#blizzysasks

Your dreams could predict the future. It never seemed weird to you. You always dreamed of what would happen anywhere from a few hours to a few years into the future. And, to keep records of it, you decided to paint. After the event had come to pass, you sold your paintings of it. You kept your ones of events that hadn't happened yet in your house.

Your boyfriend, Jinwoo, is out on another raid. And you had another dream. In this one, you saw a tall man with black hair summon a black humanoid figure with a long red plume coming from its helmet. The man looked familiar, but the shadow creature didn't. So, as per usual, you decide to paint.

Jinwoo comes home after the raid, beaten and bruised as per usual, but alive. "Another dream?" he asks.

You nod. "Shadow creatures this time."

"Interesting."

You finish the painting, making sure to date it.

After that day, you dream of the shadow creatures nearly every night. And one night, the black-haired man shows up again. You realize that it's Jinwoo. Your Jinwoo controls these shadows. You can't tell him; you're not exactly interested in finding out the consequences of revealing the future.

After Jinwoo got his shadow soldiers, it all made sense. Now, when he's out on raids, he leaves the first of his shadows you'd ever saw, Igris, with you. One day, as you paint another dream, Igris decides to explore your apartment. He stumbles upon that first painting you ever did of him and Jinwoo, dated long before he even met your boyfriend. You'd decided not to sell this one, considering it was of people close to you.

"Your Majesty?" he asks, approaching you with the painting. "What is this?"

You turn from your current project to see what he's holding. "My dreams predict the future," you explain. "I paint so I can remember them. That was the first time I ever dreamed of what Jinwoo would become." Igirs is silent for a moment before he sets the painting down. "I'm glad Jinwoo got so much stronger," you say. "And that he has you and the other shadows around. Now I don't have to worry about him as much."

"I am glad my king has you," Igris told you. "You make him . . . happy."

You wake up a bit later than usual to find a note on the kitchen table from your roommate Sanji. Going to the store. Breakfast is in the fridge. You heat yourself up the delicious pancakes he made. Then, after eating and without thinking too hard about it, you decide to help him out by washing the dishes.

He always does so much around the apartment, that sometimes you feel a bit bad for not helping out. He always insists that someone as pretty as you shouldn't need to do chores, but it still eats away at you.

You hum to yourself as you work through the morning dishes. You aren't thinking too much of it in the moment.

But then Sanji comes back, calling out a cheerful, "I'm home, darling!", before he stops at the doorway to the kitchen. You freeze, self-consciousness immediately washing over you. What if he's mad? The kitchen is his space. What if you're messing him up? He blinks before a wide smile crosses over his face. "Now why would you feel the need to go and do that?" he asks playfully. "You know you don't need to do work as long as I'm around."

"I just wanted to help out," you murmur, "since you're always doing so much. You're not . . . mad, are you?"

He lets out a surprised chuckle at that. "Mad? Now why would I be mad?"

"Well, the kitchen is like . . . it's your space. Are you sure this is ok?" you ask.

Sanji's smile softens at your hesitance. "Of course it's ok," he says. "This is our kitchen. Now how about you help me make dinner tonight?"

"I'd like that."

You should've known that becoming an assassin was a bad idea. It's a dangerous job, and while the pay is good, your life is constantly at risk. You could be arrested or killed from just one wrong move. Not to mention the competition within the industry. You work for a small corporation that's constantly being targeted by the larger, more sophisticated ones. There's only a handful of assassins in your comapny, though, so you don't have enough personnel for counterattacks.

And, of course, due to being in a smaller business with less than ideal funds, your killing methods have become quite . . . creative. Not necessarily a good thing for someone trying to stay on the down-low.

And it just happens to be your luck that your latest hit was a rich business co-owner who had an even richer CEO big brother. Their security was better than you'd thought, so they managed to catch your face on video for a brief second. And now, the CEO has sent one of the top assassins in the industry after you.

Nagumo Yoichi. A member of the JAA's Order and one of the greatest assassins to come out of the JCC in recent years. And his current target is little old you.

You're walking home on a normal Saturday, humming along so your favorite song. You don't notice him at first, but the telling swoosh as he jumps down from a roof is enough to alert you. You sidestep out of the way, and there he is, the famed and revered Nagumo Yoichi. He has a knife in hand and a surprised expression on his face.

