#miho ryuzaki

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 CHAPTER 15

After a whole year has passed we finally come back to the arc 4 storyline! A short but sweet chapter before all hell breaks loose!

Neela

"Are we sure this place isn't an actual maze?"

From behind her, Xanthos made one of his usual light-hearted quips. Neela had to admit it certainly did feel that way with long corridors that seemed to loop around on each other and big empty rooms that seemed to lead nowhere. They had seen blueprints of this place before coming here but it didn't do justice to how massive it was.

"Can you talk about something else please?" Wisteria grunted.

Although all of ZRCN had been patrolling together with Cherry and Wisteria, they had since split up when encountering Helia by chance. The connection in this building had proven spotty at best so it was been easier to communicate in person. Helia explained everything that happened thus far with Elio and herself facing off against Laurel and Biggs - or Nerine and Jesper as it turned out their names were - and then Morgan and Calantha encountering Bianca and Belleza. Apparently, Nerine, Jesper, and Bianca had all abandoned Belleza and were working to help them. And they weren't the only ones who had defected, as Helia revealed that the Crest sisters had also chosen to work with them.

It was all a little confusing in truth and Neela longed to ask more questions about the situation but recognised they still had a job to do and that now was not really the appropriate time to be asking extensive questions.

Helia had also revealed one of the Crest sisters was willing to take them to where they were holding their hostages. She was going there now and asked if any of ZRCN wanted to accompany them. Zelde and Cordovan had agreed to go, with Neela and Xanthos remaining to patrol with Cherry and Wisteria. They promised to all meet up at the medical bay afterwards, which had apparently become a sort of unofficial meeting point for the group of allies. As they departed, Neela sent her teammates off with a wave and some words they could say to her sister when they found her.

As the smaller group of four continued to patrol, the topic of conversation eventually shifted to who among the Rossi allies remained. Disregarding those who they now knew had defected, the three of them drew up Miho, Maia, Sparrow, and Belleza herself as remaining candidates.

"What about that other guy?" Neela asked, looking at Wisteria. She struggled to recall the name for a moment before snapping her fingers when it came back to her. "Uriah?"

"He would probably still try and initiate a fight but I doubt Belleza would be impressed if he tried to come running back to her," Wisteria answered.

"Would he try something like that?" Cherry asked.

Wisteria gave a noncommittal shrug. "Possibly," She conceded. "For reasons unknown to me, Uriah practically worships the very ground Belleza works on. He'd probably jump at the chance to defend her or give his life for her." Suddenly, Wisteria started to chuckle. A glance passed between Cherry, Neela, and Xanthos, who all seemed confused at the sudden humour of the situation. Perhaps realising that they were all staring at her, Wisteria promptly stopped laughing.

It was Xanthos who asked, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, you wouldn't appreciate it," Wisteria said, giving a dismissive wave. "I was just laughing at the irony that Belleza is now more likely to kill him herself for him abandoning her."

The same confused look passed between Cherry, Neela, and Xanthos before they pressed on. Eventually, they came to a balcony which looked down upon an open atrium. Somehow they had made it up to the third floor, much to Neela's surprise.

“Well, well, well! Would you look what the cat dragged in!” A voice behind them jeered. The four of them turned to see Miho Ryuzaki stepping out of an adjoining room. As the woman made her presence known, Cherry ushered Neela and Xanthos behind her, whilst Wisteria rather confidently stepped forward.

When she saw Wisteria step out from behind them, the other woman’s eyes flashed with delight before she gave Wisteria a menacing smile. “Wisteria,” She said, dragging her name out. “I did wonder if you’d ever crawl your way back to us.” Miho’s eyes glanced towards ZRCN and she smirked. “I’m not sure what surprises me more that you’re working with them, or that they’re working with you.”

Wisteria rolled her shoulders. “Oh you know how the saying goes - the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“If you had any sense you would have run far away from here when you had the chance, Wisteria,” Miho said, idly messing with one of her gauntlets, which Neela noted were already on and looked primed for use. “I shall have fun squashing you just like I did that little bug.”

Before anyone else could react, the red-haired woman raised her left fist and punched the air, firing a blast at Wisteria. Neela and the others were forced to scurry away though as the blast did not land directly by them, it kicked up a fair bit of dust and small bits of debris. Cherry gestured for Neela and Xanthos to stay back, before stepping forward with her bhuj. She didn't directly engage Miho at the moment but the intent was clear. On one side stood Wisteria and Cherry, and on the other side stood Miho.

"Never faced an Atlesian Specialist like this before," Miho mused, that same menacing smile reappearing as she spoke to Cherry. Neela tensed when she saw how she looked over Cherry. "That isn't to say I haven't gone toe to toe with one of your kind before. Although they were incredibly young and inexperienced. Not much of a challenge, you know? Especially when they went down after one hit."

Cherry did not show in her face but Neela could tell she was irritated. She could see her grip tightening on her weapon, her knuckles starting to pale from the strain.

The brief lull in battle did not last long as Miho was quick to charge the two. Even when not using the dust in her gauntlets, she was still a powerful combatant, punching, kicking, and shoving whenever she got an opening. Wisteria was able to fair quite well, but Cherry was having difficulty manoeuvring her weapon to parry and attack Miho.

Miho made a lunge towards Xanthos and Neela but was caught by Cherry and Wisteria who grabbed an arm each and hauled her back.

"Your fight is with us!" Cherry snapped

Miho sneered at her. Rather than give an audible response, she twisted at a right angle, freeing her arm from Wisteria's grasp before aiming a punch at Cherry. Luckily she was quite aware of what was going on, managing to turn her body to avoid a punch to the face but still catching a blow to her shoulder. She managed to avoid the brunt of that hit but was caught by Miho bringing her knee up and catching her in the gut.

Fully free from both women, Miho jumped back a bit, before aiming two shots at the same time as Cherry.  There was nowhere for her to dodge, so she was forced to bear the blast, using her bhuj to take some of the hit. Luckily her aura seemed to be holding, as Neela doubted she'd have still been standing if it had taken too much of a dent.

"Do you not give a shit about your home or something?" Wisteria asked, gesturing to the further damage Miho had caused.

Miho shrugged, rubbing her nose on the back of her hand. "Homes can be rebuilt," Miho responded in a flat tone. "Or you can just buy a new one. I hear there's an open apartment in the Aeris District that's recently come back on the market."

Neela noted there was a slight edge to her voice, though she could not make out if it was a teasing remark or something more dark. It was only when Wisteria lunged forward, making a sound akin to a growl, before practically throwing herself at Miho, that she got her answer. Both women began punching and kicking each other, clearly intent on doing as much damage to the other as they could. Miho was doing more damage but Wisteria's overall nimbleness meant she was able to dodge the worst of the blows - for a while at least.

After some back and forths, Miho seemed to give up on striking and when Wisteria moved in for another jab, Miho wrapped her arms around her.

"Let go of me!" Wisteria yelled, thrashing in Miho's arms.

"As you wish," Miho smirked.

She inched closer to the edge of the walkway. It had been damaged from the earlier blasts from Miho, with some of the glass panels fractured or shattered from the shockwaves of her rounds. And some of it looked bent and warped, with only minimal pressure to break it or further damage it. Miho kept going until pressing Wisteria against the balcony, leaning her backwards.

"Stop!" Cherry called out, rushing to intervene. Miho only relinquished her grasp slightly, freeing an arm to shove Cherry away sharply, where she stumbled and dropped to a knee, her weapon skittering away.

"She said stop!" Neela urged, inching forward with her weapon, snapping it into her more preferred of a single spearhead.

Miho glanced over her shoulder, giving Neela a wry smile. "Is that supposed to frighten me? I could snap your weapon over my knee if I so wanted."

She dipped Wisteria a little further over the balcony before inhaling sharply.

"Actually this isn't really my thing," She said, before hauling Wisteria back, and throwing her on the floor next to Cherry. She was offered a brief moment of respite before Miho was quickly upon her again, hooking an arm around her neck and bringing her back to her feet in a chokehold. Wisteria’s feet kicked out, trying to steady herself but found no such luck. Despite having pulled away from the balcony before, she was moving back to it now. Once she reached it, she turned Wisteria around so she was facing her again, and used one arm to hold one of Wisteria’s arms down before putting her arm against her throat. This time when she leaned her over she was leaning into her as well.

She looked over her shoulder at Neela, Xanthos, and Cherry menacingly. "Wisteria here can confirm that I prefer a more personal touch."

It was then that Miho began to apply pressure as Wisteria began to cough and splutter. Although Miho had restrained one hand, Wisteria was clawing at her with the unbound one, trying to get her fingers in her eyes.

Neela and Xanthos moved to intervene but Cherry held a hand out. Cherry made a gesture to her weapon which she had managed to slide closer to herself. With careful hand movements, she freed the concealed dagger in her bhuj's hollow shaft, a glint of polished steel shimmering in the light.

The three of them exchanged a glance before nodding. To her credit, Cherry moved frighteningly fast and made little noise as she closed the gap between herself and Miho, before plunging her dagger into Miho’s lower back.

Miho screamed out in pain, relinquishing her grip on Wisteria, and backhanding Cherry across the face which sent her sprawling to the floor. Miho turned to face Wisteria again but the purple-haired woman had pulled herself away, punching Miho in the jaw before darting to the side to avoid retaliation. Sensing Miho needed to be pushed further back, Neela bolted forward and jabbed her sharply in the gut, pushing Miho back against the balcony where it accidentally knocked the blade still lodged in her back.

Grunting with effort, Miho carefully moved her arm around to remove the blade, pulling it out of her with gritted teeth. She held the bloodied weapon up by her head, looking at it for a moment and then down at Cherry, who Xanthos was helping to sit up. “Cute,” She said with a sneer, before tossing it over the edge of the balcony.

“You’ve had your fun now-”

Miho appeared to have been attempting to goad them again but something gave her pause. Neela didn’t see any potential cause but after a moment she noticed something strange happening to Miho. The red-haired woman seemed to be trying to say something, but either could not or would not get the words out, and not only that but her chest was rising rapidly as she took big gulping breaths. Miho’s eyes darted around and then landed on Wisteria.

“Wisteria!” She roared. “Stop this!”

“No!” Wisteria responded immediately. “You will feel exactly as she felt when she died!”

Miho grimaced and tried to remain standing. Neela had only experienced Wisteria’s semblance sparingly in the past but it seemed Miho was being treated to the full force of it. Even Wisteria appeared to be straining from the effort it was taking to direct her semblance at Miho.  So much so that blood was starting to drip out of one nostril.

Eventually, Mihp seemed unable to bear it any longer, wincing and gripping onto the balcony for support. It was then that Wisteria let out a mighty screech and lunged at Miho. She managed to hook her arms around Miho’s waist and with the momentum gathered from running at her the two of them went crashing through the balcony and tumbling to the ground below.

A small scream was heard but was snuffed out pretty quickly when a sickening thud indicated that the two women had hit the ground.

Neela was not sure how to react for a moment, wanting to check on the two of them, but also not daring to peer over at what potential gory scene she might find below. Instead, she focused her efforts on helping Cherry back to her feet.

“Are you good?” Neela asked as the woman used Xanthos to help stand up straight.

“I’m good,” Cherry confirmed. “The slap hurt but didn’t do too much damage.” That didn't seem to stop Cherry from massaging her jaw as if it still ached.

Cherry moved towards the edge of the ruined balcony and peered down. Neela and Xanthos followed suit and nervously peered down below.

There was an old dried-up fountain on the ground floor, which Miho was now hanging halfway out of, a shard of glass sticking out of her abdomen. Neela did not even need to query if she was alive or not. The blood pooling out of her, as well as the unnatural way her body now lay told her all she needed to know. On the other hand, it was harder to determine Wisteria's fate. She lay on her back, gazing up at the massive skylight. Other than her left leg and a bloodied gash in her right shoulder, she seemed to have fared better than the red-haired woman, though it was hard to tell if she had survived or not.

"We need to get down there," Cherry said, pulling away from the edge. "We need to check if either of them are alive."

"Looking at Miho's body I would say-" Xanthos began to talk but stopped short by the look Neela shot at him.

Cherry frowned but didn't say anything. "Hopefully Wisteria might have survived," She muttered, already turning to walk away. "If she hasn't Wren will surely have my head. If not Wren then the general certainly will."

Neela imagined Ironwood would have a lot to say to all of them for this little mission. With what had just happened and everything Helia had told them, it was clear that their plans had not gone as well as they thought they would. All their planning had amounted to nought in the face of the Rossi allies' sheer determination not to lose.

Neela was not foolish enough to hope the rest of the Rossi's allies would come quietly but she could hope that she and her friends would make it out of here in one piece.

#team zrcn fic #team zrcn #neela oxford #xanthos ravindra #wisteria bloome #cherry linnet #miho ryuzaki

[imasallstars]

INTERDIMENSION FESTIVAL: IDOLM@STER★♥LOVE LIVE! UTA GASSEN

Information regarding the first IJIGEN FES 2023 live has been revealed! The live will occur in the TOKYO DOME on the 9th and 10th of December 2023. This first fes will feature three branches of IDOLM@STER performing with four branches of Love Live!

