Taking a turn away from my usual characters, here's a mood board sneak peek of my first multi chapter fanfic. Finally putting together the story that has lived rent free in my head for years
Echos of Valyria
Jacaerys Valaryon x Original Targaryen Character (Female)
Multi chapter fic - Coming soon
Cross posting to AO3
Deep in the Godswood a child is found with clear Targaryen roots and a connection to the Old Gods only King Viserys is aware of. The Prince who was Promised is not the only dream let behind from Aegon's conquests. There is a second Promised, one who will tip the scale of the war brewing between the houses of Targaryen and Valaryon and a hidden power that brews under the surface.
Named after the Queen who dreamed of her coming, Visenya Targaryen is raised in the Red Keep as a child of Alicent and Viserys. As the King dies and tensions reach boiling points, who will she stand with? The Targaryen's who raised her, guided by Otto Hightower's schemes and the one-eyed Prince who seeks to claim her? Or a certain dark-haired Prince and his family of dragon riders who fight for the throne promised to Rhaenyra?
Synopsis: Number Nine is dead. Gen and Asuna destress after the battle the way they always do - by kissing every scratch and bump before consuming each other whole
Warnings: Smut, lots of smut, comfort sex, emotional, mentions of death and fighting
MINORS DNI - 18+ - MINORS DNI - 18+ - MINORS DNI - 18+
Narumi Gen x named character, can be read as x reader, AFAB character, named original character, longish short fic.
A/N: My first time writing smut as a long time consumer. I honestly have no idea if this is any good and am slightly too embarrassed to read it to check. Please let me know what you think.
Requests open.
Kaiju number nine is dead.
Its core crushed beneath Kafka’s fist. Its body nothing more than dust turning to vapors in the wind.
Its finally over.
Kaiju would stay dead once slain and no longer evolve to predict human patterns at the whim of a master. They would no longer speak and target the deepest fears of their opponents, fighting them psychologically as well as physically.
They wouldn't have to interpret their opponent as if it had human thought, as if it already knew everything and everything about them and how to exploit it to hurt the most.
They were simply Kaiju once again.
The torment. The pain. The suffering and the loss number nine had caused was finally at its end.
Shinomiya Isao could finally be laid to rest beside his wife, their daughter able to visit their graves and not have to pretend they were together again.
Visits to the shine would no longer feel meaningless, the people who had fallen in nine's rampage finally at rest and with their fellow Kaiju hunters once again.
Number nines reign of terror would likely never be fully known to the public, there was too much risk of hysteria and panic, but for JAKDF officers who lived through his time, the nightmares would last for weeks if not years.
There would be no numbers weapon nine. No matter how eager the lab rats of the development teams wanted to experiment with such an advanced kaiju's DNA, no one would risk it coming back.
They couldn’t afford another year of fighting number nine.
Physically they were all tired. The constant attacks making sleep a rare opportunity that was never restful, their bodies strained and exhausted, battered and broken from where they had all pushed themselves beyond the limits of their suits.
Mentally they would never be the same. Trauma bound by one creature and the terror it had wrecked over them. Unlike the scars on their bodies, the mental chasms would never fully heal.
The helicopter ride back to the First Division base is silent. The weight of the last year having been lifted from their shoulders so suddenly that the rush of unadulterated joy had sapped every ounce of energy anyone had left.
Those not passed out in exhaustion are lost in their own thoughts, staring at photographs of families, friends and lost comrades. Eleven seats remain empty, their occupants lost in the final battle against number nine.
They fought bravely to the end and would be honoured with every other officer and command operative who lost their lives in the fight against humanities greatest threat.
Asuna rests a gentle hand on Gen’s knee, thumb tracing small circles over the reinforced plating of his armor, grounding both him and herself as the helicopter lowers to the landing platform.
They’re both battered and bruised.
But they are alive.
And that is all that matters.
They’re always the first to exit the transport, Asuna no more than a single step behind Gen as they lead the way back into the base.
Instructions had already been given.
Shower. Change. Mend your wounds. Go home and hug your families tight.
The celebrations of the public being to echo the streets below as they funnel out of the bunkers. All they know is another numbered Kaiju has been killed. Another threat eliminated.
They will never know the full extent of the chaos number nine caused, the number of graves filled by his rampage or his plan to dominate the country before crushing the rest of the world.
The door of their room shuts with a final click behind Asuna, the strip lighting under the rows of Gundam's and Pokémon figurines bathing the room in soft rainbow hues.
They exchange no words as they fall into each others embrace but their motions say everything they’re too tired to verbalise.
Fingers rack through Gen’s hair, gently pulling the soft pink stands from the dried blood of his forehead.
It’s over
A kiss placed at the junction of Asuna’s neck, the seal of her suit being pulled apart so gently and slowly it raises goose bumps.
I’ve got you
Gen’s suit is stripped next, bunched around his waist as every scar, scrape and bruise is kissed reverently. He returns the favour, placing several around the particularly nasty slice in her bicep.
I love you
Asuna's hand finds Gen's, intertwining their finger as she raises their clasped hands to her lips, kissing every knuckle as their eyes remain locked.
I love you too
Tear's burn at the corner of Gen's eyes, tracing small rivets through the dirt of his face as he pulls his wife to his chest, once arm snaking around her waist as the other keeps her shoulders still so he can bury his face in her neck.
Both her arms wrap around his torso, returning his embrace with equal force as they let the tears flow freely.
There is nothing to hide and there's no one to judge.
They cry for themselves, for every scratch and scar they've had to endure in their fight against number nine.
They cry for everyone they've lost. For Isao. For Hikari. For Shinonome. For Kafka and every single one of the friends they've lost.
They cry for the future they could have had. For the future they planned and the future they abandoned for the good of the world. For that house in the hills, the three cats and the family they would have had.
They cry for the past, the future and every moment between.
Neither of them keep track of how long they cry. They simply pull each other tighter and let out everything they've kept contained since they were first pulled into the fight.
The lights stay off as they separate and wipe away the last trail of tears, sharing small watery smiles before making their way to the bathroom.
In the shower they continue the ritual. Kissing every newly revealed cut and bruise as if willing it to heal with the force of their love.
Asuna sighs as Gen runs his hands through her hair, washing every strand from root to tip as he massages her scalp, not stopping until the water runs clear of any sign of dirt and blood.
He holds back a second round of tears as she returns the favor, forcing him to bend down slightly as she massages away every spec of mess from his hair, brushing away the trail of bubbles anytime it gets too close to the split in his forehead.
No words are shared as they return to the bedroom. Matching towels held loosely as they share another kiss and dry off.
Gen can't help but pause as he gazes upon his wife, hair still damp and skin turning a mottled blue and black as new bruises show themselves. The cut on her bicep catches his attention again and he doesn't fight the urge to bend down a kiss it better.
As his lips find the raw skin, arms wrap around Asuna's waist, pulling her back to his chest as she squeezes the ends of her hair dry. She let's out a breath as he kisses it again, eyes fluttering shut as she surrenders to her husbands gentle touch.
I love you
She reaches a hand behind his head, pulling him deeper into her neck as his kisses trail up her shoulder and focus that spot behind her ear he knows drives her mad with want.
Please
His hands move slowly, one tracing invisible patterns up her chest, the other uncoiling itself from her waist as it trails to her hip, touch feather light as his thumb swipes over each new forming blemish to her skin.
She pulls him by the roots of hie hair, forcing his lips to lock with hers as she runs her hand up and down his thigh, baring herself to his touch.
He swallow her lips like a man starved, tongue battling hers for dominance as a trail of spit escapes the corner of her mouth, teeth clashing as she pulls him down further, fingers firmly locked in his hair.
Asuna is the first to surrender. Pulling back for air as Gen's lips continue to chase hers. Her gasping breath turns to a low moan as his fingers finally trail against her lower lips, tracing up and down between her folds in feather light touches that threaten to overwhelm her senses.
