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detectiveichijouji · 9 months

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Case 12 - A fragment’s dungeon

[AO3 version]

Going to school a little late made Daisuke cross his path with a boy named Noel Leblanc, who was an overseas student from Amanogawa High. Daisuke used his good sense of humor and friendlish aura to introduce the kid to the school, with the help of Takeru and Hikari. Meanwhile, Ken discovered what the mysterious ‘treasure’ Arsenemon was after is, and sent the report to Miyako, who called everyone at the karaoke booth to discuss it after school. They learned that said pieces came from a digimental called ‘Digimental of Desire’ and that it was shattered into 20 pieces. Arsenemon has three while the Chosen Children only two. There’s still 15 pieces left!!

However, Arsenemon and his accomplice Espimon discovered the next fragment’s localization -- at Shinjo Michi’s residence. A calling card is sent, and the group went to talk with Michi but they saw Lune with her. And Daisuke dumped this case on the others in order to help Noel again?!

What will happen next?

“... And That’s all!” Daisuke finished explaining the places and routes to go to certain places in Tokyo… by using a map since he’s not very good at explaining things.

“O-oh… Thank you, Motomiya-san…! But… Weren’t you going somewhere with those other kids…?”

“Did you hear us…?” Daisuke blinked, maybe he talked too loud this time…

“No…” Noel shook his head, “I saw you with them and assumed you were hanging out…”

“We were going to a cafe, but you seemed lost again,” V-mon replied.

“Ah… I didn’t want to bug anyone…!! I’m sorry!!”

“N-no, it’s okay, it’s okay!! Daisuke waved his hands, “Besides, they can handle it by themselves, I have faith in them.”

“If that’s the case…”

“Do you have a digimon partner, Noel?” V-mon asked, out of the blue. Noel shook his head, “Ah…”

“Is… Is that bad?” the boy asked, concerned.

“No, but it’s turning into something rare nowadays” Daisuke replied with a sigh, so this kid running around without a digimon might be dangerous… -- he thought.

“There’s big numbers so far” V-mon added, “You might get a partner digimon someday too.”

“No age restriction though, my sister is six years older than me and she got a digimon in 2003--”

Suddenly, Daisuke’s phone rang -- “Just a sec,” and he answered the call, “Heeeeello? H-huh?? You discovered who’s the next target? Ok, I’m comin’ Ken!”

“What’s wrong?” V-mon asked, watching Daisuke hang up the call.

“They found Arsenemon’s target. We have to retrieve that piece before him!”

“Um… Who’s Arsenemon, Motomiya-san?” Noel asked.

“It’s a sneaky thief trying to gather pieces of a forbidden Digimental only for himself!” Daisuke snorted, clenching his hands, “He keeps making fun of us, but not this time!!”

“Hmm… Do you have any proof that he wants it for himself only? Ah, I’m not… defending him…”

“Huh?” V-mon blinked, and Daisuke stood quiet. Noel had a point though… They got something vague about ‘stealing’ a treasure, but… nothing for what purpose…!!

“He said he was going to steal those pieces…” Daisuke frowned, “But not for what purpose… I think…”

“The bad guys… Always want something like world domination… It’s a bit odd, don’t you think?”

“True… Hmm… Maybe next time we meet him, I will straight up ask him!!”

“Daisuke, should we go?” V-mon asked, “Maybe… We can ask him tonight!!”

“Alright! We catch ya later, Noel! Don’t get lost again!” and he and V-mon left, running…

“You shouldn’t do that” Noel heard a voice behind him, and he looked at the tree he was next to, “Why would you--”

“It’s not a lie, you know it… I think they misunderstood what was said.”

“Yeah, they did. Because being vague like this only made things harder.”

“But, doesn’t it make things interesting…?”

“... I won’t reply to that.”

“Soooo… This weird broken Emerald wasn’t actually a normal Emerald and yes a part of a Digimental?” Michi tried to recap everything those people said, right heading to her home.

“Yes/Yeah/Mhm” the 02 Group replied.

“And there’s a phantom thief digimon going after it, so that’s why you want me to give it to you?”

“Yes/Yeah/Exactly.”

“Well, I guess I can give it to you then…” Michi shrugged, “I wanted to make a necklace for a friend but I don’t think I should use a broken gem in it.”

“Will you??” Miyako smiled, “Thank y--” Hikari was about to thank her, but…!

“Besides, if it is a Digimental this could mean a broken Digimental might make digimon go amok without a complete one. So I don’t want any digimon to end up using it on them, including Plotmon or my friend’s Bakumon.”

“-- That’s a valid point here” Takeru blinked. “True, we didn’t get one of those pieces to react to a digimon yet, but it might be plausible” Iori mused.

“Haha, I’m just kidding! It can’t happen, can it??” Michi chuckled, but she noticed the other kids were… Taking it seriously…?!

“..........”

“Are you kidding me!?” She stopped and turned to the group, “Is it possible!?”

“Michi, you shouldn’t take this lightly” Plotmon sighed, on Michi’s arms.

Suddenly, they meet a long black haired girl, running desperately in their direction.

“Huh what is Sara doing here?” Plotmon tilted

“Michi, something’s off with Bakumon!!” she was waverining, pale as she saw a ghost, “Huh, aren’t they…”

“The famous Chosen Children? You bet!”

“What happened to Bakumon?” Plotmon asked.

“... Bakumon found a strange gem and…” she was very hesitant, “Something happened…”

“Could you please give us the details?” Hawkmon asked, politely.

“... Evolved with the gem. But now… It’s running out of control right now.”

“What!?” Michi, Plotmon and the 02 Group’s eyes widened with that big news.

“I think you shouldn’t have said that, Michi” Plotmon looked at the girl.

“D-don’t put the blame on me!! 💦”

At this point, they won’t get the Digimental fragment before Arsenemon, right!?

As the sun goes down, the 02 group alongside Michi find out that Michi’s house has turned into a strange dungeon, possibly fulfilled by Bakumon’s deepest desires. Bakumon evolved into Baluchimon instead of a wild beast, or Monochromon (which is the form Sara achieved before). The place was like a video-game, one of those Bakumon and Sara liked to play with Michi and Plotmon when they were kids.

“What is this…?” Patamon exclaimed, Huh, Takeru’s and everyone’s clothes…!!

They… Changed!?

“Are we on a Final Fan--” Iori covered Armadimon’s mouth.

“Ken-chan got a ponytail!!” Wormmon’s eyes were sparkling with glee, but Ken wasn’t very fond of having his hair way longer than his usual…

“Huh, Michi and Sara’s clothes didn’t change…” Plotmon blinked.

“The calling card mentioned Arsenemon would be here at 9 PM,” Iori reminded them all, “We have to hurry.”

“Alright!/Understood.”

Daisuke wasn’t there yet, though…

“Man, I wish we could be a little faster…” Daisuke whined, running on Lighdramon through the streets, “It’s already nighttime!”

“I’m doing my best here…!!” Lighdramon snorted, annoyed with that complaint,” It would’ve been easier if we went flying straight up there…!!”

“I’m sorry that I picked the wrong choice! But you can’t Evolve into XV-mon if you devolve now. It will waste your energy and you might not be able to fight!! And if you have no energy to evolve you can’t jogress-evolve into Paildramon with Stingmon so this means--”

“Alright alright, I got it…!!”

“... I have an idea! But promise to not drop me in mid-air.”

“Hm?”

“Let’s go to the top of the buildings and go from there, so you don’t need to worry about the traffic or the pedestrians!”

“Daisuke… Are you crazy?”

“You know I’m serious, and I trust you with my own life. So I know you won’t drop me!”

Lighdramon chuckled, “Ok… But hold tight…!” And he started a wall jump to the top of the buildings. Once they landed at the top, they could see some suspicious digimon flying there on his cane as some sort of magical hoverboard, “That’s…!!”

“Arsenemon” Daisuke clutched his hands, holding Lighdramon’s spine tightly, “Let’s go, Lighdramon!”

“Roger!!”

“This is the power of Baluchimon’s Cloud Vision” Ken reported to the group, “I’ve heard of that kind of digimon before… They use this technique to confuse the enemy and lead them to the exit of their territories.”

“Can we evolve?” Wormmon asked.

“I’m not sure…”

“How do you know that information?” Michi asked, impressed by Ken’s knowledge.

“... Um, let’s say I had studied the digimon and its culture before.”

“It was for Chimeramon, right?” The other four 02 kids looked at Ken, saying it with an annoyed voice.

“... 💧” Ken just felt a little… intimidated by their gaze.

“If you’re not sure about evolving… You could try right now” Sara suggested, and Hikari could feel the other was growing impatient by her seizing her hand with the other.

“Worth a try” Michi replied with a nod, “Let’s do it, Plotmon” and he took her digivice from her pocket.

But… Nothing happened. As Ken suspected, the power of Baluchimon was interfering with the digimon’s evolution. Could this mean…?

“Maybe Armor evolution might work” Miyako suggested, “Ok, here we go! Sincerity Digimental-- ” But the Digimental in front of her took the shape of a big shuriken, like the one used by Shurimon. The only difference was the Crest of Sincerity engraved in it “Huh!?”

“What-- How did you do that, Miyako-san?” Everyone asked her, who just felt the pressure over her.

“I… I don’t know!!” she babbled, “I just tried to Armor evolve Hawkmon into Shurimon!”

“That might be Baluchimon’s power too” Ken replied, “Hmm, interesting.”

“Don’t just say ‘Hm, interesting’ and stay there!” Sara finally snapped, “Bakumon is in danger…!!”

“Maybe we can use those strange weapons to advance,” Iori suggested, “Miyako-san and I have two Digimentals each, we can lend one for each of you.”

“Hohoho, gimme a cool Digimental then!” Michi grinned, then Miyako used the Digimental of Love and it became an Ax with the details of Horusmon -- the helmet became the blades or a twin ax “Hohoho, I loved it!!”

“Michi, don’t do anything reckless…” both Plotmon and Sara showed concern.

“So you think we can handle this by… brute force?” Hikari frowned. “There might exist a way to evolve,” Tailmon mused, “We still don’t know how.”

The rest used their own Digimentals and they turned into JRPG weapons too: Ken got a twin spear based on Pucchiemon’s ears; Iori a sword from Submarimon’s harpoon-nose, Takeru a gunbow based on Pegasusmon, while Hikari had a crossbow with Nefertimon’s motif. Iori offered the Digimental of Knowledge to Sara, but she refused: What if I hurt Bakumon!? -- Her denial was so deep that they decided to leave her in Michi and Plotmon’s hands.

With the help of their partners, they faced the challenges imposed by Baluchimon’s illusion. Since everything was fake, they didn’t care about hurting or destroying the enemy digimon popping out from the way -- also, they were weaker than regular digimon… Allowing the 02 group and Michi to beat them with those weapons.

When they were this close to reaching Baluchimon’s realm… Baluchimon itself had eyes glowing in green, just like the gem in its head. Huh odd, because this gem should be red and the eyes blue, isn’t it? -- Ken thought.

“Bakumon!!” Sara shouted with a worried face, “Bakumon please stop!! I… I don’t want to lose you!!”

“S…a…r…a…!!?”

“Bakumon’s reacting to Sara’s voice!” Patamon commented, and the group was still unsure what could happen next.

“Bakumon please… Please stop!!”

“...S…a…r…a……H…e…l…p…!!”

“Y’all need to remove the gem from its head,” they heard a voice?! From where!? “This will revert Baluchimon into Bakumon again!”

“Who’s ther-- Nevermind, Wormmon” Ken looked at his partner, “Use Sticky Net technique on that green gem from its head!”

“Right!” Wormmon nodded and aimed at the said diamond-shaped jewel on Baluchimon’s head, “Sticky Net!!”

The silky net hit the gem, and then all they had to do was to pull it out!! Everyone held the other end of the silk net and pulled it until they heard a “POP!” and the broken gem left Baluchimon’s head. And with this, the entire illusion vanished, as Bakumon regained its original form.

“Bakumon!!” Sara ran towards Bakumon’s direction and fell on her knees, then embraced Bakumon in a warm and tight hug, “Bakumon I was so afraid of losing you!!”

Ken took the fragment from the silky net and looked around, that voice…

“Ken-kun--” Miyako called him, but he ran to the entrance, “Wa-wait, where are you going!?”

The group followed him and Wormmon to find out…

“Yo.”

Daisuke and V-mon??

“Why did you take it so long!?” Miyako snapped, “If we needed to face a strong digimon and the only option were Imperialdramon we would’ve been--”

“I… I had another business to do” Daisuke shrugged.

“What business?” Armadimon raised an eyebrow.

“I met him, Arsenemon… He told me something about those pieces.”

“W-what!?”

“And you let him go!?” Patamon gasped.

“Only this time!” Daisuke growled, “Well, those pieces react to the strongest desires of a digimon, so we should be careful with them.”

“So that’s why you left the note on us inside,” Ken mused, “But why didn’t you come inside?”

“I couldn’t,” he sighed, “Something was preventing me from getting inside. But If you heard what I said…”

“Hmmm…/Suspicious…” they all squinted at Daisuke and V-mon.

“W-what’s wrong with y’all!?” V-mon and Daisuke stared at them in return.

“How did you know about the green gem, if you weren’t inside?” Tailmon asked, Daisuke felt this meant they wouldn’t believe him or V-mon.

“Arsenemon told me. Really, he just let us do it because… He didn’t want to see that Bakumon suffer like that.”

“Suspicious…” Patamon and Armadimon said together.

“ARGH! YA DON’T BELIEVE ME!?” “That’s cruel!!” V-mon dramatically fell on his knees.

“I think he’s telling the truth” Hikari frowned, “But I don’t understand…”

“If Daisuke-san met Arsenemon personally… This means he knows what he looks like, right?” Hawkmon said with a serious tone of voice.

“I didn’t see his face, it was…”

“STOP RIGHT THERE, ARSENEMON!! YOU WON’T ESCAPE TODAY!!” Daisuke screamed, he and Lighdramon were closer to catch the phantom thief this time.

“Pardon, but I can’t let you catch me.”

“Then answer me! Why are you after those Digimental of Desire’s pieces!? Are you a bad guy!?”

“My my… You think a vile digimon would steal those fragments before they run the digimon amok?”

That made both Daisuke and Lighdramon gasp in silence.

“What do you mean!?” Lighdramon asked.

“That Digimental was forbidden and hidden because it drove the digimon insane, besides forcing its user to pay a high cost to achieve that power. It’s a wicked tool, if you ask me.”

Daisuke was confused now…

“Then…Why are YOU stealing those pieces!?”

“That’s something you might not believe me, so I will spare you from the details for now…”

They reached Shinjo Michi’s residence, but once Daisuke tried to get in… Something prevented him and Lighdramon from going inside.

“DARN IT!!” Daisuke snapped, “What should we do!?”

Arsenemon used his own magician powers to look inside, “I’m too late, the fragment reacted to a digimon and evolved it into Baluchimon already.”

“Baluchimon?” Lighdramon and Daisuke repeated.

“I see your friends are inside too, this won’t end well… Unless we do something.”

“What should we do??” Daisuke seemed panicked, “How can we help them??”

“I’ll lend you my magic trick, use it to tell your friends what I’m about to tell you.”

“Daisuke… Should we trust him?” Lighdramon asked, he was tense as well.

“... We have no choice. I accept the deal.”

“So, Arsenemon casted a spell on you?” Hikari asked.

“Yeah sorta, but it didn’t last for much time…” he shrugged, “All I could say was about the green gem on Baluchimon’s head. I couldn’t tell y’all I was outside, or to warn about the piece turning digimon unstable.”

“Hmm, if you say so” Tailmon smiled “We trust you.”

“But why would Arsenemon help us?” Ken asked himself, musing “This is strange…”

“Yeah we don’t know either” V-mon this time shrugged and shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Takeru smiled, “All's well that ends well.”

They then left, heading back to their homes. But someone watched them from the distance,

“Why did you help them, boss?” Espimon asked Arsenemon, who had a warm smile on his face.

“Let’s say I was paying a favor in return,” he replied, nonchalantly.

What did he mean by that…??

#02 team digimon case files #young prince detective ichijouji ken

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asknarashikari · 2 years

Note

So in Zyuohger, Yamato claims that ghosts aren't real, despite meeting Takeru Tenkuuji, Kamen Rider ghost himself. Here's a minific idea (it could be just your thoughts XD): Yamato reacting to kamen rider ghosts, and knowing everything there is to know about him (including the many times he's died and how he died on his 18th birthday)

You know... even though they did team up, I don't think Takeru mentioned that he was... well, actually dead. Or that those floaty things that came out of the thing he used to change form were the literal souls of famous people.

Also, it's kinda funny how you asked for this prompt, because Ghost is rather infamous for having Takeru narrate what happened to him... in EVERY EPISODE. In fact... you can hear the narration for yourself here, in the 2nd episode of the show, with official subs courtesy of Toei themselves!

Some mild spoilers for Ghost, so beware. Though it is a five year old show at this point lol

"Wait, what?" Yamato asked, his jaw on the floor as he absorbed the last sentence he heard. "You can't be serious, right?"

"...I am?" Takeru replied, looking baffled at Yamato. "Why did you think I called myself Ghost?"

"I thought it was just a random name you took!" Yamato flailed. "But you're telling me, all that time, you were actually a ghost?!"

"Yup," Takeru replied, shrugging as if it was no big deal. "Walking through walls, can't eat dinner, the whole shebang."

"B-But..." Yamato said. "How can you fight, if you were a ghost?!" he asked, trying to work it out in his head and coming up with nothing. "Never mind that, what even happened to you that made you a ghost to begin with?!"

"Oh, um, well you see, on my eighteenth birthday I received a gift from my late dad-" He pulled out a strange orb-like object from his sleeve. "This thing, called an Eyecon, which allowed me to see these monsters called Ganma. One of them attacked me, and I wasn't a match for them... so I died?"

Yamato blinked in disbelief. "You died... on your birthday... What kind of rotten luck...?"

"Oh, but then this strange old man appeared! He told me if I gathered 15 of these things, which had the heroic spirits in them, I would be able to come back to life!" Takeru explained further. "That's how I became a ghost and a Kamen Rider!"

"...I think I need to sit down." Yamato said, clutching his head as if he were dizzy and grabbing onto a wall to support himself as he slid to his knees. "So... You died. And you became a ghost."

"Well, technically, I died several times, but yes. "

"Several times!" Yamato said, his voice going high-pitched. "And you use souls to fight." He blinked. "Those parka things we saw before...?"

"Hmm, yes. Masamune, Benkei, Edison, Robin Hood, just to name a few... oh, and my dad, too."

"You used your dad's soul to fight?!"

"Yup. With the Toucon Boost Eyecon." Takeru hummed. "It had my mom's soul too."

"Both of your parents!" Yamato yelped. "How can you keep saying all of these things with a straight face?!"

Takeru shrugged. "I've been through a lot, I guess? I mean, I fought Pacman..."

"Okay." Yamato sighed. "I think I've heard enough." He looked at Takeru. "Your life is even crazier than mine and I've lived with the Zyuman for a year."

#kamen rider ghost #tenkuuji takeru #doubotsu sentai zyuohger #kazakiri yamato #minific #hxmxbros

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tanzaniiite · 4 years

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Prompt #25 with iwai please ;; btw your writing is very tasty !! Keep up the good work & stay safe !!

WORTH IT • IWAIZUMI H.

prompt: “apparently everyone has a bet going on that we get together”

requests: OPEN

warnings: none!

word count: 1.5k

i’m so sorry this took as long as it did! with everything going on in the world my motivation has plummeted but i hope you enjoy! thank you for the request!

"Ugh can you two stop flirting and just get together already"

You rolled your eyes at Matsukawa's comment as you helped put the volleyballs away. "Aw, I'm sorry is it bothering you that my love life is more interesting than yours?" You retort, smirking a bit. Mattsun just gaps at you, "Rude" He replies narrowing his eyes. You giggle as you hear Oikawa cackling on the other side of the gym. Iwaizumi comes to you and puts the last volleyball in the bin, "He's just laughing because it's not him that's getting made fun of for once" He whispers, which causes you to laugh some more.

Iwaizumi looks at you a small smile gracing his features, "Someone's giggly today" He mentions, poking your side. You smack his hand away, "It's sleep deprivation and don't do that" You explain. Hajime smirks, "That's right, you're ticklish. You do that little snort thing too" He mocks, fake snorting which makes you blush slightly. "Oh shut up! Are you ready to go? I got homework to do" You say, grabbing your bag.

"Actually I'm gonna stay, practice a bit more with Shittykawa" He states, pointing at Oikawa fussing with Mattsun and Makki. "Booo, you suck" You tease, shaking your head disapprovingly. "You swallow" Iwaizumi countered not missing a beat. You groan and punch his shoulder, "You're gross" You remarked, scrunching your nose in disgust, causing Iwaizumi to laugh loudly.

Oikawa walks up to you two, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. "Ugh, what're you up to dumbass?" Hajime asked, already fed up with Tooru from earlier today. Oikawa gasped, "I'm not up to anything Iwa-chan! I'm hurt that you think so low of me" He declared, feigning hurt or maybe he actually was hurt. Who knows? Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, "Spare me the dramatics. What do you want?" He inquired, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So direct" You commented while texting your mother on your whereabouts. "I know right? Anyways, I can't do extra practice today, my sister called and needs me to watch Takeru. Sorry" Oikawa said. "That's fine, we'll practice another time" Hajime nodded. Once Oikawa was out of earshot, you turned to Iwaizumi, "Does this mean you can walk me home now?" You asked, already putting on your jacket.

Iwaizumi chuckled, "And why would I do that? Your house is in the opposite direction of mine". You pout a bit, "Uh because you always walk me home, asshat" You retort, crossing your arms. Hajime ruffles your hair, "I'm just teasing, relax. Toss a few sets for me then I'll take you home" He requests, getting a volleyball from the bin. You shake your head, "Hell no, your definition of a 'few sets' means we'll be here all goddamn night" You claim, turning to leave. He grabs your backpack and pulls you back, "I'm serious, just a few". You narrow your eyes at him before groaning, "Ugh fine! But only a few, I already told my mom I'm on my way home" You say, shrugging off your bag and jacket.

"My mom is going to kill me"

Iwaizumi laughed, "I'm sorry," He said, rubbing the back of his neck. You glare at him, "No you're not" You reply, furrowing your eyebrows. "You're right, I'm not. But hey at least your sets are getting better, you're welcome" He laughed. You just rolled your eyes and continued walking. The rest of the walk to your house was in comfortable silence. You turned to look at the brunette next to you. Damn, he was gorgeous. You could confidently say that you have a massive crush on Hajime. But it wasn't always that way. When you two first met, you couldn't stand each other, you thought he was rude and standoffish while he thought you were a major bitch. You couldn't help but smile thinking about how much your relationship has grown. It was your classic 'enemies to lovers' trope, except that you guys weren't lovers. Best friends? Sure. Lovers? Definitely not.

