The Fire Fox PV Ruka Closed

Kazuo's eyes lit up at mention of the cat cafe and he nodded aggressively. Cats were definitely one of his favourite topics. "There are quite a few cat cafes but the one near my house is pretty cool. The cats are mostly pretty friendly and they make really good lattes. Some places don't have very good food and drink, they think that just having cats is enough to draw customers." He picked up his pen and opened his journal to a new page, writing in neat lettering Tokyo Trip across the top then adding ▪︎ Cafe Mocha as the start of a list. He chewed on his pen absently as he considered his favourite places. That list was probably longer than they would have time for. "Have you had sushi? You can't visit Japan and not go for proper sushi. Or ramen." He suggested with a grin, adding ▪︎ Russia Sushi and ▪︎ ramen? to the list. "Animals… There's an aquarium near my house. And the Ueno Zoo is maybe half an hour on the train. We could take a trip up to Zao to see the foxes but that's a couple hours out of Tokyo. Oh! If we go there, we can visit one of the hot springs. Make it a day trip. Where do you think Jack would want to go?" He asked, adding ▪︎ Sunshine Aquarium, ▪︎ Ueno Zoo, and ▪︎ Zao to the list. "I don't think he's nearly as interested in animals as you."

His pen stilled and he raised his gaze to meet Ruka's, lips curving downward in what might have been disapproval at the older boy's mention of his homesickness. "Nothing is truly lost." He absently waved his right hand in the direction of the bookshelves. "Humans are very good at leaving behind heaps of evidence of their existence. Their history and stories. Should I prize my culture's past more than its future?" He studied Ruka, searching for something in the boy's expression. He sensed something personal in Ruka's response and he wanted to dig at it, to uncover whatever it was that made Ruka opposed to his perspective. Logically, he knew he would be overstepping the boundaries of politeness and likely inviting Ruka's displeasure at prying. Yet his curiosity drove him onward. "Who or what did you lose?" The question was blunt but Kazuo's tone was soft, prepared to be rebuffed for his prying.

Kazuo considered Ruka's comments on mastering emotion, wondering who these others were that he was referring to. "I think you misunderstand me… or maybe they misunderstand what it means to master their emotions. And… I am by no means a master of my emotions yet. I'm not so prideful as to say that, at the age of almost 12, I have done what some people cannot manage to do in their entire lives." He gave a slight smile at that. "I'm not denying my emotions or masking them to pretend they don’t exist. But neither am I allowing emotion alone to be the guiding factor in my decisions. My mother taught me, growing up, that I cannot choose what I feel but I can choose how I express it. Or when. I can acknowledge that I miss my home while also understanding that I shouldn't let that sentiment stop me from enjoying new experiences while I'm here." He shrugged then, twirling his pen between his fingers absently. "Emotions are a fundamental part of the human experience but they aren't the entire human experience. And your emotions are not an animal to be tamed. They cannot be completely separated from what makes you who you are. I don't think control is an illusion but it is, very much, a negotiation." And that was very much his father's influence speaking through him. "In this case, a negotiation with parts of yourself. Emotional mastery is about finding a balance between control and unrestrained expression."

He paused there, wondering if he had perhaps rambled too much about it. He had so many thoughts on the human condition, so much fascination for it, that he could talk for hours if given the opportunity. He left it there, turning his focus to the next part of their conversation instead. Listening to Ruka talk, he felt at once a sense of kinship in his explanation yet also a vast gap in their experiences. Kazuo had never had to use charm to ensure that he had food or a blanket. His life was privileged. Yet it was privileged because people like his parents used charm to ensure that they held a place in society that could not be stripped away easily. His clan could have fallen to ruin the way many others had when Meiji turned against the onmyoji. Yet it was charm and subterfuge that had kept them from suffering the ignoble fate of the Tsuchimikado, stripped of their rights and power. And he knew that one day he would be the one using charm and subterfuge to ensure his family's continued existence. Two very different lives yet at their heart, the reasons were the same.

"If you think I'm charming I can't wait for you to meet my mother…" He responded with amusement, smirk returning. "If I am charming, I owe it all to her wonderful example. You can't survive in politics very long without learning at least some skill in how to charm people."

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Kazuo Shimada

Ruka beamed when Kaz talked about the cat cafe close to his home and immediately started on a list. Something about putting plans down on paper elicited even more excitement from Ruka and he shuffled his chair a little closer to be able to watch the other boy's pen move across the paper of his journal. "Only that supermarket stuff," he admitted when asked about whether he'd had sushi before. There were some chains around Cardiff but the prices tended to lessen Ruka's appetite despite the fact that he wasn't the one paying for his own food anymore. "But I guess that's nothing like what you can get in Japan, is it?" In all honesty, he was happy to let Kazuo take them for whatever kind of food he thought they should try. Ruka was fond of all kinds of food, could appreciate new tastes and textures. He didn't know much of anything about Japanese Cuisine so he was willing to simply tag along wherever.

The amount of things Kazuo listed when asked about animals made Ruka grin even wider and he nodded frantically to each suggestion despite the fact that he didn't really have any idea what all of those places actually were. Aquariums and zoos, day trips to hot springs, it sounded like an adventure like nothing Ruka had experienced before and at once he decided that he would do whatever it took to convince his new family to let him and Jack go along with Kazuo and his family.

"Yeah," Ruka agreed with a light laugh at the other boy's observation that Jack wouldn't appreciate the animal theme as much as Ruka did. "He'd mostly tolerate it because it'd make me happy." That much he could vouch for. His brother hadn't complained about Ruka's choice of spending his birthday at the zoo, hadn't tarnished his excitement over getting to see lynxes and bears and elephants with a single word. For a second Ruka leaned back to think about places Jack might want to see. It was difficult to tell exactly when he had so little idea of what Tokyo would have to offer. "Are there some interesting museums?" Most likely, yes. "He likes History. Can tell you everything about how the Great Goblin War filters into World War Two and how it led to the extinction of an entire species of woodland fairies." Ruka pulled a face at his own words and how inaccurate they were. Jack would have hated every part of what he had just said. "Anything historical he'd like, I bet."

