first draft wip yeeee Nozomi's most vivid memory was when she was seven years old, sweaty hands clasped together tightly, crushing wisteria flowers between her fingers. Her family, the Fujiwaras, were known for cultivating the field of flowers that surrounded Yokotori village and she felt no guilt in plucking a few from the best field for the offerings at the local shrine.

Their shrine, as the locals would say, was a modest thing - an aspect of social niceties, hemming and hawing, dismissing the admiration of pilgrims even though deep within, they preened at the thought that their shrine was so noticed. 

After all, those who could take care of the dwellings of the gods were bound to earn favour in return.

dark evergreen and forestry surrounded the area, interrupted by the vibrancy of the torii’s vermilion-painted pillars and black upper lintel that led deeper into nature, the frequently-swept cobblestone stairways worn by frequent usage being a path to the sandō. It was difficult to not rush up the stairs, the slap of her waraji loud against cobblestone and the protest of her twin, Ichizo, even louder, but somehow, every visit to the shrine, Nozomi always forgot. 

“‘Zomi, Fusa-san said she was gonna get mad if she caught us running again,” Ichizo whines loudly, startling a flock of starlings into flight. Yet for all of his complaints, and as Nozomi knew it, her brother was her brother no matter what anyone said, he didn’t yank his hand out of her grip. “No-Zo-Mi.” he hisses again, voice rounding out in an effort to be heard, a slight stammer in between syllables.

She rolls her eyes, stops at a step higher than his, whirling around to plant her fists ( and wilting flowers ) on her hips - posture that was far too reminiscent of their mother scolding them. “Don’t tell me you’re scaaaaared of Fusa-san, Izo,” it was a not-quite taunt, bold for someone who secretly feared the miko, especially since Fusa was a no-nonsense woman and came from the Senju, a powerful shinobi no mono clan that lived further up North in Hi No Kuni. 

There were rumours among the villagers that Fusa-san had to run away from the Senjus because she had told secrets to the Uchiha clan, and was forced to hide away as a shrine maiden or else they would’ve killed her.

Or that she was disowned by her entire clan for a crime like failing a mission, or that she had deserted the clan

Which made no sense because Fusa-san never hid the fact that she was a Senju, but not really advertising it either.

Ichizo gnaws on his bottom lip, feline eyes darting to the side then to the ground. “N-no… i’m not. She’s not scary! At all!” Her twin had an interesting tell when he was lying, his nose scrunched up like a rabbit’s, twitching. He fisted the hem of his haori before grabbing her hand again and running up the stairs, this time: dragging her up instead of the other way around.

They didn’t make it far, faintly hearing the rhythmic zsh of the broom halting and the angry rasp of Fusa-san demanding to know just who was running within such sacred spaces, but instead of pausing, they shrieked loudly - in faux-fear, in surprise, in devilish amusement, and ran faster, the ink-black of their hair banners in the wind.

When the twins make it to the top, they duck behind one of the komainu, the guardian lion-dogs draped with faint speckles of stubborn moss, hands clapped over their mouth to quiet down their pants and giggles. They strained their ears to see if Fusa had followed them up, brandishing her bamboo broom like a threat, but upon hearing nothing, they emerge from their hiding place.

“You were so fast,” Nozomi says shrilly, grabbing Ichizo’s dark-blue sleeve, yanking it to emphasized just how delighted she was by that, “you were as fast as … as fast as Fūjin-sama, Izo!”

Ichizo blushed hotly, ducking his head to hide his eyes behind his bangs. Out of the kids in the village, Ichizo was the fastest runner - he even managed to beat some of the older kids too and that was an achievement. “Th-thanks, ‘zomi.” He waits a beat before tugging her insistently towards the shrine, “c’mon, let’s go leave our offerings again!”

Before they even approach the shrine, the twins go to the space designated to wash their hands before rushing over to the offering box filled with coin before dumping the flowers and a small drawing that Ichizo had drawn. “I see that the two kittens are back with their hunt.” Nozomi and Ichizo leap in the air, turning to stare at the old shrinekeeper tasked with the overall maintenance of the shrine. “Come to pay your respects to the gods?”

Atsunari was a wandering hermit that traveled more often than not, but no matter where the winds of travel took him, he always managed to come back home to Yokotori village - even if Fusa-san always got annoyed with his frequent absences. He smiles, yellow teeth bared in its crooked glory, eyes squinting, exhaling white smoke through his nose like a dragon.

Ichizo was too polite, even as a seven year old, to hold his breath against the pungent scent of tobacco, but Nozomi had no compulsions in doing so. She pinches her nose with distaste, the slit-pupil of her eyes narrowing even further. “M-mhm! We didn’t have enough m-money, so maybe we thought these things were good? They’re cool and has a lot of thought.” Ichizo realized that Nozomi wasn’t going to respond to the yamabushi, too preoccupied with plugging her nose close.

The yamabushi smiles even wider, posture lazy as he lounged against a towering tree, one leg outstretched and the other pulled close. He cradles his pipe with elegant fingers, the little opening at the end glowing red-orange from heat and smoking with little curls. Atsunari studies them for a few seconds; one dark eye and the other milky with cataracts, “the gods appreciate it,” he eventually replies, a sort of knowingness that completely flew over the children’s heads.

MK OC Randomness part 5? 6? What part am I on?

I am having trouble with writer's blocks... so here are more OC jokes

Some of these jokes contain spoilers for both my Switched and Fate AUs.

enjoy

------

Michiko: Sektor is such a wonderful brother! Look he made me this dress!

Krow: Gae one time took me to a forest with nothing but birch and hickory trees and left me there for 3 days.

Krow: I'm allergic to birch and hickory trees.

------

Ash: Hate to break it to ya, but there are in fact three genders.

Ash: And those are, Good girl, Good boy, and little shit.

Kamden: So what do you identify as?

Ash: Little shit.

------

Shinnok: Hello No- *studies her haircut for a minute*

Nozomi: don't say a word!

Shinnok: *in a serious tone* Nozomi, is there something you're trying to tell me? Something you can't tell your father?

Nozomi: *looking at him quizzically* what do you mean?

Shinnok: *getting up and walking over to a storage closet, opening it and gesturing vaguely*

Nozomi: *groans* For the last time Shinnok. I am not gay! I just had to get my haircut again and dad wasn't there to help. So I did it myself

Shinnok: Oh. Well you know there's nothing wrong with being gay Nozomi. It's perfectly alright. Your girlfriend or partner will be treated the same as if you had a boyfriend

Nozomi: Thank you Lord Gaydar, but I don't like anybody like that!

Shinnok: Alright, hey is that your mother's cloak?

Nozomi: NOPE! *teleports away*

------

“Quan Chi”: I’m not possessed! What makes you think I'm possessed? You have no proof ! Prove I'm possessed Fuyuka! Prove it! You can't!

Fuyuka: *already sick of this bullshit* I know it's you Onaga.

"Quan Chi", now revealed to be Onaga: Damnit! What gave it away?

Fuyuka: *sighs* Well one, your eyes are really yellow with an odd slit in them, something I know my Chi does not have. Two, I don't think you've noticed, but you've grown some wings and horns, and last I checked Quan Chi never had any of those. And three, MY HUSBAND DOESN'T HAVE A FUCKING TAIL!

Onaga: *looking at the features he never noticed* Yup that'll do it. Could've sworn I hidden those.

Onaga: Oh well. You still wanna mate?

Fuyuka: Get out of my husband's body.

------

Seth: *walks by laughing*

Yamato: Shut up. *smacks him down*

------

Satoru: He doesn't deserve you.

Satoru: If he doesn't treat you right by now, you're gone.

Xue: I'm gone.

Satoru: Good. NOW GO CHOP HIS DICK OFF-

------

Ash: Dad look, it's the good kush!

Kano: This is the dollar store how good can it be?

------

*While in isolation*

Fuyuka: Fuyuka the tea is done

Fuyuka: Fuyuka?

Fuyuka: *thinks; "Maybe I'm Fuyuka?"*

Gae: *pops up out of nowhere* Did you say tea-?

Fuyuka: *screams*

------

Old LK Grandmaster: I should've left you out in the cold with your dead father!

Michiko: But ya didn't!

*Trying to figure out who killed Havik*

------

Raiden: Alright, who do you think did it then?

Nozomi: Argus!

Raiden: Argus is dead.

Nozomi: Wait, Ar-

Raiden: Argus is still dead.

Nozomi: Ah this is really difficult. Hold o-

------

Raiden: Melantha, this is a crime scene.

Melantha: *taking some Edinan pie* What is this the murder weapon?

Melantha: Get off my dick!

------

Erron: Hey Klaudia ya got something I can cut this thread with?

Klaudia: Yeah right here man

Klaudia: *skillfully opens up a switch blade*

Erron: Hey are you ok?

------

Taven: He's dead!

Nozomi: *yawns then looks around*

Nozomi: "not the dick-head", what do you want me to say?

Idalia: are you gonna wake up today you little shit?

------

------

Kabal: Oh come on Kristy, it's not like you actually killed somebody.

Kristy: *does a vague face gester*

Kabal: hehe- *to this side* fuck!

------

*In Fuyuka's temple*

Nozomi: Alright, grab onto my staff, we'll teleport to the 16th floor.

Reiki: Wait, couldn't we just walk there?

Nozomi: Well if you wanna walk up about ohhhh about 369 steps and 15 flights of stairs, then be my guest

Reiki: ... And we're teleporting!

------

*then*

Reiki: Michiko obviously loves me more. So run along ice boy!

Bi Han: I will destroy you and your clan if you don't take that back! *now*

Reiki: I love you more. Don't fight me on this Bi Han!

Bi Han: I will throw hands with you over this! I love you more!

------

*then*

Scorpion: Since Reiki assigned me to protect you, maybe we can be friends?

Michiko: *smiles widely* Oh sure! *smile drops* when foxes fly!

*now*

Hanzo: Heeeeey... can I also get a kiss?

Michiko: I don't know. How many did I give you today?

Hanzo: t two

Michiko: *kisses him two more times*

------

Reiki: I'm a healer but-

Reiki: *makes his flames turn black*

------

Harmonia: If you hate dad so much, how were we born?

Melantha: *not looking up from the paper* fever season.

Harmonia: What?

Melantha: Hormones.

Discordia: Huh?

Nemos: Oh my fuckin- SHE GOT HORNY! MOM GOT HORNY!

------

Meixiu's ghost: So how's motherhood treating you?

Michiko: It's going great actually, just didn't expect there to be so much crying.

Meixiu: Oh, all babies cry. You'll get used to it.

Michiko: Oh no, Xue is fine. It's Bi Han I'm talking about.

*From the nursery*

Bi Han: *sobbing* She's so beautiful!!!!

Bi Han: *bursting into the infirmary* Is she ok!? How is the baby!? Have they been born yet!?

Medic: Actually Sub-Zero you'll be happy to know that your wife gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl.

Michiko: *holding the twins* Hi honey. Look. This one is Nori, and this one is Su.

Bi Han: *tearing up*

Little Satoru: *sighs* I'll get the tissues for dad.

------

------

Erron: Hate to disappoint Blade, but another gal has my heart. < *talking about Kristy*

Sonya: *raises an eyebrow* Are you gonna ask her out?

Erron: shrill voice I AM WORKING ON IT!

------

Quan Chi: I would tell you not to hurt her, but technically she's not my daughter so-

Meixiu's ghost: Oh it's ok. I got this.

Meixiu's ghost: ahem!

Meixiu's ghost: Hurt my daughter and you'll wish you were back in the void with nothing but your shadow based hallucinations, and when you do get back there, not even those will keep you company!

Bi Han: Good Elder Gods!

Reiki: *from the background* OH IT'S OK! YOU GET USED TO IT!

Klaudia: I wake up everyday and chose violence in hopes that someone will kill me.

------

------

Michiko: Wait the floor's made of glass?

Old LK GM: Yeah I had it updated.

Michiko: Dad, why the fuck would you do it?

Old LK GM: I don't know. I thought it would be nice. Does it look good?

Michiko: PEOPLE ARE GETTING HURT ON THE FLOOR DAD!- I mean yeah it does look kinda nice, not gonna lie- BUT WHAT THE FUCK!?

Tomas: You can't live off solitude and alcohol forever!

Demon form Michiko: I've made my choice!

------

Satoru: Can you show any emotion besides "meh"?

Xue: Can you show any sign of intelligence?

Satoru: Why are you like this?

Xue: Why are you an idiot?

------

Satoru: Xue's got a boyfriend! Xue's got a boyfriend! Xue's got a boyfriend!

Xue: *glaring* I hate you!

Satoru: Aww.. Why? *grinning*

Xue: Because I can't get you back on this particular subject!

Satoru: *sticks his tongue out and snickers in AroAce*

@feistyfandomthings

@dontunderestimatemypoison

@doodlewagonbug

@yuvononik

@yuvon

@deepinthefog

@toomanyf4ndoms7

@toomanyf4ndoms8

@cyberneticbloodgoddess

@tora-lotus

Parent Trap, Ch. 5

NicoMaki, Love Live, 2.6K, 5/?

Summary: Nico's mom has an opinion on Dia's parenting.

Grandma?

Maki stood, shocked, as Dia slipped free of her grasp and rushed toward a woman who looked EXACTLY like Nico, but taller and with a much more reserved air.

“Maki and Dia, meet Nico’s mama; Mama, meet Maki and Dia, Nico’s two favorite girls.”

“Tsuki!” Dia pushed her rabbit forward.

Nico chuckled, “And meet Tsuki, Dia’s new best friend.”

Nico said everything so easily, gleaming and happy in this open, bright, adorable cottage.

Nico’s mom knelt down as Dia stepped forward with Tsuki, “Hello Dia and Tsuki. It’s nice to meet you.”

Nico was suddenly next to Maki, an arm around her waist and a quick kiss on the cheek, “See, Mama’s not scary.”

Over Dia’s head, Maki suddenly caught the glare of ruby lasers.

“HUG!”

“Dia, don’t yell.” Maki said automatically. “We ask politely for things we want.”

Dia held out both arms, “Hug, please. Pretty.”

Nico’s mom glanced at Maki who nodded. Nico pulled Maki closer, exuding happy, a thrilling sensation, but it made Maki more nervous.

“Auntie Hanayo bad.” Dia announced. She mimicked Hanayo pulling on Tsuki.

Nico’s mom was a sympathetic audience.

“Bad.” Dia continued. “Tsuki sad.”

“And how did you feel?”

“Scared.” Dia shivered and Maki wanted her daughter back in her own arms, but Mrs. Yazawa and Dia seemed to be having a private conversation.

“I’m sure you were very brave. Tsuki too.”

Dia nodded, hugging Tsuki tightly, as Mrs.Yazawa carried her to the couch.

“Why don’t you sit here, Dia and talk to your mother.” The ruby lasers flashed in Maki’s direction again. “I have to talk to my daughter.”

“Mama?” Nico’s hand left Maki’s waist and the nerves surged.

“Kitchen, Nico. Now.”

“All right, Mama.” Nico kissed Maki again, “Nico will be right back. Dia, don’t let your Mama run away.”

###

“Mama?” Dia poked Maki with Tsuki.

“Hi, Dia.” Maki smiled at a frowning Dia.

“Nico?” Dia glanced around.

“She had to talk to her mom.”

Dia started to pull on Maki’s hand, to drag her off the couch where she’d dropped down, legs shaky.

“No, Dia. We have to wait.”

“NICO!” Dia pointed in a random direction, whole face scrunched up with displeasure.

“Dia.” Maki stayed calm, but Dia knew that tone and stopped pulling. “You wouldn’t want anyone interrupting us when we’re having a talk, right?”

Dia shook her head.

“So let’s just wait for Nico. We’re not going to rush off, okay.” Maki patted the couch next to her, “Sit next to me.”

“Pretty.” looking around, Dia pulled herself up, and Maki hugged her.

“Yes, this house is pretty.”

“Nico!”

“Yes, Nico is pretty.”

“Pretty.” Dia hummed mostly to herself.

If Dia was just going to alternate Nico’s name and “pretty” and Mrs. Yazawa assumed that was all Maki had ever said about Nico, this was going to be an uncomfortable afternoon.

###

No wasted time, right to the rapid fire questions. “Is there something you want to tell me, Nico?”

“Maki and I are dating? But Cocoro already spilled that secret.”

“Is it a secret?”

“No, no, Mama.” Nico waved her hands frantically, confused by her mother’s disapproving demeanor. What had Cocoro said about Philadelphia? “It’s just Maki’s family is...conservative and Nico wants to keep the whole thing as much off TWIG as possible.” As far as Nico knew or Cocoro had found, no one had connected Nico’s sexy backstage Philly punk date with the elegant, only seen twice a year at charity balls Dr. Maki Nishikino of the Northshore Nishikinos.

“Is anything else a secret?

That was a very sharp question. Nico paused. Her mother had her backed into the counter.

“What are you talking about, Mama?”

Mrs. Yazawa drew herself up to her full height and Nico flashed back to using her mother’s credit card for an unapproved concert ticket and getting caught sneaking back after curfew. “If you were your brother, I’d think you were introducing me to my grandchild.”

“Huh..what did Cotaro do? He’s not even…”

“Not Cotaro, Nico. You.” Nico’s mother pointed at the door, dropping her voice, “That child acts just like you did at her age, Nico.”

Oh this, this was silly, Mama nagging Nico about grandchildren in a very weird way, “Oh, Nico is just rubbing off on her.”

“No.” Mrs. Yazawa tapped the counter, “I could show you baby pictures…” A sigh, “your father’s eyes were that color.”

Nico had a sudden flash of her Dad, bouncing her on his knee while they both laughed, his green eyes twinkling.

“Everybody...lots of people have…”

“Nico.”

“Mama, I just met Maki. That’s not a thing that could have happened. There’s no way…”

Nico paused, a worried Eli suddenly popping into her memory.

“Nico?”

Nico grinned, broad and fake, “Dia is cute enough to be Nico’s daughter, but Nico is an award winning singer and entertainment executive with barely any time to date.” Nico decided to go with big eyes and whining, “Mama…Nico can’t just....” a slightly crude gesture to put her mother off.

It worked. Mrs. Yazawa raised a hand, “All right. We don’t have to go there, Nico.”

“C’mon, Mama, Maki and Dia are probably hungry and you promised them food.”

“I did.” One more sharp glance, “Nico?”

Both hands raised, look of complete innocence while inside Nico was picturing Eli’s worried face, “Really, Mama. Nico just met Maki. Please don’t make it awkward.”

The huffy noise was no guarantee, but at least the questions had stopped. Until Nico got a minute to drag Eli off somewhere.

###

Mrs. Yazawa and Dia were getting along, Dia offering bits of food on a spoon, while Nico’s mom held Tsuki. Nico seemed to be distracted, watching Dia and her mom, occasionally catching Maki’s eye and smiling. The food was good, a stew with rustic bread, Dia even ate a few bites of bread dipped in stew, which she then placed on a spoon.

“So, Maki.” Nico’s mom’s attention turned to her, Maki stiffened, Nico squeezed her thigh, making the nervousness worse, and Dia spit out bread.

“Ick…” Dia contorted her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Cold.”

Nico laughed, “We can warm the stew up, Dia.”

“No.”

“All right, then you can wait for dessert. Nico made cookies.”

“NO.”

Nico and Maki both stared at Dia, who was pouting.

“Dia? What’s wrong, bun?” Parenting mode on, dating nerves off.

“Mama!!!” Dia reached for Maki, hugging her hard.

“It’s all right, Dia. You’re fine.”

“Does she need a nap? We can put her on the couch? I’ll get a pillow and blanket” Nico offered, standing.

Mrs. Yazawa handed Tsuki to Dia, “Sounds like Tsuki and Dia had a tough day.”

Dia started to cry, clutching Tsuki. Maki didn’t appreciate Mrs. Yazawa’s commentary. Getting Dia to think about something other than the Tsuki related trauma earlier was the best solution.

“I’d better get her home. Where’s her coat, Nico?”

“On it.” Nico hustled. Maki had expected slightly more pushback, but Nico seemed almost eager to end their lunch. What had she and her mother talked about? Was it Maki? Had Mrs. Yazawa said something.

“Nico?” Maki hated how hesitant she sounded as Nico wrapped Dia’s coat around the subdued child.

“Don’t worry, Maki. Nico will see both her best girls later.” Nico made sure she had Dia’s attention, “Hey, Dia, you take care of your Mom and Nico will see you soon. Nico Nico Ni!” Quick hand to the temple, broad grin, Dia suddenly smiling. “See, Nico’s special magic.” Nico winked at Maki. “Text me later.”

“Okay. Thank you for lunch. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Yazawa.”

Nico’s mom had a...thoughtful look. Her tone was brusque. “You’re welcome. Take good care of Dia.”

Of course, Maki was going to take good care of Dia. What did that mean? As the door closed behind them, Maki heard Nico’s agitated voice, “Mama, that was rude.”

“Nico, once you see this album...”

“MAMA!”

Maki realized she was standing on Nico’s doorstep, eavesdropping, with a one year old who was about to get restless. Time to go home. What album? Was something wrong with Nico’s business?

###

Nico and her mom were at opposite ends of the main room.

“I don’t want to talk about this, Mama.”

Nico’s mom was pacing, remembering past conversations, “This is what Eli does. You said Maki was probably a patient. And you banked some eggs with her, I remember you telling me.”

“Nico also specifically told Eli there weren’t going to be any anonymous little Nicos running around.” Nico sighed, and hugged her mother, “I trust Eli, Mama. We know her.”

“That’s my granddaughter. I can feel it.” Mrs. Yazawa broke the hug, her fingers digging into Nico’s shoulders, “Don’t you care, Nico?”

“Of course, Nico cares. But it didn’t happen.” Nico paused, her mother’s intensity demanding truth, “And even if it did, what can Nico do?”

“Talk to Eli. Talk to Maki.”