Momentarily released from locking lips, Gen returns his attention her her neck, sucking the skin tender skin below her ear until her moans change from breathy to a deeper tone he always takes pride in pulling from her.
He nibbles his way down her neck, snaking his free hand to grab hold of her breast as the hand on his thigh sneaks higher and higher with each inch of skin he pulls between his teeth.
A particularly loud whine rips free from Asuna as he twists and pulls at her nipple, squeezing the rest of her breast with his palm as his fingers find that little bud between her folds and circles it tightly in time with his other hand.
She pulls his lips back to hers. Its messy, sloppy and entirely everything they both need and want.
As her hand finally grasps hold of his member and begins slow circling stokes from tip to base, a loud moan rips free of Gen throat, his head thrown back as he snaps the string of saliva connecting their lips, eyes closed in complete bliss.
They continue their ministrations, testing, teasing and worshipping every bruised and battered inch of skin wordlessly.
No words need to be exchanged. Their hands say everything their minds can't force their lips to say.
Her back arches as he sinks a finger into her depths, testing the waters as he pumps it slowly, thumb still lightly circling her clit as he switches breast and pulls her closer to his chest, hips cantering lightly with the movement of her hand.
By the time he slips in a seconds finger, then a third, Asuna struggles to stand. Having given up completely on trying to kiss him, her back remains perfectly arched, butt pressing into Gen's thighs as her legs shake and her throat ripple with echoing whines and moans that harmonize with his.
As a particularly high pitched whine escapes her, hands pausing mid stroke and walls clenching tightly around his fingers, Gen grips her tighter feeling her tremble and going boneless as the first of many orgasms rolls through her.
Coming down from her high, Asuna releases Gen's hair, having pulled it tighter in the throws of ecstasy. She swats his fingers away from where they have migrated, forcing them to stop circling her clit as she turns to face her husband.
The usual spark in his eyes, the one that promised the most delicious brand of pleasure should she push his buttons, is nowhere to be seen. This wasn't fucking for the sake of it, tonight wasn't about ripping as much pleasure as possible from each other but of reassuring that insecure, tired and frightened part of their brains that they'd made it.
They're alive. They'd survive number nine. More importantly they'd survived together.
Matching soft smiles overtake both their faces and they fall into a soft kiss, Asuna's arms snaking around Gen's shoulders to pull him down to her height as his hands hold firm on her hips.
We're alive
She pulls away, leaving a small kiss to his chin as she smiles up at him, thumb tracing the now clean and dried split in his forhead.
I love you
His eyes trace her face, brushing away the last trails of her tears as he plants a soft kiss to her forehead.
I love you too
As his finger brush against her nipple and another breathy moan falls from her now slightly swollen lips, the atmosphere shifts again.
He doesn't have to tell her when to jump, only having to place his hands under her thighs and tap his thumbs for her to bounce up and wrap her legs around his waist, locking lips once again as he walks them to the bed.
There's a light bounce in the mattress as he lowers her down, she sheets still messy and untucked from their early morning antics. Asuna shuffles herself to the middle of the mattress, pillows pulled closer to allow her the perfect angle to watch her husband stalk the length of her willing body.
His fingers trace every scar, every bruise and notch in her skin as he crawls up the bed slotting himself between her legs, kissing the inside of both ankles, knees and thighs as he pauses just above her center, he blows lightly, smirking as he feels her thighs clench and the shiver that rolls through the rest of her body.
He crawls the rest of the way, kissing each hip, the center of her chest and giving each nipple a swirl with his tongue as he reaches her lips once again, pulling her bottom lips free from between her teeth as he raises a hand to the back of her neck and closes the gap between them.
Lips locked and tongues exploring contentedly, they swallow each others moans as Gen pushes her knees up and wider apart, slotting the head of his member at her entrance and pushing forward.
It feels like coming home.
Nothing outside of them exists. There are no Kaiju to fight, no squadrons to teach, no board hanging over their heads watching there every moves for a slight slip in focus.
It's only Asuna and Gen Narumi and they way in which they consume each other.
The feel of her walls, so wet and willing swallowing him entirely and sucking him deeper with every inch, the moan that rips from her lips, so sinful and the way her eyes roll back into her skull, heavily lidded eyes slipping shut as she throws her head back in pleasure is no less sudutive.
He stretches her in a way that can only be described as delicious, prepared enough to slip in easily but not too much so as to not feel the pleasure of her well endowed husband stretching her walls to just before the limits of her body.
The pace Gen sets is slow and deep, his face tucked back into the side of her neck as he pants with every thrust, the rise and fall of her hips and the feel of her heels digging in his lower back driving him closer to the edge with each movement.
Determined to make it last, he pulls himself to balance his weight through one arm, the other lowering to circle that little bundle of nerves that drives her wild.
He finds it immediately, either through luck or practice, it matters not as Asuna throws her head back as far as it will go, surrendering the tender flesh of her neck to her husbands nipping bites and sucks, the small circles tracing her clit sending her eyes rolling back and hurtling towards the cliff of her second orgasm.
Gen isn't far behind, the feeling of her walls clenching tighter and the way she raises her hips just that little bit faster has him shaking with the effort to keep his orgasm at bay.
"Gen" Asuna whines, finger nails digging rivets into his back as he hits that spongy spot inside her. "Please Gen"
He breaks, pulling back from the hickey he was sucking on her neck to sit back on his knees, pulling her closer by the butt and lifting her legs to rest on his shoulders as he thrust faster, harder, shifting her hips lightly with each thrust to find that perfect angle he know drives her crazy.
"Fuck"
Four thrusts and he finds it, holding the angle to bully that spongy spot inside her, thumb still circling her clit as he holds her leg on his shoulder, the muscles weekend and shaking too much to stay up on their own.
Her moans turn to cries of pleasure that meld together into a jumbled mess of words, her mouth seemingly malfunctioning as pleasure rolls through her in waves that sweep higher and higher.
A particularly hard thrust has stars bursting behind her eyes and hand gripping the sheets until they feel like they're about to tear. Thighs shaking and back arching Asuna is consumed in the waves of her orgasm, hips mindlessly rolling as pleasure rips through.
Gen isn't far behind, the spasms of her walls and the unpredictable clenching of her muscles bringing him to a swift end deep inside his wife, hips thrusting forcefully as he pushes himself as deep as her body will allow with a load groan.
He collapses on top of her, dropping her legs from his shoulder as he falls to his elbows, shakily holding himself just above her as they come down from their respective highs.
He can't help but plant another kiss on her nose as Asuna regains her senses. Eyes glassy with pleasure and a dried line of spit trailing from the corner of her mouth to her chin, she looks absolutely ruined and all too cute for Gen to resist.
"I love you" He murmurs, closing his eyes as he rubs his nose against hers.
"I love you too" She returns, linking her arms around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss. Soft and sweet but full of no less love than before the flames of passion consumed them.
As they lay in the afterglow, her head on his chest and his arm tucked behind her shoulders, words soft and eyes heavy, they simply bathe in each others presence.
And as they lay soft kisses to the matching silver rings on their fingers they know they'll be okay.
Synopsis: Morikawa Mayuu can't be around Vice Captain Hoshina Soshiro without butterflies making her blush, maybe avoiding him will work?
Warnings: Mentions of missing limbs, fighting and injuries, mostly just Mayuu being awkward and not know how to deal with her emotions
Hoshina Soshiro x named character, can be read as x reader, AFAB character, named original character, longish short fic.
A/N: The start of my one-shot collection for everyone's favorite Vice Captain. Let me know what you think.
Requests open
Morikawa Mayuu considered herself an expert in avoidance.
If she never confronted her problems, she didn't have to acknowledge the fact that they existed, nor would she have to do anything about them.
Something always happened and it always worked out in her favor.
