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onceuponaloonatic · 3 years

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“Beach!” Saya yelled as she practically sprinted out of the car.

“Saya no!” Mina yelled as she also got out. It had been a long car ride, and Saya was seven, so it made sense she was desperate to get out, but Mina had tried to tell her not to run off already. She caught up to the child and picked her up, holding the squirming child in her arms. Saya was almost too big for being picked up, so it was a bit awkward to hold her, and she tried to use that to her advantage to run off towards the ocean. “Ka-san.” Saya whined. “You promised to help carry stuff from the car, remember Saya?” Mina asked, putting Saya down but keeping a firm grip on her arm to keep her tethered.

“Fine.” Saya whined dramatically. “Stop being such a drama queen Saya.” Sai nodded as she got out of the car, stretching her legs. She had been trapped in a car with Saya and Saki for hours and she was just about done with Saya. Saki had been fairly quiet the entire time, playing mario kart with Sai on their Switches. Saya had joined at first, but had quickly gotten bored and began making it the rest of their problem. Sai almost wished she had been in the other car with Sae and Nico, but at the same time she knew the carsickness car was probably worse than putting up with Saya’s whining about being bored.

“We’ve been in the car forever Unnie, I just want to get in the ocean already.” Saya pouted, following Mina to the back of the car. Saki was already there, still engaged in a mario kart race as she stood. Mina popped the trunk and handed Saya a small bag full of snacks before turning to Sai. “Can you carry something kinda big Sai?” Mina asked, the twelve year old nodding. “Of course Ka-san. I’m not a baby like these two.” “We’re not babies.” Saya pouted. “You are to me.” Sai giggled. “Saki as fun as mario kart is I need your help kiddo.” Mina turned to Saki, who sighed and put her game down. “How much further are Mom and Mama?” Sai asked as Mina put a bag with some towels in Saki’s arms. “They are already here.” Mina explained, grabbing a couple bags for her to carry. She shut the trunk and then led the kids towards the beach. “Really? How did they beat us? Mama said she was going to go slowly for Sae-chan?” Saya asked, adjusting the bag she was carrying. “We ended up taking a long time at lunch. Sae decided to not eat until we got here so she wouldn’t throw up.” Mina explained, looking around for her wives. Sana and Tzuyu had definitely gotten the easier choice. Sure Sae and Nico both got car sick, but it was better than Saya asking over and over again if they were there yet. “She’s probably pretty hungry so let’s find your Mom and Mama.” “Okay!” Saya nodded eagerly, looking around.

“Found them!” Saki yelled out when she spotted them, Mina smiling and leading them over. Sae was passed out on a beach towel, little white streaks of sunscreen still on her face as she laid in the sun. Nico was in Sana’s lap, being held by her mother while Sana attempted to read. Tzuyu was standing off to the side with Chaeyoung and Dahyun.

“Ai Unnie!” Saya yelled when she saw Ai, throwing the snacks down and running towards Ai, who was in the shallow part of the water with most of the other kids. “Eunji!” Saki yelled when she saw her, getting her attention from where she was building a sandcastle with Daehyung. “Ka-san can I go play with Eunji?” “Sure.” Mina nodded, watching Saki run off. Sai tossed the lawn chair she was holding down, going over to Sae and poking her. “Hey Sai.” Tzuyu smiled at Sai when she saw her. “How long has Sae been like this?” Sai asked, poking Sae again and getting no response. “Since we got here.” Tzuyu laughed. “You know she’s never liked the ocean.” “Hm…” Sana looked up when she heard Sai’s voice and smiled. “Hi Sai-chan! Hey Mitang.” Sana smiled at the two. “How was the drive?” She asked Mina as Mina moved to sit next to her on her towel. “Long.” Mina sighed. “Auntie Dahyun where is Kihyun?” Sai looked up at Dahyun, who was holding Haeun. “He’s playing with Ai in the water.” Sai nodded at the answer and ran off. “Hey Mina Unnie.” Chaeyoung greeted. “Rough drive?” Chaeyoung giggled at the other alpha’s demeanor. “Saya was bored and made it everyone's problem.” Mina sighed. “She always does that but it can be a lot when she has Saki and Sai to argue with.” “Well at least you guys got here right?” Sana giggled. “Where did you stop for lunch?” “Saya really wanted Hamburgers so we got that.” Mina explained, wrapping one arm around Sana and looking at Nico. “What about for you guys?” “It wasn’t bad. Haeun did have a little meltdown about halfway here so we had to stop for a bit but otherwise it was fine.” Dahyun explained. “Mina Unnie do you want a drink?” “Sure, what do you guys have?” Mina asked. “We have some water. Momo Unnie and Jihyo Unnie just went off to buy some more drinks and some food for the barbecue tonight.” Dahyun moved to get Mina a water. She tossed it to Mina, who happily accepted it. “Where’s Haeun?” “She went with Momo Unnie and Jihyo Unnie. She refused to be separated from Hina.” Chaeyoung explained. “Have you heard from Nayeon Unnie and Jeongyeon Unnie?” “No, but knowing them they are probably just running late.” Mina giggled. “Mom! Eunji and Saki are taking over my Sandcastle!” Daehyung yelled. “We are not!” “Should we go deal with that?” Tzuyu turned to Dahyun, putting her water bottle down on a towel. “Yeah.” Dahyun sighed. “We’ll be back.” Once they were gone Mina turned to Sana and Nico, watching Nico. “How was Nico?” “She was pretty good. She’s been eyeing the sand for a while but I’m sure it looks weird considering it’s the first time she’s seen it.” Sana giggled, closing her book.

“I’ll take her for a bit if you need a break.” Mina offered.

“It’s okay. We’re both good here.” Sana giggled. “Hey Mina Unnie I think Saya is trying to run out into the water.” Chaeyoung spoke up, noticing the way Saya was getting deeper and deeper. “Saya!” Mina sighed, chasing after her before she got into the water too deep. Sana giggled as she watched her wife chase after Saya. It seemed her energy was just getting more and more abundant as she got older.

“Saya has always been an energetic one.” Chaeyoung giggled, looking over to where Tzuyu and Dahyun were. It had seemed they got roped into helping the kids. “Oh yeah, especially now that it’s summer and she doesn’t have school to tire her out.” Sana giggled, adjusting Nico as the baby tried to reach for her necklace. “Haeun is similar. She may only be one and a half but she’s a ball of energy.” Chaeyoung laughed, leaning back from how she was sitting. “Dahyun’s mom says Dahyun was the same way at that age.” “I can actually imagine that perfectly. I bet little Dahyun was pretty cute.” Sana laughed. “She was. Haeun looks a lot like Dahyun did. It’s almost scary sometimes. When I told her that though she said she felt the same way with me and Dae.” Chaeyoung took a sip of her water. “Yeah we felt that way with Mina and the triplets and Sai. Well, Sae and Saya at least. Saki looks like her Mama. I think Nico looks a lot like Tzuyu, but she thinks Nico looks like me.” Nico looked up at Sana at the mention of her name. “I think I agree with Tzu on that one. Nico does look a lot like you.” Chaeyoung smiled at Nico when the baby looked over at her. She waved at Nico’s stare, smiling at the little smile Nico gave her. “You think?” Sana giggled. “Of course.”

When Momo and Jihyo got back, Nico was no longer interested in being still in Sana’s arms. She went over to the large towel Jihyo had set out for the little ones and crawled around with Haeun and Hina, trying her best to keep up with the older babies. About that time, Saki and Eunji both began asking their parents obsessively to play beach volleyball with them. Sana and Dahyun manage to get out of it by saying they need to watch the little ones and keep an eye out for a text from Nayeon and Jeongyeon. “Mommy you are hitting it wrong.” Momo was very amused by the look on Eunji’s face. They had started playing volleyball less than a year ago, but Saki and Eunji already were better than most of the adults playing, and they were telling them. “You aren’t supposed to hit it like that.”

“You too Mama. You are hitting it wrong.” Saki told Tzuyu. Saki and Eunji were on different teams, as the others had determined that was the only thing that was fair. You are supposed to hit it like this.” “Oh sorry Saki.” Tzuyu couldn’t help the giggle from leaving her lips. Saki looked so cute like that. “I’ll hit it like that.” “Saki serve it already.” Saya rolled her eyes. “Fine!” xx

“You guys finally made it.” Sana giggled when she saw Jeongyeon and Nayeon. Hyunjun and Seojun had run off in the direction of the volleyball game going on while Yuna held Jeongyeon’s hand, a popsicle in her other hand.

“Sorry it took a while.” Jeongyeon sighed. “We had to make a lot of stops.” “It’s not my fault.” Nayeon defended. “Yuna why don’t you go join the others?” “No.” Yuna nodded, sitting next to Sae, how was still asleep. “Volleyball hurts my arms, plus Oppas are both so competitive.” “Okay sweetie.” Jeongyeon giggled when Seojun waved her over. Nayeon decided to stay behind and unpack the stuff they got. “My babies!” Nayeon smiled when she saw the little ones. She picked up Haeun, how immediately giggled and latched onto Nayeon. “Hi Haeunie. Have you been good?”

“She’s been a little bit of a troublemaker recently.” Dahyun giggled. “Hina has been too from what I hear.” “Oh, the boys were like that at age as well.” Nayeon giggled, noticing how Hina wobbled over to her. Nico was still playing with a baby toy. “You three look so cute in your little swimsuits. Who's Auntie Nayeon’s favorite girls?” “You aren’t allowed to kidnap them, you know that right?” Dahyun joked. “I know.” Nayeon sighed dramatically. “Oh I forgot, I brought booze.” “Really Unnie?” Dahyun giggled. “Of course.” Nayeon looked up at the game of volleyball going. Considering the large age range the net was pretty low, but it was still pretty intense. “Alphas. So competitive.” Nayeon muttered.

“While Momo is keeping up with them pretty well.” Sana giggled. “She is super competitive for an omega. She always has been.” “Yeah especially since her and Jihyo are on opposite teams.” Dahyun pointed out. “Kihyun is like that too. A competitive omega.” “He is.” Sana giggled. “He’s cute.” “I know. He tells me he is a little intimidated being the only omega kid though.” Dahyun commented. “He hopes Sai is going to be an omega.” “She won’t.” Sana pointed out, looking at her daughter spike the ball. “She is definitely going to be an alpha.” “Yeah.” Dahyun giggled. “But he can hope, right?” “Right. Maybe some of the younger ones will be an omega.” Sana giggled. “I have a feeling this one will be.” Sana grabbed Nico and peppered kisses on her hairline. “She’s so needy and adorable. I love her so much.” “We love them all so much.”

#twice #sorry this is a bit jumbled #i'm sleepy #misatzu #minatozaki sana #myoui mina #chou tzuyu #kim dahyun #son chaeyoung #dubchaeng #mohyo #2yeon #this is a bit short oops

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writer-and-artist27 · 3 years

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Book Reflections

Note: Inspired by this skit from the Chaldea Gurus, some of the new interludes in Interlude Campaign 9 in FGO that featured Murasaki Shikibu, and the feelings I felt when I ended up pulling both Jeanne and Jeanne Alter (Avenger) in the same span of time. I’ll refer you all to this song from the apparent Tsukihime anime I never knew about until now, just for a tone-setter.

Written to give myself a mental break before starting to study for my Immunology final.

For @partialdignity, as fluff inspiration and just because our conversations in this past week has been helping me regain energy. Small mentions to Rem and @hasquetzdoneanythingwrong with his pairing in Rex and Quetzalcoatl have also been thrown in for good measure.

Please enjoy, friends. :)

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It didn’t take much for Vy to blink once a shadow was looming over the previously lit pages in her hands. It was hard to ignore the long strand of black hair brushing the edges of the page she was poking at, too. “What are you reading, Master?”

Vy slowly raised her head from her book, squinting as best as she could to focus her view before lurching back a little. “Oh. H-Hi, Saki-san.”

“Hello to you too, Vy.” Even with her image blurred from Vy having put down her glasses, Murasaki Shikibu’s smile was still easy to make out as the Caster kneeled down to Vy’s sitting height, purple eyes warm and inviting. “You don’t have to sit against the shelves to read,” Murasaki continued in the same soft voice, raising a hand to gently press her palm against Vy’s head. Vy couldn’t help but notice a single index finger in particular brushing some stray hairs away from her forehead. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

“I-It’s been a while since someone asked that to me, Saki-san,” Vy replied in just as quiet of a voice, a wry smile on her face. “But,” Vy glanced down at the book in her hands before shrugging her shoulders in Murasaki’s general direction. “I’m just reading a book that my parents once read to me.”

“Ah,” Murasaki said. “May I see?”

“Aye.” Vy gently placed her Eevee Pokémon card (it made for a good bookmark in her opinion) in-between the pages to mark her place, nestling the small thing just above the book’s spine before closing it and handing it to Chaldea’s librarian. Muraski’s eyes skimmed the covers for a moment before widening, and she raised her head to look at Vy with surprise and what Vy could only guess as warmth and care. “I’m guessing it’s a surprise to see me read this?”

“A little bit, but it makes sense considering it’s you, Vy,” Murasaki said, although her voice came out all the more gentle and fond with the inflection. “I heard from the other Servants how you knew about some of us from reading as a child, but I didn’t exactly expect to see this after everything you’ve been through.”

Vy giggled a little, taking the book back once Murasaki offered it to her. “Even when knowing the real people, there’s something about coming back to the books that makes me feel like I’m back at home with Mommy and Daddy, Saki-san. Reading National Geographic’s reiteration of Robin Hood just brings back the nostalgia when I need a break. Everyone’s been running around for Quetz-san’s birthday lately, so the library’s been a good place to be alone.” A shaky, nervous laugh left Vy’s lips as she glanced down at the book in her hands. “More so when I haven’t exactly figured out a present yet. Rex might have my head if Quetz-san doesn’t.”

Murasaki’s hand froze mid-retraction from Vy’s head. “Master…”

Even without her glasses, Vy could see Murasaki’s hesitation, and thus reached up with her own hand to rest a palm against Murasaki’s cheek. “I’m okay, Saki-san,” she said softly. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure something out.”

“That… is a hard thing to abide by, not worrying about you,” Murasaki replied, but she still reached up to grip the hand Vy was using to cup her cheek, squeezing softly. “But as long as you don’t push yourself, then I can settle for that much, Master.”

Vy smiled up at the Caster. “I’ll do my best, Saki-san.”

Murasaki let Vy’s hand go at the exact same time Vy turned back to her book, but she still sat down on her knees near Vy’s side, long hair brushing the floor. “Still, is there anything I could do for you, Vy?”

“Just…” Vy considered, taking a quiet breath. “If it’s okay, some quiet company would be nice, Saki-san."

Murasaki proceeded to shift, and without her full vision, Vy could still see how Murasaki was moving her ceremonial robes underneath her legs so that she could fully sit in quiet seiza next to Vy against the shelves. “Of course,” Caster said softly, smile in her voice. “But why sit against the bookshelves, Vy? We have chairs and those modern ‘bean bags’ in the library if you so wished to rest against those instead.”

“Why not the bookshelves?” Vy pointed out, a giggle leaving her lips again. “When I was little, I’d always like to visit the library and read like this, feeling the books in my hands and the spines of other books against my back. It was cozy. Still is now, actually."

“As much as that is… endearing,” Murasaki said dutifully, “you could strain your back if you keep sitting against the shelves without proper support, Vy.” There was some rustling, and Vy did her best not to resist when a hand was gently pushing at her shoulders so that a cushion could be placed between herself and the bookshelves. “Be careful, okay?”

“Aye, and thankie, Saki-san.” With seating secured, Vy opened her book again, glancing over the faded illustrations and the Pokémon trading card nestled in-between them before smiling again. “I guess, just to explain a little more, if you don’t mind, Saki-san…”

“I don’t mind,” Murasaki said, a hand gently patting Vy’s head all over again. “Go ahead, Master, if it comforts you to talk with me.”

“Then thankie again, for listening.” Vy paused, considering the first thought on her mind. The book underneath her fingers felt a bit colder than before. Maybe it was the air conditioning.

“Vy?” Murasaki said after a moment of silence.

“…I know Big Robin and everyone here won’t leave again if they could say anything about it,” Vy said softly, “but I wanted to come back to this book in particular because it started a lot of things for me.” She closed her eyes, letting her blurred vision go away for a moment to speak freely. “Sometimes, Mommy and Daddy would drive me to the library after school, and I’d find this book and keep rereading it between homework assignments. I still remember looking at the kind man in green and enjoying the idea of a hero who looked out for the common person. For people who were too poor and weak to fend for themselves. And, I get it, sometimes life doesn’t go the way it does in books and fairy tales. But I couldn’t help it.”

Even Big Robin said that, once upon a time.

Murasaki hummed in thought, the hand on Vy’s head gently brushing her hair. “It doesn’t,” she said softly. “But that doesn’t make those stories any less valid, Master.”

“And I’m glad to hear that,” Vy answered, leaning into Murasaki’s touch. “It’s just… it’s still unbelievable sometimes, that there’s so many heroes that I know now that would do that for me.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Murasaki echoed, her touch lingering against Vy’s scalp as she continued to pet Vy’s hair. “A hero is still human in the end, Vy.”

We love you too much, was left unsaid, but still echoing through their mental connection.

Vy nodded. “Aye…” She still leaned against Murasaki’s hand, feeling a sigh bubble up in her throat. “I just want to make sure I can keep being good to you all to deserve all that.”

Murasaki’s hand froze again, this time mid-stroke of Vy’s hair. “Vy…”

“I-It’s a weird thought, but I couldn’t help thinking it when I look back at all the enemies we’ve fought since the original Chaldea fell,” Vy admitted, lowering her head. “Mash has been sighing a lot more lately, Rem hasn’t been feeling that great either, and with Rex being here and there with our missions, I can’t help but wonder if I’m doing enough, is all…” With a small shrug of her shoulders, Vy turned the page, ignoring the urge to put on her glasses. The words were a bit blurry no thanks to her lacking the usual corrective lenses, but Vy could still see all the pictures and thus find warmth curling up in her chest. It was a better feeling than being weighed down by guilt. “…I just look at our enemies and think, ‘I don’t want to become like them.’”

“Like Kadoc and that other Tamamo?” Murasaki filled in quietly. “Vy, I don’t think you ever will. Become like them, I mean.”

“I-I dunno about that, considering the Lostbelts we had to handle, Saki-san. That other Tama-san…” Vy shook her head. “That wasn’t Tama-san. She was mean, she put people down, and she laughed at all of us like we were nothing. She and that priest killed Da Vinci like it was nothing. She even poisoned a cake like it was nothing, and cake is supposed to be a comfort thingie. Kadoc kept blaming us for his own failures, and,” Vy grit her teeth, “saw Mash as a non-person. Kept boasting that he was better. But… he still fought us when he said he could’ve done better for Humanity. He still became an enemy of Humanity when he claimed he could’ve been better for it. What was the point in all that… All the death…”

Murasaki didn’t say anything.

“I-I guess…” Vy’s index finger lingered on a single picture of a green cloak and bright hair as a sad smile played with her lips. “I wanted to come back to this book just to remind myself that I’m still me. That even after three Lostbelts, after destroying three whole histories of people, I haven’t lost all of me yet when trying to get Mommy and Daddy back. That kindness still means something when it’s one of the first things Mommy and Daddy taught me through this book.”

“Vy…”

Vy raised her head to smile, sheepish laugh leaving her lips. “I-I mean, I hope that makes sense! It’s kinda weird, huh? I-I’m sorry for rambling on you, Saki-san.”

