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hinatas-sunshine · 4 years

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“Flower Shop”

Oikawa, Kuroo, Akaashi

Synopsis: Pretty Boy meets flower shop girl.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: none

Requests: Open

Oikawa:

• As usual, the sun hit the flowers just right. The bright colors of green and splashes of red, white, pink, purple, etc..

• You slightly mumbled a curse, a little angry at your mom for making you work at this time

• Everyday, at this specific time, a bunch of girls would come in an buy flowers, shoving and attacking each other talking about a certain boy

“Move! He likes these! He told me so!”

“Like THE tooru oikawa would even talk to you!”

• You sighed and slammed your head on the counter - please please please give me a concussion so I don’t have to deal with these girls

• As you rang up all the flowers and made bouquets as quickly as possible you sighed in relief to see they were all gone

• Unbeknownst to you a tall figure walked into the store, dark hood, hat and sunglasses

• Yoh continued to clean the store from all the messy girls ruining it due to their flower picking

“Did those girls do this?”

• You jumped, elbowing the person in the chest causing them to fly back

• Looking down you see a boy, light brown hair and brown eyes to match, groaning on the floor

“What are you? Some strong monster!?”

“What are you? A perv!?”

• He chuckled as you helped him up, taking note of how soft your hands were under his rough ones

“You never answered my question.”

“Yes, they come in all the time talking about this Oikawa boy, ruining the store and then leaving. Give me a break! He can’t be that special.”

• As you threw your arms around dramatically he watched amused

“And here I thought I was special.”

• You eyes widened in shock looking sheepishly at, who you concluded, IS Oikawa.

“Oh...I’m sorry...”

• He shook his head laughing

“Don’t worry about it, I’m here to pick up flowers for my mom anyways.”

• You nodded, still feeling bad about ranting

“You can make anything you’d like. I don’t know anything about how to make this look good.”

• As you wrapped up some flowers, ribbon and everything you held it up for him to see.

“Beautiful.”

• Though as he said so, his eyes never left yours. Your soft features making him feel safe, him laughing lightly as you scrunched your nose at the baby’s-breath flower tickled it.

• You took his money, handing him the change to which he dumped some and extra in the jar

• You thanked him and went to clean up the mess from flower organization you had just done

“So what do you do with the flowers those girls give you everyday?”

“Well...”

• He squints to look at your name tag

“Y/n, cute name, my mom just places them around the house. Today is her birthday though, thought I’d bring her something bigger.”

• You smiled at him, and if he could’ve, he would’ve melted at the sight. Everything about you had made him weak to the knees.

• But that moment was over, and he wouldn’t see you again as he walked out of the shop.

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

• You would never spend your off day at a volleyball game

• Your best friend though, complained how it was important

“Please y/n!”

“I’d rather not.”

“I’ll tell the whole school how you binge read killing-stalking because of sangwoo.”

• Now here you were sitting in the stands while you best friend shamelessly flirted with the guy next to her.

• She wanted your to third wheel Huh?

• You got up to go to the bathroom because you’d rather be there than around a flirting couple

• As you noticed a group of girls surrounded around someone you pushed through to continue your walk

“Excuse me! I gotta go this way!”

• You heard feet approaching, making you stop and turn around

• Automatically you noticed the brown hair and matching brown eyes making you smile

“We meet again.”

“I guess we do...”

• You noticed his uniform, to which you plucked a piece of lint off of, smiling at him

“Good Luck, Captain.”

• For once, Oikawa’s cocky nature wasn’t keeping up with him and he felt a blush creep up on his face

“Thank you.”

“Oi! Shittykawa! Let’s go and stop flirting!”

• Oikawa, startled and embarrassed laughed before waving at you and running off, you waving back and laughing softly

“Did you really have to do that in front of her?!”

“Not if you’d hurry your ass up.”

“Iwa-Chan that’s mean.”

“Didn’t ask.”

• As you sat down again next to your friend smiling down at your lap, she smirked

“What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me. You flirt. My baby is growing up. I’m so proud I could cry and this whole time I though you were an antisocial little rat.”

• You glared at her while she patted your head, the game beginning

• Watching intensely, you cheered for Aoba Johsai, and it didn’t go unnoticed by the setter

• Finally bold enough, after scoring a point Oikawa pointed at you smiling

• As your friend screamed excitedly definitely about the scored point not about oikawa thats crazy she shook you like a madwoman

“He just pointed at you!”

“Stop glaring at my friend I’ll throat punch you guys!”

“Point at her again! You won’t!”

• Needless to say, he asked you out on a date after he won the match

Kuroo:

• Nothing about today was abnormal, you watered your moms plants and set out more flowers

• You placed some flowers on display and set at the cash register working on your homework for this week

• Ignoring the dinging bell, you still spoke up

“Welcome!”

• Flipping the page to your textbook you placed a floral bookmark in and closed it looking up to see a black haired boy standing there

“O-oh! Kuroo!”

“Y/n, hey. You told me to meet you here?”

• A blush crept onto your face just as slowly as the butterflies, it’s silly to even have a crush on Kuroo, he was the schools heartthrob.

• Ignoring the blush on your cheeks you nodded standing up and making your way over to the back

“I’m going on break, I have to study.”

“Oh I saw... study huh? I’m too young to have grandkids!”

• You yelped and your eyes grew wide

“No! No it’s not like that!”

• Your mom smiles shooing you out, while you tried to control your nerves at her words

• You noticed Kuroo’s own pink cheeks as you came back, oh god he heard her

“We can go to the outside area, I’ll fix us something to drink.”

• He nodded heading outside to the flower garden area with tables

• You walked back into where your mom was and screamed before shutting the door and taking your stuff and some drinks outside

“Thank you.”

• You nodded and looked at your textbook, great your teacher first pairs you up with your crush, then your mom tells you not to have grandkids with him, to top it all off he hear her

• After you two had worked on the details and found information for your project you began stretching

“We should take a break.”

• You nodded and stood up tucking hair behind your ear, he followed your actions and for the first time today Kuroo noticed how undeniably pretty you looked.

• The flowers surrounding you only made it so much harder on him, you dressed in all pastel. You looked like a goddess to him.

“Kuroo? You okay?”

• He looked to the side, your face dangerously close to his.

“U-uhm.”

• Neither of you moved a muscle, for the first time again Kuroo could see your eyes and the deep patterns that ran in them.

• And you, you could see everything in his eyes. Your heartbeat could be heard in your ears, he could probably hear it too.

• You both weren’t sure if it was your heartbeat or the others beating so loudly, but everything seemed still

• Like the flowers stopped moving in the wind, and your pages to your books stopped fluttering, the only thing on Kuroos mind was how beautiful you looked, looking up at him through your long lashes

• And the only thing on yours were how his eyes focused so intensely on yours, like he could read how you felt about him so easily

• If you hadn’t known any better, your faces inched closer, it felt like it wasn’t 2 minutes but 2 hours spent looking at each other

• As Kuroo’s phone went off signaling a call, he smiled at you breaking eye contact and apologizing

• After hanging up he packed his things, and swung his bag over his shoulder

“I gotta go, but we can continue our project later this week.”

“Of course.”

“Oh! Y/n?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll see you at my game tomorrow?”

• You fiddled with your hands, and nodded to which he smiled and walked out waving bye

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

“You’re going, but if you don’t come back with a man on your arm you aren’t coming home until you have one.”

• You slightly winced at your moms joke, what a crazy woman. You never knew who the teenager was between you two.

• You sat at the back of the bleachers, hoping you went by unnoticed by everyone

“Maybe he didn’t want me to come... he could have invited other girls here... oh gosh.”

• Your mind made up every excuse in the book, you stood up and began walking towards the exit

“Leaving already? I couldn’t find you.”

• You froze looking back at Kuroo, who smiled at you as he approached

“I was just-“

“Overthinking? I noticed. You made that same face yesterday when you over thought the conclusion question.”

• You blushed and looked away making him laugh, gosh why was his laugh even so perfect

• Kuroo placed an arm around you, leading you back to the bleachers. You were about to speak when he was yanked away

“Gosh Kuroo, you’re finally all lovesick and it makes you forget the game is about to start?”

• Lovesick? You watched Yaku pull him away and apologize to which you signaled to him it was alright

• You sat back in the bleachers, this time more in the front and enjoyed the game

• As it ended and you waited for Kuroo, you fiddled with your fingers.

• Happily, Kuroo walked over to you and stopped, wether it be the happiness of winning the game or just some adrenaline he spoke:

“I really have the urge to kiss you right now. I have since yesterday.”

• Without another word you stood on your tippy toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips, he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around your waist pulling you closer

“I knew it! Yamamoto you owe me 20 bucks.”

“Gosh dang it Kuroo! Can’t you keep it in your pants like usual!”

• You both laughed and pulled away looking at the team while Yamamoto and Yaku argued, and Lev and Inuoka’s eyes were being covered, Kenma simply staring at his game

“Bye the way Kuroo, my mom wont let me come home unless you come with me.”

“Huh?”

“She said if I don’t come back with a man on my arm, I can’t come home.”

“That’s bold coming from someone who said no grandkids.”

• Your face burned with Embarrassment as he laughed even louder

“Too bad y/n, Kuroo’s not a man. Looks like you can’t go home.”

“Shut up Kenma.”

Akaashi:

• It was a usual Sunday morning, you moved silently through the floral café. The bright sun shone through and illuminated the whole store.

• You made the usual coffee, and heard the door ding right when you finished

• You placed the coffee on the counter, and cash made its way to replace the counter, and a tip going in the jar

• And that’s your Sunday morning regular, you stay at the stool and prepared your own coffee.

•Sunday mornings were usually slow, everyone sleeping in on their day off.

• As you drank your own coffee, you read the book in your hand, sitting at the usual stool behind the counter

• You heard nervous tapping, as you looked up your noticed the black haired boy look away and his foot tapping on the floor immediately stop.

• You picked up your things and walked over to his booth, sitting with him

“Do you mind some company?”

“No, not at all.”

• You nodded and opened your book back up to pick up where you left off

“Is that book good?”

• Your eyes lit up and you nodded handing it to him so he could look at it and read the back.

“Wow...”

“I could lend it to you, it’s my favorite.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

• He handed you his book

“Then a trade, y/n.”

• You picked up his book and skimmed through it.

“A trade, Akaashi.”

• He nodded smiling at you, after 3 months of coming to the same coffee shop, the routine of small talk built up to him trading a book

• As the bell dinged, he watched you apologized, to which he shook his head signaling an okay, and watched you walk away.

• Everything about this Sunday morning light seemed to have you looking more angelic than normal to him.

• You occasionally shot him a smile and went on making on coffee orders, only to pick up his book to continue reading

• But you knew, this was only a Sunday thing. The moment he went back to being the cute setter boy at school, you two would walk past each other wordlessly.

• Akaashi stood up, about time he usually leaves and approached the counter purchasing a few white flowers.

“And who’s the lucky person these are for?”

“For you.”

• You blushed holding them to your chest

“You work with flowers and coffee all day, I doubt you ever get any of the flowers.”

• He smiled before walking out of the store leaving you speechless

“What a MAN!”

• You turn to your boss who smirked leaning against the doorway

“If you don’t get at him, you are officially a psycho.”

“No I’m not!”

“As your boss I say you look cuter tomorrow and catch his attention.”

• You huff and nodded as they shooed you out of the store.

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

• You walked into school, and if you didn’t know any better, you could’ve sworn everyone’s eyes were on you

• And who could blame them, your usual ponytail was down, your cheeks rosier and your lips glimmering in the light of the hallway at school

• You walked down the hallway opening your book, well Akaashi’s, and read through it.

• You looked up to see Akaashi talking to a very hyper Bokuto

• He looked at you, eyes widening, but he didn’t stop walking nor looking at you.

• You continued walking, disappointed that he didn’t talk to you, but went on.

• Hearing a crash you looked back:

“Akaashi!!! What were you doing?!”

• You saw Akaashi rubbing his head on the ground and Bokuto standing over him

• You picked up Akaashi’s things while Bokuto helped him up

“Oh! You’re y/n!”

• You looked at Bokuto who smiled at you, you stood up nodding

“You’re Bokuto.”

• He nodded eagerly while looking at Akaashi and smirking

“Well I got to get to class. You know, third year things.”

“Bokuto what are you talking about? You never willingly go to cl-“

• Without letting Akaashi speak another word he sprinted down the hall leaving you two alone

“Here’s your things.”

“Oh! Yeah thanks!”

• You nodded and handed him his things, while you two began walking to class together

“This is the first time we’ve talked in school.”

“Yeah, despite seeing each other every Sunday we never speak outside of the shop.”

• He nods before you guys continued with a comfortable silence

“How’s the book?”

“Oh amazing!”

• As you rambled on about the book Akaashi admired the way you excitedly spoke about it, he couldn’t help but smile at you

• You stopped speaking and smiled at him fiddling with the end of your school skirt/pants

“I want to go out with you. Somewhere besides the shop and school.”

• You smiled and leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek

“I’d like that.”

• He watched as you walked to your own class, excited about what the future held with your date

“Akaashi!”

“Bokuto-San? I thought you went to class?!”

“Psh, I had to do my job as a ninja and spy on you and y/n. She’s cute huh?”

• Akaashi looked away blushing

“Yeah..”

“Ugh to be young and in love.”

“You’re not much older than me?”

“Silence.”

• Bokuto definitely spied on your date too with Konoha, only for you to catch them and Akaashi get embarrassed

“I can’t with you two.”

“WE can’t with YOU, you haven’t even kissed her!”

“You’re lucky I stopped him from singing kiss the girl from the litte mermaid.”

“I definitely would’ve wanted to be kissed if you two sang that for Akaashi and I.”

• This had Akaashi blushing at your words and pulling you along before the friendship only bloomed more.

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starkatana · 4 years

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Everything Must Go

Jason Todd x Female Reader // Peter Parker x Female Reader

Yeah, it’s a Marvel cross-over in a DC universe! Because I can.

Summary:

After deciding to leave Gotham, you need to say one last good-bye.

Warning: Light swearing, death (nothing graphic – just mentions)

Before Reading Background:

You and Jason were dating for four years before Joker ‘killed’ him.

Now you are dating Peter Parker (Spider-Man)

Selina is your godmother. You are the child of Selina’s childhood friends. There is no family relationship between you and Jason even though you live in Wayne Manor

You are also a vigilante in the Batfam as Black Cat

Author’s Note:

So, here begins my various one-shots of Jason Todd/Red Hood x Reader//y/n AKA my current obsession. I may compile all of them into chronological order once everything is done. I just really wanted to write and post something. I just have too many WIP’s right now that I need to focus on.

Sorry I didn’t want to put the year of birth and the death year on Jason’s tombstone since I changed all their ages. I’ll deal with it on a different day.

They aren’t exact ages. This is just a world that I made using these characters because I can. In this story, Jason has ‘died’ at 21 and you and peter are visiting his grave a year later. The three of you are 22

This Peter Parker is more based off of the Playstation 4 Spiderman game.

Sorry if it's a little out of character, this is just based on my knowledge that Tumblr has given me.

Also! Thank you for all your likes and reblogs! It really helps my self-esteem in continuing to write and share this story! <3

Enjoy!

After you had decided to leave Gotham, you immediately made the preparations to go back home with your mom. You told Selina and Bruce and as much as they’d miss having you around they understood your choice.

“About your suit.” Bruce brought up.

You shake your head no. You hadn’t even thought about taking it with you. “I don’t need it where I’m going.”

He nods. “You will always have a place here,” Bruce reassured.

“I’m going to miss you, KitKat.” Selina hugged you.

Gotham was about three hours away from home by train. You just knew you didn’t want to come back for a long time.

As for the rest of your ‘family,' they had some choice words for you and refused to let you leave. Damian threw a tantrum and ignored you for a few hours before coming to terms and quietly hanging around you, as Damien does. Cass, Steph, and Babs forced a sleepover with you every night. You went out to eat at your must-have locations with Duke and Tim, rotating with the others. Dick went around with you from place to place, to not only keep an eye on you but so you wouldn’t be alone. Occasionally, trading places with Roy when Dick had to go to work. You knew they were babysitting, but enjoyed your time with each of them anyway. Eventually, everyone came to terms with you leaving and reluctantly supported your decision.

Today was your last day in Gotham. Peter came down from New York to help you pack the finishing touches and spend your last day in Gotham. He had the weekend off and was going to go to your hometown with you. You were going to show him around and introduce him to your mom. After packing your belongings and moving the boxes from your room to the main entrance hall, you went through your list to make sure you didn’t forget anything.

“There’s only one thing left.”

“What’s up?”

You pause and fidget with your fingers before you take a deep breath to respond.

“I want to visit Jason’s grave.”

Peter nods. “When do you want to go?”

You shrug. “Today’s the only day I have. I don’t know when I’ll be in Gotham again. I just know I have to go and I don’t think I can go alone…I haven’t been there since…” your voice trails off. “Is that weird? Asking you to go with me to my dead boyfriend’s grave? It’s a little weird. You can say no.”

Peter lets out a light chuckle and gently grabs your arms to stop you from rambling, “No, it’s not weird. I’m more than happy to go with you.”

You place a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, Peter.”

You two take a car to the flower shop, buying some of –your favorite flowers-, for Jason’s grave. Next was a train ride to the city suburb, finally following a short walk to the church graveyard. This was where Bruce’s parents are buried, along with Jason. It was all a very somber experience.

The day of Jason’s funeral was not the kind of weather you felt. It was a sunny day in Gotham. Light breeze, mid to lower 80’s, it was good weather. Abnormal for Gotham and abnormal for a funeral.

You hung your head low and cried the entire time at the funeral. Damien held your hand and Cass rested her head on your shoulder. You tried to be strong, but you were shaking. From sadness and anger. It wasn’t fair.

When the funeral ended, you went for a walk through the flower garden and Dick joined you.

When you two were far enough away from any people and crowds. You started bawling like a baby. Dick held you and you cried into his jacket.

“It’s okay.” He reassured.

“No!” you snapped up, “I hate the weather.”

Dick tilts his head slightly confused.

“It’s not fair! It rains any other godforsaken day in Gotham but when it’s Jason’s funeral and I’m sad! And I think the world should be sad! But it’s fucking sunny.” You try wiping away your tears that keep coming. “It’s stupid and it’s not fair!”

Dick nods giving you another hug. “You’re right, it’s not fair.”

“The sun is dumb and this is dumb and Jason should be alive.”

Dick caresses your head as he rocks you back and forth.

“And it’s all my fault!” you sob into Dick’s coat hugging him tightly.

“Y/n.” Dick grabs your shoulders to have you look at him. “It’s not your fault. What happened to Jay is not your fault.”

You hiccup between your sobs. “If I didn’t stop him from being on time, he would’ve been with you.”

Dick pulls you in for another hug. “Shhh.”

“Y/n?”

You came back from your thoughts at the sound of Peter’s voice. You two stood outside of the graveyard gates. You look at Peter, tears in your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize wiping your tears away. “I’m sad.”

He smiles and squeezes your hand, “That’s okay. You’re allowed to be sad.”

You sniffle, holding your tears back, return his hand squeeze, and take a deep breath.

“How long has it been?”

“Its been a little over a year,” You pause, “I still miss him.” You realize what you said. You look at Peter expecting to see some sort of reaction that you had told him you still miss your dead ex. He didn’t have one. He just watched you lovingly and listened contently. “I’m sorry, that was weird.” You hang your head trying to hide your face.

“Y/n.” He steps in front of you and tilts your face up to look at him. Gently he caresses your cheek. You stare into his brown eyes, the warmest brown that glowed like warm honey on a summer’s day. And with the sun shining in eyes, they glowed even more. So warm and kind it’s been a while since you felt like this and you felt a smile grow on your lips. He tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m here to support you. You can miss Jason all you want. I don’t it’s weird. I don’t expect you to just replace him with me either. This is normal. What you’re feeling is normal. You don’t need to apologize for missing someone you love.”

You two share a hug. “Thank you, Peter.”

He places a kiss on the top of your head. “Let's go in.”

You lead him towards the flower field in the graveyard. You stop a few feet away, being able to read his gravestone in the distance.

Jason Peter Todd

Son Brother

“You okay?” Peter asks.

“Yeah.” You two continue forward, stepping up to the gravestone. You crouch down in front of his tombstone wiping off the debris that was collecting on it from the year, but other than that it was in good shape.

“Hi Jaybird.” You greet the grave like an old friend. “Sorry, it’s been so long. This is Peter.” You put the flowers down next to the grave, “He’s the guy I’ve been telling you about. He came out with me because,” You pause to collect your thoughts and find your words. “Because I wasn’t sure I could come out here by myself. I still feel bad and I still feel like this is all my fault.”

Peter puts a hand on your shoulder giving you a small squeeze.

You touch Peter’s hang before continuing. “I’m working through it though. I’ve been seeing a counselor, keeping a journal, talking to family and friends.” You pause and smile at the grave. It felt therapeutic. “I wanted to say good-bye before I left Gotham. I….” You pause feeling Peter’s eyes on you and your mouth gets dry, “miss you.” You turn to face Peter. “This is weird isn’t it?”

“No.” Peter responds crouching next to you, “He was your best friend and first love. Of course, you’d miss him.”

You put on a smile. “I feel like you two would get along in another life. You guys have a lot of the same interests.” You stop again, “Oh, that felt weird.” You cringe.

Peter puts a hand on your knee to reassure you, “It’s not weird. I’m flattered. I heard great things about him.” You smile at him, no matter what you did, and said, Peter, is nothing but supportive of you. This is was what you loved about Peter, always so positive. That and so much more. This entire process was hard, but with Peter by your side supporting you, it made you feel less alone.

“I’d like to think that the night on the balcony, when we met, Jason guided you into my life.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this getting too weird for you yet? Me talking about my dead boyfriend who I’m clearly not over?”

Peter rolls his eyes at you and smiles at you. “Stop it, y/n. No, I don’t think it’s weird. I think it’s normal and I want you to know that I’m here for you through everything. I know you care about me and I know Jason will always have a place in your heart. I don’t want to take his place, I just want to make you happy.” He kisses your forehead. “We both just want you to be happy.”

You lean against Peter with a lighthearted smile.

“Now quit asking me if it’s weird. Cause I think you’re weird.” He playfully bumps into you causing you to lose your balance, but he catches you before you can fall over. “But that’s why I like you.”

You chuckle and lean into him, “I like you too.” You say while he puts his arm around you. “Thank you, Peter, for everything.”

He nods. “Thank you for introducing us.” He faces Jason’s grave, “I promise I’ll take care of her.”

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akitokihojo · 4 years

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Delicate - Chapter 7

Inuyasha sighed out, a barely-visible puff of air appearing before his face as he walked along the length of the gate outside of the schoolyard. He felt abnormally exhausted this morning, and like anyone, he blamed it on the fact that it was Monday, the clouds were dreary, and he may have been up late playing video games. He had a chemistry test this afternoon, and he could only hope to wake up a little more by then to properly focus.

He’d caught her scent just before entering the building, his attention blindly following his nose as his eyes scoured the grounds for her. She wasn’t that far off, standing in a misshapen circle with Sango and three other girls, one of them enthusiastically telling a story that had the lot of them giggling. That smile, the rosy color of her cheeks, the way the tip of her nose was a light shade of pink from the chill of their morning, it was all like a buzz of caffeine for him. The more he watched, the more he listened to the melody of her laugh, the lighter he began to gradually feel.

Kagome was wearing black tights beneath her charcoal uniform skirt this morning as opposed to the knee-high socks she usually opted for, sparing her legs from the small nip in the air. Over her white button up, she donned a dark, knitted sweater, the baggy sleeves shielding her fingers. But, her neck wasn’t covered. Sure, her hair was worn down, waving over her shoulders in their natural order, but what good was that compared to something literally manufactured to keep heat in? The dummy was just asking for a cold. Whatever combatant thought that formulated in his head deliberately went ignored as he turned away from the building to walk toward her, a horrible fluttering expanding throughout his abdomen. Sango’s gaze met him first as he approached, then Kagome’s as the group of girls’ chatter died off into a curious and muddled silence. God, he didn’t think there was anything capable of rivaling the annoying sensation in his stomach at the moment, but when she smiled wider at him as he stopped just a foot or two before her, his heart gave a thunderous pound that he worried would wound his ribcage. His cheeks went hot, then his nose, then the remainder of his face, and the thought of his evident blush only made him heat up furthermore. Her greeting was soft and happy, bringing him to huff out, his jaw clenching, and his amber eyes drifting off to the side. As planned, Inuyasha removed the muffler from his neck, untwisting it so he could hand it over. From his peripherals, he gathered that she was confused, not immediately taking it from him, so he decidedly did the damn job himself before he ended up spontaneously combusting from flames of embarrassment. Carefully, the hanyou looped it behind her neck, twisted, then looped it again so it bunched properly to keep her warm, her raven hair billowed beneath.

