( open ) 007

[harimaya]

Who ⬤ Hizen Tadahiro & you
What ⬤ Catchall for open substories, closed prompts, and custom starters for September and October.
When ⬤ September and October
Where ⬤ Everywhere
Content Warnings ⬤ N/A for now

❀ Prompts in tags
❀ cr meme comment
❀ contact; yosakoi | discord: eski#9874 | PM

Comments

[harimaya]

(He tenses at the touch and holds his breath. He won't breathe. He won't blink. If he does, he'll let things slip and spill out like he's done once before. He's too proud to let Ryouma see him cry. So instead he just stills himself and lets himself feel the embrace.

After centuries of missing context, it feels like something falls into place in his memory and something shifts. Being loved, being valued, being passed on lovingly to someone precious... instead of being unwanted, a burden, something that was just given away carelessly.

It's too late to change himself completely. He is who he is now. History can't be undone or rewritten even if it can be interpreted a different way.

Eventually, he lets out a shakey breath and mumbles, )

... Shut up.

[kaientai]

Well, that's more like it.

[ never one to linger on things any more than necessary, ryouma doesn't mind that response one bit. his face is red, but he held it together, so he can consider it a win even if he might desperately need to unload some of these feelings at some point.

he'd like to think it helped, but ryouma is realistic about this just the same as he is with izō. it's a process, but he likes to hope that his name won't be a source of pain for hizen forever. making new memories might at least soften the old ones..?

as for himself, he accepts what he's given gratefully. he can't ask for more. ]

And I'll buy ya dinner again some time for the trouble, how's that?

[ the real struggle is in hizen looking cuter and younger than him even if he isn't. the urge to muss his hair right now is strong. ]

[harimaya]

(More mumbling,)

Dont'cha owe like a million yen...

(And he starts to shift, trying to uncurl himself and wipping at his eyes as inconspicuously as possible with his sleeve. He's fine. He wasn't crying (he really wasn't). He wasn't even close. )

[kaientai]

Aww, why's everybody gotta remind me like I dunno that? I know! I'll still buy ya dinner!

[ he's fussy about this!! ryouma won't tell if hizen won't, seeing as the red-faced, watery eye look isn't great for him either. after decades of no crying he's supposed to be good at this...

at least right now all he's doing is whining. ]

[harimaya]

I can feed myself.

(He's not against free food but when Ryouma needs to save his dang money, Hizen can feed himself.)

... Never explained the other me either, y'know.

(DONT THINK HE CAN AVOID THAT TOPIC EITHER.)

[kaientai]

I'm happy for ya, but they don't get t' take that too.

[ he's already lost everyone and everything else, so he might as well be stubborn about the one thing he can control. ]

It's a fake, like I said. It only looks like ya, but it's actually Ama-no-Sakahoko.

[ you know... just that spear. no big deal namedropping that's super casually, right?? ]

[harimaya]

(And this is how they end up fighting over who pays for meals and sneaking off to pay when people are in the bathroom or something.

Hizen literally only knows this name because of his own connection to Ryouma but especially because of Mutsunokami who has probably told this story at some late night dinner over drinks,)

... Ain't that a spear?

[kaientai]

Well, yeah, but it can change shape too.

[ .... ]

Never actually seen it do that and I'm not sure it can at the moment, but I know it? [ it's sort of bound to him now, after all. ] In any case, Matoba figured it might've been as a precaution because he thinks it might be some kinda key..?

[ ryouma shrugs. it's risky magical business he's not unaware of, but isn't the most pressing thing on his mind at the moment either so he'll leave it on the back burner as much as possible. ]

[harimaya]

(If it can change shape then... he wants to get a better look. Even he'd been convinced it was him when he saw it. It's strange to think of it as something else. It's stranger to think of it as a spear from legends... that decided to take on his form.)

A precaution? Being like... (Me?) ...that?

(He doesn't get it.)

[kaientai]

Yeah, so nobody'll come lookin' for it.

Remember when I was goin' around callin' myself 'Rider'? That's 'cause there's a risk in people knowin' a Servant's True Name. If somebody knows who I am and sees me carryin' around this magic spear, it's real easy to put two and two together. How many famous spears d' ya think I went around pullin' out? But no one's gonna ask questions just 'cause the boss gave me back my family's sword, see?

[ it's another way hizen is helping to keep him safe if you think about it. ]

[harimaya]

(It makes sense when he puts it like that. It's why Hizen covers up much of his accent so people can't easily trace him back to others.)

... Could've picked a better disguise.