#been a better person than him .. and he would tell haruka in a voice that sounded like he was begging her to understand that nishiki wasnt a

[oboetemasuka]

Order of Attack, part 10

I'm being put on trial for this...

and I'd do it again. In fact, I'll do it right now. (this is a scheduled post)

Cw for suicidal thoughts and Amane's cult mindset. Medical information may be inaccurate. I might go over this again when I wake up.

Courtesy link to AO3, which will be updated at some point tomorrow.

...Can I finally call this hurt/comfort?

-

"Wouldn’t it be weird for me to have thoughts on that, then?" Muu picked at her nails. "After all, I didn't do anything wrong. You forgave me!"

Was Muu always this callous? Es took a nervous breath. They had to find out. "But… don't you feel bad for Amane at least?"

"Hm? Why would I? She has nothing to do with me. You ask strange questions, Warden-san." Her expression remained carefree. "I mean, you didn't let up on her, and it's your job. Why should I be concerned when you're just doing your job and I'm completely uninvolved?"

Es felt ridiculous for even asking. What did they expect? This wasn't even like their conversation with Haruka, who had at least been friends with Fuuta. Muu had very little to do with Amane, and Es was asking for Muu's sympathy just because they got a kid hurt.

—

"Orbital floor fracture on the right. Traumatic retinal detachment. Bruising. Lacerations. Broken ribs. That is Amane's present condition."

Es couldn't meet Shidou's eyes. What could they even say?

"In ordinary circumstances, these are treatable wounds. But alas, I am not an ophthalmologist, so I was unable to do much about her eye. Still, she should have been completely healed if my calculations are correct. Worse yet, she actively thwarts my treatments."

"Amane…" It was Es's fault she got hurt. They chose not to forgive her out of a misguided attempt to show her that her beliefs were wrong. They dreaded having to tell her that… or maybe they didn't have to…

"Kajiyama-kun's condition is even worse. I am sure you remember what I told you. He was in terrible shape by the end of the interrogation. You should have called me over sooner."

Es was too ashamed to tell Shidou that they had at least seven chances to get him at the time.

"He has asked on multiple occasions to make the pain stop. Forever. Both their minds and bodies are at their limits. Please, Es-kun, put an end to this. They could die if they are stuck here any longer."

Es had personally seen Fuuta's fading will. They dreaded what they would find with Amane. But what could they do but carry on with their duties of Milgram?

—

Amane pulled the eyepatch over her eye. It was still incredibly uncomfortable, especially since she wasn't sure how to put it on correctly. She just hoped Shidou wouldn't get on her case about it again when she went to visit Fuuta.

"Oh, Amane-chan!" Mahiru skipped up to her but wobbled on one step. "Do you... do you need help with that?" Her voice was shaky despite her attempts to sound as bubbly as she used to.

Amane nodded and let Mahiru adjust the eyepatch. To think that only a week ago she would have swatted Mahiru's hand away or turned around and sped-walked away. But maybe letting Mahiru help her would have more benefits than consequences. She recalled her promise to Mahiru; it wasn’t just Fuuta she was looking out for. She told Mahiru that she’d help with her redemption too. It’s okay to disobey the laws of my faith a little longer, right? If it means saving two more souls…

"There you go, all better," Mahiru said.

Amane didn’t know just what Mahiru did, but she could barely feel the eyepatch anymore.

"Thank you, Mahiru-san."

"Oh, no need to thank me… You know, I knew you were still the same Amane-chan deep down."

The same? What was she implying? "Don't push it…"

"S-sorry!" Too harsh?

"Mahiru-san, do you want to come with me?"

Amane figured that maybe Fuuta would listen to her if she wasn't some lone crazy kid. Mahiru seemed to be thinking something in a similar vein.

"Of course. I'll just… be with you."

-

Shidou's cell door opened, and Yuno stepped out.

"Oh! Mahiru-san. Amane-chan."

"Hi, Yuno-chan…"

"Kashiki Yuno. What are the conditions inside that cell?"

"Oh, Shidou-san just woke up. Fuuta is kind of in a daze, though."

"No matter. We are just here to check on him like usual."

Yuno turned to Mahiru. "Are you sure you want to go in after what happened last time?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm… I'm fine. Besides, I'll let Amane-chan do most of the talking."

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Well, if you insist. But if Fuuta says anything nasty to you-"

"I'll be fine! Really! But thanks for looking out for me, Yuno-chan."

-

Yuno was right about Fuuta being in a daze. That meant she was probably wrong about the possibility of him snapping at them.

"Fuuta Kajiyama." Fuuta stirred and barely cracked his eyes open when Amane spoke. "We are very concerned about your condition."

"You and every… no sh…" Just from that tone, it was clear he was getting worse.

"You continue to rely on medicine. Anyone can see it is only making you worse. You want numbness? Numbness is not the answer."

Fuuta looked ready to object, but Mahiru spoke up.

"Fuuta-kun, I… I know you're tired of everyone stopping by and worrying, but… we really do mean it. It's not some… some self-serving pity. We really do care about you."

Fuuta's expression softened. Amane was glad Mahiru stepped in. She wouldn't have been able to put it like that.

Mahiru continued, "I know how tempting it is to never have to feel anything again. But running away from the pain isn't the answer. Yes, it isn't pleasant, but it makes us human. I promise there's something to look forward to after all of it." She paused to gauge Fuuta's reaction. There was no trace of hostility left. She lowered her voice so Amane wouldn't hear. "Listen to Shidou. Won't you take better care of yourself? …If not for your own sake, then for Amane-chan as well?"

After a long silence, Fuuta responded, "Your sake… huh… I'll think about it… Amane and you…" He smiled weakly at Mahiru. "That… that was all you?"

Amane didn't have much more to add onto Mahiru's spiel. "Those were wise words. Fuuta Kajiyama, will you keep them in mind?"

"Mmhmm."

-

"Mahiru-san, how did you do it?" Amane asked. Whatever Mahiru had told Fuuta at the end, it seemed to work.

"Oh, it was all you. Before, I wasn't sure how to approach Fuuta-kun. But you helped me realize what he was fighting. Thank you, Amane-chan."

"Thank you. You knew what to say to get through to him."

#milgram #muu kusunoki #es milgram #milgram es #shidou kirisaki #amane momose #mahiru shiina #yuno kashiki #fuuta kajiyama #cw suicidal thoughts #cw cults #bad things happen to amane

[gunsli-01]

There are more inconsistencies in After Pain than I initially thought. So, I'm gonna list them all. That is what I would say if that's all there was to this. I've been thinking about Mu since It's Not My Fault dropped and I've got to get back to Mikoto. So, buckle up we're ending this today.

Mu's victim never bullied or turned the tables on her. Like I initially touched on here she was literally just taking a walk down memory lane. How does After Pain prove this well with these shots,

Now, Gunsli that's a sock- okay fair but we see this right before it

This is supposed to be her victim walking out of the stall and ignoring her. Something many were quick to jump on and use as fuel to assert that her victim kind of deserved to get stabbed. Because what type of heartless person ignores bullying. By this logic, the victim should be wearing these socks, right?

Oh, but maybe those are just school socks. She isn't wearing the same shoes outside and school slippers are a thing; so maybe... Okay, I'm willing to walk down every bridge in hopes of it leading to the truth. That could very well be the case and I'm not trying to create a strawman I genuinely don't know if that's a thing.

However, we can find out by looking at After Pain. So, let's go-

Alright, yeah, that's not a thing. So, the person walking past the one being bullied was definitely Mu. Which means she was also the person hiding in the bathroom while someone else was getting bullied. This tells us that even if we see the character in one position or doing a certain thing it may not actually be them.

Making it even clearer that Mu and Futa's connection may just be framing. One who has been framed and the other who framed someone else. Though I'm still certain that Futa killed someone just that he more than likely did not do the doxing, but this isn't about him-

Mu claims in her interrogation, "I haven’t bullied anyone. I’d never do such a mean thing! I’ve never hit anyone or poured water over anyone’s head. I wouldn’t do something like that! I’m not lying! I’m not telling you lies! I really haven’t done anything!"

However, later down the line she says, "So if I paid back what my bullies did to me, that would be revenge, right? And if you feel like I had no other choice than that, then don’t you have to forgive me?" (side note: link to translation)

Let's assume that Mu is telling the truth in her voice drama. This doesn't necessarily make her look any better.

It's been shown that the worst thing her victim did was ignore her. So, it wouldn't be difficult to consider Mu's definition of paying them back could have just been ignoring them too.

We also see in her trial two voice drama that she's more than willing to ignore the actions of others even if those actions are abusive or wrong. We see this through her response to Kotoko's attacks. She literally says, "Huh? But that has nothing to do with me. The ones who are suffering are the ones who have done bad things, right? You know, like, what goes around comes around."

So, she's more than willing to ignore people getting hurt if she feels like they deserve it.

Es states in the voice drama, "I see. That’s how it is, huh. You don’t say anything; just because you’re present, your surroundings’ wishes change to benefit you— Oh, so that’s it. Like a born queen. No, it’s like you’re influencing your surroundings not with words, but with pheromones… Just like a queen bee."

All these things add up to one possible conclusion Mu didn't directly bully her victim. She didn't have to her friends did it for her. If these two things I pointed out earlier are correct we begin to get a clearer understanding of the events that took place.

Considering that Mu's victim may have had her favor at a point. That they were possibly in Mu's good graces enough to be given such a large gift regardless of if it was a hand me down or not. I just gotta say real quick Haruka's putting his life on the line and all he got was a hairpin. Let that sink in. If Mu's opinion of the victim suddenly changed, they had a falling out, or Mu made it apparent that she'd been hurt by them in some way her friends would act accordingly.

Because they wouldn't want Mu to be upset. It's also why even though we see her victim come out of the stall the socks indicate the one walking out and ignoring bullying is Mu herself. This also may put the confrontation we see in After Pain under scrutiny. Because it might not be Mu asking them to stop hurting her at all. It could be her victim pleading with Mu to get her friends to stop harassing them or a confrontation before any of the bullying began that we've yet to fully see.

I'll touch back on the second part later. Right now let's stick to the first scenario. We see in It's Not My Fault that her victim knew Mu was in charge of this group. So, even if Mu didn't directly bully them, they'd know to ask her to get them to stop.

Admittedly, while this is the most unlikely course of events it should be considered. Especially given that throughout After Pain Mu does her darndest to not just omit what she's done but actively rewrite events to frame herself as the victim and the person she murdered as a bully. It's why even though we're shown her lying on the ground in water after having her phone stepped on, she's not even wet but her victim is soaked.

It's because this never happened to her. She literally can't even imagine getting harassed to that extent. She can't even fathom being treated this way. She's the Queen after all, it's always been that way, and everything went as she wished. If people want to betray her out of jealousy well, they already know what will happen.

Yet, it's incredibly infuriating that she can't even manage to imagine herself in such an embarrassing state to save her life. She's attempting to show an authority figure one that has her life in their hands that she did nothing wrong and she still can't do it. She can't imagine having her clothes and hair soaked. It's enough to make me wonder if Mu was ever bullied at all.

Sure, we have the notes on the board. However, as people have been quick to point out from Mu's insect form in It's Not My Fault. She may not have that high of an opinion of herself. She needs external validation to feed her ego. Validation such as being told nothing she did was wrong, and she was hurt too.

It wouldn't be difficult to assume in the aftermath of her classmate's death her relationships became more strained. Especially if it was made to look like a suicide. Her group may have felt directly responsible. Because of how they bullied the girl before they died, they could have assumed the death was a result of their actions. This would take away attention from Mu's hurt and make her friends begin to doubt all of their behavior.

Them being upset by the classmate's death might even remind her of what she did making her internalize it as bad. This would be made even more difficult by the fact she can't really talk to anyone about what she did. Then if she did confide in one of them about it- Well, it's not difficult to see how the one she confided in would tell the other two and then push her out of the group.

We literally see her yell out after committing the crime,

It's not hard to imagine her telling on herself. She was only a high schooler when she did this. However, this is unrelated to the murder. So, it has no bearing on this case. It is funny to think about her snitching on herself after her parents covered up a murder with money. Her just not being able to keep her mouth shut leading to the bullying she underwent is a ridiculous thought.

It would also make sense because there are only a few comments on the board alluding to Mu committing a crime. Basically, three but I'm counting the picture of the bloody knife and the lake/river. Since we see that one of her friends drew pictures on the board harassing her victim. It also says "Criminal" and "You should go to a reformatory." However, something about this bullying is odd. There's a question no one has asked-

"Would teenagers that knew or speculated someone had just gotten away with murdering one of their peers because their parents covered it up with money do this?!"

Without fear of being next? Those teenagers are stronger than me because if my friend came to me in high school and told me they shanked my classmate I would be like, "Ha, ha funny joke but a little too soon I know you didn't like them, but damn can't you be happy that they're dead quietly. Ha, ha..." If they then gave me a dead serious look while further elaborating like no I'm not joking I killed them but I'm rich so it's fine. I would very quickly become the world's biggest yes man and ride or die. I'm gonna ride because I don't wanna die. You need a hand I got one and I don't wanna lose it.

This is a hostage situation now and I'm not trying to see what's in the great beyond just yet. You got me fucked up I'm not picking fights with someone who I know just got away with murder. What's stopping them from doing it again?! Like that bitch just ignored her and she's in the ground. Motherfucker I'm either switching schools after that conversation or getting real comfortable with a lot of uncomfortable things. I'm not trying to be next sucks but they're already dead and I don't wanna join them.

It's Not My fault literally highlights this aspect of her character with lyrics like, "If you want to betray from jealousy. I’ve told you what’s gonna happen." Like I've already shown you what happens to people who upset me do you want to try it.

Though I doubt this is the case given all this to consider, the notes on the board could very well just be how Mu feels she's being perceived. It doesn't help that even though the board says, "There’s a present for you in your desk! Take a look~!"

All the desks are empty. Including the one we see Mu sitting at during the video. Now there is a shoe on top of one of the desks, this scene apparently takes place in fall, and the seats may have changed by then. However, that doesn't change the fact all these desks are shown as empty. Why highlight that and then show us a room of empty desks?

Now don't get me wrong I don't believe it's the case that Mu was never bullied. Taking into consideration the line "If you’re going to make me the villain it’s ok to ignore me. If it’s endurance, I’m used to it. It’s just having another taste of it." I think her former friends turned on her but they weren't saying she was a criminal because they knew she committed murder-

No, they truly believed that their classmate had committed suicide and that was a result of not all of their actions but Mu. In order to avoid taking accountability for their parts in the bullying they shifted all the blame onto Mu. They came together and said it was her influence that got them to bully that girl to the extent they did to begin with. We were just following her around we aren't the bad ones it's Mu. If she wasn't here, then none of this would've happened no one would've died.

We just did it because if we didn't then Mu would've targeted us next that's just how she is. It wouldn't be hard to turn the whole class against Mu either she'd already bullied several other students. What's that saying; what goes around comes around. It's not bad to do something terrible to someone who's done something terrible to you it's just revenge. Just as Mu said. It's just desserts, isn't it? However, it's only revenge and justifiable when it's not pointed in one's own direction.

In a way just like Es and the participants in the real-life Milgram experiment, they were just following orders; they didn't think it was too bad. Because they didn't think about it at all they let someone else think for them. So, when their actions had a negative outcome, they were quick to blame it on the one in charge. This could be why Mu is so adamant about thinking for yourself and not doing things just because others tell you to. Because no one knows what you want to do more than you do. So, why let other people interfere?

Wouldn't you rather do something you want to do then something you feel like you have to do?

Back to the topic at hand, it could have been difficult to draw something inside of one desk. However, the fact that they didn't sticks out more when you take into account the phones.

Okay, see Mu's bully recording her. This scene is shown to us right before we see this one,

It was put in to act as a visual trigger to prepare the audience to pay attention but not to the bullying, the phone, or the messages/photos on the screen of the phones but the cases.

When what we are led to believe is Mu's phone based on the messages drops this happens,

Now, one of these phones is Mu's the other one is her victim's. I assumed since Mu's victim wasn't in the group photo that meant they weren't involved with the group at all. However, in It's not My Fault we're shown that just because they weren't in that group photo doesn't mean the group wasn't aware of them or that they didn't associate with the group.

Even though there are only four people in the group chat that doesn't mean it was always four people. As we're shown at the beginning of It's Not My Fault there used to be eight people that were in her group, but it dwindled down to four. It's also been established through the socks at this point that the one leaving the stall was Mu. So, chances are the one who was having their phone stepped on was the victim.

This makes the picture displayed on the phone subject to scrutiny as well. Because it's either there to show the victims connection to the group/Mu i.e being sent these pictures from outings she couldn't go on or there was possibly something else there entirely that we have yet to see. If the picture was sent to her then she was probably accepted by the group at a point but was unaware of the bullying. However, there's also the chance that Mu sent her the picture privately in a wish you were here type way.

One thing is for certain Mu's friend group did know of the victim that's for sure. This is why they responded the way they did to them seeing what they were doing. They didn't go what are you looking at or scram instead they immediately told Mu that they were there and saw what they were doing.

The fact that the victim's falling out with Mu, the bullying they underwent, and the murder all occurred during Spring makes it easier to hide the order of events. It's not like the scenery would change drastically given it's still the same season and the same school.

There's a good chance the murder and falling out happened in the same area. As it is likely to be the route the victim used to walk home each day. Something Mu would be aware of if they used to be close. So, the confrontation we see in After Pain is more than likely the falling out that triggered all of this.

Let's go over why I believe the confrontation we see in After Pain isn't when the murder was committed. First off, when she confronts the victim in After Pain these scenes appear,

From the look of things, it appears the victim is walking home alone or storming off. They don't seem to be running away from Mu, but they certainly aren't stopping for her either. We're shown a scene of who we know to be Mu at this point running frantically after the victim. Clearly attempting to catch up even reaching her hand out as if calling to them.

This seems to directly follow the scene on the roof. The one in It's Not My Fault where we see the victim watch how Mu and her friends behave then walk off disgusted. Let's think about that for a second.

Why was Mu's victim on the roof that day?

Hear me out. It's obvious by now that Mu didn't want her victim to find out she was bullying other kids. So, it doesn't make sense for Mu to act this way if she knows her victim is around. If she didn't want them to find out, then why would she do it on the roof at a time of day she knew the victim would be at school during? If they were close at a point, it would have been easy for Mu to know when they'd be at school or not.

So, not being seen by them should have been an easy feat. Especially since both songs put together imply, she'd been keeping the information a secret for a good while up until this point.

This means there's a high chance that one of the people Mu bullied previously told the victim about what she and her friends got up to when they weren't around. This could be why when we see her victim within that insect space, at first, they're hiding behind one of the pillars not just strolling by. Her backpack can be seen behind a pillar as Mu and her friends are running around giddily in It's Not My Fault before she comes into full view.

We can be certain this is her backpack peeking out because the object moves when she does. So, here's a rough timeline. A third party tells Mu's victim about her behavior either with malicious intent knowing that Mu liked the girl or because they just couldn't believe they'd be friends with someone like Mu. Her victim, not believing what the other person said, was probably told to see for themselves and informed of where Mu and her friends tend to act up at and given the time, they tend to do it at as well.

It wouldn't be too hard to believe that after doing this to at least four other people. Possibly three others before the incident on the roof someone would know the group's routine.

The victim does go to check. Either staying later than they usually do or even coming in on a day they usually don't come in. For example, going to school on a Saturday even though that hasn't been mandatory in Japan since 2002. Though Google says some schools have been bringing Saturday classes back.

Unfortunate truly love not being a teenager anymore. However, not taking into consideration the schools that may have made them mandatory again, people tend to go to school on Saturday for extracurricular activities or to put in some extra studying. Oh, and how did Mu answer the first of her second trial interrogation questions?

What kind of kid were you-

"I think I was a pretty normal kid. I had a lot of friends, and I also did extracurricular activities."

If her victim skipped going to school on Saturday while Mu and her friends all went that day. It'd be easy for Mu to keep the fact that she was bullying others a secret from her victim. If they won't be in that day, then she doesn't have to worry about them seeing anything she didn't want them to.