She was staring up at him with large eyes, her pink lips pinching together then growing into a shy and appreciative smile. Son of a bitch, she was fucking cute.

He walked away, heading toward the entrance of the building without a single word, and Kagome’s blush maddened as her friends made hushed and cheery noises at what had just happened.

“So, what? Are you guys together now?”

“When did you two even become a thing?”

“Wasn’t that Inuyasha? I’ve never seen him not mad.”

“Nah, he still looked mad. Just a flustered sort of mad.”

“And to think just a couple days ago you were worried.” Sango teased.

“Yeah, but y-you know happened.” Kagome said, feeling like she was standing under an intense spotlight.

“Uh, we don’t!” Eri stated, bringing the attention back to them. “Hello, hi. Details, please.”

“Oh, look at the time.” Kagome pulled back the sleeve of her left hand to look at the invisible watch along her wrist, beginning to walk backward toward their school building. “I need to - I’ve gotta - I mean, class is starting soon, so yeah. Bye.”

Sango laughed, waving and knowing full and well that her friend was heading to catch up with her favored half demon.

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell us?”

“Sorry, guys.” She shrugged, smiling. “The best friend privilege is knowing, and the code is not spilling business that isn’t mine to spill.”

Kagome wandered over to his locker in the third row, spotting him just as he closed the small, metal door. He glanced over, his eyes never leaving her as she sauntered his way, and though his cheeks continued to reveal some of his timidness, a soft smile on his lips further ignited the spark between them.

“I don’t need it back if that’s what you’re about to ask.”

“Not yet, anyway.”

“After school. Keep it until then.”

“I actually came to walk with you. If that’s okay?”

“You don’t need to ask, dummy.” Inuyasha replied, though there was the hint of tension in his tone. He gave a notch of his head to lead the way, shoving his hands into his pant pockets to appear as casual as possible. She walked at his side, just as close as they’d walked on Saturday night, and he found it to be a source of comfort. Progressively, his preservation melted away with her warmth, wanting less to hide his affection behind a barricade and wanting more to give it to her so she’d always smile like she had before.

“So, uh, how’d you do on your last math test?” He asked as they began their ascent up the stairs and to the second floor where their classes were.

“Oh, I totally forgot! I meant to show you!” Kagome opened her book bag at her side, pulling out the quiz after wiggling it free from between two notebooks. She held it out, positively beaming and excited for him to see her accomplishment.

Inuyasha took in the “B” next to her name before taking the paper into his grip, a smile of his own forming as his pride for her swelled. “This is the best one yet! Soon you’re not even gonna need my help.”

“I don’t know about that.” She quickly countered, a little nervous at the sound of losing any easy opportunity to see him outside of school. “I still struggle a bit. And, I mean, you do call me a dummy.”

“Not as an insult.” He chuckled, handing the test back to her so she could shove it back into her bag.

“It originated for a reason, and then just became an endearment of sorts.”

“I don’t think you’re dumb.” Inuyasha said, still smiling. He glanced at her, noticing the uncertainty in her eyes, shielded behind a small grin. Was she looking for validation? He felt something click in him, like he didn’t actually need to question what she wanted. The quick rebut she’d served just a moment ago to his comment, the look she was giving, the warm sensation building in his chest - it made it easy not to second guess his intuition. This was an understanding he’d been privileged to receive from being with her so often, from falling in love. Not a part of him desired to resist what surprisingly and so simply came to him right now, the back of his hand grazing her knuckles until he hooked one of her fingers with his own. They both stopped walking, and he pulled her closer by another inch. “Relax. I’m not going anywhere; we’ll still study together. Maybe you’ll even end up tutoring me.”

“Doubtful.” Kagome muttered with a shy smile, her finger gently clutching his in return.

“Which part?”

“Me tutoring you.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He chuckled, her responding giggle like a gift. The bell rang and he knew the halls were about to get busy as everyone filtered through to class. He took the opportunity he had, never letting go of her finger. “Tomorrow? I’ll walk you home and we can study.”

“Okay.” She nodded, smiling.

Using his free hand, Inuyasha twirled some strands of her hair around his finger, ones that were short, and framed her jaw, and weren’t held captive by the muffler like the rest of it all still was. “Come on, dummy.” He grinned, leading her to her class with a yank on her finger.

—

Sango puffed out her cheeks in a mock pout, standing by a tree with her arms crossed over her chest after school. “Call me repetitive, but I still cannot believe you’re ditching me for a boy today.”

“You’re repetitive.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m not even ditching you,” Kagome laughed. “I said he’d be walking with us. You’re the one who chose to walk home alone.”

“Excuse me, look me in the eyes and tell me I’m third wheel material. I dare you.”

She laughed a little harder from her best friend’s dramatic exasperation. “He’s walked with us before, Sango! It’s just like every other time.”

“Bull and baloney! The last time he walked with us was before you guys got over the majority of your romantic constipation.” Sango ignored the weird look that took over Kagome’s expression, proceeding on with her argument without hesitance. “Things are better now, you’ve both gotten a clue - thank god - and moves are being made. When he said he wanted to walk you home, he meant he wanted to walk you home. Therefore, if I tag along until we hit my route, he’s gonna be uncomfortable up until then and I’m gonna be the cockblock.”

“What? Not even!”

“Oh, yeah.”

“So, you’re just gonna avoid us forever now? This is it? Whenever Inuyasha wants to come with, you’re out?” Kagome grinned, leaning her head to the side in a playful challenge.

“No, of course not. Not forever. When you guys are in an established relationship - and by established, I mean passed the mushy crap - then I’ll make my return. Maybe even sooner if I land myself a stud, because then I wouldn’t be a third wheel.” Sango shrugged.

“You’ve got one guy in mind that can’t even talk to you passed ‘hello,’ so that could take a while.”

“See you on the flip side, my main gal.”

“You realize then that this isn’t me choosing a guy over you, but you choosing your pride over everything?”

“You bet, but I’m still blaming you.”

“You know what? I’m gonna do you a favor.” Kagome cocked a brow, her smile shifting into one of deviousness.

“What? No, wait. No. I know that look, and I hate it. What are you gonna do?” Sango’s face twisted in suspicion, her brows furrowing deeply as Kagome turned about, seemingly searching the school grounds. She had a sinking feeling in her chest as a scheme had obviously just popped into Kagome’s head, and who had she just mentioned? Bad, not good, very bad. “Kay, I swear to Zeus if you -“

“Oh, there they are!” Kagome beamed, practically skipping her way over to the pair of far-off boys.

“I have no best friend!” Sango hissed, quickly ducking herself to hide behind the tree.

Inuyasha’s golden stare transferred from his friend to her as she approached, the plain expression he held while Miroku talked changing to a gentle grin. He notched his head in a silent greeting while his friend finished his sentence.

“Hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She apologized, stopping before them, a little closer to Inuyasha than in the center.

“Nothing to worry about.” Miroku kindly dismissed. “Since you’re here, let me ask you something: Do you prefer me with or without the rattail? I need a lady’s perspective.”

“Oh, god no, definitely without.” Kagome answered a little too quickly, giving a small grimace when she realize how rude it could have come off, especially as Inuyasha stifled his snorted laugh. “I mean, it’s your choice, of course! I just think the style is a bit outdated. And, this shorter cut suits you much better. Were you thinking of growing it back?”

“Wow. Not anymore.” Miroku blinked, pinching his lips into a tight line.

“Thank you.” Inuyasha boasted, like he’d finally gotten his way. He gave another small nod to Kagome, gesturing in the direction of the gate. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Hang on, I have a question.” She said, stopping Inuyasha before he could lead her off. She looked over at his friend, watching him go from feigned defeat to slightly curious when he realized it was for him. “I’m sorry if this is none of my business, but do you mind if I be a little upfront for a moment and ask how you feel about Sango?”

“Oh god, you’re gonna break him.” Inuyasha murmured beside her.

“No, I promise I won’t tell her anything. I’m just wondering.” Kagome assured.

“You mean, I haven’t made it painstakingly obvious?” Miroku asked monotonously, his grin devoid of any real emotion.

“So, you like her?”

“Something like that.”

“Why haven’t you asked her out?”

“Remember that time, a few months ago, when I stopped you guys on your way home from school?”

“Yeah.”

“I was going to try and get her number then. I had a classic pickup line planned and everything, and yet the only thing that came out of my mouth was her name. I can’t function around her. I panic around her. I freeze, I sputter, and I shave a few years off my life every time I’m around her. You see my problem?”

“Okay, you’re not good with girls. It’s fine, you’ve gotta start some-“

“I’m fantastic with girls, you take that back!” Miroku retorted defensively.

“Really? You can actually claim that right now?” Kagome earnestly asked.

“You really think you have the room to talk when you two still aren’t even dating?” Miroku chided, pointing to both Inuyasha and Kagome. He didn’t even have time to flinch before Inuyasha slugged him in the arm, his pained groan gurgled and deep. “Okay, withdrawn!” He clutched the offended spot, respectfully ignoring Kagome’s embarrassment as he continued speaking to buffer the awkwardness. “Look, there’s just something about her that fucks me up. Little-by-little, I’m talking! I’m getting better! I’m growing! I’m not always melting down like I used to! I’ll get there eventually!”

“What if I make it a little easier on you?” She offered with a simple shrug.

“How?”

“Give me your number and I’ll give it to her. That way, you don’t have to stress yourself out by asking for hers, and that’s one objective down.”

“Wait,” Miroku tilted his head skeptically. “Are you - are you saying she’s interested?”

Kagome feigned a believable frown. “Actually, I don’t know.” She lied. “Sango’s a pretty private person. She doesn’t often talk about her feelings, even to me. I’m just doing this to help you out. You’re a nice guy, and I’m her best friend. Easy in-between.”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch.”

“No catch?”

“She said no catch. Just do it.” Inuyasha griped. “You’ve been going on and on about this since last year, and now you’re gonna question the opportunity?”

“Because, there’s gotta be a catch! She owes me nothing - you owe me nothing. So, why do me a favor?”

“No catch.” Kagome repeated, shaking her head. “Honestly, I’m just a nice person. If you want to do it yourself, by all means. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable or push you to do something you don’t want to do. But, if I do it, we eliminate the potential to wreck yourself even more in front of her, and then the ball’s in her court. If she’s interested, she’ll text or call, if not, then nothing happens and you have your answer. Besides, I think she’s already headed home, so I can talk you up a little and say you wanted to give it to her today but she’d already left so you gave it to me to pass on.”

“No catch?”

“No catch.”

“No one’s that nice.”

“I am. Oh, and just think. It’s always easier to talk through text because you have time to think through what you want to say before you say it.”

“He’ll still mess it up.” Inuyasha quietly mentioned.

“Nah, I don’t think he will.” She said, smiling, redirecting the conversation back to Miroku. “Then, you’ll adjust, realize Sango’s super easy to talk to and there’s nothing to be nervous about, and talking to her in person will be as normal as talking to anyone else.”

“Oh, fuck, yeah okay. You drive a hard bargain, Higurashi.” Miroku eagerly opened his bag, bringing out his notebook and opening it to the first empty page. “Inuyasha, your pen.” He requested, holding his hand out as the half demon pulled his pen from his front, pant pocket. Taking the writing utensil and clicking the ballpoint end out, he began scribbling along the upper-right corner.

Kagome could tell it wasn’t just his number he was jotting down, but she didn’t try to peek, instead giving a quick side-glance to Inuyasha and winking so he knew she had this planned. Miroku tore the edge of the paper, folding up his little note and handing it over to Kagome which she happily took and slipped into the small pocket at the front of her book bag.

“Say something nice about me when you see her.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Now, can we go?” Inuyasha spoke, taking back his pen and sliding it into his front pocket once more. Kagome smiled, giving a nod and waving goodbye to his best friend before walking off with him toward the exit. As soon as they were out of the gate, and effectively out of earshot of Miroku - who had to stay behind for his stupid student council committee - he shot her a sly look. “What was that all about?”

“Just helping things along.” She replied, giving a measly shrug.

“Ka-go-me!” The shout was menacing and chilling, over-enunciated for full, grounding effect, and bringing Kagome to look wearily toward a fuming Sango who was running right toward her. Hastily, she dodged around the half demon, using him as a shield to protect herself from the temperament of her best friend.

Inuyasha stood stiffly between the two, thoroughly confused and unsure whether this was actually something he should literally be in the middle of.

“No! Wait! Don’t be mad, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kagome proclaimed.

“What did you say!?” Sango asked, brows pinching together but no real malice to her tone. She was frantic for an answer, and naturally defensive, but Kagome should have known better than to pull one of Sango’s own stunts on her.

“Nothing about you!”

“Freaking liar!”

“No, I swear! I didn’t! In fact, the one question he asked about you, I lied about and turned the subject back on him!”

“And, what was the subject, Kagome!?”

“About whether he liked you or not!”

“Oh my god! You can’t just ask someone that!” Sango cried, shoving her face into her palms.

“What!? On Saturday, you said -“

Sango shushed her, the noise high pitched and tense. “I know what I said, but that advice wasn’t for me!”

“If it’s any consolation, he said yes!”

“He did!?”

“You said you wouldn’t tell her.” Inuyasha mentioned, turning his head to peculiarly glance at her from the side.

“Oh, because it wouldn’t be obvious when I gave her his number?” Kagome retorted, not yet coming out from the shelter his body provided.

“What?” Sango asked, slightly shocked.

“Yeah, see,” Kagome fished the folded up paper out of the pocket of her bag, sliding her arm around Inuyasha’s waist to hand it over. Her friend snatched the note like a monkey snagging a banana from its handler, unfolding it to read its contents. “I didn’t read it, I promise. He really wanted me to give that to you.”

Sango studied what was written, her cheeks becoming a bright shade of pink before lowering the small shred of paper to peer at Kagome, her eyes large and pleading. “Did you seriously ask him for his number for me? He’s gonna think I’m desperate!”

“No! I offered to give you his number for him! I told him I didn’t know if you liked him, but I just wanted to do him a favor.”

“And, he fell for that?”

“Yup. Whatever else that says is all him. I didn’t suggest a note, just the number.”

Sango quickly handed the note to Kagome, making sure Inuyasha didn’t glance to read it, her hand held open for Kagome to return it when she was done.

I’m sorry I’m weird around you. I literally get dumbstruck by your beauty. I don’t want to mess up anymore, so here’s my number. Give me a chance. - Miroku.

Kagome beamed, slipping the small piece of paper back into Sango’s palm. “So, what do you think?”

“I don’t know. He really has no idea how I feel?”

“Look, I can honestly tell you he didn’t suspect a thing. You can go into this whatever way you want, and the guy wouldn’t know the difference.” Inuyasha testified, leaning his head to the side in a careless manner.

“You,” Sango pointed up at the hanyou’s face, a scowl forming on her own, successfully intimidating him as he flinched back an inch. “Will keep this conversation to yourself, got it? I mean it. Don’t tell him anything that happened here.”

“How are you so scary for a small chick?” He held his hands out defensively in front of him.

“My dad’s a cop.”

“Ah.”

“Believe me, he won’t say anything.” Kagome assured, finally coming out of hiding. “So, are you gonna text him?”

“You’ll find out when your friendship timeout is up.” Sango sneered, pursing her lips and crossing her arms.

“How long!?” Kagome pouted.

“To be determined.” She shrugged, walking off to take a different route home.

“Determine!”

“Two hours.”

“Hours?”

“You’ll be busy anyway, so you won’t even notice.”

“Sango!”

“Bye!” She waved from behind, crossing the street.

“You guys are weird.” Inuyasha remarked, walking on ahead.

“You really won’t tell, right?” Kagome asked, upping her speed to reach his side again.

“What? That Sango likes Miroku? Nah.” He confirmed, his tone level as he gave a small shake of his head. “I kind of figured you wouldn’t just do Miroku a favor out of the blue like that. Even before you winked.”

“So, you blindly backed me up?”

“Yup. Stupid, huh?”

She smiled, turning her head so he wouldn’t see how happy it had made her. The muffled chime of Inuyasha’s phone went off in his pocket, bringing her attention back his way as he pulled it out, his brows giving a small twitch together as he whispered an apology to her and answered.

“What’s up?” She couldn’t hear who was talking on the other end, but she continued walking at his side, minding her business to the best of her abilities, even when Inuyasha grumbled. He stopped walking, pinching the back of her sweater with his free hand to make her stay with him, his head lolling back in exasperation. “Yeah, fine, I’ll go check. I swear, you’re getting too old to leave the house.”

He hung up, grimacing deeply. “My uncle thinks he left the stove on and he won’t be back until late. I can run home real quick and I’ll meet you at your place. That okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” Kagome nodded understandingly. He flashed a small grin, his pace hastening slightly as he walked ahead to the corner, about to cross to the right where she’d just go straight. She watched him stop even though it was perfectly safe for him to go, an unsure expression on his lips as he pressed them together, eventually turning back to her as she finally reached the corner, herself.

“Unless, um, unless you just want to come with me? It’ll be a quick stop.”

Her smile grew brightly, her nod coming before her brain could actually initiate the response. When he smiled back and notched his head for her to follow, she couldn’t help the wild flutter that made home in her belly. She’d never been to his place before. She was excited.

As if things couldn’t get any better, he’d grabbed her sleeve, pulling her closer to walk at his side again. In all honesty, she’d expected him to let go once he’d gotten his way, but he didn’t. He held onto her sleeve, keeping her with him as they walked, the silence undeniably comfortable. Kagome wondered if it would be okay to actually hold his hand. Would it make him shy away? They practically held hands yesterday, so they may as well, right? Was this the way he preferred it, or should she make the move? Maybe she’d try it slowly to properly read the situation. Because, she really, really, wanted to hold his hand.

Carefully, she angled her hand upward, her forearm following through as necessary, so she could brush the side of his fingers with her own. He didn’t look at her, nor did she look up at him, their eyes straight ahead or on their surroundings. His hand didn’t inch away, and his grip on her knitted sweater slackened, even more so as she brushed his fingers again. That second time, though, she slipped one of her fingers in the curve of his hand, then another when he welcomed her in, helping to build her courage. Inuyasha dropped his hold on her sleeve entirely, taking her hand in his, accepting the way she entwined their fingers and steadily following suit with his own grip.

Maybe it was due to her infatuation with the boy, but she sincerely felt safe with her hand in his; protected from everything uninviting the world may put before her. After a moment, her embarrassment even faded away, far quicker than she’d ever expected it to. His hand was large and hot, engulfing and wonderfully gentle, his nails never a threat to her, but his unexpected tenderness was, his thumb smoothly rubbing back and forth over the back of her palm, threatening to provoke an eruption of butterflies in her abdomen.

“It’s this one.” Inuyasha said, guiding her through the small, front gate and pulling his small set of keys out of the pocket of his bag. Begrudgingly, he pulled his hand free from hers to open the door, letting her walk through first before following in and shutting it behind him. “Come on.” He walked up the hall a bit, her small, padded footsteps close behind him as he took a left into the kitchen, seeing the stove was off all along.

“False alarm?” Kagome giggled.

“Better safe than sorry with that guy.” He groaned.

“Your home is nice.” She smiled, turning about to look at the small amount of decoration in the kitchen. It was a man’s home, that was for sure; it didn’t have a typical woman’s touch to it. Nonetheless, it was comfortable, kempt, and rustic.

“Well, it’s his. Totosai’s.” Inuyasha corrected with a dismissive shrug, sauntering back into the hall and toward the living room, making sure she followed.

“You live here, don’t you? And, he adopted you, so I’m sure you’re more than welcome to call this place yours.”

“I don’t know, sometimes I feel out of place.”

“You’ll only make yourself feel more out of place the more you say things like that.”

The half demon turned to her, brows furrowing speculatively. There was no animosity behind it; in fact, his smirk prodded her to elaborate.

“Like, okay say I’m feeling insecure about my looks. I don’t feel very pretty or attractive, and it’s weighing on me. I look at myself in the mirror and then I tell myself I’m ugly. Not just once, but I end up telling myself that on a regular basis. The insecurity will definitely sink through a lot faster than it would if I maybe told myself the opposite. I’d believe it wholeheartedly then. And after that, I’d never feel comfortable in my skin, or my dresses, or skirts, or jeans, or maybe even my frumpy clothes. No amount of makeup would do the trick, either, because what I did was empower my self-consciousness. I didn’t do myself any favors by allowing myself to think my negative thoughts were true. I, instead, made my own situation worse. Why do that? Insecurities, on any level, are natural, and sometimes it’s hard to convince yourself of the opposite, but it’s so much more worth it to try. And, you’d be happier when you come out.” She took a step closer to him, smiling. Inuyasha merely gazed down at her, no air of discomfort about; he simply listened. “Your situation - it’s understandable. I’d even be so bold to say it’s natural to feel out of sorts sometimes. This wasn’t the home you pictured living in as a child, and those feelings don’t need to go neglected. But, this is a home you’ve been welcomed into. Your uncle signed the papers and brought you here. I’m gonna assume you have your own bedroom, and furniture, and your clothes fit you properly so he’s definitely providing for you. You’ve got a key, and look -“ Her grin grew larger, her enthusiasm a little too pronounced as she turned to the mantle and spotted a candid picture of Inuyasha as a pre-teen, sitting on a park bench with much shorter hair. “He’s even proud to have photos of you on display. This is definitely your home.”

Quickly, flustered Inuyasha walked the few paces over to the picture and slammed it down. “Alright, alright. You made your point.” He drawled, looking back at her. “You’ve got a motivational speech for everything, don’t you?”

“Pretty much.” She giggled.

“Mind if I go change out of my uniform real quick?”

“Go for it.”

Inuyasha walked out to the hall, leaving Kagome in the living room, his stomach feeling heavy while his chest fluttered with something uncertain. He’d stopped at the frame of the entry, his hand braced on the polished wood as he looked back at her over his shoulder, watching how she didn’t even seem to notice he was still there. She was carefully resetting the picture of him that he’d planted facedown, the pads of her fingers smoothing over the edge of the cheap frame.

“Is that what you were feeling?” The half demon asked, his tone husky. Kagome turned to him, slightly surprised, but the notch her head gave told him she didn’t immediately grasp what he was referring to. “Saturday. When you were sad. You mentioned insecurity. Was it because you didn’t feel beautiful?”

Kagome’s nerves flared dully, a small lump beginning to form in her throat. His amber eyes appeared gentle, and she couldn’t help but wonder how many times he’d thought of that night since. The shake of her head came slow at first, hardly there, but then grew into something more steady and honest.

“Will you tell me?”

She swallowed, her lips parting slightly. She still wasn’t fully comfortable talking about it, the humiliation remaining fresh, but he wanted to know and her reservation was superficial. He’d been opening up to her, trusting her, and she should do the same. He’d dropped whatever he was doing and ran to her that night. Literally ran. He calmed her down, he walked her home, he held her. Just him asking, revisiting the topic, had her feeling warmly invited to rely on him with her emotions, despite the minor apprehension holding her tongue. And, if the logic of the situation wasn’t enough, the patience he was exuding as he stood in place and waited for her to speak was. There was no caution in his expression, because there was no caution necessary between the two of them at the moment. The feeling she was receiving from him was almost the same as what she’d tried to procure during her little speech just moments ago. Safety and comfort. And, though Kagome wasn’t suddenly confident in spilling her vulnerability - as anyone would naturally feel - it wasn’t hard to let him in.

