A big thank you to everyone who participated in the ajinweek and who liked or reblogged the great content we had this year. It was a lot of fun and we’re happy that so many people took part in this. Thank you!
Fandom: Ajin
Characters/Ships: Gen; Kei, Izumi, Kai, Kou
Rating: G
Length: oneshot; 1113 words
Summary:
Much to Kei Nagai’s chagrin, he somehow came to own two dogs.
Written for Ajin Week Day 5: animals | favourite headcanon | cloud
AO3 Link (Coming Soon!)
Read on Tumblr:
(A/N) This is late and seemed like a better idea in my head (which I wish I could do better justice) but I still hope it’s amusing. /bows appoligetically
"I should warn you before we get there: I have dogs."
Izumi tilted her head questioningly. "Why would that warrant a warning?"
Kei Nagai's expression could almost be described as disgust--it certainly wasn't the warm look of an owner describing beloved pets. "Because they're pains."
For all the time they spent as lab partners, Izumi had gained precious little insight into her classmate's life outside of school. She knew he lived alone in a small apartment, and she knew that he kept mostly to himself. She had to admit sharp curiosity about this newest piece of information.
"They are social, aren't they?"
"Of course," Kei said derisively. "You think I would keep feral dogs?"
"Well, you did feel the need to warn me about them," Izumi pointed out.
"They won't bite you," Kei retorted, then thought for a moment. "... Probably."
"Probably," Izumi repeated flatly, but by then Kei had stopped in front of an apartment door. By the way he fished in his pocket for keys, Izumi assumed it was his.
There was the distinct scratch of nails at the wood.
"Here we go..." Kei breathed, then pushed the door open. Izumi wasn't sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn't the docile, spiky-haired terrier waiting patiently at the threshold, scraggly tail beating happily at the floor. It was yellow and black, a permanent smile on its It fuzzy muzzle as it gazed up at Kei. It barked once in greeting, but otherwise didn't move as its owner hung up his keys and beckoned his classmate inside.
"It's... cute..." Izumi murmured; Kei scratched the back of his neck and scowled.
"Pain in the ass dog..."
Izumi was about to ask if she could pet the serious-looking terrier when an abrupt thud echoed down the hallway--followed immediately by a series of thrumming beats. Kei cursed under his breath.
"Shit, here comes--"
He didn't get the rest of the words out. A massive golden dog skidded around the corner and flung itself at him, with enough force so that Izumi felt a breeze as it passed her. Huge paws thudded against Kei's chest, but he caught the dog's ankles deftly.
"Down!" he barked, wrenching the dog sideways. The beast's weight dragged him along, and in a heartbeat both dog and owner were on the ground. The little yellow terrier bounded to it's paws, barking once and then trotting over to where the other two were wrestling.
"Damn it... Kou, you idiot!" Kei shouted at the golden dog, who was now growling menacingly in his face. "Get off me!"
The terrier barked again, taking the opportunity to lick Kei's cheek. The boy scowled.
"Don't you start!"
"Um... are you alright?" Izumi finally asked, even as Kei was still struggling with the golden dog.
"This is normal," Kei grunted, pushing the dog off with one final heave. Sitting up with a huff, he rested one hand on the terrier's head; the dog pressed appreciatively up into his touch. "This guy here is Kai--that idiot is Kou."
The golden dog--Kou--barked loudly, trotting up to Izumi and sniffing eagerly at her feet. For a moment the girl was uncertain, but the dog's brown eyes were so earnest when he looked up at her that she found it hard to mistrust him.
"He won't bite," Kei reassured her, having pulled the yellow terrier into his lap.
Izumi reached forward, resting her hand softly on the dog's head. Kou pressed up into it, rubbing his head appreciatively against her until she was scratching his ears with both hands.
"They're precious..." she murmured, and Kei laughed dryly.
"Pains in the ass..." he muttered, even while stroking Kai.
