First Meetings - Tumblr Posts

modern world/GO AU: katsudeku

so i thought of this for day 1 of katsudeku this morning while getting ready for adulting. the plan is to start writing this up after i put up this post (lol) also inspired by all the pokemon Go trash on my feeds

i made katsuki not as big a dick as canon just because his dekuanger is embedded in their quirks and childhood relationship (i believe) and here there is none of that. i was aiming for something like canon kiribaku

katsudeku day 1 #brainstormingthread from my twitter

1 day ago (7/14)

izukus bday is 7/15, katsukis bday is 4/20

first meeting! the day after izukus bday at a park where izuku accidentally bumps into katsuki??

they’re both playing GO but katsuki is a closet GO player who is slowly getting really into it

they both weren’t paying attention but katsuki blows up because keep outta the way ya damn nerd!

but izuku saw the game on katsukis phone before he could hide it and giggles, he starts pestering the other boy and even explains stuff about the game

he gets super excited because all his friends are already playing and know so much about it but here he can nerd out ‘for a good cause’

they have this ‘date’ and katsuki is panicking IS THIS A DATE and they plan to meet up again later

they exchange their contact info

5 hours later

turns out katsuki had been struggling to catch this pokemon because the ball wouldn’t fuckin go!! Izuku gets it on the first shot and katsuki mutters fuckin nerd but can’t REALLY be angry at the blinding smile directed at him

katsuki decides to call that pokemon fuckmunch in izukus honor and that becomes a habit, where he’ll be playing GO and can’t stop thinking about deku and he names pokemon after him like a dork

deku thinks the fuckmunch name is because katsuki is really angry but then comes to learn that angry is his default mood

one day katsuki calls him by some of the pokemon names he’s got saved and izuku realizes what’s happening because he’s observant as fuck the little dipshit

8 hours later

tying in the birthday prompt, deku’s phone is new! a birthday gift he received from All Might (idk relation yet) and first thing he does is play GO because his old phone would constantly crash but this one is so nice and NEW

when he exchanges numbers with katsuki, kacchan thinks he’s special because wow i’m his first contact (inner squeal) and that’s how katsuki thinks up dekus nickname

obviously he’s a hermit with no friends so midoriya ‘can’t do anything/deku’ izuku is perfect for him (he’s being a tsundick?)

but deku doesn’t get his nickname on their first meet. by the time he does get it deku knows katsukis mo so he fires back with kacchan and the names stick!

eventually katsuki finds out deku is very much social with two clingy, nosey, and overprotective friends 

1 hour later

katsuki also learns about a third friend Todo-something who is studying overseas who deku frequently talks with (he knows this because it’s the only number besides his that stays at the top of his sms messages

at this point deku explains the contact/new phone/birthday

katsuki gets deku a late present!

note: this has expanded longer than i thought it would so i’ll just keep editing and adding stuff as i think it up. i’d love to do a bit of fanart for this when i finally post it on ao3 (most likely just lineart xD)

"Watch where you're going ya damn nerd, damn it, can't even walk around town without one of you getting in the damn way!" (Pokemon GO AU)

deku's latest pokécatch

Read on Ao3

When everyone blew up about Pokémon GO Bakugou Katsuki swore he'd never ever play the damn game.

He ended up muting just about every person he followed on Twitter, stopped using Facebook (because my fuckin god even the teachers were playing!) and he shut off anyone who randomly stopped on the street to stare at their phones, catching whatever stupid Pikachu that'd shown up. So how the game ended up on his phone was quite the mystery (or not really, he knew it was that hair for brains asshole who'd been messing with his phone last week).

And now here he was, walking around downtown, having created his character and trying not to look like all the losers playing this shitty game.

Of course, it was easier said than done when it pissed him the fuck off. He was absolutely sure that he'd thrown the ball at the freakin bird cawing at him but the damn thing wouldn't go inside. No. In fact, the ball would go past the damn thing or it would disappear and he'd have to try again. He gripped his phone, tempted to smash it to the ground, "You little fucker-"

"AH!" his face was assaulted by dark green locks as he almost toppled over some stranger. The guy turned around quickly and shot him an apology but Katsuki short circuited. Are those really his natural eyes? which, fuck, now that he'd thought it he realized he shouldn't be one to talk. But they were just so...bright, and freckles. He didn't know many people with freckles...if any at all.

He scowled, "Watch where you're going ya damn nerd, damn it, can't even walk around town without one of you getting in the damn way!"

A blush immediately adorned the guy's face, "S-sorry, just, I-wait...are you playing too?"

Fuck. Katsuki stashed his phone in his pocket and growled at the stranger, "The hell I am!"

Continue on Ao3

Hide moves back to Japan and ends up meeting a ghost child [vamphide + ghostkaneki]

The Ghost Child, Ch1

Read on Ao3

Hide could feel something following him, a presence perhaps, ever since he moved back to Tokyo.

He was sure that nobody was actually there though because he'd looked into every room and every cabinet and every little space that could possibly hold life in his new home and nothing popped up. Not even a critter. Today marked the first week of constant glances behind him, of slightly shifted items in his house, and muttering during the night. He'd actually thought the muttering came from his next-door neighbor but when he asked about them, he'd learned he was the only inhabitant on the second floor.

"I can't do this anymore!" he exclaimed, pushing away his blankets.

Contrary to popular belief, vampires did have fears, and his was not knowing what was going on.

He reached over to his bedside table to grab his phone. Touka had to know something, after all, she had been the one who set him up at this apartment.  

"What do you want Nagachika," came her curt voice after the third ring.

"Ahh~ is that any way to talk with your resident vampire?" he teased, a grin easily wiping away the frustration he felt. If there was one thing he loved more than getting a fill of delicious blood, it was probably getting a rise out of the stoic and beautiful Touka.

"You do realize it's 2AM don't you?" there was shuffling on the other end and Hide could just imagine Touka reaching out for something on her bedside table. Probably those sleeping pills she took in order to sleep at night.

"About that..." he paused, not quite sure how to phrase his question, "you wouldn't happen to know of any...there aren't any...I mean, I know there's probably other creatures out in the world since I'm a vampire and all-"

"Just spit it out!!"

Hide gulped and lowered his voice. He even cupped the phone closer to him, "Is my house...haunted?"

Silence answered him.

"It is isn't it!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms and using his shoulder to cradle his phone, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Look, it's not a big deal, you're a vampire, whatever is there isn't going to hurt you. Probably can't touch-"

"It's a bit late Touka, thanks a bunch but I gotta go now!"

"Hide, wait, don't just-"

And Hide hung up the phone. He was 100% sure Touka was going to make him pay for it later but at this point he didn't care. A ghost in his house? He had to find it! Find out who they were, why they were here, what did they eat...actually, did ghosts eat? What had they been mumbling about? Hide had heard it a couple times but had never actually paid attention to the words, more preoccupied with shutting the sounds off. Could they really not touch anything?

He had so many questions!!

---

Ken watched as the strange man who now lived in his home ran around his room grabbing clothes. It looked like he was in a hurry but that only confused him. It was still dark outside and he knew nothing was open. His mom did say all the shops closed at 9 at night and opened when the sun came up. But then, this person was strange from the very first time Ken had seen him.

He didn't eat food like Ken remembered doing when he woke up in the mornings or when he came back from school. The man also put on makeup before going out sometimes. Not a lot but enough to change the way he looked. Without the makeup, he looked a bit sick but when he used the little powders, a bit of color came back to his skin. Honestly, Ken liked how the man looked without the makeup. It made him look a little more like he did, someone without color. He raised his hand to his face and could still see the man moving around his room.

A backpack, his wallet, some money.

That's when the man turned around quickly but Ken was quicker. He merged back into the wall where he had been hiding and waited until he heard movement again. He peered into the room only to hear the man whistling a happy tune. They had also been playing this game for a week now. Ken wasn't sure why he hid from the man but he naturally did it and so continued to do so. He shook his head. No, that wasn't entirely true...

"I'll be back later Mr. Ghost!"

Ken smiled a little and whispered, "Ok"

---

Now that Hide knew that there was a ghost in his house, he felt more at ease. Sure, he had so many questions and knew next to nothing about ghosts but that's where his late night visit to campus had been for. He fished for the keys in his pocket, balancing a precarious amount of books in one hand and a grocery bag in another. He wasn't technically allowed in the university until the next semester but breaking into colleges was one of the easiest things in the world!

"I'm home!" he exclaimed as he entered. Again, nobody responded but Hide liked to think the ghost heard him and acknowledged him.

He deposited all the books in his hands on the living room table, unpacked all the others in his bag, and left the grocery bag on the floor. He had picked out some books on both vampires and ghosts. Since he didn't know about his little transparent friend, chances were they didn't know about him either. Especially if he was confined to this apartment. He made a mental note to ask about how far they could travel.

As he was laying out the books he felt the presence again but this time, he resisted the urge to turn towards them. Instead, he started to speak, "Hey, Mr. Ghost...I went to the library to check out some books after my friend told me you were here. You're actually the first ghost I've ever encountered, which is saying a lot because I'm really old, hmm, though maybe you are too. Do ghosts live a long time? Anyways, I thought we could be friends and just get to know each other, what do you say?"

It was still quiet and Hide briefly wondered if ghosts could even hear...that would actually be a problem, would they know sign language? Maybe they could both learn it and-

Hide smiled at the transparent figure peering out at him from behind the little TV he'd bought ages ago.

"I knew we'd finally meet!" he exclaimed and then promptly coughed, apologizing, "uh, sorry, I'm...naturally loud."

The ghost that had nearly disappeared into his wall appeared again and Hide could see that it was only a child. He blinked, weren't ghosts people who died and couldn't pass on? Did that mean this child had died at, what, age ten or something? His brows wrinkled slightly at the thought.

"Come on, sit over here, I won't bite..." or can't bite you at least, Hide thought.

The child seemed to ponder his invitation but Hide knew he'd won when those grey eyes moved to the pile of books and slightly sparkled? Did ghost eyes sparkle? He wasn't sure but he'd seen interest in them! The boy floated over and knelt before the table on Hide's opposite side.

"There we are! That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Hide grinned, "By the way, I'm Hideyoshi Nagachika but you can call me Hide!"

The ghost boy nodded slightly, "I'm...my name is...Ken..."

Hide waited a second longer, wondering if he'd get the rest of his name but when nothing escaped those small lips he just smiled, "That's a great name! Hey, do you like to read?"

The boy nodded shyly and if he weren't a ghost (and therefore monochrome), Hide was sure he'd be sporting a blush.

"That's good because I brought us some books to look at about ghosts-" he noticed the boy flinch slightly "-and vampires, oh I'm a vampire but don't worry! I'm not like the ones you hear about in myths or anything," he quickly assured the boy. He scratched his cheek, "well, not entirely at least."

---

Ken listened to the man - Hide - talk while he skimmed through the books he'd brought back. A couple of them were harder to follow, courtesy of him being a child, but others he was able to read without problems. He wasn't sure he liked the facts that were written about his state of...unliving, and more so about vampires! Part of him was glad that he couldn't be touched because as much as Hide was nice and smiled big and had a bright mop of hair...if he were like the big fanged creatures that tore at people's throats...well, Ken didn't want to end up like those people! Coming back like mindless zombies.

Something must have shown on his face because Hide began to laugh. It was loud like everything else about him and Ken felt a bit anxious, had he done something wrong?

"Come on Ken, don't go, just, the look on your face," he grinned, "I guess I haven't seen someone look at me like that in a while."

Ken wondered if that was because people didn't know he was a vampire or (he shuddered) because people didn't even get the chance to...

"Ok, how about this, why don't we stop reading these because honestly, they're a load of bull, dying from light exposure and stakes through the heart? Our heart is dead, why would it matter if you pierce it or not?" Hide shook his head dramatically as he placed a pale hand to his chest, "And instead we tell each other the real facts? How does that sound?"

Ken watched those brown eyes smile at him. It was nothing sinister either. All Ken could see was curiosity and lightheartedness. He remembered his mother's words about not trusting strangers because they always had ulterior motives, but this vampire...he didn't seem so bad to him.

He smiled back, "OK"

---

A/N:

thanks for reading! i wanted to do something hidekane but this idea wouldn't let go of me so i just ended up writing it xD

Gift for Daiyanerd: Miyuki Kazuya. Always cool and collected. Has a great side profile. Good at baseball. Well, no, great is the correct word. (sofa’21)

Moratorium

Read on Ao3

ONE

Miyuki Kazuya

Always cool and collected. Has a great side profile. Good at baseball. Well, no, great is the correct word. Even when he sometimes messes up some of the smaller plays. Reliable. Daring. Funny. Charming. Has probably had a dozen girlfriends, or maybe not. Nobody has been able to get any concrete answer on that one question, but he's definitely a lady's man, his fan club primarily consisting of girls and women that claim they would leave their current lives just to marry him if he so much as hinted interest. Or at least that's what many of the magazines, both sports and gossip ones say about him

Not to be too full of himself, but Kazuya thinks that much of what they say has some foundation. Yeah, people like Yoichi and Jun know better but he has to agree that his catching skills are unparalleled. He might also really like sending magazine covers with blown up images of his smiling (smirking) face to Yoichi just to get a scathing reply or an angry call. His only response is his lady killer (annoying) laugh

He knows he's always being watched by someone, but it completely slips his mind that anything could go wrong on that day

The headlines are brutal and he's gotten many messages and calls from his friends. He hasn't really answered because, well, he hasn't been able to. But he knows what they're saying. He's laying at the hospital with bandages covering most of his torso. He has a sense of deja vu, having been in a similar position when he'd been in high school, but this is much, much worse. Something happened and everyone is scrambling to find out what

Everyone except Rei, who has been detained. The tabloids are lapping this up like it's the sip of water they've finally been allowed after being stuck in a desert for months. Except that they're ruining the lives of the people Kazuya loves the most

He sees different news channels trying to get interviews from the few people that make up his friends. They want to know about Rei from high school. They've dug up her whole life's story and put it on full blast. They want to know about Kazuya, as if they haven't already told all there is to say, invented and created his whole career. They talk about how Rei pretty much scouted him from a very young age. The same women that claim they would do anything for Kazuya have turned razer sharp, claiming that "they knew it all along" and that Rei "had it coming"

They all twist the information for entertainment and Kazuya closes his eyes, disgusted at what they say about her.

There had been an accident. His car had been hit and he knows he needed surgery. Later they found out it was all a setup and he went from being one of the richest people and baseball players in Japan to having nothing. His career may as well be over. It will take too long for him to recover. Games won't wait.

Kazuya throws the remote in his hand and wants to tell them all its lies. He knows Rei would never do something like this. She's smart. It doesn't make sense. As much as Rei will follow a gut instinct, especially if it's about recruiting potential, it's always based on logic. There is no logic here.

His name flashes on multiple headlines and all he wants to scream is no, I didn't she say she stole my money!

The machines connected to his body have been beeping for a while now and finally, nurses and doctors run in. They try to get him to calm down but all he can do is repeat It wasn't her! It wasn't her! Rei would never! Tell them to stop!

Soon he feels drowsy and he realizes he's been sedated.

Before he closes his eyes he sees a picture of Rei next to the news anchor. Her hair is down, her eyes look haunted, but her posture is proud. She's not in her usual suit. Instead, she's wearing that dreaded green top, almost drowning her, making her pale skin paler. She doesn't look right. It's not the Rei he knows. The Rei he owes everything to.

He feels the tears burn his eyes.

----

TWO.

It takes a little over a year for things to "settle" down, but once the storm is over, everything is ruined.

Kazuya still manages to get his face blown up on magazine covers, but this time it's for a different reason. He's now considered a victim and he hates the images of him being wheeled out of the hospital. Of the tabloids somehow getting a shot of his bloodshot eyes, his pale skin, and his hunched shoulders. He wishes his attorney had allowed Kazuya to do something, but everything was too precarious, we have to be careful. Careful of what? He can no longer play baseball. He was already pushing the age of acceptability, only being allowed to continue contracts because he was so good, was still quick, was dedicated in mind, body, and soul to the game. But now he was injured, would be in rehab, and nobody knew if he'd still be able to move as great as before. Nobody would take that risk

Rei is finally released, but her life is ruined too. Hers is worse than Kazuya's will ever be. Not just because she's the supposed mastermind of the accident and subsequent disappearance of his capital, but because she's a woman. It's made him sick how she's been torn apart and left behind. She had already been forcefully (through great results) making her own space at the table. This was just the excuse to make her disappear. Nobody wanted a criminal as their associate. The label was tarnished and it would take time to rebuild their name. "Apologies" had been passed around, but nobody would take the risk of allowing her space again

Nobody thought to ask her side of the story, to reach out and help. She was alone. Nobody could legally take what she's rightfully earned, but they can pile fines upon fines. She is "free to go" but they have severely limited what she can do.

It only makes sense that she finally retires. Kazuya goes to see her with the Seidou team. He breaks when he finally sees what they've done to her, all in "his name", to "protect him". Rei is strong, logical, smart, but she can't help but allow herself to show a bit of emotion at that moment. She wipes away at Kazuya's face, "There's nothing left for me here and there's no use crying. The only way to go now is forward."

Chris recommends that Kazuya go to the same rehab facility he went to in America.

