#very surprised to see kiryuu doesn’t have a tag

[morgan-lowell]

Who do you think loves building miniatures in Haikyuu?

Tbh i had to look up what this was cuz I had no idea LOL

But it’s those little DIY building kits!! Those look so fun! There’s like houses and cafes and little nooks for your bookshelf. They kinda remind me of Legos but a lot more detailed. I imagine they’re very relaxing to put together.

Anyway, a few characters did come to mind that I think would enjoy building miniatures :3

First up is Akaashi. We all know our favorite literature major has a mountain of books and what better way to organize them then with some book nook miniatures? It’s relaxing for him to put together and quiets the rush of thoughts that usually flood his mind. Fidgety hands begone! Although he puts them together pretty fast…

EEEEE I JUST LOOKED UP A BUNCH. HE WOULD TOTALLY HAVE AN ALICE IN WONDERLAND THEMED ONE. And I can see him having the one with cherry blossoms and a train in it. Bokuto probably saw them and got interested too. They tried to build one together once. Bokuto’s hands were not very steady lol and he kept losing the smaller pieces. It’s okay tho, he likes watching Akaashi put them together instead.

I can also see Asahi and Yachi liking them. The Karasuno artists✨ Asahi doesn’t like buying them for himself but when Yachi finds out he likes them too, they buy the same one and do it together.

It becomes a whole thing with Karasuno. On days off, they chill at one of the third years’ house and try to help Yachi and Asahi with them. The Single Braincell Squad™️ (Tanaka, Noya, Kags, Hina) don’t find it that interesting. Hinata would be curious but ultimately would be kicked outside with the rest to work off excess energy lmao

Finally, we have the man, the myth, the legend himself Kita. Just try and convince me that Mr. “Being Meticulous and Thorough Just Feels Good” would not enjoy putting together a tiny doll house. YOU CAN’T CUZ HE WOULD!!

Holy crap, I just saw one of a Japanese courtyard. It’s a yaquan courtyard? It looks so cool, we’re giving Kita this one HEHEH

It was actually a gift for his grandmother but she can’t do it by herself. She’s gotta call her beloved grandson to help her out and of course he’s gonna agree cuz why wouldn’t he. This gets added to their ritual. Every day after dinner and cleanup, they take some time to work on the miniature together. This image makes me incredibly soft brb I’m gonna cry.

Honorable mentions: Aone (I have no explanation, it just feels right), Sakusa (the completionist), and Kiryuu (the final member of the anxiety club)

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 118

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 20 - “Dorodoron is Singin’ in the Rain!” Date watched: 5 May 2019 Original air date: 25 June 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/iruZezg Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Oh man what an episode. It’s Dorodoron’s last stand, and he goes out in style. Michiru and Kaoru are at an ethical crossroads about their mission, Saki and Mai go on a day date to another beautiful scenic spot and Minori tags along to make a drawing for a school assignment. It’s a pretty bittersweet day for Dark Fall.

Surprisingly, the rain helps. Saki and Minori are hesitant to go out but decide to try anyway, and the rain does clear up for a bit. While they’re out, they run into Michiru and Kaoru, who were actually conversing with Dorodoron a moment before. Minori is extremely happy to see Kaoru, who was so nice to her at the bake sale a few episodes ago. Kaoru even reciprocates the kindness to a degree, surprising her sister. She honestly seems to be having fun, even when Minori is talking her ear off.

The quintet arrives at Mai’s secret spot and it is really beautiful. It’s a bamboo forest surrounded by wildflowers (hydrangeas specifically) and there’s lots of wildlife: birds, bugs, snails, everything. (Also, as a nice callback, the route involves passing through the farm from episode 4.) Mai, Minori, and even Kaoru are taken aback by the scenery. The light glistens on the raindrops on the flowers and some of the closeups are gorgeous. Minori finds a plant she wants to draw and gets busy. Unfortunately, the serenity is short-lived. Dorodoron makes his appearance, and Kaoru quickly escorts Minori away to safety. Dorodoron is strangely enthusiastic, and he reveals that when the weather is rainy and the ground is muddy, he can absorb more energy from the earth to power himself up, growing giant.

