Id Just Like To Acknowledge That South Africa Wouldnt Have Such A Strong Case Without The Work Of The

I’d just like to acknowledge that South Africa wouldn’t have such a strong case without the work of the journalists, both alive and martyred, on the ground in Gaza supplying the world with firsthand information about the genocide and that they deserve thanks for it.

Play Pretend

“You’ll pose as a newlywed couple”

{Sanemi x Fem!Reader}

Warnings: oral sex, “drugged” sex, semi-public sex, honestly it’s kinda tame

A/N: I forgot I was writing this, tbh I thought I already finished it. So when I realized it wasn’t finished and it hadn’t been posted anywhere? Whew.

Word Count: 12.6k — sheesh.

“Fucking loser.” You stood over Sanemi who was laying flat against the ground. Your wooden training blade was pointed at his neck, his chest heaving as he glared at you. “You’re a fucking cheater.” You rolled your eyes, the hand you were about to give to help him up instantly retracted. “And you are an ass.”

You turned away from him, twirling your blade around and waiting for his next attack. You two had been going at this for three hours now. Kagaya had summoned the two of you, likely to assign a mission. Which was something neither you nor Sanemi understood as to why it couldn’t be sent through crows.

You smirked as he launched towards you, you looked up at him and winked before disappearing. Sanemi was by far a lot stronger than you, but you were quicker. You reappeared as he landed, laughing as his head whipped towards you. Your game of cat and mouse continued for forty more minutes until a crow’s appearance announced Kagaya was ready for the two of you.

“Finally.” You landed again, walking off towards the designated meeting spot. Behind you Sanemi was mumbling about how you cheated yet again. “If you keep saying I’ll trip you right as we arrive.” You looked back at the white haired man, finding it comical the way his scars pointed upwards due to the annoyed look on his face. “Shut up.”

“What a gentleman!” You began walking up the steps, about to walk through the doorway but decided to wait for Sanemi to join you. “Trip me and I’ll kill you.” His voice was a hushed whisper as he passed you, you forced your smirk off your face as you joined him.

“My children, good afternoon.” You and Sanemi both bowed, greeting Kagaya before kneeling before him. “I’m sure both of you are wondering why you’ve been called here.” Kagaya smiled before continuing. “I have a mission for the both of you, but it’s instructions are too much to communicate through crow. I figured it would be better for the both of you to begin your travel from the same starting point.”

“There is a village south of this estate that is being terrorized by an unknown being. After sending a few of the kanoe we have determined it is a demon, but this demon is only targeting specific people.”

“Who are they targeting?” Your felt nervous butterflies flutter around your stomach. “It seems they are targeting married couples.” Those butterflies died in your stomach, dread filling the space instead.

“I’m guessing you want Shinazugawa-San and I to act like a married couple and try to become the next targets?” You noticed Sanemi glare at you out of the corner of his eye, he wasn’t fond of people interrupting Kagaya.

“Precisely my dear y/n. You and Sanemi will be posing as a newlywed couple.” You glanced over a Sanemi, his expression unreadable but you were certain you would hear an earful after.

“The village is only a few hours walk. Ideally I would like the both of you to forgo the normal uniform and instead wear the close we have prepared for you. Y/n, my wife will be waiting to do your hair and makeup.”

Your eyebrows raised at makeup. “I’m looking for the two of you to act as if you were only married a few hours ago. This village is often a spot where newlyweds go to relax and enjoy their first night as a couple.”

Your cheeks reddened at the implications, this time you trained your eyes on the floor, not daring to look over at Sanemi.

“Understood.” Sanemi spoke for the both of you. “Thank you, be careful, both of you. And please be wary of sending crows, we don’t want any sort of implications of what you are truly there for.”

You both remained kneeling until Kagaya was gone from the room. Slowly you both stood. “Well Shinazugawa-San, I guess we have to start referring to each other by our first names.”

“Well y/n, I guess we do.” At the use of your first name, blush burned bright along your cheeks and ears. He began laughing, turning to walk back out the door and go get changed as Kagaya instructed.

Thirty minutes later your hair was done up in a bun, a few strands hanging to frame your face. Amane, Kagaya’s wife, added a few pieces of silver accessories to the bun and a wisteria flower wrapped delicately around it.

She dusted your cheeks with a soft blush made from crushed rose petals and added some oil to it to paint across your lips. She had used some charcoal to line your eyes, you gasped when she handed you the mirror. “Oh my…Amane-Sama… please do my hair and makeup when I actually get married one day.”

She smiled brightly at you, “you will look beautiful as a bride one day y/n.” Your jaw dropped as she pulled out the Hikifurisode kimono. “You two will already be married when you arrive, this kimono shows you were just married, but it’s not the same as the pure white kimono worn during the ceremony.”

The hikifurisode was all black with purple, white and blue flowers decorating the sleeves and back. Amane helped you dress, a light purple obi was tied around your torso, silver obi-jime and obi-age accompanying it.

You stood in front of the mirror and stared at yourself in awe, you felt beautiful. With a sigh you spoke “if only I were actually getting married.” Amane chuckled, “I’m sure it will happen soon dear. Head to the gates of the estate, he should be waiting for you… good luck.”

You bowed deep, thanking Amane profusely for all her hard work. You were surprised at how easy it was to move around in the hikifurisode, you suppress a smile as you think of what the other Hashira would say.

You are pulled from your thoughts when your eyes land on Sanemi. He wore a black kimono, paired with a light blue hakama. One that matched the blue flowers on your hikifurisode. His hair was slicked back, quite the contrast from his normal wild hairstyle. His scars were in full view, you both stared at each other in silence, not even trying to hide the way you were eyeing each other from head to toe.

“Well Sanemi, you clean up nice.” It was meant to be snarky, but your voice came out strained. Your cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red as he smirked. “Not half bad yourself my love.”

My love?

Noticing your shocked expression he smirked, “What, we are newlyweds, I have to have a pet name for you, no?”

He was enjoying the way you squirmed under his stare. “We haven’t even left for the village yet, there is no need.” He smiled, slinging a bag over his shoulder. He had both your blade and his attached to his waist. “Whatever you say my love.”

You saw his shoulders shake as he laughed, a blush blossoming across your face once again. You wanted to make him feel as flustered as you did. You began walking, catching up to him before speaking. “I wonder if the demon is just targeting one half of the couple. If it’s a female demon I’m certain it would be going after the groom. But if it’s a male demon…surely it’s going after the bride? Don’t you think, baby?”

You tried your best to keep a straight face, noticing the way Sanemi nearly tripped, eyes widening as he shot you a look. You stared up at him with wide innocent eyes, waiting for him to make a comment. Instead he brushed it off “or it’s a demon that is hungry, so it’s going after both.”

“We’ll have to do a bit of talking before finding an inn to stay at. We don’t know how long this will take.” You toyed with the sleeve of your hikifurisode, smiling as the embroidery reflected the sunlight. “I wonder where they got these for us… you don’t think it was theirs right? Oh my…if they gave us their actual wedding attire…” you didn’t want to get it dirty.

“I doubt they’d give something so important to you.” You scoffed at him. “You’re one to talk, always walking around with your chest out, attention whore.” Sanemi’s mouth actually opened in surprise at that, a laugh bubbling out after.

“That’s my girl.” Your heart skipped a beat. Why did your heart skip a beat? You shook your head, what the hell was happening?

It was close to evening when you and Sanemi arrived at the village. You would have gotten there a lot sooner if you were in your normal uniforms. Since you were in such formal clothing, you had to walk the entire way. At some points Sanemi had to help you across certain points so you didn’t get the dress dirty.

“We need to find a place to stay for the night my dear.” Every conversation you two had involved some sort of cheesy pet name. “Of course, we’ve had a long day. We need some rest.” It’s not like the demon was listening, yet you still remained in character.

Some people gawked as the two of you passed, you could only imagine how you looked. Your hikifurisode screamed wealth, you looked breathtaking there was no denying that. Paired with Sanemi, a tall, broad man covered in scars, you were a spectacle.

“Maybe one of us should have dyed our hair or something.” You whisper as you pass a group of older women huddled together, not so subtly talking about the two of you. “Eh, let them talk.” You snorted “you really are an attention whore.”

Sanemi smirked, walking through the doorway of an inn that was advertising vacancy. It was lit with a few lanterns inside, a bit dusty, but cozy. Behind the desk was an older man. “Ah welcome lovebirds! Congratulations.”

Sanemi spoke for the both of you. “Thank you! As you could guess, we are looking for a place to stay.” The older man smiled, pulling out a ratty looking notebook. “Could I get your names?” It was typical for people who checked into inns in this town to stay for a while, most of the landlords like to keep track of who was who out of courtesy.

You shot Sanemi a look, was it a wise choice to use your real names? He seemed to think it was safe enough, “Shinazugawa.” You felt a blush creep up your cheeks. “Lovely to meet the two of you. We do have a room available, how long are you thinking of staying?”

You walked up to link your arm with Sanemi, resting your head slightly against his shoulder. “We want to spend as much alone time together as possible, ideally a week at minimum… unless that's too much?” You looked up at Sanemi, wide innocent eyes staring up at him. You felt him shudder, a crimson blush covering your cheeks at that.

“Ah I see…” the man chuckled, taking the hint. “You are more than welcome to stay as long as you like. It’s 3000 yen a night. But I’ll make you a deal, 1500 yen a night since you will be staying with us for a fairly long time.”

You smiled, jumping excitedly. “Thank you so much!” You bowed deeply, Sanemi following you. You watched Sanemi place the money on the desk, the man handing him a key in return. “You’ll be in room 14 on the second floor. Have fun!” You and Sanemi both blushed at that, thanking him once more before heading up towards your room.

“It’s all for show…” you mumbled, glancing over at Sanemi who still had a rosy blush on his cheeks. Was this really affecting him as much as it was affecting you? “Why are you looking at me like that?” You turned back to focus on the stairs as you walked, Sanemi was still waiting for your answer.

“I’ve never seen you blush Sanemi.” You walked down the hall, eyes scanning the doors for the number 14. “It’s an odd situation, I blush when nervous.” The sudden revelation seemed rather intimate to you. “You’re nervous?” You paused in front of the room’s door, Sanemi slotting the key into the lock and pushing it open.

“Aren’t you?” He went in first, scanning the room to make sure no one was hiding it in. “Not really…more so flustered than anything… it’s kind of odd.” It dawned on you in that moment that you were having a normal conversation. No name calling, no sly remarks, no teasing. A casual conversation. Your heart picked up in pace.

“It’s weird how close we have to act, quite the opposite from our usual dynamic.” He laughed at that, sliding the door open to reveal a small bathroom. “There has to be some sort of catch, no way we got this so cheap.” You peaked into the bathroom while Sanemi checked under the bed.

Ah yes…the bed. The one you two would have to be sharing over however many days you’d be here. “They are one of the only vacant Inns as well…maybe just desperate for money?” Sanemi dropped the bag with your uniforms off to the side.

“Either that or they are watching us from some sort of hole in the wall…” Sanemi laughed at that, falling back against the bed. “Probably some old pervert hoping to watch couples on their wedding night.”

You wandered towards the bed yourself, sitting beside Sanemi. “It would be nice if this wasn’t a mission, actually being able to relax would be such a relief.” You fiddled with the sleeve again, something about this whole situation was putting you in a weird mindset.

“Are you saying you’d like to bed me?” Your eyes flew open, looking at Sanemi with a look of horror. He began laughing at that, tears forming in his eyes as his laugh turned silent. “You are such an ass!” You slapped his stomach, making him jolt as he tried to catch his breath.

“You are so easy to tease y/n.” He was smiling genuinely at you, a sight that made your heart skip a beat. Was he always this handsome? You shook your head, what was with all of these emotions?

Little did you know, Sanemi’s eyes were trained on your face. He felt warm and fuzzy looking at you, this damn mission was already messing with his head. Truthfully he stopped breathing when he first saw you, he’d never seen a woman so beautiful. He was taking this a little too literally, for some reason he couldn’t convince himself of anything different.

You were his wife. That thought kept running around his head, no matter how much he knew this wasn’t real, he couldn’t stop thinking about…what if it was? What if he really did take you as his wife? He closed his eyes, cheeks burning bright as he was in disbelief with himself.

There was something about you that matched him so well, you kept up with him, gave him his own shit right back, you were the only one who could truly tolerate him. “We should take a walk, try and see if we can’t get any information.”

His eyes opened slowly, you were looking at him with an odd look. “What is it?” You tilted your head, hand reaching out to touch his forehead. “That blush on your cheeks is so consistent I was worried you got a fever.” There was a sly smirk on your face, one that brought him back to reality as he laughed and rolled his eyes.

You two left your room, only Sanemi had his sword attached to his hip. It was something you protested but he said it would be too odd for you to be carrying one. “I think the best place to start would be around the center of the village. I believe there are a handful of shops and food stands.” This village was also known for its hot springs, but those were a little further away.

You and Sanemi headed off, people eyeing you as you walked by. You began laughing, Sanemi raising his eyebrow at you. “Do we really look that strange?” You smiled at one of the couples walking by, their expression of awe turned to embarrassment as they quickly bowed to you. “I’m not sure, but we must stick out for some reason.”

“Maybe it’s the scars on your face? We are also dressed in very very fine robes.” He sighed, turning the corner towards the marketplace at the center of town. “It doesn’t help that you are extremely beautiful.” The compliment nearly made you trip over your own two feet.

“My my! Young lady, could I interest you in some tea?” Your head turned towards the voice, a woman stood next to a small cart, she couldn’t have been much older than you. “Oh! Just passing through, thank you though.” You didn’t like the energy she was giving off, something about her seemed strange. Sanemi has stopped walking a few feet ahead, eyeing her suspiciously.

“Are you sure? It’s one of my best sellers. People around here love it.” She was insistent on the tea, hand outstretched waiting for you to take the small bag. “No really, I appreciate it but I’m not one for tea.” She seemed a little annoyed by that, quickly covering it with a smile. “It’s on the house, try it, no harm in trying it when it’s free right?”

You glanced over at Sanemi, he shrugged his shoulders slightly, you took the bag from her. “You are too kind, miss, thank you.” You bowed to her, walking away before she could say another word. “That was odd.” You eyed the bag with unease. “When we get back to the room you’ll have to look through it, you are good with those things aren’t you?” Sanemi’s nose scrunched.

