thenearshore | hana(su)shi [closed]

Entry tags:

ω asato tsuzuki | yami no matsuei

hana(su)shi [closed]

Who: Tsuzuki Asato and Hitsugaya Toshiro
What: Tsuzuki owes Hitsugaya dinner for helping him figure out some of his supernatural abilities. It's definitely not a date.
When: August 16th, evening
Warnings: Alcohol use (Tsuzuki's drinking, anyway.) Otherwise none anticipated!

[For shinki, there are real advantages to conveyor belt sushi. Tsuzuki didn't have to worry about whether anyone would remember their orders, for example. Or even remember whether they were there -- although, okay, he had noticed that he had to wave down waiters for tea or sake refills. That was hardly any trouble compared to ordering at a more traditional place, though.

Plus it was casual, and since Hitsugaya'd already teased him about whether Tsuzuki was trying to ask him out, casual was good. And easier on his still-limited funds. Maybe, eventually, business would pick up enough at Gojyo's bar that he'd have more cash to throw around on nights out.

A guy could dream.

He's hanging out at the restaurant door, loud purple-and-gold flowered print Hawaiian shirt making him easy to pick out of the dinner rush, cheerful grin plastered on his face as he looks for Hitsugaya's distinctive white hair. Is that him over there?]

Hey! Hitsugaya-san!

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[Honestly, when Tsuzuki told him exactly where they were eating, Toushirou was a bit relieved. He knew shinki as a whole didn't have a whole lot of money, but for some reason, he expected it to be a little pricier. At least a conveyor sushi belt promised them some form of privacy given how the god doesn't like to be incredibly social himself.

When he does come in, he's dressed in something modern enough that he won't even earn a second glance, looking very much as if he was a student on the way home.

Then again, Tsuzuki calling out his name earns a couple of looks, none that Toushirou particularly pays attention to as he walks over to the shinki.]

Tsuzuki.

Good to see you. I hope the place wasn't too hard to find?

[He heads for the bar -- dinner rush or no, there are still plenty of open seats around it. It's not too crowded a place; they can chat.

He's oblivious to the few stares and mutters they're getting. He's grown more and more used to not worrying about it: most people forget fast enough that it doesn't matter if they think he's weird for a few minutes. It's a relief, in some ways.

It's a little lonely in others, but he tries not to worry about that too much, either. He offers Hitsugaya a friendly smile, sliding into one of the booths set next to the conveyor, and waves at the other side of the table.]

And I hope you like sushi. This place's pretty good!

It wasn't.

[He cheated a bit by locking onto Tsuzuki's spiritual energy.

Tilting his head a bit, he tries to figure out what's going on through the shinki's mind before he slides into the booth.]

You've eaten here before? [While familiar with most modern restaurants, he does give the restaurant a searching look. He hasn't been in any one of these before.]

Yeah, I don't like making Sakura cook all the time, and the last time I tried to cook--

[A waitress is walking by their table; Tsuzuki waves a "wait-I'll-go-on-with-the-story-later" hand (it's very eloquent) at Hitsugaya and calls out to her.]

Miss! Hey, miss, I'd like sake, the house brand is fine, what do you want to drink, Hitsugaya?

[He definitely won't call Tsuzuki out for drinking.

He just hopes he isn't a heavy drinker.]

Ah, tea's just fine with me.

So, one sake, two teas!

[She bows, taps at her order pad -- it's electronic, Tsuzuki's glad to see. It's harder to forget things that are popping up on a screen somewhere, unrelated to him or to Hitsugaya.

He'll be good, too. He's having a good day so far, and he doesn't want to get so smashed that he embarrasses himself, especially if Hitsugaya's not drinking.]

... and yeah, uh, anyway, the story about me cooking is a long one that ends with "I managed to put the fire out and we got bento from a convenience store."

[He chuckles.]

[Tsuzuki, please. He's worked with worse.

However, the story has him giving out a sound of amusement. Not quite a chuckle, but close to it.]

How did you manage to catch something on fire?

So -- okay, it was this recipe for orange chicken with a splash of whiskey for the sauce, and I guess when I splashed the whiskey in some of it hit the stove burner, and so it caught, and then the whole pan caught on fire....

... And then when I threw the kitchen towel on it to try to stifle the flames, it caught too.

It all worked out in the end, though! I dumped water on it! It was fine.

[And he'd cleaned the whole kitchen afterwards, including all the soot on the ceiling.

"Fine" is maybe not the best description. But! Hey, look! That's a nice plate of tuna nigiri passing by. He grabs it, as a distraction, and sets it down on the table. There's two pieces, so it's perfect.]

Want one?

Cooking really isn't your forte, is it?

[He definitely sounds amused.]

....Might want to consider just dumping water on it first next time. [If only you have handy ice powers to extinguish that.

The corner of his lips twitches a bit as he watches him before he gives a nod.]

Sure.

