thenearshore | Slow and Steady [closed]

Entry tags:

Slow and Steady [closed]

Who: Terra and Urashima
What: Terra invites Urashima to learn to cook the maybe five dishes Terra's good at cooking...and winds up with a new shinki.
When: May 23
Where: Terra's temple
Warnings: Cute.

[Urashima'd gotten a hold of him to ask for the cooking lessons this morning, so Terra spent most of the morning getting ready for that. He wasn't a good cook by any means, but he knew how to make a few things well and since Urashima was so young that was probably going to be just fine.

They were going to start with a salad. Just so Terra can figure out what Urashima actually knows...and also to leave any potential disasters for later.

Look, he likes the kid but he's so young. Terra doesn't want to start the lessons with something that could ruin his self-esteem. The worst that can happen with a salad is you end up cutting yourself.

Once everything's together, Terra heads outside to wait for Urashima, eventually calling his Keyblade and going through some of the drills Eraqus had taught him.]

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( Urashima's excited. He's been getting restless recently and with the help of others, he's learned the lack of hobbies and active interests might have something to do with it. He's been doing a lot of research to find things he's good at or things that he might find fun and he's finally going to start. He's excited and really looking forward to starting lessons which probably explains why he shows up so soon.

When he sees Terra, he slows down and watches quietly for a few seconds before announcing his presence with a very loud and bright, )

Terra-saaaan!

[Terra looks over and smiles, dismissing his keyblade and waving Urashima over]

...San?

Mmm~ (He isn't really paying attention, more focused on the keyblade that just disappeared. Uwah, magic, so cool...) Terra-san... its, hmm... Mr. Terra?

(But that's not important right now.)

Were you waiting long?

No, not long at all. And just Terra's fine.

[He smiles]

You ready?

I'm ready!

( He sounds so ready to go. He's ready. He's been looking forward to this! He's

going to be 200% honest )

Even though I didn't really do anything to get ready, heh heh....

( What could he really do to prepare??? )

That's fine, it's not like you could do much when we're cooking here, right?

[He leads Urashima to his kitchen]

Wash your hands, I'm going to show you how to make a salad first. It's pretty straightforward, so it's a good warm-up.

Mhmm!

( He'll follow Terra's lead! All the while, just sort of checking out the citadel like a kid in an amusement park. It's interesting how all of the temples are so different... )

A salad? Heh heh, sounds easy. ( And he'll go wash his hands and when he's back-- ) Do you need help getting anything out?

The bowls, actually. They're in that cabinet--we need a big one and two smaller ones for when we eat.

[He gestures to the cabinet, going to wash his own hands]

( For as clueless as Urashima is about cooking and generally just being responsible he makes up for it by being a hard worker. Even if it's just following easy instructions, he goes about doing everything quickly. In another life, he did follow a lot of orders, after all. By the time Terra finishes, everything is going to be all set up and he's just ready to go. He's practically glowing in place. Please praise him for being a good student already, Terra, he's waiting for it. )

All ready!

[He looks over, smiling]

Good job. Okay, first thing is cutting the lettuce. I've already gotten the bottom part cut off, but usually you have to do that first.

[Terra then proceeds to demonstrate how to cut lettuce without getting hurt, offering the knife to Urashima afterwards so he can do it]

How're things at Roxas's?

( There he is, glowing all over again because of two little words of praise. Using a knife is easy, though.... Honestly, for a hopeless kid who's never worked in a kitchen before, he's not half bad. )

It's good, it's good!

( Taking the knife and setting to work, just like Terra had, )

We're going to go to the Near Shore together some day.... we"ll go to one of his favorite places. ( A field trip to the Near Shore together. It'll be fun, especially sine it's a new place. ) It's a place I've never gone to before so it'll be fun.

The Near Shore's where everyone else lives, right?

[So many names to remember]

Where are you guys going?

[Terra wants to ask about Urashima's god, if he's heard any word, but he isn't sure how to do that without upsetting him.]

Mhm! I go there sometimes to play with the kids in the park.

( Only sometimes, though, and never for too long because it's honestly pretty dangerous for him to be out there. But we won't talk about that now! )

Akihabara. Have you heard of it?

( Just ask, Terra, because he sure isn't going to bring it up himself. )

Nope. I've never heard of anything here before.

[When the lettuce is cut, Terra sets Urashima to getting that in the big bowl while he de-stems the tomatoes.

