Blue's AU 2
Apr. 21st, 2020 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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log❥ SECOND
Zenitsu appraises the sheath laid on the floor before him. It's the right choice. No, it's the only choice. Well, he thinks, what about Toi?
That's not the same. The soba was delicious, but they've been spending some nights together to build up familiarity as curfew buddies. His relationship with Jin Ling is different from that—more familiar, yet distant all the same, if not more so.
More than that, Jin Ling has someone who loves and cares for him back home, so it would be remiss of Zenitsu to not return the favor of congee. And to compensate for the aforementioned difference, he'll present this sheath to Jin Ling. Because, surely, Jin Ling's uncle is waiting anxiously for his nephew.
What about him? he asks himself. Well, the answer to that question is simple. He's the coward here who wants nothing more than to cling to life. If a monster were to come after him in the dead of night, he'd definitely spew as many reasons as he could as to why he and everyone else would be ill-suited as victims (e.g., they all taste terrible, probably). But he'll die right there if the monster decides to ignore him, and that's a high possibility he won't ignore, either.
There's no point in keeping an item that'll preserve his life for two more seconds. His best defense is the luck of the draw—or, in a matter of speaking, not being drawn at all. He'll just have to pray that he continues to be lucky, and that something changes in the coming weeks to keep everyone safe.
But right now, he's kind of angry. That anger is perhaps the only thing keeping his hands from trembling as he considers parting with an item that might save his life in the future. The reason is also simple: After all the satisfaction with the break-in, Phoenix died and Zenitsu is still his cowardly self while Toi's fingers were burned in spite of their rooming in the same tower.
He isn't in the mood to talk, so he'll just check in with Jin Ling, drop the sheath off, and go.
Strangely, some of that tension drains from his body when he finds Jin Ling at the kitchen. Prickly as always, this one. Zenitsu finds that burning fire familiar and more than a little comforting.
"Why are you doing this? There’s other people you could have given this to," says Jin Ling.
"I wanted to give it to you. That's all," replies Zenitsu.
Because Jin Ling is a good guy. For all his tantrums and attitude, being caustic is his way of showing that he cares. It's certainly not the best way to go about showing it, but an uncaring person wouldn't get so riled up about the things that transpire during trials. More importantly, he didn't have to make that bowl of congee or heat up the dumplings for Zenitsu that evening, yet he did. They even ate together when Jin Ling wasn't hungry.
As he returns to the sapphire room, Zenitsu recalls how he used to beg people not to leave him behind. Crying and whining like that after making a disappointment out of himself, why wouldn't they leave? The only reason he remembers those moments now is because of something that Jin Ling told him that day by the duck pond: "Both of them should be saved, stupid. How are you going to decide which person gets the antidote? Both of them are cursed!"
No matter what, Jin Ling wouldn't leave anyone behind. Regardless of how much they've argued or hit each other in the past (no, that was all Jin Ling), the fact remains that Jin Ling remembered and approached Zenitsu that day after the trial where the duck happened.
He walks up the stairs in a thoughtful daze. Jin Ling tried to give the sheath back, saying that a coward like he would need it more. Jin Ling was worried. That means, even when Toi elects not to sleep in the sapphire room on particularly stuffy days, he won't be alone.
Zenitsu appraises the sheath laid on the floor before him. It's the right choice. No, it's the only choice. Well, he thinks, what about Toi?
That's not the same. The soba was delicious, but they've been spending some nights together to build up familiarity as curfew buddies. His relationship with Jin Ling is different from that—more familiar, yet distant all the same, if not more so.
More than that, Jin Ling has someone who loves and cares for him back home, so it would be remiss of Zenitsu to not return the favor of congee. And to compensate for the aforementioned difference, he'll present this sheath to Jin Ling. Because, surely, Jin Ling's uncle is waiting anxiously for his nephew.
What about him? he asks himself. Well, the answer to that question is simple. He's the coward here who wants nothing more than to cling to life. If a monster were to come after him in the dead of night, he'd definitely spew as many reasons as he could as to why he and everyone else would be ill-suited as victims (e.g., they all taste terrible, probably). But he'll die right there if the monster decides to ignore him, and that's a high possibility he won't ignore, either.
There's no point in keeping an item that'll preserve his life for two more seconds. His best defense is the luck of the draw—or, in a matter of speaking, not being drawn at all. He'll just have to pray that he continues to be lucky, and that something changes in the coming weeks to keep everyone safe.
But right now, he's kind of angry. That anger is perhaps the only thing keeping his hands from trembling as he considers parting with an item that might save his life in the future. The reason is also simple: After all the satisfaction with the break-in, Phoenix died and Zenitsu is still his cowardly self while Toi's fingers were burned in spite of their rooming in the same tower.
He isn't in the mood to talk, so he'll just check in with Jin Ling, drop the sheath off, and go.
Strangely, some of that tension drains from his body when he finds Jin Ling at the kitchen. Prickly as always, this one. Zenitsu finds that burning fire familiar and more than a little comforting.
"Why are you doing this? There’s other people you could have given this to," says Jin Ling.
"I wanted to give it to you. That's all," replies Zenitsu.
Because Jin Ling is a good guy. For all his tantrums and attitude, being caustic is his way of showing that he cares. It's certainly not the best way to go about showing it, but an uncaring person wouldn't get so riled up about the things that transpire during trials. More importantly, he didn't have to make that bowl of congee or heat up the dumplings for Zenitsu that evening, yet he did. They even ate together when Jin Ling wasn't hungry.
As he returns to the sapphire room, Zenitsu recalls how he used to beg people not to leave him behind. Crying and whining like that after making a disappointment out of himself, why wouldn't they leave? The only reason he remembers those moments now is because of something that Jin Ling told him that day by the duck pond: "Both of them should be saved, stupid. How are you going to decide which person gets the antidote? Both of them are cursed!"
No matter what, Jin Ling wouldn't leave anyone behind. Regardless of how much they've argued or hit each other in the past (no, that was all Jin Ling), the fact remains that Jin Ling remembered and approached Zenitsu that day after the trial where the duck happened.
He walks up the stairs in a thoughtful daze. Jin Ling tried to give the sheath back, saying that a coward like he would need it more. Jin Ling was worried. That means, even when Toi elects not to sleep in the sapphire room on particularly stuffy days, he won't be alone.