[ akamatsu, however, does not really remember itsuki.
it's not his fault. he was maybe two or three years old when they first met, and while he should probably remember a pretty girl carrying him around, that pretty girl used to have thick, dark hair. not like the one who hit him in the tower, who has blonde hair. and more hair. and more hair. in fact, it kinda goes on forever.
so, hopping a fence and climbing up a giant tower ended with him getting socked in the face, but it also ended with a friendship. shinji had been surprised when she said she'd never been outside--who's never been outside?--but, he'd resolved to bring her something cool from the next time he went wandering out to steal something.
it hadn't taken a full month to get to the ocean and back--it was the avoiding the castle knights (queen narumiya is, after all, ruthless when it comes to lawbreakers, and akamatsu kind of likes his head) that made him take so long. it was only when he was totally sure he wasn't going to be bringing the trouble back with him that he stops at the bottom of the tower with a basket on his hip, craning his head up.
his smile's carefree as he lifts a hand to his mouth, calling out as if he was only gone an hour-- ] Tadano-senpai, knock knock!
[ Maybe she should leave, she considers to herself in that month without Akamatsu. He would encourage that, she thinks. But the idea of going out alone, into a world she hasn't known since she was four or five years old, is scary. And she can't ask Mei-san if she can leave, even though she's been much better about her captivity than her original "guardian" was. (Which is saying something, given how Mei can be sometimes.)
Those thoughts are derailed immediately.
Perking up as she hears him call her name, Itsuki scrambles up to all fours and pulls herself up to her feet properly when she gets to the window. Her hair pools around her, cascading down her shoulders and almost off the window sill as she stares down at him with round eyes. ]
[ the ever present smile on akamatsu's face grows a little when itsuki appears. she's beautiful, that much is for sure, and she's a sight for sore eyes after so long. akamatsu liked her immediately, even after she punched the crap out of him, and he'd really enjoyed coming back to the tower to spend more time with her. this month long break has been the longest one that he's had away from the tower so far, so he's looking forward to spending time with her for the first time in ages.
he waves his hand in a wide arc, just to confirm it--and just to maybe make her smile, too, even if she's practically a mile away up in the tower. ] I told you I was going to!
[ taking a step forward, he puts his hand on the tower and knocks on it. ] Can you help me up?
It's just - [ Itsuki bites her lip, trailing off into silence, before the self conscious gesture turns into one trying to hide a smile at the way that Akamatsu waves up at her. The way he knocks on her tower. He came back, just like he said he woukd, and she shouldn't have doubted that.
So she stands up straight, looping her hair expertly like rope until she can toss one end over the hook that hangs over her window. Her hair goes cascading down, a spiral of gold that doesn't match her eyebrows at all. She remembers when her hair was dark, though not color it was exactly, but seeing this now is as familiar as anything. ]
I can help pull you up, since you have something you're carrying.
Thanks, Tadano-senpai! [ akamatsu calls back as she sends her hair down. it's a sight to see every time, and his eyes trace the fall of the golden blonde locks all the way down until it stops right at his feet. ] I'll try not to pull.
[ though he doubts she could really feel it that much, who knows? either way, the last thing he wants to do is hurt her. so with his usual, cheerful demeanor, akamatsu steps into the loop of her hair and uses it to pull himself up the tower, bit by bit. it's hard work, but it's worth it, because after fifteen minutes or so, he's on the windowsill, and the sight of itsuki is the real thing that takes his breath away.
his smile widens, lazy and warm, and he murmurs: ] Hi. [ before he swings his legs over the edge and holds out the basket he brought her. ]
It's okay! [ While she can feel the weight and the pull, it doesn't really hurt. Itsuki figures it's the magic in her hair preventing it. But she waits for him to start pulling, and then joins him, hoisting him up with his help. Between this and all the things she does in the tower, her strength an impressive thing. Not that Akamatsu didn't find that out pretty quickly when his head first poked through the window.