Kazuya doesn't want to leave. It feels like admitting defeat, like running away, like he's abandoning his friends.

Yoichi grits his teeth, tells Kazuya he wants to punch him for being so stupid, "But hitting an injured person isn't my style, even though it's YOU."

There is little progress on his health, both physical and mental, and then Yoichi, who has been singlehandedly taking care of him whenever he has a moment to spare, nearly begs him, "Kazuya, please. Go. Don't let this defeat you. I don't want to admit it but I miss seeing that stupidly smug look on your face. Remember what Rei said. You have to keep moving forward!"

He can't help but laugh one night when he can't sleep, Yoichi's words and his concerned face plaguing his mind. He can't believe he almost let this defeat him. He can't believe he was down enough to force his best friend to make such a face, to make him cry for his sake. He feels like he's let everyone down, especially Rei.

He calls Chris a few days later.

Before leaving, he logs into his Twitter account, which, like any other media source, he's been avoiding for the past year. Someone has obviously logged in and cleared his notifications and as his last stand, no first, because even now "they have to be careful", Kazuya quote RTs an article he hasn't even read, but he doesn't need to. He chooses it because it has one of those headlines. He presses send and logs out.

I NEVER said she stole my money.

----

THREE.

It's two years when he finally comes back to Japan. His rehab had ended months ago but there was a part of him that had been afraid to come back. He's sure Yoichi had sensed it, which is why he'd pretty much dragged him back.

He remembers the conversation they had. It had been really late in Japan, he's sure that Yoichi was on the verge of passing out, could hear every yawn he tried to hide, but he wouldn't let Kazuya hang up, "I'm not hanging up until you agree."

Kazuya sighs, "There's nothing for me to do out there anyway. Here, I've been helping at the hospital."

"But you don't even like that kind of stuff! I bet you're bored out of your mind," Yoichi countered, and Kazuya has to admit that he's not exactly wrong. He misses the excitement from the diamond, feeling the burn on his thighs as he squats behind the batter, signaling different plays to his catchers, the feel of the ball as it lands perfectly in his gloved palm, the roar of the crowd as they once more strikeout another enemy batter. But he can't have any of that. This year Kazuya turns 30 and he has become stiff. He can't move as dexterously as before.

He hears some shuffling on the other end, as if Yoichi is changing positions on his bed, "Look. Not many people know this but...this is actually my last year playing."

Kazuya freezes at that. He knows Yoichi is still keeping up with his own records, has won his team countless matches for his boldness, knows they would never want to let him go. He briefly fears that maybe an injury is involved but shakes his head. No, Yoichi would tell him if that's the case, so then, "Why?"

"That's why I called and I need you to come back," there's another pause, not long, "I'm getting married."

Kazuya blanks out for a moment and then stops what he's doing altogether (he turns off the stove, he'd been making breakfast but this is more important. Besides, he had almost been done), "Married? Did you kidnap some poor girl? I haven't even heard of you dating."

"KAZUYA," he hears Yoichi yell, "I didn't kidnap anyone! And that's because my PR team has been making sure to keep things tightly sealed, and I guess we also haven't been able to see each other much too." That last part is mumbled but Kazuya catches it anyway.

Kazuya hums, still disbelieving, but only slightly. He knows Yoichi wouldn't kid about something like this so if he says he's getting married, he's getting married, "Congratulations then. Not sure how someone found you husband material, but they do say there's a type for everyone. How'd you meet her?"

"You are such a dick," Yoichi hisses, "How are we still even friends?"

Kazuya sometimes wonders the same thing. Yoichi has been with him at his best and worst and has never given up on him. He laughs, "My great personality?"

Yoichi snorts right before laughing, "Yeah right. Anyway, so I met this guy-"

"A husband?" Kazuya cuts him off, genuinely curious, but also can't help but tease, "You hid it so well with all those magazines. I'm sure nobody suspected. No wonder your team is doing such a great job at hiding this."

Yoichi yells into the phone, "Let me finish asshole! No! It's not a guy, her name is Wakana! And she's the childhood friend of this guy I met!"

Kazuya makes a tsk noise, "Yoichi, did you steal her from this guy? Are you a homewrecker?"

Instead of getting mad, Yoichi snorts, "As if. Can you believe Wakana was actually in love with Sawamoron for years and he didn't realize."

Kazuya adds, "So you seduced her?" before Yoichi can continue with the story.

"No? I mean, I'm not sure," but they both know that Yoichi probably couldn't seduce anyone even if he tried. Charmed, yes, but outright seduce? And a girl he liked? Very unlikely, "But she'd been tired of waiting and so I met her after she'd confessed and he rejected her."

"Hmm," Kazuya interrupts again, "So you took advantage when she was down. That makes more sense. She was probably so down about being rejected she would have said yes to anyone. Sadly that someone was you."

Yoichi is flabbergasted, "Take advantage?! MIYUKI, that's not- I'd never - just let me finish!"

Kazuya laughs, "Ok, ok. So how did you meet her? I won't interrupt again."

Just like that, Yoichi calms down and Kazuya notes the happiness in his voice as he laughs, not at Kazuya, but at something, the memory perhaps, and Kazuya is slightly jealous. He's not sure at what or who.

"So this kid, Sawamura, we were going to meet up at the park. He had something to tell me, but then I see him running after this girl, yelling about money or something. So I cut her off-"

Kazuya can't help but laugh, "Y-Yoichi, did you, did you attack the poor girl?"

"Didn't you say you weren't going to interrupt?!" Yoichi screeches, but he starts laughing a bit too, "And no, I didn't attack her but, well..."

There's a groan on the other end and Kazuya can imagine his best friend blushing to the tips of his ears, "I pulled her by the arm and she was surprised, but then she did something and next thing I know I'm on the ground, looking up at her and Sawamura is laughing like he's seen the most hilarious thing ever!"

He wonders if that kid was laughing as hard as he is now. He feels the tears tickling his eyes, his cheeks hurt, and he feels the force of his laugh pulling on his stomach, "I already like the girl. What happened next?"

Yoichi lets him laugh but his voice is annoyed, not at him he notes, but at what happens next, "So Sawamoron comes up finally and he knows the girl and I'm confused and just got thrown to the ground by a girl that doesn't even reach my chin, and I ask him why he was yelling about a thief, because that's what he was doing."

More shifting on Yoichi's end, "And you know what he said to me?"

"What?"

"He goes "I never said she stole my money!" so I knock him over the head because yeah, he's right, he was YELLING IT. Everyone in the goddamn park heard it! Made him buy me dinner and everything."

Kazuya feels a lump in his throat but pushes it aside, he turns the stove on again to finish preparing his breakfast, "I guess for Wakana I can go back. When's the wedding? And will I be your best man?"

----

FOUR.

Kazuya hasn't even been home a month when Yoichi walks into his apartment with their old Seidou team. Everyone seems to be there, even the first years like Ryo's little brother and Furuya. There really isn't anything Kazuya can do but move aside so that everyone can come inside. At the end of the group, right after the first years enter, he spots someone he doesn't know. A kid with unruly brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin who looks slightly nervous. His posture is too stiff but he's also looking around curiously.

Yoichi notices Kazuya looking at him and comes over for introductions. He pulls the kid into a side hug, "Kazuya, this is Sawamura, Wakana's friend."

Kazuya looks him over. He's heard a few things about him from Yoichi, "So this is Sawamoron?" he teases. He can't help the lift of his lips as the kid splutters in indignation.

A high pitched, "Kuramochi-senpai! You can't call me that anymore, we're practically family now!"

Yoichi howls, slapping the kid on the back, "You're always going to be a moron Sawamura, hyahaha!"

Sawamura grits his teeth for a second before standing up straight, stretching out his hand towards Kazuya, "Good afternoon, It's a pleasure to meet you! My name is Sawamura Eijun! Thank you for inviting me!!"

Kazuya looks at the outstretched hand for a moment before he doubles over laughing. Sawamura let's out another unidentified sound before yelling, "That's so rude Miyuki Kazuya!!" but he hasn't dropped his arm.

Kazuya takes a breath, isn't surprised he knows his name (briefly wonders if he knows who he is), right before taking that tanned hand into his own. Sawamura's hold is firm, if a bit sweaty, nerves probably, "Well, as you so clearly let my neighbors know, my name is Miyuki Kazuya." He pauses, "And I didn't invite you."

Sawamura pales slightly, looks over to Yoichi who just makes a rude noise, "Really Kazuya? You have to be a dick right off the bat?"

Kazuya only smiles brightly, finally letting go of the kid's hand, looks around his house, and says, "Actually, I didn't invite any of you over. Why are you all here?"

The others have already settled into his kitchen and, he peers through the doorway, there are bottles of coke and beer and the smell of oily pizza in the air. Jun has already made himself at home on his couch, a paper plate with a pizza on it. He's halfway into that slice and Kazuya doesn't know why Jun didn't just take an extra slice or two with him before settling down. Ryo and Haruichi are putting things in his fridge. He realizes now how empty his fridge must have been. He had been meaning to go grocery shopping but he supposes he hadn't had the energy to go. Kanemaru is clearing up some of the boxes he had yet to unbox, reading the labels Chris had helped him write, and arranging them accordingly.

He knows that many of these guys are still part of the leagues, wonders how they managed to take a moment to raid his home (notices a few faces are missing, like Yuki but he would have been REALLY surprised if they'd managed to get him to come over). He remembers how they'd made it a routine to visit him when they were at Seidou, knowing he could get lost in strategizing and numbers quickly. He feels a penetrating gaze and turns to see the new kid watching him intently. Kazuya can't help the grin that grows on his face and it's finally starting to feel like home.

He motions the two in, "Well, you may as well come in. Everyone is already inside. Feel free to raid my fridge and make a mess in my new kitchen."

Yoichi laughs, pulling Sawamura inside with him. The kid still looks slightly off-balance, but he sits next to the first years like he belongs and he wonders why this picture looks so right.

Yoichi dives in for the last slice of pepperoni pizza just as Sawamura is about to reach for it and then loudly exclaims, "Hey Kazuya, wanna hear something funny?"

Kazuya has already grabbed his own plate and he wonders how he missed all of these pizza boxes when they first came inside. He grabs one with sausage and mushroom, "Hm?"

"So while we were getting the pizza, we sent Sawamura to go get the drinks, right?"

Sawamura, who had just taken a drink from his can of soda, instantly spits it out and Kazuya is both intrigued and disgusted as he sees the drink mixed with spit cover his table, "Kuramochi-senpai, don't!"

He sees Kanemaru chuckling and Jun roars from the living room. Apparently, there were many witnesses to this apparently funny story. Haruichi pats Sawamura's back softly while the kid's face glows red. Kazuya is momentarily worried he might faint but then curiosity wins out, "Oh?"

Yoichi and he share a look, "Get this, we all gave him our share, right? So he goes in and comes back all mad, saying we didn't give him the right amount, but then, but then," It seems the rest of it is too funny for Yoichi to continue because he starts laughing and he notices Sawamura cover his face. He mumbles something but Kazuya doesn't catch it.

Ryo helps him out. He's also amused, a smirk on his face, "The girl stole his change."

Sawamura uncovers his face and yells, "I never said she stole my money!"

There's a moment of silence before...

Jun. He'd come back into the kitchen to get more pizza, "Who else could it have been? Had to be the girl at the counter, or did you just give up your money?"

Kuramochi, "Easy prey, how you're even a teacher is beyond me."

Kanemaru, "Wait. So it wasn't the cashier?"

Even Kazuya can't help but ask, laughter tickling his words, "Emphasis on "she"?"

Sawamura seems to realize his error and covers his face again. He's mumbling again but instead of being annoyed by the bad habit, Kazuya thinks it's almost cute.

"Haruichi?" Ryo questions and Sawamura uncovers his face to yell, "Onii-san! That's not fair! Haruichi you can't tell, you promised!"

Haruichi is looking back and forth between them, "Well..."

Then Furuya explains all, "He was flirting with the delivery guy."

It somehow gets even louder inside his house and Kazuya can't believe he thought of not returning. It's true that his baseball career is over, but this is where his family is at. This is where his life is truly at. He laughs until the tears in his eyes fall.

They spend hours getting him up to speed on gossip.

----

FIVE.

Even though he's only known Sawamura for a few days, maybe weeks, he's the one that keeps Kazuya company the most. And there's a big reason for that named Kuramochi Yoichi. Even though, or perhaps because, it's nearing the end of his contract, Yoichi gets busier. There are some rumors as to why he's finally leaving baseball, but just like he'd told Kazuya, everything is still under wraps. There are no incriminating photos and no face to put to those rumors jealous girls spread online. Kazuya wonders how things will turn out once Yoichi fesses up but until then, Sawamura becomes his shadow

One, he's not bound to such a strenuous schedule (Yoichi told him Sawamura is the grade school teacher at one of the local schools not far from Kazuya's new place. His new house is conveniently placed so close because it will soon be Kazuya's new workplace and they just happen to be on break now), and second...well, Kazuya's not sure. Yoichi didn't want to tell him. Not exactly

He remembers the last time he actually met up with his best friend.

Yoichi had invited him over for dinner and Sawamura had come up somehow (Kazuya comes to realize that Sawamura comes up in their lives very often). Yoichi had been contemplative. They'd just finished watching a movie and were just sitting there in the dark, the credits rolling.

"You know. If Sawamura had actually been interested in Wakana...I don't think I'd have ever had a chance with her. There's just something about him...he's so..." Yoichi makes vague hand movements, "you know?"

Kazuya laughs and wonders if this is what best men have to deal with with their to-be grooms. Jitters, he's heard them called, but he was sure this feeling was supposed to happen days before the wedding, not so far ahead when there wasn't even a date finalized, "Already second-guessing the married life?"

Yoichi doesn't even take the bait. He just sighs and leans back on the couch, "No, I'm serious. There's just something about Sawamura, he's so honest and hardworking. I can see why Wakana liked him."

"Careful, or I might start to think you actually want to marry Sawamura instead."

Yoichi kicks him halfheartedly, "Dumbass."

Their feet are still touching and Yoichi nudges him, "He's a good kid you know."

Kazuya leans out to grab his drink from the low table, takes a sip, "He does seem like it. Although he's a bit..." He tries to find the right word. Dense? Airheaded? No..."innocent?"

Yoichi laughs, "Yes! The stories I could tell you."

It gets quiet and Kazuya enjoys it. It's been years since the two of them have done something like this.

Yoichi breaks the silence again, "You know...Rei actually tried scouting him."

Kazuya takes another swig of his drink, deep, and tries to wash away the feelings of guilt. He hasn't spoken to Rei since the incident. Hasn't really asked about her although he knows she's ok, thanks to Chris

But he's curious now. If Rei had been interested in him then he was undoubtedly good talent, "What happened?"

Yoichi scoffs, "The idiot turned her down! Said he didn't need any fancy schools to play baseball."

Kazuya can't help the snort he lets out into his drink. He hasn't known Sawamura long but he can somehow imagine the face he'd make, how loud he would yell that statement with conviction, "Too bad." He's sure Sawamura could have been someone if he'd come to Seidou and he somehow feels cheated of something

"What position?"

"Pitcher, a southpaw, nasty throw," Yoichi grips his cup tightly. He looks over at him, "He's not a professional but he does still play."

It's a subtle nudge that Kazuya ignores.

Which is probably why he finds Sawamura so often on his doorstep.

Today he's managed to wrangle Kazuya out of his house, but only because it's work-related. The summer heat isn't terrible today so the two decide to walk and even though it's not that far, Kazuya finds himself lightly perspiring. Perhaps he's let himself go more than he thought, and he begins planning a timetable to get his fitness in a better state. Meanwhile, Sawamura is all smiles

"Hurry up Miyuki Kazuya!" He's already at the side door, opening it with his staff key, and Kazuya wonders if they should even be here. There are hardly any cars parked outside and the school is obviously void of children. Classes don't start until next week

"You don't have to call me by my full name," Kazuya tells him as he enters the building. Sawamura slides past him after closing the door, making sure it locks properly, "You can call me Miyuki-senpai."

"What?!" Sawamura's voice echoes in the hallway, "Why should I call you that?!"

"Because you're younger," he pats Sawamura's head and grins, "And smaller."

He slaps his hand away, a blush on his face, "I'm not small! And you're not even that much taller!!"

He stands closer to Kazuya and points at the few centimeters difference between them. Kazuya pushes him back, "Miyuki-senpai."

Sawamura just rolls his eyes and continues walking, "You really do have a terrible personality Miyuki Kazuya!"

Kazuya just laughs, "Thanks!"

"Not a compliment!" Sawamura yells and then points to the rooms in the hall they're in, "I'm usually here with the kids. Since the school isn't that big you'll probably get kids as young as eight and as old as thirteen in your class too, since you're the only gym teacher until Kuramochi-senpai gets married."

Kazuya nods, "Ok, Sawamura...sensei."

Kazuya notes how easy it is to rile up Sawamura. How his face will quickly turn red and his lips will form pouts or grimaces, his body reacting so honestly so quickly. Now he brings up his hands to cover his ears as he yells, "Don't call me that!!"

"Then stop calling me by my full name, it's weird."

"MIYUKI KA-"

Kazuya somehow manages to raise his voice enough to speak over Sawamura, "So Sawamura-sensei, where do the kids go out to play? Sensei?"