You helped Shinobu all the time with herbs for medicines, you’d be able to pick apart some of the ingredients so long as they were big enough. “Yeah, I should be able to.” Sanemi walked up to a fruit stand, an older man sitting by its side.

You kept your distance, eyeing one of the jewelry carts as Sanemi spoke. This whole village center was nothing but a tourist attraction. Couples crowded around different stands and carts, overpaying for items that were most likely knock offs. It’s the thought that counts though, right?

“Everyone in this village just seems off.” You turned to Sanemi, he looked just as disturbed as you did. “That old man had no idea what I was saying, he fell asleep mid conversation.” You glanced over his shoulder, sure enough the man was slumped against his cart.

“I don’t think we are going to get any information from these people. Let’s…let’s go back to the inn. I have a weird feeling about this tea.” You and Sanemi headed back the way you came, passing the woman and her tea stand as she sold some to three couples that had stopped by.

She looked up at you as you passed, winking. You turned your head quickly, grabbing Sanemi's sleeve and holding it tight. Despite the situation, Sanemi felt a warmth blossom in his chest knowing you were holding on to him for protection. You on the other hand were scared the man in front of you was going to disappear, this village had you feeling extremely unsettled.

You made it back to the inn, the sun was beginning its descent behind the mountains. As you walked through the entrance there was a couple checking into the inn as well. “Room 16…” was all you heard as you and Sanemi hurried past.

“Light a lantern and close the windows…” you walked towards a small table that was meant for you to share meals, kneeling down you opened the bag. “Actually Sanemi… crack the window a bit.” He did as you asked, locking the door to your room before joining you on the opposite side of the table.

You pulled the contents out carefully, hands shaking slightly as if you were dealing with a lethal poison. “We can assume this isn’t anything that can kill, but I’m assuming this may be something to impair the victim… maybe a narcotic…or something that makes you drowsy…”

Your voice was a hushed whisper, your mind racing as you thought about the odd behavior of those around you. You and Sanemi froze as footsteps passed your door. “Must be the couple who are going to room 16.” You glanced at Sanemi, “I need you to step away, if it’s something that can affect the victim by being inhaled we will need one of us to be coherent enough to help the other.”

Sanemi remained silent, going to sit on the bed across the room. You picked up one of the tea bags, pulling open the top. You dumped the contents on the table, eyes narrowing as you studied the contents in front of you. “Petals…flower petals?” You shifted through the ground contents, there were larger pieces spread through it.

“Petals?” You nodded at Sanemi’s question. The petals and dust itself were a deep blue. “I…I know this smell. But I can’t remember what flower this is…I’ve seen it before.” You sat for a moment, trying to figure out why you knew this flower. Then it hit you, a conversation you had with Shinobu a few months back.

“Blue tea! Butterfly pea tea…Shinobu and I tried it a few months ago because a merchant from India was selling the flowers when we were on a mission down south.” You looked at Sanemi who was staring back at you with a confused look.

“What the hell does that mean?” You sighed, picking up a petal and crushing it. “The flower itself goes by many names, the most popular being Asian Pigeonwings. But due to the flower's shape and appearance it’s known as the clitoria ternatea. However, it’s main use is for healthier skin and hair, it’s supposed to slow down your skin’s aging process…”

“So that’s it? It’s just to make you look more youthful?” Sanemi chuckled, after all it would make sense for it to be a bestseller, young brides wanting to keep their youthful looks for their new husbands…

“There has to be some sort of catch, Sanemi…she was strange, there has to be something else going on with this tea…there is only one way to find out…” you locked eyes with him, dread immediately filling him. “Don’t tell me you are going to drink it.”

“I think…it’s the only option we have.” You stood, moving towards the door to go down stairs and ask for some hot water. Sanemi was about to protest but you were already out the door. You returned ten minutes later, a steaming cup of water in your hands.

“Listen to me okay?” You kneeled down again, reaching into the bag and grabbing the second teabag that you didn’t rip open. “There are a handful of things that may occur, Sanemi.” You placed the bag in the hot water.

“First, nothing happened. It truly is just some butterfly pea tea, and that woman selling it is just strange.” Sanemi shifted on the bed, he had an unreadable expression.

“Second, this tea makes me disoriented. It could mimic the symptoms of being drunk. Dizzy, slurred speech, fatigue, nausea, etc. if that's the case, I need you to monitor when it starts and when it ends.”

He wasn’t saying a word but you could tell his mind was racing, a million thoughts flowing through his mind. “Third, this kills me.” His whole body tensed at that, his grip on the bed sheets tightening significantly. “But it’s highly unlikely, demon’s enjoy taunting their prey before killing them, why would they want their fun to happen before they even arrived.”

Sanemi didn’t like where this was going. “I don’t think you should do this y/n.” You sighed, lifting the cup up and sniffing it. “This is where we need to start Sanemi. If the tea actually affects me in any way, we know where to start in order to locate the demon.” He was about to protest but you put the cup to your lips and took a large sip. The water was hot and it nearly burnt your tongue. You weren’t trying to savor the taste, swallowing quickly and grimacing as the hot liquid slid down your throat.

“I’m not going to drink the full thing…just about half. If nothing happens within the next thirty minutes, I’ll drink the rest.” You drank the half like you said before settling down on the ground. “Well?” You shook your head at Sanemi, “Nothing yet. But these things take time.”

You stood up, pacing the room as you tried to think of possible outcomes. Sanemi’s eyes were trained on you, you could sense his tension. “What if it’s a drink that only affects one half of the pair?” Sanemi’s eyes locked with yours, “are you saying you want me to try it as well?”

You shook your head, “give it a few more minutes to take its effect on me…if not… you may have to as well.” There were too many possible outcomes, you started to feel like your brain was melting.

That's when it hit you.

You felt hot all of a sudden, like suffocatingly hot. You stumbled slightly, Sanemi was standing in an instant. “What is it?” Your vision felt blurry, hands clammy as you started pulling at the collar of your hikifurisode. His hands were on your waist for support, you felt hot…so hot.

He was way too close, his hands on your waist making you shudder as you couldn’t figure out if you wanted to pull away or get closer. “Sanemi. I…fuck…so hot.” You pulled the collar open more, exposing some of your collarbone. Sanemi’s grip tightened and you bit back a groan.

Oh…oh.

“Shit. Sanemi I know…I know what this is…” you didn’t want to, but you pulled away from his touch, falling towards the bed. “Y/n? What the fuck…your cheeks are flushed…what are you…” you pulled your arms out of your sleeves, the hikifurisode was now hugging and hiding your breasts. A bit of cleavage poked through the top, but the rest of your chest and shoulders were bare and exposed to Sanemi’s eyes.

“It’s…a fucking aphrodisiac.” Your mind ran through the possible ingredients that could have sparked this, you assumed red ginseng was the likely ingredient. But this outcome…was intense. You didn’t get a chance to think about it much longer, panting as the overwhelming desire to touch the man in front of you fully took over your mind.

“You got to be fucking kidding me.” Sanemi cursed under his breath, “I know you said I needed to be the responsible one and all…but…” you looked up at Sanemi, watching with wide eyes as he downed the other half of the tea left in your cup. “Might as well make this a fun night huh?” You began laughing, you wouldn't believe what was happening. You were on a mission for fuck sake.

“You…you really are a pain in the fucking ass Sanemi.” You buried your face in the mattress, trying to ignore the throb from between your thighs. “Don’t act like you don’t want it.” You lifted your head at the feeling of weight being added to the bed. You looked over at Sanemi with glossy eyes. He wasn’t wrong, you did want it, even before the tea you wanted it.

“This has to be…the most irresponsible…” Sanemi cut you off with a laugh, “I know, it’s dumb, we are on a fucking mission. However, I’d be damned if I didn’t fuck you while we are here, truly I don’t think I’ve been able to focus all day.” His words sent heat pooling between your legs, the throbbing becoming too much to bear.

“Fuck.” You sat up on your legs, Sanemi watching you intently as you began fumbling with the strings of your hikifurisode. “If I don’t get this fucking thing off in the next ten seconds I’m going to explode.” You struggled with the strings, stopping when Sanemi replaced your hands with his own, gently and quickly pulling the knots apart and allowing it to fall away.

You felt relief as you pushed the clothing off you, your entire torso revealed; save for the band keeping your breasts together, one that Amane offered to go with the hikifurisode. Something you found rather ridiculous at the time, but with the way Sanemi was looking at you…you mentally thanked Amane.

“Well?” You stared at him, was he going to make the first move? He was sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly contemplating the same thing. After another throb between your thighs you decided you couldn’t wait any longer. Hands reaching out and pulling the man towards you as you crashed your lips together.

You groaned when his hands found your waist again, pulling you into his lap. It was awkward at first, trying to straddle his hips while moving the hikifurisode up your legs enough to allow it. But after a moment you finally settled on his lap, knees pressing into his hips as your hands came up to cup his face.

You felt too needy to realize exactly what was happening, all you could think about was how good his hands felt on you. You wiggled your hips slowly, grinding yourself against his groin, smiling into the kiss when you felt him twitch. “Feeling it quicker than I did?” You pulled away, a string of saliva connecting your lips.

“Shut up.” He pulled you back, hands cupping your face instead so you wouldn’t pull away from him again. His tongue gliding across your bottom lip made you want to explode, your fingers dug into the muscle of his shoulder. You couldn’t begin to imagine how he’d be when the aphrodisiac kicked in.

You opened your mouth for him, far too needy to even tease him at this point. You gasped into his mouth as he fell back against the mattress, leaving you to straddle him. His fingers carefully undid any other tie you had, helping you push the clothing off until you were in nothing but your undergarments.

You thought shedding the layers would help with the heat, it didn’t. “Take these off please…” you whined as you pulled away, staring down at the man before you as if he was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. Sanemi on the other hand was absolutely breathless, his hands coming up to hold your thighs.

“Help me, if you want to see my naked so badly.” Seems the tea still hadn’t hit him yet…somewhere in the back of your mind you wondered if it would. You began undoing the ties to his kimono, helping him shoulder off the black garments before throwing them off to the side as you did with your own robes.

Scars littered his entire body. You figured they would, but seeming them all for yourself was a bit daunting. “How did you…even get all these?” Not only his chest and stomach, but his arms, hips, thighs, even down to his calves. “Reckless fitting with no concern for my own well-being. There is a time and place for these questions, and it’s not right now.”

His hands slid from your thighs to your ass, squeezing the flesh harshly and forcing you back down on him. He wanted to be on top, but seeing you so needy on top of him was holding him back a bit. Your hand was beginning to fall out of your bun, strands dangling down and tickling his cheeks as you began to kiss up his jaw.

His fingers sunk under the waistband of the material on your ass, he was desperate to see you completely naked. You bit harshly just under his earlobe, earning a low groan from the man beneath you. You wanted to cover every inch of his scarred skin with your own marks. Each rock of your hips against his hard-on made you shiver, you could feel your own arousal cling to you.

“This damn…tea is going to make things messy.” You whined, burying your face in his neck and inhaling his scent. You jolted slightly when the waistband of your underwear snapped back on your skin, your hand reached down to meet Sanemi’s. You began pulling the garment off, urging him to help you.

“I don’t mind.” He flipped you off him, settling himself between your legs as he pulled the garment off you. “Sheesh…” he looked down at your bare cunt, you weren’t kidding when you said it would be messy. “I don’t think Ieven have to—“ you cut him off with a smack to the arm. “Shut up! Just…fuck…”

You hid your face, even through the lust haze in your head you felt embarrassed at how aroused you were. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He was pulling off his own underwear, watching as you peaked at him through your fingers. You swore you stopped breathing when you saw him in his full glory.

Sanemi on the other hand had stopped breathing the moment you straddled him.

He leaned down, teeth sinking into your bottom lip as he kissed you. You groaned loudly when he lowered himself, his erection pressing directly into your sopping cunt. He began pulling at your breast bindings, he needed to see them. Your fingers buried themselves in his slicked back hair, tousling it until he was back to its unruly state.

“No-no time for that…” he pulled away, confusion evident on his face. “Worry about my breasts later, I need you.” Sanemi could have crumbled into a million pieces at that. How could he say no when you were looking at him like that? There would be time after for him to fulfill his fantasies.

“Fine fine…are you on anything?” Though he certainly wouldn’t mind getting you pregnant.

“I’ll be fine! When the hell did you become logical!” You nearly kicked your feet out of frustration. The heat bubbling in your gut was driving you mad. “Jeez, needy are we?” So was he, but clearly you were far too gone to even acknowledge it. “Shinazugawa Sanemi, so help if you don’t…”

He angled his tip at your entrance, swallowing thickly as your warmth was already trying to suck him in. Any ounce of cockiness he had left in him was fading, fast. He could tell you were wet enough thanks to the tea pushing you into overdrive. But he was still worried he’d hurt you. Had you not been so damn blinded by your lust, you probably would have been a bit nervous at his size.

He pushed in slowly, his entire body tensing as your slick walks engulfed him. You were radiating heat, a thin sheen of sweat covering your entire body. “Fuck sake…” Sanemi could barely catch his breath as he bottomed out, especially with the way you were looking at him. For the first time since drinking that tea, you finally felt relief.

Sanemi moved his hips slowly, hands squeezing your thighs as you locked your ankles around his waist. “Ease…up.” He had a look of utter concentration on his face as he tried to move. It seemed your body had other things in mind, clenching so tightly around him he could barely move. “I’m trying!” You wailed as your head fell back.

At this rate you’d never come if he couldn’t move.

Sanemi lowered himself down, head burying in your neck as he began placing soft kisses. Calloused fingers trailed from your thigh towards your center, slowly slipping two fingers between your folds. You cried out the second you felt him start rubbing your clit, you hadn’t realized how sensitive you’d become.

“Relax.” He whispered against your skin, hips picking up in pace as you started to ease up. “That’s my good girl.” You whined at his praise, nails scratching up his back. “Don’t say shit like that!” You couldn’t take the stimulation he was giving you along with praise, you’d die at this rate.

“What? You want me to call you stupid or something?” You slapped his shoulder, laughter bubbling out of him as he settled on a brutal pace. One that satisfied the burning you felt. “I’ll take that as a no.” He thrusted into you in a way that hit all the right angles. His fingers toyed with your clit in perfect time with his thrusts.