She doesn't take a swing at him when he does it, now, her cheeks coloring but her smile coming unrestrained now. She loops her hair around her arm and shoulder to get it off the hook and back into the tower, but her eyes are in him. ]
Hi. [ Small, shy, even as she takes the basket from him. ] What's this?
[ akamatsu does take in the way her cheeks color pink--though he often puts on an airheaded act, he's smart as smart can be--and it makes something warm and happy curl up in his chest as he looks at her. to be perfectly honest, he could sit in this windowsill all day long and just watch her, talk to her and be happy.
but, akamatsu did come with gifts. he pushes himself off of the windowsill when she finishes messing with her hair and watches her take the basket. ] I told you I'd bring you back something you'd never seen, right?
I went to the ocean. [ and sure enough, the basket is full of little trinkets from it--a bottle of sand, a flask of sea water, seashells, sea glass, and a massive conch shell. ] You didn't want to go, so I brought it to you. Cool, right?
[ Fingers dancing around the edges of the basket, Itsuki holds it to her chest and reaches to poke through it as he tells her where he'd gone to. It makes her feel a littlw guilty, and maybe sad, because she did - does - want to go, but she could never leave her tower.
... but maybe she could, if it was with Shinji. ]
You really didn't have to, Akamatsu-kun... [ She tucks some of her long hair behind an ear, before stepping into the main room proper and going to drop down onto the floor. There's seats all throughout the tower, but this way she can spread everything out. The flask gets opened when she pulls it out, so that she can breathe it in, before she secures it again, eyes bright and smile widening as she looks each shell over. ] What was it like?
Mmm... warm. [ is the word he settles on eventually, because if he closes his eyes, he can recall it easily--the warm heat of the sun on his face, the sand under his toes when he dashed past a guard holding a fairly priceless necklace in his satchel (oops.) itsuki doesn't need to know that part, though he's planning on giving it to her too, and he puts his hand on his satchel as he watches her move through the bag. ]
You can get some of it for yourself, though. [ he gestures at the conch shell, eyes twinkling a little. ] If you put that up to your ear, you can hear the ocean. Tower or no tower.
[ he'd take her there if he gave her a chance. he'd take her anywhere she wanted, if itsuki would tell him that's what she wanted to do. but if she wants to stay here, then akamatsu will do his best to bring the whole world to her. ]
[ It's not that Itsuki doesn't know that he gets into trouble - because she's not blind, she can read between the lines in his stories - but she chooses not to say anything. If he wants to tell her, he will, and she'll listen the same way she always does.
Like now. Warm. She wants to dig her toes into the sand, instead of spilling it through her fingers from a bottle. But she looks up qt him from the smaller shells, dark eyes doeish and wide before they drop down to the big shell. That's been in her books before.
So she doesn't hesitate to do it, picking it up and pressing the opening to her ear over golden hair. The waves roll in, just like that, an illusion of something miles and miles away. Seafoam and crabs scuttling across the sand, the sun, Akamatsu smiling sweetly like he always does.
[ when itsuki looks at him like that, akamatsu's heart clenches a little bit, seizing up in his chest and fluttering warmly down his ribcage. sure, he's liked girls before, but none of them have ever been like itsuki--itsuki, kind and smart and beautiful, something no treasure could ever really compare to. falling into this tower (and yes, getting punched) is another in a long series of happy accidents in the life of akamatsu shinji, but this is definitely the happiest.
...so of course, when he makes her cry, he frets a little. ] Hey--hey, Tadano-senpai, don't cry!
[ akamatsu ends up stumbling forward a little bit from where he settled down, hurrying to put both of his hands on her cheeks and cupping them, trying not to dislodge the shell too much but more concerned with keeping her happy than anything else. ] I didn't mean to upset you!
[ With a little sniff, which becomes a hiccup, Itsuki finds herself succumbing to her tears. She's always been soft-hearted, something Mei scolds her for sometimes, and she knows it, but can't help it. It's embarrassing to start crying in front of Akamatsu,who she likes so much, but... she can't stop it.
