Day 75 - A Stranger Enters

[dissectionislove]

Who: Stein and YOU
When: Day 75, evening-ish
Where: The entrance of the Bastion, just off the Skyway
What: After an untold time searching, Stein arrives (intro post, pretty much)
Style: Action, but will adopt other styles
Warnings: None that I can see; will change if needed
Status: OPEN.

The place I’m supposed to be…

[He’s been searching for it for hours, at least; days, more likely. It wasn’t exactly clear to him how long. Funny how the Madness could distort everything beyond recollection. His vision is foggy, clouded by the shattered left lens of his glasses, and the sweat dripping into his eyes. All he’s got to go on is this sensation driving him onward, even with thousand pound legs, a spinning head, and a heart that feels like it’s ready to burst.

Yes, he knows he’s in bad shape. Stein is at least that self-aware still. But the rest is a blur; where he’s been, who he’s been with, what he’s done…
…he especially doesn’t want to think about that last bit.

He staggers forward, a shaky hand out before him, sweat dripping off his chin. He’s so close to it now…so close to the answer. So close to the end.]

The place I’m supposed to be…

[He pants, breathless and spent, and trudges onward into Bastion.
This was it – where he was supposed to be. At once, the Madness dissipates, releasing its brutal, tormenting hold on his mind. Stein takes a final step forward…and collapses.

At last, he can sleep.]

Comments

[hellpyre]

[Rin exited Marie's old apartment just a second after Seimei entered and called out, prompting a quirked eyebrow from the half-demon when she spotted him. Why did he look... giddy? Oh Seimei, she will never fully understand you...]

Yeah, I found one. Maka and Crona know him. He ain't injured but he needs food and water badly.

[yinyangfox]

[ He looks almost crestfallen at the report of lack of injury. After all, he wasn't good for a great deal these days and was feeling a little less than useful. When one's skills were about knowing one's environment, displacement tended to put you back several decades. Still, he was learning. Sooner or later he'd be a good Bastion-based onmyoji.

If he could manage any tasks within it.

Still, it doesn't hurt to offer more mundane services. Then again Rin is an infinitely better cook than himself. It doesn't make sense to step on toes in the quest to feel necessary. No doubt the chickens would at least welcome his company.

Schooling his face to abandon the disappointment he felt, Seimei has the sense to bow politely before excusing himself. ]

"Ah, I see. Then I suppose the matter is handled and my services are not necessary. I apologize for entering uninvited. It won't happen again."

[hellpyre]

[Except that Rin caught that look, and she knew he'd been feeling a little less than useful lately. She couldn't blame him - they were all out of place there, some just had the fortune of having a skill or two that was still usable. Others... were going to have to learn to adapt.

Mundane task or not, it was still something.]

Geez...

[And without warning she stomped past him, only to grab a sleeve and drag the onmyoji with her in a rather undignified manner]

C'mon...

[yinyangfox]

[ Unused to being treated so casually, let along dragged anywhere by anyone for any reason, the onmyoji stumbles and very nearly falls. Pinwheeling his arms briefly he managed to regain his balance, but can't help the flush of color creeping up his neck at the indignity.

Japanese manners prevent him from saying anything about it, however, and he merely follows obediently behind Rin, out of sorts and suddenly regretting his decision to creep in without permission. Even so, it serves its purpose in shaking the glum expression off the man's face.

Just because Seimei was full of advice and support for other people, didn't mean he didn't need it sometimes, too. He just didn't acknowledge the human part of himself as much as others. ]

[hellpyre]

[Get used to it, Seimei. Rin's politeness can only last for so long and she's used the majority of it up on you already.

She leads him to the kitchen, pulling him in before finally letting go of him so she can pause and use both hands to take out her hair tie and redo her ponytail.]

Might wanna put your sleeves back. I never said I didn't need help, and two sets of hands are better than one.

[yinyangfox]

[ He obeys without realizing it, pulling his sleeves up and back, tying them with the ribbon he keeps pocketed for the purpose, eyes wide. What exactly is she expecting him to do? ]

Lady Rin...I do not... [ Don't say you don't know how, just say you don't do it, Seimei. Admitting you don't know how to cook practically screams pampered jerk. Which he isn't...at least by the standards of his era. Standards he's being forced to acknowledge aren't accepted in "modern" times.]