That kid in second grade who would not stop following her on the playground no matter how many times she said she didn't want to be his friend - she stayed away and he’d eventually lost interest as soon as a new kid joined their class.
The nosy neighbor next door who tried to step in as her mother upon finding out she lived alone - Mayuu never opened the door to her again and hid in the stairwell if they were already knocking by the time she’d come home. An eviction notice from the landlord had solved that problem permanently.
The weird English tutor from the academy who insisted he needed her personal number so they could practice his Japanese and her English with each other had been fired once it was found out he wasn't actually grading students' papers but rolling dice to decide their grades and adjusting the numbers based on how much he liked them.
Her car that had started making a rattling noise worked perfectly after she'd taken the bus for a month straight.
She'd stained her nicest blouse while cooking and left it sitting in the laundry hamper for weeks before she'd put it through the washing machine, the idea of having to treat it separately in the tub enough of a motivator to pretend she never owned the shirt. It had come out of a simple wash looking brand new.
Needless to say, the universe seemed to intervene and fix her problems for her if she avoided them.
So, when her whole body burst into tingles at the voice of her Vice Captain taking control of the battlefield, she decided to ignore it until it went away.
If she didn't acknowledge the problem, it didn't exist.
But it’s seemed her luck had run out, and she’d finally encountered a problem the universe wasn’t fixing.
Hoshina Soshiro.
Tingles turned into furious butterflies fluttering against her ribs whenever he entered the room, cheeks flushing a rosy hue every time their eyes caught and shivers erupting down her spine whenever he used his commanding Vice Captain tone in battle.
It had been the start of her own personal nightmare.
The butterflies kept coming whenever he complimented her or sent that stupid little two finger, closed eye smile her way. His laugh sent her heart racing, and it was a wonder she managed to fight efficiently with him at her side.
The way his muscles rippled beneath his compression shirt left her breathless whenever they were in the gym together. His tenacity when training his blades, whether against officers or shadow foes never failed to have her palms sweating and blood rushing to her head.
Avoidance proved impossible, her time in the mostly empty gym constantly stalled as Hoshina completed his reps not five feet from her. Every study room she chose with the sole purpose of avoiding him turned out to be the one he was already in.
And she always passed him at least five times on her run no matter what route she took.
It took three months before she decides to switch tactics.
Maybe she was reacting the way she was because she didn't know him well enough. Maybe exposure would work. She'd get used to his presence and finally be able to go back to normal.
It was mid set that her new feelings got the best of her.
"What's your favorite color?" The gym music does nothing to muffle her as she blurts out the first question that comes to mind.
If Hoshina was startled by her question he didn't show it, nor did he acknowledge the pink tint to her face if he noticed. "Eh?"
She panics a little, flustered as he raises a brow at her "Sorry Sir, I just-"
"I don't have one," He admits with a shrug "But if I had to choose it'd be purple. You see one color enough and you come to appreciate it."
He actually answered?
He takes a long sip from his drink bottle as she nervously fires off her second question, something akin to adrenaline fueling her impromptu questionnaire. "Favorite drink?"
"What's with the twenty questions all of a sudden, Morikawa? Are you going to want to know my life's history and relationship status next?" he teases, a cheeky close eyed smile creeping over his face.
If only her roommates and tutors from the academy could see her now. Tripping over her own feet because a man smiled at her.
"No Sir! I just- we're here alone all the time and it's been a year already and we hardly know each other outside of fighting kaiju's" She fiddles with the cap of her water bottle, avoiding his eyes as her cheeks deepen further. "You don't have to answer if you don't want too. I'm sorry for bothering you Sir"
Bad gym music fails to cover the pause in their conversation, Hoshina standing to grab a new, heavier set of weights without answering.
It takes a moment for him to return, Mayuu frowning at the floor, beating herself internally for making things more awkward between them.
Should have just kept avoiding him. Mayuu you stupid girl.
"Milk tea"
"Huh?"
"Milk tea. That's my favorite drink" Hoshina clarifies, setting his position on the bench as he starts his next set.
"You?"
Mayuu startles, almost dropping a weight on her foot as she misses the rack completely. "Me?"
"Jeez Morikawa, are you a parrot?" Hoshina teases, holding his weights in position above his head "What's you favorite color?"
The blush that had begun to fade came back with the roaring heat of embarrassment, "Oh, um, it- it's blue. Not like sea blue but a nice light baby blue, like in forget-me-not flowers"
He looks back, eyes following her as she returns to her bench with a new set of weights. "And drink?'
"Banana milk" she answers without hesitantion.
Hoshina fakes a gag at her answer, the action exaggerated but not effecting his form in any way. Mayuu gasps in return, "There's no way you don't like banana milk!"
"I don't"
"Look me in the eyes and say that again"
"I hate banana milk"
"I'm asking for a transfer, I can't be under the command of someone who doesn't like banana milk." She pauses, realizing she has suddenly become far too causal with him "Sir"
"Ew"
"Huh?"
"Please don't call me Sir when it's just us. Makes me feel old" She can't tell if the shiver that runs through him is real or exaggerated, but the swelling of her heart at his request is very much real and borderline suffocating.
Somewhere along between teasing jabs and casual questions they started a routine of making conversation whenever their exercises allow.
No matter how many days in a row they spoke, how many innocuous questions she asked, Mayuu still had to fight with her muddled thoughts and racing heart.
His questions were no better. Heat flaring down her neck as her face filled with blood whenever he made an effort to continue conversation or compliment her.
the worst had been when he asked her what animal she would be if she got to choose for a day.
You'd make a very cute calico.
The words were tattooed in her brain and had floated to the fore front of her memory in more than one day dream.
Conversation had worked for a short while; she'd learnt a fair amount about the cheeky Vice Captain of the Third Division and stopped reacting so viciously to his existence so long as he didn't say anything too out of pocket.
His brother was Captain of the Sixth Division and also trained from diapers to wield a blade, although he always beat the older Hoshina in whenever they fought, he loved cats and was an avid reader in what little spare time he had.
She always responded in kind to his questions, telling him more about herself than even her academy roommates had learnt about her in the four years they lived together.
She was an only child. Her favorite animals were Snow Leopards, but wolves also had a special place in her heart, and she always carried a small polaroid camera with her if she was going off base, her walls filled with the frozen memories of her adventures.
They fell into a casual rhythm, an almost friendship that existed only in passing conversations and early morning weight training.
The butterflies kept fluttering.
Month four is the first time she starts asking him for help.
Not directly. That would count as acknowledging the problem and mean that her feelings would never go away.
But she doesn't refuse his help when he offers it and stops looking for another officer to assist when presented with a problem she cannot solve or a task that needs more than one set of hands.
It starts when it the library on the fourth floor, Hoshina is catching up on paperwork at one end of the table, Mayuu taking notes from a book about Kaiju variants at the other.
She chews on her pen between scribbles, flicking back and forth between two pages, her eyebrows pulling together and frown deepening the harder she looks.
"Hey" Hoshina doesn't yell but his voice hits her like he has "Are you okay?"
She sighs deeply, half throwing her pen onto her spiraled notebook as she leans back in her chair. "Wyvern types and Dragon type kaiju. I know they're different in behaviors and weaknesses, but I can't figure out how to tell them apart without engaging them"
He stands from his chair, stretching his arms above his head as he makes his way to her side, filling the seat next to her as he pulls the book between them.
"See here..."
The rest of the evening was spent comparing kaiju species and the easiest ways to kill them, how to tell them apart without getting too close and which variation of ammunition worked best against each.
He made sure to doodle a little cat in the margin of her notes before they turned in for the night.
Month four is also the month he shows just how attuned to her presence he has become.
It's an ungodly hour of the morning, sun still asleep, the gym empty aside from the two of them and the odd officer occupying machines or cutting through to the baths.
Something about the morning had Mayuu wanting to push herself, loading more weight to either side of the bar, just enough to push herself but still recover if she wasn't ready.