Even if his reaction startles her a little, though not because she doesn't expect it from him. He' so sweet. That's why she's crying in the first place! ]
I-it's fine! [ At first she tries to hold the shell still, but she gives up so that she can set it in her lap. It's because she wants to put her hands over his, curling against his wrists, squeezing. ] I'm not upset! I'm really happy!
[ the little touch of her small hands against his wrists sends a whole other flutter through his heart, and akamatsu can't help but thumb at her cheeks, trying to wipe away the two or three stray tears that come out of her eyes. it's relieving to hear it's happy, but still--akamatsu has literally zero idea how to deal with a crying girl.
luckily, it seems to come pretty easily, even if his big green eyes look a little distressed as he tries to clean her up. ] I wish you could've seen it with me. I'm gonna bring better stuff with me next time, and I'm not gonna make you cry.
[ a pause, and a sheepish smile. ] Hopefully.
[ he ends up tilting his head a little so their temples bump, like he can look up at her and make her stop. ]
[ Closing her eyes as Akamatsu thumbs at her cheeks like that, so she doesn't see that distress, Itsuki nods her head a little, trying to reassure him despite the fact that it's still going on. She's not outright bawling at least. There's always a brightside, somewhere.
But she sits there and listens to him, still holding onto his wrists, thumbs rubbing up and down along the backs of his hands. The contact is nice, on both counts, but she feels her heart jump into her throat as she finally does open her eyes when he pauses. The 'hopefully' makes her laugh, softly, but the bump.
That bump makes her heart flutter even more, and she turns a little so that they fit together, even if her face heats up even more. ] I want to go with you, someday. I'd probably cry a lot if I did though.
Then I guess I'll have to wipe your face a lot. [ akamatsu says in reply, his tone the same lazy, easy confidence as his smile. because he will. he'd wipe her tears every single time if he could get her smiling again.
though he is arguably the king of the happy accident, getting punched by a cute girl is probably the happiest accident that's ever happened to him.
akamatsu can feel her cheeks heat up under his hand, and it gives his heart a little flutter too: he hesitates to pull back, but when he does, it's to tuck a lock of her bright, long hair behind her ear. ] We'd have to figure out what to do with this, though.
[ A laugh gets surprised out of Itsuki at that, even if her face heats up even more, but she doesn't pull away. Instead, she drops her hands a little, enough to touch his arms instead of his hands. It's - a lot. The casual way that Akamatsu says things like that... she can't believe it. It always makes it sound like a promise.
She supposes it is, though, given the fact he comes back every time after he said he would.
But if her face wasn't already pink, it gets close to red when he tucks her hair behind her ear. There's so much of it that the gesture doesn't do much except send her heart racing. ]
[ even just her little touch lights something warm up in akamatsu, and he smiles at her, the same easy, lackadaisy look he's had since they were kids. (not that he remembers.) akamatsu has always been laid back, a go with the flow kind of guy, and if going with the flow right now is falling in love with this beautiful girl, well.
it's nice to have it flowing the way he wants it to for once. ] Well, I still like you either way.
[ he means it, too, because he likes itsuki in every way he ever could--it shows in his gestures, the fact that he moves his hand away to gently thumb at her cheek, caught up in the moment of it. ]
[ It's unfair, when he says things like that. Itsuki practically beams at him, even if her face feels like it's going to combust. Instead of pulling away, though, she curls her fingers around his wrist and rubs her thumb into the center of it, small and sweet. A little, timid version of the thumb against her cheek. ]
I'm glad you still like me after how I punched you. [ She's a little teasing, a tiny bit cheeky, but it doesn't change the butterflies in her stomach. They're certainly an interesting pair, though. Akamatsu is so laidback, doing and saying things that come to mind, letting everything else roll off him. Conversely, she always feels anxious about things, trying to deal with everything that comes her way.