“We have a Hulk.”

Mai and Saki transform, but Dorodoron tosses them around like a salad. When they refuse to give up the fountains they’ve recovered so far, he decides to power up even more, absorbing so much energy that it saps all life from the surrounding area (a lot like Karehaan’s final attack). Choppi cries that this is how the Fountain of Earth was taken over, and Cure Bloom is sad that rain has this much destructive capacity. Flappi, however, rejects that idea, insisting that rain brings life and nourishment and Dorodoron is just abusing its power. The monster of earth doesn’t care, and he powers up even further by summoning an Uzainaa around himself, turning himself into a more monstrous form that resembles a shakoki-dogu doll.

This proves to be his undoing, as he’s very top-heavy and has a hard time balancing himself to counter the girls’ kicks and punches, so they knock him off balance and perform Twin Stream Splash on him before he can rebound. Dorodoron stealthily escapes from the Uzainaa before being destroyed, and then waits for Saki and Mai to detransform before divebombing them from the sky.

same energy

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t fully escape the purification and he’s used too much energy, and he crumbles into dust.

I regret nothing.

There’s no time for mourning though, the Legendary Warriors have collected seven Miracle Drops which means it’s time to restore a fountain! They set off for the Fountain of Earth, which appears to be a collection of hollowed out tree stumps filled with water, surrounded by loose foliage and some other trees. I don’t know exactly what kind of biome this would be, not compared to the previous fountains.

As usual, Princess Filia appears, but this time everybody can hear her! Unfortunately, she can’t hear herself yet, but she says that the fountains they have restored so far have started to heal the Great Life Tree and that may turn into a great source of power for them in the future, but a great hardship still lies ahead of them.

From their post on Gourd Rock, Michiru and Kaoru comment that it’s their turn next and they’ll recapture the fountains quickly enough.

Back at the Hyuuga residence, Minori shows off her completed drawing to Saki and Mai: a picture of all five of them surrounded by flowers!  She says she drew what brought her the most enjoyment.

If you find these last few statements to be in contrast..... well, wait and see.

Oh, there is so much to discuss here. First, let us give an ode to Dorodoron. He wasn’t as fun as Moerumba, but despite being constantly shat upon by the Kiryuus and Gohyaan, he was actually the most competent villain so far. (Admittedly he got some advice in the softball episode) He made plans to weaken the girls before he even fought them, tried to keep them apart from each other to prevent using their powers, and almost won. He had generally good plans, losing because he underestimated the power of their bond, because he played his hand too early, or because he was a tad overconfident in himself and the girls exploited an opening. I’m trying to remember how Ms. Shitataare plays out, I don’t think she is terribly crafty, and Kintolesky is all about being strong so strategy isn’t really his ballpark. The Kiryuus have good ideas.... but they mostly fed them to Dorodoron. I’ll weigh in on them after episode 22.

As for the Kiryuus, Kaoru in particular seems to be turning over a new leaf. She demonstrates sincere enjoyment at spending time with Minori, seems to appreciate the nature, and at once point she notices a snail on a leaf. It falls off, she bends over and places it back. None of this escapes Michiru’s notice, who asks her later if she was protecting Minori, and has some kind of sympathy for the humans.

Michiru is having a harder time accepting the good side of her and her sister, and she still seems to sincerely believe that Dark Fall is the side to play for. Kaoru clearly has more reservations, and she’s more open with her feelings. @sailor-rurouni made the following observation on my episode 18 review: “I feel like this... shows us the difference between how Kaoru and Michiru “pass” in society: Kaoru doesn’t even bother to try and so she is perceived as either brutally or refreshingly honest..., and Michiru does get why she should try to act normal and makes a pretty good attempt, but this results in her compartmentalizing her feelings and, arguably, being more ruthless.” That has never been clearer than in this episode, as Kaoru just does what she feels like while Michiru tries to play nice but doesn’t understand her sister’s actions. I mentioned this last episode as well, but due to real life circumstances, Kaoru has a new voice actress now, Okamura Akemi, who has a much sharper voice than her predecessor. The two sisters were almost indistinguishable in voice before, now Kaoru speaks more curtly, not mincing her words. This speaks to her personality better, and while it’s jarring to hear the change, it might work out better in the long run.