This time though she was in that day. When Mu's friend turns to speak to Mu on the roof as they're bullying the other student, she spots them out of the corner of her eye leaving the roof looking angry. She quickly makes Mu aware of the situation. The information immediately upsets Mu who turns to see if that's true along with her other friend.

They all recognize that whatever her first friend said is bad news. Either for all of them or just because they know Mu will be hurt by it. Meaning it immediately needs to be rectified. It takes precedence over everything else. The bullying is put on hold. This is illustrated by what looks to be a silver hourglass on the steps being laid on its side as she rushes after her victim in After Pain.

Mu rushes off the roof trying to catch up with her victim to attempt to talk out the situation. Let them know this isn't her fault or it's not what it looked like.

We see in the shots above that they're leaving the school rather calmly. Mu is the one frantically chasing after them trying to explain something. Getting winded from seemingly chasing them from somewhere far back or far up. Reaching her hand out as though telling them to stop. By the time she manages to catch up to them you can see the sweat running down her face.

The thing that makes this timeline of events the most likely is what happens when she catches up to her victim in After Pain. As soon as she finally reaches out and catches the victim it fades to white transitioning us into another scene.

White is used throughout After Pain to censor or omit information, here are some examples.

There's no need for any of these things to be whited out if we're being shown what happened directly after. Unless, what we're being shown isn't the full truth or what actually happened directly after. After this fade to white we're brought into the confrontation that leads to the victim's murder.

Mu talking to them frantically with sweat that could be mistaken for tears on her face. Probably after chasing them down one more time.

We see when she stabs her victim that she wasn't crying.

There's moisture on every part of her face but near her eyes. Even if in both scenarios Mu is chasing after her victim covered in sweat it's not likely that all of this occurred over one day. Given all the bullying we see her victim undergo in It's Not My Fault and After Pain. Chances are Mu's friends started bullying her victim after she began ignoring Mu after finding out they were all bullies.

If her victim just spoke to her and let things go then Mu probably would have forgiven her. So, she silently sat back and ignored her victim getting bullied waiting for them to come to their senses. It's none of her business after all it's not like she did anything. The bullying got more and more extreme. Eventually, causing Mu to wonder if her victim honestly believed she was such a terrible person that going through all this harassment was better than just talking to her.

Probably even convincing herself to an extent that her victim brought this on themselves or was choosing this. Because to her the solution was simple just talk to me again and it stops. Maybe even having feelings like,

"Friends aren't meant to stop friends from doing what they want to do anyway! You're the bad one here, not everyone has to be like you! Friends are supposed to make each other comfortable! Do you think I was comfortable having to hide all this?! I hid it to keep you comfortable. The one who did something wrong first should apologize first you abandoned me even though all I was trying to do was avoid making you feel bad. Do you get it? I did all that so we could be comfortable together without worrying about all that stuff! If you just stop being so judgmental and stop harping over little things we could go back to how it was! I didn't judge you but you've always judged me how is this fair?!"

Ultimately, as the bullying escalated Mu got more and more upset. This led to her once again seeking her victim out in a rage. Probably telling her something along the same lines as that. Thinking that the victim was the one behaving irrationally, asking if she really hated her this much then when she pulled away ignoring Mu again she just lost it.

Now, with all that done I'm going back to my Mikoto essay~

#milgram #kusunoki mu

[thatanimewriter]

𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑   -   𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 / 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳.

← previous chapter           next chapter →

❝ 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐦��𝐧𝐭. ❞  ── 𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘬𝘢 𝘹 𝘨𝘯. 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

unfortunate weather prevented nanase haruka from swimming. thankfully, it provided him with something to do instead of sitting in the tub for hours, counting down the days until spring.

──  𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯, 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧, 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵, 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵

𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 + 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭.

rei wasn't gonna lie, he'd be mad if haru didn't start dating the figure skater he saw a couple weeks ago. he'd spoken to nagisa about it, who definitely wasn't subtle about asking if haru at the very least liked you. makoto seemed to know something about it, and since makoto knew haru better than he did, rei decided that he'd look into it.

"what did you want to talk about?" the green-eyed boy asked once they'd reached the rooftop.

"do you know the friend that haru's been talking to outside of school?" rei asked, unsure of how to word the question. makoto's mood seemed to lift at the mention of the 2, so he figured it wasn't a bad attempt at investigating.

"oh, [name]?"

"have you met them?" rei wondered, mildly surprised that he knew your name.

"yeah, they're quite lovely," makoto replied. "have you?"

rei hummed, hesitantly nodding his head even though he knows for a fact he has met you. "i saw them with haru after school. they were walking to get something to eat," he explained. "i guess i was just wondering if haru had feelings for them."

"for who?"

the boys froze at the sound of haru's voice. rei, who'd known haru for much less than makoto, fumbled over his words to come up with a cover up, unsure of how haru would react to them talking about his personal life without him. however, makoto didn't seem all too worried, but rei could tell he was at least a little bit weary.

"we were just talking about you and [name]," he said. at the mention of you, haru's eyes widened slightly before returning to his regular expression.

"it doesn't matter if i do or don't," haru said, averting his gaze to the pool that could be seen from the rooftop.

"but do you?"

"i don't know."

at the unsure response, they decided to drop the subject, not wanting to send haru into a crisis when he got home. little did they know, it was a little bit too late. now that he was thinking about it, haru was starting to get antsy, not liking the uncertainty about himself, and little did he know, that was going to get worse later on that day.

when he passed you on the way home, he knew he'd be in the bath for at least 2 hours. it wasn't hard to tell that he wasn't particularly in the mood to watch you practice, but you weren't bothered by it. he'd been joining you for a while, he didn't need to come to all of them. so instead, you decided to settle with a question.

"hey, haru?"

"yeah?"

"what's your number?"

he paused at your request, not only because he wasn't expecting it, but... he didn't actually remember it. he didn't have a reason to until now. it was kind of embarrassing, but he figured instead of giving you the wrong number, he just held out his hand for your phone, to which you happily gave. "there you go," he said, returning it to you, now accustomed to your seemingly permanent ice cold hands as you brushed fingers.

"thanks! i'll send you something now to double check."

he waited for longer than he thought, staring at his phone screen blankly. when a text from an unknown number appeared, he almost laughed when he saw the photo. it was you smiling awkwardly, lips disappearing within the thin line they formed while you were in the cafe from the first time you had dinner. "got it."

"awesome!" you gave him a brief hug before heading back inside the rink. "see you next time!"

so as you can imagine, haru had quite the large pile of thoughts to sift through that night. as he sat in the tub in silence, he stared at the dolphin keychain he bought when he was a child. while trying to remember what was covered in class that day, his attention was drawn back to your eyes that often met his gaze. you, who he had an almost instant connection to, was distracting.

he thought about his short conversation with rei and makoto, and he spiralled further. his mind raced as he was reminded of the hug you gave him earlier that day and he sunk below the water, hoping to clear his mind of you.

which didn't work.

as he rose from the bath, hair stuck to his face and droplets along his lashes, he heaved a sigh at his realisation.

"ugh... romance."

did he want to explain his conflict to makoto and rei? not really. was he going to? maybe. is there a risk that the entire club will know soon after? absolutely. does he fully realise that he holds a sliver of romantic attraction to you? no.

is he going to shoot his shot when he does?

who knows.

#free #free iwatobi swim club #nanase haruka #free x reader #free iwatobi swim club x reader #nanase haruka x reader #free imagines #free iwatobi swim club imagines #nanase haruka imagines #‿︵ 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫.

[shadowi8]

They were walking to one of their apartments. The silence was different form the usual but Makoto was doubting to ask Haruka anything.

He could see that something was bothering the dark-haired man, and he wanted to know what to see if he could help him. It took him a long time to work up the courage, fearing that he would be invasive and nosy.

"Haru. What's wrong?”

"Nothing"

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"Well, it's nothing."

"Haru. I know you're upset.”

"I'm not."

"It's okay. You can tell me."

"I'm fine!" Haruka raised his voice.

"You're not..."

"Stop!" both stopped their walk. Nanase turned to see the brunette who was surprised enough to stay still. "Don't be so meddlesome! I told you I'm fine!"

"But you're not! And I'm worried. We can just talk about it. I could just listen to you..."

"It's stupid!"

"Haru... It can't be stupid if it makes you feel bad. So, tell me."

"It's just..." the words were struggling to be said and the shame tinted his cheeks with pink. "I..."

"Yeah?”

Haruka clenched his fists and looked directly at the green eyes. He was mad and embarrassed, and he was going to explode at any minute.

"I'm jealous. Kisumi is glued to you all the time, and the worst part is that he does it on purpose. He doesn't let me get close to you. It's been like this since middle school! I'm tired!" Makoto looked at him with frowned eyebrows and doubt in his pupils, still processing what he was hearing.

"I'm jealous of him and he fucking knows! I want him to stop being so flirty with you. He gets on my nerves."

Haruka's face showed anger with his jaw clenched and his nose and eyebrows frown, but he was ashamed too. His eyes went down and looked at the floor while his mind thought it was lucky for him that the streets were lonely and calm, since he didn't want to be stared at by other people who would complain about how noisy he was.

"I hate it," Haruka said, lower this time. "He is so charming and talkative. Everyone knows him and likes to hangout with him. He is so bubbly and easygoing and you can talk to him about anything. He's attentive, smart... I can't... He suits you better than me."

Makoto couldn't believe it.

"I thought you just didn't like him... I mean, by his personality," the brunette said with faint voice. "Since he is energetic and kinda noisy."

"I don't like how he acts with you. That's all."

Tachibana nodded and took Nanase's hands, gently.

"Haru." The black-haired did a noise in answer. "I have been jealous too."

The blue eyes raised and met the green ones in confusion, making the owner of the last ones smile tenderly.

"You have?"

"Yeah." Makoto giggled. "A few years ago, just once, I was jealous of Rin."

Haruka made a disgusted face that ended up being funny and the taller laughed.

"You don't have to be jealous," Nanase said. "Moreover, you don't have to be jealous of Rin."

"Well. Jealousy isn't a rational feeling. Right?" Tachibana sighed and caressed the smaller hands with his thumbs as his eyes saw them. "I like Rin. He is a good friend and I enjoy his company, of course. I don't know. He seemed to suit you better. I'm really boring and tasteless. And I felt I couldn't go alongside with you as I wished. So I was jealous."

"But you didn't do anything neither you sulked or something. But me... I'm acting like a stupid."

"You aren't. And I raced with you, remember? I knew I was going to lose, but I tried it either way. I think that was stupid of me."

"It wasn't.

Makoto smiled at him and their eyes met again.

"You don't have to be jealous either, Haru."

"But he...!”

"You don't," the brunette interrupted and his eyes were full, suddenly, of love and honesty. "Because I love you. I've always loved you and I'll always love you. I just want to be with you. No one, not even you, is going to change my mind, because you're everything I want, okay?"

Haruka couldn't say anything and stared deep into that beautiful eyes that seemed like two shiny gems. There was no sign of doubt or lie in them and that made him feel a little bit better.

"Okay?" Makoto insisted.

"Mh. Okay."

"Good." Haruka sighed, tired and defeated. "To be honest, I didn't know you would be jealous with me."

The older refrained from saying that it was obvious that he would be because Makoto was incredible in every sense of the word and anyone would want to have him only for themselves, and he didn't want to lose him. Tachibana was precious to him.

"Do you want to talk more about it?"

"Well... I was jealous of Mochizuki too."

"Oh. I didn't know."

"You thought I just didn't like him either?”

"Yeah. I guess I was wrong. Someone you are jealous of right now? Not including Kisumi, of course. I think he is just teasing you."

"Okamoto"

"My superior from college? Why?"

"She likes you, Makoto."

"I don't think so." Haruka made an unconformed face. "I can put some distance between us."

"Don't."

"But I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"I don't want to control you. You can have as many friends as you want and whoever they are."

"Haru... I will be careful with her."

"Fine." Haruka sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It doesn't bother me. I think it's cute."

"Shut up, Makoto."

They intertwined their fingers and resumed their walk while Tachibana smiled and Nanase felt a little bit lighter.

#haruka nanase #makoharu #harumako #makoto tachibana #fic #i guess #its too short to post it at ao3 #or wattpad #I'm really sleepy since i didn't slept last night #so maybe i have some typos and such #sorry xd

[sugamamacustard]

Feed Me

Pairing: Alpha! Keiji Akaashi X Omega! Reader, Alpha! Wakatoshi Ushijima x Omega! Reader, Alpha! Rintaro Suna x Omega! Reader

Genre: Fluff

Request: Ooooo what about when Alphas 🐘 ( maybe akaashi, ushijima, rin and kuroo) find out that their omega has not been eating enough like (their only eating little things like granola bars or fruit) so their upset that they had to find out through someone else and they scold them for that but then their told that they have gain some weight and that gets them even more upset because they think their perfect etc.

Summary: Some times, people do things because it’s what they think is best. You don’t tell your alpha about some weight gain you’ve noticed, and try taking care of it yourself because of this.

Author’s Note: Hey, you. Yeah you. The beautiful person reading this? You are perfect. You are worth it. Your feelings are valid and you shouldn’t feel bad about having them. You are so amazing, and even if I don’t know you, I am so proud of you. You are so strong for making it so far. Keep going. Never change. :) Also your nice comments? Literally my dose of serotonin

did I mention my OC one or twice? Yes. Am I sorry? No. Also, idk if anyone is curious, but Yuka doesn't actually go to Shiritorizawa but whatever.

Requests: Closed!

Buy me a coffee?

Trigger Warning: Mentions of (Semi?) Starvation.

Keiji Akaashi

➵Now, Keiji is pretty on top of omega and significant other care.

➵ Like, weirdly so. It's honestly kind of creepy?

➵ In an endearing way.

➵ He always says 'Bokuto-Kun prepared me in a way.'

➵ Honestly, he loves doing this for you too!

➵He loves caring for you so much.

➵ Like I firmly believe Akaashi's love language is acts of service.

➵ So things like bringing you food, leaving sweet notes in your locker, helping you with your homework.

➵ He lives for doing these things.

➵ Especially feeding you snacks and things.

➵ It made his inner alpha purr because that meant he was caring for you. Providing for you.

➵ Being the very thing that made him worthy of an alpha.

➵ Prove that he could continue being the alpha you needed and wanted.

➵ Unfortunately, there were downsides.

➵ Your hips had the beginnings of small love handles, a little more chub on you tummy, thighs a little squishier.

➵ Let's not lie, Keiji absolutely adored this, by the way.

➵ I also think one of his biggest kinks is praise

➵ He makes sure you know how loved and how perfect you are.

➵ It's sometimes hard to believe him though.

___

"Y/N?"

You hummed an acknowledgment at Keiji's call, typing the final words to your essay before turning to look at your beautiful alpha- Sometimes you questioned how you hooked him. His gorgeous emerald eyes shining with love and adoration.

"I'm gonna go run and pick up some supper, what would you like beloved?" He came up to squeeze and massage your shoulders, leaning down as he pressed a small peck to your temple, your purr a sweet melody to his ears.

You swallowed behind your purr, trying to hide the small panic in your eyes. Your mind instantly flashed to your reflection this morning, how you pinched your hips with a frown. You already had been slowing down on the snacks, and fast food made you shiver.

"I-I'm okay for now, Keiji. Thank you though." You smiled, nonetheless, holding Keiji's cheek in your hand. He quirked a brow, frowning slightly before nodding lowly. Another peck was pressed to your cheek before he left, ordering your favorite from the diner he took you to for your first date.

-

"Beloved, I'm back." Keiji called, once more tearing you away from your essay; you were always thankful for the distraction though. He set down the take out bag, taking out the top box and handing it to you before shrugging off his jacket.

"Keiji? I said I was okay-"

"I didn't believe you. Now come on, you need to take a break and I'm touch starved." The raven didn't even look behind at you before pulling out his own box, dragging your rolley-chair to the bed. He pulled his sweater over his head, handing that to you as well before giving you a sweet peck.

His eyes locked with yours. Your breath hitched. So many silent words swam in his eyes, asking you, demanding you, to tell you what was wrong.

"I just- I've gained a little weight lately and-"

"And? My love, you are just as gorgeous as the day I met you. Nothing is wrong with a little weight, even if I think you're foolish to think you've gained weight. Never think otherwise. Even if you do, let me know, my job as your alpha and boyfriend is to make sure you feel as good as possible no matter what."

He slipped the sweater over your head, rehanding you your meal that he took from you momentarily, running a hand through your hair.

"Your my beautiful omega. Nothing should keep you from your happiness."

Wakatoshi Ushijima

➵Unlike Akaashi, Wakatoshi is little more...Hesitant (In a way) when it comes to omegan care.

➵ He never really learned how to? Ya know?

➵ Both his parents were alphas, and he was never around omegas consistently enough to learn.

➵and it's not like you were a volleyball that he could use the same techniques to up-keep.

➵ He also couldn't ask his team.

➵ Well, he could, but only one other person on his team had an omega. (It was Satori and his advice, though helpful, could only go so far.)

➵ He was doing good though, especially with you holding his hand through the entire thing.

➵ The first time he noticed something was up was when you didn't show up to lunch-- texting him a picture of you in the library, tongue poking out as you held up a peace sign to assure him you were okay.

➵ When he brought it up to Satori, who had his own omega (A small, but fiery brunette named Yuka) leaning on his side as she played some sort of phone game on his phone (Mama's slusheria? He thinks?) .

➵He explained he didn't know what was going on with you while Satori listened with a hum before giving him a sad smile. "Sorry I can't help you further Ushi-waka, but as you can see-" He slid his unfinished lunch towards Yuka, who popped one of the Dango skewers into her mouth without looking up. "I'm not very familiar with the problem."

➵ He offered his help as much as he could nonetheless.

➵ He slowly began to pick up on smaller things, locking them in his steel trap.

➵ Like a good boy :)

➵ He put hours of research into omegas after this (not that he hadn't previously). Keeping strenuous notes beside him.

➵ They were colorful and highlighted :)

➵ And he followed the advice that 'Mommy Luna-boo' posted on the blog he found like a goddamn Mantra. ('Sometimes Omegas need a little more love! Their bodies, especially during high school years, will change a lot! They may feel a little down! As an alpha, make sure you remind them how beautiful they are!')

➵She was mother Theresa and he was her follower.

➵ Well after he followed you.

➵and after he made sure you were feeling better

___

"Omega?"

"Toshi."

Walking into your dorm room, Wakatoshi set down a small bag filled with goodies. He set it down on your bed as he sat down as well, watching you carefully.

When you gave him a small smile with a quirked brow, he took a deep breath, remembering everything Tendou had coached him through.

"Have you been eating enough lately?"

You sucked your tongue at the question, shuffling your shoulders. Truth be told you had been missing out on a few lunches after noting a few extra pounds you hadn't noticed earlier. You never meant to worry him, that was never your intention, but it seemed the world was working against you. You had no clue where to go from here. If you told him the truth that would do nothing but worry him, but lying was never good in any form of relationship.

Your hesitance to tell him was more than enough though, as his larger lands encased your own, holding them tightly.

"Why?" His tone wasn't accusatory nor was it angry in the slightest. Genuine curious if anything. If he could get to the bottom of the root of the problem, he could prevent it from happening in the future. Right?

"I- I just...Noticed a few extra pounds and-"

"That's it?"

You looked up to him with a tilted head, like a lost puppy. "What do you mean that's it?"

Pulling you closer, Wakatoshi effortlessly pulled you onto his lap, using one hand to dig through the bag beside him while the other wrapped around your hips. He pulled out a few of your favorite snacks laying them out in front of you.

"That's, in my opinion, a silly thing to worry about. If you feel that's a big problem, I can offer my services to you in any way you wish-- whether it be support or as help, it is my job to be there for you." He nuzzled your scent gland, voice rumbling against your shoulders.

You purred in response, leaning back onto your alpha.