Even with her blurred vision, it was obvious Murasaki was feeling something, because her normally calm features were overcome with what looked like tears. “It’s not weird,” Murasaki said shakily, pulling on the back of Vy’s head to gently bump their foreheads together. “And thank you for telling me this, Master.” A shaky breath echoed between them, and Vy couldn’t tell if it came from her or Murasaki. “You are kind, Vy. So much. More than what a lot could claim of you too, and I hope you continue to stay that way.”

“H-How do you know that, Saki-san?” Vy asked weakly. “N-Not to be rude or anything.”

Instead of responding immediately, Murasaki gently let her hand that was on Vy’s head fall, letting it rest against her ceremonial robes as a sparkle shone in those purple eyes. She then scooted back to provide some extra distance, a new serene smile on her face all the while. “I know, Vy, because I am not the only Servant who feels that way.”

Vy glanced back down at the book in her lap, vaguely registering a hint of something green that wasn’t a part of the illustrations suddenly being in view, before looking up.

Another new hand was on top of her head now (when did that get there?), and Vy blinked once Robin Hood made himself known with a barely audible step forward and the calloused fingers pulling her in just for faintly chapped lips to press against her forehead.

“It’s about time for your scheduled daily nap, little sparrow,” Robin Hood whispered against her head, a gentle smile on his face once he pulled back. Vy could feel her breath stall in her throat as she looked up at him, and he merely offered her glasses to her with his other hand. It was telling how Robin wasn’t even fazed at Murasaki’s surprised and quiet “Awawawa”s at his arrival. “I think that’s enough philosophical reading with Caster when you still have a cake to bake later. Not to mention handling your usual mana drain.”

Vy felt herself smile up at the May King before she realized it, the warmth in her chest growing to eclipse her entire heart. “Always going about checking up on me, huh, Big Robin?”

“Who else is going to do it?” Robin said snarkily, but he still kept his volume to a whisper as he turned his head to wink at Murasaki. “Saber and Rider are still making sure that dancing Samba Santa’s clueless about your birthday plans, little sparrow. You just gotta reserve the kitchen when you wake up later.”

“S-So you did have an idea!” Murasaki said in amazement.

“I know, a-and Saki-san, it’s still in the works.” Vy still gently got up from her sitting place with Robin’s help once he offered his arm, leaning against his shoulder once she was standing and hugging the book that started everything to her chest. “Think I’d be able to convince Rex and Quetz-san that the cake isn’t a lie with maraschino cherries? And that Rem would like double-decker chocolate?”

Even without wearing her glasses, Vy could feel both Robin and Murasaki smile at her.

“I think, Vy,” Murasaki said in a warm whisper, “that as long as you’re not alone, you’ll be just fine.”

#writing #passing days #mastersona vy #murasaki shikibu #robin hood #rem #rex #quetzalcoatl #fate grand order #crossover #short story #long post #tw: long post #friend things #felt like writing #fluff #there's a portal reference here #feel free to look :)

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writingpaperghost · 3 years

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There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (Chapter 18)

Chapter 18: The Truth Exposed

Something kept secret spills out.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32857183/chapters/83985739

Saki stares at Taiga, sitting on the patient bed in his office. He hadn’t wanted to talk to her, but she wasn’t leaving until he did. Taking a page out of Nico’s book, as it were. She wasn’t sure why she thought it might work, but with Yuko cured and her finally having some time, she truly wanted to know what had happened. There was no reason to put it off any longer.

Finally, after a while of waiting, Taiga finally just grunts, “What do you want?”

“The truth,” Saki answered, “I want to know what really happened, not what Masamune told Haima. We both know that ‘fatal medical malpractice’ is a bullshit answer.”

It was clear that Taiga didn’t want to answer, but he also seemed to accept that she wasn’t leaving until he did. He sighed, “After Hiro's death, there was an investigation. I don’t know who or why anyone decided that it was necessary.” He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, “They deemed Hiro’s death as a failure on my part, that I didn’t defeat Graphite on purpose.”

“That’s stupid,” She shook her head, “You did more than most could have.”

“It’s what they decided,” He looked at her, “I didn’t tell you, because you would have stayed and tried to fight it. You had a goal, and I wasn’t going to interfere with that.”

Standing, Saki narrowed her eyes with a serious expression, “Taiga, I would have stayed because you didn’t deserve this,” She sighed, “My goal… I could have gotten it here, too. I didn’t have to leave for America.”

Taiga just looks away, then spins his chair around and turns his attention back to his computer, “Well it’s a waste of time, now. Don’t worry about me.”

She frowns, “Why shouldn’t I?” She asked, walking towards him. Gently, she places a hand on his shoulder, “Aren’t we friends, Taiga?”

“Why would anyone be friends with me? It’s not exactly like there’s much I can do to help you.” Taiga’s turns his head to look at her, over his shoulder, “Why waste your time when there are better options?”

“Because we are friends,” Saki insisted, more firmly. “Nothing, not Hiro’s death, not the loss of your license, not a Bugster, not anything of the kind will change that.”

With a scoff, Taiga attempts to push his chair out from the desk, only for Saki to stop him. She continues, “You shouldn’t have had to do that alone, six years ago,” There’s a hesitation in her voice, like she fears the results of going to this part of the conversation. “But you were dealing with that on your own and you did the best that you could. Maybe your best wasn’t enough, but that doesn’t matter. I wondered why you never talked about work, but I also hadn’t wanted to push you. When I returned here and learned what had happened, I was… I was upset you didn’t tell me. To some degree, I still am.”

“You would have come back here the first chance you got once you knew,” He noted, “I’d planned to tell you once I’d gotten ahold of the Gamer Driver and Bang Bang Shooting Gashat, but then Nico took off with them and I turned my attention to finding her.”

“I’d been hopeful,” Saki admitted, “That you might become Snipe again. I hadn’t learned what had happened to you until that day, when Haima explained to Emu why I was so confused by Nico.”

Removing her hand from his shoulder, Saki takes a few steps away and Taiga turns to face her. She sighs, “Regardless, I suppose, there isn’t much we can do about it.” As much as it truly pained her to admit it, “No longer having the ability to help isn’t terribly pleasant, is it?”

They both knew what she was talking about. Taiga both lost his license and his ability to be a Kamen Rider, thanks to Nico become Snipe. Saki had lost both Taddle Quest and DoReMiFa Beat the week before, when her and Nico tried to fight Gemn, when Yuko had been infected.

In response, Taiga nods, “It’s not,”

---

When Asuna tells Emu that they have a new case of Game Disease, he figured it would be like any other case. Yet once they arrive and see the patient, he immediately knows that’s not the case. Mostly because, they’ve never had someone get infected two separate times. The next part was because Kuroto and Mu stood there, Kuroto’s hand notably grasping Mu’s sleeve as he stood between Mu and Tsukuru. Mu was clearly uncomfortable, not unlike when they’d last saw him with Burgermon.

Moments after Asuna and Emu arrive, Nico arrives, joined by Saki and Taiga. Well, that explained where Saki had been for the past hour. At the sight of Tsukuru with Kuroto and Mu so close by, Nico huffs. Saki frowns slightly, while Taiga’s expression is in his usual scowl.

Kuroto, though, seemed delighted at the appearance of all the Riders, “Now that everyone’s here, it means my bait has worked,”

Glancing at Kuroto, Mu scowled, “Did you seriously infect Mr. Tsukuru just to use as bait?”

He’s ignored, Kuroto instead choosing to continue his train of thought, “Which means I can put the next step of my plan into motion.” He let go of Mu’s sleeve, prompting Mu to immediately take several large steps back and to the side, putting significant distance between himself and Kuroto. Using his now free hand, Kuroto takes out the Buggle Driver and the Dangerous Zombie Gashat.

Dangerous Zombie!

Buggle Up! Danger! Danger! (Genocide!) Death the crisis! Dangerous Zombie!

Preparing for the worst, Emu pulls out his Perfect Puzzle/Knockout Fighter Gashat, Nico pulling out Bang Bang Shooting and Drago Knight Hunter Z. Emu turns the knob to the Knockout Fighter side.

Knockout Fighter!

Bang Bang Shooting!

Drago Knight Hunter Z!

Dual Up! Explosion hit! Knockout Fighter!

Do-Do-Drago Kni-Kni-Kni-Knight! Dra! Dra! Drago Knight Hunter! Z!

The two were prepared to team up against Gemn, but after dodging out of the way of a few of their attacks, he turns his attention to Tsukuru. Mu’s eyes widened, seemingly realizing what Kuroto was about to do next.

“You,” Gemn began, “You’ll never make a good game, so don’t even bother!”

Mu ran up to Kuroto and grabbed his arm, “Kuroto! What the hell are you doing!?”

Kuroto just threw him off his arm, sending Mu to the ground. At Kuroto’s words, Tsukuru glitched and Motors emerged, quickly driving off. Emu grabs a speed power up and attempts to race after Motors, leaving Nico to deal with Gemn on her own.

Despite the speed power up, Emu’s unable to keep up. Clearly raising his level has made Motors too fast to catch on his own. And without Kiriya… It was going to be a lot harder.

Nico slots the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat into her Gashacon Magnum, taking aim at Gemn.

Drago Knight Critical Strike!

Though the attack hit Gemn and seemed to do significant damage, Gemn just convulsed for a moment, then shrugged it off. Right, the whole, die and come back, thing.

He wasted no time in taking the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat and placing it into the Gashacon Sparrow.

Giri Giri Critical Finish!

Nico didn’t have a chance to try to dodge, being hit with the attack. She’s knocked to the ground and Gemn stalks over, picking up the three Gashats that had clattered down. He glances at Emu, before removing his Gashat from his Driver. Kuroto gives Emu a sick smile, “Oh Para-DX,” He said, “I’ll soon be able to make a new Gashat to defeat you.”

Saki and Taiga rush to Nico’s side while Kuroto begins to walk away. He approaches Mu, who was still on the ground, having watched the fight in a daze. Kuroto holds his hand out, to help Mu up, “Come on, Ex-Aid, we have places to be.”

His words snap Mu out of his daze, though he stares at Kuroto’s hand for a moment. Mu shakes his head and ignores the hand, instead pushing himself up off the ground. As Kuroto shrugged and began to walk away, Mu hesitated, glancing back at the Riders and Tsukuru, then shook his head and jogged to catch up with Kuroto.

---

With trepidation, Mu watches as Kuroto continues work on his latest Gashat, repeating the process he’d used on Taddle Quest and doing it with Bang Bang Shooting. Mu would ask to be sure, but really hadn’t cared enough, more distracted by Kuroto’s odd behavior. Ever since the day they’d fought Burgermon, Kuroto had been acting weird. Colder and more distant.

It hurt, but it also scared Mu. The only time he’d ever seen Kuroto act anything like this had been six years ago… and even then, it was more withdrawn than cold and uncaring, like right now.

He’d mentioned it to Graphite, who also seemed concerned. But Graphite also told him that he should just be careful and keep an eye out. It wasn’t exactly like Mu could get away from Kuroto very easily. Not that Mu ever really wanted to leave Kuroto anyway, he’d never want to leave his big bro. But with Kuroto acting the way he is, Mu will admit he’s a bit worried.

Triumphantly, Kuroto holds up the newly finished Gashat, “With this,” He said, “We’ll certainly be able to complete Chronicle.”

“That’s good,” Mu says, choosing to keep his attention on his game. On screen, Mighty jumps onto a platform and whacks a grunt with his hammer. “The sooner we complete the game, the sooner it can be played, and it can change everything.”

“Of course,” Kuroto agreed, “I think I’ll have to show them my new Gashat, soon.”

Biting his lip, Mu asks, “What about Mighty Brothers XX?”

Pursing his lips, Kuroto fished the Gashat out of his desk, “Due to your… Bugster, I wasn’t able to change the strange behavior of player two.” Mu nods, “But I was able to stop the effects it has on you. A side effect of where I initially got the data from. Nothing someone as great as me can’t fix.”

Taking the Gashat, Mu eyes it warily before nodding, “Okay.”

---

Emu rushes to Gemn Corp, quickly transforming into Level 3 with Shakariki Sports and blocks Motors’ attack, protecting two employees. The CR knows that Motors is attacking here because it would stress Tsukuru. Although, Motors quickly became the least of his worries.

Kuroto appears from around a wall, Mu trailing behind him. He’s holding a Gashat, like the one that Emu had been given by Graphite, a smug expression on his face. Mu presses the Stage Select on his Gamer Driver, bringing them to a quarry.

“This Gashat,” Kuroto began, “has a game where you play as a demon knight, trying to defeat the hero.” He twists the knob on the Gashat.

Taddle Fantasy!

A dark red and purple chest pieces with a cape appears, flying at Emu.

In response, Emu takes out his double Gashat.

Knockout Fighter!

Dual Up! Explosion hit! Knockout Fighter!

The best Emu can do is brace himself and take the attack. He’s knocked out of his transformation, but quickly grabs his Gashats and begins to stand again, glitches appearing on his body.

Kuroto looked at Mu, “Ex-Aid, why don’t you finish dealing with him?” He pulls out the Dangerous Zombie Gashat, transforming. Looking at Motors, he summons the Gashacon Sparrow.

Mu frowned, but quietly answered, “Okay,” He pulls out his Gashat.

Mighty Brother XX!

Level Up! Mighty! Brothers! Futari de hitori! Mighty! Brothers! Futari de victory! X!

The cyan and orange Rider stared at Emu, hesitating. Emu took this as an opportunity to transform again.

Perfect Puzzle!

Dual Up! Get the glory in the chain, Perfect Puzzle!

Gashacon Keyslasher in hand, Ex-Aid slashes at Emu, who dodges out of the way. “What? Not even going to use your full power?” Emu asks, “Kuroto’s out here with an entirely new Gashat and you’re using half your power?”

“Shut up,” Ex-Aid growled, slashing at Emu again, “Don’t tell me how much of my power I should use!”

Emu knew he was at a disadvantage, both already beaten up and being out powered by Ex-Aid. He hoped to use whatever was going on with Ex-Aid and Gemn to rile Ex-Aid up and hopefully get him sloppy.

It wasn’t like Emu hadn’t noticed that Kuroto and Mu were acting odd, some strange tension having arose between them. Kuroto acted more distant than he’d had before, colder and more uncaring towards Mu. And Mu seemed more hesitant, perhaps more worried or scared.

Using that to his advantage wasn’t something Emu particularly relished in, but he needed every advantage he could get. Even if that meant using some low blows.

“Kuroto hasn’t been listening to you much, has he?”

Kicking at Emu, Ex-Aid growls, “What would you know about that?’

“I mean,” Emu dodges Ex-Aid’s next attack – a slash from the Gashacon Keyslasher, “I have eyes and ears.”

“Shut. Up.” Ex-Aid grabs his Gashat and inserts it into his weapon.

Emu follows in kind.

Double Mighty Critical Finish!

Perfect Critical Combo!

The two attacks collide, knocking the two to the ground, their Gashat’s clattering beside them. A quick glance over to Gemn reveals he’s defeated Motors, having absorbed his data. As Gemn turns his attention to the two, Saki, Nico, and Asuna come running, seeing the scene.

Emu’s appearance has returned to his original as he struggled to stand, while Mu’s hair clip has been knocked out, resulting in his bangs covering all of his face. He tries to move it out of his face, only for Kuroto to walk over and grab his hood, yanking him up.

“Kuroto!” Mu cries, “What are you doing?”

Kuroto let’s go and just stares at him for a moment. He looks between Emu and Mu, before finally addressing Mu, “You can’t even defeat your own Bugster, Emu?”

Emu’s brows furrow for a moment at Kuroto’s words while Mu just pushes his bangs to the sides of his face and scowls, “Why do you care?” He narrows his eyes at Kuroto, “We’ve got Motors data and you got to try out your new Gashat, what more could you want?”

“Because we need to take away the Rider’s ability to transform. They’re no longer needed.” Kuroto returns his attention to Emu, who’s barely managed to stand. “Maybe I should deal with your Bugster myself.”

If… If Kuroto was calling him Mu’s Bugster… and Mu responded to the name Emu… “No…” Emu whispered quietly, “He’s supposed to be… I… he’s dead.”

Though it wasn’t visible, Kuroto was certainly smirking, “Oh, but I’m afraid he’s not, Para-DX. Your host, the real Emu Hojo, is right here, standing beside me.”

Mu, Emu’s, silent. Emu, Para-DX, doesn’t know what to say. Saki and Asuna gasp, while Nico just watches with interest.

But Emu knows what he’s feeling, and its confusion, “Kuroto,” He says, “What’s going on here? You didn’t tell me we were doing this.”

Kuroto returned his attention to Emu, “Oh, why would I tell you that? You’re a disappointment, Emu.”

At his words, Emu startled, taking a step back. “What… what are you… what are you saying?”

“Disappointments,” Kuroto continued, separating the Gashacon Sparrow in two, “Must be eliminated.”

Emu’s silent as Kuroto raises half of the Gashacon Sparrow to his neck. It’s not until Kuroto inserts the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat that Emu says anything.

Quietly, with pleading eyes filled with fear, he asks, “Why?”

Though Kuroto doesn’t answer, that only seems to upset him more, “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me,” Emu’s voice wavers and raises, his body begins to glitch, soon spreading to the ground. “All I’ve done is try to complete the game, just like you…” The glitching on the ground began to form Bugster grunts.

“You’ve been like a brother to me, some of the only people I’ve ever had!” Glaring at Kuroto, Emu quickly grabs the wrist of the hand holding the Gashacon Sparrow and throws it away from him, throwing Kuroto off balance. His red eye seems to glow, more than usual. “So why?! Why would you try to do something like this!?”

Kuroto stumbles, his armor disappearing, despite the fact that Emu hadn’t actually hurt him. Then, he began to glitch. Emu takes a step back, a terrified look on his face. The Bugster grunts around him disappear in clouds of data.

Wide-eyed, Emu looks at Kuroto, unable to pry his eyes away, “Oh no…” He says quietly. He rushes towards Kuroto, only to stop himself. “Oh no, Kuroto I’m so sorry I-”

He cuts himself off, he then looks down and pulls something out of his pockets. Several somethings. He throws four of the Gashats Kuroto had taken from them, hesitating with the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, then throws that too. Though the Gashats clatter to the ground, Saki ignores them in favor of marching towards Emu.

“Emu,” She called, though Emu just flinched away, “Come back with us. You don’t have to do this.”

“No,” Emu shook his head, “I have to… I have to complete the game.”

“What game?”

Saki reaches out to him, but he just moves away quickly, “No!” He looks at her, terror in his mismatched eyes. One red, one a dark pink, both filled with the same fear. “I don’t want to infect you too! It’s bad enough I infected Kuroto and your fiancé!”

She doesn’t stew on his words long, instead calling out to him once more, “Emu!”

Emu just runs away. Saki sadly walks back, picking up her Gashats, noting that Nico had already picked up hers. Para-DX just stared.

“M,” Nico began, “Real quick, give us something we can call you and then we’ll deal with Kuroto’s Bugster.”

“Parad,” He answers slowly, “My name… is Parad.”

#kamen rider ex aid #kamen rider exaid #kamen rider #there is a me who can become strong #my writing

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ragazza-paradiso · 3 years

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this is my ranking of the 2006 esc final after rewatching it all in full HD! to be honest, the highlight was seeing helena paparizou & sakis rouvas in HD, but i guess i can talk about the contestants as well ☺️

24. 🇱🇻 vocal group cosmos - i hear your heart: a capella at eurovision is a bold choice to begin with, but at least get people that can sing in tune… maybe i’m asking for too much.

23. 🇨🇭 six4one - if we all give a little: this is quite possibly the weirdest matched group ever, they have no chemistry & all of them look like they were randomly picked up off the street. the song is just typical love love peace peace, need i say more.

22. 🇮🇱 eddie butler - together we are one: i’m not entirely sure why but this performance gave me the creepiest vibes tbh. just another nothing song.

