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"It's hot...it's...sandy...it's boring...I'm hungry...I-I wanna go home!"
It was a speech most of the people in the market were used to.
The voice came from behind the shabby stand of the vendor Tamaki Amajiki, an orphan who was lucky to have survived this long off of whatever scraps he could afford by selling whatever food he could get his hands on, mostly by trading himself to it, and once in a while getting help from his childhood friend, the friendly Mirio Togata.
Mirio was a palace guard so of quite a high standing compared to his childhood friend whom he had tried to help much ever since his parents had died, but Tamaki had always felt like he was a burden to his friend so he never asked for anything even when he needed it.
"HA!" The vendor next to Tamaki always found Tamaki's depressive mood quite hilarious.
"Cheer up friend! The sun is shining! The parrots are yelling, a perfect day"
Tamaki sighed and ducked lower behind his stand.
He liked energetic people, that's why he had been drawn to Mirio when they were children, but he duchy like being energetic himself.
Tamaki had always been shy, moody, fearful, and quite depressive, hating big crowds was not great when you were a market vendor.
"And look at this score Tamaki!" The vendor suddenly said and pulled out a sack.
He sold what he called "antiques", but Tamaki knew that it was just junk that he found out in the desert, this batch however did not look like junk.
"Where'd you find that?" Tamaki quietly asked.
If he could find a batch like that it would be a good trade and he would get beige food to sell and enough to eat.
"Down by the V-shaped rocks just east of the gate" he pointed to the direction of the gate.
The V-shaped rocks were actually part of the ruins of an old building that was a bit of a beacon for traveling traders, maybe a camel dropped a few bags there, it was the only explanation that Tamaki could think of because of there was buried treasure surely someone else would have found it.
"I hate the desert"
Tamaki hated the desert.
It was dry, it was warm, the sand was burning and getting everywhere.
He hated the desert.
"But you love food don't you?"
Tamaki grumbled and put his forehead on the table that was his stand.
Yes. Tamaki loved food.
"Y'know, you're lucky that I just don't keep this secret to myself, but I share because I'm a good guy"
"Mmmmm" Tamaki groaned but he suppose that yes, it was very kind of him to share this with him. "Thanks"
"You're welcome!"
Tamaki went over what he had said for a long time, even when he packed his stand together for nightfall.
He decided that he wanted to go into the desert to find "treasure" like his "friend".
The sun had just set and the desert was rapidly cooling down.
Tamaki hated the desert but he'd manage as long as it wasn't so excruciatingly hot.
He wrapped himself in clothes normally to shield his body from the sun, but now to shield his body from the desert cold at night.
He shyly ignored the guards at the gates as he passed them by, he recognized them as Izuku and Katsuki, two of Mirio's buddies.
"Hi there Tamaki" the kindest of the two, Izuku, called out to the vendor who then walked noticeably faster trying to avoid the man.
"Oh, okay..."
Tamaki went east and could quickly see the V-shape. Nothing stood out about the place except for the uninteresting ruins, there was no dead camel, no large sack of valuables, then again why wouldn't he just have carried that sack back then?
It had to be scattered in the sand below the surface.
"Urgh...I have to dig and I didn't bring a shovel! I don't wanna! I wanna go home!" He uttered his usual
phrase but this time around he managed to pick himself up again.
He hated getting sand under his fingernails so to deal with that problem he wrapped a thin piece of fabric around his hand and started digging with that as he pulled item after item out with his unbound hand.
The treasure spanned from jewelry, teacups, spoons, and other fun things.
He dug but decided that it was around the time that he wanted to head back, but as he pulled his hand up it graced a piece of metal in the sand and Tamaki decided to take this last thing with him.
When he pulled it out he discovered that it was a lamp, Golden with a hint of blue sapphire pattern, but it was hard to see as it was badly stained.
From the mere sight of it, it looked like it had been there longer than any of the other things had.
Tamaki didn't inspect it much more but instead, put it in his bag and put it over his shoulder as he started the walk home.
He could easily term that his weight had shifted, being much heavier than when he walked there in the first place but anything less would not make sense, after all, he had a bag of metals and other artifacts thrown over his back.
He felt the sand crunch beneath him and pulled him lower than it did before as if the desert wanted its treasure back.
