chokuto

[once sasuke has stepped into the area and started getting to work, he hangs out near the doorway for now, leaning against the wall, both arms tucked behind his back.]

Completely fair, yes, I figured I would offer anyway, just in case. [never know what one might need, even if it's simply salt. (he cannot, however, summon salt, but there are plenty of other things inside his cabinets to choose from as well.) tempting as it is to immediately step in and help with the food prep, sizhui remains where he is, left fingers fidgeting with the right, his attention unwavering.]

Learn the—? Oh! [he shakes his head, straightens slightly, brings his right hand up and motions over his shoulder.] They were the powers I obtained after receiving my gemstone.

[The next step of his preparation is searching Sizhui's cabinets and counter for the appropriate cooking supplies he will need — a pot, a bowl, cutlery. Then he moves onto measuring out the rice and washing it under the flow of water from the sink. These steps are almost meditative, even if he hasn't had opportunity to do them for... a while. Years, perhaps. That alone is strange to him, but the act is at least familiar and practiced.]

Gemstone? [He stops to turn and look at Sizhui, lingering curiously.] Do you mean from one of the other dimensions you visited?

[slowly but surely, he's inching his way back into the kitchenette, making certain to give sasuke plenty of room so he can work, but also standing close enough so he's able to see what he's doing. washing the rice first, it seems, which is something he's done many times himself, meaning he could understand the calmness of it. whenever sasuke's attention is on him, he straightens, blinks, does a neat heel-turn then lifts his sweater all the way up to his shoulders to reveal the blueish-green gemstone that sits between his shoulderblades.]

I got my Emerald from Noctium, the first place I visited. [then amani went and gave him more monster forms from the sapphire gemstone, so now it's sort of his own kind of strange, mixed thing.]

[Noctium. He recalls that name, mentioned when they had first spoken on the network. His hand stills as Sizhui exposes the skin between shoulders — and nestled there, glinting in the light of the kitchen lights, is a teal-colored gemstone.]

I see. It reminds me of... [A frown touches his lips as he debates whether to share the thought.] It's similar to the suit markings. Almost as if it's meant to be a brand to identify us.

[Or worse, given all that has happened so far, in Sasuke's experience. While there was nothing quite like it in the Netherworld, he certainly recalls that dimension's other insidious influences. Quiet for a moment, he begins cleaning vegetables and setting them aside.]

Can you chop these? [Working one-handed, it's not a task he can do easily on his own.] It doesn't need to be perfect.

[with sasuke's confirmation that he's seen, sizhui lowers his shirt again, straightens the hem a little more then turns back around to face his guest again.]

Ah... it sort of reminds me of that, too. [except he hasn't gained anything good from the suit. (or hasn't yet, anyway?) hallucinations, fevers, impulsiveness, insomnia— all things he would much prefer not having in comparison to helping plants flourish and probably being able to benchpress a small house.] I don't think I enjoy the markings as much, though.

[speaking of which, the mention has him lifting his left hand and rubbing at the spot behind his ear, which has been carefully covered by his hairstyle today. he lowers it again following sasuke's question, head-bobbing with affirmation.] Sure, I can do that. [then he makes his way to stand beside the other man, taking a quick few moments to wash, rinse and dry his hands before he moves to pick up the knife.]

I can also do not perfect, [sizhui assures with a chuckle.] Any particular sort of cut, though? Diced? Julienned?

[He doesn't voice his agreement with that sentiment, but privately he understands. However much the suits are involved here, nothing good so far has come from them that he's aware.

There's a slight furrow of his brow at the question, making room for Sizhui in front of the counter. Julienned...?]

It doesn't really matter. Long strips are fine. [Sasuke finds a sieve, then begins to drain the freshly cleaned rice.] I'm making a simple vegetable rice dish. It'll be good for leftovers as well, and the portion size is large, so I'll leave you with some.

[... He doesn't know if he's actually said it yet, but —]

Thank you.

[having already experienced insomnia, extra impulsive behavior, hallucinations (both auditory and visual), and fevers out of nowhere, he can definitely agree that nothing good has come from them and nothing probably ever will.

also: blame him watching too many cooking shows on the fancy wording. sorry, sasuke!]

Long strips it is, then. [and he would explain that's the meaning of the word he used, but he feels it's not as important as listening to sasuke explain what he's making. gosh, sasuke's not even cooking yet and sizhui's already looking forward to eating.] Sounds great to me! [after opening a drawer beside the sink for the cutting board, he briefly averts his attention again, smiling.]

You're welcome, and whenever you need to cook, all you have to do is send me a message.

[It occurs to him that they share the same suit — something Sasuke has not been able to discuss at length with someone else. He lets this knowledge sit in his mind for a moment as he resumes work, seasoning the rice and setting it on the stove in a covered pan to cook.

