#lulas's fic

[lanliingwang]

little idea thing I was writing for KnK!Soo and Hiroomi

The swings creaked quietly, so quietly Hiroomi probably could have tuned it out. What did draw his attention, however, was the look on Soo's face--the smile that seemed as though it would break with the slightest push, like the most fragile of glass. "When Mitsuki-ssi rejected me, I was--I was kinda expecting that. I mean, who would want someone like me?" He laughed, though the laugh was clearly forced--his eyes were still downcast, his smile was still as breakable as a sheet of ice. "I-It's a thing I should be used to at this point, right? I-I mean..." Hiroomi watched quietly as Soo trailed off, grip on the swing chains tightening ever-so-subtly. For once, he had no wisecracks to make, for he sensed the other would not be able to take it. One push, and the smile...would break like glass. Soo was still talking. "So I guess--I guess I kinda accept it." Already, a tear was tracing a path across the Korean teen's cheek, even as the smile faded and his eyes watered, with more tears to come. "A-And--I'm used to it, I really am! Besides, if I cry...she'll be worried for me. I don't--I don't w-want her to be w-worried for..." Whatever he was going to say never made it out, as he soon dissolved into quiet sobs. His chest heaved with each shuddering breath he took to try to calm himself, and his eyes shut tightly, as though that would be enough to hold back the additional tears that longed to spill out. At that moment, Hiroomi could not see--even in the least bit, as he usually did--a fellow Spirit World Warrior, who knew far more about the cruelties of reality than someone his age should. Instead, he saw someone else--a young teenager who had held back his negative emotions forso long, that the dam shattered completely in that very moment, revealing his vulnerabilities, his deepest fears to the world. Even as he took shuddering breaths and grasped the swing chains tightly to calm himself down, the tears continued to fall, landing silently in his lap and soaking his uniform. And yet, he still laughed. Despite all this, he still laughed , as though that would make the pain go away. True, it held no mirth, but there was a clear intention of ridding himself of his earlier grief. "S-Sorry--that was probably uncalled for, I didn't--" "You don't have to apologize." Stunned, Soo looked up at the older xenor, a confused look shining in his eyes now. Hiroomi's mouth was set in a firm, straight line, his brows knit in concern and his hazel eyes alight with certainty. "You won't--you won't change anyone's opinions on you just for expressing what you truly feel. All you're showing is that--well, you're human. There's nothing wrong with letting off the burden of carrying a mask all the time. So that's why..." Drawing a handkerchief from his pocket, the Nase clan head held it out to Soo, smiling sadly. "That's why--I don't mind if you cry."

[lanliingwang]

Admiration

Random oneshot written about Hyun and Soo, during and after a battle with a dreamghast. Oneshot, KnK AU for APH.

                                                      ~*~

"Stand back and watch carefully, namdongsaeng."

Soo could only blink as he was unexpectedly released from his binds. One minute, he had been tightly rooted to the spot with transparent binds, and the dreamghast he had been fighting had been about to literally drill him through his skull. Now he was released from said binds, and the monster had been sliced in half by a spinning object, which turned out to have been his brother's hyeopdo.

Turning around in time to see Hyun catch his weapon like a boomerang of sorts, the younger of the two could only gape. "How did you--"

"I had a hunch," Hyun replied, regarding the halved ghast in front of them with an air of nonchalance--almost boredom, really--as he absentmindedly twirled his ice staff. "But enough about that--don't lower your guard. It's not dead yet."

Nodding, Soo clenched his fists again, starting to form the so-called "ice armor" that encased his hands while in battle. He knew as well as any Spirit World Warrior that's seen battle that a dreamghast wasn't truly dead until it had turned into a small stone, which can then be traded to make money. In the Im family's case (along with other clans), however, they chose to take the stones back to carefully examine them, in order to learn more about dreamghasts and their behaviors.

Which was exactly why Soo was out here at all, really--he was supposed to exterminate this particularly unusual dreamghast and bring back the stone to Hyun and the Im directorate. But the ghast had turned out to be more cunning than he had realized--which had almost put his mission at a failure, had it not been for his brother's timely arrival.

While definitely relieved that Hyun had his back no matter what, Soo secretly felt resentful and envious of this fact as well. The fact that Hyun could wipe out an entire hoard in a matter of minutes, while Soo sometimes struggled with even one or two, was something he had never quite gotten over his jealousy for. Add the fact that his brother was the clan head and wasn't supposed to do much of the fighting anymore, as well as the fact that he had always been the more powerful of the two, and Soo couldn't have felt more like he had no chance of improving.

Before Soo could ponder more on his thoughts, however, a rustle behind his back shook him out of them. Turning around, he caught sight of the dreamghast's body distorting, forming a more inhuman shape than before--something like a cross between a spider and a scorpion. This startled the younger one, as he had never recalled a ghast that changed forms like so. Sure, some had the ability to conjure up armor as needed, but those weren't really changes in appearance, per se.

However, one glance at Hyun's practically unfazed expression revealed that this was a normal occurrence in the Spirit World. To a more experienced Warrior, such a thing quickly became something of a norm.

This didn't stymie the jealousy burning inside the least bit.

Hissing at the two xenors, the ghast proceeded to lunge at them, only to be stopped by Soo's instinctive strike, a punch that came close to caving in the spider-scorpion hybrid's face. Almost immediately, as though the ice were responding to his will, a spike grew out of the tip in an attempt to damage the head--which it did, just barely. The spike had barely pierced half of the head when the ghast took note of this and proceeded to shake its head and almost slam Soo into the wall--

--only to realize its entire body--from the head down--couldn't move. Apparently, Hyun had made good use of the distraction and leaped onto  the dreamghast's back, freezing its body the minute his sole touched down on it. Spinning around before the ghast could recover from its shock, the older of the brothers drove the bladed tip of his weapon through the back of the head and right through the eye--his target, and the dreamghast's weak point, in other words.

