not again » zenitsu

[unfriendliest]

Comments

week 0, monday

[unfriendliest]

[ whenever these two cross paths on monday, probably in the dragon den? who knows. kara calls out - ]

Oi. Question.

[swordflash]

[ dragon den, it is.

ookurikara is such a quiet guy. being addressed like this catches zenitsu by surprise. ]

Huh? What is it?

[unfriendliest]

[ normally he wouldn't, but reconnaissance is important! so he gets right to it: ]

Did they give you an offensive power?

[swordflash]

[ zenitsu can respect the direct approach. no wonder lili likes him.

but he really doesn't like this question! ]

I, I'm not supposed to tell.

[unfriendliest]

I know they told us not to, but I don't trust them. And I'm not asking for more than that.

week 0, friday

[unfriendliest]

[ ookurikara had planned to return to the dragon cabin with lili, once they'd found tsuru. even if the door was locked, they could just hang out and wait for morning, right? but of course, this camp has other ideas.

so he doesn't go back on friday. zenitsu will have to find him, and when he does - kara is at the court, going through his practice maneuvers like they're all that matters in this world. he might spare a moment to note who's arrived - but it doesn't last long, before he continues as if zenitsu isn't there. ]

[swordflash]

[ he meant to go in the direction of the mess hall, but he's read the updated travel guide and swerves at the fork once he reaches it. this takes him to the court, where he watches ookurikara from afar.

one moment, followed by another, passes like this before he breaks the silence meekly. ]

Do you remember what happened?

[unfriendliest]

[ kara pauses, just a moment, speaking only when he continues. ]

We fell asleep before we found him.

[ and now he's been broken. what more is there than that? ]

[swordflash]

[ a lot more to which they aren't privy. ]

We didn't hear anything.

[ locked in the cabin, it was deathly silent outside for zenitsu and yu. ]

[unfriendliest]

[ ookurikara sighs. ]

And we didn't find any sign of him before sleep, either.

week 1, sunday.

[unfriendliest]

[ and today’s feature film: zenitsu’s execution. i’m guessing zen must already be here to hear kara’s thoughtful comment: ]

So you could fight back...

[swordflash]

[ he's here and not entirely sure that it was a wise decision. cringing at ash's last attack, he jumps in his seat when ookurikara speaks. ]

I didn't have a choice!

If I didn't, Ash could've been hurt more.

[unfriendliest]

It wasn't possible to fight back against the corruption in our village - or at least, it was extremely difficult for them.

[ he glances over at zenitsu. ]

You're strong, to have been able to resist.

[swordflash]

[ oh, he's going to make him blush. and blush, zenitsu does. ]

It was luck!

There were periods when the monster was weak the night before. That means I got lucky that morning.

[unfriendliest]

Luck can only do so much.

week 3, tuesday.

[unfriendliest]

[ sometime in the afternoon, kara maks it back to the cabin - presumably to change, because he is once again, sopping wet. what a disaster. can't he learn to use a poncho? but at least he has the decency to take his shoes off at the door before pulling off his shirt and wringing it out. ]

[swordflash]

[ zenitsu is wondering just that as he watches ookurikara from his chosen lower bunk. there's no lili to impress here this time! ]

You have a poncho, haven't you? Why don't you just use that instead of wringing your shirt out every time you leave?

[unfriendliest]

It's not raining constantly. I don't always have it with me.

[ he'll hang that shirt on the corner of the beds' ladder, and to rifling through his things for another one. he doesn't quiet get there before a memory escapes him, because apparently they are just close enough, and he just. stops, and heaves a sigh. ]

[swordflash]

[ in a word, it's strange. while he can gather the context from ookurikara's thoughts alone, coming back from a mind like the one he just experienced is still disorienting, and he does so with a gasp. ]

Wh-what was that?

[unfriendliest]

...You didn't go to the theater early last week, did you?

[ it would have been easy to miss, being the very first trial. ]

That was... the first trial, in the village. The one after Tsuru was broken, the first time. [ he averts his eyes unhappily. ] ...Someone had to get answers from Mary. So I did.

week 6, saturday.

[swordflash]

[ zenitsu is back in the modified t-rex cabin, where he's setting two books down on the desk closest to the bed he claimed prior to his demise. he looks up when ookurikara enters. ]

It's okay if I move back in here for the night, right?

[unfriendliest]

[ kara pauses, frowning. ]

Why wouldn't that be okay? It's your cabin, too.

[swordflash]

[ just checking. ]

You're right.

[ despite the question, he might've fussed if he wasn't allowed.

he looks at the kotatsu. ]

I didn't think I'd be back. That's all.

[unfriendliest]

We were always going to bring you back. One way or another.

[ he says it so plainly, like it was obvious all along. ]

[swordflash]

[ for zenitsu, such a thing wasn't so obvious until recently. when ken told him similarly at the mansion, he bawled like a baby.

here, he sits on the edge of his bed and leans forward to rest his arms on his knees. ]

Thanks.