市村 鉄之助 | Ichimura Tetsunosuke | 誠 | Jouki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lousypage) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thenearshore2018-07-17 09:35 pm
lousypage) wrote in thenearshore2018-07-17 09:35 pm
lousypage) wrote in thenearshore2018-07-17 09:35 pm
Naming
Tetsu almost has to pick his jaw off the floor. It's huge! And it looks so comfortable! Okita and Hijikata must be very lucky, to get to live here. But if Hijikata's a god, it probably makes sense.]
Hachiman-sam--I mean, Hijikata-san, I--
BUKI.
[Something small and pink comes hurtling out of the temple at full speed, aiming directly for Tetsu's feet.]
BUKI BUKI BUGIIII.
What the--?!
[CRASH. Tetsu lands on his backside, a small, angry piglet in his lap.]
/flings self into this so damn late
[Hijikata is nearby when he hears his name, but not near enough to stop an overzealous watchdog of a piglet from launching himself straight at Tetsunosuke, even with the benefit of godly teleportation on his side. He holds in a tired sigh at the sight that greets him, contemplating how best to react without sacrificing too much of his dignity.]
[(And also contemplating just punting the damned pig across the courtyard and into the nearest koi pond, but tragically, Souji would never let him hear the end of that.)]
[Maybe the best approach is to just... pretend to ignore it. It's a damned piglet, it's not like Tetsu needs rescuing from it...]
You found the place without too much trouble, then?
[Aside from Saizou?]
/late to my own party
He holds the squirming, angrily snuffling, piglet securely under his arm and gets up, trying and failing to laugh off the indignity of having been bested by it. He sets the pig down but it doesn't run away; instead, it decides to attack his shoes.]
Yes, I did. Though I don't think this one wants me here.
[Saizo punctuates that with an especially angry-sounding buki.]
catch-all within the catch-all ahoy
She's had time to rest and recover in a stable and familiar environment, even if the place isn't the same as the Shinsengumi compound. It's a small piece of the Japan time left behind, mostly undisturbed by Western influence. They might dress differently than they used to, donning modern dress, and adapting to the other changes that have occurred since her time.
That's the strangest for her, really. She's a lot more used to the age difference between her and Toshi being five years wider than it used to be. If one good thing had come from her time as a shinki, it was being able to get to know her dear friend and commander again without the memory gap coming between them. As for Souji, he's much more than a comrade now, someting akin to a very close younger brother. Their family might seem strange to outsiders but it's where Ayumu belongs and she's much happier and at peace with them than she's been in months.
Even so, nighttime is still rough on Ayumu. Insomnia and night terrors have been an ongoing problem for her throughout the majority of her career. Without the shinki seal on her memories, Ayumu now remembers every horrifying detail of her captivity and it hasn't been uncommon for her to wake up screaming in the middle of some nights. When this happens, she often needs to be carefully soothed back to sleep with tea, quiet conversation, or kittens - sometimes all three.
During the day, Ayumu's routine is about the same as it was when she'd lived among the Shinsengumi. She prepares and cooks everyone's meals, putters around with the housework. Ayumu's left the grounds a few times, usually to go for a walk or to tend to matters at her temple - or at least, that's what the notes she leaves says.
Feel free to catch her at any point!]
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It's quite early, but with dawn lighting the room he doesn't think he'll be able to get back to sleep. Time to figure out breakfast.
He vaguely remembers where the kitchen is located, and is startled to see someone already in it.]
Oh, sorry. I didn't think anyone else was up!
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Even so, she's dressed very casually in a pair of kitty pajamas and bunny slippers. She's also sporting a rather wild-looking case of bedhead as she blearily turns toward a voice she doesn't immediately recognize, due to the passage of time and the fact she still hasn't had her morning tea yet. She'd missed him the day before, having decided to skip training to go do some inventory and cleaning at her own temple. Ayumu hadn't gotten back until after everyone else was asleep, much to her cats' displeasure.