The result took only a matter of seconds--a howl of pain later, a sparkling stone glittered between the two brothers. Surprised and almost mesmerized with the stone's beauty, Soo bent down and scooped it up, turning it between his hands just as the "ice armor" melted off of them. Upon noticing Hyun a few feet away, however, he dropped his hands to his sides and mumbled, "Sorry, hyung. I probably should've--"

"It's not your fault."

Blinking at the response he got, Soo looked up in surprise. Hyun rarely said these kinds of things, often being rather harsh with his younger brother. Before he could ask, however, his older brother swiftly continued, "Your powers and experience as a Warrior aren't fully matured yet, and you need to get rid of your impulsive nature. Your tendency to act out of your impulses has jeopardized a lot of missions you were sent on."

Soo should have been used to this kind of thing, but the words stung nonetheless. Still, he blurted out, "B-But when you were at my age, you were--!" Biting his lip and mentally cursing himself for letting his impulses take over again--the very thing that he had just been criticized about minutes earlier--he added in a mumble, "Maybe I should train for a while outside of home, like you did..."

"Yong Soo." It was only then that Hyun deigned to look at his brother again, a disapproving look marring his features. "Power isn't gained that easily, and you should know that."

Soo had to grudgingly admit that Hyun had a point, but that didn't stop any of the envy from coursing through his veins. Before he could mention any of his feelings on the matter, however--not that he wanted to, but he could've done so--his brother chose that minute to add, "Besides, I need you here, namdongsaeng. I don't always agree with the directorate on these matters, but if there's one thing we agree on, you're crucial to our duties as Im clan xenors." Pausing, he amended almost hastily, "Well, not even just our clan--the Spirit World in general."

The younger of the brothers frowned slightly. It wasn't like his older brother to say he was needed for the Spirit World in general--it was pretty much accepted between them that no clan would ever have respect for them and their abilities. Nevertheless, instead of questioning such an amendment to his statement, he nodded in silent agreement.

Seemingly satisfied with the obedience, Hyun glanced around, seemingly taking note of the damage caused, before walking over and past Soo with his hyeopdo still in hand. "Then with that said, let's go. The directorate's assigned another mission to you."

Not missing the slight worry encased in his mostly casual tone of voice, Soo turned, the same worry etched on his own face. "Okay, but for what?"

Stopping just before the doorway, Hyun barely dignified him with a glance back, lips tight. "You'll see."

Soo had been planning on questioning his brother further, frustrated by the lack of information provided, but upon comprehending the "don't ask" tone, he gave up on the idea for the time being as he followed behind the other. After all, surely it wouldn't be important to know any details yet, right?

                                               ~-~

A/N: Sorry if this was really bad, this was composed in a half-asleep state.

Anyways, terminology guide:

Xenor=Spirit World Warrior=people who fight dreamghasts (youmu for you anime people u v u).

Dreamghast stones are what the ghasts (dreamghasts/youmu) become after being defeated, which is usually through damaging the eye, as it's a ghast's weakness.

Hyun and Soo are 16 and 13 in this, approximately. Yes, Hyun is clan head now.

Follows the same AU as this story, so some things might be explained there. Might be.

Anyways, that's all. Enjoy my stupid late night things again!

[lanliingwang]

The First and Foremost Lesson Taught

Summary: As members of the cursed ice clan in Korea, Hyun felt the least he could do was tell Soo the harsh truth of reality for them. Oneshot, KnK AU for APH.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yong Soo, the setting of Kyoukai no Kanata, or Seung Hyun (NK OC). Yong Soo belongs to Himaruya, KnK to KyoAni (for the most part), and Seung Hyun to Beri/Leo.

                                                    ~ - ~

"Members of our clan have always been looked down upon."

Those were the first words out of Seung Hyun's mouth as he stared down at his younger sibling, eyes unwavering and his mouth pressed in a thin line. Meanwhile, Yong Soo simply returned his gaze with a curious one of his own, eyes wide and rapt with attention--something he rarely devoted to anything.

Hyun knew his mother would never have approved of how he was currently teaching Soo, had she still been alive. She had always advocated for lessening the blows of reality for the younger one until he was ready. However, he had never worked that way--if the blows were softened at a young age, they would be utterly prepared for the harsher blows in later life. In his mind, it was best to prepare them for what was to come, even if for most it would seem excessively cruel to.

After a moment of silence to let the first few words sink in, Hyun opened his mouth to continue.

"As our xenomachics deal with ice, and all things related to that particular element, other clans have regarded this as beautiful, but deadly. Our ancestors--and relatives--have been labeled as 'cursed', simply because a few of us cannot properly control such abilities, and therefore have caused destruction to entire cities in the process." Noticing Soo's mouth open slightly in surprise, the young heir folded his hands together behind his back, eyes narrowing slightly.

"As a result, we have been scorned, looked down upon, for centuries at end. So let me tell you this much, namdongsaeng--we have always been, and will forever be, destined for a life of loneliness and isolation. No one will accept you for who you are. They will never see past your cursed legacy, ever. Do you understand?"

For a moment, shock and a brief, momentary flash of pain crossed Soo's face, and Hyun almost considered taking his words back. Perhaps he had been too blunt this time around? But soon enough, his little brother nodded, an expression of determination firmly implanted on his face as he formed a childish pseudo-military salute with his hand.

"I understand, hyung!" Despite his bottom lip quivering slightly from the sudden revelations of what was in store in his future, it was evident that Soo was doing everything in his power to hide it.

Hyun had to hide a proud smile at his brother's sheer determination as he nodded. "Good. I hope you will keep that in mind," he replied, still with his usual curtness, though his voice had softened considerably at this point.

And with that, he swiftly turned and made his way back to his study, all the while inwardly wondering if he would regret telling his brother of this later.

He was sure he wouldn't--after all, it was the truth. That made it okay, right?

Right?

                                                    ~ - ~

A/N: Right, well.