His smile wavered only for a moment at the sight of Kazuo's disapproval, but Ruka managed to keep it on his face even as he considered the other boy's words. His eyes drifted across all the books around them, and he hummed thoughtfully. "I just feel like... Every interaction we have, every place we visit is an experience, isn't it? Once those people or those places are gone, that's it. An experience you'll never make again. No kind of evidence can really compare to something you were once able to experience with all your senses. Feeling that kind of loss over and over again... I just wonder if there are enough experiences out there to compensate for that for the rest of forever." Pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, Ruka looked back at Kazuo. The whites in his eyes had turned redder with each minute he focused on the topic. His voice was calm and steady, only his fingers tapped a constant One, Two, Three against the tabletop.

The question his arguments had brought forward had been expected. Ruka had felt it coming before Kazuo's lips had even started to curl around the words. It wasn't something he held against the other boy, didn't even think it rude or to be crossing a line. Kazuo was smart and Ruka's arguments had been very obviously based on personal experience. If anything, Ruka was delighted that the other boy had picked up on that.

"My dad," he answered easily, almost surprised with how different his voice sounded from the first time he had acknowledged his father's death out loud. "He passed away the summer before last. I..." He paused, unsure how much of that Kazuo really wanted to hear. It wasn't relevant how he had died or what kind of burden it had put on Ruka when he did, didn't matter how much resentment he had struggled with as he had simultaneously mourned his loss. None of it was relevant to the conversation they were having, so Ruka stopped himself there.

"If I just imagine," he said instead, closing his fist tighter around the pendant. "If I had to... If Jack..." He gurgled helplessly, blinking a few times to refocus again, taking deep breaths as he tried to put his words in order again. "I know my weaknesses," he uttered, looking up to offer Kazuo a grim smile. "Funny how selfish it is, isn't it? I agreed to be bound to you so I could keep an eye on you. To make sure you wouldn't break Jack, because if you did... it'd break me." A dry chuckle escaped him as he leaned back and mustered Kazuo intently. "Makes me sort of envious, really, that you don't have that worry." The sentiment was genuine and Ruka's expression softened. It wasn't like he wanted Kazuo to break under his emotions and he didn't resent the other boy for his lack of emotional pain, so he simply offered the other boy a smile and a silent nod of understanding.

His expression remained the same as he listened to Kazuo's words about emotions and the control one could wield over them. "It sounds more like co-existing than controlling to me," he admitted, though his face lit up with unbridled fascination for the topics Kazuo addressed. Ruka couldn't remember the last time he had had a conversation in which his conversational partner was so capable of expressing their values and convictions so easily. Ruka was infinitely drawn to interesting people, and Kazuo was a marvel.

With a nod of understanding, Ruka hoped to express that he indeed had interpreted Kazuo's words in a way different from what they were meant to be. What the other boy was saying didn't sound like the clumsy attempts at hiding and forcing down emotions that a handful of people he knew called control. No, Kazuo was more practiced, more trained perhaps. He talked like he was able to embrace his emotions before putting them on a shelf to observe them from every angle before deciding on how to display them. Remarkable.

Wanting to know more about the way Kazuo thought about emotional mastery as he called it, Ruka leaned across the table with wide, eager eyes. "How can control be a negotiation?" he asked curiously. "I'd assume the point of control is that you don't have to negotiate. Once someone or something else pulls even just a single part of the strings it's not under your control anymore, is it?"

Slowly he leaned back again, smiling at Kazuo's words about his mother's charm. "I'll look forward to meeting her," he said genuinely. As things stood there was a good chance that he would be meeting her soon enough. With a little nod, Ruka considered the word Politics for a moment. It made him think of Flash and his family, his brother who was so heavily involved in politics, and the way Flash aspired to be like him. Charm was what he was trying to use to get there.

"Is that where you're planning on using your survival skills, too?" Ruka asked curiously. "Politics?"

Kazuo gave a mock gasp of horror then covered his mouth with his hand. ”Supermarket sushi? You poor soul. Absolutely horrifying. I simply cannot allow you to continue to live like this.” He gave Ruka a wink and a grin at that point. "Supermarket sushi is the worst. It's always the same. Salmon nigiri or california rolls." He made a face in disgust. "I suppose that means you haven't had proper ramen either." He put a star beside the food options as Ruka talked about Jack’s preferences. He grinned at the suggestion of museums, something he was also a lover of, one of the things he and Jack shared in common. Then he arched a brow at Ruka's example. He wasn't great with British wizard history yet but that did not sound at all accurate from what he had learned so far.

"Goblin war? Extinction of fairies? Ruka… do you need help with your History of Magic studies…?" He teased with a smirk. "Museums we can do. There are lots. We'll have to ask him what would interest him specifically. I doubt he'd want to visit the kimono exhibit at the Tokyo National Museum. If he wants Japanese history, the Fukugawa Edo Museum might be good. Kyoto is better for history. They've retained more of the old styles. Tokyo has been rebuilt too often, especially after earthquake in the 20s and the bombings in the war." He added ▪︎Fukugawa Edo Museum then, with a thoughtful hum added ▪︎Sendai? to the list.

He turned thoughtful, considering Ruka's words on experiences. "Those experiences can't be relived, though. Even if the people or things that gave you that experience still existed, the experience would never be the same, no matter how many times you repeat it. That's the fascinating thing about human experiences. They're never the same. Things I experience now, if I revisit them in ten years, will change because I will have changed. So am I really losing an experience because I cannot have it the same way? Or am I gaining more and more new experiences through growth?" He hummed thoughtfully, enjoying the topic immensely. "When we all graduate from this jigoku - this hell school - we will never be able to experience life as school kids again. Likely, we won't even see many of the people we met here again. I doubt you will miss most of them all that much. If you were to come back here to teach, let's say, would the Hagwarts experience be the same? Probably not, right?" He paused, chuckling a bit. "For the sake of the next generation, I certainly hope not, anyway. I think sentiment holds people back sometimes. Traps them in their own idea of what the past was like."