Nico whirled away, a blaze of motion, arms flying, “Nico just started dating Maki, who is amazing, but what is Nico supposed to say? What date conversation is that...We just...” Nico suddenly remembered she was talking to her mother, “It’s complicated, Mama. I don’t want to mess it up.”

“If she is your daughter, do you want her raised by a doctor with no time who probably leaves her with a nanny?”

“Maki’s a good mother, Mama. You don’t know her.”

“Neither do you. Not really.”

“Nico is not having this conversation, Mama.”

A pause, “I never thought you were a coward, Nico.”

Anger. “I’m not a coward. I just care about Maki. And Dia. And Nico.”

Longer pause. Nico’s mom sitting near the fireplace, eyes never leaving Nico. “What are you going to do?”

Nico leaned forward, head down, hands gripping the metal railing of the twisting staircase leading to the second floor. “Nico has to think.”

###

Busy day at the office. But Eli was on time and on track to be done early. Breakfast with Nico had been great, but she missed the twins and Nozomi. Family movie night tonight. Eli would bring home takeout from one of Nozomi’s favorite restaurants and they could talk instead of doing dishes after the twins went to bed. Eli was glad to see Nico relaxed in a relationship. Touring and building a career had been a lonely business for her. Maki was lonely too, so that worked out nicely. And Nico had always been great with the twins.

“ELI!!!” Nico’s voice cut through the office. Eli opened her door. Asta, her very competent, very implacable receptionist had been cowed by what looked like a furious Nico, vibrating, hands slammed into the counter.

“Nico? What’s wrong.”

“Cancel her patients,” Nico snapped, and shoved the little half door open to get to Eli.

“Dr. Ayase?”

“When’s the next patient due?”

“Twenty minutes, but they’re running late.”

“See if they want to reschedule. Otherwise, apologize and I’ll…”

“No.” Nico turned to Asta, “Eli won’t be available until Nico is done.”

The roughness of Nico’s shove surprised Eli.

“Nico, you just can’t invade my office. My patients have a lot of stresses.”

“So does Nico.” Nico slammed Eli’s office door. “Mama thinks Dia’s my daughter.”

Eli blinked, not sure she heard Nico right. “uh?”

“Mama met Dia, was rude to Maki, and then gave Nico a lecture on parental responsibiities. Mama thinks Dia is Nico’s daughter. Tell Nico it’s not true.”

“It’s not true….” Eli’s voice trailed off as she remembered Nozomi’s sketchiness.

“Eli?”

“Just let me think.”

Rough handling again, “Nico said no baby Nicos wandering around. It was my ONLY condition, Eli. You agreed, Eli. You promised.” Nico inhaled, the shout blasting Eli’s hair back, “THERE WAS PAPERWORK!!!”

“There was paperwork.” Eli sat at her desk, puzzled.

Nico slumped in the chair, “Eli?”

“You could just marry Maki.” Eli chuckled nervously.

The furious leap almost propelled Nico over Eli’s desk. Eli stared into angry red eyes, Nico’s mouth contorted with disapproval, Nico in a pushup position ready to launch at Eli. “Look something up.” Nico hissed.

“What?”

“Maki’s records maybe, former friend.”

“Nico, I can’t share Maki’s records with you. I can’t even confirm she was a patient. There’s laws.”

Nico sat up, legs pushing Eli’s chair back, Nico slipping in front of Eli’s computer, “Your password’s still the twins’ birthday, right. That’s another dumb thing.”

“Nico, get away from my computer.”

“It’s all numbers.”

“Of course, it’s all numbers, Nico.” Eli picked Nico up and shifted her to the right, “Anonymized. There’s three layers of security. Let me take a look. But I’m looking at your paperwork.”

Nico kicked Eli’s desk, then stomped to kick Eli’s door.

“Nico, stop that, your temper tantrums are worse than the twins.”

“We just started dating Eli. This will make it weird. And Mama won’t shut up. And…” Nico turned, tearing up, “Dia, Eli. How would you feel?”

Eli couldn’t imagine the gut punch of missing first words, first steps, first...or having no guarantee if she’d ever see the twins again…

Eli started typing and swiping faster, zooming in on the scanned in original pages from Nico’s donation. All the information had been digitally entered, but Eli always scanned paperwork before filing it.

“How did that...?” Eli stood, “Wait a minute. I’ll be right back.”

“Nico is going with you.”

Eli decided not to object.

Now Nico was stomping around Eli’s records room, while Eli crouched to get at the end of the alphabet. Folder in hand, Eli spread it across the counter, picking up one page and raising it to eye level. Then she ran a finger over it.

“I remember asking you if you double checked the paperwork and you saying…”

“No one makes a baby with Nico without Nico’s permission, right?”

“Yeah.” Eli was still running a finger over the side of the form, “I think someone erased your answer and filled in “anonymous donor.”

“YOU GAVE AWAY ALL NICO’S EGGS!!!!”

“No, Nico, that’s not how it works. You must have just matched up with the profile Maki made.”

“So Maki swiped right on Nico’s DNA?”

“Personality, physical characteristics. I remember she wanted an extrovert and someone who liked music. And healthy.”

Nico almost flexed with the cabinet, “Nico is a catch. But Nico wasn’t supposed to be on the market.”

“I know Nico, I know, I don’t know what happened.” Eli could hear her voice waver.

“But I bet you have the same idea that Nico does…”

“Nico, you can’t tell Maki.” Eli pulled Nico by the arm, “Let’s go back to my office.”

“I talked the Yeungs into postponing. That’s it for today.” Asta announced as they walked behind the main counter, pretty sure she only had 20 seconds to get Eli’s attention.

“Great. Thanks, Asta. Go home...oh, please call Noz…”

Nico growled.

“Never mind. See you tomorrow.”

And then Eli was behind a door again. She dropped Nico in her office chair and loomed, “You can’t tell Maki. The procedures aren’t technically illegal, but that’s just because no one links them up. What if she sues me?”

“What if Nico kills you?” Nico gritted out, fists clenched.

“At least Nozomi would get the insurance money.”

“Eli, what am I supposed to do?” Nico had hit a wall, Eli could see the stress and confusion on her face.

“I don’t know, Nico. But we’ll figure something out.”

Nico’s phone went off. Maki’s ringtone. Nico glanced at the message.

M: Your house is so cute. Sorry Dia had a rough day. Can I bring dinner by to make up for it?

“Can we figure it out soon, Eli? Please.”

Pleading Nico cut painfully into Eli. The only response that felt right was to pull Nico into a tight hug like she did when Teddy had a nightmare in the dark.

A/N: Howdy! There's a lot going on here and I'm frustrated by having so many stories ongoing, so I've decided to pick one to focus on finishing and then move to the next one(with a little MerMay fun on the side, because still me).

Also, if I were in Japan, it'd be my birthday, so say hi if you drop by!

i saw this one fanart on insta and now i cannot stop thinking about what if the twins had a cat and brought it to devildom

he would be entirely black except for that one spot on his forehead of white and his eyes are green as fuck and his name is satan because they thought it would be so funny when they adopted him

when they woke up to the council room their first thoughts would be : what the fuck, and then,

where is our cat ?

diavolo was nice enough to accept summoning him as well.

“what’s his name ?” the prince of hell would ask,

“satan!” nanami would answer enthousically, as nozomi picked him up with a relieved sigh.

“yes ?” satan, avatar of wrath, would answer foolishly.

...

(sweet)heart to heart

For @kurodai-week‘s KuroDai Valentine’s Day Event 2020: Happy Crush

----

“Excuse me, Mr. Officer-san.”

Daichi looks down at the elementary school girl tugging his uniform shirt. He gets down on one knee and gives the child a smile. “Hello there. How may I help you?”

“Uhm,” the girl takes off her backpack and puts it down on the sidewalk, opens it and takes out a rather beat up stalk of a pink camellia.

“For you, Mr. Officer-san,” she presents with a toothy smile. Daichi has to bite his lips to keep himself from squealing because of how cute the little girl is being but it’s a near thing, especially when he chokes out a garbled but touched “F-for me?”

The little girl nods earnestly with a hum. “For always keeping us safe.”

Awww, Daichi’s inner voice supplied as he takes the flower and fixes his cap to keep his composure. “I’m just doing my job. But thank you very much for this, little miss.”

“You’re welcome!” She exclaimed, but deflates soon and starts giving Daichi a look that he’s seen one too many times in his twin sibling’s faces. The look of guilt.

“What’s wrong?”

The little girl bites her lips. “I’m supposed to give you a candy as well, Mr. Officer-san. But I got curious and ate it. I’m sorry.”

Daichi beams. “It’s alright, little miss. The flower is enough for me. Besides, I think you deserve that candy for doing something nice today,” he says patting her on the head. “It’ll be our little secret, okay?” He says putting his finger over his lips and winks at her.

The girl nods, brightens up and instantly her mood was better. “Thank you, Mr. Officer-san!”

“Well, you better go home now. I’m sure your Mommy is waiting for you.”

After watching her put her bag on, he sends her off with a smile and a wave.

---

Their meeting continued on for a week, with Nozomi-chan, as Daichi finds out on the second day of meeting the little lady, diligently bringing him pink camellias to add to his growing collection kept and cared for in a vase in his apartment. She doesn’t stay for too long, always just gives him the flowers and apologizes for eating the candy and leaves after promises of seeing him the next day.

It’s honestly making Daichi curious, as this had become a pattern, though he doesn’t ask her yet where the flowers and the disappearing candy are coming from.

On hindsight, he probably should have.

---

Nozomi-chan meets him as usual, but she isn’t as bright or energetic as she had been the last couple of days. Daichi’s instantly on his knee as he looks over her, looking for injuries or anything that could clue him to what happened to her.

“Nozomi-chan, what’s wrong?”

Nozomi pouts. “I got scolded for eating the candies meant for you, Officer-niichan. But… they don’t taste good so I’ve been eating them instead. I didn’t want to give them to you! I’m sorry for keeping them away.”

She sniffles and starts crying. “Oh, Nozomi-chan,” he says and rubs her back, letting her cry. “I’m not angry with you, if that’s what you think. And I think it’s brave of you, so thank you for trying to protect me, I appreciate it.”

This seemed to calm her down.

“What are those candies anyway?” Daichi asks. Nozomi proceeds to take her bag off and like clockwork, takes out a pink camellia but this time, there’s a small candy wrapped in a neatly folded light orange tissue paper as well. Daichi takes them both and puts the flower down on his thigh to open the wrapped candy.

Inside the small square wrap is a piece of white candy heart with a message that says ‘U R CUTE’ and Daichi looks down on it with growing horror.

This little girl had been eating the candy hearts meant for him and she got scolded because apparently, the messages aren’t being delivered to him. Oh god, what else were written in the previous hearts? What is her mother thinking?

Oh wait…oh no… her mother. Nozomi-chan’s mother is asking her to do this and oh god, Daichi is going to lose his job for this, isn’t he?

“N-Nozomi-chan, this is…”

“I’m sorry! I told Rooster Head onii-chan that you wouldn’t like it, because I don’t like it, because it doesn’t taste good. But he said that it wasn’t meant for me to eat anyway and that I should have given them to you instead, but I just don’t want you to hate him for giving you bad candy because you really like the flowers. I told him that, but he won’t believe me!”

Daichi blinks. “Nozomi-chan, Hold on… who is… onii-chan?”

Nozomi nods. “Rooster Head onii-chan is supposed to be smart because he’s a doctor, but he doesn’t know what good candy to give. He should have just given you chocolates.” She stomps her feet and cross her arms. “But then again, I might have eaten them too, but I would have shared with you if I think they taste good.”

Daichi shakes his head. “Nozomi-chan, wait a minute. So the flowers and the candy… they’re not from your mom?”

“No,” she says shaking her head and starting to look confused.

Daichi breathes in relief because he was already knee deep in his worst case scenario imagination, but he doesn’t let himself be too relaxed yet.

“They’re from the Rooster onii-chan?”

“Yes! I call him Rooster Head onii-chan because his hair makes him look like a rooster.” She says proudly.

“And who is this Rooster Head onii-chan?”

“He’s my neighbor! He lives across the street from my house. He’s a doctor.”

“And he asked you to give me flowers and candies?”

“Uh-huh. He really likes you, Officer-niichan.”

Daichi nods, taking the information in. Alright, that doesn’t sound so bad. But no, wait. Someone he doesn’t completely know about is using a child to get close to him. “Nozomi-chan. He’s not a bad person, is he? He’s not forcing you or scaring you to do this? You can tell me the truth.”

“What?” Nozomi looks surprised and a little offended. “No! No. Doctor-niichan is handsome and kind. He’s not a bad person.” She exclaims earnestly, little fists in front of her. “Everyone likes him. I like him because he always makes sure I’m healthy and the medicine he gives me when I’m sick doesn’t taste bad. And he walks with me to school on his way to his clinic. Officer-niichan, please don’t hate Doctor-niichan! He just doesn’t know what good candies are there.”

“A-Alright. I believe you, Nozomi-chan. But did he tell you why he’s giving me flowers and candy hearts?”

“I told you, Officer-niichan. He really likes you!”

Daichi clears his throat at that. “Yeah, but why would he… you… I mean. Nozomi-chan, I don’t know who this Doctor-oniichan of yours is and he really shouldn’t have…”

“Well, why don’t we go to his clinic so you can meet him?”

That’s…not a bad idea but Daichi doesn’t know if he’s ready to meet him already. He’s still processing everything. And since Nozomi hasn’t given him reason to be so suspicious and he believes that she’s not in any danger, he wants to think it over for some time first.

“I’m still working, so I can’t go with you. But maybe you can tell me where his clinic is?” It’s pretty underhanded, but it’s not like he’s the first one who did something even more underhanded. This doctor obviously know him, have seen him around to know who to send the flowers and candies to, and it’s unfair that Daichi doesn’t know who he is. At least that’s the logic he’s going by.

Nozomi tells him, and after the whole fiasco and asking Nozomi not to tell her Doctor-oniichan about what he asked, they both bid each other their goodbyes.

-----

It’s his day off and Daichi has a pretty clear idea of what he will do that day. He’s familiar with the place where the clinic is. It’s beside a flower shop, nearby the bakery he frequents and across his favorite coffee shop. And upon seeing the clinic, he remembers being inside before, when he helped a man who passed out on the sidewalk get immediate medical attention.

Is that how Nozomi’s doctor-niichan knew about him? He doesn’t remember seeing a male doctor during that time. It was just a young nurse who led him to one of the vacant rooms. Then again, he wasn’t able to stick around for long as he gets a call from his radio.

He’s about to take a peek inside through the window, but he didn’t get the chance to because the door of the clinic opens and out comes a tall man with a messy hair, waving casually to the person behind him. “I’ll be back in an hour,” he says lightly, but he stops short when he sees Daichi standing in front of the clinic and Daichi sees the way his eyes widened behind his glasses and his mouth open.

“Make sure you are back on time, Doctor Kuroo!” Someone says from inside.

The man, Kuroo closes the door behind him quickly and looks like he’s ready to bolt and Daichi can see how he has to take a deep breath and collect himself before he address Daichi again. “Uhm, are you here for a check-up?”

“No.”

“Oh. Well, then…uhh, it’s lunch break, so you can come back later if you uhhh… yeah.” Kuroo nods and sharply turns to walk away from Daichi.

“Do you know Nozomi-chan?”

Daichi sees the way Kuroo stops and stiffens at the mention of the name. But he doesn’t look back at him. So Daichi decides to be bolder.

“Are you her Rooster Head onii-chan?”

“She told you that?!” Kuroo turns and sputters out but immediately covers his mouth with both his hands, realizing how he’d stupidly given himself away.

“So you are?”

Kuroo puts his hands on the whole of his face and groans. “Look, I’m really sorry. Nozomi-chan is a good kid and I know I shouldn’t have made her do that. I’ll go quietly, I won’t put up a fight if you arrest me.”

“Why do you think I would arrest you?”

Kuroo peeks up at him from behind his hands. “Because I’m a creepy secret admirer who used an innocent kid to get close to his crush?” His voice cracked at the word crush and he hides his face on his hands again.

Daichi may or may not have blushed upon hearing that and covers up his embarrassment with a cough. “Well, it’s a bit creepy as you said, and worrying since a child was involved but a little girl was defensive and has nice things to say about you, so maybe I thought of checking you out to see if you’re not so bad after all.”

It takes a full minute for Kuroo to take his hands off his face to look at Daichi. “What?”

“I don’t mind the candy hearts, despite what Nozomi-chan thinks about them. I don’t mind the secret admirer bit, though I would like it better to get to know the person who’s been sending me flowers and candies personally.” Daichi admits, feeling himself blush.

Kuroo gapes at him until he shakes himself out of his confusion and takes a hesitant step towards Daichi.

“You want to… get to… know me?”

Daichi shrugs. “You have a glowing recommendation from Nozomi-chan. So…?”

Kuroo pats his pocket and fishes out a small wrapped candy and hands it to Daichi.

Daichi takes it and opens it. At the center of the folded paper is a pink conversation heart with the word ‘Hello’.

Daichi looks up at Kuroo and smiles. “Hi.”

Hypmic babies pt 3, Emergency!

This collection of mini fics includes, personal ships, mpreg and mentions of birth,  Part 1 Part 2

🧡🧡

Sasaro

Sasara hummed as he cleaned up around the apartment, drying dishes and wiping off the counter when he heard the phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this the Sasara Nurude?" A female voice asked.

"It very much is! What can I do for you?" Sasara asked.

"Well, this is about Rosho Tsutsujimori, your husband, he went into early labor not too long ago and-...Nurude-san? Hello?"

Sasara had dropped the receiver and was running around the apartment grabbing the packed hospital bag and his coat and then picking up the receiver again, "Where is he?! Where can I find him?!"

"He's in the infirmary at the school but we called for an ambulance to come-"

"Thank you! That's all I need to know!" Sasara hung up the phone and rushed down to his car, driving off to the hospital and running inside.

"Is there a Rosho Tsutsujimori here?!" he asked the receptionist, panting hard.

"Y-yes he's in room 435, he's about to be taken to the delivery ward" the receptionist stuttered.

"Thank you!" Sasara said before rushing off to the room.

Sasara got to the room and ran inside seeing Rosho being moved into a wheelchair and looking up to see him.

"Sasara!"

"Rosho! It's ok, I have everything with me, its ok!" Sasara said as he followed the nurses and doctor.

The doctor tapped Sasara's shoulder, "Um...sir who are-"

"He's my husband, let him come with me!" Rosho snapped at the doctor angrily.

"Y-yes sir…"

Rosho was quickly rushed to the delivery room with Sasara holding his hand the whole time. 

"Off with your glasses, Rosho…" Sasara said as he took off his husband's glasses, "It'll be ok, you're gonna do great!" 

"I wish you told me that back when you put these damn things in me!" Rosho growled. 

Sasara laughed nervously, "It'll be ok, just breathe".

Several hours passed until both babies were born, one boy and one girl.

Sasara smiled as he held his newborn daughter while Rosho held his son, "They're so cute~, they both look just like you Rosho!"

Rosho smiled, "Really? I think they look more like you…" he yawned, "They need names...Sasara I want you to name them ok?"

"Of course I can! Here give me our son, you need your rest" 

"Thanks honey…" Rosho laid back as Sasara took the boy and quickly fell asleep.

As he did, Sasara looked at his new twins "I'll name you, my little girl Nozomi and I'll name you, my little boy, Naozumi" he laughed and kissed their heads, "And I'll love you both to the moon and back".

💛💛

Gendice

Dice groaned as he sat up in bed, he gasped in pain and shook Gentaro.

"Yes Dice….?" Gentaro groaned. 

"I think the baby is coming!" Dice shouted.

"Oh...OH! OH SHIT!" Gentaro jumped out of bed and picked up a bag of stuff, running over to Dice and helping him get out of bed, "It'll be ok Dice, we'll get you to the hospital, no problem…" Gentaro said as he walked Dice into the living room and helping him sit on the couch. 

Gentaro grabbed the phone and dialed the hospital, asking for an ambulance to come to the apartment, once he confirmed he sat with Dice on the couch. 

"Dammit…! This fucking hurts!" Dice groaned as Gentaro sat with him, "God...why did I let you do this to me?!" 

"It'll be ok...you'll have our baby and you'll be ok…" Gentaro said as he ran a hand through Dice's hair.

Time passed and the ambulance arrived and took Dice and Gentaro to the hospital and got Dice ready for delivery.

"Ok, we're ready to go, hopefully this should be done soon, it'll be ok" the doctor said. 

Hours passed, night became day and Dice delivered a healthy baby girl as the doctor said.

"She's so little…" Dice said as he held her, kissing her head softly. 

Gentaro chuckled, "Babies tend to be little, Dice"

"Oh shut up…"

"She needs a name you know, you want to do it?" Gentaro asked.

Dice nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I already have the perfect name for her".

"What is it then?"

Dice looked out the window and then at his baby, "Sora, I want to name her Sora".

Gentaro smiled and kissed him, "It's not bad, I like it".

❤💜

Ichikuko

"Ichiro…!" Kuko groaned, gripping his husband's sleeve until his knuckles were white. 

"Kuko?" Ichiro looked at him and gasped "What's wrong?! Are you sick or-"

"The baby is coming you idiot!"

"Oh God! Shit come on!" Ichiro picked up Kuko and rushed to the front door, quickly calling an ambulance.

The ambulance came and soon arrived at the hospital, a doctor took Kuko to the delivery room but made Ichiro stay outside to wait.

Ichiro began pacing outside in the waiting room and soon began walking through the hallways, passing by the maternity ward, seeing all the newborn babies.

"I wonder how long it'll be…" Ichiro mumbled to himself, "Kuko...I really want to be with you...I'm sorry…" he said before walking the halls again until he ended up back at the waiting room, sitting on a bench and falling asleep.

A few hours passed when Ichiro was shaken awake by a nurse who told him he could see Kuko.

