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the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

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The Last Ninja by ThatOneTard

Anime » Naruto Rated: T, English, Adventure & Suspense, Team Hawk, Boruto U., Sarada U., Words: 17k+, Favs: 13, Follows: 19, Published: Jun 12, 2017 Updated: Jul 22, 2017

13Chapter 3: Friends Lost

I usually always try to respond directly back to reviews. But you guys...Here's the thing: I get them in my email, read, get so excited, then catch GUEST there and just groan because I can't respond back directly that way! So let me tell ya now, right here that I really, really appreciate the reviews, and follows and or favs. It means so much and encourages me to step it up a bit. Again, I can't stress enough how much I love and appreciate reviews, and that they help me, especially if they contain constructive criticism. It's something no one can have too much of.

Also, I did go back to alter the first two parts and merge them into one, the Jolt and the Chancellor. Later, when I have more brain power I will probably try to rewrite them, because they're weak in execution, at least to me.

THE LAST NINJA

Friends Lost

He had been left in the interrogation room for the rest of the night and well into the next day. Foot anxiously tapping against the floor. Impatiently.

Maybe worriedly.

Uttering curses to the man who had caused all of this, but there was only so many combinations he could go through before he was forced to just sit there, glaring at the wall, trying to wish an encounter into existence. He wanted very much to hit the punk, right in the face.

He did though occasionally attempt to move his hands, slide them free from the cuffs and was never rewarded with even the slightest budge.

So he waited longer.

And longer.

Until he could have screamed if only he could muster the energy.

And finally, finally, Boruto could not help the drop of his head, as if there was some weight there. And with each thought, each question floating inside him, unanswered, that weight increased and something in him ached.

He could think of nothing more terrifying than being stuck here, alone, forever. The fates of those he cared about...So unclear.

Sarada's words which he had been trying to avoid thinking about up until now began to echo inside him:

You can't just run and, after all this time, after everything that's happened, and refuse to acknowledge it. Refuse to take responsibility.

Just what had happened, to the ninja world, and everything else? To Sarada... He got the sense that everything had changed in that blink of time and that whatever had happened, he had only made it worse by being missing. Just thinking about it, he could feel that weight in his chest increase. See that look in her eyes, before her job took over. Almost crushingly so and—

"You look like you could use a friend."

His head jerked upward, eyes widening.

A paper cup was in front of his face. A straw protruding from its lid.

This cup hovering in front of him nearly took up his entire field of vision but he could make out the fingers grasped around it as well. Pale digits, the fingers. Dirtless.

"Um," he croaked, blinking. "Mitsuki?"

Now a face appeared, from behind the cup, tilted and smiling. Definitely Mitsuki, his ghostly pale pace, shiningly yellow eyes. And that cheeky grin.

"Heya pal. It's been a while," Mitsuki said.

"Um...Hi?"

The cup lowered itself so he could better see his old friend. Mitsuki was still wearing the uniform from earlier and off to the side, Boruto could make out a mop and bucket in the darkness.

Catching his line of sight, Mitsuki shrugged. "I'm really not supposed to be in here, but after I finished up my chores, I just had to. You look like crap! Worse than crap, really, if we're honest." He, again, gave Boruto a cheeky grin, showing his teeth.

Boruto sighed, smiling weakly in return. "Thank you for that, Mitsuki. It thrills me, you gracing me with your presence solely so you can inform me of my crapage. Means a lot."

Mitsuki's mischievous grin widened earnestly. "That's what friends are here for. Right?"

"Well, sort of. Honesty is important but it doesn't hurt to try to...deliver it nicely? I dunno. But seriously, Mitsuki." Boruto took a deep breath. "What...What exactly is going on here?"

Again the cup was pushed in his face.

"Drink!"

Boruto shook his head. "I really need some answers, buddy."

"Drink first," Mitsuki insisted.

Yeah, Boruto was incredibly thirsty but he wasn't sure he could hold it down at the moment.

"Fine, but can you kinda uncuff me first?"

"Sorry, I can't."

"Figures."

He sipped through the straw as Mitsuki held the cup for him and instantly a cold drink filled his mouth.

Ah. So heavenly. What was it, some juice? He was sure he didn't want to know what was in it, just that whatever it was, it was something that would do him some good. That was just Mitsuki's way.

He had learned this truth a long time ago: Never ask what was in the food or drink that Mitsuki provided, just trust that it was healthy.

He remembered off hand, in days gone by, of missions with his friend, and even a few visits to his...parent. He regretted very much asking that snake-like man(?) anything and he always just felt uncomfortable around him. There was something just off-putting about the scientist. He wasn't sure if it was a simple fact that he couldn't discern the gender easily or the weird way of speaking he had, especially when it came to science or jutsu. His lower regard to human life in comparison to his interests especially.

His father had never talked about him either but had a clear uneasiness with him as well, there was some obvious but unspoken history, especially with Sasuke. But none of that changed the fact that Mitsuki was once you got used to him, actually a very dependable and unique friend. Team Konohamaru would not be the same without him.

Even now, after what all had changed, that vibe had never.

And Boruto was grateful. He quickly gulped the rest of the drink down so they could talk.

"Mitsuki," he began. "I think...I think I've somehow been gone a long, long time. So much has changed."

Mitsuki nodded. "Yes...Three years, one war, new world order. Heck of a lot."

"A war? How the heck did one happen! The nations were unified!"

The achievements of his father and everyone else to achieve such peace was straight up legendary. And Kawaki or not, a war had actually broken out? A war? How does a single person...

"True, the shinobi world was one. But the Daimyo, the civilians, they got it in their heads we were too powerful. And no longer needed."

"No longer needed? What are you talking about?"

"With new technology, they could keep peace without depending on our chakra. So throughout the nations, firearms were collected. Then the fighting began. It was horrible on both sides. Many of us didn't make it, and neither did they."

Boruto could only imagine. A battle between elements and guns. While jutsu could change the very landscape depending on the user and formations, the power of a gun could snuff them out before a jutsu was even cast. It must have been the most bloody, senseless war in eons.

Mitsuki continued, his face blank. "The only option after the mess of that war, was to unite. New leaders were elected. Konoha became the capital of the Land of Fire, rather than a military servant to it. It was then that they began to bleed chakra out of the equation. Besides, humans were only given the power of chakra by accident. And I guess, over time, we let it happen. Peace was on the line, and no one wanted another all-out bloody war. In this modern age...Ninja are outdated. Barbarically violent. Or so they say."

"Kawaki," Boruto growled under his breath. He had no doubt instigated the mess in the beginning, knowing the outcome. Spread the firearms around, whispering in ears. It would have been easy after he had let the world witness how apparently easy the wiping of the strongest shinobi village and ninja was...Yes.

His thoughts towards him darkened. But seeing Mitsuki sitting in front of him, on the table, shifted.

"Mitsuki," he asked quietly. "Why are you here, working in a prison of all things?"

Now for the first time, Boruto sensed a great sadness in his friend.

"Better here, where they can't touch me, with Sarada, than out there. I was always different and still am. And my...being linked to a past enemy like Orochimaru..."

A single tear threatened to spill over his friend's cheek but he wiped it away. Boruto knew better than to ask him his parent's fate. He had a feeling he knew, and it ended violently. Even Orochimaru, the one that had emerged from the war, had not deserved it.

Instead, Boruto sat there quietly, unsure how to shift from that.

Since he had failed to speak up, Mitsuki did instead.

"Listen, Boruto, about Sarada...Please don't take today personally. Of all of us, she was hit the hardest by the war. She lost so many, her entire family, Chōchō went missing...Then, you."

Boruto closed his eyes, wishing so much to turn things back. To protect her from the grief.

But he had not been there. Someone else had.

"And Kawaki, it was purely professional. I don't believe either of them intended it, but—"

"Please stop," he whispered "I get it. Alright?"

Mitsuki's lips pursed. "You're giving up? That's unlike you."

"No, I know to not fight this. She's not dumb. She would not let someone in who would hurt her. And if they did, she'd be a force to reckon with. And with everything twisted as it is right now, I...I can't focus on her."

His expression said otherwise, and even Mitsuki would not be fooled by his words.

The reality was he couldn't bear even the notion of the distance that had suddenly wedged itself between them.

'I went through hell without you, Bo.'

"Mitsuki," he finally said. "That bracelet. You have one too."

He had caught it under the young man's sleeve, wrapped around his thin arm, the small sensor on it glowing light green, like the underneath of a leaf, blazing in the sunlight.

"Yes. Once put on, they never come off."

"She didn't have one."

"That's because the use of her chakra network is authorized. Very few are, mostly people who are officials of some sort or are involved with government. You, on the other hand, had you come back and not attacked Kawaki, you could have probably been approved and been hired, although something tells me you would have rebelled if you had gotten the chance to catch up with them and were offered the chance." Mitsuki sighed.

