open || helping people is a way of life

[complementing]

WHO: Minako Arisato and YOU!
WHERE: All over Recollé
WHEN: All of June
WHAT: Performing tasks for Zee, and anything else she's going to do for the rest of the month
WARNINGS: None for now. Feel free to PM this journal or message me at raynestorm if you want to work out something for a prompt!

FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY
Anywhere in Recollé; any time of the month

[Minako's list of available prompts is here! I'm open to doubling up, but no more than that, please. If you're looking for an excuse to bump into her randomly instead of doing something preplanned, the Confectionary prompt would be best, since she works there!]

A PUPPY PHONE
Anywhere in Recollé; any time of the month
"Do something nice for your neighbor" for Viea Village, or "pamper someone" for Enprise

Hmm...how am I supposed to do this without ruining your Evoker?

[It's a question asked to the air. You might find Minako walking her silver Shiba Inu on the streets, looking at some Bluetooth devices on her phone's browser-- or maybe she's in the electronics store, browsing the shelves. Either way, Koromaru is patiently walking beside her, making sure his Leader doesn't trip or bang her head on something as she muses to herself.]

Maybe I should just experiment. If I break your collar beyond repair, thanks to Retrospec it'll come back brand new...probably.

[Koromaru gives an agreeing bark.]

Okay, let's do that then. [And noticing someone near her, she waves them down.] Hey there! Question for you! What brand would you recommend for a Bluetooth device?

[Or maybe you see a text message from her.]

if I wanted to give my puppy a phone in his collar, how would I go about doing that?

Comments

[complementing]

[I will never turn down a Card thread!!!

Minako blinks owlishly at him, because she's still in the middle of getting ready for the day, even though it's the early weekend, so she's in pajamas and her hair is mussed, brush in hand. Koromaru wiggles into the conversation as well, tail wagging.]

Mmn? Oh, those keys.

[She shuffles back into the apartment, gesturing for him to follow and seemingly too out of it to ask why he wants to swap out the present.]

Never found out where they went to... [A big yaaawn stifled into her hand as she hands them over.] You gonna tell me?

[compendiem]

Nope.

[ He's hoping to swap it out while she's still groggy and half-asleep so she can ask questions about it, in and out fast enough that she can go back to bed and wake up in another half hour and think it's all a dream. Forget about it for another half year. ]

Told you you weren't ready yet, and now it's too late, so I'll get you something better. Where have you been keeping them?

[complementing]

Too late?

[Even in her current state, she is able to take offense to the idea, cheeks puffing out in sleepy indignation.]

You never said there was a time limit... [But clearly unable to argue with his "rules", she gestures to a pretty lacquer jewelry box on her vanity.] In there. I tried to think of what they'd go to, every time I opened it.

[compendiem]

[ Yep, it's too late. But it's not Minako's fault, it's just the way things are; he keeps behind her as he looks to the box, making no motion to open something that holds her personal belongings, but also feeling a bit compromised that she'd keep it in a special place like that instead of just tossing it into the back of a drawer to remember when she remembers. ]

There's not that many places it could go... [ Despite being a plain key and him giving her absolutely no information about it, the possibilities are actually pretty limited. ] I gave it to you for a reason, you know? I thought that'd narrow it down a little.

[complementing]

It's not a copy of your apartment key, is it? [She rubs her eye as she sorts through her jewelry.] Because I thought it might've been, and that would've been a nice present, but then I thought that you would probably prefer that I tell you before I visit instead of dropping by unannounced, so then I thought it went to a safe, but then I thought...

[She continues on like this until she finds what she's looking for, holding it out to him.]

Well, I can live with not knowing, I guess.

[compendiem]

[ He shakes his head, taking the keys back and- instead of simply pocketing them, takes the time to affix the rings to his own set of key rings on his lanyard, letting them mix in with his other ...six... keys. He sure does have a lot. ]

Even if I had money to leave in a safe, you wouldn't get any until I die. Your first guess was closer.

[complementing]

[Minako scrunches her nose and brings her feet up to the chair to wrap her arms around them. She sets her head on top of her knees as she watches him.]

Hmmm.

[If he put them on his lanyard, he's likely using them often enough to justify having them there, right? Though sometimes people put keys they rarely use on their lanyards too...]

