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kalpasio · 2 years

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The Herrscher of Stars

"The Herrscher of Stars: Fire Moth's Biggest Lie"

A Kalpas x Herrscher!Reader fic, Chapter 1 below!

Growing up, you had always been told that Honkai was the scourge of humanity. Those words had been drilled into your head until ‘Honkai’ and ‘enemy’ became synonymous. Honkai took your family when you were still young, and it took you not long after. You didn’t die, no, you became its weapon, its puppet, a Herrscher.

“The Herrscher of Stars has appeared and destroyed three main Honkai energy reactors.”

“Three MANTISes and five MOTH squads have been gravely injured in the fight against the Herrscher of Stars.”

“The Herrscher of Stars has brought fear to the entire Atlantic coast and is now missing. When, and where will they strike next?”

“The Herrscher of Stars is a mildly popular conspiracy theory that people today are still trying to prove.”

“Good luck,” you scoffed and scrolled past the clickbait video and the four ads with Eden’s face plastered on them to reach the recipe you were trying to get to in the first place. Tugging up your sleeves, you walked across the kitchen to grab the first few ingredients you’d need. Once you’d set them on the counter, you glanced at the list again, then opened the small refrigerator in your apartment.

“It’s been four years since the disaster people claim was the work of the Herrscher of Stars,” the video began playing again. With a groan, you gave up on stopping the exaggerated narration and reached for the eggs.

“Able to manipulate gravity, and reportedly a serious threat that even Fire Moth acknowledges, but they ‘mysteriously’ disappeared in the middle of their attack and haven’t been heard from since. My bet? The Herrscher of Stars is just a coverup for a Fire Moth experiment gone horribly wrong.”

“That’s a new one,” you grumbled to yourself while cracking open the egg and smoothly dropping it into the bowl. Thinking about the incident brought a sense of pride and anger from the Herrscher still locked within your mind. She had done an immense amount of damage, were it not for you fighting against her, she would’ve leveled the coast in hours.

“Behave,” you mentally slapped the Herrscher on the wrist. “I’ll stop making the brownies if you keep trying to get out.” As if to prove the seriousness of your threat, you placed your hands on your hips and took a step away from the counter you’d been working at.

The murderous thoughts slunk back into the depths of your mind and allowed you to resume mixing the batter.

You forgot to preheat the oven.

Closing your eyes and giving a sigh, you stepped over to set the temperature.

“Thank you.” No matter how annoyed you sounded, you truly appreciated the reminder. Hearing thoughts and reminders in a slow, distorted voice had become the norm for you. Most times she was complaining about humans in general, but every so often she could be helpful.

For the remainder of the time you spent stirring, she left you alone with your music. As soon as you slid the pan into the oven, she was back.

How long?

“Twenty minutes,” you rolled your eyes. “You can see the timer just as well as I can.”

Not when you move your stupid eyeballs like that.

Looking pointedly at the timer for five long seconds, you grumbled under your breath the whole time. Causing harm was in your Herrscher’s nature, but at the end of the day, she acted more like a child. The brownies were her reward for being—mostly—quiet on your last mission. Sometimes it felt like you had to put her in a time-out corner, away from the rest of your thoughts.

That childlike behavior extended to her knowledge about the world. Most things were new to her; that had been how you regained control when she first appeared.

“You can’t enjoy a world you’ve killed already,” you had reasoned. And it worked. With a few exceptions, you have been in control of your body ever since. It had been her idea to join Fire Moth.

Hide right under their nose, she’d said. Really, she just wanted to see what it was like, but it was a good way for you to burn off her anger, and Herrscher powers certainly helped in a fight. You never used them to their full extent; increasing gravity until you could crush a building like a tin can was a little overkill, and someone would certainly notice your eyes glowing.

The Herrscher of Stars—you just called her Star—was just as afraid of being caught by the members of Fire Moth as you were. Your death meant her death, and there was still a lot of exploring she wanted to do. It had taken time, but the two of you had learned to live peacefully with humanity and help in the battle against Honkai.

“Oh? Are you going out then?” Eden stood in front of you, beautiful as ever, even after coming back from a weeklong mission.

“Kevin asked me to go with Hua as backup,” you adjusted the strap of the bag over your shoulder. “Can’t ignore the big boss man.” A sigh from you was met with a laugh from Eden.

“No, we can’t,” she sent you that infectious smile of hers, making you shake your head with a smile of your own. “Be careful. Keep Hua safe.”

“You know I will,” you gave a mock salute just to hear Eden laugh again before heading to your dropship. Hua was already on board, sitting calmly, though you could feel the anxiousness coming off of her in waves.

What’s she got to be worried about? Star sneered, making you frown. This is a big job, you thought back, she just wants things to go smoothly. Star scoffed but didn’t say anything else. “I looked over the mission briefing,” you dropped your bag to the floor and took the seat next to the young MANTIS. “It seems pretty straightforward. If I can handle it, you won’t have any problem with something so easy.” Comforting wasn’t your forte, but you still wanted Hua to know she had your support.

“I know,” she went through the motions of preparing for takeoff to avoid nervously tapping her fingers. “But missions that seem simple always end up going wrong.”

“Anything goes wrong, we’ll handle it then. Until something happens, there’s no point in worrying about ‘what-ifs.’” You fastened your seatbelt and kicked your bag under the seat. The rest of the flight was quiet, Hua meditating while you mentally argued with Star.

For someone who could manipulate gravity, she was awfully scared of heights. Anytime you got in a plane, she would start yelling just for the sake of yelling. She could easily create a zero-gravity field and be perfectly safe from falling, but the thought never seemed to help. This meant every flight you were stuck holding her hand. If something distracted you too much and you forgot, she’d start screaming again, demanding your attention.

As soon as the plane touched ground, Star was fine. She’d push you away in your mind, as though just being near you was offensive, then pretend her temper tantrum never happened. Hua got out first; this was really her mission, and you were only supposed to interfere if things went really bad.

For the most part, the job went fine. She may not be the strongest MANTIS, but she still packed a punch—literally. In the end, the mission was just you trailing behind her, occasionally using your lance to knock away a stay bit of debris, and doing your best to keep Star entertained. She was bemoaning your lack of action on the way back to the ship when the call came in.

“Agent Hua, we need you to redirect your path to intercept a different threat.” The voice was a little tinny coming through the communicator, but the message got across. Stopping, you looked at Hua, who was technically the mission leader, waiting for her response.

“Go ahead HQ,” she spoke in a very stern voice that reminded you just how serious she was about being a soldier.

“There is a rogue MANTIS twenty kilometers north of your position.” You frowned at that, and Hua shared a look with you that said she had the same thought. Rogue agents only had two outcomes. Either they were ‘neutralized,’ or captured and brought back to base. Neither was a particularly good option, and fighting a fellow MOTH—potentially a friend—never sat well with you.

“Returning this agent to base is your highest priority. Information will be sent to your dropship for you to review. Contact us once you are en route to base.” The officer on the other end didn’t even bother waiting for a response before cutting the call.

Finally! Something to do, Star cheered.

Nothing good, you thought back.

As promised, the files were sent over, causing the main console on the ship to flash in a bid for your attention. Once you knew who the agent was, the files were unnecessary. Everyone knew Kalpas, and everyone hoped they wouldn’t be the ones tasked with bringing him back that week. Between his fiery temper and equally fiery fists, wrangling him was a nightmare, he’d gone through more adjutants than you knew were even in Fire Moth. So it came as no surprise that his latest one was struggling.

You knew his current superior officer, actually. Her name was Mandy, and she was the most strait-laced MOTH you had the displeasure of knowing. Honestly, you were impressed she lasted this long—a whole two days! Kalpas must be slacking; you wouldn't last a day before putting in a transfer request.

“A straight confrontation won’t go well,” Hua leaned back in her seat as you flew to your new objective.

“No… How comfortable are you with using Fenghuang Down?” She brought her hand to her chin in thought at hearing your question.

“Reasonably. I assume you want to use that to try and stop him?”

“That’s our best bet, don’t you think?” you eyed the girl who nodded slowly. “I’ll distract him, you knock him out. We have some sedatives on the ship we can use until we get back if we have to.”

“Will you be ok fighting him?” Hua allowed the slightest bit of worry to slip into her voice.

I’ll send him straight to hell! Star was beginning to get fired up.

“Yeah, I can handle a couple of minutes of dodging,” you gave a reassuring smile.

Things had not gone to plan. Kalpas had spotted Hua almost immediately and moved faster than you could keep up with. Luckily, you caught him in time, Hua was alive, just knocked out. That meant your initial strategy was down the drain and Star chanting for you to kill the MANTIS in front of you was making it hard to think.

Shut up for a second, will you?! you shouted into your mind, eyes flashing a deep blue for a moment. Any time your anger got the better of you, she’d try to come out, but you quickly dragged her back. Kalpas didn’t notice your internal struggle, too preoccupied with trying to knock your head off.

The fight was not going well, and with Hua out of commission, you were running low on options. Kalpas zeroed in on your distraction and lunged for you. You may not have panicked, but Star certainly did.

Survival mode kicked in and you were kicked out. Less than a second later, your eyes were the color of the night sky, and your outstretched hand glowed blinding white like the stars you were named after. Kalpas was lifted into the air, where he hung for a moment. Clenching your fist, the star in your hand collapsed into a blackhole, pulling him back down to the ground and pinning him in place from the drastic increase of gravity. He snarled in frustration, but even his fire was under your control, keeping him safely away from you.

Arguing with Star, she gave you some control, ensuring that the MOTH wasn’t completely crushed. Still holding the swirling blackhole in your hand, you kneeled next to Kalpas and gave him a shot of the sedative, not letting the gravity field go until his flames were extinguished. Closing your eyes, you let out a deep breath. When you opened them again, the dark blue identifying you as a Herrscher was gone, only a barely-there ring on the outside of your iris.

With Kalpas officially down for the count, the next thing you needed to do was make sure Hua was ok. A quick nudge was all it took to get a groan from her. Now satisfied that she was working on waking herself up, you went back to Kalpas and picked him up with a grunt. Carrying around your lance was no mean feat, but you usually cheated and lowered gravity around you to make it easier to swing. With Hua walking so close to you, you were forced to carry Kalpas back to the ship the old-fashioned way.

I had a typo that said "The Bathe against Honkai" instead of "battle" and I am so sorry if there are more mistakes that bad. Also the top trending search on the HI3 wiki is "Herrschers" and I'm convinced it's because I open the tab like every 5 minutes. You would think I'd know the order by now

#I have to add a lot of extra tags because I lost my marbles #ok #so #kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x reader #Kalpas x Emile #Kalpas x Reader x Emile #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #fuck needing a nap #I need to go to bed #I think that's all the tags #lmk if they need fixing #I am not lucid rn #edited finally!

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kalpasio · 2 years

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aaaaa hello! I wanna say that I absolutely love your stuff 😭😭 thank you for feeding the kalpas community,, it was exactly what i needed 🙏🙏

also may i request a kalpas x herrscher!reader 👀👀 i'll let you decide what you wanna do about it^^^

I think you were the first person to mention me feeding the kalpas community and I'm like only now getting to it but I can't tell you how happy it made me to see that lol

Like I've said with every other request, sorry this took so long! I posted this at the end of the last chapter I think, but it's a rant so I don't really expect you to read it How Kalpas would act with a Herrscher!Reader I think would change a lot depending on the time, which is true for most things, but if this wasn't the time you wanted, or if you just want to send in another request, let me know! I know I say this a lot, but it was a lot of fun writing this, and I really appreciate you sending the ask!!!

Chapter list is here:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x Reader #Kalpas x Emile #Kalpas x Reader x Emile #this follows the ask in like the most minimal way #like I like how it turned out #but also what was I ON #thank you so much!!#requested!#I think that's it?

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kalpasio · 2 years

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The Herrscher of Stars

The Herrscher of Stars: Content at Last

A Kalpas x Herrscher!Reader fic, Chapter 7, the final chapter below!

You were laying on your back on the floor of your bedroom, looking at the ceiling. Elysia had worn you out, listing anything that could be considered a date and suggesting every one. It was exhausting just listening to her, but then she got Eden in on it and the two of them started talking about what clothes to wear to which dates.

At some point it just became the two of them planning a date and you were able to sneak out. Star had officially tapped out at five minutes in, and you guessed she was still asleep. Unfortunately for you, the talk with Elysia had left you with a lot to think about, and your brain was too awake for you to sleep any time soon. When you heard a knock, you glanced at the time and realized you’d been on the floor for twenty minutes. Dropping your head back on the ground, you gave a loud ‘it’s open,’ and waited.

“What are you doing.” Kalpas stood over you, his question seemed more like an accusation of you doing something you shouldn’t.

“Thinking,” you mumbled, looking back up at him. “You’re very cute from this angle.” Kalpas said nothing, but crouched down next to you, balancing on the balls of his feet. He was to your side now, so you couldn’t see him without turning your head, which was way too much work.

