lieabilities

[ Can't believe Kleken has to climb that stupid tree again. Can't believe he has to go climb that stupid tree again now. ]

Oh? Looking for him where?

Excellent question!

I haven't the slightest clue, I'm afraid. All I know is he's not here. But wherever he did end up, I should be able to find him again. Someone here gave us a "red string of fate" that'll always lead back to each other, so once we're in the same place, I should be able to find him that way.

[Heaven, home, purgatory, the cold void of space. He can't guess where Jun's consciousness might have ended up. But it isn't in that statue, or so he thinks.]

That sounds like quite the tenuous mission you'll be departing on. I assume you won't be returning until you've completed it?

My guess is it'll take another month or so to embark.

[And by "embark" he means "start turning to stone from lack of sex." He only started withholding it recently.]

As for "returning," I guess that's completely out of my hands. Some people have disappeared and then come back, so I truthfully don't know what'll happen.

All I know is that Jun-kun is out there somewhere, so I have to follow Jun-kun. That's what the string connecting us is for, and that's what partners do.

But I do want to make sure those birds are taken care of. They're all adorable, including that badly-behaved one, and it would be horrible if they got lonely. You think so too, right? Yep, I'm sure you do!

[Laying it on strong again...]

[ Kleken has his suspicions about that very specific time frame, but he'll carefully not be pointing them out. ]

Hmm, I see. Well, I have no doubt you'll do the best to your own abilities.

And I would add that they have all the charm of the individuals they take after.

[ How much that is remains pointedly vague. ]

So you find me and the birds charming! Yep, I knew you would! 😘❤️💕💖

And you must find Rinne-senpai charming, too. I'm sure he'd love to hear that! 🥰❤️💕💖

This confirms you'll visit them, right? I knew I could count on Kleken-kun!

I suppose I could make an exception for them.

Have they installed elevator clouds yet?

Nope! Sadly they have not, so here are some other ideas!

1. Ask Baku-kun to shoot you up to the treehouse with his explosion powers! He's the hero kid with the spiky hair. I've had him shoot me up the stairs a few times before. It's scary at first, but you get used to it!

2. Ask Loki-kun to teleport you there! His teleportation skills are super convenient.

3. Ask Baizhu-san to lift you with that magical platform thing! You two are having a lovey-dovey affair, right? So asking for something like that should be no problem.

When you need something, it doesn't hurt to ask others! And those three are all totally reliable. They should be visiting the birds too, so I'm sure you'll run into at least one of them.

I'm fairly certain 1 and 3 would perhaps leave me dangling off a tree branch for some time before depositing me at my preferred location. Though I had no idea why.

[ They both know why. ]

2 is perhaps the most plausible and I've never met the man. Still, no better time to negotiate a favor than with first meeting someone.

Baku-kun may be rough, but he's a good boy!

Does that mean you and Baizhu-san are on the outs, though? Feelings and relationships *are* rather hard to navigate in this place. But I have faith you'll work it out somehow, just as Rinne-senpai did with his spouses, and just like I did with my partner!

You really should meet Loki-kun. As it so happens, I know the perfect icebreaker! Why not approach him and say, "Want to see how many wine glasses I can hold at once?" And then you can demonstrate! That should definitely grab his interest.

Oh, I quite agree about 1.

[ He mostly gets the rough side of him, but he's seen enough of him to agree with that 'good boy' assessment. ]

[ Regarding Baizhu however, he'll just continue to lie his ass off there. ]

Oh yes, we're going through a rough patch at the moment, but we're working hard to mend the rift. We have the children to think about, after all.

But perhaps a fresh conversation with a new person will help in clearing my mind of the worries. I'll be sure to offer a few glasses in that case.

I've never heard of a trickster god serving as a relationship coach, but whatever works!

You could also try getting on Changsheng's good side. She's the white snake who likes to wrap herself around his neck. You must have met her, right? I bet that would help!

Not that any of this is really my business. But I do wish you all the best. You're both people I've grown quite fond of, after all.

[ He somehow has not and that's frankly a tragedy. ]

The snake? Perhaps I'll pay more attention to her in the future then, if it is the way to reviving our relationship. I'm quite desperate to do whatever I can.

I do appreciate your advice as well, as a co-conspirator.

[ And maybe as a friend. ]

Yep, you're very welcome!

And if you want to meet up and trade info one last time, just let me know. I haven't forgotten the terms of our deal, after all. I have dozens of pages of notes I can share, and I have even more stories about Rinne-senpai.

