It took about a day for Aiko to regret what she’d done. It hadn’t even been like her. Why had she been so- so imperious and offended?
(She knew. She knew the answer, and it scared her.)
But there was nothing to do about it now. The only thing she could do was decided if she wanted to involve herself.
Objectively speaking, the Senju were the aggressors in this situation. The Uchiha were defending themselves against a spurious accusation.
‘But I really only kno...
2023-06-27 20:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The first thing she did was take careful steps backwards, away from the impending confrontation. The mugger's wary attention was split between her and the new mask.
…because he knew where she'd come from.
Ji Min felt a cold sweat.
'He was going to rob me because he knew I came from that conference. He's looking for expensive equipment. Pretty much everything in this bag is illegal for me to have. I wish this hero would mind his own business.'
The hero alight...
2023-06-26 00:00:01 +0000 UTC
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CHAPTER 19
Things felt less bright after Izuna went home. She laughed less and she couldn't relax. Izuna had acted like her social equal, and it had been refreshing.
'He's meant to die soon,' she reminded herself. It was not the first time. 'That's the famous dead brother that prompts the founding. Maybe this upcoming battle is when he dies.'
It left a bad taste in her mouth. Was it really right to stay out of this? Was it necessary?
Aiko went about the next f...
2023-06-25 02:04:30 +0000 UTC
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Six conference workers waited at a long table in the entryway, in black vests and with hair slicked back. Ji Min strode in on a direct path to the woman that would have her ticket. Alex shuffled behind her, doing a passable job of looking like a lackey.
Of course, the issue with that was it didn’t make much sense for a cat burglar to have a regular oafish lackey. If someone asked her what she kept Alex around for, she didn’t actually have a very good explanation. He didn’t even kn...
2023-06-19 00:14:00 +0000 UTC
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They made it a few miles before Ari brought up the elephant in the car.
“So,” she said conversationally. “You’re a criminal?”
Ji Min cringed and thought about covering her face with her hands. “Do as I say, not as I do?” she tried.
Ari sighed. “You’re not even doing something cool, are you?” It wasn’t really a question.
“I’m a cat burglar,” Ji Min defended. “That’s pretty cool.”
Ari blew a raspberry.
“What’s ...
2023-06-11 20:00:01 +0000 UTC
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“They’re not going to show up,” Ari predicted darkly.
Ji Min nudged her with her elbow and didn’t say anything.
“Why would they? It's only their last chance.” Ari bitterly scanned the crowd, mouth pressed into a thin line. “I am going to lose my shit if they don’t bother to come. We drove two hours to be here.”
Ji Min didn’t waste her time looking for their parents, instead typing up a response to Alex. He was pretending that he didn’t want to attend th...
2023-06-04 21:00:02 +0000 UTC
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When she finally bounded up the last incline and saw a temple on the top of that particular mountain, victory was so sweet that she could have cried. Beaming, Aiko walked under the gates and called ahead to announce her presence.
It was nearing dusk, so it must have been a surprise to the monks to hear a visitor. After nearly a full minute, a tremendously elderly man with a curious expression strode out to see her. As he walked up, the scent of his dinner wafted off of his simple r...
2023-06-01 02:15:33 +0000 UTC
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They were in a meeting room before the hour was up. The energy was palpable from her end of the table. Alex was all but bouncing in his seat and she wasn't much better.
When Alex gave a giddy little smile in her direction, Ji Min couldn't help but return it.
He didn't react. She blinked for a moment at how cold that felt.
Belatedly, she remembered the mask thing. Ji Min gave an awkward little 'yay" motion with her hands to make up for the lack of nonverbal communica...
2023-05-28 21:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The rest of training was a sweaty mess of early mornings and carefully managed schedules. She got better, and fast. Ji Min got a vicious sort of satisfaction out of tossing Hodge and then later Alex around in the gym.
He hadn't been exaggerating, though. He was a lot better than she was at hand-to-hand. That made every time she got the drop on him so much more satisfying.
Her list of skills to acquire was getting pretty long, and not much had been crossed out. She'd scratch...
2023-05-22 12:59:01 +0000 UTC
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CHAPTER 19
Things felt less bright after Izuna went home. She laughed less and she couldn't relax. Izuna had acted like her social equal, and it had been refreshing.
'He's meant to die soon,' she reminded herself. It was not the first time. 'That's the famous dead brother that prompts the founding of Konoha. Maybe this upcoming battle is when he dies.'
It left a bad taste in her mouth. Was it really right to stay out of this? Was it necessary?
Aiko went about the n...
