this is okay.

[pinnedbangs]

Who: The Okumura Twins + Roxas + Tobias + HEY YOU, YEAH YOU!
Where: Anywhere in Goldenrod City
When: July 11th - July 15th
Summary: Rin and Yukio take a detour to visit some friends and make memories
Rating: G
Log:


A. July 11th - late afternoon

[It was a long way back to Goldenrod, but eventually they made it before it got too dark. First stop? Honeyed Soul. Rin had a few ideas he wanted to try and start creating before he met up with Roxas. Maybe, if he was lucky, there would be a few coworkers still awake and ready to take on a potential new menu item?

Or Yukio could just sit pretty and taste test everything. If he felt his stomach was up to it.]


B. July 12th - sometime in the morning

[Rin's out and about and ready to meet up with someone in PERSON. It was exciting - and it had a way of making friendships feel a little more real. Just like when he met Al in person for the first time. That had been really cool. Rin taps out a quick message to Roxas, something like:

where r u?
ur not sleeping r u?

...Hopefully Roxas isn't away in dreamland...]


C. Anything goes!

Comments

[codeforhope]

[The question takes him off guard, causing him to blink a few times before answering.]

Formal...? In what way?

[pinnedbangs]

[Okay, he can't back out now!]

I mean, do you address everyone formally...? Like, you'd probably call my brother "Okumura-san" too if you knew him.

[codeforhope]

Well...usually, yes. I don't want to be rude, or anything...

[He trails off as he says that, his bags rustling as he shifts his grip on them.]

...would...you prefer me to call you something different?

[...oh god he hasn't been unintentionally offending him this whole time has he]

[pinnedbangs]

[OKAY. TOO AWKWARD. NEVER MIND. HE CAN'T BRING HIMSELF TO ASK.]

No! You're like, the least rudest person I know! [Rin tries to look at anything but Chihiro now. He hadn't - nooooo, don't be flustered! Forget he said anything!]

No, I was just wondering... You can keep calling me Okumura-san. I don're care what you call me! [wait, that's a lie] ...Well, I'd care if you called me a monster or something - [he's getting off topic... Rin shrugs his shoulders and gathers up the courage to look at Chihiro again.] ...Call me Okumura-san. You're the only one who calls me that here so I know you mean me when you say that. If you ever meet my brother, you can call him whatever you want.

[And with his luck, Chihiro might end up calling his brother "Yuki-chan".]

[codeforhope]

[By now, Chihiro had come to a stop on the sidewalk so he could face Rin a bit more fully, even though he was doing everything he could to avoid his gaze. His Leavanny shares a brief glance with him over Rin's shoulder as he starts to ramble a bit. Both of them can tell that there was something else Rin wanted to say, but he bailed on it at the last moment.

Was he really the only one here who called him that? He had no idea...]

I...really don't mind calling you whatever you are most comfortable with, you know.

[pinnedbangs]

[nope, you're tiny and probably prone to exploding into some weird embarrassed confetti. even though she was super bold at the store.

...and maybe she wouldn't explode into embarrassed person confetti. Rin pokes Chihiro's forehead and offers a small smile.]

I told you, I'm okay with Okumura-san.

[codeforhope]

[Chihiro's eyes flinch closed when Rin pokes him, but when he opens his eyes again he's smiling, too, blushing a little before glancing down toward the ground.]

W-well...if you're sure.

[But still, the way Rin's suddenly acting...he's just trying to pretend that whatever it was that he was thinking about didn't matter as much as it once did. Or, maybe he's just overthinking it...honestly, Chihiro isn't sure. He doesn't want to press him, but at the same time he couldn't help but notice.]

[pinnedbangs]

Sure I'm sure!

[Rin is a proverbial master when it comes to the art of Pretending Things Don't Matter. He's really okay! It's almost like a special nickname, if he wanted to put it in a different light. He doesn't mind walking in silence for a moment. Awkward moment aside, it was just comforting to share an umbrella with someone else and not have things go wrong.]

...You mind if I ask another question?

[codeforhope]

[It is nice, just walking together like this. After being by himself at home for a while- not counting the Pokemon, of course- he enjoyed having someone else's company. Instead of answering this time, Chihiro gives a small noise of affirmation, nodding.]

[pinnedbangs]

How old are you?

[There's no blushing asides or awkward preambles to this question. He just wants to know. It hasn't occurred to him that, as a lady, Chihiro would want to avoid talking about her age.]

[codeforhope]

How old...?

[He actually has to think about that for a moment. He'd been here for...a year now, right? But he had a birthday just as he arrived, and then another one the past March, so...]

I should be 18 now, I think. I may be a year or so off, though...I arrived just as it was my birthday, so I'm never sure if I should count that or not.

[He doesn't quite realize it, but he is a bit off...but it's close enough.]

[pinnedbangs]

You're older than me?!

[That's the only thing that matters. THAT'S NOT WHAT HE WAS EXPECTING.]

[codeforhope]

Am I?

[He hadn't thought about how old Rin was- he just assumed he was probably close to his age.]

[pinnedbangs]

[NOT AT ALL... Well, to Rin 18 seems like a far away age. If Chihiro were any older, he'd feel like a little kid. More so than he already is.]

Well, yeah? I always thought you were my age. [Exactly his age, no more and no less.]

[codeforhope]

[Hm...]

How old are you?

[pinnedbangs]

[He catches himself from blurting out 15...] Uh - 16. I'll be 17 in December!

[Just in case that makes a difference to Chihiro...]

[codeforhope]

[It doesn't seem to, because he just smiles, his head tipping to the side a bit.]

I see. I was before I came here, actually...but it's been over a year since I first got here, so I'm older now. It's a bit strange how time works here, isn't it?

[pinnedbangs]

[.................aw man.]

Yeah, it's really weird. I think this is the only place I'll actually be older than my brother by more than just a few minutes.

[codeforhope]

Oh...are you and your brother twins?

[pinnedbangs]

Yes?

[...He thought she already knew. Then again she never met his brother so...]

[codeforhope]

[It's a small wonder they haven't met, yet, unless his brother just isn't in Goldenrod often.]

I see...it must be nice to have your brother here with you.

[pinnedbangs]

[They travel together. In fact, his brother is in Goldenrod at that very moment. Probably wondering where Rin is.]

It is! It was weird not having him around at first. [wait] --Not like we're always together but he was always where I could reach him.

[...Okay, that was really sappy.] Do you have siblings?

[codeforhope]

Oh, no...it was just my father and I, back home. I didn't mind it too much, though. It could be a little lonely sometimes, but it wasn't so bad with him there.

[pinnedbangs]

[That sounds like a good thing. At least Chihiro wasn't entirely alone growing up.]

That's like Yukio and me. We lived with our dad too - but our place was a monastery. So there were other priests around since our dad was in charge and all.

[codeforhope]

[Chihiro watches Rin out of the corner of his eye as they talk, continuing to walk down the sidewalk once again. He doesn't mind taking their time getting to his house, though.

But as he says that, his expression falters somewhat, his gaze turning back to the ground for a moment.]

Mm...can I ask...you something?