Oh, then allow me to let you know now. I am waiting for them with my arms outstretched.

[ He has in fact made his way to the Vale and found the appropriate tree. ]

[Wait.]

Right now? Don't tell me you've been here the whole time?

[He scoots to the entrance of the treehouse, peering down the long trunk. Then, when he sees Kleken:]

That was fast!

[He turns back over his shoulder, audibly calling out:]

Look, Hiro-kun! It's Kleken-kun! You don't need to keep staring at the statue, since now the real thing's here! Come, have a look!

[Hiyori's voice sounds full of excitement. It takes a moment, but after a pause Kleken will see Hiro's fluffy red head appear as the bird flies over and lands in Hiyori's hair.]

See? There he is! The real man, with his real tentacles...♪

I've been waiting for you to notice.

[ No, he actually just arrived and had been staring around the tree in mild disappointment that the transportation situation hasn't improved since his last visit. ]

[ His own gaze shifts back up when Hiyori announced the company of a certain little bird, brows raising a bit at the surprise. He hadn't thought Hiro was still around. ]

Am I interrupting their playdate?

[This is why Hiyori recommends befriending people who can teleport and blast through the air like a missile. Less pesky tree climbing!]

No, not at all. You showed up at just the right time. I was about to light up some Halloween lights. And I'd love to get a photo of you sitting next to your lookalike, so come on up! ♪

[He smiles sweetly and extends a hand for Kleken to grasp once he reaches the top. Hiro, meanwhile, has started to squawk excitedly and flap his wings from atop Hiyori's head. That's the guy who gave him a huge bag of birdseed!! What kind of gift does he come bearing now? He can't wait to find out, it seems.]

[ That would involve Kleken being capable of making friends and that process is always dicey for him. For no particular reason. ]

[ With a sigh that's concealed by the distance between them, Kleken raises his tentacles and begins making the climb up once more. It's really not that much effort at all, to rely on his tentacles to bear his own wait, but it's a clunky little process every time since tentacles aren't really for climbing up trees. And he'll internally grumble about it every time as well. ]

I suppose I can acquiesce to your request for a photo.

[ He takes the offered hand once he reaches the treehouse level, casting Hiro a glance as he comes eye-level with the little creature. ]

And good day to you as well.

[ He is suspiciously bird-seed-less at the moment, his attention at the time having been more on Hiyori than anything else. A decision that might cost him some positive favor points. ]

[True, he does make a funny picture scaling the tree, something Hiyori missed last time since he was climbing in front of him. Look at the way those tentacles move! It's a bit creepy, but mostly he finds it interesting. Perhaps Hiyori, in all his time spent at the resort, has learned to have less of an instinctive "Eeek" reaction whenever he encounters something strange or monstrous. Even monsters can be friendly, he now knows.

He pulls Kleken through the entrance, smiling a friendly smile of his own. Hiro, for his part, responds to Kleken's words with more noise. "Squawk! Squawk!" Which probably translates to, "Yo! Where's the loot hidin' this time?" But Hiyori ignores this, since he's got bigger fish to fry!

Bigger fish, like taking a funny picture of Kleken that can be shown to Baizhu. There's his ulterior motive!]

Great, then come have a seat next to it! There's plenty of room for you and your tentacles, so make yourself at home~♪

[He scooches further into the treehouse and then pats the octopus statue. It's actually pretty big—over a foot tall!—and looks quite distinguished with its wire frame sunglasses. Hiro's squawking turns somewhat weary: "Ya can't fool me. I know that one doesn't have any grub."

Or maybe he prefers the real Kleken for other, more sentimental reasons? His interest in the statue has diminished now that Kleken's here, at any rate, and he chooses this moment to leave Hiyori's hair, perching on the floor near Kleken. Seeing this, Hiyori remarks:]

You seem to have left a big impression. I guess that means bribery does work. It's either that, or he likes your sunglasses. Or your tentacles!

I appreciate the warm welcome.

[ To be so openly welcomed somewhere is a newer experience to Kleken, more frequent since arriving at the resort yes, but it's still something he treats with a high level of suspicion whenever it comes his way. That Hiyori has some sort of hidden agenda is hardly a surprise to him, but given the insinuations the other had been making earlier, Kleken finds himself inclined to be... more accommodating himself. ]

[ Even to the little bird that squawks eagerly in his direction and dismissively in the direction of the statue, a subtle fact that pleases the conman as he glances in the creature's direction with a quick address. ]

If you're in need of a snack, I do have some tea cookies on hand.

