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nyandereneko) wrote2020-05-21 08:00 am
nyandereneko) wrote2020-05-21 08:00 am
Entry tags:
Black Out
Word Count: 2,281
Summary: A power outage strikes S4 HQ in the dead of night, plunging the distinguished building into darkness. Nova and Fushimi are left stranded in the shadows, ultimately deciding their best bet to combat this mess (really their only option) is to pinpoint the cause.
Author’s Note: A new K Proj fic after all this time?? Well, I can’t technically count this as entirely new, considering this has been in my drafts since last year. I kept putting off posting it because I get self conscious writing for/adding in other chara interactions, and I just worried that this premise was too embarrassing…but it’s actually really good and I want to post it so I’m going to lol. The mention of it being winter tells you just how long I’ve had this in the works. Just a cute little fic inspired by something that happened in one of the light novels (the previous event Saruhiko mentions at some point in the fic) with some additional character interaction thrown in…hopefully it really isn’t too awkward ^^’ thanks for reading!
“This is, like, the worst thing ever.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.”
She didn’t really consider her opinion dramatic, since the situation seemed that dire to her. An HQ wide power outage in the dead of night, and in winter no less, was truly deplorable to her. For someone who relied on technology so much not just for her job, but for recreation, she hated being trapped in a limbo without power, uncertain as to when the source would finally be restored. She knew there were probably already people working on it; it wasn’t like she was the only one that felt absolutely devastated in the face of losing electricity. But the initial shock of the building being plunged into darkness was more than enough to set her heart pounding.
Fushimi was as indifferent as always, viewing the situation more as an unwelcome nuisance than anything else. This wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with a predicament such as this, and he could think back on previous instances he’d suffered through that had been much worse than this one. Searching for a flashlight, or really anything they could use for a little illumination, he heard Nova’s anxious pacing as she traced a repeating pattern across the floor. Having no luck in his hunt for a temporary light source, he was beginning to consider turning to an option he rarely used, if ever…now would be as good a time as any. He didn’t know if it’d actually prove useful, since he’d never used it for something like this before, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to try. Besides, this particular ability had been getting a lot more exercise since she came into the picture, anyway.
Getting to his feet, he focused his Aura into one of his hands, engulfing it in a pulsating crimson light. It was getting to the point that he could manipulate his Red powers without even really having to concentrate…he wasn’t sure if that was for better or worse. The glow wasn’t as bright as he intended or expected, but it pushed back against the pitch-black shadows that had laid claim to every inch of the facility better than nothing. The sudden, subtle presence of the colorful luminescence instantly caught Nova’s attention, as if she’d completely forgotten what she’d been fretting over. She went to his side and examined his display with curious, captivated eyes. Following his example, perhaps she could do something similar with her own Blue abilities…she realized just how silly it was that she hadn’t thought of doing something like this sooner.
“That’s a pretty good idea,” she spoke aloud, partially as a compliment to him, and partially as encouragement to herself.
She wasn’t supposed to summon her Aura without orders, or through any other means than her sword, but she figured this situation was urgent enough to warrant emergency action. Even if it wasn’t, she’d already saturated her hands with the pale blue glow she summoned from within. If she was going to get in trouble for this later, that was fine; it wasn’t like she was going out and doing something disruptive or catastrophic with her powers. In Fushimi’s case, she wasn’t sure what the protocol was for the second Aura that he barely used, but she surmised that he probably wasn’t supposed to invoke it if he could help it. There was no use dwelling on such trivialities, though, and she waved her hands in front of her face a few times, observing the unique phenomenon she’d conjured all on her own.
“This is kind of freaky,” Nova commented in a slightly detached tone, distracted by her own peculiarity. “I mean, I don’t usually use it like this, or get to focus on it long enough to really see what it looks like up close. I guess I could do something like that in my free time, but I just never think about it.”
“You’re not supposed to think about it that way. It’s a weapon, not a party trick. That’s the point,” Fushimi chided as he headed towards the door. “I’m gonna go see if anyone has any idea how long it’s going to take to turn everything back on.”
She trailed along after him without a word, still staring at the fading traces of light that were left behind with each sway of her hand. Fushimi hadn’t really been thinking when he invoked his own power…Red was just what had come out, and he wasn’t sure that was such a good thing. Not that it mattered that he was getting more comfortable with the Aura he’d tried to reject, that he couldn’t believe had accepted him in the first place. Learning better control and discipline in every respect should have been a positive thing for him…and he didn’t know why he bothered letting himself get sidetracked by such unproductive concerns. The two strode silently down the hall side by side, bathing one half of the corridor in a soft blue light, and the other in a shimmering scarlet.