I like the small commentary by Flappi and Choppi about how the elements of nature can be used or abused. Rain is useful in sustaining life, but too much rain creates mud, which is a hard environment for terrestrial plants. Perhaps there’s a metaphor in this show about how the disparate forces of nature, when separated (Dark Fall), can wreak havoc, but when they all work together, life prospers. That might be a level deeper than intended, or it might be right on the money. I won’t say I’m the most astute at picking out subliminal messages.

Last thing I want to talk about: Saki totally dabs in this episode.

dab on ‘em

yes, I made this joke on PCD-Status as well, but it bore repeating.

Okay so obviously it’s not really a dab, Saki did that anime thing where someone falls over after having their expectations subverted, but the posture is about right. Just roll with it.

Next time, Michiru and Kaoru have to defeat the Precures and recover the fountains. What will this mean for their friendship? Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari!

Miracle Drop Count: 7, then 0

[getoffthesoapbox]

[VKM Spec] Ridiculing VKM 18

As expected, Hino’s obsession with dreary funerals continues.

Obligatory disclaimer for my anti-fans: This post is zeki criticism, vkm criticism, hino criticism, and anti ky. Please blacklist those tags accordingly.

Scanlations can be found in the usual places.

The Good

Gotta give credit where credit is due!

Hallelujah! Kaien Cross bites the dust (literally) at last! Praise the heavens! At last, one of the cancers of this story has been eradicated! Screw you, Hino, for trying to make him more than oozing pustule he was. (And LOL @ that guy facepalming in front of his coffin, who the hell is that anyway, I want his autograph? XD)

Kaien’s melodramatic “woe is me, what a shitty way to die” and then his pathetic “oh a girl is finally crying for me after all this time!” dramatics were hilarious. Like...how sad of a person are you that you’re relieved any girl is crying for you at your death?

Ren is a girl. I repeat: Ren is a girl. At last we can put to bed all that nonsense.

Ren is null!Zero’s and Yuuki’s child. I repeat: Ren is null!Zero’s and Yuuki’s child. Farewell, fantasies of test tube babies and clones and in vitro. Not only that, Ren was clearly conceived in the usual fashion of conceptions, not via any Zeusian head-births or immaculate conceptions. 

Null!Zero lived to raise Ren. I repeat: null!Zero lived to raise Ren. At least the “null!Zero can’t have anything Kaname doesn’t get” rule no longer applies. 

Kaname is too much of a chicken to look at the photo album of a man who worshipped him. Methinks nu!Kaname has received some intimations about how much of a shithead he was in the past. Makes me think better of him.

Kaname is actually interested in someone from the past who isn’t Yuuki and what that person might think of him. Also that he actually genuinely seems interested in finding out how much Ai suffered from Kaien’s loss and is trying to empathize for the first time in his life. 

Ai finally showed up for a funeral. ‘Bout time, since she didn’t even bother to show up for Yori’s. 

The little girl the Prince was living with is not the mayor’s daughter, thank god. 

The mad scientist got a stylish cameo! 

And that’s about it!

The Bad

Perhaps I should rename this section to “The Stupid”? I’ll have to consider it.

Hino forgetting her own lore and that pureblood blood can cure wounds and illnesses--see Shizuka with Ichiru. Ai was right next to Kaien--she didn’t need to offer him vamprism, she could have just fed him her blood. For him to die in such a stupid fashion, despite how great it is, is positively mind boggling given the established vampire lore in this story. 

Hino retroactively trying to act like Kaien meant something to these characters when he’d routinely fucked them over in order to rescue his precious Kaname. 

Yuuki boo-hooing over Kaien dying when she didn’t bother to spend any time with him during the 100 years of life she had to enjoy his company.

