#Hawks noncon

[hotwings0203]

“Daddy?”

You moan and weakly toss your head to your left as you hear the cellar door open

Tw: noncon, blood, kidnapping, abuse, whipping, the usual shindig

His chuckle reverberates throughout the dark room, and you can’t help but flinch at every footstep coming down the rickety steps. Your head is pounding, your heart seems to be caught in your throat and the dingy light in the cellar keeps swaying amidst the draft.

His figure descending towards you makes you nauseous, but you're not dumb enough to fall for his good-natured demeanor as he descends and approaches towards you.

Full eye-contact, a smile as best as you can manage it, and body turned toward him.

As if the chains wrapping around your body like some fucked-up gift wrapping allowed you any mobility anyways .

"Hi there, princess," he coos at you before squatting in front of your weak and bound form, lifting your chin up at him gently with his thumb and forefinger.

You hum quietly and try to swallow the cotton that seems to invade your mouth at the dark humor in his eyes.

"You miss me?"

Nodding as vigorously as you can, you scrunch your eyebrows together and pout your lips the way you know hope melts him. The healing cuts across your forehead and cheeks sting as the scabs are pulled taut with the way you're manipulating your facial expression, but if that's the price to pay to satiate put off his sick desires, then so be it.

"I-"

You cough and desperately try to wet your lips with your tongue to get rid of the raspy warble, and instead attempt to don a soft, higher pitched voice.

He doesn't like it when you give him the impression he's neglectful.

"I m-missed you daddy. Wanted to have your arms around me and feel you, and, and.."

You trail off hopelessly as you scramble for what else he'd want to hear, but in the time your hesitation settles uneasily in the air, his hand has already reached around behind his back to produce a strange black silk bandana.

"Yeah?" He simpers at your panicked expression seeing the new toy. "Guess you can't have missed me that much if you stopped screaming for me."

Your face falls.

That sick fuck

He slaps your face, hard, and violently rips your thighs apart. You yelp and flinch as he cups underneath your knees and brings them up next to your head.

Your legs shake at the strain of being folded in half after being immobile for so long, and you feel the threat of a severe cramp creeping in your calves. He merely grips your legs tighter and shoves you harder against the wall, practically slamming his hips against your own at the easy access.

He grinds slow and deliberate, almost painfully as your lower half buzzes from the attention. You sob as you strain your head to the side to avoid his leering grin right in your face, hair falling over your eyes as a temporary shield to his sadism.

"Aww, look at you. You that shy? I thought I fucked it out of you the first couple times, but I guess the lack of attention really did wonders for you."

"Daddy, please," What you're begging for, you have no idea, but you know your silence will enrage him further.

As he's done so kindly to remind you about.

His raspy growls continue right in your ear, words hot and fierce as you wince in terror. "What, I leave you down here for two days and you only need me for bathroom breaks? For food? What if I just cut that all off, huh? Would you need me then, you ungrateful fucking brat?"

He seethes and suddenly gnaws your ear.

"No! Nonononono daddy, m-my throat hurt after calling out the first couple of hours, I promise!" You wail as he continues to painfully rut and grind against your sore mound.

"Nah, don't start begging now. Your punishment hasn't even started. This is just warming you up, my pretty girl," he breathes into your open and wet tear-stained mouth as he deftly undoes your wrist shackles. His mouth never leaves yours as he lifts you up tightly against him and carries you to the other side of the red room.

The second he places your unsteady feet on the floor he grabs the ropes swinging lightly overhead and immediately starts tying your chaffed wrists again. Even though you're standing now, you feel as though your position bound now in the middle of the room is even more vulnerable that when you were sitting against the wall.

"I'm sorryyyy," your sobs wrack your body as he lets go of your now-bound wrists. Your balance is lost as you let go of your weight and let the ropes hold you up. And yet, you're still not even sure what you did to piss him off.

"Yeah, just like that, keep screaming for me pretty girl," he mutters under his breath as he stalks around the room looking for something.

"I thought the waterboarding and knives were enough to get it through your thick head, but I'll spell it out for you...on your body"

His rummaging around the room stops as he positions himself behind you, much to your terror. At least when he's in front of you you can protect whatever part of your body he's targeting.

All you hear is the pathetic sound of your own sniffles and his heavy breathing.

You make one last attempt before submitting to your own fate.

"Daddy...I thought you couldn't hear me. That's why I stopped calling for you. I-if I had known you could hear me I wouldn't have stopped!" The rest comes out in a rush as if he'll silence your excuses, and your dry throat feels as though it's ripping in half.

There's a very pregnant pause before you hear a shuffling behind you, and he starts to peel your flimsy, dirty nightie off of you.

Your lip wobbles as the silence continues, and he begins to shove his hands up your body, first trailing up and over your hips, past up your sides, and then cupping your bruised tits. You hiss slightly as his thumbs press into your sore nipples as his palms massage the globes in circles.

His breathing picks up again as you do nothing but whimper at his violations, his hips having a mind of their own and rubbing up against your bare backside. You have no idea when he took his pants off, but you definitely feel his unsheathed member dragging hot and heavy over your asscheeks, teasingly releasing precum over the skin.

"Oh, I'm not mad at you baby. I'm gonna let you continue your silence. In fact-"

His rutting and ministrations stop as he seems to have worked himself up to a climax, and you gasp lightly as you feel a cool silk fall over your eyes. You feel him secure it snugly behind your head, and moments later you hear the sound of duct tape being ripped from its coil. Sure enough, your mouth is covered, and you're rendered mute, immobile, and blind within a matter of minutes.

He voices your terror. "Like a lamb waiting for slaughter," he croons as he places his palms flat against the hollow planes against your torso your breasts, pressing you closer into his uncovered erection and chest. It seems as though he can never get close enough to you, even within his grasp.

"Spread your legs." And now his voice is monotone, devoid of the lilt mere seconds earlier.

You're too terrified to do anything but obey, hoping if you react well enough this punishment will also end in minutes tops.

You smell rather than hear the leather first, with its pungent factory scent drifting up to your blood-caked nose, making your nostrils wrinkle in disgust.

And then, you feel it.

He places the bottom of the handle of the whip firmly against your poor widdle clit, and starts grinding in circles, imitating the way he was earlier when you were in his arms.

You squeal against the moist tape and thrash, your wrists aching something fierce as the ropes holding all your weight above prove to be unyielding, merciless.

He laughs cruelly at your distressed state, and continues to rub your bud faster. He rambles on like a madman, and you feel like your ears will bleed with the filth he spews.

"Yeah, yeah, you like that? You want it that badly, slut? I'll make sure you never stop begging me, begging me to love you, to hold you, to fuck you like you need me right now," all the while he rubs his member over your asscrack and cover you threateningly.

His other hand yanks your hair to the side, and he lowers his grinning mouth to the unblemished nape of your neck, fighting for balance against your skin as you try your utter best to thwart his evading teeth.

He bites and sucks at your skin like you're nothing more than a chew-toy, all the while moaning lewdly and growling like a fucking dog.

All the sensations inflicted on your poor, abused body cause your hips to rock in their own rhythm against the handle of the whip, which hasn't stopped its incessant stimulation.

There's a tense moment of re-adjustment as he shifts the handle to his other wrist to prevent his own hand cramps, and he stops his rutting as well as his assault on your neck.

While he straightens up to continue the torture, you however, have not stopped bucking your hips amidst the handle stilling on your clit.

You let out a wail of frustration- at him, and being violated like this, and needing to cum because of it.

When he realizes your hips are actively still bucking and chasing the revoked high, he barks out an incredulous laugh.

"Seriously? And here I thought this was punishment. You sick little freak, you're not supposed to be enjoying this."

And sure enough, you feel the handle shift from stilling against your clit to pushing inside your quivering hole. You moan loudly at the feeling of the lightly ribbed tool rubbing agianst your puckering walls, albeit a bit painfully.

You can hear him exhale in awe as he angles the handle at a place that makes you jump and lift your hips as best as you can just to lower them against the shaft. he keeps it there, letting your buck your hips and work for it yourself, teasing you by bringing it lower and finding yourself unable to drop any further due to the short leash above your head.

But hes a kind master, and soon begins fucking it up into you himself after the sight of your drooling, empty pussy isn't enough to simply satiate himself by molesting your tits.

The squelching sounds of your wet cavern and your girlish moans, along with the sight of your ass shaking from his spanks are too much for him, and he yanks the handle out of you yet again right at the cusp of your climax.

"Not yet baby," he rasps, wiping literal drool off his mouth. "Daddy's gotta feel you cum around his big, fat cock," and with that whisper, he plunges three fingers back inside you. He shudders at your needy howl, and begins dillgently pumping inside of you.

With you distracted on creaming his digits, he grips the slippery handle of the whip and cracks it against your ass.

You whine and thrash again, your orgasm yet again ripped from you, but he merely pumps his fingers faster.

"Louder," He growls.

He lets it crack on the other cheek, marveling at how tight you squeeze around his fingers while the skin blooms a beautiful blood-red.

You scream this time, sure you can taste blood from your parched throat. It's exhausting your body at this point, the pleasure and pain mixing into one while he has his way with your battered skin.

He lets the leather taste your skin once, twice, curving it around your sides to let it lick your tits, making them jump deliciously and creating small rivulets of blood in its wake, behind your knees to make you buckle and fall painfully further on his pruning fingers, on your back to make you writhe.

And finally, when you do cum at his thumb finally, mercifully swiping across your long-forgotten bud, he makes sure he positions himself in front of you to hear you, loud and clear, like you were supposed to the first time.

#god this is to painfully mid but i need to get smthn out of my system for writers block ugh forgive me #mha #jjk yandere #mha yandere #bnha yandere #yandere hawks #yandere shigaraki #yandere bakugo #tw: noncon #tw: yandere #yandere gojo #yandere toji #yandere geto #yandere choso #mha x reader #jjk x reader #tw rape #tw dubcon #tw: kidnapping

[prettyboykatsuki]

CIRCLE HAUNTS | TAKAMI KEIGO (HAWKS)

✮ tags ; dead dove: do not eat, gender neutral reader, no quirk au, horror + suspense, themes of cannibalism, implied / depicted cannibalism, noncon kissing + biting/drawing blood and flesh, intentionally open-ended, institutionalized cannibalism, white collar crime, yandere!hawks, 18+

✮ wc ; 9.9k (??)

✮ a/n ; another comm for the beloved @bitchkiss, thank you for your patience and also for letting me post.

✮ synopsis ; you move into a suspiciously nice house in the shizuoka prefecture, and meet your good-looking and unnerving neighbor. nothing is how it seems.

An abandoned house. Mostly functional in the outskirts of the Shizuoka prefectures in a lived-in district. 

On auction for a little less than 7 million-yen. Located in a  not quite suburb. Too much land between acres and backyards to qualify that way. All the other houses are within walking distance though, and there’s no shortage of places to go with a fair bit of time and energy. 

By all measures, a perfectly good house in a perfectly good prefecture. Even now you’re not sure why it went on sale. You stare at it, outside cream colored with a gate and a cat bowl left on the porch from the previous owner - food gone to dust. Something looms on at the doorsteps, the sun-cast shadows almost as dark as oblivion night. In the front yard are wild strawberries and bushes of ivy. 

It’s a home, no matter which way you look at it. 

But you can’t bring yourself to walk inside. 

You placed your bets on this house completely on a whim months ago.

You’d been looking for a house. No that’s not it - it was more that you’d started to look at houses. An important distinction in this instance, because you weren’t looking to move when you began. You wonder if it’s a rite of passage in your adulthood to peruse listings for places you can’t afford. Dreaming habitually of your landlord's body on a cross or of in unit washer/dryers. You weren’t unhappy with your living arrangements when you started doing it, but the longing for autonomy sunk its teeth into you and showed no plans of letting go. So browsing through houses idly, wine-drunk and exhausted, became something of a regular practice. 

It was three months ago, during that practice (and after an especially scathing argument with your roommates) you’d gotten drunk and committed your usual routine. Cracked open a wine cooler, took off your clothes until you were down to your underwear, and cracked open your laptop to look at more property listings. That time, with a little more weary bitterness in your heart than all times before. 

The search process for Japanese property could range  anywhere from uneventful to laughably cruel at any given time. Whether it be listings for upend mansions in Tokyo or worn down one-bedrooms in Osaka. For every house that seemed livable, there were ten or fifteen completely out of reach or in complete shambles. 

When you came up on thee listing initially, it felt too good to be true. A house in Shizuoka with lots of yard space. A house with decent upkeep and an even larger kitchen - and nice tatami in one of the siderooms. A beautiful house in a beautiful area, on auction instead of the normal sale. Some people had bid on it - but the pool was still low. Seven million yen was your final bet - the mortgage would only be a little more than your rent. You’d put your name down on a whim. With a laugh. 

Laughed yourself unconscious and forgot about it until a month passed. A call from an unknown number to your personal cell. 

A call from a realtor. Your name, miraculously, got chosen with the highest bid. The house was yours if you wanted it. You could move in as early as May.

You were convinced it was a scam at first - like any normal person with common sense would be. Immediately rejected. But the realtors assured you over the line that it wasn’t a scam, that the previous owners just didn’t want it anymore. Some kind of emergency. Of course - you didn’t believe them at face value either. So you did some research, went to tour the house, tried to gather information proving the whole thing was a hoax. 

But there was nothing you could find even after plenty of internet sleuthing and asking everyone in your life to help you vet. When you mentioned to everyone, not a single person advocated for you staying in the city. Your job even offered to move you to the Shizuoka branch. 

It was a good opportunity. There’s a coastal path not too far from where the house is. The previous family didn’t take the cat or any of his papers with him - but he’s friendly from what they say. There’s lots of space indoors and out. 

It’s a cheap price, for a good house and you’d probably never get an opportunity like it again. 

Something is wrong with it. You can tell that just looking at it now, despite how picture-esque it is on the surface. It’s a beautiful house. There’s even a second story and a balcony. You could plant a garden in the yard and still have space for grilling outside. 

It’s a beautiful house. 

And something is wrong with it - but you’ll never get an opportunity like this again. 

Maybe you’re more of a conspiratorial person than you thought. 

You look at the truck you’ve hauled all your things in. Your loved ones have been helping you in moving in the rest of your belongings over the last few months - so what's left is mostly lightweight knick-knacks and essentials. Clothes too. The car is parked along the side of the road with the back popped open for easy access. You shake yourself off your thoughts like you’re trying to banish them. 

It’s a beautiful day outside. Early June heat that’s enough to warm but not enough to burn or swelter. The sun beats down on your skin, the sounds of gnats buzzing and the breeze rustling the overgrown fields makes your heart swell. You take a breath and remind yourself it’s a good opportunity. Stretching your arms over your head, your spine cracks. Putting your hands on your hips, you nod enthusiastically, encouraging yourself to try harder. 

“Let’s just rip the bandaid off,” You mutter. You pull your keys from your front pocket, planning on opening the door first before hauling the rest in. 

The sound of an engine makes you turn your head towards the road. A silver car, something compact - drives along the edge of the pavement. Your expression changes as the car starts to slow in front of the house. Your house. You’re never going to be used to that. Are the realtors coming for a visit? Your move-in date was set months ago, so they should know you’re here. 

The car halts to a stop a few feet from your own truck, the tinted windows rolling down to reveal a good looking blonde man. He can’t be much older than you. He lets his arm hang out from one side of the window. 

His hair is pushed back and shiny, and he’s wearing a button up shirt and brown pants. There’s sunglasses resting on top of his head. He kind of looks like a douche, but you try not to let first impressions sour your views. You give him a confused look, instinctively backing away as he smiles at you. 

“You must be the new neighbor. Heard someone was moving into this place after the Nakamura’s left, but there’s always rumors like that floating around here,” He says, talking so much at once. You kind of have a hard time getting used to him.”But I’m glad to see that it’s true. Gets a little lonely out here if all the houses don’t have people in it. In my opinion, at least.” 

You give him a blank stare. He holds out his arm to you through the car window. You have no reason not to take it, and it seems rude for you to decline - so you shake his hand. His grip is firm and assured, golden eyes narrowing into something pleased. You feel a shiver run through you. 

There’s something about him. 

“Uh, do I know you?” You say instinctually. This catches him off guard. He pauses before breaking out into a laugh. 

“I’m Takami Keigo! You’ll hear people call me Hawks too though. I’m your neighbor. My house is..” He points north, “..the one ‘bout two minutes that way. I’m very involved with the community here. It’s pretty tight knit.” He explains to you. It doesn’t reassure you for some reason. You think it’s supposed to. “Is there anything I can help you with? Looks like you’re still moving in.” 

You make an expression of distrust towards him but his smile remains unfaltering.

“I’m alright,” You supplement, trying to keep the peace. “I wouldn’t wanna keep you but I appreciate you coming to meet me.” 

He looks like he’s considering the words, enough to turn himself around and leave. After a few seconds though, he pulls away and parks his car on the side of the road in front of your house. When he emerges from the front door - his expression doesn’t change at all. His smile is disarming. He’s not a terrible guy to look at  - but you wonder what he’s doing so far from the city. 

The way he dresses is metropolitan. His shirt is loose but his pants are fitted like their tailored - expensive fabrics that the big suits from your job wear. He’s wearing slacks when he’s not working, and loafer shoes that don’t seem suited for the outdoors. You’re not far enough in the country to be expecting country folk, but the area is relegated to families. Something suburban and simple about the people you’ve met so far, yourself included in some ways. No one like him. 

You go with your gut about him and keep a distance. 

It might be too early to completely shut him out - and you do want to get along with the people here if you’re going to take permanent residence. Not friendly, but comfortable. You figure it might be less precarious to go with whatever he’s interested in. He’s not going to harm you in broad daylight, not when he’s dressed like that. And you’ve already had so much apprehension since you’ve moved - you’re almost hoping there’s something you’ve overlooked about him. Something to assure you’re just engaging in some self-sabotage about everything. 

You soften your posture and put on a business smile. There’s a ghost of something - intrigue maybe, but it’s gone before you catch wind of it. You wonder if you imagined it. 

“Well if you insist, but I don’t want to leave you with nothing,” You offer to him, as charismatic and naive as you can spin yourself. Neither of you seem to believe it, and the whole conversation feels like a sham. But he hasn’t turned to leave in offense, so you keep going “I do have some drinks inside and I’m curious about the neighborhood.”

His grin widens. 

“June heat like this is the perfect weather for a cold beer. Would be great with some meat,” He hums noncommittally. You try your best not to let your face crack into distrust. “What do you need? Just some boxes carried inside?” 

You nod. 

“Yeah. It’d be nice to only make a few trips here and there.” 

“Easy peasy. You didn’t give me your name though. Little impersonal, don’t you think?” 

You’d prefer he didn’t know it - but perhaps that’s asking too much since you’re letting him move things into your house. You give it to him neutrally, picking up a tote that you can carry along with your keys. Takami picks up your things swiftly. The boxes he chooses are heavy - you know that because of the way they’re labeled. The gesture is effortless though, and you’re not sure if it’s good or bad that you’ve noticed. 

“Pretty name.” He tells you, and you do your best to not make a face. When he notices your staring, he tilts his head to one side. His teeth gleam an unnerving white. You can’t get over the yellow-gold of his eyes. “Surprising, right? But I’m stronger than I look.” 

He waits for you to walk in front of him. Maybe it’s the paranoia, but it strikes you somehow. How he’s trying to appear. He’s perceptive. You walk in front of him, starting down the concrete path to the front of the house. 

“Any reason or are you just a gym buff?” 

He thinks about how he’s going to reply, but doesn’t meet your eyes to look at you when he does. 

“Got into a lot of fights as a kid so I had to get strong. Something like that.” 

When your eyes meet the second time, you can tell he’s seeing what you’ll probe out of him. Wanting to know what questions you’ll ask. 

“Rough childhood, then?” 

Bullseye, if his reaction is anything to go by. He hums and chuckles, still carrying the boxes. You fidget with your keys, the door sounding with a faint click as you push it open with the weight. 

The lights are all turned off. It’s not your first time seeing the house - but the first time seeing it furnished in full. For weeks you’d been putting your furniture in it, and putting food in the fridge to make moving in smooth. All the other times you’ve been inside, you’ve never felt one way or another about it. Living there wasn’t actualized for all those months - but looking at your things, new and old, makes it all feel real. 

It’s a moment too intimate for a stranger to bear witness to and you think he’s probably well-aware. He doesn’t say a word, just observes you from the corner of his eye. When you come out of whatever trance you were just under, he whistles. 

“Nice decor,” He compliments - a fair attempt at lightening the mood. “Where should I put these?”

“Those can just go behind the couch for now, thanks.” 

He listens to you wordlessly, dropping the boxes off. You watch the light of the sun reflect onto him. He’s yellow gold. You think your mother might find him good looking. He stands back up and meets your eyes. Piercing, underneath everything.  He has marks on the corners of his eyes that give you the impression of a bird. A hawk scoping for something to peck at. 

“Two down, about how many more to go do you think?” 

“I think 6, give or take. And then some luggage with my clothes.” 

“Let’s get to work then, shall we?” 

You give him a tight lipped smile. 

“Of course,” 

__ 

It doesn’t take long for the two of you to bring all of your belongings into the house. It’s a short few trips and there isn’t really much small talk for the two of you to engage in during it. 

Once it’s over you, you thank Takami for his hard work and reward him with a beer as promised. You’re sure he knows that it’s only formality - but he’s completely  comfortable in overstaying his welcome. 

The two of you sit on the steps leading up to the front of your house - a cold beer in hand. The sun is starting to hide behind the clouds, and that deep shadow seems to cast once again. Over the both of you this time, and not just on your front steps. You let your nail push the tab of the can open, a soft carbonated hiss sounding as you depressurize it. Takami follows suit. He holds the can up to yours and looks at you before you can drink. 

“Cheers to our hard work,” 

You try not to balk at him, indulging his odd behavior per your own sanity. He’s aware of your apprehension, but his persistence is almost impressive. Another tight lipped smile. “Cheers, Takami-san.” 

You take your first sips in complete silence and don’t look his way for any reason. You need the brief respite of peace to deal with the terrible weight of the pit in your stomach, still lingering. You wonder if his presence is worsening it, or if this is another thing your imagination decides to supplement. The cool liquid and faint sourness of Sapporo ease your mind, if barely. You observe the can in your hand momentarily, pretending to read the label. 

He takes a similarly long sip of his drink and then lets out a semi-obnoxious aah. You peer over at him. 

“Thanks again for helping with the move.” You say, mostly trying to fill the space with conversation so you don’t have to talk to him more than necessary. “I appreciate it.” 

“Of course,” He says, waving his hand around in front of him. “Like I said, it’s a pretty tight knit community around here. I’ll introduce you to everyone whenever you’re free. They’re good folk.” 

There’s something in his voice when he adds the last words. You wonder if you’re overthinking it again. 

“Is that so?” 

He looks at you, but you don’t meet his gaze. “Mm. A lot of people move out here to get a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Hard-working folks. Families. It’s good to know them,” 

You wonder if you’re being too honest about yourself - but decide that there isn’t anything he could do with the information you’re about to tell him. 

“Interesting. I always grew up in the heart of the industrial district, so that’s lost on me. I even lived in Shinjuku for a while.” You offer mindlessly. “A good change of pace I guess.”

“Oh, we’re the same then,” He offers. You want to ask him to elaborate on what that means, but he brushes over it just as quickly “You’ll like it here then. Just knock on my door if you need something.” 

He looks at you again that time, some knowing in his gaze. You try not to react in either direction, just nodding your head silently as you drink more of your beer. 

“Yeah,” You offer, not looking towards him, “I’ll do that.” 

__ 

For all the evading you down when you speak to Keigo, it was no lie that you spent most of your life living in the heart of the city. 

The hustle and bustle of Musutafu, in the industrial districts of various prefectures - all of that was what you were accustomed too. When you were in your late teens and moved out for the first time - you lived in Shinjuku for two years and worked in the nightlife trying to pay for your tuition. 

You would’ve never predicted a suburb for your future. It’s not the environment you know well. You can’t help but wonder if it’s always so… quiet. 

In the time you’ve started living in your new home, not much has changed in your daily life. 

Your initial paranoia has faded out enough to go about your responsibilities in peace. The previous family’s cat occasionally returns back to the porch, and you’ve started to buy it food just in case it decides it wants to stay permanently. A brown tortoiseshell who is always a little worried. You eat breakfast at the same time, but sleep in later since the Shizuoka branch you’ve moved to is a shorter commute. You still take your daily walks, and sometimes you’ll take some time to visit the coastal path and lay your eyes on the open water. 

(The ocean doesn’t feel as comforting as it once did. Maybe it’s symptomatic of your own grievances, but looking at the endless expanse - your throat closes with the fear of it swallowing you along with it. 

If it did, who would come find you? So far from everything you know?) 

