Art by Teru on Dynasty Reader
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IRyS, Ceres Fauna, Nanashi Mumei - Romantic Oneshot
Requested by Joseph597us0101
Word Count → 4765 Words
Warnings/Notes → This chapter was requested so long ago and I am so sorry but I'm a top tier procrastinator. It's not that I didn't like the prompt, I just completely forgor about it for a rather long period of time.
Anyway, other than that we have a yandere warning. Seeing as there was no specific character requested I went this IRyS, Fauna and Mumei seeing as these three aren't together all that often. That and IRyS was the og character in this chapter and I just really love Faunmei so I just mushed them all together.
Reader is a poor, homeless intern because that's what was requested.
I think it goes without saying that you should not condone actions like this in real life. Additionally, this is a work of fiction and is not indicative of the people or characters affiliated with Hololive. (Fauna would never).
It's also implied Poly Council but I wanted to focus on just these three.
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You were tired as shit.
Scuffing your feet on the old path, you tugged your borrowed jacket a little tighter as the crispy Japanese winter air malevolently tormented you. Whorls of fog puffed evenly around your numb cheeks, small crystals of ice clinging to your fluttering eyelashes. You were just so thankful that the Holo office let you park in the privately owned underground parking lot - A chilly walk turned short enough that you could heat up nicely in your second-hand car.
It wasn't perfect nor glamourous, but you were lucky enough that A-Chan, Yagoo and the other managers alike were practically angels and paid you despite your position as an intern. Once again, it wasn't much, but it allowed you to afford fuel and food till you officially joined the crew and could be paid a little more than the meagre amount you were currently getting.
Flurries of snow were whipping around outside, dragging bouts of ice-filled winds directly to you like you'd cursed its mother or something. You cupped your gloved hands over your cheeks, brushing the flecks of frost that decorated your face away and trying to retain as much heat as possible till you stumbled into the side of your trusty vehicle.
"Ow, fuck..." You unlocked your car and made your way inside and the relentless winds finally ceased their assault. Not that they could hit you inside your car. Hopefully, that is. You did not have the funds to afford another car right now.
The engine sputtered to life, the heater quickly kicking in and thawing out your frozen extremities. The sudden flush made you sigh and shudder as you fumbled for another layer or two.
"Fucking Japanese winters. God, next time this year hopefully I'll be in an apartment and not living out of my car..." You lamented to yourself as if someone could hear you. Despite the fact you had literal gods amongst the ranks in your company, you found that higher-up deities in general didn't actually listen to prayers sent their way. They were just as lazy as the majority of humanity, and you couldn't really blame them.
'Jenma you angel, thank you for the curry..' You pulled out the container your colleague bought you. It was still warm, just like the inside of the car.
"Itadakimasu,"and you dug in, relishing the brief surge of heat from the subtle chilli. It felt nice to kick back, warm up and relax after a long day, shovelling mouthful after mouthful of curry into your awaiting jaws. After that it would be straight to bed, right after you dug out your stash of blankets and pillows.
But for now, you sat in the driver's seat eating warm curry and basking in the warmth of your car's heater. It wasn't perfect nor glamourous, but it got the job done.
💎
"You sure you'll be okay tonight? It's gonna be stormy," Jenma worried, one wing tucked around your rugged-up form. Her halo flickered as the winds bustled outside, rattling the windows. You couldn't help but notice the way her eyes darted around nervously. While you appreciated the thought, but you didn't liked to be babied. It was that belief that led you to getting this internship in the first place, but it was also the reason why you lived out of your car. You also didn't like to dwell on that thought too much.
"I'll be fine. 'M gonna be in the lot anyway, so it's not like I'll get rained or snowed on," You zipped up your work bag and took the jacket the angel had offered you before you left. Although, eyeing off the clouds brewing outside, you couldn't help but share the angel's anxiety. The coat was soft and warm with a few baby feathers stuck in the seam - It smelled of cinnamon and citrus shampoo, just like the angel.
"Besides..." You tugged on the seam off your borrowed jacket nervously, "that's not the thing I'm worried about."
Jenma quirked an eyebrow at your ominous and even somewhat cliché words.
"What's up?" She curled her wing a little closer, and for once you didn't mind the codling.
"Okay, it's just, I feel like I'm being watched," You whispered. You couldn't see anything through the curtain of feathers around you, but at least you didn't have the unpleasant feeling of eyes burning into the back of your head.
"You want me to walk you to your car? I'll buy you something hot from the seven-eleven," You hoisted your bag over your shoulder, finally ready to head out.