“I -“ The hesitance wasn’t planned, but she breathed to push passed it, her eyes inadvertently shying to the ground. “I wasn’t quite sure how you felt about me. I was constantly going back and forth with myself. After a while, it became too much and, um, yeah. That’s what Saturday was all about.”

Inuyasha tensed slightly, entirely unsuspecting of what she’d just stated. He’d racked his brain numerous times since Saturday night, since seeing her cry and feeling the way she clutched onto him for support, pretending he knew the deep ins and outs of Kagome’s mind so he could try and figure out what, exactly, she’d been feeling so he was better prepared to help her out of it should the situation occur again. The typical scenario that pops into a person’s head when told another is feeling insecure is looks, and he felt rotten just thinking a girl as gorgeous as she didn’t feel comfortable in her own body. He’d almost taken it as absolute confirmation when she’d brought up the hypothetical scenario just now. Another idea was her grades, or her future - because she’s in her final year of high school, and what senior isn’t panicking about their future at the moment - or maybe even something pertaining to her family. More specifically, playing backup guardian to her younger brother to help her hardworking mother out. That could easily weigh on a person, and he wouldn’t blame her for crumbling out of sight from the pressure. Inuyasha was almost prepared to make a list of the many positive attributes this one girl holds so he could help her see what he sees; so he could hopefully prevent another breakdown in the future. For some reason, he never thought it was about him. Not with how she was the first to walk into his arms, or with how she called him when she was fighting off tears. After that night, she must have understood how he felt about her, but that’s only three days of security. It made sense now that he thought about it; the half demon wasn’t known for his open displays of affection. There had never necessarily been a person he wanted to be openly affectionate with until now. As he had been coming to terms with his own emotions, gradually forcing himself out of his damaging and abrasive habits, somewhere along the lines he’d just assumed she knew. And, only ended up confusing her. That’s a good chunk of time that they weren’t on the same page, and he had no fucking idea. If she needed more obvious gestures, he could provide that. It was nerve-racking, but he would do it for her.

“Well, I hope you feel better now, because that’s a stupid thing to get upset about.” He watched as she seemingly took in his response, a small smile curving her lips, comprehending his language. “Wait for me, I’ll be right back.”

He came down the stairs, adjusting his hoodie as he went, spotting Kagome at a bookshelf at the far end of the living room as he came back through. Her brown eyes were glued on a photograph, never peering away to look at him as he approached.

“My dad.” He spoke, stopping just inches behind her.

“You look so much like him.” Kagome seemed almost astonished by the resemblance.

“Just the hair. I think I look more like my mom.”

“And the jawline.”

“And the jawline.” Inuyasha chuckled, nodding as he agreed.

“Is that your uncle with him?”

“Yeah, that’s the geezer. Come on, let’s go.”

She smiled up at him happily, following him out the door, waiting for him on the sidewalk outside the gate while he locked up. As he strode back over to her, he gave the shoulder of her sweater a small yank to lead her down the path he took to her place, his fingers casually sliding down the front of her arm until he reached her hand, tangling their fingers as they’d been before.

Their notes and homework assignments were sprawled on the floor of her bedroom between them, mostly used for reference when necessary as he quizzed her with random questions, a movie playing on the tv for soft background noise and their backs resting against the side of her bed.

“Wait, you already asked me that one!” Kagome complained, scrounging through the papers before her for the answer.

“Yeah, you got it wrong the first time, and you still can’t remember the answer I gave you.” He responded, his tone brassy but amused, breathily chuckling as he watched her go from one sheet of scribbled notes to another.

“It’s here somewhere.”

“You never wrote it down.”

“Dang it, Inuyasha!”

“Not my problem!”

“You probably distracted me.”

“It isn’t hard to do.”

Quickly, he protected his face with his hands, laughing as Kagome chucked a small, decorative pillow at him.

“So funny.” She mocked, reaching over and grabbing his notes from beside his knee. “Oh.”

“Hm?” His ear closest to her flicked, waiting expectantly for her to give him the answer.

“Oda Nobunaga.”

“So much for being a history buff, huh?” He remarked.

“You’re so sassy tonight.” Kagome laughed, putting his notes back where they once were.

“Okay, chemistry question: What’s the formula for hydrochloric acid?”

“Do you even know that off the top of your head?” She countered, grimacing.

“Wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”

“What a nerd.” Kagome murmured, once more shifting through her study material. She sighed out slowly as she searched, her face scrunching like usual, and bringing the paper closer to her face, neglecting the glasses on her nightstand. “H-C-I.”

“Good. Since you’re looking at it, phosphoric acid?”

“H-3-P-O-4.”

“Mhm. Now put the notes down. The next question I ask, you should know by now.”

“Oh no.” She grumbled, complying.

“It’s easy. Say you borrow ten-thousand dollars from the bank. By the time you pay it off, you’ve paid a total amount of ten-thousand, four-hundred. What’s the additional four-hundred represent?”

“Oh, interest!”

“Good. See?” He smiled. “One last question and then I’ve gotta go. You ready?”

She hummed an affirmation, nodding as she turned to fully face him.

“It’s gonna be the toughest one. You get it right and I’ll take you out for ice cream.”

Kagome smiled eagerly, whispering an okay as she waited.

“Alright, you sure?”

“Come on.” She half-whined, the anticipation spiking. She wondered just how hard the question was going to be considering he used a reward as incentive.

“Okay, what’s sixteen divided by two?”

“What? It’s eight.” Kagome laughed lightly, brows furrowing in query.

“Yup.” He feigned a defeated sigh, shrugging and gathering his notes together. “Fair is fair. You busy Saturday?”

“No, I’m free.” She smiled, thrown off since she was sincerely expecting a tricky question.

“Great, I’ll take you out on our date then.”

She perked, her expression faltering minutely out of surprise but then growing into one of subtle elation. “Date?”

Inuyasha picked himself up off the floor, bringing the strap of his bag to rest over his shoulder. He glanced down at her as she followed suit and stood, shrugging his brows and smiling slightly in a meager response to her question. “See you tomorrow.”

“Wait, I’ll walk you out.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” He said, opening the door to her bedroom and giving her head a gentle shove backward. “I’ll text you when I get home.

—

He crossed the street, seeing the designated meet-up spot in the short distance, the sun still barely keeping the sky illuminated. Hues of fading orange and pink danced on patches of clouds overhead, a deep indigo overriding the majority of the sky. He didn’t see her at the statue, and he was glad he’d beat her; he didn’t like the idea of her sitting alone waiting for him. As he approached, he pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his black jeans, making sure she hadn’t texted.

His stomach was in absolute shambles, his nerves riddled and wired. Their first date. It was about time, yeah, but that didn’t make the ordeal any less unsettling. He’d never technically done this before, so his worst fear was fucking it up. He tried pretending it was just another ordinary hang out so he’d calm down a bit, but he knew that wasn’t true. This was a date. He was finally taking Kagome out on a date. He figured when they got the ball rolling, it would be a lot smoother since being around each other was easier than he’d ever imagined it would be, but up until then he felt just about ready to puke.

To busy himself as he waited, Inuyasha adjusted his grey t-shirt beneath his jacket, making sure it didn’t look too wrinkled or disheveled. He knew people were technically supposed to dress up for occasions such as these, but outside of his school uniform, he refused to wear another button up unless absolutely necessary. It wasn’t his style. He still looked appropriate, and he vaguely remembered the way her eyes lingered on him the last time he wore this shirt around her.

“Well, well, well.” Inuyasha’s gaze, heating instantly, shot to the side, landing on the tall, slender delinquent that ambled over. He’d been so distracted waiting for Kagome that he hadn’t even fucking noticed the scent of the motherfucker. “Look who it is.”

“Fuck.” Inuyasha breathed, the word dragging out hoarsely. “I’ll give you twenty bucks to leave me alone tonight.”

“Who do I look like, Jakotsu? Gonna take a lot more than that to buy me off.”

“Not tonight.” Inuyasha’s tone was clenched and assertive, staring straight into the dark eyes of the man that continued to approach.

“Why? What’s on the agenda?” He asked, carelessly. An arrogant smile expanded on his face.

“I’m serious, Ren.”

“Yeah, see, the last time we saw each other, you shoved my face into a brick wall. I’m not feeling very understanding at the moment.” He sneered.

“You came at me first.”

“And, it wouldn’t keep happening if you’d just fix the mistake you made.”

“It’s on my to-do list. Right there next to making you kiss my ass.”

“You son of a bitch.” He swung his fist, but Inuyasha dodged in time, swerving around to the backside of his opponent and giving the quickest look around the surrounding area to make sure Kagome wasn’t in the vicinity. Multiple times he’d gotten out of these fights unscathed, and he hoped, fucking hoped, he could do the same right now.

“I gotta say, not a really good way to convince me to leave you alone.”

“Figured you wouldn’t, anyway.” Inuyasha’s shrug was barely visible, waiting for Renkotsu’s next move. He wasn’t the strongest fighter, but he was a tactical one. He liked to bait Inuyasha along, or whomever he was up against really, getting their tempers to flare so their fighting strategy was sloppy. In addition, he was, unfortunately, fast and nimble on his feet, and even though Inuyasha was good at swooping himself out of the way, Renkotsu was better at getting back in his.

The hanyou was pushed back, but the stumble was short-lived as he grasped his bearings and threw his fist into the punk’s face, feeling the sting of his knuckle colliding with Renkotsu’s tooth. His lip must have pinched between, because blood was quick to trickle free, painting his mouth crimson as he smiled and laughed.

“You’ve gotten soft, dog boy.” He remarked, his hand hovering beneath his chin but not really even trying to stop the bleeding.

“Shut up.”

“Since when do you hold back?”

Since he was steadfast determined not to come out of this with a single indicator that would tip Kagome off or ruin her night.

“Come on, what’s changed? You been whipped or something?” He lunged, faking right but snagging Inuyasha on the left, clutching the front of his jacket and tossing him headfirst into the statue.

The pain just above his temple was sharp, instantaneously growing unbearably hot as he picked himself up to a proper standing and felt the light leakage of liquid sliding down the side of his face, the sensation dulling and becoming hardly noticeable over the headache pressing him. There was a physical spike to his temper, his blood beginning to boil as a growl bubbled in his abdomen. Of all the members of that dumb squad, Renkotsu was the most annoying.

Something in Kagome snapped, having watched the guy attack Inuyasha. She knew this sort of stuff was happening, but it was indescribably different when she witnessed it first hand. Shock transitioned to anger. Anger transitioned to infuriation. Infuriation transitioned to irrefutable outrage, and that was that. Her next move wasn’t subconscious; she knew exactly what she was doing. Kagome ran at them, speeding up, sprinting as quickly as her legs would go and shoved the bastard as hard as she possibly could. He was sturdier than his lanky body suggested, only stumbling back several feet before his glare met her challenging scowl. Arms braced around her waist before she could lunge again, a husky voice she knew was Inuyasha’s telling her to “fucking stop,” as he pivoted on his heel and tucked her behind him. That didn’t halt her, though. Demands for him to move were grunted from her mouth as she pushed his arms away, trying to climb her way around his protective stature.

“What the fuck is that, your pet pomeranian!?” Renkotsu jibed, finally taking a moment to wipe the mixture of saliva and blood that dribbled down his chin, and spitting off to the side.

“Funny coming from a guy with premature balding!” Kagome barked, finally getting Inuyasha to let her go. He stood close, though, and she knew he was prepared to snag her out of harms way if anything happened. “Who the hell are you!?”

“Who’s asking?” He smirked.

“His pet pomeranian.” She cocked a brow tauntingly.

“You’re feisty. I like that.” He chuckled. “Name’s Renkotsu. And, you’re interrupting a private conversation between the actual dog and I.”

“And, what problem could you possibly have with him!?” Kagome fumed.

“Many.” Came his brusque reply.

“Kagome, look -“ Inuyasha spoke low, only to her, amber eyes shifting from their offender to make sure he didn’t move any closer, to the side of her face - because her sight was glued straight ahead. “Just wait for me in the park. I’ll be right there.”

“What’s he saying? Trying to act like the hero and send you off?” Renkotsu teased. “He deserves everything that’s coming for him. You know what he’s done?”

“Yeah, pissed you off.” Kagome said, her tone dismissive. “I’m gonna tell you upfront that nothing you say about him is going to change my mind from thinking you’re the little bitch here.”

“If I were you, I’d reel that attitude in, little girl. You don’t know what you’re getting into.” Renkotsu warned, his amusement dwindling away. It wasn’t difficult to determine he was a hothead, easily set off by name-calling and back talk, and he didn’t take kindly to challenges against his pride.

“Am I supposed to be scared?”

“You will be if you don’t back the fuck off. I’ll give you thirty seconds to leave.”

“And, if I don’t?”

“You’ll have to watch me kick your boyfriend’s ass. Then, maybe, I’ll take you and -“

“Finish that sentence, Renkotsu! I fucking dare you!” Inuyasha growled dangerously.

“Get her to leave, Inuyasha!” Renkotsu ordered, his voice on the edge of getting even louder.

“We’re both leaving.” Kagome said with the tone of finality, grabbing onto Inuyasha’s wrist.

“The hell he is!”

“You’re from that group of assholes, right? The one Inuyasha left? Which means you’re just carrying out orders from the top. Well, tell what’s-his-face to suck a dick and to handle his dirty work, himself.”

Inuyasha shot a look of surprise at her, a smile spreading over his lips, and turning back to look at the bald delinquent, he notched his head in appreciation of Kagome’s profanity.

“You gonna let your bitch fight your battles, mutt?”

He shrugged, still thriving off her recent jab. “She’s doing a pretty good job. How could I not?”

“You know damn well if I take this back to Bankotsu, he’ll have us out for her, too. Shut her up.”

“Bankotsu?” Kagome grimaced, blinking bemusedly. “Are you guys siblings or something?”

“No?” Renkotsu asked more than stated, his brows furrowing deeply.

“What’s with the similar names, then? That can’t just be a coincidence; it sounds so fake. Is that your actual name?”

“They don’t go by their actual names.” Inuyasha mentioned. “It’s one of the common measures they take to help protect their real identities. All of them have a code name ending in, ‘-kotsu’.”

“Seriously? Are you kidding me?” Kagome laughed audaciously, looking Renkotsu straight in his dark, narrowed eyes. “Hate to break it to you, buddy, but twinsy names aren’t intimidating.”

“It’s not what’s in a name,” He began, walking inward, his jaw clenching and unclenching repeatedly, evident from the muscles flexing at the crook of his mandible. “It’s how you present yourself. I’ve never been one for hitting chicks, but a motherfucker just might now.”

Inuyasha swapped their grips, now the one clutching to her wrist and directing her to angle behind him with a firm tug.

“I gave you the opportunity to leave, but you wanted to push your luck. I don’t like women getting involved, but oh well. Fuck me, right?”

“Yeah. Fuck you.” Inuyasha seethed, the scowl returning to set on his features. “If you think you’re ever going to touch her -“

“And, what are you gonna do?” Stopping with a foot’s distance between them, staring into the golden eyes of his original target. “Because you’ve been so successful in warding the rest of us off? You, of all people - if we can even call you that - should know by now that we don’t give up so easily. Now, she’s in the mix. Should have made her leave when you had the chance.”

“Are we done here?” Kagome questioned, her tone sharp. His eyes flickered down to her, a single, thin brow shrugging in insolence.

“Sure. I like that dress, by the way.” He grinned briefly before pursing his lips and spitting on her, his saliva still holding a tint of red and landing in the center of her breasts to stain the pastel pink she donned.

Kagome, though repulsed and disturbed, immediately grasped Inuyasha’s arm, pinching her nails into the sleeve of his jacket so he wouldn’t retaliate. His muscles were flexed and he’d been ready to swing in her defense, and even though he could easily overpower her, he didn’t fight against her. His indignation remained rigid, though, especially with the creep standing so close to them, and she knew, by the way he glared at Renkotsu, by the furious air wafting about him, by the way his shoulders were squared and his fists were tightly clenched, that he wouldn’t hesitate to attack if Renkotsu made another move.

“See you around. Both of you.” He smiled tauntingly, turning on his heel and walking away.

It wasn’t until he disappeared around the corner that Inuyasha’s shoulders deflated, a heated sigh leaving his nose as he slowly, but gently, pulled his forearm out of Kagome’s grasp. She was still angry, but with each breath she took, progressively getting steadier and deeper, her temper was fading away. Finally, Inuyasha turned around, facing her, a frown of disapproval marring his handsome face.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Done what?” She inquired, her attitude still prominent.

“Jumped in like you did! You could have gotten hurt!”

“And, you’re mad at the thought of that, right?”

“You’re damn right I am!”

“Well, I got mad seeing it happen to you! So, I did something about it! It’s the same thing!”

“No, Kagome -“

“Yes!”

“No! It’s not supposed to work this way!” Inuyasha stepped in, leaving mere inches between them as they argued.

“I don’t care how it’s supposed to work! What does that even mean!?”

“That I don’t ever want you pulling a stunt like that again, got it!?”

“Excuse me!?”

“He might have hit you, stupid! You can’t take punches like I can!”

“So, that makes it okay to just sit back and watch the show!? Like you’re some kind of punching bag!?”

“I would have handled it!”

“Then you should have!” Kagome yelled. “I heard him; he said you were holding back! Why were you holding back!?”

“Because you don’t like when I get into fights, Kagome! I didn’t want you to know this was happening! He came out of fucking nowhere, and I was trying to fend him off before you showed up!”

The tension in her brow decreased exponentially, his words ringing in her ears. She felt like an ass for doubting him that way, but still, no matter, she wasn’t sorry for pushing the jerk away from him. She would never be sorry. “It’s not that I didn’t think you could handle it. I knew you could have. I just got so angry and wanted to help.” Kagome calmly admitted.

“Well don’t.” Inuyasha said, authoritatively. “I don’t need your help.”

“Quite frankly, I don’t care what you think you need or don’t need right now. It’s irrelevant.” He flinched to counter but she beat him to the punch, holding her hand up to silence him. “You’re saying it because you don’t want me in the middle or getting hurt, I get that. But, it’s the exact same way I feel about you, so you and I are only going to end up going in circles about this. You can’t tell me what to do, and you can’t force me to just watch your head get thrown into cement without reacting.”

In all honesty, he’d forgotten he’d been hurt in the heat of it all, more concerned about protecting Kagome than anything. He hadn’t expected her to come flying in like a bat out of hell, fully prepared to square off with one of the lowlives of the city. Especially, for his sake. Once he saw her, he just reacted. Probably the same way she had. “Now you’re involved, though. That’s exactly what I didn’t want.”

“We’ll handle it.” Kagome said, unconcerned. To get a better angle on his cut, she leaned her head to the side, reaching up to gently hold his jaw and bring him down near her height. He showed no resistance, his long lashes fluttering softly as he closed his eyes.

“It’ll be fine.”

It really wasn’t all that bad. It looked like the bleeding had about stopped, but it should still be cleaned and bandaged. Releasing his face, she reached for his hand, pulling him in the direction she’d come from.

His grip on her palm tightened as they approached her home, noticing her mom’s car out front, and the living room and kitchen lights on. If she saw them, him specifically, with dried blood on his head, she’d know the night was disastrous and he’d put her daughter in a dangerous situation. He couldn’t have that. He’d already felt like a failure, but to have someone else think that, too - Kagome’s mother, no less - would be mortifying. Kagome’s attention drifted up to him at his notable discomfort, stopping with his cue.

“Your mom…”

“She’s a nurse, don’t worry.”

“No, I - I don’t want her to see this. I don’t want her to know what happened.”

The realization was evident on her face, but she didn’t look disappointed, her head turning to glance at her house before turning back to him.

“Climb up to my window. I’ll let you in.” She smiled.

“You sure?” He asked, and she nodded immediately, letting go of his hand. Before she could move further, he stopped her, pulling off his coat and handing it over. It made the idea of their date more believable if she came back with his jacket, plus it’d help hide the detestable stain. As she situated it over her arms, he reached down to grab the bottom of the zippers on both ends that landed at her thighs, lining them up together and zipping it for her. Kagome smiled appreciatively, turning around and heading inside.

Inuyasha snuck around the front toward the far left end as soon as she shut the door, grateful the curtains were pulled shut. As soon as he reached the tree he used for footing, he leveraged himself up, climbing until he could silently step onto the small roofing of the second story. Her room was still dark as he waited for her at the window, and though everything was muffled, he could vaguely hear her and her mom talking from downstairs. The specifics of their conversation were hard to distinguish, but he knew Kagome’s cheery tone from her upset one, and to him, she sounded happy. Probably fooling her mom into thinking everything was perfectly fine, despite the fact that she was home so soon after leaving.

Her footsteps grew closer, shuffling along as soon as she reached the top landing of the stairs, and even as she entered her room, she didn’t turn on the light until the door was closed. Her greeting smile was natural, and he couldn’t help but wonder how the hell she managed it. Kagome had every reason in the world to be upset right now, but she truly didn’t seem like she was. And, as she hurried over and unlocked the latch for him, sliding the window open, he was engulfed by the powerfully sweet scent of her that stayed locked up in her bedroom, thoroughly muddling any residual, negative thoughts from the evening.

He shut the window on his own, nodding when she mentioned she’d be right back and taking a seat on the floor with his back resting against the bed. Kagome was true to her word, returning less than sixty seconds later with a small first aid kit in hand.

“No, I told you it’d be fine.” Inuyasha chuckled quietly, taking the initiative to turn on the tv to drown out their voices.

“Cut’s need bandages.” Was her simple reply, not even sparing him a glance as she shuffled through her dresser drawers, pulling out a pair of leggings and a fresh shirt.

“The cut’s already healing. It’ll most likely be gone tomorrow.”

“Humor me.” Kagome rolled her eyes, pursing her lips as she tossed her clothes on the bottom edge of her mattress. “Close your eyes, please.”

Without hesitation, he complied, turning away for added effect. The ruffling of his jacket sounded heavy as she removed it, the material of her dress considerably lighter in comparison. It wasn’t the coldest night they’d had recently, but he still found Kagome brave for wearing it - long sleeved garment be damned. Then, an ache twinged in his chest. She’d worn that for him. And, the gesture hadn’t only gone to waste, but the dress was probably ruined now and he’d never be able to appreciate her in it.

At her signal, he opened his eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to fully look at her, regret taking its hold on him. It wasn’t his fault, he knew, but that didn’t help any. How could he make up for this mess? How could he make her happy like he’d intended to tonight?

Kagome sauntered over, crossing to his right and then sitting at his side, thigh-to-thigh, facing him. The first aid kit was in hand, and she set it on the floor beside her, opening it and taking out some cotton balls in a sandwich baggy before turning to him. She seemed so gentle, her hands light when she pulled his bangs out of the way to asses the cut before doing anything else. As if feeling his unsubtle stare, her brown eyes drifted over to his, curious and large, then shied downward as the smallest of frowns tugged on her lips. Kagome dropped his hair, her hands falling to her lap before she bowed her head slightly, hovering over his shoulder.

Sometimes, you could say those three words to let a person know how deeply you feel for them. Sometimes, you could speak your profound emotions with more, or less, verbally, or physically. And, so badly did Kagome want to figure out how to properly express it all to him. To know Inuyasha, to have him sit with her, hold her hand, tell her things no matter the context, was a privilege she was scared for a while she’d never get to experience. Inuyasha, in his own essence, was such a wonderful gift. To have him care for her, and convey how much he cared through tumultuous anger weighted her heart. Maybe not in the moment could she appreciate the gesture, or clearly see his reasonings, but now that things were calmed and they sat so close, touching, trusting, she understood. How lucky she was. On the surface, Inuyasha was brash and hard-headed, he presented himself in a carefree manner, but truthfully, he was the most beautifully delicate person she’d ever met.

Finally resting her head against his shoulder, Kagome breathed out slowly, taking in the faint and generic spice of a man’s body wash on her inhale. Funny enough, of all the guys she’d noticed it on, it smelled best on him. What had come over her was the sudden and dire need to tell him everything she felt for him. It had hit her like a freight train; intense and insatiable. Something, she needed to say something to subdue the fire igniting her nerve endings, but as she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was a whispered, “I really like this shirt.”

Of course, then, she laughed at herself. Typical of her to chicken out.

Kagome could feel his head come a little closer to hers, his cheek gently brushing against her hair as he said in return, “I know. I wore it for you.”

