressed thin. That was where he was wrong. Her loyalty lied with him, not Tenzo. Yes, Tenzo was a friend and good ally. But wolves chose their loyalty, it was given to those that earned it. Tenzo was kind and personable. They had mutual respect for each other, but that was pretty much it.

Now, Rai began to question her feelings. Were they justified? Was it just puppy love? Was it just because he showed her the smallest bit of kindness?

Kakashi sat there, sipping his tea. He knew how powerful Rai was. However, the role of leader never seemed to interest her. As much as she could be, she just never craved the spot. She could easily have taken that spot from him, and in many cases she did when he fell or was not around. But she always held a supportive role. Truthfully, he would rather have it that way. If he were to fall, he would rather have someone stronger behind him so they could finish the job. He remembered seeing glowing red eyes behind the wolf mask of hers and how she tore through their opponents.

Kakashi sat across from her, watching and waiting. He knew she was quiet. But this was too quiet for her. Perhaps she changed. It had been years since they last talked. His watchful eye analyzed her movements.

Her thumb rubbing the cup in a soothing manner. Her eyes focused on her hands and cup, taking more interest in that then him. She was typically never like this around him. There was a calm she had around him, but years of separation made that vanish. Now, she felt like he was a stranger sitting across from her.

“Do you still go out to the lake?” Kakashi asked. He had to break the silence. Mostly because he felt like she was stuck in her own head, but also to try and get her talking about something else. Something she enjoyed.

All of Rai's worry in her head came crashing to a halt. Brown eyes blinked as she looked up to his gray eye. The lake? She wondered. Which one? Maybe the one past the training grounds? “Y-yes.” She had been there recently with some of her family. “I was just there with the Okami.”

Ah, her family. The Okami were a pack of wolf demons that resided in the forests of Konoha. Their wolf forms could blend in with the surrounding flora and fauna. Though they were not blood related, she still regarded them as family. Their alphas took her in when she lost her mother, treating her like a daughter.

“How are they?” Kakashi leaned on his elbow a little more.

That seemed to thaw the ice a little between them. They both chatted for a bit longer before Kakashi had to leave. He said he needed to check up on his genin, saying they were left to work on tree climbing.

“It was good talking to you, Rai.” Kakashi said as he stood up from the table. “We should do this again, sometime.” He smiled as he waved before turning to leave.

Now, Rai started to notice him around the village a bit more. It was mostly at a distance she would catch his silhouette or get a small whiff of his scent. They bumped into one another randomly later that month. It was a quick wave and greeting before walking in the other direction. It was enough for Kakashi to look up from his book and wave to her.

Several times, Kakashi spotted Rai between the throngs of people with groceries. Darkness beneath her eyes showed how much sleep she had gotten the past couple of days.

Another time, Kakashi was racing Gai around the village when he caught her scent. He briefly scanned the crowd below. No Rai. He turned back to Gai and leapt to the next porch to overtake him in the foot race to the Faces.

Unfortunately, most of the time his attention was focused on his genin.

Finally, they ran into each other again. It was a typical greeting of acknowledging each other and waving with a smile. But this time, Rai spoke up. “Kakashi.” Rai called out to him. This caused him to stop and turn to give her his full attention. “Are you free?” She asked carefully.

Kakashi tilted his head a bit. Was he doing anything important? Not really. “Yeah, I'm free.” He closed his book. “What did you have in mind?”

This set the tone for them to meet up occasionally throughout the month. They started to establish a small routine of meeting every other weekend.

Kakashi leaned against the railing on the bridge over the river within the village as he waited for Tenzo. Something had been nagging him. He needed answers.

“You summoned me, Senpai?” Tenzo asked as he approached.

“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?” He chided before diverting to the main issue. “Yes. It's concerning Rai.” Kakashi told him. “She's become hesitant. I'm concerned she isn't telling me everything.”

“It has been a while. So maybe she isn't too sure.” Tenzo mentioned. He took a small pause before lowering his voice a bit. He leaned against the railing next to Kakashi. “Kakashi, she likes you. And when you left. It really hurt her. Give her some time. She'll come around.” He was certain that it would take a little bit of time for Rai to open up again.

She liked him? This was news to him.

“The day you left, Yugao found her and she was devastated. That was when we found out you were leaving the ANBU.”

Gradually, Rai found herself chatting more and having fun while she was with Kakashi. Her face was in a smile and her cheeks sometimes hurt from smiling so much. The warmth started to return in her chest. She started to feel content and calm around him. The worried murmurs in her head disappeared when around him. No longer was she on edge or too embarrassed to say or do things around him.

Another time, Kakashi and Rai sat down and just existed in each other's presence. Rai had mentioned how peaceful it was out by the lake. It was a bit of a walk, but it was a gorgeous place.

“So, Tenzo told me that, when I left, it was hard on you.” Kakashi said. This had been on his mind for a while. They sat beneath the trees at the edge of the forest overlooking the lake.

Rai’s eyes fell down. “Yes, it was, hard.” The words were hard to push out as emotions clawed their way back to the surface. Swallowing thickly, she tried to force them back down.

The past events replayed in her mind as if it was happening right in front of her again.

Team Ro had just gotten back from a mission. Yugao finally convinced Rai to talk to Kakashi. Heading out into the hall, she found him right near the males’ locker room door. Approaching, she called his name to gain his attention. His head turned to look at her in acknowledgment before she asked if she could talk to him in private. Opening her mouth, she was about to tell him she liked him, only to have other male ANBU come out of the locker room and congratulate Kakashi on his retirement.

Everything shifted for her within several seconds. She went from telling him about her feelings, to congratulating him and retreating. Not being able to bear the heartbreak of him being torn from her side.

Kakashi had a feeling something was off that day. And yet he was pulled away by the others when she retreated after congratulating him for his retirement. “I'm sorry.” He apologized.

“You put your book away.” Rai mentioned when she saw him stash his orange book during one meeting. It was getting colder and they decided to meet up indoors.

“Hmm?” Kakashi inquired. “Does it bother you?”

Rai blinked, “Ah, no.” She covered herself. “I don't mind you reading. I'm just… surprised.” Rai told him. She had heard rumors about what the contents were inside that book. But he wasn't hurting anyone by reading. “I know that you like to read. I'm just surprised you put it away when you're around me.”

Kakashi was a little taken back by her comment. Did she not believe she deserved his full attention?

Rai saw him contemplating her words. “I just want you to feel comfortable around me.”

“Rai,” Kakashi called her name gently. “You're more important than a book.” Those words were true. But the more he thought about those words, the more he realized how awkward he sounded. He hung his hand off his neck. “I mean, I'd rather pay attention to you than to a book.” No, that didn't come out right either. Kakashi covered the bottom of his face with his hand as he tried to think of a way to make it not sound so awkward.

Rai couldn't help but smile as she watched the man struggle to find the right words. It was adorable. She knew what he meant, despite how awkwardly it came across.

Previous chapter // Next Chapter

#original character #hatake kakashi #kakashi #kakashi hatake #kakashi x oc #oc #naruto #naruto oc anbu #kakashi fanfiction #kakashi sensei #naruto oc #naruto fanfiction #kakashi fluff

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universal-kitty · 4 years

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So!! @sosoftandsweet asked me about my boi, Yoshirou... He’s an Okami OC I’ve made that I ship myself with and because he’s an OC, you all can’t ship us if you don’t know about him!

So, take this at last! A post about my kitsune boyfriend, Yoshirou~!

Faceclaim is Yuuzan Yoshida from Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun! ...Well, for his human disguise. His kitsune disguise is represented by arctic fox icons and in-between form is Keaton (Fire Emblem).

He comes from a clan of ice-white kitsunes that live in Kamui. Their clan tradition is, after a certain amount of years (about 200), they expel the young foxes from home to travel the world, and learn things on their own. It’s believed this allows kitsunes to gain their tails faster and live longer.

Both are connected, so. No wonder...

Another clan within Nippon follows this idea as well...and that’s how Yoshirou eventually meets the red kitsune, Akemi. They quickly forge a bond and, as far as they’re concerned, are basically siblings.

Akemi is younger than Yoshirou by a few hundred years. (Akemi is three tails; Yoshirou is at four.)

They’re also opposites in elements! Yoshirou is more lively in the winter (his native element), where Akemi thrives in the summer.

However, Yoshirou... Well, he’s a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. Poker face for days, snappish to new people/anyone he doesn’t trust. He even speaks in monotone to strangers!! Befriending him feels like a daunting task when one on one, but that’s why Akemi’s good to keep around; she’s the reminder that he’s a softie at heart, he just needs to see that in new people before they can see that side of him.

Once he softens up, it’s easy to see why he latched onto Akemi like a sister; he’s naturally protective, but just the right kind of playful. The ideal older brother figure anyone would want in their lives. If he was in the modern day, he’d be the type to listen to Akemi’s venting, drive her anywhere she wanted, and sometimes even buy That Thing She Couldn’t Afford.

You can see why he’s Ideal Man material.

Also, his kitsune abilities make him the ideal protector, so like. Again, you wouldn’t date him WHY??

The only downside is that he and Akemi do worship Ninetails (aka the motherfucker who took over Ryoshima Coast with a friend) as some kind of idol (think the celebrity of kitsune-kind), but this is largely only due to nine tailed kitsune being so uncommon and their might being....mistranslated over time. From a violent beast who killed many (and nearly killed many more) and held false power to a mighty kitsune who obtained all his tails naturally.

Yoshirou probably wouldn’t be surprised about the truth (very “don’t meet your idols” about it), but Akemi would be so sad.

Well, with this much known about Yoshirou... What’s he like in a relationship, right? Let’s get into that.

Yoshirou in a Relationship: While he keeps his head held high, looking so refined and elegant any other time... Softened by love, he’s a flustered mess more often than not. Sleeping? He swoons quietly, heart squeezing at how peaceful and gentle a sleeping face can be... Pouting? Oh, he’ll tease about it, but there’s that soft look again...

Akemi would joke her big bro is gonna make everyone sick and Yoshirou wouldn’t hesitate to say he doesn’t care. He’ll feel bad if Akemi doesn’t like him being too mushy, but he adapts; he’ll save mushier moments for alone time, then. Anyone else, however? Deal with it. He’s in love and proud of it.

Protectiveness amplifies. Now, I personally don’t mind it, as his protectiveness lulls my anxiety, but... If his S/O was more of the “free bird who can protect themselves” type, there’d probably be a few fights about it. His heart is in the right place and he’s not obsessive, per say, he’s just paranoid about losing them or them getting hurt.

...Not to say kitsune aren’t possessive, on occasion. There’s a lot of fighting between groups over things/places/etc., so it does run in their blood to a certain degree. Yoshirou has learned from humanity how to temper it and thus, teaches Akemi how to do the same, so they hurt as little people as possible.

He’s one of the lucky ones, to have learned of kindness and violence...or so he sees it as, since Akemi can learn from him without experiencing as much pain.

His body is littered with scars due to his past. People trying to kill a fox, usually, not realizing he is a kitsune in disguise. He’s a little embarrassed about them, as he recognizes he has a handsome build (he’s TONED), but thinks of his scars as a detriment from being as attractive as he could be. (Which is BULLSHIT, but. We’re working on that.)

His energy boosts in winter, so expect him to be a bit more like Akemi during this time. (While his poor summer-sister whines like she’s perma-sick.) Lots of energy to spare, will throw snowballs... Might change to his kitsune form and rush about, snow seeming to be brighter and sparkling when he runs through it, tails streaming behind him......

Loves cuddling in his kitsune form. His outer coat has a chill to it, like frost, but the longer you stay among it/sink into his fur, the warmer he gets. For a winter fox, he is a HEATER.

But this is also why he hates summer; it makes his coat thin and STILL the heat is unkind to him... Pouts so much and doesn’t want to do much of anything that isn’t laying around in ice while in fox form or swimming. Whatever feels better in hot weather.

“Does he purr?” Me, a bitch who loves purring HCs: Not specifically; it’s more like a rumble-purr... Close, but no dice, but nobody’s complaining. I’M not complaining. This is what I’m about.

So clingy when he sleeps. Struggles to fall asleep while cuddling, but you wake up in the morning with him half-over you and legs tangled together. It’s bliss.....until you need to get up to use the bathroom. Then good luck wiggling free from the clingy bastard-

My Okami SI has their own animal form- a three-tailed cat- and Yoshirou loves messing around with it. Kitsune form? We’re either playing tag or I’m riding on his head. Fox? He attempts to playfully bite me many, many times. Sometimes, I’ve been the cat and he’s gone walking around with me purring like a motor in his arms. It’s.....adorable.