Although the average person looking in on your relationship with Iwaizumi would say differently. You two flirted constantly as if there was some sort of competition on who could rile up the other more. And it didn't help that you and him were practically attached at the hip. Hajime walked you to class, walked you home, helped you study, hell, he's even met your family. The two of you were practically dating by default! You want to ask Iwaizumi out but you're scared of rejection, obviously. You didn't want to fuck up the good thing you two had going now. You didn't want to make a move unless you were absolutely sure he felt the same. And unfortunately, Hajime didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, the only way you would know his feelings is if he told you.

"Damn Y/n, do I have dirt on my face or something?"

You snapped out of your thoughts and looked at Iwaizumi who was staring at you, mild concern written on his face. You just shook your head and focused your attention on the pavement in front of you, "W-What? No, you're fine" You replied, embarrassed. Hajime just blinked before nudging you slightly, "You good?" He inquired. You nodded and offered him a small smile, "Yeah I'm good". The silence that was once comfortable was now awkward. Iwaizumi wasn't stupid, he knew something was on your mind but what? He wasn't sure. The last thing he ever wanted, was for things to be uncomfortable with you. The relationship you two had was strange enough but he loved it. He even felt selfish for wanting more, thinking this is as good as it's going to get with you. The brunette racked his brain trying to think of something that would break the suffocating silence. Suddenly he remembered something he overheard the team talking about a few practices ago. "Hey, so... apparently everyone has a bet going on that we'll get together. What'd you think of that?" He asked, also looking ahead of him.

You turned to look at him again. Was this his attempt of finally asking you out? Or were you reading into it too much? "Oh yeah? Well, what's the bet exactly?" You inquired, genuinely curious. Iwaizumi glanced at you, "So it's between Mattsun, Makki, and Oikawa. The disaster duo bet that we'll get together by the end of the year. Because we're too oblivious to realize our feelings for one another. And the dumbass believes that we'll get together by the end of this month because it's Oikawa. The wager was that if Shittykawa wins, the duo has to serve him for a month. And if the duo wins, Oikawa has to ask out one of his psycho fangirls" Hajime explained. Wow, those were some pretty high stakes. You smirked a bit, "Is it bad that I want Oikawa to lose?" You asked, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, I kind of want him to lose too" Iwaizumi laughed, "But the only downside to that is that I'll have to wait until after this month to ask you out," He said. You looked at him with wide eyes. Ask you out? He was planning on doing that? Since when? "A-Ask me out?" You repeated, your voice wavering a bit. "Yeah, I was gonna do it this weekend but I really wanna see Oikawa suffer with one of his fangirls" Hajime sighed, shaking his head. You quickly step in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and looking at him with a serious expression. "Are you serious? This isn't a joke, right? I'll literally hate you if you're joking" You claimed. Taken aback by your sudden movements Iwaizumi stared at you blankly before answering, "Y-Yeah I'm serious. I, um, I really like you". You felt like throwing up but not in a bad way. Your heart felt like it wanted to beat right out of your chest. Is this what it was like to have a heart attack?

"If you really like me, then ask me out now"

Hajime's face suddenly became red, so much so that he looked like a strawberry. "H-Huh? What about the bet-" He started. "Forget the bet! I like you too stupid, I've liked you for longer than I'd like to admit. So please, ask me out" You pleaded, looking at him with those beautiful eyes of yours. Iwaizumi swallowed thickly, "Okay then, this is really happening. Y/n, want to go out with me this weekend?" He asked, shyly looking to side trying to avoid eye contact. You smiled so wide, one would think your face was about to tear in two. "Of course I'll go out with you" You answered, finally letting go of his shoulders and embracing him tightly. Iwaizumi smiled and returned the embrace while burying his face in your hair. "I've waited for this moment for so long" You confessed, your voice muffled. Hajime chuckled, "Well, I hope it was worth the wait," He said. You pulled away, holding Iwaizumi's face in your hands before kissing him deeply. When you two separated, you giggled at his dazed expression.

"It was definitely worth the wait"

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tooruluv · 4 years

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Tooru Oikawa x F!Reader ( part 6 )

❝ my love for him is much like winter, a skeleton for the world to see. too bad he never liked the cold. ❞

description: being the neighbor and lifelong best friend of tooru oikawa definitely had it’s perks. you were never an outcast, always had a seat at lunch, got into volleyball games for free. the problem was, however, that being in love with him outweighed those perks. you would never tell him that, though, even if it hurt like hell.

genre: best friends to lovers, angst, unrequited love, fluff if you squint hard enough

word count: 2,182

warnings/notes: didn’t know yall were SIMPS for kuroo... anyway here’s more angst for y’all

tag list: @afuckingunicornn @maii-flowers @clandestinerays @brownandchill @readeretal @wedojustbevibin @shigarakiskitten @shittykawaa @saeranoppa @srirachibi

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“I brought the good nacho popcorn seasoning!” Kuroo told you as he rummaged around inside of his bag.

Tetsurou Kuroo had become a close friend in a short amount of time (it seems as though that was something happening to you often, these days). The “mall date” was full of conversation and laughter. You found out he was an only child, played volleyball himself and went to some camp, that he’s never had a girlfriend, and that he’s actually very funny. He grew on you.

You both sat on the couch, claiming it from your parents as you usually do on Saturday nights. This time, it was just with a different boy. Your parents didn’t mind.

Kuroo tossed the bottle to you once he found it. You caught it, and immediately started to pour it into the bowl that was full of popcorn and m&m’s.

Not too long after, the both of you had a scary movie on. You both sat on the couch, the bowl on the table in front of you. He sat with one leg tucked under his outstretched one, his arms crossed into his hoodie pockets. You sat next to him, a couple inches between so you don’t rub your leg against his. Your legs were brought to your chest.

“Are you cold?” Kuroo asked you, leaning forward to get a better look at your face.

“Just a little.”

Before you could protest, he took his hoodie off and held it out for you. You were about to deny his offer when he decided to lean back and literally shove the thing onto your head.

You were giggling when you pulled your arms through. “Thank you, but I could’ve just grabbed a blanket.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” He turned his attention back to the TV. Was that a blush? “You look good in red.”

You couldn’t help but smile. You moved closer to him, your body flush with his. His arm wrapped around your shoulder, something you hadn’t felt in a minute, and both of you smiled as someone got killed on screen.

Tooru Oikawa had always been your safety net. He was the one you went to for absolutely everything, even if it was a minor inconvenience. He was the one you called if you were lost, the one you exchanged looks with when the teacher would say something that could be passed as an innuendo, the one you would go to if you had a splinter or broken nail. And that safety would go both ways.

He would always show up in the middle of the night, or ask you to join him on the occasional Monday for you to watch him practice when he’s supposed to have the day off, or even facetime you just because.

Yet, this time, when you received a very drunk call from Oikawa, it didn’t feel normal.

You missed the call (it was at five in the morning), but you were left a very long voicemail from the boy.

“Nut!~” He slurred into the phone, basically directly onto the speaker. “Hello love. Hi. I drank a lot tonight. By myself. Very good. I should do this more often.”

You smiled to yourself. Oikawa hated being drunk, he would always make a point to never drink whenever he had the opportunity to. It was cute, the slurred and soft-spoken version of Oikawa you were receiving.

“I just wanted to say. I miss you. A lot. That’s why I came over the other day. I have so much I want to tell you but I…” Something muffled the speaker, and you couldn’t hear what exactly he was saying after that. Until, “Yeah, I just miss you a lot. I sleep now.”

You listened to it again.

Iwaizumi sent you a text Sunday. You were at dinner with your parents, out at some restaurant for the night. You went to the bathroom to read it (your parents had a rule: no phones at the dinner table if you’re eating as a family).

“I told my parents.” It said.

“You don’t drink.” You said to Oikawa Monday morning. You didn’t look at him, both of you at your lockers. He sent you a look.

“I don’t drink.” He repeated.

You finally shut your locker and looked up at him. The first time in a long time that you were talking. He seemed taller, thinner.

“Why were you drunk this weekend?”

Oikawa’s eyes wouldn’t meet yours. He shook his head. “I wasn’t.”

“You’re lying to me now?”

He shut his locker and started to walk down the hall. Before he could get far, you stepped in front of him and cut him off. He stopped.

“I got a voicemail from you.” You told him, and his eyes shot to yours. “I miss you, too. I don’t know why you won’t talk to me, but I miss you too.”

For a moment, it was just the both of you standing alone in the hallway. Like nothing else really mattered. He was finding the right words to say, and you waited for him to reply. Your chest was aching, and you wanted to throw the word “love” at him right then.

“I…I miss you a lot.” He finally said. You held back a smile. “But, um, can we talk? Later?”

“Yeah, yeah of course.” You were too eager, you knew. “We can talk later.”

Oikawa sent you a smile, something you missed, and your eyes found his tie. Before thinking, you reached up to tighten it. He chuckled.

“Yeah, I can’t fucking get this shit right.” He told you, letting you bring him closer to push it up. “Sana’s been fixing it at breakfast but I was running late this morning so we didn’t go.”

“Good thing I’m always here, huh?”

You walked next to Iwaizumi and Matsukawa on the way to lunch (the library). They were holding hands, openly smiling and giggling and being gay. You loved it.

“What was it like?” You asked them as you sat at the usual table.

“When I told my mom that I liked guys and I think I’m bisexual, do you want to know what she said?” Iwaizumi asked you. You nodded. “She said, and I quote, “well I can’t blame you, I like guys too”. I was so nervous for nothing. My dad even told me that it was okay and he’s fine with it as long as I’m happy, he just didn’t want to hear the details.”

“Your mom is iconic.”

Tooru Oikawa was not someone who could hide in a crowd. You could always pick him out of everyone, always spot him through the human traffic. It also helped that he was tall.

That being said, you found him instantly.

He wanted to meet at a park, as he was watching his nephew and his older brother was at work. You joined, of course, and you always found his nephew adorable.

You sat on the bench next to him. The very first time you have ever felt uncomfortable enough to sit further away from him. He noticed.

“We almost kissed.” He finally said, eyes following his nephew on the playset. He seemed tense, back straight and hands clasped together.

“Yeah.” You twisted your fingers in your lap. “Almost.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” You were forgiven weeks ago.

“I do, though.” Oikawa finally looked at you. “I almost kissed you when I just became official with Sana the night before. I shouldn’t have done that. And I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t upset about you almost kissing me.” You told him, staring at him. “I was never mad at that. It’s you ignoring me and avoiding me like the plague that I don’t particularly enjoy.”

“Right.” He bit the inside of his mouth. “I just…I couldn’t really…I felt really guilty. Having enough feelings to kiss you, but standing hand in hand with Sana. I haven’t told her about it.”

“I haven’t either.”

“Yeah, you two are close.”

“She’s very nice, and good company.” You told him. “You chose a good one.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

He blinked a couple of times, like his eyes would fix what he heard. “What are you apologizing for?”

“Everything. Me and Iwa talked some shit about you.”

“I’m not surprised, I’ve been acting like a dick.”

“Ah, we prefer the word asshole.”

You both chuckled, and you ducked your head. His eyes were back on his nephew, who waved at you both from the top of the castle.

“Listen, I’m not going to push you to be my friend again.” You said. “If I make you uncomfortable or make you question your relationship, I’m not going to be mad at you.”

“Be your friend again.” He mumbled, shaking his head like it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. “I never considered us not being friends. And you would never make me uncomfortable, ever. I just…”

“I know.” You stood up. His eyes jumped to you, head tilting up. “Let me know when you figure out whatever you need to figure out. Until then, I’m still right next door and a drunk call away.”

His mouth gaped as if you offended him, but there was a smile behind it. “God damn it, nut, just delete the voicemail!”

“No, I think I’ll keep it.” You brought your phone out and played it. His drunken slur came over the speakers. “Nut! Hello love. Hi!” you mocked him as his voice played.

Oikawa stood up, face red. “Oh my god! Stop! That’s embarrassing!”

He chased you as you continued to mimic him over the voicemail. You didn’t know every word, of course, but you knew when he was going to say certain things. You laughed as he chased you onto the playground.

“Takeru! Help!” you called, holding the phone up so Oikawa couldn’t get it.

“No, Takeru!” he called for his nephew. “Give me the phone, she’s a traitor!”

“Nice try, Uncle.” Takeru grabbed your phone and shook it from his spot on the very top. “She already told me that you were the spy for the English. We must take you to jail! Thank you, Auntie, for the valuable information. We will promote you to Head Knight.”

You giggled at Oikawa’s surprised and embarrassed face. You mouthed “Head Knight” at him, pointing at yourself. He rolled his eyes, but kept smiling at you.

You wore Kuroo’s hoodie the next time you met up with him. A fun fact about Kuroo: the man loves coffee. So, you weren’t surprised when he asked to meet at a coffee shop around the corner from where you buy alcohol. You wonder what he would say if you told him about buying shit from there.

“Damn, that hoodie looks familiar.” He told you when you sat across from him.

“Yeah, it’s comfy.” You said, smiling. “A pretty cool dude let me borrow it.”

“Ah, he let you keep it.” He corrected, hands already around a warm cup of black coffee.

You raised a brow. “I guess I’ll keep it then.”

“So…” Sana threw a piece of candy into the air to catch in her mouth. “You and Kuroo?”

This time, it was Iwaizumi and Sana at your house. Your two best friends. It was a strange combo, to you, as you always separated them in your head. But they actually got along quite easily, immediately started to roast and complain about Oikawa.

The three of you were in your bedroom. You sat on your bed, Iwaizumi on the floor by the door, and Sana sat in your desk chair. You were playing a game: try to catch the candy in your mouth. So far, Iwaizumi was winning (he hadn’t missed a single one, even if your throws were trash).

“What about me and Kuroo?”

“Oh, come on,” Sana scoffed, shaking her head. “You have been spending a lot of time with him. Spill.”

“There’s nothing to spill.” You caught a piece she threw up for you. As you chewed, “We’re very good friends. He’s cool.”

“Alright that’s it. Who is it?”

“Who is what?” you blinked.

“The other boy.”

You gulped, looking quickly at Iwaizumi. He just looked at you, wide eyed and confused.

“You told me that you’ve had a thing for another boy for a long time but he doesn’t feel the same.” Sana continued, her attention fully on you. “And he’s obviously the reason that you’re not going for Kuroo. You’re in love with someone else, and you’re throwing away a perfectly good relationship with someone who actually likes you.” She leaned forward. “So, I’ll ask again. Who is the boy?”

You didn’t say anything, your silence the only answer you could give. Iwaizumi’s eyes went back and forth between you two, staying just as silent.

“Who is it?” Sana asked again, held tilted. When you looked at the floor, it was like a rush of realization dawned on her. The air turned tense, but not negative. Like you couldn’t breathe.

“Oh.”

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shadowgeist-stars · 3 years

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Kitagawa First: So Heavy the Crown

It should've been like any other Monday. Toru and Iwaizumi should've gone about their day off from practice as they usually did. He'd brought his nephew home and the two had intended to get something to eat together.

They should not have seen Tobio, of all people, standing in the cemetery.

It was already unlike him to be away from practice with the other crows this early in the afternoon. Especially wearing an oversized jacket vaguely similar to what they wore back in middle school. The strange hoodie he wore was familiar, but somehow not quite right; it even looked a little big for him.

“What in the world is he doing out here?” Iwaizumi wondered.

“Let’s go check it out,” Toru suggested with a smile. This could be a perfect opportunity to learn something about their former junior.

He was talking, they realized as they drew close. To himself, most likely, but Toru decided to take the stealthy route to hear exactly what Tobio was saying.

“I didn’t make it to Shiratorizawa like you did… but I think I still found a good team… At least, I hope you’d like them. Shiratorizawa might be too different from when you were there anyway… I still think about what you told me, back then… how if I got really good at volleyball, someone even better would come find me. I thought I found that person in middle school where you used to coach… But I guess it didn’t work out how I hoped…”

A small pang in Toru’s stomach told him that was probably about him. He was able to look at the name on the gravestone Tobio stood in front of, though, as well as the birth-to-death dates.

Kazuyo Kageyama… 1936-2010… sounds like a grandparent. And a volleyball coach, as well? Hmm... Volleyball must simply run in the family.

“But now, I think I found someone who is like what you were saying,” Tobio continued to the gravestone. “He may not look like much. He’s short, super annoying, and kind of a dumbass… but he’s the fastest and highest-jumping spiker I’ve ever seen… And sometimes, he’s the best friend someone like me could ask for.”

His head eventually lowered, his body starting to curl in on itself like he was going to fall to his knees. The third years almost thought they were starting to hear him sniffle.

“I just wish you could meet him, and everyone else… I think you’d like meeting them all. Sugawara and Asahi and Daichi… All the second years like Noya and Tanaka… maybe even Tadashi and Tsukishima and our managers and our coach and Mr. Takeda…” He crumbled to the ground with a sob. “I just… I miss you, Grandpa. More than Miwa or our parents. I have ever since…”

That was when the name finally clicked. Kazuyo Kageyama was the old coach of the infamous local ladies volleyball team, the Kitagawa Birds, who was forced into retirement due to illness. If both Tobio and this Miwa were related to him and he taught both of them volleyball from a really young age, it would’ve made sense that Kageyama would be such a good player so early on. And since the date said he died during Tobio’s second year in middle school… that had to have hit him hard.

Possibly… hard enough to make him into what Kunimi and Kindaichi called “the King of the Court.”

Iwaizumi took a small step closer, flinching when he stepped on the grass in just the right way that would make noise. Enough noise for Tobio to flinch away from the source and twist backward to see them both standing there. And more importantly, for them to see the tears starting to dribble down his face.

“Uh-um… what are you two doing here?” he asked, trying to clean his face with his sleeve (most likely to be his grandfather’s jacket).

“We’d ask you the same thing, but we heard enough to answer for us,” Toru replied. “Please, don’t let us stop you.”

Iwa slapped him on the back of the head. “Ignore him. We were just wondering what you were doing away from your team in a place like this.” His eyes scanned the gravestone once more, guiding Tobio into a position where the three could sit together. “You never really told any of us about your grandfather back in middle school, did you Kageyama?”

The first year shook his head.

“Didn’t think so… Well, if you’re feeling up for it with your old upperclassmen… care to share?”

Tobio drummed his fingers on top of one another for about a minute, before nodding slowly.

“Alright, let’s start small. Was your Grandpa the, uh… reason, why you got into volleyball?”

Tobio looked to his grandfather’s grave. “Sort of. He and my sister, Miwa, would always tell me about how I managed to get my hands on her volleyball when I was… a baby… and how I didn’t wanna let go of it. That might’ve been where it all started, but since Grandpa is the only one I really remember raising us, we’d both usually be with him when he was coaching the Kitagawa Birds, playing with some of the ladies, helping them practice, or just passing a ball to each other in a corner of the gym or practicing ourselves with the wall.”

The small story piqued Toru’s interest. Frankly, he found the mental image adorable, seeing a baby Tobio holding onto a volleyball and somehow keeping a grip on it with hands no bigger than the end of his thumb. His memory might be a little faded, but something similar could’ve happened with his nephew Takeru. And Tobio Kageyama, not actually being an only child… He couldn’t help wondering if that sister of his looked all that similar.

Iwaizumi seemed to like how it was going so far. “Okay. We remember you wanted to go to Shiratorizawa even back in middle school. Did your Grandpa have something to do with that?”

Tobio nodded. “He used to be a middle blocker for their team. Showed me his old yearbook and everything. Probably before the current coach showed up, though.”

“So it really does run in the family,” Toru commented. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised though.”

The smaller boy shrugged. “Miwa wound up quitting volleyball after middle school. She was getting more into fashion and stuff anyways, and didn’t like how she was always being told to cut her hair. At least, I think that was the reason.”

Wow. That, Toru could get behind, no questions asked. Sure, he wouldn’t give up volleyball for the world, but he’d definitely take offense if he was always being told to do something like change his looks or cut his lovely hair. That said, it was good to hear Tobio’s sister found her own calling, even if it wasn’t sports-related.

“Kinda wish you were able to introduce your sister and grandfather to the team, Kageyama,” Iwaizumi remarked. “They sound like it’d be pretty interesting to meet them both. Wasn’t your grandfather still coaching in middle school?”

The dark heaviness returned to the young setter. “No… Grandpa was already in and out of the hospital for a long time by then; more one than the other, though. He was able to keep on a brave face for me… but in second year, after you left, he… he…” his voice started quivering, the tears starting to return with new fury. “He left us behind… left me behind… I couldn’t even cry at his damn funeral because it never really hit me! And then after he left… Miwa had to get ready to move away for university… Our parents were distant enough even before he died, and… and then my own team left me!” He wrapped himself tight in his grandfather’s jacket, hands even moving to tangle into his hair. “I was all alone… I didn’t even know what I did wrong… Why all of a sudden I didn’t have anyone anymore!… Why?... Why, why, why?!”

Iwaizumi was quick to hug Tobio from the side, glaring over at Toru until he mirrored the action. It had already been clear enough that Tobio had been holding this all in for a long time. How just losing one person -- closer to him than anyone else in the world -- made him go from a sweet and eager-to-please junior (who still reminded Toru of Ushijima in some ways) to the bad-tempered dictator whose team got so fed up with him that he was given the boot.

No wonder, Toru thought to himself, sadness and guilt pooling in his stomach again. No wonder Tobio became so self-reliant. No wonder he underwent such a change in temperament. What kind of void did middle school leave behind while no one else was able to see?

First, he lost the two of us.

Then he lost his grandfather.

Then he lost his sister.

…Then he lost his team.

He understood now, to some extent. Kazuyo Kageyama didn’t just introduce his grandson to volleyball; he was the reason why the boy loved it so much. But when he left, so did the better parts of Tobio. There was no family or friends to help him carry that weight; it was just him.

Him, and the weight that threatened to crush him, that so many were so willing to call a crown. A tarnished, broken, absurdly heavy crown that they were only beginning to realize here and now.

Until by some miracle, Karasuno and that little shrimp brought him back to some semblance of his old self. Before them, he was left with nothing and no one but himself to rely on. He carried all of that grief, guilt, and frustration on his head for the better part of two years, not knowing what to do with it or with himself.

