[Hm. Well. Ogata's paranoia tries to rationalize this. But Anaido just protected him, didn't he? That's what he did, for sure. It's not like Anaido needed to win him over... as far as he's aware, Ogata hadn't caught on to his scheme... Scheme... maybe he had been overreacting. Maybe it was just Beau who was plotting his downfall...
He exhales sharply to blow Anaido's hair out of his face. Anaido's on top of him. His whole weight is weighing down on Ogata. And, ah, it's just because Beau has a magic way of doing it? What a cheater. But Anaido would have let him do it otherwise, huh... Maybe he's just saying that. But any suspicion he still had is shattered when Anaido mimes drilling a hole in his head, at which point Ogata turns red and lightly flustered like a teenager being asked out by their crush.
Ah, Beau said something, didn't she? He can't remember already, but;]
You're not the boss of me, Beauregard. [Slightly breathless, though that might just be due to Anaido's big noodle body crushing his chest.]
she is vaguely upset that she kicked anaido instead, but she's more upset that anaido is now on top of ogata. also, phrasing. she just scowls so heavily.
a pause, and then she grabs anaido and tries to pull him back. stop indulging the cat man, she hates it. ]
[And he just flops back down to the bed when Beau pulls him back, grinning like a pleased fox. He giggles, making the drill sound again, which makes him giggle harder.]
[He then turns to Beau, still giggling a little.]
Beauregard sounds so fancy. Wow. Even Ogata's given name is like. A samurai. Soooooo cool.
[Ogata's arms trail after Anaido as Beau pulls him away but after a seconds pause he seems to give up and his arms flop uselessly at his sides. A cat, dejected.
Well, at least Anaido is having a good time. And Beau still seems mad. Maybe she's jealous that Anaido didn't offer to drill a hole in her head. That's probably it. Between that, and Anaido's continued laughing, Ogata starts his quiet little laugh again too.]
That's because my great grandfather was a samurai, you know.
[ that's exactly why she's mad, ogata, she wants anaido to drill a hole in her head. ogata's the true brilliant detective here.
she settles down when anaido sprawls out though. it's hard not to grin at the giggling, and it's hard to stay mad when she's high as balls, so! she doesn't laugh, but she relaxes, curling up on the bed and absently petting at anaido's hand. ]
Are samurai the firefighters, or the swords? [ beau has gotten her japanese history from galo, please excuse her ]
[Ogata shoots Beau a judgmental gaze but then it almost shifts a little to Anaido as soon as he starts talking again. Wow.... he’s not that bad is he ?? Rude!!.]
I’m not... That’s besides the point.
[But honestly.]
Warriors who fought with swords and upheld the warrior’s code. Now that it’s mostly illegal to carry a sword there aren’t really samurai around anymore.
Mmmm... When the Meiji government took over, they couldn't properly establish an army and police force if all the pro-shogunate forces they'd just defeated still had their swords. That's why they banned them. [Thanks for the history lesson, Professor Ogata. He'll easily lean into that hand, though.]
I'm fine with just my rifle. But you're already a criminal anyway, so you might as well have a sword too. [Seems to him that was the logic behind Hijikata carrying his around.]
Ogata...wow...even I don't remember that stuff that well...
[It's like he ate a history textbook. Anaido pauses to look over at Ogata in awe, rubbing a little circle over the man's cheeks.]
You know what we should do? [He furrows his eyebrows, serious as serious could be, even as he's giving Beau a little rub over her nose.] We should each get a badass sword. And then we can be criminals...that fight criminals! With SWORDS.
[In Anaido's defense, it's a lot more recent history for Ogata. Who's now just nuzzling up closer to Anaido. He really might be a cat. All that's missing is a purr.]
Do either of you even know how to use a sword? [He honestly seems more amused than anything else by this proposed idea.]
