No. I shouldn't be here, the place I should be is... really far from here.
[Every word feels like a struggle at untangling a ball of yarn. How to explain this Japan not being her Japan? Or the time discrepancies? How to explain how she even got here? It's such a mess. She doesn't even know what she'll do if she tells him who she is and he takes her for a threat. That seems farfetched, but she doesn't doubt Bandou would go to great lengths to protect his friends, and what is he supposed to think if the kings fight and an empress shows up?
His choking and sputtering couldn't interrupt a better train of thought, really.]
I don't know. I don't know how long I'll be here for.
[The tapping resumes as she tries really hard to keep eye contact and takes a deep breath.]
Do you remember a bad storm awhile back? It was out of the blue?
[ Having no knowledge of Youko's true identity, her real life away from him, all he can associate her words with is how his own world works. Hearing she might be leaving at an unknown time has his face drooping. The excitement of the evening fizzling out like his flames had when she tackled him in a panic.
He pretty much just met this amazing woman, who was more than accepting of him, and now she might be gone before he knows it. There's no anger towards her, but he's greatly saddened by the news.
He's set to ask her if there's any way they can stay in contact, maintain a long distance relationship, whenever the time for her to leave comes about, when she asks a question that's seemingly out of nowhere. ]
[Each syllable of that admission comes in careful measure.
She is well-aware how hefty a revelation she is beginning, and she wants to give Bandou time to process what she is telling him. She plays with the pull tab on her drink, judging it quieter that tapping her fingertips up the side of the can, and maybe, just maybe quiet will ease this. Will make the next steps steadier.]
For lack of any other, better example, I got here like... Alice down the rabbit hole. And I know that doesn't make sense—
[Explaining this to someone else, someone unfamiliar with her new world, was never supposed to be on the books. Certainly not wearing an enormous t-shirt in a pillow fort with someone she really likes. She shifts, sits up straighter than she feels like she should, continuing on.]
But I'm stranded. Until someone comes for me again.
['Someone' catches in her throat, the word coming out just a little thick, something she has been trying not to think about since the beginning.]
There's more, but...
[But she wants to know what his reaction is first, wants to see how much she has broken in his face and if any of it can be repaired.]
[ He quietly takes in what she's saying, expression slowly shifting from solely heartbroken to more perplexed. Like he's trying to piece it all together. What she just confessed with how he misinterpreted her previous statements. He stares at the empty space on the blanket between them as if looking for the right words to say. Finally he regards her again. He pulls those new red framed sunglasses from his face, folding the arms in so he can carefully place them to the side. He wants to see her properly for this. ]
So, like a dimension hopper?
[ Perhaps not the reaction she was expecting. If anything, his sadness for the moment has switched to curiosity. ]
[It definitely isn't the reaction she expected. She watches him willingly remove his sunglasses to regard her. Facing her straight on and barefaced, and once again — for the last time? — she is reminded how pretty his eyes are. But then his questions, his familiar curiosity, take some of the tension out of her shoulders, if not the caution she wants to hold tight to.]
Uh... huh? I guess... neither? Both? Shoku are like a destructive portal, I suppose...
[That isn't the point though. Gods, if she was going to willingly give this sort of spiel, she would give it to him. Who else has she trusted as much here? She takes another deep breath.]
When I was sixteen, I was taken from my hometown in Japan by a man I didn't know at the time. The details of what happened next are... messy. But the outcome, I can tell you, is that I — [Here goes nothing.] — was enthroned. My birth name is Youko, but my regnal name is Sekishi, and I'm the Empress of Kei. It's... it's the country I was meant to be born in.
[ Watch him just blink at her with each new bit of information she dumps on him. It's a lot to process, and most of it slips away before he can fully register it. The one word that sticks with him through it all is 'empress'. He tilts his head, as if it will somehow make the pieces fall into place in his mind. ]
I can't really be mad at you for not telling me. I mean, you only just found out about my fire abilities. Knowing now that I might never get to see you again after you get teleported back, or however it works, is pretty shitty to think about. But it kinda means even more that you wanna spend whatever time you have here with me.
[There is no keeping the relief from her face or any of her really, and no chance of stopping the smile she gives him. She leans back on her hands, her caution relaxing.]
Yes, I'm dating you. Please don't insult the guy I like with so much emphasis on that question.
