LEGACY BOUND !

take a candy heart, not mine though

          his hand is set on the curve of her back, only to support him as he looks over her working hands.  the tray and parchment paper were already on set and awaiting the next step; all that’s needed is for the chocolate to be poured into the heart molds.  and while he can respect the carefulness of her actions, there’s also somethin’ interesting with how she moves her hands. so, curious he may be, asugi’s gaze sticks to her hands as she works.  even as she finishes, he has yet to move.

          “   your hands,   ”   he starts off in a whisper   —   hushed, the usual hardness of his voice lost in the quiet syllables that fall from his lips. he reaches over with his free hand and takes hers in his hold, raising it just barely.  his head tilts to the side as he ponders the thought. rolls it in his head in small, lazy circles before it comes spilling out.   “   they’re really small.   ”   and that’s all he says before laughing and letting go of her hand, carefully retrieving the mold from the counter in front of her mitama and turning away.

          he tilts the mold over the sheet of parchment paper and allows the excess chocolate to fall, a few encouraging taps against the mold to make sure all of it comes out.   “   but!  while your hands are small, you work pretty fast despite it.   ”   not like he didn’t see people do regular day tasks with hands smaller than his; midori’s hands are really small and still, she’s doing a great job at what she does best.

          asugi hums out mitama’s name, nodding towards the display of knives a bit to their right.  teamwork in the kitchen is still a bit foreign to him   —   not having the space to reach over the counter to touch the sink without brushing his hand against mitama’s arm.  or shoulder if he raised his hand.

          he places the mold in front of her, alongside a towel just in case.   “   all you need to do is scrape off the excess chocolate at the top—”   a quick gesture to the top of the mold.   “—after that, we can move on to the filling part.  it’s one of my favorites!  if you cook alone then you can taste test the filling as many times as you want.   ”   asugi moves to the side, making enough room for mitama be be facing the mold without him being in her way.

          but in the downtime of not doing anything, he finds himself doing the opposite.  it’s weird, really, being in the kitchen and not moving his hands in some fashion.  asugi’s hand begins to play with the white ribbon in mitama’s hair.  not tugging... well, only slightly, but mostly twisting the end of it.  it keeps him busy for a bit before he lets go and checks on the first batch of chocolate he made before her arrival. they’re still cooling but they’re practically finished.

          “   and this one is alright, but the richness is lessened by the texture.  also, the filling is okay.  not the best and could definitely be sweeter but it’s not too bad.  does it taste good?   ”   asugi points at the chocolate in the box with the swirl design.  it isn’t his, definitely not.  that box of chocolates was given to him by the knights at the monastery’s front.  his own homemade chocolates were in the box in his lap, closed and awaiting to be snacked on.  unfortunately, asugi needs to make a point between great treats and okay treats.

          thankfully so, he has someone to listen to him.  well, listening isn’t mandatory but leif is his partner so that much might be keeping him from leaving.  they’re sitting on the ground, thankfully beneath a small blanket, although asugi doesn’t care either way.

          he points to another chocolate in the same row as the swirled one; this being a square molded chocolate instead.   “   i think they did the caramel ones great, though.  maybe it could also be sweeter but it’s not necessary.  just a personal note.   ”   then he takes the box from his lap and hands it over to leif.   “   these chocolates are the ones i made, but i just thought we could share a different box together too, ya’ know?   ”   in truth, it’s because he felt a bit guilty for eating the first batch of chocolates that the knights gave him.  in his defense, though, it was to make sure he wasn’t giving his partner treats that were bad.  his building reputation as a candy seller would go to absolute waste if that happened.

          “   oh, wait, you have a task too, right?   ”   easy for him to forget that the tasks were a two - way street and not just him handing out sweets.  asugi grins,   “   if you made them yourself then i won’t be this judging on taste   —   i just have an eye for baking, that’s all.   ”

          chrom.  not a name he’s heard before but it’s also true that he’s only been here for a week or two.  but it’s not the man’s name that catches his attention.  the task, does.  ‘surprise your partner with a sudden gift’ is what the card says.  what he can’t really understand is why.  in order to give a gift to someone, it required thought on what that person was to you and how you wished to convey it in an item.  the only problem is that he doesn’t know anything about chrom.  not even how the man looks.

          so, asugi does what he knows how to do best; gathering an assortment of his candy and wrapping up the bag with a ribbon.  everyone likes candy so this shouldn’t be too bad a gift!   (   saizo doesn’t like candy but he isn’t here and this isn’t about him.   )   the cards don’t come with a picture of the person, not even a few hints of their appearance or where to find them.  which sucks but a nearby knight ends up pointing the man out in the scattered crowd of students by the lake.

