#but he sees his mentor looking messed up and exhausted and mutter how he failed and ‘this wasn’t supposed to happen’ and MK’s heart bleeds | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

malkumtend · 3 years

Text

I Like Your Laugh (A SquirrelCrow AU) - Chapter 19.

Squirrelpaw had expected to be happy.

She was home. Well… back to the forest at least. It had turned out that Thunderclan camp had been abandoned when the Twolegs had begun to storm through the forest. The bitter stink of their monsters still filled the air, even at their new camp. Sunningrocks was low, exposed, and hardly seemed to be full of much prey anymore, but it was safe enough for the clans to gather. Besides, it wasn’t like they could afford to complain.

More importantly, her family was safe. As starved and tired as every cat was, but safe nonetheless. And Squirrelpaw knew she had to be grateful for that. It hadn’t taken long to find out just how many cats had been lost due to the Twolegs destruction. Kits had starved, cats were grieving, and according to Cinderpelt, many cats had been taken away by Twolegs. No cat knew the reason why. Squirrelpaw chilled if she tried to imagine a reason.

But her family was safe, and her journey was complete. When she had left, she expected to come back with pride, feeling like some kind of hero.

She had been so foolish.

She had come back losing friends, to a destroyed home, to clanmates who glared at her like she was to blame. They took one look at her well-fed body and her toned muscles and hissed. Squirrelpaw desperately tried to pass it off as rightful anger they felt after being lost, starving, cold and confused for so long.

It didn’t help.

Everywhere she looked, accusing, furious faces met her. And she hadn’t even been able to explain where she’d been yet.

And when she had, or rather, when Brambleclaw had, it wasn’t received much better.

Unsurprisingly, no cat, after all that had happened, looked happy at the news that they were being forced from their home.

The questions had come quick, and luckily Squirrelpaw expected most of them. Who was Midnight? Who were the other clan cats? What was the Sun-Drown place? Either her or Brambleclaw was able to explain them to a point where the cats looked somewhat satisfied.

But then it came. Her father peered at her, his green eyes flashing at the news of Brambleclaw’s vision, the thing that had made him worthy of travelling in the first place.

“Did you have a dream like that?” Firestar cried, his eyes wide with concern.

Squirrelpaw bit her lip, embarrassed shame making her tail flatten. “I- Um- No, I didn’t.” It wouldn’t do any good if she lied, it would just get her in even bigger trouble. She cowered at the way her father’s eyes narrowed.

“So then, what was the reason you decided to go?”

Squirrelpaw’s mouth felt like it was full of sand. She could see the frustration compel her parents. She couldn’t tell Firestar it was about how angry she’d been about how he’d treated her and Brambleclaw. She scrambled her brain for an answer. “I-I just thought I could help.”

“That isn’t a reason to put yourself in danger,” Dustpelt growled, disappointment evident on his expression. Squirrelpaw looked down, letting out a soft breath. “Do you realise how worried the clan was about you two?”

“We understand that.” Brambleclaw said, “And we’re sorry. But we couldn’t-”

Dustpelt turned on Brambleclaw with fresh anger, “Why didn’t you make her come back here?” He snapped, “What would have happened if she’d gotten killed?”

Squirrelpaw looked up with a gasp. She saw Brambleclaw’s lips thin with obvious horror. “It wasn’t Brambleclaw’s fault!” She insisted to her mentor. It wasn’t fair for Brambleclaw to take the blame. “He didn’t want to take me with him, but I told him I wouldn’t go back. I’m the one who chose to go.”

She felt every stare that stabbed her direction. Firestar and Sandstorm both shared a familiar tired look, while she the despondent, dismissive expressions knot over the faces of Mousefur and Brackenfur even when they were only just within earshot. There was a part of her that believed she could hear their thoughts.

Of course. Making trouble just like always.

And she wonders why she isn’t a warrior yet. Is this really a leader’s daughter?

Just imagine how her father must feel? He’d be better if she’d stayed lost.

We’d all be better off.

The voices cut her mind so well they might have been whispers. The abandoned ache tugged at her heart again. She suddenly wished she could be anywhere else but home right now.

“I’m glad she came.”

Squirrelpaw’s breath caught in her throat, letting a silent whimper fade away. She found Brambleclaw looking softly at her, a gentle smile, one that suited him well, on his lips, glowing like a fire desperate to warm her. Squirrelpaw cocked her head, open mouthed.

Brambleclaw turned back to his leader, breaking the unbearable silence. “Forgive me Firestar, but I have to say how grateful I am to Squirrelpaw. Along the journey, I can safely say that she was one of the bravest of us all. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t even be here now.” He cast a grin towards Dustpelt, “You trained her well. Our journey could have easily failed if Squirrelpaw hadn’t been there when we needed her.”

Any sound that crept over Squirrelpaw’s sternum fell to the dryness of her tongue. The words rolled in Brambleclaw’s mouth too smoothly to be fake. He meant what he was saying.

“If she was put in harms way, that’s my fault for allowing her to come; so punish me instead if you want to. But I can’t honestly say that I made the wrong decision letting her come. I can’t be thankful enough for what she did for us during our journey.” Brambleclaw turned away from his leader’s stare to where Squirrelpaw sat gaping up at him. With the sway of a tail, Squirrelpaw found her upturned head travel down, where Brambleclaw had dipped his head to her like she was a leader herself. His amber eyes flickered with kind embers.

The other cats were staring at him with odd, tilted heads. Firestar and Sandstorm met each other with raised brows. The dismissive whispers began to fade away to bemused chatter. Squirrelpaw couldn’t describe how she was feeling, all she knew was that for just a moment, the atmosphere felt light and warm.

Brambleclaw knew he was being dramatic. He knew he had to be to drive his point through. He also knew how this would look more embarrassing for him than bold. And he was doing it all for her.

Brambleclaw straightened up again, “Thank you for your help.” He said to her, needless and needed all the same. He winked at her softly.

Squirrelpaw felt a knot rise in her throat. It wasn’t just because of what Brambleclaw had said. It was because that looking at him now, she knew that something had become right. Despite everything that had troubled the pair, their friendship was still alive.

Slowly, Squirrelpaw let herself smile. But she couldn’t let him take any punishment for her. She was about to open her mouth when she heard Firestar sigh. He looked at the pair, exhausted.

“While I believe you Brambleclaw, and I’m happy to hear that Squirrelpaw kept safe, you still had a duty to make sure she was never in danger to begin with.” The leader exclaimed, his tail lashing. Squirrelpaw’s heart sank with sympathy when Brambleclaw looked down in defeat. “Regardless of what happened in truth, it is your duty to keep your clanmates safe.” At that, Firestar cast a sorrowful glance out to where Greystripe sat still choked with heartache.

Squirrelpaw bit her lip, feeling the hurt tighten her chest again. But she couldn’t stay silent. “But Brambleclaw was only following Starclan’s orders, don’t we have a duty to them as well.” As hypocritical as that was coming out of her mouth, she still knew the words would benefit Brambleclaw’s case.

Firestar narrowed his eyes, holding his stare on his daughter until she had to turn away. The leader’s tail swung from side to side for a moment. Then he exhaled deeply, his face softening. “In any case, there was a reason you two left, and I would prefer to talk more about that.” Squirrelpaw’s head snapped up hopefully. Her father frowned at her, “Neither of you are out of the woods, we will talk about this, believe me.”

Squirrelpaw winced, dipping her head again, “Yes, Firestar.” She felt the tip of Brambleclaw’s tail gently touch her back, but she did not feel soothed. Mostly she just felt stupid. She should have expected to get in trouble, she was an idiot for feeling any cat would be excited to see her back.

When the clan was in such a mess, the return of trouble was nothing to be happy about.

Nobody asked her to continue explaining anything. Nobody asked for her to say anything. If she said anything, they just looked at her with grudging, empty, uncaring stares.

No matter what Brambleclaw had said, she wasn’t the one who was chosen. She was just the apprentice who had gotten involved.

She wasn’t important, and if no one wanted to hear her part she may as well just keep her mouth shut.

And that was what she did. She waited, listening as Brambleclaw explained whatever Firestar asked him too. Brambleclaw tried to include Squirrelpaw’s input, but a haze seemed to spread across whenever her name was mentioned.

She found the cats were more than happy whenever she just nodded along and kept silent.

At least she was doing some good that way.

When the story was told, no cat said anything. Squirrelpaw watched her father, fear stinging her chest. She could hear the angry and scared mutters around her. It only made sense. No cat would want to leave their home. But they had to if they wanted to survive.

If Firestar chose to discard their warnings… Squirrelpaw swallowed, pleading with her eyes to her father. Please, Firestar. You have to believe us. The leader didn’t look her way, he was staring out to the forest, his breathing getting heavier as his fur prickled then lied flat.

Mousefur stepped forward, “Will you go then?” She asked. She looked frightened. “To meet with the other leaders?”

Every cat turned to Firestar. The sunlight seemed to focus on him, blazing on his bright fur. The leader met her face with a firm nod. “Nothing could keep me away.”

Every cat looked surprised.

For Squirrelpaw, it was for the right reasons. A deep purr escaped her, tingling through her entire body. He believed them. Their journey had not been for nothing. The molly looked up at her father, unable to hide the solace rushing in her heart. The leader still looked troubled. Can I blame him? This won’t be easy news to deliver to Thunderclan. But with his support, she couldn’t think of one clan cat who wouldn’t follow his instructions.

Dustpelt’s eyes were wide, “Firestar?” He meowed softly, “I can’t believe you’d want to take the clans away?” The tom didn’t sound angry, just overwhelmed.

Firestar sighed, “Right now, I don't know what I'm going to do. But I'm not sure if the Clans can survive leaf-bare. I cannot let my Clan suffer if there's anything I can do to prevent it. We cannot ignore this message. It may be our only hope of survival. If there is a sign, I want to see it for myself."

The leader met Brambleclaw, who stood rigid with concern. Firestar nodded at him with approval, “We’ll go there tonight. Let’s hope the other clan’s do the same.”

And that was that. While Firestar began to soothe the worries of the understandably sceptical cats around him, Squirrelpaw saw Brambleclaw let out a sigh as if he was finally being freed from a season long pain. She felt the same joy that their story had truly meant something. This was by no means the end of it, the other clans needed convincing too, but it was an important start.

She pressed against Brambleclaw’s side, shooting him a sunny glance. “You can stop trembling now.” She whispered.

The tom chuckled lightly, “Thank you for your permission.” He jibed, letting out another sigh. She could only imagine how he felt. Bluestar had come to him after all. He was the one who’d been tasked with this, whatever stress she’d felt must have been a mere stream compared to the weight on his shoulders.

But he’d done it, that was all that mattered. And after everything, he’d kept his word. He’d shocked his clanmates by praising her to no end, right to his leader’s face.

It was the truth, she had saved him, like he had saved her, but the way he expressed it was something that demanded her gratitude.

Squirrelpaw looked down, “Thank you for what you said.”

“It’s not like I was lying. I’d have drowned if you weren’t there to pull me out.” Squirrelpaw licked her chest in embarrassment, “Somebody else would have saved you.”

Brambleclaw shrugged, “Maybe, but it was you who did it.” He gave Squirrelpaw a friendly lick on her ear, “Don’t worry about the other’s, they’re just confused.”

“I know,” Squirrelpaw muttered, her whiskers twitching. She must have looked pathetic. “I just want them all to understand. We can’t let any more cats die.” Her eyes widened with a terrifying thought. “What if the other clans won’t listen?”

“They won’t.” Brambleclaw assured her, his tail resting beside her flank. “Firestar is a great leader. If anyone can convince them, he can.”

Squirrelpaw purred to feign comfort, but she still shook. If the other clans didn’t listen, that meant that the leaders would hold their cats back from leaving. They’d all surely die! Even her friends who knew about what dangers lied ahead couldn’t escape if their leaders forbid it!

They’d all be trapped, awaiting their deaths.

Once the image of their faces filled her mind, stiff with horror in front of the storming yellow claws of two-leg monsters, Squirrelpaw struggled to remove it. All of the cats she’d grown to care for; imagining them in that situation killed her inside.

She couldn’t let that happen, she’d beg Firestar to let them come with Thunderclan if she had to, before she would let them die like that.

Maybe she was being too quick to judge, it was true that Firestar held a good name, even among their strongest rivals. He really was the only cat who could convince the leaders beside her friends.

She hoped at least. She held on to that hope as if she would sink without it. Truthfully, she probably would.

The cats around them began to disperse, returning to their duties, sullen-faced and stiff-tailed. They would follow, Squirrelpaw knew, but they wouldn’t be at ease until they saw their new home for themselves.

Squirrelpaw looked aside awkwardly. She was done there, Firestar was convinced. It would probably be best to leave Brambleclaw to explain anything else that warranted it. There had to be something she could do to help her struggling clanmates. They deserved that much from her after how long she’d been gone.

Squirrelpaw pressed her tail to Brambleclaw, “I’ll see you later.” She meowed, turning away. Maybe there was a patrol that she could help…

“Squirrelpaw.” A strong voice called. Squirrelpaw flinched, her eyes closing. “Come here for a moment.”

Squirrelpaw turned back, meeting the expectant stares of her parents. Firestar’s tail thumped on the ground. “I did say we would talk about you two leaving, didn’t I?”

Squirrelpaw looked helplessly to Brambleclaw, the brown tom just winced along with her. She let out a soft whimper, not hiding the slack of her tail as she padded reluctantly back to her awaiting leader. Each step felt like she was pulling herself through thick mud, except it was a cliff she was reaching instead of safety.

She forced herself to face Firestar. Beside him, Sandstorm watched Squirrelpaw with the same dull eyes as her mate. Squirrelpaw shifted uncomfortably, feeling small under the pressure.

“Now,” Sandstorm took a step forward, looking like any questions she could possibly have she already knew. “Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Squirrelpaw wondered if that was a trick question. She hoped it wasn’t. “I’m sorry.” That was probably her safest bet. Her face felt hot, whether it was from shame or embarrassment she didn’t know.

Sandstorm sighed, “You’ve already said that. But Squirrelpaw, I don’t understand why you felt it was necessary to just run off like that. Do you know how scared I was?”

“How scared we both were?” Firestar added, his voice dry with disappointment. “We didn’t know where you could have gone. For all we knew, you could have still been somewhere in the forest.” A shiver rumbled over his tail.

“I know.” Squirrelpaw mewed, “I just didn’t like the thought of Brambleclaw going by himself. He’s my clanmate, I felt that someone he knew should be with him.” She looked at Brambleclaw mildly, relieved to find him nodding along to her story.

“Squirrelpaw,” Sandstorm’s voice was gentle, but her face was rigid with sadness. “While we know you meant well, and you’re intentions were noble, Brambleclaw is a Warrior and you’re still an apprentice.” The sandy molly explained. Squirrelpaw’s stomach sank as her mother pressed her nose against her forehead. “A brave apprentice, but still not one that should risk her life like that.”

“I wasn’t risking my life!” Squirrelpaw felt that sting hurt her again. The worthless idea of being just an apprentice. “I didn’t know what this journey would be like!”

“That’s the point, Squirrelpaw!” Firestar exclaimed, “You didn’t know. This could have ended much worse than it did. You’re still learning how to protect yourself, you need to understand that. It’s not up to you to make these kind of decisions!”

Suddenly, Firestar’s eyes widened, and he faced Brambleclaw with a thin look. “How did she find out about your dreams in the first place? Did you tell her about them?” Firestar’s tone began to harden. Brambleclaw’s ears went back in worry.

“It wasn’t like that!” Squirrepaw squeaked, “I followed him when he went off to see the other chosen cats for the first time! I threatened to tell the clan unless he told me what it was about!”

“Squirrelpaw.” Sandstorm sighed, her breath sounded cold with chagrin.

“Sandstorm,” Brambleclaw mewed, “I promise you that Squirrelpaw made sure that her life was never in any danger! Again, it was me who ended up owing my life to her! Even if she wasn’t chosen, she deserved to be there!”

“That may well be, Brambleclaw.” Firestar said, his tail lashing, “But you didn’t know that. If she hadn’t come home-”

“But I am home!” Squirrelpaw yowled. She knew she was only getting herself into deeper trouble by interrupting Firestar, but she was getting sick of Brambleclaw getting scolded over these assumptions. “I’m alive, aren’t I? Don’t get angry at Brambleclaw for something that didn’t happen!”

Three pairs of eyes locked on her. Her parents with hard frowns. Brambleclaw with a scared grimace.

“It’s true!” Squirrelpaw shouted, not waiting to be scolded again. “What’s the point of getting your fur ruffled? I’m fine! Nothing happened to me!”

Sandstorm shook her head, “The point is, Squirrelpaw, you had all of Thunderclan worried? And Brambleclaw should have known better than to take you somewhere where you could have been killed. Just because nothing bad happened doesn’t mean the risk wasn’t there in the first place.”

Squirrelpaw looked away, scoffing, with a thump of her tail. She wasn’t about the repeat the same point when no one would even listen to her. She wasn’t dead, so what was the point of dwelling on some idea that never came to be. What mattered was the present.

Firestar kept quiet for a moment. “Squirrelpaw,” He said slowly, “You leaving didn’t have anything to do with what I said before, did it?”

Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw both could have jumped out their pelts.

She tried to keep a straight face, but from the way Firestar was looking at her she could tell something was wrong. Her father’s words, his orders, roared through her head again. His demand to stay away from Brambleclaw. That cutting warning he had spat at her. It taunted Brambleclaw too; they had both gone against their leader’s word.

“I told you already,” Squirrelpaw said quickly, “I left because I thought Brambleclaw needed my help. It wasn’t because I was trying to disobey you.”

Sandstorm cocked her head, “Excuse me? What are they talking about?” She faced her mate suspiciously, “What did you say?”

While his daughter bit her lip, Firestar sighed morosely. He looked uneasy. “I told Squirrelpaw that I didn’t think she was ready for her Warrior’s ceremony if she was-”

“What?!” Every cat flinched at the ferocity in Sandstorm’s voice. Her eyes blazed on her mate, unbelievably angry. “Why would you say that?”

Firestar’s tail twitched uncomfortably. He settled his voice low as to not offend his furious mate. “It was just a warning of what could happen if she didn’t follow orders correctly.”

Squirrelpaw’s eyes widened. And what orders were those?! She thought bitterly. Luckily, her mother already looked appalled.

“What orders? I know more than anyone that Squirrelpaw can be troublesome, but not enough that she deserved something like that! Were you trying to scare her or something mouse-brained like that?

“I was just telling her-”

“By Starclan, Firestar! What did you think you were going to achieve by saying that? Did you think that would scare her into being good? You should know that something like that would just make it worse!”

Bramblestar was staring at Sandstorm like she was a whole Clan ready for battle. Squirrelpaw was certainly shocked, but not by Sandstorm’s bold nature, she’d seen enough of that before, no, she was astonished by the way her mother was defending her. She had assumed that Sandstorm would have agreed with Firestar’s warning.

Apparently not by the way the sandy cat looked like she would start foaming in anger.

She was standing up for her daughter, just a little. That meant more than the world to Squirrelpaw.

“Sandstorm,” Firestar exhaled, trying to keep calm. If he rose his voice, Sandstorm would respond even greater. “If Squirrelpaw is going to keep herself safe, she needs to learn when to not take action herself. This should be an example of that.”

Sandstorm rolled her eyes, “And you thought instead of explaining that, that threatening her would make a better solution? What orders did she even disobey to begin with?”

Firestar’s mouth stilled half-way open, then shut with a thin groan. He cast a soft glance to the returned cats, stopping lightly on Squirrelpaw. His daughter felt an uncomfortable tingling on her pelt as she waited for him to respond. He’d been so clear with those instructions before, why now was he afraid to say them again? Was he afraid of how Sandstorm would certainly demand an explanation.

The Leader looked small for just a shaky breath, then he inhaled, straightening up with the natural confidence he usually radiated.

“There’s something I need to tell you, Sandstorm. But not here.”

“Why?” Sandstorm snapped.

“Just trust me.” He said softly. “I’ll explain it to you soon.”

Squirrelpaw felt anger wreck her gut again. Her eyes narrowed on her father, but he didn’t notice as he stared down his scoffing partner. Why couldn’t he just say it? She wanted an explanation for why he hadn’t wanted her around Brambleclaw! It had been so unfair!

She inwardly grumbled. There would be no use asking him, if he wasn’t going to tell Sandstorm, he certainly wasn’t going to tell her.

“Fine.” Sandstorm meowed. “But consider this, Firestar, when it comes to an apprentice’s Warrior ceremony, their mentor is the one who decides if they are ready or not.”

Squirrelpaw’s eyes lit up as her mother padded closer to her, the anger slipping from her face. “Dustpelt is the one who has seen Squirrelpaw’s capabilities as a Warrior more than either of us have, so if he tells me that Squirrelpaw has shown the bravery and strength that a Warrior requires in her training,” Sandstorm tilted her face down to the ginger molly, softly winking at her. “Which he has, I will trust his judgment more than any cat in the clan!”

The soothing brush of her mother’s tongue stroked Squirrelpaw’s cheek, leaving a physical warmth that was minute compared to the happiness glowing inside her. When she looked at Sandstorm she could see the trust, the belief, as real as her mother’s whiskers. She knew that despite what her mother said, a leader could easily dismiss a mentor’s words if they saw fit. But the fact that Sandstorm trusted the faith that Dustpelt had secretly praised Squirrelpaw with, that meant everything to the molly!

She eased against her mother’s fur. The genial touch was the first pleasant surprise that Squirrelpaw found herself blessed with.

“She really is worthy of that ceremony.” Brambleclaw added, “I’ve never met any apprentice like her.”

“Knowing what you were like as an apprentice, I’m grateful she didn’t pick up on any of your impulses.” Squirrelpaw worried that Sandstorm was snapping at Brambleclaw again, but when she pulled away, she could see a small smirk on the cat’s face. She snickered herself at Brambleclaw’s awkward sigh of relief.

“I’m sure you acted like a true Warrior, Squirrelpaw.” Sandstorm purred. She gave her daughter a firm look. “But you didn’t need to disappear like that. An important part of being a Warrior is trusting your clanmates, no matter what. Understand?”

It may have been a scolding, but there was a clear shimmer of love in her mother’s eyes. Squirrelpaw nodded gently. She did trust her family, of course. She just hadn’t wanted to betray Brambleclaw’s trust. Still, she knew what her mother meant. “Yes, Sandstorm.”

Sandstorm purred, appeased. “Good. Well, I think that’s enough for the time being. There’s still work to do around the camp. Why don’t you go help Cinderpelt and Leafpaw? Your sister has been worried sick about you.”

Squirrelpaw gasped. Leafpaw! How had she forgotten about her? Her heart swelled at the realisation that her sister was okay! And if Sandstorm’s reaction was anything to go by, Leafpaw had stuck to her promise to keep Squirrelpaw’s involvement in the journey secret. She beamed. She needed to see her! Squirrelpaw nodded, but looked to Firestar for approval.

The leader met her gaze for a hesitant second, but soon nodded. “Go on.” He said.

Squirrelpaw felt energy fill her body again. She turned, finding Brambleclaw in her path. She cast him a grateful smile. Him backing her up whenever he could had helped immensely. “Good luck at the meeting tonight.” She mewed.

“You’re not coming?” Brambleclaw meowed. To Squirrelpaw’s surprise, he actually sounded sad.

The apprentice shifted nervously. After all that had happened, she hadn’t thought that Firestar would want her there. She wasn’t chosen after all.

It looked like Brambleclaw could read her thoughts as he swiftly cried out. “You have to come! You were a part of the journey as well. It wouldn’t be right if you weren’t there!”

Squirrelpaw blushed at the words, but her heart still pounded fearfully. She turned back to where her father and mother stood, hopefully looking to them.

Sandstorm turned to Firestar, giving him a hard look. The Thunderclan leader swished his tail thoughtfully, his eyes brimming with reluctance. His eyes rested on Squirrelpaw’s though and the scepticism dimmed. Something wavered in his irises, making his tail slacken. Squirrelpaw’s ears perked up, the tension in her chest uncurling.

Firestar let out a soft breath, then the corners of his muzzle upturned. “Brambleclaw’s right. Right or wrong, you were a part of this journey. It makes sense for you to be there for the rest of it.”

Squirrelpaw blinked, then elation took hold of her. It had been a long time since she had felt this happy before her father, and she wasn’t going to let it slip away so easily now.

“We’ll see you before moon-high, okay?” Firestar asked.

Squirrelpaw nodded feverishly, “Of course!”

“Alright then.” Firestar waved his tail. “Now off you go. Leafpaw will be grateful for some extra paws."

Squirrelpaw grinned at her father, padding away past Brambleclaw with an excited mew. The tom’s eyes were also bright with joy. She flicked her tail against his pelt before she scampered off.

I belong there. Squirrelpaw replayed the words in her head, her grin broadening with each syllable. Firstar practically said I belonged there.

It was like a dream come true! She had wanted desperately to be seen as a real Warrior by her father, and now it looked like it was finally happening. Despite how he had initially scolded her, he had left her with praise that she had only heard it her greatest daydreams.

He had acknowledged that she had taken part in a great quest. And he said that she should see the rest of it out with her friends! He saw her as a part of the chosen cats!

