On the eleventh day of Christmas... (we're nearly done, dudes, I promise)

[tallulahgs]

my true love sent to me

eleven solemn vows

[Title] What Must Be Done
[Fandom] Battle Royale
[Rating] PG-13
[Notes/Summary] Satomi and her friends are besieged by a fellow student who seems unstoppable. Written for rushikayu13, who requested the Lighthouse Girls being awesome.



Satomi had never thought of herself as a coward. All right, some things scared her (like drunken people, and snakes) but she never let herself be stopped if there was something that she was supposed to do.

Right now she wasn't feeling so sure that that was the case.

The air stank of gunpowder, like it does after a firework display, and the sunlight was jagged from the shelves and furniture they'd stacked in front of the windows - that and the broken glass. It made this seem like a dream, or like she was feverish. She was pressed against the corridor, the stairs behind her, the door half-open, and she could see everything. The table was turned on its side, and Chisato and Haruka were crouched behind it, guns held in their hands. Satomi remembered, dully, that the weapons had been Yukie's and Yuka's. But Yukie was slumped behind the sofa, grey-white with blood seeping through the sleeve of her shirt. Yuka was with her, her typical grin on her face even though her skin was glassy. Chisato was pale as well, her eyes wide, looking almost as if she were sleepwalking. Behind her and Haruka was Yuko, knees to chest, hands over ears, trembling.

And ducked down behind the open door to the outside world was Kazuo Kiriyama. He looked just like he always did; blank-faced and a bit bored. None of them had managed to hit him yet - Chisato and Haruka were both shaking and it wasn't like they'd had any practice at this, before all this happened. They were just loosing off shots wildly to stop Kiriyama making his way over to the sofa. Satomi could feel the comforting weight of her Uzi in her hands, its metallic smell mingling with her sweat. You didn't need to have a good aim with that, right? But she'd had it with her up on the platform, keeping watch, and she'd seen a figure approaching, and run down to warn them - they'd prepared and then she'd gone back up again to look and he'd gone and then, then the sound of shooting -

She felt like she did when she was trying to revise something she didn't really understand. Frustrated. Angry. But most of all, scared, clammy-palmed stomach-churning tears-prickling-behind-glasses scared that she was going to screw up this time. It was like that now, just more intense. She, she had to do something. She - another shot, Chisato this time, making little whimpering sounds - Kiriyama had glanced round the door and then, casually, like he knew he'd dodge the bullet, moved back again.

She should run in there and just spray him with bullets until he stopped moving. She was pretty sure he didn't know she was there. If he did, she suspected she'd be dead.

She should stay where she was rather than making some stupid last stand, idiotic heroics only got you killed, wasn't that what the Greater East Asian Republic taught you?

Yuko was crying, shaking. Satomi could hear that she was wailing stop, make it stop. Chisato kept trying to glance round even though it wasn't safe, and she was intoning, "It's all right, Yuko, it's all right, it's all right -"

"Just - just fuck off, why don't you?" Haruka yelled over the edge of the table. "You're outnumbered and if - if you stay we're going to kill you -"

"What did we ever do?" That was Chisato. Her hands were shaking so much it looked like she was on the verge of dropping the gun. "We wouldn't ever -"

"Sorry," Yuko was crying, "so sorry -"

Satomi bit down hard on her lip and thought if this goes on any longer they'll all crack, they'll panic, he'll kill them, he'll - I don't want to - I - Over behind the sofa, Yuka was tearing bits off her skirt, tying them roughly round Yukie's wound. Yukie didn't seem to notice, though. She was struggling to sit up. She must have heard the yelling too. She must know it was all about to go wrong.

She -

She was staring at Satomi, and then she was pulling at Yuka's sleeve, whispering to her, inaudible under the gunfire. Yuka looked round, saw Satomi, and then, swallowing, nodded, and made a small gesture at Satomi. Like she was - like she was catching something.

Satomi got it. From the sofa, someone would have a clear shot at Kiriyama, who was unguarded by the door from that angle. Especially if he were distracted by someone moving on the stairs.

Funnily enough, it was easier to do something dangerous when you knew you weren't the only one risking it. She waited. She waited until Chisato and Haruka were shooting out their last few bullets. Then she ran. She dived through the door and hurled the Uzi in Yuka and Yukie's direction, diving to the ground as she did so. Bullets chipped the door as she did, followed her down, then stopped, he'd realised, he'd worked out -

And then there was the rattle of the Uzi and smoke and Yuka was screaming, the kind of scream that you do on a rollercoaster, and Kiriyama was jumping and twitching in the hailstorm of blood and Yuka was just firing and then she stopped, she dropped to her knees, laughing and sobbing at the same time. Yukie put her uninjured arm round her, was frantically whispering.