She smiled. He couldn’t see it, but she smiled.

“Are you okay?” Inuyasha asked, and she quickly sat up straight, forcing herself to appear fully recovered, as if nothing had ever fazed her.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Kagome replied, moving back to her prior task without delay. After opening a small bottle of peroxide, she doused a cotton ball with the liquid. “Could you hold your hair out of the way?”

His expression spoke volumes on how useless he found the gesture to be, but still, he did as she asked, eye roll and all. She gently rubbed the cotton ball over the small wound to clean it, then around the surrounding area to wipe the dried blood away. His attention was roaming over her, and she tried not to pay attention to the way it alarmed the butterflies in her stomach, focusing on her task. It was like his ember irises were actual, flickering chars, and wherever his eyes landed, she felt a pleasant, burning sensation. Her cheek, her lips, her chin, her neck, her collar bone, her lips, her neck, her shoulder, her lips. All alight.

“Some first date, huh?” Inuyasha remarked, his tone dull.

Kagome’s soft smile in response was unintentional but genuine, dropping the dirtied cotton ball on top of the bag it came out of, and as she chose an appropriate bandage, she shrugged. “That doesn’t matter to me. I mean, we could have chilled and watched tv and slapped the first date title on that, and I would have been perfectly happy.”

“But, instead you got to see me in a fight. Kagome, I’m really sorry.”

“For what?” She asked, opening the bandaid packaging and carefully holding the very edges of the adhesive strips. She angled it properly over the cut, gently sticking it down and smoothing it out. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Besides, the way I see it, I got to yell at one of the jerks that’s been terrorizing you. Trust me, it was a good time.”

Inuyasha laughed, flinching as she rubbed her fingers over the entire bandage. “Ow.” He said playfully, instinctively grabbing her hand and pulling it away. She giggled and mumbled an apology, using her free hand to smooth down his ruffled bangs as he let them go. “By the way, we need to talk about your profanity. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk like that. ‘Suck a dick’? Is that peak Kagome temper right there?”

“I tend to lose my filter when I’m mad.” She exclaimed.

“You’ve got quite a vocabulary on you. It’s impressive. Remind me not to get on your bad side.” He mildly joked.

He was still holding her hand, his grip adjusted to rest it against his chest, his thumb tenderly caressing over her skin.

“So, you’re not mad at me anymore?” Kagome asked, her voice softening to take on the hint of bashfulness.

“Do I look like I’m mad at you?” Inuyasha responded soothingly. He leaned a little closer to her body, relaxed, warm. “I just - I really didn’t want you getting involved, Kagome.”

“It was kind of impossible not to.”

“I know. I get that. Now, I’m just gonna worry about you whenever we’re apart.”

“They’re not like an actual gang, are they?”

“No, they’re just like you said; a group of assholes. They tend to take their crap out on others and act like they’re tough. Some of them, though, are something to be concerned about. Statistically speaking, they’re not all gonna grow out of this phase. They’re on a gateway path, and I wouldn’t doubt if Bankotsu already had dirty affiliations.” Inuyasha said, letting go of her palm as he leaned even more towards her center, his right hand now braced on the floor by her legs in a casual manner. The closer he got to her, the more comfortable he found he felt. So comfortable, in fact, that he thought nothing of the way her fingers busied themselves in the loose tendrils of his hair along the sides of his face.

“How long were you with them?” Kagome asked.

“Not long enough to actually do anything I’d regret, aside from the obvious.”

“So, you were never actually one of them.” She stated. It felt like reassurance to the stress he already carried about having made the mistake of walking with them in the first place.

He opened his mouth to say something, but his mind blanked. Not in a hopeless way, but in the sense that there was nothing that needed to be said. As he basked in her confidence in him, calmed by the tips of her fingers continuously running through his bangs and loose strands from his ponytail, he realized that neither of them were going anywhere. What the hell was he waiting for?

There was no apprehension in his lean, the fingers of his free hand curving around the side of her neck and beneath her hair, intentionally holding just before meeting her lips. Kagome leaned in the rest of the way, her mouth soft and molding against his perfectly. And, she smiled into his kiss, giggling breathily, happily as they broke.

“I want to be with you, Kagome.” He spoke, tone husky, just as content. “You and I.”

She nodded, feeling so full and light at the same time it was difficult not to be consumed by her elation.

“Yeah?” Inuyasha smiled, almost teasing because he could tell how shy she was getting from the fresh and deep shade of her cheeks. Again, she nodded, her head ducking slightly. “Is that a yeah?”

“Shut up.” Kagome laughed, taking the initiative to kiss him again, his sigh hot against the side of her cheek while he firmly clutched her to him.

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

#yeep #inuyasha #kagome #kagome higurashi #miroku #sango #inukag #mirsan #inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha fanfic #inuyasha fic #InuKag fanfiction #inukag fanfic #InuKag fic #high school au #coming of age #my writing #delicate #akitokihojo

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momorabu · 4 years

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Ibara Hime - Playthrough Compilation + Review

Part I - Main Story + Ending 1

Part II - Ending 2 + Ending 4 (Itoh’s Ending)

Part III - Ending 3 + Ending 5 (Mizuki’s Ending)

Read the cut below for my review / final thoughts about the game. (Contains Spoilers. R18 Story.)

This took quite a while, but I feel very accomplished that I’ve got to finish playing and writing the playthrough for this game, seeing that I’m interested to know the story for this game since quite a long time ago. The illustrations were pretty good, and incest was still a taboo topic not really touched on much in otome games.

Though this game still features a yandere brother similar to how some other otome games introduced incest, the way it’s written makes me feel scared, disgusted yet pitiful for Mizuki. Some of the endings really depict his struggles quite well, even if I wasn’t fond of him anyway. I really like Ririko’s character though, even if she struggled badly with confidence. I could see myself in her in some of the scenarios, especially the horrifying dread feeling when realising that most people around her aren’t normal at all D: (Especially her disses and rebuttals even if she’s the weaker one in those scenarios, I’ll lash out too if I were her. What is wrong with everyone here?!) Sadly, Ririko seems like one of the most normal characters around here.

I’ll continue to touch on / rant some of my thoughts upon reaching the various endings below, in the order of how I’ve played them (which is different from the order of the playthrough that I’ve written).

Ending 1 ( 鋏 Ending)

I don’t really like this ending since it came too suddenly for me, and I kind of get scared a little as Mizuki just suddenly went and commit suicide which also scarred poor Ririko. I also get a literally “oh well... that’s it?” when the game went back to the main menu, so this ending is abit substandard. Little did I know this was just the beginning as this was the most normal ending in the game.

Ending 5 (姉弟 Ending)

Decided to go for this ending first since from the name of endings I’ve seen from the guide I’ll be using for the rest of the game (I got ending 1 on my blind playthrough so you know how badly I can be in otome games =w=“), this seems one of the best ones. The ending was indeed quite sweet and touching when the siblings decided to love each other, though I find Ririko’s transition kind of abrupt. Mizuki’s confession that he’s glad he wasn’t siblings with Ririko touched me really badly, the guy just wants to love Ririko and didn’t want to think of himself as weird too. (This was the moment I realised Mizuki probably struggled with his own issues alot.)

Too bad that their father was a bastard who raped his own sister, had a child and kept everything undercover for so many years. I was like “Dad, how could you!!!” and “This family except the mum is abnormal now” at the last scene. Even Ririko decided that she’s not going to be the logical person anymore. At least Mizuki is alive in this ending and might continue to live blissfully, unknowing of the actual truth of his birth. Seriously, what is wrong with the Dad and his brother, and to think their aunt still continues to live and communicate with them normally just feel buzzard to me. This family is indeed very very weird. D:

Seeing that this was actually the best ending and how it turned out to make me feel abit worried for the other endings... I decided to take a break for the day after this ending seriously and continued to finish the game on the next day.

Ending 3 ( 落下 Ending)

Since this ending and Itoh’s ending just differ by 1 (or 2?) options, I decided to go for this first then Itoh’s ending next. This ending... literally gave me goosebumps and it landed such a huge impression on me that I was all about this ending when I was talking about this game to my friend.

For me, it’s scary when Mizuki becomes stalkerish. The way he kept forcing Ririko and wanted her to love him scares me since it is extremely stressful that someone tries all means to want you to look at him romantically, but you just feel disgusted and dislike. It’s really a very unhealthy feeling so even though I was like “Wow, Ririko really did ask him to jump and die”, I kind of actually agreed/relate to her saying that. At that moment you just want that person to be gone so that you can go back to your daily life. (I’m heartless in that I said “Bye-bye Mizuki” when he jumped =w=“)

For Ririko though, it’s really not easy, seeing that Mizuki was her brother and she was even pregnant with his child. In the ending, she doesn’t even treat him as her brother anymore and just a disgusting guy, yet feels guilt that she ended up “killing” him (more towards killing a human as opposed to killing her brother, though she also feels bad for erasing his life).

The future initially made me felt quite hopeful, and even a little touched seeing that Ririko’s child was quite good, and their family was still holding it together even when Mizuki had passed on. (I was holding abit of hope that Itoh and Ririko might patch up seeing that he still texted her.) But... the game just likes to trash my hopes that it would be a bitter-sweet ending by making the child a cursed devilish child in the end. Yuki speaking as Mizuki is terrifying... Imagine that your stalker has never given you up after all those years and coming back to haunt you again. That’s what makes this ending scary for me, I’ll rather be not loved by anybody than being pursued so fiercely like this seriously D:

Ending 4 ( 伊藤 Ending)

Decided to go for Itoh’s ending to calm my heart after this ending... The part where they reveal the reason of Ririko’s slow growth was kind of heartwarming (though it’s still a scary past event), seeing that Mizuki was really worried sick at that time and blamed himself up to the present. I like how the siblings managed to put aside all their hate and romantic feelings aside and become close siblings once again. For Ririko, this all seems like a wonderful ending to the episode, being in a good relationship with her brother again, and having a wonderful boyfriend Itoh who helped and accompany them.

However, the future started off with a 3P and led me to think that something is terribly wrong. (I don’t like forced NTR, especially when the heroine isn’t willing all the way till the end. Ririko didn’t have any romantic feelings for Mizuki so... D:) Realising that Itoh was also in love with Mizuki, perhaps even more than Ririko just made me so mad seriously. (I already have a weird tingling feeling when Itoh said he valued Mizuki very much from the beginning, guess it’s true that he’s gay for Mizuki TWT) It’s not that I dislike gays but ugh... seeing this in an otome game really destroys the feeling of playing an otome game ><” Poor Ririko is so crushed seeing that she was always in love with Itoh all along, but turned out that he loves her brother more instead, as even though he keeps telling Ririko he treasured and loves her, he wants her to have her own brother’s child. What the... I seriously cannot understand Itoh even after seeing this ending, maybe he really loves Mizuki so much that he wants to grant everything he wants and give him the best life, but making Ririko do the very thing she detests (having sex with her brother and even planning her to have her brother’s child) is not telling me that he loves her actually. Ririko is just something for him to make use of so he can have the excuse to be with Mizuki for as long as he likes. Please spare poor Ririko from all the heartbreak, that feeling of being betrayed after so many years.... ugh! (I’m still pissed from this ending even while writing this.)

Guess I’m correct for being suspicious about Itoh from the beginning. Itoh literally broke all my otome heart, and suddenly Mizuki seems just a bit better...?

Ending 2 (包丁 Ending)

Haha, just when I was thinking Mizuki is better, this last ending I’ve played kind of just wants to prove me the opposite. Ririko is abit crazy in this ending, seeing that she’s ready to give up her everything to kill her own brother. But the circumstances changed very quickly and before I knew it, Mizuki was the one having the upper hand, and I was worried, thinking “is he really going to stab her in the vagina?”, “Is this going to end up being a gore R18 otome game?” (I... really don’t like gore so I’m abit scared.)

Thank goodness, Ririko blacked out just as I was getting scared and the ending just came abruptly again, with Mizuki committing suicide. But this time it came with a suicide letter, which revealed some of his struggles he had about his feelings with Ririko. This ending was abit touching for me, even though I already understood what their mother was talking about regarding the “what ifs”. Ririko doesn’t seem too sad about Mizuki’s loss, though in a good way she’s just relieved that her nightmare was over.

Afterthoughts

That’s it for all the rant about the endings. This is going to be one game that I’ll remember for a very very long time. I loved how the story was written since every detail in the game can be used for a certain ending so it doesn’t feel like any part of the story was redundant. The music helps in the atmosphere quite alot, seeing that it’s a pity that this game wasn’t voiced.

Even though this game doesn’t show alot of sexual assault or physical damage like how... erm... other R18 otome games would have done, there’s quite a few of emotional manipulation, which makes it scary since this can be realistic in real life, and it shows that emotional damage can be the same or even worse than physical damage in a way. There are sex scenes in the game, but they’re not depicted in a way that they’re the main topic like in nukige, but instead, as a catalyst to show the highlight of this game, the struggle and reveal of forbidden romantic feelings towards a sibling.

Greatly recommended for those who love diving into psychological analyzation and dark storyline/feelings. For those who like incest though, be prepared to be disappointed if you want those heart fluffy romantic incest, this game is totally the opposite of that.

Art: ★ ★ ★ ★

Story: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Voice Acting: -

Music: ★ ★ ★ ★

Overall Enjoyment: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

PS: CG Collection of the entire game can be found on the game collection page of the blog.

#ibara hime #otome game #R18 otome game #playthrough #review

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winsister91 · 5 years

Text

FGA Daedric Princes (Part 12)

Summary: The group split up as Dean and Shannon take off for their mini vacation and the Sammys hold the fort at the Bunker. Heaven keeps a close watch...

Characters: Dean x Shannon (OFC), Sam x Sammy (OFC), Gabriel

Warnings: Fluff, Crack?.Pissy frustrated boys?

Word Count: 3821

A/N: Written by @sofreddie and @winsister91. Side project we’ve been working on. FEEDBACK IS GOLD!! We’d love to hear your thoughts as this was spawned from us trying out different writing and characters. We hope you enjoy! Somehow I survived the writing of the last chapter. Now it’s all about the slow calculated counter-attack ;)

Series Masterlist

SOFreddie’s Masterlist

Winsister91’s Masterlist

Shannon dropped her bag in the trunk and made her way to the passenger door of the Impala, climbing inside and carefully shutting the door behind her, “So, you gonna tell me where we’re going or…”

“I made some reservations,” Dean smiled proudly, “How does our own private hidey hole on the beach sound?”

“Really?” she beamed, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she looked over at him, “That sounds...awesome!” she laughed.

“Right?” Dean agreed, just as excited as she was, “So I was thinking we can get some booze, chill out on the sand...when it gets dark I’ll make a fire...properly scenic stuff.”

“You’ve got it all planned out, huh?” she smiled bashfully, “It’ll be nice to spend some time together. We haven’t really had a chance to just be, you know?”

“I know,” he nodded, “It’s been pretty non-stop, but...maybe this can be our thing once and awhile. An escape.”

“Well, let’s see how this goes first,” she laughed, “Who knows, you could get tired of me after spending so much time cooped up with nothing but me around.”

“If anything, you’ll be the one who gets fed up of me,” Dean laughed, “The only risk I got is getting addicted,” he tossed her a wink.

They drove along for several hours, music playing in the background as they took in the scenery and talked, about their lives, their dreams, and anything in between.

“Tell me a secret,” Shannon asked, shifting to turn in her seat, facing Dean, her elbow propped on the back of the seat as she let her eyes wander over him lovingly.

“A what?” Dean laughed slightly, glancing at her briefly, “Well...what kind of secret?”

“The kind you’re scared to admit to anyone, including yourself,” she urged gently.

“Well, you apparently already know everything I’ve done,” he countered, “and you’re still here which makes you doubly insane might I add.”

“Well, you’re hot as hell, so that helps,” she grinned at him, “And yeah, I know what all you’ve done. But I don’t know what you think or feel or want.”

He chuckled, cheeks slightly pinkening at her first comment, before he thought aloud, “What I want…” he mumbled, “I’m not even sure myself… but I know despite all the crap we’ve all been through the last month, having you around has made me the happiest I think I’ve ever been, truly.”

“I haven’t done anything but managed to bring demons and Heaven down on your head,” she sighed guiltily, “I don’t understand how that makes you happy.”

“Well not that stuff obviously,” Dean chuckled, “But that’s not your fault. I’m talking about...your smile. Your laugh. Seeing you look after everybody. You and Sammy bitching each other out but obviously loving each other to the end of the earth. Your sass...Need I continue?”

“I’m happy too,” she smiled softly, “The four of us, after everything, it just feels like a family unit, like we all click and fit together somehow. And I know that’s cheesy as all get out, but it just seems right, like this is how it’s supposed to be, for all of us.” she shrugged, blushing.

“Can’t argue with that,” he said with a nod, “‘cause that's exactly what it is. Right.”

Sammy’s eyes slowly opened, her head heavy and groggy. Sam’s room came into focus and she couldn’t stop the smile that grew on her face. With a grunt, she sat up, the cold air hitting her skin and making her shudder. Pulling the sheets around her, she glanced about for her clothes, finding them scattered haphazardly around the room.

That’s when she saw the clock, it was 1pm and her eyes went wide.

“Shit!” she hissed, scrambling to get dressed. An afternoon wake up wasn’t exactly abnormal, but it usually came after staying up until after dawn.

The Bunker was quiet as she paced the halls, a little too quiet, she passed by her own room and saw her game still sat on pause. Mentally telling her PS4 she’ll ‘be right back’ she went in search of coffee.

“Hey, Sleepyhead,” Sam said, smiling from the island as he was making a sandwich for lunch, “How did you sleep?” he automatically began making a second sandwich, knowing she’d be hungry.

“A little too well seemingly,” she smiled sheepishly, approaching the coffee machine and yawning heavily, “Where are them two?”

He chuckled lightly, “Would you believe Dean planned a romantic getaway?” he laughed, “They left a few hours ago. Said we could use some time to ourselves too.” he finished making the food, bringing the plates to the kitchen table, “Oh, and he said when they get back, we can take the car on our own trip.” he wiggled his brows excitedly at her.

Her eyes lit up at the food, before they narrowed, “Wait, they’re gone!?” she whined, “Shannon went up and left without saying bye to her wife!? I feel like I’ve been dumped…” she pouted.

“Babe,” Sam sighed, holding her hand in his own, “For what it’s worth, she didn’t want to go until after you woke up. But Dean was eager to head out and I figured you two would just catch up on the phone later.” he shrugged.

“Any other time, I’d have been awake,” she folded her arms in a fake sulk, “But someone went and...a-and….heh…” she blushed and smirked.

“You’re welcome,” he teased with a big grin, “What do those doctors know anyway? Should’ve just prescribed you a giant dose of Sam Fucking Winchester.” he chuckled.

“More…” she chuckled at her own thought before she could say it, “A giant fucking from Sam Winchester,” she giggled childishly, “But wait, did you say Dean’s letting us run away somewhere when they get back?”

“Baby, you ain’t been fucked...yet,” he smirked with a wink, “And yes. When they get back, we get to take the car and go where ever we want. So start thinking up a vacation.”

Her cheeks burned, brain going plenty of places that weren’t vacation ideas, “Heh...I...um...I’ll work on that later,” she rose from the table, “Right now, I got some gaming to catch up on.”

“You’re gonna make me jealous of that damn thing,” he pouted, pulling her into his arms and resting his chin on her belly as he looked up at her with his signature puppy-eyes.

“O-oh God,” she mumbled, “There it is. The famed puppy eyes, fuck! They really are effective…”

“How about…” he thought for a moment before giving her an innocent smile, “You go play for a bit and later, you can make it up to me?”

“Oh I’ll play,” she smirked, “Yeah, and then you’re gonna see what a counter-attack from Sammy Fucking Kelly is all about, just you wait!”

His grin turned sinister as he nipped at her stomach and one of his large hands gave her ass a squeeze, “I look forward to it.”

There was a small whine in her throat as her blush spread down her neck. Mind racing, she already regretted her words, there was no way anything she could think of was topping what he had planned she figured.

Dean pulled up to the small seaside cabin, just as the sun was beginning its decline behind the horizon. He threw the car in park, looking over at Shannon who had dozed off close to an hour before. He smiled, deciding to grab their bags and ready the cabin, before coming back to wake her, guiding her into the cozy abode.

“Wow,” she breathed out, taking in the small but lovely space, the back wall all windows looking out over the water. She smiled, walking towards the window and watching as the setting sun cast warm colors across the water, “This is pretty impressive, Dean.”

“It is,” he nodded in agreement, standing by her at the window, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this…”

She tugged on the sliding glass door with a wide grin, stepping out on the small deck, “Come on!” she cheered, running down the steps and onto the beach toward the surf.

His eyebrows raised watching her jog ahead, he grinned loving the sight of her being so care-free. He jogged after her, catching up to her just as she reached the water, “You’re gonna get your clothes all wet,” he chuckled.

She turned, wrapping her arms around his waist and smiling coyly up at him, “I was under the impression I wouldn’t be wearing them long anyway,” she cooed, pecking his lips lightly.

“Damn,” he grinned devilishly, pulling her in for a deeper kiss, his own hands snaking around her waist, fingertips lightly tucking into the waist of her pants.

“Unless, of course, this was meant to be an innocent escape,” she teased, batting her eyes at him.

“And what aspect of me do you think has ever been innocent?” he countered, his hand ruffling her hair as he lightly bit his bottom lip, “You’re beautiful Baby.”

“You’re not half bad yourself,” she teased, “So I’m guessing we have to run to the store tomorrow, stock up the fridge and whatnot so I can cook for you,” she grinned, “So what do you want to do about dinner tonight? I’m sure you’re starving.”

“Nuh uh,” he pressed a finger on her lips, “You’re not doing anything but relaxing. S’about time I showed you my own cooking expertise.”

“Mmm, that sounds good,” she agreed, “I could get used to this whole ‘playing house’ thing,” she joked, blushing bashfully.

“Well good, ‘cause you’ll have to get used to it,” he smiled, “You’re right though, we’ll need to go to the store so...takeout tonight?”

“Whatever you want, Dear,” she teased, kissing him once more.

“Dear?” he laughed, “Ok, darling.”

She scrunched her face in distaste, “Yeah, no...that’s just weird.” she laughed, releasing her hold on him and looking back over the water, “Maybe tomorrow we can go in the water? Swim a bit, ooh! We can walk the beach for shells!” she said excitedly.

“Sure,” he narrowed his eyes mischievously, pulling her back to him, “Or we can just go in the water now?”

Before she could answer, he had hold of her, spinning on his heels and falling back into the surf, dragging her down on top of him.

She squealed in surprise and gasped in shock as the water came rushing up to them once more, “Dean!” she giggled, slapping him on the chest, “Now we’re all wet.” she chuckled with a playful pout.

“I did warn you,” he shrugged, splashing the water like a child and laughing.

She grinned down at him, hovering above his lips, “Now we have to shower…” she mockingly complained.

“Well isn’t that just a pickle,” he bit his tongue playfully.

She leaned down, kissing him tenderly, pulling back with a happy sigh, “You do realize you’ve gone full romance novel, right?” she laughed, “Making out in the sand at sunset…” She moved to kiss him again, before a bigger wave crashed to the shore, washing over them abruptly, “Oh fuck!” she exclaimed, wiping the water from her face and getting to her feet, holding out a hand to help him up, her clothes and hair now soaked.

“That’s why romance novels are full of crap,” Dean joked, taking her hand and pulling himself up, and shaking the water off his face before grinning, “So how about that shower?”

“Uh...yeah,” she gave a small smile, blushing as she made her way back to the cabin. Her mind ran a million miles a minute. Did he plan on showering together? But that would mean he’d see her naked. Did she ask him to join her? She made her way into the house, grabbing her bag and looking around for the bathroom, her features betraying her nervousness as she nibbled on her lower lip.

Dean tossed his jacket onto one of the cabin’s small radiators, still chuckling softly to himself. He started looking around too, opening doors and peeking into the rooms. His eyebrows raised at finding the bedroom, a large queen sized bed which already gave him thoughts.

