imaginex | Inbox for Recolle

[ a good reason.

a good reason.

he's supposed to make up a good reason and odasaku's mind has turned to static. his gaze stays on the floor, his last two working neurons desperately trying to make up something believable-- something that shuji would swallow without a doubt. but he's never been a good liar. tricking shuji would be nearly impossible.

until-- ]

You interrupted our date. [ it's only a bit louder than a mumble, and, honestly, sakutarou has yet to realize the weight of his words or the fact that sakura continues to stand right behind them.

but then he speaks again, this time louder. ] I wanted to take Sakura out 'cause it's our first month. You interrupted it.

[Truth be told... she had no idea what excuse he's going to come up with. The truth? Oooh, she hopes not, since there's no way she could dodge Shuji's disapproval when he's right there in front of them, but being an equally terrible liar, the girl can't fathom anything else.

So while Shuji looks to Odasuka in irritation, she cants her head in curiosity while nodding along to Shuji's demand. Mmm, yes, what is this good reason...?

...

...

Well obviously she heard incorrectly because she's still nodding, he must be talking about some other Sakura, there is no way those words just left his mouth--]

Eh?

[...Dating. He interrupted a date between them.

Shuji looks between Oda, and Sakura, and Sakura's bow. Back to Oda, and Sakura, and then Oda.]

You're having a date in front of a closed library?

[He can't help but be a tiny bit suspicious. But, no, if they really are dating, he should probably just accept it now...]

If you wanted Sakura to play nurse for you instead, you should have just said that to start with.

[ nurse...? it takes a moment for that comment to click which is when odasaku turns red while shaking his head. ]

No, I don't mean that. You're a great nurse--I mean--no one's a nurse here. We were just... meeting.

[ a pause. this is the first time he's felt his heart race in a long time-- and it just had to be fear. ]

Just wondering where we should...go. For our date. [ god, this lie only keeps getting bigger and bigger...and at a faster rate than normal. ] Where should we go, Shuji?

-- Eh??

[A little louder, a little more insistent that she get an answer, stare bouncing between Shuji and Odasaku before landing on the latter with the weight of a thousand questions, half her body leaned forward. There is only one reason she's not having a heart attack here, and that's because she'd like an answer before she expires.

What do you think you are doing, sir?]

[Oda's web of lies will only get worse from here. Shuji exhales heavily, frustrated with these two disasters - but having bought the cover story.]

I get wanting to do something special for your anniversary, but that's no reason to aggravate your injuries. I'm sure Sakura doesn't want you to hurt yourself for her sake.

[At least he's correct about this part?]

Go back to your apartment. I'll leave you lovebirds alone so you can have a nice night in.

[ odasaku feels as if things didn't exactly go the way he...had lacked to plan. shuji bought the story, great, hooray, but not the way that he had imagined. after all, he's sending oda and sakura back to his--oda's-- apartment.

odasaku has to keep himself from cursing his awful luck, and silently wishes for the earth to swallow him whole.

nothing happens, of course. ]

Yeah. [ he turns to sakura, who stares at him as if he's grown a second head; the guilt in oda's chest couldn't be greater. ] We can...have our date at home, Sakura-- Shuji's right. I can, uhm, [ what do people do on dates????????? ] cook dinner or...something...

[Right so a few things--

First off being that Sakura "do no wrong" Tohsaka might be committing a murder when the rest of the pieces finally click. She had, in fact, heard Odasaku insist that the two of them were dating to their (apparently) mutual friend, who is pure and can't see the lie for what it is. Her eyes flash like steel and fire when she meets his gaze.

... And then she smiles. Sweetly. Turns to Shuji with a little nod.]

Yes, at first I didn't want him to hurt himself out here, but he can be so stubborn, mm?

So I'll take him home myself. [With a little bow]

Don't worry, he won't leave a second time.

Alright. I'll trust you on that, Sakura.

[Sakura's responsible and will definitely take care of Odasaku. Satisfied, Shuji turns to go.]

Take care, you two. Don't have too much fun.