On her fourth and final set she stumbles, thighs tight as her foot slips on a stray drop of sweat. Her leg gives way and she has no time to do anything except brace herself as she closes in on the floor.
Its hands catching the bar that halts her tumble. Hoshina appearing wordlessly behind her as he guides the bar up until she stands at her full height again.
Mayuu turns to look over her shoulder as he steps back, "Thanks" her voice is shaky with the sudden rush of adrenaline.
He nods, not in a talkative mood as he gestures for her to complete her set. She resets her feet and begins again, face flushing pink as she feels him step in behind he again, hands hovering just below the bar in case he has to catch her again.
She completes her set, locking eye with herself in the mirror and trying not to think about how close he is to her and the fact her shorts are most definitely one size too small.
What a day to forget to wash your new gym shorts Mayuu She internally berates herself, placing the bar back on its rests, panting and sore but proud.
As she begins to take the weight disks off the bar, she pointedly avoids eye contact with Hoshina even though her blush could easily be written off as good work out blood flow.
If he notices, he doesn't mention it, grabbing his drink bottle from where it sits by the bench and making his way out of the gym "Good job" he offers as he passes, the corner of his mouth rising in an almost smile.
Mayuu watches him leave, unable to pull her eyes away she catches the eyes of one of her unit mates, the older girl smirking and winking with a thumbs up as she flushes a deeper red and hurriedly turns back to the equipment.
The second time he helps her is what cements their officially unofficial friendship and spells the end of Mayuu's patience with the universe.
They're conducting a training exercise, running new formations and strategies against the subdued kaiju in the training grounds. The entire unit is there, suits powered and weapons loaded as they run through the grounds, calling targets and covering each other's flank.
They're halfway through when the gun in Mayuu's hands jams. The trigger freezing and barrel clicking uselessly.
"My guns jammed! Aino cover me!"
She drops into the middle of their unit formation, keeping pace as she pulls her weapon apart, unsticking the awkwardly lodged bullet before reassembling the gun.
It's only as they knock out the last kaiju that her trigger decides to cooperate again, shooting a blank round into the concrete as they return to their Platoon Leader.
She'd never felt more useless in a fight. Even if it was only a staged one.
"Morikawa" her Platoon Leader calls, hands on his hips as he narrows his gaze "What happened out there? You only hit 17 targets, getting the final on none of them."
"My gun jammed sir," She states, faulty weapon still in her hands.
"Well fix it"
"I did Sir, we finished just as I fixed it"
He frowns, looking to the time stamped log of her last successful shot and comparing it to the finish time recorded, scowling at the distance. "It took you that long to take your weapon apart?"
"And put it back together again, Sir," Mayuu adds, already knowing this conversation was going to end in some form of punishment. "The gun was still jammed after I fixed the problem, it fired correctly after we finished our run, Sir"
"That's not good enough Morikawa" He scowls deeper and takes the weapon from her hands, inspecting it with great detail before shooting it at the ground. "If that were a real operation and your gun malfunctioned as you claim, you'd be a kaiju snack."
"And I would have my handgun Sir" she snips back as the rifle is thrust back into her arms.
"Hundred push-ups for your in subordination. Now." He barks.
"Actually, I have a better idea," Hoshina doesn't need to raise his voice to make an entrance, his presence alone is enough to startle the fuming Platoon Leader. "If her gun jammed it will need to go back to R and D to be examined. If there is a fault in the new design, it could be catastrophic for the force."
"Yes sir" The Platoon leader salutes and rips the rifle from Mayu's hands again before handing it off to a different officer to send to the right people.
"As for your insubordination Morikawa," He smirks, cat like and satisfied "You'll be training with me tonight. Can't have one of our best dying if their gun jams in front of a kaiju now, can we?"
Her heart drops to the floor and keep sinking. Unable to protest she salutes "Yes sir."
I'm in for it now
"Nine o'clock, fourth floor training room. See you there" He sing songs as he departs, a hand waving over his shoulder.
He's going to kill me and make it look like an accident
Mayuu ducks her head once he is out of sight, the still fuming glare of her Platoon Leader and the juxtaposing mix of pitying and jealous stares from her unit mates making her want to melt into the floor.
Training with Hoshina was nothing like what she thought it would be. There were no punishments, no press-ups or laps to run if she made a mistake, instead he trained her properly, without guns and without the usual malice of her Platoon Leader.
He showed her how to effectively use a blade, giving her one of the many spare prototypes he had lying around from his years on the force, and he made sure to tap her not so gently with the wooden training blade every time she called him 'Sir'.
He let her practice on human dummies, then himself, no fake kaiju available to slice but they ran through the theory of it anyway. She was put on her ass more times than she cared to count, but by the end of the night, her blade was not just a sharp decoration on her belt.
Her 'punishment' was only for a night, but it sparked a routine of blade training. The newest model of rifles being pulled from all divisions after a massive fault was found, several officers of the ninth division finding out the hard way only days after her failed training exercise.
She never got an apology from her Platoon leader, but the 'I told you so' speech Hoshina apparently gave him in their next leadership meeting was more than enough.
The kaiju that took his arm several weeks later was just the icing on the cake of shitty leadership and got a swift death, honored for their service of karma with a small doodle in the margins of her notebook.
Hoshina presented her with a new blade that evening, not a prototype anymore, but a smaller slimmer version of a tanto blade paired with a matching sheathe made to hold the blade to the outside of her thigh.
After that day, Morikawa Mayuu's name joined Soshiro Hoshina's on the exclusive list of blade users within the JAKDF. While still not her main weapon of choice, her name became synonymous with the rare weapon just as Hoshina's had been for years, and within the Third Division, they were never without mention of the other.
It's on month nine that Mayuu changes her schedule.
A rare internship away from the field, stepping into the command center under Okonogi's tutorship, learning the systems behind their communications, the stats behind their suits and the sheer amount of work it takes behind the scenes to keep adrenaline junkies like her alive.
Working in the command center means she's no longer expected at all unit training sessions, attending at least one a week and managing her fitness on her own time as per her new Platoon Leaders orders. Gym in the morning turns into workouts after dinner, study in the evening changes to reviewing notes between bites at lunch and any free time she has left is spent behind a computer screen.
It's the end of week two when it all becomes too much. The pressure of figuring out an entirely new system, of learning how to filter out voices in a room full of people yelling mid operation while still keeping up with her own fitness.
It was too much to manage.
Her infrequent schedule making it hard to meet with her own team let alone with the equally busy Vice Captain. So, when her face started flaring at the sight of him again, any and all progress she had made in not reacting to his presence forsaken her.
Mayuu decides that after nine months, the universe owes her. That her name has to be near the top of its to-do-list by now and that finally, after way too long, she'd finally be able to go back to normal.
And so, the avoidance begins again.
It's on a warm Friday, the day after a long operation, that she manages to find free time and make it into the gym before the sun has set.
Its instinctual the way her eyes scan the room for that purple mop of hair, the gym full of new recruits and seasoned officers alike but missing the unique stature of her commanding officer.
She didn't mean to look for him but somewhere between the months of shared weights and casual chatter, between the clashing of blades and scribbled notes, they'd sparked a kinship that she found herself missing upon the abrupt change in schedule.
It's harder than she'll ever admit to keep her disappointment off her face as she makes her way to the racks of dumbbells and weights, finding a small area to claim for the next two hours.
Five years in the JAKFD meant managing her fitness came easily, the weight even easier despite it having been over a month since she had picked up anything heavier than her blade for more than a few hours with her unit.
Feeling eyes on her as she finishes her third set of kettle bells swings, she chances a glance to the side, hoping for purple but instead meeting the eyes of a freckled, orange haired rookie.
She nods to him, a small smile playing on her lips as she notices his wide eyes and lagging limbs. Clearly, he hadn't been out in the field very long if last night's operation took that much out of him.
