[Phoenix + Hijikata] that night I saw a shooting star

[mayovice]

out of continuity from theskytides ; backdated to the night of post-yeti attacks

Hijikata was up on the deck of the Victoria II that night, taking a well needed smoke after all the events that had transpired today. The mission had been a success - minus the fact that the ship had been almost utterly trashed when he returned, his shoulder was wounded, things

Comments

[isntthatwright]

The downside to heating, Phoenix thought grumpily, was that when it was turned on after a while, it made everything all musty. He needed fresh air, and was willing to brave the hated cold to do it. He'd take a few gulps of fresh air and --

....and inhaled a lungful of smoke. Coughing madly, Phoenix held a fist to his chest in a vain attempt to regain control over his lungs. It took a minute or so, but slowly he got his breathing under control, eyes watering just a little. Who was smoking that heavily right at the top of the stairs?

He looked up, ready to berate whoever it was....and stopped dead. Wait -- it's him! The boatswain was definitely one person Phoenix didn't want to piss off...especially if Phoenix was reading his mood right from his expressions. Oh boy.

[mayovice]

Hijikata had heard the footsteps coming up, and then the imminent coughing - there was a lot of smoke now after all due to him having going through nearly a whole pack of cigarettes in the short span he had been up here. The boatswain glanced impassively down when Phoenix looked up, taking a moment to remember just who the other was; though it was hard to forget hair like that, especially when he happened to have delivered a rather frustrating note to you.

There was a short pause as the samurai glanced down at the reporter before he turned back and grunted complete with a puff of cigarette smoke, sounding obviously rather irritated. "What are you doing up here?" Because while he was long used to it, the weather was downright freezing to everyone else.

[isntthatwright]

Phoenix waved a hand futilely at the smoke, trying to clear the air a little bit. It was less than effective, but he managed to get out of the smoke cloud, pulling his jacket closer to him an a just-as-useless attempt to keep out the cold. "Fresh air was the general idea," Phoenix informed him, taking a breath of....fresher air. It still smelled of smoke, but at least it didn't make his lungs want to turn inside-out. "But that doesn't look too likely." It's really thick....how many of those has he smoked? Phoenix wondered, incredulous. He'd inform Hijikata that those things would kill him, if he were less afraid of Hijikata killing him.

[mayovice]

The boatswain stared at Phoenix for a while after the reporter answered, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he scrutinized the other for a short while before glancing away again, another cloud of smoke puffing out from him at the action. "You'll just be freezing your lungs out." The air was seriously chilly, after all; nevermind the fact that Hijikata himself was in his usual attire without any extra layers of clothing on him - he'd only say he was used to such extreme conditions, ina sense.

Though... hard to imagine someone like him was the one who could something like what he heard had happened earlier on the ship while he was off for his mission. Who knew someone as meek-looking as Phoenix could do such insane stunts, but Hijikata had long learned not to judge people just by looks. He couldn't, not when he knew people like a certain Okita Sogou.

[mayovice]

"Most people always think I don't seem to be the type for just about anything," came the somewhat deadpan response. Well, he certainly couldn't blame them - not with the persona of the Demon Boatswain which he had that was so highly feared around the entire ship. And really, he never expected himself to be in a situation where he as stuck taking care of a kitten of all other things. As if he needed more animals to take of now. The pig was more than enough.

Why did he keep it...? Hijikata was only silent for a bit at that question as he continued to maintain his lack of eye contact from Phoenix, and then he answered. "I just said I would until I found her mother." He wasn't one to break promises, and Edgeworth (the bastard) and ordered him to be in charge of her as well.

Fucking asshole.

[isntthatwright]

"That's....surprisingly kind of you."

Phoenix really didn't know what to think. Hijikata was the king of mixed signals, explaining that he'd agreed to take care of a kitten until he found its mother while making a scary face like that. But still....the fact that Hijikata had said something like that in the first place, coupled with the cat's apparent affection for him....

Perhaps there was a side of Hijikata that he hadn't seen.

[mayovice]

The boatswain only turned slightly and glanced at Phoenix (with some surprise) at that, his expression neutral before he snorted and turned away again to stare at the scenery.

"Hn."

No use trying to say anything otherwise - it wasn't like the reporter was saying anything bad after all, even though... well. It was a first that anybody called him 'kind' - that was a word almost non-existent when associated with him. All he did was promise the kitten after all, and he wasn't going to break his promises anytime soon.

[isntthatwright]

Well, he hadn't denied it, or worse, threatened Phoenix with seppuku, so all in all, Phoenix felt that that had gone fairly well.

Except, of course, he was still freezing cold, and it was getting colder by the minute. "I--I think I'd better go back inside," Phoenix said, trying valiantly to keep the shivers under control. He turned to go, but then stopped, glancing back. "You sure you want to stay out here? It's freezing."