Okay, maybe she was overreacting just a bit, but she couldn’t help it! This was amazing! And now she was going to see her sister again, after all this time! She just needed to find the medicine den and-

Squirrelpaw paused. Oh… right. There was no medicine den anymore. There wasn’t much of anything about their old home anymore.

Squirrelpaw looked around the ruined forest awkwardly. Where were the medicine cats now? It would probably be best to ask somecat who-

“There you are!”

Squirrelpaw jumped a little at the sudden voice, but let out a relived breath when she saw who it was. “Oh! Hey, Ashfur!” She called.

The tom rushed over to where she stood. He grinned broadly down at her, his chest puffed out happily. Squirrelpaw was impressed. Even though the tom was obviously starving, he still looked strong and healthy. That was good! Maybe Thunderclan could survive the journey after all.

“So,” The tom meowed, “Where have you been? We all thought something had happened to you and Brambleclaw.”

Squirrelpaw thought for a moment. As much as she wanted to let the clan know what awaited them, it was up to Firestar to do that. He still needed to talk with the other leaders. “Firestar will explain everything later. I can’t really say anything yet.”

Ashfur raised a brow, “Really?” He moaned, “But you guys were gone for so long. The least you could do is tell some of us where you went.”

Squirrelpaw shrugged, “You’ll know soon enough. Firestar just has some things to decide first.”

Ashfur frowned, his shoulders sagging. “Well, I hope he decides it soon. We can’t sit around waiting for too long.”

Squirrelpaw suddenly remembered something and her head dropped. “I heard about Larchkit.” She mewed softly. Ashfur’s eyes widened, and his muzzle creased at the memory of his niece. “I’m so sorry.”

Ashfur sniffed, his eyes narrowing. “Why? It was the two-legs that got her killed. It wasn’t your fault.”

Squirrelpaw’s tail trembled down. She could still picture Ferncloud’s dark glare on her pelt, the same as many of her clanmates. She’d heard Ferncloud’s accusation that they’d left because they didn’t want to face leaf-bare. They’d made it seem like it was Squirrelpaw’s fault. “I tried to talk to Ferncloud, but… I don’t think she wants to listen to me.”

Ashfur made a soft noise in his throat, he stepped closer to her. “Don’t worry about it. Ferncloud’s just grieving, she doesn’t really blame you for any of this.” Ashfur touched his nose to Squirrelpaw’s ear, “Everyone knows that you guys wouldn’t leave Thunderclan like that. I do, anyway.”

Squirrelpaw felt Ashfur’s breath hot in her ear. It wasn’t so pleasant. She took a gentle step back. “Still, I don’t think many cats like the fact we came back. Not when all of this has happened.”

“Don’t be a mouse-brain.” Ashfur said, his tail curling. “Of course, we’re glad you’re back.” He smiled thinly again, quickly pressing his nose to Squirrelpaw’s forehead before she could do anything. “I definitely missed you.”

Squirrelpaw was glad to hear that. With every harsh pair of eyes that still hurt to picture, it was a relief that someone from her clan actually missed her and was happy to see her again. Though, it wasn’t that surprising. Ashfur had always been friendly to her whenever they met. Maybe he could talk to Ferncloud and help her understand what Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw had really been trying to do.

“Thanks Ashfur.” Squirrelpaw said.

Ashfur smiled but he didn’t say anything else. He stood there, his tail swaying, as if he was expecting Squirrelpaw to say something else.

“Oh, uh, how have you been doing then?” She cringed as she saw his thinning body again. “Or is that a stupid question?”

Ashfur laughed, but it sounded dry. Dissapointed? “Not so bad. Moving from camp was difficult, settling here even more so. But it can’t get much worse. Compared to some of our clanmates I’ve been lucky, I’d say. At least I still haven’t lost my strength.” The tom smirked a little.

Squirrelpaw nodded. It was somewhat reassuring to see a clanmate in good spirits. “Well, that’s good to hear.”

“Hey!” Ashfur’s ears perked up, his eyes brightening. He was so quick he’d almost interrupted her. “Do you want to come hunting with me? I could use some extra help; besides it will give you a chance to see more of the camp?”

The Warrior’s tone was so bright with excitement that Squirrelpaw actually felt a little guilty when she remembered she had somewhere to go. “I would, Ashfur. But Firestar asked me to go help Leafpaw? Sorry.” She gave him a hopeful look. “Could you tell me where we’ve set up our medicine den?”

The smile left Ashfur’s face. He rolled his eyes with a dry chuckle. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Leafpaw and Cinderpelt are doing fine enough on their own.” His eyebrows curled up, almost pleadingly. “The clan is short on prey, right now, not medicine. I’m sure that Firestar would understand.”

His eyes bore on Squirrelpaw, remaining fixed uncomfortably long. Squirrelpaw’s smile twitched. “I’m sorry, Ashfur. But I can’t just disobey Firestar.” She let out a short laugh. “After how long I’ve been gone, that would be mouse-brained.” The laughter faded away as Ashfur’s muzzle went thin, his tail swiping the ground. Squirrelpaw tried her best to give him a friendly look. She did appreciate he was happy to see her. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Maybe Brackenfur or Dustpelt can give you some help?”

Ashfur licked his shoulder, his breathing was quick like he was frustrated. “I’m sure they’ll already have work to do. I don’t really want to interrupt them if they’re doing anything important.” He focused a look on her again. When he smiled, this time, it looked different.

“I-I understand, Ashfur, but I’m sure some-cat can-”

“Honestly, Squirrelpaw, I really want your help.” He said with a deep purr. He took a step forward and one of Squirrelpaw’s back legs followed that direction. “I’ve heard from the other apprentices just how skilled you are and I’d really like,” He winked. “To see it for myself.”

He was praising her just like before. But Squirrelpaw wasn’t so happy about it now. She got that Ashfur wanted some help, and the fact he was so adamant must have been a testament to how much he trusted her, but it didn’t change the fact that she had somewhere to be.

“Sorry, Ashfur.” This time, Squirrelpaw wasn’t smiling. “But I really can’t. I’ll help you hunt when I’m not busy, okay?” Her voice was still soft, but it was undeniably clear. She didn’t want to sound unkind after all, she just wanted to go where she’d been asked.

Ashfur rolled his eyes again, this time with a real upset murmur. Squirrelpaw’s ears went back absently as she saw the tom’s tail flare. She felt a sharp worry in her gut.

“Squirrelpaw.”

The voice mercifully took Squirrelpaw away. But melancholy soon took hold of her again as she saw Thunderclan’s deputy padding towards her. His eyes were still raw. He looked slowly between the two cats. “Am I interrupting anything?” He said, straining to make his voice strong.

“No.” Squirrelpaw said, relieved when Ashfur didn’t interject. She still saw his tail lash though. “I was just on my way to find Cinderpelt and Leafpaw, do you know where they are?”

Greystripe nodded, “Yes, we’ve put together a small den in a ridge nearby. I can take you there, if you’d like.” He swallowed, meeting her with a sniff. “On the way, I’d like to talk with you about something.”

That didn’t sound good.

Still, Squirrelpaw nodded gently. She turned to Ashfur, who stood frowning at the ground. A small guilt crept into her. “If you need help later, Ashfur, I don’t mind. If I’m not busy, I’ll come find you.” She did want to help wherever she could.

The light grey cat didn’t look too satisfied, but he couldn’t argue further, not when a deputy wanted her for something. Ashfur exhaled sharply, “Okay then.” With a snap of his head, his mood changed into a bright smile again. It still didn’t look right. “I’ll see you later, then. Good luck.” He nodded to her and Greystripe before padding away.

Squirrelpaw thought she could see the tom’s back fur prickling

Probably just her imagination.

Though the way his tail dragged across the ground certainly wasn’t.

“This way.” Greystripe said, “We may run into Leafpaw or Whitepaw on the way; last I saw them, they were foraging for herbs we could use.”

Squirrelpaw began to follow him, “Whitepaw? Are the apprentices helping the medicine cats?”

“Just for today. We want to make sure we’re prepared if we’re to stay here long.”

Squirrelpaw looked down. Hopefully that won’t be for that long.

“It’s good to see that you’re alright.” Greystripe said, his tone was warm, but there was deep sadness in his gaze. “Firestar sent out a patrol every day to look for you two.”

“He did?” Squirrelpaw felt silly that she was so surprised.

“Of course. He was restless most days.”

Squirrelpaw chewed on her cheek. “I’m sorry I made you all worry about me. If I’d known that something like this was coming to Thunderclan, I would have thought it through more.”

Greystripe shrugged gently, “How could you have known this was going to happen? No cat knew.” Greystripe’s eyes fixed on the floor again, his breathing becoming sluggish, like he was fighting some invisible menace. “You all did what you thought was right. Every noble Warrior would do the same.”

Squirrelpaw didn’t have the heart to take in his praise. She knew what lingered on the edge of his words. Who was occupying his thoughts.

She had never left Squirrelpaw’s thoughts either.

Squirrelpaw rubbed her pelt beside the deputy’s. “I’m sorry.” Squirrelpaw’s mew was soaked with tenderness. “I’m so sorry. She was an amazing Warrior.”

Now that her name occupied their conversation, neither tried to hide their grief anymore. Greystripe took a deep breath, quivering all the while. He clearly wanted to remain strong despite the searing pain he was in. Squirrelpaw patted his leg gently with her tail, letting him know he didn’t need to hide it from her.

“She was.” Greystripe lamented, rigidly rising his head with a cough. “And from what I was told by Stromfur, you and… Feathertail were quite close?”

Close.

Two opposite clan cats. Close.

Squirrelpaw knew she didn’t need to be scared of admitting that with Greystripe. “Yes, we were.” Squirrelpaw’s heart hurt as the images of her friend ran through her again. “Feathertail was the first cat I became friends with on the journey. Actually, I’d say she was the first cat everyone became friends with. She might have been the only one who stopped us from breaking apart from the start.”

Greystripe smiled like it hurt him to do so. “I would imagine that. She was always the tolerant one.” He swallowed again, “From what Stormfur told me, you would often always go hunting with her. You two must have been good friends.”

“She was one of my best friends.” Squirrelpaw murmured, fighting back the urge to cry. “When I started on the journey, I didn’t think that any cat would want me there. But Feathertail was always so kind to me, she would include me whenever she could.” Another of Feathertail’s good deeds came to light in Squirrelpaw’s mind. The urge to cry was harder to beat this time. “It was… actually because of her that I was able to become friends with some of the other cats.”

Greystripe’s tail laid on Squirrelpaw’s pelt. “Well, that’s because Feathertail knew when a cat could be trusted. Her judgement was always something I admired about her.” He breathed raggedly, “She was like her mother that way.”

Something began to give way then. Greystripe hesitated in his steps, and Squirrelpaw was horrified to see the tears in his eyes. Knowing Greystripe as the strong deputy she had idolised since she was young, seeing him crushed like this was terribly unnerving. But she was the same. Even now, she longed to see her friend again. She hated how the last image she’d had was the body she’d had to bury.

That wasn’t Feathertail.

“We’ll never forget her. Every cat on that journey knows how incredible she was.” She nudged Greystripe’s pelt with her cheek. “And we’ll make sure every cat knows that.”

Greystripe blinked a few times, “She probably wouldn’t want that.” His laughter sounded like the tears on his cheeks. “She was proud but she never acted like she was as brilliant as she was. I asked her several times if she wanted to join me in Thunderclan, but she never wanted to. She said that Riverclan was where her loyalty lied, and she could never abandon it.” Greystripe wiped his cheek with a frail paw. “She must have been right if she’d been chosen to guide them. So…” His voice broke off into a cold trail of breath.

But Squirrelpaw knew.

Greystripe wanted to know why? Why was it that Feathertail was the one who didn’t come home to her clan? What purpose did Feathertail’s death have in this grand journey?

Squirrelpaw had thought about it every single day since they’d left the cave.

Her answer stung.

“Feathertail saved us all.” Squirrelpaw said. She had to say it. “We all owe our journey to her.” Squirrelpaw found herself able to speak firmly. It was easy when she knew how right she was. “If it wasn’t for her, we’d all have died. The Clans will be able to survive because of her.” She knew what she said wouldn’t bring Greystripe his daughter back, but maybe it could help him know how proud he deserved to be.

The Deputy just walked silently along, his eyes welling despite how hard he tried to crease them away. Squirrelpaw didn’t look in case he was embarrassed, but she kept her tail on his flank. That way, neither were alone in their grief. They could miss Feathertail together, at least.

They walked together for a while, respecting each other’s thoughts with the silence, until Squirrelpaw began to hear voices growing louder in her ear. She looked ahead and saw a mound underneath a slump of Earth. It didn’t look very big. “That’s where we’re keeping the medicine den for now.” Greystripe explained, coughing again. He almost sounded like himself. “Cinderpelt and the apprentices should be in there.”

Squirrelpaw’s pelt quivered happily. Leafpaw was in there! “Thank you, Greystripe.” She purred, pressing tenderly against his leg again. She was just about to race over there when she heard her name called again.

“Squirrelpaw.”

“Yes?” She replied, ears perked for whatever her Deputy had to say.

Greystripe seemed to ponder whether to speak or not. He looked at the apprentice with an unspeakably warm glimmer. The first sign of life she’d seen since coming home. “I wanted to thank you.”

Squirrelpaw stiffened, “Thank me? For what?”

“I’m… I’m glad that you were there for Feathertail when she needed you. I’m happy that you two were friends.” He lowered his eyes, but his smile kept there, lost and found. “I’m happy you were there with her until the end.”

The moment was so strange. A terrible longing panged in the apprentice, a knowledge that neither would see the cat they’d cared for so much again, but to see Greystripe like that. To hear him talk like that, almost like her, it made Squirrelpaw’s head spin with bittersweet joy.

“Of course, Greystripe.” Squirrelpaw meowed, “I’ll never forget her. She’ll always be my friend.” On Greystripe’s soft look, Squirrelpaw was about to turn again.

“One more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Will you be going to the meeting tonight with the other leaders?”

Squirrelpaw tilted her head, “Yes, why?”

Greystripe softened, his face sadly trusting. “I was told by Stormfur that you and Feathertail were close with another cat. Crowpaw, I believe?”

Squirrelpaw’s smile faded, guilt and sickness full in her throat. “Um- I… Yes, that’s him.”

“Will you tell him thank you from me as well? I’m worried I won’t get the chance.”

Two empty eyes she loved. A farewell as cold as flint.

“Sure.” Squirrelpaw muttered aside.

“Thank you so much!” Greystripe meowed. “I won’t keep you anymore. See you later tonight.”

Squirrelpaw gulped as she nodded, watching the deputy slowly pad away. Her head was suddenly swimming in despising thoughts. She wet her lips, swallowed to damped her dry throat, but her head still throbbed.

She hated this – so much.

Suddenly, she found herself racing, like she’d never ran before to the ‘medicine den’. She needed to see her sister now! She needed something good! She couldn’t let herself be drowned by the sea of pictures of lost friends.

No matter how hard that was.

As she got closer, the familiar smell of herbs increased. But more importantly, the smell of her became strong, making Squirrelpaw pounce into the mound like it was an enemy den.

Instead of danger, she found her sister.

Squirrelpaw let out an immediate mrrow of delight as the pale brown molly became clear. She was currently sorting herbs by the wall of the cavern, but her attention was soon struck by the joyous cry. Leafpaw turned, her eyes wide, before her shocked face erupted into a loving beam.

“Squirrelpaw!”

“Leafpaw!” Squirrelpaw bounded over, rubbing against her sister with a dear purr. Feeling her sister’s fur, knowing she was there unhurt, made the apprentice’s heart soar. “I’m so happy you’re alright.”

“I’m alright?” Leafpaw meowed, “I should say the same about you!” She stepped back from the embrace. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Me and Brambeclaw found where we need to go! Firestar’s going to explain it later.”

“Go?” Another voice broke in. Squirrelpaw almost felt her heart stop when she heard it.

“Shrewpaw?”

The young tom was on his belly at the back of the cavern. Beside him, Whitepaw sat, clutching his front paw, rubbing herbs into the fur. Shrewpaw was wincing a little, but he still mangaged to shoot a smirk at the returned molly. “Oh, thank Starclan! I was worried you wouldn’t recognise me when you came back!”

Squirrelpaw felt something in her throat. It turned out to be a chuckle. Leafpaw only rolled her eyes. “Whitepaw, tell him he needs to keep still!”

“I already told him,” Whitepaw muttered, “It’s not my fault he’s a mouse-brain.”

“I can hear you, you know, Leafpaw!” Shrewpaw said, his tone high and cheerful, “It’s my paw that’s injured, not my ears.”

“Then you have no right to ignore simple instructions, do you?” Leafpaw hissed. She shook her head. “He’s such a pain.”

Squirrelpaw waved her tail, amused. “He’s known for that.” Her smile wiped off her face as she looked around. With the four apprentices in the cavern, it was already looking full. “Are there any other injuries?”

Leafpaw looked down, frantically sorting the herbs again. “Many. We’re having to deal with each cat one at a time. It won’t do any good to fill up the den like this. Cinderpelt just left with Spiderpaw to see if they can find any poppyseeds.”

“Spiderpaw’s okay as well?”

“If by okay, you mean physically?” Shrewpaw said with a twitch of his ears, “Then yes. If you mean that he’s not as good a company as a rat anymore, then no.”

“Shrewpaw!” Whitepaw spat, “Will you please keep still?”

The tom shrugged, “I make no promises.” He whipped his head back to Squirrelpaw. “Anyway what do you mean by ‘where we need to go’?” He asked, one brow arched. “Are we changing camps again?”

Whitepaw looked frightened by the suggestion. “Oh, Starclan, don’t say that. It was hard enough making this place into a camp.”

Squirrelpaw faced the white apprentice sympathetically. She could only guess how hard it had been for her friends. “I can’t say anything until Firestar decides what we’re doing.”

Whitepaw bit her lip, the vague answer offering no comfort.

“Mouse-dung!” Shrewpaw hissed, lying flat with a pout. “I hate waiting.”

“You don’t say.” Leafpaw muttered.

“Those stupid two-legs ruined everything! We were supposed to become Warriors soon, everything was meant to go perfectly!” Shrewpaw tensed and his eyes widened with a hiss of pain. “Ow! Why couldn’t they just stick to their own territory? We never did anything to them!”

Squirrelpaw watched him wince again as he moved his foreleg again. She understood how frustrating it was; no cat knew what was going on. “The clan will know soon enough.” She promised.

“So,” Leafpaw whispered into Squirrelpaw’s ear as Whitepaw began to scold her injured friend again. “Brambleclaw’s dream was true?” Her paws were buried in the herbs, as deep as the worry in her eyes.

Squirrelpaw licked Leafpaw’s ear. “Yes, but don’t worry,” She purred quietly, “We know what to do. The clan is going to be alright.”

“You really think so?”

“I know it.” Squirrelpaw asserted, she beamed at her sister, nuzzling her cheek. “Thanks for keeping it secret.”

Leafpaw let out a hum of a chuckle. “Of course! I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Squirrelpaw emitted a purr proportional to her size. “I know.”

“What are you two whispering about?”

Leafpaw growled, she actually growled, like smoke was gassing from an internal fire. “Never you mind!” She seethed.

“Shrewpaw, I swear, if you don’t keep quiet I’m going to stuff your mouth with cobwebs!” Whitepaw snarled, still dressing the tom’s leg.

Shrewpaw frowned, lying down again, “Ugh, why are mollies so touchy?” He yowled out again, twisting on Whitepaw with a glare, “Careful! That hurts!”

Underneath her scowl, Whitepaw smirked, “Ugh.” She mocked, “Why are tom’s so delicate?”

Squirrelpaw felt a strange glow over her as she took in her friends squabbling. Despite everything they’d been through, they still hadn’t lost their humour, or their will. They all kept their spirits!

Squirrelpaw felt a proud rise in her chest. Maybe we can make it through this okay. If the apprentices could stay like this, it couldn’t be so hard for the Warriors to keep strong. For once, Squirrelpaw felt a glimmer of hope.

She edged closer to her injured friend, sitting beside him. “So, what happened anyway?”

“He jumped into a thorn bush.” Leafpaw monotoned. They could hear the disgust on her face. “He’s lucky that only his forepaw was cut so badly.”

Squirrelpaw’e ears went up, amused, but beyond stupefied. “Why would you do that? Thorns don’t count as herbs, you know?”

Shrewpaw made a face at her, “Heh heh. For your information, I was going after a mouse. You don’t really have freedom to choose prey these days.”

“Actually,” Whitepaw added. With her white fur it was impossible to hide the faint blush. “It was my mouse. I was the one who tracked it.”

Shrewpaw lightly lifted his paw, “And clearly, I was the one who went for it.” He grinned at her, “You’re welcome.”

“I don’t remember thanking you for being a mouse-brain.”

“Yeah? Well, I remember you freezing in front of that bush when you were just a second from catching it! Somebody had to jump in, you’d chased it for ages!”

“I never asked you to jump in, you crazy tom! There were plenty of more mice around.”

“Yeah, well, it would have been stupid to waste it.” Shrewpaw let out a playful mrrow. “Besides, you looked so dejected when you thought the mouse had got away. I wouldn’t be a tom if I let a molly stay so sad.” He pouted his lips at her.

Whitepaw’s blush burned, “I did not!” She yowled. She did her best to look angry but Shrewpaw’s silly look had earnt a laugh out of her.

Shrewpaw lit up at her laugh, “Did so! It only makes sense for you to nurse me back to health!”

“Keep at it, you’ll be here much longer than you thought!”

“Oh, you’d love that wouldn’t you! More time with this handsome face!”

The two were both grinning now, on the verge of bursting out in laughter. Both were blushing clearly as well.

Something had clearly happened while Squirrelpaw had been gone.

She knew that from how her heart began to sting.

It was dumb. It was selfish. They were her friends, her life-long friends. But she couldn’t help it.

Seeing two apprentices like them, who could do whatever they wanted if they so chose…

Squirrelpaw couldn’t help but think it was unfair. Even though it wasn’t.

Wasn’t it?

But then again, maybe it wasn’t the sight of those two that bothered her. It was probably what she imagined in her mind. Laughing, smiling, like that with the tom she wanted to be with. The image was so clear in her mind. Her and him, like before. But he felt like she did. Embraced together. As if nothing was wrong. As if nothing was forbidden.

As if everything, everything, was going to get better.

But when she tried to mimic his wonderful smile, she blinked, and she was still in Thunderclan.

Those eyes were still far away.

Those eyes were still devoid of anything in her recent memories.

And she was still here, unable, not strong enough, to stop the hurt.

Leafpaw was always a great judge of character, especially when it came to Squirrelpaw. “Squirrelpaw, is everything okay?” The medicine cat apprentice asked, touching her sister gently.

It was silent briefly. Darkness was being shut away behind makeshift light in this makeshift den in this makeshift camp. For some, settling with what you could find, and forgetting what was better, was easier to do.

Squirrelpaw didn’t look at Leafpaw until she was sure some part of her resembled happiness. “Of course, I am!” Squirrelpaw pressed her cheek besides her sister’s, not breaking away. It scared her to think that Leafpaw might recognise the guilt on her face.

She hated lying to her sister.

...

#squirrelflight #squirrelpaw #crowfeather #crowpaw #crowsquirrel #squirrelcrow #brambleclaw #Bramblestar #I like your laugh #Warrior Cats #warriors fic #warriors au

54 notes · View notes

not-majestic-bluenicorn · 3 years

Text

Puzzle || Ink Prints JohnKun Chapter 2

Fandom(s): NCT (127 & WayV)

AU: Soulmates AU

Genre: Romance, Fluff

Relationship: Johnny x Kun

Language: English

Status: 5/5

Chapter WC: 2,548 words

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, Bruises (someone falls of a bike), Divorce.

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of alcohol

Summary:

Kun had spent the whole night second guessing himself, wondering if he had actually made the right choice of coming to Korea. All the certainty and security he had felt during dinner with his group had vanished as soon as he had been left alone with his thoughts.

AO3

<< Previous Chapter || Ink Prints Masterlist || Next Chapter >>

Tagged: @queen-of-himbos

Kun took notes of everything he was hearing, but his heart wasn’t really there. He had slept terribly the night before, and the bed had felt unfamiliar under his back. He had spent the whole night second guessing himself, wondering if he had actually made the right choice of coming to Korea. All the certainty and security he had felt during dinner with his group had vanished as soon as he had been left alone with his thoughts.

This conference was about the grading system. It was quite different to what he knew, so he was doing his best to take notes of everything. However, a quick look at his notebook revealed a mess of scribbles and smudges. So much for trying to copy the presenter’s every word. He sighed and closed the notebook. He would try to ask Handong for her notes later, as she seemed to be the most responsible one, and if that failed, then he would try to ask Johnny for the presentation.

He propped his head on one hand and watched the rest of the presentation without listening. His eyes burned with the lack of sleep, and he told himself that he would get a nap as soon as they got free time. It was a bit disappointing, though, because it seemed like he was just going to miss another day in Seoul due to his recklessness. Not that he wouldn’t have enough time to explore once he moved there with the start of the semester.

“And now, we’ll present the big event for the day!”

