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caramel1mochi · 8 months

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ぐちゃ ! (Splat!) [Yoru x F! Reader] [4]

Heya everyone!

Just a quick note; if you spot a random 'You' halfway through a sentence, it's supposed to be 'Yoru' but it keeps getting autocorrected and it doesn't stop NO MATTER WHAT SETTINGS I CHANGE.

Anyway, that's it, have a good one!

❤ฺ·。

Yoru x F! Reader

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 4.5 / Part 5 / Part 6

Genre: Fluff, a tiny amount of angst. Very tiny. Trust me.

Synopsis: Hapless doesn't even begin to describe you. With your life flipped upside down within the span of a day; you're left to rely on your best friend Tala to help you pick up the pieces and build the new one forced upon you. And this 'luck' seems to have caught the attention of one of her friends.

。+❤ฺ·。❤ฺ·。+❤ฺ· +❤·。❤ฺ·。+❤ฺ·

At first, you thought Neon was being dramatic when she talked about how the contingency of you having your own room was a terrible one. You had to have your own private space after all, right? You were a bloody adult.

Unfortunately, having your own space also meant that you were free to cuss and rant in Tagalog all you wanted while throwing your belongings around in a skewed sense of ‘organising’, or whatever ran through your mind at the time.

And that’s exactly what you’ve been doing since you escaped Omen’s sight.

Who the hell did Yoru think he was? That’s the question that you kept asking yourself, furiously grabbing your blanket and airing it. You knew his type. The ones who think they’re entitled just because they helped you a few times? And even then, you didn’t ask for his help! He offered it! So why was he getting on his high horse?

Gah, it was all just so moronic, you thought as you set the blanket down and folded it to properly fit the small bed.

You didn’t notice that, over the course of the past few minutes; your voice increased in volume and so did the loud thuds as you threw your items around. Which is the reason why two knocks on the door interrupted your incessant fury.

With a barely audible screech, the metal door slid open to reveal, thankfully, a familiar face.

“Oh, hey Neon.”

“Hoy, what’s going on here?”

You sighed and walked off to your vanity desk, organising the magazines you tossed.

“You heard that, huh?”

Neon laughed, already stepping in and running her fingers through the painting you had hung up. Delicately, so as to not ruin it, though. You were already pissed enough and god knows that she could tell.

“You don’t know how thick the walls are here, huh, Y/N–” she shook her head, “sorry, A/N.”

Just as you met her gaze with a smile, you were quickly pulled into a hug. So quick, the tufts of your hair barely even had time to settle as she tightly wrapped her arms around you.

“By the way, welcome to the team! I’m so happy you’re finally with us!”

“I’ve been here for a week, dummy.”

Despite your sarcastic remark, you felt all of your anger melt away in an instant, promptly hugging her back.

God, she was just the cutest.

“I just thought I’d give you the welcoming nobody else was going to!”

Nobody else, huh? That phrasing reminded you of a certain someone. Neon quickly pulled away. And immediately, just looking at her incredibly amicable round eyes stomped out any lingering hint of wrath you felt. And you couldn’t help but grin at this sight.

“Neon, seriously, what’s going on? Did everyone leave and you just have nobody to talk to?”

“Well, yeah, but since we have free time, we get to do something!”

…

Wait, she wasn’t joking?

“They’re actually gone?”

“Technically, they’re in a meeting right now. We’re just not a part of it.”

Your eyes widened in surprise. How come there wasn’t even an announcement? At least some chatter from the others as they made their way there? Is that why it was quiet enough for Omen to have heard you and Yoru arguing?

“There’s a meeting right now?”

“If you don’t know about it, then it means that you’re not gonna be in whatever they’re doing. Wanna go see?”

Before you could even open your mouth to answer, you were already pulled to the empty hallways and forced to march down with her, her grip on your left wrist as hard as it always is. But this time, after all the training and the way Harbour would slap your back as a way to express his joy, safe to say that you were definitely used to it.

On another note, your shoulder blade definitely had a crack in it somewhere.

“Wait, wait, where are we going?”

“To check out the meeting room! I don’t think you’ve ever been there, yet!”

With how silent the hallways were, you could hear your very steps echoing. And it made sense after what she told you.

However, this silence would allow you to listen in on a very distant yet muffled voice in just a few seconds. And with how harsh the tone was, its recognisable pitch, you could tell it was Viper before you could even make out one word.

The closer you got to the meeting room, the more audible her voice was. And just like that, you both found yourselves moving towards a wide open door, the only source of light coming from the centre of the table, projecting something to them as Viper explained whatever.

Both of you took a peek inside to see what the fuss was about. But it was hard for you to get a look at the model of the building they were examining, seemingly surrounded by a body of water. Not when everyone sat in a circle around said table. You began glancing at many agents you both recognised and didn't recognise.

There was Phoenix, Jett, Gekko, Skye, and…

Yoru.

“Ugh.”

“What?”

You cleared your throat, forcing a smile, but not without questioning how Viper tolerated such a man’s presence, not when he sat like he owned the place. Slouched on the chair, arms crossed, completely uninterested.

“I mean– is it, uh, is it usually this dark?”

“Not really. Whenever it’s dark like this, it means something serious is going on. Me and Sage actually made a little rhyme for it whenever we’d see Viper or Brim mess around with the light switch!”

As she went on her little tangent, your eyes bore into the back of Yoru’s head with unrelenting anger. God, he just looked so punchable.

“It goes like this; if there’s light, then the workload’s light! If it’s dark, then you better get ready for some dark stuff! It’s not creative, but we were making up songs while we were surrounded by a bunch of rocks and had to wait for a rescue.”

Only after you observed the way his hair moved upwards did you realise that Harbour sat amongst them. Uh oh. He was in on this mission, too? That means you won’t be able to talk about this bomb thing you discovered until he gets back, right?

“A/N?”

“Yeah– I was, uh, I was just listening to what Viper was saying. Freaky stuff.”

“I know! I wouldn’t want to be Yoru right now, but he says he’s used to scouring things near the deep ocean.”

You scoffed.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever he says. So, what’re we doing until they’re back?”

You met her gaze. And of course, she beamed with a smile, her brown eyes glimmering under the harsh lights above you.

“So, A/N, since we both have free time and money, you wanna go do what I’m thinking we should do?”

…

“Uh, I don’t think I should be wasting–”

“Hoy, don’t be such a wuss! We’ll finally get to buy you that makeup you always wanted!”

Though you perked up at this, it quickly died down once you had another reason not to do this.

“No way, what if we–”

“We have time, money, freedom, and no rent to pay. You’re out of excuses and coming with me.”

Before you could retort, she grabbed your wrist and pulled you down the hallway once more. And, of course, with her contagious joy, you couldn’t help but also share her excitement for this trip.

It’s been a while since you had the freedom to dress the way you wanted. Wait, scratch that, you never really had said freedom unless you slept over at Neon’s house as a teen... Huh, maybe she was right. With how everyone else around here dresses, what’s the harm if you decided to wear fishnet stockings, right?

❤ฺ·。

Most of the agents left the meeting room excited, chatting with each other about the plans they'd set and what they're going to do. Mostly, however, about the unique location of the base. Even Harbour was excited, even though he had every right to be since it was in the middle of the ocean.

However, surprisingly enough, Phoenix wasn't one of them, following Yoru with an incredibly sour expression. Unable to read the room, he didn't realise the Japanese wanted to be left alone.

"Nah man, there's no way Viper took me out of the mission so quickly! I got cheated!"

"Phoenix. It's a base surrounded by water."

"And?"

"And the section we need to get into is submerged in water."

"So what?! Fire can still be useful!"

Yoru stared at him with a blank expression, before walking away. And Phoenix immediately followed. As per usual, with a preposterous counter-argument ready. If he could, Phoenix would burn an injured person if it meant he’d somehow be able to heal them.

"Wait wait, hear me out, I heard from somewhere that if you put fire on ice, it burns instead of melting 'cause of some chemical jargon. What if, by some force of nature, the same thing happens to the water?"

"You'd just be boiling it, idiot."

"Oh, come on. You're making it sound so useless!"

Yoru stopped and met Phoenix's gaze, both of his hands in his pockets.

"Why don't you go check if Neon has something planned?"

There was a reason she, Sage and Jett always had those outings, she was the mastermind behind all of them.

"Nah, no chance, fam. I saw her and A/N leave before the meeting was over, she's gone gone."

Already? Yoru thought, before shaking his head and both of them continuing down their path.

"Then go shoot some bots, or something. I have stuff to do."

"No way! After the shouting match I heard there, I ain't touching that spot until tomorrow."

"Tch, what? Shouting match?"

"Yeah, fam. Shouting match. Omen and I were chilling in the lobby and we heard shouting from there. Dunno what was up, but..."

Phoenix then remembered a key detail. Didn't Yoru tell him earlier that he would be training, and that's why he was unavailable most of the day? Then that meant… He chuckled to himself.

"Wait, was that you? Mate, how feminine does your voice get when you’re mad?"

"Did you just compare my voice to A/N's?"

"Wait, that was A/N? Why was she yelling?! Nah, there's no way you started an argument with her! Weren’t you just getting along?"

Disinterested in the conversation, Yoru took out his butterfly knife and began flipping it, its clacking sticking out against the moderate silence around them. Getting along is a stretch, he thought.

"Put down the tinfoil hat, Phoenix. There wasn't an argument. I just told her what was on my mind."

"Mate, what's on your mind can make the bloody president resign! Remember when you obliterated Sage for a small mistake?! I swear I saw her cry!"

"For the last time, she was sweating. And what's wrong with telling her to quit being passive?"

"That's not harsh?"

"She agreed with me, idiot."

"Look, I get what you mean, but I still think you should be nicer with your words, you feel me? A/N's kinda sensitive, unlike me."

Yoru immediately stifled a chuckle and cleared his throat.