You’re entering into mid June, brushing along the edges of July. The heat is starting to be too much. You can’t stay outdoors for too long without feeling like your whole body is going to melt into the concrete and evaporate you from the inside. The nights get chilly, but the days are long. Humidity makes your skin sticky with sweat, and you’re running up your water bill with just how often you bathe. 

Everything here is by all means much more uneventful. Some parts of it unsettle you. The nights are eerily quiet and before dawn breaks, there’s always a thick head of something perspiring in the horizon like fog.

Most days, the only people you talk to in person are your co-workers. Your friends live back in your hometown, so you only see them on weekends. Same with your family. It’s just you, and some after work dinners. 

But mostly you.

And Hawks. You call him Hawks, in your head and Takami when he speaks. But Hawks feels more apt. 

Hawks, seemingly, does not care what face you show him. Nothing stops him from showing up at your door at one time or another - always before you’re going on your walks.

(You want to ask how he even knows your schedule, but you doubt he’d give you any straight answers.) 

And he doesn’t leave. You don’t think he would, no matter how rough you were about telling to fuck off. How demanding. You don’t want to confront him out of self preservation. It’s not easy to tell him to fuck off for some reason you have trouble placing. When you normally would, when it’d normally be so easy. You do it at your job all the time, to men much more important than him. 

When he comes by, he hangs at your gate and never crosses the threshold to enter. He won’t move unless he’s invited in. You give up on being nice. If you offer him a glass of water, he’ll always agree just to see your expression change. He’s polite to make you uncomfortable. Says please and thank you, and makes conversation with you like he’s interested. An amalgam of reasons that you don’t like his company. Inescapable kindness that lends itself to plausible deniability. 

What do you do for work? Oh, what’d you study for? Where are you from? Where are your parents from?

You never want to answer his questions. But he stays, lingers longer if you don’t. He archives the information, you’re sure - but you don’t know what for. 

He knows what he needs to know. You live by yourself and your family is farther away. But he always wants to know more, always lingers at the gates - waiting to be let in despite how tight you’ve got your fingers on the lock. 

You try not to involve yourself with him more than necessary. You avoid him if you’re walking around the neighborhood for any reason, and you never ask him about himself. He never tells you about himself either - but you can’t be sure why that is. If it’s for your sake or for his. 

You try not to get used to him, but it doesn’t surprise you to see him just outside of your door. Sun pours over him in white rays like melted iron, but he’s the same as always. Same smile, same golden eyes, same unnerving expression. 

He waves at you politely as you let your bodycon bag hang off of one side - a single headphone in as you look at him. You don’t bother smiling. 

If it bothers him, it doesn’t show on his face. 

“Hi neighbor,” 

“Hey,” You reply, walking closer to the gate. It’s almost routine, but you try your best not to get used to it. No point in getting comfortable. “You’re here again,” 

He laughs good-naturedly. “I am. Good to check in, no? Don’t want you getting lonely out here by yourself.” 

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” 

He laughs again, but he sounds more sincere. 

“Going on another walk? You should be careful in this heat, you know. Take care of your body and everything.” 

“I’ll be fine,” You offer, standing in limbo and waiting for him to leave. “Thanks for your concern.” 

“So cold to me,” He quips. So he does know. “Hope it’s a nice little workout for you.” 

You sigh as you make more small talk, mostly tuned out of whatever he’s saying. 

“Got any plans for today, Takami-san?” 

He pauses before smiling to himself. He lets his arms cross over the metal of your gate, but doesn’t flinch when the heated edge touches his bare skin. You wonder about it, go to ask - but he’s talking again before you can. 

“I do, actually.  Gonna go into the shop today and get a new fridge,” He tells you, his grin bright and unusual. You’re surprised. He never tells you anything about what he’s doing, no matter how casual. Nothing more than whether he’s working or not. “I’m out of room in my old fridge, so I’m upsizing.” 

“Out of room?”

You ask before you can calculate the correct move. It’s a slip up, you both know it. His smile widens just barely, nodding his head and closing his eyes. 

“Mm. Ran out of space. A lot of mouths to feed.” He says, and opens one eye playful. “A lot of people live with me. Too big of a house to leave everything all empty.” 

“I wouldn’t have guessed that.” 

“Oh my roommates?” Hawks says, and you nod. His smile gets bigger. “They’re kind of  a rag-tag bunch. Not sociable like me. I can always bring them to meet you - if you’d like.” 

“No need to trouble them.” 

“But you should get to know the people who live here a little better,” He insists, finally backing away from your gate. “It’s good to be familiar with your neighbors. I’ll try and direct people to you. Word’ll get out faster that way,” 

You go again to protest, but he cuts you off a second time - seeming faux apologetic about your upset. 

“You should come over for dinner next week, too. Meet my roommates. At 7 ish, we should all be together. They’d love to meet you,” 

You meet his eyes and wonder if his invitation is as deliberate as you assume. When you peer into them, you confirm that it is. He’s not forcing you. You’re sure that if you rejected him now, he’d return to the way he was. He might fake being hurt, but he’d still visit you at your door. He’d still linger, still be there. He’s inviting you in on purpose. Dinner with his roommates is a less than casual affair - and nonsense for your relationship. 

It’s a bad idea, and maybe a trap. You’re almost positive of that. 

But if you did go - it’d confirm things. You’re positive of that too. You’d know for sure if you were being paranoid, if you went into that house that looks just two minutes away and saw the inside of it. You feel your heart pump through your body as the sun moves away from the clouds. There’s no longer a shadow cast on your face. Just pure, blinding heat. 

You shield your eyes with your hand, all too conscious of the heat crawling up your back and the tightness forming in your stomach. 

“Sure,” You reply, noncommittally - trying not to show too much of any one feeling. No advantages. But you feel like you’ve already lost. “I’ll see if I can make it,” 

“See you then, neighbor,” He waves, finally turning to leave. “Looking forward to it.” 

__ 

He’s true to his word on multiple fronts. Which. Doesn’t comfort you.

 An official dinner invitation, and more importantly - sending out the other neighbors to come and meet you. He’s made a point of making good on both vaguely threatening promises. 

Like your old living arrangements, you don’t go out of your way to talk to anyone here. You’re busier in the Shizuoka branch (though you like it there) and you find that there’s more daily upkeep with the new and improved space. Plus it’s mostly family folks and retired couples - no one you have any business speaking with for more than five minutes. So you’re not really going out of your way to socialize. 

You never planned on being buddy-buddy with any of the people who live in the area, anyway. Acquainted and friendly at best. 

But  in these last few weeks, folks from all up and down the streets have arrived at your doorstep bearing all sorts of gifts. Fruits and desserts and other housewarming things they think you'd find helpful. They come so often even you have a hard time refusing them, though you’ve wormed your way out of any of them coming inside of your home or crossing far-past the threshold of the gate. 

On the surface, they’re good folks like he described them to be. There’s no distrust to the conversation, nothing they want to wield against you. 

But something's off. And isn’t that always the case here? You’re starting to feel like you’re repeating yourself. Stuck in a loop, some kind of odd deja vu. 

It’s two things you notice. They’re both minor, but they bother you. 

The first is the way they describe Hawks. 

Nothing but good things. Which makes you sound like a bitch, even to yourself. But it’s weird. The kind of kindness that doesn’t feel real. Empty praises like a helium balloon. Last week one of your neighbors described him as benevolent and his wife agreed whole-heartedly. Each time you wonder if you’re thinking too much about it. Benevolent isn’t a word you’d use to describe anyone you like, no matter how well acquainted. 

You know people as charismatic as him so you know that it’s something people do. He’s a good guy, but you don’t know him so you say empty, kind things. Still, it bothers you. And it’s like they say. A friend to everyone is a friend to no one. 

It’s uncomfortable that no one shows any sign of disagreement about how kind he is. That there’s no hesitant glances or country gossip. That not one old lady has pulled you in for gossip and wine. There’s no character. No humanity. 

It’s backwards but there’s too much harmony. In the people, in the weather, in the road - paved perfectly with no cracks. Everyday of June since moving in has been nothing but blue, cloudless skies. A bright vivid sun concentrated into one shape, heat casting the illusion of waves. No June rain to water the gardens or wash off the dusty roads. No lightning storms that send all the animals howling, no winds strong enough to dust a city into the sea. 

It’s not nothingness. There’s something to that at least. If it felt abandoned, it might feel less unsettling. An abandoned place is a familiar one, a memory from your hometown. An abandoned place usually means that someone lived there before you. At least ghosts are the promises of people, even deceased. 

Is there something more nonexistent than a ghost, while still being material? You don’t know what that would be. 

Hollow but not empty - the skeleton of a suburb. Like something has been carved out of it and replaced. Unnatural, man-made. It never fails to make all the hair on your neck stand. 

Then there is the other thing. 

Well it’s a stretch. Even you can acknowledge that it might just be coincidence. But nothing here feels like sole coincidence except for the fact you’ve been unfortunate enough to end up here. 

A lot of people in town have… injuries. Particular ones. The elderly couple up the street has a lost leg and missing pinky between the two of them. Of the few other people living alone here - all three of them have some type of it - a part of them completely gone. A lost eye or arm, or visible scars along their sides like something’s been … cut out of them. 

You know how it sounds. Even to yourself, you’ll reprimand your imagination. It’s not something you can discern meaning from, not something to draw conclusions from. This is Japan, a Japanese suburb with little kids playing in fucking mud and wild strawberries and bushes of ivy. 

Maybe the people who retire here are veterans, or maybe Hawks has some kind of charity. 

Maybe it’s something not sinister, because what else could it really be?

You keep trying to convince yourself that this time it really is your paranoia. Because even if you examine that, try to unravel - what does it leave you with but more questions? 

You want answers. Need them so you stop tossing and turning. But even if you’re to get answers, you aren’t sure if you could trust them. You trust your gut - yourself and only yourself. 

You know something is wrong, but just how wrong do things get before the point of no return?

But you can’t help living here if something is wrong. As wrong as you think. If it doesn't go away, what then? What happens to you? Neighbors keep meeting you and people keep being injured and tight-lipped and hollow eyed. Something is always waiting for you in the dark. 

You want to get ahead of it, no matter how fucking sick it makes you.  You have to know or it'll swallow you up. 

You just want to put the whole thing to rest, and get answers. You’d take fake ones to placate you if they were believable, you’d take anything to get your fucking mind off of it. 

But the longer you stay, the longer you live at the edge of the road, the longer Hawks  waves to you as he passes by your place - makes you feel like you can’t rest until you know. 

You need to know for sure. 

_

It rains. 

The day he invites you over for dinner, just two minutes down the street - it rains. Harsh, July rain that sounds like it’s running against the ground. Thudding as it floods the streets and turns the Earth to mush. You couldn’t have expected it. It’d been sunny in the morning, but it’d all gone gray outside while in the office. And then it got darker and heavier, like nightfall early. 

You were soaked on public transport on the way home, tracking mud into your front door as you walked along the grass back to your own home. You had enough time, at least - between getting home and going over to shower and sit down. 

In the two hours of your arrival from the office and your invitation - you pretend for a while that none of it is happening. You read on your couch and pet the cat you didn’t adopt. You listen to music and pleasantly paint your nails up until you have to get ready, because you don’t really want to get ready. 

You’re being dramatic. Or you’re not. But you don’t want to go. You don’t want to know what happens when you get there. You think about canceling. Taking a raincheck because of the weather. Feigning an illness for your not-cat. 

Something is wrong with this place, and it’s bothering you. But you don’t know if you’re prepared to find out what.

You decide to go, because the other option is remaining in the dark. You could tell him that you want to reschedule, but just like you trust your gut on most things - you get a feeling this is the only window you’ll get to find out anything important. Like if you do it another day, you’ll get the same hollow facade as always. 

So you dress yourself slowly. You take an umbrella, and lock your door shut. You even say goodbye to that cat that isn’t yours. You’ll make it back in one piece but something will change once you go.  Both of these you believe with full conviction. 

But you go. You go. 

When you get outside, you open your umbrella up and put it over your head - walking out past your front gate and onto the sidewalk. 

It’s not a lie that Hawks is the neighbor closest to you. He lives within walking distance, less than ten minutes from you. The neighborhood is more compact closer to his place, your own house being more isolated - the first house when cars turn the corner.

You don't know what the house looks properly, only what it's like vaguely in shape and color. On the walk there, it’s the only thing your eyes can focus on. You stare at it aimlessly as it comes into your vision line. 

It’s obscenely big. You don’t know how many people are living inside for that to be the case, but it sticks out. Even in your time in the city, you’ve never seen a house that size just out in the open, so protruding. It feels invasive. 

You feel something forming in your gut as you start to approach the gate. It doesn’t look so different to yours. 

Clearing your throat, you approach.

In the clear distance is Hawks, in front of the open door like he’s waiting for you. It’s still light outside, but the weather makes everything dark. The warm light pouring out of the open door casting shadow onto the concrete above it. Hawks runs to meet you at the gate to open it, not bothering to grab something to cover himself with. The rain soaks his head, makes his hair fall a little flat. 

There’s a girl waiting by the door with him, younger than you both - who’s looking at you with a wide smile. Her teeth are sharp like fangs. You can see them from afar, and better as you get closer. 

Hawks is quick as he unlocks the latch for you. He pulls the gate back and ushers you with his hands on your waist. Instinctually - you hold out the umbrella to cover his head. He gives you a smile as he leads you through to the front of the house. The rain feels like it gets heavier as he does. 

When you’re underneath cover, you’re rushed into the foyer of their place before you can think twice.

The door shuts behind you, the noise of the rain muffled. You miss it and you want to go outside again. You look at the door as it shuts, and the girl with him closes it and looks at you. 

She’s cute. She has to be a student, but she looks nothing like Hawks. He walks over to her and pats her head. 

“This is Toga. She’s the youngest of us. She won’t be joining us for dinner ‘cause she’s going to see her girlfriend, but she wanted to see the new neighbor.” 

You give her a passive glance. She smiles at you. 

“Nice to meet you, neighbor,” She drawls the end of the word, then looks you up and down. “Hawks keeps talking about you all the time,” 

“Aw, c’mon now Himiko-chan, don’t embarrass me in front of our guest,” Is what he says, but he doesn’t look embarrassed at all. “Take your raincoat and umbrella. Say hi Uraraka-san for me,” 

“Uh-huh, I will. Bye-bye,” 

You watch her get dressed for the rain and turn to leave. The brief sound of the rain returns and you’re all but too aware of how much you want to turn back from whence you came. 

Hawks takes your jacket for you. His voice guides you to putting your shoes in the rack, telling you where the house slippers are for guests. 

You’re not particularly trying to listen, but you’re out of your own body. The muffled rain thunders, cries out - makes you jump in your own skin. Lightning flashes through the whole house. 

He looks at you bemused. “Just a little rain,” 

“Right,” You reply, itching to get control of yourself “Been such a clear summer, so it spooked me,” 

“Are you off put easily?” Hawks asks. You close up your umbrella and hang it against a wall “You seem like it,”

You shake the water off your face and neck and shake your head. “Not particularly. Just not used to living here yet.” 

He nods sagely. “You’ll get used to it. But enough out of me, I’m here to introduce you to my roommates. You’ll have to forgive their curiosity, especially Touya.” 

Curiously, Hawks doesn’t proceed with his usual testimony and fair. He doesn’t tell you that they’re good people, like he normally does. Just smiles, coyly, and gestures you to the corner of the hall. 

From the kitchen on the other end of the foyer, you can hear sizzling and cutting - something being hacked away with a butcher's knife. Hawks waves your thoughts away as you turn your head towards it. “That’s Kurogiri. He learned we were having guests so he took up cooking. He’s the best at it, and I’m pretty decent. Himiko too.” 

“Oh, that’s kind. What are we having for dinner?” 

He stops to look at you. He holds his stare too long.“Meat. With some sides and rice, of course. I think it’s steak but Kurogiri doesn’t like western sides. You eat meat, right? You mentioned wanting to barbecue,” 

You hesitate. Something slips in his face, but it’s gone before you can catch it. You nod. “I uh do meat. I try not to lately, to save money.” 

He laughs. “Well, we have plenty to go around. Please eat as much as you like,” 

You frown at him. 

“...Thanks for the offer,” 

He doesn’t say anything more. Doesn’t make a punchy quip, or have a fresh joke like normal. Just nods aimlessly before giving you another familiar business smile. 

“Lets not keep ‘em waiting,” Hawks offers, as he walks you into the basement. The darkness at the end of the stairwell puts a familiar gnawing in your stomach. “I’m sure they’ll want to meet you sooner, rather than later.” 

__ 

They’re not what you expect. 

His roommates. You’re expecting people like him. Metropolitan, overly friendly types. You’re expecting people he gets along with well, and some of them do. 

But they’re nothing like Hawks at all, not even close.

Most of his roommates remind you of the kids living on the street during your life in the industrial districts. Rag-tag bunches who got in trouble with the law frequently, always in and out of the penal system. 

Of his roommates, Shigaraki is the most antisocial. He doesn’t say anything when Hawks drags you to his room. Hawks doesn’t seem to be expecting anything either, but he does ask if the former will join you for dinner. Shigaraki looks you up and down, then laughs for the first time, and says not tonight. Hawks shrugs and moves on.  

There’s Twice too, and he’s kind. Of them, you think he’s the nicest. He’s the closest with Toga. A bad past, he’s fond of Hawks (though you can’t be sure Hawk’s is fond of him.) Apparently he has some kind of condition and disorder, he tells you candidly - but he’s not unpleasant all the same. At the very least, he doesn’t offset some baser instinct to run far in the other direction. 

You meet Magne, an older girl and another man who doesn’t tell you his full name. Hawks calls him Compress, but he introduces himself to you as Sako. He tells you he won’t join you all for dinner - holds your hand, places a kiss on the back of your palm as an apology. The gesture weirds you out, but you try to keep the peace.

Hawks tells you he’s a performer and you believe him. 

The last person you meet is Touya. 

Touya is interesting. He has thick scars along his face and neck, burn marks - but he’s got a handsome face. Hawks seems most hesitant to introduce you two, but they room together. You want to ask if that’s necessary, given that there’s so much space in the house but refrain.

When Touya greets you, his grip is casual and firm. He mostly seems disinterested, except when you’re in closer proximity to him.

 Enough for him to flash you something pitiful. Something knowing, something… like he’s condescending you and pitying you all at once. 

He’s the one, of all of them, that leers at you the most openly. He assesses you, polite in his introduction before turning to Hawks. They communicate something to each other wordlessly and you don’t like any of it. After whatever that had been, Touya simply turned to examine you, shrugging as he agrees to dinner and slinking back down into his room.

After a while, you go back downstairs. Hawks doesn’t tell you anything about his living space. Just sits you in a living room and chats with you until dinner is ready. Chats hollowly about the same pointless dialogue fodder he always does. He stares at you with each word, and you try your best to ignore the shivering it incites. 

He’s relaxed with the charade here, but he keeps it up exceptionally well irregardless. 

Nothing is strange in a way that makes all of it strange. The rain pounds against every window like it’s begging to be inside and the doors sometimes shake when thunder claps. But nothing is wrong in a way you can prove. His roommates are nothing like you thought they’d be, and only serve to prove that you know even less about him than you might’ve assumed. 

He’s quick, on all fronts, to brush over any questions. 

Whatever you want to know about, Hawks won’t let you. But it’s not out of secrecy. If he could tell you to be patient without spoiling your little game, you’re sure he would. 

The pit of your stomach only grows heavier as the evening continues. Even though he hasn’t done anything to warrant your increasing distrust. Nothing feels as it seems. 

It’s nearly eight o’clock when Kurogiri calls you all to have dinner.

Hawks send you into the dining room alone. 

The walk into the dining room feels like it goes on forever. The hallway remains dark. At the end of the tunnel is a kitchen. A brightly lit dining room with warm lights and a table that seats many people. On the table, there's a bottle of sake and glasses. A pitcher of water with lemons cut into it, and plenty of sides. 

On display though is meat. A lot of meat. Meat you can’t identify any one way, and that doesn’t smell like any other meat you’ve ever had. Hawks mentioned steak, and you can’t be sure it’s not that. It just doesn’t look like it from this distance.

 The tables are all set-out, and there’s a steak on each plate. 

Kurogiri is polite when he greets you. 

“Oh,” He says, thinking to himself. “You must be the guest. Sit here. Keigo insisted I sit you next to him,” 

You’re startled, but nod your head. “Nice to meet you, Kurogiri-san,” 

He shakes his head. “The pleasure is all mine,”

You sit at the far end of the table, and let Kurogiri pour you a glass of water. The rest of the housemates start coming into the kitchen. Magne, and Twice, and Touya mostly - along with Hawks at the tail end. He comes around the redwood table to join you. He sits at the very head while everyone sits in what seems to be their own assigned seats. Touya sits directly to your right. Kurogiri sits at the opposite end of the table, glancing at Hawks. 

“Master Shigaraki won’t be joining us?” 

Hawks shakes his head. “Said he wasn’t. You can always bring  him something to eat.I can take care of your guest.” 

Kurogiri pauses, then looks at you. He shakes his head. “Just be careful, Hawks.”

“Have some faith in my hosting skills, Kurogiri,” 

You watch on in silence as Kurogiri fixes things in a tupperware. Master Shigaraki?

“Sorry about the delay!” Hawks offers, all of a sudden. You look at the plate in front of you, and all the bowls alongside it before looking back towards Hawks. “Thanks for joining us for dinner. Please eat as much as you like and consider this our formal welcome to the neighborhood,” 

Touya laughs hard beside you. “Laying it on thick aren’t you, Keigo?” 

He replies in his unflinchingly calm voice. Touya must really get under his skin though, because you can hear his demeanor crack just barely. “Just being welcoming. Wouldn’t kill you to take a page out of my book, I don’t think,” 

“Enough bickering,” He supplements, throwing his hands up. “Let’s eat,” 

There’s a resounding itadakimasu around the table before the sound of cutlery begins to scrape against the ceramic plates alike. 

For the first time all night, you check into your body and stare down at the plate in front of you. It feels like all your blood is rushing to your ears. Your heart pounds, blood thrumming through your nerves as you examine the plate. There’s a cut of meat on it, tender with herbs - and a side of rice and pickled vegetables. The ceramic plate it’s on is red, a deep sort of maroon. Painted birds decorate the sides along with thin leaves and branches. The other cutlery is nice. Heavy stuff, nothing cheap. Even the chopsticks have good weight. 

You feel out of body as your hand reaches for them, swallowing thickly and not looking up at anyone for any reason. From the corner of your eye, you see Touya who seems to be watching your every move. Hawks doesn’t pay you any mind. You wonder why he’s doing so deliberately. 

You use a spoon to help pick up rice. You eat the vegetables plain. It hurts to chew and swallow even though none of it’s dry. The lemon water you drink from the cold glass cup doesn’t soothe your throat. 

The blonde glances at you. He reaches towards the sake bottle and cups circling the centerpiece of the decor and hands you a glass. “This’ll warm you you,” 

You look at him, and briefly at his plate. He hasn’t touched the meat yet. You take the glass from him and sip in long drinks until you reach the bottom. 

But the feeling doesn’t leave you. You wonder if you’re imagining it. 

It’s meat. Beef, from what they tell you. You look up to see Twice across the table, tearing into the flesh with his teeth - and something inside your gut churns hard. Your focus is unbreaking as you see it. Teeth sinking into flesh. The outside a golden brown but the inside raw and red, fatty and bleeding. Twice’s plate pools with what looks like blood. Steaks bleed, you know that. 

And everyone is eating comfortably, like nothing is wrong. Except Hawks. He has yet to cut into anything. He mimics you. He’s waiting for you to eat first.

“You should eat first,” He goes as far as telling you. His smile gleams. Pearlescent white teeth, golden yellow eyes, blackness in his pupils like oblivion. “Feels a little rude as the host.”

Fuck. Something is wrong. It’s screaming at you. The sound of scraping and chewing and swallowing becomes a cacophony as it grates on your mind. You try your best to be unaffected and drink more sake. You keep your voice calm. 

You won’t panic. You can’t panic. You steel yourself. 

“No no, please - go ahead. I’m a little tired so I don’t feel like chewing, is all. It’s fine, I promise.” You offer, then stare at him. “Eat.” 

He looks at you surprised, and Touya laughs besides you. 

He shrugs though, and eats. Unconcerned with you, with refined manners and well practiced etiquette. Hawks is polite when he eats. 

He cuts through the thick hunk of meat with a sharpened knife in precise, even squares. He’s an expert at it. You watch as the outside cuts open. Underneath the brown is tender red. Bleeding red. It’s practically raw on the inside, blood spilling out from the open slices. It has that soft texture of raw meat. Hawks uses his chopsticks to grab the piece, and it yields underneath the pressure - squished between the ends.

You watch as he chews it. You watch carefully. 