21. 🇮🇪 brian kennedy - every song is a cry for love: i love my country but, we don’t need ANOTHER bland ballad about love, especially one from a middle aged man.

20. 🇬🇧 daz sampson - teenage life: i mean the song isn’t actually THAT bad as i remembered, maybe a little cringy but as far as mid-00s pop-rap songs go it’s not the worst. i just cannot take daz fucking sampson seriously. and him looking like a drug dealer in that awful yellow tracksuit amongst a bunch of school girls is such a weird concept. (also the audacity of daz to shout “vote for the music” after this performance… but my thoughts on the UK’s attitude to eurovision is already well known if you’ve followed this blog for literally any amount of time)

19. 🇱🇹 lt united - we are the winners: i get it’s a joke entry but i can’t appreciate this one, i find i like joke entries that are a bit tongue in cheek, while this one is just so over the top it’s actually annoying to me. HOW is this lithuania’s best ever result…

18. 🇪🇸 las ketchup - un blodymary: the only reason this isn’t lower is because despite being a train wreck of a performance, it’s so bad that i actually enjoy it. the choreography with office chairs is 10/10. the fact that it’s the same band who just a few years prior had a massive worldwide hit makes it even better.

17. 🇸🇪 carola - invincible: i don’t think this aged very well at all, plus i guess christian schlager just isn’t my thing lol. i’m filing this under my list of reasons why former winners shouldn’t return to eurovision (unless you’re johnny logan).

16. 🇹🇷 sibel tüzün - süper star: i find the chorus of this song quite irritating, and her hair is pretty bad in this performance. usually i enjoy turkey’s entries (especially in the 00s) but this one didn’t connect with me.

15. 🇦🇲 andré - without your love: it’s okay, a little bit dated but that’s to be expected for a pop song, i guess. i like the ethnic elements. not a bad debut.

14. 🇷🇴 mihai trăistariu - tornerò: this is definitely one of the songs that has aged the worst, not just the music but also the costumes & styling. i do like the use of italian though, and it’s very catchy. i think maybe i’m biased because i’m not a big fan of the artist.

13. 🇲🇹 fabrizio faniello - i do: this one is also very dated but i find it to be in a charming way, vocals are a bit suspect, but i think he’s quite charismatic to make up for it.

12. 🇫🇷 virginie pouchain - il était temps: it’s a basic ballad, but enjoyable nonetheless. i think it stands out a bit from most of the other ballads this year, as i can’t understand the lyrics, so it’s better than literally all the ones with awful lyrics at the bottom of my ranking.

11. 🇺🇦 tina karol - show me your love: it’s pretty standard fare for ukraine in eurovision, a nice pop song with a very confident lady performing it. i like it, but not too much.

10. 🇩🇰 sidsel ben semmane - twist of love: this was quite fun, i thought the girl singing was cute & i liked how it was a throwback to the 50s.

9. 🇫🇮 lordi - hard rock hallelujah: this is actually one of my least favourite 21st century winners, but in a weak year it doesn’t end up ranking that low for me. i mean, even if i don’t love it, it’s very iconic. i get why it won in a 100% televoting era.

8. 🇲🇩 arsenium & natalia gordienko - loca: this song is 100% trash & i am 100% okay with letting you know it’s a BIG guilty pleasure of mine. i could do without natalia in literally underwear onstage, but they get extra points for the scooter. plus, i love natalia she is just a ball of energy.

7. 🇩🇪 texas lightning - no no never: this song makes me feel the embodiment of this: 🤠 germany was doing country before the netherlands decided it was cool.

6. 🇲🇰 elena risteska - ninanajna: macedonia gave me everything i could possibly want with this song, another guilty pleasure, but it’s so catchy & 00s, how could i not love it? also, this was their best result for SO LONG (until 2019), which makes me laugh. girlie was giving us all the dance moves.

5. 🇷🇺 dima bilan - never let you go: this song’s main selling point is that it is so much better than believe, but i’m not gonna lie, the mullet is dragging him down. the lady in the piano & his constant dance moves save him though.

4. 🇭🇷 severina - moja štikla: this is my favourite joke song in the history of eurovision simply because it makes no sense. and i love that for her ❤️ my biggest respect for doing all that dancing in that dress & heels. 💃🏻 how am i not gonna love a song with the lyrics “afrika paprika” ???

3. 🇳🇴 christine guldbrandsen - alvedansen: this song is so beautiful, & very distinctly norwegian. i love that they tied traditional ethnic elements into it. the staging is perfect as well, so striking.

2. 🇬🇷 anna vissi - everything: the legend herself, this song is literally everything to me. she’s alone on the stage but she fills it with her energy. the power she possesses ❤️ definitely one of my favourite host entries ever.

1. 🇧🇦 hari mata hari - lejla: this is in my top 3 favourite esc songs of all time, so no surprises. but getting to see it in HD tonight, made me cry. it’s the definition of perfect, but if i write too much about it now i’m gonna start crying again so i’ll stop.

#eurovision #esc 2006 #eurovisionagain #rankings #i feel i’ve been very harsh in this ranking lmao please excuse me it’s late

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nyeonisparks · 4 years

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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PT. 2

The grip on my throat was firm, breathing seemed out of the question. For once in my life, I was thankful for my uncanny strength. My hands instinctively clenched together, my body shifted on its own, I took a swing with enough intensity to at least get the man off of me. Blood gushed from my adversary. He covered his nose, his smirk never faltering. "You caught me off guard, normal people would instinctively grab their foes wrist, in hopes of them letting go."

"uck," I choked on my words, trying to breathe again. I staggered over to him, clearing my throat. He tilted his head to the side, glancing at me.

"Now, I'm gonna kick your smarmy little ass!" Stepping forward, I swung at him; however, he dogged my attack with incredible speed.

"And why do I need my ass kicked? You were the one who came into my home," He was right, I loathe violence, yet here I am, using it on someone who was just defending their own space. "Hehe, and you said I was the monster, but look at you, hurting an innocent man" no, he's wrong, I was defending myself, he was at my throat.

His eyes looked at me in a way no village had. There was no anger, no hate, no fear. For someone that had just gotten their nose punched in, he didn't seem too frightened of me. "Look, I'm sorry for intruding, I was just trying to escape the storm, and I'm also sorry for calling you a monster," I know how much it hurts to be called a monster too. He didn't say anything, it was almost like he had lost all interest in me. "Is your nose okay?" Even though I didn't start the fight, I felt guilty.

"I'm fine, you can leave now" His tone was bitter, he had turned his back on me,

"Sorry to be a bother but, I have no place to go," I had to swallow my pride and think rationally.

"That's not my problem," anger arose in me, but I held it back.

"Please, can you help me" He looked over his shoulder at me, his nose bleeding at the bridge, my knuckles had scraped off the skin. I felt judged by his eyes. He turned to face me again, walking closer, I was on guard this time, no way was I gonna fall for the same trick twice.

"Beg"

"Excuse me, I don't think I heard you right" I hope to god I didn't hear him right.

"Get on your knees, and beg," His voice was rigid, yet he wore a smile.

"No way in hell am I doing that!"

"Then leave, get eaten by wolves, starve to death for all I care," He shrugged his shoulders. I knew if worse came to worse, I could always go back to the village; however, I had abandoned my friends, I wouldn't be able to face them again, I would be too ashamed. I knelt down,

"Please... Please let me stay," I looked up for his approval. He seemed pleased.

"Good boy" It was faint, but I heard him loud and clear before I could protest, he spoke, "You can stay for the night."

"For tonight!" I shouted, "I have nowhere to go, what am I supposed to do tomorrow!?" He laughed

"Beg again," a low growl escaped me. Of course, the one place I stumbled upon had a sadist living in it with horns and goat feet, who is so kind as to let me stay one night, after begging. What is he, the devil's spawn? Or is he the devil himself?

"I'm Heiwajima Shizuo, I used to live in a village not far from here."

"What caused you to be thrown onto my doorstep?" the man asked.

I sighed,

"I have unnatural strength, when I was younger, I ran around destroying anything that pissed me off or using it to fight anyone who pissed me off" I inhaled deeply before I continued, letting my nerves cool down. "Then I met Tom-san, he was always so kind to me, he helped me pick up some tricks to calm me down, although he would get bullied by the other kids, so I beat them up. Now that we're older, it seems like all the villagers hate Tom just for being around me, I can't be a burden to him any longer." The man nodded along.

"So, you want to become my burden instead?"

"WHY ARE YOU SUCH AN ASSHOLE!!" He shrugged

"I'm Orihara Izaya," His Arm stretched out, claws emerging like daggers.

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you" Izaya cupped my hand with both of his,

"Will you join me for dinner, I want to hear more about this power of yours" He tilted his hand with a smile. I

Nodded,

Izaya pointed up the stairs, I turned towards the direction. "There is a room on the left, have Saki take you there, I have work to do."

"Work, what kind o-"when I turned to face him, he was already gone.

I trudged up the long staircase, Izaya had descended from. His candelabra sat on the thick corner of the railing. I grasped the light source in my hand

"Ahh, not so hard!" it screeched, startling me. I looked more closely at the candelabra; the design was a girl holding the candles. "Your grip is too tight," she said.

"Oh, sorry," I loosen my hand a bit, "Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you, I'm Saki, by the way," So this was what Saki Izaya had mentioned. I introduced myself and asked about a room Izaya had told me about. Saki was happy to guide me down the dark hallway. With Saki by my side, the darkness shewed away.

"Do you know why the mirrors are smashed?" I asked,

"I can't say for sure," she smiled, but her eyes clouded with sadness. "Izaya-san must be happy you're here."

"Tsk, I don't think so, he told me I can only stay for tonight," Saki giggled, but didn't say anything else. "Why do you think he's happy I'm here?"

"He's lonely," She said,

At the end of the hallway stood a large wooden door, elegant designs were carved so nicely into the wood. A silver handle was dusted over. I opened the door, stepping into the room. A bed layout in front of me. It looked so cozy, and I was so tired. Even though I wanted to give in to sleep, I couldn't. Izaya had invited me for dinner, I didn't give a verbal response, but I had nodded in agreement.

"Dinner won't be ready for a while," Saki informed me.

"What am I supposed to do until then?"

"Read something, that's what I see Izaya-san do all the time."

"I don't know how... to read," I felt embarrassed, my face flushed, and I set Saki down on a nightstand.

"That's okay, Izaya-san can teach you" The thought of that left a bad taste in my mouth. There just is something off with this guy. I don't like him. I laid down in the bed, letting my limbs seek into the plush. Saki watched me from the nightstand. What am I supposed to do? I feel so trapped. Some time had passed, Saki told me to get changed into something more presentable for dinner. I did as I was told, in the room stood a wardrobe. I quickly changed, discarding my old rags for soft silks—a white button-down, with a black and red vest, and complementary slacks. Saki escorted me to the Dinner room. But it was more like me accompanying her as she told me directions. I was guided into a well-lit room, with a full dining table filled with food. Izaya sat at the head of the table. I seated myself beside him, setting Saki down on the table, Izaya glanced at her, and she did her best nod, then descended from the table with the help of a chair. Now it was just Izaya and me alone.

I served myself a plate of food and started eating, I didn't notice how starved I was. Izaya watched me scarf down my meal, not even touching his.

"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked

"I much rather watch you" Tremors ran down my spine, I shivered at these words. Why was this guy so weird? His claws tapped in a rhythm on the tabletop. I watched them intently, they looked trimmed and clean. "Do you like them?" His voice caught me off guard, and I quickly turned away.

"oh, uh, sorry, I didn't notice.." I trailed off, facing my attention towards him as he pulled on my hand,

"You can touch them if you want," he said. I took his hand into my own. Rubbing my thumb over his smooth nails. Their deep black color didn't stop at the nail, the darkness traveled till the bend of his fingers. As I kept looking, I noticed feathers prickled out at his wrist. His long sleeves encased the rest of his arm, but my curiosity made me long to see how far up his arm the feathers ran.

"They're pretty," I admitted. Izaya's beaming smile wasn't unusual, but what surprised me was when he rose from his chair and gripped the back of mine. "You know..." he lifted my chin up, enticing me with his somber eyes. "You're not so bad yourself," he purred, he was so close to me. My cheeks heated and I looked away,

"W-what are you doing" my voice was uneasy. Suddenly Tom's words came flooding back to me,

"until he became aware of his selfishness."

"Do you think I'm a fool.." my attention shifted to my lap, blonde lockes covering my heated face. I could feel him trying to tilt my head back towards him. Even though he’d lose this battle. He hummed "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I get it now, why you let me stay, why you had me come to dinner, and why you're trying to kiss me… you think the curse will be lifted by a kiss? You really are selfish" The air went stiff. Pulling away he hissed out,

"How predictable," bearing a pained expression, eyes glaring into me, it was clear that my predictions were right, he only gave me the option of staying here so he could use me to break his curse. He couldn't defend his actions from the truth. "Why did you have to come here, did she bring you here out of spite?" I could hear the gritting out his teeth,

"What? Who are you talking about?"

"The fairy" I watched him dip his claws into his wine glass, his features faded back into his smug smirk. A swift motion of his hand that had been dipped into the wine sliced at my chest, I was quick to back up, my chair getting knocked over in the process; however it had already been too late, a wound started spewing blood from my chest. "Now, you will be staying here with me," I was frozen. "Did you think I came unprepared? Obviously, there was a chance you would figure out my plan, it wasn't a very elaborate one" He snickered, "So I had a backup, what was in my glass wasn't wine, it was poison, I had one of my servants make it for me. It’s a slow working poison, so it won’t become deadly for about a week or two."

"What the hell!" I shouted

"Don't worry, there's an antidote, but you’ll only get it if you help lift the curse. However, if you don't lift it in time, you will end up like the rest of the unfortunate,in a ditch, dead." He cackled out, "Isn't this fun?"

"I shouldn’t have left the village” The realization hitting me too late, I had let myself get poisoned.

This wasn’t my original idea, I was inspired by a post @shizaya-incorrectquotes reposted. I’m pretty sure the creator of this writing prompt was @whowhatmeow

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thethoughtsfromthreeam · 4 years

Text

California

Pairing: Agent Whiskey/Jack Daniels x OC

Warnings: Torture

A/N: This story is consuming me. I’m currently just starting Chapter 14, so that means if I keep my schedule the way I am, y’all gonna have this for the next month. Also, I have been having a lot of fun with the Agent/Non-Agent/Admin Staff code name stuff. Maybe a little TOO much fun.

Reminder: I haven’t seen Kingsman: The Golden Circle, so I’m just using the Wikia, IMDB.com, some gifs, and my own weird ass brain to make up this whole ass story.

Tag List: @zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @tarrevizslas , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder, @lavenderl3mons , @pascalisthepunkest [please message me to be added or subtracted]

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]

Part 4

Gone

In the wee hours of the morning, Ginger ran through the halls of HQ and jumped into the elevator, willing the damn thing to hurry up. When it finally dropped her off on the eighth floor, she rushed down the hall to Jack’s apartment, using her master key to open the door. When she ran into his room, she started calling his name.

“Whiskey! You have got to get up! GET UP NOW!” She was practically screaming in her panic and she shoved at his shoulder. The sudden noise startled Jack and he shot straight up in bed as if he had been launched by some unseen force. When he turned to Ginger, confusion mixed with a little irritation sprang up on his face.

“What in the hell, Ging? It’s what? 3:00 a.m.? What the hell are you doing in my house?”

“No, it’s 5:00 a.m., but that doesn’t matter, you have got to come with me!” She was pulling his arm and he was forced to throw his legs over the edge of the bed, thanking the lord he was wearing pants for once. He stood up and Ginger grabbed his hands and kept pulling. But he wasn’t taking another step until he got an answer.

“GINGER!” He shouted and she stopped when he put his hands on her upper arms. “What in the damnation is going on?!”

“Its Sirah! She’s gone! She’s gone! Oh god, Whiskey, she’s gone!” Her tears started up again and a small part of her was ashamed at her behavior. But her best friend was missing, possibly dead, and the hole in her heart ached terribly. She wanted her back.

Jack yanked his hands from her arms and stumbled back. Ginger’s words stole his breath and he wasn’t sure if his heart was even beating anymore. He had been punched in the gut thousands of times, but not even one felt as terrible as this did. Without a second thought, he ran from his apartment and he could hear Ginger running after him.

He made a left in the hall and headed for the stairs – the elevator was going to be too slow – and taking steps two and three at a time, he ran down to the fifth floor. A few times he stumbled but caught himself with Ginger’s loud gasp ringing in his ears.

When they made it down, he slammed open the door and headed right for the board room, passing agents and staff who stopped and stared. The normally put together Agent Whiskey looked a damn mess. When he ran into the room, he noticed that Tequila and Champ were already there, flanked by two other agents. Normally one for manners, Jack ignore them in his haste.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN SHE’S GONE?!” He bit back the rest of his comment when he realized he was yelling. He took a deep breath and then a second when he felt Ginger’s hand on his forearm. He had to get himself together if he was going to save her. He had to listen.

“Whiskey, well over four days ago the safe house West Coast was using on the California case was blown up. The tracking devices confirmed that Malbec and Sirah were the only agents in the house at the time and since the explosion, Sirah’s device has been silent. West Coast dispatched agents immediately and they found Malbec dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. Sirah was nowhere to be found.” Champ struggled to speak as he gripped the back of his chair until his knuckles were white. She had been gone almost five days and West Coast just notified HQ on the situation. He wasn’t sure what was driving him more now, his grief or his anger.

Like Whiskey, he took several deep breaths to remain professional and to get through this, but it was damned hard. All three men had grown fond of Sirah in their own way – Tequila felt brotherly affection, Champ saw her as a daughter, and Jack. . . . Well, Jack loved the hell out of her.

“We found Agent Sherry dead, also from a gunshot wound. Same gun was used in both shootings.” Tequila added. “Everything at the house and in Sherry’s car was destroyed, by fire for the former and by a person for the latter. Evidence shows that both women left the house with files and paperwork, but nothing was found on the scene when agents arrived.”

Both HQ and West Coast believed that the suspect in the California case was behind all of this because reports from the three agents indicated they were narrowing their list and were close to identifying them. But without all the new information from this phase of the case, any chance they had of finding Sirah in time was slim. The room grew heavy with negative thoughts until Ginger gasped. They turned to look at her.

“No, not nothing. . .“ She turned on her heel and started towards the door. “Sirah uploaded reports and some additional stuff to a database every other day like clockwork. It’s not everything since they couldn’t completely secure the safe house, the rest of it she kept on a microdrive.

“She’s always been so regular about it, I’ll admit I stopped checking her reports about a week ago, just having Kefir process them directly. But I bet everyone one of you that he has everything organized and we can start from there!”

She ran from the room and the rest of the agents followed her. Tech specialist Chai jumped a mile in her chair at the sudden explosion of noise and people in the office. Without a word, Ginger sat at her computer and let her fingers fly across the keyboard. Multiple file windows opened and her eyes darted left to right as she read the dates on the screen. Tequila was right behind her doing the same thing when he spotted the most recent date.

“There!” He pointed, “wait, it says she last uploaded information last night!” Ginger clicked on the file and opened the report. It was sparse and contain no attachments like her others had. Together, Ginger and Tequila skimmed the writings before he stood backwards with his mouth agape. Jack and Champ looked at him curiously.

“I don’t think Sirah wrote this and I don’t think she uploaded it. There is something about this that don’t sound like her at all.” Tequila leaned back down and read the entry again and he looked at Ginger, who nodded in confirmation. “Yep, someone’s fucked with this. I don’t know if they did anything to the rest of her reports, but someone’s trying to throw us off her scent.”

