thenearshore | [closed] can't imagine your OTP?

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[closed] can't imagine your OTP?

Who: Chikusa Kakimoto and Minako Aino
What: Chikusa thinks his god's love life isn't as good as it could be. Clearly the solution is to plot out an entire blind date get together for the whole Far Shore with some far too energetic blonde he barely knows, right?
When: January 8
Where: The Far Shore's Park

It's been some days now, since Befana, and since the latest string of activity from the Heavens. That means it's enough time to have passed for Chikusa to have any inclination to go outside again. He has a lot of options: Heaven's Library, Hakkai's school, shrines.... but today he's chosen to go outside to a large park which dwells within the Far Shore.

It's a good place for a couple of reasons. For one thing, on the occasions that Ken tags along with him, the various spirit animals are guaranteed to keep his partner busy. For another, with the chill being what it is, that means he's not as likely to run into too many people unlike the always bustling library. The bench he's gotten, over the many wooden paths which wind over the creeks, is now utterly dominated by his usual bag, an open laptop, and small stacks of books all around him.

Lots of them, in fact. Which means there is a stunning around of pink, and red, and white... Mhm, they're all various flavors of shoujo manga, bodice rippers, and more indepth novels (which are notably a little less pink). The one that is in his hand, however, is a bit different in that it's not fiction. The one he has held up to his face, legs crossed on the bench, has a simple title: How To Help Your Single Father Find True Love.

It's a very apt name. Very on point. Chikusa appreciates it for that reason, honestly, although its advice is something he's struggling to match to his situation. The only reason he'd chosen it is because, well, "adult male figure who you live with" doesn't seem to be something that shows up on books a lot. Hakkai isn't his dad, his lover isn't dead (except he sort of is), he's not divorced (unless this would count?), and....

Sighing, he narrows his eyes at the book. "This is so troublesome..."

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Minako loves getting out, even if it's just for something as simple as a walk. Sometimes she drags Zelda along, if not just to make sure her goddess does spend some time outside of the temple as well, but even just walking around by herself is fun. She doesn't like sitting still, and.. hey, you never know what you come across on a walk across the Far Shore of all places! You can meet new friends! Cute boys! What's not to love?

Chikusa sitting there on the bench with some books isn't even that strange of a thing to see as she crosses through the park. And at first Minako almost walks past him, but then something slowly seems to click in her brain.

Maybe it's the pink color of the books, or maybe she notices one or two words of the title of that book in passing, but she almost comically starts walking backwards until she's at the earliest spot where she noticed Chikusa. And now she can properly read that book title.. Yup, that sure is exactly what she thought it said.

"Is someone you know having some.. love problems?"

Introducing yourself? Easing into conversations? Psh, who needs that when you can get to the important business right away! Hope you don't mind having a girl suddenly staring at you with twinkles in her eyes at the thought of being able to hand out some love advice. She's so excited for it, in fact, that she probably even hasn't realised yet that she's seen Chikusa before from the mess at Zelda's meeting.

In contrast, Chikusa is definitely pretty good at remembering people, and he pauses for only a moment as Minako walks past just to make sure nothing happens. It's not as though he thinks he did anything wrong, and he did listen when Hakkai and Zelda said to stop... But still. People are weird. When she passes by, he eases up to go back to his reading... Only to look up again.

He doesn't think he's ever seen someone walk backwards right in front of him before, but, well, that's sure what's happening.

So busy staring at the odd sight, it takes him a second to blink out of his thoughts so that he can start paying attention to her words. He doesn't answer right away, instead weighing things in his head. After a second, he nods his head. "Mm. Basically."

Nothing about his slow reaction seems to be deterring Minako in the slightest. Maybe she might have realised he looks a little familiar by now, but she doesn't seem to outwardly show it as she's looking at him, so it's hard to tell. Instead she just puts her hands together, seeming very pleased with his answer.

"Your father?" She hasn't heard of people actually ending up in this place with their family, but.. Minako supposes it's possible! Besides, the details don't matter anyway when the core problem here has to do with love and Minako.. well, Minako practically is love.

"It seems like this is your lucky day! Just when you're trying to research some answers to love problems, the very expert when it comes to all things love-related passes straight by you! I know, it's amazing!" Minako, Chikusa hasn't even said anything yet.. But she's too far gone into her own dramatic spiel. "And I just happen to be very willing to help you out for the cheap price of.. nothing at all! Just a generous deed from the bottom of my heart!"

He really hasn't said anything yet, but he sure doesn't seem like he's going to interrupt her anytime soon. Instead, he watches with the hard-to-read silence of a true introvert, taking in to the deluge of words patiently. Even when she's done, he takes a moment to choose his words.