"That... Sounds nice."
You walked shoulder to shoulder with the angel. The building around you was oddly quiet, seeing as it wasn't that much past the usual closing time. Usually you loved the office - It was warm and kind, friendly faces everywhere and throughout the daytime it was the safest place anyone could ever be. But even then when everyone was there, you felt a pair of eyes on you at all times. At least with the office pretty much empty, there was no one to undress you with their eyes or something. The very thought heebied your jeebies to a very uncomfortable level.
So with a friend by your side and a hot meal from the seven-eleven, you shuffled back into the relative safety and warmth of you car tucked away into one of the corners of the third subfloor parking lot.
Just to be safe, you used one of your blankets to block the windows that weren't aimed right next to the wall. At least this way peeping eyes wouldn't be able to peer in on you while you slept.
That night, you dreamt of large birds.
🌿
You had a headache verging on the horizon.
Despite the warm meal in your stomach and the relatively decent amount of hours you'd slept, eye-bags still clung fervently to your face, and with them they carried a sense of annoyance and dread wherever you walked.
This was starting to get on your nerves.
"Are you okay?"
You nearly jumped out of your skin. The paper cup in your hand was not so lucky, as you immediately dropped it and spilled water everywhere.
"Oh shit-"
"Oh!"
The person in front of you pulled out a handkerchief and took your hands in their own, gently wiping them dry. The scent of mint and something sickly sweet like apple washed over you.
It was Fauna.
"Sorry about that," She chucked sweetly. Her palms were warm and soft against yours. Her nail polish was chipping around the edges like she couldn't give two shits about them. That, and it looked like her antlers were starting to wilt. You held your tongue, though. Not being sure about plant etiquette, you didn't want to say something that might offend her. Maybe it was something seasonal.
"'S fine," You mumbled. Sure, you may've technically been a part of management (huge technicality) but you were more affiliated with paperwork and behind the scenes crap rather than with the actual idols.
"Still, maybe I should've spoken up," Her eyes seemed to wander, "anyway, I wanted to ask if you were feeling okay? You're not looking so good," You flinched as her hand brushed against your forehead.
"I mean, I've been having trouble sleeping lately," You shrugged your shoulders, not sure what else to say.
"Have you been stressed lately? Eating well? Is your place draughty? You could be getting sick," You fumbled, overwhelmed. That last bit sounded a little too specific for your liking, but her sudden interest in your wellbeing made your gut churn uncomfortably. You could count the amount of times you'd talked face-to-face with the Keeper of Nature on one hand (it was like, twice), so her sudden interest unnerved you.
"I mean, a little stressed, been eating okay and my place isn't the best but I don't think I'm getting sick," Fauna backed off after a few more moment, giving you your personal space back. She gave you another once over, like she wasn't exactly convinced by your words.
Her hands fidgeted for a second, like she wasn't exactly sure what to do in this situation. Eventually, she reached into her pocket and pulled out two teabags.
"Would you fancy a cup of tea at least? My treat," Her eyes urged you to say yes. Even if you weren't usually good at reading people, something about her body language just seemed off - Her words were a little strained, too. Your eyes drifted from the two seemingly innocent teabags, to the way her hand was shaking and finally they landed on her golden orbs.
Something about them was off, and you found yourself squinting to stave off the very intruding feeling of someone trying to pry into your mind.
"I'm good, but thank you. I just... have paperwork I need to finish," You awkwardly stepped to the side, not missing the way her smile seemed to falter at the edges. You tried to avert your gave.
Fauna sighed.
"Please do tell me if you aren't feeling well, I hate to see my saplings suffer," With that, she was gone in a matter of moments. The smell of mint and apples lingered in the air making your head feel slightly fuzzy. You fumbled for your paper cup, only to step forward into a puddle of room-temperature water, wetting your sock through a hole in your worn-out shoe.
You were confused, but at least your headache was gone.
The smell of apples disappeared.
🪶
It was late.
The office was dark, slivers of moonlight dancing on the floor as it peeked through cracks in the curtains. A few far off lights flickered, and the building groaned. The night outside was eerily still and empty. The stars stared down at you, twinkling in the blanket of the night sky.
Usually if it was this late, you would've asked Jenma to walk to your car with you like she'd done so many times before, but she'd left the office early to get dinner with her girlfriends. Which was good for them, because if anyone needed a break it would've been Enma, Jenma and J-Chad. Still, you couldn't help but miss the company of your angel buddy walking side by side with you and the feeling of safety she seemed to carry. Something about her just screamed friend-shaped, and you doubted anyone would try to fuck with an angel that carried twin m4's on her person at all time.
