#// it's difficult to know the real sayuri
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“Hey, stupid Guren, can I go this Saturday to my friend’s house to meet her brother’s tiger?” Yuu asks as he enters the living room, grabbing the attention of the three occupants of the room.
~~~
Guren gets mesmerized by the tigers’ owner. And the fact that the tiger doesn’t like him seems to be the least of his problems.
For @gureshin-week-2022 DAY 4: Animals.
Fic on AO3 - user: MerCevans or ⬇️
Guren is quietly reading some reports, while Sayuri pours him some tea and Shigure cleans her knives and weapons.
“W-What!? Yuuichiro… Did you just say..?” Sayuri exclaims in shock.
“Huh? What are you taking about? You don’t have friends” Guren scoffs a laugh.
“Guren-sama! That’s not what’s strange about what Yuuichiro just said!” Sayuri protests.
“Of course I do! Mika is my friend! And Yoichi… I guess Shinoa can also be considered one…” Yuu huffs indignant. “I don’t care what you say. Can I go or not?”
“Ah, yes, the Tepes boy. You’re obsessed with him. But who is this girl, where did she come from? You have a girlfriend already, I never thought you would” Guren snorts mockingly.
“Shinoa is not my girlfriend. That’s gross. She is annoying, but Yoichi likes her and she has been sitting with us during lunch this past days. So… I guess it’s fine”
Guren huffs. “How difficult it is to be a twelve year old boy, huh?”
“Whatever. So, can I go?” Yuu presses.
Guren averts his eyes to continue reading his reports. “Do as you like”
“Guren-sama!” Sayuri exclaims horrified.
Guren raises his eyebrow at his retainer. “What is it?”
“I believe Sayuri is worried, because Yuuichiro mentioned that he is going to meet a tiger” Shigure explains.
“It can not be a real tiger, right? Who has a tiger in their house” Sayuri questions glaring at Yuu.
“It’s domesticated. A tiger it’s just a big cat” Yuu shrugs.
“Tigers are indeed felines. But the comparison is not truly accurate. Tigers are wild animals.” Shigure punctuates.
“You befriended the Tepes boy who comes from a nobiliary house, and now, someone rich enough to have a tiger as a pet? Do you have a magnet for weird rich kids?” Guren questions.
“Ask yourself that. You adopted me too.” Yuu huffs.
“Getting you out of the orphanage was charity work actually” Guren argues.
“Guren-sama! Don’t say things like that!” Sayuri cries outraged.
Yuu snorts, clicking his tongue. He knows that Guren didn’t mean that. “Well then I’ll go. I’ll be in my room.”
“Wait a minute” Guren calls. “What’s the girls last name, she could be from an influential family”
Yuu grimaces. He hates the political stuff of being in a prominent clan. Deals, confrontations, alliances… it’s all very complicated, and Yuu doesn’t want to be mixed and all that. “Umm… I don’t know… she is just Shinoa…”
“Use your almost non-existent brain”
Yuu huffs annoyed. “It’s starts with an H… I think… it’s Hima… no— Hiro… Ah! Got it! It’s Hiiragi! Hiiragi Shinoa”
The room becomes quiet except for the sound of Shigure’s knife hitting the floor. The three young adults look at Yuu with stupefaction.
“Yuuichiro you can’t be friends with her” Shigure declares with a menacing voice.
“Huh?”
“I explained to you, right, Yuu? The origins of the Ichinose clan.” Sayuri adds.
“What are you guys talking about. What’s that got to do with anything?” Yuu asks confused.
“The Hiiragi clan and the Ichinose clan have been at odds for centuries brat.” Guren sighed out loud. “The families were once united, but there was a big betrayal because someone was assassinated. It caused a big conflict and the clans became enemies. At the present moment we are business competitors.” He explained. “I can’t believe you went an befriended one of the kids from that dammed family…” Guren groans.
“But that happened so long ago. That has nothing to do with me or Shinoa” Yuu says irritated.
“We can’t associate ourselves with the Hiiragi clan, Yuu” Sayuri smiles apologetic.
“You said the girl is the one who approached you?” Guren asks.
Yuu nods. “She is in my class with Yoichi”
Guren rests his hand on his chin, wearing a thoughtful expression. “It could be a trap”
Yuu furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean Guren-sama?” Shigure glares at the raven haired.
“The next clan head it’s Hiiragi Kureto. I’ve met him a couple of times. He is prepotent, greedy and a little bit callous. I don’t trust him, but he has expressed that once he is the clan’s leader, he wants our clans to come closer and make peace.” Guren reveals.
“That’s good, right? If they are powerful you can benefit from that” Yuu argues.
Guren sighs. “They could be trying to trick us”
“They can’t be trusted” Shigure adds and Sayuri nods.
“I just want to go see a tiger. Why are you making it be so complicated. Shinoa is still going to be in my class, and she can be pretty annoying” Yuu huffs.
“Okay” Guren agrees. “We’ll go to meet the tiger”
“Great! Thanks I— wait a minute. What do you mean we?” Yuu questions.
“I’ll go with you. That way we can determine if they ordered the girl to get close to you, so they’ll have a connection to our clan. It’s better to go directly to the source and show them that they can’t trick us” Guren alleges.
“I can’t just appear accompanied with you! It’s like going with your father, I’m not a little kid!” Yuu protests.
“Oh? You see me as your father, brat?” Guren smirks teasingly.
Yuu groans out loud. “Whatever. I’ll ask Shinoa…”.
With that Yuu leaves to his room. At dinner he informs his caretakers that Shinoa said that it was fine, that Guren could come too. “She teased me a lot about it! I will get revenge from this, stupid Guren!”
On Saturday, Guren and Yuu arrive and park the car next to the Hiiragi Manor.
“Whoa” Yuu whistles staring at the enormous house. “They are much more richer than you”
Guren clicks his tongue. “They are known to me merciless in business. That’s not how I like to do things” He claims.
They continue waking to the main door. “You said the tiger was that girl, Shinoa’s brother, right?”
Yuu nods. “Yeah, the tiger it’s not hers. She told me that it belonged his older sibling. It has to belong to the guy you know, right? The one who wants our clans to come closer”
Guren feels a quick spark of happiness at hearing Yuu including himself as part of the clan. He stayed with his original last name, even if legally he should be an Ichinose. “Not necessarily” The raven haired responds. Yuu quirks a brow at him. “I can’t really imagine Kureto having a tiger as a pet, not even as a power move. There’s another Hiiragi sibling. His name it’s Seishirō. He is a total imbecile, he looks more like the type of guy who would get a tiger just to show that he has an exotic animal”
“Yuu-kun!” A voice calling grabs the attention of the pair.
In front of the main gate, Yoichi waves his hand cheerfully. Next to him, Mika also waves his hand at him.
“Mika! Yoichi!” Yuu grins widely and runs to his friends.
“Good morning Yuu-chan” Mika returns a kind smile.
“Huh? You came too?” Yuu sends an unfriendly glance to Kimizuki, another student in his class.
Kimizuki huffs annoyed. “What of it?”
“Ah, good thing, we are all here already” A girl says joining the group of boys.
“Mitsuba!”
“Then let’s call Shinoa..— Who are you?” Kimizuki questions to Guren when he stops next to Yuu.
“That’s Yuu-chan’s caretaker” Mika replies., having already known Guren a couple of times. Although he is not particularly thrilled to see the man.
“Ha! You brought your father?” Kimizuki snorts teasingly. Yuu feels a blush coming to his face.
“I’m not his father. Call the intercom already. I came here for my own reasons, you brats don’t need to understand it” Guren moves his hand with indifference.
“You’re never too old to want to see a tiger” Yoichi interjects with an innocent and happily voice. Guren glares at him with a confounded face. Mika and Mitsuba silently laugh behind him.
Kimizuki presses the intercom.
“Hiiragi residence. Who— Ah! It’s for me, Aoba-san. Let me take care of it!” The group hear two voices speak.
“Shinoa?” Mitsuba calls.
“Ah, Mitsu-chan, I can see that everyone is here. Splendid. Come in!” Shinoa says through the intercom and the doors open.
The teenagers plus Guren, enter the Hiiragi Manor. The Ichinose observes that they are carefully being watched by the personnel of the residence.
“Hello guys!” A girl with purple hair and a big bow in her hair greets them. “Thanks for coming. Let’s not waist more time, Shinya is with the tiger now, so it’s a perfect moment to meet him. He always listen to him.” The Hiiragi girl claims as he motions the group to follow her to the gardens on the right side of the terrains.
Shinya? Guren mentally questions. Must be the tigers keeper. Then Shinoa meets eyes with him. The Ichinose frowns at how mature and mischievous her glare looks. “You must be Guren-san, right? Yuu-san’s caretaker” She extends her hand for him to shake in a polite manner. “I told Kureto nii-san, that you were coming, I hope that you don’t mind. He says he wants to speak with you. He is busy at this very moment, but he will come to greet you later. In the mean time, you can come with us to see the tiger, if you want”. Guren makes a sound of agreement.
The group walks around the Hiiragi Manor’s terrains. The place it’s big enough to be considered a whole neighborhood.
“Is it free? Don’t you have it in a cage?” Yoichi asks.
“He has his own space, but Shinya let’s him out when he is with him. But don’t worry, the tiger obeys Shinya, after all, he is the one who rescue him. Shinya was sixteen at that time, so, they’ve been together for years.” Shinoa explains. “Ah. There he is! Shinya!”
Some meter in front the group can distinguish two forms. One of them is huge and white and the other is clearly a boy. The boy, supposedly Shinya, waves back at Shinoa .
“The tiger is white! Oh it’s beautiful!” Mitsuba exclaims.
Guren glares at Yuu. He can’t hide that he is impressed and excited to see the animal, it makes the raven haired snort mentally.
Shinya walks to meet them and that’s when Guren fully sees him. Shinya is breathtaking. He is young, more or less his age, with silver/white hair and pale skin. His smile is warm and friendly. And his eyes. His eyes are the most beautiful blue, Guren has even seen.
“Hey, so this are your friends?” Shinya asks Shinoa who nods with a smile.
“It’s bigger than I thought it would be” Kimizuki comments.
“Oh… are you afraid?” Yuu teases with a mischievous smirk.
“It’s normal to be unsettle Yuu-kun. It’s a wild animal after all” Yoichi remarks.
“It’s like a big cat” Yuu huffs.
“Oh? We have a brave boy here… You think he is not dangerous?” Shinya asks with a smile that makes Guren tremble with an unknown feeling. It’s not amicably like before, it’s almost menacing.
“Byakkomaru” Shinya murmurs in a soft and serious voice.
A second after the silver haired utters those words, the white tiger who has been laying peacefully on the grass some meter away from them, roars loudly and begins sprinting like a wild beast at them.
Guren’s heart starts to beat out of control at the threat before him. The kids began to scream in absolute fear trying to get away from the animal.
“Yuu-chan!” Mika’s scream alerts Guren. Yuu hasn’t moved, paralyzed by the fear and the tiger is running towards him.
“Yuu!” Guren advances to stand in front of the animal but then a firm hand grabs him by the arm, making him unable to move. It’s Shinya. The Ichinose’s eyes widen in shock as he tries to get away from the grasp.
But he doesn’t manage to and he has to watch how the giant tiger jumps on top of Yuu.
“Yuu!” “Yuu-chan!” “Yuuichiro!” The kids scream.
“Let go!” Guren groans, turning around to punch Shinya.
The silver haired meets his eyes with a gently smile. “Look” He points to the tiger with his head.
Guren glares at the animal as sees him getting up. His violent attitude has disappeared, and on the ground it’s Yuu, completely unharmed although wearing a shocked and frightened face.
“Yuu-chan!” Mika moves beside his friend.
The tiger walks slowly to Shinoa’s side. It’s when Guren notices that the girl is not looking afraid like the rest of the kids.
“Well done Byakkomaru” The girl pats the tiger who purrs.
“Wha.. what’s the meaning of this!?” Kimozuki asks agitated.
“I told you it would be too much” Shinya says glaring the Hiiragi girl. He has still not let go of Guren’s arm.
“Ma.. but it was so fun to see Yuu-san acting so brave and just a second later being completely scared” Shinoa giggles.
Yuu manages to stand thanks to Mika. “This was a prank!?” He squeaks. Shinoa shows her tongue in a playful manner.
“Shinoa! That was too much!”
“I thought I was going to die!”
“You Hiiragi are absolutely mental…” Guren mutters in a low voice, although Shinya’s soft chuckle indicates that he has heard him.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself…” Shinoa offers.
Yuu huffs out loud. “Whatever. Don’t do that to your friends, okay?”
Guren notices that Shinoa’s face turns shocked at Yuu’s comment. I guess the stupid girl doesn’t have that many friends… He thinks.
Shinoa smiles gently. “You’re right Yuu-san. No more pranks, I promise. So, who wants to pet Byakkomaru?” She says as he caressed the tiger’s fur.
Surprisingly, It’s Yoichi the ones who approaches the animal first.
Guren observes as the children come closer and play with the tiger.
“Don’t worry, he won’t attack again. I have trained him well” Guren freezes at hearing Shinya’s voice in his ear. He turns around and meets the silver haired’s gentle smile.
“It’s crazy to have a tiger as a pet” Guren comments, looking at the other adult.
Shinya hums cheerfully. “Perhaps.” He brushes his shoulder with Guren. “You’re young to be the father of one of those…” He points to the children group.
Guren snorts. “Nah… I’m Yuu’s tutor. The boy who was attacked by the Tiger”
Shinya’s eyes widen a little. “Oh. I guess I should be happy that you didn’t break my nose when I stopped you to save the kid”
Guren grins. “I wanted to. But, your grasp was quite strong”. Shinya chuckles.
He has a nice laugh. Guren thinks. It’s a shame that the works for the Hiiragi.
“You live in the Hiiragi Manor?” Guren questions.
“Yeah. I do. I was living abroad for some time, and I decided to return to Japan” Shinya responds.
“Studying how to tame tigers?” Guren teases.
Shinya laughs. “Byakkomaru has been my loyal companion for years. Wherever I go, he goes”
“And I suppose that you’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future”
Shinya raises his eyebrow wearing a flirty expression. “Oh? Have I picked your interest?”
Guren meets blue amused eyes. “You wish” he snorts.
“I’m a very mysterious person. I know how to make things interesting” Shinya adds.
Guren chuckles. “Yeah, I bet”.
When the Ichinose decided to accompany Yuu, he could have never imagine that he would end up flirting with a Hiiragi servant. But, he has to admit that he is interested in the silver haired.
“They say that the Ichinose are trouble. You look like trouble all right”. It shouldn’t sound sexy, but Guren finds that he doesn’t mind if Shinya calls him a troublemaker.
“The Hiiragi can’t control us. And they absolutely loathe it”
“Which surely makes you very gratified” Shinya claims. Guren offers him a cheeky grin to which Shinya responds by laughing good-naturally. “So you came with your… protégée cause you think that Shinoa befriending him is some obscure tactic?”
Guren just glares at him, not wanting to confirm or deny anything. It seems that Shinya is very aware of the reality of the relationships between both clans. ‘So. He isn’t just an animal keeper… could he be a trusted retainer?’ Guren muses mentally.
“I can assure you that that’s not the case. Shinoa is not interested in the clan’s politics. She does not really brag about being a Hiiragi. But, I can’t blame you for being cautious” Shinya declares.
“And you?” Guren asks. Shinya quirks his brow in confusion. “Are you blindly loyal to the Hiiragi?”
‘Ah..’ Shinya suspires and grins. “I was brought to this family. I do not completely agree with everything they do. However, I have understood that they want an approach to the Ichinose clan. I didn’t really care, but considering…” The silver haired glares shamelessly at Guren from head to toe. “I might be in favor of that idea…”
“Maybe if the Hiiragi were more like you, I may consider it…” Guren claims playfully.
Shinya chuckles. “Don’t say that out loud, or they might send me to seduce you…”
“You think you can seduce me?” Guren grins suggestively.
“I thought I was doing a good job about it… Tell me, what does it take to seduce the mighty Ichinose Guren~” Shinya whispers, his lips brushing Guren’s ear.
‘You are doing a spectacular job’ Guren internally thinks. He has to admit that it has been long since he has felt this type of attraction for someone else. The fact that the silver haired works for the Hiiragi it’s becoming something unimportant. He has to admit that he wants to meet Shinya again once their visit to the Hiiragi Mansion ends, preferably in his house. In his bedroom to be more precise.
Purple eyes met blue ones, the tension between them is palpable. Guren hopes that the kids are busy enough playing with the tiger, so they don’t pay attention to the older men’s flirting.
The kids are indeed busy, but apparently Byakkomaru doesn’t appreciate when someone comes close to his keeper.
An angry roar breaks the intimate moment between Shinya and Guren. The raven haired eyes the animal with caution, the tiger seems to be in a bad mood, but curiously, it’s anger it’s not directed to the children, but at Guren.
Byakkomaru advances with a threatening aura towards the Ichinose. “Shinya… if it’s another prank…” Guren says, his eyes never leaving the animal.
“Byakkomaru. Stop” Shinya orders in a commanding voice, but the tiger doesn’t comply to it.
“I thought you said that he listens to you” Guren whispers to the silver haired. The tiger keeps roaring and making menacing sounds, he looks as if he is going to attack at any moment, and Shinya can’t control it.
“Byakkomaru. Down. Now.” Shinya positions himself between the beast and Guren, and glares at his tiger with harshness.
And the tiger and his keeper stare at each other for a few seconds in which they strangely appear to be having a mental conversation. In the end, the white animal decides to leave to rest in some rocks some meters away.
“That was weird…” Shinoa proclaims breaking the silence that has fallen into the group.
“I suppose our time with Byakkomaru has come to an end” Mitsuba adds.
“Oh, but it was fun! I did not expect to actually be able to play with the tiger!” Yoichi says with clear excitement in his voice.
The group of children soon begin discussing their encounter with the animal and who is the one who seems to have bonded more with him. Which apparently is Yoichi as Mika claims.
“I don’t understand what’s happened, Byakkomaru has never reacted like that to anyone before… not even Seishirō got a response like that…” Shinya comments glancing at the tiger from the comer of his eye.
Guren turns to face him. “Your tiger is clearly dumb if he prefers that brainless jerk over me” He huffs.
“I don’t know Guren… the tiger seemed to be very intelligent. Perhaps he just sensed how stupid you are” Yuu claims, entering the conversation.
Shinya lefts out a muffled chuckle at the comments that makes Guren sent him an aggravated glare.
“Shut up. In any case, it’s normal if the tiger prefers Seishirō. It’s his new master, right?” Guren puffed.
Shinya quirks his brow at him with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Seishirō bought the tiger, right?” Guren clarifies.
“Emm… no Guren… why would you think that?” Shinya questions.
Guren frowns. “So the tiger it’s actually Kureto’s?”
“What? No! Guren, Byakkomaru it’s my companion, it belongs to me” Shinya claims.
“Yeah, I get that, you’re his keeper, the caretaker. But, the the tiger was bought by the Hiiragi, right? So, technically now it belongs to them.” Guren explains. “The brat” He points with his head at Yuu. “Told me that the tiger was owned by one of the brothers”
Shinya’s eyes widen in surprise. “Oh.. I thought you knew…”
“Know what?—”
“Shinya. Shinoa” The arrival of Hiiragi Kureto interrupts the previous conversation.
“Hello, hello, Nii-san. Did you finish your work?” The Hiiragi asks.
Kureto nods. “Yes. And I can see that you have also finished playing with Byakkomaru. Was everything okay? The staff said they heard screams”
“Just a little prank that went a little bit overboard, Kureto nii-san, but everyone it’s fine” Shinya smiles at the the older Hiiragi.
Guren snaps his neck in Shinya’s direction incredibly fast.
“Guren, it was a surprise to hear that you were coming I didn’t know that Shinoa—”
“Wait” Guren interjects, interrupting Kureto, who raises his eyebrow affronted. “Nii-san?” Guren questions, staring at Shinya.
Shinya huffs a laugh. “Yeah, I thought you knew… but, since I’m adopted, it’s true that some people don’t usually count me as one of the siblings…” He scratches his back. “I’ll introduce myself properly then: Hello, I’m Hiiragi Shinya. Nice yo meet you Guren” The silver haired offers his hand to shake.
No. No, no no! Arggg really!? Guren’s mind groans.
“Shinya was adopted when he was nine. But, he is not really much involved in the business.” Kureto intervenes.
“But, my adoptive father wants me to be more involved. That’s why I came back.” Shinya adds.
“I actually wanted to put Shinya as a representative in a little project I have in mind. One in which I was hoping our clans could work as partners” Kureto reveals. Guren glares at the Hiiragi with skepticism. “If you have time, we can discuss it while the children play inside and have some snacks”
Guren turns to look at Shinya, who offers him a gently smile. The Ichinose nods and the group walk to the mansion.
A couple of hours later, Guren enters the living room where the kids are playing some bored games. “Yuu. We’re leaving”
“Already?” Yuu groans.
“You can come whenever you want, Yuu-san” Shinoa smiles.
“Yeah, we should do this again” Mitsuba claims and the others agree with her.
They say their goodbyes and Yuu and Guren walk to their car. The young boy glances at his caretaker from the corner of his eye. The man hasn’t said a word since he began driving.
“So, what they did offer you?” Yuu asks.
“None of your business. You’re not part of the company” Guren replies.
“Maybe they are not that bad. Shinoa is annoying but she is not bad. And that Shinya guy seemed nice. You looked like you liked him. A lot. I saw you laughing. You never laugh” Yuu presses.
