NIKKARI;

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Comments

[crashout]

[IMMEDIATELY DROPPING HIS HAND AND STARING. And sort of pouting.]

And what're you implying here?

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[ he's! just! laughing! because he knows junpei knows what he's going to answer with, ]

[crashout]

It's seriously less endearing when you continue to mock me. [It's not, hilariously, or he would have left a while ago. Instead it sort of resonates with him and he bumps his shoulder into Nikkari's as he begins to walk off. Come along, sword.]

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The fact that you allow me to stay with you says otherwise.

[ he continues to chuckle to himself as he catches up to junpei, lightly touching a hand to junpei's forearm once they're side-by-side. ]

Getting back to your original point... hm. I wonder... what do you think my favorite genre is?

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Sometimes I think you'd find a way to haunt me anyway even if I tried to pull away. [It's a casual remark, but his arm rotates just a bit to let his fingers brush over Nikkari's hand. He's continuing to walk though, letting Nikkari think whatever he wants.]

If it's really mystery, I might have to leave. [He wouldn't.] Obviously it's satire.

[uncleanse]

[ the brush doesn't go unnoticed, but it doesn't get commented on, either. like junpei had told him not too long ago, he sort of enjoys this back and forth, this will-we-won't-we dance they've found themselves in. it's fun. ]

Wrong on both counts.

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[Always about the mystery, he thinks.]

Definitely not romance...drama? Historical fiction? Comedy? [Now he's just being an idiot, please leave him forever.]

[uncleanse]

[ he's about to just shake his head more, before he thinks for a sec... ]

I suppose I could give half a point to comedy? But I won't laugh at just anything, you know.

[crashout]

You laugh at me plenty. But I don't want your pity points. [He's THINKING.] ...horror, maybe? Or adventure books. Those might be hitting a little close to home though, aren't they?

[uncleanse]

I laugh at you because I like you, Junpei-san.

[ said simply, without any further elaboration. but before junpei can get caught up in that... ]

Jya-jyaaa~n. [ he mimes setting off a party popper. ] Is it any surprise that I'd be drawn to the macabre? Such tales are so intrinsically tied to my very existence, after all. They feel... familiar. Chilling. Comforting.

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[A glance back, but he doesn't ask for clarification or elaboration. He seems to be settling on the statement for what it is, pondering for a moment before he rolls his eyes.]

No, actually it makes complete sense. Everyone tends to lean toward what they know and find familiar. Part of being human. [But he's heading further into the library toward a section of horror novels. I don't know if I've ever read a lot of good horror novels anyway.

[uncleanse]

"Part of being human"...

[ while his body continues to follow junpei, his mind seems to be elsewhere for the time being. if, for some reason, junpei stops at any time, nikkari will bump into him with a little "ah," and a bit of a startle. ]

[crashout]

[? He gives Nikkari a look like he's unsure what to say or why Nikkari's repeating him, but there's a fleeting smile as he wanders. They approach the shelf, but yeah. Junpei stops, Nikkari startles into him, and Junpei blinks as he looks at two white flower hair ornaments resting on a shelf.]

...seem out of place, don't they? [But the tone says he absolutely recognizes them, voice catching in his throat as his hand moves to pick them up. And that's about when the barrier begins to close in on them. Farewell.]

[uncleanse]

Ah, sorry... I seem to have—

[ whatever he was going to say is cut off as the barrier traps them where they stand.

junpei will suddenly find himself seeing through nikkari's eyes in the midst of a battle in an open field. bloodied bodies litter the ground all around him, but it's hard to get a decent look at them when he's currently engaged in battle, the sound and sensation of blades clanging against each other and occasionally slicing through flesh and arteries alike. he slices through enemy after enemy with a surprising grace, almost as if he's performing a dance. he and his blade are onee, after all.

amidst the chaos, a fatally injured man approaches him, clutching a bundle he desperately thrusts into nikkari's arms with a choked "please, my child...!"

and before nikkari has the chance to respond, either with his words or his blade, the man is slain before his eyes and the assassins turn to him next. he has no idea what just happened, but as the adrenaline kicks in, he knows one thing for sure: he needs to protect this child. and so, with swaddled infant in his off arm, he continues to fight until he comes across another person dressed noticeably differently from the rest of the soldiers. it's almost inappropriate how casually he asks the other man "what should i do with this child?" as he continues to thrust his sword into the foes trying their best to kill him.

the other man glares at him through intense yellow eyes, and gruffly reminds him, "this is a battlefield, nikkari aoe!"

and that's that. ]

[crashout]

[Well that's bad! That's bad, and he stops as he watches, the adrenaline sharp enough that it feels like his own as he tries to see everything in front of him. He doesn't know battle the way Nikkari does and while he's living in this moment, his own surprise and wariness creeps up over him.

It's clear that Nikkari's good at what he does. It's also clear that he has a conscience, something that tries to do the right thing, but as the memory ends he blinks rapidly to clear the vision, unaware that his hand has grabbed onto Nikkari's wrist.]

...what was that?

[uncleanse]

[ nikkari's eyes are hazy as the vision subsides and he's brought back to the real world, looking down at his hand and flexing his fingers a couple of times before turning his attention back to junpei and that grip on his wrist.

hm.

weirdly enough, he doesn't seem too concerned about it as he calmly explains, ]

You once told me you didn't know much about Japanese history, correct? Haha... the baby I had been tasked with protecting would eventually grow up to become Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, the final period of the feudal era before Japan's unification.

[crashout]

Before the Meiji Restoration. [He knows that much, more or less, given he's still blinking like he's trying to wrap his head around this.] I...didn't realize you were a parent.

[Sometimes Junpei says stupid things. And sometimes Junpei says really stupid things, which will become obvious when Nikkari finds himself in a memory. Novelization takes care of descriptions of his feelings for me.]

[uncleanse]

[ before nikkari can even commend junpei's piece of trivia, he's immersed in junpei's memory instead. over the course of this increasingly cringeworthy exchange, he suddenly Understands why junpei's been drawn to him since their very first conversation.

and when it's over, he's just. snickering. ]

[crashout]

[...he just turns bright red, drops Nikkari's wrist, and speedwalks away and almost directly into a bookshelf goodbye.]

[uncleanse]

[ for a moment, he considers calling after him with a teasing "jumpy," but...

hm. he probably shouldn't do that. so, instead, he simply says, ]

Jun~pei.

[crashout]

[That's probably good because he'd cry but also this time he hears Nikkari and he does bump into a bookcase? And apologizes with a quick "gah, sorry!" before sidestepping and...turning to face Nikkari.]

Nikkari? [He's trying to sound firm and cross with him but. Failing. A lot.]

[uncleanse]

[ this is the tag ]

[crashout]

[A VERY LOUD GROAN.]

Shut. Up.

[uncleanse]

We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

[ he ain't forgettin it tho ]

[crashout]

[Even though Nikkari's making fun of him, he doesn't have an answer. He sort of blinks in response and just...shrugs.]

I'm not really sure what to say anyway. [Also, haha.]