This is an edited repost from an old, old multifandom fic I used to have up on wattpad just to get this sideblog launched 😳
Main Masterlist
Ghibli Masterlist
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
Khunbish x Sky Pirate!Reader
I sat on the ground, my legs dangling off the edge of the cliff. The bustle of pirates was a calming sound to me. Having grown up around these people, I swear I could tell you who was who just by hearing footsteps. I knew everyone well, save for maybe Munokhoi, but we were on good terms despite his constant nervousness.
Someone plopped themself down right next to me heavily and heaved a sigh. I grinned.
"Long day?" I asked.
"Aye," Khunbish groaned. "An' it ain't even noon."
"What've ye been doin'? Seems like you do an awful lot sometimes, seems like you do awful little at others," I noted.
"Well, I was goin' through yer stuff earlier an' found these," he said, handing me my own earrings. "They're awful pretty, it'd be a shame if someone was to take 'em."
"Why were you goin' through my things?" I asked. "An' keep 'em, I don' wear 'em. They're too heavy, I like these ones more."
I gestured to the dangly earrings I wore made from clear crystals and feathers.
"Well, those sure are nice, too," Khunbish said. He grinned. "But I think we both know who got the best earrings around."
I reached out and flicked the triangular gem of his earring.
"Yeah, they're nice," I said. "If ya want to look stupid. Why were you goin' through my things?"
"Uh, Boss's orders," he said quickly.
"Want to get away?" I asked, standing up.
"Where'ould we go?" He asked, standing up with me.
"The lake in Snaketooth Ridge," I said. "S'a nice place to relax aft' a long day. Whaddya say, Khun?"
He smiled softly, giving me that look he'd give me when he just couldn't say no. He could never resist when I called him Khun. It was a trick I'd picked up from his partner, and Chingis and I were the only ones who knew about the greenie's soft spot for nicknames.
"Daredevil," he muttered, grinning. "Sure, I'll go. Boss'll kill me when I get back, but it's worth it."
"You say that like the Boss don't already got hundreds o' reasons to throw you off the cliff and leave you for th' wyverns," I said, laughing. "But we're glad he ain't that cruel. He'd never say it, but the Boss likes ya. Thinks you got some potential in you yet."
"Potential?" Khunbish repeated.
"Rumor says you'll be Boss when he gives in," I said. Khunbish stared at me in shock.
"Me!? Takin' over for the Snake?" He asked. He scoffed. "I could never."
"Yeah, you could never be a snake," I said. "Maybe ye'd be the Cloud Frog."
"Hey!" Khunbish exclaimed, glaring at me. "Thought we said we ain't mentionin' the frog thing ever again."
"Sorry, mate," I said, chuckling. "Let's get t'the lake, Greenie."
"Oi, don't call me mate like ye've not told half the folk yer in love wi' me," he said, giving me a flat stare. I grimaced.
"You caught wind o' that?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.
"Rumors spread fast an' wide," he said.
The walk to the lake seemed much shorter than usual, and I couldn't place why. When we got there, I untied my belt and let it fall to the ground with a clunk. I could feel Khunbish's eyes on me as I took off my shirt and rid myself of my shorts.
"What?" I asked. "Stop staring and take yer damn pants off!"
I took a running start and jumped into the lake, doing a flip underwater once I was below the surface. I came back to the surface to see him standing where I'd just been. His hat and shirt were off, as were his shoes, but he was still wearing his pants.
"The pants're stayin' on," he said, walking over to sit down and dip his feet in the water.
"Don't be lame, Khunbish, come on!" I said. He huffed. "Just be rid of 'em and join me!"
"No. Maybe if I had a few drinks in me," he said. I gave him a questioning look. "I don't got anythin' on under! I ain't gonna expose a lady to that. It's indecent."
"Oh," I said simply. "Well, then either jump in with 'em on, or I'm takin' off my undergars an' we're skinny dippin' together."
"What?" Khunbish asked, clearly taken aback.
"You heard me," I said, crossing my arms. "Yer either gettin' those precious pants o' yers wet, or we're both gonna be indecent."
Khunbish looked like he was frozen to his spot, so I sighed heavily and reached behind myself to untie my fabric bra. I swam over to the shore and threw it at my pile of clothes. Khunbish stared at me in shock.
"Yer really just gonna...?" His eyes were comically wide.
"So? Pants on or off, Khun?" I asked. He gave me a quick glare, his eyes saying 'seriously?' but then he looked at me with those eyes he wore when he couldn't say no.
"How 'bout pants on, bra off?" He asked, sliding into the water. I laughed.
"Y'know what? Sure," I said, rolling my eyes. "Nothin' wrong with showin' a bit o' skin to the guy I love, right?"
"What was that poem you used to recite all the time when you got nervous 'bout flyin' again?" He asked, swimming a little further out and trying to float on his back.
"The breath of the bird is the breath of the wind?" I asked. He nodded, closing his eyes and basking in the sun as he floated. "Yeah... Imagine a sky pirate 'fraid o' flyin'. What a coward."
"You wasn't a coward," Khunbish said. "Jus' afraid o' fallin' out."