Thanks to the tea you were already about to come, that tea really was something else. “C-close.” You whimpered out of embarrassment, walls spasming around Sanemi’s dick as he continued to snap his hips into you at a brutal pace. “Yeah? Come then.” You wrapped your arms tightly around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer as he continued to suck on your neck.

Sanemi didn’t want to admit it, but he was close too. The way you were clenching around him paired with the way your clit twitched under his fingertips…it was driving him insane. Your body was so reactive to every touch, he was certain it would be the same way without the tea affecting you.

He could only begin to imagine how loud you two were. If it wasn’t your voice giving you away, it would certainly be the creaking of the bed beneath you. That or the sound of his balls hitting your ass…he flinched at the thought.

You cried out his name as your orgasm crashed over you. You couldn’t believe how quickly you had come, you certainly didn’t expect your first time with Sanemi to be so short. Sanemi didn’t slow, working you through your orgasm at the same brutal pace. It wasn’t until you felt him starting to twitch inside you that you realized the aphrodisiac still hadn’t subsided.

“S-Sanemi?” You felt a bit of panic rising in your chest, you were certain once you came the tea would ease up. “Ha?” He was trying to listen to you while focusing on his own movement inside of you. “It…it didn’t wear off…” you still felt sweaty, as if you’d burn up and melt into a puddle.

“It didn’t?” He was trying to slow his hips, but his pending release refused. You whined, moving your hips to meet his as he looked up at you with concern. “N-no.” You felt your lower lip tremble, Sanemi’s whole body tensed as his release snuck up on him. You felt him spill inside of you, relief flooding your senses.

In that moment you finally felt a bit of clarity.

“Are you okay? Hey…don’t cry…” his thumb brushed away stray tears you hadn’t even realized slipped out. “Was my dick that good?” You burst out laughing, hand coming up to hold him as it was still pressed to your cheek. “I mean…yeah it was, but I’ve realized something.” He settled down on top of you, his full weight was more than welcome.

“What did you realize?” The hand that was between your legs was resting on your hip now, thumb rubbing soothing circles. “The tea, it only affects women.” His head cocked to the side, his white hair was an absolute mess now. “How do you know?” Sanemi seemed to be grounded back in reality when he remembered what led to this.

“Well for one, I can tell you didn’t feel it’s effects. Maybe a little, but all this? That was just you being horny.” As the tea’s effects subsided, Sanemi saw the normal you come back out. “Secondly, it is definitely some sort of demon blood art. There is no way those ingredients could have this powerful of an effect.”

While you didn’t feel it as intensely as before, you had a feeling it would come back. “I think it’s some sort of performance enhancer as well. Something that keeps the bride…horny… more sensitive so she comes quicker.” Sanemi began to laugh, “so it’s to help the poor souls that end up with a man that can’t please them?”

He slipped out of you now, a shiver passing over you as he settled on the mattress. “I think that’s part of the reason. But what good does this do for a demon? Surely a demon like this would thrive somewhere like the entertainment district. Not some newlywed getaway village.” You shifted so you were snug on this side, head residing on his chest.

“Maybe the bride isn’t their target.”

“Explain.” Your brows furrowed, listening to his heartbeat while you waited for him to elaborate. “Well, you only drank half the tea. So you probably aren’t feeling it’s effects in full. If a woman is to drink that whole cup of tea…she’d probably be going for a while. What if the goal is to tire the husband? That way the demon can get him with little fight.”

“Do you think that woman was the demon? She was out in broad daylight handing out the tea, Sanemi.” His theory made sense, but that woman couldn’t have been the demon.”I don’t think so, perhaps she’s working for one. No… she has to be. There is no other way she’d get her hands on something like this.”

You turned on your stomach, resting your chin on his chest so you could look at him. “I’d love to think about this more…but I need you again.” Sanemi’s eyes widened, the puppy eyes you were giving him weren’t helping. “Use me then, baby.” The nickname did something to you, you sat up, crawling to straddle his hips.

“This demon is clever, it’s hiding it’s tracks by using her to do the dirty work.” You wrapped your fingers around his length, he was sticky with your own arousal coating him. “Take that off. If you’re going to ride me…I’d like to see them.” You rolled your eyes, reaching behind you to undo the knot keeping the binding together.

You tossed it to the floor where the rest of your clothes were, not paying attention to the awestruck look on the man below you. It wasn’t until his hands came up to cup your breasts that you realized he was drooling. “Maybe that tea did affect you.” You huffed, stroking his semi-hard dick slowly. “Oh give it a break, you’re the one already going for seconds less than five minutes later.”

“It’s the tea!” You knew it wasn’t only the tea fueling you. He knew that too.

“Would we classify this as an incubus?” You moaned as he rolled your nipple between his fingers. “I think we could label it in that class…but I also think this could just be the demon’s way of luring in prey. I don’t know if the sex aspect has anything to do with them.” You lifted your hips as he reached full hardness. His tip pressed to your entrance, wasting no time as you sunk down on him.

You rolled your hips, head falling back at the fullness you felt. Sanemi was entranced watching you. The makeup Amane had put on you was smeared over your cheeks. Black charcoal streaks were left from where your tears had fallen. “I guess we should try and keep track of how long this lasts…like I said earlier.” You began to bounce, the heat creeping on you quickly.

“Now how the hell are we supposed to do that?”

Sanemi’s eyes shifted between your bouncing breasts and where he disappeared between your thighs. “I-I don’t fucking know…just count how many rounds we go.” You shivered as his head brushed your g-spot over and over. “You know, we are playing right into their hands if you wear me out.” Sweat started to drip down his temple.

“Then you can just eat me out instead.” You didn’t expect those words to leave your lips, you hunched over slightly in embarrassment. “Don’t tempt me.” He wondered how you’d taste now that his cum is in you. You rolled your hips every few bounces, teeth sinking into the side of your cheek as you attempted to keep yourself quiet.

You could only imagine how much surrounding neighbors had heard.

“We’ll have to try again in the morning. Surely someone will be able to tell us something.” You slammed yourself down particularly hard, earning a strangled moan from the white haired man. “Tired.” You whined as your thighs began to burn, your orgasm was just out of your reach.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish.” Sanemi sat up, pulling you to his chest and flipping you both on your side. “You’re going to sleep after this.” He sounded like he was scolding you. Sanemi’s arm hooked under your thigh, pushing it upwards to give himself a better angle.

“I don’t care if you are still needy after, we need sleep.” His hips began another brutal pace, you buried your face in his chest, crying out his name over and over. Your orgasm was reachable now, the familiar tension building in your gut with each thrust. You clawed at his arms, tears slipping down your cheeks as your orgasm built higher and higher.

You gasped out of shock, a gush of liquid squirting from between your legs. Your walls and thighs twitched uncontrollably, you couldn’t catch your breath. “Fuck…c’mon y/n.” Sanemi didn’t even sound mad, he wanted to be because you ruined the sheets. But it was hot, how could he be mad at you when you just did that?

“S-sorry.” You slurred out, eyelids becoming impossibly heavy.

You felt laughter bubbling from him, too tired to even comment on it. “You wore yourself out so quickly. What happened to keeping track?” He was hugging you tightly, feeling too lazy himself to even clean up. “That one did me in, I dunno why.” You were already half asleep in his arms.

“I haven’t even come yet!” His hips were still rocking into you at a slow pace. “You can keep goin…'' your words were really starting to slur at this point. “You had so much energy all of five minutes ago…” he was talking more so to himself than you. You would have laughed had you not been so tired.

Sanemi’s hips continued their show thrusts into you until they became a little more erratic. “Shit…” your eyes were closed at this point, humming praises as he came for a second time. “Don’t pull out…” you didn’t want to lose the warmth you felt.

“Well…this is going to be a long ass mission huh?” You mumbled some sort of response against his chest, sleep sneaking up and dragging you under.

You woke up feeling stiff, eyes slowly blinking sleep out of them. Sunlight filtered in through the window you asked Sanemi to open the night prior. Your eyes shifted upwards, Sanemi’s sleeping face greeted you. A blush began to creep up your cheeks as you recalled everything that happened the night before.

Your memories were a little hazy, but you certainly remembered nearly all of it. “I need a bath.”

“So do I.” You nearly jumped out of your own skin when you heard his morning voice. “You scared me!” Your head whipped upwards, glaring at the man next to you. “And your morning breath scared me.” You stiffen at that, slapping his chest.

His groggy laughter filled the room, leaving you slightly breathless. That didn’t stop you from teasing him, “so what…exactly happened last night? I don’t remember..any of it really.” Maybe that was taking it too far, but the morning breath comment got you.

“You…you don’t remember?” The heartbreak in his eyes made you regret it immediately. “I’m kidding! I remember everything.” You kissed his chest, trailing up to his neck, then his cheek and then finally his lips. “I was just messing with you.”

“Don’t do that ever again.” Your fingers came up to trail across his cheeks, one hand disappeared into his hair while the other traced his scars. “I won’t.” He seemed satisfied with your answer, eyes fluttering shut to relish in your gentle touches. “You can take a bath first, by the way.”

“What do I smell now too?” You tugged on his hair slightly, making him peek at you with one eye. “No you don’t, but we are on a mission. We can’t lay in bed all day, it’s not as if we are actually married.” Maybe you were imagining it, but he sounded a bit sad.

“Alright, fine. You’re right.” You rolled over him, earning a laugh as you stumbled onto the floor. “You’re ridiculous.” You winked at him as you made your way to the bathroom, “make sure you clean up.” You slid the door shut before he could complain. As you enter the small bathroom you made eye contact with your reflection in the mirror.

You weren’t sure what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. The bun that Amane had done for you yesterday was barely hanging on. The jewelry that she had added was sticking out in different places and barely clung to your hair. The wisteria flower that she had added was nearly gone, you assumed if you looked at the floor and bedding you’d see small petals.

The make up shit done for you was smeared over your face. You had charcoal outlined tears streaks, the lip paint was smeared around your mouth’s corners. “Damn.” You got closer, eyes scanning over the bruises left on your neck and shoulders. “And he still smiled at me?” You found yourself trying not to laugh at your rather messy appearance.

You looked at your options, a wooden bath probably meant for a couple to share or the simple stool and water buckets. You decided the bath wasn’t your best option and made your way to the small stool. “This water is going to be freezing…” you didn’t have the energy to go ask for warmer water. You focused on your breathing before taking one of the buckets and dumping it over your head.

You tried not to make a sound, hell you’d gone through worse during your training period. But the ice baths your master would make you take…you never really got over those.

You wasted no time, dipping a cloth into the other bucket of water and washing your face before moving down the rest of your body. You saved your hair for last. Finally you dumped the second bucket over you, rinsing out all the soap. “Well I’m awake now.” You mumbled to yourself.

You dried yourself off and towel dried your hair before walking back into the bedroom. The sheets were stripped and the bed was haphazardly made, but it looked better than it did before you walked into the bathroom. “We have more clothes right?” Sanemi was looking right through you.

“Hello?” You waved your hand in front of his face, yet he still remained focused on your naked form. “Oh come on.” You flicked his forehead, earning a groan in response. “We have more clothes right? Pervert.” You held back your laugh as he stood, he hadn’t bothered getting dressed either.

“Yeah we have more clothes, they should be in the bag along with our uniforms.” You gulped as you took a proper look at him in the daylight. Thick muscles covered his whole body along with the scars. He reminded you of a perfectly sculpted statue.

“You’ll need more water, I used all they left us.” He smiled at you as he walked over to the front door, “already thought of that.” He opened it quickly to pull in two steaming buckets. “You sly bastard! I had to take a damn ice bath!” He walked towards the bathroom now, a shit eating grin on his face. “You could always join me.”

“Like you said, we are on a mission. No more sex.”

He faltered at that, looking at you with puppy eyes. “Till when?” You didn’t expect that kind of reaction, “until we kill the damn demon, now take a bath!” He disappeared through the sliding doors, leaving you alone to pick up all the wedding attire. Such beautiful attire had all gotten tossed to the floor, you felt bad seeing it there.

You set everything aside neatly on a chair that sat in the corner of the room. He was right, they were two sets of kimonos for you and him in the bag that contained your uniforms. You dressed quickly, jumping slightly as Sanemi made his way back to the room. You glanced him up and down, a small towel wrapped around his waist with dripping hair.

You mentally cursed yourself for drinking that tea last night, you two could have continued to dance around each other in awkward tension until the mission was over. Now, you were both shameless around the other, even craving the other's touch. Part of you wanted to gag at the fact that you had already gotten so attached.

“Hurry up and get dressed! I’ll meet you outside.” You practically ran from the room, Sanemi’s laughter echoing behind you. “Good morning miss! Sleep well?” You faltered as you passed the front desk, the kind old man sat behind it. “Oh! Good morning, I slept very well.” The look in his eyes tells you he heard you last night.

“Did you enjoy your tea?”

You kept your face calm, forcing a smile onto it. “I did, I’m not one for tea but this was enjoyable. My husband liked it as well.” You watched his eyebrow raise. “Oh, your husband tried it? I’ve been itching to ask you since you checked in. What does he do for a living?” You could sense it now, the aura he gave off was that not a demon. How had you not realized?

“Oh! He’s a samurai!” You tried to sound enthusiastic, you couldn’t do anything without your blade. “Is that so! How fascinating. You two must not have a home then?” You nodded, “we travel often, while he has an estate up north we are often on the move because of his work.” He seemed pleased by that answer. “Oh! There you are.”

You whirled when you heard his footsteps, you’d have admired him in normal clothes if you weren’t so tense. “Oh the man himself!” You blinked at Sanemi, hoping he’d catch on as well. “Oh, were you talking about me?” He was by your side, extending his hand for you to take. “Ah yes! A samurai! That would explain your blade!” The man smiled at him, innocent as ever.

“Yes! We are always on the move, it’s nice to stay in place for a while. Well, surely you’ll see us when we get back.” Sanemi was bringing you towards the door, waving a goodbye to the man. Once you were far from the inn you both sighed out of relief. “Thank fuck we think alike. You saw it right?” Sanemi didn’t let go of your hand, “I did. How the hell didn’t we see it before?”

“He asked me how the tea was.” Sanemi stopped sighed, “how the hell did we not see this yesterday?” You squeezed his hand without thinking “It must be the demon art. Let’s see if that woman is still at the market. If we take care of her first, we can go back to the inn and get him while he isn’t expecting it. I don’t think he knows.”

