chizuru "would you jerks stop leaving me" yukimura (
derepressed) wrote in
recountal2014-06-02 10:01 am
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sotsugyou;;
Yukimura Residence.
Tokyo, Japan, March 2014.
Tokyo, Japan, March 2014.
Graduation. A time for growing up, moving on, and... getting really drunk, apparently.
Chizuru appreciates that her friends have come to celebrate her graduation - especially since, strictly speaking, they didn't really have to. Heisuke is two years older than her, already twenty to her eighteen years, and Sen graduated last year; Kosuzu, meanwhile, still has another year to go. Surely they had other things they could be doing - but they've chosen to be here with her. For that, she is incredibly grateful.
But... she does wish "becoming an adult" wasn't synonymous with "drinking alcohol" in some people's minds. Her father had left them to their own devices, and that means he trusts them not to get up to any trouble - but Heisuke is the only one here who's old enough to drink and yet all of them (except for Chizuru, who is politely abstaining) have been doing so. Kosuzu, at least, is only taking polite sips; Sen is a little more tipsy, and Heisuke...
Well, she loves him, but Heisuke has had so much to drink already that he's sleeping it off with his head in her lap even though it's only a little after eight in the evening. It's cute - endearing, even, the way he has his arms wrapped around her waist and he looks so comfortable in his slumber - but she feels a little embarrassed, mostly because Kosuzu and Sen are both here. She thinks she would mind it less if there wasn't anyone else around to see it.
At least Sen's teasing is relatively minimal. Of course, the three of them who are still awake are neck-deep in girltalk - that's only interrupted when the doorbell rings. Chizuru looks down at Heisuke's head in her lap, but Sen tells her not to worry and trots off to answer the door herself.
A few moments later there's a delighted giggle and an "Oh, my!" before Sen calls back to them - "Ah, come here! You have to see your father's taste in graduation gifts!"
Chizuru exchanges a puzzled glance with Kosuzu before gently shifting Heisuke's arms from around her waist and settling his head on the couch, and then she's on her feet and heading for the entranceway -
...that's a man, not a gift. She pauses and stares at the man in the doorway for a few moments. "Um..."
Kosuzu, evidently more tipsy than she's been letting on, tugs on Chizuru's sleeve. "Your father got you a military man for your graduation?" It sounds as though it's meant to be a whisper, but it's loud enough for all of them to hear. Chizuru blushes crimson.
"N-no, that's... um...!"
Poor Hijikata. His timing is atrocious, really.
i'm sorry you got called into work baby cries
. . .no, he really doesn't feel shit about it, and that includes passing by the house he grew up in. But, Hijikata does have to admit that when he rings the doorbell, the idea of seeing the familiar face of the old doctor would be much appreciated. Not that he looks much like a casual visitor—because he isn't and it's protocol to conduct formal requests in uniform. He wonders if Kodou will even recognize him in such a thing and the hat to top it all off ( he'd never been much of a person to adorn those types of accessories ). As he waits, he takes a small glance back out towards the street, listening the incredible silence. It's one thing he has missed about here. Despite it being right in the city, the residency areas were still so quiet and peaceful.
When the door opens, Hijikata is quick to turn to greet, reaching for the brim of his hat to remove it but his hand stills at touching it when he realizes a young woman is answering the door in place of the gentle-looking old man he'd been expecting. He blinks, hoping to hide any obvious confusion on his part. But, before he can say anything, anyway, the girl is gleefully calling back into the house ( wait, what did she just say? ) and he can't help but just stand there, waiting for this very... intriguing turn of events to unfold. He supposes he shouldn't be really surprised when two more girls appear around the same age ( he guesses, anyway ). The one who speaks her supposedly secret and personal question followed by the third girl's reaction makes him unable to help himself and produce a small smile as he lowers his eyes from them. Ah, he sees. It is that time of year to be graduating, isn't it? And two of these young ladies are decidedly drunk as true to the tradition. When the one who blushed tries to stammer out an explanation and fails, Hijikata speaks up, still not looking at the three of them.
"I'm sorry for the interruption, I may very well have the wrong house." Glancing up now, he takes a quick look at only sober girl of the trio before turning his attention to the one who answered the door to begin with, offering a polite smile as he tips his hat to her. "I was under the assumption this was still the Yukimura residence." And although he doesn't outright ask, the implied question is very obvious: If it's not the place he's looking for, might any of them be able to point him to where in this neighborhood Kodou is living now?
Obviously, he can be diplomatic and polite when he wants to be. And, while they are a group of teenage girls, he's still in uniform and he can't be throwing away chances to gain information necessary by dropping to his usual blunt and hard-edged self.