With only one door left, a huge wet room came into view, “Wow…” he said, “Okay so...uh…” he looked at Shannon and suddenly felt shy, “You get first dibs.”

“O-okay,” she breathed out shakily, nodding at him as she passed to go into the wet room. She gave him one last glance as she shut the door behind her, letting out a long breath once she was alone, before going about her shower. She came out a short while later, freshly cleaned and dressed in her tank top and sleep pants, smiling sheepishly at him, “It’s all yours.”

He found his eyes lingering on her, the tank top tight and showing off every delightful curve. Composing himself, he nodded, “I, uh, found some takeout menus so go ahead and pick something.”

She nodded, watching as he disappeared into the wet room, his wet clothes clinging to his back, his muscles visible beneath them. She let out another shaky breath, shaking her head and composing herself as she went to peruse the menus. By the time Dean returned, she had settled on what she wanted.

“Hey, I figured this could work,” she handed him the menu with the notes on what she wanted. Her eyes lingered on him, looking so relaxed in the simple t-shirt and track pants.

“Works for me,” he said with a smile, mentally picking for himself and grabbing his cell. After placing the order, he went out to the car, grabbing some beers from the cooler he stashed on the back seat. He looked out over the beach as he made his way, chuckling to himself. If someone told him a month ago this is what was coming, he’d have never believed it. Stepping back into the cabin, his smile grew broader as he laid eyes on Shannon, holding a beer out toward her, “Drink on the deck?” he proposed.

She accepted the drink, nodding as she made her way back onto the deck, sitting in one of the chairs that faced the water. The sun was nearly dipped beneath the horizon, the outside growing dark, the sounds of the waves crashing the only noise around them.

Dean sat in the chair beside her, knowing he should probably be admiring the view, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away. “I know we pretty much just got here,” he said, “But what do you think? Think this could work as a regular escape spot?”

“You tryin’ to get a timeshare, Dean?” she laughed, looking over at him, “I think it’s perfect,” she admitted.

“Timeshare,” Dean scoffed, “Believe it or not, this place actually doubles as a hunter’s safe house. All I do is put the word out for everyone to stay the hell away.”

“This is a safehouse?!” she exclaimed, shocked, “Wow...y’all hunters got it made.” she whistled. “So wait...you own this place?”

“Trust me, the rest of them are dives,” Dean laughed, “Nobody really owns it, but it’s a favored spot. This is actually my first time here, word was some Hunter completely did the place up ‘cause he was fed up of having to crash in dumps.”

“Well if it’s a common house, then you can’t really keep people away, Dean. What if some hunter shows up because he needs a place to hide out?”

“They get some cash put in their hand and sent away to a motel,” he shrugged, “No one will show up, trust me.”

“I do,” she said, so simply and matter of fact. A knock at the door drew their attention and Shannon stiffened slightly, her eyes sliding to Dean in question.

“Huh…” Dean got to his feet, “Food comes real damn fast around here.” He ventured to answer the knock, his face dropping at the sight on the other side.

“Heya, Dean-o,” Gabe smirked in greeting, holding up the bag of food, “You ordered some Chinese, right?” Dean narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the archangel, “Oh come on!” Gabe protested, “You finally got some time alone with your Sweetie...just checking that all is well.” he smiled, looking over Dean’s shoulder to see into the house, “Nice digs.”

“Everything’s just fine,” Dean growled, snatching the bag of food, “Now get lost.”

“So,” Gabe lowered his volume, “Tonight’s the night, huh?” he smirked, wiggling his brows and rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Are you-” Dean nearly shouted, opting to step out and close the door behind him first to try and keep Shannon out of earshot, “Are you fucking serious!? Cas was supposed to tell you feathery dicks to leave us the hell alone!”

“Oh, he relayed your message,” Gabe confirmed, “But, you know, Heaven’s agenda, bloodlines, yada, yada, yada…”

“You know,” Dean shook his head, completely done, “If you guys put as much effort into other stuff that you do with this, the world may not be so fucked!”

Gabe’s happy expression dropped as he narrowed his eyes at Dean, stepping into his personal space, “Now you listen to me, dick,” he said, raising a finger for emphasis, “Why do you think Heaven is so intent on continuing the Winchester line, hmm? Your kid...your kid, is gonna be the one to stop things that you don’t even know are coming. And I am that kid’s...let’s just call it a...guardian. So how about you stop being so self-centered and focus on the bigger picture!” he growled, his anger shining in his eyes.

“Y-you,” Dean looked at Gabe in shock, “You are gonna be...my kid’s Guardian Angel?” Dean couldn't hold back the titter in his voice, “That’s hilarious, poor little bastard.”

“Archangels don’t usually take these gigs, but with Winchesters involved,” he shrugged, “So you do your part and I’ll do mine,” he smirked, before snapping his fingers and disappearing.

“Dean?” Shannon’s voice could be heard calling to him from inside the house and he realized how concerned she must be.

Dean shook his head, still processing the new information before heading back inside. After they ate, they found themselves back on the deck, drinking the last two bottles of beers as the moonlight shine across the sand and water.

Sam made his way from Sammy’s room to the kitchen, having been trying to learn the game she was intent on teaching him to play. He quickly pulled out his phone, deciding to check on Dean, as things always seemed to pop up on them.

“Hey,” Sam said into the phone, “Just wanted to check in, see how things were going,” he said to his brother.

“Yeah, having your little brother ring up while you’re trying to have a romantic getaway really adds to the mood,” Dean scoffed on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, well I wasn’t too thrilled when Gabe popped in earlier,” Sam groaned in frustration, “Randomly dropped off some Chinese food and said you were a dick.” he huffed.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Dean also groaned, “He came over here, spinning shit about bloodlines again…”

“Why haven’t we killed him yet?” Sam asked, exasperated.

“I’m not sure if that’s an option anyways,” Dean huffed, “Turns out he’s taking the job of being… my kid’s guardian angel.”

Sam’s eyes went wide, trying to decide which bit of information he wanted to tackle first, “Uh...ok, I have so many questions…”

“Ditto,” Dean agreed, “They’re recruiting for a role that’s not even available, but...as much as a dick Gabe is, at least...well...this supposed kid should be relatively safe having him as guardian.”

“I’m surprised you’re so calm about it,” Sam said, “I’d be suffering from performance anxiety at a minimum after that bombshell.”

“Okay don’t emphasize it!” Dean hissed, “We’re just...hanging out right now. Couple of beers, watching the waves, there’s no rush….right?”

“Really, Dean? You’re off on some trip, with a beautiful woman, alone, and you’re dancing around it?” Sam scoffed, “I swear, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were gay.”

“You’re not the one with Heaven breathing down your damn neck and practically watching!!” Dean snapped, “You worry about you, I’ll worry about me, and I’m not gay!!”

“You’re right, I’m not,” Sam agreed with a laugh, “So you have fun with that.” he teased, “Oh, and Dean?”

“What!?” Dean groaned.

“If I were you, I’d triple check my protection,” Sam laughed, “You’ve got a trickster hell-bent on plans after all,” Sam said, ending the call with a smug grin as he made his way back to Sammy.

Dean shoved his phone back in his pocket, glancing at his bag. Specifically, the pocket he stashed the box of condoms in, he slowly zipped it open, seeing the box still there. Raising his eyebrow, he pulled the lid open and it was empty. “Son of a bitch!” he growled.

Sam came back to Sammy’s room, chuckling to himself with a grin as he sat back on the bed next to her, smiling as she paused long enough to slurp some noodles before returning to her game.

“What’s so funny?” she looked at him in curiosity before swiftly turning back to the game.

Sam proceeded to fill her in on his conversation with Dean, laughing almost to tears as he struggled to explain. “It’s just,” he paused to catch his breath, “I know it’s a sucky situation to be in, but from the outside, it’s almost hilarious. Especially seeing him freak out over the whole thing, knowing how much he really wants it.” he started chuckling again, before scooting down the bed to sit behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched her play, “Plus, it’s kind of nice to be out of the line of fire.” he admitted.

Sammy giggled in agreeance, leaning back into Sam comfortably, before her smile dwindled slightly, “Well...you say that,” she raised an eyebrow, “But Gabe showed up here too...he may not have said anything but...well, doesn’t that show we’re kinda still in the crosshairs a little bit?”

Sam’s eyes went wide, her words sinking in, as he quickly untangled himself from her, shooting off the bed and dashing to his room. Sammy could hear him shout from down the halls, “GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!! Gabe! You piece of shit!!”

Sam came marching back into the room, hopping as he was pulling his shoes on his feet, “I’m gonna run out real quick,” he said, somewhat out of breath, pecking her lips, “Be back in a few minutes.”

“Ooo!” Sammy jumped to her feet, “Let me come! I wanna buy some junk food.”

“Babe, we just got Chinese,” he laughed.

Her brow furrowed in confusion, “...And?”

He sighed, “Yeah, okay,” he relented, “Come on.”

SOFreddie’s Forevers:

@oneshoeshort

@winchesterprincessbride

@iamcmims

@roxyspearing

@reigningqueenofwords

@mogaruke

@ellen-reincarnated1967

@speakinvain

@shotgunintheimpala-blog

@atc74

@sterekloveaffairs

@winsister91

@mrs-meghan-winchester

@chook007

@growningupgeek

@goldenolaf25

@esoltis280

@hobby27

@sis-tafics

@arryn-nyx

@x-waywardaf-x

@shann-the-artist-moon

@sandlee44

@lucywinchester2000

@emoryhemsworth

@ohmywinchester67

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#collab fic #self insert #sam x ofc #dean x ofc #sam winchester #dean winchester #sam fluff #sam angst #sam flangst #dean fluff #dean angst #dean flangst #supernatural #spn #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic

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porscheczar110 · 5 years

Text

Another Modern Rayllum AU

Been looking for a Narcos Rayllum AU? Probably not. But my sister in law wrote one anyways. This is a series of comical vingnettes im which Callum comes to terms with the fact that 1) he was born into a Narco family and 2) his best friend/girlfriend is a sicario.

Summary: Sicario- Noun. sicario (plural sicarios) hitman, hired killer (especially when referring to Latin American drug cartels).

A collection of snippets that offer a glimpse into the life of Callum after the mysterious assassin, Rayla, barges into his life. He may not have signed up for it, but he wasn't going to complain.

Read Part 1 here.

1. Of Meeting

“I’ve come to kill you.”

Callum looked up at the woman standing over him in awe. She was framed by the light of an abnormally large full moon, silvery hair tied up and swaying in the wind. He scrambled back from her, confused. His interest was piqued. This had never happened before.

She advanced on him, and he jerked to his feet with a snort of laughter. His fear seemed to dissipate as adrenaline spiked through his veins, giving him a clear head. “Okay, very funny. Who hired you? Was it Soren? How much did he pay you? His jokes are getting worse and worse.” Callum was no stranger to his friend’s wild antics. The blonde lived to torment him, although it was mostly good-natured. This was a bit morbid, even by Soren’s standards.

“I—Soren? Who’s that?” she asked in confusion. “I can’t just give up my employer because you asked . Now, lay down, and take your death like any honorable person would.”

“Oh, you’re a real hoot. I’m sure you’re a great hit at parties. Here’s the deal,” Callum said, wiping dirt from his shirt. “I’m going to go home, and you’re going back to your ‘employer,’ and let him know the job has been done. I’m spooked! Yay for you. I have an exam tomorrow. That’s why I’m walking home so late. I don’t exactly have time for a punk prank right now. We can meet up later, and try this again, okay? See you soon!”

“But I—”

Callum spun on his heel and continued toward his house.

He would think back on the interaction later when his grade wasn’t on the line.

2. Of Kingpin

Callum pushed his textbook and notes away in disgust. His groan echoed around the study room he and Rayla were currently occupying. “Enough, enough! The numbers aren’t making sense anymore. I can’t do this, Ray.”

She laughed, continuing to copy down equations from the PowerPoint in front of her. “Don’t you have a tutor for everything?”

“No,” he denied vehemently. “My father tried to get one for everything, but I refused. I wanted to do this on my own. I’m going to ring the cook up. Did you want anything to snack on? I’m thinking jelly tarts.”

She finally paused her writing and pinned him with a stare. His breath caught at her amethyst orbs. No one should be as lovely as she. It had to be some sort of crime, being so deadly and beautiful. Although, if he called the cops, he was pretty sure they would be in more trouble than her.

“Tutors for days. Personal chefs and butlers and nannies and—”

“Do you have a point?” He felt his cheeks heating. It wasn’t his fault he was born into money. And he wasn’t very conscious about it. His life was as it was, and that was that.

“Cal...”

“Yes, Rayla?”

“Do you even know what it is your dad does?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. Something with oil? Or was it pharmaceutical distributions? Maybe both?”

Rayla smacked her forehead and looked as if she wanted to shake him. “Your father is the biggest drug distributor in the continent . And you’re telling me you don’t know?”

“So he does work in pharma?”

“No, Callum,” she sighed heavily, clicking onto the next slide on her laptop. “Not pharma drugs. I’m talking about illegal, recreational drugs. Your dad is a king pin. A drug lord. A narco . Where do you think all your money came from?”

He sputtered, grasping for an answer. “Investments?”

She snorted and gave him a sardonic smile. “Oh, he sure invests alright. Invests in all sorts of things. Like guns and drugs and lawyers and—"

Callum cut her off, not wanting to hear the extensive list of places his father funneled money into. “Don’t you think I would’ve found out by now?”

“Yes. Hence why I’m surprised you didn’t know until I brought it up.” She raised a brow, and damnit if his heart didn’t skip a beat. Did she have to be so magnetic?

Stop it, he chastised himself. Gotta focus.

“If my dad is the head honcho of some big baddie drug operation, why were you sent to kill me ? Shouldn’t you go after him?”

She suddenly stiffened, hand twitching against her laptop arrow keys. Callum scanned her face, looking for a slip in her mask. The slight twitch in her eye gave away her stress.

“You were going to be bait. Your death wasn’t going to be on that sidewalk that night.”

“Oh,” he said weakly, not really understanding what she was implying.

She failed to meet his stare, shifting to fumble with her highlighter.

He glanced down at her backpack, cringing slightly at the barely concealed handgun peeking out from a slightly unzipped pocket.

Oh .

She was talking about extortion.

Torture.

Hostage.

She was, after all, a sicario .

And Callum found he minded that less and less.

3. Of Sicario

“So you’re telling me… You’re a what ?”

“ Sicario . I’m a hired hitman. Or I guess hitwoman? Or maybe hired assassin is easier for your brain to process.”

“Call it whatever you want. It’s not like I’d be able to pronounce the word.” Was that him laughing? It sounded borderline hysterical.

“Repeat after me. Slowly. See .”

“ See .”

“ Car .”

“ Eeo .”

“ Sicario. ”

“ Seecareeo ?”

“Eh, close enough. Not much we can do about your accent, really,” she teased.

“Okay, okay. So then… You’re a sicario ?” Callum couldn’t help the way his voice cracked at the word. It didn’t help that his Spanish was nonexistent.

Rayla barked out a laugh and shook her head at him. “The first thing I ever said to you was that I was going to kill you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry that my first thought wasn’t ‘ hitman’ ! I was running on no sleep and stressed out of my mind. What the hell, Ray? You were going to kill me!”

She shrugged and unlocked the car doors, and he hurried to the passenger’s seat. “Multiple times actually. I didn’t decide to keep you alive until Janai tried to kill you, too.”

“ What? That was months after we first met!”

Rayla gave him a wicked smirk. “Yup! You are very good at annoying me. Too good. What else was I supposed to contemplate?”

He shook his head in disbelief. She knew exactly how to get under his skin, too. The only other person that could get him riled up so quickly was Ezran, but Callum attributed that to a sibling kind of thing. “You could’ve contemplated a million other things.”

“Are you… Are you butthurt?” The disbelief in her voice was obvious.

“No,” he snapped, staring out the window.

“I was just doing my job,” she reminded him. There was no mistaking the glee in her voice.

“Oh, yeah! You did a fantastic job seeing as how I am still right here.”

She snorted and patted his shoulder. The contact had him whipping around to watch her profile as she drove. “Just know I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She leaned forward and turned up the volume of her music, mouthing the words along as she sped along the highway.

Now what did that mean?

4. Machetes

Callum kicked a rock away from his path, muttering obscenities into the dark. He’d lost three out of five rounds of rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock, and he was not a happy camper. Rayla had a bunch of junk in her car, and he was the lucky one now tasked with shifting through it all for some obscure USB. He glanced down at the pen marking on his hand, unable to help the small smirk at her chicken scratch.

And the drinks , the barely legible words reminded him. He also had to carry a too-heavy pack of drinks back to the party which was too far away for his comfort. He was an artist by trade, not some beefy powerlifter. Normally, he would’ve dragged Soren out with him to do the transporting, but his friend was out of town that weekend, watching some type of sports game.

He grumbled as he unlocked the car, digging around through her junk. He must’ve been outside for at least half an hour before he moved onto the trunk. And with some more extensive searching, he ran into a pair of really rusted machetes.

“Rayla really is strange,” he muttered to himself, slowly sliding them out of the trunk. He couldn’t decide if they were real or not, and he didn’t feel like touching the blade to find out. The handles were like a mix between plastic and wood which was more than enough for him to make a judgement call.

Eh, fake then.

He twirled them around clumsily, and a plan began to form. A devious little smile began to spread across his face, and he closed and locked her car. He snuck back to the house, careful to stay in the shadows. As luck would have it, it seemed like Rayla had stepped out to take a call.

Perfect.

With her back to him, he began rustling the bushes. She whipped around, free hand slipping to her back. He jumped out, hollering and floundering with the blades.

“Holy hell , Callum! Put those down! No, no— Stop waving them around. And take them back to the car! Jesus , dude. Are you trying to kill someone?” She stayed tense for a moment more before sliding back into a regular, if not enraged, stance. She pulled the phone from her ear, presumably muting it to yell some more at him.

Callum couldn’t help but laugh at the horror and redness creeping across Rayla’s face as he finally let his arms fall to his sides. “It’s just a joke, Ray. You’ve gotta relax.”

“You are so lucky I’m the only one out here! What if someone had seen you? I just—” She ran a hand through her hair roughly, and Callum felt like maybe he was the only one that found the situation funny. “Whatever. Go take them back to the car right now. Then go say bye. We’re leaving.” She turned back to her phone and continued speaking sternly at whoever was on the other line.

He couldn’t understand a word she was saying, but he knew it wasn’t good. He stayed rooted to the spot a few more moments, unsure of what to do. It was getting late, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to go just yet. It was the most logical thing to do, but he hated that she was dictating his actions. Although she was the one with the car today. And he didn’t really know anyone inside anyways. He’d much rather have another movie night with her, Ezran, and their dog, Zym.

“ Seriously , dude. Go .” She jerked her finger in the direction of her vehicle, and he tried his best not to pout. At her worsening glare, he probably didn’t do a good job at schooling his features.

“Fine, fine ,” he snapped. “But I’m going to pretend to be fighting off a wicked dragon the whole way back,” he called. She opened her mouth, but he hurried off before she could get another word out, slashing at invisible enemies with the machetes and tossing in an occasional theatrical grunt.

“ Callum,” she roared, and he heard rushing footsteps behind him.

Oh, heck no! He thought stubbornly. She wasn’t going to catch him, and she sure wasn’t about to ruin the fun for him. If he wanted to run around and flail with her machetes, he was going to. And she was going to be powerless to stop him. “You can’t catch me!” he hollered back, darting forward into the night. He had gotten too much of a head start, even for a trained assassin. She’d catch him eventually, when he was too tired to do much else but sway around.

For now, he’d enjoy the chase. And something told him she did, too. Regardless if she’d ever admit it or not.

#rayllum #callum x rayla #tdp callum #tdp rayla

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trashy-fujoshi-blog · 6 years

Text

ライアーダンス CHAPTER 3

V3 Spoilers as always.

POST-NDRV3 Virtual Reality AU Fanfic.

CHAPTER ONE HERE

CHAPTER TWO HERE

Kaede Akamatsu could tell there was something between the two boys. She wasn’t sure what exactly yet, but there was something… And whatever that something was, Saihara seemed to gain more confidence everyday, and Kaede was grateful for whatever Ouma was doing for her friend.

She knew Amami was pretty grateful too, because the two spoke often, being on the same floor and what not. Kaede was pretty certain Amami had noticed something too, because sometimes she’d catch him talking to Saihara, and she was 100% sure Amami was teasing him, but in a way that would help him clear his thoughts and confusion.

Obviously she shouldn’t condemn such antics, but thankfully, whatever Amami said to the detective that meal time, it’d helped knock Saihara out of whatever thoughts he’d been stuck in for days. Kaede knew, knew that the detective was probably over thinking something, and Amami had probably helped out, because that’s the kind of person he was, he was like a big brother to the two boys… That’s how Kaede saw it anyway.

Amami… was still quite a mystery to her though. She knew a little more about him now, after their time spent together, but she still couldn’t understand him entirely. But he was nice, he was nice even to her, even when she’d tried to kill him, despite everything… and he was too pure for any of them.

Kaede Akamatsu felt 100% certain she didn’t deserve the kindness of Amami Rantaro.

///

Maki Harukawa was lost.

Not physically, of course, but mentally.

There’d been so much confusion when she had awoken, and she wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

The feelings she had, feelings she thought she’d never feel, feelings she was told were fake… what were they really? Were they really fake, simply spurred on but the events in the simulation, or, despite everything, did Maki genuinely like the idiot Kaito Momota?

She had no idea.

It took a bit of coxing from her carer, the young photographer Mahiru, before Maki finally took the initiative to leave her room.

It only happened once though, and Maki found herself in the presence of Kaede Akamatsu that gentle April afternoon, early on when they’d awoken.

It was… okay, it was fairly nice, because Kaede could relate to her, to an extent, and her presence alone seemed quite calming, like it came naturally to the pianist, to soothe those she was around.

It was only a brief exchange, and after that Maki retreated to the confines of her room, with Mahiru and Mikan being her only visitors, the photographer bringing her food when needed, and trying to act as some form of support, but with little success.

It took quite a bit of time with her thoughts before Maki could firmly say she had a clear grasp on what thoughts and feelings were real and what wasn’t. She couldn’t be indecisive with her thoughts, based on her talent, there was no room for unsurities. She could conclude, yes, she did like that space idiot, and no, she didn’t entirely blame the shorter brat that had used him in the simulation, in his crazy scheme to end everything.

Maki Harukawa could firmly say, she was ready to face everyone, face Kaito, face Saihara, face Yumeno, face Ouma… and Tsumugi.

Her appearance in the dining hall that morning sparked shock, from the six occupants, two of which were maybe just possibly fighting over a slice of toast like petty children.

“Harukawa!” Saihara spoke in surprise, and Maki gave a curt nod in greeting to the detective.

“Eh… Little Miss Assassin makes her appearance, at last~!” Ouma taunted, returning to moving his hand in all sorts of crazy uncoordinated directions, clutching a slice of toast Kiibo tried desperately to grasp, but unable to due to Ouma’s constant uncoordinated movement.

“Ouma! Gimme it back!”

“Nahhh~ c’mon Kiibo surely you’re not completely useless even as a human?”

“That’s rude! I’ll have you know-”

“Ehhh excuses!” Ouma butted in.

“Hello Harukawa.” Amami waved a hand, having not know the girl entirely well during the sim, and not having clear memories of any of their exchanges from before said time.

The final two occupants in the room, besides Saihara, Amami, Ouma and Kiibo, were Iruma and Korekiyo. Korekiyo seemed content to sit at the side and observe everyone silently, and Iruma seemed too busy fiddling with some odd device to notice anything around her, including Kiibo and Ouma’s squabble or Maki’s entrance.

“Hello Amami.” Maki replied, taking a seat at the table, feeling slightly uncomfortable being opposite the supreme leader, who’d finally given up, tossing the toast back to Kiibo, instead taking to leaning on Saihara, sipping silently at a carton of juice, eyes baring deep into her soul. Finally he stopped, tore his gaze away, and up to Saihara.

“”Shuuichi-chan I’m boreddddd.” Ouma pouted, and Saihara just sighed. Maki raised an eyebrow, since when did Ouma refer to anyone by their first names?

“Is that your way of telling me you’d like to leave, Ouma?”

