thebastion | Day 91 | log

Entry tags:

Day 91 | log | [CLOSED]

Who: Kaoru Hitachiin (

individuates ), Abe no Seimei (

yinyangfox )
Open: Closed
When: Day 91
Where: Seimei's pad
What: Bribing Seimei with cake.
Format: Log
Warnings: None! Just two guys eating cake.

Kaoru had to admit it. As dubious as he had been in the beginning about Seimei’s little house, once all its walls were erected, and its insides (mostly) furnished… it actually hadn’t turned out so bad.

He could give himself a pat on the back for some of the work, too. Not that he had sourced all the wood himself. Or lacquered it. Or fit it together in a house-shape. But he had slaved away on the furnishings, which had definitely helped with the effort. He had managed to figure out how to quilt blankets from his scraps – they were easy – but he had no idea how to make a futon other than to sew together his blankets. Which was precisely what he did.

Well it was the best he could do, with the resources at his disposal. In hindsight, he could have just bought one with shards and saved himself the trouble, but never mind. He had delivered the futons the previous day – if Seimei had had a terrible night’s sleep on them, he could always run back to the Monument and buy real ones.

He had finally made his first purchase from the Monument with the shards he had been holding onto – a small strawberry shortcake and forks and plates to eat it with. Nothing as grand as they had eaten or used at the host club – and not antique either, or if they were, certainly not antiques he recognized. But they looked good and, really, they were fit for purpose. And the cake smelled simply heavenly.

So with the bag of cake in one hand and one hand resting on Tama-chan slung across his chest, he started down to Seimei’s. The egg had been rocking since a few days ago, tapping sounds coming from within. Perhaps it would hatch soon – until then, Kaoru was keeping a careful eye out.

He stepped into the small gardens around Seimei’s house, raising the bag and giving a bright, slightly teasing smile.

“Sei-chan~!”

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There was a light clatter from the porch, the thudding of bare feet on the floor and a flash of red hair around the corner as Taisan scrambled into the house and out the other side, leaving Seimei and Kaoru alone. The shikigami had his nose in everyone's business in the Bastion by now and was keeping Seimei in the know. It was an enormous relief, really. Once upon a time Seimei was the most knowledgeable man in all of Kyoto. To know nothing in a place as small as the Bastion was driving him mad. Knowing Kaoru was coming before he made it was about as important as breathing. It gave the onmyoji plenty of time to look like he'd been lazily reclining instead of working furiously to create a healthy stack of wards to later be placed around the house and small property.

"Ah! Kaoru! What a pleasant surprise," he drawled, smiling and arching a brow as he set his teapot down. Two fresh cups of tea, some light snacks and one of the sitting cushions Kaoru made were waiting there on the porch along with the overdressed man.

"I was hoping you'd decide to visit. The house is so empty without you."

Did he just...? Well, whatever. Kaoru had come to mind Taisan a lot less since their talk, so he guessed it didn't matter. He made a mental note to be more stealthy next time around, though. It would certainly make for an interesting game...

He wiped the michievous look off his face, slipping out of his shoes.

"I have to admit - I'm here partly on business. I wanted to know how you were doing with that futon." If they could even call it that. It was just a glorified stack of blankets, really. He set down the bag of cake and the egg down for a moment, reaching to turn his shoes back to face the way he'd come. "And Tama-chan was practically kicking me out the door." As if to punctuate his words, the egg gave a particularly violent wobble. He stilled her gently with his hand. "...see? She's been a bit fussy lately. Oh, but I also brought cake."

Edited 2013-07-29 04:40 (UTC)

"It suits me fine."

Not really, but he wasn't about to say that. So far as Seimei was concerned, Kaoru could have gifted him a basket of nettles and he would have loved it. It was simply getting to be that bad.

"I might make a few changes later, however I am simply grateful to have a place to sleep indoors now. Thank you again for all of your contributions, Kaoru. Though it is not my original home, it is a place I can be comfortable in this new world."

