#x writes

[thoughtsofavessel]

i can feel my the spots on my head where my ears stick out and cover the wind on the rest of my head i can feel my tail thwump-ing at a slow pace and contently kicking up some dust and dirt but why can i only see them in our minds eye and not in the physical realm/plane?

[yanderebottomworld]

Heyyy 👋🏾 how's this week is going for you guys? I feel like my brain is melting through my ears 🫠

STATUS UPDATE: currently working on a request I've had for a hot minute- ayato x bodyguard m reader! After that it's really like two other requests to work on (because I'm still confused about the details about one and the sender is anonymous🥲)! And that's it- that's all I got in my inbox.

In other news: My inbox is still OPEN for requests! And for interaction in general!

While I am accepting regular schmegular requests, I will EMPHASIZE:

-i would like to receive a platonic genshin yan x reader request. I haven't received any, if YOU 🫵🏾 have an idea send it in!

- I would also like to write something concerning a SAGAU. If YOU 🫵🏾 HAVE an idea, send it in!

For those who don't know wtf I'm talking about, SAGAU is, according to User CelestialRequiem09, 2022 on Reddit (citing their post made here),

"For those unaware, SAGAU means Self-Aware Genshin Alternate Universe fics where our favorite characters are aware that they are in a video game. It's evolved over time into its own genre. It's often reader based where the Reader is considered the Creator of Teyvat (Creator for short) in GI and everyone knows it. Can be considered Yandere.

God!AU - Where the Reader is known as the Creator and everyone adores them for it and will do everything for the Creator. But they love them so much, it crosses into unhealthy territory hence the yandere tag.

Villain!AU- This is a much darker take on the God AU. In this one, the Reader will be considered an Imposter by the NPCs and PCs by everyone in Teyvat and hunted down by everyone for the 'Crime' of 'impersonating' the Creator. Heading those hunts are the Archons themselves, Venti, Zhongli, and Ei."

Don't forget my three rules for requests!

Now that that's been established, I'll skidaddle!

[walking-fnaf-encyclopedia]

cassidyvictim thoughts/headcanons (which become story-esque so. yeah):

cassidy honestly didnt start off vengeful; they were just.. themself.

but you can only really cry so many tears, especially after more and more and more kids show up and share their stories, the small bits they remember.

it may take years, many years, but for ghosts thats nothing. cassidy doesnt grow spiteful, not really. just…. mad. these are their friends. their friends, who miss their families. miss their lives before this.

they didnt deserve this. none of them did.

cassidy and charlie help them warm up to their afterlife. to their new bodies. cassidy cant do much to help them with controlling their bodies (theirs doesnt move well. or much at all.) so charlie helps them. cassidy lets them talk, hears their distress over everything that happened.

cassidy doesnt really miss anyone. it didnt have friends, really. acquaintances at best. and its family didnt like it. or didnt care for it. michael hated it. elizabeth was too preoccupied with their father - with wanting his attention - to notice it. and its father…..

……

it observes mike, after their father- after williams death. it observed him for quite a while.

it learns why it never saw liz.

it learns more about remnant, and fire, and how the two work.

it does not move on with the others. susie waits for it. charlie does as well.

it does not answer the call to the pizzeria. it tries to warn charlie ahead of time when it finds out. she goes anyways. she trusts henry. hes her dad. of course she trusts him.

when it found out what henry did to charlie, it was frustrated that it couldnt do more.

did william really just get to leave? just like that?

……no. its not letting that happen.

and, god, does it have the strength to dig its claws in keep him here. for as long as it fucking has to.

it brushes off susie and charlies concerns. they stay by its side anyways. their friend needs them, and getting back at william is, admittedly, cathartic. but god, cassidy is wearing itself out.

it wants him to suffer. it doesnt care if theres a price to itself. its grip wont slip until its satisfied.

none of its friends deserved this. it didnt deserve this.

(it knows mike is at fault for its death. it knows all too well. it never could let go of that. but it was so much easier to pretend the man it kept here was at fault, given how much else he was at fault for. how much its friends had hurt.)

charlie and susie are more worried than ever. cassidy gets to a point where it can hardly keep this up.

you can only really stay angry for so many years.

it misses the other kids.

it misses liz.

its so tired.

[creepyimagines]

Hiya! Thought the headcanons you are ADORABLE!!! I probably joined the party late (I’m sowwy!!! 😞) but could we see a Cute headcanon of my baby Jay? I’d love to see him with a special person how he’s act and such! Thank yoooooooh! 😋

[[Ooh hell!!! Yess Jay deserves love -X]]

Jay with an S/O

Jay is very nervous and awkward around his s/o at the beginning of the relationship.