Besides, the faster he finds out where he needs to go, the quicker they can return to their fun.
shit happens... tomorrow will be better!!
Chizuru, for her part, is startled - it takes her a moment or two to realize that Sen is addressing her, because she's kind of, sort of staring at Hijikata. She finally draws her gaze away from him and looks to her friend, who smiles knowingly and nods at Hijikata, and then back up to him so she can answer. "Oh, um... that's right! My father is out right now, though..."
Sen and Kosuzu exchange glances and Sen murmurs, "We're going to go check on Heisuke," before both of them retreat and leave Chizuru alone with Hijikata. She's about as surprised by their sudden departure as she is by Hijikata's equally sudden appearance at her doorstep.
What could this man need her father for, she wonders? Her father is a doctor. But Hijikata - he's obviously someone important. Someone in the military... her brows furrow a little and her look of confusion is replaced with one of slight nervousness, and she brings up a hand to fiddle with the collar of her shirt. "Is there some sort of problem? I'm not sure when exactly he'll be back, but if you'd like, I could call him for you."
She worries, of course, but this is a time of peace, not war - while it's possible there might be some sort of trouble that has brought this man to their home, it's also possible that this is just an acquaintance of her father's who just so happens to be an officer. "And, um... I'm sorry about those two, by the way." Her cheeks are still tinged a little pink. "They've... gotten a little carried away, and said things they probably shouldn't have."
yes ;O;!!
He smiles a little, though, when her excuses start to come he waits until she runs out of words to say, simply removing his hat once he's taken an actual step into the house itself. If he actually heard her apology for her friends, it's not clear because when he finally does speak, it's a little bit skeptical sounding ( but it's polite in a teasing sort of manner all the same ).
"Chizuru? Is that so... well, of course, you don't remember me. You were so little back then." Hijikata gives her another once over, trying honestly to place the familiarities in the little girl he knew before he gives a slight shake of his head. "It's not necessary. Do you know when he will be returning? I can come back at another time, especially since you're..." breaking the law here "...having your party right now."
Truthfully, he just doesn't want to touch this situation at all, especially while in uniform. The last thing he needs is a misunderstanding and it making things difficult. He'd rather stay on the defensive or prosecution side of the court, not in the defendant seat.
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She blinks at those words. What does he mean by that? They've met before? She looks him over again as he gives her a once-over, and tries to place him. Surely she would remember someone like him, even if she were very young. Wouldn't she? He's so attractive that-- No, she means his appearance is so distinctive that she wouldn't just forget him.
Except it seems she has. But that's the memory of a young child at work; no way would she forget him now. Especially not with the way they're meeting for the first time as adults.
...not that she really seems like much of an adult here. Inwardly, she curses herself for allowing Heisuke to open the alcohol for them. She should have just told him to put it away but he'd seemed so excited by the idea of sharing a drink with them all that she didn't have the heart to tell him no...
"Um." She bites her lip. "He said he was going to... find something else to occupy himself with for a few hours." Which in retrospect was probably his way of saying he was expecting them to drink and simply didn't want to be a party to it... though at the time she had taken it to just mean that he trusted them. It's their own bad luck that there happens to be someone from the military here, now. "...but, I think the party is just about over, anyway."
Which is Chizuru's way of saying it's definitely gotten out of hand and needs to be wrapped up. Her gaze nervously flicks toward the living room when she hears Heisuke's voice - it's a little too muffled for her to hear exactly what he's saying but she would recognize the sound of it anywhere.
"I really don't mind, if you'd like for me to call him for you..."
She glances at the living room again before returning her gaze to him and the look in her eyes very much says, Please don't leave me alone with them, I don't know how to handle them all when they're drunk, though of course she doesn't say it aloud because she can't impose on a stranger like that.
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It takes him a moment, even so, however, to finally speak. He swallows before turning back to her and away from towards the room things are happening in. "...All right."
Go ahead and call him, Chizuru. He'll go play mom to the drunk children.
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Chizuru fumbles for her cell phone before realizing that she'd taken it out of her pocket and set it on a table in the living room to keep from squishing it while on the couch - that means returning to the living room to get it, and that means interacting with her tipsy friends (and boyfriend) again. She loves them, she really does, but even if someone is only seeing her from behind it's very easy to tell from the way her shoulders tense up that she's a little uncomfortable with it when she crosses over to pick up the phone and Heisuke latches onto her waist again. Only this time, they're not seated, so she nearly stumbles and falls, but manages to throw out a hand and catch herself on the table.