[Ogata has no interest in learing how to sword but it's fine, it's not like it's actually going to happen. But fine!! If Beau is gonna pet Anaido, Ogata will too. Or rather, he's going to stroke Anaido's head the same was he does for himself.]
... I suppose I see the appeal of your "weed" now. [He won't ADMIT he thinks this is nice too. Not directly.]
[Oh, and he's being petted by Ogata now. Perfect. He feels...warm. This is how friendship should be. This is what having people around him is like. It's all he ever dreamed of, within that hell of his, and now? He's here. And its hell no longer.]
[............Man, weed is great.]
I'm happy we're here like this. I'm just...happy I know you two. And you know me. [A light laugh. He just feels gushy, like his emotions just want to overflow like water from a cup.] Thank you for being my friends.
[It's all a very weird situation. And some muted, nigling part of his mind wants to focus on how fleeting and temporary it is. This won't last. These feelings are being influenced by their current mental states.
But it's a lot easier to ignore, for now.]
Aah, I heard. There were times where I didn't dislike her company either. [Why are they both like this, honestly.]
But I haven't done anything worth thanks... [Frowning, petting Anaido more.] You're the one that helped me. Lots of people did. Even Beauregard. I don't understand why.
it's also great to know that both of them seem to like her? wow. she knew anaido did, but ogata saying she's not so bad is insane to her. she'll take it. ]
You don't gotta understand anything. [ she hums. ] Sometimes people remind me of me in weird ways and I wanna do something for them.
Sucks to be on your own, whether you're a good person or a bad person.
[He doesn't like not understanding, though!! Forging ahead despite not understanding the situation is a great way to get taken advantage of or hurt. Even killed. That kneejerk niggling worry feels blunt and far away right now, but he feels like it'll return in full force once the drugs wear off. People just helping because they want to? Him deserving anything besides hatred and scorn? These things don't make sense. Anything he's ever gotten from others before had always been transactional. He was sure of that. Any help he got was because he'd done something useful or promised to do so in the future.]
... I'm used to being on my own. Don't forget you have Wen Ning, too. [Ogata certainly can't.]
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He exhales sharply to blow Anaido's hair out of his face. Anaido's on top of him. His whole weight is weighing down on Ogata. And, ah, it's just because Beau has a magic way of doing it? What a cheater. But Anaido would have let him do it otherwise, huh... Maybe he's just saying that. But any suspicion he still had is shattered when Anaido mimes drilling a hole in his head, at which point Ogata turns red and lightly flustered like a teenager being asked out by their crush.
Ah, Beau said something, didn't she? He can't remember already, but;]
You're not the boss of me, Beauregard.
[Slightly breathless, though that might just be due to Anaido's big noodle body crushing his chest.]
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she is vaguely upset that she kicked anaido instead, but she's more upset that anaido is now on top of ogata. also, phrasing. she just scowls so heavily.
a pause, and then she grabs anaido and tries to pull him back. stop indulging the cat man, she hates it. ]
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[And he just flops back down to the bed when Beau pulls him back, grinning like a pleased fox. He giggles, making the drill sound again, which makes him giggle harder.]
[He then turns to Beau, still giggling a little.]
Beauregard sounds so fancy. Wow. Even Ogata's given name is like. A samurai. Soooooo cool.
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Well, at least Anaido is having a good time. And Beau still seems mad. Maybe she's jealous that Anaido didn't offer to drill a hole in her head. That's probably it. Between that, and Anaido's continued laughing, Ogata starts his quiet little laugh again too.]
That's because my great grandfather was a samurai, you know.
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she settles down when anaido sprawls out though. it's hard not to grin at the giggling, and it's hard to stay mad when she's high as balls, so! she doesn't laugh, but she relaxes, curling up on the bed and absently petting at anaido's hand. ]
Are samurai the firefighters, or the swords? [ beau has gotten her japanese history from galo, please excuse her ]
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[Anaido, please. He does shoot a rather befuddled look at Beau for a good moment, before frowning.]