Kun perked up, recognizing the familiar voice. Johnny was standing at the front, holding something in his hands. He unfolded a little white flag with the Seoul National University’s crest and raised it over his head, so everyone could look at it properly. Kun put his hand down and paid close attention, he was very interested in those prizes Johnny had mentioned before. He was most definitely not the only one though, because even the students that had looked bored to death before were sitting on the edge of their seats.

“Yesterday, your peer mentors gave you a tour of the campus,” he explained. “We hid around a hundred of these flags around the central area of the campus. You have an hour to look for them. Once the hour is up, you’ll get prizes according to how many flags you got!”

Handong raised her hand in front of him.

“Is there a way to get hints? The central area is pretty big…” She asked as she put her hand down.

“There will be peer mentors all around,” Johnny smiled, putting the flag away in his pocket. “To get a hint, you must do something they tell you to do, simple as that. Any other questions?”

The room was silent. All the foreigner students looked at each other and tried to determine who represented a bigger threat. Kun caught Handong’s competitive glare and swallowed hard. He suddenly didn’t feel like getting those prizes was all that important.

“Well then-” Johnny checked his watch- “you can start now!”

The mentors accompanied all of them to the central area before distributing themselves and leaving them to their own devices. A whistle let them know they could begin. Kun observed as some of the other students ran full speed away from the ‘start line’ and began searching. He was far more hesitant. The sunlight made his head hurt since he had barely slept, so he covered his eyes with one hand and began searching.

He did want the prizes, but he was nowhere near as competitive as the rest. More than anything, he wanted to go back to his dorm to sleep and pretend he was not second guessing his decision of coming there. Still, he never half-assed anything, so he dirtied his hands as he searched among bushes and trees. At some point, he found Junhui sleeping beneath a tree. He at first thought it was a dead body, so he let out an unflattering scream before falling on his butt.

“You could have woken me up more gently,” Junhui muttered in their mother tongue after seeing who it was.

“Why are you sleeping here of all places?” Kun grumbled, letting out a huff.

“I gave up on the treasure hunt,” he closed his eyes again and put a hand on top of them.

“Huh,” Kun nodded. “Do you perhaps have any flags?”

“You’re too late, already gave them to Yanan,” Junhui smiled a little. Kun sighed.

“Unfortunate,” Kun shrugged and stood up. “I’m going back to searching.”

“Don’t hurt yourself, pretty boy,” Junhui nodded.

Kun left to continue searching. He made it to seven flags before giving up and sitting down on a bench. Kun closed his eyes and rubbed circles on them, gently, regretting all of the decisions that had brought him to that moment.

“Giving up already?” Kun opened his eyes to find Johnny sitting next to him.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I refuse to continue putting myself through this torture. It’s too hot.”

“Understandable,” Johnny nodded. “How many flags do you have?”

Kun pulled out the handful of fabric and counted the flags.

“If you get three more, you can get a coupon book for all sorts of meals.” Johnny grabbed the flags, folding them neatly and returning them to him. “There’s still plenty of flags out there.”

He looked at Johnny with a carefully blank expression. He was interested in the coupons, because he doubted he would have much time to cook for himself once the classes started. However, he also knew that Johnny was just trying to get him to do something. He sat straight and nodded. He could do three more flags and then get himself back to the dorms.

“What do you want me to do, Johnny-ssi?” Johnny clicked his tongue and gave him a reprobatory look.

“Hyung, I’m your hyung.” Johnny corrected him, and Kun nodded, a bit embarrassed.

“What do you want me to do, hyung?” Kun repeated the question, trying not to react at Johnny’s satisfied smile. It was kind of cute.

“Hmm,” Johnny seemed to consider it for a moment. “What do you think of ten push-ups?”

“I value myself more than those coupons.” Kun shook his head. There was no way he was doing ten push-ups in that weather.

“Okay, then why don’t you show me your talent?” Johnny chuckled, giving in easily.

Kun thought it over for a second before he began singing. It was a Chinese ballad, because he didn’t really know any songs in Korean well enough to sing them with confidence. He was far more confident in his cooking, but it was not like he could suddenly materialize a kitchen anyway. He sang without looking at Johnny, a bit embarrassed about having an audience. But once he was done, he looked up. Johnny was looking at him with his mouth open and stars in his eyes. He looked away.

“What major are you in?” There was unspoken praise in his voice, and it made him feel embarrassed.

“Business?” Kun’s voice sounded all wrong in his own ears.

“With that voice?” Johnny shook his head.

“I can always do a second major.” Kun shrugged, still unable to look at Johnny.

“There’s still a bunch of flags by the fountain,” Johnny replied instead. Kun turned to look at him and smiled brightly.

“Thanks hyung!”

Kun dropped the coupon book on top of his suitcase and plopped on his bed. He was exhausted, but at least he had found the flags where Johnny had told him. As soon as he had gathered the ten flags, he had sat down to wait for the hour to be over. He had stopped caring about the flags right after singing. He was so embarrassed, actually. Not of his singing, because he was quite confident in it, but of Johnny’s reaction.

The oldest had been so earnest in his reaction, which clashed with his lack of ability to take compliments. It had made him feel a little good, though. But it was still very embarrassing and he just wanted to hide under his blankets and pretend it hadn’t happened. He did as much, and soon enough he had fallen deeply asleep.

The constant vibrations of his cellphone woke him up a couple hours later. Kun groaned, patting around his bed until he found the damned device. Someone was calling him, but he couldn’t open his eyes enough to see who it was, so he simply answered and hoped it was not a scam call. Were scam calls common in South Korea?

“Hello?” His voice was groggy with sleep.

“Morning, sleeping beauty.” Kun had to hold back a groan when he heard Johnny’s voice at the other end of the line, simultaneously holding the urge to hide deeper into his sheets. He pulled the phone away to check the time.

“It’s almost ten.” He sat up on his bed and yawned. “And I’m not a princess.”

“Sorry,” Johnny chuckled, and Kun could perfectly visualize his smile in front of his face. “Would you like to come to a party?”

“A party?” Kun stepped off his bed and went to turn on the lights.

“I sent a bunch of messages on Kakao but the others already said they had plans and you weren’t replying,” Johnny explained as Kun put him on speaker and opened the chat. There were certainly a lot of messages there.

“So you decided to call me?” Kun raised an eyebrow, not understanding the connection.

“You slept the afternoon away, I’m worried you’re missing out on city life.”

“Are you supposed to do this as a peer mentor?” Kun still didn’t think that was related to anything.

“If not, then I’m doing it as a friend,” Johnny cleared his throat.

“Oh,” Kun was genuinely surprised. A pleasant warm settled on his stomach.

“Will you come?” Johnny asked again. Kun nodded, although it was mostly to himself, since the other couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

The taxi dropped him in front of a house. He could feel the thrumming of the music as he walked closer to the door. It made him a little nervous to be in a party full of strangers. On the door, there was a sign telling him to go to the back and enter through the backyard. The house was pretty big, and Kun figured this person probably had money, which only made him more nervous.

There were a lot of people at the party. Before he could even retreat, one of the seniors spotted him and pulled him inside by the arm. He was suddenly well aware of the hoodie and jeans combo he was wearing, because he hadn’t even thought of changing before leaving the dorms. It didn’t take long to find Johnny, who was towering over almost everyone else there.

“You did come!” Johnny exclaimed, smiling openly at him. Kun nodded, a bit embarrassed.

“You asked me to,” Kun shrugged, “as a friend.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to specify that, but he did anyway. Johnny nodded and someone else pushed a glass into his hand.

“Don’t drink that if you don’t want to have a hangover tomorrow,” Johnny scrunched his nose. “Jeonghan really likes drinking heavily.”

“Oh, okay.” Kun left the cup on the first table he found, and then followed Johnny around the backyard.

“These are all people from the university, most are from my year though, sorry for that.” Johnny smiled sheepishly, taking a sip from his own glass.

“It’s okay,” Kun shrugged it off. “It’s better if I get to know people before the semester starts anyway.”

“You’re sounding like a businessman already,” Johnny teased. “Relax a little.”

“Still clung to my career choice?” Kun frowned, crossing his arms.

“Sorry, sorry,” Johnny raised his arms in defeat. “I just really think your singing voice is really pretty.”

“Thank you,” Kun said a little begrudgingly, convincing himself that the blush on his face was out of annoyance and not embarrassment.

“Ah, here, meet the host of the party.” Johnny guided him towards a group of people that were standing close to the sliding doors that went into the house. A man in the center of it was waving at them.

“Youngho! Who’s your friend?” The cheerful man asked, putting his glass aside and approaching them.

“This is Kun, my… protegee?” Johnny looked at Kun, who was frowning at him. “I was assigned as his mentor.” He explained.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jeonghan!” He put a hand forward and Kun took it. “Feel free to take anything you need. Bathroom is inside, first door to the right.”

“Is this your house?” Kun looked around. “It’s really… big.” Johnny snickered next to him, and Jeonghan laughed too.

“It’s my family’s house, yeah.” Jeonghan smiled. “I’m in the same year as Johnny, and I’m a business major.”

“Really?” Kun opened his eyes wide. Jeonghan was not what he had expected other business majors to be like. Johnny smiled knowingly next to him, and Kun kind of wished he wasn’t looking at him while smiling like that. “I am too.”

“Nice!” Jeonghan grinned widely and wrapped an arm around Kun, who immediately looked at Johnny for help. “Feel free to ask for help if you need it!”

“Jeonghan, please.” Johnny laughed. “Let the poor man go, you just met him.”

“My bad.” Jeonghan snatched his arms away. “I might be a little bit drunk.”

“It’s okay.” Kun shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, though, I’ll make sure to ask if I need help.”

“I’ll return to my soulmate before he gets whiny,” Jeonghan smiled, “enjoy the party! Oh, and Jisoo is by the pool!”

Jeonghan went back to the circle of his friends. Kun observed with curiosity as another, slightly taller man wrapped his arms around Jeonghan’s waist and made an upset face. Jeonghan laughed and patted him on the back, convincing him to let go of him. Kun thought it must have been nice to have already met your soulmate. He sighed and followed Johnny to the pool.

“Who is Jisoo?” Kun asked, a bit curious as to why Jeonghan would have mentioned him.

“Oh, that’s Jeonghan’s boyfriend,” Johnny explained, “he is also from the US, although he’s lived here longer. But he was part of the committee for foreign students and we became good friends.”

“If he’s Jeonghan’s boyfriend, then what about the man over there with Jeonghan?” Kun asked, visibly scandalized.

“Oh, that’s Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Jisoo’s soulmate.” Johnny’s smile grew as did the confusion in Kun’s face. “Ask them about it later, I’m sure they’ll love to tell you the story.”

They had already arrived at the pool. There were some people in there playing volleyball. Kun looked at them without paying attention, thinking of what Johnny had told him about Jeonghan, Jisoo and Seungcheol. He turned around to ask Johnny a question but his stomach dropped as he lost his footing and fell backwards. He saw in slow motion how Johnny reached to stop his fall, grabbing his hands. Right before the two of them fell into the water, he managed to see a red panda jumping onto the Clydesdale’s back.

#kwritersworldnet #kdiarynet #nct #nct 127 #way v #nct fic #nct fanfic #nct fanfiction #soulmates au #kpop #kpop fanfic #kpop fic #kpop fanfiction #nct johnny #nct kun #nct 127 johnny #way v kun #ink prints #bluenicorn writes

8 notes · View notes

masked-buffoon · 3 years

Text

Chapter 12: Curtain call (Part 5)

Warnings: violence, death

Author notes: although it may seem like it... It is not the end yet...! There are some things that still need to be done... I’ll let you guess what, and do comment about your thoughts!

I sighed and dropped the empty weapon to the ground. The fight was over, but there was still no trace of Taikin-san nor his son. I ran a hand through my hair and groaned. It was sticky, and I had blood all over my clothes and face. For my last day as a killer, this sure was a massacre… I crouched down next to the corpses and searched them. I wanted an average gun or two, they suited my skills more than submachine guns and were usually more discreet. Nothing. I pouted and let myself slide down, suddenly feeling exhausted. I had fought so many people, following the information the Fox had given me. He would not dare lie to me… Would he…? No, it was impossible, but it seemed my opponents had foreseen my moves. Why, I had been predictable, after all, and had attacked without even a strategy, blinded by anger. I had to calm down and think. Think… Thoughts. My mind was not empty, someone was still around. Although the painful thumping in my head made it hard to distinguish exactly what was being thought, I could still locate the person. I explored the warehouse. It was a single large room, so the only place where someone could be hiding was the containers.

In the back, placed in the middle of other boxes, there was a large one, made of a different material from the others. I placed my hand on it and knocked slightly. It was bulletproof. My eyes were drawn towards the lock closing it. It required a digital code I did not own, and, without guns, I could not even shoot it open. Even with guns, I would have taken the risk to damage it, anyway. Suddenly, my phone rang, again. A different number, but the person had to be the same.

"The code is 1231."

I had given up on determining who the mysterious sender was and simply entered the pin to unlock the container. It worked. The heavy door opened to reveal none other than a crying Sakunosuke-kun, who threw himself in my arms as soon as he saw me, despite all the blood I was covered in. I cracked a smile, and hugged him back, relieved to see him alive.

"Nē-san!" He cried, clinging onto me "Nē-san…!"

"I'm here, Sakunosuke-kun…" I patted his head as gently as possible "It's all over now… Let's get out of here, alright?"

He nodded and I picked him up in my arms. In spite of the danger we could face if I could not fight back, considering how my hands were taken, I judged that child needed warmth more at the moment. The boy nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck as I walked us towards the exit.

A gunshot echoed in the warehouse, and I barely had time to crouch down to dodge it. In the direction of the attack, a single man was standing. He had surely been hiding all this time, and I had not noticed him, too absorbed by my fight. I smirked and put the kid down.

"I'll be back… Scream if anything happens." I told him before turning my attention to the man "I was looking for you everywhere…! I thought you had been killed, Taikin-san…~"

"Too bad, I'm still alive. For a detective serving justice, you really don't hesitate to spill blood…!" He replied with the same tone.

"What are you saying, 'too bad…?" I snorted "I'll have the pleasure of killing you, now…! You disgusting criminal…"

"Then come…! I'm waiting for you!" He invited me over.

I raised an eyebrow.

"You saw what I did… Do you truly think you stand a chance against me?"

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponent… I am a member of a shooting club…!"

"Is that so…? Interesting…"

I crouched down to avoid his next bullet, then sneaked between the containers and made my way towards him while using my surroundings to protect myself against his shots. I had him in my field of view, and he was surely aware that I was there, too. I reached for my guns, but my holsters were empty; I had thrown the useless weapons away, earlier.

"Hoh~? You dare come unprepared?" He chuckled.

My phone vibrated.

"Where are you looking at~?"

Once again, I dodged his attack, and jumped on him to pin him to the ground. It was not enough to neutralise him, however, and he pointed his gun on my forehead. I was utterly defeated...

"I think you lost, this time, detective." He snickered "Meddling in my business…"

"Before you kill me, Taikin-san…" I said "I am curious…"

"I suppose I could answer your question before I kill you, after all… What do you want to know?"

"... How much did you underestimate the Agency to hire us, thinking we would never find out about your schemes…?"

"Huh?"

From a pocket of my jacket, I pulled out a knife and sliced his hand from his arm, before planting the blade into his neck, right into his carotid artery. His last expression was one of pure shock, but I did not mind too much. I left his corpse there and went back to his son, now an orphan. He was sobbing because his loving father had died, but I could hear he was aware of the horrors he had committed. I hoped he would never come to know about his deceased brother… He had never gotten to grow up with him, there was no need to ever tell him about that child…

"It really is over now…" I smiled at him, wiping his tears away with my thumb "Let's get you back to your mother now…"

"Mmh…"

Outside, the sun was falling towards the sea, painting the sky in beautiful crimson shades. Sakunosuke-kun had fallen asleep… The seagulls cried right above our heads, welcoming us out of that morbid place. The case was over… My existence as a criminal was over, but so were my hopes to enter the Agency. I had killed the culprit instead of giving him a fair trial, that was enough to seal my fate. But whatever would happen, I would not kill anymore.

A silhouette was leaning against the wall, visibly waiting for me. I grinned at the person.

"I knew it was you."

"I'm not going to charge you for the extra information I provided you during that… Mess." The Fox crossed his arms "Although you did cost me three burner phones and my sanity… Do you know how hard it was to hide from those guys? They are such brutes…!"

"Why, it wasn't that difficult, seeing how you skillfully hid that knife in my jacket while I was resting, at your place." I conceded.

"I really could have killed you then, right?"

"How would I have known which pocket the knife was in if I wasn't already aware…?" I asked smugly.

"Raaah you…!" He whined "Let me tell you, you're annoying, the worst client I've ever had…!"

"Fox…"

"You're never satisfied and always act so condescending…!" He pointed a wagging finger at me.

"Hey, Fox…"

"It's not my fault you're more witted than me…! Next time, get your information by yourself…!" He exclaimed.

"Fox!"

"What now…?!"

"Thank you." I smiled at him.

"You — Wait, what…?"

"Thank you." I repeated "Without you, I wouldn't have been able to win."

It was impossible to suppress an entire organisation alone, but I had not been by myself. In the shadows, that genius informer had been assisting me. And I was most grateful to him.

"W-Well, you're welcome…" He mumbled "Just did my job… Besides…"

He sighed heavily.

"I received a message from my mentor… He told me to help you whenever you needed, even for free…! I couldn't refuse…"

"Your mentor…?" I blinked.

"I inherited his casino when he stopped his activities. But I can't tell you his name…"

I could not help the laugh which escaped my throat, a real, sincerely amused one, which managed to bring tears to my eyes. I had been outdone, this time…!

"It's Uemura-san, isn't it?" I asked, trying to calm down.

"What…? How did you know even that…!"

"He was an informer for the Port Mafia, after all…" I recalled "And I had gone to him before asking for your services."

"So you didn't even think about me first…?! I'm upset…" He pouted.

"But I truly do not regret working with you." I admitted "You even surpass him, now…"

"So… That means I'll have to assist you more, from now on…?" He grimaced.

"Unfortunately, I didn't keep my words to Uemura-san… I am unable to join the Agency with… That." I showed him the scene "So it's the first and last time…"

"That's too bad…" He muttered "You're an interesting person…"

"I thought I was the worst customer?" He smirked.

"Customer…! But as a… Collaborator, you're not that bad…"

"I'll take that compliment~"

We left each other respectfully and I watched as he walked back to the shadows. As to me… What could I do, now that I had failed the entrance test…? I hoped that, at least, Dazai will keep giving me sleep… What if he refused to see me because I had failed his expectations…? I did not want to think about it and simply carried the boy to the Armed Detective Agency, where they would be able to take care of him.

I gently put him in front of the door and knocked so someone would find him. There was nothing more I could do for that family… The moment I turned around to leave the building, someone called my name.

"Ogawa."

I was embarrassed — no, even worse, I was ashamed. That person had trusted me despite our differences… I did not want to turn around and show him how tainted I truly was, both physically and emotionally. I stayed stunned in the middle of the corridor.

"Are you really going to leave him there? Won't you take him to his mother?" Kuninida asked me.

"... I cannot…" I murmured.

"You know, there is a stain on your pants…" He noted.

My cheeks heated up violently, and I wanted to bury myself in a hole. If only I had left earlier, instead of staring at the peaceful boy's face… I clenched my fists.

"Is that so…?" I did my best so my voice would not sound cracked.

"Well…" I heard him grumble "It's normal, after all… It was such a mess in that warehouse. It's a miracle that the boy survived whereas that shooting occurred. All of that for drugs, can you believe it?"

I glanced over my shoulder slightly.

"What… What did you say…?"

"The group working for Taikin-san suddenly got greedy and wanted to get the drugs for themselves, which resulted in a fight. I thought you knew?" He explained.

I decided, finally, that I would face him. Upon seeing the blood on my clothes, his eyebrows did not even twitch. He was aware of my deeds, and yet… Was it not odd, coming from him…? He had always obsessively respected his ideals. I had killed people while working for the Armed Detective Agency… He could not possibly be covering for me nor accepting my actions…?

"W-Well… I'm not sure…"

"This is the official version, what we will say to Yumiko-san, what the people will know. You were… Outstandingly discreet, I must say…" He readjusted his glasses "There were some losses, and I have a lot to blame you for, but all in all… You kind of… Did a good job. That's the least I can say."

"Kunikida…" My facade of confidence shattered "Thank you… I… I am so sorry… I killed our culprit… I went against the law and your moral… I don't deserve… I don't deserve your words…"

"Why, that's for sure…!" He huffed "While you were away, we found and arrested the bomber, and you know what happened? A man came and stopped us…! He said we had no right to take him away, since a detective had made a deal with him to pay for information…! You ought to explain that, Ogawa…!"

"Where to begin…?" I managed to smile, wiping my tears away "I had no more money…"

"All of that to get us a forged warrant…" He sighed "But thanks to that, we could solve the case… As we're talking, Dazai is arresting Nozaki the Grand for cooperating in Taikin-san's schemes. Once Yumiko-san is freed from hypnosis, she will recover, then will be able to raise Sakunosuke-kun."

"... What about the maid who wanted to sue me…?"

"She will most certainly give up when her teacher gives her name to the police." He shrugged "There is no need to worry about her."

"So it's all over…?"

"All over. Thanks to you, detective." He smiled at me.

"I… What…? Why…?"

"In fact, it is still too soon to call you that but… I gave the director my approval for you to join us. I thought you had to know…"

"But… I brought nothing but troubles… I used illegal means to investigate, let a bomber go, eliminated our culprit… Truly, I didn't do a single right thing…!"

"You did." Kunikida assured me "You dedicated yourself to the case, because you truly wanted to protect the kids… Even if you partly failed… What matters is that you worked with these people's best interests in mind. And it suits the Agency's requirements to enter it."

"I… I was aware it was a test of some sort…" I confessed "It wasn't out of pure… You know… Out of good will…"

"Dazai told me you were aware and I took it into account, don't worry about that. There is always an entrance exam for our new members, to test their values and whether they are able to bear the title of detective. And I, the jury, decided that you passed." He told me.

I knew better than questioning his judgement. He who was so righteous had accepted me in the Agency, as a member… It was not a sweet lie, coming from him… These were words I could trust, and words I wanted to live up to. They made me proud of my person, for the first time in my life, and I wanted to cherish them. From that moment on, I would become a detective, and I would become a better human.

#bsd #bsd fanfic #bsd oc #bsd imagines #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs oc #bungou stray dogs fanfic #Dazai Osamu #kunikida doppo #bsd dazai

5 notes · View notes

talpup · 4 years

Text

Light In the Darkness:69

Summary: Yami Sukehiro just wanted to join the Magic Knights and make his mentor proud. He knew there would be trails. He knew trouble would come his way. Knew he would be faced with discrimination for being a foreigner and a peasant. What he didn’t know. Didn’t expect. Was that literal Chaos would come his way. That he and his mentor’s sister would be at the center of world ending trouble. Or that he would fall in love with his mentor’s sister and face more than discrimination; but the jealously of Nozel Silva who loved the same woman he did.

Please remember this fic is rated mature and has warnings of violence, abuse, sexual tension, eventual sexual behavior, and other possible triggers. For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

NOTES: No one mentioned any need for markers to avoid the assault scene with the intention of sexual assault and rape. So that made it easy to format to html for ao3.

***Also I'm seriously considering participating in No Content November. While I have some super amazing regular and occasional commenters for this fic, it's really disheartening to see yet another fellow writer friend give up posting for lack of feedback. Yes we write for ourselves. And I'm sure that friend won't stop writing. But we post to interact with readers and fellow manga/anime fans. Just because the content the you read is free doesn't mean it didn't cost the author time and effort to write it. We're not machines. We have lives and feelings.

Readers pay for content with enthusiasm, feedback, questions, a simple thank you, or smash of the keyboard. PLEASE interact with your content creators! You have no idea what hearing from you means to us.

Anyway, I have a couple more weeks to decide though I'm leaning to yes. Not just to support my fellow writer friends, but because the feedback on some of my BNHA fics is less than 1% hits to comments and I'm seriously considering a full stop on posting those. Not only will this break give me a chance to decide if I want to continue or stop posting my BNHA stuff but it will also give me a chance to get further ahead on writing this fic as I really do like the large buffer I have between the chapter I'm posting and what I have finished.***

Chapter 69

Teris paused and looked in the direction that Jax, Gendry, and Quince had set off in at first light. The three had continued to travel with them two days after Jamie and his team had splintered off. They had entered the Diamond Kingdom a week ago. And by Zara’s reckoning they were three to four days out from Morris’ seat of power. Teris just hoped that the Wizard King was right. That their getting there was really going to end this mess. Otherwise it was going to get ugly fast.

Though they had a hard go. Setting a pace each day that left them exhausted and dreading the morning. Teris knew they were the lucky ones, with thus far the much easier task. She worried about Yami, Julius, and her friends. She worried about all the Magic Knights. Nozel, she, and the rest were so close to achieving their goal. If they failed now all the others efforts to the southeast and southwest would be for not. No doubt there were horrible injuries, if not a few deaths by now. Teris shook her head. No. She couldn’t allow herself to think on such things. Not here and now. She’d go mad with it all, wondering how Yami, Julius, and the others she held dear were doing.