“How long does it usually take for the power to come back on around here?” Nova asked, moving a bit closer to him so she could link her arm with his.
The light in his hand sparked a little as she moved closer. “Usually not more than a few minutes, an hour or something at most. As long as it’s a normal one, that is.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckled under his breath, and now she was dying to know exactly what it was he knew that she appeared to be missing out on. “We got pranked one time…big time. I guess it wasn’t really a prank; it was more serious than that. But, looking back on it, I don’t think there’s anything more fitting you could call it. It was nothing short of a nightmare, simply because we got bombarded on so many sides, and it sent everyone around in circles. Anyway, the short version is that someone knocked out the power grid, and the backup power grid, and no one could figure out how to fix it. Everyone was panicked, and then the water system got spiked with sake—”
“What the hell?” her eyes widened in astonishment. “Who did you guys manage to piss off so bad? And how?”
“It wasn’t even really an act of retaliation so much as sabotage, an attempt to prove how shitty we were compared to the guy who was orchestrating all this,” Fushimi shrugged. “I got called back early from a business trip just to try to help pick up the pieces. Everything ended up working out, of course, but…I don’t think any of us will ever forget that fiasco. It was just so ridiculous, so over the top, even for this place.”
“I kind of wish I’d been here to see it, but I also can’t help being a little relieved that I wasn’t,” she admitted. “You don’t think something like that’s happening again, do you?”
“No, it’s probably just a bigger outage than normal,” he answered simply. “If it was something bigger, we would have heard about it by now. People would be mobilizing. And knowing what to expect, a problem like that would probably be nipped in the bud in no time, if it came about again. I think it’s pretty much impossible to make a fool of the Captain in exactly the same way twice.”
A situation where even the Captain was at a loss for what to do…it made Nova shiver. She couldn’t imagine a scenario where the man who seemed like he could control anything faced something beyond his control. Yes, he was still only human, but there was something about him even separate from his power that made him seem imposing and unstoppable. She was able to take comfort in the demeanor he so reliably projected, to stand behind it and know that even if things started to fall apart, nothing would ever be hopeless with him around. She couldn’t fathom what kind of chaos must have ensued once it appeared that what was happening was out of the Captain’s hands. But Fushimi didn’t speak like they’d lost in the end, and Scepter 4 was still here and standing strong, so somehow things must have come around. She was determined to hear the remainder of that story, someday, with the detail it deserved.
Coming upon a section of the hall where they needed to make a turn, a strange noise suddenly invaded the air. Nova stopped in her tracks, clutching the arm she was already holding even tighter, expanding the Aura in her hand just a tad to reveal more of their surroundings. She was easily startled and quick to react, and her response was nothing new to her companion. There wasn’t much that put him on edge, and he prepared to offer her the words of comfort she needed to keep going. He waited too long to act, though, as some unnerving, unknown creature unexpectedly appeared before them.
After letting out an ear ringing cry Nova hissed and jumped back, almost knocking her partner over in the process. Instinctively shifting into defense mode, she broke free from his grasp, which he’d tightened to try and keep her from tripping, and clawed at the foreign creature that had so unwisely descended upon them. The lights they’d been so carefully preserving were instantly dispelled, and the unsettled yells of whatever Nova had chosen to release her wrath upon mixed with the sound of her frantic swipes and threats. Fushimi swore he recognized those sounds and did his best to wrestle the frantic cat off of the culprit without causing more harm to any of the parties involved.
“Calm down, it’s just an idiot,” he clarified in agitation, waiting until she stopped squirming to let her feet touch the ground as he reignited his hand. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I was just on my way back to my room when the power went out,” the wounded, pitiful voice explained as its owner got back on his feet.
“You can’t just carry shit like this around in the middle of a black out!” Nova growled, whipping her tail in distress while her fur remained as puffed up as it could be. “I was ready to rip you apart, I thought that thing was some kind of monster!”
“It took me a long time to find this, you can’t destroy it!” the man Nova now recognized as her fellow squad member, Gotou, defended. He sheepishly pushed the obnoxiously large, unusual object behind his back.
“I don’t know how Hidaka lives with you in that room full of stuff like this,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “Just another thing to add to the pile. Can’t you keep this stuff anywhere else?”