"Um, Heisuke-kun...!" She glances to Sen, who's giggling, and then to Kosuzu, who looks uncertain, and finally she glances back at Hijikata. This is really embarrassing. "...Sen-chan, Kosuzu-chan, I think Heisuke-kun has had enough for tonight. I'll call a cab, but... Do you think you could see him home?" They agree (though Heisuke pouts and makes incoherent noises that are probably something along the lines of "But Chizuruuuuu..."), and she grabs her phone from the table to make a very quick call to a cab service to get her friends a ride home, and then she dials her father's number - Sen and Kosuzu manage to pry Heisuke off so they can take him outside for some air to wait for the cab.
Chizuru is left alone in the house with Hijikata, though her friends are just outside, and besides he's in the military, so it's not like anything bad will happen. She waits as the phone rings, and when he picks up, she smiles faintly, and there's the sound of her father's voice as he asks if she's alright. "...ah! Um, yes, everything is fine." That's a lie. "No, I don't need anything... well..." She pauses. "Actually, a man stopped by looking for you. His name was, um..."
...she forgot to ask his name. She glances to Hijikata quickly, as if to prompt him for his name so she can pass it on to her father. She's really not making a good impression at all, is she...
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"Hijikata Toshizou."
And that's that. But, within an hour means he needs to preoccupy himself while waiting. It seems improper to move around in the house, however, even if he's gone through it during his younger days as if he lived in it, with Chizuru looking so uncomfortable from her situation. He's pretty sure him doing anything other than simply just standing where he is and waiting is going to make her a little more uncomfortable. What a limited situation.
"...Are you happy you've graduated?"
Trying to make small talk: more awkwardness but better than making her more uncomfortable. They're similar on the immediate surface, but one is a lot more harmless than the other.
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Chizuru blinks a few times at the question, then blushes. She's quite obviously easily embarrassed, but she smiles anyway. "Um... yes. It's very exciting." Graduating means growing up and moving forward. She's not one hundred percent sure what she's going to do just yet, but she'll have enough free time to get a job and help her father out now that she isn't going to classes. The thought of being able to pull her weight more is a wonderful one; he's taken care of her for so many years.
...and she's not really pulling her weight now, either! She's the host (at least, until her father comes home); she has to make Hijikata comfortable. Her eyes go a little wide and she smiles sheepishly before adding, "Hijikata-san, please, feel free to sit down while you're waiting. Can I get you any tea, or anything to eat?"
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Tea is not really something he's managed to have in quite a long time. There was rarely time and most opted for coffee. It's was quicker and easier to get and packed a greater kick for staying alert. He had become rather addicted to it, in the end himself, but he missed tea all the same.
Hijikata missed good tea, actually, but he has no idea how she prepares tea and at the moment, he can't exactly pick and choose.
There's something else, though, and it takes him a second to realize he's lingering on her once he'd opened his eyes again. As a child, he remembers her. But, something else is for some reason familiar and yet he can't... he can't place it. Maybe it's that feeling of nostalgia, of wanting to remember things in familiar places because he feels like he should or something. Directing his attention forcefully elsewhere, he slowly makes his way towards the couch to sit, supposing he might as well review the files he brought with him as he waits. Otherwise, he's going to be doing a lot of staring and the last thing he needs is for his reunion with the doctor to include a side of being alone with his eighteen-year-old daughter alone and making her anxious or otherwise bothered in her own home.
...Well, that, and it was hard to keep formalities. More than anything about waiting, is waiting when he has to put on a public face. Kodou knew him better, but that didn't matter until Kodou was actually here. And even then, he was more respectful to him than he was in general. Women... well, he might as well be polite to Chizuru, even if he was anything but polite to her when they first met way back when. It's not like he's going to really see her again after this save for if Kodou takes the unrelated invitation he had in addition to the actual business he was here for.
As a result, Hijikata had zero reason to put up a wall right now ( even if being this way makes him more sensitive to things, it's still a very open and welcoming of people way of presenting himself—and goddamn it, he hates more than anything when people approach him thinking he actually wants to talk to them. Like he has time to do any of that anywhere at any time. Including his free time at a cafe—he's not there to chat, he's there to drink his coffee or his tea and eat whatever it is and ignore the rest of the world around him.
...but that's all another story for another time. )
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This also means that Hijikata has ample time to look over his files and gather his thoughts, because tea brewed from tea leaves takes a lot more time than the few minutes it takes for tea from a teabag.
She does emerge with a small tray once enough time has passed, though, and sets the tray down to pour a cup of tea before holding it out to him. "Here you are, Hijikata-san," she says with a small smile, but once he takes it she won't say much more than a 'you're welcome' if she gets a thank-you, unless he says something else to her. He looks rather... well, not preoccupied, maybe, but he has a very strong feeling that he is the kind of man who prefers to either be left alone or to have someone sit with him in a companionable silence.