He says nothing while he does this before shaking his head]

...has your god still not come back?

( At this rate, Urashima is going to be the next Iron Chef... )

Maybe we can go together another time!

( He doesn't mind a little bit of quiet either. He'll watch Terra work on the tomatoes and he'll start to copy him. Without missing a beat, he replies with his usual cheer, )

Nothing yet.

( Hmmmm this tomatoe sure is interesting. )

[Well, at least he's good at mimicry.

Terra hums, nodding]

How long have they been gone?

( He's good at copying others but don't go thinking it's the only thing he's good at..... He's a real Kotetsu sword, okay! He's no counterfeit. )

... Uhm. ( He's thinking, looking down at his fingers and counting to himself, ) Almost... a month?

Edited (ABOUT? ALMOST? looks at the ic calendar) 2016-12-11 03:40 (UTC)

It's pretty [what's a good word here...] honorable that you've waited that long for them.

[Ugh, that sounds weird. Whatever]

What was their name?

. . .

( He doesn't seem to respond to the first comment beyond a single, small nod of the head and looking down at his hands. Is it honorable? He hadn't really thought about it like that but... )

Miss Pippa. She was Aphrodite... the Goddess of Love.

[He nods.]

...do you think she'll come back?

Ah...

( Urashima gives him a glance like, what kind of question is that??? )

I... ( He... ) I don't know... I hope so...!

[Terra nods]

I just don't want you to end up like that that shinki someone mentioned today on the forums. That's why I'm asking.

The one someone else took?

( And there he goes. He's been pretty okay so far, staying bright even for an uncomfortable topic but here, he finds it slipping. His smile drops immediately, shoulders going tense, and there goes this no good feeling again. The one that makes his throat hurt and his chest feel tight. He's anxious. )

That was... ( Really scary. ) bad...

I don't want to be taken away either...!

( He's happy where he is, with his friends. )

[Whoops. He hadn't thought it would upset Urashima like this, mentioning that post. Terra carefully takes the knife away from Urashima before kneeling before him, hands on his shoulders]

Hey. No one's going to take you away from your friends, I promise. If they tried, they'd have a lot of angry people to face, right? Even if you don't have a god, we won't let someone else hurt you.

( Just thinking about it makes his heart hurt, honestly. To be taken away against your will, used, and carelessly thrown away... No one deserves that. If he could, he'd fight for the poor guy but... he can't. There's nothing he can do. He can't even draw a line for himself without a god.

Hands on his shoulders, he's still tense but he"s always been a kid that responds well to physical contact so there's some easing, )

I know... I know! ( His friends have done so much for him this month and that's why he's working so hard to find ways to repay all of them. Like a spirit in a story, he needs to reward kindness, ) Everyone's taken really good care of me...

But I was so ( Vague hands because what is this feeling ) because someone was hurt and I couldn't help them! And they were so hurt... not just them but their god and friend too! So if.. if I got taken, all of my friends would hurt a lot too and... I don't want that.

Upset. You were upset.

[Terra can understand being overwhelmed]

And we would be hurt, but we'd try even harder to get you back...though if you don't have a god, I'm not sure how we would do that very well. We'd still try, though.

( The answer is Pureshima would be a little contagious ball of blight and what reasonable god wants to put up with that but no one wants to get to that point, okay.

And Urashima isn't stupid. Naive, yes, but an actual fool? Nah. He can see where Terra is starting to go with this, )

I don't want to be a nora. ( In case Pippa ever came back. ) ... Axel was one... and a lot of people got hurt too...

Hey, if Pippa ever came back after you found a new god I'm sure they'd let you go back to her no problems. ...I would, anyway, and I'm sure Roxas or Sora or any of your other friends would do the same.

( And what if he likes his new god too? But Pippa is his first god and she was hurt so badly... he thinks it's a small sacrifice to make for her until he's certain she's better. And a shinki with a god can still be helpful to others.

He's holding his hands now, looking down at them as he rubs a thumb over his knuckle, )

Promise.

( It's not a question. Promise you'll release him if Pippa ever comes back. )

[Terra nods]

If I become your god, I promise that if Pippa ever comes back and you want to go back to her I'll release you with no problems. And if you don't want me as your god, I promise I'll make sure whoever is your god does the same.

( "If I become your god."