Kazuo was surprised when Ruka didn't tell him to mind his own business and, quite the opposite, answered his question. It was obviously an emotional topic and if he had been in Ruka's place he wasn't sure he would have been so generous. His father, someone he was very close to, it seemed. He couldn’t relate, he'd never lost a family member. It was hard to imagine something happening to either of his parents yet Ruka had somehow lost both. "What happened?" He asked, a bit hesitant since Ruka hadn't chosen to elaborate. He wanted to know the story of course but he was also testing boundaries in a way, seeing where he could pry. As Ruka continued to speak he frowned, though it was not directed at Ruka. “Attachments to people are… much more complicated. I admit I don’t have much experience with the kind of pain you’ve experienced or even the connections you have... “ He gave Ruka a wry smile. “I’m not sure that’s really something to be envious of. To lose something, you have to have it in the first place, yes? I don’t know if it’s all that selfish… but if it is, I’d hardly blame you. I imagine if I cared for someone as much as you seem to care for Jack, I’d do the same.” Listening to Ruka talk, even briefly about how he felt about Jack made him feel as if he was missing something. He had spoken of experiences to Ruka yet he avoided the very experiences that had given Ruka his contrary opinion. He found that train of thought distracting and set it aside as Ruka, in turn, asked him questions.

“To be in control of something, there has to be some give from the other side. Kings rule because they are permitted to. They have control only as long as the people they control allow it. You cannot simply exert your will over your emotions and have them obey you, that’s really not how they work. At least, that kind of control won’t work forever. Somewhere along the line your emotions will simply rise up and overwhelm you. Like a revolution, the King is overthrown.” Kazuo’s smirk returned with his analogy. “Control is a power exchange. If you want control over someone you have to convince them to give up control. If you want to control your emotions, then you need to be able to offer them a chance to be heard - so to speak. Emotions are just one part of your very complicated brain trying to convey a message. If you can understand the message then you can rationalize it and your emotions become more manageable.” Kazuo shrugged at this point, a soft laugh escaping. “I have to admit, though, that this is not a foolproof method. The marvellous thing about humans is that sometimes, no matter what we might try to do to stop it, our emotions take over anyway.”

He hummed softly as he considered the final question. “I’m not sure. There is some… expectation but my family is not so old-fashioned as to expect me to follow in my father’s footsteps simply because of tradition or any nonsense like that. I don’t think I would want to be an Ambassador like my Dad but before he was offered the position, when he was a political advisor… Well I don’t think I would mind doing a job like that.” There was a delight in his voice, and a hint of ambition. “Being able to pull the strings and watch how people react… And what about you? What do you plan on doing with your survival skills?”

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Kazuo Shimada

Ruka snorted ungracefully at Kazuo's response to finding out that the only kind of sushi he'd ever had was the supermarket kind. "Is it hard to make yourself?" he asked, a little out of the blue. He'd discovered quite a liking for cooking and baking, and if there was any way for him to learn how to prepare sushi, or ramen, he would jump at it in a heartbeat.

As the conversation moved on to what Jack would possibly like to be doing, Kazuo immediately picked up on the inaccuracies of anything historical in Ruka's statement, and the less than subtle mention of it made the Gryffindor laugh brightly as he shook his head. "Just trying to make a point," he said with a shrug of his shoulders before leaning forward to listen intently to Kazuo listing off the kinds of museums they could visit. The statement about Jack possibly not necessarily wanting to visit a kimono exhibit drew a small smile from him. "You'd be surprised at all the stuff Jack can find an interest in," he said softly, eyes flickering to the side for a moment before settling back on Kazuo. "What kind of places would you want us to see?" he asked curiously. Surely the other boy had recommendations no tourist would even start to think of.

Steadying his elbows on the table, Ruka took a moment to consider Kazuo's views on experiences, on how it wasn't worth mourning a lost experience that was never going to be the same again anyway. He took a deep breath, averting his eyes for a moment. "I'm not sure if... I don't think it's wanting to experience the same thing again that makes us mourn the loss of it. I think it's not having the opportunity to experience it in different ways anymore. It's like being robbed of a part of the future you could have had. Losing someone... Doesn't just mean you can't live in the past with them anymore. It means you won't be able to have a future with them anymore either. It's one thing to choose not to see someone or not to go somewhere anymore but... it's a different thing to not even have the choice." He squeezed his pendant tightly for a moment. "You're right, there are countless new experiences out there but... You never get to have complete control over which ones to experience for yourself. Some of them just get... taken away." He drifted off, voice going quiet for a moment before he managed to offer Kazuo the ghost of a smile.

It surprised him only vaguely when Kazuo did ask for elaboration on what had happened to his dad. The other boy did seem the type to want as much information as he could get on everything, though there was something about the hesitance with which he asked the question that made Ruka feel less interrogated than he might have in other circumstances. "He grew sick," Ruka said quietly, closing his eyes for a moment. "He's always been in poor health but it just... got worse. I wanted him to get help. There are medical institutions that will treat you even if you don't have any papers or a residence. I know because I checked." His voice grew angry for a moment, cold, but the rage vanished as quickly as it had come. "They might have been able to do something for him if he only... If his pride hadn't been so important to him." He winced. "More important than me." Rubbing the palms of his hands against his eyes, Ruka managed to collect himself again, straightened his back, put a smile back on his face. "So he fell asleep one night and didn't wake up the next morning." A pause. "I buried him."

Locking eyes with Kazuo, Ruka managed to shrug his shoulders almost helplessly. "I hate him for it, Kaz," he admitted, putting into words something he'd never quite dared to admit out loud before. "But what I hate most is that I don't have the chance to make up with him. I don't have the chance to ask him why he did what he did. Why he wouldn't get help. Why he'd..."

