![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
sharp pain in the neck
Title: sharp pain in the neck
Fandom: Bungou to Alchemist
Character(s): Naoya, Shigeharu
Pairing(s): None
Genre: Drama
Word Count: 680
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: minor violence
Summary: Naoya does not like dealing with alternate versions of himself.
Notes: Inspired by this fanart by norisuke63. Egged on by certain people who know who they are.
Naoya doesn’t believe in anything he hasn’t seen with his own eyes.
This makes dealing with alternate versions of himself a pain in the neck.
If it hadn’t been for Musha, he doubts he could have ever convinced the student version of Shiga Naoya that he was telling the truth. (As always, Musha gets people to go along with him as easily as he breathes.) It’d be easier to just avoid any other Naoyas that pop up than try to explain their situation again.
Besides, there are, what, sixty authors in the library now? Even if he does run into a copy of one of them in this white book while he’s lost and separated from the group (which only happened because this castle doesn’t have real lights installed) odds are it’s not going to be him. He’d have an easier time dealing with an alternate Musha, or Ryuu, or anyone but-
“Hold it.”
Naoya hears his own voice from behind him, and silently reminds himself not to tempt fate.
“Turn around.”
Even if Naoya thought he had to run, and he doesn’t, he’s in a straight hallway of the castle with nowhere to hide. He turns.
It’s clearly himself that’s glaring at him. No matter how dimly lit the castle is by candlelight alone, he wouldn’t mistake his own face.
“You’re bold to try to imitate me in my own castle.” The duplicate stares him down. “I would commend you for your bravery, but it’s outweighed by your stupidity.”
“It’s just a coincidence,” Naoya says, resisting a sudden urge to step backward. “I don’t plan to stick around longer than I have to, so. You don’t have anything to worry about from me-”
“Don’t bother.” The double steps forward; Naoya realizes he didn’t hear footsteps behind him before. “In recognition of your feat in getting this far, I’ll allow you to choose your last words.”
This close, Naoya can see the expression on the other’s face. It’s not one that he’s ever worn himself. Without a sound, he draws his sword.
In less than a second, he has his sword knocked out of his hand. Then he’s on the floor and a foot is on the back of his head.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve to make me mad, human.” The other sounds exactly like him and nothing like him at all. “I haven’t drank from a human in a long time, but if you thought you would get away with invading my home and wearing my faces, you were wrong. And I have been missing the taste…”
Now, far too late, panic hits in full. Naoya struggles to push himself off the ground. When he does manage to (is allowed to) pull his head out from under the vampire’s foot, he only barely manages to stand up before he’s being shoved (no, that implies effort, and it doesn’t take the other more than one hand to render him helpless-) against the wall. Did those gleaming white fangs just appear or had he missed them the whole time? Why didn’t he wear a collar that was harder to pull aside? The vampire drags his teeth over the side of Naoya’s neck before biting down, and all Naoya feels is a sharp pain as he starts to drink-
-and then recoils, spitting out ink rather than blood.
Naoya doesn’t wait for the vampire to recover from the unpleasant taste. He runs as fast as his legs can carry him, holding a hand over the bitten spot. He still doesn’t know where the other authors are, but anything is better than sticking around.
It’s a relief when he spots Shigeharu. Naoya nearly tackles the poor guy in a hug, and Shigeharu awkwardly pats him on the back until he lets go. “Sorry, it’s just been a really, really long five minutes. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“I understand,” says Shigeharu, looking a touch less bewildered. “You don’t need to worry.”
Naoya lets out a sigh. “Let’s find the others and get out of here.”
“Of course.” Shigeharu smiles. “Sir.”
Fandom: Bungou to Alchemist
Character(s): Naoya, Shigeharu
Pairing(s): None
Genre: Drama
Word Count: 680
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: minor violence
Summary: Naoya does not like dealing with alternate versions of himself.
Notes: Inspired by this fanart by norisuke63. Egged on by certain people who know who they are.
Naoya doesn’t believe in anything he hasn’t seen with his own eyes.
This makes dealing with alternate versions of himself a pain in the neck.
If it hadn’t been for Musha, he doubts he could have ever convinced the student version of Shiga Naoya that he was telling the truth. (As always, Musha gets people to go along with him as easily as he breathes.) It’d be easier to just avoid any other Naoyas that pop up than try to explain their situation again.
Besides, there are, what, sixty authors in the library now? Even if he does run into a copy of one of them in this white book while he’s lost and separated from the group (which only happened because this castle doesn’t have real lights installed) odds are it’s not going to be him. He’d have an easier time dealing with an alternate Musha, or Ryuu, or anyone but-
“Hold it.”
Naoya hears his own voice from behind him, and silently reminds himself not to tempt fate.
“Turn around.”
Even if Naoya thought he had to run, and he doesn’t, he’s in a straight hallway of the castle with nowhere to hide. He turns.
It’s clearly himself that’s glaring at him. No matter how dimly lit the castle is by candlelight alone, he wouldn’t mistake his own face.
“You’re bold to try to imitate me in my own castle.” The duplicate stares him down. “I would commend you for your bravery, but it’s outweighed by your stupidity.”
“It’s just a coincidence,” Naoya says, resisting a sudden urge to step backward. “I don’t plan to stick around longer than I have to, so. You don’t have anything to worry about from me-”
“Don’t bother.” The double steps forward; Naoya realizes he didn’t hear footsteps behind him before. “In recognition of your feat in getting this far, I’ll allow you to choose your last words.”
This close, Naoya can see the expression on the other’s face. It’s not one that he’s ever worn himself. Without a sound, he draws his sword.
In less than a second, he has his sword knocked out of his hand. Then he’s on the floor and a foot is on the back of his head.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve to make me mad, human.” The other sounds exactly like him and nothing like him at all. “I haven’t drank from a human in a long time, but if you thought you would get away with invading my home and wearing my faces, you were wrong. And I have been missing the taste…”
Now, far too late, panic hits in full. Naoya struggles to push himself off the ground. When he does manage to (is allowed to) pull his head out from under the vampire’s foot, he only barely manages to stand up before he’s being shoved (no, that implies effort, and it doesn’t take the other more than one hand to render him helpless-) against the wall. Did those gleaming white fangs just appear or had he missed them the whole time? Why didn’t he wear a collar that was harder to pull aside? The vampire drags his teeth over the side of Naoya’s neck before biting down, and all Naoya feels is a sharp pain as he starts to drink-
-and then recoils, spitting out ink rather than blood.
Naoya doesn’t wait for the vampire to recover from the unpleasant taste. He runs as fast as his legs can carry him, holding a hand over the bitten spot. He still doesn’t know where the other authors are, but anything is better than sticking around.
It’s a relief when he spots Shigeharu. Naoya nearly tackles the poor guy in a hug, and Shigeharu awkwardly pats him on the back until he lets go. “Sorry, it’s just been a really, really long five minutes. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“I understand,” says Shigeharu, looking a touch less bewildered. “You don’t need to worry.”
Naoya lets out a sigh. “Let’s find the others and get out of here.”
“Of course.” Shigeharu smiles. “Sir.”