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fanfics4all · 5 years

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To Love Is To Lose

Request: Yes / No Hello! Can I please request #75 (“ You’re one hell of a girl. ”) with Oliver queen or Barry Allen where the reader is also a vigilante and Oliver/Barry slowly fall for her when they end up doing a few missions together? Btw, I love your writing, it’s always so good ❤️❤️❤️ Anon

Request are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Barry Allen x Fem!Reader

Oliver Queen x Fem!Reader

Word count: 3695

Warnings: Death, gang

Y/N: Your Name

A/N: I based the Reader on the DC vigilante Shado (I know she was in Arrow but in this she was never in the show!) But the backstory and everything is from Shado and I just changed it a little bit. I wanted to use an already existing vigilante because I’m a HUGE DC nerd!

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK!

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you!

Masterlist

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

Before I was born my father was part of the Yakuza. He was sent to America sometime before World War Two had broken out. He was sent with a large amount of gold to establish Yakuza operations in America. Because he was Japanese, my father was placed in an internment camp when the war broke out. A group of soldiers suspected him of having Yakuza ties, but my father was strong and loyal. No matter how much they tortured him he wouldn’t tell them where any of the money was located.

Years after the war my father met my mother and they had me. We were living a normal life, until some retired soldiers decided to try again. They threatened me and my mother. My father didn’t want to see his family harmed so he turned over the gold. They didn’t keep to their promises and hurt my mother, she died because of them. My father had committed seppuku not long after to atone for failing the Yakuza. His disgrace then fell upon me. The Yakuza had taken me back to Japan where I was raised to kill the Americans who dishonored my Yakuza family. They had trained me in martial arts and Kyūdō, which is the Japanese art of archery.

Once I was eighteen, I left to return to America and started killing the men that disgraced me. Two of the former soldiers used the stolen gold to build a shipping business, as well as a drug trafficking operation. The blood that followed me got me into the view of a local vigilante, his name was the Green Arrow. I had evaded him for years, he even recruited, what people call metahumans, to aid him in catching me. Not even the so called fasted man alive could catch me. Our paths did cross however, an ally of his, the Black Canary, was captured by one of the men I was after. Him and his people had tortured the poor girl. I had showed up almost at the same time the Green Arrow and his team did, he even brought his little speedster friend.

“What are you doing here?” He asked me with a growl.

“Doing what I was trained to do. What are you doing here?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

“A member of my team in in there and I’m getting her back.” He said drawing his bow and aiming it at me.

“So I don’t have time for you tonight, get out of my way if you don’t want an arrow in your skull.” He growled and I smirked.

“You’d never hit me, I’m here to kill the men inside.” I said and went to go in.

“Wait!” The voice of the speedy guys said.

“What if we work together?” He asked and I raised my brow at him.

“Work together?” I asked and he nodded.

“Yeah, we all want the same thing right? So why not?” He asked and I looked at them.

“I work alone.” I said and turned my back on them.

“Extra hands couldn’t hurt.” He said and I rolled my eyes.

“If I say yes will you shut up?” I asked annoyed and he nodded.

“Fine. But I kill Lawton.” I said and the Green Arrow nodded.

“Fine.” He said and I nodded. We all went inside and did our things. The speedster distracted them, while Arrow and I shot arrows at them. He was aiming to wound, I was aiming to kill. The Green Arrow’s friend shot at them also only wounding them. Arrow went to get the girl that was tied to a chair and I saw Lawton running. I ran after him and decided to get the high ground. I ran above him and dropped down in front of him. I looked up at him with a glare and he pointed his gun at me. I grabbed it from him and knocked him to the ground. I aimed my bow at him and he looked up at me with fear.

“Please! I have a family!” He begged and I narrowed my eyes at him more.

“So did my father!” I growled and he looked at me confused. I pulled down my mask and his eyes widened.

“You’re Yao Fei’s daughter… You look like your mother…” He said shocked and I pulled my bow back more.

“Don’t you talk about my mother! Or my father!” I shouted at him, apparently this caught the attention of Green Arrow and his friends.

“You killed them! You and your friends hurt my mother and killed her! You made my father kill himself to atone for what he did!” I shouted and he cowered in fear.

“I’m sorry! Please I have a daughter!” He said and I gave a humorless chuckle.