[...you were supposed to keep your jokes G-rated, Shuji...]

[ odasaku rarely feels fear. even in the subway, he would've been lying if he had said that he had felt afraid for his life-- yes, even with the giant rats and vines.

but when he sees sakura's sharp gaze, he swears that he could feel a shiver of fear run down his spine. but he remains expressionless, in order to keep shuji from suspecting anything. the last thing he needs is for that angry expression to come back, and this time directed towards sakura. ]

Yeah. We'll be fine. Thanks.

[ he just hopes shuji will make it to his funeral. ]

[Shuji-kun, please, Sakura's already stuck in a loop of internalized screaming, don't make this worse for her. But that smile of her doesn't go anywhere, even once their mutual friend takes off and leaves them alone in front of the library. Eyes still on Odasaku, she wields it like a sword looking for a target.

... Up until the moment it does vanish, leaving the young woman looking the very definition of unimpressed. Not an expression she wears often, but yes, Odasaku might've ruffled her jimmies a little.

It's not completely his fault; he wouldn't know how seriously she takes the idea of romance and dating.]

Well then. [squaring her shoulders, Sakura turns away from him, back to the direction he'd hobbled down]

Shall we get going? I don't know where your home is, so you'll need to lead the way.

[ there's a number of things that odasaku wants to tell sakura. all of them, without an exception, are variations of 'i'm sorry, it's my fault'. though he doesn't show it, he's just as embarrassed as she is.

embarrassed and afraid-- what a strange combination of emotions. and yet he'll submit himself to them, because there's nothing else that can be done. these are the consequences for his actions, and he'll deal with them all head on. ]

Right. Follow me. [ and, once he hobbles past her, he'll look back once at her, and continue. ]

[She'll follow along, practically mimicking Odasaku's shadow in her silence. For as kind and considerate as she tries to be, Sakura has no qualms about letting her displeasure make itself known, and it looks like it's going to be that kind of walk until she drums up the effort to speak.

But really... she's not sure what to say, either, she finds. Once she works through the sting of embarrassment, there's no denying that the plan... worked? Sort of. The two of them are alone again. Should Sakura wish it, she could turn this car around and go back on the hunt for Howard. Yes, she'd have to bring Odasaku along but...

Having returned to her original dilemma, Sakura bows her head, chewing worriedly on her bottom lip as the two of them make steady progress away from the last place Mateus was sighted. It feels too much like she's being forced to chose between one friend's wellbeing and another's soul.]

[ odasaku knows this. of course he's aware of this--too much so. even though his excuse was ridiculous and possibly harming for sakura's reputation, this had been the only way he had thought he could get sakura to evade shuji's anger and pull her away from the possible danger.

it made him feel terrible that he's basically forcing her to do this. however, he doesn't want her to be in trouble.

once more, sakutarou turns, his gaze showing a hint of worry. certainly enough, she could just leave running and he would have no way of catching up to her. all he can do is hope that she'll continue to follow him home. even if it means they'll have to sit awkwardly for the rest of the night, he'd much rather do that than know that sakura's life is at risk.

somehow, between all that thinking, they've actually made it to the building. ]

This is where I live. You still here with me?

Mm...

[That's an affirmative, for the record, carefully tailored to be as neutral as her expression. She might as well have sleepwalked here for all the awareness she shows the area, glancing at it this way and that in her bemusement.

And after a pause:]

What floor do you live on?

Third. There's an elevator.

[ if sakura's going to stay neutral, then so will odasaku. the concern is still very much there in his heart and the guilt continues to eat at him, but he'll keep it to himself for now.

opening the door to the building, he holds it open for sakura to go in. ]

[Sakura has spent enough time in her memories to know that if she were a Matou... well. This game of neutrality would go without end. That girl spent her entire life frozen in one expression, she believes.

But at least in this world, she's a Tohsaka at heart, glad for it, and the neutrality only lasts until they reach Odasaku's front door after the elevator ride. Once the door is open, and they enter, and she waits for him to close it--]

Odasaku-san.

