A Second Chance
Jack Frost x Guardian Reader
Summary: it's never to late to start a new.
Jack Frost had never felt so hurt before. He had stumbled upon a young teenager being bullied by her classmates, calling her "baby" and "childish" for still believing in children stories.
Jack had intervened, saving her from their harsh remarks and helping her regain her confidence. He was surprised when he discovered that she could see him, though no one else could.
They began to hang out more often after that. Jack enjoyed spending time with YN, listening to her stories about the guardians and her strong belief in their magic.
She reminded him of why he had become a guardian in the first place - to bring joy and hope to children.
But then, one day, YN stopped showing up to their hangouts. Jack searched for her everywhere but couldn't find her.
He tried asking the other guardians, but they didn't know where she had gone either.
A thousand years had passed since then. Jack had seen many things, watched as new guardians had joined their ranks, and had seen old ones pass away.
However, he never forgot about YN. She had touched his heart in a way that no one else had.
One day, he stumbled upon her again. It turns out that YN had died of a sickness, but her strong belief in the guardians had turned her into one herself. She was now the guardian of children, just like Jack.
He went up to her and confessed his love, only to be hurt again when he found out she didn't remember anything from her past life. But Jack didn't care.
He was just happy to see her again and knew that she was still spreading magic and hope to children.
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Snippet Thursday: Baby Croc Chaos
(For context, the first time the boys were allowed outside, someone took a shot at Croc, because you don't see that every day. It ended up injuring his leg. Jak attacked the man, and Damas was called to break up the fight. Despite being presumed too young for Arena trials and not having cleared the necessary obstacle training course, Damas gives permission for Jak to demand a duel on Croc's behalf. Normally this would be done by the guardian or parent of the injured child, but it's clear that the boys have no parents. Obviously, Jak won.)
Most expected the angry shapeshifter from the Arena to start making more frequent appearances after the battle trial. He had his first amulet -- earlier than most orphans in the youth barracks got them -- and his gate pass now, making him eligible for the work roster. He could start finding artifacts of his own now, and earn enough to support the creatures he called his siblings. With the ferocity he'd shown in the ring, it had been assumed that he'd jump at the chance to carve out a place for himself in Spargus.
And yet the king had sent word that they were to be returned to C-Ward in the tower the moment the Arena settled. And no one had seen them since.
Perhaps it was a confinement of sorts. The king had been fairly displeased to find the foundling boy and Tarn in the holding cells after the market brawl. He'd been even angrier when he learned the context of it.
Those who had been in the market that day, and had witnessed the scaly spirit-child thing, suggested that Lord Damas was simply being cautious. As strange as "Croc" was -- even disturbing to some -- it was a child, unmistakably. There'd been no call for Tarn to fire at it -- and firing willy-nilly in the market was a good way to get a shell to the head anyway.
The matter came up during the city's weekly review of the wall defenses. Hutch, head of the city architects' guild, handed over the blueprints for his wall turret proposal and glanced to the far edge of the throne room. Strangely, the shapeshifter was there, sitting amongst the date palms with the talking animal and the spirit infant.
What a time to be alive that such a sentence could even be thought-!
Had Damas summoned the boy? For what purpose?
Hutch saw the orange creature point to one of the trees, and the boy moved as fast as lightning. He slapped a palm to the trunk as if trying to crush something, then took a small spray bottle from the mustelid.
Ah, the king had put them to work removing pests from the trees. Fifteen of the palms filled the room in large planters, and the architect pitied the foundlings for the unenviable task of applying pesticides to them all. Maybe they were being punished for something.
The king scanned the blueprints carefully before passing them to the director of finance.
"This design is compact enough that adding it to the wall wouldn't put a burden on the city's budget. However, I am concerned about the amount of eco an automated turret would consume. What do you plan to run it on?"
"S- solar...power...actually," Hutch answered sheepishly. "I've just realized my proposal for solar panels is still sitting on my desk."
Lottie, the finance director, looked at him dryly. "Probably would've helped to start with that one."
The architect flushed slightly. "It's been a busy week," he protested, "The monks have been at me for old archived blueprints of Tributary!"
Then he wearily asked, "Should I go home and get the other proposal, sire?"
Damas didn't answer right away, which was unlike him.
Instead, his eyes were fixed on the trio of inhu'men orphans working in the artificial grove. (What were they? Hutch didn't think they were actually spirits, but darned if he'd ever seen a Lurker with so little hair!)
After a moment, the king seemed to shake himself.
"No, that won't be necessary," he said quickly. "Just...explain it to Lottie when we adjourn for noon rest."
Unexpectedly, that week's patrol leader for the gate wall spoke up.
"They get noon rest too, right, sir?"
Evidently the presence of the shapeshifter and siblings had concerned him as well. Odolan shifted uncomfortably, whether because of the boys or because of -- apparently -- calling out the king himself.
"Shouldn't they be in the barracks during meetings?" Odolan pressed.
"No," answered the king. He sounded almost disinterested, as if the matter barely merited comment. "They have a room here. They just don't stay in it."