“Then she will grow up without a father.” I said and pulled my arrow back once more.

“You die in the name of the Yakuza.” I said and released my arrow. It hit him right in the left eye and he was dead within seconds.

“That was a little harsh.” I heard the voice of speedster.

“He deserved worse.” I said pulling my arrow out.

“Awww gross!” Speedster said.

“Get over it speedster, it’s just a little blood and his eye.” I said pulling his eyeball off my arrow.

“It’s actually Flash.” He said.

“Well, I must go.” I said turning and walking away.

“Wait!” Green Arrow’s voice said.

“I’m not letting you catch me Arrow.” I said and rushed off. That was the last man. I sent his eye back to my Yakuza family and they were pleased with my work. They said my disgrace from my father was repaid. I had finished my mission and I was able to come back. I didn’t want to though, I didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps. I just wanted to fix his mistakes, but I had become the best of the best. I should have known I wouldn’t be able to escape this life. But because I was the best of the best, I knew I could hide from them.

Oliver’s POV

I watched as the mysterious vigilante fought with us. She was a killer, but she was amazing. She was like what I use to be, but ten times more violent. Once we took care of everyone I went to get Loreal. She was in bad shape, but she would live. Once she was safe we all heard yelling coming from one of the halls and I noticed that the girl was gone. We all followed the shouting and saw her holding a man at arrow point.

“You killed them! You and your friends hurt my mother and killed her! You made my father kill himself to atone for what he did!” She shouted and he cowered in fear.

“I’m sorry! Please I have a daughter!” He said and She gave a humorless chuckle.

“Then she will grow up without a father.” She said and pulled her arrow back once more.

“You die in the name of the Yakuza.” She said and released her arrow. It hit him right in the left eye and he was dead within seconds. My eyes widened when I heard her say Yakuza.

“That was a little harsh.” Barry said.

“He deserved worse.” She said pulling her arrow out.

“Awww gross!” Barry said looking away.

“Get over it speedster, it’s just a little blood and his eye.” She said pulling his eyeball off my arrow.

“It’s actually Flash.” Barry said.

“Well, I must go.” She said ignoring him and turned walking away.

“Wait!” I called out to her.

“I’m not letting you catch me Arrow.” She said and rushed off.

“Who is that exactly?” Barry asked.

“I have no idea, but I think I know how to find her.” I said and we left to get Loreal help.

Y/N’s POV

It’s been a month and I’ve avoided any contact with the Yakuza. I was free. I didn’t want to give up my alter ego, well my main ego I suppose. After all this is what I was made to do. I would take care of some of the criminals in Star City, the Green Arrow wasn’t too fond of this. He’d have to catch me to make me stop and we both knew that was impossible. Or so I thought… I had gotten a lead about a criminal and was following it. Unfortunately I came to found it was false and the Green Arrow was there waiting for me with speedster.

“We meet again.” The man in green said with his deep voice.

“You set me up!” I growled and he nodded.

“So what? Gonna take me to jain now? Or am I going to have to kill you both?” I asked holding up my bow.

“Whoa! We just wanna talk!” The guy in red said with his hands up. I narrowed my eyes at him and he took off his cowl.

“See? Trust.” He said and I raised my brow. I looked at the Green Arrow and he took off his hood and mask.

“Oliver Queen? Interesting.” I said with a smirk, even though they couldn’t see it with my mask on.

“We’ve already seen your face so there’s no need for your mask.” Oliver said. I lowered my bow and took off my mask.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Your help.” He said and my eyes widened in shock.

“The Green Arrow wants my help?” I asked with a smirk.

“We need help. We can’t do it alone and we need someone skilled.” He said and my smirk grew.

“What’s in it for me?” I asked.

“The feeling like you did something good.” Barry said and I rolled my eyes.

“What’s the job?” I asked.

“We’re going after a man named Constantine Drakon. He’s an incredible martial artist and has outwitted us far too many times.” Oliver growled.

“I can tell you right now I’m way better than him.” I said and they nodded.

“That’s why we need you.” The speedy guys said.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Barry Allen.” He said with a smile.

“You look like a Barry.” I said looking at him.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Y/N Fei. But you probably know me as Shado.” I said.

“Shado. That’s what you call yourself?” Oliver asked.

“Most people don’t see me coming.” I said with a wink.