“You’re cute form that angle too, but I’m guessing you’re over there because you don’t want me to see you,” you sighed.

“What are you thinking about?” You couldn’t tell if he was annoyed he had to ask, or just regular Kalpas-annoyed.

“Thinking about what Emile would say.” The leather of Kalpas’ gloves creaked, and you knew every muscle in his body was tense at your words. That didn’t stop you from continuing on. “He’d expect you to be stubborn, but I bet he’d be mad at me for how I’m acting. Call me an idiot and force us to get along.”

“No,” Kalpas was firm in his response, but took a second to elaborate. He sat on the floor next to you with his legs crossed. “He’d call you an idiot, but only after trying to kill me four times.”

“Only four?” You turned your head to look at him now, and Kalpas met your eyes with a glare.

“Four was the most he’d ever do in one day. He’d be tired of our shit after one day.” He spoke in a low tone, though it didn’t make him sound any less intimidating.

“Is that what happened when you fought over who’s turn it was to pick a movie? He tried to kill you four times, then you caved?”

“Three. The fourth he threatened to involve you.”

“And here I thought he liked me. Turns out he wanted me dead too,” you gave a dry laugh and looked back at the ceiling. The man next to you scoffed.

“He wouldn’t hurt you.” He was extremely confident, the loud Kalpas you were used to coming back. “I would’ve had his head before he could.”

“You’d defend a Herrscher?” you asked, looking more confident than you felt.

“I would defend you.” There was no hesitation in his response, and you could hear the aggression plain as day.

“Can we stop doing…whatever this is? I left my good blanket in your room.”

He stood and looked down at you, still laying on the floor. “Get up.”

“You’re asking an awful lot,” you sighed and made one move to stand before Kalpas threw you over his shoulder instead.

“I asked you to stand. How is that a lot?”

“It’s a lot of work! Besides, why would I ever pass up this view?” You heard a grunt, and then you were in front of him being held under your armpits.

“Stop talking about my ass or I’m dropping you.”

You mimed zipping your lips shut and Kalpas threw you back over his shoulder. “I wasn’t talking about your ass, but now that you mention it—” You fell on your bed with an ‘oof’ and watched him walk past.

“You have five minutes to start walking before I lock my door.”

“Wait, wait!” your door closed behind him, and you scrambled to get out of bed and follow. “No more comments on your ass, promise!” you said once you caught up. A beat passed, then, “What about your arms?”

Thank you so much for reading this!!!! There are obviously ways to do this sorta story without it being angsty, but my brain just defaulted to "angst" or "extra angst." I also think that like how Kalpas would act with a Herrscher!Reader would change a lot depending on when they meet. Like at this point it was fine, if it was after the Herrscher of Corruption, we know he was upset about Rin being killed, I think he'd be more chill. ER he obviously takes some time to warm up to Mei, but he's still one of the first ones to meet her, she's a Herrscher, but also a good opponent and I think the second matters more to him. Anyways that's my rant for the story.

I really really hope you liked it, and I'm sorry it's so scuffed rn, I will fix it when I have a brain. I'm not committing to a specific time cause it's probably just gonna be whenever I take a break from hw but it'll happen also I'm realizing that saying "will be edited" sounds like I'm gonna change the plot. Nah, I'm just gonna do the thing I'm supposed to do before posting and read the story and get rid of spelling errors

It's edited now! Hopefully!

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x reader #Kalpas x Emile #Kalpas x Reader x Emile #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #edited finally!

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kalpasio · 1 year

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Feeling a Little Blue

I put a full warning on AO3, but I just want to let you know that this story does center around depression. It's meant to be a comfort piece, but if this makes you in any way uncomfortable, listen to what your gut is saying, not me!

A Kalpas x Reader one shot, the link goes to the whole book, but the chapter is below the cut!

Being in a relationship with two of the most troublesome members of Fire Moth went about as smoothly as you might expect. When Emile and Kalpas weren’t running around the base causing havoc, they were doing the same thing but in your apartment now. Despite the multiple maintenance requests you had to put in because of the two, you still enjoyed the time you spent together.

Emile had an obsession with cooking, though…that led to at least five of the repairs to your apartment. If he was in the kitchen, then you were the one keeping Kalpas out of trouble, and if you were doing that, you couldn’t stop Emile from making a mess. Somehow, the guy who literally caught on fire and could turn into lava was less prone to burning down your kitchenette than the guy who put fires out for a living. All day he would trail Kalpas, stopping him from setting the base ablaze, but as soon as you got home, the roles were reversed.

Your other partner had his own quirks as well, to be sure. Mornings usually swung between warm and sweet, and hot and angry multiple times before you left the apartment. Kalpas might be sitting calmly with Emile on his lap one second, and the next, both of them are standing and there’s scorch marks on your ceiling. You and Emile might be silently reading over the reports for the day with Kalpas sitting at the table as well, only to have the quiet moment broken by seemingly unprompted maniacal laughter.

Not every day could be perfect, though, and after the Herrscher of Domination, you all were painfully aware of the fact. Emile shut himself off from everyone for the week after the Herrscher’s death, and he avoided your home like it was painful for him to enter. Kalpas wasn’t exactly known for his tact however, and after two days, he was trying to storm Emile’s office. Such an abrupt appearance wouldn’t help the situation, so as much as you also wanted to see your boyfriend, you held Kalpas back from breaking down the door.

That doesn’t mean you were going to let Emile hide away forever. He might be sly, but he was nowhere near as good at sneaking as you were. Throughout the day you left messages around his office, you would ‘accidentally’ run into him in the hall and tell him how much you missed him, or you’d hack his files for the day and add silly little notes. You even went so far as to buy one of those chalkboard mugs and drew smiley faces and hearts all over it before filling it with Emile’s favorite coffee and slipping it into his office.

Over time, between your gentle coaxing and Kalpas’ rough demanding, Emile started to come back to you. He’d be in his old hiding spots but welcome you with a smile—though it was a bit strained and interactions didn’t last too long at first. When Kalpas found out you were sneaking coffee into Emile’s office, he started packing little lunches for you to bring as well to ensure coffee wasn’t the only food available. You didn’t get a lunch, even after an hour of sulking (though you got an hour of cuddles for your time).

Surprisingly, the gesture had Emile returning to your apartment in a matter of days. There was no way you could simply ignore what had happened, but none of you were eager to have that conversation either. Eventually he admitted what had been bothering him so much.

Between the three of you, he had to be the responsible one. “It’s just that,” he sighed and pulled his hand from your grasp to run it through his hair. “I spend all day cleaning up Kalpas’ messes, only to come home and do the same thing.” Both you and he looked at the third occupant of your couch.

Kalpas absolutely was not going to be left out of a conversation that was so important to your relationship, but he wasn’t exactly interested in contributing. And so neither of you were surprised when the only change in his expression was a raised eyebrow in response to your stares.

“It’s not your job to babysit me,” he finally spoke.

“It literally is—”

“Not when we’re at home,” Kalpas cut you off with a firm tone. “We don’t live together just so you can keep an eye on me.”

You nodded in agreement, “Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for what you do, I don’t think anyone would last more than a day doing your job, but you don’t have to do it all the time. I love you because of who you are, and for absolutely no other reason.

Kalpas gave a hum and Emile’s eyes got watery. Immediately, you were pulling him into a hug, cradling him against your chest. When you saw Kalpas’ arms half outstretched to initiate the hug you’d beaten him to, you stuck your tongue out playfully. Which was a horrible idea because he took that as a challenge, and now he had his arms around you and Emile, the force behind his movement almost knocking all three of you off the couch.

“Even my cooking?” Emile spoke into your shoulder, refusing to move his head.

“What?” you sent your confused look to Kalpas who only stared at the back of Emile’s head, awaiting his response.

“You said you loved me for no other reason, but you love me for my cooking, right?” Thinking back to the repeated disasters in your severely singed kitchen, you forced out an uncomfortable chuckle.

“Yeah… I love you for your cooking too.”

Emile wasn’t the only one plagued by negative thoughts. Watching the world end wasn’t something you could smile through like Elysia. Rather than have both of you spiraling from each other’s depression, you and Emile quicky agreed to help stop each other’s downward spin. It was easier said than done; you couldn’t simply will the sadness away. Still, both of you did your darndest, refusing to see the other suffer.

When he notices you’re starting to close yourself off, Emile will do his best to talk to you, and if that doesn’t work, he’ll call in the big guns. ‘The big guns’ was just Kalpas, but the man was scary, and if he found out you were trying to pull away from him, he’d drag you out in a heartbeat. Sometimes being trapped in his arms for a while was exactly what you needed, but other times, it only made things worse in your mind, and this is usually where Emile would step in again.

Normally, he could be seen walking around the base with a smirk that was hidden beneath a smile. When you’re upset, he drops that grin without a second thought. Teasing may be his favorite pastime, but you’re tied for being his favorite person (though sometimes you claim first place when Kalpas is being especially destructive). Whether you need to talk, or hug him silently, or just have a good cry, Emile will be there for whatever you need.

And on occasion, you truly do need the two boys to give you some space. Living with them can be overwhelming, and a moment of quiet is hard to find. This is one of the rare times Kalpas will listen to directions, and they’ll both give you time. That being said, they’re both horribly impatient, and will reach out to you when the other isn’t looking. No matter what, they’re making it clear that they are still thinking about you, and when you’re welcomed home with open arms, you can expect to find the walls littered with sticky notes just to make you smile.

Guaranteed, Kalpas is holding you in bed for an extra five minutes of sleep the first morning you’re back. Emile’s no better, holding your hand whenever you two walk anywhere, and you can be sure he’s conveniently showing up at the end of your meetings, and saying “oh! What a surprise! I was just headed there myself!” as though he doesn’t have your schedule memorized.

Needless to say, the three of you care about each other way too much, and though none of you are great at saying it explicitly, the ways you show it speaks volumes. Whether it’s little notes or finding your favorite drink waiting for you, or cuddles at the end of a long day. These signs of love are constant and surround you everyday.

This one definitely focuses more on Emile than Kalpas. My b. I just think he's neat

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #emile (hi3) x reader #kalpas x reader x emile #hi3 x reader #kalpas x emile #i need a nap

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kalpasio · 2 years

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The Herrscher of Stars

The Herrscher of Stars: Done With This Bullshit

A Kalpas x Herrscher!Reader fic, Chapter 6 below!

Kalpas…wasn’t happy. Where most people went through the five stages of grief, he just skipped straight to anger and never really got to the rest. What he was angry at or about changed every day. Sometimes it was Emile he was mad about. Other times it was a mission, or Kevin, or his shoe coming untied.

Sometimes it was you.

He tried to kill you twice that first week. It was your fault. You were a Herrscher. You killed him. At the very least you stood by while he died. You should’ve known what was happening!

Just because I’m a Herrscher doesn’t mean I know what every other Herrscher is planning. It’s not your fault. He’s just throwing a fit.

“Things must be bad if you’re the one trying to comfort me,” you gave a sad laugh and harshly rubbed some tears away with your hand.

I’m not comforting. I’m being rational. I can’t see anything when you keep crying like this.

“Emile is dead and Kalpas hates my guts. What do you expect me to do?”

Cry.

“There you go.” You sniffled then gave an extra loud sob. Star sighed but rested her hand on your shoulder and left you in peace for the rest of the night.

You found Kalpas sitting alone in one of the holo-training rooms. The panel outside listed it as empty when you checked, but there he sat on the floor with his back facing you. One leg was bent out to his side, and the other up so his arm could rest on it. In his hands he slowly spun one of the knives you’d seen Emile use so often. After a second of staring, you shook your head and went to leave, but he stopped you.

“He’s in one of those Divine Keys,” he growled. “I’m going to find him. No one else should have him. When I do, I’m going to kill you.” The room heated to a nearly unbearable temperature, but you couldn't notice over your own blood boiling. Letting out a sharp breath, you made to leave the room again, only to be grabbed and thrown further in. Kalpas only threw one punch before you snapped.

“Enough!” He was forced to the wall beside you, pressed flat against it, unable to move. Walking towards him with narrowed eyes, you looked straight at him and spoke. “I am responsible for thousands of deaths, but not his. Find someone else to blame.”

You waited a few seconds for a response, but none ever came. Kalpas stared at you, but none of the signs that identified you as a Herrscher were there. No glowing eyes, all that rage, frustration and hurt came straight from you. Force holding him to the wall may have come from Star, but the fury in every action was you alone.

He wasn’t one to forget easily; you doubted he’d change, but you weren’t going to sit around and be his personal punching bag anymore.

“This wouldn’t have happened if they let me build the Divine keys,” Vill-V raised her hands to her shoulders and shook her head, but that secret smile she wore never slipped.

”You wouldn’t be building them, and I doubt The Expert needs the construction of a thousand Divine Keys on top of her current projects.” You looked around the workspace trying to find the part you’d come up for in the first place.

