infinite rebirth

Admittedly, the series of rambling that follows Rui’s announcement about his cat is kind of nice. It feels considerably less like the awkward and uncomfortable situation that it so clearly is; almost like they’re friends already. He listens intently, giving a nod here and there when he thinks it’s appropriate, and –

– oh, he’s gotten nervous again, hasn’t he?

“Ah.”

“You’re fine, you know. I don’t mind if you talk a lot.” Rui does better that way, but he doesn’t really want to lay himself bare that much – or at all, really. Hanako talks a lot, too. Rui isn’t very good with words, so he has no problems with having to listen. He runs through everything Aichi just said in his head again, trying to make a point to reply to what he can, no matter how awful Rui himself might be with words.

“You can spoil Himari. I don’t mind. She’ll get clingy, too, but I figure I may as well let her live her happiest life. She likes salmon, if you ever want to give her a treat. I’d…” Aichi’s staring at the ground; Rui doesn’t do anything to impose himself very much. If anything, he just takes a step backwards. It seems like Aichi might get a little less jumpy if Rui keeps some more space between them…?

“I’d like to see them. Even if they’re cards. I don’t care about that, either. If you like cards, I think that’s interesting. I like – going for walks. That’s boring, isn’t it? So we can be even, now, in sharing something embarrassing about ourselves.”

He lets himself take a seat on the sofa, giving Aichi a glance before distracting himself by looking around the cabin. Himari’s probably napping, he thinks; it might be a smart idea to call for her to diffuse whatever situation is happening, but he doesn’t want to wake her up. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t have the time for it. You aren’t imposing – I told you myself. I can show you around sometime. That isn’t you imposing, it’s me. So it’s alright.”

A little stiffly, Rui pats the spot on the sofa beside him.

“… do you have the cards with you? I’d be interested in seeing them.”

Rui is nice.

Aichi ends up thinking that before he even notices. he can’t really bring himself to answer anything, not yet, but it’s nice to…be listened to, he guesses.

it feels a little less alone, like this, talking about cats and going on walks and - (human things. normal things. Rui is a good person.) - nice things, so Aichi nods.

“you’re a nice person,” Aichi ends up echoing, before just nodding and sitting down next to Rui, rustling through his pockets. “I mean, um, thanks. I’d like that. to go and…do that.”

there. the deck hasn’t moved, of course, from when he was gripping onto it earlier like it was the only stable thing in the world, but it’s still nice to have it in his hands again. Aichi places it in the space between them, rifling through a few of the cards to pull out specifics.

“it’s, um, called Cardfight Vanguard. it’s really popular, where…I’m from. these guys are Gold Paladins, and they’re…” and he almost says my friends, but while it’s nice enough to talk about cards, talking about speaking to them is off limits even to the friends back home, so Aichi puts a stop to that line of thought right there and there. “I met a lot of my friends through them,” he settles on. Wingal and Flogal Liberator sit next to the deck, and Aichi lingers as he finds one last card. 

Blaster Blade doesn’t fit with the rest of the deck, so he puts him back in his pocket.

(he misses his friends, a lot, but it’s still probably better to be out of their way. he brought them a  lot of trouble.)

Aichi. Okay. Rui can keep that in mind; it’s a Japanese name too, so he knows it’ll stick in his mind easier. It’s a lot more difficult when the name is made of sounds Rui isn’t used to, but Aichi is something familiar.

(It’s almost funny that they’re both thinking that. Or would have been, maybe, if either one had said it out loud instead of just staring at each other and failing to socialize properly for absolutely too long.)

“Oh,” Rui continues. He hadn’t – thought of that. Of last names. He doesn’t ever give his when he introduces himself, because he doesn’t feel like he’s been Rui Ayaki in a long time. Not since he was human. “Sendou-san.” He tries it out loud, and it sounds… fine, so he’ll probably stick to it. Rui’s not the most polite person, though admittedly remembering his human life did instill some of that back into him, but Aichi-san sounds too familiar. More than he’s comfortable with.

“… we…”

“… can? Do last names. It’s just that I don’t – I’m just Rui.” Which isn’t the whole truth, but it isn’t anything he needs to go explaining. He’s in school… Rui, obviously, isn’t, so he can’t give his school, either, which just adds to the heavy layer of awkwardness in the air. At least Aichi’s stepped inside, even if Rui has to glance around in the hopes of alleviating some of the inability to hold a conversation. It doesn’t work, to nobody’s surprise.

“We have another housemate, my b–” – no he can’t say that. He’d get embarrassed. “Er, so Hanako’ll be around, at some point. There’s… uh… my cat, Himari, if you like cats… and… some food, in the kitchen. You can – go to the store? If you need to go to the store.”

Conversational skills? Ten out of ten.

“… I’ve… been here for. A little bit. I suppose if you need someone to show you around – not… not around the house, around – in general. I… could. At some point.”

Ten out of ten.

the san is oddly comforting, if a little unexpected. something familiar, like the name before it, and Aichi manages to smile in a way that isn’t completely forced.

the lack of last name…probably means nothing, honestly. he shouldn’t pry, except for the fact that they’re balancing around each other and Aichi hasn’t come out and said a single word about the fact that Rui is probably absolutely not human. (it’d be rude. he really wants to ask. he shouldn’t ask. but -)

there’s a cat? 