The voice providers participating in this stop are as follows:

DAY 1 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Kotomi Aihara (Shiki Ichinose), Hiromi Igarashi (Anzu Futaba), Asami Takano (Frederica Miyamoto), Yuki Nakashima (Yuuki Otokura), Yuko Iida (Kanade Hayami), Honoka Inoue (Nanami Asari), Sumire Uesaka (Anastasia), Aya Suzaki (Minami Nitta), Miyu Tomita (Akira Sunazuka), Ru Thing (Syuko Shiomi), Teru Ikuta (Natalia), Hina Tachibana (Nagi Hisakawa), Nanami Yamashita (Yui Ohtsuki) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Haruka Yamazaki (Mirai Kasuga), Azusa Tadokoro (Shizuka Mogami), Machico (Tsubasa Ibuki), Momo Asakura (Serika Hakozaki), Kotori Koiwai (Tomoka Tenkubashi), Atsuki Nakamura (Roco Handa), Emi Hirayama (Reika Kitakami), Yui Watanabe (Nao Yokoyama) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Karin Isobe (Kogane Tsukioka), Chisa Suginuma (Mamimi Tanaka), Anna Yamaki (Sakuya Shirase), Shio Watanabe (Yuika Mitsumine), Yuina Mizuki (Kiriko Yukoku), Honoka Kuroki (Amana Osaki), Ryoko Maekawa (Tenka Osaki), Noriko Shibasaki (Chiyuki Kuwayama), Yuu Wakui (Toru Asakura), Rio Tsuchiya (Madoka Higuchi), Saran Tajima (Koito Fukumaru), Miho Okasaki (Hinana Ichikawa), Azusa Shizuki (Nichika Nanakusa), Aya Yamane (Mikoto Aketa)

DAY 2 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Ayaka Ohashi (Uzuki Shimamura), Ayaka Fukuhara (Rin Shibuya), Sayuri Hara (Mio Honda), Amina Sato (Arisu Tachibana), Tomoyo Kurosawa (Miria Akagi), Hana Tamegai (Risa Matoba), Makoto Koichi (Haru Yuuki), Asaka Imai (Chie Sasaki), Natsumi Haruse (Kaoru Ryuzaki), Misaki Kuno (Nina Ichihara), Yuri Komori (Koharu Koga), Mina Nakazawa (Yukimi Sajo), Maki Hanatani (Kozue Yusa) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Aimi (Julia), Miku Itou (Yuriko Nanao), Ibuki Kido (Kana Yabuki), Arisa Kori (Kaori Sakuramori), Yuri Komagata (Sayoko Takayama), Rie Suegara (Fuka Toyokawa), Saki Minami (Tsumugi Shiraishi), Rikako Yamaguchi (Rio Momose) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Hitomi Sekine (Mano Sakuragi), Reina Kondo (Hiori Kazano), Mayu Mineda (Meguru Hachimiya), Hiyori Konno (Kaho Komiya), Haruka Shiraishi (Chiyoko Sonoda), Mariko Nagai (Juri Saijo), Wakana Maruoka (Rinze Morino), Akiho Suzumoto (Natsuha Arisugawa), Yuki Tanaka (Asahi Serizawa), Eri Yukimura (Fuyuko Mayuzumi), Sayaka Kitahara (Mei Izumi), Rina Kawaguchi (Luca Ikaruga), Haruna Mikawa (Hana Suzuki), Rena Ozawa (Haruki Iketa)

DAY 1&2

AQOURS (LOVE LIVE! SUNSHINE!!) 　Anju Inami (Chika Takami), Rikako Aida (Riko Sakurauchi), Nanaka Suwa (Kana Matsuura), Arisa Komiya (Dia Kurosawa), Shukai Saito (You Watanabe), Aika Kobayashi (Yoshiko Tsushima), Kanako Takatsuki (Hanamaru Kunikida), Aina Suzuki (Mari Ohara), Ai Furihata (Ruby Kurosawa) NIJIGASAKU SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Aguri Ohnishi (Ayumu Uehara), Mayu Sagara (Kasumi Nakasu), Kaori Maede (Shizuku Osaka), Miyu Kubota (Karin Asaka), Natsumi Murakami (Ai Miyashia), Akari Kito (Kanata Konoe), Coco Hayashi (Setsuna Imura), Maria Sashide (Emma Verde), Chiemi Tanaka (Rina Tennoji), Moeka Koizumi (Shioriko Mifune), Shu Uchida (Mia Taylor), Akina Homoto (Zhong Lanzhu). 　Support Member: Hinaki Yano (Yu Takasaki) Liella! (LOVE LIVE! SUPERSTAR!!) 　Sayuri Date (Kanon Shibuya), Liyuu (Keke Tang), Nako Misaki (Chisato Arashi), Naomi Payton (Sumire Heanna), Nagisa Aoyama (Ren Hazuki), Nozomi Suzuhara (Kinako Sakurakoji), Akana Yabushima (Mei Yoneme), Wakana Okuma (Shiki Wakana), Aya Emori (Natsumi Onitsuka), Yuina (Wien Margarete), Sakura Sakakura (Tomari Onitsuka) HASUNOSORA SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Nirei Nozomi (Kaho Hinoshita), Kokona Nonaka (Sayaka Murano), Nina Hanamiya (Kozue Otomune), Kotoka Sasaki (Tsuzuri Yugiri), Kanna Kan (Rurino Osawa), Kona Tsukine (Megumi Fujishima)

#event rundown

[mywaywardcupcake]

Joey for the meme?

I'm so happy I get to talk about my boy so much today!! Thank you for sending this in! Ok this is going to be a long one!

Answers for 3, 5 and 11 are here and answers for 7 and 13 are here

1. What Pokemon would you compare this character to?

Part of me wants to say Charizard and it's mostly because I'm thinking of Ash's Charizard and it's attitude. Also the shiny Charizard is Black and Red, like come on.

2. "McDonalds! McDonalds! McDonalds!" "We have food at home." or *pulls into the drive through as children cheer, orders a single black coffee and leaves* ?

Oh Jou is 100% MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS!

4. What movie(s) do you think this character wouldn't be able to stand?

Obviously, scary movies. But, to get into specifics...I think slasher movies he would care for but he would be less unwilling to watch them. I think the ones he absolutely hates to watch and at times flay out refuse would be more haunted house, ghost, demon possession ones. Especially, if they do any of that based on a true story. It would get to him too much. Which considering who his best friend is, this is honestly hilarious to me. "Based on a true story! This girl touched a BOX and got possessed by an ancient demon?!?! What the hell!!! That's terrifying! How is this a true story?! Can you imagine just going to some place and touching a box and suddenly you just wake up covered in blood?!?!" Yugi and Bakura both just stare at him like no, Jou. I could never imagine that.

6. What part of themself might they resent?

He resents who he used to be for awhile. He used to hate himself and the things he has done to others. I think that is something that would tend to bother him a bit. I'm also thinking if he has a record and how it may cause difficulties for jobs in the future and how he may come back to being upset at himself for his past mistakes and gang life. Though, I do think things get better for him and I also think he grows to forgive himself.

8. What character foils / parallels do you find most intriguing from canon regarding this character?

I have always found the character foil/parallel with him and Kaiba to be really interesting. They are put into so many similar situations throughout their lives but their reactions are so different. I could write more here but this one could be an essay honestly.

9. What does this character find inspiring?

His loved ones. He finds Yugi's kindness inspring and Shizuka's bravery. He wants to be a better person because of them.

10. If this character wanted to cheer up someone they cared about, what do you think they'd do?

Thinking specifically of him yelling at Atem in the puzzle to cheer up right now.

Honestly I think it depends on the person and the situation. I think at times he'd do silly things and try to make them smile but, we also have moments when he gives his speeches too. During those he doesn't act silly, many times he's looking directly at them, on their level and talks about how great he thinks they are. How he knows, because he's been there, that even when things looks dark that it'll be ok and it'll get better. We also have moments when hes just there for the person, like with Honda and getting rejected by Miho, and he just offers to get them food and just kind of be there for them. Honestly Jou, when he realizes someone is upset, really tries hard to fix it and seems to be fairly good at it.

12. What's a moment in canon regarding them that you feel is underappreciated?

This one is a little harder because it's one of those things where honestly it's probably more based on maybe not seeing it as much but, I feel like Jou winning against Ghost Kozuka should be appreciated more. That was the first time he was truly on his own, in an absolutely terrifying place for him. I feel like even though he beat Ryuzaki on his own and that was a great moment, beating Kozuka was a huge turning point for him and how he viewed himself and dueling.

14. "Can I copy your homework?" "I'll help you with it!" "Yeah sure" "bold of you to assume i did the homework" "lol nope" "wait we had homework????" or *Read 5:55 PM*

Oh he is definitely "Wait we had homework???" With a little bit of "bold of you to assume I did the homework" because like he knows that it would be honestly hilarious for someone to ask him of all people to copy his homework. He has like 3 jobs and adhd , you really think he's out here doing homework? Much less realizing there is homework. Though, just imagine if one day Anzu is digging through her things and realizes she forgot her homework and Jou just slides a paper over and shrugs like "eh, I never turn it in anyway. Another missed assignment is no big deal." And part of her is so thankful and the other part of her is like....there's not a single correct answer on this paper. Somehow turning this in would be worse than just admitting I forgot it.

#it was so much fun answering all the questions for Jou!!!! #thank you for sending my boy in! #jounouchi katsuya #ask meme #also theres too much up there im not proofreading anything so #apologies in advance for typos or anything else that doesnt make sense

[hurgletheturgle]

yugioh ship list cuz i hate myself

agileshipping - vivian/anzu

amoshipping - jou/shizuka/mai

arrogantshipping - kaiba/mai

batteryshipping - jou/yami bakura/bakura

beehiveshipping - mai/rebecca

bounceshipping - bakura/rebecca

cakeshipping - cyndia/mokuba

charmshipping - shizuka/mana

cheatshipping jou/espa roba

cheershipping - otogi/shizuka

cherryshipping - bakura's sister/jou

circleshipping - honda/miho/jou

cloudshipping - noa/shizuka

coinshipping - anzu/miho

copeshipping - bandit keith/anzu/shizuka

creamshipping - all the bakuras/jou

cunishipping - anzu/mai/shizuka

cuteshipping - shizuka/rebecca

danceshipping - mai/anzu

dashshipping - miho/shizuka

dealshipping - yami bakura/bakura/amane

downshipping - bandit keith/cyndia

dulcetshipping - mai/isis/shizuka

fameshipping - otogi/vivian

fataleshipping - mai/vivian

fawnshipping -pegasus/weevil

figureshipping - isis/mai/anzu/shizuka

fillershipping - noa/rebecca

forgiveshipping - thief king bakura/shizuka

frazzleshipping - jou/rebecca

giftshipping - honda/jou/yugi/miho

gingershipping - bandit keith/shizuka

graceshipping - bakura/isis

halfshipping - bakura/miho

hopeshipping - anzu/bakura/shizuka

hostshipping bakura/anzu

illogicshipping - kaiba/isis/shizuka

imoutoshipping - shizuka/amane

incestshipping - kaiba/isis/jou/mokuba/shizuka/rishid CUZ IM NOT A BITCH

insightshipping - priest seto/isis

jadeshippinh - isis/otogi

jiishipping - yugis grandpa/rebecca's grandpa

kittenshipping - joey/dmg

lateshipping - yami bakura/amane

logicshipping - priest seto/priestess isis

lossshipping - ryuzaki/espa roba/weevil

mallowshipping bakura/isis/shizuka

mastershipping - otogi/kaiba

mercyshipping - bakura/cyndia

misguideshipping - otogi/rebecca

mizushipping - priest seto/kisara

mythshipping - isis/marik

nightshipping - yami bakura/kisara

nurshipping - mai/shizuka

oracleshipping - isis/rebecca

orchisshipping - isis/anzu/shizuka

outcastshipping - thief king bakura/kisara

paleshipping - kisara/amane

peachshipping - yugi/anzu

pervadeshipping - amane/cyndia

petshipping - kaiba/jou/otogi

phantomshipping - noa/cyndia/amane

pixelshipping - noa/adina (princess mokuba)

