A hushed whisper, rough with exhaustion- Kimi's voice the source. Although... Not "Kimi" right now. Not "Kiyoshi" either. There is no one else to hear him, not out here in the woods where even trees are fallen against one another and upturned from their place in the earth. There is no one else to hear him save for one other person, standing before him. He looks the way "Kimi" sounds: haggard, bags heavy under his eyes, and clothes ruined with dirt and ash. Clothes that are far from modern, in fact. They're the traditional kind of clothes from history, for that of a common man.
And there's no doubt that, here in the woods with only themselves in dirty clothing, they're both common men.
The other man gestures frantically, tossing his hands toward the earth, gesturing his words as if they'll bear seed. "I'm not! Masao, you're too soft-"
A flare of aggravation flickers through him. "Were you saying that when I helped put out the fire in your home, Maon?"
Maon talks over him, not noticing or perhaps even ignoring what he's saying. "-but even you have to think that it's suspicious that the wells have become so unclean! The earth shook because we displeased the gods, that much is obvious, but for this, too? It has to be the work of those outsiders, conspiring against us."
Yet again, another burst of aggravation, stronger now. Hotter. "Or perhaps that, too, is the gods."
"We have been punished enough by them! They would not-"
"Susanoo-no-Mikoto threw a dead horse in his beloved and honorable sister's loom," he says, temper snapping, and he pushes himself up to his feet. "Just like you are trying to throw a rotting carcass into the strings of our village. We have enough disaster to deal with, alright?" Making his way past his friend roughly, Masao raises up a hand. "I came out here because you said you had something important and secret to tell me, but this is ridiculous. I am going back to help everyone clean up. Cool your head and then do the same."
He's almost at the point where the trees manage to still form a line around the disaster-born clearing when Maon speaks up again. "So that's how it is... I'll have to do it on my own, then."
Masao jolt to a stop, heat flushing ice cold throughout the whole of him. "Maon..." He twists around, face contorted into concern and betrayal both. "What are you thinking of doing, exactly?"
There's no eye contact, only a shadowed gazed and set jaw. "What's needed to be done for all of us."
"All of us but a single family." His own jaw is so tight that it hurts past all the exhaustion in his body. Masao twists on his heel, mind already set, but he only makes it a few feet before there's rushing footsteps behind him and a grip snapping around his arm. He jolts forward, feet nearly going out beneath himeslf. "Hey-!"
"Don't! Masao, don't you dare go tell them what I've told you-"
"Maon, let go of me!"
"-those people were never any friends of ours, and I can't-"
"Maon!"
But it's no use. Temper too heated, paranoia too stoked, and that grip too strong- Masao can't get free no matter how much he bargains or struggles. The woods echo with their scuffle. Desperate, Masao tries to twist and their feet tangle together clumsily. The fall, inevitable... and so, too, the result.
Earthquakes bring up so much that's been buried up to the surface. The only blessing was that when his head cracks against upturned rock, the pain is sharp for only for a moment... before the darkness washes over like a tide, dragging him under. Distantly, he can feel his body being moved, can hear Maon's voice going from bonfire paranoia to horrified shock, but it's all so distant. He's sinking, sinking, sinking...
2/3
A hushed whisper, rough with exhaustion- Kimi's voice the source. Although... Not "Kimi" right now. Not "Kiyoshi" either. There is no one else to hear him, not out here in the woods where even trees are fallen against one another and upturned from their place in the earth. There is no one else to hear him save for one other person, standing before him. He looks the way "Kimi" sounds: haggard, bags heavy under his eyes, and clothes ruined with dirt and ash. Clothes that are far from modern, in fact. They're the traditional kind of clothes from history, for that of a common man.
And there's no doubt that, here in the woods with only themselves in dirty clothing, they're both common men.
The other man gestures frantically, tossing his hands toward the earth, gesturing his words as if they'll bear seed. "I'm not! Masao, you're too soft-"
A flare of aggravation flickers through him. "Were you saying that when I helped put out the fire in your home, Maon?"
Maon talks over him, not noticing or perhaps even ignoring what he's saying. "-but even you have to think that it's suspicious that the wells have become so unclean! The earth shook because we displeased the gods, that much is obvious, but for this, too? It has to be the work of those outsiders, conspiring against us."
Yet again, another burst of aggravation, stronger now. Hotter. "Or perhaps that, too, is the gods."
"We have been punished enough by them! They would not-"
"Susanoo-no-Mikoto threw a dead horse in his beloved and honorable sister's loom," he says, temper snapping, and he pushes himself up to his feet. "Just like you are trying to throw a rotting carcass into the strings of our village. We have enough disaster to deal with, alright?" Making his way past his friend roughly, Masao raises up a hand. "I came out here because you said you had something important and secret to tell me, but this is ridiculous. I am going back to help everyone clean up. Cool your head and then do the same."
He's almost at the point where the trees manage to still form a line around the disaster-born clearing when Maon speaks up again. "So that's how it is... I'll have to do it on my own, then."
Masao jolt to a stop, heat flushing ice cold throughout the whole of him. "Maon..." He twists around, face contorted into concern and betrayal both. "What are you thinking of doing, exactly?"
There's no eye contact, only a shadowed gazed and set jaw. "What's needed to be done for all of us."
"All of us but a single family." His own jaw is so tight that it hurts past all the exhaustion in his body. Masao twists on his heel, mind already set, but he only makes it a few feet before there's rushing footsteps behind him and a grip snapping around his arm. He jolts forward, feet nearly going out beneath himeslf. "Hey-!"
"Don't! Masao, don't you dare go tell them what I've told you-"
"Maon, let go of me!"
"-those people were never any friends of ours, and I can't-"
"Maon!"
But it's no use. Temper too heated, paranoia too stoked, and that grip too strong- Masao can't get free no matter how much he bargains or struggles. The woods echo with their scuffle. Desperate, Masao tries to twist and their feet tangle together clumsily. The fall, inevitable... and so, too, the result.
Earthquakes bring up so much that's been buried up to the surface. The only blessing was that when his head cracks against upturned rock, the pain is sharp for only for a moment... before the darkness washes over like a tide, dragging him under. Distantly, he can feel his body being moved, can hear Maon's voice going from bonfire paranoia to horrified shock, but it's all so distant. He's sinking, sinking, sinking...