Leave me

He didn't say it, but it was easy to read on his face. The hurt, the lack of understanding, the resentment. As Kazuo talked about attachments, Ruka looked at him with vaguely watery eyes. He didn't dare blink, lest it would cause the tears to escape and roll down his cheeks. "Why don't you?" he asked, voice a little rough from the strain of keeping himself together. "Have those attachments, I mean. What's keeping you from making those connections? If you don't think it's something to be envious of not to have them... Why not change it?"

Finally able to blink again, Ruka nodded along with Kazuo's explanation about control. He could see the differences between the kind that Ruka had talked about, and the kind the other boy was explaining to him. It made sense too, this compromise, the act of making the other party feel like giving up control was in their best interest, to offer them something in return. "They're awfully tedious," Ruka decided, staring down at his hands and observing his fingernails for a moment. "Emotions. You should teach me how to control mine. They tend to run with me a lot." A small chuckle accompanied his words but the sentiment was genuine. Getting lost in his emotions had yet to really do him any good.

"Pulling the strings and seeing how people react..." Ruka smiled lightly and tilted his head to the side as he mustered Kazuo. "I can see that suiting you." Leaning back, Ruka considered for a moment what he imagined his life to be like after Hogwarts, once they would all have to start a career of their own. No more timetables, no more fixed meal times, no guaranteed accommodation. "I've worked my whole life," he admitted with a little hum. "It's hard to think about... About anything but right now, but... Maybe I'd like to do some research on Magical Creatures. Become a Magizoologist, perhaps." He laughed. "But things can change from one day to the next, can't they? I'm happy to keep my options open."

Kazuo blinked at Ruka’s sudden question. “Well I… He flushed a bit, embarrassed to admit that he didn’t know. He had never tried to cook, had never been in a position where he needed to. He enjoyed eating, enjoyed what other people created, but had never considered doing it himself. “I don’t know. I’ve never made it myself. Sushi or ramen. My grandmother would make maki - that’s the sushi rolls - sometimes for me and it never looked hard. I imagine you could learn to do it pretty easy? Ramen though, that might be harder. You have to learn to make the broth and the noodles. Ramen broth is very important and it takes hours to make from what I understand.” He fiddled with his pen a bit, thinking about it. “You aren’t thinking of trying to make it, are you? Would the creepy elves even let us into the kitchen…?” He avoided the kitchen. And the elves. As much as he could, anyway.

He considered whether or not Jack would really be interested in a kimono exhibit then shrugged. Maybe the younger Burnett would be interested in cultural fashion but surely there were more interesting things to learn about? When Ruka asked what he would want to show them he hummed softly as he thought about it. “Well I like going to the places on the list.” He mused with a slight shrug. “I would have wanted to show them to you anyway. I suppose… there’s the shrine near my house. It’s… kind of special to my family. Do you like tech? We could go to Akihabara… Or shopping in Harajuku. I love to go people watching in Harajuku. There’s always something to see there.” These were things he liked to do but he had no idea if Jack and Ruka would enjoy them. His interests were not typical and though Ruka and Jack stood out as different to him, that didn’t mean they would enjoy the same things. He stared at the list for a moment, hesitating before adding them to the list. Then he looked up at Ruka with curiosity, a thought crossing his mind. “What about you? If you could show me one place from where you’re from, what would it be?”

Kazuo genuinely wanted to understand Ruka’s point of view, was fascinated by it yet he couldn’t quite reconcile it against his own and as Ruka continued to explain, he finally thought he might have pinpointed one of the significant differences in character that drove them to different philosophies. Control. The way he spoke of it gave Kazuo the sense that Ruka didn’t like the loss of control. Which, given that he lost his father, made sense in a way. It was natural for people to react negatively when things were out of their control. He frowned a bit, realizing that his perspective was likely the less ‘normal’ one between the two of them. “Maybe. But you can’t do anything about the choices that aren’t yours. There will always be things beyond your control. Experiences you won’t be able to have for one reason or another. Even if I folded a thousand cranes and achieved my wish for immortality, I wouldn’t be able to go back in time to experience life as a samurai or see ancient Rome or whatever else. Maybe I would only have one chance to meet someone but instead of mourning the loss shouldn’t I cherish the memory? Maybe I can’t control everything but I can control how I choose to feel about my experiences and I would rather remember them for what they were than mourn them for what they could have been.” It was an oddly positive outlook from a normally cynical boy.

He set the pen down and crossed his arms on the desk, propping his chin on them as he listened to Ruka talk about his father. It wasn’t a happy story - not that any death is but this one was sadder than most for all that it had been preventable. He could understand Ruka’s anger, his obvious frustration and his inevitable pain. He could definitely understand the guilt Ruka carried, the kind that could never be lifted, the questions that could never be answered. He’d never lost a loved one but the way Ruka spoke, expressing himself, made it easy to understand. “I’m sorry.” Kazuo offered the words quietly. He had always hated condolences because they never really felt like enough but there was nothing else he could offer Ruka. “I can only imagine how hard that must have been. How hard it must still be. I imagine you think he was very selfish, in the end. I wonder if he wasn’t afraid...” It was only a thought; he had no knowledge of what kind of person Ruka’s father was but he had trouble imagining a father willingly abandoning his son. He hadn’t really meant to speak his thoughts aloud, didn’t want to cause Ruka anymore hurt than asking the questions had already caused. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to listen to Ruka talk about his father, it was only that he was aware that perhaps the library was not the best place for it. “Sorry,” he murmured quietly. “If I pried too much. It wasn’t my intention to upset you.”

He didn’t like the question Ruka turned on him. It had no easy answers but after asking the older boy to expose himself, he could hardly dodge it. Or rather, he didn’t want to, not with Ruka. Yet he wasn’t entirely eager to answer the questions he posed either and that reluctance undoubtedly came across in the slow way that he spoke. “I don’t have them because there have been no opportunities for me to forge them. Outside of my parents, of course. I did not attend a primary school in Japan, I was tutored at home. I have no siblings…” He shrugged. These were not things he was sad about, merely the reasons he was a bit of a loner. “Coming to Hogwarts is my first experience with people my own age. But I feel like I don’t view the world the way students here do. So it’s hard to want to make connections. Besides which, attachments complicate things.” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think my position is very envious but I’m not sure I should change it. It seems more logical to simply continue as I always have.”