"Getting in trouble with the new law is the first ticket to getting slapped with a chakra sensor bracelet. Of course, many of our classes managed to go with the new law without needing to be forced to. Some managed to leave and no one has a clue where they are. But very few did. Now they just work and live normal civilian lives. Been that way for like two years now. True peace...Or so they like to say. But I guess I can't argue with their results thus far."

"Why," he said. "Why would any of them, of us, agree to villainizing chakra in the process?"

"Time and a lot of bloodshed, I guess. Humankind has always been violent, but the possession of jutsu and all manner of kekkei genkai has not helped at all. That's the argument."

"But chakra can be used for more than just fighting! I mean, what about medical jutsu, and say a fire broke out, and there happened to be a water style user nearby! You're telling me...Ugh. Forget it. I'm going to fix this and everything will go back to the way it was!"

Mitsuki smiled. "I knew you would say that. Orochimaru...he used to say you were the sun or something like that. So I've been waiting for you, all this time, for your return. I don't know what happened, but I won't hold it against you."

"Thank you."

Mitsuki nodded, smiling again. "It's kinda exciting, we're going to do something big. Change the world, just like your father and sensei. Right?" He laughed. "Of course."

Even now, after all that had happened. Boruto had no clue he had gone through so much, losing Orochimaru, his comrades, forced to hide in a prison because of the past. Yet he smiled. The utter faith he had in him...

"There's still something important I need to ask. About chakra being outlawed."

"Yeah?"

"How do they achieve such a thing? And why am I the only blue one here?"

A serious expression came over Mitsuki.

"I'll tell you, but while I'm doing so, you really need to drink more. You're going to need as much strength as possible."

Boruto nodded, sensing there would be some fights ahead.

"I'll be right back, just going to get you more of that placenta drink." *

"Wait, what?! Nevermind, please, I think I'm good!"

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

Just as Mitsuki had said, guards came in to get him. He went along, playing like he was still tired and hungry and unable to put up a fight.

Mitsuki's warning about the events that were about to transpire hovered in the air heavily, like condensation on a window.

Mitsuki's tone was grave. "Listen, Boruto. Everyone else has practically given up and accepted things, but deep down, they know it's wrong. They just won't admit it, and neither will I. You're the first real hope we've had since the war to restoring the Elemental Nations back to the way they should be. You are our hope, the sun, just like Orochimaru used to tell me, but you will cease to be if you don't escape from here. Here, you'll be snuffed out."

"I know that. So how do I do it?"

"Those shackles will never come off until the surgery."

"What surgery?"

"The one that destroys your chakra network completely."

All life sucked out of the room, the air, even the slightest hint of movement. All sound. It was dead quiet, Boruto's eyelids had widened and stayed there, unblinking at the horrific statement Mitsuki had just made. It made his skin prickle with goosebumps.

"They...they can do that?"

"Listen carefully. The doctor will be in tomorrow. They will take you to a special room, and they will strap you down and surgically go through different points of your chakra network, starting with the center along your spine and destroy it. There will be no recovering from that. Chakra will always be a part of you, but like a civilian, you will not be able to mold it. You'll be useless as a shinobi and unable to fight back. There are others who still have theirs, yes, but not like you. You're the key, I just know it."

Boruto has sat there quietly. "Is that why your bracelet is green?"

Mitsuki looked down sadly. "Yes. Green is safe for them. Blue is a sign of chakra. It was right after the People took over that my chakra was broken."

Sadness threatened to engulf him. "How do I stop them?"

"They will take you to the room, up to the table, and then, only then will they uncuff you so you can be strapped in. At that time, you must fight back, and run, for all your worth. If you fail..."

He was in a clinical-looking room now, with a big cumbersome t-shaped table in the middle. It had various straps on it and other equipment attached, including a table with surgical cutting tools. Seeing it, the drink threatened to come up again. Again because soon after Mitsuki's talk, Boruto had thrown up. He couldn't now, or they would see more than stomach acid and know he had had been given food and drink to consume before this point. He didn't want to get Mitsuki in trouble.

A doctor was standing beside the surgery table, trying to smile politely at him. The man had no personal grudge against Boruto, he was just doing his job.

"Hello..." He glanced to a clipboard. "Boruto...Uzumaki. Oh, an Uzumaki, hm? Interesting. Anyway, I was called in specially, as I have the highest success rate so please don't fret about anything going wrong. I have yet to lose a patient during this operation and when this is all said and done, you'll be a back to normal life in no time."

He smiled and it took everything in Boruto to not spit at him. The man truly believed he was doing something good, removing chakra from the equation.

Brainwashed lamo, Boruto couldn't help think.

The doctor nodded to the guards. "Get him ready."

They grabbed hold of his handcuffs and only when the tick of the tumblers as the key unlocked them was heard, did Boruto make his move.

Smiling triumphantly he jerked forward, rolling from them, right eye blazing to white.

He spun to his feet, hands clasped together, already preparing a jutsu. "Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

Air shot forward, hitting a guard, knocking into the wall from the sheer built up force. The guard he had aimed for still had chakra. His Byakugan-like eye could see it, his intact chakra network. The other didn't, so he wasn't going to bother wasting chakra on him. He would be easy enough to knock down with simple Taijutsu.

The chakra-owner crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath. Boruto skidded to the table, grabbing hold of the surgery tools between his fingers, and thrust them at the man like he was a dartboard. The various tools pierced him in different parts of his body painfully.

"Stay back!"

It wouldn't kill him of course, but certainly hurt and take up time trying to pull from his skin without causing more damage.

Easy peasy.

The doctor took a step back, eyes wide in fright and Boruto twisted around to slug him. He crashed to the floor, crying out, blood gushing from his nose.

Now just the chakra-less dwee—

Suddenly, something bit him, and electricity ran through him. He let out a scream, his muscles seizing up, and he crumbled to the floor, his vision flashing, the room crackling.

"Agh!"

No, no, no! I took out the chakra user!

He fought to stay conscious, trying to move, his howls caught in his throat, his muscles rebelling against his commands...

Of course, I underestimated what the other could do, could use. A freaking taser or something.

He swore but it was already too late, his body was giving out.

Mitsuki's words, echoing:

"At that time, you must fight back, and run, for all your worth. If you fail..."

If you fail, you'll be useless. It'll be over...

Over...

He snapped back, fully alert now, ready to spring into action once more.

But he found he was lying horizontally and could not move.

No!

His sight was hazy and distorted but he could see shapes hovering over him. Feel something tighten around his limbs...

Finally, his voice obeyed him because his limbs would—could not.

"You don't know what you're doing!" he rasped out.

He struggled uselessly, but they had enclosed his wrists and ankles with buckled straps, tightly so he was tautly outstretched.

"Listen, you think you're right, but you're not!"

He could make out the doctor now, hunched over, holding a cloth to his bloody face. Wiping it once more, he stood up, looking down on Boruto and he shook his head.

"I know this isn't easy to accept, but your life will not be over. You will be safe and have a happy lifestyle, just like everyone else. Free from violence."

Now he attempted to spit at him but was blocked by a mask, coming down on his face...

"No! Stop!" He shook, straining to break free with all his might, the right side of his body beginning to glow with dark markings though it was already too late to resort to that power, and useless, he had to instead focus on holding his breath from the gas that would knock him out.

No, no, NO!

It was over him now, and he could no longer hold his breath, he had to take air in!

And he could feel it taking him, on the cusps of sending him over the edge of a deep darkness.

And suddenly it was dead silent. The mask was gone and in its place a black circle, hovering over his eyes. He strained to understand what it was. The dark tube?

Then he saw the doctor, standing beside him, a look of terror on his face. Then he realized why. A dark figure, it stood between them, holding a gun, first pointed at the doctor, now at him. He could only see its back and just that alone had a terrifying presence about it. Their head was covered by a hood.

No one dared move.

Finally, it spoke. The voice was extremely distorted, as if through a computer.

"Undo the straps. Slowly," it said, pointing the gun at the doctor now. It because their gender was indistinguishable with the distorted voice.

The doctor obeyed, the gun still very much pointed at his head. The guards had already been taken care of and rather been made examples of for the doctor.

Then the figure looked at Boruto, sensing his tensing muscles.

"You will stand and keep your hands to the back of your head. Make any sudden movements and you will be shot."

He swore under his breath.

It looked to the doctor now. "And you, the Chancellor would not like to know that his prisoner has died because you did not comply with my demands. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded frightfully, undoing the last strap.

Boruto carefully sat up.

"What do you want—"

The gun clicked. He shut his mouth, putting his hands up. "Alright, I get it."

"Good. Now you will come with me. Make the slightest sound or outside movement and you die."