The headphones she wears to block out the general noise of the base kept most people from approaching her to talk, only a few officers from her unit tapping her on the shoulder or waving from across the room for a quick chat between sets.
They were new, her favorite pale blue and fully covered her ears, blocking any and all sound. A mercy considering her new role had far too many voices in her ears at all times.
No one had knocked them off her head before.
Even the music seems to dim as they clatter to the floor, conversation dying, machines slowing to a stop as Mayuu blinks confused at the person glaring at her through the wall of mirrors.
It's not butterflies that swam as she looks to her new headphones, still on the floor and a small scuff on one side.
"Hoshina Soshiro, what the fuck was that for?!"
The words escape before she can stop them, the emotional toll of the last few months over flowing and bursting forth, eyes going wide as her brain catches up with her mouth.
He doesn't frown. Doesn't order her to do push-ups or run laps. Just gives her that closed eye smile, head tilted to look innocent as he steps closer to her bench.
"You've been avoiding me" he states, smile growing as she sets her weights down.
"I've been working Vice Captain." She responds shakily, waiting for him to order punishment for her words. "You know this, I talking to you yesterday."
"During the operation yes, but you've been ignoring me outside of that."
"Like I said, I've been working, Sir"
"No you've been ignoring me"
"No I haven't, Sir"
"Yes you have"
"No I haven't"
"Yes"
"No "
"Yes"
"No"
"No"
"Yes"
"Hah you admitted it!" Hoshina points at her triumphantly, grin wide and cat like with glee.
"Damnit Hoshina!" Mayuu slaps her hands over her mouth this time, a futile attempt to muffle words that have already escaped.
"Relax," He assures, finger lowering from its point as he steps closer "I can't punish my favorite officer now, can I?"
He steps in front of her now, eyes opening as he pins her with his stare "Please stop avoiding me, I miss my sparring partner."
"I-" Mayuu stutters, half sure his words are another joke "I'll stop ignoring you." She hangs her head slightly, ashamed to have been called out so blatantly for her not so subtle endeavor.
"Good," He crouches down to pick up her headphones, wiping away the dirt she had mistaken as a scuff before handing them to her. "It would be a pain to have to ban banana milk from the base."
He smiles as she gasps, brows furrowed as she reacts to his threat.
As he stands from his crouch, he makes sure to lean closer to her, lips by her ear as he rises to his full height, eyes half-lidded with as he shields his mouth from still gaping on lookers.
"But you couldn't avoid me even if you tried, Mayuu."
Synopsis: Shinomiya learns the hard way, she is not the top of the food chain in the First Division, in fact, she's nowhere close.
Warnings: Fighting, injuries, broken bones, Asuna is a beast and she knows it, Gen pulls the finger
Narumi Gen x named character, can be read as x reader, AFAB character, named original character, longish short fic.
A/N: Another installment of my ongoing one-shot collection for Narumi Gen and Kuriyama Asuna. Please let me know what you think.
Requests open.
“Again”
Smack. Smack. Skid.
“Again”
Smack. Smack. Smack. Skid.
No one is counting how many times Shinomiya Kikuro hits the floor anymore.
She had made her bed.
Now she was being forced to lie in it.
“Your foot work is sloppy when you’re angry.” Two quick smacks on the practice staff emphasize the point as it slips free of her grasp and she falls off balance.
Her legs are swept out from under her to drive the point home.
“Again”
Platoon Leader Kuriyama Asuna had been described in the media as many things. Confident. Composed. Elegant. Humble. Deadly.
Vice Captain Hoshina had once described her as a tungsten blade. Sharp and never wavering.
Kuriyama’s subordinates had all said the same things. A task master. Harsh but fair. Brutal but not punishing. A teacher who remembers what it was like being the student.
Yet as she stands in the centre of the training dojo, Shinomiya can only think of one word to describe her.
A challenge.
Hair loose and feet bare she looks like a woman ill prepared for battle. Without a single drop of sweat or hitch in her breath, she is an image of perfect calm, staff held loosely in one hand, the other tucked behind her back.
She hadn’t used it since they started sparring over an hour ago.
Several people wince as Shinomiya charges, yelling wordlessly as she all but throws her staff forwards.
Jab to the side. Blocked.
Sweep to the feet. Missed.
Jab. Blocked. Stab. Blocked. Swing. Dodged.
What would have been a crushing blow, poised as if she held her axe in her hands, is interrupted by a swift kick to the knee and a Bo staff to the ribs.
The bones giving way under wood as she is flung out of the ring.
No one tries to help her up.
Not as Kuriyama stalks towards her prone form, staff balanced on one shoulder as she assesses the girl clutching her side, straining to get up.
She crouches next to her. Tilts her head as she meets Shinomiya’s tear filled gaze and sighs.
“You’re done”
“What?!”
Kuriyama stands once again, “You’re done for the day. Anymore and you won’t be apart of the next operation.”
“But a platoon Leader I-“
She holds up a hand to silence the girl. “You cannot get off the ground on your own and you will not be able to lift your staff. Anymore and you will be bed bound for a week at least.”
Her hand lowers. “No more. Not today” she turns, the movement swift and silent aside from the swish of her loose hair against the back of her shirt.
On the ground Shinomiya rages. Humiliated and beaten. Clutching ribs that are most certainly cracked at the least and grasping wounded pride she’d never learnt to regulate.
A brash idea flicks through her mind and before she can think her decision through, she is moving.
Staff in hand she darts for the Platoon Leaders turned back, staff jabbing for the area between the taller women’s shoulder blades. Exposed.
Several gasps echo around the room but voice alone wouldn’t be enough to stop her. Nor would sound be fast enough.
CRACK!
The staff in her hands splinters and snaps.
A second strike has Shinomiya reeling, cheek stinging as the bamboo connects with soft flesh. It reddens and begins to bruise almost immediately.
As the polished end of a Kuriyama’s Bo staff hovers under her chin, scraping her throat with every deep swallow, realization hits her.
Kuriyama had broken the Bo staff with her hand and was either immune to the pain or strong enough that breaking through the thick bamboo with an open palm was just that easy for her.
Shinomiya was lucky she hadn't ended up with a broken jaw.
“Good. You moved on instinct.” Kuriyama blinks slowly, the slightest hint of a smile inching it way to her face. “That is how you need to fight.”
Shinomiya’s ribs scream almost as loud as her nerves. Danger. She’s in danger.
Her eyes fill with tears she refuses to let go, ribs screaming and muscles straining as her head is forced higher.
If this had been real battle.
If Asuna Kuriyama has her Kaiju forged Naginata and not a simple training staff.
Shinomiya Kikuro would have been nothing more than the sad remnants of a memory laying in a pool of blood.
“What’s the matter Kikuro? You said you were going to be challenging my records within a month.” There’s mocking in the way Kuriyama smirks “you can’t even handle a simple training”
Several spectators wince, either having been on the other end of her words or imagining being so. Several First Division veterans rub their scars, remembering their first trainings with the young woman and the humiliating outcome.
Ego befitted no one.
Arrogance kills.
And Kuriyama Asuna was Division One’s cure for both conditions. Something many recruits, young and old, had learnt the hard way upon their selection to the First Division of Japan’s Anti Kaiju Defense Force.
“If you can’t land a hit how do you expect to beat my records?”
Failure is a bitter feeling Kikuro has little to no experience with. Living up the expectations of her father, the memory of her mother, failure was never an option.
She had to be the best or she was worth nothing. Not to her squad, not to her Captain and certainly not to her Father.
The teenagers' cheeks flush as she remembers they’re not alone in the training room. Several other new recruits and Platoon Leaders lining the mats, Hibino Kafka propped against a wall nursing his own bruises, holding his likely broken wrist from his own sparring.
And Narumi Gen, Captain of the first Division, was most definitely watching the spectacle from the viewing floor.
