Strategy Games [close]

[brynwieldr]

Who: Leo and Hijikata
What: Shogi lessons, discussions of shinki, and Hijikata's Painfully Obvious Crush on Souji
When: June 20th, after Leo's shinki have basically ruined the week.
Where: Hachiman's temple
Summary: Saix is causing problems, Niles is staying at his boyfriend's, Leo needs some stress relief, and Takumi keeps kicking his ass at shogi. Time to find someone both not absolutely bonkers and can probably help Leo with shogi.

[Leo was going to refrain from hiding in Aymeric's wine cellar for now, despite really wanting to hide in Aymeric's wine cellar. What had he done to deserve this? True, he didn't expect anything different from Niles, but why did he have to have a berserker shinki and Niles?

He needed a break, but the next game he and Takumi were supposed to play was shogi and Leo was not in the mood to lose to Takumi again so he was out of the question.

So he went to Hijikata's. True, if the man was any good at shogi he'd likely kick Leo's ass but playing against someone who wasn't Takumi would give Leo a chance to learn more strategies, and anyway he hadn't seen the other man in a while. This was a good excuse for a visit.

Once at the temple, he begins looking for him and letting the quiet of the temple soothe his ravaged nerves]

Comments

[koukai_kirai]

[For all the chaos that can descend periodically on the Far Shore's inhabitants, it's been a fairly calm sort of week for Hijikata. His usual routine of snooping, ayakashi-hunting, and obsessive training keep him busy, most days, but it's nearly the solstice now, and in true Japanese fashion, the weather around his temple is a little bit disgusting today. Heat is one thing, but with this sort of cloying humidity...]

[Well. He's got plenty of reading material, and he can light some lanterns and work out in the dojo when he's got the evening breeze to keep him cool. There's no point exhausting himself too quickly in this sort of weather, is there?]

[So when Leo comes along, he's stretched out comfortably on the veranda of the residential building, with the panels of the room behind him slid open to keep a breeze going through the shaded recesses of the house itself. A couple of the shrine's ducks are gathered around -- they're mostly grown now, but some of them still seem to be stubbornly imprinted on him. He glances up from his book at the sound of footsteps, and closes it when he sees that it's Leo, sitting up properly and pushing his hair (growing out, but still just a little too short to put back properly at the moment) away from his face.]

Leo. What brings you out here?

[brynwieldr]

[Leo is absurdly used to gross weather like this, even if his temple has somehow avoided the gross humidity. Nohr is not a land known for its amazing weather, after all.

He smiles and nods when Hijikata notices him]

Ostensibly? I was wondering if you played shogi and would be willing to take pity on me and help me learn so I don't lose quite so often to Takumi. Honestly? My shinki are trying to tear each other apart in their own ways and I need an escape that doesn't involve locking myself in Aymeric's wine cellar.

[koukai_kirai]

[Leo's straightforwardness with him is refreshing. There isn't enough of that when he has to deal with the Heavens' nonsense. Hijikata nods, then stands up, taking his book with him.]

There's a shogi board inside, we can set it up wherever you'd like. Wine, umeshu, sake, shochu, and whiskey, if you'd like to drink somewhere a little more scenic than the cellar.

[There's an understatement. The gardens at his shrine are as breathtaking as ever, and now with the hydrangeas in bloom.]

[brynwieldr]

I recognize three of those, and unless you want a good laugh I don't think sake's an option for me.

[It's so weird to his Western-esque tastes okay? He follows after Hijikata]

What are "oo-meh-shu" and "show-chu?"

[He is getting better! Slowly.]

[koukai_kirai]

Shoes off before you come inside.

[It's a habitual reminder, not aimed too particularly at Leo -- he's had enough non-Japanese guests by now to know that they might or might not know.]

[He sets his book down on a shelf as he passes it, and slides a door open to reveal a storage closet, rummaging around in search of the shogi board. Where did he put it, again?]

You probably won't care for shochu, if you're not fond of sake. It's a stronger sort of Japanese liquor. Similar to vodka, I suppose? Umeshuu's a liquor made with the ume fruit -- a sort of sour plum, you can get it pickled from just about any shop on the Near Shore. Close to wine, in terms of alcohol content. A bit on the sweet side.

[brynwieldr]

Of course.

[He slips his shoes off at the door]

Then let's try that. Fruity alcohols tend to be more tolerable to me, even if I've never had the fruit it's made from.

[koukai_kirai]

[Hijikata's back straightens as he finally retrieves the heavy wooden game board from the storage room. Tucking it under one arm, he glances back at Leo.]

We'll see how you like that one, then. An experiment.

[He walks past him to get to the kitchen, glancing from one of the bottles in the pantry to another before he settles on one.]

