The Fire Fox PV Ruka Closed

Kazuo’s eyes shone with a hint of mischief when Ruka responded to his description of his club with an offer of help. “Aha! A new minion to order around!” He replied with a laugh. “You have volunteered and cannot back out. The next time I host something, you have to help.” He considered Ruka’s question quietly for a moment. Did it help? He considered what he had originally wanted to do with the club, the ideas he had wanted to try. It was nice to share things with people but it felt mostly surface level. It had been nicer sharing things with Ruka because Ruka actually seemed to care, not just on the surface, but have a deeper interest in understanding. “I don’t know. A little maybe, but it’s still not the same as being there. It’s probably self-indulgent more than anything. Besides, how do you teach when no one really wants to learn? Even Hana… Just joined my club to watch it fail.” There was a sort of resignation to the way he said it. Not upset simply accepting.

He watched Ruka try the Pocky, chuckling a bit as the older boy carefully tested it. He reached for the box and grabbed a couple for himself, leaving the box on the table. “They aren’t unreliable.” He huffed, wrinkling his nose in irritation. “No more or less so than any other creature that abides by its nature. I’d say humans are less reliable. If you consider a fox’s nature, then you know they are tricky creatures. They like to steal things and play tricks but that doesn’t make them unreliable. They can be very loyal and friendly as well. It all depends on how they are treated. If you are cruel to a fox do you not expect to get bitten?” He shrugged. “There are as many good stories about foxes as there are bad. The deciding factor is almost always human behaviour rather than the fox’s nature. Inari gave them a sort of protection by choosing them. It doesn’t mean all foxes are good. But you can trust a zenko - a heavenly fox.”

He chewed on a stick of Pocky as he watched Ruka put the locket back on, wondering what thoughts might be going through his mind, noting the frown that creased Ruka’s brow. He chuckled as well when Ruka spoke about Jack being stuck with him. “Seems like a good thing for both of you.” He observed with a grin. “You can look out for each other. Remind each other when you’re being idiots. Or maybe be bigger idiots together.” He added the second part as an afterthought, considering the two. He had thought Jack would be the more rational one with his logical thinking but was beginning to realize that he let his emotions guide him far more than he wished to admit. He didn’t know Ruka very well but it seemed the older boy was actually the one who tended to behave with more caution. Yet he could only imagine the two of them together. Did they temper each other or fuel each other? Both?

He laughed brightly when Ruka promised to be charming and persistent. “I thought I was stuck with you,” he teased with a smirk of his own. “If I’m stuck with you do you really need to be persistent anymore? Not that I’m complaining. I’d much rather a charming companion than a tedious one.”

The more Ruka talked about his fire-dancing, the more Kazuo wanted to see it. Dancing, to him, meant music or, at the very least, drums. The idea that Ruka could do his performance without music was intriguing but he was also curious to see what it looked like with music. The only experience he had with dance was some self-taught jpop dance choreo which was fun but just following a set routine and the kagura dances which were hardly what he could call freeing. It sounded like Ruka danced for the sake of dancing and that made him smile softly. “Why not bring music?” He asked with curiosity. “Or ask someone to play for you? There are lots of students who play instruments and there’s a record player.” He definitely would come to one of Ruka’s practices to watch.

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Kazuo Shimada

Ruka might have huffed indignantly at being called a minion, but the sound of Kazuo's laughter elicited some from him as well and he could barely even bring himself to look mock offended by it. "I'll keep my schedule free for that sushi making event, then. Get a good word in with the House elves already." He playfully poked his tongue out at the other boy, then settled back again, listening intently to the way Kazuo talked about his club, and the way that he couldn't teach anybody when nobody wanted to learn. It stung his chest like the dull stab of a dagger, and he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment, brows furrowed. If Kazuo had sounded upset it may have been easier to brush off than the resignation in his voice. "Even more reason to help you out, then," he decided with a small smile curling the corners of his lips. "Wouldn't want to give Hana what he wants, would we?"