After a month without one, it's strange to imagine himself with a god again. He's quiet, mulling over the words for a moment before he steps back, shaking Terra's hands off of his arms, and bends down in a bow, )

And... if become your shinki, I promise I'll be good. I'll protect you and all of our friends. ( It's a quiet but certain promise, a little nervous, but not afraid. ) I can take care of everyone too.

[Terra stands when Urashima bows and returns the bow]

I know you will, Urashima. So, you want me to be your god for now?

( Nodding. )

You're really nice so... ( It's okay. ) Yes, please.

Then I will.

[Dot dot dot]

...how do I make you my shinki? They didn't bother telling us that, do I just have to give you a shinki name?

( Oh, no, that gets Urashima to laugh for the first time this conversation. )

Heh heh, that's right. You say some other words too... but the important part is the name.

( . . . )

Do you need help?

...Yeah. I don't really know what name you'd like, after all.

( Poor Terra. It's hard being a god in a Japanese universe but it's okay.

Turning towards the counter, Urashima begins to trace out a character on the surface, )

Miss Pippa called me this. ( 純 ) "Junki." When you write it like this, it means "genuine." I liked that one but... that's her name.

( And then he taps the counter with his finger. )

You can name me anything, though... ( And he looks up at Terra, ) Do you know kanji?

[Terra watches, mouthing "junki" when Urashima explains]

I don't. I mean, I think I've seen some stuff that looks like it, but I don't know it myself.

Heh heh, it's a little hard.

( So don't worry. He's thinking hard, now, though, and he traces out a second character. )

This one's easy. ( 亀 ) "Kame!" It means turtle, see?

( And he traces it one more time. )

It even looks like a turtle shell.

[Terra squints but laughs, nodding]

Yeah, it does. That's actually pretty cool.

Then what about "Kameki?"

( Yeah? )

It's easy and you like it... and I like it too.

Kameki.

[Terra thinks for a moment before nodding]

Yeah. I like it. [Okay how to do this...wing it. That'll work] Urashima, I name you "Kameki".

[Did that do it?]

( He hears his name and he stands up a little straighter, ready for what's going to follow and he's reaching out to take both of Terra's hands just in time to change form--

A wakizashi, about a foot long, so probably shorter than what Terra is used to. Despite it's size, there's a good weight to it, though-- this is clearly a sword that can take and give its fair share of hits. If he unsheathes it, he'll see a certain carving on it.

Also, Terra, please enjoy seeing the memory of Urashima's death-- clothes cut and torn, armor broken, covered in cuts and scratches, blood on his cheek and clothes, surrounded by friends, and suddenly struck down when the enemy cuts through their frontline and slices through his sword, snapping it in half. It's probably a little strange to see him suddenly fall to the ground despite his body never actually being struck in that moment. It's doesn't make sense to Urashima either, as he lies there, reaching for the broken pieces of his sword and gasping "What...is this....?" as one of his comrades crashes down next to him, yelling that he can be fixed and to stay awake for his brothers.

At present, Urashima, as usual, has no recollection of the moment, though and is more concerned with something else that has caught his attention, )

Eeeh? I'm the same as before!

[So two things stick out to him.

One: he is going to have to relearn how to fight with a sword this small.

Two: what the ever-loving hell happened to Urashima? Terra has so many questions, so many things he wants to ask, but he remembers that lecture from the other gods. He can't, and even if he could Urashima wouldn't know.

But Terra is not going to let that happen again.

Unsheathing and swinging the wakizashi a few times, Terra glances down when he hears Urashima's voice]

You turned into this sword before?

Mm! That's right. Even the carving is the same! ( Not that he minds, he sounds pretty excited by it. ) See? It's Urashima Taro.

( And he wonders if his power is the same too, hmmm )

If it's the same... I'm really strong! I can even cut through armor!

( And he sounds really proud now too. Even if he's small, he can fight and he's going to protect Terra too. )

... Is this okay?

Yeah, it's fine! I'm going to have to relearn how to fight with you, though. My Keyblade's almost twice your size and much heavier...I'll have to figure out what my abilities as your god are, too.

[He laughs a bit]

It'll be fun.

I can teach you. ( He can't explain it but he's certain he can do that much. ) We'll learn together.

First lesson! Whenever you call me by our name, I'll change for you. And if you want me to change back, you just have to say my real name.

So I'm teaching you how to make a salad and you'll teach me how to use you in battle. We're a great time, Urashima.

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Slow and Steady [closed]

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