[Memory] Eighth
WHO: Yamazaki Susumu/Rain, (notpissedoff)
SENSES: Sight/Sound (theatre memory)
SUMMARY: An awkward conversation ends with someone getting slapped.
PERMISSIONS: Free for use
A bustling city scene appeared on the screen. A wide, well-trodden dirt road was lined on both sides with wooden shops and what appeared to be stands for various festival games, displaying brightly-painted toys and novelty items to be won. Throngs of people clad in colourful kimono and yukata smiled and chatted excitedly as they wove their way around each other. In the thick of the crowd a shock of red hair stood out, belonging to a boy who appeared to be perhaps twelve--the boy who had gone by the name of Peacemaker during his time in Edensphere. His right ear was bandaged, he wore a white fox-like mask with an elaborate pattern of red swirls over his face, and he moved quickly and purposefully, glancing back every few steps to make sure that his companions were still with him.
They followed at a considerably more relaxed pace--Yamazaki, walking with his arms folded, wearing a grey yukata and holding a fan in one hand... and a few steps ahead of him, a young man at least half a foot taller, with brown hair in a similar style to Yamazaki's and a mask pushed down off his face and held around the back of his neck by the strap.
Peacemaker sped up as they approached a large gate leading to a separate sectioned-off area of the city, breaking into a jog. "You two wait here for a bit," he called as they passed beneath the gate, his voice slightly muffled by the mask.
"Wait, here? Wait--eeh?!" The tall man, seemingly caught quite off guard, looked rapidly back and forth between Peacemaker and Yamazaki. "Wait, Tetsu! Hey!" But the boy had already taken off down the road at a run, not glancing back once. "Tetsu..." the man sighed in resignation.
Yamazaki slouched back against the side of the gate without a word, arms still folded, and closed his eyes, settling in to wait. The two stood silently beside each other for a minute that seemed to drag on longer, the tall man gazing forlornly down the road after the boy before eventually turning to Yamazaki... and bowing very deeply.
"Hm?" Yamazaki's eyes slid open, although he kept them focused straight ahead and didn't turn towards the man. "What's this about?"
Still bowed forward, the man responded. "About what I did the day before yesterday... I am really very sorry."
"It's disturbing, hearing you address me so politely." The tall man straightened somewhat at that, although not fully. He appeared mildly dejected. "Poor kid," Yamazaki continued after a brief pause. "Everyone around him is praising him for getting over it, and his overprotective brother makes him feel like he's done something wrong. What face should he put on for you?"
The man glanced off to the side, seemingly uncomfortable with the topic. "I wasn't... all that angry."
"Nobody said you were angry."
The man's hands, hanging at his sides, clenched abruptly. "I'm really glad that Tetsu's back on his feet again. It's just..."
"You're very much against him taking up the sword, is that it? Don't worry," Yamazaki drawled. "Or rather, too bad. He's not as weak as you want him to be."
"As weak as-?!" The man took offence at that, and Yamazaki finally turned towards him, cutting him off.
"Am I wrong?"
The man closed his eyes, exhaling and composing himself, then turned away as he answered. "...No, I don't expect you to understand. A lot has gone on between my brother and me, after all."
"Don't even want to understand, honestly. But..." Yamazaki tucked his fan under his arm and extended his right hand. The man turned back towards him, surprise evident in his expression. "...While I can't understand you, I'll make peace with you. Even if it's a bit warped, he's fortunate to be loved, after all."
Silence, then, as the two of them regarded each other, Yamazaki looking bored and the other seemingly too stunned to respond. Eventually, the man managed to stammer, "...Huh? Well... but this is all so sudden..."
"Oh? Still not satisfied? I don't mind." Yamazaki's eyes suddenly acquired a devious glint. "Protracted hostilities are right up my alley."
The other man turned away and momentarily gripped his stomach in apparent discomfort, then just as quickly turned back and clasped Yamazaki's offered hand in his own.
"What are you doing?" Yamazaki deadpanned.
The man grinned nervously, a bead of sweat making its way slowly down the side of his face. "Huh...?"
"What you should be sticking out is your left cheek."
The man went completely still at that, visibly stricken, then began to laugh uneasily. "Ho ho... ha ha... that... you're the payback type, aren't you?"
"Not at all! I'd take the right cheek instead." Yamazaki's grip on the man's hand abruptly tightened just as the other attempted to pull away, and he raised his left hand in a fist, the fan that was tucked beneath his arm falling to the ground. The man flailed, desperately and unsuccessfully trying to break free of the grip as the people passing by on the street turned to cast curious stares in their direction.
"But you blocked!" he wailed.
"So? You can block, too."
"Wait! That's not... aaaah!"
Yamazaki's fist descended towards the side of the man's face... and at the last moment he unclenched it, striking the man's cheek with his flat palm. The sound of the slap reverberated around them, and the screen went dark.