At least Teris knew Yami was still alive. She turned back to the southeast. Even from such a great distance she could clearly sense his mana. It was as if in place of them being able to trust letting their mana feed off each others they had been left with the ability sense the others mana no matter the distance. It was probably because their mana was so turbulent that she could sense his from so afar.

While Teris had mourned the lost of their ability to boost each others mana; preferring it over this ability to sense Yami’s mana no matter the distance. She now found herself grateful for it. She may not know exactly what state Yami was in. But she knew he was alive. That she would see him again. And be able to hold him and feel his arms around her.

Reaching the point Teris had descended to, Nozel came beside her. Wordlessly, he held out a water skin.

Teris shook her head.

“Drink. You need to stay hydrated.” Nozel told.

Teris wasn’t sure it was an order; but she pretended it was and took the skin. She drank deeply, not having realized how thirsty she was. Cold as the nights were. The days were baking and brutal. It was late September. How was it still so hot?

Satisfied by Teris’ drinking, Nozel nodded slightly and surveyed the landscape below. “Zara’s map showed a creek on the other side of that hill.”

“If I never see another rocky hill again I’d be happy.” Teris muttered.

Nozel smirked, dryly. “You and me both. This would be so much quicker and easier if we could use our magic.”

Teris looked at him hopefully. “Can we? Please!”

Nozel shook his head.

“You’re the Captain.” She argued.

Nozel huffed. That had been the first playful comment she had made toward him since the incident with Jamie on the cliff.

“Even Captain's have orders to obey.” Nozel reminded.

“Fine.” Teris sighed, handing him back the water skin.

From the corner of her eye Teris watched Nozel take a drink without first cleaning the spigot as he did when forced to share with anyone else. So he still liked her, she thought sadly. She had hoped all that would have changed after the dreadful encounter with the kiss. Or after he had seen how well Yami and she got on after having been together for nearly ten months. Teris blinked at that, realizing just how long Yami and she had been together.

“You alright?” Nozel asked, seeing her expression change.

Teris blinked again, shooing away her thoughts. “Yeah. Fine.”

“You sure?” Nozel pressed.

The acting Captain glanced at her unbuttoned blouse, faint scarring still visible on the flat of her chest. He didn’t doubt that Teris was at full strength. They wouldn’t have allowed her be out here if she wasn’t. Nevertheless, Nozel couldn’t help but worry about her. Concerned over the quick pace he was having them travel. He wondered about Teris’ thoughts and emotional state too. Being back in the field after what she had been through on the Summer Solstice.

Teris tapped down her annoyance at his obvious concern and gave him an overly sweet smile. “Yes, Captain. I’m sure.”

Nozel looked her over realizing he had once again pressed the boundaries of proper Captaincy and strayed into being a friend and Intended. His lips twitched, angry at his failing.

His tempter bled into his words as he said, more harshly then intended. “Then get going. We still have a long way to travel before we reach the proposed camp.”

Teris did as he said, wondering what would happen if it got too dark before they reached the predetermined locations. Without Jax or Jamie it would completely be on Nozel to decide. Knowing Nozel, he’d likely make them press on unless the way, weather, or lack of celestial light made progress too treacherous.

They reached the bottom of the hill, Fuegoleon and Zara waiting between the one they had just descended and the one yet to be climbed.

“What’s the hold up?” Nozel asked, stepping beside his Vice Captain.

“I swore I saw something.” Fuegoleon said, eyes searching the barren landscape.

Nozel knew better than to suggest an animal. Fuegoleon could at times be overly cautious; but he wouldn’t delay their progress if he didn’t feel real concern.

“Where’s Randall?” Teris asked, her eyes and Nozel’s joining Fuegoleon’s and Zara’s in looking for sign of movement.

“I sent him to scout on ahead.” Fuegoleon answered.

“Using his air magic?” Nozel questioned.

Fuegoleon nodded and apologized. “Sorry Captain. I know we were instructed not--”

“No.” Nozel cut off his Vice Captain’s words. “If you saw something. It’s best we know quickly and without calling further attention to ourselves stumbling about.”

Fuegoleon relaxed a bit at Nozel understanding.

“Is it possible that these are some of the men you use to run ore with?” Teris questioned Zara, eyes still searching for color or movement.

Zara shook his head. “None that I worked with. It’s the rainy season further north. Soon after the ground will freeze over. These are the few months we spent at home. There were others though. Those not working--” He cleared his throat knowing better then to admit that the Clover Kingdom employed people to bring ore from the north through the Diamond Kingdom. “During this time they switched from smuggling ore to other things.”

“Such as?” Nozel question.

“Anything profitable really.” Zara answered. “Many did that sort of thing all year if they had a gang skilled enough and willing to take the risks it brought.”

“Name a few of these other so called profitable things.” Nozel commanded, blue eyes narrowing as they surveyed the surrounding hills. They were in the worst possible location. Sandwiched between two hillsides with not even a boulder or scrub bush as cover.

Zara shrugged. “Food. Magical items. Labor.”

“People?” Fuegoleon questioned, making sure he understood correctly.

Zara nodded.

Nozel sneered. “Slave traders.”

Zara blinked thinking he had already warned his Captain and team of this. “Did I not mention--”

“Shut up.” Nozel commanded Zara, readying his magic as he watched and waited.

Teris glanced from Nozel to Zara and back. “This isn’t his--”

“Not now.” Nozel softly barked.

They heard small rocks being disturbed.

“Where’s Randall?” Fuegoleon asked, more to himself. He silently cursed. Had he just sent his friend to his death?

Randall appeared at the top of the hill. Fuegoleon released the breath he’d been holding.

Nozel knew better than to relax. Something wasn’t right. That’s when someone else appeared beside Randall. Tendrils of mercury formed around Nozel, ready to fight.

Fire blossomed from Fuegoleon’s hands.

“I can get to him.” Teris said, fairly certain she could control her light travel enough not to permanently blind Randall.

Nozel knew what she meant. Even if light travel didn’t take so much out of her, they still didn’t know the situation well enough. Even if it was anyone other than Teris, he still wouldn’t have allowed it.

“No.” Nozel told her.

Teris’ hand glowed as she aimed at Randall’s captor.

“Not unless he makes a move or I give the word.” Nozel told his team.

“Magic Knights.” Another voice called from behind them.

Nozel cursed. He and Teris spun around while Fuegoleon and Zara kept watch on Randall and his captor.

“Stand down. You’re surrounded. And so heavily out numbered that I almost feel sorry for you.” The voice said.

Fuegoleon glanced at Nozel. He didn’t want to give up yet; but would follow his Captain's lead.

Nozel waited, calculating what to do. He could rain down mercury; but if there were foes on both hills it wouldn’t be a dense shower. If the man was telling the truth about his numbers, without knowing where they were hiding, Nozel could miss a large portion of them. Even if the man was lying and Nozel was able to take most of them out; not knowing where they were and the wide dispersion of rain would likely leave many still able to move or attack. His mercury rain was dense and capable of poisoning. But if injury was only a small open wound it would take time for the effects for poisoning to incapacitate.

“Watch Randall and the one that has him.” Nozel ordered Fuegoleon. “Teris. Zara. Be ready for my word.”

Zara turned his focus back to the hill they had just come down. Teris switched her aim to the man that had spoken to them.

The man wasn’t standing too far from where Nozel and Teris had stopped and talked. Nozel remembered a gouge in the rocky hill face not far from that area, big enough to hide six or eight. He wondered how many such chasms scarred the hill; no longer thinking them natural, but created by these people for this very reason.

“Your bravery will get you and your people killed. Killing you will mean me and mine don’t get paid. Those who serve the Beast must always be paid.” The man said, referring to himself in the third person.

“Then let us continue on our way. We’d rather die than surrender to the likes of you.” Nozel said.

Beast gave a humored smile. “The likes of me? Now you’ve gone and hurt my feelings Magic Knight. You don’t even know me. Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll show you what you’re up against. Just how futile fighting is. Half of you stand.”

Nozel’s eyes widened at the force before him. Even if the man was blustering and this was all of his force; it was still a good sixty to seventy people.

“Stand down.” Nozel told the others.

Facing thirty plus on the hill Randall was on, Fuegoleon did as his Captain told. Zara followed suit.

“We can take them.” Teris said.

Fuegoleon glanced at her, angry that she was once again challenging their Captain. That’s when he saw the numbers on the hill Nozel, she, and Zara were facing.

“Stand down, Teris.” Fuegoleon told.

His voice made her turn. Seeing the numbers on her cousins side, Teris lowered her hand, the glow of light fading.

“That’s so unfair it’s not even funny.” Teris ground out in complaint about the near hundred scattered about on the two hills.

“We’ll get out of this.” Nozel swore to them, softly. “We just have to survive to be able to do so.” He turned back to Beast and called. “Well?”

“All your people.” Beast said.

Nozel’s brow furrowed. His eyes darted over to Teris, Fuegoleon, and Zara making sure they all had obeyed his command. He glanced back at Randall who still stood captive at the top of the hill.

“This is all my people.” Nozel said.

The Beast pointed. “Don’t lie to me! You think having them travel hidden and separate will keep them safe?”

“There is no one else.” Nozel told, wondering what kind of game the man was playing at. Maybe he had some kind of vendetta against Magic Knights and simply wanted a reason to kill them? But why then give them the option of standing down?

Thirty meters away an Invisibility Mage muttered. “This isn’t good.”

The Gravity Mage with her suggested. “Make Teris invisible and I’ll make her float up out of harms way. She’s the one that matters. We can just let the others die.”

“We’re tasked to protect her. What you’re suggesting would put her in danger.” The Invisibility Mage whispered back, harshly.

“In more danger than she’s already in?” The Gravity Mage retorted.

“No one’s attacking right now. If we do as you suggest they will be. Can you guarantee that she won’t get hit in the crossfire and killed?” The Invisibility Mage questioned

“This is a mess.” The Gravity Mage rumbled.

“I told you not to hover so close, Daryin.”

“So this is my fault?” Daryin asked.

“In a way, yes. If we hadn’t followed so close they might not know we were here.”

“But Teris would still be captured, Gwen.”

“But we’d still be free to watch over and protect her, unnoticed and unchallenged. I’m making us visible.”

“What! Gwen! No!”

All eyes turned to the two newly appeared mages.

“That’s better.” Beast smiled.

Beast, along with several others, jumped; his Air Mage depositing them safely before the Magic Knights. Others lept and landed around their other two prey.

Beast grabbed Nozel by the throat and lifted him up. “You’ll pay for lying to me, Magic Knight.”

Teris made for him. “Stop it!”

Fuegoleon reached to stop her; but was too slow. Beast released Nozel, who crumpled to the ground coughing and sucking in lungfuls of air. Beast grabbed Teris by the arm, pulling her to him.

Teris knew she wasn’t strong enough to pull away. Instead she allowed her feet to follow the direction she was yanked, using the added momentum. Her knee rose and smashed Beasts in the groin with all the power she could physically muster. Only her knee hit something hard and solid that made her jerk and wince in pain.

Teris wobbled on her still good leg, held up by her arm by Beast.

With a huff, Beast smirked down at her. “Think you’re the first wild one to try such a thing? I learned long ago to protect my favorite weapon against women such as you.” He leered over her, getting in her face. “In fact I may just use that weapon on you later. Take a sample to better know the worth of what I’m selling.”

“Leave her alone!” Nozel pushed to his feet, only to be kicked back down by one of Beast’s men.

Fuegoleon and Zara stepped toward Beast, only to be halted when the man standing over Nozel kicked him for every step they took.

Teris spat at the Beast. “I’d kill myself before I let you near me. You think you’re the worst I’ve faced?”

Beast hooted. “You are a feisty one! Aren’t you! I like that!” He got back in her face. “I may just keep you and break you myself.”

With great effort Fuegoleon kept his temper. Seeking to inform and divert the mans attention away from Teris, he said. “They’re not with us.”

Beast looked over at him. He pushed Teris roughly away and stepped toward Fuegoleon.

Nozel barely caught Teris before her head hit a gagged rock.

“What’s that?” Beast asked.

Fuegoleon looked up at Beast refusing to be intimated. The name, though not creative, suited the man. Beast had to be nearly seven feet tall. He was built like a mountain, his muscles seeming to have muscles. Though Fuegoleon had seen a number of men who were bigger than Tobin Giantsbane and Yami Sukehiro, he had never seen a person that made the two Black Bulls seem small. Till now.

“I said, they are not with us.” Fuegoleon repeated, wondering who the two were and how long they had been secretly following them. His first thought upon seeing them was that they were Magic Warriors or some sort of spy's working for the Diamond Kingdom. But that didn’t seem right. “If you look, you’ll see they’re not wearing Magic Knights cloaks. I know you think they were traveling hidden and separate to keep them safe. But, we didn’t know they were there.”

Beast looked back between the two groups and laughed. “And here I thought the Clover Kingdoms Magic Knights were suppose to be elite mages. You got caught in our trap and were being followed by those two and didn’t see any of it coming!”

Beast roared with amusement, his people following suit. Their mocking laughter echoed off the hills. Teris looked spitefully up at them. If only she could control her magic well enough to incinerate them all without turning her comrades to ash. She had done it at the Battle at the Border and on three other occasions; but that had been before the Summer Solstice. Before her mana had been churned into a raging, never ending whirlwind that she had to keep tightly harnessed at all times. It left her feeling angry and ashamed that she couldn’t protect her squad members and friends, and get them out of this.

“Don’t feel so down on yourself Magic Knights. I can’t speak for your stalkers over there, but us... No one, no matter how good, would’ve seen the trap we laid.” Beast said. “We’ve got this gig down. Still, we’ve never once caught us a group Magic Knights. There’s going to be a bidding war for the lot of you. Get ready for the best payday you’ve ever seen boys and girls!”

The surrounding gang of mages cheered.

Nozel gripped Teris’ arm as he surveyed the surrounding enemy. He was Captain. This was on him. Anything that happened to them was his doing.

“You don’t do anything unless I say.” He whispered to Teris.

Teris’ eyes turned to him. “What if--”

“That’s an order.” Nozel rasped, harshly.

After the attention Teris had already drawn to herself, Nozel wasn’t about to let her attempt something that would further these people’s attention and aggression toward her. As much as the thought angered and disgusted him, Teris was in the most danger here. Men like this didn’t respect a ladies honor. Their Leader had already threatened as much.

Nozel would never allow such a thing to happen. He was sure Fuegoleon, Randall, and Zara felt the same. They’d fight to the death before they’d let something like that happen to Teris. Just the thought that someone had dared to threaten her with such a thing filled him with such rage that his hands clenched.

“Nozel.” Teris winced.

He looked at her then followed her gaze. His bruised throat throbbed even more as he struggled to swallow a swell of new emotions. He quickly opened his hand, releasing her arm to find a red print marring her skin where he had held her. “I’m--”

“Button up.” Fuegoleon whispered, lips barely moving as Beast stepped over to survey the two that had been following them.

Fuegoleon trusted Randall and Zara enough to not look at his cousin in such a way. But men like this, even if Teris was covered up completely, would still stare and desire.

With slightly trembling hands, Teris did has her cousin instructed. The scars on her chest were still slightly visible under certain light but hiding them didn’t when faced with the heat of day. She would've taken off the thin over blouse, leaving her in just a tank top, if it hadn’t provided some sort of protection from the sun.

“We won’t let anything happen to you.” Zara promised her.

Staring at the two that had been following the Magic Knights, one of the gang members asked. “Are you sure you believe they aren’t with them? Could be that they’re nobility and the Magic Knights are protecting them.”

“Look at them.” Beast gestured to the two. “Even if they weren’t dressed like that, they don’t have the right look about them.”

“The right look?” The gang member questioned.

“Their hands. Their eyes.” Beast made his way back to the Magic Knights and pointed at Nozel and Fuegoleon. “I reckon those two are nobility. The girl has the right glare and attitude too. If it wasn’t for her hands, I’d have guessed she was high class as well. But there’s no way a fine noble lady would have hands like those.”

Teris scowled, fighting the urge to look at her hands. What was wrong with them? So it had been almost a year since Mistress had forced a manicure on her. But were her nails really that bad and different from Fuegoleon and Nozel’s?

Beast looked her over. He didn’t know what he had said to garner such a hate filled look from her, likely just continuing to exist was enough. The girl certainly had the hateful, haughty eyes and bearing of a noble. Maybe she had been one once or her house was near its end. Or maybe she had picked up the behaviors of the two noblemen she traveled with. Maybe one, or both of them, were grooming her as their courtesan. No. That didn’t sound right. If either of these two men had such designs on her, they’d make sure she was taken care of and looked the part. No man, even a prissy noble, liked their hands to be prettier than their woman's. Though there did seem to be a curious dynamic between the girl and two nobles.

No matter, Beast thought. If he were interested in a persons life story he would be doing something different. He looked up to where his man was holding the other Magic Knight. “Do it!”

The Magic Knights in front of him turned in time to seen their comrade fall to the ground. Before they could react Beast’s people knocked them out as was. He looked over at the other two that had been following the Magic Knights. “Anything more you want to say before we put you go to sleep too?”

“Our Master will not stand for this!” Daryin yelled, unwilling to be hushed by his companion. “You’ve made a grave mistake!”

Beast laughed, his people following suit. “And who is your Master? Tell me of his fearsome accomplishments.”

“He is Death himself.” Daryin said, lifting his chin proudly

Beast stopped at that. There was only one man he knew that was referred to in such a way.

“Pip.” Beast called to his second in command.

Pip stepped forward, her long hair tangling in the wind as she came beside him. “Boss?”

Beast nodded to two of his people, silently ordering them to knock out the tag-alongs.

The two Agents of Chaos crumpled to the ground.

Beast lifted his hand, giving his gang the signal to wrap it up and move out. A few others came down to help pick up and take away their haul.

“See that the Magic Knights and those two are put in different cell blocks. Then put the word out with our contacts. Let it be known we have a man and woman claiming to belong to the Agents of Chaos. Say that they were following a team of Magic Knights. And that we will wait three days before putting them on the market just in case the Master of Chaos has an interest or wishes to claim any of them.”

“Sure thing, Boss.” Pip nodded.

Beast looked around at his people. Raising his voice so the gang could hear, he ordered. “No one harms the men or touches either of the women. They may not be ours to toy with just yet.” He heard some of his men grumble and complain, and told. “Either way, you can be sure we’ll get paid a pretty sum for them.”

He wondered what two Agents of Chaos were doing following a squad of Magic Knights. That was if they had been telling the truth. But if they knew of the Master of Chaos, then they would know he was not someone to be mentioned so casually, even in the hope of freedom. There were far worse things than being sold into indentured servitude if caught misusing the Master of Chaos’ name. And pretending to be in league with him when not would see those worse things come to pass.

69.2

It had been four days since Mereoleona let Yami back on the front lines of the battlefield. Still, the Crimson Lions Captain had continued to watch him closely. Yami could feel the Vermilion’s eyes on him as he fought, making sure that he stayed in line.

The fearsome Lioness could watch him all she liked, Yami thought. He had learned his lesson and learned it well. He was not someone who sat back and cared for returning fighters. He didn’t have the temperament or emotional aptitude for it. Because of that he had made a whole host of new enemies among his fellow Magic Knights; having thrown them water skins from afar which had smacked them in the face, or simply told them to get their own damned refreshment. His eyes had never left the battlefield the entire time he had been back there. Those two long, seemingly endless days of not fighting alongside his fellows had killed him.

Returning from the front line, Yami collapsed under the shade of a tree, accepting the water skin that was handed to him.

Sitting a few paces away, Mereoleona commented. “You’re doing well out there. Never stepped out of line once.”

Yami said nothing. Though still on the lookout for the Smoke Mage Lotus Whomalt, he had stopped actively searching for him. He sighed, grateful that Teris’ cousin had let him back out to fight. He wasn’t about to ruin it by speaking up. Just give him a hour or two of rest and he’d be ready to go out there again.

The Crimson Lions Captain got to her feet. She had to report to Commander Greywright. “Rest up. We go again in four hours.”

“War is stupid.” Yami grumbled.

Mereoleona looked down at him. “Don’t tell me you were one of those idiots that thought it glorious.” “No.” Yami said. He might not be the smartest person around; but only a fool would think war was glorious. “Still, I didn’t think it was like this.”

“It’s not.” Mereoleona confessed. “Not really. Remember. We’re only fighting as a distraction. If this were a real war without trying for peace, it’d be different. Though no less stupid. Battles are fun and may have meaning. Wars.” She shook her head and sighed. “They’re nothing but foolish endeavors no matter how noble the cause.”

Yami made a face of disgust. The reason for this particular war was certainly foolish and far from noble.

“Get some rest. That’s an order.” Mereoleona told him, walking off.

Yami wasn’t the best at following orders; but currently that was a command he had no trouble obeying. He laid back on the dusty, packed earth. Stretching out, he closed his eyes. As usual when he had a moment of peace to himself, his thoughts drifted to Teris.

His sense of her mana told him she was alive. But that didn’t mean she was safe. Then again she was traveling with two men who loved and adored her nearly as much as he did. He trusted Nozel and Fuegoleon. Knew the two men were highly capable. Between Teris herself, Nozel, and Fuegoleon; Yami was confidant that no harm would come to her.

Yami recalled his birthday before the Crimson Lion and Silver Eagle arrived. He hadn’t meant to take things so far that morning. But could anyone blame him? He could still hardly believe Teris’ boldness. Referring to herself as his gift. Not that he hadn’t liked it. He had liked it a bit too much as the resulting outcome had proved. What he had liked even more was that Teris felt comfortable and free enough with him to show such a side of herself. Yami growled, his thoughts sending his blood south.

Eyes closed, hands laced behind his head, Yami drowsily told his growing erection. “I’ll beat you later. Just let me rest. And, no. I’m not talking to you.” He told, sensing Bronn’s presence.

“Didn’t think you were.” Bronn said, sitting a couple meters away with a tired grunt. “I think every man here is telling their spear pretty much the same. Why do you think so many little ones are born nine or so months after peace is made? Not that you’ll be doing any of that. You got yourself a fine bred lady and will have to wait. Won’t you? That’s if she’s good on her word and doesn’t end up wedding that royal brat like she’s told.”

Yami opened an eye and looked at the Vice Captain.

“I could introduce you to some clean lass’ who know how to keep quiet about their dealings.” Bronn offered. “Black Sheep need never know. I’ll even pay for your first go. Consider it thanks for saving my ass out there this morning.”

The offer was so ludicrous it didn’t even bare response. Yami closed his eye.

“Come on, kid.” Bronn urged, sitting forward. “If it all works out with Black Sheep the way you’re hoping, you’re gonna need some sort of experience. I’ve been in the baths when you’re there. That thing you’re packing will do more than scare the girl. It’ll--”

Yami’s eyes flashed open. He sat up, hand on the hilt of his katana.

Bronn held up his hands. “Got it! Got it! No talk of sex talk where Black Sheep’s involved. Geesh, you really do got a temper. Don’t you.”

Yami slowly released the blades hilt. Laying back down, he grumbled. “I liked it better when you hated me.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Boy. I still hate your troublesome, disrespectful ass. I certainly still think you’re making a big mistake pursuing that girl. Whether she’s willing to give it all up or not. Royals are nothing but trouble. Black Sheep even more so. Look at the mess you’re in with these zealots and the folk hired to kill you.”

Yami didn’t respond. He didn’t care one lick what Bronn thought. He only wished he hadn’t stepped in to help the Vice Captain, and instead left him to die. Then Bronn wouldn’t be here bothering him, trying to figure out a way to repay him. It didn’t matter that supporting and defending each other was what Magic Knights did. This was the two of them. Yami had saved Bronn’s life; and Bronn couldn’t go on feeling he owed Yami his life. The debt had to be paid.

Annoyed, Yami gritted his teeth. “You want to thank me. Go. Away.”

Bronn looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Was the young man that stupid? That’s not how this sort of thing worked. Yami had put himself at risk to help and save him. In order to clear the debt, Bronn would either have to do the same or provide a service of great cost. The woman he had in mind to service Yami was certainly that. Most of her clients were nobles, with a few wealthy merchants here and there. Before Gilly, he had occasionally visited her. The woman, looking for a good dirty romp without weak men or creepy kinks, use to call upon and take him without fee. It had certainly been a boost to his ego.

“What’s with that face?” Yami asked.

Bronn turned to the younger man, mind clearing of lewd memories. “What’s that?”

“You look proud. Almost—happy. It’s creepy. Stop it.”

Bronn picked up a small rock and threw it at him. “Shut up! I’m happy a lot.”

“When? I’ve never seen you happy.” Yami quipped

“That’s because you’re around and you piss me off.” Bronn said, throwing another rock.

The two started when rock passed through Yami.

“What are you doing.” Bronn demanded. He got to his feet knowing it wasn’t Yami.

Yami stood as well, hand instinctively gripping the hilt of his katana. “It’s not me.”

“Shut up and step through the portal.” Bronn snapped, recognizing a different form of transportation magic.

Yami growled but did as he was told. Bronn spun around, looking across the camp to where he had sent him. He cursed seeing that it hadn’t work. Yami was still fading.

