We were standing on the shore

[samuraisoul]

WHO: Mitsuhide Akechi (Jūbei Nankōbō) and Motochika Chōsokabe (Hibiki Kagawa).
WHERE: Near Peach Beach.
WHEN: Today, daytime.
WHAT: Originally a not!date between two friends without partners, a recent revelation means Jūbei has something more serious and confusing to discuss. If it wasn't a dream, then what was it?
WARNINGS: Nothing yet, will add if necessary.

***

Today had originally been about creativity, a time to relax with a friend on a day that was dedicated to couples. Music and poetry! Collaborations of a kind between two creative people. Jūbei had really been looking forward to it, and spent the week peacefully doing his work while preparing for his time with Hibiki.

But then...

He'd called it a dream at first, albeit a very vivid one. Himself stood on a beach greeting a huge navy; the feeling of the wind against his face had felt very real, very strong, but hey, weren't dreams like that rarely? Then there was Hibiki, stood on the biggest boat, shamisen in hand. It hadn't been completely obvious but somehow Jūbei had known he was the commander. The image of that commander stood playing his instrument at the front of his ship, eyes closed and framed against a blue sky... Jūbei had been really happy to see him. Had run up right next to the water to call out to him. 'Lord Motochika.' A significant name to anyone who knew their Japanese history. It had helped in Jūbei's efforts to pass it all off as a dream. Maybe his mind had mixed up history and friendship, created some unusual mix of the two.

But he couldn't pass it off as a dream anymore. Not since reading the network and learning about the experiences of others in the city. It made him feel strange, uncertain, especially when one contemplated the other things happening to the populace recently.

Jūbei had to talk to Hibiki about it.

So he sat waiting in a little quiet cafe near the beach, sketchbook flat on the table and a pencil in hand. Jūbei had not drawn anything else yet; he kept glancing out of the window, waiting for his very vivid and individual friend to arrive. Jūbei himself would look very unassuming in comparison, hair bound up into a bun and wearing a simple long black coat. They were very different, weren't they? Sometime it was hard to understand just how they got along so well...

Comments

[rebelsoul]

Hibiki shows up with his shamisen case on his back and a messenger bag hanging at his hip. There is a single white anemone adorning the base of his high ponytail. When he enters the cafe, he glances around until he spots Jūbei, at which point he makes his way over. He slips into the seat next to his friend, eager to begin their maybe-date.

After the flowers he received this morning, he is learning towards it being more likely than not, though it remains a mystery as to what Jūbei's intentions are. He looks forward to finding out.

"Hello, Jūbei," he drawls warmly.

[samuraisoul]

Jūbei's gaze betrays him for just a few moments; he spots that white anemone and stares at briefly, going a little pink in the process, before running a hand down his face and smiling.

"Hello Hibiki," he says. "Windy, isn't it? I suppose this wasn't the best day for a beach trip, but it still somehow manages to be quite relaxing..."

It's not the most engaging start; Jūbei is more nervous than he could have anticpated. The hand gripping his pencil tenses, before he idly begins to sketch.

"Do you want a drink? My treat. I've had tea already but more is always welcome."

[rebelsoul]

Hibiki sees that reaction and smirks, his eyes dancing; he had strong suspicions about the identity of the sender of the flowers he received today and Jūbei's soft flush confirms them.

"I have always enjoyed watching the waves break on windy days. The sea spray is invigorating."

He leans in to see what Jūbei is sketching, unashamedly nosy.

"Certainly. What do you recommend?"

It never hurts to learn more of his friend's tastes.

[samuraisoul]

"Aside from their teas? I admit I am somewhat partial to hot chocolate... they only have the usual selections here, as you'd expect, but remind me to have you try some of the more unusual flavours I own sometime." He smiles a little. "I have quite a few, though I am careful to make sure I don't drink them too much."

Jūbei's sweet-tooth is to blame there. He ponders for a brief moment before standing up straight, all of his tension propelling him forward a bit more quickly than required.

"I'll get us both some of that instead."

He hurries away for a moment, leaving his pencil still atop the sketchbook; all that's been drawn so far is the basics of a face and shoulders, without detail. Someone who is very observant might be able to pick out the similiarity of the jaw to Hibiki's, but it's hardly obvious.

Jūbei returns without the drinks after a couple of minutes.

"They'll be here shortly... is that alright? You're probably rather cold..."

[rebelsoul]

Hibiki does not pick up on the similarity and in its unfinished state, he quickly loses interest, turning his gaze to watch Jūbei order instead.

He smiles to himself.

When Jūbei returns, that smiles only widens.

"That's fine. Recollé always feels cold in comparison to Tosa. I'm used to it."

Hibiki laughs, then says, "Oh, and I intend to take you up on that offer in the future."

[samuraisoul]

Jūbei bows his head and chuckles lightly before sliding back into his seat. Picking up his pencil again, he resumes drawing.