Chai spoke up suddenly, “All her old notes through five days ago were printed out for physical records by Kefir. He would process them weekly, so we have her originals.” She pointed at the box sitting on the specialist’s desk. Tequila walked over and grabbed it.

“Chai, call Saki, Toddy, and Pisco. I don’t care if you wake their asses up, I want them down here immediately.” The even tone Tequila normally sported was replaced with a hard glint and he looked at Champ and Jack with a single question in his eyes.

Champ squared his shoulders; his agent was out there, and he was going to find out who took her and kick their ever-loving ass from the Sierras to the Blue Ridge. He looked at Tequila and Jack and both nodded back to him. They were heading to California.

---***---

Sirah woke up groggy, barely able to see anything through her swollen eyes. The shackles binding her wrists dug deeply into her skin as she moved, and she struggled to open her mouth it was so dry. Suddenly she was drenched in water and she gasped loudly before crying out from the pain jolting through her body as she jerked forward. It was almost too much to handle.

“Where is it, agent?” The voice was back. She wasn’t sure how long she had been where she was, but she knew in between her bouts of unconsciousness that his voice was always there. She struggled to stay awake, to listen, but the fight was so hard. If she could just sleep a little longer. . .

A fist suddenly slammed into her face and she could feel the back of her skull crack against the wall.

“WAKE UP!” The voice screamed. Her head lolled forward in response and he grabbed her chin, yanking her head upwards. “Fucking tell me where the microdrive is at and I’ll let you go.”

Even through the fogginess of her brain, she knew he was lying. She shook her head and croaked, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Like hell you do, you stupid bitch. You’re going to tell me where the hell that goddamn drive is at and then I’m going to kill you like I did that bitch Malbec.” When she didn’t respond, her captor drew his leg back and kicked her in the ribs. Her breath and the voice both left her. Before she could even recover from the most recent abuse, hands began to take the shackles off her wrists. She felt herself being picked up and dragged away to another location.

They entered a room with a blinding single light and a long table. They threw her down on the hard surface and handcuffed her legs and arms to the edge. She couldn’t help the whimper that escape her mouth as searing pain shot down her leg and throughout her back. She didn’t want to show weakness, but whatever grasp she had on her actions was weakening.

“Now, Sirah, tell me where the microdrive is at. I’m done playing around with you.” The small part of Sirah that hadn’t given into the circumstances suddenly rose to the surface.

“Oh, we were having fun? I hadn’t noticed.” Her voice held a smirk even if her face didn’t. If she was going to die, then so be it. At this point, death would be a welcomed end to this ordeal. The voice didn’t respond but she heard the snap of fingers. Suddenly, her face was covered in cloth and before she could react, water was being poured on her head. She was so weak she could bare fight back. When her captor realized this, he demanded the procedure to stop.

“Take her back, I’ll find another way to get it out of her. Besides, it’s no fun if they just sit there and take it. Torture should be fun.” He laughed and she could hear the cruelty in his voice. The cloth was removed and so were the handcuffs. She felt herself being dragged back to wherever they were holding her and suddenly, one of the captors stumbled as they entered her jail cell. They nearly dropped her, and the jarring movement brought fresh waves of pain. She was once again shackled to the wall. She smiled wryly over that. She can’t even move, what was the point?

#agent whiskey #jack daniels #pedro pascal #kingsman: the golden circle #fanfic #agent whiskey x oc #agent whiskey x reader #pedro pascal x reader

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frywen-babbles · 5 years

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Sounds of Silence pt1

A/N: Modern AU with Mitsunari! This is loosely tied to Everything comes with a price, set over a year after it. Unlike before, there won’t be a set release schedule bc this fic isn’t completely finished yet. (I just need some validation and motivation oTL). A big thank you to @dear-mrs-otome for telling me this idea doesn’t completely suck <3

Also spoilers for Mitsunari’s route!

When he opened the door all he could do was stare.

Behind it stood a young woman. And not just any young woman but the one he had seen at the library countless times reading books to kids in sign language. The woman he secretly always hoped he’d see when he went to the library, whose smile he couldn’t stop thinking about.

***

At first, Mitsunari was annoyed by the voices coming somewhere out of sight. Libraries were supposed to be where you could study in peace, he had no idea what could cause such a ruckus.

The sound of laughter guided him to the children’s section of the library, but what he saw wasn’t what he expected.

A young woman was standing in front of a group of kids, a book open in front of her, animatedly reading the book in sign language. The kids were excited, laughing and giggling at the what he assumed were the exciting parts of the story.

Mitsunari felt enamoured, his annoyance long forgotten. He didn’t even realise he had stared until the story was over and all the kids were circling her, trying to talk to her all at once. Her smile brightened her face and she looked so natural and happy amongst the kids Mitsunari felt almost jealous.

Just then, she caught him staring. He felt his face heat up and he turned around sharply, stomping back to the table he had reserved for himself. He planted his face firmly on the book open in front of him.

Gods, that was embarrassing. Who goes around staring random women, when they were supposed to study. Ughh…

*****

He saw her walk towards the children's section from the corner of his eye and somehow his head turned to look after her. She stopped to wait for a boy in his teens to bounce all excited to her a book in his hands. They shared a greeting but Mitsunari couldn't follow the signs they spoke with. It didn't stop him from staring after them when they continued on their way towards the room where he had seen her read to the kids.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Mitsunari turned to look at Sakon who looked at him a wide smile on his face.

"Or are you too busy staring after women to tutor me?"

"If you have time to lazy around and comment on everything I do, you must be ready for a quiz about all the important battles post-Honno-ji?"

"Ack! No! Don't you have any mercy, we just went through them 30 minutes ago?"

"Then what are you doing fooling around, you incorrigible dimwit. Get back to studying."

"I'm sure no one would have made me work this hard in the Sengoku period..." Sakon mumbled with a sigh.

"What was that?"

"I'm studying!"

When he was finally free of Sakon, he made his way to the children's section. But it was quiet, the children long gone. He was just about to turn around when he noticed a schedule on the wall. She would be back in an hour.

He could wait for that long.

Wait, maybe he shouldn't? Would that be weird? But he really did want to see her read again.

He didn't see her until he got up to get some coffee from a vending machine. She was sitting on the sofas next to it with the same boy as before, lost in an animated discussion he could only guess the topic off.

A part of him wanted to loiter so he could watch them talk, but the reasonable part of his brain forced him to return to his table.

As soon as he saw her followed by the silver-haired boy he stuffed his things to his bag and stood up to follow her. A group of excited kids were already waiting for her but he stayed behind until everyone had sat down. Then he stepped behind the parents by the door, his eyes following the movements of her hands taking in every sign.

Unlike before, this time when she was finished she kept glancing at the clock and hurried away as soon as possible, almost colliding with him. The silver-haired boy tried to stop her but after some hurried signs let her go. The look on the boys face looked a bit like a lost puppy and for some reason seeing her hurry away like that made Mitsunari feel a bit same.

He was brushing his teeth in the evening when he felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket.

[23:12:45] <<bookshy>> do u evr feel like ur stuck in ur life? [23:12:52] <<bookshy>> like u shld hve accomplishd so much mor in ur life tn u hve?

He stared at the screen for a while before he typed a reply. He didn't know who bookshy was, not really. They had been talking with each other for years, but always with nicknames, always through messages in the internet. It felt more comfortable that way somehow. Knowing there was always a person willing to listen to you without judging.

[23:13:05] <<ManjuDreamer>> Are you feeling like that right now? [23:13:07] <<bookshy>> ya [23:13:11] <<bookshy>> i dunno wht ill do w/ my life [23:13:19] <<bookshy>> i thght id do so mch more u know? [23:13:22] <<bookshy>> and now i jst feel liek im stuck nd see no way out [23:13:23] <<bookshy>> is ths my life now? [23:14:50] <<bookshy>> evry1 says i shld b happy w/ wht i hve [23:14:59] <<bookshy>> i hve so much im feeling ungrateful whn i feel like ths [24:15:46] <<ManjuDreamer>> You still have plenty of time to accomplish your dreams. It's not for others to decide when you can be happy. [23:16:02] <<bookshy>> guess ur rite

He heard a knock on the bathroom door and quickly finished brushing his teeth. When he opened the door Hideyoshi was standing behind it already in his pyjamas.

"I thought you'd never come out," he commented with a yawn and pushed past him to the bathroom.

"Good night," Mitsunari wished to the closed door before he retreated back to his room.

[23:18:30] <<bookshy>> how was ur day [23:18:49] <<bookshy>> i saw the prettiest person today like hot damn [23:19:13] <<ManjuDreamer>> I saw an interesting person today too, I wish I get to see them again. Other than that, it was mostly my student being an idiot, so nothing new. [23:19:53] <<ManjuDreamer>> I tried to do some research on a paper I'm writing, but it didn't progress much. I was just about to go to bed so I have energy to study more tomorrow. [23:19:56] <<bookshy>> srry to keep u up [23:19:57] <<bookshy>> night! [23:20:10] <<ManjuDreamer>> Night.

***

Mitsunari tossed the wig from his head frustrated, running his hand over his face. He glanced at the mirror of the bathroom, at the perfectly drawn eyeliner, the perfect shade of blush, the perfectly applied foundation. The perfect set of lies, painted on his face.

[13:33:14] <<ManjuDreamer>> I went to see my mother.

He hesitated a bit before he sent the message. It didn't take long for his phone to bling with a reply.

[13:34:29] <<bookshy>> how did it go? [13:34:48] <<ManjuDreamer>> As well as you would expect. [13:34:51] <<bookshy>> u wanna t alk about it?

His fingers ghosted over the screen of his phone before he put it down and looked at the mirror again. He reached for the makeup removal wipes from his bag and scrubbed furiously at his skin until the last remains of the makeup were gone.

[13:36:18] <<ManjuDreamer>> She's there but I feel like I'm losing her. [13:37:01] <<ManjuDreamer>> Every time I visit she seems further and further away. [13:37:15]<<ManjuDreamer>> Sometimes I wonder if the mother I used to know is there at all.

He started to type his next message, but stopped, gripping his phone tight in his hand.

[13:38:34] <<ManjuDreamer>> She's my mother, but it's so hard. [13:38:42] <<ManjuDreamer>> I don't know what to do.

He glanced at the mirror to make sure his eyes weren't red before he pulled his shirt over his head and replaced it with one from his bag.

[13:38:47] <<bookshy>> ur doing plenty already [13:38:49] <<bookshy>> u dont have to push urself so hard [13:38:50] <<bookshy>> im sure shed understand [13:38:59] <<ManjuDreamer>> But I'm all she has. [13:39:02] <<bookshy>> i know [13:39:06] <<bookshy>> but u hhave 2 thnk abt urself frst [13:39:15] <<bookshy>> if u feel its too much u can keep a brek. ur not prfect. u dnt have 2 b [13:39:50] <<bookshy>> im alws hr 2 tlk if u need me [13:40:20] <<ManjuDreamer>> Thank you. It means a lot.

He put his phone on the side of the sink and wiggled out of his skirt. He really should buy a new one next time he got paid for tutoring. The zipper didn't work properly anymore and the hem was starting to fray. He kicked the flats from his feet and looked at the kneehigh socks on his feet. They wouldn't be visible under his pants anyway so he let them be and took his pants and shoes from his bag before showing the skirt and shirt in their place. He considered showing the wig in after them but realised making the wig presentable after that would be too much of a hassle. So he gently combed the wig with his fingers to sort out biggest tangles and folded it neatly in a mesh bag. Flats into a plastic bag, then into the bag.

Like countless times before.

He got dressed and made one final glance at the mirror before he put the bag on his shoulder and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh, Mitsunari! Here to see your mother?" a nurse greeted him when he tried to slip past the nurses' office without being noticed. What a nosy bunch of quidnuncs insistent of mothering him.

“Yes. I was just leaving.” He replied with a stiff bow.

“Come and have some tea with us! How did the test go you told me last time?” Another nurse poked her head from the office. Mitsunari resisted the urge to roll his eyes and offered another bow.

“I believe it went well. I still haven’t received the results.”

Half an hour later he was still stuck at the nurses' office surrounded by what felt like a flock of mother hens, all determined to squeeze every bit of information out of him they could. He was just getting up from his chair when a voice behind him froze him on the spot.

"Did my darling Saki leave already? She was just here... Such a dutiful daughter, coming to see her mother so often..."

His knuckles turned white as he squeezed the edge of the table, his head down. He wanted to turn around. He wanted to see his mother as himself. He wanted... needed to see if she'd recognise him this time.

"We saw her leave a while ago, Mrs Ishida. She's such a nice girl."

He heard a nurse walk his mother away and the sighs of relief from the remaining nurses.

"Are you alright, Mitsunari? You know we'll listen to you if you need to talk. Or we can help you find someone-"

"I need to go now. Goodbye," Mitsunari interrupted the nurse who had put her hand on his shoulder to calm him. He got up in such haste his chair fell to the floor with a rattle, but he just offered a quick bow before he fled the office.

He didn't stop until he arrived at the bus stop. There he sank on the bench, burying his face on his hands.

He took the bus to the library, staring idly out of the window.

[14:36:09] <<bookshy>> did u make it home [14:36:35] <<ManjuDreamer>> No. I'm heading to the library. The nurses got me again. [14:36:37] <<bookshy>> lol how did u mnage 2 escpe [18:36:56] <<ManjuDreamer>> Mother came to the office. [14:37:09] <<bookshy>> oh no [14:37:10] <<bookshy>> im so sorry [14:37:21] <<bookshy>> how r u feeling rn? [14:38:29] <<ManjuDreamer>> I don't know. I'll try to find some reading to distract myself with.

At the library, he searched for materials for his upcoming paper but when he sat down and tried to read, the words didn't make any sense.

When he had read the same page several times over and still remembered absolutely nothing he was interrupted from his reading by a book shoved on top of the one he was just reading.

"Can't you see I'm-!" the sharp words died on his lips when he saw the same woman who had read to the kids in front of him. She tapped on the note on top of the book and he looked down to read it.

'This is the book I was reading. You seemed interested'

She handed him a second book, a note on top of it too.

'I'll read this next'

When she shifted her weight from one foot to another clearly uncomfortable, he realised he was staring. He offered her a curt nod as a thank you and she bowed at him a small relieved smile on her lips. She seemed to hesitate before she signed something but he had to shake his head.

There was a slight shift on her smile, on her posture, and she took a step back.

'I'm sorry' she mouthed and offered him a bow before she all but fled, leaving him to sit alone, feeling like an idiot.

[16:19:20] <<ManjuDreamer>> I think I just made a complete fool out of myself. [16:29:59] <<bookshy>> lol rly? [16:30:00] <<bookshy>> wht did u do? [16:30:02] <<bookshy>> i thght fool wasnt in ur dicktionary [16:31:18] <<ManjuDreamer>> And for that terrible joke, I tell you nothing. [16:31:47] <<bookshy>> noooo hw wll i evr know how embarassng u can be if u don tell me? [16:32:32] <<ManjuDreamer>> You'll survive.

***

"She's not here today."

Mitsunari was startled from his thoughts by a familiar voice behind him. He turned around, vaguely aware of the frown his irritation had brought on his face.

"Who?" he asked as if he didn't know exactly who was the 'she' in question.

"I got this for you, I'm sure it holds some useful information." Mr Otani handed him a flyer for the children's activities in the local libraries. Mitsunari stared at the flyer blankly before he looked at Mr Otani, letting his irritation show.

"And what am I supposed to do with this?"

Mr Otani just smiled and pushed a book towards him as well.

"I'm sure you'll find this useful as well. Come find me if you need anything else."

Before he had time to protest Mr Otani left him with a wave, a wide smile on his face. He considered running or yelling after him, but changed his mind when he looked at the book in his hand.

'Sign language for beginners'

He tucked the children's program leaflet securely at the back of his calendar and checked the book out.

Something about the sign language intrigued him. She looked so graceful when signing. And so comfortable and she seemed genuinely love reading to the children.

At first, he thought he’d look up a few signs. Just in case some of the children needed help in the library. Just so he could talk to her. No, he meant the kids. So he could talk to the kids. But few turned into a few hundred. A few thousand. He was so lost.

***

#slbp #slbp fanfic #ishida mitsunari #toyotomi hideyoshi #voltage fanfic #frywen writes #sounds of silence fic

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maserati-yokota · 5 years

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AJW SUPER HURRICANE Commercial Tape 4/9/94

Rie Tamada vs. Chaparrita ASARI

This is ostensibly a rookies match but Tamada had been at it since 91 and ASARI since 92 so really this is just a juniors match. Tamada ties ASARI up like a bow in an attempt to keep her off her feet. The crowd couldn’t care less, but despite the wealth of talent on this show, the crowd seemed to all have dosed with Niquil so don't worry about it. This is perfectly fine and easily the best singles match either of them produced in their early days. Don't let the perverts in the audience sway you.

Mr. Buddhaman vs. Tomezo Tsunokake No firecrackers in this one! Lots of spots they worked around the circuit but also some pretty brutal spots. The crowd thinks this is comedy because the crowd is awful people. There are way worse ways to spend your time. These two could've lead a whole goddamn promotion.

Suzuka Minami & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Takako Inoue & Kaoru Ito I think even at this point Suzuka was still under the shadow of her former tag partner Hokuto, so the crowd is expecting a less than fiery performances from her. But everybody here shows the fuck up. Another counterpoint for everybody who says these four never blossomed. Haters never die.

Zen Nihon Senshukenjiai: Mima Shimoda vs. Miki Handa Miki Handa is sadly a footnote of the era. But in reality she was to LLPW what Plum was to JWP; she takes a colossal ass-kicking like an Absolute Girl and makes you love her and want her to win even though you know it ain't likely. In terms of the inevitability of CTE, that sucks a lot; but in terms of the wrestling narrative of the era (and still evident today, i.e. how Tam Nakano is booked in Stardom) it’s fun to have somebody who’s good at chasing and bad at catching. Stan Hansen? Great at chasing; didn't work as a champ. Ya feel me? Handa catches Shimoda with a quick German at the bell. Shimoda responds by doing the rope spot the world was tired of years before it finally stopped happening. Test of strength into finger stomp. Shimoda was LCO from the jump! Suzuka Minami on commentary, per usual. Shimoda doing joint manipulation and folding Handa into an origami frog is PEAK Shimoda. If Shimoda is Hokuto Lite, Handa is Cuty Suzuki Lite. Neither of those things are bad. Most of us will never be anywhere near that good at anything.

Shimoda throws Handa into every metal surface in Tokyo. Handa sells it by being THOROUGHLY peeved, then vertical suplexes her like a frilly Jumbo Tsuruta. Makes no sense but such is televised wrestling. You watch for the glorious moments when things coalesce into something greater than their constituent parts. Shimoda proves she's the WCW Ric Flair of the era by refusing to sell for anyone and just going thru her standard shit. UNTIL Handa gets her in a surfboard and then Shimoda looks like she's recovering from a visit to the dentist's. Weird sell but ok. Handa is def selling her part of the story--that Shimoda sucks on the mat; which we all knew but weren't sure would be enough to put her away. Surprise! It isn't. Mostly cuz Shimoda doesn't really ever wanna do business.

Zenjo vs. LLPW: Etsuko Mita vs. Eagle Sawai I can tell by the opening mat sequence that this is gonna be a 100hrs long. Eagle could go, she just always got mired in the mid-card sludge cuz no one in upper management thought she was photo book material. Mita Etsuko without a bright pink chair to hit folks with is rarely a Mita Etsuko you wanna watch.

