Pssst didja hear? [Sound test]

[all_that_glimmers]

Who: Yuuko+Mineto
Where: After game start
What: Gossip swap~



When most people talk to their plants they don't expect the plants to talk back, let alone lean into water like a cat looking for attention. It had been a hot day and humans and youkai weren't the only ones feeling too hot. One of these days Yuuko would remember to install air conditioning in the shop but her water magic was keeping her cool for now. Other people in the shop would be less fortunate.

"Have you heard the news?" Yuuko asked lighty as she fussed over the plant.

Comments

[all_that_glimmers]

"That would have made a wonderful headline," Yuuko replied. "'Age 17, female high schooler murders dick in blood cold blood. Short, cute and simply adorable, even as she demands she be known and feared as killer of all enemies to women'. It's not impossible but that would be such a taxing role to build for myself.

"Plus, you don't use a hammer for every job. It works wonderfully to like, kill your enemy, kill their family, and then the their friends and pets for kicks sometimes but it's so inefficient for every job. In this case, the power of human imagination works perfectly because they're better at coming up with whatever freaks them out the most without me having to set the bar. For little hob goblins or other youkai pulling pranks, they already have a high bar. Then I would need a hammer."

[warbringer]

Meanwhile, Yuuko had lost Mineto's attention so fast that his studious expression was giving way to boredom. He did not trust this human to understand what it was like to remain on the shelf. He had brought himself down from it with his own power - although it had become nice not to think about it.

There was also another truth. Many youkai knew better than to lecture one of his age.

"Tell me, do you always show such disrespect to your elders?"

[all_that_glimmers]

"Constantly," Yuuko quipped instantly. "Refuge in audacity works better than you'd think! It's easy to just smile and nod but that's impolite and I think too highly of you to fall to that mode."

[warbringer]

Blatant as though that was, Mineto looked like he didn't mind. He shut his eyes and seemed to be loving every moment.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He gestured at the bottles on the shelves. "You really think I don't know you just want to siphon me off?"

[all_that_glimmers]

"I do but not that way!" Yuuko laughed and smiled wickedly. "I'd prefer other ways to siphon you off. More comfortably. Like in bed."

[warbringer]

This comment left Mineto with a few moments of peace in which to wonder what he'd do. He spared her a surprised glance. He did manage to not smile. But then, the stiffness of the comment wore off when he threw his head back and laughed, over and over again.

"So! That's what you're after!"

He fell into using a quieter voice, and a wry smile appeared on his face. He stared into her eyes.

"Oh, you are a wonder. You know you are such hard work, don't you? Perhaps I just need to lie down." He looked tired and thoughtful, though he was perfectly healthy.

[all_that_glimmers]

"You are somewhere over a thousand years old, Ozaji-san," Yuuko replied, but she returned his gaze with something something lively and inviting. "My place is just up the stairs. You're free to that bed if you like and if that's not too much work."

[warbringer]

"I do need to rest," Mineto said with the weariness of age.

The offer sounded perfect; but he would prefer it if they got into a bath and lost their worries together in the warmth. He wanted sincerity. But this did not seem like something he would ever obtain. He knew what it was like to stay young and have people die in front of him.

He put the emotion he had shown back in its bottle, and returned to looking a little stiff.

"How warm is it?"

[all_that_glimmers]

"As warm as you can expect from a summer day's beams," Yuuko replied. "Perfect for catnaps. And other things if and when they pop up."

She shrugged, looking less stiff than Mineto; relaxed and inviting.

"All you need to do is ask."

[warbringer]

There was a long and ripe silence. Mineto was dusting down his shoulder, cleaning himself of his awkwardness.

"I ask nobody for nothing."

It was evidently too much to have his control slipping out from under him.

[all_that_glimmers]

Yuuko let the silence sit for several long moments. Then, she filled it with that blithe, seeming flippancy,

"So is it alright for someone to ask you?" She leaned back against the counter and shrugged again. "Well if you choose you're free to use my bed for however you like if you're that tired. Or we can keep talking. Or you're even free to leave. Or you're free to even hang upside down and sing Miki K if you like, though that one seems like the far least likely option, amusing mental imagery aside."

[warbringer]

Mineto frowned - a sight as unpleasant as many would have seen - and thought that he would somehow unravel the problem that she had created for him. He wasn't surprised when his words mirrored her own flippant attitude. He cut in too, stopping her from giving another set of examples.

"Or you're free to shut up," he said, his mood foul. "I do not wish to hear such talk."

[all_that_glimmers]

And Yuuko did. If it'd been someone else Yuuko would have shut up to the letter and continued on as she pleased. Instead she pushed off the counter, expression more serious,

"Well then. What sort of thing would you wish to hear?"

[warbringer]

"Nothing," Mineto said curtly.

He would only appreciate a little bit of silence. He noticed but paid no attention to the change in Yuuko's attitude. He was looking back at her with an expression that showed he was almost disappointed.

[all_that_glimmers]

Yuuko, on the other hand, simply walked away without even a careless 'what can you do?' shrug as she usually would have. She returned to the counter and pulled a box from the side of fresh, unlabeled vials and page of stickers with names and warnings. She simply worked without a word or glance back.

[warbringer]

Mineto was not looking back either. He was folding the list thoughtfully, and sliding it into his breast pocket. Then he was walking with slow deliberate steps over to the front door to pull it wide and leave it open. The climate was dry and warm, and the store had not seen air for a while. He set off down the road outside the shop, hands in his pockets as though he was the only person.