He was led out the room, the gun pressed into his back. Any attempt to ask questions was quickly stifled with harsh commands to shut up. So he obeyed for now, as they traversed through the halls of the prison. They were oddly pitch black, and devoid of any sign of a single guard.

Whoever this person was, they had known what they were doing and had obviously gone through a lot of trouble to get him.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

They deftly ignored him and pushed the gun harder into his back.

His eyes narrowed. They seemed to be heading for an exit. He stopped short, turning around now.

"I'm not leaving without my friend!"

His newest "captor" was wearing a dark hood and under it a mask resembling one the Anbu would use. Except instead of being white porcelain with usually red patterns painted on it, this one was all black, with purple markings on it. Around where the mouth should be, were some slits, with dotted gray steel under it. The voice distorter, no doubt.

"You," they said, "will leave now."

"Not without him! He comes with me!"

"It is already too late for him."

They pushed him impatiently, pressing the gun hard into his temple. He glared rebelliously back, starting to form the seals for a clone jutsu.

Huffing, the figure suddenly had a second gun out, pointed at his hands and shot it, missing Boruto's by mere millimeters. His hair stood up on end, the air hot.

A warning shot.

"I will shot those fingers right off."

Two guns. Nice.

He threw up his hands. "Fine. But once we're out of here," his eyes narrowed, "I expect some answers."

"..."

"Creep."

They continued through the dark halls and something about this just bothered Boruto.

He couldn't quite place it, yes roaming dark hallways in general with two guns pointed at you by a mystery assailant with an unknown agenda should be off-putting but still...Something more was wrong.

Something...

"Oof!"

He had walked into a door, so lost in thought. Backing away, he rubbed his forehead. The exit. To the side, a mechanism that looked like it needed a keycard to unlock. But apparently not this one anymore, not in this blackout. It opened wide easily, no resistance. Not another soul in sight.

Yes, something was very wrong with this picture.

It couldn't be this easy.

Just who was this person?

They shoved him and he fell outside, landing on a patch of grass. The door clicked shut behind them, locking back into place.

Again, he let out an "Oof!" then, recovering, thrust his fist up. "Freaking ease up, will you! And who the heck are you?!"

The hooded person stood at the door, still keeping a gun pointed at him. The second one had been put in a holster attached to their hip.

"You will find the Taka," it spoke.

"The Taka? They disbanded decades ago!" he cried frustratedly.

Then it hit him. Right before he had attacked Kawaki, he remembered the man had brought up the Taka in his phone chat. What was it, something like,'the incident, was it them?'

"They're a resistance force in need of a game changer. Scattered throughout the United Lands. Join them."

Ah, this sounded promising. But still, he didn't like being told what to do.

"Yeah, but only if you take the mask off first, then I might trust ya!"

He ran forward, leg arching upward in a high kick aimed straight for the gun in their hand. The thing flew from their hand. They let out a hiss, sweeping to the side to evade the next strike aimed for the mask.

"I'm really sick," he spat, swinging for it once more, "of being pushed around!"

They evaded him once more. He gritted his teeth and swiped his leg to trip them before they could pull the second firearm out. They landed on the ground and he pounced on them, locking his knees between their torso.

Time was locked like this for a moment, as he tried to catch his breath, sweat dripping down the sides of his face.

From under him, the figure remained still. Then suddenly twisted violently, knee crashing upward and catching him in the thigh. He groaned and was thrown backward and toppled this time. They latched onto his limbs and he squirmed from underneath them.

"Ugh!"

He bucked and they only remained firm, although struggling to do so.

There was a familiar sensation about this. "Have we wrestled before?" he hissed. "Though, I find it highly unlikely—Ugn!"

"Uzumaki, you will find the Taka, and take this device with you. You will push the button on it, and help will come. Do I make myself clear?"

It looked like a radio, one the figure thrust into the pocket of the prison pants.

"No, not until you tell me who you are and what you want and why you don't just do it yourself!"

He was rewarded with a jab to the side, painfully pointed fingers, the jab. He groaned, throwing his chin up.

No! Again, he reached for his sage-like jutsu, and the dark shapes began to glow along the right side of his body, strengthening him. He twisted violently now, strength and chakra enhanced, flipping their position.

He had their second gun, somehow automatically having grabbed it from the holster on their hip and now held it pointed at them this time.

"Listen, you, I control my own fate from here on, not the chakra-stealing monsters, not Kawaki, not you, and not whoever ripped me from this world!"

He was shaking. His fingers tightening around the black firearm.

"Now let's see who you are."

"Hmph."

Their hand swiped through the air, crashing downward and suddenly smoke was bellowing out, blanketing everything in a thick cloud of darkness.

He clumsily tripped backward, coughing like a sick man with lung issues.

It must have been a solid minute after this when the smoke cleared and he could actually breathe again.

When it did clear, he was alone. All traces of the figure gone. The fallen gun too.

But clutched in his hand still, was the one he had managed to capture from them.

Evening his breathing, he clutched the firearm.

"Oh, I'm so keeping this."

Why didn't they take it from them while he had been overwhelmed by the smoke?

Perhaps...

Could they be trusted? They did just free him after all, and let him keep their weapon. And they mentioned help...It could be they were just a jerk about it.

He didn't know. Didn't know anything, just the sudden need to go to sleep.

So he stumbled through the surrounding forest by the prison for awhile, trying to put some distance between him and it. After awhile, his knees gave out and he was slumping to the cold dark earth. Exhaustion reigning every molecule of his body. And he crumbled completely, cheek now resting against the crisp earth under him, and he slept, undisturbed, but distraught, until day broke. Fingers just grazing the surface of the gun. His gun.

His father sat at the desk, looking defeated with his head bowed, clasped fingers the only thing holding it up as he buried his face in them.

"I had no idea," he whispered.

"..."

"Well, I did to some extent, but...It never hit me like this."

"What? That after the Tree incident the rate of suicides in poorer regions drastically went up?"

To be given heaven then suddenly be dropped back in hell...Reality must have been too much to bear after that. Had been.

Sasuke was a little too cold.

Naruto raised his head, looking at his old friend.

"What is it?"

"I understand where he is coming from, but I still don't trust him."

"Sasuke..."

"Hear me out, Naruto." His sensei glanced to the Hokage, his expression stern.

"Why now, after all this time, and here? Something is off about him."

"Still..."

Naruto glanced out the window. "My son has really taken a liking to him. He's finally got a rival, someone who pushes his limits. Kinda reminds me of us back then. Is that really a bad thing?"

"You're too trusting."

Naruto swallowed dryly, shaking his head.

"No. Even I don't trust him. But until we find more out, I want to see how this plays out."

"You're playing a dangerous game, Naruto" Sasuke said. "A very dangerous game."

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

*The placenta drink:

So I started Persona 5 and happened to notice the ingredients to a drink in a vending machine, in this game where the set and a lot of it is based off real Japan. I was totally unaware until that point that for some reason this was a thing. I find it disgusting. I find the whole birth process in general disgusting, but actually consuming placenta...Wow, does that just top the cake for me. I can see Orochimaru and his son bottoms upping it though, but not Boruto. So I wrote it like that XD

Forgive me if you were unaware as well and were grossed out like I was.

My sister works in a hospital or something, was chatting with my brother about it. He was for trying it out (then again he eats his boogers, saying it helps build immunity) and she was saying that whatever people are consuming it for, can be found in raspberries or something and she'd rather chug that down than consume placenta. But yeah, it's a real thing.

Let's talk Kawaki:

Throughout these flashback segments that will continue from here on out, my Kawaki's personality will continue to make itself known. BUT know this, that when I do write him, it is from my deductions of him based on the opening of the Boruto anime and manga. Firstly, Boruto had said "did things really have to turn out this way?" making me think he was regretting it. Had they been friends of some sort before? The similar fight stance of the two mirroring Naruto and Sasuke also gave me that idea. In fact, I'm taking a lot of inspiration for the friendship from Naruto and Sasuke's post-war relationship with some outside inspirations as well, with Riku from Kingdom Hearts.

Furthermore, the sage-like jutsu. Both of them exhibited it, making me think that both of them had learned it together. So thus, this is how I started with Kawaki. Then while writing these early pieces of the story, I had given him motivations, but after more reflection on everything that has happened along TLN's timeline, added a whole new layer, also giving Kawaki a bit more depth in the process. Thus the smoking.

All in all, I did not want him to be a generic villain. He had done evil things, but there is very much a noble cause to his deeds, a background story. So please bare with my atrocious writing as I delve into a fight that has already been lost.

Also...Yes Sarada and Kawaki are a thing now. How that came about will be explored later on just like everything else.

Fun Fact:

I am trying so hard to avoid mistakes of the past that Boruto's attitude in the beginning of this is completely different from when I had first started this chapter in the first draft. It starts with him impatiently tapping his foot. XD Still keeping it cool...He won't forever but we'll get there ;)

4: The I'm Not Dead Update

The When-the-Heck-You-Gonna-Update?! Progress Report.

