pishirogane | prismatica

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Lookin' forward to it, Naoto.

[A tour through the city, bright lights and the hustle and bustle of people. Maybe he won't be stared at so strangely... he'd seen some interesting-looking people during his visit in passing. Folks may have thought he was born and raised, when deep down he wanted to sit at the flood plains and have a grilled steak.

Looking at the crystalline forest now, trees of so many shapes and sizes, Kanji wondered if they were always like this, or if something would have them change back to normal wood and leaves in time.]

...Hmmm... I might look for a little baby tree and take it home for a bonsai.

I'll try to figure out a way to avoid the worst of the crowds.

[She hummed, trying to think about the typical time schedules throughout the city. Depending when he visited, there might be more tourists. Perhaps he could find time after graduation and avoid summer time.]

[Inhaling, she slowly exhaled and pocketed her other hand.]

If that's possible. They might not allow that.

Wouldn't be surprised. I'm not up for bein' arrested for... poaching trees, or whatever.

[Is it poaching?? That involved killing, didn't it? Oh well. But as they walked, he took a breath and reached into his coat pocket. He'd been warned not to 'hem and haw' about this artifact, and hadn't they just been talking about him being more... forthcoming? He wasn't sure if that was the word, but-]

Uhm, so... hey, I- I got somethin' for ya, by the way. Sortuva pre-Firialia thing.

I'd help you out, but I'm not sure what I could do if they wanted to keep you for an evening still.

[They shouldn't be allowed to, but she couldn't be sure what they'd classify stealing a tree under. Depended if it was protected or not and if the rules had been posted somewhere quite visibly.]

Huh? You didn't have to.

[Heh, fair... if they wanted to hold him, what would a detective of a whole other planet's jurisdiction do? Still, it was sweet of her to offer, and he leaned to kiss her forehead.

He shrugged, then. The shopkeeper seemed to really want him to give this to her as soon as possible so as to not 'lose its chromatic effect', but after touching it and toying with it at home, he realized that wasn't the case.

Kanji turned to her and retrieved a small, velvet box from his coat. As he sank to a knee, he pried the box open and revealed a rather ornate ring dotted with small crystals that were, for the time being, dim. Once they sought a source of Chroma, they would give a soft gleam, and even shift in color.]

...Uhm... s-so...

[He was unusually calm about all of this.]

[She'd do her best, but it was a new world and, with all the places they ended up, changing laws. Still, she's happy to provide some reassurance that she wouldn't just be idle to him being arrested.]

[Tilting her head as she turned to face him, she noted his hand coming from his pocket. Her eyes were already growing seeing the box, but they were wide when he was down on a knee. Even she wasn't completely thick-headed to realize what this looked like, but here? Was this okay? He hadn't formally spoken to her Grandfather; and what about his mother. Shouldn't they have dinner together first?]

[... Wait, why was she suddenly traditional about this? But this was kind of a big deal. At least they were not in public; she would absolutely hate that. Now, if only she could get words out of her mouth despite her face taking a florescent shade of pink.]

P-Proposal...??

[She was turning bright pink. Okay, maybe she liked it. But the shopkeeper said to present it down on one knee to make it work, so... okay, he should just help her put it on, and-]

Pr-

[Proposal? Like a business proposal?]

Propo-

[His ears suddenly muted as his blood pressure spiked. Those years reading far too many shoujo manga in secret were suddenly bubbling up in his memory. Confessions, the sparkle of a gem, a young girl who tears up and declares 'yes!'

...He was gonna fuckin' kill the shopkeeper.

Kanji froze. Oh, no. Oh, shit. What does he do now? He can't just spout HAHAHA JUST JOKING and break this poor woman's heart! But this was too soon, too much, does- does he go through with it?

He felt dizzy. The forest was spinning, and he swayed where he knelt.]

I-I can explain...!!

[She almost doesn't hear the stutter because she's still bewildered, but when it clicked, she blinked. She mentally hoped he didn't think this was just how a person was expected to present a ring.]

[Who gave him that idea? Was it Yosuke? She wouldn't put it past him. Rise could've put him up to it too. One of his new friends? Did they know how Kanji took romantic advice??]

[But he said he could explain, but she doesn't think words would work fully . She opted to just nod silently and wait.]

[World... world, please stop swaying for a minute. He lowered his other knee and found balance, but later he'd find wet socks as well. He took a breath and explained, hoping he hadn't completely ruined everything.]

Th-the shopkeeper that pops up after the moons, he... he said to do as I did to make the rings work. They boost Chroma after m-moonlacing between people who wear the rings... I figure it'd- it'd help against everything wanting to steal our energy, r-right!? Maybe even mellow out the Iris part of ya if it gets to be too much!

[But his heart was pounding.]