He nodded, leaning over enough to set one of the cups of tea closer the cushion, then situated himself to sit up comfortably.

"Fussy indeed! I would offer to give you a charm to calm her but it might put her at risk this close to hatching. At any rate, please have a seat, have some tea, relax. I was wondering if yo--I am sorry, what? A cake?" he asked, setting his teacup down and tilting his head. A head markedly devoid of hat. After all, Kaoru had seemed to prefer him without it, and while it was socially unsettling, he wasn't exactly socializing; he was entertaining. Entirely different.

"She seems to calm down when she's being held, though." Or maybe just because Kaoru was able to hold her steady the rocking was less pronounced. But he liked to think that he helped, even if Tama-chan's rocking had disturbed his sleep for the past few nights. Was that what parenthood was going to be like?

"Yes, cake! One of the marvels of the future!" He removee the utensils from the bag first, checking inside - yes, it was still in one piece, thank goodness - before removing the confection with something of a flourish. The sweet strawberry smell reminded him of home - of his club, of the cakes Honey-senpai had used to try to break up his and Hikaru's fake fight, of the bright red berries Mori-senpai had loaded onto Haruhi's plate the day they crashed her house.

His smile only slipped for a moment, though, and he quickly hitches it straight, sliding the cake onto the table.

"Ta da~! Cake!"

He was opening his mouth to ask another question but the scent of the berries and glaze immediately derailed his thoughts. Nostrils flared and eyelids drifted down as he tilted his head and smiled crookedly.

"Kaoru, what is this divine scent? What are those red things and why exactly did you bring it? Not that I am complaining - far from it. However I usually consider the bringing of food and gifts to be a form of coercion. What are trying to get me to do, Kaoru?" the onmyoji drawled, cocking a brow. "I do hope it is particularly entertaining."

Sorry, what? Kaoru was too busy cutting Seimei a generous piece of the cake, sliding it onto a plate and pushing it towards him.

"Just sharing my culture..." He smiled, cutting himself a slice and setting it to one side before reaching for Tama-chan and slipping her back into the sling before leaning forward again. "I suppose we could call this a housewarming of sorts? It's kind of a party people have after they move into a new house to... well. Warm the house, I guess." He rested his hand on top of the egg before trying to explain the cake. "I got this from the Monument, but it's a very popular sweet food in my time. It's made of flour - finely ground wheat - sugar, milk and eggs. The berries are strawberries, that's a strawberry glaze in the middle, and that's whipped cream on the outside and sandwiched between the layers." With another smile. Any more questions, Seimei?

There wasn't really anything he could ask. Kaoru covered everything. It wasn't the most comfortable situation to be in, not knowing anything about strawberries; not strawberries in particular, but anything. Then again, he mused as he took the plate and watched Kaoru's hands slip away, perhaps that was one of the things that made this strange connection work. He never knew what to expect.

"A what? House warming? My house is not particularly cold. In fact weather is largely mild here. Though that young witchkin woman seems to find it offensive. Not that I disagree. A world without rain is a sad place. What exactly is the appropriate etiquette for eating this confection?"

"Not literally warming!" Kaoru arranged the forks, unable to help his chuckle; a memory rising unbidden of Tamaki flailing around Haruhi's house in search of firewood. "Although, I dunno, it might have come from that a long time ago. But the warming of a housewarming these days is generally done by happy people and well-wishing friends."

He breathed a quiet sigh, looking out of the window at the weather which... simply was as it always was. He certainly couldn't disagree that a little weather variation could only be a good thing.

Turning his attention back to the subject at hand, though, and the valuable matter of Seimei's education...

"That's the beautiful part about cake! There aren't really any rules to eating it! Just enjoy - oh! - savour the cake, yes! O-or at least I hope you enjoy it..." He could't help but fidget a little bit, fingers curling around one of the forks held delicately in his fingers. What if Seimei didn't like it? "...and if you don't, you don't have to pretend to, I just remember you prefer sweet things so I thought..."