So back in February I started working on a fic, a very special compete remaster and attempt at a real-time fanfic. It got put on the back burner though, and I wrote other fics. Then recently, soon after starting The Last Ninja, when was it, July?, it hit me that I was running out of time. So I pushed—okay, I SHOVED everything to the side and began working like mad on Seven Devils again.

I'm pleased to say that I am nearing the finish line and am confident that even if it is not the masterpiece I feel like it should be and has potential to be, it will be done before that point in time. See below, I just did the math:

(9/29) The Prologue: currently at 5,074 words.

(10/4)The First: currently at 7,660 words.

The Second: currently at 11,664 words.

The Third: currently at 10,012 words.

The Fourth: currently at 8,510 words.

The Fifth: currently at 5,725 words.

(unfinished) The Sixth: currently at 3,278 words.

(unfinished) The Seventh: currently at 3,246 words.

(?/?) (unfinished and undecided) The Epilogue: currently at 654 words.

Supplementary Marital:

(9/30) The Email: 62 words.

(10/5) Excerpts From Kakashi's Notebook: 723 words.

(Yes, the Sixth isn't even done yet there is already almost the same word count for the chapter after it. It's been like that from the start, trust me. Pre-writing everything has allowed me to work on everything almost simultaneously)

That is a total of 56,608 words that I have written with a month to go. And the last two chapters and epilogue are not even finished. The previous two before even them are in need of serious buffing up. But I have a month. A month. That should be enough time with more mornings free.

(The Spotify Playlist (I really couldn't resist...) is 60 songs. Feel free to check it out to see my poor tastes...that affect story and are what I would even call certain character themes...Some of them were even Shogi songs. Hah. I never change. It's Seven Devils Playlist by shaxra15. )

It is my last pre-Boruto gen romp. Most likely.

From here on, even if it does get a sequel, yes, I am already thinking about it, it will be the characters as adults and Boruto will be a thing. The sequel will also pick up a few strings that were present in (*gasp*) TO START A WAR. Yeah, you read that right. If you think Seven Devils is gonna get pretty bad, a little dark towards the end, just wait until its sequel...I want to go balls to the wall with that one. (Yes, I am happily evil sometimes.)

Anyway, I will try working on The Last Ninja while I write the sequel. I will try at least. Because the sequel will not be as freaking packed and busy as Seven Devils is. Just pulse-pounding. That is my hope at least. You have no idea how far I want to push it. No idea. *smiles evilly*

And even if the sequel halts TLN (which it won't...I think) it WILL BE TIMED TO BE OVER with the New Year. I promise. Or I'm not posting it until next year. I will not compromise its end. I repeat, I WILL NOT. It ends the 1st or I wait.

And TLN? Hee. Hee. I'm so coming back. I'm not gonna pull a TSAW with it. No plans to at least. I already have pieces of the end already written. Looking forward to reaching that end. Trust me. Some stuff I hope ya don't expect.

And honestly, I would say before I cracked down on Seven Devils (please read it) I was about halfway through the next chapter. Was wrestling around with how to present flashbacks. Some of Bo's. Then Sarada's. I remember cutting one of hers out completely, and one of Boruto's too because it wasn't the right time. So even when I do go full-throttle on The Last Ninja, wrestling with the elements of past are going to suck up time. Because I suck at writing. And posting thing then either realizing I forgot to add a scene (like the necklace...) or I should have saved something for later. And I have no plans to pre-write chapters, or write them in advance for any other story again. Trust me. I hate it, because I hate waiting. I love getting reviews. I love feedback, and using it even. And pre-writing takes away most of that.

Anyway, not sure if I'll see ya before the end of September but if I don't, please check out SD when it hits the site on the 29th. It'll be fun. :)

And terrible...

Um, it'll probably be posted, mmm, early morning. 7:00 AM, or in the evening, 5:00 PM (EST) depending on how anxious I am. I don't think I'll be able to hold it any longer, whatever the case, morning or preferably evening, it'll be on the 29th of September. A Friday I believe...Gosh, I should know...I freaking wrote it like that.

PS NEVER ATTEMPT TO WRITE REAL TIME, EVEN PARTIAL. DO NOT DO IT. YOU WILL HATE YOURSELF AND SCRAMBLE ALL OVER YOUR DOCUMENTS, BASHING YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE WALL.

#boruto fanfiction

0 notes

isolaradiale · 3 years

Text

The small 'ahem' and the dimming lights brought the attention of the closing party back on the podium. On it was Janus, looking a great deal better than he was a few minutes ago (when he was practicing his closing speech on a statue when he thought nobody was looking.) On the stage, he took a deep breath and brightened as everyone turned in their formal evening attire.

"Thank you all for coming to the Closing Party. It's been a pretty busy week, and all of you have made such beautiful and wonderous pieces of art. I'm overjoyed that they're on display tonight, and I thought there wasn't any way to view all of them in the span of a couple hours. So this last night of the museum will be going on until the sun rises again. You don't have to stay the entire time, but--"

"Well, sure they do!"

The interjection startled the AI at the podium, and he jumped a few feet from his spot. The chipper voice started again as one of the other statues on the stage moved, revealing the form of a marble-sculpted woman covered in holographic stickers.

"After all, each and every one of you put in so much effort into bringing your imaginations and inspirations to life, haven't you? So we thought we might return the favor, that's all. And you're all invited!"

Punctuating her statement was the sound of the large wooden doors, now slamming shut inward with a reverberating BOOM that bounced off all the halls of the lobby, even from the auditorium.

"I hope you all put everything into your masterpieces! Because your masterpieces will put everything into annihilating all of you~"

With another delighted laugh, the lights in the auditorium shut off, leaving everyone with only the light of their phones and watches. And as the murmurs began and hands reached for other hands in the dark, there was another THUNK near the wall as a framed portrait fell off its anchor. From its canvas, it began to look at the crowd, eyes now glowing in the light of everyone's flashlights. One hand crawled out of the frame, then another. Nails sank into the floor with terrifying ease as the subject of the portrait pulled themselves from its frame, marble cracking at its fingertips.

The next sound was a scream, and the sound of a woman falling onto the floor as the portrait pulled at her ankles. And then another. And another still as the frames began to move off the walls en masse, attacking anyone unlucky enough to be in their sights. There was a panic in the auditorium as people tried to flee and fight, falling over each other to escape the room

But it seemed that no matter where anyone chose to run to, or where they thought to hide, there was always something in the shadows.

Waiting.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Welcome to Part Two of the event!

As stated, the artwork in the Tempus Museum has come to life--literally, in this case. You've been challenged to survive until the next sunrise. To do so, you must evade, capture or destroy the horrific objects that have come to life.

Most of the artwork in the museum is hostile, and will attempt to un-alive your characters as best they can.

These generic museum monsters can be found everywhere wandering around, but are more common in areas they originated from:

Subjects and people in paintings will crawl out of their canvases to chase and eliminate anything they see moving. Their sharp nails can pierce through marble, so flesh and bone is probably nothing to them. Humanoids are not exclusive to this class of monster--painted animals, creatures and other things will also hop out of paintings to come after your muse. You can capture a painting monster by smacking it with a canvas, or destroy it with paint thinner (or water, if it's a watercolor)

Framed sketches will behave similarly to the painting monsters, and will leave lots of thin scratches as opposed to big ones. Capture them with paper, or destroy them by rubbing them with an eraser.

Statues of any material will chase your characters and attempt to injure them with their fists (or if they were holding a weapon, they'll use that weapon). Catch them by making them run back to their plaques, stands and pedestals, or destroy using a hammer and chisel.

The Parlor Dolls have now, unfortunately, all grown sharp teeth. They've all taken on ghastly appearances, and if they swarm around you, it might as well be the end of you. You can capture a doll by chasing it back into a display case, or destroy it by carefully ripping their seams.

Dancing Dresses in the painted ballroom will beckon people to dance with them, and will attempt to catch people in the folds of their fabric to immobilize them. They're not lethal on their own, but they'll hold your muse in place for something more dangerous to come along. Capture them by hitting them with a dress form, or destroy them by ripping their seams OR cutting them with scissors. - NOTE: Characters who bowed and danced with any of the ghostly gowns at the Gala XY will not harm the people who danced with them, and will instead, keep dancing.

Decorated Weapons made in the forge will take a life of their own and will seemingly float around, looking for battle. Sometimes they'll team up with Statues, making them especially deadly companions. Capture them by hitting them with a weapon rack, or destroy them with a hammer or any significant heat source.

Baked Goods and Pastries made in the culinary courtyard will not get up on their own, but a good many of them have become poisoned. The severity and potency of the poisons varies, with side effects ranging from an upset stomach to a sudden case of death. They don't move, so you don't have to capture them, but... maybe don't eat them, no matter how good they may smell and look.