"I was told you'd be an easy target," he hums. "I think that was a lie. No 'easy target' could dodge me like that. I thought this'd be a quick job. Guess i have to actually put in some work."

You look at him incredulously. Did he just compliment you? He's far too relaxed for someone who's supposed to be murdering you.

"I do have to kill you though," he continues with a sigh. "So, please make this easy for me."

Meanwhile, inside Nagumo's head . . .

Holy fuck they're so cute and they blocked my attack how am I supposed to kill someone this perfect what the fuck is wrong with everyone?!

However, the master assassin he is, Nagumo doesn't let his thoughts show through. It's his job, after all, no matter how much he may want to keep you alive. Unless . . .

Suddenly, he puts his weapons away and lets out a huff. "How about I make you an offer?" he says.

"An offer?" you repeat.

He nods. "You're good enough. You could totally ditch the shithead you're working for and join the JAA. I can even pull a few strings with you in the Order. The pay's better, I'm sure."

You stare at him. Why is this renowned assassin trying to get you to join his company? You're just a nobody assassin compared to him. But he's right; the pay would be better, and joining the JAA would make your name known. "Alright," you say. "But this better not be a trick."

He blinks in surprise, then smiles. "It's not, I assure you. Let's go now!" With that, Nagumo turns as you follow him to your new life in the JAA.

Bonus

"Nagumo, you've been staring at (Y/N) for nearly five whole minutes," Shishiba mutters. "What could you possibly want with them?"

But it's as if Nagumo doesn't even hear the other man. "They're perfect," he murmurs, watching you from across the cafeteria with hearts in his eyes.

"They've been here for five months. Just ask them out already, you coward."

Exploring the dungeon with Laios and his party is usually fun. Usually being the key word in that sentence. Sometimes he asks you obnoxious questions about your two dragons but, considering you’ve been adventuring with him for years, he’s calmer about them than he used to be.

And they’ve gotten used to him, too. Night, your black dragon, is especially fond of your leader. He won’t let Laios fly on him, but he doesn’t mind your friend’s obsession with trying to figure out his anatomy. On the other hand, your white dragon, Light, isn’t nearly as kind to Laios. He’s lucky to get near her, and she tends to growl if he gets too close to you or Night.

One evening in the dungeon, you’re sitting against a sleeping Night, Light half-asleep beside you, one of her blue eyes open and watching for any danger. Laios walks over to you, and you hear Light start to growl. You place a hand on her snout, and she huffs, but lets Laios sit down next to you. The rest of your party is asleep.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi,” you respond.

There’s an awkward silence for a few moments, and you wonder if he’s about to ask you something intrusive about your dragons again. Instead, he blurts out, “Listen, I think you’re really cool and I really like you and I was wondering if you’d maybe wanna be my girlfriend!”

You blink in surprise, feeling Night shift beneath you. You can’t help but let out a startled laugh, but immediately stop when Laios’ face falls. “Sure, I’ll be your girlfriend,” you tell him.

His golden eyes light up at that. “Awesome!” he exclaims.Light lets out a low growl at his shout, and he quickly snaps his mouth shut. “Will she ever get used to me?” he asks.

You shrug. “That remains to be seen.”

Night quickly falls back asleep, as Laios hesitantly reaches over and takes your hand in his. You find yourself smiling as your fingers intertwine, and even Light remains quiet for once.

⭐ Nikolai thinks you’re adorable

⭐ He really likes to tease you about your terrible balance, and if you fall over in any exceedingly ridiculous way, he’ll spend a minute or two laughing before helping you up

⭐ Somehow, he’s always around whenever you drop something to catch it. Even if he’s not around, his hand will appear midair and stop the object from breaking. It’s like he has a sixth sense for it

⭐ He’ll also always patch up any cuts or scrapes you get, and you bet he has fun and colorful band-aids

⭐ He’ll dance with you just for the fun of it, no matter how many times you step on his toes. He claims it’s more fun if you don’t know what you’re doing

⭐ As much as he loves to tease you, Nikolai would never let you belittle yourself. If you show any signs or sadness or frustration at yourself, he’ll take your hands in his and remind you that he’ll always love you, and your lack of coordination will never change that