2023-05-17 10:21:09 +0000 UTC
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Ji Min and Ari made no progress on the lingering question before she had to leave. How could they? Ji Min did manage to confirm that it only worked one way. She couldn’t hear anything that Ari thought at her. But she tested it. Ari rattled off the numbers that Ji Min thought, even when they weren’t in the same room.
“You’re so loud now,” Ari complained. She rubbed at her face. “You’re shouting at me all the time. You didn’t do that before.” She was wan and dark circles...
2023-05-15 13:10:01 +0000 UTC
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Appa groaned. The sound was so low that it vibrated in Yue’s chest. She held on to the Sky Bison’s luxurious fur just a little tighter. Her whole body was shaking with adrenaline and joy.
“He loves me,” Sokka shouted, body twisted to grin at her from the front where he held the reins. “Appa and I are great pals.”
The Sky Bison rumbled again and dipped lower.
Sokka let out a yelp.
Katara snickered. She had a practiced hand on the rim of the saddle and was st...
2023-05-10 06:59:01 +0000 UTC
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"I really do recommend officially on boarding."
Ji Min was worthy of being described as 'heroic' for not snatching her badge and stalking off at that point.
'Would they give it a rest? Why say we can be anonymous if they're going to badger at every opportunity?'
Ms. Reeds went on, "Not only would you draw a salary as an employee, rather than a contractor, but you'd have access to top quality medical care at facilities across the country."
Withholding medical c...
2023-05-07 20:00:07 +0000 UTC
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CHAPTER 18
Modachi-sama had been the warning before a flood.
In the next three days, the village was hit with a wave of visitors. Izuna grinned and bore it. He had to stay out of sight as much as possible. It was mainly because he was recognizable as an Uchiha, but his vanity was a little wounded as well.
“Who were these ones?” He picked up his rice bowl and shoveled in a huge mouthful.
The priestess regarded him with reluctant amusement. “People who wanted me to...
2023-05-02 21:00:01 +0000 UTC
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The rest of the workweek passed in fits and starts. After her last appointment on Thursday, Ji Min checked her app for the dozenth time just that day. No. She still hadn’t gotten contacted by the other thief. She slumped over the wheel for a while, tired and disappointed. She wanted to know what was going on. Ji Min always wanted to know what was going on.
She stewed in it for a while, feeling sorry for herself.
"You know what would make me feel better?" She asked hers...
2023-04-30 21:00:03 +0000 UTC
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CHAPTER 13
The work day was long and bitterly cold. Yué stopped in her tracks as soon as she got outside, stunned by the chill. She took a moment to brace herself and then pushed on to where she would be meeting one of the non combat oriented Masters whose calling was the preservation of their city.
Despite the uncommonly cold day, the city was alive with motion. She passed open stores, practice halls, and the bustle of hundreds of people on their way to work. A group of men was ...
2023-04-25 20:02:00 +0000 UTC
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“Aniki,” Izuna shouted. He flung the door open. “Get your shoes on! We’re going to fight the Senju.”
Something broke inside the house. “We’re what,” Madara roared.
Izuna scampered back out to the street. He’d come back for his kodachi later. Maybe he ought to get his repaired armor now. He turned to the blacksmiths-
And then a hand grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. He sputtered. “Madara!”
“Hikaru,” a voice corrected, and...
2023-04-25 20:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Hammer was on the news again. Ji Min controlled her expression as she took another muffin from the hotel breakfast bar.
"He's so generous," someone said behind her.
Her hackles went up. He was a showboat, she wanted to say. He was a dramatic hack with bulletproof self assurance and way too much leniency from the media.
"be donating to rescue operations, and you all should too.” He made a weird, cheerful hand gesture that she didn’t pretend to understand. “That asi...
2023-04-23 20:00:01 +0000 UTC
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“Girls, wait on the cushions. Fumiko, Hana, with me. Kakuzu-san, please watch their retainers.” Aiko turned to the last person waiting for instructions. “Pretend not to be here,” she said bluntly.
Izuna mimed receiving a wound. She ignored him and went out to meet the extremely nervous courtier who had come to pay his respects. She could feel Izuna move to obey her, a little sulky but not protesting. He slipped through the woods behind her shrine and circled around to approach a...
2023-04-18 20:59:00 +0000 UTC
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"I need to postpone basic training," Ji Min texted. She was leaning up against the kitchen counter. "Work is sending me out of state." Somewhere outside, a child shrieked. She could hear the beeping of a crosswalk.
The response came quickly. "For how long?"
"Two weeks," she texted back. The prediction she'd been given was 1.5, but these things almost always ran long. Besides, it was best to lie. She hadn't given them her identity yet. Any accurate information was a clue.