So they let him cry. They let him drop those long years of forcing down his grief over who he loved most, in loud, chest-ripping wails. Iwaizumi ensured they both kept him wrapped up in their arms, maintaining that small reminder that he should’ve never had to endure that alone. The spite Toru felt for Tobio all that time seemed to melt as well, filling in all the blanks for why he was such a good player and so eager to please and so not deserving of such hatred. Every assumption he made was dissolved by the knowledge about a single person.

“Huh? Toby, what are you doing over there?” a new voice inquired after a time they didn’t give any thought to. “And who are your friends?”

Toru looked through blurred vision at an approaching woman. She was probably around their age, with black, meticulously-styled hair and -- once he blinked away the mist -- deep blue eyes very similar to the first year he and Iwaizumi were hugging.

“Mi -- Miwa…” Tobio managed to hiccup out. The woman held a hand out to him, something he looked at with an almost painful mix of confusion and disbelief before he took it and let her pull him up. And even then, he barely maintained his composure long enough to droop over her shoulder, gripping at her in a desperate hug.

“Shh… I know, Toby, I know…” she soothed, rubbing circles into his back. “I miss him, too… I’m so sorry, Toby…”

He stayed there a little longer before numbly stepping away, wiping his face with his sleeve again.

The Seijoh players were shattered by the look in his eyes. The way they looked so… dead, and tired.

How did no one realize he was becoming like this?

Tobio almost swayed another direction before Iwaizumi stepped in and grabbed him. “Easy there, kiddo. Just lean on me -- there we go.” He looked over to the woman with a dip of his head. “I’m Hajime Iwaizumi, and this jerk over here is Toru Oikawa. We knew Kageyama back in middle school.”

The woman seemed to scan the two of them, almost skeptical.

“We’d be happy to help you out with Tobio,” Toru offered, all too happy to take on the diplomatic duty he was so used to. “He was telling us about his grandfather, you see, and it’s clear how much has been on his shoulders since his passing. We were doing what we could as his old upperclassmen.”

“I see…” Miwa replied, turning on her heel. “Follow me. My car’s not far from here.”

Iwaizumi had decided to sit in the backseat with Tobio, keeping him steady as he all but dozed on his shoulder. Toru rode shotgun while the Karasuno player’s sister drove them to the Kageyama household.

“I can’t believe he’s held onto Grandpa’s old track hoodie this long,” Miwa commented. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Because he and his grandfather were that close?” Toru inquired.

The woman nodded. “Even closer than I was with either of ‘em. Grandpa was really all he had, ever since… well, there was always that one thing our parents didn’t like for some reason.”

...Secretly, Toru had a feeling he knew what exactly “that one thing” was. He had his suspicions of the way Tobio behaved, almost entirely fixated on volleyball. The way he subconsciously reminded him of Ushijima. Who knows? Perhaps even the famous Ushiwaka was introduced to volleyball that early on as well, and had the same sort of mind.

“I suppose that’s simply an unfortunate truth with some people,” he replied offhandedly. “I’ll admit, I and some of our current teammates weren’t exactly fond of him in middle school. But then again, none of us had a clue about his personal life, and I’d wager Tobio didn’t even give himself time to grieve.”

“I guess I can’t blame you there. Toby never consciously dwelled on things that he didn’t think he had to, for better or worse. He wanted to be just like Grandpa, but after graduating from middle school not being able to get into Shiratorizawa, he figured volleyball was the only thing he had left.”

“And even then, he was all on his own,” Iwaizumi finished from the backseat when they stopped at the house. He even helped carry Kageyama inside. “We all knew how Oikawa gave the poor kid a hard time when he was still an eager-to-please prodigy in his first year, and even heard how his sudden change in attitude in his second year left him ostracized by the team. Though we never saw the other side of the story until now.”

He didn't even need to say it was because they refused to hear it.

After the Aoba Johsai players put the younger boy to bed, they both went to the bathroom to wash their faces of tears. On the way back down, they discovered the pictures that littered the house. A happy family that comprised of parents, a grandfather, and a little girl. But when a baby boy appeared, there was only one of all five before the parents all but disappeared. The only ones after were the two children and their grandfather.

In all of them, the grandfather in question sported a wide, proud smile. Whether it be with a far younger Miwa trying to brush his hair, tossing a volleyball with the even younger Tobio, or all three of them together, he still had that smile. A sort of light that went missing when he passed away, leaving both of his grandchildren behind.

“Your grandfather must’ve been quite a splendid role model for the both of you,” Toru said softly. “A light that even Tobio didn’t deserve to lose.”

Miwa hummed thoughtfully, leaving some tea to steep in a pot. “I don’t think Toby even realized how badly he was hurting. Honestly, I kinda wish I didn’t have to leave him so soon. If I knew how badly he was affected by Grandpa’s death, I would’ve held off on school just to make sure he’d have at least someone to be there… Maybe I just put too much trust into his teammates supporting him.”

Because Kindaichi and Kunimi thought he was nothing but a dictator at the sport. They didn’t think for a second that he might’ve just been lonely or in pain.

…Then again, neither did we.

“I don’t think you have to worry much about him now, though,” Iwaizumi pointed out. “We know we failed the poor kid, as his former teammates and as his upperclassmen, and we’re far from the only ones who did so. But I plan to make sure we fix that.”

Toru smiled at the ace’s declaration, looking towards Tobio’s room. Even if the now-sleeping boy may never really trust Toru again, at least his beloved might be able to get through to the younger setter. If they find the chance, they might even get Kindaichi and Kunimi to understand as well, and enlist their help in making amends.

“Besides, ever since joining Karasuno, we can tell he’s doing a lot better,” Toru added. “He’s… finally found a place where he fits in. And I for one doubt those crows will leave him the way we did, especially not his new little go-to spiker. Whether he finds it in him to tell them about this or not, I can at least be confident that they’ll stand with him.”

Miwa smiled at them both, finally pouring the tea for all three of them. “I’m glad for that, you two. Toby needs a lot of friends to make up for not having anyone before. Whether they know about Grandpa or not, I just want him to find a family of his own, if only to make sure it’s not just the two of us looking out for each other.”

The two young men could only stick around for about another hour, conversing with Miwa and looking after their former underclassman. They told her about each of the crows to the best of their ability, the woman occasionally throwing in her two cents about whoever Tobio actually told her about. When the sun said they had to head home, they gave Tobio one last check before they left with a final goodbye and thank-you to Miwa.

As they left, though, Toru couldn't help but take a final look at the almost foreboding Kageyama household, holding onto his boyfriend's arm. "Iwa… do you think Tobio will tell his other teammates about his grandfather? Should he?"

Iwaizumi sighed. "It would probably be a good idea, but I doubt it. He'll probably tell the little sunspot and Karasuno's other setter, if no one else, but only time will tell."

…I guess that's true, Toru thought to himself dully. Only time will tell, and trust as well…

#haikyuu!!#iwaizumi hajime #oikawa torū #tobio kageyama #Kazuyo Kageyama #Miwa Kageyama #Grief #kitagawa daiichi #hq #shittykawa #He realizes he made a big fucky wucky #someone's gotta do it

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shhhlikeme · 4 years

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“Losty Aone” / “Losty Mountain Man🏔” Series:

Outtake Collection #18.5:

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A/N: I know y’all wanna know what happens here sooo I’ll meet you down at the end with more of my authors notes!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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EARLIER THAT NIGHT - 10:36 PM - ISSA MESS AT THE MOVIES - PART 2 😭🤡

“Hey. You sure you don’t want us to go with you? I can cancel with my parents and—“

You interrupted your friend, waving her off nonchalantly as you jumped out of the back her car. “No, no, Kusa. Thank you for driving me. You guys didn’t need to! But I really appreciate it. I need this time by myself to just…. You know…. Breathe.”

Kusa frowned at you, still look unsure as to whether she should leave you alone at the theatre or not. Going to the movies alone is a little weird in her opinion, and she knows that you have still been so heartbroken from your breakup, so the fact that Aone had been asked out by one of the girls on the Date Teko cheer team that you considered a friend really hit you hard.

Despite it all, she and Katana have agreed to let you deal with this the way you see fit, because forcing their desires on you wasn’t the right way to go, and the last time they tried that you cut them off for a week. They had to tread very carefully, as friends.

“Okay, babe. Call us when you want to get picked up, Okay? We don’t mind.”

You nodded, wrapping your favourite jacket around you a bit more tightly. The sweater-jacket that actually belonged to the man you were in love with. “Thank you.”

Shutting the door, you stepped back so that Kusa could drive away.

Katana, who was sitting in the passengers seat, pressed the button to roll up her window and You gave them one last wave, ready to see them off, but just before you could Katana—quiet and deep in thought, pressed the same button to roll the window back down. The car didn’t budge.

“Y/N.” The pretty cheer captain said in a small voice, staring at her lap. You had to lean in to hear her.

“Hm?”

Big brown eyes looked into yours as your bestie stared at you. It was silent for a moment and the intensity in the air was palpable. Finally, the brunette spoke.

“I’m worried about you.” She finished, looking more serious than you’ve ever seen her.

Earlier this Saturday night, you found yourself crying in the shower after you heard that an ex teammate of yours, Sutairu, is interested and has decided to pursue Aone.

This girl was gorgeous, sweet, and has noticed your Mountain Man from day one, unlike you. There is not one bad thing you can say about her, and you were sure that eventually—especially with Futakuchi’s help—Aone would some day let his walls down for her. One day you would see the most perfect man in the world with another girl because you let him.

And even though it’s what he deserves: a girl that is better than you, the thought alone shatters you every time it crosses your mind.

Aone was on this girls instagram story,—a photo of him in another hoodie standing in front of the students he teaches with a caption saying: MCM🤫💋❄️

What did that mean? Could they be dating now?

Enough was enough. After crying in your shower, You decided you needed a change in scenery, so you got dressed, only putting on concealer and keeping the natural state of your hair when it’s wet. You threw on a huge cardigan, a tank top and some jeans and told the girls what you had planned. Kusa wouldn’t take no for answer, so they insisted on dropping to you at the theatre to see this action-thriller you found on the website.

So here you are, heart dragging behind you on the floor. You needed to be alone and you needed a change of scenery, that’s all you knew. So now hearing your besties and seeing the absolute fear for your well-being evident on their faces, made your stomach turn even more. Mainly because you couldn’t help them help you. No one can. So that’s why all you answered was,

“I’m worried too.” Staring into the eyes of the two beautiful females you call your best friends. You then Added, “But I need this hour, okay?. I’ll see you guys later. I have my phone.” Without waiting for a response, you spun away from the car to walk into the large building downtown, straight to the bathroom so you could cry in the stalls prior to the movie.

After you spent a good 10 minutes using toilet paper to wipe under your eyes, then reapplying some conveniently packed concealer there in the mirror, you stuffed the Fenty Beauty case in your purse and walked out of the bathroom so that you can purchase your ticket at the self-serve automated machine. You had grabbed your ticket when it slid out the slot and were began walking to your designated theatre when you heard a familiar voice call out to you.

“Hey! Y/N?”

Turning toward the voice, you looked over to see a group of 4 boys, all of which you’ve seen before, but in volleyball practice gear. While they were all staring over at you, naturally—your eyes settled on the one in the middle that you recognized the most. And the one who called your name.

“Takeru,” You breathed, honestly relieved that it wasnt someone from school that you had to pretend you wanted to speak to. Takeru is someone you genuinely liked, that you actually got close to at the Volleyball/Cheer Camp last summer.

“One sec!” He called, and you stood there waiting as Nakashima handed his card to his friends that were waiting at the ticket kiosk. One of them must have said something annoying to him, because Takeru blushed and told him to shut the fuck up. Feeling scrutinized by his friends, you wrapped your arms around your torso as he stealthily limbo-ed under the rope that divided the line from from the rest of the theatre.

***

“Ouuu dudes, look. That’s Takanobu’s super hot girlfriend that you fell in love with last summer! This is your second chance bro, don’t fuck it up!” Takeru’s friend nudged him with his elbow and teased him from where he was standing in line. The other boys chuckled when he said that.

Takeru went red—mostly because he knew it was true. “Shut the fuck up, I’m over her!” He defended himself. He resisted the urge to hit his friend for saying that out loud. Getting out the line because he couldn’t risk his dumb friends exposing his past crush like they almost did multiple times last summer, Nakashima escaped the line to approach you, finding himself jogging over, instead of walking.

🤨

SLOW DOWN, Takeru told himself. ARE YOU REALLY THAT EXCITED TO SEE HER?

“Hi, Y/N!” The ex-high school volleyball player greeted you with a warm smile that neither of you had any idea was reserved for only you. “It’s been a while.”

You forced a smile back, but you could see by the way that his own smile faltered that Takeru noticed your smile didn’t reach your eyes. “You okay?” He asked, concerned.

Lying, you nodded, looking down at your boots and Nakashima resisted the urge to reach forward and tilt your head up. To touch your beautiful skin like he’s wanted to do since the first day you approached him for help, he really thought those emotions had fled… but being around you again made him realize that obvioulsy they hadn’t.

She’s taken, idiot. The athlete reminded himself.

“Is Takanobu here?” Nakashima thought to ask, distinctly remembering how much just mentioning his name would bring a big smile to your face back at camp, lighting it up in its entirety.

So imagine Takeru shock, however, when you winced at the sound of his name instead of beamed. Still staring at your boots, you shook your head. “No, I’m here alone.”

Alone?

Ask. He told himself. ASK!

“Um-ummm—“ is all he could stutter out.

S m o o t h, idiot. he chastised himself for being so lame.

“Please, Takeru-san,” you lifted your head to look up at the man you considered to be a pretty good friend. “Don’t.”

Even though his mind was buzzing with a million questions, Being the smart volleyball player he is, Takeru shut his mouth because the tears welling up in your eyes was enough of an answer than any. His heart sunk seeing you look so unbelievably broken. Without missing a beat, He switched gears. “—What movie are you seeing?” He asked instead.

You grinned weakly but gratefully at his change in topic, a smile that actually did reach your eyes. “Uh, I don’t even know,” you chuckled pathetically. “I just picked any random movie, um, because, yeah.”

She’s so cute, thought Nakashima. “Well it’s written on your ticket. Shall we see?”

“Oh, uh, right.” Feeling dumb, you lifted the ticket in your hand and read the movie title aloud,

“Jet Down 2.”

A large amused smile graced Takeru’s face. “Really—that is probably the biggest ‘guy’ movie ever made,”

You nodded, not wanting to mention that hearing the title made you remember that your ex loved the original of this movie. Your nod introduced Takeru and yourself to an awkward silence. You weren’t about to tell him that you picked a movie that you’d be the least interested in so that you can cry in peace because the sounds of shit blowing up will drown out your sobs, no ma’am. If this was any other time, you would have been so happy to see and catch up with this boy. Asking a million questions and telling him how happy you were to see him. But unfortunately, all you could think about was the “MCM” Snapchat you saw earlier. You were devastated, and Takeru caught on to it.... seeing you about to shatter, yet again. He offered his help.

“Want some company? Uh—“

You immediately shook your head. “No, Takeru-san! You came here with your friends. Enjoy that. Don’t mind me, I....“

Nakashima stared down at you like you were a work of art. When you stopped your pathetic babbling, he nodded slowly, recognizing the same expressions he’s seen his sister’s wear when they were on the verge of crying over a boy. Right before they yelled him to leave their room, leave them alone, and shut the door. The same rule probably applied here. Like an expert, Nakashima backed off. “Okay,” he continued nodding. “I guess I’ll go then. It was really nice seeing you.” He opened his arms and you leaned in for a chaste hug, immediately wishing the male arms around you belonged to a certain white haired volleyball player instead.

Takeru, on the other hand, didn’t realize how much he missed the feel of you in his arms again. He didn’t want to let go. He wished that the feelings you had for Aone-san were for him. Stupid.

Uncharacteristically, Nakashima turned his head to whisper something in your ear before you let go. Before he never saw you again. “But, tonight, if you need a shoulder to cry on, I’m just one theatre over… Okay? I have a pretty comfortable shoulder, so just text me.”

Holding back tears, you nodded, removing yourself to make your way to the bathroom again.

***

Better late than never, you thought to yourself as you sadly sat in your seat in the theatre solo, unsure of how much time has even passed. You didn’t realize this stupid movie would be so packed, but you were thankful for assigned seating (since you specifically chose an aisle seat in case you needed to make another fast-cry escape). You just sat in your seat, curling into a ball and trying to hold it together the best you can.

You couldn’t.

Another 10-minutes later, you found yourself ugly crying in your three-quarter eaten popcorn, completely drenching the salty snack and making it soggy.

A MESS, you called yourself. This movie was about guns and cars and shit blowing up—but all it took was one tiny little subplot romance scene to break you. LIKE I SAID: A MESS.

One little stupid ‘be safe’ scene and you were thinking about the time you went to the movies with your ex boyfriend and current love of your life. That time, you had insisted on watching this scary movie but you were getting so unbelievably scared, refusing to leave when your boyfriend offered because you are strong af, so when you resorted to hiding yourself behind his bicep and whimpering instead. Takanobu had enough when he heard you make those sad noises, so he scooped you up from your seat so that you were sitting in his lap. That way, you felt his strong arms around you on boy sides and you were easily able to bury your face in his chest or finish the movie. You finished the movie.🥰

You would like to say that that was one of the sweetest things that has ever happened to you, but what with being in a relationship with Aone Takanobu for the past year—that absolutely tooth rottenly sweet gesture wouldn’t even crack the Top 10.

Your tears poured down your cheeks, and you imperceptibly wiped your tears on the sweater of his that you were wearing. Then you realized whose sweater it was and cried even harder! Your heart hurt so much.

And to make matters worse, you ran out of tissues.

Knowing that with your luck you’d run into someone you knew if you left now with a completely drenched face. A/N: or turned around :/desperate and sad, you decided to text your friend Takeru about your dilemma. All you asked him for were some tissues because he sort of knew what you were going through even though you didn’t spell it out for him. You hoped he could help for now and then later tonight you’d send him back the money he spent on his movie or something. You kept erasing the message but decided to send it when others in your row were possibly on to the fact that you were sniffling so much for more serious reasons.

You sent it. Received a response within seconds saying he was on his way.

Nakashima stumbled in to your the theatre not long after. You waved to him where you were seated in the dark, and he came over like a good friend, giving you a brand new popcorn and a set of tissues. You smiled weakly at the kind gesture and remembered that Aone is the entire reason why this boy Takeru is even here right now. Your tears re-established themselves as your date on this your solo movie night as you leaned your head on Nakashima’s shoulder, who told you that if Aone broke up with you he was an idiot.

“I’m the idiot,” You whispered to him, because even if it was just a fleeting thought—Aone didn’t deserve any blame. Ever. He is undoubtedly the best person on this planet. “It’s me,” You whispered again, glad that your whiney voice was no match for the volume of the explosions on screen. You blew your nose in a tissue and resumed your position on Takeru’s shoulder. The gesture was platonic enough, but you realized then and there that there was only one shoulder you felt comfortable leaning on, whether it was friendly or not. You sat back up in your seat and met the gaze of a concerned volleyball player.

“Takeru, I’m so sorry. Can you bring me home—“ the request died on your tongue as you witnessed, or at least you think you did— a dark blur of a a large body with…silver? No, white hair racing down the stairs as if he’d been pushed down them. The figure turned on its heels and fled the theatre in a faster speed than should be possible for a body so large.

The oddness stopped you in your tracks for a second.

Why did that person-?

You were confused, until a waft of fresh mountainous breeze hit your nostrils, making you gasp. It was The best scent in the world. The scent that was vaguely imbedded in the sweater you were wearing. The scent that belonged to—oh God. You choked on your tears.

“Was that…..?” Your tear stained face scrunched together, trying to piece two-and-two together as your losty brain overworked itself.

“What were you going to say? You want a drive home?” You could faintly hear Nakashima’s question even though he was right beside you. You were too busy thinking about how that couldn’t have been Aone who stormed out of here, would he choose this movie—oh my—

Lightbulb turning on, you whipped your entire upper body around and searched the seats for someone recognizable. While your scanning stopped momentarily on a few students from school, they ultimately swam to the person or persons you were looking for: There! Kenji-san and Koganagewa-san, two males who were looking at you and Takeru as if you two were the villains in the movie that just popped out of the screen.

So that WAS Aone!

Why didn’t he come say hi?!

Your heart started racing. Because you loved him.

But if that was Aone.....

Then why did he leave in such a hurry like that…?

And why were his friends looking at you and Nakashima like we…..?

Hold on.

Your eyes take a mind of their own, whipping from Futakuchi, to Kanji, to Takeru, to Takeru’s shoulder that you ere just laying on, back to the vacant seat where Aone must have been sitting in the between his two friends, and then you looked down at your sweater—his sweater. You thought back to Aone’s shattered expression when you broke up with him by the Ferris wheel and then you saw your own brisk walk from that night redone in his body in the way he just left this theatre blur.

Oh no, You thought. Did this look like a…? With Takeru…?!

OH GOD NO.

Your heart dropped like one of those rides at the amusement park:

“Y/N. Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick! I can bring you home if you— Y/N? Y/N WAIT LET ME GET MY KEYS—!“

You were already gone, leaving your purse, wallet, phone and everything behind—not having to jump over anyones legs to run down the stairs and out of the theatre. You weren’t as fast as Aone, not by a long shot—but you’d be surprised how fast a girl can move when she’s running to the love of her life.

Running around the empty theatre because everyone was watching a movie, you quickly checked the boys bathroom (not caring that you shouldn’t be in there) before realizing it was empty and then sprinting outside in to the cold night.

Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone, you chanted.

Your head snapped left and right, eyes scanning the parking lot for Aone’s car, and when you spotted it signalling and waiting to make a right out of the theatre, you dangerously raced toward it! Heart pumping, you jumped in front of the vehicle with both hands extended in front of you as if you had the strength to stop the car from moving if you could.

The horn of the car honked dramatically, followed by a head that was not your Mountain Man’s sticking out the window to shout profanities at you to get the fuck out of the way.

Stepping back shakily, you automatically went back to scanning the lot again for the same 4 wheeler, because locating that car was ALL that mattered right now.

Finding HIM was all that mattered.

You had to be more cautious now in your search. More purposeful.

Far back, hundreds of meters from where you were standing you could make out a car that you somehow knew was his. Something, just something, told you it was, and your heart started racing even faster. The lights had turned on like the driver was about to leave, and then it shut off again as if the driver changed their mind about leaving. Without thinking about it, only listening to the pull in your heart that said your man was over there, you used your years of cheerleading experience to catapult you toward the parked vehicle.

When you got closer, your heart squeezed on its own accord as if someone was making pizza dough with it. Slowing down, you took in the sight that was your ex boyfriend sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, white hair visible only because his head was down, forehead kissing the steering wheel, his shoulders vibrating slightly because he is crying. It’s him.