Eyes drifted down from Kaoru's face to the forks. He wasn't stupid - obviously you were supposed to stab and cut food with it, but really? What a graceless utensil. He huffed a little sigh of resignation, admitting to himself that the cake did not particularly look like something one could eat with chopsticks. Picking the fork up and emulating Kaoru's hand gestures, Seimei tilted his wrists several times experimentally.

Not likely to ever become a preferred way of eating. Unless this cake were somehow so good he couldn't possibly imagine allowing a tool like the fork to get in his way.

"You are implying I have friends and this place is full of happy people who care to wish others well. You would be mistaken, though I appreciate your optimism," the onmyoji mused, eventually cutting a morsel from his plate and eating it, careful not to scrape his teeth against the metal.

A moment passed in silence before he took another bite. And then another, dark eyes sudden very serious.

Kaoru tilted his head slightly at his words, and pulled a face too scandalised to be taken seriously.

"Are we not friends?" - He asked it without expecting an answer and was happy to let it slide, more fascinated as he watched Seimei handling the fork. Of course this would be completely new to him.

Even without his host club experience, Kaoru had a pretty delicate way around things like cutlery. He took a small bit from his own piece of cake, the small utensil held delicately between his thumb and two fingers. He popped it into his mouth, attention more on watching Seimei's reaction, the tines resting against his lower lip.

"...you should try a strawberry next, Seimei."

Those dark eyes drifted up once more, fixing on Kaoru's face thoughtfully before arching one of those perfect brows.

"I should like this think we were something more than friends."

He let the words stand, staring at the red head for a moment more before turning his attention back to the cake. He wouldn't sit there and wax poetic, but it was certainly one of the most enjoyable eating experiences he'd ever had. The expression on his face was a mix of wariness, consternation and excitement that were in constant conflict with one another. Kitsune curiosity won out over all and before he was really prepared he was already eating one of the plump red berries.

He made some small sound in the back of his throat, brows pulling together and rising in unison; he almost looked as though he might cry for the absolute bliss. Taking his time in the strawberry, Seimei eventually sat the fork down along with the cake and plate so he could rest his hands on his lap, eyes closed while savoring the experience as a whole.

"I should hope so." He met Seimei's gaze, smiling at him until he broke it, and looked down at his own cake, lowering the fork to carefully dig out a little of the cream and sliced strawberries from the middle. He wasn't in the habit of dissecting his food but... the whole strawberries had been set to the side of the plate without his even realising it.

Kaoru set the fork down carefully on the edge of the plate, taking up his tea with both hands, quite happy just watching Seimei for now and sipping from his cup. As he had expected, Seimei's tea was almost a perfect match for his cake.

He couldn't help chuckling, albeit softly, at the reaction, though. He knew so few people who went into raptures over a piece of cake.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it."

It took a moment more before Seimei replied, and he certainly seemed to have a measure of difficulty drawing himself out of whatever sweets nirvana he had reached. When he finally came back down from his candied cloud, the onmyoji looked to be in exponentially higher spirits than he'd been the last few days, including when finally finishing his house.

"I am beyond enjoyment in this, Kaoru. If this is the sort of treat you have in your time I may have to rescind my statements alluding to barbaric natures and failings in taste. This is absolutely divine. And you say there are no rules to enjoying it? This is not a formal dessert, but a common treat? How marvelous! Having anything like this - even at the Mikado's palace - is treated as an exotic novelty and expensive indulgence. And even then, the closest examples I can give are honeyed fruits or candied flowers. Nothing so sweet and moist. The taste is nearly indescribable. Tart without being bitter, sweet without being cloying...Oh, how I have missed good food."

He shakes his head, looking down at the cake for a moment before giving in and lifting it to eat once more. He knew it would be over all too soon, but it was simply too good to waste.

"I cannot imagine a proper means of thanking you for this experience, Kaoru! What would you ask in return?"