“So will you help us?” Barry asked with a small blush.

“Sure, I get to kill some baddies.” I said with a shrug and a smile.

“We’re not killing.” Oliver said and I gave him a look.

“They deserve it.” I practically growled.

“Y/N, we don’t kill.” Barry said softly and I rolled my eyes.

“Fine.” I said and they smiled.

“Well I have to go.” I said putting my mask back on and turned away from them.

“Wait how will we get in reach with you?” Barry asked. I smirked and hopped up the building next to us. I shot an arrow at their feet with my number of my burner phone on a piece of paper wrapped around it.

Three Weeks Later

The two boys were texting me nonstop. It was kind of cute. They both had asked me to help them on missions besides the one they actually asked me to help with. They were actually sweet and wanted to be friends with me. This was new to me, I never had a friend before.

Finally they told me where to meet them to talk about the mission. I arrived at the location and Barry was standing outside.

“Hey Y/N!” He said with a huge smile on his face.

“Hey Barry.” I said with a small smile.

“How are you?” He asked slightly awkwardly.

“Fine. You?” I asked.

“I’m good! I mean just catching some mettas, but I guess you knew that seeing as I am a hero and all…he…” He said scratching the back of his neck and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Did anyone ever tell you you’re adorable?” I said without thinking. He looked at me with wide eyes and a blush.

“U-um no…” He said nervously.

“Well you are.” I smiled.

“T-thanks.” He said.

“So what is this place?” I asked looking at what looked to be an abandoned building.

“Oh! This is the Arrow cave.” He said and I looked at him like he was crazy.

“This place?” I asked and he nodded.

“Come on, it’s way cooler than it looks.” He said opening the door. He walked inside and I followed him confused. He walked into what looked like an old office and smirked at me.

“This is the Arrow cave?” I asked confused.

“No, this is how we get to it.” He said and then a wall opened up to reveal an elevator.

“What the hell?” I asked shocked. Barry just smirked and walked in.

“Well, are you coming?” He asked and I nodded. I walked in next to him and he pressed a button. We went down and the doors opened up to a huge area with computers, weapons, a lab, and a few other rooms.

“This is the Arrow cave.” He said still smirking.

“Whoa…” Was all I could say.

“Oh! You two are here!” A blond girl said getting up.

“Um, who are you?” I asked confused. I’ve never seen her before.

“Oh right! I’m Felicity, the one they all call Overwatch.” She said with a kind smile.

“Right… I’m Y/N, the one they call Shado.” I said and she smiled.

“I know, you’re really incredible with a bow, ya know, minus the whole killing part.” She said and I nodded.

“The bow and martial arts is all I’ve ever known.” I said with a shrug.

“Your parents didn’t let you have fun?” She asked and I tensed up a bit.

“My parents are the reason I do what I do.” I said coldly.

“Hey, Felicity, don’t you need to check on the plan?” A man said walking over.

“Huh? Oh! Uh, yeah! Nice meeting you Y/N.” She said and walked off.

“Sorry about her, Y/N.” He said with a smile and Oliver walked over beside him.

“It’s fine.” I said.

“Y/N, this is John Diggle.” Oliver said introducing him.

“Hello.” I said with a small smile.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, but I should go help Felicity.” He said and walked away.

“What’s the plan?” I asked Oliver and Barry.

“First, I want you to meet my team.” Barry said and dragged me away from Oliver.

“Guys, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is Cisco, Caitlin, and Iris.” He said and I gave a polite smile.

“You’re the girl who can shoot better than Oliver!” Cisco said.

“She is not!” I heard Oliver shout and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“I’ll out shoot you any day Arrow!” I called back with a smirk.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Caitlin said with a smile.

“Yeah, happy I can meet the girl Barry can’t stop talking about.” Iris said with a smirk.

“Iris!” Barry said with a blush.

“She’s joking, I don’t talk about you a lot.” He said and I nodded with a smirk.

“Right… It’s nice to meet you guys.” I said to his friends.

“So shouldn’t we get this plan going?” I asked.

“Yeah.” The two boys said.

We all went over the plan a few times and where everyone was going to be. Once we finally all got on the same page we all started to get ready. I grabbed the bag I brought and pulled out my costume.

“Where should I go to get dress?” I asked.

“Oh, right over there.” Oliver said pointing to a room.

