synflux | ( open & closed ) all of my enemies started out friends

Woah!

[ Even though he has his own one, seeing other people with them never stops being cool. ]

Johei, I can't believe you got one too!

[Oh??] Did you also get one? Ah, I've had this a few weeks, but... I needed some lessons first.

[He looks a little sheepish at that. It gave him a lot trouble at first. Megumi saw him flounder on it. It was terrible.]

I think I'm ready to hit the road with someone else now. [He holds out the helmet towards Yuji.] I don't know about you, but I could really use a break today. I was thinking the onsen...?

Yeah! I haven't had much time to ride it, though, with the mission and waiting for my arm to feel better.

[ Raidou... He's so cute. Yuji leans into his space immediately, wrapping his arms around him for a moment before he worries about taking the helmet. He doesn't think it's a bad thing to want to hold the person you like for a moment or two. ]

Mm, the onsen sounds great. Did you pack any treats for the cats?

[Raidou certainly isn't opposed to it, though he takes the opportunity to plunk the helmet on Yuji with a warm grin.]

I did. Though I figure this time, we can get lunch there instead, yeah?

[ He laughs - foiled! Leaning in, he tilts his head as best he can to steal a kiss before he nods, stepping back to strap the helmet on properly. ]

Yeah! Let's see what the Obasan can make for us.

[What a long few days it had been. Even sixty seconds in Yuji's presence is elevating his mood. He grabs his own helmet, and hops on the bike.]

I've gotten better in the last few weeks, but... please forgive any less-than-smooth stops, okay?

[That's what's been giving him the most trouble. And hopefully all of those weird impulse-control issues he'd been having have finally abated. Hopefully.]

[ Yuji slides in behind him, accustomed to it thanks to his ride with Bakugo, wrapping his arms around Raidou's waist with a pleased little hum. ]

It's fine. I'm riding with you, so I'm really happy to be here.

[Even facing front, Yuji will be able to hear the amusement in Raidou's voice.] Please remember that when I end up hitting a curb.

[Okay, it isn't the smoothest ride around, but he's not as bad as he thinks. He'd had about a month of practice and some help getting in riding order. Raidou's pretty responsible, but he's still prone to teenage impulsiveness from time to time where the idea of buying a motorcycle is a good idea, just because he can. And sure, maybe the idea of getting to ride around with Yuji's arms around his waist as also a good encouragement at the time...

The closer they get to the onsen, the worse the roads get, left to deteriorate. He'll have to start taking it pretty slow at that point, but that's fine. He has an idea.]

Let's stop here, actually.

[They're not far off, but Raidou hops off and opens the pack on the back of the bike. Inside are a can of tuna and a fork, which he holds up to show Yuji.]

Need to feed the cats first.

[ Yuji has definitely had bumpier rides - his own attempts to ride a motorcycle included - so he's not complaining. He lets himself wrap around Raidou and lean close, resting against him a little and enjoying the warmth and comfort of being cuddled up with the person he's dating.

He loses himself in the journey, barely noticing when they slow down until Raidou turns back to speak to him, and then he's lifting his head to look around, his eyes widening with a bright little smile. ]

Woah! That was pretty quick!

[ Sliding off, he takes the helmet off his head and places it on the bike gently before he looks around, and then... His expression softens. Raidou, you're so cute... ]

Let's go and find them! Hopefully they'll be just as nice this time.

Maybe you fell asleep? You seemed pretty comfortable back there. [Not that he minded in the slightest. That would mean his driving wasn't too bad then! Progress!] It's a lot shorter of a trip when we don't walk it.

[They shouldn't have to go too far into the woods to find the first cat, so long as they're quiet. They might be a feral colony, but some are more used to human visitors and don't mind when they start approaching. They also definitely don't mind when said human visitors come bearing tuna. Once they catch a scent of that, one after another appears.

Raidou finds a nearby fallen tree for them to sit on, passing the can to Yuji so he can help as well.]

I think next time I'll have to bring more.

I was just enjoying holding on to you.

[ Raidou was warm, and comfortable, and it was basically like cuddling him for the entire journey, so he has no reason to be complaining or anything. He was happy.

Leaning down, Yuji helps to share out the tuna, petting whatever cats he can get his hands on as they come and go. He came to visit them with Choso not long ago, so he hopes that they are starting to recognise him as someone familiar and friendly rather than a scary stranger.

Without thinking, he leans into Raidou with a soft hum. ]

We can visit them as often as we can, if you want. I don't think LILITH would let us bring one back, but we can take care of them here.