Something like a home, but not your place, then.

[Hadn't she just said she could live without knowing.]

Someplace...quiet. And safe.

[compendiem]

[ I had to go searching for what exactly he gave her and what I already told you lmao it's been so long but here, for reference, it's the birdhouse, birds, and keys all together. ]

Super close. Sounds like you did a lot of thinking. The birdhouse is somewhere else? That was sort of bulky.

[ Super close, but also. Too late? ]

[complementing]

[She blinks owlishly at him.]

...did you give me your keys for Jiichan and Baachan's house?

[compendiem]

[ ...He smiles a little at that. ]

And the other one?

[complementing]

[She's so surprised by the revelation and where its natural conclusion is taking her that she's speechless for a moment, completely awake now and staring with wide eyes, shoulders lifting with quiet wonder and hope.]

Our old home?

["Our" feels so sweet to say, because everything between them seems to be defined as either his or hers nowadays-- a good thing, a healthy thing, Minako doing her best to make the clear distinction, but separate all the same. This little fragment of their past is a pleasant reminder that he still treasures that part of what they had, even if he doesn't show it often. He'd been willing to part with it for her sake.

And now he needs it back, for some reason. But the knowledge is enough, and she gives him a warm, glowing smile for it.]

[compendiem]

[ The smile softens on his face, disappears and retreats to his eyes instead, and he lets that silence answer Minako's question.

It's obvious in hindsight, isn't it? Two birds under the same roof, holding an invitation to be let in. It had barely been two months since Minato moved to Recollé— he couldn't have owned very much, and with his penchant for not wanting to own too many things that he'll inevitably have to let go again, the only thing consistent to his name has been his past and his baggage.

Whatever reason that had spurred him to giving her those keys feels so jumbled now- no clear cut reason, but instead a multitude of ones. There was a little bit of running away, as was his mindset way back then: if Minako held onto those keys, he would have burned that bridge and would never be able to return home again, leaving him with the only option of marching forward. There was longing for the exact opposite- to go home, together, because from his point of view, Minako was the one who was taken away from him and that day, fifteen years ago, had torn to shreds any semblance of family and home that he had. He wanted that back, or to remake something like it.

He wanted to be with her again. He'd given her the time and the space, waiting for her to piece together the words he never spoke aloud— the house as "home," two birds meaning "together," keys for "open." The entire gift was a physical means to make that happen. Selfishly, he wanted her to figure it out for herself, telling her again and again that she wasn't ready for him to be the one to say it- him saying it would be giving up on her ability to learn how to read his silence again, and he didn't want to give up on that.

But now, it's too late.

No matter how far they get, Iwatodai does not exist. There is way to go home. No home to go back to. These keys that he'd gone to retrieve will be thrown away, and he'll have to find something else. ]

...I knew you could do it, [ he whispers, lifting a hand out of his pockets as he turns. ] I'll see you later, Minako. Bye, Koromaru.

[complementing]

[Minako still has a long way to go to regain her ability to read him well again, so she doesn't understand or sense bittersweet thoughts-- but she feels the melancholy they produce regardless. Sharper and deeper than his other moods. Like an incomplete puzzle, she tries to fit different pieces together, working through what he's said and trying to read between the lines. She thinks that he's probably missing home, and that he feels some regret about it. But the exact whys are illusive. Try as she might, nothing is slotting together, the details slightly crooked in their placement and thus ultimately still misaligned. He's still beyond her.

She doesn't force it. She pulls apart the pieces and sets them down for another day.

Before he leaves, she catches his hand in both of hers, giving him a gentle squeeze.]

I'm glad you still have faith in me.

[If she knew, maybe she would say "we can make a new home together" or "home doesn't have to be just one place". But because she doesn't know, Minako's existence declares it instead, as it always has, in her smile that says "I'm happy" and "you make me happy even if you frustrate me" and "we'll be alright one day". Maybe it wouldn't soothe him as much as the real thing, maybe it wouldn't be exactly what he wanted, but throwing away the keys doesn't change the facts that her arms have always been "open" to him, and that if he were with her they'd be "together".

Two out of three isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. For Minako, it's much better than nothing at all.]

Bye, Minato. Come by for dinner sometime soon.