Kiriyama was still twitching. He'd dropped the gun he'd been holding, and Satomi forgot, for a moment, about the risks, and was just sure that someone like him would have other weapons, or would reach for the one he'd dropped while everyone thought he was dead, Yuka had made her watch enough horror movies that she knew the cliches. And then she was running. She was running forward, the floor was sticky and she kept kicking bullet casings out of her way, she was snatching up the gun inches away from Kiriyama's pale fingers and then -

No one else could do it, it wasn't fair to ask them -

She was pointing the gun at his head, and then she was pulling the trigger. It leapt in her hands, and Kiriyama leapt too, and then slumped back with a messy red thumbprint swelling just above his nose. The air really smelt bad now.

The others came over to her after a while, and Chisato took the gun out of her hands and Yuka, grinning shakily, said, "You and me, Satomi, we're the ultimate team," and then burst into tears, and Haruka fetched her some water, and Yuko timidly stroked her back, whispered it's all right, it wasn't sin, he was evil, it doesn't count. Satomi made herself turn her head, look for Yukie. Haruka was helping her onto the sofa, getting her to lie down. "Chisato, I think I saw a first-aid kit -" And, "Come on," Haruka was saying to Yuka, "let's get him - let's get it out of here -"

Yukie was still very pale, but she was smiling as Satomi knelt down next to her.

"You saved us," she said.

"It was your idea." Satomi didn't want to take credit for being brave. "And you were thinking sensibly after you'd got shot. You're the one who saved us."

Yukie laughed. "You know... you know me. I promised myself I'd look after you. And I hate not following through on... on things I've said I'll do."

Satomi smiled back at her, and was silently glad that at least one of them was strong deep down.



[Title] Walking in the Dark
[Fandom] Death Note/Saw
[Rating] PG
[Notes/Summary] Ide and Aizawa are both seeking payback for what Jigsaw has done to them. (For those of you who weren't witness to my little DN/Saw moments last year, all you need to know is that Jigsaw enjoys putting law enforcement officials in death traps, and this has thus far resulted in Aizawa being blinded and Ide being manipulated into killing Matsuda.)



When the phone rings, for the first time in days, Ide finds himself staring vengefully at it as if he already knows it'll be someone hissing murderer, you'll get what's coming to you. No one's said this yet, of course, but they don't need to.

Of course when he does answer, it's not that at all (and why would it have been? He's already proved he's useless at predicting events). It's Aizawa's wife, voice measured and calm, stating that Aizawa wonders if they could meet. She doesn't ask why didn't you offer to come and see him earlier? You knew what had happened to him but Ide finds himself blurting out defensively that he wasn't sure whether his former colleague would welcome the company or whether he needed time to recuperate. Then he realises he's sounding insane and, trying to pretend he's gone straight in at this more sensible juncture, says that he could come round any time they like. But she's already cutting in, explaining that Aizawa wants to come to him. "I'll drive him. When would be a good time?"

"Any time," he says - he's not going to make up prior commitments, he doesn't see why he needs to pretend that his life is so busy and exciting when Eriko knows full well why he's got so much free time. And so, barely an hour later, he hears their car pull up outside. He doesn't want it to look like he was waiting for them, either. Of course, he was. The sky is grey-white and very still, it's been like that all day. Like all the weather has been burnt away by something.

Footsteps and then a knock on the door and he opens it to see Aizawa and Eriko standing there. He looks at Aizawa first and he catches himself thinking that's not right, he's supposed to be blind, and then realises that of course it's glass eyes and then he can tell, he can realise that Aizawa can't see him.

Eriko touches her husband lightly on the shoulder and says that she'll go back downstairs, wait with the girls. Ide watches her walk away and then realises he doesn't want to look at Aizawa. The man's eyes aren't seeing anything, they aren't focusing on anything, he just stands there and then at last he says, wrenching out the words, "It's some time since I've been here, all right? If you don't want me to walk into the nearest wall -"

Ide wants to say I'm sorry but he thinks that might only make it worse, and so he just mutters "Right... sure, this way -" and guides his friend over to the table. Aizawa is tensed, furious; Ide's tempted to rationalise that he clearly didn't want to see any of his colleagues but that doesn't make it any better that Ide never offered.

"You want some tea or anything?" he says at last.

"No. Thanks."

"If Eriko wanted to come in - I don't mind -"

"I told her not to," Aizawa snaps. "Besides, Yumi and Youko are with her."

