#yasuba

Phantom Thief Yamaneko strikes again in Kurashiki, to get Monet's famous Water Lilies painting. Once there, his ally Ohkura will bump into a very determined security guard, Nishikido Ryo. Ohkura Tadayoshi likes beautiful things, and Nishikido definitely is.

Lenght: one shot (11630 words), AU, comedy, fluff&smut, art (Claude Monet, Setouchi Triennale), UST, action&romance

Kurashiki is a charming place, indeed. Magnificent weeping willows adorn its historical Bikan district, the preserved area where several kinds of arts incidentally flourish. The Ohara Museum of Western Art is one of those jewels, and that is also the reason why I'm here today.

It's a beautiful night with a bright moon. As I look up towards the white globe, I recall Natsume Soseki's famous quote. 'The moon is beautiful, isn't it?' It could easily apply to these lovely and historically preserved streets especially, where couples stroll along the riverbanks holding hands under the moonlight.

Unfortunately, I cannot enjoy the romantic scenery this city has to offer any longer, for I am on a mission here. Kame-chan has already penetrated the western-looking building to retrieve the Water Lilies, and I’m following.

It's almost a pity we have to remove such a precious piece from here, given the long journey the painter Kojima Torajiro-san had to take in order to bring the original painting to Japan, straight from Claude Monet's home in France. But that cannot be helped.

It should be just a matter of few minutes, though. The halls and corridors are nicely lit even during the night, but there's only one security guard patrolling the rooms, while another one is in the office getting bored with the security cameras. Japan is a safe place, after all. After eluding the alarm system, we placed fake videos in the cameras so that all the monitors would keep showing deserted corridors while we’re infiltrating the museum.

And here we are: the security guard guy is currently patrolling some other rooms, and it's me who has to check on him through the mini-monitor on my watch, so I gave Kame-chan the okay and he rushed straight to get the painting.

"K-chan, he's now moving," I warn him through the mic, in a whisper. "He might decide to turn- no, wait, he's definitely turned towards the wrong corridor and at this pace he'll reach your room in a few minutes' time. Seems like he's got some sixth sense, darn. How long will it take you to be done?"

>> Distract him just a little, T-chan,<< he orders me in the earphone, >> I'm nearly done here. <<

I roll my eyes.

How to, darn? No time to think, let alone to act. But if I don't do something soon, Kame-chan will be found out. And we cannot be found out, yet.

I should not have to be doing this, for I'm the brain dude here, rather than the action one like Kame-chan is, but anyway.

Oh come on, Ohkura Tadayoshi. You can do this. Kame-chan always says you're brilliant after all, doesn't he?

So I’m not usually one to post pictures of Jweb entries but I felt like this was important enough that I could bend that rule I have. This is the picture that Yasu posted after they posted the video explaining his current physical state.

Yasuba’s “Desire” on SCP 9 years ago

Cherry blossom time at Mount Yoshino in Nara, with Eito being Eito. Old prompt dated 2015, later fully developed in 2017 with 7nin Eito of course.

Length: one-shot (1757), TORN, Yokohina, Yasuba, fluff, cherry blossom

Mount Yoshino, Nara, April 2015

Nishikido Ryo's feet were climbing up the slope, slowly reaching the top of the hill where he should have finally stopped by. He panted slightly, taking his time to have a proper look around.

The World Heritage denomination for Mount Yoshino, in the Nara Prefecture, still told little about the beauty of that place.

An old 1714 account explained that while on their climb to the top, Spring travelers would have been able to enjoy the blossoming of the lower 1'000 cherry trees at the base, then the middle 1'000 ones on the way, the upper 1'000 ones toward the top, before reaching the 1'000 ones in the precincts of the inner shrine at the top.

A legend as it could have been, it wasn't that far from what Ryo was seeing before his eyes right now, of trees dressed in various shades of pink while in their different stages of blossoming. It looked breathtaking, beautiful yet fleeting, like only life could be. And thus, gorgeous.