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[ Cute...

Aki watches him with a fondness he can't disguise for a moment before he shoves it away, focusing forward instead. It still feels nice, being this wrapped up with him, the world their own and no one else's. ]

I don't think I can imagine that.

[ Boring.

Aki wishes -

Shaking his head, he glances down with a nod. ]

We had dinner together. It was good.

Good.

(That's exactly what he wanted for both of them and he holds his head up high, clearly as proud of his work as he is pleased for both of them. )

It wasn't so hard, was it?

(He's teasing... he remembers how Aki had sulked.)

It wasn't hard to begin with.

[ He just wanted to spend a day seeing Tsurumaru that happy. ]

Don't look at me like that.

Oh? Really?

(Leaning in and... well, he doesn't know how he's looking at him but he's going to keep doing it. He's innocent.)

[ It's that soft, almost teasing expression, and all Aki can do is lift his hand and smoosh it into Tsurumaru's face. ]

(THIS IS NOT HOW YOU TREAT A TREASURE AND HE SPUTTERS AND STAMMERS AGAINST HIM,

letting go of Aki, he tries to brush his hand away.)

Oi!

Oi yourself!

[ He's teasing, really, and he shifts his fingers so he can peer at Tsurumaru, lips twitching. ]

Are you done?

(He sure is making a face right now.)

Done with what? I haven't done anything.

Making that cute, pleased face.

[ Tapping his nose. ]

(Gonna boop his nose right back,)

I wasn't doing anything.

(He was just being himself! And he's going to skip ahead making his way over to the main shrine,)

Let's go pay our respects. We can apologize for the window.

Edited 2024-05-15 16:02 (UTC)

[ You were looking cute, bb... ]

Lead the way. We need to do our prayers properly, too.

(Don't tease him. He is a proud kami.

Approaching the main shrine, he puts both of his hands on his waist and leans over the offering box. Hm... they don't really have coins anymore, huh? So all he can do is reach into his sleeve and pull out a few pieces of candy at the edge of the box,)

Sorry, sorry. It's my first time back and I have nothing to offer.

(He sounds... genuine and he claps his hands and bows before bringing his hands together in prayer. When he's finished,)

I'll be back with a proper offering next time.

[ Aki doesn't carry them either, and he realises that... He doesn't have much to offer. Just his cigarettes, and he hesitates before he steps up, clapping his hands together and offering a little bow. ]

Me too. I didn't think about it.

[ He glances over at Tsurumaru awkwardly. ]

Tell me what would be best to offer and I'll do it.

(Oh... he smiles,)

These gods don't ask for much. You'd be surprised what most would do for just five yen.

(Five yen... the standard offering for shrines but with how money is in this world, are there even five yen coins left to offer?)

Maybe some sake.

(And very carefully, he steps around the offering box to try and peers into the shrine. The doors have long since been closed so people can't see into the altar but he wonders if he can make anything out through the lattice woodwork.)

I wonder what was last left behind... (Through the small gaps, there is a large open room that people would have been allowed to worship in for special occasions. There are glimpses of gold, faded paper streamers, a porcelain sake bottle, some small statues... Looking up at the sky, where the sun is still shining bright,) A little fresh air won't hurt. We'll seal it before we leave.

(It's normal enough to open the first doors. The ones beyond the entrance doors would always be sealed off...)

I'll come back with that.

[ Some sake is easy enough to get, after all. That's something for him to add to the mental shopping list he keeps in the back of his mind, like the awkward mother that he is. He wants to make sure he can bring something for Tsurumaru, and if they bring Denji then he'll need something to offer in prayer as well...

Following after Tsurumaru, Aki crosses his arms. ]

We'll keep being careful. Lead the way, show me everything here, especially things you want to take pictures of.

(Carefully, he reaches over to slide the doors open. The wood has warped, the sliding grooves are filled with debris, and it takes some jiggling and a little more force than one would really expect just to open a door... but inside, there is plenty of old regalia for them to see.)

Eh, how nostalgic.

(Some of the items have fallen over onto the floor through the years. Probably due to the yama-kujira's earthquakes.)

Let's clean up.

(And he's stepping over the thin barrier that would usually keep guests out.)

And then we can go explore some more.

[ Aki has been to shrines before, has visited his family shrine enough in the late winter months that being around one doesn't have that haze of discomfort that he's familiar with, but there's something special about this one. It feels as though he's being invited into a family home, and the bundle of nerves in him is silly. ]

If only we had a good brush.