"Right!" Ichiro exclaimed as he shot up and ran into the room, seeing Kuko.

Kuko looked at him with tired eyes and smiled "Hey Ichi…"

Ichiro rushed over to him and hugged him tightly, "I'm sorry, they made me stay out, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, there's something more important than me anyway" Kuko laughed.

"What's-...oh! oh right!" Ichiro looked down at Kuko's arms and saw a newborn baby, fast asleep.

"Meet your son" 

Ichiro's eyes filled with tears as he looked at his son, "Hi...Kuko, can I hold him?" he asked

Kuko laughed again, "Of course, he's your son" he passed the baby to Ichiro.

"Oh my God...Kuko he's adorable…! I love him so much!" Ichiro sobbed, cuddling his son close.

"I wanna name him Tatsuo, what do you think?" Kuko asked.

Ichiro leaned down and kissed Kuko's cheek, "It's amazing, it fits him perfectly".

🤍🤍

Dopfumi

"HIFUMI!" Doppo screamed from the bedroom, Hifumi rushed in to see his husband on his knees with a puddle of water underneath him, he rushed over and tried to help him up, "Doppo-chin what-"

"The baby...they're coming...call Sensei please…" Doppo managed to say, clinging to Hifumi's shirt desperately, tears running down his face.

Hifumi helped Doppo up and helped him sit on the bed and pulled out his phone, dialing Jakurai.

"Ah, Hifumi-kun what can I-"

"No time Sensei! The baby is coming! What do we do?!"

"Ah! Stay there, I'll come get you both, time the contractions, I'll be there quickly!"

"Right!"

Hifumi hung up the phone and hugged Doppo, "It'll be ok Doppo, you can do this, we have everything ready to go, ok, I won't leave you side, I promise, I love you"

Doppo looked at him and nodded, not letting go, still gripping his shirt tightly. 

A few minutes passed and Jakurai showed up, they got Doppo and everything they needed into an ambulance and drove off. 

"Hifumi...it hurts...it hurts really bad…I can't do this...I can't, it hurts…" Doppo sobbed as Hifumi held his hand and kissed it.

"Of course you can Doppo, you're going to do great, you'll deliver our baby and they'll be healthy and happy ok?"

Doppo sniffled and nodded as they arrived at the hospital.

Jakurai got Doppo inside and in a gown, he was on the delivery table with Hifumi holding his hand tightly. 

"Ok, we're ready, Doppo-kun, breathe like we practiced, Hifumi-kun, help him if he asks for anything and support him" Jakurai said as he put on gloves and a mask.

Both Doppo and Hifumi nodded.

Hours passed and the sunny afternoon quickly turned into a rainy evening when Jakurai stood up, holding a baby who was crying loudly.

"Congratulations you two, you have a healthy baby boy!" Jakurai said excitedly.

Doppo sighed in relief as he leaned back and Hifumi wiped away his sweat and kissed his head "You did fantastic Doppo! Good job!" 

"Thank you Hifumi...Sensei...you said a boy…?" Doppo asked as Jakurai walked over with the baby, now cleaned off, "That's right, he's nice and healthy, you should start feeding him" 

Hifumi helped Doppo slip off the top of his gown as Jakurai handed him the baby, he smiled as Doppo took him and watched him latch, "He's so beautiful...he has your hair Doppo…"

Doppo yawned but smiled, "He's really eating, I hope I'm doing this right…"

"You're doing perfect, Doppo-kun, you're free to rest while he eats." Jakurai said.

"Thanks Sensei...Hifumi...I know what I want to name him"

"What is it?"

"Ishi...I...I thought it would be nice"

Hifumi kissed Doppo's cheek, "Its absolutely perfect, Ishi Kannonzaka is the perfect name for him".

💛🤍

Jakuramu

Ramuda hummed as he braided Jakurai's hair, Jakurai laid in a hospital bed in a gown while he read a maternity book. 

"And...done!" Ramuda said as he tied a ribbon at the end of Jakurai's hair, "Another perfect braid!" 

Jakurai looked at it and smiled, "You've been practicing your braids a lot since I got pregnant"

"Of course I have! The doctor said it would be best for when you have Ame in a few days and I want you to be comfortable when you do" Ramuda said then sighed, "I wish Ame was going to be born sooner…"

"I'm sure these last couple of days will-AH!" Jakurai groaned and held his stomach, dropping the book he was holding.

Ramuda stood up and rushed next to his husband,  "Jakurai?! What's wrong?!"

"She's...she's coming and quick...get the doctor…" Jakurai groaned. 

Ramuda nodded and ran into the hallway and managed to grab the doctor, rushing him to Jakurai. 

The doctor called for nurses and took Jakurai to the delivery room but they had forced Ramuda to stay outside. 

"But-! Oh...b-be strong Jakurai! You can do it!" Ramuda said as the door shut, he walked over to the bench that was there and sat down. 

He pulled out his phone and without any ideas just began texting his friends that the baby was coming and that he was outside of the room but quickly received replies of excitement, comfort and support, almost nice enough to distract him from the fact he was crying hard.

"Flowers…" he stood up from the bench and wiped his eyes, "I'll go get them flowers" 

A few hours passed and Ramuda was rushing back to the delivery room, flowers in hand and he had arrived just in time as the doctor was calling for him right when he returned. 

Ramuda walked into the room where he saw Jakurai leaning back on the bed and in his arms was a little bundle of pink. 

"Ah, Ramuda, there you are darling" Jakurai said as he saw his husband, "I'm sorry they forced you out, I really did want to hold your hand…" 

Ramuda nodded and set down the flowers "Its ok...can I-"

"Oh yes…! Here she is" Jakurai handed the bundle to him, a nurse helping Ramuda hold it properly.

"H-hello…" Ramuda said quietly to the baby in his arms, tears flowing down his face again, "Oh Ame...you're perfect, my little girl…"

"She's amazing isn't she? She looks just like you too" Jakurai said. 

Ramuda smiled and nodded, kissing Ame's head and then Jakurai's, "I love you, I love you both so much, I'll take amazing care of you both, that's a promise". 

💙💙

Jyurio

"Tell me why you thought it was a good idea to go group camping two weeks before Jyuto's due date, in the middle of the forest again?!" Samatoki growled at Rio.

"I'm sorry...I didn't know the baby would want to be born now…" Rio responded quietly. 

"Babies can come earlier than the due date, stupid! Come on we need to do something! Jyuto is having serious contractions!" 

Rio nodded and picked up Jyuto, "There's a hospital close by, if I run there we can make it in time, you stay behind and watch the camp!" Rio immediately took off out of the forest.

"HEY! ASSHOLE! I DIDN'T FUCKING AGREE TO THIS!...I'M GONNA EAT ALL YOUR FOOD DAMMIT!" 

Rio rushed through the forest with Jyuto in arms and bursting through the hospital doors and getting Jyuto to the delivery room. 

"Everything will be ok sir, you'll be ready to deliver soon" the doctor assured Jyuto.

"Thank you...ugh...Rio what the hell?" Jyuto groaned.

"I'm sorry, I should've researched pregnancy better, I'll be better, I promise" Rio kissed Jyuto's forehead as the doctor said he was ready to deliver.

Hours quickly passed and it was soon four am, when the doctor handed Jyuto a healthy baby boy.

Jyuto took the baby while panting and smiled, "He's cute...he's really cute…"

Rio nodded and kissed Jyuto's head, "You did a good job Jyuto, I'm sorry I couldn't do much".

Jyuto smiled, "It's ok, here, hold him, he's your son too"

"A-are you sure…? I don't want to mess up…" Rio said, nervously. 

"It's not hard, promise"

Rio gently took his son in his arms, smiling softly at him and then kissing his head.

"Jyuto I...I want to name him, I have something in mind for him".

"What is it?" Jyuto asked.

"Koumori, Koumori Busujima".

"I like it…" Jyuto smiled and yawned, "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to pass out…"

"Alright, we'll be here, I love you".

❤💜

Jyushjio

Jiro smiled as he watched Jyushi perform from backstage.

"Thanks for inviting us out here and letting us sit backstage, Jiro" Ichiro said.

Saburo nodded "Yeah, though shouldn't you be in the hospital? You're really close to your due date right?" 

"Nah, I'll be alright, the show will be over soon anyway" Jiro stood up but then immediately fell down to his knees.

Both Ichiro and Saburo gasped, Ichiro running over and helping him up, "Jiro! Are you ok?!" He asked, panicked. 

"I...I think the baby's coming…" Jiro groaned.

Ichiro sat him back down on the couch and rubbed his back, "Saburo! Tell security and Jyushi!"

Saburo nodded, "Right!" He ran out of the room and alarmed the security guards who called an ambulance.

He then rushed towards the stage.

~~

"Alright! How was that song?!" Jyushi yelled into his mic.

The crowd cheered loudly. 

Jyushi smiled, "Then, next up is-" he was cut off by his mic being ripped out of his hands by Saburo making the crowd gasp.

Jyushi was surprised "Saburo?! What's wro-"

"JIRO IS IN LABOR!" Saburo yelled into the mic.

The entire room went silent and Jyushi stared at Saburo.

"He is…?" 

"Yes! Come on, the ambulance is on its way!" 

Jyushi gently took the mic back from Saburo and looked at the crowd, "So...um...the show is canceled for the rest of the night...I'll be sure to make sure you're all refunded" he dropped the mic and immediately ran offstage with Saburo.

"Oh god it's all my fault! I knew he was close to his due date but I invited him out anyway!" Jyushi cried as he ran with Saburo. 

"Don't worry about that! Worry about my stupid brother and your baby!" Saburo yelled back.

They ran outside to the back seeing Jiro getting loaded up into the ambulance, Ichiro holding his hand. 

"Jiro! It's alright I'm here!" Jyushi said as he ran to Jiro's side and grabbed his free hand. 

Jiro smiled weakly, "Hey Jyushi...what about the show…?"

Jyushi shook his head, "It doesn't matter! Let's just get to the hospital and make sure you have our baby safely!" He exclaimed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Ichiro and Saburo were lead to a limousine and got inside, following the ambulance.

Saburo glanced at Ichiro "Please tell me you weren't that much of a crybaby when Tatsuo was born" 

"Sorry to disappoint Saburo but you know I was".

"True".

~~

"Don't worry about a thing" the doctor said as got ready, "Your baby will be delivered safely"

"Are you sure you're ok Jiro?" Jyushi asked as he held his hand

Jiro nodded, "I'll be fine"

"Alright, we're ready to go" the doctor said. 

Hours passed until it was sunrise and Jiro delivered a healthy baby girl. 

"She's so tiny and cute" Jyushi said. 

Jiro smiled "She's eating good, so she'll be big and strong" 

Jyushi kissed Jiro's cheek and hugged him tight "I can't wait to raise her with you, I love you both so much".

"I love you both too, you and...hmm what should we name her?" Jiro asked. 

"Saaya, if that's alright with you…" 

"I like it, Saaya it is".

Precure Day 191

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 42 - “Rin and Karen’s Secret Promise” Date watched: 1 June 2020 Original air date: 2 December 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/FiOgssJ Transformation Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/6k6SzS0 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Just a couple of gals being pals: part 2

Karen and Rin seem like an odd pair of friends. This has been pointed out before by me, and by the show itself. In a way, they resemble Nagisa and Honoka from the first series, so while they don’t share as tight of a bond as the original duo, they do have a unique closeness in that “opposites attract” kind of way. Today we’re going to explore that a little more!

The Plot

It’s now December so the girls get to decorating Natts House for the Christmas season sale. Everyone contributes in their way to make sure it looks immaculate, but they forgot to get flowers, so Nozomi voluntells resident flower experts Rin and Karen to go get some.

In Nightmare, Hadenya mocks Bunbee for his constant failure and reminds him that failures usually get the Black Paper. (remember this for next episode)

Rin and Karen arrive at Fleuriste Natsuki, only for Rin’s mom to ask Rin to tend to the shop so she can pick up the twins. Since Rin is stuck, she suggests Karen take the flowers back to Natts House by herself, but Karen offers to stay and help as well. Rin doesn’t think she’s up to the task, but Karen proves her capacity when she helps some customers while Rin is tied up with a phone order. Karen impresses Rin with her knowledge, and Rin impresses Karen with her people skills. Since they’ve been gone a while, Komachi begins to worry about them back at Natts House, and Urara fears they may have gotten into another fight over flowers. Nozomi, however, has full confidence in her decision to send both of them together and tells the others not to worry. Rin and Karen continue to work side by side, and at the end of the shift, Karen observes that Rin is really passionate about flowers, in a more tender way than herself, and tells Rin she could do this for a career. Rin admits that while she certainly enjoys helping out at the shop and playing sports, she doesn’t see them as future careers, and she has no real dream for the future. Karen admits to Rin that she’s in the same boat, even though she’s able to apply herself fully to any task, she struggles with identifying an actual long-term goal for the future. They each compliment Nozomi, Urara, and Komachi in their ability to find and work towards a dream so steadfastly. Then, Rin proposes that they make a promise: whenever one of them finds a dream, they’ll tell the other first. Karen agrees and they share a smile. Unknown to them, Bunbee is around the corner and overhears their conversation, silently mocking their shared goal.

A little later, the pair are on the way back to Natts House, each with flowers in tow, when Bunbee intercepts them, turning some falling leaves into a giant leaf Kowaina. Rin and Karen quickly transform into Cures Rouge and Aqua and start to battle the Kowaina but it overpowers them. Bunbee suggests that, since they have no dreams, they are in despair and should join Nightmare to gain more power. They rebuke him and vow to find their dreams someday. They argue back and forth with Bunbee about the validity and importance of hopes and dreams, similar to Nozomi’s fight with Despariah in episode 39, but he manages to kick them around. Nozomi, Urara, and Komachi arrive in time to tell him that their friends would NEVER fall to despair, and they transform into Precure. They kick the Kowaina a few times, but despite being a leaf, it’s very sturdy. They then turn back to the ideological debate with Bunbee, speaking of the important things they’ve learned from their friends Rin and Karen. Mint recalls the tiara that Rin made for the wedding (ep 32) and Milk remembers how Karen took care of her when she was sick (ep 34). Both instances displayed some true passion and sincerity, and it fosters a realization in Rouge and Aqua. They stand back up, newly energized by the amount of appreciation and support that their friends hold for them, and together they perform Rouge Burning and Aqua Tornado, destroying the Kowaina. Bunbee flees.

Back at Natts House, everyone admires the flowers Rin and Karen brought, but there is some latent curiosity about why they brought two different types: cyclamen and cattleya. Rin explains that they both felt two types would be better than just one, and Nozomi is happy about their choice. While the other three are busy, Karen confides in Rin that she may have found her dream, and Rin admits the same. They dance around admitting that it was the others’ strong words that made them realize how happy they felt working for others in the ways they did, and the audience is left to try to piece together exactly what their newfound dreams are for themselves. (don’t worry, we’ll get find out soon enough.) The episode closes on a shot of the flower arrangements.

The Analysis

Rin and Karen are a really fun duo to watch. I honestly do think it’s because they remind me of Nagisa and Honoka a lot. One is a short-haired working class sporty tomboy with feminine interests, the other is a long-haired intellectual from a wealthy family with absentee parents, and both are well-respected by other students. Before becoming Precure, they had little reason to interact, but now they’re friends. Obviously, the team dynamic means their friendships are different, but out of all the pairs of friends in this series, Rin and Karen bear the strongest resemblance to the originals. Regardless, I genuinely enjoy seeing them come closer, admiring and complimenting each other’s work, and opening up to admit that they don’t have dreams yet (another trait they share with their predecessors). Their promise to tell each other first if they find a dream is really sweet, and even Nozomi and Rin don’t have that kind of a friendship. I just love seeing their bond deepen here.

Unfortunately, the villain plot of this episode doesn’t do a whole lot to help, not in my view. I will always stand up for the girls standing up for the importance of hopes and dreams, which is what they’re doing here, but it just comes down to the same argument they had with Despariah a few episodes ago, or with Bloody the last episode: “Dreams are important!” “No they’re not, I’ll beat you!” until the girls prove that their friendship is actually more powerful. The kowaina is quite strange. It’s a giant leaf, but it’s as sturdy as a brick wall, but Bunbee does most of the fighting while the kowaina just stands around. To his credit, Bunbee is a pretty good fighter, with a devastating dropkick that incapacitates both clusters of girls, but fortunately everybody’s support for Rouge and Aqua inspires them to stand back up and finish off the monster. However, this episode also reinforces a running trend that’s been developing over the series, since the reform of Nightmare’s Dream Collet division: their opinion of Bunbee is in the toilet, and his constant losses do nothing to change this. In fact, this is the last time Bunbee will see the battlefield this season, as the next couple episodes will be fought by Hadenya and Bloody, and then Kawarino during the endgame. It was an alright final fight, but he didn’t use the full range of his abilities, particularly his projectiles, which would have been nice to see.

The best aspect to come out of this is that the Rin and Karen do finally start to realize their future dreams. They’re not expressed out loud quite yet, but this is also a 13 year-old series so I’m going to go ahead and reveal that Rin decides to pursue making jewelry and Karen wants to be a doctor. When you look at their past, it becomes pretty clear. Rin has had a penchant for it since she showed off the bracelet maker way back when, while Karen took her first steps way back in episode 6, when she was able to transform by realizing she wanted to help everyone. That’s the spirit she’s carried all season, and now she’s figured out how she can translate that into her goals for the future. I think it’s particularly great how it was choice words from their friends that made them realize what they love doing. Sometimes it takes that external push, people appreciating your passion when you don’t recognize it about yourself. I struggled with that for a long time, and while I knew kind of where I wanted to end up, a friend’s words definitely helped point me in the right direction. It’s good to see Precure do this, and it will be enjoyable to see how these characters grow and develop their dreams from here, over the rest of this season and the next one.

Some minor aspects I enjoyed were in the opening sequence, when they’re all decorating Natts House. Urara is trying to get position some spotlights just right on a display, because as a performer she knows how the right lighting can influence opinion. Komachi sets out a poem of hers intended to greet guests, and she gets flustered when Karen reads it. It goes:

“A holy day, a holy night. What sort of sky lies above you---... Once again, I wander in search Of you in the sea of stars this night...”

translation not guaranteed to be perfect

Also, Nuts is a total Scrooge, grumbling about how he doesn’t see the point of Christmas. Coco says the girls are enjoying it so it can’t be all bad, and Nozomi informs him that it’s a really important holiday for young girls. (Christmas in Japan is a big night for couples to spend time together.)

And the last bit is a little continuity, they use a Pinky named Clearkuman to copy fliers advertising their Christmas sale. This might be the only Pinky to recur, as it was seen doing the same task way back in episode 10. Also, I don’t think I’ve commented on the cards before that they use to summon Pinkies out of the Dream Collet, so here’s a look:

It’s just so transparently a toy, with the barcode and CARD IN on it. This is about the last chance they have to get kids to ask their parents for this big ticket item before Christmas, and then in 2 months the Rose Pact will be the hot new toy to have instead. So it goes.

All jokes aside, this was a solid episode with some characters I love spending time with and seeing grow, both because they remind me of the original pair and because they’re great in their own right. Next time, we turn our focus back to Komachi and her struggles with authorship. Look forward to it, it’s going to hurt.

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 3 kettei!

How to Handle a Nico: Of Fruits and Photoshoots

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Words: ~1.8k Rating: G Time Frame: Later in Maki’s 1st and Nico’s 3rd year of high school Story Arc: Stand Alone

Authors Note: Thank you to those who offered ideas for possible locations for the background scenery of the second NicoMaki UR pair in SIF.

I will post the pic at the end for those who need a refresher on its appearance, and because I adore it and look forward to their release to WW.

“How about these?” Nico help up a handful of rhinestones. “Maybe make a hair clip out of them or something?”

“The rubies certainly match your eyes.” Eli approved as she continued to work on another accessory. “And pearls would stand out well in your hair.”

“I meant for her.” The raven-haired girl clarified.

“Then the pearls are definitely a decent choice for accents.” The blonde nodded. “Otherwise, on their own, the rubies might get lost in her hair.”

“Yeah, that too. And I was also thinking about using these for me.” Nico indicated a pair of red ribbons with thin white stripes.

“Ah, I see.” Eli nodded. “A good match.”

“Think she’ll notice?”

“Do you want her to?”

“And so what if I do?” Nico scrunched her nose at the unexpected return question. “Anyway, red and white works for her strawberry theme.” She began attaching the faux gems to a clip. “And my watermelon theme as well.”

“Shouldn’t it be red and green for you? Or red and black if you went with the seeds?”

“The rind is white.”

“I suppose.”

“Though I was kinda hoping I could find some diamonds…” Nico admitted before thinking better of it.

“Didn’t we just have a birthstone set?”

“Yeah, but… oh, never mind.”

Eli rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the accessory in her hand.

Nico knew Eli saw straight through her, but she wasn’t going to admit it out loud. So what if she wanted to have a few accessories match with Maki? It wasn’t the first time they had similar things on their outfits and probably wouldn’t be the last… hopefully. Besides, it wasn’t like the younger girl would notice anyway, so what harm would it do? It was just a little something that made Nico happy, and that alone was worth it. And if Maki did happen to notice, then all the better.

“So, what do you think?” Eli spoke up after a moment.

Nico blinked back to reality to inspect the item in the blonde’s hand.

“Nozomi will love it.”

“It’s not for…”

“I know.” Nico interrupted. “But red is a good color for you, especially in your hair. And Nozomi will love it. And will undoubtedly comment on it.” She smirked. “Probably lewdly.”

“Nico…”

“Turnabout is fair play.” The raven-haired girl stuck out her tongue.

The blonde pouted, earning a laugh from the other girl. But after a moment of getting past her embarrassment, she joined in with a chuckle of her own.

Under different circumstances, Nico might have used an overdramatic display of disgust when it came to the topic of her fellow third-years and their public flirtations. It was an act the three of them knew she used to deal with her jealousy over what Eli and Nozomi had together; what Nico wished she had with the girl she liked.