The chuckle turns into delighted laughter as Kaoru sets down his cup.

"Well. I'm glad our food has changed your opinion of us. Though I'm not sure I like what you were suggesting about my taste..." He smiled though, to show he wasn't offended. There were rarely chances in his world to introduce people to things they had never eaten - they only got to do it with Haruhi occasionally. "I suppose I would have been completely lost to you if you hadn't liked it at all, you'd have been like, 'Kaoru, why are you trying to feed me poison? From henceforth We are terminated.' or something, so I'm glad that didn't happen."

He calmly turned his attention to his plate again - as if he hadn't made faces or changed voices whilst impersonating Seimei - taking some of the cake this time instead of just the cream from the middle.

"Oh! And you don't have to do anything for me in return! It's all fine!" Although... if he thought about it... "...but you know, we have lots of other nice things. Many different types of cakes and more besides..."

Edited 2013-07-29 23:31 (UTC)

He chuckled in return, lofting a brow at Kaoru's hypothetical dialogue. Poison? Really now. shaking his head and making steady work of his cake, he gave a moment's pause to regard his companion.

"More? well, I would certainly like to try them. I imagine you spent shards for this, which I am at current supplying you with. You let me know what you need, Kaoru, and I will endeavor to provide. I may not know what sorts of things to get you in your form of courtship, but I can always supply you with a means to get you what you want. even if it is somewhat embarrassing to be at such a loss, sometimes."

He chuckled softly at and smiled to show he wasn't being maudlin, merely honest.

"Anything to show my appreciation satisfactorily."

"I will figure out more things to bring to you, then." There was already an idea blossoming in his mind which... if it worked, Seimei could eat all the sweet things he wanted. He may object to it, though - had already expressed slight distaste at the idea. But if sweets were involved... yes, if he played it right, this could happen.

If he just battered at Seimei's defences a little more...

He scooped up one of his strawberries on his fork, depositing it gently on Seimei's plate.

Looking down at the strawberry, then up at Kaoru, seimei's face colored slightly, eyes drifting to the side. Licking a bit of syrup from his fork without thinking, he cleared his throat to break the silence.

"I could in turn indulge you with fare from ancient Kyoto, though I doubt we ate anything strange or exotic by the standards of your time. Food rarely tends to fall back; it progresses forward and adds more flavors, but never really loses anything it already had."

He tilts his gaze back to to strawberry, eventually impaling it on his fork and eating it. Accepting food placed on your plate by another person was a fairly big deal where he was from. He doubted it held the same meaning to Kaoru, but he felt it significant, either way, to accept.

"Then we should get you acquainted with all the food that all the worlds have to offer!" He couldn't help brandishing his fork in enthusiasm. He couldn't help thinking his summation from a few days earlier was right - Tono had definitely rubbed off on him. "What if we throw you a house-warming party? We could have a menu full of sweet treats! Or we could ask people to contribute anything they'd like to share from their own world."

Loading up his fork, he carefully placed another strawberry on Seimei's plate in an effort to win him over.

"It doesn't have to be for long..."

It was working, even if Seimei didn't notice himself. After all, kitsune were weak to a lot of things and the onmyoji was no exception; food, flattery and comfort were the worst vices. despite his willingness to do what Kaoru wanted for the sake of pleasing the boy, he was still reluctant.

"No one would come to something like that, Kaoru. Most people cannot afford any luxury - I worked very hard for mine - and furthermore, while most people attempt at civility, some cannot be bothered with even passing attempts. I made a minor outreach and was met with derision. I can only imagine how laughable a gathering merely to celebrate the completion of my home would be. I do not fault you for your enthusiasm, I am simply saying you should not get your hopes up."

He ate the second strawberry with considerably less hesitation, though the color in his cheeks barely faded enough to consider him used to the act.

Even in his own world, Kaoru had a tendency to forget that not everyone could be as free with their money as he and his peers. He couldn't help it - it was a by product of his upbringing.

