puppycrush2 | week four

'Kay. [ that's the best he's gonna get because minami is stupid.

he doesn't bow obviously, irreverent as he is, but it's probably sacrilege for a demon to bow at a shrine anyway. the local tengu would probably come out to yell at him, he thinks. ]

So what do you do at shrines? Besides pray and asking for an exorcism?

I... have never asked for an exorcism at a shrine. Though I suppose I could see why that would be a more common affair in your world.

[He shakes his head a little, moving towards the offertory box proper.]

We usually come to pray for the new year, like you've already noted... there are charms to buy. I usually get Saki one for good health. Ah, we can draw our fortunes, as well.

[ minami follows, absolutely ignoring the fact that the air feels heavier as they head further in. ]

We should get one before we leave. [ a tilt of his head as he scrambles his one brain cell, which is already under stress. ]

Who's Saki?

[ he feels like he knows that name but he can't place if it was from before he started to hang onto tsukasa's every word or from a dream. ]

[Ah... right. The last time Tsukasa had an opportunity to bring up Saki, he purposefully chose not to. He'd already begun to trust Minami by then, but while he trusted Minami with his own life, Saki is more than that. Tsukasa's life, Tsukasa's dreams--they're nothing compared to the place his sister has in his heart.

But... things have already changed quite a bit since then, even, haven't they?

He glances over Minami's way, tilting his head a little, but doesn't pause for long. Instead, he smiles.]

Saki is my precious younger sister. [The person he would do anything for--the person who set him on this path to begin with.]

I do not know if this is actually Japan or just a facsimile of it built in this world, but either way... I'm sure she'd be pleased to have a charm from it!

Ooooh, then let's do that. [ minami does not know what having a sibling is like and he will never know, but he does know humans often view those relationships as special. so while he'll never truly have empathy, he's at least capable of noting it down as important. ]

What's she like?

[What is Saki like, huh... Tsukasa pauses in front of the offertory box, considering that for a moment.]

She's... bright. She's kind, and friendly to everyone she meets, and smiles even when maybe she shouldn't. But that's only because she doesn't want to worry anyone else.

[Honestly, her soul is probably even more perfect than Tsukasa's for Minami's initial purpose.]

She's come a very long way, and as her older brother, I couldn't be happier.

Bright, friendly and kind...it sounds like it runs in your family. [ very possibly! that brings to mind the soul he had an eye on before he came here, who was also a girl and all of the above. she's pretty ditzy though and also aimless, which is the opposite of tsukasa.

honestly, he had forgotten about that soul up until this point. ]

I wonder if that Tengu could hear me from here... [ don't mind his thoughts and chatter jumping around like usual. ]

[It does, but Tsukasa doesn't really bother to say so. It's pretty obvious regardless; Tsukasa comes from a family of warmth.

...?

Tsukasa tilts his head. He needs to pray now that they're here, even though Minami isn't going to, except he's so distracted now so he's just loitering there in front of the offertory box instead.]

"Tengu"? What Tengu? [THERE'S A TENGU?]

There's a Tengu back home that I have a beef with. He got pretty protective over a soul I had my eye on to the point where he decided to follow this girl 24/7, so that I couldn't do anything.

Mmmn, I don't even remember her name anymore. I was definitely settling!

But if he can hear me from here I'd want to give him a proper bye-bye, hehe.

[ #justminamithings. ]

[#justMinamiThings...

Tsukasa is starting to get used to this, so he just shakes his head to himself a little (that poor girl...) and turns his attention back to the shrine properly.

Minami is gonna have to wait a moment, Tsukasa has to pray. He feels he extra has to pray while listening to Minami talk about souls he had his eye on.

Bow twice, clap twice, hands together--

Please let Saki remain healthy. Please let this show end well, and everyone get their wishes. Please let me be able to help save Minami--

Bow once more, and then he turns to face Minami.]

Right then! I think it might be for the better if he can't hear you from here. Let's go draw fortunes, shall we?

Better? He's tried to kill her before to challenge her!

[ but minami will be quiet, part out of courtesy to tsukasa and part because of the sensation he can no longer ignore on his skin, sandpaper and warm, verging on hot.

he actually steps away from tsukasa completely, just so he can get as full of a breath as he's able to in a place like this. when tsukasa's done, he'll find him fiddling with the chrysanthemum he's wearing at his hip. (i will link fit next tag when I'm not longer mobile~) ]

'Kay.

[Poor Minami.

Tsukasa moves to meet him, but is immediately distracted by what he has to say.]

Huh?! [keep it down, Tsukasa, this is a shrine.] Why? I thought Tengu were like...

[Uhhhh, dig deep, they've done some mythological shows, but usually they kept it simple for the kids--]

... well, I didn't think they were that dangerous, anyway.

