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[pimpcoatbankai]

Can anyone on hatchery duty tell me if a lady got born recently? She's got light brown hair, it's long and wavy. She's kinda tall, maybe about [there's a slight pause as he thinks] a couple of inches shorter than me... about 5'5". She's maybe about, I dunno, around thirty or something?

She was in the Wilderness when it was messed up, and

If you've

Comments

[floating_bamboo]

Toushi. Come have some tea with me.

[pimpcoatbankai]

[Pentaps.] OK.

[floating_bamboo]

Thank you.

[Quicklog]

[pimpcoatbankai]

[When Toushi appeared at the tea shop a little while later, the only thing that would outwardly indicate that anything was wrong with him was the fact that his eyes had dark shadows beneath them and were somewhat glassier than usual. His nights had been plagued with nightmares ever since his experience in the Wilderness and his thoughts seemed to be constantly coming back to the nameless woman who he had been unable to save.

He didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to forget.

But he couldn't.

He went into the teashop on the defensive. If the questions started going down a path he didn't like, he would be out of there.]

Yo, Koi.

[Quicklog]

[floating_bamboo]

Hello!

[Surprisingly, Koi seems as happy as ever when Toushi arrives, and has some tea ready for them both, complete with cookies.

Underneath that mask, though, he is deeply concerned for his son, especially now when he sees how strained and broken the boy seems. It gnaws at his soul like angry beasts, and that cool, ocean-like reiatsu spreads out into the shop, as if warding them both from harm.

Fortunately for the normal people of the Sphere, there's nobody else present inside the shop to take the blunt of his reiatsu - no matter how gentle it is.]

Take a seat.

[Quicklog]

[pimpcoatbankai]

[Toushi does as he is told and sits down accordingly, giving Koi a smile that is warm but does not stretch to his eyes. He can feel Koi's reiatsu thrumming gently, as always, but even that doesn't seem to help.]

Long time no see.

[Quicklog]

[floating_bamboo]

Far too long.

[The boy was clamming up, keeping it all inside. Toushi was too proud for his own good. Did he not know that Koi would never judge, never look down on him for anything? Like any parent, all he wanted was to help... but he couldn't do that when reaching out would only make things worse.]

You look tired, Toushi.

[Quicklog]

[pimpcoatbankai]

[Toushi shrugged.]

I haven't been sleeping well. I'll get over it.

[The nightmares would stop soon. They had to. It was stupid to think that this twisted game of the Sphere's would continue to have such a hold on him after so long, but he couldn't get the woman's death out of his head.]

You look well.

[ooc. Sorry it took me so long! I'm off to sleep now, but I'll tag back asap! ♥]

[Quicklog] mmmmmm icon

[floating_bamboo]

You should try some warm milk before bedtime. It's a cliché, but I've found that it actually works quite well.

[He sips some tea, looking at his boy. Part of him just wants to grab Toushi and hug him, but the boy was just too proud and he didn't want him to run off.]

Who are you staying with, now? I seem to have forgotten.

[Quicklog] I stared at it for like five minutes before I could bring myself to go to the next page

[pimpcoatbankai]

[He almost asked if it stopped nightmares, but then Koi would undoubtedly want to know what they were about, and he didn't want to have to discuss them. Nor did he want to lie to Koi.]

I'll try that.

[He picked up his tea, nursing it in his hands before taking a sip. It was still too hot, the tip of his tongue burnt, but he made no remark on it.]

I'm still living with Kazahana. And Justice, he seems to've adopted the place.

[Quicklog] candy for the eyes~ (how the hell are you only 15, Ichigo!?)

[floating_bamboo]

I see. Justice is a good man, if a bit stiff. He could use a bit of relaxation, don't you think? He has far too much on his shoulders.

[He smiles again and sips his own tea.]

How is Kazahana doing after all this Wilderness trouble?

[Quicklog] He's got to be 16 now seeing as his bday's July 15, which is legal in the UK!

[pimpcoatbankai]

Yeah, he's always got his nose stuck in some book or other. He's had a hard time though, can't blame him for being wound up.

[He was about about to go for another sip of his tea, but for a split second he froze. He puts the cup to his lips, sipping cautiously to cover his moment's hesitation.]

She's fine, she didn't get affected.

[Quicklog] Fifteen for sex between teens, here~

[floating_bamboo]

I agree... I need to go visit him and have a little chat. He's quite good company when he opens up.

[He watches Toushi calmly and then reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder.]

I'm glad to hear that. I heard it was very difficult for everyone.

[Toushi, are you sure you do not want to talk to me?]

[Quicklog] asdfghjkl god damn it, this is why I should switch notifs on. orz, sorry!

[pimpcoatbankai]

[He feels Koi's hand on his shoulder and knows that he's trying to comfort him, but... Toushi doesn't know. He doesn't know at all.]

That place was messed up. No one should have gone down there, it was hell. Can we talk about something else?

[Toushi doesn't want to think about what he saw. He doesn't want to dredge it up. He doesn't want to have to say out loud that he screwed up and a woman is dead because of it.]

[Quicklog] <33333

[floating_bamboo]

No, Toushi. We can't.

[He turns a little so he can look the ginger boy in the eyes. No more silk gloves - Toushi needed a jolt in the right direction and Koi wasn't going to let the boy wallow in this any longer. If he did not want to talk about it, then he needed to deal with it.]

I don't know what you went through down there, but if you let it lie and fester like some oozing wound, it's going to consume you.

[Koi doesn't let go of Toushi's shoulder.]

You can keep running, refuse to talk about it, pretend it didn't happen. It will only make you worse. I know that you're strong enough to deal with it, even if you think you're not.

[There's a slight pause as Koi's reiatsu pull back, concentrating around him.]

There are two sides to any fight, Toushi. The fight for life and the fight for pride. If you allow yourself to let this affect who you are, then you'll lose your pride.