But today she was in higher spirits. Today, she and Eli were preparing accessories for an upcoming photoshoot that included a set for which Nico had been matched with Maki as the focus pair. It wasn’t summer yet, but the set’s theme was something about vacations, swimsuits and fruit. Each girl had chosen or been assigned a fruit and would wear two outfits designed with it in mind.

Maki ended up with a strawberry theme. Granted, the redhead often found herself in hues reminiscent of her hair, but she always looked good in them, which probably lent to the repetition. And Nico was excited to see the results, as well as show off her own.

“That should be long enough for it to set.” Nico thought out loud about the adhesive she had applied to hold the gems to the clip. “Who’s next?”

“Ma~ki-cha~n!”

The redhead turned toward the voice calling her from behind. “Nico-chan.” She greeted with a nod.

The raven-haired girl running up to her was dressed in a watermelon themed outfit with green overall shorts covering a white shirt with green stripes. It wasn’t the overly stylized version for this part of the photoshoot, but the pastel shades offered an adorable softness that was well suited to the image Nico always tried to portray. And of course, no outfit the girl wore was complete without pink, so ruffles on the sleeve and collar of the shirt filled that role. Maki allowed herself a moment to take in the view as Nico closed the distance between them.

Even if Maki had wanted to, she would have been hard pressed in denying that Nico looked incredibly cute right now. Not that she wanted to deny it anyway. Probably. But it did bother her how cute Nico could be at times. Like now. Maybe.

“There’s one more thing before we begin!” The third-year held out something that glittered in the stray light from the nearby set.

“Hair clips?” The first year inquired on recognition.

“Yup!” Nico chirped before reaching up. “Hold still a sec.”

“Did you just find these or…?”

“Nope. Nico made these just for Maki-chan.”

“Then why not hand them out with all of the rest?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Nico furrowed her eyebrows. “Nico made these just for Maki-chan. So she wanted to give them to Maki-chan personally. Got a problem with that?”

“N-no… uhm… Th-thank you?”

“And there we go.” Nico grinned as she stepped back to admire her handiwork. After a moment, she turned to the photographer’s assistant. “You guys have a mirror?”

“Oh, yes.” The young man replied before moving to a nearby counter to retrieve the requested item. “Here.”

“Take a look, Maki-chan.” Nico held the mirror up.

“They are quite pretty.” Maki reached up to touch the clips in her hair.

Was it her imagination, or did the clips kind of match the striped bows in Nico’s hair? Maybe? Even if not, Maki decided she preferred to consider it a match because it made her feel good, for some reason.

“I know, right?” The older girl interrupted her thoughts. “Nico knows her accessories.”

“Thank you, Nico-chan.” The younger girl’s thanks was more sincere than the one she had given prior.

“You two ready?” The photographer suddenly asked.

“Yeah, sorry.” Nico replied. “Be right there.”

The two girls made their way onto the set. In front of the greenscreen they found a couple classic poolside style chaise lounge chairs and a few small side tables. Off to the side, on a counter, was a decent selection of props from which they could choose.

“This set is nice.” Maki commented, touching a tray on which sat a glass tea set filled with a red liquid.

“Of course Maki-chan goes for the red things.”

“Well, my fruit is a strawberry…”

“True, but you often choose red things.”

“I like red…”

“So you like your cheeks then.”

Maki pouted, earning a laugh from the other girl.

“And I suppose it’s a good thing Nico’s eyes are red!”

It took a moment for the implication to click in Maki’s mind, but once it did, she balked. “Buweehh?” She turned to find an amused glimmer in said eyes accompanied by a toothy grin, the combination of which made it difficult to get upset.

“Anyway, Nico is going to use this.”

The twin-tailed girl grabbed a plate of what looked like cake with decorative icing and two scoops of sherbet.

“Alright.” The photographer spoke again. “If you could each choose a seat, we can get started.” She motioned to the chairs.

Maki did as instructed and leaned back onto the plastic slats. “You know… kyaa!” She cried in surprise as her ankles were suddenly grabbed. “Nico-chan?”

“I think this will work better for the shot.” The older girl replied, moving Maki’s legs off the side. “How is this?” She asked the photographer as she knelt where the younger girl’s feet had been a moment ago.

“That will work just fine.” The woman responded, giving an affirmative gesture.

“So you’re not going to need this?” The assistant asked, moving to the empty chair.

“Nah, I’d rather be here, closer to Maki-chan.” Nico replied, grinning at the blushing redhead and scooting in a few centimeters more.

The young man nodded and removed the unneeded prop.

“So, you were saying?” The raven-haired girl prompted, lifting the fork in her hand as though to take a bite of the fake cake.

“Oh, right, uhm…” Maki scrambled to recover her derailed train of thought. “I was going to say that the décor reminds me of the place in Demark.”

“Copenhagen, yes, I can see that.” The photographer stated. “The background we are using could be seen as reminiscent of the buildings around the canals of Nyhavn. But I don’t believe there are palm trees in Denmark.”

“Not along the canals, no.” Maki agreed. “But I do remember seeing some last time we were there… maybe in the botanical gardens?”

“Maybe.”

“Then is the background of the painted ladies in San Francisco? They have palm trees there.”

“I’d have to double check the file, but I thought it said it was shot in the Canary Islands? I could be wrong.”

“Maybe Northern Ireland? Spain?”

“Whitehead and Vilajoyosa? I don’t think either was it.” The photographer shook her head. “I can check for sure while you two change for the next part of the set.”

“Alright.” Maki agreed before shifting her gaze to find Nico staring at her. “What…?”

“Does Maki-chan have a vacation house in all of those places.”

“No, but I’ve visited most of them.”

“Hrmph…” Nico huffed. “Must be nice; traveling the world all the time.”

“Not always.” Maki admitted. “A lot of it was for business, so my parents would be busy the whole day. And since I was too young to go anywhere on my own, I would just spend the day reading at the hotel.”

“And the place in Denmark?”

Maki realized she could detect a bit of jealousy in the older girl’s voice. “It’s not ours.” She clarified, shaking her head. “One of our old doctors moved to Europe after he retired. He lets us use that place when we want.”

“Must be nice.” Nico repeated.

The jealousy wasn’t going away. What to say? Uhm… “It is a lovely city.” No, that didn’t seem like something that would diffuse the situation.

“Then if Nico becomes a famous idol,” Nico suddenly preened “she’s going to have to get her own place in Copenhagen. And the Canary Islands. And San Francisco. And maybe a few other places Maki-chan hasn’t even been yet.”

“You mean when you become a famous idol.”

“Right, that’s what I said.”

“I’d like to see it.”

“Hrm?”

“Your place.” Maki found herself getting a little excited. Not only had Nico’s mood improved somewhat, but the idea of taking a trip with her was surprisingly appealing. “Or places, any of them, really, when you get them.”

“Of course!” Nico raised an eyebrow. “Someone like Maki-chan would be welcome anytime. Nico thought that much would be obvious.”

“I’ll hold you to it then.” Maki lifted her cup as though to propose a toast, despite the other girl lacking a beverage of her own, fake or otherwise.

“And I think that’s the shot right there.” The photographer spoke up again. “But let’s take a few more to be sure.”

The two girls gave their affirmation and the photoshoot continued.

UR Pair Referenced:

Author’s Note Continued in Followup Post

Morose Mononokean II 4 - 7 | Mob Psycho 100 II 4 - 7 | My Roommate is a Cat 4 - 6 | Double Decker! EX 1 | Egao no Daika 5 - 7 | Shield Hero 4 - 6 | Magical Girl Spec Ops Asuka 4 - 6 | Royal Tutor movie

Morose Mononokean II 4

Aw, another little fuzzball to steal away my heart? I’m being spoiled, aren’t I?

For some reason, this episode was meant to be really emotional, but I felt pretty restless while watching it. Probably because I was thinking about playing Merc Storia all that time.

Mob Psycho 100 II 4

Didn’t expect Shinra to be back after his previous appearance…

Notably, you’d expect Matsuo’s name to have the kanji for “pine tree” in it, but it doesn’t - it has the kanji for “demon” and then one more.

I loved it when FLCL and SGRS went into manga mode, but for some reason, the transition into manga mode didn’t land as well here…hmm.

“I’ll go inside her…With an out-of-body experience.” - That sounds majorly wronggggggggggg, Mob, y’know? Even with context.

I find it interesting Mob perceives himself to be naked…as in, unguarded. He’s fine as he is and doesn’t need to change…in some ways, anyway. He could probably do with a few more emotions, but you get what I mean.

Wha-wha-wha-whoaaaaaaaaa. You mean, Mogami just got rid of Mob’s powers??? That is a nasty cliffhanger!

My Roommate is a Cat 4

Just seeing Hiroto near Kawase’s armpit…so unfazed…it’s kinda funny, but only mildly.

Tuxedo cat…ergh. The differences between American and British English never ceases to trip me up…I mean, the term makes sense…it’s just the differences between the types of English I’m annoyed at.

If you observe the OP, you’ll see Haru has that collar…I’m not sure if that’s meant to be a spoiler then…

Haru basically has the mindset of Kaguya and Shirogane, which makes this hilarious (and yet it’s still justified due to being a believable mindset for a stray!).

S-Smug dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get out of the way of Haru-chan!

Shield Hero 4

“Draw your swords!” – Wasn’t there a rule saying Naofumi can’t use a sword anyway? Plus, Motoyasu has a spear, not a sword…

Balloon? Now, that’s funny!

Using magic to intervene is the cowardly action, methinks, Myne.

I find it interesting Naofumi sees Raphtalia as a little girl – it’s a perception of vulnerability, potentially weakness – when things are shown through his perspective.

Falling Through Starlight is beautiful, y’know that? Be-a-uuuuuuuuuuu-t-i-ful!

Magical Girl Spec Ops Asuka 4

Interestingly, Francine kinda looks like Mami (Madoka Magica).

Wait, is this woman Miura? (Sorry, I’m just wondering why Abigail – the blonde evil magical girl – would choose to use yakiniku to threaten people…)

Oh dear…it’s that train question (save one or save many).

Neding authority before you can actually do anything legal…now that sounds like Double Decker.

“Chef”? I was mortified when it came to the rusalka scene…but I think we already know why Povar is a chef…

CQC? Close quarters combat? Ooh, I’ve never heard it abbreviated before.

Well, I like how Povar and Rusalka Man (can’t spell Russian to save my life) always keep their salaries in mind. Makes them easier to see as evil.

Egao no Daika 5

Oh, this series has two moons? Kind of like Double Decker’s two suns, yeah?

I just realised Lily’s the only one with a skirt on her suit…

Morose Mononokean II 5

I don’t think I’ve seen a Fuzzy-centric episode ever since the first time we met the furball…

That hand on neck thing is apparently a CIA technique if I interpreted it right…just, it’s applied to a purple/white lion, so it’s hard to tell whether it’s the real thing…

Fluffy tadpole is best tadpole. All fluffy things are cute to me, even the lethal ones…I guess.

Seriously, if someone doesn’t call the animation of the Executive sakuga, I don’t know sakuga! That crow is some fancy animation!

Hanae’s mother is scarier than most youkai, given she can give me a nasty jump scare!

Mob Psycho II 5

This episode’s called Discord…which maks me think of the chat program of the same name…weird, huh?

Notably, it’s Dimple’s voice coming from Mob’s mouth…hmm.

That episode was real cool…it’s too bad by turning off the volume at the wrong time, I missed the Sajou no Hana song…

My Roommate is a Cat 5

Roku, Nana, Hachi…haha.

I noticed Haru has smaller eyes than Hachi…aside from the collar of course.

Aw…reunion too cute. I honestly think that this show has a fairly effective use of “filling in the gaps”, as it were, and thus making good use of cuts.

Double Decker! EX 1

Yep, we’re back with Double Decker!!! I’m glad to see it back, really.

Wait…ohhhhhhhhh. So Double Decker! doesn’t just refer to the bus in this show or the system. It means “2 Detectives” in Japanese (in a codeswitching sort of way). It was wordplay all along! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! I get it now!

This Deana assassin stuff must be a lie…

(after the commercial break) C’mon, Kirill, buddy. You’re drunk, y’know that, right…? Right??? Update: Oh, not drunk, dreaming. My mistake.

Oh, I was just saying that My Roommate is a Cat dos a nice job “filling in gaps”. Didn’t realise Double Decker did it as well. Also, how the heck is Doug unpopular with women???

So…Kirill actually got hired based on his feminine looks? Geesh, that Travis…

The thing I missed about this show was not being able to play the ED after an episode, so I’m glad to have it back!

Spec Ops Asuka 5

Having Kurumi fix up Nozomi’s arm kind of erases the consequences…but that’s what Kurumi’s for, right?

Barber Scissors…? Is this what happens when you take Kill la Kill way too seriously?

Wowee. Din’t think Sacchuu was capable of dealing nasty punches as well.

There’s gotta be some sort of parallel between Abigail and the queen vs Asuka and Kurumi…

Post-credits segment. Keep watching.

Shield Hero 5

Headbutt to the nuts! Oof!

When it comes to races, the one tune that comes to mind is one from the Dog Island (track 22 from this YouTube playlist).

I swear there was CGI during the race…on Filo.

Please don’t make jokes about Naofumi liking lolis, people. This is not that type of show…

Mononokean 6

Is it just me, or has this epiode been relying on the use of blue speech bubbles for humour more than normal?

It’s Mononokean: Sports Anime edition!

For some reason, I find the name “trashboat” hilarious. It was probably just “ponkotsu” (piece of trash) in practice, but the variation in English is really something to behold…

Ashiya sleeps like an old man, LOL. It must be cosy in that bed…

Moja is just adorable in whatever scene it appears in! Even Moja being dragged down a stream is cute~!

Relaxing your shoulders, huh? That reminds me that that’s a destress technique I haven’t used in a while. My head’s been spinning while I was trying to watch this episode, so I should probably get back to trying to do that stuff…after this episode, of course.

Price of Smiles 6

You think Spec Ops Asuka looks bad? Look at Price of Smiles melt in this “Yuni! You should recover!” scene.

For some reason, this one dude (I forget his name) being a father surprises me. He looks like the type to be single…

The female version of the name “Noel” is Noelle…get that right, people!

Layla’s right when she says one of the main causes of war is the struggle for resources and wealth.

Mob Psycho II 6

I noticed instead of a Mac or something, the computer is a “One” computer.

The board says something a lot more complicated than Saitama’s routine…which means One likes exercise. Maybe…probably.

“Codomo” phone, LOL.

The last time I heard of tofu in anime that I remember…was Boueibu. Something about Ryuu killing a man with tofu.

Somehow it didn’t occur to me until the eyecatch was over but the block…was tofu!

How do you even get drunk when there’s no alcohol in the drink??? (LOL)

Oh! Shinra again!

…Also Jodo Kirin!

Shield Hero 6

Naofumi is giving 0 f**ks about the dressmaker’s love of Filo.

Why is Filo CGI…? It looks unnerving, to be honest with you.

My Roommate is a Cat 6

Eleventh grade…16? 17? Heck, Yugo looks 27, not 17!

Notably, “Comic Polaris” is the name of the magazine that publishes the manga of this. Hence “Novels Polaris”.

Heck, Subaru. In the internet age in particular, people write to affect others. I should know, as someone who did just that just a few years ago!

Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine movie

Yay, we’re back! Crunchyroll bringing over movies is definitely increasing my workload for these commentaries, so with all the new things I’ve added to my lists of priorities as of late, I wonder if I can keep up…

Hitting us with CGI in the first minute of the movie…oh man, how far does CGI go these days???

Honestly, in my brain Wagner (Classicaloid) = the twins (this movie) = the Beppus (Boueibu LOVE! LOVE!). They’re very similar in terms of personality…

In the same way, Bruno = Schubert from Classicaloid (but swap one’s Sensei for the other’s Senpai).

Licht = Motz.

It seems like someone liked ponytail!Licht enough to keep him here. So it really wasn’t just me, huh?

Seriously, what’s this “God of War” stuff anyway???

Man, vocal exercises? This takes me back to my piano-playing days…I was a sightreader and only had to do one of the two (out of sightreading and vocal stuff), but there was someone else who had to do both.

This piano is bugging me. Its white keys are black and its black keys are white!

Somehow, Heine’s small top hat suits him. It’s probably because he wears a small beret in that same position usually.

More CGI background characters…*sigh*

Hmm…soft power at its finest(?)

Seriously though, why did that evil Duke guy appear in this movie again??? He has zero use plotwise. Sure, he was important in the first season and if we ever get a second he’ll be important there, but here? Nada!

Have you noticed Heine is in all those dance positions a girl would normally be in??? Hmm! Interesting! But still…if there’s one thing I ever missed from the anime’s experience, it would be-oh, scratch that! This is my cue to watch the cheesy live-action dance ending! I missed it so much!

Egao no Daika 7

Seriously…who is Eins talking to??? Whose emperor???

They still haven’t revealed what this new guy’s name is, even after his introduction…well, technically he was introduced at the River Deese, but we still didn’t learn his name then. (Did we?)

Spec Ops Asuka 6

Is Mia just this show’s version of Kyouko (from Madoka Magica, but American of course)???

Oooooookay, that (with the kissing and stuff) is so not what foreigners are like, people…

Oh, goodness. Have I really been living with this stuff (girl x girl teasing, with Kurumi in particular being one of the more extreme examples I’ve seen) in my magical girl anime for years now? I mean, Suite PreCure is laced with the stuff…

If ordinary rigor mortis business is at work, then I’d say the heater is to speed up the rotting of the corpse…

LOL, there’s Halloween-class…and then there’s Voorhees-class…how appropriate for Disas.

“Only one of the Magical Five would’ve known about that phrase.” – My bets are on Peipei, but we’ll find out for sure…someday.

Mononokean 7

As much as I found the pillow fight scene with Fuzzy in it funny, I swear Abeno is a bit too sadistic for my own good. What is it with some women and their sadistic kinks…?

Abeno calling Ashiya “hunk of junk” makes me think Ashiya isn’t much of a Sousuke (from Classicaloid), but they do have a lot of similar character traits, now that I think of it…hmm.

For some reason, I think Abeno knew the conditions of the deal and what the deal entailed in advance, hence the training camp.

Seiza…means sitting on the floor in the position Ashiya was in (knees to the floor etc).

Mob Psycho II 7

“Cheeseburger Tornado”, LOL.

When Reigen got angry at the TV, I was just like, “It’s Shield Hero (Mob Psycho version)!” I.e. you con the conman and not turn the conned into a conman…or something like that.

Those microphones are so obviously CGI, people…

I know I’m a fan of Yuzuru Tachikawa, but episode 5 actually didn’t do too much for me, to be honest (even though it was visual spectacle, which is Tachikawa’s strong suit). However, while episode 7 looked less punchy overall, it was miles better…

“First-press limited edition? That is the absolute best decision.” – What is that referring to??? Update: It’s referring to the BDs...or DVDs...or both.

Update: Forgot to add Double Decker to the title and tags.

Rewrite The Stars (1/?)

New fic! Probably going to be three parts.  Summary: Rin confesses to a girl she likes only to be rejected. The rest of Muse decide they need to help her move on, while tackling their own relationships.  Ships: Honoka/Umi, Nico/Eli, Kotori/Maki, Rin/OC. 

Rin walked across the grass verge outside of the school, her stomach twisted with nerves. She was finally going to do it. After months of watching the girl she liked from afar she was going to confess to her. Seeing the girl in question sitting on the bench beneath a tall tree, Rin took a deep breath. Sunlight lit the girl’s brown hair from behind her, making it seem lighter than it actually was. Rin knew from how long she’d spent staring at the girl that her hair was a dark brown. Nowhere close to as light as Hanayo’s hair but at the same time not black like Nico’s hair either. It was tied in twin tails which were shorter than Nozomi’s, just about reaching shoulder length, giving her a cute but mature look. The girl’s eyes were lighter than her hair. They were amber and always seemed soft, even when other students were seeking her help. She was a popular girl, given her appearance and warm personality, but she didn’t seem to let it go to her head. She was always humble when the younger students praised her. It was one of the many things Rin liked about her. “M-Miyuki-senpai!” Rin exclaimed, coming to a stop in in front of the girl. Miyuki had been reading a book leisurely under the tree for the past ten minutes and looked up, startled. She seemed to relax a little when she saw Rin.

“Rin-san, right?”