Local man with Resting Bitch Face walks around Sei-an City with his happy cat. Nobody understands why this cat is so happy, but certainly a pet must bring good luck.

Only children are allowed to hold my cat form. I am terrified of everyone else, Yoshirou knows this, and if someone tried to take me from him, he’d get pissed and on the defensive immediately.

I am the Autumn to this seasonal merry-go-round. (We’re just missing Spring...) Akemi jokes a lot that this is how we ended up together; Autumn always is paired together with Winter, isn’t it?

Naps in animal form help him sleep faster...but it’s largely bc I always purr happily when around Yoshirou.

Akemi claims he cried once, when he went out on a patrol to find me and Akemi cuddled up together, sleeping. Yoshirou fervently denies it. I don’t quite know who to believe...but leaning towards Akemi.

It’s so easy to make him blush, but he makes me blush so much easier and it’s like...... Wow, rude. Of course you have the advantage with your handsome face... Yeesh. (To which he probably says something like, “Oh? Like I don’t get distracted by how beautiful you look?” Which....kills me in one hit...)

I gave a few headcanons about us in this ask, as well! [HERE]

Anything else just ask, heyoo.

#self insert #self insert community #self ship #self ship community #Aki speaks #I'm wuv......Yoshirou...#I seriously need to talk abt him more kghfjdks #I'M A FOOLE THO and keep forgetting to #maybe......I can more #what with all this Okami talk recently so???#potential mayhaps??

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rainydayotomes · 3 years

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Collar x Malice... as Yokai/Ayakashi

Recently picked up Ayakashi: Romance Reborn and got thinking about what our favourite ex-cops would be! Take everything I'm saying here with a small grain of salt however, as I am not Japanese and am literally just basing everything I'm saying off wikipedia and whatever else I can find online about Yokai!

Yanagi

Our young protector here is definitely an Okami, a wolf spirit

Okami are said to either protect your life, or take it, depending on your actions

Which.... fits this man to a tee. He protects you when you're little, and "takes" the life of the man who tried to bring you harm

In a more western sense, wolves are seen as cool, calm, and independent. All words that can describe our main man right here.

Enomoto

This man literally is an eyepatch

I'm sorry but he just is

He's called a tsukumogami. An object that gains a soul after 100 years. They can literally be anything. Some examples are a pair of sandals, some rolled cotton, and a grater.

He likes to say that he was once Date Masamune's eyepatch, but honestly you kind of doubt if this is true or not

Sasazuka

You kind of found it odd when you realized Takeru was always seeking warmth

But you quickly realized what he once when he looked at you and spoke- slitted eyes and a forked tongue meant this man was a Hebi!

Hebi are snake yokai that can take a few different forms, but Takeru's form preserves his human appearance but reveals a snake tongue and scales!

These yokai are seen as mysterious and secretive. And we sure do know that our boy Takeru doesn't care to talk about himself, or to many others at all!

Okazaki

Here's the one you've been waiting for- the resident cat boy!

Our man Kei here has one tail that branches into two- that makes him a Nekomata!

Unlike the usual folklore for Nekomatas, that has them take on a more sinister light.... Kei is definitely a hell of a lot more tame and friendly

Nekomatas can be seen taking the appearance of a human to live as one, or reanimating the dead or even killing sleeping humans

But Kei isn't like this at all- instead only choosing to take the form of a human so he can be closer to you!

He really is just a friendly cat! He has a beautifully shiny white coat of fur in his cat form and he looooooves to take naps on your lap!

Really, it feels like anywhere and everywhere you go, you find him taking a little kitty nap, even in his human form

He likes to proudly trot along behind you with a weird snack in his mouth, and rub against your legs for pets and attention in his cat form!

Shiraishi

Oh Shiraishi, you sly fox you

Literally

This man is a nine tailed fox- the most powerful form of kitsune

Kitsune are seen as sly, smart, charming tricksters who can perform a variety of cool, albeit sometimes cruel magic acts

Shiraishi, like the Kitsune, is extremely adept at 'shapeshifting' and becoming other people, or taking on a form they need to take to blend in with their surroundings

Kitsune are often accused of misleading, possessing, cursing, and humiliating humans. This can often lead to hatred towards them. Sound familiar? Looking at you, Mukai and Sakuragawa!

Sometimes you feel like Shiraishi has you under a spell, as you almost feel enticed to follow him or listen to his commands, but he insists he's done nothing of the sort to you!

Perfectly fitting for our favourite profiler, the kitsune aren't exclusively evil nor good

They can lean towards one side, or be perfectly in the middle.... just as our Shiraishi is

#headcanons #collar x malice #cxm #aiji yanagi #mineo enomoto #takeru sasazuka #kei okazaki #kageyuki shiraishi

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magicianapprenticelyra · 3 years

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My 2020 Tumblr Top 10

1). 194 notes - Mar 25 2020

By @alvrudart! To date it’s one of my most favorite commissions I have ever gotten with Ly in mind. Seeing it here again makes me all warm and fuzzy.

🥰 🥰 🥰 🥰 🥰

2). 132 notes - Mar 21 2020

By @jilljoycearts. This is Lyra as the Palace Librarian. Ahhhhhhh I can’t ever get over how serene she looks. I love it to absolute pieces.

3). 55 notes - Mar 18 2020

“One Last Time”

She remains standing, cards flying between her hands with ease, brows furrowed with concentration. Eventually, she stops, flipping over the topmost card.

“…The Fool,“ she names me.

I smile, trying to ignore the odd tingling sensations fluttering from the top of my head down to my feet.

I’ve missed her. I’ve missed her so much…

“Right you are.”

[I am not gonna lie: I am delightfully surprised to see this work in particular take the Top 10, much less Top 3. Thank you to everyone that read, reblogged, and/or liked this piece! It’s an honor to have this near and dear piece of mine make it to this list!]

4). 54 notes - Feb 1 2020

By @agent-darkbootie. How apt that the art I have of Lyra as an old lady—albeit in the Modern AU—follow the fic in #3. The Nook slippers, her expression!!!! MUAH~!

5). 48 notes - Jan 31 2020

Q: Yes hello, question for the birthday girl: What would be (apprentice) Lyra's ideal wedding cake with each of the main six?

Ask sent in from @vesuvianoak/@thecrazyalaskan. Personally a lot of the images on it no longer are to my liking, but it makes me wonder if the devs would ever do a Wedding Tale . . .

6). 44 notes - Aug 12 2020

Another piece done by agent-darkbootie! This is Lyra at the end of Asra’s Upright Ending, complete with hat on her head and beloved familiar in her bag! Done in the wonderful Okami style, I just wanna boop her nose! Lol.

7). 37 notes - May 19 2020

this . . . is new

Lyra: “You were here!? You were here!?!?“

At this point Alex makes their way toward Lyra, who is frozen in place.

Lyra: “Noooooooooooooooo…”

Lyra: “Noooooooooooooooooooooooo…”

Lyra: “Alex for the love of everything dear to the both of us please stop talking—!”

She’s fully hidden her face behind her hands. She bemoans the fact she will never live this down…!

They gently pat her shoulders, reassuring her they wouldn’t breathe a word of this to anyone.

After a bit of back and forth, they both seal the promise with a hug and part to their separate ways: Lyra to her work, and Alex to lunch… with a private, knowing smile.

[Another one of my fics makes it to the list! Yay! XD Even more importantly, it’s Portia centric too. Everyone seems to love my pieces with her. 2021 I should write more with her then . . .]

8). 36 notes - Feb 15 2020

“PolyShips w/ the Kids! [I]”

Asra/Lyra/Muriel:

How It Happens: Honestly this is the one of the polyamorous relationships that has a high possibility of happening.

[Hải, Noor, and Iris are featured in this long headcanon post of mine with a possible polyship I could see happening with Lyra. While she isn’t explicitly polyamorous like her uncles and aunt, it could happen! This reminds me: I need to get on the other WIPs with this theme in mind, LOL]

9). 34 notes - May 17 2020

“Becoming Distinct”

The crowd disperses, save for the girl that stumbled into Asra’s booth back in January. Even as she approaches timidly, Asra’s feet dig into the dirt as he snatches his box of coins from the ground. Reflexes, he supposed.

“…is Mrs. Aster there?” she asks softly. Her tremulous voice, added with her heavy accent, confirms she was not from around here.

The last time they ran into each other, she was crying her eyes out. Asra thought it was because of the uneven haircut she had, but that was fixed. The ends were just barely touching her chin now. She had gotten new glasses too.

[This fic was a prompt from @lovelikeyoursfest back in May. I couldn’t complete all the prompts, but I did manage a few of them between my finals and . . . life in general, lol. One of my favorite topics within The Arcana’s lore is how Asra and MC got to know each other. In Lyra’s case, she got more interaction with him this go around versus the initial ‘falling into his merchandise stall when Nadia first comes to Vesuvia’ bit. I’m glad people read, reblogged, and/or liked this one too].

10). 33 notes - Oct 10 2020

“Finding Space and Time”

“I knew you and your family before, didn’t I?”

James is taken aback by her bluntness. He’s missed it.

“… yes,” he nods. James checks the state of her bowstring, handing it back to her. “You know how to string it?”

“Wait a minute!” Lyra sputters. “How? Why? How come—?”

“Easy Lyra …” he soothes. “Easy. Mind yer voice; getting more eyes as is.” James makes a gesture to someplace behind her with the tilt of his head.

Lyra flushes scarlet, mouth curved into a frown. In the meantime, James looks at the curious onlookers with a venomous glare. Move …

They eventually dispersed. When James is sure they’re alone, he asks her quietly, “How did you know?”

“You slipped,” Lyra chuckles wryly. “You said how I was ‘always a bright one’. I don’t remember you, sadly …”

“Asra told us about your accident,” he replies. James continues with the details: how she was trying a spell to find a cure for the Red Plague. It backfired terrifically. It had wiped her memory to the point where she was almost like an infant.

“Th’ fact Asra managed to get you back to being like an adult again in a three year span …” James exhales. “We’re … we’re indebted to him, truly.”

“Ahh … yeah,” Lyra nods, swallowing. “Asra told me that too.”

“’m sorry …”

“What are you sorry for?” Lyra looks at him quizzically.

“The fact you dealt with all that, and the episodes if you came across any one of us …“

"It wasn’t your fault,” Lyra murmurs. “We didn’t know … you didn’t know…”

James nods. “So … how do you wish to get to know us all again …?

{Last, but not the least! This is another surprise to me, to be honest. It’s one of my most recent works; I believe I did most of the reblogs but I digress. I wasn’t able to get the third of this set done in time for the new year, but if anyone was curious to see the sequel of this one, here it is: [Counting the Days]}

Lemme end by saying that 2020 was one hell of a fucking nightmare rollercoaster ride. Despite it, we’re all still here and doing our best. My heart goes out to everyone, and I wish you all a better 2021.

Created by TumblrTop10

#tumblrtop10 #The Arcana #fan apprentice #Portia Devorak #portia x apprentice #Asra #The Shop #Palace Librarian Lyra #AUs #the scribe speaks

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yue-muffin · 3 years

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Okami Review

This is a video game review and language study material recommendation rolled into one, because Okami is one of my favorite video games and it deserves more recognition (and it’s now available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Windows in addition to the Wii and PS2). By and far, the best reason to play this game is you get to play as a wolf (the titular “Okami”). That was all it took to convince me, originally.

Gameplay/Story Integration

The gameplay and story integration is an important component to me, apparently, because all of my favorite games all do a good job trying to tie the gameplay into the story.

Okami is a great game if you like Japanese mythology or want to learn more about it in a fun, interactive way. The story goes that darkness has fallen over the land and it’s your task to restore life to the cursed areas. To do this, you play as the sun goddess Amaterasu in the form of a wolf. The main “gimmick” of this game is your primary weapon: an ink brush (which is actually just the wolf’s tail lol). With this skill, you are able to draw on the screen (pictured below) and what you draw will manifest in the real world.

The entire game is drawn in a style reminiscent of Japanese ink wash paintings, which gives it a unique look. It’s pretty gorgeous, and you get to travel all across the land, even up to the north (representing Hokkaido) and see stylized forms of a lot of Japanese culture, from the Heian capital to popular folktales like Momotaro and Urashima Taro. I think it’s pretty remarkable that they included some Ryuku and Ainu influences too, since those cultures are usually entirely forgotten in Japanese stories.