“Don’t you make someone else do all the work for you? Well fighting in this case.” She gave a smug look when you froze, and Star laughed.

She’s right, you know.

“Could you just ask your boyfriend to stop destroying things? Repairing Divine Keys is more annoying than building them,” Vill-V glossed over the fact that she’d called you out as a Herrscher and found a different nerve to poke instead.

“Kalpas isn’t my boyfriend,” you forgot what you were looking for and stared blankly at the workbench.

“But—”

“Generally, relationships where one party tries to kill the other are considered toxic,” you sent her a look that said ‘drop it,’ but when does Vill-V ever listen.

“You haven’t even tried! Besides, trying to kill you is just how Kalpas shows he cares. Look at how many times he’s tried to kill Kevin!”

“You try to kill Kevin too.”

“Yeah, but that’s cause it’d be cool,” she grinned. “Look,” she got serious for a moment, “they’re talking about putting him back in the Deep End if this keeps up. I don’t want him ruining my masterpiece!”

“I’ll see what I can do,” you grumbled, forgetting about the part you needed, and left.

You didn’t have to do anything, it turns out. Kevin and Su ended up finding Kalpas, and as far as you could tell, he was given a slap on the wrist, told not to go near any Keys of Domination, and set free.

At the very least, that last part was true. He came to your door the next day. Emile’s knife was in a holster strapped to his thigh, and he looked ready to kill you. Instantly, you had two star lances summoned behind you. No one outside the door could see them, but Kalpas knew the threat they posed.

“I need you to find Emile.”

“No.” You started closing the door, but a hand stopped the motion and forced it back open.

“He was the only one that tried to kill me. I need to be the one to kill him. Not some useless Herrscher.”

You squinted your eyes and furrowed your brow at him for a moment before giving up. “I don’t follow your logic at all, and I’m not gonna help you destroy some of our best weapons against the Honkai.”

Kalpas growled and his grip on your door was turning the metal a bright orange. “They’re going to do the same thing to you. Put you in some shitty weapon and give you to someone who doesn’t deserve your power. You think they care that—”

“I think I’m done listening to your bullshit. I know you care about Emile, but he’s not some weapon, he’s not in that core, the Herrscher is. When I die, it’s not me in that weapon, it’s the Herrscher of Stars.”

As you spoke your voice rose in volume. Quietly, you added, “I miss him too. I wish I could help. Maybe then you'd remember how much I cared about you.” He didn’t stop you as you closed the door this time, his hand slipping away.

Kalpas tried. After weeks of getting nothing but anger from him, you finally got what could maybe, possibly, be considered a normal conversation. He was still talking about wrecking things, but not specifically Divine Keys. Taking into account how little you two really spoke when on good terms, this was at least a step in the right direction in your eyes.

In his eyes, everything was fixed. You’d talked, and everything was fine now. That night, he came to your room and asked, “What the hell are you doing.” When you told him you weren’t sleeping in his room, you weren’t prepared to see someone pout so visibly without being able to see their face. The pout quickly turned into a very angry scowl that erased any smile on your face. Despite his clear annoyance, he didn’t drag you out of your room. He got hotter, but his temper stayed in check, and he left with nothing more than a scoff.

He didn’t really know how to get back to being as close as you had been before. Emile had really done…everything. Movie nights were his idea, any meals together were because he knew everyone’s schedule. Even the first night you’d slept in the same bed had been his idea.

As nice as you were trying to be, it was clear you still didn’t trust Kalpas. He liked it when people tried to kill him, and you simply weren’t a fan. That made the weeks of murder attempts after Emile's death a little awkward to work around. There was no convenient loss of heat to force you to spend time together, and you weren’t providing much for him to work with in terms of free time. Kalpas thought he had a chance when an agent claimed you were a Herrscher, but you handled that yourself.

“I’m pretty sure every Herrscher so far has been killed,” you didn’t even blink at the accusation.

“Not the Herrscher of Stars!”

“The Herrscher that appeared once and then never again? Like every other Herrscher? Because Fire Moth kills them?” You moved to walk past the agent, but he blocked your path, even Kalpas’ growling not deterring him.

“I saw them! The night the Herrscher of darkness attacked!”

“You mean when it was so dark no one could see their own nose? I don’t know why you’re so convinced it’s me—”

“You use the same weapon!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that, “And so do two hundred other MOTHs on base.” Your gaze turned steely as you finally stepped past him. “Go bother one of them. Or better yet, report me to Dr. Mei. I’m sure she’d love it if you were to waste her time.”

“A little birdie told me you and Kalpas are on bad terms.” Elysia was standing outside the door to your meeting and followed you as you left.

“I think listening to birds as often as you do is grounds for a chat with Su.”

“Nah, this birdie was just me,” she giggled. “I haven’t seen you two spend much time together since…”

“I’m tired of telling people I don’t like it when someone tries to kill me.” You stopped walking and ran a hand over your face in frustration.

“That’s just how Kalpas shows he cares—”

“And I’m tired of hearing that too!” Your hand flew down to your side and your eyes bored into the girl in front of you.

“Have you tried reading my ‘Guide to Kalpas for Dummies’?”

“I really don’t think that will help…”

“Probably not!” Elysia grinned at your eyeroll. “But I want to help! Kalpas is so much nicer to work with when he’s not moping.”

“Moping?”

“Yeah! He’s all sad you’re not talking to him so he just beaks everything on missions.”

“He does that anyway!”

“Yeah, but now he’s sad while doing it!”

“Elysia!”

“I think you two should kiss,” she nodded with her eyes closed and a finger raised in the air. Peaking an eye open, she saw your scowl and tried again. “I think you two should have a very sexually charged fight.” Looking again, she saw you’d left and had to run down the hall after you.

“Pleeeeaase? I want you two to be happy. That’s all.”

“Reminder: being attacked does not make me happy.”

“He attacked you before and you two got along fine after that! What’s different this time?”

You walked slower and slower before coming to a stop. Elysia looked at you curiously, not speaking to give you a chance to think.

“We’re both scared?” you whispered. “I don’t know.”

“Have you tried—” Elysia cut herself off. “I don’t know how well talking would work actually…hmmm.”

“He wants Emile back and I’m just the next best thing,” you grumbled angrily.

“I know that’s not true. He cared for you both before and he still cares for you both now. At least give him a chance!” She spoke sternly, catching your attention. Holding up a finger again, she smiled. “One date!” You blinked at her for a moment.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been on a proper date…” Elysia blinked at you now, her smile becoming a confused frown.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s always been lunch in the cafeteria or just sitting around together.” You shrugged, it had never really occurred to you before, and certainly didn’t bother you.

“Ok. Soooo we’re gonna fix that first, and then everything should be fine!” The girl didn’t give you much of a choice, holding your hand and skipping down the hall.

I don't think I've ever had this many page breaks, yike. alSO THANK YOU WORD FOR CHANING "KALPAS" TO BOTH "K'LPAS" AND "KALP'S" I'M GONNA SHRIEK. STOP CORRECTING ME WHEN I DON'T ASK FOR ITTTTTTTTTT WHERE DID THAT EVEN COME FROM????????????

I hope you know every time I type "ot" and then find it, it physically pains me. also extra fuck word for NEVER POINTING "OT" OUT (I need a different document program before I lose my marbles)

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x Reader #Kalpas x Reader #Kalpas x Reader x Emile #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #edited finally!

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kalpasio · 2 years

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The Herrscher of Stars

The Herrscher of Stars: Concerned, Furious, and Hurt

A Kalpas x Herrscher!Reader fic, Chapter 5 below!

I feel like a high schooler.

You’re acting like one too, Star spoke in a bored tone.

Have I done something to offend him? Your hands fidgeted without you noticing while you thought about the few interactions you had with Emile recently.

Please just ask him, you’re driving me insane. She may not have provided much comfort, but Star had put up with the brunt of your anxious thoughts lately. You were largely stressed by your relationship with Emile and Kalpas because you 1) didn’t know what to call it, and 2) Emile was blatantly avoiding you all of a sudden.

Kalpas you expected not to actively seek you out, but the two of you still shared meals together at least somewhat frequently. The fact that you had two boyfriends that you weren’t sure were your boyfriend, and neither really wanted to talk to you was nerve-racking to say the least. Were they only now bothered by the fact that you were a Herrscher? Had something changed? Or were they just plain fed up?

It took you a full day to track down Emile, and when you did, he just looked shocked. “Why would I be upset with you?”

“I just haven’t seen much of you lately, I guess,” you shrugged.

And he leaves rooms when you enter, and he’s sleeping in his own room again, and he ignores your messages, and—

Yes! Thank you, Star! Shaking your head, you took a deep breath. “Look, I just want to know you’re alright. If something’s bothering you, I’m always here to talk; even if that something is me.”

“I’ve just been busy. Kalpas breaks so much shit I have to become a shut-in to get all the paperwork done.” He laughed at his joke, but barely smiled for it.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can help with,” you gave him a smile, and got a grimace in return.

“Do you think something’s up with Emile?” Kalpas was in the training room, you had come down to talk to him, and it wasn’t proving very useful. When he gave his third ‘I don’t fucking know,’ of the night, you groaned and fell onto the short wall around the ring. Your head and arms were over the side and reaching towards the ground, but you weren’t worried about getting hit.

“Why do you think something’s up with Emile?” Sakura asked while jumping back to avoid a series of punches.

“Apart from how he’s been acting, something just feels off. Like it’s right on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t figure out what it is.”

Sakura fell heavily into the wall next to you but didn’t even look winded. Kalpas stood in the center of the ring, his fists filled with flame while he waited for her to move so he wouldn’t hit you.

“Quit worrying,” he grunted while ramming Sakura with his shoulder.

“He hasn’t tried to kill you in a week!” you looked up in frustration and saw Kalpas pause, leaving an opening his opponent happily took advantage of. There was no response, but at least you knew he was thinking about it now.

The next day, Kalpas told you he got the same bullshit excuse you did. Emile was still talking to him, though. If you were on the same side of the base, he would hide or find a way around you. It wasn’t particularly mature, but you’d had enough. You started sleeping in your own room again, eating at odd times to avoid them both, and picking up as many missions as you could. Anything to be away from them.

“A full-fledged Herrscher!”

“A mighty and powerful Herrscher!”

“And you couldn’t even find us hiding right in plain sight!”

A chorus of laughter filled the empty theater.

A thousand voices laughing at you.

“You didn’t care about him.”

“That’s why you didn’t notice us.”

“You didn’t even notice him in the first place!”

More of the obnoxious cackling echoed around you.

They’re wrong. They’re lying! You kept repeating to yourself. While you were curling in on yourself in despair, Star was growing more and more furious.

“A thousand strong, you say?” She mocked in your voice. “All I see are a thousand weaklings about to be snuffed out!”

“Yes! Yes! Show us the power of the Herrscher of Stars!”

Distantly, you could feel your hand being brought above your head. Power swelled in the core in your chest, and moved up your arm. Something was wrong here. It felt like you were wading through a bog trying to grab onto a thought that was being pushed further away by the water as you moved. They were excited to see you use your powers and—and what? It was almost like—did they want to see—

Star wait!

A flash of light, and you felt the power leave your hand.

When your momentary blindness passed, your hand was still outstretched, but Elysia stood in front of you.

“Hi!~” She sent a wink over her shoulder. A single arrow flew into the sky and a crystal dome covered the entire platform you were on. Spears of light bounced all around you, piercing each and every one of the puppets in seconds.

When the crystal fell down around you, it revealed a large black and gold sphere imprinted with the same symbol you’d seen on every doll, marking it as property of the Herrscher of Domination. It floated up, as though held by strings, arms and legs rising as well. The initial piece rotated until two red glowing eyes stared into your own. All the pieces moved together to slam into the platform, the limbs spread out like fingers on a hand.

“One Herrscher versus two?” Elysia winked at you. “This hardly seems fair.” The puppet slowly rose to stand again, but this time when it met your eyes, it saw Star’s instead. A snarl formed on your face, and one lance at your feet became dozens of light beams behind you.

Elysia may have been kidding before, but the fight barely lasted a few seconds. Both of you bombarded the puppet with attacks, snapping the invisible strings, and shattering its body. As the puppet crumbled, so did the theater around you. Elysia grabbed your hand and started running. You both dove through a portal and landed on the floor inside Su’s personal meditation room. He must’ve used Cosmic Juggernaut to get Elysia into the Theater of Domination.

“Thank you both,” you panted while standing shakily. “Does—”

“Dr. Mei has no clue this happened. She’s probably still looking for a way to get Kevin inside,” Elysia giggled. “Thank you, again Su!”

I thought I was getting better at writing angy fire man but I'm just writing toasty man. Which is also good, but not Kalpas and uhhh he needs to have a little more roasty with his toasty

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x Reader #Kalpas x Emile #Kalpas x Reader x Emile #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #edited finally!