Oh so it was just Ouma, Saihara wasn’t in on it? Maki just shook it off, it was probably Ouma just being weird.

“Yup~ Ah Shuuichi-chan knows me so well~” Ouma beamed and Saihara just shook his head. He couldn’t figure the boy out, but it’d been four days now, since the boy's memory returned, and he realised his gay ass feelings for the boy. Ouma had also insisted on calling him Shuuichi now, which made Saihara’s heart flutter when he heard it, but he’d not let him know that obviously… Not to say Ouma hadn’t worked it out, but Saihara wasn’t sure.

“If you say so, Ouma.” Saihara mumbled, standing up, to help the shorter boy up. It turned out that Ouma’s trip down to the dining hall a few days ago, wasn’t actually a wise choice on Komaeda’s part, as his legs still weren’t 100%. It didn’t do any damage per say, but Ouma had felt a bit of pain the day after, and could barely stand because of it. So he still needed support to walk, and he was only allowed down to the dining hall twice a day, nothing else, the rest of the time, Hajime had told him he had to remain in his room to rest his legs. If by the weekend check up, he’d showed signs of improvements, then he’d have free reign.

Ouma used this time for breakfast, and mostly closer to night-time, because he liked that it was quieter at that time.

Ouma just gave a simple nishishi, grabbing the crutch he still had to use, other arm slung around Saihara’s neck (which was slightly awkward considering Saihara was taller than him.)

“Bye bye Little Miss Assassin~ try not to miss me too much?” Ouma gleefully spoke, missing Maki’s brief concerned look, as he departed with a small limp, Saihara holding him on his feet as he did.

Amami noticed this look though.

“He can’t walk properly, that’s why Saihara helps him out, apparently he underwent too much physical stress.”

Maki frowned. That was probably her fault wasn’t it?

“He didn’t even get his memory back till about four days ago.”

“Memory..back?”

“Oh you don’t know?” Amami asked in surprise, and Kiibo used this time to butt in.

“Ah Amami it might be best if you don-”

But Amami continued, unaware of the whole Kaito and Maki thing, including her talent to which he’d never actually been told.

“Some people don’t actually have any memories other than like… fake ones made in the Sim? Like.. Pre-Killing Game? I think that’s what Saihara called it. Anyway, Ouma didn’t know anything true except his own name till Saihara worked his magic.”

“Who.. Who else?”

“I believe Shirogane, on the 6th floor, and Tojo and Momota? They’re on the 12th floor. Ouma was the only one who didn’t react violently due to the memories. Apparently he was quite the opposite, he was really reserved and when me and Saihara tried to see him, he was really upset at being in the same place as us.”

“The other three are under constant supervision, and react violently when they can. Apparently Momota actually managed to injure one of the staff members recently, by faking an improvement in his condition, to be trusted enough with cutlery. Stabbed one of the female staff members in the leg with a fork.” Kiyo mumbled from the side, and Maki’s eyes widened. Kaito.. Had done that?

“Oh where’d you hear that?” Amami asked curiously.

“The girl who checks up on me. She’s quite detestable, and she lets infomation slip too easily.” Kiyo replied, and Kiibo let out a splutter.

“Th-That’s rude!”

“It’s true though.”

“Momota… doesn’t remember?”

“No, I’m sorry Harukawa. Myself and Iruma are helping out the best we can too!” Kiibo admitted, with a faint blush, because goddamnit that girl was distracting more than helpful, and she was also still completely engrossed in the device in her hands to listen to her being spoken about.

“Do.. do you think I could see him? I might be able to help like Saihara did? I.. can handle myself.”

Amami just gave a quizzical look which Kiyo cleared up.

“Ah. You don’t know because it was revealed after you died. Harukawa is the Ultimate Assassin.”

Amami just blinked once, twice.

“Oh.”

And then he gave a nervous chuckle, because what Ouma called her as he left made sense now.

“Well I’m sure you could handle yourself then.”

“You reacted quite well.” Maki commented and Amami just shrugged.

“What can I say, I hang around enough abnormal people to just not get surprised anymore.”

Iruma finally paused enough to notice Maki.

“Eh. I haven’t seen you around. Where have you been hiding Harukawa?”

“...”

“Suit yourself. If you’re wanting to see that idiot though, I know just the person to ask.” Iruma added, and Maki narrowed her eyes with interest.

“Ir-Iruma are you suggesting-?” Kiibo spluttered and Iruma smirked, giving a nod.

“Exactly.”

///

And that was how Maki Harukawa met Komaeda Nagito, a.k.a The Original Little Shit

Apparently Komaeda wasn’t actually staff of either Hope’s Peak or the Remnants of Future Foundation, he was just here because of Hinata Hajime, and just seemed to be breaking rules left right and center because he apparently didn’t give a shit for order? That’s the impression most of them had of him by now. Komaeda did hang around Hope’s Peak quite a bit, but he just got away with a lot of things and Maki had no idea what to think of the guy.

“Harukawa is it?” Komaeda asked, and Maki nodded.

“You’re wanting to see Momota… Even after I told poor Saihara no, twice.”

Maki blinked. Saihara had tried to see him too? It made her feel a bit better knowing the detective hadn’t lost that courage the astronaut had helped bloom.

“Yes.”

“Okay~”

Maki just blinked.

“That easy?”

“Yup. You see, I just have an inkling that these guys that don’t remember, just need someone to kickstart their memories. Worked for Kokichi, so…”

And apparently Komaeda was on first name basis with Little Shit 2.0

Made sense.

“So you’re thinking I’m that someone for Momota?”

Komaeda just nodded.

“I watched most of the game, since it broadcast back to the monitors. I even have an inkling for the other two.” Komaeda gave a sly smile and Maki had to stop herself from shuddering at the sight of it. This guy was.. Not normal, he made her feel on edge, and he seemed quite capable of pulling off some dangerous and insane shit.

How was there someone worse that Ouma in this world?

“Yet you’ve not said anything?”

“Of course not. Everyone’s hopeful enough without my ideas. It’s nicer to see you guys form your own hope, than have it forced upon you by me.”

Maki just frowned.

“But luckily, I happen to have been classmates with the two with Momota, and I’m sure I could convince them, so just give me a bit of time.. Say..2 hours?”

Maki just blinked. Did this guy have that much faith in himself? Or was his faith placed in something else?

///

As it turned out, Komaeda convinced Pekoyama Peko, and Nidai Nekomaru, that Maki could see Kaito, if she didn’t get to close, and the two of them, and Hajime Hinata had to be present. Mako wondered what Hinata could do, considering she’d seen him and he looked pretty weak to her?

She’d been informed, however, that he had a large array of talents, due to some messed up project from a few years ago, before everything fell to shit… which was partly his fault.

So, accompanied by a swordswoman, a huge ass guy who looked capable of killing someone with his pinkie, and the scrawny form of Hajime Hinata, Maki finally got in to see Kaito Momota.

////

“Shuuichi-chan~”

Saihara just looked at the boy in question, eyebrow raised, as they exited the dining room.

“Harukawa stayed in a room with me for more than 5 minutes without a threat on my life!” Ouma said, eyes sparkling in fake excitement that had Saihara roll his eyes at the boys antics. He suspected the boy had wanted to leave before Maki found out about Kaito’s condition, since Saihara was certain the girl would find some way to pin it on Ouma, and well... They didn’t need that in their lives at the moment, they already had enough burdens.

“I’m worried about her though.” Saihara admitted and Ouma sighed, as they reached the elevator, which had finally been fixed.

“Shuuuuichi-chan.” Ouma extended the ‘u’ vowel as he spoke, stopping for a moment before continuing to speak.

“You can’t help everybody y’know. Sometimes you have to look after yourself too!” Ouma commented and Saihara’s face went blank.

“Don’t try and hide it from me. You can’t hide that sort of thing from a Liar like me, y’know?” Ouma continued, as the number above the life slowly traveled downwards.

12, 11, 10, 9…

“I.. I-” Saihara didn’t have any excuses. It was just how he felt. He’d no issues with helping others, while staying silent about his own problems, because that’s the kind of person he was. Saihara Shuuichi was too considerate of everyone else and it was slowly killing him.

8...7...6...5

“Look after yourself more.”

4...3...2..

“I’ll try.”

..1

Saihara didn’t hear Ouma’s muffled thank you, as the doors dinged open for them, but that’s okay, because Ouma didn’t want him to hear anyway.

///

Despite everything, the Detective and the Supreme Leader still both slept in Ouma’s room, it was just one of those things they didn’t want to stop, mostly because it was comforting to have someone there, to tell them everything was okay, and that they weren’t in that horrible school, every time they awoke disoriented and scared.

It was usually Ouma that struggled with the nights to be fair though, it wasn’t often he did wake up, but Saihara was there regardless, he was a light sleeper so 9 times out of 10 he awoke to Ouma’s distressed noises, ready to assist in anyway he could. Maybe it was Maki’s appearance that brought the weight of everything back to Saihara, that even if it wasn’t reality, he failed to protect anyone, everyone had died before him, after he’d promised to continue Kaede’s wish, and even now he felt pretty helpless. Kaito couldn’t remember a thing about him… or anything for that matter. Saihara was finally starting to feel the pressure, because he felt the need to help everyone out, to aid in anyway he could, because it was the least he could do.

What kind of detective was he, letting everyone die before him? Letting himself be deceived and lied to without realising? Why didn’t he have the answers he needed? Why had he given up so easily?

On top of that, how could he even call himself the Ultimate Detective if he had to wait for someone else to tell him what he’d been feeling for Ouma? How did he not even realise his own feelings?

Saihara didn’t sleep much that night.

Ouma fell asleep pretty quickly, loosely wrapping himself around Saihara, because for some reason the Supreme Leader was a clingy sleeper. Saihara did eventually drift off, sometime in the early hours of the morning, but the only thing that greeted him was horrific nightmares.

It had started out quite nice, the 16 of them in Hope’s Peak, quite cheerful and happy if anything. And then Tenko had turned to face in, neck dripping in blood, eyes drawn in accusation at him. Saihara whipped around in desperation, only to come face to face with Angie, her too dripping in blood, finger pointed at him, besides Amami, who held a hand to his head, blood trickling through his fingertips. Slowly but surely everyone around him began to point or glare at him accusingly, the friends he’d tried so hard to help all glared at him like it was his fault, bodies reflecting the injuries they’d sustained before their deaths.

There was too much blood, and Saihara couldn’t escape, no matter how far he ran, they were always right behind him. Somehow, in his endless running, Saihara began to recognize his surroundings as the dreaded Prison school, and he could tell from the dark colours and whirring of machinery where he had wound up, from the press that lurked in the corner, two of his friends stood beside it, feral expressions littering the faces he knew would never look like that. Even as Saihara struggled, there was no way to resist the 13 students who shoved him forward, and the two who lurked beside the press, one grabbing each arm, hoisting him forward towards the metal he never wanted to go near again. Resisting did nothing though, and sure enough, Ouma was hoisted onto the slab, still trying to break free from the arms that held him into place. It was in the briefest of moments, that Saihara wondered if Ouma had been just as terrified, laying here, knowing what was to come, before the fear and panic overtook him once more. He knew this wasn’t real so why couldn’t he wake up? Why couldn’t he alter it? Why? When the heavy metal of the press finally dropped down, towards his struggling form, it ended.

Saihara bolted up from the bed, muffled scream from his lips, breathing uneven, hand shakily reaching instantly to clasp at his chest, as he tried to take in the oxygen he so badly needed. He could hardly breath, and the darkness of the room had him hyperventilate further, he was okay but his brain couldn’t accept that, it was still driven by fear and panic, and Saihara couldn’t function, he couldn’t move, all he could do was sit there, tucking his knees up, willing away the tears that made him have to choke back sobs, still unable to calm his breathing.

Why couldn’t he escape?

Why would it always be there in his mind?

Why couldn’t he just forget?

Saihara shuddered, breath hitching as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He managed to pick out the blurry form of Ouma, himself slightly disorientated, awoken by the noise Saihara made. The shorter boy had placed a hand on his shoulder, as to not spook him, there was silence between the two, as the supreme leader finally moved forward more, wrapping both his arms around Saihara, tugging him forward and into the smaller boy’s chest.

“Shuuichi it’s okay. Breathe for me, yeah?”

Saihara could only shake his head. He couldn’t- He couldn’t do it. Ouma didn’t give up though, one hand moved to calmly run his fingers through Saihara’s hair, combing it softly, the other to the stark pale face of horror and fear that was pressed against his chest, small fingers moving to wipe away the tears on the detectives cheeks.

“Shuuichi please.” Ouma asked again, and Saihara tried to take a shuddery breath, his shoulder jittered, and all he could do was make a feeble noise as he tried to inhale before exhaling sharply.

“There we go. Keep that up, breathe in.” Ouma mumbled, and Saihara followed in suit, finding it a tiny bit easier to gulp down the air he needed so desperately.

“And breathe out.” Saihara exhaled, calmer this time, but still unable to stop himself from letting out a sob, one he’d tried to contain.

“Shh, it’s okay Shuuichi, I’m here, okay? You’re safe.”

Saihara nodded, letting the boy know he’d heard, opening his mouth to try and speak, but only managing to let out another choked noise, hands moving up to clamp over his mouth, shaking his head wildly against Ouma who simply sat holding him.

“Don’t worry. You don’t need to rush. I’m not going anywhere, take your time, Shuuichi.”

Eventually, Ouma’s words and actions helped Saihara calm down, relaxing slowly but surely, in Ouma’s hold, his breathing evening out to a normal rate. Then the silence came.

That was the first time Ouma had ever woken up because of Saihara. Usually the detective could keep himself quiet and under control, but it’s likely the constant stress the Detective was silently enduring had finally caught up, and it had become too much to contain. Saihara was more than willing to care for Ouma when he awoke in a state, but it was the first time Saihara had ever disturbed the Supreme Leader. He felt like shit for disturbing the boy who already didn’t get enough sleep, and now he had just disrupted him with his pathetic panic. Ouma said nothing, and didn’t let go of Saihara either, even after he’d calmed down enough to breathe properly.

“You think too loud, Shuuichi-chan, I can hear you from here.” Ouma mumbled, the typical chan returning down the boy had calmed down considerably. Saihara didn’t notice the lack of honorific in his panic. Saihara just looked up, and Ouma sighed at the obvious guilt the detective was reflecting in his eyes.

“It’s not your fault Shuuichi-chan. I promise.” Ouma mumbled, trying to get the Detective to stop looking so guilty.

“B-But I woke you up- and-”

“So? You never complain when I wake you up. You’re allowed to be selfish sometimes y’know? If you feel lost, remember everyone in this building is here for you, okay?”

Saihara could tell Ouma was acting quite different than normal, and his voice slightly reflected that of the boy he’d been before his memories returned… Was it possibly the two personalities had merged?

“Bu-But-”

“No but’s. You’re allowed to put yourself first.”

Saihara just gave a weak nod. He didn’t want to, not when people were relying on him, or when people had bigger issues than him, but Ouma’s demanding tone made him consider trying at least.

“Now, you’re going to lay back down, and sleep, and if you wake up again, I am going to be right here for you, okay?” Ouma asked, one hand moving down to clasp at Saihara’s, squeezing reassuringly. Saihara just nodded quietly, complying with Ouma’s orders. As the detective slowly fell back asleep, he said nothing, reassured by the silent yet ever present squeeze of Ouma’s hand.

The boy didn’t have anymore nightmares that night, and by the time morning rolled around, Saihara woke up, and actually felt pretty rested, hand still held loosely by Ouma’s. The boy was already awake, staring at him curiously.

“You okay Shuuichi-chan?”

Saihara nodded, faintly embarrassed at the events of last night. He’d been so close to Ouma, and he’d looked so weak, after he promised he’d be strong for everyone.

“Good. Now let’s get you some food, that’s the best cure for feeling uneasy, don’t you know?” Ouma asked and Saihara furrowed his brow. It was?

“What time is it?”

“Like.. 3pm.” Ouma mumbling and Saihara never bolted out of bed as fast as he did that day.

“Ho- What the hell, why didn’t you get me up sooner?”

“Silly Shuuichi-chan. You needed sleep. Who cares what time you wake up? It’s not like we actually have anything to get up for at the moment, we’re stuck here till they sort out the others guys memories.”

“Bu-But-”

“You can’t risk your own safety to help others. Kiiboy and Iruma are doing what they can already, and you helped a lot, don’t you remember? You helped me, and you helped Kayaday and Amami too. You help us all without even knowing.”

“I- I do?”

“You do.”

“If you say so.” Saihara wasn’t overly sure he’d done anything to help, he didn’t feel like he had anyway but Ouma didn’t appear to be lying.

“Now, shall we get some food or not?”

Saihara nodded. He felt pretty hungry even though he’d only just woke up, and it did sound like a nice idea to head down to the dining hall at this time, since it’d probably be empty.

///

It wasn’t actually empty, but it was near enough. The only person in the room other than the two of them was Angie, who greeted them cheerfully but paid little other attention to them, too busy sketching with one hand, and nibbling on a sandwich in the other.

“Now, let’s find something for you to eat?”

Saihara just gave a nod. Did the Supreme Leader even know how to cook?

Apparently he did, and Saihara couldn’t help but be a tiny bit impressed at the boy, a small smile making his way onto his face, at the sloppily presented but rather tasty omelette the shorter boy cooked up for him.

“It’s probably not as good as what Tojo could make..” Ouma trailed, he kind of missed the maid, since she was pretty convenient to have around, and she did kind of feel like the mother he should have had but never did.

“It’s perfect Kokichi.” Saihara muttered, quickly shoveling it down, not even noticing his slip up with Ouma’s name. Ouma noticed though, and even if he was a master at deceiving people, he couldn’t deceive himself, tips of his ears turning red in embarrassment, because goddamn it he wanted Saihara to call him that all the time if that’s how the word sounded from the detective's mouth.

“No problem Shuuichi-chan.” Ouma smiled, a genuine smile that had both of them feel just a tiny bit happier in their rather complicated lives.

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itbeajen · 7 years

Text

Valentine’s Day | Tsukishima Kei

"Oh, [F/N]-chan, did you just finish your club activities?" Yachi called out as she spotted you entering the door way. You give her a bright smile and nod as you make your way towards her. "Kiyoko-senpai, Hitoka-chan, hello!" you greeted and continued, "Yeah, I just finished, thought I'd swing by since I still heard the sound of squeaking shoes." Yachi smiled and then leaned forward to whisper, "And not for a certain middle blocker?" "H-H-Hitoka!" you sputtered and Kiyoko raised an eyebrow and then she made a small 'o' before gracing you with a small smile. You pouted and whined, "Don't tease me like this too, Kiyoko-senpai!" "I'm sorry, [L/N]-chan," the pretty manager apologized, but the mirth in her eyes doesn't fade away. You sigh and gently touch your cheeks with your hands. My face is probably all pink and flushed. Am I really that obvious?

You risked a glance at Tsukishima as he dully followed through his actions and he happened to make eye contact with you. Almost immediately he smirks and you can feel your irritation level rising and you turned away with a slight huff. You can hear a small chuckle from him despite the distance and you sighed. Honestly, what a hopeless crush. You sat down Yachi, happily watching over the volleyball team as they finished up the last hour of their practice. Yachi glanced over at you and whispered, "Are you going to do anything tomorrow for Valentine's Day?" You glanced over at her and then slowly shook your head. She blinked at you in surprise and you gave her a small smile, "My parents signed me up for a mock exam, and it's on that day.. what about you?" "Mm, not really, we have a practice match at Tokyo." "Oh really?!" your voice was a bit louder, and there was a hint of excitement and she nodded and you asked, "Where at? Maybe I can come visit after the mock exam!" "Visit?" Yachi asked, slightly confused, you nodded and explained, "The mock exam is located in Tokyo, so I'll be there! I can come visit you afterwards!" "I'll-" "Hey, let's go." The two of you glance up and Tsukishima stares down at you, his expression as impassive as ever and he teased, "Or do you want to walk alone?" "Okay, okay!" you quickly got up and said, "I'll see you later Hitoka-chan!" You followed after the tall blonde, although he could walk much faster than you, he never did. You wave to Yamaguchi who greeted you in return and asked, "How was your day today, [F/N]-san?" "It was good!" you cheerfully responded and parroted, "How about yours?" "Isn't it always the same?" Tsukishima cut in. He walks between you and Yamaguchi and you glance over at him and tilted your head, "Is it? I feel like there's always something different happening each day." Tsukishima rolled his eyes, and mumbled, "You're too optimistic." You shrugged and responded, "Someone has to cancel out your negativity, Tsukishima-kun!" The remainder of the walk was mostly just chatter between you and Yamaguchi, it was the norm between the three of you. Friends since middle school, the three of you were practically inseparable. Yamaguchi was about to make his normal turn and then he paused, "Tsukki, you're walking us all the way?" Tsukishima paused, and you turned to look at him and asked, "Your street is on the opposite side." "I know," Tsukishima muttered, and then sighed, "I'm just tired." He turned away, his hand merely going up to signal his good-bye, and you frowned, your eyes narrowing and brows furrowed and you called out, "Walk home safely, Tsukishima-kun!" You see him pause, and then he glanced back and mouthed a quick thanks. He ducks his head away and a small smile breaks out on your face and Yamaguchi chuckled. How cute of them.

Moon Child has logged on. Moon Child: [F/N]. Smol Birb has logged on. Smol Birb: ??? Smol Birb: Yes? Moon Child: Never mind. Moon Child has logged off. Tsukishima leaned back in his chair and sighed. Too much work. He leaned forward and unlocked his phone again. He stared intently at your contact information. He still wasn't sure when this happened, or how it happened. Somewhere during this friendship, the line between just friends, and a little more began to blur, and Tsukishima could no longer differentiate it properly. Has he always been able to freely call you by just your name? Then why is it that you still don't call him by his? Or is it because he never brought it up like you had? He sighed again, and casually placed his phone on the table, screen facing down and he muttered, "How irritating."

"Good morning!" you greeted as Yachi walked into the classroom, and her eyes widened, "You're here so early." "Yeah, I had to help out with the student council," you sighed and Yachi shook her head, "And passed out obligatory chocolates?" She gave you a fond smile as her gaze swept the classroom desks. Each table had a small chocolate heart, unsigned and unnamed, but with you being the only one here, it was pretty obvious. You shoot her a cheeky grin and you reach into your bag before pulling out a specially wrapped chocolate heart and you said, "Here's yours, Hitoka-chan." From outside the hallway, Tsukishima stares out and Yamaguchi asked, "Tsukki?" "What?" He turns to his friend and Yamaguchi shook his head, "No, it's nothing." Nothing except that it's obvious. The blonde looked away, his gaze lingering on you for a little more. It's just another year of obligatory chocolates. "Let's go, Yamaguchi." The blonde began to walk off and almost as soon as they were out of range, Yachi asked, "Did you make any for Tsukishima-kun?" You give her a small nod, but the smile on your face was slightly strained, and after a small sigh, it fades away. You looked out the window and mumbled, "I forgot to bring it though." Yachi gently pats your back reassuringly and she cheerfully gave you a small smile, "It'll be okay."

Come lunch, Yachi was confused to see you walk out of the classroom with a troubled expression. But she hadn't given it more thought after being questioned by Hinata and Kageyama about studying together. She slowly made her way to class 1-4 in hopes of finding you there, but she finds her assumption wrong when the two boys were eating lunch with each other. Tsukishima catches her gaze and he tilts his head in confusion, causing Yamaguchi to look over with a smile. "Yachi-san, what are you doing here?" he asked as she made her way in. A shy smile was on her lips and she slowly shook her head, "I thought maybe [F/N]-chan would be here." Tsukishima's eyes slightly widened, but it was unnoticeable to the two bubbly friends before him and Yamaguchi shook his head, "No, she's not here. Doesn't she normally eat with lunch with you?" Yachi opens her mouth, about to respond, but the ruckus outside in the hallway catches her attention as the group of boys walked and chattered. "Hey man, it's okay, maybe she's just playing hard to get, you know?" One of them appeared to be trying to console his other friend who seems to have been rejected, but the other one responded dejectedly, "[L/N]-san wouldn't do that." At the mention of your name, Yachi noticed how Tsukishima suddenly tensed, his hands that were once casually holding the chopsticks tightened until his knuckles were white. His eyes narrowed, and whatever emotions that were once shown on them were gone and replaced with cold topaz. Someone confessed to [F/N]? "And besides," the rejected male spoke, albeit a bit softer this time, but still loud enough for the trio in the class to hear, "She said she already likes someone..." Tsukishima's eyes widened in shock, and he immediately excuses himself as he makes his way to the restroom. What the fuck? Tsukishima was practically storming through the hallways in silent anger as he tried to calm himself down. [F/N] likes someone? Who?

