《CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT》
《WARNINGS: NONE》
《SEE END FOR CHARACTER VISUALS :D》
THE ALMOST SILENT SOUND of the jet’s engines provided just enough white noise to lull almost everyone to sleep. Having already been in the air for five hours, and being up for so long before that, the occupants in the cabin were utterly exhausted.
Resting in a plush chair, Shota watched the clouds pass by, the occasional flash from the jet illuminating the side of the wing. Glancing down at his wrist, he noted the time as 11:38 P.M which meant they would be arriving in Thailand at about 3 A.M. He knew that like the rest of the group, he should be sleeping, but he couldn’t bring himself to fall into a slumber.
He stood up, walking towards the phone that was installed in the front of the plane. The pilot peeked through the curtain before smiling politely, returning to the cockpit after investigating the room. Shota took the phone from the receiver, dialing in a number. He leaned against the wall, tucking his arm around his chest as he waited.
After the fourth ring, the phone was answered. A slightly unfamiliar female voice answered the phone. Shota straightened a little, recognizing the voice after a second.
“Hey, Heather,” He said. “It’s Shota. Has Naomi made it there yet?”
“Oh! Hey, Sho. No, Naomi hasn’t made it to the house yet. But she did call about a half-hour ago from the airport. She said she was going to catch a taxi here. It shouldn’t be too much longer before she gets here...oh...hold on a second..”
Her voice disappeared from the phone. Shota tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear, picking at his nails as he waited. He could hear muffled voices, and after about three more minutes, a voice answered the phone.
“Hello? Sho, you still there?”
“Naomi,” He breathed, a slight smile pulling onto his lips. “You made it there safe, I assume?”
“Yeah, I did,” She chuckled. “But let me tell you something. That damn taxi driver was so freakin’ talkative. He wanted to talk about everything under the sun! Well, I guess it would be the moon now. Anyways, have you landed yet?”
“No. We still got about four hours left,” He said. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Sho, babe, I’ll be okay,” She said, her voice softening on the other line. “I tossed my phone out in Japan, and we already made sure there were no trackers. Besides, I’m hidden up in the snowy mountains of Colorado. No one is going to find me. You need to be focusing on keeping yourself safe.”
“I know,” He said. “I’m just worried. I don’t want anything to happen to you on my account.”
“Hey, I signed up for it,” She said. “Through better and worse, hon. Your bullshit is my bullshit. I agreed to it when I married you.”
He chuckled quietly. “Yeah, yeah, you did.”
“Shota, just please be careful. Don’t do anything reckless. Don’t try and go after Neoma head-on, please for the love of fuck, don’t do that. I know that this is hard for you because of Neoma and your past relationship with her...but...that’s not the same older sister you had before. And you need to realize that.”
“I know, ‘omi,” He said, rubbing his eyes. “I know it’s not the same. And I’m not going to do anything stupid. I know what I have to do.”
“I don’t mean to nag,” She sighed. “I just want you to still be here when Y/n comes back. I want to meet back with you again. And I want you to take care of Gen. His mother is now dead, Shota. He needs his father now more than ever.”
“I know, honey,” He said, glancing back at Gen’s sleeping figure.
“How is everyone?”
“The kids are piled together and asleep,” He replied. “Satoru’s laying with Sora.”
“Is Gen holding up okay?”
“For the most part,” Shota muttered. “He hasn’t said much since he found out about his mom. Nobara’s been trying to cheer everyone up, but even she can’t keep her spirits up. I think seeing Satoru the way he is, is affecting everyone.”
“He’s miserable. Y/n’s..practically her last words… was for him to take care of Sora. And he’s gonna do that until it kills him.”
“I offered to help, but he just shot me down,” Shota said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“He’s going to do it himself. He had infinity turned on, and I didn’t even really hug him. When I kissed Sora on her forehead, I could feel it on her too,” Naomi said.
“He’s extending it,” He muttered. “He’s going to exhaust himself faster doing that.”