"Why would you get dogs then, if you think that's all they are?" Izumi demanded, more than a bit offended on the dogs' behalf. Kai whined slightly at her, although his tail was wagging.
"I didn't 'get them,' genius," Kei sneered. "They both imposed themselves on me all on their own."
Izumi narrowed her eyes. "I don't know why they'd pick someone like you as an owner."
She could have sworn that Kou's suddenly huffing breath sounded like laughter.
Kei's expression soured further. "I've known this guy since I was a kid," he said, nudging Kai's shoulder. "My mom said we couldn't take him in, so I just sort of kept feeding him while I was out of the house. When I moved out, he somehow managed to follow me. And this idiot," he said, jerking his head toward Kou, "followed me home one day and just wouldn’t leave."
Kou let out an indignant howl, bounding back over to Kei and slamming his head into the human's forehead. Kei, with an exclamation of pain, fell backwards; Kai leaped deftly off his lap as Kou took the opportunity to pin their owner to the ground.
Izumi looked down as the little yellow terrier trotted up to her; sniffed at her, then cocked his head questioningly. When she knelt and offered her hand, he didn't seem impressed.
"Your name is Kai?" the girl questioned. "Good boy, Kai."
The terrier gave a soft growl, then turned and trotted back to where Kei was wrestling--unsuccessfully--with Kou. He barked sharply at the other dog, then nipped at Kou's hind legs until the golden dog, whimpering mildly, backed off. Kei, with a huff, sat up; his hair was sticking up in all directions, and Izumi had to laugh at his disgruntled expression.
"See?" he asked, even as he scooped Kai up into his arms. "Pains in the ass."
Kou loped back over to the visitor, butting his head against her thigh; Izumi stroked him obligingly. "I don't think they're so bad," she replied mildly, and the dog at her side beamed up at her.
"Take that one home with you, why don't you?" Kei asked, jerking his head towards Kou as he scrambled to his feet. The terrier in his arms stretched up to bump his small head affectionately against the human's chin.
"I don't think my kids would like that very much," Izumi admitted, and Kei looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Cats," she elaborated. "Tosaki and Ai are their names. I don't think they'd take it too well if I brought home a dog."
"Can't be helped, then..." Kei sighed. "I tried."
Kou gave another pitiful howl, sticking close to Izumi's side as the two humans made their way deeper into the apartment. At Kei's motion, the girl seated herself at the table while he went to fetch tea; the golden dog settled himself with his huge head on her lap, huffing contentedly as she scratched his ears.
Kai had stayed firmly in Kei's arms, even as the human left for the kitchen.
“Is he hard to live with?” Izumi asked the dog good-humoredly, and the dog gave a soft whimper. “I can only imagine.”
Wow seventh day reached!!! And I managed to upload something every day YAAAY. I’m quite proud of myself. So with the last contribution I wanted to change things up a bit and do sth entirely different!
This artwork depicts my favourite scene in the 35th chapter of Ajin. I call it the “Chicken Wings Freakshow” incident. Says it all.
Thanks for organizing this amazing ajinweek, which gave me the change to draw and write lots. It was a lot of fun!!!! Everyone’s contributions were so nice to look at.
Satou’s final rest doesn’t go quite the way he planned.
Heavily, heavily inspired by Karaii’s Satou background HC. This deals with some triggering content, largely suicide, hints of self hatred, and some body horror/gore.
Oneshot / 875 words total
Sam wakes. The sun seems far too bright, and he lifts one hand to shield his eyes from it.
He’s on his back, but he doesn’t remember lying down. His brain feels oddly slow and sluggish, struggling to make the connections it needs to be making.
He remembers the gun in his mouth. He remembers pulling the trigger.
His first thought is that he missed somehow, but that explanation doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t explain why he’s lying down. It doesn’t explain why his head feels slow and sluggish.
It doesn’t explain the absolutely putrid stench.