Position:

Not stopping to think anymore, acting on pure love and instinct, you sped over to the driver’s side and tugged the door open. Thank God it was unlocked.

This giant mountain man didn’t move from his position crying on the steering wheel. Only muttering a broken, “Kenji-san, please leave me—“

“Not Justin Bieber look-alike!” You croaked loudly, heart pounding when this gorgeous man’s head lifted as soon as you uttered your first syllable. He looked you up and down and your breath caught in your throat. You’ve NEVER seen such a beautiful man cry before, and although it tugged at what was left of your heart—you thought he looked breathtaking.

“Y/N…..? D-did Kenji-san send you out-t-t he-here? I apolo-pologize—“

You shook your head, unable to stop yourself from pouring your heart out.

“Hey. Remember the other day after you helped me film my cheerleading tryout, you said that you were happy we were fr-friends?” You asked sharply, ignoring his apology for now, and forever grateful for the fact that you had major cojones when you wanted to. They came in handy at times like this.

With red puffy eyes, Aone wiped his face and then nodded, making you melt.

“Well,” You took a shaky breath, sliding your own tears to the side before you left your heart out on the table for this man.

“Well, I’m not your friend, Aone.”

Aone visibly swallowed, his eyes welling up with tears again. He hated himself so much for crying like this.

“I-I know, not y-yet, bu-but I was hoping one day you’d-d—“ Mountain man didn’t even know what he wanted to say, he was dead.

“No. I’m not your friend.” You repeated yourself, watching a shiver run through Takanobu due to the chill in your voice and the intensity your eyes held.

You could sense that he wasnt getting where you were going with this play on words, so you cut to the chase. Hopefully he would get it after hearing what he had to say next, just like you did when he said these same words to you once in a bowling alley.

“The reason I can’t be your friend is because I like you so much more than a friend, Aone. You have no idea how much more.”

Aone shivered again, his beautiful lips separating because his jaw dropped slightly. He recognized his words on your lips now, you could tell. He was understanding how you felt now, so you continued anxiously:

“Everything about you drives me absolutely insane, Takanobu. Your spirit, your love, the way you are the only man I will ever love……even the way you can’t notice that your ex is still madly in love with you, and that she only came here tonight to cry over you alone but ran into someone, and even though she was dumb enough to break up with you.”

Aone’s jaw had just dropped wider as you spoke, his mind reeling.

You stepped in closer to where he was sitting in his car, closing the distance because you just couldn’t stand being any further from him anymore. You also wanted to whisper this next part. You wanted him to know that his confession to you was etched in your brain so much so that you could recite it in a moments notice, even if that said moment was full of pure emotional madness like right now.

“I’m not your friend, Aone.” You repeated once again. “I don’t want to be. I want to be everything else for you. Everything more. Takanobu, I have a confession to make.” You used both of your cold hands to cup his cheeks, his beautiful, red, stubble filled, wet cheeks.

“I love you. I love you, my Mountain Man. I love you more than I did yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. I loved you on the Ferris wheel, and I loved you when you filmed my tryouts. I love you Right now, and I will forever. I will explain everything, I promise. But there has never been, nor will there ever be anyone else for me other than you, Aone-san.”

You giggled through your tears because Takanobu looked so confused but happy. It was an odd expression, but very cute. You continued,

“I know we get called Losties a lot which used to bother me, but you know what: maybe we are, but that’s besides the point—because all I know is that I used to hate being called that…. Until I met you.” You leaned in so that your foreheads were touching. “When I met you, Aone-san....... I stopped caring about being lost….... none of it mattered to me.......insofar as we were lost together. Together with you is the only way I want to go through life, Aone, so I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for letting my insecurities drive me and I’m sorry for possibly confessing to you when you have someone else. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m—“

Mountain Man imitated your gesture of cupping your cheeks in his large hands, wiping away your tears like you did to him.

And then, without saying another word like he was good at—

He slid you into his lap sitting in the front seat, back in the same position he pulled you in the last time you two were at this theatre—

and then he kissed you.

It was a kiss so passionate that you gasped into it, needing him, needing him like a hiker needed their mountain. A kiss so passionate it l lasted for the remaining duration of the movie (no word of a lie) because you refused to let each other go—but most importantly: it was a kiss that made you realize that you and Mountain Man weren’t just two losties lost together like you mentioned a bit ago—no. Absolutely not. Actually, this kiss was so passionate it made you realize that you were really two losties that were lost in every aspect in life—minus one:

Because you two could never be lost when it came to your feelings for one another. Finding true love happened to be the only aspect of life that most people on this planet remained lost in, which happened to be the exact aspect of life where you and Aone have both been….

Found.

🐢

———————————

A/N: That’s it! I am secretly here to let y’all know that there will be one more collection post next time I write, and that post will be the end of this losty series. I will cry when that time comes lmao but for now tysm for reading this marathon - I would loooove to hear your thoughts! I literally die when you guys comment or send me private messages reacting. It makes my whole day istg. Anyways, Wishing you all the best as always. See you next time. Xoxo

Taglist: @galagcica @chaichai-the-weeb @nairobiisqueen @bisasterrr @juminly @simply-not-the-same @marvelousbakugou @qyuanon

#haikyuu fluff #haikyuu boys #haikyuu angst #hq headcanon #haikyuu!!#aone x reader #aone x y/n #haikyuu headcanons #hq headcannons #haikyuu headcannons #koganegawa kanji #kenji futakuchi #haikyuuwritersnet #aone takanobu stories #aone takanobu x you #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #date tech

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fizzingwizard · 3 years

Text

OK gang here we go, episode 33!

It was better than last week, which was better than the week before, so... make of that what you will.

Pic of the week!

A look of steely Dan determination.

More below!

Like I said, this episode is an improvement on the last one, by virtue of plot stuff actually happening, a few big happenings, and references to the other kids that suggest they haven’t been completely forgotten about (only mostly). Don’t get excited though - it still leaves much to be desired. I cry endlessly for the animation budget. But let’s get into it...

Taichi and friends are still in pursuit of SkullKnightmon and Hikari. We found our for sure last week that the creature in the little crystal is, indeed, Millenniumon, or rather a fragment of him, and his fragments fell all around the Digital World at the end of the great war or whatever it’s called and they’re the source of the miasma and they absorb energy from the human world etc etc...

So we find this big ass crystal which seems to be the central one, I guess? because it’s the biggest? and several creepy looking acolytes (dun dun DUN it’s VADEMON my FAVORITE DIGIMON) surrounding it and chanting...

Vademon: Find the horcux, kill Harry Potter, find the horcrux, kill Harry Potter,

In other news, there’s a lot of doom and gloom happening with Jou, who, bereft of his underwear, is forced to censor himself with his partners head. Gomamon you don’t deserve this

Jou: I need to get away from these Nanimon before I go prematurely bald too!!

Mimi, meanwhile, is Boxing Champion of the World.

Koushirou is the only one working. He’s on his way to pick up Jou, so I guess that means Yamato will get Mimi? That’ll be fun lol. We saw Yamato for half a second but it was the same frame of him riding Garurumon we’ve seen five times already so why bother capping it.

Koushirou is also keeping an eye on the satellite situation but doesn’t know what to do about it yet. Kabuterimon asks if he shouldn’t take a break about now and Koushirou says “I’m okay, besides, this is the only thing I’m good for” T___T you know this would be heart-breaking if I really believed the writers have ACTUAL PLANS to make good on Koushirou-related character development.... >:[

no this honestly pisses me off so much but I STILL do believe we will get SOMETHING for him and the others and probably not too far in the future... I think... I hope ugh

Back to Team A, they see lots of Digimon coming at them. Taichi’s like “it’s an attack!” but Sora, whose Fight Mode unlike Taichi’s has an actual Off switch, is about to figure out that they are in fact not interested in the kids at all and are running away from something.

Taichi: I can’t believe they didn’t want to kill us. Doesn’t everything in this world want to kill us?

The Digimon are fleeing from a suspicious crater with a familiar stone in the center. SkullKnightmon raises his own crystal fragment into the air and stuff happens.

By stuff I mean black lightning and purple-blue light which is meant to signify Evil which is mega DUMB because blue and purple are the most awesome color combo EVER I mean it throw some turquoise in there too and I will buy it whatever it is a necklace a shawl a codpiece

There are eight crystals that rise from the ground surrounding the central crystal and share energy with it. I thought the number eight might be significant you know for obvious reasons but it doesn’t appear to matter in this episode.

Evil crystals or not, Taichi’s on his way to save Hikari once and for all!

Hikari: Thanks, but no thanks, oniichan.

Taichi: H-Hikari! You don’t understand! You’re too young to go off with a strange man!

Hikari: But oniichan I love him

Taichi: Who do you think I am, Tevye!? You’re not marrying him and that’s final!

Hikari: waaah why don’t you understand me!!

ok back to the story...

Hikari abandons her brother for his muscular studly lover SkullKnightmon.

... >_>

Using Hikari’s powers, SkullKnightmon evolves to Gundamon DarkKnightmon. Meanwhile there’s lots of chanting and stuff about this being SkullKnightmon’s purpose or some such. I still kinda hope we get a redemption arc for SkullKnightmon or that he has something more to do with the story...

Agumon stops Taichi from wigging out and they go to save Hikari together, but before they can they are beset from all angles by henchmen.

Sora: Hey, you take care of Tweedle Dee and I’ll get Tweedle Dum!

Birdramon: *gets punched in the head* I hope you brought enough aspirin...

Then these guys appear. I’ve forgotten their names but evil as they look they literally just stand there till they get blown up and then more appear... I guess that’s a kind of talent

Takeru: Leave the small fry to me!

Pegasusmon: Takeru when I said I wanted a Happy Meal this isn’t what I meant

Hikari begins to be absorbed into a dark pocket dimension of DarkKnightmon’s or something like that. It seems like a very chill experience.

Taichi: I’ll save you! Take my hand!

Hikari: O... nii... chan... Fuck you...

ok so here’s my problem here.

This is meant to be all emotional and stuff right?? Hikari’s been blowing off her brother for an unknown reason (we all figured out what it was but look the main characters don’t know and that’s what counts) and he’s finally managed to catch up with her. His hand is inches away from catching hers and pulling her to safety. She’s got creepy glowing eyes. She mouths “o..nii...chan...” with a creepy smile before being pulled into darkness.

I know it’s for kids so it’s not going to be too scary or anything but there ‘just like... no build up here. The storytelling style is too mathematical. “We go from Plot Point A to Plot Boint B via Battles 1 2 and 3...” There’s nothing happening in between to make us feel Taichi’s desperation, or even to know what Hikari’s feeling in this moment. Is she really okay with this? Is she having second thoughts? It doesn’t make any sense for her not to be scared. I fully expected her to go through with it, but she can be scared and still go through with it... come on...

It’s like that scene from Utena except sapped of any and all emotional impact.

I don’t really remember how Greymon got up there in the first place since he can’t fly but at least we get a scene of him and Taichi plummeting to the earth after failing to save Hikari. The kind of thing that would be dramatic if there were any kind of animation budget at all.

The one thing the show is sure to do is show us Taichi’s expressions, which I guess is something... It’s just so rushed and the accompanying dialogue leaves something to be desired.

Greymon: Don’t give up, Taichi... Taichi... um. what are you doing...

Taichi: stop hitting yourself stop hitting yourself stop hitting yourself stop hitting yourself

Anyway, Taichi is Big Mad. I thought (hoped, to be honest) that we might get a glimpse of him going wild with dark energy like in the Devimon episode again... Or at least a hint that that was a possibility in the heat of the moment before Agumon snapped him out of it. But nope.

He takes a moment to be upset and then says “There’s no time to worry about what to do” and goes to save Hikari... from inside DarkKnightmon somehow :P

This does not go well.

Meanwhile Hikari is surprisingly okay for someone who was just eaten alive by sentient VantaBlack. She discovers a peculiar light inside... DarkKnightmon’s intestine??? Is that where we are now??? lmao

She recognizes the light as the voice that has been calling her and tries to head towards it, but is blocked by some purple jello.

There’s a kind of cool thing that happens here... We just had a scene where Taichi desperately tries to grab his sister’s hand and yank her out of the clutches of evil, but fails, mostly because she doesn’t do anything to help him since she is weirdly okay with the situation. Now we get a mirror of that moment with Hikari bursting out of the jello with her arm outstretched to grab what is clearly Tailmon’s paw.

Only Tailmon does take Hikari’s hand.

It was really cool to see the brother and sister paralleling each other this much. It shows the ways they’re both courageous and determined and caring.

Meanwhile Taichi finally whips out WarGreymon. Honestly, I feel like this should have been WarGreymon’s intro episode. This would have been a good time for a new evolution, rather than in a fight with a nobody that I’ve already forgotten. Idk. WarGreymon uses Brave Tornado to knock DarkKnightmon’s lances away and burrow into his armor. So, yeah, Hikari’s in his intestines, lmao.

Hikari is being chased by a two-headed monster who is in for the migraine of its (their?) life when the tornado crashes into it.

Hikari: Big brother! You look so cool!

Taichi: Promise me that no matter how many men come into your life, I’ll always be number one.

Hikari: okay that is creepy

WarGreymon explodes DarkKnightmon from the inside out x’D and Taichi gets a redo of his hand-reaching scene. First he berates Hikari for running off on her own and then smiles.

Hikari says she always believed he’d rescue her. Aww.

Sweet sibling love.

Then there’s this really hilarious sound which turns out to be the Vademon hivemind giving a collective cry of distress x’D it’s lmfao amazing. Then they start chanting “Next time next time next time” just in case you thought Millennium was defeated and we can go home now.

Taichi: Sora, do you know where I can buy a leash for this kid? I can’t keep chasing her like this. Aren’t kids today supposed to be glued to their phones and never go outside?

Patamon’s Girlfriend Radar piques at the bundle in Hikari’s arms.

And it is indeed Tailmon, and she’s been waiting for Hikari all this time.

Tailmon: I am Tailmon, a Holy Digimon.

Patamon: oh my god you can’t just call yourself holy ugh you’re so self-centered

D’awww.

They’re both sooooo cute. I’m annoyed they didn’t get a cool ending card like Takeru and Patamon did last week though. But still, this is a sweet moment.

So, there’s not a lot to complain about in this episode, comparatively speaking. I wish we had more dialogue and understood the value of a dramatic pause etc. Also wish Sora and Takeru had more to do than fight the henchmen. Like, if you can just erase an entire part of an episode and it still works fine, you clearly didn’t need that part so why waste time on it.

But at least we do get reactions from Taichi, and at least we got plot development. The Taichi/Hikari parallels were cool. And even though I had other hopes for how this arc would turn out, I’m glad it’s over because maybe we can finally do some other stuff now. Maybe. I want to get back to Koushirou SOOO bad but more than anything I am still gobsmacked by how long it’s been since Yamato’s had anything to do but ride on Garurumon. That is WEIRD. He’s YAMATO.

Next week...

... Looks like it’ll be a light-hearted undersea episode. I’m cool with that. The preview clips had a “Sebastian’s Calypso” vibe that I dig. It’s still about Taichi’s group but I think that’s to do more actual face time with Tailmon and Hikari. I hope we see the others as well and if not maybe the week after. I will be happy if this episode has some personality to it.

#fizz watches digimon 2020 #digimon adventure 2020 #digimon adventure:#digimon adventure reboot #digi spoilers #digimon

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dragonandtiger · 3 years

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Dreaming To Reality: Oneiromancy Chapter Seventeen - 21

“No, we definitely don’t,” Koshiro agreed. “There’s just so much we don’t know.” He stroked his chin. “Although that does fit with what we found out in the Dark World. Between the scientists and the state of Keiko’s body, if we turn into data whenever we enter the Digital World, then we’re affected by their rules.” He paused for a moment as he thought of the humans trapped in the Dark Ocean. “Or at least some of them.”

“I-it doesn’t have to be a thing, it can b-be a concept too,” Monodramon said. “T-that’s why Lord Zhuqiaomon is so worried about… well, him.”

“Him?” Koshiro asked. “Him who?”

“Um,” Monodramon hesitated before he looked around and then lowered his voice. “L-L-Lord Narakumon.”

“He’s… worried about Narakumon?” Takeru asked, slowly.

Monodramon nodded. “W-with him… the way he is, that means not only is he not maintaining control over the Dark Ocean, he’s not controlling his own power. T-t-that means there’s a chance it might s-s-spawn a new Digimon and cause unbelievable h-havoc!”

“Because he’s unconscious,” Tailmon murmured. “Because he helped me evolve with Nyamon to stop Armagemon.”

“But wait, what about Tenraimon!?” Hikari blurted out as she stood up in alarm, staring at Monodramon. “She’s been unconscious for years at this point! Wouldn’t it have happened to her too?”

“Oh, m-most likely,” Monodramon said as he blinked. “B-but Lord Zhuqiaomon isn’t concerned about that. He says it doesn’t matter what happens with her power because all she can do is create eggs or grant new life, and both are easy to manage. She d-does it all the time anyway.”

“��Easy to manage’,” Mimi repeated, quietly. “Why do I get the feeling he means ‘easy to kill whatever’s causing problems’?”

“Probably because that’s exactly what he means,” Wallace murmured as he reached over to squeeze Mimi’s shoulder. “Given everything we know about him, that’s the only logical explanation.”

“Not a problem if they’re dead~!” Noir chirped.

Mimi grimaced and shook her head as she wrapped her arms tightly around Palmon.

Hikari bristled. Something about the way Monodramon - or rather, Zhuqiaomon - said that rubbed her the wrong way. She got the very distinct impression that the Holy Beast was sneering down at Tenraimon. At seeing the scowl on Tailmon’s face, she knew that her partner felt the same way.

“The more I hear about this Zhuqiaomon, the less I like him,” Tailmon grunted.

#Dreaming To Reality #oneiromancy #digimon #Digimon Adventure 02 #digimon adventure

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srhlsx · 4 years

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CHAPTER 12

master | ch. 11 | ch. 13

Some light *light* nsfw

Some days during your elective prep course, the teacher allowed you to leave the classroom to study in an environment you found best. Today was one days and you found yourself deep in the stacks of the Aobajohsai library. It was an expansive space with rows upon rows of books, a maze of hallways, and enough private study rooms for half the student population to each have their own at the same time.

That was where you found yourself, alone, with Iwaizumi.

Your books were open on the table, endless pages of notes scattered across the surface as you tried to figure out just when, or even if, you had learned how to solve a particular equation. You huffed, annoyed, as you flipped over another page in your textbook but came up with no answers.

“Haji?” You said, your volume was low but in the small space it seemed to echo. The boy before you looked up from his own work, eyebrows raised. “Have you done number seven?”

He glanced down to his own work and nodded when he found the answer, “Need help?”

“Ugh, yes.” You groaned, slumping forward slightly in your seat. He laughed and got up, walking around the table to look at what you were working on.

He leaned over you, arms supporting his weight on either side of your body. His chest pressed slightly into your back, and even through your uniform jacket you could feel the heat radiating off him. You were sure his movements were unintentional, but still...

Your mind seemed to short circuit and suddenly math was the furthest concern you had. He reached out for the pencil in your hand, grasping it and erasing some of the work you had done, pointing out and explaining the mistake you had made but your ears were deaf to the words he was speaking. His breath fanned against your skin and you couldn’t control the shiver that racked your spine and made you flex and straighten your back suddenly.

He noticed the movement, pausing what he was saying and allowing a smirk to cross his lips. He felt you stiffen beneath him. It hadn’t been his intention to get you worked up, the two of you hadn't even mentioned or addressed what had happened weeks ago, but he surely wasn’t going to just pass up the opportunity. You were the only thing that seemed to be on his mind anymore.

Taking a risk, he turned his head and gently buried his face into your neck, pressing a wary kiss against the soft skin testing for a reaction. He got exactly what he had hoped for when you left out a breathy sigh, knowing that while there were no windows in the room there were definitely paper-thin walls and everything could be heard.

You closed your eyes and felt yourself start to let out a needy moan as Iwaizumi trailed a second, third, fourth kiss up your neck, reaching one of his hands up to sweep your hair out of the way as he raked his teeth across a spot that seemed to make all switches in your mind flip. You turned your face towards him and surprised him by capturing his lips with yours. The surprise made him let out the softest yet most sensual sound you’d ever heard from deep in his throat and he reached around to turn your chair so you faced him.

You reached up and grabbed the collar of his shirt, tugged him closer to you, and opened your mouth to kiss him. He easily overpowered you, resting his weight back on his hands on either side of you again, and explored how you tasted at his own free will.

Leaning forward, he shifted a leg to spread yours apart and then lifted it so his knee was pressed under your skirt and right against your underwear. He pressed forward as you moaned, feeling your hips roll slightly to get a little more friction against the pressure you could feel building in your lower stomach. You let out the slightest of whimpers and it spurred something within Iwaizumi, something he’d only ever felt that last time the two of you were in this position but with less clothing between you. He surged forward, sucking at your tongue, ravaging your mouth to savor the taste of you that he craved so badly.

You had begun to lose your breath, gasping heavily when he cradled your face and moved to assault your neck once again, hand tangling and pulling at your hair to open up your neck. At that moment you forgot about everything except the feeling of Iwaizumi Hajime-

Bzz! Bzz!

You gasped and pressed your hands to his chest to push him away. You’d been surprised by the notification on your phone and the pounding of your heart seemed to signal something else within you. Were you scared that someone had caught you? Would that have really been so terrible?

Yes, you thought, it would’ve been awful.

Iwaizumi ran a hand through his already messy hair, fixing his tie as you reached out for your phone and checked the screen. Of all things, it was a message from Oikawa. He was asking if you wanted to get some food before you went to his cousin’s volleyball camp. He had invited you along, stating his little cousin did not believe he had a girlfriend and wanted - no, needed - to prove him wrong even if it was entirely fake.

You responded with a confirmation as you still tried to catch your breath. When you’d locked your phone again, tossing it onto the table with a loud clang, you looked up at Iwaizumi who was staring at you with such intensity you swore you almost wanted to ask him to take you right then and there. If that wasn’t the most whorish thought you’d ever had, you didn’t know what was.

“Um,” You started, unfamiliar with the feeling of embarrassment you had.

“(y/n),” He said, taking in a deep breath as he looked back up at you. His voice didn’t waver and his expression was stern. “I’m not going to be able to stop next time that happens.”

You stayed silent as a thought crossed your mind - next time.

- - - - -

“I’m serious, Tooru.” You turned your phone so the screen was shown to Oikawa. “I’ve never met this girl or even seen her in my life.”