“She has to be human. There is no way she could withstand the sunlight, no demon can.” You moved slightly closer to him, feeling as if you were being watched. You didn’t realize that small action sent Sanemi’s heart into a frenzy. “Should we just go back and kill him?” You leaned closer to him as you whispered. His eyes trailed down to look at you, the tips of his ears turning pink.

“I think there is more to it than just that.” You both rounded the corner, the center of town you had seen the day before was just as lively. “Good morning! How was your night?” The tea lady saw you before you saw her. “Oh! It was wonderful. I understand why it’s a bestseller.” You let go of Sanemi’s arm even though you didn’t want to. She seemed to be happy to hear that, stepping aside a bit so you could see the contents of her stand.

“Though I must say, it didn’t affect my husband as much as it did me.” You felt Sanemi’s presence beside you, eyeing the contents with slight disgust. “Oh! Perhaps I have something for that.” You watched her rummage around, pulling out a bag of crushed flowers. “This should help him.” Sanemi looked as if he wanted to disappear. “Enough chit chat, I’m hungry baby.” You still weren’t used to the pet names.

“Perhaps I’ll see you two again.” You waved goodbye as Sanemi dragged you away, once again you didn’t have to pay for the items. “Oh give me a break, a performance enhancer!” He snatched the bag from you, “as if I need any help! You on the other hand…” you slapped his bicep, plucking the bag out of his hand and putting it in your kimono pocket.

“Another round, no tea. I’ll have you begging, Sanemi.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” He couldn’t ignore the slight twitch from between his legs. “It’s a promise, after we finish this.” You pulled him towards a stand selling baked goods. “This will be better than a restaurant, we can go somewhere private.” You purchased the baked goods and grabbed Sanemi’s hand, leading him through the town.

Regardless of why you were here, Sanemi let his mind wander. He would hate himself later for imagining such things, but for now he could pretend you really were his wife. You were certainly selling the part, so much so that he found himself struggling to remember it wasn’t real. “Over here!” You pulled him towards the shade of a nearby tree, one that was a fair distance from other people.

“No one should hear us over here, so we can talk a bit more freely.” He couldn’t care less in that moment about the damn mission, he just wanted you. He wanted to take you properly, not when some tea was making you lose your cool and destroying your stamina. He wanted slow and passionate, hell even if he couldn’t get that he at least wanted some foreplay.

“Sanemi? Are you even listening to me?” You sat down, placing the pastries down on your lap. “No.” Your mouth parted in surprise, watching him sit beside you. “Not even trying to hide it! Fine I’ll repeat myself.” He didn’t hear you the second time either, instead he just focused on your face.

“Are you okay?” He was only pulled from his daze when your hand hit his forehead. “What?” He blinked at you, not quite understanding why you seemed so confused. “You’re red…and warm. And you aren’t listening to me…you don’t think it’s because you smelt those petals…” you pulled them from your kimono’s pocket, could they really be that strong?

“I want you.”

Your eyes widened, scanning your surroundings before looking back at him. “Here? Now? We are on a mission…” he was pulling the bag away from you, tossing it off into the grass a few yards away. “I’m not going to be able to focus until I take you, properly take you.” It had to be whatever was in that bag, there was no way you’d get through to him now. “Sanemi…people could see.” Why were you even entertaining the idea?

“I don’t care…I need you y/n.” If you looked at him hard enough you could have sworn his blown out pupils were in the shape of a heart. “This is some damn strong demon art…that tea from last night was child’s play.” You tried to scoot away from him as he leaned forward, you had nowhere to put the pastries. “Can we at least eat first?” You held one out to him, hoping to grab his attention off of you.

“We can eat after.” He was pulling the wrapped pastries from your hand and lap and tossed them to the side. “Sanemi!” You whined as they bounced over to the bag of flower petals. She wasn’t kidding when she said it would help with a man’s performance, you just didn’t think they’d be strong enough to affect him just by smelling them.

“This is ridiculous, I may have to send a crow and ask for assistance.” You hoped ignoring his advances would sober him a bit…it didn’t. His hand ghosted across your abdomen, the warmth radiating through your whole body as he pulled you to him. “Please…” you were already melting as you turned to face him. You didn’t understand how this mission could turn out to be so bizarre.

Your goal of bringing him out here was so you could plan what to do next. Now he looked ready to eat you alive, mission be damned.

“I’ll beat your ass after this Sanemi.” It was hard to even focus when he began rubbing his hand up your stomach and down your thighs. “So is that a yes?” You nodded, allowing him to connect his lips to yours. Your hands snaked up his body slowly, stopping once they wrapped around his neck. You were far enough from the village that no one should catch you, you hoped at least.

He pulled you into his lap, arms wrapping tightly around your waist to keep you in place. The kiss was hot and soft, his teeth pulling at your bottom lip for entrance, which you gave him easily. He now understood how you felt the night before, burning from the inside out. He couldn’t even form coherent thoughts that aren’t about you, you were all he could think about.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he was scolding himself, there were far more important matters at hand than satisfying his hormones. Whether those flowers influence him or not. “Sanemi…” you pulled away from him just barely, allowing you room to speak as he continued to chase after your lips. “Hmm?” He could only focus on how you felt in his arms, his dick twitching to life every time you whimpered his name.

“Are you sure we won’t get caught?” He didn’t really care if you did. “I’m sure, you brought us out here so no one would see.” That wasn’t really the reason, but you couldn’t be bothered to correct him at this point. His hands trailed from your waist up your sides, resting just underneath your armpits. He pulled you closer, lips leaving yours to begin trailing down your jaw.

“Gonna mark you up…so people know you’re mine.” As if they’d need any more proof of who you clearly belonged to. “I don’t know what he was thinking… sending us on this mission.” You whimpered as Sanemi’s teeth sunk into the flesh of your neck. You didn’t have time to think about the pain as his tongue began soothing the indents he left behind.

“He was thinking ‘I’m going to find a way to make them get along.’ Maybe this whole damn thing is a setup.” Sanemi’s lips suctioned to another part of your neck, sucking on it harshly until there was a red mark left behind. He tugged the collar of your kimono down, revealing your shoulder. “I’m going to fucking carve my name into you.” You shivered, each word held a promise behind them.

“Do it.” You weren’t exactly sure why you were encouraging it, but you loved the groan you received because of it. “Do you think I can finally eat you out?” You nearly jolted off of him as his hands came up to touch your breasts. “Out here?” You felt hot all over, the drool dripping down his chin wasn’t helping your attempts to compose yourself.

“Yes. Where the fuck else? You want me running through the town with my dick hard?” You began to laugh, your moment of vulnerability being used to his advantage as he flipped you over to lay on your back. “As funny as that would be Sanemi, I think we’d get kicked out of the corps.”

“Fine by me, more time to fuck you.”

“Thank fuck that tea didn’t work on you, I think I’d have left this damn town already in shame if people heard you talking like that.” You remained on your back, watching Sanemi situate himself in front of your spread legs. “Oh get over it.” You rolled your eyes, watching his scarred hands push your kimono up to your waist. You studied his face as he eyed your clothed cunt, he was looking at you as if you were the only thing on the planet.

Sanemi pulled himself out of his daze, practically ripping your underwear off you and throwing it in the direction he’s thrown everything else. “Sanemi!” You watched them fall to the grass with a shocked look, one Sanemi chose to ignore as he settled himself on his stomach. “Sanemi, maybe this isn’t a good…” you choked on your words as his tongue slid between your lips.

You slapped a hand over your mouth out of shock, the feeling of his tongue sliding over your clit had you blinking away stars. “S-Sanemi…fuck.” You decided to just give up any logical sense you had, allowing yourself to relax into his ministrations. His tongue lapped hungrily at your clit, occasionally moving down to prod at your entrance.

You felt your thighs twitch, cunt fluttering around nothing as pleasure began rising in you. Your whole body convulsed as he wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked harshly. “C-careful!” You mewled, hands coming down to grip his hair. You could have sworn you felt his smile against you as he continued to suck on the sensitive bud.

Your hips bucked upwards as he wiggled his tongue every few sucks, you could already feel your orgasm bubbling in you. You were a bit embarrassed, you had convinced yourself the night before that your quick unravel was because of the tea. Now as you laid underneath him, with no aphrodisiac clouding your senses… you were beginning to think it was all Sanemi.

His calloused hands began massaging the flesh of your thighs, humming softly to send vibrations through you. You felt tears prick your eyes as Sanemi continued, your whole body tensing as your quickly approaching orgasm built up. You cried out his name, your breathing coming to a halt as your orgasm slammed into you. “S-stop!” You tried to pull his mouth away from you as the stimulation became too much.

It wasn’t until you clamped your thighs around his head that he pulled away, “sorry.” Clearly he wasn’t, not when he was wiping his mouth with a grin. “I hate you.” You felt laughter bubbling up in you, watching a genuine grin cover his own features. “How do you want me, my love?” He was tugging down your kimono, the lust still evident on his face.

“I want to redeem myself, sit down and let me ride you.” The look Sanemi gave you told you he didn’t have any faith in you being able to make it to the end like that. “I’m redeeming myself one way or another, so buckle up lover boy.” You kind of hated yourself for saying it, but those thoughts left your mind when his cock sprang free.

Now that you were sober, you felt the nerves. “This better snap you out of it.” You crawled over so your thighs caged in his hips, hand reaching out to use the tree behind him as leverage. “Now why is that?” You positioned his tip at your entrance, eyebrow cocking upwards. “Because we are on a mission you idiot.”

You slowly sunk down on him, pausing halfway to catch your breath. “C’mon…you took it last night, you can do it again.” His hands cupped your ass, squeezing the plump flesh through your kimono as you sunk down the rest of the way. “Don’t encourage me.” You tried taking deep even breaths, you had no idea how you were able to do this the night before.

You could feel every twitching inch of him, the shape of his head, the veins that ran along his shaft, everything.

“Why not? I thought I was being nice.” Your hand left the tree trunk, nails digging into his shoulders instead. “I told you no more until the mission was done. We barely know what’s going on here and we are falling victim to their attacks over and over.” You looked at Sanemi, trying to get him to understand the situation and your frustration. Sanemi on the other hand was having trouble hearing over the ringing in his ears.

“You are hopeless.” You began bouncing slowly, after the burning had subsided enough. You watched a dopey grin spread across his lips, making it incredibly hard to be mad at him. “I may be hopeless, but don’t act like you aren’t too.” He was absolutely right. Two of the strongest Hashira had fallen prey to lust of all things.

You began moving with purpose now, breasts bouncing as you tried to bring the man beneath you to his climax. The stimulation was breathtaking, you found it hard to even breathe at certain points with the way his cock slid in and out of you. “C’mon Sanemi…come for me…fill me up.” You kissed his lips, smiling when his hands tightened on your ass.

“You’re a loser.” He huffed, cheeks red and eyes watery. Under any other circumstances you would have loved to take your time. “Don’t act like…ha…like your dick didn’t twitch when I said that.” He closed his eyes out of embarrassment, his own release was rapidly approaching him. With each thrust of your own hips, he neared his release.

It wasn’t until he began to whine that you realized just how close he was. Was it possible for those flowers to make him sensitive as well? “Are you close?” You felt his tip spasming between your walls, his short quick huffs were the other dead giveaway. “Y-yes.” Never in a million years did you think you’d hear Sanemi’s voice sound like that.

You bounced harder, slamming your hips down over and over until the grip he had on your ass had you arching forward. “Damn…” you whined as he came, not expecting his whole body to tense so drastically. “F..feel better?” You whispered softly as he relaxed, blinking at you with lidded eyes. “I’m sorry.” You slipped off him, situating yourself and standing up.

“Don’t be sorry, we didn’t realize those flowers would have so much power. Which reminds me.” You turned from him, reaching for your underwear to slip back on while he fixed himself. “I’m going to throw this away.” You held up the pouch with disdain. “That’s probably for the best…” you found it rather charming that he was so shy after the whole ordeal.

“Here.” You tossed him one of the pastries that you had purchased earlier, turning from him as he caught it to go find a place to bury the flower petals. You returned ten minutes later to Sanemi holding the other pastry, handing it to you with a guilty look on his face. “You really feel bad don’t you?” You didn’t like seeing the usually cocky man sulking.

“I feel like I took advantage of you.”

You sat yourself beside him, opening the pastry slowly. “Sanemi, if I didn’t want that to happen I would’ve simply walked away from you. Hell I’d probably landed a few hits on you.” You took a bite, finding it rather comical at this point. “Let’s discuss our plan.” You continued when he remained quiet.

“I think the woman selling the tea is unaware of demons. I think she somehow got in contact with the innkeeper, he must have liked her enough to help her with her business. She doesn’t understand why her tea is so powerful, but it brings her money so she doesn’t question it.”

“Then why does she keep giving us free things?”

“If I had to guess, the innkeeper has interest in us. Maybe he is telling her to give us these things. I know I was partially joking when I said that man probably had peepholes in those rooms. But I think that may be the case. She gives out the tea to his guests, he gets a show later that night and then he devours whichever half of the couple he wants.”

Sanemi stood, leaving you a little dumbfounded. “Let’s go take care of him now then. Our stuff is still in our room, we can change into our uniforms and get this shit show over with. Then..maybe…we can relax.” He extended his hand for you to take, a small smile on his face. “The relax part sounds wonderful, I have a few questions to ask you when this is done.” You enjoyed the way the tips of his ears turned pink.

It turned out your guess was right.

“Demon slayers?” The man seemed absolutely shocked by the sudden revelation. You and Sanemi stood before him in your uniforms, blades drawn. “You really couldn’t tell?” Sanemi’s booming voice made him cower. “I-I…please spare me.” You couldn’t believe he wasn’t even trying to put up a fight.

“I love her…please.”

You side eyed Sanemi, your brow raised. “The fuck does that have to do with me? Wait…who?” You nearly started to laugh. “Don’t tell me, the lady that sells the tea laced with your demon blood art?” You were ready to just slice his head clean off. “Yes.” Sanemi spoke before you could, taking a step forward.

“I’m not interested in no sappy ass forbidden love. You’re going to pay for the lives you’ve stolen. Do you know how many lives you’ve ruined?” Sanemi was never one for sympathy, his blade was already swinging for the demon’s head. Any pleas fell on deaf ears as Sanemi made quick work of the man.