“Got it.” I said and walked into the room. I put on my tight black pants, my black and red top with one sleeve so my dragon tattoos with my parents names showed, my black boots, and my black mask that covered the bottom half of my face. I put my hair up put it in a tight braid. Once I was finished I walked out and everyone was looking at me.

“You guys okay?” I asked confused as I walked over to my bag. I pulled out my bow and knives.

“Yeah, we were just waiting for you.” Barry said with a blush.

“Okay… anyway, ready to go?” I asked and everyone nodded. We all left, except for Felicity, Iris, Caitlen, and Cisco. We got to the location Felicity told us to go to, it was an abandoned warehouse.

“Barry, check the perimeter.” Oliver told him.

“On it!” He said and he was back with in seconds.

“All clear, but there are a few guys in the back room.” He said.

“I’ll take care of them. I said walking over to the building.

“No killing Shado.” Oliver said and I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Arrow.” I said and hopped up the building. I walked over to the back of the building and hopped down through the skylight. There were six guys and they all looked at me shocked, I had the upper hand. I grabbed two of my knives and tossed them into two guys legs. They fell to the ground and by then the other guys came to their senses. They all took out their guns and started shooting at me. I jumped, weaved, and dodged all of them to get to a safe spot. Once I was out of their fire, I pulled my bow back and shot three of them in the knees. There would probably be permanent damage, but at least I didn’t kill them! There was only one guy left and he tried to sneak up behind me. He grabbed me and I smirked. I pulled out one of my knives and stabbed him in the arm then flipped him on his back. I pulled back my bow and shot him in the leg and his other arm. Finally they were all down and I opened the back door for everyone else.

“Whoa…” John said impressed.

“This was nothing.” I said with a shrug.

“You’re one hell of a girl.” Barry and Oliver said at the same time. I smirked and then they glared at each other.

“Guys, Constantine just arrived.” Felicity’s voice ran through our ears.

“We’re on it Overwatch.” Oliver said still glaring at Barry.

“Come on boys, you can fight later.” I said with a smirk, they couldn’t see it with my mask on. They snapped out of it and we all went to our positions.

“Everyone ready?” Oliver asked.

“Yep.” Barry said.

“In position.” John said.

“Ready.” I said with my bow at the ready.

“On my go.” Oliver said. We waited for a few minutes and then he jumped down. We took out the little guys while Oliver was dealing with Constantine. Once they were all dealt with, Oliver was on the ground with Constantine’s foot on his throat.

“Barry!” I shouted and he looked at Oliver. He nodded and ran at Constantine ready to take him down, but he was punched in the face.

“Goddamnit!” I growled. I jumped down and shot my bow at him. He caught it and looked at me with a smirk. He got off Oliver and ran at me. He grabbed me by my throat and lifted me off the ground. He looked at my exposed arm and then back at my face.

“Yao Fei… Your father?” He asked like I could answer. I glared at him which he took as a yes, by his smirk.

“You’re Yakuza.” He smirked again.

“You’re going to be one of my finest kills.” He said and I smirked. I grabbed one of my knifes and plunged it into his side. He dropped me and I took a deep breath.

“Not today.” I said and he growled.

“You’ll pay for that!” He shouted, but before he could even get up Barry put handcuffs on him.

“You’re never going to hurt anyone ever again.” He growled and Oliver walked over. He shoved him against a pole and shot rope to tie him to it.

“Overwatch. Tell the police they have some guys here.” Oliver said and she notified them. We all left and went back to the Arrow cave so everyone could get looked over.

“Y/N, we should really check you out.” Barry said.

“I’m fine.” I said undoing my braid and letting my hair down.

“You were almost killed.” Oliver said and I rolled my eyes.

“If you think that was almost killed you’re insane.” I said looking at the two boys.

“You’ve had worse done?” Barry asked shocked and worried.

“I was part of the Yakuza Bar, their training is serious.” I said and Oliver looked at me.

“I thought you were part of the Yakuza?” He asked.

“I was, I’ve been hiding from them for months now. I cleared the wrongs my father did to them the night you got your friend back. They wanted me back in Japan, but I do not wish to follow in my father’s footsteps.” I said and they looked at me.

“I’ll keep you safe!” They both said at the same time then glared at each other again. I smirked.

“I don’t need protection, but thanks anyway.” I said.