          “   you’re chrom, yeah?   ”   he asks, walking up to him and giving a friendly nod in greeting.  surprisingly, although in the middle of eating a piece of hard candy, his speech doesn’t sound as if he’s doing so.   “   we’re partners.   ”   the gift is supposed to be sudden so maybe he shouldn’t have said that?  either way, asugi smiles and holds the ribbon tied bag up for chrom to take; it’s not too small but he definitely could’ve added more candy if he wanted to.

          “   happy day of devotion...?   ”

        well... this was the opposite of sweet.   (   subjective, personal, a father’s task.   )   while the academy’s event wasn’t all that eye - catching to him, he could at least enjoy the chocolate people were giving out.  well, also no.  because the chocolates that the knights were giving out was okay.  average at best.  he never judged baking from afar, having not been in the kitchen when these were made, but these chocolates were something he’d rather snack on as a passing action, in the midst of doing something else.  they weren’t bad!  not at all, just... okay. 

          three cards, three names, three tasks.  again, asugi wasn’t overly excited about the event so he didn’t react obnoxiously at the handing of the paper.  but in the end, it didn’t matter since he only recognized one of the names on it.

          “   hey, shigure?   ”   he finds the other sitting by one of the lakeside tables.  it doesn’t seem like they’re busy so he pulls out the chair opposite to him and raises his card.   “   you’re not doin’ anything now, right?  we’re partners for the event.   ”   the task in question for the two of them?  he didn’t look.  as long as it wasn’t something like jumping off the cliff and into the water below, then he’s perfectly fine.  getting his candy wet would be gross.  really gross.

          but he takes the time, now, to flip the card over and read.   “   the task is... uh—”   a pause before he grimaces.   “—damn.  ‘m gonna write you a poem, i guess.   ”   now this?  it's unfair.  him? writing a poem?  who do these knights think he is   —   mitama?!   (   it only registers, now, that he probably should’ve made a poem before finding shigure.  that’s his bad.   )   whatever small poems she says, he can’t do anyway.  the beats are uncountable to him; hell, he wasn’t even sure if the beats were important!

          either way, he sighs and looks back to shigure.   “   i’ll write you a poem or somethin’ but don’t expect anything perfect.  it’ll take a bit but we can just do your task as i... actually, what’s your task for me?  or are we both writing poems to each other?   ”

“So shorty how did I do. Also don’t kill me.” Removing an arm from around his waist, Soleil dug into her pocket and pulled out a bag full of candy. She released him from her forced hug before handing him the bag. “It’s good to see you again. Now I’m off to go bother Mitama and Ophelia with my amazing pick up lines.” She was actually about to bother a lot of people but those two were the first on her list.

          the pick up line is immediately responded to by a confused tilt of asugi’s head and a frown,   “   ‘m not a chick, soleil.   ”   because he knew that she mostly preferred speaking sweet nothings to people who were females.  not males.  which crosses him off the list, definitely.  but there isn’t a hint of miscommunication or error in soleil’s expression as she smiles   (   not sweetly, it’s more so savory than sweet.  like he was a piece of candy she’d like to enjoy as time passes.   )

          his instincts immediately force him to step away when she moves towards him, but the hand on his hip startles the next step out of him   —   she’s quick to move behind him, arms wrapped around his waist and the weight of her chin on his shoulder.  his frown does not give way.  instead, it deepens and his hands reach down to pry her off of him.  but it’s half - hearted; almost reluctant to remove himself from a friend’s grasp.

          (  —one that he doesn’t carry a nickname for.  it’s a wonder, really, what he’d even call her.  ‘smiles’?  it could work, maybe.  although her reason for smiling has been spilled before him over the campfire before; that nickname may be bitter or sweet, he isn’t sure which one is which for this.   )

          his nails dig into her wrists as he clicks his tongue,   “   ‘shorty’?  you’re not even that taller than me.   ”   asugi releases one of her wrists when she moves her arm, using that hand to reach over his shoulder and flick her on the forehead.   “   ya’ know what, ‘m not feeling very generous right now.  and since that line you said was eh, i want a—”

          bag of candy.  a bag of candy that soleil pushes into his arms after letting go of him.  and while asugi isn’t the type of guy to worry about people poking at his friends but he is the type of guy to worry about people poking at his friends if that person went by the name of soleil.