“oh, I, um, I like cats!” something else familiar. it’s a little warmer. “there’s a cat at the card shop I go to, actually,” and the words are moving quicker now, something he can talk about and pretend he’s not somewhere else entirely.

“she’s Sub-manager. she’s really cute, and I like to pet her, but we’re not supposed to spoil her or she’ll get all clingy and then no one can do any work, you know? but I also like dogs, like Wingal and Flogal, and I can show you them though they’re not really real they’re just -”

ah.

“cards,” Aichi says a little too late for his brain to stop him. “they’re…um. f-from a card game.”

he’s been moving around the house a little as he talked, and the realization makes him take a full step back from Rui, looking down at the floor. it could be some sort of record how badly he’s messed up this conversation. 

after all, they’re not friends. (and probably won’t be, if Aichi continues on like this.)

Rui has had – some level of experience, kind of, with having to socialize. Being thrust into two entirely separate instances of ending up in a world that isn’t your own (regardless, when you should be dead) will apparently give you at least some semblance of how to communicate with other people.

Of course, every time Rui thinks something along these lines he ends up immediately making a complete and total fool of himself.

For instance, instead of saying his name Rui promptly freezes and just stares for what is absolutely a moment uncomfortably too long.

“… er…”

“Your… housemate… I presume?”

That – probably isn’t what the boy had meant, though, is it? Rui hadn’t expected a new housemate already, is all, so an unfamiliar face walking into the cabin has caught him more than a little off-guard. A pale-white boy staring at you and barely answering your question probably isn’t very comfortable, though. Rui purses his lips in thought for a second, and then tries again.

“Uh. My name is Rui,” and that’s – so far, so good, isn’t it? That’s how normal people who are definitely one-hundred percent human introduce themselves, right? As if guided by Hanako’s unfortunately-ever-present hand, Rui gives a nod. Like he’s proud of himself, or something. “I, uh, live here. I guess you do now, too. Or else all the keys to all the cabins are the same.”

Which would probably be worrisome, and also something Rui would have to make sure Hanako doesn’t ever figure out. He sighs and raises a hand to run it through his hair before adding on,

“You can come further inside? I’m not going to eat you. It’s your house.”

Even if he does look like… this. And does eat… well, people. At least he has manners.

Sort of.

there sure is a whole lot of not talking going on.

the thing is, actually - Aichi knows how to deal with loud people. people who drag him into things and won’t take no for an answer.

something a bit more like himself, though…he doesn’t know whether to take it at face value. the words he hears are slow and halting, and Aichi feels his stomach drop a little, like there’s tension he’s completely missed. 

he tries to nod along (Rui, it’s a nice name. Aichi didn’t expect an almost familiar name, like someone he could have known back at school) but his eyes drop back down to his feet without even a conscious effort.

“I’m, um…” he’s going to mess this up. he’s going to mess this up, and Aichi feels kinda desperate to stay out of sight.

“I-I’m Aichi.” that’s all he needs to say, probably, but Aichi hates feeling like this and doesn’t want to just stand there and say nothing like he hasn’t changed at all, so his mouth keeps moving without his input. “um, Sendou Aichi, I don’t know if we’re doing last names or not. do they matter? I mean, um, I guess they don’t. I’m a - a first year at Miyaji Academy, though I guess that’s not here either, and um, I, uh…”  

Aichi trails off before he mentions the deck of cards he’s still holding onto like a lifeline, as if the person he can be when cardfighting will somehow take his place. he nods again, then a second time - though not like he’s really agreeing to anything - and steps a little further inside.

maybe it’s bad for Aichi to flinch when he enters the cabin numbered the same as his key. maybe it’s bad to hold the cards in his jacket pocket tightly, like a lifeline, to make sure he’s where he seems to be. (he doesn’t feel out of the ordinary. he’s here, wherever here is.)

there’s someone else in the cabin. that shouldn’t be…abnormal. of course there would be other people. he’s not isolated.

it’s - just -

the greeting is caught in his throat. (maybe he’s scared.) 

“um -”

it’s not exactly a word. Aichi wavers there. there’s a small part of him that really, really wants to run away.

you’re not human. he doesn’t say that, because it’s the first person he’s met and he won’t say that and maybe he’s the only human here! maybe it’s another world entirely. but he thinks it, and then follows that thought with they look pretty, which is easier to prove true than the first statement but something he’s not even slightly going to say.

…they’re about the same height. he’s not going to bring that up, either. 

Aichi’s been standing here saying nothing for quite some time now, so he should either run or actually try and say something, and because bravery is still a foreign concept but one he can finally touch, he clutches the key to his chest and says -

“who are you…?”

aichi sendou, somehow champion of a card game circuit, just wants to sleep in

for all intents and purposes just an overly self-conscious high schooler who really likes card games! shy and avoids conflict as much as he can - but fighting in games is another story.

sixteen with a lot of issues. kinda nervous around new people. and yet it does not take much interaction for him to like you he’s the king of one-sided relationships

if you talk to him enough though he may end up talking your ear off about either card game lore or space. sometimes both if you’re lucky

really short. haha why are you so small

has a really hard time saying no to people so yes he will be dragged along into situations and yes he will just smile and nod

though when he gets into something he can be both incredibly stubborn and worryingly obsessed. he’s just a little desperate for approval