Tatsuya folded his hands into his sleeves, frowning. He wasn't even particularly upset; not at the smith, anyway. “I trust you know to be careful with it," he said, almost tonelessly. Fortunately, he didn't need to work to exude the kind of seriousness required for the situation.
He didn't wait for the smith's response before he exited the workshop. The man was on retainer with his family; he was regularly handed nearly priceless items and expected to maintain them. Tatsuya's personal swords were among them, of course, but it had been a while since anyone had touched their father's. Mostly, none of them touched any of his things, because it wasn't determined to everyone's satisfaction who had the right.
Personally, Tatsuya thought they should just go with what the old man said and give it all to Reiko. She was the one he'd loved the most anyway. That was simply a fact. And it wasn't like any of the rest of them were in danger of being thrown out of the house if she was the one in charge. Most people probably couldn't tolerate all of them, considering the sheer diversity in their personalities and eccentricities. Tatsuya, for example, could barely stand Jirō and actively hated Daichi.
Well, whatever. Someone who cared would work it out eventually. He didn't even give a damn about the castle. Anyone who really knew him knew that there was only one thing in his life that he cared about keeping.
One person, anyway.
Exiting the smith's property through the gate, Tatsuya set himself on the path back towards town. It took him past a great deal of farmland, which mostly lay fallow at this time of year. The humans would be planting their grains in a few weeks or so. Already, laborers were working to prepare for that, clearing the snow away from the paddies and fields so that the ground could thaw under the sun and soften for tilling. More than one of them looked up as he passed, but as he preferred, none of those that knew who he was acted like it, and he reached the edge of town without incident.
"Oh, it's you," it was apparent who it was just by the sound of her voice. It was, oddly, bereft of any tone of irritation, though. She sounded almost tired, perhaps. Regardless, she glanced at him, and then seemed to drift off over his shoulder. She sighed softly, though, and seemed to return her attention to him. "You haven't, per chance, seen my brother, have you?" she spoke, pursing her lips together.
"I can't seem to find him," she continued. It shouldn't be too difficult for her to find him, considering what she was, though. "If you haven't, then if you do, will you tell him I'm looking for him?" she asked, her voice coming out rather monotonous.
“Reiko said he's working the fields for a few days, out that way." Tatsuya glanced behind his shoulder more to show her what direction he meant than from any suspicion that he'd see the bird-man when he did.
He returned his attention to her, raising an eyebrow. “What do you need him for so badly, anyway? Can't it wait until you're both home?" They lived together, for fuck's sake. Even he didn't usually go out of his way to find Reiko during the day if she wasn't around the house.
He swallowed reflexively. He could feel her through their bond, but thinking about her reminded him that he was starting to feel the edge of a thirst. It wasn't like Reiko to complain, but between himself, Kentaro, and occasionally one of the others, she was periodically slightly anemic. He tried not to feed unless it was absolutely necessary. He might have to go back to finding humans for that... but that could get messy with the damn guests who still hadn't left...
She narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips together. "What's it to you what I need him for? What I need him for is my own business, and none of yours," she spat back, the familiar irritation returning to her voice. "There was something I wanted to ask him about, if you really must know," she continued, though she still didn't specify what it was.
"I'm not asking you to go out of your way to tell him anything. I simply asked if you would if you'd see him before I did, asshole," she muttered the last part beneath her breath, folding her arms over her chest as she did.
Tatsuya went from bored to ticked off in about three seconds, but he was better at hiding it than she was. He leveled a flat look at her and shook his head. “I forgot you're only tolerable when you're drunk. I assure you that your business isn't actually interesting to me, so have no fear."
So much for ordinary conversation. Damn bitch couldn't take anything in any but the worst possible way. For fuck's sake. He rolled his eyes and moved to walk past her.
“Have fun looking."
She sighed, and released her arms. "Look, Minamoto," she began, pausing slightly. It was the first time she'd actually addressed him by a name, rather than her usual insults. "I'm trying to be civil, but it's not exactly my strong suit," she spoke, shaking her head. That was obvious, enough. "I'm just..." she paused again, narrowing her eyes at him. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head once more.
"You know what, never mind," she spoke, muttering to herself. "I don't know why I'm even bothering."
“'Not your strong suit' is a bit of an understatement," he said after a moment, pausing in his stride and glancing back over his shoulder. He didn't sigh, though he felt like it wouldn't be completely uncalled for here.
Tatsuya's pride was basically insurmountable. He knew this. He didn't apologize to anyone for any reason, especially not if he believed the other person was in the wrong. On the other hand... this woman was the old man's friend. He didn't know why that meant anything to him. It shouldn't. Tatsuya didn't owe his father a damn thing, and he sure didn't owe her anything, either. But...