Paintings on the street have come to life, making hazards of their own outside of the museum. Street-painted landscapes have become very tangibly real, as well as anything sprayed on the walls. If there was ever a time to regret the giant mural you painted on the side of a building as it crawls from its spot to squash you like a bug, now's the time. You can destroy these with water.

Landscapes will attempt to draw your muse into their world, sealing them in their frames. Your muse will be helpless to do much other than look through the painting like a window. The only means of escape is to have someone else drag you out of the landscape!

In addition to these generic museum hazards, there are a few specific hazards depending on how your muse behaved in Part 1 of the event:

If your muse created something with love, adoration, feelings of happiness, or any other intensely positive emotions, it may help them instead of hinder them. This can be anything from alerting them of danger to protecting them.

Your muse's own creations may attack them, too, aside from the generic monsters in the museum.

If your muse stole any artwork from the museum, it will hunt them down with special vitriol and hostility, and will stop at nothing to destroy your muse.

Similarly, if your muse attempted to destroy any of the artwork in the museum, it's going to target them specifically and attempt to return the favor.

Any art your muse made as a gift to others will either hurt OR help them, depending on individual mun preference.

Have fun! :)

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Frequently Asked Questions

"How long will Part 2 of the event last?"

The event will run until 00:00, June 18th

"Are the optimized tools still here?"

Shockingly, yes! And so are the regular tools, too. How you use them to survive is up to you, but building a door might be the fastest way. However, be warned that drawing a door on a wall has just as big of a chance of sending your muse to a different random room than it does outside the museum.

"Can we still do Part 1 threads?"

Yes! If you would like to keep your Canvas experience monster-free, you can continue making Part 1 starters until the end of the event.

"What about the art my muse took home?"

It has also come to life! So while the museum is certainly dangerous, there are random statues, paintings, dolls and other monsters roaming around OUTSIDE the museum, too.

"Can we destroy the paintings NOW?"

Unfortunately, they're just as invulnerable as they were before. Bummer, huh? Unless they're hit with their specific weakness, the monsters are invulnerable to attacks that damage them. (However, they can still be hindered by traps, and while strong attacks won't destroy them, they'll knock them out of the way!)

"Can we interact with Capella or Janus?"

Poor Janus is trying to put all the artwork back where it belongs by capturing them. He's in no danger for this, as the art in the museum will not attack their curator. Interacting with Capella the Statue might bring the wrath of her giant cat out to you, so. You've been warned!

"What if my muse saw something from their own world in a painting or a statue?"

That's incredibly unfortunate--those might be hostile too, and are subject to the rules that follow the other genuine painting monsters (meaning that the portrait of that character will not have any of their original powers or abilities.)

Whether the subject of the art your muse is familiar with will help or hinder them is up to mun discretion.

"Can't we just bust down the museum and escape?"

And destroy the biggest piece of art in the area?! (No, they won't budge. You'll have to draw your way out if you want to escape, either through a door or some kind of tunnel or something.)

"When will the sun rise?"

Not for 24 hours in-character (though the event will last until Jun 11th). Extended night time, woo!

"What happens if our muses get got by the museum?"

Muses that were defeated and failed to survive the challenge will have their portrait put up on the Wall of Shame, reflecting how they lost the challenge. They won't respawn until the sun rises, either!

"What if I have a question that's not listed here?"

Feel free to direct any questions you may have to the Masterlist!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"I thought you said everything would be fine!" Came the panicked footsteps of Janus, running to grab the frame the portrait monster crawled out of, picking it up with surprising ease.

"In my defense, I assumed everything would be." The statue of Caelum replied, furrowing his eyebrows and scrolling through a wall of code. Other statues of a Goddess-like Pleiades and an Antiquated Attired Alathfar, joining as guests, seemed to realize the issue before their older companion did.

"...Yes, nothing in here changed. But I don't see anything about..."

From the other side of the stage, Capella's statue pranced forth, stickers still glittering in the dark, somehow.

"That's just the first page." "The first page?" Caelum and Janus echoed back in confusion. "First page!~"

The grin still stayed on her cheeks from sticker to sticker, while Janus' increasingly scrunched in accusation.

"...I'll be damned. There were two pages after all." "DAD!" "I didn't see it, honest!" "I can't BELIEVE you!" "Now now, it was an honest mistake, really--!"

And as the old man's statue got quite the scolding from his son, Pleides and Alathfar stepped aside, meeting with Capella.

"Was there really a page two?" Pleiades asked, adjusting her comically large, rounded glasses. To that, Capella merely rocked on her heels, smile never fading.

"It's entirely possible Caelum got so wrapped up in helping Janus plan the museum that he overlooked it. Which is endearing, in a way. But..."

As Alathfar trailed off, the three of them looked back at the other statue trying to placate his agitated son, and grimaced in unison (except for Capella, who still seemed to be beaming with delight.)

None of them seemed keen on getting in the middle of the quarrel, and were only relieved when Janus stormed off with his empty frame.

#Isola Event: Canvas

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maira-writes-shit · 3 years

Text

You look cute

Tanizaki Junichirou x Tachihara Michizou

Tattoo parlor x Flower shop AU, meeting, fluff

Junichirou was a very simple person.

He loved his sister, his friends and his job.

He was a florist for one of the best flower shops in town.

Junichirou was currently working on a arrangement for one of their frequent customers. It was a old man that came by every week or so to get a small arrangement for his wife. They had been together for over 50 years now.

The redhead smiled down at the arrangement he just finished.

Their relationship is so sweet...I wish I could have that...

“Tanizaki! You’re back here, right?“

The man in question turned around to see his best friend Atsushi waving at him from the front of the shop.

The redhead nodded and walked out of the back room to the front the shop.

It wasn’t the biggest size wise and it was stacked with plants but it felt as much as home as the little apartment he and Naomi lived in.

„Aku is taking me out on a date. Could you cover my shift for today? Only if you're finished of course!“

„Sure thing, Atsushi! Don’t worry you’ll be fine!“

“Thanks you’re the best!“ the white haired boy then vanished into the back with a big smile on his face.

The older of the two looked at the closing door with a soft smile.

He had sadly been on the receiving end of most of his coworkers rants about this guy he constantly butted heads with but still somehow thought was kind of cute. It actually hadn't been that long ago when Atsushi had finally mastered the courage to ask Akutagawa out.

Junichirou was happy for him (also maybe because he wouldn't get random 3am calls of Atsushi screaming about said boy anymore...hopefully).

Since it was the late afternoon the shift didn't have many customers.

There was the old man coming to get his arrangement, a young man buying the classic (roses), a bride that came to check up on a few things and a mother and her little daughter who bought a couple of single flowers.

Junichirou helped them all and then sat back just scrolling on his phone.

He was just looking at the clock and realizing he should slowly start to close the shop, when the little bell above the stores door jingled.

The florist looked up to see a man standing slightly awkward in the door.

...a very handsome man.

He was around Junichirou's hight, with red hair some shades darker than Junichirou. The man wore a cropped green jaket and a white V-neck shirt as well as...a band aid on his nose?

Wierd fashion choice...b ut it doese look good on him.

He'd look good in everything.

Jun we don't even know his name!

I'm just saying!

Junichirou shook his head to get rid of his thoughts as he put on a smile again.

"May I help you?"

The man jumped a little but then went up to the desk at which the other redhead was sitting.

"Uh yeah. I think you can." Junicirou chuckled. "And how?"

The man rolled his eyes but his cheeks were tinted a light pink.

"I just need an arrangement for the front window of the place I work at." "Oh so you can say stuff that makes sense!"

Junichirou was usually not like this, especially to customers. He didn't know what it was about this guy that made it so easy for him to tease and joke but if he was honest...he liked it.

The redhead in front of him snorted and raised an eyebrow.

"So now that we've established that-" Junichirou stood up and grabbed his notebook and pen. "-what's the style you're going for?"

"Well it's a tattoo shop-" "The one down the street?" "-Uh yeah. Do you know it?"

The florist tapped his pen on the notebook.

"Yeah my coworkers boyfriend works there..." ,he mumbled as he walked over to some of the flowers in he coner that might be of intrest for the man.

"Oh-um well then if you've been there before you should know what type of aesthetic, I guess, we are going for, right?"

Junichirou hummed.

"'kay so I have some ideas. The thing is just you came very shortly before closing and frankly I have a sister at home that will beat the shit out of me if I'm not back on time so-"

The redhead went into the back to get his bag.

"_don't worry I'll have the arrangement finished tomorrow at noon. I'll just need you to write down your name and if you want it to be brought to the shop of course where the shop is. Please make it fast I can't be late."

The taller man in front of him looked slightly speachless but then seemed to regain his mind because he started writing the information down on the pice of paper JUnichirou had given him.