2023-04-16 15:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Five days after the Avatar took Hahn off on what was surely an ill-conceived training trip, Yué woke up late for her hairdressing. She rushed out of bed to meet Kovra, apologies on her tongue.
Kovra waved them off, but she seemed preoccupied with some thought as she began the complicated process of arranging Yué’s hair for the day. It was a relief when she broke the silence.
“We haven’t met in a while, us girls,” she said. The tone was casual. Yué instantly knew it wasn...
2023-04-11 21:01:01 +0000 UTC
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“Girls, wait on the cushions. Fumiko, Hana, with me. Kakuzu-san, please watch their retainers.” Aiko turned to the last person waiting for instructions. “Pretend not to be here,” she said bluntly.
Izuna mimed receiving a wound. She ignored him and went out to meet the extremely nervous courtier who had come to pay his respects. She could feel Izuna move to obey her, a little sulky but not protesting. He slipped through the woods behind her shrine and circled around to approach a...
2023-04-11 21:00:01 +0000 UTC
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"I shouldn't kill you," Gene said thoughtfully. "Hammer doesn't like it much."
Ji-Min relaxed. And then he withdrew his gun and she was a lot less relaxed. "That would kill me!" She threw her hands up. "Don't shoot."
"Naw," he said. He pointed it at her and pulled the hammer back. "Bang bang." She saw his finger pull back.
She dodged in a roll. She heard something hit the wall behind her.
"You're fast," Gene said. It wasn't a compliment. He fired again.
2023-04-09 21:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Tanjiro's mother, Furi-san, had returned from her family visit with three wide-eyed nieces in tow. Aiko accepted them into her shrine with only a squirm of nerves in her stomach.
She was officially a guardian and mentor to real human children. Horrific.
The first thing she was going to do was clean them and have them put in fresh clothing, because they were travel worn and probably sticky in general.
If she had to guess, the youngest was around 7, and the oldest was 12. That...
2023-04-04 18:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The next room was huge, a blunt crescent shape with enormous models of planets. She caught the motion as Hammer's face turned to look at a particularly large one, but he sprinted back towards a dome. She didn't notice which model he'd been looking at.
She was hot on his heels. He took the stairs two at a time and she did the same. He reached the wall and wheeled around. She saw the whites of his eyes widen as she brought the baton up.
He dodged.
It hit the wall with a s...
2023-04-02 22:00:01 +0000 UTC
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You can expect to see Ji Min every Monday for the next few weeks, and the Wednesday fanfic is going to switch between Aiko content and Wolf Moon, with little Aiko previews on Wolf Moon posting days. I'm very happy to share that I am currently working more than a month ahead, working on May!
2023-04-01 09:00:25 +0000 UTC
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"Priestess," he greeted. His eyes creased in a smile. "500 talismans, as requested."
Aiko blinked.
What, already?
"Sorry that it took so long," he said, stretching like a languid cat. His eyes were far too soulful. He was waiting for his compliment.
"Thank you," she said, because she had manners but hated to make a man happy. "May I see?"
He straightened and reached into the pouch at his side with his left hand. He held something out, clenched fingers down.
2023-03-29 05:32:43 +0000 UTC
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Five days after the Avatar took Hahn off on what was surely an ill-conceived training trip, Yué woke up late for her hairdressing. She rushed out of bed to meet Kovra, apologies on her tongue.
Kovra waved them off, but she seemed preoccupied with some thought as she began the complicated process of arranging Yué’s hair for the day. It was a relief when she broke the silence.
“We haven’t met in a while, us girls,” she said. The tone was casual. Yué instantly knew it wasn...
2023-03-29 00:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Ji-Min knew it was time to go when the sky went dark and then dotted awake again with thousands of neon signs.
She'd been popping gum and cycling through Hammer's messages all evening. It was obvious that something was going to happen. He'd been sending and getting enough ⭐✨ and 🌙 emojis that she knew whatever it was had been scheduled for after dark.
But the details?
"Jackshit," Ji-Min said sourly. She spat out her gum and crinkled it up in paper before t...
2023-03-26 22:00:01 +0000 UTC
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“Wow”. Katara breathed it reverently. Yué steals a glance under her lashes at the expression on the younger girl’s face, drinking in the awe there.
She knew exactly what Katara was feeling. The air was different here. It was heavy with the unspoken sacred. They were quite close to the palace but the air swallowed up any sounds from outside the narrow entryway.
Yué had never been comfortable here.
‘This is where I die,’ Yué thought, not for the first time. It...
2023-03-22 17:59:19 +0000 UTC
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