“I’m already nice in one way. I’m not slathering my words in honey.”

“Mate, you’re hopeless.”

And with that, Yoru had no further retorts or desire to continue such a fatuous conversation.

But just because he shut himself up doesn't mean he didn't have ammunition upon ammunition of counter-arguments. And the most important among all of them; this was Valorant, not some daycare. People here should be used to harsh words. Thankfully, he was one of them, which is why he was unconcerned when you snapped back at him.

Nevertheless, he took a turn and walked down the hallway, their shared path dividing into two.

"Whatever. I'll see you after the mission, Phoenix."

Phoenix stared at him walk down the corridor, crossing his arms. And as per usual, despite his concerns, Yoru absolutely did not give a damn. It was evident just in the way he’d walk.

Maybe Phoenix should apologise for you, or fully scold him when he gets the full story.

❤ฺ·。

For the first time in a while, the fresh air of the outside world freely filled your lungs like mystical fairies sparkling some dust of serenity in you. And though it matched the one on the island you’d frequent for training, this one was different. This air was littered with a sense of peace.

You had been out shopping for the past few hours, with nothing to worry about. Not money, not anyone, nothing, other than keeping an eye on Neon so that she doesn’t stray too far away and leave you alone. It was a record for you to go so long without stressing about anything, at this point.

“You know, now that I think about it, that bracelet kinda adds to your look, doesn’t it?”

You held up your arm and lifted the long sleeve up in confusion, staring at it in the mirror. Of course, angling yourself in such a way so that the other customers couldn’t see what was going on. And you could definitely understand what she meant.

“Oh, yeah, it does.”

She stepped up behind you, both of her hands behind her back as she sported a cheeky smile. Did you even need to say anything to know she had something in mind? You flinched once she pinched your loose plain shirt and lifted it up, almost like she was grossed out.

“Jeez, this plant is so metal and stuff, your outfit is so boring in comparison.”

You rolled your eyes with a smile, waving her away.

“I know, you don’t need to say it.”

“What do you think of this?”

As if it was on cue, she immediately lifted a charcoal black top, its design carefully formed to fit the shape of a dainty hourglass figure. High quality, multiple patterns delicately laid throughout alongside a few buttons that helped it pop, it was so pretty. Without wearing it, you knew it fit you, and you already imagined what to connect this with.

But it wasn’t before you immediately shut this idea down.

“Neon, I’m not wearing a corset again!”

“Why not?! It’s not like anyone will say anything!”

“But it’s too much! I think I’ll just go with the choker this time. Maybe next month I’ll come back and get this.”

You pointed at the simple black choker you held. And immediately, you were met with an unamused expression.

“This doesn’t even have a pattern on it.”

“I wanna take it slow. What would Harbour say if I showed up in that?”

She giggled, putting the corset away.

“The guy dances with death every single day; seeing you in knee-high boots is not gonna do anything to him. Right…?”

You blushed, jokingly shoving her away and turning to the shelves where the chokers were set.

“Tumahimik ka! He’s like, forty!” <Shut up!>‎

Neon laughed, refusing to take her words back.

Then, one choker caught your eye. One with a heart in the centre, holding the whole thing together. Right next to a spiked one you considered getting, it was irresistible. And you flinched once Neon suddenly snatched it, observing said spikes.

“Why not this one? It looks cool.”

You rolled your eyes, putting back the plain choker in favour of the one with the heart. Then, you stepped away from the shelves, looking around for the cashier. It reminded you of Yoru.

“I don’t like spikes.”

“What’re you talking about? You wore spikes all the time.”

“Not anymore. They look like they’d hurt.”

Neon cheekily smiled.

“Yeah, duh! Yoru has these gloves with spikes on them. And once, I saw him punch someone with it, I think he got a scar on his cheek from those spikes!”

You threw her an expression of disgust, before walking down the aisles and towards the cash register you found. Neon took the choker with her and followed, intentionally holding it with her left hand so that it would be hidden out of your sight.

“Neon, that’s so crass.”

“But fighting is crass! You think we look like pretty ballerinas when we’re on the field? No way, we look like animals!”

You smiled and met her gaze.

“I’ve spent my entire life working in customer service. Nothing can shock me after that.”

Neon set the two chokers on the counter. Unlike you, she didn’t bother to look at the cashier as he worked, watching you take out your wallet.

“Oh, right, I forgot. Didn’t you work in a salon once?”

“Don’t remind me.”

You both continued chatting as you purchased the items. And being so distracted with whatever she was saying, you didn’t even notice that you were also buying the spiked one, the worker setting them both on a plastic bag.

And with a smile, he handed it to you, both of you immediately making your way out of the store.

Within the next few seconds, you already had the heart choker wrapped around your neck, angling your somewhat-messy bob so that it would cover some of it from the passerby. It felt uncomfortable for the first few seconds, but you quickly got used to it once you saw your reflection on the nearby window. And pretty was an understatement.

Neon scrutinised you with a wide smile on her face.

“I can’t believe it, you look less like an NPC, now!”

Before you could retort, Neon’s phone buzzed and she quickly pulled it out. And immediately, she began rapidly typing back, her smile falling considerably fast.

Her sudden wide eyes immediately concerned you.

“What’s up?”

“I, uh– we should go back.”

“Why, what happened?”

“Phoenix’s telling me the mission went south, they’re hurt! We have to go back and check on everyone! Come on!”

And with that brief yet sufficient explanation, she grabbed your wrist and rushed down the sidewalk; bits of her electricity cracking with each rapid step.

You were pulled away faster than you could comprehend, now forced to share her panic.

❤ฺ·。

You came back to chaos.

The area was filled with the panicked voices of your fellow co-workers, most of them standing in the hallways just outside the infirmary rooms. Each door closed, and there was no sight of the two healers.

“I can’t find anyone!”

Neon called out, the unnerving atmosphere clearly getting to her. And you couldn’t blame her, not when each voice was louder and less recognisable than the last, everyone clumped together into one blur of various colours in the medical wing. None of them were people you knew.

Then, you heard a distant voice, high pitched, babbling in a language you couldn’t understand. But you knew you heard that voice before.

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Gah, there’s no time.

You grabbed her wrist and moved through the crowd, mumbling an apology with each person you gently pushed. And with each step, that voice had gotten louder and louder with every room you passed.

But it promptly went silent.

Just as you ushered a blonde man out of the way, suddenly, the door on your right violently swung open to reveal Sage, holding a dishevelled Jett close to her.

“Jett! Jett, what happened?”

Neon quickly rushed to her friend, but you noticed how the door was immediately slammed shut behind them, giving you no time to see what else was inside. Jett responded to her question, but it wasn’t a coherent string of sentences, Sage patting her back in reassurance as a teal aura wrapped around her hand and the Korean’s left shoulder.

“She’s gravely injured. Just give her a minute.”

Both of you noticed how she clutched her right bicep tightly, an odd discoloration blocked by her hand. And with her white skin, the harsh pink was obvious despite Sage’s efforts to heal her. With the way her sleeve was violently ripped to bits, a deep black painting the edges, it was concerning.

“What happened? Who’s in there?!”

“Follow me. We need to get her to a quiet room.”

And with that, all four of you made your way down the medical wing, moving towards an empty area.

You gently shut the door as Sage quickly worked on healing Jett, the discoloration slowly shrinking to a more manageable size, enough for her to be able to fully cover it from you and Neon. And both of you noticed how, despite her shock, she really wanted to keep it concealed. But only Neon had the guts to speak out.

“How bad is it?”

“Third degree burns. It was much more gruesome when it first occurred, but I have it under control.”

“Third degree burns?”

Sage met her gaze, strands of hair sticking out in a disorderly manner, alongside the sweat that dripped down her chin. In every sense of the word, she was exhausted.

“I’ll tell you later. I just need to get this fixed, urgently.”

You nodded, understanding what she meant. With the injury strong enough to put Jett in shock, you could tell why she didn't want to explain right next to her.

"Is everyone else okay?!"

You piped up. And thankfully, you both earned a nod.

"We managed to escape before the base completely exploded. I'm not even sure what happened."

"How? You weren't there?"

Jett winced once Sage's hands wrapped around her arm, forcing her to stop holding it so tightly. And despite you both now being able to get a clear look at her arm, there was only a blotch of light pink that slowly shrunk as the healer worked. It looked less gruesome than the glimpse you got just minutes before, thankfully.

And it seems like she’s gotten calm enough to be able to form sentences.

"I– I think I need a drink. Uh, Neon, can you help me out?"

"Sure, no problem."

And with her support, Jett and Neon left the room, walking extremely close side by side so as to keep the Korean from losing her balance.

Immediately, just as the door shut, your eyes darted over to Sage's.

"What happened, exactly?"

Sage took a deep breath, grabbing the nearby rolling stool and taking a seat. One more second, and she knew that her legs would've buckled under her weight.

"I’m not sure, I wasn't with them, but I know something went wrong. When I arrived, Jett had a massive burn on her arm and Yoru was disfigured. From what she told me, sections of the base were falling apart."

Disfigured…?

You watched her rest her head on her hand, taking a deep breath.

"Is, uh," you started, nervous, "Is Yoru okay?"

"I– I think… he's stable. I have to go check in on him, nevertheless."

Sage suddenly stood up and immediately aimed towards the door, the conversation cut short. And just as she went to leave, you quickly caught her attention once more.

“Wait, is there anything I can do to help?”

She met your gaze, weakly smiling.

“Water would be great. But make sure you knock first. I’ll be right next door.”

You nodded. And with an even wider smile, she promptly turned on her heel and took her leave, heading towards the Japanese.

With a sigh, your mind drifted back to Neon and Jett. They should be in the cafeteria, right? She mentioned something about water. Maybe you should go there as well.

