Ship: Alexandra Garcia/Araki Masako Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke Major Tags: None Other Tags: youkai/cryptids AU Word Count: 658
***
Masako is used to hunting youkai at home, but this is a strange place, with strange mythology, and she can't quite put her finger on the pulse of it. America is too new, she thinks to herself as she loads up her gun and stashes a box full of ammo in her handbag. Just to be safe, she thinks to herself. She's here to play basketball, but she never knows what she'll run into while she's here. Better safe than sorry.
On this side of the Pacific Ocean, the air doesn't smell as clean, and that has nothing to do with the chemicals that may or may not be hanging in the air. It's about belief, about folklore, about the stories that the people living here have brought with them, from all over the world, to pool together and wind around each other until it becomes something new entirely. Masako is used to monsters she can identify by sight and by name and sometimes, by their tracks. She isn't equipped for the monsters that live here.
She's meant to be shopping with her teammates from the Japanese Women's Basketball team but clothes and jewellery can only hold her attention for so long. She'd rather explore the streets and so she slips away, making sure that the captain knows when to expect her to return to their hotel, and goes walking through the streets of Los Angeles on her own.
It's not the best decision she's made, and she knows it while she's making it, and doesn't let it stop her. She wants to know what the streets feel like here, what it's like to walk among monsters that she doesn't recognise.
She doesn't see any, but the hairs on the back of her neck begin standing up after a while, as the sun begins to set, and she realises that somewhere beneath all the background noise of traffic and people bustling around, she can hear footsteps keeping pace with her own.
There's no one on the street when she looks. She knows better than to reach for her gun here, where she can be seen. Walking into an isolated area on her own with something stalking her isn't the best choice to make either, but she's confident in her ability to defend herself. She can hear running water, and walks towards it. There's no snow in Los Angeles, but water is close enough. It's a connection to the natural world and its power will do, in a pinch.
She walks directly into the river, until she hears splashing footsteps behind her, and then turns, pulling her gun out and staring her stalker down.
It's an American woman, with bright pink glasses and a cheerful smile. "Hi. I'm Alexandra."
"I'm about to shoot you," Masako replies. She smells the air. "What are you? A werewolf?"
"Coyote," Alexandra corrects. "I'm also on the basketball team that will be playing against you tomorrow. I saw you at the kick-off party yesterday and thought that you didn't quite smell human either. Besides, you were so pretty I just had to say hi."
"I'm a Yuuki Onna," Masako replies. "I don't think you have them here, it's a—"
"A snow spirit," Alexandra finishes for her. She smiles. "That's pretty interesting. You still need a gun to defend yourself?"
"I don't know what I'm up against, over here," Masako replies. She doesn't think Alexandra will attack her, but she doesn't lower her gun. "And there's no snow."
"I guess that could be a problem," Alexandra allows. "Well, it looks like you got bored of hanging out with your human friends. How about making some nonhuman ones instead?"
Masako weighs up the possibility of this being a trap. Alexandra already knows that she has a gun. She probably doesn't know about the other weapons Masako is carrying with her, though, and that will give her an advantage if she needs it.
FILL: TEAM KAGEYAMA TOBIO/OIKAWA TOORU, T
Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Major Tags: None
Other Tags: youkai/cryptids AU
Word Count: 658
***
Masako is used to hunting youkai at home, but this is a strange place, with strange mythology, and she can't quite put her finger on the pulse of it. America is too new, she thinks to herself as she loads up her gun and stashes a box full of ammo in her handbag. Just to be safe, she thinks to herself. She's here to play basketball, but she never knows what she'll run into while she's here. Better safe than sorry.
On this side of the Pacific Ocean, the air doesn't smell as clean, and that has nothing to do with the chemicals that may or may not be hanging in the air. It's about belief, about folklore, about the stories that the people living here have brought with them, from all over the world, to pool together and wind around each other until it becomes something new entirely. Masako is used to monsters she can identify by sight and by name and sometimes, by their tracks. She isn't equipped for the monsters that live here.
She's meant to be shopping with her teammates from the Japanese Women's Basketball team but clothes and jewellery can only hold her attention for so long. She'd rather explore the streets and so she slips away, making sure that the captain knows when to expect her to return to their hotel, and goes walking through the streets of Los Angeles on her own.
It's not the best decision she's made, and she knows it while she's making it, and doesn't let it stop her. She wants to know what the streets feel like here, what it's like to walk among monsters that she doesn't recognise.
She doesn't see any, but the hairs on the back of her neck begin standing up after a while, as the sun begins to set, and she realises that somewhere beneath all the background noise of traffic and people bustling around, she can hear footsteps keeping pace with her own.
There's no one on the street when she looks. She knows better than to reach for her gun here, where she can be seen. Walking into an isolated area on her own with something stalking her isn't the best choice to make either, but she's confident in her ability to defend herself. She can hear running water, and walks towards it. There's no snow in Los Angeles, but water is close enough. It's a connection to the natural world and its power will do, in a pinch.
She walks directly into the river, until she hears splashing footsteps behind her, and then turns, pulling her gun out and staring her stalker down.
It's an American woman, with bright pink glasses and a cheerful smile. "Hi. I'm Alexandra."
"I'm about to shoot you," Masako replies. She smells the air. "What are you? A werewolf?"
"Coyote," Alexandra corrects. "I'm also on the basketball team that will be playing against you tomorrow. I saw you at the kick-off party yesterday and thought that you didn't quite smell human either. Besides, you were so pretty I just had to say hi."
"I'm a Yuuki Onna," Masako replies. "I don't think you have them here, it's a—"
"A snow spirit," Alexandra finishes for her. She smiles. "That's pretty interesting. You still need a gun to defend yourself?"
"I don't know what I'm up against, over here," Masako replies. She doesn't think Alexandra will attack her, but she doesn't lower her gun. "And there's no snow."
"I guess that could be a problem," Alexandra allows. "Well, it looks like you got bored of hanging out with your human friends. How about making some nonhuman ones instead?"
Masako weighs up the possibility of this being a trap. Alexandra already knows that she has a gun. She probably doesn't know about the other weapons Masako is carrying with her, though, and that will give her an advantage if she needs it.
"Lead the way."