spoilers past season 2 -> light novel of TenSura! based off my very brief knowledge of the lore i've glimpsed through reading the wiki...
wc: 1185
a/n: a possible story fic that's been sitting in my brain... the start of "if i never write a full fic on this, i've written too much about it to let it gather dust in my notes, so let's share it!" ...i love this chunnibyou dragon, man.
imagine being assigned as Veldora’s caretaker. rather—created and ordered to, because the youngest of the siblings was too much of a handful to take care of when they had better things to do, aside from tormenting him (in the words of his older sisters, so they said. you supposed it was an older sibling thing, you wouldn’t know). lord Veldanava himself took part in shaping your very being, making it your duty to look out for his youngest brother.
and so, when he got too riled up with frustration on the verge of demolishing major cities, you were there to… diverge his attention to other things. give him a nudge towards better options (even though he should be "living up to his title as the Evil Dragon," no? he always groaned and complained when you didn't let him do so, urging him away from his destructive tendencies bit by bit). it didn't always work out, but it was a start...!
taking care of him was basically your job, which in itself was already an endless hassle and a half. gathering food for him when his methods could damage the surrounding environment, finding ways to partake in entertainment or games despite the lack of choices… getting creative was the key here, which you supposed you were decent at. he hadn’t killed you out of annoyance yet, at the very least. thus, over the many, MANY years, the two of you warmed up to each other.
that shifted once he was sealed by the hero, of course.
unable to do much but hide and stay out of the line of fire, you could only worry for his life once everything was done and over with. trapped in a cave with zero possibility of leaving Ultimate Imprisonment, you wept at the sight of the once prideful dragon being reduced to a source of magicules for the surrounding forest, seeping out slowly with time.
...at least his boisterous nature hadn't fully gone away, thanks to that laugh of his echoing through the emptiness of a cave.
you refused to fully give into despair, resigning yourself to being his eyes on the outside. though you were reluctant to leave, staying would only make more trouble and possibly bring more onlookers in case anyone tried to do something with you there. so, you traveled but visited the cave often to tell him about what was going on currently. letting him know what was up to date and telling stories about all the changes happening throughout the world. because you couldn’t bear seeing him left alone for who knows how long, with nothing to occupy his time. hoping that at the very least, this would satiate his boredom in solitude.
now, you could only imagine the shock that settled in upon coming back and seeing a mere slime in front of the True Dragon.
reasonably suspicious but relenting to Veldora’s insistence on going through with the plan, you supposed it was alright to place trust in this newcomer. one who seemed to hold a dreamer’s mindset—kind and full of possibilities from his skills that would grow with time. witnessing the absorption of said slime engulfing the being you knew all your life.
therefore, you were now indebted to "Rimuru Tempest" until he found a way to release the shackles of your dragon (since when had you started calling him yours…?), staying for weeks at a time at his newfound village of goblins and direwolves that he united together.
time passes, and from observing the way he ran his growing town, overhearing many of his imaginative ideas only continued to fuel your own creative nature. (you supposed this trait came with being a product of Veldanava’s, the Creator himself).
one idea in particular being—
“oh? and what is this… manga, you speak of, Rimuru? aren’t they just stories with pictures? like those storybooks in the cities.”
“ahaha, not you too…”
“—oh, i see!” a closed fist landed on an open palm in spark of a new idea forming. “then, would i be correct in assuming that there are recipes or visuals for some of the cuisines in these stories? i would very much like to replicate them.”
“eh? why’s that your interest?”
“i am assuming that whenever Veldora may come back, he would like to try all the types of food you have already made, Rimuru, especially the desserts. it would be my pleasure in getting a head-start on your fellow cooks here before they get to give him any. also, with the way you described the types of genres, some of them seemed right up his alley.”
“ah, i remember you saying that you told him about your adventures and stories whenever you traveled.”
“correct. it sounds like something he’d… fangirl over, in your terms, right?”
“where did you even learn fangirling from…” a sweatdrop. “…fine, fine, i’ll give you copies of all the volumes i can think of whenever i have time. make sure to make some for me too though, alright?”
“of course, Rimuru.”
meanwhile, Veldora himself never caught onto you making anime-inspired food for him. why, you ask? because the first (and only) time you asked, he was distracted in talking with Ifrit, missing what you were saying specifically.
“ah, the holy sacred texts! of course dear [Name] would be interested, i wouldn’t expect anything less! perhaps they’ll be amazed by my Veldora Style Killing Arts—”
“master Veldora, if i may interrupt?”
“yes, Ifrit?”
“i’m not entirely sure, but it seemed like they were talking about you? they already left, however.”
“WH-WHAAAA?!?!”
more time passes, and before you know it, the slime you observed had risen to Demon Lord level. so when Rimuru came back to the festival in tow with an oddly handsome (and ostentatiously-dressed) man, you could only yelp in surprise when said man scooped you up in a tight bear hug and spun you around out of nowhere.
“no one dared to lay their claws on you, right?!” he grabbed you by your shoulders, before sputtering at the close proximity and averting his gaze elsewhere. “i-i mean, of course they wouldn’t! for you are my one and only soulmate, of course! GWA HAHA!”
“…and here comes his whole tsundere act again, hah… brings back memories.”
you blinked slowly in realization. “…wait, you could see me? but weren’t you in Rimuru’s stomach the whole time?”
“correct! i was able to observe through his perspective while working on getting out of Unlimited Imprisonment since he absorbed myself. oh, how joyous i was whenever he would spend time with you, getting to see your presence again! but then he would leave with other troublesome affairs to do, and i couldn’t do anything about it…” he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest while you struggled to stifle a laugh.
he’s downright ecstatic when you surprise him with the desserts from the manga he read from Rimuru in the two years he had been gone, of course.
nothing could satisfy you further than seeing the toothy grin on his face, whether as a human or dragon.
a/n: if more people like this, maybe i'll indulge more in writing for this endearing chuuni of a dragon :>
thanks for reading! likes + reblogs are appreciated ^^