❤ฺ·。

The serene silence amidst the HQ was flipped on its head. Now, despite escaping that constricted hallway where constant words dripping with anxiety were exchanged, you still felt tense. What happened to Harbour? Skye? Was Jett okay, even after she was healed? What about Sage? She looked absolutely spent. And…

What about Yoru?

A loud clunk snapped you out of your trance, and you blinked to find yourself in the doorway of the cafeteria, Neon standing right over the sink, a glass being filled up with water in her hand. Just as you arrived, she turned off the faucet and faced Jett, neither of them catching on to your presence as they chatted. Their tones low and melancholic, it only added on to the intensity of the general situation.

Jett seemed to have calmed down, judging by her relaxed posture as she took the glass from Neon. There, she noticed you, weakly bringing up her good arm to wave.

“Hey, A/N.”

You waved back, awkwardly smiling.

“Hey… are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright, I was just telling Neon what happened. By the way, did Sage say anything about Yoru?”

You approached the sink, taking out a glass and washing it.

“Uh… She said he was stable. I’ll give her the water and check in for you.”

“Thanks, you’re the best! Also, nice choker.”

You smiled to yourself, muttering a ‘thanks’ whilst you worked. Even in complete anguish, she somehow managed to notice it and even compliment it. What a sweetheart, you thought.

The water loudly swirled in the glass as you filled it.

“Is everyone else okay?”

“Nobody else got hurt, just me and Yoru. And he got the worse end of the stick, by the way.” She rolled her eyes, bringing the glass of water up to her lips. “Of course it’s us.”

“Seriously, what happened to Yoru?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re back.”

You groaned, turning to look at them as she gulped down, presumably, the second glass of water.

“Come on! Sage won’t tell me, and now you won’t tell me?”

To be fair, she didn’t know what happened.

“It’s– it’s awkward for him, okay? I don’t want him to get mad if I told anyone! And it’s not like I told her, all Neon knows is that a pipe burst on my arm!”

“What?”

“Yeah, straight through! Burned like hell!”

Now you knew why she was so desperately trying to cover her arm. It must’ve looked so grim.

You let out a huff, noticing the look of genuine concern over Jett as she explained. And it wasn’t the fact that she was hurt, more-so about Yoru, and how he’d go ape on her if she said anything. Like that mattered in this situation.

“If this is how all missions are gonna be, then isn’t it fair that I should know?”

Neon awkwardly laughed. Clearly, she hoped you wouldn’t bring that one specific point up.

“Okay, A/N, wait, I know this all looks bad but I swear, not all missions are like this. This only happens, like, once in a blue moon!”

“And that moon came up right after I–”

Oh, right. Luck.

You held up the glass of water, a few droplets falling to the ground.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You promptly left with the glass, heading back towards the room where Yoru was. And your mind was slowly dipped in turmoil with each conversation you had. Sure, Jett was shocked, but she clearly came down from it and was ready to talk.

God, how big of an ego did Yoru have, and why did everyone just accept it?!

You sighed and took a turn, working to push these thoughts off of your head.

Yoru was hurt. Seriously hurt, by the way they talked about him. You shouldn’t be holding a stupid grudge when his life was in danger. Maybe, just this one time, you could give him a pass…? Until he gets better, that is.

❤ฺ·。

The rest of the day, even after it ended, wasn’t easy for anybody. The lingering aroma of death still haunted the halls even after the break of dawn and you were marching down the hallways alone. Out of everyone, you carried the most burden. Mentally, that is.

Yoru was completely unconscious. You were sure of it.

Even though Sage didn’t let you in the room after you’d given her the water, the entirety of the day went by without a single sound from him. And you watched that door like a hawk. Only Sage left that room, but there was no sign of the Japanese.

You couldn’t help but think, was this all your fault?

You remembered how people back home would avoid associating with you because of your luck. After Neon befriended you and disappeared without a trace, your reputation was set in stone.

And with what just happened, were they wrong not to think otherwise? According to Neon, this never happens. And Yoru, after insulting you, was subjected to a horrible fate.

Was he even–

You stopped in your tracks once you saw a familiar figure sitting at one of the tables of the cafeteria. Back turned towards you, you recognised him by the spiky hair.

“Yoru?”

You called out, concern bleeding into your tone. He turned around, glancing at you from the corner of his eye, before looking back at his food.

“Hey.”

You quickly moved up towards him, laughing awkwardly. Relief overwhelmed you like never before at the sight of the grumpy Japanese. Just seeing him alive in front of you, it was cathartic. And wearing a plain white tee, you would’ve never guessed it was him, either.

“Yoru! Juskó, are you okay?” <Yoru! Oh my god,>‎

He ignored you as you approached his left, not turning his head all the way to meet your gaze. And weirdly enough, instead of some gourmet food, he was drinking a glass of water with ice in it, swimming like pretty mermaids.

“What do you want, lady?”

You placed a hand on your hip, furrowing your brow. Jeez, now you remembered why you argued.

“I wanted to check in on you, I thought you died! I was worried about you!”

“Tch.”

He lifted the glass and took a sip, and your eyes immediately locked on to his exposed right arm. There was a harsh light-pink tone that overtook the entire limb. Ungloved, every single detail was free to be scrutinised.

…

Was he purposely not looking at you head-on?

With this in mind, you immediately moved in front of him. And now, you finally got a good look at his face. And the sight was… incredibly hard to look at, to put it lightly.

The right side of his body, whatever wasn’t concealed by his shirt, was painted in the same pink, and it looked verbatim like first degree burns. And this was after Sage healed him, you couldn’t imagine how it looked when he was first found. How did all of this happen…?

But you could see a deeper red near where his neck was, like that part wasn’t healed properly.

It must be so painful for him to even grab the water and drink… Ugh, okay, scratch that. Too vivid.

“Go away.”

He said through gritted teeth, snapping you out of your shock. And quickly, you cleared your throat with an awkward smile.

“Sorry– do you, uh,” you looked at his right arm, pink, seemingly useless, “do you want me to cook you something?”

He raised an eyebrow, insulted. And it’s not like he didn’t catch on, either.

“I’m ambidextrous.”

…

“Yeah, but… I’m– I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

He took another sip, breaking eye contact with you. And with that, you heaved a tired sigh, turning to the stove to your right, completely unused. If he came down his high-horse and just admitted that the heat of the stove would get to him, there would be sympathy. But how could you be mad at him in this state?

He was clearly helpless despite his aversion to showing vulnerability.

“Yoru, whatever you want, just say it, I’ll make it. No skin off my back.”

“I want you to leave me alone.”

God, he was impossible, even when you were trying to make amends.

You sighed, finally turning to the stove to make your own food. Neon wouldn’t mind if you used some of her ingredients, right…? The grocery trip you would’ve gone to yesterday was cut short by… well, you know. Hey, the choker made you feel confident, at least.

You moved to the fridge and got to work, taking out what was needed for your own breakfast. It’s been a while since you’ve cooked your own food, so you might be rusty.

Yoru winced once the clunk of your plate ripped him from his day-dreaming, watching you as you sat in front of him with your breakfast. Thankfully, no plate for him.

But as much as he didn’t want to admit it, the food smelled okay. Which was surprising considering the bland stuff he watched you consensually eat. Yoru quickly recognised the dish as tapsilog thanks to Neon, who would usually make this whenever she was forced to cook.

“So, what happened?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You know, the mission, and stuff. Jett hurt her arm, and you…?”

You looked him up and down, noticing how the burns only took over the lower right side of his face, having grown threateningly close to his eye. Just a few more inches, and he’d have a clouded lens. Would Sage be able to heal that?

Like an approaching wave of volcano, the sight of Yoru slightly smiling immediately caught your attention.

“Didn’t Jett tell you?”

“Uh, no? She didn’t want you to get mad if she did.”

“Tch.”

You rested your arms on the table and waited for him to continue.

…

Ugh.

“So?”

“It’s not a big deal. One of the pipes burst on Jett’s arm, I covered her from the upcoming explosion, and accidentally took the damage from the wall of pipes behind me. That’s it. Now stop–”

“Wait, wait, what?!”

A wall of pipes went off on him? The toxic fumes, everything? And he was so nonchalant about it?! Just the burns on Jett’s arm, whatever you caught, looked agonising. And he had double that amount explode right on him.

If it weren’t for the existing marks on him, you’d definitely think he was lying.

“How aren’t you maimed, at least? You look fine!”

“Sage’s magic does wonders.” He proudly pointed at his neck, where the deep pink resided, “This spot was mangled when I woke up.”

To say you were horrified would be an understatement. No wonder Sage didn’t allow you to see him. You really didn’t want to believe what he was saying was true, either.

“You’re saying that you covered Jett from the explosions, but it hit you. How?”

“I wrapped the rift around her front. But I swallowed the damage from behind.”

“What–”

Wrap the rift around her? What does that even mean? Like, a mystical shield?

“Why didn’t you– you know, wrap that… around both of you, all the way through?”

“Lady, I had two seconds to keep her safe. I thought I had my back against a wall, at first.”

…Keep her safe? Did those words really just leave Yoru’s mouth without a hint of irony or sarcasm?

“But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You kept her safe. Do you care about Jett that much?”

Yoru wryly laughed at such a stupid concept, immediately dismissing you with a wave of his good hand.

“As if. I acted on instinct.”

And yet, his instincts demanded he put her before him? Even if those pipes weren’t behind him, he fearlessly covered her on both sides using everything in his arsenal; even himself. Doesn’t sound very selfish to you, you thought.

Wait…

“Are you gonna hold this over her head?”

“What the hell do you take me for?”

…

Wow. You really weren’t sure what to think about him.

Yoru pushed the chair back and went to stand, but you quickly held a hand up and stopped him.

“Yoru, wait.”

“What?”

You sheepishly slid your plate of food towards him, an awkward smile lifting your lips.

“You didn’t eat yet.”

He stared at you, and his hostile expression quickly softened at such an unexpected offer. Alongside that, you could also sense an air of confusion.

