lumberlady | Prismatica IC Contact

[Konoha is never one to ignore food when it's in front of her, but things are getting serious enough that she pauses in her decimation of the red bean soup, holding the warm bowl between her front knees and humming along, eyes slipping closed and smile turning up a little bit in the corners.

Like she knows.

And maybe she does. After all... What he's saying sounds pretty similar to her own experiences. Kanji had surely noticed that between Konoha and Gonta, one of them was definitely not a talker, and one of them definitely had to do the getting]

Mmm, I understand.

[She gets what Kanji means, as well. Until he shows off the ring, that is, and says Naoto put hers on, too.

She almost upsets the zenzai all over her forelegs in surprise, scrambling to hold the bowl properly as she leaps straight to conclusions using her very rudimentary and lacking knowledge of future human ring traditions.]

Wait- Does that mean you're Lunatian-style married?

[Maybe not by their world's standards, but, by this one's??!]

[He was mid-bite and nearly inhaled the dumpling with the question. Eyes wide as saucers, he had to wonder:]

H-huh!? L-lunatian-style married!? ...I-is there a Lunatia style!?

[Oh no. Oh shit. He needed to look this up somehow and get to the bottom of it. He hurriedly scooped the rest of the zenzai into his mouth before he went for his tablet.]

There's gotta be a law or rule or somethin' about prismal m-marriage or whatever, right!?

W- Wouldn't there be? People have to get married some way here...

[She's seen plenty of couples and families, and sure the families in particular were a punch in the gut ever since she'd found out she wouldn't be allowed children as long as she was in this place, but-]

Maybe you're just Lunatian-style engaged? With the rings and all?

[He'd said "proposal", so the idea is still in her head. Maybe his tablet has the answers???]

[To his building stress, he found nothing about marriage customs. Nada. Zip. Either it was omitted because it wouldn't matter to the Moonblessed, or there weren't really any sort of custom of the sort because everybody basically just fucked everybody.

He sighed and lowered the tablet.]

Shit... S-so... uhm... m-maybe I should talk about this with her more. The plan was to kinda 'put a pin in it' until we had a way to get home and we meet our families n' all.

[He sat up straighter.]

A-AND THIS STAYS BETWEEN US! Please? I don't- I don't wanna screw this up somehow by makin' a huge deal out of stuff when even I don't really know what anything means in this place!

Maybe that would be best...

[After all, as embarrassing as such straight talk could be, Konoha knew that sometimes that was what you had to do to get answers! And communication was key in relationships!]

When it's important, I even make Gonta talk about it...

[And as Kanji knew... Gonta was notoriously tight-lipped.

But at his request she can't help but stiffen up straighter as well, raising a hand to wave away the idea that she'd ever contribute to a romantic screw up. ... Even though she definitely has in the past.]

O- Of course! I won't tell a soul... Or- Can I tell Gonta? I talk to him every day it's hard not to say stuff, but I won't tell Miss Naoto, though, promise! Pinky promise!

[And there it goes, her pinky held out towards him for a seal on that promise.]

[...She... okay, she could. It'd be okay.]

I mean, if ya wanna tell Gonta, I won't be mad about it. J-just not to Naoto! I do wanna talk to her about everything.

I jus' don't want stuff like Valentine's Day to get weird or nothin'.

[With a firm jaw set, he offered his own pinky and linked it with hers. Pinky promises were legit, and nobody could tell him otherwise.]

Definitely not Miss Naoto!

[Pinky promises were indeed quite sacred, and Konoha's expression is serious when their pinkies link and she shakes his hand lightly.

Now that just left one more thing...]

But... what's Valentine's Day?

O-oh! Valentine's Day's a big romance holiday. In some countries people send flowers to their girlfriends or wives or they go on these big fancy dates together.

For my country, we get two days: Girls give giri choco to their co-workers, people they know that they don't have romantic feelings for. For the person they like, they make a fancier, sometimes made-by-hand honmei choco.

Then on White Day, a month later, the guys whip up an answer for 'em: We give white chocolate, marshmallows and cookies or whatever for the girls, but gotta give somethin' fancier in return than what we got.

...At least, that's what I know. Hell, I didn't learn much until pretty well into school since I figured people were just obsessed with candy for a day!

[He sighed, rubbed the back of his head.]

I, uh... never got chocolate on Valentine's. I figured it was because nobody knew I liked candy, lookin' like this.

A romance holiday...

[The idea is repeated a bit dumbly as Konoha just stares back at him, listening to the explanation of this strange festival day. She was used to the idea of praying for enmusubi, and certain rituals for matchmaking but a whole holiday for romance? Big fancy... "dates". (She knew what dates were now! Basically.) Sending flowers... no chocolate?

There's a second where she looks... a little queasy. Chocolate... and jinba guts didn't go so well together.

She can kind of see how people might not think Kanji liked sweet things, what with how tough a first impression his looks gave off... But, oh, no, what if he felt bad about it...]