Sawamura looks like he's about to burst and goes off yelling. Miyuki follows him, laughing, their voices echoing in tandem

They end up outside behind the school somewhere. Even though it's small, Kazuya is impressed by how well maintained it is. There is a small playground to the side, which has been recently repainted, signs marking the walls and tape clearly discouraging anyone from touching. The mats at the bottom look worn but not in bad shape. Then there is a track that circles what looks like enough field to be a neighborhood. Most of it is empty and Sawamura's talking about how sometimes the kids will go out there and play soccer or volleyball or really whatever sports they need that requires a lot of space. The only place that looks like it truly has a defined purpose is the baseball field.

He feels excited and scared at the same time, wants to run to home plate, to feel the dirt path against his feet, crouch, and take in the view. But he also thinks this is a bad idea. Maybe he shouldn't have come here, shouldn't have accepted the job. He knows why they want him, why they're willing to wait a year for Yoichi to come and teach. He's not sure if he can take the pressure

"Miyuki-senpai," he turns to Sawamura, who is pouting.

He's not sure why he feels himself calm down, perhaps it's because he'll take any distraction, even if it's loud Sawamura, or maybe it's because Sawamura looks ridiculous with his cheeks puffed out and his eyebrows scrunched up between his eyes. Kazuya smiles. It hurts a bit to do so, "Is this all just for the little gremlins? Lucky them, I didn't have something so big at my disposal when I was at school."

Sawamura suddenly inflates as he grins, "Yeah me neither! I'm from the countryside from a school even smaller than this! Wakana and I had to go to the other side of town with our friends if we wanted to play baseball. That's sort of what it's like here too. We share with some of the other schools and really anyone is welcome to come here as long as the kids aren't out playing."

"Wakana, huh," Kazuya notes. He hasn't actually met the bride-to-be yet, "Is she in the habit of taking people's money?"

Sawamura looks confused and perhaps a bit upset, "What?"

Kazuya only smirks, "I heard how Yoichi met her."

Understanding fills his eyes and he groans, "I keep telling Kuramochi-senpai not to tell that story! It's all lies! Lies! Come on, let's go to the gym, your to-be base."

They head back inside and Kazuya feels the smile that spreads on his face is lighter, amused. It's relaxing being with Sawamura, "So what, she wasn't stealing your money?"

"No!" Sawamura defends, "I never said she stole my money! It was all a misunderstanding!!"

"So what? She was just borrowing it?" Kazuya pushes and can't help but laugh as Sawamura goes red.

"I-It, my, NO! She just grabbed my wallet!! But she wasn't stealing it!"

----

SIX.

Kazuya hasn't been teaching for long when it's time to prepare for Sports Day and he forgets how tiring it can be. Sawamura is ecstatic the whole week leading up to the moment all the kids are let loose to run and play, and he's not sure how the flow of energy works, who feeds off who, but everyone seems to be ready to burst with enthusiasm by then. Kazuya feels like he's the only one who is burnt out. He's not usually used to so much happening, at least not like this

The school asks him to give an encouraging speech before the event begins, which Sawamura jealously admits had been his job the last two years, but he grins all the same. He encourages him to do his best, just like he does to the children and Kazuya isn't sure if he should be offended or glad when he feels the flat of Sawamura's palm on his back.

By then, Yoichi has finally wrapped things up with his team. He still has a few more interviews scheduled, but he's essentially removed himself (as much as he can) from the public eye. He's announced he's going to get married and has been asked many times about his to-be wife, but just like Kazuya, everyone is kept in the dark. On the few nights Yoichi manages to call him, to check up on him, Kazuya teases that maybe this is the most elaborate plan he's ever seen, that maybe this Wakana girl doesn't even exist

Yoichi just laughs, "What? Is The Great Miyuki Kazuya actually curious?"

Kazuya scoffs, "Of course not, and don't call me that. I can't get Sawamura to stop, I don't want you doing the same. It's so weird."

They talk until they're both ready to pass out but Yoichi tells him he'll be there and that he'll bring Wakana too. There's something strange with the way he says this but it's late, they've both been up for too long, and Kazuya doesn't remember the unease the next day

He doesn't remember until Sports Day, right before it happens.

It's usually a big event with parents and friends and the neighborhood coming by to see all their children perform at their best. This school is slightly different because of its size. It isn't just their kids (as Sawamura likes to say and Kazuya, reluctantly, has started to call his students), but a few students from two or three of the neighboring smaller schools. He's never seen the field so packed with kids. There are also a lot of cameras and flashing and suddenly Kazuya feels uncomfortably warm. This year it's not only locals that are here. He can see various news channels documenting the event and there are probably other labels walking around, trying to figure out what the next scoop will be. Or perhaps they've already been hinting at it but Kazuya has been avoiding all the gossip. He briefly wonders if they're here for him and while this might be slightly true, he's sure they're more likely to be here to catch a glimpse of Yoichi and Wakana

He decides to stick with Sawamura for most of the day.

Sawamura seems to be oblivious to all the attention, focusing on the kids, high-fiving everyone who is going to race, yelling encouragements as they pass him by, and yelling out happily as the kids make the baskets and reach the finish lines. Kazuya tries to show his support as well and Sawamura drags him from one event to the next. The parents love him as much as the children do. He briefly wonders if Sawamura will have any voice left for the next day

It's around the time the kids finally get their break for lunch (and that Sawamura pulls him over to an empty patch of grass so that they can finally rest as well, how Kazuya was able to crouch for hours on end before is almost a mystery to him now, he really HAS let himself go) that he starts to hear them

"I didn't say she stole MY money. Did you really not know?" "Is she REALLY here? "The NERVE of her." "We should tell the principal to kick her out. Where is she?"

Everything starts to go quiet as Kazuya looks around. There are too many people around, but he manages to find her by the fence behind the diamond. She's looking right at him and Kazuya feels himself stop breathing for a moment. He isn't sure what he was expecting but she looks exactly like she did three years ago, except somehow better. Her hair is up in her typical bun, she's wearing a pink button-up with her trademark pencil skirt. There's a small coat hanging off her arm, which is the only sign he has that she plans to stay for the whole of the day's events.

He gets up, ignores Sawamura's confused, "Miyuki-senpai?" and goes to meet her.

He remembers how Yoichi had sounded over the phone the other day and realizes that when he said her, he hadn't meant Wakana, he had meant Rei. She's smiling at him and once they're close enough, she says, "Miyuki Kazuya, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Rei," he all but whispers and he notices people are looking, the cameras are pointing in their direction and he smiles. He's so happy and relieved to see her. He wonders why he hadn't tried contacting her before, where the guilt and fear have gone. He thanks Yoichi, will thank him later as well, for always doing things like this for him, I'm the worst friend, aren't I? He can already see Yoichi's annoyed face as he threatens to punch him if he says anything so stupid again. He laughs, "It's been way too long. I'm sorry."

He finally has the chance to really apologize for everything, to offer his support, to ask how she's been doing, and he marvels at how Seidou is truly a family. His old teammates haven't just been trying to get him to move forward, they have also been helping Rei regain a semblance of her old life.

When they part, it turns into a game. They both know how things will go so they are bold, they grin, and take each other's hands in a firm shake.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you on the field in the future." It's not a question.

"Of course." It's a promise.

At the end of the day, Sawamura and he are the last to leave the school since Sawamura offered to stay and clean up (and with him Kazuya). The sun is already on the verge of setting and Kazuya can't wait to take a bath and then crawl into bed. He doesn't want to wake up until a week from now.

As they're walking home (or really walking to his house because even now, he's never really asked where Sawamura lives, he imagines not far), Kazuya notices how quiet Sawamura is. He bumps his side with his shoulder, "Lost your voice with all that yelling?"

Sawamura looks over at him and shakes his head. Kazuya is momentarily mesmerized by this side of Sawamura. Quiet, almost shy. He's not pouting or angry, his features calm, slightly sharp on his handsome face. The remaining rays of the sun make his eyes look slightly gold and Kazuya wonders why he's suddenly noticing these things, "What's wrong then?"

The temperature had dropped enough that they were now comfortably wearing jerseys. Sawamura mumbles into the collar of his jersey and Kazuya is annoyed, but only slightly. It's that bad habit of Sawamura's and he wonders if he could tease those mumbled words out of him, is about to do that when Sawamura stops walking, closes his eyes, and yells out, "Do you like Miss Rei?!"

Kazuya is left speechless. At least that answers his other teasing question. Sawamura is as loud as always, "What?"

Sawamura opens his eyes, he's blushing and he can't seem to look him in the eye, "Well, there were those rumors...and then today...I mean, she's really pretty and just..." He goes quiet.

There's a lot here he wants to clear up, but he figures he should start with Sawamura's question, "No. At least, not really."

There's a question in those golden-brown eyes and Kazuya continues to explain, "I'm sure everyone on the baseball team liked her at one point. We were all teenagers and she's a really attractive woman, but that's it. Rei...she scouted me, believed that I could go far, pushed me, pretty much built my whole career. She's not really like my mom, not really an older sister...but yeah, like family."

They're both surprised by how honest he's been, which leads him to his own question, "Rumors? So you knew who I was. Is that why you called me by my full name?"

Sawamura looks embarrassed, "Yeah. I, I was curious about Seidou. I bet Kuramochi-senpai already told you about Rei and her coming to scout me?"

Kazuya nods.

They start walking again, "Well, I started seeing your name come up a lot. I always had trouble with my own catchers, I wasn't very good, sometimes my throws would go wild. I guess. I mean, they felt right, but Wakana, she was my main catcher, it was hard for her to catch them. Anyway, I started following your career. And just, well, then that happened and the rumors..."

They're quiet for a moment. Kazuya thinking back to how Yoichi had called Sawamura's pitch a nasty throw, the way Rei had pointed out Sawamura's staring while they talked and how Kazuya should catch for him, "When I saw him pitch, I knew you two would make a great battery. I knew you would be what could push him to greater heights, and that he would influence you too. All of Seidou. He has the heart of an Ace."

He's curious.

"Do you regret it?"

It's been a few minutes but Sawamura follows his question, turns to him, conviction in his burning eyes, "Never!"

----

SEVEN.

Kazuya finally gets to meet Wakana on his birthday. Yoichi tells him they're going out to celebrate at a fancy restaurant and he's not allowed to say no. Since he is the best man at their future wedding, he supposes it would be rude to not meet the bride-to-be so he pulls out one of his old suits, is relieved it still fits, and decides that's enough effort needed on his part. He also decides to forgo the tie and leaves the first two buttons undone. It's classy.

He's not surprised to see Sawamura also at the restaurant, and he's also not surprised to see him sporting a loud outfit. He's also wearing a suit but his shirt is a bright blue with baseball patterns, he's pulled up the suit jacket sleeves to his elbows (which, might he add, does not match his pants, but it somehow works), and he's actually wearing a tie. There's a girl trying to tame his hair but she soon gives up when Sawamura spots him and calls out, "Miyuki Kazu-mmyaa."

"Eijun!" the girl chides him, "We told you to be quiet!"

She's covering his mouth and let's go once he settles down. He rubs his hand through the back of his hair, ruining whatever work the girl must have done, "Sorry."

The girl shakes her head and turns to him, "So you're the famous Miyuki Kazuya, in the flesh."

Kazuya smiles, "And you must be the infamous money stealing Wakana."

They shake hands and Wakana laughs, "The one and only."

Yoichi comes up behind him, "Good, you're here. I thought I was going to have to send someone to drag you out of bed."

They're escorted to the back where they can dine in private. Yoichi walks in the back with him and Kazuya watches the way Sawamura's body faces Wakana even when they're walking. The way she pushes and holds his arm, laughs at what he says. The way that Sawamura lets her choose where she wants to sit and then makes space so that the table decorations aren't in her way. He sits across from her.

Yoichi whispers at him, "See what I mean?"

Kazuya doesn't need to see them interact to know why Wakana once liked Sawamura, but it definitely solidifies their closeness.

Wakana is very pretty. She has short hair that is slightly tinged with red, natural, she mentions when she sees him looking at her, "I get asked a lot." Apparently, it's a color she inherited from her great grandmother

She's as small as Yoichi claimed her to be, which makes her look tiny with her current company. She's wearing a simple and modest blue dress that matches perfectly with the ties Sawamura and Yoichi are wearing. She's just as honest as Sawamura is, and Kazuya wonders if all the people in his life are like that. It's refreshing. He instantly likes her and knows that Yoichi will be happy. It makes him happy too.

They're waiting on their food when Sawamura tells Yoichi that "Miyuki Kazuya" called Wakana a thief. Yoichi puts down his glass of wine, sending his best friend a glare, "I should have known you wouldn't behave!"

Sawamura is quick to respond, "It's all your fault Kuramochi-senpai! You keep telling that stupid story!!"

"The only thing stupid about that story is YOU Bakamura!!"

They look like children snapping at each other across the table and Wakana is just laughing. She turns to Kazuya, "Did he tell you what actually happened?"

Kazuya nods, "Sort of. Something about borrowing a wallet."

Wakana smiles, "Something like that, yes."

"See! I told you I never said she stole my money!!" Sawamura gets up suddenly but nobody notices the waiter coming with trays until the sound of plates falling to the ground and shattering are heard. But the worst part is probably the cake that Sawamura tries to save. Part of it lands on his hands, some of it on the table, but a big portion of it (thanks to Sawamura's interference), is now all over Wakana's dress. Everyone holds their breath, the waiter looks horrified.

Kazuya knows he shouldn't but he snickers and that seems to bring everything back to life. Wakana laughs and tells the waiter it's ok, she pats his hand reassuringly, "But can we get another cake? We'll pay for both of course."

The man is so relieved, he smiles and nods, and says he'll be right back to clean up, that he can also ask someone to help her out. Sawamura looks constipated and ridiculous standing there with chunks of cake in his hands.

"This is so coming out of your wallet Sawamoron!!" Yoichi cries out as he grabs chunks of cake from Wakana's lap and throws it on the table, "And YOU, I can't believe you did that!"

Kazuya only smirks, looks over at Wakana, and says, "Welcome to the family."

It seems like Wakana isn't just depleting Sawamura's accounts, but also stealing hearts.

----

OMAKE (months later)

It's the wedding night when Sawamura decides to crash at Kazuya's house. They're both exhausted and since they're both going to the same place the next morning, Kazuya doesn't make a fuss. When they make it home, they fight about who will take a shower first and Kazuya wins because, ultimately, this is his house so of course he has dibs. Sawamura pouts as he heads to the living room, ok, ok, just go you evil tanuki bastard.

When Kazuya comes out in a white t-shirt and boxers, he finds Sawamura already passed out on the couch, his arm and leg fallen off the side. He notices that he at least had the sense to take off his suit jacket and shirt. He's only wearing his undershirt and his pants have risen up his shins. Everything else is thrown against the back of the couch and his keys, cellphone, camera, and wallet, are all on the table. He's snoring lightly, his breath coming out more like little sighs, and there's a bit of drool where gravity has decided to do its job.

He's about to wake up Sawamura when he remembers something Wakana told him the first time they met. Right before they left the restaurant, she had pulled him aside, telling the other two NOT to come closer, Next time you get the chance, look inside his wallet. I promise it'll be worth it, and don't worry, he won't mind. He yells a lot but that's all there is.

The wallet is right there and Kazuya wishes it had landed the other way. At least like that, it wouldn't feel like he was snooping. No, he wouldn't. He doesn't really understand why Wakana wants him to look inside, but it's not really any of his business. He shakes his head and walks towards the couch. Before he can even reach forward, Sawamura shifts and mumbles a sleepy, "Kazuya."

Kazuya freezes at the stupid smile on Sawamura's face. He feels his face heat up and he's not sure why. He briefly glances at the wallet again, then moves to shake Sawamura's shoulders.

It takes a moment, a testament to how tired Sawamura is, before his brown eyes open and he sleepily mumbles, "Miyuki Kazuya?"

Kazuya hesitates for a moment. He doesn't have extra bedding and he knows sleeping on the couch is uncomfortable. They were going to share the bed, just like he always does whenever Yoichi visits, but suddenly he wonders if maybe this isn't a good idea. He tells Sawamura it's his turn to shower and nearly drags him to the bathroom. He stands outside just to make sure he doesn't pass out inside and somehow Sawamura looks even more drowsy than before. His skin is red from the heat of the water and they head to the bedroom.

Sawamura is out before his head hits the pillow. Kazuya arranges him on the bed properly and covers him with the blanket.

He finds it hard to sleep, the sound of his name coming from Sawamura's sleepy lips echoing in his head.

---

A/N:

I scoured Reddit for some inspiration and found this interesting prompt: "I never said she stole my money has 7 different meanings based on which word is emphasized." I sort of followed the prompt? LOL

things to note: 1. I just googled "prisoner clothes in japan" and green outfits came up, hence why Rei is dressed in a "green top" 2. I don't actually know how legal proceedings go in japan, if it would take longer or less (but this is fanfic so let's not question it) 3. Again, I don't know how long rehabs take but I'm not aiming for accuracy 4. If it wasn't obvious, Sawamura wasn't in the original Seidou team in this fic (lol) 5. Sports day apparently apparently happens around October (and again, Idk much about it)

I don't think I've ever written anything "complete" for this fandom but I hope you all enjoyed, especially you daiyanerd ^^

p.s. This got out of hand omg it's so long and hardly anything happens i hope you guys don't mind Orz Also, I kind of want to write more for this, maybe Sawamura's side of some of the events, maybe just a continuation, idk....

