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[and after all that he's still realizing that oh right they went into ViViD for... other reasons that did not relate to picking up family members. right...........

so as per usual, tenka realizes way later:]

oh and are you ok?

[the orochi??? is dead??? So their plan worked? That's pretty fantastic news, he's not going to lie--

But he has noticed the exclusion of a particular ninja in this news. That won't do. He's not prone to exaggeration, but he'll bring up the truth in a way that will get Tenka to talk about it, if he has to.]

I am fine, though with no thanks to the Fuuma ninja

[Yeah he's still irritated.]

[the response to that is pretty immediate:]

???????????

????

???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE SAID HE WOULDN'T DO THAT

[...part of him wants to immediately respond with "and you believed him?"

but he's not that mean, blunt as he is, and it's obvious Tenka did. Besides, he feels an obligation to be scrupulously honest.]

his weapon did not hit me, and likely was not a threat

[but yeah he still chucked it at him]

we need to talk

that sounds ominous i don't want to

[but he knows they have to. so.......]

after soramaru gets settled

[he's

ignoring that.]

you met with him. did you do anything stupid?

[aka "are you okay?"]

[he's

also ignoring that.]

hurry up i'm making tea, yours is going to be cold if you take too long

[that's a yes oh my god tenka]

what did you do

are you injured

[sousei plz]

would i be making tea if i was injured?

[idk probably]

probably.

[he knows you pretty well...enough to refuse to back down until he gets a proper answer.]

are you injured?

i resent that. if i was injured, i'd make you make tea

[um what else would he have a partner for?]

i'm fine, sousei. stop being overprotective.

[He had already started a rant via text when he gets the second text, and for a moment, he stares down at the phone before deleting what he'd written, words along the lines of how Tenka has been known to hide injuries before, how he'd only make Sousei make the tea if he wanted him to know, how anything could happen with a ninja who is clearly still hostile, and even worse, clearly split in how he thinks about these things.

But he deletes it.

Tenka's fine, and that's what matters.]

fine. i am on my way home. [the tea won't get cold that way.]

good. also stop worrying. that's how gray hairs happen!

gray would not be a good look on you

[thanks Tenka, that's definitely something Sousei needed to hear.

except at least as promised, there's tea waiting for him by the time he gets home. Tenka manages a sigh while he's still alone, dreading this conversation. Not because he's ashamed of what he's done, not at all, but rather - how does he explain that he still wants to believe in Shirasu to Sousei? Especially when Sousei is just as firmly against the other man as ever?]

[excuse, if he was going to go grey because of you, it'd already have happened!!!!

But regardless, he leaves that alone, and does show up a few minutes later, pulling off his shoes and settling back into their home.

That is again +1. They're out of rooms now, aren't they? Huh. He's just going to go straight towards the table, because that's where he'd assume Tenka to be.]

[Ah, his partner does know him well. Tenka's sitting there and apparently Soramaru's successfully preoccupied with something else - someone else? - that Tenka's willing to have this conversation while it's still day, though it may be getting closer to evening already. He's never completely sure with ViViD.

Still, he doesn't seem completely perturbed. Though it is rather strange - Tenka sitting alone at a table rather quietly for once, his only company being the cup of tea in front of him and the other across the table. Perhaps the only indicator of just how much he is thinking about.

Except once he sees Sousei, he's just grinning.]

Yo. Welcome home.

[And Sousei does note how strange it is that Tenka's being rather quiet (and isn't hovering around Soramaru) before he simply accepts it, settling across from him and picking up that cup of tea. It tastes enough like home to be a comfort.

And this scene is growing familiar as well.

Maybe this is what they've come to now. They've exchanged lessons and childish exuberance for tea and evening discussions.]

Thank you.

[For now, he'll be quiet, and at least accept a moment's silence to unwind from the ridiculous ViViD experience.]

[That much gets Tenka to nod in acknowledgement.]

No problem.

[And he's sipping on his own tea - it tastes different from when Shirasu makes it and he shouldn't be having that thought, but there it is - before shaking his head softly.]

So we're out of rooms. This place fills up too quickly. I never thought I'd miss all the empty space that the shrine had.

[Alright. Safe and inane topics first. Seems fair.

... ... ...]

There are still unoccupied rooms on this floor. It is fine.

[...]

Living expenses will not be a worry.

[Tenka really doesn't want to talk about everything else, okay. You're going to have to pull those out of him, Sousei.

But for now he's just laughing. Of course Sousei already knows that Tenka's inevitably going to pick up more strays and will need more room. What a good partner.]

Yeah, tell me about it! And now we can actually buy ingredients for Soramaru to cook fresh instead of just ordering pre-prepared food.

[It's pretty obvious, Tenka, taking in strays is a Kumou thing.

Sousei should know better than anyone.]

That will be a relief. [Thank god they can have real food now thank god.]

[And he pauses for a moment, before his expression smooths out.]

... Tenka, you met up with him again. [...of course he did. Of course he was going to.] What happened?

[ . . . . what does it say about their relationship now that Tenka understands exactly who Sousei means by 'him'? He's quiet for a moment, because not too long ago, Tenka meeting up with Shirasu wouldn't be anything interesting at all. In fact, it'd just be another normal day in the shrine.

Though another question soon follows after: How much can he say without hurting Sousei?]

Well, obviously I'm unharmed.

[He even brings up both his hands at that and wiggles his fingers. See? All present and accounted for. Then when he drops them he just shrugs faintly.]

We talked?

He agreed not to hurt you and that he won't let any harm come to pass on my brothers.

[And Tenka trusted him.

He still don't know if it's the right thing to do.

But he's doing it.]

[There is a part of him that's surprised that Tenka bothered to get Shirasu to agree to not hurt him. Is that why the kunai was a warning instead of an attack? He wonders. But...

He sips his tea quietly, buying himself some time to think, and by the time he gently sets it down, he has his thoughts in order again. Honestly... this man makes his life so hard. But then, he accepted that when he accepted all of the responsibilities inherent in being his partner and right-hand man. If this is Tenka's decision, that's all there is to it.]

Very well then. I understand the situation.

[Sousei doesn't trust Shirasu, no. And he'll work tirelessly to make sure that Tenka and Soramaru and Chuutarou are safe. But he's not going to try to change Tenka's mind either. He laid out his facts and his thoughts already once before, and Tenka knows them--and he decided to trust Shirasu even knowing what Sousei thinks. So he has to respect that.]

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