Tsukishima's mood took a turn for the worst throughout the day. Although his game wasn't off for volleyball, he was definitely more focused than usual, but also abnormally tense. Before the last practice match, Tsukishima takes a quick water break, and tries to calm his thoughts. I shouldn't be this bothered by someone confessing to her... It's not like I have the right to say who she can or can't date. I'm just her good friend anyways. The last thought irritates him, and the water bottle in his hand is crushed. A sigh escapes his lips and he shakes his head. One more practice. And then I can just forget it all when I get home. But almost as soon as Tsukishima gets home, he opens his phone and is surprised to see a slew of messages from you. Smol Birb has logged in. Smol Birb: Tsukishima! Smol Birb: ;__; Tsukishima, I'm so sad. Smol Birb: I don't think I did well on the mock exam. Smol Birb: I know it's a mock exam, but omg what if I don't do well on the actual one?? T__T Smol Birb: And it was so long. Smol Birb: I hate itttt Moon Child has logged in. Moon Child: how annoying. Smol Birb has logged in. Smol Birb: How r u d e Tsukishima mulled over what to respond, but he doesn't get the chance to when he sees your next text. Smol Birb: How was practice today? Smol Birb: I was going to visit, but I would have missed the bus back if I did. Smol Birb: I hope practice wasn't too bad for you!! x) Moon Child: It was annoying. Smol Birb: Annoying? ): That's not good! Smol Birb: Do you want me to come over and cheer you up? Hehe. Moon Child: What am I? Your child? Smol Birb: My best friend! I'll see you later then! Tsukishima shook his head fondly and then sighed. She's so nosy.

You stepped into the house, it was dark and gloomy and immediately you remembered that your parents were out for the night. You sighed and muttered, "Right." You sighed, and softly mumbled to yourself, "I'm home." "Welcome back idiot, don't you check your phone?" You swung around, surprised to see Tsukishima standing at your doorway and his shit-eating grin was ever present, and he raised an eyebrow at you, "Do you always leave your door open for strangers to come in?" "I locked the screen gate," you pointed out and frowned, "Besides you have the keys to my house." You pointed at the keys that dangled from his fingers, and he quickly stuffed them into his pocket and you shook your head, "Sorry, I didn't see your messages." He nodded and made his way in, closing the door behind him. You stared at his back and you quickly followed after him and asked, "How'd you know I got back?" "I just did." "Did you ask Yamaguchi-kun to check up on me?" You teased, but you were surprisingly pleased when you saw him tense slightly and you giggled, "You didn't have to, you know?" Tsukishima looked away, and you can hear him tut in annoyance and you walked around until he was forced to look at you and you gave him a small smile, "Thank you for checking up on me." His normally indifferent liquid gold shimmered briefly with emotion and he merely nods before smirking, "If I don't, who would?" But he almost immediately regrets his words when he sees the flicker of pain on your expression and he immediately bites his lower lip and softly muttered, "I'm your childhood friend, you idiot." You give him a faint smile and said, "Could you wait here? I'm going to drop off my stuff in my room and change out of my uniform." As soon as you leave him alone in the living room, he makes himself comfortable on the couch. A long sigh escapes his lips as he relaxes himself completely on the furniture. Why did I come over? What was I hoping for? His eyes fluttered close. Childhood friend... That's all I am.

You fidgeted in your room as you changed into a more casual light pink hoodie and white pajama shorts. You pulled at the hem as you tied your hair up into a messy bun and sighed. Now that he's here, what am I supposed to do? I was planning on just dropping off the cake at his door and then leaving or something. You bit your lower lip in annoyance and a frustrated whine is heard. I don't know what I'm supposed to do! I didn't think this far! A pout forms on your lips as you make your way back down the stairs. Ah forget it, I'm just going to grab the cake, and give it to him, and I'll just tell him and... What if he rejects me though? I... Tsukishima had noticed you pause in the hallway once you made your way down the stairs. You were facing the kitchen, not the living room, and your bad habits were showing again. Your fingers were fidgeting with the hem of your hoodie and your bottom lip was being nibbled on lightly. He gets up, but notices that you twitch slightly in his direction upon hearing his footsteps on the wooden floor. "What's with that face?" Your hands flew to your face and his eyebrow quirks slightly and he asked, "Well?" "Sorry, a lot on my mind," your smile was weak and he knows. Heck, you even know that he knows. There is silence for a while and you asked, "Do you... I mean," you sighed, "Can you just wait here?" Tsukishima blinked, but before he could say anything you rushed into the kitchen and he scoffed, following you in. Your figure was slightly bent over as you looked around for the cake and upon finally finding it, you straighten out. Closing the fridge door behind you, you turn, only to momentarily panic upon seeing Tsukishima standing a little bit away from you. "I told you-" "What is that?" You looked at the cake and then slowly brought it up to level to him and said, "I made you a strawberry shortcake... for Valentine's Day." "Oh." He looks at it, then at you, and then he asked, "Don't you already like someone though?" You looked at him with disbelief and asked, "What?" He doesn't respond and you set the cake down on the kitchen counter and asked, "Who did you hear that from?" Tsukishima looked away and your voice lowered, "Did you hear about what happened today?" He doesn't answer, and the fact that he refused to look at you makes you want to cry a little bit, but you don't, you refuse to. And you take in a shaky breath and explained, "I was confessed to, but I don't like him. I already have someone I like." Tsukishima flinched, and you quickly grab his hands, knowing he was going to attempt to leave the room, and you rapidly confessed, "I like you." Your gaze was locked on the warm gold that was filled with doubt, and also hope, and you softly repeated, "I like you, Tsukishima-kun." You watch as the red that tinges his cheeks spread over and he turns away from you, a hand over his face and he muttered, "Kei." Your head tilts slightly to one side, and he repeated, "Just call me Kei." The warm hues of your orbs light up magnificently and immediately you smiled and he gently locks your fingers with his and he responded, "I like you too, idiot."

#jenbean writes #tsukishima kei #reader insert #hqlit #haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #tsukishima kei x reader #valentines day

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peachrings-and-bluebells · 7 years

Text

What Are You To Me? || Part 3

Hoseok // Soulmate AU

Part 1 ... Part 2

Word Count: 2,340

Warning(s): Mild language (Cursing)

Hoseok’s POV

As the days and weeks went by, Hoseok found himself thinking of his Enemy constantly, much to his confusion. Hate was a strong feeling, just as strong as love, and perhaps that was why Hoseok’s mind continually wandered to the person he supposedly hated. But there was no animosity in his thoughts, only an ever-present discomfort that something was not quite right in the world. It was beginning to show, it seemed, since his friends kept sending him concerned looks every time he thought about his Enemy and her Soulmate; he found himself frowning heavily more often, too.

It wasn’t until one group dinner where Taehyung finally brought his Soulmate, Aera, to be introduced to them that Hoseok realized what it could all possibly mean.

“And Hoseok hyung has been weirdly grumpy for weeks now! It doesn’t make sense - Enemies don’t make you feel grumpy!” Taehyung cried during his monologue about how his favorite hyung (he loved all his hyungs, of course, but Hoseok was Hoseok) barely ever paid him attention anymore after the Bump and Run.

“He’s right,” Yoongi agreed, “you’ve been down a lot more recently. What’s been eating you, Seokseok?”

Hoseok would usually fake gag at the endearment, but tonight he just heaved a great sigh and slumped down in his seat. “I don’t even know! I just feel so uncomfortable all the time!” he wailed. Namjoon, never the best at comforting, awkwardly patted Hoseok’s back.

“Uncomfortable?” wondered Jin. “That’s definitely not a normal reaction to meeting your Enemy. And it wouldn’t last so long either unless you see them constantly…”

Yoongi and Namjoon, the only two so far (aside from Hoseok) to have met their Enemies (Enemy, actually, because it was the same person - it was how they became closer, funnily enough) nodded.

“Usually, seeing or thinking about your Enemy causes you to get angry or upset. How much depends on whatever past history you have with them,” said Namjoon.

“You remember what happened that time we had to deal with that asshole Jonggoo?” growled Yoongi. Everyone else except Aera winced; that was not a good week for the group, what with getting Namjoon to stop moping and keeping Yoongi from trying to find stuff for blackmail. And, apparently, Jonggoo’s Enemy tattoo was neither of their names so he really was just a dick who had nothing better to do in his life than infuriate people. Point was, people tried not to think about their Enemies at all if possible.

“But still!” Hoseok insisted. “She said - almost screamed, really - that we were Enemies. And she was with this big buff guy already and he was staring me down like he was her boyfriend which he probably was ‘cause it looked like they had just finished a lunch date so they’re probably Soulmates which has to mean that she and I are really Enemies…”

The table was silent following their friend’s word vomit. No one was sure what to say and decided to let Hoseok cool down a bit. A few deep breaths later, he sat up straight again and calmly asked a wide-eyed Jungkook, “Pass the japchae?”

The rest of the evening was spent getting to know Aera (to whom Hoseok apologized for giving a rather unfortunate first impression) until Taehyung said he was going to escort her home. Hoseok left not long after, but not before Jimin gave him a tight hug.

Over the following week, Hoseok kept thinking about what the others had told him about usual Enemy interactions. He wasn’t feeling angry or upset in any way when he thought about his Enemy, there was a strange niggling half-thought floating around in his mind, and he was thinking about her much, much more than one would usually think about their Enemy.

But why was he uncomfortable thinking about his Enemy? From what he remembered, and from Jin’s account, she hadn’t done anything that Hoseok would find uncomfortable. And now that he thought about it more, he wasn’t feeling the kind of discomfort that came after something like having your personal space invaded or having strangers on the street look at you weirdly because you were being yelled at by your Enemy. No… it was a feeling closer to nausea, or maybe trying to breathe in thin air.

When Hoseok called his sister for her opinion, she asked, “Do you feel that way when you think of her?”

“No…” he answered slowly.

“Then what about if you think about her boyfriend?” she prompted.

Hoseok’s lip curled in disgust when a memory of the man’s vaguely smug face flitted through his mind. When he didn’t answer his sister right away, she made a sound of realization and added, “What if you think of them together?”

“Definitely feeling a bit nauseous, noona,” Hoseok replied as he began to nervously tap his foot. His sister chuckled softly, and just as he was about to complain about her lack of seriousness, she spoke.

“You’re so silly, Hoseok… Don’t you see? She can’t be your Enemy if you don’t hate her, if you don’t feel any sort of negative emotions about her alone. I don’t think you could anyway, you’re too kind for that. No, no, you just don’t like her boyfriend.”

“But I don’t even know that guy!” Hoseok exclaimed. “And he didn’t do anything bad to me, so what reason do I have to dislike him?”

“I think you’re jealous.” Hoseok swore he heard a faint smirk in his sister’s voice. “You have her name, and she has yours. Soulmates or Enemies? It doesn’t seem like she’s your Enemy, so that leaves you with…”

“Soulmate,” breathed Hoseok. His mind whirled with this realization. It was possible - entirely possible - that she had mixed the two up. His heart thumped in his chest as a sudden mix of warm and cold spread throughout his body from opposite sides, starting from his wrists. He looked down to see the only name he had - his Soulmate’s - was taking on hints of color around the edges of the solid black characters. His other, empty wrist, meanwhile, had a strikethrough where a name would have been if he had an Enemy.

“Hoseok, you okay? You’ve gone really quiet,” said his sister; Hoseok had forgotten she was still on the line.

He took a deep breath and replied, “Yeah, I’m fine, noona. I just… My tattoo just - it has colors now…”

He heard a sharp intake of breath from his sister. “You lucky kid. But I should have known. You better tell her soon, or it’s just going to be a big mess - especially since she’s dating someone who isn’t her Soulmate.” Some voices in the background suddenly called for her and she groaned. “Damn, I forgot… Hoseok, I’ve really gotta go right now, but call me tomorrow if you need to, okay? Bye, little bro.”

The siblings hung up and Hoseok stared at his wrist. As much as he wanted to run through the city in hopes of bumping into his Soulmate and showing her his tattoo, he couldn’t. She had seemed to really like the guy, so suddenly appearing to shove his wrist in her face would do nothing more than upset her. No, it was probably best to wait for now and hope that they would meet again and have a calm conversation where he could bring the Soulmate mix-up thing up.

He could wait, Hoseok was sure. Soulmates usually found each other and with his colored tattoo... they were rare, and while unconfirmed, seemed to belong to Soulmates who developed unusually strong bonds.

Hoseok traced the lines of the name on his wrist with his eyes, and whispered to himself, “My Soulmate… I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait until the day you realize that I’m yours.”

Your POV

The first few weeks of dating and getting to know each other were fun. There was the spontaneous trip to the beach that day that was abnormally warm for early spring, and the day at the arcade where the two of you competitively butted heads over childhood games. You made Sangin lunch one day (it was a tad too salty for him) and he returned the favor a week later (much too spicy for you, unfortunately), and while that hasn’t happened again for fear of assulted taste buds, you two had a good laugh over it every once in a while.

You and Sangin, busy as you both were, could only spend time together one day a week, two at most. After two months, an agreement was made to try to go out more often, so dinners at each other’s apartments became more common. Those dates were nice, too. And that was all they were, you realized as your relationship approached its fourth month. Sure, there was hours and hours of pleasant conversation and a good amount of cuddling and quite a bit of kissing, but you felt almost... stagnant.

And much like the other times in your life when you had started to feel like you were trapped in a standstill, you withdrew in an attempt to figure out how and why such a thing happened. Sangin’s concern, while appreciated at first, soon began to grate on your nerves when he never seemed to understand why you were, in his words, acting like such a recluse when the weather was perfect for going out and having fun together.

To make matters worse, on some of the days when you weren’t feeling down and tense, you would sometimes spot your Enemy while he was out with his friends. Hoseok never approached you and only threw some indecipherable glances your way, but seeing him bothered you enough to make you uneasy. You tried talking to Sangin about it once, but his response didn’t help.

“Why are you so affected by the man? You bumped into each other once and nothing has happened since,” said Sangin offhandedly.

“Well, yeah, but whenever I see him, everything’s just telling me something’s wrong, so of course I’m bothered!” you nearly yelled in return.

Sangin rolled his eyes and scoffed quietly. “Wow, way to be vague - everything is telling you that something is wrong. Are your Spidey senses tingling? Does your Enemy look like he’s about to shoot killer light rays at you?”

Realizing that your boyfriend was not going to be helpful in the least, you shut up about the discomfort you felt whenever Hoseok was in your line of sight. (He sometimes wandered into your thoughts as well, but you were quick to shove him out of your head. No need to stress yourself out even more.) Unfortunately, your attempts at not acknowledging your Enemy were backfiring as the memory of his unhappy and tired expression from about two months ago kept sneaking its way past your mental blocks and, oddly, made you feel guilty.

The first big fight came a week before your six month anniversary.

If you were to be honest, you weren’t surprised it happened - it had been building up for a while now, like constantly increasing pressure in a container with no valves to relieve it. It certainly didn’t help that both of you had a tendency to become irritable quickly when exhausted, and the past week had been hectic to say the least.

“Can you just-? Will you just tell me what’s bothering you so much?” asked Sangin during a dinner at your apartment. “You’ve been quiet and gloomy for months now! And you’ve given me no reason for it at all!”

You pursed your lips a bit before taking a small bite of food. You took your time to chew and swallow the food, trying to give yourself time to come up with a civil answer (and not a rant with a slew of curse words thrown in about how you had given a reason).

“I have told you,” you started. “I mentioned it a few times before it became obvious that you didn’t take me seriously.”

Sangin raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “You mean that completely vague ‘something’s wrong and I’m sure it’s because of my Enemy that I interacted with all of one time’ thing? That’s what’s been bothering you for months now?”

“Yes! Why is that so hard to believe?” you cried, quickly giving up your attempt to stay calm. “For fuck’s sake, we have tattoos from some mystic whatever telling us who our Soulmates and Enemies are, and you can’t believe that I have a feeling that something’s off?”

“How am I supposed to help you then?” Sangin asked incredulously. “Do you want me to come up with every possible idea under the sun until you realize what’s wrong?”

You crossed your arms and fix him with a hard stare. “It’d be more than what you’ve done so far to help me.”

“That’s a ridiculous way to figure things out! We’d get nowhere, and we’d just be wasting a shit-ton of time!” he argued. “Besides, why are you even thinking of your Enemy? I’m your Soulmate, aren’t I?”

“I don’t know - have you been acting like a Soulmate lately? Maybe you’re onto some-”

“You know what? I just - I think I need to be away from you for a while,” Sangin said tiredly, interrupting you. “At least until you calm down and start thinking logically.” He quickly gathered his things and walked out without a single glance back at you, allowing the door to slam closed behind him.

You slumped down in your seat in exhaustion, internally berating yourself for spouting out whatever nonsense came to your head. As you replay the argument in your head, you stared listlessly in front of you and thought people must not like thinking about their initial struggles with Soulmates. That’s probably why no one had ever said anything.

A few minutes later (it felt like an hour to you, but the clock on the wall disagreed), you picked yourself up and started clearing away the remains of your unfinished dinner.

Things would fall into place soon, you were sure of it.

Part 4

#bangtan #jhope #peachbellwrites #bts au #hello readers i have finally returned to finish this darn thing #it's been almost a year since part 2 omg

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juggieheadcoopers-blog · 7 years

Note

Hey there :)) could you please do a request where Betty gets kidnapped one night and she was just on her way to meet the gang at pops? The gang obviously notices that Betty is late and tries to find her. They go to her house, the school everywhere and conclude that she's missing. Her parents find out and freak out. Please include Jughead and Betty together as in a relationship and make it super angsty!!!!! Thank you so much 💋

Here you go, hope you like it! P.s: This is a long one guys, sorry about that! I straight up wrote a freaking novel lol

**Warning: This fic touches on the subject of kidnapping. Although it is not graphic, it still might be a sensitive subject for certain readers.**

–

6:54pm

Betty Cooper stood on the curb across the street from Pop’s, smiling to herself as she watched her friends filing into a booth closest to the window. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her phone and dialed her sister’s number.

“Hey, Polly it’s me,” she said into the phone, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets as she stepped to the side and let the family in front of her cross the street. “I’m almost to Pop’s so I can’t talk long, but I just - I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. I know you probably don’t hear that often, especially from mom and dad, but I just thought you should know that you’re probably one of the strongest people I’ve ever known. I don’t think I could have gone through what you’re going through right now and come out of it a better person but you - you’re raising your baby the way you think is right and you’re doing it on your own. You’re an incredible sister and mother and friend and I just - I wanted to tell you how much I love you. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow okay? I can’t wait to squish that little nephew of mine’s cheeks! Bye!”

Betty slid her phone back into her bag before looking both ways for oncoming traffic, and crossing the street. Once she made it safely across, she noticed a familiar face leaning against the side wall, and quickly hurried over to greet her.

“Hey, Josie!” Betty called out to her. “Can’t wait to hear you and the pussycats at the parade tomorrow!”

“Well, I expect another rave review from a certain school newspaper, that’s for sure,” Josie told her, raising one eyebrow at her expectantly as she adjusted the cat ears on top of her head.

“You know me, I only write the truth,” Betty reminded her, taking a step backwards as she headed for the front entrance of the diner. “See ya!”

Josie waved goodbye before hopping into the car that just pulled alongside the curb, making Betty the only person left in the parking lot. Just as she was about to pull open the door to Pop’s, a noise coming from the alleyway on the opposite side of the restaurant struck her attention.

“Hello?” Betty called out to the empty parking lot. “Is someone there?”

When no one answered, Betty was ready to deem herself a fool and head inside the diner like nothing happened until a figure crossing the parking lot towards the alley - letterman jacket, dark hair, tall build - drew her attention back to the strange noise.

“Reggie, is that you?” Betty asked as she took a few steps into the dark alley. “Reggie?”

Rounding the corner, Betty stepped into the alley to find the man facing in the opposite direction, his face completely hidden from her view.

“Reggie, what are you-” Before Betty could get the words out, the man turned around to reveal his face to her, causing Betty’s heart to pound rapidly in her chest as the fear began to set in.

“You’re not Reggie,” Betty muttered, her breath catching in her throat as she heard movement coming from all around her in the alley.

“No, love,” the man growled, his voice low and rough as he signaled for his menacing companions to creep up behind her. “Can’t say that I am.”

With a quick nod of his head, the man stepped away from Betty and allowed for three men to grab her from behind and lift her into the air.

“No, get away from me! Get awa-” Betty tried to call out for help, kicking and screaming as they carried her through the alley, but it was too late. One of the men had silenced her by placing his giant hand over her mouth, his grip tightening as he threw her into a van at the back of the alley.

No one had heard her cry for help. No one was coming to save her. She was alone and she had no idea how she was going to escape.

–

7:32pm

“I can’t believe you ordered that.”

Veronica took one look at the giant burger that the waitress had just set in front of Archie and raised an eyebrow at him in mock-disgust. “Do you know what that much grease is going to do to your skin?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” Archie sighed, looking from the hamburger, to Veronica, and back again, an amused tone to his voice.

“Hey, Veronica, have you heard from Betty?” Jughead wanted to know, his brows furrowing together in concern as he looked over his shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time since they had filed into the booth half an hour ago. “She should be here by now.”

“Not since our phone call earlier,” Veronica informed him, picking up a fry from the plate in front of her and waving it dramatically in Jughead’s direction. “She insisted that my leather mini I bought online last week wasn’t going to make look like a bloated cow, but I told her that-”

“What time was that?”Jughead cut her off, his patience beginning to run thin at Veronica’s incessant need to change the subject back to anything to do with fashion. “Your phone call?”

“Uh, around 5:30 I think,” Veronica answered, her forehead scrunching together as she thought back to the conversation in question.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Veronica assured him, pushing the plate of fries away and narrowing her eyes at Jughead. “Okay, what’s with the spontaneous game of 20 Questions: Betty Cooper edition? Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Jughead muttered, his gaze focused on nothing in particular in front of him. When he noticed all of his friends’ eyes on him, he quickly shook his head out of its trance and turned to them with a reassuring smile. “I mean no, of course nothing’s wrong.”

Skeptically, Veronica pulled her gaze away from Jughead and turned to Kevin. “Anyway, Kev, what’s your take on the skirt situation?”

Letting his friends continue their conversation, Jughead slid out of the booth to a quieter section of the diner and pulled out his phone.

“Uh, hey, Bets, it’s me,” Jughead greeted his girlfriend’s voicemail, his hand sliding up and down the back of his neck nervously as he tried to keep his voice calm. “I told myself that I was never going to play this sort of role in my lifetime for fear of becoming just like every underdeveloped male character in a romantic drama, but with you I can’t seem to help it. I’m starting to get really worried, Bets. I know there’s probably a logical explanation for your not being here but I’m to the point where I can’t think of one that makes any shred of sense to me. So when you get this, can you please call me back so we can both laugh about how much of a fool I am together please? I just - I want to know that you’re safe.”

Just as Jughead clicked off his phone and turned to head back to the booth, a figure heading in the opposite direction caused him to slam directly into their chest and nearly knock him into booth next to them.

“Oh, sorry, Arch,” Jughead mumbled as he looked up to see his longtime friend staring at him with concerned eyes. “Didn’t see you there.”

“Jug, what’s going on?” Archie asked. “You’ve been acting strange since we got here. Does this have something to do with Betty not being here yet?”

“Of course not. People can be late, Archie,” Jughead reminded him, his eyes darting to the floor as he attempted to avoid Archie’s gaze. “That’s not an abnormal thing to occur, especially for teenagers.”