He was in no way superstitious but still, the feeling on the sand pulling his feet down was unsettling and he wanted to get out of the desert as fast as possible.
He ran through the gates and completely ignored poor Izuku once again, enticing a laugh from Katsuki who clearly loved the dissatisfied look on Izuku's face.
Once back inside the confines of the town and the harder ground beneath his feet, Tamaki relaxed. He walked slowly to his home that was truly just a hole in the wall that he had managed to decorate and make rather cozy.
He sat down on a pillow on the floor and finally pulled the heavy bag off of his back and opened it to inspect the loot.
The metal had gone dull from being in the sand but Tamaki knew that he could still easily sell or trade it to good food, and not the kind that was already molding.
He lined the stuff up in categories of what he thought could sell more, but his eyes kept going back to the lamp of gold and blue sapphire.
"This might be worth a fortune" he muttered and held it above his head.
"It is still pretty dirty though..." he brought it down to eye level and inspected the dirt in it, and he thought that he saw the outline of a few words, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.
He thought maybe it could be the name of the previous owner, maybe a sultan? That would definitely bring the price up.
He was determined to see what was written so he began rubbing the lamp hoping that the filth would fall off and make it visible, but then something weird started to happen.
"Uhh?"
The lamp started to violently shake, and out of the tip of it, blue steam started to appear.
"What's-" Tamaki didn't get finish because suddenly the blue steam took shape of a woman and his entire room was filled with mist.
"I'm free!" The woman threw her arms up in celebration and then noticed Tamaki.
"You did it right? You rubbed the lamp?!" The woman with blue hair going down her back and shaping her face, along with matching blue eyes floated closer to Tamaki's quivering form.
The woman looked down at the lamp still in his hands and she brightened up again.
"You did! Thank you thank you th- oh no, my manners" she suddenly backed up and her demeanor changed completely, vibe was the giddy and excited women replaced with something much more serious.
"W-who...what are you?!" Tamaki's squeaky voice sounded, and the women responded.
"I am Nejire, the genie of the lamp. What are your demands, master?" She bowed over in a sign of respect, but Tamaki already felt as though he was about to faint and her words did not help.
"What?"
Nejire blinked at him surprised you his response, most people already had their wishes lined up as soon as they summoned her, meaning that the third wish was done within the hour of her summoning...she never had much time out in the open.
"Nejire...genie of the lamp? Most powerful existence in the universe? Three wishes? ...does it ring a bell?"
Tamaki violently shook his head, still trying not to scream or to faint or even...well maybe he already peed his pants a little.
"Oh!" Nejire perked up. "Well uh, that's a new one...this has never happened before" she had no idea what to do, she had had countless masters, mostly all rich and bad people but they had all rubbed the lamp knowing exactly what would happen when they did.
"Well Master, I am I genie, I grant 3 wishes to whoever rubs my lamp. That was you"
"3...wishes?"
"Yes! Anything you might desire, piles of gold? A pet ape? Ha! Even your very own kingdom, I only have three exceptions to wishes I cannot grant" she held up three fingers. "I cannot kill people, a really bad thing to do all around you know...I can't bring people back from the dead either, well...I can but it's not a pretty sight! Don't make me do it!...and lastly, I can't make anyone fall in love with you" she lowered the last of her three fingers.
"Wishes...wishes okay" Tamaki nodded and then slowly raised his hand before he slapped himself across the face.
"Master? What are you doing?"
"I'm dreaming, I just have to wake up" he slapped himself again, but Tamaki was not good with pain so he let out a pained groan.
"Do you wish for the pain to go away?" Nejire asked.
It was so odd for her, having no wishes to grant.
"I- nooo!" Tamaki skirted backward on the floor. "Wishes" he hung his head. "Just because I wish for something doesn't mean bad things won't happen..."
"Oh, you're a pessimist"
"Realist..."
"Hmm" Nejire hummed as she miraculously sprouted legs in place of the weird tail-like mist that kept her floating above the floor.
She sat down on one of Tamaki's pillows and looked around the shabby home.
"I've never had such a poor master before"
The depressive cloud above Tamaki's head only grew at hearing her words.