“I’m not eating that.”

“You need to eat something, Yoru. You’re hurt, your body needs it.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“One bite, at least? Please?”

“I don’t want your–”

“Just this once!”

He stared at you for a few seconds, clearly annoyed at how persistent you were. Where did the coward A/N go, the one who couldn’t even tell Harbour she was too tired to go back to training? He thought.

…

He sighed, pushing the chair forward and taking the fork into his hand.

“Fine. Just so you’ll shut up.”

You beamed with a smile, watching him pick up a small piece of the beef with his fork.

However, your smile quickly fell once you noticed his face slightly twist at the sight of it, despite the steam that escaped it. To you, it looked incredibly delectable, and frankly, it was a crime you weren’t the one eating it.

“What’s up? Do you hate the seasoning?”

“No. Meat’s just not my first choice.”

“But I thought you liked hibachi grills.”

He shook his head.

“Nevermind.”

He took a bite, leaving you even more confused.

You stared at his face as he ate, not realising how weird you looked, not when you really wanted to know what he thought of the food. It’s not like you didn’t ask yourself why the hell it mattered. Wasn’t this the same man who called you spineless to your face just the day before?

And you felt bad just because he… saved Jett’s life, and didn’t plan on holding it against her.

You turned your gaze away, unable to stop yourself from smiling.

“What’s your deal?”

You shook your head, a quick and impossibly awkward giggle escaping you.

“Nothing. You know, now that I think about it, I should get back to training.”

Yoru watched you stand up and quickly walk off, escaping his line of sight within a few seconds. And for a moment he questioned your sudden switch, before completely dismissing it and eating his breakfast.

Unlike you, his emotions had minimal control over him.

He didn’t care.

❤ฺ·。

As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you sort of understood now why people gave Yoru a pass on his abrasive behaviour. After putting his life on the line, allowing himself to get severely injured, all for the sake of Jett’s survivability? How could you hate him after that?

You sighed to yourself as you worked, struggling to find the muscle that ejects sundew. How did you do it last time? All you recalled was angrily pointing at Yoru… Wait, maybe it’s connected to your index–

Nectar suddenly engulfed your hand by accident, dripping down to the floor. Wrong trigger…

You sighed and left the training range, moving towards one of the tables where a box of tissues sat, like they were waiting for you.

Then, a set of cyan slits caught your attention, and you turned to find Omen standing near the lockers. Just seeing him felt incredibly calming.

“Hey, Omen.”

He met your gaze, but his awkward posture quickly set you off.

“What’s up?”

…

“A/N. Nice choker.”

You grinned in pride, using two fingers to caress the heart choker once more. Second compliment on the accessory, already? And from Omen, too. Maybe this thing’s paying off.

“Maraming salamat. Thank you. But are you okay?” <Thank you so much.>‎

Omen shook his head, turning back to his locker.

“Nothing, I was… set off by the smell just now.”

You awkwardly laughed, quickly working on wiping the nectar away, desperately praying he didn’t read up on your abilities and didn’t know it was coming from you.

“I’d forgotten what you can do.”

Damn it.

“Sorry about that. Used the wrong muscle, and stuff.”

“What were you trying to do?”

He gently closed the door to his locker and approached you. Panicking, you immediately wiped up the remaining liquid and tried to find the trash before the scent could irritate him any further. You really didn't want to be reminding Omen of his biggest fears. He was too sweet to be hurt like that.

Where was the trashcan?!

“I wanted to shoot that sundew bomb again, but I don’t know how I did it the first time.”

“I see. And… isn’t Harbour your coach?”

“Well–”

You really hoped he wouldn’t have asked this question. But at least it wasn’t Yoru asking you this. It’s not like you didn’t think about it, either. But he was exhausted just like the other agents. You couldn’t bother him, not after what just happened.

“I– I wanted to practise alone, you know? I’m not in the mood to talk, and stuff.”

Omen stared at you in silence for a moment, before nodding.

“Very well. I was about to leave, anyway.”

Uh oh.

“Uh, wait–”

You quickly held up a hand and stopped him just as he took one step away. And thankfully, he did.

“You know, it– uh, it’s not so bad having you around.” You awkwardly smiled. “Mind staying? It’ll be fun just to talk.”

“Talk?”

You nodded, anxiously scratching at your bracelet. And the few seconds that passed felt like whole hours, before he finally spoke up.

“I can do that. Let’s go.”

Even though Omen had a soothing aura, talking to him was also incredibly stressful. At least you could go off of the eyebrow movements with Yoru. But him? There was literally nothing other than maybe the slits.

Nevertheless, you both entered the training room, and only now did you remember the puddle of nectar you accidentally left behind. Omen stopped, took a deep inhale, before ‘clearing his throat’.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but I have half a mind to turn this scent into a candle.”

…

“Is… Uh, is that a bad thing?”

“Just tempting. The smell’s pleasing to the soul.”

You eagerly smiled and stopped right in front of him. In the vast area, your voices echoed like you stood in a massive field. A massive dull, closed off and grey field, but I digress.

Separated into two classifications, poison and nectar, you were delighted to discover than he smelt the latter.

“Candles that smell like everyone’s favourite thing ever? I’m up for it!”

“I’ll need a cup-full of it first. Then, I’ll see if I remember the steps…”

You both continued chatting about nonsense as you tried to summon the sundew.

And for the whole hour that you were there, progress was naught. For some reason, you just couldn’t find the trigger for it. All you did was summon more of the nectar by accident. But you avoided crushing the building to bits.

Omen even offered to leave to let you focus, but you couldn’t part. Not yet. Not when he was exactly like Yoru, albeit a kinder version of him. One you could talk to without being looked down on for existing.

You sighed, pulling back your hand and staring at it. Your arm started to ache with how much you kept it pointed straight forward, and how much pressure it took to keep producing the nectar, but nothing would come out.

However, your mind drifted elsewhere.

“Omen… you saw what happened to Yoru yesterday, right?”

“Mhm.”

“Is that, uh, normal?”

Omen met your gaze, and you could sense his confusion by the subtle tilt of his head.

“Yes, we all get injured in this line of work.”

“No, but, he had pipes explode right on him. He almost died. Does that usually happen?”

He crossed his arms and leaned on the wall once more, clearly pondering. It’s not like he didn’t know the answer to your question. But considering the dread that bled into your tone as you spoke, he wanted to figure out how to ease this information onto you.

“...What happened to Yoru was a rare instance.”

Before you could let relief calm you, he immediately spoke up again.

“I understand how fun your friends make it seem, but, A/N, Valorant isn’t a fun get-together. Dying on the frontlines is still highly expected.”

All relief was squashed within a second, and you put down your arm in surprise. Omen noticed this, quickly continuing his sentence.

“Obviously Sage can bring us back should that ever happen, but my point stands.”

You awkwardly laugh, feeling panic suddenly engulf you like a flood. Something he also took note of.

“Kailangang magbiro ito…” <This has to be a joke…>‎

You stretched your right hand, struggling to keep the poisonous fluid and everything alongside it at bay. As much as you tried to keep yourself relaxed, your shaky voice gave everything away.

“W– well, is there, you know, a way to get out of this? This isn’t what I– it’s too much, you know? It’s– It's not– I don’t think this is something I can handle.”

“I… can’t say for sure.”

You put your hands on your temples, struggling to keep calm.

With how little they talked about it, you never realised how appalling the circumstances were, not until you saw it in action. You saw the burns on Yoru, and those burns were after he was healed. You couldn’t not imagine what he looked like when it all first happened. But most importantly, how did he feel? How much pain did he endure before he passed out? And how high were the chances of that happening to you?!

Amidst the turmoil in your head as you mumbled nonsense in Tagalog, you hadn’t realised that Omen stepped up to you, the slits combined with his presence snatching your attention with ease.

“You’re sure there’s no way out of this?! Mali ito, ako– hindi ako dapat nanatili rito!” <You’re sure there’s no way out of this?! This is wrong, I– I shouldn't have stayed here!>‎

He put his hand on your shoulder, his touch slowly bringing you back to reality.

“Take it easy, A/N. You’ll be alright.”

“No I won’t, what if that also happens to me?!”

“It won’t. I guarantee it won’t.”

“But– but–”

“You let your fear control you too much, A/N. Half the things running through your mind are impossible scenarios.”

He saw the poison that dripped from your hand. You didn’t notice it, but thanks to this, being around you forced him to remember his own array of problems.

“Wh– what? How do you know?”

His posture loosened, giving you an air of amicability.

“It happened to me when I first became… this.” He pointed to himself. “It’s only when you truly get on the field do you realise how repetitive things really are.”

…

How repetitive things really are? As in…

“So… I’ll– I’ll be fine?”

“You will. And you’ll even be laughing at yourself a few months from now. That’s what I did.”

His lighthearted tone took its toll on you in a positive way. Just by the softness of his voice, it managed to calm you down and force a smile to lift your cheeks.

Omen was just so… kind.

“How are you feeling?”

You sighed, running your dry fingers through your hair.

“I– I feel better.”

“Good. Now, how about those candles we talked about?”

…

“That– that sounds… It sounds great. Okay, yeah, let’s do it.”

With a friendly pat on the shoulder, you both walked out of the training room and headed towards elsewhere, ready to get your mind off of everything.

62 notes · View notes

caramel1mochi · 8 months

Text

ぐちゃ ! (Splat!) [Yoru x F! Reader] [2]

Heya everyone!

Guess what? That's right, I'm trying something new!

After accumulating some a good amount of writing while waiting for the vote, instead of posting every other day with a few words, I'm gonna be posting once a week with a collection of words! Yep, this bad boy here is 7.8k words long!! MY HANDS AND EYES ARE KILLING ME I'M SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKES I MISSED

This is just a test to see if it's a good idea or not. Maybe if it goes well, I'll keep going, or stop if it's chaotic. Anyway, have a good one! See you next Friday!

