[ SEMI-CLOSED ] with your demons and mine, i've been yours from the start

[kaientai]

Who ⬤ Sakamoto Ryouma + various
What ⬤ A horrible time to have a curse + some fun in the sun
When ⬤ June~
Where ⬤ All over!
Content Warnings ⬤ It's raining blood! Violence! Corruption! The baseline assumption here is that a lot will come up but I will specifically content warn for anything particularly noteworthy that wouldn't fall under the horror umbrella of the event itself. Beach-related prompts probably involve alcohol, stupidity, and assorted shenanigans. Will also warn accordingly!

[ ooc; if you'd like a custom starter and wanna plot something out, hmu @ koutenko or pm this journal! ]

Comments

[kaientai]

[ yeah. she really has him there, framing it like that. even if it's just an excuse, he'll honour it because he's the business guy. ugh. ]

... Can't smoke in here can I?

[ this is a clinic and all. having this conversation sober is excruciating enough so he's turning to something else to distract himself with even vaguely. ]

I think if I told him any more of it he'd run.

[ so there's that. ]

If I try to talk about it I make him upset. Or I make me upset, and then it happens anyway. Last time I got so drunk I don't even remember how it turned out. I figure he can tolerate me when I'm just a friend on his terms but if I make it anything more than that—...

[ ryouma just shakes his head. he'd come very close to confessing a few times the last time but managed to bite his tongue even though he'd been drinking. the fear — because okay, yeah that's what it is — of being rejected afterwards was enough to resist the temptation. ]

He already told me it's different from the rest of you anyway. No point in making it complicated for nothing.

[medicative]

He doesn't tolerate you. He looks for you. Is that nothing? Is your own happiness "nothing"?

[no, he can't smoke in here. but with his hands healed, she'll let them go, the glow fading out and the breeze gone. he can take them back at any point.]

Talk to him without all the excess. As plainly as you're talking to me, without fuss or trying to phrase it how you think it should go. You're only going to fall into the same patterns if you're not clear with each other. No drinking, no sex - don't let anything distract you from what you have to say.

[kaientai]

I mean—... it's never mattered before. [ a shrug. ] I gave my entire life up to do the thing that I needed to do because it had to be done. Then I just kept going...

[ he fidgets in other ways isntead because he has a lot of nervous energy and especially now that his hands aren't hurting they're perfect for picking at his clothing. ]

And you really think that's going to work? Me just... talking? I dunno what I'm aiming for. And we don't always do those things. Just once in a while...

[ he's trying not to look embarrassed because he's awkward whenever anyone points out that he has sex. he's always been like this. very mature. ]

[medicative]

Just talk. Don't go into this aiming for anything other than being honest and upfront. Don't try to find your destination before you even begin.

["not always" means it's still a possibility for avoiding conversation. so it has to be swept off the table as well.]

You've both been brought back to life. You have every opportunity to make up for lost time. If I hear you're wasting this chance, I'll consider having you both sit down at a table so I can mediate things myself.

[kaientai]

Huh. That feels like something I would've said myself. I never knew where I was headed half the time.

[ hard to argue with logic that fits so neatly into yours. ]

I've been doing this for so long that I guess it doesn't feel like I've been brought back until somebody mentions it. I don't really have any idea what to do with myself if it's not working on something, but—... [ a tired sigh. ] I'll make sure it won't come to all that. I'm not sure we'd survive it...

[ he manages a little laugh there. can you die from embarrassment? because that's what he imagines to be the outcome of any situation where they were sat down for mediation. ]

[medicative]

You would. I'd never let either of you die if I could help it.

[she knows that's not what he means at all but she has to be a little mean.]

[kaientai]

Is that so? We'd probably still be better off ideally never having to find out.

[ nervous laugh. why is that vaguely threatening? he deserves it. ]

In any case, you really didn't have to sit here and deal with me. I'm sure this is for Izō's sake, so if you think it'll help then it would be stupid of me to object.

[medicative]

I sat and dealt with you for your own sake as well, Mr. Sakamoto. Please, don't sell yourself so terribly short - it ill suits you.

[it should be vaguely threatening. he no doubt will face a reckoning from someone else when Izo reappears, and she'll be satisfied with that. if he can repay the blood spilled with his own vulnerability - if it makes Izo a happier man - then it will be enough.]

[kaientai]

This is just a strange thing, you know? Business is easy since everything's equal on both sides. You say I'm settling my bill, so how come I feel like I should owe you more on top of that?

[ you ever just realise how cringe you've been all at once? that's what's happening. ]

I usually like to get to know people before the worst of it comes out.

[medicative]

If you feel like you owe me, then that is your own account to settle, Mr. Sakamoto. I can't advise you on what to do about it.

[after all, it's not like she often has to give someone directions on how to confess to her boyfriend.]

That said, since I did have to heal you, this entire affair is something I will personally consider to fall under the umbrella of confidentiality. What my patients tell me, that information stays private.

[kaientai]

Well, I never worried about you telling anyone else!

[ except izō, although considering what she's told ryouma that would be an equivalent exchange. ]

It's more how I look in your eyes. Contrary to what you might've heard, I care about what people think about me sometimes! [ he laughs. ] Not that I'm unwilling to put the work in! Really, I appreciate you giving me a chance.