I had a KnK AU for Hetalia with the Korean Peninsula brothers. Basically, based on my headcanon that Spirit World Warriors (or xenors) exist around the world, Yong Soo and Seung Hyun are part of a cursed ice clan in Korea (the Im's), who were cursed because a) people feared their xenomachics, which revolve around ice; and b) the clan members are notorious for losing control of their abilities and leaving destruction in their wake (i.e. freezing entire towns).

Therefore, many of its clan members tend to not be group players much, given how much discrimination and shit they face for all that. Hence Hyun's "lesson" to Soo.

Also, I think Hyun is like--13 in this, probably (since he takes up clan leadership at 16), so Soo's probably 10 or 11 years old. Yeah.

Also, xenomachics is a KnK light novel term that--as you may have guessed--refers to the special abilities of a Warrior. Borrowed from Nakulas's translations of it, really.

Ah, I might expand on this AU (and other AUs) someday but right now I"m too lazy to. So yeah, have my early morning oneshot urges for now.

[lanliingwang]

Troubling Genes

~3 years~

"I'm in America, Akkey. You know how long distance calls are here."

"I thought you had plenty of money to spare for that!"

"I can be a penny pincher when I feel like it..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. What happened?"

The creaking of a chair could be heard on the other end, and Hiroomi wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that Akihito still hadn't bothered to sleep after midnight. Or so he would assume was midnight, anyway--timezones could be tricky sometimes. "She almost burned her hand."

"...Almost." Sarcasm was barely veiled on Hiroomi's part, but he chose to ignore it.

"Yeah." There was a hint of irritation in the half-youmu's voice when he heard the response. "She tried to help me make omurice."

"I see. And I'm assuming that that turned out to be a bad idea?"

Even though he couldn't see Akihito's face, Hiroomi could definitely imagine Akihito's scowl of frustration. It brought an amused smile to his own lips as the other mustered up a reply. "Obviously. Why else would I be calling you?"

Hiroomi waited. "And?"

"What?"

"Why would you be calling me? What do you think I can do about it?"

"..."

Long silence reigned on the other end, but the xenor wasn't fazed. If the call had been cut off, he would have heard only static--which he wasn't hearing right now. Biting back the urge to laugh, he shook his head to himself and spoke up again.

"You know, I'm no seer, but I feel like you and Mirai have a long road ahead with Miyuki-chan."

A long sigh issued on the other end--it seemed Akihito figured that as well.

"I know."

-

~8 years~

"What happened this time?"

"Broken ankle."

Hiroomi bit back the urge to groan. He already knew what was coming--3 years of the same (or similar) shit happening could be tiring. "Let me guess--she tried to help her mother fight off a high-class youmu, correct?"

"...Yeah." Akihito sounded tired, but there was a hint of resignation in his voice as well. "One of the tails smacked her down, and her ankle took the brunt of the damage."

"Where is Mirai at the moment, anyway?"

"She took Miyuki to Ayaka's place. Why would you care, anyway?"

"She is more or less my niece, you know. In all but blood." Sighing, Hiroomi pushed himself off of the kitchen counter he was leaning against. "And Mirai is as much of a friend to me as you are. Tell you what--I suggest keeping a close eye on her antics. She might be taking after you, Akkey."

"Ye--wait, what?!"

Hiroomi had to suppress a laugh at that.

-

~12 years~

God knows he was going to kill one of them one of these days. Especially for Akihito calling at one of the most ungodly hours of the morning.

"Yes, Akkey?"

"Well, she might've--"

"Let me guess. She almost gave herself a concussion from placing herself in the middle of a fight."

"No, but--"

"Or she tore a muscle because she forgot she lacked your ability to heal and--"

"Can you just listen to me, Hiroomi?!" Akihito sounded just as tired and frustrated, if not more, than him. "She just sprained her wrist from trying to help a neighbor."

Upon hearing that, Hiroomi resisted the urge to pick up the nearest bowl of red pepper paste and rub it into his eyes. It would be less of a pain to deal with than this. "I don't believe I follow."

"She sprained her wrist from trying to move their belongings in." The way Akihito pronounced every word was reminiscent of a teacher trying to teach a slow and particularly dimwitted child. Not that the xenor appreciated the comparison.

"So let me get this straight--she sprained her wrist because she was trying to be a good neighbor?"

"Yeah."

Long silence. "Where's Mirai?"

"In Munich."

Hiroomi mentally groaned. Why, of all times, did Mirai not stay home when her daughter got herself injured again? "Then take her to the doctor's yourself. Or Ayaka's, whatever works." He honestly wasn't in the mood to deal with his niece's injuries, as much as he loved her.

"Yeah, I was going to take her to Ayaka's--"

"Then why aren't you out to do that yet?"

"I am going to do that right now!" Akihito gave an annoyed sigh. "Jesus, I hate it when you're like this..."

The rest of the conversation spent on more mundane matters, Hiroomi finally managed to shut his phone and storm back to his bed. As he got into bed, however, he thought about one thing.

Kanbara Miyuki had a knack of getting herself in trouble and injured, and it was all her father's fault.

[lanliingwang]

Kyoukai no Frozen Chapter 5: The Pursuit's just the beginning

~-~

Upon returning to the courtyard of the palace once again, Mitsuki and Miroku found the crowd had not moved--indeed, it seemed like it had only been seconds since the incident had happened. Many were still staring disbelievingly at the frozen fountains and the floor of the entrance, both of which were still encased in ice--a few were shivering as snow was starting to fall in heaps over the land, though most were temporarily oblivious to it.

"Temporarily" being the key word, that is.

As Mitsuki edged closer with her fiance by her side, she could now make out faint words somewhere near the entrance--apparently Duke Brennus and his men had recovered from the fall over ice, and were now throwing around wild accusations regarding her brother and newly crowned king.