He chuckled after taking a look at the username and avatar picture of the girl who had messaged you over social media. You had posted the picture from when Oikawa and Iwaizumi came to your dance competition, the caption - thankful for my cheering section! - with a few fun emojis for added effect. The amount of likes you got in such a short period of time was alarming, but not as alarming as the messages from one girl in particular you had gotten. They weren’t threatening, per se, but they were obsessive in nature and you had to wonder if the girl needed help.

“That’s why I don’t allow anyone to message me, no matter what.” Oikawa responded, shaking his head.

“Like at all?” You asked, glancing back at the messages before looking up at him nodding his head. “That’s probably a good idea.”

“I’m sorry, (y/n).” He said, the look in his eyes and his tone of voice genuine. “I know this hasn’t exactly been easy on you. Iwa told me about the note a few weeks ago.”

You rolled your eyes and waved him off, tucking your phone away and looping an arm through his. “Like I told Haji,” You said, grinning up at the tall boy next to you. “If I couldn’t handle it, I wouldn’t have said yes.”

Little did he or Iwaizumi know, there hadn’t been just one note. It had grown over the course of the weeks you’d been in school to almost being a regular occurance. Some of them were from girls who were begging you to break up with Oikawa, some were from boys asking you for the same thing. You read a few of them, finding some humor in the whole situation, others you just threw away without a second glance. The few you took a glance at were sometimes alarming, sometimes malicious in intent, but one thing you could guarantee was that none of them were ever positive.

You had thought about going to administration and putting in a formal complaint, but you came to believe that would mean they’d upset you - and you weren’t going to let anyone think they’d done that to you. You weren’t going to let the words get to you, but you were starting to understand Oikawa’s views on how utterly bothersome it was.

Oikawa grinned down at you, pulling his arm free and wrapping it around your shoulders instead to pull you in for a sideways hug. “I don’t think I deserve a friend like you,” He mumbled.

“You mean girlfriend, Tooru!” The teasing voice of a young boy came from in front of you. You both looked ahead at the young boy, no older than ten, who was watching the two of you with a snarky grin and a volleyball in his hands. You were walking out of the gym where he had just been practicing at a camp, so the little boy’s face was still flush from laughter and running around.

“Yes, Takeru!” Oikawa said, “I definitely meant girlfriend.”

You rolled your eyes as Oikawa winked at you, laughing until you were cut short by him reaching out a hand to halt your forward movement. You were about to ask him what the fuck he was doing, but stopped yourself when you looked at him. He was gazing forward intensely at a boy who couldn't have been much younger than you, the two were locked in a heated gaze.

You recognized him as the prodigal setter form Karasuno. He was looking at Oikawa, but upon seeing you he started to flush a little bit and his shoulders tensed. You almost wanted to coo at him like a baby, knowing that you made him nervous by just looking at him.

“Tobio!” Oikawa exclaimed, seeming a little alarmed at who he was looking at.

“What are you doing here, Oikawa?” The boy, Tobio, asked. “What about practice?”

“I’m with my nephew and girlfriend,” Oikawa responded smugly. “And we take Mondays off.”

“You take a whole day off?” The boy seemed utterly shocked at the notion, his jaw dropping in surprise. “What a waste!”

“There is a difference, Tobio, between resting and slacking off.” Oikawa spoke sharply. You saw how serious he was not only by his tone, but the glint in his eyes. You reached out and nudged Takeru forward, wanting to avoid this mess altogether.

You saw that Tobio was wanting to ask a question, but Oikawa childishly turned to follow you. He made a face at Tobio over his shoulder, sticking out his tongue which earned a slap across the head from you. You might not have really been dating him, but you were not going to put up with childish behavior. When Oikawa looked up at you pouting, you motioned for him to give a little attention to the boy bowing before him - literally.

He grumbled under his breath, reaching into his pocket and handing over his phone to you. “What?” You asked bluntly.

“Photographic proof that Tobio bowed before my greatness,” He responded, throwing a peace sign and looking smug as ever.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not,” You shook your head and held his phone out back to him.

“Fine!” He pouted. “Meanie. Takeru, you take it!”

You ushered Takeru away from the conversation as it had suddenly turned very serious, very quickly. You tossed around the volleyball he had with him, not very skillfully but doing your best as you both waited. After a few minutes, Oikawa joined you, leaving the other boy to stand in an almost trance. You could see the gears turning in his head and you wondered what all was spoken about.

“Augh!” Oikawa cried out as you all walked along. “Why am I the blurry one in all the pictures?”

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu iwaizumi #haikyuu iwaizumi hajime #hq!! x reader #hq!!#hq #hq x reader #x reader #Iwaizumi Hajime #iwaizumi x reader #ya girl figured out the keep reading feature #reader insert #what tags are going to get more attention #oikawa tooru

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digitalworldbound · 4 years

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Takari Week, Day Two: First Kiss

Hello, again! This was the first fanfiction I ever wrote in middle school, around the age of thirteen (eight years ago!). I found it the other day, and thought it would be cute to post. It’s not the best, but has a cute sentiment . @takariweek 💖

Title: First Kiss

Characters: Takeru x Hikari

We arrived at Daisuke’s house when the party was in full swing. From the overflow of cars in the driveway, it appeared that everybody from the soccer team, dance squad, and student council were there.

“Hey, Takaishi-san!” Daisuke sauntered over and did that guy hand-slap/chest-bump combination that he must have picked up from my brother. “Welcome, welcome, all!” He looked me up and down, and I gave him the stare that made it clear I wasn’t the least bit interested in anything he was looking for. Not all men mature after middle school.

“Hey, man.” Saeki, my boyfriend, said. He side stepped me, putting his body between Daisuke and myself. “Thanks for the invite.” Daisuke grinned wider, sizing Saeki up. Both boys had a competitive streak, something that I wished they left on the soccer field.

“Oh, right, you two are together. See, I keep forgetting that since she’s always with him.” He pointed a grimy finger to a clearly annoyed Takeru.

“Daisuke-san, I don’t believe that you’ve met Nagai-san yet.” Takeru gestured in his girlfriend’s direction. Her glittery eyes popped underneath her smoky eyeshadow, and I absentmindedly wished I had taken the time to apply some.

Our whole lives, people always assumed that Takeru and I were an item. In their defense, most of our time was spent together, and we even had this weird twin-telepathy thing that let us know how the other one was feeling. It wasn’t until high school arrived that our close bond was placed underneath scrutiny.

For whatever reason, Daisuke laughed. “Okay, I get it, I get it.” He reached into a cooler and pulled out some cans of soda. “I’d say go long, Takaishi-san, but I don’t think my mom would appreciate getting soda on the carpet.” He laughed. I quirked an eyebrow at his jab. “Wow, Daisuke-san, that’s fresh coming from the kid that wore a pair of hand-me-down goggles for over half of his life.”

Saeki stifled a laugh at my outburst, but Takeru remained stoic. The four of us each took a can and made our way over to the corner of the kitchen.

“Don’t let him get to you.” I said to Takeru.

“But he’s right. I can’t seem to catch anything… except grief.” He shook his head. With the basketball season starting up, Takeru hadn’t had as much time to practice as he did in years previous. He game had gotten weaker; a detail that hadn’t slipped even Daisuke’s notice.

I turned my back to Nagai and Saeki. I knew how embarrassed Takeru could get about his skills. He always valued the opinions of others more than his own. “You’re getting much better. The other day, Nii-chan was telling me you catch a ball nearly half-way down the court.”

“I guess.” His voice was faint. “But it is so humiliating sitting on the bench every game.”

“I thought you only wanted to play basketball to make friends and to fit in. Remember? You said that you were more focused on becoming a writer.”

He shrugged. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t want to play.”

“I know but look around. You’re at a party and Daisuke-san of all people invited you.”

“He invited everybody.” Takeru’s huff of annoyance ruffled his golden locks, and I pretended that the movement didn’t distract me.

“But at least you’re here. And he’s making fun of you. Isn’t that ‘the bro’ way of being friendly?”

“’The bro way.’” He laughed.

“You know, how guys show affection. Or mark their turf. Kind of like how my cat Miko pees on something to let you know it’s hers.”

“Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?” A grin teased its way onto his face, and I silently rejoiced at the small victory.

“Of course not,” I admitted. “But does it at least make you feel a little bit better?”

“Yeah, just a little.”

I elbowed him playfully. “Well, that will not do. Clearly my job here is not done. Let me count the ways you are a stud.”

“Wait, wait.” Takeru laughed and pulled out his phone. “I need to record this. I may even make it my new ringtone.” His eyebrows wiggled suggestively.

I grabbed his phone and spoke directly into the mic. “I, Yagami Hikari, do hereby swear the Takaishi Takeru is a total manly man, the ultimate bro. Reason number one, he can quote the entire My Neighbor Totoro movie at the drop of a hat. Reason number two, he knows to always compliment a lady’s photography skills. Um, reason number three. Um…”

“Nice,” he grabbed his phone back. “You can’t even come up with three reasons?”

“See, there are just too many reasons, my poor brain is on overload.”

“Good save.”

“Phew!” I wiped my brow dramatically.

“Hey!” Miyako approached us. “I didn’t see you guys come in. But then I saw your dates outside and figured you were doing that thing you do.” I almost didn’t recognize her with her long hair pulled all the way back. Her face looked more angular, more grown-up.

The best part about Miyako, however, was that she could read the nonverbal exchange Takeru and I shared. “Let me guess. You didn’t realize your dates left.”

I grimaced.

She shook her head, shiny purple hair flowing behind her. “You guys are too much.”

“Clearly,” Takeru and I said in unison.

“Well, may I suggest that you take your party outside and keep your dates company?”

“Thank you so much!” I gave Miyako a quick hug before she returned to her student council friends.

Takeru and I went to the glass patio door and saw Nagai and Saeki leaning against the deck railing. Saeki, all cheekbones and full lips, was telling some story that made Nagai giggle like a little schoolgirl. Her cheeks were rosy against her white camisole, short cropped hair caught on a breeze. ‘Takeru-kun looks at that every day.’ I shut down that train of thought as soon as it arrived. Now was not the time to be jealous.

“Well, at least they’re having a good time.” Takeru remarked. “In fact, it looks like they’re having a better time now than they have all night.”

“Takeru-kun,” I stopped his hand from opening up the door. “I think that maybe it’s not the best idea for us to go on double dates.”

He nodded, letting his palm linger a second too long. “I know. It’s just hard to throw anybody into our mix. I really don’t want to mess things up with Nagai-san.”

“You and I will still hang out; you’re bound to me by the laws of friendship. I’m only saying that maybe date night should just be date night. No forcing our dates to put up with the two of us.”

Takeru’s gaze was fixed straight ahead. His jaw was tightly clenched, blue eyes narrowed to fine points.

“Takeru-kun?” When he didn’t respond, I followed his stare. Saeki moved closer to Nagai and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She blushed further but leaned into him. He put his arm around her, pulling her closer. His jacket dangled from her shoulders as Nagai tucked herself into the warmth.

“Are they flirting?” I gasped out. There was no way this was happening.

Takeru and I remained frozen in place as we watched Saeki and Nagai lean in closer and closer. He said something else that made her laugh. Her giggles bounded off the glass door and shot straight into my heart. She twirled a piece of auburn hair around her finger, the action enticing Saeki lean even further into her. Her smile dropped. They were studying each other. Intensely.

I recognized the look on Saeki’s face. He tilted his head and put his index finger up to her chin. This was not happening.

“I can’t…” The pain etched in Takeru’s voice snapped me into action.

“How could you?” I found myself in front of Nagai. I know I should have been more upset with Saeki, but at that moment I was furious with the green-eyed beauty. Takeru had been on a few dates with her, he’d even asked her to come hang out with his friends and go to a party he was invited to, and this is how she repaid him?

Nagai shrank away from me, but Saeki stepped closer. “Are you being serious right now?” I’d never seen him so mad before. His hands, clenched into fists at his side, were trembling.

“Are you being serious right now?” I threw back.

He looked at me with disgust. “Do you realize how messed up this is? You’re mad at Nagai-san? Do you even care about me? You know what – you don’t even need to answer that. It’s clear that your only concern is Takaishi-san, not your boyfriend. No, wait, your former boyfriend.”

“Let me make sure I’m getting this straight.” My mind was trying to keep pup with every that had happened in the past few minutes. “You were flirting with another girl. If I hadn’t stepped in, you were probably going to kiss another girl. You were going to cheat on me. Yet you’re mad at me? And you’re breaking up with me?”

“Do you have any idea how much this hurts me?” Saeki’s voice cracked, and I could tell it was completely genuine. I felt awful; maybe I had hurt him. But I certainly knew I didn’t do anything that justified cheating.

“How are you putting this on me?” Confusion swirled around in my head. Saeki and I had never fought; not once. We were talking about traveling to Kyoto for our one-year anniversary. And now he was breaking up with me? “Have you been drinking?”

“You know I don’t drink.” He snapped at me. “Maybe I did this on purpose, for you to see what it’s like to have your boyfriend give another girl all your attention. I really like you, Hikari-chan, but I can’t sit here and play second best to Takaishi-san anymore.”

“You wouldn’t think any of this if he were a girl.” Tears trailed down my cheeks, but I let them fall. I wanted him to see the pain he was causing me.

“But he’s not, and that’s the problem. Why don’t you two just go out already?”

That is what it always came down to. The perception that there was no way Takeru and I could be legitimately best friends and only friends. Nobody seemed to understand it. Mostly because those people never had a best friend of the opposite sex.

Or maybe it was more appropriate to say that none of them have had Takeru as a best friend.

“If you’ve had such a problem with it, why are you only saying something now?”

He groaned. “Because I figured the closer you and I got, the less I would have to deal with him?”

“Deal with him?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Takeru’s voice say, “I’m so sorry.” I had forgotten that he and Nagai were there. In fact, a whole crowd had started gathering around the door.

Nagai was hunched over in the corner in an attempt to disappear. “I should go,” she said quietly.

“I’ll drive you home.” Saeki walked into the group of observers while Nagai following close behind him.

I heard some clapping. “Dudes,” Daisuke called out, emerging from the crowd. “I know I can always count on you two to bring the entertainment. If only I had some popcorn! That was insane.”

“Really, Motimiya-san?” I asked. Something in my voice must have stopped him.

“Oh, man, I’m sorry, Hikari-chan.”

I stood there waiting for him to make a sarcastic follow up comment, but he had a look of actual sympathy on his face. It made me feel even worse. If Daisuke felt bad for you, you knew your life must be pathetic.

“Let’s get out of here.” I grabbed Takeru by the arm and led us out of the crowded house.

“Um, our ride left,” Takeru said with quiet resignation.

“We’ll figure something out.” I opened the front door and started walking. “I think the fresh air might do us some good.”

Takeru stayed uncharacteristically silent for several minutes. I left him alone with is thoughts, as I had a plethora of my own to muddle through. Mostly, what had just happened? Maybe I was missing some signals. I racked my brain for signs that Saeki had been unhappy. He’d made lots of jabs at how much time I spent with Takeru and usually pretended to gag whenever I would talk about him. But he was a guy. I’d thought he was teasing me.

Regardless of what I’d done, it didn’t give him any excuse to flirt the second my back was turned. But what made me the most upset was that it had been Takeru’s girlfriend. I would have thought Saeki, of all people, would’ve wanted Takeru to have a girlfriend.

“Is any of this making sense to you?” I asked Takeru. The night air caressed his cheeks, coloring them the shade of rose petals. He shook his head and kept walking. This was bad.

We found ourselves walking to the same place. We didn’t discuss our destination; we just lead each other to the shores of Odaiba Beach. Silently, we strolled towards the abandoned swing set. Carefully, I sat in the middle swing while Takeru occupied the swing to my left. This is how we always sat on the way home in middle school, back when growing up wasn’t so messy.

I started rocking my swing back and forth.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Takeru announced, remaining motionless in his swing. “I think you’re right. We shouldn’t go on anymore double dates.”

I looked over and saw a slight smile pulling at the edges of his lips. “Are you making a joke?”

“Well, it’s either that, or accept the fact that I’ve been cheated on twice.” He was referring to his girlfriend from middle school. At the girl’s New Year’s Eve party, she snuck away to make out with Daisuke while Takeru was visiting his family in France. I was the one that found them in a tangle of limbs on a butterfly comforter. I was also the one that had to break the news to my best friend when he got off the plane six days later.

“Well, if it helps, Nagai-san didn’t technically cheat.”

He clicked his tongue. “Yeah, only because you stopped it.”

“We don’t know what was going to happen.” Truthfully, I didn’t believe the words as they came out of my mouth. I tried to lighten the mood. “I guess I really need to stop going to parties where your girlfriends are. And where there are doors.”

“Tell me about it.” He got up and went behind to push me. I closed my eyes and let the swing take me higher and higher. His hands pressed lightly on my back, and I relished in the comfort while it lasted.

We stayed like that for nearly an hour before I glanced down at my watch. “We either need to start walking home or call one of our parents.”

We decided that it was best to call Takeru’s mom for a ride. My father and Onii-chan were very protective of me, so I didn’t think they would take it lightly that I’d been essentially abandoned at a party. Although I was with Takeru, which would have made them both feel a bit better. They both really liked Saeki, so I knew they’d be disappointed to hear that it was over.

Over. It was so strange to think about it.

Takeru and I sat on the curb while we waited on his mother to pick us up. He averted his eyes, picking at the toe of his sneaker.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Not really.” He wrapped his arms around his legs. “I don’t know, I’m wondering if there is something wrong with me.” A cheek was pressed against his knee, facing in my direction.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” I assured him. His eyes, a stormy gray, refused to meet mine.

“But why do girls keep cheating on me?”

“You’ve had one girl cheat on you, and another to make a bad decision.”

He sighed, his breath shakily blowing his hair out of his eyes. “Maybe I’m a bad kisser.”

“I’m sure it’s not that.”

“How would you know?” He got me there. “Let’s think about it. My first girlfriend was away from me for ten days and sucking face with a guy who was supposed to be my friend the second she was alone with him. Tonight, my girlfriend was away from me for like two seconds before she about to make out with a guy that was already taken. The problem is clearly me.”

“You’re being silly.” I insisted. It hurt me to think that my best friend thought so lowly of himself. He was loyal, kind, and everything a girl could ever need.

“I don’t think I am.” That was all it took for Takeru to become opposite of silent. He spent the next five minutes battling the crickets for his voice to be heard. He went on and on about how it must be that he was a terrible kisser and that he would never be able to keep a girlfriend because of how lousy of a person he was. How he was never going to date another girl because he wouldn’t be able to trust them. How pathetic he must be that every girl jumped at the chance to be with someone the second his back was turned.

It was grinding on my last nerve.

Takeru was usually pretty laid back about most things, so I wasn’t accustomed to him being so hard on himself about some girl.

I kept trying to tell him that it wasn’t about him. It was about how the first girlfriend likes to flirt and couldn’t be “girlfriend material” with how she preferred to play the field. And who knew about Nagai? She was younger than we were. She had made a mistake.

But that wasn’t enough. I was getting so frustrated with Takeru. Part of me wanted to smack him, but I knew he would only keep complaining.

“Nope, that’s it. I’m a horrible kisser. And it’s going to spread around the school and no girl will ever give me a chance.”

“For the love of the gods, Takeru-kun!”

And before I really could register what I was doing, I grabbed his cheeks and pulled his lips to mine. The chilly air had chapped them, and but his face was warm underneath my hands. He was tense, probably from shock, but I forced my eyes shut so that I wouldn’t see any looks of disgust he could give me. I tried to ingrain the scent of the sea and sandalwood and something uniquely him. Then, his shoulders loosened. His arms wrapped around my middle as he eased his body into mine. My fingers twitched, threatening to caress his hair.

I pulled away and Takeru struggled for breath. “Wh-wh-what …” He stammered, ears pink from excitement.

Ignoring my own rapid heartrate, I discretely tried to catch my breath. “You’re fine. You are not a bad kisser. It has been verified. Moving on.”

His eyes were shiny and wide, mouth agape and speechless. For the first, I cursed myself for leaving my camera at home.

I loved that he was so flustered. The fact that I could have that effect on him was exhilarating.

From across the street, we could see his mom’s headlights approaching. I stood up while he remained seated on the curb. I reached out my hand to help him up, but it took him a second to process it. He got up on his feet, completely stunned.

“So, that’s one thing that I have on all of your basketball friends and your other ‘bros’” I said to him, flashing him the smile I reserved for quiet moments like these. He returned a blank stare.

I laughed and playfully punched him in the shoulder. “I don’t think any of them would’ve had the nerve to prove to you that you’re not a bad kisser. You’re welcome, by the way.”

He stayed mostly silent on the ride back to my house. Every so often, his finger would reach up to brush across his lips, and I had to stop myself from doing the same. ‘Remember, you’re better off as friends.’

I laughed silently to myself while my thigh was pressed against his in the backseat. All it really takes to fluster a guy is a simple kiss.

#takari week #takari #takeru takaishi #hikari yagami

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merryfortune · 3 years

Text

Day 5 / Dreams

All The More to Love You With 2021

Event: @aiballshipping

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Ship: Ai/Yusaku

Word Count: 1,389

Tags: Alternate Universe – Modern, Gambling Addiction, Surrealist Elements, Ambiguous Ending, Meta Comedy/Commentary

Yusaku stared dreamily at his phone, keeping it loosely propped up in one hand and in the other, the side of his face. He probably could have spent all of the lunch period just staring at his phone like that but, fortunately or unfortunately, Takeru had to come along and disturb that.

He was such a noisy teen that Takeru, how he sat down and put his lunch box in front of him, how his chopsticks clacked against the desk and how he leaned into Yusaku’s personal space and gasped.

“Please tell me you didn’t whale last night?” Takeru asked.

“I didn’t spend any real money if that what’s you mean.” Yusaku assured him. “I got lucky last night, I barely had to spend forty gems on free premium to get this.”

“I don’t think that’s any better.” Takeru replied.

“I can’t help it,” Yusaku said, “he’s my comfort character. He makes me happy.” He probably could have said more the topic given how his heart raced whenever he managed to have a moment of vulnerability and admit something like that to his closest friend, but he opted not to. It was kind of embarrassing.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s healthy.” Takeru sighed.

“Whatever.” Yusaku replied.

As much as it pained him – almost, sort of, kind of – Yusaku put his phone in sleep mode but when he closed his eyes, he still saw his so-called comfort character – the love of his life, really – amid the phosphenes on the back of his eyelids. Ai.

Ai was the first Ultra Super Rare that Yusaku had ever pulled in this game. Ai was a Dark Attribute and happened to use Yusaku’s favourite weapon: a sword. He had a good personality: equal parts fluff and angst. And that was to say nothing of his face; he was an utter bishounen. Yusaku was helpless, always having a secret infatuation with the Gothic and the like and Ai very much tickled that fancy he buried beneath his shapeless clothes like hoodies and such.