Now his other advisors began to shift and frown between each other. The only people who should've been living in the tower were the ruler of Spargus and his personal guards, a detachment of medics and patients in the warriors' Convalescence Ward, and the staff of the water treatment and kitchen facilities. Underage foundlings -- almost always rescues or defectors from Marauders, not exiles -- went to the youth barracks. They had to make connections with their age mates, to form Squads! It was a well-established part of Spargan culture by now. Why in the world would their king deny the new foundlings that? Was it because of their appearance?
Odolan looked deeply uncomfortable as he asked, "Is- is this because of how the boy killed Tarn? He was well within his rights to do so."
"Mhm. That's partially why." Damas didn't look up. He scratched notes quickly into a pad of recycled paper. "Here, Hutch. Look this over and tell me if it's sound."
He handed him a rough diagram of the front wall with alternate turret locations, then twirled the pencil between his fingers.
"Er...mostly, sire. But that junction there is above several wall residences."
"Ah, right. Scratch that one then." Damas took the pad back and drew a line through the box meant to represent a turret.
"Actually- here. Draw me those solar panels you're on about. Show me where you'd put them before you discuss it with Lottie."
When he finally glanced up, he saw that half the guild heads and advisors were still casting confused or curious glances over at the boys in the grove. The children were eavesdropping, of course. The chores had been implemented in an attempt to mitigate that somewhat, but with the amount of scarring and eco healing marks in their bones, Damas suspected they'd learned to listen carefully no matter how busy they looked. He couldn't explain to his council why he indulged Jak’s refusal to go back outside until Croc's nightmares stopped. Or admit that his own curiosity was keeping him from sending them to a barracks RA to sort out. It may have been -- he had trouble admitting it, even to himself, without pain -- the age of the youngest. He was no older than Mar had been when he was taken. He was small, and helpless, and the youth barracks were for teenagers, not toddlers. Separating Jak from his younger sibling just seemed cruel. And too much like how he'd lost Mar.
With a long-suffering look, Damas asked dryly, "Does anyone else have concerns about the gremlin gang they'd like to voice so that we can focus on the task at hand?"
Taking it as an invitation rather than sarcasm, -- she'd never been good at detecting sarcasm, in her defense -- Lottie remarked, "Who's going to look after the wee creatures when the lad enters his first Squad?"
Damas waved that off immediately. "They're not ready for Squads. Not in the least."
"Not ready for Squads?" Hutch muttered to Odolan, not quiet enough to go unheard, "How can a foundling not be ready for basic training?"
At that moment, the nature spirit thing came scampering out of the palms with an excited trill. Scuttling along before him was a very panicked scorpion -- no doubt it had been sleeping in the soil brought up for the planters. The scaly toddler crouched, tail lashing, then pounced. He held it it up by the tail, proudly showing the small arachnid to the adults, then his brothers.
"Good catch, Croc!" Jak ducked out of the palms. "Let me see it."
He ignored the presence of the council and crouched to examine the absolutely furious scorpion.
"Cool. Never seen one this small before. Check out the carapace-"
"Urr?"
"Hard shell. Body."
"Urr!"
"It ain't a juvenile. That means this sucker's got some pretty major poison in that stinger."
Damas opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again and shook his head. Perhaps eventually the council would learn what he had: it was completely and utterly useless to try to interrupt Jak when he was excited about something.
Carefully, Croc set the scorpion down and pinned it in place with his foot claws. With chubby fingers and the SparSign common to infants and toddlers, he asked, "I eat dat spicy bug?"
"Yeah sure, just not the tail."
Instant panic amongst the adults.
Damas launched out of the throne.
"Oh for the love of- Croc! No! Do not eat raw scorp-"
Too late.
The wide, wide mouth opened, and with a noticeable crunch, the scorpion met its end. While the adults stared in wide-eyed expressions ranging from disbelief to bravely stifling explosive laughter, Jak relieved Croc of the stinger.
"We'll put this with the other ones."
Jak finally looked up and stared impassively at Damas, still ignoring the council.
"What?"
"He's an infant, Jak! You don't know he can eat scorpions safely," Damas sighed.
The boy shrugged. "He's eaten way worse and been fine."
The orange one scurried out and up onto Jak’s head.
"Bald-faced lie. Eatin' KG gave him the most unholy flatulence and you know it."
Jak pretended not to hear this.
"Besides," he said, sounding cocky, "Dax and me ate scorpions plenty of times when we were little. It didn't hurt us."
This got an...interesting reaction from the Wastelanders. In what environment were young children allowed to catch and eat scorpions regularly? They were supervised, of course, they would have had to be-
"You realize," Daxter said with a hint of bitterness in his voice, "That we wouldn't have had to hunt scorpions if your absentee uncle had actually fed us instead of spending the grocery money on treasure maps every month."
Well then.
As one, the advisors turned to look at Damas. He simply gestured to the boys as if saying "you see?"
Dry as dust, the king asked, "Any other objections to continued adult supervision?"