Yami appearing in front of him, Bran blinked in surprise eyes clearing. The bees he was controlling to listen in on the enemies plans released from his hold. “Yami! What are you--” His head pulled back, brows furrowing. “You look weird. What’s the matter?”

Yami looked down at his hands. He could see through them now. Despite that, he could still feel himself. He was still able to grip his blade. Bran stood, the both of them seeming to have the same idea. The two reached out trying to grasp the others arm. Bran’s hand passed through Yami’s forearm. Yami’s hand doing the same with Bran’s.

Yami continued to fade. At this rate it wouldn’t be much longer before he completely disappeared.

“Captain Heath!” Bran yelled, worry taking over his voice.

Bronn stepped through a portal with someone in tow. He slapped Bran’s head. “Quit screaming. That singing fool can’t do anything about this.” He said of the Purple Orcas Captain.

Yami stepped back when the woman that had arrived with Bronn stepped into his space.

“Let her do her thing! She’s scenting you.” Bronn snapped at Yami.

Yami frowned, but stayed put. He looked down at the woman as she stuck her face into his chest taking long, deep breaths through her nose. Though he couldn’t physically feel her face passing through his chest; it was still a weird feeling.

“Hurry it up, lass.” Bronn urged.

The transport was nearly complete. Yami nothing more than a faint ghost.

“Done!” The woman declared.

Bronn felt a wave of relief wash over him. As Yami disappeared, he swore. “We’ll find you.”

“Where is he! What was that?” Bran exclaimed.

Bronn frowned. “Dimensional travel. Only a few types of magic can even track it. Lucky for us, such travel couldn’t have taken him far. We’ll have you look from the sky, and Etta here try to sniff him out. But first, go inform Greywright and Mereoleona what’s happened. Tell them we’ll need someone capable of busting their way in once we find him.”

Bran stepped to the Black Bulls Vice Captain. “I want--”

Bronn grabbed Bran by the shirt collar. “I don’t give a damn what you want, boy! Now get!” He shoved Bran in the direction of the Magic Knights Commanders tent.

Heath arrived, having hear Bran's call. “I know you’re his Vice Captain but--”

“Not now, Bard!” Bronn snapped. “They got the Lord of Destruction. Again.”

Heath straightened at that. “Who? Surely not the Agents of Chaos again.”

“I don’t know who. Muscle Head has all sorts after him.” Bronn said, snidely.

The Captain noted Bronn’s weakened mana. “At least let me help you out. Restore you before you go.”

“Fine. Sing us one of your little shanty's and make us feel better.” Bronn allowed.

He might’ve made light of Heath’s magic; but the Purple Orcas Captain was a powerful mage. And though he’d never say it, Bronn was exceedingly grateful for the mans efforts. By the end of the short song, Bronn was refreshed, his mana levels back to full.

Looking to Etta, Bronn urged. “Let’s go lass. I got a debt to cross off.”

69.3

“Teris. Teris. Wake up.”

Teris opened her eyes and found herself in an all too frightening familiar situation. She really had to stop waking up in cells. If she could just quit being captured all together that would be great.

She touched the base of her skull, wincing at the painful bump that was there. Blinking, she looked up. A small smile of relief crossed her face at the sight of Fuegoleon, Nozel, Zara, and Randall.

She looked around, taking in the iron bars. “You guys okay?”

“That’s what I was about to ask you.” Nozel said, watching her for sign of injury.

“Got the mana of all headaches. But I’m good.” Teris said, sitting up against the bars that adjoined with the boys cell.

She didn’t feel at all reassured that she was being kept in a separate cell from them; and she could see from their expressions and the way they kept on watching the door that they didn’t either. Teris laid a hand over the belt buckle Yami had given her. Grateful as she was for it, she hoped she wouldn’t need to use the blade hidden within.

“Has anyone been in? Said anything?” Teris asked.

“Zara woke first. He says it’s been quiet.” Fuegoleon told.

“Where are the other two? The cloaked ones that were following us.” Teris wondered.

“That was strange.” Randall commented. Though he hadn’t heard much from his captured position at the top of hill, seeing those other two had surprised him.

After Randall woke, Fuegoleon had relayed everything that had been said while he let Nozel think. Though Fuegoleon would never admit it, he knew Nozel had the better strategic mind.

Fuegoleon and Nozel looked at each other, both wondering the same thing. The Vermillion turned back to his cousin, Teris’ expression telling him she thought the same. That the Agents of Chaos or some other interested group had been following them.

Fuegoleon gritted his teeth. He wondered how long the two tag-alongs had been with them. If he had failed to notice danger stalking them, how could he hope to protect his cousin and fellows from harm?

The door opened and a man entered.

Fuegoleon fought the urge to make his way closer to Teris’ cell, knowing such an act would only draw further attention to her.

“Magic Knights.” The man said, setting down a tray of food in front of the men's cell. He eyed them. “Not so magical in a mana blocked hold are you? Beast is taking his time. Waiting to give first bid of you all to a particularly scary customer. I almost feel sorry for you if he’s the one who buys you lot. He’s a real nasty fellow. Slice you all up for parts and throw away the rest he will.”

Teris felt the blood drain from her face. Is this where Alowishus Spade got the mages for his sick corpse magic? But what about the two that had been following them? Were they not Agents of Chaos? If not, then who were they? And where were they now?

The man smiled. “Sorry. You boys will have to split the meal among the four of you. I only have two hands.” He moved and bent in front of Teris’ cell, setting a bowl of gruel on the floor. “Maybe you’ll be nice enough to share your portion with them. Are you a nice girl that likes to share?” He looked her over, licking his lips. “Want to share with me? I’ll see you get all the best cuts if you treat me real nice like.”

Teris’ hand drifted back to her belt buckle. Though she still had her grimoire, it would do her little good in a mana blocked cell.

The man looked back at the door he had come through. The Magic Knights tensed, none of them liking the feel of this. Almost as one, Nozel, Fuegoleon, Zara, and Randall reached through the bars when the jailer unlocked Teris’ cell. They started yelling, both to threaten the man and attract attention of any other guard that could stop this.

Teris pressed back against the shared bars of the guys cell. The man reached for her. He managed to grab her leg and tried to pull her away from the adjoining cell. Teris kicked out with her other leg, knocking him in the jaw. She pulled her leg back and tucked it under her, squeezing as close to the bars as she could. If they could make enough noise. Get someone else to enter, see what was going on, and put a stop to it.

She held onto the bars with one hand, the other free and clasping the hidden weapon within her buckle. She was tempted to pull the blade out now. Wanted to threaten the man with it. But such a thing wouldn’t work. If anything he’d bring in the weapon he had left outside the cell with the keys.

No. Teris had wait and do exactly as Yami had taught her. She had to leave the little knife hidden until the moment she had to use it.

The man laughed and tried to grab her leg again. The reach of her comrades outstretched arms kept him at bay.

Nozel’s hand gripped over Teris’ in effort to secure her hold on the cells bar. He could see the wild fear in her eyes, which only grew when the man once again managed to grab a hold of her ankle.

Though it had cost the man a good patch of hair and some scraps and bruises, he laughed, not feeling any of it. Getting a better grip on Teris, he pulled. Fuegoleon, Randall, and Zara now moved to assist Nozel in holding Teris fast.

The man was able to grip her around the waist now. He gave one last rough jerk. The others hold broke. Teris was slammed against the bars on the opposite side of the cell. If that hadn’t stunned her, the man adding his weight into the mix as he followed and rammed into her did.

The breath was knocked out of her. One side of her face screamed, throbbing in pain along area it had met one of the bars. Teris’ shoulder was grabbed. Before she could catch her breath, she was spun around. The other side of her face echoed in pain as she was back handed. Spots blurred her vision. It was a struggle to stay calm and remember what Yami had taught her.

The man thought he had won. He thought that she was some Magic Knight unaccustomed to fighting with anything but magic. But he was wrong. His arrogance was her strength. Teris waited a second after he let his guard down. His lecherous smile sickened as he looked her over.

Teris’ hand once again drifted to her belt buckle.

The mans smile grew. “You’re one those, huh? Likes to put up a fight but is all cooperative af--”

His words turned into a cry of alarm and pain as Teris charged him, driving the three inch blade into one of the key areas Yami had instructed her to. Again and again she hit, the blade puncturing and slicing with every punch she gave to his groin. Even when she had him against the opposite bars and Nozel was there to wrap an arm around the mans throat, Teris still didn’t stop.

As soon as the man had ripped Teris away, Nozel had taken a step back, frantically searching for weak points in the cells wall. They couldn’t rely on anyone hearing them and coming it. And what was to say that whoever came would put an end to this anyway? The person could just as easily help Teris’ attacker.

Judging where the weakest point was, Nozel had instructed the others and they began pounding themselves against it. He was pretty sure Fuegoleon had dislocated his shoulder as he had switched sides; but that didn’t matter now. Together they had loosened the connection point and begun to bend a bar up.

When Nozel saw Teris charge, not stopping till the man was within his reach; he was there to wrap a forearm around the mans neck, gripping his wrist with his other hand. Blind with rage, Nozel wasn’t going to stop squeezing till he choked the mans life out of him.

The others had managed to lift bend bar enough for the smallest of them to get through.

“Zara! The keys.” Fuegoleon ordered as the Purple Orca crawled through into Teris’ cell.

But all seemed to stop when Teris fell back crying and bloody.

“Teris!” Zara rushed to her.

Teris pulled away when he neared.

Zara held up his hands. He glanced at the man. Seeing him dead, Zara soothed. “Teris. It’s okay. It’s just me. He’s gone. Dead. It’s over. Are—are you okay?” He felt stupid for asking such a thing. Of course she wasn’t okay. “Are you injured?”

Teris touched her face, trying to take stock.

“This blood?” Zara asked, gently.

At that she shook her head. She looked down at the small knife she had instinctively slipped back into the belt buckle just the way Yami had taught her. “It’s—it’s not mine.”

The four male Magic Knights relaxed at that.

“The keys.” Fuegoleon commanded, again.

This time Zara listened. As soon as the cell was open, Fuegoleon was through the door and in Teris’ cell. He scooped her up to her feet with his good arm, the other still dislocated and pinned to his side.

“I got you. I got you.” Fuegoleon breathed, hugging her tight. He looked over her shoulder to Nozel who still held the man in a choke hold.

It was then that Fuegoleon saw what Zara had somehow missed. The torn fabric and bloodied mess all around the mans groin. He held Teris tighter, wondering where she had gotten a weapon. Off her attacker maybe?

Randall placed a hand on his Captain's shoulder. “He’s dead, sir. We should get out of here.”

Nozel gave a nod. Still, he found it difficult to let go of the hold. Slowly, he forced his hand open, releasing his wrist. The man slumped to the floor. Pulling his arm back from between the bars, Nozel looked down at the man.

“Sir?” Randall pressed.

With a blink, Nozel forced his mind to focus. He looked at Fuegoleon, silently inquiring about Teris. Not that it really mattered. They had to get out of here whether she was good to move of not. He saw his friend whisper something to her.

Teris nodded. She grabbed the Crimson Lions arm, and quickly and efficiently popped his shoulder back into place.

Fuegoleon gritted. A guttural groan escaped from clenched teeth.

Nozel huffed, realizing what Fuegoleon had asked as a barometer to see if Teris was alright.

Stepping out of the cell, the acting Captain ordered. “Let’s go.”

69.4

Before Yami managed to cloak his blade in darkness someone grabbed him from behind. Big mistake, he thought. Gripping the persons arm with his left hand, Yami threw them over his shoulder. He twisted the arm till he felt it slide out of place.

The figure below grunted in pain. Yami lowered his katana to the mans neck. It was then that Yami saw his attackers face.

Yami halted, though didn’t lift his blade. “Cin?”

“Yami!” Cin looked up. He held up the hand of his good arm, staying the gang around them. “What the hell, man!”

Yami blew a strand of hair out of his eye. Teris was right. He really did need a haircut.

Yami took in the surrounding gang. “Was about to ask you the same. We good?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re good.” Cin winced, sitting up. “Stand down everyone.”

Seeing the gangs magical attacks that had been ready strike disperse, Yami relaxed a bit.

Cin looked up at him. “You mind?”

Yami sheathed his katana. Holding his hand out to the mans good arm, Yami pulled him up. As he did so he gripped and popped Cin’s shoulder back into place.

“Son of a--” Cin shouted. Some of his people laughed while others looked ready to attack again. “Damn it! Your touch is still as gentle as a hammer.”

“Thought I’d gotten better.” Yami mumbled, mildly chagrined. Though he hadn’t had as much practice putting joints back into place as he use to.

Cin huffed. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? Wasn’t it one of yours that brought me. I certainly didn’t come willingly.”

“Sorry about that.” Cin apologized.

Yami looked about at the surrounding mages. “So you’re running a gang?”

“You could say that, I guess.” Cin admitted, carefully. “What about you? Never thought I’d see you on a battlefield fighting for the Clover Kingdom.” He looked Yami over. “A Magic Knight. When did that happen?”

Yami shrugged. “Few years back.”

“So, who is she? Was she worth it?” Cin asked.

The slight tension that have never left Yami, grew. “What?”

“The girl who’s father hired us to kill you.” Cin said, assuming their employer was some girls father.

“Who’s that?” Yami asked, hoping for a name. Though he had no doubt who had sent them.

Cin chuckled. “What? There’s more than one girl?”

“No. But her father’s dead. So.” Yami lifted a shoulder, staring at his old friend.

Cin shook his head. “I remember when you didn’t have interest or time for girls. Said they were nothing but trouble and a distraction.”

“Well, she certainly is that.” Yami admitted.

“Hence why you’re keeping women to the one.” Cin smirked.

Yami didn’t answer. Let Cin fill in the blanks however he liked. Good as it was to see him, Yami didn’t know him anymore. It had been years since they had last seen each other. Years since Yami had left the tunneled home that housed a pack of fellow boys who had followed him after he had kicked each of their asses.

A couple of those boys had even doubled up in fights against him. Cin and Damon had been two of those. It still hadn’t made a difference. Yami had laid them out like the rest. Before he knew it he had a gang answering to him. Nice as it had been. He hadn’t wanted it. Hadn’t asked or demanded any of them follow him. Rather he had done his best to shoo them off. But they had still followed. Feeling lost and without purpose, Yami had gotten restless and wandered off one day, never to return.

He had met Julius soon after; and from there his life was changed. Yami had occasionally wondered what had happened to his pack of friends, but never enough to go back and look for them.

“What happened to you?” Cin asked. “One day you were just—gone. You get pinched or something?”

“Or something.” Yami answered.

Cin glowered. This was the Yami he remember. Quiet. Distant. Hard to read and difficult to work with. Which was why he was so surprised to see Yami was a Magic Knight. Following orders wasn’t Yami’s style.

Yami looked around, wondering if there were any other familiar faces. “The others? Damon?”

“We all kind of went our own way after you disappeared. Damon, Rigel, and I stuck together for a while. Rigel left a couple months back. Got a girl pregnant and wanted to do right by her.”

“And Damon?” Yami asked, remembering that he and Cin had been inseparable.

“Dead.” Cin answered.

Yami’s lip twitched. “Damn.”

“Yeah.” Cin said. He didn’t want to go into further detail. Yami didn’t deserve it.

“So how much did Nathyn Silva pay you?” Yami asked.

Cin looked up, knowing without a doubt he had never mentioned a name. Mainly because he didn’t know the name himself.

Working through a broker, Cin never met his clients. It worked better for all involved that way. A letter detailing the target, along with half the fee, came in. He and his gang did the job, and the second half of the pay came in after. It worked for him. While he had his ways of figuring out who hired him; he had rarely had a mind to know or need to figure it out. Nobody had ever tried to stiff him, so he never had reason to put in the effort of learning a clients name.

“I didn’t mention no Silva.” Cin said. “I wasn’t even sure I guessed right about it being about a girl. I just figured it wasn’t a gambling debt. You were too good at games to wrack up a sum someone was willing to kill you over.”

Yami massaged the tension out of his neck. “So you’re really not going to tell me, even though I know.”

“Not that I’d tell you if I knew myself. But I really don’t know.” Cin said. He looked his long time friend over. “Sounds like you do though.”

Yami sighed. “Yeah. Not that it’ll do me a lot of good.” He watched Cin a moment. “How do you want to handle this?”

Cin raised a questioning brow. “What do you mean?”

Yami looked around at the others still surrounding him. “Well, you were paid to take me out.”

Cin shook his head. “Ain’t happening.”

“Come on.” Yami bolstered. “You got what? Fifteen. Twenty. At your command.”

Cin shook his head again. “I saw you on the battlefield from afar. I had my concerns then. But a job’s a job. Now that I know it’s you. No way.”

“A job’s a job.” Yami echoed, tempting.

“I thought we left on good terms. Despite your sudden disappearance.” Cin said. His anger over Yami leaving without word creeping into his voice.

“We did.” Yami agreed.

“Then why do you wanna kick my ass?” Cin questioned.

Yami shrugged. “For old times sake I guess.”

Cin smirked crookedly and shook his head. Same old Yami, he thought. “I’ll have you know that I’ve gotten better. Stronger.”

Yami mirrored the crooked smile. “So have I.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Cin chuckled.

Yami finally, fully relaxed. His sense of Cin’s Ki told him the man meant what he said. His long ago friend had no interest in trying to collect his pay by finishing the job.

“So, what are you going to do?” Yami asked. “You may not know who hired you, but I’m near positive. Nathyn Silva isn’t someone you want to cross.”

Ignoring the difficult question, Cin looked Yami over. Despite all the past hurt and anger, it really was good to see him again. “You should be asking yourself the same. If it really is that royal bastard calling for your head, you’re in trouble, Yami. Folk like that don’t like to be thwarted and have all the money in the world to hire more gangs.”

“I know. This is his second attempt that I’m aware of.” Yami told.

Cin blinked at that. “What the hell did you do?”

Yami smirked and shook his head. “You’d call me a fool if I told you.”

“I’ll call you a fool anyway.” Cin remarked. The two stared at each other a moment before Cin offered. “Come with us. With me. Leave this war and the Magic Knights.”

“And run under you?” Yami asked.

Cin shrugged. “Could be worse. You could die out there fighting a soon forgotten war for a prideful, child-like King who will never be grateful and doesn’t even know your name. Or get caught unawares by the next hired gang sent to kill you.”

Or get pulled into a crazy zealots sick ceremony, Yami thought. “Tempting. But I can’t.”

“That doesn’t sound like you. The Yami Sukehiro I knew did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. If he wanted to leave this mess and join me, he would do so without a backwards glance.”

“I would have at that.” Yami agreed. “But there’s things you don’t know and would never understand. Things I barely understand.”

“It’s that girl. Isn’t it?” Cin guessed.

“Mostly.” Yami admitted.

“Then we’ll go get her.”

“Now that does sound tempting.” Yami said. He wondered if Teris could sense him while he was in this dimensional sphere. If she couldn’t, he had little doubt that she was going as crazy as he had during the Battle at the Border. He had to get out of here so she could sense his mana and know he was alright. He gestured to the surrounding space. “Can we--”

Understanding, Cin commanded. “Oliva.”

They were returned to normal space. Yami looked about. They were on some barren hilltop overlooking the battlefield that was more than ten kilometers away. Yami hoped that it was enough. That Teris would sense him and be alright.

“You won’t come. Will you?” Cin said, watching him.

Yami shook his head. Though it really was a tempting offer, he didn’t feel the least bit torn by saying no. For the first time since waking up in this strange land, he had a life here in the Clover Kingdom. And it consisted of more than just Teris. It didn’t matter that Teris would never go for the life Cin was offering. Yami didn’t want it either. He was, dare he say, happy with the life he had made as a Black Bull in the Magic Knights. And he would be even happier once Bronn was gone, and he and Teris were made co-Vice Captains.

Cin sighed. “I knew you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t be out there fighting if you didn’t want to be there.”

“Oh, I rather be almost anywhere than on that battlefield.” Yami said.

“I meant as a Magic Knight. In this life you’ve made yourself.”

Yami thought of Teris, Julius, and the Black Bulls. “You’re right there.”

Cin shook his head and sighed. “I suppose I’ll just have to let you pay the royal bastard back. And also pay me and mine the second half we’re due.”

Yami had been afraid of that. Still, he understood. “Gotta keep them loyal.”

Cin nodded.

“Do me a favor.”

Cin huffed. “You mean other then let you buy your life and live?”

“Oh, you’re letting me live now?”

“Shut up! What do you want?”

Yami grinned, imagining the scene and sight of Lord Silva’s face. “Let me return the funds.”

“You?” Cin questioned. “You’re not even positive it’s him.”

“It’s him.” Yami said. The only way he could be more certain was if the Silva came forward and confessed.

Cin shook his head. “Guess you haven’t changed as much as I was beginning to think. Fine. You agree to pay us the second half we would’ve received for the job. And I’ll let you pay the Silva back the first half. But if you’re wrong you’re paying whoever did hire us his portion back too.”

That sounded reasonable. Yami held out his hand.

“Crazy bastard.” Cin muttered, shaking on the deal.

“So how much do I owe you?” Yami asked.

Cin shook his head. “Now he asks.” He muttered. To Yami, he answered. “Ten thousand yules.”

“Ten thousand!” Yami repeated. He didn’t know whether to be insulted, or upset that this would take all of his savings.

“Twenty thousand yules for your life. Not a bad payday if it wasn’t you and so much work.” Cin told.

“Maybe the next gang will demand more.” Yami complained.

“You really think you’re worth that much?” Cin questioned, humorously.

“I would've kill you and yours easy.” Yami told.

“Really? And I suppose that’s what happened to the group before.” Cin joked.

Yami nodded. “Exactly.”

“What?” Cin questioned, in disbelief.

“Dead. All of them.” Yami told, not saying that there had been other Magic Knights backing him up.

Cin blinked. “All of them you say?”

“All twenty.” Yami affirmed.

Cin gave a low whistle. “I’ll spread word of that. Maybe it’ll make other groups think twice before accepting the job if Silva or anyone else thinks to try again.”

“Don’t. They might demand more pay. But they’ll still come. Only they’ll have a better idea what their walking into. With all that’s going on right now, I’d rather not have to try all that hard fending off gangs of assassins.”

“You mean there’s worse than people being hired to kill you?” Cin asked, not all that surprised.

“It’s a long story that you don’t care about hearing and I’d rather not get into.” Yami said.

“Fine.” Cin held out his hand.

Yami clasped his friends hand, firmly.

“Just get that money back to our hire as quick as you can. Me and mine can wait a bit for our second half. Let you finish up here before bugging you.” Cin grinned at him. “It’ll give us a chance to see each other again. Maybe have a drink or two and talk about old times.”

“And if I’m wrong?” Yami asked, not showing how much the thought of meeting Cin again disturbed him. At least once his old friend got the second half of his pay, they would hopefully have no cause to ever see each other again.

Cin raised an eyebrow. “Thought you said you were positive.”

“Just in case. How do I get a hold of you to find and pay the correct person back?”

Cin eyed Yami’s Magic Knights cloak. “We’ll just get a hold of you all the sooner.”

“That’s comforting.” Yami muttered.

“Don’t worry. Once we’re done, I won’t be paying you an friendly visits.”

“Those aren’t the type of visit I’m worried about.” Yami said, even though he wanted nothing more to do with his old friend.

Cin chuckled. “Then don’t be wrong. And don’t go pissing anyone else off.”

Yami huffed. “No promises there. Seems all I gotta do is breathe for that to happen.”

“You’re the one who wants to stick around.” Cin looked at his friend, smiling fondly at the memories seeing Yami brought. “Hope she’s worth it.”

Yami fought a smile at the thought of Teris. “She is. She’s worth it all, and more.”

69.5

Beast entered the cell block where the Magic Knights had been held.

“Want us to pursue them?” Pip asked, by his side.

Beast took in at the mangled cell and corpse, piecing together what had happened. “No. They’ve done what was ordered.”

Pip looked up at the towering man. “Boss?”

“Word came quickly from Death. We’ll get paid later.”

“But if he wants them...”

“He wanted them released and unharmed.” Beast said. He looked down at the dead man in disgust, hoping the girl got away undamaged. He didn’t know what the Master of Chaos wanted with the Magic Knights; but he didn’t want to experience the mans wrath if they had been injured. Turning away Beast ordered. “Have this mess cleaned up. Take that filth out to the pens for the Saber Cats. They haven’t had a decent meal in a while.”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

“Oh, and put the word out. We’ll be hosting a gaming battle tomorrow.”

“Boss?”

Beast turned back. “The two Agents of Chaos. I was instructed to make their demise as drawn out and painful as possible. It never goes well when you’ve displeased Death.”

69.6

Once they were free of the compound, Nozel had created an eagle of mercury large enough to carry them all. He flew at top speed, unconcerned about lasting the day or keeping up his energy for the next. All he cared about was getting Teris and his team as far away as quickly as possible. Even so, he had flown in the direction of the Diamond Kingdoms capital. Despite all that had happened, they still had a mission. Nozel had flown until he didn’t think his could take it anymore, and then flew some more.

“Captain. Can we stop by that stream and let her get cleaned up?” Randall asked, from behind him.

Nozel looked back at his squad for the first time since they had taken flight. His eyes lowered to Teris. She was covered in dried blood. Though apparently none of it was hers.