"--has cursed the land!" the Duke cried out. "The king is responsible for this sudden winter weather, and unless he can be made to pay for his wrongdoing--"

"No!" Mitsuki wasn't sure why she had suddenly blurted it out, but she wasn't about to stop. If there was one thing she detested, it was hearing such words, even if she hadn't heard much of it from being locked up in the palace for so many years. "I know my brother. An--I mean, His Majesty--he would never do this on purpose! He was scared, and--"

"Oh?" A thoroughly unpleasant expression came over Brennus's face as he turned in the direction of the princess of Nagatsuki, superbly disdainful at her counterarguments. "And is there sorcery in you as well?"

"What--No!" Mitsuki answered defiantly, shaking her head. "I'm normal!"

"I can vouch for her that she's as normal as normal gets!" Miroku agreed, stepping up to her defense and glancing at her with a kind smile as he added, "In the best way, too, I say."

"Oh--oh, all right!" Brennus blustered, already seeing that he was going to lose the argument on hand. "Now, how are we to get the king back to--"

Again, like before, Mitsuki interrupted the duke before he could finish his words. "I'll go and bring him back. It's my fault he freaked out, so I'm taking responsibility." Taking a deep breath, she glanced over to her right, where a guard was standing. "Bring me my horse, now."

"Princess, it's too--" Miroku started, concern etched in his tone and expression, but Mitsuki shook her head.

"I have to. I'm probably the one who knows him best--" Maybe not as much as I should have, but still. "--and besides, I don't think he'll take kindly to anyone else. He's my brother; he won't hurt me." Managing a smile, she gripped the reins of her spotted stallion the minute he reached her, before mounting the horse. "Take care of Nagatsuki in my stead, will you?"

Miroku still evidently looked reluctant to let her go on her own, but after a long silence, he nodded, returning her smile with a halfhearted one of his own. "All right, I'll do that."

The smile seemed to bloom on Mitsuki's face upon hearing his reply. "Thanks. Oh, and call me Mitsuki while you're at it." Before she could hear his response, however, she took off, figuring she had wasted enough time in getting ready.

She wasn't sure if she could hold true to her words, but she had to try. After all, everyone depended on her success.

-

The snowstorm raged harder than ever as Hiroomi trudged up the mountain, having slowed his speed long before as soon as he was sure that he'd lost his pursuers. Despite the fact that his coronation outfit was covered in snowflakes, the cold seeping through didn't bother him the least bit.

What did bother him, however, was what had happened that led up to this.

He couldn't believe he'd lost control of his emotions so quickly. After years of being isolated and told by his older sister to conceal his abilities, years of practice in failed attempts to control, it had all been for naught on the night of his coronation. In fact, he honestly couldn't blame the duke for wanting to arrest him immediately--he probably would have said something similar, should he be in the same situation.

Sighing heavily, the king wrapped his arms around himself. "Heaven knows I've tried," he murmured, recalling all those times of the past, where despite his best efforts, his powers kept slipping through, rendering all his attempts of concealment useless. As he peered around, disregarding the winds howling around him, he realized something.

I'm free.

For the first time...I'm truly free.

Brightening considerably, Hiroomi looked up ahead of him, letting a genuine smile unveil itself for the first time in years as he realized what had happened--at least, from his perspective. "I'm free!" he exclaimed aloud, as though to help himself believe it despite his thoughts. Gripping the smooth fabric of his remaining glove, he pulled it off and tossed it into the air, finally seeing no harm in removing it.

The minute it was off, he raised his hand and watched in wonder as snowflakes seemed to sputter to life and rise from it, glowing in the same blue--almost teal--color it always did. Raising his other hand, he duplicated the previous effect, letting both fade away in the snow around him, before creating a vaguely familiar sculpture with an effortless sweep.

Upon making note of this, Hiroomi could feel himself growing more confident over what he could do. "They can't get to me anymore," he said to himself, as though confirming that the fears from long ago would plague him no longer. Unclipping his cape from his shoulders, he let it fly away in the wind before running up ahead, stopping just short of the edge of a cliff. Unhindered by the obstacle, his smile only widened as he pushed out in front of him, letting a cone of light fly out to form a staircase, made entirely of pure white snow and ice.

Eyes widening in awe at what he had just created, the former King of Nagatsuki ran forward, before hesitantly taking a step onto the newly formed structure to see if it would hold. When his foot landed on the structure, however, not only did it stay firm despite the additional weight, but it also created a space in the snowy layer of the staircase. This, of course, gave him an idea, and with little further hesitation, he spread his hands out to either side and ran up and over the cliff to the other side, letting the snow dissipate from the frozen structure.

Upon finally reaching the other side--which happened to be the side of the mountain he was trudging up minutes before--Hiroomi slowly turned, marveling at the sight for a moment, before getting yet another idea. Raising his foot, he brought it down on the snowy landscape, causing the ground beneath him to crack and form a circular floor with a snowflake inscribing the surface, which seemed to rise slightly above the rest of the ground.

Feeling as though he had never been happier in his life, Hiroomi surveyed his surroundings once more, as though deciding what to do next. "Let the storm rage on," he told no one in particular, before flicking his wrists and pushing upwards. Immediately, the floor started to rise up even more as columns and walls of ice sprung up around the edge of the figure, forming what was essentially an entire palace made of ice. Waving his hands around, he found it didn't take long to decorate the already quite elaborate building--all he needed was a roof and some decorative structures around the doorways, and he was done.

Though initially happy with what he'd just accomplished, Hiroomi's smile slipped when he remembered the hat still perched on his head. Reaching up to grasp the brim, he pulled it off and announced, "I'm never going back--the past is in the past!" Finishing this statement by tossing the headpiece aside, he then proceeded to unwind his scarf as well, letting it fall behind him as he flicked his wrist once more. As he did this, frost started to spread up, giving his outfit a similar consistency to ice and topping it off with a cape of ice as he made his way to a nearby balcony, which overlooked the isolated area he'd created for himself.

The small smile returned to Hiroomi's face as he gazed down at the snowy landscape. "I can be free here!" he asserted to himself, letting his line of vision shift to his hands for a second, before raising his head to look around him once again. "The cold never bothered me anyway."

