thenearshore | 008

He's not even trying to work with Kija? Even though Kija's his shinki?

[What the hell? Tsuzuki's frown darkens worriedly. That's not going to end well. Even if he manages to avoid getting into fights somehow, well, Kija'd been so enthusiastic about his goddess....

He's not going to want a god who doesn't want anything to do with him.]

How's he, you know. [He blinks back a moment of muzziness, and waves a hand at the sky.] How's he taking it?

Not well. Kija is someone who needs a sense of duty to have a sense of self at all.

[He learned that immediately about him. It's obvious to anyone around him, and yet this new god isn't taking it into consideration. Even his cherry blossom drunken haze isn't enough to hold his frustration back.] There's nothing I can do to help.

Mm... maybe it's just a bad match, you know?

[Tsuzuki crosses his arms behind his head for a pillow, still staring up at the sky.]

If he needs somebody who'll give him a job to do, it could be he just needs to find a different partner.

That might be the answer, but it's not ideal for him. He's already feeling horrible that he couldn't protect Yona, and he's not going to feel any better if he goes from god to god feeling lost.

[Okay, he's very miserable about this. It's all tied in with the Yona stuff, and now it's just making him feel worse with this drunken cherry blossom mood.]

I know it's never easy when a partnership doesn't work out, but trying to hang on might be worse in the long run, you know?

[Tsuzuki lets out a huff of breath, and frees one hand to reach over and clasp Jae-Ha's shoulder briefly. It'll be okay in the end! Poor Kija, though. Kid doesn't deserve this.]

He just needs the right god lined up to take over, that's all.

[Tsuzuki's words would normally be comforting, but right now, Jae-Ha's a little lost in thought. Would that work? He's not sure. What if Kija is shuffled to some other god in the process, or gets into trouble... There are so many ways this could go wrong.

He's drunk and going through excessive mood swings that he can't ignore like usual. So, he turns on the blanket, reaching to hold onto Tsuzuki's wrist.]

Sorry. My talks with you always have one of us down, don't they?

[Tsuzuki's smile softens with affection.]

Yeah... kind of. It's okay, though! You listened to me, so I'll listen to you.

If there's anything I can do to help you guys out....

[He trails off invitingly.]

You're too nice, Tsuzuki. How am I supposed to help pay you back for whatever I could ask you to do for this?

[His hand slips along Tsuzuki's wrist to his hand, squeezing lightly before he lets that drop away.] You've spoken to him once before, right? Maybe you could... check on him, too.

You don't need to pay me back!

[Tsuzuki props his hand back behind him again, pushing himself to a sitting position as he thinks. Just checking on him... well, okay. He can do that. It seems like it's too little, but every little bit helps, or something like that.]

I met Kija, yeah. He seemed like a sweet kid. I want to help.

[Jae-Ha stays like this for a silent moment before he gets restless again and moves. This time, he's sitting up again, legs crossing as he leans forward over them.]

Because I can feel him so closely, here... [He places a hand over his own chest.] I wonder if it's not the best idea for me to check on him too persistently. But he's different than me. I think he's had trouble getting out and making friends.

[Tsuzuki nods, and looks away uncomfortably. Jae-Ha's a shinki. If he's got a connection to Kija -- something to do with his past life, maybe -- then he's probably right to go with his instincts. It could be dangerous to get too close. But Kija still needs to be looked after.]

Okay. I'll check in on him. Hey, if he doesn't mind, maybe we should drag him out a time or two! You know, introduce him around. Have a poker night. Something like that.

[Strangely enough, the thing to snap him out of his depressing thoughts is that invitation. Imagining Kija going out with them one night is the most hilarious thing. Poker? Nevermind that he can't hold even a sip of liquor, poker? He'd announce his hand loudly to the room, he'd be so gullible, he wouldn't understand—!

Jae-Ha bursts into laughter at the idea, cupping a hand over his mouth as he does.]

Poker...! That would go so horribly, but I want to see it, I do!

Hey, let's, then! It'll be great! You, and Kija, and... I don't know. We should get a couple more, though. Maybe your god, or I could see if Battler or Lilka want to play...

[He trails off. Jae-Ha laughing's a good sound, like he's really cheering up at the thought, and getting Kija out and introduced to more people will keep his mind off worrying about his god. And they'll get to see how he's doing, at the same time.]

No, no, Hazel can't come if Kija is coming as well. I don't want Kija to see me so well off with my god when he has his own problems.

[Why just him when other god and shinki pairs can meet Kija?? Reasons, but let's go with: feelings. Also Hazel is rude about Kija's hand.]

Invite whoever else you'd like.

Mmm... do you know Gojyo?

[They'd just been talking about going out and having fun, too! Poker'd be a great way to do that. As long as they all get along, anyway.]

Oh, I drank with him once!

[There was some uncertainty at first, but they quickly got over that, or at least Jae-Ha thinks so.] Is he a friend of yours?

Yeah, he's a good friend. I think he'd like it.

[And wouldn't scare Kija off or anything! -- Probably!]

He's not a bad looking guy, either.

[Jae-Ha... When he's drunk he's even worse. What does this have to do with anything?] With all of us beautiful men, we could go anywhere we'd like and draw attention easily enough.

You know, he is good-looking, but I'm not sure that's true for a bunch of gods and shinki.

[They might draw attention if they managed to get somebody's attention first, but otherwise, they're just going to be ignored like usual. Which probably won't cheer Kija up any. It always dampens Tsuzuki's mood even if he starts the night out having a good time.]

I was thinking more of a night in! Sake, cards.... I can make snacks.

A night in is even better! There's less noise, and we only have to worry about our own company. Let's set it up, shall we? Let's have a night. It would be better for me to get out every now and then, before I make any mistakes, so this would be a blessing of sorts! I can't wait.

Would you invite Gojyo, and I could handle Kija?

Sure!

[That's all set! There's just one more question...]

... What do you mean about mistakes?

Oh, that's...

[He pauses for a long moment.]

That's...

[No, he can't share that, even drunk!!] A nice face you have. [He pats Tsuzuki's face, laughing, and then quickly dropping his hand away.]

Anyway, this is great news.

[Huh... it's like he was thinking about something else he doesn't want to talk about. Tsuzuki's briefly concerned, but: hey! It's not that big a deal! He won't worry about it too much. It's fine. If Jae-Ha wants to say what he's worried about doing then he can just say it whenever, right?

This makes enough sense to a tipsy mind that Tsuzuki relaxes into a cheerful grin again.]

Yeah! It'll be fun. Hey, when do you want to get together? Maybe in a couple days?

A couple of days, or a little past that. I've made so many dates lately I just can't keep up.

[And yet most of this is just hanging out with Hazel, but... He did get a lot of drinking offers.]

008 | OVERFLOW

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