"They are?"

"Yumi won't stay in the house on her own, and she isn't back at school yet. We had to bring them."

"Well... I don't mind," Ide says, not knowing how else to respond.

"That's not the damn point, they don't need to be here. I wanted to talk to you about Jigsaw."

It's the most obvious topic of conversation, but Ide still hears himself snap, "I'm not exactly in the loop on this, why didn't you talk to someone who hasn't been suspended pending investigation?"

"Because I wanted to speak to you," Aizawa snaps, and Ide so very nearly says because you don't want anyone else to see you like this? But manages to bite it back just in time. If he were in a more charitable mood, he could be grateful anyone still wants to talk to him after what he did. He isn't in that sort of mood, but it doesn't mean he can afford to lash out.

"Why?" he says instead. "You know my death-trap-related horror story." You remember. You managed to gouge out your own eyes in order to save your family, and I shot Matsuda in the heart because I couldn't think what else to do. And he knows Aizawa wouldn't be here simply to boast that he'd done better in escaping almost-inescapable traps, but he'll think it, they'll all fucking think it, you get to be a hero -

Aizawa sighs. At last, he says, "You know they think there's a mole in the police. That's how Jigsaw knew about me and my family. That's how he knew about you. And Matsuda."

"I guess that makes sense." Actually, he hadn't thought about it before, but it's better than the perception, always at the back of his mind, that Jigsaw is some kind of all-knowing god who can find out anything he wants.

"You know you're one of the suspects?"

"What?"

"They're wondering if you're connected with him." Then, evidently picking up on the disbelief, he carries on, "oh, for god's sake, look at it from their perspective. You go into a trap and you come out with no more damage than a burnt hand. Your colleague doesn't survive because you were apparently made to shoot him -"

"I know all this, all right? I'd hardly have forgotten it!"

"I'm just saying, it doesn't look good."

"Why the hell would I have gone along with a plan like that?" Ide can hear his voice shaking; he grits his teeth. "You'd think I'd have at least made an effort to make it look like something else killed - I admitted it to your face, why would I -"

"Stop it," Aizawa says, wearily. "I know it wasn't you. I... I wanted..."

"You wanted to hear me say it?"

Aizawa shrugs.

"Well, if you've decided I'm not working with a homocidal maniac, do let me walk you back down to your wife, if that's all you -"

"I came," Aizawa says, cutting him off, "because I wanted to ask you to help."

"Help? Help with what?"

"I want to -" Aizawa stops, and actually smiles. "I was going to say I want to see that bastard dead, but I suppose that's not an option any more."

"You want him to pay for everything he's done?"

"Yeah. I can't -" He swallows. "They aren't going to -"

"They don't want you back, and they don't want me back. That's it, isn't it?" Ide feels himself smiling now, bitter, humourless. It's an odd thought to realise Aizawa can't see it. "But you're too pig-headed to quit now."

"I can't." Aizawa sounds numb suddenly, numb and tired. "I can't just let this be it, I - he's still out there, damn it, he could be walking down the street, he could be looking at me and celebrating how he's got me off the case and I wouldn't even know -"

"All right," Ide says, because he can't bear to hear his friend sound so hopeless. "All right, I'll help you. You're not going to be able to do it alone, that's for sure."

Aizawa nods.

"Just don't get us put into another trap. I can do without any more disfiguring injuries."

Aizawa laughs, but they both know it's probably not a joke. But that doesn't matter. They've got to take some steps; they can't just quit the game. It sounds like a line from one of the bastard's creepy recordings, but that's appropriate, isn't it? Do nothing, and you'll die.



[Title] Communication Problems
[Fandom] Avatar: the Last Airbender
[Rating] G
[Notes/Summary] Longshot wants to fix things on his own, but Smellerbee isn't going to let him. (NB: I have never actually seen the show; this was written as a request for dapperzombie. I hope any canon errors aren't too glaring.)



Longshot knows that he isn't going to win the argument, and he also knows there isn't much time left, and so he starts to walk away. Behind him, Smellerbee gives a sort of yelp of rage that he's actually taken the coward's way out, and then he hears her running up to him, and she scurries round to block his path, hands on her hips, glaring up at him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

He doesn't even bother to explain; it isn't as if she doesn't know. Her mouth twists into a scowl, and, stretching up so that her face is very close to his, she snaps out, "You are not going to do this on your own."

He doesn't really have a choice, does he?

"I don't care! I don't care whatever anyone else said or whatever you're s'posed to be doing. If you're going out there, I'm coming with you."