❤ฺ·。

Yoru x F! Reader

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 4.5 / Part 5 / Part 6

Genre: Fluff

。+❤ฺ·。❤ฺ·。+❤ฺ· +❤·。❤ฺ·。+❤ฺ·

Police sirens loudly rang throughout the entire district, Tala peeking from the alleyway you both hid in to notice another police car swerving past.

“Relax, Y/N, they won’t find us here!”

“It doesn’t matter! Did you see the print on the GROUND?!”

You gasped and held yourself, still shocked from the entire ordeal. Tala knelt next to you and patted your back, struggling to reassure you. How could she, when the sight surprised her just as much? Besides, it’s not like she knew how to calm people down in the first place.

“It almost killed us! It almost killed us, Tala!”

“It didn’t kill anyone, okay?! It missed us, we’re alive!”

“We almost died! We almost died!”

You hugged your knees, hyperventilating.

“We almost got squashed, it missed us by a few inches!”

You kept rambling nonsense under your breath, your voice quivering with an abnormal amount of fear. Tala, used to near-death experiences, wasn’t as horrified as you were. But that doesn’t mean what happened could just be easily brushed off.

Whilst swatting the flies away, suddenly, it was like an extraterrestrial force from outer space slammed itself against the ground. And when you both opened your eyes, a massive hand imprinted itself upon the hill you both stood on; defiling it. Like a giant that slapped the ground with all of its might. Even she couldn’t explain it.

“Y/N, Y/N, it’s alright, look, if the government doesn’t catch up to us first, then maybe a secret organisation will!”

“HOW IS THAT BETTER?!”

She awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, chuckling to herself.

“Okay, uh– good point, but… but look on the bright side! I just called someone and they know exactly how to help!”

“Help us?! We had nothing to do with this! The hand– it, it appeared out of nowhere, it came out of nowhere! It almost killed us! We were so close–”

Tala grabbed your shoulders, and forced your gaze on hers. She would slap you, but you weren’t one of her co-workers.

“Y/N! Help is on the way, okay! Stop freaking out!”

You stood up, clutching your head with both hands and muttering random sentences under your breath, ones she didn’t catch onto.

“I– I think I’m going insane, Tala! A– a giant hand, a massive hand! It appeared out of nowhere and almost hit us! How does that happen, how is this– how, is it possible? How is it normal?! Is this– is this what they meant by Radiants being dangerous?!”

“No, Y/N, this has nothing to do with that!”

Tala knew your information of Radiancy was extremely limited, mostly to what the news would spew out. But she couldn’t exactly tell you the whole story, not when you could hardly differentiate between left and right. Also, it’s confidential. Shouldn’t forget that.

“Just hold on, we’ll get help. The police will be off our tail in a second!”

You turned to her, panicking.

“Why would the police be on our tail?!”

Shouldn’t have said that either.

“What’s with you two?”

Thankfully, like some guardian angel (to Tala), a familiar voice appeared from behind you both. A dark silhouette stood in the entrance of the constricted alley, the street lights reflecting off of his blue jacket. Of course, you were terrified for a split second, thinking it was a cop, but Tala’s reaction quickly calmed you.

“Yoru, finally! We need your help!”

He stepped in, both hands in his pockets. And on his face, juxtaposed to the chaos, the police sirens and helicopters that wrapped around the park you both rushed out of, was an expression full of boredom.

“What now? Did you make another thunderstorm?”

Tala noticed the sudden shift in your expression and awkwardly chuckled, scratching the back of her head. But luckily, Yoru turned his attention to you instead.

“Who are you?”

“Who am I? Who are you? Why are you here?!”

“Yoru! Yoru, she’s, uh– this is, this is Y/N, my friend, and she’s freaked out right now, so you shouldn’t be asking her anything.”

He blankly stared at you, almost as if he was sceptical of your general presence. Thankfully, it was only for a few seconds before he turned to Tala.

“Give me a run down.”

“Alright!”

Tala quickly perked up, politely keeping your mouth shut. The events were scrambled in your mind, so the chances of you saying anything coherent was zero. And Tala knew it.

“There’s a park behind us, and, uh… there might be, sort of, a massive handprint on the hill.”

“Yeah, I saw it on the news. I meant give me the intimate rundown. Did your kit manifest?”

Pictures already spread throughout the country, especially since it flattened a few dozen massive trees in one fell swoop, and possibly a few animals hidden within the grass and branches. If the concept of it pancaking living beings wasn’t so horrifying, it would’ve been impressive. Of course, it shocked you how quickly things spread, but bad news travels fast, as they say.

Tala raised her hands defensively.

“There wasn’t electricity involved, it wasn’t my fault! Stop bringing it up!”

“Electricity?!”

You blurted out, and it was too late for Tala. Though he might’ve not really known it, Yoru’s complete disregard for the situation pretty much exposed her. Not that he really cared.

“Is she a Radiant?”

“No, she’s not. I’m telling you, it wasn’t either of us!”

Tala interrupted, but Yoru kept his eyes on yours, as if she never spoke.

“Before the hand, what exactly were you doing?”

He stared at you, and you couldn’t help but feel uneasy under his piercing gaze as he towered over you. Then, he looked down, the glimmer of gold catching his attention. In the darkness that enveloped you all, it stood out.

“I– I was swatting flies, okay? They were gathering around us and I–”

“Spare me the details. You were swatting flies, right?”

You nodded.

“Y– yes, yeah, I was swatting–”

“Was your hand open?”

“Yeah?”

“And what about this thing?”

He pointed to your bracelet, which you didn’t even notice until now. Not when you stumbled on your words, hardly able to put together a sentence with how fast he was going. Unlike Tala, this Yoru guy absolutely did not hold back, even when you were at the peak of your anguish. He seemed overeager to put the blame on you.

“This bracelet? What about it?! It has nothing to do with–”

The words were stuck in your throat once you lifted your hand and actually got a good look at it. You saw the golden accessory now wrapped tightly around your wrist, hardly moving an inch. Unlike before, when it could’ve easily been mistaken for a necklace with how loose it was. You scratched at it; but it wouldn’t move.

Tala was just as stumped.

“That– that was loose, yeah?”

You awkwardly laughed, struggling to tilt the object. But it stuck to you, like a limb. It didn’t take long for Yoru to catch on, turning to Tala.

“There’s your problem. You should’ve called Harbour, not me, idiot.”

“Harbour’s not my friend and you know it!”

As they bickered, you struggled with the bracelet. But trying to vigorously rip it away from you shot pain through your arm. Trying to get this off would be like ripping off your finger with no tools. You couldn’t fathom how this was even possible. How did it even happen? How did it tighten, and when?!

You clenched your fist and worked to take it off, digging your nails under it whilst the two continued arguing about meaningless nonsense.

“The bracelet’s so tiny! How could it have so much power, anyway?!”

“Hell if I know.”

“Really, it also fell on her arm when she first wore it! When did it get so tight?”

As she continued rambling, Yoru felt an odd sensation enter the atmosphere around them. And he quickly glanced behind him, noticing the trees that previously swerved with the wind completely stop, the branches now still as statues.

In the literal sense, the air stood still.

He looked at you, noticing your fist clenched, and you prepared to loosen it.

Then, the shadow of an invisible set of fingers emerged above you.

But just before it could crush you all, he grabbed your wrist and slammed it against the nearby wall, the silhouette disappearing just as fast as it appeared; not before destroying the top portion of the buildings you both hid in between.

“Stop moving that damn hand!”

He shouted, a massive portion of the roof falling behind you. It crashed and splattered into pieces so loudly, the noise deafened you for a split second. And once it was over, you weren’t given a single moment to catch yourself. Yoru angrily met your gaze, still holding on to your wrist.

“Don’t you dare move a finger, lady. Your hand can squash a quarter of the Philippines.”

Just like that, he let go and stepped out of the alley.

“With me. We’re getting this sorted.”

Like a pair of chicks behind their mother hen, you both mindlessly rushed behind him, blindly trusting his judgement. Of course, you had no choice, while Tala clearly trusted this dude.

“That’s so cool! So, this is like, an artefact? Like Harbour and Astra? You also have that mask, yeah?”

“What are you talking about?!”

Tala stuttered once she remembered you were right there again. And this time, Yoru caught on, annoyed. She could hardly go a few seconds without blowing her cover now, and it was embarrassing to watch on his end. So, like the honest, no-nonsense man that he was, he made the obvious decision to ease the stress on his dear friend’s shoulders.

“We’re both Radiants part of a secret organisation. And her callsign’s Neon.”

“Yoru!”

Genius.

“Neon? Radiants? Secret organisation?! So, that’s the job you didn’t want to tell me about!”

You met her gaze angrily, furious at her keeping this from you. And of course, she awkwardly chuckled, turning her gaze away. Shortly after, you clutched your head and massaged your temples, working to ease the aching that slowly took over you.

“Oh god, this is too much for one day…”

Yoru sighed and took out his comb, brushing his hair.

“Yeah? Don’t worry, there’s more.”

❤ฺ·。

Arriving on an aircraft dubbed the VLT/R, you sat right next to Tala– sorry, NEON, still holding your head and staring at the pristine flooring in shock. Yoru sat in front of you, fiddling with a butterfly comb in his hand. Unlike you, he was completely unbothered. Maybe he had gotten slightly amused by the situation, and your reaction to all of this. The tension was heavy, and she could tell your head was so close to exploding. NEON needed to calm you down.

“So… what now?”

“Best case scenario, they break the thing off and let her go.”

“Great! Don’t worry, Y/N, you’ll be back to your clerk job in no time!”

Neon said as she clasped her hands together. Yoru, on the other hand, simply raised an eyebrow.

“Tch. You’re excited about being a clerk?”

“It’s a peaceful job!”

You blurt out, meeting his gaze. And he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Right. Must be high paying, too. You smell like you stepped out of a hibachi restaurant.”