placateshipping - bakura/kisara

poemshipping - miho/yugi

polarshipping - jou/mai

pompshipping - kaiba/miho

prideshipping - kaiba/yami

prodigyshipping - kaiba/rebecca

prophetshipping - isis/espa roba

psycheshipping - mai/espa roba

puffshipping - jou/bakura

puppyshipping - kaiba/jou

puzzleshipping - yami/yugi

relectshipping - rebecca/vivian

rehabshipping - kaiba/yugi/anzu

relysshipping - jou/shizuka

replayshipping - yugi/rebecca

rescueshipping - kisara/shizuka

ressurectshipping - catherine/cyndia

ribbonshipping - honda/otogi/miho

rivalshipping - yugi/kaiba

roseshipping - cyndia/pegasus

scandalshipping - preist seto/pharaoh atem

screamshipping - yami bakura/shizuka

seershipping - isis/isis

shadeshipping - thief king bakura/amane

shameshipping - rishida/marik/isis

shieldshipping - jou/kaiba/shizuka

shoreshipping - mako tsunami/shizuka

shrimpshipping - ryuzaki/weevil

sideshipping - anzu/shizuka

silentshipping - shizuka/kaiba

slipshipping - jou/miho

snapshipping - kaiba/jou/miho

snareshipping - jou/otogi

softshipping - bakura/shizuka

sombershipping - ryou/amane

sororshipping - isis/shizuka

spaceshipping - ymai marik/shizuka

spazzshipping - yami bakura/jou

spirishipping - yugi/anzu/yami

stageshipping - dmg/anzu

stakeshipping - bandit keith/mai

stalkshipping - kaiba/bakura/miho

sugarshipping - mokuba/mana

supportshipping - honda/anzu

swiftshipping - jou/isis

switchshipping - mokuba/adina

teaseshipping - kaiba/jou/bakura

tendershipping - bakura/yami bakura

tieshipping- honda/miho

tragicshipping - bandit keith/cyndia/pegasus

trendshipping - miho/anzu/shizuka

trustshipping - isis/kaiba

visionshipping - isis/mai

scissorshipping - miho/isis

addictshipping - yubel/asuka

americashipping - david rabb x reggie

amoreshipping - rei/ryo

antidisestablishmentarianismshipping - judai/motegi

apostleshipping - judai/white asuka

argueshipping - manjoume/rei

autographshipping - fonda/fubuki

balanceshipping - haou/white asuka

balletshipping - asuka/fubuki

barometershipping - asuka/fubuki/manjoume

beetleshipping - ran(missy)/ryo/shou

bijoushipping - asuka/momoe

bloodshipping - camula/hell kaiser

brinyshipping - asuka/manjoume/ryo

camerashipping - asuka/rei/judai

charmershipping - asuka/rei

choiceshipping - asuka/judai/manjoume

cinnamonshipping - judai/junko

clotshipping - asuka/camula/ryo

colosseumshipping - judai/taniya

controlshipping - asuka/camula

cosplayshipping - dmg/tome

cupidshipping - fubuki/rei

delusionsipping - ran(missy)/rose

dollshipping - camula/ryo

educateshipping - misawa/fonda

escortshipping - judai/fubuki/asuka

evashipping - asuka/rei

evilshipping - haou/yubel

fanaticshipping - fonda/junko/momoe

fataleshipping gx - taniya/camula

fianceshipping - judai/asuka

fightshipping - judai/misawa/taniya

genesisshipping - judai/camula

geniusshipping - misawa/ryo

glareshipping - ryo/junko

groupieshipping - junko/momoe

grudgeshipping - judai/seika (manga)

hellshipping - hell kaiser/asuka

hisshipping - seika/asuka

hornetshipping - misawa/manjoume

lassieshipping - asuka/junko/rei/momoe

maidenshipping - rei/momoe

medicineshipping - judai/fonda

misledshipping - haou/judai/asuka

orangeshipping - misawa/judai

overseeshipping - judai/midori (manga)

postureshipping - fonda/asuka

primaryshipping - judai/manjoume/misawa

princeshipping - judai/rose

princessshipping - asuka/rose

rhymeshipping - junko/manjoume

rivalshipping gx - majoume/judai

royalshipping - ryo/asuka

sadnessshipping - haou/asuka

sageshipping - misawa/asuka

selfshipping - haou/judai

shallowshipping - fubuki/momoe

shopshipping - seiko/tome

stormshipping - fubuki/manjoume

sweetshipping - shou/momoe

tigershipping - taniya/misawa

valentineshipping - asuka/manjoume

veilshipping - asuka/white asuka

vertigoshipping - fubuki/junko/momoe

whineshipping - fubuki/asuka/junko/momoe

whiteshipping - white asuka/white manjoume

widowshipping - asuka/momoe/junko

moxieshipping - judai/momoe

pashshipping - manjoume/momoe

valetshipping - taiyou/momoe

fatedshipping - yuya/mieru

foolshipping - shingo/mieru

foresightshipping - reiji/mieru

redlightshipping - reiji/shingo

pancakeshipping - yoko/yuya

newhomeshipping - sora/yoko

guardianshipping - yusei/ruka

careshipping - jack/mikage

clawshipping - aki/ruka

scoopshipping - jack/carly

kingcrabshipping - jack/yusei

5dxshipping - judai/yugi/yusei

blondeshipping - jounouchi/asuka

breastshipping - aki/asuka/mai LOL

contrivedshipping - judai/yuya

damselshipping - anzu/asuka

devotedshipping - yugi/yusei

ditzshipping - judai/jounouchi

dominateshipping - manjoume/kaiba

enamorshipping - miho/momoe

fluffyshipping - anna kozuki/judai

honeyshipping - anna kozuki/haou

obsessshipping - rebecca/rei

presidentshipping - kaiba/reiji akaba

queenshipping - asuka/mai

spiritdivashipping - judai/yuzu

starshipping - judai/yusei

#yugioh shiplist for me

[bakawitch]

Ka☆Ke☆Oh! Roles

Characters

Jabami Yumeko - Shobami Yamiko (Yami Yugi)

Suzui Ryota/Tsubomi Nanami - Muto Yugi

Saotome Mary - Jonouchi Joey (Jonouchi Katsuya)

Unofficial Counterpart - Honda Hiroto

Kiwatari Jun - Tetsu Ushio

Unofficial Counterpart - Mazaki Anzu

Unofficial Counterpart - Bakura Kagero (Yami Bakura)

Unofficial Counterpart - Bakura Amane

Unofficial Counterpart - Bakura Ryou

Unofficial Counterpart - Pegasus J. Crawford

Kumagusu - Rafael Guevera (Rafael)

Unofficial Counterpart - Amelda Seul (Amelda)

Unofficial Counterpart - Valon Anderson (Valon)

Student Council

Momobami Kirari - Kaibami Seto (Kaiba Seto)

Momobami Ririka - Kaibami Eto (Kisara)

Igarashi Sayaka - Ob Bhakta (Obelisk the Tormentor)

Manyuda Kaede - Otogi Ryuji

Yumemite Yumemi - Nosaka Miho

Yomozuki Runa - Fiona Sheldon (Fiona the Doll)

Ikishima Midari - Kaminaga Dei (Yami Malik)

Nishinotouin Yuriko - Dartz Atlan (Dartz)

Sumeragi Itsuki - Kageyama Risa

The Kaibami Family

Totobami Terano - ???*

Totobami Yumi - ???

Inbami Miyo - Hibami Hoshiki (Horakthy, the Creator God of Light)

Yobami Miri - Okibami Raika (Winged Dragon of Ra)

Honebami Miroslava - Toubami Kaure (Thief King Bakura)

Mushibami Reimi - Sasubami Mana (Mana/Dark Magician Girl)

Warakubami Sumika - ???

Obami Rin - ???

Obami Ibara - ???

Komabami Nozomi - ???

Batsubami Rei (sort of) - ???

Unofficial Counterpart - Kaibami Mokuba

Tsuibami Kabura - ??? Atem

Election Committee

Yamato Inaho - ₊ ⊹₊ ⊹*

Uru Rumia - ₊ ⊹₊ ⊹

Fuen Ruri - ₊ ⊹₊ ⊹

Unconfirmed Roles

Jabami Souko

Shagatake

Tooame

Saori

Kaoruzaki Kaori

Insector Haga

Dinosaur Ryuzaki

Isis Ishtar

Rishid Ishtar

Mahad/Dark Magician

Cyndia

Iona

Zorc Necrophades (maybe?)

Please suggest characters I missed or roles if you can!

*??? means the role is already filled but hasn't been revealed yet

*₊ ⊹₊ ⊹ means super special surprise

#yugioh #yugioh au #kakeoh #baka stuff

[cyberdragoninfinity]

So thrilled and excited to finally be able to share my piece from the @ygocookbookzine !! I got to make a piece inspired by Mai’s favorite food, penne arrabiata, and this was some of the most fun I had drawing last year <3

Zine leftover sales are going on now! Check it out if you’re so inclined~

[don’t tag as ship please and thank you ❤]

#yugioh #mai valentine #mai kujaku #joey wheeler #katsuya jonouchi #rex raptor #weevil underwood #dinosaur ryuzaki #insector haga #seto kaiba #mokuba kaiba #maximillion pegasus #pegasus j crawford #miho nosaka #ygoart #yugioh duel monsters #dana art #OK I THINK THATS EVERYONE hiiihihihihihihii <3 #so happy to get to share this finally!!! it's one of my favorite pieces ive ever made #it's PACKED with as many easter eggs as i could cram in so have fun finding all of them #very much a love letter to all the great italian places ive ever been too.... but especially the one i ate at immediately pre-covid in 2020 #anyway mangia mangia lads thanks for looking

[imagitory]

The Cast of Yu-Gi-Oh...Sorted!

Hey guys! I’ve done several other posts like this for other fandoms and I’ve even Sorted some of these characters in other Sorting Hat asks in the past, but...well, I just decided, why not compile all of those thoughts in one big post to answer the question: where would the main cast of characters from Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters be Sorted, if they attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

Yugi Mutou ~ Hufflepuff!

I’ve seen a lot of fictional Sortings favor putting “the hero” in Gryffindor with his “best friend” types all being in Hufflepuff, but Yugi, in my opinion, is a perfect example of how heroic Hufflepuff values can be. Whereas Atem uses clever strategies to outwit his opponents and save the day, Yugi’s greatest strength and magic is his compassion. It’s what transformed a bully like Jounouchi into a loyal comrade, what opened up fiery, distrustful Rebecca to friendship, what strengthened the bonds between the many different friends he’s made, and what moved the ruthless spirit of darkness inhabiting his body so much that that spirit saw him as his partner and equal. Like many Hufflepuffs I know, Yugi always puts his friends first, putting their safety and well-being over his own every time -- self-sacrifice is a tenant of Hufflepuff house, and Yugi has that in spades. Still, Yugi is just and noble enough to also protect those who might not necessarily “deserve” his help: he values all life, regardless of whose it is or how terrible that person has been to him. Yugi is warm, dedicated, loyal, and modest, and being a connoisseur of games, he also esteems fair play, hence why he reacts so bitterly to Insector Haga throwing his grandfather’s Exodia cards off the boat in an underhanded way to keep Yugi from using them to win any more duels.

Yami Yugi / Pharaoh Atem ~ Slytherin!

Atem is the yin to Yugi’s yang, the darkness to his light, and therefore the Slytherin to his Hufflepuff. Whereas Yugi’s soul room is light, airy, and open, Atem’s is a dark labyrinth of endless tunnels and traps -- and yeah, Hufflepuff’s and Slytherin’s commonrooms, despite both being underground, have that same dichotomy, with Hufflepuff’s being sunny and cheerful with a location next to the kitchens and Slytherin’s being dark and dungeon-like by the underground lake. Atem’s eternal goal is to win every game he plays, regardless of whether or not he initiates the game or not, and he will do anything to win, even if it ends up compromising his morals. (See his duel with Kaiba during Duelist Kingdom or the Orikalkos duel with Raphael for evidence of this.) When he or his friends are threatened, Atem also retaliates ruthlessly and mercilously, as Insector Haga or any of his Shadow Game victims from the early manga or season 0 can tell you. Fortunately, despite his intense drive to win at all costs, Atem does always follow the rules of whatever game he’s in and he almost always wins because he’s both clever and resourceful enough to outwit his opponents. Appropriate to Slytherins as well, he has a great desire and focus on his past, wanting to learn more about it so as to better understand who he is, what he’s supposed to do, and how he can approach the future. If Yugi showcases Hufflepuff heroism with mercy and kindness, then Atem showcases Slytherin heroism with brilliance and passion.

Katsuya Jounouchi ~ Gryffindor!

Admittedly Jounouchi does fit the hot-tempered, aggressive, yet noble stereotype of Gryffindor pretty well off-the-bat, but there’s more to it than that for me. Jounouchi is a very active person, ready to jump in to protect his friends from whatever slight is thrown their way -- all of the Gryffindors I know have a very “knight”-like affect to them where they just can’t sit back and do nothing when people are being mistreated. I would also argue that in the series, Jounouchi is motivated to become a stronger duelist not just because of him wanting to help his sister (which is why he entered Duelist Kingdom), but because he wants to improve himself. As he tells Kaiba at one point at the end of Battle City, even after he lost to Marik on a technicality (JOUNOUCHI SHOULD’VE WON THAT DUEL AND BECOME THE OWNER OF THE WINGED DRAGON OF RA AND I WILL SCREAM THAT ‘TIL THE DAY I DIE), “his Battle City isn’t over,” because he hasn’t yet earned his Red Eyes back from Yugi in the duel they promised to have after the tournament was over. And honestly, I’d say Jounouchi’s “Battle City” will probably never be over for him, because every duel he fights only makes him love the game more and makes him push himself to become even better. Jounouchi’s nobility also shines through multiple times in the show, whether it’s promising to save Ryuzaki’s soul from Dartz after he defeats him in their duel, ordering his Red Eyes Black Dragon to protect Mokuba from a blast from the Five-Headed Dragon even if it meant dooming himself, or getting Yugi the last piece of the Millennium Puzzle back after he threw it into a pond. 

Hiroto Honda ~ Hufflepuff!