“I don’t know if I’d call them tedious…” Kazuo teased with a grin. “Maybe a bit inconvenient but without emotions what would you be? A robot? Boring! I don’t know if I can teach you how to control your emotions but I can try, I suppose. To help you learn to manage them, anyway. Then maybe they won’t run away on you and get you into trouble…” He stuck out his tongue teasingly at that. He didn’t really know if Ruka was the sort to end up in trouble because of his feelings but he had a suspicion that it was that way.

Ruka wanting to be a magizoologist made him smile. It was one of the careers he’d also considered. He liked animals. Especially magical ones. He just happened to like watching people more. “Ah, so you’re going to use all that charm of yours on the animals? Lure them to you by batting your eyes at them?” Kazuo teased some more, snickering a bit before asking a more serious question. “You’ve worked all your life…? But you’re a child…” It wasn’t that Kazuo was ignorant or naive, but he still couldn’t help but to be a bit surprised every time he met someone whose life sounded like it belonged to a different century. Ruka was only, what, fourteen? The idea that he had to work when he was even younger just felt wrong. “What did you have to do for work? Aren’t there labour laws to protect children?”

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Kazuo Shimada

Ruka hummed thoughtfully as he listened to Kazuo's explanation of sushi and ramen, how he didn't really know how to make it but how ramen seemed to be a more complex process. Ruka couldn't say he'd ever done much more than bake cookies and help Jack's dad with the occasional dinner preparation, so he probably was in no way equipped to actually make sushi or ramen, but the thought of trying still intrigued him more than the outcome itself.

"We might be able to convince them," he considered, tapping a finger against his chin as he thought about it. "Maybe they could at least bring us everything we'd need to try. It could be fun!" A grin spread across his face as he nodded in Kazuo's direction. "Sushi Making... That'd be an errand I'd join." He chuckled quietly. There weren't a lot of errands he actually cared for, but a cooking themed one... He'd definitely sign up for that!

Focusing his attention back on Kazuo's list, Ruka tilted his head to the side as he reached out to carefully brush a piece of lint off the other boy's journal. "Shrine?" he repeated questioningly. He wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to imagine upon hearing that word. "Dedicated to what?" Interest sparked his eyes a brilliant green and he shuffled forward a bit as if getting closer would somehow provide him with a deeper understanding of everything Kazuo was saying. He nodded along when the other boy talked about tech and shopping and people watching. Ruka wasn't exactly sure how much he would really enjoy either of those, but he was interested in letting Kazuo show them all of those places anyway. "People watching," he repeated with a small smirk curling his lips. "Is that what you call your stalking tendencies?"

The moment of amusement was broken when Kazuo asked something Ruka hadn't been asked before. His own favourite place where he came from. It took him a moment to even decide what it meant. Was he from Cardiff now? Was that what people would be referring to from now on when they asked about the place he was from? Was it Ireland?
He decided that that was most likely what Kazuo meant. The place he'd grown up in, the wide fields close to Mullingar, the bonfires, the sheep, the strangers joining their little camp in the evenings to share stories of folklore. What about it would Ruka show Kazuo if he had the chance?

"When I was younger," he started quietly, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Sometimes my dad would take me to the marketplace. It's not big, it's... Just some fruit and bread, cheeses and meat. Some stalls with handmade trinkets. An ice cream stand." His expression brightened a little at the memory. "When he could he'd... He'd get me an ice cream cone. Strawberry. I'd probably take you there. To that market place." Shrugging his shoulders, Ruka leaned back and offered Kazuo a smile. It wasn't as exciting or cultural as anything Kazuo had planned for them, but it was the one thing that really stood out to Ruka as something he had enjoyed doing.

Sighing quietly, Ruka steadied his elbows on the table and folded his hands together as he listened to Kazuo's words about choices and experiences. In a way, what he was saying was how Ruka wanted to look at things, but his mind had other ideas most of the time. "It's hard," he said quietly. "I wouldn't mourn not being able to live in Ancient Rome or see dinosaurs because I don't know what that experience is like anyway, but... losing a person? Knowing what their company is like, having grown familiar with the way they make you feel... It's hard to treasure that memory without imagining what a future with them could have been like. And mourning that loss." His fingers twitched around his flame pendant. "What you're saying... sounds ideal. But feelings are rarely rational and never really ideal, are they? The reality is more complicated..." Still, he couldn't help but let his expression brighten a little at the way Kazuo talked about treasuring a memory. It was a nice thought, one he tried hard to live by even if it wasn't easy and often failed.

When the conversation turned to Ruka's dad, Kazuo seemed to be focusing his attention on him completely, pen set to the side, arms crossed on the table. The condolences were always the worst part, but somehow Ruka found himself not minding them so much coming from Kazuo. They weren't pitying, he wasn't being stared at like he was some sort of helpless animal. The words sounded sincere enough, and Ruka offered a small nod of appreciation for them. "Afraid of trying and failing anyway," he agreed silently to the other boy's broken off thought. "This way he only had himself to blame. No false hope, no resentment. He never did like putting his life in someone else's hands." Ruka managed to press out a quiet laugh at that, shaking his head as Kazuo apologised. "No, it's fine, I..." He sighed, rubbed a hand across his face. "It's easier to talk about these days. I have a home, and a family. Last year was much harder, it's a good thing you didn't know me then." He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders lightly.

While Kazuo hadn't exactly upset him with his questions, it seemed that Ruka had struck on a topic the other boy wasn't exactly comfortable talking about. The hesitance was easy to notice, the way he talked was more reluctant than it had been throughout the course of their conversation. What he was saying lit a familiar spark inside Ruka. "We're more alike than I thought," he decided quietly as he contemplated everything Kazuo had said about finding it hard to connect to people his age. "Hogwarts was my first experience with kids my age as well. Can't say I had an easy time connecting with anybody either." He ran a hand through his hair, a small smirk on his lips. "Careful, though. Attachments have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect them to."