I...do not cook. [ Wait. Isn't saying you don't cook pretty much the same thing? Curses. ]

I never learned how. I do not wish to make our new guest ill. Are...you certain you do not need...perhaps a spell or something written? Or clothes...I have a growing collection of local clothing... [ Fretting? Seimei? Never. ]

[hellpyre]

[This is the face of a girl who doesn't give a shit, Seimei. Get used to it.]

You wanna be helpful, right? Even if you ain't sayin' it out loud I can still see it.

There are things you can do in a kitchen that don't require actually cookin' anything, and guess what? I'm pretty damn sure onmyoji aren't immune to learnin'. You ain't gonna make him sick if you've got me here, 'kay?

[yinyangfox]

[ usually good at hiding his internal emotions, Seimei is entirely unable to keep himself from puffing up like a pissed off chicken. It passes rapidly, but the manner in which Rin speaks to him is something he isn't likely to become accustomed to any time soon.

Still, she -is- right. ]

Of course, Lady Rin. Direct me, and I shall endeavor to satisfy your demands.

[ He sounds a little insulted, but more relieved. He didn't have to ask, which was mercy enough. ]

[hellpyre]

[Your puffed up bird impression is nothing compared to her pissed off feline impression. And she's got the claws and teeth to make it convincing.

He'd better get used to her like that. She's not about to keep up the pleasant act.]

... good.

[She's glad he's willing to cooperate, though.]

Right. Well, I'm thinkin' bland food, since I'unno how long he's been like this. So... we'll start with potatoes. Think you can get water in a pot and set it on the stove to boil?

[yinyangfox]

Potatoes? [ The onmyoji shakes his head and goes to get a pot, filling it with water and adjusting it on the stove. Perking with curiosity, he cranes his neck slightly, looking over Rin at what she was doing. Potatoes in one country were very different from potatoes in another, and Seimei has never seen anythign other than satsuma-imo and yamaimo. Still, a root is a root, and surely is would make a fine simple meal? He trusted Rin in this, above all else. ]

"What else would you like me to do?"

[hellpyre]

[These were just basic brown potatoes, the kind Rin knew were more common in America and parts of Europe than anywhere else in her neck of the woods. But they worked for the purposes of getting people fed, and were a little hardier than what she was used to.

She's working on them right now, peeling the large brown roots with nothing but a small paring knife, but doing so expertly, moving in spirals around the outer skin.]

Mnn... croquettes shouldn't take too long. [That was more to herself than to him] We got some corn the other day, so get that and start pullin' the husks off, 'kay?

[yinyangfox]

[ Though he has no idea what croquettes are, and he's only recently been introduced to corn, Seimei does as he's told. It was like being back in the onmyoji collegiate, being highly over-qualified for the things he was being taught, but still requiring the lessons.
Taking it that way, the Asian does his work, watching Rin as well, studying what she does for use in the future. He does nothing in half measures, so if he is here helping, he will learn, and in the future be able to do as much without direction. ]

"I do know how to make some things..." [ Seimei murmurs, keeping his eyes on the corn as he peels it, the tension in his shoulders indicative of the difficulty in admitting what he says. ] "I learned a few things...but I only ever made them for one person."

[ One friend. His only friend. ]

[hellpyre]

[He's willing to learn, and that's a big plus in Rin's book.

Rin took to cutting the peeled potatoes up, dumping them in the water as the pot starts to sizzle.]

What'd you make?

[yinyangfox]

Little things. Simple things. He liked sweet things, treats. Daigaku Imo. That's a glazed sweet potato. Ah, Kinpira Gobo. Sake no to-nyu jiro. Its a fish soup. Cherry blossom rice. Nikuman, a sort of a light sandwich. That's a bit complicated though. A lot of ingredients. It seemed important that I make the food myself.

[ The onmyoji tilts his head slightly, expression unreadable as he finishes peeling the husks from the cobs, setting them aside and sighing softly. ]

Next?

[hellpyre]

Ahh... I miss sweet potatoes...

[More of a musing at herself than at Seimei.]

At least you went to the trouble to make it.

[You're not as lazy as she thought you were.]