"What about an open house, then? People could just drop in as they wanted. I can supply some food!" In the Bastion, is wasn't so much that he had been saving his shards as that he just wasn't sure how to use them. He would need to be very careful, going forward, not to spend shards he might need later. But this was a special occasion, and really it was all for Seimei's cultural betterment in the end.

The blush was simply adorable. He really needed to fuel it a little more, but he was out of strawberries. Though there were still a couple more on the remains of the cake...

He sighed softly, shaking his head and glancing off to the side across the small but thriving garden. Eventually he relented and raised both hands in surrender.

"If it is what you want, and you think it is best, I will go along with it. I cannot promise to be pleased about having people in my home when it is supposed to be a personal sanctuary, nor can I share your optimism in that people will even bother coming. However, I will attempt to have a good time. Only do not be disappointed when it does not turn out as you seem to believe it will. It is one thing to publicly snub me, it is entirely another to disrespect you. I will not tolerate that."

"If" He corrected gently. "Not when. If. It's much to early to give up on the whole thing." Picking up his fork again, he carefully picked the last couple of strawberries off the cake. Never mind keeping it in one piece. "I don't think that anyone meant to make you feel as uncomfortable as you did but... you don't have to take my advice or even decide right away - I mean, I'm just a kid, what do I know? - but don't shut yourself away just yet, okay? Even if nobody comes. We can just eat sweet things and hang out." Kaoru would have to be selective though, for fear of bankrupting himself.

A frown flickered across his face and he shifted a little on his cushion, pulling Tama-chan out of her sling and crossing his legs to make a little nest. It wasn't the right way to sit, but the egg's wobbling usually decreased when he held her like that. He blew his fringe back in mild annoyance anyway, though. "So fidgety, Tama-chan. Or did you have a problem with something I said?"

Finishing off the rest of his own piece, Seimei watched Kaoru with the egg curiously. eventually he turned to gaze across the garden entirely.

"You would have been very popular with the demons of my era. It is very rare to find a human of your caliber - someone so accepting and willing to learn. I avoid growing emotional over the loss of my family - it was a very long time ago - but I do think mother would have liked you. She was always more fond of humans anyways, though your care with the egg would no doubt have amused her greatly. I imagine when it finally hatches you will be fully prepared to raise whatever comes next. Would that I could tell you what it is - I should hate for you to be saddled with a young tengu or kappa!" he laughed, turning back to regard Kaoru again.

"I have to admit, I'm starting to get a little bit impatient. Especially now she's moving. You know, it's like, are you coming out or aren't you?!" He pushed the egg back and forth gently, rocking her safely in the circle of his legs. "I still have no idea how long I have to wait - or what she's going to be. She might not be anything I recognise, even vaguely - everything else in this place is so different."

His expression softened a little as Seimei spoke of his mother. These days he tried not to think of his own family too often, either.

"I have to admit, I feel no more prepared than I did when I first got her. But I'm looking forward to meeting her properly."

Edited 2013-07-30 02:51 (UTC)

"I think it will be good for you. you have a very....maternal air about you, I suppose is the best way to describe it. You want to make everything 'okay', you want people to get along and you worry about others more than yourself. Whatever happened to you before you came here, whatever you lost; I hope you gain enough back to make this new life bearable. I think that, even should you later rebuke me and my courtship, you will find a comfortable life here should you be able to raise your Tama-chan well. I wish this for you."

The onmyoji nodded, looking away once more, expression distant - not particularly distracted, just thoughtful, wondering. Taisan knew everything, all the secrets of time and space as any God would of any rank and yet the creature was bound by rules of his own to impart no knowledge of it. It frustrated Seimei to have the answers so close and so inaccessible. He wanted to tell Kaoru that everything would be fine, he wanted to reassure himself. Alas, it was not to be.

"Thank you for visiting today, Kaoru, and thank you for the cake. It has been delightful. I cannot really tell you just how pleased I was."

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