Not because Hasegawa had taken all his electronics, but because of the woman making an example of her.
There’s no way they’ll keep her in the First Division now.
Not only has she failed the shooting drills, falling short of the average run time mark by a full thirty seconds but now she couldn't land a hit on an opponent using only one hand.
She’d be sent back to the Third Division once the base was fixed.
She’d never get a chance at the First again.
She’d never live up to her parent’s legacies.
Asuna pulls her staff back with a flourish. Spinning the stick to tuck it behind her arm.
“Let me give you some advice, Shinomiya Kikuro.”
The teenager blinks furiously in a futile attempt to smother her rising tears. Her internal mantra of self deprecation momentarily interrupted.
“We are the first Division. We do not care about numbers or records, we care about results. If you cannot provide results, you have no place in the First.”
Kikuro feels her soul fracture as the words of the third in command hit her. Her fears realised and nightmares coming true as she kneels at the mercy of one of her childhood idols.
“You say you want to break my records. Break them, I do not care.” Asuna straightens her posture and looks over the still prone teen. “You will hit a ceiling just like everyone else. There will be a limit to how much you can give and how much you can take.”
The distant memory of her mother flashes before Kikuro’s eyes. Her white suit, her bright smile and the unshakable steadiness of her entire being.
Briefly she wonders if the Platoon Leader lecturing her knew her mother. The words foreign yet familiar all the same.
“To make it in the First Division you have to touch that ceiling. Only then can you be considered an Officer of the First.”
Asuna’s hair swings as she turns, steps even as she walks to the center of the room, not acknowledging the stunned onlookers who scuttle out of her path.
She heaves a sigh as she places her staff on the floor, looking over her shoulder briefly at the small form of the girl on the mats.
She looks younger with tears streaming down her cheeks. Cheek a splotched mess of red and blue from where her staff struck, one arm hanging limply by her side as the other cradles her no doubt aching side.
Years of practice have made her silent on tatami mats, yet as she steps closer to the broken Shinomiya, the weave creaks and groans.
It takes Kikuro a moment to register the outreached hand, an offer not of peace but of assistance. She takes it gingerly, not daring to meet the eyes of the older woman as she is supported up from her position.
A trip to the infirmary added to the unwritten schedule.
It’s no more than twelve steps but each movement stings and shame echos through her bones as she joins Kafka against the wall.
What a pair they make.
Imposters parading as Officers in the First Division.
Bruised and beaten by a woman who hasn’t even broken a sweat.
Shinonome shuffles to the pair, leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed and one leg bracing against it. “You’re going to want to keep watching” she smirks, nodding back to the cement mats where Asuna stands alone, staff back in hand.
There is no warning when Narumi strikes. Launching himself from the second floor and aiming directly for his Platoon Leaders head with a staff of his own.
She steps to the side and dodges flawlessly, turning on her heel to issue a return strike to his midsection, missing as Narumi turns mid air, twisting away to land on the other side of the mats.
There’s a moment of pause as no one bares breathe, Platoon Leader and Captain sizing each other up, weapons braced.
Shinomiya doesn’t see the second they move. The two nothing more than a black and grey pink blur twisting, turning, leaping and dodging. The occasional smack rings out as their staffs strike each other.
There are no taunts, no yells or cries as with other sparring pairs. They fight wordlessly but perfectly in syncronization.
Neither land a hit.
Neither falter or stumble.
It’s a perfectly choreographed dance between two living weapons. So perfectly in aligned it’s as if they can read each other’s minds, predict movement before it’s made.
They lock staffs, nose to nose as their eyes meet. A wordless moment of reprieve before they blur into motion once again.
“Wow” Kafka whispers, transfixed on their movements as his Kaiju eyes allow him to see every detail in their deadly dance. From the static of their clothing to the splinters chipping off the wooden staffs with each blocked strike.
For all his brute force and seeming lack of care, Narumi spins and strikes with the smaller weapon as if it was always his and not the hulking bayonet he usually wields. The weapon an extension of himself in a less ostentatious form.
Although missing the curved blade at one end and a significant amount of weight in the weapon itself, Asuna fights as if she is dancing. Light on her feet, posture upright and strong, lacking the flips and flair she inserts when fighting low ranked Kaiju.
Kuriyama Asuna and Narumi Gen fight each other as if they were fighting a Honju. Pure instinct and skill.
It’s a blur of precision and beauty and-
It’s over.
A single bead of sweat rolls down Asuna’s brow, flowing down her cheek to drop onto the blunt end of the staff hovering at the base of her throat.
But there is no winner.
Narumi realises this as Asuna grins, arm out stretched as she twitches her staff forward an inch, the blunt head tapping against the centre of his chest.
His triumphant grin falls into the deep scowl “Gah! Damnit woman! I’m your Captain, you’re supposed to let me win!”
He pulls his staff back, helping his Platoon Leader from the ground before stalking over to the racking dragging the staff across the mats as he continues to mutter to himself.
Asuna’s laughs, not a full belly laugh but the laugh that only Narumi Gen and his childish antics can draw from her.
“You and I both know I’m never going to take it easy on you Gen”
He pulls the finger over his head without looking back, stalking back to the second floor as he sulks.
Asuna turns to the spectators, even the First Division Officers stunned into silence at the battle between two of their three strongest.
“Shinonome, you can take it from here. We need everyone to have solid basics before we try and fine tune anything” she turns, returning her weapon to the rack before making to join Narumi on the second floor.
It’s then that a through occurs to Kikoru. “Platoon Leader Kuriyama!” She calls, her voice shaky from pain but echoing through the room turning heads as the woman in question pauses mid step.
She makes no move to turn around but pauses in place, a gesture Kikoru takes as an invitation to continue.
“When did you hit your ceiling? I mean, when did you hit your limit?" The question is genuine but naive.
At only sixteen Shinomiya needed to know if one of the legends of the JAKDF, a woman so powerful at only twenty-six, had reached her peak. If she had touched her ceiling, found her limit, maybe Kikuro wasn't so far behind her after all.
A snort sounds from the second floor, Narumi reacting to the question like it personally offends him.
“Shinomiya Kikuro. You want to know when I hit my ceiling?” Asuna’s voice is steady but there’s an undertone dripping confidence like nothing she’d ever heard from the woman before.
She turns her head, locking eyes with the teen over her shoulder as she flashes her a smirk, one anyone would only need to look to the second floor to see the perfect reflection of.
“I don’t have a ceiling. I am the sky above it all.”
For Shinomiya Kikuro the goal suddenly changes. The aim no longer to beat the records of Kuriyama Asuna, but to be worthy of the First Division.
Synopsis: A persistent First Division Officer will not take the hint that Platoon Leader Asuna Kuriyama is not interested in him. Captain Gen Narumi sets the record straight.
Narumi Gen x named character, can be read as x reader, AFAB character, named original character, longish short fic.
Warnings: Typical Gen swearing
A/N: This is my first time publishing anything I've written so please be kind. These anime men have me hostage.
He'd been doing it for days. The officer not new to the division but certainly new in his boldness and his insisted closeness to the Platoon leader. Straying no more than a few feet behind her at any given chance, asking for tips, improvements and about her hobbies, anything to keep himself in her vacinity.
Even the visiting officers from the third division had noticed his constant hounding of her.
Everyone had noticed the sudden attention Captain Narumi was suddenly giving to these joint training sessions. The console in his hands not forgotten but the sounds of his characters animated death echoing far more frequently than anyone in the first division had heard previously.
It was no secret they had something going on. It had been an open secret for years within the first division that Captain Narumi and Platoon Leader Kuriyama were in a relationship and had been since their early days within the JAKDF.
They never announced it publicly. Never made a spectacle of it even as they both rose through the ranks to their current positions, speaking of each other in interviews professionally and keeping an arm's length between them when working.