"It's all I can afford"
"Well...why not wish for more money? Just to live comfortably?"
"Where would they think I got it from?" He muttered. "They'd think I stole it"
"Oh..."
Oh, the difficulties of having a poor master to serve.
Nejire let out a short. "2000 years and when I'm finally being let out my master doesn't even know who I am. Is that good or bad?" She wondered, but even though her words were to herself Tamaki listened to every word.
"2000 years? What do you mean it's been 2000 years?"
"That's how long it's been since I was outside" Nejire' Stine was more solemn now. "Being a genie is a punishment, but I can't figure out what I did wrong"
Tamaki looked at the lamp in his hands once more. All the filth had come off making it look shiny and new.
Nejire had been trapped in that little space, waiting for someone to let her out...all for their own gain, but that was her purpose, right? She knew nothing else but granting wishes.
'I just have to make my wishes meaningful'
As soon as the thought crossed his mind he was shaking again.
How do you know which wishes will turn out great? There have to be wishes that can backfire on you.
'I can't be selfish!'
"Woooww!"
Tamaki looked up when he'd heard Nejire and he saw her move the curtain aside and look at the view from his home.
"That palace wasn't there the last time I was out" she sounded amazed but also sloth he sad.
She loved the outside world but it was moving so fast, too fast for her to follow.
2000 years had passed this time, and the knowledge of genies was fading, how long would it be the next time?
Tamaki also stood up and looked out at the palace in the distance.
'Mirio...'
"I know what my first wish will be" his voice was shaking, still scared of the concept, but his love for his friend was stronger.
"Yeah?!" Nejire perked up.
"I want to repay Mirio for all he's done for me"
"Who's Mirio?"
"My friend"
"Oh"
Her tone scared Tamaki. "W-what?! Is it a bad wish?"
"No it's just..." she paused and looked out at the town again. "You're my first master that's ever done that"
"Done what?"
"Used their wish on another"
The truth was heavier than Tamaki would have expected it to be.
She had to have had a lot of masters, but never once did they act selflessly?
He began to understand the thing she was saying about punishment more and more.
Not only was she trapped but in the instance, she was let out she had to serve such selfish and greedy people, her first examples of wishes were piles of gold and kingdoms, Tamaki had to guess that she didn't make them up but that she had people wish for that in the past.
"Well?" Nejire asked expectedly.
"What?"
"If you wanna wish for something you have to say, "I wish" and then what you wish for"
"O-oh, okay...here goes..." he paused.
It was scary. By words alone he could change his or another's life forever.
Such power had to be handled with care. "I wish for Mirio Togata to be repaid for all of his kindness towards me"
Nejire smiled kindly.
"There you go"
Her legs turned to blue mist again as she closed her eyes in concentration. "Give me a few minutes," she said as her hair flowed in the wind that suddenly appeared only in that room.
With her eyes closed in concentration, and yet her smoke turned up in a smile, blue mist and blue hair flowing around her face...only at that moment did Tamaki realize how beautiful Nejire was.
Then she disappeared and the winds died down, as if a pressure was relieved Tamaki fell to the ground, still in awe.
He sat in silence for several minutes inspecting the lamp.
Finally, he was able to see what had been engraved there.
"Whoever holds the lamp holds the power over the genie" he read aloud and just as the last word left his lips the wind picked up again and Nejire appeared in a cloud of mist.
"If all that is repayment then he must be a really good friend, helping you out like that"
Tamaki nodded quietly. "He's bright...like the sun"
"Yeah, like the sun" she nodded. "Are you the moon then?"
Tamaki shrugged. "He hadn't really thought of what he represented in contrary to Mirio, but he supposed that it fit quite well. The moon can only shine because of the sun after all.
"What is your next wish master?"
"I don't have one"
"Huhh?" She whined. "But that last one was so go- oh" she cut herself off seeing her master yawn.
Looking beyond the curtain once more she realized that it was quite late.
"Maybe you'll dream of your next wish tonight, master," she said with a sweet smile.
Tamaki nodded slowly but then his eyes widened as his cheeks turned red.
"I can't sleep with a woman in the room" she muttered but Nejire heard him loud and clear.