Grab a couple of those cups, would you?

[brynwieldr]

[Experiments worry him. But he asked for it.

Leo grabs the cups Hijikata indicated and follows him further into the temple]

No Souji today?

[koukai_kirai]

[Hijikata carries the bottle and the game board out to the veranda at the back side of the residence, where it overlooks a shadier, more private little nook of the garden. Settling on a good spot, he sets the board down and sits beside it. As it often does, the mention of Souji softens the harsh lines of his face, puts a quiet sort of warmth into his eyes and his voice.]

He's off on the Near Shore. He insisted on getting a 'part time job' for extra pocket money. Kept saying he wanted to 'help out' and it wasn't fair for me to have to pay for everything.

[Which sounds ridiculous to him, still, but as long as Souji isn't busy enough to interfere with his duties as a shinki, he's inclined to let him do whatever he likes. If working some silly menial job makes him happy, then Hijikata might not understand, but he'll absolutely indulge him.]

[brynwieldr]

[Oh Hijikata. Leo takes his place on one side of the board, attempting to set the pieces up. He gets it mostly right!]

He really does adore you, doesn't he? Almost as much as you love him, I'd say.

[koukai_kirai]

[He makes a sound that's somewhere between a scoff and a sigh, setting up the pieces on his own side of the board. The ones that Leo got wrong, he trusts that he'll fix when he notices how his side looks.]

He's always been very devoted.

[Since long before being god and shinki was a part of the equation. Around Leo, trusting that Souji is out of the house, he doesn't have to worry too much about sounding like he's known him forever.]

[brynwieldr]

[He does. One day he will get this right.]

And you? It's almost painfully obvious how much he means to you, Hijikata.

[koukai_kirai]

[Hijikata makes no effort to deny it. He might play it a little closer to the chest around the older gods who represent the Heavens, or keep private matters to himself with strangers, but Leo's a friend, and a clever enough one that lying to him too transparently would feel like an undeserved insult.]

Enough for me to be patient. I've waited for him before.

[He shrugs, and works on unstopping the bottle of umeshuu.]

[brynwieldr]

Have you told him that? I realize that as a man who isn't in love or even actively looking to fall in love my advice may not mean much, but in two different timelines of the events from home I am married with a son--Forrest--so apparently I am not as utterly hopeless as I always figured I'd be.

[koukai_kirai]

[He sighs, picking up a cup and filling it, then holding it out to Leo.]

Hard to know how to, without coming too close to the Secret. I don't think he's about to mistake me for the sort to fall in love quickly, so it feels like showing my hand too early would raise some questions.

[brynwieldr]

[Leo takes it with a small bow.]

Thank you. How long have you two been here again? Months?

[koukai_kirai]

Three months.

[He fills the second cup, raising it slightly.]

We arrived towards the end of cherry blossom season, close to when I first met you.

[brynwieldr]

Oh right, the drunk cherry blossoms.

[He mimics Hijikata before taking a sip of his wine.

Wow. Was not expecting that. Still drinkable, though]

I would think that's plenty of time to at least start discussing it. You wouldn't have to mention knowing him before, would you?

[koukai_kirai]

Seems rushed to me. I'm not exactly the damned 'romantic type.'

[He takes a sip of his drink, then waves to the game board, now that it's set up properly.]

Black moves first.

[brynwieldr]

[Leo lets the conversation drop for a moment so he can move and hopefully not screw himself over this early.]

Then what do you call the looks you keep sending his way?

[koukai_kirai]

[Going second means having the advantage of being able to think during his opponent's initial turn, to sketch out a few options depending on what Leo does. He's pleasantly surprised by the opening move he chooses, but takes only a moment to make his own first move in response.]

An exception.

[brynwieldr]

Just admit it, Hijikata. You're in love with Souji and probably have been since long before your deaths.

[And Leo makes his second move, a very amateur one. He's still thinking in terms of chess it seems]

[koukai_kirai]

I don't recall denying that.

[He slides another piece forward -- chosen less to give himself the long-term advantage, and more to give Leo a chance to notice the danger he just put himself in. He's got plenty of time to recover from it, of course, but Hijikata's interested in seeing if he'll be able to adapt on the fly.]

[brynwieldr]

Everything else you've said seems to.

[Leo does realize he may have made a poor move and tries to make up for it with a slightly better move this time]

It's almost like you don't want to admit it.

[koukai_kirai]

[Leo may be pleased to note that Hijikata takes slightly longer to move this time. He may be less pleased to note that it's far less immediately clear than before what the intent of the move was.]

Not particularly. Believe me, if there's one thing in my life I'm not ashamed of, it's Souji.