It’s a fun adventure game with lots of different side quests and objectives to keep you occupied along the main journey. Another example of the story-gameplay integration can be found in the side quests: one of your goals, aside from restoring nature that has been cursed to a state of decay, is to restore the people’s faith in the gods and you do that by doing the townspeople favors, fixing things, feeding wild animals, etc.

I genuinely don’t see how anyone can hate this game or call it lackluster, even if it ends up not being to their tastes. Its story is no different from any other adventure game, but it throws a lot of Japanese mythology in there which I thought was fun. Also, you get to play as a doggo who can piss on monsters. It’s great.

ON THE OTHER HAND, if it’s game controls you’re talking about, then the Wii version I played deserves all the criticism. I have never played this game with a traditional controller, so I have no judgement there. The Wii remote was definitely infuriating to use at some points, as you have to actively swing both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to do different attacks and the Nunchuk was WAY TOO SENSITIVE to movement. Using the remote to draw was kind of fun, and I liked the different swings and timing you have to get right using the Wii Remote, but it was definitely a game made more difficult because of the janky controls.

Language Study

I recently remembered this game existed and looked up Japanese Lets Plays of it. And I discovered that ALL of the text has furigana! Which makes this an ideal game to play for language learning since half the battle in playing Japanese games is looking up all of the unfamiliar kanji with ease, which is far more difficult when you don’t know the reading.

The Japanese version is also written using more archaic forms of grammar and those fancy words you wouldn’t see in regular contemporary writing. Case in point: sometimes you hear native speakers slow down a bit when reading the narration which has a lot of that vocab sometimes.

But even if you just stick to the localizations, the translations are really quite good and don’t leave you confused while explaining just enough that you get most of the cultural context. They do truncate some things and change the names of others, but overall it’s still a good localization in my eyes. The changes were likely to avoid confusion (Izanami→Nami and Izanagi→Nagi, likely because Japanese readers will INSTANTLY know who these mythological figures are but Western readers might be confused because their names are so similar).

Here are some lets plays:

わいわいのゲーム実況チャンネル (PS2 ver, so quality is a little fuzzy, but he speaks at a good pace and doesn’t generally click over to the next line before he’s done reading the text as a lot of the others do; on the other hand, his commentary is a little more difficult, I think it’s a bit of his dialect coming through)

くろさやちゃんねる (super clear narration, sometimes clicks to the next line but generally seems like a good and easy one to follow)

やよい (even easier narration to follow but she clicks to the next line before she’s finished A LOT which is hard if you don’t read so fast. but the narration is very good, like of sounds like an audiobook LOL)

Conclusions

Anyways, there’s a lot more I can rant about this game, but I’ll leave it at that! I really want to pick this game up in Japanese if I ever decide to get a Switch. But, for now, that’s all from me.

#the muffin's video gaming adventures #i love this game so much #darn now i really want a switch #but it's pretty cool that they put it on ps4 and xbox too

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dnarez · 3 years

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Chapter 31 - Sleepover

On the next day you were watching TV while chatting with Hitoshi that had spent the entire day with you, when the accident with the Hero Killer, and the Nomus happened that night.

Keigo was away and called you at once when he discovered that the attack was next to where your hospital was, and only calmed down when you told him that you were with Hitoshi. As he requested you passed your cellphone to the wolf nurse, and after a few minutes of chatting she came back and handed your cellphone to you.

"Shinso-kun, can you call your parents and ask if you can stay here for the night?" she looks at him with a knowing smile.

Hitoshi gets up from his chair and nods calling his mother at once, you can see a small smile on his face.

You look at wolf nurse curious. "What happened for you to let him stay over?"

"Your brother told me that he doesn't want you alone when the league of villains is so close, he bought my silence, so that Shinso could stay with you." She says as she puts medication on your IV.

"What did he 'bought' you with?" You look at her suspiciously.

She mumbles something, and you don't understand "Sorry, what did you say?"

She sighs blushing "A date... he bought me with a date" she clears her throat, trying to evade any more questions.

Hitoshi walks to her and hands her his cellphone "my mom wants to talk to you" she takes the chance to escape as soon as she gets it.

"My brother has too much credit on that fat ass of his" you glare at the back of the nurse and hears your... friend? chuckling.

"Well... he is the hero number 3, and the youngest one at that" you nod at his words and look at him.

"She let you stay?" he nods and smiles

"I have already talked about you to her, so it wasn't hard to-"

"You talked about me with your mom!?" you blushed hard at that.

"W-well... yeah" he blushes and put his hand on the back of his neck "She wanted to know why I was going to the hospital so much, and since you are my only friend since the start of the year she connected the dots and was asking about you non stop after that...."

You nod still blushing and smile at his words "I'm sorry for worrying you all... I'm glad that I have so many people around me, and... most of all I like having you... here... with me..." you get redder and redder until you finish, looking at your own hands and inspecting your nails.

You hear fumbling, and then you see his hand on top of yours, when you meet his beautiful purple eyes, it takes a few moments to notice anything besides his deep and hypnotizing eyes, your eyes start to travel through his face, his eyebrows that are kinda cut on both ends, 'his nose is cute', 'his jaw line is strong', you try to imagine how he would look like with a beard, 'he would look manly'. The bags under his eyes that add to his charm, his ears... 'he would look good with earrings'. You keep inspecting his face with no shame at all.

While you are inspecting him, he's doing the same to you, 'did she always had that small dot under her right ear?' He likes the way you blush so hard that he can see small pale freckles 'probably from the sun, she should use more sunscreen does she even know how dangerous the sun can be!?', your ears are pierced, 'but I never saw her wearing earrings', 'her eyebrow is kinda bushy, like her brother's', but your eyes, oh your eyes... he loves how you have a spot of yellow on your e/c colored eyes, you look nothing like Hawks, but you still have small resemblances to him. "I-"

You came back from admiring him and looked into his eyes, to find him looking at your hands together, you smile and intertwines your fingers with his "You...?"

"I-... Would you like to go-... on a date with me?" you look at his surprised 'why are you surprised?' and blush as you nod eagerly "I just need to go back on stage, you know?" you look to your empty back "It's weird... I can't feel the vibrations and stuff, I feel like I lost my eyes"

Hitoshi puts his hand on your shoulder, making you focus on him again "Okay, we will have a decent date when you are healthy enough, then... where do you wanna go?" he caresses your knuckles with his thumb.

"I think that just a walk on a park and a place to drink something would be enough... simple you know?" your eyes focus on the movement of his hand.

"Hmm... How about an arcade, or cinema, or maybe we can-"

You remembered that a cat café opened recently "HOW ABOUT A CAT Café!?" you smile at him, and see his eyes shining.

"There is one near my house and-" Hitoshi is interrupted by the door being open by the wolf nurse.

"Everything set! I hope you found that chair comfy, cus' you're gonna sleep in it" she hands his phone back.

"Wait, what's your name? I can't keep calling you Wolf Nurse, nor can I call you Amaterasu, since... ya know... you have a sister that is also my nurse"

She stops and thinks about it "Okay, you can call me by my first name, but... it's not original nor anything..." she blushes lightly "My name is Okami..."

"Okami...?!" you and Shinso laugh at that "What? and your sister is Kitsune?"

Okami hides her face on her hands "Yes..."

You both giggle at that

"It's not my fault that my parents didn't have a good imagination" she pouts, her ears glued to her head and her tail between her legs.

(for those that didn't get it, her name is literally "Wolf", and the same goes to her sister with "Fox" as her name)

You both stop laughing and nod "Sorry, but you got to admit, that it's funny"

She sighs but nods "Yeah, yeah, now excuse me I'll go get your dinner" she gets out of the room leaving you two alone.

Shinso looks at you, and you smile at him, you move to the side of the bed to give him some space. "Please sit here with me"

He looks apprehensive at first, but you pout and pats your bed some more, Hitoshi sighs and gives in, sitting down next to you, it's a little awkward at first, but when you hold his hand and lays your head on his shoulder he relaxes and smiles at you. "I like you... very, very much" he says as he buries his face on your hair, its smell likes lavender again, you had told him that your brother got your beauty products from your home, you probably had to use the hospital one since the smell was different yesterday.

You smile "I like you too" after staying like that for some time he pulls his phone from his pocket and puts a movie for you two to watch. You argued with him after he chooses RIO.

Likewise, you huff "There are better movies than this one, let's watch UP!"

"No, I don't want to cry within 10 minutes of movie" he keeps scrolling through the Netflix list, trying to find a movie.

Okami comes back and lets your food on your lap, then runs off when she heard "code blue" from down the corridor.

You eat everything while complaining about not being sick and arguing about what movie you two will watch.

When Okami comes back looking tired and pissed at the discussion of the two she just sighs and offers her opinion.

"Why don't you watch Your Name? It's a good and heart warming movie, or literally ANY movie from Studio Ghibli, they are all very good"

You two look at each other and smile "Your Name it is!" you hand her your empty plate and puts your head on his shoulder, holding his empty hand.

Okami scoffs at you two, but even so, she hands you both a bar of black chocolate.

You two wave at her and look back at the screen when the movie starts.

Hitoshi holds his phone with his right hand and put his left on your hip, holding you close with a firm but comforting hand.

....................................................................

Tag List:

cutietootierootandlooty

OMG ALMOST 2000 KUDOS ON AO3!!! So I made this one a little longer than I normally do.

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fantranslatorbychoice · 4 years

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Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 4 - Secret Girls' Night-out

T/N: Hi y’all, it’s me again, it took a bit longer because I did my best to beta-as much as I could, but if it’s still wonky, I apologize, it's not like I get paid to do it lol also it's rather challenging when I had to convert my brain waves from Japanese to English to my native language and however those combinations work just to spew all of these out in sufficiently passable English. So I hope you all don't mind stuff like typos or inconsistencies with the tenses srsly even the original text has that and I just literally gave up evening out the tenses, like really apparently it's no biggie to have an entire paragraph in Japanese that both has past and present tenses (they mostly don't have future tenses) but if that happened in English some would just nitpick that shit out. I mean, yeah, for sure when I do editing and get paid for it I would, but if I'm just reading fanfics from writers who don't have English as their native language I just don't give a hoot, as long as the story's good, to heck with grammar, spelling and syntax. Srsly some non-native EN speakers get turned-off or even scared when nitpickers hit on their imperfect spellings or grammar or dictions, srsly honestly just give them a break, they worked hard to learn another language. I felt this even more so when I started learning Nihongo, like srsly as long as a person gets to say what they want to say even if it's not perfect in anyway, then that's more than enough for me. srsly I am forgiving like that. Also this chapter has more notes than usual, especially regarding Nihongo and stuff, so if you don't like it you can always move along lololol Also I gave up, I'm keeping the titles and roles in Japanese i.e. Odanna-sama, Wakadanna-sama, Bantou-san, etc. I'll just stick in more notes instead lol