Haha, I probably like you for that even more. [ akamatsu's tone is cheerful when he says that, utterly shameless too, and he laughs it off, reaching up to rub his cheek with his free hand. to be honest, itsuki's punch straight to akamatsu's face that first day was definitely well earned. he did kind of sneak in through her window. plus it hurt--she hits harder than he does!
still, with his other hand on her cheek, he feels in no danger of being socked. itsuki's gotta be like, the kindest person he's ever met in his entire life: it's one of the many things he really, really likes about her.
shinji's always been a go with the flow kind of guy. he's never really fallen in love before, so this time, it feels like he's been swept directly off his feet. it brings the smile to his face just a little wider than usual, and he leans over her with his considerable height and kisses the top of her head.
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no subject
it's not his fault. he was maybe two or three years old when they first met, and while he should probably remember a pretty girl carrying him around, that pretty girl used to have thick, dark hair. not like the one who hit him in the tower, who has blonde hair. and more hair. and more hair. in fact, it kinda goes on forever.
so, hopping a fence and climbing up a giant tower ended with him getting socked in the face, but it also ended with a friendship. shinji had been surprised when she said she'd never been outside--who's never been outside?--but, he'd resolved to bring her something cool from the next time he went wandering out to steal something.
it hadn't taken a full month to get to the ocean and back--it was the avoiding the castle knights (queen narumiya is, after all, ruthless when it comes to lawbreakers, and akamatsu kind of likes his head) that made him take so long. it was only when he was totally sure he wasn't going to be bringing the trouble back with him that he stops at the bottom of the tower with a basket on his hip, craning his head up.
his smile's carefree as he lifts a hand to his mouth, calling out as if he was only gone an hour-- ] Tadano-senpai, knock knock!
no subject
Those thoughts are derailed immediately.
Perking up as she hears him call her name, Itsuki scrambles up to all fours and pulls herself up to her feet properly when she gets to the window. Her hair pools around her, cascading down her shoulders and almost off the window sill as she stares down at him with round eyes. ]
Akamatsu-kun! You came back!
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he waves his hand in a wide arc, just to confirm it--and just to maybe make her smile, too, even if she's practically a mile away up in the tower. ] I told you I was going to!
[ taking a step forward, he puts his hand on the tower and knocks on it. ] Can you help me up?
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So she stands up straight, looping her hair expertly like rope until she can toss one end over the hook that hangs over her window. Her hair goes cascading down, a spiral of gold that doesn't match her eyebrows at all. She remembers when her hair was dark, though not color it was exactly, but seeing this now is as familiar as anything. ]
I can help pull you up, since you have something you're carrying.
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[ though he doubts she could really feel it that much, who knows? either way, the last thing he wants to do is hurt her. so with his usual, cheerful demeanor, akamatsu steps into the loop of her hair and uses it to pull himself up the tower, bit by bit. it's hard work, but it's worth it, because after fifteen minutes or so, he's on the windowsill, and the sight of itsuki is the real thing that takes his breath away.
his smile widens, lazy and warm, and he murmurs: ] Hi. [ before he swings his legs over the edge and holds out the basket he brought her. ]
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She doesn't take a swing at him when he does it, now, her cheeks coloring but her smile coming unrestrained now. She loops her hair around her arm and shoulder to get it off the hook and back into the tower, but her eyes are in him. ]
Hi. [ Small, shy, even as she takes the basket from him. ] What's this?
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but, akamatsu did come with gifts. he pushes himself off of the windowsill when she finishes messing with her hair and watches her take the basket. ] I told you I'd bring you back something you'd never seen, right?
I went to the ocean. [ and sure enough, the basket is full of little trinkets from it--a bottle of sand, a flask of sea water, seashells, sea glass, and a massive conch shell. ] You didn't want to go, so I brought it to you. Cool, right?
no subject
... but maybe she could, if it was with Shinji. ]
You really didn't have to, Akamatsu-kun... [ She tucks some of her long hair behind an ear, before stepping into the main room proper and going to drop down onto the floor. There's seats all throughout the tower, but this way she can spread everything out. The flask gets opened when she pulls it out, so that she can breathe it in, before she secures it again, eyes bright and smile widening as she looks each shell over. ] What was it like?