[ Why does Kleken have tea cookies? No need to question that particular detail, the important part is his tentacles are taking out a small bag of cookies from within the depths of his jacket to set near the little guy. Some of those same tentacles are attempting to edge themselves near Hiro as well, though Kleken's attention appears to be completely on Hiyori. ]

Oh, I'm certain I've just been charming enough.

[ He says as he continues to bribe the bird for his affections. ]

[Hiyori watches him take the cookies out more calmly than he watched him pour wine in the library. By now he understands that Kleken has a ton of stuff on-hand (or on-tentacle). Wine glasses, wine bottles, weirdly prescient contracts: you name it, Kleken carries it!

Though he does comment:]

Does that mean you drink tea as well as wine? You ought to have said so! We could've had tea parties!

[And then maybe he'd challenge Kleken to see whether he can balance a teacup full of tea in each tentacle. If he spills or breaks the china, that'll be the staff's problem to clean up, not his problem.

... it is a bit regrettable. All the things they won't get around to doing. Kleken isn't someone he'd always welcome warmly (hence his reaction during the date auction), but now, when they're with his birds and the one who resembles Rinne is clearly so taken with him... now, it makes Hiyori smile to see him try to get on their good side, even if it is with bribery.

And the bribery works well enough. A closed bag of cookies isn't an open bag of birdseed, but Hiro squawks excitedly anyway and Hina seems intrigued, too. She flies on over to Kleken while Hiro hops closer himself. But before he can reach the crackers, he notices an approaching tentacle and freezes. Clearly the wriggly appendage makes him somewhat nervous: it reminds him of the time Eel tried to hug him to death with her tentacles. And yet, didn't Kleken use his tentacles to bring both the seed and the crackers up to them?

A moment passes, and then he squawks his approach, overcoming his fear—a sight that warms Hiyori's heart. He smiles fondly and says:]

Can't argue with that, I suppose. Baizhu-san may be a snakecharmer, but it looks like you've learned how to charm birds. ♪ And that's a relief, since I dearly hoped someone would keep looking after them.

[After I'm gone, he doesn't add, though Kleken surely knows it's implied. If not from the conversation they had earlier, then from the sad little smile on his lips.]

I've only recently started. I do aim to be an expert with time.

[ He is far more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker, though plain water is more often his preference. The cookies had been something he plotted to keep on hand to surprise a different tea drinker he knew, but the current situation clearly required them more. He could always restock his supply later, anyway. ]

[ When they're noticed, the tentacles themselves hold still, waiting for some sign of permission to continue. When they get it, that's when the open up the bag for the little birds, setting the cookies out in a spread array on the ground before pulling back just a touch and settling down themselves. Close enough to grab the birds, one might nervously notice, but they don't seem currently inclined to do so, instead curling and uncurling themselves idly on the ground. Similar to the way they do behind Kleken when there's an edge of emotion behind whatever he's doing at the moment. ]

[ Which, right now, would be studying Hiyori, and that small, sad smile of his. ]

I suppose I've had an enthusiastic teacher to thank for that. I must send him my gratitude some day.

Now that I'd like to see! I've been to so many tea parties and so many fancy dinners, but I've never seen anyone sipping tea daintily from a cup held with their tentacle. That sounds like an arresting sight...♪

[Though before coming here, he would've said that sounds like a horrifying sight. But this place has changed him, and he's gotten over his squeamishness on a number of matters. You could say his mind has been opened or his horizons have been broadened. He's had new experiences, he's met people from all walks of life, and he's made many wonderful friends.

But he does have to leave soon, hence the sad smile as he watches his birds get served cookies. That's something Hiyori has never provided for them; he spoils these birds quite a lot, but he was always careful to keep them on a normal diet. Will the birds be okay eating these? There's not chocolate in there, is there? He doesn't see any, so just this one time, he lets it slide. Unable to resist the cookies once they're out of the packaging, Hiro and Hina both hop over to one and begin to peck away. And as for Hiyori...]

Right, right, you should!

[Whether it was Kleken's goal or not, his words succeed in brightening Hiyori's smile.]

Be careful what you feed them. No chocolate, no pitted fruits, and nothing too salty, just for starters. Those are all toxic for birds, as well as other pets. I had to learn this stuff from scratch myself, since both times I got new pets, they came into my care unexpectedly. Life is full of surprises. But you get used to it!

[Then that smile turns somewhat sly as he adds:]

Those are just some words of wisdom from your "enthusiastic teacher." You'll take them to heart, won't you? ♪

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