“Please just watch out for them, Shota. I know you’re going to be busy, and you won’t be able to call often, but do it when you can. I want to make sure all of you are doing okay. I know you don’t want to do it, Sho, but you’re going to have to be the support. No one else knows what to do, and I know you don’t either. But you’re the only hope anyone has left.”
“Okay, did I turn into Obi-Wan?” He asked, making his wife laugh.
“I’m serious, Shota!” She laughed.
“Yes, Princess Leia,”
“Sho!”
“Okay, okay, I’m done,” He chuckled.
Naomi sighed softly. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” He said. “But hopefully this won’t take forever, and I’ll be home before Christmas.”
“I hope so,” She said. Just by the tone in her voice, he knew she was messing with her ring. It was a habit she always had.
“Don’t sound so down,” He said. “I’m going to end this, and I’m gonna end it for good. I was... I was hoping that I wouldn’t be the one to kill her, but now that Y/n is gone, I’m gonna do it.”
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
“I won’t. I know my sister better than anyone,” He said. “I spent day-in and day-out with her. I know her technique, and I know her fighting style. I think...I know how to kill her.”
“Just...don’t regret it, Shota.”
“I told Y/n I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I lied. And I lied again. I’m not going to lie anymore. If killing Neoma is what it takes to get Y/n back, then I’m going to do it. She’s been put through enough.”
“Then do what you need to. But you need to get some sleep before you do anything,” She said.
“I’m not tired, ‘omi.”
“Yes, you are. I can hear it in your voice, Sho. I’ve been married to you for ten years, darling. I know you like the back of my hand,” She chuckled.
“Yeah, and I kinda hate that,” He laughed tiredly, rubbing his eyes.
“Don’t lie to yourself--” He could hear the grin in her voice. “--Get some sleep, babe. I’ll probably be asleep when you land, but at least call and leave a message. It’ll make me feel better.”
“I will,” He said. “Maybe I’ll actually sleep without you rolling on top of me the whole night.”
“You roll on me, dummy,” Naomi said. “I love you, Shota. With all my heart.”
“I love you too, Naomi,” He said. “I’ll call from the airport when we land. After that...I can’t promise when I’ll talk to you again.”
“Just don’t make it the last.
“I won’t,” He said.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Goodbye, ‘omi--”
“Don’t say that,” She said, cutting him off. “Don’t tell me goodbye, Haiyaku Shota. It makes me think you’re telling me bye for the last time. I won’t let you do that. I will only accept an ‘I love you’ and ‘see you later’.”
Shota cracked a small smile.
“Alright, then I won’t say goodbye.”
“I’m waiting.”
“Goodnight, Naomi. I love you. And I’ll see you later, I promise,” He said, adding emphasis to his words. “Was that good, my darling wife?”
“Perfect, my loving husband. I love you too.”
Reluctantly, Shota placed the phone back onto the receiver. He raised his hands to his face, wiping his face with a sigh. He left the front of the cabin, returning to the main area.
Gojo was standing up, shushing a fussing Sora quietly. Shota could see the distress in Gojo’s face as he relentlessly tried to calm her. She refused the bottle, trying to wiggle from his arms.
“Satoru,” He said, making the white-haired male look up. “Let me help you.”
Gojo stared at him for a moment before glancing down at Sora. After a few seconds, he nodded. Shota took the girl from him, taking the blanket from the chair. He wrapped her up and after a few moments of bouncing and soothing words, she had quieted to small hiccups.
Gojo sat down in the chair as Shota sat on the couch. Gojo sat forward, hunching over slightly. His elbows rested against his thighs as he laced his hands into his hair.
“I don’t know what to do,” Gojo admitted quietly, his voice breaking. “She’s gone, Shota, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do without her! I don’t want to do anything without her. Sora’s crying for her, and--and I don’t know what to do!”
“We’re going to get her back,” Shota stated firmly. “If it takes all of us to do it, then we’re gonna fucking do it.”
Sora settled in Shota’s arms. She took the bottle, looking up at the ravenette man. Gojo released a shaking breath, shaking his head.
“I can’t do it,” He whispered. “I couldn’t protect her! I promised so many times, dammit!”