'Three-hundred... Three-hundred and fifty! Cool, I got enough to buy some curry at least' The thought made your stomach rumble. At least you wouldn't have to rely on Jenma to buy you dinner. You liked to be independent.
You heard a creak from further down in the hallway. That made you pause.
'Shit.'
"Hello?" You grabbed your phone from your pocket, using the makeshift torch to peer into the darkness.
"Who?" Someone echoed back. You could see a silhouette standing just beyond the beam of light rather ominously. You felt your gut twist anxiously. With the amount of mythical shit you'd seen around the office, the chance of a demon coming to take you soul and kill you were low, but never zero.
"Oh hi!" Mumei stepped out of the darkness, squinting into the light.
"Oh, shit - Sorry, hi," You lowered the light so you could still somewhat see her, but you weren't blinding her. She waved you off casually.
"Berries?" She took a step toward her.
You opened your mouth to at least question her, but you felt her splay your empty hand open, emptying a few small spheres into your palm before walking past you, giving you a friendly pat on the back. Something felt off.
"Sleep well!" She chirped happily and walked off.
'What the fuck just happened?' You shone the light into your hand to see she had in fact given you three berries. Their red flesh shone almost painfully bright in the light of your phone. They were almost tantalising, twinkling cheerfully. You peered over your shoulder, even shining the light behind you, but Mumei had disappeared into the darkness. The thought uneased you, but then again, this was Mumei. The owl was well-known for her less than normal behaviours. You'd just write this off as another one of her weird instances.
You picked one of the berries between your thumb and forefinger. Buried in the red flesh was a dark seed.
'Huh, don't think I've seen a berry like this before. Wonder what it is?' You shrugged and chucked it in your mouth. Mumei may've been weird, but she wouldn't give you anything dangerous to eat - That sort've thing was more up Haachama's alley, and even then it was never intentional.
It was sweet, kind've like lychee. You choked a bit on the seed, accidentally swallowing it, but the aftertaste was pleasant enough. You pocketed the rest and left the building, making your way back to your car. It wasn't too chilly tonight, the air rather still and not delivering chilly winds right to you, but...
Where was your jacket? The one Jenma lent you? Did you leave it at your desk? You really hoped you did, because you didn't want to be the one to tell Jenma you'd managed to lose her jacket, even if you knew she wouldn't care. Whatever, you had enough money to buy some curry, so you'd be happy just to have something warm to eat and go to sleep.
That night, your curry dreams consisted of distorted, angelic singing.
🫐
You felt absolutely awful.
That morning you'd woken up to a rush of adrenaline. The feeling made your heart pound in your chest, startling you from deep asleep to wide awake in a fraction of a second. The next thing you felt was a wave of nausea. It swept over you like a tidal wave, from head to toe. Your stomach twisted painfully and you fumbled for the bin you kept tucked in front of the back seat. You wretched and swiftly emptied your stomach into it before collapsing into your makeshift bed, too tired to even grab your phone and call Jenma.
Everything was wrong. Your vision was wonky and just trying to focus your eyes made your throat constrict and your head hurt. You flopped your hand around, trying to find your first aid kit. The stupid thing had pain-killers, but even though you had it in your fingers, it kept slipping out of them at the last moment.
Your stomach hurt. You groaned. Shit, what would you tell Jenma? Actually, how would you tell Jenma? Forget about worrying the angel, you weren't certain you'd even be able to tell her in the first place. Something about that made your stomach hurt even more. How the fuck did this happen?
Instead of thinking or questioning, you just fell asleep again. Slipping back into unconsciousness was way easier than trying to figure anything out in your current state. Your thoughts were jumbled and jumping from one topic to another like an adhd riddled squirrel, but you could make out one distinct thought before the darkness finally enveloped you.
'What the fuck is going on?'
You were scared.
Mumei's berries were nothing more than a red stain in your pocket now.
...
The sound of knocking drew you from your sleep. Once again, your eyelids fluttered open that morning - Crusted over, weary and weak, but they opened once more and you immediately regretted it.
Your head was throbbing with a nasty headache, and you barely registered the sound of glass breaking and your door opening. Hands grappled you, looping around your arms and tugging you out of the car and into safety - More specifically, the safety of Jenma's arms. She really was your safe space, your best friend, almost family at this point.
Jenma's face was blurry through your half-closed eyes, all the colours she usually retained like the ashy blonde of her hair, the gold of her halo and the blue of her eyes swirled together and you couldn't for the life of you tell them apart properly.