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kalpasio · 2 years

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The Herrscher of Stars

The Herrscher of Stars: Finally Gets to Rest

A Kalpas x Herrscher!Reader fic, Chapter 4 below!

Without thinking, you had guided Star back to your old home. The place she technically had been born. The Epicenter of the fabled Herrscher of Stars eruption. Of course, any buildings in the vicinity were nothing more than dust after being compressed by a force a thousand time stronger than Earth’s gravity. Further out, however, some structures were still around, simply abandoned.

Star had dropped you in an old bakery you used to frequent. Inside, the glass case was shattered, along with the front windows. Two tables were upturned, a third you had seen about two blocks away. After so many years, the flour on the ground had been replaced with dust and dirt.

Next to the bakery was a set of stairs that led to a small apartment on the floor above. The door was open, and wouldn’t shut properly anymore, but the inside was in decent shape, considering all that had happened outside.

Again, the floor was a mess, covered in rubble and broken glass. All the windows had been boarded up, someone must’ve been here at some point, but it certainly hadn’t been recent. The tools used for the job were still out on the floor, though any nails had long since rolled away. All the natural light in the rooms came through the little gaps between the wood, leaving most of the apartment shadowed. An old brick fireplace sat in the main room, and there was one in both bedrooms.

Looking in each room, you found them completely empty. People used to live here. There were memories here, but all you could see was empty space. It made sense, logically. The people that used to live here would come back for anything of sentimental value. Scavengers would’ve taken the rest—including beds, apparently. You remembered there being a fabric store down the street, but that definitely would’ve been raided already.

Checking a few more apartments, you were able to scrounge up a few blankets and found a pullout couch. Probably a bit difficult for people to take, and not worth enough for the trouble. Since all the other homes were mostly destroyed, you brought your findings back to the bakery. Zero gravity made moving a cinch, and you were asleep within an hour of reaching your town.

As hungry as you were—and would be when you woke up—you’d just used powers you hadn’t touched in years, flown through most of the night, and had done all that on less than an hours worth of sleep. Exhaustion took precedence, and you were out like a light.

Star had appeared in your dreams before but tended to avoid it because it left you unrested, and she hated being tired as much as you did. After such a strange night, however, you figured a dream chat was understandable.

“I’ve put us in a coma,” she spoke while inspecting her nails.

“What?! I know I said ‘lay low,’ but this is not what I meant!”

“Calm down,” she rolled her eyes, which did nothing to help your anger. “You need to rest after that fight. You’re not used to using my Herrscher powers, and your body is exhausted.”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere; this is not at all safe,” you put your hands on your hips and scowled.

“You’ll be asleep, but I’ll still be up. If anything happens, I’ll wake us up.”

“But—"

“Go to sleep,” she waved her hand and left you to more pleasant dreams.

“Has It been a week?” Your throat was beyond dry and sounded like you’d swallowed rocks. Every part of your body hurt—especially your back—from laying still for so long.

Four days. I heard a shuttle touch down, and someone’s walking around.

It was stupid to come back here, you thought while struggling to stand up. Of course the Herrscher of Stars would return to the only other place they’ve been seen.

It was your idea, and it’s too late now. Just get up and get the hell out of here.

You managed that first part, but the door to your stolen bedroom opened before you could even stand without the wall’s help. Kalpas stood on the other side. Immediately one of your eyes turned dark blue, but you hissed and ducked down, bringing a hand to your head in pain. A splitting headache took over all your senses for a second, your body was still weak from using Star's powers and you knew fighting just wasn’t an option.

“You think just because you protected the base you get a vacation?” You looked up at Kalpas, confused by his words. Instead of the flames you expected, he was leaning a shoulder against the doorway with his arms crossed and one leg in front of the other. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he looked relaxed.

“Whatever,” he pushed off the frame and took two steps across the room to stand in front of you. “Let’s go. You go AWOL for two weeks they change your name to ‘mia’ or something.”

“What?” your voice croaked, and you coughed right after. Kalpas scoffed and thew you over his shoulder. You couldn’t exactly argue with him right now; your body did feel like a sack of potatoes, may as well get carried like one.

“Why do I even bother trying to talk with you? All you say is ‘what?’” he mocked, but all you could do was weakly slap his back. “I’m taking you back to base,” he spoke loudly, as though you wouldn’t understand otherwise. “And you’re going to shower because you’re covered in dust. Then you can say ‘what?’ all you want.”

The shower got bumped to the fourth task on your list. First was eating and getting some water. Then you had to go to the medbay and get checked out. After around fifteen minutes of sitting there, they let you go plead your case with your senior officers. Elysia came skipping out of their office and told you not to bother.

Clearly, you had spent the past few days on a mission for her. It was supposed to be quick—that’s why she didn’t report it—and things went bad—that’s why you smelled like a construction site. Finally, you got that shower, and you took your sweet time getting all the spiderwebs out of your hair. Star was silent the whole time, making you worried.

It might be a trap, she whispered as though someone might hear her.

“If it is, then at least we’re rested and prepared.” Pulling the blankets up to your chin, you sighed. “And I’m honestly too tired to care.”

Why is he still following us?

I don’t know.

Ask him!

You let out a huff. “Kalpas, why are you still following me?”

“Because I asked him to,” Emile sat at your table, stirring sugar into his coffee.

“And you asked him to because…?”

He shrugged. “Something to do. You actually respond when I call you, so I can find him, and it keeps him out of trouble.” Emile took a sip of his coffee while pointing a thumb at Kalpas who grumbled.

“I really think it just puts me in trouble. I’ve nearly become shish kebabs,” you pointed at Emile, “and Barbeque,” Kalpas got a glare now. Your argument didn’t work. After a week, you came to accept it. A month and you realized Emile was just trying to pawn his job off to you. Kalpas knew it too, but he’d gotten used to being around you, and having a break from being stabbed was nice once in a while. For you, having someone other than Star to talk to was a breath of fresh air.

When winter moved in, you actually had people who would eat all the cookies you made, instead of Star demanding you eat them yourself until you were sick. Emile especially seemed to be happy about the cold weather. “Who doesn’t like free shit?” he argued, but you knew he had an addiction to eggnog. He wouldn’t even put anything in it, he just drank the stuff at every opportunity.

“It only comes out once a year! Gotta enjoy it while it lasts!”

“Why don’t you just make your own?” you weren’t looking, but your offhanded comment made Emile break out into a grin. The next week and a half, you and Kalpas were forced to try every eggnog recipe on the planet.

“Why couldn’t you keep your mouth shut?” Kalpas groaned as a third glass was placed in front of you both.

“Trust me. I wish I had,” you mumbled into your arm resting on the table.

When the heat went out in the dorms, you went to Emile’s apartment, expecting his quarters to be nicer and still warm. Unfortunately for Kalpas, that was not the case, and both of you went to his door next. Being a MANTIS, he had a much nicer room, but his heat was out too. He just hadn’t noticed, and when Emile shoved his way into the room, it really did feel like it still had heat.

Most agents were sent to other bases, but you three stayed, with you and Emile practically glued to Kalpas’ side. You may or may not have abused your powers to make a sun to stay warm. It was hard to keep up, but Star whining about the cold was more annoying than the cold itself. The potentially awkward situation of sharing a bed didn’t bother you in the slightest, it was so cold, you’d take any warmth you could get. Not even two days after the heat went out, it was fixed. That night, you got to sleep in your own bed for about five minutes.

Emile knocked on your door with a scowling—probably, you couldn’t be sure—Kalpas behind him. “Are you ready for bed?” He asked nicely, but wore the same smile he used when throwing knives at Kalpas.

“I was just in—”

“Yes or no question.”

“Yes?” You were incredibly confused, and then concerned when his smile grew.

“Great! Let’s go,” he jerked his head and started walking away. Kalpas grabbed your wrist and started pulling you down the hall after Emile. Your “leader” waited outside the door to Kalpas’ room while you caught up, then unlocked it and held it open so you could be dragged in.

Emile was the first one in bed, then Kalpas who was still holding onto your wrist, meaning you were pulled onto the bed as well. “Good night!” Emile sounded so proud of himself as he turned the light off.

“Why am I here?” you asked into the dark.

“Go to sleep,” Kalpas grumbled beside you.

The next night went much the same, and you gave up trying to sleep in your room after the third night of being woken up and moved to another bed. Kalaps’ bed was nicer than yours, and it was warmer than yours. That combined with the fact that he had his own bathroom and a much larger kitchen had you sold.

Most nights, Kalpas would sleep in the middle and be a personal heater for you and Emile. The first time Emile was in the middle, you complained about him hogging all the warmth for a solid five minutes, but he was much more willing to cuddle than Kalpas, so it balanced out. Being in the middle yourself was the safest feeling in the world, but it could also be a bit much.

Kalpas wanted to be touching you both to know you were there, so his arm was over you, pressing you and Emile together. On your other side, Emile would be fine when you all fell asleep, but overnight, he would try to take up as much space as possible. On more than one occasion, you woke to find his arm resting on your face, and if you moved that, his leg would kick yours in search for more room.

The first night it happened, you tried to roll over Kalpas and trade places with him, but right when you were over him, he pulled you down, and that’s where you stayed for most of the night. Emile woke you by whisper yelling into your ear about how ‘sharing is caring.’ Kalpas grabbed your unused pillow and you thought he was going to cover his ears, but instead he smacked Emile with so much force, dust came out of the pillow. Your shocked face made Emile laugh, and he just took the new pillow and moved closer to you both for another fifteen minutes of sleep.

I love copying these into ao3 cause I get to see the red squigglys under every time I write "Kalpas" and I go "oof" and then don't change it :)

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x Reader #Kalpas x Emile #Kalpas x Reader x Emile #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #this is too many tags #I know I do a lot but like hhhhh #edited finally!

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kalpasio · 2 years

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The Herrscher of Stars

The Herrscher of Stars: Very Much Alive

A Kalpas x Herrscher!Reader fic, Chapter 3 below!

please note, these chapters will be edited sometime in the near future

When Kalpas suggested you prove your dedication to humanity for a week, you didn’t realize he was going to be stalking you the whole time. He watched you eat breakfast, watched you go through morning drills, he tried to watch you in the locker room, but you—and a few other agents—got him to back off. Lunch and your mission briefing were the same, and he even stood there silently while you spoke to Elysia.

At dinner, Emile found Kalpas, but since he refused to let you out of his sight, you got found too. “Look, I’m glad you made a new friend, but if you ditch another meeting, I’m gonna have to kill you,” Emile spoke as though that were a perfectly normal thing to say. His shrug only emphasized his nonchalance, and you worried you might get caught in the crossfire between these two again.

He gets to threaten death on a regular basis, but your eyes glow once and you’re suddenly a threat. Star threw her hands in the air, I told you we should’ve just killed him!”

It’s only a week, it’s not like we have to do anything special. Also, trying to prove we don’t go around killing people by killing them seems a little counterproductive.

Whatever, she waved you off. Go be human. I’m tired of listening to logic.

Emile’s threat last night did very little to deter Kalpas, and soon you found yourself being followed by two weird men instead of one. They even went so far as to tag along on your mission, Kalpas killing anything before you could try to fight yourself, and Emile judging your every move. Kalpas never explained to Emile why he was watching you, and Emile never asked. Knowing how sharp he was, you had a feeling he figured it out.

Today was the last day you had to deal with them, then you’d be home free. All you had to do was not be suspicious. Easy peasy. Star was still complaining, but you expected that at this point. You trained, ate, wrote reports, and did absolutely nothing Herrscher related. That night, you went to bed, content that you had cleared your name.

Barely an hour later, you were woken by the sound of alarms. Fire Moth HQ got attacked on a regular basis, but automated turrets were able to handle most threats. For the ringing in your ears right now, there had to be something massive—like a Herrscher…

Did he turn us in? Star’s anger and fear mixed with your own, making it hard to keep your thoughts straight. You needed to move.

Grabbing a coat and your lance, you bolted out your door and took a sharp turn down the hall. If you could make it to the kitchens, there was a back entrance that wasn’t monitored. You just had to make it down a few more halls.

“Where the hell are you going?” Kalpas was in front of you, glaring after you nearly ran into him. He didn’t make a move to kill you, but you weren’t going to stick around for him to. Darting to the side, you went around him and continued sprinting down halls.

Throwing open the canteen doors, you heard Star swear and try to take over. Honkai beasts and corrupted Fire Moth mechs filled the cafeteria, and Kalpas was hot on your trail. Tightly gripping your lance, you got one step in to the room before he reached you. And then he was past you. Not even noticing you were there before he dove into the sea of Honkai.

It didn’t make sense for there to be Honkai beasts in the base normally, but even more so if you were the threat. You wouldn't summon them, and there's no way Fire Moth would just let them lose in the facility. That didn’t matter. If you wanted to escape, now was your chance. No one else had caught up to you yet.

Since Kalpas knew you were a Herrscher, there was no point in holding back. With glowing blue eyes, you threw your lance into the air. Reversing gravity for only yourself, your feet touched the ceiling only long enough for you to crouch and push off. A shout left you as you kicked your floating lance back into the clump of Honkai.