It’s the stench that makes him sit up, squinting down beside him. There’s suddenly too many things to look at. His brain is slowly restarting.
There’s the fact that his ostomy bag is on the dirt beside him, it’s disgusting contents spilled out onto the ground, no longer attached to him in any visible way. There’s the revolver sitting abandoned beside him, seemingly having fallen there.
There’s the absolute disaster just behind him, a mess of blood, brain matter, and what he’s absolutely sure are skull fragments.
He’s used to having a pretty good grasp of the situation, regardless of how strange it is, but for once he’s completely lost. What he’s looking at doesn’t make sense. There’s no explanation that accounts for what he’s seeing, so he returns to his old standby: Sitting still and observing.
Even so, the plan doesn’t last long. No explanation appears before him, and the absolutely rancid smell is almost enough to choke him. It’s not until he turns to check behind him that he notices another insanely confusing piece of the puzzle.
He has his leg back.
His prosthetic (well worn, stiff, and impossibly outdated) is shoved off to the side, and in its place is a leg.
His leg.
He goes so far as to wiggle his exposed toes to confirm it, and suddenly he can’t stop himself from jumping to his feet.
It’s a bad idea, considering that he hasn’t walked on his own two feet in close to a decade, and he goes crashing to the ground almost immediately.
He’s forced to brace himself against the concrete wall before he can manage to stand, but when he does it’s all he can do not to laugh from the sheer joy of it. His leg is back. He can’t begin to understand why it is, but the fact that it is is breathtaking.
His arm stings from where he hit the ground, and checking it reveals that he’s managed to scrape the skin off. His first thought is infection, and that thought reminds him of his ostomy bag. A quick check confirms what he suspects: His stoma is gone, healed over perfectly. He obviously can’t check, but his body feels fine, and he’s almost entirely convinced that whatever brought his leg back also healed his insides.
He feels better than he has in years.
His first priority is to get out from under the bridge. He isn’t terribly concerned by the thought of someone finding the mess he left behind--he picked the spot because it was unlikely anyone would find his remains for months--but he makes a point of collecting the revolver anyway, tucking it into his waistband and bending down to retrieve the shoe from his prosthetic. It fits uncomfortably, and he grunts, deciding he’s going to need to buy a new pair of shoes as soon as he can.
Really, he’s going to need a new everything, and a haircut and a shave are near the top of the list. He reaches up, rubbing at his scruff, and pausing abruptly when he finds it even. A quick check confirms what he should have realized already: His scar is gone, his cheek as smooth as the day he was born.
Every part of him has healed.
His thought process is abruptly derailed when he spots a figure in the corner of his vision, and he spins in place, losing his footing and toppling over. What he does catch sight of is absolutely a human figure, hidden in shadows and standing no more than a hundred feet away.
By the time he’s back on his feet, the figure is gone, and he curses himself for having gotten so weak in the meanwhile. He’s nowhere near the level he was when he lost his leg, and now he’s little more than skin and bones.
If someone is going to try and attack him, they’ll have an easy time of it.
He gives one last look to the mess he’s left--the ostomy bag, his prosthetic leg, and the mess of blood and gore--and then heads out of the underpass on wobbly legs.
He’s sure he must be quite a picture--a badly dressed man with matted hair, an awkward amount of facial hair that isn’t quite a beard, a bit of blood splatter on his collar and a bit of unmentionable splatter on the side of his shirt. He’s sure anyone who saw him would think he was drunk from the way he’s wobbling, but that doesn’t bother him at all. Let people think what they want - all that matters is that he has his leg back.
Ajin Week Day Seven: whatever goes
The two ajin I want to be happy and healthy and safe the most, Izumi and Tanaka. Also time to come out and admit that I ship them a lot ahaha
A big thank you to those who organized the Ajin Week and to all those who participated! I was super happy to take part in it and bask in all the beautiful fan works everyone produced! Bless this wonderful fandom! ( *¯ ³¯*)♡