Gift for KaiAmLegend: “If there’s anything that Hinata enjoys about his “new” body, it’s how resilient it can be.” (HQ Secret Santa 2021)

Doctor’s Visit, Ch1

Read on Ao3

If there’s anything that Hinata enjoys about his “new” body, it’s how resilient it can be. He can withstand injuries that normal humans can’t, such as getting hit by a car. No, he’s not the type to test out his limitations, but one time he’d been heading home in the dark and his light had run out of charge. He would usually carry around a neon band but he’d forgotten to pack it that day and he’d been mostly wearing black. But nothing had ever happened before so he didn’t think too much about continuing his path.

I’ll just be careful, and not even fifteen minutes after he’d thought this, he’d been hit.

He remembers seeing the driver stop, his tires screeching, and then the sound of his panicked voice as he tried to find what he’d hit.

“Oh god, oh shit.”

Luckily, Hinata is very quick on his feet (although this used to be true back when he was alive too) and he’d been able to hide. It wouldn’t do to just sit up and smile with so much blood and a few broken bones (his neck, most importantly) incorrectly…aligned.

But that doesn’t mean he’s completely immune to death. He knows that with enough force, any vampire can die. He knows because those are the tales that circulate on this side.

The downside is that when injured, his injuries take forever to heal. Unless he drinks enough blood, but he’s kind of a vegetarian vampire. He mostly takes blood from animals, which mainly just help in tempering down his hunger, and occasionally, when he really needs to, takes from humans. And he does have a source but said source is very strict about when they give out human blood.

The thing about human blood is that, like in the stories, it’s addicting. He’s heard that some vampires, the ones that acquire a taste for it, purposefully harm themselves in order to receive it.

“Those idiots! What do they want us to do, drain humans? Then we’d all start getting hunted again!”

So the day that Hinata hits his head while playing with five-year-olds, he knows he’s in for a lot of pain. After all, he’d only just gotten his supply of human blood.

“Oh man, Kageyama is going to kill me!”

He doesn’t feel it at first. It’s just like any fall, and he’s quick to bounce back on his feet. He remembers how the kids had gathered around him to see if he was okay, and he was. But now it was the next day and he felt like his head wasn’t properly attached to his body, and that was fatal for vampires. Well, cutting off a head is a sure killing blow for any creature really.

“Are you an idiot?!” Kageyama yells through his phone.

“Don’t yell, it hurts,” he moans. He’d skipped his morning classes and called his supervisor to tell her he couldn’t go to the kindergarten today. Yui-chan had been so nice and worried about his condition. Told him to stay home for as long as he needed.

There was a pause on Kageyama’s end and then a sigh, “Look, I can’t give you another supply. Go to the doctor. Human medicine should help with the pain. Everyone is busy here.”

And so that was the verdict. It took him a moment to get out of bed, but he eventually made it to the doctor’s office down the road.

The thing about vampire bodies is that they are the most deceptive right after a feeding, so when he ends up filling out his information and getting a quick surface check-up, his vitals are healthy.

What he doesn’t expect is to find the doctor in front of him to be about his age (or so freaking tall! He’s unable to tilt his head up to see him properly). Behind him is the nurse who had helped him start his paperwork. She’s tiny next to the doctor, which, he can’t help but jealously notice, means he does too. The doctor raises a brow, “Hinata Shouyo?”

Hinata grins weakly, wincing when his head moves, “That’s me.”

The doctor makes a sound, looks him over, motions for him to sit at the empty seat in front of him, and looks over the chart that Hinata filled out. It was one of those questionnaires that asked him what the problem was, where he felt pain, and how bad the pain was.

He’s blonde with short hair and Hinata can see the bags under his eyes even with his thick-rimmed glasses in place. Aside from his age, he fits the description of every doctor he’s had an appointment with before, healthy-looking. There isn’t much muscle on him but it’s obvious he takes care of himself.

“Tell me what happened,” the doctor says after a moment, taking out a light from his pocket and looking into his eyes. He hums and then tells him to follow his finger. A slew of questions leave his thin lips, leaving Hinata unable to answer his initial question, “How many fingers am I holding up? Have you felt nauseous? Any stomach problems? Dizziness?”

Hinata does and answers every request and question. Then the doctor stands and walks behind him, “I’m going to touch your neck. Tell me if you have pain.”

Hinata shivers at how cold the doctor’s fingers are but can’t help but feel a tingle. He’d seen how elegant and long they were, and now he was partially feeling it.

He feels pressure along the back of his neck and along his shoulders, and if it weren’t for the fact that he was at the doctor’s with an injury, he would have said it was a great massage.  

He winces slightly, “I have an internship at the nearby kindergarten, I was playing with the kids and fell. I hit my head in the gym. It didn’t hurt the day I hit it but I woke up today with a headache and, ouch! ”

The doctor had tried to tilt his head back but stopped when he flinched. For the whole of the checkup, the nurse had mainly stayed in the back, but now she moved as if to help him.

The doctor sighed and came back to his seat, “Good news, you don’t need any scans. Bad news, you’re going to be in pain for the next seven to fourteen days. I can prescribe some pain medicine,” he shuffles around some papers, “and some stomach medicine.”

Hinata tilts his head, “Stomach medicine?” and then winces, moving his hand to cradle his neck, “what for?”

The doctor stares at him for a moment and then says, “You haven’t shown any negative signs, which is great. No dizziness, no numbness, only slight nausea and vertigo, but people who undergo shocks like this can also have stomach problems.”

Hinata makes a sound, “I wouldn’t say this was a shock though…A surprise, maybe.”

The doctor gives him another look, but this one he understands because it’s one that Kageyama frequently sends him. He sits up, wincing, and then accuses, “You just thought I was an idiot, didn’t you!”

There’s a small gasp from the nurse and Hinata can see her raise her clipboard to her mouth.

Another look from the doctor, this time as if to say, oh did you figure it out? Instead, the doctor smiles (Hinata frowns at how fake it looks) and says, “It’s a shock to your body. You’ll thank me in a few days.”

Except Hinata wouldn’t because he has no need to expel anything. And the doctor doesn’t need to know that but he feels like he should respond. He smacks his lips and raises a brow when he sees the lips of the doctor tilt slightly in response.

He hands him his prescription and says, “Just take this to the front desk, they’ll give you the medicine. Take it easy for the next few days. And maybe tell the kids to go easy on you next time. Any questions?”

Hinata feels his face turn red and he sees the nurse quietly laughing.

He doesn’t really have any questions so he’s not sure what prompts him to say, “How long have you been a doctor here?”

It must also startle the doctor because he seems momentarily speechless. Then he says, “Just over a year.”

“You look really young, how old are you?” Hinata looks over at the nurse and sees interest in her eyes. Does she not know the doctor’s age either?

The doctor rolls his pen in his hand and then smiles, “I meant any questions about your well-being.”

“What’s your name?” Hinata continues.

The nurse giggles quietly and Hinata notices the way the doctor looks over at her with a frown, but that doesn’t seem to stop her from grinning.

The doctor turns his frown towards him, “It’s on the door, didn’t you read it before coming in?”

Hinata pouts, “My head hurts and I can barely move it!”

The doctor sighs and finally, Hinata can see how those thin lips part, how those golden eyes close slightly, and his eyebrows dip. Everything about the doctor seems to be slim.

“Tsukishima,” the doctor concedes.

“Tsukishima…” Hinata prompts, but the doctor just stands up.

“It looks like there are no other questions-”

“When are your days off? Or do doctors work every day?” He can hear the nurse laughing again, this time a little louder.

Tsukishima gives him a look that he’s able to grasp (disgust) because of Kageyama and for the first time he’s glad his best friend has such a temper.

“You’re not very nice,” Hinata pouts, getting up from his chair, “What if I feel worse? Shouldn’t I come see you again?”

Tsukishima crosses his arms, “We have your files so any other doctor can help you. And I’m sure you won’t need to come back. You seem perfectly fine.”

“Ok, one last serious question.”

Tsukishima looks at him warily and Hinata grins wide, making sure not to move his head too much, “Do you want to get a coffee? Or tea? I don’t really like coffee or tea but I was thinking we could-”

“Good BYE,” Tsukishima emphasizes but Hinata can see the slight blush on his cheeks.

Hinata finally leaves but makes sure to look at the office sign, cradling the back of his neck so he can look properly, Tsukishima Kei.

OMAKE

The pain somehow gets worse after his doctor’s visit and for a moment he wonders if Tsukishima has some sort of sadistic magical powers. Maybe he’d annoyed him with all the questions and he’d exacted revenge by placing some kind of curse on him! Kageyama calls him an idiot and Yamaguchi laughs.

After a week, his head stopped hurting and as he predicted, he had no need for the stomach medicine. Yamaguchi is the one who explains that yes, humans usually do develop stomach problems after something like a head injury. Hinata remembers falling once when he was a kid and hitting his head, but he can’t remember feeling sick after. It probably wasn’t a serious blow then.

But no pain also means he has no excuse to visit the doctor’s office, and suddenly, he wonders if this is what addicted vampires are like. He can see Kageyama giving him the stink eye, and he’s sure they’re both thinking the same thing.

They’re at a cafe and since Yamaguchi is the only human of the three, he’s the only one eating. It’s not that vampires can’t eat, but that usually means they need more energy and so the blood supply doesn’t last as long. But they do join him with a few drinks.

Hinata groans into his teacup, “He must live around here, right? Why haven’t I ever bumped into him?!”

Kageyama frowns, thinking about this seriously, “Maybe you did. You just don’t remember. Or maybe he lives outside the city.”

“But he’s so pretty,” Hinata sighs, ignoring the potential that Tsukishima is not a local resident, “And tall, I remember all the tall people I meet!”

The bell at the cafe dings and Hinata’s eyes look over by reflex, and he nearly spits out his tea when he sees the doctor walking in.

Yamaguchi smiles with pancake shoved into his cheek, “I told you this cafe was good.”

—

A/N: 

you know what i apparently like to do? base stories on stuff that has happened to me lOL. i was going to share another story where i did something similar but i forgot it's still hidden but it should be revealed sometime this month (and i’ll post it here after), 

i wrote this for kai so i hope this is to your liking! i heard you were into tsukihina and things like vampires and college au. i hope i did your prompts justice! and you may notice i focused more on the vampire part than the college rip. 

p.s. idk anything about doctors and how they do checkups, i avoid them with a passion so uh yeah

p.p.s. this was going to be just a chapter and omake but it keeps whispering into my ear so i gave it an extra chapter but now it’s looking like it will be three chapters long! enjoy

“The next few days, Yachi makes sure he doesn't forget about Hinata Shouyo. ” (HQ Secret Santa 2021)

Doctor’s Visit, Ch2

Read Chapter 1 | Ao3

Tsukishima's week has been hectic and by week he means since last last Sunday when he was called in because a coworker got sick and well, he hasn't had much luck in getting a break. He's told he'll be able to get a break this weekend, but he knows that's not always true. Emergencies happen and while the clinic isn't really short-staffed, it's also nearing the holidays. The time, in his opinion, when people become stupider.

He sighs and mutters, "I hate the holidays," then he looks up from his desk and says, "What happened to the next one?"

Yachi stands in front of him with a clipboard and the paperwork of his next patient. Hinata Shouyo is written at the top in very clean and elegant writing. He's not sure why but he gets the feeling his grandparents would approve of this penmanship

Yachi looks worried as she explains, "His name is Hinata Shouyo. It looks like he hit his head at work. He's been sitting in the lobby holding his neck. He doesn't look well."

Tsukishima is only half paying attention, reading the details that this Hinata wrote down. It doesn't seem like it's too serious, but one can never know with blows to the head. They can be really nasty and he's glad that at least this patient had the sense to come to the clinic and get checked. Even though it's after the fact. Better late than never.

"Bring him in," he tells Yachi and while she does, he takes a moment to rub at his eyes.

When Yachi returns he's standing and back in professional mode. While he can't be as sunshine and rainbows as some of his peers, he can be civil. No need to worry or harm the patients, although there have been many tempting times to hurl insults. He raises a brow at the man who walks in. His parents chose a good name.

The checkup goes well for the most part and he's surprised that Hinata can pick up on some of his silent insults because really, who gets hurt while playing with five year olds? He looks like he's a pretty lithe person, but he supposes that appearances are deceiving.

But if he's being honest, he's also arrested in those moments. They don't make much eye contact since he's making sure Hinata is alright (his hands are small but hold strength, his neck surprisingly warm) but when he turns, Hinata is watching, staring, and his eyes are so bright and piercing, they make him stall.

He hands Hinata his prescriptions and says, “Just take this to the front desk, they’ll give you the medicine. Take it easy for the next few days. And maybe tell the kids to go easy on you next time. Any questions?” He wouldn't have spoken like this to any other patient, but there's something about Hinata that makes him think he won't start trouble, well, if he even catches the insult. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes over his head

But what Hinata says next completely derails him, “How long have you been a doctor here?”

It's not really something he's been asked frequently. If anything, he only gets it from upset parents and older patients who always want a more "experienced" doctor. But there doesn't seem to be any malice in his question, just curiosity so he says, “Just over a year.”

“You look really young, how old are you?” and that's what Tsukishima was hoping wouldn't be asked. It's not that he doesn't want to reveal his age, but he's already the youngest doctor in the clinic, and he'll admit that he does have a connection, but he's also qualified. He spins the pen in his hand and smiles in a way he knows pleases the nurses, “I meant any questions about your well-being.”

But his attitude doesn't seem to deter Hinata and when his questions eventually turn more personal and Yachi's laughs become bolder, he realizes that Hinata isn't trying to belittle him. He was never really the type to get confessions so he's not sure how to react, and his traitorous body flushes and his heart starts to beat a bit faster. He scowls.

“Ok, one last serious question," Hinata promises and Tsukishima looks at him warily.

He didn't think Hinata could look brighter, but apparently this is him at his dullest. He grins wide, “Do you want to get a coffee? Or tea? I don’t really like coffee or tea but I was thinking we could-”

“Good BYE,” he emphasizes and is glad when Hinata does as he's told. He slams the door shut and Yachi is full blown giggling behind him. He turns around and she takes a breath to say, "You're blushing, oh my god, does that mean you think he's cute?"

He remembers the Yachi of when he first arrived at the clinic and misses how quiet and scared (of him) she used to be, "No." But he does take off his glasses to rub at his eyes, two curious and piercing eyes looking at him from the darkness.

The rest of the day is completely dull compared to that one visit, but he does manage to take a nap for a few minutes during lunch. He wakes up to a small bento from Yachi at his desk. He raises a brow at her but thanks her

"I knew you wouldn't bring a lunch today either and since I had extras," she says while already eating her own share, which the exact same size as his. He checks the time, making sure he has enough time to eat

----

The next few days, Yachi makes sure he doesn't forget about Hinata Shouyo.

They're having lunch one day when she says, "I wonder how Hinata is doing. He really had some trouble that day, remember how he was holding his neck?" She mimics Hinata but her face is completely miserable and Tsukishima can't help but smile.

"I'm sure he didn't look that miserable," he says. When Yachi smirks, he can't help but feel like he's lost.

"Really? How did he look then?" And his mind immediately conjures Hinata holding his neck after he'd tried to tilt it back. Yes, he'd been in pain but his posture had mostly been good. His hair had been lively, fluffy even, his skin warm, his eyes bright, and his lips-

He frowns and closes his bento, thanking Yachi once more, "For the lunch, your company has been less than stellar lately."

That only makes her laugh, "You don't like anyone's company."

It's true. He'd rather be by himself.

The next time she bring him up they're both on a quick fifteen minute break and he takes this chance to get a coffee.

"So why didn't you take him up on his date?"

She is so to the point that day that he nearly drops his coffee. He frowns, "You know that's unethical."

She has her own drink in hand and he recognizes it as a hot chocolate from the vending machine. But she's relentless, "Ok, what if you met him at like, the grocery store or at a cafe like he said, what if he asked you out, would you say yes?"

He scrunches his nose in defiance and lifts his coffee to his mouth, letting the aroma wake him up. He'd been called in again, his weekend rest ruined, "Why are you so invested in this? He probably said that to be cheeky."

She hums and Tsukishima worries about what she'll say next. His worry is correct when she says, "But did you think he was cute?"

He sighs and starts walking back to his office, "Our break is almost over." But he can tell he's blushing slightly, not just because he suddenly feels the heat on his ears, but because Yachi is smiling, a bounce in her steps.

The next time he's ready for Yachi's questioning, but she doesn't bring up Hinata. Instead, she says, "There's this really nice cafe a quick walk from here, by the grocery store. Their hot chocolate is so good! And they make some of the cutest latte art."

It seems innocent enough until, "It's the perfect place for a date, don't you think?"

He inwardly groans but smiles politely, "I'm sure. Did you and Tadashi go there?"

Yachi nods and starts to give him a detailed account of how her boyfriend found it, the really handsome staff, and the delicious food. But he also wonders how this pertains to Hinata. He was pretty sure he'd mentioned a kindergarten internship so he wouldn't really have time for another part-time job, right? He scowls at where his thoughts stray and decides he's overworked.