... I'd like that. It's easier to get out here, now. You can drive next time.

[It's Yuji's ready to, anyway.

That tuna will be gone before they realize it, but a couple of cats stick around for the attention. One of them is a little black cat.]

... Did I ever tell you my mentor was a cat? [His life is strange.]. Ah, in the form of one, I mean. Raidou Kuzunoha the First, actually. Though he went by Gouto-douji.

If I crash, you can't blame me!

[ Yuji reaches down to see if the cat will let him pick it up, and when it does - with a little mrrr of discontent until it's on his lap - he pets it gently. ]

Really? Gouto-douji... That's pretty cool. So all the Summoners who do your job were called Raidou?

[He's delighted that Yuji manages to get a cat on his lap, and scritches its head.]

It's one of four Kuzunoha clan titles. We take on the names of founding members. I'm the fourteenth successor of Raidou. Nagi is recently the eighteenth successor to the Geirin name.

That's pretty cool! We have clans that have techniques in my world, but they don't always inherit names or anything like that. They don't even get the techniques, sometimes, but the name is a pretty big deal anyway.

[ Sometimes you're like Gojo-sensei and other times you're like Maki-senpai. The world is cruel. ]

No wonder it's such a special name to you.

I worked very hard to obtain it. I'm the youngest ever to do so.

[He smiles wistfully. For whatever it's worth, now.

It takes a moment of consideration, but he decides to adds something else, while looking down at the cat enjoying its lavish attention.]

I didn't have a family name before that. Now I do.

I think you deserve that. You worked hard and you earned it. You belong there.

[ Yuji reaches out to take his hand, careful and considerate. ]

I have the name ‘Itadori’, but I don’t really know what that means to me. I knew my grandpa, but my parents… I never saw them. I don’t know what happened to them either. So to me… Family is what I decide it is.

[He looks up at Yuji under the brim of his hat, entwining their fingers together. He knew Yuji had lived with his grandfather, but not the reason why.

Raidou thinks immediately of how when he arrived and he was asked what he wanted to have as his civilian name, he answered Narumi almost immediately.]

It's nice, isn't it. To have people in your life you can trust like that.

[Grinning just a little, he reaches with his other hand to scratch under the chin of the very content kitty.]

You might have picked up a new member right here.

[ Slowly unravelling the tragedy that is Yuji piece by piece. Like peeling an orange.

Yuji nods his head, smile soft as he looks at the cat. Is it so weird, to find so much happiness here? At home… Things were simply too awful to handle. He couldn’t do it, but he had to.

There was hope here. ]

Yeah. It’s really nice.

[ He just wishes more of them could’ve lived.

Petting the cat gently, he sighs. ]

Now I wanna take it home.

His home is out here, I'm afraid.

[Raidou shares the same feeling. If he could have gotten away with it, he'd have a pet chimera right now at the base.

He gets up, and tugs Yuji's hand to follow.]

Come on. Let's walk the bike over to the onsen.

Yeah… Maybe LILITH will let us have pets one day.

[ Up they go, and Yuji takes the chance to steal a little kiss, just because he can.

He’s allowed to do that. They’re boyfriends. ]

Want me to carry it? If pushing it is hard.

[All the surprise kisses warm him inside, never failing to make his face go a little red.]

Mm...It's okay to push, really. Are you okay to do things like that though? How's your arm feeling?

[ Still so cute... ]

Yeah, my arm's fine! My cursed technique took care of most of it once the electricity had worn off.

Good. The electricity took the nanobots offline for several days as well, but they seem in working order now. [It's the reason he had to rest for a few days. One of the reasons anyway.

Once back, Yuji is free to push the bike I'd it wants, but Raidou's fine to do it. It's just a few minutes walk to the onsen. Even though it's been a month, the managers are glad to see them again. They're happy too to hear that they're here for lunch this time, too.

Raidou is pretty eager to get to the water, though. There was some lingering ache in his muscles from the fight that might honestly just be stress, though something like that wouldn't occur to him. What he does know is that some onsen time will help.]

Yeah, I talked to Megumi about my other healing, too. He said there was something in the body the electrics might have messed with, so that's why my technique wasn't working the way it was meant to be.

[ Yuji is quick to greet the owners, chattering away to them as if they're old friends and have known each other for years, babbling on before he remembers what they're here for and focuses. It's not long until he's paying for their lunch and stay - sorry, Raidou - and tugging his boyfriend to head towards the changing room.

Last time had been embarrassing, but they weren't boyfriends then... Maybe he won't blush so much this time... ]

Come on. You deserve to relax.

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