He doesn't know how to show affection very well but he does his best. He's better at telling his s/o how much they mean to him rather than doing something for them or being physical.

For his first anniversary, he does, in fact, record himself recounting all the memories he cherishes of his s/o and him, and how much he loves them. It will be full of sappy lines and a lot of fumbling, but Jay hopes that his s/o appriciates what he worked on and understands how much care he poured into making it just for them.

He isn't great at physical affection, but will melt if you hug him or kiss his cheek. He may not know how to respond, but he absolutely loves receiving the affection. He'll try his hardest to not be awkward if you want to cuddle with him or do something else physically intimate.

He is like a crow. Along with his more verbal approach to love, he will also find little trinkets for you. He may be out in the woods or the antique shop and spot something he think you'll like. Sometimes, it might just be a small ribbon he found in an old box or a cool (non-dangerous/safe) piece of glass. He understands if you aren't very interested in those kinds of gifts, but to him those things aren't trash. He's gifted them to you out of love and the weird pureness of his heart!!!

[a-5-7-b-8-4-c]

You’re not alone

————————

Another random touch-starvation fic with Logan

Sometimes when I write I feel like what I’m writing is hella unorigional so I hope it’s not too boring.

—————

Summary: Logan is touch starved but also too stubborn to ask for help.

—————

Logan was doing ok. His unexplainable need of physical human contact was being satisfied.

Well, it wasn’t really that unexplainable; he theorised he was particularly prone to touch starvation. Naturally, he didn’t want to bother anyone with this. He didn’t need to bother anyone with this. He was Logic; he was going to figure this out.

Maybe that’s why he let Roman draw on him so often. Whenever he needed to use another person for his creations, Logan was always willing to help. That’s all Logan needed to get by, honestly. Just a few moments of having his wrist held in place as Roman drew on it, or the few milliseconds of being touched as Roman adjusted a costume on him. It wasn’t ideal, he knew, but Logan could get by.

That was until Roman didn’t ask him as much any more.

As Virgil got used to being a light side, he also started to accept physical contact a bit more. Naturally, Roman asked him to help with his projects, since out of all the sides he has the most realistic views on people’s opinions on them. This was an issue, though. Logan’s already low amount of physical contact was halved and he didn’t have any replacements.

Obviously, he could tell the other sides, but Logan didn’t want to interfere with their usual schedules for something as trivial as asking for a hug. He would be fine on his own; it wasn’t even affecting him that much, right?

He lived like this for a few weeks before he really started feeling sick. He even went as far as to let Remus cling to him for longer than a few seconds. In fact, he didn’t ask him to leave until Remus himself got distracted. That got the others’ attention.

“Logan, are you ok?” Patton asked when they were alone in the dining room, his voice casual but his eyes filled with concern.

“I am adequate.” Logan answered, a bit surprised at the question.

“You seem tired lately. Are you taking care of yourself properly?” Patton pushed further.

“I have been working late recently - nothing concerning, Patton.” It wasn’t a lie. He had been immersing himself in his work, for nights in a row now, in an attempt to distract himself from the almost painful need for human contact. He could just ask Patton for a hug right now. It was just six words and knowing Patton, he wouldn’t reject him and he would be warm and it would —

“As long as you’re taking proper care of yourself.” Patton said smiling, cutting off his thoughts. He was thankful for that, to be honest. He didn’t want his spiralling thoughts to make him burden anyone with his issues. He was Logic. He was fine on his own. No-one should have to care for him.

That night Logan was working again. Not that he had to do it but he was organising some facts Thomas had previously learned in his part of the memory archive. He knew no-one would be here at this time of night and that he wouldn’t have to stress over difficult questions... such as why he looked sick.

He sat by his desk, focusing on trying to focus on the knowledge, and finding it extremely difficult. His concentration was at an all time low but he had to focus. He was Logic. That was his job.

“What are you doing up so late?” Someone asked from behind. He spun on his wheely chair to face them.

“Hello, Deceit.” He said in the most monotone voice he could manage, “I am clearly working. What brings you to the Logic memory archive?”

“What’s wrong, Logan?” Deceit’s voice changed from his usual indifference to genuine concern.

“Nothing is wrong. I am perfectly adequate.” Logan replied, adjusting his glasses. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about this encounter. If Deceit finds out, he might tell the others.