His lips thinned as he pressed them into a straight line. “Look. I don't know a damn thing about you, and that's fine. But you don't know a damn thing about me, either, which means it's kind of annoying when you assume things. Like that I'm asking something because I want to be nosy or whatever. Maybe I've been around humans for too long and this is something none of you people ever did, but questions like that are the usual way of advancing a conversation, you know."
She scoffed slightly, but she didn't do anything else. "I'll agree with you there," she spoke, her back straightening out somewhat as she glanced up at him. She was fairly short, after all, so she had to look up. "I don't know a damn thing about you, and you don't know a damn thing about me. Our first encounter wasn't exactly pleasant, and..." she reeled in on herself when she paused. It looked like she was having a little bit of difficulty spitting out the next word, and she didn't seem exactly happy about what she was going to say.
"I'll admit that was my fault," she finally spoke, her eyes narrowing just slightly. "I... apologize," she spoke, though it sounded a little strained. Obviously she wasn't used to apologizing to people, but it did sound a little genuine. "You'd reminded me of him when I first saw you. It... was the reason why I acted the way I did. So," she trailed off towards the end. She was either really bad at apologizing, or she wasn't entirely sure what to say anymore.
Tatsuya glanced away for a moment. This time, he did sigh, folding his arms into his sleeves. “I get that a lot," he said. The words were easier to say than he thought they'd be. “Well... not a lot, in the sense of often, but everyone who knew him thinks the same. I'm really nothing like him at all, if you can get past the—" He drew one hand right back out again and gestured to his face.
Ugh, why was he even talking about this? He hated the subject of his father, and he wasn't interested in rehashing it. He shouldn't care whether anyone thought of them as the same. Especially not someone he barely knew.
“It doesn't matter. Apology accepted. Don't let it bother you." He wasn't sure if that was why she'd apologized or not, but if it was, he might as well at least release her from any guilt for that. It wasn't like it was her fault; she was just doing what everyone did.
“If I see the bird man, I'll tell him you're looking for him." Figuring she was probably done, he turned to leave for the second time.
She scoffed lightly, a small smirk pulling at her lips before it disappeared. "Yeah, you're nothing like him," she muttered, however; she seemed to let him leave. She turned to walk in the opposite direction of him, however; she paused. "Thanks in advance, Tatsuya," she spoke, actually referring to him by his given name. Perhaps it was her way of acknowledging his earlier statement of how he was nothing like his father. Or perhaps it was something else.
He snorted, but did not reply.
He didn't wait for the smith's response before he exited the workshop. The man was on retainer with his family; he was regularly handed nearly priceless items and expected to maintain them. Tatsuya's personal swords were among them, of course, but it had been a while since anyone had touched their father's. Mostly, none of them touched any of his things, because it wasn't determined to everyone's satisfaction who had the right.
Personally, Tatsuya thought they should just go with what the old man said and give it all to Reiko. She was the one he'd loved the most anyway. That was simply a fact. And it wasn't like any of the rest of them were in danger of being thrown out of the house if she was the one in charge. Most people probably couldn't tolerate all of them, considering the sheer diversity in their personalities and eccentricities. Tatsuya, for example, could barely stand Jirō and actively hated Daichi.
Well, whatever. Someone who cared would work it out eventually. He didn't even give a damn about the castle. Anyone who really knew him knew that there was only one thing in his life that he cared about keeping.
One person, anyway.
Exiting the smith's property through the gate, Tatsuya set himself on the path back towards town. It took him past a great deal of farmland, which mostly lay fallow at this time of year. The humans would be planting their grains in a few weeks or so. Already, laborers were working to prepare for that, clearing the snow away from the paddies and fields so that the ground could thaw under the sun and soften for tilling. More than one of them looked up as he passed, but as he preferred, none of those that knew who he was acted like it, and he reached the edge of town without incident.
"Oh, it's you," it was apparent who it was just by the sound of her voice. It was, oddly, bereft of any tone of irritation, though. She sounded almost tired, perhaps. Regardless, she glanced at him, and then seemed to drift off over his shoulder. She sighed softly, though, and seemed to return her attention to him. "You haven't, per chance, seen my brother, have you?" she spoke, pursing her lips together.
"I can't seem to find him," she continued. It shouldn't be too difficult for her to find him, considering what she was, though. "If you haven't, then if you do, will you tell him I'm looking for him?" she asked, her voice coming out rather monotonous.
“Reiko said he's working the fields for a few days, out that way." Tatsuya glanced behind his shoulder more to show her what direction he meant than from any suspicion that he'd see the bird-man when he did.
He returned his attention to her, raising an eyebrow. “What do you need him for so badly, anyway? Can't it wait until you're both home?" They lived together, for fuck's sake. Even he didn't usually go out of his way to find Reiko during the day if she wasn't around the house.