"I'm taking a break," he tells Yachi as he takes off his glasses and heads outside.

He finally gets to have a day off on Monday and he spends it sleeping most of the day. When he returns on Tuesday, he can feel Yachi watching him for longer than necessary. When the staring doesn't stop by mid-day he asks, "What is it?"

Yachi, in almost a whisper, asks, "Did you go?"

He is confused, "Where?"

Yachi sighs in disappointment, "Where else? The cafe!"

He shuffles some papers on his desk and stares at her with a deadpan expression, "Why would I go?"

Yachi looks too innocent when she says, "To see if the coffee is good?"

Tsukishima sighs. He doesn't have many vices but when you work hours like they do, it's nearly impossible not to get addicted to caffeine, and even when he knows it won't help, especially with how long he's been drinking it, he can't stop. But more importantly, "You know I try not to drink coffee outside of work hours."

Yachi sighs dramatically, "I know but still!"

Her posture is more subdued for about half the day before he once more sees a fire in her eyes. As they're both heading home that night she says, "The atmosphere is really nice too! You like quiet places too, right? It's very soothing."

He wraps a scarf around his neck and pulls on his gloves, his jacket and bag already on. Yachi is a bit slower in getting ready

"You must really like this place," he plays along. Then adds, "Is Tadashi picking you up?"

Yachi brightens, "Yes to both questions!"

It's nearing midnight when they finally head outside and meet up with Tadashi, and Tsukishima is glad he can finally get rid of Yachi. He's met Tadashi only a handful of times, his work keeping his social life as nonexistent as possible, but the guy seemed nice and Yachi never complained. And if you asked Tsukishima, they did make a nice couple, Tadashi with his slightly dorky smile and Yachi with her exuberance. They were both sickeningly doting as well

Before they part Yachi yells, "Make sure to go on your next day off!"

Tsukishima doesn't answer but as he's walking home, he thinks that maybe he can concede this one time. And it's not because he's worried or wants to see Hinata. No.

"...so she can stop pestering me."

Gift For FanGirlofManyThings: Kei remembers the first time he met the boy with the stars on his face. (Sofa’22)

The Forest Spirit

Read on AO3

Kei has wandered the woods many times, but humans are rare so deep and far off the path. He's surprised to hear panting and wheezing, and the sound of the leaves crunching under a rhythmic weight stops him in his tracks. He watches from the shadows as a boy appears. He can't see his face but he’s wearing heavy clothing that makes noise with every breath he takes. He's resting by a tree, his head down, and his hands on his knees

He wonders about the way the boy must have come. It’s very likely he came from the shrine, which means that in order for him to have gotten lost this far into the woods, he must have climbed over the retaining wall

Kei isn't sure why he's here. Is he lost?

He gets his answer when the boy falls to the floor, his arms circling his legs. He can hear crying and Kei's face sours. His brother would help the boy. 

Humans are attracted to the magic here, he’d once told Kei when he was so young Akiteru was still taller than him, We should always help them get back. It can be dangerous here. He’d paused there for a moment, his face sad, They’re very fragile…

Kei makes up his mind with a scowl on his face and walks toward the boy. He makes no sound, even as he steps on the red fall leaves. The boy doesn’t look up at him, still lost in his crying

“Hey,” Kei calls out, his voice breaking a bit at the end. He’s not used to speaking in the human language. He frowns, but it works. The boy looks up at the sound of his voice

His eyes are red, there’s some fluid exiting his nose, and his mouth is releasing quick breaths. But the noises he’s been making stop almost immediately and he uses his hands to clean his face. The boy stutters, “I-I didn’t see you, ah, I mean, where…are you lost too?”

Kei frowns when the boy’s face is free of his tears. There’s still something…

He touches the boy’s face and rubs, trying to get the dirt smeared on his face off.

The boy yells, “What are you doing?!” 

It still doesn’t come off. Instead, his face begins to turn red, but Kei is sure he isn’t being too rough. He scrapes a bit, his nails are dull but still sharp enough to remove any type of creature that might have attached itself to the boy

The boy pushes him away, “Stop!”

Kei falls back on his butt and now they’re both sitting on the floor.

The boy’s arms flail and he’s sure he stops breathing for a moment before he yells out, “I’m sorry! Are you okay? It’s just, that really hurt. W-What were you doing anyway?” He touches his right cheek, the one Kei had been trying to clean. He can see a small red scrape

They’re very fragile…you should treat them delicately

Kei pouts and mutters a “lame” before standing up and turning away from the boy. He doesn’t even get to take a step before the boy launches himself at him, his arms holding onto his

“W-Wait” he says, “Do you know…ah, do you know how to get out of here? I got separated from my friends…”

Kei doesn’t shake him off. We should always help them get back. He asks the trees for other signs of humans but there’s nobody else there. This boy with the dirt on his face was left alone. 

… you should treat them delicately

He turns his hand until their hands are intertwined. He doesn’t say anything, just tugs slightly. The boy gets up. He looks confused but follows him. 

The sound of the leaves crunching under the boy’s feet is the only sound that accompanies them for a moment. Kei likes the feeling of their hands pressed together. The boy is soft and warm and perhaps a bit wet. But the smell coming off him is pleasant. It smells like the fruit his brother had given him that day in the woods

Come on, let’s try with this. Try to hold it gently in your hands. 

They go downhill towards the shrine. Kei is careful, walking at a pace that is easy for the boy, making sure he doesn’t pull him too hard otherwise he will fall. Even with the boots on his feet, he’s sure he would tumble down and hurt himself. 

“Who are you?” the boy asks as they near the retaining wall that separates humans from people like Kei and his brother. Or it would normally, but humans have lost their fear of the unknown in recent years

Kei isn’t sure how to answer that so instead he says, “Who are you ?”

The boy laughs and Kei is mesmerized by the way his eyes shine, “I’m Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Tadashi.”

Kei nods in understanding. He meant his name, “Kei.”

There’s a pause and then Yamaguchi Tadashi says, “Just Kei?”

Kei doesn’t know a lot about humans. He’s not allowed to leave this forest, but his brother knows more. He’s told him about the way humans have two names. 

Do we have two names? He remembers asking because he’d only ever known Akiteru as Akiteru. His brother had laughed, No, we’re just Akiteru and Kei. Do you want a last name?

He’d thought hard about that and had almost slipped. His brother had held his arm, Careful, it gets hard to see in the dark

Kei looks at the curiosity in the boy’s eyes, “Kei…Kei Tsuki…shima.”

He grins up at Kei and nods, “I’ll remember that. Thank you for helping me. Ah, are you coming down too? It’s getting dark…”

Kei watches the retaining wall. It’s an extremely old structure, much older than the shrine. 

He lets go of Tadashi’s hand and instantly misses the feel of it. He doesn’t truly feel cold, but he knows that’s what it feels like now that they aren’t connected. He uses the same hand to point at the wall and Tadashi’s eyes follow, “That’s the shrine. Go back down that way.”

When Tadashi turns back around, he’s gone. 

He watches from the shadows, the way the boy turns from one direction to another, confusion on his face.

--

Kei doesn’t expect to see Tadashi anymore. Many humans come to the shrine but very few are as young as him and very few return more than once. 

Even fewer go over the retaining wall

He’s heard a few people stand on it, looking on in awe at the forest beyond. They admire it but know that there is something clearly off about the space beyond. 

Why don’t humans come and see us? He’d asked Akiteru once. He’d been practicing with the fruit again. He had gone from completely crushing it and scraping it with his nails, to finally being able to pick it from the tree himself without destroying it. 

His brother had been talking with the trees. He hummed and then said, It’s probably the wall at the back of the shrine. Remember the last time you touched it?

The memory is upsetting enough that he instantly crushes the fruit in his palm. He grimaces, apologizing to the fruit.

He’d heard voices that day and had wanted to see the humans. After hearing about them so much from Akiteru, he’d wanted to say hello. To tell them he wasn’t scary and wanted to be friends. When he touched the wall to try and climb over it, he’d been zapped and pushed away. It had taken weeks for his hand to heal

He’d never seen Akiteru so scared or upset. 

Promise you’ll never try that again! He’d promised, the fear in Akiteru’s eyes contagious.

Akiteru picked another fruit from the tree and gave it to Kei, gently and lovingly, It pushes them away too. More gently, but still as insistent. He had smiled sadly, But not all humans listen. Magic calls to them too but it’s dangerous on this side, especially at night.

Kei had never understood the danger Akiteru talked about until he’d grown into his own power

The same power his brother used to talk with the earth around them. The same one that warns him now of a human in the woods. 

Not that he needed that when Tadashi is crunching around the woods yelling out, “Tsukki! Tsukki! Are you here! It’s me, Tadashi!”

It doesn’t take Kei very long to get to where Tadashi is yelling. He’s dressed differently this time, not properly for a hike in the woods. It’s a uniform of some sort, all black, and he has a bag on his back. A scarf is wrapped around his neck but Kei sees a few leaves and twigs stuck to it

He realizes why that is when Tadashi leans back against one of the trees

Kei appears behind him, “Why are you here again?”

Tadashi jumps away from the tree, “You scared me!”

They both stare at each other. Kei is frowning at the way Tadashi’s face is still covered in dirt. He reaches out again to clean his face, but again, it doesn’t come off. He decides to voice his concern this time instead of hurting him again, “Why won’t this come off?”

Tadashi laughs and Kei feels it on his hand, it’s warm, just like how it had felt to hold his hand. 

“They’re not supposed to come off,” he smiles, “I was born with them.”

His frown deepens, “Fruits with spots mean bad health.”

Tadashi looks a bit awkward at the comment, “I-I’m not fruit?”

No, he is human. He is like fruit. Smells just as sweet, has life, and is fragile. Kei moves away and starts walking back to where he had been caring for the trees. He hears Tadashi following him and it doesn’t take long before he’s talking, his voice animated

“Do your feet hurt? You weren’t wearing shoes the last time either. Or are you cold? It’s been getting chilly lately. Isn’t your yukata too thin?”

He gives Tadashi a fruit and he holds it without having to think about his strength.

“Do you like these?” he asks instead, and Kei nods. They pile a few fruits carefully into a woven basket

“Do others know that you’re here? I’ve never heard of anyone meeting someone up here.”

“No,” Kei answers. It’s only ever been him and Akiteru. 

Tadashi smiles, “You finally answered! Also, where are we going?”

Kei gestures forward, “I’m going to leave the fruits over there.”

Over there is the only place on the grounds that Kei can come anywhere close to humans without being hurt. It’s a small shrine, tiny enough that sometimes the stronger winds would knock it over. Tiny enough that it could and was usually overlooked by any visitors. 

There is no physical barrier here but the magical one is still in place 

He leaves the basket at the cliffside, as far as he can go without losing his form

He looks at Tadashi, “There are stairs built in past the trees there. You can take that route down.”

Instead of leaving, Tadashi holds his hand. They stand there, looking over the city until it gets dark

-- 

The next time they meet, Kei frowns at Tadashi. He’s appeared from behind a tree again, spooking him, “Why do you call me that?”

Tadashi has a hand on his heart and his face is red, “W-What do you mean?”

Kei says “Tsuki” as if he’s eaten something sour. 

The boy looks slightly embarrassed, making the marks on his face pop, “Oh, well, it’s a nickname. You said your name was Tsukishima so Tsukki…for short. Do you…Do you not like it?”

Kei isn’t sure why but he likes the way Tadashi can’t look him in the eye. It makes him want to chase him. He touches his face again and makes sure he’s looking at him

“Call me Kei. That’s my name.”

“O-oh,” he whispers. Kei doesn’t want to let go and Tadashi lets him linger for a moment. Then he asks, “Do you like them?”

Kei nods, “What are they?”

Tadashi grins, “Freckles. The others don’t really like them and bullies used to always say mean things about them.”

He lets go of his face and starts walking into the woods, “They’re very pretty.”

Kei hears him laugh behind him, “You can’t just say that with your back to me!”

But Kei does and he doesn’t turn back. He feels his face warm. 

Today, Kei is cleaning up the fallen twigs and leaves. Tadashi helps him but also complains when his hands and clothes are completely covered in mud, “I should have worn something else!”

Kei takes Tadashi’s hands in his and cleans off as much of the mud as he can. He folds their hands together and guides Tadashi to another part of the mountain that others have not seen before. It’s a slow trek. The sun is already setting and he wonders if this is even a good idea. It would have been easier to send him off, some other human could help him

But he’s not ready to let go.

It’s dark by the time they make it to the river that feeds into the streams surrounding the shrine

“Wash here,” Kei gestures. Tadashi is staring openly and not moving

“How…and people don’t come up here?” he exclaims, one of his hands coming up to touch his forehead, “This place is amazing.”

Kei pulls him towards the water, sitting on the rocks lining the edge, “Now your face is actually dirty.”

Tadashi only grins, sitting as well, “You should clean it then.”

Kei does exactly that. The water is cold and he notices the way Tadashi moves away from it initially. Kei likes the warmth of his skin, which doesn’t go away for long. His hair sticks to his face slightly as it gets wet and Kei moves his fingers through it to push it back. It’s soft

“Are you stuck here?” Tadashi whispers

Kei doesn’t answer at first. He remembers crying to his brother, feeling sad and angry that he couldn’t leave, I want to go back! I don’t want to hear them laughing anymore!

Akiteru had held him and rubbed his back, We have an important job. If you go back, who will take care of the trees? Then the humans would be sad too

“I can move around freely in my forest,” he says instead.

They watch the sky and Kei decides that the freckles on Tadashi’s face are not the unhealthy touch of death but the brightness of the stars

--

The first time Tadashi meets Kei's brother is in the winter. 

Instead of going to find Tadashi, Kei waits for him to find him. He no longer yells out his name either, especially after (as he’d told Kei one time) he’d been asked why he was making so much noise by the shrine caretakers. He’d been embarrassed but also worried that people would become curious and start coming up into Kei’s forest

Instead, Kei sits against one of the larger trees. The ground is packed with snow and the trees have all gained a cap of it on their limbs. Kei’s body sits above the snow, unsinking and unbothered by the temperature change

But that doesn’t stop him from wearing the scarf that Tadashi had gifted him. 

“There you are!” Tadashi exclaims and Kei opens his eyes to see his star-touched face. His breath is visible in the cold and he’s wearing heavier clothes. His feet, unlike Kei’s, do sink into the snow and he shivers a bit when some of the snow gets into his boots

He sits next to Kei and teases, “I almost couldn’t see you. You blend in with the snow. Good thing I gave you that scarf.” He looks up at the tree they’re leaning against. It takes up most of the clearing, “This tree is huge! I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.”

Kei leans his head back against the trunk and whispers, “This is my brother.”

Tadashi sounds nervous when he says, “Oh, uhm, what’s his name? Is he…okay? I’ve never seen him before.”

Kei moves his head so it’s leaning against Tadashi’s and weaves their hands together. Kei’s hands are bare against Tadashi’s gloved one. 

It’s been years since his brother last took human shape. 

“He’s healing,” he tells him, “Not many humans come up this far, but some have.”

Tadashi turns and Kei can feel the kiss on his head, “What is he like? Is he as tall as you?”

Kei smirks, “No. He’s short. I was taller than him these last few years.”

Snow sprinkles on them and Kei laughs, “He says that’s not true.”

Tadashi smiles, “I bet he's nicer than you at least.”

“He is,” he agrees, “I wouldn’t have helped you that first day if it wasn’t for him.”

Tadashi cuddles closer to him, “Well, then I’m glad he’s your brother. Tell me more about him.”

Night comes quickly in the winter, but Kei isn’t able to stop telling story after story about Akiteru

---

A/N: omgggg this is the first time writing for this ship and i had so much fun!! i hope you all enjoy, but esp you rebecca! a few notes

- loosely based on the song tonight by lie ning

- the setting is based on a shrine in Hiroshima bc its my favorite

- i decided to focus on the meet cute and happy scene prompts, i hope this fits the bill!

- apparently, tree spirits are called kodama and they are often depicted as glowing orbs of light and I was like oh hey doesn't kei mean firefly which is also a floating light, and yeah, there is no plot, just wood spirit kei. that's also why he wears white

- kodama trees are said to bleed when cut so they are generally left alone

comments feed my soul~

When Sakura is added to the Furin first year group chat and his cellphone use starts to increase, nobody thinks to tell him about the dangers of being online, meeting up with strangers, or suspicious ads. (KameSaku, TogaSaku)

Dogg on Premise (Clean Up After)

Read on AO3

tags: Sakura and cellphone, stranger meetup, 0721, oral

A/N: I wrote some self-indulgent 0721 day (hj) content, hehe. My first contribution to windbreaker. Since it's NSFW, this post is only an excerpt, check out the full fic on AO3

——————————————————————————

When Sakura is added to the Furin first year group chat and his cellphone use starts to increase, nobody thinks to tell him about the dangers of being online, meeting up with strangers, or suspicious ads. 