There’s delight in the act of eating. He savors when he chews, slow and deliberate and when he swallows - he seems especially pleased. His expression changes after the first few bites, repeating it over and over. You feel bile rise in your throat. 

“It’s good you know,” Hawks hums, looking at you so deeply you feel suffocated. Flying close to the ground to pin you right when you’re least expecting, how typical. It’s so like him it makes you sick. “You should give it a try,” 

You clear your throat. 

“I will. I uh, I do need to use the restroom though.” You say quickly, trying not to heave. “Where would that be?” 

Touya snorts. “Down the hall on your left.” 

Before he can get a word in edgewise - you bolt. You nearly knock the dining chair over with how swift you carry yourself on your legs. You run, speeding off towards the bathroom. Grabbing the handle you nearly slam the door as you hurry yourself inside.

Your chest feels tight as a sense of nausea overwhelms you, mixed with some morbid sense of relief. You were right. You were right about everything. 

They’re taking body parts - this much you’re sure of. You can think of what they do with them. Selling them is a lucrative business. But eating them? It’s a level of depravity so far beyond your scope - you can’t help but feel nauseated. 

Your hands grip the linoleum sink as the fluorescent lights of the bathroom flicker overhead. Your complexion has gone pale with disgust. Your stomach feels especially tight, soured. It’s almost painful how sick you are. Sweat drips along your back and into your shirt - all down the crown of your head. White knuckling the edge of the sink, you stare into the linoleum and take deep breaths trying not to fucking puke. 

You’re in too deep. You were weeks ago. Maybe the minute you clocked that something was wrong about him, like you’ve seen past a carefully set-up illusion. 

By rights of the illusionist, it’s only inevitable that he comes after you. You either die with his secret or become part of his magic act. 

You don’t know which things he wants more. 

By the time you steady your breathing at all, you hear the bathroom door click open behind you. 

You nearly scream. 

Hawks closes the door behind him. The enclosed space of the bathroom makes your chest ache, as you back into the sink. He looks calm. You ready yourself to run. 

His eyes no longer shine. They’re almost dull, copper in color as he stares at you with a lazed smile. It’s like the mask has all but shattered. Leaving you two in this cramped, airless, stale room. Your stomach clenches, muscles tight with adrenaline. You think of all the ways out, but Hawks leans his weight on the door to keep you from running. 

“Relax,” He offers, no longer pretending. “I won’t hurt you. And you’d rather not get the attention of my housemates, I’m guessing,” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You fucking—you eat people?” 

He smiles. “You know, it’s pretty clever of you to figure it out. Most folks here are too stupid to see through it, but you noticed right away. I was really interested in that when we first met,” 

He stands up straight, readying himself to approach you. 

“Stay the fuck away from me,”

He leans against the door and puts his hands up, but not because he’s trying to appear unthreatening. 

“It’s a good gig. Cheap property, more people move in, more business. When someone proves loyalty, they get a cheap mortgage and live for a small price. Up until now, no one just moving has been able to get out of it. Except for the family before yours. Still feel sorry about that one.” 

The dread that washes over nearly has you throwing up. You dry heave. Hawks smile only grows. 

“But you noticed right away, which was interesting. So I started getting intrigued by you. I wondered how far you’d go to find things out, and it was farther than I expected. It’s good to be clever,” Hawks offers. He steps closer to you this time and you go to defend yourself, grabbing something from the counter to hit him with. You find nothing. “Not so good to be nosy. But you couldn’t help yourself, huh? I like the spunk, at least.” 

“You’re a monster,” You say and you mean it. 

“It’s a house full of them. I’m just the spokesperson. And this is a lucrative business practice. My colleagues aren’t the social type, so I handle all the HR. I can’t have some newbie who just moved in fucking the protocol,” Hawks hums, tilting his head at you. “In a way I’m helping you,”

“Helping me? How in the fuck are you helping me?” 

It’s a swift movement where Hawks pins you. You go to move, to hit him - to scream. But Hawks is fast. He’s strong, and completely swift - and when he grabs you to pin you to the sink, you’ve never felt more completely helpless in your life. You bite his hand, but he looks at you steadily. Cold.

“No one will help you even if you scream, so don’t scream,” Hawks reprimands, almost bored. “Cops don’t come here anyways. I would know.” 

He pulls his hand away from you. 

“What do you want from me?” 

Hawks looks surprised then laughs. 

Before you can protest any further, you feel the grip on your arms and body tighten painfully. Hawks ducks his head down against your throat, and in one motion bites. He bites hard. You can feel it break the skin, and that time you scream. You pull away, but his teeth scrape and scrape and scrape till you’re bleeding. 

He sucks the blood and licks the flesh, like someone might eat bone marrow from a carcass. You can feel it then. He’d devour you into nothing if he could - while you’re still all pieced together. You look at his mouth when he pulls away, covered in your blood. Some of the skin he’s taken off, just barely. Your whole body feels feeble as he goes again to lick up and clean the sensitive wound. 

Your knees feel weak as he pulls away. Your blood is on his mouth. There’s surely more on his hands. You feel sick all over again. You’re gonna throw up. 

“It’s simple what I want,” Hawk’s says, and then narrows his eyes at you “I like to play with my food before I eat it,” 

Your eyes narrow. 

“There’s no way  I’d let myself wait around here to be killed.” 

“Who said anything about killing, stranger? Just eating. It’s good practice to eat. We’ll eat together. We’ll eat each other. It’s romantic, don’t you think?” Hawks hums, hugging you to him. And it’s like you’re seeing him for the first time, for exactly what he really is.  “Eating together is a basic facet of a healthy connection.” 

“A healthy connection? You’re insane.” 

He shakes his head. 

“I’m in like. Different things.”

You try again to pull away, but remain stone still in his arms. For now, there’s no escaping. But you thrash and thrash and thrash. It comforts you.

“I’ll never take it lying down.” You tell him, as seriously as you can. 

He gives you a smile. It’s pearly white. It’s unnerving. It’s genuine. Your heart feels heavy as the weight and implications all sink in. Oh, he’ll chase you - if it means getting to eat you alive. 

Thunder strikes the house. The walls shake. July is unwelcoming and gloomy. 

But Hawks’ eyes shine yellow gold like a false sin as he looks down at you in awe. 

“I’m looking forward to it, neighbor.” 

#cannibalism cw #noncon cw #yandere cw #hawks x reader #bnha x reader #writing tag #sorry if there are . still errors

[lesinquietes]

begging and pleading on my knees for more yandere hawks

I’ve been thinking about Yandere Hawks collecting things of yours, the same way crows collect shiny stuff that catches their eye. With him, the tendency not materialistic so much as it is to satiate his desire to have you; his patience grows thin with every hour, every day, and every week that you’re not in his arms. He has to remind himself that biding his time is the most painless route he can take to acquire you. He doesn’t want to hurt you or anyone you love — but he will if you don’t cooperate.

He takes your hair ties. If they’re tight enough, he slides them to the base of his cock and imagines the way your pouty lips would grip him, instead. He snatches your panties, too. He knows it’s not a decent thing to do, but what’s the harm? If he let himself do what he really wants to do, you’d hate him. It’s better that he has another outlet for his sexual frustration. And he abducts your lotion. Initially, it was because he wanted to smell you in the comfort of his lonely condo; it quickly transformed into lubricant for when he retires for the evening and thinks about you.

As inconvenient as it is to be missing things here and there, you don’t know how fortunate you are to not have to suffer the alternative — the darkness he harbours in the pit of his damaged, yearning heart.

#tw angst #tw noncon #yandere hawks #yandere keigo takami #yandere keigo x reader #yandere hawks x reader #hawks x reader #keigo x reader

[auraticmaniac]

-𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙷𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢-

Hawks thirst.

imagine Keigo taking advantage of your drunken state during new years eve and pulling you inside someone’s room (potentially Touya’s) as the sound of people cheering from the distance couldn’t hear your screams.

TW: Non-Con, Hawks taking advantage of drunk reader, and slight delusional thinking

“Happy new year, baby~” His cock stuffed deep inside your tight hole, the tip breaching your cervix as he continues to effortlessly pound into your wet pussy. His wings fluttering in excitement, “This is the perfect day to knock you up, get this tum-tum all filled up with my chicks.” You couldn’t even give him a proper reply; your repeated hits doesn’t make him flinch, it’s adorable~

“How bout’ I cum once the count down is finished? Isn’t that romantic? Aren’t I a generous man, I’m giving you the advantage of not getting pregnant this year.” He chuckled, his hand fondling your right breast in which you desperately try to pull away but failed.

"Mmmhmm, good idea?" His dark piercing eyes stares down at your pitiful form; expecting a reply. Sadly, you could only speak incoherent words, you're too drunk and fucked out to even form a proper conversation. Keigo didn't need to understand what you were saying, he knew you never wanted this and he knew that this was wrong, oh so very wrong. But fuck, he couldn't tap out even if he wanted to, not with your pussy clenching so tightly on his fat cock. "I'll take that as a yes." Calloused hands moved down to your plump hips, grabbing both your sides to keep your body from falling and to move you however he pleased.

"Ten..." He thrusts up, making your belly bulge; a low chuckle escapes from the man as he feels you squirm in discomfort, "Mmmm, fuck. Keep moving for me, sweetie~" He chirped, his rough hands bruising both of your sides. "Nine." He pulls out making a wet popping noise, you tried to make a run for it but his bruising grip wouldn't let you go. "Sweetie, the more you try to run away from me," He forcefully pulls you back, "the rougher I get." He positions his cock right at your entrance and slides it back in without any effort, "Ahhh now, where were we? Eight was it?" You shook your head repeatedly, tears falling down on your face as you try to pull away from his cock that's perfectly snugged into your inside.

"Six, fuck baby you're squeezing me."

"Five, gods you're such a dirty slut."

"Four, ahahaha, no no no noooo." He tightens his strong grip to keep you from moving, "I know you're about to bust babycakes and I'm not going to let you walk out unsatisfied."

Stop, hammer time.

Holy fuck, THIS SHIT WAS IN MY DRAFTS SKSKSKSKSK

#minors dni #tw noncon #weird writer #cliffhanger #yandere #bnha #bnha hawks #Scumbag Hawks #I'm late but I don't want this shit to rot in my drafts #I am still alive #hawks x reader

[creepsh]

eram quod es, eris quod sum.

paring. siren!hawks x fem!reader

c/w. dark content, noncon, brainwashing, drugging, oral sex (f!receiving), loss of virginity, (1) mention of breeding, hawks is a conniving bastard, reader is a cranky know-it-all, some mentions of blood, a crumb of lore was stolen from supernatural

a/n. half of my reason for writing this was for @bibbidi-bobbidi-birb. you are so ridiculously talented at writing and characterizing this man; i drew a lot of inspiration from your seven deadly sins series, although i don't write as eloquently as you do so i pray it doesn't melt your eyeballs lmfao. the other half of this is dedicated to @hhawks owtw collab & to all of the amazing writers on this platform. hope y'all enjoy ♥

w/c. 21k

playlist. 1, 2, 3, 4

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

– H.P. Lovecraft

ㅤ

Throughout your childhood, your grandmother would often tell you to be extremely cautious of the choices you make. Because for every action, there is always a consequence to follow. It is the very law of existence, she would whisper to you with fierce, unblinking austerity. It is the order of the universe – the grand design of “fate” itself.

Fate… such an arbitrary word, you used to think.

Despite loving her dearly, you also used to think your grandmother was just a cynical old woman, far too wary of forces that were beyond the grasp of mortals, and far too fearful of a world without her protection in it. Despite how… stifling she could be, you did not relish in her passing; she had raised you, after all. You hadn’t even gotten the opportunity to know your parents, whom had "died at sea" before even your first birthday had come to pass. That was all she would ever divulge on the matter, so it wasn’t as if you could truly lament for their absence, having never known them at all. Not even their names.

Perhaps her general oddness and cynicism was for the best, though, since it shaped you into a person that could endure the loneliness that came with her eventual departure from your life. It saddened you – like any living, feeling human should have felt – but you couldn’t help but admit how… freeing it was. Endless opportunity was suddenly at your fingertips, freedom to do as you please an avenue that you could finally walk. Or perhaps even sail.

The ocean was an entirely uncharted corner of life for you, a forbidden dream tucked away on a high shelf that could have been only reached within your mind’s eye, only manifested from the pages of books that you might’ve read a hundred times over.

Opportunity; it tread a very fine line between promising and dangerous. That you were made well aware of – a courtesy of your Grandmother's upbringing, of course. But in theory of all the random knowledge you had amassed, ranging from pointless to useful, you wagered that you had a chance at realizing your goals. You were penniless, but with an opportunity to step outside of your thoughts, to actually live for real… who is to say that you couldn’t achieve whatever you set your aspiring mind to?

You weren’t callow enough to assume it would be a breeze to do, but you had thought that as long as you had your wits, there would never be a consequence of which to answer. If you played your cards right, a thing called fate wouldn’t catch wind of you.

…or so you had believed, as all ignorant adolescents do.

One lesson your evidently all-knowing grandmother had forgotten to grant you with was just how fast such consequences were to catching up with you, and especially how easily they could be overlooked. You've finally begun to realize that mere book smarts alone wouldn’t pull you out of the rabbit hole, nor would your childish delusions of grandeur carry you as half as far as you thought they would.

Consequences, you ruminate bitterly, whilst peering upon an infinite expanse of shimmering, undulating sea. They certainly do have a way of catching up to you, one way or the other. Of course, only now were you fully taking her warnings, which were beginning to appear as grim omens, to heart – when it was too late to do anything about it.

The sound of a seagull’s raspy, screeching cackle disrupts the lulling murmur of fluttering sails and waves crashing against the ship’s hull, and for a moment, you entertain the thought of it being her spirit hanging over you, vindictively sneering:

I told you so.

A sharp whistle, followed by the gruff call of a name you aren’t familiar with interrupts your somber reverie. Right, the consequences that she often spoke of – you were soon to meet them, very soon.

The acrid smell of sweat and tobacco hits you before the sound of heavy footfalls resounding against wood does; a hand so calloused and tanned it could be better resembled to an aged, leather glove than an actual living human limb falls upon your shoulder, steering you toward the port side of this boat – your self-inflicted prison – to the one who summoned for you. The one who will decide your fate, in what is sure to come in but a few more moments.

“There she is – our lovely little stowaway.” You find yourself to be relieved that those words appeared to be laced with derision, rather than desire. At the very least, you’d prefer to not be robbed of your chastity before you die... but beggars on the precipice of death can’t quite be choosers, now can they? “I believe destiny brought you to my ship for a reason, girl. Are you ready to face yours?”

Whatever that entails, you were clearly about to find out.

For a moment, you were only able to stare up at the veritable mountain of a man before you, at the glacial hue of eyes that seemed to be utterly absent of all warmth or mercy, before derisively muttering, “As I’ll ever be, I suppose.” It’s not as if you had much a choice otherwise, at this point.

If he found your sudden compliance to be odd he must have deemed it unnecessary to comment on, because he turned his back to you without further preamble, directing his frigid gaze to the distant landmass that stood as a green blemish on what was an otherwise pristine portrait of blue. To you, it looked like any other ordinary island. A tropical paradise, if anything.

But you strongly suspect he didn’t come all the way here, in the middle of nowhere, for a relaxing getaway.

“Somewhere on that island lies the greatest treasure the likes of any pirate or king has known for over several hundred years. Many have died in pursuit of it, and far less have lived to tell of what they saw beyond its shores – if they made it that far.”

Nervous shifting comes from the man behind you, whom is still holding your shoulder captive, as if you had literally anywhere else to run except overboard. You try your best not to grumble irritably at his clenched grip, listening as intently as one who was on the verge of receiving a broken collarbone could.

“It is said to be a place of unimaginable horrors – for men, that is.” Ah, you see what point he was trying to make, considering the obvious. Sure enough, the captain turns his head ever so slightly to side-eye your diminutive form, reluctantly awaiting his verdict. “Few boats could ever sail close enough without being run aground because of sirens – wicked she-devils, who exist solely to prey upon the hearts of men. No man can resist their influence, and that is why the prize within that cursed place has remained unclaimed to this day. This is where you, my dear,” he sneers over the term of endearment, “come into play.”

His gaze flicks somewhere behind you, an unspoken order, and it’s only about a second or two of shuffling before it is answered – a tattered, rolled up scrap of parchment is handed off to him from over your shoulder that isn’t currently being crushed into mincemeat. Against your better judgment, or perhaps due to a lack thereof, you open your mouth to speak.

“So… you’re sending me to discover this treasure on the possibility that they wouldn’t target a woman? Even if that were so, what about… I don’t know – male sirens?”

The captain scoffs at the suggestion as he impatiently unfurls the paper, as if the idea were more outlandish than what he had already told you just a second prior. “There is no such thing – males have never been reported to be seen, but if you are snatched up by one…” He briefly looks skyward to snort humorlessly, as if such a thought were a half-assed joke from the gods, “then I suppose that’ll answer that question, aye?”

You aren’t sure what else to say in your defense, but he doesn’t seem to care for any more of your inquires anyhow as he is suddenly gesturing for you to look at where he’s pointing on a faded, crudely drawn rendition of the island before you – something he must have kept in his possession for many, many years.

“See this spot, where a shipwreck lies between these large rock formations?”

Nodding slowly, your eyes follow the path his finger drags slightly upward, where the sea meets a flat, tall cliff face. He jabs the haphazardly shaded area beneath it, which you notice to be covering the subtle outline of a circle. Your nodding stops. “Below here will be a cave entrance that has become hidden under the tides this time of the year, just beneath sea level. That is where many believed the treasure to be, judging by the amount of sunken ships you can find there.”

Gulping, you offer the large man an apprehensive glance. “The cave is beneath… sea level? I’m, uh, not really the best swimmer.” An exaggeration, which you cannot really be blamed for given your situation, but you certainly weren’t confident in the length that you could hold your breath. The thought of you writhing amongst a cold, heavy darkness, your final emotions being one of utter terror as your lungs inevitably fill with saltwater invokes a shudder within you. Despite your fascination with the sea, drowning had been a recurring fear of yours for as far back as you could remember, as if the roots of this day burrowed themselves to the foundation of your existence, amongst other obvious reasons.

You couldn’t help but find it a bit funny, at least, how life seemed to have a rather cliché way of coming full circle. Fate was not quite as arbitrary as it seemed…

“Well—” You manage to withhold yourself from jolting in surprise when he abruptly yanks the map from your intense scrutiny, rolling it back up swiftly and neatly before presenting it to you once more, slightly from beyond your reach. “It’s either this, or we sell your pretty ass off at the nearest port. I reckon we’d get decent coin off you. So—” He lowers his hand, leering at you with an obscure, prying intensity. “What’ll it be, girl? Become someone’s property ‘til the end of your days, or help me make history?”

You peer at the map – the physical embodiment of the ultimatum being offered to you – with thinly veiled skepticism. “Who’s to say you won’t just sell me after finding your treasure anyway?”

The captain huffs, “Don’t worry, your worth is nothing compared to what’s on that island, and besides—” His mouth splits into a grin that could be equally interpreted as a grimace, warping his face in a way that felt entirely unnatural to how it was designed; he looks like he’s never smiled a day in his life before now. “I am a man of my word. If you succeed, I’d let you walk free with about as much as you can fill your pockets with. Call it a gesture of my goodwill, and a little extra incentive for your success.”

Admittedly, the prospect of some creepy lech becoming your “owner” wasn’t helping you see many drawbacks to his deal. Either you succeed by some miraculous twist of fate, walking away not only with your freedom, but also compensation… or you fail, possibly suffering what would more than likely be a horrible and agonizing death. But, at the very least, you would die free. It was simple as that, and in all honesty—

You really appreciated simplicity, in the grand scheme of things.

You don’t really see a point in drawing the moment out any further than it already has, plucking the paper from his fingers with a resigned finality. A seagull’s raucous squawking carries over your heads yet again – you deliberately ignore the uneasy stirring in your gut, as the memory of a certain somebody’s voice swims at the forefront of your mind. The frantic beating of wings fleeing toward the direction of land comes just before the distant, subdued murmur of thunder traveling through the atmosphere, as if following on some sort of theatrical cue.

The captain seems to have anticipated this turn of the weather as much as he did your decision, muttering something indistinct beneath his breath before piercing the anticipatory standstill that enveloped his crew with a short, practiced whistle. They sprang into action without a moment of delay.

An aggravated hiss escapes your lips as the man that has been attached to your shoulder this entire time forcibly ushers you towards the rolled up ladder that is used to board the ship, finally removing his damned meat hooks from your poor, aching collarbone. Yeah, that was definitely going to become a hideously gigantic bruise later. Lovely.

Though you probably weren’t even going to live long enough for it to be seen by anyone anyway, so you suppose it didn’t really matter all that much… you still felt like you were entitled to complaining, though.

You observed the crew with a detached form of curiosity, as they lowered a small rowboat into the water with a swift and synergetic efficiency. For some reason, it’s the thought of having to haul yourself all the way to that island that begins to chip at your apathetic façade, a troubled frown cracking through your stony features – if the sirens truly won’t kill you first, then the fatigue from rowing very well might. Gods, you didn’t even want to consider the return trip, on the off chance of your success.

A muted splash meets your ears precisely as the rope ladder is tossed over the boat’s railing, the sound of it knocking against the hull following in a rickety staccato as it unfurled. A heavy quiet settles over the ship once again, in anticipation for your next action.

Time for the moment of truth, it seems.

You turn your back to the uncomfortable weight of their expectant stares, shuffling forward to slowly clamber over the railing. It’s a miracle that you manage to not fling yourself backward, as you awkwardly fumble onto the other side. You take a moment to gather your bearings, hugging your body to the sturdiness of the carved wood as seawater sloshed beneath you; but unfortunately for you, time was of the essence, and the captain wasn’t too keen on his being wasted.

“…We don’t have all day, girl,” he snaps impatiently, that distinct, baritone voice easily cutting through the ambient noises of the sea. “That storm on the horizon will pass over this area by nightfall, and I don’t want to be here when it does. So I’d suggest you hop to it, if you don’t want to be left behind.”

By this point, you aren’t too shocked, as the list of potential causes for your failure appeared to be piling up at a laughably exponential rate. Nevertheless, you began your careful descent down the swaying ladder, committing each of their faces to your memory before you dipped below the railing, because for all you know—

ㅤ

…they just may be the last humans you will ever see.

ㅤ

Nearly an hour of rowing later… and three hours of daylight remaining.

ㅤ

“Stupid—”

Inhale, pull.

“—fucking pirates—”

Exhale, and push.

“—and their stupid—”

Inhale, pull.

“—fucking—”

Exhale…

“—greed.”

…and push.

You drop your oars with an exhausted groan, allowing yourself a brief respite from your rage-fueled rowing to just drift with the flow of the ocean’s current, while indulging in its rejuvenating spray. The muscles in your entire upper half felt as if they were on the brink of tearing open, and your ragged breathing indicated your lungs weren’t exactly faring any better. At least you’re finally getting the exercise, your grandmother would probably be griping right about now. Of course, even in death, that woman remained an unshakable hindrance to your peace of mind.

“Consequences this, consequences that – should’ve followed your own advice, old hag. Might’ve lived a little longer if you laid off that damn pipe,” you mutter, slouching forward as you dig for the map you kept tucked in your bodice. Unrolling it over your thigh, you examined the paper carefully.

It only took a quick glance upward to affirm that you were undoubtedly heading in the right direction, as you were steadily nearing the same rock formations the captain had indicated; the weathered skeleton of a marooned ship was cradled between their jagged edges – as if they were a massive creature’s maw bursting from the sea. It felt like fitting symbolism for the island in its entirety, buds of unease blooming in your chest at the unnerving sight. You could only imagine how many more ships were beneath you, an unseen graveyard littering the ocean floor.

You wondered if it would become your resting place, too.

Shaking such distractions from your mind, you stuff the map back into your bodice and resume rowing, grunting with every other forward and backward motion – your destination wasn’t much further now. It’s the most effort that you’ve had to exert by far, wrestling against the choppy tide that seemed to form in the outer perimeter of the island. You would’ve been worried about the very legitimate chance of blacking out from exhaustion, were you not so preoccupied with steering yourself towards a rocky outcropping that sat a safe distance from the sheer cliff wall, away from the large waves that crashed against it with a force that would pulverize your tiny vessel – and you with it.

Far be it from you to tell a lousy pirate how to do his lousy job, but it might’ve been a helpful detail to have been made aware of. Perhaps he hadn’t even expected you to make it beyond this point, the bastard. You will live to see the end of this day, if only to make him eat his words. Fates be damned, you will live.

It was coming up on you fast, now. The oars didn’t seem to serve much of purpose anymore – seeing as the surging riptide was now hurtling you directly toward the rock – so you threw them to your feet, anchoring yourself with a white knuckled grip on the lip of the boat. All you could do was hold on, and brace for impact.