For a fraction of a second, the brightness of a star shone at the tip of your lance, and then it went straight through a Chariot. It was embedded deep into the ground, a gravity well around it pulling most of the beasts together.

Reversing gravity again and increasing it, you dropped viciously to the ground, beams of starlight surrounding you and impaling anything caught in the pull of your artificial sun. With a path cleared, you yanked your lance from the crater it made, and headed for the door. Kalpas could deal with the rest, and that should slow him down enough for you to get out of here.

You made it so far as the main gate, only running into a few enemies that you delt with in one swing. What stopped you was a much larger issue. Hovering above the gate, you saw a man shrouded in darkness, despite the floodlights shining directly on him. You couldn’t make out much else, but you knew for sure he was nothing good.

“If it isn’t the Herrscher of Stars.” His head snapped in your direction and eyes locked onto your own. “The traitor and coward,” he drawled, voice deep and unnerving like your own when Star had first taken over. Even though he could see you, the building was still covering you in enough shadow that no other MOTHs knew it was you he was talking to.

Who the hell is this? You asked Star, and you could feel her seethe.

Some shitty discount Herrscher wannabe who’s about to be dead, the amount of power she pushed through your body increased, and you knew she was about to fight.

Wait, you locked your legs. We can’t be seen. He knows you’re the Herrscher of Stars, give him the real Herrscher of Stars.

Handing over so much control was dangerous, but it was your best bet. Just like every other Herrscher, your appearance changed the more you used your powers. A skin tight suit with sheer cutouts that showed the night sky replaced pajamas. One leg was the bright yellow-white of a sun, the other so black, it almost couldn’t be seen. Star’s deep blue completely took over your eyes, with blinding white stars for pupils, and a crown on top of your head. She always did have a flair for the dramatic.

“You’re not even a Herrscher, and you dare speak my name?” Star spoke with your voice, hers laid over it like a filter for the distortion you heard every day in your mind. Gravity had no hold over you now, the feeling of floating taking over as you rose to meet your enemy. Once you were closer, you scoffed and relaxed your tense posture.

“A pseudo-Herrscher? Not even the real deal and you want to attack humanity’s stronghold and a true Herrscher?” You lazily raised a hand and summoned an array of star lances behind yourself, burning away the pitch black around the other Herrscher with your light. “Stand down and save us both the trouble.”

“Real or not, I’d like to see you try and fight the dark.” Suddenly you were entirely surrounded by black, even the glow from your lances disappeared. Inwardly, you panicked. Attacks could come form anywhere, and you were weaponless. Star, however, was completely calm.

“So you know my name, and you still think fighting me is a good idea? You picked, possibly the worst Herrscher to fight.” Raising your left arm, you could feel the Honkai energy concentrating in your fist as a star began to form. Light spilled from between your fingers until you let go and the miniature sun completely dismissed the dark. In the middle of the night, you made it day, and you hardly felt drained.

The pseudo-Herrscher’s shocked face told you everything. Blinding you had been his only plan, and he was left with no options. With a sneer, your still outstretched hand formed a claw. The sun split into several tiny stars; all of them sharp, and all of them pointed at your enemy.

“Fake,” you spat, then drove your hand down, the light following and piercing the cheap copy. Raising both hands, you summoned a much larger lance made of starlight. Slowly, you lowered your right hand, using it to create a gravity well behind the pseudo-Herrscher.

Clenching your hand into a fist pulled both him, and the spear you threw, and your hit was dead-on. With the core inside him shattered, there was nothing keeping him in the air but you. As soon as you let go, he fell to the ground far below you, Herrscher attire flickering away like a comet.

The fight’s over, you placed a hand on Star’s shoulder in your mind. She turned to you with a glare.

You want us to fall like that idiot? You shook your head ‘no.’ Then let me set us down first.

Casting your eyes over the ground, you looked for somewhere to land where you wouldn’t be spotted. What you found instead was a bright fire looking directly at you. Kalpas. If you went anywhere near him, you were as good as dead.

We can’t stay here, you nudged Star to look the other way. Find us somewhere else. It’s best if we lay low for now. She gave a soft ‘yeah’ and the Herrscher turned back into the little kid you were used to. With a nod, you pushed off and flew away from your home, off to find somewhere nobody knew your name.

Gotta continue MiHoYo's oversexualization with the body suit, sorry guys. Also I wrote down the words "hint of Herrscher" and went "that sounds like a candle" then frantically erased it and I think that summarizes this story pretty well.

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x reader #Kalpas x Emile #Kalpas x Reader x Emile #I hate making up new tags I feel like I'm doing something wrong #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #edited finally!

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kalpasio · 2 years

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The Herrscher of Stars

The Herrscher of Stars: Big Baby And Resident Nuisance

A Kalpas x Herrscher!Reader fic, Chapter 2 below!

Every report you’d read led you to believe Kalpas wasn’t lucid when on a rampage like that. As soon as he got all glowy with a side of extra fire, he would focus only on his target and nothing else. There was no way he knew who you were, and definitely no way he would figure out you were a Herrscher. At least, that’s what you were telling Star.

She’d begun whispering in your ear different ways to “keep him quiet,” all of which involved killing someone. Survival was her main motivator—she needed to be alive to spread the will of Honkai. Right now, she was biding her time to strike she said, that’s all. Definitely not on a four year vacation.

When Kalpas caught your eye in the lunchroom, you knew you were screwed. Getting lost in the crowd may have saved you that time, but if he knew who you were, he could report you to Fire Moth, or just confront you himself. No matter how much you tried to stay calm, your heart was always racing because of the literal voice in your head.

Star was constantly on guard, and you were well and truly sick of it. She refused to stay put in your mind, constantly talking over your thoughts, and popping up to try and take control. More than once, you had to tightly shut your eyes to hide the change in color. You could only say dust got in your eye so many times before you sounded crazy.

Just when you were at your wits end, that’s when he cornered you. Residential halls were fairly empty during the day, and Kalpas took advantage of that. It was just the two of you when you turned the corner to your small apartment. He stood there, leaning against the wall with one leg propped against it so his knee stuck out.

Star went full Herrscher mode, clawing at you for control. If Kalpas didn’t already know you were there, he sure did after you hissed, doing everything you could to keep her at bay. Thoughts of killing him right here flooded your mind, forcing you to grit your teeth in an attempt to keep them away.

“Scared, Herrscher?” You could feel Kalpas’ heat from the other end of the hall, but a chill still ran up your spine. One of your eyes filled with the familiar deep blue and you covered it with your hand. Even though he knew who you were, you couldn’t let him know you were losing control.

Slow deliberate steps brought the man closer, until he stood in front of you. He had to bend slightly at the hips to look you in the eye. Even with one eye still covered, you met his glare with as much confidence as you could muster.

“Do you know how many Herrschers I’ve killed?” His voice was low and quiet so only you could hear. Too bad Star was listening in and screaming at you.

He’ll ruin everything! Remove the threat and we’re fine. He’s the only one who knows. Get rid of him now!

“I don’t see why it matters,” you kept your voice level, and lowered your hand, though you kept your eye closed still.

“I’m about to add one more to the list!” He suddenly pulled back and flames filled the hall. Both your eyes opened in surprise, then quickly narrowed in anger. The one blue eye became two, and you could feel the energy swelling in your hands as Star fed you power.

Neither of you were the first to strike, however. A knife sailed over your shoulder and straight into Kalpas’ chest. He took a half step back but yanked the blade out and dropped it on the ground like it was nothing. Quickly, you turned so you could see both threats in the hallway. The moment you did, two more knives flew past you and hit their target cleanly.

Kalpas didn’t even seem surprised by the attack, and only stumbled once the knives were pulled out. “What, did you think I’d keep trying the same old thing?” The stranger asked. Kalpas fell with his shoulder against the wall, and the fires in the hall became nothing more than smoke.

“Poison,” he spat out, looking weak, but still very much a threat. “Is that the only way you think you can kill me?”

“I’m surprised you’re still standing, honestly. Let’s try one more.” Another knife dug into Kalpas’ leg, and you just watched as he fell to the ground. Star patiently stayed still—for once—to see how this all played out, at your insistence.

The unknown attacker walked past you without so much as a glance. He then threw Kalpas over his shoulder and left the way he came. While Star was confused, you slid back in to take control, and walked the rest of the way to your room, heart still beating rapidly.

“A little birdie told me there’s a Herrscher on base,” Elysia skipped up to you at lunch and slid into the seat next to you.

“Yeah?” you calmly took another bite of your food. We can’t fight here, you kept Star pushed back in your mind, telling her you could handle this.

“Mhmm,” Elysia leaned closer to you with that cheeky smile she always wore. “Kalpas is rarely one to spill the beans, but I have my ways.”

“So who is it?” You looked at the girl next to you out of the corner of your eye. “Lillena? I haven’t seen much of her lately.”

“I’ll give you a hint! It’s the Herrscher of Stars.” Star gasped and you had to roll your eyes at her.

“That doesn’t really narrow it down. Besides, I thought that was just a rumor, never confirmed to be a real Herrscher.”

Hey!

Shut up! You quieted Star’s outrage at your thinly veiled insult, trying to focus on the conversation in front of you.

“Oh, come on,” Elysia faked a pout. “Who could possibly be a Herrscher?”

“I really don’t know,” you sighed. “I can’t remember every person on base. Why do I need to know anyway. Higher-ups will release a report within the week.”

“Higher-ups don’t know!” she grinned.

“So you want my help to hunt them down or something?”

“I just want to know what a Herrscher is doing at an enemy base.” The girl looked you dead in the eyes and you stared right back.

“I’d think you of all people would know.” The two of you looked at each other in silence for a minute before Elysia let out a groan.

“You’re no fun!”

“Never said I was,” you moved to stand up, but she grabbed your arm to keep you in place.

“I may be the only one who knows now, but other people might find out if you don’t prove which side your own.” Elysia spoke with a seriousness that you rarely heard from her, and you couldn’t tell if she was threatening you herself, or warning you about Kalpas.

“If I find that Herrscher, I’ll let them know.”

It had been an annoying conversation, but Elysia had a point. All Kalpas knew was that you were a Herrscher, and Herrschers should be killed. If you could prove that the Herrscher of Stars was under control—mostly, but he didn’t need to know that—maybe he wouldn’t turn you in.

By a stroke of luck, he was still in the medbay from that random attack in the hall. Other people might be able to listen in on your conversation, but that would also keep Kalpas in check while you tried to convince him. Once you were in the medical wing, all you had to do was follow the shouting.

“Because killing you in your sleep wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying, I thought that was obvious.”

“Get these damn restraints off me and I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about that!”

“Tempting! But I’ll pass.” You looked around the corner and saw Kalpas arguing with the same man that put him in the medbay. “Oh look! You’ve got a guest.” He may not have intended it to be sarcastic, but you sent him an unamused look anyway. Laid out on the bed, every one of Kalpas’ limbs was strapped down, and even his head. It seemed a little extreme, until you remembered the fire coming out around his mask during your fight.

"I’m Emile,” the man on the other side of the bed held his hand out over Kalpas for you to shake. “Kalpas’ babysitter for the week.”

“I see,” you hesitantly took his hand while Kalpas growled at you both. “I was hoping to speak to him alone, if that’s alright?” It felt rude not to introduce yourself as well, but if Kalpas decided to turn you in, the fewer people that knew who you were, the better.

“You’re sure welcome to try,” Emile shrugged. “I’ll be back later to talk about randomly attacking teammates.” This was directed at Kalpas, and you couldn’t tell if he was groaning at the prospect of a lecture, or still growling at you. Either way, as soon as the door closed, all his anger was clearly towards you.

“Here to say your last words, Herrscher? You’ll be dead once I’m out of here.”

“I was actually going to convince you to not do that.” Kalpas barked out a laugh and you could feel Star getting restless. “You’re right, I’m the Herrscher of Stars. You’re wrong, however, about what you think a Herrscher is. There’s always an exception to the rule. Most Herrschers exist to destroy humanity, but I don’t. For the past three years I’ve been working with Fire Moth to stop the spread of Honkai.”

“What, you think I’m stupid enough to believe you aren’t just like the rest of them?” Kalpas was fuming. Even without the presence of actual flames, you could feel the room getting hotter.

“I’m telling you the Herrscher of Stars isn’t a threat. Both she and I want to continue to work here peacefully.”

“You and the Herrscher are one in the same. You have no control over her. I saw the fear in your eyes, you got scared and the only thing you could do was kill, you’re still just a pawn of the Honkai.”

“You’d be scared too if a giant man made of lava lunged at you.” Running a hand through your hair, you did a quick glance around the empty medbay room. “What can I do to prove I’m on your side?”

“Die.”

At least he was straight to the point.

Giving a breathy chuckle, you said, “ok. Other than that.”