“Well, we can open the windows now can't we?” You watched the demon disintegrate, speeding up the process by allowing sunlight into the dusty lobby of the in. “This was more of a pain than it needed to be.” Sanemi sheathed his blade with a sigh of annoyance. “I’ll send the Master a crow. While I’m certain he’s the only one…it may be best for us to stay a bit longer and observe.”

“We can also make rounds to the people staying here, we need to make sure he didn’t get anyone.” Sanemi joined you by the window. “What about the tea lady?” Sanemi’s nose scrunched upwards “Oh fuck that woman.” You began to laugh “still not over the performance enhancers?” Sanemi lunged for you at that, leaving you to run up the stairs laughing.

“I still have to ask you my questions! Don’t kill me!” You nearly broke the key in the lock to get away from him. Sanemi followed you into the room, a smile trying to creep up his face at your giggles. “Your question may save your life. It better be good.” His arms folded as he waited “Okay okay! I promise it’s good.” You took a deep breath before asking.

“Is it too soon to say I love you?”

Genocide experts warn that India is about to genocide the Shompen people

Who are the Shompen?

The Shompen are an indigenous culture that lives in the Great Nicobar Island, which is nowadays owned by India. The Shompen and their ancestors are believed to have been living in this island for around 10,000 years. Like other tribes in the nearby islands, the Shompen are isolated from the rest of the world, as they chose to be left alone, with the exception of a few members who occasionally take part in exchanges with foreigners and go on quarantine before returning to their tribe. There are between 100 and 400 Shompen people, who are hunter-gatherers and nomadic agricultors and rely on their island's rainforest for survival.

Why is there risk of genocide?

India has announced a huge construction mega-project that will completely change the Great Nicobar Island to turn it into "the Hong Kong of India".

Nowadays, the island has 8,500 inhabitants, and over 95% of its surface is made up of national parks, protected forests and tribal reserve areas. Much of the island is covered by the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, described by UNESCO as covering “unique and threatened tropical evergreen forest ecosystems. It is home to very rich ecosystems, including 650 species of angiosperms, ferns, gymnosperms, and bryophytes, among others. In terms of fauna, there are over 1800 species, some of which are endemic to this area. It has one of the best-preserved tropical rain forests in the world.”

The Indian project aims to destroy this natural environment to create an international shipping terminal with the capacity to handle 14.2 million TEUs (unit of cargo capacity), an international airport that will handle a peak hour traffic of 4,000 passengers and that will be used as a joint civilian-military airport under the control of the Indian Navy, a gas and solar power plant, a military base, an industrial park, and townships aimed at bringing in tourism, including commercial, industrial and residential zones as well as other tourism-related activities.

This project means the destruction of the island's pristine rainforests, as it involves cutting down over 852,000 trees and endangers the local fauna such as leatherback turtles, saltwater crocodiles, Nicobar crab-eating macaque and migratory birds. The erosion resulting from deforestation will be huge in this highly-seismic area. Experts also warn about the effects that this project will have on local flora and fauna as a result of pollution from the terminal project, coastal surface runoff, ballasts from ships, physical collisions with ships, coastal construction, oil spills, etc.

The indigenous people are not only affected because their environment and food source will be destroyed. On top of this, the demographic change will be a catastrophe for them. After the creation of this project, the Great Nicobar Island -which now has 8,500 inhabitants- will receive a population of 650,000 settlers. Remember that the Shompen and Nicobarese people who live on this island are isolated, which means they do not have an immune system that can resist outsider illnesses. Academics believe they could die of disease if they come in contact with outsiders (think of the arrival of Europeans to the Americas after Christopher Columbus and the way that common European illnesses were lethal for indigenous Americans with no immunization against them).

And on top of all of this, the project might destroy the environment and the indigenous people just to turn out to be useless and sooner or later be abandoned. The naturalist Uday Mondal explains that “after all the destruction, the financial viability of the project remains questionable as all the construction material will have to be shipped to this remote island and it will have to compete with already well-established ports.” However, this project is important to India because they want to use the island as a military and commercial post to stop China's expansion in the region, since the Nicobar islands are located on one of the world's busiest sea routes.

Last year, 70 former government officials and ambassadors wrote to the Indian president saying the project would “virtually destroy the unique ecology of this island and the habitat of vulnerable tribal groups”. India's response has been to say that the indigenous tribes will be relocated "if needed", but that doesn't solve the problem. As a spokesperson for human rights group Survival International said: “The Shompen are nomadic and have clearly defined territories. Four of their semi-permanent settlements are set to be directly devastated by the project, along with their southern hunting and foraging territories. The Shompen will undoubtedly try to move away from the area destroyed, but there will be little space for them to go. To avoid a genocide, this deadly mega-project must be scrapped.”

On 7 February 2024, 39 scholars from 13 countries published an open letter to the Indian president warning that “If the project goes ahead, even in a limited form, we believe it will be a death sentence for the Shompen, tantamount to the international crime of genocide.”

How to help

The NGO Survival International has launched this campaign:

Survival International

The Shompen face obliteration: they urgently need your support

Take action for the Shompen now! The Shompen are one of the most isolated tribes on Earth. They live on Great Nicobar island in India, and

From this site, you just need to add your name and email and you will send an email to India's Tribal Affairs Minister and to the companies currently vying to build the first stage of the project.

Share it with your friends and acquittances and on social media.

Sources:

India’s plan for untouched Nicobar isles will be ‘death sentence’ for isolated tribe, 7 Feb 2024. The Guardian.

‘It will destroy them’: Indian mega-development could cause ‘genocide’ and ‘ecocide’, says charity, 8 Feb 2024. Geographical.

Genocide experts call on India's government to scrap the Great Nicobar mega-project, Feb 2024. Survival International.

The container terminal that could sink the Great Nicobar Island, 20 July 2022. Mongabay.

[Maps] Environmental path cleared for Great Nicobar mega project, 10 Oct 2022. Mongabay.

“KOSA wont pass, it got rejected the last two times!”

It wasn’t passed because people spoke out against it. People called and emailed their senators. So, CALL / EMAIL YOUR SENATORS. MAKE IT KNOWN THAT WE DO NOT WANT THIS BILL TO PASS!

“But its unconstitutional-“ There’ve been multiple bills passed before that are unconstitutional. This will not be any different to them, they do not care.

STOP KOSA!!!

Fight for the Future

Stop KOSA

KOSA is a censorship bill that won’t make kids safe. Instead, it'll put all internet users at risk, especially youth. If you believe in a fr

The Copycat

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: You have a classmate who ends up being a close acquaintance of yours (you wouldn't really consider them as a friend). You two seem to get along just fine until you find out that they're trying to be just like you.

Note: Not sure how I feel about this story in particular. I wanted this story to be something, but it didn't turn out how I originally planned for it to be. Therefore, the original plan might be another story on its own. It's somewhat of a similar concept but, at the same time, different. I have a convention to prepare for in less than five hours, and here I am 💀 Anyway, next week, I might have a new random AU for the Isekai'd!reader series come out soon! :> Please keep in mind that I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: No warning specifically. Other than the reader wanting to fight the person toward the end (they don't, it's implied). I guess fainting would count?

Word Count: 9.8k

You’re in House of Daena, studying for your literature class while trying your best not to fall asleep in the library. It’s only seven in the morning, and you have decided to go to the library early morning before your biology class. You have made a grave mistake by studying in a place that is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. Your eyelids are heavy, and you keep yawning as time goes by.

You rub the tears pooling in your eyes and grumble to yourself. You shake your head, patting your cheeks to keep yourself awake. You blink down at the textbook laid out in front of you and stare at the words that are jumbled up in your vision. Propping your head up in the palm of your hands, you stare at your literature textbook blankly.

“What am I supposed to be studying again?” You mutter to yourself, massaging your throbbing temples with an exhausted sigh.

Someone slams their textbooks and bookbag onto the table in front of you, startling you. You look up and see a girl with medium-length dusty blonde hair, thick-rimmed black-gold glasses, and her Akademiya uniform disheveled. She sits down across from you and gives you a smile.

“You’re supposed to be studying for Mrs. Hooshang’s literature course,” the dusty blonde girl says, pulling her notebook and pencil out from her backpack.

You blink at the girl in front of you. “I’m sorry, who are you? Mrs. Hooshang’s class has about two hundred students. I don’t think I can remember everyone’s names from the top of my head,”  you said.

The girl smiles at you and tucks her hair behind her ears. “My name’s Mina. I sit a row behind you and Roxanna,” said Mina.

You give her a tired smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Mina. I apologize for not knowing your name; I assume you know my name?” You ask, organizing your things on the table to give Mina some space to put her stuff on the table. 

Mina nods her head. “That’s right! I mainly know you because you’re quite famous in the Akademiya and among the student body.” 

“I’m famous in the Akademiya? That’s news to me,” you muttered.

You continue to study for your literature class, occasionally yawning in between your studies. While you’re studying for your literature class, Mina is doing her homework and strikes up a conversation with you from time to time. You close your textbook and push it to the side, rubbing your head with a shaky sigh.

Mina looks at you worriedly. “Are you okay, [Y/N]?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I woke up really early today to come here to study. I ended up skipping out on breakfast, and now I’m starting to regret it,” you said.

“Are you feeling hungry or thirsty? We can take a break from studying and go to the cafeteria for you to get something to eat before your class starts,” Mina suggests.

You shake your head. “I don’t feel hungry. I’m feeling nauseous,” you reply, resting your head on the table and swallowing the lump in your throat.

You hate feeling nauseous; other than the feeling of wanting to throw up, feeling sick to your stomach is the second thing you hate the most. You’re starting to notice that your arms feel heavy and your eyes are threatening to shut. You’re so tired, but you’re also feeling queasy. 

Mina gets up from her seat and hurries over to your seat. “We should take you to the infirmary if that’s the case. We wouldn’t want you to get worse,” Mina says, kneeling beside you.

You nod and slowly get up from your seat with the help of Mina. Mina quickly packs both of your things before ushering you to the Akademiya’s infirmary while carrying your and her backpack. While on your way to the Akademiya’s infirmary, Mina accidentally drops your and her backpack on your way. Both you and Mina walk past your two boyfriends, who were just walking out of the office they were in. Al Haitham and Kaveh pause in their steps when they see you and Mina stumbling to the Akademiya infirmary, you slumping down in Mina’s arms while she carries you haphazardly.

“Should we go and see what’s going on?” Kaveh asks Al Haitham, watching you and Mina stumble out of the Akademiya doors.

Al Haitham nods his head. “Let’s go,” Al Haitham says.

Kaveh and Al Haitham run after you and Mina, hoping that nothing had happened to you while you were in House of Daena, studying for your literature class. Everything to you feels like a sudden blur. One minute you’re in the library; the next, you open your eyes and find yourself in the Akademiya’s infirmary room while your classmate is pacing back and forth. Mina’s head turns in your direction when you groan and cover your eyes with your arms.

Mina rushes over to where you lay and gently pushes you down on the bed when you try to sit up. “You should lay down a little longer. You fainted on our way to the infirmary,” Mina says.

You’re about to open your mouth to say something when the door bursts open. Mina screeches and jumps back, looking over at the door with wide eyes. Al Haitham and Kaveh are panting and looking around the infirmary worriedly.

“The Scribe?” Mina whispers when she and Al Haitham make eye contact.

Kaveh rolls his eyes and holds his hand up. “And Kaveh. What am I? Chopped liver?” 

Behind Al Haitham and Kaveh was a commotion coming from the main door of the infirmary. You look at the door and see the other men piling into the infirmary room, pushing against each other while grumbling.

“Ow! Watch it!” Xiao scowls, glaring at Thoma, who accidentally stepped on the Yaksha’s foot while trying to push through the crowd of men. 

Thoma gives Xiao an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Xiao. I didn’t mean to step on your foot, buddy,” Thoma says.

“What are you guys doing here?” You ask, clearing your scratchy throat.

You attempt to sit on the infirmary bed, only for Mina to push you back down and give you a look your mother would usually give you when she catches you sneaking snacks into your bedroom while she’s on the phone with your father. Once everyone is able to enter the infirmary room without stepping on each other’s toes, Baizhu walks over to you and presses his hand on your forehead.

“You don’t have a fever,” Baizhu says, his eyes scanning you from head to toe.

Venti sits on the edge of the infirmary bed and lightly squeezes your calf. “The Akademiya infirmary gave us a call, saying it’s urgent and how you collapsed on your way here,” Venti explains, giving you a sad smile.

“How come you didn’t inform us that you’re sick? Al Haitham could have informed the school and your professors about it and let you stay home for a few days,” Tighnari sighs.

Mina stares at Tighnari’s ears with wide eyes, her hand slowly reaching for Tighnari’s ears. Tighanari arrows his eyes at Mina and slaps her hand away before it can reach his ears. You shake your head and rub your temples. Mina barely met the men, and she’s already giving them a bad first impression, which is unfortunate, especially if she’s going to be making an appearance in your life every now and then. Tighnari walks around Mina and stands close to the infirmary bed, assessing you from head to toe with Baizhu and Albedo by his side. 

“But I’m not sick! I feel fine, other than feeling really tired,” you said.

Childe and Diluc trade looks with each other before turning to look at you. You do look tired; there are noticeable bags under your eyes, your skin tone is lackluster, and your eyes are bloodshot from the lack of sleep.

“How much sleep have you been getting since you started attending the Akademiya?” Diluc asks.

You press your lips into a thin line. When was the last time you had a proper sleep schedule? You would pull all-nighters just to study and complete your assignments for certain classes. The longest sleep you would get would be around six hours, but it’s not consistent. 

You hesitate for a moment. “Uh, about six hours? But I haven’t been sleeping much ever since,” you reply.

Mina sighs in defeat and hunches forward. “[Y/N], you need to sleep longer than that. Adults need long nights of sleep compared to children and teens,” Mina says.

Albedo shakes his head at Mina’s comment. “That’s completely false. Children and teens require more sleep than adults. An adult requires about seven to ten hours of sleep, whereas children and teenagers need more than that,” Albedo says.

Mina rolls her eyes at Albedo and crosses her arms over her chest with a loud ‘hmph!’ and points her nose up in the air. “My statement still stands. [Y/N] needs to sleep longer than six hours,” Mina says.