Kaname’s unexplained “curse” on Touma that came out of the clear blue nowhere with no foreshadowing or set up in order to “justify” Touma’s insane behavior. Hino’s just phoning it in at this point. 

Touma is the Prince, snooze. Boring and obvious and a narrative dud. 

The “Mayor” is useless and already under arrest, and why the hell does anyone even still care about him?

Kaien’s funeral was a joke and got more panels than Yori’s, which is ridiculous.

The timeline is fucked. Ai was acting last chapter like a bunch of time had passed between the mad scientist kidnapping and the Ren pregnancy being discovered, yet the little girl is still the same age. Either she’s a vampire or Hino has no clue what the timeline is.

Instead of talking about how excited they are to meet Ren, Yuuki spends most of her pregnancy screentime rehashing bullshit about Ai’s childhood with Ai. We already spent 6 chapters on Ai’s childhood Hino, you might want to give us some time to enjoy Ren for once yeah? 

Yuuki whining about Kaien and Yori not being there is a complete joke. Bitch, please, you waiting seventy years to get in bed with your side piece is the reason they’re not there with you now. You have no right to complain because this is your own fault. You squandered the time you had with your precious people.

Null!Zero’s apparently barely there as a father figure since Hino didn’t care to show him in more than one panel with his child. 

The Ugly

All of the ugly this chapter was packed in at the end, appropriately.

Hino just completely excised null!Zero from the family. In the montage of raising Ai images, Zero doesn’t even get a panel with Ai or Yuuki--he’s separated in his own itty bitty panel as if he’s still an outsider in his own family.

No sex scene, no waiting for the baby scene, no naming Ren scene for Zeki. That’s a pretty low blow to make us wait all that time and then skip over everything, Hino. Fuck you, too.

Zero’s and Ai’s little argument at the end would be cute if we’d actually gotten some fucking answers as to why Zeki didn’t get together for an entire human lifetime, but no, Hino doesn’t care to tell us why, we can just make the answer up for ourselves!

Whether Hino intends to “make good” on this implication or not (and my bet, given how gross Ai and Ren act in the future, is that she’ll make good on it), it is utterly reprehensible that Hino made Ai have a sexual attraction to a fucking innocent baby. We all know the VK/VKM world has established that vampiric hunger the way Ai experiences it in VKM 18 is sexual in nature. Hino trying to act like it’s cute there at the end is not ever acceptable. It was not even remotely acceptable when Kaname did it, and it’s not at all acceptable now just because the girls are sisters. Just like slapping Aidou, child grooming is not appropriate or laudable behavior. Ai having a sexual interest in her baby sister is not okay.

And last, but certainly not least, null!Zero and Yuuki approving Ai’s interactions with Ren without having any concerns is deeply disturbing to me. Hino trying to play this off as a cute and normal happy family is even more troubling. I’m very concerned about how this all is going to play out in the future. 

General Aside

@vampireknightmeta brought up a few ways in which Hino might be able to salvage the story as it is now in our private conversations, but I will leave any public speculation on future positive developments to her should she choose to share them with the fandom at large. 

At this point in time, I myself have no interest in speculating about potential positive narrative developments because Hino has shown time and time again that she’s happy to sink lower than even the lowest bar I set for her. I’d rather be happily surprised by Hino saving this story on her own and just laugh at her bumbling in the meantime rather than investing my heart into trying to uncover the “secrets” of the story of a repugnant and morally bankrupt failure of a writer. From now on, I’ll only be speculating about worst case scenarios, the worst I can possibly imagine, and maybe Hino will do even worse than that just to prove to me that there’s no low she’s above sinking to. 

As such, if you’re looking for positive theorizing, you won’t find it here until I see some significant improvement in this sorry excuse for a story. Please look elsewhere for your hit of “positivity.” 

Crackpot Theory Corner

Can’t end this debacle without some crackpot theories. Here’s what could happen that could make this story sink even lower than it has already sunk!

Null!Zero might actually get suspicious of Ai’s “attentions” to Ren, but he’s going to die before he can stop anything. =P Null!Zero does still seem to have some fatherly instincts.