Odolan shook his head and wondered how the strange orphans had even lived this long.
"I withdraw the question."
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i remember someone asking you for the second years favorite out of itafushikugi but who do you think the trio’s favorite senpais are?
& who do you think the adults (nanami gojo shoko yaga) favorite students are?
I'm assuming we're talking about the sea glass gardens universe for this and not canon.
Megumi: Yuuta. No competition. I'm pretty sure this is straight up canon with his comment that Yuuta was the only one of his senpais that he actually respected. He and Yuuta have a special relationship, even if Megumi isn't aware of his Boyhood.
Barring Yuuta, Maki would be his favorite. They have identical bitch instincts and are always on the same wavelength. They wander the world as these beautiful judgmental assholes and it's their ideal existences. Soul siblings.
I see Maki as sort of slowly growing into her place as Megumi's family. At the start, neither of them were exactly looking to forge blood family ties, what with their history, but I think they both understand what it's like to have the Zenin lurking on your periphery in a way no one else does. They look out for each other.
Nobara: Maki. I also can't debate canon on this one. Nobara simply adores Maki. And has a crush on her the size of Jupiter. She doesn't know Yuuta and has sworn revenge on him for winning the last Goodwill event, so Yuuta's out of the running, and Panda and Inumaki are her constant torments.
Still, were it not for her appreciation for Maki as her senpai (re: rampant Homosexual Desire), I think Panda would be her favorite. They have identical asshole instincts, not that Nobara would ever admit it. Remember them teaming up during the Goodwill event? Nobara secretly has a soft spot for Panda, except for all the moments where she wants to beat him with a hammer.
Yuuji: I think it's actually Inumaki. Maki and him get on great because they both can compete athletically, but Maki's disposition is more suited to Megumi. She's harder for him to connect with for him on a personality level. Inumaki's also very athletically inclined, and I see them becoming jogging buddies now that Yuuta's in Africa.
I see Inumaki looking out for him a little when he first arrived, the way he did for Yuuta. Yuuji's not the sort to be phased by the difficulty communicating, and I think he respects the hell out of Inumaki as a jujutsu sorcerer.
If we count the Kyoto students in this, his favorite is Todo, but that may or may not be Stockholm Syndrome. He. He got swept up in it. It happened so fast. He doesn't know how this happened or if he's allowed to leave. It kind of scares him.
Yuuta is not even in the running for Yuuji's favorite. The thought of Yuuta torments him. He's just all sparkling and perfect in Africa, what with his curse-free existence and unstoppable power and having Megumi as his boy and what not. Just. Fuck off.
Adults
Nanami: He has no favorites. He cannot play favorites. He has raised one of these children, as adopted another, and has played a very large role in teaching a third. It would be wrong to select favorites out of them.
But also it's Yuuji.
It's not that he actually likes Yuuji better than Megumi or Yuuta or any of the others; it's more that Yuuji's his student. Megumi's practically a son to him, but Gojo was the one who took the lead on raising him and training him. And while he will always do his best to support Yuuta, by the time he met Yuuta, Gojo had already become the sort of adult pillar of support in his life.
Yuuji's the one he took the lead on training. He was there when Yuuji first had someone die, first had to kill. And Yuuji reminds him so much of Haibara that it hurts sometimes. He has a soft spot for him.
Gojo: Gojo will play favorites. It's Megumi.
Sue him. His kid is his favorite. That's his little boy. He watched him grow up from the angriest first grader he ever met to the angriest high schooler he ever met. He's always gonna have a bit of a soft spot for his Megs.
If he couldn't pick Megumi, it would be Yuuta.
Again, sue him for playing favorites, but Yuuta's someone he's just endlessly proud of. He watched Yuuta go from being curled up on the floor of an execution chamber to being the most promising sorcerer of the modern age. Yuuta really gives him hope for the future and the next generation. He just adores the kid.
Shoko: If we're talking sea glass gardens, I think Megumi would win by default just because she has less face time with the kids and Megumi is the one she helped raise. She's his wine aunt. She's always gonna wanna pinch his cheeks and harass him about his hair. But if he's out of the running, it's Nobara. She reminds her of her at that age. Mostly in the fact that she's endlessly suffering from her two idiot best friends's mutual homosexuality. Shoko relates to Nobara on a spiritual level.
Yaga: Panda. That's his little boy. I'm pretty sure this is canon too--Maki explicitly states that the principal plays favorites with Panda in JJK0. He raised Panda and thinks of him as his own son. He adores the kid.
If Panda's out of the running, it's Megumi.
This is also because he remembers when Megumi was a little kid. He didn't help raise Megumi the way the rest of them did--he got cut out after the Zenin incident--but he remembers before, when he was trusted with Megumi. A part of him is always going to remember Megumi as the quiet little boy who used to hide under his desk to read.
I also just see him as keeping more distance from the kids. he's not as actively involved in their teaching. it's partially an act of self protection to have distance--a lot of kids don't make it to graduation. So his favorites are going to be the one he spent the most time with--namely panda and Megumi, just by pure default.
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