Your head hurt.
The worried angel settled you onto the hood of your car, giving you something to rest on as you just focused on breathing. The cool metal felt pleasant on your sweaty body, except everything felt numb besides the rapid thumping of your heart.
Something was wrong - Very, very wrong. Vivid images floated in your mind's eye, things that weren't exactly there. The bright colours only made your headache (or was it a migraine?) worse.
You briefly held your breath, feeling everything slipping away till you finally exhaled. Then it returned full force. You kept up your weird fish gulping in order to cope.
You groaned and leaned against the first thing you could, which was Jenma's pristine uniform. Your friend nestled you against her shoulder, carding her fingers through your messy tresses as her angelic nature worked magic on you. It felt nice, something about her touch made everything around you melt and feel a little less painful to look at.
'Is this what dying feels like?' You decided if Calli showed up then you would be worried, but for now you just tried to keep your breathing steady in it's weird fish rhythm.
"Will they be alright?" Were the first words you heard once the fog in your head lifted. It certainly wasn't Jenma's voice. You cracked open one of your eyes and peered weakly through Jenma's blonde bangs, only to be met with a heterochronic pair of eyes.
IRyS smiled at you softly, cocking her head so her dark locks spilled over her left shoulder. Though the gesture was comforting, you could help but try and hide behind Jenma, because now was the perfect time to get social-anxiety.
"Hey, hey! Can you hear me?" Jenma helped stabilise yourself so you could at least look her in the eye. You blearily nodded.
"Cool, I got a shit ton of stuff to do, including calling you an ambulance, so IRyS is gonna wait here and take care of you, 'kay?" Jenma placed her hands on either side of your face, helping you look deep within her eyes. Something about their azure depths assured you everything would be alright.
You nodded weakly.
Jenma handed you off to IRyS, getting you settled against her shoulder. She was warm in a soothing way.
Nephilim's were like, half-angel, right? Something about her reminded you of Jenma, so you decided it was that. It certainly wasn't her smell or feel. If anything, IRyS was soft whereas Jenma was definitely muscular. Much like Kiara, Jenma was a warrior then a manager, so she was one hundred percent built. IRyS, on the other hand, slept for about ten thousand years before showing up for her new sedentary streaming job. She was decided not built, but you didn't doubt that she could also huck a semi-truck through a building if she was motivated.
She smelled like cherries and fizz, something like sherbet. And old paper. The paper part was subtle, but if you tilted your head so you were pressed against her skin, it smelt like old, crumbling paper. Biblichor, your brain chided, because for some reason you loved that word.
The sound of Jenma's hurried footsteps tapping against the asphalt made your head hurt again. It also covered the sound of another pair of footsteps - Ones that were much quieter and blanketed by moss.
Petrichor soon joined the smell of biblichor.
"How are they?" The smell of mint and apples invaded your senses, completely wiping away any other smell.
"Sick, no doubt they probably would've died if it weren't for us and Jenma," You thought IRyS wrinkled her nose - Her face did something like that, anyway. "How the fuck does Mumei dose up her berries like this?" IRyS tilted her head to look at Fauna. Mother nature gave her a closed-eye smile.
"I may've helped her a teensy little bit," She paused and placed a hand on your forehead. Even if you could've flinched away, her palm felt cool against your heated skin. At this point, you were sorely tempted to close your eyes again.
"They'll be fine," You soon heard tires roll and peel slowly against the road. Fauna and IRyS jerked their heads in the sounds direction. You could hear ambulance sirens in the distance.
"That's Meimei, we should get going," Like she was handling cracked porcelain, IRyS slid you into a princess hold, further solidifying your truck-hucking theory. You tried your hardest to open your eyes all the way, to see what the hell was going on because right now? Your brain was working at quarter speed. One moment you were settled against the hood of your car, and now your were being delicately placed in the back of a van.
"Oh, you can sleep if you want to," You didn't even have the energy to jump when you heard Fauna's voice right in your ear. Your system could only do that little jolt thing, kind've like when you dream you're falling, but you settled down soon enough. Fauna was doing something to your immune system - Healing it maybe. You'd seen Kobo trip and scrape her knee and Fauna went over and healed her up, right as rain with no trouble at all, maybe she was doing the same thing to your body? You couldn't help but feel grateful, even if your body was screaming 'DANGER' over and over again on high volume. You were too tired to care.