He swallowed reflexively. He could feel her through their bond, but thinking about her reminded him that he was starting to feel the edge of a thirst. It wasn't like Reiko to complain, but between himself, Kentaro, and occasionally one of the others, she was periodically slightly anemic. He tried not to feed unless it was absolutely necessary. He might have to go back to finding humans for that... but that could get messy with the damn guests who still hadn't left...
She narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips together. "What's it to you what I need him for? What I need him for is my own business, and none of yours," she spat back, the familiar irritation returning to her voice. "There was something I wanted to ask him about, if you really must know," she continued, though she still didn't specify what it was.
"I'm not asking you to go out of your way to tell him anything. I simply asked if you would if you'd see him before I did, asshole," she muttered the last part beneath her breath, folding her arms over her chest as she did.
Tatsuya went from bored to ticked off in about three seconds, but he was better at hiding it than she was. He leveled a flat look at her and shook his head. “I forgot you're only tolerable when you're drunk. I assure you that your business isn't actually interesting to me, so have no fear."
So much for ordinary conversation. Damn bitch couldn't take anything in any but the worst possible way. For fuck's sake. He rolled his eyes and moved to walk past her.
“Have fun looking."
She sighed, and released her arms. "Look, Minamoto," she began, pausing slightly. It was the first time she'd actually addressed him by a name, rather than her usual insults. "I'm trying to be civil, but it's not exactly my strong suit," she spoke, shaking her head. That was obvious, enough. "I'm just..." she paused again, narrowing her eyes at him. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head once more.
"You know what, never mind," she spoke, muttering to herself. "I don't know why I'm even bothering."
“'Not your strong suit' is a bit of an understatement," he said after a moment, pausing in his stride and glancing back over his shoulder. He didn't sigh, though he felt like it wouldn't be completely uncalled for here.
Tatsuya's pride was basically insurmountable. He knew this. He didn't apologize to anyone for any reason, especially not if he believed the other person was in the wrong. On the other hand... this woman was the old man's friend. He didn't know why that meant anything to him. It shouldn't. Tatsuya didn't owe his father a damn thing, and he sure didn't owe her anything, either. But...
His lips thinned as he pressed them into a straight line. “Look. I don't know a damn thing about you, and that's fine. But you don't know a damn thing about me, either, which means it's kind of annoying when you assume things. Like that I'm asking something because I want to be nosy or whatever. Maybe I've been around humans for too long and this is something none of you people ever did, but questions like that are the usual way of advancing a conversation, you know."
She scoffed slightly, but she didn't do anything else. "I'll agree with you there," she spoke, her back straightening out somewhat as she glanced up at him. She was fairly short, after all, so she had to look up. "I don't know a damn thing about you, and you don't know a damn thing about me. Our first encounter wasn't exactly pleasant, and..." she reeled in on herself when she paused. It looked like she was having a little bit of difficulty spitting out the next word, and she didn't seem exactly happy about what she was going to say.
"I'll admit that was my fault," she finally spoke, her eyes narrowing just slightly. "I... apologize," she spoke, though it sounded a little strained. Obviously she wasn't used to apologizing to people, but it did sound a little genuine. "You'd reminded me of him when I first saw you. It... was the reason why I acted the way I did. So," she trailed off towards the end. She was either really bad at apologizing, or she wasn't entirely sure what to say anymore.
Tatsuya glanced away for a moment. This time, he did sigh, folding his arms into his sleeves. “I get that a lot," he said. The words were easier to say than he thought they'd be. “Well... not a lot, in the sense of often, but everyone who knew him thinks the same. I'm really nothing like him at all, if you can get past the—" He drew one hand right back out again and gestured to his face.
Ugh, why was he even talking about this? He hated the subject of his father, and he wasn't interested in rehashing it. He shouldn't care whether anyone thought of them as the same. Especially not someone he barely knew.
“It doesn't matter. Apology accepted. Don't let it bother you." He wasn't sure if that was why she'd apologized or not, but if it was, he might as well at least release her from any guilt for that. It wasn't like it was her fault; she was just doing what everyone did.
“If I see the bird man, I'll tell him you're looking for him." Figuring she was probably done, he turned to leave for the second time.
She scoffed lightly, a small smirk pulling at her lips before it disappeared. "Yeah, you're nothing like him," she muttered, however; she seemed to let him leave. She turned to walk in the opposite direction of him, however; she paused. "Thanks in advance, Tatsuya," she spoke, actually referring to him by his given name. Perhaps it was her way of acknowledging his earlier statement of how he was nothing like his father. Or perhaps it was something else.
He snorted, but did not reply.