“What’s going on here?”
Another voice chimed in from behind the trio, sending Nova into another minor heart attack. She clung to Fushimi’s coat, trembling a bit from the amount of excessive adrenaline that’d assaulted her system in such a short time. In the red light of Fushimi’s Aura, this individual looked like he could be the king of Hell himself. Everything about his presentation, and the way the light reflected off his form just right, encouraged said interpretation. But everyone present recognized him the minute they looked at him, not sure if they should feel relieved or tense in the face of this daunting figure.
“Nothing, we just…got tangled up,” Nova spoke first, her voice weak and a little shaky.
“I heard a scream and wanted to make sure everything was alright,” the Captain continued with an unwavering affect. “For a moment I almost thought it sounded like Domyoji.”
“No, I’m sorry. I was just…overreacting,” she admitted, ears flattening in dismay. “I got caught off guard.”
I know that’s not an acceptable way to react. She silently berated herself, finally starting to return to her senses. All this fuss over a scare that wasn’t even done on purpose. She couldn’t help herself when it came to the dark, or monsters, things that creeped and crawled and were out for blood. She’d never been very good with anything along those lines, as far from being a fan of most aspects of horror as one could be. Munakata had arrived bearing his own acceptable, normal light source, giving off an illumination that was much less atmospherically terrifying than the red Fushimi had been producing. The latter promptly extinguished the Aura in his hand before patting down some of the unrulier parts of Nova’s fur.
A meaningless little exchange in the middle of the night in the midst of an inexplicable power outage. Weirder things had happened, and perhaps this would one day be just another funny anecdote for them to share. Most importantly, there was no denying the comfort Nova felt as Fushimi stroked her hair or hugged her close. He put up with her even in the most extreme and unnecessary situations like this…as did the Captain, which she knew she didn’t deserve. But she appreciated their kindness all the same, a tolerance and acceptance she’d never known before.
Just when things seemed like they were calming down for good, another high-pitched yelp echoed through the halls not too far from where they were huddled together. The cause was unknown, but of course, they were sure to get to the bottom of it soon enough. Perhaps this evening was going to be more eventful than they’d anticipated…and that was fine, because just being around these people really did make Nova happy. The small collection of colleagues all exchanged knowing looks before sharing an amused chuckle.
“That’s Domyoji.”
Summary: A power outage strikes S4 HQ in the dead of night, plunging the distinguished building into darkness. Nova and Fushimi are left stranded in the shadows, ultimately deciding their best bet to combat this mess (really their only option) is to pinpoint the cause.
Author’s Note: A new K Proj fic after all this time?? Well, I can’t technically count this as entirely new, considering this has been in my drafts since last year. I kept putting off posting it because I get self conscious writing for/adding in other chara interactions, and I just worried that this premise was too embarrassing…but it’s actually really good and I want to post it so I’m going to lol. The mention of it being winter tells you just how long I’ve had this in the works. Just a cute little fic inspired by something that happened in one of the light novels (the previous event Saruhiko mentions at some point in the fic) with some additional character interaction thrown in…hopefully it really isn’t too awkward ^^’ thanks for reading!
_____
“This is, like, the worst thing ever.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic.”
She didn’t really consider her opinion dramatic, since the situation seemed that dire to her. An HQ wide power outage in the dead of night, and in winter no less, was truly deplorable to her. For someone who relied on technology so much not just for her job, but for recreation, she hated being trapped in a limbo without power, uncertain as to when the source would finally be restored. She knew there were probably already people working on it; it wasn’t like she was the only one that felt absolutely devastated in the face of losing electricity. But the initial shock of the building being plunged into darkness was more than enough to set her heart pounding.
Fushimi was as indifferent as always, viewing the situation more as an unwelcome nuisance than anything else. This wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with a predicament such as this, and he could think back on previous instances he’d suffered through that had been much worse than this one. Searching for a flashlight, or really anything they could use for a little illumination, he heard Nova’s anxious pacing as she traced a repeating pattern across the floor. Having no luck in his hunt for a temporary light source, he was beginning to consider turning to an option he rarely used, if ever…now would be as good a time as any. He didn’t know if it’d actually prove useful, since he’d never used it for something like this before, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to try. Besides, this particular ability had been getting a lot more exercise since she came into the picture, anyway.