"He's not... actually my father." Chikusa's actual father is six feet under and home to a variety of bugs now, he's pretty sure, although he can't tell. All he knows is that him and Ken are the last of their Family, and presumably the last of their family as well. Davesprite can make all the jokes he wants to about real dads and what-not, but that's the fact of the matter. "It's my god... but they don't have books on those."

There really should be a bookstore on god and shinki matters, for the modern age, and that crappy magazine Chikusa has seen doesn't count.

After a second, he finally addresses her actual pitch instead of outright ignoring it. "Do... you actually know a lot about romance, then?" A little bit of cautious hesitation actually can be heard, slipped in amongst his usually quiet and plain voice. Matters of love have, honestly, been a problem for him for ages now. Chikusa might have a boyfriend, sure, but he couldn't ask anyone around him for advice on that. Hakkai and Ayumu had been full of bad decisions at that point (and still are, honestly). The only reason he'd even been able to broach anything with Ken had been because he'd been reading stories on the whole thing... and Ken's own bluntness as well. That had all been fine... when it had just been his life he'd been fumbling through. But with Hakkai....

He wants to be a lot more careful with Hakkai. Hakkai, after all, doesn't have someone like Ken to know he's destined to be with.

"Oooh." She at least seems to understand it well enough when he explains that it's about his god and not about an actual parent. In fact, maybe it makes a little too much sense, since that seems like the exact kind of book Minako would have been reading (and if not about love, then just about friendship) if she wasn't enough of an extrovert to just follow her own over the top plans without hesitation. Wanting the best for your god? She sure understands that.

Which only makes her more eager to help out. It's just cute that he's trying to help out his god! She nods eagerly at Chikusa's question, still not seeming humble in the slightest.

"A lot might actually even be an understatement. Once I'm here longer and my reputation spreads wider, I'm sure everyone will come to me for love advice! I'm just that good. So do you want to be one of the exclusive first few I've helped out?"

This is a frankly stunning amount of boasting going on, and Chikusa isn't sure if he should trust it or not. Should he really trust someone he hasn't even been introduced to...?

...But then, he guesses it's about the same as taking advice from romance comics.

So, after some hesitation, he gives a slow nod and slowly closes the book he has in his hands so that he can set it aside on the nearest pile. "Yeah.... I guess." Anything too outrageous, he can just veto, right...? "Then... Is there something I should say, or..." He's never actually gotten love advice before. He really has no idea of where to start.

"Don't worry, the great Minako over here will guide you through it!" That's.. kind of an introduction, right? Does it count?

Minako is much more focused on staring at the bench for a moment, and after a moment she seems to have decided to sit down, since she's moving some of the manga around (carefully! as shoujo manga deserves!) to make a spot for her to sit down as well. Once she's sitting, she leans a little closer to him, her tone dropping to what would be a whisper if Minako could ever not be loud in her own way.

"You understand that I'm offering you this service because you were good and didn't keep fighting when Zelda asked everyone to stop, right? It shows you're a good guy! .. Well, you did fight to begin with, but.. still kind of a good guy?" She nods to herself. That sounds about right. "And you're trying to help out your god, which is a totally nice thing to do too!"

Well, it's a name, at least. While Minako is in the process of moving shoujo, Chikusa carefully unfolds his gangly legs so that there's room. A stunning show of awareness, really... But, then again, he's paying a lot more attention to Minako than he would other people.

So there's a pause when she finally lets on that she remembers him, and Chikusa eyes her for a second. On one hand, she's not blaming him or anything.... So Chikusa doesn't move away, instead opting to whisper right back. Unlike Minako, he's a lot more successful. "That guy... is half the problem. He and my god have something, maybe... but all he does is make things worse. It got really bad, recently...."

She narrows her eyes a little when Chikusa mentions 'that guy'. Since sure, there were a lot of people involved in that skirmish during the meeting, but said guy sure was one of the worst. So Minako is totally willing to go along with Chikusa saying that guy is the problem.

"So he's not only causing problems for Zelda, but for other people too?!" She seems offended, but in a weird almost light-hearted sort of way. Like her being offended is just way too dramatic to be fully real. "Let me get this straight.. He's your god's.. sort-of-boyfriend?"

Look, she doesn't know how else to put it either with Chikusa's sort of description.

"And now you're looking to see if there's better candidates to be a sort-of-boyfriend for him. Someone who'd be better for your god! Is that it?"

Even if it's weird, at least it feeds his bruised feelings, and Chikusa gives a nod. "He even lived in our temple for a while," he tells her. Funny. He hadn't realized how much this had been building up in him. When's the last time he talked about this mess with someone outside of Ken...?