Guren clicks his tongue. “It’s complicated. I don’t know if I can trust them”
“What’s your heart telling you. Not about the Hiiragi in general, or that Kureto guy who seemed to be a little bit cold-blooded, but about Shinya. Do you think you can trust him?”
‘I do. But what if I make a mistake by deciding to follow what I feel…’. Guren mentally thinks.
“You overthink too much” Yuu huffs and turns to look through the car’s windows.
~~~~~
“Guren-sama. Welcome home” Sayuri greets the Ichinose.
“Hiiragi Kureto has called. He says that if you are interested in what you discussed that now was the time to work on it. That you should call him” Shigure announces.
Guren groans out loud. He still hasn’t decided what he wants to do.
“Speaking of Hiiragi…” Sayuri mutters. Guren raises his eyebrow in her direction. The retainer meets the man’s glare. “We have a visitor.”
Guren’s heart skips a little beat. Shinya? The voice in his mind sounds hopefully. A week has passed since he met the man, and the raven haired hasn’t been able to forget about him. He knows that he wants to see him again and get to know him. It’s weird for someone to grab his attention like that, but it took Shinya less than an hour to do so.
If Guren agrees to what Kureto proposed, that would mean that he and Shinya would spend a lot of time together. And he wants that.
“What visitor?” Guren asks, trying not to sound too hopeful.
“She is in Yuu’s room” Sayuri replies.
‘She?.. oh. Her’. Guren clicks his tongue and walks towards the kid’s room.
“Yuu-san, trust me with this, the presentation will look better if we do this…”
Guren hears the voice of the girl as he comes closer to the room
“It looks too pink…”
“Nonsense. Izumi-sensei likes pink. You have to go with your heart with this things!”
“Who told you that?”
“Shinya” At the mention of the silver haired’s name, Guren stops at the doorframe to listen. “He always says that you can’t go wrong if you follow your heart”
Guren breathes out, pressing his head on the wall. Should he follow his heart too?
“In any case, I did the majority of this project. So it’s gotta be pink cause I say so”
“Huh!? Oi! That’s not fair Shinoa!”
Guren lefts out a little snort before knocking on the door and entering Yuu’s room. “Hey brat”
Yuu and Shinoa meet their eyes. “Stupid Guren!” “Guren-san, good afternoon.”
Guren scoffs. “That for school?” He says pointing at the mess of cardboards, pointers and paper on the floor.
“Yes. We have a presentation tomorrow, and we needed to finish it” Shinoa answers
“It’s okay that I invited her, right? It’s for school” Yuu asks looking at his caretaker.
Guren nods. “Yeah, I’ll let you finish”
A couple of hours later, Yuu and Shinoa exit the other’s room. Guren, Shigure and Sayuri were preparing dinner.
“Sayuri-san. Thank you so much for the cookies they were delicious. Oh, and could you make sure that Yuuichiro doesn’t forget the project at home tomorrow?” Shinoa smiles.
“I won’t forget!” Yuu complains.
“I’ll remind him tomorrow” Sayuri laughs softly.
“It’s late. Should I call a cab?” Guren asks
Shinoa shakes her head. “Someone it’s coming to pick me up. In fact… he is here already” The girl says checking her phone. “Guren-san, walk me? It’s only proper”
Guren frowns at her. He senses a trap, but accompanies her outside. There is indeed a car waiting at the entrance. He has expected a servant, but then Shinya exits the vehicle with a bright smile on his face.
“Hop in” He says.
Shinoa smirks to the Ichinose before entering the vehicle. Guren can swear that the smile looks a little devilish.
“Guren” Shinya calls him.
“Shinya” Guren greets back.
“I hope she wasn’t so much of a nuisance?”
“Nah, they were working on that famous project” Guren replies.
Shinya nods as he glares at Guren. It looks like he wants to say something more, but he is not sure if he should.
“Gure—”
“Shiny—”
The silver haired chuckles. “I just wanted to say that, I know you don’t trust Kureto nii-san, and I totally get it. You should be cautious in fact. But, I guess, I just wanted to let you know that you can trust me. If we were to work together, I’d be on your side, like an ally”
Guren meets the other’s deep blue eyes. He and Shinya working together, being partners. He wants that. He wants Shinya. “I suppose I’ll have to confirm that in the future”. Shinya tilts his head in confusion. “I’ll accept Kureto’s proposal. So I guess we’ll be seeing each other more”.
Guren is pleased to see Shinya’s expression turning gleeful. It seems he is not the only one who has been wanting to get closer to the other.
“Oh that’s great news! Can’t wait to work with you Guren” Shinya smiles. “We shall celebrate, we can go to have diner next week”
“With Kureto?”
“I was thinking it would be better just us two… if you want~?” Shinya says, his voice turning a little bit suggestive.
‘Oh I want to’ Guren thinks. “Sure. But you’re paying”
“How cheap! Usually the pretty one is the one who gets invited”
Guren snorts. “Who says you’re the pretty one”
“It’s quite obvious” Shinya says pouting at his face.
Guren rolls his eyes with amusement. “Whatever. You should leave. We’ll talk about it another time. Drive safely”
“Bye Guren” Shinya winks at him before entering the car to go back home.
Guren watches the car go and he feels a sense of excitement. He might be making a mistake, but he needs to take the risk. He wants to pursue what he feels for the Hiiragi.
The raven haired enters his home again and has diner with Yuu, Shigure and Sayuri.
“Yuuichiro, don’t stay late, you have school tomorrow” Sayuri orders.
“Yeah, yeah” Yuu says engulfed in his phone.
“If the phone is going to be problem, you’ll leave it here before going back to your room” Guren declares.
“I’m speaking with Shinoa. Who is telling me something very interesting…” Yuu smirks mischievously glaring at his caretaker.
“What is it” Guren asks unimpressed.
“Apparently you’re having a date with her brother… the one who owns the tiger” Yuu smirks again. Guren’s eyes widen.
“A-A date!?” Sayuri squeals.
“I’ll make sure to send the tiger after you. And this time it won’t be a prank” Guren says trying to sound threatening to cover up his embarrassment.
“I seem to recall that Byakkomaru didn’t like you at all… so good luck with that” Yuu leaves the room laughing out loud and leaving a distressed Sayuri and Shigure and an embarrassed Guren.
It takes indeed a very long time for Byakkomaru to simply tolerate Guren. Even after he and Shinya begin to officially date.
#gureshinweek2022#gureshin#owari no seraph#ons#guren ichinose#ichinose guren#shinya hiragi#shinya hiiragi#hiiragi shinya#byakkomaru#yuuichirou hyakuya#mika hyakuya#shinoa hiiragi#yoichi saotome
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now I'm laughing even harder because OH GOD KYOURAKU'S REALLY GOING TO ROPE JUUSHIRO AND SHINJI INTO IT. (new challenge: how many people can Sousuke torment and snap before the end of the week.) It's actually super sweet that Kyouraku's defending Shiori and Sousuke though! Even though Sousuke is just purposefully torturing him 😂 How do Juushiro and Shinji take to being teachers, and do they ever get out of this predicament? Do they, too, get to know Sousuke and Sayuri through this situation?
Yeah honestly Shunsui's unabashed support of his kids despite them not exactly making it easy for him (re: purposely making it as difficult as possible for him) is a huge factor in Shiori going from having a very reluctant attraction to him to eventually developing real feelings for him.
Sayuri did eventually join in on some of the lessons. She doesn't share Sousuke's borderline-sadistic enjoyment of messing with people but her twin has always had a way of bringing out her competitive side, and so they end up in a competition of sorts to see how far they can push their new 'teachers' before they give up.
Juushiro, bless his soul, honestly tries his best to help them out (as far as he's concerned, the twins are basically his niece and nephew after all). Shinji's viewpoint is that this is extremely cruel and unfair torture and he is definitely going to get back at Kyouraku for this. Jokes on him though because by getting to know Sayuri, he ends up unwittingly following in Kyouraku's footsteps and becomes the second captain to fall for a member of the superhero trio.
(Honestly by the time their secret comes out, like half the Gotei 13 is gonna be seriously emotionally compromised)
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I had expected to speak with him some time, only, i had not known when. I would seek him out soon; it had been so long since we had spoken... The briefest of meetings in the house proper almost did not seem real...
Zael, my old friend... How much of a comfort it is, to know you are not only well, but here...
Zael Rehw-setlas knocked on the door, each rap hard but controlled. "Sv-- Eir, you in here?" he called out before opening the door to peek in. "Thought I'd stop by and see how you were doin'." Of course, as he entered, he carefully sidestepped the plants, trying to keep a decent distance...
Eir Fellfrost's attention immediately snaps to the door. Knocking was something of an omen, often reserved for guests he had not expected. At the sound of the handle, his breath his held... And slowly, released in a sigh of relief as Zael pulls into view. "--Zael! It is good to see you." His smile is genuine, returning the watering can to the shelf and hopping down to the sofa to better greet him. "...You have been well, i hope?"
Zael Rehw-setlas gave the Viera a bright smile, one that easily met his eyes as he still oh so carefully avoided the clearly well tended plants. "Well enough! Dealing with loose ends for the Maelstrom while I get ready to shift things to here, mostly. They aren't too happy but I don't really care," he laughed heartily, lofting a shrug. "Settling in well from your trip?"
Eir Fellfrost: "Most things have returned to relative normality, yes. Sayuri trains with the commander, i attend to my performances and whatever duties Mist asks of me... It is a peaceful life. Within reason." His smile is warm, only fading a little at the corners as it lingered. "Please, sit if you wish. It... has been too long. Our meeting in the house was all too brief." He reaches for an orange, sitting comfortably on the sofa, legs kicked up on the pillows.
Zael Rehw-setlas took a seat nearby his friend, breathing a sigh of relief once the plants were no longer in immediate danger of his presence. "So you're still actively performing? I'll have to come see sometime." He nodded once to emphasize his point, though as he made himself comfortable, there was a clear sense of tenseness to him, as though relaxing was a bit difficult. "I wonder if the commander would let me train, as well... once I'm part of the company, at least."
Eir Fellfrost, however, seems completely at ease; at ease enough to recline into the pillows as he pressed his thumb into the peel of the orange to open it. "Indeed i am. I still use the moniker i did back in Thavnair... If you managed to catch it. I... Do not know how much you learned of me, when... Trying to find me." Eir slowly shakes his head. "It is almost difficult to believe you had searched for so long..." A small pause, as he glances up from the fruit. "...I would not see why not. Though from my understanding, both she and Sayuri opt to train in Coerthas." A quiet half-pause that seemed to linger in the air a little too long. "---Or Garlemald."
Zael Rehw-setlas lofted a vague shrug, a chuckle following. "I caught a few things... enough to keep track of you for some time, if not a few paces too far behind. Sure put my tracking skills to shame," he laughed, leaning back against the couch with his arm hooked over the edge. He blinked at the following information before realization dawned. "That actually makes sense with their aether. Not my favorite weather, but it seems as though it suits them, at the very least." His eyes flickered brightly as he looked over his friend. "You seem healthy - I'm glad. Not that a professional dancer wouldn't be."
Eir Fellfrost: "...It does. They venture there often. I do not begrudge it, even if i do not go with her. It is better to keep her skills sharp, if she is to be on the battlefield as frequently as she is." A segment of orange is bitten into with a hum. "...As healthy as i can be. No complaints." He smiles, gazing over his friend. "What of... Yourself? I... Hope life has been kind to you, these past hundred or so cycles."
...I hope his life has been kinder to him than it has to me, on occasion, but... Suppose i cannot complain so much.
I have lived a happy life, within reason. With B’nhara, and Lilya... Their passing was sad, but not tragic. They were not taken from me any more cruelly than it could have been. Just... Time, and many cycles of love and laughter.
Even... In the military. Though the horrors i witnessed were many, there was kindness there still. Friends, and... People i cared for. It could have been so much worse.
And now, i have another place to call home. A quiet life, but i have never wished nor wanted for more. I have a humble duty i find peace with, and i perform for enjoyment and coin.
And i have Sayuri, without whom i am so unsure i would have found the peace that i did.
Zael Rehw-setlas took in just how calm Eir seemed, recalling his memories of the timid, flighty boy he used to be. Granted, that last part was still a current 'problem,' but he'd certainly seemed to have calmed in the presence of these people, which brought a smile to his face. "Eh, militant life isn't easy, but it's not like it's killing me. I'm just ready to be on land more than water... Sometimes I still feel as though the ground beneath my feet is swaying, no matter how long I've stood on solid ground."
Eir Fellfrost: "I... Can understand that. In... Places..." His hesitation was evident, gaze dropping to the fruit he'd busied himself with. "...I cannot say i have been on so many boats, and those i have set foot on have rarely been a good experience. I am glad you are opting to stay, Zael. A hundred cycles might pass, but... We are friends, still. Even if much has changed."
Eir Fellfrost: "...It is so strange to hear you speak Eorzean. But it is not unwelcome."
You beam with delight at Zael Rehw-setlas.
Zael Rehw-setlas only knew so much about what had happened... but sadly, not enough that he would understand fully. Still, he nodded, idly tapping on the wooden platform behind him. "Yeah, I can understand that... I'd sorta prepared myself to hear you speak it, considering how much you vocally hated the jungle. I didn't think you'd continue to speak our mothertongue all this time. At least we both seem to have a solid grasp of it now, rather than fumbling in the beginning... Imagine trying to talk then."
You laugh at Zael Rehw-setlas.
Eir Fellfrost: "---My pronounciation was terrible, then. But i learned all the same. From books, no less. But... Living out in the world, it was easy enough to pick up." Silver eyes meet Zael's own, a remorseful sort of curiosity lingering in them. "How... Long did you stay? After i had... Left." His head hangs slowly. "...I am still regretful of the manner we parted in. I... I hope you do not resent me too terribly for it."
Zael Rehw-setlas lightly scratched his jaw in thought at the question, though he didn't seem discomforted by it. His own once green eyes shone a pale gold now, almost seeming to hold a gentle glow. "Not long... maybe a couple of weeks? You were the only person I considered a real friend, so when you left... I really had nothing to stay for." Shaking his head, his smile remained. "I don't resent you. I wouldn't have come all this way all this time if I had, right? More than anything, I'm relieved."
Eir Fellfrost: "...You do not know the comfort it brings for me to hear that. I... I would have told you, but it... I...." He trails, as his voice quietens. "...I was afraid. I... I saw what they had done to the others. Those they had... Caught." A small lump is swallowed, only now noting the change in Zael's eyes. "...I did not leave alone, Zael. You... May have surmised."
Zael Rehw-setlas reached over and gave Eir's ankle a gentle, encouraging squeeze. "You don't need to apologize... What's done is done. Now is what matters, right?" He grinned, giving a single nod, though it shifted into a curious line at his friend's statement. "I had wondered, but I never knew for sure. The last few weeks of either of us being there were a bit... messy, it felt."
Eir Fellfrost: "I... I know i became distant. I wanted you to know, it was never because of you." Some comfort is found in the squeeze, a fleeting smile at his lips. "...A... Woman. She was lost in the jungle. I could not... Bring myself to hurt her. And instead, i sheltered her. Moons passed, and the thought of her being discovered by the others and subsequently killed, i... Could not bear it. The sun i asked you to watch my things, when i took off in the name of errands...? The sun i fled?"
Eir Fellfrost: "It was not solely for my dissatisfaction that i left. But for her safety."
Eir Fellfrost: "...We were wed, in the end."
Zael Rehw-setlas silently listened, taking in every bit of information as though committing it to memory were top priority... however, at the news of them being wed, he lofted a brow. "...Was it age that took her, or...?" he asked softly, almost timidly, as though he were afraid to hear the answer.
Eir Fellfrost: "...It was." Eir's voice is soft, bittersweet, almost. "...We lived a long and happy life. I regret not a moment of my time with her." He gazes to Zael, sighing quietly. "...Did... You find anyone so special, Zael?"
...A hundred cycles is such a long time, even for a Viera. I was not a happy man, when he knew me last. But Zael? He has always seemed upbeat about his lot in life. He shared many of my views, back in Golmore... But i never knew if it was enough for him to leave.
...I am glad, that it was.
Zael Rehw-setlas sighed in apparent relief, glad to know that his friend had found some happiness... even if it wasn't long lived. He shook his head, laughing softly. "Hard to when you're a sailor. I found someone I fancy... but she's seeing someone else. Nothing I can do about it, so I might as well not let it get to me, right?"
You smile weakly at Zael Rehw-setlas.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I suppose. That... Sounds a difficult situation. But suppose if she is happy, it... Should be enough?" The expression falls only a little, tearing the orange in half to offer part to Zael. "...I am lucky enough to have found Sayuri. Though we have known eachother but a cycle, she... She is... Special." Eir's dissatisfaction with his words is apparent, as it is followed by a small sigh.
Zael Rehw-setlas reached over to accept the orange, fiddling with it slightly before popping a slice into his mouth. Being a sailor seemed to affect his manners, as he spoke with his mouth full. "So long as she's safe, that's all I care about," he shrugged, shifting his attention back to his friend as he spoke. Another raised brow was given. "Sounds like you're conflicted about something," he nodded, leaning his cheekbone against his knuckles.
Eir Fellfrost: "...Special is not an adequate enough word. Not even close. So many words, so many books i have read, and still i cannot find anything that comes even close to describing her. I... I want to tell her. But... I do not know how." His head is slowly leaned to the pillow, as though quietly sulking, even as his silver gaze met with Zael's for the duration.
Zael Rehw-setlas watched him with interest as he poetically attempted to explain his affection for the woman, a near amused smirk on his lips. Still, he let the man finish before even attempting to talk. "I'm not really a master of this sort of thing... sounds like you love her, to me. Have you said that to her yet?"
Eir Fellfrost: "...I do love her. I love her dearly. I have told her every sun since the first time, and those words have never lost their lustre. But it is... Something... More than that." He struggles again, a somewhat frustrated sigh given from the pit of his throat.
Zael Rehw-setlas: "Do you want to spend the rest of her days with her?" he asked pointedly, wiggling his left hand, ring finger specifically.
Eir Fellfrost: "I---" Eir looks away sharply, colour rising to his cheeks. "---Yes." His answer isn't even a hesitation, and no sooner is his gaze diverted, it is brought back. "---You must not tell her, Zael. Not a -word-!"
---I could trust him with such a secret. I could!
...Even for all our time apart, it feels like mere moments, now. Whatever has happened to him in those many cycles has not warped him into a bitter man, and for that i am so... Glad.
...And it eases me, to be able to speak of this to him. I have others friends, of course i do. But Zael is... There is a comfort in such longlived loyalty when i speak with him.
Zael Rehw-setlas barked out an amused laugh, lifting both hands in defense. "I wouldn't dream of ruining such an important moment, don't worry. I take it you're struggling to figure out how?"
Eir Fellfrost: "...The particulars of it. I... I have the ring already. I have thought of so many places, and yet, none of them suffice. But the moment.... The words. It is easy enough to tell me to simply say how i feel, but my words, they... I... I am not so good with them, and less so with such... Pressure."
Zael Rehw-setlas reached up and lightly scratched at the base of his own ear before ruffling his hair, a thoughtful breath leaving him through his nose. "I'm probably worse with frilly words than you are... I wouldn't be much help there. Have you considered actions? You're a dancer, perhaps you can do something along those lines?"
Eir Fellfrost: "...Perhaps? I... Have not thought of that. Hm..." His head slowly cants to the other side, considering. "...That... Might be easier. I need not worry about stumbling over my words, if i do not speak them..."
You smile at Zael Rehw-setlas.
Eir Fellfrost: "...It is a good suggestion."
...How would one propose with a dance? I... Am sure there is a way, no? And if not, i can surely make one...
Zael Rehw-setlas beamed, seeming proud of himself. "Hopefully it's a lot easier! I can't say I know the woman, but surely she'd be happy to be proposed to in a way that was special to you. I feel bad for anyone I end up asking to marry me, with my thick skull." He chuckled, knocking on his temple.
Eir Fellfrost extends his foot to lightly push as a reprimand to Zael's leg. "---Why should you feel sorry? What person would persue someone across continents and time with nary a word for a -hundred cycles-, Zael? You are a kind man, and your loyalty knows no bounds. Do not speak ill of my friend, Zael!" His retort is delivered with a smirk, even with the seriousness of his tone.
Zael Rehw-setlas practically snorted at the chastising, grabbing hold of Eir's foot to hoist it up in the air, tilting the man back playfully. "I'm hardly a romantic, even if I'm loyal! I've bedded plenty of people but never once pursued someone sincerely. Who knows? Maybe I'll finally have time once I'm not in the Maelstrom."
Eir Fellfrost makes a face at Zael, lofting a brow as the foot is hoisted. Half tilted back, he doesn't seem to mind, especially, not since the cushions were comfortable on his head. "Perhaps you have just not met the right person. A battlefield is hardly the place, for..." His voice unknowingly trails, as his words seem to gutter out, before speaking again. "...And perhaps you will. Anyone should be happy to consider you their beloved."
...I hope he finds someone like that, some day. Someone kind.
Someone that will not hurt him. I...
...Perhaps i can understand, some, the actions of the Commander... Even if i do not condone them.
Zael Rehw-setlas couldn't just very well tell Eir that he'd once held feelings for the man, though in a sense, that wasn't really a battlefield regardless. "If it happens, it happens. I'm not... really all that concerned with it." Placing down Eir's foot, he sighed, kicking his legs up onto the couch just beside his friend. "I'm sure you noticed the eyes, yeah? The girl I like... I saved her life. She had too much light aether welled up inside, so I took some into my own body through some weird process. I'm like your friends, but instead of fire or ice... I'm also light. Just, probably not as concentrated as they all are."
