There's something almost nostalgic about all this: Kawase's expression as he's almost vibrating with energy after an altercation with bullies, all of it is familiar, right down to the purpling bruise on his face. (The only difference is that now he's here to step in. And even then, not fast enough.)

Out under the stardust display, there's no real chance of mistaking it as the real sky; it's too vivid, the individual stars much too clear after having seen how muted the night sky was in this era. Even so, Minakami drifts to a halt, looking contemplatively up at the display.

"Mm. That would count as a forfeit, if he fell over himself." He doesn't quite manage to keep the concern from his voice: For all that Kawase didn't care, Minakami probably worried two, three times as much to compensate. He just hoped that the man had been too drunk -- or too distracted by the other entertainments available -- to remember the object of his ire in the future.

"'Workplace hazard' is why. I think he's still worried that the oni will bite your head off as soon as look at you." Tama seemed to have eased off on that phobia, compared to their first weeks here, but Minakami still wasn't sure where it had come from. They'd surely seen more fearsome yokai, after all.