Getting to his feet, he focused his Aura into one of his hands, engulfing it in a pulsating crimson light. It was getting to the point that he could manipulate his Red powers without even really having to concentrate…he wasn’t sure if that was for better or worse. The glow wasn’t as bright as he intended or expected, but it pushed back against the pitch-black shadows that had laid claim to every inch of the facility better than nothing. The sudden, subtle presence of the colorful luminescence instantly caught Nova’s attention, as if she’d completely forgotten what she’d been fretting over. She went to his side and examined his display with curious, captivated eyes. Following his example, perhaps she could do something similar with her own Blue abilities…she realized just how silly it was that she hadn’t thought of doing something like this sooner.
“That’s a pretty good idea,” she spoke aloud, partially as a compliment to him, and partially as encouragement to herself.
She wasn’t supposed to summon her Aura without orders, or through any other means than her sword, but she figured this situation was urgent enough to warrant emergency action. Even if it wasn’t, she’d already saturated her hands with the pale blue glow she summoned from within. If she was going to get in trouble for this later, that was fine; it wasn’t like she was going out and doing something disruptive or catastrophic with her powers. In Fushimi’s case, she wasn’t sure what the protocol was for the second Aura that he barely used, but she surmised that he probably wasn’t supposed to invoke it if he could help it. There was no use dwelling on such trivialities, though, and she waved her hands in front of her face a few times, observing the unique phenomenon she’d conjured all on her own.
“This is kind of freaky,” Nova commented in a slightly detached tone, distracted by her own peculiarity. “I mean, I don’t usually use it like this, or get to focus on it long enough to really see what it looks like up close. I guess I could do something like that in my free time, but I just never think about it.”
“You’re not supposed to think about it that way. It’s a weapon, not a party trick. That’s the point,” Fushimi chided as he headed towards the door. “I’m gonna go see if anyone has any idea how long it’s going to take to turn everything back on.”
She trailed along after him without a word, still staring at the fading traces of light that were left behind with each sway of her hand. Fushimi hadn’t really been thinking when he invoked his own power…Red was just what had come out, and he wasn’t sure that was such a good thing. Not that it mattered that he was getting more comfortable with the Aura he’d tried to reject, that he couldn’t believe had accepted him in the first place. Learning better control and discipline in every respect should have been a positive thing for him…and he didn’t know why he bothered letting himself get sidetracked by such unproductive concerns. The two strode silently down the hall side by side, bathing one half of the corridor in a soft blue light, and the other in a shimmering scarlet.
“How long does it usually take for the power to come back on around here?” Nova asked, moving a bit closer to him so she could link her arm with his.
The light in his hand sparked a little as she moved closer. “Usually not more than a few minutes, an hour or something at most. As long as it’s a normal one, that is.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckled under his breath, and now she was dying to know exactly what it was he knew that she appeared to be missing out on. “We got pranked one time…big time. I guess it wasn’t really a prank; it was more serious than that. But, looking back on it, I don’t think there’s anything more fitting you could call it. It was nothing short of a nightmare, simply because we got bombarded on so many sides, and it sent everyone around in circles. Anyway, the short version is that someone knocked out the power grid, and the backup power grid, and no one could figure out how to fix it. Everyone was panicked, and then the water system got spiked with sake—”
“What the hell?” her eyes widened in astonishment. “Who did you guys manage to piss off so bad? And how?”
“It wasn’t even really an act of retaliation so much as sabotage, an attempt to prove how shitty we were compared to the guy who was orchestrating all this,” Fushimi shrugged. “I got called back early from a business trip just to try to help pick up the pieces. Everything ended up working out, of course, but…I don’t think any of us will ever forget that fiasco. It was just so ridiculous, so over the top, even for this place.”
“I kind of wish I’d been here to see it, but I also can’t help being a little relieved that I wasn’t,” she admitted. “You don’t think something like that’s happening again, do you?”
“No, it’s probably just a bigger outage than normal,” he answered simply. “If it was something bigger, we would have heard about it by now. People would be mobilizing. And knowing what to expect, a problem like that would probably be nipped in the bud in no time, if it came about again. I think it’s pretty much impossible to make a fool of the Captain in exactly the same way twice.”
A situation where even the Captain was at a loss for what to do…it made Nova shiver. She couldn’t imagine a scenario where the man who seemed like he could control anything faced something beyond his control. Yes, he was still only human, but there was something about him even separate from his power that made him seem imposing and unstoppable. She was able to take comfort in the demeanor he so reliably projected, to stand behind it and know that even if things started to fall apart, nothing would ever be hopeless with him around. She couldn’t fathom what kind of chaos must have ensued once it appeared that what was happening was out of the Captain’s hands. But Fushimi didn’t speak like they’d lost in the end, and Scepter 4 was still here and standing strong, so somehow things must have come around. She was determined to hear the remainder of that story, someday, with the detail it deserved.