He grumbles as he walks across a train crossing. He’d seen it a few times during patrol, but had never ventured further since it technically wasn’t Furin territory anymore. He frowns as he goes under, noticing the change in atmosphere immediately. He tries not to let that bother him. He’d lived in sketchier places before but as he walks down the road full of bars and nightlife, he wonders if maybe he took a wrong turn somewhere. He blushes when he sees a couple kissing in front of a shop while the owner smokes, uncaring of how heated they’re becoming

He pulls out his phone and opens up the last conversation he had before heading over

unknown number, 8:47pm <<lets meet tonight <<i have a few minutes to spare <<make sure not to tell anyone, ok ;)

me, 8:55pm >>why the hell not

unknown number, 8:56pm <<a bit unfair to gang up on me like that dont you think <<not that i cant handle a few more bodies

me, 9:02pm >>only cowards fight dirty 1on1 it is

unknown number, 9:03pm <<oh that came faster than the last message <<looks like youre getting better with those fingers of yours <<come here: places.app.wbd/9RDMzps69T?x_t=bnr

me, 9:08pm >>shut up

me, 9:09pm >>!

Unknown number, 9:10pm <<wwwww <<just follow the signs

He feels himself get mad just thinking about the conversation and when he taps the link to open the location, he can’t help but let his finger linger with a little too much force. Instead of opening the link, a menu opens and he curses

He squints at the options and (gently) clicks open . When it does, he realizes he is in the right place and he’s only a few paces away. 

“Aren’t you a cutie? New around here?” a voice calls out from his right and he turns to find a slim man making pawing gestures at him. 

Sakura frowns, “So what if I am?”

The man laughs at his response and Sakura’s frown drops when he doesn’t detect any malice. The people in this town really are weird. They gave him food, tried to treat his wounds, called out greetings whenever they saw him, and now they even laughed like they’d been friends for ages. Even after being here for a few weeks, it was hard to get used to this feeling of community.

The man gestures him over, “I’m surprised nobody’s picked you up yet. Where ya headed?”

When Sakura comes closer, phone still in his hand, the stranger throws an arm around his waist, pulling him in close. Sakura freezes, then blushes to the tips of his ears, “W-Why are you so damn close, huh?! Are you tryna pick a fight?!”

He tries to move away, but the stranger holds him tight, “Wow, that really is your natural hair color, isn’t it?”

Sakura goes rigid for a different reason. He growls, “Let go.”

The stranger tries to soothe him by rubbing his side and without his Furin jacket, Sakura feels the touch a little too closely. His face lights up again. The stranger smiles, “Come on, don’t get mad. I think it suits you. You’re cute, but you have a bit of a temper. Now,” he says, grabbing Sakura’s hand to see his phone’s screen, “where are you…”

He lets go immediately, as if Sakura had burned him somehow, and steps back. Sakura can finally breathe a little easier but the guy seems a little nervous now, “Oh, didn’t realize you were one of his guys. My bad.”

Sakura raises a brow but doesn’t get a chance to say much else to the guy. Before the stranger retreats into the bar behind him, he says, “Just go down that way. It’s hard to miss.”

“Thanks,” Sakura mumbles, “I guess…”

Alone once more, he walks down the small street the stranger had pointed at. It was narrow. Too narrow, he vaguely thinks, noticing that it would only fit two people walking shoulder-to-shoulder. He snickers, Three, if one of them is Sugishita. Except it was more likely he’d take up the whole width for himself, refusing to walk next to anyone but Umemiya…

The path is mostly dark and the only reason Sakura isn’t stumbling over himself is that every few steps, a light will turn on to light his way. They turn off once he’s passed them, leaving the way he came bathed in darkness. It’s a perfect place to get attacked… But this doesn’t bother him. He’s used to fighting in the open and closed quarters. He won’t let anyone get the upper hand, no matter the location

By the time he finally emerges, the liveliness of the main street feels like something he imagined. 

Instead, he finds himself looking at a giant abandoned building. When he takes out his phone again, the app says he’s arrived.

He grins.

The way the building has been claimed by art and stickers reminds him of Furin High. No place on its surface is left unblemished. He feels himself get excited, That guy must be the real deal if people react to this place like that guy! Sakura is glad he answered that message. He knew that he couldn’t get to the top alone and he was glad he had Suou and Nirei on his side to help him, but there was still a lot he needed to do. Just because he had friends now, didn’t mean he could slack off in his training

He needed to get stronger if he wanted to get to the top and stay there. 

Except that now that he’s here, he’s not sure where to go. He tries going through the front, but finds the door locked. He even pounds on it a few times and calls out, but nothing happens. The place truly appears to be abandoned.

<<just follow the signs

He frowns, “What signs?”

It takes a bit of searching, but the only sign he manages to find is a worn out “dog on premise” sign. Like the rest of the building, it’s been graffitied. There’s an extra “g” next to “dog” and stickers cover the edges. There’s also something like spilled paint running down the top and it makes the letters look messy and runny. At the bottom, it reads ‘clean up after’. 

“What does that mean?” he wonders aloud and walks toward the little alcove the sign is affixed to. There are some stairs going down and he frowns again. He’s starting to realize this place is a bit strange. But I’m already here, and he didn’t need anyone thinking he’d ran away!

To his surprise, the door isn’t locked. He opens it and finds himself in a bathroom. The light flickers momentarily

There are three stalls and a two person sink. There’s also another door at the end of the room. He raises a brow. Perhaps it used to be a staff entrance? But when he opens the door, the entrance has been bricked off. 

“The hell…”

That’s when he realizes he’s not alone. There’s a tapping sound, like wood on floor and he turns around quickly, legs apart and arms raised, “Who’s there!”

“Ahhh,” a male voice answers, “You’re here.”

It’s coming from the first stall and he’s not sure how he missed the clogged feet when he’d walked in. They stop tapping against the floor. 

Sakura is beyond confused, “You’re…in the toilet?”

The voice laughs, “That’s right.”

Neither says anything for a moment and Sakura briefly wonders if someone did attack him on the street and managed to knock him out. This feels a little too surreal. 

“Are you,” he begins, “...almost done?”

The man makes a long contemplative sound, “No, not really. Just started actually.”

Sakura hears the sound of clothes being moved around, but the feet stay in place, unbothered, “Why don’t you join me in the next stall?”

Sakura’s brows are furrowed so tightly, he thinks this is what the grandmas mean when they say he shouldn’t frown so much or his face will stay stuck like that, “What? I don’t need to use the toilet! And why aren’t you ready? I’m not here to play games!”

He’s not sure when he lowered his arms, but he raises them again. 

The man laughs and then grunts, like he’s hit himself, except that the only noise Sakura can still hear is the sound of clothes. When he swallows, the sound his throat makes is too loud. He feels a sense of something he can’t name run down his spine and he suddenly wishes Kotoha hadn’t taken his Furin jacket. But she’d insisted it needed some mending, a member of Bofurin can’t go walking around looking like this, have some pride! 

Not like a jacket can do anything in a fight anyway…

The guy knocks on the wall of his stall, “Come on. I promise it’ll be fine.”

Sakura shakes his head, “No, you come out here! Or I’ll go wait outside!”

“Sakura.” So far, the voice had been playful but the way the man says his name is strict. Sakura shivers, “Go into the stall next to mine.”

His face goes red, why the hell am I blushing?!

But he realizes that there’s only so much he can do. He can either walk away, which he doesn’t want to do after coming so far. He can bust down the door, which he doesn’t want to do. He might like to fight, but he wouldn’t attack someone when they’re on the toilet! Or he could listen and just wait…in the stall next to him. He remembers the reaction of the guy from before and grits his teeth, “Fine!”

The voice becomes playful again, “Good boy.”

Continue on AO3

Gift for sam: “You’re obsessed,” Shouto tells her when she asks him to take the lead for today’s tours. Her smile is a bit sheepish, “Isn’t that the natural state of scientists?” (TogaChako)

Predation

Read on AO3

tags: marine biologist ochako, friendship, blood, ochako is reckless, ambiguous/open ending, creature toga, curiosity bordering on obsession

A/N: I will just say that with a title like 'predation' and these tags... don't expect a "good" ending. Just know it's...ambiguous, lol. Also, I talk about the research I did for the fic on AO3 so if that's something you're curious about, head on over~

——————————————————————————

When Ochako takes her mask and snorkeling gear off her face, the first thing she’s presented with is Shouto’s hand and a gruff, “Here.”

“Huh?” 

She blinks at his face and then focuses on his hand, gasping when she finds a glowing pink scale tucked between his fingers. 

Shouto smiles, “I knew you’d like it.”

She grabs it reverently and grins, “It looks amazing! Thanks!” But she can only hold in her laughter for so long. She giggles, “And take off that mask! Or you’ll tan funny!”

The clients are already being herded along by Aizawa and while Ochako would normally go and join in the friendly conversation, Shouto had stolen all her attention with his gift. Now all she wanted to do was get out of her wetsuit and investigate. Or, her eyes briefly go back toward the sea, get back in the water…

Shouto pulls off his mask with a grunted “don’t even think about it” and she laughs when she sees the ridges the mask has left around his face. She suspects she’s in a similar situation. She also takes his advice, for now.

Someone taps her shoulder and stage whispers, “Come on, let’s go before they call us over!”

It’s Yaomomo with a bag slung over her shoulder, video gear already settled inside. Ochako doesn’t have to be told twice and they both drag Shouto with them. She makes sure to hold on tightly to the scale

.

.

.

Ochako thinks she's gotten into the routine of things after working for Aizawa’s boat company (which he ran with two friends from high school and named Plus Ultra ☆ Scuba) for nearly a year. She didn’t struggle as much with getting out of her wetsuit (company-provided) anymore and she’d stopped wearing impractical outfits under it, opting to keep things simple and short.

It was a nice change to her previous job, which often left her stuck in a lab and away from her true passion: the sea. 

She sighs. She’d also accepted that showers at work had to be quick. She scratches her wrist and mentally reminds herself to apply some lotion again. 

When she walks into the office she shares with Shouto and Yaomomo she grins. Both of her friends are already at their desks, which makes the next item on her mental “to-do” list easier to mark off. She sits down and swivels toward Shouto.

She raises the scale so that they can all see it, “Where and when did you find this?”

He only glimpses at her, his eyes trained on his screen. She knows he can’t be looking at anything too important and she’s right when she peeks to find him mindlessly scrolling through emails. She raises a brow at him and he pretends not to notice

“It was at the bottom of the floor.” 

She waits for him to say more and then realizes she’s talking about Shouto Todoroki. Unless she was talking with his sister or eldest brother, it was going to take more prying. 

“How did you find it?” she raises it to the light, “It’s so light now…”

When he’d first given it to her, the color had been a vivid pink, almost magenta, but when she’d left the shower and retrieved it, it had lost most of its pigment. She’d spooked Yaomomo when she’d started yelling. And now it was a nearly transparent rose color. She wondered if it would still hold any pigment by the end of her shift.

He finally leans back into his chair and nods toward Yaomomo, “I noticed it reflected off your gear.”

Yaomomo, who is busy (transferring the data she’d just recorded), nods absentmindedly. 

Ochako pouts, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Shouto just shrugs, “You were busy.”

She slumps into her chair. That was one of the downsides of being the diving leader. She had to always focus on the clients, “Were there others?”

Shouto lifts his hand to his chin, “No…I didn’t notice any others.”

She nods and scoots back to her desk, turning on her desktop. It makes a few whirring sounds, letting her know it’s powering on and she complains, “We have all this cool tech but our computers are so old!”

Yaomomo laughs, “I believe you mean your computer is old.”

And she’s right. Out of the three computers, Yaomomo’s desktop was bulkier, but it was faster and meant for editing and sorting through large amounts of data. Meanwhile, hers and Shouto’s (based on how long it took for them to power up) were just regular computers running on a system that was probably a decade old. 

It probably helped that Yaomomo was the scion of her family (and the sponsor of Plus Ultra ☆ Scuba). The Yaoyorozus were a family with their fingers in nearly all the technology Ochako had ever laid eyes on. That probably didn’t sound very exhaustive since Ochako had never been one for digital accessories, but it was all-encompassing. She’d seen the Yaoyorozu logo on too many things. Even electric toothbrushes! 

That seems to remind her, “Oh, how was the gear today? Let me know if anything was faulty. Mei’s been messaging me all day.”

She checks her phone and smiles, and Ochako sighs forlornly, “It’s tough being single, isn’t it Shouto-kun?”

He smiles, “I wouldn’t know.”

Ochako makes an inhuman noise and kicks her legs, “What do I have to do to get hit on by a pretty girl for a change!”

Yaomomo laughs and even Shouto gives a little amused sigh. 

Ochako pouts and contemplates the device on her desk.

Before they’d gone diving, Yaomomo had given her and Shouto one of their newest diving creations. A collaboration with Izumo Tech, which was probably the only other company on par with the Yaoyorozus. This specific item was originally a vague idea Yaomomo had vocalized in front of Mei and Mei (always up for a challenge), had told her they should try inventing something to fix the problem. The problem being that it was hard to communicate with clients while underwater

Yaomomo had told them about some of the more interesting and failed ideas Mei had suggested. Ochako remembers the idea of creating some sort of gill-like feature for humans and smiles, if only that were possible! 

That little moment had eventually led to them contacting Izumo Tech for parts (and their heir had taken an interest in the project). She wasn’t sure about the specifics after that, but it had led to the first prototype sitting on their desks.

“I think it’s really useful,” Ochako tells her.

“But…”

Ochako laughs, “But…it’s a little hard to use with gloves. The keys are so tiny.”

Yaomomo nods seriously, taking some notes. 

The device looked a bit like one of those old early 2000s phones that would flip open to reveal access to a keyboard. Though she supposes the style is now more reminiscent of compact digital dictionaries, except not as slim. But even for a prototype, the device had been a big help. Ochako had been compiling information regarding the local marine ecology for months now and it was nice to see her labor finally presented in a tangible form, even if the design was a bit basic…

“I’m sure Mei will love the feedback!” Yaomomo grins. "We haven’t named it yet either,” she tells them, “If you have any name suggestions, I’ll gladly pass them along.”

Shouto’s brows furrow and they both laugh at his concentrated look. 

She continues, “I also spoke with Haruichi-san about potentially changing the format so that it’s less text and reading-based and more dictation. He’s developing some designs but it sounds like he’s settled on an earpiece.”

Ochako grins, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the scale she’d slipped back into her coat pocket. It was smooth all around, “It sounds like you’ve all thought of everything already.”

Yaomomo blushes, “It’s all theory and ideas. You two are my best sources for how it actually works in practice. So don’t be afraid to be critical.”

“The hammer,” Shouto announces. 

They both look at him confused. 

Ochako asks, “Why…The Hammer?”

He lifts the device off his desk and says, “It’s heavy. And the shape…” He’s pointing at the square-like antenna poking out from one side, “is like a hammer.”

Yaomomo and Ochako share a look and then burst out laughing. 

Between giggles, Yaomomo says, “I’m sure Mei and Haruichi-san will love it.”

Shouto looks satisfied and Ochako laughs harder.

.

.

.

Ochako makes a folder titled “Unknown Specimen - Pink Scale” and starts to draft up what she’s observed so far. One: the piece is about 3 inches long and 2 in width. Two: The shape is similar to cycloid scales, however, the longer she looked at it under the microscope, the more it was starting to look like just a plastic mold. Three: In less than 24 hours, the scale went from a vibrant shimmering pink to a pale, almost transparent, rose color. She’d also tried (in a lab) submerging it back into seawater, burying it into a seabed, and even dying it. All to see if the color would return somehow. That last one had been something Shouto had suggested and while she’d been hesitant to destroy the only specimen she had, she’d been curious as well. Luckily, it hadn’t worked, but it had produced surprising results. 

Which led to point four: the scale couldn’t be dyed. She’d tried different methods and nothing took hold. 

And now here she was, almost three days later, revisiting the place Shouto had found it at. Alone. Kind of.  

Since today was one of their days off, Ochako had decided to skip the wetsuit, wearing a simple two-piece with gloves and a belt across her chest. The scale was in one of the pockets since she had a different theory: assuming there was a possibility for the scale to regain its pigment, perhaps it needed the Actual sea and not recreations. 

While most days, Ochako would enjoy the view, today she was on a mission. She felt along the seabed with her hands, careful to do so gently, in case anything was hiding under there. 

Nothing. 

It’s only when she starts swimming between the more intricate rock formations that she finds another scale. Except that this one is yellow, almost gold. 

She pulls a camera out of one of the pockets and takes a snapshot of the area. The water feels slightly cooler here and while the fish still swim near the arch, it’s less densely populated. She notes the fish swimming around, realizing the scale can’t belong to any of them. It’s too big.

She swims back up to the surface and Yaomomo helps her back into the boat. 

“Did you see anything?” Ochako asks once she’s taken off her gear. Yaomomo gives her a towel

“Everything seems fine,” she tells her, showing her a sped-up playback of the recording that the video camera strapped to Ochako’s belt had captured, “The animals seem fine. We haven’t been keeping too hard an eye on the area, but nothing looks damaged either.”

Ochako nods, “That’s what I thought too, but it doesn’t make sense.”

They decide to head back to the beach. 

As they do, Ochako pulls out the scale she just found and frowns even deeper. She had thought it had been the same as the pink one, but this one was slightly flatter and actually had ridges and spikes. When she changed the angle, it also shimmered, but only slightly. 

She takes out the other scale to compare (even though she’s practically memorized its shape by this point) and yells. Yaomomo stops steering and runs over to her, “What’s wrong?! Are you okay?!”

