onerous | IC Inbox

[ Souji stares down at the text. ah, she's really going to make him something?? why does yuri even put up with souji... he should feel bad. instead, a part of him is going 'she's just humoring me' so clearly, he can complain all he wants because it's not like she'll actually come over with food, right?? ]

what's omurice?

[ PLS EDUCATE HIM ]

it's an omelette and rice.

[Duh!!] Eggs and rice. It's good. [Also a kid-favorite food. She putters around the kitchen sleepily; it shouldn't take her long to get it together, about 25 minutes she thinks. Teasingly she adds:] You know what eggs are, don't you? [Okay no she's joking okay]

It's a recipe adopted from the west. Curry and rice is also really good, but i don't think I can make it as well as you could get it in one of the restaurants around here.

funny.

[ haha what a good joke yuri!!! ]

i guess i can try it. as long as it's not as bland as it sounds.

[ he actually is really hungry now ugh. leave him to starve tbh. ]

How benevolent of you

[She really SHOULD just leave him to starve but. here she is... Making this dumb chicken/ketchup rice and omelette bullshit.

Not too long after her text, there'll be a knock on Souji's door. Yuri stands there, still in her pajamas, the plate in her free hand. Why is she doing this... She knocked, but her gaze is at her own door. Maybe she should just set the plate on the floor and walk away... Or maybe she should've thought to put real clothes on (not that she's really embarrassed by it-- the shorts-and-tank combo is about as tame as her normal clothes so who cares). Or at least comb her hair.

But she'd been working on autopilot and it's only after it's all said and done that she's starting to judge herself.]

[ It's too late for Yuri to run off and leave her food outside his door because Souji opens it before she can crab walk backwards out of there. He's wearing his usual get-up, carrying his sword in his hand. He looks her up and down, eyebrow raised. yuri why do you never wear real pants ]

Huh. You really came. [ what the heck, he hadn't expected that. ]

[She looks at the sword and doesn't even bother with even a cursory attempt at being offended. Honestly she might have been more concerned if he hadn't had it with him.

...Briefly she wonders what it says about her that she's come to accept things like this as 'normal.'

And look, at least it's not the normal hotpants and weird thigh belt get-up. This is at least semi-normal.] Yeah, somehow... [She looks at the omurice on the plate with a mildly accusatory look, like its the food's fault] I didn't really think and next thing I knew I'd made it anyhow. It'd be a waste otherwise, so I might as well have brought it over.

[She looks up and down the hallway, shifting her weight a little uncomfortably, and then looks to him expectantly. IT'S A LITTLE CONSPICUOUS TO JUST STAND AROUND OUT HERE LIKE THIS, LET HER IN ALREADY...]

You didn't really think...?

[ ah, he sees... what a good excuse...... Souji meets her expectant look with an amused (SURPRISE) look of his own. Is he going to draw this out....... Maybe he'll do it next time, since he's hungry and Yuri looks like she might scamper away back to her own apartment with the omurice. He steps back from the threshold, then heads on in to his apartment without checking to see if Yuri's following. ]

[ it's a small apartment and noticeably bare. the living room has nothing but a single short-legged table and a couple of pillows for seats on the floor. the door to his room is open, and inside there's barely anything... even the futon's neatly rolled up. Souji sure isn't sleeping anytime soon!! ]

You can put it over there. [ he gestures at the table ]

[Yuri glances around as she enters; it looks barely lived in which... Is sort of a problem? But Yuri can't explain why, exactly it bothers her. It's his life and his apartment, what does she care!! Maybe it was just how the Shinsengumi lived and he was used to it.

...Maybe she'll bring a few knickknacks over or a small plant sometime. Something to make this place look not so bare.

She sets the omurice down and then hovers awkwardly. Her first instinct we to go to the kitchen to grab something to eat with, but then she reminds herself that this isn't her home and she can't just waltz about as she pleases.

Yuri's not sure she trusts Souji to be a good host either though, but after a moment she kneels at the table and watches him curiously.] You really weren't going to sleep soon, were you... [She trails off, making the observation more to herself than to him when she catches a glimpse of his room.]

You haven't decorated at all? [And honestly, in retrospect, Yuri can't say anything. She'd been living with Hisoka for quite a while and still hadn't unpacked much from her boxes. She was just thankful these places had those hologram things that made her place look neat and lived in without her having to put in much effort.]