…

“Is that a joke?”

“I’m serious.”

You shook your head in confusion.

“We went to a cafe. No restaurant.”

“Liar. I know the scent of a grilled steak with soy sauce on top. All cooked in sesame oil, too. Only a skilled hibachi chef could successfully pull off something that smells like that.”

You blankly stared at him for a few seconds, unable to process all of the extra information. Compared to everything you previously learned, it wasn’t anything important, but you also never went to a hibachi restaurant in your entire life. Too expensive.

Yoru proudly pointed to his nose, a smug smile on his face.

With how blank his expression was this entire time, this looked unnatural on him.

“I have a good sense of smell.”

“Yeah… I didn’t want to say anything, but I swore I could smell adobo since we left the alley. Fresh adobo! Just the way lola makes it.”

You couldn’t help but giggle, watching Neon lick her lips in excitement at the simple thought of it.

“I think you’re both just hungry.”

“Did you dip your hand in water?”

Yoru suddenly perked up. You met his gaze in confusion, before he pointed to your hand.

And safe to say, you were shocked all over again. Out of nowhere, there was some form of liquid that suddenly started seeping from your skin, dripping down your hand. It wasn’t sweat, either, it was an ongoing flow of clear fluid, like water.

You held it up to your face, confused. It didn’t smell like anything. Maybe it was water?

“I probably wasn’t looking…”

Before another word can be exchanged, you jumped once the VLT/R landed, and the door slid open to reveal a sight that took you a second to process. In the exit stood two women and one man. The one with the long black ponytail stepped up, a warm smile on her face and her eyes locked on yours.

❤ฺ·。

At first, you thought the one with the ponytail, Sage, would be the one to examine your hand. But Viper instead took it upon herself, since she seemed more qualified when it came to actually studying the human body and such.

It was the next day, early morning, and weirdly enough, it started off better than most mornings. That’s right, you were in the empty cafeteria, getting yelled at by your boss on the phone. You would say it’s a typical morning, but that would be a lie. Usually, you’d wake up by your extremely aggravating alarm at four, and still be late for work. Or, on the weekends, by the screaming of your younger family members.

“Y/N, I trusted you to have the papers ready by seven! You didn’t even show up!”

“Look, I’m sorry. Things happened!”

“What? ‘Things happen?’ That’s your excuse? You might as well spit on my face while you’re at it.”

You sighed and glanced at the bracelet on your right hand, a jade green tinge slowly overwhelming the gold.

“It wasn’t my choice. You’d know me by now, right? I never miss a day of work. But believe me, just this one time, something really did happen!”

“Unless this vague thing can get my papers done in less than fifteen minutes, it doesn’t really concern me, Y/N!”

You winced at the volume of his voice. Even if you’d gotten around to completing the task he’d given you, the amount of papers you were entrusted with were enough to complete a book. Logically, you’d need multiple people to complete it.

But he knew that, unlike you, your co-workers would complain about doing this without getting paid for it.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’ll try to find my way back, but–”

“Don’t bother. I might as well fire you, that’ll save me the stress of–”

You noticed a shadow looming over you, looking to your right to find a familiar face. Surprisingly, it was Yoru; the guy from yesterday.

Pleasantly complementing his generally blue palette were the rays of the sun, painting both him and the cafeteria into a stunning shade of gold. Had you believed in fairytales, you’d assume the Midas touch was in full effect.

You muted and gave him a tired smile.

“Magandang umaga. Yoru, right?” <Good morning.>‎‎

He pointed to the phone in your ear, your boss’s voice loud enough for him to be audible to the Japanese.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, I missed work and my boss’s mad. Don’t worry, he’ll drop it eventually.”

You’d grown used to his yelling enough to be able to guess exactly what he’s talking about. And thus, you were able to have a conversation without missing anything. And by the blank look on Yoru’s face, he wasn’t impressed.

“You might as well quit.”

You tittered and turned back to the phone, but he caught your attention once more.

“I’m serious. You’re not going back to civilisation with that thing on your wrist.”

“I live paycheck to paycheck, you know. If I quit, I’ll be out on the streets!”

“You’ll be living here, lady. There’s no ‘bills’ anymore.”

His tone slightly shifted towards aggression. And though you were taken aback, you were already overloaded with stress enough to let it slide.

“Even if I wanted to quit, he won’t take me seriously! Maybe if I keep nagging him for like, a week, but not now.”

“Best I can do is two minutes.”

You stared at him for a moment, before tilting your head.

“You can get me out in two?”

“Want me to?”

He really thinks he can get to someone as stubborn and talkative as your boss, huh? As much as you didn’t want to, you really didn’t have much to lose. Even you knew that they wouldn’t let you out so soon after flattening a hill by accident. And so, with an eager nod, he immediately. stretched out his hand towards you.

“Hand me that.”

You did. He took a few steps away, and you shifted in your seat as he walked towards the centre of the cafeteria, anxious.

“Hey, listen here.”

Yoru slightly raised his voice. Though he was a metre away, you could hear the boss’s ranting immediately get interrupted.

“This is her friend. She quit. Sorry.”

The air stood still for a few seconds, before he started talking again, clearly furious. And knowing how much he liked to rabbit about, Yoru had gotten sick of his voice within a few seconds, judging by the way he furrowed his brow. Probably bringing up the papers he entrusted you with.

“Not her problem anymore. Figure it out.”

Just as he began ranting again, Yoru quickly spoke up.

“Yeah. Too bad. Bye.”

And just like that, he closed the call and handed you the phone.

To say you were shocked would be an understatement. More specifically at how blunt he was, telling a powerful man to shut his trap like that.

“Juskó, uh, are you– are you sure he won’t–” <Oh my god,>‎

Just as you said that, your phone began ringing once more, and it was exactly who you expected.

“Do I answer?!”

“Tch, no? Block him.”

“But what if he gets mad? Like, what if he does something?”

He rolled his eyes and moved to the fridge.

“Y/N, you’re an active threat to humanity until you get that hand under control. Relax.”

Oh, right. The bracelet.

You stared at the phone ringing in silence, many thoughts overlapping in your mind. Though you were shocked to your core at what he’d done, Yoru didn’t seem bothered whatsoever. He simply made his breakfast like this was a typical morning for him.

Taking your phone into your hand, you hesitantly closed the call. It began ringing again. And this time, you took his advice and blocked him. Once you did, the calls stopped coming. And it was as if a few tonnes of metal were lifted off of your shoulders, taking in the silence once more.

Wow… This must be what serenity feels like, beyond a word slapped on top of a pretty image on Google.

“So… what happens now?”

“What?”

“I just quit my job. What do I do now?”

“You work for Valorant now. Did Viper test out that arm yet?”

You looked at your hand where the ‘bracelet’ sat. Only now did you notice the colour. There wasn’t a hint of gold anymore. It was fully green, and it didn’t glimmer like a gem.

Also, they numbed your arm so that you wouldn’t accidentally crush the base.

“I guess. I don’t remember what she told me. I blanked out halfway through.”

Yoru scoffed.

“They’ll figure that out, first. Then, after training, you’ll get on missions with us.”

You looked up at him, watching him take out a few eggs and wash them.

“Missions? Like what?”

“Depends. Other than squashing, what can you do?”

You turned back to your numb arm. And this time, you lifted up to the table, allowing the sun to shine and give you a clearer view of the bracelet.

It was hard to remember, and you left Viper’s synopsis back in Neon’s room since you ran out when your boss called.

“I think she said I can make smells, or whatever.”

“Tch, what?”

“Yeah, wait– I remember now! The water from my hand, apparently it’s nectar and it has a scent. Viper said it smells like fruit, and there’s someone else, she had a big ponytail. She said it smells like… mountain air.”

“Mountain air? Yeah, that checks out.”

You followed his movements, watching him wash a bowl and a pan. Was he mocking her?

“What does that mean?”

“Sage was a monk, I think. Probably meditated on a mountain.”

He turned on the stove and immediately got to cooking, cracking the eggs.

“Monk? That’s… new.”

The people here sounded like unique individuals. First, Viper, whom you recognised from the awards she won years ago. Now, a monk.

“Explains the hibachi smell yesterday.”

He commented and you smiled to yourself, remembering his eagerness as he explained the intricate details of the meat. Him, and Neon. So, the smell differs with everyone, you thought. But you seemed to be immune to it.

Then, there was a delectable real smell that ripped your attention away from your thinking and back onto Yoru. Surprisingly, it was from his food.

“What’s for breakfast?”

“Tornado omelette.”

Tornado omelette? Unique breakfast, you thought.

“Mind sharing?”

“I do, actually.”

You paused for a moment, quickly growing disappointed once you understood.

“Awe, really? Lame.”

“Yeah, I only cook for people I like. Sorry.”

His apology didn’t sound genuine. But, to be fair, nothing that came out of his mouth sounded genuine. ‘People I like’, he said. Did you even need to ask to know that his list of liked people was minuscule? Just look at him.

“Do you like anyone here?”

“No.”

He answered with quickness and you rolled your eyes and sat back. But then, you promptly remembered what he did. Yoru shut down your boss with no more than a few words, and practically freed you within a few minutes of meeting you. So really, how could you be mad at him right now?

This was one of the rare interactions that didn’t go horribly wrong.

You looked at him. Well, the back of his head, since he wasn’t facing you whatsoever.

“Hey, Yoru?”

“Yeah.”

You smiled.

“Thanks for helping me out.”

…

“Don’t thank me.”

He said. And again, you were taken aback. It didn’t sound like a humble statement, either. He genuinely sounded uninterested by your gratitude. What kind of philosophy does this guy follow? You thought, but it felt like it was too soon to judge.

❤ฺ·。

“I can’t believe you’re getting your own room already. You should’ve said no, and we’d have sleepovers every night!”