-

Mitsuki held on tightly to the reins of her horse, bouncing slightly as it galloped through the snowy forest. Despite the ride being less than comfortable from her perspective, her eyes were alert, scanning the darkness within the trees for any sign of movement that might indicate that her brother was still out and about.

"Aniki!" she shouted, hoping she would get his attention somehow. "I'm sorry that I made you run away! Please come back! We can fix this together!"

No answer. All she heard was the howling of the winds around her.

Well, it was better than nothing, she tried to reassure herself, figuring her day couldn't possibly get worse.

Unfortunately, she was far from accurate about that. For at that moment, a tree to her left emitted a sharp crack! as the trunk half-severed itself from the force of the winds. Her horse, having always been quite skittish at the slightest sound, chose that moment to panic, accidentally throwing her off its back as it turned to flee back to Nagatsuki.

"Wait--!"

Too late--her horse had already disappeared. Swallowing back a sigh, the princess started to get to her feet, when the tree she had been thrown against chose that moment to let an armful of snow fall on her. Shivering slightly, she pulled the cloak hastily wrapped around her closer to herself, muttering something along the lines of, " I really hate today!", before forcing herself to her feet and hobbling the rest of the way on foot.

-

Despite it only having been a few hours, Mitsuki swore it could have been a few days for all she knew and cared. Her teeth were already chattering like crazy, and one reckless dip in the river had left her dress completely frozen from the waist down. On top of that, she felt like she was going to freeze like an ice statue any moment, and this was only reinforced by her currently sporting a runny nose, which didn't help lighten the mood much.

"It just had to be snow and ice, didn't it?" she grumbled to herself, narrowly missing a rock in her haste to search for her brother. "He couldn't've had tropical powers that could've covered the--Gah!" Tripping over another rock that she had completely missed, she faceplanted in the snow, which only worsened her physical condition. Thankfully, it hadn't brought on an all-out cold yet, though Mitsuki was pretty sure she was coming pretty close to one.

"Ugh..." she muttered, pushing herself up and wiping the snow off her face, deciding that the day was definitely out to get her. Just as the thought approached her, however, she saw a glimmer of light in the distance--which was definitely not originating from the kingdom. Pushing herself up once more from the snow, she stumbled on, croaking out, "Hello? Anyone?"

After all, as sheltered as Mitsuki was, even she could figure that light meant someone living was around here. Usually, anyways, but she didn't know that little detail. Not wasting a second of contemplation, she veered toward the light, which turned out to be coming from a small cabin up ahead. When she reached the doorstep of the cabin, she found a snow-covered sign, but one swipe of her hand allowed her to read it.

"Wandering Travelers' Trading Post and Sauna," she read aloud to herself, frowning slightly. She vaguely recognized the terms, but surely it would be a good resting place--and maybe she could request a change of clothes, too. With a sigh, she stared down at her dress's frozen skirt, before opening the door with a quick twist of the knob.

What she found inside was completely unexpected. It looked to be something like a shop--well, a messy and slightly unorganized one, or so Mitsuki thought. Supplies of all kind--mostly to survive in winter weather--hung haphazardly from hooks along the wall or sat on various shelves of varying heights and sizes. With a jolt of recognition and relief, she spotted a black dress and hooded cape that looked to be perfect in this weather, but before she could head toward it, a voice called out, "Hey, you there!"

Whirling around and barely suppressing a scream, Mitsuki found a young woman sitting behind a previously unseen desk, her hands clasped together. She had long brown hair that went down to her lower back and warm golden-brown eyes. She didn't seem like a Nagatsuki native to her, but that didn't matter to the princess.

"Um, hello?" she answered awkwardly, waving back.

"Big summer sale!" The woman practically beamed at her. If a smile could thaw the endless winter hanging over Nagatsuki right now, Mitsuki was pretty sure that woman's smile alone could do the trick. "Or...are you here for the sauna?"

"Uh..." Mitsuki blinked at the declaration, before letting her eyes slide toward the dress and cape again. "How about some appropriate clothes for wintertime? Please?"

"Oh..." The woman's smile faded. "Well, stock for winter is a little low right now, 'cause the unexpected weather change. Sorry about that."

Noticing the one pair of boots and gloves hanging next to the dress and cape, Mitsuki bit back a sigh and made her way to where they were located. "Oh, well, that's fine..." she murmured, shivering slightly and picking the items she needed up. They were surprisingly warm to the touch, and pleasantly so. "But if you don't mind me asking: Has another young man--like, oh, perhaps, the King himself--passed by?"

The woman sighed, shaking her head. "'Fraid not. No person would be so crazy that they would--"

Before she could finish her sentence, the door swung open again, this time with enough force to almost knock it off its hinges. A young man tromped in, dressed so heavily for the weather and covered in so much snow that all Mitsuki could make out was blond hair sticking out from underneath his cap, and brown eyes that looked almost orange in the light of the cabin/trading post/sauna. Slamming the door behind him, he yanked off the piece of cloth wrapped around his mouth and marched up to the desk.

"Oh, look who's back!" The woman lit up at the sight of the newcomer. "What do you need?"

A scowl marred the man's face. "Fruits. That's what I need."

Though Mitsuki was only two inches shorter than him, she couldn't help feeling intimidated by the snow-covered young man as he turned his gaze on her. It took only a moment for her to figure out what he wanted her to do, however, judging by how his eyes flickered to the compartment just below her at the desk. "Oh! Sorry," she said quickly, moving out of the way as he snatched up a bag of who-knows-what and slapped it onto the desk. Then, before she could say anything else, he went over to the "winter stock" and picked up an ice pick and coil of rope, before adding it to his pile.

Oblivious to his evidently sour mood (or so it seemed), the woman tried to strike up a conversation. "What brings you here, Akihito?" she inquired pleasantly as she noted the items on the desk.

"Ice and snow are much too thick," the man, apparently named "Akihito", groused in return. "I could barely harvest anything."

"Oh--um, it really is difficult to navigate through all that, right?" Mitsuki chipped in, deciding to jump into the conversation.

