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Entry tags:
ic; yeah the spirit's alive, i'm on the road coming home
( literally what's happening here thanks tori )
( literally what's happening here thanks tori )
( literally what's happening here thanks tori )
( literally what's happening here thanks tori )
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[ He laughs, taking another sip (although with Shinpachi, it's always more like a gulp) of the drink. It doesn't seem like he remembers, considering how airy and sort of dumb he's being. ]
You know I'm not that kinda guy! At least I'd ask first.. [ .. ] Probably, anyway.
[ Thanks, Shinpachi. But he gets quiet for a moment after another sip, and then Shinpachi does what Shinpachi does best - being surprisingly thoughtful out of left field. ]
Hey.. how many years has it been now? [ Not like he remembers the exact date, but he does realise just why Saitou dragged this drink out. It's not like it's close to any other important date he can remember, anyway, and Saitou did show up out of the blue in the middle of summer.. quite an entrance to boot, with that whole thing with Souji. Not something you easily forget when you're a swords nerd like Shinpachi. ] Since that day.
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[Saitou remembers the things nobody else cares to, the precise dates and anniversaries and exactly what had Hijikata in such a sour mood through any given anecdote. It doesn't bother him that he's the only one to keep track of these things, though; it's just the way he is, and the way they are.
And Shinpachi has other strengths that Saitou is far more lacking in. His ease at expressing himself, for one.]
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Has it really been such a while too since they've been gone? ]
Not another word. [ He manages to bring it lightly though - for now - and nudges his cup a little in Saitou's direction. He's probably hitting him in the arm a little with it (drunken hand-eye coordination is the worst, even slight versions of it), although it's not too hard anyway. ] You'll start to make me feel like an old man.
.. guess I'll drink to it for you though, this time. Better appreciate it. Almost like I'm growing a beard for you.
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And it takes an awful lot to get them drunk.]
It's only fitting that you should feel like an old man first.
[Saitou's not sure he does, yet, but sometimes he feels older than he's sure he ought to, and Shinpachi's got plenty of time on him. Although at that last -
The sudden change in his expression can only be explained by "trying to picture Shinpachi with a beard." It's a strange mental image.]
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[ It's nothing genuine, though. Shinpachi can't even really fake that sort of emotional reaction - he puts a slight whine in his tone as he says it, but by the time Saitou is making sure to refill the cup, he's already laughing once more. It's not like he has many moments anymore to let himself go like this like he did in the past, so he's got to treasure the ones he has.
He raises the cup up to his lips, but then just as he drinks Saitou makes that face, and.. well, he does a literal spittake. A small one, at least, but it's a thing. ]
You were imagining it, weren't you?! [ Not many things can make Saitou Hajime make that kind of expression. ]
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- okay, he totally was, but that is far from the important point here.]
Don't waste the sake.
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Like Saitou being so.. Saitou, for one. As if to prove he won't waste it, Shinpachi's already taking another sip and this time actually swallowing it rather than using it involuntarily for comedic effect. ]
It's okay, you don't have to admit it.
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[shaking his head tbh
He takes a long sip, with no spitting or wastage here, because he knows exactly how much this sake cost and therefore has the utmost respect for it. Or respect for what it's done to his wallet. Whichever.]
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Or maybe he just has a lot to think about.
Whichever he is, he seems content to just let it linger for a moment longer as they sip their sake before he speaks up again, shifting a little. ]
Ahh, it's been so hot this summer.. makes you wonder how long it's gonna last.
[ .. or maybe he just definitely did turn into an old man. ]
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[Which is obvious, of course, but - but after everything, Saitou has found himself less and less inclined to dwell on how long anything will last.
It'll all end, eventually. Perhaps when is less important than the memory of it having happened at all.]
What do you plan to do with it?
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[ It's been a little strange, after all. Not that Shinpachi isn't an independent kind of person to make his own decisions - that's exactly what he is - but.. well, he'd been with the Shinsengumi for so long, and then even fighting with the Seiheitai afterwards.. it felt like there was just always something to do ever since he started taking meals at Shieikan.
It had been odd to suddenly be left with that huge gaping void of nothing now samurai weren't really needed anymore. ]
Now stuff's a little calmer again.. travel around a little, maybe. I heard there's still some places where they actually teach kenjutsu, too. Maybe they're looking for teachers. Can't really imagine a guy like me doing anything else.
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[Look, it's a joke. Laugh with him. Except he never laughs when he jokes so maybe don't laugh with him.
But...that's really the problem with all of it, isn't it? Can't really imagine a guy like me doing anything else.
Saitou can't imagine himself doing much else, either. He built his life around the sword, around being a samurai, and now swords are banned and samurai are only a memory.
What does a man like him do now? Somehow, despite having years to think about it, he still doesn't have an answer that satisfies him.]
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Did he actually get that joke. Did he realise Saitou was joking. Who knows, but perhaps some miracles still exist, even after the miracle times of the Shinsengumi have ended. ]
Well, there's no telling, yeah? If they've gone soft in this day and age, then it's up to me to kick some spine back into them. [ Aka yes, he still has no intentions of going easy.. you can take swords away from Shinpachi, but you can't fully take that spirit out of him, apparently. ]
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[But despite the words, and despite Saitou himself...it doesn't sound like criticism.
Because it isn't. It might even be a good thing, somehow; Saitou doesn't think that he himself is made for peaceful times, but there is something gratifying in knowing that others won't go through everything they did.]
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.. at least I'll still have one hardass to drink with, then. [ Shinpachi doesn't want to focus on that aspect of it too much, so he twists it around, making it about what is still here. Even if everyone else is gone, at least it's not like either of them is sitting here drinking by himself like some pathetic loser. ]
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Or do you mean you'll still have someone to bring the drinks for you?
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[ Okay, maybe not buying the drinks necessarily, that's not what he indirectly means here. It's more just.. drinking together, being able to still sit here and talk with someone familiar. Someone who just understands. The way things were, the way things changed. The feeling of loss that the downfall of the Shinsengumi brought with itself.
He holds his empty sake cup out to Saitou again. Fill up, man. ]
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Shinpachi already knows.
He picks up the bottle and pours without a word.]
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When the cup is full, he moves it back to his lips and takes a gulp big enough to practically empty it again in one go. Once the liquor has disappeared down his throat, he lets out a loud sigh. ]