[ While Yuri comes in and hovers, Souji makes a quick trip to the kitchen and grabs a set of chopsticks. He comes out just in time to catch her comment and her question, but he sits down at the table across from him before answering. ]

I don't see the point. [ He leaves the rest of that sentence unsaid: decorating a place that he's sure to leave soon someday (keep on believing sooj). He lifts his gaze from the omurice and back up to Yuri, pinning her with a sharp look. ] Have you?

[ He doesn't sound judgmental as much as he does curious. He half-expects her to say yes. ]

[The sharpness of his gaze has her tilting her head, curious. Why did it seem like her answer would Mean Something? It didn't seem important to her, exactly, but she leans forward and rests her elbows on the table, chin in her hand]

No. Not really. [She says it honestly and shrugs] I don't have a lot of things I put value in. [Which sounds... really sad to say out loud, and she seems to realize that with a mild flinch, averting her gaze to examine the table.] I mean, I don't really have anything that means enough to me to display, and I don't really know ho to decorate a place...

[That doesn't sound much better though.]

They have these things that put an image over the whole place. You can make it look like anything, like you're anywhere... I like using that. I can choose a different style every day ; I can... [Yuri cuts herself off, hesitating on the brink of revealing more than she wanted, before she just decides 'fuck it' and finishes lamely with:[ Hide it, I suppose. ["It" being her lack of caring.]

[ This is terrible because this is exactly how Souji feels... Despite coming from a samurai family, Souji barely owned any worldly possessions of his own. One of the reasons being that he didn't have that much money in the first place to buy any, and the other was that he didn't really care, same as Yuri. He watches as Yuri drops her gaze down to the table, looking thoughtful. ]

Huh. [ is that it.... is that all he's gonna say??? ] And here I thought girls cared about that sort of thing.

[ Souji says, somewhat carelessly. what does he really know about teenage girls… other than Chizuru. ]

But not caring makes sense too. It’s not like this place is your real home, anyway.

[ He pokes at the omurice, then he picks up a piece with his chopsticks and takes a bite. ]

[#NotAllGirls.] I thought you already knew that I was weird. [Hadn't he said as much once? Or maybe Yuri was just projecting. Or maybe she'd read his mind once... It was hard to tell some days.

Either way, her point still stands. She's not normal and he's surely already noticed.]

Mm. I haven't been here long enough to think of settling here. I don't want to start thinking like that. [Getting comfortable for the moment, sure. But to the point of essentially giving up? No way.

She watches him, sitting up a little with an anxiousness that surprises her. Its not too unlike the time she made coffee for Hisoka the first time, nervous to see if she got it right, if he liked it.]

Is it good? [Yuri can't help but asking and knows in that instant she's given her nervousness away; she resigns herself to possible teasing and/or trolling over it.]

[ Look, just because he knows she's weird doesn't mean that Souji's not allowed to say it out loud. He reserves his rights to point this out. He doesn't reply to her first comment, but his silence in this case can be easily interpreted as agreement. He chews and swallows. ]

It's not bad. [ He's mastered his poker face, but he takes another bite so... ] I guess I can accept it as repayment.

[ He should really appreciate Yuri's omurice because Flynn said he'd cook for Souji and that might actually kill him.... ]

Repayment for what? [Was this part of a payment system she wasn't aware of? Had he mentioned something about this and she just forgot? She rests her elbows on the table again, chin in hand, clearly relaxing despite herself.

She's starting to feel sleepy again, but she blinks slowly and watches him eat. There's a small smile on her face, pleased despite his 'it's not bad' because, well, he is still eating it. That's a good sign, right?]

I wasn't aware we were on a payment system. I was trying to be nice to you.

You're the one who said that you wanted to repay me for my help, remember?

[ he still has that text saved Yuri.... And yeah, it is a good sign that Souji picky as hell Okita is still eating it, especially since ketchup is a New Thing for him. ]

But if you were going to tell me the real reason anyway, then maybe you should have been honest from the start.

[ trying to be nice.... yuri..... Souji is just like 'why would you do that' ]

Oh... [She blinks sleepily, checks her device and skims of the texts... Oh yeah.] I forgot. [She's sleepy, sue her.

'Honest from the start,' he says, and she tilts her head. For a long moment she says nothing, and it might look like she's not going to give a response at all until:] I like you, Souji. [And as if the declaration itself wasn't bold enough, forgoing all formality and politeness to address him so frankly... He said be honest, right?? So sure. She'll give him honesty.]

Against my better judgement, maybe. You're... refreshing. Different. And I like that. [She feels, on some level, a sense of connection and familiarity she doesn't get from most people. Maybe it's because of the memory sharing or something, but either way it's there. An understanding.