With Sizhui taking care of one of the more tedious and time-consuming steps of the process, he has a moment to breathe, and to consider those words. They've spent enough time together at this point that Sasuke doesn't distrust what is said, but it's still a surprising act of kindness.]

Are you always so friendly with strangers?

[whereas sizhui has talked about his suit, but that's only because he had to describe to people what it was that he'd been experiencing. lesson learned there, in some sense, even if he would still do it again if necessary. (and as long as he doesn't let his suit become activated while he's coming up on a monster week, it should be...fine... maybe?)

he handles the task with ease, too, relishing in the brief pause between them, something that's comfortable for him alongside the meticulous chopping of cleaned vegetables. at the question, however, he stops, hums a thoughtful sound then directs his gaze toward sasuke.]

Not always. It depends on the stranger, I suppose, and if they welcome friendship, but I must admit... I do try to worm my way in by helping people.

[(That just means the suit should absolutely activate during monster week...)

Sasuke keeps an eye on the rice, and he begins adding some of the vegetables that Sizhui has chopped — careful to ensure they're given enough time in the pot with the seasoning to thoroughly cook.]

An overly helpful type. That does seem to match. [At least, from what he's picked up of Sizhui's personality so far.] With an attitude like that, someone might suspect that you have ulterior motives.

[(but of course it does and that's exactly what's going to happen sometime soon!)

with the question answered, sizhui does go back to chopping, only hesitating when sasuke reaches for the vegetables to add them to the rice or to answer him again.]

How could you have ever guessed? [he's joking, clearly, especially given the way he flashes a big toothy smile at sasuke before laughing and focusing on the vegetables once more.] And saying that's not my intention only makes it worse, right? But it's the truth, I have no other intentions, aside from friendship. [...or something more if it stems from that since they are stuck in sex resort madness.]

[Aside from friendship. It's gone about in a different way, but unfortunately Sasuke makes the comparison in his mind — and there's really no surprise. Of course something like that is going to remind him of Naruto. His hand stills in the work of placing the vegetables in with the rice, and he keeps himself partially turned away.]

To clarify, we aren't friends. [Perhaps it would sound cold, but it's merely how he draws these lines between himself and others.] I have no intention of getting close to others in such a way while I'm here.

[Well. Even if he's failed that, once already.]

I appreciate you allowing me to use your kitchen. But if it's friendship you seek, that's not something I can give.

[He's so angsty... I'm sorry...]

[sizhui notices this, naturally, pauses in his motions on the remaining bits of vegetables and casts sasuke a sideways glance. he blinks once, twice, huffs a little laugh then shakes his head.] Obviously not! We've only just met, after all. [even if that's never stopped him before.

he redirects, finishes what remains and slides the thin pieces across the cutting board with the knife while sasuke's fingers have paused.] If you insist, I won't force my presence on people who don't want it. [or at least not in expected ways? he really, truly does know how to worm his way in without trying sometimes.]

And that's completely fine with me, it won't make me change my mind about letting you use the kitchen or anything.

[sasuke, buddy, you have no idea what's going to hit you.]

[All of those statements are clearly meant to be reassurances for the boundary he's drawn, and yet somehow Sasuke doesn't feel as if he's done it right. As if Sizhui is only agreeing for the sake of — well, agreeing. Still, it's nothing that he feels a need to nitpick, so he simply turns back to the stove.

The rest of the vegetables, once they're sliced, are placed directly into the pan. He falls silent for a time with this work; he finds cooking almost meditative, easy to calm thoughts when he's going through the motions of preparation, and this recipe in particular is not difficult at all. So he can switch his mind off — rare enough as this is.

It doesn't take too long to finish. Once the rice is appropriately cooked, fluffy beneath the wide spoon he uses to check on it, Sasuke looks around.]

Do you have dishes? ... Storage containers?

[Should have asked earlier, oops.]

[to be fair, sizhui is saying them for the sake of agreeing, but he's also saying them to reiterate what sasuke said: they aren't friends, but that doesn't mean they couldn't be. this wouldn't be the first time he's had to fight past some tsundere ridiculousness, he's going to end up becoming a professional if he keeps this up.

while sasuke's doing his thing with the remaining time on the food, he briefly focuses his attention on the nearby flowers, glancing them over, gently touching their leaves and petals and, if necessary, using his powers to help brighten them up. fortunately, he doesn't need to do that often, just when it's been a long time since he'd first created the plant, otherwise they flourish just fine with the proper amount of water, soil, and light. (artificial, of course, since they aren't granted sunlight in this resort.)

glancing up from the flowers, he hums, trying to remember where he'd put those plastic containers he'd gotten a little while ago.]

The dishes are in the cabinet above the stove, on your left. I'll need a minute for the storage containers. [he steps back from what he's doing, lifts a hand to his mouth, brow deeply furrowed.] Oh! [then he softens once it hits him, he does a neat heel-turn and heads out of the kitchenette to go collect the unopened items from his dining room.]

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