"Ahh, I know you really want to talk to me, but I'm a pretty busy guy, you know. I guess you'll just have to leave a message so I can get back to you later, hm?"
[It's really strange, this sense of... something. Solidarity, maybe? Not just because of what remains mostly unspoken about disease and loss, but simply because they somehow do share a place in the world, albeit probably surrounded by different circumstances. Souji can't help but deny that it makes him curious about exactly what differs about their respective lives, but even for someone as nosy as he is, that strikes him as rather invasive to just ask about.
He makes an amused little sound, distractedly scratching behind Saizō's ears, his smile slowly splitting into a grin.] Well, at least being formal doesn't mean that I'm well-mannered. Hijikata-san always likes to point out that I'm still a rude little brat.
[He rolls his eyes a bit, because really, it's not like Hijikata has any room to talk. At least Souji is mostly rude only toward people he knows, and in a fairly playful and familiar way. As opposed to some people giving the entire world the finger at times.] So maybe I can make up for the way I speak in other ways.
[for a moment, he makes a bit of a face. that's probably the most legit thing he's heard from his counterpart so far. it absolutely rings true and despite the the moment of mild exasperation, his own lips curve back into a smirk.
...which expands to a mischievous grin before he lets out an actual laugh.] I guess he really is a demon, no matter where he comes from. He doesn't have much to go on if he's as crappy a poet, though.
[meaning that hijikata never has any room to talk. a guy that can't string together a haiku when he's got entire books and a pen name like some kind of professional artist doesn't get to decide these things, in souji's eyes.] He brings these things on himself, after all.
[Souji stares at the other man for a moment, before promptly folding over in a helpless gigglefit. Nevermind that it makes his breathing tough, and there's a few moments there when it's more cough than laughter, because he doesn't seem to care. It's just too funny - and this way he can ignore the strange sense of jealousy over the fact that something that's so precious to him is repeated somehow in a different world.
There's a moment or two before he can speak properly, and by then he's happily wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes.]
I- I would not necessarily put it like that, you know. He does try so hard with his poetry, after all. It's just, ah, very hard to understand. [That's a kind way of saying it's either incredibly banal or completely indecipherable or both. Oh, but there is a lot of gentle fondness in his voice even as he has to choke back another laugh. He really loves that poetry in all its shitty glory.]
But he really does bring it on himself - you're right about that. If he wants so badly not to be teased then he shouldn't make it so easy - or so funny. A demon with a demon's temper only has himself to blame.
Trying so hard doesn't mean it's any good though, right? Maybe if he'd just admit it instead of getting so angry all the time, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
[but no, it's hijikata. he's stubborn and annoying, and definitely pretty obstinate when it comes to matters regarding hogyoku. even hijikata knows it's not that good, but he'd rather throw a fit than just say that.
not that it really matters that much, of course. even if hijikata admitted it day in and day out, souji would still openly tease him, sneak into his room and read the poetry. it's just more fun for him that way, and he has to get his kicks somehow, right?]
Oh, I don't know. Personally, I don't think I'd want him to admit it.
[Because yes, the Hijikata he knows is definitely aware that the poems are terrible too. After all, why else would he get so bashful about it, and insist no one find out about his 'secret' pen name? But Souji also knows that actually admitting it would be a terrible blow to Hijikata's pride, and might even be enough to make him give up on poetry for good, and he wouldn't want that.
It's hard to explain exactly why it's so important to him that Hijikata has this one thing he's absolutely, embarrassingly awful at - but maybe it has to do with the fact that it makes his own admiration of the man a bit less like obsession and more like simple affection. And perhaps that's reflected a bit in the warmth in his voice and the brightness of his smile as he continues.]
Honestly, I think it's rather sweet. And if he wouldn't chase after me when I steal the book, or get angry and defensive when I tease him about it... well, I'd probably be pretty sad about that.
[that's definitely a different way of looking at things. and definitely not in the way that souji himself subscribes to at all. it's weird, without a doubt, to hear someone sharing his name speaking hijikata so affectionately, so warm—it really sets the two of them apart right off the bat and proves well enough that there are plenty of differences that will eventually come to light.
his relationship with hijikata is brotherly without a doubt, but it's the sort of thing that he never admits verbally. souji prefers to instigate, to bicker, to get under hijikata's skin always, and maybe it's because he's jealous and bitter and possessive; maybe it's just because he feels like he always has something to prove. whatever it is specifically, the notion of expressing how important their relationship is just isn't something he can do so easily.]
If it ever came to that, I'd have to wonder if something possessed Hijikata-san. What a scary thought. [he plays along a bit though. he won't say it would make him sad, but acknowledging the fact that it would be weird as hell? he can do that much.]
[He can tell that there is a big difference in how they view the situation, and more fundamentally in the relationship hinted at, and in a strange way he's relieved. That really makes no sense at all, because why should he really care at all how this Souji interacts with someone who isn't even here - and who he has no personal connection to even if he was?