A grateful smile spread across his face when Kazuo said he could maybe help him get a better grasp of his emotions. "I'd like that," he admitted with a little nod, then laughed brightly when the other boy stuck his tongue out at him. The noise elicited a sound of disapproval from someone nearby, and Ruka had to remind himself that they were in the library, where people tried to study without being distracted.

With the conversation turning to Ruka's possible ambition of becoming a Magizoologist, he didn't miss a beat after Kazuo's words. With exaggerated theatrics, he let his upper body drop to the table, a hand outstretched as he wildly batted his eyelashes in Kazuo's direction. "Oh, majestic Kelpie," he whispered in the voice of someone stricken with heartache. "Won't you come watch the stars with me so you may experience just half the beauty I do each time I lay my eyes on you." Chuckling, he straightened up again, brushing a few wrinkles out of his top. He looked up when Kazuo questioned the fact that he had been working his whole life, laughed quietly at his observation that Ruka was just a kid.

"They really only care about labour laws if you let them catch you," he pointed out with a little smile. "My dad and I, we... We would do street performances. Fire dance, mostly. It paid enough for some food most days, so it was worth it." His eyes sparked with something like a fond memory. "I enjoy fire dancing, it was just... A lot to be doing it almost all day, every day. Downside of living on the streets, I suppose. My dad didn't want me in a foster home, so we just had to... make do." A small chuckle escaped him. "Can't say I'm not enjoying the fact that I can rely on having a bed to sleep in and food to eat each day for now."

"A… sushi making errand?" Kazuo grew thoughtful at that, wondering if he could really teach a bunch of kids how to make sushi. Teaching Ruka one on one he could probably manage but more than that…? "Don't you have to be a prefect or something to host errands though? I don't think I've seen any that weren't organized by prefects or professors." His thoughts drifted to his club and he grinned a bit. "I could make it a club activity. My club could host it. But I wouldn't be able to offer rewards like the other errands. The only reward would be food…" He chuckled a bit at that. "But I don't know if there would be much interest."

When Ruka asked about the shrine, Kazuo hummed softly, once again wishing he had his phone. It was so hard to explain and if he could just show some of the things he was talking about… "Shrines to the kami, the uh… gods, I guess, but not really." He'd never had to explain it to someone before and he also knew that how they viewed spiritual things here was very different. He paused, considering what to say, whether to explain or just leave it at that vague statement. Though Ruka appeared to be interested, even leaning in closer, Kazuo wasn't sure if he would stay interested. "It's Shinto, our… religion. One of our religions. But it's more ‘spiritual path’ and less ‘church on Sunday’. Shinto is animistic. We believe that everything has a spirit and that there is a balance in the world. We call these spirits kami and the Shrines are dedicated to them. Specifically to the more powerful kami, or the ones most relevant to an area. The Shrine by my house is for Inari. Inari is very popular because Inari is considered to govern over the harvest. But Inari is also the kami who first took the kitsune in and used them as messengers which makes him important to my clan." He didn’t really know if his explanation would make sense to Ruka but he gave it anyway, trusting that if Ruka wanted to know more he would ask. He watched the smirk forming on Ruka’s lips and his eyes narrowed a bit when Ruka called him a stalker. Then he laughed.

“I call it observation and documentation.” He replied, sticking out his tongue at Ruka. “How else would you suggest I study people and learn about human behaviour?”

He tilted his head as Ruka spoke, listening as the older boy shared with him, not just a place but also a memory. That sentiment they had spoken of earlier, though this was not clinging to sadness. This was happiness. “It sounds nice. I would love to see it.” Kazuo replied with a smile. It did sound nice, though very different from what he knew but he was more interested in it’s importance to Ruka. He wanted to see the smile he imagined Ruka might have, returning to that place. As they came back around to experiences, Kazuo hummed again. “No, feelings aren’t rational. I’d like to think that I could mourn and move on but I suppose I don’t really know.” He smiled, a bit wryly, thinking about it. He nodded in response to Ruka’s explanation of his Dad’s actions. It was very human, very selfish. He could understand why Ruka would be angry but he could also understand how his father might be afraid of failing. Failure was something he wasn’t very fond of either, as much as he tried to embrace the learning that came with it. “Last year… When you met Jack.” He mused. “Is that why you’re so close?”

Ruka’s quiet admission that they might be alike in response to his hesitant explanation made him feel something that might have been relief. He chuckled when Ruka spoke of attachments, arching a brow and giving the older boy a smirk then tapping his temple. “Like this?” He teased then shrugged. “I’ve… noticed.” He grew quiet for a moment, thinking about the people he had met over the year. “Well… maybe it’s not so bad. If people are determined to attach themselves to me despite my demeanour then perhaps they might be worth it.” He grinned then, winking at Ruka.

Ruka then managed to surprise him with a charmingly over exaggerated act. He watched Ruka plead with the imaginary kelpie, grin widening with delight, culminating with a giggle. “Pardon me for doubting your charms. What magical beast could possibly reject such a heartfelt plea.”

Ruka’s life was a stark reminder to Kazuo of his own privilege and there was part of him that was bothered by the idea that Ruka would have to live like that, as a child. Working every day… living on the streets… Had Ruka even been to muggle school before Hogwarts? He had a feeling that if he asked the answer would be no. He was glad Ruka didn’t have to live like that anymore but he wanted to do more. “Fire dancing?” He asked, eyes lighting up with curiosity. “What is that?”

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Kazuo Shimada

Ruka grinned at the way Kazuo seemed to genuinely consider the possibility of putting on a sushi errand, when he could have simply discarded it as a silly idea. "I suppose that's true," he agreed to the point that only prefects and Hogwarts staff were in charge of putting on errands, but his expression lit up when Kazuo talked about his club hosting it. Ruka himself didn't really keep up with Hogwarts clubs, wasn't much of a group person to begin with, but he couldn't help the way the suggestion piqued his interest. "You have a club?" he asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. He wondered what kind of club, and what kind of members it attracted, what kind of activities they usually did that sushi making wasn't a far stretch from it. "No better reward than food anyway," Ruka decided with a grin, placing a hand across his stomach. The mere mention of it had him feeling hungry again already.