Also if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.You can rave about this, rant about this, but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff. OK, with all of that out of the way, here's Chapter 4 now. P116 "Th... These are... The Southern Lands' cultured Japanese amberjack**... A bundle of Kiseki beef.. And there are so many other local products from the Southern Lands too. Ah, there's even the coconut oil that I always wanted!" So many extravagant ingredients have been hauled into Yugao, and I was flabbergasted by them all. There were also so many cans of various contents as well as dried fish and other products stuffed inside. Canned tuna and other canned stuff were considered as high-end products in Kakuriyo, and I am very grateful. Ginji-san and the Daruma gang from the kitchens delivered a box packed with so many ingredients to Yugao, and we had no idea why. "Well, the Dog said that these are their repayment to our kindness. It's because a while ago, Ranmaru came to Tenjin-ya." "Really, Ranmaru from Orio-ya?" "Hatori-san also came too, with him." In some way, Ginji-san's mood was good. For a while now, his nine fluffy tails were wagging from left to right. "It's from our head accountant Byakuya-san, Aoi-san's rewards for your achievement, and for Tenjin-ya's cooperative business venture and all sorts of other demands that were deemed justifiable, and because they wanted to give other things as a way of expressing their gratitude, they brought in many other souvenirs and products as well. They also exchanged with us various other information." T/N: This is related to tuna fish, but don't ask me how they cultured it. Probably in the open sea, like in sea cages. Yes, that's a thing, and yeah I was also in the fishing industry at some point in time, if you're wondering. Also if you're wondering why I rarely use "you" in the dialogues of the translations, it's because in polite Japanese conversations, instead of saying ANATA or OMAE= you, one's name is mentioned instead. In the original text, when people are talking to each other, rather than say "you" they say the other person's name or occupation + san instead i.e. bengoshi-san= lawyer san, Ginji-san, or if it's a username because they don't like using their true names- USERNAME-san. Because using "you" in any way, shape or form in conversations is deemed rude AF. So the next time you chat with Japanese people, please remember to address them by their name, or occupation, unless you've established rapport with them. I forgot to put this explanation in my earlier posts, but it's one of the most important stuff I learned in my Japanese classes, the Japanese folk won't care so much on grammar but more on being polite and taking care of remembering social status stratification aka just be polite by using polite terms. I actually experienced this first hand after chatting with some of them, they just told me not to use Google translate and just chat with them with whatever I know. They're very grateful when people could talk to them in their native tongue, especially when the honorifics are used. This note's long AF but I did say that I'm gonna drag you all with me in this whole learning Nihongo thing, and I'm doing just that. P117 "That friendly Ranmaru did that? Doesn't he hate Tenjin-ya?" "Hee hee. Well, don't take this too seriously, OK?" Even though saying it that way, I imagined that Ranmaru's horrible words and demeanour were probably due to his circumstances. Orio-ya sees Tenjin-ya as its rival, it's hard to imagine them having an image of humbly bringing over souvenirs. And the business dealings, I wonder what those are...? "Oh that, Ranmaru saw that you had a strong sense of duty. He wanted to particularly express his gratitude to Aoi-san." And thereupon, these ingredients from the Southern Lands. Stuff I rarely get hold of, especially something like that one round amberjack, and I unconsciously grinned. "Even so, if the circumstances allowed, he would have stopped by and said it himself** ..." "It was before Aoi-san's business hours, and Ranmaru is also busy it seems, so he had to go back immediately. Even I wanted to take our time since I thought it was fine, but it can't be helped... Because Ranmaru is the Southern Lands' Hachiyo." "Ha ha. Then what happens next is that if it's possible, Ginji-san will go to Orio-ya, won't he? Nothing's stopping you two from visiting each other now?" "Aoi-san...." Up until recently, Ginji-san and Ranmaru's long sibling feud previously ended sometime ago, and the long-standing so-called inn rivalry and clash between Orio-ya and Tenjin-ya has been cut. T/N: aisatsu=挨拶=greeting, introducing one's self, improving relations by dropping by every now and then, can also mean like popping up to say hi or whatnot. I don't know how to directly translate it since aisatsu has more of a sense of how a supervisor pops up in the work place or a teacher suddenly appears in a class just to check, it's not as informal as a neighbor dropping by the house just to have idle chitchat. Hweh. P118 But after the ceremony, the changed relationship between the two has been noticeable. "Oh, that, I see. Someday soon, I will take a break and go visit him too." "Yeah, I agree, that's great. Oh, I wonder if everyone's doing well... Hatori-san and Tokihiko-san, Hideyoshi and Nene, the cute twin chefs.. And Nobunaga." "It seems that everyone's doing fine. The twins Kai-san and Mei-san, Orio-ya profoundly realized that they're really suited to be chefs, and everyone seems to cheer them on, Hatori-san was still the same as ever, but sometimes he returns to Shumonzan. He says that he bickers with Matsuba-sama as always, but one way or another they've become in good terms with each other." Ginji-san asked Ranmaru, and he told things about Orio-ya's management staff. I see, everyone in each of their own way have been doing their best to move on forward. "Oh, and somehow Hideyoshi-san and Nene-san seems to have been engaged." "Whaaat? Why that fast?" Wait a minute. Hideyoshi knew that Nene-chan has decided, that she likes Ranmaru, wasn't it? But that's what Hideyoshi said... My astonished face must have looked funny, and Ginji-san turned away his face and giggled. "It's surely shocking, isn't it? Why, it's amazing, Hideyoshi was especially honest and manly. P119 I simply cannot..." Ginji-san let out a tiny laugh again. What is it about his old haunting grounds, being delighted at the many changes in Orio-ya? At any rate, I was surprised with Hideyoshi and Nene's engagement. Firstly, congratulations Hideyoshi. You thought that your unrequited love has been going on for so long, it was outside your thoughts early on, but now your love bore its fruit. I'm glad, as I'm rooting for you on from the sides. What the heck, behind my back, how did they get involved in that, that was surprisingly an unusual story, if I meet Nene this time I need to get information from her. "But the when the trustworthy Waka-danna** and Waka-Okami** get married, Orio-ya will surely become peaceful, and Ranmaru will also be pleased. Certainly after the marriage, their organization will grow even stronger. He'll get exhausted if it's just Ranmaru holding everything together." "Isn't Tenjin-ya also reasonably solid?" "I guess, although the position for Waka-Okami easily changes. Originally the person in that position is supposed to only resign once, but right now Kikuno-san has temporarily retired as the Young Mistress and supposed to come back. However, there have been circumstances in her family, and she immediately relinquished her seat as the Waka-Okami." "Ehh, like that?" After showing my disbelief, Ginji-san sadly nodded.

T/N: Waka-danna=young master, Waka-Okami=young mistress P120 "If it comes to that, when a new Waka-Okami doesn't hold the position for very long, we can say that there's a gifted person in Tenjin-ya, and it's only a little issue.** Likewise, during that matter with Orio-ya, we in the management staff really wanted the former Waka-Okami O-ryo san to come back and give it another go. Her abilities are very outstanding." "Even I too... I was shocked to see O-ryo completely doing her job well. Even Nene, one way or another admires her so much." "Yes, I agree. But, oh well... O-ryo-san returning to her former position, it's already a huge chance and a necessity. Right now she's drifting away from supporting her fellow waiters and waitresses, well, O-ryo-san must be intending to. To me, she seems to be enjoying having lesser responsibilities and more carefree in her current position." "Well, that's for sure..." Based on how Ginji-san talked about it, lately it seems that O-ryo has no obsession on the position of Waka-Okami. A little bit until recently, she seems, to have returned the bearing of her Waka-Okami decorum, but lately she's wholly just wanting to eat and eat, when she finally gets some free time she goes to Yugao, and lately has been persisting on going out hunting for marriage partners. However, I could say with confidence that she seems to be taking advantage of being relieved of her position as a Waka-Okami , and surely Tenjin-ya will realize that they need O-ryo's abilities. O-ryo's strength, is diligently doing her duties in that position. "Anyway, Aoi-san. I was preparing and building up the Autumn Festival here in Tenjin-ya at the end of this month, and I was thinking of using pumpkins, is it possible for Yugao to make Autumn foods and sweets for us?" T/N: Honestly double-triple negatives are a pain in the ass, srsly it's like inception to the nth power, I had trouble deciphering this line and almost this entire page in the original text so if it doesn't make sense, meh, I did my best within my current abilities. P121 "Pumpkin? Of course. It's gonna be fun, like Halloween." "Oh, right! There's a foreign festival called Halloween in Utsushiyo, but I thought it's impossible to recreate that here in in Kakuriyo, though I could imagine it to be made into a Pumpkin Festival." "Oh, not at all, we can make that same Halloween theme here because Tenjin-ya is mostly full of Ayakashi." A Japanese Halloween that doesn't use costumes... "But certainly, this year's pumpkins are delicious, so Pumpkin Festival sounds good, doesn't it? It's also a great idea to give out candies to our young guests." "We can probably decorate with paper lanterns and pumpkins too. We can place ogre-fire inside, and make them float all around Tenjin-ya." "Wow! That's very much like Utsushiyo's Halloween!" Why, the Autumn Festival goes well with the Pumpkin Event and our imaginations ran wild. "Also, Aoi-san. Pumpkins are not Odanna-sama's favorite." "..." Abruptly, the topic on Odanna-sama popped up, and I stiffened a bit. Some days ago, we came back from the orchard park date. I remembered being hugged in the airship's deck...** "How are you feeling, Aoi-san? Why is your face all red?" T/N: **insert lenny face here** You can't stop me wahahaha P122 "Hm? Oh, it's nothing, this is nothing. Odanna-sama not liking pumpkins, I wonder if I somehow asked that before..." "Oh, right. I saw that Odanna-sama often puts a lot of his boiled pumpkins in Byakuya-san's small bowl." "...really, isn't Odanna-sama unbelievable?" "Yes, he is. I don't know when Byakuya-san patience will end, but I want Odanna-sama to overcome his distaste for pumpkins." "You're right. His pickiness for food would not end... In this event I will feed Odanna-sama with the pumpkin cuisines I wanted him to try..." I haven't yet known what Odanna-sama likes, but I know what food he doesn't like. It wasn't at all regretable to make fun of Odanna-sama, but this time I got surprised. "Aoi-sama-- Manjuu-steaming has been finished!" Ai-chan's face suddenly popped out of the kitchen. She seemed to have established her affairs in Hyakumeyama, and she has changed her appearance to that which she made herself. Her time before returning to the pendant is still short, but she's working hard right now as a newly-hired employee. "You were steaming manjuu**? I thought I was smelling something good." "Yeah. Just a while ago Dr. Saraku was asked by Tenjin-ya to do some manufacturing trials for a new souvenir product.** T/N: Steamed bread with bean jam filling. They’re really good, try them when you can!

when I write souvenir product, it's translated from omiyage=お土産= something that you take home for your friends or family when you go have fun somewhere like a national park or a museum or amusement park. Like when you buy takeaways - T-shirts, food, keychains, etc. and bring them home or something. Is there an English equivalent for this? Because I don't know. In my native language we have an equivalent, well, for most Asian languages I guess. Don't know about others though.. Hm.... korewa....*inhales* O_O

