wingedtiger | OPEN RP POST

[ Yukimura lays eyes upon the dango and is delighted. It's here!! The dango is real!! What better medicine could there possibly be?!

...Okay, no, the real pain meds (along with the tea) are appreciated too. ]

Not at all!

[ Yukimura pats the space next to him with a bandaged hand. The burns he received are going to scar, but he's trying to keep his mind off of things like that. ]

I have been wanting to tell you my thoughts on this tale.

[ Sasuke is willing to hide the medicine within the dango or create a sweetened tea mixed with the medicine. Yukimura won't have to worry too much about the bitter taste if he decides to take it. His ninja will do what he can.

Setting down his sewing bundle within reach, Sasuke sits next to Yukimura right where he patted the floor. He also tries not to think about which wounds will leave scars. It seems wrong for someone so fiery to bear burn scars like he has. ]

Did you finish it all ready? That was fast.

[ It took Sasuke longer to finish it, but he also had multiple other things dividing his attention at the time. ]

[ Yukimura shakes his head, slowly so as not to give himself a headache. ]

Not yet. I have reached the halfway point, where the youkai and her lover have been separated by the meddling onmyouji.

[ It's a gripping tale. He can't until he's finished the story before discussing it! ]

I was sympathetic to his unrequited love for the youkai at first, but he has made himself the villain now! How can he not see that he cannot take her love by force?!

[ Oh that point. Sasuke remembers how pained the youkai became. Her spirit seemed to fade, losing hope for life the longer she was held captive. ]

I think the onmyouji confused his desire for the youkai for love. He doesn't love her. He wants ownership, to claim her as his prized possession. However, he calls it love to justify his actions.

[ The onmyouji might have been sympathetic at first, but he started to show his true colors. A person shouldn't hurt their lover the way he has. ]

He cannot see his own selfishness, and looks away from her unhappiness as if it will resolve itself...

[ Yukimura's brow furrows as he thinks of the youkai woman's plight. ]

I cannot predict what will happen next, but I would like to believe that he will see the error of his ways, and learn from the youkai's example what true love is supposed to look like.

Some people only see what they want to see. Others have been blinded and don't know what they're missing. They need someone to help open their eyes.

[ Maybe the onmyouji will. Maybe he won't. Sasuke won't give Yukimura a spoiler. That'll ruin the story. ]

Which way will this story go...?

[ Sasuke takes off his gauntlets, spreads a piece of green fabric over his folded legs, and begins to stitch. ]

[ Yukimura gives both the story and Sasuke a pointed stare before rolling onto his back and making an impatient noise. ]

Why must it take so long to reach the ending? Is there a way to train myself to read more quickly??

[ Maybe he could just skip ahead a few pages... No, no, he has to finish it properly! But the poor youkai maiden...! ]

[ Sasuke can't help but laugh at the adorable tiger cub. And it feels good to laugh like this, brightly and honestly. ]

You can take a break and rest your eyes, you know. You're making me wonder if you forgot about the dango and tea.

[ Highly unlikely, given who he's speaking to, but the plate of dango has lasted longer than he expected. ]

And if you try to read too quickly, you won't enjoy the story as much.

[ Laughing at his very serious dilemma!! So mean, Sasuke!!

Yukimura frowns at the ceiling before huffing a sigh and rolling back onto his side. ]

I have no argument for that...! A story must be savored the way one savors dango!

[ He picks up one of the skewers and starts munching on the dango. ]

...But what if the ending is not sweet the way the dango is?

[ Compared to everything else they've gone through, the frustration over not reading fast enough in so lighthearted. At least there isn't blurry vision for him to contend with! ]

Do you think I'd give you something that would leave a bitter taste in your mouth? ... Besides the medicine.

[ While not a spoiler, Yukimura might be able to read between the lines: Sasuke wouldn't give Yukimura book with a bad ending. ]

[ Right, the medicine... He needs it, but why does it have to taste like that? ]

...No.

[ He's got to concede that. Sasuke's recommended tales have all had happy, satisfying endings, just how Yukimura likes them. ]

I suppose I know already that this story will end happily, but... the suspense, Sasuke! It makes me doubt what is certain!

[ Shinobi must learn herbal medicine for use in the field to combat injury and poison. It's a necessary skill, and unfortunately, the plants that help do not taste good on their own. They need a little extra work. ]

That's how you know the author is skilled. Word have a certain power, don't they? They can grip you in ways a sword can and can't.

You're right...! These tales speak to my heart! I care for the fates of the characters as if they were people I knew!

[ ...Pause for more dango. ]

I confess that I have, until now, failed to appreciate the power of a well-crafted tale. How even a single sentence can shake one's soul. May the authors of this world forgive my ignorance...!

