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But not everyone, right?

( he sounds incredulous at this, as if there has to be a "no", nothing to change about that. Could be that there is a bit too much emotion in hat word, even if it started out on a laugh. ugh empathy )

Pay me something sweet and I'll be steadfast for us both. Or attempt to be. I don't think I am all that good at it either.

( Tokage will scrunch his nose up and pout, eyes sliding away from you and landing on - something, he doesn't really pay attention. )

I'm not the right person to ask about right and wrong, either. I know when someone is acting really badly, but...

( later, when his head does not swim in emotions, Tokage might think about this, about how honest Kida is here. As it is, he doesn't seem to actually buy into temptation, into much of anything. Amusement, uncertainty, thoughtfulness- he has no name for these, but he feels a bit lost with how fast these feelings crashed into each other )

Well... It's kind of hard to like people who are always trying to get others hurt. But other than that...

[Masaomi really does like most people. And why wouldn't he, really? At their best, people are fun, and interesting, and -... Well, they're sort of what makes life life, aren't they?]

... I guess I'm still hoping that she'll come here, too. If I did anything with another girl, it would be like giving up on Saki.

If you meet one of these guys here you should tell me. (logically, he should say something like, "a girl needs to be careful" but hey, what is logic? ) I'd punch them for you. Take that to heart, I don't offer these kind of things lightly.

( and he might just regret that, anyway, even if the words seem shallow. You should always look after your own hide first, Tokage hasn't forgotten that. He just doesn't always want to live like that )

I guess it could happen for you. Still, if she doesn't come it's your job to find her.

[Actually, there's two guys that Masaomi would love to warn Tokage about, but the promise to punch them soon puts an end to that. Those two guys are actually, genuinely dangerous. He can't risk getting her involved.]

Thanks, but... if it comes to that, I can fight my own fights.

[He really can - and besides, having a girl fight for him? That's kind of awkward. No offense.]

Well... We'll see, I guess. Anyway - you'll bid on Mikado for me, then?

No. ( and here: Tokage rights himself all too-straight in his chair, the hashing clanking against his bowl ) nevermind my silly word, but it would be idiotic, you know? I'm not telling you to take me, but aren't you too young to fight on your own? You'll write a tragic ending to your love-story.

( awkward, you say. As awkward as Tokage's smile now? Let's hope now )

Don't even doubt that and I will make it worth his time, too! Still, there's something I want you to tell me first.

Trust me, I can fight on my own just fine.

[He wants to smile; he tries to. But with that offhanded comment about his love story, he just can't do it. It hits a little too close to home.]

... What is it?

Don't be childish ( I guess wagging his finger here is very fitting ) that's not attractive, you know. Your best friend and your girl want you to come home. It's depressing to be forced to mourn someone. Nobody has the strength to live through being truly alone.

...I forgot? ( he'll put the hashi down, clasping his fingers and resting his cheek on his thumbs ) Maybe I simply wanted to know if you're happy?

Is it childish to not want to put your friends in danger?

[He's a little insulted, actually - not because she called him childish, but because she disapproves of the way he handles things. Fighting his own fights isn't some easy way out; it's the hardest thing about his life. He doesn't do it for fun.

Her question lightens the mood again a little, though.]

Yeah, I guess... I mean, this place isn't that bad. If Saki was here, I could be happy.

Think about it from another angle. What do you think your friends feel like, being unable to help you? They won't want you to get hurt either. You're making the decisions that should be theirs because you're running scared.

( life lessons with Really Old People are never what you signed up for, are they? The pout on Tokage's face looks properly young at least - or maybe that's just your emotions bleeding through in visuals? )

We should drink to that! This place is creepy, but it's more peaceful than anything I can remember.

If it's my fight, it's my decision. I'd rather keep my friends safe than keep them happy.

[Maybe it doesn't quite work that way, but that's his choice. Masaomi has had other friends before - maybe more like acquaintances - that he was happy to fight alongside of. But that was different. His friends now - his best friends; his real friends - are a different kind of people. Good people. Masaomi wouldn't get them involved in fights if his life depended on it.]

