Kaoru Hitachiin (
individuates) wrote in
thebastion2013-07-29 11:02 am
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Day 91 | log | [CLOSED]
Who: Kaoru Hitachiin (
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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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Clearing his throat he looked away, face assuming a bland expression even as heat radiated from his ears.
"There is a bit of cake on your cheek, there," he gestured vaguely with one hand that was curling against the hem of its sleeve. There was no crumb or cream, but far be it for Seimei to be completely honest. A good save was a good save from any angle when you were embarrassed.
Time for a subject change.
"When would you propose this party of yours?"
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"Ah-" his thumb swiped cautiously at one cheek, then the other to make sure he'd managed to catch it. "Better? At least you didn't lick it off..." Gosh. He was usually so much tidier, so much more refined than that. Unless he was doing it on purpose.
"For a housewarming, I'd suggest that sooner is probably better. In the next few days, perhaps, if you want to do it..."
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Color rushed fully into his face, head shaking slowly as if to say he would never do anything so horribly invasive. Naturally Kaoru mentioning it meant Seimei imagining it and he briefly wondered if he was feeling the effects of an early heart-attack. Swallowing audibly the onmyoji darted dark eyes down for something to distract himself, eventually settling on refilling their tea, not expecting Kaoru to fill his cup. Traditions? Might as well pretend they didn't exist sometimes, right?
"I have my misgivings about the idea, but I will do it for you. At the least, you seem to believe I am having social difficulty and I wish to prove that it is not out of a desire to be a hermit but out of natural friction and irreconcilable differences."
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"And I'm not pushing you to be with people all the time, either. Even I'm quite happy to go a day without seeing other people." Tilting his head slightly towards the Bastion at large. Did Seimei perhaps take his meaning? "But it's not worth closing the doors on everyone completely..."
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Shaking out his sleeves, the onmyoji leaned back and straightened his spine, turning enough on his cushion to face out at the garden. the better to calm himself down and banish less than seemly thoughts.
"It serves no purpose to fight the changes to my life I have to make in order to accommodate you. That includes socializing. I must accept that you are more appealing to others, and I would be doing you a disservice if I expected you to change instead. It is cruel to cripple birds and clip their wings. It is far more sensible to encourage belligerent birds to leave the roost."
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As Seimei turned out to the garden, Kaoru looked down at the egg in his lap, rubbing the shell gently.
"And who know, maybe this one will be almost ready to come out by that time."
He couldn't help ducking his head and chuckling about Seimei's comment, repeating it quietly to himself and Tama-chan. "Appealing to others...?"
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He sniffed faintly, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair that had come loose from the top knot to rest behind one ear.
"You are younger and more charming by far. Socially you are more fluid. There are many things I will do in order to court you in a way you find acceptable, including making minor changes to myself. However I will not change myself for others and I see no reason to simply accept when others are disrespectful. And I am not going to make myself available to those with no interest in forming friendships. These are simple facts."
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Such as himself. Losing Hikaru, all his friends, it had all been too sudden and jarring for him to get through properly on his own. "...I really don't think I would be doing so well without your help. I never really thanked you for that..."
He rested his chin lightly on top of the egg, considering carefully.
"But... have I ever disrespected you in some way? Or... or what if I did? Or if I did without knowing that I did?"
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"I believe you would know. You are more empathetic than most and you have a natural sort of tact, normally. You sometimes say things that I find...vexing, but you have yet to say anything disrespectful. Other people do not care about how they speak to others, and in the end their lives are poorer for it. Courtesy is a currency paid as an investment. Some people pay and enjoy the future, some people squander what they have and find themselves needy later on, begging for the scraps offered by better men."
Clearing his throat and looking back to the garden, the onmyoji lifted his tea to sip before adding, "And if you did so, and it was on accident, you would apologize were it brought to your attention. You are better than most people, Kaoru, and we are from worlds apart. I cannot fault you your foibles when are so considerate of mine."
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He had always understood people a lot better than Hikaru did. Did that make him the bad one, then, for knowing what they were doing and still allowing it to continue?
"...I do try not to vex people all the time. Just tease them gently..." Vexing was never a good thing. "...how is it that I vex you?"
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He smirked faintly, shifting his weight and resting his hands on his knees.
"I felt isolated from the rest of the world, too different to be part of anything; everyone was an enemy. An outsider to my private world. And you forget that I am half kitsune. Were I any less human, I would be a capricious and often spiteful creature, completely self absorbed and interested only in my own personal amusement. Children are children, Kaoru. No one ever has to apologize for being one. They simply have to make up for it when they grow out of it."