Null!Zero is up next for being killed, probably next volume. We’ll probably have a funeral or two every volume, because that’s totally what everyone’s reading for!

In the chapter where null!Zero dies, we’ll have Ren dying in the future while protecting Ai or Kaname! Gotta kill off dem pesky Kiryuus!

When Yuuki meant “short time after Zero” when he died in VKM 4, what she meant to say was “null!Zero died 20 years after I screwed him and I put myself to bed for 900 more.” Hence, “short time.” Time’s relative, doncha know.

After Ren dies, Kaname and Ai will mourn, then resurrect Yuuki to ease their sorrow and the Kurans will live happily ever after. 

Yuuki never intended to marry Zero, and that’s why she let Yori die before getting together with him officially so Yori wouldn’t have to know Yuuki loved Kaname and not Zero (why, only Hino knows). The wedding Yori and Aidou were waiting for will happen after they’re long dead with Kaname and Yuuki instead. 

The baby from Yuuki’s dream is her second kid with Kaname, a boy who she’ll name Zero. Ai will imprint on her new brother and the horror will start all over again with a new generation, this time blessedly free of Kiryuus, who are all dead.

Oh, and the Vampire King will never be found, because who cares. ;)

Until next time, see you later!

[winterverses]

Grass of Parnassus

I’ve been to this place. If you’ve been on a drive through the Rockies with me, I might have pointed it out. The little flowers, by the way, are beautiful. I’ve always been fascinated by them.

This is very... take it as you like it, I think. Some days I think it’s sweet, and other days not so much. Ambiguity is attractive. Who would know this better than Kiryuu Touga from Shoujo Kakumei Utena? And who better to comment on how frustrating it is than Saionji Kyouichi?

(ps: hello tousai crew)

Up here, the air was thinner, and the mountains rolled by our car relentlessly. I’d never seen anything like them. Japan has mountains, it’s true, but these Rockies were, if not as resonant to me as Fuji-san, at least impressive. I could barely tear my eyes from the leaping crags and the still, blue-green lakes. Touga had rented a convertible, and while I tried to disguise my gawking, eventually he’d slowed to well below the speed limit, tacitly allowing me to feast my eyes.

“Are we close?” I asked, feigning irritation, still unable to quite look away from the spectacular views. “You drive so slow, it’s going to take hours to get there.”

I could hear his soft laugh over the rumble of the engine. “We’re close. We may not be in time for lunch.”

In Tokyo, it was nearing three in the morning. “I can only imagine the texts I’ve gotten,” I grumbled, willing myself not to fumble for my useless phone. “You could have given me a little more notice. My girlfriend was furious.”

“You can check your email on my phone if you like. If she has the brains to realize you can’t use your phone, your inbox will be full by now.” Without even looking my way, he threw the phone into my lap, and the wind whistled louder around us as he sped up. I guess he thought I wasn’t looking at the scenery anymore. Well, I was distracted.

As soon as I keyed in his pin, I saw the thirty or so texts from his recent ex. I started to read them out loud without even realizing it, incredulous. “‘What did I do wrong? Call me.’ ‘I love you, Touga. Please forgive me.’ ‘I’ll do anything...’ “You’re a horrible boyfriend. Why would you dump her the day before your trip? Great way to celebrate your anniversary.”

His mouth a twist of amusement, he spared me a level glance and then turned back to the road. “One month isn’t an anniversary. She was getting boring anyway. I doubt your messages are any better.”

“Ugh. They’re not.” I’d logged into my personal email only to find a whole page of diatribes. “I’m not even reading this. She’s ready to kill me.” I turned the sleek, pretty thing off and dropped it in his lap. He always had the best of everything, but it didn’t sting as much as it had in high school. The last time I’d gone with him on any of these trips was probably years ago, though he’d sometimes mention them, throwing out little hints or suggestions. I’d only come this time because he couldn’t return the ticket.

Abruptly I felt the car slow, and I glanced around. Mountains fringed with glacial ribbons, soft heathery brush. The air was so clear that I felt like I could see every detail of the cliffs around us.