Neon said excitedly as you scanned the updated paper in your hand. Her voice echoed through the cafeteria you both sat in, since it was empty despite it being late in the afternoon. It’s not like you’ve seen anyone other than her and Yoru, and Viper who took you in for a few hours before letting you have your break.

“Tala, two can barely fit on that bed.”

“But with a promotion, I can make it a king-size.”

She winked, and you couldn’t help but force an eye roll at this, looking down at the paper again.

“Also, it’s Neon. You’re not really allowed to use real names around here, remember?”

“You guys call me by my name all the time.”

“They haven’t picked a callsign for you yet! I’m thinking it’s something about gems. Maybe… Psh, I dunno, gold? Mineral?”

“Mineral? What am I, baby food?”

Neon laughed, taking her smoothie into her hand.

“Fair enough. Anyway, did you meet anyone yet?”

You wordlessly gestured to the cafeteria around you, as if to remind her there’s nobody. And it’s not like she caught on, she blankly stared at you as she took a sip.

“Valorant’s emptier than I thought. Are you and Yoru the only ones here?”

“Oh! No, no way, there’s plenty of us! They’re on missions right now.”

Amidst your crowded and exhausted mind, the only people you remembered were Viper and the other monk lady. But were you about to admit that, out of all of them, Yoru took control of your mind effortlessly? Well…

You put the paper down and sighed, smiling.

“I talked to Yoru this morning…”

Neon raised an eyebrow as she sipped her smoothie, watching your previously tense posture shift.

“What’s his deal?”

“What do you mean?”

You turned your gaze away, unsure how to tell her.

“I don’t know. He's nice, but also vulgar at the same time.”

“Oh! Yeah, I know what you mean. Yoru’s just that type of guy, you know? Lone wolf and that edgy stuff. He’s a rude-ass, but if you don’t mind that, he’s chill.” she brought the straw up to her lips as she spoke, “Did he do anything?”

“He told my boss off, and I don’t have a job now.”

She nearly choked, clearing her throat and pulling the drink away.

“Your boss? The same guy who–”

“YES. The same guy who convinced me unpaid overtime is legal, okay? Don’t remind me.”

Neon laughed, taking a quick sip. And this time, she was mindful not to spill a single drop.

“Did he share his food with you, though?”

“Uh, no?”

“Then he doesn’t like you.”

…

What?

“Is this an ongoing thing?”

“It is! Yoru’s like, the best cook here. Nobody can top him, but nobody can get a taste either. I’d kill to try his homemade soba!”

She said as she licked her lips with the same excitement she harboured for her lola’s adobo. You beamed at this, sitting up once more. Nobody can get a taste either, huh? And Neon’s overeagerness combined with the tornado omelette you saw earlier, it was clear that his dishes were no joke. Gordon Ramsay who, right?

But just as you thought you could take on this challenge, you backed off.

No way.

Then, Neon fixed her posture once the sound of heels clicking took over your ears, both of you looking back to see a silhouette familiar to only her. You squinted, before smiling once you recognised the large ponytail, elegantly swerving with each step.

“Good morning, Y/N. How’s your hand?”

The ‘monk’, as you called her in your mind said, a sweet smile lifting her cheeks. Applying pressure to your fingers, you could tell the drug only now was in the midst of wearing off.

“Still numb, but I’m used to it.”

“Good. Are you ready to go back to the lab?”

You sighed and nodded. But just as you stood up, so did Neon, putting down her now-empty smoothie with a loud clank.

“Sage, did we decide on a name yet?”

Sage. That’s her name. Well, callsign

“Something came to mind, but we won't get to it until we determine how her hand works.”

She stopped at the doorway, wordlessly gesturing to you both to follow her. And with excitement you definitely didn’t share, Neon made her way towards the healer, trotting with each step.

❤ฺ·。

There wasn’t much of a difference between your old boss and Viper, now that a few hours have passed. Sure, this time, by what Yoru said and Neon confirmed; you had absolutely no bills to pay and even had vending machines to eat out of and all you had to do was let her study you relentlessly– okay, putting it that way; you sounded like a child.

“This might hurt.”

Viper suddenly twisted your wrist, forcing you to take in a sharp breath. Just a few more inches, and she’d definitely rip a few tendons. Thank god your hand was still numb.

“No, that’s fine– go ahead.”

You said with an awkward giggle, but she didn’t change her focused expression. And like an orange, more of the transparent nectar slipped out. And using her pipet, she aspirated a considerable amount of it, before emptying out on a vial. Then, she repeated this process, until it was full.

“Sheesh, Y/N. Are you a sadist?”

“Sadist…?”

You said in confusion. Viper pulled away, side-eyeing Neon as she worked on the sample, and you quickly clutched your wet hand to relieve the pain.

“I think you mean masochist.”

“Tomato, tomato.”

Viper inhaled the scent of the nectar. And to your surprise, her face twisted to disgust; a major contrast to the serene expression you evoked from her and Sage just the day before.

“The smell keeps changing. What’s with that?”

“How? Didn’t it smell like fruit yesterday?”

“Yes, but it’s like…”

She pulled down her surgical mask and smelled it once more.

…

Viper shook her head. Clearly, she knew the answer, she just didn’t want to say.

“Neon, smell this.”

Neon stepped up to the counter and took a deep sniff, before coughing and pulling away.

“Why does that smell like– bleh, it smells like a bunch of electricity!”

You stared at her in confusion, and she took another deep inhale, clearing her throat.

“Yeah, it’s like, it’s kinda like I stuffed my face into a thunderstorm and smelt it, you know? It– it doesn’t make sense, I know!”

“Probably shouldn’t have only one person to test the sample.”

Viper sarcastically noted as she hurriedly closed the vial. This, of course, earned an odd look from you.

“Wait– but yesterday you said that the smell was good. Why’s it bad now?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s linked to emotion. How do you feel right now?”

You blinked.

“Uh… Fine, I guess?”

Just as you said that, there was a loud yet unfamiliar knock on the door behind you, and you all looked over to see a figure push the doors open and let himself in. It was a large burly man. Tall, and by god, even though his ocean-blue colour scheme reminded you of Yoru, the aura he emitted with each step was one of confidence and joy you’ve never seen in anyone else, especially not in a workplace. It was a complete juxtaposition to everything the Japanese was.

“Good afternoon, ladies! How are we doing?”

He called out with an immense amount of charm, being met with a wide smile from Neon.

“Harbour, welcome back! Remember what I told you? We found your match!”

“I thought I heard some ruckus about a new bracelet-wielder around here.”

Harbour. That must be the guy with the bracelet artefact, you thought.

He stopped. And though he met your gaze, your eyes were locked on his arm, his own imposing bracelet taking over half of his forearm with mesmerising patterns, as if it was cuttlefish that would take on different colours to hypnotise prey. Moreover, it was gold. Unlike the weird gross green tinge you had, it shined brilliantly, harbouring the same confidence as its carrier.

“I take it you’re tired?”

You jumped and looked at him, your lids heavier than a few tonnes of metal. Clearly, he said a few things you didn’t catch beforehand.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, I was– uh, your bracelet’s so much cooler…”

“Don’t say that, I’m sure yours has its own unique–”

“Definitely not.”

Holding up your arm, your hand and fingers numb, you smiled awkwardly as you allowed him to take in your own underwhelming… artefact. You noticed a shift in his expression as he took a step closer and observed, but his response wasn’t what you expected.

“Wait, is this a plant, or what?”

Only now did you notice the bracelet’s new form. And to say it was incredibly awkward looking, especially compared to Harbour, would be a grave understatement. To put it in the most flattering way possible, it looked like you ripped out a rose, cut off the top, took the stem and tightly wrapped them around your hand.

It took on a more forest-green colour with a vague cherry red hue surrounding it, a dozen spikes slowly sprouting with a drop of clear fluid on the end of each one of them. Said liquid looked like the nectar your hand would produce, but more contained.

Sure, the green might literally be its ‘stem’, but what plant even looked like this? Besides the aforementioned roses, you couldn’t think of anything else that was red in this way.

“Harbour, before you train her, can you smell this?”

Viper quickly handed him the vial. And once he complied, you noticed his previously amicable expression quickly switch at this. The scent displeased him. It wasn’t like he was disgusted, either. It was something else.

“That’s…”

He smelled it once more, before handing it back to her.

“That’s just repugnant.”

“Repugnant? Why, what do you smell?”

Even she was surprised at the word he used.

“I can’t describe it. I– I think you should ask someone else instead. Now, let’s get going, those hands aren’t going to train themselves, are they?”

Barely given a moment to process from how fast he was going, you quickly stood up and followed him. But why was he so eager to leave the conversation after smelling the vial? You wondered, especially with how quick he began talking. Just what could be in it?

However, before you could ask, he suddenly perked up with a new topic.

“How long have you been in that lab for?”

“Oh, I don’t know, since twelve?”

“Twelve afternoon? That’s almost six hours. I can’t imagine how suffocating it would be to stay that long. No pun intended.”

You smiled to yourself, meeting his gaze as you each walked down an unfamiliar hallway. He didn’t say anything funny, you just couldn’t help but share his contagious joy just by the way he’d talk.

Harbour was a massive difference from Yoru, that’s for sure.

“No pun intended? What pun?”

“You weren’t told yet? Viper works with poison. That’s her whole thing.”

“Oh? Poison? But I thought– wasn’t she a doctor…?”

“Doctor? Well, if you consider submerging rats in acid as healing them, then technically she’s a doctor.”

You sighed and rubbed your temples, attempting to move your right hand’s fingers despite barely being able to feel them. But thankfully, by this time, the drugs had slowly begun to wear off.

“Is there anyone normal around here?”

Harbour laughed and crossed his arms.

“I’ll be the first to tell you, you’re out of luck with that. I can't think of anybody here that’s normal.”

“Looks like I’m the first one, huh?”

