happiness @playheroes - Tumblr Blog

♛ !* SUMMER STRIKE

He’d really landed himself back in this town after a beautiful dream. A dream where he was back in his world, which was completely restored as if it had never been destroyed; but it was nothing but a dream, the short-lived fantasy that felt much too real suddenly crushed by crimson flames for a second time in his life. He was beginning to learn his lesson after the third or fourth time, taking extra precautionary measures when it came to fires or any other disaster waiting to happen to him and his friends.

Forests? He’d steer clear of them when it was dry. Water? Filtered, or nothing. Sickness? He was starting to become a clean freak. Houses?

Oh no, he wouldn’t stay inside a square wooden building, even on one of the hottest days of the year. He’d learned that lesson the last time too, that no trustworthy-looking place was actually trustworthy. What was a NEET supposed to do? This situation was very exclusive to people like him, of such a gentle variety that the littlest disruptive instance could send his poor self into a frenzy. He could only survive in the heat for so long, and he, equipped with ice-cold cola in a bottle with a straw, arms leaning against the wooden table outside the olden-day “convenience store”, was about to melt from the sun and die that way.

Still better than being in a burning building, however.

“Hot… It’s too hot…” Was he evolving into a slug? It certainly felt that way. They’d have to peel him out of his own mucus to get him off the table. “Give me shade or give me death.” The socially-inept had forgotten that when outside, talking out loud meant everyone could hear you. Hopefully the stranger who just happened to hear him was nice enough to spare him from a NEET-killing heat wave.

playheroes

She was here again.. In this beautiful place.

Still, she couldn't help but look over the landscape and recall how it looked while it was burning.. She thought it was over then and still, the world around them was renewed. Ayano couldn't even begin to imagine how any of this was possible..! Was this also something to do with the red eyes? Was she to see her father in this place someday..? But really.. How was this possible? After all, she'd died.. Right? So then...

Of course, she was never the brightest crayon in the box..

So! She didn't put much thought into it otherwise.. It was that or she was hiding just how worrying this situation might end up being in the long run.. Had her siblings returned as well? She hoped so... She still needed to clear things up with Shuuya for one thing. And she hoped as well that the other members of the Dan were safe and sound...

This particular member included.

"Shintaro..."

Ayano heard him alright.. And she was certainly not a stranger, was she? Did he already forget her..? Of course, that didn't mean she wouldn't hear out his plea. "Hmm.. Let's go find somewhere to cool off!" Nodding quickly, the girl took hold of the other's arm first to try and pry him off the table. Her efforts seemed to be in vain as she tugged hard, yes but not nearly enough to move this NEET and slug hybrid. She ended up losing hold of him and stumbling back a step. Again, she made another attempt to at least get the other to look at her. Nudging his shoulders first, Ayano then crouched next to the table so she could cross her arms over the table's surface.

"We're not getting closer to shade at this rate.. Your soda will get warm, you know."

#hikineetism #shintaro geT UP

estellise-san-deactivated202304

× Permission to upload this was given by the Artist

#kagepro

estellise-san-deactivated202304

× Permission to upload this was given by the Artist

#kagepro

estellise-san-deactivated202304

× Permission to upload this was given by the Artist

#kagepro

playheroes

up too high!

hikineetism

It was true. It was really, really true. Ayano was here, alive, well — hopefully well— and smiling. Rewind to that day in that classroom, that last time she smiled holding such a dark secret from the lonely boy she always smiled for, and this was how it remained.

No, take away the dark secret, as it had already come to pass, and replace it with something else — what else? Was there anything she was hiding behind that smile now? Could it be trusted? Could she even be? There was no way. There was no way this was real. This was another sick joke this world had thrown at him, expecting him to bounce back and realize he didn’t need distractions and faked happiness to forget about her, although they had it completely wrong. He had gotten stronger. He thought he had gotten stronger. Now was the real test, wasn’t it? Whether or not he could deal with this development, whether facing this after a sudden cut off was really possible or was his final bit of sanity in the most brutal telling of a test he wasn’t prepared to write. Did he know the answers this time?