Rintaro Suna

➵ Suna is a lot like Akaashi in the sense that he has incredible observational skills as an alpha.

➵ His eyes are like sniper scopes.

➵ The minute something is wrong, he's on it.

➵ Like he looks aloof but he's not.

➵ He had notes.

➵ So hiding something from him is not easy at all.

➵ But you two most likely ended up together because you gave him a run for his money.

➵ You made him work at being an alpha.

➵ And he loved you for that.

➵ It did come back to bite him in the ass though.

➵ The only reason he heard about this was because the betas at Inarizaki were loud mouths.

➵ Honestly he learned so much tea from them.

➵ Like this third year was sleeping with a first year because she planned on baby trapping him and-

➵ It was wild.

➵Though most times it was nothing more than a source of entertainment for you and him to laugh about.

➵This time the gossip was actually useful.

➵ He wasn't thrilled they were talking about you, but provided some very useful information.

➵ And he was set into action.

➵ typing a few things onto his phone he set out to find you.

___

"Rin, I said I'm not hungry-"

"I know and I'm making the executive decision to ignore you."

He squinted his eyes at the carefully written instructions in front of him, sending a silent thanks to Atsumu's mate Haruka. (;)) She had written a step by step instruction sheet to making Onigiri while also dropping off all the ingredients (Pre-prepped). The only reason she didn't make it was because Suna's alpha, no matter how much he trusted her, wouldn't have let it near you.

"Rintato-"

"Look, Y/N. I love you, you know that. You know a lot of things, you're my smart little omega. So you must also know this isn't good, right?" Sliding a plate of, albeit mediocre, onigiri towards you, Rintaro focused his gaze on you.

"You know this, eh?"

You swallowed before grabbing one of the triangles, nibbling on the top in an attempt to appease your alpha. His sharp gaze still focused on you, making you shiver as he rounded around the counter. He turned you around so you were facing him, his hands holding your hips.

"You know this."

You wilted under his expectant gaze, knowing what he wanted from you. "I know this."

He smirked, leaning to take bite from your snack, licking his lips as he did. "Good omega."

"Rintaro that's mine!"

#alpha/beta/omega au #alpha/beta/omega verse #alpha/beta/omega #haikyuu!! #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu omegaverse #alpha akaashi #alpha Keiji Akaashi #alpha Keiji akaashi x omega reader #alpha akaashi x reader #akaashi keiji #akaashi x you #akaashi x reader #keiji akaashi x reader #alpha wakatoshi Ushijima x omega reader #alpha wakatoshi ushijima #alpha ushijima #alpha ushijima x omega reader #wakatoshi ushijima #wakatoshi ushijima x reader #ushijima x reader #alpha suna x reader #alpha rintaro suna #alpha Rintaro Suna x omega reader #alpha suna x omega reader #suna x reader #suna rintaro x reader #rintaro x you

[harpyjoy]

"I can't believe I didn't think of shipping these two before"

After thinking about it for a while I decided that it is better to tell it by a separate publication because it was seriously something too long xD

@rayshippouuchiha here are my delusions while I had a fever from the side effect of the vaccine...

It all started with the scene where Zero absorbs Ichiru towards the end of the second season, well in a way I think this part was a bit influenced by watching Hellsing, because at that point everything was combined with Zero, the fact that for having a life in which everything seems to go wrong (his family was murdered, he was turned into a vampire, he is about to go wild, the girl he loved turned out to be a vampire, he has been used as a pawn by another vampire and has to his brother dying in his arms) feels abandoned by god, so he abandons him in turn and Ichiru's blood flows to him...

(This is where I later realized that it might as well be a nice divergence for another even crazier ship like Alucard x Zero idk, but that's a can of worms I'm not willing to open right now)

...and a voice whispers an offer to him (because there always has to be a mystical and mysterious voice) that if he wants Ichiru to live. Now, I don't remember very well how the deal is going because after all it was a dream in the middle of a fever of like 39ºC but it would be something more or less like the two being born again as twin brothers, but this time there is no hunter's curse, Zero remembering all his past life but Ichiru won't remember anything.

The voice tells him that since it is an exchange of lives, he has to learn to live that new life and pay the price, whatever, between leaving that cell to continue doing what others want and deciding to take the reins for once in his life . Well, it's not difficult to choose, right? Zero chooses and reincarnates in the past as a pureblood baby vampire...

(and then he realized it was a damn cheating offer!)

In the arms of Shizuka Hio smile happily...

(what the hell is my life now?!)

...so apparently the price is to have this bloodsucking woman as his mother and to be a bloodsucker himself too, again ... but come on! at least now he's not going to fall to level E; so even though he's looking at Shizuka Hio's face in front of him now (what the heck? now that he notices it...is it normal for a hunter family to look so much like a pureblood family?) that it seems like now it's his mother, also, if that voice was telling the truth (which is very likely, since not all supernatural entities in the universe have the power to make you a reincarnation / time-dimension travel combo) Ichiru will be able to live a full life...

...and seeing a cute baby Ichiru in the arms of what seems to be his father in this life (that as my brain did not give for more, let's think that Shizuka's lover who was killed in the canon in this alternate universe was also a pureblood Hio cousin or something of her! more than anything because I don't want to think of another last name, and basically because I want her to be happy too) he has high hopes that it's true!

Anyway, the years pass and Zero learns that being a pureblood vampire is not so bad and since in this life Ichiru cuts his hair, Zero is the one who lets it grow (in honor of the Ichiru of his past life) although he still knows pierces because... why not?

Yes, the Council of Elders sucks, he had to live the early years of his second childhood in places without windows and the eyes of some noble vampires when they look at him are somewhat disturbing, but he has his brother safe and sound, and Shizuka...

(when she's not a bloodthirsty bitch fed for revenge)

...is actually a good mother, plus she has more strength in one hand than I could imagine and it feels pretty good to say "to hell with the Kurans", then the war between vampires and hunters breaks out and there are more pureblood gatherings than ever...

(and oh no, the damn Kuran! wait, since when are they three?)

...then, in one of those meetings Zero says "fuck it", because there is a guy who looks like the damn Kaname and a woman who is just like Yuuki ... and these old men from the Council do not shut up! so he escapes to breathe for a few moments and then he meets Rido Kuran and he honestly does not know what to think, he wants to hate him, but so many years have passed, he has Ichiru with him, he hardly remembers his human parents and he has enough with the discomfort he feels seeing Haruka and Juuri Kuran...

...and Rido looks so lonely that Zero almost sees himself in him when he was in his darkest moments in his old life and since Zero is not a heartless bastard he decides to talk to him about something random, and then the guy doesn't stop appearing everywhere!! and he first teases and laughs at Zero and then it seems that he can't understand what personal space is because he doesn't stop touching his hair and playing with the bell braided in his locks that Ichiru gave him and...

then he looks at him like he's...everything.

AND AT THIS POINT!! honestly with everything and my omniscient point of view even I was embarrassed to look at them because I felt like I was breaking into an intimate moment no matter they were just looking at each other because Rido looked so…thirsty.

He's basically a big cat and I think all the love, obsession and longing he felt for Juuri in the canon in this universe is focused on Zero, and the guy is The Yandere…Ichiru isn't impressed, but Zero seems to like him so meh.

And then it seems that pureblood vampires can have babies!! Because...who cares?

(Sincerely Zero no longer believes that something is going to surprise him)

They are not human, they are basically millennial immortal beings, one or two incredible things do not hurt and then the council of elders decides that they want to engage Rido with Ichiru (because he is the youngest), Zero has not even come out of shock when the two involved are already protesting very vocally and aggressively because who the hell came up with such a horrible idea?!, half the world and their mothers know that Rido and Zero are close! and Ichiru and Rido only interact when absolutely necessary (mostly because of Zero), fortunately the Council stops the proposal suddenly before it becomes more than a simple suggestion and...

then...I don't remember if when Rido and Zero get married they are Kuran or Hio?...

BUT, I remember that when you see them together they look like rock stars and they are the most atypical purebloods in history, where the other others look ethereal and fragile, they look dangerous and intimidating but equally or more attractive, like a seductive trap mortal.

They drive the Council absolutely crazy but they don’t care about them and they are a couple of cheeky, like very cheeky, I'm talking about public displays of affection and closeness that has more than one vampire looking away.

And so Zero is Senri's mother? (What the hell?!) Because let's remember that in the canon he is Rido's son with a noble and technically Yuuki and Kaname's cousin (?).... BUT! here his mom is Zero, because when Zero holds his baby for the first time and he is biting his finger to feed him with blood, the little one opens his eyes and Zero knows that look, he recognizes that light blue in apathetic eyes in the past and although now his hair may be more silver than dark he knows who he is, or rather who could have been (and damn he carried it in his womb for who knows how many months, it is his baby of course he keeps it)

THEN I WOKE UP!!  (」° ロ °)」

and I was left with a dazed and feverish haze sitting on the edge of my bed staring at a shoe for like 10 minutes desperately thinking what else I could remember about the crazy cool dream I just had so I could take notes on everything, because that was a damn REVELATION!!, and then do something, anything, just something because it was too good to be true and when I looked for Rido x Zero fics on the internet they were all dark and distressing and unfinished fics and that was a big NO! And guess who's scribbling half-formed sketches and ideas with the happiness of a kindergartener right now? I don't know if this is going to end in a fic or a fanart or a comic or what the hell, but now it's my baby.

#vampire knigth #zero kiryuu #rido kuran #ichiru kiryuu #shizuka hio #senri shiki #mysterious troll voice #crazy dreams from covid vaccine fever #omg #yaoi #time travel

[maddogofshimano]

Bound in the Chains of Suspicion: Haruka and Hamazaki Board Game Event

Major Y3 and Y4 Spoilers

I was surprised to see these two on an event together! Haruka even gets to be the protagonist here

I was more surprised by how emotionally compromised I got about Hamazaki of all people. I mean, I’ve thought he was a cool character ever since Y4, but man! This is the most important part though: LOOK AT HER

I’ve been busy so self-care was writing things up in more of a summary form than doing line for line translations this time. Apologies for the likely higher number of errors than usual and less polish overall, I got this done with only a few hours to spare before the event ended

I do need to put a big honking Content Warning on this one for attempted sexual assault of a minor, in which a grown man twice demands to see Haruka’s panties and attempts to grab her when she refuses. I’m really not a fan of the writing choice to include this, but I’ve got it in here for completeness’s sake

Summary: Set during the time between Kiryu and Yasuko leaving Hamazaki in Okinawa and Haruka’s call to Kiryu the next day to tell Kiryu that Hamazaki had passed away in the hospital. Haruka grapples with whether or not Hamazaki is a bad person and if he’s trustworthy while attempting to save his life

<After the incident where Hamazaki drifted to Morning Glory from Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2.....> We're starting off with in-game events/dialogue, Hamazaki handing over the blackmail he took from jail and asking for Kiryu's help

Immediate flashback to earlier 3/9/2010, more in game events. The kids have just gotten back from a field trip to the woods. They had fun, and want Kiryu to come along next time. Kiryu tries to introduce Hamazaki, Haruka is not having any of it

She tells Kiryu to shut up and Hamazaki to stay the hell away from everyone. Hamazaki is hurt by this, but fully understands and agrees to keep his distance

Next we have the beach conversation with Kiryu where she asks if he’s going back to Tokyo and that she’s scared

Haruka's usually very polite but she keeps calling Hamazaki あの浜崎って人 which is like, "that Hamazaki guy" lol

Haruka's been told by Ayako that "that Hamazaki guy" has left with Kiryu to go to the police station. She's wondering why that guy is now trying to convince Kiryu not to go to Tokyo....... isn't there going to be a big problem if Kiryu doesn't go? Did Hamazaki tell Kiryu not to go..... for Haruka's sake? There's no way, right? A bad person like him wouldn't do something like that..... She can't trust him,  but..... <Haruka flashes back to her yelling at Hamazaki and Hamazaki looking sad> She feels she might have been cruel to him

She thinks that Hamzaki just looked so so sad, so she tells Ayako she's going to head out for a bit and asks her to watch over things while she's gone. She thinks that she still can't trust Hamazaki but that maybe, it's possible he really has changed, and he's not such a bad guy anymore... but she can't be sure! So she's going to talk to him a little more

<Haruka was unable to believe that Hamazaki had changed when she first saw him, and said something cruel. She's still unsure on his change, and in order to discern it for herself has decided to talk to Hamazaki directly--following Hamazaki and Kiryu to the police station>

She shows the cop an photo of Kiryu and asks if he's come this way, as well as a big man with a shaved head and a scary face named Hamazaki. The officer says that they did, but went to help a lady look for her brother instead. He points Haruka in the direction they ran off in. She thanks him and wonders who this woman is, and remembers that Kiryu has a phone so she can just call him. Except she forgot her phone at morning glory...... thankfully there's a pay phone nearby, so she uses that instead. Kiryu isn't picking up though, which is worrying. She's sure Hamazaki must have done something!

She runs around the market with her picture of Kiryu asking people if they've seen him. A store owner says that yeah, he's seen that guy with the scary face, he was here not too long ago, and points her in the right direction. She follows the trail, talking to a homeless man, a younger guy, a tourist lady, and finally hitting a dead end and talking to a goon who says yeah, he's seen those three, but his memory's real fuzzy. Maybe he could remember if Haruka would show him her panties. Haruka is taken aback, he tries to grab her, and Haruka fights him off enough to escape. She hides nearby, and happens across someone bleeding on the ground. It's Hamazaki!

Hamazaki is bleeding badly, and collapses. Haruka thinks that she needs to call an ambulance, and fast, but she hears someone shouting in search of Hamazaki. She knows that if they come this way they'll be out in the open, so she starts dragging him despite him being heavy

the voice was of course coming from everyone's fave, Saito the Prison Warden

He knows that Hamazaki got shot in the torso, so he couldn't have gone far. Haruka wonders why Saito would try to kill Hamazaki. Unfortunately Saito decides that his subordinates are useless and that if he wants anything done he'll have to do it himself

He tells a homeless man that if they spot Hamazaki, Yasuko, and Kiryu he'll give them 100,000 yen, and the offer stands for any other homeless friends that help search. Haruka knows that she needs to get Hamazaki somewhere safe that they can hide, and fast. She thinks about it and remembers that right at the end of this alley there's an empty room that's never used that Taichi told her about. She manages to sneak herself and Hamazaki to the building without being spotted by the patrolling homeless men--but once in the building she finds that there's a homeless man inside. He tries to tell her to go play somewhere else but notices that she's dragging Hamazaki behind her, and starts shouting in hopes of getting the 100k. HARUKA ATTACKS THIS MAN. HARUKA OVERPOWERS THIS MAN. THIS MAN IS STRUGGLING TO GET AWAY AND HARUKA IS TELLING HIM HE CAN'T TELL ANYONE CAUSE THE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR HAMAZAKI NO OJISAN WILL KILL HIM

The man comments that Haruka's hands are shaking. He says he's been there too. When he worked as a day laborer, his hands would shake like that when he was desperately trying to haul heavy things. For the sake of helping an adult she's pushing her tiny body to it's limits... He agrees not to tell anyone, he's not going to be happy with any amount of money at the cost of someone's life. If any other homeless people come by, he's going to spread rumors that Hamazaki is far away from here, so that should help with Haruka's escape Haruka thinks again about calling an ambulance, worried that Hamazaki will bleed out, but still worried that they'll be found before it gets there. She also worries about why she hasn't seen Kiryu, and why Hamazaki was all alone at that building. The guy that shot Hamazaki seems like a cop and a bad person, but she had also thought Hamazaki was a bad person before... He did shoot Hamazaki, but Hamazaki also stabbed Kiryu...

Haruka wonders if maybe telling the cops where Hamazaki is would be the right thing to do. Maybe he's the real bad guy here. In response Hamazaki makes an eloquent argument compared to every previous line which had just been "Ughh gh ughh" and instead goes for "cough cough....!"

He's conscious enough to recognize Haruka as that kid who was at Kiryu's place. Haruka asks if Hamazaki is alright, and where is Kiryu? Is he okay? Hamazaki wheezes out that Kiryu's gone to a bad place, which is about the most ominous way to say things. Haruka panics internally, but unlike many other instances of miscommunication where Hamazaki would pass out right there, he says that Kiryu went with Saejima's sister to Tokyo. Haruka can't believe it. Hamazaki apologizes that he ended up separating Haruka from Kiryu after all.

Hamazaki also says that, despite everything, Kiryu's doing this to keep Haruka safe. Haruka wonders about that and Hamazaki collapses again. Haruka rushes off and calls an ambulance from the closest pay phone. She thinks that, if she trusts what Hamazaki is saying, then Kiryu has something important to do again. But is that really the case? She decides it'll be alright to trust Hamazaki. Before she makes it to the pay phone she's stopped by Saito introduces himself as a prison warden and says he's looking for a very bad man. He's large and has a shaved head, and was seen with a woman in a long coat and a man in a Hawaiian shirt. Haruka says she hasn't seen anyone, and rushes to the phone to call. Saito doesn't seem too convinced. Haruka makes the call and thinks that Saito had a real scary look in his eyes. She's pretty sure he's the bad one here. Once that guy gives up looking, then she can go home

Unfortunately we have the return of the disgusting creep that wants to look at her panties, now telling her that he looked all over for her, and she better not think about trying to run away this time. Haruka tells him to stay back

He says that it's fine if she hates him. In fact, that's even more enticing. She says to let her through, she's in a rush. He says he just wants to see her panties already, and tries to grab her. Another fight, she manages to avoid getting grabbed but he keeps her cornered and says she should stop fighting. He's cut off by a baton to the back of the head by the unlikeliest of heroes, dropping the creep

Haruka now has to consider, is it possible that Saito isn't actually a bad guy? Haruka leaves, and Saito comments to himself that he's going to find Hamazaki.

Haruka rushes back to Hamazaki, who is still lying on the floor going Ughhghghhhhh. She tells him to hold on a little longer, and ambulance is on the way. Hamazaki apologizes, and asks if she's alright. Haruka's confused. Hamazaki says that she scraped her knee on something, didn't she? It was from dragging him, right? She says no, she just fell and scraped it. Haruka's taken aback, even on the verge of death he's concerned about someone else--he really has changed. But... this could all be an act, she has no way to know... should she really be trusting him? There's a voice outside saying that this is where he's hiding. Search everywhere. both: !?

There's no time to hide, Saito is already here. Apparently it's been about 2 hours.

He followed Haruka, knowing she'd lead him right to Hamazaki. He saw the blood on her clothes and had a hunch. Once they talked at that pay phone he was certain she was hiding a half-dead Hamazaki somewhere. Haruka tries to protest but Saito thanks her for her help. It's a good way to thank him for saving her from that creep, right? Either way he only stepped in because he wanted her to lead him to Hamazaki as quickly as possible. Saito decides they've had enough chit-chat and says it's time to cut to the chase: he starts beating on Hamazaki and demanding to know where Kiryu Kazuma and Saejima's sister are

Hamazaki tells Haruka to run. He says that once they realize they can't beat the whereabouts of Kiryu and Saejima Yasuko out of him... they'll start torturing Haruka. He's going to use the last of his strength to stand and knock this guy to the ground, that'll be Haruka's opening to escape. Saito tells them to cut it with the whispering. Hamazaki says that Saito has a real hideous mug, it really makes him laugh, and earns himself another beating. Haruka calls out but Hamazaki cuts her off and says that it's okay to be scared. Hamazaki's dealt with plenty of guys like this. Saito threatens to kill him if he doesn't spit out where Kiryu is already. Hamazaki laughs and says he doesn't know. Saito asks if he needs his memory jogged, pauses, and sees Haruka standing in front of Hamazaki. He asks what she's trying to do. She says this is terrible! She can't let this go any further!!

Saito doesn't care if she's just a kid, he's happy to give her an attitude adjustment. Hamazaki launches himself at Saito to prevent him from beating Haruka, saying that he won't allow Saito to lay a single finger on this child. Saito attacks Hamazaki with intent to kill. Hamazaki can't move anymore after the fight, and Saito keeps hitting until he goes down. Saito declares that he would never die in a place like this, he's the one who's coming out on top. He reels back to strike Hamazaki, shouting for him to die, and........ HARUKA GRABS HIM AND STOPS HIM FROM HITTING HAMAZAKI! He calls her a bitch and tells her to let go of him!