The epitome of professionalism.
They hadn't needed to speak of their relationship for those working with them every day to notice. In fact, anyone with more than a basic set of observational skills could see the sparks between them if they cared to look hard enough.
The way they automatically found each other in crowded rooms, drifting closer until they were stuck like magnets in each other's orbit. Her steady presence always stood just behind his left shoulder in public appearances and interviews; a calming hand perched on his shoulder if he got to invested in hyping himself up to the media representatives.
The way Narumi didn't start eating until she was sat next to him and the unspoken agreement they had to trade his Miso for her pickled cucumbers at mealtime. How every morning Asuna could be seen entering Narumi's room with 2 cans of energy drink, the captain emerging later sipping from the red as she finished the green on the way to their offices.
How they found each other after every Kaiju attack, scanning for injuries and refusing to travel more than three feet from the other until they were back at base, splitting to clean off the blood and reuniting to complete mission reports.
The fact none of the gossip columns had run a sensationalized theory as to why a Platoon Leader was always at the side of the Captain of the first divisions side, even without Vice-Captain Hasegawa present, was a miracle in of itself.
All that to say anyone who spent more than a day with the first division and paid any semblance of attention could see they had no chance with Platoon Leader Asuna Kuriyama.
Officer Rio did not pay attention.
And they had all been paying for his inattention in extra laps, brutal exercises and targets that disappeared the second they appeared. The exercises getting progressively harder the more times he approached the Platoon leader between sets. Each command of another lap harmonizing with the death music of the Captains latest game.
It was their ninth lap of the afternoon. Sweat pouring off their brows, combat suits soaked through and arms beyond heavy, almost numb from carrying their guns through every lap.
"Unless you want to become Kaiju food get those legs moving faster Officers!" Platoon Leader Kuriyama's voice carries over their earpieces, unable to see the suffering officers but knowing instinctually they were slacking in their movements.
"Damnit Rio! I blame you for this!" Furuhashi yells at the officer, trying and failing to burn a hole through the back of his combat suit with his eyes.
"Me?" Rio huffs, readjusting his gun as they round the next corner.
Shinomiya lets out a bark of a laugh "Yes you! If you weren't annoying the Platoon Leader so much, we wouldn't be running laps around the training ground at sunset you idiot!"
"I wasn't annoying her! It's Captain Narumi who keeps giving us extra laps" He retorts, cheeks flushing pink at the mention of the women ordering them about. "I was just asking for her help in improving my form."
Even Kafka scoffs at that between heaving breaths. "Yea and I'm not Kaiju number 8."
It's Reno who pipes up next, "Dude we all know you're trying to get her attention. It's so obvious."
"And pathetic"
"Don't forget stupid!"
"Suicidal"
"Idiot of the year"
Officers from both divisions echo Reno's observation and issue their opinion of the situation, Rio's face burning brighter with every insult directed his way. He thought he was being smart about it, subtle, in a way that would allow him to get to know his superior better and leave his fellow officers in the dark.
It's not like Captain Narumi noticed what he was doing. The man so focused on his video game or scrolling social media he didn't even notice that he was slowly and successfully stealing the attention of the strongest Platoon Leader of the Furst Division for himself.
As much as everyone claimed Gen Narumi cared for Asuna Kuriyama, Rio couldn't see it. He'd never seen them train together, never seen them going outside base together and had never seen them kiss or even hold hands.
For someone everyone claimed was smitten, Narumi gave Kuriyama hardly a lick of his attention.
They weren't that close. Just colleagues. Nothing more.
No matter what everyone else thought.
"You do know he's going after her right?"
Hoshina stands far enough away that Narumi can't hit him, strategic as he broaches the subject of the Captain's annoyance and his officers punishment.
"I know shitty bowl cut! He's not subtle about it" Narumi's face screws up, whether from the thought of the officer going after his girl or hitting a difficult level in his game he'd never admit.
Hoshina tilts his head to the side, eyes half lidded as he watches the man lose another round and grumble in frustration. No attention paid to the woman stood to the side, speaking with Shinonome about one her officers as the tablet flickers to a different camera angle.
"You're not going to do anything?"
"Nah" Gen hums, wiggling side to side as if moving his body will move his character any faster "She doesn't need me to stand up for her. She's got the situation under control."
"But it annoys you."
"Of course it does! That shitty officer who can't even shoot straight is trying to take my girl from me" The level pass music chimes from his consol as he lowers it to his lap and plants his rival with a smirk "Not that I can blame him, would wouldn't want Asuna for themselves."
His eyes flick over to the woman in question, hand to her ear as she orders the officers to move faster. She flashes him a sweet, closed eye smile as her eyes meet his.
Hoshina shakes his head at the two First Division leaders, their relationship not new but still odd to him. Unconventional but obviously incredibly strong if Narumi was so unaffected by someone else flirting with her right in front of him.
"Don't worry, if he keeps going, I'm going to have him spar with Kafka in Kaiju form," Asuna's voice startles Hoshina as she appears over his shoulder.
No matter how many years they've known each other her disappearing act still manages to catch him off guard on occasion.
"Now now, at least make him fight Shinomiya first, then let Kafka go at him if he can still stand." Hoshina jokes, trying to play off the fact she once again made him jump.
"I'll fight him" Gen mumbles, focused back on his game as he pouts at the screen, fingers flying as he button mashes his way to victory.
"Nope" Asuna pops the 'p' as she sits herself on the arm of his chair "You said you'd let me take care of it, you go back on that and I'm locking you out of the Yamazon account for the month.
"No no, you can take care of him! Please don't lock me out of the Yamazon account! You know the new limited addition Gundam's are being released this weekend!" Captain Narumi begging at his Platoon Leader's feet isn't a rare sight but still amusing no matter how often he has to beg for mercy.
Asuna giggles as he begs, vowing to buy her energy drinks for the rest of the year, to clean his room and stop leaving his dirty socks two feet from the washing basket. All promises he'll try to keep but ultimately forget soon enough.
"Leave Officer Rio to me and you can get as many Gundam's as you want, Gen"
He sits back in his seat, taking the moment to grab hold of one of her hands and link her fingers with his "Done, but if he pushes it too far I'm stepping in"
"Fine" she plants a kiss to his forehead, squeezing their linked hands as she stands and the first few officers turn the final corner in the distance.
"You two are so weird"
"Shut up Shitty bowl cut!"
"Five minutes to catch your breath, then we debrief." Kuriyama calls, flashing the exhausted group a smile before turning to Vice Captain Hoshina, discussing the results on the tablet in her hands.
Narumi huffs from where he lounges, gunfire audible from his game as he flashes a glare Hoshina's way but making no move to engage or stop the conversation. Kuriyama flashes him a quick glance, a soft smile on her lips as her motions for him to return his attention to his game.
"See you're an idiot Rio," Shinomiya barbs, "You've got no shot with Platoon Leader Kuriyama."
"Oh yea?" He huffs, hands on knees as he tries to catch his breath. "What makes you say that?"
"Have you seen them? She didn't even look at you when we got back but Captain Narumi so much as twitches and she notices."
"What-"
Shinomiya ignores the interruption "Besides, it's obviously been going on for a while. They were always together when I was here after our base got destroyed and no one seems to care about how close they are. Clearly, they've been together for a long time if even Hasegawa doesn't react."
"But they've never announced anything" Rio protests, "It's not official if it's never announced."
"That's so old fashioned. You sure you're not my age?" Kafka jokes between breaths.
"Hey! I'm only 25!" Rio protests, pointing an accusatory finger at the older man.
"Oh please," Reno chimes in "Apart from captain Narumi's boasting about Kaiju killing they're both really private people. What's one thing you know about Platoon Leader Kuriyama that none of us or the public would know?"