I think the author would be honored that their book helped you see the possibility stories can have.

[ Sasuke almost relates the text to the talks Shingen gives, but he doesn't want to rile Yukimura up needlessly and risk upsetting his injuries. It can be something he says later. ]

I liked how the author described the festival they attended. It was like I could see and hear it happening.

[ Yukimura nods enthusiastically... and then winces, rubbing his head. Ow. He probably needs that pain medicine sooner than later. ]

Gah... Yes, I felt the same! The scene was perfectly clear in my mind. The food stalls, and the lantern lights... the people milling about, and the fireworks overhead. It was very -- very romantic.

[ He looks down as he says that, somehow embarrassed. ]

Particularly when they shared a candied apple...

[ Sasuke sees that wince of pain and puts down his sewing. In a cleared off spot on the plate, he pulls the dango off the skewer and begins to kneed the pain medicine into the the sweet. ]

I'm glad for the writer's skill in telling scenes like that. It's a chance to experience something I'll never get to.... Here.

[ He holds out the drugged dango out to Yukimura. ]

This should make it easier for you take.

[ Yukimura takes it gratefully, biting into the now-medicinal dango right away. He can hardly taste the medicine! ]

Thank you.

[ He says, with his mouth full. Yukimura, honestly... ]

--But what do you mean? You will never be able to visit a festival with someone important...? I would attend a festival with you.

[ It's a relief to Sasuke when Yukimura takes the pain relief dango without argument. There's always a small part of him which worries Yukimura outright refusing medicine even if it would help him.

Also, Danna please. Manners. That's not a good look on you. ]

... You would? It's not really something a ninja...

[ Oh no. Yukimura's vision has cleared and can see the crimson coloring his cheeks. ]

Well, I suppose I may have a chance to now.

[ Note to self, start making a yukata for festival times.... so much sewing! ]

[ Sasuke would have never considered anything like this before. He's come so far.

And yes, he sure can see that blush. Sasuke is cute... ]

Let us go, the both of us, the next time there is a festival. By then, my wounds will be healed entirely! Ahhhh, there will be so much delicious food...!!

[ Forgive him, Sasuke, his mind is on snacks. ]

[ He's making the effort. As long as Yukimura is patient, supportive, and persistent, he'll find Sasuke continue to open up to this new outlook on his life. Yukimura, his light, inspires him to try.

And how far Yukimura has come. He's changed much from when he was trying to force the change in his ninja, only to make them feel worse by the end of it. ]

I'd like that at lot. I'd have my own memory instead only one from a book. Sharing the night, the fireworks and food together, will make it all the more special.

[ It turns out you can't brute-force growth in other people. WHO KNEW.

Just thinking about this future festival and attending it with Sasuke is making Yukimura feel like he's healthier.

(That, or those pain meds work fast.) ]

And that will only be the beginning. I want to make more memories with you.

[ Sasuke needs more happy memories. ]

When is the next festival, Sasuke?

[ Maybe the idea of the festival makes Yukimura's heart race and speeds up the circulation of the medicine through his body. ]

A festival, a night in kimono... I'm going to need to keep track of all these.

[ He laughs, buut he doesn't sound worried in the slightest. Quite the opposite really. He's... excited. And he even tries to quiet the voice which questions if he should be so excited.

Sasuke desperately needs more happy memories, ones he can recall again and again when he needs strength and light. ]

At this time of year... it'd be the plum blossom festivals.

Right...! Of course! Spring is nearly upon us, and it is heralded by the plum blossoms!

[ Sightseeing with Sasuke sounds like fun. And of course, there will be food. ]

This may be the year I triumph over the sour taste of umeboshi once and for all!

Yes, the plum trees in bloom remind me I've somehow grown another year older more than the New Year's festivities.

[ ~~Literally, since his birthday occurs around the same time.~~ Sasuke will be glad for the warmer weather, though he may discover he misses the cold for the easy excuse to obtain tiger cuddles. Mark that down as another way he's starting to change. ]

Should I try hiding an umeboshi in your dango?

[ He teases. He's not about to surprise Yukimura that way. ]

A fiendish thought!! ...And yet...

[ It kind of gives him an idea. ]

Imagine... a plate full of ordinary dango... but among them is an impostor! Umeboshi disguised as dango! Picture the thrill of it, Sasuke! Taking dango one by one, unknowing if it is what it appears to be!!

[ Russian roulette: food style. ]

OPEN RP POST

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/much Google later

DOING GOD'S WORK (aka googling that i was too lazy to do. RIP)

lol

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ooc

Re: ooc