(She's not entirely certain why she's so sure of that; she just feels like she knows.)
She takes a seat, but at the opposite end of the couch - Sen is bolder, perhaps her friend would have been able to just sit right next to him but Chizuru can't bring herself to do it or even to think of doing it without blushing so deeply her head might explode.
At the very least, she doesn't look impatient as she settles back. Her father has plenty of time before he gets here, but she is grateful for the chance to sit quietly. She likes actually being able to hear herself think, and even with as stressed as she was earlier - there is a very real sense of calm in the air. She has no idea why. Maybe it's Hijikata? But that's odd, she would normally be so intimidated by the military. Still, if it keeps her comfortable, she's okay with it.
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By now, she's sitting on the other end of couch quietly, and he hesitates just a second about saying anything at all ( she seems a lot more content than she had when her friends were here ) before he decides to go for it, because, honestly.
"...You didn't have to go through such effort for tea." Because he has always been picky and he's always been able to tell the difference and this is good tea. There's no way she pulled this from a prepackaged teabag. He hadn't really thought on the time it took her to bring the tea, but now that he's tasted it, everything seems to have come better together. She shouldn't have felt the need to do it like this... even if he has to admit it's some of the best tea he has had in a very very long time.
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She blinks a few times when Hijikata speaks - and then, when she looks over to him, her attention wanders down to his teacup and she smiles.
"Oh, no..! That's... how I always make tea. Um, I've always thought, if it's worth making, it's worth making right...!"
The -ate -- --- -----en--mi rests on --is tea. Don't s---w it up!
Her cheeks flush a little, and when she looks off to the side, it's out of modesty, not discomfort - that much is evident in her body language. There's no strained tension in her shoulders like there had been before, when her friends and boyfriend were drunk and (mostly) underage in front of a military officer. "...I'm glad you're enjoying it. Um, your job must be very stressful and very difficult, so I hope it helps you to relax."
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"I'm a JAG lawyer; it's been a while since I've done any field work." Not that being a lawyer isn't stressful or difficult, but he's long come to realize that usually when someone makes a statement like that they are picturing a warrior that is fighting for their survival against all odds to protect the country and its people. He'd done something like it once ( and truthfully on the field with his troops is where he wanted to stay but somehow he ended up in this, anyway. At the very least he did his best to continue what he did on the field then now, particularly protecting those who need it—he just does it by making sure men and women in uniform have someone to protect them when it comes to justice. Joining the military meant giving up certain rights as a citizen but it didn't mean they weren't protected. Likewise, they weren't above or exempt from consequence when behavior or actions went out of line.
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A nightclub. Kyoto, Japan, July 2014.
She is vaguely aware of the pounding beat of the music and of the movement of bodies around them, but mostly she's aware of Hijikata. She's not really sure if he's talking to her or if she's just thinking of the way his voice sounded when he'd ground out the words to the man she had been all over-- talking to, but she could listen to it all night. He'd said my girl... She wants to hear that from him again. Maybe she'd like to hear other things from him, too.
One hand comes up to brush her fingers against the skin of his cheek and she looks up at him, tries to focus on his eyes. It's hard, because there's so much of him that she could look at forever, but she could definitely get lost in his eyes, she thinks.
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Taking a look around, Hijikata attempts to make sure this is a safe enough spot to see what's wrong with her without alerting anyone else to Chizuru's potential vulnerability. But, before he can get much of a good look, he ends up surprised to feel her touch ( and what it maks him feel is not something his mind should be catering to right now ) against his cheek, turning to look down at her without any means to hide it.
"Are you all right? What happened?" Other than her somehow definitely almost going too far with that bastard that is supposedly their info lead, he means.
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Which, considering Hijikata's experience with the world (the more unsavory parts of the world, anyway, the things he would have heard of or maybe even seen during his job) probably tells him all he needs to know about what went on between Chizuru and the man they were hoping to get information from, and what could have happened if he hadn't stepped in when he had. Especially considering she isn't twenty yet and that's all kinds of illegal.
She smiles and shifts a little so that she can rest her head on his shoulder, taking a moment to breathe and savor the feeling of how close she is to him. "But, um... if it came down to sharing a drink with him and spending time with you, I'd rather spend time with you. Would you want to spend time with me...?" She looks up at him again and this time her eyes are half-lidded; her fingers haven't left his cheek, just lingering there to feel his skin.
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The question makes his blood heat up and he swallows, his brow creased slightly because how does one delicately put that she's not herself and shouldn't be offering that to anyone.