Discarding all thoughts of food, Ruka leaned forward in interest when Kazuo started to talk about the kami. Gods, shrines, Shinto... Ruka had never been very familiar with any kind of religion, knew bits and pieces from various cultures, but what Kazuo was saying felt like a completely different language to him. Still, he found he liked the thought of spirits rather than Gods, the distinct feel that there was life to everything, that everything was thus valuable. If everything had a spirit then everything was important to make sure that balance would not be tipped. Everything had a place in the world. Somehow it made Ruka feel more like he belonged. "Inari," he repeated with a hum, curling his tongue around the word in order to try and remember it. "What do you mean he used them as messengers? Messengers for what?" It still made sense, after everything Kazuo had said so far, that the shrine close to his house would be dedicated to Inari, if kitsune were important to his clan. The culture Kazuo had grown up in sounded so different, difficult to really understand even, but Ruka found himself eager to learn more. He really hoped Kazuo could get his hands on some English stories for him to read through and educate himself on the matter. He also felt more and more excited about visiting Japan with the other boy over the summer, if their parents really allowed it.

When Kazuo laughed over being called a stalker, Ruka lifted both hands in mock defence. "Oh, far be it from me to question your research methods," he relented, poking his tongue out at the other boy with a little laugh. It was nice, the light hearted moments that kept their conversation from growing too serious. Really, it made it much easier for Ruka to talk about things like his father, loss and the pain it could bring, the irrational feelings it might stir up. He offered Kazuo a small smile and a nod to express his gratitude for the other boy to have listened to him and heard him out when talking about all the emotions coursing through him. It wasn't often that he got to talk like this, especially not to someone who wasn't afraid to argue his own point of view in return. Ruka already felt like he had learned more about the world from talking to Kazuo for the past five minutes than he had in the last few months studying back in Cardiff.

"Jack, he..." Ruka hummed thoughtfully when the other boy asked about his half brother, correctly having realised that the two of them had met when Ruka was struggling with the loss of his father. "I haven't really... taken good care of myself last year. Jack has... invested time and care. Got me to eat and sleep and study." He smiled with a strange mix of sad fondness as he removed his necklace from around his neck to place the pendant on the table between them and open the locket up to the picture of his father, his face covered in sooth, a bright smile on his face that matched his young son next to him. "It's the only picture I have of my dad," he explained quietly, leaving the locket open between them if Kazuo wanted to inspect it any more closely. "Jack got me this locket. Well, he had Selim get it, but... It was his idea to let me carry the picture with me. Keep him close like this." He didn't go into how obsessed he had been with the picture a year ago, but how important the gesture was to him had to have been obvious on his face anyway. "He offered me his home and his family. He's..." He swallowed heavily, clasped the locket shut again and placed it back around his neck, where it belonged. "He's not just my brother, he's my best friend." He chuckled lightly. "Just don't tell him I said that." With a small smile, Ruka let his gaze rest on the table for a moment. "Not sure what he's getting out of that deal, but I'm grateful. He didn't need to do any of that." With that he looked up again, a smile on his face and a melancholic spark in his eyes. Somehow talking about Jack always felt bittersweet.

Kazuo's acknowledgment of how quickly attachments could sneak up on one was met with a little chuckle from Ruka. "Yeah," he said, nodding and tapping his temple as well. "Like that." He raised his eyebrows when Kazuo decided that it might not be so bad if people decided to stick around despite his demeanour. "You reward the persistent then?" he asked, the corner of his mouth tugging up into a little smirk. "Even the tedious ones?" He laughed at the wink he received, bright and happy. The sound earned him a disapproving hiss from someone nearby but he couldn't get himself to let it dampen his mood. Instead it only grew better when he managed to elicit a giggle from Kazuo. Somehow it made him feel ridiculously proud of himself.

"My charm knows no limits," he said with a serious nod, but the grin on his face couldn't be contained. It grew brighter still when Kazuo voiced his interest in his mention of fire dance, and Ruka straightened up excitedly. "It's... it's really just what it sounds like," he admitted, feeling his face flush a bit. "It's choreography with fire. Torches. Burning chains, anything you can set aflame, really. It's..." He stopped with a thoughtful hum, expression turning gentle and relaxed. "It's beautiful, really. I could show you, if you wanted to. I try to rehearse twice a week, it... it keeps me focused. It's... I like dancing and... The fire makes it feel... dangerous. But beautifully so." He chuckled and tilted his head to the side. "I dare say you'd like it."

He appreciated Ruka’s enthusiasm for the idea of making sushi but couldn’t help the chuckle that came when Ruka asked about his club. “Yes… It’s not much of a club, to be honest. I didn’t start it, just took over when the original creator left. The Asian Society Club. It was supposed to be about learning and sharing Asian cultures but it’s really just me, Hana, and Akari. We haven’t really done much either. Just talked a bit and got dressed up in kimono for a mochi making errand back in April.” He sighed a bit, thinking about the club. “Back home, school clubs are considered an important part of school life and I mistakenly assumed it would be the same here. I thought we could maybe host some events showcasing different cultural celebrations but…” He shrugged. “Maybe next year I’ll figure out how to motivate students to be interested in joining or helping.” Or maybe he would continue to be the leader of a club that did very little. It didn’t matter all that much to him. The entertainment of tormenting Hana was enough to make him happy.

He turned away from Ruka briefly to fish around in his bag, pulling out a box of Pocky and sliding it across the table to Ruka with a grin before continuing. “I didn’t expect to have a theology discussion with you. There are two overlapping realms, the spiritual and the material. The kami exist, for the most part, in the spiritual realm. Only the most powerful of spirits can cross over into the material in a physical form - or so the mythology says. So the kami often use messengers to relay their will or guidance or whatever else. Some creatures are able to move freely between these two realms, like kitsune. But kitsune have a reputation for being troublemakers and aren’t trusted. Inari’s decision to use the kitsune helped to elevate them.” Lessons he had learned growing up, practically second nature to him. Explaining them to Ruka was strange but it also made him happy to be able to share the things he had grown up taking for granted. Happy that Ruka seemed genuinely interested in what he had to share.

