soul_logs | [Closed] Best Laid Plans

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[Closed] Best Laid Plans

Characters: Kanji Tatsumi and Naoto Shirogane
Location: Loch Ness, Scotland
Rating: PG-13
Time: March 22nd, Morning
Description: Mission 131e. The Kishin egg of Loch Ness defeated them once, but it wasn't going to happen again.

Naoto's eyes trailed from the water as the Kishin egg emerged and proceeded to follow after Kanji. She ducked back, listening as she followed after them. The rigging was set; all they needed now was the Kishin egg to take its queue. Hopefully, this would be the last time she had to set a trap like this, but they would see. If they succeeded, it wasn't going back to the water.

Now, as long as Kanji remembered to jump, they shouldn't have any complications or need to make any abrupt alterations.

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He thought back to when he helped change a bandage on her leg so long ago, wondered if that was why she insisted. But to see her sitting under the tree like this, warm and dry, was more than repayment enough for that day one week ago. Kanji was quiet when he opened up the second box, feeling a little hungry himself after the time they spent tracking the kishin egg compared to its eventual defeat.

He shifted a bit to get comfortable, gingerly moving his leg to keep it straight before he dug right in.

"And here I was wonderin' if we brought too much," he remarked, gesturing a chopstick to the first-aid kit.

"Think I'll leave the saddlebags full from here on out."

Putting some space between them, Naoto sat besides Kanji, her own box in her lap. She didn't open it immediately; instead, she stared ahead, lost in her own thoughts. This egg's soul made it twenty-four for her. There was still some room for growth and uncovering her abilities.

As Kanji spoke, she returned to the present, opening the box and looking at the contents. As expected, it all looked delicious. The serving size... she wondered if she would be able to eat it all.

"It's important to be prepared for anything here." Naoto broke her chopsticks and murmured 'itadakimasu' beneath her breath before beginning to eat.

And just as icing on the cake, it was chara-bento: Just for shits and giggles, he'd made the onigiri into the Featherman helmets. Red Hawk was the first one to go from his own set.

"Yeah. 's why I paid a little more for the sturdy bags- carries a lot, and nothin' gets tossed around too much."

He picked up another ball, and held it out to her.

"Trade ya this Yellow Owl for a Black Condor."

Naoto felt her face flare at the sight of the little Featherman helmets. This was just between the two of them right? She nodded, agreeing with the purchase.

"Huh? O-Oh, sure..." She picked up a Black Condor roll and held it out to Kanji.

She wouldn't believe the lengths Kanji went through to keep Tifa from seeing the preparations for these things. Seeing her reaction was well worth it, but he made no mention of it.

He was about to place the little ball into the box in her lap, but felt a little knot twist in his stomach as he looked at her offer. The way she held it... was she...?

Kanji swallowed what was in his mouth, and wagered that maybe she was. He leaned and, while placing the Yellow Owl onigiri in the box rested upon her lap, ate the offered one right off the chopsticks.

Perhaps Kanji should imagine the lengths Naoto must go through to hide anything from Minato. It's a miracle if he doesn't know.

Naoto stared, eyes widening when Kanji just ate the onigiri from her chopsticks. She really hadn't been going for that! But now, her face burned and she was incredibly flustered.

Partners had a tendency to pop up at the worst times. Though, he had to wonder if he'd ever done the same thing to Tifa. If he did, she was too kind to tell him.

His eyes glanced her way, and his eyes widened a bit. Uh oh. That wasn't what she was trying to to! But he all ready ate the thing, so he couldn't just--

Kanji sat up immediately, shoulders hitched as he turned his head away, quietly finishing the rice ball in his mouth. His ears may be bright red enough to be used as beacons if it were dark out right now.

If you respect one person's space, they should respect yours. Minato's just not very conscious about that.

Naoto picked randomly at her food, embarrassed and now unsure about eating with her chopsticks. Was this... an indirect kiss? Should she keep feeding him now? She doesn't know.

He wouldn't know anything about that, but that question was starting to occur to him. He immediately thought he could just trade chopsticks with her and it would be okay, but when he looked at his own pair - two grains of rice stuck to the wood - he remembered that he'd been using these all ready, too.