“That’s a lie, if I’ve ever seen one.” He replied. After a brief pause he walked up to Logan and crouched down by his chair, “Logan, you’re crying.”

Was he? How didn’t he notice? Logan started panicking as he reached up to touch his eyes and realising they were, in fact, filled with tears. He stayed silent as Deceit continued, lies set aside from his voice to fulfil his other role.

“Logan, you look like a ghost on a bad day. You’re thin, pale and clearly sick and not taking care of yourself to the point I was summoned by the mindscape. If you don’t tell me now, I won’t be able to help, which will go against my role as self-preservation and you know that.”

“I-I’ll be fine.” Logan said weakly. He didn’t need anyone’s help. Logic could figure it out. He was Logic; He could do that, right?

Deceit stared at him for what seemed like eternity but then sighed, got up and said, “If I figure out what’s wrong, I’ll stop by again.”

And with that, he left Logan there, crying silently until exhaustion.

—

Two days later, Deceit knocked on Logan’s door once again. When Logan let him inside, he knew what he was going to say; it didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to argue with it anyway.

“You’re touch starved.” Deceit deadpanned, “Would you like a hug?”

“No.” Logan tried, “I am perfectly adequate. I do not need physical contact.”

“You must not be aware of who you’re talking to.”

Logan sighed, “Please do not mention this to anyone. I am looking for alternative solutions which don’t involve other people.”

“Oh, of course. How could I forget that this condition, deriving from the lack of human physical contact, has a solution not involving people?” Deceit said sarcastically.

“I am working on it.”

Deceit cleared his throat and spoke seriously, lies set aside once again, “I will respect your choices until this becomes dangerous. If this gets out of hand, I am instantly telling everyone.”

“I don’t have a choice on that condition, do I?”

“No.”

And with that, they split ways once again.

—

A week later, the sides were in the kitchen, waiting for Patton to finish breakfast. Remus and Virgil were arguing about a detail in some conspiracy while Roman and Deceit discussed the significance of the inaccuracies in a movie. It was a regular morning, except for one detail.

“Has anyone seen Logan?” Patton asked as he set out plates for each side.

“He probably worked late again.” Roman answered. That was the excuse Logan gave for his tiredness recently.

“We should smash his door with an axe and then all jump on him to wake him up.” Remus suggested.

“...Or we could just let him sleep. He probably needs it - he’s been pretty dead lately.” Virgil countered.

“You’re right. He’ll probably be awake for lunch anyway.” Patton smiled, putting the frying pan of scrambled eggs and a plateful of garlic bread at the centre of the table.

Breakfast continued as normal, except Deceit wasn’t sure if it should have. After everyone split ways, he headed straight for Logan’s room.

When he got to the door, he knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

No answer.

He hesitated, silently worried for his fellow side. Curling his gloved hand on the handle, he gently opened it.

—

That morning, Logan felt exhausted. He was aware he had spent too much time avoiding the topic but he really didn’t want anyone to be obliged to care for him. He would be fine, right?

Wrong.

Now he was aware of why Deceit had been so serious about his condition. Last night he hadn’t had the energy to even change into his pyjamas so now he was lying there, half conscious, his blue striped tie loose on his neck and his glasses on the pillow next to him. Moving hurt but the cold pricking his skin was worse, so he curled up even more and pulled his covers above his head. He didn’t even know what time it was. He couldn’t concentrate; he couldn’t move. Instead, he lay there, waiting. He didn’t know what for but he was preparing for the worst. If only there was someone here with him.

It was too cold.

—

When he opened the door, Deceit knew something was wrong. The room heating was set to the fullest and on the bed there was a pile of blankets and extra duvets. When did Logan even take them?

When he tried to pull the blankets away from Logan’s face to help him breathe, he heard a disapproving groan.

That wasn’t right.

“Logan?” He called but didn’t get a response.

He took off one glove and pulled back the covers with his other hand to touch Logan’s forehead - it felt like ice.

Instead of trying to pull the covers back up like Deceit expected him to, Logan pulled his hand and hugged his arm.

“Ok. This is definitely a dangerous deterioration of health. Logan, I’m telling the others.” Panicked, he pulled his arm away and headed straight to the door. In the background, Logan tried to mumble something at him, nothing coherent, but Deceit was already outside shouting to get the other sides’ attention.

—

In his defence, Logan didn’t have his glasses. The knocking he assumed was illusory and the sound of the door opening was probably someone else’s. Then he felt someone pull his covers.