Nozel swallowed, struggling to control his emotions. He noted that though Fuegoleon didn’t hold her, the Crimson Lion hovered protectively over her.

With a nod, Nozel directed the shining silver eagle toward a more sheltered area of the stream. They had left the dry, rocky landscape behind for a more green, though far from lush, area. This growth may have afforded them a bit more cover; but it was still bare enough that he felt safe from possible lurking enemies.

The sun was already dipping below the horizon when Nozel had the eagle land. He looked over his squad and declared. “We’ll camp here for the night. Zara, set your traps. Make them capable of catching small mammals. We lost our rations along with our packs.” He gave Teris a small, tentative smile. “Looks like you’ll get to cook after all if you want.”

When Teris didn’t even register hearing him, Nozel’s forced smile fell. She had had a scare. They all had. Seeing her attacked like that… Nozel had never felt so helpless and furious. He would have killed himself trying to get to her. It had taken everything he had to pull himself back and think clearly when his instinct had been to rage and go mad, frothing uselessly from his cell.

Fuegoleon gripped his Captain’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. He hoped Nozel didn’t take Teris’ silence personally. Teris hadn’t spoken since they had taken to the air. At least she had slept a good portion of the flight. Though she had woken up with a start, calling Yami’s name. There had been a moment after her waking where it appeared as if her fright would bubble over; but she had quickly calmed, taking in a shuddering breath as if relieved.

“Randall.” Nozel called, taking a step rather than shake Fuegoleon’s hand off his shoulder. He didn’t want to be comforted. He didn’t deserve it. He had failed his team.

Randall straightened. “Captain?”

Nozel hated the mans use of the title. He hadn’t earned it in the first place. And with all that had happened, he had proved just how unworthy he currently was of holding the rank, even as an acting one.

“Gather some wood and build a pit to roast whatever’s caught. Then see if you can find a stone sharp enough to skin and cut.” Nozel looked back at Teris, wondering if she still had whatever blade she had taken off the man. But he didn’t want to bring it up by asking her.

Nozel watched Zara and Randall moved away to do as they were ordered. Turning back, he looked at Teris, once again fighting a swell of raging emotions.

“Teris.” Nozel said, gently. When she still appeared dazed and distant, he turned to Fuegoleon. “Why don’t you two get washed up. I’ll keep watch.”

Fuegoleon nodded.

The two men looked at Teris, waiting for her to move or show any signed she had heard. When she just stood there Fuegoleon looked back at Nozel, the two sharing a look of concern.

“Stop it!” Teris snapped, suddenly coming to life. “Quit looking at each other worrying about me. I’m fine.” She spun around and marched to the stream.

“She’s not fine.” Fuegoleon told his Captain, softly.

“At least she’s talking again.” Nozel said, relieved at that.

He had never witnessed it, but Nozel had heard that occasionally people who went through traumatic events had left them changed. Sometimes all but dead to the world. Without any type of healer, they would have had a real problem if Teris had suffered something like that. As important as their mission was, Nozel didn’t think he would have been able to go on if Teris had stayed lost in herself. The thought of returning to face his father’s and the Kings displeasure sent a shiver down his spine. But none of that bore thinking. Teris would be fine. She was strong. Teris had already been through and survived so much. He was certain that she would survive this too.

Nozel watched Teris make her way to the stream, Fuegoleon in her wake. Sure she would likely have some underlying issues for a while. He would too. But a selfish part of him hoped that this would bring them closer together. Not that he would take advantage of anything the horrible scare may bring about. But if some good could come from it, at least there would be that. Not that any good, no matter how great, that came from this would make it worth Teris experiencing the scare she had.

Teris dipped trembling hands into stream. Collecting a fistful of course dirt, she scrubbed away the blood. At first the motions were slow and gentle but then they sped, growing rough.

Tears began to fall. She brought up her hands, covering her face.

Fuegoleon watched her from a short distance. He usually knew what to do to best comfort people. It was a gift he had. But in this instance, when his cousin needed him most, he was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do. Likely because she didn’t know what she wanted. He decided to go with his own need and hoped it helped without driving her further away.

Moving to her, Fuegoleon knelt on the hard, rocky bank. Ignoring the muddy damp that instantly wet his pants, he pulled her into a hug. Teris cried into her cousins chest. Stroking her hair, Fuegoleon wondered distantly if that was her trembling or him. Never in his life had he felt so helpless. Never in his life had he wanted someone dead so badly that he would have bashed their skull in if given half a chance.

The thought frightened him. The desire to commit such violence. Even now Fuegoleon wanted to kill the man over and over again, his mind playing over the ways in which he would do so.

Fuegoleon sniffed back his own tears; his fear, anger, and gratitude that the worst of what could have happened hadn’t. Overwhelmed, he burrowed his face in her head and let the tears fall.

After a time, Teris ceased crying. “Leon? Are you wiping your tears on my hair?”

Fuegoleon lifted his head, stroking her moistened locks. “It’s good for hair.”

Teris laughed at that. “So that’s how your hair is always prettier than mine. You cry into it.”

“I usually use the tears of my enemies.” Fuegoleon played, amazed at how resilient she was.

Looking up at him, Teris soothed. “It’s alright.”

“That’s my line. No taking my lines.” Fuegoleon chastised, lightly.

Teris pulled from him, her small smile falling as she grew serious. “Scary as that was, I’ve faced worst fears.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” Fuegoleon told. He tucked a lock of her hair behind an ear, wondering how her saying such a thing was suppose to make him feel better.

“It’s just--” Teris swallowed. Try as she might to push the memory away, she could still feel the slick warmth of the man’s blood. Could still smell the metallic scent that had invaded her nostrils. “I’ve never killed anyone. Not like that. Not so close and physical. Not with my own hands.” She blinked back tears, hating the sign of weakness.

Though Fuegoleon knew better, he said. “I’m pretty sure it was Nozel that killed him. Broke his neck.” He hoped lie was believable. He doubted Nozel would like taking credit that wasn’t his. But given the reasoning, he was sure the acting Captain would allow it.

Teris looked up at him. “Really?”

She should be ashamed at how much better that made her feel. It didn’t matter who had killed the man. Even a no good, sick, fiendish person like that didn’t deserve to die without trial. A life was a life. And as a Magic Knight it was her job to protect and uphold the Clover Kingdoms law; not meet out judgment. At least that’s the way it was suppose to be. Sadly they didn’t live in a perfect world where things were the way they were suppose to be.

In her short time as a Magic Knight, she had seen so much death. Delivered so much of it herself. Teris had known that being a Magic Knight was a dangerous job and there would be death. But she had never imagined it to be at this scale. She tried to think of how much more Julius had seen during his many years of service. How much more she would see over the years, and stopped. Unwilling and unable to imagine.

“Really.” Fuegoleon told her.

“Am I horrible for being relieved at that?” Teris asked.

“No. Not in the least.” Fuegoleon assured.

Teris shook her head, lowering her gaze. “Poor Nozel.”

Fuegoleon looked at her, amazed. Even after all Teris had been through, she was thinking of and sympathizing with others.

“I’m pretty sure he’s not all that upset about it.” Fuegoleon remarked, thinking Nozel wouldn’t have been if this fiction had been reality. “I think he’s more upset about us getting captured in the first place.”

Teris lifted her head. “This wasn’t his fault. None of us realized what we were walking into. Or that we were being followed.” She stopped and thought about the other two.

Not only had they not been in the cell block with them; but they hadn’t been in any of the other cell blocks they had passed. A part of her felt silly for wondering if they were Agents of Chaos. What would they be doing all the way out here just following?

“Try telling him that.” Fuegoleon said. “If I were leading this team I’d be feeling the same. And so would you.”

“I suppose.” Teris said, wondering what they could do to make Nozel feel better about his role as Captain.

“Come on. We can’t take forever.” Fuegoleon took his cloak off. “You should wash your clothes as best you can.” He untied the sash around his waist and removed the blue over coat, holding them out to her. “You can wear this while you wash and dry yours.”

Thank you to those who have left hearts. And a special THANK YOU to those who have recently left comments or re-blogged. They really mean a lot.

Next chapter snippet:

Alowishus glared. He could end King Morris’ life here and now but that would only cause further war and problems as the Diamond Kingdom would be thrown into chaos. Funny how all his life he had been trying to wake Chaos so he could bring about death and destruction and yet here he was trying to prevent such things from happening.

#yami sukehiro #nozel silva #fuegoleon vermillion #zara ideale #randall luftair #Black Clover #light in the darkness

8 notes · View notes

hotforhandman · 4 years

Text

Shigaraki Week Day 5

Yes it’s late. I taught my parents how to play minecraft to pass quarantine and now the whole family’s spent frikkin days in our world lmao

Confetti - Blade – Wounds

The Price of Victory- Read it on AO3

Commission me! Help me out on ko-fi!

“I won.” Shigaraki breathed, giving a slightly hysterical laugh. Redestro was being fussed over by a handful of his followers, and Shigaraki was left swaying, the sudden lack of imminent danger setting his injuries in sharp relief. And yet even now, reality felt distant and fuzzy.

“Woah, woah!” Spinner ran forward just in time to catch him as he keeled over, Compress hot on his heels. “Fuck… Shigaraki…” He lowered him carefully to the floor, taking in the open wounds and vicious injuries that covered Shigaraki’s body. Shrapnel wounds, bruises, scrapes, friction burns, not to mention the deep cracks welling with blood that ran from his cheek all the way to his hand, where the skin was all but gone, oozing blood and other fluids onto Spinner’s clothes. The other… missing half his hand, nothing but loose skin and raw flesh where his middle finger, pointer and thumb should be. And then there was his ankle. Spinner’s stomach turned; limbs should not bend like that.

“Oh, hey…” Shigaraki giggled, and the dazed look in his eye suggested that he wasn’t all there. “Spinner, we won…”

“Yeah. Yeah, we did.” Spinner tried to smile, but his panic wouldn’t let him. “Hey, Shigaraki, you’re gonna be okay, right?”

“Huh? Oh… Yeah, I’m always fine…” He closed his eyes for a moment, panting shallowly, and Spinner’s heart plummeted.

“No, no, no… C’mon, stay with me!” He shook Shigaraki lightly, and Shigaraki hissed, opening one eye again.

“Don’t do that. Hurts.”

“I need you to stay awake, yeah? We’re gonna get you fixed up.”

“Mhm…” Shigaraki opened his eyes again, lashes fluttering. Spinner adjusted his grip, holding him closer.

“Okay. Okay. We’re alright, yeah? Toga- Toga’s not doing so hot, but Twice is with her… He’s helping her out, using clones to get her blood back. I dunno how that works, but he’s doing it. I got stabbed a few times, but that’s, that’s fine, I can handle that. Nothing vital. I dunno about Dabi, he looked kinda crispy, but he was still on his feet. Compress is the only one who got away unscathed, I think. We just need to get you something to eat, yeah? You’re far too thin. You’d like that?” He looked down at where Shigaraki was curled into him, head pillowed on his shoulder, his crushed hand dripping blood down his emaciated chest. “Shigaraki?” He jostled him, and Shigaraki’s head fell back, limp. “No, no, fuck, Shigaraki!” He cupped his cheek in his claws, tears blurring his vision. “Shigaraki, please!”

No answer.

-+-

“Hey.” Spinner rapped on the door lightly, a quiet announcement of his presence. Shigaraki blinked sleepily from his position on the hospital bed, watching him. “You doing any better?”

“Still hurts.” Shigaraki muttered in a hoarse voice. Even with all of the painkilling drugs in his system, the extent of his injuries meant every movement sent blinding pain through him. Even though he was still exhausted to the point of delirium, sleep eluded him beyond short bursts thanks to the jolts of pain and his racing mind. The ceiling of the room he was kept in had a handful of pipes running across it, and Shigaraki had spent hours staring at them until the ceiling around them went grey. He was reminded of the room where he had first spoken to Sensei immediately after his historical fight with All Might, when he’d found out his beloved mentor would never see his face again. He would be lying if he said some small part of him wasn’t afraid he’d sustained some permanent damage. He was reassuring himself with the knowledge that if he had, Ujiko could and would fix it.

“You really scared us.” Spinner came in and pulled up a chair. The scraping of the metal legs on the concrete floor made his headache spike, and he grimaced. “When you passed out on me I genuinely thought you’d died.”

“Sorry… I couldn’t help it.” He murmured. “I was so tired.”

“I know.” Spinner went quiet for a moment, rubbing his hands together awkwardly. “Shigaraki?”

“Hm?”

“Is it true, what Ujiko says? That you’re gonna let him… mess with you?”

Shigaraki sighed heavily, wishing he could use his hands. That hadn’t been Ujiko’s secret to tell, and he had been dreading having this conversation. “His research… all of it. It’s been leading up to recreating Sensei’s power artificially.”

Spinner’s eyes widened. “You… All For One?”

Shigaraki nodded. “Yeah. The ability to take and use Quirks without going crazy like the Nomus. They’re failed experiments… And now there’s this new guy. Ujiko thinks he’s got it figured out, finally. If this one comes out still cognisant and sentient, it’ll be ready. Then it’ll be my turn.”

“Are you… sure it’s safe?”

“Look at me.” Shigaraki looked at him, and gave a sardonic smile. “This line of work is never safe. But that’s the reason why there were so many trials. So when it came to me, he’d know what he was doing, and it’d all go smoothly. Then all of this?” He made his best approximation of a gesture down at his body, ignoring the jolt of pain. “Never again. And you guys, all the pain you suffered, all the injuries… We’ll be untouchable. All those wounds, inside and out, they’ll all heal.” He gave a tired, strained laugh. “Finally.”

Spinner didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to see Shigaraki like all those specimens in Ujiko’s labs, intubated and unconscious, floating in tanks like something out of a horror movie. Those few hours where they hadn’t been sure if Shigaraki would live were some of the most terrifying of his life. How much was their victory worth?

“Don’t.” Shigaraki caught the look on his face. “Don’t try to talk me out of it. You’re a villain, you’re not supposed to care.”

“I’ve always been kind of a shitty villain.” Spinner half-joked, rubbing the back of his neck. “You guys are… You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to family.”

Shigaraki was quiet for a long time, and Spinner was afraid he’d crossed a line, but then Shigaraki muttered quietly, “That’s why I have to protect you.”

Spinner blinked, and for a moment he was at a loss for words, opening and closing his mouth several times. “You’d better turn out okay, Shigaraki. We’ll all be waiting for you.”

Shigaraki closed his eyes, every single one of his wounds aching and itching, a reminder of the pain of being human. “Yeah. I will.”

#jay writes #shigaraki tomura #shuichi iguchi #spinner #shigarakiweek #shigaraki week 2020

24 notes · View notes

bluerosewrites · 5 years

Text

You Will Be Found

Wrote a thing. Just the first chapter, though there will be more, I promise. It’s full of ansgt, but I plan to have a happy(ish) ending.

TW: Suicide, Anxiety, Self-Harm. Read at your own risk.

Summary:

Have you ever felt like nobody was there? Have you ever felt forgotten in the middle of nowhere? Have you ever felt like you could disappear? Like you could fall, and no one would hear?

It’s all too much and Peter can’t keep himself from the edge tonight. He’s tried SO hard to keep it together. For May. For Tony. For MJ. For Ned. But tonight? He can’t convince himself that they wouldn’t all be better off. That he could fall, and disappear, and no one would hear, or care. But is he right?

Read here or on AO3.

Peter doesn’t remember when he started feeling this way. All he knows is it keeps getting worse.

His state of mind after surviving Toomes burying him under a building wasn’t great. That was when the nightmares started. The panic attacks. The erratic sleeping patterns. Peter doesn’t remember if he bit his nails or left red crescents on the palms of his hands before Toomes or just after.

The Blip doesn’t help. He’s so disoriented and trying to get used to how life on Earth apparently kept going while he and half of the world’s population was trapped in the soul stone.

Not to mention this summer’s adventures with Mysterio. Peter just couldn’t catch a break. He was literally hit by a frickin’ TRAIN. If Peter hadn’t already struggled with feelings of worthlessness and dissociative episodes, he sure as hell did now.

Which brings us to tonight. And the rooftop where Peter has sat, for an unknowable amount of hours. He’s just stuck. Not able to convince himself to take the next step, but also not able to go home.

He’d been out on patrol, doing his best to Do Good and Be Normal. He’d foiled some muggings, avoided getting stabbed by one of the attackers. You know, the usual. But his heart wasn’t in it. He couldn’t come up with his usual snarky trashtalk, and was only putting half of his energy into the fights. One of the would-be muggers had almost gotten away, and Peter had almost not followed after him to track him down. Why was he trying so hard? Nothing really mattered. At least it felt like nothing did. He could spend 24/7/365 chasing after guys like this and the next day there would always be more. Or an alien race invading earth hell-bent on destruction and hostile takeovers. Or someone who was determined to seek revenge, not caring who they hurt or what they damaged in the process.

What’s the point of anything?

Finally Peter just sat on one of the highest rooftops on his route and watched the world go by. The sky dimmed, giving way to night. But the city never slept. If anything, it got busier after dark. Peter let himself zone out while watching the traffic go by. Watched the streetlights come on and heard the hum as the city’s nightlife got into full swing. After a while the noises of the night started to get to Peter and he realized he was still in the suit. Suddenly he couldn’t stand to be anymore, and to hell with the consequences. He ripped off his mask, ignoring Karen’s entreaties into his well-being. He’d stopped listening to her hours ago.

Peter took deep, gulping breaths of the cold air, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t get enough air. The suit clung to his skin, and he felt itchy all over. As quickly as humanly possible, Peter ripped the suit from his body, being forced to stand up as he did so to free himself from the constricting tech. He felt the icy wind bite into his exposed skin as he stood on the rooftop, shivering in his boxers.

He made his way to the edge of the building, still taking care that he wouldn’t be drawing anyone’s attention. Not yet, he told himself. And he knew the thought should scare him. Peter was never one to give up, he always tried his best to find the silver lining. But right now he just couldn’t. He was teetering on the edge of numbness in his soul. He was tired to his very soul, deeper than bone-tired. Exhausted, really. And he didn’t know how much longer he could fight the shadows in his mind. The whispers in the dark.

You’re not good enough.

Why try? You’re a burden.

No one loves you. They’re all just putting up with you.

You’re an imposter. If they knew you who really are….they’d RUN.

They’d be better off without you.

Peter took his arms from where they were coiled tightly against his abdomen to make two fists and rub them against his eye sockets. Hard. His body gave another violent shudder, but Peter didn’t even feel the cold anymore. Didn’t feel much of anything, really.

Is this how it ends? Peter thought to himself, Not with a bang, but a whimper. Huh. Maybe that’s what that writer was talking about. Interesting. Peter knew that if he disappeared he would be missed. He didn’t want to hurt May. Or Ned. Oh, God, or Tony. Peter closed his eyes and sat on the roof. He brought his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on his knees, bringing his arms around his shins. There were so many people counting on him, and he’d be letting them all down if he–Peter couldn’t bring himself to think the words, but the idea was there. He squeezed his eyes even more tightly shut and willed the tears behind his lids not to fall. He bit down on his bottom lip and tried to ignore the shudders racking his body. He knew not all of them were from the cold, but enough of them were. He didn’t thermoregulate well after the Bite, but right now he couldn’t bring himself to care. You don’t deserve to be warm. That’s a comfort, and failures don’t deserve comfort. Honestly–

“Shut UP,” Peter ground out between gritted teeth. Great, now I’m talking to myself. He let out a humorless chuckle. Just one more symptom to add to the rest of the crazy I’ve already got going on. Peter could feel the harsh grit of the pitch on the roof through the thin cotton of his briefs. There was gravel stuck to the soles of his feet. God, I’m a mess. Can’t even do this properly.

Peter willed himself to stand. But his limbs were no longer listening to him. “Come on, Parker, get the fuck up. Surely you can manage that,” the teen rasped out, but it was to no avail. He managed to stretch out his limbs, but remained in a seated position. Every joint from his shoulders through to his fingertips ached from being held in one place for so long, and the pressure exerted to be wrapped around his legs. Eventually Peter was in a starfish position, as if he was going to make a snow angel there on the roof. He dragged his heels across the harsh surface and grabbed at whatever he could with his hands. It was painful, scraping his skin against such a jagged and cold exterior of the building. But the pain meant he was feeling something, which both helped to ground him a bit as well as serve as enough of a punishment to shut the dark whispers up for a time.

Peter stared into the sky as he continued to move his hands and feet, further chafing the skin there. He wished he could see the stars, but he was too far into the city to see any major constellations. It would be nice, to see them one more time before I–go. Peter closed his eyes and tried to remember what the night sky looked like out at Tony and Pepper’s cabin. Oh, God. Pepper. Morgan. At the thought of Tony’s real family, Peter couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. As he began to sob, he brought his grit-covered, bloody hands to his eyes and covered them. Salty blood mixed with the salt of his tears, and he didn’t know which he could taste more.

They say that when you’re close to the end, your life flashes before your eyes. Peter just saw all of the people he’d lost. His mom. His dad. Ben. And all of the people he’d failed. May. Ned. MJ. Nick Fury. The Avengers–Cap and Bucky and Nat and Sam and Rhodey and Clint–and so many more. Pepper and Morgan. Tony. TONY. At the thought of his mentor, Peter broke down even further. He’d failed Tony on so many levels. As a mentee, intern, and a son.

He was still thinking of Tony when Peter thought he heard the familiar sound of thrusters. Wait. It can’t be. Even if he knew where I was, Tony has been benched since the Snap. Recovering and such. Peter couldn’t bring himself to remove his hands from over his eyes and check to see if the mechanic was indeed with him on the roof. Because if he was, Peter was still a bloody, nearly naked MESS on the roof of a building at God-knows what hour of the night. Might even be early morning at this point.

Sure enough, Peter soon heard heavy, booted footsteps approach. Then the sound of the Iron Man nanotech disappearing back into the Arc Reactor and Tony hitting his knees beside the distraught teen. Peter hears a soft, “Oh, kid,” and his hands are gently pulled away from his eyes. Which are still scrunched shut. Peter still isn’t sure he believes Tony is here, with him, on the roof. And if he is, Peter isn’t sure he wants to face him. So instead he sets his jaw stubbornly and keeps his eyes shut, ignoring the tears continuing to stream down his cheeks and the shudders still racking his body. He feels Tony’s hand on his shoulder, and his eyes fly open, despite his best attempts to keep them closed. Peter bites his lip at the concern he sees in the billionaire’s eyes.

“Hey, now, shhhhhh,” Tony mutters soothingly. But the warmth and the kindness in his voice undoes Peter completely. He’s openly sobbing now, and too weak to resist as Tony scoops him up into his arms. They rock back and forth, Peter contained within the strong arms of the mechanic, the latter whispering comforting words to the former until the kid’s shudders subside a bit and his breathing slows.

Finally the boy turns his tear-stained face toward the former playboy, roughly swiping gritty, bloody hands across swollen eyes. He lets out a long sniffle and then his lips part to emit a phrase at a volume Tony struggles to hear. “What is it, SpiderBaby?”

Peter tries again, “I said, are you real?” At Tony’s answering sigh, Peter begins to draw back into himself.

“Fucking Beck,” Tony grounds out, Peter flinching at the anger in his voice, “Hits my kid with a damn TRAIN, among other things, and now he can’t trust anything. FUCK.” Once Tony notices the kid shrinking against him, he does his best to calm down. In a more subdued tone, he continues, “Yes, kid, I’m real. God, how can I prove it to you? What’s something only I know? You think chocolate ice cream is the best way to counteract heartache, you’ve seen all of the Star Wars movies at least 200 times but you’re not sure how you feel about the reboots, particularly Solo, you wanted to kiss Michelle at the top of the Eiffel Tower but were foiled, and plan to take her back someday to–” he’s cut off by Peter’s arms circling him in a crushing hug. “Ok, good, good,” Tony murmurs, rubbing soothing circles into Peter’s back. “Now, wanna tell me why you’re in boxers on the roof of the tallest building in the city?”

Tony feels the teen stiffen beneath his ministrations. Peter draws back so he can see Tony’s face once again. The philanthropist can see more unshed tears threatening to spill over his kid’s cheeks. He sighs as the teen closes his eyes and takes one of the arms still flung around the mechanic to rub his eyes once more. Tony leans over and presses a soft kiss to the top of the kid’s unkempt curls. “We don’t have to get into it all now, but I definitely want to hear what’s going on with you. What do you say to going back to the Tower, getting cleaned up and warmed up, maybe some hot chocolate?”

Peter nods and lets out a big sigh. “Alright, Underoos, let’s get that suit and head home. Happy’s waiting for us down in front of the building. Neither of us should be flying right now.” Peter nods again and the mechanic scans the roof. “Did you bring a change of clothes with you? Your backpack? Otherwise this is gonna be real awkward.” The pair each let out a wry chuckle. Peter nods once more and points. “Alright, good, good. You get changed and we’ll head down.”

While Peter changes and grabs his suit, Tony goes to the door to the lower floors of the building. To the billionaire’s relief, the knob turned. He turns to find a gently swaying Peter behind him. Tony wraps an arm around the kid’s shoulders. “I’ve got you, bimbo,” Tony feels the boy sag in relief, and they make their way downstairs and into the waiting car.