Tachihara Michizou, huh?

I'll remeber that...

Tachihara seemed to linger for a few seconds too long until he then turned around and walked to the shops door.

"Oh yeah by the way."

JUnichirou looked back up.

"You look cute." ,he winked. "Well see ya sometime, Red!"

JUnichirou just looked at the door closing with his mouth open.

"Wha-what the fuck just happned?!"

Honestly Junichirou was just confused.

He walked the short way to his and Naomi’s apartment without paying attention to anyrhing, nearly getting hit by a car.

He was so distracted that even completely ignored his sister who jumped to hug him the second he opened the door, which wasn’t good.

“Hey! Are you ignoring me?!“

“H-huh? Oh! Sorry Naomi!“

“Something must have happned at work today.“ the redhead could feel his cheeks heating up. „So I’m right!“

“Yeah ok ok you’re right.“ Junichirou walked around his sister into the kitchen, where he opened the cupboard to get out two bowls.

“So tell me!“

„You‘re a noisy one, aren’t you?“ „Hey! Don’t be mean to your adorable little sister!“

The siblings sat down as the water started to boil.

There was a comfortable silence between them even if Junichirou could practically feel Naomi‘s questions floating in the air.

“Ok it has to do with a customer.“ Naomi gave the happy little squeak she always gave when he told her, as she called it, „The tea“ from work.

“So I was just about to close where this guy came in.“ his sister seemed to visibly get even more intrigued.

„He was like really handsome. He was tall, had red hair, intense eyes and I’m pretty sure he wore eyeliner. He had an interesting fashion style and had a bunch of tattoos, because he works at the tattoo parlor Atsushi‘s boyfriend also works at.“

Naomi hummed with a smirk on her lips, as she held her head in her hands.

“Well he walked in last minute and asked for an arrangement for the front of their parlor. And of course I was like: „sure I’ll do it. It’ll be done by tomorrow just give me the name of the place and I’ll deliver it“, right?“ Naomi nodded.

“And everything is fine everything is normal.“ his sister raised an eyebrow. „Ok normal with a little bit more blushing.“

“Anyway! He walks out but just before he leaves he turns around to me and says, and I quote: „You look cute.“ and then he winked at me and left!“

The black haired girl in front of him gasped. „He winked?! No he didn’t!“ „Yes he did!“ „Oh god!“

The water was finally done boiling so Junichirou stood up to get it and finish their dinner.

“Well he seems to like you. Wait- did you get his name?“ „Uh- yeah I did. I need it for the delivery and everything, remember?“ „Yeah yeah. So what is it?“ „Tachihara…Michizou Tachihara.“

Even if Junichirou didn’t like the expression on his sisters face he just ignored it and sat down in front of her with the food.

„Good Morning Jun!“

„AHH Oh god Naomi don’t scare me like that!“

“Yeah yeah whatever. Come on I need to show you something!“

„Wait don’t I need to go to-wait it’s 6am. What the fuck Are you doing awake?“ „Pssst!“

Naomi basically ran through their small apartment dragging a very tried Junichirou behind her.

On the small couch the siblings own sat a girl with red glasses, long brown hair and tried looking green eyes.

Haruno, his sisters girlfriend.

„Good morning Haruno.“ „Good Morning Junichirou“, she said giving him a small smile. They suffered together by the hands of the one, Naomi Tanizaki.

“We found something out. Sit down.“ The black haired girl grabbed to open laptop sitting on the table in front of the couch.

With „we“ she probably mean Haruno, and she was just cuddling her half the time…

“Michizou Tachihara, 22 years of age, Tattoo artist. He’s currently single and a bisexual. He has been working at Port tattoo for about 2 or 3 years, not sure about that one. He’s pretty good friends with someone called Gin Akutagawa, but don’t worry they have a girlfriend.“

“Also before you ask: yes Gin is related to Atsushi‘s boyfriend. They are siblings“, Naomi‘s girlfriend piped up.

Junichirou was just stunned.

“Wha-what? When? How? Did you guys even sleep?!“

“No we did not but that is not important! What’s important is that we now know that he is single and probably attracted to you.“

He had no words.

Junichirou was distracted again.

He was just working on an arrangement for a handsome bisexual guy who told him he looked cute…

What the actual fuck?!

He took a step back.

The arrangement was beautiful, one of his best works he’d say.

A lot of dark blues and purples.

The hyacinths blending beautifully with the cornflowers. Just all in all pretty.

Sure he thought it was kind of embarrassing adding the cornflowers, he knew a lot about flower language after all but most of his customers didn’t really care especially for these types of jobs so the redhead bushed those thoughts to the back of his head.

Junichirou took a deep breath.

Lets do this!

Be confident!

He took the arrangement.

The walk wasn’t going to be long so it was fine for him to just carry it.

“Ok I’m off, Atsushi! See you in a bit!“ „Yeah sure thing, Tani!“

…

The walk to the tattoo parlor was blurr and now he was standing in front of it.

Oh fucking god-

Deep breaths Junichirou

Deep breaths

And he walked in.

“Hello how can I help you?“

The woman at the front was a little older than him, had blond hair that she had in a bun and had warm brown eyes. She looked nice.

“Uh I need to talk to uhm Tachihara?“

She eyed him a little bit visibly inspecting the vase in his hand.

She gave him a smirk.

“Yeah he should be free I’ll tell him.“

“Thank you…“

He had only ever been in here once. He had to wait in the front room as Atsushi and Akutagawa were at each other’s throats agin. Oh how happy he was they were dating now. Less fighting…less.

The place looked nice though.

Even if it had a rather cool color palette with a lot of blues, purples and blacks it still seemed very cozy and the seats were the softest things Junichirou‘s ass had ever touched.

Some of the work by the artist that worked here was displayed on the walls. These people were so goddamm talented.

#my fanfiction #tachihara michizou #tanihara #tanizaki x tachihara #tanizaki junichirou #bungou stray dogs

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undercoverclover · 3 years

Text

Make You Happy

Pairing: Donghun x OC

Genre: Angst

Warning: None, I think.

“I can’t do this anymore, Donghun.”

“What do you mean? I’m trying!”

“You’re trying? You’re never home! I get working, but the extra hours are too much! I need you!” I scream, tears streaming down my face.

“I- please. Please, don’t do this.” He says, defeated. The tears running down his face hurt beyond anything describable.

“I don’t want to! Don’t you see that? It’s not how I wanted this.” I turn and walk away from the man I thought I would love for the rest of my life. I probably will, but I can’t be with him until he’s ready… if that will ever happen.

Getting back to my place, I see the photographs plastered on my wall of him and I. I pull them off one by one and put them in my keepsake trunk. I wish it was me that made him happy.

2 years later

“Hey! Long time no see!” I hear. Looking around I see a woman, around my age with light brown hair and blue eyes, had said.

“Liliana?” I gasp.

“Hello, love. How are you? I’ve missed you!” She exclaims, giving me a hug in which I return happily.

“I’m alright. How are you? How’s everything going?” I ask, smiling.

“It’s been pretty good. These past few years have been a lot better than it has been in a while.” She smiles, seeming genuinely happy.

“That’s great! I’m really happy for you.”

“So, what have you been up to since you left?” She asks, kind of nervously playing with her hair-tie to see if it was still a sore subject.

“Once I moved to NYC, it was rough starting off. After everything, I was a disaster. But, eventually I opened up my gallery with a friend and we’ve done pretty well so far. I think anyway.” I smile.

“What? That’s amazing! You’ll have to show me some of your work! Maybe I can get one to ha-”

“Sorry to cut in, but I need my girlfriend for a second.” A familiar face cuts in and smiles at me.

“No way.” I smile, wider than I thought possible, “Chan?”

“Hey, it’s been a long time.” He says, smiling but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“How long have you 2 been together?” I ask, astonished.

“Um… About a year and a half.” He says, smiling and wrapping his arms around her.

“That’s awesome. I’m really happy for you guys.”

“Thanks.” Liliana says, smiling widely, “Well, I guess I’ll be back in just a few. We can finish catching up then?”

“Definitely.”

They take off to wherever Chan needed her and I look around at the room full of people. A high school reunion shouldn’t make you this nervous. I guess that’s what you get when you only had a handful of friends in a sea of people back in high school.

I spot the drink bar and walk towards it, maybe something over there will save me from being lonely.

“What can I get you?” The bartender asks. I look at everything and decide against it, I have to drive back to my parent’s house later.

“Just a sprite, thanks.” I smile. He nods, leaving for a split second to retrieve it.

“I’d never thought I’d see you back here again.” I hear in my ear and freeze.Why….

Turning around, I see Donghun… The same gorgeous man he was 2 years ago, except he had medium platinum hair and wore a suit.