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You can get some of it for yourself, though. [ he gestures at the conch shell, eyes twinkling a little. ] If you put that up to your ear, you can hear the ocean. Tower or no tower.
[ he'd take her there if he gave her a chance. he'd take her anywhere she wanted, if itsuki would tell him that's what she wanted to do. but if she wants to stay here, then akamatsu will do his best to bring the whole world to her. ]
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Like now. Warm. She wants to dig her toes into the sand, instead of spilling it through her fingers from a bottle. But she looks up qt him from the smaller shells, dark eyes doeish and wide before they drop down to the big shell. That's been in her books before.
So she doesn't hesitate to do it, picking it up and pressing the opening to her ear over golden hair. The waves roll in, just like that, an illusion of something miles and miles away. Seafoam and crabs scuttling across the sand, the sun, Akamatsu smiling sweetly like he always does.
Almost immediately, her eyes get watery. ]
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...so of course, when he makes her cry, he frets a little. ] Hey--hey, Tadano-senpai, don't cry!
[ akamatsu ends up stumbling forward a little bit from where he settled down, hurrying to put both of his hands on her cheeks and cupping them, trying not to dislodge the shell too much but more concerned with keeping her happy than anything else. ] I didn't mean to upset you!
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Even if his reaction startles her a little, though not because she doesn't expect it from him. He' so sweet. That's why she's crying in the first place! ]
I-it's fine! [ At first she tries to hold the shell still, but she gives up so that she can set it in her lap. It's because she wants to put her hands over his, curling against his wrists, squeezing. ] I'm not upset! I'm really happy!
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luckily, it seems to come pretty easily, even if his big green eyes look a little distressed as he tries to clean her up. ] I wish you could've seen it with me. I'm gonna bring better stuff with me next time, and I'm not gonna make you cry.
[ a pause, and a sheepish smile. ] Hopefully.
[ he ends up tilting his head a little so their temples bump, like he can look up at her and make her stop. ]
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But she sits there and listens to him, still holding onto his wrists, thumbs rubbing up and down along the backs of his hands. The contact is nice, on both counts, but she feels her heart jump into her throat as she finally does open her eyes when he pauses. The 'hopefully' makes her laugh, softly, but the bump.
That bump makes her heart flutter even more, and she turns a little so that they fit together, even if her face heats up even more. ] I want to go with you, someday. I'd probably cry a lot if I did though.
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though he is arguably the king of the happy accident, getting punched by a cute girl is probably the happiest accident that's ever happened to him.
akamatsu can feel her cheeks heat up under his hand, and it gives his heart a little flutter too: he hesitates to pull back, but when he does, it's to tuck a lock of her bright, long hair behind her ear. ] We'd have to figure out what to do with this, though.
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She supposes it is, though, given the fact he comes back every time after he said he would.
But if her face wasn't already pink, it gets close to red when he tucks her hair behind her ear. There's so much of it that the gesture doesn't do much except send her heart racing. ]
If I could cut it all off, I would.
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it's nice to have it flowing the way he wants it to for once. ] Well, I still like you either way.
[ he means it, too, because he likes itsuki in every way he ever could--it shows in his gestures, the fact that he moves his hand away to gently thumb at her cheek, caught up in the moment of it. ]
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I'm glad you still like me after how I punched you. [ She's a little teasing, a tiny bit cheeky, but it doesn't change the butterflies in her stomach. They're certainly an interesting pair, though. Akamatsu is so laidback, doing and saying things that come to mind, letting everything else roll off him. Conversely, she always feels anxious about things, trying to deal with everything that comes her way.
But, maybe... maybe this can just happen. ]
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still, with his other hand on her cheek, he feels in no danger of being socked. itsuki's gotta be like, the kindest person he's ever met in his entire life: it's one of the many things he really, really likes about her.
shinji's always been a go with the flow kind of guy. he's never really fallen in love before, so this time, it feels like he's been swept directly off his feet. it brings the smile to his face just a little wider than usual, and he leans over her with his considerable height and kisses the top of her head.
he doesn't even flush, the cool jerk. ]