Akihito gave her a deadpan look. "You want to talk about 'difficult'? I tame dreamghasts and sell the ice for a living!" He waved carelessly out at the sleigh parked outside, loaded with ice cubes where little creatures were encased within.

"Oh...that must be really...difficult," Mitsuki remarked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she arched an eyebrow at him.

Akihito chose to ignore the little comment and turn back to the other. "How much will that be, Nino?"

"Nino" glanced over the items once more, before catching Mitsuki's curious glance. Smiling slightly once more, she decided to put the poor girl out of her misery. "North Mountain. Lots of ice up there, and lots of dreamghasts too." Then she turned back to Akihito. "And that'll be forty."

"Last time you said it was ten." Akihito frowned. "Have some pity here, will you?"

"Sorry, no can do. Your ice pick and rope are in high demand right now."

"Wait, there's lots of ice, up at the mountain?" Mitsuki tried to interject in the conversation, clearly desperate for answers.

"Yeah." Akihito shot a displeased glance in her direction. "Now be quiet. I'm trying to deal with a crook here."

At once, Nino's pleasantries faded, and she stood up, a scowl on her face in full force. Though slightly shorter than Akihito, there was an intimidating air surrounding her nonetheless.

"What did you just call me?" she demanded, anger clear in her tone.

After that, Mitsuki, for the life of her, couldn't recall what exactly happened. All she remembered was a vague recollection of Nino grabbing Akihito by the collar and bodily throwing him out of the shop, before closing the door once more and seating herself back behind the desk. Blinking, she glanced at the door for a second, before back at Nino, who was sporting an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that display of violence. I can give you a free trip to the sauna and the winter apparel for free, if you want?"

"Mm..." Mitsuki was about to accept--she was freezing right now, anyway--but one look at the items on the desk gave her a different idea.

-

Meanwhile, outside the cabin, Akihito had gotten to his feet, glaring at the closed door, before feeling a light nuzzling at his side. Turning back around to see his faithful fox-like dreamghast companion, Ayaka, next to him, he managed a smile, patting her snout. "Sorry about that, Aya. Didn't get your fruits," he apologized, looking a little sheepish. When Ayaka made a sound that seemed like a groan of disappointment, the dreamghast-tamer chuckled, before gesturing behind her. "But hey, I found a place for us to spend the night!"

Said place was an empty shack with no door to be seen. Huffing, Ayaka gave him a look, but Akihito only sighed. "We have to make do, Aya. C'mon, let's go." Gently tugging on her leash, he led her to the shack as the wind howled on around them.

[lanliingwang]

HiroJin (Hiroomi x Fem!SK {Soo Jin}) -Cold-

"You're cold again."

Blinking, Hiroomi found himself being pulled out of his reveries by Soo-Jin's voice, her tone laced with concern as she pressed closer to him. It was clearly an attempt to exchange body heat with him and not much more, but that reason didn't stop his cheeks from heating up like crazy.

Well, not really heat up--more like just turning redder than it already was. He was still freezing from the cold winter descending upon Seoul, after all.

"I-It happens a lot," he replied through chattering teeth, trying to maintain any remaining warmth he could with his body. Inwardly, he cursed his cold sensitivity once more for causing this. While it was true that he didn't get colds or fevers from these kinds of conditions anymore, having grown fairly used to it over the years, that didn't stop the chilly air from reaching the marrows of his bones.

Jin's eyebrows knit, and Hiroomi couldn't help but notice the smaller details of her concerned expressions--the way her eyes seemed to light up with worry for him, as well as the small crinkle on the right corner of her lip as it curved downward. Stupid details to notice, of course, but he couldn't help it. "You know, we probably should get going either way. Soo-oppa and Alfred're gonna be worried," she noted, glancing down at her phone for a brief moment. Tucking it into her back pocket, she grasped his hand tightly in hers, though his was noticeably larger. "C'mon, Hiro-nim, let's go."

"R-Right--"

As the two made their way down the street and to Jin's apartment, Hiroomi found himself glancing at Jin from time to time, observing her rather closely, despite the shivers that traveled up his spine from the cold pressing against him as a distraction. It wasn't like she was a so-called "little sister type"--there was nothing that made her even remotely so, unless one counted her rather short height. Rather, he was taking in other details surrounding her appearance--from the rosy color of her cheeks to the dark color and clearness of her eyes.

This is getting ridiculous...

Why was he even taking careful notice of little details about her? Hiroomi honestly had no answers for himself on that--he was pretty sure he didn't love her romantically. He was far too busy most of the time to form a relationship of that sort, no matter what his declarations of love regarding Mitsuki might suggest.

Or maybe...

He was so lost in his thoughts (again), that he almost tripped and fell face first into the snow when Jin chose to abruptly stop in her tracks, if she hadn't realized what had happened and steadied him with the hand grasping his. For a girl of her build, she was remarkably strong.

"Hey, Hiro-nim?"

"Mm?"

Jin smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for stopping all of a sudden, but I was thinking--maybe I can get you something warm to eat?" She gestured vaguely at a store across the street from them, the sign of which Hiroomi could barely read through the crowds and cars passing by. Oh, yeah, and not to mention the snow, as well. "You don't have to agree if you don't wanna, but..." She trailed off, her cheeks blooming with clear embarrassment.

Managing a faintly amused smile at her expression and offer, the green-eyed xenor chose to nod in response. "I don't mind," he answered smoothly, trying to mask his unease. "But--"

"I know!" Jin's exclamation seemed to catch both of them off guard, and she quickly bit her lip, reddening slightly. "I don't think they'll mind--hopefully. I mean, Soo-oppa knows you won't hurt me, and Alfred does, too!" By how quickly she spoke, Hiroomi guessed she was reassuring herself as well as him. "So I think we'll be fine--we can just eat it along the way, if we have to!"

Despite her tone being slightly hurried, signalling some of her other worries for her own suggestion, Hiroomi found the offer rather tempting. And while temptations were something he rarely gave in to, he saw little harm in the proposal.