Bull Nakano & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Manami Toyota & Kyoko Inoue Holy shit! How is this buried in this largely-forgotten event? Peak era for pretty much everyone involved. Hasegawa in upstart heel mode is a mood for the ages. She jukes Inoue and Toyota, Bull takes one step into the ring, and the crowd goes pale. Bull and Hasegawa take turns turning Toyota into a balloon animal ripe for popping. Hasegawa Tiger Suplexes Inoue into a billion day-glo shards. Hasegawa sells a top-rope DDT like someone everyone knows survived a catastrophic neck injury just a few years before--which is to say, like, "...that's all you got?" Bull doing a vertical suplex with a bridge is the rarest Bull; the crowd is a fog of question marks. Toyota's mouth is dripping blood. Hasegawa's spinning heel kick would still pop a crowd into a froth today. Watching her toss Toyota off when she goes for the lucha roll is so cathartic; no one wants to see a funny move done without a shred of irony. It is to Toyota's career as male pattern baldness is to Shawn Michaels. Why not have fun with it? Toyota does the German Airshow Leap to the outside and eats shit. (She's still bloodied, btw.) Bull figures if they both switch off chipping away at Inoue and Toyota, their combined efforts will rule the day. But twas not to be. The Fringe-Lace alliance get that good good W. Toyota realigns her nose and is back to looking crisp for the post-match interview. Hasegawa let's her shiny rainbow singlet, emblazoned with puff-paint, speak for her.

Aja Kong vs. Reggie Bennett This match wasn't even listed on the tape! I had no idea. This is their first encounter and will presumably last longer than their match from Arsion in 98--i.e., I am allowed to blink. No one will ever have better entrance music than AJW-era Aja Kong. It's inconceivable. Reggie has one giant French braid, cut-off overalls and a hardhat and she is your new fashion GOD. Aja does some Muta bits like spitting mist and doing a flying shoulder block. I'm glad the crowd enjoyed it cuz I think it sucked. Despite her present-day role (giving joshi aces a bog-standard 30min match on a monthly basis), Aja Kong transcends conventional gimmickry. She doesn't need that shit. Her reputation precedes her. It's at this point I notice Reggie Bennett is a beast who absolutely mauls Aja for the first 15min like no one I've ever seen. It's not just the booking; she legit tosses her around like my cat bats a balled-up tissue. Where is the Reggie Bennett shoot interview??? Aja shotays her way out of danger until they go into the crowd segment. Will Reggie blade?? Will she ever do a shoot interview? No and no. She does, however, power through two brutal lariats only to powerslam Aja! Has that ever happened? I cannot emphasize enough how intense Reggie's pace and strength are in this. Reggie takes a diving elbow to the clavicle and immediately dies. That made no sense. Aja spits yellow mist and now I hate her. Reggie Bennett forever. Post-match, Aja talks shit. Reggie commits herself to training harder. I say it again: Reggie Bennett forever.

Zenjo vs. LLPW: Yumiko Hotta & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Shinobu Kandori & Harley Saito I expect a Golden Corral buffet of kicks. A dumptruck full of kicks. A Nor'Easter of kicks descending upon me like I'm some quaint little hamlet. Kandori and Saito are basically the toughest LLPW had to offer. They're ready for Yamada and Hotta, though, and this is up and headed for the first overloaded plate of kicks before the bell has rung. Did Hotta vs Kandori ever happen? Shoulda. Kandori is horngry for AJW BLOOD. Saito is dressed like a tradtional Afghan dancer who has just discovered rave. Hard to say which I love more. Yamada kicks Kandori right in the jaw and...yeah no I've made my decision; I love that most of all. Hotta seems genuinely afraid of Saito. Kandori taunts Hotta, teasing the showdown, then decks Yamada with the QUICKNESS. This rules. Yamada has stepped up the stiffness for the occasion. You love to see it. Why didn't we get a year of these tag matches like All Japan in 91? Kandori dumps Yamada off her shoulders in one of the most wreckless things I've ever seen in a wrestling ring. Unfuckingreal. Hotta tries to smother Kandori but fears her Fujiwara armbar. As do I. They blunder into the finishing stretch with Saito as the speedbag. Saito never got her due. They seriously could've setup a whole year of main event booking around these four. Yamada finally nails her insanely complicated finisher and the streamers rain down. Structurally awkward but radiating more heat than most well-established feuds.

#joshi #all japan womens #joshi puroresu #puroresu #wrestling review

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neyla9 · 6 years

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Cipher’s House: Fallen Star Chapters 20-22

Ao3 Version

I think I’ve gone insane. There is no way this place can be real… No, I have to stay strong. My brother is trapped somewhere here, and if I don’t find him… I won’t even think about what might happen to both of us…

Mabel ran. At that point, it was all she could do. She had to find Cipher’s room so she could finish her deal with Saki. Then, she’d find her brother, somehow, and they’d escape this living hell.

When she arrived at a staircase, she leaned against the railing for a moment, trying to catch her breath, before proceeding to climb the stairs. She came face to face with a door; it looked so much different from all the other doors, like it didn’t belong in this hotel. It was made from dark, almost black wood, and it lacked a number plaque, instead it just had some weird pattern carved into it.

Mabel carefully opened the door, poking her head inside. Inside was a short hallway, three doors on each side, with the hallway ending in a final seventh door. The seventh door had a golden pattern similar to the one she had just gone through. It only made sense that the souls would be hidden behind that door, so Mabel ran to it, trying to open it, only to find it locked. She heard footsteps from behind the door; they sounded panicking. She then heard the sound of someone running up the stairs.

Panicking, Mabel ran to one of the other doors, ripped it open, and hid inside, praying that whoever was coming wouldn’t find her.

Luckily, she heard the footsteps walk right past her and open what she was pretty sure was the door she had tried to open.

“Is everything alright!?” she could hear a muffled voice ask; it sounded worried, scared even. She couldn’t hear the response, but it didn’t seem to soothe the other person’s worries. “What?!” they exclaimed.

There was the sound of another door opening, and someone else speaking; “It was me, Bill. I wanted to give you an important message, and I thought you were in your room.”

“Well? What is it?” the first speaker asked, and now that Mabel knew it was Bill, she felt even more scared than before; she seriously doubted Bill would forgive her for breaking into what appeared to be his home.

“Our guest decided to leave,” the other person said. “Guess she gave up on finding her brother.”

“What!?” Bill exclaimed. Mabel could faintly hear someone respond to his outburst, but it seemed to be the person who had been in the room Mabel tried to break into; the one Mabel couldn’t clearly hear. “Will, keep Pine Tree in your room; guard him with your life. If anything happens to him while I’m gone…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but even Mabel could feel his threatening gaze. There were more sounds of footsteps along with more doors opening and closing. Mabel waited for a couple of seconds with bated breath before she dared to go back into the hallway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hallway was abandoned once again. I don’t know who the two people Cipher spoke to was, but… One of them was either seriously misinformed or, the somehow more likely solution, they covered for me…

Mabel decided to try the door she had originally wanted to go through; it was no longer locked and, as she poked her head inside, it was empty. The room was golden and black in color, and basically looked like a normal bedroom; a very fancy and expensive bedroom to be fair, but still. There was a king-sized bed, a violin lying on said bed, a dresser, a desk and office chair, both of which was covered in papers and documents, in front of the door was a big mirror, a low table underneath it, with two ceramic pots growing flowers; the room was also decorated with some potted plants. Cipher hadn’t seemed like the caring type of guy, but maybe he acted differently to plants than his hotel guests.

She walked over to the desk and began to look through the various papers; at first she was curious what they were, but then she realized that they were all related to the hotel. There were work schedules, lists of activities and arrangements, maintenance notes; they looked like they could have belonged to a normal hotel. Then, after digging through various notes, she found stacks of papers that were different; they looked almost like… police files or public records.

The first one she picked up had a picture of a young man with a strained smile. Then there were pages on pages describing what appeared to be his life, specifically how he had been verbally abused by his mother for playing with dolls, how that had led to issues socializing with others, how that had turned him into a hermit, and so on, escalating until the last page described how he, in a fit of rage, had murdered his mother by stabbing her repeatedly with a knife, then attempted to… sew her back together, and when it didn’t work, the file simply said: “He could no longer face reality.”

Mabel looked through some of those other files, and they were all the same; from early childhood they would describe how certain events led to others, eventually escalating to some kind of tragedy, and then ending with the words saying that they “could no longer face reality”.

She clutched her head in her hands. What did all of this mean? Who were these people? How did Cipher have such detailed files on their lives? And why did they all end the same way?

It was then that Mabel spotted another file, hidden between the various papers strewn about. She could only see part of the picture poking out, but there was no doubt about it; that was a picture of her. She hesitated for a moment, but forced herself to pick up the file and read it.

It had her name, her age, her birth date. It detailed how she and her brother had been friends since they were born. How they had always considered each other their best friend. How Dipper had excelled in school, and Mabel had grown jealous. How said jealousy had caused her to seek away from her brother, getting new friends. How when Dipper had begun to struggle in school, Mabel had been secretly happy. How Mabel had still tried to help her brother, but had eventually given up and convinced herself that her brother was just lazy and didn’t try hard enough. How she had abandoned her brother when he needed her the most to pursue her own social life. How her brother had stopped answering her scarce phone calls and messages after his exam. How after he came back, he got his grades back, and learned he had failed. How Mabel had told him to just try harder. How her brother had gone quiet once again. How a suicide note had been found in his dorm room. The file ending such: “Realizing she had caused her brother’s death, she could no longer face reality.”

Mabel let go of the file. It had been right. Mabel couldn’t deny it any longer. She knew now why she was in this hotel, and why she was being tormented like this; she had killed her brother. She curled into a ball on the chair and started rocking herself back and forth, crying softly.

“Are you really gonna give up like that?” a voice asked from behind her. Mabel turned around and almost screamed at who she thought was Bill, but she realized it wasn’t Bill, just someone who looked a lot like him.

“Who are you?” Mabel asked, drying away a tear.

“My name is Will,” he responded. “You know now why you’re here?” he nodded towards the various papers and files.

“Because I killed my brother,” Mabel sobbed.

“No!” Will shouted. “Come on! It literally says it in every single file!”

Mabel blinked her tears away, mostly because sorrow was getting replaced with confusion.

Will picked up Mabel’s file, which was still on the last page, and used a finger to underline the last sentence.

“I can’t… face reality?”

“You couldn’t face the fact that your brother was dead,” Will confirmed. “But it seems like you’re able to now, which is… interesting.” He got a pondering look on his face.

“I need to know one thing,” she paused and tried to brace herself for the answer. “Did my brother ever… end up here?”

“… Yes,” Will responded. “I actually thought he’d be the first to escape, but… he came back. And now, he’s dead.”

“So… he came back because he couldn’t face reality either,” Mabel nodded to herself. Now she knew what had happened to her brother; after everyone, including Mabel, had pushed him away, he had decided he would rather return to the hotel and die there, than face reality.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Will said and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “This hotel has taken so many souls; it’s to blame.”

“No,” Mabel shook her head and stepped away from Will. Her voice was hoarse with emotions, but her expression was steadfast and stern. “I am not going to lie to myself any longer. If I had been a better sister, my brother wouldn’t have died. But that doesn’t mean this place doesn’t share some of the blame. I am going to leave this place, but not before I destroy it, so it can never hurt anyone again.”

“Wow,” Will looked at her in shock, but slowly a smile crept on to his face. “Yes,” he nodded. “That could work… In one of the hotel’s hallways, there’s a jar containing The Eternal Flame. If you let it lose, it can burn down the entire hotel. But you have to promise to never return to hotel, otherwise it won’t work.”

“Okay, but first, I have one last piece of unfinished business; Saki saved my life, and in exchange I promised to bring her one of Cipher’s souls… Also, how do I find that Eternal Flame?”

“Follow me,” Will led her out of the room and through another door, which led to an enormous room filled with shelves upon shelves of jars with different colored lights inside. Will surveyed them before grabbing one and rearranged the others, so that it was less obvious one had been taken. “Here.”

Will handed Mabel the jar. “Give this one to Saki. And don’t worry about finding her or The Eternal Flame; this hotel has a habit of showing people exactly what they want to see…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know now why I’m here. I can choose to either give up and receive my punishment for letting my brother die, or I can make sure that no one will ever suffer because of this hotel, again.

Wandering through the hallways, it didn’t take long before Mabel arrived at a hotel door different from the others; like the door to Cipher’s home, it lacked a number plaque and was also more fancy than the other doors, albeit not to the same degree as Cipher’s.

Mabel knocked on the door and it didn’t take long before it opened. Saki’s head poked out and, as soon as she saw the jar with the soul, she snatched it out of Mabel’s hands and popped opened the lid.

“Oh! I’ve waited so long for this,” she said with an almost orgasmic delight. She plucked the soul out of the jar using her thumb and forefinger, and proceeded to lick and suck on it while making obscene sounds.

“Um… I’m just gonna go now,” Mabel said and began to shuffle away.

“Mhm, sure,” Saki nodded between her moans and headed back inside her room. Mabel wondered how long that soul would even last…

As Mabel began to traverse the hallways once more, hoping to find that Eternal Flame that Will had mentioned, she heard that familiar song from behind her, slowly getting louder; “Do you know who I am? They call me Judgement Boy~”

#billdip #cipher's house #cipher's house au

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luucarii · 6 years

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With a Dash of Gin - Ch19

Wow, I actually got my chapter numbers right! And I posted something two days in a row! What madness!

Also I live for an easily embarrassed Kokichi so...

Read on Ao3

The rest of the week seemed to drag. Rantaro went back to his afternoon shifts, fearing the worst should he decide to take anything later than working from noon to six. Midori had seemed to warm up to him a bit and finally dropped the attitude once he had returned to normal. Kokichi and Shuichi were in the midst of moving out of their dorms for the summer, both of them staying in Shuichi’s uncle’s house. He was usually out working so most days the two of them were stuck in the house alone complaining about nothing to do.

With the slow week came a drastic rise in temperature. July usually was the worst month during the summer with frequent heat waves and general discomfort in the muggy evenings. There was always the suggestion (usually from Kaede or Kaito) of going to the beach but both Shuichi and Kokichi made subtle excuses for avoiding the beach when really they just wanted to avoid a sunburn. Despite his reluctance, Kokichi refused to sit the heatwave out. It would be a waste to sit inside during the rare days where the temperature was fair enough to stay outside for more than a few hours. Thankfully for him, Rantaro seemed to be thinking the exact same thing and it didn’t take too long into the week for him to call and invite him to hang out.

“A pool?” Kokichi cocked an eyebrow and from across the room, Shuichi’s eyes shot up. He nodded vigorously and Kokichi snickered. Being stuck inside for nearly a week was getting to Shuichi’s head.

“Yeah, I think my dad set up plans with one of his business partners. There’s a branch of the Togami corporation near the area and they own a house with a huge pool. We’ve been given an invitation to come whenever we like.”

“Was this recent?”

Rantaro’s voice lowered, “yeah. He probably sent his assistant to do it. Maybe just to keep us unaware of what’s happening with him.”

“Ranty…” Kokichi drifted off and Rantaro chuckled on the other end.

“Don’t worry about it. So are you gonna come? I’m taking my sisters and I think they’d love to have you.”

“You’d love to have me too, don’t lie to yourself Ranty! And can I have a plus four? My friends have been bugging me nonstop about going out to the beach and this is one better.”

“Sure, just swing by my house around noon and we’ll go.”

With a giggle, Kokichi hung up and threw his phone onto his bed. Eyes narrowed onto Shuichi and he pointed at him, his free hand on his hip, “Shuichi! Call Kaede, Maki and Kaito! We’re all going to a rich kid’s pool!”

One concern Kokichi had about the whole outing was how twelve people were going to squeeze together in one subway car with dozens of others. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to squishing but he worried how Chizuru and the other young sisters would fare. Though most of his concerns were easily laid to rest as he walked up Rantaro’s street and saw a long car stretching in front of his house.

Kokichi’s eyes lit up.

Outside were Rantaro and his sisters, all dressed up in loose fitting clothing with bathing suits underneath, holding small bags which Kokichi assumed were filled with clothes and whatever other girly things they needed. At first glance of Kokichi, Chizuru dashed up to him and hugged his leg, cringing somewhat afterward. She looked up at him in confusion and there was no way Kokichi was going to admit how much sunscreen he put on so he would avoid a sunburn.

“Kokichi! You didn’t tell me Rantaro had a freakin limo!” Kaito hissed and for a moment, Kokichi was grateful he had enough of a mind to censor himself in front of the kids.

“It’s not mine.” Rantaro smiled as he looked toward his sisters and nudged his head to the car. They all slid inside, leaving the door open behind them and Kaede excitedly dragged Maki inside. “The corporation is a big one when it comes to appearances. Any guests they have over have to be treated like celebrities. Personally I wouldn’t mind taking the subway but well, I won’t pass up a free ride.”

Kaito narrowed his eyes, “is there AC?”

“Of course.”

“Drinks?”

“If you’re thirsty, yeah.”

“Radio?”

“..It’s still a car?”

Kaito grinned and flung an arm over Kokichi’s shoulder, “you picked a good on Kokichi. He’s a keeper.”

“Just get in the damn car.” Kokichi grumbled and Rantaro laughed. Kaito darted toward the car and slid inside and it wasn’t long until his voice was heard sparking up conversation with Rantaro’s sisters. Rantaro slipped a hand into Kokichi’s and planted a tiny kiss on his forehead before pulling away.

“Why are you all slimy?”

Kokichi glared at him, “like I’d risk getting burned. You’re insane.”

Rantaro shrugged and lightly pushed Kokichi ahead, holding the door open from him and letting him slide inside beside Kaede. He jumped in and closed the door and once the car had darkened, there was a soft voice coming from the speakers.

“The Togami Corporation gladly welcomes your company Mr. Amami and friends.”

“No need for formalities. Rantaro’s fine.”

“My name is Kirumi Tojo. I shall be taking care of you all today. Please, let me know if I can assist you with anything.”

Kokichi giggled, “faaancy.”

It didn’t take too long for the car to finally start moving and Kokichi was struck with awe throughout the entire drive. The interior was decked out with mini compartments and had a small mini fridge built into the floor. The seats were leather and the entire experience was nothing short of mesmerizing. With Rantaro’s arm lazily draped over his shoulder, Kokichi felt nothing short of being a king.

During the drive, everyone had introduced themselves and it seemed Kazu and Saki had grown interested in Maki. They were seated on her two sides and they continuously would ask her questions about her life. Kokichi worried she’d snap at them knowing how easily annoyed she get but if anything she was a bit bashful, awkwardly telling stories to the girls who looked on in awe.

Eri managed to spark up conversation with Kaede and, being the two optimists out of the whole group, they managed to hit it off very well. Kaede mentioned her interest in music and her love of the piano and Eri had excitedly offered to take pictures of her while she performed. Kokichi could swear he saw them exchanging phone numbers. Sasori and Shuichi had mostly talked about what they were studying in college, Shuichi suddenly growing an interest in the medical field despite his firm determination to be a detective.

Kaito was stuck with Midori and Chizuru though he didn’t mind too much. Kokichi could tell how hard it was for him to watch his mouth around Chizuru — granted having Saki as a sister, Kokichi wouldn’t be surprised if she had heard worse from her. Midori tried to be modest but she had the same big eyed expression as Chizuru usually had.

Upon arrival, Kokichi couldn’t believe it could get any better than it already had. Riding in a limo and being able to go into a rich kid’s pool was more than enough, but seeing the grand scale of what he assumed was one of the many Togami households left him dizzy. The exterior was a near golden bronze and it seemed to sparkle under the harsh sun. He leaned into Rantaro and spoke in slurred awe.

