* moved !

           multi-fandom canon multi-muse. private & selective. by kool whip.

                mobile navi. interest check. muse summaries. thread tracker.

                                                         on hiatus.

「 ♔ 」Anyway, new plan since I guess I have to move blogs, not necessarily to be done in this order:

Speedrun thread replies and queue them to post on this blog.

Move asks and any starters written for me to the new blog.

Do all the blog maintenance stuff, etcetera.

Cry a little.

???

♔ 「 @veritcs​ asked : 💖 thoughts on obi/shirayuki or maybe soramaru/nishiki? 。 」

💖 + a ship!

♔ 「 @reflectionbound​ asked : 💖 SaneKana (either verse) 。 」

💖 + a ship!

♔ 「 @guiltscorched​ asked : ❝ how do i stop growing up? this isn’t fun anymore. ❞ / yosano @ kyouka 。 」

✿ ❞ As mortal humans, there truly was no correct answer to that question: eternal youth, at least as far as Kyouka’d seen, remained elusive and unattainable. Modern science produced creams and procedures that could prevent or reverse the effects of aging----she saw quite a few signs while wandering the city’s streets, even though she had no personal use for such things. But Yosano herself was an adult already.

Well, the girl thought she looked perfectly fine... but adults were weird like that. Even the doctor had her moments, as it turned out.

By now, Shinobu is enough used to Kanao’s mannerisms to easily pick up at the smallest of nuances of her expressions. Kanao doesn’t need to say it out loud for Shinobu to be able to see the enthusiasm shining in her gaze at the offer, and the smile already glued to the Pillar’s features only widens then. As much as Shinobu loves her work, she also appreciates every given chance to spend time with her younger sister, and it’s moments like these that make her the more eager for them.

Finishing up her half-eaten anpan and tea, Shinobu wraps up the other one for later, getting up from her seat to leave the used teacup in the sink then.

“Save some for you to snack on later, alright, Kanao-chan?” She says, nodding her chin at the other pieces of lukewarm bread left on the plate. With her own in one hand, Shinobu reaches out with the other, giving the younger a few gentle head pats. “Just be careful to not miss dinner later.”

「 🏵 」 Habits were difficult to form at times, and if not for Aoi or the three younger girls’ reminders, Kanao would be more liable to forget meals due to her lack of hunger; over the years, she became better at showing up to the dinner table before anyone need come and fetch her, even when she failed to register eating as a necessity. She kept track of time and scheduling better, which helped.

Of course, a gentle reminder never hurt either.

     “That I am, that I am.” One of the few things he takes any pride in is being a Yamainu, and he’d hardly be able to call himself one if he wasn’t a force to be reckoned with in his own right. “Each of us uses a different style, the captain and your brother are vanguard types, they like a good scuffle. I like the backlines. You’re probably smart to try yourself against everyone if you get the chance.”

      To Mutsuki’s own surprise, he’s finding himself a little excited to test this young Kumo son. Although far from being a competitive spirit, he’d never once bested Taiko nor Tenka, testing where Soramaru stands is almost irresistible. So much so that Mutsuki catches himself reaching into his breastpocket for his Shiki already before stopping to ask what should have been obvious, “we’re not fighting in here, huh? Where at?”

「 ☁️ 」 That thought, albeit only half-formed, had crossed his mind before. Since Kiiko often watched his sparring matches against Sousei, the second son had been tempted to invite her to join, but he hadn’t quite gotten around to it yet. Takeda also spoke highly of Takamine’s skills----of course, he expected no less from any member of the squad ( even if he teased the youngest for being the low man on the totem pole ). Perhaps this match would prompt him to follow through with the idea.

Soramaru’s eyes followed Ashiya’s hand, curiosity about his fighting style nearly distracting him from the following question.

                predictable.  trained,  analyzing  gaze  took  notice  of  the  way  kyouka  let  her  dagger  disappear  into  her  inventory,  aware  the  girl  wasn’t  going  to  keep  attacking  him  with  her  sword  alone.  her  plan  was  exposed  by  years  of  experience  in  swordsmanship,  but  he  remained  quiet  about  it,  allowed  her  to  bask  in  the  moment  of  confidence.  it  wasn’t  a  bad  way  to  go  about  it  –  mayhaps,  someone  more  inexperienced  would  have  fallen  for  her  trick,  and  he  could  clearly  see  improvement  in  her  train  of  thought,  in  ideas  to  end  this  sparring  session  with  a  victory  on  her  side.

