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voicemail.
[Following the "record your voicemail at the beep" message--]
What? Who gave you the right to order me around? -- W-Wait, was that the beep?
I wasn't prepared--!! [a whispered hiss:] How do you get this thing to stop-?!
[Beep!
You know the drill! IC Inbox for voice/video/action threads for whatever occasion.]
What? Who gave you the right to order me around? -- W-Wait, was that the beep?
I wasn't prepared--!! [a whispered hiss:] How do you get this thing to stop-?!
[Beep!
You know the drill! IC Inbox for voice/video/action threads for whatever occasion.]
voice! for the event!
because the flashbacks every time he touches something warm is FUN, like the one thing he wants to do while in Cerealia is think of all the things that honestly... don't make him feel too good! and he's still checking on all the Shinsengumis he knows.
there's still one more person he should probably check on, right? Shinsengumi or not, here Hijikata is, trying his best. ]
Hey, you. Are you there?
[ HIS BEST. . . please pick up Lili. ]
no subject
(And so many people are also exhausting but it's fine, she's fine.)]
I am...
Do you need something?
[She doesn't understand why he's calling as if she hasn't been dead for three days.]
no subject
Hijikata actually can't help but let out a sigh of relief. SHE LIVES. SHE SPEAKS.
Lili is going to get the most elegant, sophisticated, and CHARMING question ever. ]
Where the hell have you been?
[ Yes. ]
no subject
There's a long silence because she doesn't know how to say "dead" over the phone.
So she'll ask a different question.]
Is your house noisy right now? Are there a lot of people there?
no subject
thankfully, Hijikata knows how to read the atmosphere when he needs to. ]
No, everyone's out.
[ he's just... doing work. so just him and the dog. being in flashback land, he really felt the need to talk to someone and Lili did say she can listen, which is why he's calling her in the first place... but maybe he won't. it'll be fine. he'll extend an invitation, nonetheless. ]
Need to come over?
no subject
[There's already the sound of rustling as she's gathering her things to go visit, rather glad that the house is mostly vacated. She can't really handle so many loud people existing in the same area, even though she understands that others revel in it. It's why her visits to swordhaus are often spent with the same people....
Oh, but she belatedly realizes that her response can be seen as a little concerning, so she adds:]
I'm fine, for the record.
[Probably.]
no subject
[ YEAH LILI THAT DOES SOUND CONCERNING, and Hijikata doesn't want to believe she's 100% fine until he actually sees her... but first, Hijikata might distance the CEREVice away from his face... and Lili might hear some muffled 'what the hell is that', 'get away!', 'shoo shoo!'. and other annoyed noises... grumbling... sighing...
is he talking to Ume or that weird-ass fox?
AHEM.
back to phone. ]
Well, you know where I am and the door is open.
[ well, he'll make tea like the proper samurai he is since company is coming over. also because he's an idiot that hasn't learned from the other tea cups he accidentally ruined by dropping them on the ground.
so yeah, that might happen in the meantime.
Hijikata. sometimes a dumbass. ]
no subject
Regardless, Lili makes it over there! Only after she's made sure she's presentable though, since she's been dealing with nightmares lately.... it's still a little apparent on her face that she's tired, but she's pushing herself forward anyway! Customarily, she knocks before just opening the door - just to be polite.
Then she's slipping off her slippers and announcing herself.]
Hello, I'm here...!
Ume, are you home?
[dog is important]
I CANT BELIEVE LILI SAID HI TO UME BUT NOT HIJIKATA IM OFFENDED!!!!
nonetheless... Ume is a good puppy that responds to her name, so naturally she'll trot happily over to Lili and try to jump on her!! she wants to lick her face and greet her. cute, fuzzy puppies are good therapy to people having nightmares, right?
meanwhile, Hijikata is being stubborn with the tea. you know, after like a few accidents you might think there's something up. but no, he's stubborn. whatever, he'll be dumping tea cup shards into the trashcan and walk out of the kitchen. ]
Hey! No jumping!
[ sorry Ume.
but you bet your ass he'll notice h ow tired she is. Hijikata does all nighters ALMOST everyday. he knows. ]
. . . You said you were fine, but you don't look like it.
WERE YOU ACTUALLY EXPECTING OTHERWISE
More healing than Hijikata pointing out how tired she is.
Whoops.
A look up at him, even as her arms wrap around Ume in a hug, and an almost wry glance.]
... It's been an eventful past few days.
[Sort of.
At least ever since she's gotten breath in her lungs again.]
UHM!!!!!!! YES??????? :knife:
SIGH... he just rubs the back of his neck. mostly because he wants to say how he's been trying to contact everyone but he hasn't been getting anything back? he honestly just want his comrades to talk to him. is he that hard to approach (YES YOU ARE, HIJIKATA)? it's... well, stressful?
but if he throws a fit in front of a 17 year old girl... he'd look like a fool.
and now he'll run a hand through his bangs. time to focus at the problem at hand. ]
Well, you said it wasn't something to tell over the phone, so sit down in the main room at least.
[ MEANWHILE... since Hijikata can't drink tea because that requires touching a hot tea cup he's going to light his kiseru pipe! he uses the stove for the fire to light it since he hasn't been lighting candles. thankfully, smoke is not something you can physically touch so he is FREE from anymore dumb memories (#cheater). he doesn't even hesitate to take in long drags and exhale a lot of smoke... sorry Lili. ]
hahahahahahhHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH naive
However, preoccupied as she is, she doesn't notice a wispy, unhappy goat appearing right in her wake. Its hooves touch the ground in curiosity, then in irritation. Given the new environment, it then moves in exploration and Lili doesn't even notice. Perhaps in another moment, but for right now the goat is irritated by the amount of smoke in the air. It's dark, it's annoying!
So in a very Lili-esque move, it will actually agitated headbutt into Hijikata's leg.
Oops.
At the same time, Lili blinks as she feels something shift.
(She's forgotten how to get to work.)]
ANYWAy how dare you,
but once seeing that memory, Hijikata pauses for a moment - the pipe a few centimeters away from his lips. actually, not just for a moment. he just stands there, almost a bit too still even for someone like Hijikata.
these images were almost too vivid, but what threw him off the most was that he doesn't even know what this is. where was this place? why was there so much water? this isn't his but... Lili's - right?
that was almost uncomfortable to watch. being a samurai, he always accept death, especially on the battlefield but... it was almost so vivid and unexpected it made his stomach churn just a bit.
weird. he shouldn't feel like that. ]
The hell was that...
[ is all he can mutter once he snaps out of it, meanwhile placing the pipe onto the counter. yeah, he's definitely going to walk straight over to Lili and grab whatever fabric of her outfit that he can grasp.
his eyebrows furrowed, his voice sounds threatening now because he's GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF ... Something..? ]
I want you to tell me what happened. Now.
[ THIS IS The Voice HE USES ON SOUJI, IT BETTER WORK. ]
points!! i bring the pain
Hijikata grabbing onto her fabric of her clothes probably is what keeps her upright in the first place as she stumbles, her gaze swimming as she's trying to regain an understanding of - the world, the ground, her sense of balance. There's just enough part of her to realize that she shouldn't hold Ume when she feels sick so she's going to deposit the puppy on the ground even as she tries to lift her head to see Hijikata.
What happened?
What is he talking about? There's a pause in her words, but she supposes that there is only one thing that she wanted to talk to him about. The catalyst of - everything.
So when she finds her voice again, she finds it in a gasp-]
I died.
[Is that what you wanted, Hijikata?]