I-I didn't mean to steer ya wrong, Naoto! I-it ain't that I don't wanna do- do, uh- d-do that, but it ain't like I've met your Gramps or we sat down with Ma or...!!

[Traditional, meet traditional. They were a pair of old souls.]

I wanna do it right!! But I think that Ware Wolf Shop guy was messin' with me...!

... Oh, the Ware Wolf Owner.

[They were a strange fellow, but at least she could breathe knowing that man put Kanji up to it. In fact, now that she looked at the ring properly again, she remembered seeing it at the shop. She'd considered the purchase too as they were something her and Kanji could wear and could charge (with maybe some mild embarrassment should people take closer note).]

[Aside from that, Kanji had sound reasons - protecting their Chroma and maybe helping calm her Iris tendencies. However, listening to him talk about wanting to do things right, that they'd both met their families... all that was true. And she was glad he wanted to do it properly.]

Good... This would've been sudden. I know we've been fairly nontraditional, but... if anything, I would prefer us being home where our families could be witnesses.

[He leaned back and gave a growling sigh of relief, the heat rising from his face leaving in a fine steam. It was like a weight lifted off of his shoulders, but it fogged the hell out of his glasses.]

Oh, thank fuckin' god! I-I feel the same way!

[But he took the ring from the box and offered it to her with a bow of his head.]

...Sorry for the heart attack! I've been hidin' mine until I got the chance to give ya yours!

I'm glad to know that. Besides that, I think it might be too soon; not to mention, what discussions would likely follow.

[And she knows they were good with their dragons, but that would be something that comes up besides a possible wedding ceremony.]

It's alright. Now that you've explained... I can tell you I was thinking about purchasing these rings before.

[He stood then, relieved that nothing had been completely ruined.]

Ya were? I thought they were pretty, but the guy wouldn't tell me what they cost... then one day he just shoved 'em in my hands and told me how to "activate" 'em.

[He shrugged.]

Besides, for the real thing, I-...

[He was pink again and busied himself by brushing snow off his pants.]

I-I mean, knowin' us, the one who'd p-propose would... probably totally be you before me.

He wouldn't? How strange...

[Then again, the whole shop was strange and the prices seemed vague. Something about completed interactions with other people; she doesn't know.]

[Going on about the 'real thing', Naoto flushed.]

... Possibly. Or somehow we do it at the same time.

[Even blushing he still found it in him to laugh about it. He could even imagine it, stopping each other and producing ring boxes, boggling at each other...]

Oh my god, I can see it:

"After you, Kanji-kun-"

"Nah, I think you should go first, after you-"

"Did we both write letters?"

"I had a friggin' script prepared when practicing in front of the mirror got way too embarrassing!"

Haha! Yes, that's exactly how I envisioned it. At least we wouldn't be around anyone to witness it. They can find out later.

Exactly! ...Huh, but what's the word on a party? Like, a little-bitty one with close friends n' family to announce it?

I wouldn't oppose one. We wouldn't want them to find out from another source and ask why we didn't tell them sooner.

Heh. Noted. I wouldn't mind gettin' one up on Inaba's rumor mill.

[He reached for her hands and took them.]

Hmm... you ain't gettin' too cold out here, are ya?

No. Honestly, think about it; what do you think will go around with those rumors?

[Her hands in his, her fingers curled slightly.]

Just a little. I can keep going.

[Coarse thumbs brushed against her knuckles, and the color left him a little at her remark when he realized the true danger of the rumor mill. The things people would assume... and at their age!]

R-right... well... we tell 'em the truth, and if they wanna come up with some batshit scheme, that's their own problem. It'll just be proven wrong after some time, yeah?

[That's the best they can do, really. But until then they could continue their stroll, and a quiet so thick that Kanji feared thinking too hard would somehow be heard by the forest as well as Naoto.]

Knowing what we've learned and overheard during our years in school, I'd prefer they stop them early before they come up with something absolutely heinous.

[She knows the type of rumors they'd like to spread about him. She might be pressing for slander in a few years...]

[Continuing on, she looked over at him again.] I never did put the ring on. May I?

['I heard he was taking responsibility...' and other such bullshit. Pft. Whatever.]

O-oh, right... yeah, let's see it on!

[With everything cleared up, his stomach was far less jittery about seeing the box again, let alone with the ring at hand. He passed it over.]

[Why were people like that?]

[Accepting the ring, she looked between her hands. Not even really thinking about it, she slid it onto her left ring finger.]

How does it look?

[His eyes widened and for a moment he wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't until he was red to the ears that he managed to blubber out a:]

I-it looks great, Naoto...!

[Oh no, were his eyes stinging? Kanji, this wasn't the real thing, what was he going to be like during the actual ACTUAL deal?]

I'm- I'm bustin' a leak, I'm sorry... it's run-off from a little earlier...!!