The nose of the boat slammed into the rock with a force that rattled your brain against your skull, nearly knocking your handhold loose and flinging you from your seat. Despite your disorientation, you quickly scramble out before the raging tidewater can suck you back into the fray; you drag it onto the highest point of the rock with you, just for good measure – it wouldn’t be possible to get back without it, after all.

Thankfully, this spot seems elevated enough that it can probably be safely left unattended, but still – you’re skeptical of taking any chances with the elements. With nothing to anchor or tie it down, you can only hope it will suffice in keeping it from being swept away, leaving you a prisoner of this place.

You turn to regard the water’s churning surface with trepidation – today’s next test of your limits, and the one that you had been dreading the most. But you couldn’t afford to waste daylight worrying about whether or not your life truly was moments from meeting its end, or about how slow and horrific the feeling of drowning would likely be, so you decide to stop thinking and just act.

You breathe in and out in to prepare your lungs for what is to come, sparing the heavens one last glance – asking not for protection, but willing yourself to be witnessed by every cruel, divine force that has lead you to this moment – before crossing your arms over your chest and leaping into the water feet first.

Out of the frying pan, and into the fire, as they say.

Naturally, the sensation that hits you first is the sheer cold, which swallows you up entirely as you sink and sink. Next is the shock upon your nervous system, briefly causing your limbs to seize up, but you manage to shake free from it almost as quickly as it grabbed ahold of you, opening your eyes and scanning for the cave’s entrance – it felt like they were melting from the saltwater, but you endured.

You’re fortunate to spot it almost instantly, considering it must have been large enough to accommodate the width of three ships altogether; it was quite hard to miss. Although, if the threat of your lungs caving in on themselves weren’t an impending matter, you would have given yourself a moment to marvel at the breathtaking sight that was laid out before you, as you propel yourself toward the gaping opening.

Fringing reefs of pastel coral were interspersed with clusters of vibrantly pigmented anemones, and patches of seaweed flowing like verdant ribbons amongst various forms of small aquatic life litter just about every inch of visible space below you, an animated canvas of colors that put even the finest gardens or museums in your home capital to shame. Never once in your life have you considered the possibility of baring witness to such a natural beauty firsthand, something the average citizen could only find in paintings or storybooks. Not that you were glad your life led to this outcome, but maybe in better circumstances – your endlessly curious mind would have been bursting with wonder.

It seemed that the entrance you were swimming through was merely an antechamber to an even bigger cave, its shaded overhang making the clear shafts of light that were bleeding through the area ahead of you easy to navigate towards. The dwindling remains of your breath were escaping your nostrils in fat plumes as soon as you passed the second threshold, guiding you upwards to a glassy, semi-distorted surface – but most importantly, to air.

You might have considered it odd, for beams of direct sunlight to be appearing inside of this cave, which should have been a secluded pocket in the earth, and about a hundred feet or so beneath solid bedrock and the open sky. However, you were somewhat preoccupied with not drowning, steeling your lungs with the last ounce of adrenaline your body could muster as you clawed your way to the surface.

Your head whipped back in a violent arc the instant it broke through, a hungry gasp for oxygen falling from your gaping lips and traveling around you with a reverberating, prolonged echo – suggesting this chamber was indeed an immense one. You aren’t expecting to have to squint when you open your eyes, but lo and behold, there is a legitimate brightness penetrating your pupils when you do.

You weakly raised a hand to block the glare from your sensitive gaze, peering through the gaps in your fingers at the light’s source, from what you blearily discerned to be an opening in the cave’s high, dome-like ceiling. Overgrown flora hung almost artfully over its edge, dripping from dense condensation that had patches of lichen encompassing the wide perimeter of it in a large web. It was only then – as you floated on your back and waited for your racing heartbeat to stabilize, absently pondering just how just how nice it’d be to have wings of your own, to abscond through that hole and from your insignificant, humanly woes – that something in the fuzzy outskirts of your vision finally made itself known.

Resting within the heart of this hidden grotto was a ship, but not just any typical ship, being far too grand to be rightfully compared with anything you have previously laid eyes on before – it was a galleon. You’ve never been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one, considering they were primarily used by the military or for trade overseas, but you would often find yourself marveling at diagrams of them whenever you would visit the local library, finding them to be more fascinating than any of the regular vessels that would frequently dock at the port of your capital.

If this place weren’t already a testament to its own enormity, you would be puzzled by what you were seeing. The ship held an utterly imposing silhouette, with twice the amount of masts of a standard ship and an overabundance of gunports for cannon fire on each deck, which also was twice the amount of average. Yet despite its clear design for naval warfare, it also possessed a rather regal aesthetic, with a gold trim lining its edges in a subtle embellishment that coalesced into heavier accents at the stern. Even the sails were still somewhat rich with color, displaying crosses and maroon crests over an alabaster canvas. Other than the tip of its bow being mysteriously severed, the boat was in an immaculate state of preservation.

Well then… this alone was more than enough to solidify the captain’s claims, you suppose. Just the ship in of itself could be qualified as treasure, and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume it had more stored inside – a lot more, you’d wager. Regardless of the staggering amount of wealth that just a fraction of this discovery could garner, you found yourself slightly more excited to see the history that it held; it had to have been from the early 16th century or so, judging by the information you gathered during your studies. Amazing yet peculiar, seeing as it appeared virtually untouched by the lengthy passage of over a hundred years.

Stranger even, that there weren’t many signs of rot on the wood. It looked as if it had been well maintained, apart from the encrusted layer of fossilized barnacles on its hull.

The extent of the ship’s size didn’t truly sink in until you directly approached its side, making you feel utterly miniscule as you hunted for a ladder or hanging anchor of some kind. You swam to the other side when your search came up short, dearly hoping that there’d be something, anything that could be considered remotely climbable. This would be the proof you needed that the universe well and truly had it out for you when the finish line was literally within reach, just a brief climb away. One could argue that fate wouldn’t possibly be so cruel, but you knew better – your grandmother’s proclivity to superstition made sure of that.

Your groan of frustration resonated deeply within the hollow chamber, skipping across the water’s placid surface and back into your own ears when the other side proved just as fruitful as the first. You shouldn’t have been surprised considering your luck, but it just seemed ridiculous for something as trivial as this to be what bests you after coming so far, after successfully “negotiating” with pirates, after wrestling with the fury of Poseidon in a measly little rowboat, and after avoiding drowning through the skin of your teeth.

No – you refused to accept it, refused to return to the captain empty-handed and with your tail between your legs. Not after vowing to yourself that you’d prove him wrong. So you continued on your path, circling back around to the boat’s starboard side.

Even with your bullheaded adamancy, you weren’t sure what you were anticipating, when you knew better than to actually expect anything new to be suddenly waiting for you – as if you somehow overlooked the one thing your eyes had been specifically scouring for – but you certainly hadn’t considered for just that to happen. Dangling over the gunwale almost innocently, like it had sheepishly slithered itself there only after your discontent had been vocally expressed, was a long length of thickly corded rope. Despite the cool rush of relief that washed over you, the hairs on your nape arose in a skeptical wariness. That couldn’t have been there before – you were certain you had scanned this side top to bottom… hadn’t you?

An odd, nagging feeling itched relentlessly at your insides as you grasped the rope with both hands, curling your fingertips into its coarse, malleable texture. Whatever the case for its sudden manifestation, you weren’t going to take it for granted – you couldn’t afford to.

Fortifying yourself with the promise of your struggles being generously rewarded soon, you planted the soles of your feet onto the damp wood, and you began to climb. You could practically hear the muscles in your arms begging for mercy with each shaky advancement upward, the weariness of one perilous event after the other finally beginning to settle in your bones. But you were so close, and you’d be damned if fatigue attempted to get in the way of that now.

You knew it may become an issue later, but you were somewhat gratified for being soaked to your core, if only to sooth the burning beneath your flesh, to give you the extra modicum of strength that you needed to push yourself over the railing. You tumbled onto the deck like a sack of potatoes, a faint wheeze expelled from your lungs as you rolled onto your side.  

If not for the roughness of the wood rubbing against your cheek, rooting you to reality, it almost would not have been believable that you finally had made it. You were so grateful to be on a stable surface again that you could’ve kissed the deck without a hint of shame, but all you were capable of in that moment was lying still, cradling your sore arms to your chest as you caught your breath.

Dense with a mixture of earthy aromas, oxygen-rich air revitalized you with every inhale – the featherlight weight of it over your skin felt almost healing to the touch. Filtering the ambient sounds of nature that trickled through the opening above you was a lulling hush, a soothing blanket of stillness that laid over the cave’s atmosphere. For all the fear the captain had woven into your expectations of this place, you’d think you stumbled upon Shangri-La… but a nagging voice in the back of your mind told you to know better, to remember every evidence of danger your own eyes had seen on the way here.

Yet regardless of how safe you currently are, if it were up to you, you would curl up exactly where you were and stay there until your body truly deemed it necessary to move. But you weren’t allowed such a luxury with the limited daylight that you had remaining, so you allowed yourself a minute more of peace before mustering the will to push yourself upright.

You had figured that you were prepared to encounter the sight that greeted you, considering you were made abundantly aware of the innumerable amount of lives that were sacrificed over this very ship, but the first time anyone sees a real corpse is bound to be more harrowing than they could ever expect.

…perhaps you spoke too soon regarding safety.

Randomly scattered across the ship’s deck was about a half a dozen bodies, all in what seemed to be the final stage of decay. For some reason, you never took into consideration that they would still be wearing the clothing that they had drawn their last breaths in, presuming from all the depictions of naked skeletons you have seen that it all somehow just… withered away along with their flesh. Obviously, you were enlightened of the absurdity of that assumption now.

The skeleton closest to you was equipped in a manner which one wouldn’t typically see where you were from, comprised of loosely sewn animal skins and metal adornments deeply inscribed with runic symbols, implying they from somewhere Nordic, and presumably male. He was laying on his back with his right hand resting over his chest; you thought that he looked a bit serene, in a macabre sort of way.

The next body was draped halfway over the portside railing, donning a large frock coat and leather trousers, suggesting they were male as well. The evidence of his death was plain to see with a vertical hole on the left side of his upper back – a fatal blow that likely had been aimed for his heart. It looked as if he were attempting to climb overboard, you surmised curiously. Clearly, he had been denied of that chance.

Nearly every skeleton that you examined appeared to share two things in common: they were male – at least judging by their stature and attire – and they had the same, singular hole either over their chests or their backs, with roughly the same positioning. Yet there was no evidence of any weapons remaining.

There seemed to be one exception, however, and it was located the furthest from the others, lying adjacent to the steps that lead to the back of the ship, toward the captain’s quarters that sat above the stern.

The first thing you noticed was what they were wearing closely resembled your own clothing, with a corseted bodice that sat over a short-sleeved, cream-colored chemise – a distinctly feminine choice of attire – and a loose fitting pair of breeches that were tied at the knee. Unlike the others, there was not a single sign to indicate how they, or she, had died – only that her body was arranged in a relaxed manner that implied she had passed calmly.    

The second thing to capture your attention was something peeking through the cradle of one of her boney palms, a tiny beacon of color amidst a slathering of dull, melancholy hues. You were loath to lay your hands upon the dead, considering it more rude than distasteful, but alas – your intrigue was a stubborn thing that could hardly ever be thwarted.

“Sorry to disturb you,” you muttered, gingerly kneeling beside her. It was a strange and humbling feeling, holding the hand of a person who has long since departed from this world, and one you couldn’t fathom to describe as you pried her stiff grasp open. You handled her as if she were porcelain, fearing that she would crumble to pieces lest you applied even the tiniest bit of force. With meticulous care, you reached through her fingers, and slowly pulled the object free.

Your initial expectation was some form of garnet or ruby enameled jewelry due to the alluringly stark shade of red being what caught your eye, but it was revealed to only be a feather. Only was not implying you were at all disillusioned, when its vividness seemed to rival that of blood, a color you had always secretly favored. You struggled to think of a bird that would fit such a purely sanguine coloration – the closest coming to mind being either a cardinal or some variation of parrot – but neither were a species that fit a plume of this scale, at least not to your knowledge. You considered yourself pretty well read, but not to that capacity.

It felt like there was something very important that you were forgetting to consider, a key factor to your entire reason for being here, but it was overshadowed by the sensory overload you’d been riding on ever since you breached this cave.

That lingering uncertainty remained in the background of your psyche, eclipsed by your incessant curiosity as you notice something lightly scratched into the wood where her hand had been lying.

“Eram quod es, eris quod sum,” you whispered aloud, before pursing your lips in concentrated thought. You were certain that it was Latin, recognizing a few words from your studies, but you weren’t anywhere near fluent. You figured that you might be able to get an idea of the phrase if you attempted to sound it out from what you knew.

“We are— no, that’s not right…” You’ve seen some of these words before, if only you could just remember. “I… I was what—”

“I was what you are; you will be what I am.”

The feather fell from your grasp, seesawing through the air in a peaceful descent that directly contrasted the meteoric plummeting in your gut. Oh, you had thought dazedly, as your gaze crawled a path up the ship’s main mast, toward the source of the smooth voice that interrupted you.

…that was what you were forgetting.

Perched on the wooden beam that the uppermost sail was tethered to, was what you dumbly presumed to be a siren. They seemed to have materialized out of thin air, granting no audible warning of their arrival. Most notably of all – other than that you now knew what manner of wings that feather belonged to, hanging in excess off their back like a crimson cape – was that the one who had found you was not a female.

So much for there being no such thing… stupid, useless fucking pirates. It was settled, then – the universe operated solely to spite you.

“A tad morbid for my tastes, but it certainly is… thought provoking, I suppose.”

Despite your better consideration to make for the ships railing like a bat out of hell, you remained rooted in place, squinting through the waning beams of sunlight at the siren’s statuesque silhouette for a glimpse of his face. It almost seemed deliberate, how the glare bled wholly onto his features from your angle.

“Well done, by the way,” he drawled, embodying the epitome of nonchalance with how he lazily leaned against the crow’s nest, arms loosely crossed and wings dangling limply. He certainly didn’t appear at all threatened by your presence here. “You almost figured it out. Fancy yourself an aspiring linguist?”

“I… read a lot,” you responded vaguely, glancing at the railing that sat at least six strides from where you stood. Should you even dare to attempt in making a run for it? Your gaze darted to the corpse that was hanging over the portside railing a few meters away, and immediately dismissed that notion. If even an able-bodied man could not make it, which you assumed now of whom he had been fleeing from, then what chance did you have?

A contemplative hum from overhead reminded you where your attention would likely be wise to stay, considering this siren could evidently move without detection. You surrendered every shred of your attention to him as he stepped off his makeshift perch, watching like petrified prey as he plummeted towards you. Just as you wondered if he intended to crush you underfoot those expansive wings unfurled, flapping once to soften his landing, whipping you with a powerful gust of air.

You briefly wondered if this was what field mice felt like when barn owls swooped down upon them. How ironic, considering you used to watch indifferently as they were carried away, squeaking helplessly while you lounged behind your grandmother’s cottage, idly marveling at the harsh wonders of nature before burying your nose back into whatever book you’d been consumed by that evening.

There was a heavy moment of silence while you studied each other, after he straightened himself as those large primary feathers swept against the floorboards, wings tucking comfortably against his back. You probably did resemble cornered prey, with the way you mirrored his leisurely approach step for step, fixing him with a doe-eyed stare when your back collided with the handrail’s post sitting at the base of the stairs.

Despite your fear, you would be blatantly lying to yourself if you didn’t acknowledge the magnitude of his beauty. Had you not known better, you’d think you were gazing upon a renaissance sculpture made flesh – his features so carved and without flaw; the only plausible explanation was that they had been crafted that way, by a profoundly loving and meticulous hand. Even the smoothness of his skin resembled that of marble, the sole difference being its dewy, sun-kissed shade.

What would be the most unremarkable of characteristics, details you wouldn’t normally look twice at on an ordinary person seemed to demand your full examination; like the light wisps of hair accenting his sharp chin, or the unruly brows that sat over a strikingly yellow pair of eyes. They certainly contributed to the danger he exuded, especially with the pointed black markings that extended from his tear ducts in an almost catlike fashion.

His hair only magnified his sunbathed allure, shining like a sandy beach during midday and swept from his face in a feathered wave, save for a few stubborn pieces dusting across his forehead. You’d think he recently went for a swim with the way his bare torso gleamed with moisture, but the baggy harem-style pants hanging low on those trim hips were loose with aridity.

It felt like a gentle tugging on your subconscious, a coaxing balm on the buzzing nerves that kept you hyperaware, and that was precisely why you didn’t trust any of it – the glamour that surrounded him.

He met your thorough examination with equal – if not fiercer – intensity, dragging that arcane stare over the entirety of you with a patient, thinly concealed appreciation. Those unnervingly keen eyes spared you another brazen onceover, before finally meeting yours through a slow blink, tilting his head in an avian fashion.

“So, how’d a mousy little scholar wind up here?” His lips stretched into a feline smile, revealing dangerously elongated canines to match. Fantastic – as if the huge wings and clawed fingertips weren’t sufficient warnings for you to behave. Now you’d have to worry about him getting close enough to make a meal out of your jugular. “Get tired of living vicariously through your books, did you?”

“Tell me…” He abruptly leaned forward, which had you almost folding yourself backward over the handrail to spare at least a modicum of personal space, finding the delicate caress of his balmy breath over your mouth far too intimate for your liking. “Did I meet your expectations?”

Well, this certainly wasn’t how you imagined for this scenario to go.

“…I didn’t have many to begin with,” you answered slowly, breaking from the hold of his invasive gaze to gather your courage to speak. “I didn’t even know your kind existed before today – it wasn’t my idea to come here.”

“Ah.” He clicks his tongue through a sardonic huff, solving the mystery of you in all but an instant. You released a breath you hadn’t been aware of withholding when he swayed backward, releasing the invisible chokehold of his close proximity. “Pirates got ahold of you, eh? Pity.” Even with the barefaced sarcasm, there was an undertone of sympathy in his voice; the kind one would have when seeing a pretty butterfly snared in a spider’s web. A sympathy that is only derived from disappointment, at nature’s cruelty toward lovely, weak things.

You warily glance at him again, before sighing shortly, "Yes… but there's no one to blame for that but myself. I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong, and now here I am, paying the consequences.”

He tutted softly, like you were a child who did not know any better.

“Silly human, don’t you know what they say about cats and curiosity? Let me guess,” he hummed, throwing those sinewy arms over the handrail opposite of you, reclining his head back as he tapped rhythmically at the wood with his fingers, which you’ve only just noticed were riddled with a variety of sparkling rings. You tried your utmost to not stare at the way the action emphasized his pectorals, but it was as if those damned things had their own gravitational pull. “These consequences involved being sent here to retrieve a certain… something. The same something they came here for. Am I getting warm?”

Your eyes didn’t need to follow the direction he nodded at to know whom he had been indicating, but you humored him anyhow. A numbing sense of resignation suddenly settled within you, at the likelihood of this being a test to whether or not you kept your life. You may not have much of a fighting chance, but at the very least, you’d spare your dignity by retaining what little composure you had left.

“…And if you are? Would you kill me too?”

"Hm… it depends.” He squinted down the length of that aristocratic nose at you, halting the tick, tick, ticking of his talons to stroke his chin in a show of contemplation. "How badly do you want what they died for? Would you really be willing to risk your life for someone else’s greed? For material wealth? Or would it be to save your own skin?"

Your expression clouded over as your gaze sank to the floor, brows knitted and mouth tight-lipped. This was it, then. “All I want is… is to be free. To experience a simple life with simple pleasures, but to have life that is worth living. If I can’t have that,” you paused, glancing at the skeleton of the woman who now seemed like an eerie reflection of you, “then I would rather die for myself, at least. That might not have been enough for them, but it is for me.”

The condescending guise he had been wearing shifted into something unreadable, his raised hand dropping to his side. There was something jarring and distinctly inhuman about how quickly he could switch from charming to calculating, as well as his unwavering scrutiny that felt akin to being dissected. Before you could clear the lump of discomfort caught in your throat, a toothy grin had already wormed its way onto his face once again, as if that initial look of deliberation was only a trick of your mind.

“You’re an interesting one. That makes you lucky, because I like interesting things.”

You blinked owlishly at him, unsure how to respond. That was unexpected. Personally, luck would be the last term you would use to describe your predicament, but you took it that meant he wouldn’t be killing you… for now. Even if there was a decent aspect of truth to it, you were kind of exaggerating that last part. Gods only know how fickle minded sirens may be, and you weren’t willing to test that theory now – or ever.

“Tell you what…” He pushed off the handrail with the arm that was still draped across it, sauntering towards you with playful purpose. “Since I’m feeling rather giving today, you can take whatever you want off this boat – if you grant me a moment of your time. It’s been so very long since I’ve had decent company, you know?”

You were curious as to why he wouldn't just seek solace in his own kind, but you decided to not comment on it. You’d rather not risk him revoking his charity by prodding at what might be an unsavory subject. Perhaps sirens just weren’t the type to mingle amongst themselves, or weren’t typically ones for idle interaction and you had merely encountered the odd one of the bunch.

“I… guess that is fair,” you acquiesce, casting a swift glance at the hole in the cave’s ceiling when the sound of faraway thunder fell through it. The hands of daylight seemed to be creeping upon its final hour as the approaching storm drew ever nearer, which meant you had very little time left before the captain and his crew would hoist their sails from this place. Hopefully he doesn’t drag this “moment” he’s asking of you out, because you need to leave soon, before the tides become too tumultuous – you’ve wasted far too much time already. “Just for a moment, then – it’s the least I can repay for your generosity.”

“My, how polite you are,” he said through a shrewd smirk, offering a beckoning hand to you. “It certainly is a refreshing change of pace from my usual guests.”

“…I can’t say I blame them too much – it is a bit frightening being confronted by what looks like a human fused with a vulture for the first time,” you confess bluntly, sliding your fingers onto his upturned palm hesitantly, taking care to not accidentally nick yourself on those lethal claws. Gods, his skin was somehow even softer than it looked. How he managed such a thing with what had to be a very… hands on lifestyle, you could only guess. A benefit of being anything but an ordinary human, maybe.

“A vulture?” He pouts, dragging a thumb over your knuckles to secure you within his grip, gently guiding you along as he begins ascending the stairs. “That’s a tad harsh – I would be a far prettier bird.”

You withheld the urge to snort, finding it amusing that a mythical creature the captain had all but declared of originating from the bowels of hell was offended by being compared to a species that didn’t fit its standards of beauty.

“A peacock, then?”

His laugh was a warm, dulcet sound, scarlet wings twitching with pleased mirth. It was undeniable – red truly had to be your favorite color, you thought before quickly averting your eyes, when he directed a sly look at you over his shoulder. You prayed that didn’t mean he caught on to your pestering desire to touch them, scratching relentlessly at the forefront of your mind. You were just curious, is all. Really. “That’s adequate, I suppose.”

The stairs didn’t seem to stretch that high up from its base, but a single glance backward confirmed otherwise when you both approached the final step. For the briefest moment, you permitted yourself to bask in the culmination of wonders this day has brought, as you surveyed the extent of this chamber, a scene that a mere iota – less than a handful even – of the human race has managed to witness. With rapt mystification, you pondered just how long it has been since a person has set eyes on this place, and lived to tell the tale.

If everything continued to progress in your favor, you just may become one of those very people.

“My name is Hawks, by the way. Well – that is what others address me as. You, however, may have the privilege of calling me Keigo, since the nature of our rendezvous will be so unfortunately brief.”

You cast an inquisitive look at him, puzzled behind his reasoning for having multiple names. Was it simply a cultural thing amongst his race, to have titles for differing people and reasons? You supposed it wasn’t all that out of the ordinary, considering humans practiced similar customs with nicknames and such.

“Why do they call you Hawks, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Keigo pulled you from your rooted position with minimal effort, hardly needing to expend an ounce of exertion to tug your mass forward and with him towards the large doors barring entry to the captain’s quarters, which shared gold accents similar to the ones adorning the ship’s outer body. He clearly was not partial to wasting time; it aided your wishes to speed things along, though, so you weren’t exactly complaining.

"Your curiosity certainly knows no bounds. Though I suppose I have no room to spout such things, being the meddlesome nuisance that I am.” You can hear the smile in his voice even as he steps in front of you, a cheeky inflection you have easily begun to identify whenever those wicked lips quirk upwards, which you’ve already discerned to be quite a frequent trait.

“But as for that name, it’s something of a… informal title, is all.” He quips rather ambiguously, tossing another pointed glance your way before ripping the doors open with excessive flourish. You realize his dramatics were entirely warranted, once you feast your eyes upon the cabin’s contents.