Harbour laughed, slapping your back with a considerable amount of roughness, enough to unintentionally hurt you. But you kept your mouth shut and simply smiled along. It felt like your shoulder blade was about to break in half.

Every new agent that would be introduced, it would take some time to get used to them, with how unique everyone looked. But the only unique thing about you was your ‘bracelet’, the dark roots deep within your arm that looked like veins from far away, and maybe your messy bob. Other than that, you looked completely out of place. Almost to a funny degree if it wasn’t terrifying somewhat.

Harbour then stopped in front of a doorway. Inside, you could hear distant banging. Few and far between, but each one still made you jump.

“What the hell’s that noise?”

“That? Probably Gekko training.”

Gekko?

“What kind of training makes this noise?”

He looked at you in amusement, still grinning.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you were normal, huh? Anyway, you’ve spent six hours back in the lab, you don’t want a break before we work on that hand?”

“No, no, no breaks, it’s okay. We can keep going.”

“Are you sure?”

You smiled and shook your head, clearly insisting despite your considerable need to lie down. It felt like you’d be a nuisance if you prolonged this anymore, so you couldn’t help but cave in.

“Sure. I’m a bank clerk, I can handle anything.”

“Is that so? Can you handle guns?”

You awkwardly laughed, hoping that he was being sarcastic since his cheeky tone supported this notion.

“Oh, please. I get held at gunpoint weekly at work, a little glock isn’t gonna do anything to me.”

“Haha, good one. Alright, come in, we’ll see what you can do.”

You weren’t joking.

He swung the doors open and allowed the air from inside to strongly hit your face like a solid bring, the strong scent of gunpowder entering your nostrils. And from the figure far away, shooting down a few dozen bots with smoke billowing from the red tip, it wasn’t a smell your hand could produce, that's for sure. Not since you yourself could smell it.

“Gekko, easy on the Vandal! Give it a moment to cool down!”

He shouted over the shooting, somehow, his deep voice dwarfing the sounds of the bullets. Enough to earn his attention and quickly comply.

“Hey, coach, welcome back! How was–”

Just as Gekko looked back, he cut his sentence short and smiled as you two approached him, the smell of fire growing stronger and stronger.

“Woah, who’s this?”

He quickly put the gun down, turned his body to face you in order to look more presentable. And by god, you couldn’t help but stare at his neon green buzzcut. With how exhausted you were, this bright colour managed to wake you up.

“We have a new one to train alongside you. This is…”

“Y/N.”

Gekko beamed at this, clearly excited at having a new recruit already.

“Y/N! What’s up? They didn’t give you a name, yet?”

“Yeah… no. She’s an active threat right now. Names will come after we make sure she won’t squash the base by accident.”

“Squash the base? Like the whole thing?! Jeez, I don’t even want to ask what you can do.”

You sighed.

“You don’t want to know.”

“Hopefully it doesn’t involve the radivore stuff, Deadlock will be on your ass if so.”

He winked with an immense amount of cheekiness, earning an eye roll from Harbour. But before he could get an earful for somehow bringing whoever that was into this, you heard a gurgle behind him, and a yellow creature emerged from next to his leg, an audible pitter patter with each slow step as it moved to get a good look at you.

You blinked and stared at it.

Were you dreaming, or what?

“Since when were penguins yellow?”

Gekko looked down in confusion, before he glanced behind him and saw exactly what you were talking about. And he couldn’t help but laugh at your assumption.

“No, this is Wings! He’s one of my buddies. You know, he’s part of that radivore thing I talked about.”

You knelt, getting a closer look at the critter. And he looked adorable. Especially with the armour plates and the purple mask thing he had over his face, complementing his beady white eyes.

“Is he a penguin, though?”

“Noo, no penguins! He’s a whole new thing, you feel me? I dunno what, but it’s… um, you know, I never really thought about it.”

“Maybe you should do the honours of naming the species, Gekko.”

Harbour joked, but Gekko seemed to take it seriously, saying something your tired mind didn’t catch.

Wingman slowly approached, his eyes clearly stuck on the bracelet. Probably since the vein-root thing looked pretty macabre when you spent more than a second observing it.

“Anyway, I’m thinking we take this training outside, like Brim said. Maybe a landscape, what do you think?”

Harbour noted. And Gekko probably said something in response to this, but again, you couldn’t focus on anything other than the mysterious creature in front of you. Also, how much you wanted to sleep. Hey, things were going well so far, why not enjoy yourself?

“He’s so tiny, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

You muttered. And on instinct, after the medicine wore off, you lifted your right hand to pet him.

“Y/N, I don’t think you should–”

A loud crash, though muffled, suddenly took over all of your ears.

You suddenly were forced up with an immense amount of pressure around your wrists, enough to completely restrict your blood flow. Harbour had grabbed your wrist and lifted you before anymore damage could be done.

“OKAY. Okay. You know what? I think we’re taking you–”

Then, a portion of the roof to your right tumbled over, squashing at least five bots with a loud bang that deafened each of you. And of course, that wasn’t to account for the debris that suddenly rushed so threateningly close towards you.

All colour drained from your face.

❤ฺ·。

Your entire right arm was drugged.

And despite her best efforts, Neon wasn’t able to convince you to leave her room to meet the rest of the agents, especially her friends, who’d just returned from their expedition. Or even help you forget what had happened. The only silver lining in this was that Viper hadn’t had the time to assign you your own room. Otherwise, she’d be banging and clawing at your door like a hungry cat.

“Y/N, relax, it’s fine! Harbour said the hole’s only a metre wide, it’s easy to fix!”

“I’M NOT MOVING.”

You shouted, your voice muffled since your hand covered the majority of your face. Mostly the lower part, but I digress. Since you were sitting on a chair with your arm resting on the vanity table (full of plushies you pushed away), she was able to place a hand on your back in an attempt to reassure you.

“I’m serious, it’ll be fixed in like, a few days. Are you gonna sit here your entire life?”

“Do you know what I heard when I came back here? The white haired one, she said; ‘why’s the training range out of order?’”

Neon knew you were referring to Jett. And yeah, duh, said range was most of the agents’ favourite spot to chill, other than the cafeteria. So putting out of order on your first day… Mortifying, to say the least.

“It was an honest mistake, Y/N. Nobody’s mad over it. Also we have like, a bunch of robots to take care of stuff around here.”

“I’m not leaving this room, Tala! When I meet those other people, I’ll probably pancake them! The only person who I sorta made a good impression on was Yoru, and that was its own brand of embarrassing…”

Neon took a step back and stroked her chin, suddenly falling into silence for the next few seconds.

Of course, being overwhelmed with the fact you’d crushed a portion of the base, even though Harbour insisted it was his fault for not bringing you out sooner, it took you a moment to realise that she was brewing one of her familiar plans.

Then, she took out her phone and gave you her back, taking a few steps away. And you couldn’t help but let curiosity get the best of you.

“Tala, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Nothing…”

Ignoring the dozen of messages she’d already received from her friends when they noticed her and your disappearance, she quickly opened Yoru’s (empty) DMs and began rapidly typing. Of course, of all people, he’d be the last to ask about your whereabouts.

‘HEY’

Surprisingly, he went online and saw the message pretty fast.

‘HELP ME GET HER OUT????’

‘SHE DOESNT WANT TO LEAVE MY ROOM CUS OF THE RANGE STUFF’

‘tf do u want me to do’

“It’s this stupid hand!”

You suddenly called out, grabbing your numb wrist and tossing it on the table like it wasn’t a part of your body. And under the sharp rays of the beach image she’d set to your right, it managed to highlight the roots inside. A few had grown thicker than your very fingers, and travelled through your entire arm towards your shoulder. Clothes concealed the rest of the details, but did you want to know what it looked like?

Thanks to the medicine, it prevented the bracelet from emitting scent. Otherwise the whole room would stink of electricity or whatever Neon said earlier.

“I wish I could just chop it off! I can go with one hand in life, why shouldn’t I?! I can switch to using my left one, anyway!”

Neon, while texting, laughed to herself.

“Not that I’m saying you should, but– why don’t you? Again, I’m not saying you should!”

You sat back with a deep sigh. Admittedly, you would never willingly amputate your arm. You weren’t that desperate. Or brave.

“Viper said the thing’s implanted in my nervous system, or something. It’s stuck to my brain now.”

“Unlucky…”

She nervously mumbled, continuously spamming Yoru with texts upon texts as you spoke.

“Hey, so, unrelated, how do you feel about Sage?”

“Sage? That healer one?”

Neon nodded and turned to your gaze, setting her phone to silent so that you wouldn’t hear the incoming notifications. She watched you shrug and turn your gaze to the string of pictures and posters hung up in front of you.

“I didn’t see much of her, but she’s nice, I guess. Why’s it always the healers who are nice?”

“What?”

“Nothing! Okay, how about this. We talk to Sage, and since she’s nice and stuff, maybe she can help you out?”

You stared at her for a few seconds, before standing up and walking towards the centrepiece of the room, the haven of her plushes and freedom to do the most impossible gymnastics in her sleep.

“Thanks, but I think it’s better if I head to bed.”

“Wait, wait, think about it! She does stuff with her hands, you do stuff with your hands, it’s a match! Right?”

You plopped yourself onto the bed. And like a cocoon, you wrapped the blankets around you, completely concealing yourself. Neon let out a defeated groan.

“Goodnight, Tala.”

“Bah, you’re such a grandma! Who sleeps at nine?”

“Goodnight!”

You announced, and finally convinced her to give up.

She turned towards the door and closed the lights, before giving you one last look.

“I’m gonna introduce them to you, anyway. When you leave this room, they’ll all know who you are!”

“Sure, whatever.”

“I’m warning you!”

Among the maze you formed with the blanket, you somehow managed to slither your responsive hand out to give her a wave, earning a giggle from her.

“Is that permission granted? Thanks! I won’t disappoint you!”

And with that, the door slammed shut, miniscule particles of dust settling after the impact.