P123 "We're still only in the middle of improving it, but once we're done we want Ginji-san to be the very first to try them out." "Wah, that sounds fun. When Byakuya-san saw the special products from Orio-ya, he also also saw the need for Tenjin-ya to make new specialties and other famous products, and he's going to be considerably sensitive about it." "Uhm.... But we have no confidence to meet that expectation..." If we couldn't get to sell all of the products that we made, what will we do if Tenjin-ya gets struck greatly by that? What will we do if Tenjin-ya's status and popularity crashes down? With regards to that, we had to think very hard. For Yugao as a small establishment it is a challenge, and the pressure feels a bit different. "It's alright. With regards to hit products, through time and through fads, luck always has a greater control. To me, the only thing needed by Dr. Saraku are failures no matter how many times, in his division. That is why it is important to fail when tackling new challenges." ".. Ginji-san..." "Because I think, we become stronger, don't we?" Ginji-san's relieving smile is so bright, even today it's promising. Having his support, for today as well, I will work harder for Yugao's business operations. P124 The next day, around noon. Tomorrow Tenjin-ya will be closed for a break. Since today Tenjin-ya's business operations will end and all shall check out at the same time, everyone's waiting to be free of work. Today, Yugao also has no business transactions, so tonight I was making up my mind to call all of the ladies to make hotpot. I was thinking of calling out all about to all the members who could attend, I only need to walk to the inner garden. "Oh, it's Kasuga." I noticed Kasuga first. On the other side of the log bridge, she was under the ginko tree. I was about to call out "Hey Kasuga--" but she seems to be talking to someone and I stopped. Behind the base of the ginko tree whose yellow leaves were slightly changing color, what the... Kasuga is usually cheerful but her face now weirdly has this blank expression. "Isn't that..." Beside her, it was Chiaki-san, the doorman in charge of the footwear. A Bake-Tanuki like Kasuga. Normally he doesn't get involved with her much deeply, but this time their dialogues seem to be at a crossroads. I thought that the young man was humble and modest, somehow trying his best to look cool, but somehow he is speaking to Kasuga with a harsh expression, the atmosphere doesn't seem good in there, the impression is very different from the usual funny and light. What is up with those two. These two were different from how I knew them. "Oh, Aoi-chan." P125 From far away, Kasuga noticed me, her Tanuki ears popped up, and rushed towards me. "Aoi-chan, are you going to the main building?" "Ehhhrm, yeah. That was weird, seeing the two of you." "You think so? Chiaki is my relative you know. We were just talking." "Oh, I see..." I don't understand but, I wonder what's normal for those two. "Speaking of, Kasuga, tonight, uhm, won't you come to Yugao after work?" "To Yugao? To make me eat food?" "Yeah. I was thinking of actually holding a ladies-only hotpot banquet. I'll set up the kotatsu, and there's also mountain apple liquor. Let's have a girls' night-out once in a while." "Girls night-out..." Kasuga said "That sounds so much fun" with a wicked Tanuki face. I wonder if she's recalling amusing stories she got out of everyone. "I was thinking of calling O-ryo and Shizuna-chan too. I'm going out to meet them now." "If you say so, I'll go tell them. I'm roommates with Shizuna-chan, and I'm assigned to the banquet hall with O-ryo sama." P126 "Oh, is it OK to ask? Sorry about that." "It's fine, it's like the usual running of errands." Smiling like a beast, Kasuga nimbly dashed away. Under the deep autumn air that feels cold, her fluffy Tanuki tail swings left to right. "..." Looking back at the ginko tree, Chiaki-san the chief doorman wasn't there anymore. I wonder what the two talked about. He seemed to have casually listened to the girls night-out plan. The strong mountain apple liquor, lend me your strength... "Aoi-dono" "Wah, Sasuke-kun!" Without warning, Sasuke-kun the O-niwaban fell down beside me. He has a long scarf hanging down his neck, ninja-style from sunrise to sunset. Normally, during the day he usually wears a monk's robe as he sweeps the garden. "What's up? Something happened during work?" "I am patrolling around. Lately, there has been some disturbances." "Well, tomorrow the inn will have its break, it must be difficult. Are you hungry?" "Ah, my stomach is..." P127 Grrrrrmmmmm. Sasuke-kun's hungry stomach made some noise. "My stomach is probably hungry..." "Hee hee. When your duties are done, while on break come to Yugao. We received a lot from Orio-ya, blessings from the sea. The Southern Lands were also grateful to Sasuke-kun, would you want anything?" "Is that true?" Sasuke-kun always had a cool expression, but when it comes to food his eyes sparkle with joy, like a child's. Realizing that he's let out his enthusiasm, he cleared his throat and hid his mouth with the scarf while saying "Well then, until later," and he disappeared into the wind. Sasuke-kun is just as always very earnest, it's adorable. "Nevertheless, some disturbance..." I heard about that by accident, recently. The disturbance, it's shady, things don't look good, among other things. I was working and doing my best in Yugao, and whatever lurks up in my surroundings I don't notice anything at all. But, at the moment I don't know about the things that have started happening, and I got more anxious and worried. P128 Today is a secret girls; night-out, no guys allowed. It's going to happen after Yugao's working hours, a hotpot party will be opened for the ladies of Tenjin-ya. Today it's not at Yugao, the venue will be at my room at the back, and I will bring out the kotatsu. Tonight's dinner will be amberjack shabu-shabu. We'll make a light konbu/kelp dashi amberjack shabu-shabu from the many seafoods from Orio-ya. "We'll use the top shelf kelp to make the konbu dashi for the seafoods of the Southern Lands. It's a hotpot filled with crunchy mustard greens and thinly-sliced daikon, Welsh onions and enoki mushrooms, I'm going to fill it with amberjack as much as I want." "OK--- Let's eat!" Despite it being after work, the ladies' eyes will get fired up. I wonder if that's the case when they get hungry after working hours. I immediately placed in the fatty slices of amberjack in the hotpot's boiled konbu dashi, and let it cook. I will add in here some ponzu for that single tingly flavor.** "Ahhh, what is this luxury. It's been a while since I had amberjack shabu-shabu..." "O-ryo sama, eat the vegetables too. Adding the thinly-sliced daikon makes this a shabu-shabu." "Alright, I get it..." O-ryo just ate only the amberjack, and Kasuga sneakily added in the vegetables. She also placed some of the boiled enoki, and placed a lot of the dashi along with the fish slices, placing all of these together she took a bite. T/N: Sour-tasting soups are best with fatty meats and fish, so I'd get that Aoi would do this to cut the fat and make the shabu-shabu taste even better and also to cut the fat and greasy feels. P129 The two closed their eyes in contentment. Certainly, when the raw amberjack was cooked over a flame, the entire flavor of the fish changes. Instantly the soft slices of amberjack became tough, and over that ponzu was added, this was entirely different when eaten as sashimi or with pickles, it can be an enjoyable, extravagant yet healthy food. Well, not really, it's just the season to eat hotpot deliciously. "Speaking of, what time is Shizuna-chan coming?" "The bath hours haven't ended yet, I think she'll come over after fixing and cleaning up the bath houses. She's the only one from the management staff, and she has to stay in her working area up until the end of business hours." "Oh, yeah. I see. Shizuna-chan is part of the management staff." I lightly glanced at O-ryo. O-ryo was a former management staff member, but she seems to be unaffected by my words. It seems that the person in question enjoys whatever working position she's in right now, and is drinking carbonated water as well as the mountain apple liquors equally. Somewhat it's like being that annoying single office-lady... "Perhaps I should say it- did you know? Orio-ya's Nene is married to their Waka-danna?" "No, aren't they just engaged? It seems like that for the time being, before getting married?" P130 Uhm, Kasuga and I looked at each other. But O-ryo wasn't listening. "Hmmph. That young girl, she'll be suffering so much marrying so young. That Waka-danna called Hideyoshi, that tiny squirt, he'll noisily scold her." "You think so? I've seen that Hideyoshi, he seems good enough. Well, he is pretty noisy. But he seems to like Nene very much, I think it's wonderful that he got his feelings through." I feel like an aunty who's earnestly chatting away about her relatives. If I could talk about it better, those two make a cute, tiny couple. "Gah! Enough chatting about a guy's love for some girl! I am not interested in the happiness of other people!" With a thud, O-ryo slapped her empty wine glass on the kotatsu. "Ahhhh, O-ryo sama don't start complaing about envying other people..." As always, Kasuga started telling her off with her "good grief!" pose. "I'm sorry I'm late--" A breath of fresh air, Shizuna-chan has joined the party.** Shizuna-chan takes care of the bath houses and bears the task of keeping them in order, and is Tenjin-ya's sole management staff for that purpose. "Shizuna, you're late! The battle has already started!" T/N: well the transliteration of the original text was "Shizuna-chan has arrived in the battlefield", but I think this has the same feel, from RPGs honestly IDK anymore lol anyways IMO food parties are always a battlefield so wth it's the same gahaha P131 "Ah, yes--? I'm sorry, ehhh, a battle?" After that, even if O-ryo was just a waitress who glared at her instantly, Shizuna-chan humbly apologized. It seemed that she had no idea what O-ryo meant with her words of choice. Shizuna-chan brought a box for us, filled with so many delicious sweets.This seemed delicious to eat as dessert. "Shizuna-chan, come sit beside me. Say, do you like amberjack shabu-shabu?" Shizuna-chan rarely visits here. I did my best to take care of whatever she needs. "Well, it has been a while since I had some amberjack shabu-shabu, how nostalgic..." "Oh, right. When you were young, you were a staff at Orio-ya. During that time, did you ate a lot?" "Yes, it was my favorite. Shishou-sama** made a lot of it for me..." Talking while bashfully fidgeting, Shizuna-chan started to eat with a lot of etiquette. Suddenly, O-ryo started looking at Shizuna-chan like a sister-in-law. "I say, uhm, Shizuna? There's someone in Orio-ya like you, who's also nice and has good vibes?" "Yes? A person with good vibes?" "Hey, weren't you explicitly pursued here in Tenjin-ya? Who was it.... That guy who looks withered up, called Tokihiko. You like someone who looks bitter and glum, don't you? It's illogical and unadult-like. Don't think that somehow you're under the shadow of that guy.. *hic*" T/N: I don't know how to call the main artist or the one who takes in a lot of disciples or students or apprentices so this is the next best thing, I guess? I mean, it’s directly translated as Master=師匠-Shishou, but it can mean other stuff, not just like sensei though. P132 "Oh, uhm.. that.. Shishou-sama.... he is uhm..." Shizuna-chan's face started blushing, like she had some beer or whatnot. Once that conversation was started, she immediately got perplexed. "Wait a minute, O-ryo! Shizuna-chan just started eating, don't ask her such direct questions, her throat might block off the shabu-shabu." "You're loud Aoi! Shut up, what's more important than looks are the uses**, you crazed-cook!" "What the.." Whom on earth did she think this hotpot party was prepared for? When O-ryo drinks liquor, she always blurts out unapologetic things. "Haaahhh... Aoi may be crazy about cooking, but in the end, eventually she'll get married to Odanna-sama... He'll pick up an excessively-expensive palanquin for you, you won't understand how miserable I am..." "What the heck are you saying... I'm doing my best to avoid being his fiancee." "But Aoi-chan, didn't you and Odanna-sama went out, and you were away for more than a night?" "Hold up, Kasuga, it's a weird, story, it can't be helped. We were captured by the mountain's Kaku-zaru." "Ah, but.. Odanna-sama pulled you out of a pinch, didn't that made you have a change of heart? Or some progress?"

T/N: hanayoridango=function before looks, like buying food first before buying flowers, yeah that’s the literal meaning of the phrase. P133 "...what?" A while ago Shizuna-chan got asked the same kind of questions. Suddenly, the three girls gazed at me. What the, what's up with their eyes, those three? They look like hyenas having an eye on their prey. "I.. I didn't mean it that way! Uhmm... Odanna-sama just.. gives his all as he saves me..." Speaking of progress, what on earth is progressing right now? My first-hand experiences weren't much, and even using those as my basis, I still don't understand. In the end, somehow despite never having an idea on what occurred, the warmth I felt when I was hugged just abruptly pops back again into my mind, and ultimately my face remains blushing, as I chattered and gritted my teeth in silence. I really don't understand this, I wonder... what is this feeling? "What the heck is that..?" "Yeah, what gives? It's weird, Aoi-chan's face is so red, why is that?" I could hear Kasuga and Shizuna-chan somewhat breaking the silence with their hushed conversations. "OK--- that's enough talking about sweethearts and whatnot-- That's every last one of them--" "Yeah, I heard you, I heard you!" O-ryo had enough of the topic already, and she rolled down into the kotatsu with an angry and dead-drunk expression. She probably got one-punched...** T/N: Yeah I feel you O-ryo, when everyone has some special someone and you're the lonely third wheel I mean, I can't blame you girl, I really can't. It's worse than getting one-punched by Saitama, but... Still lol tho sry my bad P134 "O-ryo sama, with that middle-aged man attitude such as yours, you'll miss your chances of getting married." "Kasuga? With the romance that a little girl-chama like you would know, wouldn't have an idea on what love is like, there's no such thing as an immediate fated encounter. Really esteemed women like me, wouldn't have to rush in choosing.There's no leeway for mistakes--" "Yeah, yeah. But regarding myself, I have a first love..." "What, that story about when you were young? Yeah, yeah, sure, that story that smells of inexperience is good enough. Kasuga, go pour me some more.." "Y-yes... Good grief..." The esteemed woman bully lied down again. And as the junior poured more liquor for her, she drank heartily, again. "But Kasuga, speaking of that, during the day, I saw you being with the Gesokuban** Chiaki-san. What on earth were you two chatting about?" "....uhm..." I suddenly remembered it, and without thinking I asked. Kasuga's facial expression slightly changed. "Reallyyyyy?! What the, Kasuga is with that Chiaki?!" Hearing that topic, O-ryo suddenly bolted upright. She kicked her legs inside the kotatsu, and Shizuna-chan let out a tiny, pained "ouch". "What is it, O-ryo?" "Chiaki may look sloppy and gaudy, but so many waitresses are eyeing on him. Not only does his face look good,