“R-Right!” Rin felt her heart pounding hard against her chest, elation flowing through her. Miyuki remembered her name, that was a good start. They had spoken on a couple of occasions but only in passing. “Sorry to disturb you, nya!” She felt a little guilty for that. She knew that Miyuki liked to spend her afternoon recess alone. She willingly gave the rest of her time to accommodate everyone else, sitting with students at lunch when they asked her to and running errands for teachers. It seemed this was the only time she really got to be alone. “That’s okay.” Miyuki smiled patiently and closed her book, setting it aside next to her bag which sat beside her on the bench. “Is there something I can do for you, Rin-san?” “Ah, um…” Rin felt herself grow flustered. She hadn’t even expected to get this far if she was honest. Part of her hand thought that she would panic and run away. “”I-I have something I want to ask you, nya. N-No, tell you!” “Okay.” Miyuki said, her smile widening as Rin blushed. “What is it?” Rin had to looked away for a moment. Miyuki really was too pretty. She felt herself blush further, her skin prickling with heat. She could feel her palms growing clammy. “Rin-san?” “Sorry!” Rin turned back to Miyuki. She swallowed once, twice and then a third for good measure before she blurted out her next words. “I-I like you, nya! Um...I-I’ve always admired you. How nice you are a-and how pretty you are a-and I-I was wondering if...if...will you go out with me, nya?!” Rin had squeezed her eyes shut, bowing her head slightly as she spoke so she didn’t see Miyuki’s reaction. She did hear her laugh though, first softly and then louder. “That’s funny, Rin-san. What do you really want?” “H-Huh?” Rin looked up, her stomach plummeting. “T-That was it. Really. That was what I wanted to tell you, nya.” A smile remained on Miyuki’s face for a moment before it slipped away. “Really? No, I-I can’t go out with you. I’m not interested in girls a-and even if I was, I don’t like you.” “You…” Rin  tumbled back slightly, her eyes wide. “You don’t…” She paused, shaking her head. Of course. She should have expected this. “Oh, b-but I thought. I-I mean, when I see you in the hallways you always smile at me a-and you told me once I was your favourite Muse member so I…” “I TOLD YOU, I DON’T LIKE YOU!” Miyuki’s voice rose to a yell before it quickly softened. She grasped at her bag. “Please, just leave me alone.” “I-I’m sorry, nya…” Tears blurring her vision, Rin turned on her heel and hurried away, back to the school. ----- Eli was relieved to find that the library was fairly empty. She was due to meet the others in the clubroom after school but she had wanted to return a book to the library before she went there. Nozomi had offered to accompany her but Eli had declined the offer, telling Nozomi to tell the others she’d be on her way. Right away she noticed the strange look she was getting from the dark haired girl sitting behind the desk in the library. Eli knew her fairly well given that she was almost always the person to stamp books in and out of the library for the students. Besides that, she was third year student too. Eli supposed the girl was confused because she was cutting it so close to when her lessons would start. “Hi, Shizuka. I was just…” Shizuka stood up so suddenly that Eli was startled into taking a step back from her. “Um…is something wrong?” Shizuka looked around, biting her lip before she leaned over the desk, closer to Eli. “Your friend is here. She has been for about an hour or so and she seems really upset about something.” She pointed over Eli’s shoulder to one of the furthest rows of shelves. “She’s right at the back.” “Friend?” Eli echoed in confusion, trying to figure out who it would be. They would have had to skip their last class if they had been there for an hour. That ruled Umi and Maki out. There was no way either of them would skip classes. She’d seen Nozomi in class so that ruled her out too. “First year?” Shizuka suggested sheepishly, noticing Eli’s confusion. “I don’t know her name, I’m sorry. She was really upset. I wanted to help but she was crying and…” She bit her lip, her cheeks flushing with guilt. “I should have helped.” Eli immediately assumed it was Hanayo and nodded in response. She placed her book down on the desk in front of Shizuka before she turned and walked across the library to the far shelves. Even when the library was full of people nobody seemed to go to that section. It was dusty and smelled like musky books. Turning the corner she expected to see Hanayo but instead found Rin huddled against the wall, her knees pulled to her chest and her face buried in her legs. “Rin?” Rin looked up at the sound of her name and Eli was surprised to see tears trailing down the girl’s cheeks. Usually Rin was so upbeat. She hurried over, crouching down next to the first year. “What happened?” Rin sniffled in response. “I-I confessed to Miyuki-senpai a-and she laughed at me!” “Oh.” Eli said softly, surprised by the answer. She hadn’t thought that Rin liked anyone like that. “What did she say about your...confession?” “She laughed.” Rin repeated, reaching up to shakily wipe her eyes. “And she yelled at me after w-when I said I wasn’t kidding, nya. She said that she didn’t like me like that and she didn’t...like girls. B-But I do s-so there must be something wrong with me, right?” “Did she say that to you?” Eli asked in a steely voice. Rin shook her head, her lip trembling. “No. I was just thinking that…” “There’s nothing wrong with you, Rin.” Eli shuffled closer, gently drawing Rin to her in a light hug. She felt the younger girl shake with silent sobs and gritted her teeth. She didn’t know this Miyuki girl but she didn’t sound like a very nice person. “Come on, school is over. I’ll get Hanayo. Did you tell her you were going to confess to someone?” Rin nodded her head as Eli helped her to her feet. “She doesn’t know it’s a girl though. Y-You won’t tell her, right?” “I won’t.” Eli said, sighing softly. She hugged Rin once more, her heart aching for the younger girl. “It’s going to be okay, Rin. Come on.” She gently led Rin out of the library, noticing Shizuka glance at them in concern. “This Miyuki girl sounds like an idiot if she rejected you.” Rin shook her head. “Miyuki-senpai is the nicest person I know. She’s so sweet a-and she’s in the theatre club. She’s really good at it too. And she has the nicest smile of anyone I know.” Eli sighed once more and fell silent as she led Rin to the club room. “Wait here.” She instructed gently, assuming Hanayo would be better at comforting Rin. She opened the door to the club room and stepped inside, scanning it quickly as she shut the door. “Hanayo, Rin’s waiting for you.” Eli said, noticing Hanayo sitting next to Nico. “She’s upset. Can you take her home or something?” Hanayo nodded swiftly and got up, grabbing her bag. She quickly left the room. “What’s wrong with Rin-chan?” Honoka asked in concern, sitting up a bit straighter in her chair. “Is she sick?” Eli shook her head, noticing equally concerned looks on the faces of the other members. “She’s just...she’s...confused.” She shook her head. “Do any of you like girls?” “WHAT?!” Maki exclaimed loudly. “Y-You can’t just ask us that!” “Shameless.” Umi muttered, looking down at her lap. “I do.” Nozomi raised her hand, shrugging her shoulders. “I only like girls. You should know that, Elichi.” Eli raised her own hand. “I do too. Only girls.” Honoka tentatively raised her hand too. “Um...I like a girl. I like a certain girl a lot but I haven’t told her yet. But maybe girls in general. Kotori-chan is really cute.” Maki gritted her teeth at the nonchalant response while Kotori’s eyes widened, her cheeks flushing red. Kotori took that as her cue to speak up. “Um...I like girls. Maybe boys too but definitely girls.” Nico sighed loudly. “I don’t care for whatever. If I like your personality and if you happen to be close to me maybe. “ “So you like people who are smart?” Honoka asked curiously. “No it’s just...argh, why are we talking about it?!” “Nicocchi is blind Honoka-chan. Sexually.” Nozomi explained, leaning back in her seat. “How?” Honoka asked with a confused frown. “I’d rather focus on other things.” Nico explained with a shrug of her shoulders. “The only way I’d know I’m attracted to someone is if I ever do something for them before my family.” “Nicocchi, didn’t you put two hours in helping Elichi in the council room when Honoka-chan forgot to do her paperwork yesterday, making you miss making dinner? You even complained to me that your mom ordered out.” Nozomi said with a smirk. “NOZOMI!” Maki snorted. “Well now we know who she likes.” Eli looked away, blushing. “I was looking for you but Nico offered and yeah…” “Nothing happened, damn it.” Nico blurted out hurriedly, earning herself some strange looks. “What’s the point of this, Eli?” “I’ll tell you in a minute.” Eli looked between Umi and Maki for an answer. “If you don’t want to say, it’s fine but we won’t tell anyone…” Umi hesitantly looked up. “I do too. Like girls.” “Same.” Maki muttered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “I only like girls. Well...only one girl right now. Can you tell us what the point of this is now, Eli?” “I was getting to that.” Eli replied pointedly, rolling her eyes. “I found Rin crying in the library a-” “Is Rin-chan okay?!” Honoka, who had repeated her question from a moment ago stood up swiftly from her seat, her eyes wide. “What happened?” “She confessed to another girl. And she was rejected.” Eli glanced at the other members of Muse, seeing they were all frowning. “It sounds like the girl was...kind of harsh about it too. Apparently she yelled.” Nico gritted her teeth, growling under her breath. “What was her name?” “Miyuki, I think she’s in second yea...hey, where are you going?!” Eli’s voice rose slightly as Nico stood up from her chair, almost knocking it to the ground. “To have a talk with this second year.” Nico replied simply as she skirted around Eli to get to the door. “I’ll go with her.” Eli said with a heavy sigh, noticing Nozomi’s worried look as Nico left the room. “Don’t worry.” Nozomi nodded and watched as Eli followed Nico, closing the door behind her. Shaking her head she turned back to the others. “What are we going to do? We need to help Rin.” “Maybe we could help her find someone else?” Kotori suggested hopefully. “I have an idea actually.” Nozomi frowned slightly. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s too soon to…” “That’s a great idea, Kotori-chan!” Honoka exclaimed brightly. “Isn’t there a saying? Like um...getting over someone by getting under someone else?” Umi jolted in her chair before her gaze shifted to Honoka. “SHAMELESS! W-Where did you learn something like that?” “Huh?” Honoka asked cluelessly, noticing a blush crawl up Umi’s cheeks. “Um…” Kotori gave a soft laugh. “She has a point, Umi-chan. Anyway, I know someone in the school who might like Rin. Her name is Amagi-chan. She’s come by the student council room a couple of times.” Maki looked up sharply. “Amagi? I know her. She’s a first year. Her family is rich. I see her at parties all of the time.” “You mean the ones Umi-chan sometimes goes to?” Honoka piped up curiously. Umi groaned. “Right, the high status ones. Her parents own half of Tokyo’s finest galleries.” “She’s the second best in our class. After me, I mean.” Maki said with a huff. “She’s also the prettiest after Maki-chan.” Kotori said, earning herself several surprised looks. “N-Not that I think Maki-chan is pretty! I mean I do. But as a friend.” Maki smirked softly. Her girlfriend was adorable. “Um...anyway, I know her. Maybe we could talk to her together? If we think she can help Rin’s confidence.” “I really don’t know if this is a good idea.” Umi said with a frown, glancing at Nozomi. “I agree with Umi.” Nozomi said even as Kotori and Maki moved around her to get to the door. Kotori closed the door behind herself and Maki. As she started walking down the hallway with her girlfriend she glanced over at her. “Do you think they noticed?” Maki casually grabbed Kotori’s hand. “Not a clue.” “M-Maki-chan!” Kotori felt her face flood with warmth. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching but when she saw nobody she carefully tangled her fingers with Maki’s. “We still need to be careful.” “There’s nobody here.” “As if, love birds.” Kotori let out a cry of surprise and quickly drew her hand back. Glancing to the left she found Hibiki was standing at the corner of the corridor ahead of them her bright blue eyes twinkling at what she is witnessing. “Hibiki-chan! I-I thought you’d be in the art room.” “You thought wrong.” Hibiki raised an eyebrow before she turned and sauntered into the art room. Numbly, Maki followed, mostly to check that what she had seen was correct. Indeed when she entered the room she found that Hibiki’s shirt was untucked, her blazer tied around her waist. A golden necklace with a paintbrush charm hung around her neck while her black hair was pulled into a messy bun. Instead of her indoor shoes she was wearing black chucks. “Why are you not wearing your proper uniform?” Maki blurted out. “Chill.” Hibiki sat down in front of her easel again. “I just modified it to my liking. Anyway, I didn’t expect there to be anyone here right now. Did you need something?” She glanced to Kotori, noticing the girl looking her up and down. “Oh, does the principal’s daughter like what she sees?” Kotori felt her face flush with embarrassment. “S-Sorry, your shirt was undone.” Hibiki gave a light laugh. “You know I’m only messing with you, Kotori. I don’t mind if you check me out. It’s not like I haven’t checked you out before.” “Hey, that’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.” Maki growled in annoyance. “M-Maki-chan, that’s meant to be a SECRET!” Kotori exclaimed in shock. She sighed when Maki merely shrugged. “So I’m not the only gay one here.” Hibiki said in amusement. “So what is it I can do for you, Kotori?” “It’s about Rin-chan.” Kotori said, mildly relieved at the subject changing. “She likes girls too. She confessed to someone today and she was rejected. So um...I was thinking we could introduce you to her. To cheer her up. I know you like her.” “So...let me get this straight. Since both of you know I have an interest in hot shot, especially since I watch her specifically when she does sports...you’re assuming I should ask her out.....do you guys want me to corrupt her or something?” Maki scoffed. “We both know you are as innocent as any first year Amagi." "Really Nishikino, you want to go there? Because if I recall someone came into class with her collar buttons fastened to the top of her neck..” Maki cringed. "...Okay, okay not all first years." “But you do like her, right Hibiki-chan?" Kotori asked hopefully. "I-I mean sure. But she only knows my school persona....what if she doesn't like art or even my attitude?" Hibiki asked, sounding a little bit worried. "She'll like your confidence.” Kotori said confidently. “Besides, she's not used to people actually flirting with her." "That's because hot shot is pretty hard to flatter…” Maki frowned. “Why do you call her that?” “What? Hot shot?” Hibiki asked, tilting her head. “Because she’s hot and is daring. Obviously.” Maki grimaced. “Sorry I asked. Will you do it then? You’ll meet her?” “Sure. Just tell me the time and place and I’ll be there.” Hibiki said with a shake of her head. “Thank you.” Kotori said in relief. “Oh and Hibiki-chan? Can you not tell anyone about me and Maki-chan? We’re trying to keep it quiet.” “You might want to tell your girlfriend to keep her hands to herself then.” Hibiki quipped, nodding to Maki’s arm around Kotori’s waist. She laughed at the glare Maki shot her. “What? I’m just saying.” ---- “Nico, wait!” Eli had to jog a little to keep up with Nico who was storming down the hallway. “Do you even know where this girl’s going to be?” “She’s in the theatre club.” Nico answered hesitantly, glancing over at Eli. “What? We can’t let her get away with what she did to Rin, can we? I need to at least tell her she was out of line.” “I agree with you.” Eli said with a slight wince. “But I’m still the former student council president. If you start a fight…” “Come on.” Nico scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m not going to fight her. I’m just gonna talk to her.” Eli sighed softly. She couldn’t deny that she wanted to speak to the girl too. She hated the fact that someone had managed to hurt Rin so much. “Fine. You have to remember that Rin likes this girl though. You can’t...be too harsh.” “Screw that. Of course I’ll be harsh.” Nico scowled at the thought. “She can’t just...treat someone like that.” Eli relaxed into a soft smile. “What?” Nico muttered, feeling her cheeks flush at the soft look Eli was giving her. “You’re looking at me like I said something weird.” “Nothing, you’re just...nevermind. It can wait.” Eli said, forcing herself to stop smiling. “So what are you going to say to her?” “Don’t know. Haven’t thought about it yet.” Nico replied, picking up her pace as she saw the entrance to the room she was aiming for up ahead. She paused briefly outside of the room, glancing at Eli before she opened it. She found three girls sitting at the table. The girl with straight blue hair stood up upon seeing them enter. She looked as though she was going to get annoyed before she noticed Eli. “Miyuki, right?” Nico asked bluntly, looking to the girl in the middle seat. Miyuki slowly stood up, looking a little afraid. “Yazawa-san. If this is about Rin-san, I…” “Of course it is!” Nico gritted her teeth, looking between the other two girls. “Out. Now.” The two girls quickly scrambled up and hurried from the room. Miyuki sighed as Eli closed the door. “I don’t really think this is any of your business. It’s between myself and Rin-san.” “It’s my business when you hurt my friend.” Nico snarled angrily, taking a step closer. She felt Eli move with her and felt a wave of gratitude at the fact that the blonde was silently supporting her. Miyuki frowned. “I’m sorry. She just surprised me, that’s all. Her...confession came out of nowhere. I didn’t even know she liked girls.” “So what if she does?” Eli asked pointedly. “Does it matter?” Miyuki shrugged and glanced away. “I just don’t like her in that way.” “Well then you should have been more gentle about it.” Nico growled in annoyance. “Hasn’t anyone ever confessed to you before?” Miyuki bristled slightly at that. “What’s that meant to mean? It’s not like you have people queing up to confess to you either!” Nico growled in annoyance, her hands balling into fists. “Just leave Rin a-” “Wait, did I just hear that right?” A girl with dark red hair stepped out of the backroom where the props were kept. “Hoshizora confessed to you? Seriously?!” She burst out laughing at the thought. “Wait until I tell Akane-chan.” “Junko!” Miyuki exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening. “Y-You can’t tell anyone! It’s embarrassing!” “Embarrassing for her when this gets around school maybe.” Junko said, smirking maliciously. Her smile quickly slipped from her face when Nico stormed right up to her. “What the hell did you just say?!” Nico growled furiously. Junko scoffed. “Get out of my face, Yazawa. Why are you even he-?” She trailed off with a grunt as Nico grabbed her by the shoulders, tackling her to the floor. “HEY! Get the hell off me!” She instinctively raised her fist as she struggled and lashed out, catching Nico in the face with her knuckles. Nico grimaced but hit the girl back, fury overwhelming her. She heard the girl cry out in pain a moment before an arm wrapped around her stomach. She felt herself being pulled up, lifted off of the girl. “Come on.” Eli said without letting go of Nico. “Forget about her. We have to go.” Nico glared at the girl on the floor but didn’t fight as Eli dragged her from the classroom. ---- “I don’t get it. Why would nobody want to date Rin-chan?” Honoka who was walking in front of Umi twirled around a little. “Sure she can be hyper but she’s fun.” “You would know, right?” Umi asked, raising an eyebrow as she hitched her bag up on her shoulder. She was reminded of how weighed down with homework it was. She hoped she would managed to get through most of it while she was at Honoka’s house. Honoka stopped walking backwards suddenly, almost causing Umi to crash into her. Thankfully Honoka managed to steady her in time. “I feel like I’m not that hyper...am I?” Honoka asked, her eyes big and confused. “Hey, Umi-chan...do you really like girls?” “I-I said I do, didn’t I?” Honoka laughed softly. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want you to be afraid of your father.” Umi sighed and looked away. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to pursue girls, Honoka.” “Umi-chan shouldn’t go with what her jerk of a father wants. Ame-san needs to loosen up.” “Honoka!” Honoka smirked a little before she leaned in closer to Umi. “Oh, I know! We should fake date in front of your parents.” “WHAT?!” “Think about it!” Honoka said, grinning brightly. “It’ll kill two birds with one stone. Though I bet me kissing you would give your father a heart attack…” Umi paused, thinking of her father’s reaction. It was so stupid and dangerous but she couldn’t help but wonder if it would be worth it. She realized that Honoka’s hands were still lightly holding onto her upper arms. “How would we go about it?” Honoka blushed. “Wait, you’re seriously considering it? “Maybe.” Umi leaned in to Honoka, their breath mingling. “You are making quite an offer, Kousaka.” Honoka smirked in return. “It is a good offer, Umi-chan. I’m totally girlfriend material.” Umi pulled back, covering her mouth with her hand as she laughed. “Pfft, girlfriend material? Who taught you these lame pick up lines? Nico?” Honoka blinked. “Wait, no. it wasn’t a pick up line. I was just being honest!” Umi laughed harder at that though her laughter was silence by Honoka’s next question. “Hey! Wait, isn’t that your grandma..?” “What?!” “Wait, I’ve got this, Umi-chan.” “What?” Umi objected as Honoka drew her close. “What are you...mmph!” Her eyes widened as Honoka kissed her square on the lips. “Oh my!” She vaguely heard her grandmother exclaim. Umi drew away, her eyes wide. “Honoka! Sh-SHAMELESS!” “Huh? But I thought you wanted…?” Honoka frowned in confusion. “That was my first kiss.” Umi hissed at Honoka, her face flushed red with embarrassment. “And it was in front of my grandmother! Just...just keep going.” “Keep going?” Honoka raised an eyebrow. “You want me to kiss you again?” “No, just...just…” Umi grabbed Honoka’s hand and turned to her grandmother who had just crossed the street to get to them. “I’m just on my way to Honoka’s house. I’ll be home before curfew, w-we’re just studying.” “I’ll tell your father you’ll be late.” Umi’s grandmother said with a smile. “No need to come home if you’re with Homura’s grandchild.” “R-Right. Thanks.” Umi tugged at Honoka’s hand, hurrying away. “You okay?” Honoka frowned in confusion at Umi. “I feel like I’m going to faint.” “Huh? Why?” Honoka asked obliviously. She quickly shook it off. “I’m sorry if I surprised you by kissing you. It was my first kiss too. Was it...bad?” “No.” Umi said, quicker than she would have liked. “I-I mean it was...strange. I don’t know.” Honoka huffed under her breath. “I haven’t kissed anyone before. Maybe we could practice!” “P-Practice…?” Umi stuttered nervously. “Yeah. Kissing and stuff.” Honoka answered with a confident nod of her head. “Is that okay?” “Y-Yeah. Okay.” Umi quickly let go of Honoka’s hand, realizing she was still holding onto it and sped up a bit. ---- “Sit down.” Eli sighed, finally letting go of Nico’s arm when they were safely inside the student council room. “I can’t believe you hit that girl. If the principal finds out you’re gonna be in serious trouble.” “Like I care.” Nico muttered as she sat down at the desk Eli usually occupied. Or rather, Honoka now. Eli sat down next to Nico with a huff. “Look at me.” She said softly, drawing Nico’s attention to her. She winced slightly at the line of blood that trailed from Nico’s split lip down her chin. She lifted the soft washcloth she’d taken from the nurse’s office on her way there, gently wiping at the trail of blood. Nico blushed as Eli gently touched her cheek with her free hand as she worked. Unconsciously she leaned into the caring touch. “Why are you even doing her work while I’m cleaning?” Nico asked with a sigh as she looked at the messy desk Eli was working at. “Someone has to check her spelling.” “God and people call Nozomi the mom of this group.” Nico said with a roll of her eyes. “You’re more of a mom than her.” “Really? Putting me that old?” Eli paused for a moment before she looked up. “I-I didn’t really mean it like that. You’re just...really mature. That’s what I meant.” “Oh.” Nico was taken aback by the sincere look in Eli’s eyes. “Uh...thanks. I guess.” Eli smiled softly before she reluctantly went back to the paperwork she was looking over. Nico walked around the desk to Eli. “You really suck at communicating. How is it possible you managed being student council president all these years, Ayase?” Eli shrugged, pausing what she was doing again. “Well Nozomi did all of the talking. I was just...the assertive one mostly.” “You don’t sound too assertive to me.” Nico smirked. “Haven’t you  ever done something that went against your better judgement? Nothing spontaneous?” “I-I just prefer order.” Nico smirked even further as she casually leaned against the desk. She could see Eli watching her closely. She reached for one of the sheets of paper in Eli’s hand and narrowed her eyes. “I’m not gonna do anything.” She said, seeing Eli tense. “I just wanted to see what you-” Eli leaned in, pressing her lips suddenly to Nico’s. Nico’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden kiss. She barely had time to even think about what was happening before Eli quickly drew away. “Eli, what the…?” Eli swallowed thickly, staring at Nico through wide eyes before she bolted from the table, hurrying toward the door. “Wait…” Nico called feebly, still too stunned to say anything else. Her words died in her throat as Eli left the room. “What the hell…?” “You seem to be the only one besides Nozomi who cares about my wellbeing. Remember when I got sick?” Nico mumbled, locking eyes with Eli. “You took care of me.” “Of course I did.” Eli said softly. “Why did you do it?” Nico asked bluntly. “Take care of you?” Eli asked obliviously. “Well, I…” “Not that. Yesterday. In the student council room.” Nico replied, refusing to let Eli shake the topic off. “You kissed me.” “Right, um…” Eli blushed and looked away, “Maybe I was just trying to show you that I can be spontaneous.” “Bullshit. You’re not a spontaneous person.” Nico disagreed, her voice soft despite her harsh words. “Tell me the truth.” Eli took a deep breath. “I like you.” “WHAT?!” Nico’s eyes widened. She was sure that Eli and Nozomi had something going on. “Nico, calm down. I understand if you don’t like me back.” Nico felt her heart pounding against her chest as Eli spoke. Nevertheless she leaned in and pressed her lips to Eli’s. For a moment she merely relished in how warm the kiss was until Eli kissed her back. She winced, drawing away as her lip stung sharply. “Sorry.” Eli said softly, reaching up. She gently brushed her thumb over Nico’s lower lip, biting her own. “So...does this mean that you…?” “Obviously.” Nico murmured, doing her best not to shudder at the touch. She cursed herself for hurting her lip of all places. If she hadn’t she could have been kissing the blonde. She felt her ears burning at the thought and looked up. “I really thought you liked Nozomi or something…” Eli shook her head. “After I took care of you that time...and became friendly with your sisters and brother, I started to see you in a different light. You really would do anything for them. Even get yourself sick. I’m kind of like that with Arisa.” Nico nodded slowly. “Look, I um...don’t know what this means...or what you want it to mean but...I do want to see where it goes. Maybe we can…?” She trailed off unsurely. “Yes.” Eli nodded in response, drawing a light laugh from Nico. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.” Eli flashed Nico a grin. “I didn’t have to.” She tugged Nico closer inadvertently dragging the girl into her lap. She didn’t protest though, electing to wrap her arms around Nico’s waist instead, lightly nuzzling her neck. “I guess we’ll have to wait a while until I can kiss you again.” “Damn it.” Nico muttered, rolling her eyes. “This just makes me hate her more.” “If it makes you feel any better, I hate her too.” Eli lightly pressed her lips to Nico’s neck. Hearing Nico’s breath hitch, she did so again. She felt Nico’s hold on her tighten. “Kiss me.” “But…” “Maybe I like it rough.” Nico leaned back, fixing Eli with a hungry stare. Eli didn’t need to be asked twice. She leaned in again and kissed Nico hard. She felt her flinch but this time she didn’t pull away. Neither did Nico who held onto her tighter as she kissed her back. TBC?