Haruka: I won't let go....! Not ever.....! Hamazaki-san! Run!

Saito: Let go of me you biiiiiiiiiiiiitch! Saito turns to swing at Haruka but is taken down by one giant punch from Hamazaki, who tells him not to get back up. The ambulance finally arrives. Haruka begs him to hold on just a little longer. Hamazaki agrees, and laughs a little. He stopped Saito from laying a finger on her after all. He's glad he was able to protect her. There's on favor he needs to ask of her. Hamazaki: Tell Kiryu...... and Saejima that......... the Tojo Clan... is the only proof they ever walked this earth...... They have to... protect it....... from the police

He then collapses. Haruka begs him to hold on

<screen fades to black>

The doctor tells Haruka that Hamazaki is in bad shape... he might not even make it to the morning.

Haruka thinks back to her yelling at Hamazaki at the orphanage Haruka: I'm sorry, Hamazaki-san..... I... I was cruel to you then... and now I can't even apologize to you for it. I'm sorry....... I'm sorry...... Hamazaki: ......What's.... wrong....... Haruka-..... chan........ Haruka: !? Doctor: Incredible.... he's awake! Haruka: H-Hamazaki-san.... I'm sorry! I... back then when I.... I'm can't apologize enough....... Haruka: Back at Morning Glory.... I didn't trust you.... I said some cruel things that hurt you.... I'm sorry! Haruka: I was certain you were a horrible person back then.... but now.... I don't think that's true.... Haruka: For protecting Uncle Kaz.... for protecting me.... thank you, Hamazaki-san! Hamazaki: Heheh.... thanks, huh? Hamazaki: ......First time.... anyone's ever said that kind of thing.... sincerely to me...... Haruka: Hamazaki-san...... Hamazaki: Heheh.... it's fine........ Since we're.... giving thanks to people..... Hamazaki: Thank you... Haruka-chan.... Right at the very end...... you saved me <Hamazaki collapses> Haruka: .....! H-Hamazaki-saaaaaan!!! <at New Serena, Kiryu gets a phone call> Kiryu: ....Haruka. What's wrong, did something happen?

Haruka: Uncle Kaz... Hamazaki-san..... he just passed away. At the hospital.

Straight from the in-game dialogue, Haruka tells Kiryu that Hamazaki had been shot in the back, leading to his death. He thanks Haruka for being there for him, she says it was no trouble, and that she thinks he died protecting Kiryu. Kiryu agrees. Haruka says she thinks she was wrong about Hamazaki, and passes along his message for Kiryu and Saejima, and lets Kiryu know that his body is currently at Morning Glory. Kiryu says they'll hold a memorial service once he's back <phone call ends> Haruka: .....Uncle Kaz. The Tojo Clan that Hamazaki-san protected... he's left it's protection to you. <END>

Bonus stuff:

as we all know, Haruka has not had enough people literally die in front of her eyes, so time to add Hamazaki to that list!

okay so immediately after Hamazaki wakes up in the hospital there’s this screen which made me break down into nearly crying laughter in the middle of the emotional moment, so I used my editorial authority to move it down here instead

the doctor’s face! why did they do this!!

Anyways here’s all of Haruka’s little blurbs from going around the board

Beach There's a beach in front of Morning Glory. We keep coming back to here to look at the ocean. It's an indispensable spot for all of us.

Morning Glory Our beloved home. When I first came here, I thought it was super spacious, but lately it feels cramped. It must be because everyone has grown up.

Hamazaki-san The guy who stabbed uncle Kaz.... But now, Hamazaki-san gives off a totally different vibe than back then. Is it really okay to trust him....?

Ebisu Pawn The Ryukyu branch of Ebisu. Uncle Kaz goes there every now and then. I have no idea what he's pawning off but... I'd like to help.

People Running Shakedowns Even in Okinawa there are people that will do shakedowns.... I need to tell everyone to keep an eye out before anything happens....!

Ojisan The caretaker of Morning Glory. Honestly, everyone truly thinks of him like their dad. If you tell him something like that however, he will get embarrassed.

Everyone at Morning Glory Everyone here has no parents, but each of them has a bright future ahead of them if they keep working hard. We've all become a real family for each other.

Sailor Outfit For my middle school I have to wear this sailor outfit. At first I would get embarrassed when everyone looked at me.

Mame A resident (pet?) of Morning Glory. Mame is getting bigger, and it's making his daily walks and pacing beforehand a real pain! (TL note: the resident (pet?) is Haruka swapping the counter between for a person and for an animal, which does not really have an english translation lol)

Dragon Mask When Taichi was sick, this was used for a pro wrestling match on the beach. I haven't seen it since then. If I ask nicely, I wonder if it could be used again?

That’s all! Thank you for reading all of this!! I cherish every single tag people leave on these posts when they reblog them

#yakuza #rggo #ryu ga gotoku online #Ryu ga Gotoku #Hamazaki #Haruka #Kiryu

[sabraeal]

Provocateur, Prologue

[Read on AO3]

Written for @krispy-kream in honor of her birthday. Many years ago, back when I first joined fandom, I came up with the idea for an Obi Works For Izana AU, and both Sharon and I ended up writing small pieces of a much larger whole. And now FINALLY...I’m actually writing the very beginning 🤣

When it comes down to it, in terms of area and amenities, the royal dungeons has some of his last few flats beats.

There’s light, for one. He’s never liked basement apartments-- he’d take a stifling attic room over a place with only one exit any day-- but the windows here are high up on the wall, enough that he can watch the sun paint his cell floor as the hours pass. They’re ground level, at least by the foot traffic outside of ‘em, and with how loud these guards gossip, he’ll know whose girlfriends are pregnant and who’s nursing a nasty boil by shift change. Just like sitting in a tavern for a few hours, only with less ale.

There’s a cot too, straw-stuffed and a little too soft, with a blanket that doesn’t even itch. Seems like it might be warm too, for when the nights get cold. Not that he has an intention of testing out that particular hunch.

The guard down the hall is decent in the way authority figures never are; when he calls out to ask where his piss bucket is, the man-- boy? It’s hard to tell beneath those helmets-- ushers him down a hall to a water closet, and when he pops out, reminds him to take care to wash his hands. He’s prompt about mealtime too; when supper comes, the man says to expect three square and leaves him with with a dinner that would put most publicans to shame.

All in all, this isn’t the worst trouble he’s gotten himself into. Worlds better than that stint he’d had in Eurikenna’s gaol. Or that night in Port City.

Still, he’s got no plans to linger. No point in sticking around for a punishment when he's got no interest in redemption. But he’s got a prince to wait for.

Oh, His Highness might say he’s above getting his hands dirty, might look down that noble nose at a man like him who makes his living in trade, but he’d seen his look. Not the first, when his little mistress was watching, all puffed cheeks and disapproving brow, but the second, that glance over his shoulder as the Big Man frogmarched a dirty rat down into the dungeons.

That one was a man who had found the right tool for the job. Hands don’t stay clean without gloves to cover them, especially if they mean to hold a mistress who collects trouble like some ladies collect hairpins. If he wants to keep his side piece quiet, it’s only a matter of time before he’ll have to make a statement. And nothing says don’t touch what’s mine like a few accidents. All he has to do is wait out a royal conscience.

The light fades as he waits, just the last stretch of dusky light yawning on the sill. It’s almost time for all good little princes to be in bed, but this one-- this one will be working instead. The hand that grabbed him had been stained with ink and calluses both; the kind of man who longed for action but was stuck behind a desk. He’ll be up late, managing men and supplies miles away on paper, but in his head--

Oh, in his head, he’ll be thinking about the man he’s left to rot in the dungeons. The one that might be just the right fit for what he needs, for the jobs he can’t give that giant or the pretty girl at his side. It’s the sort of idea that’ll eat at him when the lamps are low and the night is quiet, and oh, how a conscience can gnaw when there’s no more work to feed it. There’s a reason he’s never idle. Not usually, at least.

He casts a long glance down the silent hall; the guard sits at his table, log book spread in front of him, another smaller one laid atop. A novel, by the slack-jawed look that’s slapped across his face. In Eurikenna, his reputation had preceded him, and they’d bound him hand and foot, bolting his wrists to the wall and his feet to the bench. Viande had put him in a cell with a single window and stone on all sides, his only escape leading into a moat rumored to be prowled by sharks.

Here he has a single guard and bars he could probably squeeze through if he skipped a meal or two. It’s insulting to be so underestimated-- or it would be, if he wasn’t already planning to stay. He’s paid out his room at the inn for a week; a few days to enjoy the impeccable food and passable mattress he’s got here won’t hurt-- just as long as he makes it back before the innkeep tosses all his worldly goods in the gutter. And if he does need to make a quick escape--

Well, it’s hardly the first time he’s slipped the noose. But it won’t come to that. Younger Highness is on the hook.

The door to the dungeon clanks open; it’s a softer sound, barely loud enough for him to hear, but he hasn’t made a name for himself by being the sort of person who only hears what he ought. The guard’s gone-- book too-- and his hand itches to have something that ends with a point in it. He should have known, this was all too easy.

A shrouded figure sweeps through the threshold, prowling with the easy confidence only men born to power possessed-- or a professional. His hands flexed, too empty. He’s a loose end, an embarrassing stain on a proud man’s reputation, and there’s only one thing to do with that-- rub it out.

“You’re not the prince,” he says, keeping his voice even, maybe a bit petulant. Boldness wins a bluff; all he needs is time. Just a second, a hesitation--

Which he gets; the figure’s boots scuffing to a stop. Its head cocks, curious. “Is that so?”

It’s a man’s voice, higher than he expects, but resonant. The sort that people listen to when they’re not looking for a way out. The sort that won’t care for a man turning his back on it.

“You’re too tall.” He saunters to his cot, the mattress sinking under his weight. Not quite the attitude he’d been hoping for, but close enough. Gives him enough time to realize his cloaked friend isn’t talking-- no, instead he catches the barest tremble of cloth before a gloved hand tugs it smooth.

“How...astute,” the man hums, a strange lift kicking that first vowel before he smooths that out too. Everything about this man is slick, from the shine of his boots to the way he says, “That must be the observational skills that tempted even the marquis to hire you.”

His grin flicks into a grimace, but habit wipes that all clean before he says, “I wasn’t hired by anyone. Just wanted to...advertise my skills. In case anyone with a fat wallet found themselves needing a problem taken care of.”

Another pause, this one heavier. “And this girl seemed like a likely target?”

“A commoner nosing around a prince?” A laugh huffs out of him. “What about that isn’t a problem? At least when it’s a lady, she doesn’t have pockets that need filling, but some little herbalist girl? There’s a long way between lady slippers and slippers for a lady. And not everyone wants to kiss hems to get a mistress in their pocket.”

Not when it’s just as like to be covered in mud. If there’s one thing he’s learned about these bluebloods, it’s that they only suck up, not down.

The shroud shifts, arms folding across a chest too slender to be called broad, and shoulders too wide to be scrawny. Lithe, perhaps, the perfect size to slip through a man’s guard.

“The job is over, you know.” Boot heels clack as the man draws closer, just enough to see a defined chin beneath the shadows of his hood. “There’s no need for all this cloak and dagger. Haruka has already confessed to the crown that he was the one to hire you.”

His fingers flex behind his head, longing for something besides bristle to cross his palms. “Don’t know why he’s going through all the trouble. I don’t know him.”

This isn’t his first interrogation, but it’s certainly the slowest. The man stands silently outside the bars, a single finger lying along his diamond-cut jawline. No questions, no speculation, just a shadow staring out of a hood, observing. This must be what it’s like to be boiled alive; put in the pot when it’s barely a simmer, the heat raising so gradually that it’s not until his chest is near bursting to speak, to fill the silence, that he knows he’s been cooked.

“What would you have done?” the man says, finally. “If you had your way with the girl.”

The girl who, in the face of danger, tore an arrow from the wall rather than run. “Nothing permanent.”

What little he can see of the shroud’s mouth curves. “How very vague. So many unpleasant things only take a moment.”

“The job was to scare her off,” he admits, wondering why his belly quivered in his gut. There’s bars between them, and his hands are faster than any nob’s, no matter how good the costume. But still, his muscles lay coiled against his bones, ready to strike. “Seduce her, if she seemed...amenable. Bribe her if she didn’t.”

“And what then?” It’s a quicker response than he expects, but the man isn’t agitated-- far from it, he’s never seemed calmer. “If the girl proved impervious to your more...gentle measures.”

There’s a question in that, one the shroud won’t voice. But he hears it, loud in his ears as a bell’s gong.

“I’ve killed before,” he says, each word on thin ice. “And I still sleep at night.” Barely. “I could have done it again.”

“But would you?”

For once, he hesitates. Imagines looking into those bright eyes, the ones that flamed so fiercely in defiance, and with the flick of a wrist, snuffing them out.

“It’d be a waste.” His hands tremble where they cradle his head, a command he hasn’t given them. This is the last thing he needs right now, losing control. “That girl’s got a lot of pluck. And if rumors around the pharmacy are right, a lot of brains too. Besides, bodies make more talk than bribes.”

“That they do.” There’s a lilt to those words, almost amused. “You know, you called it a job. Implying that you received compensation for your services.”

It’s a sting to realize he’s slipped. “Doesn’t mean it was the marquis.”

“It certainly doesn’t,” the man agrees, and if this room weren’t so dark, if this conversation wasn’t so serious-- well, he’d be tempted to say this guy is laughing at him. “Do you have a name?”

He turns to him real slow-like, one utterly dubious brow arched toward the guard’s register. “You want me to believe you can’t read?”

That shadow of a mouth lifts again. “Am I to believe a man of your skill gave your birth name to the royal guard?”

His mouth cocks into a grin. “You must if you think I’m gonna give it to you.”

The man comes closer still, one gloved hand wrapping around his bars. He’s visible to the tip of his nose; a long, patrician one.

“Of course. But you must have something you would like to be called.” His lips-- bowed, the most fashionable in Clarines’ court-- twitch toward a smile, but fall perilously short. “An alias, if you will.”

“Obi.” It’s too short, too quick, but already he likes it. It’s a more playful name than he’s had in a long while. Easy to lose, too, if he needs it.

“Well then, Obi.” His arm rests over one of the cross bars of his cell. “I believe I have a proposition for you.”

“Haah.” He hops to his feet, hoping to seize the high ground. “I appreciate the interest, but I’m already waiting on an offer.”

To say the hood recoiled would be an overstatement, it merely pulls back, barely more than an inch. “An offer?”

“Well, maybe more like...I have prospects.” Obi restrains his grin to little more than a twitch. “I just gotta see if they’ll pan out.”

The hood stills, thoughtful. “What if I could guarantee you a better offer?”

“You couldn’t.”

The man hums, amusement changing his pitch. “I quite sure I could.”

“Nah.” Obi shakes his head, almost wishing it weren’t so. This guy seems like he could be real fun, if he got his hands on his reins. “I don’t think so.”

“Please.” He opens a hand; an invitation. “Try me.”

“Fine.” There’s nothing to lose by telling, besides some face, if he’s wrong. Which Obi knows he’s not. “I got a feeling the next guy through that door’ll be His Highness.”

The man rocks back, like he’s been hit. “Zen? You think...?”

Obi expects some bargaining, some disbelief, maybe even some haggling, but--

He does not expect the laugh.

“Oh,” the man coughs, lifting a hand as if he might wipe tears from his eyes. “I promise you, I can give you a...far more attractive offer.”

Now that’s a rich one. “What could be better than a second prince?”

The man’s hand raises past his eyes, right to the edge of his hood. With the barest flick of his fingers, the cloth falls back, baring bright gold and Wisteria blue.

“Why,” drawls His Highness Izana Wisteria, crown prince, soon to be first of his name, “the first.”

#obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #obi works for izana au #my fic #ans #listen it's obiyuki as a WHOLE but in this chapter there's just little hints #but truly this is just our excuse to have: #1) obi work with the smartest man in the manga and have his whole skill set utilized #2) enemies to friends to lovers #also torturing zen and obi with the friendship that could have been #that too #you know how it is

[docholligay]

SM rewrite: any of haruka's first times meeting the inners

EPisode 92! 1960 words, I hope you enjoy, I AM HAVING FUN TODAY

“He’s SO HOT, Mina.” 

Usagi was off on yet another one of her larks, talking about some guy she’d seen at the arcade. She’d thought, at first, that she was talking about Motoki, who Mina took to be her current obsession who was not Mamoru of the moment, but maybe that had been several moments ago. It was hard to tell with Usagi. 

People always took her and Usagi to be alike, and if that gave Mina the benefit of being underestimated, that was fine with her. And it was true, that they both liked attractive people, in a way, but Mina was more of a freelancer, moving from this flower to that like a brilliant butterfly with no particular link to any one person, while Usagi fell in love with every man she ever met. 

That too. Usagi was still under the impression that she was straight, and the delusion might yet follow her all the way to the wedding altar. That, in particular, was none of Mina’s business, who had realized since the age of 12 that attractive was attractive in her eyes, which became the fact that a bedroom was a bedroom, as she got older, and what it might say on someone’s driver’s license or facebook held little notice for her when it was time to go home. 

Dating, on the other hand--well, she wasn’t bold enough to tell Usagi to never date a man, if she had other options, not while she was still enamored of Mamoru, but she certainly thought it hard enough. Mina had learned that lesson quickly. Men were like riding a roller coaster, exhilarating and fun, for a quick ride, but eventually you just get sick. 

Usagi had not yet learned this, and it was in this that Minako allowed her to keep your youthful naivete. She had time yet to learn. 

“His name is HARUKA,” she swung her bag around, “I heard the cashier say it. Isn’t that dreamy?” 

Mina chuckled, “It’s one of the most popular names in Japan, Usagi. I go to school with like, 4 Harukas.” 

“Well, it seems different on him!” She gave a little scowl and a stomp of her foot, but then smiled brightly and whipped around, “Come to the arcade with me and see him!” She narrowed her eyes playfully, “We can compete to see who he’ll fall in love with.” 

This was the point at which Rei would have chimed in that Usaig had a boyfriend, if she had denied to leave off from her shrine duties and hang out with them after school, but she hadn’t, and Mina didn’t see why something like a boyfriend should get in the way of a good time. 

“Amazing. I hope you like losing.” Mina cackled as she swanned toward The Crown. She hadn’t been in a while, not for any particular reason, other than she was doing a bunch of back work for a hostess club, which she hoped would hire her as a hostess the absolute second she turned 18. Unfortunately, they were too above-board to hire her for anything at the front right now. It was less than a year. She’d live. 

Usagi rushed into the Crown, ever with the perfect idea of how to act casual, and gazed immediately over to the racing game in the corner, hand under her chin as she leaned against an old copy of Pacman. 

“There he is!!!” she stage whispered, hissing as she grabbed Mina’s hand. 

She sighed and turned to tell Usagi that he was going to hear them, but he didn’t look over even at all, and Mina’s brow twitched as she noticed it. His hearing must not be anything to write home about. He was wearing a blazer over the top of a sweater, over the top of a collared shirt, which seemed a bit like overkill to Mina, but hey, maybe he was cold. 

MIna walked over to him, Usagi half-tiptoeing behind in a way that Haruka would find either cute or incredibly unsettling, and based on that, Mina would change her strategy. It was all a sort of chess game, flirting and seduction, and with men maybe it wasn’t even chess. Checkers, or something.

“Hi!” Usagi popped up, “Good afternoon! We saw that you were playing alone here, and were wondering, you know!” 

Mina looped her arm across the back of the car seat, and leaned against it. “Care for a friendly game?” 