Instantly, Logan’s hoarded warmth escaped and he couldn’t even call out to for them to stop; he tried to but it came out as nothing more than a groan. For a second, Logan was thankful because they stopped. Then he was thankful for the warm hand on his forehead. He didn’t notice that the blankets were stolen from him once again; he did notice the overwhelming warmth seeping into his head. He wanted more of it. He needed more of it. Grabbing the hand before it got away and pulling the person down so that he could trap their arm and steal their body heat he didn’t feel guilty. He probably should, to be honest, but at the moment it was too cold for his brain to function properly.

The person in front of him said something - something too loud - and then took back their arm, running out. Logan tried calling out again. It didn’t work. This was the reason why he didn’t want to tell anyone. Whoever was by his bed probably despised him now. They probably will start avoiding him. This wasn’t what Logic was supposed to be like. He wasn’t supposed to be all this... touchy and feelingsy. He was useless and they now knew it. He wasn’t even able to cure himself. Tears fell on his hand as he pulled the blankets back over his head, sinking himself into what was left of their warmth.

He thought he heard someone coming back in but he didn’t dare hope.

There were some voices somewhere around him. Maybe if he goes back to normal they’ll still tolerate him afterwards.

Hopefully...

—

Deceit pulled the last of the sides (Remus because he was ‘busy’) into Logan’s room to see the others utterly confused. A lot of the heat had already escaped through the open door making the room a lot more like a person’s who wants to be cozy and not one who is ill. To make his point, Deceit pulled Logan’s covers back once again to reveal an unkempt Logan, curled up on himself. Guilt built up swiftly - Logan was crying. He wasn’t crying before, was he? ...So it must have been something Deceit did, right?

“Logan is prone to touch starvation but he didn’t want to tell anyone and now he’s sick because of it.” Deceit started hoping the others would understand and looking at the their shocked reactions: Patton immediately jumped at Logan to hug him, Virgil’s brain almost crashed with worry but he joined Patton on Logan’s other side, Roman joined too after he had shaken away his surprise and disbelief, Remus didn’t get as close as the others because he was scared he would overwhelm Logan but he still came close enough to touch him and offer his warmth too.

Deceit predicted this.

“Told you Logan.” He said softly.

Slowly healing from the mass of warmth, Logan understood Deceit. He looked back at him with a knowing pout as if to say “I know but you don’t have to say it” before making a grabby hand at him too. Hoping for Logan to recover quickly, he joined the Logan-centred cuddle pile, pulling a hesitant Remus along with him, letting Logan leech on their warmth and heal from the large crowd.

:)

[stray-kids-in-your-area]

|Hematoma VI|

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four/ Part Five / Part Six

⇀ Everywhere a soulmate touches leaves flowers, and everywhere someone else you’ve fallen for touches leaves bruises.

Word Count: 1124

You stared intensely at the steaming contents of the tea cup you held in your hands. Having passed on the option of enjoying wine with the other three men in the room. Now you wish you had taken up their offer, you can see the necessity as you all waited with bated breath for someone to speak for that matter. After a few more minutes of awkward tension, Minho finally made a move. Resting his hand on your leg, he patted it comfortingly ignoring the stinging pain that was bubbling under his fingers. Minho lowered himself down to your ear, his voice just barely above whisper “I’m ready when you are my love” You gulped trying your best to forget about the burning skin under his large hands. 

Setting down your tea cup, your hands returned to your lap. Taking a deep breath you were finally ready to speak. “The beginning of our tale is quite morbid. I’m sure you know of Minho's situation, mine is...similar. We both lost our destined partners.” Your voice trailed off as you could feel it about to break. “We met at the graveyard.” Minho took over for you. “We found companionship in each other at first. Soon however, it became more than that.” He glances to you, nodding his head slightly to reassure you once more. “He helped pull me out of this constant state of despondency. I could never thank him enough for that and I can only hope I help him the same way he helped me.” Minho had a small grin peeking at the corners of his mouth. “I was given a second chance at love..little by little you’re stitching my shredded heart with yours.” The two men across from them cooed at the younger couple. “They remind you of us don’t they Woojin?” Chan asked his lover with a smile. Woojin’s eyes not straying from the couple as he responded, “They really do.” A meek smile found its way onto your lips, glancing down to your lap, your face flushed red at their comment. Minho chuckled lightly. Although he found your flustered state adorable, he knew being the center of attention made you uncomfortable. Instead, he opted to start a friendly conversation with his friends in an effort to help you recover from the embarrassment. After a few minutes of banter between the three friends, you found your body relaxing, slowly releasing tension you did not realize had built up since you sat down. While everyone was immersed in conversation, you couldn’t help but study the two men who sat before you.