          asugi laughs, opening the small bag as he shakes his head in amusement.   “   tell me what star says in response.   ”   because soleil’s funny and mitama’s even funnier so how could he miss out on a potential roasting?  even if it’s in the form of those whatever haiku things that mitama likes to say.  although, he does raise an eyebrow at the mention of ophelia.   “   and by bother, you don’t actually mean chase do ya’?   ”

take a candy heart, not mine though

          smoke billows within the kitchen, fainter than it had been minutes ago.  the pan, of course, is tossed carefully into the sink and quickly set aside before anything else could be burned.  asugi coughs, raising his scarf up to his nose and taking a moment to inhale something that wasn’t the smell of his poor, poor ingredients burning to beyond edible terms.  well, speaking of edible things—

          asugi whips his head around,   “   velouria, don’t eat that!   ”   thankfully, it didn’t seem like she was ‘bout to but his trust for people in the kitchen with him was already low; and no, setting things on fire when he’s not looking will not get you extra points.  he grabs the handle of the pan and winces, only pulling back a bit before realizing that the stinging was heated around the base of his fingers.  where he had earlier grabbed the pan when he had seen the fire sparking in its surface.  an exhausted and mildly disappointed huff   —   he grabs the pan and tosses it away.

          although irritation easily sets itself in his head, the furrow of his brows and the frown hanging heavy on his face, he’s surprisingly calm.  calmer than he should be.  it wasn’t entirely velouria’s fault; he was the one who turned his back on the stove.  but still...

          “   c'mere,   ”   asugi holds his hand out, taking hers in his grasp and carefully looking her over.  the fire hadn’t been uncontrollable, but with the smoke wiping their vision clean of visibility, he’d understand if she had gotten hurt by accident.  just as he had.  his frown disappears when he’s checked her of any injuries, thankfully seeing nothing of the sorts.   “   nothin’ hurts, yeah?   ”   even still, he pulls her in for a quick hug; more so in relief rather than comfort.

          baking was a talent that he mastered, but others?  not so much.   “   ‘m not mad or anything,   ”   he says after a moment of silence,   “   just... okay, how about this.  we can try again and this time, i’ll make sure to keep a better eye on you.  that good?   ”

          velouria definitely has the skill to know where ingredients go and be able to sense when to add what without measuring.  the only issue would be how... unsanitary she can be at times.   (   this time, asugi stays close to her as they work through the kitchen.  swatting her hand away when she gets distracted and tries to reach for that one red spoon in its holder.  why the same spoon?  he has no idea, to be honest.

“A ninja captured / without any effort too / I should get a prize.”

She rests her chin atop his head. “Hello Asugi. I see you have also been possessed by the spirit of poor decisions.” She does not like him being here in Fodlan. But she missed her friends terribly as well. An unfortunate complication of feelings.

“So? How on earth did you convince your father to let you shirk your duties and come here, hmm?”

          fodlan winds are different, yes, but this does not halt the intensity of his hearing.  he hears her approaching   —   the immediate shift in her steps, how they quicken with a purpose.  although he hears this, there is also the life of faint laughter and running as classes finally release their students from within the classroom walls.  asugi hears her, yes, but the identity of those footsteps is unknown to him.  so, he ignores them.  allows them to fall beneath the wind’s whisper as it brushes against his bare arms and the space on the back of his neck where his uniform collar has been tugged back by minor itching.

          but all pleasures must come to an end.  the tree he sits beneath is beautiful, a great place to have a picnic and lay out the bags of candy he’s brought upon his arrival.  no matter, asugi sighs and rolls his shoulders, reaching down to support himself against the ground as he—

          —does not move.  he cannot move.  there’s a sudden weight against his shoulders that would cause him to lean forward if not for the lightness of the being.  it’s an action that he would have reacted toward with mere instinct if not for the voice that speaks over the wind’s song.

          asugi grins, wide and amused at the haiku.  he cannot count the beats properly but he knows that it is a haiku only because of its form and whom says it.   “   if it isn’t my star!   ”   he doesn’t move to look at her   —   her chin laid atop his head is one of the reasons why.   —   but his hand reaches back to grab her.  it’s an immediate reaction, his fingers curling around her elbow as he laughs.  his laughter does not falter at mitama’s words; always the playfully snappy.  it seems as though her haikus have become more simpler for him to understand, huh?