Ochako nods but doesn’t look away from her hand, “Look.”

Yaomomo does and her eyes widen. The pink scale is vibrant once more.

.

.

.

“You’re obsessed,” Shouto tells her when she asks him to take the lead for today’s tours. 

Her smile is a bit sheepish, “Isn’t that the natural state of scientists?”

“It’s dangerous,” he tells her but doesn’t stop her from packing her things, “We don’t know how long whatever’s down there has been there.”

That does stop Ochako momentarily, but not for long. It’s true that the day after she’d found the yellow scale, she’d returned with Yaomomo to plant a few cameras. They left them in three different places in hopes of finding whatever was down there, but all they had to show for their efforts were two destroyed cameras and no answers. Yaomomo had been devastated and then worried that something so strong was so near. 

They’d told Aizawa about it and he’d decided to change the location of future tours. We’ll keep an eye out and I don’t want to hear about any of you going back there until I give the ok

She looks at the two scales she’d collected. The gold one had lost all its luster and brilliance in the same way the pink one had, and the pink one had…changed. 

It was almost like an independent organism. There was still nothing under the microscope and the only explanation she had was magic (what were the chances!) or a really thick surface (though even then, she knew there had to be something ) that somehow blocked her every attempt to physically investigate the item. 

Shouto had (once more) reminded her that she could just crack it open, but she hadn’t wanted to, especially after its metamorphosis. The scale had kept accumulating pigment and now was almost a ruby red and three spikes had appeared on its surface. They were all different lengths but didn’t extend past what she assumed was the base of the scale. They were also sharp when touched by hand

She’d learned that the hard way. 

“And,” he stresses, “you’d be going alone. I’m worried.”

She smiled. Shouto wasn’t always vocal about his feelings, assuming they all just knew how he felt, so she treasured the times when he did. 

“I’ll be ok, we’ve all gone diving on our own a few times. I won’t go far.”

.

.

.

Ochako keeps to her promises. She stays in the vicinity of where both scales were found, which also happened to be the only place the camera survived. She’s a little nervous, but it’s a nervous excitement. She’s not sure why, but she has the feeling that something will happen. 

She straps the belt across her chest, once more foregoing the wetsuit, but wearing a more standard one piece swimsuit. It helps keep her gear in place. 

“Time to find some answers!” she pumps herself up and jumps.

.

.

.

She realizes something isn’t right when her head goes under and she looks down at where she feels pain on her chest. There’s a small stream of red coming off the pocket where she’d stored the red scale. One of the spindles has torn through the fabric of the belt and it dances in the water. She grimaces

What…happened?

She thinks her vision starts to go dark. It’s only early noon so the sunlight should help light her way at this depth. She blinks rapidly and realizes that there are also no other fish. 

They’re hidden…

It’s here…

She gasps, the pain becoming stronger but she can’t move her body as well as she’d like.

.

.

.

It feels like she’s suspended in the water for a long time, but it must only be for a moment. She sees it then, in her peripheral vision. It’s…like a dragon. Whatever it is has a long tail and when it shimmers gold, Ochako realizes it’s the creature she’s been looking for. 

Except that now she thinks it was looking for her . 

She closes her eyes and when she opens them, she finds herself staring into the clearest and brightest brown eyes she’s ever seen. They’re so clear they look like they’re gold. They’re framed by blonde hair and a long smile that splits the creature’s pretty features. And right against its cheeks lay two scales, blood red with spindles that look more like whiskers

They seem to have a will of their own too, some of them curling towards Ochako.

This isn’t what I meant…when I said I wanted a cute girl…to hit on me…

Bubbles rise to the surface.

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.

.

Ochako used to have an imaginary friend when she was a kid. It wasn’t strange. All children had imaginary friends and all children, her included, would insist that their friend wasn’t imaginary. Her parents thought it was cute…until they realized that her imaginary friend would always be in the sea. 

“But she’s lonely,” Ochako cried as her parents settled her into bed, her small fingers pruney. 

“Ochako,” her mother’s stern voice was wobbly, “What you did tonight was dangerous and not okay. We…If we hadn’t found you…”

She also starts crying and her father comforts her. His voice is softer when he talks to her, “Ochako, what did we say about nighttime?”

Ochako sniffles, shame rising to her face, “Night is for sleeping and-and staying inside.”

He nods, “That’s right. I’m glad you remember. Now, do you know why we’re upset?”

She looks at her mother, who is starting to wipe away the tears on her face. 

“Because you’re worried?”

“Yes,” he smiles, covering both her hands in his one giant one, “Now, going out without telling us wasn’t right. We talked about communication, remember?” She nods, “And I know you’re worried about your friend, but I’m sure she’s gone home too.”

“But she doesn’t have a home!”

“Let me tell you something you might not know,” he says, grinning, “Mermaids have homes, too. In the sea. They’re called Nests. Your friend will be fine.”

Her eyes grow wide, “Really? How do you know?”

He nods, “Because I’m a marine biologist. It’s our job to know everything about the sea.”

“I want to be a marine biologist too!” her father laughs and even her mother lets out a few chuckles. 

“That makes me happy to hear,” he tells her, “But marine biologists work in teams and they have to keep their promises. And communicate. Now, it’s time for bed, little mermaid.”

Ochako giggles, “I’m not a mermaid! Himiko is!”

Her parents share a look. When they leave her room, Ochako hears her mother’s mumbled, those marks on her arms… She isn’t able to hear her father’s answer.

She pulls her pajama top’s sleeve up past her wrist and looks at the little pinpricks. The most recent one is pink. Himiko had put it on the inside of her wrist. 

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.

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Ochako has always lived by the sea. Many seas in fact. All because her father was a marine biologist. When people hear about her family they nod, making sense of her career decision. 

But they don’t know about the one time her father got a new job, which meant they had to move. And Ochako had cried because they didn’t tell her until it was too late. Too late to say goodbye. She was never the type to throw tantrums, but she had that day.

They don’t know how she ran into a new corner of the sea and yelled out the name of her friend, hoping she had followed her. 

She doesn’t tell them that she’d drawn whiskers on her face and lines against her neck and pretended she could breathe underwater, only to rise to the surface gasping and crying.

Her parents don’t know that she made a promise with a little blonde creature and, in time, she grows up and also forgets. 

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She tastes blood on her lips and feels pressure against her body. She thinks the sun has set with how dark it’s become. Vibrations dance along her skin like kisses. 

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“Ochako-chan!” the mermaid coos, “I told you I would find you! I knew it was you, the taste of your blood is so unique!”

In a more subdued voice, she says, “I can tell you still love me so much. I do too, Ochako-chan.”

The creature’s smile becomes so wide its jaw unhinges. 

“Let me have more, ok, Ochako-chan?”

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Send kudos on AO3 🩷

Gift for Shippy: Shouto sips from his drink and then says, “I’m sure you would be a great sister-in-law but you can’t marry my brother.” (TogaChako, MHA)

Wait. So you don’t like my brother?

Read on Ao3 (Send Kudos)

tags: friendship, misunderstandings, summer trip, beach volleyball, fireworks, kisses, confessions

note: apparently i've been swept away by the togachako currents because why do i keep wanting to write more fics about them?! a happy fic for a change, lol

——————————————————————————

The day Ochako sees her, she’s at the beach with her friends. 

They’d been planning a trip to the beach to celebrate the end of the semester. It was supposed to be a short trip. They’d go swimming, maybe break a watermelon or two, play in the sand, and then relax overnight at one of the nearby cabins. Their mistake (or perhaps blessing, Ochako is starting to realize) was letting Yaomomo organize everything because, on the day they’d planned to leave, just as Iida had texted he’d soon be picking everyone up, Yaomomo confessed there had been a tiny change in their plans.

The change being that they would now be staying at some high end resort by a beach in the complete opposite direction they’d originally planned. AND they were going to be chauffeured by a LIMO. Nobody had the heart to refuse Yaomomo’s bashful and earnest confession of I really wanted this to be special and stress-free for everyone. And it’s a gift because I’m really glad we became friends!

And really, if Yaomomo hadn’t changed their plans, then Ochako wouldn’t have seen her!

“I think I’m in love,” she says without thinking and that stops the conversation. 

“Ochako-chan?” Tsuyu asks, turning to the girl sitting next to her.

They’re all sitting at one of the most popular beach bars at the resort, close enough to the bar if they need it, but with a nice view of the beach and sea (instead of the other patrons). Courtesy of Yaomomo’s excellent planning. 

They all turn to where Ochako hasn’t stopped staring. 

There’s a group of guys and one girl setting up a volleyball net at the designated “court” area. One of the guys has long white hair that he’s tied up into a ponytail, another looks like he could be the girl’s uncle, and the third one is tall with messy black hair. He has the volleyball and is messing with the girl, holding it high over her pigtailed head. 

He throws the ball and Ochako realizes that they have a fifth person in their group. When the girl runs over to the guy, he gives her the volleyball. He’s probably the shortest of the group and looks very unamused. That doesn’t stop the girl, in her simple black 2-piece, from grinning at him and pulling him over with the others. He stumbles, but doesn’t pull away.

“They are a very interesting bunch,” Iida proclaims while adjusting his glasses, as if that will somehow help see them better, “which one have you fallen for?”

Yaomomo has a blush on her face, “L-Love? So quickly? That’s so romantic!”

Katsuki snorts, “They all look like they’ve been in the sun too long. One even looks like a prune!”

“Kacchan!” Deku chastises, “That’s not very nice.”

Kirishima is grinning, “Look at the muscles on the old man!”

“He’s very cute,” Tsuyu nods, “Reminds me of our swimming coach. Though he does look a bit tired. He should probably go to one of the spas later.”

It’s all background noise to Ochako…until Shouto speaks. He practically slams his drink onto the table before turning back to face everyone. He’s not angry, but his brows are furrowed so deeply anyone else would have already dropped to their knees to ask for forgiveness

“You like my brother ?” That stops the conversation a second time and Ochako finally looks away from the strange group to look at him.

They all yell, “BROTHER?!”

Shouto looks like he’s swallowed a lemon, “Yeah. The tall one who looks like someone set him on fire. He’s…my…He’s got a terrible personality.”

Katsuki laughs into his drink, “Sounds like it runs in the family.”

“Bakugou!” Iida chides, “That’s not a very nice thing to say, or practical, considering…well, your own attitude.”

Katsuki chokes and yells, “My personality is FLAWLESS, four eyes!”

There’s a lot of squabbling, laughing, and a few rattled drinks. Even the table wobbles a bit.

And yes, Ochako has a lot of questions. For example, how is it that nobody knew about this brother? After nearly a year of friendship?! She had thought Shouto was an only child like the rest of them (sans Iida who spoke about his brother at any chance he could)! Also, why was his brother here on the same day they were? But no. She didn’t ask any of those logical questions. Instead, she asked, “Is that his girlfriend?”

This only seemed to prove Shouto’s theory and he frowned, “No. Last time I heard, he was gay.”

Their group is quiet for a beat and then Kirishima nervously chuckles, “Last time you heard?”

Shouto sips from his drink and then says, “I’m sure you would be a great sister-in-law but you can’t marry my brother.”

“Wait,” Yaomomo says, “So is he not gay? And how did this escalate to marriage?” She’s still blushing and Ochako is 100% sure she’s already planning this supposed wedding. With the luck Yaomomo had with this trip, Ochako would, without a doubt, let her plan her wedding to that girl

Ochako reaches over the table and grabs Shouto by the shoulders, “Is. That. His. Girlfriend?”

Shouto looks shocked and then resigned. He shakes his head, “He’s single. I had hoped until the day he’d die…”

The look he sends her is pleading but she’s already grinning.

Shouto weakly adds, “I have another brother…”

And that’s when Finally, everyone starts to ask him questions about his family. 

.

.

.

Ochako is many things but a homewrecker isn’t one of them. And while she does agree with the general populace about the handsomeness of the Todorokis (plural now that she’s seen Dabi), they’re not exactly what she needs. But after some careful observations, she’s noticed that the blonde girl does favor him and thus, he indirectly becomes her target as well

If only as a way to introduce herself. It would surely make her approaching them more natural, saying she’s friends with Shouto rather than saying she’s spent the last hour just watching them (her) from afar…

When she tells everyone she’s going to go say hi, Shouto (once again) tries to stop her, “Natsuo is a better human being. He’s a hundred times better than Dabi.”

Yaomomo giggles, “Didn’t you say he had a fiance?”

Shouto hangs his head, “Maybe we can work something out…”

“Why don’t you offer yourself up if you’re so desperate?” Katsuki says while smirking. 

“Oh no,” Deku groans just as a light goes on in Shouto’s eyes. 

“I…suppose I could…”

But Ochako is already gone, the sound of Katsuki’s unrestrained laughter as her background theme. Still, it does nothing to distract her from how fast her heart is beating. She curls her fingers into fists and straightens her back, I can do this! She’ll just go up to them and watch a bit of their game (just like the rest of the crowd already forming) and then casually make conversation.

She seems to have good timing because not long after she starts watching them play do they take a quick break. She makes her move, walking toward the duo team of the girl and Dabi.

“H-Hey!” Her face goes red at how her voice cracks but she keeps going (and even adds a little wave)

Dabi zeroes in on her a second before the girl does. 

When the girl grins wide, Ochako melts. She’s sweaty and her bangs are a mess but there’s something so utterly beautiful about her. She suspects it’s the way she smiles, as if she had been waiting for Ochako to say something. And, she realizes (never before imagining this is something she NEEDED), the girl’s smile is so wide it reveals a pair of sharp canines. 

She tries not to get too ahead of herself but also can’t stop her mind from imagining her saying welcome home (in a voice that is too suspiciously like her own) and her canines snagging on the skin of Ochako’s lips as she kisses her. 

But she doesn’t say that. Instead, she says, “Do you know her, Dabi?”

And Dabi, who is still wiping down the sweat off his face, looks her up and down. He hums for a moment and then grins. Ochako wonders how much she can make if she steals his towel and bids it to the group of girls calling out to him. Maybe she can ask Shouto where he’s staying and leak the information

His voice is low when he says, “Not really.” Then he nods, “Shouto.”

He’s not looking at her and when she turns around, she finds most of her friends have followed her. And, Shouto, who looks much better but still rather annoyed, comes to stand right next to her, their shoulders almost brushing. She doesn’t think he’s ever stood so close to her. 

Katsuki looks a little too amused. 

Dabi throws his towel and the girl catches it. Her eyes briefly turn to the girls Ochako had spotted before and she’s not sure if she imagines it, but her smile turns a bit feral as she uses the same towel to clean off her forehead and shoulders. There are outraged gasps.

Dabi makes a face, “Ugh, really? You have your own towel.”

The girl laughs and Ochako feels like she’s floating. She knows she can listen to that laugh for the rest of her life. In fact, she’s wondering what she can do to make her laugh again. 

But Shouto brings her back to reality when he nearly yells (whines), “Didn’t I tell you not to come today?”

“Really? I could have sworn you said, and I quote, ‘make sure to be there or I’ll tell Father.’”

Katsuki is the first to snort, then laugh. Iida crosses his arms, “Did you really threaten such a thing, Todoroki-kun?”

Even Kirishima is giggling, “That’s such a youngest thing to say!”

Todoroki’s face turns a bit red, but he doesn’t budge.

But Ochako is only looking at Shouto with gratitude and even wonders if she should hug him as thanks, “You really invited them?” 

It must sound more accusing to Shouto though because he reels, “I didn’t! I told you not to come.” More softly he says, “And I didn’t say I’d tell him.”

Ochako is trying not to laugh but her cheeks go red.

Tsuyu doesn’t even try. She grins, “He’s got a cute side too. This trip has become really interesting.”

Speaking of their trip, Ochako thinks that it’s time to do what she intended. The pair are technically in the middle of a game and she doesn’t want to lose her chance! 

“I’m Uraraka Ochako.” She makes sure to make eye contact with the girl, “You can call me Ochako.”

The girl beams but doesn’t offer up her name. Instead, she nearly KOs Ochako (and many can attest that KOing her is Difficult) when she says, “Ochako-chan!”

Ochako doesn’t even try to blame the sun for how warm her body feels or for her sudden dizziness, “Uh, what are your names?”

Four people talk at the same time:

“I already told you his name. It’s Touya.” “Call me Dabi. ” “I’m Toga Himiko! Ochako-chan, call me Himiko, okay!” “What’s taking you all so long?”

The last voice comes from another person from Dabi’s group. It’s the one with the long white hair and dry skin. He’s not even looking at them. He’s just glaring at Dabi. Dabi doesn’t look phased. He smiles and says, “Shouto came to hang out with us.”

Ochako takes that as her chance. Before Shouto can properly complain, she exclaims, “Yes! We thought we could join you.”

“No, we didn’t. I don’t want to hang out with him. We’re not friends.”

And that almost takes Ochako out too because how many times has Shouto outwardly admitted that they’re all friends? Not many, if the reactions of their friends are any indication:

“Todoroki-kun has grown so much. I also value your friendship!” “How many times do I have to tell ya we’re not friends!” “You can stand to learn a thing or two Kacchan.” “That’s such a manly thing to say!”

All of this only seems to amuse Dabi and Ochako knows something is coming when Dabi and Himiko side-eye each other briefly and then grin. The two move so swiftly behind them that Ochako doesn’t even realize what’s happened until her cheek is squished against (she nearly faints) Himiko’s cheek! She also has two pairs of arms around her and all she can think is Himiko is HUGGING ME!