Honestly, thanks to his lack of character development in the Duel Monsters anime and the shifts in his limited characterization between his manga, season 0, and anime selves, this Sorting is really tricky. In season 0 exclusively, Honda is portrayed as more of a rule-keeper and is the head of the “beautification department” (which I guess is sort of like a janitorial thing, but for students?). It hints to a love of order that seems very Ravenclaw-esque and could’ve been an interesting twist to set him apart from Jounouchi and the others, but alas, it’s something that really isn’t reflected that much in either manga!Honda or DM!Honda’s characterization. In all three mediums, though, even though he’s depicted as having been Jounouchi’s friend long before he met Yugi and Anzu, Honda still comes off as more level-headed and cautious than Jounouchi. If Jounouchi is a raging hothead, Honda is the down-to-earth voice of reason. We also see in all three mediums that Honda has a romantic side, whether it’s with classmate Miho Nosaka or Jounouchi’s little sister Shizuka, and really, it’s in that capacity that we see that Honda can be pretty darn stupid too. (Not trying to bash Honda, truly, but this guy does not know how to play the game of love at all.) In the end, no matter which series we see him in, Honda’s main motivation is sticking by his buddies. He’s no duelist and he has little interest in being so, but he deeply cares about his friends’ safety and will always be right there to protect them and cheer them on however he can. So as much as I lament that I don’t have more to work with when it comes to Honda, his loyalty and down-to-earth demeanor do seem very consistent with Hufflepuff. 

Anzu Mazaki ~ Gryffindor!

Anzu is another character whose characterization fluctuates between the manga and the two anime series. In all three mediums, she’s a dedicated, romantic person who although not being talented in Duel Monsters herself is always there to cheer her friends on in their struggles. In the manga, she’s depicted as a little more flighty and girly, using love charms and getting her romantic fortune told, and at one point even recklessly putting herself in danger in the hopes that “the other Yugi” will appear and rescue her. In season 0, we see her being braver and more vocal in standing up to people -- she tries to protect a girl from punishment after she gets caught trying to confess her feelings to Jounouchi in a love letter; she helps catch a criminal hiding out in the fast food restaurant she works in by lying about what ingredients are used in their burgers; and she resolutely decides to have her soul transferred into a doll alongside Yugi and her friends when Yami Bakura challenges them to a Monster World Shadow Game. In the Duel Monsters anime, some of that courage is shaved off of Anzu and she’s depicted as less reckless and more grounded, but there are still points where her nobility can shine through, like when she decides to fight in Yugi’s place to win Mai’s star chips or she stops Atem from attacking Insector Haga over and over again after he’s already won. Although I could very easily see Anzu fitting into Hufflepuff as well (especially in the Duel Monsters anime), upon a lot of reflection, I think that, since I would put two out of the three versions of her in this house and even the third version could still work there, Gryffindor is her ultimate best place. 

Seto Kaiba ~ Slytherin!

I’m sure a lot of you were expecting Ravenclaw, and yes, I do think Kaiba is on the cusp between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, but let me explain why Kaiba is a Snake in my mind and not an Eagle. Kaiba is a very intelligent person with a great love of achievement, yes, but his sole focus is always on getting what he wants, whether it’s defeating Yugi, winning all three Egyptian God cards and then defeating Yugi, opening up his own theme park where he can defeat Yugi -- LOL, okay, I’m partially kidding, but...yeah, Kaiba’s focus is solely on what he wants, even if it is to win at something. Ravenclaws tend to have a very “worldly” view of the world and try to find their own distinct place in it, whereas Slytherins don’t give a damn about the rest of the world as long as their inner circle is safe. Throughout the series, Kaiba consistently chooses his little brother and the well-being of his company over everything else. In fact, in the Japanese dub of the Duel Monsters anime, the reason Kaiba barely reacts to all the crazy magic stuff going on around him isn’t because he doesn’t believe it’s happening like English!Kaiba, but because he simply doesn’t care. All he cares about is beating Yugi and looking after his company and brother. Everything else going on in the background, even if it does involve unknown magics that could shake someone’s entire world view and their place in it, just isn’t that important to him. Plus Ravenclaws aren’t just known for their intelligence and love of achievement -- they’re also known for wisdom and open-mindedness, both of which are very unKaiba. Kaiba is incredibly judgmental of everyone he meets, only deigning to show respect to those very few people he deems as being on his level, and although in the Japanese dub of the Duel Monsters anime, Kaiba showed moments of deeper thought and good judgement, the only wisdom English!Kaiba showcases on a regular basis is his assortment of snarky wisecracks. But if we look at Slytherin’s values, I think they line up with Kaiba and his characterization a bit better. Ambition -- well, considering that he challenged a CEO to a game of chess just to get him and his brother adopted, forcefully took over that same CEO’s arms and weapons business, and turned the whole thing into a gaming company complete with its own gaming products, Duel Monsters tournaments, and friggin’ THEME PARK, all before he even became a legal adult, I’d say that fits. Resourcefulness -- as Kaiba brings up to both Amelda and Ziegfried, he started off with nothing and could only use his talents and smarts to outwit his stepfather, take over KaibaCorp, and make it successful. Cleverness -- Kaiba may not be the King of Games, but he’s probably the only duelist who truly stands toe-to-toe with Atem in the dueling arena without cheating. Even Bakura, another one of Atem’s most prominent rivals, has to cheat in both the manga and the anime series to try to stay ahead of him. A certain disregard for the rules -- honestly, Kaiba tends to follow the rules of whatever game he’s playing, BUUUUT he does still seem to find joy in bucking other people’s expectations and doing whatever the hell he wants because he can. I mean, this is the guy who bought an entire city to host a gaming tournament, quickly wrote a ridiculously high check to a car salesman before driving off in one of his cars without another word (does he even HAVE a driver’s license??), and who blew up his own Duel Tower on KaibaCorp island just so he and Mokuba could fly away on their Blue Eyes White Dragon jet out of the rubble. (There is a reason why in Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged, his catchphrase is “screw the rules, I’ve got money” -- just sayin’.) And honestly, as much as Kaiba claims he doesn’t look back at the past, he is still clearly haunted and defined by it. The wounds of Gozaburo’s mistreatment were so deep that Kaiba felt like he had to blow up the ruined remnants of his old headquarters just to try to move on with his life. Atem defeating him affected him so much that he spent five whole seasons and an entire movie obsessing over their rivalry and how he would eventually defeat him. Hell, in DSOD, he even tried to put the Millennium Puzzle back together in a vain attempt to get Atem to come back and duel him again, and when he failed in that, he actually made a device so he could crash Atem’s friggin’ AFTER-LIFE just to try to duel him! “Bury the past,” my ass! As much as I could see Kaiba fitting pretty well in Ravenclaw too, I think part of the reason he and Atem are so at each other’s throats all the time is because of their two massive Slytherin egos constantly trying to one-up each other.

#sorting hat ask #yu-gi-oh! #yu-gi-oh #yugioh #harry potter #hogwarts #gryffindor #gryffindor pride #slytherin pride #hufflepuff pride #hufflepuff #slytherin #opinion #analysis #oh boy here i go #yugi mutou #yami yugi #atem #seto kaiba #katsuya jounouchi #hiroto honda #anzu mazaki #joey wheeler #tristan taylor #tea gardner

[nerfbedsurfer]

Violetshipping is the shipping name for Ryuzaki x Miho

Why are you trying to call Puppyshipping by it?  It’s already taken.  

Stop.

#violetshipping #puppyshipping #stop it #yugioh #ygo

[tyranny-mutt]

evilkitten3

replied to your

post

:

The new ship names I’ve seen thrown around for...

violetshipping and pillowshipping already exist tho notmypillowshipping is clearly superior

I don’t think people will care too much if we take the names for Ryuzaki/Miho or Ryuzaki/Haga/Mai and give it to someone else. Still, you’re right about Notmypillowshipping being the superior name either way.

[cg-starlight-stage]

EVERMORE alburm art!

The art for Cinderella Master EVERMORE has been released! Look forward to it on Feb. 8.

EVERMORE - Mika Jougasaki, Miku Maekawa, Shiki Ichinose, Ranko Kanzaki, and Asuka Ninomiya

Susume☆Otome ~jewel parade~ - Uzuki Shimamura, Rin Sibuya, Mio Honda, Miria Akagi, Nana Abe, Ranko Kanzaki, Miho Kohinata, Mika Jougasaki, Rika Jougasaki, Kaede Takagaki, Riina Tada, Minami Nitta, Anzu Futaba, Miku Maekawa, and Kirari Moroboshi

Gokigen Party Night - Anastasia, Chieri Ogata, Nao Kamiya, Mizuki Kawashima, Sachiko Koshimizu, Sae Kobayakawa, Mayu Sakuma, Koume Shirasaka, Aiko Takamori, Airi Totoki, Akane Hino, Karen Hojo, Syoko Hoshi, Yuko Hori, and Kanako Mimura

Near to You - Yumi Aiba, Kyoko Igarashi, Nina Ichihara, Shiki Ichinose, Yui Ohtsuki, Sanae Katagiri, Fumika Sagisawa, Momoka Sakurai, Syuko Shiomi, Arisu Tachibana, Yuka Nakano, Asuka Ninomiya, Kanade Hayami, Yuki Himekawa, and Frederica Miyamoto

EVERMORE (Karaoke Version)

EVERMORE (4thLIVE MIX) - Uzuki Shimamura, Rin Shibuya, Mio Honda, Shiki Ichinose, Asuka Ninomiya, Riina Tada, Kanade Hayami, Anzu Futaba, Chie Sasaki, Anastasia, Ranko Kanzaki, Koume Shirasaka, Chieri Ogata, Kanako Mimura, Rina Fujimoto, Aiko Takamori, Yumi Aiba, Miria Akagi, Arisu Tachibana, Yuka Nakano, Minami NItta, Yuko Hori, Frederica Miyamoto, Miku Maekawa, Sae Kobayakawa, Kyoko Igarashi, Ryo Matsunaga, Mizuki Kawashima, Haruna Kamijo, Takumi Mukai, Kaede Takagaki, Kaoru Ryuzaki, Karen Hojo, Mayu Sakuma, Nao Kamiya, Kirari Moroboshim Nana Abe, Aki Yamato, Yuki Himekawa, Natsuki Kimura, Yui Ohtsuki, Rika Jougasaki, Mika Jougasaki, Syuko Shiomi, and Sanae Katagiri

#music #evermore #starlight master #susume otome #gokigen party night #near to you #4th live

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 - CHAPTER 1

Annddddd we’re back with the first chapter of the fourth and final arc! No prologues this time round, we’re jumping straight into the action!

Belleza’s chaos levels: rising by the day

BELLEZA

Two days.

That was all the time Belleza had been willing to give Calantha to decide whether she would trade herself for those that Belleza had taken prisoner.  What Calantha did not know was that they had already been sent away to Olympia, Belleza deciding she had had enough of chasing around after her younger sister, and had taken fate into her own hands and decided to push ahead into phase three with or without her.

Perhaps the most surprising thing in all of this was Calantha seemed to actually be waiting two days to give her answer. Knowing what she was like, Belleza had expected her comments about Bianca would have appealed to her gentle nature and she would have willingly complied to come home, but she hadn’t. True, she hadn’t outright said no, but she had questioned what would have been the alternative had she done so, and that alone was enough to surprise Belleza.

That surprise had turned to irritation hours later when - thanks to Ulysses’s security hack that Lunick was able to modify for them - she learnt that there were plans in motion to arrange for a set-up to try and capture Belleza. Oh, how she had raged when she saw those messages, and how her impatience grew when Calantha’s call didn’t immediately follow.

When the call finally came that morning, Belleza knew what to expect; she had seen those "covert" messages. But just because she knew what was coming didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun with it.

As her scroll began to ring, she waved Miho into the next room, and shut the door behind her.

"You're cutting it awfully close," Was the first thing Belleza said as she answered the call. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to respond."

"Of course I was going to respond," Calantha responded, "I just needed time to think things through."

You needed time to plan with your new 'friends', Belleza thought to herself, rolling her eyes as Calantha prattled on.

"I'll come back with you, but you have to promise to let the others go."

"You don't have to remind me, little lamb," Belleza chided. "My memory is nowhere near as bad as our father's is - I remember what I said two days ago."

Calantha made a small noise on the other end of the call. "Right, well...we would like to hold the trade at Astrolabe University tomorrow. I will be there waiting with Wren, and you will bring the others as promised." There was a pause before her sister added, "You know where it is don't you?"

Although Calantha couldn't see it, Belleza leaned forward in her seat, looking out the window where the university could be seen in the distance. So large and imposing was the school you would be hard pressed to find somewhere in Highpoint where you couldn't see it. "Well for starters - I'm not blind," Belleza answered in a wry tone. "And secondly, I've been there before, remember? You know...when I picked up the Oxford brat and the little redhead."

"Oh, right."

"So why Astrolabe may I ask?" Belleza asked, leaning backwards in her seat. She already knew what the answer was - that it was easily defended and had already been chosen by the Mob Ops and the Security Team as it was deemed the most suitable to stage a trade off. "I half expected Mr Oxford would have wanted his precious firstborn delivered right to his door."

"We decided it would be easier to meet there," Calantha started to explain. "It's a nice central location, it's where you took Rosie and Mira, and if we hold the trade off at the sports hall, we can avoid any unnecessary contact with the students or faculty."

