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[ Closed ] 知らない知らない僕は何も知らない
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compossible) & her new pet hippo (kaba)When: 01/06 (OOC: 05/17)
Where: A cozy little place at the Pleasure District, might move elsewhere later on
What:
Rating/Warning: Possible spoilers for Koujaku's route? It's clean, otherwise.
[ So the New Year's had been a bust on account of that raging snowstorm, Santa, and everything in between, but Koujaku figures he's ready to move on from the trauma of all of that and actually enjoy himself for a change. Once it came time for another one of his exploratory little adventures with Elcia, he'd taken to it with more relish than usual.
And the reason for that is an honest-to-goodness shrine like the ones back home—one he'd spent a happy hour or several in the quiet (metaphorically speaking) company of another girl. There's nothing romantic about either venture to him, alas, save for maybe the ambience, since, hello, Pleasure District, and all. It's kind of part of the package.
That aside, he does catch sight of a few robotic groundskeepers keeping things tidy, if not presumably cleaning after the visitors for the New Year's. It's almost been a week since then, but Koujaku had found himself hanging around here more and more often as of late, if only because it reminds him of home. ]
It's a little easy to miss, so you're gonna have to follow my lead on this one. [ Please please don't take that the wrong way, Elcia. That "special place" he'd been talking about most certainly isn't one anybody should be worried about, unless they're allergic to tradition. ]
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She does wonder a little about whether or not he ever gets taken advantage of, but hey, it's a rough life. She's not going to pry about it right now.
Instead, in a tidy, white dress today, she just follows him, ignoring the occasional leer they get from people around the Pleasure District who think they're up to something worse. She suspects that he has no untoward intentions, after all, so they don't bother her--not that she's not above following his lead on this one. And so, words dry and wry--]
I don't suppose your "special place" is the same place all of these people are winking and nudging each other about as we walk by.
[They're not subtle.
Though at least they're not offering up rude invitations to Elcia, since Koujaku is with her.]
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Maybe CERES can help him with his body issues, maybe they can’t. Not a lot of that bears thinking about, however, in light of recent Santa attacks. Hadn’t they met because of one to begin with? He’s still trying to shake the awkward off of that, whoops, if he’s not outright trying to shake off some of the ruder tourists trying to take advantage of her by being his usual huge, intimidating self.. ]
It’s a lot more traditional than that. [ But he’s grinning, anyway, albeit nervously, as he recalls some of the lewder souvenirs the shrine keeps in stock. Some things never change. ]
I could almost call it authentic, if it weren’t in here.
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Traditional, he says, as if places to have sex aren't as traditional as it gets.
Thankfully, by now she knows he's more of a big giant teddy bear than anything, so she lets him off the hook.]
Authentic, huh. Familiar from home for you, then? [She is legitimately curious now, even if she wouldn't quite admit it; things that are familiar to him are probably unfamiliar to her, but she still wants to know what sort of place he grew up in to make him so odd.]
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Real familiar! Mom and I used to visit one all the time! [ Make of that what you will, Elcia. Also, that kind of excitement might put him back to giant puppy territory though. Welp.
But he's eagerly craning his neck into the streets, and— ]
There! [ He motions towards that fairly nondescript shrine tucked away behind some of the buildings of much baser pleasures. ]
C'mon, Elcia! You gotta see this! [ No she doesn't. But he's already making his way through passerby towards that quaint old shrine. ]
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Your mom, huh...
[moms......
She shakes that thought off, and follows him towards the shrine, smiling despite herself.]
Alright, alright, I'm coming. Slow down a little.
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Nothing like it. ]
But…isn't it beautiful? [ Koujaku you haven't even told her what it is yet— ]
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She's someone who has lived underground all her life. Just recently is the first time she's seen the sky, even--so seeing something like this, draped in snow and nonetheless still green, sparkling in the sunshine.
She pauses.]
... It really is.
[A blink. She shakes it off. No need to get sentimental here and now, right.]
What's this supposed to be, anyway?
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It's a shrine. [ Right he tends to forget that she might not be all that familiar with how this place works, still. Man they need to talk about themselves some more. ]
I pray here sometimes, but… [ he shrugs ] Sometimes it's just nice to get away for a little while, you know? [ And this place isn't exactly a secret, besides. ]
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She crosses her arms at that, looking around thoughtfully, and it may not be polite, but she's perfectly frank.]
What do you pray to? And for?
[It's an entirely foreign practice for someone like her.]
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Nobody who's anybody, anyway. He shrugs, his smile apologetic. ]
To anybody who'd listen, I guess. I just… [ he has to resist the urge to toe the ground like he'd just been scolded ]
…need the strength to keep moving on.
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It's while bending over, peering at something clearly foreign to her, that she responds to what he'd said, lightly and over her shoulder--]
That's sensible. Pragmatic, even. Who knows what's out there listening.
But you know... [She straightens and turns to look at him.] Even if you're way too nice a guy, that doesn't mean you don't already have that strength somewhere.
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…It's funny how she can be so—yes, pragmatic—even in a place like this, though. Not that he isn't grateful—he's certainly smiling at her gratefully for the encouragement. ]
And all I got to do is find it, right? [ He shrugs helplessly. ] What about you?
[ She's free to divulge as little as she wants, only he has to ask, since she always seems to be on the defensive. That's not the sign of strength. That's how he had been when he was running away from his problems. ]
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Don't be silly. [She knows he's onto her; she knows he knows that she's really not strong at all. There's a lot that she's only figuring out just now for herself, but--
she continues on, lightly.]
Amnesiacs have even more places to search for that sort of strength, you know?
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Dammit why is she so blunt with scary stuff like that but not the others? It's like she's offering him pieces of a puzzle but none of them are corners—he has nowhere to start with; no frame of reference.
Maybe it's just a cultural difference thing or something. Yeah. ]
Y—Yeah, I guess they do. [ He's trying to keep the worry out of his face. ]
So maybe we can find it together. [ Or maybe in each other, because who is he to doubt the power of friendship?? ]
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I don't know how you can say such cheesy things without even flinching. [SHE DOESN'T GET IT... but it's also not bad. It's not a bad feeling to learn that he's trustworthy, is it....?
Maybe she's starting to trust him too much. In that case, she should probably start pulling back. But she doesn't want to, not really. He's a warm person, and she's tired of being surrounded by the cold.]
I guess that's just the way you are, huh?
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At least, that's how he hears it nowadays. ]
You're not tired of them already, are you? [ He chuckles. ] It's the truth anyway.
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But anyway, why don't you properly give me a tour of this place? I have no idea exactly what I'm looking at here.
[But she's absolutely curious.]
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Oh, that's the altar. [ With a squat image of the Buddha framed by faint smoke from the joss sticks. Sometimes Koujaku wonders if it's all part of the Holo(GM) technology, too. ]
You wanna try praying to him too?