a collection of all my writing for ni no kuni :] these are in order of newest to oldest - and i don't really publish my writing that often so i believe the quality will get worse pretty fast... but i'm still proud of a handful of my oldest fics so. go crazy i suppose
i've written quite a few things for nnk over the years. i hope you enjoy.
"I was told to let you know there will be a different guard stationed as your personal guard today."
That takes Marcassin off guard. His brow furrows, and he feels his heart beat a little faster. "Why? Has something happened to Captain Micah?" he asks, trying to keep the worry out of his tone.
"Well, he-" The guard pauses. "I don't know the details of it myself, Your Majesty," he says honestly, "but from what I understand, he's in the infirmary."
Marcassin stands straighter, his eyes going wide. "What?"
-
Micah catches a cold.
"Drippy-boy," says one of them, and he recognises him as one of his classmates from way back. He looks terrified. "There's a dragon."
"What?" Drippy hisses. "That can't be right."
"I know!" he hisses back. "But I'm telling you right now, there's a flipping dragon!"
Drippy looks up. And yes, there in the sky, he sees it - what does indeed look like a large, red and gold and silver, long-whiskered dragon. And he almost admits he was wrong, for a second; almost shouts at everyone to get back, as it comes ever closer, moving quick as lightning as it weaves through the air, almost runs to hide himself to hope it simply flies overhead. But then he catches the magic on the wind; the glowing sensation that he recognises, some of the strongest magic in existence: the kingswind. "That en't a dragon," he breathes, trying to make sense of it. If the kingswind ran through the Fairyground, surely he would know? Yet here he is, feeling it as it grows stronger around him, as the dragon-like creature comes closer. "That's a kingmaker."
-
Lofty comes home.
Nicky has been waiting for this his whole life.
There's only one person who has ever defeated him at anything, and he's the last roadblock before he can finally get to the final. And Nicky's so excited for their battle - the first fight they'll be having without the antagonising parts - that he practically begs his father for something to impress him with. Something big, something that could win against anything, something that…
Something that is very hard to control. Something that kind of hurts Nicky's chest, if he breathes too hard.
Something he watches fall to the ground and dissipate in front of him.
---
Nicky has been waiting his entire life for the battle after this one.
But, as he watches his familiar fall to the ground, he supposes it's not going to happen.
Teeheeti is a peaceful place, if you stay on the outskirts.
Oliver doesn't often; typically whenever he comes here, he either casts Travel straight to the Fairyground or beelines for it immediately. But the shore is nice - the sand is soft to sit on, and the creatures around don't dare bother him anymore. He's happy to sit here for a bit. It's not the sunniest day in the world, not by a long shot; clouds paint the blue sky, white and grey splotches covering the light of the sun. Oliver watches the clouds slowly drift across, lets the wind tousle his hair, takes in the almost overwhelming salty scent of seaweed.
He closes his eyes and rocks back slightly, shakily exhaling. He isn't quite sure why he came to Teeheeti in the first place. It's helping, though, in some way - it's certainly better than sitting in a stuffy bedroom, trying to get himself together. He looks down at his hands, fingers clutched around a green shell pendant, thumb smoothing over the tiny scratches and imperfections from being handmade. He swallows thickly, trying to get past the lump in his throat so he can clear his chest. It doesn't work.
---
Oliver grieves, for the first time in a while.
As it is now, Myrtle stands at her window and watches the snow pass, looking out as it gently dances in the wind, as though it's happy to finally reach Motorville, having escaped the cloud it came from. She's always liked snow - not just for playing in, but for how beautiful it is as it falls. That's lucky, she supposes, considering she isn't going outside any time soon. Myrtle wipes the fog from the glass, and her hand comes away wet. She sighs, rubbing her fingers together to rid them of the condensation, before someone laughing catches her ear.
---
Myrtle watches the snow from her window.
As he steps through the gate, looking across the plains of this new world, there's something… new there. It's the same feeling as when he had cast Gateway, only muted. It's magic, he realises, breathing in this new world's air, so much cleaner than in Motorville. He looks up at the rock formations, platforms that tower above him, he watches the trees rustle in the wind, and he feels the magic in the air that he could never quite feel before.
It feels weirdly… homely.
Oliver likes it.
---
Magic likes Oliver. Oliver likes magic.
