[open]

[deontology]

Who: abe no "i'm so gloomy now" sousei & all of you people
When: IC: 1/21-23 || OOC: 6/17-20ish WHENEVER
Where: Various, catch him wherever suits!
What: What do you do when your partner's gone missing? Do dumb things and check on all of his adopted children, naturally.
Rating/Warning: None!

---

a. open - around the shopping district;

[At first, he didn't really think anything was wrong. Tenka going missing was naturally concerning, but he could've been at work, or the like. But as the day drags on and he doesn't show up, Sousei actually picks up his phone to call him.

User not Registered.

That's...that's very bad. Don't mind Sousei just standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring down at the CereVice in his hand.

At least, until he snaps back into action, turns abruptly, and starts going in the other direction. Too bad he didn't look where he was going first, hopefully his abrupt stop and equally abrupt direction change didn't cause any traffic jams.

Otherwise he can be found poking his head into shops and through alleyways and possibly even opening up and peering into trash cans. What does he think he's going to find there? Who knows. He has to give it a try, though. Even if he does look ridiculous with a trash can lid held over his head.]

b. open - gym;

[And as it drifts into the next day with still no Tenka, Sousei has to admit what he very much doesn't want to--namely that Tenka's gone, and they have no idea if he'll come back or anything. The city has only just started to run properly again after that entire ghost scare; still, it's hard to really appreciate that when it's becoming starkly obvious that everything is not quite right now.

Which is why he can be found in the gym even before his shift begins, practicing. It's good to practice. It's a good way to stay fit, and sharp, which is necessary after that entire fiasco.

Of course, he may be taking this a little too far, as the time drags on into hours and his breathing comes in short, sharp pants. He should probably take a break, but it doesn't seem like it's all too likely right now.]

c. semi-open: to tenka's close cr/people he adopted/etc;

[If Tenka knew you or was trying to take care of you or wanted to help you in some way or was even just amused by you, chances are he told Sousei. And now, as it edges into the third and four and fifth day and still no sign of Tenka coming back, he has to admit that that's probably the case. It had taken Soramaru two weeks to come back, so it isn't as though there isn't hope--but even so, he can't leave this for two weeks.

So he goes to perform his Not Fun Dad duties (which, for the record, he never signed up for). So if Tenka knew your address, he'll be awkwardly knocking on your door, or if he otherwise sees you around the city, he'll be approaching.

Awkwardly.

Sorry if you've never met him before, but he has a Duty to perform, and that duty is looking out for Tenka's gigantic swarm of adoptees and making sure they're all okay after that entire ViViD and technological fiasco.]

Excuse me.

[Don't mind him. He's just a little more Awkward than Tenka--and he's a little tired, though it's hard to tell from his face.]

Comments

[deontology]

[DON'T LOOK SO TERRIFIED....

Except yeah, she has good reason, he knows. So with the confirmation that she's okay, he sighs.]

... I came to inform you that Tenka has left the city.

1/2

[immobileyes]

He--

[ Well, of course she's suspected, when he wasn't there, but she hadn't dared to check that one device, hadn't bothered to ask, in the foolish hope that-- ]

[immobileyes]

[ But it still hurts. After Elza and Nesso, after Xion and Yoon, Tenka had still been a warm constant. She remembers, what he'd told her, about people never truly disappearing, but it hardly comforts her when it's Souesei telling her with a tone of finality.

She can't doubt him, him especially, but her voice still wobbles forth when her eyes well up. ]

R... really?

[deontology]

[...This is difficult.

Sousei slowly bends to put himself at Mary's eye level, looking her firmly in the eyes. He doesn't want to have to confirm this, but...that is the situation they are in now. It does neither of them any good to hide from the truth.

(Sousei had never been good at it anyway, honestly, not from the time he was a child and knew just what awaited him in the future.)]

Yes. He is no longer here, but that does not mean that you have to give up hope.

[Isn't that all they have now?

Hope... Sousei didn't fall into despair before, and he refuses to now.]

We will find him, and all of the people who have disappeared.

[immobileyes]

[ Slowly, reluctantly, her teary eyes focus on his face. She's gotten much better at meeting Sousei's more direct stares (although, if she had to be honest, all of his stares felt like trying to face down a highly disapproving statue).]

I don't know how to do that, though... everyone I know-- when they disappear, I never see them again!

[ It's been at least a hundred years since she'd lost her mother. She doesn't even want to think about waiting that long for Tenka. ]

[deontology]

Then you can learn how to do that.

["When they disappear, I never see them again"--he thinks there's a thread of truth to that, and he doesn't quite know how, but now isn't the time to pry. When she is calm again, he can ask--but for now, he focuses on her and her expression.]