Well, it wouldn't be of any harm if he gave in once in a while, right?

"I could go for it, then."

While his answer was a hesitant one, it was worth it to see a bright smile appearing on Jin's face--she really was quite pretty that way. "Really?" Without waiting for an answer, she then grasped his wrist and tugged him to the nearest street crossing, adding, "Then, let's go!"

[lanliingwang]

Drabble thing: -HiroSun- [In-Progress as of now]

In which Hiroomi braids Sun's hair, and they have a semi-awkward conversation about braiding. Random thing I want to write, really--in other words, me being stupid. u w u ;;

Deftly threading his fingers through the lustrous strands of hair, Hiroomi began the strenuous process of braiding Kae Sun's hair, not noticing her fidgeting or the light blush staining her cheeks. It was true that he had little need to actually braid her hair--it was already nearing 10 o'clock at night, after all--but given that she gave him permission to, he may as well take advantage of this fact.

As he separated her hair into groups of strands and started to intertwine them together into a thick French braid, Sun observed in unusual silence for a long time, a curious frown twisting at her lips. After the silence had passed, she finally dared to speak.

"Hey, Hiroomi?"

"Mm?" The xenor who had been addressed had rotated his hand to position the strands of hair grasped in his right hand, nearly missing the place he was planning on shifting them to when she spoke up.

"Have you done this before?" Cocking an eyebrow as she regarded the older--well, physically, at least; she was mentally older than him by several decades--boy from the corners of her eyes, Sun phrased the question in a quieter voice than she normally uttered words in. She hadn't missed the near-miss from earlier, and while she was energetic and bubbly in the daytime, she wasn't stupid. More like too observant, really.

As he threaded the strands through slots formed from earlier actions, Hiroomi stayed silent--probably contemplating his answer, most likely. After a while of this, he finally replied, "Mitsuki used to let me braid her hair."

"'Used to'," echoed Sun, unable to resist the urge to add a thin layer of sarcasm to the two words. She knew all too well about his siscon tendencies, even if they weren't as prominent as before these days. But then again, it wasn't like he was too bothered to admit it, so she tried not to worry about the possibility of hurting his feelings.

[lanliingwang]

Kyoukai no Frozen Chapter 4: Revelations

~-~

"Oops, pardon me--excuse me--"

Mitsuki tried not to wince whenever she bumped into someone, gripping her new fiance's hand as she maneuvered through the crowds, which, despite the hour, still hadn't dissipated. Part of her wished it wasn't so, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it. Scanning the ballroom for her brother, she finally found him still standing in his original spot and position, though he was no longer speaking to the Duke from earlier.

"Aniki!" she shouted, quickening her pace as she made her way toward him. Dimly, she glimpsed Hiroomi flinching slightly at the sound, but she paid little attention to that as she neared him. "Ani--that is, King Hiroomi," she amended, stopping a few feet away from him while still gripping Miroku's hand. "May I introduce you to Prince Miroku of the Eastern Isles?"

A look of surprise and faint suspicion flitted across Hiroomi's face at that, but it was soon replaced by a small, polite smile as he replied, "A pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure to meet you, too, Your Majesty," Miroku answered, though his face plainly stated that he hadn't expected the King to look so young. Nevertheless, he simply went on, "Well, Princess Mitsuki and I--"

Mitsuki continued for him, "We're asking for your blessing in our--"

"--marriage," they finished together, exchanging smiles before turning back to Hiroomi.

Silence followed this declaration. Finally, the newly crowned king said slowly, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Catching on to his confusion this time, Mitsuki quickly tried to reassure him. "Well, there's still a few problem areas to work out, but it'll only take a few d--" She faltered at the end, before hurriedly looking over at Miroku again. "Wait, would we stay here?"

"What?" asked Hiroomi, finally comprehending what his sister had said, but no one bothered to answer him.

Miroku looked somewhere between flattered and conflicted. "I don't see why not, if that's fine with you, Princess," he replied, smiling brightly.

"Of course it's not a problem with me! I mean, it'll be a hassle with your many brothers, but I'm sure we'll manage with extra guest rooms--"

"No."

The sharp refusal brought Mitsuki out of her reveries and back to the present. Gazing at Hiroomi with a kind of confused disbelief, like she wasn't sure if that had actually been him speaking, she repeated, "'No'? What do you mean, 'no'?"

"What I mean is that no one's brothers are moving in, nor is anyone getting married." Maybe it was Mitsuki's imagination, but the frigid expression in Hiroomi's eyes softened slightly as he looked directly at her. "Mitsuki, can I speak with you for a moment? I need to tell you something. Alone."

For a moment, Mitsuki almost complied. But one glance at Miroku changed her mind, and she gripped her new fiance's hand tightly. "You can speak to me, aniki, but whatever you want to say, you can say to both of us."

Her brother visibly faltered at this, but then his expression cooled over once more. "Fine. If that's the case, then I'll just say this--you can't marry someone you just met, Mitsuki."

"Of course you can, if it's true love!" Mitsuki retorted.

Hiroomi sighed heavily. "What do you even know about true love?"

"More than you, at least." Mitsuki felt a twinge of regret at her scathing tone upon seeing her older brother's flinching at it, but she barreled on, "All you know is how to shut people out, seeing as that's what you've been doing to me over the past 11 years."

It was clear she'd struck a nerve. Hiroomi's composure was starting to slip, and it was evidently taking all of his self-control to maintain as much of it as possible. Straightening up and adjusting his scarf, he spoke again, a frigid edge to his voice now,

"Well, you asked for my blessing, and my answer is no." His gaze drifted toward Miroku and narrowed ever so slightly, before he turned back to Mitsuki. "That's my final answer."

"Your Majesty, if I may--" Miroku started, but Hiroomi raised a hand, causing him to fall silent. Turning to a guard standing near the front of the ballroom, he said flatly,

"The ball is over. Close the gates."

-

"The ball is over. Close the gates."