Well... I won't get any either, don't worry! Gonta definitely doesn't know about Valentime's Days...

[... Wait, did that help or did it sound sad?]

[Uh oh. He may have made a monster. But that's okay. What the hell's wrong with being lovey-dovey?]

I mean, I could let 'im know. A little nudge-nudge, right?

[He smiled.]

Naoto ain't into chocolates, at least. She had tons of fans in school who gave her loads of presents... ain't much of a candy type.

So I got this idea of... of usin' Chroma. As we know uh... p-pretty well... Chroma makes stuff grow like crazy. My new dragon form pretty much gives off massive waves of it! So what if I planted a bunch of seeds, hang out with 'em on full moon nights, and make 'em grow real huge?

Then it's a unique ton of flowers, just for her! I-I dunno if she likes flowers, but she's definitely more into what a gift means more than anything else. She's... she's like me that way.

[It sounded rather nice, actually... And if Gonta knew about the holiday then... maybe he would want to do something for it? Go on a "date", or do something special... Konoha's brain kicks into overdrive contemplating if it was proper or right to do such a thing, but in the end...]

Oh, no, it's... That's fine... If I asked you to tell him I'd look pretty selfish, I think...

[A good wife is content with what she gets! It's a cute holiday, but what if he felt obligated to do something? What if it just came off that she wanted a present?

Kanji has come up with such a creative idea all on his own, though? Konoha can't help the romantic look that suffuses her expression, the way her fingers knit together as she clasps her hands over her heart. She's too taken by the concept to even blush much over the fact that the both of them knew very well what chroma did to plants.]

Your idea is really nice, though... It's so sweet, any woman would love it! Even if they didn't like flowers, if you put all that effort into it...

[Confused, he shrugged.]

Er... I mean, if ya say so? You could always just ask him to make himself available on that day. Then do some stuff with him you've always wanted but never tried before.

[He smiled.]

Y-yeah...? That's cool. I figure, if I'm ever stumped, I go with somethin' that I think I'd like if I were her.

But... didn't you say the man was supposed to do the inviting?

[So she may have gotten a bit confused on which holiday was supposed to be lead by which gender, in between Lunatian traditions and the one's he said came from his country. Stuff she'd always wanted but never tried before... ? That blush she hadn't been able to muster before springs up, better(?) late than never, trying to think of what kind of thing that could be while answering him at the same time.]

That's really smart... Because even if you mess up and pick something they don't love, then maybe they'll at least be happy because you're happy...

[And if it's one thing she's learned since her marriage... it's that she cared far more about someone else's happiness than her own.]

Well yeah, but a bunch'a different countries do it different. I say, if jinba don't do it... make it "Jinba Style"! Start a new thing you'll take home with the big guy.

[He nodded.]

Yeah... I mean, even if the flowers aren't huge, she's always into 'warm n' cozy'. We could read together and I'll bake cookies or somethin'.

[It does sound kind of nice, a "jinba style" that they could take home with them... But it reminds Konoha suddenly of the talk she'd had with that doctor, the one who claimed they surely wouldn't be able to remember their time here once they returned home.

And she'll do anything but dwell on that.]

I don't know, I can't imagine what I'd do if Gonta did something so grand like that... I'd probably just faint or something awfully embarrassing...

[Though the pink cheeks nestled in her hands were already showing that...]

Miss Naoto is really lucky... Kanji even bakes... is that normal in the future Japan? I don't know any man who does much cooking...

[He laughed at that. Konoha wasn't a small lady by any means, and imaging a rather towering woman plopping to the floor from a case of the 'schmoop' was truly something else.]

I wouldn't say embarrassing. That's more than enough to fill a guy with pride.

[Oof. Ahhh... hmm.]

About that... uh, nah, it ain't too different. I'm treated pretty weird for what I like to do. It took me years to start gettin' over what other people thought, though. I was... so angry. I got into a lotta fights.

Sometimes it still bugs me, but I'm better about it. I cook because I enjoy it. It helps my mom take a load off, and Naoto enjoys comin' home to dinner. Oh, but she insists we take turns.

What, a man would like that kind of thing? Making girls faint?

[She's mostly spent time around men, especially since she started work on the lumber yard, but... admittedly, she's aware that they probably were doing some censoring of some of the more crude talk around her since she'd been made foreman. Maybe men did talk about things like that?

It reminds her belatedly of something Gonta had once said about taking pride in causing a rather involuntary reaction from her in a... particularly intimate moment, though, and she rests a cheek in her hand a moment with a mumble to herself. Oh.]

I guess future Japan hasn't changed that part much... But I think it's nice! If you all have time to do things besides just working, then it's normal to want a man to do more at home, right?

[If he wasn't the sole breadwinner out making the money... Why not?]

If I wasn't here, Gonta would probably live off jerky and raw vegetables...

[That was gonna be its own, separate conversation someday, one he hadn't really dreamed of having: How different and yet unchanged Japan had become in both their lifetimes. But Kanji chose to shelve it for now.]