But the truth is that everything Hijikata means to him exists at the very core of his being, and if it could really be that easily replicated with a couple of complete strangers... well, it would cheapen it somehow. So although there are similarities, it seems different enough to console Souji on that point, and that puts his mind a bit at ease. Maybe it's silly, but it's not like he's going to say it out loud.]
I'd probably think he was sick - though at least that would mean I'd get to fuss over him and not the other way around. [A long-suffering sigh and a bit of a pout, before he once more brightens up.] But if he really was possessed, I suppose I'd just ask Hajime-san what to do about it. Ask him to cleanse the strangely patient and sensible spirit from the body it had taken over.
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tuberculosis) wrote2014-08-12 10:41 pm
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cerealia)
/gently slams in here
He makes an amused little sound, distractedly scratching behind Saizō's ears, his smile slowly splitting into a grin.] Well, at least being formal doesn't mean that I'm well-mannered. Hijikata-san always likes to point out that I'm still a rude little brat.
[He rolls his eyes a bit, because really, it's not like Hijikata has any room to talk. At least Souji is mostly rude only toward people he knows, and in a fairly playful and familiar way. As opposed to some people giving the entire world the finger at times.] So maybe I can make up for the way I speak in other ways.
no subject
[for a moment, he makes a bit of a face. that's probably the most legit thing he's heard from his counterpart so far. it absolutely rings true and despite the the moment of mild exasperation, his own lips curve back into a smirk.
...which expands to a mischievous grin before he lets out an actual laugh.] I guess he really is a demon, no matter where he comes from. He doesn't have much to go on if he's as crappy a poet, though.
[meaning that hijikata never has any room to talk. a guy that can't string together a haiku when he's got entire books and a pen name like some kind of professional artist doesn't get to decide these things, in souji's eyes.] He brings these things on himself, after all.
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There's a moment or two before he can speak properly, and by then he's happily wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes.]
I- I would not necessarily put it like that, you know. He does try so hard with his poetry, after all. It's just, ah, very hard to understand. [That's a kind way of saying it's either incredibly banal or completely indecipherable or both. Oh, but there is a lot of gentle fondness in his voice even as he has to choke back another laugh. He really loves that poetry in all its shitty glory.]
But he really does bring it on himself - you're right about that. If he wants so badly not to be teased then he shouldn't make it so easy - or so funny. A demon with a demon's temper only has himself to blame.
no subject
[but no, it's hijikata. he's stubborn and annoying, and definitely pretty obstinate when it comes to matters regarding hogyoku. even hijikata knows it's not that good, but he'd rather throw a fit than just say that.
not that it really matters that much, of course. even if hijikata admitted it day in and day out, souji would still openly tease him, sneak into his room and read the poetry. it's just more fun for him that way, and he has to get his kicks somehow, right?]
no subject
[Because yes, the Hijikata he knows is definitely aware that the poems are terrible too. After all, why else would he get so bashful about it, and insist no one find out about his 'secret' pen name? But Souji also knows that actually admitting it would be a terrible blow to Hijikata's pride, and might even be enough to make him give up on poetry for good, and he wouldn't want that.
It's hard to explain exactly why it's so important to him that Hijikata has this one thing he's absolutely, embarrassingly awful at - but maybe it has to do with the fact that it makes his own admiration of the man a bit less like obsession and more like simple affection. And perhaps that's reflected a bit in the warmth in his voice and the brightness of his smile as he continues.]
Honestly, I think it's rather sweet. And if he wouldn't chase after me when I steal the book, or get angry and defensive when I tease him about it... well, I'd probably be pretty sad about that.
no subject
his relationship with hijikata is brotherly without a doubt, but it's the sort of thing that he never admits verbally. souji prefers to instigate, to bicker, to get under hijikata's skin always, and maybe it's because he's jealous and bitter and possessive; maybe it's just because he feels like he always has something to prove. whatever it is specifically, the notion of expressing how important their relationship is just isn't something he can do so easily.]
If it ever came to that, I'd have to wonder if something possessed Hijikata-san. What a scary thought. [he plays along a bit though. he won't say it would make him sad, but acknowledging the fact that it would be weird as hell? he can do that much.]
no subject
But the truth is that everything Hijikata means to him exists at the very core of his being, and if it could really be that easily replicated with a couple of complete strangers... well, it would cheapen it somehow. So although there are similarities, it seems different enough to console Souji on that point, and that puts his mind a bit at ease. Maybe it's silly, but it's not like he's going to say it out loud.]
I'd probably think he was sick - though at least that would mean I'd get to fuss over him and not the other way around. [A long-suffering sigh and a bit of a pout, before he once more brightens up.] But if he really was possessed, I suppose I'd just ask Hajime-san what to do about it. Ask him to cleanse the strangely patient and sensible spirit from the body it had taken over.