It's -

"And I swear if you say it's too dangerous I'm going to break your nose! Since when has anything ever been too dangerous for me and not for you?"

It isn't like that, though. It's not that he thinks she's weak. He knows she's not. But this is his fault. She's always despised people who expect others to clear up the mess they made, hasn't she?

"Okay," she says. "First off -" Holding up one grubby finger. "You're not expecting me to do anything. You weren't even going to tell me about this til I beat it out of you. Second, I also despise people who take the - you know, the moral high ground, and won't help their friends because the problems aren't their fault. That's not the point. You're their friend, that's the important part. And third -" She swallows suddenly, runs her hands through her tangled hair. Longshot waits, but she just bites her lip, looks sideways. In the end he has to ask her what? He's never seen her at a loss for words before.

She scowls, shakes her head. "Third - you're being dumb. You know perfectly well I'm going to win this fight, so you may as well just give in, 'cause I've already vowed I'm not going to let you go alone."

He wonders why that took her so long to say.

"I was thinking of the perfect insult. Now, are you going to let me come with you, or will I have to headbutt you and drag your unconscious body there?"



[Title] Clues Gleaned From Music
[Fandom] Battle Royale
[Rating] G
[Notes/Summary] On the first night of the Program, Kaori Minami hides and tries to find hope. Written for anbyrobanby, who requested Kaori's-descent-into-madness fic.



It was dark in the house, but that was okay. Kaori just told herself that she'd wake people up if she switched the lights on. It was like that at home, because their apartment was so small - you were quiet and you only made noise or light if you had to. Not to mention Grandpa went to sleep early so it was important to be quiet after about nine-ish -

She swallowed, rubbed a hand across her eyes. Didn't want to think about Mum and Dad and Grandpa. Hadn't really wanted to think about home but now she was and everything was all breaking up inside her and it hurt -

No. No, no. Dark in the house, but it's okay, it - except it wasn't, because she couldn't walk around in case she bumped into stuff because this wasn't her house - she'd trip or knock something over and then they'd hear her because because they were looking and -

She drew a deep shaky breath, huddled over a little more. Found herself holding her locket; it dug into her palm and hurt but that was okay too, it made her think about worrying over exams, or bullies, or nightmares. Normal things. She'd happily be back in the classroom knowing Souma couldn't do anything more to her than call her pizza face and take her money. Here Souma could do anything. Souma had cut a boy, everyone said so and and Kaori was so scared and you couldn't possibly go on being this scared, you'd -

No. No, no. Look around. She was in someone else's bedroom, crouched by the side of a bed. The sheets were still on it, although they smelt just of damp air now. The night was silent and, and maybe everyone else had hidden too, and so she stood up, looked properly round the room. There was a little cupboard, a CD rack on it with a few CDs still left there. They'd moved everyone out, hadn't they? Kaori figured if the government told you that you had to move you wouldn't get to take all your stuff, but it still seemed hard luck that the owner of this bedroom hadn't got to take all their CDs. If someone told Kaori she had to move there was no way she wouldn't take all her Junya CDs and her posters and stuff no matter how cross her mum got about it. Perhaps whoever had slept in this bedroom had liked Junya too, perhaps they'd been sad they had to leave the CDs behind. That would be a sign, right? That people weren't really bad, they were just like her. She was standing by the little cupboard and because she had the gun in one hand she had to let go of the locket with the other but that didn't matter, because there would be -

- there would be -

- there weren't any. Any Junya CDs. Just blank ones, not even music, no Galaxy Magnum or Flip Side Flip Out or anything and her hands were shaking and she'd knocked the little rack onto the floor now and the CDs shone up at her, whoever had lived here was nothing like her, she didn't get to live here, she didn't get to live, she only got to die -

She thought she might right there, die of fear or something would come out of the shadows and all she'd be able to do was scream. But it wasn't like that. Just as she thought she was going to faint, she found herself clutching her locket again, and the edges dug into her hand and it was all right - it was all right. She was standing here next to a square of moonlight and the CDs shone up at her like eyes and she had Junya in her hand. She wasn't going to die. It, it, you had to be brave. Junya was always brave. No. No, no. She was going to be okay. Junya had promised.



[Title] Measures of Success
[Fandom] Battle Royale (movie)
[Rating] G
[Notes/Summary] Shinji, Keita and Yutaka wait to find out the results of their high-school entrance exams. Written for rushikayu13, who requested pre-movie Keita interacting with people.



"Ready for this, Iijima?"