"I hope Major Honeycutt isn't planning on challenging me to a hockey game whilst she's at it."

"What?"

"Well that's where their local team plays isn't it?" Belleza couldn't help but laugh at her sister's confusion. "Or at least that's what I assumed based on the posters I’ve seen around the place.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Calantha admitted. “I didn’t even realise Highpoint had a hockey team...”

“Well now you do! But don’t worry we won’t be playing any games tomorrow. I swear to be on my best behaviour if you are!” Belleza said in a faux sweet tone. “I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow, little sister.” She was about to end the call when Calantha stopped her.

“You don’t even know what time to meet us!” 

“I’ll decide when I want to arrive,” Belleza snapped back, practically yelling directly into the scroll at that point. “All you and the rest of your new friends need to do is make sure you’re there and ready to go. Do you understand?”

Calantha hesitated slightly before responding. “Yes, Belle.”

“Goodbye,” Belleza said, satisfied she had gotten out all needed to say for now. After disconnecting from the call, she was quick to her feet, and hurried to the door, shouting to her companion.

“Miho! Gather your things, we have somewhere to be!”

**

After summoning Miho, the two women were quick to depart the building, but not before putting some clothes for outside. Considering they were still targets for the military and the security team, Belleza knew they had to be careful and try not to draw too much attention to themselves, which was easier said than done for Belleza whose snow-white hair made her stand out like a sore thumb. In an effort to hide her appearance she wore a slightly oversized woolly hat, and removed her earrings temporarily to be extra safe.

Stepping outside they moved quietly, and kept away from people for the most part, managing to find a good balance between making their movements seem natural and not drawing attention to themselves. Once they were safely away from the most populated areas, Belleza was willing to converse with Miho a little as they walked.

“Did she say everything you thought she would?” Miho inquired.

“Pretty much,” She nodded. “Naturally she tried to dumb it down for me, and claim she was thinking it through, rather than conspiring with our enemies to trap us as we know she was.”

Miho made a small scoffing sound, as though she couldn't believe the audacity of Calantha's behaviour. 

The two continued to walk, until they came to a nondescript building, a small warning sign on the chain link fence surrounding it being the only true hint of what this place was.

Miho took a step forward to read the sign, and turned back to Belleza with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you taking me into the mines?"

"This is where Sparrow and I stashed the supplies from a few weeks ago," Belleza explained as she walked ahead. Realising she wasn't going to stop to talk, Miho quickly fell back in line, and followed her into the building. A small rusted lock was the only true deterrent from getting further inside, but a sharp tug was all it needed to loosen enough for her to take it off. Belleza held the door open for Miho, further explaining what they were doing here. "Bianca took the majority home with her, but I'm hoping you might be able to make some use of what's left."

Miho nodded her head silently, and as they walked she looked around the building. There wasn't anything notable about the place to Belleza as most of it had been gutted of any defining furniture. The two women made their way to a back room, where a simple elevator waited to take them down to the mines.

"Is it safe?" Miho asked, stepping into the elevator, which rocked under the sudden weight.

"Well I can't imagine this thing has gone through any health and safety tests recently," She replied dryly, focusing more on powering up the elevator rather than whether it was safe or not. "You're not scared are you?" She teased.

Miho was quick to deny she was afraid, but was unable to hide the startled expression on her face when the elevator shuddered into life and began to descend. "I meant the mines."

"Yes, they're safe - or stable at least," Belleza explained. "When we first arrived I had Bianca look into the situation regarding the mines to see if it was something we could use to our advantage. Whilst no longer active per se, apparently this whole place acts as a sort of underfloor heating for the town. They regularly have surveyors come out to ensure the place isn’t on the verge of blowing up.”

Miho nodded approvingly. “That was smart of them.”

“Seems like a waste of good dust if you ask me,” Belleza huffed. After a short descent, the elevator came to a stop at the bottom of the mine shaft, which split off into three different tunnels. “But surprise, surprise, the Atlas elites wind up hoarding all the- Wait!” An arm snapped out, preventing Miho from walking off into the tunnels without her. “Do you hear that?” “Hear what?”

Belleza moved her head, trying to determine the direction where the sound was coming, eventually deciding it was coming from the right tunnel - conveniently the one they needed to go through. With a wave of her hand, she gestured for Miho to follow her, and they made their way through the tunnel. As they walked the sound - which started off as the faintest of tapping noises - continued to grow louder and louder until they found the source of the noise.

Crouched in front of the wall, hammering away at a vein of fire dust crystals, was a young boy who had to be around Calantha’s age if Belleza had to guess. However, the colourful emblem on the hoodie he wore made him seem slightly younger. The boy had a pair of headphones in his ears, and was humming along to whatever song was playing through them, so wasn’t aware of their presence until Belleza kicked a loose pebble at him.

After the rock hit him and he became aware of their presence, he lost his balance and tumbled backwards in surprise. He quickly managed to scramble to his feet, and might have made a run for it, had it not been for Miho reaching out to grab his hood, and holding him in place, before forcibly turning him around to face them once he ceased his struggling.

He seemed nervous when he finally plucked up the courage to talk to them. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“What are you doing here?” Belleza countered, putting her hands on her hips.

The boy looked down at the floor. “I was trying to get a crystal from the mines to impress Daisy Tisane,” He admitted shyly, speaking as though Belleza was supposed to know who that was. “Please don’t tell my mom about this, okay? She grounded my ass for a solid month the last time I tried this and even threatened to pull out my application for the academy.”

“I don’t even know who your mother is,” Belleza said flatly.

“What?” The boy seemed taken aback by this. “Captain Bougainvillea? Surely you must know her. I’m her son - Maroon.”

“What do you want - a medal?”

“I-” Maroon seemed at a loss for words.

“Listen boy, I couldn’t give a shit who your mother is. I have no intention of seeking out Captain Boogaloo, or whatever her name is, I have a job to do, and I’d like to take care of it without any interference from you or her. Believe me when I say telling on you is the least of my priorities!” Belleza snapped. She took a step toward the boy. “I won’t tell anyone that I saw you here, if you don’t tell anyone about us. Do we have a deal?” Belleza held out her hand almost as soon as she finished speaking, not giving the boy any other option but to say yes.

Reluctantly, he stretched out his hand to hers and gave it a weary shake. Before she let him, Belleza tightened her grip and leaned in even closer. “Be a good boy and run along before I change my mind about being so nice and decide to break your legs.”

The boy’s eyes widened in alarm, and no sooner had Belleza released  her grip, did he take off down the tunnel eager to get away from them. In his hurry to leave, he left behind the dust crystal he had been hammering off. Miho bent down to pick it up, and tossed it in her hand. “I’m guessing he won’t be needing this anymore.”

Belleza smirked. “Keep that close, Miho. You might be able to make some use of it later.”

After the brief interruption, the two women finally made it to where Belleza had stashed the last of the supplies they had taken. At the end of the tunnel, the mine opened out into a large cavernous space, which was connected to even more tunnels.

Miho whistled. “Wow. How big is this place exactly?”

“Big enough,” Belleza said simply. She signalled for Miho to join her by a crate she was standing next to. As her companion joined her, she lifted the lid to show the contents inside - several dust crystals carefully packaged together with several wires and pieces of scrap metal.

“Will this be enough to do your thing with your semblance?” She asked.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Whatever it is you’re planning on using it for,” Miho laughed, reaching into the box to pick up a crystal.

“Think of it as a distraction. A really big distraction,” Belleza said, watching as Miho studied the crystal carefully. Belleza never really had much use for dust, so had never bothered to learn much about it other than the basic uses. “When Cala and her new friends come to the meeting they’ll find these waiting for them instead of us. Of course, it would require one of us to stay behind to ensure they found their intended target...” Although she was certain Miho would have offered herself up regardless, she fluttered her eyelashes at her, hoping that playing nice would serve as a further incentive for Miho.

“If you want me to stay behind I will. No questions asked,” Miho said. “I would give my life for you if you asked it.”

“That is good to know,” Belleza smiled. “But don’t try and pick any fights afterwards.I still have use for you back home and would rather not see you wind up in an Atlesian prison or meeting your maker at the end of a hail of bullets. We can use the chaos from what happens in the aftermath to flee.”

“But how? Won’t the city go into lockdown or something?” Miho asked, sounding a little doubtful.

“Oh, it will,” Belleza confirmed. “But you’re looking at our escape plan right now.”

For a split second, Miho looked down at the crystal she was still holding.

“Not the dust, you idiot,” Belleza scolded, smacking Miho on the arm. “The mine! You see, a couple of these tunnels lead right out of town.”

“Really?”

Belleza nodded. “So whilst you ensure Cala finds our little present, I will wait down here in the tunnels for you. And then, whilst everyone is running around in a panic, you’ll escape, join me in the tunnels, and we’ll skip right out of town and straight back to the O.R.C.A.S!”

#team zrcn fic #belleza rossi #miho ryuzaki #maroon bougainvillea

[imasallstars]

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS GEKIJOU SPRING FESTIVAL 2018 RUNDOWN

The Cast List for the 6th Annual Cinderella Girls Live has been released! The live will be held for a total of 4 days across 2 areas, the Metlife Dome and Nagoya Dome. 

Metlife Dome, Saitama

Both Day Participants: Ayaka Ohashi ( Uzuki Shimamura ), Kotomi Aihara ( Shiki Ichinose ),  Mayumi Kaneko ( Rina Fujimoto ), Asami Takano ( Frederica Miyamoto ), Ricca Tachibana ( Sae Kobayakawa ), Marie Miyake ( Nana Abe )

Ayaka Fukuhara ( Rin Shibuya ), Yuko Iida ( Kanade Hayami ),  Chiyo Osaki ( Koume Shirasaka ), Ru Thing ( Syuko Shiomi )

Sayuri Hara ( Mio Honda ), Yumiri Hanamori ( Shin Sato ),  Yuko Hara ( Takumi Mukai ), Kiyono Yasuno ( Natsuki Kimura ), Nozomi Yamamoto ( Rika Jougasaki ), Haruka Yoshimura ( Mika Jougasaki )

Day 1 [ 10th November ] Only: Natsumi Takamori ( Miku Maekawa ), Yuka Ohtsubo ( Kanako Mimura ), Ayaka Fujimoto ( Atsumi Munakata )

Ruriko Aoki ( Riina Tada ), Haruka Chisuga ( Ryo Matsunaga ), Nao Toyama ( Mizuki Kawashima ),  Tomo Muranaka ( Aki Yamato )

Juri Kimura ( Yumi Aiba ), Arisa Date ( Emi Namba ), Mako Morino ( Yuki Himekawa ), Nanami Yamashita ( Yui Ohtsuki )

Day 2 [ 11th November ] Only: Ayaka Asai ( Mirei Hayasaka ), Hiromi Igarashi ( Anzu Futaba ), Hiyori Nitta ( Karin Domyoji )

Shiki Aoki ( Asuka Ninomiya ), Asaka Imai ( Chie Sasaki ), Sumire Uesaka ( Anastasia ), Makoto Koichi ( Haru Yuuki ), Amina Sato ( Arisu Tachibana ), Aya Suzaki ( Minami Nitta )

Tomoyo Kurosawa ( Miria Akagi ), Natsumi Haruno ( Kaoru Ryuzaki )

Nagoya Dome, Nagoya

Both Day Participants: Ayaka Ohashi ( Uzuki Shimamura ), Ayaka Asai ( Mirei Hayasaka ), Hiromi Igarashi ( Anzu Futaba ), Hiyori Nitta ( Karin Domyoji ), Minami Tsuda ( Miho Kohinata ), Yui Makino ( Mayu Sakuma )

Ayaka Fukuhara ( Rin Shibuya ), Yuko Iida ( Riina Tada ), Minori Suzuki ( Hajime Fujiwara ), Karin Takahashi ( Nono Morikubo ), Mai Fuchigami ( Karen Hojo ), Eriko Matsui ( Nao Kamiya )

Sayuri Hara ( Mio Honda ), Eri Suzuki ( Yuko Hori ), Yuuki Takada ( Yoshino Yorita ), Yuri Noguchi ( Shizuku Oikawa ), Rei Matsuzaki ( Kirari Moroboshi ), Satsumi Matsuda ( Syoko Hoshi ), Azumi Waki ( Sanae Katagiri )

Day 1 [ 1st December ] Only: Yuka Ohstubo ( Kanako Mimura ), Shimoji Shino ( Yuka Nakano ), Chiyo Tomaru ( Noriko Shiina ), Marie Miyake ( Nana Abe )

Misa Kayama ( Tamami Wakiyama ), Sayaka Harada ( Miyu Mifune )

Yuuki Kaneko ( Aiko Takamori ), Masumi Tazawa ( Ayame Hamaguchi )

Day 2 [ 2nd December ] Only: Saya Aizawa ( Hiromi Seki ), Atsumi Tanezaki ( Kyoko Igarashi ), Yuki Nakashima ( Yuuki Otokura )

Rui Tanabe ( Hina Araki ), Mina Nagashima ( Haruna Kamijo )

Larissa Tago Takeda ( Yuzu Kitami ), Miharu Hanai ( Tomoe Murakami ), Nanami Yamashita ( Yui Ohtsuki )

Seiyuus Not Coming( if not planned for a surprise visit )

Saori Hayami ( Kaede Takagaki ), Maaya Uchida ( Ranko Kanzaki ), Hitomi Harada ( Airi Totoki ), Chinatsu Akasaki ( Akane Hino ), Ayana Taketatsu ( Sachiko Koshimizu ), M・A・O ( Fumika Sagisawa ), Misaki Kuno ( Nina Ichihara ), Haruka Terui ( Momoka Sakurai ), Akane Fujita ( Yukari Mizumoto ), Nanami Haruno ( Suzuho Ueda )

#event rundown #idolm@ster cinderella girls

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 3 - CHAPTER 13

Back with the Rossi family this chapter following the clash against Nieve and Wisteria.