“Hello, Donghun.” I smile slightly, trying to hide the pain I feel looking at his big brown eyes.

“It’s nice to see you again, Anya.” He smiles and looks down anxiously.

“You too. How have you been?” I ask, realizing I might get a hateful response.

“I’ve actually been okay. Better than I was. How about you?”

“I’m alright. It’s been a rough couple of years, but they’re finally getting better.” I say, truthfully.

“Yeah. I get that. What are you doing in NYC?” He asks.

“I have an art gallery up there with a friend.” I smile.

“That’s really great. I’m glad you found something that makes you happy.” He says looking down at the ground again. I feel the stab in my heart and my breath hitches. I regain composure before he looks back up, but the tears are wanting to form.

“Yeah, it’s helped.” I say, “What about you?”

“I mean, we just got back from tour last week, so it’s been rough trying to fix my jet lag… but I’ve been steadily busy.”

“Tour? Are you serious? That’s so awesome!” I smile, really happy for him.

“Yeah. We got signed about 6 months after everything happened.” He smiles but sadly.

“That’s so awesome though. I’m really happy for you. Truly, I am.” I smile at him.

“Anya! There you are.” Liliana smiles, dragging Chan behind her.

“I didn’t leave yet, don’t worry. Plus, you know there’s only one hotel in town.” I chuckle at her.

“That’s true.” she laughs.

“I’ll leave you two to talk, is that okay with you Lil?” Chan asks.

“Yeah, you know where I’ll be.” She smiles, looking up at him and kissing his cheek.

“That’s fine. Donghun, you want to join me with the other guys?” He smiles at his friend.

“Yeah, sure.” He replies then turns to me, “Catch up with you later?”

“Sure.” I smile and they head to find their friends.

I sit and catch up with Liliana for a while, talking about life in a bigger city and what has changed since I’d moved. We talk about good and bad, things in between, and make plans to hang out outside of here tomorrow afternoon. By that time, Chan came to find her and take her home since she had to work in the morning.

Saying their goodbyes, I grab my purse and jacket so I can head out as well.

“Goodnight, Anya.” Donghun says as I pass him walking out to my car.

“Goodnight Donghun.” I smile at him.

Arriving at the small hotel, I open the door and collapse on the bed and pass out from exhaustion. When I wake up the next morning, I notice I never took my makeup off…

“Geez. I need a shower. I look awful.”

Looking at the clock, I notice it’s almost one. I check my phone and Liliana messaged, asking if around 3 this afternoon was a good time to meet up. I text out the short reply and get up to take a shower.

Lil and I met up right at 3, at the cafe beside the hotel.

“Hey! Over here.” I say, waving at her to get her attention.

“Oh! Hey! There you are.” She smiles.

“Yeah, sorry. It was the only table open when I got here.”

“No that’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“How was work?” I ask.

“It was hectic but okay. We’re normally not very busy, but today we were swamped.” She explains.

“Dang, I hope it doesn’t happen again.” I smile, hoping she’s taking care of herself properly.

She only nods and smiles. Catching up on even more stuff, it’s past six p.m…

“Shoot, I have to go, I told Chan I’d be there to drop his bag off at practice in fifteen minutes.”

“Aw, dang that sucks!” I frown.

“Yeah, how much longer are you staying?”

“I leave out in a few days. I can stay longer if necessary but nothing crazy, like a month.” I laugh.

“Dang, thought I could get you back for good.” She smiles, “Do you maybe want to go drop the bag off with me?”

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Yeah, for sure.” She replies.

Getting in the car, we drive for about ten minutes and pull up to an old studio. It was bringing back some memories that I don’t know if I want.

The dance lessons by Donghun, the cake fight with everyone and this… this is where I said goodbye…

We get out and head inside to the practice room, noticing everyone huddled around a piece of paper. I reach up and knock on the door and wonder if they’d heard me.

“Hey guys, come in! Thank you baby.” Chan says, acknowledging us and kissing Liliana on the forehead. I feel a twinge of longing seeing that. I quickly push it away before it causes any more damage.

“Hey, Anya!” Sehyoon says, looking up and sidestepping the others to give me a hug.

“Hey Sehni!! It’s so nice to see all of you again.” He smiles at me as do the others.

"Yeah! I'm glad you stopped by." Jun smiles.

"I hope you guys have been taking care of yourselves." I smile.

"They have or at least I think they have." Lili smiles, "considering I try to cook for them often and bandage their injuries,” She says and they all look at Chan… “What? She’s clumsier than I am, okay?” He groans.

She smiles and adds, “Also, I put cookies in Yuchan's bag."

"Sweet!" I hear Chan say, breaking free from her to go grab a cookie.

Someone lightly brushes past my arm and I look up to see that it's Donghun.

"Hey Donghun! Lil brought cookies." Byeongkwan says with his mouth full of cookies.

"You better save me one." He says, glaring at Jun. Sehyoon takes a cookie out and sits it on a napkin for this friend.

"Thanks." Donghun smiles.

"Hey, I'll be right back," I smile, looking outside. Liliana nods and I step outside to get some fresh air. Sitting down and leaning up against the building, I rest my head back and close my eyes to think. You shouldn’t be here. It still hurts just as much. He doesn’t want you here either. It’s just an open wound.

“Are you okay?” I hear beside me. Opening my eyes, I see Donghun eyeing me.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I say, hoping he walks back inside. Instead, he sits beside me against the wall, turning his head to look at me.

“What is it?” He asks.

“It’s nothing.” I say, my cheeks going red.

“Anya, you are such a horrible liar.” He states, “Why’d you come back?”

I look up at him, shock written on my face and not sure how to answer, “What do you mean? I came back for the reunion.” I say, confused.

“Okay.” He says.

“I did, Donghun. I missed my dad as well.”

“Are you seeing anyone there? I know you said you had a friend who owns the gallery with you.”

“No, I’m not. That’s all he is. Just a friend and quite frankly, he’s not my type. What about you?” I smile, nudging his shoulder.

“Nah, I tried a few more times after you.” He sighs, continuing, “Nothing short of complete failures within a week.. I decided to just give up and work on my career.”

“I’m sorry.” I say, feeling the pain of that day weigh on me again.

“Don’t be. I needed a kick to get my life on track. I was so absorbed in working that I neglected the one thing that was perfect.” He says, getting quieter as he speaks.

“Your dreams came true though.” I try to smile, but it just didn’t feel right.

“One of them did, not the biggest one.” He says, looking at me with a tear sliding down his cheek.

“Donghun, I-” I had no words.

“Don’t worry about it. You did what you had to. I get that. I’m really sorry that I was that way. Nothing’s been the same without you.” Wiping his eyes with his shirt, he tries to stand up.

I place my hand on his arm, “Wait. Please?”

“What is it?” He asks, leaning back.

“You know that’s never how I wanted our lives to be.” I choked out.

“I know. It wasn’t your fault.. I just didn’t realize what I had, until it was gone… Did your dad tell you I tried to come by the house two days after that? I was going to quit. I’d have given it all up for you, but you’d already left.” He says, looking into my eyes, “You are my happiness. It’s not the same without you, I’m not the same.”

I feel tears running down my face now, “Really? You-” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Yes.”

“I’ve never moved on. Not since you.. I haven’t even tried.” I say, quietly. His eyes grow wide and I hide my face in my hands, embarrassed to admit it outside of my head.

“Anya? Why?”

“You were my entire world, Donghun. It hurt so bad that day that I couldn’t deal without your love. I closed up. I’ll never let anyone in like that again.”

“Give me another shot.”

“What?” I ask, thinking I misheard him. He leans closer to me, tears still falling from both of our eyes.

“Let me show you how much I still care, my love. Give me a second chance, please?” He pleads and places his hand on the back of my neck and gently pulls me in close to kiss me. The salt ridden tears not making any difference, I kiss him back.

He pulls back, breathing heavily and smiling, “Always and forever?”

“You and me.” I smile, kissing him again.

#a.c.e #acewriters #donghun #ace donghun #lee donghun

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grand-shitral-station · 3 years

Text

HB 233 does not require students and staff to report their beliefs to the government or state.

(Sort of long) TL;DR.

HB 233 does not make it legal for anyone to demand anyone report their political beliefs to anyone. Political beliefs are protected under the 1st Amendment and a school/organization can't violate your 1st Amendment rights. The bill is worded in a way that's kind of difficult to understand, but it doesn't say that anyone will be required to report any of their beliefs to anyone.

It's now law that colleges (In Florida) have to survey students and staff to find out if the school's environment is intellectually free and full of diverse viewpoints. This does not say ask everyone what their views are. It says ask everyone if this school's environment allows everyone's views, not just the popular views, to be voiced and allows people to think and speak freely rather than being told what they can and can't think or say.