“Well if you ever need a place to hideout, this place is yours.” Oliver said.

“No way! Star labs is way safer and in another city!” Barry said.

“Right… Well thanks for the offers, but I don’t think I’ll need them.” I said smiling.

“See ya Arrow, Speedster.” I said picking up my bag and walking away.

“You know they’re both head over heels in love with you right?” Iris asked when I walked by her. I looked back at the boys and sighed.

“Yeah, but relationships and friendships are just more people you can lose, or people can use against you.” I said and walked out of the Arrow cave. I can’t be with anyone. I’m just a shadow in the background. Someone no one can actually know…

Tag list: @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @xrosesareredx @herokyolachan @ashwarren32 @hollie-blogs @schisbro87 @lover-of-books-and-teas @nerdygaloresposts @alex--awesome--22 @teenwolfbitches2 @genius2050 @drw0301bieber @tigermillionaire-philanthropist @marveloverdcsstuff

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justaramblingromantic · 5 years

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fail better

Characters/Pairing: Kobayashi Rindou and Tsukasa Eishi/EiRin

Type: Canon-divergent AU, Post-series, Peerless-verse, Freestyle

Word Count: 2277

A/N #01: Ever read something so stupid that at the end of it all, you can almost literally feel the double negative ‘dislike’ interaction sign from The Sims forming right over your head? That was exactly my feeling after I read the nonsense that was chapter 296. Actually, my feeling was so strong it singlehandedly fueled my motivation to write this piece in one sitting, haha. What the effing heck, Tsukuda.

A/N #02: Title derived by Samuel Beckett’s quote: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

xXxXxXxXxX

Hours after the conclusion of his round of the tournament, he was back in the still quiet of his hotel room, staring down at the empty text screen of his phone, wondering what to write to properly convey his conflicted feelings at the moment. He found himself stuck for the longest time, because the other person who had all but wrung a promise out of him for consistent updates of his progress would not appreciate it in the least if he was insincere or dishonest with her and, most importantly, himself.

And she would know intrinsically too, much to his chagrin.

He did not have to struggle futilely for the whole night, because as if aware of his mounting difficulties…or perhaps just plain exasperated with his indecisive dithering, the smart device in his hand vibrated impatiently with an incoming call, and the name that popped up on his Caller ID was both a comforting and sobering sight at the same time.

He picked up, of course. After a brief, hesitating pause. Mentally steeling himself, because it was…difficult not to be swept away by that surge of self-critical disappointment all over again.

“…Hello.”

“Yo.”

In hindsight, he did not know what he was even feeling so anxious about. Just hearing that one word, just hearing that familiar voice filtered through the speaker from the other end, already possessed the miraculous effect of easing the stiff tension that had grown unbidden between his shoulders, bearing down on him like a heavy weight that entire day. He sighed her name.

“Rindou.”

There was some crinkling to be heard in ambient surroundings, as if she was snacking on something while on the phone with him at the same time. That casual familiarity soothed his nerves, because it was just like her to be so relaxed and comfortable around him. Before the conversation could lull and grow tense and awkward, she nonchalantly continued.

“I heard you got your ass handed to you today, Tsukasa~” his impish best friend all but singsonged.

Instead of feeling sorry and regretful over his loss, the woman actually sounded indecently gleeful instead. Even if he wanted to, it was hard to remain down in the doldrums when she was like this. He grew exasperated, remembering that sometimes she was the kind who liked to poke at people’s bruises, just to hear them yell.

“…You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” he deadpanned.

“Why should I?” she retorted between munches. “D’ya know how many texts I got this afternoon alone reporting your defeat to that Saiha dude? I practically received multiple blow-by-blow accounts, and they sent videos too; at least five different viewing angles of you getting your ass handed to you-”

Now, he was just plain mortified, never mind feeling sorry for himself.

“What. Who texted you?” he demanded to know, flustered that she had to learn about it from other people instead of straight from him. His cheeks warmed in pique. “Why are people texting you anyway to tell you those things.”

“Yeah, I wonder why,” she replied in a tone that implied she didn’t even have to wonder at all. Their closeness wasn’t exactly a big secret to those who knew them in Tootsuki.

“Where are you now, anyway?” she changed the subject blithely. “Moping about in your room?”