As divisions begin to form over the handling of their enemies, Belleza steps up her plan for her endgame.

BELLEZA

Belleza took in a sharp breath as the needle pierced her skin again. Her eyes studied the wall opposite her as Sparrow got to work, following the step by step instructions being given to them by Theodora Crest via Belleza's scroll.

There was a small tug in her shoulder, and Belleza heard a snipping sound as Sparrow cut the string. A moment later there was a small clink as Sparrow dropped the needle into the metal bowl by the side of her.

"It is done," Sparrow said.

"Let me see it," Theodora requested. Sparrow took a moment to carefully remove the gloves they were wearing, dropping them into the bowl with the needle before picking up the scroll and moving it close to Belleza’s now stitched up wound so that Theodora could inspect it. On the screen, Belleza could see the young woman frowning slightly as Sparrow moved the camera to show different angles of their work.

“Well?” Belleza prompted once Sparrow had moved the scroll away and Theodora didn’t immediately respond. Theodora coughed nervously. “Well, it's a bit messy, but it should hold for now. Though I would have preferred it if you had allowed me to send Euphemia to bring some supplies to you,” She admitted.

“And we’ve already talked about this,” Belleza reminded her, rolling her eyes as she did so.

“I know, I know,” Theodora conceded. “At the very least I’ll be able to tend to it myself once you all return to Olympia.”

We’ll see. Belleza thought to herself.

“How is the cut feeling? Does it hurt at all?”

“I told you it’s fine,” Belleza snapped, already beginning to tire of Theodora’s insipid line of questioning. Despite her remark, she had to admit that it was feeling a little tender at that present moment in time; likely not helped by Sparrow’s recent stitching. It had been worse in the days following the attack against Nieve and Wisteria, keeping her awake at night with a deep throbbing pain. She had managed to soldier through thankfully, finding enough of a distraction in the company of Miho to keep her mind off of it whilst they stayed away from their base of operations for a few extra days to keep up the pretense that they were looking for Calantha as per Bianca’s request.

Theodora continued to ask after her wellbeing for a few minutes, before realising she was fighting an uphill battle and wrapping up the conversation. 

No sooner had she wrapped up the call, a familiar click of heels from down the hall began to draw close. A moment later, the door to the office Belleza, Miho, and Sparrow were all standing in was wrenched open and Bianca stepped inside. Judging by the scowl she had had on her face, Belleza figured her sister had heard the news by now.

“Leave us,” Bianca said, looking at Miho and Sparrow in turn. The two of them hesitated, looking between each other first and then to Belleza for confirmation. Before Belleza could give her permission for them to leave, Bianca spoke again. “Leave us,” She repeated, this time more forcefully. Miho grunted in submission, and patted Belleza on her good shoulder before leaving the room. Sparrow quietly gathered up the metal bowl and the medical supplies before making their leave, giving a small curtsy to Bianca as they passed. Bianca turned to watch them leave, before turning rapidly on her heel to face her sister, boring into Belleza with an intense gaze.

“Did you do it?” She asked with a demanding tone.

“Do what?” Belleza said, following up her sister’s question with one of her own.

Bianca’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t play coy with me, Belle,” She warned.

“I’m not!” Belleza grinned, throwing her hands up. “You just need to be more specific, Bianca. I’ve done a lot of things, so for all I know you could be referring to anything.”

“Did you kill Nieve?”

Ah, there it is.

“Oh, yeah, that. Yes, I killed her - what of it?"

“Are you out of your damn mind!?” Bianca yelled. “What were you thinking?”

“If we’re being specific I didn’t actually kill her, that was Miho.” Belleza pointed out with a smirk.

“This isn’t funny!” Her sister protested. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“Punishing someone who has double-crossed and lied to us for months is what I did,” Belleza responded calmly.

“No, what you did was take away the one thing that ever kept her loyal to us,” Bianca said, crossing her arms. “With Nieve gone there’s nothing to stop her from turning against us fully. You especially.”

“Agree to disagree,” Belleza said with a shrug.

Bianca frowned and did not say anything back to that. Believing the conversation to be done, Belleza stood up from her seat and retrieved her red jacket. She had just tucked it under her arm when Bianca drew her back into a conversation.

“I suppose we shall see who is in the right once we get to Highpoint.”

“Highpoint?” Belleza repeated, genuinely confused at the mention of the northern town. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“You see, Belle, I always knew you wouldn’t go looking for Cala,” Bianca began to explain. “Whilst you were off killing people, I was actually tracking down our sister. Thanks to Ulysses’ old code which Lunick was able to complete for us, we were able to sneak a probe into the Atlas military databases, and we discovered she has been sent to Highpoint and put under the protection of Special Operatives there alongside Team ZRCN.”

“And what does this have to do with Wisteria exactly?”

“Nothing at first,” Bianca admitted. “But your insistence that Wisteria won’t betray us now gave me an idea. I was planning on telling you we’d be heading out to Highpoint soon to retrieve Cala anyways, but now I figure we can test your theory about Wisteria at the same time and bring her with us.”

It took Belleza a moment to respond to what she was told. Admittedly, she was a little impressed at the careful plan Bianca had laid out, but she was also annoyed, and it was a struggle not to show that annoyance in front of her sister. Impressive though it may have been, she had some nerve to fool her like that.

“What’s the point?” Belleza asked. “You know she won’t come back.”

“She’s our sister,” Bianca argued.

“She’s a weak link and a liability,” Belleza said coldly. “If she had carried on the way she was going we both know it wouldn’t have ended well for her. Just as it was with our mother.” The mention of the late Diantha Rossi caught Bianca by surprise, and Belleza used the moment to inch closer. “Believe me, Bianca, it’s better this way.”

Belleza extends her free hand towards her sister, intending to touch her cheek in an act of comfort, but Bianca uncrosses her arms and smacks the hand away, glaring at her as she does so. Bianca took a step forward and closed the gap between them. She then proceeded to put an arm on her shoulder. For a moment, Belleza thought she was trying to comfort her in that same odd manner she had been about to attempt, but she was surprised when Bianca shifted her hand ever so slightly so that her thumb was resting against Belleza’s wound, before pressing down hard.

Belleza grunted in pain, even dropping her jacket as she tried to move back. Bianca leaned in close to her and whispered, “You’re a heartless bitch, Belle.”

She gave one final sharp squeeze before letting go and storming out of the room leaving Belleza alone. Her shoulder was now once again throbbing in pain, and Belleza winced a little as she touched where Bianca had moments before been pressing down. The more she touched it, the more her annoyance at her sister’s actions began to grow. 

If Bianca wanted to play games then so could she.

Snatching up her jacket from the floor, Belleza tossed it over one shoulder, retrieved her scroll from earlier and stormed out of the room herself, looking for Miho again. It didn’t take long to find her stalwart companion, who hadn’t wandered far after being dismissed by Bianca. Belleza was about to speak to Miho about a special “task” she wanted her to complete when Sparrow happened to walk back in on the room.

Although Sparrow turned to leave, Belleza decided to bring them in on the task too, deciding that they had proved themselves to be loyal enough in recent weeks that she could trust them with this mission.

“We are due to leave for Highpoint in a few days time,” Belleza began to explain to both of them. As she continued talking, she got her scroll out, scrolling through her images until she found the one she was looking for. “Before we leave Atlas, I would like to find a souvenir to bring home with me. As you can see, I am somewhat indisposed at the moment, so unfortunately I cannot fetch it myself hence where you two come in.” She zoomed in on the chosen image and held out the scroll to show the pair of them what she was referring to. “Bring this back for me.”

Smiling back at them was a picture of a smartly dressed teenage boy with silver-grey hair and deep blue eyes.

#team ZRCN #team zrcn fic #belleza rossi #bianca rossi #miho ryuzaki #sparrow #theodora crest

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 3 - CHAPTER 6

Just what is Belleza Rossi planning?

BELLEZA

For the third time in that hour Belleza looked down at her watch, and for the third time in that same hour she frowned.

Lifting her head she looked out of the window in front of her, looking up at the looming shape that was the city of Atlas in the distance ahead. Soon the time would come for plans to come into fruition that had been in motion since she was a little girl. Soon her family would have justice for their wrongs that they had suffered. Atlas wouldn’t fall, but it would be brought to its knees and a just punishment would be exacted.

Belleza looked down at her watch again.

“They should have been here by now.” Belleza grunted, turning around to face her sisters. “You know I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Wisteria’s doing. Keeping us in wait just to spite us.”

“You’d do well to exercise some patience, Belle.” Bianca suggested, barely giving her sister a glance as she flicked a page in the book she was reading. She only looked up to frown disapprovingly when she caught Belleza mocking her silently. “A Sentinel isn’t the easiest object to carry.” “Miho’s lifted heavier than that,” She replied. Miho could have easily carried the two damaged Sentinels back by herself, but Bianca had advised the woman to go alone instead of taking Wisteria and Sparrow with her. 

“I should have gone with her. We’d have been back by now and-”

“I don’t think it's wise for you two to be together right now. Not after what you did.” Bianca told her with a firm tone, sharply shutting a book to emphasise her point. Calantha jumped at the sudden sound, but Belleza was unflinching in challenging her sister's gaze. “Don’t think I’m not unaware of what’s going on here, Belle. I know this all goes back to what you two did on Shizukana.”

“Oh, it goes back further than that and you know it, Bee,” Belleza smiled sweetly at her sister, but her eyes portrayed the darkness behind that smile. “I’m glad to see your mind is still as sharp as ever though - at least we know you haven’t taken a turn as father did.” The smile faded when Belleza turned away at the sound of footsteps in the corridor behind her. “Not yet anyway.”

Finally, an hour after they were scheduled, Miho, Wisteria, and Sparrow had arrived. As Belleza had suspected, Miho was carrying one of the damaged Sentinels over one shoulder, showing no signs of discomfort at carrying the robot. The same could not be said for Wisteria and Sparrow who were visibly struggling to carry the remaining Sentinel between them - more Sparrow than Wisteria. As soon as the robots had been set down, Sparrow turned to speak to her with an alarmingly quick twist.

“Can we talk?” They asked, no, demanded of Belleza. Such was the speed in which they talked that their question was nearly impossible to make out. 

“Later,” Belleza promised, giving the slim individual a knowing look. Sparrow responded with a sharp nod. “Leave us.”

Miho and Sparrow left with no argument, but Wisteria lingered a tad longer, giving her an annoyed glance. “What, no thank you?” She asked.

“And what should I be thanking you for exactly?” Belleza asked, inclining her head to one side as she spoke. “Thank you for delivering the robots you were told to retrieve? Thank you for being late? You should be thankful I’m not questioning you more about what took you so long.”

“You’d struggle too if you had to sneak those things away from the military. It’s not exactly easy to evade them when they’re all swarming the area.”

“And yet I’ve been doing it since before you were born.” A slight embellishment of the truth but it was close enough. Wisteria finally seemed to relent, exiting the room with a shrug. Without turning around, Belleza snapped her fingers and pointed to the less damaged Sentinel, a silent gesture for Calantha to get to work.

Calantha knelt next to the robot with the gaping hole in its chest, staring intently at her modified scroll which she was using to run diagnostics on it. Bianca stood looming over the bullet-riddled Sentinel, a scowl on her features. Belleza came to stand beside her and looked down at the robot herself. There was no point in getting Calantha to try and get anything from it, as much as it pained Belleza to admit it, the robot had suffered too much damage to the head. She kicked it in frustration.

Bianca tutted. “What a waste.” 

Belleza paced over to Calantha. She made a movement to try and take Calantha’s scroll from her but restrained herself when she noted Bianca watching them closely like a mother hen. “How’s it looking?” she asked. “Is it fixable?”

Calantha must have been aware of Belleza’s attempts to snatch up her scroll, or perhaps was recounting the last time her elder sister had been present when she was scanning a robot, as she held her scroll close to her chest for a moment. When she realised she wasn’t in any danger for the moment she moved it away, tapped a few squares on the screen before shaking her head. “I warned you this would happen…” She mumbled quietly.

Belleza gave her a small kick with the tip of her shoe. “Speak up, little lamb. I can’t hear you.” “Belle,” Bianca warned.

Calantha shifted uncomfortably, before pressing on. “If we had enough spare supplies I could maybe make the necessary repairs,” She admitted. “However, we do not, and even if we did, without a proper workbench and equipment I am unable to fix this. We’ll have to dispose of them both.”

Bianca let out a disappointed sigh; Belleza was inclined to follow suit. “Fine,” Belleza grumbled, “I’ll have Miho dispose of them. I trust she’ll find somewhere discreet and out of sight to do so.”

