#oovertime

The deep tone honestly startled him. Nanami had been someone he was familiar with, but never got to know other than the surface level. Not like the had a chance to.

Still, there was an obvious elephant in the room with how he felt that gaze fall onto his prosthetic arm. Sometimes even he forgot it was something out of place.

Said with the soul | Not Accepting

In the last legs of his exhaustion, there is comfort seeing Nanami once more today. The weariness in his body and soul matched the way that the older seemed, hinting to them both being in a similar state.

He spoke too much, asked too much of people today.

But in a poetic way, he didn't have much to say to Nanami. Everything that could have been said before was already shared in the same sentiments from the other prior.

"I think of you as family too."

It's gentle the way it falls from his mouth, giving a slow exhale through his nose that follows, shoulders slumping.

"Gojo was the guide to the rocky start of my life, and you helped me stand to keep going, despite my shortcomings. Even for us both becoming cogs, becoming complacent with the fate that was handed to us, we can stand here and look one another in the eye."

He does just that, meeting Nanami's hazel with his own soft teals. He could recall their last words to one another, the promise to keep him safe to the best of his ability before the ghost of his father separated them.

He's....trying not to be optimistic. Purposefully so. He tries not to get his hopes up anymore.

Gojo is a friend to him, and a reliable coworker, but he's....biased.

So, with that in mind....

[incoming call - Kento Nanami]

(His icon, predictably, is just his own face. Boring as always.)

He squints at the incoming call. Eyebrows rising at the picture of his once-friend calling him.

Sighing just before he answers the call.

"A gift? From Nanamin? Oh, what part of hell froze over today?"

He's pulling at the wrapper even as he's saying it, phone pulled out of his pocket to snap a picture of it. It catches the edge of Nanami's face in the picture.

As soon as he's taken the picture, he bites the first third of the chocolate bar into his mouth.

It's crowded. The urge about wanting to take public transportation if not for his own feet had been ingrained into him from a young age. So it would be impossible to not simply take it when offered.

However

The buses of this place, which seemed to differ between wards, were their own branch of chaotic. Let alone when you tried to include the infrastructure of the Spiral itself- and from it Fibonacci's many cobbled together layers.

Annoyance stokes at his brow but falls out of his chest in a sigh, head turning lightly to the other man closest near him. Not always one for small talk, but here, in this unusual world on an unusual bus with it's unusual passengers, it felt appropriate.

"These buses suck, huh? Or maybe this is just the way things are meant to be here- a natural state of uncomfortable harmony."

A pause finds itself in his breathing as he follows up.

"I was told you were here." He sort of….leaves it at that for a while. "Good job. For your work."

It wasn't unusual for the adults to be awkward around someone they couldn't understand half the time, Toge was well aware of his strange speaking habits that were necessary at the time.

However, here that wasn't quite needed with his abilities being stripped.

Last night was rough, the morning even more so. Megumi fought to drag himself out of that bed for hours, his usual early rise to meet Okkotsu for a morning walk ignored. Instead he spent most of the hours that ticked by going back over what had transpired, all those words said still felt raw and abrasive to his skin.

Even for the weight and ache in his bones, Megumi showered to clear his head, brushed his teeth, and dressed himself. Small things, one at a time.

The scent of coffee filled the space within the kitchen, cradling the mug close to his body to feel some of the warmth coming off of the ceramic before bringing it to his lips.

The bitter taste never bothered him, in fact it usually woke him up a little more alongside the caffeine. He pauses, hearing a soft knock from the door and shuffling over before opening it.