"Oh no problem, I'll uh, sleep in the lamp, I'm used to that"
Tamaki wouldn't deny that he felt bad at that moment, after all, she had already spent so much time in that lamp, he felt bad making her spend more, but he wasn't used to her yet, and he didn't have enough room to give her a room of her own.
"Goodnight master"
"You can just call me Tamaki"
She halted and looked at him with a surprised look upon her face before it melted into a grin.
"You're a very refreshing guy, Tamaki," she told him before going into the lamp.
Looking at it standing on the floor he felt a surge of guilt once more, so he carefully picked it up, not knowing if it disturbed her inside, and put the lamp on a flush pillow by the window.
Nejire felt movement inside the lamp and she felt her lamp go down onto flush and soft material that could've only been a pillow. She smiled at the kind gesture. He truly was different from anyone else she ever served.
OoOoOoO
"Nejire, I know what my second wish will be..."
It was a sneaky way of getting money but Tamaki had Nejire turn all of the metal he found in the desert into pure silver.
Nejire was once again surprised, silver was expensive, yes, but he didn't want it to live s luxurious lifestyle, he wanted it to trade to the food that he'd live off of himself and that he'd sell on his stand.
People were more than eager to trade mere food for items such as those.
He used a small amount of money to repair the stand itself, no longer having one table leg be held up by square stones. The table was also filled with more than a couple of hard loaves of bread, now it had prober bread, apples, oranges, and jams, he sold more than he ever had in his life.
"Wow, you didn't even use the wish to live a life of luxury but just live a...Not poor life" Nejire said with wide eyes as she stood behind the stand beside Tamaki as he sold another person a piece of bread.
At her choice of words, the man raised an eyebrow but took his bread and left in peace.
"Don't talk about it out in the open, you're gonna make us sound crazy" Tamaki sighed and hung his head in defeat.
"You worry too much about what others think of you Tamaki" Nejire teased and stuck her tongue out at him. "So what if they think you're a little crazy?"
"Whaaat?..."
"Don't say "whaaat?" Just live, be...be free! live like there's no tomorrow Tamaki!"
"You're being really loud..."
"That's the point!" She said even louder and Tamaki felt all the heads on the street turn.
"Geez, how can someone with so much freedom not realize it?" She pouted and Tamaki felt something in his heart crack.
'That's right... she's not ...free...' Tamaki tight as he glanced down at the lamp in his pocket.
Would it hurt so much if she was anyone else? If she acted differently? Why would it? How has he somehow grown attached to her in the short period of time that they had spent together since he rubbed the lamp?
'I still have one wish left'
"I-...sorry Nejire..."
She huffed and folded her arms. "Well you are free aren't you?" Her cheeks were still blown out in a pouty expression, she was probably trying to look serious but to Tamaki, she just looked adorable.
"I'm free..."
"Good. Say it louder"
"I'm free!!" As soon as he shouted it his hands clapped over his mouth and he crouched down out of sight of the startled pedestrians.
Nejire crouched down with him and started to laugh.
"See, now that you've done it you don't have to be afraid to do it anymore"
"Not so sure about that..."
"No, look" Nejire pointed to the streets, and people had already turned their heads away and continued. "Nothing bad happened, right?"
Tamaki perked up over the table and yes, certainly there were no lingering stares, no awkwardness in the air, it was like it had never happened.
"Oh..." Tamaki said as he stood up and kept on scanning the streets.
"See? Easy..." Nejire stood up behind him and suddenly locked her arms around him in a hug that made Tamaki tense up, but when she didn't let go he started to relax again and slowly melted into the embrace.
"Tamaki! My friend!"
Tamaki stiffened for a second when he heard the voice but then he smiled. From across the street, he could already see his best friend's district blonde hair as he ran towards him.
He was not in uniform, but rather in normal clothes.
New clothes.
"Finally it's my day off! I've been looking forward to telling you about-" Mirio paused when he got to right in front of the stand.
For a moment his face was unreadable until he looked sly.
"Oh My! Tamaki! You went and got yourself a girlfriend in the short time we haven't seen each other!"
Tamaki flushed but Nejire just smiled and then finally let go of him to stand next to him.
"G-girlfriend...that's..." Tamaki's face was so red and hot that he didn't manage to get the words out. He wasn't even sure of what he wanted to say.