“This is the rich kid’s life…”

“It’s really not that grand after a while. But it’s cute to see you like that.” Rantaro nudged his shoulder and guided him inside the house with Kirumi leading the group. The main hall was huge with marble flooring and a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a noticeable echo but all that could be heard was Kokichi and his friends commenting on how utterly astounding it was.

Kirumi led the group to the back porch where a large rectangular pool sparkled. Pool chairs were set up around the perimeter with a few umbrellas shadowing over them. A few more maids and butlers were placed around the outside, tidying up the area and suddenly straightened themselves when Kirumi stepped in the center Kirumi outstretched a hand to show off the outside and smiled as she bowed, and with that small soft tone of voice, she spoke.

“We hope you enjoy your stay.”

On that note, Saki let out a squeal and immediately rushed to claim a chair, flinging her bag onto it. Midori took the one beside her and it didn’t take long for most of the chairs on the left side to be claimed by the girls. The four boys took the other side and couldn’t help feeling a bit overwhelmed by the difference in number between girls and boys. The boys (specifically Kaito) made sure to mind their eyes when the likes of Kaede and Maki were in the midst of taking off their clothes and adjusting to the feeling of wearing a swimsuit. Kaede’s was modest, a simple frilly pale pink two piece and Maki had a red one piece that she had to borrow from her. The two girls embarrassingly tried to help the sisters adjust their swimsuits but Kokichi wouldn’t ignore the way Eri would stare at the girls in admiration.

Kokichi shrugged it off and turned to face the guys. Shuichi was far too embarrassed to even think of lifting up his shirt and it only took Kaito threatening to push him into the pool for him to slip off the thin fabric. Kaito’s were a weird red color for some reason and he had complained that since Shuichi had called him last minute, all his other swimwear had been thrown in the laundry already. The one who surprised him the most, for obvious reasons, was Rantaro and Kokichi felt the heat rushing to his cheeks the minute Rantaro slipped his shirt off. Wearing dark blue swim trunks with a thin lime green outline, Kokichi eyed how despite the fact he was thin, Rantaro had garnered quite a bit of muscle. His build wasn’t Kaito level or anything but he was damn near impressive when put against the other guys. Kokichi gulped when he realized he was the only one who hadn’t stripped yet and suddenly felt a bit self-conscious.

“You alright?” Rantaro questioned as he worked on taking out the piercings in his ears.

“Of course I am, Ranty! How couldn’t I be?”

“You haven’t taken your shirt off yet. I honestly believed you’d be the first to jump in the minute we got here.”

That award went to Kazu, followed by Saki. The two girls came up for air and giggled, splashing each other with water before Kaede joined in. Eri kept dry for the first few minutes, taking a personal tour of the outside with her camera to take picture of the house and the flowers in the garden. Kaito rushed across the other side and pushed Maki in the pool while she was in the midst of pulling up her hair. With a typical Maki Stare, she reached for his leg and dragged him in. Midori decided she’d prioritize tanning over anything and Sasori decided to relax with her to keep her company. Shuichi sat at the edge of the pool with a silent Chizuru as they dipped their feet into water and sighed to themselves. Shuichi made sure he looked back a few time to catch if Kokichi would be devilish enough to push him in but was still surprised when Kokichi eventually did.

“I didn’t know Ranty was secretly a pervert.” Kokichi narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, clicking his tongue.

“Call me whatever you want but I’m dragging you in this pool sooner or later. Better to be prepared now.” Rantaro’s eyes glinted teasingly and Kokichi grumbled.

“Rantaro, stop teasing the poor kid and get in! I want to take a few pictures!” Eri hissed as she readied her camera, already in the process of snapping pictures of Saki and Kazu doing handstands underwater.

“Kid!? I’m older than you!” Kokichi snapped and he glared at Maki in the pool who was chuckling to herself. Before Kokichi could even echo out a sigh, he felt himself pulled into a hug and the ground under him disappeared. With Rantaro’s laugh in his ears, the two boys hit the water with a splash, enough scare Kazu and Saki into swimming to the surface.

When his head popped above the water, Kokichi coughed up a bit of water and frowned at the way his hair stuck to his face. Rantaro appeared behind him and wrapped his arms around Kokichi’s shoulders, kissing the other’s cheek playfully and Kokichi finally broke into a laugh.

“What the hell Ranty?”

“I told you I was getting you in here.” Rantaro’s head peered off to the side, “did you get it Eri?”

“Yep! Perfect! His face was so cute!” Eri giggled behind her camera.

“Ranty ruined my favorite shirt. Meanie.” Kokichi pouted and turned his head away from him.

“I’ll let you borrow mine.” Kokichi jumped when he felt Rantaro’s soft fingers pulled up the helm of his shirt and he wanted to die when he caught Kaito’s eyes narrowing in that sort of lewd glance.

“Aww, I think Kokichi has a sunburn already!” Saki teased and Kazu snickered behind her.

Once the shirt was finally pulled over his head (which Kokichi could swear took way longer than needed) and thrown over to his pool chair, Kokichi made his escape, swimming over to where Chizuru was sitting. He knew Rantaro didn’t mean anything by it beside maybe a light bit of teasing but his head reeled nonetheless.

“I didn’t know Kokichi was easily embarrassed. It’s kinda cute.” Kaede smiled.

“Shuichi’s the same way too. You should see him when I start teasing him about you.” Kokichi snickered and Shuichi, who had just poked his head up from underwater, looked around the pool in confusion.

“Wha?”

Kokichi swam over to his roommate and flung an arm over his shoulder, “don’t worry about it, buddy!”

“Why am I suddenly scared?”

“Come on everyone! All together!” Eri cheered. Upon her request, before the drive home she wanted Kirumi to take a group photo of everyone. Eri took charge on setting everyone up, making sure the short ones were at the bottom and the taller ones near the top and it ended up with a near perfect setup of four rows of three. Kazu, Chizuru and Saki took the bottom, Kokichi, Midori and Shuichi the second row, Rantaro, Maki and Kaede the middle row and finally Sasori, Kaito and Eri at the top. Eri encouraged everyone to do more than just a plain smile and before the camera had flashed, she made sure she pulled Kaede into a tight embrace under her. The picture ended up with Sasori grinning at Kaito who was ruffling Maki’s wet hair, Rantaro leaning down to kiss Kokichi’s head, Maki looking up at Kaito with a glare, Kaede laughing while reaching a hand down to grab Shuichi’s, Midori holding Chizuru’s shoulders and Kazu and Saki bursting out into harsh laughter.

When Kirumi had handed Eri her camera back, the blonde girl squealed in excitement and her eyes softened at the sight. “I’ll make sure to print out a copy for everyone. So we never forget the fun we had today!”

“Oh! And don’t forget to send the pictures you took of me Eri!” Kaede giggled as she smiled and Eri smiled with her.

“Of course Kaede!”

“Aww, you guys got close! How cute!” Kokichi teased and grinned when Eri’s face warmed up. Kaede nodded and stood proudly next to Eri, grabbing her hand and holding it up in the air. Eri chuckled sheepishly and gulped, looking over at Kaede with timid eyes.

“Trust me, this won’t be the last bit of teasing she gets about that.” Rantaro whispered with a laugh in Kokichi’s ear and pointed to the way Saki and Kazu were whispering to each other. For a moment, Kokichi felt a bit bad that her sisters would most likely annoy her late into the night with what seemed to be a tiny crush on Kaede but despite her embarrassment, she didn’t seem to mind too much.

“Alright guys, let’s head out!” Kokichi announced, grabbing Rantaro’s hand and leading the group. They raced past Kirumi and out to the front of the house where the limo was parked, the engine quietly grumbling. As they slid inside, Kokichi leaped into Rantaro’s lap and flung an arm around his neck.

“You should let me sleepover tonight.” He chuckled and Rantaro raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not opposed to it but what do you have up your sleeve?”

Kokichi gasped and held his chest, “Ranty is a pervert. You were thinking naughty thoughts weren’t you?”

“What do you—?”

“Jeez, I’m not some hormonal kid who wants sex all the time Ranty!”

“But we haven’t even—“

“But you were thinking that when I asked to sleepover.”

“I…” Rantaro drifted off, face turning a light shade of pink and Kokichi laughed.

“Just teasing Ranty. Seriously though, let me sleepover?”

#aarisfics #With a Dash of Gin #oumami #danganronpa v3 #kokichi ouma #amami rantarou #i usually queue these for a specific hour but oh well #we post randomly like men

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takarazuka-rpf · 7 years

Text

ITEIWAY 11

Disclaimer: This is an RPF (Real Person Fiction) meaning anything written here does not reflect the events in real life.

Miyu:

It was quarter to two in the morning and Miyu and MoMo were still in Miyu's living room. The TV played in the background while MoMo lay stretched out on the sofa and Miyu sat on a nearby by chair. The pair hadn't been able to fall asleep due to the fact that MoMo decided to order take-away a couple of hours ago and both were still trying to digest the food in the stomachs. Miyu learnt that when MoMo was stressed out, she liked to indulge herself in as much food as possible (and the people around her too).

MoMo had been staring at her phone while lying down and Miyu wondered how long would MoMo's eye sight last at this rate. She also wondered what MoMo was looking at because from time to time MoMo would burst out laughing while reading something from her phone. Miyu wished she could take a peak too.

It was not the first time Miyu had been left out from someone else's entertainment, in fact she's fairly used to it, used to the fact she sat in the background observing the others around her like a wallflower.

Flashback:

(Miyu POV) Finally it was time for a break and everyone immediately scurried over to their bags to grab out their phones and snacks. Over the weekend, Miyu had made herself some macarons which she was currently excited to share it out with the other Yukigumi members.

When she got to her bag, she plopped down on the bench and took out the box containing the sweet confection. She took special care to make them look pretty with each one having a different colour and flavour which made them even more appetising.

One of them was different from the others though. This special one was cherry-red in colour and shaped like a heart. Miyu smiled to herself as she already knew who she wanted to give this too.

Since Valentine's Day was close, she wanted to do something special for her Top-san and what better idea was there to bake a pastry in the shape of heart. Her heart was beating fast because she didn't know how she was planning to give it to Chigi-san or how Chigi-san would react. Having said this, she felt as giddy as a school girl and as excited as a kid on Christmas Day.

Suddenly from a few benches along, she heard a laugher, a laughter which belonged to no other than Chigi-san.

From where she was, Miyu saw that Chigi-san was in the company of some other musumeyakus, having some sort of conversation. At that moment, Chigi-san's head was thrown back in laughter while one the musumeyakus placed one of her hands on Chigi's thigh and the other over her own mouth covering her own laugh.

Not only did Miyu feel jealous at this scene, she also wished she was part of the conversation and was able to make Chigi-san laugh like that herself.

Chigi-san's smile was one of Miyu's favourite things in this world: the way the corner of her lips curved up, the way she squinted her eyes and the way a small dimple would appear at the corner of her mouth. It was almost infectious because every time Chigi-san smiled, it made Miyu want to as well.

With the box of macarons still opened in her lap, she continued to watch Chigi-san from afar while wishing she was one of them. As she let out a sigh, she wondered how she was going to give Chigi-san this gift now.

Without noticing, Reiko had come and sat down next to her and when Reiko spoke, it caused Miyu to jump slightly.

'What have you got there Miyu-chan? Ooo, a heart-shaped macaron?' This seemed to knock Miyu out of her trance and bought her focus onto Reiko.

'Oh it's nothing! Just something I baked over the weekend…,' said Miyu in a melancholy and crushed tone while looking back down at the box on her lap. Her fingers traced over the edge of the box pondering as to whether she should put the lid back on.

Reiko registered Miyu's weird behaviour and went to search with her eyes the thing Miyu was looking at before Reiko sat down next to her. When she had found what Miyu had been looking at, Reiko immediately understood.

'Go for it Miyu-chan,' said Reiko.

'Eh?' replied Miyu now looking at Reiko with confused, wide eyes. Was Reiko able to read her?

'Go and give it to Chigi-san, that one is for her right?' Reiko pointed to the cherry-red macaron and Miyu's face immediately flushed with embarrassment. Reiko let out a small laugh and proceeded to nudge Miyu with her elbow, 'I'm sure Chigi-san will love it! Since it's made by Miyu-chan herself, I'm sure Chigi-san will be over the moon,' said Reiko giving Miyu a bright smile.

With that, Miyu looked up at Reiko and said, 'you think so?' Reiko responded by giving her an enthusiastic nod and a thumbs up. And just like that, a wave of braveness surged through Miyu's body and she instantly stood up with an air of purpose.

She was going to do it! No musumeyaku will ever get in the way between her and Chigi-san!

Taking a deep breath and giving a firm nod back to Reiko, she turned around and started to walk towards Chigi-san (and her current group of musumeyakus).

(Chigi POV) She didn't think the musumeyakus in Yukigumi were this funny! They had just been telling Chigi about a prank they played on Shou with the help of Saki and its hilarious outcome. Sometimes Chigi really felt sorry for Shou, but it is stories like this that makes Chigi glad they have someone like Shou in their troupe to play pranks on.

When she returned her head back to normal position from her outburst of laughter, a little farther away from her, she noticed Miyu conversing with Reiko.

Almost immediately, her sense of humour was gone and replaced with mild bitterness and annoyance. The musumeyakus next to her were still talking but at this point Chigi had drowned out their voices and was currently looking at Miyu and Reiko with stalking eyes.

But all of the sudden, Miyu stood up and Chigi wondered what had happened. When she saw Miyu turn towards her, Chigi looked away and pretended to divert her attention back to the musumeyakus next to her. Hopefully, Miyu hadn't noticed Chigi looking at her.

(Miyu POV) As Miyu headed towards Chigi with the box of macarons clutched tightly in her hands, she held her breath and walked with determination. If any third person was watching now, it would look like a school girl about to hand a confession letter to the most popular boy in school.

When she was about 2 meters away from her target, Chigi and her group of musumeyakus looked up at her with puzzled and expecting eyes.

Miyu felt like she was going to hurl.

(Chigi POV) From the corner of her vision, she saw Miyu starting to walk towards her. For some reason she started to feel a bit nervous and she wondered why Miyu was approaching her. It looked like she was holding onto a box of something.

When she got closer and closer, the musumeyakus had stopped talking as they had also noticed Miyu's presence.

'Miyu-chan! Are you ok? Is there anything you wanted?' Asked Ei-chan beside Chigi. Chigi was observing Miyu's every facial expression and body language very carefully. Every sign and movement told Chigi that she was nervous and slightly uncomfortable. Miyu's mouth seemed to open and close as she tried to form her words.

'Um, I-I'd like to talk to Chigi-san please,' said Miyu in a timid tone. Hearing her name, Chigi's curiosity immediately peaked as she wondered why Miyu had wanted to talk to her.

However next to her, she could feel the other musumeyakus giving her wagging eyebrows, already teasing her the hell out of her.

Ok maybe it would be a better idea if she and Miyu went somewhere else to talk, out of sight from these snooping eyes.

'Sure Miyu let's go somewhere more quite because currently I'm having a hard time hearing you above all these noisy obasans talking next to me.' Chigi was feeling extra cheeky right now.

After saying this, Chigi received a few painful jabs and strikes on the shoulder from the musumeyakus beside her but Chigi thought she was hilarious. Others may have thought her current mental age was of a 3 year old.

As she hastily got away from the obasans next to her while chuckling, she got up and led Miyu by her arm outside the rehearsal room and closed the door behind them. After that, she turned around and faced Miyu.

'What is it you want to talk to me about?' said Chigi in a hushed tone. She didn't know why she was whispering. Chigi observed that Miyu had her head down and seemed to be fidgeting with the box in her hands. Chigi looked down and saw that the box was filled with multi-coloured macarons. However, one of them was slightly bigger than the others and it was in the shape of a cherry-red heart, her favourite colour. Chigi looked up at Miyu's face again waiting for her reply.

'Chigi-san, I-I baked some macarons… an-and I was wondering if you'd like one,' said Miyu in a quiet voice, so quiet that Chigi almost didn't hear her, but she did. Miyu finished this by looking into Chigi's eyes.

Chigi's heart skipped a beat because she couldn't stand it when Miyu looked at her like this. Feeling her face becoming red, Chigi cleared her throat and looked away.

'Well, only if they taste nice,' said Chigi with a false sense of superiority, teasing Miyu. She stole a quick look at Miyu to see what her reaction was and it was just as she had expected. Miyu's face flushed like crazy and her mouth was furiously trying to form words to respond to Chigi's teasing reply.

'O-of course they taste good! I-I had a taste of them myself and they were delicious!' Chigi can see Miyu was desperately trying to present her case and she couldn't help but to laugh internally to herself.

Clearing her throat again, Chigi continued on with her tease, 'oh really? Well let me be the judge of that,' as she said this, she folded her arms and gave Miyu a sideways look. Not a second later, Chigi could see anger bubbling onto Miyu's face and Chigi have not seen a cuter sight.

With one hand, Miyu picked up the heart-shaped macaron and offered it angrily towards Chigi. Chigi being the mischievous brat she was, pretended to inspect the macaron with an unimpressed expression while bending down which only offended Miyu even further.

Just as Miyu was about to withdraw her macaron, Chigi suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. She then took a bite out of the macaron while it was still held by Miyu. Miyu's eyes widened at Chigi's action and Chigi couldn't be merrier.

As she was chewing, Chigi pretended to judge the flavour while making pensive noises even though this was the most delightful macaron Chigi had ever had. Of course, she was not going to say this in front of Miyu.

'It's not bad I guess…' said Chigi in a causal tone, still observing Miyu to see what her reaction was. 'Umm, I'd give it an 8!' Miyu's eyes widened and a bright smile appeared on her face.

'Really Chigi-san!' gasped Miyu in excitement.

'Out of 100,' Chigi immediately retorted with a smirk on her face. Miyu smile instantly collapsed.

'EHHH?! Nani?!' Whined Miyu. Chigi liked it when she got this reaction from Miyu.

'Well I guess you just gunna have to try harder next time,' said Chigi to a very defeated looking Miyu who had her shoulders slightly slumped and a pout on her face.

Thinking Miyu had probably being teased enough for now, Chigi couldn't resist but to bop Miyu on the nose and say, 'I was only joking, it was delicious.'

Hearing this, Miyu's spirit seemed to return to her and her big grin reappeared.

'But. I expect better next time, if I don't see an improvement, I'll never eat your bakes again,' warned Chigi but of course she was joking. She lived for Miyu's bakes.

Miyu gasped and all of the sudden her game-face appeared, 'Hai! I will definitely do better next time.' Miyu's face was so full of determination Chigi thought she might not be able to contain her laughter.

'Good I'm glad you have that in mind,' said Chigi as if she was a teacher talking to a student. Chigi was definitely enjoying herself.

'Righty-ho then! Let's get back to rehearsals!' said Chigi as she gave Miyu a wave before entering the room herself. Chigi was worried if she stayed too long with Miyu by herself, the obasans from earlier would be wondering things and letting their imagines run wild. As we all know, this was definitely not something Chigi wanted.

However after Chigi had re-entered the room, Miyu stood there for a few more seconds in shock and astonishment replaying the words Chigi had just said to her.

Not only did Chigi compliment her on her food, Chigi had also basically given her the permission to bake more for her in the future.

Miyu felt like she could soar across the sky and never come down. She was that high.

Miyu:

As the clock ticked by, Miyu felt her eye lids getting heavier and heavier. She was about to get up to go to bed when suddenly like a knife cutting through the silence, her private mobile beeped.

Both hers and MoMo's ears pricked up like a dog hearing a car coming up the drive way. At this time of the night who could be calling? It couldn't have been the agency. Was it Haruto-kun?

Reaching for her phone in her pocket immediately, she looked at the sender.

It was from Reiko. Confusion filled Miyu's mind.

Why would Reiko be texting her at this time of the day. Reiko rarely texted her anyway, even though she texted Miyu the most out of all the other Yukigumi members.

