[AtaDan;prose] rediscovering magic
Ohkura Satoru, Ohkura Riki
Satoru thinks that he's breaking magicians' rules left and right by revealing some of his tricks, first to Akira and now to Riki, but he's at a loss as to how to entertain Sho's son. Riki isn't even his responsibility in the first place.
It starts off confusing enough, Takeru bursting into his dungeon all apologies, and Satoru's trying to make head and tails of what he's blabbering about when a tiny, "Good morning, Satoru-niisan," chirps politely around the vicinity of Takeru's hip.
"What's Riki doing here," Satoru says suspiciously, and Takeru gives one of his cheesy grins and a bumbled explanation of offering to take care of Riki so that Saki-chan can take a break with her beau but there's a sudden urgent delivery and can Satoru please please PLEASE take care of Riki? Meanwhile, Riki is holding on to his second uncle's red coat, quiet but watchful, and Satoru suddenly thinks that even though Riki probably won't kick up a fuss if he refuses, it feels almost mean.
"He won't be a bother," Takeru wheedles, and when Satoru gives a very reluctant nod, Takeru kneels down to Riki's level, and utters the most sincere apology Satoru's ever heard from his usually unapologetic brother.
"I promise that we'll go to the theme park another day, alright? Pinky swear."
Riki smiles a cherubic smile as he hooks pinkies with Takeru, and Satoru feels really awkward. There is a stuffed white cat in Riki's other arm, and he hugs it close as he waves goodbye to Takeru. Satoru just stands there for a few more moments before he squats to Riki's eye-level too, and asks, almost hesitantly, "Well...do you want to do anything?"
Satoru doesn't really know how to deal with Riki, even if Akira is closest to his age, Akira is almost like a mini-adult in some ways. He can't even get along with most adults, and Satoru just hopes that Riki doesn't do something like explode in tears.
But Takeru is right, for once. Riki's very content to just perch at the edge of Satoru's bed, playing placidly with the stuffed cat, and for about five minutes Satoru holds his breath before he realizes that, no matter how well-behaved a kid is, Riki's just too quiet. So this is how it came to him pulling out his scarves and his cards, and saying, "So, Riki, what do you know about magic."
It's been two long years, not counting the one time he made the leather fetishist's sword vanish and the time he helped Akira win his competition, but Satoru finds himself willingly putting up a small private performance for an audience of one. Even though Riki's tiny claps and bird-like laughter is a far cry from the cheering crowds Satoru used to please, his undemanding demeanor allows Satoru to slowly go through his first tricks, the easy basic ones he learned when he started out.
Teaching Akira how to do tricks is easy, thanks to Akira's intelligence, but there's nothing remotely magical about it, because Akira doesn't quite believe in things like magic, and it disappears in Akira's hands. But Riki does, even after Satoru shows him the steps to making cards disappear, and when he lets out a breathy, "Wow," when he succeeds in his first trick, for the first time in a long, long while Satoru thinks that maybe, just maybe, he can finally see what magic is about once more.
Satoru thinks that he's breaking magicians' rules left and right by revealing some of his tricks, first to Akira and now to Riki, but he's at a loss as to how to entertain Sho's son. Riki isn't even his responsibility in the first place.
It starts off confusing enough, Takeru bursting into his dungeon all apologies, and Satoru's trying to make head and tails of what he's blabbering about when a tiny, "Good morning, Satoru-niisan," chirps politely around the vicinity of Takeru's hip.
"What's Riki doing here," Satoru says suspiciously, and Takeru gives one of his cheesy grins and a bumbled explanation of offering to take care of Riki so that Saki-chan can take a break with her beau but there's a sudden urgent delivery and can Satoru please please PLEASE take care of Riki? Meanwhile, Riki is holding on to his second uncle's red coat, quiet but watchful, and Satoru suddenly thinks that even though Riki probably won't kick up a fuss if he refuses, it feels almost mean.
"He won't be a bother," Takeru wheedles, and when Satoru gives a very reluctant nod, Takeru kneels down to Riki's level, and utters the most sincere apology Satoru's ever heard from his usually unapologetic brother.
"I promise that we'll go to the theme park another day, alright? Pinky swear."
Riki smiles a cherubic smile as he hooks pinkies with Takeru, and Satoru feels really awkward. There is a stuffed white cat in Riki's other arm, and he hugs it close as he waves goodbye to Takeru. Satoru just stands there for a few more moments before he squats to Riki's eye-level too, and asks, almost hesitantly, "Well...do you want to do anything?"
Satoru doesn't really know how to deal with Riki, even if Akira is closest to his age, Akira is almost like a mini-adult in some ways. He can't even get along with most adults, and Satoru just hopes that Riki doesn't do something like explode in tears.
But Takeru is right, for once. Riki's very content to just perch at the edge of Satoru's bed, playing placidly with the stuffed cat, and for about five minutes Satoru holds his breath before he realizes that, no matter how well-behaved a kid is, Riki's just too quiet. So this is how it came to him pulling out his scarves and his cards, and saying, "So, Riki, what do you know about magic."
It's been two long years, not counting the one time he made the leather fetishist's sword vanish and the time he helped Akira win his competition, but Satoru finds himself willingly putting up a small private performance for an audience of one. Even though Riki's tiny claps and bird-like laughter is a far cry from the cheering crowds Satoru used to please, his undemanding demeanor allows Satoru to slowly go through his first tricks, the easy basic ones he learned when he started out.
Teaching Akira how to do tricks is easy, thanks to Akira's intelligence, but there's nothing remotely magical about it, because Akira doesn't quite believe in things like magic, and it disappears in Akira's hands. But Riki does, even after Satoru shows him the steps to making cards disappear, and when he lets out a breathy, "Wow," when he succeeds in his first trick, for the first time in a long, long while Satoru thinks that maybe, just maybe, he can finally see what magic is about once more.