[Tsuzuki flashes Hitsugaya a grin that's half cheerful and half sheepish, snaps his disposable chopsticks apart, and pops the closer nigirizushi into his mouth. He's even remembering his manners well enough to chew and swallow before he answers.]

It was going really well right up until the fire. It smelled great!

[Afterwards it had all smelled like burnt plastic and regret, which are very similar odors.

He shakes his head.] Maybe I'll try the recipe again sometime, now that I know to be more careful with the whiskey.

Isn't water supposed to be bad for fires with alcohol? Or is that grease?

[Snapping his chopsticks apart, he grabs the other nigirizushi, listening to Tsuzuki as he eats.

Swalloing, he raises an eyebrow at him.]

Both, really. I'd recommend buying a fire extinguisher next time before you attempt to cook again.

Okay... you might have a point there.

[Winking at Toushirou, he snags another sushi plate without actually looking at what's on it. It turns out to be sea urchin roe. Another favorite! Especially since the waitress is turning up with sake and tea, although she's looking confusedly past them and starting to turn away. Tsuzuki waves a hand at her, trying to get her attention.]

[A soft snort before he reaches out to get a sushi plate for himself.

When he sees Tsuzuki waving his hand at their waitress, he sends a brief sharp blast of chill, enough to get her attention. It works since she squeaks a bit in surprise before turning to face their direction.

The confusion clears and she hurries over to give them their drinks.]

[Tsuzuki feels the edge of a cold breeze brush his outstretched fingertips a moment before the waitress squeaks and turns towards them. His eyebrows go up in startled concern, but he doesn't say anything immediately -- she's handing them their drinks, and he's got a little sake carafe and tiny cup to arrange by his plate while Toushirou gets his tea. Once she's moved on to the next table, though, he gives the god a worried glance.]

Isn't that a bit much just to get her attention? I mean -- you could've frozen your tea.

[While Tsuzuki gives him a worried glance, Toushirou looks relatively unbothered.

He just looks at the shinki.]

It wasn't that bad. [...Teach him proper social protocols, please.] It was only cold enough just to startle her a bit.

I'm not saying you can't control your power -- I mean, you're better at that than me, but it's still kind of rude, don't you think?

It's like splashing cold water on someone to get their attention.

[... and here he is asking a guy out to dinner and then lecturing him on not being rude to the waitstaff.

This probably isn't the world's most socially graceful moment either.

Tsuzuki takes refuge in tossing back a cup of the sake, which is about what he'd expected from a cheap-ish sushi place's regular sake brand, i.e. not undrinkable or anything.]

Uh... how's the tea?

[He lets himself be scolded, almost holding back an amused snort.

However, it doesn't really make the amused twinkle in his eye disappear.] I'll remember not to do it next time then.

[That just seemed the most effective way.

Sipping his tea, Toushirou gives a light shrug.]

It's good. And your sake? [Yup. Definitely amused. Sorry, Tsuzuki.]

Pretty good.

[... at least he seems amused. That's good, right?!

No, there's no helping it, Tsuzuki feels hopelessly awkward now. He prods at the sea-urchin with the tip of one chopstick, and hopes that he can pass off his bright red flush as being the fault of the (one very small cup of) sake.]

Anyway, um.

... What've you been up to?

[Toushirou doesn't mention it, though he does end up picking a sushi plate to slide over to Tsuzuki as a semblance of apology for making things awkward.

He blinks, wondering if he made the shinki that awkward, though.]

Not much. Just trying to get settled in with my new shinki.

[That's a much less awkward topic than lecturing his possibly-elder and probably-better on table manners, and Tsuzuki brightens with cheerful curiosity.]

Oh yeah? I didn't know you had a new shinki. Who is he?

Yosuke Hanamura.

[He looks somewhat amused at the mention of his shinki.]

He was assigned to me recently, so I was just trying to help him adjust a bit.

Hanamura, huh? I don't think I've run into him yet.

[He shrugs, smiling cheerfully. That look of dry amusement suggests it might have been an interesting time helping Yosuke adjust so far....]

It's tough for any of us to settle in at first, though. So what's he like? Do you guys get along?

[Share the gossip!]

Don't think you'd miss him once I introduce you both.

[The complaints about how cold his temple is though...

Toushirou blinks, but not out of surprise of the question. Instead, he grabs another sushi plate as it passes.]

We do. He reminds me a bit of someone I knew back home, so that helps.

... I guess it would.

[It's still an odd, faintly uncomfortable thought: someone Hitsugaya had known back home... because he remembers, of course. Because he didn't die. Tsuzuki's used, by now, to the reflexive avoidance of all the thoughts that follow on its heels, like Who did I know?

But it's uncomfortable anyway. He smiles, after a moment, sheepish.]

You know, you haven't talked much about what your life was like back home. I wouldn't mind hearing some stories.

[....

There's a long stare before he gestures Tsuzuki to start eating.]

I don't really talk about my life back home that much for....certain reasons. [Letting it slip around Tsuzuki was a bit of a mistake since he knows the shinki has a tendency to ponder about his own past life.]

But what exactly would you like to know?

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