[It must be a good joke, considering Mukuro's connection with reincarnation.]
[But Chikusa didn't chase after him. There were times when he was willing to give effort, and times where he knew that it would merely go to waste. This was a situation of the latter. Not only was he disinclined to argue against Mukuro, but if he hadn't changed his mind to this point, than Chikusa doubted he would for much else. Like so many other things, he resigned himself to the fact and went to go tell the others of the news. It wasn't particularly surprising that M.M. took the opportunity to promptly leave. Sometimes he wondered what she did away from them, and if it was all material gratification. That wasn't on his mind then.]
[He was more busy wondering in what way Mukuro-sama had made what seemed like a simple thing into a much more complicated beast.]
[It was at least partially for that worry which kept Chikusa firmly at Kokuyo Land. With how their group had grown, it was rare that him and Ken got to be alone often. It was nice, although Chikusa didn't visibly show as much. Ken knew anyway, he was sure. That was the good thing about him. There was no need to waste breath or energy on words. Ken always knew.]
[Unfortunately, there was only so long he could go with avoiding things. It had nothing to do with his personal feelings, and more the fact that he and Ken could not survive on spite and pineapples alone despite what Mukuro-sama no doubt would have liked. They did need food. Such were the failings of the human body. Leaving Ken to harass the local wildlife, Chikusa took off to head back into town. Inwardly, he protested the situation. Every step closer made it feel like his body would implode from tenseness.]
[As a general rule, he couldn't find it in him to care much for Mukuro-sama's games, whether negatively or positively. So long as Chikusa wasn't involved and Mukuro-sama's temper wasn't threatening to undo something important, his feelings remained at a firm zero. The fact that he was involved this time, the primary focus in fact, nudged his feelings towards an uncertain and trembling negative one.]
[And he meant, really, to not make the store trip anything more than it needed to be, feeling suspicious of every mundane scene or stranger that could be used as a vessel. It could almost be mistaken for lost in thought, even. The transaction at the register went smoothly, although quietly, and Chikusa thought that it would be over and done with, something that brought him relief as he went down the street.]
"Ah, Chikusa!"
[...Things can never be simple as he preferred. Chikusa paused, blinking as the clerk came up to him with a clear expression of concern. It felt... strange, to have an expression like that directed toward him.]
"Is everything alright?"
...What?
"Well... You seemed different from before. We were starting to talk, but today you were so quiet... I'm sorry, am I prying?"
It's fine. [It's bewildering, actually, and Chikusa shows it in the way he just observes the clerk silently for a second.] ...I'm watching our home while one of our housemates is gone.
"I see... I'm going to get off soon. Do you want to go get lunch with me and we can talk?"
[...Oh. He should be glad for this, according to what he's guessed at usual dating dynamics, but all Chikusa can feel for a second is off-balance. He didn't prepare for this. He didn't prepare for this at all. The silence stretches on long enough that the clerk starts to get worried, but eventually- a quick and quiet nod. Clerk-san beams.]
"I'll be switching with my coworker in ten minutes, so please be patient!"
[A meal at a small mundane cafe, a split pay for it except for the parfait Chikusa ended up with as a gift, and idle chatter. Most of it not from Chikusa, a fact that didn't seem to bother the other boy at all surprisingly. And then, at the end of it, Chikusa made a quiet offer for the same to happen next week.]
[It was probably a good thing that the suggestion was met with acceptance and another bright smile.]
[And with that, Chikusa brought back what could tentatively be called 'groceries'... and promptly laid face down on the couch for the rest of the day.]
no subject
[But Chikusa didn't chase after him. There were times when he was willing to give effort, and times where he knew that it would merely go to waste. This was a situation of the latter. Not only was he disinclined to argue against Mukuro, but if he hadn't changed his mind to this point, than Chikusa doubted he would for much else. Like so many other things, he resigned himself to the fact and went to go tell the others of the news. It wasn't particularly surprising that M.M. took the opportunity to promptly leave. Sometimes he wondered what she did away from them, and if it was all material gratification. That wasn't on his mind then.]
[He was more busy wondering in what way Mukuro-sama had made what seemed like a simple thing into a much more complicated beast.]
[It was at least partially for that worry which kept Chikusa firmly at Kokuyo Land. With how their group had grown, it was rare that him and Ken got to be alone often. It was nice, although Chikusa didn't visibly show as much. Ken knew anyway, he was sure. That was the good thing about him. There was no need to waste breath or energy on words. Ken always knew.]
[Unfortunately, there was only so long he could go with avoiding things. It had nothing to do with his personal feelings, and more the fact that he and Ken could not survive on spite and pineapples alone despite what Mukuro-sama no doubt would have liked. They did need food. Such were the failings of the human body. Leaving Ken to harass the local wildlife, Chikusa took off to head back into town. Inwardly, he protested the situation. Every step closer made it feel like his body would implode from tenseness.]
[As a general rule, he couldn't find it in him to care much for Mukuro-sama's games, whether negatively or positively. So long as Chikusa wasn't involved and Mukuro-sama's temper wasn't threatening to undo something important, his feelings remained at a firm zero. The fact that he was involved this time, the primary focus in fact, nudged his feelings towards an uncertain and trembling negative one.]
[And he meant, really, to not make the store trip anything more than it needed to be, feeling suspicious of every mundane scene or stranger that could be used as a vessel. It could almost be mistaken for lost in thought, even. The transaction at the register went smoothly, although quietly, and Chikusa thought that it would be over and done with, something that brought him relief as he went down the street.]
"Ah, Chikusa!"
[...Things can never be simple as he preferred. Chikusa paused, blinking as the clerk came up to him with a clear expression of concern. It felt... strange, to have an expression like that directed toward him.]
"Is everything alright?"
...What?
"Well... You seemed different from before. We were starting to talk, but today you were so quiet... I'm sorry, am I prying?"
It's fine. [It's bewildering, actually, and Chikusa shows it in the way he just observes the clerk silently for a second.] ...I'm watching our home while one of our housemates is gone.
"I see... I'm going to get off soon. Do you want to go get lunch with me and we can talk?"
[...Oh. He should be glad for this, according to what he's guessed at usual dating dynamics, but all Chikusa can feel for a second is off-balance. He didn't prepare for this. He didn't prepare for this at all. The silence stretches on long enough that the clerk starts to get worried, but eventually- a quick and quiet nod. Clerk-san beams.]
"I'll be switching with my coworker in ten minutes, so please be patient!"
[A meal at a small mundane cafe, a split pay for it except for the parfait Chikusa ended up with as a gift, and idle chatter. Most of it not from Chikusa, a fact that didn't seem to bother the other boy at all surprisingly. And then, at the end of it, Chikusa made a quiet offer for the same to happen next week.]
[It was probably a good thing that the suggestion was met with acceptance and another bright smile.]
[And with that, Chikusa brought back what could tentatively be called 'groceries'... and promptly laid face down on the couch for the rest of the day.]
[Socializing was so tiring.]
[...But that was next week decided. He guessed.]