“There,” Touga said and slowed further, then pulled into a turn. There was a small turnout, a row of restrooms, and a gravel road leading into a hollow nestled between two mountains. We pulled slowly up the drive to a large log building with a red roof.

“How... rustic.” I looked over at him in surprise. “I thought it would be more expensive. And tasteless.” The lodge overlooked a serene lake so blue it looked tropical at the same time as it looked icy. Several expensive cars were parked on the gravel. We pulled up beside one and stopped. “This doesn’t look at all fashionable,” I said, and I couldn’t help the note of approval in my voice.

Touga leaned back in his seat and shot me an exasperated look. “Kyouichi, since when would I bring you somewhere fashionable and expensive and tasteless? Trust me. You’ll like this place. I may even be able to scare up a fishing rod and a boat for you.”

I climbed out of the car and grabbed my overnight bag. “Since when do you stay in places like this?” I asked, but I was barely listening for his answer. Tall pines cradled the lodge, and there were antlers on the outside walls. It looked old and a little shabby. The kind of place that has fireplaces going even in summer, and where the water doesn’t always work right. In short, it looked perfect for me. I started up toward the lodge, not waiting for Touga. I wanted to see the inside.

I wasn’t disappointed. A wash of wood and smoke and fur engulfed me as I stepped inside, and I breathed deeply. There were chairs made of actual antlers here, and taxidermied animal heads dotted the blonde wood walls. No one was behind the counter. It was as if this place didn’t care whether or not it had visitors. I could see a little gift shop full of unidentified wooden and fur trinkets through the right hand doorway, and I heard snatches of conversation coming from the other. Before I could investigate, Touga came up behind me and tapped the bell on the desk.

An awkward, thin girl materialized out of the door behind the desk; I’d taken it for a closet. She paused when she saw me and Touga and then spoke in English. “Hi! Do you have reservations?” She was rather plain, with a nose too snubbed to be pretty and a bit of an overbite, but she seemed very friendly.

There was a short pause as Touga mentally switched gears into English. We’re both fluent speakers, but the language came more naturally to me. Of course, because he couldn’t stand not to be perfect, he’d asked for my help learning, and I’d drilled him until he was almost as good as I was, but still there was always a little hesitation when he had to switch from one language to another. “We do. A reservation for Touga Kiryuu, for three nights.”

Her smile brightened when he spoke. They always light up when he’s around. In her case-- Angela, her name tag said-- it made her gorgeous. “We do have your reservation here, Mr. Kiryuu. I’m afraid we’ll have to ask your friend to sign in also.” The smile dimmed back into professional welcome as she turned it on me, and once I would have taken it personally, but time and real life had taught me better. She’d met him before, and liked him, but I was a stranger. “Here’s the book, and we’ll need some identification.”

I grinned crookedly and pulled my passport from its spot in my jeans pocket. “Kyouichi Saionji. Nice to meet you.” Pushing it over to her, I then signed the ledger in perfect kanji.

“Nice to meet you too, Kyouichi. I’m Angela.” Her smile flared back to that dazzling brightness, and I felt myself get a little bit fluttery in the stomach. I backed off to let Touga deal with the details.

Passports safely in hand, we climbed the stairs to our room on the top floor. Touga had already explained to me on the way there that we were sharing a room, something we’d never even had to do in high school, but that he’d had it switched out for one with two beds. The decor got no better inside the room. More taxidermied heads, more blonde wooden walls, more furs. There was no view to speak of, as the windows were microscopic, and a cold black iron stove sat in the corner.

Did I mention I loved it?

There was a little informational pamphlet on the table near the window, but I decided to save that for when I was bored. Dumping my bag on the bed, I began to make myself at home. Touga didn’t bother, instead leaving his bag beside the bed and checking the time. “Lunch will be over, but the restaurant will still serve us. Shall we get something to eat?”

I grimaced and finished tucking my clothes into the drawers near my bed. “Might as well.”