Eir Fellfrost shuffles back up to sitting, comfortable for Zael sat beside him and allowing room for his legs. "...I noticed. They are... Paler." He leans in, as though to look a little closer. "...I... Cannot say i know the intricacies of such things well, save for a base understanding." Concern worries his brow, then. "How... Does it affect you? You... Are not in danger, are you?"
Zael Rehw-setlas smirked, shrugging. "I'm not sure how it works either... I just agreed to it. Remember when I said the Maelstrom ain't too happy that I'm quitting? It's almost impossible to mortally wound me because my natural healing abilities have improved so much from it. Their little super soldier -can't- leave, right?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "There haven't been many effects... though plants don't seem to like me."
Eir Fellfrost: "---They cannot stop you leaving, can they?" A note of almost defensiveness hit his tone, as he inclines his head sharply with a frown. "--So you... Cannot be wounded? Or, at least... You can, but you will recover. If i am understanding right?"
Zael Rehw-setlas: "I'd like to see them try," he smirked, finally reclining fully, allowing himself to relax properly. "I can be wounded, but I recover quickly. Barely any time to bleed... It's kinda handy, really. Especially with the dumb shit I tend to get into."
Eir Fellfrost: "...It is a comfort. At least when you go to fight, the likelihood of you returning is... High." This, however, does not stop the knit of his brow. "...Have you... Been wounded often, Zael...?"
...The thought of him fighting is a little frightening, but he will be well. Moreso, now i hear of his abilities...
...It will not stop me worrying, mind. I know this all too well.
Zael Rehw-setlas shrugged. "No more nor less than any other sailor, I think. Clearly nothing fatal, if that's what you're worried about." He patted his chest in show, signalling that he was hearty and hale. "Funny thing, though, is that my eyesight came back with the light aether's influence." He pointed at his scarred eye, while pale, matched the other.
Eir Fellfrost: "...You lost your sight?" Eir asks, intrigued. The furrowed brow doesn't move an ilm, peering up to better see where he gestured.
Zael Rehw-setlas: "Just the one eye," he assured Eir, smiling. "Early on in the Maelstrom, during a skirmish. Someone got me good... but it didn't bother me. Made me look cool, the ladies said." He scoffed again, crossing his arms as he chuckled. "Got a lot of scars over the years, but I'm still kickin'."
Eir Fellfrost: "I... Am glad to hear it. I am not without my own, as you can plainly see." Eir leans back with a small waver of a sigh, his torso littered with varying scars, new and old. "...Have you... Always fought? Since you left Golmore?" The curiosity was muted, but present. "...You were always far better than me. Not that it took terribly much to best -me-, of all people..."
Zael Rehw-setlas looked over the scars, though he didn't see them in a negative light - they were fights that were won, or at least survived. "For the most part, yeah, be it beasts or men. Depended on the situation and if it was necessary... Then, the Maelstrom happened, and I was paid to fight. Not... the worst living, but a living nontheless.”
Eir Fellfrost: "Not... The worst, no. Consider many beneath this roof do much the same." Another anxious pause, with a question on his lips. "...How... Did you come to fight for the Maelstrom?"
Zael Rehw-setlas hummed as he recalled back, his toe 'tapping' in the air. "Around the time they were first banding, they were looking for soldiers... I happened to be in the area at the time, so... being able bodied, no leads to where you had gone from there, and no job... it felt like a good idea at the time.”
Eir Fellfrost: "...It makes sense. It would be stable coin. And... You are good at fighting." He gives a small nod. "...I worked in the markets for various merchants, before dancing. In truth, dancing was more of a pasttime back then, even if i did garner the occasional performance. But here, in Eorzea, is where it has become my means of employment. Aside from the duties i have running messages, here."
Zael Rehw-setlas nodded, surprised to hear him working as a merchant, but a job was a job. "I can see you being a good messenger... You've always been quick on your feet, I'm sure you made communications easy for many." He gave Eir an encouraging smile, nodding once.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I... Did." Eir glances away. The smile was comforting, but Eir's features knit with guilt. "...It is a much kinder affair, here in Eorzea..."
...Better now i need not flee from the encroaching gunfire. That my recipients are alive to recieve my messages.
...That it no longer feels so... Life or death.
Zael Rehw-setlas nodded, having just been about to say something... but he blinked and placed a pair of fingers to his ear, listening in before rolling his eyes. "Speaking of..." he groaned, coming to a stand. "I gotta get going for a bit... but I'll be back to bother you eventually." He winked, grinning.
You smile at Zael Rehw-setlas.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I am hoping for it. Be well, yes?" A softer, warmer smile. "...It was good to see you."
Zael Rehw-setlas nodded, his own smile softening. "You, too."
...And it was. It was so good to see him, happy and well, even after so long. I only wished we had longer to speak with eachother, but... There will be time, yet. Hopefully not another hundred cycles...!
I do wonder for all that has happened to him, in our time apart...
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sayuri in hq rambles for the evening. got longer than i expected. is also a little more romantic sounding than i had meant it to be but here goes lmao.
--
There was a group of first year girls in a crowd in the middle of the hallway. The way they were giggling and blushing could only mean one thing: Sayuri’s headache was going to get even worse than it had been this morning when she woke up.
“Get out of the way,” she said loudly and when nobody moved and the giggling increased she started pushing people “Let me through.” She looked to the source of the disturbance, a tall, brown haired annoyance in her every waking moment. “Can’t you take your fanclub somewhere else? So people who want to get to class can do it?”
Tooru looked down at her, always with this half condescending smile that she had to resist to punch each time she saw it. “Oh, Sayuri-chan,” he cooed, with this voice of his that made her want to chew glass instead. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you there.”
“Just get out of the way, idiot!” She pushed another girl to the side, maybe a little harder than necessary and garnered some angry looks from the crowd.
Sayuri elbowed her way through the last of them. “She is always so aggressive to Oikawa-san,” one of the girls whispered to her friend, to which the other replied: “That’s why she isn’t popular”, but Sayuri paid them no mind. People who actively liked Oikawa Tooru couldn’t be friends with her anyway.
_
There was nothing worse than penalty training. Sayuri liked running, she liked tactics, she liked giving the attack the perfect pass for a goal, but she didn’t like standing at a white point in the grass, staring at the wide goal and the pressure to score penalties brought with them. It made her nervous and in the last tournament she had missed one. But on top of all that was bad and terrible, the girls lined up behind her were talking about Tooru, again.
Apparently they had been watching a training session of the volleyball team earlier, before practice. They were now considering going to one of the matches so they could cheer for him. It was always the same nonsense, ever since they had been in pre-school together. Oikawa Tooru was handsome, he was at least faking nice-ness and he was a passable enough athlete so that the school hailed him a hero. Well, if he would play a real difficult sport to play and not the wishy-washy sport that was Volleyball, maybe Sayuri would respect him more, but as it stood he was nothing but wasted space and breath.
“I have never seen anyone serve like him.”
Sayuri’s face frowned in disgust.
“Yes, yes, he must be the best in the country!”
Her hand cramped up in silent anger as she prepared to make her shot.
“Incredible, how good he is.”
She ran backwards and hit the ball with the front of her foot, sending it sailing far past the goal posts. Her teammates cheered and laughed as they always did when one of them failed a shot so badly. Sayuri could feel her cheeks warm in embarrassment. Now Tooru was even invading her training.
“You shouldn’t talk about Oikawa-san in front of Sayuri, she will be unable to function normally,” their team captain Tsunematsu Saya told the girls that had been gossiping.
One of them whispered to Saya: “Does Uchiha-senpai hate Oikawa-san so much? He is always so friendly!”
Sayuri stepped to them. “Actually, I don’t know why you all like him so much honestly.” She threw her braid over her shoulder. “I’ve heard he is a total idiot when it comes to relationships. Doesn’t know how to treat a woman to save his life. Cheats a lot too. Just overall scum. And I would know, I’ve been in a class with him since I was five.”
The girl's eyes went wide, but Saya intercepted: “She- she is just joking.”
“Am I?” Sayuri rolled her eyes.
-
“Sayuri-chan~” Tooru always drew her name out in this incredibly annoying way and so Sayuri decided to ignore him and focus on finishing the homework she had forgotten for the next lesson.
Of course that didn’t stop him from taking a chair, turning it and sitting down in front of her, this fake smile on his face again. “Sayuri-chan, it was not very nice of you to tell the girls of the football team things about me that aren’t true.” He took the pen out of her hand and forced her eyes up to look at his. “People might start believing it.”
This was what this intrusion was about? She put her head to the side: “So people started spreading it?” Then she laughed, a full belly hearted laugh. “That's hilarious, I’m glad it does.”
“It’s unfair of you, Sayuri-chan! I asked someone out and now she doesn’t want to go with me.”
She kept laughing, she could just not take him seriously when he talked in that baby voice. “Sucks for you, Tooru, try next.” Sayuri took the pen from him again and proceeded to pay his further complaints no mind. Eventually Iwazumi came over to collect him.
-
Saya wanted to discuss strategy and Sayuri loved nothing more. They were both sitting in the school yard and scribbling into their notebooks, while from the gym the sound of balls being tossed could be heard. The volleyball team needed the gym so often nowadays that the basketball club was annoyed, but now that Tooru was captain he always got his way. Another point for the endless list of what sucked about him.
Sayuri followed this group of girls as they made their way across to the gym clutching their school bags and giggling. It was just the same group of fangirls again. For the life of her Sayuri could not understand why people were so enamoured with this guy, someone who by no means was a good man, or a good looking man, or a nice man or a man at all. He was more like three little slim guys in a volleyball jersey.
The girls went on their tip toes so they could look through the windows of the gym. “Hey, they are doing closed practise,” Sayuri yelled over and Saya, who had still been deep in her tactics analysis, jumped at the sudden noise.
One of the fangirls, a blonde girl from 1-B that Sayuri recognised from the hallways, led the pack of them over to where Sayuri and Saya were sitting.
“I always thought it was weird that you didn’t like Oikawa-san when he is such a gentle soul-” Sayuri made a choking nose and acted as if she was throwing up. “- but now it makes perfect sense.”
Sayuri stopped pretending to throw up. “Huh?” she asked, confused.
“Oikawa-san has told us that you treat him this way because you have a crush on him. Because you are jealous that he is not hanging out with you as much as you did when you were children,” the girl elaborated. “You lash out, because you want him to pay attention to only you, I understand that very well.”
Sayuri exchanged a look with Saya.
“He said what?”
-
“That is a bold faced lie!”
“Just admit it, it won’t hurt you.” Tooru tossed a ball into the air and caught it again, while Sayuri tried to keep up with his much larger footsteps than hers.
She was so angry she felt she could throw him out of the window here and now if it wouldn’t for sure land her in jail. “I never had a crush on you and you know that.”
“Absolutely you did, when we were children.” He stopped so he could face her directly, which forced her to run front faced into his shoulder. “You always brought me little bugs to look at that you found, remember.”
Sayuri gestured wildly: “That was Iwazumi.” She pointed at the boy. “I don’t even LIKE bugs.”
“Hey bugs are very interesting!” Iwazumi said from behind them. “Besides, I don’t want you guys to pull me into your little turf war.”
Tooru whistled a little and shrugged: “Must have mixed up the people who had a childhood crush on me.” Then his eyes darkened: “Sucks for you Sayuri-chan that people can easily spread things that are not true.
“You little shit, I will pay you back.” Sayuri stormed off.
-
Unfortunately, coming up with a revenge plot was infinitely harder now that everyone thought Sayuri was just a spiteful jealous lover who wanted the oh-so perfect Oikawa all for herself. No matter how much she insisted that he was nothing to her but a thorn in her side that she wanted to lose, the people kept insisting that there was no need for her to hide her feelings.
She wanted to strangle him each time she saw him in class, rip his hair out and hang him up for all to see. Look at your little prince, he is nothing but a tall boy who can’t even win a damn game of volleyball to save his life.
Where had it all gone so wrong? Why had she chosen this school after she had chosen the other middle school and the first elementary school? Yes they were all close to each other and close to where she lived, but what was the point of going to every school that Oikawa Tooru also went to? If only she had known what trouble this would cause her year after year, maybe she would have decided to go to another part of town, even if that meant taking the bus in the morning.
Instead she was forced to look at his stupid face every morning and dispel these nasty rumours he had made up about her. What bothered her the most was that he must have been aware that it would be much harder for her to clarify the misunderstanding, much harder than for him at least, because nobody liked her in the first place, at least not like they liked him. What she had lied about him wasn’t even as bad in comparison, as far as she knew he was already happily dating again, while Sayuri still couldn’t convince people to believe her.
Her anger culminated in an afternoon in the school year where she was hounded by a group of girls that really wanted to know how Tooru had been like as a kid, back when Sayuri had “fallen in love with him.” She had already told them that she had never, wasn’t and would never be in any kind of relationship with him, but they brushed it off with a “Sayuri-senpai, you don’t need to be shy” as if that was the issue, when Tooru stepped from the school entrance into the yard.
Sayuri let go of the ball she was holding and stopped it with her left foot, while the girls who had been pestering her were swarming to annoy Tooru instead. Her eyes were focused on the stupid smug face he was carrying when he looked at her and how his eyes softened and his smile became more fake as soon as he saw the other girls approaching.
She dug her toes under the ball and lifted it up as if she was going to hit it with her knee. Instead of that though, she cleanly put it onto the inner part of her left foot, her strongest and most accurate scoring position. She kicked, with all the rage and anger and frustration and embarrassment that the last couple of days - years - had brought her. She did not move her eyes from Tooru’s face for any second of it.
The ball flew fast and crashed hard. The crack was so loud that someone later claimed that half the city must have heard it. And there was so much blood.
-
“She aimed for the wall behind me.” Tooru’s voice sounded muffled with the paper he was pressing against his still bleeding nose. “I just happened to walk out into the direction of the ball.”
The teacher raised his brows: “Is this really what happened?”
“Yes, I just didn’t look where I was going.” There was the fake laughter again. “Uchiha-san is a very accurate shot, I should have been careful from the start.”
Apparently the teacher had as hard of a time as Sayuri had believing that Tooru was willfully covering for her, so he said again: “I know you two fight a lot in hallways and such. Are you sure, Oikawa-kun, that you don’t think it was retaliation? You do not need to protect her.”
“I’m very sure,” Tooru looked over to Sayuri with a smile that seemed almost genuine. “After all, Uchiha-san and I have always been great friends. We just like teasing. Right?”
There was still so much blood running out of his nose. If it wouldn’t stop soon they might need to call an ambulance, Sayuri thought. “Right,” she said and averted her face from his. “I aimed for the wall as he said.”
Their teacher sighed deeply. “Well then, Uchiha-kun, from now on don’t kick balls in the schoolyard anymore. Keep that for the field.”
-
They sat side by side at the school gates waiting for the ambulance to come.
“I would have probably been suspended,” Sayuri said after a long period of neither of them speaking.
Tooru still couldn’t speak well, blood continuously running out of his nose no matter how many pieces of paper he pressed against it. It was now obvious that Sayuri had broken it, and though she had wished and hoped for this several times, she still felt bad now that it had happened.
“Yes, quite likely,” Tooru replied. “But you didn’t.”
“You didn’t have to cover for me, you know,” she said, now waving energetically again. “You are in pain because of me and have to go to the hospital because of me and it’s my fault that you are missing practice.”
Tooru laughed and it was a real laugh, which seemed rare nowadays. “There are more important things than volleyball practice.”
“Are there?”
“Well, no,” he laughed again. “But there is nothing that can be done about that now.”
She leaned her head against the entrance stone. “You could have just told the truth, I mean I’m sure you want me to be suspended after all I’ve said about you.”
“You know, I don’t know what happened between our childhood and now, if it was elementary, middle or highschool that made you despise me so much you would be willing to break my nose for it,” Tooru looked at her, “Just know that I never hated you.”
Sayuri had no opportunity to say something in return, because in that exact moment the ambulance turned the corner.
-
She felt bad, when she was in detention.
She felt bad when she came home late and skipped dinner.
She felt bad when she was in the bathtub trying to unwind.
And she felt bad when she was lying awake in the darkest of night, unable to find any sleep.
Not that Sayuri had been close friends with Tooru when they were in pre-school, but they had sort of stuck together since they lived in the neighbourhood, so it wasn’t like his question was too out there. When had she started getting annoyed by his presence so much?
-
“T… Tooru…”
The group of girls that was surrounding him as always turned around when Sayuri spoke and one of them clearly whispered to her friend “That’s the jealous bitch who attacked him.”
“Okay everyone~” he said in his fake friendly voice, “I want to speak to Sayuri-chan alone, please.” They walked off, but not without throwing an angry look at her in passing.
Sayuri took something out of her backpack, a paper bag with pastries. “I…., you know, nobody irritates me as much as you? Just everything about you is so contrary to what I like, your stupid smug smile, your mean streak, your fake laughter, the way you make friends so easily and effortlessly, it’s all just not in my nature.” She held the bag in her hand tighter and crumpled the paper. “So I don’t think I can ever like you and I’m sorry for that. Here, I brought you some milk bread.” She pushed it over to him. “Everyone is always so annoying about the fact that you like them so much apparently.”
He blinked for a moment and said nothing so Sayuri quickly added: “If you don’t want it then I will eat it.”
“No, I want it,” he ripped it out of her hands. “I didn’t know you also liked it.”
“Of course, I do, it's delicious, who doesn’t?” She pouted.
Tooru took one of the pastries out and handed it to her. “Take this one then,” he said. “You can also be very irritating, you know. Let's make peace for now.”
BAffled she stared at the bread. “Uh- alright,” she said because she didn’t know what she was expected to say.
“Also please if you could, don’t bash my head in again with a football. My face will be ruined if my nose is broken more than twice.” He rubbed his finger over the nose bridge that was now bandaged up.
Sayuri threw her braid into her neck: “Well if you’d play a more demanding sport than volleyball you would possibly have the athletic ability to dodge it next time.”
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Devil's Manner | Mikazuki | Ch4 | OH GOD OH FUCK
There wasn’t a real sense of malice in choosing Sayuri—it was just the easiest way to get a victim that they could think of. The easiest way not to starve or violently die.
Her and Tsuneo had been the same—Hayato didn’t earn any ire, just had the misfortune of being someone who would fall for it. The biggest difference was that Hayato survived.
Well, that and who bought it.
So it’s difficult for her to be all that angry in some ways. After all, she’d do the same thing as Loic in this situation.
She should have put a bit more thought into how much more willing someone would be to lie for their brother. How deeply someone would think about lying back and forth if they were clever. And Maxime was clever, obviously.
Clearly though, he could be clever and insane.
Mikazuki knew that there was something deeply wrong with Maxime the moment he’d shoved her into the jaws of that monster. They’d spoken about and resolved it, but now Mikazuki is wondering if that was just another convincing act too.
“Hahaaa…well played. Maybe you ought to find some Oscar bait drama to star in, Loic.”
There’s not any humor in her voice, and she’s gripping the podium to keep her hands from shaking.
Her feelings keep circling back and forth. She doesn’t regret a word she said to Loic, given she was still correct about how pathetic and judgmental the way he saw the world was, and she still thinks it was cruel to target Sayuri of all people. If she was in this position, had what Mikazuki suggested gone through and Maxime killed them instead of Sayuri…Sayuri would probably try to understand to some degree. Mikazuki isn’t kind enough to want to do the same out of some form of empathy, but they still have questions.
Taking a small breath, Mikazuki stands up and properly faces Maxime, her face frozen in neutrality as she struggles to decide what emotions are worth expressing
“...you’ve been sick longer than anyone, haven’t you? Living with those types of parents made you vulnerable to that whole thing, then?”
Ok, maybe she empathizes a little bit. Of course a person from a twisted environment would become twisted.
“And–are you really ok with leaving your brother behind just to get away from us? I find that hard to believe. I don’t know how much of anything you were was real aside from you getting me attacked by that thing, but–it sounded like you were still a good brother even with what you’d lived with.”
She freezes hearing Loic get punched in the face–conflicted, really, between their feelings as someone who finds Loic distasteful and pathetic and their feelings as an older sibling.
Mikazuki will never forgive Maxime, but it won’t be worth even trying to understand him if he’s really ok with leaving his little brother behind in hell.
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for @lemony-snickers (and @kankuroplease before she tortures me with feet pics again)
some platonic bed sharing. Sayuri never leaves AU.
Sayuri listened to the sounds in the house dying down after her father had made it upstairs in their little half of a house and closed his room. She heard the lock turning and knew that his sleep was a matter of minutes away. Why he locked his room every night she did not know, but she didn’t want to risk the anger when she asked him, so she didn’t. Rule number one in the Uchiha household: don’t ask too many questions.
She counted down in her head. 1000 down. This was usually long enough for him to be fast asleep. Her room in the house overlooked a flat entrance roof that she was skilled in climbing up and down and her window was nothing but light wood that could be moved. Even if not, Tenzou–kun had been nice enough to make her a key for the window with which she could lock and unlock it from the outside.
1000 numbers counted down and she listened into the quiet again, making sure she could hear the soft snoring from the other room. How her mother had ever survived with someone snoring so loud that it was audible through two closed doors was a mystery to Sayuri, but then again so was everything that regarded her mother’s supposed love for her father. Who could ever fall in love with a person like that?
Sayuri put her hands together and with a quiet PLOP a second version of her turned up. Her father rarely checked her room until waking up time, and even then she usually ran downstairs before he could come in, but she always left a clone behind just in case. They nodded at each other in a silent understanding. Sayuri watched herself undress and slide under the covers while the real version of herself made her way through the window, down the roof, through the streets out of the Uchiha compound.