Look at me, Kozakura. I understand that it hurts. [It hurts him too. That's what losing people is--it's painful.] There is no shame in mourning that loss.

But there is also no room for despair. We still have the capability to do things here, and to find a way to bring back those who were lost. So mourn, cry if you must, but do not forget that it is up to us to carry on that hope.

[Because they're the only ones who are capable of it.]

Do you understand?

[immobileyes]

[ As she thought, it's still difficult to meet his eyes. But Mary obeys without really considering balking at the order, because she knows he understands. Tenka is his... important person who isn't actually married to him, after all.

But she isn't sure how to carry on that hope he's mentioned. That's going to take some time, and asking him probably won't help her understand it any better. At any rate, she at least comprehends what Sousei is trying to convey. She's not allowed to give up.

So she nods, slowly. ]

[deontology]

[That's good enough for him. He knows people well enough, and he knows Mary well enough that he knows that it won't be so simple.

But so long as she doesn't give up, she can find that hope to carry on later.

That will have to be enough.

He sighs quietly, and nods his head slightly.]

That will do. For now, it is fine to mourn.

[It's.... not so difficult, to say these things, when it's Mary staring at him like this.]

I am not Tenka--but should you require anything that you would normally ask him, I will be here to ask.

[immobileyes]

[ Normally? Normally, Tenka would have pulled her into a hug by now without Mary saying a word. But this is Sousei, who may not be scary anymore, but really doesn't look like he initiates hugs.

... So it's Mary who steps forward, while Sousei is still stooped, and wraps her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder. ]

[deontology]

[...ah.

No, Sousei is not the sort to initiate hugs. In all honesty, even after knowing Kumous as long as he has, hugs are still a foreign thing to him.

But he is stepping into Tenka's role here for Mary, and Mary clearly needs this comfort. Slowly, hesitantly, he lifts a hand and places it on her head--not so much a return of the hug, but clearly a gesture that is meant to convey that it's fine.

If she needs this...that's fine, even if he's not so good at the rest himself.]

[immobileyes]

[ She does, and she's half-expecting him to pull away-- so when there's just the light pressure on her head, Mary breathes out slowly and thinks of gratitude. ]

... I'll be okay.

[ After a minute; she'll release him now. ]

[deontology]

It is fine if you are not.

[Just...saying. He lets her pull away and feels a mix of relief and some sort of guilt that he can't give her any more than that; she's his student, and Mary is Tenka's little adopted sister, and yet here he is, offering little of what she actually needs.

But they carry on nonetheless, as they must.]

Be honest with how you feel. I am certain that you will be fine as well--in the future.

[But for now...feel what needs to be felt.]

[immobileyes]

Yeah... I'm really not okay right now.

[ She can admit it, but she's also going to wipe her eyes first. She'll be okay, it'll just take some time. ]

[deontology]

[And Sousei nods, and quietly ushers her back inside.]

You do not have to keep standing here.

[He's inviting himself inside rudely, because while she's like this, he's not ready to leave her.]

[immobileyes]

I-- o-okay?

[ Wait-- ]

Please come in??

[ SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT. ]

[deontology]

[SEEMS ABOUT RIGHT INDEED because he is.]

I apologize for intruding.

[simple and calm. He's not actually sorry.]

[immobileyes]

It's okay.

[ JUST GONNA ROLL WITH IT. ]

... Did you want some tea?

[deontology]

...Very well then.

[If she wants to be hospitable, he won't stop her, and it gives him an excuse to linger for awhile longer to make sure she's okay.]

[immobileyes]

There's green, and black-- which one?

[ She already suspects, but she'll ask anyway. ]

[deontology]

Green, please.

[yeah, he's not straying too far from his common comforts right now.]

[immobileyes]

Please sit down!

[ On the blanket-draped couch, on a chair, on the floor-- she's scurrying off to brew some proper tea. ]

[deontology]

[o-okay.... since she sounds so alarmed about it... he'll take a chair, since they're there, and he's not always completely traditional. Sitting on the floor would be odd without a place that encourages it.]

[immobileyes]

[ There's a rug... well, a chair isn't bad, either. And Mary will be back shortly, carefully balancing a tray with two mugs of steaming tea. ]

H-here... it's hot.

[ Okay, maybe she's still a little nervous. ]

[deontology]

Thank you.

[calm down, Mary... quickly, he accepts his cup, and waits for her to sit down as well.

It's okay, Mary.... he's not judging here.]

[immobileyes]

[ Hopefully not... but she'll finally sit down with her own cup, quietly wrapping her fingers around it.

Give her a minute, she'll remember that a good hostess initiates a conversation. ]