CS/CS/HB 233: Postsecondary Education PDF. (The bill itself on the Florida Senate's official website.) v

The Florida Senate's page for House Bill 233 on the official website. v

In this bill "exposure" and "encouragement" means what it actually says, to expose students and staff to ideas regardless of whether those ideas fit their personal views and encourage them to explore them.

This does not require students and staff to agree with and/or believe anything. This also does not protect anyone who attempts to force someone into agreeing with or believing anything. That would violate your rights and if that happens go to their superiors and raise hell. It is not legal for anyone to threaten you (with a lower grade or job loss for example) into believing in and/or agreeing with an idea, opinion, etc. All they can do is teach you about it and basically say "Here's (insert idea or whatever here), here's what it is, and I encourage you to look into and form your own opinions about it.". This also protect's staff from being forced to believe and/or agree with anything. They can not punish you for not agreeing and this bill does not allow anyone to do so.

HB 233 also does not require students and staff to report their political beliefs to anyone. That would violate the Right To Privacy which is protected under The First Amendment.

https://constitution.laws.com/right-to-privacy

What HB 233 DOES do is:

1. Require that schools and school staff cannot shield students and staff from from views and speech they might not or do not agree with or like. Basically they can't omit facts, ideas, views, etc. that they don't like or agree with, or that students may not like or agree with. They have to teach about all of it. If a teacher doesn't like the fact that a historic figure owned slaves but still has to teach about them as part of the curriculum they cannot leave that out, lie about it, or tell you not to research it. They cannot tell you what to believe regarding anything. They also cannot leave out the word "slaves" if they don't like that word or feel it may offend some students and/or teachers. This applies to everything in the curriculum.

2. Require schools to conduct a survey assessing intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at the school.

This means it's now law that colleges have to survey students and staff to find out if the school's environment is intellectually free and full of diverse viewpoints. This does not say ask everyone what their views are. It says ask everyone if this school's environment allows everyone's views, not just the popular views, to be voiced and allows people to think and speak freely rather than being told what they can and can't think or say.

This survey is what I see a lot of people freaking out over and I don't blame them. The way this is worded is somewhat hard to understand on the first read, even for me and I used to study law for fun. (Not in law school or anything similar, take what I say with a pinch of salt. I could be wrong but this is as I understand it.) Combine that with concerns about privacy that's rapidly being snatched from us day by day, fears of the government taking more control over our lives, which is very much valid, that would freak anyone out. I freaked out until I read the bill myself, and I had to read it a few times to understand it. I'll break down the parts that mainly have everyone's concern right now the best that I can.

"The State Board of Education shall require each Florida College System institution to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at that institution."

This is just requiring that the State Board of Education requires an assessment that sees how intellectually free and how diverse viewpoints are in each college. In this case, colleges in Florida.

"The State Board of Education shall select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid survey to be used by each institution which considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the college community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom."

The State Board of Education will either select a survey made by someone else or create one themselves.

The requirements for the survey are:

1. The survey must be objective. The survey must be realistic.

2. The survey must be nonpartisan. The survey cannot lean towards any political side/party/view. The survey must be free of political affiliation and unbiased.

3. The survey must be statistically valid.

4. The survey must ask to what extent competing ideas and perspectives are presented to students and staff.

5. The survey must ask students and staff if they feel safe/free to express/voice their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom.

"The State Board of Education shall annually compile and publish the assessments by September 1 of each year, beginning on September 1, 2022."

The State Board of Education will keep and publish the assessments by September 1st every year, (and as stated on page 1. the Board of Governors will also be looking at these results.) I interpreted this in three ways, there could be more. I believe it's up to the SBOE how they want to gather and publish the results. I'm unsure of which is going to be how this actually plays out or if any of them are how it will happen at all. I'm assuming the Board of Governors will just look at the results but they could be the ones tallying them up as well. Maybe both the SBOE and the BOG will be tallying and publishing the results.

1. This means the questions and answers will go to the SBOE and/or BOG electronically or via paper, and the SBOE and/or the BOG will publish the questions and answers, possibly not anonymously, by September 1st every year.

2. This means the survey results are tallied up by the school and probably turned into a percentage, (like % of how free students and staff feel to speak their minds) then sent to the SBOE and/or BOG and the SBOE and/or BOG will publish the results by September 1st every year. Probably more likely as that's less work and generally how survey results are displayed rather than putting out everyone's answers for everyone to see.

3. This means the surveys themselves are sent to the SBOE and/or BOG and the SBOE and/or BOG will tally up and publish the results as percentages by September 1st every year. This is probably about as likely as 2. since it's also less work and how survey results are generally displayed rather than putting out everyone's answers for everyone to see.

I guess it will depend on who trusts and/or assigns who to do the tallying. It could be these, it could be none of these, we currently don't know. This actually starts in 2022.

"The State Board of Education may adopt rules to implement this paragraph."

The State Board of Education can make rules on how to implement this in colleges in the state.

This bill does not require you to participate and does not require schools to make the survey mandatory. However, it also doesn't say that you won't have to participate, nor does it say that schools cannot make the survey mandatory. As far as I know, the survey can be mandatory if it does not ask for information that's protected under the law like political beliefs and that's because they cannot violate your right to privacy.

Basically, schools have to have the survey but this bill itself cannot force anyone to take it. From what I understand, that's either up to the Florida Department of Education or the schools themselves, maybe the Board of Governors.

About the survey itself? According to a spokesperson for The Florida Department of Education, it won't be asking you for your political opinions and the survey will be voluntary.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jun/25/viral-image/new-florida-law-requires-public-universities-surve/

If the survey does end up questioning you about your political beliefs, you do not have to answer and they cannot physically make you. This bill can not and does not give anyone the right to demand your political, religious, etc. beliefs from you.

If you do somehow end up forced into taking a survey that demands your political, religious, etc. opinions, views, beliefs, it's ok to lie or just not answer at all. Answer blatantly off the wall shit or just don't answer. Get up and walk out, exit the page, etc. It ain't any of their damn business.

If you have to answer before submitting it just fill out answers that don't make any sense.

Ex: If it asks who you support for president, answer Daphy Duck, your favorite character, Clef's hat, DickButt, [insert name here]'s left nut, flower petals, basically anything. Hell, answer a McDonald's order in Irken, Wookie, or any fictional language you know. Answer in Gallifreyan. (Imagine a bunch of circles getting sent to the government or educational board lmao.)

Click through the whole test and submit it blank! Turn in an empty Scantron/paper. If there's a minimum time limit, sleep or draw.

If you want to, write an entire essay on why you're not answering the questions and why you believe no one has the right to demand your beliefs/views/opinions from you. Write or type it anywhere you can, even if that's directly written over the questions if they let you/tell you to answer by writing on the packet/in the book, etc. Ask for scratch paper or write it on your answer paper otherwise.

If your school tries to make you take it via threatening punishments of any kind, and/or saying that this bill gives them the right to demand your opinions from you, (they are lying, it does not) blatantly ask them if they are trying to violate your right to privacy. Schools, work places, etc. CANNOT violate your rights and neither can this bill, nor does it.

Sometimes schools act like they have more power than they really do but that's just it. They're acting, and might even try to manipulate you into doing things/giving up info they have zero right to. Learn how to defend yourself, and what they are and are not legally capable of. Especially in these situations should they ever happen to you. I don't have a lot of good resources save for what I've posted here may be able to help? The internet however has tons. Seek them out, ask someone you trust, ask someone you agree with, ask someone you disagree with. Gather as much knowledge that you can and form your own opinions.

I can't promise there won't be repercussions of some kind if something like what we were all (and all things considered, to an extent still might be) afraid of ends up happening and you fight it, but you can fight it. They still have to obey the laws of the land and we deserve our privacy.

Do we have anything to worry about?

With the bill itself? As far as I know, no. The bill itself seems to be an attempt to make colleges a safer space for free speech and for ideas to be taught without being censored by staff or students. That's a good thing. Even if we disagree with something we need to be able to hear everything about it without anything being omitted or censored and allowed to challenge our own ideas ourselves with every bit of information from both sides of an argument rather than being told what to think or given a manipulated view that aims to sway our opinions and beliefs. Our opinions and beliefs should ALWAYS be OUR choice. Not someone else's and from what I understand this bill is all about that. If there's anything to worry about it would be a school, or anyone really, trying to lie about it and act like it gives them more power than they actually have.

There is however this:

The fact that HB 233 was inspired by surveys that do ask for political opinions raises an eyebrow. However, both of those surveys are anonymous and voluntary, and this bill doesn't ask for or demand political opinions, leanings, etc. to be included in the surveys, nor does the SBOE that's making/choosing the survey. It just asks if the environment is safe to speak freely in. So they just took the good parts as inspiration.

Honestly, I think we're fine.

#House Bill 233 #House Bill #Florida #HB 233 #HB233 #Florida Senate #233 #Ron DeSantis

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