It had been a while since she’d snuck out last, but it felt so good knowing she’d actually get a good night's sleep for once. She was long since used to sharing her bed with someone else, no longer used to falling asleep on her own, even if it was still necessary sometimes. Unfortunately the mission schedule made it difficult to organise sleepovers over long stretches of time, at least now that she was a Jonin herself. She jumped up a few buildings and climbed up a wall until she ended up at a window. It was already cracked open.
“You’re fast”, Kakashi said, back turned sitting on the floor of his own apartment, half of the Anbu uniform lying scattered on the floor. “I’ve just come home.” Sayuri jumped in and threw her sweater with the Uchiha symbol on her left arm away before she did anything else. Underneath she was wearing a black tank top, very simple, one of her favourites, though it had lately begun to be a bit tight around the waist. “Well, you send me the symbol” she said and picked up the pieces of armour he left on the floor.
They had perfected the dance of this after years of spending the night together. Kakashi would send one of his dogs out to find her during the day he would be back from a mission, so that she knew that she could visit in the night. He always left his window open too. Sayuri looked around the room and then at Kakashi, a little smeared with blood and lids hanging lower than usual. “Though week?” she asked and could already read the answer in his face.
Kakashi hummed just long enough for her to understand that this was not the evening for talking. Wordlessly she helped him out of his uniform, a part of his arm protection broken. “Bathroom”, he said finally and waved. Sayuri had already taken a bath back home, so she wasn’t going to go again, instead she sealed the uniform away and put out new clothes for him. In situations like that she felt a little like his older sister and that even though she was younger and smaller.
She made tea too and filled it in nice round green cups to put onto the nightstand. She had bought him these tea cups just for his birthday a few weeks ago and in some way also for herself. Kakashi came out, hair damp under a towel, wearing the clothes she had put out for him. He blinked at the tea she had prepared and then emptied it in breath. “Ready?” she asked and smiled at him, taking a step back so he could go in first, as usual. Kakashi did, climbing under his own sheets to the back wall to lean against it and Sayuri followed him.
If they had started doing this in adult age maybe they would have been more aware of the awkward implication of sharing a bed with the opposite sex. Of how it looked that she made tea and brought his clothes and that he offered an open window to her whenever she needed it. But they had started doing this as teenagers, when the only worry in their lives had been the recent loss of two of their friends and their teacher. Touch starved and needing affection they had clung to each and never let go. It had become a habit, a habit that could not be broken by adulthood’s awareness of awkwardness.
Kakashi lended his arm so that Sayuri could roll into it, head bumping into head. It was not that she hadn’t noticed how he had grown taller and stronger, how his arms had gotten larger and his face a bit more refined. She could see it. But none of that made sleeping next to him feel more intimate or weird than it had before. They were friends and that was that. She was pretty sure that was how he felt too. Plus Sayuri slept terribly when he wasn’t there and so did he, at least from what he had told her. They had gotten used to it too much and now they needed it to be free from nightmares and regret.
“There were bodies,” Kakashi murmured quietly, staring at the ceiling, one arm behind his head. “So many. Hung. They had been hung.” Sayuri shivered at the image. She wasn’t used for these missions, the mission ANBU was used for and so the only contact she had with them was when Kakashi told her about them. “So many,” he breathed. “An entire family. Hung. Elders, parents, children.” He paused, then: “Who would do such a thing?”
“Someone who feels a deep hatred”, Sayuri said, knocking her head again into his cheek. Kakashi sighed, eyes still wide opened. The moonlight shone over his face, the deep lines under his eyes looking even deeper than usual. Just like her he had probably slept terribly, and horrors he had just described probably didn’t help. “Tenzo-kun brought you home?” Sayuri asked and Kakashi closed and opened his eyes to show his agreement. Tenzo was in the same ANBU-team. A younger boy, who was a very reliable friend to Kakashi and therefore a friend to Sayuri. He always made sure his captain got where he needed to be, especially when Kakashi wasn’t feeling good. Sayuri cherished the boy a lot.
Kakashi now leaned his head against hers, his eyes closed: “Tell me about your week.” Apart from her family troubles Sayuri’s life was generally easier to digest than his. So sometimes to fall asleep he just let her talk about things that happened to her, somehow, hearing one of the last friends he still had talking about mundane, ordinary things, calmed him down. Sayuri stretched and laid on her back, head still leaning against his cheek. “Dad yelled at me”, she opened and Kakashi laughed: “Did he now, really?”
“He yelled at me because I came back from my mission a day later than scheduled. When I told him that I only came home late because I was injured and couldn’t hurry back home he told me that Uchiha’s don’t make excuses.” Sayuri looked up into Kakashi's moonlight face. He smiled. “That’s not funny!” she said and made him smile even wider. He cracked one eye open. “I’m sorry,” he said short, but apologetically. “Well, anyway, he yelled at me. Which is always nice.” She rolled over so her back was laying against his front. Kakashi let his other arm fall over her.
“Gai-kun took me sparring, he told me I am fast and strong and youthful” Sayuri grinned, “I love him.” Kakashi hummed. “Honestly, is there anything more uplifting after your father yells at you than a sparring session with Gai? He is just so positive, after meeting him you just can’t feel bad about yourself.” Kakashi hummed again but also added quietly: “Try being his rival.” Sayuri shrugged her shoulders a little: “I think you are lucky to have him. He really looks out for you, you know? Tenzo-kun, Gai-kun and I are the Kakashi feel good squad.” He scoffed but moved a little closer to get more of the body warmth.
“I got a short mission, just a fetch mission, took me about a day into the forest and back. Largely boring, but it pays the bills”, Sayuri continued and noticed that Kakashi had started breathing slower. She closed her eyes too, but continued talking. “I’m thinking of becoming a Jounin sensei, you know? Eventually. Maybe soon, who knows. Kushina-sensei was 19, so maybe I could too…” Kakashi could just about get himself out of enough drowsiness to give a grunt as a reply. His head fell forward into her hair and she could feel his warm breath in her neck. From wide awake to fast asleep in 10 minutes. They could never do that if they weren’t together. That was why they kept doing it.
She listened to his breathing, the heartbeat against her back pumping slowly and it made her sleepy too. She thought of the night before when she had been unable to shake off the insomnia until the very early hours of the next day and how sleepy she felt now in comparison only at midnight. There would come a time when Kakashi would find someone as a partner and she could no longer stay in his bed as his friend, of course she knew that was the case. But all of that seemed so far away, a problem for a different person, an older person, that wasn’t her. Right now all she felt was a warm feeling of security and homelyness and the heavy pull that dragged you into deep sleep.
#oc: sayuri#au: sayuri never leaves#i hope i have pleased the gods and deserve no punishment for sadness and angst#look they are HAPPY#HAPPY lEMONY OK#we ignore what happens to her in about two years#fanfiction things
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Hello, Impavid! I hope you and everyone at home is safe and healthy! How’ve you been doing?
So far so good! We wear our masks and wash our hands and respect restrictions and take care for ourselves and our neighbors because we aren’t selfish jackasses.
I’ve been teaching at home via Zoom, which has had a learning curve in terms of teaching groups of people (I’ve been using it for private one on one lessons for some time now) but I’ve gotten the hang of it by now. I like new tech so I’ve enjoyed figuring out all the ways it can help me. My son is also doing distance learning at school at the moment as well.
I got a new desk - an electric standing one - and I moved it into my bedroom a week ago and like most autistic people it’s taking me awhile to adjust (I keep walking into the room where my old desk was and standing there, lost, LOL). The whole standing while working thing is weird! Not bad, just different.
Also, there is still full-on winter where I am and it snowed yesterday so BOOOOO.
Right now I am typing this to you and my Sayuri (my tuxedo kitty) is rolling along on her back on my bed, talking to me and informing me that a)I should be feeding her breakfast and b)I should also be petting her belly, so here it is for my perusal and c)I should move the desk up and down so she can sit on it and ride up and down. I try not to do this with her because she is fiercely intelligent and will, I know, easily figure out how to manipulate the switch to move the desk up and down herself which will mean she will do it all the time. (She already figured out how to use the remote to turn the TV on in the middle of the night and so we have to hide it overnight; first we just put in a drawer in the tv stand but she knows how to open drawers so that didn’t work so now we put it in the ottoman which has a storage bin because she doesn’t have enough strength to take the lid off of that although she might figure out the leverage for it, give her time, she’s already up on that fucking thing trying to do it as it is. She is aptly named, let me assure you. I just tried to take a video of her for you but as soon as she heard the noise from my phone which signifies recording she jumped at it because she knows it means I am recording. Like, you might think I am exaggerating but I am not, she is the smartest cat I have ever had in a lifetime of cats.)
Other than that I’m here. I’m an introvert so being at home isn’t as difficult for me as it is others but I also like being able to go about when I want to. It’s the same as anyone else. Finland is vaccinating people but it is going very, very slowly, or at least in my area. I haven’t been close to being eligible yet.
I have been writing some on an abandoned RWBY fic (not your fandom, I know, sorry!) because of some frankly amazing comments I got from a reader which goes to show, comments really do fucking matter.
I do play Animal Crossing every day because I am not tired of it yet and it chills my anxious ass right the hell down (and if any of you play and are looking for another friend let me know and we’ll exchange codes).
I am also reading A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (which is SO GOOD) and a few days ago I made Shropshire Butter Buns for my kids and if you like to bake, I suggest you try these because they were astonishingly good (I left out the lemon curd on some of them because my son doesn’t do lemon and they were just as delicious) and I also shaved the hindquarter area of my ancient Norwegian Forest Cat Oliver Twist because he can’t groom himself properly anymore and gets terrible mats and loathes it when any of us comes near him with a brush but he doesn’t mind the clippers and honestly? He looks a little funny but he’s actually happier and a lot more comfortable so that was a good purchase. (He’s an indoor kitty so he won’t get cold, no worries.)
Was that more than you wanted to know? Probably! :D
How are YOU doing? No, for real. Andy by that I mean the exquisite Lady, of course but also any others of you reading. Let me know.
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Having Important Life Lessons About the Meaning of Life and Friendship Imparted to Them, a Guren and Yuu Parallel
Now before I get into it, I should say that I’m not going to really get into personal thoughts on Yuu and Guren’s relationship. That would take forever. I also won’t dwell too heavily on how successful Guren was at imparting these life lessons to Yuu as that’s easily up for debate. This is strictly meant to be an analysis/pointing out of how both Guren and Yuu had similar lessons imparted to them.
This gets a bit long with all of the screenshots, so it goes under a keep reading.
Say what you will about Guren, but it’s undeniable that Guren was important to Yuu’s growth in the 4 years between when Yuu escaped Sanguinem and the current day. Because we spend so little time dwelling on that period of time, it’s a little hard to say what exactly Guren did to/for Yuu, but we do see that there were two important lessons Guren tried to impart to him.
In chapter 33, we see 12 year old Yuu ask Guren the following question:
to which Guren ultimately responds with
The second lesson we see Guren try and impart to Yuu can be found in the extra chapter Yu and Guren. In it we see Yuu trying to get and then convince Guren to give him a sword. Guren refuses to give him one because:
Guren only gives him a sword after he sees Yuu protect a little girl rather than going for a sword and says the following:
While it wouldn’t be accurate to say that Guren is the sole reason that Yuu ends up adopting either of these mindsets, it does seem that Yuu took them at least somewhat to heart. Guren’s words, along with Yuu’s innate hatred of vampires at the time, is likely a large part of the reason why Yuu was so obsessed with revenge when the story first started out.
The other lessons, living because of the people you care about and those people making you strong, really don’t stick until Mika shows back up in Yuu’s life. In fact, Yuu outright rejects the idea of friendship at first.
It’s not for lack of Guren trying to get Yuu to embrace friendship though. We can see that he does try multiple times, most notably when Guren denies Yuu a position in the demon army until he makes a friend,
and later, after Yoichi is able to subdue Gekkoin after being possessed by him.
When you combine Guren’s continued reiteration on the importance of friendship with the weight Guren’s words carry in their respective scenes, it's difficult to miss the feeling that Guren values friendship very highly despite his words and actions towards his own friends sometimes suggesting the opposite. If you’ve read the Guren light novels, you know this to be true.
He wasn’t always like this though. In fact he viewed his care for other people as a weakness,
and because of this, he repeatedly rejected the idea entirely, much like Yuu.
Sure, Guren had other reasons beyond just viewing it as weakness to reject friendship, especially Shinya’s, but the fact still remains that friendship wasn’t something Guren valued right away. Friendship was something Guren had to grow to value, and much like Yuu had Guren, Guren had someone to help push these ideas on him. Who was that person? Shinya.
Well, really it was all of Guren’s friends, but Shinya is the one that really put it into words for Guren like Guren did for Yuu.
If we return to the first lesson that Guren tried to impart to Yuu, specifically the idea that he should live despite how painful living is, we see that Guren essentially admits to having went through a similar crisis.
It’s in Resurrection at 19′s first novel that we get to see Guren’s experience with this idea first hand. For all that we make fun of the book’s prologue, Shinya’s ultimate goal with that conversation was to get Guren to believe that there is a reason to continue living in their broken world, much like how Guren was trying to give Yuu an ideal to live for.
Shinya even started the conversation off by talking about bodily functions too.
“But I figured getting horny, that’s something. That gives life some kind of meaning. Well, maybe not meaning, but at least it shows you’ve still got the will to live. You get horny because some part of you refuses to give up on life. Same reason you get hungry, probably, or sleepy. Your belly is empty, you think dirty thoughts, you close your eyes because you’re so damn tired.” -Resurrection at 19, Book 1, Prologue, Page 12
While the meaning behind the statements are actually more like opposites, Guren is implying these things are burdensome efforts one has to go through to keep living, while Shinya’s saying it’s a sign that part of you still wants to live, it’s still a rather strange and specific way to start your pitch on having a reason to live.
The similarities continue when Guren ends up asking a question that’s quite similar to the one Yuu did in chapter 33.
“With things the way they are, is there any point to living?” -Resurrection at 19, Book 1, Prologue, Page 14
Shinya forces Guren to answer the question for himself, but ultimately, the prologue ends with Shinya offering these words:
“And Guren? Remember, life has meaning. It’s got to. So don’t go getting yourself killed.” -Resurrection at 19, Book 1, Prologue, Page 15 and 174
Is it the same sentiment Guren gives Yuu? No, not quite, and it shouldn’t be; Guren’s and Yuu’s needs in those moments are different. However, it is from this conversation that Guren finds and solidifies his reason to live, much like how Yuu did from Guren’s words.
“But there was no need to worry. Guren had found his reason for living. As long as Shinya, Norito, Mito, Shigure, and Sayuri were still alive--Guren had a purpose.” -Resurrection at 19, Book 1, Chapter 3, Page 174
At the end of it all, Guren ends up doing almost exactly what he told Yuu to do. He chose to keep living for those that need him, and it’s this goal, living so he can save Shinya, Goshi, Mito, Shigure, and Sayuri from dying again in two years with the added goal of fixing his mistakes, that pushes Guren forward in the current story.
For the parallel in Guren’s second lesson, having friends helps you to be strong, we have to look back at Catastrophe at 16. Catastrophe at 16 focuses heavily on the concept of what it means to grow stronger, so if we really wanted to dive into Guren’s growth behind this concept, we could be here all day, but once again, Shinya helps solidfy Guren’s concept of what it means to grow strong. Shortly after Shinya stops Guren from killing Seishiro in a fit of anger, and Guren sarcastically remarks about the power of friendship, Shinya offers these words:
“Yeah, but I don’t think frienship is so bad. Without it, what’s the point of living?” - Catastrophe at 16, Book 6, Chapter 3, Page 268
Shinya then launches into a talk on his own goals in life, but he eventually circles back to Guren when he shares what he percieves Guren’s goals in life to be.
“The reason you want to become stronger is to protect those around you, isn’t it? In other words, you want strength so that you can be close to people. What you’re really interested in is protecting people. Why be embarrassed about that? Why not just make that your ultimate goal?” -Catastrophe at 16, Book 6, Chapter 3, Page 269
As Guren puts it, Shinya wants him to “embrace friendship”. Guren being Guren still thinks that it’s weak for him to want that, but Shinya says one last thing to help hammer home that it’s okay to embrace friendship, and to grow strong for others over anything else.
“You mean if we have patience and stick together, we’ll make it someday?”
“Maybe. How would I know?”
“Very inspiring.”
“But if we’re not close to anybody, I don’t think there’s much point to living. You feel the same way, too, don’t you, Guren? That getting strong just for the sake of it is meaningless? I think the meaning lies in protecting and supporting others... right? You can’t just think about yourself, can you?” -Catastrophe at 16, Book 6, Chapter 3, Page 271
The scene ends with Guren still being on the fence about the idea as a whole, but it’s obvious that Guren accepted this mindset as the rest of Catastrophe at 16 shows this. His advice to Yuu in the extra chapter 4 years later also shows that he did in fact take Shinya’s words to heart, or at the very least, he saw it as a lesson worth passing on.
However, like with Guren and Yuu, it would be far from accurate to say that Shinya is the sole reason that Guren adopted these either of these mindsets. Guren’s other friends were important as well, but really, Guren essentially already believed in these things. He was just in denial due to the likes of Mahiru and Kureto repeatedly showing and saying that frienship made him weak in comparision to them. All Shinya did was put Guren’s ideals into words, and tell him that it was okay to think the ways he suggested. Like Guren did with Yuu, Shinya just pushed Guren in the right direction, which for a character like Guren, who constantly lives in denial about his own feelings and character, is something he needs/needed.
TLDR: The two major lessons we see Guren try to impart to Yuu are lessons that Shinya helped impart to Guren back when they were kids.
And with that said, it all hits a bit differently when you remember Shinya admitted not only to only having a goal in life because he decided to take up Guren’s,
“And did you find the goal you were looking for?”
“Nope, but I figured I might as well give protecting my friends a try too.” -Catastrophe at 16, Book 6, Chapter 3, Page 270
but to also having no real reason to live either.
Shinya really was only saying those things for Guren’s benefit. It’s hard to say whether Shinya even believed in some of the stuff he was saying, though it’d be nice to think he did.
#Owari no Seraph#Guren Ichinose#Yuichiro Hyakuya#Shinya Hiragi#god this was actually really hard to write#I'm not 100% happy with this#but I've spent way too long on it#largely because it kept wanting to turn into a Guren meta#that would take forever and wouldn't get the point I wanted across#I have 3 versions of this post sitting in my drafts bc of it#but it's done and I wanted to get it out before spoilers dropped#enjoy the small bit of Shinya meta at the end#is anyone even going to read this?#My posts#My metas
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OC Mother’s Day
As it is apparently Mother’s Day in the US, I figured I would write a bit about how some of my characters relate to their mothers.
Tenley Tych (Mother’s Status: Dead) – Her mother is the only one actually seen so far, and we kind of see her at her worst. Phaedra was an abusive alcoholic constantly suffering from migraines, whose only wish for Tenley was that she grow strong and able to fight. Yet despite that, Tenley would look after her mother and wanted to please her. Even though she’s old enough to have started realizing that how Phaedra treated her was wrong, Tenley will still often get defensive if anyone else speaks ill of her.
Kaya Cade (Mother’s Status: Alive) – Kaya is seen on the phone to her mother once, and they’re somewhat close. Her mother is a very sweet Catholic lady who unfortunately would never stand-up to Kaya’s dad, who she hates and is the main reason she never returns home.
Jennifer Airhart (Mother’s Status: Missing, Presumed Dead) – Not seen in the current WIP, Jenn’s mother taught History. Jenn was close to both her parents who encouraged her to indulge her curiosity and many esoteric interests. Both parents were hired for an expedition by someone in Meridiem from which they never returned, causing Jennifer to become withdrawn from the world. The fact she simply doesn’t know their fate has made it very difficult for Jenn to move on.
Titania – Well actually, Titania doesn’t really have a mother per se. She does have parents of sorts who are responsible for how she’s turned out.
Sayuri and Hiroki (Mother’s Status: Alive) – Runs the family store with Sayuri and her dad. Although Hiroki was a rebel, Sayuri works hard to appease her parents although the pressure of always appearing a good girl does get to her sometimes and she has to go let loose. Otherwise though no real skeletons in that closet. She does have a demon inside her, but that has nothing to do with them.
For other characters parents aren’t really mentioned so I haven’t decided any definitive canon yet. But what about your characters? Feel free to let us know!
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Opinion Time- The definition of alive and dead (in ons)
Ok this is just me going on a rant, it’s not really a theory or based on anything real, it’s just the way I like to think of things in my head.
Talking about
1. Yu as a,,, being
2. Mika and vampires in general
3. Shinya and the squad
Most of this is about the conversation back in chapter 71 or something.
Which is just the “are we alive” question. And I mean I think it’s bullshit altogether that Mika’s heart doesn’t beat, and I’ve decided in my own head that’s just not right, because well,,, anotomically that doesn’t make any sense. Example one, when Lest Karr took out Ferid’s heart and he nearly turned into a demon. Hearts are still super important to vampires, and if they were just sitting in there doing nothing what the fuck problem would there be taking it out. It must still conduct blood, even if the blood is stolen from a human.
Another point, I mean, vampires wouldn’t really bleed if their hearts weren’t functioning either. Because it wouldn’t be flowing through their veins, it wouldn’t move and it certainly wouldn’t be red. And uh well, they’ve clearly been shown bleeding.
So vampires hearts literally have to beat, I’d say, I’m not a scientist but hoy bowdy Kagami isn’t either.
