lieabilities

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? ♪

It is quite the sight.

[ He's done it before, and he'll surely do it again some day. A shame it won't be with the company who's recently developed a better appreciation for it. ]

[ His smile tugs a little wider at Hiyori's warnings, though rules might be the better word for them. The care he has for the creatures is evident in them, and so strongly evident that Kleken doesn't even tease the man with the idea that he might turn around to give them exactly those things the second he looks away. That's the reason, and definitely not because he cares about not upsetting Hiyori for real or anything like that- ]

They're quite the sensitive eaters, aren't they.

[ Closing his eyes for a moment, he nods his head in what could be sincerity. It could also just as easily be mock sincerity, it's difficult to tell with the small smile that plays across his lips, so it'll have to be left to Hiyori's interpretation. ]

But I shall take those words of wisdom to heart. All of my hearts.

[ He only has one heart but he's been doing some reading and that's never good for anyone. ]

[He nods.]

Yep, they sure are! Actually, when they first hatched, we had to feed them worms, which was too much for me. I don't like dealing with dead or alive ones, since they're all slimy and wriggly!

[Pause.]

No offense, of course.

[Anyway.]

But Jun-kun has experience fishing and stuff like that, so I mainly left him to do it! And now that they're all grown up, they have no problem hunting their own insects, so I just give them some birdseed.

[No shame about the amount of work he always offloads onto his partner. But he does feel a bit of regret about the amount of work he's about to offload onto his friends. Bird care, someone to care for his magical sentient sunflowers (long story)... there are arrangements that need making.

Still, seeing his birds (safely) eat the cookies helps alleviate some of his worries. People have a way of stepping up when the situation calls for it, including those you wouldn't expect to. Like Kleken, who promises oh-so-seriously to take his words to heart. And maybe it's a little hammy, but maybe Hiyori can detect the sincerity hidden behind the humor at this point. He smiles, big and bright, and says:]

Great! Then we shouldn't have any problems.

[And then, after another pause:]

... each one doesn't have its own heart, does it?

None taken.

[ As a fellow shirker of responsibilities whenever possible, Kleken's not about to call out Hiyori on that little fact. In fact, he'd praise him if he were the type to. A shame Kleken reserves that sort of thing for other specific scenarios. Instead, he nods along with the statement, as if Hiyori's decision to dump the work on Jun were simply a correct fact and not anything else. ]

[ Which it clearly was. ]

It is pleasant to hear they are self-sufficient to some level then. You've done quite the job in raising them all.

[ How much of that was instinct and how much of that was Hiyori's actual influence, he had no clue. Birds remained outside his arena of expertise and he's not particularly inclined to enlighten himself further on the creatures just because he's apparently now semi-invested in several of them. But he would blindly attribute their self-sufficiency to the other man's influence if only because that seemed the more pleasing answer to him. And perhaps in part because the other does do such a wonderful job of amusing him. ]

[ Like now, as his smile tugs a bit wider once the idol voices the question that'd clearly been tugging at his mind for a moment. ]

They do.

Yep, I sure have!

[Always modest, Hiyori is. Though he does add:]

Jun-kun and I both did. Hina-chan is our precious little girl~♪

[Not that she can replace the dog they had together at home. Who Hiyori would normally be all too happy to talk about and share pictures of, but he can recognize that now isn't the time.

Now probably isn't the time for silly digressions about whether tentacles have hearts or not, either, but they end up having one of those anyway. Hiyori's brows jump, his eyes widen, and he claps a hand over his mouth. One last horrified (over)reaction for the road!]

Hm? But that's so creepy! It's one thing to be grabbed by a slimy thing, but being grabbed by one that has a heartbeat is a whole other thing! And if they each have hearts and minds, doesn't that mean they could get you in trouble? They could steal from people or grab them all by themselves. But when you try to say, "I didn't do it, it was my tentacles!", no one will believe you. You'll end up a misunderstood outcast! And that's not fair to you at all, is it?

[... he's getting riled up. But at least it's sort of on Kleken's behalf?]