I don't think you've ever told me about your world. What's it like?

( he. feels as if he is talking with a rather persistent wall. can walls be persistent? well, in this case...) You'll be fine with it then? If your friends don't come to you if they have problems?

( oh, hey, the ceiling is suddenly really rather interesting )

You wouldn't think that it's very different from here. Well, the place is-- it's Japan. It's faster and flooded with lights. There's stuff lurking in the shadows though. How should I phrase this for you? It's not a topic you should talk about normally.

You've listened to the monks you've met on the street, Masaomi?

No, I wouldn't be fine with it. But if that's their choice, I'm not going to force them to change it.

[This wall is very persistent indeed.

He knows Japan, of course; he should have realized that she was from there, given her name, but with no many different worlds around, nothing seems certain. And indeed, judging by what she's saying, her Japan is very different from his, in spite of the hectic city life.]

Not really. I give them money once in a while, but I'm usually broke, so...

Edited (What is English?) 2013-07-24 17:07 (UTC)

( okay no, look this is not going where Tokage wants it to go. At the same time? At the same time, he cannot make up your mind any more than he can change the weather - or that is how he sees it, anyway. Eternal loser that he might be. Eternal masochist, maybe - because he's standing up now and circling the table until he's behind you, until he has his arms around you and is leaning close. Is kneeling, even, to make up for the height difference.

Screw empathy as a magical bow-wow, this version is still more powerful )

A lot of them talk shit. The kind where they never see farther than their own spiritual improvement, but a few of them are annoying because they know the truth.

You know ( because this is so casual sure ) humans get reincarnated. Except not always.

[Well, Masaomi isn't going to complain about a hug like that - not from Tokage. It's impossible to relax completely - his own hang-ups, nothing to do with her - but he still enjoys it well enough, listening carefully to what she's saying, so close to his ear.]

That's what they say.

[He's yet to put any thought into whether it's real or not, however.]

And that's true?

( but uff Kida, Tokage might be putting too much weight on your shoulders, going a bit loose and having your shoulders bear his weight. )

You'll believe me if I tell you that it's true?

( and that, here, is the crux for him. Tokage knows that it's true, knows, too, how few people believe in this. What interests him isn't teaching Kida, it's--

testing limits. Seeing where he is. A bit odd, because normally he wouldn't be so insecure, or not in that way at least )

[That's fine, that's fine... He can take it. His shoulders have carried bigger weights.]

I don't know...

[He's really not sure what to believe, when it comes to the religious - and it's a surprise that Tokage cares one way or the other. She seems so certain.]

I have to say, I'd never pegged you for the religious type.

( carrying weights, that sounds like the actual DRRR! theme, does it not )

I'm not. ( that might have been to fast. Take a breathe here, lizardbrain ) After all, I don't seem that way as you said. Or do you change your mind that easily?

Religion means that a person attempts to do right by their gods, but that is absurd. I'm not going to sit in the dark, wishing for some powerful thing to care about my fate. ( he's looking up at Kida now, through his lashes and an expression so alienated from smiles that it seems quirte foreign ) I know a thing or two about souls though.

Then you know a thing or two more than me.

[Masaomi knows little and cares less. He believes, maybe; very casually. But even in his darkest times, he's never bothered with prayer, or anything like that. He's always created his own misery. It only makes sense, then, that he himself is the person he should turn to, if he wants to make things right.

If only it was that easy.]

Care to teach me, Tokage-sensei?

Sure do, there's one thing that age has to be good for, right?

( there is more ease now, thanks to Kida, and Tokage simply kisses his temple and ruffles his hair as he stands up, moving his palm along his thighs, as if there is anything to dust off )

That's a bad idea waiting to happen. I'm not the type to be favoured by luck, what happens if that's all I'll be able to teach you? But maybe I could offer rewards for every time you manage to not fidget through a meditation session-?

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