Itto points at Mina. “Onikabuto booboo bear, who’s this lady?” Itto asks, giving Mina a strange look while her nose continues to point toward the air.

You give Itto a weak smile and toss the thin blanket off your legs. “Everyone, this is Mina! She’s my classmate and the one that helped me get to the Akademiya’s infirmary before I could pass out in House of Daena,” you said. 

You stretch your legs and slowly stand up. Aether walks over to you and hands you a cup of water. You give him a thankful smile and take a sip. Mina gives you a proud smile and turns to the men around her.

“If it weren’t for me, [Y/N] would have fainted in the library. I expect a thank you from everyone in the infirmary,” Mina says, propping her hands on her hips while tapping her left foot on the tile floors.

“Uh, thank you for doing the bare minimum?” Aether asks, narrowing his eyes at the dusty-blonde girl.

Mina gives Aether a small glare before turning to look at you. “Who are those men? They don’t look related to each other, nor do you look related to any of them,” Mina huffs, giving the twenty-five men the side eye.

“They’re—”

Childe cuts you off.

“We’re their boyfriends. That’s right, all twenty-five of us are dating [Y/N]. We’re not dating each other; we’re only interested in [Y/N] and [Y/N] only,” Childe says, strutting over to you with his head held high and a big smirk on his face.

Mina looks at you with wide eyes, her jaws slacked. “You’re dating twenty-five men at once!? How does that even work!?” Mina asks, running her hand through her hair.

You sigh and shrug your shoulders. Quite frankly, you’re not even sure yourself. Some men are more possessive than others, and you’re surprised that the relationship is working out just fine without someone losing an arm or a leg. Childe wraps his arms around your shoulders and rests his chin on top of your head, stroking your hair with his right hand. You close your eyes and press your forehead on his neck, breathing in his cologne.

“We manage to make it work,” Kaeya says nonchalantly.

“So, has the doctor informed you of what is going on, or did they not check up on you yet?” Ayato asks.

You shrug your shoulders. “I woke up a minute before Al Haitham, and Kaveh burst through the doors, so I don’t think the doctor has checked up on me yet,” you reply.

Scaramouche grumbles and stalks over to you and Childe, pulling the tall ginger-haired Harbinger away from you. Scaramouche has you sit back down on the bed and shakes his head, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“Then we might as well wait for the doctors at the Akademiya check up on [Y/N] before we can take them home,” Scaramouche says.

You blink at Scaramouche and do a double take. “Wait, what? Take me home already? I barely studied for Mrs. Hooshang’s literature class!” You exclaim.

“While we understand that your grades are important, you need to put your health over your studies,” Zhongli says, stroking your hair.

You sigh and lean against Zhongli, pressing your head against Zhongli’s abdomen. “It’s barely nine in the morning, and I’m already getting checked out of school before my classes start,” you mutter, closing your eyes.

“I’m sure your professors will understand. After all, you don’t want to faint in class now, do you?” Kazuha asks, sitting down beside you.

You peek at Kazuha from the corner of your eyes and slowly pull from Zhongli. “That’s true. It would be humiliating if I fainted during lectures,” you murmur.

The Akademiya doctor steps into your temporary room and stops in his tracks when he sees the number of people in the room with you. He sighs and shakes his head, looking down at the clipboard in his hand.

“I’m assuming all of you are the patient’s visitors?” The doctor raises his eyebrows at everyone in the room.

Dainsleif nods and crosses his arms over his chest. “That is correct,” Dainsleif answers.

The doctor mutters under his breath before weaving through the crowd of people to get to where you’re sitting. The doctor asked you the usual questions, checked your vitals, and did other things while you weren’t mentally present. About twenty minutes have passed, and the doctor has informed you and everyone in the room that you’re not sick and that you’re lacking sleep. And because you didn’t get enough sleep, it caused you to faint on your way to the Akademiya’s infirmary, and you’re lucky to have Mina to be the one to assist you to the infirmary. 

Gorou sighs in relief. “It’s a good thing that you’re not sick, angel! I’m glad you’re healthy,” Gorou says, wrapping his arms around your body and nuzzling his face into your neck, his tail wrapping around your waist.

“Eh, they’re kind of healthy. I’m pretty sure that skipping out on your sleep isn’t healthy,” Heizou interjects, shrugging his shoulders.

“So, do we take them home now, or are we going to continue to let them stay in school for the day?” Cyno asks, looking over at you.

Pantalone chuckles. “That depends on how many classes they have today,” Pantalone says, turning to look at you.

You blink at Pantalone and search on your person for your schedule. You sigh after realizing that you put your class schedule in your backpack. You fall back on the bed and close your eyes.

“My class schedule is in my backpack,” you muttered.

Mina’s eyes widen. “Oh no, I think I dropped it somewhere in the Akademiya while I was taking you to the infirmary,” Mina says, grabbing the roots of her hair and lightly pulling at it while cursing under her breath.

Pierro rolls his eyes. “No need to worry or panic. We were able to retrieve it when we first arrived at the Akademiya,” Pierro says, holding up the two backpacks in one hand.

You sigh in relief. “You’re a lifesaver, Pierro. I have textbooks that cost three hundred mora, and I cannot afford to lose them,” you said, getting up from the bed and walking to Pierro to retrieve your backpack.

Mina stares at Pierro and looks over at you; you can see the look of disgust visible on her face. “You’re dating a man that is older than my father?” Mina asks, her face scrunching up. “Other than the questionable age gap between you and [Y/N], thank you for retrieving our backpacks, sir,” Mina mutters, grabbing her backpack from Pierro’s grasp.

You dig through your backpack and pull out your schedule. “Today is Wednesday, and I have three classes, but they’re spread out. I have one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and the last class is in the early evening,” you said, looking up at the men in front of you.

“With what has happened today and the number of classes you have, I believe that it's best for you to skip class for today for your health. You need to rest and get some sleep,” Capitano says.

You give Capitano a look of disbelief. “But if I skip out on my class today, I’ll be behind in my classes!” You sputter, looking over at the others for help.

“I understand that you don’t like falling behind in class, but you can skip out for one day. After all, you have us, and we can help you with your class in case you fall behind,” Dottore says.

Mina gives you a small smile. “If you let me look at your schedule, I can drop by after your professor’s lectures and collect any assignments for you. Or I can ask your classmates for a copy of their notes for you,” Mina proposes. 

You look at Mina with wide eyes and look at the others in the room. “I don’t know, Mina. I don’t want you to waste your time and do this for me. After all, Al Haitham and Kaveh can always drop by my classes and gather the assignments for me instead,” you said.

Mina shakes her head. “No, I insist. Plus, they have a tough position in the Akademiya that puts a lot of responsibilities on them. Please, let me help you,” Mina pleads.

You sigh for the umpteenth time and nod your head reluctantly. Mina smiles at you and walks over to you when you hold your schedule out in her direction. Mina looks down at your schedule and skims through the words on the paper. 

“Alright, I will give you your schedule by the end of the day! Can you give me your address, by the way? I need to drop your assignments off to you, and I can’t do that if I don’t know your address,” Mina says.

Al Haitham holds his hand up and shakes his head. “That won’t be needed. Once you have collected the assignments and notes for [Y/N], Kaveh and I will take it from there and give it to [Y/N] after we have received it,” Al Haitham says.

Mina sighs in defeat and nods her head, reluctantly agreeing to Al Haitham’s plan. The men end up taking you back to the abode to rest. Thoma carries your backpack while Cyno is carrying you on his back. Even though Cyno didn’t need to hold you, Cyno continued to insist on giving you a piggyback ride so you wouldn’t end up fainting like earlier.

Once you all arrive back to the abode, minus Al Haitham and Kaveh, you’re sent straight to your room to change out of your Akademiya uniform and are instructed to stay in bed while one of the men will bring food up to your bedroom. You take a quick shower, change into your pajamas and sit on your bed. Once you have sat down on your bed, a wave of exhaustion hits you like a sumpter beast. 

You plop down on your bed and throw your blanket over your head. You snuggle into your pillows and close your eyes, feeling yourself slowly drift off to sleep. Before sleep consumes you, your bedroom door opens, and you hear footsteps approaching your bed. You grumble and toss the blanket off your head, and turn to see the men with food trays in their hands.

“We’ll be joining you while you eat in your bedroom to keep you company if you don’t mind,” Thoma says, placing a tray of food on your lap and brushing your damp hair away from your forehead.

Seeing that your hair is still wet from your shower, Ayato gives you a disapproving look. “[Y/N], what did we say about not drying our hair after taking a shower?” Ayato asks, placing his food tray on your desk and walking over to you.

You purse your lips. “That if we don’t dry our hair, we’ll get a headache and get sick,” you mutter like a child being scolded by their parents.

“I’ll dry their hair,” Diluc offers, walking over to the bathroom to grab the hair dryer.

You sigh and pick up your food, taking a bite out of it. “I don’t need to be babied, you guys. I’m an Akademiya scholar, dammit! I am an adult who is working toward a degree!” You said, grabbing a paper napkin and tossing it on your bed lightly.

“Hush now and eat your food,” Tighnari says, patting your head lightly.

You gave in and let Diluc blow-dry your hair while Ayato brushed your hair. You weren’t too fond of blow drying your hair, mainly because it takes up a lot of time, and you didn’t want to wait. You prefer air-drying your hair because you’re not exposing your hair to heat, even though you can dry your hair with the cold option. Either way, you think that using the hair dryer is too much of a hassle and decide to let your hair air dry instead. 

“How are you feeling right now?” Aether asks, sitting beside you after Diluc and Ayato finish drying your hair.

You shrug your shoulders. “I’m still tired, but other than that, I feel okay,” you reply, reaching for the paper napkin you threw and wiping your lips. “So, what do you guys think of Mina?” You ask suddenly, looking up from your food and watching for their reactions to your question.

“She’s an interesting one. She did spew some misinformation that Albedo had to correct her on,” Heizou says, munching on his sashimi platter.

Albedo crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what made her think adults need more sleep than children and teenagers, but she’s wrong. The only thing she is correct on is how you need more than six hours of sleep each night,” Albedo says.

“How long have you and Mina known each other?” Tighnari asks.

You laugh sheepishly and rub the back of your neck. “We have class together, but I didn’t even know she existed until today. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know that we were in the same class until she told me in the library,” you reply.

“So, she just randomly approached you while you were studying,” Xiao states, raising an eyebrow at you.

You nod. “That is correct,” you reply.

You and the men continue to eat until everyone is finished eating. Once you’re done eating, Childe takes your food tray and goes downstairs, with the others following after him. Baizhu stayed behind to check up on you while you got situated in your bed, lying down, pulling your blanket up to your chin, and snuggling into your pillows.

“Make sure to get as much rest as you can. We wouldn’t want you to collapse and fall ill because you’re not getting enough sleep,” Baizhu says, pressing his hand against your forehead again.

“I’ll try my best to sleep in longer,” you reply, letting out a yawn.

Baizhu smiles and presses a kiss on your head before walking out of your bedroom and closing the door behind him. After you have fallen asleep, you don’t know how long you have been sleeping; it feels like you have been asleep for a few hours. What woke you up from your slumber was hearing your bedroom door open and someone walking into your room. You can never sleep when someone is in the same room as you, especially if they’re awake. You crack your eyes open and look around your dark bedroom, only to see Al Haitham and Kaveh putting your assignments (you’re assuming) on your desk.

“Dammit, you two woke [Y/N] up,” Scaramouche whispers from the entrance of your bedroom.

You sit up and rub your eyes. “What time is it?” You ask.

“It’s three in the afternoon. You’ve been asleep for a few hours now,” Cyno answers, peeking into your bedroom.

You mumble incoherently and plop down on your bed, snuggling into your blanket. “I’ll be up in a few hours to do my homework. I’ll thank Mina when I see her tomorrow,” you murmur into your blanket.

“You’re not going to be doing your homework for today. Again, you need to rest for the entire day and let your body relax. It’s okay to take a break from school work for one day,” Childe interjects, peeking into your room.

You bury your face into your pillow, sighing into your pillow. “Alright, alright. I’ll take a break for today and do my assignments tomorrow. But just to let you all know, you’re going to need to help me catch up on my homework,” you said, waving your hand around blindly. 

“We’re fine with that as long as you’re getting the rest you need,” Venti says, trotting into your bedroom to plant a kiss on your forehead.

After Venti kissed your forehead, the other men followed behind Venti to give you a kiss on the cheek, forehead, head, and chin. While they’re giving you kisses on your face, you give their hands a light squeeze. As much as you want to kiss them goodnight (?), you didn’t want to risk anything if you were actually sick, even if the Akademiya doctor and Baizhu informed you that you weren’t ill. You don’t want any of the men to get sick, whether you’re feeling under the weather or not. The last person to leave your bedroom was Kazuha; he ran his fingers through your hair and kissed your cheek.

“Get plenty of rest, okay?” Kazuha murmurs, stroking your cheek.

You nod. “I will, Kazuha.” You reach up and grab his hand, gently squeezing his hand before releasing Kazuha’s hand.

Kazuha gets up and walks over to the door, turning your bedroom lights off and shutting the door behind him.

Ever since the incident of you collapsing due to lack of sleep, Mina has been at your side at all times at the Akademiya. The only time she’s not by your side is when you two have different classes. You wouldn’t really call her a friend, mainly because you two only hang out during school hours and wouldn’t speak to each other outside of the Akademiya. You weren’t complaining at all; it’s normal in universities. People make acquaintances at the school they attend, talk and hang out with those people during school hours, and wouldn’t speak to one another outside of school. 

You notice that ever since you and Mina have been hanging out with each other more during school hours, Mina has been adopting your habits and behaviors, which is somewhat normal since friends tend to mimic one another. Lovers would also mimic each other’s behavior and routine. But this one, you can’t put your finger on it.

“Hey, Mina! Wanna go to the Grand Bazaar with Roxanna and me?” Farah asks, approaching you and Mina with Roxanna walking next to her.

Mina looks at Roxanna and Farah with wide eyes. She then looks over at you; you shrug your shoulders in response. 

“Don’t look at me! They’re the ones inviting you to go to the Grand Bazaar with them!” You said, clutching your textbooks against your chest. “Plus, I think you should go! It’ll be fun!” You lightly nudge Mina’s side.