.

Blake drove home from work, happy to be taking a half day. He worked hard, he knew. He was the CEO of a major corporation and wanted to do right by his family who left it to him. But, it often meant working weekends and late nights. This weekend, however, he’d set aside for himself. With his daughter Yesenia gone to Mexico for the semester, he had his house to himself and felt a bit lonely at times, so he wanted to invite his family over.

“Felix, hey man,” Blake said, hugging his cousin. “Congrats on the wedding!” “Thanks!” said Felix. “I can’t believe I’m actually married.” “August is next,” Yoosung said with a laugh. “We just moved in together, I think marriage is a pretty big step,” said August. “You already have a kid with her, marriage seems pretty normal,” Blake said. “By the time you two get married, Gray will already be married,” Felix laughed. “His grandkids will be married before him.” “Alright, alright, I get it,” August muttered. “Let’s start boys night!”

The evening began with Felix, August, Yoosung, Cleve and Blake cracking open some beers and eating chips as they sat around the dining room table to talk. “What’s it like having kids in college?” August asked. “Expensive,” Cleve said first, making everyone laugh. “Tell me about it,” said Yoosung. “Twins in college is like going into debt twice.” “At least your kid’s in college,” Felix muttered.  “There’s still time for Riley to go if she wanted, Felix,” Blake said. “I don’t know what she wants at this point.”

After they lamented over their kids and their wives and their jobs, they headed out to the deck out back where Blake grilled up some ribs for his cousins and friends.

The guys sat outside for what seemed like hours, just catching up on everything and venting about things they normally didn’t have the time or space to vent about. Although it was meant to make Blake feel less alone, each of the men felt glad to attend and felt a little less alone themselves.

“We gotta do this more often,” August said, shimmying a bit to the music that played from the speakers behind him. “With those dance moves, I think this is the last one of these I’ll attend,” Felix said mockingly. “Kids, let’s play nice,” Blake said. “You sound like my wife,” Cleve and Yoosung said simultaneously, causing laughter from all of the men. “Ok, promise not to tell Marley and Nozomi you fellas said that, as long as we make this a biweekly thing,” said Blake. “Deal,” they all said in unison.

Love Live! as Mystic Messenger Remake

Now that my nice hacker theme is ready, here we go!

So because i love mysme almost half as much as i adore love live, i have always thought it would be awesome to remake mystic messenger using the characters from love live (u’s, specifically)

I’m getting more serious about it, so I decided to make this blog to organize thoughts and progress.

I’ll put the rest of the details under a cut so this post doesn’t get obscenely long, so thanks for reading and if you’re interested, please message me!!

The characters corresponding so far goes like this:

Zen: Nico

Yoosung: Hanayo

You might notice that Rin doesn’t have a place in this AU. Therefore, I’m thinking of adjusting Yoosung’s route to make it platonic between Hanayo and MC, and maybe make it a RinPana shipping route, and kind of combine Rin and Hanayo into Yoosung’s character, somehow...? The story of his route will take quite a bit of adjusting if this ends up happening, so if you have any thoughts don’t hesitate to send them!!

Jaehee: Eli

Jumin: Maki

Seven: Honoka

Saeran: Chika (get it? since they’re basically twins since chika is such a copy-paste honk) (not that im hating i love my mikan daughter)

V: Nozomi

Vanderwood: Umi + Kotori (Honoka’s moms)

There’s no Vanderwood route in the game but if this project does go to completion for all the other canon routes I would absolutely love to make a “Vanderwood” route for these two

I really like this setup, but if anyone has other ideas I’m totally willing to hear them! I’ll probably leave Rika as is since she tends to get a lot of hate and although I really like her as a character I don’t want to upset anyone by associating their best girl with a character who does so many... bad things...

Other than the characters changing, the basic plot and story of the game will remain the same, it will just be a sort of AU. An important thing to note is that, except for the potential changes to Yoosung’s route like I mentioned above, everything will basically be the same, just copy/paste from the actual game, changing the character’s names and genders, and maybe a few minor adjustments if I think they’re worth it. I’d say I want to fix all the plot holes in mysme but I don’t think it’s possible at this point. MC will remain a girl in the CGs, but I’d love to be able to allow the user to input their gender and pronouns to use them in the chatrooms and VNs.

So as far as what has to be done, I have a basic idea of what I want to do and what I’ll definitely need help with:

I’m using Ren’py as the engine to make the game, so I need to learn how to use it and code the actual game mechanics

The GUI has to be designed and edited to look as much like MysMe as possible. I don’t think it’ll be able to be exactly like the mysme app, but i can probably get it pretty similar

This is where the real work begins, lol

All of the chatrooms and VNs need to be transcribed and edited to have the names of the Love Live characters. I’m not going to include the “missed” chatrooms, the player will just be able to go through all of it at once and they’ll be included in everything.

The character sprites from SIF need to be edited to have the outfits from MysMe. It’s really only important for Saeran/Unknown, but I’d also like to change Eli and Maki to be wearing business formal clothes, and I’d like Honoka to have Seven’s outfit since it’s so iconic. Also, Umi and Kotori would have to wear secret agent clothes when we do Seven’s route, but that probably won’t happen for awhile, and I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I’d like to give Kotori credit for being a bit more fashionable than Vanderwood and their leopard print mixed with purple leather jacket...

Big one: the CGs need to be redrawn with Love Live characters. If anyone is willing to help out and draw a few because they’re just interested in this project, that would be amazing. Other than that, if there’s someone who is confident that they could imitate either the Mystic Messenger art style, or the Love Live style (either the anime or the SIF cards art), or has a nice, clean style, I’d love to commission them. In addition, if this ends up happening and an artist who is really good with imitating the style takes our commissions for this, I would also take donations to help out from anyone who is interested. Of course, I won’t accept any money until I’m absolutely sure it’s going to happen, and the only thing left to do is the drawing. All of the donations will go 100% to funding the commissions, I’m not trying to make money from this, I just want it to happen and have satisfying quality!!

Like I said above, the story for Yoosung’s route (and perhaps others) will have to be changed if we go along with my original idea. If you aren’t able to contribute by drawing, editing sprites, or transcribing, I’d love to just have people who are willing to talk about the plot changes and help me work out any plot holes and various problems. If you’re interested in helping with that, or just talking about this AU, I made a discord server that you can join here: https://discord.gg/58cYzmb

So that’s about it! If you have any questions, send an ask here or on my main blog @juna1lens Thanks for reading!

(about to do some ungodly tag spam, this is the only time I’ll do it so I’m sorry in advance!! Just to get the word out about this project for people who follow various tags)

Nozomi: Prologue

The End of the Kubota Clan

“Keep looking, I know I saw that monster!”

Nozomi glanced up as distant shouting reached her ears and inhaled sharply as a trio of teenage boys appeared.  Kohaku, the redhead and self designated leader, along with the identical twins Ichirou and Noburu, who could only be told apart by their eyes (Ichirou’s were green and Noburu’s a deep blue).  

Nozomi knew the three of them more than she'd like to admit, having spent many an outing on the run from them.  She tried to hide but her efforts were futile.  Kohaku had already spotted her, and he wasted no time pointing her out to his friends. “There she is! ”  

Her gold eyes grew large with fear as the rowdy gang raced toward her, and she snatched up the bag containing her purchase hurriedly.  “Please!  Just leave me alone!” She cried, turning on her heel and bolting as the three boys gave chase.  

‘What was Kaa-san thinking, sending me out when it’s still this bright out?’  

The brunette took one turn after another, trying to lose them, and a ray of hope surged through her as the scrape of sandals behind her grew fainter.  Heaving a sigh of relief, she turned another corner, only to find herself staring at a wall and she cursed her luck.

“Dead end.”  

Shadows fell over her, and the brunette glanced back to see Kohaku and the twins stalking toward her, leering menacingly.  

Her brain screamed for her to do something, and in a moment of desperation she leapt up, scrambling to find a hold in the wall. ‘Please!’  As she silently begged Kami for help, she gripped onto a groove in the wall, and she began to climb carefully, drawing nearer to the top.  

Her joy was short lived as a sharp pain shot through her spine.  “You won’t escape!”  

The brunette cried out in pain as she glanced down, where Ichirou had grabbed her tail and was trying to pull her down.  “Let me go!”

Reaching the top, Nozomi grabbed the edge of the wall with both hands and tried to pull herself up.  Luck wasn’t on her side, it turned out, as the other boys joined in, and the three of them gave a firm tug.  “I told you we weren’t letting you get away, didn’t I?  Not until you pay!”  

The brunette grit her teeth as her chin scraped against the wall, drawing blood and she landed in a heap on the ground at their feet.  “Ha!  How unlucky.  A cat that can’t evenclimb!”  

Nozomi glared up at them, her canines glinting dangerously in the light.  “I was doing FINE until you pulled me down!”  

“Don’t you dare show your fangs, demon!”  Noburu pushed her head into the ground with his foot, and she grunted under the pressure.

“Stop it!  That hurts!”  

“That’s the point, stupid!”

Nozomi’s arm thrust out in desperation, and Noburu yelled in pain as her claws grazed his shin, leaving five thin, red lines on his skin.

‘I didn’t mean to do that...but he deserved it.’ Scrambling back to her feet, the brunette glanced around, her eyes filled with fear.  She may have gotten free, but unless something happened to distract her captors, there was no way she’d escape them all.  

“Make her pay, Kohaku!”  

Their leader stepped forward cracking his knuckles, hatred burning in his auburn eyes. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, attacking my friend!  You’re really gonna get it now.”  

Nozomi pressed into the wall, praying in vain that by some miracle she could disappear into it, though she knew it was only wishful thinking.  There was only one thing she could do, and as much as the brunette hated the idea, if it could spare her any pain she would.  

Bowing her head, she pinned her ears back submissively.  “Please, Kohaku-san.  I’m sorry.  I swear I didn’t mean to hurt your friend… Honest.”  

Kohaku and the twins laughed harshly in response, and her vision clouded over with tears.   “Nice try, but the word of a monster is worthless!”  

A tear slid down Nozomi’s cheek as his words sunk in and she raised her head, the hurt plain on her face.  “But I’m not a monster..”

Her words were soft, but she knew they’d been heard because Kohaku’s fist paused.  “As long as you house that demon that makes you one!”  Kohaku’s fist slammed into her gut, effectively knocking the wind out of her, and she gasped with pain, struggling to stay standing.  

“You’re going to be feeling a lot worse by the time we’re finished with you, demon!” Noburu snarled as he and Ichirou joined in; Ichirou punched her in the chest while Noburu socked her left eye, and her vision blurred as she crumbled to the ground, crying in pain.  

'I...can barely see.  Are they going to kill me?’  

As Nozomi braced herself, resigned to her fate, she heard a voice call out her name, and she forced her eyes open painfully.  A gasp escaped her as she saw a boy with dirty blond spiked hair...three of them. One for each attacker.  “Suoh-kun?!”

The spiky haired boy grit his teeth as he held Kohaku back.  “Nozomi-chan.  My clones won't last long.  Go, now!”  He glanced over his shoulder, grey eyes conveying his urgency and Nozomi’s eyes teared up again as she nodded.  

“Thank you.”  Gathering up her spilled belongings, the brunette carefully weaved her way out of the alley and took off running as hard and as fast as she could.  

The wind whipped her eyes, making them tear up and she grimaced, knowing she’d likely have a black eye- it was already beginning to swell.  Though it could’ve been a lot worse, she reminded herself.  'Bless you, Suoh-kun.  I owe you one for coming to my rescue…’  

The brunette nearly cried out with relief when her home came into view, and she raced to the door, barging inside and shutting it behind her, as if afraid that her tormentors were behind her.  Safe at last, Nozomi leaned forward, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.  

“I’m home.” She choked out, still too winded to speak and she grimaced.  No matter what, it was always like this anytime she went out.  It was just a part of being the clan’s jinchuuriki.  Her parents had explained this when she was younger, adding that no matter who she was they loved her, and that had soothed the sobbing child.   Now she was 12, and convinced that couldn’t be all it was.  Surely the clan couldn’t harbor so much ill will toward her over something she’d had no control over to begin with.  There had to be another reason!  

Sighing, Nozomi kicked off her shoes and took off her cloak, hanging it up as she made her way into the living room.  “Kaa-san? Tou-san? I’m home-”  

Her voice broke off and she dropped her bag.  A strangled cry escaped her as she spotted both her parents on the floor, lying in a pool of their own blood.  “No!  This can’t be-- it’s not real!”  

The brunette knelt beside her mother’s body, fighting back her tears as she looked at her face.  Her warm, chocolate brown eyes were dull and lifeless, seeming to pierce right through her, and her mouth hung open, as if stuck in an eternal scream.  

“Kaa-san...Tou-san…”  As much as she wanted this to be a nightmare, it became glaringly clear that it was real, and her disbelief melted into anguish as she screamed.  “Who DID this to you?!”  

Slowly she rose to her feet and backed away, deeply unsettled by her parents’ blank stares. ‘Why did I ever go out?!  I should have been here!  I left them here to die!’  

A deep, velvety voice in her mind reminded her that she was only a useless child, and would’ve burdened the adults, but Nozomi ignored it, unable to tear her eyes from the gruesome scene.  She gagged as the smell of death and blood invaded her nose and fled the room, only stopping to put on her shoes and grab her cloak before thrusting the door open and taking off.  

Her sandals scraped loudly against the ground, but Nozomi could care less.  She was too numb to even worry about attracting attention to herself right now.  All she could think about was the fact that her parents were both gone, and she was completely alone.  The image of her family, soaked in their blood as they stared up lifelessly at her haunted her, and she shook her head to clear the mental image.  ‘I don’t want to remember them that way!’  

Fresh tears sprang to her eyes, and she squinted as it became harder to see.  ‘What am I going to do?!’  

After a few minutes of prolonged running, Nozomi’s legs were ready to give out, and she turned down an alley.  Her cloak enabled her to blend in perfectly with its shadows, and she hunched over, panting hard as tears streamed down her face of their own accord.  

Her ears rotated back at the sudden sound of footsteps behind her, but before she could run, a heavy weight slammed into her from behind, sending her face first into the dirt.

“I’ve finally found you.”

A chill ran up Nozomi’s spine at the voice she easily recognized, and she lifted her face from the ground, glancing back. “Wh-why?  What are you..?” She broke off, crying out in pain as the boy who’d rescued her earlier suddenly jerked her arm backward, forcing her up on her knees.  “Suoh-kun, you’re hurting me!”  

Ignoring the girl’s cries, he roughly turned her to face him.  His face was void of emotion as he pulled out a thick, black ribbon with a medium sized bell attached at its center.

“What’s that for..?”

Suoh smirked at the question, pushing the hood of her cloak down before he leaned in and wound the ribbon around her neck, tying it almost tight enough to choke her.  

“The elders have decided that your ability to hide in the shadows is a danger to us all.  Not knowing where you are makes the clan uneasy since you could just attack at any moment.  This bell will put an end to those fears.”

The brunette just nodded weakly, sobbing as she gazed up at him with tear stained cheeks, struggling to form a coherent sentence.   “M-my parents.  They’re…” Unable to finish, her ears pressed flat as her shoulders shook violently, and she slowly got up from the ground, wiping her tears.  “Why did they have to die like that?!  I just don’t understand!”  

An unreadable look flashed across Suoh’s features before he smirked, and suddenly Nozomi found herself pinned to the wall by him, her hands restrained above her head.  “Well then, I’ll make you understand.”

Nozomi’s face fell as she began to put two and two together, and her heart clenched painfully as she looked at him, stunned.  “You-you were in on this?!”

Suoh’s facial expression morphed into a cruel grin as he nodded. “I knew it was going to happen a long time ago, actually.  If your parents had just complied with the clan’s wishes, this whole mess would have been avoided.  See, the elders are not happy with you, Nozomi-chan.  Your demonic powers are growing too strong, so they wanted to extract that monster out of you and put it in a younger host.”

Nozomi’s eyes narrowed, her tears slowing as she glared up at the boy.  “So my parents had to die in order for such a thing to happen?!  They couldn’t have been spared?!”

“They were always getting in the way, doing everything they could to keep you away from the clan.  Finally the elders had enough and decided to have them eliminated.”  He paused, letting his harsh words sink in before adding, “From what I’ve seen you weren’t allowed outside unless it was night.  Didn’t you think it was odd they’d send you out in broad daylight?  They KNEW what was coming, and tried to protect you one last time!”

Nozomi narrowed her eyes at the boy, feeling another painful throb in her chest as another piece of her heart was trampled on and she inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself.  “So then if you knew all this time….why did you even bother helping me earlier?!”

To her surprise, Suoh’s eyes softened and a hand came to rest on her cheek.  He leaned in close, and the brunette’s eyes widened as he whispered in her ear.  “All part of the plan, sweetheart.”

“What?!”  The brunette shot him a bewildered look, trying to calm her heart.  She knew now that it was wrong, but the truth stood that she’d found him attractive, and having him so close so suddenly had really freaked her out.

The boy smirked as he saw the emotions in her eyes and stroked her jaw gently, whispering again.  “It’s true.  They told me to get close to you, and get you to let your guard down.”  

Pain etched itself into Nozomi’s face as she realized she’d been betrayed, and she felt as if a knife were in her chest, carving out what remained of her heart.  

“It took forever, but now that this whole thing is finally over I can tell you how I really feel about you.”. His face twisted into a sneer as he leaned in again.  “I hate you.”

Before Nozomi could even react, he backhanded her across the face and thrust her onto the ground.  Then he kicked her, again and again, and she covered her face with her arms, whimpering brokenly as he threw rocks at her.   When the assaults came to a stop, she uncovered her face cautiously, and Suoh's fist slammed into her cheek as he pounded her mercilessly.  

Throughout the entire thing, the brunette just stared up at him, as the truth of everything he’d just said came crashing down upon her, numbing her to his assaults.  Suoh kept going until the girl was barely conscious, and he stepped back, staring down at her coldly. Nozomi was nearly unrecognizable; not only was her face swollen, she now sported two black eyes, and was bleeding from both her nose and mouth.  

A heavy silence hung over them for a moment before he spoke, grinning maliciously.  “Your parents’ death is all your fault.  None of this would have happened if it weren't for you.”  He paused, watching the pain flit through her damaged face, laughing.  “Don’t worry, though.  The elders are preparing for your demon’s extraction as we speak; you’ll be joining your parents very soon.”