Its interior could only be regarded as baroquely rustic, a climactic coalescence of all the extravagance you have beheld from this ship, from this day by far. The first thing anyone would likely notice upon entering were the tall lancet-style windows facing the entrance on the furthest wall, which provided a view of a portion of the cave through stained mosaic panes, showering the floor in front of them in kaleidoscopic beams of light. They felt reminiscent of the cathedral windows back home, being significantly smaller but similarly Victorian in design. Partially curtaining them were velvet drapes, grandly sized and filigreed with golden lacework. Glimmering under the waning rays was a copper telescope, standing tall enough to peer through at eye level – too bad it was essentially useless within the cave itself.

Hanging within the center of the room was a beautifully ornate chandelier, sitting over a large rug that was designed identically to the drapes, which also had an arrangement of plush blankets and pillows on top of it. A few stray feathers were interspersed with the almost nest like arrangement, indicating it was likely where Keigo slept. A peculiar choice, considering you spotted a king sized bed snugly slotted within an alcove adjacent to the windows, covered in a blanket of dust.

Whoever designed this ship had either a borderline obsessive appreciation for any and everything gold, or they simply wanted to display their wealth as brazenly as they could without crossing into the land of gaudy. Although in your opinion, the solid gold chain attached to the ceiling’s primary support beam, connecting to an equally gilded cage that dangled a few paces from a row of overflowing bookcases was officially a little excessive – there was even what looked to be the skeleton of a bird inside of it… poor thing clearly starved to death.

You didn’t even realize you had drifted further into the cabin, mindlessly brushing your fingers over a meridian globe that sat upon a massive antique desk of solid mahogany, until the sound of the doors shutting snapped you out of your trance.

Keigo chuckled at your spooked expression, as if you had legitimately forgotten where you were, whom you were with in that moment. For a second there, you almost did, which invoked a pang of disappointment in your chest for being denied the time to truly savor such a once in a lifetime experience. It wasn’t as if you wanted to be left behind, trapped here for the rest of your days, but you only wished that you could explore every secret this ship has to offer before leaving…

“Believe me, this is nothing. The deck beneath us is filled to the brim with gold and all sorts of priceless artifacts, as is the one beneath it – it’s honestly a mystery to me how this ship can even stay afloat,” he drones in a blasé tone, as if being exposed to such obscene opulence for so long has worn its novelty to him.

You certainly did not share his indifference, sweeping the room with wide eyes a second time before breathing in a dazed whisper, “Who on earth owned this ship? All of these things?”

“Didn’t you notice, silly girl?” For what felt like the umpteenth time today he is laughing at your expense, lazily gesturing above your head. “He’s right next to you.”

Your head whipped to your right, and indeed, you had somehow missed an oil painting that was affixed to the wall next to you. It depicted a man nobly reclined in a throne-like chair, bequeathed in a heavily embellished waistcoat of dark maroon, silk breeches that appeared far better tailored than your own, and a charcoal tri-cornered hat with a snowy-white feather fashioned to one of its brims. Other than a deep slash obscuring his visage, the most notable feature of the canvas was the human skull resting in one of his ring-adorned hands, which had a crown encrusted with diamonds and rubies sitting upon its cranium. Despite his inexplicably marred expression and identity, the air of power he seemed to ooze was not at all mitigated.

“I used to think I wasn’t one for jewelry,” Keigo suddenly spoke from your side, prompting your gaze to return to him. He was staring at the painting vacantly whilst fiddling with his rings, which you noticed to be curiously similar to the mysterious captain of this ship, although you couldn’t truly tell with how muddled from age it has become. “My kind likes to adorn themselves in bones, you see – too barbaric for my tastes.”

He reached across the desk for something that was hidden from your angle by the large globe, an impish smile slowly creeping over his face from your small, fascinated gasp when his hand returned with the very same skull in tow, crown and all. Keigo plucked the bejeweled headpiece from its dome, carelessly tossing the head back onto the desk and gingerly placed it upon his own. It sagged to the side almost immediately, evidently a little too big for his own skull, but it only felt fitting with his frivolous demeanor. Simpering, he preened beneath your attention, “But then I discovered human trinkets were far more fun to play with. Suits me rather nicely, don’t you think?”

You knew better than to feed into his ego, but you genuinely couldn’t help the faintly amused quirking of your lips, nor the dry response that fell from them. “You look like the type of king who would sit around all day, drinking himself stupid on wine while his society falls to ruin.”

He removed the crown, scoffing, “Already have me all figured out, do you? On the contrary, I wager I could lead a society into prosperity if I had the motivation.”

“I think anyone could achieve whatever they wanted with the right motivation,” you shot back, nearly reeling backward when he suddenly reached toward you.

“Touché,” Keigo purred, plopping the crown on your head before you could reflexively swat his hand away. For whatever reason you decided to play along, sighing in amused defeat as it drooped partially on your skull as well. Whomever this thing was fitted for must’ve had the genes of an ogre if it didn’t fit even on your head. Your grandmother had always said all that reading made your head too big.

“On second thought, I think it looks better on you.” He grinned devilishly, and now it was your turn to scoff. He wasn’t behaving abhorrently at least, but he would have to try a lot harder in order to distract you if that was his goal.

“Also, speaking of wine…” Pivoting on his heels, Keigo marched toward the middle of the room, where his makeshift nest was. Squinting in suspicion, it must’ve felt like you were burning holes into his back as he kneeled onto the blankets, wings stretched slightly to block his ministrations. The telltale sound of a cork popping followed by pouring indicated he really was going there, the shameless bird – of course he kept a bottle of wine where he slept. You already had an excuse loaded on the tip of your tongue when he rocked back to his feet and swiveled back toward you, smirking like a cat that ate the canary as he moseyed back to your side with a rather weighty looking goblet in hand.

“I know there’s another cup sitting around here somewhere… but I don’t feel like digging around for it right now, so you can use this one. It’s my favorite, by the way,” he whispered conspiratorially, as if sharing a long withheld secret, "so feel honored.”

You didn’t accept the drink right away, simply staring at it as he held it before you. He wasn’t actually being serious, was he? Did you look like the type of person that would throw caution to the wind, making yourself tipsy on a time sensitive… quest? Whatever the hell you could call this thing the captain sent you on?

“Aw, come on,” he cooed liltingly, waving it under your nose as if the scent alone would entice you into accepting. You suppose it did smell pretty good... “Don’t act like you don’t want to try it. This stuff is over a hundred years old – it’s way more valuable than the rubbish you came here for, in my opinion.”

“That’s…” You wrinkle your nose to deter the seductive aroma from swaying you, searching for ways to not outright decline him in order to remain in his good graces, “—kind of you to offer, but I probably shouldn’t.”

The saccharine smile he wore did not budge, but his voice was beginning to adopt the tiniest undertone of annoyance. “It wouldn’t be a crime to enjoy yourself, you know. Just give it a try – I know you’ll like it.”

You sighed, “I just— I don’t know. Normally I wouldn’t mind, but it just doesn’t sound like a good idea right now, is all.”

Keigo deflated, exhaling dramatically and topaz eyes downcast, shadowed by the curtains that were his tawny lashes. “Oh, alright... I suppose you can be on your way then if you’re already done here, and I can keep all of this treasure to myself, as usual…”

The urge to roll your eyes was gargantuan. Really? Was he legitimately guilt tripping you now? Could this be considered blackmail? And to think – you were shivering in your boots from his presence not even ten minutes ago.

“For the love of— fine,” you hiss, swiping the goblet from his hand. Some of it splashed onto his hand, but he didn’t seem to mind if the victorious twinkle in his eyes was anything to go by.  “I’ll have a few sips, and that’s it.” And then you were leaving.

He beamed, lifting his hand to his face. “I guarantee you won’t regret it.”

You huffed into the lip of the cup, slowly tipping a sample of its contents into your mouth – yeah, I better not. You’d be sure to haunt him for the rest of his days if your heart gave out on the way back to the other ship.

Keigo hummed while languidly licking the crimson droplets that beaded off his fingers, pink tongue curling around the slender digits as he watched you drink, providing a teasing glimpse of those spear-like fangs. “Mm, isn’t it delicious?”

Awkwardly averting your eyes, you tried to focus on the wine’s taste instead, savoring the layered flavors of rose petals, cherries, and the lingering aftertaste of something even sweeter that you couldn’t quite identify, before gulping the liquid down your suddenly dried throat. You daintily smacked your lips, blinking in shock at how right he was; his smug chuckle implied he was aware of just that.

“This is kind of good, actually,” you admitted begrudgingly, frowning at him despite your agreeance as you went for another sip. He didn’t have to rub it in, at least.

“Just kind of?” he goaded, features haughty and intermingled with amusement. "Well, I have about a thousand more bottles you can try from since this one apparently isn't up to your standards."

You pressed your unoccupied hand to your mouth to keep from spraying your wine, swallowing through a small cough. Did you hear that correctly? A thousand bottles? On top of two decks that were literally overflowing with gold? It really was a mystery how this ship stayed afloat. “I think this one is sufficient, thank you.” You’d prefer to not drink yourself to death just yet, even with the day you’ve had thus far.

Toying with the goblet in your grasp, you raised it further to your face after noticing grooves beneath your fingertips. Now you could see why it was his favorite, with the gorgeously detailed engraving of a disembodied skull wrapped in a thorny bed of roses, its yawning jaw filled with a nest of songbirds. Above it was the bolded words Memento Mori – yet another Latin phrase.

“Do you know what that says, little scholar?” Keigo’s lowered voice brushed against your ear, invoking a startled little jolt from you. Fuck’s sake, he clearly had a thing for sneaking up on people, didn’t he? Must be a siren thing, you inwardly grumbled, leaning away from him and his cloying, heated breath. If he did that one more time, you were going to lecture him about the importance of boundaries.

“Pft, of course I do. That phrase is easy,” you said with a snooty upturn of your nose, irritated by how patronizing he sounds when he calls you that. “It means remember death, or remember you must die, to be specific.”

“Latin,” he intoned drily, rolling his eyes as he leaned back against the desk with his hip, “pretty, but always so gloomy. The Greeks really needed to liven up a little."

“I think they were rather brilliant,” you muttered into your cup, irked by his easy dismissal of one of the most influential societies the world has ever known. “Their history especially.”

Keigo snorted, arms folding as he regarded you through a lidded stare, evidently not surprised by your opinion, “Naturally. Their language is ancient, and the root of many others. You humans love to dwell in the past.”

Raising one brow, you replied tartly, “Is that so bad, when the present can be so disappointing?”

“Oh? Do I disappoint you?”

You were very tempted to say yes – if only to knock his narcissistic ass down a peg – but that would probably only invite his pestering further, so you deigned to take another drink instead of answering. He undoubtedly already knew what your reply would’ve truly been, gauging by that unnervingly knowing look. Such cunning eyes he had, constantly looking as if they were peeling back the skin-deep layers of your outer persona, and delving into the truth of your heart.

"Anyhow,” he sang, pushing himself from the desk and strutting toward the wall of bookshelves, which were practically spilling over with books despite stretching all the way up to the ceiling and the conjoining walls. You trailed after him, unable to resist being drawn to such a plethora of untapped resources. He withdrew a book that must have been white once, but now was yellowed with age; peeking at the cover, you noticed with discreet interest that it was titled Les Amours. “I myself am quite fond of French. They certainly knew how to appreciate life's pleasures.”

“However…” Yet again, he is leaning into you, fanning that heady warmth over the curve of your cheek, yet this time something within you commands you to be still as a statue as he imprinted the following words onto your skin:

“Le seul vrai langage au monde est un baiser.”

It felt as if he exhaled sparks over your flesh, prompting the miniscule hair follicles they danced over to readily stand at attention. The velvety enunciation that he articulated in felt more than just practiced – it was utterly refined; almost like it were his native tongue.

For some reason you felt parched anew, as a steadily rising heat brewed in your lungs and esophagus, but only a few measly drops fell onto your tongue when you quickly tipped the goblet to your mouth to appease it. How odd – you could have sworn you hadn’t partaken in more than a few sips until now. Something in the furthermost part of your mind was instantly pleading for more – more of that ambrosial sweetness that dwelled after each taste – but you shunned it in favor of remaining present in the conversation. Failing to clear the smoldering coals lodged in your throat, your voice was hoarse as you tentatively questioned him, “What—what does that mean?"

Keigo’s mouth twisted into an enigmatic smile as that electric gaze sank to your lips, trailing static all over their tingling surface, leaving you chilled without its tangible weight when it shifted elsewhere nearly as fast as it came. “Wouldn't you like to you know,” he lilted, snapping the book shut and nudging it back into its original placement by the tip of his claw.

“Well, yes,” you said vexingly, stamping down the anxious urge to gnaw on your bottom lip, feeling strangely fixated on the elegant lines of his tendons and knuckles. Why did your nerves feel so… charged all of a sudden? “It’s why I asked.”

He laughs whilst idly thumbing across the spine of a leather-bound tome, side eyeing you before playfully sighing, “Fine, it means—”

A loud ringing suddenly filled your ears, drowning out his following words. Dizzying vertigo swiftly followed as a rose-colored fuzziness bled into the edges of your vision. You grabbed onto a shelf as subtly as you could manage as alarm – and dare you say the undercurrents of want – surged through your veins. Is this due to the wine? But… you’ve never had a reaction like this before. Was it an allergic response to an ingredient, or something? Has it gone bad? Can wine even go bad?

“Sorry I…” You swallowed a mouthful of saliva, resisting the desire to fan yourself. You were beginning to feel hot, so very, very hot. “Could you repeat that?”

“Is something wrong?” Keigo questioned lightly, although you didn’t miss the mysterious gleam in his eyes, a probing scrutiny similar to when he had interrogated you upon your meeting. For some reason, the image of your grandmother’s face flickered in your mind’s eye, of the cryptic warnings that often fell from her wrinkled, downturned lips. Something was wrong, and you were quickly suspecting it wasn’t because of the wine; these symptoms could not be normal.

Perhaps your grandmother conditioned you into a hopeless cynic just like her, but her chosen phrase when it rains it pours almost never proved itself wrong; you always found yourself regretful in the aftermath of disregarding the signs, only when it was too little, too late.

“You look… unwell. Too much to drink?”

It’s time to leave, you abruptly decided. You no longer felt safe here; the idyllic, fantasy-like atmosphere warping into the mouth of a Venus flytrap, its gaping mouth poised to close upon you at any moment, at any sign of struggle. You should have just dove back into the water the moment you were greeted with a damned congregation of corpses earlier. Even the scrawled message beneath that woman’s hand… the signs were there from the very beginning.

Dying for the sake of freedom be damned, you should have just acknowledged your capabilities and taken your chances with the pirates – and that was what you were going to do.

“N-No, you— um…” Slowly backing away, you staggered slightly whilst cautiously retreating toward the exit, the crown falling from your head and landing on the floor with a noisy clatter, causing your internal panic to flare – you had completely forgotten you were even wearing it. Keigo did not follow, staring you down coolly as he stalked to his nest instead, wings swishing over the mound of blankets. “You have been very hospitable, but I think it’s time for me to leave.”

“Aw, already? What about the fun we were having? The treasure?” You knew it must have been deliberate with how silky and lyrical his voice sounded, as if he intended to tranquilize you into a state of pacification, as sirens were rumored to do. Unfortunately, it was working, seeing as it began to feel like you were wading through mud, your steps petering to a stop. It begs the question: why was it only working now? Wouldn’t you have been ensnared from the moment he first spoke to you?

“Was it something I said?” He pouted, bottom lip jutting dramatically. It felt like you were going to be sick, but not as sickeningly aroused as you were becoming; with every word he uttered, you could feel the slick collecting in the inseam of your pants, oozing all over your inner thighs at a terrifyingly rapid rate. He put something in your drink; it was the only logical conclusion for what was happening to you. Too fast – this was all happening too fast.

“No, I just—” You bit back a groan, nearly doubling over from the agonizing pressure that was white-knuckling your womb, “it’s just— it’s getting rather late, and I’m feeling… tired, so I think it would be wise to start heading back.” Fuck, it was nigh impossible to think or speak clearly, especially with him just a few steps away. You could smell it – the honeyed scent that wafted off him… it was just like that flavor that still clung to your taste buds. It was everywhere, enveloping you like a physical embrace, and seeping into your pores.

You wanted more, needed more; your aching body was insisting it would die without it, but you knew you absolutely must not listen.

“Back to those brutes?” Keigo tsked, clicking his tongue in disappointment as he shook that sandy head of hair; your fingers twitched, longing to gauge its softness. “I don’t get it. What is there to go back to? A life of misery, with no simple pleasures? What about your freedom, hm? I believe you said you’d rather die if you couldn’t have those things. Or was that all just… hot air?”

Gritting your teeth behind tightly pressed lips, it felt like your feet were anchored to the spot, your bones audibly creaking as though they were as you forced them to turn towards the doors.

“Goodbye, Keigo. It was… nice meeting you.” With all of the remaining resolve you could muster, you raised a trembling hand, reaching for the handle—

“Stop.”

You froze, as if the line delivering information from your brain to your limbs was severed. Your voice was hardly more than a delicate undertone, barely squeezing past your stiff lips and locked jaw, “I… beg your pardon?”

“I said stop,” he repeated shortly, that slightly enunciated utterance causing your arm flop to your side, dangling limply. “I didn’t give you permission to leave, did I?”

Despite the black, libidinous ichor pumping through your hammering heart, visceral anger lanced through it like a red-hot poker, giving you the strength to spit your ire clearly. You no longer cared whom or what he was – how dare he do this to you?

“You asked for a moment of my time, and that is precisely what I gave you,” you hissed airily, shaking like a leaf from head to toe. “So you can either deliver on what was promised and let me be on my damned way peacefully, or I—”

“Shut up.”

Your jaws slammed together like a steel trap, lips sealing instantly. His voice echoed almost ethereally, latching itself onto your subconscious and assuming control of you like a puppeteer. All you were capable of was blinking, swaying in place as you stared with bug-eyed terror at the doors a mere arm’s length away from you. Like a child, all you craved in this exact moment was the safety of your grandmother’s embrace, as fat tears quickly accumulated in your waterline. You were scared. You wanted to go home. You should have listened to her warnings sooner.

“There, that’s better,” Keigo sighed contentedly from behind you, as though your voice was beginning to grate on his last nerve. “I was beginning to think it would never kick in. Such a stubborn thing you are… but I must admit – I do so love a challenge.”

Squeezing your eyes shut, salty droplets spilled down your burning cheeks. This isn’t happening; it’s all a just dream. This isn’t happening. It’s all just a dream.

“Now then… turn around.”

Your body automatically complied, moving like a well-oiled machine under his silver-tongued instruction. You kept your eyes closed with the hanging thread of your free will, denying him the satisfaction of seeing the defeat in your gaze, although the trails of your tears likely conveyed that plainly enough.

He hummed lowly, a deeply gratified sound. The sick bastard was enjoying this – enjoying your torment – like it were a private show. There was an extended stretch of silence within the cabin, so stifling you that could hear your pulse pounding like war drums in your ears, until finally, he softly crooned, “Take off your clothes.”

When your fingers darted to the laces of your bodice, he swiftly added, “Slowly.”

You could feel the hungry crawl of his eyes following the garment’s unraveling, practically attached to the sluggish path your hands paved, slowing your movements with the weight of his stare alone. It strayed from where your digits traveled, dragging its heat over the curve of your bosom peeking from the plunging neckline of your chemise as you pulled the outer article off your torso. It dropped to the floor soundlessly, immediately forgotten as you obediently moved onward, like a marionette dancing to his tune. Neither of you noticed the scrap of paper that fell with it.

“That’s more like it,” he purred while the cream-colored undergarment was tugged over your head, relishing in the enticing reveal of your pebbled nipples and pert breasts, their shape accentuated by the lifting of your arms. Were you even aware of how precious you were? It practically radiated off you – your virginal innocence. And Keigo was itching to have his fill. “Mm… you were worth the wait.”

Unable to speak unless he commanded it, the best you could manage in reply was an agitated twitch of your eyebrows. The sound of his breathy chuckle had your hair standing on end, even as you dutifully toed off your boots before untying the knot in your waistband.

“Wait,” he ordered, before your breeches could join the rest of your clothes piled at your feet.

What, you thought amidst the cacophony of pining, mewling whispers. What else could you possibly want, you demon?

“Open your eyes. Look at me.”

Of course, he would thieve even that last scrap of your dignity, forcing you to look him in the eye as you debased yourself, as you bestowed him with a sight you had yet to grant any other man. You intended to save yourself, to wait until it truly felt right. It was only natural, you supposed, for this cruel world to chew you up and spit you out, with such naïve ideations. It was only natural, that it would repay you in kind most deplorably, for daring to ever dream at all.

Peeling your tear encrusted lashes apart, your watery gaze pinpointed him the second it was unveiled. Keigo was reclined in his nest in a manner that would befit a spoiled prince, ankles crossed casually and arms planted behind him. Those crimson wings were splayed wide; almost seeming to meld seamlessly with the blankets had they not been so lengthy they stretched beyond them, scimitar shaped feathers fanning out onto the floorboards. The black chevrons on the corners of his eyes somehow seemed even more pronounced in the twilight glow that washed over the room, enhancing the lambent intensity of his yellow irises – a petrifying stare more befitting of a basilisk.

Was he really what they call a siren… or a chimaera masquerading as one?

Regardless, it was in this moment you were adequately reminded of the powerful otherworldliness his kind possessed, and how wise one would be to not forget, as you so foolishly have.

“Good girl,” he praised through a husky timbre, eliciting the swelling voices in your mind to sigh out in bliss. More, more, they begged. “You’re doing so well. Continue.”

And so you did, staring him down as you rid yourself of the last protection of your decency. Your pants slid down your legs like satin over polished steel, crumpling to the floor in a small heap. Like a hollow vessel awaiting the directive of its master, you stood perfectly still as Keigo indulgently took you in.

“My my…” His eyes zeroed on the shining glaze smeared all over the apex of your thighs as a buzzard would a fresh corpse, pupils pinpricked predatorily. “Is that all for me? You coy little thing,” he smiled like a ravening jackal, protruding canines flashing in the dimming light as he wagged an index finger disapprovingly, “acting so put off to my company a moment ago, while hiding a treat like that. It’s naughty to not share, you know.”

You did not like the sound of that implication, but another part of you – a part that was quickly dousing the inferno of your lucidity – certainly did.

Rotating the pad of that finger towards the chandelier that hung above him, his black talon glinting like obsidian as he curled it at you two times, and declared firmly, “Come.”

With that single command, your vision dissolved into static, eyes rolling into the dark vacancy of your head as your legs buckled and collapsed beneath you. You barely had the forethought in using your hands to cushion your fall forward, narrowly preventing you from caving your nose in as you crumpled into a convulsing ball. The sound of your despaired moans peeled out throughout the cabin, much to Keigo’s surprise and delight, as your body was wracked with an earth-shattering, hands-free climax. The first of this scale that you’ve ever had.

"Oops," Keigo titters from his throne of blankets, not sounding remorseful in the absolute slightest while he watched you gasp and writhe. "Goodness, me and my clumsy mouth. I apologize, darling – should have been more specific. Come here, I mean.”

Your insides were still contracting – almost excruciatingly so – as you shakily prepared to upright yourself, but he promptly halted that with a few strict tuts, “Ah-ah, hold on... I think I prefer you like that, actually.”

“Hm, yes…” He hums approvingly, reveling in the sinful display of your degradation, hunched over like a cat in heat; the only thing you were missing was the coiled tail and flattened ears. Quite the lovely contrast to the irritable little brat from earlier, in his opinion. “It suits you. Crawl to me as you are.”

On quivering hands and knees, you crawled. What a sight you must have made, you dimly wondered, whilst the slavering hounds of your psyche yipped and whined the shorter the distance between the two of you became. Did you look as pathetic as you felt, broken and brought to heel with only a few words? Keigo certainly seemed to adore it, cocking his head and smirking like a man who had the world, your world, in the palm of his hand.

Although as of today, it no longer belonged to you.

It felt like an eternity had passed by the time your fingertips sank into the cushiony swathes of velvet he was lounged upon, restlessly rooting for purchase as you drew closer to his feet. Ever considerate, Keigo uncrossed his legs to provide you with an unobstructed path leading directly to his lap, angling them inward to press his knees against your sides as you passed beyond the threshold of them, the fabric of his pants dragging against your exposed flesh as you skulked onward. You seemed to slot together like puzzle pieces, as your torso melded with his lower half almost perfectly.

“That was rude – trying to scamper off like that earlier,” he admonished quietly, lifting a hand to pet your head with a tender fondness. He appeared to take extra care to not lacerate your scalp with his nails as his fingers delved into your hair, toying with your strands almost lovingly. What a conundrum he was, going from vainglorious and wicked to gentle and affectionate in a heartbeat, like an endlessly spiraling coin. “We were bonding, weren't we?”