...Nevermind.

"And yeah." He takes a moment, head tilting to the side as he chooses his words. "I've... never seen him make my god happy." Because clearly if Chikusa didn't see it, it never happened. "Or do anything nice for him. My god always fed him, and took care of him... He was always watching out for this guy's feelings. So... Someone to return that." A pause before Chikusa shrugs. "Or at least make him smile." The real ones, that he's sometimes given to Chikusa.

"Geez, the nerve of that guy!" She crosses her arms and huffs.

Of course Minako doesn't realise that this is all just Chikusa's very, very biased perspective on things. Mostly since she doesn't know just how biased he is when it comes to this matter - not to mention that if there's anything that bothers Minako, it's the idea of someone taking advantage of a loving relationship or just the give and take balance not being right.

"That means we definitely have to find someone better! I'll help you out! You're actually pretty smart to see all of those signals and pretty kind to want to help make things better.. Good job!" She gives him a double thumbs up. Aren't you supposed to reward good behaviour to show it's what someone should continue to do? (Yes, Minako, but that's usually meant for little kids and pets, not someone clearly your age..)

"Let's start with the basics! We need to find out everything about what your god's ideal type would be like."

"Right...?" It's decided: this girl might be too full of energy but Chikusa thinks he can at least appreciate her. More people need to understand just how much Gojyo is messing up in this relationship, or, at least, how much he's taking advantage of Hakkai. Hakkai may be a masochistic idiot who doesn't know when to quit, but that doesn't mean Chikusa has to encourage it.

...At least, he's pretty sure he can appreciate her, even if she's giving him thumbs up like this. Chikusa blinks at the gesture, befuddled. No time to ponder it, however. Gaze drifting off, he tries to think. "Ideal type..." What had drawn him to Gojyo, anyway? Chikusa hates the guy; he really can't say. Is it redheads? No, Gojyo dyed his hair... Lost causes? But that would just bring them right back around to here...

It takes a few moments for him to remember what Goku told him, not that long ago. "I think... He likes caring people. But... passionately caring people." He tilts his head to the side, and has to blow his hair out of his face when it falls with the movement. At this point, it's reaching his shoulders... Really way too long. "If that makes sense?"

"Hmm.." Minako hums a little, seeming to ponder what he just said.

"So he'd like someone who's nice and who would care for him, but not in the more quiet and passive 'I'm here if you need me' sort of way?" Which is also a valid type people go for! But from the way Chikusa describes it, it sounds a little different in this case.

"Maybe more someone who's like.." She stands up, dramatically acting the type she's discussing. "I won't let anything happen to you..! No matter what!!"

Minako sits down again, almost just as quickly as she stood up. "Like that?"

One day, Chikusa might get used to this level of energy. For now, he jolts and leans away a little, not too unlike a cat that's heard a loud noise but hasn't quite made run for it yet. It's only when she's settled down for more than five seconds does he cautiously return to how he was.

"Mm. A little. But not just him. More like...." One hand slowly rises up, a little hesitant. He can't quite.. No, he definitely can't do what she's just done. Still, he can give the more lowkey version. "More like 'I won't let anything happen to those people in trouble, no matter what', and then... I guess dragging Hakkai along?"

Oh, now he thinks he has a word for that, and Chikusa's hand falls back down to his lap. "Someone proactive, I guess... Because Hakkai..." Him and Chikusa really are similar in the end, now that he think about it. "He can get lost in his head, sometimes, I guess... Thinking about a lot of different things. So I guess... He likes it when there's someone on the outside, who can get him moving."

Unfortunately for Chikusa, Minako doesn't seem to notice his startled cat reaction. Not yet, anyway. She just smiles widely at him when she sits down. As if nothing just happened. (Because Minako suddenly acting all dramatic really is just part of her daily life..)

In fact, her smile might even widen a little when he almost does a dramatic impression too. Even if he didn't quite make it, she's still so proud. You're learning already, young pandawan.

"Proactive is something we can work with! That's a pretty clear type. Someone who can keep him from wallowing!" She nods to herself. "So he has a sort-of-boyfriend now, but.. Does he like women too, or is he just into men? I'll have you know I'm super good at deciding just how much date material every single guy out there is!"

So Minako says.. to a guy's face.. But Chikusa is her partner in ~~crime~~ good deeds right now, so he doesn't count!

So indeed she says to a guy's face. Chikusa doesn't react, however. He just nods. No, this checks out to him. Girls know more about this stuff than guys do, right? It can't be that he's just bad at puzzling romance himself.