“I’m not moping,” he spluttered in denial. Sure, he was feeling a bit morose and out of sorts, but that was because there was nothing to do since he no longer had to prepare for the next stage of the competition! Furthermore and strangely enough, his defeat today had not felt as crushingly overwhelming as that time in the aftermath of the Regiment Shokugeki. And more importantly- “Next time, wait patiently for my texts instead of listening to the gossips of other people.”

“Then text me quicker next time-”

A knock on the door had him distracted, and he got up to answer it, phone still cradled to his ear.

“-I thought you got so depressed you decided to commit seppuku with that long-assed nail file of yours. Hola~!”

He opened the door…and there she was, standing at the entrance, her digitally modulated reply abruptly becoming clear and distinct in real time. She was bright eyed and smirking at him, just so irrepressibly buoyant it was as if she was a ray of sunshine herself.

Eishi blinked owlishly in surprise. “You are…here.” He quickly snapped out of his brief stupor. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

She brushed past him to get into his room. “Ta-da~ I came to offer my bosom for you to cry on, of course!”

He shut the door and turned to her, a funny look crossing his face, still half in disbelief…because she was supposed to be in Barcelona right now.

She looked like she had just stepped off a flight, and she had come bearing consolation gifts, too. “Look what I bought on the way here!” She swiveled to him and raised the plastic bags that she was holding. “Fried chicken and cheap beer are the best things to fix a broken heart!”

“My heart is not broken,” he retorted, nonplussed by her shining enthusiasm to bring light to his dark and tortured soul. “And will you put those drinks away; we’re still underaged.”

“Boo; you’re so straitlaced! What’s a bit of underaged drinking gonna do? We’d be twenty in a year or so, anyway! Live a little!”

And then she promptly proceeded to make a mess in his otherwise previously tidy accommodation. Her sneakers were kicked haphazardly aside, she dumped her bag unceremoniously on the floor in the middle of the room, and with whirlwind efficacy, she soon had the food and drinks laid out on the dressing table. Popping a crispy piece of chicken, deep fried to golden brown perfection, into her mouth, she pulled out a chilled can of beer from the six pack, bought right off a nearby conbini, cracked it open, brought it right to her lips and drank deep. She exhaled gustily with happiness, eyes squeezed shut with contentment, a look of comical satisfaction flitting across her rosy face.

“Hell yeah, this is the best~!”

The redhead popped open another can of beer, and she pushed it to him. “Don’t just stand there! Come join me, dummy.”

Eishi was reluctant at first, but as she handed him the choicest bits of chicken on a paper plate and then started to dig into her own share with zeal, he realized belatedly that he was hungry, too. How she miraculously knew that he hadn’t had dinner yet was a mystery; he had been preoccupied and had somehow forgotten all about eating in the process. He took refreshing sips of ice-cold beer in between succulent bites of crisp, precisely battered chicken; she was right, there was a certain epicurean pleasure to be had from this combination. His mind was already automatically deconstructing the dish, gauging the type of ingredients and their exact quantity, speculating on the various steps of preparation, how hot the temperature of the frying oil had to be-

She snorted at his distracted demeanor as they dawdled over the meal. “You’re such a nerd, I swear.”

He snapped out of his thoughts to stare at her. She snickered.

“Feel better now?”

He continued to stare.

“Wanna walk me through how your bout went?” Her golden eyes gleamed. “Or maybe I should tell you how I think it went as related to me by my secret sources?”

“No, thank you-”

He obligingly spilled, not wanting to hear of the embarrassing accounts as witnessed by whoever had spied on him for her. Besides, she was someone who actually appreciated the finer nuances of his cooking style and methodology, even when others would have been bored to tears by all that incredibly dry, technical talk. She paid rapt attention, her eyes trained unwaveringly on him as he spoke about the dish he came up with, and objectively as well of the one that had eventually defeated him.

Rindou was intrigued.

“Huh. Sounds like you had quite a bit of fun out there.”

International competitions like The Blue were really on another level altogether. She also wondered how they were able to dredge up so much crazy every year just to stuff into one event.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘fun,’” Eishi muttered under his breath.

There was an annoying soreness just lying under the skin and muscles of his chest, growing more and more aggravating as time passed after that battle with Saiba Asahi, and downright impossible to ignore however he tried. It was a gripping feeling that he had not experienced in quite a long time. It felt like a muted rage, a festering, humiliating wound in his heart that had been dealt by the hand of his opponent.