For the longest time, silence followed Hiroomi's words, with the confused murmurs of the other guests reduced to background noise. Then Mitsuki ran over just as her brother turned away and strode off, grabbing his hand.

"No, wait, aniki! Please--"

Her hand closed around his hand, but instead of hanging on, his hand easily slipped out of her grasp, leaving her holding onto his glove.

By the time Hiroomi had realized what happened, he was already halfway to the door. Despite that, he turned around, panic flooding out onto his expression. "Mitsuki, give me my glove! Now!"

Instead of obeying, Mitsuki gripped his glove tightly, shaking her head stubbornly. "No! Aniki, I can't live like this anymore! I just can't!"

Realizing that people's heads were starting to turn in their direction, Hiroomi knew he had only seconds before all unwanted attention was drawn in their direction. So, instead, he reduced his volume and took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to get his panic under control. "Fine. If that's the case, you can leave."

He didn't mean for it to come out so acidic, but Mitsuki's flinch told him otherwise. Soon enough, however, the shock emanating from her face quickly turned to anger. "Why? What did I do to you, aniki?" she shouted, making it clear that she no longer cared if anyone was watching them.

"Enough, Mitsuki." Hiroomi turned away, not wanting to see the look on his sister's face any longer, and resumed his progress toward the door, inwardly repeating the words from long ago over and over again: Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel...

"No, it's not enough! I just want to know, aniki! Why do you shut me out? Me, of all people?! What are you so afraid of that made you lock yourself in your room and away from everyone?!"

As the final syllables passed through her lips, Hiroomi could feel himself reach his breaking point, and he could contain it no longer. Whirling around, he snapped back, "I said enough!"

No doubt responding to his frustration, a cold, tingling feeling washed over his hands, and before he could stop himself, ice shot out from his palms, surrounding him in a jagged and spiky semicircle, separating him from the other occupants in the room.

A shocked silence followed this, before being broken by the blond Duke Brennus, who pointed a shaky finger in his direction, his eyes wide, as he shouted accusingly, "Sorcery! Sorcery! Arrest him immediately!"

Horror filled the King's expression as he backed toward the door slowly, expecting the shock to keep the others away from him for the time being. When he felt the doorknob behind him, he spun around, wrenched the door open, before bolting off and away from the ballroom.

-

Only moments earlier, Hiroomi could have sworn the halls of their palace were much shorter. However, now that he was trying to flee the scene of the ballroom, the halls seemed to be growing longer, as though taunting him for losing control over his powers. Tearing through the corridors at top speed, he glimpsed the front doors just ahead of him, and as soon as he reached them, he pulled them open and stumbled out into the night air, almost ramming into a commoner in the process.

"Your Majesty? Are you all right?" the commoner asked, worry in her voice as she bounced a baby boy in her arms, staring at him.

At this point, all the eyes in the courtyard seemed to be on him. Feeling panic surge up inside of him once again, Hiroomi ducked down and tried to maneuver his way through the gaps in the courtyard's gathering, only to end up backing against one of the fountains. As soon as his hand rested on the stone structure, however, frost immediately spread from where his hand had laid, freezing both the fountain itself and the cascading water into pure ice.

At once, a gasp filled the courtyard, but before anything more could be said, dreadfully familiar voices filtered through:

"There he is! Stop him!"

"Aniki, wait!"

It seemed that Mitsuki, Miroku, Brennus, and two of the duke's men had caught up with Hiroomi while he had been lingering in the courtyard. Pulling his hand away from the fountain, he started to back away at a faster speed than before, his hands held out in front of him as though to keep them away.

"Please, aniki--" Mitsuki started, taking a step toward him.

"No! Please! Just stay away!" More ice shot out of his hands, this time in the direction of the duke and his men. As soon as it met the floor beneath them, the marble froze, and trio stumbled and fell. Using the opportunity handed to him, Hiroomi turned and sprinted out of a side gate in the palace's walls and into the forest beyond.

He had no particular destination in mind, but it turned out there would have probably been no point anyway--he had barely ran very far through a path between the trees when he came across a river that served to block his way. Skidding to a stop just before he fell in it, he looked around frantically, trying to think of a way to cross the river without falling in it, when he finally took notice of the ice spreading from his feet.

"Aniki!"

Hiroomi's thoughts were cut short when he heard his little sister behind him, followed by two pairs of footsteps--the other of which could only belong to her new fiance. Deciding to take a chance, if only to lose them, he placed a foot on the surface of the running water, hoping for the best.

Thankfully, instead of sinking his foot in the water, the ice expanded from underneath and covered the entire width of the river, forming an icy bridge for him to cross. Taking a quick breath, Hiroomi wasted only a second before resuming his getaway, darting across the river with the assistance of the newly formed path and to the other side of the forest.

-

"Aniki, wait!"

Mitsuki tried to follow after her brother across the river, but instead of smoothly crossing the ice bridge, she slipped and fell hard. By the time Miroku caught up and helped her stand up again, Hiroomi had already vanished from sight and into the trees beyond, with no chance of anyone catching up.

"Well...I never expected that," Miroku commented abruptly, with Mitsuki nodding in agreement. At this, the prince turned to his fiancee, a puzzled frown on his face. "Did you know?"

"No, I didn't," Mitsuki breathed, staring in disbelief, despite not actually seeing her brother anymore. "But I finally understand why..."

She trailed off, and silence hung in the air for a moment. But suddenly, Miroku tapped her shoulder. "Princess, look!"

Mitsuki blinked and looked around, before barely biting back a yelp of surprise, shivering slightly. The ice was slowly spreading over the entire river, encasing it in a thick sheet of pure frozen water. At the same time as this was happening, snow was starting to fall, lowering the warm temperatures from before and causing the ground to be blanketed in white.

"Come on," Miroku said abruptly, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to keep her warm. "Let's go back and see what's going on."

The young princess only nodded in agreement at that, but as she followed him back toward the palace, she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder at where Hiroomi had disappeared, wondering if she would be able to apologize to her brother and convince him to return.