Mina shrugs her shoulders and looks at Roxanna and Farah with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, ladies. As much as I would love to go to the Grand Bazaar with both of you, I’m going to have to pass on this one. I have so many things to study, and I also saw this amazing opportunity that I could not pass up on! Does next time sound okay for you two?” Mina asks, biting on her bottom lip as she looks at Roxanna and Farah nervously.

Roxanna smiles and nods her head. “Yeah, that’s fine with us! We can go to the Grand Bazaar together next time!” Roxanna says.

Mina gives Roxanna and Farah a small smile and waves at them as they walk away. Mina turns to you and sighs, hunching forward and rubbing her temples. “I have so much studying to do for my botany class,” Mina says.

You look at Mina, surprised. “Oh! You’re taking botany classes? I thought you were part of the Illuminationism?” You ask.

Mina runs her fingers through her dusty-blonde hair. “I was, but then I switched over to biology because it seems easier compared to Illuminationism. Plus, Azar is associated with the Rtawahist. I don’t want to be associated with the Grand Sage,” Mina huffs.

You nod. “That is true… ever since the Grand Sage was exposed for his schemes, I don’t think anyone wants to be associated with him. However, I’m not sure how people view the Rtawahist. I’m sure people won’t care if you’re part of the Rtawahist,” you murmur.

“I know, but still. Plus, I saw how much you enjoy being a biology major, so I wanted to see what the hype is all about!” Mina says.

“You could’ve taken some biology courses as your elective, but since you want to make it your major, I don’t see why not,” You said. “Now, I’ll leave you to your studies. I have some things to tend to at my place.”

Mina looks at you with wide eyes and grabs your biceps to prevent you from leaving. “What? You’re not going to go to House of Daena to study?” Mina asks.

“Not really. I have completed my studies already this morning,” You answer.

“But I didn’t see you there when I went to House of Daena myself!” Mina exclaims.

You give Mina a strange look. “I didn’t go to House of Daena to study, Mina. I decided to study at my house today since I sort of woke up later than usual,” you shrug your shoulders.

You look down at your bicep and then at Mina, waiting for her to let go of your bicep. Mina reluctantly lets go of your arm and gives you a fake smile. You give her a small smile, bidding her goodbye, before walking off. 

“Have you guys noticed something strange about Mina?” You ask one day at the dinner table, biting into your zhongyuan. 

“She’s always been strange! Her being strange is nothing new to us,” Itto says casually as he takes a big bite out of his mixed yakisoba. 

“He’s not wrong there,” Dainslief mutters, wiping his mouth with the napkin.

“We don’t really see her as often as you do, so can you perhaps explain to us how Mina has been acting strange?” Gorou asks, slurping up his noodles.

You then go into the details of how strange Mina has been acting for the past few days. Maybe she has been this way, but you can’t help but notice how Mina would watch you like a hawk and would want to be around you more often. While you see her as a fellow classmate and Akademiya buddy, you can’t help but get a strange feeling from Mina. You can’t put your finger on the specific thing, but you know you’re not going crazy. Perhaps you are, since you still need to fix your sleep schedule.

“She switched her major to biology, and she has a sudden interest in studying? I don’t find those strange at all, considering people do change their majors when they find another passion. Is there anything else that she did that you find strange?” Kaeya asks.

“She rejected Roxanna and Farah’s invite to go to the Grand Bazaar just to study in House of Daena. Mina never misses out on going to the Grand Bazaar, and it’s strange that she turned down that invitation,” you said, chewing on your zhongyuan.

Zhongli hums and strokes his chin. “Perhaps there’s an exam coming up for her? Though the sudden major changes during the first two weeks of a new quarter are strange and a drastic decision to make,” Zhongli says.

“I mean, Mina questioned me why I wasn’t going to be studying in the library today, and she suddenly grabbed my bicep to prevent me from leaving,” you shrug your shoulders.

“She sounds weird and a little bit too eager to have you as a friend or a study partner,” Pantalone says, twirling his noodle around his fork.

You shake your head and grab another zhongyuan. “Maybe she’s been stressed out with her studies that she needed me to be there as a support of some kind. I understand if she needs a study partner, but she could’ve informed me about it the day before or something like that,” you mutter.

“Maybe you’re all too quick to judge the girl. After all, [Y/N] only hangs out with Mina during school hours. They don’t spend enough time together for [Y/N] to find what’s off and what’s not off about Mina,” Dottore says, taking a bite out of his steak.

Capitano snorts. “That won’t stop us from finding her behavior strange,” Capitano mutters.

Your “friendship” with Mina continues to become strange the more you watch her closely. Whenever you mentioned Al Haitham getting you a new Akademiya uniform that has custom embroidery on it, Mina would get a new Akademiya uniform with similar embroidery on it. You decided not to make a big deal out of it and brush it off as a coincidence. 

A few days later, you have decided to get your hair trimmed. You think your hair is getting a bit too long, so you go to a hair salon in Inazuma to get a trim with the men accompanying you to keep you company. When you showed up to the Akademiya with your hair trimmed, Mina suddenly got a trim. Not only did Mina cut her hair, but she also dyed her hair to a hair color that is similar to yours and styled it in a way like how you would style your hair.

“What do you think?” Mina asks, twirling her hair around her fingers.

You give her a fake smile. “It looks cute! What made you go this route for your hair? It’s a bit of a drastic change,” you said, examining her appearance closely. 

Mina looks almost eerily similar to you, but she doesn’t look like you, thankfully. The hair length, the hair color, the sudden change of uniform with the same embroidery as yours. It was all too similar. This cannot be a coincidence at this point.

Mina shrugs her shoulders. “I have a few inspirations here and there for a new look and style,” Mina says. “I think this style suits me well.”

You chuckle and shake your head. “Well, I’m curious about your inspirations,” you said.

“[Y/N],” you hear Al Haitham call your name.

You and Mina turn your heads. “Yes?” You and Mina answer in unison.

What the fuck? Your head snaps in Mina’s direction, looking at her incredulously. “Did you just answer to my name?” You ask.

Mina looks at you like a fish out of water, her mouth agape as she tries to answer your question. Al Haitham and Kaveh slowly approach you and Mina, his eyebrows raised. You cross your arms over your chest, waiting for Mina’s response.

“This is getting weird,” Kaveh interjects, looking between you and your copycat. 

Mina sputters and scratches the back of her neck— a habit you would do whenever you’re nervous or unsure of the situation. Aside from your looks, did Mina adopt your nervous habits as hers as well? And maybe your name?

“I didn’t know there were two [Y/N]s,” you hear Tighnari say sarcastically.

You poke the inside of your cheek with your tongue. “Yeah, I didn’t know I had a twin either, Tighnari,” you deadpan, staring at Mina blankly. 

“Listen, I blanked out, and I wasn’t fully paying attention. [Y/N] and Mina kind of rhyme with each other, hence why I answered without thinking!” Mina says.

Cyno chuckles and purses his lips. “I don’t know, Mina. I’m not a rhyme expert or anything, but something tells me that [Y/N] and Mina do not rhyme with each other at all. Perhaps we can ask your literature professor about it, or maybe a poetry professor,” Cyno shrugs his shoulders.

You sigh and take your beret off, ruffling your hair. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, Mina. If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend with Al Haitham, Kaveh, Cyno, and Tighnari,” you said.

Before you can walk off with the four men, Mina grabs your wrist. You stop in your tracks and turn to look at her. Al Haitham, Tighnari, Kaveh, and Cyno stop to look, their eyebrows raised. They all look impatient, but they also look interested in what is going to unfold. Mina visibly gulps and lets go of your wrist.

“I was wondering if you’re going to be studying in House of Daena today because I need assistance with my studies,” Mina says, rubbing the fabric of her Akademiya uniform between her thumb and index finger.

“It depends on how long this meeting is going to go,” you said.

You see Mina’s eyes light up with interest. “Oh? What’s this meeting about?” Mina asks.

You blink at Mina and look over at the four men standing behind you. You’re not entirely sure if you should tell Mina about your upcoming project for the Akademiya or not. Your project involves extensive research inside and outside of the Akademiya; Al Haitham, Tighnari, Kaveh, and Cyno are also part of this research. 

“It’s about my grades and how I’m doing in the Akademiya. Since I’ve been here for a short time, I want to find a way to graduate from the Akademiya sooner rather than later,” you lie.

Mina gasps and looks at you with wide eyes. “What?! But you can’t do that!” Mina exclaims, startling you and the four men behind you.

“And why is that?” You ask slowly.

“Because!” Mina sputters. She takes a deep breath and clears her throat, adjusting her Akademiya uniform and her beret. “If you graduate early, you won’t do well in the real world. Plus, you’re going to be leaving me behind!” Mina frowns.

The four men behind you look over at each other, their eyebrows furrowing with confusion after hearing Mina’s strange explanation. You look at Mina for a second and scratch the back of your head. You’re not entirely sure what year Mina is in at the Akademiya, and you’re unsure whether Mina is aware that you’re close to graduating or not.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to imply in your first claim, but you don’t need to worry about me and my future outside of the Akademiya. Plus, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but I’m a third-year Akademiya student,” you said.

“Third year?!” Mina screeches, her eyes the size of dinner plates.

You nod.

“How are you a third year at the Akademiya when you’re a recent student?! How is that possible?” Mina asks.

You shrug your shoulders. “I had to complete a lot of exams for my placement. While I have no prior education in Teyvat, I do have some knowledge,” you said.

Mina stares at you blankly. “What are you saying?” 

There’s no way you’re going to reveal to Mina that you’re an outlander like Aether and Lumine. While they exist in the world of Genshin, you do not exist in this world at all. You magically appeared in their world and had to adapt to your new life somehow. 

“I was really dumb, and now I am not dumb because these men,” you gesture to Al Haitham, Kaveh, Cyno, and Tighnari behind you, “are the reason why I am where I’m at in the Akademiya. They guided me through many things and they are my mentors. They taught me academic discipline and taught me how to do well in the Akademiya,” you lie.

You winced inwardly at your awful lie. It’s better than admitting that you’re not from their universe; who knows what Mina would do with that information? But other than that, you wish you could have come up with something better than what you just said to Mina. Without having to look behind you, you can tell the four men are also cringing at your awful lie. Mina slowly nods her head and presses her lips into a thin line, not saying anything. You can’t tell if Mina bought your lie or not.

Mina looks at you quizzically. “What do you mean by that? You’re not dumb. You may lack the education, but you’re not dumb,” Mina says. She grabs you by your shoulders and shakes you lightly. 

You feel your eye twitch, and you give her a fake smile. You grab her wrists and take a step back from Mina. You clear your throat and turn to look at the four men, who have been patiently waiting for you to finish the conversation with Mina. 

“Let’s go now, shall we?” You breathed.

Kaveh, Cyno, Al Haitham, and Tighnari nod their heads before walking off with you following after them. You didn’t think much of what happened later that day. After the meeting with Al Haitham, Kaveh, Cyno, and Tighnari, you collapsed on the couch at the abode, face down. Your beret falls off your head and lands on the ground beside you.

“Today is exhausting. I hope next week will be more eventful and not exhausting,” you groan into the cushions.

“Eventful? How eventful do you want it to be?” Aether asks, plopping down beside you on the couch.

You raise your head and see Aether looking at you with a cute smile. You let your head fall on the cushion and mumble something to yourself. You’re so tired, but you need to change out of your Akademiya uniform. But at the same time, you’re also not in the mood to get up and change into your pajamas. After the long meeting, you don’t want to do anything at all but sleep. Someone pokes you on your head. You look up and see Aether peering down at you.

“To answer your question, I’m not sure. I don’t want it to be a long meeting like today; it’s an exhausting day, especially after what happened with Mina,” you reply.

Aether pouts and pulls you up into his arms, cuddling with you while you lay there and accept his hugs and cuddles. You close your eyes and throw your arms around his slim waist, nuzzling your head against his chest. Aether chuckles and scratches the back of your head, making you hum with contentment. 

“Oh, dear. What happened with Mina?” Thoma asks.

“When Al Haitham said my name, Mina answered to my name also, but she came up with the excuse that [Y/N] and Mina rhyme,” you huff, burying your face into Aether’s chest. 

You feel Aether jolt beneath you at your response. You look up to see Aether furrowing his eyebrows while brushing his messy blond hair away from his face. You lay your head against his chest and listen to his heart beating against his chest.

“Not only that happened, but the four of them also had to witness Mina’s strange behavior. The strangest reaction I got from her was me talking about graduating early. She tried to discourage me from doing so even though I almost meet the requirements of graduating early,” you said, tracing small patterns on Aether’s stomach.

Xiao scoffs and rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest with a deep frown on his face. “What kind of person discourages their friends from achieving their goals?” Xiao mutters.

“You’d be surprised by the type of people that exists, Xiao,” Itto says, plopping down on the couch where you and Aether are sitting and lying down behind you, sandwiching you between him and Aether. Itto grabs you by your waist and pulls you over to him, laying you on top of him while he massages your scalp with his long nails. You hum in delight and burrow your face into Itto’s neck while Aether glares at Itto, getting off the couch while muttering under his breath.

“I have a bad feeling about Mina. If she reacted this way and is mimicking everything [Y/N] has and does, then there’s a chance she might take it further,” Ayato mutters, shaking his head.

Venti looks at Ayato warily. “What do you mean by that?” Venti asks.

“Let’s not talk about Mina right now. Just thinking about her and the things she’s doing to be like me makes me feel very unsettled,” you shiver. You roll off of Itto and stretch your arms in the air with a yawn. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower and change into my pajamas. Maybe I’ll take a nap or something! It’s been a long day, and I can use a nap,” you said, glancing around to search for the clock to see what time it was.

“We’ll wake you up when it’s almost time for dinner,” Baizhu says, ruffling your hair as you walk by them. 

You nod and walk up the stairs to your bedroom. You took a shower, changed into your pajamas, and collapsed on your bed. You were too lazy to dry your hair, and quite frankly, you’re somewhat prepared for the scolding of a lifetime from the men for not drying your hair mainly because you’re too tired to think about the consequences— which there is none other than them scolding you about it.

The first thing you wake up to is, “[Y/N]! Did you not dry your hair again!? Your pillow case is wet!” Diluc scolds you.