Mmmn, they're Gods of something or another but they bring misfortune a lot. That's why it's so dumb that he cares. And this one's really possessive.

[ says minami who absolutely does not have those tendencies himself, nope.

he intertwines their fingers together quickly, to distract himself from the less pleasant sensations he's feeling. also fit, which is as far as I can tell a skirt, but demons don't have gender norms so fight him. maybe the true scandalous thing is minami showing belly at a shrine... ]

That poor girl.......

[Tsukasa says, failing to see the obvious irony.

Anyway, he makes his way for the fortunes, digging into his pockets for any yen he has rattling around.]

Let's see... shall we draw a fortune for each of us, then? [Do demons even care about fortunes... It's not like Tsukasa cares either, specifically, it's just Something You Do at the shrine. He's always had the viewpoint that he'll make his own future happen, regardless of fortunes.]

Well now she only has one type of haunting to worry about.

[ so it's fine.

minami nods, waiting patiently as he's never bothered with money in his life. ]

Mmhmm! But how do we do it?

[It's okay, Tsukasa will deposit the proper amount of money for both of their fortunes in the honor-system box and then reach for the container with the omikuji fortune sticks.]

You'll shake this and draw a stick from it. That will determine which fortune you get.

You first, and then I'll draw mine.

[Then they can go grab their fortunes together, and see how they did.]

[ he hesitates just a moment in grabbing a stick, wondering if it's going to electrocute him but #yolo.

it does not! ]

Thirty-one. I thought I'd get four or nine.

[Huh...]

Well. It keeps things interesting, at least.

[Tsukasa pulls his own, peering at the eleven he received before he shrugs a bit and moves for the actual fortunes.

how does minami do]

Now that I think about it, it was fortune telling that initially led to us talking more.

No, that was me! I would have found another way to meet up with you if it wasn't fortunes. Once I know what I want, I don't give up.

[ wanted in a different sense than he does now, but still wanted.

now for his fortune— 末小吉, small blessing. ]

Hehe, I'll make this small luck into big luck!

[Automatically:]

That's the spirit!

[.................. oh. Then the rest clicks

Wait.

Then--]

So even back then, you already-- [See this would sound romantic but Tsukasa is well aware that Minami means only his soul at that point.]

Mmmn, wellll. [ tilting his head to the side, that feels like so long ago now. ]

I guess I was more really interested? But I'm not gonna let something I potentially want slip by just because I'm not 100% sure yet. So yeah, I'd have made some other excuse to visit you, unless you gave me a reason not to.

But if we're talking about when I knew I really wanted you, that's more fuzzy... normally I just know? And I did but it felt different.

[ a breath in that doesn't really fill his lungs any, but he doesn't notice. ]

I think I actually liked you first, before I realized your soul was what I needed. I've never actually liked someone, so it made my head hurt. I tried to convince myself that just meant that I wanted to eat you, but that first time I put you to sleep and didn't do anything meant that wasn't true.

So it was around then, but I didn't really realize until you performed for me. But I didn't know how to deal with how it made me feel at all. So I guess...I knew that I liked you and wanted you first, so wanting to eat your soul was never the real reason why.

[ ...that's so embarrassing to say, but he's come to terms with it. maybe it's a bit romantic too, in that minami's heart beat his stomach to the punch.

ah, he can feel how flushed his cheeks are. ]

Even now it makes me feel—dizzy. [ that's why he feels so lightheaded right? and not the thin air of the shrine? ]

Tsukasa— [ minami is light, but he stops just short of fainting, leaning most of his weight onto tsukasa instead. ]

[Okay, there's a lot to pick apart there--(it wasn't his soul that Minami was after first? He'd always thought--)--but there's no time for that, because then Minami is slumping and Tsukasa reaches out automatically to wrap an arm around him and keep him upright and slumped against him.]

Ah--Whoa! Hey!

[Okay, he knows Minami is bad with emotion, but not to the level of fainting bad. That means it must be the shrine, right? Minami truly was downplaying how much of a toll it was taking, then...

He shakes his head to himself and immediately starts to maneuver the both of them back towards the shrine entrance, an arm around Minami's waist to keep him upright.]

Honestly, you should have said something.

[It's a good thing Minami is small and therefore easy to manhandle.]

[ minami's in no condition to really protest with how his head feels like it's made of cotton, so he comes along with no resistance. him being bite sized has many uses. ]

Mmn, but there wasn't a Kalifa tree here so...

[ he figured it was fine?

nevermind that he would have done the same thing even with it. ]

[Tsukasa frowns at that, guiding the way out of the shrine and to a bench further down the path.]

I want you to take care of yourself, okay? We could have always tried to go on another date later.

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