He needs to remind himself of that last part.
"Of course, why do you even need to ask that?" Too bad he hasn't realized that while his mind is going dirty places from her body language and words that she is right there with him when speaking with him right now. Because he's seen spiked drinks before, but this is a new level of strange to the point he's not sure what it is. All he knows is he needs to fix it as soon as possible.
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"Hijikata-san..."
Her voice is a little light and breathy-sounding, but serious, and she doesn't bring her mouth away from his ear the entire time she speaks. "Will you hold me? I... I feel a little..." She lets the words trail off and shivers a little as she curls in a little closer to him. "...I like the way your arms feel when they're around me."
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—It's between that and how tempting she is, how he wants to know what she feels 'a little" of and if he can make it more than just a little. It's strange to realize just how different of an experience this is with Chizuru in his arms rather than his fiancé when he does come to hold her, sliding back against the nearest wall the make room for any passersby.
The only thing he cares about it in relations to the woman not present ( he's still angry with her—with himself—and neither of them were jumble enough to take the first step at an apology ( he knows it should be him, but he doesn't... he just doesn't want to ) is the fact that he feels so different here than there and maybe it's just the tension of the entire situation that has unfolded, or her voice or her touch, but he likes it so much more with this woman (...barely a woman, truthfully, but he can't seem to let that deter him much).
And this isn't even a time to be liking anything.
"We should get out of here, take you to a doctor to make sure you aren't in any danger." But, the only danger that he sees for her right now is no longer the club and its guests but him himself.
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"But I'm not in danger." The words come so simply, like they're absolute fact. And in a way they are, because as far as Chizuru is concerned, there is no safer place for her to be than with Hijikata. Wasn't he the one who helped her when she was in trouble before, after all? When they'd first met, and then again, later, when her father was... "I'm with you."
And at this moment, there is no where else she would rather be. Their surroundings don't matter to her (although they probably should). Their age gap doesn't matter to her (although it probably should). And the fact that he's engaged (even if they're fighting) really should matter to her, but it doesn't in the slightest.
All that matters to her is how warm and comfortable being like this is - it occurs to her that she fits almost perfectly in his arms, more perfectly than she ever did in Heisuke's. (The usual pang of guilt that would normally accompany such a thought isn't present; whether it's the drugs or the alcohol or even just the club's atmosphere she isn't sure - all she can think of right now is Hijikata and how much closer she would like the two of them to become.)
"A doctor would just examine me... but if I'm to be examined, Hijikata-san could perform a much more thorough examination himself, couldn't he?"
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"Don't tempt me, Chizuru," he says just loud enough for her to hear, a warning even as his grip tightens around her.
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Her lips curve into a pout; she shifts, just a little, so that she can look up at him again with half-lidded eyes without sacrificing any of their closeness, so that her arms can stay around him and his arms can stay around her even as she adjusts the angle she's looking at him with.
Chizuru isn't normally this shameless, that much is true, but... none of her inhibitions seem to matter in the slightest. "Does Hijikata-san dislike the idea of being with me...?"
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"You'll regret it when you wake up tomorrow."
...But, there's a part of him nagging that if he doesn't do it she's going to have to find release somewhere and that it would be worse to let her throw herself at someone else again.
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She brings up her hand to press two fingers to his lips to silence him; only then does she give voice to her denial.
"It wouldn't be taking advantage... I want you, Hijikata-san." And just in case there was any ambiguity about what she meant by "want," she brings her other hand to rest on his chest before slowly running it down. "It isn't something I would regret... I would regret it if I ended up with someone else tonight."
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It's enough to make him feel weak in the knees and he does lack the ability to protest further when her fingers touch his lips to quiet him. And Hijikata doesn't look away from her as he hand trails down, but and he feels his pulse start to heighten a little and he feels both a thrill and something disgusting chastising him for the other sensation. There's a flush to his face just acknowledging that he's well aware of what she wants from him, but is he going to be able to live with himself after this?
Something tells him yes because in the back of his mind she's his is already known like it's been something predetermined from the start. It's like he had his chance once upon a time and he missed it and he would be an idiot to not take the opportunity to express this, regardless of circumstances.
Regardless that he's supposed to get married and that she has a boyfriend.
He adjusts his hold on her, hands sliding lower as he slips them to her grasp at her lower ass and picks her to turn them around and press her up against the eaton knee up to support weight and he sighs as he presses his forehead against hers.
Shifting as he uses his torso to keep her up, his words are a whisper even as he runs a hand up he thigh, with deliberate action to ride her dress up so he can easily part her legs to either side of him and he can be flush against her.
"Don't forgive me for this when you wake up tomorrow."
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