And then the question is if they’re alive? Yu definitely is. Just because he’s not human doesn’t mean he’s fucking dead. He came back from the point of “he’s probably dead and his heart isn’t beating” that one time, but that hasn’t happened again, he clearly didn’t die for real, and even if definitionally he did die, he is,,, alive again.
(NOT CONSIDERING CHAPTER 90, I MEAN IN GENERAL) Mika isn’t dead either, though people like to argue that’s true, people like to say that he died when he turned into a vampire and he died again when he drank human blood and stopped aging.
Kagami can say whatever he likes, but... Mika never died. The novels Vampire Mikaela takes that point to an extreme with Crowley and describes it that way, but in my book that just doesn’t work, doesn’t make sense, and isn’t right.
What I’d say is that vampires are beings who should have died probably a thousand times over, but didn’t. It’s just definitional, but it matters to me I guess.
Mika was going to die. Krul came in and saved him, by turning him into a vampire. So that he didn’t die. Uh. Yeah. He’s not dead. There was no point in time where he was even as dead as Yu was in nagoya arc, and no one really is going aroud saying that Yu’s dead. The point is that he’s alive, he’s interacting with his surroundings and learning new things and changing, even though it’s not that much in Kagami’s book (which I think is bullshit anyway, and I’ve made the executive decision to ignore that and let him grow as a person because otherwise it’s just fucking boring.)
My third point is about Shinya, Mito, Goshi, Sayuri, and Shigure. Who died when they were sixteen and were then resurrected by Guren to cause the catastrophe. Some people say that “oh well they’ll disappear if they realize they’re dead” which,,, um. They were dead. They’ve been resurrected. They are,,, no longer dead.
They aren’t still the same people they were when they were sixteen, they’ve changed and grown and become different people, and that’s real obvious. I think it’s dumb to call them dead, because the simple thing is that they’re not. Not anymore.
I don’t really know why I’m nitpicking at this, it just makes me feel really weird when vampires or guren’s squad are referred to as dead, or Yu is treated as if he is like, so inhuman he’s clinically dead too, because that kind of just isolates them and makes it difficult to see them in a positive light, redeem them, fix them, or give them character development which is kind of essential to writing, Kagami. So yeah my point is if you call them dead, you make it impossible for a happy ending, or to be honest, anything satisfying.
Vampires aren’t dead, Yu isn’t dead, and humans who have been resurrected are not in fact dead. So yeah :) Thank you for listening to my ted talk
#owari no seraph#seraph of the end#catastrophe at 16#yuichiro hyakuya#guren ichinose#mikaela hyakuya#ferid bathory#shinya hiragi
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For the prompt thing, 6, 13, and/or 22 (I think they all work well together), for the AU where Sayuri ends up in the Naruto-verse and is taken in by Hatake Sakumo. Romantic for those two please?
Yay, a prompt for my favorite TLM AU! Thanks and I hope it doesn’t disappoint!
6. Hiraeth- a homesickness for a home to which you can never return, the nostalgia, yearning, and grief for the lost places of your past
13. Cafune- the act of running your fingers through the hair of someone you love
22. Basorexia- the overwhelming desire to kiss
In the end, it isn’t Sakumo who gets through to her. It’s Kakashi.
It’s been nearly a month since Sakumo has invited Aizen Sayuri into their house and in that time, the only piece of information Sakumo has managed to get out of her is her name. And while she’s more responsive than she was when Sakumo first found her, there are still days where she goes long stretches of time without speaking, without eating, without doing anything but staring blankly at the wall.
With Kakashi though, she’s...better. Even on her worst days, if Kakashi asks her a question, she’ll answer. If Kakashi asks her to eat, she’ll take a few bites. If he asks for her attention, she’ll make an effort to focus on him.
Perhaps more surprising than her attachment to his son is how easily Kakashi seems to reciprocate it. Despite how well Kakashi does with people (hardly a day goes by without some civilian woman stopping them on the street to coo over how adorable he is), the reverse isn’t quite true. At best, his son tends to find people (outside of a select few) uninteresting, irritating, and stupid. At worst...well, Sakumo once found him hiding in a trash can to escape a particularly persistent civilian woman determined to pinch his cheeks.
“She’s cool. I like her,” Kakashi says, shrugging, when Sakumo asks him what he thinks about their guest.
“You don’t like the people at the Academy,” Sakumo points out.
“The people at the Academy...they’re like the wooden dolls and paper cutouts I used to play with. The look real, but they aren’t,” Kakashi says matter-of-factly, and not for the first time, Sakumo wonders if he should be worried. “Sayuri though, she’s real. Just like you and me and Uncle Jiraiya and Minato-sensei.”
“But Kakashi, the people at the Academy are real,” Sakumo says, a little helplessly. Kakashi gives him a look like he thinks Sakumo is being deliberately obtuse.
“If you say so,” he says dubiously. “Anyway, Dad, I got homework to do now.”
“I thought you already finished your homework,” Sakumo says, a little confused.
“Sayuri’s homework,” Kakashi says, rolling his eyes. “Finished my Academy homework in school, took me under five minutes. I don’t know why dummy Obito keeps complaining about how hard it is, it was so easy I almost fell asleep doing it.”
“Kakashi, I’ve told you before, not everyone learns at the same pace you do,” Sakumo says, tired.
“Then teach them to learn faster. I could do that stuff when I was three,” Kakashi says sullenly. “Why can’t Sayuri be my teacher instead? At least her assignments are interesting.”
~~
“Giving my son homework assignments now?” Sakumo asks Sayuri later. She glances up from her book before humming in affirmation.
“He came to me complaining about how he got in trouble for not paying attention in class,” she says. Sakumo hides a wince, hearing Kakashi’s high-pitched voice in his mind all too clearly-- it’s not my fault she keeps going over stuff I already know, tell her to teach something new and I might pay attention, can’t I skip a class or two, maybe I’ll actually learn something, dad? Dad, are you listening? Dad?
“I thought it was for the best if I gave him something to keep him occupied,” she continues, a bit dryly.
“Oh? What’d you assign him?” Sakumo asks, interested. “I haven’t seen Kakashi so engaged in an assignment in...well, let’s just say I’ve never seen him interested in homework.”
“It’s a...reconnaissance mission, of sorts,” Sayuri replies, eyes brightening slightly. It’s is one of her better days, then, Sakumo thinks to himself, and can’t help but lean in slightly. “He is to take notes on each of his classmates, learn their habits, their likes and dislikes, and by the end of next month, come up with an item that is perfectly suited to each and every one of them. All without asking his targets any questions or making his assignment known to everyone. He is to then secretly deposit each of his targets’ items somewhere they will easily find them, all the while keeping his identity secret. Of course, it will be suspicious if he is the only one in his class not to receive an object, so he will need to get something for himself too.”
“So let me get this straight. His assignment is...to come up with exceedingly thoughtful gifts for each of his classmates...while also treating himself to something nice,” Sakumo says slowly.
Sayuri turns back to her book, but not before Sakumo catches the barest twitch at the corner of her mouth.
“If that’s how you want to put it,” she says blandly. “The important thing is, it will keep him entertained and even if he is caught, there will be no consequences. Quite the opposite, actually. I imagine it’ll improve his standing amongst his classmates quite a bit.”
Sakumo watches her closely.
“You’re good with him,” he says finally. “Not many people are.”
Sayuri doesn’t say anything for a long moment. When she speaks up, her eyes are distant, unfocused.
“Understanding Kakashi is easy. He is a boy living in a world far too slow for him,” she says quietly. “It’s everything else that’s difficult.”
“What would your advice be? For dealing with someone like that?” Sakumo asks, a bit too urgently. Sayuri glances at him.
“Don’t give up on him. That’s all you can do, really,” she says, before standing up and tossing the book at him. “I found a few mistakes in here, so I corrected them. I hope you don’t mind, Hatake-san.”
“Sakumo,” he calls after her as she walks away. “I’ve told you to call me Sakumo!”
She doesn’t reply and Sakumo shakes his head, a wry smile on his lips.
Well, at least he got more than a few short sentences out of her this time. Improvement.
~~
The first time Sakumo leaves Kakashi alone in the house with Sayuri is an accident. He makes it all of half a block before realizing and dashing back, only to find Kakashi taking a nap on Sayuri’s lap while she hums to him, running her fingers through his hair. She glances up at him, taking in his panicked, unkempt appearance and smiles wryly, a knowing look in her eyes.
She doesn’t say anything though as Sakumo, resolutely refusing to be embarrassed, takes Kakashi into his arms.
The second time, he makes a point of leaving the house before doubling back to hide in some bushes to observe her. That lasts all of two seconds, ending when she steps outside, looks directly towards Sakumo’s hiding spot, and informs him, “This feels like a good time to mention that I’m a sensor.”
The third through fifth times, he leaves Kakashi with her for four and a half minutes precisely. The sixth time, seven minutes and thirteen seconds. The seventh, eighteen minutes and forty-two seconds.
The fifty-sixth time Sakumo leaves his son alone with the woman who has started to feel more like family (like pack) than a guest, is for five days, seven hours, and forty-eight minutes. He returns from his mission desperate for a shower, with three new scars and a still-bleeding cut on his shoulder, and walks through his front door with only a hint of that once-suffocating anxiety remaining.
It disappears completely at the sight of Kakashi running towards him, and with a laugh, Sakumo scoops Kakashi up in his arms, wrapping him in a tight hug.
“Ugh Dad, you stink. When’s the last time you washed?” Kakashi asks, wrinkling his nose.
“Last time you saw me, kiddo,” Sakumo grins, smile widening as Kakashi yelps in disgust, pushing him away.
“Eww, Dad, go take a shower already! Come find me again when you’re clean,” he grumbles, folding his arms across his chest. Sakumo chuckles, reaching out to ruffle Kakashi’s hair.
“Brat. Is that any way to talk to your father?” He asks fondly, before giving Kakashi a little shove. “Go do your homework, yeah? I know you haven’t finished.”
“That’s because Sayuri’s homework is hard,” Kakashi complains, although he doesn’t actually sound upset about it. “Fine, fine. When I come back, you better not stink anymore though.”
Sakumo shakes his head as Kakashi leaves, running his hand through his hair.
“Can you believe that kid? No manners, that one,” he says mournfully, glancing towards where Sayuri is standing in the hallway.
“Kakashi excels in many things but politeness is not one of them,” Sayuri agrees. “He’s not wrong though, you should take a bath.”
“Want to join me?” The words slip out before Sakumo can stop them and he promptly snaps his mouth shut in horror. “I mean--”
“You should also get that wound looked at. I know a few basic first aid techniques, but I’m no healer,” she says, apparently choosing to ignore his words. He inclines his head, unsure whether he feels disappointed or relieved.
“Will do,” he promises. She nods, something in her expression softening at that.
“It’s good to have you back, Hatake-san,” Sayuri says, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. “The house is...far quieter with you gone.”
“Ah.” Sakumo clears his throat in surprise, even as his mouth goes a little dry. “It’s--it’s good to be back.” He swallows. “Anything interesting happen while I was gone?”
“Interesting?” She pauses in thought. “Well, Kakashi scored top of his class again, as was expected. He also learned a new jutsu; I imagine you’ll be hearing a lot about that at dinner. Also, there are two dead assassins in your backyard. I buried them so the smell wouldn’t irritate Kakashi’s nose.”
Sakumo nods before realization hits, causing him to choke on his spit. “Wait, what?!”
~~
Two hours and copious amounts of digging later, Sakumo finds himself staring at two very dead shinobi. No headband, but that didn’t even really matter at the moment. The important thing was that two enemy shinobi had somehow managed to get through Konoha’s walls and all the way to his goddamned house, where his son was, and he hadn’t been there.
Sakumo swallows, trying desperately to clamp down his rising killing intent, and finds his gaze drifting again to the single cut across each of the corpses’ necks.
Quick. Clean. Fatal.
Professional, Sakumo can’t help but think. The precise amount of force needed to end a life and no more. He wouldn’t expect that level of skill in anyone below jounin rank.
He finds Sayuri at the sink washing dishes, as if someone hadn’t just tried to kill her, as if there aren’t two dead bodies in their backyard right now. She doesn’t turn around, even as he strides up to her, grasping her by the shoulders.
“Kakashi?” He murmurs into her ear.
“Doesn’t know,” she replies levelly. “They arrived about half an hour before he was due to come home from school. I buried them in the yard before he came back.”
“And you?” His grip tightens. “Are you injured?”
“Worried about me, Hatake-san?” Sayuri asks, tilting her head to the side.
His jaw clenches. “Answer the question.”
“No, I’m not injured,” she says, setting a cup on the drying rack. “You can relax.”
Sakumo exhales heavily, feeling his shoulders slump in relief.
“I--good. That’s...that’s good,” he says, releasing his grip. For a moment, Sakumo doesn’t say anything, just closes his eyes to better focus on Kakashi and Sayuri’s chakra signatures.
It was going to be okay. They were alive, they were safe, they were here and with him. Everything was going to be okay.
“Hatake-san? Are you alright?” Was he imagining the hint of concern in her voice?
“I’m never leaving again,” Sakumo informs her, voice tight. “If the Hokage needs an S-ranked ninja, he can send Jiraiya. Or Orochimaru. I’m not picky.”
At that, Sayuri turns off the water before finally, finally turning around to face him.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she says, exasperated. “I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that I’m not your...average civilian. I can handle myself. And--” She takes in a deep breath. “And I wouldn’t let anything happen to Kakashi. You know that.”
“I believe you.” In fact, it worries him a little how much he believes her. “But I’m still not leaving. What happened today was...it was too much of a close call.”
“I wouldn’t call it close. I understand your concern, but I mean.” Her brow furrows slightly. “It’s not like they were good assassins. Or average, really. Even mediocre is being generous.”
Sakumo huffs out a laugh.
“And I’m the ridiculous one?” He mumbles to himself.
“Yes,” Sayuri replies without hesitation. “I’m the only one being logical here.”
Sakumo shakes his head in disbelief.
“You do realize that for most people, for normal people, assassins-- yes, even incompetent assassins-- are something to be worried about?”
“Not where I come from,” she argues, and it’s the first time he’s heard her bring up anything from her past. “Where I come from, there are worse things to be worried about.”
“Is that so?” Sakumo asks, and he can’t quite resist reaching out with one hand to cup the side of her face.
“Someday,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead to hers. “I am going to get your entire life story out of you. I don’t care if it takes the rest of my life to do so. I bet it’ll be fascinating.”
“Sounds almost like a threat,” she answers, for the first time sounding just the tiniest bit unsteady. “Then again, being interrogated by you sounds like it could be...enjoyable.”
Her gaze flickers briefly to his lips and in that moment, all Sakumo can think about is how this woman protected his son today, killed for his son today, and how he so very desperately wants to press his mouth to hers.
With a shaky breath, he pulls back.
“Sakumo?” Sayuri asks in a small voice, sounding more uncertain than he’s ever heard her.
“When you’re ready,” he whispers hoarsely. “When you’re ready and no sooner.”
“Could be a while,” Sayuri murmurs, eyes darkened and cheeks still flushed a faint red.
“Take however long you need,” he says, and means every word. “I’ll be waiting.”
~~
(I headcanon that reiatsu and chakra are a bit different, so all of Sayuri’s emotion-sensing abilities are thrown just slightly off. And as someone who has spent the past however many centuries growing increasingly reliant on her sensing abilities, having to make that adjustment is extremely annoying for her.
It also puts her on more equal ground with Sakumo, who has just been having THE most difficult time trying to read this woman.
Also Sakumo, for the past few months: wow way to be exceedingly obvious about how much you want her, get it together Hatake, can’t you see she’s gone through some shit, if you keep this up she’s going to think you’re pressuring her and then you’ll just push her away
Sayuri: okay, so like. I THINK he’s into me? Like, pretty sure. But I can’t be 100% certain with the spiritual energy here being so weird. Also it’s been months and he hasn’t made a move? In my experience, when men want sex they tend to make a move in the first...well, twenty minutes if they’re the patient type.)
Ugh this ended up super long but @kamkong you asked for romantic and I felt like it wouldn’t make sense without some lead-up into how he fell for her. And so basically Sayuri comes back to herself through Kakashi and Sakumo falls for her through Kakashi-- idk, it felt right.
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It was the waiting. Always the waiting that made it worse. The... Not knowing.
I had heard footsteps. I had heard others come home, and yet... She...
Why did she not come back? Where was she?
How long had i been waiting?
Sayuri Aoki had silently made her way through the hall and to the door, a slightly more intense cold than normal surrounding her, still. She slowly opened the door to Eir's room and quickly stepped inside, shutting the door a little more hurried than she usually would - intending to escape any possible encounters with others. A faint sigh leaves her as the door seals behind her.
Eir Fellfrost flinches as the door closes... And the tension seems to ebb from his shoulders, with a sigh. A sob was almost caught in it, but he fights it back to keep his quiet. A breath, then; almost to call out for her, but her name never makes it to his lips. He simply keeps his quiet, sitting in the bath... Waiting.
...Was it truly her? Was i... Just dreaming? Imagining? It was difficult to tell what was real, sometimes. After Moth had invaded my thoughts, there was always a thread of doubt.
Sayuri Aoki's gaze shifted around the room slightly. Not finding Eir in the immediate area, or hearing any movement, she allows her brows to furrow ever so faintly. Assuming he may be asleep, she slowly made her way up the stage and walked in the direction of the bedroom - halting as she catches a glimpse of him in the bath. "...Eir?" she spoke quietly.
Eir Fellfrost's breath sticks in his throat at his name. A dizzying feeling in his head, even for being hunched over into the water as he was. Blood from his previous injuries still sat at the top of his shoulders where the water hadn't quite reached, indicating he'd mostly... Sat, rather than actually done anything else. A long, drawn sigh, as words waver in his throat. "You are... Home?" He asks, quietly.
Sayuri Aoki: ".. I am." She mumbled. "..I.. am sorry, that it took this long.." She carefully made her way down the steps, settling her elbows upon the side of the bath as she leans against it a touch hesitantly, peering down at the water.
Eir Fellfrost remains as he was, head turned forwards. His ears turn briefly in her direction, but he doesn't otherwise move. His breathing was slow and laboured; sharp, sudden breaths in that wavered, before an exhale through tensed shoulders followed in it's wake. "A-are you... Okay?" He asks, almost cautiously.
Sayuri Aoki's ears flattened a touch, she remained silent for a prolonged moment.. sighing before responding. ".. Physically, I was a little singed.. but nothing major." She paused, almost as if she intended to leave it at that - but doesn't. "..I have most likely damaged several friendships. And the reason I stayed away was because my aether was unstable because of where I was at mentally at the point.. I wanted to rid myself of it as to not put people in danger as I returned."
She... She is safe. Even if injured, she is... Home. What of the others?
Did... Did something happen?
What happened?
Eir Fellfrost nods; whether it was in understanding, or simply because he heard her, it was hard to say. "A-and the others? Th-they are... Home?" His voice begins to crack a little, but he stops talking as soon as it does. He seems almost intent on not letting her see his face, which lowers a little further.
Sayuri Aoki: ".. I'd assume so. None was grievously wounded." She paused. "... None of ours, anyway."
Eir Fellfrost: "...Good. That is... G-good." He breathes with a shudder; the sensation of cold finally felt more readily against his skin. His head sinks into his hands, aiming to muffle his face, as his form shook quietly with relief. He doesn't make a sound, strangling them in his throat before any of them dare make it out.
Sayuri Aoki's ears flatten further, she hesitantly leans closer to Eir - extending her hand towards him as she sought to very lightly brush her fingers upon his head. She lingered in silence for a moment.
Sayuri Aoki: "... Moth is dead."
Eir Fellfrost finally crumbles at her touch. A sob escapes from his throat, even if he fought and failed to keep the rest back. One hand at his face moves to settle at her own, his fingertips atop hers, but no more, the forearm of his other arm seeking to shield his face. "G-good." Came his only response to her word, as he wept.
...She is here. She is home. It is her.
Moth is gone. But i do not care.
Only for their safety.
Her safety.
Sayuri Aoki lowers her head. She heaves herself up to sit on the ledge of the bath, leaning herself over as she sought to gently press her forehead against his. ".. I'm sorry, Eir.." she whispered.
Eir Fellfrost cries at her touch, where he does not let it linger long. Instead, he opts to bring himself closer, turning in the water to settle on his knees, wrapping his arms desperately around her as he buried the side of his cheek against her. "N-no. Do... N-not be." He whimpered. "H-how were y-you to know? Y-you have not w-wronged me.... Sayuri..." Her name is a whisper, spoken in grief and gratitude.
Sayuri Aoki gently coiled her arms around him in return, exhaling a slightly shaky breath. ".. I should've let you known I was going to stay outside for a while.." She mumbled, her chill picking up ever so slightly.
Eir Fellfrost: "P-perhaps... I... I would not have w-worried so much." He rests his forehead against her, hand at her back. "I... I am t-trying... Not to worry so much. I am s-sorry." He apologises, gently brushing his fingers along her clothes. "...I am s-sorry, Sayuri..."
Sayuri Aoki: ".. I'm not going to blame you for worrying about me running into combat." She murmured, raising a hand to gently brush her fingers through his hair. "..Less so, when I'm injured.."
Eir Fellfrost cradles her against him, and deciding this wasn't enough from where he was, opts to stand in the bath, and pull her close, his head rested on her shoulder; if only to obscure his face from the picture of grief it wore. "I... I d-do not worry for you running into combat, S-sayuri..." Both arms wrapped tightly around her, embracing the cold for what it now meant to him, allowing it to sink into every ilm of his skin. "...I w-worry that you will n-not return..."