[ He truly will miss having this exact sort of energetic nonsense in his life, even if he isn't fully aware of it. He'd missed it when Rinne left, and now the one source of nonsense that doesn't want to eat him was fading out of his life too in the strangest of ways. It's a sobering sort of thought once that does hit him, and results in him giving Hiyori an amused smile with the faintest tinge of actual emotion behind it. Whether it's sadness or fondness is hard to say. ]

It isn't at all. But it's the way I must live, watching their backs so that I might one day convince them to do the same for my own.

[ He places a hand over his mouth and glances away, feigning the look of someone troubled by the tortures of a life they have no control over. ]

Perhaps you can give me some words of advice so that I might convince them to be kind to me?

Do tentacles even have backs?

[Not the point here.

When Kleken asks that last question, he, too, feigns being deep in thought, tapping on his chin for effect.]

I don't have the faintest idea how their slippery little minds work. But if I had to make a suggestion...

[A pause, and then he trades the thoughtful expression for a bright smile.]

"Be kind!" ♪ I find that's evergreen advice no matter who you're dealing with. For example, I did something kind for Jun-kun when I chose him to be my partner. He'd been languishing in obscurity at the very bottom of the social ladder, but thanks to me, he found lots of love and success. And then that kindness was repaid every time Jun-kun cooked for me, did other favors, or expressed his heartfelt gratitude. Then take these birds as another example.

[He waves an arm towards Hiro and Hina, the former just having polished off a cookie. He then squawks as if to say, "Who, me?"]

I raised them with lots of love, and I still feed and visit them almost daily. They may only be pets, but they saved me once before. When I was attacked by a monster in this very same treehouse, Hina-chan bravely threw an earring at him and tried to defend me with her talons. Then Hiro-kun showed up, and he distracted the monster so thoroughly that he stopped bothering me altogether. That funny little laugh is pretty attention-grabbing.

[Hiro, funnily enough, proceeds to laugh: a perfectly-timed "Gyahaha," which makes Hiyori perk up even more.]

See? Like that! And when I was feeling down about Rinne-senpai disappearing, my birds sang to me to cheer me up. You understand my point, right? I don't mean to make it sound too transactional, but if you want kindness, you ought to spread some yourself first! That's how most of my relationships here have worked. Loki-kun, Baku-kun, Baizhu-san, even Esikko-kun... it's thanks to people like them that I know my birds and flowers will be cared for, even after I'm gone. And because of that, I can rest my head on my pillow and sleep soundly.

Of course, there's no reason why they wouldn't.

[ There are plenty of reasons, but those aren't important details. What is important is the way Hiyori continues right along with Kleken's silly little request, launching straight into a flurry of advice that the conman only partially absorbs. Most of it, his tentacles take over, noting the advice on scratch pieces of paper in their dark recesses for his own future reference, leaving Kleken to focus mainly on the parts that interest him the most. Information. ]

[ It's information about Hiyori's personal life, his relationship with his beloved Jun and precious birds painted in vivid pictures of bright and lively colors. It's fascinating how easily and energetically the man can talk about his personal experiences, and Kleken soaks it all up. It's not the sort of talk he'd normally pay attention to, but the idol has made himself a rather interesting figure in Kleken's life, and now, too late, he finds himself hungry to know more. Whatever he still can get before... ]

[ The very strange laugh from Hiro is a delight of its own to hear, Kleken's gaze and thoughts shifting to the little creature to observe it carefully for a long moment before he replies. ]

I'll take your suggestion under very serious consideration. Though I may be under some handicaps in that department, I may try.

[ And, surprisingly, he just might. Whether anyone takes him seriously after knowing the man for so long was a whole other matter. ]

[Hiyori smiles, happy to see Kleken absorb his words of wisdom!]

That's what counts. Of course, if you try to turn over a new leaf all of a sudden, you might get people asking if you feel okay. Or if you're trying to bribe them, or if you've been replaced by one of those doppelgangers!

[A reference to the Spades event.]

And everyone has an ugly side including me, so it's hard sometimes. But it doesn't have to be too dramatic a change. You could always try "one good deed a day." I know Kleken-kun can be gentle since I've seen it with my own eyes, so consider this your vote of confidence.

Inbox

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)