hotel: jiji

[shaft]

Comments

week 0, saturday

[shaft]

[ Where is grandpa! Claude will look for him, concerned wherever he stumbles across him. ]

Hey. You get patched up?

[unsaid]

[he's in the courtyard, at the tea service. he's so reliable. his face is still bandaged, hilariously.]

Indeed, indeed. I have been fussed over very well.

[shaft]

[ He'll take a seat, taking a look after he answers as if to verify it for himself.

Then he nods. ]

Good. Nice to see that you have so many caretakers here.

[unsaid]

Ha ha ha, I would not go so far as to say that, even though I do like being taken care of.

[shitty old man hours,]

And how do you feel after that ordeal, Claude?

[shaft]

[ grins a little because relatable

though it doesn't last long ]

Terrible, I think. About both Flayn and Sieghart.

[unsaid]

[nodding]

... lingering on the way the heart aches is uncomfortable, for all individuals, I imagine.

But I shall ask once regardless. Do you wish to speak more on it?

[shaft]

Do you think that would help?

[unsaid]

That would depend.

Primarily on how dearly you believe you ought carry it alone.

[shaft]

Well I do believe in delegation...

But denial also has a certain appeal.

[unsaid]

Naturally it does.

Would this too fall under your belief that it is better to say less, rather than be dishonest?

[shaft]

Perhaps.

It's a heavy thing, to burden someone with your feelings.

[unsaid]

Ha ha ha... So it is, so it is.

... but I will worry after everyone, regardless of whether they choose to share their thoughts with me or not. And that shall include you.

[shaft]

Do you enjoy it?

[unsaid]

[thoughtfully]

... I enjoy people.

In every way that they are - even if I, too, wish for less suffering upon the whole.

[shaft]

[ he looks interested ]

What do you enjoy about them?

[unsaid]

Their compassion, their strength, their hope. How they shape the course of history.

[ . . . ]

And that which might at first appear ugly. [gentle amusement] Fear, upset, greed. How their truth is at times so hard to discern.

[shaft]

[ His expression softens. ]

Good answer.

[unsaid]

Fufu... Am I facing your evaluation, Claude?

[shaft]

Hmm, would my assessment mean anything to you, if you were?

[unsaid]

[that's a good question. mikazuki looks thoughtful, as if trying to decide on the spot.]

... I am afraid I shall always be as I am, and so I wonder if I could truly take into account any criticism you may have for me.

But as a friend... I think I shall always be curious to know what your thoughts are.

[shaft]

[ He just smiles. ]

I'm not assessing you. I said it was a good answer because it made me reflect on some of my own choices in ways I haven't before.

[unsaid]

Is that so? May I ask how?

[shaft]

[ He nods, not minding the question. ]

The country where I was born has... some problems. I wanted for a long time to build something better, but thinking about how people deserve better never really factored into it.

At least, I never thought about people the way you just described.

[unsaid]

Ha ha ha...

Then I wonder if there shall be anything more that I could hope for in this hotel.

[he's joking but also kind of not. he does sound somewhat pleased.]

[shaft]

[ ? ]

What do you mean?