Shinji was acting way too smug for someone who was about to find out their exam results. Still, it wasn't like Keita didn't have experience in dealing with his friend's arrogance, so he just shrugged and said, "What, the awe and fame that'll come when they find out I beat the great Mimura at something? Yeah, I reckon I'm ready to cope with the change in lifestyle."

"I don't care about beating Mimura," Yutaka said from behind them. Most of his face was muffled in a large scarf - the day was chilly - but what was visible was pale and nervous-looking. "I just want to pass."

"You'll be fine, midget," Shinji said. "You're the one out of the three of us who actually studied."

"I studied!" Keita said.

"No, you didn't."

"I sort of did." Actually, he'd worked his ass off, but you never admitted that kind of thing to Mimura, because he'd start telling you how you shouldn't take things so seriously. Unless you were Yutaka, of course, who expected people to mock him and seemed grateful that at least Shinji didn't do it with real malice.

"Yeah, yeah." Shinji shoved his hands in his pockets, stared around at the sea of jittery students milling around the results boards. "Okay, time's a-wastin'. Let's get this over with." It was that last bit - coupled with a nervous grimace that he normally only wore when Souma threatened him or someone in the town got arrested for anti-government behaviour - that tipped Keita off. Shinji Mimura was just as nervous as him and Yutaka, for once.

"Chill out," he said, throwing an arm round Shinji's shoulders and resting his other elbow on Yutaka's head. "We made a vow, right? We're going to the same high school, 'cause Mimura needs us to deflate his swollen ego once in a while and we need him to... wait, why do we need him?"

"To elevate your meagre existence to levels of awesome you couldn't even dream of without me," Shinji said. "Or, in Yutaka's case, to reach things unfairly placed on high shelves."

"Hey, in high school I hear they have stepladders. Your days may be numbered."

"Will you stop talking crap and get moving?" Shinji said. "Yutaka looks like he's going to throw up on his shoes."

Keita's about to come back with another smart remark, but all at once he realises he wants to get this over with as well. It's all very well to try and spin out the moment when you're still friends at school together for as long as possible, but then it just makes you feel worse if it turns out it was your last one.



[Title] Light of the Living Dead
[Fandom] Death Note + zombies
[Rating] PG
[Notes/Summary] Matsuda looks back on the events of the zombie plague.



Matsuda goes to the graveyard with a bag full of flowers.

The subway journey is quiet, and above ground it's even quieter. A lot of people don't go to graveyards any more. The grass is damp under Matsuda's feet, and above him the sky is white and empty. He can hardly hear the sounds of traffic and real life.

Misa's grave already has flowers on it; purple tulips, probably from Sachiko and Sayu Yagami. In the first few weeks after she was buried, people left stuffed toys on her grave, too; keyrings; charms. Matsuda thinks she would've liked that. They've stopped doing it now, and sometimes he wonders if maybe he should leave something other than flowers, but he's too old to act like a teenager, really. Sometimes he wants to tell everyone it was her. She died and then right that second, all the zombies fell down and they were just dead people again. She saved all of us. But then that would cause questions. And also, in his head he always wants to add it was going to be me. I was happy for it to be me. She just ran in - and you can't say that. There's a lot you can't say, really.

At Aizawa's grave there are flowers, too; white lilies. There always are and Matsuda figures there always will be, because his wife and kids managed to survive even though he never made it to them. Matsuda leaves flowers because he feels he should; he and Aizawa got on each other's nerves all the time but to not leave flowers feels like a snub. He'd like it if people left flowers for him. And it kind of makes him feel a bit less horrible if he thinks of Aizawa complaining about how the flowers are wrong or don't match or have inappropriate meanings, which is probably true. Matsuda's never been any good at remembering the symbolism stuff. Aizawa probably wasn't either, but his wife might know, she might have told him. And now he's just standing here thinking about flowers because he wants to put off going to the third grave and that's pathetic and so he turns, gritting his teeth, and walks to it.

There aren't usually any flowers on Ide's grave except the ones Matsuda leaves there. He doesn't know if he's supposed to. He doesn't know if there's a flower which means this was all my fault and I don't know how to make it any better. It isn't as if Ide was the kind of person who even particularly liked flowers. They probably came under the heading of romance in his head and therefore weren't something he'd care about. He feels sort of bad coming here at all, like he's trying to kid himself leaving flowers makes it okay, or that Ide isn't really dead. He tries not to talk to himself, at any rate. The first few times he came here, he thinks he talked a lot, he babbled and defended himself as though Ide were waiting for him and scowling at him and about to call him a murderer. He can't remember exactly what he said, but he thinks he was too loud, and he knows other people gave him nervous looks and took different paths through the graveyard to avoid him. Now he's got more self-control, and now he knows it's pretty scummy to pretend someone's still alive just because you're the one who killed them.