Haruka ruffled his hair, and looked up at her, and Mina nearly burst out laughing. She hadn’t noticed, with the bulkiness of the blazer and other entrappings, and she hadn’t looked hard enough when she’d been standing with Usagi, but looking now, there was no mistake. Haruka wasn’t a man at all. Oh, she was tall, and gangly, and even given the sweater probably fairly flat-chested, but there was the unmistakable fullness of her lip, the softness of her brow, the way she looked at Usagi and Mina. Mina was a bit of an expert, in these matters. 

She looked over to Usagi. No reason not to let this play out. Why not, she’d earned some fun. Maybe Usagi would have a moment of realization--Mina doubted she’d ever seen a butch lesbian outside of Takarazuka, and those women were made up to the high heavens, more drag than the genuine article. 

So she smiled. 

“Just a race or two.” 

Usagi started to stammer, and step in front of her, but Mina dodged it effortlessly. Why have one bit of fun, when she could have two? Besides, Usagi may have been wrong about Haruka being a boy, but she wasn’t wrong about a certain quality of rough handsomeness that she carried, that sort of young, gentlemanly way, with a touch of insecurity, that Mina sometimes found very winning about the younger butch set. She could have a worse time. 

“Sure,” Haruka smiled, and nodded, then added, “I always like to play with a pretty girl.” 

Her voice was deep, but not overly so, and Mina found the feminine lilt at the end of her sentences quite charming. She rather liked butches, when it came down to it. They had a habit of picking up the charming parts of masculinity while letting the rest rot where it belonged. 

MIna slid in next to her. She smelled good, like sandalwood and maybe a touch of motor oil, which Mina wouldn’t have thought would be charming. Usagi was salivating as they put their coins into the slot, but she stood and watched Mina. She’d played this game plenty of times, and beaten Usagi at it nearly every time, save when Motoki accidentally spilled a drink on her in the middle of a race. This wouldn’t be too hard, but she would be careful not to humiliate Haruka, and maybe even let her win in the last stretch--

She looked over to the map. Haruka was already out in front, her car on full manual and effortlessly gliding through it, swinging the wheel and tapping on the brake and gas at perfect intervals. 

Minako, for a moment, became just a little enraged. She hadn’t even wanted to win before this moment, but for her to be beaten so easily, by whatever putz of a nerd was too old to be hanging out in an arcade but clearly WAS hanging out in an arcade, on an afternoon, and didn’t she have a job or college or something to go to? 

She slammed down on the gas, trying desperately to catch up, to make a better showin, but Haruka just kept going and going, hitting checkpoints without a second thought, not even the slightest amount of wrinkle to her forehead. 

Besides all that, Usagi was laughing and clapping her hands like the damn fool she was. 

Mina tried to weave around the fake traffic in her way, but ended up broadsiding a bus full of fake schoolchildren, and she imagined their fake screams echoing her own as the Game Over flashed across the screen. She quite forgot her seduction, in the moment, as she slapped the middle of the steering wheel and laid her head down on it. 

“I can’t believe I lost that bad!” 

Haruka chuckled, “No, you actually did pretty good.” 

Mina straightened up, smoothed her hair, and tried to regain herself. 

“Sorry, it’s just,” she giggled, “I get so competitive. The uh….heat of the moment, you know what I mean?” 

Haruka looked at her with a slightly confused sideways grin. “Sure.” 

“Oh but I am sorry, Haruka, mother was forever at lunch, sometimes I swear she asks for things only to see the human limit of what a waiter will bear before smoke begins to run from his ears. It was never my intention to keep you waiting.” 

“Oh, that’s okay.” 

Mina saw Game Over flash across the screen a second time as Haruka looked at the woman who had just entered. 

She was unquestionably beautiful, with a delicately rounded face that suggested a touch of foreignness at the eyes, eyes in green or blue but also somehow both, shifting a bit as the tides. Her hair was elegantly curled to her shoulders, and her carriage was straight and practiced, a show dog out for the afternoon with all the regular mutts. She wore a finely tailored blouse of silk with a demurely pleated skirt, round toe leather on that fit her perfectly on her feet, a bag at her side that was the sort of designer you wore if you were too polished for garishness of advertising that you wore designer. The whole of her felt wrong in the crown, like placing Italian marble in a kid’s playplace, and she smelled of rose and jasmine. 

But none of that was what stopped Mina in her tracks, no, wealth and polish was not enough to frighten her off. It was the look Haruka gave her, that wide-eyed gaze like a tourist standing in front of some great masterwork, and the softness with which she had responded. Mina didn’t know if they were together, or if they weren’t but she knew one thing for sure: 

Haruka was desperately smitten. She could have competed with Usagi for stupid in love, at that point. She and Usagi were getting nowhere with this one. 

Haruka rose to her feet, taking her bag and tossing it over her shoulder in one motion. MIchiru turned to leave the arcade, and Haruka gave a nod back to Usagi. 

“Hey, uh, you with the buns,” She smiled and tossed her hair, “We should play next time.” 

Usagi’s eyes damn near became hearts, but Mina just gave a half-hearted wave and a nod. There were fights you could win, and fights you couldn’t win, and Minako Aino didn’t ever throw effort straight into a fire. She had more of a sense of self-preservation than that. 

Haruka turned to walk next to her companion, who gave her the smallest closed-mouth smile. 

“Well, aren’t we making friends so quickly today?” 

Haruka chuckled. “You jealous or something?” She looked at the woman with what Mina noted was a mix of hope and fear. 

“Oh, terribly.” she answered. This woman knew exactly what Mina knew.

Haruka shook her head, unable to keep up the ruse. “They’re high school girls,” she shrugged, “ They seem like such little kids. But they’re cute, right?” 

“As kittens.” Noted the elegant woman, as they breezed out the door. 

There was a pause for a moment as even Motoki stood beside them to watch them leave, the perfume still hanging in the air as if the entire place were surrounded by petals. Usagi put her hands on her hips. 

“Is it just me, or were they both ridiculously good-looking?”

#Eight Days 2020 #SM rewrites #Anonymous

[deactivatedpermanently]

Free! Headcanon - How They React When You Blurt Out Your Insecurities

(A/N: I will likely, at some point in the future, write one for characters such as Kisumi, Momo, Nitori, Sousuke and any other character requested. For now, enjoy this one for the Iwatobi boys and the Matsuoka siblings.)

Makoto Tachibana

He hadn’t expected you to blurt out your feelings of insecurity about yourself.

You were one of the most confident people he knew, even if he did know about your frequent anxieties over what he viewed as quite minor things (he knew and understood that they felt massive to you).

But, never in a million years did he imagine you’d be insecure about yourself, more specifically your body.

After all, you were his girlfriend. Even if his opinion may have been biased, he believed that you were the prettiest girl in the world, and there was no changing that for him.

Due to not expecting this outburst from you, he has no idea what to say.

He sits silently in place beside you, just watching your tears cascade down your puffy face.

That broke his heart.

Acting on impulse, he lifts your face and brushes your tears away with the backs of his fingers, before pulling you onto his lap (even if you protest).

He wraps his arms around you securely, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“(N/N), I know it doesn’t matter that I think you’re the prettiest girl in the world, and I know that I can’t change how you feel about yourself, but I at least want to help. I’ll do anything if it helps you, okay?”

You nod, and he kisses your temple again, smiling faintly.

Gou Matsuoka

Gou freaks out a little.

Did she make you feel this way about yourself?

Did she do or say something to make you feel less than the perfect person she saw before her?

Regardless, she still feels like she has some responsibility as your girlfriend to make you feel like you are gorgeous. She feels bad for not being attentive enough to see that you were insecure.

“I think you’re beautiful, (N/N). How could you think so low of yourself?”

She wraps her arms around you, almost suffocating you in a warm, tight hug.

Like Makoto, she feels like she needs to help you feel better about yourself in some way.

“How can I make you feel better about yourself? What do you need me to do?”

“I-I don’t know.” you mutter in response. 

“Do you want me to tell you how pretty you are?”

“...I guess so.” you say sheepishly, cheeks heating up as you wipe away your tears. “Th-thanks, Gou.”

Rei Ryugazaki

As one could guess, Rei isn’t amazing at comforting people.

Not to say he didn’t want to help you, or that he didn’t have the ability to make you feel better.

He so desperately wants to articulate how beautiful and wonderful you are, at least through the lenses of his red-rimmed glasses, but he just can’t.

However, he is caught so off guard, that he can’t help but blurt out: “Why would you think that about yourself, (Y/N)?”

“Because, I’m just not as pretty as other girls. It doesn’t matter if you think I am...Doesn’t change how I see myself...”

Rei just isn’t having this. In a moment of improvisation, he allows his thoughts to escape his mouth without thought.

“...You are beautiful, (Y/N). But, you’re human too, just like everyone else. All humans are imperfect to some degree, even if we all try to be as perfect as possible. But...your physical imperfections don’t denote your value as a person. They don’t make you any less beautiful, and anyone who treats you otherwise is no where near as perfect as you are.”

This brings a smile to your face, which had initially held an intrigued yet shocked expression. Sure, it couldn’t completely solve your problem forever, but it makes you feel a lot less insecure in that moment, and a little less insecure in the long run.

Though Rei had insisted no one was perfect, you can’t help but think that Rei is a perfect boyfriend.

Haruka Nanase

Haru knows that you’re insecure long before you tell him.

As the most attentive and perceptive boyfriend you could’ve ever dreamed of having, he noticed every little thing you did, be it as subtle as a whisper caught in the wind.

This meant he’d observed, on numerous occasions, you pinching at your chub when you thought you were alone, or at least when you thought he wasn’t looking. He noticed how you always made sure to wear clothes that concealed as much of your body as humanly possible, even when you’d end up wearing what seemed to be winter clothes during the summer.

He simply listens as you lament about your self-hatred. His heart sinks a little with every word, but he’s glad you are comfortable enough to tell him about how insecure you are.

Haru’s always been a guy of few words, which is why he expresses his love for and adoration of you by wrapping his arms around your shoulders. He knows you’re smart enough to understand what he was saying. Whether you’ll listen to what he was saying through his actions is something he can’t predict.

He quickly realises that you listened when you bury your face in his chest, which soon became drenched by your warm tears.

Using his thumb, he caresses the back of your hand, and you feel a little more okay.

Nagisa Hazuki

When you express your feelings of low self-esteem, Nagisa seems a lot more upset than you are.

You watch the tears prick in the corners of his eyes, thoroughly confusing you. 

“Why are you crying?” you question. Sure, you were upset, but not to the point of tears. Is he really that upset about what you’ve said?

“Because, (N/N), you’re so amazing. How could you not like yourself?!” he said between sobs.

“Look...you thinking I’m amazing doesn’t really change how I feel about myself.” you explain, holding back tears of your own; Nagisa being so upset about it breaks your heart just a little. “Raising my self-esteem’s something I have to do for myself, but you can still help me feel better when I’m upset about it, okay?”

Nagisa wipes away his tears and nodded.

Before you can do or say anything else, Nagisa pulls you into the tightest hug of your life. A few moments later, he holds you at arms-length. 

“I love you so much, (N/N).” he tells you, causing your heart to skip a beat.

“I love you too, Nagi.” you respond.

He grins at you and presses a kiss to your nose, causing you to giggle.

Your insecurities melt away for that night.

Rin Matsuoka

Rin is overwhelmed when you blurt out your insecurities.

He’s always known you to be insecure, but he never knew how badly your insecurities affected you, especially because you often acted arrogant and confident.

Like Makoto, he doesn’t quite know what to say at first. Like Gou, he’s consumed by guilt, thinking he could’ve, somehow, prevented you from feeling this way. Like Haru, his heart sank. Like Nagisa, tears prick in the corners of his eyes. Like Rei, he’s not that excellent  at comforting people.

He just watches as you bury your reddened face into his pillow, as the both of you are sat on his dorm’s bed; you are completely embarrassed that you’d just cracked so badly in front of your boyfriend to the point of not wanting to look at him.

He really wants to stop you from crying and feeling so bad about yourself, but he just doesn’t know what to do nor say. This just amplifies his guilt.

How come he, the guy who was supposed to make you feel like the greatest girl in the world, couldn’t make you hate yourself any less?

You tense up when you hear a quiet whimper. You look up and see Rin watching you with tears rolling down his cheeks.

You look back at him.

“What’s wrong?” you ask shyly.

“I...I just wish there was something I could do to show you how I see you...” Rin says in a low voice, which wavers a little.

“There’s not much you can do or say to change how I feel, Rin.” you sigh, eyes locking to the pillow. You slowly look up at him. “But...I could kinda do with a hug...”

Within moments, Rin as his arms locked around you. He kisses your cheek and gently rubs your arm with his thumb. The hug’s enough to make you feel a little better.

#makoto tachibana #gou matsuoka #rei ryugazaki #haruka nanase #nagisa hazuki #rin matsuoka #makoto tachibana x chubby!reader #makoto tachibana x plus size!reader #makoto tachibana x reader #gou matsuoka x chubby!reader #gou matsuoka x plus size!reader #gou matsuoka x reader #rei ryugazaki x chubby!reader #rei ryugazaki x plus size!reader #rei ryugazaki x reader #haruka nanse x chubby!reader #haruka nanse x plus size!reader #haruka nanase x reader #nagisa hazuki x chubby!reader #nagisa hazuki x plus size!reader #nagisa hazuki x reader #rin matsuoka x chubby!reader #rin matsuoka x plus size!reader #rin matsuoka x reader #free! #free! iwatobi swim club #anime

[arysthaeniru]

Just came over from spiraling downhill. You’re writing is so lovely, I’ve beeen reading and rereading it for the past week or so. Maybe once I can get my thoughts more organized I’ll try and leave you a more detailed comment on what I love in particular over on ao3 but I struggle to put my thoughts to words on a regular basis as it is so uh. Basically, Kiryu’s inner monologue is very very fun to read and all you’re characters are written out in a way that makes them feel layered and lovely. Like a warm and flakey biscuit.

But anyway, if you’re still taking Drabble requests I’d love to see some more nishiki and haruka interactions. I think about the one we see from nishiki’s POV in his interlude a lot and how uh. Terribly it went. What does haruka think of nishiki exactly anyway? She distrusts him but he’s also clearly someone Yumi and Kiryu love. I just think that could be a fun thing to untangle or just take a glance at.

Thank you so much for this lovely ask <3 <3 I’m so sorry I took so long to reply to it,, but I’m so so happy that you enjoy Kiryu’s inner monologue. I always wonder if he’s a little too thoughtful in my fics, but I prefer leaning into Kiryu’s emotionally competent side. 

And there is more of Haruka’s thoughts on Nishiki in the next chapter actually!!! It was supposed to happen last chapter, but Nishiki and Kiryu dominated that one. So instead, I’ll give you a snippet from a yakuza 3/4 AU in this universe that I’ve been idly daydreaming about! I keep thinking about a three-part structure of Nishiki + Haruka + Mine / Kiryu + Majima + Daigo / Yumi + Reina + Akiyama....anyway. I’ll probably never actually write that, but it haunts me anyway. 

“Nishikiyama-san.”

Nishiki looks up from his paperwork with surprise. Kiryu’s kid doesn’t often come to him, even though Nishiki’s on kid-watching duty almost half the week, these days. She usually does homework and watches TV in the main room once she’s back from school. And sure, they exchange pleasantries when Nishiki gets up to get coffee and runs into her in the kitchen. They’ll talk about her classes, what takeout she wants for dinner, whether she needs money for some club-related expense. But it’s all casual stuff, polite things.

Nishiki knows that Haruka doesn’t trust him. Just as her relationship with Yumi’s been slightly wary since the events atop Millennium Tower, her relationship with Nishiki’s been strained ever since she’d first met him. He doesn’t begrudge her that, though. It’s a healthy thing for a kid to have grudges about life-threatening things. He’d held grudges against people for simply wearing similar clothes to him, back in the day. Kiryu’s ultimate peace is more unnerving than this quiet, normal resentment.

Still, they’d fallen into something of a habit of not really talking to each other when Kiryu wasn’t around, so her approaching him in his office with such a strangely determined look is unusual.

“Need something, kiddo?” Nishiki asks, putting away the paperwork.

“...yeah.” she says, after a long pause. There’s almost something shamefaced on her expression, and Nishiki’s curious. Kiryu’s never once really gotten angry with the kid, not in his earshot. He’s always open with her too, talking about his feelings and his reasons for his parenting decisions. Why isn’t she going to him with whatever this is?

“Well, I’m all ears.” Nishiki says, with a nod, gesturing for her to pull up the stool in the corner, so she can sit by his desk. She does so, and meets his gaze, brows furrowed, and lip tightly pressed together.

“I need your advice. There’s—well. There’s a group of kids at school who’re really mean to everybody from Sunflower. And me too, because you know. We don’t have normal families or nice new clothes or anything—and that’s fine! I don’t need that sort of stuff.” Haruka says, stumbling over her words, “But. It’s not fair for everybody to have to endure that sort of hardship. I want to...make them stop.”

Nishiki blinks. Bullying? Why wouldn’t she tell Kiryu?

If Kiryu knew that Haruka was being bullied, he’d puff up with outrage and rage towards the cool on a rampage path for justice by meeting every teacher until he extorted a promise from each of them to protect orphans—which would, of course, ironically guarantee that nothing would change, and that things might actually get worse. Right. Nishiki knows how school administrators think, and an ex-yakuza coming into the school and demanding what looks like “special treatment” won’t do anything but escalate the situation. There was a reason that Kazama had never stepped in with their school situation as children, and for all that the old man had been a shitty father, he’d understood those optical politics well.

Haruka’s come to Nishiki not because she trusts him more than Kiryu, but because she knows Kiryu’s approach isn’t useful. She wants Nishiki’s help.

“That’s difficult.” Nishiki agrees, pressing a hand to his face, briefly, “It’s hard to get bullies to stop. You’ve told the teachers, I presume?”

Haruka nods. “But they won’t do anything! Kanae-chan’s dad’s on the school board. And Erina-chan’s one of the top students. Her group can’t do anything wrong!”

“So, you want something else?” Nishiki asks, and at Haruka’s miserable, fervent nod, Nishiki feels his own righteous fury rise in his chest. Even if he’d briefly entertained the thought of simply telling her to toughen up, he can’t now. “Some things never change. We always used to get bullied at school too. And the one thing I know about bullies is that they don’t stop unless they’re scared to act up. But you can’t just punch them into submission, it doesn’t work like that.”

He remembers all too vividly the pitched battle he and Kiryu had upheld against their bullies in high school. The endless fights, the stealing and hiding of possessions, the name-calling, the taunting, the vandalism of the orphanage—it had never mattered what cruelties rich children with nice, neat families said or did, though. The image of chinpira punks like Nishiki and Kiryu in their second-hand clothes, bruises all over their cheeks, always won out. Nobody had ever believed their claims of protecting themselves, nobody had believed their claims of self-defence. All fighting back had done was paint themselves in the image of evil.  

“...so, what do I do then?” asks Haruka, and even though Nishiki knows that Kiryu’s not her real Father, the stubborn set of her jaw looks <i>so</i> much like him. He shouldn’t do this. These sorts of tactics aren’t the sorts of things to be used against children, in Kiryu’s clear-cut world. But Nishiki knows how cruel children can be, how deep those wounds in your heart can slice.

Haruka is Yumi and Kiryu’s charm, their bright hopes for the future. He can’t let her get hurt like they all had been. He doesn’t want her to be hurt like they had been.

“You ever heard of the ghost of Rukia-san?” asks Nishiki, casually. When Haruka shakes her head, he explains. “Rukia was a bullied student, small, helpless, weak, and everybody laughed at her and called her names and pushed her around. One day, they took things a bit too far. When they shoved her head in the toilet, they drowned her...the bullies managed to pretend it was an accident, but Rukia-san’s ghost knew better. Filled with righteous rage, she wreaked havoc upon the bullies, one by one, until they came clean and thoroughly repented for their crimes. Not satisfied with this, her ghost haunts the hallways of other schools now, looking to torment other vicious bullies...”

Haruka’s eyes narrow. “Is that a real thing?”