I suppose, you might have conceded. Until you decided to prove every rumor about your kind was true.

“Everything would have gone smoothly if you weren’t such a tough nut to crack, you know? Lesser minds would have folded from a single word out of my mouth, and they have; they all do, eventually. One way or another—” His fingers burrowed deeper, affixing to your roots and tugging with a wince-inducing pressure. Back to wicked. “…they always cave.”

"But you... oh you,” he chuckled, dragging his hand down to deliver a couple of condescending pats to your cheek. “It seems that you're a special little nut; I've never had to resort to using my saliva." He sneered that word in a way that implied exerting such effort was considered to be beneath him, as though it were some form of cheating in this disturbed game he liked to play, upper lip stretching over his fangs in a contemptuous curl as his digits latched onto your jaw. You stared back at him through misty eyes, unable to even flinch as those knifelike claws began to puncture your skin.

“I may enjoy a challenge, but that was a new low for me. I'll admit, you had me worried for a moment – almost thought it wasn't going to work. Then we really would have had a predicament on our hands, hm?” He pinched your cheeks, smearing your blood as he smooshed them until your lips puckered, nodding your head in orchestrated agreement.

As if he’s suddenly grown bored of playing with you like a doll, Keigo released your face, sighing, “You can speak now, but behave.”

The invisible force keeping your tongue adhered to the roof of your mouth lifted, granting the muscle freedom to move once again. You had no choice words for the vile truths he had just divulged, opting instead to appeal to his sense of mercy – if he had any.

“Pl—Please…” you gulped a thick wad of drool, speech slurring as you looked up at him, hiccupping and sniffing pitiably, “let mm—me go… don’ care ‘bout the treasure any more… jus’ lemme go, please, Kei…”

"Aw, ‘Kei’? How sweet,” he cooed while lifting his unsoiled hand to dab the spittle from your wobbling bottom lip, wrapping his bloodied one around your throat like a loose collar, dragging a thumb over your beating pulse; it fluttered delicately beneath his touch, like a butterfly’s wings. “There's that well-mannered girl from when we first met, but I think we both know it's a little too late for that. It was too late for you the moment you surfaced in this cave – my cave."

So he had been watching you, from the very beginning. It made sense now – that rope which seemingly appeared from nowhere. It was Keigo, leading a trail of breadcrumbs right to himself. For a siren, he truly was rather lazy, when he likely could have snatched you from your rowboat before you even got close to shore.

“Ah… what’s that saying the French say?” Pondering aloud, he withdrew the hand around your throat to tap two fingers on his pursed lips, smudging them with your scarlet essence, before abruptly exclaiming, “Oh! C’est la vie. Everything happens for a reason, no? Such is life and all that…”

“That reminds me,” he says through a scheming smile, staining his tongue with your blood as it laved over his mouth, coating your flavor onto his taste buds. Truly, the nectar of an untouched maiden was unmatched… but he was willing to bet different nectar of yours would soon become his favorite snack yet. If only you knew of all the fun he had in store for you. “Do you want to know what I said earlier, while your pretty little head was filling with air, filling with me?”

Keigo didn’t offer you a chance to respond, snaking the hand that was cupping your face to the back of your head, pressing his fingers against the base of your cranium to anchor you in place as he inclined his own head forward to answer, “The only true language in the world is a kiss. Care for an example?”

“W-Wait,” you whispered, fearing what would come after more than the act itself. If just a little bit of his saliva mixed into your wine made you this useless, this receptive, then what would a dose straight from the source do to you?

“Behave,” he hissed into your parted mouth, snuffing the embers of your disparity before they could gain the fuel to take form. Not that your verbal resistance could even achieve anything, when your body was as pliant as clay beneath his masterful touch. All you could do was whimper as he fused his lips with yours, selfishly condemning you to fall further into a lustful misery with a pleased croon.

“Delicious…” His tone was a gravelly rumble, rolling over your saliva coated lips like a slow flowing magma, scorching them red with hot, bruising pecks. It quickly became insufficient, pulling just your swollen lips between his.

The impatient siren tugged you closer, growling softly as his slick muscle slithered into your panting maw, seeking out the shy appendage hiding behind your teeth. You never once considered that kissing could sound so… lewd, but then again, this couldn’t be rightfully labeled as such. It was like he was eating you alive, sucking on your tongue as though he wished to swallow it down. He was so unbelievably warm that you thought you were melting, unable to discern the rivulets of drool pooling down your chins from your own flesh and sweat, nor could you find where you ended and he begun.

Or perhaps it was just your brain that was melting, oozing out of your ears and down the back of your neck, rather than sweat. You weren’t sure you could even be considered a participant anymore (if you could be called one in the first place), merely attempting to remain conscious as Keigo had his wicked way with you. Even if you could think to breathe through your nose, it would’ve been an impossible feat through the cascade of his sweet, sweet saliva flowing down your gullet. Fractal shapes were dancing on the insides of your eyelids, imprinted everywhere you looked when you attempted to blink the veneer of pinkness from your vision.

What… what was your reason for being here, again? Something about treasure, and freedom… but you just couldn’t quite remember…

Keigo finally detached from you with an obscenely wet smack, breaking the webs of spit bridging the scant space between you two as he leaned back, grinning broadly at your glassy eyed state. He didn���t seem even slightly out of breath, whereas you were breathing like you had rowed the distance from the captain’s ship all over again. Wait – the captain… why did that sound so familiar?

“I would say that was just what I needed, but—” He peeled your damp body from his lap, dragging a path of fire down your sides with his palms until they settled on your hips, effortlessly lifting you into a splayed-out position on top of him as he sunk further onto his back, wings outspread entirely. If you had even a fraction of coherence left, you would have been mortified at how utterly exposed your sex was, dripping so profusely that it was starting to collect within the grooves of his abdominals. “…I'm still a little parched. Mind if I relieve myself between these lovely thighs?”

“Where… are we?” You questioned as though his words went through one ear and out the other, moreso at the foreign voices invading your thoughts rather than the famished creature who was hurriedly hoisting you over its face. Exactly where we need to be, they responded in a resounding chorus. Do not question it; do not fight it. Just be.

Keigo almost forgot to answer, his higher thinking briefly reduced to a crude, primal state of hunger, as he intimately beheld what might have been the most delectable cunt he has ever seen.

“…Heaven, darling.” He managed to utter once he scraped his cognitive function back together, gazing at the glistening apex of you like it held the meaning to his dreadfully prolonged existence. Wrapping the corded bands of his arms around your thighs, Keigo yearned to dig his fingers into the meat of your haunches, to embed you to him by the hooks of his claws. He feared he might never want to surface ever again, once he finally plunged his tongue into your sodden depths. Although that wasn’t such a terrible way to go, suffocating in the rivers of your pleasure. It would be dying how he wished to live: lost between the legs of a ravishing woman.

“Rather, that’s where I’ll be sending you,” he breathed reverently, Adam’s apple bobbing as he huffed your feminine fragrance whilst nuzzling at your mound, stimulating your pulsing clit with the tip of his nose. You keened softly at the teasingly featherlight touch, hypersensitive from artificial lust and going a lifetime without ever tasting true pleasure at the hands of another.

“I wanted you on my mouth from the moment I laid eyes on you… knew it’d be the best cunt I’ve ever had,” he confessed, peering up at you through the cleft of your thighs as he used his tongue to spread your syrupy folds apart, squishing that pink cushion against your weeping entrance. Keigo glowered into your teary eyes as if in threat, like he were a carnivore daring you to deprive him of his hard-earned meal; the extent of his claim over you so severe he was gently scraping his fangs over your puffy lips with salacious possession, tempted to spear into you like a ripened peach.

You felt akin to a newborn, thrust into a terrifying and ruthless world that was beyond your comprehension. Lurching backward, your equilibrium fled from you while you were mercilessly feasted upon from below. You floundered helplessly before your hands flew backward to prevent you from toppling over, slapping onto his solid pectorals as he jerked you downward to keep you properly seated on him. Your head tipped back from enraptured anguish, jaw dropping in sync with Keigo’s as your distressed cries overlapped almost harmoniously with his frustrated, muffled groans. It was as though he simply could not get enough, could not fit enough of you onto his palate without mangling you, as he attempted to seal his lips over the whole of your swollen heat in gluttonous vain.

Well, Keigo wouldn’t be deprived of anything, so he would pursue something he was more than capable of, which was stuffing you with him. A warbling, drawn-out moan accompanied the sensation of his tongue impaling your core like melted butter, burrowing to the absolute brink of your plush, throbbing walls. It was downright bestial, similar to the rest of his defining features – that flexible, serpentine muscle seemingly endless in length…

The arms encasing your thighs rocked you, guiding your hips over his mouth, spreading your narrow slot around his broad tongue. The further it went the more it curled, corkscrewing around itself whilst squirming with an innate precision, prodding against a spongey part of yourself that you hadn’t even known existed. But how could you have known, with those poor little fingers of yours? Such an endearing yet tragic sight it was – your lost look of confusion, as you obliviously hurtled like a speeding comet towards a real climax. The first of so, so many.

Honestly, how had you even managed on your own for so long, without knowing what your body was truly capable of?

Everything was going to be okay, though… because Hawks was here for you now. The sculptor of wills, the subjugator of mortals – here to make it all better. He would give you more pleasure than your young mind could even fathom, until it – until he – was all that you knew. With such a pristine canvas to work with, he would mold you better than any pet he had owned in his centuries of living; his magnum opus was what you would soon become.

It was going to be beautiful. You would be beautiful – more than you already were. Oh, how fortunate he was to have you delivered right to him.

The moment his tongue stroked your upper wall, digging against the tender springiness of doughy muscle with malicious pressure, the world around you ignited in a flickering brightness. You had sincerely believed that it was a direct response to the utter euphoria coursing through you, setting the fabric of reality ablaze. Even as the cabin returned to its gloaming dimness, your vision remained stained in white. The only explanation for the thundering boom resounding from above was because of your quaking heartbeat, shaking the whole of the earth itself. Despite your gaping mouth, you were incapable of producing a sound, merely choking air down in gasping intervals.

The sound of him thrusting into you, however, was noisy – obscene. It finally receded after a couple of thorough pumps, the snakelike organ slipping through your squeezing confines and pulling out with thick strings of slick attached to it, rolling in dollops onto his chin when they succumbed to the pull of gravity.

“Fuck,” he huffed into your twitching cunt, bathing it in a balmy wash of his hot, hot breath. “I’ve never tasted a pussy so sweet… I don't think I'll ever get enough – I'm going to suck you dry.”

True to his intention, he merged his glossy lips with yours, faint clicks coming from beneath you as he kissed your sex in a vulgar imitation of what he had previously done to your mouth. He smeared your honey upward, carving a messy path through your labia to the poor, neglected nub sitting on the peak of your mound. Keigo pulled it into his mouth, nursing on it sweetly, as though in apology. His appetite for you truly was limitless, considering he seemed loath to separate his face from your bottom half yet.

You weren’t sure how your life force hasn’t already been drained from you entirely, with how ravenous he was for your lust – a result of some sort of aphrodisiac he produced naturally, surely. One might think him completely heedless to his own lust, content to siphon arousal off you like you were his personal reservoir, until an arm uncoiled from your thighs to travel down the hard planes of his stomach, dipping beneath his waistband where something stiff was trapped. As if spurred by its counterpart, his other arm unwound from you as well, splayed fingers dragging up your belly to seize one of your heaving breasts.

With nothing to support your lower extremities, the brunt of your weight was pressed onto his mouth, but it hardly seemed like an issue for Keigo, unbothered and merrily slurping away as his hands played with both you and himself.

Tentatively, you heeded the whispers suggesting you to remove one hand from his chest, to slide your digits into his flaxen locks and fasten them there. Keigo purred in approval, aiding your undulating movements with the eager nodding of his head. Now you were getting it; his sweet little scholar was learning so fast. An unearthly ardor swam in his golden eyes, almost appearing incandescent as he fed from you, fed off the palpable need he was inciting within your body. He could feel it approaching before even you could – the orgasm filling the engorged bundle trapped between his lips.

Raw sensation was becoming the only thing you could understand, pleasure the only language you could remotely articulate. The dusty residue of carefully amassed knowledge, trinkets of tucked away memories, were all swept away in but a blink as your mind, body, and soul was swallowed into a maelstrom of bliss. Keigo was all you could perceive, and all you could feel.

And he would make sure it stayed that way; he wouldn’t let you slip through his fingers like he had with the last one…

The neurons in your brain sputtered shortly, crackling like livewires as you gushed over his swirling tongue, over the lower half of his face. The sound of gulping could be heard, Keigo trying his damnedest to catch the majority of your juices. Only once he deemed you adequately spent did he finally unseal his mouth from your cunt, a deeply satisfied exhale accompanying its separation.

“I could just eat you up for hours, but I think I’ll save that for another time… make a proper day of it, you know?” He laughs cruelly, sending your fluttering folds off with one last, teasing puff of air before halting his hands from their self-indulgent activities to resituate you over his lap.

“Now I want you to ride me – just like you did my face.” He licked the shiny glaze from his devilish smile, indifferent to the remnants that beaded off his jaw as he caressed his palms up and down the trembling thighs that straddled his own. “Think you can do that for me, pretty girl?”

You couldn’t recall who this being lying beneath you was before now, nor did you know what he meant by those confusing words... but you did know that he was capable of making you feel things – such nice, wonderful things... so why should you not listen to him?

With a demure nod, you grabbed onto the divots of his hips, and began to rub yourself against the tautly stretched fabric of the hard bulge he had placed you on. Keigo chuckled, taken with the adorable naiveté newly instilled within you.

“Oh, you sweet, silly thing,” he cooed fondly, giving your legs a playful yet immobilizing squeeze. “I might've overdone it… seems I’ve sucked your brain out of that pussy too, hm?”

You gazed down at him in confusion at his stilling of your movements. Weren’t you doing exactly as he asked? This was the same thing you had done to his face… wasn’t it?

“Here, let me help you a little.”

Holding your gaze firm, his biceps hardly quivered as he lifted you high enough into the air to lift his hips. What happened next would have been something you could only describe as a figment of your imagination, had you not already been poised over an entity whose existence alone confirmed reality was no longer what you made of it.

…or formerly made, one should say.

Two streaks of red darted through the air, zipping and whizzing around your form as unidentifiable blurs until they flitted under you toward Keigo’s waistband, which was where they settled. You realized they were feathers – the very same that belonged to the imposingly large, outstretched appendages extending from his back – moving autonomously despite the laws of physics, or practicality for that matter.

Such things weren’t much of a concern to you anymore, though. You observed in dewy-eyed wonderment as the plumes pulled down his pants like dutiful, disembodied hands. His stiff length slapped onto his belly with a heavy smack, dribbling his own sticky desire onto his skin. Naturally, it was flawless like the rest of Keigo, being neither too excessive nor modest in both length and width, tantalizing yet intimidating in design due to how shaped for pleasure it appeared to be.

Your mouth watered at how rosy and swollen the head was, peeking through a sheath of tight foreskin from which it was visibly desperate to be released, and practically overflowing with pearls of pre.

So spellbound you were by his gorgeous cock that you’d all but forgotten about the independently thinking, gravity-defying feathers, until they suddenly flattened to your waist after discarding his pants, spiraling up your torso and leading a trail of goosebumps to your collarbones. Keigo lowered you back onto him while those little red hellions returned to his sprawled wings, emitting a raspy sigh at the feel of your pussy lips pressing against his achingly full balls like soft, squishy pillows.

Simply unable to resist, he rolled his hips against yours, sliding the underside of his shaft through your soppy folds. You caught on quick – at least to those telling twinges you felt deep in your gut, an enkindling of wanting warmth that only his touch seemed to appease. Your cunt chased after him, greedily humping his cock until it glistened with a generous coating of spit-mixed slick. Oh gods, that feeling was back already…

You whimpered pathetically, afraid that you will have to live with this ungodly burning inside of you until it eventually consumes you from the inside, consumes you until you literally expire. Make it better… he’ll make it all better… won’t he?

“What a needy mess I’ve turned you into. Tell me, does my needy girl want it inside?”

“Yes,” you almost couldn’t wait for him to finish speaking to pipe up, voice brittle from the unbearable yearning that was charring your innards to a crisp. “I—I want it, please…”

If Keigo managed to look any smugger, his neck might’ve snapped from his head’s overinflated weight. The satisfaction that he exuded was palpable, trailing off him in waves as he leered at you domineeringly despite the submissive, vulnerable nature of his position. Clearly, he did not need to rely on physicality alone to express his authority, with a pervasive influence residing in every nuance of his being. Keigo truly was something nature would deem as an alpha, in every sense of the word.

“By all means – help yourself. It’s yours now.”

Was it cruel to hand you the reigns when you were unknowingly moments from breaking the seal of your virginity on his hard, impure cock? Perhaps a little. Was it unjust to invite you to claim your own gratification, despite knowing once you were pumped with his seed, there wouldn’t be a crumb of a possibility to recovering the identity you once had?

Not in Keigo’s eyes.

Although, to be fair… Keigo was what parents would describe to their children during bedtime stories as a monster – a grotesque boogeyman squeezed inside of an angelic skinsuit.

So monstrous he apparently was, that even his own kind deemed it necessary in casting him out, finding his methods of sating himself via an “imprisoned” victim beyond reproach. Personally, he saw them all as spoiled, brain-dead hypocrites. He wouldn’t have to resort to such extremes if females weren’t already such a rarity to encounter amongst sailors, and he’d rather pluck his own feathers than follow his species’ customs by ending the life of every catch after their “use” has been fulfilled – an act of mercy, they claimed it to be. Exile be damned, if there was one thing Keigo loved more than indulging in the most sinful of vices this world has to offer—

It was shaping waifs like you into his permanent, cross-eyed fucktoys. That was what he called proper mercy.

And how unfortunate for you… encountering him when he was beyond due for a new one.

It truly took everything within him not to gorge his talons into your hindquarters and ruthlessly skewer you onto his cock, to not buck into the cozy warmth of your snug little pocket as you prepared to mount him. Difficult as it was, Keigo needed to remain patient, to keep this moment special – because he deserved this. He deserved you.

…almost as much as he deserved to drill that lush pussy within a hairsbreadth of tearing straight through to the clutch your womb, but all good things come to those who wait… right?

Right, he chanted in a looping mantra, splitting his bottom lip beneath a gnashing canine while your velvety folds bloomed around his head, clit catching on the angry flare of his glans. Patience, Keigo – patience.

“A little lower, darling… you’re almost there.” His whispered words strained through clenched teeth, carrying a feigned lilt of sweetness. It seemed there was a delay with your response time, seeing as you continued to drag the slippery peaks of your sexes together with a lidded, dreamy haze clouding your eyes. Thankfully, Keigo’s whittled restraint didn’t have a chance to fully unravel, once that subtle order finally managed to pierce the heavy fog surrounding your brain. A breathy mewl rolled off your partially exposed tongue, at the audible pop of his blunt head squeezing past the tight ring of your opening.

It was good that he prepared you somewhat when he was eating you inside out, not that it was needed due to his own elixir surging through your system, but teasing your cunt with the pleasure of being filled was certainly paying its respects now.

“There we go,” he hissed, head dropping and lashes fluttering at the rhythmic gripping of your insides. You little minx, getting off on inserting just the tip of his cock. Were you even aware of anything beyond that dumb, blank stare? Have you already reached the point where the tiniest of sensations fed into one long, ceaseless climax? If not, he would be sending you there very soon. It was quite possibly his favorite part, watching his playthings devolve into a slave of feeling, plummeting for the first time into that pit of bottomless rhapsody.

Keigo growled, a guttural foulness clinging to his once silvery inflection, as he openly mocked you while your drenched heat slowly enveloped him, “I haven't even put it in halfway and you’re already trying to milk me dry. Poor thing… so sensitive.” So much for being sweet – women like you truly weren’t aware of the power they held between their legs, how it could reduce even a specimen of Keigo’s level to a borderline primitive state.

Unaware of the pink lines you were scratching down his flexed abdominals, your jaw fell more slack at the heavenly burn of his girth prying you open, your eyes unseeing as raw sensation once again took you over irrevocably. You could actually feel it – his sheath sliding with the wet suction of your muscles, his drooling head paving a sloppy path up, up, and up. It was divine… he was divine – immaculate – in every aspect possible.

Your cunt was your voice of veneration, oozing its praise down the rigid column of flesh spearing it all the way through in a torturously languid glide. Perspiration coated your forehead, trickling past your furrowed brows and beading off the tip of your nose as you gradually sunk onto him, sinking and sinking onto that instrument of hedonism until it couldn’t go any further. An airy exhale fled your lungs, at the feeling of him nudging against the pappy padding of your cervix, two mouths of opposing design kissing each other for first time – but undoubtedly not the last.

Tonguing the blood that dribbled off his bared fangs, Keigo sneered as though the vision of debauchery hungrily engulfing his cock – like it were the very sustenance for your survival – disgusted him; but of course, it was quite the opposite.

“I think this pussy does want to be filled up… y’hear that?” He’s given up on handling you delicately, it seems, the addictive quality of your freshly broken in sex unearthing the animalistic calling to pin a cornered mate down, to rut into their presented slit like a prize fairly won. His fingers finally succumbed to that incessant itch to dig into your hips, fulfilling the inevitability that was lifting you up and down like a ragdoll molded for his pleasure. Those deadly nails punctured your skin just as they had your face, inviting bloody tracks to trail over the curve of your ass and thighs. The pain only made you moan harder.

“Yeah,” he moaned throatily, delighting in the filthy symphony of your merging bodies, the squelching collisions of your cunt swallowing him up while smacking against his tightening scrotum. Admittedly, he wasn’t fighting his breakneck descent into flooding you with a severely backed-up release, but it wasn’t as if you weren’t contributing with how zealously you were wringing him out, strangling him for everything he had. “She’s beggin’ for it…”

How disappointing, an echo of your former self lamented, fractured and left to fade within a forgotten alcove of your rapidly shrinking mind. How demeaning, being reduced to nothing but an extension of what was between your legs, a mere ornament for a wanton beast to hang off its cock. She hated this, and she hated you – this lust drunk stranger who spoke with her voice, sniveling in assent to the despicable filth spewing from this despicable brute. It didn’t matter that none of this was your choice, didn’t matter that you were essentially a blank slab he was chiseling into a shape of his own nefarious design – you were a pathetic disappointment… but then again, so was she, for leading her depressing life to such a depressing conclusion. Pathetic and fitting.

“P—Pl—” Stammering like a fool, you were barely of the mental capacity to even control your tongue beyond hanging it out like a useless bitch in heat, barely able to wrangle the single functioning brain cell ricocheting around in your skull with every guided bounce on his lap.

“Aw, what’s that? Kitty wants some milk after all?”

Don’t you dare say it, you traitor. Don’t you fucking—

“Please!” you gasped in a rush, finally finding a modicum of wherewithal to speak your wishes coherently, despite not having the faintest clue as to what he was really saying. Fill you up was all you had heard, but it was enough to send your system into high alert, igniting a carnal need for more. Even stretched to your capacity, you still felt like something was missing… somewhere just beyond the gummy barrier that his tip was repeatedly mashing into, as though it shared the same desire as you. It felt empty there – so very, very empty.

“Look at you, asking so nicely.” His pitch deepened, thick with cloying praise, bloodied lips spreading roguishly as another thickness of his spread you so impeccably that your eyes were on the verge of crossing. Fill us, fill us, the voices hymned in unison – so loud they were that it no longer felt like they were confined to your mind, instead floating freely amongst the space around you. “Well, whatever my sweet pet wants… she gets.”

Keigo’s hips snapped upward, meeting you halfway between jerking yours down. The veins webbing through his arms were prominent from strain, moreso of refraining from utilizing the strength to slam you onto his engorged length with enough force to shatter your pelvis, rather than overuse. A few cuts and bruises were unavoidable, but he couldn’t afford to completely break another toy. Although, that was somewhat part of the charm of you humans, he thought adoringly – the fragility of your supple, ephemeral forms. For what made a flower so lovely, if not how fleeting and feeble the season of its life was?

And yet – with the utter decadence that was you, that was the downright celestial embrace of your homely little cunt – Keigo found himself strangely at odds with the realization that, eventually, you too would wither and fade with time. How curious, considering out of his many companions, and knowing you for all of an hour, he feels so entirely resistant to the idea. Like this cave, this boat, and his decidedly unjust sentence of banishment… he wants your existence to be just as indefinite.

Viscid, molten pleasure was flowing all over his organs, pooling in the funnel of his gut and amassing within the bubbling well that was his imminent climax. Seeming to sense it coming as much as he had, perhaps within the sporadic twitching of his balls or from the glaze that fogged his eyes over, you surrendered yourself wholly to his control, body going lax for his unbridled use.