Happy’s concerned eyes meet Tony’s in the rearview mirror. “Where to, boss? The Tower?” Tony nods in assent as Peter’s head falls onto his shoulder. He squeezes the shoulders of the wiry teen in comfort as Happy drives them. He presses a kiss to the crown of the boy’s head, amongst the curls.

Soon, but not as soon as either of the adults would have wished, they three arrive at the tower. Peter has fallen into a fitful sleep, so Tony scoops the boy into his arms bridal-style for the journey upstairs.

“Do you want me to call Cho?” Happy inquires softly as he holds open the elevator doors.

“No,” murmurs the mechanic. “I’ve got him for now. But I’ll let you know. Thank you.”

“You got it, boss,” Happy says as the doors close.

Tony looks down at the precious boy in his arms. In the harsh light in the elevator, taking in afresh the dirt and blood on the kid. “Oh, Peter,” he murmurs. The boy doesn’t stir as they reach their destination, and Tony is torn between letting him rest and getting him both cleaned and warmed up. Thankfully, the floor is empty at the moment, and Tony deposits his burden on the soft couch. He gently nudges Peter awake. “Hey, bimbo, what do you say we get you cleaned up and warmed with some food? Does that sound good?” Peter nods sleepily as he drags a hand across his swollen eyes. “Alright. I’ll get some food and hot chocolate ready while you get cleaned up and some fresh clothes, yeah?”

The boy gets up and makes his way to the bathroom and his room here at the Tower to do just that while Tony bustles in the kitchen. Tony knows the teen is far from okay, but hopefully some carbs will help.

#irondad #spiderson #tony stark #peter parker #iron man #spiderman #mine #blue rose writes #You Will Be Found #YWBF #tw suicidal #tw anxiety #tw self-harm #tw self-hatred #angst #Angst with a happy ending #suicidal Peter parker #peter parker needs a hug #tony stark has a heart

33 notes · View notes

ibelieveinahappilyeverafter · 4 years

Text

Writing Commission - A Gift of Sunshine - Chapter 3

For those of you who read the manga - or Vigilantes - this story does NOT have Shirakumo in it and Aizawa's backstory is completely different regarding U.A. and his school career. You'll really see that in this chapter. (I hope to one day write something about Shirakumo, but as of yet, I am not ready for that emotional roller coaster.)

⁂

Summary: It is the worst day of fifteen-year-old Aizawa Shouta’s life when he trudges home after a failed entrance test to U.A. – the school made for heroes. His worst day abruptly turns strange, however, when he gets home to find a beautiful sword on his bed with a scroll attached that is addressed from his grandfather.

It turns out that his entire family was descended from a samurai (unsurprising considering he lived in Japan) and the sword was meant to help him become a hero. Shouta hadn’t been expecting the sword to talk, however, and he especially hadn’t expected the sword to have a voice as warm as sunshine itself.

It’s a long journey to become a hero like he wants, but Shouta has a feeling that he and Hizashi are going to do just fine.

⁂

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Relationship: Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic/Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead

Characters: Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead

Rating: Teen Audiences

Word Count (Total): 35,935

Transaction Amount: $250 (USD)

⁂

Check out my writing commission information here! Pledge to my Patreon to get exclusive content!

Read and follow the story on AO3!

⁂

<<Previous Chapter>> <<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Three

⁂

This was something he hadn’t prepared for, Shouta thought to himself as he stared at the stacks of papers that were scattered across his desk. While he had been expecting the intense workload that would come from being in the Heroics Department once he transferred, he hadn’t expected so much of it to feel so much like paperwork. He had a feeling that their homeroom teacher, Nezu, was fully aware of the fact, however, and simply used it as a tactic to weed out the weak.

Hizashi seemed to be of the same mind, groaning loudly and dramatically from where he was ‘on’ Shouta’s bed, trying to help by reading a stack of spread out papers himself. “Shouta, this is hard. Do you know how much written language has changed between our times? I’m only so good, Shouta!”

“This coming from the one who bragged that he could defeat the entire class without my help,” Shouta snorted, shifting the sword he had casually propped up against him. He could still work on his papers as he needed to, but there was always a small part of the sheath pressed up against bare skin so he could hear and see Hizashi clearly. “Maybe I should have just gone without a hero name…”

“Aw, what, no way!” Hizashi cried at once, Shouta trying to remain unaffected and not laugh as Hizashi fluttered around him in distress. “Eraserhead is such a cool name! I worked hard on that you know!”

Alright, Shouta couldn’t stop his snort at that one, shaking his head as he tried to ‘push’ Hizashi away from him. Hizashi, as always, obeyed the gesture even without the touch. “You spent five minutes muttering names under your breath and then shouted about that one until I said it just to shut you up.”

“Yeah, but you must have liked it at least a little if you actually went with it,” Hizashi pouted and huffed, looking dramatically distressed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the desk. “What’s all this paper even for? This is more paper than last year when you first transferred and were catching up!”

The sad thing was, Shouta thought to himself, that wasn’t an exaggeration. His request to transfer had been met with approval after the Sports Festival, but that still meant weeks and even months of work to catch up on. He had managed, and he was almost certain a large part of his success was due to Hizashi cheering him on, but it still wasn’t a time he liked to think too heavily on. Second year, though, was starting to prove more difficult than his first year.

“I already told you and so did Nezu for the last three classes. All of this is for proper internships to get us ready to work within the professional world of heroes. It isn’t about just swinging a sword around and showing off, anymore.”

There was a noise of deep offense, Shouta unable to help his snicker at Hizashi’s screech of, “I have never shown off!” It was the biggest lie Hizashi had ever told with a straight face and it was hilarious. “Oh, shut up! C’mon, you’re supposed to be picking a mentor, aren’t you?”

“So, you were paying attention,” Shouta snorted, dragging a few packets of paper closer to look over them. After his success in the Sports Festival in the last two years, Shouta was in no way short of internship offers from pro heroes. It seemed that many, rightly so, knew how rare and unique Erasure was as an ability; and how powerful it could be in the right circumstances. “There’s a lot of choices is all.”

Too many choices, if Shouta were being honest, and a lot of them came from top name heroes who were often in the public eye and were seen on the news almost every day. Shouta wanted to help people, sure, but he had never put thought into how he would have to be involved in the media circus that surrounded pros. The rising fame that was All Might was only making the spotlight even brighter, as well.

“What about Swift?” Looking up at Hizashi’s question and the unfamiliar name, Shouta looked to where Hizashi was back on the bed, hunched over one of the papers. When he looked up at Shouta, it was with a serious expression that reminded Shouta of how much the other really did care about Shouta’s future. “Says here he’s an underground hero, primarily, and deals with night patrols and the more local crime rates rather than the whole super villain thing.”

“Underground, huh?” Shouta, if he were being honest, had forgotten that underground heroes were really a thing. They hardly learned about them in school and Nezu was the only teacher to have ever mentioned them in length, and even then the information on them was limited.

Pushing himself away from his desk, and sidestepping a few piles of messes scattered across his room that was mostly abandoned homework, Shouta leaned over to get a better look at whatever hero had caught Hizashi’s eye, scanning the paper with a considering hum because, well, this one did sound perfect.

An underground hero would be out of the public spotlight and that would mean Shouta would hardly, if ever, need to deal with the irritating force of power that was the media. The pro, Swift, was an established hero who had been working at his own agency for over a couple decades if Shouta’s math was correct. The hero himself didn’t seem all that bad, either.

Shifting to sit on the bed properly, and idly noticing Hizashi shuffled away to free up more room even though he didn’t need to, Shouta grabbed the packet and started flipping through, scanning for more information about the hero.

He had a simple quirk that was short range teleportation, it seemed, hence the name Swift. The ability to use it seemed to depend how long he could hold his breath, which, really, it seemed stupid, but most quirks did these days. This Swift, however, seemed to know how to use his quirk well if he had been an underground hero for so long. The part that caught his eye, though, and what had probably caught Hizashi’s eye, was that Swift fought with a sword.

“Says here he fights with a sword,” Shouta pointed out, mostly to watch Hizashi squirm. “Something about being a trained sword fighter, too.” The squirming was even worse and Shouta was having far too much fun watching Hizashi try not to break. “I don’t know, there was that other hero-”

Hizashi’s whining, loud and pathetic, had Shouta trying to fight off more laughter. “Shouta, this guy is perfect for us! You get to stay out of the spotlight, I get to interact with a sword fighter by your world’s standards, and you get to learn from someone else on how to fight with a sword! You can have a sparring partner!”

“And here I thought you were my sparring partner,” Shouta teased, flipping through the papers again and looking at the address for the agency Swift owned. It would only be a single train ride away from where he lived, which, well, that was a sign if there ever was one, really. “Hm… I’ll think about it.”

It took another week before Shouta was really able to finalize his choice on who to internship under, but Hizashi had been right in pointing out that Swift would be the best for them and their training; and he really was.

Swift was strict, had a gallows sense of humor, and smiled like he was planning on how to kill whoever he was talking to. He quickly became Shouta’s favorite hero even if he would never admit it unless he was tortured by the man himself. Hizashi had also been right in how good it was to spar with someone who used a sword, as well.

There was a difference between practicing repetitions and movements with Hizashi guiding his movements versus actually fighting against someone. It was as thrilling as it was exhausting, and it was more than once that Shouta fell asleep while leaning against a wall waiting for whatever cruel torture he would be shuffled off to next.

It wasn’t just fighting and the pro hero world that Swift taught him about, either, but the man seemed to know a little bit of everything, gravelly voice pointing out bits of history and knowledge and information that Shouta might have never known otherwise. Even Hizashi was caught off guard with some of what they learned, which made Shouta as satisfied as it did wary.

Swift was an incredible hero, as the countless scars that he had screamed, peeking out from under the edges of black tactical gear and a ridiculously long red scarf, but he was also aged and grizzled, and something in his voice, deep and crackling as if he was always on the verge of entering a coughing fit, had Shouta constantly on edge. It didn’t help whenever the man would quietly stare at Hizashi, the sword part of him, at least, with a look that was less than reassuring.

It was a few months before Shouta realized why the look set him so on edge, and it reflected in his tone as he thought over the latest question he had been asked while hunched over his bag and making sure he had everything before he left for the day. “‘Cursed blades?’”

“So, you don’t know about them, then,” Swift - or rather Shukuchi since he had told Shouta his first day that he hated being called by his hero name - was looking down at him with a look that Shouta couldn’t quite decipher. If he were to guess, it meant he was about to be told something he wasn’t going to like. “Tell me, Aizawa, where did you get that sword that you wear so religiously?”

“Hizashi?” Shouta blinked, glancing to Hizashi who was leaning against the wall while waiting on him, surprised by the dark look on his face. “My grandfather.” Shouta had told Shukuchi of Hizashi on his first day with him since Shouta knew Hizashi was annoying enough that one way or another Shouta would yell at him to shut up. It was only logical to avoid any possible confusion and make sure his mentor knew Shouta wouldn’t be shouting at him.

“Grandfather, huh…” The man trailed off, gaze going from the sword to Shouta himself. “Cursed blades are just like they sound, although no one these days believes they’re real. They’re said to be swords that gained souls of their own after killing enough people, warping and carving their own soul together with the pieces they stole.”

Shouta forced himself to snort, standing up casually before throwing his bag around his shoulders. “Sounds like a story parents made up so their kids wouldn’t play with sharp objects.” Beside him, he heard Hizashi’s soft snort, something in Shouta slowly relaxing and uncoiling at the sound.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Shukuchi looked like he was smiling, but Shouta could tell it was anything but. “They were said to be able to give people the knowledge and power to wield them, possessing them into giving them all the strength they could ever want before taking over their soul completely.”

“Scary,” Shouta drawled, trying to sound bored and disinterested even as his heart sped up because that… Hizashi had told him the first day they had met. He could increase his strength and give him the knowledge and instincts on how to fight with him, but that same day he had also proved that he could possess Shouta. He hadn’t done it since that first time, but with how close their bond was, Hizashi could take him over whenever he wanted, couldn’t he?

“They are.” Shukuchi said it so calmly, yet so seriously. It was as if he was telling Shouta that a tsunami could kill him. It was a fact. “Let me guess, when your grandfather gave you that sword there was a sealing tag on it and it was bound with a red cord.”

Shouta felt himself freeze, unable to hide his shocked expression as he blinked at his mentor before glancing to Hizashi. Instead of wide-eyed surprise or shock, Hizashi had gone cold and blank, staring at Shukuchi as if he were a threat instead of the man who had been training them to get stronger. For a moment, a moment he hoped he imagined, Shouta felt heat coming from the sword.

“I… yeah, actually.” There was no point in lying when he knew the other man would be able to tell, and, besides, Shouta wanted to know how he knew. As far as he knew, he had never told anyone about how Hizashi had appeared to him, his sword lying on the bed sealed and bound and unable to be drawn. “How do you know that?”

Shukuchi pushed out a long, slow breath, as if realizing he was right and hating the fact. “Let’s just say cursed blades have their reputation for a reason.” The man turned his back to them, walking towards his office and giving out a half-hearted wave. “Go home and get some rest, kid. Think about getting a different sword while you’re at it, too.”

Shouta barely even realized what he was doing as he adjusted his bag and walked out of the agency, thoughts too overwhelming to even hear as he followed a long-ago memorized route to the train station. He was on a train home before he even knew it, his only clear thought that Hizashi was quiet enough that Shouta could almost forget he was there. It was all the ‘proof’ he needed to know that Shukuchi’s words weren’t just an idle warning that didn’t apply to him.

He wasn’t quite sure how, but between one second and the next Shouta had made it back to his silent home, everything dark and quiet as he sat on his bed with Hizashi’s sword - with Hizashi - lying across his lap, the physical manifestation of him, if it was even that, sitting in front of him with a small, weak smile. “Told you that Swift was terrifying, didn’t I? Gave me the chills the first day we met him.”

Shouta didn’t laugh like he would on any other day, only staring at Hizashi as all of his thoughts screamed, but when he finally spoke, he winced at hearing how much his voice sounded like a whisper. “Hizashi.” Shouta paused, swallowed, and took a breath, “Are you a cursed blade?”

There wasn’t even a beat of silence before Hizashi answered, a firm, but reluctant, “Yes, I am.” Which meant that, no matter how many things had been false and how many things had been true, Hizashi was dangerous. “Shouta?” At the soft, hesitant call of his name, Shouta opened his eyes, surprised he had even closed them, to see Hizashi looked scared.

It was that expression, coupled with the past year of friendship and teamwork, that allowed Shouta to take a calm breath and tighten his grip on the sword in his lap before meeting Hizashi’s sad gaze. “I don’t know what I think yet because I don’t have all the information. It’s not logical to make a decision until I hear your side of the story.”

There was a quiet sniffle, Shouta feeling embarrassment prickle at his skin as it always did when Hizashi was overly emotional. “Shouta,” Hizashi mumbled, looking ready to cry before he was laughing and shaking his head. “You Aizawas and your logic, honestly…”

It took a few minutes before Hizashi seemed to get control of himself and get his thoughts in order, breathing out heavily as he nodded to himself more than Shouta. “Okay. I am a cursed blade, but not in the traditional sense, and definitely not how Swift was tellin’ it. Yo, I’m serious, that dude is terrifying.”

“So you’ve said,” Shouta responded dryly, trying to dredge up the fear he had felt when he started to realize what Hizashi really was. It was hard to do that when he went around talking like he was a punk. “What is the truth, then?”

“It’s…” Hizashi trailed off, tilting his head side to side as he shifted and squirmed on the bed, trying to ‘get comfortable’ before he was sighing and letting his head drop. “I’m the same as a cursed blade in the way that I can give you strength and knowledge and even possess you and others if I wanted. I, uh, kind of possessed you at first…”

Hizashi trailed off into a guilty silence, Shouta not sure whether to give in to fear or anger. He chose annoyance as a nice alternative option. “You did. Was that supposed to be a test? Find out how easy I’d be to take over if something went wrong?”

“Uh, well, honestly I just wanted to prove a point about how I could fight for myself and junk,” Hizashi admitted, his expression so much like a child who had been caught stealing sweets. It made it hard to hold onto any fear; or anger. “I also just wanted to see how strong you were. Most people at least try to push me out, you just let me in even more, if anything!”

Shouta settled for a neutral response of flipping Hizashi off, trying to keep his expression blank as Hizashi burst into wild laughter. “Shut up, Hizashi.” The words had never worked before, Shouta mused, and he supposed it was only fair they didn’t work now, seeing as Hizashi was laughing even more than before.

“Sorry, sorry, just- Okay, so!” Hizashi drew himself up, leaning forward so his hands were resting on top of the sword, Hizashi smiling as his hands almost brushed against Shouta’s own. “I am a cursed blade, but… I’m different in that I had a soul from before I was a sword. Swift was right in saying that cursed blades sort of grow their own souls after they kill enough, but I…”

Hizashi was still and silent, Shouta almost scared that Hizashi would disappear from right in front of him before he started talking again. “I was human, once, you know.” The news didn’t come as a shock, exactly, since Shouta had assumed as much, but judging by the way Shukuchi had been talking earlier that night, he had a feeling this was a revelation not common to most cursed blades.

“Cursed blades grow their own souls, but I already had one from where I had been human - although I don’t really remember what I was like,” Hizashi admitted, voice quiet as he leaned back and dragged a hand through his hair. “Did I look like I do now? Did I sound like I do now? I don’t know. I don’t even remember a family if I ever had one to begin with. I don’t even remember when I lived. I just-” Hizashi cut himself off, closing his eyes as he sighed softly, the sound trembling as much as his shoulders.

“I was human, and I was always getting into trouble. Too curious.” Hizashi opened his eyes slowly, meeting Shouta’s gaze with such a scared smile. “I have a talent, or maybe in your words a quirk, for attracting and getting into trouble. I was… I was just at the wrong place at the right time, and, well. Here we are.”

Shouta nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. His mentor had been right, then, in saying that Hizashi was dangerous, but with his eyes closed, all Shouta could remember was Hizashi’s soft, awed expression from when they had met each other’s eyes after he had first started meditating.

Hizashi didn’t try to get his attention or interrupt his thoughts, only staying quiet. It was that quiet that allowed Shouta to stay calm as he opened his eyes with a shuddering breath, managing a soft, “Give me time?”

“Oh, Shouta…” Shouta saw the hand that so gently cupped his cheek, but anything he felt he knew was nothing more than his imagination. “Take all the time you need, Shouta. I’ll wait.”

⁂

In the end it took six days before Shouta managed to get his thoughts and feelings in order. Six days of not meditating, of Hizashi fading from his sight, of Shouta looking into every scrap of information he could find on cursed blades, and six entire days of Hizashi absolutely silent and not saying a word.

It was the silence that had been the most difficult, Shouta had found, and it was like weight sliding off his shoulders when he managed to clear out a spot in his room to sit and enter into his usual meditative thoughts, sword resting across his lap and one of Hizashi’s favorite songs, so far, playing quietly from his phone.

When Shouta opened his eyes after he felt like he wouldn’t shake himself apart, it was to see Hizashi looking at him with an expression of what Shouta would only ever call despair. “I take it this is goodbye, then?” Ah. What an idiot.

“Yes, Hizashi, I put on your favorite song and spent an hour meditating because I wanted to tell you goodbye. Use your brain for once, idiot,” Shouta grumbled, forcing down a smile even as Hizashi’s own smile began to appear again.

“But- But I’m cursed. Swift was right in saying I was dangerous! Shouta, you’ve felt me during fights, you know I can get…” Bloodthirsty was probably the best way to finish that, but Shouta didn’t see how that mattered as long as Hizashi kept himself in check when he needed to.

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head to truly prove how much of an idiot Hizashi was being, Shouta relaxed his tense posture and leaned back. “You were cursed the day I met you, too. That doesn’t mean everything you’ve ever told me is a lie, does it?”

“Wha- Of course not!” Ah, back to his usual loud volume. Shouta almost regretted his actions. “I would never lie to you, Shouta! You’re…” Hizashi trailed off, loud voice dropping off into what was almost a whisper, expression as soft as his words. “You’re so important to me, Shouta.”

“And you’re my best friend,” Shouta said, words slipping off his tongue easily even as he tried to figure out why Hizashi’s own words, a soft declaration of care and trust, had him feeling so off balance. “That makes all the difference, don’t you think?”

There was a moment where Shouta was utterly content and satisfied that everything truly was going to be okay before Hizashi was sobbing his name and trying to hug him, Shouta almost glad that Hizashi could in no way manage the task. It was still good, though. This was their first real ‘fight’ since they had become friends and Shouta had a feeling that it would only bring them closer, in the end.

He soon regretted that thought, too, however, when not even days later Hizashi possessed his body and then immediately used it to make friends with his classmates. Shouta’s only saving grace was that when he told everyone he had been possessed by his sword, which many of them hadn’t even noticed he had, they had immediately left him alone to his peace and solitude.

That was not the case for all of them, however, and Shouta soon found himself forced to deal with Iida Tensei and Kayama Nemuri every day of his foreseeable school career. It was only made worse when Kayama managed to get her hands on Hizashi and the two bonded to a worrying degree after Hizashi taught both her and Iida how to meditate, clear their minds, and forge a connection with him.

His worries were all proven right when Kayama tackled him in a tight, crushing hug not long after he had settled down at his desk a few weeks after his and Hizashi’s conversation about being a cursed blade. The hug was made terrifying when she cried out a delighted, “Shou-chan! You’re so soft!”

Iida, sane person that he was, looked as shocked as Shouta felt, clearing his throat before speaking, “Er, Kayama? Did you just… call him Shou-chan?” The disbelief was more than warranted because Kayama had yet to even call him Shouta, even though Shouta had insisted he didn’t care and he had been badgered to call her Nemuri more than once.

“Of course, what else would I call him?” Kayama asked, hug tightening as she laughed in a way that he had never heard her laugh before. “Shou-chan is Shou-chan!” With that bright, loud declaration, Shouta felt as if he had been hit by a bolt of lightning half a dozen times over.

“Hizashi?” Shouta squirmed in the tight hug, looking up at Kayama’s face and studying it intently before he saw the spark of mischief and delight and noticed, now that he was fully and completely awake, the sword strapped to her - his - back. “You possessed Kayama?”

“Possessed is such a strong word, Shou-chan,” Hizashi pouted, finally letting go to sit up on Shouta’s desk, bright smile reappearing. “She gave me full permission!” Of course she did. “Especially when she found out we had never even hugged!” Of course she did.

Iida cleared his throat, Shouta glancing over at him to see he looked nervous, “So, uh, that… You’re Hizashi, then? Right now?”

“Yep! The one and only!” Hizashi chirped, wiggling around in delight. Now that he was looking for it, it was so easy to see Hizashi’s mannerisms shining out of Kayama’s body. “It’s only for a few minutes since Kayama-san and I don’t have too strong of a bond, though.”

“You can only possess people for a few minutes at a time?” Shouta frowned, looking up at Hizashi. “Really?” From the way Hizashi and Shukuchi both had talked, it sounded as if it could have been for much longer.

Hizashi himself blinked, caught off guard before laughing. “Oh, no, I can possess people for days at a time, if I wanted to!” Ah, mildly terrifying, then. “Kayama-san isn’t used to this type of bond, though, and possession like that could hurt her. That’s the last thing I want!” Mildly terrifying, and yet far too kind.

“Well,” Iida said with a clearing of his throat and a clap of his hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you properly! Or, er, well, I suppose we did technically already meet, and this is probably stranger than simply holding a sword and talking to you, but-”

Hizashi’s laughter mercifully cut Iida off, his - Kayama’s? - feet kicking back and forth in the air as he used Shouta’s desk as his own personal seat. “I know what you mean, Iida-san. It’s nice to meet you, too!” Hizashi looked to Shouta, staring down at him for a long moment before reaching out and lightly patting at his cheek, beaming when skin touched skin. “I had almost forgotten what that feeling was like…”

Shouta felt a ridiculous swelling of emotion as he quickly looked away, trying to focus instead on the oddity of hearing Hizashi’s laughter with Kayama’s voice. He was, once again, saved by Iida speaking. “You know, this possession thing… Could you use that on villains in the future?”

All of them fell silent, Shouta looking to Hizashi and sharing a look with him before he felt the smile breaking through, the expression mirrored on Hizashi’s own face, wiggling around again before laughing loudly, “Nezu did tell us to come up with a way we could fight when outnumbered, yeah? I’d say evening the numbers sounds like a good way to do it.”

“Wouldn’t Aizawa need to find another way to fight, then?” Iida asked, Shouta nodding at once as he leaned back in his seat, already thinking over the possibilities of what the future could bring.

“I would, since the sword would need physical contact with a villain in order for Hizashi to possess them. Although…” Shouta trailed off, looking to Hizashi. “I think I might have an idea when it comes to fighting without you helping me.”

Hizashi grinned and Shouta suddenly felt a lot more confident in the future that was to come. After all, he knew for certain that he wouldn’t be facing it alone.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #erasermic #a gift of sunshine #original

5 notes · View notes

asarahworld-writes · 5 years

Text

Moments

Moments, when Anakin Skywalker felt the pull of the Dark Side. And one when he felt the Light shine through.