"A man of Tosa... that's why I assumed it was a dream." Hibiki of course can't know what he's talking about, but Jūbei is not going to take long to explain it. "Yourself as the commander of a large navy, whom I addressed at 'Lord Motochika.' One of Tosa's most beloved sons. I awoke and immediately thought that my mind was mixing history with the present..."

Flushing lightly, Jūbei draws in a few more details before he talks again. Focusing on the face, he adds spiky hair to the figure before starting on the eyes.

"Even now, I cannot see how it could be anything else, but... I don't suppose you saw the post on the network about realistic feeling dreams?"

[rebelsoul]

Hibiki listens with interest, gentle amusement in his expression.

"So you dreamed of me, did you?" he cannot resist drawling, before he addresses the part that Jūbei wished to draw attention to.

"I haven't. I'll look it up."

He pulls out his phone to scroll back and find it, glancing between Jūbei and the screen.

"The ruins of Oko castle were one of my favourite places to compose, you know. Perhaps I should learn to sail..."

Hibiki makes a quick mental note to see what classes exist here at the shore, before refocusing on the topic.

"Tell me more about your dream, Jūbei."

[samuraisoul]

Oko... it takes Jūbei a moment to remember that it was one of Chōsokabe Motochika's primary castles. So Hibiki was a man of Tosa who had played shamisen in the ruins of the Lord Jūbei had unconsciously linked him with? There were certainly going to be dreams along that line in the future.

Flush deepening, Jūbei looks down and runs a hand through his fringe, twisting a lock between his fingers when he reaches the end. With the other he continues his drawing and it's now clearly Hibiki. The eyes, mouth and nose are very familiar, but the tattoo he drew in? Not so.

"You looked like this," he says, pausing in his work for a moment. "I'll draw in the clothing in a moment, but... you played the shamisen against the sky. I called to you, thanked you for coming under Lord Motochika's name. You said you'd never let me down, and then jumped from the ship into the water. I went to approach you but hesitated at the shore's edge."

[rebelsoul]

Hibiki's eyebrows raise as he watches the drawing come together. What really strikes him is the tattoo that Jūbei illustrates — he feels a twist in his gut when it finally takes shape. He takes in a breath, unsure of why. It means something, he knows deep down. But what?

"I did, did I?" he smiles.

"So we were friends. But not close enough for you to brave the water? A shame."

[samuraisoul]

Focusing on the drawing as he is now, Jūbei doesn't notice Hibiki's expression, though he might not understand it if he did. He only glances up briefly and by then his friend is smiling.

"Actually, I did."

The drawing is moving along; the top-half of the body has been complete and now he's filling in the details. There's something almost hesitant about him when he pauses briefly before starting on the details, a kind of shyness.

"You asked me what the matter was, said my feet would just get wet. So I walked in after a moment, and by the time I stopped the water was almost up to my knees. Then... 'excellent.' That was where it ended."

[rebelsoul]

Hibiki's eyes crinkle as his smile grows at Jūbei's words. He laughs, delighted.

"Just what I like to hear."

It's a good sign that in his dreams Jūbei responds to the chemistry between them, embracing what is out of his normal comfort zone. What that hints about the present...

Glancing back at Jūbei's drawing as it progresses, he is soon smirking instead.

"I haven't seen historical clothes customised in such a bold and exciting way before. This came from your imagination?"

He asks with great interest, inspired by what his friend illustrates. Each garment is of the era, but worn in a way most definitely not depicted in art and relics of the time. It's shamelessly striking, especially working with those curling tattoos that continue to spread.

"Impressive attention to detail."

[samuraisoul]

"Ah, well... I suppose it must have."

Hibiki's response turns that slight shyness into outright flustering; his cheeks burn red just in time for their drinks to arrive. The waiter places their steaming hot chocolates onto the table with a smile, and Jūbei offers a soft one back in response before thanking him.

How is it he always gets caught at his most awkward moments? Jūbei waits for the waiter to leave them before turning his attention back to Hibiki.

"There we go! But ah, the outfit, well..." Why did he feel the need to draw in the abs, again? "It's the kind of thing you would wear if you were of the era, don't you think?"

Probably. Maybe.

[rebelsoul]

Hibiki's gaze lingers on that colour stark on Jūbei's cheeks — perhaps that answers the question of whether this is a date. Certainly it must do to their waiter.

"It is," he answers. "Thoughtful, even in your dreams."

Hibiki closes his hands around his mug, the warmth radiating through the porcelain into his palms. Yet he refrains from taking a sip until Jūbei does, to share that first taste.

[samuraisoul]

Jūbei smiles shyly, before putting his pencil down as his drawing comes to an end. It's a complete sketch now, this 'Motochika' who was in fact Hibiki adorned in his rebellious clothing with shamisen in hand.

"Can you call that thoughtful, really?" He laughs, shakes his head. "This image, conjured by an unconscious mind?"

Picking up his hot chocoalate, he takes a small sip and sighs in appreciation. It's sweet, creamy... delicious for someone with as much of a love for chocolate as him.