And so with a quiet gulp he focused on his own lunchbox, his stomach doing too many flip-flops to really feel much of an appetite at the moment.

"S-so, uh, you're a quarter of the way if my memory's right." Something for the silence. Anything. He picked up a bit of tempura and crammed it into his mouth regardless. He figures if he stopped, she'd think something was wrong.

She couldn't eat with her hands; the box wasn't made for that. Besides, after eating that Kishin egg, she didn't want to touch Kanji's hard work with her hands. Face still red and mouth trembling slightly, she picked up some of her food... and resumed eating, lips touching the chopsticks.

"Mhm?"

She had some difficulty swallowing, but she did eventually. "Oh, uhm, without the Witch's Soul, yes."

Ninety-nine Kishin eggs before a Witch... Hm.

All he knew was, when the day came that she needed to collect a Witch Soul, she and Minato weren't going alone regardless of how many souls he and Tifa had amassed at the time. Part of him wanted to make the comment, but... it was a little early, wasn't it? And she most likely knew he wouldn't sit idly at home for anything like that.

But that wasn't what was at the front of his mind as he glanced from the corner of his vision. A knot tightened in his stomach when the chopsticks were lifted again, not realizing he'd lifted another bit of katsu, but stopped halfway. It dropped onto the onigiri when Naoto took that next bite, and his eyes went right back to the box.

And he started eating faster. Almost too fast. Nothing was wrong, nothing was wrong at all! Sh-she was still using them-

"G-gonna hit those classes that're starting up again? I'm still kinda undecided." If they're anything like those 'Dealing with Witches' lessons, which had become entirely goddamn unhelpful...

Yes, Naoto could assume what Kanji would do which is only why he asked. He would keep asking as her number drew closer to ninety-nine and follow her and Minato no matter where their Witch hunt went.

She continued to eat, but stopped when Kanji proceeded to shoveling his food quickly without any thought to possible consequences. He would end up choking; where was his canteen or thermos?

"I believe I may try. More to observe the newer arrivals and see how they handle the information. I was going to attend resistance training at least."

She was right; Death City was due for another round of newcomers pretty soon. Fortunately, he'd gotten a buffer prepared on those gift baskets for SEES, along with another batch of armbands. It'd been a while since he'd spoken to Chika, and hoped she was in better spirits than befo--

That's when, to nobody's surprise, his lunch decided to try and go down the wrong tube. With an odd cough he stifled his mouth with a hand and looked frantically around for that stupid thermos he'd brought. He didn't leave it on the bike, did he!?

Naoto knew that was going to happen. She had already set her lunch down and headed over to Ziodyne. It didn't take long to locate the thermos and bring it back over, opening it and pouring some of the contents for Kanji.

"Here..." She held the cup to him.

Okay. He had to get going now if he was going to limp his sorry ass on over to get the thing. Setting his own box aside, he was just shifting to get up and fetch it. They could probably make use of it now, anyway--

But Naoto was up and off, and he could say nothing in any sort of protest. He took the cup like it was the freaking Holy Grail and drank; one big swallow later, and he could feel that building panic subside, replaced by the discomfort of far too much at once working its way down his throat.

His face stung when all was said and done, and he uttered a hoarse, "Thanks."

Ugh, how embarrassing...

"You're welcome..." She refilled his cup again before sealing the thermos again and setting it down. Taking her spot once again, she placed her box in her lap before speaking again.

"You shouldn't have eaten at the rate you were..."

She resumed eating at a leisurely pace.

"I was- I was hungry," he replied, clearing his throat and having another drink. That pink to his face wouldn't go for a while as he settled back, suppressing a wince when he had to move his leg again to get comfortable. He should have brought something to numb pain, but he had to drive them back to the mirror... he couldn't let a few bites of pain get him down.

"There was gonna be resistance training, you said?" Dodging the subject entirely.

"Hope they don't drag us out into the damn desert again, but if we're gonna take out two more of those Emitters..." Shit, he still couldn't work out how he managed to pull them both out of that weird episode during the last bit of training..

