#eyecursed

     people were terribly predictable once you had observed them for long enough, especially when they had gone about upholding certain attitudes. he could spot it a mile away --- & what other topic was there to bring up over than one that had brought mutual annoyance, presumably? slender fingers take hold of a wine glass, & fingertips drum against the surface as he sighs through his nose --- slowly, at that.

     does he, now? count haruka nothing short of giddy, then — he’s thankful for the birthdays that have come & gone within these past few years. though he had held certain ones dear to his heart ( the ones with his mother when she had still been alive, the first one had spent with the quartet & sensei, the distant memory he has of spending one as konoha, as in shambles & tattered as that memory is now ) the ones that had followed after these hazy, endless summers had been much more full. he had been losing his memories from when konoha had taken over his body, & day in & day out, that had been a struggle. it was hard to cope with that reality --- reality was a pill that haruka had swallowed, but not without strain --- & the acknowledgement that konoha’s memories weren’t really his. they had been experienced through this body, & something he had watched from an inner view of him, but never truly felt. 

     still, he had come to appreciate the friends that konoha had made, & his old friends that he had brought back. he had hated konoha because he represented the parts of himself he hated, & yet those around him had come to befriend him --- even love him. for that, he could be thankful. he was thankful for konoha. thankful for the bonds he made. thankful for the memories given to him. thankful that his wish had come true, & his heart had been left a little fuller. there was no further way to express it other than sheer, absolute gratitude.

     birthdays like this, spent with those he had held dear to his heart were always wonderful, & really, he felt as if gifts weren’t necessary. but he understood their meaning --- & the fact that shintaro had gone out of his way once more to get him something, even after all of these years, had attested to what a kind person shintaro was. prattle on & on about how shintaro may have been awkward, or kind of a jerk, or what may have suited someone’s mood at the time --- but haruka knew he was nothing short of an amazing person. again & again had shintaro been there for him, & he considered himself lucky to call someone as kind as him his friend, much less his best friend.

     although he lacks the spry, energetic energy he had once held in their high school days, he still flashes shintaro that same smile he had always had: warm like the sun, & despite the chill in the air, was more akin to that of summer. 

     ❝  you didn’t have to get me anything, shintaro-kun.  ❞ it’s spoken easily, without a single missed beat as he takes the gift bags. the words aren’t spoken in anything too dismissive; appreciation is still thick in his tone, & his eyes alight with wonder as he peeks into the gift bags.

     what he sees inside is what causes his eyes to shut in amusement, his smile broadening & a much more hearty laugh following suit.

     ❝  these are cute!  ❞ as if to visualize his point, he fishes out some key chains, snickering at their endearing designs. where did he get the idea of these? where ever it was, their presence holds something dear to his heart --- a lost memory, some recognizable faces, & something about dinosaurs being pretty cool. he’d keep this near & dear to him, & he’d have to buy himself a key ring for them soon. they’re placed gently back into the bag before he fishes out the games next --- those are ones that cause his eyes & mouth to open, & an unknown, ‘oooh’ to escape his mouth, as much as he would think of himself as looking awkward doing so.

     ❝  a-ah, hey --- weren’t these expensive--?! you didn’t have to spend that much--!  ❞ ... a pause, & he snickers as he cracks a smile. ❝  hold on. did you get me these so we could game together again?  ❞ he teases, of course, but haruka was no stranger to the gentlest of jabs towards his friends. nothing hurtful, nothing that could make them feel self-conscious, but a little banter here & there never hurt.

     ❝  do me a favor, ❞

     words are spat out like venom injected by own two fangs; distaste & bitterness that not even alcohol could rival rolls off of his tongue.

     ❝  poison deceiving’s drinks one of these days. ❞

      While rabbit’s feet might stand as a lucky charm for most, I hope you know she’s going to be using that foot as though it’s a chew toy. She can smell the carcass, though, and whether it’s another rabbit or part of a deer, or any other form of meat, it smells delicious. Most children want a big birthday cake to eat – but Ellen? Give her a bag of freshly killed anything, and she’s good to go.

      A mix between a high pitched chirp and a purr rumbles in her throat at the hair ruffle she receives, and she presses the top of her head further into and against his palm.

      Accepting and opening the bag, she gives a quiet gasp of awe, mouth already watering as she imagines the tastes it will have. For just the moment, though, Kakeru is getting a gleeful hug from the little jackal.

     clouds of smoke come in nearly every breath that deceiving exhales ; his footsteps ate focused on their path as he makes his way down the lane, eyes staring straight ahead. briefly had they flickered to the passerby -- a human in this little game, no doubt -- before returning to where they had once been. once within enough distance, his shoulder smacks against the others, sending his body slightly off mark -- & a hand quickly swiping something from the other’s pocket.

“It should! It worked when I only had one of those little minty candy things in it, so this should make it even better, right?”

      Why anyone would have thought it would be a good idea to show Ellen “science projects” involving a bottle rocket, Diet Coke, and Mentos, is beyond me, but unfortunately it looks like Shintaro is going to be victim to witnessing her new little “experiment.”

“Plus, last time, all I did was let it sit there, and it just got really fizzy and spit up a lot, but in the video when they dropped it and the cap busted off, it flew up! So if I throw it really hard I bet it’ll launch up even more!”

      Gathering her items, she follows the same instructions as the video shows, prepping the line of minty candy to fall in contact with the cola, a devilish grin spreading onto her face. Of course, while she had said she intended to throw it very hard, she knew there was a limit to which the plastic container would be able to take. She didn’t want to destroy her “rocket,” so at most, a medium amount of force would be applied to her throw.

      Assuming it ready, she prepares to throw the bottle down on its “head,” giving a little jump for extra measure (and height). The cap indeed breaks free upon impact with the ground, allowing the mentos and the coke to react to one another, and indeed, the bottle does launch.

❛ mmn... ❜

A NOISE OF NEAR EMOTIONLESS CONFUSION MUFFLES ITSELF AGAINST THE STRAW IN HIS SLURPEE. hanging out with shintaro was never short of fun ; konoha had always appreciated each & every moment spent with his friends, & shintaro had been far from that norm. “bro time”, shintaro had called it, & konoha had simply resigned to understanding it as such. going out to the mall together had been one thing -- or, well, kind of an unintentional thing to do together. shintaro had mentioned wanting to pick something up, & konoha had offered to tag along because he hadn’t wanted to be left alone.

... & it had led into konoha obtaining a slurpee & looking over a few of the things shintaro purchased as he sat on a bench.

❛ i don’t really get it... ❜

his forefinger pressed against a page in one of the mangas, no emotion on his face, but the slightest twinge in his tone had made his misunderstanding evident.

❛ why does he want to date all of the girls...? ❜