Something inside of Nozomi snapped at his words, and her eyes dilated as she let out a roar neither of them knew she was capable of.  “And you guys call ME a monster?!”   She began to tremble as purple chakra bubbled out of her body, and Suoh stepped away, looking nervous as it completely engulfed her.  Suddenly, she vanished in an explosion of smoke that knocked Suoh into the wall.  Covering his mouth, he squinted as the smoke dissipated and cried out in shock as two glowing, red orbs peered down at him.  “Th-this can’t be--”

The massive blackish purple cat gave a devious smile that showed off its long, jagged fangs before proceeding to level the buildings around them with one swipe of its powerful forelegs.  

In the midst of the chaos, Suoh began to sneak away, but no amount of dust could hide him from the demon’s eyes. “Don’t think you can hide from me.”  Slowly her tail wound around the boy, squeezing tight as she lifted him off the ground, and he barely had time to shout for help before she tossed him high into the sky as if he were merely a toy.  

“It’s Kumoraku!  She’s loose!”  

Her attention was taken off her prize in the sky as other clan members had been alerted to her presence, and began attacking her.  

“You really think you are enough to stop ME?” Kumoraku smirked devilishly as she flung them into the buildings until their bodies were too broken to move.  The less fortunate were stabbed by her long claws, or crushed under her paws.

A yowl of pain tore through her as one of the villagers shoved a long blade into her paw and she scowled at the aforementioned person, shoving him away as she continued her rampage.  

The Kubota clan fought bravely, but they were no match for the demon cat, and in moments the entire village had been reduced to rubble, burying the remains of those who’d dared stand in her way.  

Looking over the destruction she caused, Kumoraku smirked and sat back on her haunches, running her rough tongue over the more serious injuries she’d sustained.  “Well, that’s enough for one day.”

In another puff of smoke, the cat had vanished, leaving a barely conscious Nozomi laying in her place.  Slowly she got to her feet, her eyes widening at the sight before her.  “What...what happened…?”  

Even though she already knew the answer, the brunette hurried through the ruins, searching for any survivors, but as she’d expected, there were none.  Tears filled her eyes again as she surveyed the damage, horror on her face.

“I..I did all of this..?”  The brunette dropped to her knees, staring in disbelief at the ruins she’d once called home.  

She hadn’t really expected an answer, but the voice of Kumoraku graced her with one, purring with satisfaction.   “Who else but a monster is capable of such destruction?”    

“..A-and Suoh-kun..?”  

“That pretty boy?  He made a great toy.”  Kumoraku purred again, sounding quite satisfied and Nozomi’s heart clenched.  

“What about-”

“They're all gone, brat.  Just shut up and be grateful.  I did you a favor.”

‘Even if Suoh-kun DID lie to me...he didn’t deserve to die..none of them did.’  Guilt clawed at her heart as she realized maybe she was the monster she’d been called all her life, and the brunette pulled her cloak’s hood over her ears before turning away from the ruins.  “I’m so sorry, everyone...please, forgive me.”  

Without another glance back, Nozomi turned on her heel and took off running, even though she had no idea where she’d end up. Anywhere was better than here.

Parent Trap, Chapter The First

NicoMaki, Love Live/Love Live Sunshine, 6k, 1/2

Summary: Dr. Nishikino Maki is a single mother, not in search of anything besides a few quiet moments. Yazawa Nico is a singer on the rise who did a favor for an old friend. Are they more connected than they realize?

Parent Trap, Chapter The First

Yazawa Nico was due at the airport at too early an hour. But Ayase Eli was too old a friend not to make time for. So when they were at lunch and Nico had cooed over the latest twin pictures, Eli had asked if Nico wanted children. Of course, Nico wanted children, but the life of the next JLO didn’t really leave any time for that. And then Eli had explained how she could bank some of Nico’s genetic material at her lab. And if Nico didn’t mind, it might help Eli with a project she’d been working on with a colleague.

It had taken about a month, with screening tests and two weeks on hormones before Nico could physically donate eggs. The retrieval procedure had taken less than a half an hour, and Nico had stopped into Eli’s office after hours a week later for an ultrasound and check up.

“Did you double check all your paperwork?” Eli asked as she put away the ultrasound equipment.

Nico pulled her sweatshirt down. She didn’t dress up for top secret doctor visits. She had sunglasses and a long coat for when she stepped out of Eli’s office. “Yeah, Nico read through it twice. So no one makes a baby with Nico without Nico’s permission right?”

“Right.” Eli’s reply was quick.

Nico had confidence in Eli, who had always been an honor student and someone with exact and precise ethical behavior. “Good.” Nico bounced up, “It’s nice to know Nico’s got a backup for the biological clock.”

Eli smiled, “Thanks for helping. The more chance I have to work with different cells, the more likely we are to eventually succeed.”

“Nico is a hero.”

“Nico is a good friend.”

“Eli!” Tojo Nozomi’s voice called from the hallway outside. “We’re going to be late to pick up Vik and Teddy.”

“I’ll be right there. I just have to finish up with Nico.”

“NICO!” The door slammed open and Nico was engulfed in a huge hug, “You haven’t been by in months. How are ya.”

“Nico can’t breathe. Eli, help.” Nico squeaked.

“Nozomi, put Nico down.”

Nozomi did, but then kept hold of Nico’s shoulder, her green eyes concerned, “Are you all right, is something wrong, is that why…”

Nico waved a hand, “Just a pre tour checkup. My regular doctor couldn’t fit me in. Eli did me a favor.”

“Eli is the best.”

“Yeah, Nico, anytime you need a quick checkup.” Eli’s voice wavered. Nozomi turned her attention to her wife, the terrible liar.

“Nico has to run.” Nico put her sunglasses on with a grand gesture, even though it was dark outside. Nico would always Nico. Nozomi was glad to see it.

“We’ll see you out, I’ll just leave the paperwork at the desk for my assistant to enter into the system tomorrow.” Eli held the door open.

They walked out, Eli dropping the folder in the inbox. Nozomi respected Eli’s commitment to having paper copies of everything. She’d been the most organized student council president ever and that had followed through to everything she did.

“Oh no.” Nozomi cried out.

Eli spun instantly, “Nontan?”

Nozomi flicked her own forehead, “I was so excited to see Nico-chi, I left my purse in the exam room. I’ll be right back. Just wait for me at the car.” She kissed Eli on the cheek.

“Okay.” Eli put an arm around Nico’s shoulders, “Sure I can’t convince you to have dinner with us and the twins. They miss you.”

“Next time Nico’s in town, I lost a packing day because Cocoa had a car crisis.”

“You really have to make time, Nico. We miss you.”

Their voices faded down the hall. Nozomi nodded and stepped to the desk, putting her purse out from behind her back to set next to the in tray. There was no name on the folder Eli had put down, just a number. Nozomi made a quick note of it as she opened to read. Nico and Eli were up to something and Nozomi had never been able to let that pass without “helping”. Seeing Nico’s first answer, a quick check….hmmm, Nozomi had a feeling that Nico’s status might change for the better with a different answer. And Eli always did the initial paperwork in pencil, that made some things easier.

Four Plus Years Later

Dr. Nishikino Maki was drowsy. Single parenting was exhausting. Even with a nanny and her parents’s help, the past year with Dia had been exhausting. Which is why her parents had shoved her out the door to go to the Ayase New Year’s Eve party. Which was loud, and bustling. Eli’s mom was babysitting the twins and Eli’s wife, Nozomi, was taking the opportunity to loudly announce as many details of every attendee’s life as she could.

“MAKI!” Nozomi swirled up, in a very pretty soft gray wrap dress, “It’s been too long.” Nozomi would have gone for a hug, but Maki had predicted her action and sidestepped. “How’s your little girl?”

“Sleeping, I hope.”

Nozomi tilted her head, green eyes staring at Maki with an odd look in them. She almost spoke, then shrugged, “Eli will be happy to see you. We have so many friends for you to meet. You haven’t even stopped by the office in 6 months. We got so used to seeing you when you were pregnant.”

Maki decided to change the conversation, “How are the twins?”

“Exhausting.” Nozomi’s laugh drew the attention of her wife, who hurried over.

“Did I miss a joke? Hi, Maki.” Eli slid her arm around Nozomi’s waist, “Nico’s going to sing in a minute.”

“Ooohh, you won’t want to miss this, Maki.”

“What?” Maki’s question was perfunctory. Nozomi’s suggestions were always problematic, one way or another, so Maki tended to armor up when Nozomi was in idea tossing mode.

“Nico Ni.” Eli was gleaming, “We had a band together in high school, then instead of college, she started touring and got signed by a major label right away. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of her.”

Maki shrugged, “I don’t listen to contemporary music much.”

“Contemporary.” Nozomi drawled, “Non robots call it pop or punk or rock or country or hip hop or whatever genre you favor.”

“Nozomi, let’s not harass our guest.”

“But Elichi, that’s why I throw parties.”

Eli had her arm through Nozomi’s and was steering her away, She smiled apologetically at Maki, and then the lights dimmed and the sound system kicked in.

“Hello, Chicago, my hometown, Nico Ni here to make your heart throb for this heartthrob.”

Maki glanced at the stage. A tiny woman, long dark hair, neon pink over black the dominant theme of her costume, complete with some kind of sparkly animal ears. She looked like her music was going to be loud. Maki headed for the balcony.

###

Maki had found a bartender who mixed an excellent virgin bloody mary and was nursing her second while waiting for clouds to clear so she could see more constellations. WInter nights were the best, cold and clear.

“You avoiding the crowds too?” Maki heard the question as the door slid open.

“More avoiding the music.”

“Not a Nico Ni fan?”

Maki shrugged, honestly it wouldn’t have made a difference who it was, “It just seemed like it was going to be loud and…”

“Headache?”

“One year old.”

“Oh,” a quick pleasant laugh. “I haven’t had time...or the partner for that. They’re cute at that age.”

Maki shrugged again. Dia was cute, probably above average cute, but that wasn’t really a surprise. Or something Maki could announce like her birthweight or how many words she knew. “No partner.”

“Oh.” A nervous laugh, “Sorry…”

‘No. It’s exactly what I wanted.” Maki knew that should have sounded more convincing. Dia was, as far as her reading and research could attest, an near ideal daughter. Maki’s parents had finally shut up about her producing an heir, Rin and Hanayo’s baby had a playmate, Eli’s research had made it possible to get pregnant without anything gross or sticky involved, and now Maki was back at work and even out socializing. So all good, right? Maki sighed,

“Cookie?” Maki turned. A small, bright, crimson eyed woman in a slouched hat and an oversized coat was leaning next to her, offering what looked like a homemade cookie. Eli and Nozomi had hired caterers.

“You smuggled in food?”

“Only way to be sure there’s always some around.” A smile that stunned Maki with its cheerful incandescence, “Ni...No poison, I swear.”

Maki took the cookie, and an intriguing mix of cinnamon and stranger flavors melted on her tongue. “That’s different. I like it.”

“Chinese five spice and shortbread.”

Maki nodded, chewing happily. Not exactly dip in a virgin bloody mary food, but maybe time for a coffee palate cleanser. Maki glanced at her watch, another hour til midnight. The other woman was still looking at her, expectant.

“Are you a pastry chef?” Maki asked, maybe she could buy another cake for Dia’s birthday. Her parents would want pictures.

The other woman shook her head. “No, cooking is what I do for fun. Yazawa Nico.”

Maki took the offered hand. The grip was strong and surprisingly warm, “Nishinikino Maki.”

“Oh, like the hospital.” A stunning grin, “Eli works there. I used to stop by a lot.”

“You’re a friend of Eli’s?”

“High school.” Another grin, “We were in a band together, It was the worst, and Eli hates all the videos we made, but I found out I loved performing.” Nico swept her hands up, “Nico Nico Ni.”

Nico Ni. That’s what Eli meant. The singer. Who’d asked if Maki...Maki flushed, tensing, “You should cook more.”

“Okay. So not a fan.” Nico continued to gleam, “But once you actually hear Nico’s voice you’ll…”

“Did you come out here to harass me for not listening to your show?”

Nico snorted, “No, Ms. Colder Than The Air, I didn’t think anybody would be out here. Nico came out here to get away from her fans.”

“That worked.” Maki grimaced.

There was silence. Nico turned her attention to the sky. Orion was shining brightly on the horizon.

“Great night for stargazing.” Nico said softly.

“Getting clearer.”

“Yeah.”

“Does the one year old have a name?”

“Dia.”

“Pretty.”

Another shrug. Not a topic Maki was going to pick up. “You can see almost a dozen stars in the Pleiades cluster tonight. That’s rare for this close to the city.”

“Pleiades?”

“Can you find Orion?”

“Yes.”

“It’s the blurry group up and to the right.” Maki pointed.

“Oh yeah, cool.”

More silence, then Nico asked another question.

“You an astronomer?”

“That’d be nice.” Maki glanced to see Nico watching her, “Doctor. Medical doctor. ER doctor.”

“Adrenaline junkie.”

Maki shook her head, “Not really. I just like puzzles.” She almost hesitated, “And people who don’t linger.”

Now the silence was awkward. True as Maki’s statement was for some reason she didn’t know, the other woman seemed much farther away. And then Nico pushed off the railing, “Thanks for the astronomy lesson, Doc. Happy New Year.”

Maki nodded, “Same to you.”

Nico waved and went back to the party, Maki left behind in the now too cold air, mood deflated by the unpredictable encounter.

###

Maki had snuck out. She didn’t really want to miss Dia’s first birthday and the whole thought of a roomful of people kissing at midnight just made her queasy and sad. And Nozomi would, of course, make a big fuss about kissing her too and Maki was honestly just not in the mood. So at 11:55, she was turning the key in the door of the family mansion, and at midnight, she was kissing the only girl in her life on the cheek.

“Happy New Year, Dia. Happy birthday. Let’s have a fun year.”

It was strange for Maki to spend so much time with someone who didn’t talk back much, although Dia was very vocal, making funny little noises and a few words. Maki had been surprised at how much she’d cried the first time Dia reached out her little arms and said “Mama.” She could still feel how much her body had swelled with a new joy.

Dia’s eyes opened. They were a brilliant green, like gems. Maki wondered if the egg donor had eyes that color.

“Hi, Dia. Your Mama came home early for your birthday. I had the best cookie at the party. I wanted to have the baker make you a cake, but your Mama’s not great at talking to pretty people.” Maki sighed, sitting in the recliner next to Dia’s crib, “I hope you’re better with people than I am.”

Maki remembered all the questions Eli had asked her about what she was looking for in a donor. Mostly Maki had wanted healthy, but to give her sole child a chance at a better school and social life than she had, Maki figured she should choose an extrovert who got along well with others. So Eli added that to the parameters, along with athletic and musical, because Maki wanted her daughter to love music like she did. And here we were, three years later, with Test Case #1, the top secret Ayase-Nishikino experiment in two female parents reproducing. One of the parents was just an anonymous donor. Maki had been nervous about the science, but with her best friend Koizumi Hanayo and Hoshizora Rin wanting a child of their own after an adoption that fell through, they all decided to take the risk together. Eli and Nozomi had happily adopted American-Japanese twins, now 6 years old, but they wanted to help women who wanted families and couldn’t or wouldn’t adopt.

Dia made a crying noise, so Maki kept telling her about the party. Rin would say silly things and make faces at Tora, but Maki didn’t see why you couldn’t have mostly normal conversations with small children. Eventually Dia would learn all the words. It wasn’t really something Maki thought much about. Dia was there, so Maki talked to her. And then she’d read Dia her bedtime story. Princess Princess Ever After was a Maki favorite. And Dia would giggle when Maki said “Fine, Prince Butthead here can rescue himself” so that was always fun.

“Yeah, I think your Mama said something wrong,” Maki tossed her hair back, she should have put on pajama pants rather than this form fitting sheath dress but she wanted to kiss Dia at midnight. “She wasn’t a baker. She was a singer. Maybe we can listen to her songs tomorrow when we’re driving to meet Rin and Hanayo and Tora for your birthday party.”

Dia made a pleased noise so Maki decided that was enough of a plan and now it was time for bedtime stories and then getting out of her dress.

###

Maki had brought Dia over for dinner with the Koizumi-Hoshizora. Which meant pizza and a movie most of the time. Well, Hanayo had rice and Rin had ramen and Maki had pizza. Maki wondered what Dia’s favorite food would be. Tora already was showing a preference for things rice, Maki’s chef made an infant friendly rice pudding whenever Tora visited. Although, Hanayo was still glaring at Maki for explaining to Rin the dangers of arsenic in rice. So that was fun.

“So do you know Yazawa Nico?” Maki asked Rin casually as Dia and Tora race crawled around the living room.

“Yeah, Kayo-chin’s a big fan. Why?”

Maki decided not to go into the full story, “Just heard a couple of her songs. Dia seems to like them.”

“We should have a karaoke night.” Rin announced, “Invite Eli and Nozomi and everyone.”

“That might be fun. I don’t have a lot of nights free though.”

“Brunch karaoke.” RIn stated.

“Brunch karaoke?”

“Wouldn’t that make a great band name?”

“Mama?” Dia was pulling herself up on a table.

“What is it, Dia?

Dia motioned feeding herself, “Lunch.”

“Okay, Dia. We’ll see if Hanayo’s ready.”

“C’mon, Tora.” Rin scooped up her daughter and led the quest for her wife.

###

Dia had stacked all her blocks neatly in their bucket and was looking at Maki expectantly.

Maki grinned, “Thank you, Dia. Mama’s proud of how you decided to clean on your own.”

Dia nodded, suddenly shy and Maki laughed and picked up her daughter into a hug, spinning them around the room. “We’re going to fly.”

“MAMA!!!” Dia screamed.

Maki kept spinning and fell back onto the couch, “And that’s how you dance.”

“Dance.” Diane murmured.

“Dance and prance and…”

“Dance.” Dia shouted, standing next to Maki on the couch, bouncing “Dance Dance Dance.”

Maki had a hand out, hovering near her daughter’s waist, ensuring that Dia didn’t pitch forward to the floor. The first time that had happened had terrified Maki more than anything else in her life, even though she’d caught Dia at the last minute.

“C’mon, bun, let’s get you dinner. Then Mama is going out.” Rin had at some point said Dia was as “cute as a bunny” and Maki had turned it into a nickname.

“Pudding!”

“No, Dia, you can’t have pudding for dinner. Pudding is dessert.”

“No, Mama.” Dia glared at Maki, then wrapped her arms around Maki’s neck, “We go now.”

“Okay,” Maki swept up her daughter, “We go now.”

###

A month later, Rin had actually managed to corral most of their friends into a karaoke night. Hanayo had stayed home with Tora to watch a livestream of the stars of an anime in concert. Rin was driving so Maki was going to allow herself a sip or two of sake. She wasn’t sure if she was going to sing, but Rin would probably drag her into at least one duet.

It was a nice place. Sleek, polished wood, black-lit, private rooms with neon, huge couches, lots of space, and attentive but not intrusive waitstaff. It had an Asian influenced menu that Maki appreciated. Sushi was such a good snack for sitting around and watching Rin get sillier and sillier. She and Nozomi were in a battle for who could sing the craziest duet. Sonoda Umi, dojo owner and stunt choreographer, had actually joined them to sing “Say My Name.” Eli had practically stood on one of the table cheering while Umi’s wife, fashion designer Minami Kotori had giggled through the song.

And then the door opened, and two tiny women came in, a tray of drinks between them.

“Nico bought a round and a friend. What are we singing?”

“NICO!” Eli, who was definitely tipsy at this point, jumped down to pick up Nico in a hug, “You came.”

“Nico was in town. And it’s been too long since we’ve sung together.”

“We’re next. Me and Nico! Clear the floor.” Eli announced.

“Give me a minute, Eli. Let me introduce my friend. Everybody, Kira Tsubasa; Kira Tsubasa, everybody!”

“Hey! Can you sing?” Rin asked.

Kira did a double take, while Maki heard Nico whisper too loudly, “See, I told you, they don’t know anything about pop music. We’re good.”

Maki knew Nico hadn’t meant her to hear that and wasn’t specifically talking about her, but she still felt embarrassed and stupid. And then Rin called out her name.

“Maki Maki Maki. You said you’d sing “Telephone” with me.”

Yes, Maki had. But now she didn’t exactly want to. But Rin had made them practice, in front of Tora and Dia and it had been fun. Maybe if Maki didn’t look at anyone.

Rin had her wrist and was pulling her to the stage.

###

Well that was over and Maki had a genuine grin on her face. She hadn’t had the feel of performing for an audience since her last piano recital, too many years ago, and even though it was only karaoke, Maki could feel the group leaning forward on their seats, caught up in the song, laughing, watching, tapping along to the beat. Maki had even felt emboldened enough to catch Nico’s eye and wink before turning to Rin and high fiving at the end.

She slid back into the couch and Nico sat next to her, an unopened bottled sparkling water in hand. “You worked up a sweat.’

“Thanks!” Maki twisted off the cap, enjoying the sharpness of the lime twist flavor.

“Perform often?”

“Not since undergrad.”

“In a band?”

“Concert pianist.”

Nico nodded, sipping on her fruity oversized drink, “So Beyoncé or Gaga?”

Maki tossed her hair out of her eyes, running her fingers through it, feeling the sweat dampening the tips, “Why choose.”

That pleasant, inviting laugh, “Good point. Nico approves.”

Umi’s best friend, Kosaka Honoka, award winning pastry chef and owner of Homura, had the mic and was doing a stunning lowkey version of Miley Cyrus’s “Malibu”. Then Tsubasa jumped up and whispered something to Honoka who said sure and the next thing Maki knew the intro to the Hannah Montana theme song played, which got everybody in the room singing along.

And then Nico put her drink down, “Nico’s turn” and strode confidently to the front of the room, in her oversized black and gray sweatshirt, hood down, and thigh high black, rhinestone studded boots.

“For any Beyoncé fans.” And Nico ripped off a “Crazy In Love”, complete with Jay-Z’s rap verses, dueting with herself, and lighting up the entire room like a Lunar New Year fireworks show finale over Hong Kong Harbor.

Tsubasa raised a toast when Nico finished, “So very Nico to do a love song with yourself.”