Move. His legs bounded forward, arms stretched out towards her as she fell, in what felt like slow motion, and they collided. Arms had caught her as substantially as they could, wrapping around her shoulders and her knees, but the momentum of the two clashed horribly; knees buckled, and a half-successful shoulder roll had landed the two successfully on the grassy floor below, with Shintaro being the pillow to Ayano’s messy fall— but at least she was safe from the fall this time.

His back and shoulder throbbed with pain. A real experience, just like waking up here was, just like walking around the cold forest was, allowing no room for illusions, yet somehow proving impossibilities possible. Nothing could explain to him how she was really here in one proper piece, outside of that world of death, back to how things were or how they are now or somewhere in between, it was impossible, impossible —

His eyes finally opened after squeezing them shut longer than he intended to, taking in her appearance a second time, as if confirming to himself how realistically wrong this was. Again. He felt a pain in his chest, one he wasn’t able to quell or even fully understand, and it drained every ounce of energy he had before. He continued to lay there on the grassy field, breath a little slow, eyes a little close to giving way to tears he held back from the hollowing pain.

“Why…. why are you here? You died, Ayano. How can you possibly be alive?” These questions were necessary, the answers the key to moving on and accepting and or denying and running. Could he accept her as she is or would she remain a lie? Alive again, or dead again?

Although quizzes have never been your strong point, Ayano, I leave this choice up to you.

Please don’t let me down.

playheroes

Her landing in this fall, though clumsy, was surprisingly.. Warm. At some point, she'd closed her eyes to wait until she hit the grassy ground below. It would have been embarrassing to land so ungracefully in front of the lonely boy she always smiled for. Instead? She was caught..

"Uuwah..!"

Upon opening her eyes, she had only a moment to glance at her savior before he'd fallen over as well. With both of them on the ground, Ayano took a moment to collect herself.. Once she realized just what had happened, she quickly moved off of the boy.. If she'd been too heavy to catch then who's to say she wasn't crushing him then, right? She didn't go too far though.. Instead, she seated herself next to where he was lying.. Worried eyes moved over him and she'd even reached a hand to pat at his face gently. While before she had no intention of calling for help if it had just been for herself, she considered going for help now...

He was a precious person to her, after all.

To her relief, he opened his eyes.. He looked at her. For a moment, she was noticeably relieved. In the seconds they spent quietly, Ayano looked him over more curiously. This jersey... Ah. She recognized it. And she was even surprised that he was wearing it. Both hands moved to touch the fabric but she'd stopped before doing so once Shintaro had spoken. Setting her hands back onto her knees, her expression hinted some sadness.. Confusion too, most likely. She wasn't sure how this was possible either. She'd left the world she loved in a selfish way... Yet, here she was.

Smiling back at him once more.

"... I'm not sure. I'm really not.."

Quizzes really weren't her strong point. And being put on the spot with a pop quiz.. She didn't even study. Her answer was the only one she could use for both questions she was asked. Clutching at the fabric of her skirt, she fidgeted a bit.

"Shintaro... Are you, alright..? I'm sorry.. That was clumsy of me."

#hikineetism #shintaro go work out or somethin i'm not that heavy

playheroes

up too high!

tormentedangelknight

No, of course she wasn’t showing anything. After all, that only happened in manga, right? Mikoto coughed and rubbed the back of her neck, looking at the ground for now.

The sounds of trouble sounded out above her and she looked up again, to see Ayano struggling to get down, and Mikoto frowned at ehrself. “Ah, now, I didn’t mean for you to…”

Then, Ayano hopped down safely, if a bit awkwardly, to see a somewhat-uncomfortable Railgun standing before her, sheepishly holding out the wayward shoe.

"Here. It fell- I mean, I caught it when it dropped."

She kicked at the ground.

"Look, if you… You didn’t have to force yourself to come down if you were having trouble. You should have just asked me. …Idiot."

playheroes

Now, Ayano was a little startled by the other girl's reaction upon coming down from the tree. Sure, her way had hardly been graceful but.. She'd managed on her own, hadn't she? Which was what she had guessed the other had wanted.. To begin with, she hadn't really wanted to bother her with this.. She'd been the one to get stuck in the tree, even if she hadn't gotten herself into such a position.

"Oh.. I'm sorry."

