Day 127 | Open | Enjoy the Gardens!

[yinyangfox]

Who: Seimei and everyone/anyone
Open: Open
When: Day 127
Where: The new and improved Hitachiin-Abe Estate
What: Kaoru wanted Seimei to have a house-warming party ages ago and he declined. Now he intends to because its not just his home anymore.
Format: Prose
Warnings: SHOULD be safe...


Yesterday the southern Bastion was suddenly dominated by the rise of a beautiful, elegant Japanese estate. Trees, two ponds, a deck reaching out and resting atop the river; a work of historical art nestled away from the noise and bustle.

Having sent Kaoru out for food and to talk with people about the home being open to others for use of the garden, Seimei himself was reclining on the deck over the river, stretched out and dozing while Taisan sat nearby, eyes closed as his hands moved fluidly over the strings of a plain koto, the music rising and falling in harmony with the rush of water beneath the deck.

The doors in the home were open, front and back, leaving a clear line from the entrance to the gardens where the music drifted on the breeze. At Seimei's request, there was a little sign at the door illustrating taking off one's shoes. Not a demand, simply a request. It was a garish thing he didn't want to keep, but he wanted to at least initially indicate it was polite to do, for those without knowledge of the preference.

The home was now open, and Seimei himself was open as well. He had brooded and been bitetr long enough. With recent revelations between himself and Kaoru, and the sudden influx of newcomers, it was simply unreasonable to remain a hermit.

The onmyoji was back in service, socially and professionally.

Comments

[blackblooded]

"... it wasn't that bad." A comment, muttered quietly, somewhat rebelliously. It wasn't bad, not really, just another nightmare in a life full of nightmares, and it faded quickly. He has no right to tell Crona what is or is not traumatic.

But he's offering his house to Crona, and it's wrong to be rude to him, isn't it. It's wrong and Crona really should be ashamed, should change. Because this man is offering things for no reason at all, being polite even to Ragnarok, and it makes no sense. But it would be wrong not to accept it graciously.

"A-are you all right now?"

[yinyangfox]

He tilted his head, arching a brow slowly in regards to things not being so bad. Best not to comment, he decided. Some people just weren't really ready to open up and he wasn't one to push hard. He preferred to pull, when he could.

"Myself? Yes. Well enough to travel, at any rate. I was unwell for several days. Spiritual drain is difficult for me to recover from quickly, though I believe I did rather well this time. Considering. Thank you for asking."

[blackblooded]

"... There's nowhere to travel to. Just here, and the Skyway, you know?"

[yinyangfox]

The onmyoji smiled, lifting his tea and sipping it quietly in watchful amusement before finally speaking.

"And one cannot travel on the Skyway? When you leave the Bastion, and go beyond where others explore, that is no less a journey than anything else, I would imagine."

[blackblooded]

Crona stares at him for a long moment. "That's not a good idea. You'll die."

[yinyangfox]

"That is very possible," he replied coolly, arching a brow and closing his eyes, nostrils twitching as he inhaled the aroma of his tea.

"Everyone puts themselves at risk every time they go out. We risk ourselves more each time we venture forth in search of cores, or even simply scavenging. However, I have a task in mind, and I cannot leave it be. else I am betraying myself and who I have always been. In these strange times, it is important to remember who we are, and who we wanted to be," he mused, sipping the tea once more.

"A shattered landscape does not change a goal, merely the path to it which you must needs take."

[blackblooded]

"Selfish."Crona makes an observation, but it quickly tilts into a lecture.

"There aren't many people here, and we need everyone we have, you know? If you leave, we've lost a person who could be here helping. You'd risk everyone's lives so you could travel. That's terrible."

[yinyangfox]

"Hm, by my count the only life I'm risking is my own. And in fact my intention is to possibly save lives in the process," the onmyoji remarked, not at all upset or flustered by the direct and tart manner Crona bore him.

Setting his tea down, Seimei reached for his paper fan, tapping it against his lips.

"And there are many people, with more arriving fairly regularly, now that things have settled into a steady flow. Even new life is rising from the ashes, considering the infant child."

Arching a brow slowly, he opens one eye to regard the youth with a faint smirk.

"Since you seem to be so invested, tell me precisely what I offer the Bastion and its denizens? What makes me so important, in your observation?"

[blackblooded]

"I don't know. I don't know anything about you. But you've been here for a long time, you know? Other people must know you. You're important to them. And even if there are more people, that doesn't give you the right to go away. Everyone here works together and relies on each other, so you shouldn't take risks."

[yinyangfox]

"Oh? No risks? So I suppose I shouldn't do anything at all that could cause me harm, like heavy lifting, or even conversing, since emotional distress is just as risky, considering what it can do to a person's spirit," the onmyoji remarked, opening his fan and tapping his chin lightly.

"My goal is to speak with the creatures of the Skyway and make whatever truce or alliance I can. If successful, then I prevent a great many ills befalling other people. If I am unsuccessful, then I simply return home. A life without risks is not a life worth living, Crona, and I have the power to do this thing, so I must. I do not expect you or anyone else to understand. I only ask that you respect my decision."

[blackblooded]

"Or if you're unsuccessful, they eat you. They probably don't want to be our allies." Crona doesn't understand, or respect it. It's a foolish decision, a suicide mission, for no purpose other than being able to bask in the glory of creating a temporary truce.

[yinyangfox]

"That is what I have to find out. Though I have no intention of being eaten, I do find your lack of confidence in my own self preservation rather unfair. In all my efforts and outings, the only times I have been seriously endangered or injured is when I have been accompanied by anyone else," he remarked matter-of-factly, arching a dark brow.

[blackblooded]

"Because you run away." Crona remembers that, from the nightmares. This man runs away.

"There are things out there that could catch you."