You crack your eyes open and look over where Diluc’s voice is coming from. You lift your head and slowly sit up, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. You turn to look at your pillow and see that your pillowcase is wet from your hair. You reach for your hair and touch it; it’s still damp, maybe a little bit drier than it was before you went to take a nap.

“We’re scolding them the minute they wake up from their nap?” Kaeya asks, smirking at Diluc from the doorway.

You slowly get out of your bed and walk over to your dresser and grab your brush. “I was too tired to dry my hair before taking a nap. Can you blame me?” You mutter, brushing your wet hair with the brush. You close your eyes and lean against the dresser, resting your chin on the top of the dresser, and yawn.

“How tired are you?” Scaramouche asks.

You let out another yawn. “Really tired, and it’s annoying,” you mumble. “I think I’m even more tired than I was after I fainted while going to the Akademiya’s infirmary a while ago.” 

“We’ll have Baizhu and Dottore check up on you after dinner. How does that sound?” Heizou asks, peeking his head into your bedroom.

You nod your head. “Fine by me,” you mutter. You open your eyes and place the brush back on the dresser, and slowly walk over to where the men are standing. “I’m assuming dinner is ready. I can smell the food,” you said, rubbing your tired eyes with your fist.

“And you are correct! Now, let’s go downstairs and eat!” Gorou says, grabbing your wrist and pulling you along with him.

“Hold on for a second. Before any of you can eat dinner, [Y/N] needs to dry their hair,” Dainsleif says, stopping in front of you and Gorou.

You and Gorou nearly walk into Dainsleif’s chest; Gorou stops abruptly, causing you to walk into his back. You groan and turn around to go back to your bedroom to blow dry your hair. So much for coming downstairs on time for dinner. Now here you are, walking to the bathroom to turn on the hair dryer to dry your damp hair. Maybe after dinner, you’ll change your pillowcase— if there are any pillowcases available until you wash and dry the wet pillowcase. 

A few days later, you and the men strut into the Akademiya. Today is the day when you’re holding a grand presentation in front of the higher-ups in the Akademiya since the presentation is part of your big research project with Al Haitham, Tighnari, Cyno, and Kaveh. You’re walking to the auditorium where the presentation is being held; you’re holding a box that is stacked on top of each other while the men walk beside you and behind you.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to hold that for you?” Zhongli sighs.

You nod your head. “I’m sure, Zhongli! It’s not like I’m going to drop it or anything,” you said, peeking from behind the box to make sure you were not walking into someone.

“The boxes are obscuring your vision, dove. At least let us take some of the boxes so you’d be able to see your path,” Kazuha says softly. 

You stop in your tracks and nod. “Alright, since you all insisted. Grab some of the boxes,” you said, turning to the men.

Kazuha, Zhongli, and Albedo grab the three boxes stacked on top of the one you’re holding onto. Before you can say anything, Childe takes the box out of your hand and pats your head with a smile on his face.

“I know you wanted to carry this box, but I want to be a good boyfriend and take this box out of your hands. You don’t need to carry anything heavy as long as we’re around,” Childe proudly says. 

You sigh in defeat and comply. You all continue walking to the auditorium to prepare for your big presentation in front of the Akademiya. You’re not much of a public speaker, but with Kaveh, Cyno, Al Haitham, and Tighnari assisting you in your presentation, you think it should go smoothly. Or, at least, you hope it does.

“Remember, if you lose your train of thought during the presentation, you needn’t worry. I’m sure Al Haitham, Tighnari, Cyno, and Kaveh can continue that part of the presentation,” Albedo says.

“I hope everything goes smoothly and nothing ends up going down south,” you murmur.

You look down at the clipboard in your hands and go through your to-do list to ensure you didn’t leave anything out before the presentation. While you’re wearing formal wear, you’re wearing it beneath your Akademiya uniform. It’s a big presentation for your ongoing research project. Therefore, you need to look presentable for the stage. You flip through the clipboard and go over the notes with the four men involved in your research project. 

You all approach the auditorium; you push through the large wooden doors and walk down to the stage of the auditorium. You notice Mina standing on the stage, talking to one of the Akademiya professors. It looks like she was arguing with them, almost. You and the men trade looks with each other and slowly walk up the stage.

“You are not the presenter, Mina. I find it disrespectful of you to pull this kind of stunt!” The Akademiya professor hisses, glaring daggers at the girl in front of him.

“But Professor Rahal—”

“I apologize for interrupting you two, but what is going on?” You speak up.

Mina freezes in her spot. Professor Rahal gives Mina a look, crossing his arms over his chest. You hear Mina take a shaky breath and slowly turn to face you. Your eyes widen, and the clipboard in your hands falls and clatters loudly on the stage floor. 

“Mina? Why do you have my face?” You whisper, your hands trembling in front of you.

Dottore narrows his eyes at Mina. “How did you achieve such a thing?” Dottore mutters.

“You weren’t kidding when you said that Mina is trying to be you,” Pantalone says, glaring at the girl in front of him.

“She really takes the word copycat to another level. Not only did she want to be like you, but she also wanted to be you. Literally,” Itto says, looking at Mina, appalled. 

You let out a fake laugh and clenched your hands into fists. “Listen, I have an important presentation starting in about,” you look over at the clock, “fifteen minutes. I do not have the time to deal with your shenanigans, Mina,” you stated. 

“Care to explain why you want to look like [Y/N]? It’s weird to have someone you once considered a friend trying to take your life and identity,” Diluc spats, glaring at Mina.

You shake your head and turn to the men. “Can we get her out of here? I don’t have the time or the patience to deal with someone wanting to be me,” you rub your temples with a frustrated sigh.

“How did you manage to steal [Y/N]’s face and make it your own? Not only is it creepy, but it’s strange for you to want to be [Y/N],” Albedo says, frowning at Mina.

Mina laughs softly and brushes her hair off her shoulders. It’s almost like she’s proud of what she has done. Seeing her laugh off Albedo’s question and brushing her hair from her shoulders smugly makes you want to stomp over to her and rip your face off of her face. Does she not have any shame for wanting to be you? It’s weird and creepy. Some people will find it flattering because, “oh, they’re a fan of mine. Therefore, they want to be me by mimicking everything I do and mimic my appearance!” kind of deal. But it’s weird and disturbing.

“It’s pretty easy, actually. When you know alchemists who can easily transform your appearance, you can do anything you want. But in my case, be anyone I want to be,” Mina says nonchalantly. 

“I’m going to fight her,” you deadpan. 

“[Y/N], don’t. You have a presentation in ten minutes,” Aether says, shaking his head. 

You shake your head. “I’m going to fight Mina whether you all like it or not. Identity theft is not a joke, Jim!” You exclaim. 

You take your beret off, hand it to the closest person near you, and take your Akademiya uniform off. 

Cyno leans to Al Haitham. “Who’s Jim?” 

Al Haitham shrugs his shoulders. “Don’t ask me. I’m just as clueless as you are,” Al Haitham sighs.

Childe places his hand on your shoulders and shakes his head. “As much as I find it sexy that you want to pummel someone to the ground, I don’t want you to get expelled from the Akademiya and ruin your future because of little miss copycat,” Childe says, putting the Akademiya uniform back on you along with the beret on your head.

You let out a sharp exhale and pinch the bridge of your nose. “Then what am I going to do with Mina? She has my face and is doing everything to be me,” you glowered, glaring over at Mina, who feigns innocence.

“What you do is start and continue with the presentation, and I will take her to the Grand Sage. She not only tries to impersonate another Akademiya student, but she also tried to falsify documents under your name,” Professor Rahal states.

He grabs Mina by her biceps and starts to drag her off the stage while she tries to get out of his grasp, cursing and screaming at the top of her lungs about how she’s being treated unfairly. You let out a shaky sigh and pressed your forehead against Al Haitham’s chest, trying to calm your racing mind.

“After the presentation, I’m going to search for Mina, and I’m going to beat her ass behind the Akademiya building for trying to impersonate me,” You mutter.

“Hey, we’re not stopping you. The only reason why we stopped you a moment ago was that an Akademiya worker was present, and we do not want you to get in trouble before your important presentation,” Tighnari says, walking up to you and Al Haitham.

You slowly sink to the ground and hug your legs to your chest. Even though Mina is facing repercussions for trying to impersonate you and copying everything you do, you still can’t shake the uncomfortable feeling off you. At first, you thought Mina intended to be your friend at the Akademiya, but you were wrong. She watched your every move, studied you closely, and got close to you just so she could complete her agenda of impersonating you.

“What’s that one thing that the people in your world say again?” Scaramouche asks, stroking his chin.

“What? Someone that is obsessed with them and keeps tabs on the person they’re obsessed with?” Ayato guesses.

Scaramouche nods his head.

“Fan behavior,” Heizou pipes up. 

“Personally, I wouldn’t call that fan behavior. It’s weird and unsettling for Mina to go to an alchemist to steal [Y/N]’s face,” Kaveh huffs, crossing his arms over his chest with a glare.

“Looks like people are starting to show up to the presentation,” Thoma murmurs, turning his head to the entrance of the auditorium, watching scholars slowly trickling into the auditorium.

You stand up and dust your Akademiya uniform off, adjusting the beret on your head. “Let’s get this over with, so I can beat Mina’s ass after,” you grumble.

Venti walks over to you and places his hand on your shoulders. “Focus on your presentation. Do not let Mina occupy your thoughts while you’re presenting your research. She’s not worth your time right now. This is your project, and you need to focus. If you don’t, then Mina will win,” Venti says.

“You got this, [Y/N]. We know you do!” Gorou says, giving you an encouraging smile. 

“Do well on this presentation for yourself, not as a gotcha moment to rub it in Mina’s face. You can rub it in her face after, but this presentation is for you and only you,” Baizhu says, stroking your cheek with a gentle smile on his face.

You give Baizhu a weak smile and nod. The men walk off the stage and sit in the front row while you, Al Haitham, Tighnari, Kaveh, and Cyno remain on stage. You pick the clipboard off the ground and flip through it one last time before turning to the others and signaling to let them know you’re ready to start the presentation. 

Your presentation is about replicating and rebuilding the ruins. While it’s not your specific area of expertise, it is part of a project you’re assisting Kaveh in. You’re hoping that the presentation goes well and that you won’t have a single thought about Mina while presenting. After all, you are going to have a little chat with her after the presentation if she’s not kicked out of the Akademiya yet for an attempt of impersonation.

Note: Now that this week's fanfic has been posted, I am now off to bed! ... After I post it on AO3 as well :'> Anyway, I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this story?? I've been releasing questionable fics lately and I need to get my head in the game 😭 First week of school has been a pain; I got sick, and I was at school for almost thirteen hours on Wednesday, and my throat is killing me. But I am okay and somehow alive. Anyway, the next parts are copy and pasted from my previous post. For those who want to be on my new taglist, here is the link to the taglist [Genshinluvr Updated Taglist Form]! Please make sure that you allow people to mention you/tag you in posts, or else I won't be able to tag you in any future fanfics! Anyway, for those who are new here or are returning readers, I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for my Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series and my overall taglist: @alhaitham-scribe, @xyji, @kazuhasmuse, @chirikoheina, @yoru-trash, @kaoyamamegami, @kwelibeeery, @yumakj, @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @toobytub, @ins4nebish, @bokuto-kinnie, @honeybedo, @exhaustedcommunist, @jadedist, @mompt2, @living-my-best-life5, @chalksdreams, @rinswriting, @thelost-in-time, @mxn14, @ventisweetheart, @unwantedsleep, @kattythesimp, @hispasian-otaku, @Orah-s, @juuuuuj101010, @nxns3nse, @sickly-falling, @alteeeeyang, @wind1y, @wh0-ta0, @samarill (If your name has been crossed out, it means that your account did not show up when I try to tag out. Please make sure to allow people to mention you and tag you in posts and make sure the spelling, symbols, and numbers are correct)

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CULT OF DIONYSUS al haitham x reader x kaveh

SYNOPSIS kaveh, al haitham and you are close friends and went to the same high school. but after your junior year, you left them and sumeru behind for liyue’s 2 year med school exchange program. now you’re back in sumeru for a class reunion and attending sumeru akademiya. 

STATUS 01/14/23, on going, updates on weekends (hopefully)

GENRE social media au, modern au, college au 

CONTENT WARNINGS childhood friends to lovers, mentions of cheating, angst, love triangle, suggestive, implied female (they/them prns), written before kaveh's in game release, disorganized timestamps, will add more later!

TAGLIST open! please let me know if you changed your username

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CHARACTERS

4LYFERS | overwork no sleep

ACT I - "I'M FEELING DEVIOUS"

01 . still sleeping ? 02 . packing 03 . reunion message?? 04 . bitch this you? 05 . i'll try to miss you ✿ 06 . bro's down bad fr 07 . 10/10 08 . reunion day ✿ 09. what's his problem? 10 . pretty boy 11 . asked them out 12 . why r u here? ✿ 13 . his text 14 . lying to me? 15 . you? upset? 16 . call me if u get lost

ACT II - "YOU'RE LOOKING GLAMOROUS"

17. is it too late to switch majors?? ✿ 18. third wheeling? 19. tall, blonde and gorgeous ✿ 20. cuddles on the couch 21. do you like him? 22. tba...

ACT III - "LETS GET MISCHIEVOUS"

tba...

ACT IV - "AND POLYAMOROUS"

tba...

TAGLIST @yelshin @alizaneth @red-chester @kisuchiyo @sunsinrinn @achy-boo @cerisearan @ceylestia @afoxesgreed @im-bili @pyrrhicgaze @victoria1676 @akagism2 @kokxm1 @rifran @squishychongyun @sharkiestory @cafezjjn @gautier-lei @scaramouche-slut @hangecanweholdhands @aixaingela @kay-stryker @giggles8899 @imma-too-many-fandoms @starryeyedkoko @awritingotaku @ittosoneandoniwife @sukunasrealgf @crowbird @jaeminbabygirl @rainbowsaz @h4chi @myaaones @haithamlove @jiminscarmex @istgnature @vvasant @dreamingkace @sunsethw4 @aludicpoet @just-simping-over-genshin @scarlet-kazuha @icedmocha1 @kittycasie @hydration-is-for-weenies @jayvolans @angelkazusstuff @ky-uuu @vanitasbrainrot @temshouineichi @kaoyamamegami @samyayaya @serenareiss

(tagged only on chapter updates)