T/N: Gesokuban=下足番= doorman in charge of the footwear, normally in Japanese inns or hotels the footwear are kept outside the halls to prevent dirt from coming in. I think elsewhere in the world this is a practice, there’s a thing called indoor and outdoor slippers or shoes. P135 but being a Gesokuban, he's pretty much a member of the management staff. If he gets married, it's easy to dominate him. That's what I understand from hearing other people. Kasuga, he's also your type?" "...what are you talking about, O-ryo sama? Chiaki is my Uncle. Simply put, my father's younger brother.**" "Whaaa... Really?" Everyone got shocked. Everyone in here seemed to be unaware of that fact. Kasuga went "Uh-oh". Her face spelled out "I shouldn't have said that." "It's probably due to this liquor.. I may have said too much..." Kasuga was scratching an itch on her temple. Taking the opportunity, Shizuna-chan suddenly seemed to have remembered something. "Speaking of that... Kasuga is taking a long vacation to go back to her parents' home, and at the same time, Chiaki-san probably won't we working too, isn't it? Could it possibly be that, he's going home with you?" Somehow, a lot of suspicions and doubts started rising up, and Kasuga started clamoring and wailing. "Geez... stop it already! What I told you is already enough! More importantly, hotpot! Look, the mustard greens and onions, and the tofu had all boiled down.The umami of the vegetables and the amberjack have already dissolved into this precious konbu dashi, and it's considerably better now. Aoi-chan, how are we going to divide this?" With dexterity, Kasuga started distributing the contents of the hotpot into smaller bowls, but I was still determined to press information out of her. This girl is pushily taking charge over the hotpot... T/N: I don't know about you guys, but in some families due to the age gaps between the siblings, some of the nieces and nephews ar more closer in age to their aunts and uncles than the aunts and uncles have to the children's parents. I was actually raised by an elder cousin, and her eldest brother was around the age of my father, so yeah, I could understand how this whole thing with Kasuga goes. P136 "Ok, with this, it's definitely udon!" "Udon!" "Yeah let's do that" Shizuna-chan gratefully put her hands together, and O-ryo's sparkling eyes were on standby. Immediately, the udon balls were brought in, and these were dunked into the deliciously-filled dashi stock. After boiling it down, we only had to wait for the noodles to absorb the flavors. "By the way, you all, what do you think of the single guys in Tenjin-ya?" "Yes?" "Do you have anything funny about them to talk about?" While O-ryo poured some newly-opened liquor, she drunkenly pushed the question at me. This woman, sets herself aside and starts gossiping about Tenjin-ya's male army. "First of, let's start with Akatsuki. That guy's the youngest male in the management staff, he may have a promising future, surely being young his composure isn't yet enough, I think. Well, in desperate times I could say that he's adorable, but he's the type that holds grudges, and it's not a good thing that he easily snaps out. For certain, I think he doesn't have a girl." "It seems that O-ryo sama has a problem with the Bantou** -sama snapping out at her words and deeds, don't you?" "Shut up Kasuga--" "Owwwww" T/N:Bantou=番頭=head clerk, or the head receptionist

P137 O-ryo pulled out Kasuga's cheeks. Kasuga's cheeks stretched out so much. "Akatsuki-san's face is a bit scary, but he is a hard-working employee, in my opinion. But, well... I'm not interested in someone younger than me..." "That's right Shizuna, you have an older guy fetish don't you?" "Yeah, the guy has been living for 500 years now, yes..." Shizuna-chan just casually blurted out that she wasn't interested in Akatsuki. She's probably a bit drunk. She's drinking the mountain apple liquor on the rocks... "Akatsuki, you say... When I met him he shouted like he was going to kill me, that guy gave me the impression that he was the worst but... Now I think he's a really good chap. One way or another way though, he's not someone who likes taking care of others. I remember her younger sister.." That child** comes here to Yugao, his eyes may look evil but he's a caring person. Surely, I think that he's concerned about troubling his younger sister Suzuran and grandpa, among others. "Oh, and by the way..." At this point, Kasuga secretly pulled out a notebook and started telling us the stuff that she wrote. What the... What the heck, that is scary. "According to my research, the Bantou-sama doesn't have a woman's touch on him. He's aloof, and he easily and earnestly gets resentful. It also seems that despite the lady waitresses asking him out to have fun, he always doesn't go with them." "As expected..." T/N: the term Yuuma-sensei used for Akatsuki is mame=マメ=bean, but can also mean a child, a little person, etc. Honestly it's not wrong, Akatsuki is an actual precious bean IMO lol protect that spider bean lelz P138 "But that guy, a little girl once invited him to play with her..." Surprisingly, I thought this was a bit rude. Most likely, Akatsuki is sneezing a lot right now. "Wah, udon, udon--" Finally, the udon has been boiled enough. Everyone started putting udon on their bowls. "Gahh... This is it. The udon to finish the hotpot."** "Cooking this in the dashi makes it yummier, doesn't it?" The udon has surely absorbed the umami and the fatty flavors of the amberjack. I added the refreshing taste of the Sudachi Ponzu in mine. This went smoothly down the throat, and this perfectly wraps up the the meal. No, I mean, this is a work of art. "Hey Aoi, you only drank one glass of the liquor? You go drink some more..." "Sorry but, I dont drink more than a cup. Previously, drinking made my eyes hurt when I look at things." A cup of that liquor tastes great. But I dread getting drunk if I drink more than my limit. But everyone was just drinking heartily, so I guess it's fine. The mountain apple liquor also has another nickname, it's called "Easy Bandit-Killer". "Well then, next is the Waka-danna sama's turn" O-ryo continued the conversation where we previously left off. "Waaat? Even Ginji-san?! But.. Isn't Ginji-san perfect? No, a perfect Youkai? I couldn't find any fault with him." T/N: Just in case you're wondering how this works, it's rather easy.. After eating all of the ingredients in the Japanese hotpot, like taking out the veggies and meat, there's a lot of soup left. It's easier to just drink the soup but in Japan, they add stuff to help it go down easy. Choices are either noodles or rice, and the young ones love putting the noodles in. It actually tastes good either way, but I prefer noodles. I think in Persona 5 they also had this same dilemma lol Also yeah Ginji is just the ball, perfect ball of fur lol but he also has this shadowy and mysterious side so if you want a dude of mystery, Ginji's your man gahahaha P139 "Eh. You don't understand, Aoi. Seeing no faults or imperfections is that person's shortcoming-" An adultish smile floating up her face, O-ryo started spinning her glass around. "Waka-danna sama is, well, fanstastic. When you look at him he's handsome, he is well-mannered, and is skillful at his job." "Yeah I get that. He's very sweet, and he always lends a hand... But for sure, Ginji-san seems to have no interests in romantic relationships..." Even I haven't unraveled the reasons to why Ginji-san is still single. But I'm not surprised that he's well-liked. "Oh, well, based on what O-ryo-san was saying, Ginji-sama has no chink in his armor, doesn't he? When a little girl couldn't get any confidence from everyone and has to hold it together by herself, when that perfect Ginji-sama sees that person, his voice would probably not break so easily." "The Waka-danna sama isn't a greedy type, but look, what Aoi-chan is saying is that the Waka-danna seems to have no hobbies or interests. Aoi-chan doesn't understand how, but among the employees he seems to be the type that only admires one person. In that case, his attraction for this one girl could unfortunately end. And she won't be pursued relentlessly." Oh, I get it... Shizuna-chan and Kasuga pointed this out, and I could understand it better. "But after that thing with Orio-ya, somehow the air around the Waka-danna sama has changed, didn't it? T/N: OK I just translated from Japanese what I'd say if I was fan-girling over Ginji, srsly arrrghhh does a guy like this exist? I'd want the extra tails and the transformation powers but I'm OK without those as long as he's into romantic stuff.. Does he? Does he not? I don't know yet lol are there any Ginji fan-fams here too lololol P140 I heard it from the lady waitresses that aren't easy to talk to. That person, he has undoubtedly became likeable. And then, the Waka-danna sama, didn't he take care of you in your condition?" "..." With a wicked face, O-ryo was testing me with her words. But to me, up until now I think that Ginji-san is likeable, and in that case it's not even a joke. He hardly comes to Yugao now, and because of that it's gotten lonely... "On another point, among the Waka-danna sama's nine tails, the third one below, from the right seems to be the most unique.That is somehow a weak spot." "Kasuga, how did you know such information?" It's scary... Kasuga's information is creepy. Even though she's drunk the power of her research skills scared all of us. "Well then... Choubachou** Byakuya-sama--" "O-ryo, don't you dare take another step over there--" We suddenly exercised caution with Byakuya-san. If we speak rudely of him, we feel like we're going to get cursed.** "I honestly couldn't remember a time when he got angry..." "Me either..." "Me too..." T/N: OK so my bad, Byakuya’s supposed position ranges from accounting to reception, but I just previously translated his position as head accountant because it’s what I got before. But he’s more or less the chief of management operations, which includes accounting. Anyway... Hey, I mean, if Byakuya can kick Raijuu's ass then it's justifiable that Byakuya is always in a sour mood, and it's bad to talk about him rudely. Raijuu's a pain in the ass for sure. Arrrgh P141 In the end, this girls' group had nothing more to say. We shuddered when we remembered stuff, and inside the kotatsu we all curled up. Though we were only just talking about him, his pressure on us made us feel defeated even in here. "H.. However, Byakuya-sama stealthily spoils the pipe cats living at the back of the mountain..." "Kasuga, nobody knows about that yet. Don't talk about it, if that gets leaked out we'll get killed." Well, in short, Byakuya-sama pours all of his love to the pipe cats. "Geez, we've wrapped out heads too much on these puzzles, and my hands have lost all feeling. Like Odanna-sama, he also exists above the clouds." "That's because Byakuya-sama is Odanna-sama's good old wife." O-ryo and Kasuga opened the box that Shizuna-chan brought for us, and while munching on these they were sloppily chatting. "Good old wife?" Isn't Byakuya-san a guy? as I tilted my head. "Since long ago, he has assisted in the running of Tenjin-ya. Odanna-sama is able to go here and there freely for work, and Byakuya-sama was staying in Tenjin-ya and presides over it. He has long been in good terms with Odanna-sama, and Byakuya-sama could readily and frankly give out his opinions to him." Come to think of it, before Odanna-sama and I went out, him and Byakuya-san were talking about something one way or the other. P142 In that case, other than the other employess and executives, nobody sees it like an older wife giving encouragement to her husband. "And for sure, when the Oo-Okami** sama isn't here, Byakuya-sama also takes in that role as well, doesn't he?" "Oo-Okami?" Shizuna-chan was drinking the last drop of the sweet liquor, she was reminded of her old home and started talking. "Ougondouji-sama is currently residing in Orio-ya. Previously, Ougondouji-sama was asked to be the Oo-Okami. She holds the same position and rank as Odanna-sama, therefore ever since Ougondouji-sama left Tenjin-ya,the position has been vacant." "Oh, I see... If that's so, with regards to that old tale, I have asked Ginji-san about that." And with that, Byakuya-san also holds the position of Oo-Okami. "Haaaahhh... That weird chat about the Oo-Okami has been a bit too much already." "O-ryo sama, didn't you tell me back then that you'd focus intently on becoming Oo-Okami ,once upon a time?" "Shut up Kasuga! It's a harsh fact that I have to live with!" With O-ryo and Kasuga's conversation, my ears grew eager to listen. "But isn't that.. O-ryo already has no interest with the Waka-Okami position?" "Whaaat? Aoi, you're asking that question? Did't I tell you that I won't get into the position of Waka-Okami again?" T/N: Oo-Okami, Mistress of the House, or something, like the big lady boss.