Sayuri Aoki's ears droop, her face shifting downwards slightly to press against his chest. ".. I'm okay. A touch.. burned and frozen, the latter more than usual.. but otherwise unharmed." She murmured.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I know.... I know." He cradles her, rocking ever so slightly on his knees to offer some comfort... Mostly, seemingly for himself. "You are h-here..." He whispers against the side of her head, settling a kiss to her hair. "...Y-you are here, and that... That is what matters most."
Sayuri Aoki: ".. I am." She spoke quietly, nudging her forehead against him in response to the kiss. "I.. am hoping for a calm day.. but fear I may not get one." She sighed quietly. ".. And I can blame none but myself for it."
Eir Fellfrost: "Then lock the door. Take out your linkpearl; i can hear if they call for help. You have h-had enough to fight with..." His hand settles gently at her shoulder, nudging his head against hers. "...Just a sun of peace, please..."
Sayuri Aoki: ".. I.. will keep the linkpearl in for now. Just.. in case I get called for." She paused, forehead pressing against Eir's chest. ".. I do not know if my blow is the one that killed Moth, but it was most certainly a part of why she died. We.. were not meant to kill her.. but I still sought to do so. I'm assuming someone will be sharing that fact with the higher ups, and if they don't.. I will myself."
Eir Fellfrost gives a small huff, settling his head on top of hers. "...Even if it was not. What are they going to do? Un-kill her? What has happened, happened. I do not care if she lived or died. But if she is gone, she cannot make you suffer. I am not unhappy about her departure from this life." His words were a little sharper, but not unkind.
Sayuri Aoki: ".. She would have died eitherway. Ripple did not intend to let her live, both of us attacked her." She paused, letting a small frown creep onto her features. ".. I do not regret doing what I did, but I know I shouldn't have. Neoma, Hrotmar and Lief... tried to stop me."
Eir Fellfrost: "...Because they wished to spare her. You did not." His hand gently moves over her head. "...I cannot tell you what was right, or wrong. Perhaps, should not have gone against the wishes of the company. But lamenting it will not change it. I... I do not resent what you did, if you thought it was the right thing."
Sayuri Aoki: ".. I did not, and I stated such very clearly at the meeting." She shuts her eyes, exhaling a shaky breath. ".. I didn't want to give her a chance.. to do what she did to me.. to anyone else, ever again.."
She, perhaps, should not have gone against the wishes of the company. Going against orders of any superior is always ill advised in any circumstance, and i doubt much that any repercussion they serve her here will be as brutal as it would have been in the military.
I do not care for Moth’s demise. It was not my decision if she lived or died. I did not give my input, because i have precious little of it to give. I would not be seeking her out. I would not purposefully go to a battlefield.
Especially not having run from one.
I care only that they are all home safe, to whatever extent might be needed to ensure that.
She assures me that what she did was not for revenge. Not primarily. But for protection, not that she thinks they will believe her.
...Perhaps they will, in time.
...All of this feels so familiar. Not in regards to Moth’s death, but... Everything else. The doors. All the fighting. Hoping and waiting for the rest to come back.
It...
...
It feels like Bozja all over again.
Eir Fellfrost nods gently for her words, a fleeting, peaceful sigh now that all had settled; at least, further than it had. He lingers there, then. His breaths were long, and quiet, as a hand saught out one of her own to hold. "...A... Friend. He... He once was like you. Brave. And he... Always wanted to help." Eir hesitates in his words, nudging his head to hers again.
Eir Fellfrost: "...One sun, he... He went to help. And he... He did not come back."
Eir Fellfrost: "S-so..."
You smile weakly at Sayuri Aoki.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I know you are not him. But... Please. I-if... I am upset when you go. Or... Or want to hold you a little tighter. A little longer, before... Before you leave. Or when you come back..."
Sayuri Aoki went to gently intertwine her fingers with his as he grasped her hand, one ear perking up as she listened to Eir speak. She returned a light nudge of her head against his. “.. I’m sorry, that-..” She paused, ear drooping back down a touch - seemingly not overly sure how to proceed that sentence. “.. I will not stop you. And when I get back.. You may hold onto me as long as you require, or desire.” She smiled faintly, hesitating. “I.. don’t mean to pry, and you need not answer if you do not wish to.. But was that.. the last you heard of him?”
...I have told her. Told her about Juny. By name. But... I could not bring myself to mention him, here. That he was just a friend.
He... Was.
Was he not?
Eir Fellfrost cradles her close, some unseen weight leaving his shoulders. He doesn't seem... Upset for it; at least, not to the point of tears. "...It was. I... I have good reason to believe he is... Dead." Eir swallows a small lump that had managed to crawl up his throat, a little lost looking as he opens his eyes to stare blankly ahead. "...He is part of the reason. That i was... So afraid of getting close to anyone again. Friends, or... Otherwise."
Sayuri Aoki remained quiet as he spoke, hugging herself into him a little tighter. A small ache made itself known within her, ears flattening. “... I… understand how you feel about that part..” She mumbled, pressing her head against him gently. “It’s.. a horrible way to lose someone..” She murmured, a little too knowingly. She allowed her thumb to brush over Eir’s knuckles, a soft exhale leaving her. “.. Understandable. It’s.. hard to let go of.”
Eir Fellfrost reaches for Sayuri's hand with his other, simply... Holding it there. He forgets to breathe for a little, before a wavery sigh leaves his lips. "...It is." He responds, his heart beginning to race for a moment...
Sayuri Aoki moved her free hand to settle it upon his, letting her gaze simply lock upon the wall opposite as she rested against him. Uncertain how to proceed the conversation from that, she opts to simply hold onto his hands - squeezing them a touch.
Eir Fellfrost: "...S-so." Eir speaks, after letting the silence linger a little longer. He retrieves one arm from her hands, whilst the other slowly drapes over her shoulder again, pulling her close. "...I hope now. That when i spend the sun with you in my arms... It is only because i care. That i am making the most of every moment." He settles his head to hers again, quietly. "...Even if i have many more cycles than most... I will never take such precious time for granted..." His voice lowers, slowly moving into a faint smile.
The subject of our conversation lightened a little, then. We spoke of brighter things.
Happier things. How glad we were, to have found eachother. To be with eachother. Naturally, our affection turned to teasing that we had grown accustomed to, before a comment caught me off guard, and the shock sent me into the bath.
Almost into the bath. I managed to catch myself, and asked for her to help me in getting me out, for her only to throw herself in with me.
...And for her to remove her wet clothes. Which, of course, i could not see, but just knowing, was...
I tried not to think about it too much for conversations sake...
Sayuri Aoki leans herself over, gently nudging her head against his. ".. You need not apologise, Eir.” She reassured. “.. I would not have done it, had I been uncomfortable." She murmured quietly. "But I appreciate that you want to make sure, nonetheless.” She smiled.
Eir Fellfrost gently rubs his thumb over the back of her knuckles, before giving it a gentle squeeze. "...The first time i was ever... Close with anyone. I was not... Uncomfortable? But it was unexpected. I panicked." Eir lowers his head a little, murmuring. "I... Ran away."
Sayuri Aoki tilted her head slightly, keeping a gentle hold of Eir's hand. "You.. ran away?" She asked, curiosly.
Eir Fellfrost: "...Yes. I ran away. It... Was a miseriable sun. Back in Golmore... I was helping gather the men. Send assignments; or, at least, i was learning how to. When we had let them settle, we went to check the perimeter, and got to talking. He had always been kind, if not... A little intimidating. But i was... I do not know. Upset? Dissatisfied, with my lot in life. He spoke with me about it, and helped me put things into perspective..."
Eir Fellfrost: "...And then he kissed me, out of nowhere. Which, i did return, only then panic got the better of me, and i ran. He found me two bells later."
Sayuri Aoki: ".. Well, fair." She snickered slightly, lowering her head enough to bump it against his shoulder. "Sometimes.. impulsive decisions are not necessarily bad, but not quite what we expected from ourselves either."
Eir Fellfrost: "...I kissed you. I had not meant to. Does it count as an impulse if you had thought about it for a while?"
Sayuri Aoki: ".. A good question."
Eir Fellfrost flushes his cheeks, settling a little more comfortably in the water. "...I had thought about it for a while. Since... Since before we went back to the ship."
Sayuri Aoki smiles weakly. ".. Admittedly, I would've liked you to have done that back then, however.." She paused, ears drooping a little. "..It might've been a good decision not to. Besides.. I happen to like our little first kiss scenario." She smirked.
Eir Fellfrost: "...They would have made us suffer even more than we had already done so." He moves a little closer to her, sat shoulder to shoulder. "...You... Wanted me to? Back then?" Eir blinks in surprise.
Sayuri Aoki: "... Yes." She pouted. ".. I didn't say anything, as I.. have a tendency to keep quiet about certain thoughts and feelings."
Eir Fellfrost: "I... I did not know..." Eir admitted, but the smile on his lips is more than evident for his delight. "...I wish our first kiss would have been... I do not know. I can think of several instances where i almost had. Seeing you, here... When you thought me dead. I almost kissed you then and there. And then, again.... When we were going to return. I wanted to.... I was so set on doing so, Sayuri." He pauses. "...Again, when you returned, after me. When we met by the lakeshore."
Eir Fellfrost: "...And so many more instances besides. But... I did not."
Sayuri Aoki: ".. Is that what you wanted, the day we were going to return and we were still in here..?" She leans her head over to gently place it upon his shoulder.
Eir Fellfrost: "...Where i suggested we get something to eat?" Eir sighs remorsefully. "Yes. Yes it was."
Sayuri Aoki snickers quietly.
Eir Fellfrost: "...What?"
You look away from Sayuri Aoki, sulking.
Sayuri Aoki smiled and turned her head a little. "Nothing." She murmured, pressing her lips down upon his shoulder.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I lamented it the entire time i was in there." Eir sighs. "...No wonder they did what they did. I am hardly surprised." He tilts his head to kiss her on the cheek. "...I waited, if only because i wanted... I wanted to be sure. Not... For me. I was never in any kind of denial how i felt. But... For you..."
Eir Fellfrost: "...I was not sure. I was worried about tarnishing our friendship."
Sayuri Aoki gently nudged her head against his shoulder in return to the kiss, smile brightening a little. ".. I got used to keeping most of my feelings to myself, it.. wasn't something that I got to display a lot for several cycles.. both in general and relationship-wise. But perhaps that uncertainty saved us from a whole lot of more hurt."
I would wager it did. Moth knew of my feelings; of course she did. She had been in my head for long enough.
And surely, i suffered for them. Had those feelings been acted upon before we had returned, i can only imagine the suffering we would have been forced to endure because of it.
She was in arms reach, and all i wished was to pull her closer. To hold her in my arms, for her having been absent. I cared not for the lack of clothes, and she was comfortable for me to do so.
I just... Wanted her close. It was a strange sensation, feeling her skin against mine.
It was only as my fingertips felt the ridges and marks upon her back, that i...
...
Eir Fellfrost: "...You have that effect on me." He responds, head settled against her and ilms from her lips. His fingertips trace down her back slightly, holding one of her hands in his own. "...You deserve... Nice, wonderful things, Sayuri. I... I am only lucky for you to think i am one of them."
Sayuri Aoki: ".. You were a little blunt, when we first met." She snickered, gently pressing her forehead against his. Her hand squeezes his lightly, an ear twitching being the only response to his fingertips tracing downwards. ".. You are, and so do you." She smiles.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I did not think i would be kissing you in a bathtub, several moons later." He chuckles, "...Nor did i think i would allow myself to make attatchments..." His hand stops at the ear flick, well acquainted with Miqo'te body language. "...I can stop if you are uncomfortable." Eir whispers. "...It is okay, Sayuri."
Sayuri Aoki paused, sitting there in a short moment of silence. ".. I'm okay." She finally said. ".. I dislike them, but.. It is you, and you already knew I had them. It.. makes it easier, I think." She smiled weakly and gently nudged her forehead against his.
Eir Fellfrost slowly, hesitantly moves his hand along her back, forehead settled to hers. The ridges and bumps of her scarred back... Barely an ilm of it was left untouched by the brutality she had endured in her life. "Oh... Sayuri..." Eir gasps in a quiet horror. The hand that held hers squeezes, as the other presses flat to her back to bring her closer against him. "How... How could they...?" He does not finish his sentence, giving a shuddering breath.
Those... Bastards.
How could they do this? How... How could they?
...I know such brutality exists in the world. I have seen it. Heard it. Even felt it, in my own way.
But not like this.
Sayuri Aoki's breath automatically catches in her throat, her eyes shutting slowly while her hand that holds his notably tightens its grip. She does not move away, or seem like she has any intention to - but rather welcomes the pull to get closer. Her arm around him tightens its wrap a touch, and she finally exhales a shaky breath. "... They.. are more monsters than men.." She whispered quietly. ".. The ones who whipped me..? Sadists, both of them.. They.. didn't care that.. I was just a child.."
Eir Fellfrost pulls her quiet, and close, pulling her fully against his chest, head buried into her shoulder. He does not speak for a long, long time, the tense of his frame as anger simmered quietly away in the smaller things; the way he tensed his jaw, and the long, steady breath through his nose. But he tempers it back, settling a kiss to the scar at her shoulder. "I promise. With all that i am, i will never hurt you." His words are a reassurance and a promise wrapped in a muted grief he would not let her see.
...If i meet them. I...
...
I am not a man of violence. I would avoid it where possible, in most circumstances.
But this was not one of them.
Sayuri Aoki presses her head against him as she's pulled up to him completely, exhaling a shaky breath against him. She grows a little colder, but manages to keep her aether relatively calm. ".. I don't expect you to." She spoke softly, a weak smile on her lips as she buried her face against him.
Eir Fellfrost: "...I..." Anger still ran hot in his blood, but he soothes with the cold, nudging his head against hers as both arms grasped him. "....I know i can not.... Protect you. Not... Not the way i would like. I am not a fighter. Not... Strong. Not like you." A quaver of a breath is given, lips brushed to her jaw. "...And i cannot heal. I cannot stitch wounds, or use aether. I know precious little about medicine. But..." His eyes well a little, as a tear carves it's way down his cheek. "I will be here. I will pour love and comfort and everything i have into every war-wound you come home with, old and new, visible and not, until you smile again. You... Y-you have my word..." His voice trembles as he finishes his sentence.
...Even if i could not hurt them, i would not stand idly by. If i could not run, i would fight them. Leaving her with them is not an option; not if i can do anything to help it.
...And at least if i could not fight them, i would be glad knowing whatever my fate might be for meeting them, would be because i had chosen to do something i believed in.
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more director’s commentary
Anonymous said: Oh wow, that director’s commentary is so interesting! Do you mind if I ask for a director’s commentary for the first and second scenes in chapter 3 of Escher, when Yusuke wakes up in the past? Thanks!
Sure!
Yusuke considered his options carefully and rationally, and then refused to get out of bed. When Sensei stepped in to ask if he was feeling all right, he pulled his blanket over his head. He did not want to talk to Sensei. This was a bad dream. If the Holy Grail wanted to torment them as they disappeared Yusuke supposed that was its prerogative, but he didn't have to play along.
It just doesn’t want to block quote that paragraph... Anyway. Several of the others after remembering worry that it might not be real, but I think Yusuke is the only one to just immediately conclude hallucination. He’s evidently much less confident in his grip on reality and/or much more paranoid about the Holy Grail’s mind games.
"Yusuke-kun?" said someone who wasn't Sensei. "Are you not feeling well?"
That was not a very good way to get him to get up.
Losing Hitoshi HURT, badly, and Yusuke dealt with it by wrapping it up and setting it aside and not dealing with it, and he doesn’t want to pull it back out.
"Yuuuuuusuke-kuuuuun, come on," Hitoshi-senpai said, just like he hadn't been dead for a year and a half. The nerve. "I know you're awake under there."
Best not to do anything to encourage it.
"Fair warning, I'm taking your blanket in five… four… three… two…"
The blanket was yanked away before the count reached one, let alone zero, and Yusuke was left blinking up at… Hitoshi-senpai. He looked perfectly normal, not at all like someone who'd jumped in front of a train.
Since Yusuke is still at least half-sure this is a Holy-Grail-driven hallucination, he was at least half-expecting gore.
(Not that Yusuke had seen him, after. Hitoshi-senpai had jumped while Yusuke was at school. He hadn't found out until he got home in the afternoon.)
Madarame found out a few hours earlier and could have called Kosei and had Yusuke pulled out of class. He didn’t. This was... well, saying it was meant kindly is a bit strong, not calling him earlier also made things easier for Madarame, but Madarame did think leaving Yusuke in school would make things less painful for Yusuke. He was probably wrong.
"You okay?" Hitoshi-senpai asked. "You're kind of pale…"
If he said 'you look like you've seen a ghost', Yusuke would not be responsible for his actions.
"Well, whatever's wrong, you're only going to feel worse sitting in here in the cold," Hitoshi-senpai went on. "Come on, Kiyomi got the space heater fired up in the studio over an hour ago, weird early riser, and I got us a treat for breakfast!"
…Maybe he would humor the hallucination at least as far as the space heater. "All right."
Being a “shack” the atelier has shitty insulation and possibly no central heating, and if they set up a space heater in every room the circuit breaker might fail as soon as someone used the microwave.
Yusuke opened his clothes chest and stared blankly at the middle school uniforms inside for a moment before digging out worn jeans and a paint-stained sweatshirt. Everything was just like he… remembered leaving it the night before. He'd thought about piling clothes on top of the blanket on his futon for extra warmth, but had decided it wasn't cold enough for that to be necessary.
Funny, that a memory that should be three years old seemed so fresh.
He didn't bother folding up his futon properly. Hitoshi-senpai's on the other side of the room was even messier.
Yusuke is not, by himself, a very tidy person. Yusuke and Hitoshi’s room is a disaster. Madarame has had to ask them to clean the room.
Yusuke peered out into the hall as carefully as if he were trying to ambush a Shadow. He did not want to talk to Sensei right now, hallucinated or otherwise. Not in sight — he was probably back in his private studio, with his own space heater. Or whatever secret climate controls he had to store all those fake 'Sayuri's without ruining them.
Obviously some of the time he’s off at resorts or whatever, but he is at the atelier sometimes, and I suspect his room is nicer than the shack in general looks. --And he would definitely need better climate controls for all those paintings.
Hitoshi-senpai's breakfast treat was store-bought American-style toaster pastries. Which he was attempting to toast on the space heater. Yusuke considered going back to bed.
I don’t think this is even a full manic episode, he’s just being weird.
"There you are," Kiyomi-senpai said. She was sitting by the space heater with a textbook and a notebook. Studying, presumably. Kiyomi-senpai had studied a lot, up until she dropped out of high school (when she left the atelier). "Hitoshi said you weren't feeling well, so I put away all the drawing pencils you left all over the studio last night."
…Yusuke remembered her sending Hitoshi-senpai to make him get up to clean up the mess, but that was the real version, when he hadn't woken up with a shout, then retreated under his blankets and lain in bed for an extra hour refusing to acknowledge anyone. "…Thank you, senpai."
Given a choice of exerting some effort cleaning up a mess someone else made or exerting twice as much effort making the person clean it up themselves, Kiyomi will usually take the second option. (She is very aware of unspoken games of Chore Chicken, knows she is at high risk of losing, and refuses to do so.) Exceptions are granted for health reasons. Don’t get used to it.
"I think these are almost ready," Hitoshi-senpai said. "Sit down, Yusuke-kun."
Yusuke sat, and numbly accepted a space heater pastry.
This was all a little… non-surreal to be a hallucination. No spines or giant veins anywhere. The space heater toaster pastries might have counted as surreal, except he remembered that part actually happening. Hitoshi-senpai could get a little surreal sometimes. Inspired, Sensei had always called it.
Crap, if it’s real, he’ll have to deal with it.
"You really don't look very good," Hitoshi-senpai said critically. "Hey, Kiyomi, how's the slush fund looking?"
"A lot smaller than it was before we splurged on the wedding present for Ayane-senpai," Kiyomi-senpai replied.
(Ayane-senpai had left the art world to get married less than a month before this. Or, more likely, Ayane-senpai had gotten married to leave Sensei, which then meant she had to leave the art world. None of them had gone to the small wedding, but Hitoshi-senpai had insisted the four remaining students — the three who lived at the atelier plus Natsuhiko-senpai — needed to send Ayane-senpai a wedding gift of some good art supplies so she would know she didn't need to leave art behind. Good art supplies were not cheap.)
Ayane wasn’t as close as the three of them are, more like on the level of Nakanohara (but much less obnoxious). Yusuke has the causality a bit mixed up; she wasn’t going to insist on leaving completely when she got married, just cutting back, but Madarame made an ultimatum and she decided she’d rather leave completely.
"Not to mention all the fried chicken last week," Kiyomi-senpai continued. "And the osechi, which incidentally had better still be in the fridge when it's actually New Year."
Osechi.
Ah, yes, unlike the 'end of exams' cake which had vanished before Kiyomi-senpai was even halfway through her end-of-term exams. It had been Yusuke. Hitoshi-senpai had covered for him.
No one was fooled.
Hitoshi-senpai frowned. "I thought Sensei paid for osechi this year."
"Sensei said he wanted to pay for the osechi." There were deserts less dry than Kiyomi-senpai's voice. "He never said he would."
"Right…" Hitoshi-senpai sighed.
"But if Yusuke-kun really needs a doctor… I think… I'm pretty sure Sensei would cover that."
"I don't need a doctor," Yusuke said quickly. Sensei probably would cover it. He'd also find a way to make them feel bad about asking.
Yusuke is right.