So he just stands here, and once he's got over the initial hurt it isn't so bad. Just him and the grave and the flowers and the damp grass under his feet.

Visiting the dead is easy. Visiting the living isn't so much. Near managed to talk Mello out of killing Raito, arranged to have him imprisoned somewhere where no one would ask questions about him being Kira. They'd had to have his arm amputated, as well - removing the zombies hadn't cured people who'd been in the process of becoming one, and Raito's arm had, as Mello said, become gangrenous. Apparently Raito had been "very upset" about the amputation. Raito had probably been very upset about a lot of things.

Sometimes Matsuda is glad that Raito's very upset. Sometimes he thinks that if he went to see him, it would only be because he wants to see someone more miserable than him. That's a pretty horrible reason to want anything, right?

Sometimes he thinks that if he went, it would be to look for signs that it was a mistake, that Raito wasn't Kira, that he cared when Misa died, that he's still the wonderful young man the Chief was so proud of. Or at least to get an apology, to see some regret. But why should Raito have to apologise when Matsuda murdered someone else to keep him alive? How is Matsuda any better, really? They said Raito was screaming, accusing everyone of failing him, of people lying and manipulating and ruining everything. A garbled accusation that Matsuda shot his colleague doesn't mean much, especially not since the building containing the HQ was declared a contaminated zone and off-limits to the public. Probably a lot of people did things they aren't proud of now, whether that's thinking Kira's not so bad or killing others because they panicked. Probably everyone's got a dirty little secret now. It doesn't make Matsuda feel much better, though. But he vowed he was going to keep coming to the graves, and maybe some day someone will ask him why.



[Title] Fealty
[Fandom] Merlin
[Rating] G
[Notes/Summary] Merlin considers swearing an oath of loyalty. (NB: I have only seen about a third of this show, so my apologies if something in this doesn't fit.)



Arthur became even more of a prat whenever a new knight of Camelot swore fealty to him. Not in public, of course; in public he was the decorous, solemn heir to the throne who Merlin had difficulty believing the existence of in their day-to-day life. But after all the ceremony and the toasts and the hundreds of candles lit he'd come back and grouch and complain about whatever he could find (in one memorable case, that Merlin was breathing in an irritating fashion, although even he looked shamefaced after he'd said that).

Not that Merlin minded; after all, if he got grumpy every time Arthur acted like an idiot, they'd never get anything done. But in addition to that, he thought it was that Arthur just didn't like the ceremony of it. It wasn't that he didn't know the knights would serve the Crown and it wasn't that he didn't welcome their loyalty, it was just that (probably) he would've preferred it if it didn't have to be spelt out. Which made sense really. Similarly, Merlin didn't want to have to tell Arthur you know I'm going to stick by you, okay? You do know that? It would be embarrassing and he'd find himself adding even though you are a prat, or Arthur would reply well, you can't be more of a danger to yourself and others with me than you'd be without me, or there'd be stupid hats involved, or Gwen laughing behind her hand, or Morgana saying afterwards I think you must have bewitched him, Arthur, or someone attempting to kill Arthur in the middle of it and mayhem breaking out.

So he only found himself swearing it when he wasn't really thinking about it, when he was concerned about something, or was walking in the darkness with an almost burnt-out torch, or thought he heard a footstep in the corridor where there shouldn't have been one. It probably didn't count as a proper vow, but Merlin often didn't manage to do things properly, so it didn't matter.



[Title] Shake the Winner's Hand
[Fandom] Akira
[Rating] PG-13
[Notes/Summary] Yamagata is impressed by Kaneda's fighting prowess.



"Fuck. Dude. That was... dude." The tall, gangly guy tried to sit up, then slumped back onto the tarmac. "I haven't lost a fight since grade school."

Kaneda tried to adopt a smug expression, rather than the look of someone who was carefully testing all his teeth with his tongue to make sure they were still attached. "Well, what can I say? I don't give up easy."

"Damn straight." The guy - Yamagata, that was his name, the preceding fifteen minutes of violence had driven trivial details like that out of Kaneda's head - "So, from now on, it's cool, okay?"

"Sure."

"No, I mean... it's cool. I mean, I got your back." Yamagata managed to sit up this time, rubbed his bloodied hair out of his eyes. "Okay? You got any trouble from anyone, I'll take 'em out for you. I'm good at that."