[ No stranger to cleaning, Aki shifts around, shrugging off his suit jacket and placing it aside. He's content to be put to work for now, so he'll allow Tsurumaru to guide him in this. ]

Shall I start this side, and you the other?

(Nodding,)

Mhm. I'll do this side.

(As chaotic as he may usually be, he's actually an orderly person. It's easy enough to clean and organize this space, too. It's clear that there are things that should go in certain places and its just a matter of putting them back, wiping down, and just making the place look more respectable. He makes notes of some things that might have to be totally replaced... broken sake cups, dried out leaves, and other little things that can't be taken care of now but when Aki mentions a brush... He goes to look under the stairs where usually there is some small storage and miscellaneous items set aside,)

Eh? (He makes a surprised little noise and disappears under the stairs for a moment,) What's this?

(And he pulls out a small, wooden box. Opening it, inside, there are more sake cups, a set of golden bells, a mirror... old, treasured regalia and he reaches inside, holding up the mirror very carefully to the light.)

It's a treasure box...

[ Aki works methodically, carefully, letting himself move around and start to clean. He can't do much in the way of dusting, but he's strong enough to lift things up and slot them back into place, to adjust things here and there, to restore some of the fallen bits and pieces to their proper place. It's enough hard work that he feels a touch of the strain of it, and it makes him feel a sense of domestic pleasure.

He likes doing chores. It's comforting, peaceful. Boring. It means he's lived another day.

The noise of surprise draws his attention, and he turns his head, looking over at Tsurumaru with a raised eyebrow. ]

They didn't find that one?

[ Putting down the chair he had been righting, he steps around and peers over Tsurumaru's shoulder. ]

It's good quality.

(Nodding, he gently places it back in the box.)

It looks like they had to leave some things behind. (It's a little sad, if he thinks about it. He wonders how they decided what was worth taking and what was better left behind.) I wonder if they meant to come back.

(There was LILITH base here before. There were portals. Maybe the cities were more connected before than they are now? He doesn't know.)

I'm glad we found them.

(And he looks under the stairs once more.)

There's more back here.

(Old brooms, ropes, replacement shelves, and chairs. But something catches his attention.)

Ah.

(He reaches out to grab something... something long, wrapped in cloth. )

Before it was all overrun? It's possible. Human greed it like that.

[ It's not like Aki is blind to that. He's been a victim of it, in his own way, as much as a person like him could. It's the nature of the world, isn't it? Humans are awful, in the same way Devils can be, though his hatred of devils had been so much deeper for so much longer. Getting over that has been a trial in itself.

It's been a process. A journey.

Walking over, he leans down to peer over Tsurumaru's shoulder, hesitating for a moment, because...

Long, wrapped in cloth... Is it...? ]

Tsuru...

(Settling down so he can handle it properly, he holds it in his hands for a moment. It's probably clear from the way Tsurumaru looks at it what it must be. The weight feels familiar and if he runs his hand across the shape... even the shape feels the same.

Untying one end, he begins to unwrap it slowly and carefully until what he reveals is... a simple blade. No handle or scabbard to make it easily identifiable but where the handle should be, a familiar name is carved into the metal. "Tsurumaru Kuninaga.")

... Look at you. You must have been bored to tears.

So it wasn't in the Imperial Palace.

[ A giveaway that he had been looking? Maybe, but Aki isn't embarrassed about it. Why shouldn't he want to find the man he... This man in this strange, twisting world? If the blade had been alone for so long, what would the spirit of Tsurumaru in this world be feeling?

Aki settles down beside Tsurumaru, watching him with a careful expression. ]

What do you want to do with it?

The palace?

(He glances over at Aki. Had he been at the old castle? And from what he just said... was he looking for him? Ah, he can't help but smile. He understands and maybe that's why he explains a little more openly, )

This is a replica. (Gently touching the handle, fingers tracing the name,) The real Tsurumaru Kuninaga is somewhere else.

Perhaps back in Tokyo... but I couldn't sense anything when I revisited the collection.

Bakugo-kun and I were looking for it, before.

[ Yes, he had been to the castle, and he had looked around. He'd even been carried by the kid so that they could scale the roof of the palace, which had been irritating, but... It had been a pointless venture, apparently. It was here the whole time.

Shaking his head, he leans in, almost resting his head over Tsurumaru's shoulder. ]

I have the real thing, but I would like to put this somewhere safe.

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