"You sure?" Kiyomi-senpai asked. "Even if he… doesn't have the cash handy, if it's really an emergency…"
If the slush fund isn’t enough, and Madarame won’t pay up, and it’s REALLY SERIOUSLY AN EMERGENCY, Kiyomi can call some of her relatives and ask for a loan. They would never let her forget it and it would make things generally more difficult with her family going forward, but apart from this art school/apprenticeship/career nonsense, Kiyomi is a Sensible Girl, and she has never said something is an emergency if it wasn’t actually an emergency, so if she asked for help they would help. They really could be a lot worse.
"It's not an emergency at all, senpai. I just… had a bad dream."
"Must've been pretty bad," Hitoshi-senpai said, before eating the last space heater pastry.
Oh, why not. "Kiyomi-senpai had gone back to her family in Iwate," Yusuke said flatly.
"That's bad, all right—"
They could be a lot worse but they are still best appreciated from a distance. Hitoshi has heard more about them than Yusuke has.
"And you were dead," Yusuke continued before they could start with that joke. "You — were hit by a train. Sensei had been arrested. Then a giant evil golden cup took over everyone's cognition and Tokyo merged with the skeleton and innards of some nameless cosmic beast."
Hitoshi-senpai blinked. "Uh."
"It killed all of us," Yusuke went on calmly. "And I'm still not sure if that was the dream or is I'm dreaming now while it's killing us."
Is thinking the future may have been a dream an improvement over thinking this is currently a dream? Idk.
"…I'll check and see what the clinic hours are," Kiyomi-senpai said.
"What? No—"
And there goes their free day!
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Title: What We Lack
Part 20
Pairing: Kacchako, Deku/Melissa, Todomomo
Rating: T
Word Count: 5,203
Read on Ao3
Summary:
Quirkless.
They’re the last people anyone expects to have a child without a quirk.
Neither of them can fully wrap their heads around it, but Ochako knows Katsuki is struggling far more than her.
Thank you to @its-love-u-asshole and @amaisenshi for reading this over and letting me freak out always.
The arena was bustling, massive crowds coming to watch the sports festival, and Sayuri had forgotten how busy it was going to be. Her and Shouhei had watched the sports fest every year together, but watching on T.V. and being a part of it in person were two very different things.
Her parents had been given VIP seats, partially due to who they were, but also because Shouhei would be participating. However, even with the secret entrance U.A had provided and disguises her parents had put on, avoiding the press was next to impossible.
"It's Ground Zero! And Uravity!" A woman cried out, pointing right in their direction and Sayuri immediately recoiled, stepping towards her father.
"Oh! Hello! Please excuse us, we're about to go watch our son-" Ochako began to say, but before she could finish, microphones were being thrust in all of their faces.
"Ground Zero! You won the sports fest as a first year! Are you hoping your son will do the same?!"
"You must be so proud of your son for following in your footsteps, Uravity! He has a quirk similar to yours, how do you think he'll be using it today?"
Sayuri's eyes darted about, listening to her parents field questions, answering as quickly as possible. She let out a sigh, happy they were focusing on her parents and not her. The few times she had been questioned by the press, she had nearly combusted from embarrassment and having no idea what to say.
"Please, we'll be happy to answer questions after the event but for now, we really should be-" Ochako tried to speak, gently turning them down.
Glancing to the side, Sayuri could see Deku, Melissa and Kazu, as well as Shouto and Momo also dealing with the press. Kazu, like her, was standing mostly behind his parents, hoping to avoid any questions.
For a moment, they caught eyes and Kazu smiled, waving at her. She waved back but stopped suddenly when a microphone was thrust into her face as well.
"Sayuri, is it difficult to watch your brother compete when you know you won't have a chance to?"
She froze. Of course it was difficult. Was she jealous? Of course. Did she want to run and hide in her room and forget her brother was going to be better than her in every way she could possibly imagine? Yes. Was she going to secretly wish she could be a hero like him the whole goddamn time. Duh. Was that question... real? Had the woman really just asked her-
"Oi!" Her father's voice cut through the noise and he smacked the microphone out of the woman's hand. It fell to the ground with a loud noise, a sharp distortion filling the air. "Don't you dare ask my daughter shitty fuckin' questions like that. You can ask us whatever you want, but stay away from her!" he snapped.
He pressed his hand to the small of Ochako's back and pushed her forward, grabbing Sayuri's hand to pull them away from the press.
"T-Thanks Dad," she whispered. She gently brushed her fingers over the edge of one of her pigtails. Why did the press care about her? She wasn't her parents; in fact, because she didn't have a quirk, she really wasn't anyone special.
Swallowing, she followed them inside, clinging to her father's hand. She felt like a child, wanting to hide away. She never knew what to do around the press, and she was thankful her father had shooed them away.
"Sayu, sweetheart," her mother said, turning to her once they were away from the crowd. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, we should've tried to block them faster."
"Fuckin' idiots!" Bakugou snapped, waving his hand back and forth. "Can't stand all of them. How dare they fucking ask you that shit. They're lucky I didn't just explode them all."
Ochako snorted. "It's for the best you didn't do that... but... they are rude." She gently stroked her hand over one of Sayuri's blonde pigtails. "My perfect girl. I want you to enjoy today okay?" she said. "I know you and Shou have loved the sports festival for so long, try not to worry about the press."
"Don't listen to a goddamn thing they say," Katsuki snorted.
"I-I know..." she whispered. "It's fine. Really I'm just excited to see Shou."
It wasn't a lie. She was excited, just... jealous as hell.
The three of them made their way to the arena, taking their seats. The place was huge, and Sayuri's eyes widened as she stared at the large field. It was so strange seeing it up close, like she could reach out and actually touch it. Seeing the full field in front of her, her heart yearned to be down there; to stand with her peers and fight with a quirk.
She always imagined she would have something similar to her father’s... something explosive and flashy. She would light up the stage and the world with her quirk, showing off her amazing ability and everyone would be impressed she was even stronger than Ground Zero.
It was a dream she’d had for forever, so much so being here made her almost feel a sense of nostalgia.
Sayuri stood at the railing, watching as people bustled about the field, setting up what looked to be some sort of giant obstacle course.
"Ochako-chan!"
Turning around, Sayuri saw Momo and Shouto walking down the steps. As always, Momo was dressed far fancier than she needed to be, wearing a cute red summer dress and large hat.
"Momo-chan!" Ochako jumped up, waving to her friend. "You always look so cute!"
"Please," Momo giggled, cupping her cheek. "How are you?"
"Glad to see you avoided the press," Shouto said, taking a seat.
"Well, it took Katsuki knocking a microphone out of one reporter’s hand to get us away from them," Ochako giggled.
"Good morning, Sayu-chan," Momo smiled, waving to her. "I keep forgetting how big you are now," she sighed. "I hate seeing our children grow up so fast."
"I know," Ochako whined.
"But!" Momo's eyes lit up and she gently wrapped her fingers around Ochako's "Did you hear our boys are dating!?"
Ochako gasped. "I know! I couldn't be happier! Maybe we'll get to be in-laws!"
Katsuki clicked his tongue. "Spare me."
"Katsuki!" Ochako snapped. "Being in-laws with Momo and Shouto would be amazing! Stop that."
"Whatever."
Sayuri couldn't help the snort that slipped from her lips. Her father was always so pissed about Deku and Shouto.
"Yuuta texted me today to say he was worried he would have to face Shou-kun. He really doesn't want to."
"Oh my gosh," Ochako sighed. "He's so precious. It would be cute to see them face each other."
"Shouhei will kick both of your kids’ asses!" Katsuki hissed.
"Katsuki! It's not a competition."
"Actually," Shouto hummed, "it is. We have two chances for our children to beat Shouhei."
"Shouto... don't be petty!" Momo sighed.
"I'm not being petty, I'm being honest," Shouto said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Tch, we'll see who ends up winning. Hopefully your boys will actually try!" Katsuki snapped.
"Are you still on that? We're in our forties and you haven't let this go?" Shouto scoffed.
"Of course fuckin' not, Half and Half. You're a goddamn bastard-"
"Kacchan! Ochako-chan! Ah! Shouto and Momo too!" Deku smiled, waving to them as he interrupted the growing tension between Katsuki and Shouto.
"Deku!" Ochako waved. "Come sit!"
"What the hell are you doing here, fuckin' nerd?!" Katsuki hissed, folding his arms across his chest.
"I invited them!" Ochako exclaimed, standing to give Melissa a hug as they moved to sit in the chairs behind them, though Kazu walked around, taking his seat next to Sayuri.
"Yes, we've only been around your children for years now, of course we would want to come and support them," Melissa sighed, taking a seat behind them.
Katsuki clicked his tongue, turning to Sayuri. "Can you believe this shit?"
"Well... I'm happy Kazu is here," she smirked.
"Fuckin' betrayed," Katsuki scoffed.
"It's good to see you both," Momo smiled, ignoring Katsuki's outbursts. "I haven't seen you in quite some time Melissa."
"You must be so proud; both of your boys are participating today, right?" Melissa asked.
"Mhm!"
"How is Arata handling it?" Ochako asked. "You mentioned Yuuta but is Arata nervous at all?"
"Mmm..." Momo glanced downwards.
"Arata has been... temperamental lately," Shouto explained. "We know he's very determined to win this."
"Well, they are teenagers," Melissa chuckled. "There's bound to be some frustrations." She glanced towards Kazu. "Please stay easy going."
"E-Eh!? M-Mom! I-I'll do my best!"
Sayuri snorted, rolling her eyes at her best friend. Kazu wasn't exactly easy going, but he wasn't the type to cause any problems.
"Don't worry, Meli-chan," Sayuri hummed, poking at Kazu's shoulder. "Kazu is such a goody-goody, it almost hurts."
"Just like his fuckin' nerdy ass father," Katsuki hissed, interjecting into the conversation.
"K-Kacchan..." Deku stammered.
"Shut it, Deku," Katsuki snapped, gritting his teeth.
Sayuri sat on the other side of her father, glancing out at the field while the adults continued to chatter between themselves. She had seen videos of her parents’ first fight. Ochako always claimed that was the moment Katsuki fell in love with her.
There was a small part of her that wanted to see Shou fight Yuuta. She could picture him losing for Yuuta’s sake; fucking sap.
Then again, as fun as the sports fest was for her, she knew it was stressful for her brother. It was the first time scouts would look at him and it would give him the potential to get an internship. It was how both her mother and father had started. Given his legacy, it would probably be easier for him, but knowing Shouhei, Sayuri was sure he would want to get it on his own merit.
Pursing her lips, she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the stadium.
[Text Shouhei]: We're here. You better do a good job or I'm going to kick your ass!
[Text from Shouhei]: Don't worry I plan on winning this thing.
Kazu leaned over, nudging Sayuri. "Pretty exciting we're gonna get to see Shouhei out there."
"Heh, yeah. He better not suck!" she snorted, folding her arms across her chest. "I mean technically he's representing both of us out there."
"There's no way he'll suck! He's been working super hard, yeah?"
"Yeah..." Sayuri said, looking at the field.
She thought about the question the reporter had asked her before her dad had slapped the mic out of her hand. Of course she would never get to do this, which is why she would have to live vicariously through Shouhei.
Her phone buzzed once more and she turned it over, looking at Shouhei's message
[Text from Shouhei]: I'm gonna win for both us.
Swallowing, Sayuri pushed the phone against her chest as she scraped her teeth across her lower lip.
"Are you okay, Sayu-chan?" Kazu asked.
"Yeah," she muttered. "Shou is just... an idiot!" A smile pulled across her lips. "I'm probably gonna kick his ass if he doesn't win this."
"Sayu, be nice," Ochako said, leaning over Katsuki. "Your brother has been working really hard and he's probably very stressed."
"I dunno, he seems fine to me," Sayuri shrugged.
"I wasn't worried before the sports fest," Katsuki snorted. "I knew I was going to win."
"Yes, we all remember your eloquent speech," Shouto sighed.
"Shut it! Like you would do any better!" Katsuki hissed.
"What did you say Dad?"
"Mmm... If I recall he said something about pledging to be number 1," Momo said, tapping her finger against her chin.
"That was it!" Ochako laughed. "No one was surprised!"
"Yeah but then he was number one," Sayuri said, looking proudly at her father.
"I am number one, baby girl," he snorted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer.
"Dad!" she cried out, pushing against his chest.
"Is Kacchan number one right now?" Deku asked.
"I don't know-" Ochako began, but Katsuki was quick to cut her off.
"Course I fuckin' am!" he snapped.
"Well hopefully Shouhei will be number one today," Ochako smirked, ignoring her husband's outburst.
"He better be," Katsuki hissed.
"We'll see about that," Shouto muttered, clicking his tongue.
Sayuri slipped out from her father's grasp when he began to yell at Shouto some more. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, turning her gaze to the field. Things were going to start soon and she prayed she could handle watching it. As excited as she was, there was a small feeling in the pit of her stomach reminding her how difficult watching this would be.
~~
"You ready, Yuu?" Shouhei smirked, tucking his phone into the locker.
"I mean, no!" Yuuta said, his legs trembling. "I-I have no idea what it's going to be like out there! And what if I have to face you!"
Shouhei sighed, shutting the locker door. "Yuu, we've been over this." He walked towards him, cupping his cheeks. "It's gonna be fine, ya idiot."
"I know..."
Earlier, Yuuta had wanted to believe Shouhei, but as they made their way out to the field, he grew more and more tense. The sports festival had been looming over him for so long and now it was finally here.
"Welcome to the U.A. Sports Festival! I'm Mirio Togata and I'll be your host on this lovely day. Joining me is my beautiful partner, Tamaki Amajiki."
Mirio paused, turning towards Tamaki.
"Hi..." he muttered softly.
"We're here to bring you all the best commentary of today's event!" Mirio cheered. "I'm so excited to be back in this arena. This is where it all begins for so many young heroes!"
Tamaki had never been much of a talker, so Yuuta couldn't really understand why they would choose him for something like this; probably because he and Mirio were usually glued together.
As they stepped onto the field, Yuuta realized the first event was a giant obstacle course and he swallowed, not wanting to panic. He glanced to the side, looking at how confident Shouhei seemed. A little ways down the line, Arata also looked confident, a fiery passion burning in his eyes.
The obstacle course would determine who would make it to the tournament round. Additionally it would also decide who would be facing who.
Yuuta took a deep breath, waiting for the alarm to sound. He had spent all morning panicking to Shouhei about what the first event would be, as they rotated it year after year, always trying out new things.
He wanted to do well, he really did. Maybe not to the same level as Arata and Shou... but he didn't want to make a complete fool of himself, especially not when his parents and scouts were watching.
There was no time to panic. They'd all been spending the past few weeks training for this event and Yuuta wanted to say he was prepared but he had no idea how it would go. He looked around the stadium, wishing his parents were in sight. He had a feeling that would've either helped his nerves or made him want to combust from fear.
He glanced to the large rock wall that stood in front of them; who knew what lay on the other side? He could only pray it wouldn't be horrible.
The horn sounded and Yuuta gasped, immediately rushing forward. His fire should be able to propel him upwards, if he made the flames hot enough.
Letting his hands fall to his side, he allowed the blue flames to tickle his fingertips, shooting out in long waves. He clenched his fists, heating them up as he flicked his fingers out, holding his palms to the ground as he shot up.
He knew he couldn't look to see where others were at, it would only slow him down and he needed to pay attention.
Still, his eyes fell upon his boyfriend, Shouhei floating himself over the wall with ease.
Yuuta propelled himself over the wall, landing on the other side. There were tall spikes which were grouped together in the middle of the arena. It almost looked like a giant wooden forest. He dashed inside, zigzagging past the tall spikes. The last thing he wanted to do was set them on fire, though he supposed it would've disintegrated if he made his flames hot enough.
He continued forward realizing the spikes were getting much closer together. Holding his hand out, he seared the wood, allowing it to catch in flame, bursting upwards. "D-Dammit!" he gasped, not taking the time to stop. They had people at the ready to stop any disasters and Yuuta decided to trust them.
Behind him, he heard a few screams, other students stopping when a wall of his blue flames flared up, blocking them from continuing forward in that spot. Oops… he hadn’t meant to block others, though he supposed this was part of the competition.
He then came to a long spread of water across the arena floor. It was clearly too deep to walk across and swimming would take too much time. He lowered his flame to the water, allowing his body temperature to lower, cooling off the water as it began to seal, creating ice along the ground as he walked across the bridge he made.
Yuuta couldn't help the smile crossing his face. He wasn't failing.
He made his way through the arena: dodging flying blunt arrows, climbing over a different giant wall; going through a small dirt maze filled to the brim with hidden bombs. He had lost sight of Arata and Shouhei, but a few other students were close by him.
One girl with a shrinking quirk had gotta through some of the obstacles with ease, but was currently struggling to climb over one of the tall walls.
A boy who had fish-like qualities had zoomed past Yuuta during the water section of the course.
He knew he wasn’t going to be first; Yuuta had never expected that. However, he didn’t want to be last.
His chest hurt, his heart pounding hard against his rib cage. His breathing was loud in his ears, and though other students were rushing around him, fighting to get to the end, he couldn’t hear. All he had was his focus.
To Yuuta, it felt never ending, but he kept pushing through, needing desperately to get to the end.
He pushed himself, crossing to the finish line as he climbed over a wall of spikes and hidden bombs. Panting, he tried not to fall to the ground, instead choosing to look at his classmates and who had made through so far. He was pleased to see Arata and Shouhei already there. Arata looked positively winded, as if he had just run a marathon. Yuuta supposed this was just as intense... if not more.
"I-I can't believe... we did it..." Yuuta panted, trying to catch his breath.
"Of course we did," Arata scoffed. "We've been training for weeks, maybe even months for this."
"Y-Yeah..." Yuuta stammered.
Shouhei frowned, placing his arm around his boyfriend. "We did fuckin' great." Yuuta knew Shouhei was tired of Arata's negativity.
As the other students began to cross the finish line, it was clear to see who was going to be moving on and who was falling behind. Yuuta knew a few people didn't even finish when they called the event completed.
The entire stadium erupted in a loud roar; cheers were heard all across the entire arena.
"It was a thrilling first event, but we all know exactly what you've all been waiting for. Introducing Pinky! Pinky is one of the teachers keeping a close eye on these rascals!" Mirio cackled.
Mina waved from the stage at the back of the stadium, a small podium awaiting her.
"We all know people want to watch the sports festival to see the epic battles that go on between you kids! Parents, fans, and friends of U.A gather here to witness these face offs of epic proportions.
"After the first event, we've selected who will be moving forward; let's take a look now!"
Cheers rang out through the stadium, and pictures and names of the finalists were displayed on the screen. It was no surprise to Yuuta to see Arata’s and Shouhei's names up there and he was so grateful to see his own too.
"The first match up will be a special pair! Yuuta Todoroki will be facing Arata Todoroki, the clash of the twins."
Yuuta felt all the blood rush from his face, his eyes filling with fear as he looked for Arata’s red and black hair in the crowd. His brother’s kept his gaze turned towards the ground, looking more determined than ever.
Swallowing, Yuuta turned towards Shouhei. "I-I'll do my best," he whispered.
"We'll be taking a short break to clear the field!" Mirio called out.
"S-Shou..." Yuuta whimpered. He didn't want to face off against his brother, other than facing Shouhei this was his worst nightmare.
Shouhei blinked nervously, walking beside Yuuta as they made their way off of the field. "It’s gonna be okay, Yuu. I mean you and Arata have sparred before right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
This was different. Arata was far more intense about this.
Yuuta squeezed his lips together, making his way to the locker room where they would wait for the arena to be set up.
Immediately, Mina ushered Yuuta and Arata to the waiting area.
"Alright boys, you ready?" she laughed. "Your mother is probably panicking right now, so try not to kill each other. I don't wanna give Momo any more stress than she already has!" Mina hummed, gently patting both of their shoulders. She nudged Arata, but his brother didn’t respond.
It was true, their mother was probably terrified of watching the two of them fight.
"I'll leave you two to it. Have a good clean battle," she said, waving once. "We'll call you out shortly."
Arata took a seat at the table and sat in silence while Yuuta couldn't help but pace around the room. He cracked his knuckles and wiggled his fingers, trying to ignore the desire to ignite his flames.
Yuuta kept sneaking glances awkwardly at his brother. When his twin would turn towards him, Yuuta would immediately look away. He knew his brother was probably angry he was having to go up against Yuuta of all the people.
Pushing himself up with a huff, Arata glared at Yuuta. "You better take this seriously, Yuuta."
"E-Eh?" Yuuta blushed. "W-Why wouldn't I?"
"Because, I know you don't care about this as much as I do."
Yuuta sucked in a long breath of air. "Of course I care about it. You're too intense about things-"
"I'm not too intense. This is what it takes to be a hero. Scouts are here today. People who want to scope out our abilities; do you understand how important that is?" he snapped.
"I do, I just... I just don't think we need to be so angry at each other-"
"Tch..." Arata clicked his tongue and looked away, his eyes trembling with something softer. "Look Yuuta, you're my brother and I love you... but I have to do this. I have to use today to prove how strong I am."
Yuuta frowned. How long would this nonsense go on for?! He was so tired of Arata pushing himself and pushing everyone in his life away in the process. "To who!?" Yuuta snapped. "Arata everyone knows you're strong. Mom does, Dad does, I do, Shou, even grandfather must think you're strong if he's willing to train you. I just don't understand what you're trying to prove-"
"Alright boys, it's time!" Mina's voice called out, as she peaked in from the hall. "Like I said, keep it clean."
Arata immediately pushed up away from the table, heading out onto the field. Making his way across the large arena, people cheered for both him and Yuuta as they stepped to their respective sides.