[Thinking about going home should be something she's in a rush for. In theory, she's living on borrowed time away from her throne, but if Bandou is worried about just not seeing her again, she can't imagine what havoc the scarier aspects of her title could cause on him. Those can stay pocketed for now, surely.]
It'll be Keiki. My kirin will come get me, and I imagine it'll leave another nasty storm behind. That's what happened the first time. [She tilts her head, the playful spirit Castle Taiyou should always inspire creeping back into her voice.] If parting is too much, you could always come with me.
[ While Youko's demeanor has brightened, Bandou feels a knot forming in his chest. It shouldn't. She just placed a ton of emphasis on him being worth her attention. But that offer to tag along when the time comes for her to leave...would that really be a solution? After all, he has his own world here to care for, even if his contribution is small. ]
Ah...I don't want to think about that until I have to.
[ Bandou's gaze flicks back over to the television where the menu screen for Kiki's Delivery Service has been playing it's short audio clip on loop for quite a while now. The corner of his mouth quirks up while he lets out an awkward, breathy chuckle. ]
I think watching Spirited Away after this one would be pretty on theme. If we wanted to do a Studio Ghibli marathon.
I haven't seen it before. [Which just means it happened after, doesn't it.] Show it to me another movie night?
[Youko shifts over, starting to slot uneasily into the space beside him before changing gears just a little, sitting up on her knees to press a peck to his cheek. Laying out that much of herself, worries going in every which direction as she did, was no fun.]
[ The tiny peck to his cheek is nice, and has his smile fully returning. He can't help leaning in to get a little more than just that. Still simple, still brief. ]
[That, that little kiss in return, did wonders for the anxious energy permeating from Youko. She actually lets herself press into the space next to Bandou, and after a moment, cuddles up against him, letting her head settle against his arm with a smile. Relaxed and ready for a movie.]
[ Settled in, it's finally time for their movie night to properly begin. Bandou relocates the controller, selects play, then sets it aside so he can pull the largest of the blankets over them. ]
I haven't seen this one since I was a kid.
[ Not so subtly, he shifts the arm she's leaning against so he can hold her around her waist and pull her even snugger against his side. ]
Is it 'using it against' you if I just hope you take the other parts in stride?
[There's still the regalia — the sword and gem — and the shirei in her shadow, and Keiki, and a hundred little intricacies that come with being the Imperial Kei. Better to curl up against Bandou and focus on the soft painterly colors Director Miyazaki put into his films rather than think too much more on how he might handle much more from her.
Or just Bandou once he pulls her in tighter. She hooks her bare legs over some bit of his far longer ones — calves, she thinks — and leans heavily into his side. Cozy. Soft.]
Did you want to turn your bike into a flying machine after watching it?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Every word feels like a struggle at untangling a ball of yarn. How to explain this Japan not being her Japan? Or the time discrepancies? How to explain how she even got here? It's such a mess. She doesn't even know what she'll do if she tells him who she is and he takes her for a threat. That seems farfetched, but she doesn't doubt Bandou would go to great lengths to protect his friends, and what is he supposed to think if the kings fight and an empress shows up?
His choking and sputtering couldn't interrupt a better train of thought, really.]
I don't know. I don't know how long I'll be here for.
[The tapping resumes as she tries really hard to keep eye contact and takes a deep breath.]
Do you remember a bad storm awhile back? It was out of the blue?
no subject
He pretty much just met this amazing woman, who was more than accepting of him, and now she might be gone before he knows it. There's no anger towards her, but he's greatly saddened by the news.
He's set to ask her if there's any way they can stay in contact, maintain a long distance relationship, whenever the time for her to leave comes about, when she asks a question that's seemingly out of nowhere. ]
...Maybe? I guess?
no subject
[Each syllable of that admission comes in careful measure.
She is well-aware how hefty a revelation she is beginning, and she wants to give Bandou time to process what she is telling him. She plays with the pull tab on her drink, judging it quieter that tapping her fingertips up the side of the can, and maybe, just maybe quiet will ease this. Will make the next steps steadier.]
For lack of any other, better example, I got here like... Alice down the rabbit hole. And I know that doesn't make sense—
[Explaining this to someone else, someone unfamiliar with her new world, was never supposed to be on the books. Certainly not wearing an enormous t-shirt in a pillow fort with someone she really likes. She shifts, sits up straighter than she feels like she should, continuing on.]