She’s not sure how they achieved it but this is much better than her original plan. Himiko rubs her face with hers and exclaims, “Yes! Let’s play with Baby Dabi and his friends!”

Shouto, who is also being hugged by Himiko and his brother, looks pale and like his soul has just left his body. His voice is raspy when he croaks, “I’m not a baby and let me go!”

Dabi, who is hovering over them all, places his head over Shouto’s and teases, “Come now, Shouto. Are you really going to say no to these pretty ladies here?”

Shouto looks over to Ochako and Himiko. Ochako’s brows are slightly creased but she mouths rather menacingly, Say. Yes.

Shouto looks up into the sky and relents, “Fiiiiiine.”

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.

.

Most of the rest of their daylight is spent playing volleyball. When Himiko finally lets Ochako go, Ochako grabs her wrist and asks, “Can we be on the same team?”

Himiko grins again and excitedly tells her, “Yes!”

She also insists Dabi has to play on their team ( He’s really good and I like to win ) and when Shouto comes over, his hand raised and mouth ready to proclaim he’ll join them, Himiko nearly runs him down. Instead, Himiko grabs Tsuyu ( You have to join our team! The three of us are so cute! ) and Shouto is left hanging. Dabi grins at him and shrugs in a what can you do manner

Kirishima whistles and flexes, “I guess it’s us guys together then.”

Bakugou, as usual, argues, “I don’t need all of you! And I don’t want to play with Deku! Get on some other team.”

Iida tries to settle them down. 

With so many extra players, they decide to make teams of four with Dabi’s friend Spinner saying he can be the scorekeeper ( I’m more of a gamer anyway ). To his slight annoyance, he does get roped into a few games, Jin insisting they were at the beach and that it wouldn’t be a true beach experience if all Spinner did was hide in the shade of the sun umbrella ( We can switch between matches!)

When they do eventually start playing, Ochako realizes that Himiko and the others are really good. It fires them all up and before they know it, an even bigger crowd has formed. 

Luckily, it happens in the last game.

It being fatigue. They had quickly realized they had too many people with too much stamina and competitiveness when Shigaraki’s team won their match against Katsuki. Ochako thinks it was only natural. Shigaraki was clearly an excellent player and both Iida and Yaomomo were great at working in teams. With Iida, Yaomomo, and Jin playing support, they’d practically crushed Katsuki’s more chaotic group (which was made up of Kirishima, Deku, and Shouto). 

As a way to keep everything fun but still high stakes, they’d decided to only play a certain number of games. 

Ochako is once more on the court and this time they’re facing off against Shouto's team. It’s when he delivers a spike that she falters. She had been pretty sure she would make it, but she’s slightly off and all she can think is that they’re going to lose if she doesn’t keep the volley going. She tries to reposition her arm, to get a one-touch, but her body is tired. That’s when Himiko calls out, “I’ve got it!”

And she does. She manages to keep the ball in the air using a single arm, but she’d come from too far in the back and ends up stumbling too. They both fall into the sand and start laughing. Himiko goes so far as to lay on her back and kick up her arms and legs. When she settles down, Ochako goes red when one of her arms ends up on her lap. Her skin is soft and warm

A whistle goes off and Ochako realizes she’s missed the final play (though judging from how smug Dabi looks, it seems like they won).

Ochako is breathing hard and fast, and her arms ache, but she’s extremely happy. Himiko grins at her, “That was so fun, right Ochako-chan?”

Ochako grins back at her, “Yeah!”

Before they can both get up, Dabi and Shouto walk over. Dabi pulls Himiko to her feet and Shouto offers his hand to Ochako. She takes it, and it’s only when she’s up on her feet again that she realizes how tired she is. She unconsciously leans some of her weight on him and he puts a hand on her back, suggesting, “We should go rest.”

He’d been wearing the most clothes out of everyone, but he’d taken off his shirt when he’d gone up against Shigaraki’s team for the second time (Katsuki’s complaints of you overheating bastard, that’s slowing you down! Take it off! And the sun finally getting the best of him)

Yaomomo beams, “We have a spot already reserved for us!”

Ochako wonders if this is something only unique to resorts because how does someone reserve a piece of the beach?! But it’s a welcome thought. She turns to Himiko to see she’s already looking at her and she blushes. She offers, “Will you join us? We were going to break a watermelon.”

“It’s gotten a bit late, perhaps it’s a little dangerous to break the watermelon now,” Iida contemplates, looking at the sunset. 

Bakugou smirks over at Shigaraki, “I think it’s the best time.”

Kirishima shakes his head, “It’s not very manly to be a sore loser, you know.”

“I’M NOT A SORE LOSER!” Katsuki yells, “I’LL CRUSH YOU!”

“If your aim is as bad as it was playing volleyball,” Shigaraki smirks back, “Perhaps you should let us take care of it.”

It takes both Deku and Kirishima to hold him back, but his voice is loud on the beach. 

They make quick work of putting the net back to its original state and Jin grabs the duffle bag he’d brought, throwing the volleyball inside. He also tells them to throw their sweat soaked towels into a side pocket.

When they finish, Yaomomo takes the lead. 

Ochako had planned to walk with Himiko but despite having played numerous rounds of volleyball, she’s quick to run after Jin when he teases her. They kick the sand around their bare feet and before they know it, most of their friends are running as well. They zigzag between the water and sand, trying to cool down, and end up with a bigger (sandy) mess

Dabi ends up keeping pace next to her and Ochako takes the opportunity to ask, “Are you and Himiko…together?” She’d believed Shouto but seeing the two interact had left her doubting. They didn’t exactly act like they were dating, but it was clear to anyone that they were very close. 

Dabi snorts, “ Her? No.” He’s eyeing Ochako and then sighs, rolling his eyes, “She’s like an annoying little sister. As if I need any more of those.”

It’s at that moment when Shouto pushes between Dabi and her. Dabi lets himself be pushed aside and when Shouto has pulled her along a few paces, he calls out, “See what I mean!”

Ochako laughs but doesn’t break her contact with Shouto. Instead, she starts pulling him into a run after their friends.

.

.

.

After some splashing, dunking, and cleaning up, they finally settle down and Ochako has to admit that Yaomomo has amazing planning skills. As the sun was setting, more and more people started to arrive and Ochako was glad for their little reservation. When Tsuyu made a comment about it, Yaomomo admitted, “Actually, there will be fireworks tonight, so it’ll get busier from here on out.”

They settle on breaking three watermelons after Shigaraki breaks the second one on his first try. When he takes off his blindfold and sees the nearly perfect split, he turns to Katsuki and smirks.

Shouto goes after him and once they blindfold him and spin him around, Dabi comes over to sit next to her. He whispers, “Watch this.”

He wobbles a bit when Yaomomo lets him go and then he starts walking with the stick over his head. He nearly attacks Katsuki (The hell are you aiming at half-and-half!!) and then Jin (Hey!) . Dabi laughs and then calls out to him, “I’m over here! With your girlfriend!”

When Shouto realizes Dabi has taken his place next to her, his nostrils flare. Dabi just laughs, “If you don’t hurry, I’m going to take her away!”

Everyone is shouting directions and as Shouto finally gets closer to the watermelon, Dabi tells her, “Come with me.”

Ochako turns to look at Himiko, who is also cheering on Shouto. Dabi calls out to her again, “Trust me.”

And she does. She’s not sure why, but she gets up to follow him.

They end up going into one of the bars and Dabi calls out to the bartender, “Kurogiri!”

The man turns at his name and narrows his eyes. Ochako wonders if he doesn’t like Dabi, but it must just be a quirk of his because he’s polite when he greets them, “Dabi.” 

She introduces herself and he nods, “Uraraka.”

Dabi leans against the bar and tells him, “The usual for the five of us. And whip up something evil for my kid brother.” He looks at Ochako, “You?”

She orders a simple watermelon tea, then adds, “Actually, can we get 6 of those.”

The man nods, his quick hands already working on their order. He places a glass cup with nearly transparent liquid and lemon pieces in front of Dabi. Dabi grabs it and nearly downs it in a single go. 

“A rather large group,” Kurogiri comments. 

The bar isn’t as lively as the one they’d been at earlier but it’s cozy in a way Ochako can’t describe. The guests seem more intimate with their arms around each other and their quiet laughter. Even the music playing is quiet and soft

Dabi just shrugs, “Shouto wanted to hang out.”

“I highly doubt that,” the man says while smiling. He turns to Ochako and asks, “What’s the real reason?”

She feels herself blush, “I might have…insisted.”

Kurogiri turns to look at Dabi and raises a brow. “Not me,” Dabi says with his hands in front of him.

That seems answer enough for him. He places the drink he’d been making in front of Ochako and says, “On the house” before heading to the other side of the bar. 

It’s like Dabi’s but with a more floral scent. 

“For the record,” Ochako says, grabbing the drink, “I’m not his girlfriend. I don’t like him like that.”

Dabi, who is already grabbing the lemons in his drink and plopping them into his mouth, laughs, “I know. And no offense, but I’m sure he’s not into you either.”

They’re both quiet for a moment and then he hums, “Himiko, right?”

Ochako blushes slightly, “Was I that obvious?”

Dabi just smiles, “To me. Jin probably figured it out too. Shigaraki doesn’t care about stuff like that so he probably wasn’t paying attention. Your friends don’t look like they know.”

Ochako laughs, “I didn’t get a chance to tell them. I just…” She makes hand movements of when she walked over to them earlier that day, “And now we’re here.”

He nods in approval, “I like a woman who takes charge. But…”

He leaves that hanging for a moment, then downs the rest of his drink. Kurogiri comes back with a cooler decorated with a bunch of stickers, some faded, some new and all in clashing designs, as if different people laid claim to it. Inside are all the drinks they asked for. Dabi takes a pale pink drink out and gives it to Ochako, “She’s a bit airheaded. It’s best to be direct with her.”

He closes the cooler and then hurries her, “Come on, the fireworks will be starting soon.”

Ochako doesn’t follow for a second and then grins. She catches up to him and bumps his arm, careful of both drinks in her hands, “You’re actually a nice guy, aren’t you?”

He makes a face, “Don’t. I have an image to uphold.”

But that makes her wonder too, “Shouto really doesn’t like you. Why is that?”

Dabi smirks, “Let me tell you a little story about pre-teen Shouto.”

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.

.

Before they make it back to the spot with the rest of their group, they see Himiko running toward them. She’s wearing a simple white cover up that’s transparent enough that Ochako can still see the silhouette of her 2 piece. She has another hanging from her arms, “Ochako-chan!”

She stops in front of them both and her eyes light up, “You got drinks! I have this for you, too!”

Dabi teases, “What about me? I’m cold too.”

Ochako thinks Himiko sounds a little upset when she says, “No, that’s what you get for taking Ochako-chan. Go away.” Ochako isn’t sure if she should blush or worry that she’s upset the girl she likes. But Dabi, as usual, acts unconcerned and continues to walk away. 

Before he walks away too far he looks at Ochako and says, “Take your time.”

And they do. 

They swap items and Ochako pulls the cover up over her head. It’s a simple top and once it settles on her body, Himiko smiles. It’s softer than all the grins Ochako has seen her give everyone today. Her voice is nearly a whisper of what it’s been all day too when she says, “I knew it would be perfect.”

That freezes Ochako, her brain only processing it’s perfect, on you, you’re perfect. YOU’RE perfect

Himiko moves to give back the drinks (as if her words hadn’t shifted Ochako’s World) and she tells her, her voice unconsciously matching Himiko’s volume, “This one is for you.”

Somehow, their conversation reminds her of the bar: quiet, intimate.

“It’s my favorite,” she confesses and then links her arm with hers, “Let’s go sit over there.”

Ochako stumbles after her, her face gone red once more, “Ok…”

With how crowded the place is, Ochako is surprised they manage to find an empty bench. When they settle down, she takes courage and sits close enough that their legs touch. Himiko looks down as she takes a sip from her drink, but doesn’t say anything. 

“Did you have fun today?” Ochako asks, her voice rising a bit. That seems to break the slight awkwardness they were starting to settle into. She breathes in deeply, relieved.

“It was so fun! I don’t have many girl friends, so it was nice to play with you and Tsuyu-chan and Momo-chan.” She grins, “I don’t get to see Dabi’s brother much either. He’s so much more fun than Dabi said! I’m glad you came to say hi.”

“I’m really glad I did too!” Ochako confesses, and suddenly she wishes she had some weird quirk like Deku that makes him hide his face whenever he’s about to say something emotional. Instead, she just sits there, her hands gripping her cup and her toes playing along the edge of the sidewalk and sand. 

“Actually…” She feels her face burn a deep red, “The reason I went over today is because… because…!”

The words end up stuck in her throat and she reminds herself that she’s not a quitter. She has to let Himiko know that she likes her. Dabi told her she had to be direct and she wants there to be more for them. She wants to hang out again. Perhaps go on a few dates. She wants them to be exclusive and -

“Ochako-chan,” Himiko calls her, her face so close it only makes Ochako go redder, “You look so cute in red.” At this distance, Ochako can also tell Himiko’s blushing. That gives her the push she needs.

“I like you!” she yells out, “That’s why I went to say hi! I think it’s love! I know that sounds weird but when I saw you on the beach, I knew I wanted you in my life!”

She feels her eyes and skin prickle with emotion, but with those words out, the rest feels easier. Himiko looks surprised, her earlier smile gone. 

“I- I want to be your friend, but I want to be clear. I want you to be my girlfriend, too. I want us to see each other again after this.”

Himiko looks pensive, “Does that mean you want to kiss me?”

Ochako is speechless for a moment and Himiko sings her name, her earlier smile back, “ O-cha-ko-chan , tell me.”

She feels a soft hand over hers and she lets her eyes drop for a moment before looking back up at Himiko. Her eyes are glowing a deep gold and Ochako swallows. She nods and says, “Yes.”

That makes Himiko grin wide, her canines on full display again, “On the lips?”

Ochako’s eyes trace her lips and she nods, “On the lips. And other places, later.”

They’re getting closer, she’s sure of it, but she also can’t make sense of what’s happening. Himiko asks again, “What about now? Should we kiss right now?”

Ochako meets her eyes again and smiles, “Yes. I think we should.”

And they do. They both lean in to close the distance between them and Ochako thinks, I was right just as Himiko’s teeth snag on her lips. They pull and graze along her skin, and Ochako’s body reacts. She shivers and lets her tongue slide along both their lips, trying to settle her nerves. It does the opposite, especially after Himiko makes a sound of surprise, right before also using her tongue to pull her closer. Ochako puts her hand along Himiko’s jaw and she can feel Himiko’s longer fingers touch her thighs and waist, pulling the cloth of her cover up. This time, when she imagines Himiko telling her to come closer Ochako-chan! she hears her cute saccharine and whiny voice instead of her own terrible mimicry

They’re interrupted by a confused, “Wait. So you don’t like my brother?”

They pull apart laughing and then the fireworks light up the sky. 

.

.

A/N:

about the dabi&shouto "conflict": (1) shouto doesn't actually hate dabi. it's all sibling love (if you have siblings, you know, lol) (2) my idea is that shouto, being the baby that he is, would look up to dabi and think he was super cool. i was vague with his appearance but imagine someone with at least multiple piercings. he was also independent and would (often) argue with their parents, getting away with a lot bc he's smart like that. he also knew shouto looked up to him and since shouto was the baby he treated him as the baby (babied him, shouto loved it). but dabi was also mischievous and would often tell shouto white lies and shouto would believe *everything* he would say. like, if dabi told him that the world was flat and everyone was just too stupid to understand it, shouto would write a thesis on how right dabi was (3) i guess the idea is that one day dabi ends up embarrassing shouto and it just spirals out of control. shouto realizes that no, the world is not flat and the thesis he wrote is useless. and shouto hates it when he's still teased and babied but he also loves dabi. like, he could have NOT said anything about his beach trip but he did and yes, he did tell dabi not to come and even threatened to tell their mom, but he wasn't actually serious haha, idk, i just think they'd be really cute if it was out of canon?? idk, that's what i hope for at least :')

Do mk’s kids meets nezha, peng, yellowtusk, PIF, DBK and ao guang?

I'll go in order (ouo)

1) The children had the opportunity to meet Red Son's parents thanks to their constant "visits", which mostly meant that Red Son would be watching over them. So from a very early age, they were able to meet and interact with both Princess Iron Fan and DBK during those periods.

Of course... they did one or another prank, but that is another story.

2) As for Nezha, only the older brother (Dishi) had the opportunity to meet him when MK took him to one of his trainings with the deity. He became his little fan.

But the rest of their siblings never really got to know them, although Nezha knows of their existence very well. That's because MK didn't miss the opportunity to show him photos and photos of them when he asked if Dishi was his only child.

Although maybe one day they will get to know each other. Who knows.

3) As for Peng and Yellowtusk... I'd say yes, but as you can imagine, maybe not in the best conditions.

4) Ao Guang, I don't think they ever met him. Because they did not exist during the events of season 3, and also because... What situation would lead them to meet him?

They live in the depths of the sea, and some of them do not know how to swim.

Although maybe Mei could give them that chance, but I doubt it XP