"Hi! I'm Nejire" Nejire introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Mirio, I've known Tamaki since we were just this tiny!" He let out a loud laugh as he crouched down to the height of a small child.
"He's told me a lot about you"
"I see! I'm flattered"
As the two of them exchanged words Tamaki was still standing next to Nejire trying to get his beating heart to calm down.
To think that he had developed such a crush on her in such a scam amount of time was ludicrous, but it was the truth nevertheless.
"Hey Tamaki, buddy! How'd you afford this new stand! It's unrecognizable!"
"Oh, I uh..." he glanced over at Nejire. "I found a treasure in the desert"
"A treasure?! Really? That's awesome Tamaki! It really turned things around Huh?"
"Yeah, it did...a lot of things!"
"It makes me so happy! Here let me buy something! This game looks good, I'll take it"
"You've always been so kind Mirio, you don't need to help out like that"
"Well, I'm happy to! You wouldn't believe it but I just got a huuugee raise the other day! It was so out of the blue too!"
"A treasure?! Really? That's awesome Tamaki! It really turned things around Huh?"
"Yeah, it did...a lot of things!"
"It makes me so happy! Here let me buy something! This game looks good, I'll take it"
"You've always been so kind Mirio, you don't need to help out like that"
"Well, I'm happy to! You wouldn't believe it but I just got a huuugee raise the other day! It was so out of the blue too!"
Tamaki glanced over at Nejire that winked at him and stuck her tongue out.
'So that's what the wish did' Tamaki smiled. "You deserve it Mirio"
——
Nightfall had come upon them and they stood in front of each other in Tamaki's home.
He had told her that he was ready to use his last wish.
Nejire was tense.
Tamaki had been different from any master she had before, he has been kind and selfless, he hadn't even eager to use his wishes which had frustrated her in the beginning, after all, she was lacking normal social skills, but the time it took him to come up with the wishes had given her a chance to experience the outside works again.
For just a few days she felt free, and she felt something else too...
"You taught me a lot during these last few days, and I learned a lot about you" Tamaki began quietly. "You're a genie, a being made to grant others wishes"
"That's right..."
"You said it was a punishment"
"Yes"
"I don't think you mean it's a punishment just because you have to serve others, or because you're trapped when you're done serving them...it's a cruel punishment because you grant others wishes with no way of granting your own"
Nejire nodded slowly.
She saw Tamaki take a deep breath and open his mouth to speak, but for the first time, she stopped her master from saying his final wish.
"Wait!" She stepped forward. "Tamaki...when I grant you your final wish I will disappear...now, I'm not gonna stop you but..."
in three quick steps, she was right before him and she leaned up and placed a small kiss on his lips.
Even after she took a step back his lips still tingled from the brief contact and he felt his face going red and his eyes wide.
"I needed to do that...now, what do you wish for?"
She was as ready as she could be but Tamaki remained quiet.
"Tamaki?"
"I-..." he had to control his breathing. He wanted this moment to be just right. "I wish..." he swallowed a thick lump in his throat and internally scolded himself for not finishing.
"Nejire...I wish for you to be free"
Her eyes widened, and as the lamp shook she felt a weight lift off of her, the golden cuffs around her wrists fell off but evaporated before they found even hit the ground. The lamps beautiful colors faded to copper, and then everything went quiet.
"Tamaki?"
"Yes, Nejire?"
"Did you just..." tears welled up in her eyes as she let her hands feel the wrists that had been covered by the cuffs for thousands of years.
"You're free"
"I'm free..."
Tamaki smirked shyly and imitated her from earlier that same day. "Say it louder"
"I'm free!" She ran forward and wrapped her arms around her. "This is...crazy...I never thought-" she cut herself off by laughter. "You really are different Tamaki, but..."
"But?"
She pulled away from him.
"Will you still allow me to stay with you? Even if I'm no use to you?"
"I would never use you..." Tamaki shook his head. "If you...if you want to stay I..." he shook his head. It was time, to be honest, and straightforward. "Stay...I want you to stay"
"I will" she smiled and leaves up once more. The mere act made him flush again but this time he was prepared, and the two of them shared a gentle kiss.