**Pre-hologram meeting “on” Kashyyyk.**

AO3

“Is it possible to learn this power?”

“Not from a Jedi.”

Anakin looked up to the Chancellor, his mentor, his friend. A non-Force-sensitive being who knew Sith legends.

“How?”

“How what?” Was it his imagination, or did the Chancellor’s tone sour when questioned? Anakin was well-versed in reading the tone of a person’s voice – the effects of slavery on a person never healed, not when one’s survival had once depended on certain skills.

“How do you know a Sith legend? None of the Jedi, not even Master Yoda, are versed in these matters.”

“Oh,” the Chancellor waved a hand, “you tend to pick up bits and pieces over the years. You see, Anakin, it’s not how I know the story that’s important, it’s the story itself that matters. It was only through understanding the Dark Side of the Force that Darth Plagueis was able to learn, and more importantly, use that power to save others… those he loved.”

“And yet his apprentice still killed him. Chancellor, excuse my bluntness, but why are you telling me this?” Obi-Wan had sensed something in the Chancellor, had warned the Council about it. Anakin’s stomach turned. His master was right. The Chancellor was up to something.

“Because I thought it was something you needed to hear, young Skywalker. There is more to the Force, and indeed, to life, than what the Jedi will tell you.”

Anakin was quiet, watching the ballet with feigned interest. It was a strange relationship, the friendship between a Jedi and the Chancellor of the Republic. Anakin knew there was some truth in Obi-Wan’s mistrust of the Nabooian politician that went beyond a general distaste of politics.

ROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTS

**Palpatine having just murdered Master Windu**

“What have I done?” Anakin stumbled back, collapsing onto a stool, watching in disbelief as the Chancellor, the Sith Lord, rose from the ledge.

“You’re fulfilling your destiny, Anakin.” The Chancellor advanced and Anakin bowed his head, trying to centre himself. “Become my apprentice. Learn to use the Dark Side of the Force.”

“No,” Anakin muttered, his resolve weakening as the Chancellor drew nearer.

“It can save her, as you failed to save your mother,” the Chancellor stopped mere feet away. “Senator Amidala.”

“You can save Padmé?” The words tumbled from Anakin’s mouth before he had the chance to think. “I can’t live without her.”

“If we work together, I know we can discover the secret,” the Chancellor said. Anakin’s hand twitched as if to draw his lightsabre. “Look at me, Anakin. Would you really pull your weapon on an injured man?” Anakin hesitated, then turned the laser sword on to the Chancellor’s throat. “Come now, Anakin.”

“No.” The lightsabre was not still. “You may be injured, but I have no doubt that you’re still dangerous. You will go before the Senate and revoke the emergency powers. Then there will be a hearing.”

“On what charge?” The Chancellor asked, his voice sickly.

“Corruption of the government. Murder. And if the Senate does not convict you, the Council will. Terribly flawed though they may be, the Jedi are still the keepers of peace in the galaxy.”

“Kill me, and your wife will die. Oh, yes, Anakin. I do know about your ‘secret’ marriage, on Naboo. You went to the Lake Country, a beautiful spot no doubt.”

Anakin’s minded was nearly blinded by an onslaught of memories of Padmé. “How do you know about Lake Country? There was only myself, Padmé, and two droids present.”

“As I have already told you, Anakin, the Dark Side of the Force can lead to many open doors. Join me.”

“You speak with great certainty with a lightsabre drawn on your throat,” Anakin’s voice was steady.

“Do it. Kill me and you will be forced to assume my place in the budding Empire. Let me live, and you will be the second most powerful man in the galaxy.”

ROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTS

“I hate you!”

Obi-Wan Kenobi stared down at the smoldering man below. “You’re my brother, Anakin. I love you.” Using the Force, Obi-Wan lifted Anakin from the molten rock. “I love you, and I have failed you, and for that I am more sorry than you will ever know.”

“You took her from me!”

“Padmé? Anakin, she was terrified of you. There are limits to whom even the Chosen One can save! She would rather die than have you like this!”

Obi-Wan’s phrasing drew Anakin from his rage. “She’s alive?” He rasped.

“Yes, of course, she’s alive,” Obi-Wan reached toward his brother.

“Help me,” Anakin rasped. “Help me save Padmé’s life. Senator Palpatine, he’s the Sith Lord. He said,” he hesitated briefly, “he said that he could save her.”

“Anakin, I know that the Jedi, that I have failed you in the past. I promise to do everything in my power to save Padmé. She is a dear friend and,” Obi-Wan paused, clearly debating whether to continue, “and she’s told me the truth.”

The truth. Anakin didn’t know what the truth meant any more.

“The truth is that you and Padmé are in love and have been for nearly your whole lives,” Obi-Wan said gently. “The truth is that you’re my brother and I have not supported you when you needed me. The truth is that Darth Sidious got into your head and manipulated you to suit his own needs. The truth is that you are Anakin Skywalker, and you are a good person.” Obi-Wan picked up Anakin’s fallen lightsabre and tucked it into his belt, before bending over his friend. “The truth is that I hope we can save you, Anakin.”

ROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTS

When Anakin awoke, he was naked. His charred hand easily swept through the bacta, reaching desperately for his wife. Her name silently escaped his burned lips, air bubbles popping fiercely as they broke the tank’s surface.

Obi-Wan Kenobi lay a hand over the outside of the bacta tank. When Anakin Skywalker had returned, so had Padmé’s life force. She had grown stronger as her due date neared, and she had cried with relief when her babies had been born alive and well. Leia Amidala and Luke Skywalker were tiny and so quiet that Obi-Wan had been afraid if they didn’t lose Padmé and Anakin, they would lose the twins.

“Soon,” he quietly promised his brother.

Soon was relative. Anakin’s burns were severe and no one quite understood how the true Sith Lord had manipulated Padmé’s life force to support him. Padmé was on life support, improving every day, and Anakin spent more time in the bacta than out, healing his physical and emotional traumas. Obi-Wan spent his days and nights split into visiting each of the Skywalkers until, exhausted, he comm’ed for help.

It took two days for the Naberries to arrive from Naboo, five for the Larses to arrange passage and fly in from the Outer Rim. Ruwee and Jobal immediately busied themselves with caring for the twins, being the only people in the facility who had experience with children. (They immersed themselves in their youngest grandchildren, with Sola and her children arriving later).

With six family members present, no Skywalker was ever uncared for. Pooja and Ryoo Naberrie looked on in wonder as their grandfather rocked baby Leia to sleep. Beru Lars learned to perfect heating a baby’s bottle and was the only one who could get Luke to stop fussing long enough to eat. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Owen Lars took turns sitting up with Anakin, doing whatever they could to support their brother’s recovery, as Jobal and Sola Naberrie did with Padmé.

Eventually, Anakin Skywalker was released, emerging from the bacta tank a new man. His skin was badly scared, his hair patchy where it had been burned away, but he was healed enough that the med-droids released him.

“Padmé,” he gasped, his voice rough and scratchy from not having been used in so long. He stepped forward and stopped, raising his robe from the floor to see the metal prosthetic leg. Obi-Wan was at his side immediately.

“What do you remember?”

“The Chancellor…he’s the Sith Lord!” Anakin said, the urgency in his voice only heightened by his concern for his wife.

“The Jedi have seen to his removal from office. Anakin, what else do you remember?” There was a sense of urgency underlying his friend and mentor’s calm.

“Padmé,” Anakin repeated. “My dreams, they were like the ones about my mother,” his voice broke. “And the baby.”

“The children are healthy. Your families have been here, looking after them while you’ve been recovering.”

Children. He was a father. He realized that Obi-Wan was still speaking.

“…didn’t know. She named them. Luke and Leia Naberrie-Skywalker.” Anakin tried to lift his head, before realizing that of course they wouldn’t be waiting in the hospital room for him to wake up. Obi-Wan must have sensed his thoughts, for he moved to the door. A few minutes later, he re-entered the room with a woman he vaguely recognized as Padmé’s mother and a man he thought could have been Cliegg Lars’ son. Anakin only had eyes for the blanket in Missus Naberrie’s arms.

“Anakin, this is Luke Naberrie-Skywalker,” Jobal said softly. She brought his son closer, so close that Anakin could have reached out and touched him. But he hesitated. Luke was not the tiny newborn he had expected. This baby was a few months old at the very least, with a mess of blonde hair on his head. Jobal brought the blankets closer, and Anakin automatically took the baby. His baby. His son, little Luke Skywalker. Something registered in his mind.

“Twins?”

His stepbrother entered the room, carrying another bundle of blankets. “Leia Naberrie-Skywalker,” Owen laid the baby girl in Anakin’s free arm. An arm that was made entirely of metal, much like his left hand. That train of thought disappeared the moment that Leia’s large brown eyes looked into his own blue ones.

Tears were rolling down Anakin’s face when he finally looked away from his daughter. “Where is Padmé?”

“Recovering. When you nearly died, so did she. The two of you are linked, through the Force, Anakin.” Obi-Wan rested his hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “She is so strong. Her doctor believes she will wake within the next few hours.”

“I need to see her. I need to see Padmé,” Anakin stood, the twins still cradled in his arms. Obi-Wan, already at his side, steadied him.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said quietly.

There was an odd processional heading down the corridor, if anyone had paid any attention. A medical droid followed by a man clutching two tiny babies (a man unused to what were obviously new prosthetic limbs). Another slightly older man hanging on to the new father, physically supporting him. His parents, and brother and sister. (A family).

Anakin collapsed at his wife’s bedside.

“Padmé,” he murmured, laying his children on the bed beside their mother.

Obi-Wan watched with intrigue. Against all odds, Padmé was beginning to stir. The Force worked in mysterious ways, that much he knew, but to witness it in this way was completely new to him.

“Anakin?” Though her voice was small and weak, there was no denying its power over the man kneeling at the woman’s side.

“Padmé.” Anakin’s head snapped up, his eyes feasting on the sight of his wife recovering. Padmé’s hand moved, nearly imperceptibly, until it was resting on her husband’s head, buried in his hair.

“The twins?” She breathed, feebly attempting to sit upright. Her children were on either side of her and Anakin gently guided her hands so that they were touching them.

The Naberrie-Skywalker family was healing. Together, as a family. Anakin and Padmé. Obi-Wan, and Ruwee and Jobal. Owen and Beru. Sola, Pooja, and Ryoo. And perhaps the most important connection, Anakin and Padmé, and their children.

#sw fanfic #sw #anakin x padme #rots #rots au #sw au

12 notes · View notes

allonsysilvertongue · 6 years

Text

Always Done What You Say

This was how it began - Tony Stark had called on Peter Parker for a mission while he was out with May except the mission did not end the way anyone imagined or hoped it would, and now Peter’s life has been pulled out from under him.

(Or the story of how Tony found himself having to be more than just a mentor to Peter, one small step at a time) Previously

Chapter 14

“What?”

Tony nearly gave himself a whiplash by the speed in which he turned to look at the kid, confusion written plainly across his face.

“Something to just… make it easier,” Peter muttered. “To make the memories hazy… A little less sharp so that…. It’ll hurt less.”

“Okay so there’s clearly something that we should be talking about. This,” Tony gestured, “is one of those things – to be shared and talked about with me. I need you to talk to me, kid, not bottle it all up until it becomes too much that it drove you to make this kind of … request.”

“I’m not asking for my memories to be permanently deleted,” Peter huffed. “Just something that can make me forget about it for a little bit. I don’t want to forget May or Ben, but each time I close my eyes, I see May trapped under that billboard. I see her motionless in the hospital bed. I feel her trembling as I pulled her out from under the board. It’s a nightmare. It – It becomes so much that I couldn’t remember anything else about her, anything that’s good or – or happy.”

“I didn’t realise -”

“Shouldn’t there be a spell or something that can just… sort of repress those unpleasant memories?” Peter cut him off. “It’s like taking a file and putting it in a different folder in a computer, Mr. Stark. It’s not gone forever. It’s still there but in a different place. I don’t know…” he shrugged.

It was clear to him that Peter had given this some thought and Tony was annoyed with himself for not realizing and picking up on this sooner. Physically and on the outside, the kid appeared normal. He was still grieving but he was functioning. Still, if anyone should know the war that went on inside someone’s head, it should be Tony and yet… He had failed this boy.

He took a breath and mentally counted to ten. He would have plenty of opportunity later on his own for him to be mad at himself but right now, he needed to be here for Peter.

“That’s not how it works, kid,” Tony said, trying extremely hard to maintain his composure. “Nobody knows how memories, consciousness and the human mind really work. There are experts still trying to figure these out. Pete, there is a possibility that repressing the bad memories also repress the memories that are good. It’s a risk.”

“How would you know?” Peter challenged. “You’re not the Sorceror Supreme and you don’t have telepathic abilities like Wanda. Maybe they can do what the scientists out there couldn’t.”

“I don’t but even I know that the mind shouldn’t be tampered with,” Tony snapped with a biting edge in his voice.

“How’s this any different than people drinking to forget? Alcohol makes the memories a blur, right?” Peter asked. “Tell me, Mr. Stark.”

Tony reeled from his words, feeling as if he had been punched. That was exactly what he had done after his parent’s death. He had drank a glass each day and that in turn became one bottle and then two, and then he found himself spiraling all because he needed to cope with the grief and the loss, and the sudden responsibility of being CEO of Stark Industries. But he was better now, he had cut down and he was watching himself around Pepper and Peter, so to have Peter bring this up casually in a conversation, even if the kid wasn’t intentionally doing it to spite him, still hurts.

“Listen to me. This isn’t how it’s done. I’m not having Wanda mess with your mind. I’m not having Stephen cast a spell or some magical mumbo jumbo on you.”

“But -”

“No, no buts,” Tony stood firm. “There are other ways.”

“Shouldn’t I get a say in this? It’s my mind.”

“No you don’t get a say in this, not in this instance,” Tony retorted. “You’re emotional and exhausted – yes, kid, I can see it even if you keep telling me otherwise – and you should never make snap decisions like that until you’ve sat down and internalize it all. Trust me. I’ve had to learn from this experience the hard way.”

“I have thought about it and internalized it! I didn’t just bring this up to you now because it was something that popped into my head an hour ago,” Peter argued.

“Watch your tone,” Tony warned. “Fine, for the purpose of this conversation, say I were to give you the go ahead…. You really think Stephen is going to agree to it? I don’t think you know that wizard very well.”

The kid huffed and crossed his arms.

“Maybe then I’ll ask Wanda.”

“I forbid you from doing so.”

“You’re my guardian, not my dad,” Peter snapped, twisting the knife he had already earlier embedded in Tony’s heart.

Tony clenched his jaws. His heart rate was spiking up dangerously as he grabbed the steering wheel with his left hand to stop the impending shakes.

“You’re right I’m not but I’m the adult your aunt appointed to be responsible for you,” Tony said calmly, belying the storm going on internally. “You want to make that memory a blur too, Pete?”

“Mr. Stark….”

He sounded stunned and apologetic but Tony didn’t think he could sit here in the car with this kid arguing about this anymore. He might explode or yell, and react the same way Howard had with him when his patience was running thin. It wasn’t a risk he wanted to take so Tony started the engine.

“We’re going home,” he declared. “We’ll talk about this when we’re both calmer.”

When they arrived at the penthouse, Peter hovered. Tony knew the kid enough to know he wanted to say something.

“Go to your room, Peter,” Tony directed tiredly. “Try to … Try and get some sleep, alright?”

“Yeah, okay. G’night,” he said, making a beeline for his room.

He closed the door quietly. He didn’t slam it shut the way most teenagers do when they didn’t get their way.

Moving towards the kitchen, Tony grabbed a glass without a thought. He poured himself a drink and sat on the stool. It was only when he brought the glass to his lips that he paused. Drinking was his way to cope – this and throwing himself in his work. Peter didn’t have a coping mechanism, not yet. Having lost his parents at a young age and then his uncle didn’t necessarily make him an expert on how to cope with grief. The kid was still learning and he was clearly grappling.

Spiderman had been the way he dealt with losing his uncle but in Peter’s current mind frame, it was also the reason he lost his aunt. He had nothing left to fall back on now that he had given up being Spiderman.

So Peter had come up with a way to handle things which while wasn’t ideal, shouldn’t be treated as if he was completely in the wrong.

Tony was the adult. That meant it was up to him to steer Peter in the right direction, provide him a healthy outlet to talk about his feelings and his pain, and to deal with his struggles.

“Is Peter awake, F.R.I.D.A.Y?”

“He is, sir.”

It was past midnight but if the kid was awake… Or perhaps, he should let the kid cool off? God, he rubbed his face. He had no precedent on the best way to deal with a teenager. He didn’t realise handling just one could be this exhausting.

Tony knocked and waited but when no answer was forthcoming, he opened the door. Peter was half propped on his bed with headphones on his ears. The second he saw Tony walked in, he sat, turned off the music and took the headphones off.

“I’m sorry,” the words tumbled of out his mouth. “I didn’t mean what I said earlier, Mr. Stark.”

“Emotions were running high,” Tony said, stepping in.

“Are you – Um… Are you here to tell me that – that you’ve withdrawn the petition…?”

“Come again?” Tony frowned. He pulled the roller chair from Peter’s study table and sat in front of him on the bed.

“I – I was rude,” Peter stared at his hands. “I’m sorry. I really am. Please, Mr. Stark, I’d rather you be my guardian than someone else.”

Tony could only stare at the kid.

“Peter,” he said, placing a finger under Peter’s chin to nudge his head up until he was looking at him. “You’re my responsibility which means I’ll see it through. I’m not the kind of person to throw in the towel just ‘cause you said something that’s rude and out of line. That’s part of the deal. You’re going to have emotional outburst. You’re going to be angry with me at some point over something and I’m going to find myself frustrated beyond belief but we’re not gonna quit on each other, kid. Hate to break it to you but you’re stuck with me.”

“O – Okay. I won’t quit on you, Mr. Stark. I won’t.”

“That’s good to know, underoos. There’s going to be consequences and punishments for when you step out of line but you don’t ever have to worry about me walking out and leaving you to dry. Understand?”

“Yes,” Peter nodded.

“Good. Okay, good,” Tony released a breath. He rubbed the back of his head, trying to formulate his thoughts. “I’ve thought about what you want and I’m not here to tell you I’ve changed my mind. I haven’t. But I feel that I owe it to you to explain the reason I’m against it. You’re not a kid for me to say no to and expect you to fall in line. You deserve an explanation, and you’re old enough, Peter, to be able to think about it and understand it.”

“I – okay, I guess,” Peter nodded.

Tony learnt a long time ago that people would either listen to logic or emotion, or a balance of both. He had appealed to the logical side of Peter earlier but the boy had been so upset that it left little impact and since Peter tended to be impulsive, reacting on how he feel, the emotional angle would be better suited.

“Alright,” Tony offered a smile. “You were right, Pete. Some people do drink to forget and dull the pain, I’m one of them. Not proud of it. I still do it on some days when it gets too much but Pepper’s there to keep me in check and lately, it’s you too. Sometimes I’ll be in my workshop for hours. Working means I won’t be thinking about whatever it is that’s upsetting me. Ask anyone out there and they’ll tell you a thousand and one coping mechanism. Yours used to be being Spiderman, isn’t it?”

Peter was shaking his head vehemently. “No, Mr. Stark, you’re not going to talk me into becoming him again. I won’t do it.”

Tony chuckled. “I’m not. What I said earlier still stands. It’s your decision and I respect it.”

“So – So why can’t you do the same when I asked if I can have Dr. Strange or Wanda to help me.”

“Because forgetting is not the answer, Peter,” Tony said. “Maybe you don’t see it now but that pain and the loss will shape you. All these experiences will make you into the person you’ll be. It’s a part of you and it’s not something you should run from. I get it, kid, right now, it feels like nothing you do will ever make you feel okay again. But … You’ll learn to draw strength from your struggles. Draw courage to forge your life in their memory, if nothing else.”

Tony steeled himself. He wasn’t good at having conversation or doing any sort of consoling for that matter. May would have done this so he would have to step up and fill that void that she left behind.

“I don’t think you understand, Mr. Stark. Maybe you’ve forgotten the pain that comes from loss. I don’t want to feel that pain anymore. It’s sharp and it – it’s stabbing me right here,” his hand fluttered to his chest. “Some nights, when it’s quiet and I’m alone, I think about that day when the aliens attacked and I think about May, and it’s so bad I feel like I can’t breathe. It’s a – it’s a hole that I can’t fill. Then I – I tried not to think about it. I tried to think of when she’s happy, like when we have Thai for dinner during her birthdays but I can’t! I kept seeing her pale and bruised and lifeless. I’m scared that’s the only thing I’ll remember about her.”

Peter choked, his lips trembling and his hands were shaking. Tony did the very thing he should have done a long time ago. Maneuvering himself so he was now sitting at the edge of the bed next to Peter, he drew the kid into his embrace. Peter collapsed against him, his face pressed against Tony’s shoulder as his fingers dug and pulled into the shirt on Tony’s back.

The last time Tony had held him this way, May was still fighting and Peter had soaked through his shirt with tears.

“Let it all out,” he said gently. He hadn’t seen Peter cry since the night May died. This breakdown was passed due. “It’s okay, Peter. It’s just you and me, buddy.”

“I want the pain to – to go away so I can be… ” he trailed, his words muffled against Tony’s shoulder.

“So you can be you again?” Tony asked, adjusting his grip on the boy. “Here’s the thing, kid, you’re the only thing Mary and Richard Parker left behind. You’re the only living legacy of Ben and May Parker. You’re the only one left alive. If you repress those memories, they’ll be lost, Peter. We will all remember May, of course, but you’re the only one left who truly knows her. You have intimate memories of your aunt that no one else in this world has. You know I’m right, Pete. Who are you without them, kid? Who are you without those people who raised you and loved you? You’re not gonna be the same without them in your memories – good or bad – cause there won’t be anything in here,” Tony clasped the back of his head.

“I’m the only Parker left…” Peter breathed out.

“Damn right.”

“How long will I feel this way?” he asked.

“Wish I have an answer to that, Pete. But I don’t. It’s going to sting when you think of them. Always. It’s going to hurt when your birthday rolls around, when you graduate, when you do something big and they’re not there to see it. There’ll be bad days, but there’ll be better days too. I promise. Hey listen, if one day you wake up and feel like shit ‘cause it’s May’s birthday and she’s not here for you to throw a party for, that’s okay. You’re allowed to feel that way. But you gotta know that I’m going to be here to catch you each time. You’re not alone.”

Tony felt him nodding against his chest. The tight grasp on the back of Tony’s shirt loosened slightly, but Peter remained slumped against him and Tony held him. It didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable. It felt natural to comfort this kid who was upset. Tony looked down at him, smiling a little. Peter was going to be in his life permanently from now on and the thought didn’t scare the living daylight out of him like it would have ten or twenty years ago.

Tony didn’t even think about it when he dropped a kiss on top of Peter’s head.

“You’re okay, buddy,” he patted his back. “You have to talk to someone. You can’t suppress all this until it explodes. I’ll arrange something for you.”

Peter looked up with tear stained face.

“Like a - a therapist?”

“Yeah, a therapist. It’ll be someone I trust, okay? I already know someone. You can tell her everything including your Spiderman activities if you want to. Whatever you tell her, she’ll keep it between the both of you. I should have done this for you a long time ago. My mistake, Pete.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark. I – I guess I’ll give it a shot.”

Peter didn’t sound convinced although to be fair, when Pepper had suggested a therapist to him years ago, Tony hadn’t been convinced either.

“I see - so that’s the Lego you built with Ned today,” Tony pointed out.

“Yeah,” Peter nodded and Tony finally got a smile out of him.

Tony didn’t immediately leave the room and Peter didn’t look like he was going to fall asleep any time soon so they spent it talking. Tony told him of a restaurant he wanted to take Peter and Pepper to for dinner one day, Peter talked about visiting the Compound to spend time with the Avengers, they talked about the new upcoming school term and getting Peter’s particulars updated and he even asked if giving up Spiderman meant Peter wasn’t keen on helping him around the workshop with Iron Man suit upgrades anymore.

“Of course not, Mr. Stark!” Peter said, appalled. “I’m not against superheroes. Don’t know where you’re getting this idea,” he muttered to which Tony laughed. “I’ll help. I want to.”

When Tony finally stepped out of Peter’s room, he came face to face with Pepper.

“What are you doing up?”

“You didn’t come to bed at all, did you?” she asked, studying him. “I woke up and the bed was empty. F.R.I.D.A.Y told me where you are. I just wanted to make sure everything’s okay. Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know, Pepper,” he admitted truthfully. “We’re working on it.”

“You look exhausted, Tony.”

He could feel the exhaustion in his bones, too. Pepper opened her arms and he readily stepped into her embrace, much like it was with Peter earlier. He let his head fall onto her shoulder, more than content to just stand there outside Peter’s room, safe in Pepper’s warm hug. He inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo and the familiarity of having her around grounded him.

“Come to bed and tell me what happened?”

“Yeah, okay,” he agreed tiredly.

Tony's learning how to deal with Peter and how to navigate his role as his guardian. How do you think he's doing?

#irondad #spiderson #tony stark #peter parker #iron dad #marvel fics #spiderman #iron man

14 notes · View notes