“He claimed my knife in light of my loss,” he finally admitted his shame.

It was now or never, and he refused to lie. Not to her. Never, to her.

For one moment, the air around her stilled.

And then her eyes glowed bright with fury.

For all that some people always said of his selfishness and arrogance, even he had never stooped so low as to steal the precious knives of another chef, their livelihood, the very source of their pride. Everything that he had, he had painstakingly squeezed out of his own talents, refusing to rely or even lean on the abilities of others, because there was simply no honor or pride to be had for that kind of tainted victory. But such distasteful practice was not entirely unheard of, nor was it illegal or wrong. Life in the kitchen could be cutthroat and fast paced where all sorts of characters lurked; those who could not take the heat simply had no place there, regardless of how good or skilled they were.

Then again, Tsukasa had never been the kind to break easily.

“What an unpleasant punk,” Rindou uttered flatly, stiffly.

He said nothing to that, but somehow, he felt lighter, because here she was, absolutely furious on his behalf.

“Which blade did he take?”

He knew she was going to laugh. “…The one…you nicknamed ‘the long-assed nail file,’” he responded slowly, after a reluctant pause.

He was absolutely right; she snort-giggled into her beer. That heavy tension in the atmosphere promptly dissolved, and miraculously along with it, his paralyzing sense of disgrace. “Pffft. Of all the- That one?? Eh, I s’pose there’s really no accounting for taste, is there?”

Eishi sent her a disgruntled look, visibly put out by her reaction. “Enough, you. I actually liked that blade.”

She relaxed at his mild censure. He was calmer now, less tense, less brittle. In turn, that pleased her, too. She took another sip of her beer, already on her second can.

“So make an even better one, then. In the first place, you haven’t even fully developed that technique yet with how recently you came up with it,” she pointed out.

He drank to that, too. “I intend to.” There was a firmness in his quiet reply, an unshakable resolve that hardened his usually distant, lavender gaze, as he retreated to a place within himself that would not allow him to give up until he had achieved what he sought to.

She eyed him silently over the rim of her drink. That look of relentless, dogged determination was something that she hadn’t seen on him for a long time.

“…You really are having fun with this,” she observed once more with insistence, her lips twitching up in a delighted smile.

“It’s not fun,” he promptly corrected her. “It’s…frustrating.”

“But at least it’s not boring anymore, right?” She nudged him knowingly. He sighed and looked down at her plainly amused expression. She wasn’t going to give up until he admitted it, was she? He really did not know how she did it; there was not one word of consolation offered over his defeat, but still she made him feel so much better, all the same.

“…No. It’s not boring anymore,” he acknowledged. He was simmering, seething quietly beneath that deceptively calm, tranquil façade of his. “I actually feel…quite displeased,” he admitted, frowning slightly and looking quite out of sorts with himself.

She snorted, once again, at the understatement. He was really terrible at expressing anger. She reached up and petted his head for trying his best, all the same. “There, there. Let it all out. You want Rindou onee-chan to give you a hug too? Not to blow my own trumpet, but my hugs are seriously the best.”

He stared at her shamelessly bragging. Or maybe not, since he knew from experience that her hugs were seriously the best indeed, as advertised.

“Okay,” he agreed readily to her half joking offer. Perhaps it was the beer that relaxed his inhibitions, for he briefly studied her where she was sitting beside him, and then, without hesitation, he reached out, grabbed her around her middle, and half tugged, half lifted her onto his lap. She paused in surprise at his spontaneity, but before anything else could be said, he folded his arms around her and gently nested her against himself. He pressed his face into crimson fragrance of her hair and inhaled, sighing at her warmth and softness.

“…I’m glad you came,” he told her truthfully. It made him feel sleepy too, tension dissipating, and weariness rushing to the forefront in the face of this simple, reassuring contentment that was Rindou.

Her gaze softened. Her arms curled lazily around him in return, and she snuggled up to her best friend.

“Mm. You worked hard today, Tsukasa. Well done-”

xXxXxXxXxX

#Shokugeki no Soma #Food Wars: Shokugeki no Souma #Tsukasa Eishi #Kobayashi Rindou #EiRin #EiRin: Peerless AU #freestyle #my fics

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