“She didn’t tell you goodbye, Satoru,” Shota said, making Gojo raise his head, blue eyes glossy with tears.
“Y/n knows she’s coming out of that prison realm before a thousand years.”
《CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: END》
《HEADER IMAGE IS NOT MINE》
《Alrighty kids. Per many requests, I have taken some time and did a few doodles of some of the characters for the book. For now, I have Neoma, Shota, and Gen.》
《I'm also gonna include some information about them!》
《All art is MINE and it took SO long so please don't repost/steal/remove credits/etc. I haven't had this happen before, and I'm not too worried that any of you will do it》
《I'm gonna go I order of easiest to hardest to draw :) 》
《Also I'm experimenting with different styles, so if you guys could leave some feedback that would be greatly appreciated 👉👈》
《1. Neoma》
《Neoma was the easiest to draw just because I draw women so much lmao. I did color that portrait BUT it was so horrid that I deleted it and started over and then just stuck with black and white 💀》
《I seen this pose reference picture on pintrest and I was like this screams powerful bitch and my mind instantly went to her 😭》
《Altogether, the time was about 4 hours to draw her, mostly on the portrait》
《Neoma died when she was 23 years old, which would have made her 44 in the present time.》
《She was never married. Bitch stayed hot and single like me 😌🖐》
《She's 9 years older than shota, and 17 years older than Y/n and gojo》
《I designed her to be a total bitch but omfg I'd let her crush me like wtf miss ma'am》
《I'm so gay it hurts》
《2. Gen》
《I have a favorite and it shows asgsjauebwkzue》
《Gen is such a pretty boy istg. I love him so much. He was pretty easy to draw, but I CANT FUCKING COLOR CLOTHES AND FOLDS》
《He gives off that "I'll have your daughter home by 8 o'clock sir" in the first pic and "your daughter calls me daddy too" in the second one and idk how to feel about that 😭》
《But plz this boy is so shy he'd probably cry when he met your parents 💀》
《Gen's still 15, which makes him the baby of the second years <3》
《More will be revealed about Gen in the future》
《AKNEEWAYS—Gen is my favorite lmao》
《Just for his hair and all the coloring, Gen took about 8-8 1/2 hours to draw》
《And last but not least》
《3. Shota》
《I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT STLYE I LIKE MORE AND IT PISSED ME OFF》
《I HATE HOW I DID HIS HAIR AND HIS NOSE AND HIS EYES 》
《I DONT KNOW IF I LIKE FUCKBOY SHOTA OR BABY SHOTA》
《I was screaming in my room and my mom came in and she was like "wtf is wrong with you" and I showed her and she said I was being dramatic 😒》
《BUT yeah he was the hardest one to draw just because I'm used to drawing a lot of women or teenagers and not older men. Like I drew gojo a few days ago and he was so much easier to draw because he still looks like a fucking teenager》
《He was 8 when y/n was born and was 14 when neoma died. He's almost 36 now》
《He had Gen when he was 20 on a one night stand with his mother 🥲》
《He married Naomi when he was 25, and went against what his father said to do so. Naomi is two years younger than him, so she is 33 almost 34 in this book》
《Shota by far was the longest and took almost 9 hours to completely draw just for the simple fact that I I restarting and having to reconsider his pose and his facial features》
《Like the cat-eyes shape and the almond shape of his eyes makes me so MAD ASSDFGHDUDVEK》
《But these were just concept photos and I'll probably redraw them at some point》
《I also might draw Naomi if I have the time》
《I have a few more shitty sketches of the gang that I might post on my Instagram or tumblr [both are in my bio]》
《I tried to keep these ones as clean as possible just to make them look nice and I'm content with them [except shota FUCK YOU MAN]》
《Jk I love them》
《But I hope you enjoyed these concept arts》
《If you would like to support me, there's a link in my bio to my Ko-fi and you can purchase a coffee for $1 USD. You don't have to, but it helps me out each time, even if it is only a dollar :)》
《ANYWAY ENJOY AND ILL SEE YOU FOLKS NEXT TIME!》
《H.K☆》