“It is for Betty,” Archie pointed out. “She was an hour and a half early for our Kindergarten graduation, Jughead. And if you remember correctly, she made sure that all of us were the first ones at the door to take the SAT’s last month. She texted us hours before we had to be there to make sure we were up and ready to go. Betty hasn’t been late a day in her life and there’s no way that she would start now, not when she had that important announcement she wanted to share with us tonight.”

Jughead fidgeted uncomfortably next to Archie, his mind screaming at him to tell him that he was right, but his heart too terrified to admit the truth.

“You think something’s wrong,” Archie concluded, and Jughead’s head snapped up to meet his gaze.

“No, I don’t-”

“Come on, Jughead, I know you,” Archie reminded him, his voice dropping to a whisper as he let a few of their classmates headed for an open booth pass them. “You’re really worried.”

“I just - I have this feeling,” Jughead struggled to explain himself, his words coming out rushed and unsure. “It feels like something’s not right. And I know her, Archie. She would have called me if she was running late. She would have made sure that one of us knew where she was.”

“I agree,” Archie concurred. “So let’s go find her.”

“You don’t think I’m crazy?”

“You know Betty better than anyone, Jughead,” Archie explained, reaching up to clap a reassuring hand on one of Jughead’s shoulders. “If you say something’s not right, then I believe you.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Jughead backpedaled quickly - a way of assuring himself more than anyone, that his girlfriend really was just fine. “I’m probably freaking out for no reason and she’s just at home with her parents or with Polly or I don’t know, staying late at the Blue and Gold and forgot to tell me.”

“Okay, well let’s go find out for sure so we can have a good laugh about this later, okay?” Archie suggested, knocking back Jughead’s shoulder in an attempt to get him to crack a smile. When he gave a faint nod, Archie took that as an affirmative and gestured towards the door. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Archie, wait,” Jughead stopped him, placing a hand on his arm to swing him back around so that they were facing their friends. “We should tell the others.”

“After you,” Archie let Jughead pass him before heading to the booth to join their friends, both of them shuffling their feet as they walked through the diner to stand in front of the table with troubled expressions evident on their faces.

“Something is wrong I knew it,” Veronica declared the second she looked up from her phone to take note of Jughead’s furrowed brows and deep frown. “Did Cheryl make Dilton Doiley wear the mascot head again? Did he pass out like last time? God, I thought I told her to-”

“It’s Betty,” Archie explained, his eyes drifting to Jughead standing next to him, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Jughead and I think that something might have happened.”

“She’s not answering her phone and I haven’t heard from her since right before she left to come here,” Jughead continued. “It’s not like her and I’m - I’m starting to get worried.”

Without another word, Veronica slid out of the booth, slinging her bag over her shoulder and turning to face her friends with a look of determination.

“What do you need us to do?” Veronica asked, her brows drawing together in concern as her thoughts drifted off to where her best friend could possibly be.

“I think we should spread out, look at all the places where we think she might be,” Archie suggested, turning to Jughead for confirmation. When he nodded, Archie continued on with his plan like they were heading off into battle. “Jughead and Veronica, you take the Cooper’s house while Kevin and I check the school. In the meantime, Veronica can you-”

“Already sent a mass text to everyone in our class telling them to let me know if they’ve heard from her in the last hour or so,” Veronica explained. “If anyone’s seen her, we should know within the next few minutes or so. We’re going to find her, Jughead, I promise.”

“First rule as a mystery or horror novelist, Veronica,” Jughead muttered, his eyes dropping to the ground. “Never allow your characters to make promises they can’t keep.”

“Well, this isn’t some Stephen King novel,” Veronica reminded him. “This is real life, and she’s Betty Cooper. The B to my V. Your girlfriend. And we won’t stop looking until she’s back in that booth with us, enjoying a strawberry milkshake like it’s just any other day. That’s a promise I can keep.”

8:23pm

“Are you sure this thing’s sturdy?” Veronica called up to Jughead as she slowly made her way up the ladder leading to Betty’s room.“I mean, I’m really not wearing the right shoes for this. If this $150 heel gets stuck in that rung, I’m so sending you the bill to get it repaired.”

“Well, would you rather go through the front door and explain to her parents what we’re doing here?” Jughead asked, glancing down to watch Veronica take one nervous step at a time from his spot at the top of the ladder.

“If she really is missing, Jughead, we’re going to have to tell them,” Veronica pointed out, clutching the rung above her with both hands as she waited for Jughead to make his way to the window.

“She’s not missing,” Jughead muttered under his breath, placing his flashlight under his arm as he fiddled with opening the window. “We’re just going to have a look around her room - see if we find any clues that might tell us where she is.”

“Are you sure that the window is even going to be-” Veronica started to say as she watched Jughead struggle with the window, but quickly silenced herself as he slid it open with such ease that made it seem like it hadn’t even been locked in the first place. “So this is why you guys look so happy all the time. You have an all-access, sneak-in-anytime-you-want, booty call entrance.”

“Would you just stop talking and start climbing,” Jughead snapped, locking the window into place and stepping into Betty’s bedroom.

“Sir, yes sir,” Veronica mocked, carefully swinging her legs around and hoisting herself into the room.

Jughead shut the window behind her and stuffed the flashlight into his back pocket as he casually began to peruse Betty’s desk, lifting up papers and various odds and ends that looked like they could be hiding something.

“What are we looking for exactly?” Veronica wanted to know, crossing the room to run her hand along the quilt that Betty’s grandmother had made for when she was younger, feeling the fragile fabric with her fingers as she sat along the foot of her bed.

“Notes, books, any sort of hint that might suggest she made a stop before she came to meet us at Pop’s,” Jughead explained, leaving the mahogany desk to rummage through the trashcan that sat alongside it.

“Well even if she did, I doubt she would have left anything in her room about it,” Veronica pointed out, hopping off the bed to join Jughead by Betty’s closet. “That girl’s been more secretive than ever lately, especially with her parents poking around here all the time.”

“That’s why you need to know her favorite hiding spots,” Jughead mumbled, his head snapping up as if a thought suddenly occurred to him. His feet moving quickly, he made his way to Betty’s bedside table and began rummaging through it until he found the screwdriver he remembered her mentioning a few weeks ago. Once he had what he was looking for, he turned around to face the wall closest to the bed and crouched down to the floor.

“The air vents?” Veronica questioned, skepticism evident in her tone. “Isn’t that a little, Veronica Mars?”

“It might be outdated, but it works like a charm,” Jughead informed her, twisting the screws until the frame popped off and setting it onto the floor next to him. Reaching inside, Jughead pulled out a thick leather-bound journal and held it out to show Veronica.

“Great, now I’m going to have to explain to Betty why I’ve been sneaking into her room with her boyfriend and reading her diary,” Veronica mumbled. “This goes against so many girl codes I can’t even tell you.”

“Be quiet a second,” Jughead shushed her, flipping to the last page in the journal and reading intently.

“What is it?” Veronica leaned in to see what Jughead was looking at, gently jerking the book away from him and pointing it in her direction. “Did you find something that might tell us where she is?”

“I can’t believe it,” Jughead breathed, his eyes going wide as he finished reading the rest of the page. “She actually did it. She actually-”

“What the hell are you two delinquents doing in my daughter’s room?”

Veronica and Jughead spun around to find Mrs. Cooper standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips and her eyes shooting daggers in their direction.

“Mrs. Cooper,” Veronica said in a small voice. “We were just-”

“Save it, I don’t want to waste my time hearing half-assed excuses from the likes of you two,” Mrs. Cooper ran a tired hand down her face as she took as few steps into Betty’s room. “Now, would one of you like to tell me where she is? Last time I checked, she was supposed to be having dinner with both of you at that little diner she loves so much right about now.”

“Um,” Veronica whispered, exchanging a worried glance with Jughead as she scrambled to think of something -anything- to say to her.

“Well, go on then,” Mrs. Cooper pressed. “Stop bumbling like you forgot how to speak - where is she?”

“We don’t know,” Jughead admitted, a defeated expression crossing his face as he lifted his gaze to meet her angry eyes.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Mrs. Cooper narrowed her eyes at Jughead. “Where is my daughter?”

“She was supposed to meet us over an hour ago,” Jughead explained. “She never showed up and we haven’t heard form her since.”

“That’s not like her,” Mrs. Cooper concluded, turning her back to Jughead as she called out to her husband. “Hal, get in here!”

“And there’s something else you should know,” Jughead added, holding out Betty’s journal for her mother to see. “I found this - it’s Betty’s journal. She was documenting everything she knew about the murder investigation and what she knew about Jason and Polly. I mean, this goes back to just after Jason was pronounced missing over the summer. Anyway, this last entry is from today and I think…” Jughead trailed off, turning to look at the faces staring at him with terrified expressions.

“What?” Mrs. Cooper urged him to continue, her hand resting gently on the journal as she pried it from Jughead’s grasp.

“I think she finally figured out who murdered Jason Blossom.”

11:03pm

“Hello?” Betty’s voice echoed off the walls of the dark warehouse she had been taken to, her eyes searching in the darkness for any sign of movement. “If you’re going to take an unarmed minor in the middle of a dark alley, at least show yourselves so I can see what a bunch of cowards really look like!”

Betty thrashed against the chair she had been strapped to, her hands wriggling uncomfortably between the rope that linked them together.

“She’s a lively one,” a voice came from somewhere behind her, causing her to jump slightly in her chair at its abruptness and turn towards the source. “Definitely not what I expected from the youngest Cooper girl. Polly, maybe, your mother, definitely. But little Elizabeth - not so much.”

“Who are you?” Betty demanded to know, her head whipping in every direction as she tried to determine who it was she was speaking to. “What do you want?”

“I just want to have a little chat,” the voice said, the nonchalantness in its tone causing Betty’s cheeks to redden with anger. And while she could never have explained it, there was a familiarness to that voice that made her feel even more uneasy than she had only a moment before.

“I don’t talk to strangers,” Betty spat, her frustration becoming more and more apparent as her kidnapper continued to remain anonymous. “That’s the first lesson they taught us in preschool, if you can remember that far back.”

“Oh, but I’m not a stranger,” the voice admitted, sounding much louder and clearer as it came closer and closer to Betty. “You know exactly who I am - and you know exactly what I’ve done. And you see, Betty Cooper, that’s a problem.”

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the darkness to reveal its identity to Betty. Her blood ran cold as she took in this person’s appearance, recognition flashing across her face as they took a step into the light.

“It was you,” Betty breathed, a shudder running down her spine as the mystery that she had been obsessed with for months finally came into her view. “You killed Jason. I was right.”

“Congratulations,” her kidnapper said dryly, clapping slowly as they came around the chair to place a firm hand around her neck. “Here’s your grand prize.”

Betty shut her eyes, letting her mind drift to thoughts of her friends and family - to thoughts of Jughead. She remembered the way his lips felt when they kissed hers. She remembered the way he made her smile when he cracked dumb jokes about authors that no one but her understood. And she hoped more than anything, that she would get a chance to be with him like that again - if only for a moment.

#bughead fanfiction #bughead #betty and jughead fanfiction #betty and jughead #betty x jughead #betty cooper #jughead jones #juggiecoopfanfic #requests #riverdale fanfiction #riverdale #tw: kidnapping

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xox-hitorabu-xox · 7 years

Note

Do ou happen o know what do Kururi and Mairu think of Izaya? I never fully understood what do they think of him... Sorry for the trouble

||It’s no trouble at all! x3

Okay, so to answer your question, I’d like to quote an excerpt from light novel 4 and some excerpts from light novel 9(parts from novel 9 are from Anni-fiesta’s translation).—–

“Well, off the top of my head…if your brother would throw himself in front of a dump truck laughing, we can talk about introducing my brother to you. Speaking of which, I’m still kinda mad today, guess I should just go beat that Izaya bastard to death myself.”

“If it’s just Iza-nii, no problem no problem!”

Shizuo sighed again at Mairu’s instant decision that her brother’s life was a small price to pay. — Novel 4

—–

Izaya saw a pouting girl with pigtails wearing a black karate uniform. Seconds later, the other girl appeared as well in her casual clothes.

“…Brother (Nii-san), fine (are you alright)…?”(-Kururi)

“Yeah, though my own sister did just try to break my cervical spine.”At Izaya’s words, Orihara Mairu—the girl wearing glasses and a karate uniform—swelled her cheeks in annoyance.

“What was I supposed to do? Shizuo-san told us that he would introduce Yuuhei-san to us if you threw yourself in front of a dump truck laughing, Iza-nii! I thought I had a shot atmaking it look like exactly that!”

“I admit I’m deeply shocked. I don’t think anyone has ever killed their own brother to meet an idol in human history.”

“Who said you had to be killed? Shizuo-san won’t get killed even if he’s run over by atruck!”

“Thank you, but I’d rather not be compared to that talking Iron Golem*. No, actually, Iron Golem would be too much of a compliment. Anyway, get back on the sidewalk, or a car will hit you before a truck does.”(* Iron Golem: a monster that has appeared in various games including Wizardry, the Final Fantasy series and Dungeons & Dragons. Though they share common traits (giants made of steel, formidable monsters, etc.) in all these renditions, Izaya is probably referring to the ones in Wizardry.*)

As soon as the name “Shizuo” was mentioned, Izaya’s eyes narrowed visibly and hisdistaste grew. He began to lead his sisters back onto the sidewalk.

- How thoughtless of me.

- I should have expected to see Mairu the moment I knew this was Rakuei Gym.

Izaya laughed hollowly at himself in his heart. His two sisters stared at him.

“It’s not our fault! We just came out to say bye to Akane-chan, and out of nowhere you stepped out of an Awakusu-kai car, Iza-nii! We got all excited because we thought they were finally going to bury you alive in a mountain somewhere!”

Mairu’s protests continued as Orihara Kururi—the girl in the casual clothes—averted her gaze and muttered:“…Also (And you)…passed (didn’t even notice)…sister (us)…”

“It’s not like you two don’t ever do stuff behind my back. How much did Namie-san pay you*? It’s never a good thing when kids have too much money on their hands.”

(* In Vol.7, Namie pays the twins a large amount to spy on Mika and Seiji.)

“As if you’re the one to tell us off, Iza-nii! We know you ran baseball gambling rings for the money in middle school! Da!”

Mairu stuck out her tongue as she shot back like an elementary school kid. Hiding herself behind Mairu, Kururi stuck out her tongue timidly as well. As he saw his two sisters behaving like little animals, Izaya sighed again.

“Seriously, I wonder whose influence made you two so twisted. Well, granted, you’re interesting objects to observe if I don’t think of you as my family…”

Izaya kept muttering, but—

He sensed that something was wrong in the next second.Mairu and Kururi turned their eyes toward someone behind him, their mouths opening as if about to say “Ah! .”(Eijirou showed up here)….(time skip)“Oh, step back, you two. I’m going to kick the shit out of your big brother. You don’t want to see your family beaten to a pulp.”

As he flexed his neck audibly, the man in the black karate uniform—Sharaku Eijirou, Mairu’s master of fighting skills—took one step toward Izaya with a bored look on his face.

“If it’s Iza-nii, we don’t really care…”

“…Affirm (That’s right)…”

“I was a fool to expect anything resembling family love from you two.”Izaya’s face twitched slightly. His sisters continued.

“For you, Iza-nii, aren’t Dad, Mom, Kuru-nee and I on the same level as any stranger? We’re all just ‘things to observe.’ You said you treat every human being equally, yet you’re asking to be treated differently just because we’re your family? How strange!”

“…Sad (What a pathetic man)…”

“That’s not something you say in a situation like this…oh goodness!”

Izaya had to dodge Eijirou’s sharp kick before finishing the sentence.It was the kind of kick an amateur would never have been able to dodge even if he stayed extremely focused.

—–

“…So that’s how Izaya’s two younger sisters are like. They’re probably too much even for Izaya, I think.”

[What should I say…those twins sound fictional.]As if only half convinced by Shinra’s story of Izaya’s sisters, Celty typed these words.

“Kururi-chan and Mairu-chan became what they’re like now when I was attending Raijin High School. They were still first or second graders at the elementary school back then.”

[Really?]

“I think Izaya is actually aware that his influence made his sisters turn out the way they did.”

Shinra talked about the past in a nostalgic tone. Next to his head, Celty was kneeling, her knees and thighs visible through the 100% fitting rider suit made of shadow which accentuated her sensual silhouette. Feeling restless at the sight of her legs, Shinra continued.

“You know what Izaya said to his twin sisters when they were still in elementary school? ‘Kururi and Mairu, you’re exactly the same in every way. What is the point of living when in everything you do you’re just the same?’ That’s right. He said something to that effect, slowly and clearly, in words that even a five-year-old could understand.”

[Honestly, if all the twins in this country voted to hang him, I wouldn’t blame them…]

“Nah nah, I don’t think it’s because he’s prejudiced against twins or anything. He probably just wanted to see his sisters feel discouraged or maybe even fight with each other. He did not mean ill—he just ‘wanted to see.’”

[So he intended to follow up on them? But that simply sounds even nastier to me…]

The words she typed onto her networked PDA appeared instantly on the laptop screen Shinra was looking at while lying face up.It was their way to save Celty the trouble of having to show Shinra her PDA every time they talked. The conversation proceeded at a nice pace.“But Izaya got one thing wrong in his calculations—namely, the fact that his sisters werefar more abnormal than he thought.”[Abnormal?]

“They threw a dice to split ‘traits’ between them with the intention to become a human being with only strengths and no weaknesses. They believed that they could make up for each other’s weaknesses as a human being with their respective strengths. In fact, they’ve been doing that for almost ten years now. You have to give them some credit for that.”

[I guess it’s kind of admirable…but admirable doesn’t feel like the right word.]

Celty put her hands together, thinking.

Shinra turned his eyes toward the ceiling for a moment and told her his speculation.“I’m thinking…maybe at first they just did it because they wanted Izaya to like them.”

[Eh?]

“It’s more of a shock when your family members are disappointed in you than when they’re angry at you. That’s what my father kept saying to me. It’s still hard on him no matter how many times he’s been through it before when he lets one of us down—me or my mother, his divorced wife.”

As she remembered Shinra’s father—the weirdo under the white gas mask—Celty typed on her PDA with mixed feelings.

[…Well, not that I wouldn’t expect him to let you down, being the man he is…]

“Anyway, when elementary school girls are told by their much older brother that their lives had no meaning, they will of course do anything to make their brother like them, right?”

After nodding slightly to show his agreement at Celty’s words, Shinra smiled bitterly.

“But I guess at some point the end and the means switched positions. They spend so much time on trying to make themselves the perfect human being that their hearts are no longer on Izaya. Perhaps the best proof is that both fell for Hanejima Yuuhei, nicknamed the ‘Perfect Superman.’ I’m glad that’s how it turned out, though, because it would be such a waste if those two were still puppets in Izaya’s palm.”

—–

(and here’s a private conversation in the chatroom)

[Private mode] ShoroBy the way, Mairu, Kururi

[Private mode] KyoAlas, has something happened, Sharaku Eijirou-san?

[Private mode] MaiMaster, what’s up?

[Private mode] ShoroYou really do switch personalities in the chatroom…

[Private mode] ShoroAnyway, did your big brother just go missing afterwards?

[Private mode] MaiYes.

[Private mode] KyoGo missing? This was the first time we saw him in a long while.

[Private mode] ShoroI see. Well, I thought that bastard disappeared into Shinjuku…

[Private mode] ShoroHow come he was in Ikebukuro today?

[Private mode] KyoWho knows? Even if he is our family, it’s not like we keep a watch on him or anything.

[Private mode] MaiLooks like he was up to something with Awakusu-kai.

[Private mode] ShoroI see…

[Private mode] ShoroIf you find out what he’s up to in Ikebukuro, let me know

[Private mode] KyoWe can do that. As his sisters we feel guilty as well.

[Private mode] KyoWhen we think about how we just let our wild brother into this city like that…

[Private mode] KyoSpeaking of which, about Mikage-san and our brother…

[Private mode] ShoroI’m not going to talk about it. It’s not the kind of stuff you talk about in a place like this.(Eijirou then told them if they wanted to know, they should ask Mikage)

—-

(and here is the scene after Izaya punches the telephone pole in the novels)

What did Izaya’s face look like?

Why did he slam his fist into the telephone pole?

What was on his mind?

No one in the world would ever know.

Because—

“Ah, here, here! Iza-nii! Iiiizaaa-niiiii!”

“…Family (Brother)…”

“Oops, what’s up with you two? It’s unusual for you to actually greet me before you kick me.”

Izaya was wearing his usual smile again as he turned around to face his sisters.

“I finally saw a new side of you today, Iza-nii! You told that Headless Rider to protect Kuru-nee, right!?”

“…Doubt (Really)?”

“Alas, that is so flattering of you. But the truth is that I simply used you because I needed an excuse to keep the Headless Rider away when I had to be doing something that one must never know about.”

Izaya told his sisters the real reason straightforwardly as they thanked him.

After exchanging a glance, however, they smiled and said:

“That’s fine with us! Thank you, Iza-nii!”

“…Thank (Thank you)…”

“It’s so hard to predict your thoughts, you know.”

“That’s just because you’re not honest with us, Iza-nii.”

The twins flanked Izaya as he began walking, a bitter smile on his face.Mairu, who was on Izaya’s right, raised her face to look at him and said in a natural tone, “Say, Iza-nii. We know that you probably don’t treat us any differently as you treat other people, but keep in mind that we still think of you as family, OK?”

“All of a sudden you’re saying things that would actually make me happy. What happened?”Izaya felt that the line didn’t sound like Mairu, who usually told him to “Die!” and high-kicked him when she saw him. He glanced at his sisters’ faces—and saw that they were smiling innocently back at him as they continued.

“So, if you get killed by Shizuo-san, Iza-nii, we’ll make sure to cry a little bit for you before we laugh about it.”

“Small (Just a little)…”

“…I was a fool to expect any family love from you.”Izaya chuckled and walked faster.

Mairu tilted her head and asked as she saw his right hand, “What happened, Iza-nii? Your right hand looks swollen.”

“…Health (Are you alright)?” Kururi looked at him with worried eyes.

Izaya stroked her head with his left hand and lied with a sigh, “Yeah, I got this when I was running away from Shizu-chan.”

“So you deserved it after all—”“Keep yourselves away from muscle idiots like that one. Or you could die, you know.”

The siblings continued their conversation as they disappeared into the city night.

The city, which took in everything it was offered, absorbed their talk into its nightly cacophony as it did any chit-chat within any normal family.

—–

So to answer your question, I think the do care in a way, but they distance themselves from him. They know he’s not a good person, and somehow feel a little responsibility. And the narrator in novel 13 also refers to him as “The twins who idolized him.”. Which says something else. Shinra’s conversation also kind of brought up it’s likely that the twins originally became the way they did just to receive his praise. And Izaya says in novel 4, “my sisters, Ithink, turned out abnormal because of my influence. That I do feel guilty about.”

So I think their relationship is a bit messed up and flawed(and quite sad), but when it comes down to it, they’re still siblings? I don’t know how else to put it, but I think that’s the best way to?

But that aside there is this excerpt from SH Novel 1:

—–After she finished speaking about Yahiro, Mikage, as though she had just remembered something, asked about another student.“By the way, how’s that kid Kuon? He was practising seriously, but… If my brother or my father saw thecolour of his hair, they might demand that he dye it black. Everyone’s surprisingly old-fashioned.”“Yeah~. Though it’s interesting so I’d prefer it to stay green~”At Mikage’s question, Mairu thought for a while, and answered straightforwardly:“Well, maybe you’d say he’s a bad guy~. The type to use people instead of acting himself. Even attendingthis dojo seriously is to learn the very basics of self-defence at least, probably. For when it’s necessary.…ah, speaking of that made me remember – I feel he’s the same type as Iza-nii.”Remembering that face she missed, Mikage sighed slightly.“…if he’s like your brother, then he’s not a bad guy, he’s a scoundrel.”“He said they were friends, but I think he’s simply using him, you know? Because Mizuchi-kun looks like a nice guy. Though I don’t know yet what exactly he plans to use him for.”“…well, Mairu, you talk very friendily about that kind of guy yourself.”

#izaya orihara #kururi orihara #mairu orihara #drrr!!#drrr #durarara!!

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