Beauuuu. Samurais aren't firefighters or swords. They're people.
[Firefighters are not people, apparently.]
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I’m not... That’s besides the point.
[But honestly.]
Warriors who fought with swords and upheld the warrior’s code. Now that it’s mostly illegal to carry a sword there aren’t really samurai around anymore.
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she does giggle a bit at stern and serious and grumpy though. ]
It's illegal to carry a sword around? Why? That's stupid. [ how are you supposed to be a d&d party if you can't carry swords around in public? ]
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[He reaches over to just rest his hands against both of the other's cheeks, smiling.]
I bet we all could have cool swords. The law can't stop us, haha.
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[Thanks for the history lesson, Professor Ogata. He'll easily lean into that hand, though.]
I'm fine with just my rifle. But you're already a criminal anyway, so you might as well have a sword too.
[Seems to him that was the logic behind Hijikata carrying his around.]
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I don't need a sword. [ beau huffs. this would be more intimidating if she wasn't trying to get anaido to pet her face. ]
But carrying one around would be cool I guess. Fuck the law.
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[It's like he ate a history textbook. Anaido pauses to look over at Ogata in awe, rubbing a little circle over the man's cheeks.]
You know what we should do? [He furrows his eyebrows, serious as serious could be, even as he's giving Beau a little rub over her nose.] We should each get a badass sword. And then we can be criminals...that fight criminals! With SWORDS.
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Do either of you even know how to use a sword?
[He honestly seems more amused than anything else by this proposed idea.]
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[ beau, please ] I wanna be a sword fighting criminal.
[ she sleepily watches anaido pet ogata's face, fidgeting. ]
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[so sword. much wow]
Do you know how to sword, Ogata? How to...use sword. Sword.
[Just going to keep petting the both of them! He likes his cats I mean friends.]
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[He feels like that's wrong but isn't sure how to correct it.]
No. Only officers carry sabers. So I never learned.
[Hmmm. He is very calm right now. He doesn't even waste time being smug at Beau.]
I don't know if I trust either of you with a sword.
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a pause, and then, sudden topic change: ] This feels nice, though.
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[He lets out a low sigh, an altogether pleased look on his face as he leans into Beau's pets.]
It does. I like this. I like you two so much. I could just...lay here forever.
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... I suppose I see the appeal of your "weed" now.
[He won't ADMIT he thinks this is nice too. Not directly.]
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Mm. [ her weed has done some good stuff, yes. ] I like you too, Anaido. [ ... ] Ogata's not the worst I guess.
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[Oh, and he's being petted by Ogata now. Perfect. He feels...warm. This is how friendship should be. This is what having people around him is like. It's all he ever dreamed of, within that hell of his, and now? He's here. And its hell no longer.]
[............Man, weed is great.]
I'm happy we're here like this. I'm just...happy I know you two. And you know me. [A light laugh. He just feels gushy, like his emotions just want to overflow like water from a cup.] Thank you for being my friends.
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But it's a lot easier to ignore, for now.]
Aah, I heard. There were times where I didn't dislike her company either.
[Why are they both like this, honestly.]
But I haven't done anything worth thanks... [Frowning, petting Anaido more.] You're the one that helped me. Lots of people did. Even Beauregard. I don't understand why.
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it's also great to know that both of them seem to like her? wow. she knew anaido did, but ogata saying she's not so bad is insane to her. she'll take it. ]
You don't gotta understand anything. [ she hums. ] Sometimes people remind me of me in weird ways and I wanna do something for them.
Sucks to be on your own, whether you're a good person or a bad person.
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[Aw, he's touched that Ogata and Beau are getting along for the most part. The magic of weed, indeed.]
I always longed for connections...and now I have it. I couldn't ask for anything better, with the two of you.
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... I'm used to being on my own. Don't forget you have Wen Ning, too.
[Ogata certainly can't.]
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