"He had a wife," Chikusa says, before pausing. No, he doesn't think Hakkai ever said if he had been married or not... Just that she was his 'lover'. But Hakkai being married sounds weirdly right. It's probably the fact that he's so domestic, Chikusa guesses, with the cooking and the cleaning and telling him and Ken to wash their hands before dinner.... "A girlfriend, at least. He did a lot for her." At least, he murdered a thouand demons for her, which is indeed a lot of work. Chikusa admires him a little for it, honestly. That Gojyo never realized the depths of feelings when Hakkai loves like that is a mystery to him.

"He doesn't really talk much about her... So I don't know what her personality was like."

"So both guys and girls are on the table.. That's going to widen the scope a lot!"

Despite having to fit one specific type that Chikusa mentioned earlier, yes. There's just so many potential matches to think about in this case - but Minako doesn't seem overwhelmed in the slightest. If anything, she's starting to get more determined and excited about this whole deal.

She taps a finger against her lips, like she's thinking. "Maybe I should meet him sometime? You know, just so I can get a first hand impression of what he's like too! I bet that with my first impression and your long term experiences and knowledge of him, we can definitely "crack this bean", as they say!"

(That'd be "nut", but Minako's never been good at getting sayings right.)

"...Wouldn't it be really obvious what we were doing if I just introduced you to him...?" Minako is really blatant, after all. Even her whispers don't seem like whispers, and he can't imagine her being subtle. In that way, he guesses she's not too unlike Ken.

...Although speaking of Ken... "Do you want to come to dinner sometime...?"

Huh, obvious? How would it be obvious? In Minako's own eyes she's the most subtle person around, the best at keeping secrets, a total social ninja!

.. And maybe not the most self-aware person around either, huh.

She perks up at the invite regardless though, smiling widely. An invite to any social event just does that to her. "Of course I'd like to! Besides, you could just introduce me as your new friend, right? Because that's what we are! You wouldn't even be lying!" Despite only having spoken for a little bit now.. But she's apparently already just decided that by herself. She seems to happy about it too.

At this point, Chikusa is used to people just deciding they're his friends without input from him on the matter. It's too bothersome to argue against it, honestly, so he just nods simply enough. He'll introduce her as someone he knows, and she can take care of the friend part.

"Then, I'll let you know when a good time is..." A pause. "...But, then what?" Ah, right, that needs more explanation. "What will we do when we have a better idea of his type?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

She leans over a little closer towards him, her tone dropping to a whisper-that's-not-quite-a-whisper. It's a good thing there's no one else around them in the park right now, since Minako is clearly audible.

"We find someone who matches his type, and then we set them up on a blind date!"

"Wouldn't work."

Shot down immediately and with no remorse.

...At least, no less remorse than Chikusa usually expresses in his day to day life. He's not happy about it, certainly. Instead, he gives a quiet huff. "If it's up to Hakkai... He's the kind who'd step out of something like that immediately, I think. It'd be in this faux-polite way, too, I think... Thinking that it's definitely wrong, or using it as an excuse."

Wow, you sure know how to break a girl's heart, Chikusa.. Minako lets out a huff, mumbling something about how ridiculous it is for someone to not want to go on a blind date before just downright pouting.

"Why wouldn't he want to do it? Is he that attached to that sort-of-boyfriend guy? From the way you described it, it's not as if they are actually even dating!"

At least Chikusa can answer this plainly. "Because he's a stubborn idiot." Letting out a long sigh of his own, Chikusa leans back with his fingers holding onto the edge of the bench.

"Even when it comes to things like eating regularly... It's such a hassle getting him to do it." Head falling back, he stares dully at the sky. There's no clouds at all, but he half wishes there were. "Me and Ken have to be there, sometimes... Because he'll do things like eat regularly if there are people. But with something like a date... He'd just go, something like...." Thinking for a moment, he raises a hand for a slow, dismissive gesture. "'I guess this doesn't apply to me, so... I don't have to be here'." He huffs a little. "I'm not sure... but there wouldn't be pressure for him to stay... and if I were upfront about it, he'd definitely go."

Minako glances over to Chikusa as he glances up at the sky. Maybe he's a little bit too straightforward of a guy (although Minako herself doesn't have too much of a problem with that, being very much like that herself) like how quickly he shot her suggestion down just now, but he does seem to genuinely care a lot about that Hakkai person. It's so obvious just from the way he talks about him. In Minako's eyes it's a good quality to have, caring that deeply, and so she smiles a little while listening to Chikusa.

"So.. What do you think would work best? You just asking him directly to go on a blind date with someone?"

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