Swiping across her screen to unlock her phone, Miyu read Reiko's message.

Hi Yuumi chan, I hope you are all well. As you probably expected, I have seen the news today and questions came to my mind immediately. However, knowing you, I know none of it is true so I don't want you to worry and I want you to know that I’m on your side. Ganbatte Miyu-chan!

Anyway, the reason for this text is not only about me telling you my support for you, but also something else. It is concerning Chigi-san.

Eh?!

Miyu's mind began to ring alarm bells at reading the Chigi-san's name. For all of today, Saki and Hitoko, even Shou, had tried to contact Chigi-san but receiving not a single reply from her. We think there might be something wrong and we are getting more and more worried.

Miyu was panicking immensely now. Why wasn't Chigi-san replying to any of their messages? Did something happen?

Therefore we were hoping you can help us. You are our last resort. If you call Chigi-san, she will probably pick up. Please help us, we are relying on you.

Thank you and let's get together soon. XX

- Reiko

Eh?! Why me? Surely if the others hadn't succeeded Miyu wouldn't either.

Having observed Miyu's multitude of changing facial expressions from the sofa, MoMo finally got up and came over to Miyu to see what was going on. 'Miyu you ok? You look worried, who was that?'

Still with an extremely concerned expression, Miyu handed her phone over to MoMo who started to read over the text message.

'Chigi-san hadn't being replying to any of their messages and they're worried that something might have happened to her,' Miyu said while looking up at MoMo who was still reading the text, 'and I'm starting to worry too… why wasn't Chigi-san replying?' Miyu looked down at her hands and began to fidget nervously. Distress was written all over Miyu's face.

Then from the corner of her eyes, Miyu saw her personal manager starting to do something on her phone.

'Eh?! What are you doing?' Said Miyu trying to snatch her phone back from MoMo. But MoMo was fast and dodged Miyu's attempts.

'I'm calling your precious Chigi-san,' said MoMo trying to find Chigi's phone number high in the air away from Miyu's reach.

Miyu froze and stopped what she was doing for a second.

'EHHHH??!! Why???' Miyu was now physically jumping up and down to retrieve her phone but alas, MoMo was too tall for her.

'Because, you, need to talk to her,' said MoMo calmly despite the physical efforts she was making to get away from Miyu.

'But right now?! It's nearly 02:30!' Miyu's legs had never worked so hard before as she desperately tried to jump up and down trying to get hold of MoMo's arms, 'pleaaaaase don't do it.' Miyu felt like she was about to cry.

'Oops too late now, it's already dialling,' said MoMo now handing Miyu's phone back to her as if nothing had happened. Miyu retrieved her phone with both hands and looked at it as if it was a foreign object not knowing what to do with it.

Her phone was currently displaying 'call in progress' for Chigi-san.

'If you hang up now, it would appear as missed call on Chigi's phone. Either way Chigi would know you called,' said MoMo next to her while playing with her own phone again.

Miyu shot a deadly look towards MoMo but MoMo ignored it. Right now, Miyu could think of a million ways to kill MoMo.

Her thumb was over the 'End call' button but Miyu had to admit it, MoMo was right, either way Chigi-san would know that she had called.

Giving up, she pressed the phone next to her ears while her heart drummed rapidly in her chest.

Suddenly, the line became clear and Miyu felt her heart had jumped up to her throat. A person had picked up.

'Hello?... Who this is?’

The person speaking sounded sleepy and also slightly annoyed. But the only problem was, this wasn't Chigi-san's voice.

Confused, Miyu took her phone away from her ears and read the name of the person she was dialling.

Huh?

The name displayed was Chigi-san but the voice on the other end was not.

Because Miyu did not reply immediately, the person said 'hello' again.

Deciding it was probably best to say something, Miyu said cautiously, 'Um hello? I think I may have got the wrong number….'

There was a slight pause on the other end and Miyu thought maybe she should just hang up. She didn't want to disturb whoever this was from sleeping. Maybe there was something wrong with her phone.

Then as if a bucket of cold water had being poured on her, the person on the other end spoke.

'Miyu-chan?!'

Wait what?

How did she know Miyu's name?

Actually, this voice sounded familiar…

Miyu felt like knew her.

No, she definitely knew her… Wait. Hold on. Wasn't this… 'Seshiru-san?!'

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onceuponaloonatic · 3 years

Note

How does saya react to her sisters' mental health issues being the only triplet without that sort of problem?

tw: depression, anxiety

Ever since they were little, everyone could tell Sae had some issues with anxiety. Even as a child she would stress and stress about everything to the point she would almost drive herself crazy. And it only got worse as she got older. They had tried therapy with Sae when she was little, and she continued it throughout her teenage years. She was just an anxious child. Saya was used to Sae being like that. She had been that way since they were little.

But Saki was a bit of a surprise. Saki had always been more like her than Sae had. Saki would play roughly with her and tease her and do pranks with her. Saki could keep up with her and Sai’s playing, and she always seemed to be having fun with them. Even as they got older, she and Saki were close. Around the age of fifteen though, she noticed how Saki was changing. It started with Saki staying in her room more and more. During the school year it was fine, Saya barely even noticed it. They were both busy people, it was okay that Saki and her didn’t hang out as much as they did when they were little. But then summer came, and Saki holed herself up in her room. She stopped eating meals with their family, she started sleeping more, she distanced herself from their entire family. Anytime Saya invited her to hang out, Saki would give her a tired no. She always would tell Saya to leave her alone. And sometimes at night, Saya would find her sister staring at the tv at weird hours of the night, never paying much attention.

After a few weeks of Saki’s behavior, their parents had decided to address it with her. Saya wasn’t too involved at that time, but she noticed how her parents were spending more and more time with Saki. Sai, Sae, and her would do stuff together, but it always felt weird without Saki. Nico seemed to know what was going on, but she spent almost that entire summer at Haeun or Hina’s house. Saya hadn’t thought about it at the time, but she realized that was probably Nico’s excuse to not bother Saki. Nico had always been so afraid of being a burden to others or making them mad at her.

Near the end of the summer, her parents sat her, Sai, and Sae down. Saki had been coming out of her room more and more, but she had always seemed so apathetic. Saya couldn’t remember exactly when the behavior had started, but she hated it. She hadn’t really seen any genuine emotions from Saki in a while. She hated it so much. “You’ve probably noticed how Saki has been… Different lately.” Sana started the conversation. Saki was upstairs, asleep again. Saya didn’t have to look too hard to see how upset and concerned all three of her moms were. She knew this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. “And it’s not bad. Not at all. She’s just, Saki’s just…” Words seemed to fail their mother and Saya realized this was probably the first time she had ever seen her mom like this.

“Mom, does Saki have depression?” Sai was the one to speak up. They had all been thinking it. Their parents had been taking Saki to “doctor” appointments all summer, and her behavior was a dead give away. They had been beating around the bush for months, and Saya had wondered when they would have this painful conversation.

“Yes… Yes, she does. And we didn’t want to tell you guys without her permission.” Tzuyu stated. Saya could tell her mom was hurting. Not because she was disappointed or frustrated with Saki, but because their mom loved them all so much. She knew it was probably hurting her mom to see Saki in so much pain. “I mean… I think we all knew it.” Saya leaned back in her chair. “I know things have been different lately, but we just want you guys to treat Saki as you normally would. And if she ever seems to be struggling, maybe talk to her. Also, please be patient with her. She’s started getting better, slowly.” Mina explained. “School will start again soon, so we need you two to look out for her.” That was addressed towards Saya and Sae.

“We always do.” Saya blew her bangs out of her face. “Right Sae?” “Of course.” Sae nodded. “And… Let’s not tell Nico about this. Not yet. Saki specifically asked us not to talk to her about it.” Tzuyu commented. “Sure.” Sai nodded.

“Finally… This is none of your fault. It’s no one's fault.” Mina sighed. “Her therapist said we should just try and treat her like normal and to be patient with her.” “Alright, we can do that.” They all nodded. Their parents left afterward, and Sae followed, leaving Sai and Saya on that couch.

“Unnie?” Saya moved so she was lying upside down on the couch. “Hm?” Sai hummed.

“Why do you think I’m the only triplet that doesn’t have any mental health issues?” Saya asked, staring at the wall. “I don’t know.” Sai shrugged. “You got lucky.” “I guess…” Saya sighed. “I mean your right, but it’s just- the three of us have been together since before we were born, and I’ve always thought I knew how they felt because we were experiencing the same things at the same time. But now I feel like they are both struggling with something that I know nothing about. I’ve always been able to help them, but here I’m at a complete loss.” “I get it.” Sai nodded. “I’m serious Saya. I understand. I’m you guys’ older sister. And the fact both Saki and Sae are in uncharted territory for us is weird. But, I think that just means we need to help them. We are their sisters. Nico is too little for that kind of thing, but us… We are old enough to know how we can help them.” “Your right... “ Saya trailed off.

“We should just do what ka-san said. Treating them as normal is probably the best thing we can do.” Sai mentioned.

“You're probably right…”

#twice #misatzu #minatozaki sana #myoui mina #chou tzuyu #sai #saya #sae #nico

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sobdasha · 5 years

Text

i can’t believe i actually did a seasonally-appropriate thing on time

Machi is reading before class starts when Momiji leans over her desk and says, "You like Momiji, right?"

The book comes up over her face as she slides down in her chair, with a noncommittal sort of noise that's meant to express I am invisible please don't ask loaded questions especially about my likes or dislikes also I'm busy being a robot.

Momiji laughs, long and bright and giggling, and admits, "Okay, that was mean, I know. But you do, right?" he adds, reaching for her book, but only just to point at the bookmark in it. "Like autumn leaves?" This time using the pronunciation that's not a pun on his name.

Machi stares at the bookmark tucked between the pages of Summer-Colored Sigh,

(originally it was going to be the Mogeta manga but you know what, I like this joke, everyone has read Summer-Colored Sigh, remember Hatori "This book is disgusting. … Why are you holding your hand out like that, I'm not going to actually stop, I want to see how absolutely disgusting it is" Souma. Even Tohru has read it you know she did, she has to respect Shigure's author talent. If it's really that dirty then Saki book-clubbed with her and Arisa afterwards just to make sure Tohru didn't get any truly weird ideas from it. They'd offer to do the same for Kyou but Kazuma has also read this book and Saki trusts him to give his boy informative talks. Anyway Machi discovered it in her bag the other day and she assumed Yuki put it there because that seems like the kind of shit Yuki would pull these days, or maybe it's some kind of weird boyfriend hint?? But Yuki would never do that because that would involve admitting he has read the book, which he absolutely has; actually Ayame recommended it to Kakeru and Kakeru was the one who snuck it into Machi's bag, ANYWAY)

the one she made with the red maple leaf, and she scowls with her lips pressed thin in her too-warm face while she considers it, because she doesn't want to admit that the thing she likes about it is Yuki.

"Okay well the reason I'm asking," Momiji continues on, sprinting right over her obstinacy, "is because the autumn foliage at our house is getting ready to peak this week I think and you should come over on our day off to see it! We're really rich, so it's very gorgeous, we've got a lot of old-fashioned houses and traditional gardens, and I'm going to have a picnic with lots of snacks…" He ticks off on his fingers, trailing off, and then flashes her a grin. "So you'll definitely come, won't you?"

"Nnn," says Machi. She tries to slide a little further down in her desk, but it's very difficult with Momiji standing right there and making her have to scrunch up her legs.

Momiji has had a growth spurt, and he is now very tall, and still very German, and perfectly loud. In addition, he has no one to impress here with his new maturity, Tohru being not in their class, and so he crumples his face up in earnest disappointment, and dials the manipulation up to eleven, and pleads like a child half his age: you have to come, you have to, it will be so much fun, please say you'll come, you will come won't you.

And then the next thing you know it's aw, you can't say no to that, Kuragi and why don't you go, Kuragi, and Machi is caving to the peer pressure. Maybe it does sound fun, going out and doing things. Or maybe the point is to go to see if it is fun. Maybe she'll take a ginko leaf back with her so she can throw it in her stupid boyfriend's face.

Yes.

So Sunday finds Machi at the Souma estate, which is indeed as pretentious and historical as Momiji described. It makes her feel a bit like a child again, in an unpleasantly squirmy way.

(There are momiji, red maples, at the gate, tucked among tall pines. Also at the gate is Momiji, looking very aggrieved while some person--arms crossed over their bundled-up layers--lectures him about I opened the gate, it's open, you can bring your friends in through here, stop dragging them through that hole in the wall it's a liability if we get sued that's coming out of your trust fund.)

Hatsuharu is there too, and he gives her a wave when he sees her. There's a whole cluster of people--Hatsuharu introduces a girl named Rin, who gives her her condolences ("So I hear you're dating Yuki"), and a younger girl bites her lip and bounces on the balls of her feet before she bursts out that she's Kisa and this is Hiro. And Kagura is pleased to meet her, as well.

Maybe Momiji and Haru also invited some other friends from their class, taking advantage of the fact that this is a thing Souma can do now? Would having more school people over balance out the former-Zodiac clique-y-ness, or would that just make Machi even more isolated and pushed to the sidelines if she's not the sole focus of Souma attention? Either way idk about any of those kids so you can just imagine them in here if you like. Me, I'm trash for Souma shenanigans.

"Aww, I'm sorry," Momiji tells Machi as they stroll along down the road in a straggling group. "It's so much more fun to sneak in, because then it feels like you're getting away with something! But the family head caught me."

Machi doesn't know how to answer this. Machi doesn't know why this entire family is apparently like this. Machi is unaware that some time from now, when Yuki starts bringing her around to visit officially, he will insist every time on using the hole in the wall just because he can, and she'll know exactly what he means as he takes her hand and tugs her to scramble through and they both emerge with clothes a little rumpled and leaves in their branch-snarled hair.

But for now, Machi tucks her hands in her coat pockets and looks around as they meander to the picnic spot, taking in the riot of green and gold and red and brown, all cluttered and contrasting like clouds of brightly-saturated fog. Dried-up leaves crunch under their shoes, and the disorder makes Machi remember about a book that Yuki shared with her that Honda found for him in the library, all about cottage gardens. His vegetable plot is nice orderly rows, but Honda said this looked more like him, all a jumble of vegetables and flowers and herbs together, growing up even on the roofs of the houses. Machi thought she could love a house like that.

She knows that the Souma gardens aren't really very similar--that they'll be traditional Japanese gardens, a very rigid attempt to recreate the spontaneity of nature, a very controlled effort to emulate chaos, that every unexpected surprise and asymmetrical detail is purposefully planned. That it's perfect.

But it's pretty anyway, the branches of the trees trespassing over the walls that hem everything in, and with everyone chattering around her to fill in the silence it doesn't make her chest feel as tight as she thought. Machi breathes in the crisp, cool late-November air and thinks she's glad to be here.

The group ends up near a pond, probably, because the dark water and the reflections of the leaves on the water and the bright leaves floating on the surface would be really pretty. Maybe there are expensive fish. They'll set up their picnic blanket under some brilliantly red maples. They'll have tea, they'll eat sweets--I tried googling what to eat for autumn leaves viewing but the internet was not particularly helpful, all I really learned is that once again all the amazing KitKat flavors are exclusive to Japan which is Unfair and also that people tempura maple leaves which sounds...not great but maybe I'm wrong.

Also Rin and Machi failed the Bedschel test earlier so now I'm trying to think of interests they all share outside of Yuki and because I am uncreative my answer to this is Mogeta.

Also I'm starting to regret not having Tohru in here. This started with just "Momiji and Machi and excluding Yuki" and then I added the others in because it made logical sense and I thought it would be cute to have Machi bond with the other Souma. And it's most cute of all to have Machi and Tohru bond, as Tumblr fandom keeps reminding me, but unfortunately that is just Too Pure for me to do proper justice and I need to waste my talents on shit like this instead. But it seems really weird for Momiji not to have invited Tohru.

Okay maybe Momiji did invite Tohru, this is a little flimsy because momijigari is a decent window of time unlike, say, cherry blossom viewing, Momiji would have plenty of chances, but let's say he picked this particular weekend and he invited Tohru to quality-time admire some autumn foliage with him (koyo is the same way you write Momiji's name, but pronounced differently, so Momiji purposefully makes this offer around Kyou and makes suggestive faces at Kyou while Tohru isn't looking, while Kyou is like whyyyyy must you pick on me like this). But Tohru was like "Ohh that's really sweet but I'm so sorry, Momiji, Shishou already invited us to the dojo to see the leaves there. But I really really want to see the leaves with you too, so let's make a plan for another day, okay?"

Alright, Kyou, Momiji sees what you did there. Fine then. Fine. You win this round. He'll go autumn leaf hunting with Yuki's girlfriend instead.

This is also better for Yuki not getting an invite, because it wouldn't go well asking Tohru to keep it secret from Yuki.

Anyway I'm sorry Tohru can't bond with them about Mogeta, but we know that Machi and Kagura and Kisa and Hiro (who won't admit it in exactly those terms) are avid Mogeta fans. I expect Momiji likes it too, and that Haru--if he's not watching it on his own--has watched because Kisa is interested in it. I feel like Rin is like Hiro and is like "screw this dumb show" but then binges it lol.

So they chat about Mogeta, and how much they love it, and the weird crap it does, and if the storytelling will turn out to be actually secretly brilliant, and the manga versus the anime, and which opening is best, and Rin's secret Mogeta fanart, fuck you Haru that's not a thing, and after a while they all migrate indoors because trying to all huddle over Momiji's phone to stream episodes together is a huge pain.

There should be a brilliant segue here to lead us into the next section, but I don't have it, so apparently the other thing I decided they should have in common for bonding is video games. They went to Haru's house to watch Mogeta because it was closest or whatever, and he's got game systems scattered around, and in between Mogeta episodes Machi stares at them.

She's vaguely intrigued by the idea of video games, because Kakeru is pretty into them, but she is also definitely distrustful of the idea of video games, because they are Kakeru's thing. But she's curious.

So of course Haru and Rin, who name their children after…Kingdom Hearts characters right???, they are extremely invested in enabling Machi on video games. Shit now all I can think of is my coworker from Bulgaria whose favorite phrase when learning a new skill is "Now I'm not a virgin at this anymore."

A classic game like Tetris does not go over well. The pressure of Tetris fills Machi with screaming, heart-pounding, controller-throwing rage. Possibly Haru and Momiji already guessed this from classroom-trashing rumors and they did not try Tetris.

Man this is when I wish I knew more about video games so I'd know what is more Machi's speed. What is full of wanton destruction?

...I have never played Grand Theft Auto myself but I feel like that is probably. It.

This relates to a prompt that Katia gave me, for Hiro and Kisa and "Teach me how to play?", which I haven't written up yet but which I did plan at least "Haru is playing violent video games and Kisa, who bites people, is like 'Teach me how to play I need to channel my oncoming teen angst and destress' while Hiro's horrified like 'noooooo I know you are a year older than me and all but you're precious and pure and why are you corrupting her, Haru-nii????'"

Consider this that prompt, maybe.

Also this makes me nostalgic for Need For Speed, a game I was never good at and which was a source of endless frustration. But what if they played it to be bad at it? All taking turns and cheering each other on, competing to see who can make the best fiery crash, who can get the most cops following them without getting caught, if you go fast enough can you crash through that fence?? Machi going from deadpan to rage faster than the cars, everyone laughing until they're crying while offering incoherent advice to each other because they can't breathe.

It's very wholesome wanton destruction, and Machi has a lot of fun. Is this what it's like to be Yuki, hanging out with Kakeru, growing as a person???

(Yes, this is exactly what it's like. Good for you, Machi.)