“Only the best for Nico.” Nico grabbed a bottled water.

“Is that Fenty Puma?” Kotori asked, reaching forward to stroke the fabric.

“Yeah, saw it on the runway, fell in love, had to have it.”

That’s why it seemed familiar, Maki thought. She had two pieces from that collection, a black jumpsuit and kimono inspired track jacket she’d worn to some NWSL games. She and Rin both had Red Star season tickets, her spare usually taken by Umi or Honoka. She’d be able to take Dia to her first game soon.

“This is so much fun, Maki!” Rin slid in next to Maki, her face glowing. “Kayo-chin’s missing out.”

“I think she’s probably pretty happy with her concert.” Maki countered.

“Yeah,” RIn frowned, “you don’t think she thinks they’re prettier than me.”

“No, Rin.”

“Hmmmm…” Rin murmured doubtfully, leaning back, head forward. Then her phone went off.

Eli and Nozomi were at the mic, much too close to kissing for Maki to pay attention to them.

Rin groaned, bumping Maki’s shoulder. “Tora won’t settle down. I have to go home. Kayo-chin says Tora needs me to tell her a bedtime story.”

And I bet Hanayo wants someone to cuddle, Maki thought to herself.

Rin had already put down her drink and money for a tip when she froze, “But I’m your ride, Maki, what will you do?”

“Don’t worry about it. I can always call a car.”

“Someone need a ride?” Nico slid in on Maki’s other side.

“Yeah, I have to go home but I’m Maki’s ride.”

“If Maki doesn’t mind, Nico can drop her off whenever she’s ready.”

“Haven’t you been drinking?” Maki remembered the fruity drink.

Nico shook her head, “Nah, alcohol’s not really the healthiest and Nico’s got some shows coming up.”

“Maki?”

Maki glanced at Nico, who smiled and shrugged. “Okay.”

“Thanks, Maki.” RIn gave Maki a quick hug, “Say good night to Dia for me.”

“Will do. See you this weekend.”

RIn waved as she ran out the door.

“This weekend?”

“Sunday brunch.”

“Good friends huh?”

“Yeah,” Maki agreed, “We went to high school together.”

“Like me and Eli.”

“I guess.”

“How’d she meet her wife?”

“They’ve been perfect for each other since elementary school.” Maki snorted, “Some days it was a little...daunting, but Rin’s so cheerful.” Maki shrugged, “And here we are, both with one year olds.”

Nico didn’t reply and Maki glanced over. Nico seemed thoughtful, drumming her fingers against her thigh. Then she noticed Maki’s attention and did a hand gesture, “Nico Nico Ni. Want to do a duet?”

“Actually, I want to hear you and Eli.”

Nozomi caught the Eli reference or had been eavesdropping. Maki was pretty sure it was the second. Nozomi liked to know EVERYTHING that went on, whether or not it had any relevance or connection to her.

“Ooohh, Eli-chi, Maki wants to hear you and Nico.”

“Harasho!” Eli was up on the table again, “Bibi rides again. What do we do for the pretty ladies, my friend?”

Nico grabbed the mic and Eli, asking “Shall we keep the Gaga going? “Do What U Want?”

Nozomi took a bunch of singles from her purse, Umi groaned, Honoka giggled.

###

Maki had needed air and a fresh drink after the very physical Nico and Eli duet. She rolled an ice cold bottle of sparkling water against her cheek while waiting for the bartender to come back with Honoka’s beer.

“There you are?” And Nico was next to her, shouting to be heard in the crowd, “No duet huh?”

“Getting a little tired.”

“What?”

“Tired.” Maki shouted back, feeling her mood crash.

“Oh. Nico will give you that ride home, then.”

Maki nodded, and followed Nico back to the room. Honoka had pulled Umi and Kotori into a song, Tsubasa providing percussive accompaniment, and Nozomi was in Eli’s lap. Nico tapped Tsubasa on the shoulder and whispered something in her ear, Tsubasa giving her a thumb’s up and Maki waved goodbye to the group singing.

And then Nico was holding doors open, they were waiting for a valet, who appeared and handed Nico the keys to a sleek, red Porsche Boxter.

“They matched the color to Nico’s favorite lipstick.” Nico announced as she held Maki’s door open.

Maki didn’t know what to say and nodded as she slid into the seat.

“Address?”

“It’s along Lake Shore Drive, north of Evanston.”

“Good. She needs a long ride.”

Maki rolled the window down, her face was feeling hot, and her fingers easily found a twistable strand of hair.

Nico started the car and pulled out into traffic, “So you haven’t shown me any pictures of Dia. Rin showed me about 1000 pictures of Tora. Trying to get away from parenting for a night?”

Maki shrugged, “Babies are babies.”

Nico glanced at Maki. “But yours is the cutest, right?”

“Of course,” Maki relaxed a little. Driving with Lake Michigan on one side and the Chicago skyline on the other always soothed her nerves.

“I know a nice park for a picnic if you liked to bring Dia. Nico could make more of those cookies you had at the New Year’s party.”

“It’s a little cold for a picnic.”

Nico turned on the radio, “Do you mind?”

Maki shook her head.

“Have a favorite station?”

“I love listening to jazz and watching the city lights, especially in the rain.”

“Nico’s got jazz. Rain’ll have to wait for another night.” And Nico started fumbling with the radio dial. Maki reached out, her fingers covering Nico’s for a moment, and she tuned it to her favorite station.

“This is the best.”

“Nico will program it.”

Maki went back to staring out the window, at the darkness of the Lake as they sped up Lake Shore Drive.

“Maki?”

“Hmmmmm…”

“Do you not date?”

Suddenly Maki’s every nerve jangled and only the seatbelt kept her from catapulting forward, “I date...well, not right now, but I’ve dated...just women, but...and Dia’s not...but…” and Maki stalled, out of ideas and things to stumble over saying and mouth opening and closing and gasping for air and hands clenched and why did Rin have to go home early…

“Maki.” Nico’s voice was calm. “I’ve just been trying to ask you out and you don’t seem interested. So I will stop.”

There was silence. And then Maki said ‘Oh.”

“Nozomi told me you were going to be there tonight...and...you seemed really interesting...and Nico just wanted to hang out, maybe talk some. You’re very pretty.”

“Ummm…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

There was more silence and Nico humming along with the jazz.

“Dia likes cookies.” Maki started softly, her voice gaining confidence.”I told her about yours. She’s got this adorable coat that looks like a duck. A picnic might be fun, It’s not supposed to be too cold tomorrow.”

Nico handed Maki her phone, one hand still on the wheel, “Add yourself to Nico’s contacts and a whole bunch of gourmet, sure to be your daughter’s favorite cookies ever are coming into your life very soon.”

Maki laughed, “We’ll look forward to it.”

Nico sat up as she accelerated, still humming, Maki admiring the sharpness of her profile, Nico’s smile gleaming like a Venus near a crescent moon.

###

Maki’s phone went off as soon as she got inside the house. Text from Rin.

R: You didn’t tell me Nico was famous. Now Kayo-chin’s mad at us.

M: US?

R: US ʕง•ᴥ•ʔง

R: You know she loves A-Rise. And Tsubasa Kira’s their lead singer and she was there too. Kayo-chin’s thinks we’re idiots ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚.

R: Did you get home?

M: Yeah, Nico just dropped me off.

R: Ooohh, Kayo-chin’ll be less mad at us if you get Nico to give you some autigraphed swag or backstage passes

M: Hanayo shouldn’t be mad at you, Rin.

M: And I am not asking Nico that.

R: But she loves A-Rise.

M: Tell her I said to remind her she loves you.

R: It’s not that big a deal.

M: (¬_¬)

Maki shook her head. Rin had too little self esteem too often. She typed off a quick text to Hanayo.

M: We were having fun, not waiting in a fan line for you. Tell Rin you’re not mad.

No reply from either. Maki hoped they were having a conversation that would improve Rin’s mood. They had such a solid history and still hit bumps. Maki had never really made it past casual dating territory. The texts always trailed off and the follow up for a third or fourth date never happened. Maki would run into them at some charity event or the corridor of the hospital and hear muttered excuses about ‘busy.” As she started to frown, entering Dia’s room, her phone pinged again. A new number.

N: Hi, it’s Nico. Are you free tomorrow around 11 a.m.. Nico will pick you and Dia up ٩( ๑^ ꇴ^)۶

Maki closed Dia’s door and leaned against the hall wall, reading.

N: But Nico will need to borrow a car seat.

Maki smiled at the boldness, typing quickly.

M: Your car only has 2 seats. Convertibles are not child friendly.

N: My sister’s SUV is. Trust Nico. I practically raised my three siblings.

M: Did something happen to your parents?

N: My dad died before my brother was born.

M: Sorry.

N: Thanks. My mom coped really well, but Nico had to help out a lot.

Maki was an adult who voluntarily decided to raise a child. Having that responsibility as a teen…

M: Sounds tough.

N: They were good kids. Cocoa’s an elementary school teacher now.

M: What about the other two?

N: Cocoro runs my business and charity foundation, Cotaro just graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. He’s got a residency in Mexico studying sculpture.

N: Isn’t it late for you? ( ु⁎ᴗ_ᴗ⁎)ु.｡oO

M: I don’t sleep.

N: Does Dia?

M: Soundly. The nanny takes care of breakfast.

N: Oh.

M: I have a lot of overnight shifts.

N: That must be tiring.

M: Nah, world is usually quiet when I get home.

N: Quiet can be nice.

M: Yeah.

N: But Nico needs her beauty sleep. I have a date tomorrow.

M: Really?

N: (✿´ ꒳ ` )

M: Good night, Nico. I’ll see you tomorrow.

N: (｀∇´ゞ

Maki put her in her pocket and opened Dia’s door,

“Hi, bun. How was your night?”

Dia was, as she’d told Nico, soundly asleep, so Maki leaned over to kiss her forehead.

“We have a date tomorrow.” Maki whispered, surprised to hear it out loud.

She settled in the chair next to Dia’s crib. It was her favorite place to think. Would Dia like Nico? Maki liked Nico, would Dia be able to tell? Dia would get fussy when Maki was nervous so Maki was convinced that babies were occasionally portable extensions of parental emotions, like speakers. Maki closed her eyes, remembering Nico and Eli, mostly Nico, dancing around each other and the open part of the room, movements sure and sensual, so much good cheer in the glances and quick bumps they’d exchanged before they spun out to interact with everyone else in the room. And there was Nico prancing toward her, no attention for anything else in the room. It was a good memory.

###

Eli was sprawled across Nozomi, her blonde hair everywhere.They hadn’t had a night out together with friends and the twins away since before the holidays started. And Nico’s arrival had put Eli in a playful mood, one Nozomi was more than willing to indulge. Nozomi sat up, not disturbing Eli that much. Nico had also been in one of the least grumpy moods Nozomi had ever seen her out of public view, just enjoying the evening and the company, specifically Maki’s company. Nico was hot for a MILF. Nozomi giggled at the phrase. Nico would strangle her if she’d heard it. But of course, Nico wouldn’t be less interested because Maki had a child. Nico was the most family oriented person Nozomi had ever met. That was one of the strongest bonds between Nico and Eli, a joint understanding of how to be the best big sister. It was so cute. Nozomi couldn’t help leaning down to kiss Eli, who woke like Sleeping Beauty.

“Nontan?” Such long, delicate eyelashes.

“Just thinking how cute you and Nico were tonight.”

“Cute?” Eli’s eyebrow arched.

“Sexty cute.”

“Mmmm...better, but I’m sextier.” Eli nuzzled into Nozomi’s bosom.

“So much sextier…” Nozomi hugged her wife, “But isn’t it great how Nico and Maki hit it off.”

Nozomi could feel Eli shrug.

Nozomi continued. “Neither of them takes enough time for themselves.”

Since Nozomi was going to talk and not cuddle, Eli flopped on her back, staring at the ceiling. “So they probably won’t have time to date so you won’t have another couple’s romance to meddle in.”

“They look good together.”

“Okay. What’s the tl;dr?” Eli sighed, “I love Nico but I don’t want to discuss her in our bedroom. She’s got her own bed.”

“Sometimes Fate needs a push, especially if people are too busy to notice signs.” Nozomi seemed to be carrying on a conversation with herself, not altering its script whatever Eli replied.

“What signs?” Exasperated, Eli sat up, “What are you talking about, love?”

Nozomi shrugged, the roll of her bosom distracting Eli, “Nico wants a family, Maki has a family, maybe…” Nozomi giggled. It was a very specific giggle, one that Eli had learned to dread, because it meant Nozomi had “helped” Fate along somehow. And when Nico was involved, that usually meant that Eli was going to be shouted at in angry midget.

“What did you do?” Eli wrapped the sheet around herself.

Nozomi yawned dramatically, shaking her head, then lying down, head on pillow, turned away from Eli.

“I’ll find out, you know.”

A snore, totally faked.

“Zhizn’ ebet meya.” Eli muttered. Where would Nozomi have been able to give anything a push? Eli got out of bed, traded the sheet for Nozomi’s robe, and headed to the kitchen. She was going to need some tea.

A/N: Hi! I was in the mood for a Single Parent AU so here you are.

hello i love your girls!! i have an ask, what do they think of the others relationship with the demons? like what does nozomi think of nanami being with lucifer and vice versa?

I TAKE IT BACK. MA’AM, you pass the vibe check. thank you for asking ! (you can ask anything about my ocs in the inbox)

i wrote so much more than i intended to oml. going under a cut

what nozomi thinks about lunami : okay, first of, i gotta say that lucifer and nanami kept their relationship secret for a while. the reveal of it was under very specific circumstances that made it that nozomi couldn’t possibly be as mad as she would have been normally. let’s just say, it took a while for nozomi to accept it. up to late into the year, lucifer and her were always at each other’s throat and, she had very mixed feelings about how he would treat her sister. due to their past, she wants the absolute best for nanami and will (had) actively chased some people away because she thought they weren’t good enough.

while it took a while and a huge fight between them (not only because of lunami, there were many others things), nozomi eventually accepted it because she couldn’t deny of much happier nanami seemed to be with lucifer. by the end of the year, she’s okay with it. they’re in love and it shows. if he treats her right and she’s happy, that’s all nozomi needs. her and luci even grow to be a weird dynamic where she’s the very annoying little sister he never wanted.

i have to add lucifer and nanami started dating rather early into the year. 👀 i’ll explain my timeline one day

what nanami thinks of mazomi/sazomi : for mazomi... mammon originally started crushing on nanami at the start of the year. it was nothing serious though. it was the kind of crush you have because this one person was nice to you. everyone knew about his little crush on a nanami, but... nobody realized when it shifted to actual feelings for nozomi.

trust me, he doesn’t know when it happened either. it just did. the only person who realized and knew was nanami. mammon pinned for nozomi for MONTHS. it wasn’t easy, and nanami was the one who he always complained/vented at. she didn’t mind. in fact, she was rooting for them since she learned mammon had feelings. so, yeah. when they FINALLY got together, she’s their biggest shipper. she’s really happy for her twin.

for sazomi : well, nanami and satan aren’t nearly as close as mammon and nanami. though, satan and nozomi weren’t sly at all when they went through the process of falling in love. everyone could see it. besides, they were fwb before getting actually together. so, it was NO surprise when they got together. she was still very glad for her twin. honestly, it just felt very natural for them to be together so it just. yeah...

Stormy Days

Have a little Nozoeli drabble c; ----------------- "Thank you for having me over," Eli said, shutting Nozomi's door behind her. Quickly, the quiet of the lonely apartment washed over her. It was a feeling Eli never got over, even after visiting her friends home so many times. Each time she came inside, it was like a wave of solitary silence flooded the place, empty and lonely. How Nozomi lived like that, Eli had no idea, but it wasn't her place to judge. It's not like Nozomi was happy to be living all on her own. It was either that or keep transferring schools, and she had gone through enough of that. She finally found a home at Otonokizaka and she couldn't just leave. "Of course, I love your visits, Elichi," Nozomi replied with a polite smile, slipping off her shoes. Crossing the room, Nozomi tugged out the hair bands holding in her signature twin tails. Shaking her head, she let her hair fall in long waves against her back. Stepping into her modest kitchen, Nozomi reached out for her teapot, gently removing the top. "Do you want some tea?" She asked, taking a moment to look back into the living area, giving Eli a questioning glance. "Sure, that sounds nice today," Eli replied, taking a look out the window. All day, it had been overcast and drizzly. Now was no different. Rain dripped down from the clouds, leaving droplets to cover the window pane. Reaching one hand up to touch the cold glass, Eli let a quiet sigh slip past her lips. These kinds of days could be rather depressing. They just had this dreary haze over them. It seemed like the cold, rain, and darkness would drag on forever. These kinds of days were the ones that made Eli just want to curl up and sleep the day away until the sun was shining again. Taking in a breath, Eli turned away from the window, finding Nozomi standing attentively over the teapot. A smile flickered over the blonde's features as she thought back to the many nights she had spent just like this. At least once a week, she spent time outside of school or practice with Nozomi. And after three years, the number of nights they had spent together was quite a lot. Nozomi's apartment had become Eli's second home. She knew she was always welcome there, no matter what the circumstances. The whistle of the tea kettle caught both girl's attention, startling Eli from her thoughts. She watched as Nozomi carefully removed the kettle from the stove, turning off the heat. As she worked to ready the tea, Eli found herself coming to sit down at the table, watching the other girl from a distance. There was a sort of gentleness about Nozomi, some kind of wistfulness. It was almost like she was always thinking, always wondering. But, the way she went about it was unlike any other girl Eli had ever met. Nozomi was truly one of a kind. She was unique. After just a few moments, Nozomi brought over a tray of their tea, setting it in the center of the table. Pouring a cup for Eli, as well as one for herself, Nozomi set the teapot back in the middle of the tray. Gingerly picking up the warm cup, she blew on the surface of the liquid inside, hoping to cool it faster. Taking a sip, she let a small smile tug at her lips. Jasmine was one of her favorite teas, and she knew Eli liked it as well. There was just something about a hot cup of tea on a dreary day that was so warm and comforting. Other than the soft sound of rain hitting the roof, the apartment was quiet. The two sat together, thoughtfully looking down at their respective cups. Even without words, there was just something therapeutic about spending time with someone you cared about. "Hey, Nozomi?" Eli asked softly, breaking through the comfortable silence that had settled over the two. "Hm? What is it?" Nozomi asked in return, shifting her gaze up from the table to Eli's shinning, blue eyes. She took another small sip from her cup. The tea was still rather hot, but just tasted so good that she couldn't help herself from taking just one more sip. That seemed to be how it always went. Just one more little drink. "I was just thinking. What if, back when we were first years, you didn't have the courage to introduce yourself to me? What would I be like?" Eli questioned, setting her cup down after taking a sip. The porcelain clicked against the saucer, the sound carrying through the room. "Even now, with you and the rest of the girls, I'm a cold and awkward mess. And, that's okay, I guess. But, what if you never came around?" Eli asked, her voice growing somber. "You think too much, Elichi," Nozomi replied with a ghost of a smile, shaking her head. Setting her own cup down for a moment, Nozomi folded her hands together, placing her elbows of the table. Her chin came to rest on her hands while she studied Eli carefully. "You'd be fine. You don't need me to be you," Nozomi assured, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. "But, who I am today is not who I was then," Eli said, sending a glance out the window. The rain seemed to be picking up. Hopefully it would clear out by the time she had to walk home. A stray thought about not having an umbrella crossed her mind before she refocused on the conversation at hand. "I was pushy and cold. I put up walls and shut everyone out," Eli started, her voice rising in volume and intensity. "I didn't have any friends. I was all alone. I was a mess. I-" Eli bit back her words, realizing how loud she had gotten and how tears had begun to burn, hot in the back of her eyes. "I wasn't in a good place then," Eli said, quieting herself down. She had just moved back from Russia before her first year of high school, had given up ballet, and couldn't seem to find a way to fit in. "But, you understood me. You saw past all those flaws, and you still do." Taking a moment to consider what Eli had said, Nozomi let a bittersweet smile make its way to her face. "You've always felt things so much stronger than everyone else. Your emotions are ten times more intense than their's. But, you bottle up your feelings and build up walls. That's why I've always been interested in you, Elichi." Nozomi noted, keeping her voice low and controlled. Eli let the words resonate for a moment, seeming to hang heavily in the air. For some reason, they didn't do much to comfort her. Instead, that only served to make her tears fall, droplets landing on the knit fabric of her skirt. "I hate it," Eli whispered, hands clenching into fists at her sides. "It hurts to keep everything in. But, it's too scary to let people really know me." A crack of lightning flashed outside the apartment, briefly lighting up the dim space. Mere moments after, it was followed by booming thunder. It took a moment for the dreary quiet to restore itself. "I'm horrible," Eli murmured through the tears, her voice thick with emotion. There was some sort of resignation in her voice that caught Nozomi a bit off guards. She took another sip of her tea, attempting to gather her thoughts. Having emptied the mug, she placed gently placed it on the table. It hurt, watching Eli cry, while she sat across the table, unable to stop the insecurities and depression. So, Nozomi stood from her seat, walking around the worn table until she stood behind Eli. She wrapped her arms around Eli, letting her head come to rest on the other girl's shoulder. Breathing in the comforting scent of Eli's shampoo, she let her own anxieties melt away. "I know the real you," Nozomi whispered, a warm, genuine kindness in her voice. "You aren't horrible, Eli. You're caring and generous and amazing," Nozomi added, hoping her honest thoughts and feelings would help soothe Eli's pain. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, listening to the calming sound of raindrops pattering against the roof. Nozomi kept Eli in a warm embrace until her tears subsided, needing her to know that she was loved. "Thank you," Eli finally replied, turning in her chair to face Nozomi. She was the only one who was always there for Eli. A gentle smile played on Nozomi's lips as she pulled away from Eli. "Any time," she replied happily. And with that, the sun seemed to peek through the clouds, pushing the dreary rain away until another day.