“No.” Nishiki says, with an immediate scoff. “But you want the bullies to believe it’s real. If you fight back yourselves, they can tell the teachers. But if what looks like supernatural events occur, with no way to pin it on you or any of the Sunflower Kids, what the fuck are they going to say? They can’t tell on anybody.”

The kid looks interested now, any hint of wariness has vanished from her frame as she leans closer, clearly intrigued. “So....how would I pull that off?”

“First, you’d want to get them nice and paranoid. Is there somewhere that’s both private and public? Your bullies hang out in the bathroom much? You’ve got to tell some of the other kids this ghost story, and then do a summoning ritual, very publicly. To make it look like it worked...I dunno. We can get you something with static electricity, so everybody’s hair stands on end, like she’s in the room. Or you can get a classmate to pour water everywhere. Or you have some fake blood somewhere. Point is—you get the bullies a bit paranoid. They might roll their eyes, call it fake, but a part of them will be thinking about it, no doubt.”  

Nishiki lays it out, carefully, like he is planning a coup. Haruka’s eyes are wide, completely rapturous. “Yeah, they hang out in the bathroom sometimes.” Haruka agrees.

“Then, once you’ve set that up, it’s time to let the chaos ramp up. Stick insects or frogs in their seats, leave them threatening letters, have strange voices and rattling around where they are—pull as many pranks as possible.” Nishiki explains, “But this is the key: you have to pull this off as a group, and you have to have group alibis. The bullies might try to accuse you, but if a different person does every prank, and all you orphanage kids hang out together, it’ll be hard for them to figure who’s doing it. You need a completely united front from all your friends.”

Most of the teachers had always treated most of the kids at Sunflower like a faceless, voiceless horde. If that characterization persists, Haruka using that stereotype to her own advantage will be critical.

Haruka’s brows furrow, thoughtfully. “Not all of them will like this...I don’t know if Sakuno or Shika would be up for it.”

Nishiki looks at Haruka, and shrugs. “That’s difficult. But ultimately, you have to ask your friends whether their own sense of morality is going to prevent them from protecting the younger children. This isn’t kind or righteous or something that will feel good. But the bullies will leave you alone. A fear of consequences is one of the only reasons that bullies stop. And since the school will never impose consequences on rich students, supernatural consequences might be the only way.”

Haruka looks down, and her hands clasp together. “I want to protect everybody.” she says, finally, her voice solidifying with conviction. “Nishikiyama-san. Please help me.”

Nishiki can’t help be grin, as he leans forward to ruffle her hair. “It’ll be my pleasure.”

And her answering, hesitant smile is like being blessed with sunshine after years of rain. Nishiki had never thought much about children, even after Kiryu’s insistence that they look after Haruka, but he thinks he gets it a bit now. Haruka’s smile is a mirror image of Yuko’s and his heart aches, and he cannot help but feel wistfully happy anyway.

He failed Yuko. He can’t fail this girl.  

[....]

Uncle Nishikiyama finally enters the small antechamber where he’d deposited Haruka and her DS two hours ago, deep circles under his eyes. He and Uncle Kaz always look so tired these days, busy with things they don’t often tell her about. Still, there’s a slightly kind look to his eyes as he removes his cufflinks and rolls up his sleeves.

“Hey kiddo,” he says, with a yawn, “Want to get some ice-cream?”

“Mmmm.” Haruka agrees, easily, “Can we get one of those big strawberry parfaits? We can split it!”

Uncle Nishikiyama agrees and tilts his head towards the door. Haruka presses the save button, snaps the DS shut, and follows after him. She holds her hand up automatically, before remembering that Uncle Nishikiyama doesn’t really ever hold her hand or touch her. To her surprise, though, he takes her hand. Maybe he’s even more tired than he looks, because there’s an almost surprised expression to his face when her fingers close around his warm hands.

Haruka, who has become something of a master at saying something sweet when things get awkward, smile widely. “Did the meeting go okay?”

Uncle Nishikiyama nods, absently, turning his gaze back towards the evening streets of Kamurocho. “Yeah, just some urgent problems with supply. Had to move some things around and yell at some people. Easily enough solved.”

“Mmm, sounds boring.” Haruka says, wrinkling up her nose, and she delights in the fact that it wrenches a laugh from him.

“You don’t know the half of it.” he says, darkly, “How was your game? Did you do well?”

Haruka shrugs. Even though Uncle Nishikiyama has a gigantic plushie of Bulbasaur in his bedroom, he doesn’t really seem to know anything about Pokémon. She wonders if maybe he’d had a kid who’d liked Pokémon, but the fact that Uncle Nishikiyama doesn’t talk about other children and seems to get tense when Haruka tries to play with the Bulbasaur makes Haruka think that she probably shouldn’t pry any further. Something tragic’s there.

Haruka’s come to realize everybody has something tragic, something in their past that makes them hurt and feel pain, and the kindest thing you can do for people is to simply be there for them when it hurts, and not dig too deep.

“It’s okay,” she answers noncommittally, instead, “I beat Whitney, but I have to wait until tomorrow for the bug-catching contest in this region.”

Uncle Nishikiyama just nods, not especially interested, but not especially bored either. “When you’re close to finishing this game, let me now, and I’ll get you another one, okay?” he asks, pulling them in to the fancy French café just by the Millennium Tower.

“Thanks!” she says, with a wide grin, as they sit down and look at the menu to order.

She doesn’t know what to make of Uncle Nishikiyama, really. He’s a strange man, to whom violence comes far too easily, but he’s quiet these days, in a contemplative way that reminds her more of Uncle Kaz. He likes meat and fancy food and expensive clothes, but he’ll also join her in watching idol shows and reality dramas on TV, if he’s not got paperwork to do. He has a quick temper and gets mad easily, but is also pacified easily, and when he’s in a good mood, he’ll give everybody lavish presents. And he’d helped her too. There’s a clever shrewdness and unyielding determination whenever he helps Haruka and the Sunflower kids plot about how to get the bullies to leave them alone. She appreciates that kindness, that ruthlessness, even as it occasionally scares her.

And, the fact of the matter is, he’s at home way more than Uncle Kaz is, these days. Which is an automatic plus in Haruka’s book.

“You look a hundred miles away.” Uncle Nishikiyama says, with an amused smile. “What’s wrong?”

Haruka shakes her head and buries her worries and annoyance and irritation with Uncle Kaz and her Mum and everybody who she loves but never seems to have enough time with her. She’s sensible enough to understand that you treasure the people that are here with you. No use crying over spilt milk—even if she really wants to. “Nothing, really. Just thinking about how much I want to do karaoke.”

Nishikiyama gives her a look. “Isn’t it a schoolnight?”

Haruka returns the look firmly. She wouldn’t have had the courage to do this two months ago, when she’d first tried to properly ask Uncle Nishikiyama for help, but now, she knows him better. He’s a familiar evil. Easily bargained with, if you know the right leverage. “You’re the one who took me to Kamurocho on a schoolnight. Besides, I did all my homework already, while I was waiting for you to finish your boring meeting.”

Nishikiyama’s lips quirk up at the sides and he props up his chin in his hands with a sparkle in his eyes. “What’s in it for me if I take you to karaoke?”  

“You get to sing too!” Haruka says, and then quickly realizing that’s not enough, she smiles angelically, “And you’ll get the best, most enthusiastic backup cheering that you’ll ever hear!”

Nishikiyama nods, firmly. “That’s more like it.” he says, and grins, broad and amused. “Attagirl. You’ll be ready for anything in no time.”

There’s such a fierce fondness to that absent-minded compliment and Haruka can’t help but beam at him. She’ll love whoever will have her, and as long as Uncle Nishikiyama will spend time with her, she’ll take him. Evil or not.

#spiraling downhill fic tag #nishikiyama #sawamura haruka #thank you for this wonderful request hehehehe #i hope you will like the real haruka and nishiki thought that are happening next chapter #sorry this took so long!!! i have....so much work #one more request left

[the-calicos-missteps]

Blind Haruka Nanami - Episode 2

 How the opening, Orpheus Heart, would be changed for blind!Haruka.

The beginning with the boys would still be the same.

In the original, Haruka throws a pen and walks to the window. In this version, she would be sitting at a desk, turning off a voice recorder and tossing it onto the desk with a depressed face.

Hayate would place his head in her lap and she would pet it instead of getting up. Kuppuru would be laying on the desk.

Kuppuru would press a button on the recorder, and HAYATO's face would pop up, as kanji would scroll across the bottom - 'Now playing - Nanairo no Compass.'

Haruka would lean back into her chair, head falling back over the chair as she closed her eyes, Hayato appearing in her mind's eye and she would 'fall' into that pink water like world from the opening.

I like to think this is her ‘inner world’ from her minds eye - since she is legally blind and she sees mostly fuzzy outlines, this blend of color world is her inner world. 

In the original, Kuppuru sends some papers flying and Haruka sees the boys faces on them. For obvious reasons, that would not be helpful here. Instead, inside her inner world, Haruka sees what she images her friends (those who support her-) to look like- including STARISH, Tomo, and her grandmother. 

All of a sudden, she sees a boy in green that she’s never seen before -  and he reaches out to her, physically taking her hand. Quickly leaving her inner world, she’s suddenly pulled past the piano to the open window and is suddenly flying.  

Hayate followed her, and Cecil lets him fly with her as well. 

It takes her merely a second to feel the wind in her hair and the feathers brushing past her skin, and she’s immediately smiling. 

Hayate has his tounge out with a big doggy grin on his face. 

She is being carried by the wind to the boys, and while the boys are doing their thing in the opening, they are all calling out her name as she passes them so she knows exactly who she’s passing. 

Otoya and Tokiya tell her to reach out her hands - which she does, and they both push her high into the air. Hayate is pushed along by the wind. 

And finally, as she turns back around, the notes for the song she previously could not find appear before her. 

Here’s episode two!

When Tomo comes back with the drinks, she sees Hayate play with the mysterious cat. She asks in confusion where exactly the cat come from.

When Haruka tells her that it just appeared in the room and that she really wants to keep it, Tomo sighs and agrees reluctantly, but they MUST keep the cat hidden. 

They then come up with the name Kuppuru together. Tomo tells her she’ll go with her to the local pet shop to get supplies for Kuppuru after class tomorrow. ‘You need a lot of things to care for a cat, Haru-Chan!’ 

Before they go to sleep for the night, Tomo helps Haruka write a letter for her grandmother. Haruka told her what she wanted to write, and Tomo wrote it for her. 

Haruka believes the rule about no romance to be excessive and not needed, but is not bothered by it. After all, who would want to love a blind girl like her? 

Hayate, sensing her distress, puts his head on her foot to provide comfort.

Haruka was bullied as a child due to her blindness. She has low self confidence, but it caused to become opinionated, but she is still inherently kind. Even if those opinions are kept to herself.

She also notes that they specifically say ‘love between the two sexes is outlawed.’ So what about love between the same gender? Is that not apart of the rule? Haruka thinks it’s a little stupid. 

Ringo-Sensei ends up reading his lot drawings out loud, accounting for Haruka. 

When Ringo-Sensei goes to pick a person to play piano, he glosses over Haruka, saying he would have picked her, but she wouldn’t be able to play it. ‘You understand, don’t you Nanami-Chan? It would be a little bit difficult for you, see?’ 

Haruka gets very frustrated and upset at his comment, but doesn’t disagree. She clenches her hands in her lap, and her friends look at her worriedly. 

The class starts making rude comments, about how a girl like her should have never been allowed in the school. ‘What was the headmaster thinking?’ ‘She definitely cheated her way in.’ ‘No way, someone paid for her to get in.’ ‘I bet she can’t even play any instruments.’

Otoya and Tomo step in and tell them off, while Haruka says nothing. Ringo quiets the class and picks another student to play the piece. 

Lunch comes, and it’s raining. Haruka leaves the class immediately, and doesn’t wait for her friends. She’s lost her appetite, and orders Hayate to take her outside near the lake. 

The rain does well to drown out her tears of frustration. Hayate is whining and trying to get her to pet him.

Kuppuru finds them first. He jumps onto Haruka’s lap with a sad meow and she starts petting them both. She smiles self-deprecatingly at them, saying that maybe she really shouldn’t be at this school. 

That’s when Otoya finds her, placing his jacket over head and saying ‘that’s not true at all!’ 

After leading them to the gazebo (Kuppuru hangs out on Haruka’s shoulders) Haruka says wasn’t he embarrassed to have a useless composer. 

Otoya keeps denying the cruel things she keeps saying about herself, things like she’s a failure and she doesn’t belong here, saying that it was all wrong and encouraging her. 

During her tirade, Kuppuru kept licking her face and Hayate her hand. 

Haruka finally breaks and tells him her grievances - beside her grandmother, no one has ever stayed or cared to listen. 

She’s frustrated with Ringo-Sensei and wishes he would just treat her like a normal student. She may be blind but she doesn’t need special treatment! She’s just as competent as any other student! 

She explains that she does know how to play- she just learns music differently from all of them. She’s angry with the class for their insensitive comments. 

She’s also frustrated with herself for being so weak. She’s used to this kind of treatment, she should be used to it by now. But that doesn’t make it easier. 

Otoya does the best he can to comfort her, but is also stupefied because he doesn’t know how to respond to some of this. Haruka appreciates it. 

He then has a grand idea - they can make a pitch to Ringo-Sensei about his treatment of her. If they work together surely their teacher will listen!  He was incredibly enthusiastic about it. 

It was Haruka’s turn to be stupefied. But then she smiled and agreed. They spend the rest of lunch together in the gazebo writing the pitch. 

The end of the day comes. Tomo asks Haruka if she’s ready to go. Haruka asks her wait outside for just a little bit. Tomo is confused, but waits outside the door.

Otoya and Haruka confront Ringo. Ringo is confused why they stayed late. Otoya starts, so Haruka could gather her courage.

Haruka tells that she’s frustated with Ringo’s treatment of her. She may be blind, but she is just like any other student. She does not like being treated differently by Ringo. She tells Ringo that yes, she can play, she just learns it a different way. She is upset with him for calling her our like he has. It makes her feel like she doesn’t belong in this school. 

Ringo is a little gobsmacked by their hot takes. He blinks a few times, before he laughs deeply. Haruka and Otoya are shocked by his reaction, but before they can assume anything, he calls out to them. He wasn’t laughing because he thought their proposal was stupid. He’s laughing because they are the first students ever willing to tell him off. Most are too scared to because he’s a professional and could even stop them from ever debuting. He’s laughing from shock, and that he never expected such a hot take to come from them in particular. 

He apologizes for his treatment of Haruka. He admits he may been laying it on too thick; he also admits to thinking that she would be inherently weaker than the rest, and that reflected in his treatment of her. He promises to do better, and if she feels he isn’t doing good enough, to tell him. After all, as a pro he’s always striving to be better. Plus, he didn’t want to hurt his adorable students! 

Haruka decides she can like him in the future.

Haruka asks if he could give her two copies of the sheet music. He replies sure, but is confused why. She says she’ll prove to the class by the end of the week that she can perform. He smiles and pats her back in encouragement - and immediately pulls back when Hayate growls and lunges forward just a bit. ‘I’ll just keep my encouragement over here then... haha...’ Haruka reprimands Hayate. 

However, he reminds them that she also needs to write a song, so maybe she could- Haruka cuts him off, saying she will get it done all this week.

When they leave the room, it turns out Tomo had been listening in the whole time, and she jumps on Haruka when she gets out and congratulates her on standing up to their teacher. 

When she starts to lead Haruka away for the pet stop, Otoya asks if he can tag along. Tomo sticks her tongue out at him and says its a girl only event. A jealous Tomo just pushes them quickly out the school while a Otoya goes to try and write some lyrics.

She takes Haruka, Kurrupu, and Hayate to the pet shop. They get things like a fancy litter box, bowls and food, toys and treats. 

Haruka makes an additional stop to get one copy of the sheet music transcribed into braille. 

Tomo asks if she was going to do that anyway, why get two copies? Haruka explains that it would take too long for the music to be transcribed to learn it in one week, so Tomo would be helping her learn until it was ready! Tomo laughed fakely, realizing that she wasn’t being given a choice in the matter. The cat even has the gal to seemingly laugh at her! 

Tomochika spends the rest of that day helping Haruka learn the song verse by verse by either telling her the note pattern or singing it for her, but soon she needs to sleep. 

So late at night Haruka begins working on the composition for Otoya. He said he would have some lyrics by the next day, so she needs something too! But... she’s never written music, not really. She’s improvised on the piano, but simply letting music flow when playing is not the same as intentionally writing it out. 

Her voice recorder sits at her desk seemingly staring straight at her, with scrapped melodies filling it’s memory. Haruka... just can’t seem to write a song. 

Tears blur her vision even more than it already is. She just can’t do anything right, can she? She can’t learn a song and she can’t compose one either. Her useless pride got the better of her. 

She falls asleep like this, the exhaustion having got to her. 

When she wakes up from the dream about her grandmother, she walks over their open balcony, recorder in hand. She looks to the moon, hits record, and she sings her heart out into a brand new melody. 

Otoki, who had been walking around to find inspiration, heard the melody and wandered over to the source - only to come across Nanami. It becomes a Romeo and Juliet moment, just with lots of blushing and without the confession and death. 

When Otoya sings, Haruka doesn’t stop starring at him. Otoya asks if something is wrong. She replies no, its just that his singing is beautiful. Otoya thanks her, but is then confused when she says that when he sings, it’s like she can see him clearly, the warmth of soft flames accompanying his music. It’s like the world is bathed in a patchwork of red jewels that refract the light into beautiful rainbows. 

Working together, they manage to get their song, BRAND NEW MELODY, done by the end of the week. With both Tomochika’s and Otoya’s help and the braille music sheet retrieved in the middle of the week, Haruka even managed to learn the piano piece, just in the nick of time.

She plays it for the class, eyes closed the entire time for the flex on her class. At the end, the class sits in stunned silence, and Ringo-Sensei is the first to clap for her. And quickly, the rest of the class joins, Tomo and Otoya being the loudest. 

Insert Maji LOVE 1000% here! That’s the end of episode 2! I know it seems like episode 2 and 3 were combined, but I’ve plans... big plans! 

#uta no prince sama #uta no prince sama au #blind!haruka #haruka nanami #otoya ittoki #kuppuru #shibuya tomochika #au #uta no prince sama fanfic #blind MC #ringo tsukimiya

[fromzerotoeuphoria]

re: RinHaru in Australia was not lazy

@waywardfacegarden replied to your post:

the sad fact that i've seen all of those comments smh. like did you even watch the same ??? damn anime ?????? did YOU ???????

NONONONO. the other time i saw someone said that rinharu in australia was just "lazy and rushed writing to please rinharu fans bc they didn't have anything this season and then would be bitchy about it" and i'm like ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

H O W can you call the VERY episode where haru literally discovers what his dream is "just plain fanservice/lazy writing" ?????????????????? like that ep is SO IMPORTANT O U T S I D E of rinharu. the fact that they call it lazy just bc we "didn't have rh this season" like are you??? serious????? yeah, we didn't have that much EXPLICIT rh moments like on s1, but EVEN THEN, there was a LOT of rh in subtle moments. and the fact that it actually lines up with canon material that is RIN the one who makes haru discover his dream bc yk who's the one that always manages to stir feelings into him????? RIN. the fact that utsumi herself told that it could happen bc it was RIN and only RIN who did it. the fact that you can clEARLY SEE RIN CARING ABOUT HARU'S FUTURE NOT ONLY AT THE END BUT A L L THE DAMN SEASON????????? like he kept pressing on not to be annoying but bc he CARED and he wanted to make sure haru cared about himself, too. about his own desires. like even if he didn't choose what rin wanted for his future, he was okay with it, he just wanted to make haru feel better and have a dream FOR HIMSELF. AND THE FACT THAT PEOPLE KEEP CALLING THIS RUSHED WHEN YOU SEE ALL THE SIGNS OVER ALL THE FREAKING SEASON IS BC YOU DIDN'T CARE TO PAY ATTENTION/YOU'RE IN DENIAL/YOU HATE RH. BC IT'S SO FREAKING OBVIOUS SO IF YOU DON'T SEE IT IT'S YOUR FAULT

It’s like an echo chamber, all these comments that they keep repeating amongst themselves and deceiving themselves into believing. It’s so baffling, I can’t help but laugh at how blatantly their comments go against everything that is actually canon.