Still, she smiled back at the girl as she accepted her shoe. Sliding it back on, she nodded a bit before regarding her new found companion.

"I figured it would be too much trouble.. It's alright though! I managed to get down, didn't I?"

Folding her hands behind her back, Ayano fidgeted where she stood for a moment before opening her mouth once more. Only to close it again. Think a moment.. Ah! She bowed her head a bit.

"Thank you..! For helping me.. I hope you aren't mad at me."

#biribiribitch

playheroes

up too high!

sheepcoated

Walking around and stopping every now and then to take breaths seemed like a good idea even if it made her feel terrible and faint. This should surely help her raise her stamina since she doesn’t have her friends around to help her. She soon got to an area that had some trees. Maybe a break in the shade would be nice. She hasn’t walked for long but already took about fifty breaks.

As she walked towards a tree she heard a voice and begun to look around to see who the voice belonged to. But no one could be seen. Was it a ghost? Mary felt rather scared and started to back away a bit. Just then a shoe fell from nowhere! It made the frightened girl jump and squeak in terror.

“Sorry..! Could you pass that back?” The voice spoke again

Mary looked up and spotted a girl in the tree which made her quite surprised! “O-of course…!”

She went over and picked up the shoe with her feeble hands, and tried to throw it up into the tree and to the girl. The shoes bounced off a low branch and hit Mary right in the head. She fell to the ground and begun to rub her injury where the shoe fell. She was helpless

playheroes

Frankly, a ghost could be the perfect way to describe this one.

A living, breathing ghost of the past.

Ayano was a little surprised when she saw the person she'd asked this of. So small.. With fluffy hair! She felt a little bad and thought that maybe it might be a better idea to ask the girl to go for help, perhaps.. But before she even thought to do that, Mary had already tossed the shoe. Instinctively, she'd reached but the shoe didn't even make it close before it bounced back and hit the poor girl.

"Oh no..!"

Looking left and right, Ayano only then became more determined to get down from the tree. Carefully at first, she slid from the branch and used to tree's trunk and other branches to maneuver herself... Even then no matter how careful she was, Ayano ended up slipping and falling near the other.

"Oof.."

How clumsy.. Nevertheless, she got up and brushed herself off. A sheepish smile crossed her expression and she went over to where Mary sat. Her shoe was forgotten for the time being and she knelt next to the smaller to offer a hand to her.

"Sorry about that.. Are you alright?"

#sheepcoated #dusts this off

ayanotateyama-blog

アヤノの幸福理論

By うかた

※Permission to upload has been given by the artist. Redistribution to other sites is prohibited.

#kagepro

".. What's going on..?"

#i can't believe

hikineetism

♛ !* SUPER WIMP

hikineetism

"Shintaro..—"

What had hit him first, before the smoke’s suffocation gave weight to him, louder than the throbbing headache, more attention-stealing than the flames against his back, was the expression on her face. Countless, countless times had he seen flashes of imagination paint the high school girl with her back turned, tears caught dripping down those cheeks for a brief instance, his helping hand forever never reaching as if to remind him of his inadequacy.

Yet here, in this perilous situation, with the white cat she undoubtedly rescued in her own selfless, heroic step of bravery, the ever-smiling pillar of happiness held tears in her eyes. It was the first he’d ever seen any such emotion from her, as real as real could be, and he was petrified into stillness. If he couldn’t save her two years ago, how the hell could he save her now? In this life or death situation, so strikingly similar yet so entirely different in its execution and saving methods, he could only be less useful than he used to be. Complete with two lives on the line, voluminous flames to escape from, and amble weights to juggle with, pressure greater than the wooden beam sat atop his shoulders. What was a lousy, good-for-nothing supposed to do in a situation like this?

He was supposed to wipe those tears away; that’s what heroes do.

Delicately wounded fingers came to wrap weakly into the fabric of his red cape, eyes meeting with her own filled with desperation. "Shintaro..! You… You’re so…! It’s dangerous.— You have to get out of here.."

He felt his back and neck growing numb along with his legs and arms, adrenaline rush ending too soon for what was needed, weakness becoming more obvious and the situation’s gravity finally catching up with him as the smoke made it difficult to breathe or see. He was even losing sight of her as the billowing grey weaved in and out of their perimeter.