“There’s some saved video footage from when it was attacked if you’d like to see it,” Calantha offered, gesturing to what looked like a still frame on her scroll.

“Play it,” Bianca demanded. “I want to see what happened.”

The three sisters huddled together to watch as the robots’ final battle unfolded. 

The footage was not as long as Belleza had expected, and only seemed to cover the final seconds before the Sentinel was destroyed. In the video, the red-haired boy from Team ZRCN was protecting his slightly winded leader from a finishing blow, only instead of the Sentinel landing an attack, there was a faint metallic noise before the tip of a flaming blade pierced its chest. Belleza found it interesting that the person to land the blow had not been one of ZRCN, but none other than Helia Vines, who appeared in the final few seconds of the video before it finally cut out.

Belleza could already feel Bianca’s gaze boring into her, no doubt beginning to put more pieces together in that clever little mind of hers. Although Belleza managed to conceal her true feelings on the matter, it was hard to hold off the joy she felt at knowing her plan had worked - Helia had unknowingly taken her bait and ran with it, and now the seeds of doubt and fear had been planted in ZRCN. It would make hunting them down all the more satisfying in the long run.

“Finish up here,” Belleza instructed, emphatically snapping her fingers at the youngest sister. “And then ready yourself, little lamb. You’ll be going on a little mission for us.”

“M-Me?” Calantha stammered.

“She’s not even combat trained!” Bianca protested, staring wide-eyed at Belleza - as though she had made the most ludicrous suggestion.

Belleza silenced her with a wave of the hand. “She doesn’t have to be,” She explained, putting on a fake soothing tone. “Just so long as she can keep our remaining Sentinel in working order before and during a battle she’s fine as she is.”

Calantha gulped at this and Bianca narrowed her eyes. “Just what do you have planned, Belle?”

“All in due time, Bianca,” She said with a smile, “All in due time.”

With those parting words, she left her sisters to finish up their business with the damaged robots, though considering both were ruined beyond repair she couldn’t imagine there would be much left to fiddle with. At the end of the corridor, she found Miho, Wisteria, and Sparrow all waiting for her, no doubt expecting instructions on their next mission. Without saying a word, Belleza gestured for Miho to head back into the room behind her. The big woman gave a curt nod and quietly made her way past her. 

Belleza’s attention then moved to Wisteria. “You may go.” She said with a dry tone, to which Wisteria merely shrugged in response.

“Don’t stray too far,” Belleza advised as Wisteria moved to leave. “We may need you again soon.”

Belleza didn’t even need to tell Sparrow to speak after Wisteria left, they had already jumped to their feet practically as soon as the door had closed behind her. 

“My, my,” Belleza chuckled. “Someone is very keen today. What do you have for me, dear Sparrow?”

“I found your little bug,” Sparrow said with a wink.

“Do you have proof?”

“Of course,” Sparrow nodded, before taking the scroll out to show Belleza the picture they had taken.”Look who’s with her too.”

Belleza’s face lit up when she saw the screen. “Oh, Sparrow, this is delightful. Truly, you have no idea of how happy this makes me.” She put her hand on their shoulder and gave them a small squeeze. “When we return to Olympia you will be rewarded for this.”

Looking back at the scroll, Belleza was keen to take in the picture one last time before she handed it back to Sparrow. Finally, she had photographic proof that Nieve was alive and well in Atlas, and not only that, but that Wisteria knew where she was too. There was no way she could deny it - the purple-haired woman in the picture was so obviously her.

Bianca wouldn’t like it, but with this photograph Belleza had all the justification she needed to see that Wisteria and Nieve were punished. It would have to wait until after they had delivered a little surprise for ZRCN, of course, but the plan could be put into motion at last. It was a long time coming, but Wisteria would finally be brought to heel for wronging Belleza Rossi one too many times.

#team zrcn fic #belleza rossi #bianca rossi #calantha rossi #miho ryuzaki #wisteria bloome #sparrow

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 3 - CHAPTER 9

You’re a mean one Miss Rossi.

Many thanks to @jaguar-knight who let me reference his character again in this chapter!

Slight warning towards the end as this chapter gets a little dark,

WISTERIA

For better or worse, Calantha Rossi had left the group. Wisteria couldn’t say she was surprised, she always expected the girl would wind up leaving them some day, either by her own volition or by Belleza’s hand. She was glad it was not the latter. Wisteria had little love for the Rossi’s and their allies, but Calantha was a sweet girl, and she had a certain naivety about her that reminded Wisteria of Nieve. There was also the fact that Wisteria felt some pity for the younger girl; seeing how Belleza belittled forcefully pulled her along at times reminded her all too well of her own experiences with her so-called “caregivers” growing up.

Shortly after arriving at the Rossi’s hideout for that day, it was Bianca who gave her a rundown of events that had transpired a few nights before, informing her of the attack on Cordovan Radcliff’s home, and the disappearance of Calantha. Bianca was clearly stressed at the disappearance of her younger sister, something which Wisteria doubted was helped by the conflicting stories given by Miho and Uriah.

The way Uriah told it, Calantha had betrayed them, and had retaliated in attacking Uriah, Miho, and Sparrow. He claimed he had tried to talk her out of it but that she had proceeded to shove him away and threaten him with the Sentinel that had been with them. Miho painted a more believable story overall, which Bianca herself seemed to agree with. Wisteria however was more cautious. Of all the people the Rossi’s had working for them, Miho and Uriah were by far the ones who were most loyal to Belleza, and would have done anything to curry her favour. It truly wouldn’t have surprised Wisteria if the pair of them were lying through their teeth and the poor girl had wound up killed in the crossfire.

What they really needed was Sparrow’s version of events. Wisteria didn’t trust them that well either but she knew them to be a more impartial voice when it came to certain matters within the group. Unfortunately, as was usually the case with Sparrow, they had since gone back immediately to their work, likely to only pop their head up once they had some useful information or if they were needed for a mission.

“So if you don’t mind me asking where is Belleza today?” Wisteria asked idly. Personally, she didn’t really care where the older Rossi sister was, she just found it odd not pacing around the place, gloating about how she always knew Calantha was a weak link.

Bianca was currently looking at a computer screen, entering some information into asset files. “I’ve sent her to look for, Cala,” She answered without looking up.

“Huh,” Wisteria said, blinking in surprise. “Not who I would have suspected you’d send to do that, given their relationship.”

“I needed her out of my hair,” Bianca admitted. “I know too well Belleza won’t bother looking for her, despite assuring me she would. With Belle out of the way it means I can focus on using our various hacks and access codes to the Atlas CCTV network to track her down. And then when I do find her, I can send someone I trust to retrieve her, such as you or Laurel for example.”

Wisteria’s scroll buzzed in her pocket but she ignored it. “I thought Laurel was off schmoozing some rich guy for you.”

“She is,” Bianca confirmed. “But Maxem Wulfric is still a low risk target for us, and should I need her, I can pull her out of her mission.”

Wisteria was about to say something when her scroll buzzed again - not just once but twice. Deciding she couldn’t ignore it any longer, she quickly pulled it out of her pocket and frowned at what she saw. There were three messages from Nieve glaring back at her. What was strange about these messages were that they looked as though they were responses to a conversation agreeing to meet up with someone in the back alley of the apartment building where she was currently staying. What was troubling, and somewhat concerning for Wisteria, was the fact that they had previously been communicating via a spare scroll Wisteria had bought, fearing that her own had been compromised.

“Something wrong?” Bianca asked, turning around in her chair to look at Wisteria with a raised brow.

“It’s nothing,” Wisteria was quick to say, hoping that would be the end of it. But the longer she looked at the message the more troubled she felt. “Actually, there’s something I need to take care of. Do you mind if I call it quits for today?”

Bianca held her gaze for a moment, as if trying to decide whether to let her go or not before shrugging. “You may,” She said with a flick of her hand. The Rossi woman was quick to swivel around in her chair and return to her previous work. “I won’t ask where you’re going, but if you are able, please keep an eye out for Calantha.”

Wisteria didn’t hesitate to try and call Nieve upon leaving the hideout. In fact, she wound up trying three times whilst she made her way to the apartment block. As she walked, her confusion and concern began to give way to annoyance, annoyed that after all these months of precaution her friend had been so reckless. Especially more so given that these messages implied she had been talking to someone other than Wisteria, which they had both agreed to be cautious about given the potential compromise of their scrolls.

Approaching the apartment building, Wisteria would continue to make her way up the street, before making a left turn and heading down a path between two houses, which looped around to the alleyway Nieve had mentioned in her message.

As Wisteria made her way down the alley, she was both pleased and annoyed to see Nieve already waiting outside, propped against the wall of the building. When she heard footsteps approaching, she turned to look in Wisteria’s direction, but upon realising who was coming towards her, her expression changed considerably.

“Wisteria?” Nieve blinked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t ‘Wisteria’ me!” Wisteria yelled, coming towards Nieve and giving her a sharp prod in the shoulder. “What do you think you’re doing messaging me out of the blue like that? What happened to us being careful, Nieve?”

“I didn’t message you!” She protested, rubbing her shoulder quickly. 

“Then explain this!” Wisteria argued, pulling out her scroll for Nieve to see the messages. Nieve came forward to read them,  squinting at the screen as she did so. When she pulled away she seemed genuinely surprised. “Those are my messages,” Nieve confirmed before shaking her head. “But I didn’t send them to you.”

“Then who did you send them to?” Wisteria pressed, gripping Nieve’s shoulders tightly.

Before Nieve could respond, their argument was interrupted by what sounded like a photograph had just been taken. Both Wisteria and Nieve turned in the direction of the sound, and Wisteria felt her heart sink when she saw Belleza and Miho standing opposite them.

“Catch, Miho,” Belleza said, tossing her scroll at the larger woman. “Once we’re done here, send that picture to Bianca and tell her to file it under times I was right and she was wrong.” Belleza proceeded to burst out into laughter at this, holding on to her weapon with her free hand as she creased with laughter. When she straightened, she looked Nieve straight in the eye. “So are you going to tell her about your secret conversations with Theo or should I?”

“Theo?” Wisteria frowned as she said the name. It took her a moment to piece it together. “Theo as in Theodora? Ulysses’s sister?”

Nieve tensed, and looked nervously between Wisteria and Belleza. “I’ll explain later!”

“Hah! You won’t,” Belleza taunted from the opposite side of the alleyway. Wisteria noted that she was gripping her weapon in more of an attacking stance, and Miho was also beginning to move into a fighting stance. “You’re not going to be leaving this alleyway.”

And then Belleza ran for them, her weapon held out in front of her, as through ready to run them through. Although neither Wisteria and Nieve could reach for their weapons immediately, Nieve was quick to deploy her webs, shooting a small one at Belleza’s legs, entangling her feet and causing her to trip and hit the floor hard. 

Belleza was already beginning to work at freeing her feet when Wisteria and Nieve charged Miho. Miho was a strong and heavy hitting opponent, and could have easily gotten the upper hand on Wisteria had she been alone, but with two opponents that were light on their feet she seemed to be struggling to keep up.

Wisteria and Nieve were able to get a few solid hits on her, before a sharp swing sent Nieve staggering back and breaking apart the duo. Unfortunately, by that point, Belleza had also freed herself and had reentered the fight, now having shifted her spear into its more compact form, allowing her to more effectively slash and parry with Nieve.

With Nieve left to deal with Belleza for the, Wisteria knew she was the only one who could weaken Miho. Punching her would be useless, and her gauntlets seemed to deflect her bullets easy enough, so she would have to rely on her semblance to distract the bigger woman momentarily. It worked, if only for a moment, allowing Wisteria the chance to get in close and try and weaken her aura. Her downfall came when she aimed a high kick at the woman’s torso, but Miho quickly recovered from the initial blast of Wisteria’s semblance, for she caught her foot and then forcefully pushed her away.

Wisteria skidded backwards but was otherwise unhurt. She was about to ready her gun to shoot at Miho, when a sudden cry from behind, stopped them both, and they turned to see Belleza and Nieve falling away from each other.

As Nieve stepped back, her aura flickered around her, clearly weakened from whatever attack Belleza had landed on her. But there was one small victory in that Nieve had landed a more harmful blow on Belleza, whose lack of aura meant she had easily been cut across her right shoulder. She seemed to be bleeding quite badly, and was using a hand to stem the blood while leaning on her weapon - once again in its spear form - for support.

“Miho,” Her voice called out, more strained than usual. “Break her aura.” And she pointed a bloody finger in Wisteria’s direction.

“As you wish,” Miho said, dipping her head in acknowledgement. She cracked her neck before punching the air with both of her fists at the same time, combining their power into a stronger blast of energy. It was all Wisteria could do to throw her hands up and try and shield herself.

The blast hit her hard, and whilst that hadn’t broken her aura entirely, getting knocked back into the wall behind her finished it off. As she slid down the wall, she was aware of the ache in her neck flaring up from getting flung backwards. Still disoriented from the attack, it took Wisteria a moment to regain her bearings, but hearing Nieve cry out in pain stirred her into action.

Watching as Nieve was thrown to the floor by Miho, Wisteria shakily raised her gun trying her hardest to stop her hands from shaking and aim towards the larger woman. Just as she got a good angle, Belleza interrupted her, kicking her arm just as she squeezed the trigger. Rather than hitting Miho the bullet struck the ground harmlessly.