“Nothing,” Kalpas spat. “You’re not a human anymore Herrscher.”

Ouch, Star voiced your thoughts.

“As a MANTIS, you have Honkai genetics in you, right? But you’re able to keep them in check. How am I any different?” You were running out of arguments, and you could hear Star starting up her murder suggestion again. Her voice was the only noise in the silence stretching between you and Kalpas.

“One week, Herrscher. You’re dead if I see anything.”

That was…vague and ominous, but you could work with this! “I just told you I’ve been here three years—”

“A week!” Kalpas was shouting at the ceiling since he couldn’t turn his head, but you got the message loud and clear.

“One week,” you agreed. You could do this.

I've used like 15 different types of paper to write on so I have no good measurement of how much I've written so I thought I had done so much cause I went through a bunch of paper, but I'm getting like half of what I normally get on that many pages so it's less story but it feels like more?

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #Emile (HI3) x Reader #Kalpas x Emile #Kalpas x reader x Emile #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3 #edited finally!

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kalpasio · 1 year

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WEREWOLF KALPAS ANON SLAMMING INTO THE INBOX BECAUSE THERE'S AN IDEA IN MY HEAD THAT HAS ME IN A CHOKEHOLD--!

I could not, for the life of me, sleep because this idea just haunted me the second it came to life and my hands itched to share it asappppp _(´ཀ`」 ∠) _

Inspired by the endings of some of your fics where Kalpas just went "we're dating" without S/O ever knowing it--

5+1 thing! So, y'know, 5 times Kalpas fails (as in, gets misunderstood lmao) to ask S/O out, one time he finally did it right. (Or you can just go five times Kalpas just randomly surprise kisses S/O, one time they surprised kissed him instead skjskjskjskj Icravefluffandkissesfromoutangeryboi)

AIGHT! DATS IT FROM ME! crawlingmyselfoutoftheinboxnow

HI WEREWOLF KALPAS ANON!!!!!!! I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO SO LONG!!!! 😭💔

This is such a good idea and I'm so happy I got to do it, because we all know that Kalpas is like. The worst at communicating. He comes off as like kinda creepy because man doesn't understand what emotions are, but he's got the spirit! I hope this is what you had in mind for the request, and I hope you like it!!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

#werewolf kalpas anon my beloved 🧡#request!!!!#thank you so so so much 🧡🧡🧡#emile comes back #and so does rin #because oh my gosh they all deserve to be happy gosh darn it #Kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #werewolf kalpas anon you have my heart

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kalpasio · 1 year

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Firecracker

A Kalpas x Reader one shot, the link goes to the whole book, but the chapter is below the cut!

Hypothetically, you and Kalpas had been dating for a few months now. You say ‘hypothetically’ because really there was no difference between how he treated you compared to anyone else. His friends Sakura and Emile received the same rude comments laced with concern that you did, and his enemies just got the rude part.

Going into this relationship, you weren’t expecting anything spectacular; the only thing Kalpas went over the top for was destruction & violence. Still, you had hoped there would be some change between the two of you. Maybe the occasional hug, or maybe he would spend some free time with you instead of the training holograms. At the very least, you thought he’d let you use a term of endearment, but pet names were firmly on his shit list.

The first time you tried calling him ‘love,’ he bluntly told you he thought that was stupid. Kalpas already had a name, why would you give him one? It was just another one of those things couples did that he couldn’t see the point of. You wanted to ask what he did see the point of in a relationship, but you had a feeling his answer wasn’t something you wanted to hear. ‘Sugar, honey, pumpkin’? Absolutely not. ‘Dearest, beloved, sweetheart’? You were lucky if you only got a glare.

You only had to ask Kalpas to spend more time together once, and he was on it. What had been only your room, was now as much yours as it was his, he was the last person to see you off on a mission, and the first to welcome you back. While he may not initiate PDA, he made it clear he didn’t care what others thought and was comfortable so long as you were. The only thing that didn’t change was the strict use of only his name and nothing else. It was actually on accident when you finally found a term of endearment that met Kalpas’ high standards.

“Calm down firecracker,” you’d said, fully expecting your words to have the opposite effect. Kalpas’ tirade stopped, and for half a second, you thought his fury would turn to you next, but it never happened. All he did was scoff and walk out of the room, leaving you and Sakura behind and very confused. Throughout the rest of the day, the moment ran through your head, and you wondered if you’d somehow crossed a line. Unsurprisingly, Kalpas was very vocal about being irritated so you found it hard ot believe he was simply upset about you calling him 'firecracker.'

By the time you were heading to your quarters for the night, you were half convinced you’d be sleeping alone. All your worrying was for naught; when you opened the door, Kalpas was already there, mask off, eating the dinner he’d stolen from the canteen downstairs. Even more surprising, the only thing he was mad about was the fact that you’d returned to using his name.

At first, you didn’t get it. Why was he pouting? You’d never seen Kalpas make that face before, and your confusion didn’t seem to be helping. Over the course of dinner, his pout turned into a scowl that would appear at seemingly random intervals until you finally gave up and asked.

“What’s bothering you?” you spoke through a sigh, though your intentions were genuine.

“Why are you using my name?” He spoke like it was a threat, but you’d gotten so used to his dramatic tendencies, you didn’t even bat an eye.

“Because it’s your name.”

“You didn’t use it this morning.” Kalpas would sound like a petulant child if he wasn’t on the verge of growling, and you realized this must really be frustrating him.

“You mean when I called you firecracker?” You were met with silence. “Do you want me to use it, or are you telling me to stop?”

“Do I need to spell it out?”

“If you want me to understand, yeah.�� Instead of being in any way helpful, Kalpas stood from the table, forcing you to follow him if you wanted an explanation. “Kalpas—” you were met with a fiery glare. “…firecracker?” And now he's fine, walking away like you were playing some sort of red-light green-light with pet names. “You could just tell me these things you know?” Another glare had you taking your words back with an eye roll. “Never mind…”

The next name to earn approval was ‘little flame.’ You’d said it when he was slow getting out of bed one morning, and when the room got hot, you expected him to break the silence with yelling. No such thing came, and when Kalpas got closer to you, it became apparent he was merely blushing. That morning your shower was extra warm, and you found that if you called him ‘little flame,’ your boyfriend would actually sort of listen to you.

After that, he became ‘decimation’ when he proudly announced his signet title. It was a name you preferred to use in private, or at least somewhere Elysia couldn’t hear—which was pretty much exclusively your quarters.

Names like ‘bane of my existence,’ or ‘loath of my life,’ were thrown around as jokes, but unfortunately, one of your jokes stuck. You’d been taunting him after a fight and called him ‘fire boy,’ but when you waited for him to start complaining and shooting flames, you got nothing. Looking over at Kalpas, your concern turned to horror when you saw his smirk.

“No. Nonono, that was a joke. I am not calling you that!”

He laughed and walked ahead while you stood rooted in place. “Then don’t.”

The thing is, he said that, but every few days he’d give you that half-glare-half-pout certified Kalpas look, and you’d have to run through your list of pet names until he was satisfied. And every time, you’d get to the end only to give a sigh before begrudgingly calling him ‘fire boy.’ Without fail, that was the correct answer, and your boyfriend would walk off with a laugh—not because he wanted to humiliate you, but because he was proud of himself for finding a way to make you cave.

On the bright side, Kalpas was aware that his demands could be a little much, and while he had no plans to stop, he was more than willing to provide extra cuddles to compensate. You figured you could let the teasing slide a few more times…

Kalpas is an ass and I love him, what's new?

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3

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kalpasio · 1 year

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Allergies

A Kalpas x Reader one shot, the link goes to the whole book, but the chapter is below the cut!

Oh, you were going to get in so much trouble, and you did feel a bit bad, but it was right there! While out on a mission for Fire Moth, you found a little bakery that was still somewhat intact after the Honkai attack on the city. Civilians had already been evacuated which meant it was just you and the pristine chocolate cake in the shop.

It definitely wasn’t stealing! The shop wouldn’t notice! And if the cake was still here when the owners came back, they wouldn’t be able to sell it, so really, you were saving it from a sad demise in the trash bin. Other agents on the trip home stared at your prize jealously, a few even asked if you would share, which you quickly put a stop to.

Back at base, you immediately headed for your quarters to store the cake before heading to your debriefing to get yelled at for ‘tarnishing Fire Moth’s good name.’ It didn’t matter, you had cake, and you were going to enjoy every bite of it. Except the piece your boyfriend took apparently.

“You didn’t even ask!”

“So? Were you gonna eat the whole thing yourself?”

“Yes!”

“Bull,” Kalpas kept his eyes trained on you while taking another bite as though trying to intimidate you. It wouldn’t work, you both knew that, but he still tried nearly every day.

Rolling your eyes, you grabbed another plate and cut yourself a slice. “Is it any good?”

Kalpas shrugged, “I don’t know. Tastes fine, just a little tingly.” You froze with the cake on your plate and stared at him as he continued to eat lazily.

“What do you mean, ‘tingly’? Like poison tingly?” Kalpas had eaten things that should’ve killed him more times than you could count, and he never seemed to notice. If thisw as bad enough for him to comment on, you’d be dead in a heartbeat. Maybe the cake hadn’t been as well preserved as you thought.

“Like chocolate tingly.” Kalpas shrugged and took another bite, ignoring the concerned look on your face.

“Chocolate’s…not supposed to be tingly.” Now you weren’t sure If you should be worried about the cake or the man in front of you. “Are you allergic to chocolate?”

“No,” he scoffed, which, honestly, you should’ve seen coming.

“Have you ever been tested?”

“No.”

“I think you should get that checked…”

“No.”

“Ok,” you sighed. Arguing rarely got you anywhere. Kalpas could drive you insane and all he’d do is sit there and laugh like he thought your frustration was cute. Other agents he might try to fight, but unless the two of you were in the training grounds, he wouldn’t even consider a physical fight with you. At most, you might get some harsh words, but Kalpas kept himself in check, even without the help of Aponia’s discipline.

Figuring that the cake was probably fine, and your boyfriend was the weird one here, you took a bite. Worst case scenario, it’s poisoned, and you die, but you’ll be making Kalpas suffer too, so truly it was a small price to pay. Luckily, you didn’t die, and you could confidently say the chocolate cake was not tingly. Now all you had to do was convince Kalpas he had an allergy. That should go well.

Presenting physical evidence likely wouldn’t work, but it would make you feel better knowing he truly was allergic, and you weren’t wasting your time on nothing. With that goal in mind, step one was to get Kalpas to take an allergy test, which…that was never going to happen. Obviously, your only option was to stab him.

Emile owed you a favor, and realistically, stabbing Kalpas was something he’d have done today anyway. All you had to do was keep an eye on your patient and watch to see if he got a rash or started itching where he’d been injected. This was definitely against some medical rules, but none of you were doctors so it was fine.

Not even five minutes after the stabbing, Kalpas was scratching his arm, and getting annoyed at the fact that it was itchy. Feeling somewhat bad, and having the results you needed, you stabbed him a second time to help alleviate the allergic reaction. He gave you a look you couldn’t read through his mask, but you had a feeling it was some sort of glare.

“What? Emile’s gonna get you like five more times today, and it’s already healed!” Neither of you moved. “I stopped your itching?” That seemed to satisfy him, Kalpas gave you a low hum, and then left as though nothing had happened.

That night, when you were—forcibly pulled—on top of Kalpas’ chest to sleep, you tried to explain. “So when Emile stabbed you—”

“Which time,” he interrupted in a bored tone, eyes still closed.

“The first time.” He hummed and you continued, “That was actually an allergy test. You’re allergic to chocolate.”

“No.” Kalpas sounded like he was telling a child they couldn’t have candy for the seventh time that day, the annoyance in his voice evident.

“Yes…you are, that’s why you started scratching, and why you stopped after I hit you with the antihistamine.”

Kalpas was silent for a moment, and you knew it was because he didn’t know what you were talking about, but you didn’t get a chance to elaborate.

“Go to sleep,” he grumbled. When you took a breath to speak, he squeezed you in his arms, forcing all the air right back out. Poking his shoulder in retaliation, you closed your eyes and fell asleep.

“So chocolate is sizzly, huh?” Emile was not helping. “I think that’s just you pal.” Kalpas didn’t seem to care, only shrugging in response to Emile’s comment. Unfortunately, Su overheard and came over to where you three were sitting for the briefing that morning.

“Your allergy must be rather mild to not have shown on your physical,” he psoke, calm as ever. Despite knowing he couldn’t see you, your head was rapidly shaking ‘no,’ trying to get him to shut up. Emile was clearly entertained by your distress because he was barely able to cover up his grin. “If it’s bothering you, however, I could always provide you wit—”

“It didn’t show up because I’m not allergic.” Kalpas didn’t sound angry quite yet, but you knew that was just more dangerous, and if you wanted to get out of this room without a fight breaking out, now was your last chance.