"I don't know. You appeared to be anxious when you began eating as you were." She didn't say anything as he shifted, but he was probably in pain. He would have to get something to temporarily stop that until his injuries healed.

"Yes, that's right."

Naoto looked skeptical at his statement. "The desert is the nearest location to the city and far enough from the barrier."

She would have to take Minato to trailing. He hadn't performed so well when they were on the mission.

"I know, I know. 's necessary, right?" But Kanji sighed anyway. He had to figure out why it was that Tifa seemed either to shrug off Madness completely or be so good at suppressing her own fears. Even when they spent an evening drinking, she hadn't seemed phased while he turned into something completely embarrassing.

"Gotta wonder how we let three of those damn things get set up close to Shibusen. It'll be a huge load off a lotta minds once those go down," he remarked, finally setting his own box back on his good knee.

"...And if BREW's gonna bring in new people, we gotta keep on top of that in case some of our friends pop up. We're gonna get real busy, Naoto." Yet he looked a little pumped despite everything. Why was his heart jumping around just now, though...?

"It wouldn't be so necessary if we could handle ourselves..." Still, they were still teenagers. Technically, they weren't supposed to handle situations concerning strong emotions very well. Naoto could, but not when the Madness Wavelength weaseled into her.

"Perhaps they hid their presence. There is an ability capable of doing that." She nodded at his statement. "Yes. Hopefully, they can have a beneficial purpose to us."

Quietly, she resumed eating while Kanji spoke and again nodded. It was always busy; she would be ready.

"I know that one! They called it... uh..." He tapped the sticks to an unknown beat against the box, wrinkling his nose a little.

"Soul Protect, right? They kinda cloak their souls, make 'em out like they're human. Yeah... I can see 'em goin' with that. Couldn't the Meisters with Soul Perception, I dunno, train it to see through it?"

Kanji leaned back. "I-I mean, my Soul Descent's got a bigger punch than it was when I first figured it out, and I can kinda feel through the resonance that your shots are toughening up, too."

Naoto looked up at the beating and her expression quirked as he thought. There was something about the way his nose crinkled when he thought; she didn't know how to describe it exactly.

She was able to snap out of her own train of thought and nod. "Hm... I'm not sure. It might be possible, but that's a question better saved for a Meister capable of using it."

Her lips curled into a faint smile. "Yes. You've been improving tremendously since your arrival." She paused. "Does it really appear that way?"

Kanji nodded. "So I'll ask 'em. Worst that could happen is they say it's impossible, then I tell 'em that's bullshit. Everything can be pushed just a little bit further. You just gotta set a pace that won't bite back at you more than you can take."

A butterfly in his stomach. Right there. She needed to do that more. "Well yeah. You save those old target papers, don'tcha? Compare 'em sometime."

"S'hard to explain, but it feels like the wavelength's bigger somehow. Warmer, too... like it's..." He hesitated, was pink, looked away.

"I-I dunno, like it's a nice day out but there's no wind. Really calm."

"Indeed..." Naoto trailed, looking down, but then turned towards him again. "Do you believe we're failing to pace ourselves?"

Target pa- oh! "I suppose..." She shifted in her seat. Obviously, she needed to better monitor her improvements. Her face heated at Kanji's explanation. "A... unique way to describe it, but... I understand."

Her description would undoubtedly be no better.

"From what I see in the park, people're goin' both ways. Some push themselves too damn hard, then they're all stiff when shit goes down. Others are goin' too easy on themselves, then wonder what to do when that same shit goes down. I know my limits... but I also know how to push 'em a little when I need to." Though, perhaps a little more often than was needed, if one were to ask the people that tended to worry about him.

...Unique? Man, he couldn't tell if she was avoiding being blunt or not. Kanji fell quiet, kicking himself a little for the stupid description and jabbed at his food a little harder than was needed. Fortunately, he wasn't aiming to choke himself, finishing his lunch like a normal human being.

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only these two could complicate eating so easily

haha! I know right?

love these two

the best

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