The Travel spell sounds in the landing bay. She inhales sharply. She half wishes it hadn't, that her guest had something come up, that he couldn't make it, but he would probably feel as guilty about that as Cassiopeia feels about the subject of the meeting. Footsteps echo through the hall as he gets closer, and Cassiopeia sips her tea again, as if to prepare herself.
An auburn head of hair peeks around the side of the tall archway that leads to the corridor. He smiles. "Hello, Queen Cassiopeia!" says Oliver, cheerfully, and Cassiopeia's throat quietly stitches itself up.
---
Cassiopeia and Oliver talk.
The conversation doesn't go as well as either of them wanted it to.
Oliver swallows, before taking a lick of his ice cream. It really is very good - too bad his head feels like it's going to explode. His breathing is getting heavier as well. He isn't quite sure what's happening, but he's fine. He bites the ice cream again, and tries to keep his mind off of his nausea. He'll be fine - it's probably just a little cold coming on, or something. He's sure of it.
His vision goes sideways and he falls, managing to grab the edge of the stand with both hands before he hits the ground, dropping his ice cream in the process.
He's not so sure anymore.
---
Someone tries to murder Oliver.
This isn't unusual, per say, but the method certainly is.
Picture this, if you will: There are three monsters on the battlefield. Oliver and Esther are tag teaming a sillymander. Swaine is taking on an obscuroboros. They're fighting their best, as usual. Drippy watches as Esther hits the sillymander towards Oliver with a Splish Slash from her strongo, and Oliver bats it back. They’re in an area that doesn’t have as many candles as the others, so it’s darker than usual, but Drippy can just about see them.
He watches as they wear down the two monsters little by little. Then, he hears a hissing noise to his left, and his blood runs cold as he realises there were, originally, three monsters.
Drippy's eyes widen as he turns and notices the najalisk ever so slowly slithering towards him. He starts to back away, but it just narrows its eyes and starts going faster. Why did it have to be a snake? Drippy asks internally, slightly desperately, and he can feel himself shaking in fear, his heart pounding as the najalisk almost looks like it smiles before it rapidly picks up speed. He has just enough time to yell before he shuts his eyes as the najalisk tackles him head-on, knocking him face first onto the stone floor.
---
Drippy absolutely despises the Vault of Tears.
Five minutes of awkward silence later, Oliver sits up from where he was leafing through his Wizard’s companion without actually reading it, slamming the book shut and making everyone jump. “I’m going for a walk,” he says shortly, moving to do just that.
Oliver is almost out the door when Esther sits up too. “I’ll come with you,” she says decidedly, and Oliver turns to tell her what he told Drippy, but wilts under her gaze.
“Okay,” he says defeatedly, and Esther shuffles off of her bed and follows him out.
---
Oliver was in the Soulsnare for a week.
Esther... really, really needs a hug.
Oliver is eighteen.
...He thinks. He still looks thirteen. Maybe he’s not been counting right.
Denny has left Motorville to try out for the state championships, and Phil’s now employed at Rusty’s garage; Oliver is proud of both of them. Though, with Myrtle still working for Miss Leila (she's getting paid for it now), Oliver’s the only one without a job. It’s kinda difficult to get one when you look thirteen. And he definitely only looks thirteen - he’s not actually still thirteen. That would be ridiculous, and impossible, and… magical, which is entirely possible. He steers his mind away from the topic whenever it happens to pop up.
---
People without soulmates don't age.
Oliver learns this the hard way.
He enters another teleporter, and comes out onto a balcony overlooking yet another hallway. The balconies, too, have been overrun by flowers strategically placed by the queen in order to look like an organised mess, rather than just a regular one. Oliver rests his arms and chin on the banister and gazes out over the robots. A few are missing from this hallway. He wonders if that's cause for concern.
He sighs to himself slightly, trying to think of how to get back to the living quarters part of the palace. It's definitely somewhere, buried beneath yet more halls and giant rooms he's not sure the purpose of. Who needs three ballrooms? Are you throwing three parties at once?
Try as he might, Oliver unfortunately can't summon a map of the castle in his head. He sighs again. As much as he didn't want to admit it…
He's lost.
He hasn't even fully unpacked yet.
---
Oliver moves in with Cassiopeia after realising he's unable to age.