P143 "R..Really?" "It's fine, really it is. My enthusiastic, indomitable personality is dead. I want to enjoy living a carefree life. I plan to marry a rich guy, then immediately stop working--" "..." Somehow, the atmosphere became tense. Could it be possible that, among all the people in here right now, we're all thinking that O-ryo didn't really want to give up that position? Especially Kasuga, she was shell-shocked, and her face looked troubled. I felt that the mood has changed, so I tapped my fist in my hand. "Oh, right, right. I brought some large-sized grapes from the fruit orchard park, and I made some grape tarts. Let's eat some? I added a lot of grapes on it, it's a custard cream dessert." "Kasstard? OK OK let's eat--" It seems that nobody understood what I meant, but everybody nodded their heads excitedly. Grape tart. I made the crust with the coconut oil from Orio-ya and baked it, and by adding the large grapes called Daishisui that I gathered with Odanna-sama yesterday, the tart looks like a sparkly jewelry box. On top of the crust, I laid down an easily-made custard cream made of Cassowary egg and some wheat flour, with cow's milk and a bit of sugar, P144 and these buried the grapes cut in halves, which I later baked in the oven. After baking this for a while, I topped everything with raw grapes and pure cream. These were arranged as such because the tightly-packed grapes beneath this layer cannot be seen. "Woooooow!" Those dynamic-seeing eyes, everyone's eyes were sparkling. I sliced the large tart in front of everyone, and when the neatly-arranged grapes were cut through, Shizuna-chan let out a regretful-sounding "Awww".** There wasn't any fork, we used kuromoji, special wooden chopsticks** normally used for Japanese sweets or just ate them using our bare hands. "Uwahhh this is juicy-- What is this, I thought this food has raw grapes, but this tastes is like it was meant to be a baked dessert!" "This is the first time I ate something that tastes like this, but the grapes' sweetness stands out, it's really delicious--" O-ryo eating with her hands and Shizuna-chan using a kuromoji, they fell into a trance like typical ladies who love sweets. "This is generally called a fruit tart, and with the rich taste of the eggs in the custard cream, it blends well with the sweet and sour freshness of the fruits, and together these really bring about the best-tasting combination. The sweetness gets reduced, and the sourness becomes mild." As I was explaining how the mild taste came about, Kasuga haven't taken a single bite of the grape tart, and while propping her chin with her hand, she was observing it quietly. T/N: Lol I feel you Shizuna-chan, I feel the same when a freshly-bought ice cream tub looks so neat I don't wanna cut through it lol that's why ASMR of perfectly arranged anything are famous bahaha

Kuromoji=黒文字= Japanese sweets are eaten traditionally by using tiny wooden chopsticks, to cut and skewer them. You can check them out via search engine or smth P145 "What is it, Kasuga? Don't tell me, you don't like grapes?" "Hmm? No, it's not like that.. I really love grapes. That dessert you called tart, I was thinking of something." Kasuga ate held tart like it was a hard cookie, and bit on it heartily despite doubting what it was, before chewing on it. She filled her cheeks with the grapes, the custard, and the fragrant crust. "Mmmm, I wanted to eat some more. The grapes are heavy, and they burst in my mouth." Just a while ago we were enjoying some amberjack shabu-shabu, but we still had room for dessert, and all of the girls ate as much of the grape tart to their hearts' content. "Aoi-dono--" In that moment, came a boy's voice that can be heard from inside Yugao. "It's Sasuke-kun. I told him that I was going to give him something to eat after his working hours." The three ladies around me went "It's.. Sasuke-kun?", and they looked at me from the side. "Say, Aoi, tell Sasuke-kun to come here too." "Really? Even if today's a no-guys-allowed girls' night-out, it's OK to call him in?" "Yes, it's totally OK. Sasuke-kun is an adorable and good boy." "..." Even though there was a nagging feeling, I went outside of Yugao and called out to Sasuke-kun. "Sasuke-kun, thank you for your hard work. We were just having a hotpot party inside but, P146 I'll also add something for you, OK?" "Hotpot, is it? Is it because it has already gotten a bit cold?" "Come in. Everyone's waiting for you. I'll go and prep up." "I understand." Sasuke-kun unknowingly trudged toward the innermost room, and opened the door. "?!" No sooner than opening the door. Sasuke-kun the ninja couldn't react fast enough, and he was dragged into the room. "Gyaaaaahhh! Aoi-dono, Aoi-dono---" Sasuke-kun, the innocent and sweet Sasuke-kun, he was preyed upon by the ladies starved of men. "I- I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I'll make you a delicious hotpot, OK?" I feel guilty that he gets harassed, and using another earthen pot I added dashi stock, vegetables and the amberjack slices, and hurriedly went towards the innermost room. Please, please let Sasuke-kun be OK! "..." Sasuke-kun was already pestered by the drunken ladies, here and there he was grumbling being urged to drink liquor, P147 his hair has been tousled and his scarf stretched out, it was horrible, but he was being coddled and spoiled. "Aoi-dono--" Poor Sasuke-kun, he was crying out of fear. He was unprotected, and the swarming girls were getting their fill, it was another shabu-shabu over the kotatsu setting. They're feeding him too much. While he's eating delicious food, I will protect Sasuke-kun.

Despite the determination of that bunch, just like turning off a lamp, the girls suddenly collapsed.

Zzzz.... The effects of the mountain liquor came at last, and the intense sleepiness has struck. "Aoi-dono.. What on earth, were you doing here?" "Hmm? It's a secret girls' night-out, Sasuke-kun." "Secret girls' night-out..."

It's really too much to handle drunkeness. The true intents and personalities of the girls, were hidden and unseen, in this empty room these must not get out. Everything that they spewed out, they'll probably forget in the morning. And that was the so-called, girls' night-out.

End of Chapter 4, Volume 6. Previous - Intermission 1 Next - Intermission 2

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english fan translation #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 4 #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 4 english fan translation

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interactive-watchers · 3 years

Text

Birds and Bourbon, Threads and Turtle Tracks

Written by @churrobird

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick-

Bong. Bong. Bong.

3 A.M.

XD hissed under their breath, leaning with their back against the headboard of the bed they had found themselves in. Across the room was the grandfather clock, mocking their strained and bloodshot eyes with each tick and tock.

Ah, right. That. The tiredness. That bone-deep, aching exhaustion that came with their… newly-gained mortality.

Tick. Tock. Tick-

They were two ticks away from launching something across the room and shattering the clock face.

Anything to distract themselves with the passing time that now bore down heavily on their shoulders and mind. Anything to forget how their multiple sets of wings no longer were a comforting weight against their back. Anything to forget the tight iron anklet around their leg, chaining and trapping them to this dimension not again not again not again-

A knock at the door snapped them out of the spiraling of their thoughts, and they could hear their neck crack with how quickly they turned towards the source of the noise. They bared their teeth at the wood.

(They hated how their face felt so bare and exposed, the familiar cracked mask no longer pressed against their face.)

The knock was terse and formal, and anger simmered within XD’s gut. It was probably one of those court members again, taunting them for their defeat, or disgustingly trying to talk to them with their overwhelming pity.

They were two tocks away from yelling for the visitor to go away- that it was three in the goddamn morning- when the door abruptly swung open a sliver.

XD’s sight was first met with golden hair, and then a familiar face as a particular business person poked their head in through the gap.

“Heard ya’ got nerfed.”

Despite all the tension wringing their newly mortal muscles like a damp washcloth, XD let out a small huff of amusement.

“Still always one for quips, Fågel? I didn’t expect to owe you the pleasure.” Indeed, it was true. The last time XD had seen the human was shortly after their… defeat. Fågel had been entangled in chains much like themselves, and led away by the Court, despite the distressed yelling coming from the pitiful god they took for a “boss.”

It was strange to see them both like this. Once upon a time, the god had found themselves in front of the blonde with a wide grin and money in hand as they traded immense weapons of utter power to use in their story.

It was strange to see them both like this. Once upon a time, XD had utterly outed the tradesman, calling Fågel forth before the players and gods alike to expose them for the business they had dealt.

It had made for a good story. The power streaming across their tongue like the richest honey- a betrayal and twist that grinded hearts into a fine powder.

(How strange it was, the apprehension they felt in their fingers as only stone cold blue eyes stared back at them. They had expected yelling, expected anger. This was a betrayal in and of itself- a turncoat action of feeding the bird to the dogs. Why were they only getting the absolution of that gaze bored into their soul?)

Now, it was just Fågel standing in their pajamas at the door, and XD curled up on the bed staring back at them. Two mortals. Two humans.

“Mmm, well. Yeah. Went to jail for a bit, but got out. It’s whatever. Heard ya got put on a child leash?”

Fågel made their way further into the room, kicking the door closed behind them. Their hands were full with two grocery bags and what was even stranger was how XD didn’t feel any agitation with Fågel encroaching on their space.

A barely audible laugh bubbled out of them, “If you’d like to call it that. I do remember a one Mr. Minecraft having to deal with a similar predicament as I.”

XD slowly pulled up the leg of their pants, baring the shiny house arrest anklet to the air. A nauseating feeling twisted in their throat and they quickly shoved it down again.

“Wouldn’t know anything about that,” Fågel spoke up. Raising the grocery bags, they simply stated, “I got bourbon and ice cream.”

XD squinted in confusion, too busy pondering what they just heard as the blonde made their way over and plopped themselves right on the bed as if it was their divine-given right. When their weight jostled XD, they froze up and glanced at Fågel warily, fingers twitching as if wishing to grab a weapon.

Fågel only stared back with a small, smug smile. They opened the bags, and pulled out several containers of ice cream, some metal spoons, a single crystal bottle of bourbon, and most mystifying of all- no cups.

“I got vanilla, chocolate, neapolitan, turtle tracks, mint-” Fågel leaned forward as they pointed to each and every flavor, and as they got into XD’s space, they instinctively lurched out and grabbed the other’s forearm as they got too close. This reaction caused Fågel to look up at them, with a single eyebrow raised.

XD swallowed. “This… sure is excessive. What even is your reason for doing this?”

Fågel didn’t remove their arm from XD’s grasp, and the former god pointedly ignored the way the contact (real, actual contact) fizzled up their own arm and simmered in their elbow and shoulder.

“Well, couldn’t let ya wallow in your pity party by yourself, could I? Also, you seemed real pissed off from all the babysittin’ you’ve been havin’ to deal with recently. You deserve a break- and also to get shitfaced.”

XD finally dropped Fågel’s arm, half-listening to their words as their eyes dragged across them. XD noted they weren’t wearing their usual outfit- instead replaced by a simple t-shirt and pajama pants. While they were wearing exceedingly less jewelry than usual, small studs of gold were pierced in their ears, and a slightly shimmering choker sat around their neck.

An outfit that one would sleep comfortably in. Perhaps for a long time.

(It was weird, how this one always managed to remind them of George.) (Don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about him-)

XD snapped back to attention, and scoffed quietly, “It isn’t a pity party, but I will concede to the fact I have been sufficiently hovered over, and I’m tired of it.”

A shrug, “I mean, the exact same thing happened to me when Boss broke me outta' jail. Okami still hates my guts.”

“I have the distinct feeling that that’s due to your involvement with me.”

“Yeah, probably. Anyway,” Fågel popped a container of vanilla ice cream, and with all the grace of a de facto-blessed, poured a substantial shot or two of bourbon directly into the carton. XD watched them curiously, before tentatively reaching out and picking up the ice cream carton labelled “Turtle Tracks.”

All of this was strange. All of this was wrong. XD never did anything tentatively. They were the arbiter of stories, the narrator of all fates, the weaver of the threads of the world. Their voice alone drove any mere mortal mad and all dropped to their knees before their raw power. All bent to the design of their magnum opus.

But here they were, sitting on a bed with perhaps the only person left in this Court that didn’t absolutely hate their guts. Hell, even the only person that liked XD.

It was silly. Fågel, within all their rights, should despise them. Even ignoring the plots XD put their playthings through, that betrayal hadn’t been clean. A knife was twisted into the blonde’s soul, they were brought before the Court, and then they had been imprisoned.

(Just like they had been.) So why didn’t Fågel hate them? Why were they not damning XD for everything they stood for? Why, unlike the others, did they not leave them to rot alone, like so many millennia ago?

Time was a flat circle.

XD’s eyes darted to the other in their peripheral, before turning back to the ice cream in their lap.

They popped it open with shaking hands, and poured some of the bourbon into it.

They grabbed a spoon, and the taste vanilla, chocolate, caramel, pecans, and alcohol flowed over their tongue sweeter than any power had.

Perhaps XD didn’t have all the answers, and maybe they would never understand the human next to them. The human with magpie tendencies and a penchant for smuggling illegal, anarchist weapons.

A human, just like they were now.

It would never fill the part of their soul that had been ripped out when they were stripped of their godhood, but perhaps…

Perhaps XD could deal with this in their new life; eating ice cream at 3:20 A.M. with their former business partner.

#interactive watchers #XD #Fågel

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tetsuro-wulf · 2 years

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The Wulf's Eye: RP Journal #85 | Kami to Kami

I've decided to dedicate this journal to a most recent meeting. Ever since, I've wanted to write down what I've come to known..

A few weeks ago when I opened the brewery, a woman who was friends with two regulars from Bounty Call approached me. Something about her felt different, even more strange was that she was rather bashful in my presence, especially upon learning I am a Kami. Then at the next Bounty Call opening, her friends had approached me speaking on how she wishes to properly meet me, only to find out she's along the same lines as a Kami. But the way that it was described to me by her gentlemen friend was something having to do with 'Forgotten Kami'.. which, initially I thought he meant Kami who's existence vanishes due to every last follower forgetting them. Typically, Kami are forgotten when all who once prayed to them, believe in them, cease.. somehow. It is often rare, for even one follower that remembers a Kami can be the thread that holds them. But..

They invited me to their establishment to meet this woman. Upon meeting her, I learned that she belongs to a sect of infinite beings that aid in reminding Kami reborn who they are. I recall something she said..