At first, he hadn’t thought much of Ai or the game but somewhere along the line, Yusaku got hooked. For better or worse. At the best and better of times, Ai had come to mean something very important to Yusaku, helping him pull away from the darker brinks of loneliness and the like, imagining him pressed up against Yusaku’s body, in a tender embrace, helped on bitter nights of coldness. At the worst of times, it meant that Yusaku sometimes spent a bit too much money trying to pull his seasonal variants and additional weapons and special memento cards and the like, putting him in serious financial situations where he had to choose pick between Ai and groceries but that’s totally fine. Yusaku doesn’t mind eating frozen tv dinners, even if they sometimes made him gag…

Ai made Yusaku really, really happy. Using him in combat; admiring the collection of items associated with him; Yusaku was a proud whaler when it came to Ai’s promotions and he had even plus ten’d him and given him all the other bits and bobs that he could so Ai could be Yusaku’s best unit. Ai was worth every penny: in-game or not.

Takeru… didn’t really get it. Maybe Yusaku was just bad at explaining but it was very genuinely love. He could swear that on his heart and how it raced whenever he thought of Ai as though he were a real person. Listening to his voice lines with his eyes closed, Yusaku could swear it was something more than just a para-social melding of the 2D and the 3D.

So long as it didn’t get in the way of school, he supposed. And after school and going home club, there was nothing quite like the incentive like doing his dailies to get through his homework and doing things which sometimes bordered on wastes of time, liking meal preparation and laundry and other stuff like that.

It was all such sweet leisure at the end of it all, Yusaku lounged on his bed in the dark. It was already so late, and he was a bit sleepy, but he wanted to get through that grind. He only had some pittance towards units that weren’t Ai, Ai was his ace and the love of his life. Yusaku yawned himself as he absorbed all that wonderful blue light through his eyes, and he turned the volume on high.

If he closed his eyes and rolled onto his belly, holding his phone close, some of those combat noises – the grunting and moaning – that Ai made could be interpreted very deliciously otherwise.

“Enjoying yourself?” Ai asked as Yusaku sighed to himself as he began to get lost in flights of fancy in the middle of this grind.

“Yeah.” Yusaku replied with something of a sigh to his exhale. It was contented.

“I enjoy it too,” Ai replied, “you make me very happy as well, Yusaku-chan, my master, my summoner.” Ai giggled.

“We make a good team.” Yusaku replied.

“We do.” Ai agreed.

Yusaku opened his eyes, bleary with these unravelling thoughts of his place inside the role-playing game, and he had to blink. His mouth ran dry.

“Oh.” he exclaimed. “Um, er, are you comfortable.”

He tried to keep his hand steady. He wasn’t sure how solid Ai was. Was he even here at all? It was just a normal gacha game. It absolutely did not have holograms; holograms were barely real at all beyond virtual reality or things of wonder and riches.

“Totally.” Ai replied with a chirp to his voice. But he titled his head, batting his eyelashes, his golden eyes gleamed in the dark of Yusaku’s room. “But are you?”

Yusaku wriggled up a bit, so he could better see Ai in all his glory. He glowed, blithely illuminated by a slight violet colour. He was magnificent: tight pants, a handsome coat with epaulettes, high heeled boots. He lounged in the air, like he was sitting upon some seat or throne, the base of which were the planes of light which shafted in an upwards position from Yusaku’s phone screen.

Yusaku licked his lips and swallowed. He was a bit confused by Ai’s question. But he was greatly intrigued by it as well. “What do you mean?” Yusaku asked.

Ai shrugged and looked around Yusaku’s room. It was old with cracks in the walls; no carpet; the barest amenities.

“You know,” Ai began, “for one hundred gems, you can upgrade your barracks, if you wish. All it takes is a snap of my fingers.”

“Oh, well, um, sure.” Yusaku said.

And with that, the transaction was complete and all around him, Yusaku’s room was transformed. Became luxe and a little bit more themed a la Ai. The very bed underneath him became a double from a single with rich doona covers and high-quality silk sheets.

Yusaku glanced at his phone. He noticed that his balance of gems had changed but he didn’t even care. He had a good stock of it and other resources after all from playing the game devotedly.

Ai giggled. “Much better, don’t you think, my summoner?” He winked at Yusaku.

Yusaku was unable to muster a reply. He just nodded dumbly, thinking more with his rushing blood and the emotions that came with than any other sense of logic.

“Well then, shall we begin the master-unit bonding event for ten stamina?” Ai asked.

“Y-Yes, that sounds great.” Yusaku beamed, his heart pounding his head.

That appeared to be the correct answer as Ai looked sultry and pleased with his smile. Yusaku couldn’t look away but he had to, he had to check his stamina bar and sure enough, it had changed but he was willing to spend it all especially for time with Ai.

Ai who came down off that throne-like perch in the hologram and joined Yusaku on the bed. It was almost like all the nights previous that Yusaku had dreamed for Ai to join him. His touch was gentle on the side of his face, leaning in, following through with a tempting kiss and Yusaku kissed back. Hard and fast. He couldn’t believe that all his dreams had come true like that, all whilst holding his phone like it was equally as precious as the very Ai before him.

#aiballshipping #aiballshipping week #aiballshipping week 2021 #yugioh vrains #vrains #yugioh #yusaku fujiki #ai (vrains)#writing tag #all the more to love you with #all the more to love you with 2021 #i've been excited to post this one as well #since i do like mobage!yusaku a lot so writing the natural extension of yumedanshi!yusaku was fun

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joyfulpoet · 4 years

Text

This is actually a good 4 years old now. I wrote it and then was worried that it was terrible and so I never shared it. I recently remembered it and reread it and was like it’s not that bad. I might clean it up more and post it to Ao3. but for now I’ll just post it here. The happenings in this fic are also based around Takeru’s romance route in the game rather then the anime.

Fandom: Kamigami no Asobi

Pairing: TakeruXYui

Rating: Teen

Sunset Beach

The setting sun turned the sky crimson and gold as Takeru tugged Yui towards him as they settled down onto the blanket spread out on the beach. She came easily, letting him arrange them so that she sat between his legs with her back against his chest. Yui shifted nervously about trying to get comfortable as Takeru pulled a second blanket to wrap around them. Once it was in place his arms encircled her waist and she settled contently into them.

It had been a few months since that perfect morning when they watch the sunrise together at the end of their training camp. Well almost perfect, she had nearly fallen down the mountain chasing after Takeru. Thankfully he managed to save her just in time with the use of his god form, but he also broke the rules of the Zeus’ Garden, and hurt her arm to do it.

As punishment Zeus banished Takeru from participating in the school with the rest of the gods until he repented. But with some persuasion, Yui convinced him to give the young sea god a second chance, in the form of a simple ordeal. If Takeru could climb to the top of mountain before the sunsets ,he would have all transgressions forgiven.

The climb proved to be almost too daunting a task. Takeru nearly losing heart at one point, believing that Zeus had purposely set him up to fail and almost giving up. When they did make it to the top, the sun had set long ago. But he finally understood. He knew that to move forward, he needed to stop laying his faults at the feet of others, and take responsibility for his actions. With this understanding he was both forgiven by Zeus and freed from his binding that kept him from his true from. He could then return to the school and graduate with the rest of the gods.

Since that day Takeru did his best be both kinder and more open with Yui and the other gods. To not assume the worst of them, even when a certain Norse God was trying to get in another annoying prank. As he learned to trust more, he also came to understand a different kind of strength. Not the kind that came with a fist and a sword, but with an open and understanding heart.

With Takeru’s return to school they continued training in the kendo club again, and as he grew more comfortable he’d make little jokes. After a particular silly joke about Yui being a weed, she joked back about him being a little snot. Takeru was rather taken aback by this. Which lead to confusion when his elder brother Tsukito, who had decided to watch them at practice that day, snorted into his notebook.

“How exactly am I a snot?” Takeru asked gruffly.

“Don't you remember how you were created?” Yui asked sweetly, who of late had taken it upon herself to read up more on the different god’s myths.

Takeru brow scrunched up in greater confusion. But his head whipped around at the sound of another quiet snort from his brother.

“Hey Aniki! Want to share with the rest of us.” By the tone of his voice it was obvious that that wasn't a question. Tsuiko shock his head “no” anyway before going back to his writing.

“Ahem”, Takeru turned back to Yui at the sound of her clearing her throat. “The reason you” she poked Takeru in the chest for emphasis, “are a snot; is because you were created when your father cleaned his nose out after leaving Yomi.” She crossed her arms with a self-satisfied look on her face.

Takeru’s face went blank before morphing into a look of mortification. He then bent forward hiding his face from Yui, who had begun to worry that Takeru might not take this very well. His shoulders began to shake. Flustered as to what to do, Yui cautiously reached out to calm him when a laugh broke from him. He straightened up trying and failing to keep a grin off his face, as he laughed harder.

“You’re right!” He huffed out between laughs, “I am a snot!”

His laugh was surprisingly infectious and Yui soon found herself giggling with him. And when the grin he was fighting so hard finally won out and broke across his face, Yui felt her heart skip a beat. Of the gods here, the only ones who smiled less then Takeru were his brother and Thor. Even Hades, god of the Underworld, could be coaxed into smiling more often then him. And as she gazed at the sea god’s beaming face she noticed Tsukito’s face over his brothers shoulder also had a small gentle smile gracing his lips.

Yui snuggled closer to Takeru’s chest as they both watched the sun sink into the sea. The sound of the waves gentle lapping was starting to lull Yui to sleep as she nestled safe and warm in the sea god’s arms.

“Don't fall asleep Weed.” He said teasingly as he gently placed his chin on her shoulder. “I ain't carrying you back again.”

“But Takeru-kun, you’re so comfy.” She whined playful as she extracted one of his hands from about her waist. She felt more then heard his chuckle against her back. Playing with his fingers she couldn't help but wonder at how she'd gotten here. When they had first met he had been so harsh and bratty. For the first time in her life, she nearly gave up even TRYING to be friends with someone.

Even when she had challenged him to a duel she hadn't expected much. Maybe a few bruised knuckles and an even more bruised pride. It was obvious to her as soon as they faced off that he was the better swordsman of the two of them. It would have been child’s play for him to make a mockery of her. Instead he treated her with the same level of respect of someone who was his equal.

Strangely enough, it was the moment when he stopped his strike that mattered the most to her. For one, it showed he knew restraint. But at the heart of it, it showed that he knew honor, and that there would be none for either of them if he had followed through. Not because she was weaker or a woman, but that they were not of the same level of skill. If it had been anyone else they would’ve said something a long the lines of not hitting girls. Something she’d dealt with before in the past, but still managed to set her blood boiling.

Yui traced the lines of Takeru’s rough palm in the dying light of the sunset. She thought about the first time he’d rather nervously tried to ask if she’d sit with him for lunch. It was just a week after their ordeal climbing the mountain. Their teacher Thoth, the Egyptian god of knowledge, had just released them from class. Takeru had slowly walked over to her desk as she gathered up her things looking a little like he was worried she would run from him.

“Um, Weed, I mean, Kusanagi . . .” His cheeks slowly turned red. Yui smiled encouragingly at him as the others filed out of the classroom for lunch. “Would you . . . Could I . . .” He looked down as he’s cheeks got redder, his left hand coming up and rubbing at the back of his neck rather self-consciously.

“Will you sit with me outside at lunch?” Yui asked as he floundered for words. Takeru's mouth hung open for a brief moment before he remembered to answer with a “Yes! Of course!” A grin stretched across his face. After that he would ask everyday while the weather was nice. it was another week later before he asked to study with her in the evenings.

One morning after they finished their first run for the day, she found herself reaching for his hand as they walked back to school. She paused for second, wondering at herself, before slipping her fingers into his hand. The sea god jumped a bit as if he had been electrocuted. Stopping he looked down at their hands. Yui blushed, ready to pull her hand away, but Takeru just tightened his around hers and smiled gently. They continued to hold hands until they reached the door to her dorm room, where they rather reluctantly let go.

The sun had completely sunk below the waterline when Takure hummed into her shoulder. “We should start heading back Kusanagi.” Though he made no move to disentangle himself from her.

Yui made a noncommittal hum as her fingers left tracing his palm to drawing lines up and down the inside of his gauntlet free forearm. The skin there was surprisingly soft and she was rather enjoying the feeling of ghosting her fingers over it. When Takeru shuddered a bit, moving his face to the base of her neck.

“If you keep doing that,” he huffed, “I’m going to have a problem.”

Startled, Yui paused. “Do you not like it?”

He let out a rough laugh at the back of her neck, stirring the fine hairs there and running chills down her spine. The arm still about her waist tightened slightly.

“It’s not that I ‘dislike’ it,” he quietly said, “ it’s more I like it a little too much.”

She could feel a blush start to creep up her face at his implications and of the sudden awareness of Takeru’s body surrounding her. His every breath as his chest rose and fell against her back, the slight tremble in his arms. When they had first sat down his breathing had been even and calm to the point of lulling her to sleep. Now there was quickness to it as if he’d just come in from a run.

“I didn’t know Takeru-kun was so sensitive.” She whispered as she continued to draw soft lines again. Trailing her fingers from the center of his palm to the bend in his arm and back up. When her hand came back to his palm he grabbed it and threaded his fingers through hers, stopping her.

“You,” he muttered as he brought her hand up to press his mouth against the back of in a light kiss, “are trying to torture me.” He eyes narrow as they made eye contact. His usually cinnamon eyes glinted gold in the drying light.

“Maybe!” it came out as more of squeak then she would have liked. But the intense look in his eyes was making her heart feel like it would jump right out of her chest.

A bark of a laugh escaped him as he dropped his face onto her shoulder, before unwinding himself from her and standing up. Yui yelp at the sudden chill as his heat left her. Takeru then gentle pulled her up from the ground and wrapped her in the blanket that had been about his shoulders.

“Come on Weed, we gotta get back before your mother hens start worrying about you and come looking.” He said as he tucked the blanket securely about her shoulders before picking up the other one off the ground. Grabbing her hand he started walking back towards the school.

Startled at the sudden turn of events, Yui allowed herself to be pulled along. But she couldn’t help but wonder at his actions. The other evening when they had been studying in her dorm room he had had a similar reaction. At first they’d been in the sitting room working on some math problems before moving to her bedroom when Melissa, the clay doll, proved to be to distracting.

After an hour of frustration trying to work out the problem, Yui decided to take a bit of a break. Looking over at Takeru it seemed he to was also having a hard time of it. He sat cross-legged near the end of her bed. His usual green coat and black gauntlets removed so he only wore the school issued shirt and pants with the necktie loose about his open shirt collar, his face scrunched up in concentration.

There were days when all she wanted to do was to fix his tie, it frustrated her so. But for the most part she held off. Only once did she fix. It had been, interesting to say the least. Everyone was to do a presentation in front of the class alone and Takeru had been feeling rather nervous about it. So she had tried to help calm his nerves.

“First lets make sure you’re presentable.” She said as she started buttoning up his shirt collar. “Looking confident is part of feeling confident.” With that she tightened and straightened out his tie. Smoothing out the front of his shirt with her palms, she looked up. And saw that she was mere inches away from his face. A blush burned a track from his neck to his ears. He managed to sputtered a “thank you” just as Thoth walked in the doors and they had to scramble to take their seats.

Since then she hadn’t tried to fix his tie again, but another problem arose from it. Now whenever she noticed his tie all she could think about was hooking her fingers into the loop and using it to pull his face towards hers. She was a bit mortified at herself for such thoughts, but also wondered what kind of face he would make. Would he blush like before?

Now here they were alone in her bedroom. His face looking a bit like a small storm cloud as he tried to figure out the math problem. But all she could think about was what he’d do if she reached out and grab that infernal necktie. An even better question was what would she do if she did?

Then before she knew it she was on her knees leaning forward with one arm supporting her while her other reached out. Poor unsuspecting Takeru was rather taken by surprise when she hooked her first two fingers around the knot of his tie and gently, but firmly tugged him towards her.

A soft grunt escaped him as he lent sideways, his eyes widening. At first they just looked at each other, their faces only a mere inches apart. A blush creep up his face as his eyes dropped to her mouth. A small jolt went through her belly at the idea of kissing him. But before she could move he was up and off the bed gathering up his things. He patted her head wishing her a goodnight and was out her bedroom door before she could say anything.

When they saw each other the next morning neither made no mention of the interaction. But Yui was still worried about it. If he wasn’t comfortable with that kind of intimacy she’d rather he tell her then just runaway. She’d be lying if she said the idea of him not wanting to kiss her didn’t hurt, but it was more important that he be comfortable with her.

As the school came into view Yui decided that it was best to get this squared away now before they get inside and they end up with an audience.

“Takeru-kun, wait.” She came to a stop tugging at the hand that held hers.

“Hmm?” he came to a stop just before the end of the tree line. “What’s wrong?”

Nervously she asked if something had happen.

“Happened? Like what?” looking questioningly at her.

“It’s just that you have seem a bit strange.”

“Eh?”

“Well!” she floundered a bit, unsure how to put it into words. “Last evening, when we were in my room, and just now at the beach, we had been rather . . . close. Then you just kind of, ran . . . away . . .”

“Ah,” he said looking away in embarrassment, his free hand rubbing at the back of neck nervously. It was hard to tell in the dark but she was sure the darkness on his cheeks was a blush. “I ah, ahem . . . was . . .”

“If you’re not comfortable with being intimate like that with me it’s fine!” it came out in a bit of a shout in her hurry to say it. Her limbs were shaking a bit while her heart was having a hard time keeping a proper rhythm.

“Eh? What? No! That’s not what’s happening! I mean!” She was sure if he blushed any harder Takeru’s face would begin glowing as he continued to sputter. “I mean! I do. Want to be. Intimate. I’m just nervous, about it. And a little worried.”

Still shaky, Yui walked closer to the young sea god and grab his free hand while prying his other from his neck so she could hold both of his in her. There was a slight shaking in his too.

“I’m nervous too.” She said gently letting him feel the tremors in her hands, “but why are you worried?”

“I’m probably just being silly.” He mumbled.

“Tell me anyway. It’s important that we tell each other our worries no matter how silly they might seem.”

Takeru’s face pinched up as he looked at their clasped hands then to Yui’s arm. “ . . . I’m worried I might hurt you. Not on purpose, just by accident. Like when I saved you from falling.”

“Oh.” She’d forgotten about that, but this clearly was weighing on him. She looked at their hands thoughtfully knowing what she said next would mean a lot. After awhile of quietness Takeru attempted to remove his hands from hers but she just clasped them even tighter.

“Kusanagi?”

“It means a lot to me that you are worried about me.” She stated looking up from their hands. “To be honest I had forgotten that you’re much stronger then any human. Which is probably rather silly of me given that you’re a god. But,” she brought one his hands up to her face and pressed her cheek against it. “I feel safe with you. I trust that you wont hurt me. Not because you’re not capable of it but because you wouldn’t want to. I know this because even though you talk rough you’re actually very gentle. You don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Just cause I don’t want to doesn’t mean that it wont happen.” He said gruffly.

“That’s why it’s important to talk about it you little snot.” She huffed at him in a playful tone. “And not just running away from it. That’s why people keep misunderstanding you.”

“You,” he squished her cheeks with the hand that she’d been leaning her face against. “Are far to reasonable of a person Weed.”

“Takeru-kun! Why!” Yui pulled her face away from his hand and rubbed her abused cheeks. “I feel so betrayed!”

Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her in close before he hid his face in her neck. She felt more then heard his quiet “Thank you”. She hummed as her arms encircled his waist. Happy to have him close again and to be able to feel that his heart was beating as fast as hers.

After awhile she felt him say something else against her neck but couldn’t quite make it out. With a bit of prompting he pulled away enough that she could see his face. The cinnamon color of his eyes and the slight blush on his cheeks was just visible in the light coming from the school.

A hand ghosted up her neck to cup her cheek as a callused thumb traced the dip between her chin and bottom lip. His other hand threaded into the hair at the back her neck making her shiver. Her belly felt pleasantly full of static as her face heated up and her breaths came quicker.

“Are you trying to torturing me Takeru?” she asked when he continued to be silent.

“Maybe,” a grin tugging at his lips, then turning a bit serious, “Can I kiss you?”

Yui could hear her heart beating in her ears she pressed her mouth against his in answer. Soft lips curve up in a smile as he kissed her back.

#creative writing #kamigami no asobi #takeru totsuka #yui kasanagi #takeru x yui #fanfic

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digimonadventuretimelines · 4 years

Text

[14 - It’s Not Like it Seems to Be]

“Daichi left” Kiyoko told her mother, “and mom Eiji called me to say he also got a digimon.”

“Wait what!?” Miyako stopped preparing their lunch to look at her daughter “Eiji too? How about his sister?”

“Uh… He said she got a digimon as well.”

“Why are our children getting digimon all from a sudden?”

“Doesn’t exist like, Chosen Children around the world?”

“They do, but… My generation, and Taichi’s decided to hide our identities from the world. Because of you and the other kids of the group. We built families, and then were facing the same problem our parents and relatives were struggling during our Chosen Children days.”

“I don’t understand…” Captain frowned “The number of Chosen Children keep increasing, right? So, at this point… Isn’t useless to hide their identities?”

“You got a point. We were young adults when we did it, and didn’t know one day our kids would get digimon partners.”

“And other issues happened that time” Hawkmon added “We had to, at least our identities.”

“Where’s that boy?” Miyako sighed “Daichi is acting strangely lately, going out almost everyday and skipping meals. Are you sure he’s not a Chosen Child too?”

“Nah, he’s not into battling or saving the world. I guess he’s at a bookstore or at the library.”

The bird-like digimons looked at each other.

[ ???, Summer of 1999 ]

“W-what do you mean with that you found the 8th child Taichi!?” “It’s a long story. Can’t talk now, just gather the group-- H-huh!?”

In a rush, an eleven year old Taichi crosses his path with… three strange people falling from the sky.

“I hate those landings” Ulforce growled.

“Who are you-- Wait, Daisuke?”

“U-uh, I’m not Daisuke-- Mr. Yagami?” Daichi blinked “You’re m-mistaking me with him.”

“Wait, do we know each other? And Mr. sounds like that I’m an old man… Please call me by Taichi.”

“O-okay… I’m Daichi and I uh… came from another world looking for… A person, but I think that’s might not be the right place.”

Taichi and Agumon looked at each other and then to the strange trio. Taichi shrugged, as if he were saying it can’t be helped. He then helped Daichi to get up, while the other two got up by themselves.