"S'okay." Kaneda picked at the hot ground, at the little stones and cigarette wrappers. "You don't owe me anything -"

"Hey, that ain't what I said. It's not like I owe you. I wanna help you out, is all, if you need help. No one else ever beat me, so I figure you gotta be worth it."

"Well..." Kaneda glanced round at him. Yamagata's face was smeared with blood and dirt, but under it he was wearing an expression of vaguely truculent sincerity. "Well, sure. I can always use people watching my back."


[Title] Pre-Wedding Jitters
[Fandom] Battle Royale (AU in that Class B never go on the Program)
[Rating] G
[Pairing] Shuuya Nanahara/Yuka Nakagawa
[Notes/Summary] Yuka discusses her unease about being a bride.



"I'm gonna mess it up," Yuka said, a nervous grin on her face.

"Hey, hey, who says you're gonna mess it up?" Shuuya smoothed back his hair. "You're getting married to Shuuya "The King" Nanahara, am I right?"

"I don't remember "The King" being on any official documentation, but yeah."

"Your mother's decided I'm not a shameless poser even if I do wear too much hair gel."

"More fool her," Yuka said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Ms Ryoko thinks you're a lovely girl because she hasn't heard your inexhaustible supply of your mom jokes. And Yoshitoki swears blind he hasn't lost the rings."

"Yeah, Shu? You may have noticed I said I'm gonna mess it up. Not the living-together-and-having-kids stuff!" she said hastily as Shuuya's eyes widened. "I mean, okay, there might be a bit too much zombie talk and jokes that kids won't get, but I figure you're gonna screw it up just as much as me with your anti-establishment line."

"So what exactly are you going to mess up?" Shuuya said. "I'm trying to understand here, but -"

"All that wedding stuff. The solemn bit. I can feel it." Yuka started pacing the room, twisting her fingers together. "All the girls'll be sitting there crying, and my mum'll be sitting there crying, and my dad'll have his manly tears face on, and I'm wearing that stupid dress that makes me look like an origami napkin -"

"You look great in the dress, I told you!"

Yuka sighed, and slumped onto the bed, staring at her hands.

"It's just not me, okay?" she said in a very small voice. "I don't do fancy important ceremonies."

"Hey..." Shuuya sat down next to her, put an arm round her. "First off, it doesn't matter what happens in the ceremony as long as we're all legal at the end of it. Right?"

"Uh-huh."

"And second, it's not like they're not all going to get their chance to go to other weddings. You've got two little brothers. Plus I happen to know Yoshi's going to pop the question to Noriko as soon as our shebang's all over and done with."

Yuka snorted. "Yeah, Noriko'll do it properly."

"I was going to say," Shuuya said, yanking playfully on her ponytail, "that I hooked up with you because you're you. I don't do ceremonies either, not generally. They're too much an instrument of The Man. I mean, damn it. Mimura's not even gonna come to ours, but that doesn't mean I think any less of him."

"Mimura's not gonna come because he thinks he's gonna get arrested," Yuka said, but she snuggled against Shuuya a bit.

"Yeah, and that's his own fault, am I right? I like my friends 'cause they're my friends. We just have to do this wedding bit to keep everyone else happy. And besides, if you go wahey! when they say I can kiss the bride, I certainly won't blame you."

Yuka giggled. "Okay. It's a deal."



[Title] Hopes for a New Year
[Fandom] Death Note
[Rating] PG
[Notes/Summary] As 2010 begins, various people resolve to do better this year. (I wrote this on 1st January 2010, which pleases me perhaps more than it should.)



New Years' Resolutions, 1st January 2010

Go outside at least once every week Sayu wrote in her head. Say something to Mum every day, even if it seems pointless. And not wear the same clothes more than two days running.

Catch Kira by March! Matsuda scribbled in the brand-new diary his mother had bought him. Stop watching TV at work when it's not directly to do with work. Keep desk tidy and stop spilling coffee on everything. Get a girlfriend by June.

Stop talking about inappropriate subjects with Matsuda at work Ide noted down on the back of an envelope. In fact, stop talking about inappropriate subjects with Matsuda, full stop.

Not making any other resolutions until Kira's dead, Mello scribbled in marker pen across the bathroom mirror. So fuck you.

Finish Hotel Dusk Matt typed in his LiveJournal. Seriously, it's been two years now since I started that thing. Don't get mixed up with the Mafia again. Cut back on cigarettes and put money towards new console. Stop letting my mate talk me into situations that'll get me killed. Oh, and ease off on the one-night-stands with beautiful women, it's just greedy ;)

Re-establish contact with Mello post completion of Kira case in order to establish reasonable co-operation between us, Near dictated to Rester. Also, spend less money on customised figurines. Off-the-rack toys which act as representations of central personae in a case are just as conducive to analysis.