Faster than even your sober mind could have comprehended, you were flipped onto your back and suspended from your lower half by Keigo’s firm, iron-gripped hold in one fell swoop. It took more than a few seconds for your eyes to catch up and adjust, practically rolling around in their sockets from the jarringly speedy change of perspective, and from being rutted into like you were a damned closed fist. All the while, Keigo helped himself to your exquisitely messy heat, slamming into you with the sole intent to releasing the brimming load that had his cock fit to fucking burst.

Cool gusts of air caressed your overheated figure, alleviating a portion of the dizzying feverishness that prevented you from reclaiming your bearings. You blinked slowly, bleary gaze following the slanted line of your rocking body to the one that was pummeling into it, somehow becoming mesmerized with the sight of his lean physique rippling and rolling over the spectacle of those grand wings beating synchronically with his thrusts.

Clutching your hips tighter, Keigo pulled you onto him with such an aggressive urgency that the sound of his thighs clapping against your ass was practically wince inducing.

“…Gonna pamper this cunt every fucking day, for the rest of your sad little life,” he rambled gruffly, sweat-damp hair falling from its sweptback style as his head canted forward. He stared vacantly at the sloppy intermingling of your sexes, at the foamy slathering of your combined fluids that covered his cock, appearing with a fresh coating at each frantic withdrawal from your pussy. Sucking in a shaky breath, he hissed harshly at the sight, “B-Breed you over and over... keep you all—unh—swollen an’ tender…”

“Oh, oh fuck—” As if those incorrigible vows alone were the key to releasing the floodgates, he panted and shuddered, wings nearly touching the ceiling as they shot out behind him. He threw his head back within the same motion, mouth ajar as he legitimately whined, too consumed in the sensation of his release jetting from his tip in fat spurts to even care.

You instantly fell apart at the seams, a chain reaction triggered from his own concentrated lust flooding your insides, from the tangible pressure of it spraying against your cervix almost endlessly. Pure rapture radiated down to the marrow in your bones, cracking open to the very nucleus of your cells. You did not just feel born anew – you felt reincarnated, baptized and reshaped in the incinerated remains of the woman you had once been. Unsullied no longer, and unbound nevermore.

You looked upon the world with new eyes, vision overturned from being raised so vertically by your spread legs that only your head remained cushioned by soft bedding. A plaintive, exhausted sound left you, too many visuals and feelings that you couldn’t yet fathom bombarding your senses.

“Mine…” A masculine voice whispered above you, brushing its warmth up your body while apologetic hands lowered you gingerly, returning your listless form to a horizontal position. Rubbing fondly over the slight distension of your achingly stuffed belly. The voice’s owner followed you closely, ensuring you remained glued together by your sticky cores as they settled on top of you, acting as a shield from any dangers or distractions.

Perception finally clarifying, you gazed at the being who was buried within you, branding their hushed declarations of ownership onto your skin while petting your shivering frame with a soothing gentleness.

Beautiful, was the first word to come to mind, the first coherent thought you could gather. This had to have been the afterlife, because such unequivocal divinity could not rightfully exist wherever you had come from. What, you wondered, could you have possibly done in your previous life to earn such holy company?

Perceiving the sparse illumination bending around his head as a halo, rather than an abstract reflection from the crystalline fixture looming over him, you questioned with sincere softness, “Are you an angel?”

"…No," he declined through a benign smile, despite the seraphic appendages that stretched behind him, seeming to absorb the final wisps of light that bled through the gaps of his feathers as the cloak of night finally descended upon the two of you.

ㅤ

“I am your God.”

ㅤ

ㅤ

ㅤ

Two hours after sundown…

ㅤ

“C-Captain?”

Large fingers clutching the neck of an equally sizable bottle of rum froze midair, pausing their pursuit of tipping its contents into their disgruntled owner’s mouth. The man in question placed the glass container on his desk with a heavy thump, annoyance visible on his rugged features as he directed that frosty stare at the one who was intruding upon his private time. Of course, it was one of the newer recruits; the others knew better than to just barge in when something required his attention. He may be a pirate, but he prides himself on having at least basic manners.

“What?” His tone was harsh, snapping like a bullwhip. He’s had a really fucking long day, so this runt had better get to the point quick or he would be given a proper reason to shiver in his boots.

The young crewmate hovering in his doorway was soaked head to toe, dripping wet from toiling away on the main deck amidst the tempest that was raging outside, battering loudly against his windows. He looked like he was one skipped meal from being carried off by a gentle breeze, so it was something of a wonder that he’d been holding his own in all that turbulent chaos, the captain will give him that.

“It—It's him, sir. He's here."

Ah, so that’s why he looked as though he had seen a ghost. Looks like the others hadn’t clued him in on their expected guest of the evening until it was a little too late – poor sap evidently had the scare of his life just a moment prior.

“…Send him in.”

A light, chipper voice immediately interjected from beyond the cracked door, “No need! I can see myself in, thanks champ.”

The scrawny youth didn’t waste a second in making himself scarce, vanishing on hurried footsteps as a taller, winged figure slipped through the vacant entryway.

“Boy,” the blonde newcomer whistled, flicking the droplets that clung to his feathers while running a hand through his drenched mane, slicking a few errant pieces back into place. “It’s really comin’ down out there, huh?”

If looks could kill, he would have keeled over onto the floor right about now.

“It's about damn time you showed up, Hawks.” The captain’s gaze was bone chilling, rife with contempt despite the familiarity of which he spoke that name. “My men and I have been sitting on our asses in this fucking storm while you've been getting your cock wet."

Having the audacity to rub the back of his neck in a sheepish display, Keigo chuckled lightheartedly, “Sorry-sorry. I admit I, uh, got a tad carried away… lost track of time.”

“To say the least,” the captain muttered dryly, rolling those pale eyes as he clambered onto his feet, rounding his desk to regard the shorter male properly. Despite his significant disadvantage in height, Keigo didn’t seem the least bit intimidated, looking up at the behemoth of a man with a lazy, carefree smile. "I take it your new pet is to your liking?"

“Oh, she's a delight.” Flickering candlelight cought in his irises, giving them a mirror-like shine. Contrasting with that eerie sheen in his stare, he sighed like a love-struck maiden, “Really made me work for it, too. You’ve outdone yourself this time, my friend. Where did you find such a delectable thing?”

“On my ship, of all places,” the captain scoffed, crossing his burly forearms, “foolish girl thought she could hide in the bilge. Perhaps she was seeking unpaid passage to another capital – she refused to say. I didn’t give a damn to interrogate her on the matter; who she was and what she was after makes no difference to me, as long as my pockets are getting filled.” He spoke in a clipped tone, clearly unable to care less about the topic.

“Ahh, so that’s what she meant by ‘sticking her nose where it didn’t belong’. My,” Keigo snickered, shaking his head before glancing at the rattling windows – at the stygian darkness that lied beyond them – with a smirk, “what rotten luck, thrust from one cage to another...”

The larger man sighed loudly, visibly running out of patience. This siren has always been unbearably chatty. “Are we done here? I would like my payment as we agreed upon, and to get away from that shit-hole rock you call home before my boat sinks.”

“Aw, don’t act like such a stranger, old friend. I always make these trips worth your while, don’t I?” In spite of his petulant expression, the blonde procured a hefty pouch seemingly out of thin air, filling the cramped cabin with the sound of jingling coins as he tossed it upward in idle repetition.

“It’s the only reason why I tolerate your presence as much as I do, friend,” the blue-eyed man sneered, his mounting ire very nearly emerging as puffing smoke from his flared nostrils. Years of dealing with this irksome pigeon granted him the willpower to not act on the impulse of snatching that sack of leather out of the air like a petty child. "And do try your best to make her last longer than the previous one. I'm not getting any younger, and these little excursions are beginning to become more trouble than they're worth.”

Keigo grinned, sharp canines amongst a perfect set of incisors gleaming in the dim light, “Don’t worry – I intend to make her last.”

“…Shame your kind has such a limited time on this earth, though,” he adds on an afterthought, catching the pouch a final time before rotating and squeezing it with his clawed digits, scrutinizing the captain like one would an ant – with a detached fascination. “I doubt I’ll find one as lovely as her after she goes, nor such an effective errand boy like you for a good long while...”

“Tch.” The captain’s upper lip curled, distaste written across his grizzled visage. Any lesser man regarding him in such a manner would’ve had their neck snapped before that sentence was through. The demon known as Hawks was a necessary exception, unfortunately; he could sniff malicious intent the moment of its manifestation, and punish it in kind in the same breath. “I always forget your true age with that mug of yours.”

Preening with a blatant narcissism that could only be earned through decades upon decades of successfully exploiting it for his own benefit, Keigo bellows out a musical laugh, “It certainly is a face to be envious of, isn’t it? Done me a lot of favors over the years, it has.”

Exhaling wearily, the captain extends an arm, palm upturned in expectation. “Just give me my money already.”

“Struck a nerve, did I? Alright, alright—” A flick of his wrist sent the pouch sailing through the air, landing in the other man’s hand with effortless precision. Even his heavily muscled arm sunk slightly beneath the impact of its compact weight. “Pleasure working with you, as always.”

"Likewise. Now get the hell off my ship."

His ever-present smile the last thing that brawny male saw, Keigo saluted mockingly whilst spinning toward the exit, sashaying across the room with leisured grace.

“Aye-aye, captain.”

Returning to his seat, the captain didn’t spare a moment in dumping his spoils over the surface of his desk, intent on counting every last coin to ensure his endeavors were sufficiently recompensed. Hawks never skimped on his payments, which was admittedly one of his few respectable traits, but it was still a habit the seasoned pirate couldn’t quite break in a long life of cutthroat dealings.

“Oh, by the way…”

With a sharp inhale, he slowly looked upward, settling that withering glare on the siren lingering outside his open doorway. A pelting downpour of rain showered upon him, streams of water cascading off the angular edges of his profile, dripping off the full lashes shielding the single yellow eye directed his way.

“How's that strapping eldest of yours?” he questioned innocently, although the slyness that clung to his words conveyed their real intent quite clearly. “Touya, was it? He ever consider taking after the... family business?”

The captain’s steely features did not betray his emotions, but his terse dismissal might as well have been transparent as glass.

“Goodbye, Hawks.”

Huffing in amusement, Keigo turned that prying stare away without further inquiry. Blackened skies flashed and flickered, illuminating his turning form, the vibrant shade of those scarlet plumes, and the area around him long before the deafening roar of thunder arrived. Considering the conversation officially concluded, the captain’s gaze returned to the pile of gold strewn out before him, but that smooth voice beckoned for his attention a final time.

“So long, Enji.”

Yet, when he had glanced up in irritation, his sight was met with an empty doorway.

#hawks x reader #keigo takami x reader #keigo x reader #keigo takami smut #hawks smut #tw: noncon #kei <3 #owtw collab #writing.cr

[dabislittlemouse]

Imagine yandere!Dabi x Hawks’ sister 👀👀👀👀 he captures her as revenge for Hawks killing Twice and holds her hostage until Hawks agrees to fight him 1v1, threatening to cremate her if he doesn’t so they’re “even”. During her time as his prisoner, he becomes obsessed with her, not only because she’s pretty, but she’s also feisty. Even when he burns off or ties her wings together so she can’t fly away, she’s still defiant towards him. Cursing him out, spitting in his face, biting his fingers whenever he tries touching her. Despite how long it takes Hawks’ feathers to grow back, she’s still confident that he’ll rescue her and tells Dabi that when he does, he’ll be sorry he kidnapped her. Dabi is determined to break her spirit, even if he has to do so by force.

“If your brother loves you so much like you claim he does, then why hasn’t he saved you yet, hm?”

“Because you nearly burnt off his wings and he needs to grow them back before he can fight you, dumbass.”

“Watch your mouth, princess.”

“Fucking make me.”

ANON— THIS IS NGHHHHH AMAZING HELLO

Added on my to-write list, I definitely will write something out of this, I MUST write something out of this, Dabi with Keigo’s feisty sister?? Nah that’s spicy, shall I turn this into a dark fic orrrr🤭

Dunno, but after I’m done with most of my requests I’ll get back on this particular one (hopefully depression + school wont hit me like a truck otherwise it might take longer )

#B’s inbox🦋 #dabi #hawks #dabi x reader #dabi x you #yandere dabi #dabi gets his revenge #tw; noncon in the area #love you for this idea anon

[vampyrsutton]

SSD Day 2~Mythology

Summary:

Demigod Keigo is sent by the Gods to kill the Gorgon, and he learns why you should never trust the Gods.

Ao3 Tags:

Mythology - Freeform, Devotion, Trapped, Bondage, Dabi Has Two Cocks, Crying During Sex, Emotional Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Demigods, Demigod Hawks, Gorgons (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Gorgon Dabi, brief mentions of past assault, noncon mentioned, Zeus bashing, as we should, Banter, Gods and Monsters, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Takami Keigo | Hawks Acts Like a Bird, Dirty Talk, Body Horror, briefly, Biting, Alternate Universe - No Quirks, Oral Sex, Nipple Play, Choking, Gratuitous Smut, Double Penetration in One Hole, Double Anal Penetration, Dabi has a forked tongue, Multiple Orgasms, Mentions of Blood, dabi has ptsd, Panic Attacks, Dabi | Todoroki Touya Has Scales Instead of Scars, Size Queen Takami Keigo, Protective Takami Keigo | Hawks, Dick So Good He Fell In Love, Dabi | Todoroki Touya Needs a Hug, Takami Keigo | Hawks Needs a Hug, Sex In A Cave, Dabi | Todoroki Touya is Bad at Feelings, Transformation, Animal Traits

Notes:

In Collaboration with @mxsoundhashira for Spooky Scary Dabiton Fall 2023!

#dabihawks #hotwings #hotwingz #bnha dabi #bnha hawks #todoroki touya #takami keigo #bnha #dabi #hawks #mha smut #demigod!hawks #twitter event #spookyscarydabiweek #gorgon!dabi #tw noncon

[hotwings0203]

The idea of being in an argument w your yandere or being upset while in a car w them is SO hot

Like I’m thinking of some psycho like dabi or a conceited narcissist like bakugo in this situation, maybe it’s not even a yandere but def a crazy possessive dude who has serious issues. I guess you could do a guy like hawks, whose great in public and seriously pent up at home. Maybe even shigaraki, a guy whose not necessarily strong and intimidating from the outside, but whose eerie presence and potential keeps you in line

Tw:noncon, kidnapping, dubcon

Imagine he takes you out after a long time of being cooped up at home, being preoccupied physically yet mentally in a catatonic state as they show you the only use you have is underneath them. They finally agree to take you out to a friends’ party at a bar once your tears never seem to stop after a couple of days.

They look at you curled up on the bed like a scorned cat, your legs tucked up in a fetal position as you glare at them from underneath the tiny open pocket in the blanket you seek refuge in. The tears in your eyes shine in the dim candlelight of the dark room, akin to a cat’s eyes flashing as it remains crouched from behind the shadows.

“Can you stop being such a fucking brat and just come shower with me already?” He drones, dragging a hand down his face and sighing in exasperation as you glower and flip the other way, effectively cutting the conversation off. For a couple days now you’ve been putting up more resistance than usual, and while he finds it cute that you think you can evade him for that long, it’s annoying fighting tooth and nail to force you to be close to him, much to your chagrin.

He pinches the bridge of his nose as his scowl lines grow deeper. He’s annoyed, but he knows he’s being unfair. He’s been selfish, moving too fast for you even though he has so many more plans to keep you here forever than you know to the point where he’s realized you might seriously start to consider putting distance between you two.

Hah. As if he’d ever let you try that shit.

And so, one promise of coaxing you out of your “impenetrable fortress” of bed material leads to him agreeing to finally let you see your friends again.

Anything works if it means you’ll semi-willingly and very begrudgingly approach him.

He misses your smile, your laughter, the bright light you provide in his eternal void that caves in so deep inside of him that it swallows him inside out.

You look beautiful, he can’t lie, and he watches you sway to the music in your red dress. Truth be told, he’s glad you whined when he said no to it originally. It shows too much skin, yeah, but fuck he’d be damned if he didn’t admit the way your arms extend above your head so elegantly makes his heart ache.

Your hips rocking side to side in sync with the crooning tunes playing above makes his dick harder than it’s been since the last time he had you pinned beneath him, and he wants nothing more than to drag you by your cascading hair and fuck you up against the bathroom stalls like the teasing slut you are.

But his mood rapidly plummets as he notices a group of friends he vaguely recognizes slink up next to you, joining your movements and linking hands with you.

Hands that flutter around your curves, hands that aren’t his traveling up and down your sides, against the silk you’re in and dangerously close to places he’s meticulously claimed as his own.

But if that wasn’t enough by itself, when his eyes widen and he starts making his way around the bar counter to glare at you and to get the message of distance across, you…

You roll your eyes and turn away from him.

You fucking bitch.

Who do you think you are?

Enough is enough.

Without any more provocation, your enraged captor/lover storms through the crowd, shoving bodies aside and uncaring about knocking shoulders with people who cry out indignantly at his uncouth mannerisms.

From the corner of your eye you watch as a familiar head stalks it’s way to you, and by the time you’ve turned and witnessed the scene he’s making as he comes towards you, you’re scrambling backwards and tripping over your own dress.

But it’s too late, too little to acknowledge his presence as he pushes up against you and snarls in your face, “Playtime’s over slut. Did you enjoy all the attention? Shit, if you wanted some dick all you had to do was say so.”

You whimper in fear and desperately look around the party for anyone to come and intervene, but suddenly the music seems to be louder and the eyes that were previously on you and your little spat have turned to inspect the floor and around the room.

No one’s crazy enough to save you from what’s coming.

“Please! It hurts, let go! ___, stop fucking pulling me!” You yell through tears as your nails dig into his wrist.

He pays you no mind, pulling you through the mostly empty lot as a color red darker than your dress clouds his eyes, the image of you dancing like a whore while ignoring him playing in his mind on repeat.

His grip tightens marginally but you squeal all the less.

“What the fucks your problem? What, you can’t stand me having fun for more than 5 minutes without butting your crooked nose into it-“

This is the most you’ve spoken in over weeks, but he can’t find it in him to feel grateful as you falter when he yanks open the car door and practically throws you in the passenger seat.

Before you can even straighten yourself upright in the seat, he’s already rounded the car and locked the doors. You open your mouth to fire off another round of insults when he starts talking in a low, barely controlled voice.

“When we go home, your phone, laptop, keys, and any electronic you have is out the fucking window. You wanna act like the child? You wanna be a brat who can’t stay in her lane and be grateful? I’ll show you what happens when you act like one.”

Your agape mouth curls back in fear as he turns to face you, his enraged leer taking up the entirety of his face, his eyes gleaming with malice more than usual. His knuckles on the steering wheel are bone-white as he turns sharply this way and that, jostling you in your seat.

“You-you can’t do that. You’re not my goddamn father-“

“The hell I am, I’m your fucking daddy for all you know. After the shit you pulled tonight? I’m gonna act like one too.”

Your lip trembles as he continues in a growl, the streets blurring and starting to go by faster as he works himself up with terrible promises.

“-bend you over on my knee, beat your ass black and blue like how you wanted right? This was all for attention? Well, you got my fucking attention you cock-hungry whore.”

Your heart drops because you know the difference between his empty threats and his real ones.

He never has empty promises.

“I’m gonna tie you up and gag you with your own panties, would you like that, huh slut? You wanna be treated like my bad little girl?”

You sob and turn to the window as he shoves one hand in between your legs, groping harshly at your thin-lace panties and pressing his thumb near where you clit is.

“Nah. Nah, don’t fight me off now baby, I’m just playing your game. Look at me when I’m talking to you, the same way you look at me when you’re taking my dick so fucking deep.”

Your efforts to squeeze your legs together are thwarted as his massive hand pinches the meat of your thighs, forcing you to open up.

Your chest heaves as you gaze blankly out the window, your heart suddenly jumping when you realize he’s going 120 in a 50 lane.

“W-wait, please, slow down you’re going too fast.”

He booms with laughter and starts jerking the car left and right, doing nothing but increasing the speed 10 more miles up.

“Why, does this scare you? Are you scared, little girl?” His lip curls back into a deadly grin as he takes his eyes off the (thankfully) mostly empty highway and stares at you, your knees tucked away from him into the side of the car door. Your dress is askew and teasing a glimpse of your inner thighs due to his perverse ministrations before, your mascara running down your face.

You look like you got a good fucking, and he can’t help but to adjust his straining boner in his pants as he blatantly leers at you, his lip in between his teeth as he takes you in.

You’re terrified at his lack of attention on the road at the speed he’s going, so scared that your throat chokes up and all you can do is gape and point a trembling hand at the road.

“The! R-road, look!” You cough out and curl your hand against the armrest, your fingers tightening in preparation for the worst.

“Hey, you’re the one who brought this on yourself. This is what you get for ignoring me and breaking my trust. I have half a mind to pimp you out since I’m such a good boyfriend and all you want is attention.” His voice is airy and light but trembling with rage still. Just to turn things up a notch and to really teach you a lesson, he turns the radio on all the way to full and starts suddenly cutting across four lanes of empty road, then speeding back to his previous lane, and then again.

“Fucking stop! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, please slow down!” You shriek, closing your eyes and bracing your body for impact.

But miraculously, he slows down and ceases the lane-swerving.

Your blood pounds in your ears and you grasp the sides of your dizzy head as you heave fast breaths. Your whole body is shaking, and you feel like you’re gonna puke as it takes a few minutes to calm down and stop an impending panic attack.

By the time you lift your head up from your knees and gotten a hold of your surroundings, you realize with a pang of shock that he’s already parked in some secluded woods area, and plopped you in the backseat.

“Finally, you said something. ‘Was wondering how long we’d live from the way you were forcing me to drive.”

You glance up and flinch at the way he looks.

The car is turned off, the moonlight behind him illuminating his silhouette and eerily only letting the whites of his eyes shine bright with mocking anticipation.

It’s befitting for him, he thinks, that the area he picked is dark and littered with giant trees that look overhead. The only light in this void that is so reminiscent of himself is one that he allows to come through, light that he lets you see, and that he takes as well.

You’ll shine as bright as he allows so.

“And now, for your lesson, little slut.”

*******

IM GONNA DO A PART TWO SOON SINCE I LIKED THIS ONE HEHEHEH

#mha #bnha #dabi #tw: noncon #yandere hawks #bnha yandere #shigaraki #yandere #bnha dabi #bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bnha bakugou #bakugo katsuki #mha dabi #bakugo mha #dabi scenarios #yandere dabi x reader #dabi x reader #tomura shigaraki x reader #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki imagine #bnha smut #bnha oneshots #yandere mha #yandere oneshot #tw: yandere #tw:dubcon #tw: kidnapping

[whump-me-all-night-long]

The Kind Commander

AI-less Whumptober Day 3: Isolation

Masterlist

TWs: military whump, multiple whumpees, isolation, sensory deprivation, noncon drugging, hallucinations

---

Not long after Captain Hawk left Lex and Isaac, some more Skoaxian soldiers came in, roughly undoing the chains from their ankles and yanking them to their feet.

Lex grunted softly as Isaac yanked against one of his soldiers. “Do I look like I’m in any shape to run right now?” he snapped and Lex winced. All that got Isaac was a cuff on his head and an even tighter grip on his arms.

Lex kept his mouth closed as they were harshly led out of the tent and into what appeared to be the heart of Camp Ironglass. 

People were bustling all around them, not just soldiers, but cooks and butchers, carpenters and smiths, washerwomen and seamstresses. Lex thought he could even hear the distant, cheerful screams of children from across the camp. As the soldiers led them through the camp, Lex noticed people stopping to stare at them. He saw faces twist into frowns and bodies stiffen; for a reason he couldn’t quite explain, his face suddenly felt hot and he hung his head, letting his hair fall across his gaze.

How many? Lex wondered silently. How many people here knew people that I have killed? Are their mothers or fathers, sisters or brothers, lovers, friends, children, even? Are they here?

Before Lex’s mind could wander too far down that dark hole, the guards were leading them towards a small building on the outskirts of the semi-permanent camp. As he laid eyes on it, Lex’s legs involuntarily locked up, causing one of the soldiers to stumble and glare at him.

“No,” Lex muttered under his breath.

“Oh, yes,” the soldier he’d tripped replied with a smirk before tugging him forward.

The Skoaxians were infamous for their ruthless warcraft strategies, and one of the most well-known were their isolation chambers. Lex shuddered as he remembered the blank eyes of one survivor of the chambers when he was still a fresh recruit. Those empty eyes had haunted his nightmares for weeks afterwards.

A few feet away, Isaac was also starting to struggle against his own guards, and it was only then that Lex noticed how deserted this part of the camp was.

Growing resigned to his fate, Lex let the soldiers drag him forward, down an incredibly short hallway before putting him in one chamber and Isaac in the one across from him. 