[yinyangfox]

"As I recall," the onmyoji mused, voice low cool and steady, "there are things in here that could "catch" me as well."

Seimei remembered from the nightmares as well. While he might run, Crona was precisely the sort of person to run from. He had chosen not to judge the child, but if he was going to be judged for preserving himself, he would not hesitate to remind Crona that there were things in the Bastion easily perceived as worse than the things outside it.

"Retreating is sometimes the wisest course of action. When the time comes, I do what is best in the situation I am faced with."

[blackblooded]

"Are you running away from everyone here?" Maybe Crona's wrong, that wouldn't be a surprise, but it makes a little bit of sense. "You can't actually run away from people, you know. Not really. They're in your head."

[yinyangfox]

"Running away from here? After building this beautiful home and finding someone to share it with? No, I think not," he sighed, tilting his head to the side and chewing his bottom lip briefly.

"Crona, have you never been guided by your heart to do something? Not your mind. Not your mind telling you whats right and wrong or basing your actions on what you've learned or been taught, but by your heart. The very core of you making you, pressing you, to do something that you will be ashamed of yourself if you do not? Whether something as grand as confessing love or as small as apologizing for a mistake?"

[blackblooded]

"If... If you ignore what your mind tells you, it's easy to do things that you regret later." If Maka hadn't gone and found Crona, Crona would have died in the desert after running away. Simple as that.

[yinyangfox]

"If you do what your mind tells you, it is easy to do things that you regret later as well. The mind is a terrible place sometimes, full of chains and shadows and lies and missed opportunities," he mused, reaching to pick up a dusty bit of mochi, turning it over between finger and thumb.

"If you never follow your heart, you never take the bigger risks that allow you to live and love. I would continue to be alone, forever. I go on this journey to maintain the core of myself, of what and who I am. I have always had a responsibility, a duty, to the creatures that men consider lesser things. Be it animals, demons or simply the poor and unfortunate. I could not face Kaoru honestly if I were not true to myself and what I am meant to do."

Eating the mochi quietly, he regarded Crona with his dark, penetrating gaze.

"I always want to talk to you, but I can almost feel you retracting. Is it that you hate people or are afraid of them?" he asked thoughtfully, before shaking his head. "Or do you hate or fear yourself, I wonder?" he added, obviously speaking to himself more than Crona.

[blackblooded]

There are too many potentials, too many wrong things that might happen, and it's a wonder Crona manages to ever go anywhere or do anything. So many things could go wrong. But Crona knows this is not a good idea, and is about to say something else when Seimei changes the subject.

"... People can be cruel, you know?" But Crona doesn't hate them, or fear them. And self-hatred has never crossed the meister's mind. "But I just don't know how to deal with them."

[yinyangfox]

And at last, Crona says something Seimei understands all to well. Dark eyes linger on the younger company before lowering and looking away as the onmyoji set his emptied teacup down, folding his hands into his sleeves.

"People can be very cruel. Even without really intending to do harm, the words and actions of others can be absolutely devastating. Sometimes even things meant to be kind can cut to the very core of a person and do irreparable damage."

He sighed softly, tilting his head to watch Taisan's hands move as he played gentle music across the deck. He let the relative silence stretch for a moment before speaking again.

"Shall I confess something, Crona?" he asked, those dark eyes drifting up to face the meister. "I do not know how to deal with people either, sometimes. I may live forever, and never really come to understand them any better than I do now. Before all of this, it was my job to work with many people in many ways. I was expected to be very social and cooperative. I...was not. Admittedly, I was very skilled - the most skilled, perhaps - in my field. But I was very, very terrible at my job," he related at length, closing his eyes and leaning back to listen to the notes as they drifted.

"People...frighten me, I suppose. I do not like them very much, though I do try to overcome this whenever I can. Now I am opening my home to people. Even now I worry if this is the best choice."

[blackblooded]

Crona has never encountered accidental cruelty. Even Medusa's kindest words had been intentional, scripted to rip through Crona's soul and leave the child shaken.

"You can't think of them all in a group. People are scary when you look at them all at once. One person at a time is all you need to think about."

Ragnarok grins, all flat teeth and chittering laughter.

"Tch. They're more scared of you than you are of them, moron!"

[yinyangfox]

"That is actually very fine advice, Crona," he remarked, and he meant it. While he understood the principle and shared the outlook, it was pleasant to hear it spoken from the youth and enlightening, as well.

When Ragnarok finally spoke up, Seimei pulled a sleeve back enough that he could gesture with one hand to the tea set aside for him.

"I find that the same can be said in my position as well. The people of Kyoto were often terrified of me. Rumors of my skill and my heritage caused me a great deal of trouble."

[blackblooded]

Crona manages a little smile, pleased and flattered by Seimei's agreement. But then of course Ragnarok had to be his normal annoying self and ruin things.

"So? People are scared as hell 'cause me and Crona murdered shitloads of people! Who gives a fuck what they think, huh?

[yinyangfox]

"Is that supposed to startle me?" he asked, tilting his head to regard Ragnarok coolly. "Or are you deliberately trying to trouble Crona? Perhaps hamper his ability to form another friendship? Ragnarok-san, tsk tsk. How unkind," he drawled, refreshing all of the teacups and doling out desserts on separate plates.

"Frankly, I doubt many people here know about it at all, so unless you say something, you have complete freedom to be whatever sort of person it pleases you to be. Myself, for example. I am trying, at least, to be more available to others, where before I avoided them quite spectacularly. In this new and strange world, I am permitted friendships. However, only if I permit myself to have them as well."

[blackblooded]

"I dunno. You scared, foxface?"

Seimei obviously thinks more deeply on friendships than Crona does. The meister simply doesn't have enough experience for this.

"I don't know about things like that. People who want to be friends just make themselves your friends. That's what happens."