Sighing deeply and straightening his back, the onmyoji took a moment to side-eye the red-head.
"Vexing. Oh...why do we not leave it at the natural complications we face under our unique circumstances?"
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Seimei's story was almost identical to his own - discounting the half-kitsune part. Even so, he couldn't quite accept that Seimei had been as bad as he made out. Nor could he accept that Seimei had any notion of how difficult a child Kaoru had been. But arguing the point was useless - instead of protesting, he took a sip of his tea to silence himself.
"...do you think Tama-chan's going to be just as difficult? Just as vexing?"
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He paused, shaking his head and dismissing the thought to go back on point.
"What I mean to say is, if she has the capacity for human understanding, teach her to be good, and teach her why. If she has an animal mentality, reward her for good behavior, keep her mind distracted with tasks and promote higher function reasoning skills. In the end, Kaoru, no one will fault you for her behavior. We are all just as lost as you in this."
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He cocked his head to one side, looking Seimei up and down as if appraising him. How would he fit into Tama-chan's little family? Rin-chan had already taken the position of aunt, so what would that make Seimei?
"I may have to think about taking her outside, depending on what she is. I don't know how big she'll grow, but she'll need some space to roam..."
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He caught the look, offering a questioning expression in response but saying nothing as he looked away over the garden once more.
"I will help you in whatever capacity you need. You are not alone, Kaoru. Not in this, not in anything else."
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"Sorry, sorry. I just... I don't know I guess I'm kind of putting together Tama-chan's Bastion family and was wondering how you'd fit into it. I guess technically speaking I'm the mother - there's no helping that..."
A little seriousness came creeping into his expression though and he lowered his head, still a little soft, a little fond,
"...I know. I know I'm not. Thank you."
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Nodding in reply to Kaoru's thanks, they eventually left each other in companionable silence, the onmyoji's gaze distant, longing for a breeze to shake the leaves, the sound of birdsong, the patter and peaty smell of rain.
"This world seems so...stagnant. I wonder if it will ever be a real world or if we are doomed to silently drift, no matter how how large this place becomes?" he mused aloud, eventually looking down into his teacup.
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Not just the rain. Breezes through open windows. The feeling of stepping out of the cold into the warm. It should have almost been December - or at least he roughly guessed so, from the day he arrived. Yet he was still dressing like it was early autumn.
"This world may be a little stagnant, but that doesn't mean the rest of us have to be." His gaze slid over to the onmyoji before calmly drifting back outside again. "There are other ways to shake things up. For instance I'd love to know what it was you thought that made you colour up like that, though I doubt you'd tell me."
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"You want to creep into my head and now all the good and ill, but what do you propose in return, Kaoru? I am not a flower, blooming and opening myself to others despite the risk of exposure. Am i not allowed my secrets?"
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"Your secrets are your own. I would never dream of making you give up anything you were unwilling to part with. But if it is an exchange you're suggesting what would you accept in return?" He breathed one of his musical 'host club' sighs, raising his hands. "Aaaaaa. Alas that I only have to offer what I can create with these two hands of mine..."
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"Take it. Otherwise I fear I will give in to weakness and retreat."
Huffing a sigh and arching a brow, he rested his hands on his knees. Eyes closed and cheeks rosy, Seimei twitched his head in a small nod.
"I was imagining a domestic family setting. with I as lord of the estate and you my companion helping to raise an heir."
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He was dying to laugh in delight, but his own soft huff of an exhale through his nose was the closest he came to it. No laughing. He didn't want to gave the wrong impression or scare Seimei away. But he still smiled, hands closing around the fan a little.
"...I certainly can't object to that. Though it is a very small estate. And a highly unusual heir."
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He trailed off, eyes still closed. It was almost as effective as hiding behind the fan. More so in some ways. Without seeing Kaoru's expression Seimei didn't have to fear the effect of what he said.
"I was able to make you happy."
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He leaned just a little forward, thankful for Seimei's closed eyes, thankful that he couldn't see his blush, though he would have heard Kaoru's voice shake a little. It was nice to hear him say it, if a little unexpected. "...I'm quite happy with just you."
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At least Kaoru didn't condemn him.
"You have me. you have all of me, whenever you should want it or need it. I only wish that I were in a position to give you more. You would have liked walking the royal grounds when the trees blossomed. The summer festivals. To seasons changing in the garden. I like to imagine those things, when I am troubled and alone. Dreaming of you accompanying me, in halcyon days."
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