I legitimately cannot wrap my mind around it, and I’m pretty good at playing devil’s advocate and looking at the other side. I totally get not shipping RinHaru and personally feeling that Haru x Makoto make a better pair. That’s your opinion, and it’s valid. What’s NOT valid is pulling random wild crap out of your bums that completely disregards what’s actually in the anime, somehow deceiving yourselves into believing that crap, then going around claiming it’s canon when everything—from the official content, director, voice actors, staffs, anime, drama cds, and even the characters themselves—goes against your claims. 

Like, sure, have your headcanons, and maybe in your headcanon Haru only sees Rin as a rival and doesn’t deeply care and freakin yearn for Rin to be in his life (which is actually canon, as established in the entirety of Season 1, the novelization and Starting Days alone, not to mention the extra official content like mooks, skits, drama cds and the movies). But don’t get delusional about it, ‘cause no matter how much you keep chanting your headcanons within your echo-chamber, it won’t ever make them canon.

Ah, yes. I’ve seen those comments too about Australia. It actually makes me laugh because it’s such a blatant display of insecurity 😂 Those comments are lazy, like they’re flailing around blindly in the dark to find anything to try and discredit Haru and RIn’s deeply interwoven relationship because RinHaruralia was just too much for them hahaha. But that’s not really the problem: the problem is how they totally devalue Haruka’s character development by devaluing his experience in Australia as “lazy writing” to give rinharu shippers a scrap to pacify us (as if we needed that when we have majority of the canon content to feast on, but yeah sure huns).

The staff put so much care and thought into Haru’s dilemma in discovering his dream, and in the end they knew that the only one who’d be able to give Haru the push he needed was Rin (x). But despite Australia being a feasting of RinHaru, Australia wasn’t about any ship, but about Haru’s character growth and finding his dream, just like you said. It’s tragic that something so important as Haru—the boy who stubbornly kept running away from deciding on his future—finally embraces the future and discovers his dream is debased to “laZy wRiTiNg” and mere fodder to “sAtiSfY tHosE riNhArU sHiPpErS.” It just goes to show how much these kinds of mh shippers actually don’t care about Haru at all.

And okay yeah, Season 2 definitely wasn’t focused on Haru and Rin’s relationship like it was in Season 1; instead, it focused on all of the character’s development, but most importantly: Haru’s character development. Yet the fewer RinHaru scenes in Season 2 don’t hurt RInHaru at all—in fact, Haru and Rin having fewer interactions goes to show just how strong and powerful RinHaru is. Just like before, Rin was still a constant facet in Haru’s life, even when he was absent. And though Australia wasn’t about RinHaru, it doesn’t change the fact that, as the KyoAni staff revealed, only Rin could accomplish giving Haru that push into discovering his dream. And Haru himself confirms this is Take Your Marks episode 4 when he tells Rin during The Bench Scene:

Haru spent more screentime with the Iwatobi squad during Season 2, and yet it was Rin who got him walking towards the future. Goes to show the power of RinHaru’s bond runs way deeper than antis would ever like to admit.

And yes! ^_^ All the subtle RinHaru moments were still so sweet and meaningful. If Haru and Rin didn’t have a special kind of relationship built on genuine care and love for each other, Rin would’ve never taken Haru to Australia, Haru would’ve never blindly gone with Rin, and Rin wouldn’t have been the one to help Haru find his dream (a dream that has Rin integrated all throughout it).

The antis calling it rushed are just pressed that it wasn’t their bias who was the only one who could move Haru the way Rin did. Trust me, if it was Makoto in Rin’s place, they would be worshipping Australia (and all of Season 1 + TYM + Road to the World) as a certified omen from the Canon Gods declaring Mako//Haru as the official ship (this actually goes for everything RinHaru, imagine if all the RinHaru moments replaced Rin with Makoto, those very same people saying RinHaru has nothing would lose their minds over how “canon” Mako//Haru would be).

#free! #rinharu #harurin #haruka nanase #rin matsuoka #rinharuralia #free! eternal summer #free! iwatobi swim club #anti makoharu #but not anti makoto #free! comment reply #comment reply #free! meta

[datheetjoella]

Fantober 2020, Day 25: Enemy>Lover

Author: DatHeetJoella Fandom: Free! Pairing: MakoHaru Rating: T Part: 25/31 (read the full collection here) Word count: 3,006 Tags: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Developing Relationship, Strangers to Lovers, First Meeting, Prince!Haruka, Prince!Makoto, Prejudices Read at: AO3, FFn, or right here!

                                            --------------------------------------

If there was one thing Haruka had known since he was a child, it was that when he came of age, he would be married off to a member of royalty or nobility of some foreign realm. As the crown prince of Tobi, that was his destiny and he made peace with it years ago. But when the day for him to meet his spouse-to-be arrived, he was everything but okay.

“Come on, Haru,” Nagisa said as he poured more hot water into his bath. “Don’t get all sulky before you even meet him. Maybe he’s actually really nice!”

Haruka huffed and averted his head. Nagisa might’ve been bubbly and optimistic, but Haruka didn’t share his positivity. The biggest hurdle for him was not that he was being married off, but to whom and what this arrangement entailed.

The lucky bachelor was Prince Makoto Tachibana. He was the oldest child and heir of the Tachibana family and the crown prince of Iwa, a neighbouring kingdom that was relatively small but still twice as big as Tobi.

Although Haruka had never met the guy, his status and title were enough to determine what he’d be like. In years of mingling with those who shared his destiny, Haruka had learned that they were all the same: arrogant, snobby, disrespectful and insufferable. They’d snap their fingers and expect servants to kneel at their feet, holding up their shoes on a golden platter. Barked out orders like they were better than everyone else because of the simple fact they’d been born in a palace instead of a shack. That was exactly the kind of person Haruka couldn’t stand.

And to make matters worse, he was going to have to share his precious kingdom with him and rule over it by his side.

The main reason their engagement commenced was that Tobi was, to put it frankly, bankrupt. The sea levels were rising and a recent flood destroyed both houses and crops, leaving a large group of people homeless and starving and his parents were at their wits’ end, unable to solve the problems that had befallen their realm.

The kingdom of Iwa had offered their help in exchange for a formal alliance and a marriage. But there was one issue: Haruka was an only child and the daughter of the Tachibana family had not nearly reached a marital age yet. Instead, their eldest son had proposed an alternative. The marriage would take place between the two crown princes and the kingdoms of Iwa and Tobi would merge into Unified Iwatobi, which would be ruled over by both Haruka and himself. It was merely a political marriage, as the princes would be allowed to have their own families if they pleased, and in turn, their firstborns would rule over Iwatobi as a pair.

A kingdom with two kings, it was a revolutionary concept and an absolutely ridiculous one at that. The instant Haruka heard of it, he knew it was a scheme of this ‘Makoto’ to steal the land of Tobi to expand his own kingdom. He’d play the sympathetic prince for their subjects, but behind closed doors, he would enforce his dominance and undermine Haruka’s sovereignty, to eventually become the sole ruler of Iwatobi. While Haruka hadn’t cared about becoming king and leading the realm, he’d rather die than play in the hand of some power-hungry narcissist.

But his parents and their advisors hadn’t agreed with him. Out of desperation, they accepted Iwa’s proposition and no matter how much Haruka protested or how many counter-arguments he presented, they wouldn’t budge. His fate as Prince Makoto’s puppet was sealed and he was incredibly bitter about it.

Three overly polite knocks on the carved door pulled Haruka from his brooding thoughts. “Yes?”

The door was slowly pushed ajar and Rei poked his head around the corner. “Your Highness, I do not mean to disturb but,” he said, but when Haruka sent him a scowl, he sighed. “Prince Haruka, your parents are waiting for you in the throne room. Prince Makoto and his delegation arrived over half an hour ago and it would be… appreciated if you came down to greet them.”

“I will,” Haruka grumbled, “After I’m done with my bath.”

“Forgive me for intruding, but you’ve been in the bath for nearly three hours already. Your fingertips are pruned and the water must be freezing by now.”

“It’s not, come feel for yourself.” Haruka gestured toward the bath, trying his best to appear nonchalant.

Rei didn’t seem fazed. “How many times did you refill His Highness’ bath, Nagisa?”

“Hm.” Nagisa scratched at his chin in contemplation. “About seven times?”

“Nagisa! You need to be more responsible. You know this is a grand day for Prince Haruka.”

“I know. He’s just nervous and taking a bath relaxes him, so you shouldn’t be so hard on him.”

“I’m not nervous,” Haruka said defensively, facing away from his retainers with a pout. He knew that, in their own ways, they both had his best interest at heart. Rei wanted him to be punctual and presentable when meeting important people, while Nagisa enabled his evading behaviour because he knew Haruka struggled to come to terms with this ordeal and found solace in the water. This wasn’t worth the argument between them. In the end, Haruka was an adult and had to own up to his fate. “I’ll get out, so tell my parents I will be down shortly.”

“Thank you,” Rei said, adjusting the spectacles on his nose with a self-satisfied puff. “I shall tell them to look forward to your swift appearance.”

Nagisa rolled his eyes at his colleague’s formality; after years of friendship, Rei still felt conflicted calling Haruka by his preferred nickname, instead switching between his titles. That was very different from Nagisa, who'd been casual with him since they were kids. Although Haruka liked them both equally, he did prefer Nagisa's easy-going nature.

With the click of the door, Rei was gone and Nagisa and Haruka were alone again.

"I get that you're not happy about this situation, I wouldn't be either," Nagisa said as he held out Haruka's towel. "But you can't just make assumptions about Prince Makoto. Not every prince is stuck-up and spoiled, you're not like that either. So why don't you give him a fair chance? Who knows, maybe you'll end up liking him a lot."

Deep down, Haruka knew Nagisa was right. He highly doubted he would get chummy with Makoto, but perhaps he had to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he was every bit as awful as Haruka imagined, then he would find that out soon enough. No need to get ahead of business.

With a semi-renewed outlook on the predicament, Haruka got ready with Nagisa's help. He wasn't vain at all, but if he made a strong, confident impression, he might’ve been able to thwart Makoto's possible ploys before they could come to fruition.

Clad in his finest cobalt blue suit and with his crown on his neatly-combed hair, Haruka descended the stairs and walked towards the throne room. With his head held high, he swung open the doors and strolled in, graceful and in control.

And then, he laid eyes upon Prince Makoto and he had to pick his jawbone off the red carpet.

An elegant green jacket adorned his broad shoulders, white trousers hugged his legs and behind and tall boots supported his lean, muscular form. For a prince, he was dressed surprisingly modest, but if it weren't for the brilliant crown placed on his messy brown locks, then his aura would've been enough to betray his status. His back was straight, feet planted firmly on the ground like an unwavering oak tree, sturdy and assured. This was what a man who was prepared to lead a nation looked like.

But Haruka's heart didn't stop until Makoto peered back over his shoulder and revealed his face.

Ever since he was little, Haruka had been told by folks he encountered how beautiful he was and he hadn't found any reason to disagree with those comments. But Haruka's beauty paled in comparison to Prince Makoto. His jawline was sharp with a chiselled chin and rather round cheeks, but that added to his charm. His lips were full, his eyebrows slightly upturned and his nose complemented all his other features. But his eyes were the ones that took Haruka's breath away.

They were vibrant and green like he was wandering in a hedge maze with no exit. Mesmerising like he didn't even want to find a way out. But most of all, overwhelmingly kind.

When Haruka noticed he was staring at Prince Makoto while everyone else was staring at him, he quickly shut the doors behind him and stumbled over to his parents' side. If only he hadn't lost face yet; Prince Makoto might’ve been handsome, but that didn't mean he was trustworthy. Haruka shouldn't let his guard down.

"Haruka, I'm so happy you could finally join us," his mother said with a wide smile, but the daggers she shot at him through her gaze informed him he was in for an intense scolding later.

"Thank you for waiting for me," Haruka said with a feigned smile of his own. "I'm glad I got the opportunity to be here because it is an honour to meet you, Prince Makoto."

"I feel the same way, Your Highness," Prince Makoto said and damn, his voice sounded like violin music on a sunny afternoon. "The honour is entirely mine, as I feel grateful you were able to find the time in your undoubtedly busy schedule to come and greet me."

Prince Makoto ended his play with a deep bow and Haruka’s eyebrows furrowed. Was he mocking him? Usually, Haruka was pretty good at reading people and all the signs told him Makoto was being sincere, but he couldn't believe someone would seriously say that to him after the way he acted.

Perhaps Haruka was the obnoxious, entitled prince in the equation. "Of course, Prince Makoto, we are honoured to welcome you into our humble palace."

"Well then," his mother interrupted before this charade could drag on for hours. "Haruka, why don't you show His Highness around our… humble palace?"

"Certainly, Mother," Haruka said, "Prince Makoto, would you please follow after me?"

"It would be my pleasure," Makoto said and the smile on his face hadn't lessened; in fact, it was like it grew even softer, as though fondness twinkled in his eyes. Haruka must've been hallucinating. "Please lead the way, Prince Haruka."

With Makoto trailing behind him, Haruka took him via the sunroom straight outside to the gardens. There, he'd at least be able to catch some fresh air as he listened to the bragging and boasting that would probably stream out of Makoto's mouth like a polluted waterfall.

They walked down the steps onto the path between the tidy yet lively garden. Hydrangeas, begonias and geraniums were plentiful and not a single branch was out of line on the trimmed bushes. This was Haruka's favourite spot on the entire castle grounds for a reason.

"These gardens are beautiful," Makoto said, turning his head from left to right and back again as though his brain couldn't process what his eyes were registering. "Perhaps the most beautiful I've ever had the privilege to walk through. Your horticulturists must be very skilled."

"I guess so," Haruka shrugged, unsure of how to answer that. Of course their horticulturists were skilled, else they wouldn't employ them. But Haruka swallowed that comment because he felt himself becoming the villain he feared Makoto to be.

When he glanced to his side and didn't see Prince Makoto beside him, Haruka frowned. Had he scared him off already?

When he looked back, Makoto was standing several meters behind him, head downturned.

"Prince Makoto?"

"I… want to offer you my apologies."

Haruka's frown hardened. "Apologies? For what?"

"This arrangement, it was my idea," Makoto said, facing back up and for the first time since their meeting, his smile was gone. "I hope you understand that I only suggested it because I wanted to help. When I heard about the situation in Tobi, my heart broke and I wanted to do everything within my power to aid your people. I know it might not have been my place, but if something like that were to happen to my people, then I would appreciate all the help we could get. When human lives are at stake, I believe our pride as leaders should not stand in the way of doing what is right."

Those words surprised Haruka. Maybe he had judged Makoto too soon. In the very least, his morals seemed to be in check.

"I certainly don't want it to appear as though I find you and your family incapable of ruling over Tobi by yourselves, but this was the only possibility I saw to overcome this issue. After all, Iwa's resources are limited and I could not convince our advisors to come to Tobi's aid without expecting anything in return. They wanted concrete assurance that Tobi would have our backs if such a disaster were to occur within our borders and said I was naive if I trusted you without a formal arrangement. In that regard, I failed and I owe you an apology for that." Makoto bowed to him once more, even deeper than last time.

Haruka was at a loss for words. He kept staring at Makoto's folded back, mind blank and he didn’t know how to comfort him, if that was even the correct response.

When Makoto straightened his spine, he continued, "But I am not against this arrangement and the merging of our kingdoms. No matter how extreme the circumstances would get, I would never propose something so outlandish if I didn't believe it was beneficial to both of our kingdoms. Together, we'll be so much stronger in times of trouble, but I would be lying if I said part of the reason why I am in favour of this isn't selfish."

"Selfish?" Haruka asked. From what Makoto had told him, he acted out of pure selflessness.

"To be honest with you, the thought of becoming king and leading our realm has always been a bit frightening to me,” Makoto said, shuffling his feet as he averted his eyes. “Ever since it was decided I’d be crowned within a few months, I’ve had this tight knot in my stomach. Being the king is such a big responsibility, I’m afraid I won’t be able to fill my parents’ shoes, that I’ll make foolish decisions and that my people won’t like me. Of course, I know I’ll always have the support of my parents and my advisors but I just… I feel like I’m not ready at all.”

At that earnest confession, Haruka’s mouth fell open once again. Makoto appeared so reliable and certain, he never would’ve guessed he harboured such insecurities. Perhaps it was because he felt so lost that he hid it so well.

“I’ve never told anyone this before,” Makoto admitted as he scratched at his cheek, “But that’s why the thought of merging our kingdoms appealed to me; so I’d have you by my side. Carrying the weight of a whole kingdom seemed a bit lighter if I could share it with someone, that’s why I advocated for this particular arrangement. I realise now that’s very immature and egotistical of me, so I apologise again for wanting to push my burden onto you.”

If Makoto was being completely honest - which Haruka had no lingering doubts about at this point - then it wasn’t that he wanted to steal Haruka’s land and title, but wanted to push part of his own onto Haruka’s plate like they were vegetables he couldn’t stomach.

Haruka had never been extremely thrilled about his duties either, albeit for different reasons than Makoto, so it wasn’t like he didn’t understand him. While he hadn’t thought of this arrangement as being a shared burden, the idea didn’t sound all that unpleasant to him now he did ponder it over. Perhaps this wasn’t as ridiculous as it initially seemed. 

“It’s okay,” he said after a moment of silence, “I suppose I don’t mind shouldering half of your weight as long as you shoulder half of mine.”

“Certainly,” Makoto said, nodding vehemently. “I do want you to know that I don’t expect anything of you. I mean, we’ll be getting married through this arrangement, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be obligated to do anything. I want you to continue to live your life the way you please, the way you always have or the way you envisioned, without minding me. I do hope we can become friends, but if you prefer for our contact to be strictly political, then I understand, Prince Haruka.”

“You shouldn’t be so insecure about everything, because you have no reason to,” Haruka said, turning around so Makoto wouldn’t see the blush he could feel burning on his cheeks. “And just Haru is fine. We’re getting married, aren’t we? There’s no need for such formalities.”

An audible gasp left Makoto’s lips. “You’re right, Haru,” he said with a warm, melodious chuckle.

“Are you coming? I’ll show you the rest of the garden,” Haruka said as he resumed walking. Before Makoto could ask something that forced him to unlock his heart, he changed the subject. “What are your favourite flowers?”

“Camellias,” Makoto said as he matched Haruka’s pace, “Do you have any bushes?”

“We do, I’ll take you to them.”

Together, Haruka and Makoto wandered through the vast and lavish gardens. During the short time since they met, Haruka’s opinion of Makoto shifted completely and now, he was convinced they would become the friends Makoto hoped they’d be.

At that point, he had no idea yet that when they got married a few weeks later, he’d say his ‘I do’ with a wide smile and that the ceremony would be ended with a true, tender kiss.

#i'm sorry i'm stupid #makoharu #makoharu fic #my fic #fantober2020 #colourful days with you #who would've guessed i'd ever write an enemies to lovers fic? not me #but i must admit i did walk on the line here because are they really enemies?? not really #it's basically just haru antagonising makoto over a false image he has in his head before meeting him #anyway haha #hope you enjoy

[littlegoldenbirdie]

The Dance of Letters on a Screen

Out of nowhere, here's a Godzilla story I wrote God knows how long ago. Time stopped having any damn meaning at all last year, and that hasn't changed yet.

Here's a version of Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla where Instant Messaging is everybody's friend and I do mean EVERYBODY.

Warning: VERY long story ahead!

-----

It had fallen to Noriko to fine-tune Kiryu’s programming. She was an elite pilot, but no one trusted her enough to let her fly. Being a terribly lonely girl disliked by all, she took to pretending she was talking to Kiryu to pass the time. She’d chatter on and on as she worked, talking about what she was doing.