"A battle between twins! From Class 1-A we have Todoroki Yuuta!" Mirio cheered, and the stadium erupted with applause. Yuuta knew some of the excitement came from fans of their parents, and that terrified him. What would those people say if he made a total fool of himself?
He could sort of understand why Arata felt pressured.
"And from Class 1-B we have Todoroki Arata!" The stadium continued to cheer, the loud noise echoing in the large space.
"Are you ready?!" Mirio called out, and Yuuta tried to focus on what was happening and not the loud sound of his rapid heartbeat. "And FIGHT!"
A loud alarm sounded, the entire arena exploding with excitement as Arata began to walk towards the center of the field. What was he doing?
"I already told you, Yuuta," he said, unzipping the top of his jersey. "I won't go easy on you just because you're my brother."
"I wouldn't expect you to-" Yuuta said, blue flames dancing over the tips of his fingers. He had to keep his flames cold. Since Arata's fire crystals would be insanely hot, the only way Yuuta would be able to stop him would be to freeze said crystals.
Arata pressed his hand against his chest, pulling a long molton crystal in the shape of a spear, similar to ones their mother often used.
Blinking, Yuuta tried not to be shocked. It made sense Arata's quirk would be able to mold the crystals into such a thing, since it was so similar to their mother's quirk. Still... it threw him off for a moment, seeing his brother do something so… advanced.
"Let's go!" he cried out, charging for him.
Yuuta gasped, and spread out his hands, circling a wall of cold blue fire around him. It was a temporary solution, while he tried not to panic. If Arata had weapons... what did he have? Fire? He couldn't freeze Arata with his cold flames, but if he could get close enough to the weapon... that would work right? His mind was moving at insane speeds.
"Yuuta!" Arata cried out, jumping over the wall of flames. "I know your fire is cold, this won't work on me," he smirked, charging for him with the spear.
Grunting, Yuuta held up his arm, covering it in his flame in an attempt to block the attack from the spear. He should've known Arata wouldn't hesitate going through the fire.
Arata thrust the molton object towards Yuuta, scraping at his arm. He hissed, stumbling backwards as the cut on his arm burned. Yuuta was used to things being hot. Being able to control the temperature of his flame, it was something his body could handle, but Arata's spear searing his skin was a boiling pain Yuuta had never experienced.
Arata charged at him rapidly, while Yuuta fell backwards, trying not to stumble, the spear scraping against his forearms. He needed to make his flames colder to try and freeze it.
He fell to his knees as he stumbled towards the edge of the arena. If he stepped out, he was disqualified, which he refused to let happen. His arms burned and his chest felt tight. He had to fight back, especially since Arata was being so aggressive.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Arata snapped. "Get up, Yuu. This is pathetic-"
Lunging forward, Yuuta wrapped his hand around the molton spear, his hand burning as it did. He winced, letting the cool flames wrap around it, lowering the temperature of his hand as much as he could to freeze the damn thing.
His body was shivering, so cold from changing the temperature so fast, but he shoved Arata back, stepping up.
The arena exploded with cheers.
"I'm not pathetic, Arata," he hissed. "Just because I don't have as much drive as you or care about these sorts of things... it doesn't make me pathetic or any less of a hero than you!" He yelled, watching Arata's eyes widen.
Using his other hand, he shot his flame towards Arata, who tossed the frozen spear to the side, shattering it. He ducked, just barely in time.
It was time for Yuuta to counter. He shot flames towards Arata, walking slowly towards him, aiming all the shots directly for him. If Arata wasn't scared to fight, neither was Yuuta and he was going to prove he wasn't weak or pathetic. It didn’t matter if he didn’t train as much as Arata, Yuuta was strong too.
Arata dove to the side, rolling forward as he began to run back around. Pressing his hand to his chest, he pulled another crystal out, a long sword, hissing with heat. Yuuta saw his brother shiver, and he wondered if he was losing too much body heat from making such large objects.
He charged again, running so fast towards Yuuta. Shooting a long trail of flames towards him, Arata dodged out of the way, thrusting the sword towards his brother.
Yuuta meant to dodge, but Arata was fast and the blade of the sword scraped against his cheek, cutting the skin and burning it harshly.
Screaming, Yuuta clutched at his cheek, stumbling backwards. With Arata charging again, he tried to hold up his hand, creating a small wall of flames again, but Arata cut right through it, pushing Yuuta back further.
His brother was relentless, swinging the sword and slicing through any flames Yuuta tried to use to block.
He didn’t want to faint, his breathing shallow as he attempted to fight back, blocking and shooting smaller flames towards Arata which he deftly dodged.
Arata was definitely stronger than him... there was no argument. Yuuta had never wanted to be stronger, hadn't been putting as much effort in as his brother, and it showed.
Arata swiped in front of Yuuta, purposefully not using the sword to slice open his brother and Yuuta gasped when he went to put his foot back and instead he fell out of the arena, landing sharply on his back.
Panting, Yuuta felt the heat from the sword oddly close to his face as Arata stabbed down in the ground right next to Yuuta's face. Blood trickled down his cheek as he stared up at his brother's intense turquoise eyes.
"I win," he hissed, stepping back as he made his way to the middle of the arena.
"Todoroki Yuuta has stepped out of the arena! Todoroki Arata will be moving on to the next round!"
Cheers sounded throughout the stadium and Yuuta winced. His hand hurt, his body ached. Arata had felt so angry during the fight, and he wondered if it was because of grandfather's training. Arata was pushing himself far too much.
Yuuta stared at the sky, watching the clouds above him as he lay on the ground of the arena, the cheers from the crowd slowly getting quieter as he escaped into his own mind. Arata had won, and Yuuta prayed Arata wouldn't overdo it by the end of the day. More than anything, Yuuta hoped his brother would be okay.
#kacchako#todomomo#bnha#boku no hero academia#oc kids#what we lack#bakugou katsuki#uraraka ochako#todoroki shouto#yaoyorozu momo#melissa shield#midoriya izuku
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Ragna in the other BBTAG worlds
I asked a while ago for ideas as to where Ragna could end up post-CF as his “retirement” world, I’ve gotten like 3 suggestions; Bleach (mainly to pair him with Kukaku Shiba, but given everything else happening in that world he’ll have no chill there), Animal Crossing, and Mario Galaxy (on the Comet Observatory with Rosalina and the Lumas)
but today, I want to take a look at how he’d fare living in the worlds presented to us in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Just for the hell of it:
Long post bellow
Persona: if Ragna were to end up living in the Persona world thing might be difficult at first, he grew up in the middle of nowhere and the woods and lived in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future, so there will be a bit of a culture shock. But if Akihiko can run around shirtless then this world will be fine with someone like Ragna. I think he might end up working with the Shadow Operatives, hey he was raised to fight so may as well put his supernatural power and fighting ability to use against the Shadows right? I mean the Kirijo group managed to make an identity for Aigis when she attended Gekkoukan High in P3, so they could make Ragna have an identity. Since the dude has Son Goku levels of education I ‘d find it funny if Mitsuru put his ass through some kind of education program or something. I mean it is never too late to get an education and I’m sure there are many real-life examples of people who couldn’t go to school for some reason or another. Also, I’ve said this before, Ragna might give of serious “Shinjiro” vibes to the Shadow Operatives, so they might be able to navigate his personality a bit better. Mitsuru can be the cool-headed one w/o being a bitch like Rachel, Akihiko would make a good sparring partner, he’ll treat Aigis and Labrys right since he treats the Murakumos like people, Yukari is pretty normal compared to most of them and can also get annoyed by their antics so Ragna might like her (he enjoys the company of average/normal people since they aren’t too zany for his tastes), Ken is pretty mature for his age, but Junpei might get on his nerves. But also, if Ragna enters around P4 Arena time, then if he stays there a few years he could be present for the Persona 5 story, and THAT would be a fun setting to play in with Ragna.
Under Night In-Birth: it being a modern world won’t be too much of an issue, like with Persona there’ll be some culture shock but lots of the people there are also kind of weirdoes. If he ends up with the main good guys (Hyde, Linne, Waldstein, and Vatista) we can just add another guy bumming around Hyde’s house. Helping train Hyde, spar with Wald, cook for Linne (give her actual good food and she’ll be worshiping you I bet), and Vatista May remind him of Lambda so he’d be chill around her. But another idea could be him being a mercenary like Gordeau, like maybe the two becoming friendly rivals or something (I just liked how chill he was with Ragna in BBTAG’s story oka, sue me). Also, I could totally see Hilda trying to recruit Ragna into Amnesia because she hears about him being the SS-Class criminal trying to take down the keepers of the order of his world, much like how she is trying to do to Licht Kreis, she tries to get a little flirty with him, but Ragna declines b/c 1. When he was taking on the N.O.L. he was doing it for revenge, Hilda is just doing it for shits and giggles (10 points to whoever gets that reference), 2. Ragna can totally sense danger coming to from this chick, and 3. the dude is at least smart enough not to stick his dick in crazy. He and Merkava would have an interesting conversation, Merkava being a beast with a man within, and Ragna being a man with a beast within.
RWBY: Okay this might depend on where in the timeline he’s put (Pre-Volume 3 like in BBTAG, or Pre-Volume 6 like what I’ve been thinking of), but let’s stick with the Beacon arc-like in BBTAG. The current state of the world is: Cinder and her team are in disguise as Haven students, Roman is arrested, everyone thinks the threat is gone and that the Breach was the big plan, but the Ozluminati know better and are just trying to keep the peace. Ragna is a very aggressive person and easily angered, not a good thing when dealing with Grimm, which are attracted to negative emotions. Also, may I remind you that the Grimm have no souls, and thus are immune to Ragna's Soul Eater power drive which is partially what has allowed him to be such a dangerous threat in his world. In fact, his power is WAY more suitable for fighting people, considering the Huntsmen and Huntresses powers come from their Aura which comes from their soul. Like, he just grabs them and watches that Aura meter just drop FAST. Also, I’m not sure if he’d even be able to gain Aura and a Semblance himself with the Azure Grimoire also fucking his soul up. Ironwood might just say to kill/imprison this guy before he becomes a threat while Ozpin might try and be a bit more diplomatic if he at least hears about his nicer exploits (maybe from Ruby). And no, I do not know how his Soul Eater power could be used on the Maiden Powers or Ozpin’s reincarnating soul. MAYBE it could be used to kill Salem by consuming HER immortal soul instead of just physically killing her, but I do not know if it could be used to rip the Maiden Powers out of their hosts. He and Qrow might talk about their shitty lives but when Qrow offers him a drink Ragna declines b.c Ragna’s Azure Grimoire healing factor also works on toxins (seen in the Variable Heart manga where he shrugs of Shiori’s poison), also I think Ragna views Alchohol as a bitch’s way of dealing with problems. A fight between him and Raven would be interesting also, like them giving each other lectures about family: Ragna giving Raven shit for abandoning Yang (who I assume he might bond with), while Raven says that he has no right to talk about family considering the state of HIS.
There’s probably a lot more that could happen but I can’t think of anything else atm.
I’ll be skipping Arcana Heart since A. I barely know jack fuck about that series (the second game isn't even localized), B. the main powerset in that game seems to only go to girls, which leads to C. there are NO male characters, not even side NPCs, so Ragna would stick out WAY too much.
Senran Kagura: Much like Arcana Heart I don’t know much but I looked through character descriptions and some basic plot summaries here and there (mostly from TVTropes so please forgive me if I fuck something up, which I will) , so I at least get the BASIC gist of things going on. The only place I could think of Ragna going is him looking after or palling around with the Homura Crimson Squad. He isn’t one to join some big organization (the Good Ninja side won’t accept him after his MASSIVE body count in his world, and the Hebijo guys are way too intense), and depending on the timeline he could either help protect the Crimson Squad from the Hebijo team out to kill them for deserting, or he also likes to be independent and train/fight his own way. He could help Homura train for her next fight with her rival Asuka (plus she’ll be a fan of his meat cooking). He might try to get Yomi to add some more variety to her food instead of bean sprouts (cue fight). Hikage might freak him out since she looks like almost a female Hazama/Terumi, but she also struggles with socializing and likes to cook for her friends so after the initial awkwardness they might get along. Mirai hates being ignored so this might cause some annoyance to Ragna, but she’s also a bully victim. I could see him being annoyed by her but then later sees her getting picked on and his big-brother instinct kicks in and he helps, then they gain a sort of understanding. Haruka is the real beast here, the dominatrix sadist scientist who wants to make people her dolls, so Ragna might need to step up a bit to keep her under control (like I said I only know the bare minimum, she might not actually be that bad post-character development but I don’t know). Finally, just for the sake of it, I’m not too sure where on the power scale Ragna would fall in the SK universe. The most powerful person there is Sayuri/Jasmine, with I think Rin and Daidōji both sharing the second strongest spot. I’ll say Ragna is around Daidōji and Rin’s level because Sayuri/Jasmine would most likely be like Jubei level. Also because the power scaling in Blazblue is absurd so comparing the Shinobi (of whom only a few have unique powers) to the Blazblue cast (who have magical weapons and reality-fucking powers) is kind of unfair, plus it gives Ragna a sort of cap so he won’t be too unstoppable in this world. Finally, not too keen on shipping. I’ve been using the “half your age plus seven” rule of dating so to not make things weird, Ragna is 22 in my HC and the minimum age is 18 (lots of people say once your over 18 you can date whoever you want that’s older, but........no), but while a few girls in SK are 18 they are still in high school (the birthdays and ages don’t match up with their school years, and that angers me) so.....no, he just has a big brother instinct for the Crimson Squad.
I’ll also skip Akatsuki Blitzkampf b/c A. Like Arcana Heart above I barely know the story, and B. What little I have seen of the story isn’t.......much. Story Isn’t exactly a big factor in this series.
Lemme know what you guys think Ragna would get up to in these other worlds. I might add to this if another series is added to BBTAG.
#ragna the bloodedge#persona#persona 3#persona 4#p4#p3#persona 4 arena#p4a#persona 4 arena ultimax#p4au#under night in-birth#uni#rwby#senran kagura#arcana heart#bbtag#blazblue cross tag battle
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READ ME
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR RACIST CHASERS/GAY-FOR-STRAIGHT-CONSUMPTION/OOC TRANSPHOBIA/ANY RACISM WHATSOEVER UNLESS SHOWN AS BAD BY NARRATIVE AND CONFINED TO AGREED UPON PLOTTING
I set Savers in its airing year, so Masaru was born in '92. Can take place anytime after episode 49. However, there just won't be any explicit sexual content regardless of when the thread takes place. I also don't auto-ship: I'm here to walk a character through things, so ships will all be more slow-burn. Also, while Masaru's just pan, I'm actually asexual, so don't even expect me to present beyond a textbook understanding of sexual attraction
Masaru's kind of a jerk. My other two muses are generally at least kind unless the other person isn't, but Masaru's kind of abrasive and gleefully violent. If we're playing, I'll probably warn you beforehand, but Masaru may snap at your muse if your muse isn't a little kid. If your muse didn't deserve it, he'll probably apologise at some point, but yeah, this muse is even less like me than 02's Ken (Bleach's Ichigo is my muse most like me)
I'm on mobile. Period. I can't cut threads. I usually just tag "long post." Can't cut threads.
Seen JP ver only. Haven't seen any others, and I have no reason to bother--the original's in my native. Why would I bother with "orange juice bomb"?
Masaru is mixed race here. In a planned project that's a sister project to my Bleach project I already got a bit of stuff up for, Masaru's mum is Japanese and Russian, and related to Junpei of Frontier, and Masaru's dad was Japanese and Afghani. Masaru actually does speak Japanese, Russian, and Persian.
Masaru's also trans here. He never got puberty blockers, but he finally got testosterone at 13. So his voice changed at a pretty normal age. But he does need a binder and all that. (He loved that black tank top he wears after the memory wipe because it was just the right cut to cover the binder while showing off his arm muscles!) He does someday want kids, and Japanese law, like most US states or most places, requires sterilisation to recognise gender change. His papers also say a different first name. Of course, this probably came up with Satuma. Satuma and payroll at DATS probably know all about it. But being trans isn't *as* hard in Japan as the Anglophonic world. Especially thanks to Kamikawa Aya advocating on outlets like NHK radio since '95, which Masaru would be three then.
I toss the epilogue. Don't like the losing their digimon, and Masaru ditching his family he feels so responsible for and his dad he just got back?
Actually, in my project, ep 48 never happens. Suguru is dead, DATS remains, and Sayuri gets BanchouLeomon as her digimon partner.
Oh, another rule--poor spelling and grammar is acceptable if you are not a native speaker. It infuriates me to no end that I'm supposed to be an idiot for being fluent in three just because English is not my first, but native speakers get to run around spelling "bins" "ben's" and congratulating themselves for "kohnichuwa" but I get beaten/decried for actually knowing the language... And also, ,ZERO TOLERANCE for "garnish my human default English with exotic Japanese uwu" See "zero tolerance for chasers and racism"
Totally available to play in Japanese or Spanish, but you must be fluent.
Masaru lives in Tobechou, Yokohama. I went to the Chinatown in Yokohama once with my dad, but I lived in Koube. And we didn't leave Hanshin region all that much. My knowledge of much outside there being a Chinatown in the '80s (obviously still there, as it was the setting for the Savers movie) and big landmarks like Minatomirai is minimal. I also haven't been back to Japan period since '94. My relatives there are all deceased since the '90s, and flights alone are 1,000$, which, until recently, was definitely over a month of rent. Two for a studio, one plus a couple hundred for a 1 or 2LDK, depending. Might even have had 1.5 baths. By the time Savers was airing in Japan, I was able to keep up with Japanese news via now-gone Japanese-language broadcasts in California, as well as the Web, which is also how I saw Savers. But my knowledge of Japanese things may run the risk of being almost 30 years out of date. Or it might be completely current because I still read Asahi News, the most left-leaning paper I can find. Unsure if related to Hanshin region channel 6, but channel 6 was the best when I was there.
The Daimon family didn't move when Masaru came out, but he came out pretty young. It's just difficult to get trans care for minors. That being said, most peers don't know he's trans. They do know he's mixed, though. That being said, it's not like it's *only* him fighting racist bullies. It's only partially that. Like I said, I fully acknowledge he's pretty abrasive. So he's not completely blameless for all the fights. He could easily someday be the kind of parent who gets arrested for punching a rival dad. Violence is not a last resort for him. It's the best resort.
I do multi-para and don't use icons. But I'm not asking for an exact word count match. All I ask is give me stuff to go off of in replies and for Heaven's sake, do *not* format like House of Leaves when you play with me. Format button abuse looks like a visual panic attack, and is just too chaotic for me to read.
I may go spotty on replies with you. I'll still chat with you via the messenger thingy, and I don't play with people I've never spoken to, even if I've started the interaction, because I need to filter for my sanity, so I need to know the people I play with aren't gonna pull racism or something on me, but when my replies slow, it's because I work on-call at a shelter for seriously physically ill people, I'm also disabled myself, and I don't have the ability to put enough energy for the high-quality replies I strive to give in at the moment. I'm stalling because I want to give you my best. If I want to drop a thread, which is admittedly rare, I'll let you know. I won't leave you guessing.
Some h/cs just for fun
Masaru loves metal. The metal I know is 70s prog and 80s glam metal and stuff. I don't really like much music past about '94, and exactly two albums after 2000 (neither are metal)
Masaru has always had the same kind of attention span I have now even though I completely didn't when I was younger. He's running commentary if you watch an movie with him, his biggest problem with school is the whole sitting and passively listening to a lecture part, he thinks he doesn't like reading because others always talk about sitting there and reading for hours on end (if he's older, he may have realised it's OK to read for 20-minute bursts, something I eventually realised, too). He only really learns by doing. That being said, depending on age, he may not have had the chance to *realise* that yet.
He wouldn't become a sumo wrestler, but he totally watches it. Honestly, any fighting sport, and he's there.
He's very Japanese as far as religion. Sort of takes part and believes in a lot of them at the same time, but none are a overly influential part of his life. This is a thing.
Crossovers with any season preceding Savers are pretty easy with this blog considering my project. The project will eventually merge with the Bleach project, toi, so I also have a thing for that. Overall, I welcome crossovers with most animated media. Live action, I'll consider if you don't use icons with me (it ends up looking like Who Framed Roger Rabbit in my head) I don't do any real person stuff beyond, say, having Masaru listen to real bands or know of other public figures.
There is also a flexibility in playing Masaru in other countries. He could visit family in Russia or Afghanistan, he can be sent over from DATS to help with digimon appearances in countries allied with Japan (coughcontroloverjapanliketheuscough) or I totally ship him with Touma, so he could be in whatever that country is (obviously a Germanic nation in Western Europe)
He's definitely leftist, but his tactics aren't really common among the left. Typically, it's the fascists that will throw the first punch. Except Masaru will, as well. Unfortunately, this means he can take *away* from, say, antifa efforts to counter demo anti-Korean rioters.
He looks down on most weapon use, but probably none more so than guns and other weapons that remove the user from the target. To him, anyone who hides safely behind a weapon and makes the fight so one-sided is a coward. To this extent, he thinks war should be done away with and the leaders of the countries should duel instead of America just wiping out thousands of Japanese (WWII) or Afghani (during his lifetime) civilians (well, in that war, it was definitely not the Afghani government's fault, as that was a radical rebel sect powered initially by Regean, but it was most certainly civilian deaths en masse)
Masaru cannot meditate at all. He's also very reactive. To that extent, he's never really done well with martial arts. There's a lot less focus on self-discipline in boxing and wrestling than in Aikido or karate or what have you. He'd probably love the intensity of Krav Maga or CQC. I just don't know if Krav Maga has a self-discipline component. CQC almost certainly doesn't--it's American.
More when I think of it.
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