Still, the world around you wasn't right, violently shaky as you were adjusted. A plush warmth enveloped the right side of your head, and fingers threaded themselves through your messy hair. Like this, the smell of mint and apples were overwhelming, clinging to the back of your throat. It made you feel drowsy. The squishy pillow beneath you shuffled back and forth, and somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind, you knew what your head was laying on was not a pillow.
Across from you, two orbs floated, staring at you inquisitively, if not lovingly. One blue, the colour of wild oceans, and the other one... Your brain struggled to describe. You didn't really see that colour anywhere. Too dark and rich to be wine, but too red to be burgundy. It reminded you of cherry soda, for some reason. Or perhaps something else.
Something like the colour of Nephilim crystals...
You fell asleep.
💎🌿🪶
"How are they?" That was... IRyS?
"Coming to. Everything's out of their system, so it's only a matter of time now," Soft and gentle. Fauna.
"Got the paper work done?" IRyS again. You were tempted to open your eyes.
"Yeah yeah, everything's done.." You... didn't know that voice. It was familiar though.
"So Cover's none the wiser?" Deeper than the first three. You still didn't know this voice.
"Hope they're not put off by berries..." Was that Mumei? Her voice was soft and really close to your head.
"C'mon, wakey wakey~" Another voice.
"Don't annoy them, let them rest," Fauna again, she sounded closer this time.
"Feeling clucky, eh Faufau?" Who called Fauna Faufau? Also, clucky? Slang?
Someone else leaned closer to you, poking your cheek again. You felt the bed(?) dip under their weight, and the pleasant smell of toasted bread wafted over you. That and something spicy, like hot sand or space.
Space.
Sana... The others... Shit.
Was the rest of council here?
You really didn't want to open your eyes. What you wanted was to know what the fuck was happening right about now.
"Let's leave them. Let 'em sleep," Fauna announced.
A chorus of footsteps left the room, and you finally rested easy. It felt less oppressive without a chorus of overpowered women watching you. You let out a sigh of relief and tried to sit up. You struggled a little, most of your body felt like it had faint pins and needles. But after a moment you sat up and immediately hit your head on the headboard.
You hissed, but the pain felt nothing compared to the fear you felt when a pair of hands cupped your face.
"Oh hi!" You finally opened your eyes, only to see Mumei was right in front of you. You hadn't even noticed her weight settled across you.
"I knew you were awake. Owls have the best hearing of the animal kingdom. Not only could I hear your heart rate increase, your heart slows down when you sleep by the way, I also heard your breath hitch when you realised you weren't alone when you first woke up," Her eyes remained unblinking. You'd never noticed how owlish her eyes actually were.
They were round, slightly pulling at her skin in an inhuman manner. You could see the way her pupils dilated, the black swallowing the warm amber of her irises as she stared into your soul.
During all of this, you could only think of one thing. It kept repeating over and over like a broken record.
'Shit.'
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I don't usually write anything after I actually write the chapters, but I wanted to talk about a few things that happened here!
Mumei gave the reader a handful of yew berries. They're small, red berries that taste very sweet (like lychee apparently, but I've never had either so I can't attest to that). The only part of the berry that's actually dangerous is the seed, according to a quick google search apparently the flesh is safe to eat, but roughly one or two seeds is enough to kill a small child. Reader wouldn't of died from eating just one like they actually did, but they probably still would've got yew poisoning which is not pleasant, but it's also not fatal to an adult.
If you're a warrior cats fan, you'd probably know yew berries as deathberries.
Additionally, while I don't know this for certain, yew berry poisoning isn't as visceral as this (I belive, not 100% certain) Mumei gets Fauna's help to juice them up a bit and make them more potent! Her berry farm is more akin to a berry lab in this world.
At the end, the entirety of council + IRyS was actually there. In order of appearance (or talking or whatever): IRyS, Fauna, Bae, Kronii, Mumei, Sana.
Mumei was also correct, owls have freakishly good hearing, kind've like a fox. This is because a majority of owls have asymmetrical ears. In human form, I believe Meimei here would have symmetrical ears, however, considering I believe she's meant to be a barn owl, she would in fact have asymmetrical ears. Also, in some species, you can slightly see an owl's eyes through it's ear holes!
IRyS may be a Nephilim, but she's not exactly half-angel half-devil, but some secret third thing. She does, however, have similar abilities to both. Also, my personal headcanon that when the world is in relatively peaceful times and is not in need of hope, she just finds a nice comfy place (usually a cave deep below the surface of the Earth) and just sleep till the world needs her again in a nice, crystalline cocoon.
Jenma is an angel and she can heal through vibes alone. She's also the reader's best friend/found family. They both care for each other.