"Do you want to die?"
"I don't really care about living."

Not verbatim, but close enough.

She doesn't think Souji is entirely honest with his emotions or feelings or whatever, but he's more frank than most. He's not polite for politeness's sake. She shifts her chin to one hand, her free hand laying flat on the table.]

I... am not comfortable with most people. They're-- [Miu's voice echoes in her head, an old memory. It's all lies. People lied. And when you can reach out and so easily discover the truth...] A lot of the time, people will only say what they think you want to hear. They can easily smile to your face, while in their heads thinking terrible things.

I... learned that quickly, with this power. [Her tone is mildly bitter, because honestly that shit hurt when the people you thought were your friends would smile at your face, wish you luck in feeling better, while secretly thinking you're insane and a lost cause and sick. her fingers twitch slightly and she withdraws her hand] Maybe I should have known better to begin with, but... [But she hadn't had to think about such things before.]

You lie too. And that's fine, because everyone does. I don't need to read peoples' minds to know that much. But, I know that I can trust you, in some ways. If you didn't like me, I'd know. If you wanted to kill me, you would, and I wouldn't have to read your mind to know those things. [A pause and her voice softens] I suppose I like that. Enough so that I don't mind doing things like this once in a while.

[Not that she'd mind it to begin with because she does like helping people and can't say no to those who need help but. You know. The point still stands.]

[ Souji knew he said be honest, but he hadn’t actually expected her to be. It was the sort of careless comment he said only to embarrass or to sting, the sort people always ignored when it came from him. So when she looks at him for a long time and doesn’t say a thing, he looks back. His eyes narrow at the use of his first name, hackles instinctively rising at the familiar address. Refreshing? Different? She liked him for those reasons? He knew he was different, even back when he still pretended he could be like everyone else. His mouth thins, but he keeps quiet, eyes flatly focused on her. ]

[ He hears what she’s saying. A part of him wonders why she’s saying these things in the first place (it’s because I told her to, he remembers) and the other is wondering how to feel. He wouldn’t necessarily disagree with her. People do lie, and he lies too. She likes him because he doesn’t lie to her about the things people normally lie about? With a power like hers, that made sense. It reminds him too, that Yuri’s like him. They’re both people who aren’t really people at all. They’ve lived lives that were missing the things normal people got to have. ]

[ But the sincerity of this moment is enough to unnerve him. It makes him want to draw a line and pretend nothing happened. Because that’s what he always does when things like that happen, though they happen rarely. Yuri’s no Kondou-san, no person Souji can stick a smile on for. It’s a good thing that’s not what Yuri asks from him. She wants honesty? He can do that much for her. ]

You’re right. I won’t say things that you want to hear. There’s no point in lying about that. I don’t care if you decide to tell me your true feelings or hide them from me, either.

[ simply. ]

But don’t think that any of this means that we’re close enough to call each other by name, Kozukata.

[ His voice sharpens when he says her name, but his face is still neutral as ever. He places his chopsticks next to the plate and gets up. ]

You should leave. I'll return the plate tomorrow.

I simply wanted to make sure you were paying attention, Okita. [Hey if he's not going to be polite and use '-san,' than neither will she.

She watches him quietly, hearing the dismissal easily. It doesn't hurt or anyting, she wasn't expecting much else, but she doesn't get up right away.] If you didn't want me to speak honestly, you shouldn't have asked me to in the first place.

[BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR, SOUJI. She presses her hands to the table and rises, her movements sluggish in her tiredness.] If you need anything further, I'm just next door. Okita-- [She calls out to him lightly and tilts her head.]

...Thank you. Even if you don't like hearing things like that. [Her expression is vaguely amused at is expense, feeling like she's managed to come out on top here in victory despite the fact he totally started this with texting her at ass 0'clock and all.

And thanks for what, Yuri?? Thanks for being more-or-less honest...? Something like that.]

[ She might as well be the victor in this situation here, especially with the way Souji’s ready to retreat. He doesn’t say anything back. He should. A thanks for the omurice and her time. But he doesn’t. ]

[ He just stands up as she does, pauses as she thanks him, then turns his back and heads deeper into his apartment without waiting to see her leave. ]

[ Once morning comes around, she'll find a plastic bag with the plate inside hanging on the doorknob of her apartment. it's gratitude, really.... ]

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tooo action?

YES time to come on over the sketchy sooj's house

this is totally normal

has yuri's life ever been normal tho

i'm sure the first 18 years of her life were relatively uneventful.... ish... (nah)

smdh

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