The whole building was incredibly damp, with an unnatural breeze sending shivers down Lex’s spine. The only light was filtered thinly from the outer door, and, once the cell door—a solid metal thing, with only a tiny slot that could be locked from the outside—there was no light at all. Lex couldn’t even see his own hand from a few inches away from his eyes.

Carefully stretching out his arms, Lex repeated Bray’s words of wisdom quietly: Know your surroundings. Based on what he could feel, the isolation chamber was really only about five feet by five feet; the entirety of the walls were made of the same thick, impenetrable metal as the door, muffling all sound except for the barest hint of a whisper-like sound every now and then. There was absolutely nothing inside, except for a small metal bucket, which Lex flushed at the thought of. 

Slowly settling his back against one of the far corners, he kept an eye on the door- or, at least, where he thought the door was. Honestly, the chambers were made so skillfully that he couldn’t even really tell where the door and wall met, that’s how seamless they were.

Wrapping his arms around himself, Lex set to staring into the darkness, quickly losing hope that he’d be able to withstand the isolation and sensory deprivation.

-

It could have been a matter of minutes or hours, but soon enough, Lex started seeing things.

The darkness started playing tricks on him, making him see movement out of the corner of his eyes. He would whip his head around, trying to follow it, only for it to disappear seconds later.

Soon after, it was his ears that betrayed him. He couldn’t tell if he was actually hearing voices, or if the voice in his head had grown deafeningly loud. 

Lex let out a soft groan, squeezing his eyes shut—no, that didn’t stop the phantom movements—and pressing his hands over his ears to the point of pain.

How long can I do this?

-

At some point, food appeared in the slot. All it was was a stale chunk of bread and a small cup of lukewarm water. 

As much as Lex’s sandpaper-like throat begged him to drink the whole thing, Lex made himself take only a few small sips before attempting to eat the bread.

Who knows how long they’ll go in between giving me more water? The last thing I need is to die of dehydration.

After eating what he estimated to be about half the bread, Lex set it to the side with a sigh, allowing himself another small sip, noting how the water tasted vaguely metallic.

Eyes widening, Lex let the cup thud on the ground. 

Shit.

-

Lex wasn’t quite sure what the drug was that they were lacing the water with, but whatever it was was incredibly powerful. And putting it in the water made it unavoidable; although, to be fair, Lex didn’t know how long he could go without eating, especially if the food were to be sitting right in front of him.

At first, the drug only seemed to amplify the tricks his brain was already: creating shadow and colors in the corners of his eyes, causing him to hear phantom voices, giving the darkness a physical weight that seemed to press down on Lex until he felt as if he was suffocating.

But, after what Lex estimated to be a half dozen “meals”—although he had no clue what that translated into days—it was as if the drug had grown more powerful. 

Now, Lex was seeing full-fledged shadow creatures prowling towards him, reaching out with wickedly sharp claws and teeth. He was hearing distinct voices: those of Bray, his mom, his dad, Isaac, the rest of his squad. They were calling for him, begging him to save them, screaming in agony.

Most of his time, now, Lex spent curled up in the corner, making himself as small as possible, with his eyes squeezed shut and his hands clamped over his ears, nails digging into his skin and carving throbbing crescents.

After an eternity, stuck in his own silent hell, Lex heard… something. He lifted his head, hands falling down to curl protectively in front of his chest, eyes wide and bewildered.

Slowly, so slowly Lex thought he may actually have finally lost it, the metal door groaned and creaked, until a sliver of light was visible.

Hissing, Lex looked away, his eyes having grown used to the total darkness, as a familiar pair of boots stopped in front of him.

“Let’s have a chat now, shall we?” Captain Hawk said, and Lex could hear the smirk in his voice.

---

Taglist: @ailesswhumptober @theelvishcowgirl @misspelledwitch @i-eat-worlds @shywhumpauthor @the-dump-of-whump @cypher-antiquity

#ailesswhumptober2023 #leigh writes #the kind commander #whump #whump writing #private lex winch #private isaac lidgett #captain ulysses hawk #military whump #multiple whumpees #isolation #sensory deprivation #noncon drugging #hallucinations

[jokeringcutio]

Harrowing Love - (Asylum Patient!) Arthur Harrow x (f) Reader - 18+

Summary: It started against your will, yet, you find yourself more and more falling in love with this man. Asylum Patient Harrow x Reader, Breeding Kink fic. There's a way for Ammit's powers to come out, but Harrow and his goddess will need you for that. [ Read it on AO3 Or continue below ]

Fandom: Moon Knight (TV) Pairing: Arthur Harrow x Reader Lots of warnings on AO3, but to name a few: 18+, explicit material, will contain smut, breeding kink, noncon/dubcon/eventuallycon, age difference, older manxyounger female, Strangers to Lovers, and much more! Dedicated to @nicktremblaywayfu & Lotsa notes below the chapter.

*~* Intro *~*

“Jot it down, a stronger dose is needed for patient forty-seven, Arthur Harrow,” the nurse said, eying her younger colleague.

“He can’t keep his hands off our nurses. During the day he is actually quite docile and pleasant, but at night, a whole different person emerges. He keeps grabbing our nurses and getting quite handsy. Plus, he is incredibly strong when he has one of these psychoses. I think we need to double his dose and prevent him from harassing our colleagues. I have two of them who are refusing to work the night shift because of him.”

The younger nurse quietly scribbled down the new instructions and bit her lip. Her heart thumped in her chest, loudly, for both her former leader and her Goddess Ammit.

~* ~

“And?” the young nurse asked her taller friend, also dressed in a nurse’s outfit. They stood in the faint amber glow of the night light, safely away from Arthur Harrow’s chamber. Faint roaring faded until the drugs had made the man fall into a dreamless sleep.

“You were right,” the taller nurse replied. She pressed a hand to her chest to calm her own beating heart. “It is a good thing you called for me. Ammit is alive in him. Whenever he roars at night it is because she tries to come out,” here she paused, and both listened if they heard footsteps, but no one approached. The hallway remained quiet. “She reached out for me, mad with a desire to be free. Said that in order to be free, she needs Arthur to – Oh, I can hardly say it, but there is no kinder way to translate it - she literally said breed. It must be due to her crocodile nature. Surely it wasn’t intended to sound this harsh but yes. She says Arthur needs to breed. Then she tried to reach out for me, but I sidestepped her.”

The smaller nurse frowned, lost in thought. “You mean, our leader has to procreate?”

“A child,” the taller one said again. “She asked for a child produced by Arthur to unleash part of her powers within.”

“Did she say how this is to be done?” The other nurse asked again, worried. “Can it be done with anyone?”

“I can understand ancient Egyptian, but I do not know how to answer in it,” the taller nurse said. She paused and then smiled down at her friend. “But I do think by her hiss that I was not suitable. I would have let them if they had wanted me,” the nurse blushed now. Her smaller friend did the same, being of a similar state of mind. Who did not want to be the lucky chosen one to bear the famous Arthur Harrow’s child?  Especially those of his followers who had seen his power and awaited Ammit’s paradise with bated breath – none would refuse.

“We shall have to see who is suited then,” the smaller one replied. “Will you stick around to help me, Monique?”

Monique nodded with a knowing smile. “I could use the extra hours,” she said, chuckling. “Besides, I have missed our friendship. I’ll gladly stick around.” She hesitated. “So, what do you say? You’ll be up next?”

~ * ~  ONE ~ * ~

Arthur Harrow had seen you arrive from his spot behind the patio windows. It was a spot the nurses had put his wheelchair so he could enjoy the greenery outside of the hospital. He was stuck in the psychiatric ward part of it, but from this point, he had a view over the entrance that lead to the hospital part. The normal hospital was attached to the psychiatric ward via two heavily guarded doors and a hallway. They had made it deliberately difficult for the psychiatric patients to get into the hospital area because some of the patients would try and escape via that route, acting as if they were normal. Arthur wasn’t one of them though. He was content with just sitting and enjoying the little things in life. Not that the state he was in allowed for much more, with the heavy dose of medicine given to him.

But his content didn’t mean he had given up on his purpose. Ammit was still alive through him and within him, and at the beginning of his stay here he had brokered a deal with her that he would let her do whatever was necessary to get out, so long as she would spare him until she was free again. He was her vessel, nothing more. Valuable to her, because she inhabited his body, but powerless compared to how he was before.

She seemed to have accepted his offer and treated him as her avatar and servant still. She would leave him to his peace during the days and only emerge during the nights.

It wasn’t until one of the new nurses came to inform him of Ammit’s words that he understood the goddess had found a way to unleash her powers once more. It was a tricky, risky little plan, as patients were not allowed to become intimate with guests or other patients. But he understood that if it had to be done, it had to be done.

The task of producing a child now rested upon his shoulders. But Ammit and Arthur both held reservations. Arthur hadn’t been intimate with others for a long time. Not since he had joined Ammit on her quest and not since he tried to do penance for mistakes made earlier in his life. It didn’t help that he had become sort of numb and insensitive when it came to feelings such as arousal. Having known pain for most of his life, and now growing older and not feeling sex to be a necessary thing, Arthur had started to take delight in the fact that he felt no need to be intimate with lovers any longer. Asexual, one might even say. If the need for release became too high, and it seldomly was, he could always use his hand. But he found no pleasure in the act itself.

So to hear he had to perform intercourse to please his goddess was greatly unsettling to him.

He shared his reluctance with Ammit, who was uncomfortable in the body of the man and found herself more attracted to the male humans. On top of that came the many requirements she held for the one to carry Arthur’s child. A list, Arthur faintly was aware, which was long and demanding. It held things about looks, purity, innocence, fertility, and even factors that would ensure the child would be exactly as Ammit had pictured it to be.

A list full of needs that would never be met.

Arthur Harrow took delight in that knowledge, for it meant that he would not be forced easily by his goddess to lay with a woman he had never met before.

The nurses were another point of bother. Arthur had become aware that slowly, one by one, the asylum staff was being replaced by Ammit’s followers. A good thing concerning his safety, but a troublesome development for his privacy. The nurses would often appear at night to offer themselves to him as a potential mate. But when he had refused them all, they would bring in potential mates. Both young and mature women had been paraded in front of him, while he had been paralyzed. They had placed their hands on him and had tried to seduce him. But none had achieved the desired effect. Ammit had cursed Arthur silently for remaining unaffected and limp, but she had praised him afterward for respecting her list. It seemed neither of them had been tempted by the partners offered to them.

Which brought everything back to you. Arthur caught sight of you only a few weeks ago. He watched how you followed your mother into the hospital area, and how you left about an hour or two later. Intrigued by your looks and the way you moved, he asked the nurses to put him in this same spot again the very next day. And it had been like this for a while until he had discerned the pattern.

You came here each week on a Friday afternoon, visiting along with your mother who drove the two of you. You would arrive around two, then visit your elderly grandmother to play games with her in the hospital cafeteria and chat. After about an hour or two, the two of you would leave with a wave and a smile. Grandma would be in the hallway, in a wheelchair of her own, waving back at you while you smiled brightly.

That smile. It did things to him.

For the first time in years, Arthur felt himself stir. Aroused to a point where he felt his hands would no longer do. It could never be enough.

He longed for you ever since the first time he clapped eyes on you. It was a feeling he had tried to subdue, but it was no use. Ammit had felt it – and how could she not when she came to the surface in his body to find him fisting his own stiff cock? Ammit had taken delight in it.

Even now she watched along with him through his eyes and growled gently inside his head, the sound of approval.

You ticked all the boxes on Ammit’s list. Ammit, who despite having been sealed in Arthur’s body, still held some of her powers and instincts. Unlike Arthur, she didn’t need to hold your hands to read your scales. She could sense things like this. As if being trapped in his body had made her more like a crocodile in the water, eyes and nostrils still above, observing everything while being unobserved herself. Only those who knew she was there would be able to spot her. And she had sensed you were fertile and ready to become a mom.

Young enough, she crooned inside of Arthur’s mind, for more than one hatchling. Pretty enough, she continued, for you to enjoy. Innocent enough, she concluded, for her scales to tip to the light.

Arthur’s eyes darkened when he saw you enter the hospital, towing after your mother. He signaled with his hand, alerting the tall and slender nurse that belonged to his community. She came to stand next to him, placed her hands on the edges of his wheelchair, near his shoulders, and leaned down. She squinted her eyes, observing you and your mother as you entered the hallway.

“That girl,” Arthur murmured, voice weak by the number of drugs pumped through his system. Inside of him, Ammit crooned again. Make her swell, she thought, pump her full of your cum and see her turn round with your child. Let me pass my powers onto your hatchling.

“That girl?” the nurse asked, she gestured with her head.

Arthur merely nodded. There were no others he could have meant. Your mother would have been that woman. The nurse in the hallway would have been that nurse. And it was clear he wasn’t indicating any of the three elder men who sat in the hall, waiting for a taxi to come to pick them up.

The nurse slowly stood up again and nodded thoughtfully. “Let me bring you to your room so you can prepare.”

No questions asked, no doubts spoken. Arthur was glad she was like that, a follower who did not doubt the ways of Ammit. He felt how the chair dipped back slightly, then started to glide over the floor. Contently, he tapped his fingers against the armrests of the chair, humming a soft tune while the nurse wheeled him back to his room.

Inside of him, Ammit chortled happily. ~ * ~ End of Chapter ~* ~

AN: Hello dear readers, here's another shameless self-indulgent Patient Harrow x Reader insert I promised to write for someone. It starts out quite dark with the non-con start, but rapidly transforms into a more romantic tale with the angst slowly bleeding out of it and the fluff coming into play. I enjoy writing the more daily and ordinary activities for this. But there'll be lots of smut as well. Expected length: *Story length, no dirty thoughts tusk * I have not finished it yet, and knowing me, I am very curious to find out if I ever will. When I do, I will update the expected chapters for this fic in the chapter count, so keep an eye on that. Note: Despite the series being set in America, the situations and locations in this fic are based on my experiences in the local hospitals and on traditions in my area. You will see a lot of European influence. Requests: Thank you for sending in requests for scenes in this fic. I have tried to add as many of the requested situations as possible. I'll make a banner for this tale once I have decided about the title. Also, if people have Arthur Harrow stock material they wish to share, send it to me :3

#Arthur Harrow x Reader #Arthur Harrow x you #Reader insert #older man x younger woman #breeding kink fic #I'm going to upload most of this on AO3 because I am too lazy to do each chapter on tumblr #Moon knight fanfiction #asylum patient Harrow #arthur harrow #ethan hawke fandom #lots of smut #also sweet caretaking #starts dark with noncon #transforms rather quickly into romance and fluff

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

Hawks/F!Darling: Breaking Silence

TW: noncon

He'd dealt with people giving him the silent treatment before: suspects, wary targets, even colleagues who disliked him for his cocky pretty boy persona. He couldn't really blame them, but it never lasted forever. As long as he talked "out loud, totally to himself without anyone else in the room to hear or respond" and said just the right things to wear down their walls, he could tease a word or two out of them. And once that crack appeared, it would grow into a flood without them realizing it was too late.

All those other times though, they didn't hurt the same way it did with ____. He knew she'd be upset by him taking her, but he'd prepared for that. All her favorite things were already moved in while she was unconscious, her employer had been told she was putting in her two weeks, and he'd been a perfect gentleman while she was asleep. Minimize the damage as much as possible when you're confronted. Do what you can to turn distrust into self-doubt, and turn THAT into trust.

Not exactly relationship advice, but his training was all he'd had to go on when it came to how to deal with events in his life after he'd been recruited by the Safet Commission.

He'd spoken gently to her, insisted that she had every right to be angry at him, let her scream and try to escape before realizing it was impossible on all fronts. And when she'd collapsed onto the floor and started to cry, he'd been there to slowly inch closer and closer until he had his arms around her; he'd been so subtle and inviting that she hadn't even flinched until he spoke up and she heard his voice so close to her ear.

____ hadn't spoken to him for the past two days in some attempt to defy him. He could practically hear her thoughts though, with the way she glared at him with contempt. I hate you. You know this is wrong and you're going to try and make me feel like I'M the crazy one for thinking that. You ruined my life.

But despite her efforts, he didn't falter. He'd simply smiled and playfully reached out to poke her chin after he'd taken her empty breakfast plate away (a plastic one, given her propensity for throwing things at him in frustration). "Cat got your tongue again today?"

____ continued to glower at him.

He brushed her cheek with his fingers. "That's okay," he replied. "I'll just do enough talking for both of us again. It's actually kinda fun, being the super friendly and chatty guy people make me out to be." The smile on his lips twitched and seemed a little more downcast as he moved to make sure she'd eaten all of her food; hopefully she knew better by now than to try and spit it out so she didn't have to ingest the crushed-up "relaxers" he'd mix into her eggs.

He smiled when he saw that her plate was clean and she had no way of hiding that much food under her tongue or in her cheeks. "Enjoyed it? You ate every bite this time. Guess I'm getting better at cooking."

He set the tray down in the corner of the room and crawled into bed to cuddle with ____ while the drugs started to take effect. ____ turned away from him and stared defiantly at the opposite wall; Hawks simply put his arms around her and held her from behind, rubbing circles into her shoulders and enjoying the way her hair tickled his face. "I'm actually a better cook than most people think," he continued. "I'm not the kinda celebrity who's always had chefs and butlers and personal assistants, y'know?" He moved his hips closer to her as he recalled the kitchen in his parents' apartment: filthy, usually bare with the exception of rice, clearance vegetables a day away from rotting, some eggs, dried fish, and a bit of soy sauce.

"Granted, I'm making way better stuff for us now, but I can still make a mean bowl of okayu. I mean...it's just rice porridge, but still!"

He left a small beat of silence to try and read her body language from behind as he rubbed against her. She'd stiffened up, but hadn't made any effort to move away. "Even if I was still starving and barely scraping by though, I'd do my best to give you something good. I'd find a way to take care of you." He moved his head up to kiss ____'s cheek, and he noticed her eyes were already starting to droop.

"I'll always take care of you."

The stars in his eyes were met with a hazy, barely-there gaze from her as he looked down at her. His hands wandered under the covers as he kissed her face and neck, and not once did she move away or fight back. His sweet words to her were punctuated with quick kisses. "I...love you...so much," he sighed. "You can hate me for as long as you want, you don't ever have to love me back. Just be loved by me, and I'll do the rest, ok?"

He pulled her panties aside and slowly ground against her backside, slipping his precum-slicked cock up and down her slit. ____ made a small noise of protest, but kept her lips pressed together. "Still trying to stay silent? Baby, you don't have to hide how good you feel just because you're mad at me." He circled his index finger around her clit and heard her gasp through her nose.

As he continued to toy with her cunt and rub his cock against her entrance, he'd see her clenching her jaw and biting her lip to keep her noises to a minimum. Still, her silence couldn't hide how wet she'd become, or how her chest had started to rise and fall as she panted softly. Hawks rolled her on her back and crawled on top of her, thrusting just the tip into her tight walls.

____ limply tried to throw her hands over her face as she cried out, but Hawks quickly moved them back to lay on either side of her pillow. "I-I'm gonna cum soon," he said with a moan. "Fuck, Angel, I love you so fuckin' much..." He leaned down to kiss her neck and briefly suck on one of her nipples with one hand on her other breast. "Where do you want it, hm? Inside? Or all over you?"

Either way, he was going to love it. He could claim her from the inside and fill her up, or he could cover her with his essence and mark her body as his to keep. Just the thought of it was about to push him over the edge--

"P-please..." A small murmur passed through ____'s lips, her voice thick as she struggled not to cry. "Please s-stop..."

He came with a sharp cry, flooding her cunt with warmth and feverishly rubbing at her stiff clitoris with a few fingers to make her cum around him at the same time. His wings fluttered and shook as his eyes rolled back a little, and when the roaring in his ears mixed with Darling's high-pitched moan had subsided he looked down and saw her covering her face again in shame.

Instead of moving them back again, Hawks sighed lovingly and wrapped his arms around them to pull them against his chest as he cuddled her from behind again. He slowly eased his cock out of her and felt her shiver from the sensation of cum dribbling out of her cunt. He kissed her cheek again and stroked her sides with a dark glint of happiness in his golden eyes.

"I missed hearing your voice, Chickadee."

#.bnha #yandere bnha #.hawks #yandere hawks #.myshit #fem darling #tw: noncon

[lesinquietes]

I’ve been working on some yandere Hawks stuff recently and this really disturbing really fucked up and delicious thought crossed my mind. Like, imagine a normal AU, where Keigo is a cop because “heroes” aren’t a thing. Hawks is his alias because he’s sharp and always gunning for the target. He’s in the force with all his buds, like Fatgum, Endeavour, Tokoyami… and you’re his baby :) you’ve been his girl since before he joined the force, five years ago. You’ve seen him at his worst and his best; likewise, he’s seen you excel at what you’re good at and bomb at your areas of opportunity. But you two loved each other through it all.

Aw. So cute!… if that’s where this story ends. But it’s not.

Tw; 18+, isolation, noncon, spanking // yandere hawks x fem!reader

So, as the years go on, Keigo gets jaded, right? Because let’s not kid ourselves about the corruption happening in cop stations; there’s a lot that goes on. It really grates at a man. Toxic masculinity galore, the attitudes of working life as an office aren’t always the best. And Keigo is the type to take shit home with him without realizing it.

He gets possessive as fuck over you after an accident. You hurt yourself real bad and you have to take extended leave from work to heal up. Of course, he blames himself and the filth of this world. That’s why don’t end up going back to work after you’re better — he convinces you not to. That’s also why he insists that you don’t leave the condo without him, and if you do, you have to report back on a tight schedule. Here’s hoping you’re good at time management.

But here’s the worst part. If you ever decide that this life isn’t for you, there’s no way in hell you’re getting away. Running is futile. There are eyes everywhere. Fatgum around the corner. Tokoyami up on a nearby roof. Endeavour across the street. You don’t stand a chance.

So you’ll just have to stay with Keigo forever and be the best woman in the world for him :’) what else is there to do? You’ll get used to it. You’ll learn to love him.

Honestly though, his trust in you declines the more you try your luck. Before long, he decides to isolate you in the spare room and visit you sparingly. If you have nothing and no one, you’ll be happier to see him over time, right? That’s precisely what happens. He takes everything from you, although he is gracious enough to leave you with a bed. When you’ve lived with the absolute bare basics for only three days, your head starts to split open. He drops off your food and you want to talk, want to touch, want to be acknowledged. He doesn’t give in the first few times. Eventually, he can’t bring himself to ignore you any longer.

He vows only to use isolation when you begin to cop an attitude with him. It’s easy to remind you how to be grateful when the threat of imprisonment looms over you every day, when you walk by the spare room. He notices you rush a bit faster as you pass it. It’s like you’re nervous it’ll suck you back in.

Isolation isn’t the only thing he uses. He doesn’t beat you, like some of his colleagues do with their wives; he spanks you. If you want to act like a brat, he’ll treat you like one. Whenever his belt comes off, you know to bend over the nearest surface and take what he gives you. The more compliant you are, the more lenient he’ll be. That depends entirely on what you did to deserve it in the first place, however. He’s beaten your cute little ass so hard that you could feel the remnants of his fury whenever you sat down. The pain lasted for weeks. You’ve been careful not to push him to that limit since.

One time, when he was piss drunk at an office party, he started to take off his belt when you suggested he abstain from another glass of whiskey. Like a good girl, you instinctively searched for a place to bend over, before you realized you were in public. Then, you begged. He didn’t listen until he dragged you onto his lap and Endeavour happened to walk in. He didn’t utter a word of the event to anyone else, of course, but he certainly had a few things to say when the pair found themselves alone. It turns out he’s just as big of an asshole to his wife as Keigo is to you — perhaps even more! So his secret is safe with good ole Enji.

But yeah, escape? Over time, you won’t want to anymore. It’s simpler just to accept your role and be who he wants you to be. Why exhaust yourself trying to pursue a life that will never again be yours? You live for Keigo, now, and he lives for you. This is the way it should be 🥺

#tw yandere #tw noncon #oh my god yes im writing this #yandere hawks x reader #yandere keigo x reader #female reader

[paper-bag-boy]

horned boy event

#dol #degrees of lewdity #horned boy #he's a npc that you cant rly get much from #think like the dogboy events #mixed with the great hawk event bc he kinda kidnaps you #basically he shows up past midnight near the orphanage and you can chose to run away or stay #if he catches you there'll be a noncon event unless you reciprocate his actions #but usually you'll gain some sort of trauma #subsequent meetings with him afterwards will unlock this event #within the depths of my dol folders

[dancingisdangerouss]

An actual Summary of Into The Black:

#the black phone #the grabber #black phone #grabber #the grabber x reader #into the black #x reader #fanfic #ao3 #ethan hawke #reader #tw: dark content #tw: noncon #the black phone 2022 #grabber x female reader