SENSES: Sight/Sound (theatre memory)
SUMMARY: An awkward conversation ends with someone getting slapped.
PERMISSIONS: Free for use
A bustling city scene appeared on the screen. A wide, well-trodden dirt road was lined on both sides with wooden shops and what appeared to be stands for various festival games, displaying brightly-painted toys and novelty items to be won. Throngs of people clad in colourful kimono and yukata smiled and chatted excitedly as they wove their way around each other. In the thick of the crowd a shock of red hair stood out, belonging to a boy who appeared to be perhaps twelve--the boy who had gone by the name of Peacemaker during his time in Edensphere. His right ear was bandaged, he wore a white fox-like mask with an elaborate pattern of red swirls over his face, and he moved quickly and purposefully, glancing back every few steps to make sure that his companions were still with him.
They followed at a considerably more relaxed pace--Yamazaki, walking with his arms folded, wearing a grey yukata and holding a fan in one hand... and a few steps ahead of him, a young man at least half a foot taller, with brown hair in a similar style to Yamazaki's and a mask pushed down off his face and held around the back of his neck by the strap.
Peacemaker sped up as they approached a large gate leading to a separate sectioned-off area of the city, breaking into a jog. "You two wait here for a bit," he called as they passed beneath the gate, his voice slightly muffled by the mask.
"Wait, here? Wait--eeh?!" The tall man, seemingly caught quite off guard, looked rapidly back and forth between Peacemaker and Yamazaki. "Wait, Tetsu! Hey!" But the boy had already taken off down the road at a run, not glancing back once. "Tetsu..." the man sighed in resignation.
Yamazaki slouched back against the side of the gate without a word, arms still folded, and closed his eyes, settling in to wait. The two stood silently beside each other for a minute that seemed to drag on longer, the tall man gazing forlornly down the road after the boy before eventually turning to Yamazaki... and bowing very deeply.
"Hm?" Yamazaki's eyes slid open, although he kept them focused straight ahead and didn't turn towards the man. "What's this about?"
Still bowed forward, the man responded. "About what I did the day before yesterday... I am really very sorry."
"It's disturbing, hearing you address me so politely." The tall man straightened somewhat at that, although not fully. He appeared mildly dejected. "Poor kid," Yamazaki continued after a brief pause. "Everyone around him is praising him for getting over it, and his overprotective brother makes him feel like he's done something wrong. What face should he put on for you?"
The man glanced off to the side, seemingly uncomfortable with the topic. "I wasn't... all that angry."
"Nobody said you were angry."
The man's hands, hanging at his sides, clenched abruptly. "I'm really glad that Tetsu's back on his feet again. It's just..."
"You're very much against him taking up the sword, is that it? Don't worry," Yamazaki drawled. "Or rather, too bad. He's not as weak as you want him to be."
"As weak as-?!" The man took offence at that, and Yamazaki finally turned towards him, cutting him off.
"Am I wrong?"
The man closed his eyes, exhaling and composing himself, then turned away as he answered. "...No, I don't expect you to understand. A lot has gone on between my brother and me, after all."
"Don't even want to understand, honestly. But..." Yamazaki tucked his fan under his arm and extended his right hand. The man turned back towards him, surprise evident in his expression. "...While I can't understand you, I'll make peace with you. Even if it's a bit warped, he's fortunate to be loved, after all."
Silence, then, as the two of them regarded each other, Yamazaki looking bored and the other seemingly too stunned to respond. Eventually, the man managed to stammer, "...Huh? Well... but this is all so sudden..."
"Oh? Still not satisfied? I don't mind." Yamazaki's eyes suddenly acquired a devious glint. "Protracted hostilities are right up my alley."
The other man turned away and momentarily gripped his stomach in apparent discomfort, then just as quickly turned back and clasped Yamazaki's offered hand in his own.
"What are you doing?" Yamazaki deadpanned.
The man grinned nervously, a bead of sweat making its way slowly down the side of his face. "Huh...?"
"What you should be sticking out is your left cheek."
The man went completely still at that, visibly stricken, then began to laugh uneasily. "Ho ho... ha ha... that... you're the payback type, aren't you?"
"Not at all! I'd take the right cheek instead." Yamazaki's grip on the man's hand abruptly tightened just as the other attempted to pull away, and he raised his left hand in a fist, the fan that was tucked beneath his arm falling to the ground. The man flailed, desperately and unsuccessfully trying to break free of the grip as the people passing by on the street turned to cast curious stares in their direction.
"But you blocked!" he wailed.
"So? You can block, too."
"Wait! That's not... aaaah!"
Yamazaki's fist descended towards the side of the man's face... and at the last moment he unclenched it, striking the man's cheek with his flat palm. The sound of the slap reverberated around them, and the screen went dark.