The water was icy clear, perfect, tinged with blue in the way that all the water in these mountains seemed to be. True to his word, Touga had sweet-talked his way into borrowing the owner’s fishing rods and personal boat for me to use-- and then promptly laughed at the idea of coming out on the lake with me as if it was the funniest joke I’d told him in months, giving me the excuse that the reflection on the water would turn his skin the exact color of his hair. “It’s not as if they make sunblock or anything,” I growled under my breath, again, glad that he couldn’t hear me. Some days it was just like being in high school again. He was so damn aggravating. Hell, his real objection was probably that life jackets were too unfashionable for The Great Kiryuu Touga to ever consider wearing. I huffed again and almost missed a gentle tug on my line.

Probably a weed or something. I waited, but the tug didn’t come again. Despite the bright sun, I could feel the cold seeping in through the aluminium walls of the little canoe. God only knew what Touga had told them to get them to allow me out there alone. I’d never been in a canoe before. By way of help, Touga had searched up a webpage with an explanation of how to paddle it, and left his phone with me. It kept buzzing at intervals, another annoyance, as his now-ex girlfriend contacted him over and over, trying to figure out what she’d done wrong.

He could be a little nicer to them. At some point it had become clear to me that he had no intention of ever settling down, or even getting close enough to anyone that the question ever came up, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to be nice.

That little tug on my line again. I waited, my thoughts suddenly halted, the soft sweep of air through the brushlands the only noise. For some reason, the guests had disappeared one by one today; no voices disturbed that gentle susurrus of wind and water. The tug didn’t come again, but this time I was wary. The last two guests had left at lunch, a pair of dark-haired girls that had been kind of cute in an overfed American way; they’d driven off in their silver car hours ago. As far as I could tell, the only cars left belonged to the staff. And our rental convertible, of course. But… thinking back, I wasn’t sure it was a rental. He had excused himself “to get the car” while we were in the little airport, it was true… but come to think of it, the car had been in the parkade, not near the doors. And I hadn’t seen any paperwork in his hands.

The fishing rod nearly leaped out of my hands, and I set my wondering aside. There would be time for that later.

In several hours, I had a string of trout and what looked like whitefish large enough to feed a family of six, and I was hungry enough to eat them all myself. When the staff member had been giving me the safety talk, there’d been a moment where she’d paused, glancing at Touga, and then said they would be happy to cook whatever I brought back; glancing at Touga’s phone, I saw that it would be dinner soon, and decided it was time to head in. The canoe was a little awkward to paddle, but it wasn’t hard once I got used to it. I made my way to the dock where I’d said goodbye to Touga that morning.

He was nowhere to be seen, of course. After dropping the fish off with the cooks, I caught sight of him coming down from the rooms above… followed by the girl who’d checked us in, Angela. I couldn’t help a flare of angry distaste. Really, couldn’t he even go one day? No wonder he hadn’t wanted to go fishing, if that was what had been on his mind.

“Had enough?” he asked as he caught sight of me. His hair was faintly mussed. His clothes showed no sign of disarray.

“I don’t know, have you?” I replied in Japanese. There was no need to embarrass the girl by making sure she knew that I was aware of what had gone on.

He only rolled his eyes. “If I’d wanted to spend time around a sour face like that, I’d have brought your ex,” he said.

“She’s not my ex,” I snapped. “I haven’t decided yet.” But with the way she was acting, it was likely. What kind of woman tried to stop her boyfriend from seeing his oldest friend? It wasn’t even as if we were doing something like going to bars or anything. She just couldn’t handle the--

He was not competition. I scowled all the way to dinner, ignoring his calmly affable conversation or replying with the shortest, surliest replies I could get away with.

Still, he liked the fish. Sometimes he had trouble making himself eat, but not this time. Must have been the mountain air.

It was good fish, though.

I managed to convince him out on a hike the next day, up to the glacier-fed waterfall that was the source of the lake below. The water was the iciest, cleanest water I’d ever tasted… and the hike wasn’t bad. Not hard, but not really that easy either. Some of the climbing sections were pretty steep, and other parts of the trail were submerged under freezing lake-water. We had it all to ourselves; no one was left at the lodge. Some tour buses came by, but invariably a staff member came out to chase them off after a half hour or so. Odd place. You’d think they would want the business.