                though,  as  generous  as  he  was  towards  her,  as  much  as  he  had  come  to  care  for  her  as  a  person,  a  player,  and,  most  importantly,  a  friend  dear  to  his  heart,  he  wasn’t  going  to  go  easy  on  this.  the  last  thing  she  wished  for,  he  knew,  was  to  not  be  taken  as  a  serious  opponent,  something  kirito  himself  wasn’t  very  fond  of,  either.  she  dashed  towards  him,  sword  aimed  at  his  own,  a  split  second  in  which  everything  happened;  in  which  he  used  both  of  his  weapons  to  not  simply  counter  her  attack.  instead  he  flicked  his  wrist,  just  the  right  degree  and  angle  to  let  his  sword  tackle  hers  out  of  her  grip.

                “ you  need  to  be  more  subtle  if  you’re  going  for  a  sneak  attack  like  that,  kyouka. ”  he  said once  the  sword  ended  up  on  the  ground,  inches  away  from  where  they  stood.  his  own  returned  back  to  their  corresponding  sheaths,  eyes  now  fixed  on  the  girl  in  front  of  him.  corners  of  full  lips  tugged  upwards,  formed  a  grin.  “ there’s  definitely  room  to  refine  your  strategy  but  it’s  not  bad. ”  a  form  of  encouragement  was  added,  not  wishing  to  let  her  believe  what  she  did  wrong  or  possibly  ineffective.  “ shall  we  end  it  for  today?  it’s  getting  late  and  we’ve  got  school  tomorrow. ”

「 ✿ 」 Against almost anyone else, the strategy would’ve worked just fine; against Kirito in particular, however, she had difficulty paying attention both to her inventory and his movements, which made switching out weapons in the middle of her attack far more of a hassle. Plus he knew her too well, having fought against and beside her for quite a while now. Kyouka’s lips pursed, and after a moment, she sighed and sheathed her sword, rising to her feet once more. She didn’t expect to beat him easily, but it would be nice to make more definitive progress.

While she wanted to accomplish the feat with a more traditional approach first, she did have other strategies in the works. She’d picked Spriggin as her race with the intent on mixing in illusion magic with her fighting style, after all, though... it’d be nice if she could use magic without actually speaking. On top of her distaste for talking when it wasn’t necessary, she knew someone familiar enough with spells would be able to predict her moves easily. Not a desirable outcome.

Which left only one obvious solution: create her own unique spells to match her own unique sword skills. Both of those were still a work in progress, of course, but she had the determination to see it through----on top of learning everything Kirito taught her.

♔ 「 @queensconquest​ asked : Shirasu offered a gentle smile towards Soramaru as he settled down beside Soramaru with a covered basket. " You've been working hard lately. I brought you some of your favorite treats. " Sometimes, it was small gestures that meant a lot. " You've been really busy. I hope you don't mind spending a bit of one on one time with this freeloader. " He laughed playfully. " I brought the first game you taught me too. " 。 」

☁️ ❞ Sitting on the porch, Soramaru focused on stitching a hole in one of his little brother’s yukata, so absorbed that he didn’t notice the ninja’s approach until he spoke. He narrowly avoided stabbing himself with the needle when he stiffened, then sighed a moment later, relaxing as he turned his attention towards Shirasu. The shrine had finally quieted down after days of chaos, and the second son more than welcomed the peace and quiet. His lips curled up into a smile at Shirasu’s words, followed by an eager nod.

It went without saying that he never minded spending time with the elder. His other older brother----a calm and gentle counterpart to the one he’d been born with.

He started to scoot over so that the game could be set up between them, only to pause and glance back down to his lap. “Ah, I’m almost done with this,” he said, expression turning a little sheepish. “We can play in a minute, okay?”

Careful fingers went back to work, livelier than before now that the second son wasn’t working idly. He finished soon enough, and he carefully folded the clothing and set it aside, then put the needle and thread back into his sewing kit. Once ready, he turned back to Shirasu.

♔ 「 @veritcs​​ asked : "Soramaru!" The shout is warning of an incoming snowball from Tenka. And he's such a good big brother that he doesn't even aim for Soramaru's face! 。 」

☁️ ❞ Soramaru remembered hearing somewhere that idiots didn’t catch colds----a fact that’d been proven wrong time and time again. At this point, he couldn’t count how many days he’d spent nursing either of his brothers back to health because they spent too long out in the rain or snow, and he sighed as he recalled the lengths he sometimes went to in order to avoid that. He’d had support then, someone who could bribe them inside with fresh tea and sweets.