Stronger man than I... jerky n' veggies are nice, but I gotta hand it to noodles n' dumplings. I guess I burn through carbs like nobody's business.

[So he polished off his bowl.]

But... thanks for hearin' me out. Puts my mind at ease a little.

[Noodles and dumplings definitely were nice... But they required a lot more preparation, and... gosh, that would be difficult once they got to the mountains, wouldn't it?

Well- It's a tough life she'd signed up for.

And until then, she was here instead, and Kanji was a good friend who not only liked her food... but also was finding happiness (and maybe marriage???) himself, so. She smiles, taking the bowl back with a little laugh.]

Any time! I don't know if it's helpful but... You can always talk to me about love!

[Konoha loves love!]

[He brightened up.]

You're the right person to talk to about it, Konoha. Ya pretty much glow with it, y'know?

[He ran his fingers through his hair.]

Sorry to pop in without much warning, though. When you n' Gonta decided to get married, how'd that go?

Me? No...

[Even as she dismisses the idea, at the comment she can’t help the hand that rises to her cheek as if she could somehow feel or contain the glow she was apparently (most definitely) giving off, smile widening and forelegs rubbing together in betrayal of her excitement.]

I didn’t um, actually think I was going to propose... because I didn’t think Gonta would be happy staying in my village. He only came down from the mountains because his nephew was so young and he said he wanted to see the human villages, but I could tell Gonta probably wanted to go back... and I didn’t want to keep him but make him unhappy...

[The memory of how torn she’d felt in those months does sober her expression a bit, but-]

When he arrived here he said we were married, though! That I, um... I guess my family encouraged me to go when he said he was leaving, and so I asked him to take me with him... and, um...

[The more sober expression melts into red-cheeked embarrassment, tail swishing under her skirt.]

I took off my skirt? Which is so dramatic I can’t believe I did that... But I must have cause Gonta wouldn’t lie about something that weird...

[He laughed.]

It's symbolism! Ya took off the skirt because Gonta ain't the guy to wear pants, showin' that you were okay goin' commando!

'Course, it's drafty... so I'm sure you two'll go on to put together warm stuff for livin' up in the mountains. Last thing anybody needs is to freeze their ass off.

Guess it's nice that the weather ain't bad here. I mean, outside the shield not counting...

[It's almost comical how Konoha reacts to that, pointing first at Kanji, then back at herself a few times, nodding frantically.]

That's it! That's why!

[Most people took that story to mean something perverse, but Kanji got it! She was just trying to prove that she could be like a mountain jinba, and be free! Way to go, Kanji!!]

Gonta said that mountain jinba don't wear anything on their rumps, so I was just trying to- You know- Show that I could be a woman of the mountains if he gave me a chance!

[Finally... someone got it...]

Heh... if he wasn't proud of that, then I dunno what would make him! Ya hear all these stories about, y'know, changing for your spouse or whatever... but that right there's a friggin compromise!

Y'gotta meet in the middle with your special somebody. It's give n' take. It's awesome that ya did that, Konoha.

[He sat back.]

Naoto's... pretty world-renowned. Her family's a long line of famous detectives. If the cops can't solve the case, the Shirogane do. So the way I see it, settlin' down in the country and callin' it like that wouldn't work for her.

I'd just be trapping her.

[He smiled sadly, but it didn't last long. It brightened soon enough.]

So the way I see it, she'll be in n' outta the country whenever there's trouble. She could be away for weeks, months at a time. But when we have technology like Prismatica does, ways to talk over distances n' see each other, I figure it'll be okay.

Or...

[Shyly, he ruffled his hair.]

...Well, outside of here, I ain't ever really left home before. My secret plan's maybe flyin' out to surprise her, or goin' with her to cheer her on from whatever HQ happens to be.

So it's like that: You always gotta meet in the middle. I don't get why people don't get that in stories... but I guess that's why they're all stories, and not real life.

[Oh... He thinks it's awesome? Konoha sits back on her haunches (well, lays back, biology) and beams a little bit to herself. She hadn't had any time in her own world to see what people thought about her confession or her marriage, so... it's kind of nice to know she wasn't completely crazy.

Having heard a little bit about Naoto from the lady herself over Firialia, Konoha is a bit more equipped to follow Kanji's story, listening patiently- and happy to see what she was afraid would be a sad look change to a brighter smile.]

Ehe, she definitely did seem more active...

["Active" is the word she's going for, not having encountered ladies of that persuasion so much in her own world. Even Sha Gozen didn't travel to different provinces or anything like that... But this was future Japan they were talking about!]

But Kanji is really good at house things, so it's still a good match!

[That's why it worked! Someone had to do it, and sure, in her experience it was usually women, but... she's learned a lot of things since leaving her village, and to say her world view had expended was an understatement.

It's compromise!]

I don't think I'd be able to stand weeks at a time apart... You're really strong, Kanji!

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