Rio's mouth opens and closes, mimicking a fish out of water as he tries and fails to retrieve a single unique piece of information about the women he was hopelessly chasing after. He flicks his eyes up to the woman in question to find her perched on the arm of Narumi's chair, her body a blockade between the two numbers weapon users as she motions to something on the screen of her tablet.
The game in the Captain's hands paused, the gunfire and roaring of monsters temporarily paused as his full attention remains on the woman beside him.
"See? No chance. You don't even know her." Furuhashi snarks, still annoyed about the extra laps.
Something in his tone and the way these officers, officers from the third division, think they know better than him an officer of the first division steels his resolve. "Fine. I'll make you a bet then."
"A bet?"
"If I can get a private lesson with Asuna Kuriyama, you all have to challenge a Platoon leader from the First Division before you leave and fight them solo." Rio smirks, crossing his arms over his chest.
"And if you don't?" Reno asks, meeting his triumphant stare with suspicion.
"Then I have the challenge Captain Narumi next time we are in the training dojo."
The same thought flickers through the minds of everyone within ear shot, including the two first division platoon leaders standing off to the side.
He's suicidal.
"Deal!" Furuhashi grins his shark like grin as he shakes Rio's hand, sealing the deal for them all. "But you have to approach her before we are dismissed tonight."
"Deal."
As if she has sensed the new agreement being sealed Platoon Leader Kuriyama clears her throat, calling attention back to both herself and Hoshina, having moved back to the edge of the weapons tables, just outside the collection of exhausted officers.
"Well done today. You have done well. We will be coming around you all individually to go over your results from the day and to advise you on what areas you should be focusing on during tomorrow's training."
Hoshina takes over speaking "Once you have your results, you are dismissed to the showers. Platoon Leader Kuriyama has division 1 results, I have division threes. Please check over your weapon's as we make our way around, if any are dirty or broken for training tomorrow, you'll be staying overtime for a make-up training session with me."
Hoshina's close-eyed smile is enough to send shivers down every officer's spine. The threat unspoken but very real from the cat like Vice Captain.
They are some of the only officers left in the room, all their guns are clean and functioning perfectly by the time Rio's name is called, Asuna making her way through the gathered group to stand across from the delusional officer.
She reads off his stats quietly, offering him a view of her tablet as she scrolls through his combat scores and lap times.
"You need to work on your reaction time. You're taking an average of three seconds to respond to a target once it appears."
"Can you help me with that Platoon leader? You have the best reaction time out of all the Platoon leaders here and I'd really appreciate any advice you could give."
This man really went for it.
"More training with Shinonome should help you. If not, then you'll need to look at doing more of your own training during your free time." She didn't outwardly react to his poor attempt at flirting, internally she wanted to curl into a ball as wither away at the suggestive, borderline desperate tone of his voice.
"And if I had to do more solo training? Would you help with that Platoon Leader Asuna?"
Her eyes widen at the causal use of her first name "Excuse me?" She doesn't yell, which is almost worse than if she did, a chill spreading through the room, the low hum of conversation coming to a screeching halt, all eyes turning to stare wide-eyed at the subject of her icy gaze.
"You'd help me with my training, right? Help me improve my times and train with you? I'd really like the opportunity to get to know you better Platoon Leader Asuna." Rio adds a sloppy salute, trying to look serious in his request from private time with his platoon leader and pointedly ignoring the fact she was calling out his disrespectful address.
"That's Platoon Leader Kuriyama to you Officer Rio," She growls, eyes sharp and narrowed as they take in the man who decided to disrespect her and her title. "And no. I will not be helping you with any personal training, but I'm sure Vice Captain Hoshina can teach you a thing or two about reaction time while he's here."
She motions her head over to the usually cheeky Vice-Captain whose eyes are wide open for once and directing an icy stare at the impudent Officer.
"But he can' teach me anything about using my gun more efficiently, you're the expert for that around here." Rio smirks, lowering his sloppy salute as he steps further into her personal space. "Besides I'm not sure he'd be a very entertaining coffee date."
"She doesn't drink coffee."
Narumi's voice pierces the tense air, many having forgotten the Captain was even still in the room, the music coming from his consol not having resumed from where he abandoned it for Asuna's earlier attention.
Rio is too stunned to respond, and Asuna takes the opportunity to step back, tablet hanging loosely at her side as she stares down the officer, mentally preparing the checklist of all the paperwork that will need to be completed if Narumi loses his cool.
"Asuna doesn't drink coffee. She hates the bitter taste and not even obscene amounts of sugar can fix that." Narumi makes his way over slowly, predatory as he pins the other man with his eyes. "You must be the one who's been leaving them in her office for the last few weeks. Hate to tell you but they've all been thrown away. Tasted like shit."
Gen smirks as Rio shivers, every nerve in his body screaming danger as the Captain prowls closer like a lion hunting his prey.
"Narumi," Asuna calls, an unspoken warning carried through her tone as the other officer's creep slowly backwards, hesitant so as to not draw the attention of the Captain to themselves. Even Hoshina stays well out of reach.
"What? He thinks he can disrespect you and get away with it, as his Captain it's my job to correct such mistakes."
Asuna raises and eyebrow as he stalks closer to the trembling officer, grabbing a hold of his collar and pulling him to be nose to nose as soon as he is within reach.
"I may not care much for formality, but you have to earn the right to ignore protocol. Something you do not have. You do not, I repeat, do not disrespect your superior officers like that. You do not address them by anything outside of their rank unless they invite you too."
"Gen. That's enough. I think he's got the message now." Asuna places a hand on his arm, unphased by the anger rolling off her Captain and Rio's trembling legs as he is released with a huff.
"No. He's been harassing you for weeks and there's only so much collaborative punishment I can give before the source has to be addressed."
He drops his hold on Rio, pointing a finger at his nose as he growls a final warning. "Leave her alone and don't try that shit again."
Gen rolls his shoulder back, straightening his posture as Asuna's hand slips down his arm, linking their fingers with little to no thought.
There's no reaction as Hoshina tosses Gen's forgotten console their way, it's only as he catches the black screen that his eye twitches and he turns back to the Vice Captain "Hey don't toss my stuff around shitty bowl cut!"
Hoshina grins and laughs, breaking the suffocating atmosphere of the training grounds. The remaining officers and Platoon leaders alike relaxing now that there is no chance the Captain is going to snap and start tossing Rio around by his hair.
Kafka and Shinomiya share a bug-eyed look as the Captain and Platoon leader turn their attention from the frozen Rio. Furuhashi will be even more mad he was one of the first few officers dismissed.
Hushed whispers grow louder as the remaining officers unfreeze. Phones are pulled out of pockets in record time and it won't be long before tales of the interaction are spreading through the rest of the base.
Kafka has to type and retype his message before he can spells everything correctly. Shinomiya beating him to announcing the outcome of the bet to the rest of their team.
Asuna tugs at their joined hands wordlessly as Gen continues to yell obscenities at Hoshina, holding tight to his console as she smacks the back of his head, directing his attention from his rival back to her as she drags him towards the exit.
They don't get far before Gen pauses, pulling his hand from hers as he stalks back over to Rio who hasn't moved since being released. He stops half-way, pointing at the man who dared to try his luck with his woman.
"Don't you ever make a pass at my wife again or I'll have you transferred out to Division 6."
He stalks back to Asuna, taking her hand in his again as he pulls them out the training area. His apparent wife shaking her head and chuckling as she allows herself to be dragged away from the rapidly stirring commotion.
"You do know what you've done right?" She asks, rubbing a thumb over the back of his hand as the doors hiss closed behind them.
Gen shrugs, a satisfied smirk plastered to his face as the cacophony of noise is sealed behind them. "Eh, it's been 6 years. It's about time you changed your name officially anyways."
She shoves him playfully, hand still linked as she places a short kiss on his cheek. "You do know that means we both have to do paperwork, right?"
"I'd do a mountain's worth of paperwork for you, Narumi Asuna."