Here, gimme the corn. I need some onions, too.

[yinyangfox]

[ He nods, picking up the corn and transferring it to her before searching out the onions. ]

He never knew the difference, so I suppose it was effort wasted.

[hellpyre]

[Rin took the corn and started peeling the actual corn off the cob, setting it in to a pile for when the potatoes were done.]

What do you mean?

[yinyangfox]

[ Tilting his head, the onmyoji gazes at Rin thoughtfully before offering a wan smile. ]

I have no idea why I am talking about this suddenly. I suppose after a few days things are beginning to settle in and the loss is finally beginning to sting. Like a wound you do not realize you have, it does not hurt until you see it.

[ He nods slowly, accepting the minor wisdom as he peels the dry outer skin from the onions and passing them to Rin. ]

Where I am from, people never cared very much for me. We are very superstitious, and my birth is disconcerting to others of standard lineage. I only ever had one friend that was not a spirit of some sort. I cared for him a great deal, though I admit my friendship was comprised of affection that was not reciprocated. I chose not to mention it out of fear, I suppose. Perhaps I thought he would grow uncomfortable.

[hellpyre]

[Rin listens while working, taking the onions and cutting in to them with no care for the acrid scent that comes from them. She knows that feeling, the pangs of pain that come with realizing there really is nothing to go back to, and this is all anyone has now.]

... I know that feelin'. I didn't really know anythin' about who I really was until a year ago, but even before that, I didn't have any friends either.

Even if you didn't tell him, I'm sure he enjoyed your company. I doubt he woulda stuck around if he didn't. That's somethin' at least, right?

[yinyangfox]

Yes, that is something. Though not much in the grand scheme of things. As you can imagine, it gets very lonely, being different. And I suppose I invested a great deal into something I instinctively knew would never amount to much.

Neither Kitsune nor Humans much cared for me, really. It left me at a social disadvantage, but he helped alleviate some of it. Because of him, I began to garner more respect, people were more willing to ask my services.

[hellpyre]

You're bein' awfully negative about it. I mean he was your friend, wasn't he? For people like us, any friendship is better than none at all.

He probably appropriated you, even if he didn't say as much.

[yinyangfox]

I imagine my negativity stems from a subconscious desire to let the friendship somehow become meaningless, so that I do not have to face the pain of missing it in the future. If I pretend it was nothing, then I have nothing to miss.

[ The onmyoji smiles apologetically, dusting his hands off and looking around for a task needing doing in attempt to distract himself. ]

He was my only friend, Lady Rin. The relationships I am making in this place are foreign to me. The only thing safe and familiar was Minamoto no Hiromasa. The only thing in my existence that mattered. Such a small thing, really. A single human life, a mere flicker in the years I would live, but more valuable than anything. And I am forced to accept that the time I had, such as it were, was all I will get.

[ He swallowed audibly, looking away from Rin and ducking his head briefly, adjusting his sleeves and hat, taking several moments before turning once more, that smile plastered on his face like deflective armor. It didn't hide the slowly evaporating dampness on his lashes.]

I would rather not talk about this anymore, Lady Rin. In fact, I would wish not to talk of it again at all if I thought it were possible. We have a guest in need of food, do we not? So, direct me to a task and I shall do it.

[hellpyre]

Ah... eggs, please. And mushrooms.

[Rin finishes the potatoes, just as the pot starts to boil.

She almost argues with him, regarding not talking of it, but she knew more than anyone how it was to just want to not think about all the things that were so painful. She had done her fir share of avoidance as of late and she wasn't about to be that much of hypocrite.]

... right. Sorry.

[yinyangfox]

[ He is quiet several moments, poking around the kitchen in search of the asked for ingredients. When he returns and hands them over, the onmyoji nods slightly. ]

Thank you. I am certain I will want to talk about it sometimes. But right now, I think I am unable to speak of it without becoming emotional, which serves us no purpose. I would rather focus on care-taking, and on finding our missing companion.

[hellpyre]

[Mentioning Marie gets a darker frown from Rin, but she hides it mostly by turning back to her task. The potatoes will take a while, but she still has a few things to do to get ready to actually make the croquettes.]

We've lost people before... she's not the first to not come back.

[Meaning Rin really didn't have high hopes at all.]