Coming upon a section of the hall where they needed to make a turn, a strange noise suddenly invaded the air. Nova stopped in her tracks, clutching the arm she was already holding even tighter, expanding the Aura in her hand just a tad to reveal more of their surroundings. She was easily startled and quick to react, and her response was nothing new to her companion. There wasn’t much that put him on edge, and he prepared to offer her the words of comfort she needed to keep going. He waited too long to act, though, as some unnerving, unknown creature unexpectedly appeared before them.
After letting out an ear ringing cry Nova hissed and jumped back, almost knocking her partner over in the process. Instinctively shifting into defense mode, she broke free from his grasp, which he’d tightened to try and keep her from tripping, and clawed at the foreign creature that had so unwisely descended upon them. The lights they’d been so carefully preserving were instantly dispelled, and the unsettled yells of whatever Nova had chosen to release her wrath upon mixed with the sound of her frantic swipes and threats. Fushimi swore he recognized those sounds and did his best to wrestle the frantic cat off of the culprit without causing more harm to any of the parties involved.
“Calm down, it’s just an idiot,” he clarified in agitation, waiting until she stopped squirming to let her feet touch the ground as he reignited his hand. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I was just on my way back to my room when the power went out,” the wounded, pitiful voice explained as its owner got back on his feet.
“You can’t just carry shit like this around in the middle of a black out!” Nova growled, whipping her tail in distress while her fur remained as puffed up as it could be. “I was ready to rip you apart, I thought that thing was some kind of monster!”
“It took me a long time to find this, you can’t destroy it!” the man Nova now recognized as her fellow squad member, Gotou, defended. He sheepishly pushed the obnoxiously large, unusual object behind his back.
“I don’t know how Hidaka lives with you in that room full of stuff like this,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “Just another thing to add to the pile. Can’t you keep this stuff anywhere else?”
“What’s going on here?”
Another voice chimed in from behind the trio, sending Nova into another minor heart attack. She clung to Fushimi’s coat, trembling a bit from the amount of excessive adrenaline that’d assaulted her system in such a short time. In the red light of Fushimi’s Aura, this individual looked like he could be the king of Hell himself. Everything about his presentation, and the way the light reflected off his form just right, encouraged said interpretation. But everyone present recognized him the minute they looked at him, not sure if they should feel relieved or tense in the face of this daunting figure.
“Nothing, we just…got tangled up,” Nova spoke first, her voice weak and a little shaky.
“I heard a scream and wanted to make sure everything was alright,” the Captain continued with an unwavering affect. “For a moment I almost thought it sounded like Domyoji.”
“No, I’m sorry. I was just…overreacting,” she admitted, ears flattening in dismay. “I got caught off guard.”
I know that’s not an acceptable way to react. She silently berated herself, finally starting to return to her senses. All this fuss over a scare that wasn’t even done on purpose. She couldn’t help herself when it came to the dark, or monsters, things that creeped and crawled and were out for blood. She’d never been very good with anything along those lines, as far from being a fan of most aspects of horror as one could be. Munakata had arrived bearing his own acceptable, normal light source, giving off an illumination that was much less atmospherically terrifying than the red Fushimi had been producing. The latter promptly extinguished the Aura in his hand before patting down some of the unrulier parts of Nova’s fur.
A meaningless little exchange in the middle of the night in the midst of an inexplicable power outage. Weirder things had happened, and perhaps this would one day be just another funny anecdote for them to share. Most importantly, there was no denying the comfort Nova felt as Fushimi stroked her hair or hugged her close. He put up with her even in the most extreme and unnecessary situations like this…as did the Captain, which she knew she didn’t deserve. But she appreciated their kindness all the same, a tolerance and acceptance she’d never known before.
Just when things seemed like they were calming down for good, another high-pitched yelp echoed through the halls not too far from where they were huddled together. The cause was unknown, but of course, they were sure to get to the bottom of it soon enough. Perhaps this evening was going to be more eventful than they’d anticipated…and that was fine, because just being around these people really did make Nova happy. The small collection of colleagues all exchanged knowing looks before sharing an amused chuckle.
“That’s Domyoji.”