          he squeezes her elbow,   “   spirit of poor decisions?  says the one who’s standing in the same place as i am!  besides, it’s not that bad of a decision if i’m with the rest of my friends now.   ”   the only downside of applying to this academy?  leaving shiro alone in hoshido.  well, no, he isn’t alone but he’s stupid and can make stupider decisions that asugi can’t chase after now   —   with a big ol’ bag of solutions, sweet as candy.

          mitama seems perfectly fine, as if she had never left hoshido   (   but that’s a lie.  she’s definitely different.  there’s a change in her voice, not so much volume as it is character.  appearance wise?  he isn’t sure, yet.  he’d have to turn around and find out.  either way, she’ll still be the mitama he became friends with many moons ago.   )

          “   uh, well—”   he laughs but the squeeze he absentmindedly gives her clearly trembles with awkwardness.  or embarrassment at the memory of his interaction with his father on the topic of leaving to fodlan.   “—to be honest, he didn’t let me leave at first.  something ‘bout me not being on top of my training enough.  but ya’ know how great i am with sweet - talking my way out of things!   ”   sweet - talking; meaning that asugi was persistent in his attempts to plead for saizo to give him a break.  sweets don’t work on his old man, unfortunately.  the one joker card under his sleeve proven always to be useless against the one man he’d need to use them against.

          a pause before he bursts into a small fit of laughing, only recovering from it when he realizes the open bag lying in his lap.  asugi hums, pulling out a wrapped piece of candy and holding it up for mitama to take.   “   oh, and here’s your prize for catching me, heh.   ”  it wouldn’t be difficult to feel the grin beaming on his face.

tagged by: the dash but i stole this from hana’s blog

tagging: i stare at everyone who hasn’t done this...

REPOST,  DO NOT REBLOG,  with the information of your muse,  including headcanons.

NAME. asugi akaharu

NICKNAME(S). none, yet.

ALIAS(ES). saizo.

AGE. 18

SPECIES. human

ZODIAC. capricorn

GEMSTONE. garnet

MORAL ALIGNMENT. chaotic neutral, a heavy lean on the good side.

ABILITES / POWERS. stealth. excellent precision and accuracy. flexible ( mental and physical ). above average strength and speed. manipulation through methods of speech and service. gathering information without much struggle. great footwork.

INTERESTS.  cute things, carrying his friends wherever, jump rope, SWEETS, painting nails ( either his or his friends’ ), baking, trying on perfume, napping when he’s not supposed to be, styling hair, origami, sketching ( no one has ever seen his sketchbook ), sharpening weapons, training.

FEARS. losing function of his hands / taste-buds, dishonoring his father’s legacy, rejection, assassinations ( directed at his friends rather than himself ), failing to protect a friend in battle.

GUILTY PLEASURES. he’s quite confident in himself to not be ashamed of whatever he enjoys doing. with this being said, he really likes holding people he’s close to. it’s a small pleasure of his; one that he doesn’t allow himself to indulge in a lot. ( re; his feelings on having close bonds )

SPOKEN LANGUAGES. fluent hoshidan— being the language he was raised to speak. he’s pretty well - versed in nohrian, only for the fact that some missions tended to the usual nohrian spy rather than usual civilians. his form of speech is casual and often littered with half - spoken words that push his speaking voice to be very informal. has never had the time nor the desire to speak professionally; like that of nobles. he can speak fodlanese because he’s here and i don’t know if that’s the actual language but yeah.

PROFESSION. has been taught the techniques and honor codes of a ninja even before he could walk and write properly. is determined to follow in his father’s footsteps with becoming one of the best ninjas in hoshido, but he refuses to become a retainer.

BODY TYPE. a heavy lean towards mesomorph. it’s clear that he’s built well, even underneath his attire. a body and mind trained for battle— suited for the kind of fighter he wishes to become. solid frame and toned stomach, still lacking as many abs as many imagine him to have. and from the form he holds himself in, many also wouldn’t guess that his diet consisted of mostly sweets.

HEIGHT. 5′4″ ( thanos - snapped three inches because of vivi )

COLORS. orange, black, silver / gray, a bit of pink

DRINKS. sugar water, sweet smoothies, very sweet tea, juice ( sometimes ), chocolate milk.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES? surprisingly, he drinks a lot more than some might think. although, he prefers to only get drunk around friends and those he trusts. he’s also a lightweight. bitter drinks will make him cry, don’t give it to him. he prefers things that are sweet, of course.