I think the moral of this self-indulgence is that much later, when Yuki actually brings Machi around to introduce his girlfriend officially, everyone at the Main House is like "Uh yeah we've already met her? She's Momiji and Haru's friend and she's cool?? It's weird that you wanted to keep a secret girlfriend from us you creep???" and Yuki's like "fuck you Momiji why are you always like this."

Also I'm thinking now about Yuki having a ginko leaf bookmark because ~he likes yellow~ and like would he make it himself, because handmade and taking care of it and cute? Or would he realize that unlike Machi, who does have fine motor skills but has just stopped caring about effort because trauma, he is not capable of doing something like that neatly just because he concentrated and took his time and maybe if he wants a legit usable bookmark that looks nice and preserves his souvenir he should ask Tohru to make it for him.

#sobdasha fic adjacent #sobdasha fic #fruits basket #pure self indulgence #there isn't a single aspect of this that isn't self indulgence lol #from writing choices to content

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writingpaperghost · 3 years

Text

There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7: The Reason for Some Lies!

Just who is the black Para-DX? Kiriya makes a claim to their identity... but that doesn't seem to be true. Meanwhile, Kiriya retrieves the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat.

AO3:https://archiveofourown.org/works/32857183/chapters/82521562

Right now, Emu has a choice to make, just like every day. He can stay and eat lunch with several other people, or he can retreat to the CR to play games or talk for the rest of his lunch break. Like nearly every day since joining the CR, he chooses to just go there. It is the easiest and best option, especially since he really didn’t want to interact with too many people. There’s a lot on his mind and he’s hoping a level of Giri Giri Chambara might help him feel at least a little better.

Or if nothing else, maybe he’d find something to talk with Poppy about. It’s not like he has a hard time, usually she’s interested in hearing about whatever game he’s playing. But he just… has a lot on his mind. Kiriya’s injuries from the black Para-DX, two days before, Saki’s… everything yesterday. Graphite, the Bugsters. The fact that Graphite is so much stronger than them even now, or how they don’t know what his motivations really are. There’s just too much to be thinking about, which is why he’d like to play something that would distract him and maybe let him get out some frustration.

As he arrives in the CR, Poppy wastes no time in shooting him a worried look, “Emu, have you really already eaten lunch?”

He smiles and nods, “Of course,” No one said that he had to speak exclusively the truth. Even he had secrets to keep. “It’s quieter down here, though. So I’d thought I’d play a bit. Unless there’s something you want to talk about?”

“No, no,” She shakes her head, “You’re just always down here around the same time. And it’s usually the beginning of when you should be having lunch. We wouldn’t want you not eating.”

“I’m fine, really,” He assured, “I’m not going to collapse or anything because I haven’t been eating.”

He pulls out his Gemnboy and begins to play a bit of Giri Giri Chambara. He’s found that it’s usually a pretty good game to play when he’s stressed or worked up about things and just needs to get some frustration out. You get to beat things up, after all, and for Emu, at least, that’s pretty good stress relief. Although really, playing games in general tend to do that.

After a while, he’s forced to pause the game because someone’s loudly knocking on the door to the CR. Poppy switches to Asuna and the two get up to investigate. They’re greeted with Kiriya – who should not be out of bed – and then another patient.

“Ace, Asuna,” Kiriya greets, “Found you a patient.”

Grabbing the Gamer Scope, Emu frowns when it results bring up two strains again. They’re different ones, Giri Giri Chambara and Jet Combat. Hopefully they’d be able to deal with them.

“We’ll take it from here,” Asuna says, helping Emu move the patient.

Emu calls back to Kiriya, “You should still be resting.”

---

Mu had just finished a bit of a boring round of Gekitotsu Robots when he finally remembers something he wants to talk to Kuroto about. “Hey, Kuroto?” He calls, “I think that Lazer knows about you being Gemn.”

Kuroto looks up and frowns, “What makes you say that?”

“Two days ago, when I fought him,” Mu began to explain, “He said something about knowing who Gemn was. Obviously, he couldn’t have known it was me because he doesn’t even know who I am and that was the first day I’d been Gemn. So that means he probably thinks that I was you.”

After taking a moment to rub his forehead, Kuroto finally says, “It doesn’t matter much. He can’t prove it, anyway,” He tries to give Mu a reassuring smile, of sorts, “Don’t worry about it. I doubt he’ll prove to be much trouble.”

“Okay,” Mu blinks, “If you say so.” Then he returns to playing some more Gekitotsu Robots.

---

“Saki,” Haima says, catching her attention as they walk into the CR, “I’d like you to focus on our new patient.”

She looked over up at him, “Mr. Okada?” She frowns a little, “Why me?”

“Well, I think you’ll be better suited than Hojo. No offense to him but…” The director makes a face, “I don’t think this is really something he’ll be very good at.”

Hesitantly, Saki nods, “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course, that’s a part of my job-“ At that moment, Haima trips. It’s not clear on what, but Saki manages to catch him, though he drops his binder in the doorway.

“Careful, Haima,” She warns, “We don’t want you getting hurt because you pulled an Emu and tripped on your own feet.”

Trying to straighten his shirt, Haima nods, “Of course, thank you Saki.”

From around the corner, unseen to the pair, Kiriya peeks in, seeing how the binder stopped the door from closing. He strolls right on in.

In the patient room, Saki frowns, her Gamer Scope confirming what Emu had told her. Two infections in Mr. Okada, Giri Giri Chambara and Jet Combat. Now that she’d confirmed it, she thought about how to go about removing the Bugster. She wasn’t a big fan of purposely stressing a patient just to get the Bugster to appear. So they’d just have to wait.

Not that they had to wait long. The Bugster soon appeared, taking the form of a double headed serpent. Saki takes out her Driver, but quickly realizes that the patient room isn’t exactly the best place to be having a fight, let alone against a Bugster. Using the Stage Select, she moves them to a different area, more suitable to fighting Bugsters. Now on a rocky sort of beach, she was ready to transform and fight the Bugster.

“Keep back, Emu,” She calls, clicking her Gashat.

Taddle Quest!

Let’s game! Metcha game! Mucha game! What’s your name? I’m a Kamen Rider!

Now transformed and in Level 1, Saki was ready to fight the Bugster. Sword in hand, she’s quickly able to dispatch the Bugster. Then, it split into two of the Bugsters like before, each with a Gashat in its forehead. One had the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat while the other had the Jet Combat Gashat. Those were the last two Gashats they needed to get from the Bugsters.

Unfortunately, with the appearance of the two Bugsters, also came the black Para-DX, in Level 3. Emu pulls out both the Mighty Action X and Gekitotsu Robots Gashat, while near where the Bugsters are, turning around to look at the black Para-DX, DoReMiFa Beat Gashat in hand.

Mighty Action X!

Gekitotsu Robots!

DoReMiFa Beat!

Do-Do-DoReMiFa-So-La-Ti-Do! Ok! DoReMiFa Beat!

Buttobase! Totsugeki! Gekitotsu punch! Gekitotsu Robots!

“You take the Bugster,” Saki calls, aiming her sword in the black Rider’s direction, “I’ll deal with the black Para-DX.”

Emu hesitates for a moment, before nodding, deciding that Gekitotsu Robots’ raw strength would probably be better against the Bugster, rather than the Rider. He nods and turns his attention to the Bugster with the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat in its head, the other being mysteriously no longer present. They’d have to worry about that later.

While Gekitotsu Robots made Emu stronger, it didn’t exactly make him fast. As it turns out, this Giri Giri Chambara Bugster was pretty fast. It wasn’t surprising, given the nature of the game, but it made fighting a little harder. Hard to land hits and even harder to dodge them. This wasn’t going well.

With Saki, she wasn’t fairing much better. She had the power of gimmicky attack on her side, but as it turned out, so did the black Para-DX. He yeets the wheels of Shakariki Sports’ bicycle at Saki. It flies past, distracting Saki and forcing Emu to turn his attention to trying to dodge the wheels.

The black Para-DX grabs the Giri Giri Chambara Bugster, and the two retreat.

---

Taiga pushes himself away from his desk, the wheels of his chair rolling. He’d been monitoring something on his computer screen, but whatever it was had disappeared. “Brat!” He called, “Time for the plan!”

Nico walks into the room, hefting her backpack onto her shoulder, “Okay, then,” She groans, “I need to find a better way to carry this stuff.”

“Just go,”

“I’m going!”

---

“I… don’t think Gekitotsu’s brute force is going to work well against the Giri Giri Chambara,” Emu sighs, “Not that I’m sure that DoReMiFa Beat will work well either. It’s just so fast.”

Saki sighs, rubbing her temple slightly, “And that black Para-DX manage to so easily distract us with the bicycle wheels.”

“And I thought it was weird when Kiriya used wheels as a weapon…”

“Did someone say my name?” Somehow, Kiriya casually strolled in, once again seeming as though he perfectly belonged. Somewhere in his head, Emu felt just the slight bit envious that Kiriya could so easily walk in somewhere where he didn’t belong, and act as though he didbelong. That was a skill that Emu would not claim to have.

Rolling her eyes slightly, Saki says, “How did you get in here?”

“Through the front door,” Kiriya shoves his hands in his pocket, “Anyway, figured you could use my help.”

“Why should we trust you?” Saki asks, “You lied about Graphite being the black Para-DX.”

Looking at the two of them with a serious expression Emu thought looked a little odd on a carefree person like Kiriya, Kiriya answers, “I had a friend die on Zero Day.”

Though Emu hated to be the one to point it out, Kiriya’s argument wasn’t exactly sound, “You said yourself that that too was a lie.”

Saki stands from the table, “I don’t think we can trust you,” She turns and leaves.

Emu doesn’t want to make a judgement quite like that so quickly, but he will admit that Saki has something of a point. Kiriya had lied to them at least twice but… All things considered, Emu wasn’t convinced that was enough to say he was entirely untrustworthy. Something told him that there was more to Kiriya Kujo than what he was letting on. Not that Emu really wanted to look much into it, but they had more important things to worry about.

He wanted to go talk with the patient, who, by looking through the window, he could see was being visited by whom he was pretty sure was his daughter. He makes his way downstairs and enters the room.

“Shiori,” Their patient, Mr. Okada, says to the woman who Emu is pretty sure is his daughter, “Don’t worry about the factory-“

“I want to make sure everything is okay while you’re here,” Shiori responds, “Make sure that everything’s in order.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Mr. Okada insists, “Now stop fussing.”

Emu frowned slightly, before returning to his normal expression, walking over to Mr. Okada and reminding him, “Be careful not to stress yourself too much,” He uses a gentle tone, like what he uses with nervous children. It’s more habit at this point than anything, “Game Disease can potentially be fatal…”Shiori uses this as more reason to insist on helping, not that Emu thought that it was a bad thing, although she might have chose a better way to say it, “See? Don’t worry about anything. I’ll make sure everything’s fine while you’re away, so you can focus on recovering.”

Mr. Okada huffs, “No, you will not,” Then, looking Shoiri straight in the eye adds, “Because I’m firing you from the factory.”

In a huff, Shiori stands up and turns heel, rushing out of the patient room. Emu turns to follow, making it out of the door of the patient room before he’s stopped. By Kiriya. What was he still doing here?

“Ace,” Kiriya starts and there’s something in his tone that Emu isn’t terribly fond of, “Sometimes, telling your patient’s the truth is the wrong thing.” A piece of attempted advice that was rich coming from the man who already had a history of lying, and Emu had known him less than a week. Besides, what would Kiriya know about having patients? He was a medical examiner, and this was not up his alley at all. At least, it shouldn’t be.

He wasn’t going to let Kiriya just tell him something like that. He may not be the most honest at times, but when it came to his patients, Emu believed he should be honest with them. “Well I can’t just lie to them.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to tell them the truth,” Kiriya responds, like Emu doesn’t know a thing or two about not lying but not telling the truth either. “He’s trying to distance himself from her. For her own good, not his.”

“How can you say that-“

It was about then, that Asuna comes bounding down the stairs. She pauses her hurry for a moment to look at the two of them, before saying, “You two, there’s a Bugster.”

The two rush out, able to find the Giri Giri Chambara Bugster that was attempting to attack Shiori. Before either of the two can transform, Saki appears, quickly transforming into her Level 2 with Taddle Quest and slashing at the Bugster. Given the type of game that Giri Giri Chambara is, Emu thinks that she might be a bit better suited. At least she had a sword.

Saki doesn’t get far before the black Ex-Aid appears again, immediately attacking Saki, giving the Bugster an opportunity to escape. Now, the black Rider is making sure Saki is distracted, unable to chase after the Bugster. It’s some stroke of luck that he’s only at Level 2 and not Level 3, otherwise Saki would have a lot harder time fighting him.

“Here’s an idea, Ace,” Kiriya says, pulling out his Gashat and Gamer Driver, “We work together to beat that Bugster. No lies or anything.”

A sane person might question whether to trust someone like Kiriya, who was not terribly honest about things. But Emu is not exactly what one might call a sane person. So thus, he decided, that given the situation and Lazer’s already higher speed than either he or Saki, that risking the possible negative results from such a team up would be worth it to beat the Bugster.

Pulling out his own Gashat, he answers, “Okay, let’s go,”

Mighty Action X!

Bakusou Bikes!

Level up! Mighty jump! Mighty kick! Mighty-Mighty Action X!

Level Up! Bakusou dokusou gekisou bousou! Bakusou Bike!

Kiriya takes his Level 2 form, still annoyingly a motorcycle, and Emu get’s on, the two wasting no more time in chasing the Bugster. Using his weapon’s gun form, Emu attempts to shoot at the Bugster, but finds that it’s still just a bit too hard to aim while on something moving in the unpredictable way that Kiriya did. Finally, though, they get close enough that Emu switches his weapon to axe form. He manages to cut off some of the Bugster’s blades, then they stop moving.

Emu hops off and borrows the Bakusou Bikes Gashat from Kiriya, putting it in his axe.

Bakusou Critical Finish!

Moments later, after slashing at the Bugster, it’s destroyed, the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat falling to the ground.

Game Clear!

“Hey, Ace,” Kiriya calls, his front moving a bit in Emu’s direction. “Mind letting me use that Gashat?”

The speed of Bakusou Bikes and Giri Giri Chambara would mix well, logically. Emu can see the strategy in it, and knowing what the last Gashat is, he’d think it would be better suited to Snipe. He’s also a bit curious what will happen, so he shrugs and activates the Gashat.

Giri Giri Chambara!

Then places it in Lazer’s Gamer Driver, flipping the lever.

Giri-Giri-Giri-Giri Chambara!

In an awkward sequence of events, Kiriya finally makes it from a motorcycle to something that’s at least bipedal. To be fair, he looks much like a normal person, though his armor bright yellow like his Level 2, resembles that of a samurai’s.

“Oh,” Kiriya says, stretching slightly, “That reminds me,” They begin to make there way to where Saki and black Para-DX is.

“What does? And of what?”

“I know who Gemn is,”

“Gemn?” Emu’s not really sure why they were apparently now talking about a gaming company.

“You know, the black Para-DX?” Before now, Emu did not know. Now he did. Which is odd but okay.

“You said you knew who he was before,” Emu reminds him as they finally arrive. He’s about to say something to Saki, who definitely seems worn out but…

“Gemn, that black Para-DX there, is Kuroto Dan.” Which is not the most outlandish statement Kiriya had made. Kuroto Dan was a wanted criminal and had a connection to Game Disease.

Gemn’s response to this statement was, firstly, a movement that might have conveyed shock. Then, he pulls out the Shakariki Sports Gashat, transforming to Level 3. Kiriya grabs his weapon, which appeared to be a pair of sickles, each as bright of yellow and pink as Lazer himself.

Much like when Emu fought Gemn with Gekitotsu Robots, Kiriya seemed to be fairing well against Gemn. Though Gemn attempts to block his attacks with his hammer, Kiriya’s too fast and is quickly landing hits. Then, he combines his sickles, turning them into a bow. He places the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat into it.

Giri Giri Critical Finish!

The attack lands, Gemn not being able to do much to block it. Yet when the smoke clears, the one standing there isn’t Kuroto Dan. No, the man there is a little too short and too brightly colored. He wore a bright pink hoodie, one that Emu thinks is Mighty themed, with long orange sleeves underneath. His hood’s pulled up, aiding the hair over one of his eyes in obscuring his face. The striking part is the eye they can see, slightly. It almost seems as though it glows. He holds the Gamer Driver and Gashats.

With what might have been a smile, though it certainly lookednervous, the man says, “Sorry Lazer, you’re princess is in another castle.”

The man turns around, clearly about to leave and in a hurry. Though his foot catches on something, perhaps a crack in the concrete and he stumbles a bit. He quickly recovers and sprints off, leaving behind a trio of confused Riders.

“That,” Saki begins, sounding certainly annoyed, “Was not Kuroto Dan.” Emu can’t help but silently agree.

“Maybe he was mistaken?” Emu offers weakly, with little effort. No one was a good enough liar to get themselves out of this one. And as much as Emu thought Kiriya was a good enough person… There was just too much to take into account.

“No, I don’t think he was,” She says, “Clearly, he can’t be trusted. That’s twice now that he’s lied about that Rider’s identity. And that friend of his? He died alright, but not from Game Disease. All he wanted from this was the Gashat.” She turns and leaves, leaving Emu and Kiriya standing there.

Finally speaking the words that have been bugging him for so long, Emu asks, “Kiriya, just what type of person are you?” He watches Kiriya closely, though there’s no reaction to be seen, “You lie about Gemn’s identity and about your friend. But why? What do you gain?”

Kiriya laughs, “She’s right, you know. I only wanted the Gashat,” He turns to walk away, “You shouldn’t be so trusting, Ace. I know I, for one, can’t be trusted.”

Emu takes a step forward, wondering if he should try to follow or stop Kiriya. Instead, he says, “I don’t believe that. There’s more going on,” Then, as Kiriya looked back at him, said in a way that wasn’t quite Emu, “I like a good puzzle.”

---

Nico had managed to track down that other Bugster, the Jet Combat one, thanks to Taiga. She had to admit, he could be pretty helpful. Mostly, she just needed the Gashat, though she was pretty sure getting rid of the Bugster first would be the best way of doing that.

Unfortunately, the Bugster got away before she could defeat it or get the Gashat from it. So she’d have to try again and hope for the best. Ugh, this was such a pain to get one game cartridge.

---

When Mu arrives to where he stays with Kuroto and Graphite, the first thing he says to Kuroto is, “I don’t think Brave and Para-DX trust Lazer very much anymore.”

Kuroto looks up from his computer, “Why’s that?” He actually seemed rather curious.

“Well, Lazer claimed that Gemn was you – how he knew that’s what the Rider is called is beyond me – but when he managed to knock me out of the suit – don’t worry, I’m fine, really – it was, well, me.” Mu gestures to himself, moving towards the couch and pulling his hood down. He pulls some hair clips out of his pocket and begins to clip his bangs out of his face, “So they think he’s lied again.”

Looking thoughtful, Kuroto comments, “That could be helpful,”

Graphite groans, “When are we getting on with the plan?” He huffs, looking between Mu and his nest, “Because I’m getting impatient.”

“Snipe needs to get Jet Combat,” Kuroto responds, “Then you can have your turn.”

“And you’ll obviously do great, Graphite,” Mu adds, not noticing the way that Graphite’s gaze flickered between him and the nest. Otherwise, he’d be a little wary of getting pulled in there. He’s managed to avoid it for a while, but one of these days, his luck would run out.

“You should sleep,” Graphite immediately says.

Kuroto nods, “He’s right, you know.”

Though Mu shakes his head, “No,” He says, “Not happening.”

#kamen rider exaid #kamen rider #kamen rider ex aid #my writing #there is a me who can become strong

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