As the conversation swung back around to the more serious, Kazuo was actually quite eager to hear what Ruka had to say about his relationship with Jack. From what he’d seen watching Jack, Ruka was an abnormality in the other’s behaviour patterns. Jack treated Ruka very differently than others and it was a puzzle he wanted to unravel. He listened, head cocked and fingers tapping softly against the table. His eyes took in the locket when Ruka presented it, taking the offer to inspect the picture of Ruka’s father briefly before returning it to the table. “Well, I would never dare to speak for Jack but I imagine he feels the same way, at least if his behaviour is any indicator. And with Jack…” He grinned. “His behaviour is definitely a better indicator of his feelings than his words. So maybe what he’s getting out of it is the thing he will never ever admit to wanting.”

He shook his head at Ruka’s assertion that he would reward the persistent. “Not always. And definitely not the tedious ones.” He replied with a bright laugh. “But maybe for those particularly charming ones I could be persuaded.”

He watched Ruka bubbling with excitement as he explained something he obviously loved. The range of emotions than seemed to flicker across his face as he spoke were fascinating and they drew a smile from Kazuo. “It sounds fascinating. I would love to see it. If it’s a kind of dancing, do you use music?” It really was fascinating and Kazuo definitely wanted to see Ruka perform. He could only imagine how amazing it must look, dancing with fiery props. And the risk of danger just made it more appealing. That Ruka thought he would like it made his grin widen a bit, wondering how the older boy had come to that conclusion.

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Kazuo Shimada

Ruka tilted his head to the side thoughtfully as Kazuo talked about his club. From what he had seen so far, it wasn't the only one lacking participation and interest. Clubs were started all over the place without anybody ever actually committing to them. He idly wondered what school life in Japan was like, what kind of clubs there were, how much it differed from Hogwarts. The way Kazuo was talking made it sound like it was practically a whole different world. Still, he decided to save his questions for now. Chances were he was already overwhelming Kazuo with the amount of questions he asked.

"Well, if you did ever need help with something," he said with a small smile. "Let me know. I don't have much experience with clubs or hosting events but I could learn." He'd try at least. "Do you think it'd help make you feel more at home?" he wondered quietly, letting his gaze drop to his hands resting against the table. "Bringing some of your culture here and teaching others about it?" He could easily imagine there to be some comfort in being in a club dedicated to one's home in one way or another. Could there ever be a club that might do that for him?

He looked up again to see Kazuo sliding something his way. A box of... Sticks? Ruka reached for it curiously, turned the box in his hand for a moment before opening it and pulling one of the pocky sticks out to examine it with furrowed brows. It seemed to be coated with chocolate, most likely, and Ruka carefully nibbled at the end of it to test out how it tasted. "Mhm," he decided after a moment, taking a bigger bite of the stick and revelling in the soft clicking noise it made when his teeth snapped it in half. Interesting.

Idly rolling the Pocky stick between his fingers as he kept nibbling on it, Ruka listened attentively to the other boy's words. "Inari trusted the kitsune despite their reputation?" he asked, slight lack of understanding flickering across his features. Trust was something he had always struggled with and he didn't exactly see any reason for someone or something that was already known to cause trouble to have any trust placed in. "Why wouldn't he use more reliable creatures instead?" The safer option, really. What was the point in taking a risk when there were surely better options? With a curious expression he let his gaze drift to a point above Kazuo's shoulder, a small piece of Pocky still held between his fingertips. He hummed. "The kitsune made good messengers despite everybody else's doubts?" He locked eyes with Kazuo again, eyes wide, as if looking for answers that went far deeper than anything the other boy could give him. He'd never known much about religion, but there was something about the way that Kazuo spoke of his beliefs that made Ruka feel eager to understand every aspect of it.

As Kazuo inspected his locket for a moment, Ruka rolled his tongue around the remains of the Pocky with a small giggle before swallowing it down. He rubbed his hands together to remove any crumbs and took his necklace back to fasten it around his neck again. With a little frown he took in the other boy's words on Jack's behaviour. Surely there were some things that stood out as different between the way Jack treated Ruka and the way he treated others, though most of them Ruka was content to put down to a kind of pity. His brother didn't like seeing strays suffer, was drawn in by their loneliness, the complexity of such intricate emotions, his own unreasonable need to fix them. It was like watching a child trying every possible way to make a puzzle piece fit somewhere it didn't belong. Ruka was under no illusions that Jack's draw to him was much more than that; He'd simply accepted that that was all there was to it. The fact that Jack didn't like to admit that he cared about anybody made it easy for Ruka to feel like he was special. He would take what he could get. "Well, either way, he's stuck with me now, whether he likes it or not," he said after a moment, chuckling lightly as he ran a hand through his hair. Instinctively he found himself wondering which part of Kazuo Jack thought needed fixing, or if he was simply drawn in enough by the Hufflepuff's intelligence and seeming emotional maturity. It didn't really matter much, he supposed. They were all stuck with each other now.

"I'll make sure to keep up my charms, then," Ruka said, smirking at Kazuo and raising his eyebrows at him. "Charming and persistent. I should manage that." He chuckled, then brightened even more at Kazuo's interest in the kind of dance he was doing.

"Not always," he said, shaking his head. "We didn't always have the option to put music with our performances, but it's beautiful either way. I suppose the music makes it feel more intense when you watch, though I can't say I hear much of it while performing." He chuckled and stretched his left arm to his side, rolling his wrist as if he was actually holding a torch he wanted to twirl. "Some choreographies are made to specific music, some just need a beat in the background. Some work without anything at all. I don't usually have music in the rehearsal room so I just..." He chuckled sheepishly. "Make it up in my head, I guess. It's freeing." A lopsided smile settled on his lips and he looked away for a moment. "I really like to dance."