A foot shifted backwards, a second grunt from exerted effort escaping his lips. “Don’t say something so—” Another half-step managed, and he began to lean backwards; shoulder blades then lifted as poorly-cushioned elbows further assisted in levering the board away from his person and back towards the floor, where it finally clattered behind him as heavily as it hit his back. “—stupid!” If it weren’t for Ayano’s grip on his sweater, he would have gone down with it.

The soot had finally caught up to him, stirred about as the wood broke into another piece and collapsed so harshly it sent the ashes swirling back into the air, and he coughed. He needed some ventilation, but his limbs were too tired to move.

Knees folded forward in an unanticipated act of complete energy draining, like a battery suddenly out of juice. Recovery time: much longer than they had. He didn’t have the time to catch his breath, or regain his strength, as such allowances weren’t even possible in a burning building. Against his body’s aching, he let out a few extra rough coughs to clear his throat of blockage, covering his sleeve over his mouth for better ventilation, even if the fabric itself was tainted by the smoke thoroughly enough to make the first few breaths painful.

The heat was unmanageable. He wasn’t just talking uncomfortably, either. The sweat covering his face was beginning to vaporize, burning his skin as it did so. He felt he had a fever of 150. Everything was becoming sluggish, and painful, and his head continued to pound and his eyes continued to water and burn and her presence —

Her presence. Her life. Her valuable, second life that couldn’t be wasted.

His left hand lifted to place itself atop her own, fingers carefully peeling hers away from the fabric to wrap his around her hand instead, eyes continuing to lock with her blurred hues in a way of showing trust. They were both weak, with a very low chance of escaping here alive, and the fear was entirely real for the both of them; though even then, despite the shaking of his being and the consciousness close to fading, he would hold on to those eyes of hers until his strength could lift up her hopes as she had done for him so many times in his ungrateful past. Whether his own was as purposeful as hers was debatable, and he was sure he would lose that debate — but their lives depended on it, and so he would hold strong until the end, whatever their end might be.

“We’re leaving.” There was no nervousness or doubt in his words, nor shaky disbelief or uncertainty; his voice was the voice one might expect from a hero, however foreign such a tone was to cowardly boy. Holding his breath, his right hand reached to zip the baggy front of his jersey half-way up before returning his sleeve to his face. “We have to crawl, so I’ll stuff the cat in my sweater and hold him that way.” A pause to squint his eyes closed to cough again, and then his optics returned. “Let’s get to a window, quickly—”

Somewhere further into the building another creak reminiscent of earlier catastrophes marked another collapsed roof, giving the building even less of a structure than it had as it began to further rot away. An extra bout of panic began to well up in his stomach at the sound. “Let’s go!”

playheroes

Ayano didn't realize just how tightly she'd been holding onto Shintaro until he'd dropped the board he'd been supporting.. The board that would have crushed her and the innocent creature in her arms if it hadn't been for him. A gentle gasp and she was surprised that he hadn't fallen back.. Right. She was hanging on almost painfully tight.. As though to contradict her previous words.

-- Please don't leave me.

"Shintaro..."

How silly she must look... This wasn't the time to be thinking of such things but really.. He was the last person she wanted to see her like this. There had been times where she'd thought she'd reach out to him.. For help. But she never wanted to burden him, nor anyone else. She'd always been carrying this weight on her shoulders and never let a soul see just how heavy her heart had become. She'd been startled when he fell to his knees, anxious eyes looking for any indication that he was alright.. How long would they be able to stay like this though? It was obvious that her companion was in bad shape.. No better than she was. She wanted to believe that they'd get out of there... To think that they could play hero as she'd done with her siblings and somehow manage to get to safety...

Still, she found some hope looking into the other's eyes.. She allowed her hand to be removed from his clothes and she sniffled a bit, the scarf around her neck sliding down from over her nose and mouth as they sat. She held onto the other's hand for the moment and as he spoke, the smallest of smiles formed upon her expression. A smile that proved she had faith in the boy... With all her heart, she trusted Shintaro to save them.

"Yes."

