19TH ♫ | the air's a bit chilly but i like it

[maku]

The Ryokan Meme/Mingle/Whatever

A ryokan (旅館) is a type of traditional Japanese inn that originated in the Edo period (1603–1868), when such inns served travelers along Japan's highways. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yukata and talk with the owner.

Welcome to the inn!You've won an all-expenses-paid trip for two (or more!) to a gorgeous traditional Japanese inn. What's what? You're not from a place where inns like this would exist? Hush up, kids. This is a meme and we do whatever we damn well please.Just pack your bags, get your plus one and prepare to have what'll probably be the most relaxing week of your life. You know, if you're into all this.

1. Post a top level with your deets
2. Tag around
3. ???
4. TAG THE RYOKAN VACATION OF YOUR DREAMS

Comments

I'll let you decide the canon point

[wasshi]

[In the baths. Following a long period of tranquil silence, as an unprompted question.]

You're actually pretty bad at relaxing, aren't you, Karin?

[maku]

I--what? No!

[ ... of course, given that she jumped pretty hard and splashed water everywhere as Togo said that, she's not being at all convincing. ]

I'm totally relaxed! I'm like, super chill, all the time!

[wasshi]

[Togo raises an arm to protect her face from Karin's overreaction splashing.]

Was that a splash of chillness just now, then?

[maku]

I-- yeah. Absolutely.

[ she hugs her arms to herself, making a show of keeping them still to prevent any more of those totally chill splashes.

there's a pause, and then; ]

Well, I guess... it's kinda weird just hanging out with you and no one else. Usually Yuna's here at least. [ because you two are married. ]

[wasshi]

In order for a team to operate at peak efficiency, every bond within it must be powerful. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

[ beat. ]

Or maybe I just never got a chance to get to know you very well, and I wanted to change that. Even during the beach trip, you were spending most of your time competing with Fu or Yuna over various things.

[maku]

So, it's philosophy as usual...

[ she says it with a bit of a sigh, but she doesn't really seem that annoyed. Togo's got a point, after all. ]

You and Yuna seemed pretty busy, so I didn't like... you know. Butting in.

[ in case you two were having a Moment. ]

But I guess you're right. It's pretty dumb that we've been in the club together for so long but we've never really talked.

[wasshi]

[ Listen Karin if this is about that thing with the stargazing in the morning then

I guess

Excellent work, A+ wingman ]

Yuna is special, but I still do want to get along with everyone in the Hero Club.

Easy questions are boring, so I'll start with a hard one, instead: Why did you agree to become a Hero?

[maku]

[ Karin winces a bit, like she's just been pinched and her expression sours a bit. ]

You weren't kidding when you said it was gonna be a hard question huh.

[ she blows up a bit to get her bangs out of her face, considering her options. she could just... brush the question off with a glib answer but she suspects that Togo wouldn't accept that.

So after a moment of silence, she starts to reply. ]

Did I ever mention my big brother to you guys?

[wasshi]

[ Togo shakes her head. ]

Not to me, at least.

[maku]

... He's a member of the Taisha. A really big one. Seriously high up in the ranks. Fingers in all kinds of pies. You know what I mean.

[ her sentences come out a bit disjointed, if only because she's not really sure of how to talk about this at all. ]

When I was a little kid, Mom and Dad always made a big deal of it. Made it obvious it made him special. And I just... wasn't.

[wasshi]

[ Togo's listening intently. She can tell Karin isn't exactly comfortable talking about this, so the least she can do is pay attention. ]

And you wanted to prove that wrong?

[maku]

[ she laughs, but there isn't really much humor in it. ]

Pretty much. I kinda just wanted to show that I could be better, you know? Like... no matter how high up in the Taisha he was, if I managed to become a Hero... that's something he could never do. It'd be something that was mine.

[ a scoff. she's sure she doesn't need to remind Togo of just how poorly it'd all worked out. ]

[wasshi]

[ If there's anyone, anyone in the world who can fully appreciate ho poorly that worked out, it's this girl.

Despite the grim direction this conversation is taking, Togo smiles. ]

Well, I think I understand you a little better now. You answered my question, so now it's your turn.

[maku]

[ She's quiet for a bit. Togo started with a... raw question, sure, but she hadn't known quite how raw it had been. It'd be in poor taste for Karin to go right in for a weak spot, wouldn't it? But Togo had said they'd be asking hard questions... what's the protocol here?

After a while, she finally speaks up and her voice is hesitant. ]

So... how do you make botamochi from a wheelchair, anyway?

[ she's cheating. it's not any of the questions she's considered asking Togo before but... baby steps. ]

[wasshi]

The same way you make botamochi without one, but with extra helpings of patience, persistence, and love.

[ It's admittedly easier if there's someone around who can get stuff down from high places. ]

You can ask a more personal one, if you want. Today, I'm an open book.

[maku]

... what was going through your mind when you did it?

[ The words fall out of Karin's mouth before she can stop them and though she'd like to cram them back in, it's a bit too late. She doesn't look at Togo as she speaks and instead fixes her gaze firmly on her own reflection in the water. ]

When you blew open the barrier.

[wasshi]

[ Ah. There's a real question, all right. ]

...Nogi had just explained the nature of the world, and of the Vertex. In order to see if it was true, I crossed the barrier myself. I was the first of us to see the true nature of the world.

Looking out at that hell, I really understood what we were up against for the first time, and what our future was going to look at. The battle against the Vertex was never going to end. We would just keep fighting until our bodies were ruined shells, and then the curse of being a Hero would be passed on to the next generation of candidates.

Please, just... try to imagine that moment. Understand what it would feel like, to learn all at once that everything you had fought for was a lie, and that nothing was waiting for you or your friends but a lifetime of despair.

[maku]

[ For a moment, Karin tries to think of just what had gone through her mind when she'd first followed Togo through the barrier. It's hard - that entire battle still seems like a blur when she tries to pick out any specific details. She just remembers red and heat and nausea and the realization that she'd been lied to her entire life.

What would she have thought if she'd discovered that herself? What would she have done? It's an uncomfortable question and Karin can't decide if she's glad that she doesn't know the answer or not. ]

... yeah. I think I get it. After... everything...

[ Sonoko. Manaki. Sange. ]

I think I... understand.

[wasshi]

[ Togo looks down at her legs, which she still sometimes isn't used to being able to use. Sonoko's broken body, and her own missing memories, still jumbled from her recovery. Gin Minowa. ]

When I came back from that place, all I could think of was how to keep the rest of you from suffering through years of battle, years of Mankai. I could only think of one way. Rather than force us to keep living in a broken world, I decided to destroy it.

[maku]

[ A mercy killing.

The words hang in Karin's mind but she manages to keep herself from saying them out loud. It would be one thing for Togo to just... decide her own life wasn't worth living anymore. But to decide that the world itself was less important than not seeing her friends suffer....

There's something in that Karin might've called beautiful in any other circumstances.

She shifts a little uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. Eventually; ]

... it's your turn now. Anything you wanna ask and I'll answer it.

[wasshi]

Anything at all? If you give me an opening like that, you may regret it.

[ What is this... sudden pressure??? ]

[maku]

[ ............ uh oh. ]

... uh... yeah? That was the whole idea, right?

[ she is suddenly incredibly concerned ]

[wasshi]

Tell me the exact nature of your feelings towards Fu Inubozaki.

/2

[maku]

The exact nature of my...

[maku]

--EXCUSE ME?!

[ was that a shriek? it was absolutely a shriek. it even echoes. good grief. ]