Wisteria grunted in annoyance, and attempted to aim her gun at Belleza, only for the woman to preempt her attack, and wrestle the gun from her hand and throw it to the side.

“Come here!” She growled in a commanding voice, before grabbing at Wisteria’s hair and half yanked half dragged her away from the wall. Belleza threw her to the floor opposite Nieve, who made a pitiful attempt to try and reach out to her, before Belleza yanked her up into a kneeling position.

“Nie-” But before Wisteria could even finish saying Nieve’s name, she was aware of a gun being pressed against the back of her head, presumably her own as neither Belleza nor Miho typically used a gun.

“It would be so easy to kill you right now,” Belleza mused from behind. “One small squeeze would be all it takes to end your pathetic little life.” She inhaled deeply. “Unfortunately for me, my family still has a use for you and your semblance. We can’t rough you up too much, but as for our friend Nieve, well let’s just say she’s fair game.”

Wisteria’s eyes widened when she realised what was going on and tried to turn away as Miho began to punch and kick Nieve. However, Belleza was quick to grip her head and prevent her from moving. “Ah,ah, ah, Wisteria, this is your punishment. You don’t get to look away,” Belleza cooed, leaning in close and digging her nails into Wisteria’s skull. “You'll want to watch this.”

#team zrcn fic #wisteria bloome #nieve #belleza rossi #bianca rossi #miho ryuzaki

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 3 - CHAPTER 7

Well, the years Rossi’s start coming and they don't stop coming

CORDOVAN

Time passed by slowly at Cordovan’s house in the days that followed their attack in Mantle. Cordovan found it ironic that barely a week after returning to the Academy full-time he and his team once again found their schooling cut short. That had mostly been his mother’s doing, pulling some strings to ensure that until whatever - or, whoever - was targeting ZRCN, they were kept safe and out of school. A few of their professors had argued against such a thing, especially after the damaged robots went missing causing them to lose what little evidence they had against their adversaries. But Wren had persisted and this was how they found themselves.

Although glad they were taking precautions, as the days ticked by Cordovan found himself longing to return to school more and more. He had already spent six months stuck at home recovering from his injuries on Shizukana, and now forced into hiding his home was beginning to feel increasingly scrambled and stifling. Something which wasn’t helped by seven people currently taking residence there.

Still, despite the irritations he and his team might have felt at being cooped up, there were a few brighter moments. Rosie became a welcome source of light for the group, most notably Helia and Xanthos. Xanthos frequently told Cordovan she reminded him of his own sister, and truth be told, Cordovan did get a sense of brotherly affection coming from Xanthos when he watched their interactions.

It had been her presence around Helia he had worried about more; considering Helia was still clearly in mourning for Alcyone, he worried that Rosie’s lack of tact - in that way that young children often are - would distress the older huntress. However, despite her sometimes strained smiles, he got the impression Helia was actually quite grateful for the distraction that came from Rosie’s chattering.

Among the other lighter moments, the team had come to enjoy whilst stuck at home was Xanthos’s birthday. Compared to the previous year, where Xanthos had loudly woken his team in the early hours of the morning, the event was something of a sombre affair.

Xanthos didn’t say it, but Neela expressed her concerns he was feeling down about not being able to speak with his mother and sister, and so was keen to lift his spirits now the day had arrived.

Neela had taken charge of getting presents, which considering they were still supposed to keeping a low profile, only wound up being a few small trinkets, most notable of which was a little gold bracelet. Zelde and Cordovan had offered to make breakfast and dinner for him, as well as chipping in for his gifts. Rosie had also offered her help, despite not knowing him very well, and had tasked herself with making what turned out to be quite creepy looking decorations.

The day went by without a hitch, and by the time the night had rolled around, Xanthos had openly wept three times - expressing loudly how he was glad to have ZRCN as a second family. He went on to add additional thanks to Wren for her support and hospitality, to Helia for being a loyal friend and keeping them safe even after all this time, and to Rosie for bringing some much-needed laughter into everyone’s lives.

The majority of the household all retired to bed at around the same time, though Xanthos and Neela continued celebrating by themselves downstairs for much longer. Cordovan was still awake when the two of them finally came to bed, hearing his bedroom door creak open, before Xanthos flopped onto his makeshift bed on the floor below.

He hadn’t told his teammates of his fitful sleeping schedule, but it was something which had developed in the weeks after losing his leg. It varied by night, some were better than others, and others were worse. It had been getting better for a while, but it had started becoming more bothersome in recent weeks. His mother had prior knowledge of his nightmares, but he hadn’t wanted to worry her by telling her his nightmares had gotten worse again.

His dreams were nearly all the same, focusing on the night he had been crippled by Wisteria. Sometimes if the dream had been enough to jolt him from his sleep suddenly, he could swear he could feel the pain in the leg he no longer possessed. 

PHTOOM!

Although he had been awake, Cordovan couldn’t help but sit up in surprise at the sudden sound. Xanthos had a stronger reaction to noise, literally jumping out of his bed and mumbling incoherently for a few seconds in his confusion.

“W-what’s going on?” He finally managed to stammer out.

“I don’t know, I woke up when you did,” Cordovan explained. Before he could say anything else, he heard the sound again, followed by movement from inside the house which he assumed to be everyone else waking up due to the noise.

“I’ll go see what’s going on,” Xanthos decided.

He was already moving towards the door when Cordovan held out a hand to stop him. “Ravi, wait.” When he turned back to look at him, Cordovan made a gesture towards a corner of the room. “My leg.”

Xanthos gave him a silent nod before quietly retrieving his prosthetic leg. He had just about managed to get it on when a flushed looking Xanthos returned.

“Okay, so I have some good and bad news,” He began, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. “Good news is your house isn’t falling down. The bad news is we are being attacked though.”

“What!” Cordovan got out of his bed immediately. Ignoring his teammate for the moment, he gathered up Braveheart and Solaris Splendour from inside the room, forcibly shoving Xanthos’s weapon into his hands, before leading them both out the door. “Maybe lead with the bad news next time, Ravi.”

Stumbling into the hallway, they found Wren peering out of the upstairs window at the ground below, muttering something quietly under her breath. Helia, Neela, and Zelde were stood beside her looking equally concerned.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Cordovan asked.

“Three assailants. Possibly four as I think there’s one sticking to the shadows,” Wren informed them without turning around. “There’s a larger woman up front who keeps hitting the house with blasts from her gauntlets.”

“That big woman was there on Shizukana,” Helia said to no-one in particular, clenching her fist as she spoke. “We have to do something before we have another repeat of that night.”

“Don’t worry we won’t,” Wren assured her, giving her shoulder her an affectionate squeeze. “I need to call this in. Will you keep them safe for me?” “Of course, Wren.”

“And I’ll help too!” A voice boomed from behind them. Stood ready to go, wielding a gun that was far too big for her, and dressed in a pink cat nightie was Rosie.

“Rosie, honey, no. You are not fighting against those people,” Wren said, moving away from the window and coming to crouch close to her. “I need you to be safe, okay?”

“But I can fight!” Rosie pouted. “I killed a Creep before my sixth birthday!”

Wren gave her a small smile to humour her. “Then you can protect me while I call this in. That should be no problem for someone like you, right?” Rosie puffed out her chest proudly and gave a thumbs up to Wren. She then proceeded to give ZRCN and Helia a knowing glance. “Do what you need to do.”

Helia didn’t need to be told twice and was already heading downstairs to confront them before ZRCN could react. Cordovan and Xanthos were quick to follow her after being given the go-ahead by Zelde. Their remaining teammates would follow them once they had retrieved their own weapons. When they finally got downstairs, they found Helia grappling with a skinny person with a braid. They had barely stepped outside when they found themselves being rushed by a woman wearing rocket gauntlets, presumably the “big woman” from Shizukana that Helia had mentioned several times.

Xanthos gave Cordovan a sharp shove, knocking him out of the way just in time to avoid a punch from the woman, which Xanthos proceeded to parry by focusing his semblance to his arms to counter.

“Cute trick,” The woman smirked, as she jumped away momentarily. “Let’s see how you deal with this!” She proceeded to punch the air, directing a small blast at Xanthos. He rolled away from it in time but wound up right in the path of a tall man with closely cropped blonde hair. 

“She sets them up, I knock them down,” He grinned before lunging at Xanthos. He barely had any time to react before the man had grabbed him, turned him upside down, and the dropped to a sitting position on the floor. Xanthos’s aura broke almost immediately, and when released from the hold, Cordovan could see that his teammate had been badly winded, if not knocked out from the attack.

“Ravi, no!!” Neela’s voice echoed from behind, as she and Zelde joined the fight. Naturally, Neela went straight for the blonde-haired man, managing to get him to back off by creating several arcs of electricity by swinging her weapon. Cordovan noted that there seemed to be another person lingering in the shadows where the man had retreated to, recalling that his mother had mentioned seeing four people.

He was too far away to hear what was said, but he was close enough to see as a trembling girl came forward, clutching her scroll nervously in front of her. She looked back to the man hesitantly, before he yelled something at her. She pressed something on the scroll and stumbled back out of sight, only to be replaced by another one of those robots. Either this was a new robot, or it had received some upgrades prior to this battle; unlike its predecessors which had fallen to ZRCN, this one carried a gun.

Zelde was quick to note the difference than Cordovan was, and when the android raised its gun ready to fire, she quickly barked an order for him to grab Xanthos. Whilst Helia and the rest of his teammates ran to cover, Cordovan was able to use his shield to run towards his fallen teammate, expanding it into a dome-like structure once he was close enough as he could not immediately move Xanthos. When the robot ceased firing suddenly, Cordovan noticed both the muscular woman and the person with the braid coming towards him, but he could not risk moving and leaving Xanthos vulnerable.

Thankfully, Helia was quick to return to battle against the person wearing the braid, dashing after them with her katana drawn when they attempted to retreat. That still left the muscular woman who was pacing towards him. It took some effort, but he was carefully able to manoeuvre his rifle so he could get a shot. It wasn’t a perfect aim, but it was in the general direction of her, so he pulled the trigger and hoped for the best.

To his surprise, his bullet struck closer to the woman than expected, hitting the ground in front of her and causing her to jump back in surprise. Confusion lingered on her features before she realised what was going on, and a deep frown creased her brow. Straightening herself, she released several blasts at his shield.

It held strong for the first few hits, but by the fourth, it wavered and broke. Smoke from the last explosion clouded his vision for a moment, but when it began to fade he could see the woman charging him. He scrambled on the floor in an effort to move both himself and Xanthos out of the way, but she was moving too fast, and he was moving too slow.

She might have successfully run into them both had it not for her colliding with a large hammerhead which she sent her flying backwards. When she looked up, she would see Wren stood between her and Cordovan and Xanthos, gripping her weapon in both her hands.

“Stay away from them,” She warned, staring her down.

The muscular woman slowly rose to her feet and spat on the ground. “Or what?”

As if on cue, the sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance, growing louder as they came closer. The muscular woman frowned and looked around, as though debating whether to run or continue the fight. In the end, she chose the latter. She shouted towards her slimmer companion who was still in the throes of battle. Her companion gave Helia a sharp kick to get her to back off, and the pair of them retreated back to the man and the younger girl.

Again, Cordovan was unable to hear what they were saying, but he could tell by how urgently they were pushing and shoving each other, there must have been a few heated words said. The person with the braid was the first to retreat out of sight, climbing over a nearby wall with such fluid ease it had to be due to their semblance. The muscular woman was the next to disappear followed by the man, who hesitated once he realised their younger companion was not moving.

He gripped her tightly by the arm and tried to pull her back, but when she shouted at him, appearing to refuse to leave, he turned more violent. Still, the girl held her ground, and eventually, the man must have seen he was fighting a losing battle as he released his grip on his arm and finally turned to flee. but not before leaving the girl with a parting shot, slapping her so hard across the face that she dropped to her knees.

When the girl’s companions had left, Zelde and Cordovan approached her. Zelde cautiously pointed her gun at her. “Let’s not make this difficult,” Zelde advised.

On the floor below the girl was clutching a reddening cheek, sniffling softly. She lifted her head and Cordovan was struck by her blood-red eyes, which were striking in contrast to her light green hair. Neither Cordovan nor Zelde saw her reach for her scroll.

“Don’t touch that!” Wren snapped from behind them, which made them look down and see what she was doing. Zelde went to kick it away from her hands, causing the girl to pull back in alarm, leaving the scroll where it was on the floor.

“You don’t understand,” The girl said with a trembling voice. She stopped speaking when the security Wren had called for finally arrived. Seeing the flashing lights and blaring sirens, the girl looked around with a wild, panicked look. “You can’t let them take me!” She pleaded, suddenly throwing herself at their feet.”I didn’t want to hurt you, I swear! They made me do it!”

“Who made you do this?” Cordovan asked. “Who ordered the attack on my home?”

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” The girl blurted. “Just please -- don’t let them take me.”

#team zrcn fic #Zelde Sewick #Cordovan Radcliff #Xanthos Ravindra #Neela Oxford #helia vines #COUSIN ROSIE #miho ryuzaki #sparrow #calantha rossi #uriah astrella