Rethink career goals Rester silently promised himself.

Get Mochi to teach me to cook better, Misa wrote in her pink fluffy notebook. Stop biting nails. Only have one sugary snack per week. Make sure Raito does not forget about getting married. Stop letting Kiyomi Takada see how mad I am with her and instead be all classy and cutting so she knows I'm not threatened by her. Cut down to one shopping trip a fortnight and put money into account for our kids!! <3

Make it clear to Yagami that I will only keep our relationship on our current level if he agrees to end things with Amane Takada noted down in her Filofax. Work with Yagami to solve problems if Amane proves difficult. Be on-track for promotion by July if this is still required by then. Be politer to Amane in public. Start reading one (good) novel a month, if time permits. In general, behave more in way which will befit my forthcoming role.

No need to make resolutions for this month Mikami scrawled in the diary where he had tracked progress of life goals since he was nineteen. God's return imminent. Only aid him in his work.

Raito didn't bother to speculate on resolutions; he didn't see how he could possibly improve.



[Title] Real Heroics
[Fandom] Death Note
[Rating] G
[Notes/Summary] Matsuda used to dream of being a hero.



When Matsuda first started on the Kira case, he dreamed of being the one who'd make the winning connection, or get the key piece of evidence, or do something reckless and cool that saved lives. He imagined how people would congratulate him, how pleased the Chief would be, and how he'd explain it in court, modestly, with appropriately formal language, having sworn to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and then his heroism would be written up in transcripts and kept on file forever.

In the end, he achieved his moment of recklessness, but the Chief was already dead, no one else wanted to look him in the eye if the topic of Kira came up, a trial was impossible, and swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth didn't seem possible any more.

Comments

[emeraldsword.livejournal.com]

I liked the Merlin one - love the idea of Arthur complaining about the way Merlin breathes (incidentally, there is an ep in season one where he complains about the way Merlin smacks his lips, that's very pleasing). Nice and understated, good job.

[tallulahgs]

Yay! I was worried it would be uncanonical in some basic and embarrassing way. Thank you! <3

[dapperzombie.livejournal.com]

swHa0[-9ojrwgmtraklhtaehyr.

Okay. Okay, one at a time.

FIRST. It's a followup to the Eye-zawa fic! huzzah! The thought of a man with two glass eyes is incredibly disturbing - even moreso when it gets personal and you know they can't see (I.E., when Aizawa was at the threshold to Ide's place and needed a hand walking around.

SECOND. Nooooo Aizawa died D: D: The afro is always supposed to win, darn it! *shakes fist at zombies*

THIRD. I loved the interaction between Shinji, Yutaka and Keita; from what I've gleaned off your past BR fic, it felt very natural for them.

THIRD. wait I mean FOURTH. I dunno why, but the "you beat me in a fight, you have my respect" schtick always makes me happy. Sorta like the base communication from one man to the next without using words or sly telepathy as Longshot (probably) does.

FIFTH. I recognized a running theme of people who don't like doing things ceremoniously here. And I would love for my bride-to-be to yell "WAHEY!" upon the "you may now kiss the bride" part.

SIXTH. Matsuda's enthusiasm in his resolution is adorable.

SEVENTH. Oh man, oh man. I absolutely loved your take on Bee and Longshot! There weren't any continuity flaws that I could spot, but as the pair had only a little bit of canon associated to them...yeah, you've heard all this before, the point is I LOVED it and thank you for writing it. :3 I also have to thank you for helping me shape my style in such a way as to be able to express what Longshot is conveying without relying on written word and having other characters translate for him all the time. :D

[tallulahgs]

FIRST: ... DAMN YOU for making me remember that particular pun. You are a terrible, terrible person. But I'm glad you liked the fic and remembered its predecessor ^^

SECOND: I'm sorry! ;_; I had to kill SOME of the task force, otherwise it would look like I was rigging the game!

THIRD: Aw, thank you. I like writing those three.

FOURTH: I was trying not to make it too schmoopy; I'm glad you liked the archetype there.

FIFTH: Yeah, I guess there is a theme, isn't there? ^^

SIXTH: *hugs Matsuda*

SEVENTH: Yay! :D :D I'm really glad you liked it - I enjoyed writing it, especially the way Longshot articulates stuff. Happiness all round!

[dapperzombie.livejournal.com]

asdrgh53rQ Schmoopy is an epic word.

[tallulahgs]

I KNOW :D