“Let’s see about that DNA calibration, shall we?” Streams of data flowed across the computer screen. “I’ve got to hand it to you, buddy. You’re really got things organized. I envy your future pilot. No one ever lets me fly. I’m good, but I’m not trusted.” She sighed. “Haruka was making fun of me again. Nobody ever listens to me. At least I have you to talk to, even though you don’t hear.” The screen flickered as words scrolled across it. IS SOMEONE RECEIVING THIS? Noriko yelped. “Oh man… Somebody must have hacked the system. Might as well parley with them while the system tracers do their thing. Okay… ‘Who is this?’ That should be an okay start.” She typed the question as she said it. The answer came immediately. ME. “Who is ‘me’? Well, where is this guy talking to me from? ‘Where are you?’ Talk about a logical follow-up.” HERE. This reply confused her. Scratching her head, she said, “I don’t know what to say to thatone… Well… ‘Where would ‘here’ be?’ That ought to work… I hope.” The reply shocked her. MY ‘HERE’ IS ALL AROUND YOU. She looked around and said, “That’s just not logical. Who could hack Kiryu’s systems and why would the aforementioned hacker talk to me of all people? …Uh, next question…” This time she didn’t have time to type up a question, as the mysterious hacker spoke again. YOU ARE NORIKO. This really scared her. “How would a hacker know who he has contacted? How would a hacker know to contact me here?” THERE IS NO NEED TO TYPE YOUR REPLY. I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE. Noriko fairly yelped, “He’s hacking Kiryu’s systems from so close by that he can hear me, but I can’t see him or hear him?” She shook her head. “This shouldn’t be happening anyway! The invincible Kiryu is vulnerable to a freaking hacker?” I AM HAPPY THAT YOU CONSIDER ME AS SUCH. Noriko blinked. “Okay, I have an idea. If you’re so close by, why don’t you come out where I can see you?” YOU CAN ALREADY SEE ME. She grumbled, “Wish I knew what that means… Could you at least talk to me instead of typing?” THIS IS THE ONLY VOICE I HAVE. Noriko mused, “All around me, close enough to hear me, can only communicate via computers… And he knows me? Well, okay, tell me. Who am I to you?” The reply came quickly. YOU ARE NORIKO. YOU ARE MY PILOT. “Pilot? As in… You mean to say you’re…” I AM. Her voice was tiny. “…Kiryu?” YES. “But this can’t be! Even if you are really Kiryu, you surely already know they won’t let me pilot a crop-duster, much less you!” The reply was in an enlarged font, underlined and flashing. I WILL ACCEPT NO OTHER. She said, “I can’t just tell them I’m the one who should be your pilot. They wouldn’t believe me.” THEY WILL SEE SOON ENOUGH. Noriko knew she couldn’t tell anybody about what happened, for fear of being fired because they deemed her crazy. All she could do was wait and watch the other pilots.

The first non-simulated flight came soon, and the super-elite Jiro was chosen to fly first. He climbed into the cockpit and sat at the controls, running through the pre-flight checks. Kiryu passed with flying colors, quickly being deemed more than flight-worthy. “All systems are green. We are clear for launch.” The safety umbilicals came away easily, the support towers pulling back and leaving Kiryu to stand tall on the tarmac. “Ignition in three… two… one… Hey, what the?” The ignition point came and went, with nothing happening. “There’s no response! Systems checks show no anomalies. Kiryu’s perfectly flight-capable right now, but it’s not moving! …And what the heck is this?” Jiro’s voice was completely baffled as he said, “Something weird just popped up on the tactical display. It says ‘I will not fly for you’. Okay, who’s the joker who’s been playing with the computers?” The control room’s computers went haywire then, displaying Noriko’s personnel profile and piloting credentials. “Gotta admit, this is the weirdest system glitch I’ve ever seen,” Noriko herself said as the launch was aborted.

“That was no computer glitch, was it?” CORRECT. “I knew you said you’d accept nobody else, but now they think you’re malfunctioning!” AND WHOSE JOB WILL IT BE TO FIX IT? “Oh, I get it! Not only do I cover for you, but I spend more time here with the only person who ever talks to me!” IT SEEMS LIKE BOTH OF US WIN BOTH WAYS. “Since nobody ever seems to notice me when I’m around, I hear all sorts of things. And my superiors wonder why I always seem to anticipate their actions! Basically, what I’m saying is I’ll tell you everything I hear concerning this project.” KNOWING WHAT IS COMING WILL BE VERY HELPFUL.

Since it appeared to be a computer error, Noriko was assigned to fix it. That meant a lot more time spent working on Kiryu, which, oddly, she didn’t seem to mind anymore. Other launch attempts came and went, each with the same result no matter what she did. First Kiryu wouldn’t respond no matter what, then all the computers would start displaying Noriko’s piloting credentials. “It’s starting to look like whoever’s doing this wants me to pilot Kiryu.”

“The commander told me I’d be the absolute last person he’d ever pick to pilot you, Kiryu. The entire squadron is going to take their turn trying before he’ll even consider it.” I WILL WAIT. “I don’t know, they might decide to scrap this whole thing and that means you.” I DOUBT IT. I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF PERFORMING. “You have a point, but I imagine they’re getting pretty frustrated.” THEN THEY SHOULD CHOOSE YOU. “They should, you’re right, but the commander doesn’t usually change his mind. The entire squadron’s going first, and that means they’re going to have a lot of frustrating upsets.” THEIR OWN FAULT. Noriko laughed. “You got that right. But if you’re willing to wait, I’ll wait with you.” I APPRECIATE THIS, NORIKO. “It’s all right, Kiryu. You’re the first person to care about me for a long time.” YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON TO CARE ABOUT ME AS MORE THAN A MACHINE. “It takes a frequently overlooked person to recognize a frequently overlooked person, I suppose. But still, I don’t know how long it’ll be before they decide to rewire your systems from scratch.” IT IS A RISK I AM WILLING TO TAKE. “Kiryu, I might be able to cover for you by claiming that this is a result of my messing up.” BAD IDEA. YOU MIGHT GET FIRED. “I know, but do you have any better ideas?” SUGGEST FALSE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS. “That’s a great idea! This should keep us both in the clear.”

One after another, the other pilots took their turns and continued to fail. Noriko dutifully checked and rechecked all the computers, each time proclaiming that she’d found the solution only to have the problem adapt to counter it. She didn’t get in trouble. Instead, they started to respect her for the fact that she wasn’t giving up even when everybody else was ready to quit. “You know,” one of the other pilots said, “You might have the right stuff to be a pilot after all.” Still, everyone else was taking his or her turn first.

“All our pilots have tried to fly you, and you’ve driven them all off. There isn’t anybody else left to try.” THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR. THEY WILL CHOOSE YOU SOON. “I hope so. I’ll bet you’re anxious for some action.” WITH THE RIGHT PILOT, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO ANYTHING. “You get the feeling we’re bonding?” CREATOR AND CREATION OFTEN BEGIN TO THINK ALIKE. “Think alike? If that’s true, pretty soon we’ll be anticipating each other’s actions.” THAT WILL BE A GREAT ASSET IN BATTLE. “Godzilla beware! When we team up, we’ll trash him!” INDEED.

“Noriko,” a voice startled her in the hallway. It was the commander. “As you know, we’ve gone through two dozen pilots and Kiryu still won’t respond. The prospective pilots are quitting in droves. We’ve run out of options.” She gasped and squealed, “You mean…” He nodded. “You’re the only pilot we haven’t tried. That, and you’ve spent more time working on Kiryu than everyone else put together. You should know more about it than anyone.” She saluted him and said, “You won’t regret this, sir!” He replied, “Go suit up. You’re on in five.” She dashed off in an instant.

She stepped into the cockpit she had never before seen and the computer screens came alive. Momentarily deactivating her radio, she said, “I’m in, Kiryu. It’s my turn to try to pilot you.” A nearby screen flickered. GOOD! Sitting down in the pilot’s seat and reactivating her radio, she said, “Commencing pre-flight checks… All systems are green. We are clear for launch.” As before, the safety umbilicals retracted and the support towers fell away. “Ignition in three… two… one… Now!” This time the ramjets fired and the colossal semi-robotic reptile took to the air. “All readings are optimal. Propulsion systems are functioning at peak efficiency. Noriko, you did it!” She cheered delightedly as she began to test Kiryu’s capabilities. Everything went smoothly and they passed with flying colors. The commander’s voice rang out, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have our pilot.” Noriko didn’t have to say anything. THEY PICKED YOU! FINALLY!

Noriko continued to work with Kiryu as she had before, even though she had been promoted to being a full pilot. “I never got to tell you what we’re supposed to do. I know you know we fight Godzilla, but do you know why?” NOBODY EVER TOLD ME THAT. “I’ll tell you. Godzilla likes to smash cities. When he does so, millions of people die. Each person is somebody like me, with thoughts and hopes and dreams. In this world, there’s no higher calling than to save the lives of others. And that is what we do. We are their hope, Kiryu.” WE FIGHT, FOR THEY CANNOT? “We’re the only ones who can really stand up to him, just you and me. If we fail, it’s the end. And we can’t, we mustn’t, fail. So many lives are depending on us…” I UNDERSTAND.

It was midday when she was called to fight for the first time. The alarm sounded and she was on the move instantly, suiting up and heading for the cockpit with great speed. “Okay… Flight checks are green… Clear for takeoff…” YOU ARE AGITATED. “All systems are clear. We’re ready to fight Godzilla.” I AM READY TO GO. “Okay, where’s our pickup? Ah, there they are. They’ll get us there in time.” WE ARE NOT GOING TO FLY? “…Wish this way was faster, but we have to conserve energy for the battle.” THAT IS A GOOD REASON, SEEING AS I ONLY HAVE SO MUCH. Kiryu was lifted up and taken into the ruins of a city. THIS PLACE IS WRECKED. “And there he is. Godzilla.” I SEE HIM. “Let’s start this fight. Control tower, we are entering the battle! Charge shoulder cannons. Arm missiles.” MISSILES ARE READY TO LAUNCH. SHOULDER CANNONS ARE CHARGING. “Open fire!” FIRING. The missiles pounded Godzilla, who just stood and took it, seemingly shocked out of his mind. “Keep firing! Don’t let up!” I CAN DO THAT. Kiryu advanced, continuing to pound Godzilla mercilessly. “I think we can finish this! Arm the Absolute Zero cannon!” ABSOLUTE ZERO CANNON IS CHARGING. GIVE ME A MINUTE. “Buy some time. Buy some time. Keep up the barrage!” WILL DO. Godzilla was starting to back off, and he gave a howl that pierced Noriko’s ears and stopped Kiryu in his tracks. THAT VOICE… “Kiryu?” THAT IS MY VOICE! “Kiryu!” MY VOICE, MY FACE, MY FORM… “Kiryu, what are you doing?” IS THIS WHAT I WAS MODELED AFTER?! “Kiryu, listen to me!” The screen flashed an angry red. IS THIS WHAT I AM?! The red spread across all the screens and Kiryu spoke to her no more. He turned the weapons he had used against Godzilla on the city, smashing everything in sight. Noriko tried her best to stop Kiryu’s rampage, but all she could do was wait for his energy to run out.

She waited quietly as the transport jets retrieved Kiryu and her with him. Even in the light of what Kiryu had done, she still refused to tell her secret. All she did instead was work feverishly to repair what must have gone wrong. He didn’t talk to her at first, long enough for her to wonder if he could still talk at all. Days and nights passed as she worked alone, trying to understand what had happened. A small message scrolled across the bottom of the nearest screen. NORIKO? “Kiryu! I thought you’d never talk to me again!” NORIKO, WHAT HAVE I DONE? “It’s all right. No one blames you. They all think it was a malfunction.” BUT YOU DO NOT. “I don’t blame you either. Your temper is a lot like mine.” WILL THEY DEACTIVATE ME FOR THIS? “Heck, no. You’ll be sent out to fight again, and this time we’ll dominate!” I AM RELIEVED. “Same here. If Godzilla comes again, we’ll be on the front line. And this time we won’t mess up.”

It didn’t take long. “Godzilla’s back,” Noriko barked as she dashed into the cockpit. “The Army is getting thrashed out there. We’re the last line of defense!” ALL SYSTEMS ARE GREEN. WE ARE READY TO GO. “There’s the pickup. Let’s go!” HERE WE GO. Kiryu was lifted up into the air, whereupon Noriko noticed that night had fallen. WHY IS EVERYTHING DARK NOW? “It’s called nighttime, Kiryu.” ALL RIGHT. Noriko looked ahead, to where lights stabbed into the sky. “Godzilla’s heading toward the hospital! All those people… they’ll all get killed!” WE CANNOT GET THERE IN TIME THIS WAY! “You’re right. Looks like we have to fly.” RAMJETS EXTENDED. DISENGAGING FROM CARRIER. HANG ON. “Hit it,Kiryu!” YOU GOT IT! Kiryu blasted forward like a rocket. “Land there! Our inertia will carry us into Godzilla and he’ll be sent flying!” LANDING NOW. Skidding down the ruined street at an absurd speed, Kiryu shoulder-rammed Godzilla and sent him flying. “Wow, nice one!”

Something drew Kiryu’s attention. NORIKO, LOOK DOWN THERE. She looked and saw a group of people looking back up at her. “They’re the ones we’re trying to protect. Them, and thousands like them.” I SEE. NOW, TO HANDLE GODZILLA! “Give him a short barrage, then march up and start hitting.” ALL RIGHT. I WILL. Noriko looked forward. Just ahead, Godzilla roared at Kiryu as if recognizing him. “That’s right, buddy. We’re back. And this time you won’t get away.” FIRING ALL MISSILES. HAND LASERS CHARGED AND READY. “Save those! Time to sock him but good!” The two titans clashed, locked in what appeared to be a childish shove-fest. Godzilla took a good swipe, forcing Kiryu back for a moment. NORIKO, WE ARE DOWN TO ONE SHOULDER CANNON. “We can still fight. Fire up your ramjets! We’ve got to back off a bit!” HERE WE GO. A short burst carried Kiryu backward, but Godzilla used his fire beam. NORIKO, BOTH SHOULDER CANNONS ARE OUT! “Extend your wrist blade and charge him.” WILL DO. Kiryu charged, a fairly long blade emerging from his right wrist. Before any of them knew it, he had jabbed the blade right into Godzilla’s arm. “Zap him! Give it all you can!” WRIST BLADE AT MAXIMUM CHARGE. Godzilla roared in pain as the electricity coursed through him, but he managed to backhand Kiryu into a nearby building. Noriko recovered first, with Kiryu not too long after. “Are you good to go?” RECALIBRATING INTERNAL GYROSCOPE. “So your head is spinning too, huh?” SPINNING? “Never mind.” It was then that Godzilla stomped down on Kiryu’s chest. “Do something!” DO WHAT? BOTH SHOULDER CANNONS ARE OUT, AS IS THE WRIST BLADE! Noriko looked up. The wrist blade was still stuck in Godzilla’s arm, having broken off when he backhanded Kiryu. As she watched, he pulled it out of his arm and tossed it aside. “Any ideas?” NO. NORIKO, THIS MAY BE…

Explosions erupted from off to the side, tossing Godzilla off Kiryu, who quickly got up. “Look over there! It’s a jet!” I OWE OUR FRIEND IN THE JET FOR THAT LAST ONE. “Should we do like we did before?” NO. “You’re probably right. Any ideas?” HOW ABOUT ANOTHER HIGH-SPEED RAM? “Brilliant! Fire up your ramjets, we’re going to ram him!” RAMJETS EXTENDED AND FIRING. HERE WE GO. “Oh, and charge the Absolute Zero cannon too. That way we can just cut loose.” YOU GOT IT. ABSOLUTE ZERO CANNON CHARGING. Kiryu was right in Godzilla’s face before any of them knew it. “Do like I do! Fight like a human!” I WILL TRY. Punching and kicking like a karate master, Kiryu had the upper hand and all of them knew it. “Wow, Kiryu, I didn’t know you could do that!” NEITHER DID I. A moment passed. ABSOLUTE ZERO CANNON CHARGED AND READY. “Put some distance between us, then fire when ready.” YOU GOT IT. The panels on Kiryu’s chest slid open, forming a triple-pronged energy cannon. BEGINNING FIRING SEQUENCE. Noriko looked at Godzilla. “Oh man, we are so wide open right now…” Godzilla took the open shot just as they fired. “I hope that hits… AHHH!” Kiryu was sent flying, his shot thrown off. “Oh no! The cannon will destroy everything in its path! All those buildings out there! All those people!” THIS IS BAD. I HOPE THOSE BUILDINGS ARE EMPTY.

Kiryu fell into another building. Seeing the energy readouts, Noriko began to worry. “Kiryu, can you stand?” I AM ALMOST COMPLETELY OUT OF POWER. PRIMARY SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE ENGAGED. I AM SORRY, NORIKO. “Control tower, do you hear me? We need more power here!” Other voices came. “Contact the power stations. Tell them to divert everything here.” Another said, “But that’ll put the entire city in a blackout!” The first said, “Do it. I’ll take responsibility.” Noriko waited. All around Kiryu the city went dark, the darkness stretching for miles around. She rejoiced as the power came to them, recharging Kiryu fully. NORIKO? WHAT HAPPENED? “You’re back at full power, Kiryu.” He looked around. THE CITY IS DARK… DID THE CITY SACRIFICE ITS LIGHT TO GIVE ME POWER? “We don’t have time for that! You’re back at full power, so let’s get back in the fight!” I WILL TRY TO GET UP. Kiryu struggled to his feet, only to have Godzilla shoot him in the back. He stumbled a few steps, then fell again. I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN TAKE, NORIKO.

A great cry came from off to the side. “What? The jet!” IT APPEARS TO BE… NO! The jet had set itself on a collision course with Godzilla’s jaws. Godzilla had no choice but to leave off using his fire beam in favor of trying to get the jet out of his mouth. He tore the back half away, but the front half remained in his mouth. A voice came from within what remained of the jet. “He can’t use his beam now! Forget about me and take the shot! Take it!” Noriko was torn. “We’re wide open, but…” NO, NORIKO! THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY THAN TO SACRIFICE THE JET! An idea came to her. “Kiryu, listen to me. There is a way, but you have to trust me. Give me manual control.” MANUAL CONTROL? BUT I… YES, I WILL. MANUAL CONTROL ENGAGED. Seizing the controls in capable hands, she was in complete control as she guided Kiryu through a high-speed lunge straight at Godzilla. “Drop the jet, you scaly miscreant!” Using one hand to tear the jet free and the other to hold Godzilla’s mouth shut, she was in charge of the situation before anyone knew it. “Absolute Zero cannon; stand by.” She blasted off, carrying Godzilla along with her. “Okay, buddy, you’re coming with me!” They were headed straight for the sea. NORIKO, WHAT ARE YOU… “Trust me,” she said. They lifted up slightly, then plunged into the sea. “If it doesn’t work here, I don’t know where it will! Absolute Zero cannon… fire!” It surged through the water to touch Godzilla. Noriko didn’t get a chance to see if it destroyed him, because Kiryu was seized in the ice that formed. “Oh no, are we stuck?” I HOPE NOT.

The ice shattered all around them and Kiryu drifted to the surface. Godzilla was alive, but wounded. “We hurt him…” She cheered, “We hurt him!” As she watched, he turned and headed off. NORIKO, I CAN NO LONGER FIGHT. “I wouldn’t ask you to,” she said. I AM SORRY, NORIKO. I HAVE FAILED TO KILL GODZILLA. “Failed? Failed? No, we won! We’ve done it, Kiryu! We’ve beaten him back! The city is saved!” BUT YOU SAID I WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL GODZILLA. I HAVE NOT DONE THAT. “There’ll be other chances, Kiryu,” she said, feeling something very like satisfaction. “Other battles to fight and win. It may not be next time, or the time after that, but someday we’ll beat him… and the world’s long nightmare will finally end.” There was a pause as Kiryu considered her words. I CAN LIVE WITH THAT, he finally decided.

---------

Okay, so that was it.

#godzilla #mechagodzilla 3