 Thoughts flew across your head, and you found yourself wondering how they were able to sustain a relationship this long. Coming to them for help was stretch, you knew that the odds were stacked against you and Minho from the second the first bruise bloomed across your skin. However, you also knew you wanted to be someone who fought for the things they wanted and didn’t give up. You loved Minho and he loved you. Nodding your head, you took a deep breath, gathering your courage to ask the question that had been eating away at you since you laid eyes on the unlikely couple before you. You waited until there was a lull in the conversation, all three men sipping from their drinks. Chan spoke up, offering to grab another bottle of wine as he started to stand. This was your chance, clearing your throat, everyone looked in your direction. Your cheeks staining alight pink as all three sets of eyes landed upon you, waiting for you to speak. Gathering the last of your courage you looked towards Woojin, and asked “H-How did you two meet?”  You spoke swiftly, turning your eyes downwards in an attempt to hide yourself from their burning gazes. 

Woojin smiled, blowing air through his nostrils as he looked to his side fondly, glancing at the man next to him. “It was August.” He replied, tone so soft, he sounded almost as if he wanted to cry. You looked back up, catching how he looked over at his lover, Chan gazing back with an unreadable expression. “I met Chan when I was at my lowest, I had just recently gone on yet another one of those dreadful “soulmate finding” excursions. Courtesy of my overbearing mother who thinks that I’m a,” His voice caught, his throat closing up as he struggled to say the word he had feared his entire life. His eyes darkened as his mind was about to swallow him whole. Saying it out loud made it real, saying that word meant admitting she was right. He thought to himself bitterly.

 A burning pain ripped him out of his thoughts, he looked down at the spot where he felt the pain radiating from. A hand resting on top of  his, catching his attention. Ignoring the rapidly developing bruise, he placed his hand on top of the other. Gazing into the eyes of the man who had saved him all those years ago. Chan nodded, to you it seemed almost  as if words were no longer necessary to comfort each other. Nodding his head back, he took a deep breath and continued, voice wavering as he tried to regain control over his emotions. “She believed, or rather still believes that I am a..d-defective.” A gasp fell from your lips as the word tumbled from your mouth “A defective?” You asked loudly, you didn’t mean to. You meant to say it in your head. The word leaving a disgusting aftertaste after rolling off your tongue. 

Woojin dropped his head down and let out a small huff  “It’s been hard to cope with. I won't lie but having Chan by my side makes me forget about the emptiness.” Chan leaned over and pressed a small kiss to his temple and whispered something in his ear before turning back to the younger couple. “He still has his days where it hurts more than others but he’s getting better..” You nodded, heart swarming with empathetic feelings for the man “Chan are you..are you also defective?” you asked hesitantly. The older boy shook his head. “No, i found my soulmate about 3 years ago, after meeting her, I found that we had no real romantic interest towards each other. We both found it weird and did a little research. It’s rare but there’s such things as platonic soulmates which is what we are. I love her to death and would do anything for her and I know she would do the same for me but it's never been anything more than friendship.” You nodded only mildly understanding the situation. “I never knew there were different types of soulmates…”

[multiply014]

31 Days of CoAi Prompt Fill 30 of 31:

"What if Shiho was Shinichi's childhood friend?" (from Mizhera)

As Shinichi fawns over his face on the newspaper’s front page, someone pulls on his cowlick, and he knows it’s finally time to go home.

It’s Miyano Shiho, his neighbor and childhood friend, also their classroom representative despite her abrasive personality (only for you, she says, since you’re an idiot). She’s a once-in-a-century prodigy, excelling in science and engineering, but Shinichi will never tell her that to her face, since, damn, that woman can be so thick-skinned at times. They once had a little bet going on to see who gets more newspaper features between the two of them, but the professor made them stop once he discovered that Shiho had been pulling consecutive all-nighters to put out more and more inventions. They did stop the bet… but not that Shinichi ever stopped tracking—he’s behind by just one more newspaper article now.

Shinichi grimaces. Even as he pats down his hair though, he only says, “Took you long enough.” He had been waiting for her to finish her rep duties by the school gates so they can go walk home together, like they’ve always done. She wordlessly falls into step beside him, like she’s always done, and they start walking.