Ayano nodded, looking back to the cat just once before she lifted the feline as carefully as she could to tuck into Shintaro's jersey. Only once she was sure the cat was secure did she move to zip the jersey up just a bit more to hold the cat's weight a bit better as they'd move along.

She'd have to apologize to him later. Once they got out of this... For getting him into this situation to begin with. Even if he was acting kind of cool, it must be hard on him. He shouldn't have ever seen her so weak.. He shouldn't have to come to her rescue. But, as selfish as she felt it was, she was glad... Glad that it had been Shintaro to come to her rescue like this.

Like a hero all on his own..

She winced a bit in response to the sounds the building made, huddling a bit closer to Shintaro before she sensed his urgency and nodded once more. This was no time to be scared. Not when it wasn't just her life in danger, as it should have been to begin with. As strange as it was, she was willingly putting her life in Shintaro's hands. For now... Every hero needed back up sometimes, right?

Her mind raced as she tried to remember what was where in the building.. Fire exits. Anything like that. But she was drawing a blank...

"Shintaro.. H-How did you get in here..? Maybe we could leave that way?"

#hikineetism #you're tearing me apart hiichan

playheroes

up too high!

dissimulative

Seeking out those that made up the Mekakushi dan had proved to be unnecessary as two had been blindly stumbled upon thus far. Due to such, it was surmised that the rest of the collective group were present within this bountiful land for if someone like himself had spared from the wreckage then those who actually deserved it should’ve been as well. Ascertaining whether this to be true or not would come in time the other reunions had, his path sure to intersect with those of the others in due time.

A casual stroll was taken in place of seeking out those specific friends, an easy-going smile gracing his lips as if nothing about the current situation was considered worrisome in the least. Things had a certain way of working out, and even if they didn’t, pretending as though they did was easy enough. Certain emotions were more difficult to mask, such as ones instilled by unwanted remembrances of things best left in the past. That’d come in the form of a voice, one that hadn’t been heard in such a length of time that it’d almost been forgotten in it’s entirety.

Shoe all but ignored, head slowly, as if the action was being second-guessed, tilted backwards to peer upwards at the speaker. It proved to be a poor decision, ability immediately activated to conceal any emotions that might go unchecked. The impossible had been presented, the dead image of his older sister playing out cruelly before him, but to simply accept this as reality was not an option. What was dead was forever gone, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it. Once a person is lost to another they cannot be allowed back in just as something once broken cannot be fixed.

“Don’t you think it’d be a better idea to come down and get it yourself?” Voice not faltering from it’s usual tone, hands slid into the pockets of his hoodie — the very one that she had given him— as a misleading golden gaze trained on the ground. “Messing around with heights isn’t really smart. If you fall that’s the end.” Words fueled by bitterness, it did not bleed into the nonchalance exerted. They’d been spoken simply to clarify that not a thing remained between himself and the one this woman shared a face with.

This girl was nothing more than a stranger with similar looks. At least, that was the lie he’d make himself believe.

playheroes

To say that this was expected would be a lie. But it was certainly a relief.. If the world that she once knew had been destroyed..? At least her happiness was safe. Her precious family. To see just one of her siblings was enough to lift her spirits a little bit. Even if she had been smiling moments before, since she'd arrived Ayano had done nothing but worry about what had become of her siblings.. Shintaro.

And even her father.

But now her smile did falter, upon hearing her little brother speak. Well, he wasn't so little anymore.. But still. It was almost as though she was unsure of just how to react to him. Why? Because of how she left them.. Did they hate her? For all she knew, even as he spoke to her.. Kano might bear ill feelings towards her. The thought alone saddened her but...

She couldn't blame him.

"Shuuya."

So boldly did she speak his name, in response to hearing the words that meant more than they let on. Though, honestly..

Being only this high up wouldn't kill her.

"I'm sorry."

For what? She had yet to specify. But her kind smile returned nevertheless. A smile used simply to hide. She did want to get down from the tree now.. If only to embrace the other. After all, she could never be angry with her siblings. Their mother had always wanted for them to get along. Even then, she was afraid to get rejected by him.

Still, she smiled.

"I can't get down on my own. It's alright then...! Ah, but.. Will you keep me company for awhile?"