But the lack of people meant we could spend as much time as we liked examining trees and rocks and tracking squirrels and such. Touga swore he’d seen a fox. I didn’t see anything. Then again, he knew more about this place than I did. It was Touga who’d pointed out the delicate green-veined white flowers, calling them Grass of Parnassus, and naturally launched into one of those long-winded explanations of how Mount Parnassus was sacred to both Apollo and Dionysus, and how that was odd because they were opposite in terms of worship with Apollonian being serene and contemplative worship while Dionysian was raucous and given to excess and therefore this and that about these damn flowers… they were pretty, though. Little green-veined white stars that didn’t seem like they were anywhere until you really looked for them, and then you’d realize they were all over the place.

That night he disappeared for a while. It’s not as if I didn’t know what he was doing. I pretended I was still asleep when he came back to our room. Couldn’t he have gotten separate rooms? It’s not like the place was full or something.

He ever so graciously obliged me when I casually checked if he wanted to come out on the canoe with me the next day, though. And someone had left a large umbrella near the door; Touga took it without asking, and no one ever said anything about it. Maybe he’d arranged for it. The asshole. No matter what, he always had the jump on me, one way or another.

He wouldn’t fish when we were out on the lake. Said he would scare off our dinner. I almost wanted to just forget about it then and there, and just fail to bait the hook so I caught nothing, but… it was hard getting him to eat sometimes. I decided I’d better not risk it. He sat in the bottom of the canoe with the umbrella propped over his shoulder, being used as a sunshade, and a book open in his hand. We sat there silently for hours, drifting on the lake, until I had a decent string of fish.

The dining room was empty that night. Just us and the waiter. And he didn’t disappear that night either. Maybe Angela had gotten sick of him. But no, when we went to check out that morning, she was there, smiling at us the way she had that first day, though this time her smile didn’t dim any when she looked at me. “Hope we see you again soon!” she chirped, that dazzling smile of hers making me self-conscious. Fortunately, she had to turn away to check in a family of five who’d just come in. She didn’t look like she was pining away over his departure. Maybe he was losing his touch.

“What do you think?” Touga asked as we walked down the front steps.

“About what?” I asked, feeling grumpy. This whole thing had been pointless. I’d broken up with my girlfriend for this.

“About the place, Saionji. What do you think? Would you like to come back?”

Something about his tone didn’t sound right. I scowled at him, but he missed it, as he was putting on his sunglasses.

“What am I supposed to think?” I snapped.

I definitely didn’t deserve the long-suffering sigh I got in return. Touga was silent for a moment, then laughed quietly, shaking his head. “All right,” he said, picking up his bag and walking to the car. “Although if you like, you can come and stay whenever you want.”

“I don’t even have to see the price to know I can’t afford that,” I said. “Besides, it’s not like I need your permission.” Touga just smiled secretively, and it was only then that the truth dawned on me. “You bought it? Why?”

He shrugged noncommittally and tossed his bag into the back seat. Someone had already started it and brought it around for us. Naturally. “I needed property overseas. I just thought you might enjoy it.”

That could mean anything, from exactly what he said to ‘I bought it for you.’ Rubbing my forehead, I tossed my bag in the back and got into the car. As he got in beside me, I couldn’t help a little laugh. “Next time, I get a couple weeks of warning. And you’re going to learn to fish.”

“Really, Saionji, she was terrible for you,” Touga said, putting the car in gear. “You’re not even going to miss her.”

It would have been paranoid to assume he’d bought the place to ensure that I’d break up with a girlfriend he didn’t like. Even so, I couldn’t rule it out. Maybe I’d never be able to figure out why he did the things he did when I was involved… but it would be stupid to dwell on it. “Where are we going now?” I asked.

“Someplace expensive and tasteless,” Touga said, and I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

Well, even if he wasn’t, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. He had come fishing with me, after all, and it wouldn’t reflect very well on me if all I did in return was act like a spoiled brat. That was his job. “Fine,” I said, and looked away before he could see my grin. I knew he knew, though. He always did.