Sure, the second son knew how to bake, had learned from the best. But it wasn’t the same.

The moment his thoughts started to drift too far, the call of his name snapped him from his daze, a snowball colliding with his shoulder a moment later. His lips parted, reproach instinctive... yet he held his tongue just this once. It wouldn’t hurt to play along, right? Since Chuutarou was at school, a snowball fight couldn’t get too out of hand, hopefully. Even if the youngest brother would certainly complain about missing it.

In a swift motion, Soramaru leaned down to gather up snow and forms it into a ball, careful not to pack it too tight lest it hit too hard. And though he aimed low, he managed to hit Tenka square in the face----completely unintentional, of course. He’d never been known for having good ( or even decent ) aim, after all.

“Sorry, sorry!” Soramaru held up his hands, half as an apology and half to shield himself from any retaliation. “Does that make me an awful little brother?”

   It  was  the  pain  that  helped  ground  Isake  back  into  the  moment  as  he  felt  the  pressure  of  something  on  his  wound  that  made  a  slight  ,  guttered  groan  leave  his  lips.  He  blinked  slowly  ,  staring  at  Soramaru  in  silence  ,  but  if  there  was  any  thought  in  his  mind  it  certainly  didn’t  show.  All  there  was  was  the  confused  pain  on  his  features  as  earlier  remarks  slowly  started  to  register  in  his  mind.  

   You  really  did  turn  out  a  good  kid.  The  outcome  no  doubt  of  a  childhood  full  of  love  and  the  testament  to  the  boy’s  own  personality  and  strength.  He  grimaced  at  being  moved  ,  but  no  complaint  came  from  him.  It  was  necessary  after  all.  Even  he  knew  that.  Belatedly  he  found  the  strength  to  answer  the  earlier  question.  “  Seems  the  black  market  had  a  high  price  for  Fuuma.  “

  But  he’d  killed  them  all.  All  those  seeking  ,  even  though  they’d  thought  he  was  the  only  one  when  someone  must  have  mentioned  seeing  him.  It  was  no  surprise  they’d  swarm  the  area  ;  though  luck  at  least  had  been  kind  enough  for  it  to  be  in  an  area  far  from  the  Fuma  village  ,  and  Isake  leading  them  away.

   Isake  would  have  told  Soramaru  to  simply  leave  him  -  but  he  was  certain  the  other  wouldn’t. His  eyes  closed  ,  trying  to  ignore  the  pain.  “  As  you  have  every  right  to.  “  He  had  expected  no  less.  Hating  him  would  make  things  easier. Or  it  should  have.  But  the  following  remarked  caused  his  eyes  to  open  in  surprise.  It  was  like  Tenka’s  refusal  to  forget  him.  “  It  doesn’t  make  you  dumb.  “  Was  Soramaru  simply  trying  to  keep  him  talking  so  he  didn’t  fade  away  ?  If  so  ,  he  was  doing  well.

「 ☁️ 」 Despite him insisting that he not be ignored, it still surprised Soramaru to hear the ninja’s voice. His step faltered briefly before he managed to recover, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. Shirasu, as it turned out, weighed a bit less than Tenka----but the second son hadn’t been so irritated when he carried his brother. On top of that, he’d have to travel a significant distance like this, wouldn’t he? Which meant that he’d be late arriving at the base, especially since he’d have to wash the blood from his clothes at some point along the way as well.

That hadn’t been the explanation he expected, but he supposed it made enough sense. Injuries this severe weren’t caused by an accident. If not for the whole Orochi ordeal, Soramaru may’ve had more sympathy for the predicament. ( Perhaps he still did. He found it hard to ignore the love he’d felt for Shirasu, and on top of that, Nishiki also dealt with much of the same prejudice towards the clan. ) Sparing the ninja a glance, he huffed, unsure how else to respond. He’d hate to see the other guys. They were probably dead.

“Sure it doesn’t,” he muttered out, if only as acknowledgement as his thoughts drifted to their potential destination. He’d made a detour to the river for the sake of getting water, and they were pretty far from the town they’d crossed paths in. The Fuma’s village had to be in that general area; based on where he’d seen both Shirasu and the other ninja, he could guess a vague direction. 

There were towns closer, but... someone with such a distinct appearance may not fare well. A doctor could refuse to treat him----or worse, people with ties to the black market could find out about him. Shirasu wasn’t in any condition to defend himself, and Soramaru didn’t intend to stay longer than strictly necessary. It’d probably be best to avoid any towns at all, even.