"..my sect, are infinite in number. Always being constantly created and fading away. It's the natural order. Sometimes when those who worship a kami pass on, the kami doesn't move with them. Their spirit gets stuck here, recycling endlessly in the lifestream. So I, and others like me, find them and send them on their way to the beyond where their worshippers are. It can be a difficult job sometimes. Especially when a kami has incarnated through multiple mortal spans without realizing it. They accumulate so much cruft, and it's hard to tease out the kami while leaving the person's mind intact."

I found this fascinating, for I recall hearing instances of when a Kami is also reborn into another form of theirs, they can lose their memories, thus it is up to this sect, or to the Kami's Servants to carefully restore said memories so they can prosper within their newfound bodies. We did talk more on my purpose as well. She seemed surprised that a Kami like myself was allowed to live amongst mortals so openly without there being a restriction or boundaries.. which reminded me of my initial ascension offer. For if there was no room for me to live as a guardian amongst my people, then there would be no reason for me to ascend. Though my humility made me a perfect match on granting way to a new path of Roku's lineage.. things he and the Okami before him could not accomplish due to these restrictions.

Perhaps.. that is truly why I am the destined descendant.. as fate and my own two feet side by side brought me to this realm. So closely to these mortals whom I see as friends, family, and more.

It was refreshing to speak of one from the Heavens, especially when there are so many sects, types of Kami, ranks.. and so forth. Dare I say enlightening.

09.22.2022

#wulf journal #ffxiv roleplay #wulf journals #ffxiv writing

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yhs-silly · 4 years

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Kneel

They were on their way home from school, Sam and Taurtis were just messing around and swinging off the lampposts, the usual. Grian seemed a little grumpier then usual, maybe he'd gotten a low grade on his test, he wouldn't say. But he was adamant that they had to get home as soon as possible, so when Sam and Taurtis started doing their checking both ways gag he was ready to snap.

He groaned and pushed them aside. "You guys are idiots! There are never any cars on this road!" He rolled his eyes and stormed into the middle of the road and stood there with his arms out, glaring at the duo. "See! There's nothing here! I'm perfectly sa-afe..."

He trailed off at the sound of a car horn, turning to face the speeding car, his face falling in horror.

Sam's hands tightened around Taurtis's arms, Taurtis hadn't even realised he'd moved to rush into the road. He just went still and just stared, with wide, tear filled eyes as the car came closer and closer.

Grian was right, there were never any cars on the road. It was very rare that a car came down the road, and if it did, it was usually at night- and always speeding. That was the unwritten rule; speed past the school zone, with luck you might hit one nof the crazy kids. The other towns around were never fond of the academi students, not used to such diversity, neurologically or otherwise.

Ironically, it was most likely the least mad of the students being hit, all the others looking on, glad it wasn't them. The acidemi students were never known for their empathy, only a few students really cared for the Brit. Those that did care already had tears welling in their eyes at the sound of flesh against metal and the grinding of the breaks as the car came to a halt.

The guy driving the car didn't even get out, he just sat there in a state of shock as Taurtis and Sam raced over to Grians side. Taurtis had tears spilling freely down his cheeks and even Sam was panicking, Sam gently lifted Grian off of the floor and checked his vitals. He was still alive, but struggling.

Okami had seen the whole thing go down and had called and ambulance as soon as she'd heard the car, it didn't take long for it to turn him. Sam threatened the emergency response team to let him and Taurtis ride with Grian in the back.

They were so worried, Taurtis had begun sobbing uncontrollably, this was just like before, just like with...

Salex.

Why did everyone he love have to die? Why was it always a car? He pauses, did he love Grian? As a friend of course, he's one of his best friends... he's still hung up on Salex...he hoped and prayed beyond his belief that Grian would not follow her. He couldn't loose someone else so close to him, he wouldn't know what to do.

Sam wasn't as affected but he was still terrified of loosing Grian, he'd never really dealt with a death close to him since his mother passed. He watched as Taurtis fell to his knees, sobbing. He felt so awful, if it wasn't for his and taurtis's insisting that the road wasn't safe, then Grian would be safe. For once Sam didn't feel pleased with being proved right, he wished he was wrong. For once he wished it had been Grian who was right, he could just see Grian's triumphant smirk, the sparkle in his eyes at the idea of being right.

Sam had noticed how much Grian reacted to a little bit of positive reinforcement, he'd used it to get his way before, but now all he wanted to do was tell Grian just how highly Sam valued him. Grian deserved to glow like he always did when praised, Sam was just scared he'd never get the chance.

After a while Grian got better, he still hasn't spoken but the doctors had said he was free to leave. One their way home, Sam and Taurtis had done nothing but pamper and adore him. It was the least they could do for him, but something was off with Grian, his behaviour wasn't normal.

Taurtis was worried about him, he hadn't said a word to either of them since he'd gotten out of the hospital. Sam wasn't as worried, but it was clear he was concerned by how little he'd been mocking Grian lately. But neither of them seemed to be getting through to him.

He's been taking naps lately, it was almost all he did. He never did any of his work and Okami was on the brink of pulling him aside for a quiet word. Everyone was growing increasingly worried about him, they figured he had gained some sort of brain damage.

This all culminated in that one night, Taurtis had stayed up late gaming. Sam was asleep and Grian was probably also sleeping, or so Taurtis thought. He'd turned his head at the sound of footsteps to see Grian standing there, clutching the mop like a staff. He glared intently at Taurtis, a strange fire behind his eyes that made Taurtis shudder.

"Taurtis." Grian's voice was rougher, darker then his usually was. Even his posture seemed heavier, he held himself in a higher sense of pride and power then the anxious, drawn back Grian that Taurtis knew and loved. "Remove yourself from the magic mirror, I require your counsel."

Taurtis was slightly confused, but he'd played enough fantasy games to understand what Grian meant. He switched the tv and game crab off, concerned as to how Grian seemed.to have forgotten what a tv was. He shifted to the side and patted the sofa next to him, with a gentle smile. "Ok Grian, what do you need buddy." He was really happy that Grian was finally speaking again, although those subtle changes did worry him.

Grian didn't sit down however, he continued to stand and just stare at Taurtis expectantly. "Well?" He began to tap his foot. "Stand."

Taurtis was surprised but did so without thinking, watching in confusion as Grian nodded in approval and moved to take his seat. Grians posture while sitting was also more confident Taurtis noticed, how hadn't he noticed before? He goes to sit down but Grian raises his hand to stop him.

"No, kneel." Grian spoke with a command, more adept at control then Sam. But Taurtis wasn't just going to obey, he just frowned at Grian in concern. Then his eyes widened at Grian put the mop to his shoulder and forced him down, Taurtis would've been impressed by Grian's control on the mop if he wasn't currently being forced onto his knees. He stares up at Grian in concern as the blonde nods in approval.

"Grian..? What the hell..?"

Grian raised his eyebrows a little at that, smiling gentle. "Oh? Is something the matter Taurtis? I must admit, I am also a little thrown off by our predicament but it is alright, you have your king to guide you."

Taurtis frowned deeply, king? Grian wasn't a king? He now had concerns about Grian's sanity, he had to play this carefully. He just quietly nods, smiling up at him gently. "No, nothings the matter Grian. You said you wanted to talk about something?"

Grian smiled back and nodded. "Ah yes, it was actually about this predicament... I'm unsure as to what happened but these clothes aren't mine? And I've never seen such powerful magic then there is here, it rivals even the likes of me... that's another thing. I've found myself unable to perform spells recently, I attempted to harness the power of this strange looking staff but it doesn't seem to like me."

Taurtis just nodded. "Alright...well what do you want to do?"

"I wish to return home, is that not obvious?" Grian scoffed. "My kingdom needs their king."

Taurtis nods and slowly and cautiously gets to his feet. "Okay...so I think the best thing to do right now is go back to bed and figure out what to do in the morning."

Grian nods and stands. "That does seem like the ideal plan, I trust you to gaurd my chambers?"

Taurtis just nodded in response, watching Grian head back upstairs. His knees where shaking, he sat on the sofa, feeling horrible.

Tears bunched in his eyes as he thought about how his poor sweet friend had completely lost his mind, Grian was supposed to be the responsible one! Now he seemed to believe he was some magical fantasy king... Poor guy was always a nerd, Taurtis figured that he must've latched on to a favourite fantasy story as a coping mechanism after the accident.

He felt so bad for poor Grian, he didn't ask for this, the poor guy didn't even understand what was going on. He felt the hot tears run down his face and looked down at his shaking hands, he realised that he had to tell Sam, he had to.

He slowly got to his feet and crept upstairs silently, knocking gently on Sam's door. "Sam? Sam wake up."

Sam eventually came to the door, looking sleepy. "Taurtis..? What's wrong?" He was surprised to see how worried Taurtis looked, he instantly also began to get worried.

"It's Grian." Taurtis spoke quietly, as if he was afraid of disturbing said blonde. He speaks slowly and carefully. "He's gone mad...he thinks he's some sort of wizard king..." He sniffles and wipes some tears away. "I'm just so worried about him..."

Sam felt his heart pang, he didn't know this feeling, it was almost guilt, almost responsibility, but it was neither- and it certainly wasn't pity, Sam knew what it was like to be the mad one. Only thing is, Sam was never really mad, just not normal. He nodded slowly, brain working harder then it ever did before at this time of night, heart hammering in his chest just like that day. "Alright...so what do we do?"

They made eye contact, the best thing to do would be to call the authorities, tell a teacher, get him to the hospital, to do something. But they both knew they couldn't do that, they didn't have the heart. Taurtis slowly began to speak. "Well...his delusions aren't tha-"

Sam put his hand up to stop him. "No, we can't go along with his delusions, that wouldn't be fair on him." He sighs and hums in thought "Is there really anything we can do..? I think he might be fucked."

"Don't say that!" Taurtis squeaked, quickly lowering his volume quickly. "We have to do something, we can't just leave him to his delusions." He was getting choked up again, Grian might not have died, but Taurtis still felt that he'd lost him.

They barely slept that night, simply discussing what they could do. They didn't really come up with anything that hadn't been said before, but eventually they decided they'd treat his delusions like how a parent treats a child's fantasies, playing along to a certain point.

And so they did, they managed this for around a week, but unfortunately people began to notice that Grian was behaving strangely. Eventually, Okami pulled the trio aside to talk to them.

Sam was glancing around and making sure there were exits, Taurtis was wringing his hands and glancing at Grian every five seconds. Grian himself had his arms crossed and was glaring daggers at Okami for being so rude.

Okami sighed softly and smiles at the boys. "Now, I'm sure you know what's going on. But none of us do, so could you please explain why Grian is behaving like that."

Grian scoffed and begun to speak, before Taurtis gently shut him down and spoke instead. "We're sorry Sensei, he's just a little banged up from the accident still..." He shrugs and smiles awkwardly.

Sam glances at him nervously, Okami frowns and then Grian speaks up. "What accident? I am not 'banged' up? Taurtis what are you talking about?"

There are gasps from both boys as Taurtis glances at grian nervously and Sam quietly hisses. "Grian, shh!"

Grian glares. "Don't you tell me to shh!" He stomps up to Sam and gets real close, getting up on his tippy toes trying to look intimidating.

Okami sighs and looked concerned. "Grian, sweetie, what do you mean 'what incident?'? Do you not remember what happened?"

Grian looked at her in confusion, his face a mixture of confusion and annoyance. He goes to speak when Taurtis steps in and clears his throat.

"Sensei? We're so sorry for trying to hide this...but he's gone mad."

"I am not mad! How dare you!"

Okami pauses and looks at Grian, seemingly looking for something, but whatever she was looking for, she didn't find it. She sighed and gently put her hand on Grian's shoulder. "Grian, sweetie? Can you calm down for me? Try and explain what you think is going on."

Grian began to speak, about a magical kingdom he rules over and how Sam and Taurtis were loyal to him. Okami turned to the boys and mouthed at them to go and fetch Rowan.

Taurtis's heart was hammering in his chest, that was so impulsive of him, but at least Grian was going to get the help he needs. He looks at Sam, seeing the obvious pain his friend was trying to hide, he sighed. He never expected to have to be the normal one, it was too much pressure for him. But if that was what it took to keep his best friends safe and happy, then that's what he would be.

It was Taurtis who explained the situation to Rowan.

It was Taurtis who comforted Sam as Grian was taken away.

It was Taurtis who knelt besides the bed that night, and for the first time in all his life.

Taurtis prayed.

#yhs #yhs grian #yhs sam #yhs taurtis #yhs okami #yhs rowan

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