“Who’s that person anyway?” Taichi asked “I’m… Not available to give you a hand, because there’s a digimon invasion right now. And… I guess you know what digimon meant.”

“Yes, he does” Natsu nodded “But um… Isn’t you with your sister?”

“Sister?” he blinked, “I have no sister.”

“Wait what!?” the three exclaimed.

“I have a little brother and he’s quite of a problem sometimes...”

“Wait, a brother??” Natsu was lost “Is Hikari a boy here??”

“Who’s Hikari? My brother’s name is Daisuke.”

Shock. Natsu wouldn’t expect that kind of world. Oh no, it’s just another alternate timeline where things are pretty wild.

“I have no time to introduce him” Taichi said “I have to protect him, he’s the 8th child and his partner and Wizardmon had been captured” then he and Agumon left “See ya, good lucky on finding whoever they are!!”

“... My dad is a Yagami in this world!?” Daichi was petrified “Can we go back, Natsu?”

“I’m afraid we cannot” she showed him her pendant “We will have to stay out of the action, or do you want to erase this world by accident?”

“I’m not a Destroyer of Worlds, I’m just passing by… Accidentally passing by.”

[Daichi’s world, 2027]

Ken was about to leave when he received a phone call from Hikari. She seemed nervous, but then relieved. Hard to describe her emotions, she decided to be straight and tell Ken what she had just witnessed.

“W-wait, WHAT!?” He was shook “Hoshi and Eiji… They were in a battle? And they got digivices and partners? Like Kiyoko?”

Wormmon took a snack from Ken’s backpack, started to unwrap the candy and eat it. Hikari on the phone kept explaining and reporting the current events.

“... I understand. I will try to bring Daisuke back as soon as possible. In the meanwhile I leave this in your and Miyako’s hands.”

“Kenchan.”

“Don’t worry I will be fine. See you soon,” he ended the call.

“Let’s go, Wormmon” He said with a determined glare.

Kiyoko and Captain just learned from Eiji and Hoshi about the battle, the witnesses of them seeing Hikari having a digimon partner and being one of the legendary Twelve… It was a shock. But what even made her much more petrified was…

“... So this kid named ‘Brave Tamer’ was there fighting the white-furred WereGarurumon.”

“WereGururumon” The Wormmon and the BlackTailmon corrected Hoshi.

“Whatever…! He seemed… Younger than me.”

“Huh, a kid. Younger than you?” Kiyoko raised an eyebrow “Another child with a partner and a digivice…”

“Yes,” Eiji nodded, “I’m concerned about it. Remember of what Taisuke said?”

“What did the pipsqueak do now!?” Hoshi asked, somehow she was very annoyed by being the only one to NOT know there.

“Nothing else… He said he got a digimon” Kiyoko explained “But he didn’t show us, and we don’t know if he has a digivice.”

“To be partnered, you need a digivice” Eiji mused “If our mom and Mrs. Motomiya are Chosen Children… Does it mean…”

“According to our nanny Natsu, yes our dads and your uncle are part of the Twelve.”

“What? That’s weird...” Hoshi’s surprise was predictable, but she also was upset, “Why didn’t they tell us that before!?”

“... To protect us, by what Natsu told me.”

“Speaking of Natsu… Where is she? And where is Daichi?” Eiji asked, “Usually they’re around…”

“Oh they will come back soon, don’t worry!!”

[ Another world, Summer of 1999 ]

“Let’s review those facts,” Daichi begun musing “One, we’re in an alternate future events from Summer 1999, technically August 3rd. Two, mr. Yagami and my dad are siblings instead of mrs. Hikari being mr. Yagami’s sister.”

“That’s right” Ulforce nodded.

“Does it mean… mrs. Hikari is my aunt Jun’s sibling? Or does not exist in this world?”

“I can’t tell…” Natsu answered, “We’re in the middle of those events. The events that made Daisuke be selected as Chosen Child three years later.”

“Right… Does it mean… Another person will be chosen three years ahead instead” Ulforce added “And might not be Daisuke if he’s the Chosen of Light.”

“... We need to help mr. Yagami” Daichi clenched his fist, “Not changing everything else, but protecting the innocents from Vamdemon’s troops.”

“That’s a reasonable idea” she smiled.

“Let’s go then!” Ulforce punched the palm of his hand, with a determined glare in his face.

… The whole artificial island had been taken by the digimon, and a huge mist barrier kept everything inside it. Just as what happened in the other world, the seven Chosen Children planned to counterattack, and began gathering to fight the invasors. Daichi, Ulforce and Natsu felt it wouldn’t be a good idea be found by the other six or even by Daisuke from that world, so they took extra caution when fighting the evil digimon taking innocents as hostage.

While Daichi wanted so much to know about the rest of the legendary Twelve -- since he had met six of them already thanks to another alternative line -- he didn’t desire to mess with that world’s story.

“This way, please!”

Ulforce, as XV-mon, assaulted a bakemon squad taking a group of people to somewhere. But he felt like doing a bad thing. What if one of those would’ve been… the future Chosen Child from year of 2002?

“Mister dragon, there’s some other monsters in that direction” said a little girl.

“It’s okay, We will go to that area.”

“Huh?” Daichi looked at the direction the kid pointed out and saw some troops there, but one of those captives were super duper familiar to him. Big and messy haircut, in her teen years… “Aunt Jun” he whispered.

“BACK OFF!!”

Jun was fighting with a baseball bat, trying to beat those Bakemons.

“... Jun it’s useless” the little girl with Jun was indeed Hikari, she looked like the same except her hair was a bit red rose-ish, “We need to find a way to escape!”

“Hikari, calm down I will protect you even if it costs my life!”

“NO! Don’t say that!”

Natsu stood by Daichi’s side and took a look at whatever was he watching in the horizon. She gasped then grabbed both him and Ulforce out of the sight, her senses telling that they shouldn’t help those two, or the others in that scene.

“Why not!?” Daichi growled, protesting at Natsu’s action “Aunt Jun isn’t a Chosen Child, it makes no sense!”

“But Hikari is, this world… It seems to have switched Daisuke and Hikari’s roles but not personalities.”

“I think that’s clear, digi-girl. Remember what Taichi said? His lil bro is a troublemaker.”

“Ulforce, Natsu… I don’t think we should--”

“AAAAAAAAAH!!” “HIKARIII!!!”

“... Nevermind, we will follow them and help there!”

[Daichi’s world, 2027]

Ken and Wormmon -- now as Stingmon -- ventured into the Digital World’s deep forest, following the coordinates given by the Special Digimon Cases Unit. They hadn’t found anything suspicious till now, which it was odd considering the reports.

They heard something coming in their direction, a shadow of the size of a Tyrannomon. The duo dodged the frontal attack, and Ken took one of those vines growing near him to use as whip. He grabbed the shadow by its paw.

“Hold on big guy, I’m not your enemy since a long time ago!”

“Kenchan,” Stingmon tried to pull the Tyrannomon away from Ken, “Be careful.”

“I am, don’t worry” he nodded, but seconds later Stingmon had to block an attack of another Tyrannomon “Wha--”

A squad of Tyrannomon surrounded them. It brought Ken awful memories of the time he had done the same with Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Takeru and Hikari. He could feel the universe’s irony right now so he chuckled nervously.

“What should we do?” he talked with himself and Stingmon, “Think, Ken…!”

“How about you give up on fighting and surrender, DigiChosen?”

That voice…

“Whoever is here, better you show yourself!” Ken hated to be channeling into his best friend in a time like that, but sometimes he can’t simply be the cool headed guy when under pressure. He prepared his improvised whip to face the mysterious voice.

Stingmon also got ready for another enemy joining the fight.

“Seriously? You can’t win, human. Give up, I can let you go home if you cooperate.”

“You wouldn’t. And I know you guys are with someone important to me.”

“Oh? Well then… Let’s play a game. If you catch me, I will let you know where this ‘someone important’ is but if you don’t... ”

“I see,” Ken smirked “I have plenty of time to play games.”

“Kenchan--”

“Miyako and the others are going to handle the rest, I don’t care. I will bring him back home this time, no matter what happens.”

Stingmon nodded. Then, they saw a shadow jumping at high speed to the ground, running past the Tyrannomon blockade. Stingmon grabbed Ken with his hands and flew after the silhouette.

White noise.

“Hey there everyone, MoonAngel speaking! I know there’s a big crisis happening right now, with all those attacks and lies being spread around the globe. But fear not! Everything will be okay! Stay positive, but don’t let your guard down!”

Explosions are heard in the background.

“Well, there’s a digimon battle happening right now and… Wait, what’s this? Seems like a phone?”

A police officer appeared, “Get outta here, boy!”

“Fine fine. Well, as you can see -- or hear -- there had been another attack in this area, next to a gate to the Digital World. Old stories of a long long time ago said that once the worlds are in danger, the legendary Chosen Children will appear to save both humanity and digimonity.”

“Hey you!” The voice of the same officer is in the background, talking with the mysterious Brave Tamer “What are you doing here!? It’s dangerous!! Wait where did you get that digimon!?”

“Get outta here you!” Brave Tamer’s voice is heard, Takaishi Mitsuki zooms in on the kid, “I won’t let them close the gate…!”

“Mitsuki!!” Kiyoko’s voice is heard, the camera zooms out and shows her behind him, with Hoshi and Eiji next to them, “What are you doing!?”

“Ah… I was recording a video. Smile, you’re online! Actually, it’s just for Mirai’s gang not anyone else…”

“Mirai sent you here!?”

“I volunteered.”

“Anyway go back,” Hoshi said and approached from Mitsuki “It’s dangerous. You need to evacuate everyone, hurry!!”

“Seriously?” Mitsuki frowned, he took the phone down and returned to the chat mode of the chatroom, “Mirai is asking why I stopped the transmission. Wait, are those digimon with you?”

“We will talk about it later,” Hoshi gently shove him aside “Eiji, let’s go.”

“Hey, don’t forget I’m here too, ugh!” Kiyoko followed the Ichijouji siblings.

“Could it mean they’re the legendary Chosen Children?” Mitsuki mused.

He left the scene, heading back to Mirai’s house.

#datl text chapter #daichi arc phase 1

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years

Text

Post Zi-O Concepts: Bringing the boy into the fold

Okay, so, we’re currently 11 hours away from the last episode of Zi-O airing, and I’ve got a whole lot of ideas for how to introduce Sougo into Riders ReUnited. I don’t know if I’ll use any of these, most of them are pretty out dated, but I really wanted to share them before I lost the chance.

Please keep in mind that when I wrote some of these, not only had I not quite finished Decade, but also we were in the middle of the Kiva arc, and thus I had no way of knowing that Tsukasa and Daiki were coming back. Nor did I have any clue that we were actually going to have Gou appear in-show. Er, in-movie. So, y’know. I was working off of what we had at the time. The later ones were from early June, between the Kabuto and Den-O arcs.

Also, these are largely un-edited, because I wrote them at work. I’ve fixed them up for formatting, but that’s about it. No content or contradiction fixes here. My apologies for the math or failures thereof. My additional apologies for Sougo being a bit out of character – I was doing my best, and my best wasn’t great at times.

(CIRCA MAY 19)

Sougo sighs, turning his fork over in his hand, again and again, not really seeing what’s on his plate. It’s a bit of an insult to his uncle – okay, a /lot/ of an insult, if he hadn’t wanted to fix clocks so bad he really could have been a professional chef – but.

But it’s just the two of them again.

…

It hasn’t been the two of them in a long time.

Heh, ‘time.’ That used to not matter. He could go anywhen he needed to.

But Geiz and Tsukuyomi and Woz aren’t here anymore. They don’t need to be here – he’s never going to be Oma Zi-o, not going to be a king. He still has the belt, and the watches, but.

He doesn’t need them now.

They’re done.

He doesn’t need the watches, but… he needs his friends.

He’d almost forgotten what loneliness was. It’s really hard to go back to, especially now that his uncle has called him out on it.

The door chimes.

“Oh, a customer this early? I’ll go get that.” His uncle gets up, but casts Sougo a worried glance. “Sougo-”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I just need to adjust a little.” He grins at his uncle – and he knows that they both know that it’s fake. “Go on ahead.”

“If you’re sure.” The old man heads out into the storefront.

“Hello, we’re not actually open just ye- Oh, you’re one of Sougo’s friends, aren’t you?!”

The uptick in his uncles voice is weird. Besides, he only had the three – Geiz, Tsukuyomi, and Woz – so he must mean it’s someone from school. Probably here to get something that’s definitely not a clock fixed-

“Ah, yes, I am. Mr. Tokiwa, was it?”

…Wait. He knows that voice.

“Yes, yes, right. You were- oh, what was it-”

“Takeru. Tenkuji Takeru. Is… is Sougo in?”

“Yes, but he’s not really in the mood to see anyone, his friends just moved out, you see-”

What is – what is Ghost doing here? He – okay, yes, he’s one of the few riders who came here, but why would he come to 9-to-5? And ask for Sougo? When he, by all rights, shouldn’t remember any of that happening?

“I know. I… heard, from Kadoya.”

Kado- that’s Decade. How-?

“I’m here to pick Sougo up, actually. There’s some people who want to see him again.”

…What on earth is going on out there?

Against his better judgement – not that his judgement’s that great to begin with – Sougo goes out into the lobby. “Takeru?”

The brunette beams at him. “Hey there, Sougo. It’s been a while. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Takeru’s smile drops a bit. “Some of your information was a bit… off. We all know what was going on. Just… can you come with me? There’s a bit of a get-together, and it’d be a good time.”

Sougo doesn't reply.

In the end, it’s his uncle who decides for him. “I think it’d be a great idea. Sougo, you should go. Get out of the house for a bit. Okay?”

“…Mm-hm. Okay.”

“Great!” Takeru grins. “Do you still have your bike, or will you need a lift? It’s a bit of a distance, so…”

Sougo gives him a wary glance. “…Yeah? I’ve got a bike.”

“Good!”

He turns to his uncle. “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

“Have fun!” The smile he gives Sougo is only about half forced.

Pocketing the bike watch, along with his belt and his personal ridewatch – just in case, he tells himself – Sougo follows his senior – who shouldn’t remember being his senior – out the door.

–––––

That. Is a really weird looking motorcycle.

Takeru must see the way Sougo pauses, because he laughs. “I know, right? It used to only look like this when I transformed. I got some help modifying it to look like this all the time about a year ago.”

“So, you-”

“We all remember being Riders, Sougo. We’re all still Riders.” He holds up a small ball. “We never stopped.” It looks like the shoulder pads when he used the Ghost armor, so-

“What are those, anyway?”

Takeru’s smile is a little more forced. “It’s called an Eyecon. They… well, it’s what I use to transform. Honestly, though, we should get going.”

“Where are we even heading?”

“My place. I’m close, I have room, and I was supposed to host last month, but then Eiji and Ankh showed up in Japan again, so Miss Chiyoko took over, so now the get together’s at the temple again.”

“Who are any of those people?!” The two start to drive off.

“You’ll meet Ankh soon enough, and you’ve already met Eiji. Hino Eiji, he’s Kamen Rider OOO.”

“Oh, right, the senator.”

Takeru seems to choke on air at that. “Oh my g- is that what he had to do?! Man, no wonder him and Hina refused to talk about it. …Well, that and who his ‘another rider’ was… Let’s just. Let’s just get to the temple, and explanations can happen there, okay?”

“…Sure.”

––––

There’s a lot of motorcycles outside the temple gate.

Like, a lot of them. And two cars.

There’s one that’s green and black, next to one of the cars. [Philip, Shotaro, Ryu, Akiko, Haruna]

Three identical bikes, all of them looking somehow both sleek and bulky at once. [Eiji (large), Ankh, Date, Gotou, Hina]

One that looks weirdly like a space shuttle, and one that’s blue with star patterns. [Gentaro, Kengo, Ryusei]

A red-and-black one, with a yellow front that looks like a cut gem. [Haruto]

Two that have cherry blossom patterns, and one with a rose. [Kouta, Micchy, Kaito, Mai]

Then the other car, a white bike with red stripes, and – what is with the purple one? Why are there skull designs on it?! [Shinnosuke, Kiriko, Eiji (small), Gou, Chase]

Takeru parks his – which looks like a spectral unicorn – next to one that’s blue with chains. [Takeru, Makoto, Alain, Akari, Onari, Kanon]

A bright yellow bike with pink spikes on the front, and a white one with… a hospital logo? That can’t be right, but… Nope, there it is. [Emu, Parad, Kiriya (not the pictured bike), Hiiro, Taiga, Nico, Poppy]

The last one looks like it has one of those bottles that Sento used to become Build sticking out of it. [Sento, Ryuuga]

There's an empty space to the side of it – and Sougo abruptly realizes… that spot is meant for him. [Sougo]

“How… many people are here?”

Takeru purses his lips. “Um… rider-wise… 25, 26 including you. Total people… er, additional 2 with Fuuto, 2 with Eiji and the Births, only one from the KRC, nobody from Haruto’s group, I think Mai came this time, two from Shinnosuke, three from here, another two from the university, because Poppy and Nico keep saying ‘they don’t count as riders’ which literally nobody else agrees with… so. Wow, 37 people all told, counting yourself.”

“That’s… a lot.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be kinda crowded.” Takeru laughs. “Good thing the weathers supposed to hold up!” He nods to the empty spot. “Go ahead and leave your bike there – Gou said he wanted to get a picture of all the equipment together.”

“Who’s Gou?”

“Photographer, stuntman, and rider.”

–––––

Upon seeing the crowd, and the tables, and food, but most of all the crowd, Sougo balks. “Are… you sure you want me here?”

“We’re sure. You’ve finished, right? You may have noticed we never really retire, but… there’s less to worry about, now.” The look Takeru gives him is warm. “Wait here, there’s three folks in particular who wanted to be the first to see you.”

He leaves for a few minutes, and Sougo sits on a nearby bench. He feels… it’s not the eyes of everyone on him, they aren’t looking right at him. But it feels like they expect something. By all rights, they should be mad at him – he took their powers, after all, and even if they ‘entrusted’ them to him, it’s still not fair to them-

“Sougo? Sougo, breathe, okay?”

Someone’s- someone’s kneeling in front of him, with their hands on his shoulders – why can’t he see who – oh, he’s crying, why is he crying, that doesn’t make any sense-

“You don’t need to worry, we’re not mad at you. Like you said, we trusted you, and you did great.”

Oh, no, was he saying all that out loud, that’s- “I’m sorry, I caused so much trouble and it was my fault-”

“Hey, hey, none of that now. Here, use this, get cleaned up a little-” Whoever’s in front of him hands him a tissue, which he uses to wipe away most of the tears. “That better?”

It’s – what was his name… oh, right- “Doctor Hojo?”

‘Doctor Hojo’ sighs, as Takeru laughs somewhere behind him. “Not this again…” He still grins, though. “If we were at the hospital, yeah, it would be. Just ‘Emu’ is fine while we’re here, though. It’s nice to see you under better circumstances.”

“Uh- yeah, I guess. What is all of this?”

Two more people come up to the small group – that’s, oh man, Build and Cross-Z – no, Sento and Ryuuga. “Emu started it… what was it, a year and a half ago?” Sento looks to Emu, who nods. “Right then, a year and a half, now, give or take a few months.”

“I wanted all of the Kamen Riders to be able to get together, support each other, and all that. We weren’t allowed to tell you before – the time travel experts have said that it would ‘wreak havoc on the laws of causality’ and ‘no one could ever complete their journey if their seniors were guiding them every step of the way’.” Emu’s making sarcastic air quotes every so often, which – well, it does make Sougo smile, because clearly he’s ticked off about it, but understands the reasoning.

Actually, remembering when they met… making him smile was probably the goal.

Ryuuga snorts. “Yeah, like everyone didn’t wind up doing that this time around anyway.”

“Heh…” Sougo chuckles. “‘This time around.’ Because of the time travel. I get it.”

Both Ryuuga and Takeru look incredibly offended. “GOD F-” Ryuuga cuts himself off at Emu and Takerus matching glares. “I mean- Come on, I didn’t mean for that to-”

Takeru shakes his head. “Why with the puns… they just keep sneaking up on us…”

Emu rolls his eyes. “Anyway. This is us, wanting to actually get to know you. You’re one of us, after all.”

Sougo squints. “…Really?”

“Yup.” Sento ruffles his hair – he’d be offended if he weren’t already kind of in shock. “We're Kamen Riders. We help people. It’s what we do.”

“I’ll be back,” Takeru turns away. “I wanna get that photo taken, so we can get some of these bikes out of the front gate, at least.”

––––

“Gou” turns out to be Shijima Gou, Kamen Rider Mach, who is apparently, in addition to a photographer, some sort of absurdly skilled gymnast, given how he gets into a tree to set up his camera. He practically bounces to get up there. It’s impressive. Even more impressive is his use of little model bikes to adjust the camera, and-

“Are… those a dinosaur and a dragon?!”

One of the other riders, in a long sweater with binder clips in his hair, laughs. “Yeah, Fang and Cross. Ryuuga and I are loaning them out for this – they’re coming right back to us after.”

“Um... Sorry, I don't think we've met…”

“Nah, we didn't.” A man in a waistcoat settles his arm over the other. “Nice to finally meet you, kid. Shotaro and Philip Hidari, Kamen Rider Double. Both of us, at once. It's complicated.”

Sougo gapes.

“There's actually a lot of body sharing around here.” Sweater – Philip – scratches the side of his nose. “I did the research, last year. I still have the notes saved to my phone, I can show you if you want-”

“No, no! That’s! Fine! It's not actually anything new to me!”

““Oh?”” Philips eyes light up as the two speak in unison.

“Heh, well…” Sougos smile is wistful. “Me, Geiz and Woz… we got this one form, called Trinity, where they, er, got turned into giant watches, and then we were all basically swapping control of my body.”

A man in a leather jacket mumbles. “Kadoya was right... he is a mini-him.”

“Er?”

“Terui Ryu, Kamen Rider Accel. Don't worry about it. You're far and away less annoying than he is.”

“Who?”

“Decade.” Going by the shadow that crosses his face, Sougo decides not to ask why Trinity would remind him of Decade. As far as he remembers, there was something about ‘going between worlds’ and, of course, the form copying, but that was about it…

“Alright, places, come on, people, we don't have all day!” Gou yells from his perch. “First shot's riders only, second round, we add in the rest of- OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!”

Some of the senior-most riders have pulled out their belts, seemingly on instinct, at the appearance of a rippling wall of air. Sougo then realizes that he did the same. After all, the last few times he saw one of those, he’d been shot into the future, met his evil future self, and then the next time had all of his watches stolen.