(Kishi and two of the calico kittens are presently sprawling over a countertop, watching her cook. It may not be sanitary but she's currently brokering peace with them for not being in bed on time and therefore, them having to sleep on a cold futon.)
It takes her a moment to realize just who it is she's looking at but when it hits her, she whispers:]
Tetsu...?
[He's so much taller now. But he also hadn't seemed to recognize her better save that fast.]
Oh! Good morning. You must be the new shinki.
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Besides the weird clothes, though, there’s something else about this person. Seeing her in front of the stove makes his chest feel tight and his eyes burn, just for a moment. But then it passes and he smiles at her.]
Ah, yes! Are you with Hijikata-san as well?
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[Ayumu chuckles, more awake than she was a minute ago. Of course, she would be after seeing Tetsu again and in such comfortable surroundings.]
I'm an old friend of Hijikata-san's and Okita-san is a close friend of mine as well. So I'm staying over for a while and when I'm not, I visit pretty often.
[Souji's gotten a lot better at cooking but she likes taking care of them and making sure the household's in order before heading to her own temple.]
Would you like some tea? It'll be a while before breakfast is ready but I can make that for you while you wait. And I could use a cup myself.
[And maybe she just wants to spend a little time catching up. As much as a woman who'd died years before and a young man with no memory can.]
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[He's glad they have other friends who visit like this. He likes them, and he's glad they have people supporting them. Especially people as friendly and kind as this woman seems to be. Just like when he met Hijikata and Okita yesterday, he feels immediately comfortable around her.
Then something else occurs to him:]
...If you're not a shinki, does that make you a god, just like Hijikata-san?
[He gratefully accepts the offer of tea.]
Yes, please. If you make it I know it will be delicious.
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[Bedhead, cutesy sleepwear choices, and all. Ayumu's had a lot of practice with making tea, especially of late, so she gets on that with quiet efficiency as she chatters on.
As for Toshi naming him right away, of course he would. Especially with what had happened to her. He wouldn't risk letting another of his people be placed in the care of an outsider that couldn't understand them. She'd been the same regarding Yamato, who might not have come from her time, was still family and every bit as much Shinsengumi as she was.
(Besides, she never would have refused to take care of a secret son of Souji's.)
Once the tea's on the stove and the cooking's underway, Ayumu takes a break to sit on a stool, scooping up one adventurous kitten getting a little too close to the stove for comfort and holds in her lap.]
You'll be in good hands here. Hijikata-san's a wonderful person to serve. He cares very deeply for those who work under his leadership and even those who don't. He's a good man.
[Sure, Ayumu might be biased and also outing her former boss's secret. But here they're equals and Yamazaki Ayumu follows no law but her own now.]
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[It pops out before Tetsu's even aware he's saying it. He can't explain how he knows it, but he does. He blushes and attempts to walk the statement back.]
I mean...Hijikata-san looks like the type of person who's very scary and intense, but I can tell how well he and Okita-san get along together. And Okita-san looks up to him so much.
[Not to mention how quickly he'd taken to Tetsu.]
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[And there's a bit of a dreamy, wistful sigh accompanied with a fangirlish clasping of her hands. Please don't mind her shameless shipper moment, Tetsu. It happens around here sometimes.]
Okita-san admires him a great deal. As do I . Hijikata-san's an excellent commander.
[Unlike some of the other loser gods around here.]
I know it's only been a day but what do you think so far? How did training go?
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[Tetsu, being his usual dense self, didn't get the shameless shipping, but he isn't so dense as to have missed that word. Hearing Hijikata being referred to as commander just feels right.]
Okita-san and I sparred yesterday. [Tetsu unconsciously rubs one of his many bruises from that sparring session.] He really didn't go easy on me, even though I'm new.
[Not that he'd wanted him to. Having someone go easy on him would've been an insult.]
But I gave back as good as I got.
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[Ayumu laughs a bit, looking almost proud as she says it. Souji has a lot of admirable qualities, his skill on the battlefield only one of them.]
And yes. Hijikata-san's one of the finest leaders I've had the pleasure of knowing and allying with. The role of Hachiman suits him quite well, indeed!