But I'm stranded. Until someone comes for me again.
['Someone' catches in her throat, the word coming out just a little thick, something she has been trying not to think about since the beginning.]
There's more, but...
[But she wants to know what his reaction is first, wants to see how much she has broken in his face and if any of it can be repaired.]
no subject
So, like a dimension hopper?
[ Perhaps not the reaction she was expecting. If anything, his sadness for the moment has switched to curiosity. ]
Or, more time traveler?
no subject
Uh... huh? I guess... neither? Both? Shoku are like a destructive portal, I suppose...
[That isn't the point though. Gods, if she was going to willingly give this sort of spiel, she would give it to him. Who else has she trusted as much here? She takes another deep breath.]
When I was sixteen, I was taken from my hometown in Japan by a man I didn't know at the time. The details of what happened next are... messy. But the outcome, I can tell you, is that I — [Here goes nothing.] — was enthroned. My birth name is Youko, but my regnal name is Sekishi, and I'm the Empress of Kei. It's... it's the country I was meant to be born in.
no subject
Empress like how we call Mikoto King?
no subject
Empress like... I approve laws and hear petitions and control the military...
no subject
[ He blinks some more, dumbfounded by all this. ]
...and you're dating me??
no subject
no subject
No, we are! I mean, I hope we are! I want to be with you!
no subject
I can't really be mad at you for not telling me. I mean, you only just found out about my fire abilities. Knowing now that I might never get to see you again after you get teleported back, or however it works, is pretty shitty to think about. But it kinda means even more that you wanna spend whatever time you have here with me.
no subject
[There is no keeping the relief from her face or any of her really, and no chance of stopping the smile she gives him. She leans back on her hands, her caution relaxing.]
Yes, I'm dating you. Please don't insult the guy I like with so much emphasis on that question.
no subject
It'll be Keiki. My kirin will come get me, and I imagine it'll leave another nasty storm behind. That's what happened the first time. [She tilts her head, the playful spirit Castle Taiyou should always inspire creeping back into her voice.] If parting is too much, you could always come with me.
no subject
Ah...I don't want to think about that until I have to.
no subject
[Sitting back up, she leans toward him, settling her hands on her knees, head cocked to the right.]
Did I overwhelm you too much or do you want... to know more?
no subject
[ Bandou's gaze flicks back over to the television where the menu screen for Kiki's Delivery Service has been playing it's short audio clip on loop for quite a while now. The corner of his mouth quirks up while he lets out an awkward, breathy chuckle. ]
I think watching Spirited Away after this one would be pretty on theme. If we wanted to do a Studio Ghibli marathon.
no subject
[She follows his sight line to the television and back when he mentions a Studio Ghibli marathon, and —]
Spirited Away?
no subject
[ He reclaims his initial seat among the pillows and beckons her to nestle in next to him. ]
I have it, if you want. Unless that hits too close to home, right now.
no subject
[Youko shifts over, starting to slot uneasily into the space beside him before changing gears just a little, sitting up on her knees to press a peck to his cheek. Laying out that much of herself, worries going in every which direction as she did, was no fun.]
Sorry for... being a lot.
no subject
Apparently I'm into 'a lot'.
no subject
[That, that little kiss in return, did wonders for the anxious energy permeating from Youko. She actually lets herself press into the space next to Bandou, and after a moment, cuddles up against him, letting her head settle against his arm with a smile. Relaxed and ready for a movie.]
Guess I learned your fatal flaw.
no subject
[ Settled in, it's finally time for their movie night to properly begin. Bandou relocates the controller, selects play, then sets it aside so he can pull the largest of the blankets over them. ]
I haven't seen this one since I was a kid.
[ Not so subtly, he shifts the arm she's leaning against so he can hold her around her waist and pull her even snugger against his side. ]
no subject
[There's still the regalia — the sword and gem — and the shirei in her shadow, and Keiki, and a hundred little intricacies that come with being the Imperial Kei. Better to curl up against Bandou and focus on the soft painterly colors Director Miyazaki put into his films rather than think too much more on how he might handle much more from her.
Or just Bandou once he pulls her in tighter. She hooks her bare legs over some bit of his far longer ones — calves, she thinks — and leans heavily into his side. Cozy. Soft.]
Did you want to turn your bike into a flying machine after watching it?