we're gonna afterparty and you're GOING TO FUCKING LIKE IT

[presomnia]

[Tiki wanders into the great hall expecting company, expecting a full room just like before to abate her loneliness and what she finds instead is...Mahiro, chillin'.

And no one else.

Okay. Cool. Fine. She'll throw a goddamn party herself IF THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING, TRY HER.

So she drags one (1) rude teen into the kitchen despite protests that he can't cook, finds Eizen actively in the middle of cooking, and takes full advantage of the situation and also her own cute charm until curry for two turns into curry for twenty four.

Everyone will find notes slipped under their door, courtesy of Tiki's new gopher since he refuses to cook, the first part written in loose, loopy handwriting like an elementary schooler who hasn't quite gotten the hang of the cursive they've been taught:]

Let's meet in the Great Hall together in about an hour and have dinner again this time, so nobody has to be alone.

[aaand under that in a completely different set of handwriting:]

I don't know why we're doing this after someone died from getting poisoned through food but at least there won't be any fucking cake. Don't come if you don't want to.

[hm. well.

in the Great Hall, Tiki's hard at work setting up Eizen's mabo curry for the taking (and she's bullied him into making exactly one plate of non-spicy curry because she loves Hanyuu), and also hard at work into bullying Mahiro into helping her set up silverware and plates and beverages. It's not much, but it's here.]

Comments

[maddogs]

Exactly. Killin' someone like this - it wasn't good, it was fuckin' selfish. She didn't want to live ta see the people she liked die. So she killed someone she didn't.

[ he shakes his head angrily. ]

That's a fuckin' weak way ta go about it.

[buddyoldpal]

Yeah, ain't no two ways about it. She was scared so she took the easy way out.

[ A coward's move... they thought Senhime was better than that. ]

Sure, musta been scary for 'er. But she prolly knew it'd be over soon, so she figured "why not, right?" 's damn pathetic.

[maddogs]

[ he's quiet for a moment ]

I hate that I still feel sorry for her.

[buddyoldpal]

She wasn't some jerk or asshole tryin' ta kill a little girl. She was a princess.

[ He shakes his head. He can see where Majima's coming from. ]

The two of ya were close an' she let ya down. It ain't yer fault.

[maddogs]

Nah, 's jut another in a long line of things I've been too fuckin' trustin' about.

[ he'd told kiryu he couldn't protect daigo from stuff like that, but who was going to protect him? he talked a good line about not being naive but in a lot of ways he's still that same damn kid who thought there was a good end out there for him and nishitani. ]

[buddyoldpal]

Aw, don't beat yerself up fer that, Majima. That trustin' side of ya's what makes ya all pure on the inside.

[ It's part of his appeal... staying so good after everything he's been through! ]

This place's pushin' people ta get desperate, is all. People do crazy shit when they're fuckin' cornered.

[maddogs]

Guess so.

[buddyoldpal]

Some people'll surprise ya. But it ain't yer fault fer wantin' ta believe people're better than that.

[ Sure, it's dumb. But being dumb isn't so bad, is it? ]

Deep down, Sen-chan was just a scared kid. Tricky part about carin' fer kids is they'll surprise ya sometimes, right?

[ That's what Billiken used to say, probably... ]

[maddogs]

[ he looks over at him, just looking for a moment. and then: ]

I'm surprised ya see it that way.

[buddyoldpal]

[ cough cough oh look, something completely different. ]

I just mean if I was ya... I'd think that.

[ He sure is trying not to dwell, boy he's bad at this. Fuck it. He sighs, looking back at Majima. He's going to talk. About his feelings. Get ready. ]

When Uncle B died, he still fuckin' cared fer me. He knew what I was an' everythin' I ever done, but he still fuckin' cared about me an' believed in me. Never fuckin' gave up. I can't say yer stupid fer thinkin' like he did, Majima. [ He looks back down at his drink, wishing desperately that he had a cigarette right about now. ] I wish I coulda been half as good as 'im. Mighta been crooked as shit, but he was straight-up where it counted.

[maddogs]

[ majima reaches over, puts his hand on nishitani's. there's so much he could say, so much he wants to say about this. about nishitani. about everything he owed this man, whose life was taken so he could live. the feelings well up inside of him and they're just so much to handle. he doesn't know where to start. how to adequately talk about himself. so he doesn't. not yet. he's going to focus on nishitani first. ]

Billiken-san, he told me a lot about ya. To hear him talk, ya were half as good as 'im. Just as good, even.

[buddyoldpal]

[ Nishitani wants to say something snide, about how Billiken was probably senile, he'd probably just forgotten all the bad shit he did. But also knowing Majima had talked to him and that he'd had nice things to say about him does make him feel a little lighter. A little better, maybe, about the way things ended for them.

Nishitani takes Majima's hand. He was supposed to be the one comforting Majima, you know? ]

Sure as shit nice ta hear ya say that, pal. [ He smiles, more sad than anything, but Nishitani knows he might just fucking cry if he doesn't force a smile now. Wow! This is why he hasn't talked about his death. ] I hope he thought so. That'd be real fuckin' nice.

[maddogs]

It's true. Wouldn't make that shit up.

[ theyre sitting in the grass bc i decreed it, so majima leans up against him a little bit. ]

[buddyoldpal]

[ that's cute and completely acceptable, yes. they're holding hands on the grass... ]

I know ya wouldn't, pal.

[ He means that. Majima wouldn't sugarcoat something like that. ]

's real of ya, anyhow.

[maddogs]

D'ya think they'll really keep goin' until there's just nine?

[buddyoldpal]

[ Ah, you dodged talking about your feelings, Majima. Smooth. ]

Gonna be one hell of a stretch if they do.

[ Nishitani runs the math over in his head. ]

Wouldn't surprise me if they got all ass-chafed about the rules an' started weedin' people out that way, though. But who fuckin' knows? Our pals in charge have lived a damn long time, what's a few extra fuckin' weeks?

[maddogs]

[ he did indeed ]

That's a lotta people that haveta die.

[buddyoldpal]

[ Ah, yes... Majima cares about people. Not just his people. He really does have a fragile heart. Nishitani sighs, squeezing his hand. ]

Doubt there's anythin' we can do about it. Ya know as well as I do that Teishu-kun and Sage-chan ain't the kinda "people" ya can make budge.

[ Which is to say, they're not people at all. This is one problem they can't solve with fists and knives. ]

[maddogs]

Ah, yeah. They're tryin' ta save their home.

[ or whatever. he guesses. ]

[buddyoldpal]

Or some kinda bullshit, yeah. Don't make much sense, with the way their so-called cases are goin'.

[ He shrugs. Magic is weird. ]

[maddogs]

[ majima's quiet for a moment, then, finally: ]

He didn't interfere. The tea was just a coincidence after all.

[buddyoldpal]

[ Nishitani nods. He knows what Majima's talking about without him having to say more. ]

Guess so. Can't really know fer sure unless ya hear it from the man 'imself.

[ Senhime was apparently the one the Sage gave tea to, but who could have known that? ]

[maddogs]

We made such a big deal out of it for fuckin' nothin'.

[ you only get to play that card so many times. ]

[buddyoldpal]

We sure did.

[ He nods. He's made a big deal out of nothing a lot.</small. ] Ain't gonna be right every time, pal.

[maddogs]

[ majima makes a frustrated noise. ]

I know that. Been wrong more than right most've my life. I just don't usually make such a big damn deal out of it.