Both of those two – Decade and Diend – step through, with their bikes in tow, as well as a man and woman, with yet another motorcycle… and a small robot bat, hovering at the woman's shoulder.

“No, no, NO!” Gou does a flip as he jumps down. "You're gonna throw off the composition! We don't have room for three more motorcycles!”

Terui and Drive – Shinnosuke – sigh. ““We'll move our cars.””

“If I still had the Tridoron…” Sougo hears Drive mumble. “But noooo, Krim had to go down to his depression garage and take it with him.”

Everyone has to move out of the way so the cars can pull out – Sougo's pretty sure he hears Accel mutter something about how it makes sense anyway because ‘he's his own bike’ – so that the three new motorcycles can be added in.

After directing everyone into new places, Gou climbs the tree again, to readjust the camera. “Okay, NOW we're ready, right?!”

A resounding chorus of affirmatives goes around the area.

“Great!” He leaps down – Shinnosuke and his wife tense every time he does this; apparently he’s her brother – and makes his way to his spot. “Okay, in three- two- one-”

The flash goes off in a series of bursts, before everyone relaxes from their poses. He heads up the tree again, to direct the relations into the area for the next shoot.

Sougo starts to tremble. “This isn't right…”

He feels a firm hand clasp his shoulder, and looks up to see Ryuuga smiling sadly at him. “‘Cuz the rest of your team can't be here, yeah?” Sougo nods. “I get it. Neither can ours. Back in December… that wasn't really them. Well, they were, but they aren't here. We're from a different world than this one, and it's… gone, and the versions of our friends here don't know us, were never riders. There's nothing for them to remember, because it never happened to them. So…” He sighs. “Do your best, okay? We can talk more after.”

Hesitantly, Sougo nods. “Okay.”

But before Gou can get very far in reorganizing the sections…

“TSUKASA, NO!” The woman who arrived with him yells, while the guy that isn’t Diend tries to pull him back.

“But have you considered, Tsukasa, YES?”

“Come on, Tsukasa, please don’t.” The mystery man tries to tug him away. “Don't ruin this for us, half the people here barely tolerate you as is, and this is my first real chance to meet anyone-”

“Aw, come on, I'm not that bad!”

Diend snorts. “At what, photography or backstabbing?”

“Pick one!” Tsukasa stops short. “Wait, no, I meant photography, but still! I've gotten better!”

“““No you haven't!!!”””

At this point, Diend is choking on his laughter, the small bat is now trying to bite Tsukasa's ear, and both the boy and girl are trying to drag Tsukasa from going toward the tree.

Everyone else is just watching.

“Tsukasa…” The woman – Natsumi, apparently – gives Decade a warning look, her thumb raised. “We’d agreed you wouldn’t take any of your shitty photos today. That you were going to be supportive of your junior this time.”

Decade, the self-professed Destroyer Of Worlds, backs away nervously. “N- Natsumikan- Natsumikan, no.”

She grins menacingly, as the other man with them – Yusuke, apparently – grabs Decades arms, holding them behind his back, and thus holding him in place.

“But have you considered, Natsumi, yes?”

The other Riders look on as she jabs her thumb into the side of his neck, and he collapses into uncontrolled laughter. Everyone else stares, dumbfounded, as the two give the same treatment to Diend.

“I’m not gonna lie, it’s always a relief to see that Tsukasa and Daiki aren’t nearly as big of assholes as they try to make themselves out to be.”

Hina – HINA! – nods. “Good thing they have Natsumi and Yusuke to be the sane ones.”

––––

In the end, they were not, in fact, able to stop Tsukasa from taking a photo of the group. He winds up taking several, actually, because apparently his camera can’t shoot wide enough to get the group at once. They resign themselves to allowing him a shoot of the fully assembled group, as well.

“I'll bring all of you the prints once i develop them.” He smirks.

“I apologize for everything he is going to do.” Natsumi sighs. “These two are the worst.” She juts her thumb at Decade and Diend to point at them.

Unsurprisingly, given the earlier display, they both step away nervously when she does that.

––––

Sougo… can't really bring himself to interact with anyone after that. He's still there, it's not that he's zoning out, but… well, he was never good at interacting with people before his parents died, or after he came to live with his uncle, or after he met-

He looks down at his lap, pulling out his ridewatch, and runs his thumb around the base. He doesn’t trigger it, that would just draw attention to him that he really doesn’t want right now.

“Hey, Sougo, you in there, bud?”

“Mm?” Looking up, there's a man with a… okay, wow, nobody here gets to get on him about his wardrobe, because this guy's in a plaid blazer with a pompadour. What the actual hell. “Um, and you are…?”

The man grins. “Gentaro Kisaragi, Kamen Rider Fourze – the guy who’s gonna befriend all the Kamen Riders!” He pulls Sougo to his feet. “Come 'ere, like this.” After guiding Sougo through a complicated handshake, he positively /beams/. “There. Now we're friends!”

“I don't… think that's how friendship works, though…”

“It is with Gentaro. Utahoshi Kengo. So, you're the latest, hm?” The man – Kengo – gives Sougo an appraising look, before sighing. “Well, at least you're older than we were.”

“Eh?”

‘Wow, Sougo, way to go, great first impression, tell the blatant friendship monster he's probably friending wrong, and then look like an idiot in front of this guy what's clearly a scientist-’

“We were 17.”

“EH?!”

––––

“Hey, Zi-O.”

Sougo turns, and. Oh. Okay. It’s Decade. That's great. “Yes?”

“Couple things I wanted to say. First… the day with the bus…” He hesitates – visibly hesitates, and that doesn't seem like him.

“What about it?”

“I was there. I was only able to save Tsukuyomi and myself, so… I’m sorry, I know your parents were on there, and a lot of other people, too, and… I wasn't able to save them, so. I'm sorry for that.”

“It's okay, it was a long time ago, so it doesn't really matter anymore-”

“Wasn't for me. World traveler, remember? Sometimes that includes jumping between points in time. A lot of the time it includes that, actually. So that was only a few months ago for me.”

“…Ah. …Thanks.”

“There's another thing, too. Less awful, though.” He pulls out a folder. “Probably still awful, but in a different way. I thought you ought to have these.” Passing the folder to Sougo, he looks slightly away. “I know I'm supernaturally terrible, but… well, the pictures that I take of Kamen Riders are about the best I can do.”

His forehead wrinkling, Sougo removes the papers from the folder.

They’re all photographs.

There's him, in the dining room – that'd be right after he came back from his deal with Gho- with Takeru.

Geiz, by a warehouse – when…? Wait, that might be the day he met Oma Zi-O.

Tsukuyomi, on a hilltop… “When was this one taken?”

“…The day of the bus accident. I brought her and myself to where that guy brought you and the other kids. This is outside that city.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Woz, giving one of his speeches. Looks like this is when he used Ghost armor for the first time.

“I normally don’t get to give these to the Riders I take them of, since I'm usually on my way out of that World by the time I get around to developing them. I hang onto 'em, though. Since you're ‘done’ now, I figured you should at least get to see them, if nothing else.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, do whatever you want, I know I'm terrible-”

“Thank you.” Sougo rubs at his eyes, before looking up at Dec- at Tsukasa. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means.”

––––––––

(June 6)

“So…” Looking around, Sougo pauses before continuing to speak. “Dr… Hojo?”

“Seriously, just call me Emu while we're here.”

“Okay then. I can't help but notice… Nobody here was a rider before 2009. How come more people aren't here?”

Emu grimaces a little, at that. “Well, we haven't really been able to contact anyone from then.” He hesitates, his brow furrowing, before continuing. “Well, okay, that's not entirely true. Gentaro’s met Amazon, but most of the riders from the 70's and 80's don't socialize that often.

“Takeru's met Ichigo – the first rider – but never heard back from him with regards to coming.” He shrugs. "We know he's still alive, because Takeru's friends with his grand-niece, and she'd have told us if he'd passed, but that's about all we know. The oldest riders tend to be off around the world. I met Blade, once, but he can't stay in Japan, because apparently his powers would-”

“-would make him have to fight his friend, right?” Sougo interrupts. “I… might have fixed that, actually. For him and his teammate, Chalice.”

Emu holds up a finger. “Hold that thought, please. I'll be right back.” He runs off.

“…What did I say?”

A few minutes later, Emu returns with a tablet. “Okay, I can't believe we didn't think of this.” He laughs. “You went around and met almost everyone – or people who know them – right?”

Sougo nods.

“Who can you reach again?!”

“Well, I can… kinda contact some of them. I know where they'd go back to, anyway.”

A small crowd has started to gather – people curious to see what's going on, people who'd heard Emu's shout and wondering just who they might meet.

Sougo pulls out his own smartphone, heading into the browser. “I bookmarked the site for the restaurant Kenzaki-san’s sorta-niece works at, hang on.” He pulls up the page. "Here, the Jacaranda Cafe. She can probably reach him, now, and Hajime. I kinda made them both human. Somehow. Not sure if that's good or not?” Sougo winces.

Kiriya stares. “Me'n the banana are gonna have /so/ much explaining to do. Do you have any idea how overpowered you are, kid?”

“There's also here, Restaurant Agito… Kamen Rider Agito owns that one.”

“Hrmph.” Kaito makes a noise. “A lot of explaining. Hope he was on good terms with Kino.”

Sougo looks at them, decides that either he’ll find out later, or that he probably doesn't want to know, and continues. “I’ve also got the numbers for Todoroki, and Gatack – although he might be Kabuto, now? It was a little weird… There's also this one dry cleaning place, where Faiz works-”

There's a loud sputtering sound from another side of the group. “Takumi is alive?!”

“Is he not supposed to be?”

Shinnosuke groans. “He's really not. There's a number of reasons I wasn't thrilled with your time-travel deal, Sougo.”

“Least he's got a better grip on the time thing than I do. His meddling actually works.” Kouta mumbles.

––––

(This one’s a different version of events, and I’m not sure when I wrote it anymore.)

“You look down, kid.”

Sougo looks up, as a man in a fedora leans against the tree next to him.

“You realize you did a damn good job, right? There’s zero grudges here.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me… but it’s not right… it’s not my celebration to get into.” Sougo squints. “Sorry, I don’t recognize you at all.”

“Hidari Shotaro, one half of Kamen Rider Double. The Joker half, specifically, since I heard your form only goes into our first.” He grins. “Sorry we couldn’t make it there in person. Your friend in the scarf kinda messed with Philip by going into the library when he wasn’t supposed to. We only got it together in time for that battle.”

Grimacing, Sougo flinches back. “Sorry. Woz basically did whatever he wanted back then, he was a bit… er. Cagey. Always was, really, but at least he… well, we worked together more easily, anyway.”

Shotaro lowers his hat to cover his face. “I heard mention that your friends went back to their time, is that right?”

“Yeah… but… their time was the one where I became overlord, and since we’ve stopped that from happening… I…” Sniffing, Sougo looks down. “I don’t even know if they exist anymore. Tsukuyomi, Geiz, and Woz are the first real friends I have ever had, and for all I know, they’ve been written out of the timeline, just – just been erased, like White Woz was when we first used Trinity,” he starts to tremble. “And it’ll be my fault because my being evil was what made it possible for them to exist in the first place, so if I never become evil, then they won’t exist-”

“Hey, hey, come on, calm down.” Shotaro puts a hand on Sougo’s shoulder. "You're gonna get dehydrated or something if you keep having crying fits, and then Emu’s gonna get on all our heads for letting that happen.” He gives a brief squeeze before letting go. “I’m not saying not to be upset, or to not worry or miss your friends. But breaking down… doesn’t help. Believe me, I get it. I’ve been there – Philip was ‘gone’ for a year, when all was said and done, and I… well, if he hadn’t been restored when he was, I probably wouldn’t have been even semi-functional for very much longer.” He sighs. “So, I’m not saying to forget, but don’t let it consume you. Things here turned out fine. You just have to have faith that they’ll turn up again. Hopefully sooner, rather than later. You’ll have a hard time beating out the record for longest wait – that’s Eiji and Ankh, at 9 years, followed by Gou and Chase at 5, Philip and myself at 1, Emu with Poppy and Parad at a month, and Gentaro and Kengo at about a week.”

“So… here's hoping for second or third, then?”

“Now you’re getting it. Gotta warn ya, the humor gets a little dark around here sometimes. It’s a coping mechanism. Just let someone know if that gets to be too much for you, at any point. Doesn’t matter if it was fine at a previous meeting. If it gets hard, we want to know, so we can help.”

Sougo rubs at his eye with his fist. “Still can’t believe you guys plan to invite me back…”

Shinnosuke sits down on his other side. “It’s an open invitation. Nobody’s required to come, but just so that you know, that invitation will never close, and neither do the communication lines. If you need time away, we get it. But… I’m not going to lie, that sounds like it’s a bad idea for you. Not talking, that is.”

“I’ve… I’ve had enough of being alone for one timeline. It was just me and my uncle for so long… and then they came barging in, and now they’re gone again…”

Shin: “Can you tell us about your uncle? Takeru’s the only one here whose met him, and only briefly.”

That gets Sougo to give a small smile. “Yeah, that… sure was a day. So, Takeru-san… is not a good liar, is he?”

““Not really, no.””

“He did seem like he got what I was dealing with way too much to not remember. But my uncle… he’s great. He took me in after my parents died, and he’s been the one constant since then. He fixes clocks for a living. Or, well, he fixes everything, really, but he prefers clocks. He even managed to fix a train one time.”

““The den-liner?””

“…Okay, yes, it's a time traveling train, and that was a really weird day, but still. Train. Though, gotta be honest, if he wasn’t fixing clocks? He’d be a really good chef. His first instinct whenever a rider came by was to make them something to eat.” His face darkens as he looks across the way. “Though the meal wasn't always intended for them…”

Shinnosuke follows his line of sight. “…What did Tsukasa do?”

“He stole my dinner. The first time I saw him out of suit, he stole. My dinner. When I had literally been a ghost all day.”

They both wince. Shotaro laughs nervously, adding “That’s a pretty good reason to hold a grudge against Kadoya. But your uncle’s a good repairman and cook?”

“Yeah! Yeah, he is! I mean, Agito-san said he could be professional, and he is a professional chef, so-”

“Wait!” Shotaro holds up a hand. “Agito?”

“Yeah.”

“Kamen Rider Agito?”

“Yeah.”

“Sougo, new question for you.” Shinnosuke looks at him, serious. “How many riders did you meet that aren’t here?”

“A lot of them. Why?”

“Do you have anyone’s contact information? This group isn’t supposed to just be the 2010s, it’s that we’re the ones who Emu was able to get in contact with.”

Shotaro puts his belt on. “Philip? Do you mind sending Emu over here?”

––––

(This one’s from August 22, before I remembered I should probably just wait until after the finale actually came out.)

“Sougo-kun?”

“Hm?”

“Are you feeling alright? You've barely touched your dinner.”

Sougo blinks, looking down at his plate. “…Oh. sorry. Your cooking deserves way better than that. I was just… distracted.”

His uncle sits down beside him. “You miss them, don't you?”

It's hard, he’d never admitted to being lonely to his uncle before, not in so many words, but now…

Now 9-to-5 feels so empty.

“Yeah. I do.” His vision blurs, just a little, before he blinks and it goes back to normal… or not, because he can feel something warm on his cheek. He's crying.

“Sougo…” Uncle pulls him into a one armed hug. It's nice. They've never really been this touchy-feely before, it always felt odd, but… they both need this. Now that Geiz, Tsukuyomi and Woz are… are gone. Are in their time, hopefully, because they were only ever supposed to be here until they were finished.

Until he was stopped.

But they were friends, and his uncle liked them, and they were always around…

Sougo had hoped that all of them – Geiz, Tsukuyomi, Woz, and his uncle – that they’d all be able to keep each other company after he was… gone. He wasn't supposed to make it back here, and they were, but they didn't. They got pulled back to the future (he hopes), and he didn't die like he was intended to, and now he doesn't know what to do with himself.

At least he's being given the time to decide.

Heh. Time. That didn't matter, for almost a year. He could, technically, go any when he wanted. He didn't, because that would have been an abuse of power, but he could.

But now there's no time mazines, no another riders, no riders at all, save for him.

He doesn't even know if the few watches he has still work.

Grand… he refuses to try. Doesn't want to risk it.

Trinity… same. If he finds out that it does work, if he pulls them to him through time and space again… that'd be awful, because he'd have to say goodbye all over again when the transformation ends. If it doesn't… then they're gone.

Zi-O II was always… touchy. It's powerful, but also he always felt odd using it – the future sight felt wrong, somehow.

So the only two watches he would dare try are Zi-O and the bike, and he hasn't touched them, save to keep them in his pockets, since the battle ended.

He keeps them with him, just in case.

Just in case.

The front door chimes, and uncle looks at him, concerned,

Shaking his head, Sougo gives a small smile. “Go on ahead. You've got a customer, maybe you'll even get a clock to fix this time, too.”

Uncle gives him a pat on the shoulder, and heads out front.

Sougo can't hear what they're saying, not really, but his uncle sounds… surprised, honestly. Like he didn't expect whoever it is. They must have actually had a clock.

About 10 minutes pass, with the indistinct voices from out front talking all the while, and Sougo's mind wanders.

––––

Sougo had told his uncle about being a Kamen Rider before he'd left… and then one and two made three, and he'd asked, when it was over, if Geiz and Woz were Kamen Riders too. He’d had to say yes, couldn't bring himself to lie and hide it. He'd also added that Tsukuyomi became a Rider, too, on that last day.

When he was asked if they survived… Sougo said they'd gone back to their time.

(He hopes they made it to a better one than they left.)

(Please.)

A week later, four and sixteen made twenty, and Uncle’d asked if the people who they'd brought through were Kamen Riders as well.

“…They were. Once upon a timeline.” Sougo smiled bitterly. “Until I became one. Then their pasts and powers all got stolen, and now half of the Kamen Riders never were in the first place, and the rest never can be again. All the watches, on that stand? Those were their powers, before I came along.” He tried to hold back the tears with a smile. “Some hero I was. Had to erase almost twenty years worth of other, better, heroes to be one.”

His uncle didn't have a reply for that. He just hugged him.

–––

They've been talking for a while, out there. Maybe it's a different clocksmith? There aren't any others in the area, as far as Sougo knows, since it's not exactly a big profession… oh well.

“Sougo-kun?” His uncle steps into the doorway. “You'd said that some of the other Kamen Riders didn't remember being such, right?”

Sougo looks away. “Yeah. Pretty much everyone I met before January, except for Kadoya Tsukasa. Most of them never came here.”

“One did, though, and he seems very intent on talking to you.”

“…Huh?” That gets him to look up. Why would- before January, they wouldn't remember being riders, and probably shouldn't remember he exists, much less remember having met him. “Did he say his name?”

“Ten… something.” Uncle grimaces. “Sorry, I'm bad with names, it's already slipped my mind…”

“Ten... Tenkuji, you mean? Tenkuji Takeru?”

Uncle beams. “That's it!”

He hadn't remembered. Couldn't have remembered, it was before the paradoxes started piling on top of each other so badly… Except…

When Tsukuyomi had taken off, for a while, she'd left her data pad, the one with the histories on it. Sougo'd copied them all down, each and every one. Even if they didn't remember, someone needed to.

He filled three notebooks with every detail he could, and then with what he'd done.

Miharu and Geiz had thought it was a terrible idea, but… someone needed to remember for them.

Tenkuji-sempai had been 'Kamen Rider Ghost'. He'd been 'Ghost' for a reason, and he'd seemed a little too familiar with what happened to Sougo that day.

Sougo goes to the storefront.

There he is, brown hair and a kimono hoodie, grinning nervously. “Hey, kouhai. Long time, no see.”

…Kouhai. Okay, yeah, he's older than Sougo, but.

What?!

“I, uh. hi. Yeah… that is…”

Tenkuji's grin loses a little of it's nervousness, and he looks like he's trying for reassurance. “We know. We all know. We're sorry, we had to let you think we forgot, because… ugh, something about cause and effect, and predetermined events and, honestly, Ryotaro and Yuuto's explanations went way over my head, and Tsukasa's weren't much better. But we never forgot, okay?”

“You – you remember. All of it?”

“We've always been Kamen Riders, and we always will be.” Takeru's smile is warm. “And we'd like to invite you to a thing.”

Uncle butts in. “So, you are one of them?”

Takeru nods, bowing formally for a proper introduction. “Tenkuji Takeru, Kamen Rider Ghost. I was mostly active from 2015 to 2016, and now it's whenever my juniors need help.” He smiles. “Nice to meet you again!”

“You said you wanted Sougo to come to something?”

“Mm-hm. We've started having gatherings, about a year and a half ago, now, and we'd appreciate it if you could come.” He says the last part to Sougo, before turning to both of them. “It's mostly riders and support, and families, too. But… it can get a little overwhelming, and we thought it'd be a better idea if you, er, Mr. Tokiwa, that is, would be willing to wait until the next one? If Sougo comes back – there's no obligation to, of course, but we'd at least like to fill him in, first.”

Uncle grins. “I'd love to.” He makes little shooing motions at Sougo and Takeru. “Go, have fun, stay safe. You know how I worry.”

Swallowing hard, Sougo nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

––––

“D'you still have your bike? Because you can ride along on mine if you need to, but it'll be easier if you have your own. The Ghostriker isn't really… made for two people.”

Sougo looks up and down the spectral-themed bike. “I'd say so. You really went all out with the theming, huh?”

“Well, it used to be possessed by a horse spirit, I think, whenever I transformed, but I had it modified a year ago to always look like this. If the eyes glow, it's haunted. Fair warning.”

“That's really cool. I've still got what was my bike, but… I don't know if it still works.” Sougo pulls out the watch, looking down at it. “Never really used it much, honestly. Mostly used the time machines to get places. That kinda felt like cheating when it wasn't that far away, but since we'd have to time travel half the time anyway…” He hesitates. “I haven't tried using it since we finished. I don't know if I can transform, anymore, either. Does that disqualify me?”

“Heck no. A lot of people don't, not if they can help it, or can't for one reason or another. So, don't worry about it.”

Nodding, Sougo turns the faceplate on the watch, and it springs to action. He grins at seeing it again, and then his face falls. …I don't actually have a helmet.”

Takeru breaks out laughing. “You were always Zi-O when you used it, huh? Here.” He tosses a second helmet to Sougo. “Didn't know if you had a bike or not, so I grabbed an extra before I left.”

#kamen rider zi o #kamen rider ghost #kamen rider build #kamen rider decade #kamen rider ex aid #non zi o tags are because those are the characters with the most interaction with sougo #oh gaim i really need to work on my sougo characterization...#riders reunited #i will ride this inspiration train until it runs out of track #sailorcressy says

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