Before they can get outside the school premises though, a soccer ball goes towards them, and Shinichi reflexively kicks it back to the team playing in the field. Shiho chides him, “Showoff.”

“I have to have great reflexes! Sherlock Holmes—”

“—I know,” Shiho cuts him off before he can start his Holmes spiel.

Shinichi just laughs, fully expecting her to stop him. He says, “Yeah, I know you know. Anyway, Hakase told me you stopped by the bookstore yesterday. What did you get? Were there any new mysteries?

“Oh, I don’t know, will you even have time to read a novel when you have all those letters?” Shiho points to the letters in his hands. His grin widens.

“Hah, right? I think I keep on getting more each week!”

Shiho rolls her eyes and just walks faster. Not cute! Shinichi smiles even more, like a dumbass, Shiho would say. Right before he can continue teasing Shiho, she cuts him off—

“I get more letters than you.”

What..? “What?!” Hakase never told me about this!

She looks at him and sticks her tongue out, then looks forward and continues walking, as if she had not said anything at all.

Shinichi runs a short while and catches up to her, calling out, “Hey, woman, tell me about it already! Since when? How many? Who? You know I’ll figure it all out anyway! Hey, let’s have a bet, if I figure it out—”

Suddenly, Shiho stops walking, so Shinichi, too, stops and stares at her. She asks him, “You forgot, didn’t you?”

“—Eh..?” Shinichi is genuinely confused, and Shiho sees that on his face. She narrows her eyes, then sighs. Right before she continues walking, just a bit faster than her usual pace, Shinichi catches the slight pout of her lips. “Nothing,” is what she says.

“H-hey?” Shinichi scrambles his mind for a second, or two, then gets the answer. He almost shouts it out, “Miyano! I remember: Tropical Land, tomorrow, right?!”

Shiho stops walking. She says, her back turned to him, “And you’re paying.”

At that Shinichi nervously chuckles. Shiho’s not really a small spender, and he tries to remember his balance on his bank account…

He grumbles, “...I’m not the one with patents and gigs to a hundred research labs...”

Shiho whips her head to look at him and narrows her eyes again, and Shinichi takes a step back, quickly backtracking, “Y-yeah! I’m paying; I promised you, after all!”

Shiho smiles.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For Shinichi, the majority of the day passed by like any other day with Miyano—a little bit annoying, a little bit amusing, and definitely not boring.

Somehow, though, Miyano starts shaking while on the line to the rollercoaster. Shinichi hands her his hoodie, and she accepts, with a quiet thanks and an even quieter, “There’s something that feels wrong here...”

Shinichi teases how she, devil personified, is scared of heights, even though he knows she’s not, just to test for a reaction, but Shiho doesn’t even look at him. Shinichi frowns.

Shinichi tries to take her attention off whatever’s distressing her by talking about Holmes and rattling off his observations of the people around him. Softly, she says, “Sorry, I’m always like this.” Without looking at him, she whispers, “Let’s just go home..?”

He just holds her hand and smiles at her, as he pulls her to ride the rollercoaster.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After running into an unexpected case—that Shiho argues is certainly expected given that Shinichi is around—Shinichi is glad that they got to solve it quickly. He’s even gladder that, even though Shiho is still not in tip-top shape—her retorts are still lacking their usual barb—she has at least stopped shaking, and had, as usual, helped him with securing the scene, alerting the authorities and delivering his deduction.

Before he can tell Shiho that he had called Hakase over to fetch them, Shiho chuckles and says, “You find those two suspicious, don’t you?”

Shinichi blinks once, twice and thrice, before he grins sheepishly. As usual, Miyano doesn’t let anything get past her.

“Then, I’ll—”

“We’ll go,” Shiho affirms, and Shinichi is relieved to know that Shiho is more and more back to her usual self.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Following the two suspicious men in black, Shiho and Shinichi hide in the cover of the building as they watch the two extort money from the CEO of what they heard is a company engaging in gun smuggling.

When Shinichi turns back to discuss with Shiho if they should get the authorities involved as soon as now, he looks at one of the men in black manhandling Shiho and covering her mouth.

“Let her g—!”

A heavy blow to his neck and he’s down. He can’t move his body and his vision is fading.

“Please, I’ll come with you, please, please, just let him go, please—” is all he hears. His last thought: Don’t cry, Miyano.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he wakes up, he’s face down on the grass, Hakase and a group of guards from the amusement park hovering over him.

“Shinichi? Where’s Shiho-kun?”

To that, Shinichi has no answer. For now. Only for now.

He promises.