The moment Su opened his mouth again, both you and Emile were prepared to shout over him, but thankfully, Dr. Mei walked in, and Su left to find his seat instead. That didn’t mean the events of the day were behind you. When you first met him, you thought rage was Kalpas’ biggest motivator, but now that you knew him better, you were certain it was spite.

Opening the door to your quarters, there were chocolate puddings and brownies you knew had been stolen from the dining hall. In the fridge was a chocolate mousee, chocolate ice cream in the freezer, and Kalpas sat on the couch eating chocolate mint chip cookies.

“Is your tongue tingly?” you asked while sitting down next to him.

“No.” His answer was confident, and he took another bit to prove his point.

“Right,” you rolled your eyes. “Benadryl is in the cabinet when you’re done being stubborn.” Walking to the kitchen, there was a grunt to signify that you’d been heard before you started looking for something that wasn’t dessert to eat.

Kalpas never did use the medicine—you know because he spent the whole night clearing his throat, trying to cover up a cough. He didn’t eat any more chocolate after that, however. The next morning, you suddenly had several sweets Kalpas had definitely gotten you as a gift, and you were left to eat them all yourself.

these are all horribly ooc, but let me dream

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3

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kalpasio · 1 year

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The Several Attempts To Make You Aware

Attempt 6

A 5 + 1 Kalpas x Reader request, chapter 6, the final chapter below!

Staying mad at Kalpas didn’t work very well. Within the day, Emile was coaxing you down from your anger, and venting to Sakura while blasting mechs helped immensely.

“Really, we all saw it coming,” she spoke while standing out of your way, “As soon as he got on that plane, it was his mission.”

“Well yeah, but what am I supposed to do?” You had calmed down considerably, but the irritation still lingered. “If I go without him, he throws a fit, if I go with him, he wrecks the whole job!”

“He’ll find something else to complain about even if you do take him. I think leaving him here would be for the best.” Sakura tried to reason with you, but it just led to you grumbling to yourself. It’s easy for her to say you should leave him; she’s not the one who has to deal with him when you get back.

The rest of the week went by as though nothing had happened while you tried to figure out what to do. Kalpas still spent as much time—probably more—with you as he did with Sakura or Emile. When Tuesday came around, you had come to the decision that Kalpas couldn’t join you on missions, but you’d spar with him more as a compromise. Since he and Emile would be meeting you in the café later that day, you decided to tell him then.

Before that, though, you had to have a ‘chat’ with one of your recruits and planned to meet at the same coffee shop just out of convenience. Considering the fact that you managed to get through the whole conversation without the guy blowing a fuse or crying, things went surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that you now had a couple of minutes to yourself before Emile and Kalpas would arrive.

Now was the perfect time for you to get another drink while you waited, so you headed over to the counter. The barista who took your order looked like she was about to fall asleep at the register, but her co-worker was the complete opposite.

Brian—he’d told you while excitedly pointing at his nametag which had so many stickers on it you could hardly read it—spent more time chatting than he did actually making your drink. When he finally handed it over with a wink, he continued speaking so you couldn’t go back to your seat without rudely ending the conversation.

You continued to stand by the counter nodding and humming when appropriate until you were about halfway through your cup. At this point, you truly had no clue what the guy was going on about, and you really hoped Kalpas would show up and do that thing where he scares everyone into being quiet. When you noticed Brian staring at you expectantly with his hand out, you realized he must’ve asked you a question.

“Sorry,” you gave an uncomfortably polite smile. “Just staring off into space. What were you saying?” Brian flashed you his never-fading grin and repeated himself.

“Can I refill your cup? On the house! I really appreciate you staying here and talking with me!”

“Oh, um, sure?” you handed over the paper cup. “I really don’t mind.” You did, Brian had been talking your ear off for what felt like years, but you couldn’t ring yourself to be rude. People on base regularly treated the staff here like dirt, and you didn’t want to be the beginning of someone’s bad day.

“I really look up to you MOTHs, you know?” The barista busied himself while he spoke, and you noticed the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks. Seeing him all shy almost made him look cute, and you smiled at that as well as the compliment. “That’s part of the reason I wanted to work here! But um, you. You’re especially—ahhh…hmm.” Brian set your finished drink on the counter and frowned at it while he looked for the words.

You knew exactly where this was going, and just wanted to grab your cup before things got awkward. Maybe if you moved slowly, you could sneak it out from under his gaze. Once you had it in your hands, you should probably text Emile to meet somewhere else to avoid the awkwardness of staying there.

Suddenly, Brian’s face rose to meet yours, and you stopped reaching for the drink, almost paralyzed. Oh no. Don’t do it, you mentally begged. His eyes were so bright, and he was so eager, you already felt bad even though there was nothing you could do.

“Would you want to go on a date with me some time?”

Unintentionally, you tensed, and your face drew into a wince as you heard the words. Before you could try and let him down, an arm came around your shoulder and pulled you towards someone so roughly, you lost your balance and had to lean against them completely. Kalpas didn’t seem to notice, holding you in place, the warmth from his chest allowing you to identify your ‘attacker’ despite being unable to see him. What you also couldn’t see with your face half plastered to him, was the death glare Brian was receiving right now. Great, now instead of being sad he was scared out of his wits.

“Get lost.”

Brian didn’t even blink, continuing to stare wide-eyed straight ahead as though petrified. It was Kalpas who ended up leaving, with you in tow, seeing as how his firm grip still had you stumbling and unable to stand properly. Once you were out of the coffee shop, he eased up, and you pulled away and attempted to look slightly less rumpled. Emile was nowhere in sight, probably inside apologizing, or he’d be here soon.

“Thanks,” you sighed while Kalpas stood glaring at the shop as though it would catch fire form his gaze alone. “That was quick thinking; pretending we’re a couple,” you gave a smile that lasted only for a split second before that burning gaze was directed towards you. The heat behind it was still just as furious on you as it had been on the shop, and Kalpas’ voice was just as angry.

“What?”

You blinked, confused at his question, but the second you opened your mouth, he spoke again. “What do you mean ‘pretend.’”

“We’re not—”

“Like hell we’re not dating. I’ve been trying to ask you out for—” he cut himself off and held his hand up, counting the fingers one by one. Covering your mouth, you tried desperately to stifle your laughter. This was a very serious conversation after all. “Four months! How have you not noticed?! Flirting with some ba—”

“Why didn’t you just say something?” you through back to all the time you’ve spent with Kalpas, but you truly couldn’t find any evidence he liked you as more than a sparring partner.

“You…” his voice was low and dripped with rage, only trailing off when he couldn’t find the words to tell you just how pissed he was.

“Remember every time I stabbed him at dinner?” Emile came out of the coffee shop, drink in hand. His cup had a little heart on it along with a phone number, but you weren’t going to question it. “I was trying to avoid this from happening.” He gestured between you and Kalpas.

“Now that the cats out of the bag, do you think we could skip all the arguing and go straight to you two getting along? Brian and I want to go on a date next week, and if you two come with, I won’t have to worry about someone setting the base on fire.” Emile sent Kalpas a side eye that was not helping the situation. “Plus, it’ll be a cute double date,” he sent you a grin, and you knew what Emile really meant. He just wanted to watch you and Kalpas flounder on your first date. Unfortunately for him, you were just as cruel and fully intended to make him miserable for trying to make you look like a fool.

“Sure!” you gave an uncharacteristically sweet smile, “sounds great!” Kalpas didn’t know what you both were planning, but he knew you well enough to not want any part of it.

“Stop that,” he growled, and you and Emile both looked over to him. “Go on your own damn date or your boyfriend will be nothing more than a pile of ash.” Emile waved off the threat even though both of you could feel the temperature around you rising.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’m just sick of watching you two be idiots.”

“It’s your fault!” Kalpas fumed and took a threatening step forward, only stopping because you grabbed his hand on the way.

“This has all been wonderfully entertaining, but I never got my coffee, so can we go back in now?” You smiled at both men, and almost shivered with how suddenly the temperature dropped now that Kalpas wasn’t about to strangle someone. He scoffed as though he didn’t want to go head inside but held your hand tighter and was the first to start walking.

“That bartender better have it still,” he grumbled.

“He’s a barista and my boyfriend!” Emile was practically pouting next to you, making you laugh. Kalpas squeezed your hand silently, refusing to look at you. He’d never say it out loud, but if he got to hold your hand and hear your laugh like this, even if it was just once…

Those four months of waiting and five failed attempts at confessing were all worth it.

I am legally obligated to include "get lost" in every story at least once. Also I'm thinking specifically about that conversation Kalpas has with Mei where she asks how many Herrscher's he's killed and this man starts counting on his toes. I love dumb fiery man. Thank you SO MUCH for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story, and the editing wasn't too horrendous. <3

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #HI3 x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3

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kalpasio · 1 year

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The Several Attempts To Make You Aware

Attempt 5

A 5 + 1 Kalpas x Reader request, chapter 5 below!

Emile finally convinced Kalpas to explain to you what was going on in his mind and not just spring it on you, and Kalpas finally conveyed to you that he wanted to be the person you relied on.

“Look, I get you’re a stronger fighter than me, but I didn’t just become useless overnight.” Kalpas normally wouldn’t care how others felt, but the scowl you were sending him while you spoke made him feel as bad as you intended.

“I know you can fight,” he spoke in a low tine, though there was no real anger behind it. “I want to fight with you.”

“And I’m saying you don’t need to! I know you’re always looking for a battle, but you can’t just steal all of mine.” People around the canteen were staring at you both. Seeing someone yell at Kalpas was a rare event; no one was brave enough, or stupid enough to do so. Seeing you angry was even rarer, and the stares came out of both curiosity at witnessing the two unlikely phenomena at once as well as concern that they might be a bit too close to a very nasty fight.

“I will fight for you, but that’s not what I’m trying to do!” Kalpas’ voice rose to match your own.

“Then what the hell do you want?!”

“I can’t speak for Kalpas, but I’m fairly certain the entire base wants you both to argue a bit quieter,” Sakura spoke from behind you, and heat rushed to your face when you realized how loud you had been. Before the argument could flare up again, she continued, “You promised Rin you would help her make muffins.”

That had Kalpas closing his mouth rather quickly. He would rather give up a good fight than disappoint Sakura’s sister, and apparently you were no better. When you were invited to join, the spat you’d been having was forgotten and you accepted readily.

When the door to Sakura’s apartment was opened, all of you were greeted by Rin’s bright smile and a big hug. Kalpas was last, and he picked the girl up and carried her into the kitchen. Instead of joining them, you were pulled into Sakura’s living room to give you both a bit of privacy to talk.

“Kalpas is only worried about you—” Sakura raised a hand to stop you when you opened your mouth to complain. “Because he cares for you and would be devastated if something were to happen.”

“Sakura, I hate to say it, but we’re living through the end of the world. Something is going to happen, sooner or later.”

“I understand that, trust me,” your friend sighed. “Kalpas is not the most skilled at explaining himself. What he is trying to say, at least as far as I can tell, is that he will do all he can to protect you and if that’s not enough, he fully intends to die by your side and nowhere else.”

Her words caused you to grow silent as you thought through them. In a way, it made sense, though you were still extremely confused, and the furrowing of your brows indicated as much. Your moment of contemplation didn’t last very long as a shout from the kitchen drew both yours and Sakura’s attention.

“Oh no! Now they’re all stuck together!” Rin sat on Kalpas’ shoulders, looking over his head to the bag of chocolate chips in his hands. Though now it more resembled a bag-shaped block of chocolate rather than individual pieces that could be stirred into batter.

The two had been making decent progress on the muffins, with Rin directing Kalpas where to go from atop her perch, but her sweet comment a few seconds ago caught him off guard. Telling him that he should give some of the muffins to you, since Rin had seen couples do it in all her movies, made him freeze and his hands grew hot enough to melt the sugar in the bag. Luckily, he hadn’t simply caught fire or hurt the girl on his shoulders, but the fact that you were now staring right at him had him struggling not to boil the chocolate.

Sakura—ever the life saver—stepped in and calmed Rin down, assuring her the muffins weren’t ruined while removing the crumpled bag from Kalpas’ hands. His handprints could still be seen where he’d been gripping tightly while the chocolate all melted, and the perfect mold left behind made you giggle a little. As quick with a knife as she was with a sword, Sakura cut the chocolate out of the bag, and then into chunks that could be used in place of the chips.

Kalpas and Rin took over from there, and within an hour, the muffins were out of the oven and cooling with Rin watching them eagerly as though that would help them set quicker. When Sakura declared them safe to eat, her sister immediately snatched one and was eating it so fast you were worried she might’ve gotten some of the wrapping paper too. Sakura took one next, and when you reached to get one, Kalpas handed you one instead. The second the muffin was in your hand, Rin gasped and you two stopped moving out of fear that something was wrong.

“Are you two getting married!?!?”

“Eat your muffin,” Kalpas remained almost completely unbothered while you and Sakura were trying not to die; you from embarrassment and her from holding in her laughter.

