[CLOSED] Time intrudes on the new morning I finally found-

[mayovice]

Characters: Hijikata Toshirou & Katsura Kotaro [mayovice & notabomber]
Content: Hijikata and Zura Katsura find their lives linked by the strangest things imaginable. Of course, they both find it very hard to accept that this even happens.
Setting: A ramen shop somewhere in Bellcius.
Time: During the timeskip... somwhere in April or something or I guess.
Warnings:

Comments

[notabomber]

Normally, Katsura made his meals himself, at them with only Elizabeth for company, and scoffed at the sort of people who squandered money on frivolous things like ramen restaurants.

Having someone attempt to cleave you in two with a rather sinister weapon, for rather sinister reasons, tended to make cooking for oneself rather challenging, unfortunately. Katsura wasn't sure what annoyed him more about the incident--the fact that the bastard had left him with such a bothersome injury, or the fact that he'd cut off his hair as a trophy. Honestly, even in the world of 'paid assassins who did unsporting things like attacking from behind' that was low. What did he think he was going to do with it? Make calligraphy brushes commemorating the (failed) assassination? He didn't want to think about it

[mayovice]

"Your order has come, young master."

Hijikata looked up somewhat unamusedly towards the woman who had served him his meal (one bowl of rice slopped with an unhealthy amount of mayonnaise on it - all in all, it was the usual), doing his best not to lineface too much. "I already told you not to call me that," he said, while placing his cigarette at the nearby ashtray.

"You're still the Young Master in my heart no matter what, Young Master," Ikumatsu responded, beaming and looking very motherly-like towards him back in return. Hijikata made a grunt and reached for a pair of chopsticks, snapping them apart before promptly helping himself to the meal. The woman smiled once more before going over to where the other customer somewhere beyond his peripheral vision was-and promptly choked on his food when he heard her words towards that said other customer. "Ah, if it isn't Katsura-san. How have you been these days?"

[notabomber]

"Ah, Ikumatsu-dono." He was not blushing. No. Absolutely not. "I'm... well enough." Which was obviously not true, but how could he ever burden someone like her with the truth? He couldn't, clearly.

But why was that mayo-addict here? Why had she called him 'young master'? That was irritating. Almost as irritating as the fact that Hijikata would dare ruin Ikumatsu's fine cooking with all that mayonnaise. He tried sending a mental wave of irritation in the man's direction while still smiling at the owner. "I'm back in the city for awhile, so I thought I would stop by for lunch."

[mayovice]

Recovering from that rather abrupt choke, Hijikata took a moment to regain back his composure as he reasoned internally. This was an open restaurant, so there was no reason why other customers wouldn't be here. It was perfectly logical to assume what the idiot had just come in here for a meal as well just as he was here for the same reasons (somewhat).

...goddamnit, why did it have to be him of all people? And what the hell was up with the '-dono' suffix anyway?! She was just-ungh, he didn't want to think about it anymore. His head was starting to hurt from trying to be logical about this already.

"It's certainly good to see you again, Katsura-san," Ikumatsu replied as she glanced over towards the now very unamused Hijikata and chuckled slightly to herself before looking back at the man before her. "I assume you want one of the usual, like always?"

[notabomber]

"Yes, please, if it wouldn't be too much trouble." He smiled again, wondering if she thought his hair looked stupid. He hoped not. Maybe he'd leave it this way if she liked it... but no, that would be betraying Sensei's memory, and he couldn't do that, not even for a woman as lovely as Ikumatsu was.

If only that mayo addict weren't there. Seriously. Didn't he know he was probably scaring off other potential customers? It made Zura slightly queasy, even at this distance. It just wasn't normal. Nothing with that much mayo on it could be normal.

[mayovice]

"Not at all, Katsura-san," the woman responded before turning around. "I'll have your order done soon enough." That said, Ikumatsu made her way into the kitchen and left the two men promptly alone.

Hijikata gave himself a minute after that to eat more of his mayonnaise and rice before he turned to cast a glare at the other, voice dangerous as he spoke. "Goddamned idiot, what the hell are you even doing here?" Seriously, why was the world pulling such a prank on him? What did he ever do to deserve this?!

[notabomber]

Katsura was not going to give into the temptation to glare at the other man. Besides, it would mean looking at that quivering bowl of...

He nearly gagged.

Instead, he stared straight ahead of himself as he spoke. "This is a restaurant. I came here for lunch. Besides, Ikumatsu-dono is a friend." Acquaintance. Someone he liked to drop in on occasionally. The only female he ever had anything resembling a real conversation with. Something like that. "Why are you here?"

[mayovice]

Why the hell wasn't the bastard looking at him? What was he, invisible or something? Seriously, he couldn't stand assholes like him at all in the slightest. Acting as if they were the only ones who mattered... tch. Annoyances, the whole lot of them.

"For lunch, of course, what else?" That and the fact that he was here to see how Ikumatsu was doing, since she had been his caretaker and all back when he was young. She was important to him, and he was worried about her from time to time. Possibly one of the few people he could talk to without exploding from rage. Something like that. "Is there any other reason why you would be in a restaurant?"

[notabomber]

"You asked me first," he pointed out. He was not going to let the man treat him like an idiot for asking the same question. "And I already told you. Ikumatsu-dono and I are friends. I came to get lunch and talk to her." Was the mayonnaise somehow affecting the man's memory?"

[mayovice]

"Tch." Honestly, it was a hard to believe that Ikumatsu and... this guy could actually be acquaintances. For one the long-haired man was nothing but an idiot, and knowing the woman as he did it was hard to see how she could actually put up with him. But even so, he wasn't going to question her decision - he respected her enough to not go about demanding answers from her (unlike other people).

Turning back to his meal, Hijikata picked up his chopsticks, gave Katsura the evil eye look once more as he muttered just loud enough for the other man to hear. "You'd better not try anything funny with her, bastard." Because he certainly wasn't going to let it go lying down like that if it happened.

[notabomber]

Well, that comment certainly got a reaction. Katsura leaped up from the stool and slammed a fist down on the counter, rattling the nearby jar full of chopsticks. "I would never do anything to besmirch Ikumatsu-dono's honor! What sort of man do you take me for?!?"

[mayovice]

Hijikata rolled his eyes at that, keeping his own calm unlike the other man as he nonchalantly continued on his meal. "How the hell should I know? You're the one who came here just to talk to her." If that wasn't trying to make advances, then he didn't know what was. He wasn't going to let this asshole destroy Ikumatsu's purity!

[notabomber]

Katsura folded his arms across his chest and glared at the other man. "I came here because I enjoy our conversation, not because I'm planning something lewd," he shot back. "You're the one thinking depraved things."

[mayovice]

"So says the one who has a duck for his companion," the younger man returned with another roll of his eyes. Seriously, just who the heck kept a duck anyway? At least Lucied and Chi were viable and sensible pets... even if they were annoying from time to time. But it was only occasionally, and he could manage.

[notabomber]

"Elizabeth is a pet!" His hand smacked the counter again. "How many times must I explain that to you before it gets through your skull and into your obviously demented brain?!?" Honestly. What kind of pervert did Hijikata take him for?

[mayovice]

Still keeping his lineface on, Hijikata went on munching on his meal, taking his time to chew down another mouthful of rice and mayonnaise before he replied. "No idiot treats a duck like some person like you do." The guy really had issues, he had to say. A lot of issues.