"Yeah," I said slowly. "So, uh, what'd you think 'bout that rumor 'bout me lovin' you an' all?"
"Thought it was fake," he said. "Never loved a woman who loved me back before."
"What?" I asked, surprised. Next thing I knew, he was splashing me in the face. "Khunbish!"
He just laughed as I splashed him back, then he lunged at me, making both of us fall beneath the surface. His hair fanned out in the water, looking softer than I think it really was, and the both of us locked eyes for a moment before he kissed me. I pulled away instinctively, pushing myself to the surface.
I could tell he was going to ask me why I'd pulled away when he popped up from the water, so I just kissed him again instead of letting him speak.
"What was that about?" He asked once we broke apart.
"I'm not 'bout to drown myself just because a green-haired frog wanted to kiss me in the lake," I said, grinning.
"Hey!"
Both of us turned to look at the lakeshore when we heard the loud cry. Khunbish paled.
"He's gonna kill me for sure this time," he muttered as I covered my chest.
"Hey, Boss," I said nervously.
"Please, do explain what this is," Batu said demandingly.
"Well, Khun was having a bad day, so I-"
"Khunbish? Don't ye've got work to do?" Batu asked.
"Y-Yes, Boss," Khunbish said, swimming back to the lakeshore. Batu eyed my pile of clothes and he froze when he saw my bra. Even though I was covering myself, my chest was below the water, and I guessed he hadn't noticed.
"You know what?" Batu asked, narrowing his eyes at me for a moment. "Take the rest o' the day off."
"I told you, Khunbish!" I said excitedly. "He does like you!"
@ryukansdaze to answer your question... yes, Kanji will appear in this setup too xD
I figure Kanji is a total animal lover... though is cautious around snakes. After learning about the Naga dilemma (...via stomping on Swaine's tail in another room), he offers his support...
As well as pets, cuz he gives the best pets. Just ask Khunbish. He can't deny it, I have the evidence!
A prompt I’d love to see people tackle is everyone’s motivations for summoning their given gods - or even if they care about summoning their gods. Or what it would take to make someone’s character care about summoning the god.
Agni
He doesn’t really have any motivation to summon Byakko right now; he’s just going with the flow. It’s worth noting that his “flow” is divinely inspired, so he is subconsciously being pushed in that direction.
Once he finds out that the Priestess runs the risk of being devoured by the god, he’ll probably be actively against it, and start wondering “if the death cult part is kind of true, what else is kind of true?” and then start doubting his every action because he has a direct line to Byakko in his brain and Byakko apparently eats maidens??? It’ll be fun!
Khünbish
She is briefly hesitant about the whole star warrior thing, until she realizes that it’s probably the most efficient way of crushing her enemies once and for all. Or “saving Beijiya” if you want to put it in milder terms. (She will spend a lot of time thinking about the Empire and the mines and their economic ties, and how to best phrase any wishes so that the widest possible range of people get what’s coming to them.)
Sasha
She wants to do whatever Mikasa-sama wants to do!
Of course, it has occurred to her that Mikasa-sama carries part of the Blue Dragon, AND she is also quite magnificent (of course), so wouldn’t it follow that Seiryuu is ALSO quite magnificent? She’d love to see them one day, so maybe summoning them would be a cool thing to do.
“Ox” seems like too obvious an answer, so let’s go with Khünbish’s favorite animal: the wolf. Does she identify with this species? You bet. Does she fancy herself a lone wolf: hunter, scavenger, survivor? Of course. Would she wear Three Wolf Moon without a trace of irony and somehow manage to make it look cool? HELL YES.
• How does your character react to sudden and unexpected hugs?
If the hugger is smaller than her, she’ll stand still and tense until it’s all over and then clap the person on the shoulder as an example of how one ought to show her affection.
If the hugger is larger than her, she’ll use their own momentum against them to send them flying. In self-defense, of course.
• What incredibly dorky thing does your character do while thinking that it’s actually super cool?
She likes to flip coins rather than simply hand them over whenever possible. It goes against her natural inclination to avoid attention, but she started doing it as some idle dexterity practice and now she can’t bear to just hand money over. It feels wrong. (Paper bank notes make her sad.)
• What is the craziest thing your character has done?
It’s sort of hard to top “destroying an Imperial mine and going on to live life as an eco-terrorist”. In trying to come up with the craziest specific attack, I decided that I’d like to think that the craziest one is yet to come.
• What are some of your character’s weaknesses?
Her inertia is perhaps her greatest weakness: she’s set out on a very specific path, and she can’t veer from it, or even consider whether she wants to. She’s somewhat defeatist and fatalistic in the idea that she can’t. The idea that a priestess might come to this world to set things right is only a very distant hope in her mind. Even if the legend plays out and the priestess arrives, who’s to say she’ll be able or even willing to help?
Her social skills have also naturally atrophied after spending so much time alone, which creates a whole other host of problems.
• What’s your character’s biggest secret?
Khünbish blames herself for her clan’s demise. She blames the mine too, certainly, but as the one that told the chief where to dig the well, she feels the weight of all their deaths on her. On some deep, dark level, she’s almost glad there’s so few of them left because it minimizes the chance she’ll ever have to personally confront them over what she feels is her failure.