[Your attention, please.]

[ odasaku's not sure whether or not he would prefer the endless neutrality. both that and the eventual honesty has its own set of pros and cons to weigh. but doing so takes time, and it seems that sakura has already made her own decision.

all he can do is take it on. turning around to face her, his expression remains as deadpan as ever. on the inside, however, he expects the worst. her anger, her hatred, anything like that. he knows it's his fault, so he'll accept it. ]

Yeah?

[Anger, hatred? Hardly.

She merely holds his stare for a beat before giving a tired smile and gestures to his legs]

They must be hurting, yes?

Why don't you lay down -- I'll, um... make you something warm to eat.

[ What.

What?

Odasaku's almost too surprised to even answer her question. He blinks at her a couple times, before realizing that, yes, she's talking to him. And she's not wrong, either-- his legs are aching. But then he realizes the sorry state of his fridge and the tips of his ears grow warm in embarrassment.

but he also doesn't feel like he can say no to her either. so he'll just give in to his fate. ]

I'll...yeah. The kitchen is over there. [ and he'll point towards it. ] There's some tupperware with curry rice. Enough for the two of us so... you can eat, too.

[ and she'll find almost nothing else besides that. bottled water, one (1) apple, and some eggs. his cabinets have a box of cereal, a box of tea, and some instant coffee. it's an incredible contrast to how full his bookshelves are. there's even some books piled up on the floor, too; it's obvious where his money goes. ]

My room's the door at the end so...feel free to come by and stuff.

[The state of his kitchen will give her a small aneurysm, how do men survive on their own like this, but that will only be when she sees it. In the meantime she'd much rather wait patiently for him to start that trek to his room. It's not that she doesn't trust him to make it to his bed without supervision, but. Well.

He did escape Shuji.]

Okay! [A small nod of understanding] I'll make sure to warm it properly.

[ if this was another situation, it would be smart of her to do that. in fact, this is probably what shuji should have done all these times, but he would've probably found some way to escape that surveillance, too.

but now that he's got sakura here, safe under his watch, odasaku has no need to run off or sneak out. he'll hobble to his bedroom as asked and down on his bed. his legs might as well be yelling at him.

he glances to the side-- shuji's book lies on the table, bookmark marking the page he left off on. but today he has little desire to read. if anything, seeing shuji's name only makes his chest ache dully. he knows that he's supposed to be getting over him (there's no reason to go after a taken man, sakunosuke) but he didn't want it to be like this. and the fact that he dragged sakura into this, too...

whatever. there's nothing that can be done now.

reaching for his laptop, he opens it to see the word document open on his draft; almost 100 pages. though he feels the weight of guilt and regret over his shoulders, he sees no better moment to write than now.

when sakura comes in, that's what she'll see him doing-- typing. ]

[Odasaku is allowed about half an hour of peace, though it's not because it takes that long to warm up curry. Sakura is too busy marveling at the state of his kitchen, checking every cupboard and needing time to massage her temples as she dissuades herself from sneaking off to the grocery.

She'll be too tempted to look for Howard if she leaves, and knows it, so. No, she'll stay put.

At least his kitchenware seems respectable. Once she's pulled out fresh plates and served the curry and rice on both of them, there will be a soft knock on his door before she peeks her head through the crack]

I'm not interrupting you, am I?

[ odasaku looks up from his laptop, eyes owlish as he sees sakura at the door. he can't help but feel surprised towards the fact that she actually stayed with him.

he's also relieved. he's not sure what he would've done if she had run off again; probably go after her again.

closing the laptop, he shakes his head. ]

It's fine. Come in.

[Unlike when she'd entered the front door, Sakura is much more careful in her approach this time. It's Odasaku's room, she figures; having a girl inside might be weird.

... Or that might be some of that traditional Japanese assumptions getting to her. In any case, she'll offer him the plate and do her best not to stare about.]

Here you go. I hope it's to your liking. [Sakura you just warmed it up in the microwave--]

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