After the conversation you had with Sakura, you seriously considered what she’d told you. So when Kalpas started trailing behind you on the way to the next mission you were overseeing, you didn’t stop him. The problem-causing cadet you had to babysit was on her best behavior, not wanting to give Kalpas a reason to blow up—not that he really needed one. Throughout the entire mission, the only issue was trying to keep the enemies alive lone enough for the new MOTHs to fight them.

Kalpas had you running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying—and failing—to stop him from killing everything. Your cadet insisted it was fine, even though he was normally just as bad about wanting the highest kill-count. Eight encounters later, you gave up. Kalpas cleared the rest of the area while you and your recruit Whinny followed behind making bets on whether each fight would last one second or two.

When you were all heading back to the ship, you pulled Kalpas aside. He was still breathing heavily, more from his loud laughter than from the fight itself, and a few licks of flame came off him every so often. Most of the buildings in the area were crumbling either form the Honkai, or the man standing in front of you, but you were able to find one that was still in decent shape.

“Look, I get that you enjoy a fight, but the whole reason behind these missions is to get the new agents used to fight, and they can’t do that if you just kill everything in sight.” You felt like you were telling a very large child to keep his hands to himself, and Kalpas was playing is part rather well. Arms crossed, eyes glaring, and a frown you didn’t even need to see to know it was there; he looked like he was having a temper tantrum, and the fire around him wasn’t helping.

“If you want to come on my personal missions, that’s fine, but these smaller ones, I’m not even supposed to help with. You turned a two hour battle into a two minute skirmish.”

“Your MOTHs are pitiful,” Kalpas spat, making you sigh and move your weight to one hip. “There’s no rage, no bloodlust or passion-!”

“Yes, yes, they’re not as good at destroying things as you,” you sighed and rolled your eyes when you saw Kalpas look almost prideful at your accidental compliment. “That’s not the point! They’re never going to be passionate about killing Honkai if you never give them a chance to.”

“They’re not worth your time.” Kalpas leaned towards you, flames appearing more frequently. He just couldn’t understand why you’d follow some inexperienced, uninteresting, weakling agent instead of fighting yourself. Were you seriously leaving him at the base to come do this? Your narrowed gaze told him that his words only succeeded at making you mad, and not at getting his point across.

“I’ll show them how to fight,” he spoke with a grin, and you could hear the underlying threat in his voice. Those agents would be dead before they even had a chance. “Let me save you the trouble.”

“Killing all the recruits isn’t going to help anything!” you hissed, trying not to be so loud the others on the nearby ship could hear. “And you don’t get to tell me how to spend my time! What do you care if I waste it all?” Did you even hear the words coming out of your mouth? Kalpas spent months trying to show you that he wanted to be the one you spent time with!

Unconsciously, his flames grew as he became more and more frustrated with how oblivious you were. Despite his close proximity, neither of you noticed the rising heat. Kalpas was fully ready to go on a rant about how he cared for you.

Until the fire sprinklers went off. Perhaps the building you picked was a little too intact. The fire coming off the man before you was under control, but it still set off the fire alarms and doused the both of you. Under normal circumstances, seeing a fuming, wet Kalpas, complete with steam rising from his head, would have you in stitches laughing. Right now, however, you were soaked through too, and had already been pissed. Alarms downed out any words coming from his mouth, and you weren’t going to stick around to hear what he was trying to say.

The frown on your face was deeper than ever, and even following behind you, Kalpas could tell you were done. All the way back to the ship, you both were silent. If the look you were giving before was bad, the look you gave when you saw Kalpas had completely dried off during your walk was downright murderous. Even he had enough awareness to give you some space.

The flight home was silent, and the first person off the plane was your trainee who looked like she couldn’t decide who was more terrifying: you or Kalpas. You were close behind her, gone before Kalpas could get a single word out, which was probably in everyone’s best interest.

There goes attempt number five.

Definitely not compensating for the last fic. Nope. Also the power button on my laptop is right next to the "end" key and I have hit it way too many times.

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #HI3 x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3

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kalpasio · 1 year

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The Several Attempts To Make You Aware

Attempt 4

A 5 + 1 Kalpas x Reader request, chapter 4 below!

Sakura said you had missed him, yet you had only spoken to Kalpas once in the week that he had been out of the Deep End. Elysia—who would seek him out whenever she felt like pestering someone—suggested that there were several newer MOTHs and you were likely just busy.

This was bullshit.

You were avoiding him and Kalpas knew it.

He wanted to fight alongside you, but he wasn’t going to follow you like a lost puppy. If you didn’t want to see him, then you wouldn’t. Kalpas would like to say that it’s because he wasn’t completely lovesick, and could let you go, but truthfully, you were concerningly good at hiding. If he hadn’t been told otherwise, he readily would have believed you were dead.

But Kalpas had a plan. One of the conditions for his release from the Deep End was that he had to have a superior officer directly supervising him on missions like you had when he was training. Obviously, you met these requirements. If he could just scare off enough adjutants, you would be his commanding officer, and everything would go back to normal. Unfortunately, his latest victim was a bit more stubborn than the others and tried to kill Kalpas first. It had been cute, and over time, the regular assassination attempts grew on Kalpas, and he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of the guy.

Poor Emile. When he had been assigned to Fire Moth’s Menace, he thought killing him would be the fastest way out of the job. Either Kalpas would be dead, or Emile would be reassigned for trying to kill his subordinate.

Neither happened. And now he’s stuck.

“I got a question,” Emile spoke while twirling a knife in his hand absentmindedly. He didn’t even wait for Kalpas to respond before continuing. “Your first supervisor—before the surgery—they never tried to kill you, and you two got along just fine.”

“Yeah?” Kalpas continued fighting the simulated Honkai beasts, not even worried that a man who had stabbed him multiple times was standing nearby holding a knife that he’d been stabbed with multiple times.

“Why did you get along with them? Actually,” Emile corrected himself, “why aren’t they your supervisor now. Why am I stuck with you?”

Kalpas chuckled, both at the memory of you, and at the comment. “They were a challenge. You can see the fire in their eyes every time they fight.”

“And me throwing knives at you is a challenge?”

“No, that’s just fun to watch.”

Emile groaned and threw his knife into one of the simulations, killing it instantly. “Who was your CO anyway?” When he got no response, Emile threw his hands in the air in exasperation, “why do I even bother?” While Kalpas continued fighting, the other man pulled out his phone and began looking through files.

“Oh!” Emile gave a bark of laughter that rivaled Kalpas’ own. “We used to work together, your old CO and I. They got assigned to a new MANTIS that’s almost as problematic as you.” When there was still no response, he thought nothing of it, and continued talking. “I have to go to your mission briefing now, since you can’t be bothered. Enjoy playing your glorified video game.” Emile waved his hand and left the training room.

Kalpas punched his last opponent with enough force that his flames left scorch marks on the wall on the other side. He didn’t care that you were working with another MOTH. He cared that this MOTH was giving you problems and keeping you away from him. You choosing not to spend time with him was…frustrating, but he couldn’t force you to. Some MANTIS taking up all your time, however, was not something he could let go so easily.

Where the hell was Emile? Kalpas wasn’t allowed on missions alone, and his adjutant was absent, so the dropship left without them both, which meant Kalpas now had plenty of time to find his supervisor and spend a few minutes shouting at him. Knowing the man’s obsession with coffee, the canteen was his first stop, immediately followed by the on-base café. That was as far as he needed to go, Emile’s voice could be heard even before entering. And so could yours.

“—didn’t give me too much trouble, though with what you tell me, he might be worse than Kosma."

"Then why not work with him now? You’ve been complaining about Kosma for months, and I know they asked you to work with Kalpas before they asked me.” Kalpas could only assume you were thinking during the silence that followed Emile’s question. But what was making you pause for so long?

“When I worked with him,” you began carefully, “he was like a cute puppy.” Kalpas scowled behind his mask. “He followed me and Sakura around, and he’d yell at people and start fights, but that was it. Now he’s one of the strongest fighters in Fire Moth, and I think if I tried to pat his head like I used to, I’d lose my arm.”

“Probably,” Emile readily agreed. “So you’re scared then?”

“No. Well, I mean,” you gave a short laugh, “I’m not in any hurry to fight him, but that’s not why I don’t want to work with him.”

“Your dynamic has changed,” he supplied.

“Exactly. I’m not entirely sure how to interact with him and going from being so much stronger than him to suddenly not being remotely close to his skill level is awkward.”

That’s why you weren’t talking to him? What the fuck kind of logic was that? Kalpas wasn’t doing this anymore. He didn’t care if you got mad at him for listening in, he stomped straight into the café—which quickly became silent upon his entrance—and right up to your table.

“Oh, you’re awake sooner than I expected,” Emile took a calm sip of his coffee. You on the other hand were staring wide-eyed at the man standing in front of you while he glared daggers at his supervisor.

“We always share coffee on Tuesday mornings,” Emile gestured between you and himself. “And your mission seemed really boring, so I poisoned your breakfast.” Now your eyes turned to him, still in disbelief. He what?!

“I know.”

Kalpas knew?!

“Ah. You never passed out, did you?”

“No.” The two men held each other’s gaze for a moment before one set of eyes turned to you. “And that’s a shitty fucking reason to avoid me.”

Oh, you were so dead. If Kalpas’ stare didn’t kill you now, you had no doubt he’d find some other method of getting the job done in the next minute or so.

“Do you have a better excuse?” he asked, though you knew no answer would save you now.

“No?” Honestly you were beginning to think that him killing you wouldn’t even be a get you out of spending time with him. Instead of putting you and your friend out of your misery, Kalpas pulled out a chair and joined you both at the table. In your mind, this was possibly the worst outcome, clearly he was doing this just to make you suffer for ignoring him.

Kalpas thought he was a genius, and under his mask was a smug smile that Emile was unknowingly copying. The latter knew exactly how uncomfortable you were, and the pained expression on your face was priceless. The fact that Kalpas genuinely though he had just solved everything (and not made you want to curl up in a ball on the floor) only made things better.

To both your and Emile’s surprise, after a few tense minutes, conversation flowed rather smoothly. There were still some things you wanted to talk about that couldn’t just be swept under the rug, but the middle of a—rather empty—café wasn’t the best location. Kalaps’ belief that any and all problems between you two were gone made things much easier, and you quickly fell back into old habits that had the three of you laughing together.

Realizing that you had to meet with Kosma after an hour of chatting with friends brought a frown to all your faces. Kalpas especially didn’t want you to go, standing from the table at the same time as you, ready to leave with you. Convincing him to stay behind took another five minutes and several promises to meet regularly. The moment you were out the door, Emile was on him.

“Oh, you like them.”

“I already told you, I like how they fight.” Kalpas didn’t know what his adjutant was trying to imply, but he knew that tone, and he knew little good came of it.

“If you only liked how they fight, you wouldn’t be so determined to spend time with them when they’re not fighting.”

“They can’t fight if they’re dead. I’m keeping them safe,” Kalpas growled, already fed up with the conversation.

“You can just say you like them, it’s ok,” Emile shrugged and stood from the table to throw away his empty cup.

“I already said that!”

“Right, of course,” probably best to drop the subject for now, unless Emile wanted his favorite coffee shop burned to the ground.

Emile did not get paid enough for this job. It took him a full week to get Kalpas to understand how he felt about you, and now the madman was trying to confess to you at every possible opportunity. Explaining that you can’t yell ‘I love you’ to someone unprompted and expect them to respond well was just not happening. So Emile had been taking one for the team and blocking Kalpas’ attempts.

Kosma was now working under Kevin, and you had been assigned to newbie watch again. The change came soon after your subordinate and Kalpas got into a ‘sparring session’ (it was a fight) that nearly destroyed half the base. You had yet to prove the two events were related, but you weren’t alone in believing they were. Even though you were overseeing more agents now, you had much more free time, and would share dinner with Kalpas and Emile if they were on base.

Kalpas wouldn’t eat with you all due to his mask, but the conversations were good, and the entertainment was even better. So far, there had been seven stabbings, five times Kalpas was taunted into forgetting what he was saying, and he had gotten into a physical or verbal fight with someone—usually Emile—about twenty times. It was hard to keep track of that one.

As soon as the two joined you at the table in the canteen, Kalpas started to speak, and Emile visibly panicked. “I—would you fucking quit it?”

Lying flat on the ground, along with the knife he’d just attempted to stab Kalpas with, Emile let out a groan of pain. But his plan worked; his sacrifice had been worth it. No confession had been made, and you were none the wiser. There goes another attempt.

“Hey Emile,” you tried to peer over the table, but couldn’t see him from where you were sitting. “Are you going to eat your dessert?”

I am allowed one run-on sentence. As a treat. Also Kalpas really went "What the hell kinda bullshit-? EXCITE-MINT MY ASS!" and walked right into the cafe

#kalpas x reader #honkai x reader #HI3 x reader #azaryawrites #tamalethebear #cross posted on ao3

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