As Ruka gnawed on his pocky, he hummed around it while taking in everything Kazuo had to say about the kitsune. He pressed into his backrest, a thoughtful expression on his face. "What goes around comes around," he muttered, letting his gaze rest on the table for a moment before looking back up at the other boy with slightly dazed eyes. "Inari recognised their potential, then." It made a smile tug at his lips as he thought of the way people had warned him of Jack, of getting close to him, trusting him. He had done it anyway, saw something in his brother that other people seemed to have disregarded. The nickname Fox seemed to suit him more and more. Ruka rolled his shoulders backwards twice, then straightened up in interest. "Zenko?" he asked curiously. "What is a Heavenly Fox?" With every word Kazuo spoke, Ruka grew more and more aware of how little he actually knew of the world, and he found himself enthralled by all the stories he got to hear, all the things he was being taught just by having this conversation.

Putting his locket back on, Ruka smiled at Kazuo's observation that being stuck with each other may have been good for both him and Jack. "I think we draw out each other's more irrational sides," he admitted, idly reaching for another pocky to nibble on the chocolate coating. "Still, I'm grateful to have him. Him and his countless issues. Wouldn't trade it for the world." He chuckled and lightly shrugged his shoulders. Maybe that was what true friendship really was; being willing to put up and dealing with someone else's issues, no matter how frustrating they might be.

Chewing on his pocky, Ruka swallowed before offering Kazuo a toothy grin. "Wouldn't want to get complacent," he insisted with a light shake of his head. "Can't worm your way into someone's life and then just take their company for granted. I like to continuously prove my worth." After all, people were ever changing, constantly developing and evolving. Even if they were bound by magical forces, that didn't mean attachments couldn't weaken over time.

Speaking of his Fire Dance, Ruka swallowed the last piece of his pocky and leaned back, regarding Kazuo with a thoughtful look. "Sometimes I use the record player. Often I just forget," he admitted with a sheepish smile. "The reason I don't usually ask anybody to accompany me..." He stopped for a moment, thinking of the times he had spent teaching Jack some choreography, how he had introduced Dealla to the basics of the art after the Fall Ball. "I suppose it's just... personal. Too personal for me to let just anybody be a part of it." He pressed his fingertips together above the table, stared at the back of his hands for a moment. "Now if you know how to play an instrument..." He raised his eyebrows, expression tinted with amusement. "You're welcome to join me, I just..." He hummed. "Is there anything you don't like to share with others?" he asked curiously. "Something that means so much to you, you couldn't imagine anybody to be apart of it unless they meant just as much to you?"

"Come for the sushi, stay for the fabulous company." Kazuo said with a grin. "Honestly, I think part of the reason I keep doing it is to torment Hana." He admitted with a sly grin. "But don't tell him that. I also get the feeling that he might actually like being a member, though I know he’ll never admit it if he does."

He nodded in agreement when Ruka made a comment about the kitsune. "Indeed. She did. Or maybe she felt bad for them. Either way, kitsune are now generally looked on favorably." It was amusing to Kazuo how Ruka would find a new question to ask with every explanation he gave. It was exciting to be able to talk with someone so freely though he wondered when Ruka might finally grow tired of his stories and opinions. "Heavenly foxes are servants of the kami. They're the good foxes. They might play tricks but they don't generally wish humans harm. There are also the nogitsune, the field foxes, who tend to be more malicious. They are more likely to lead humans astray or play tricks that are dangerous or harmful." He shrugged. "I don't know if there's really that much of a difference. I think it's just another way for humans to put things in tidy boxes. I imagine a fox could be just as capable of good or evil acts regardless of whether they are a zenko or nogitsune. If a human is tricked, they will call it a nogitsune but if the fox helped then they will call it a zenko."

He listened as Ruka spoke about Jack and their relationship, nodding. He was fascinated by their relationship, by the bonds they had formed in only a year or so. It made him wonder if some people were just drawn to each other because of their natures. Jack and Ruka seemed very different when looking at their outward behaviour, yet there were similarities hidden beneath the surface. They both loved to learn it seemed, even if their particular interests were different. They both seemed drawn to people despite also acting like they wanted nothing to do with them. And on the other side of that, they both drew people to them for some mysterious reason. Kazuo found them interesting but he knew he was drawn to all the wrong sorts of things. Most people were wise enough to steer clear of trouble, instinctually at the very least. And the two foxes were definitely a type of trouble, though Kazuo thought it was the fun type. "I'm told siblings are like that.” He commented with a slight smile. “Best friends and worst enemies all rolled into one.”

Take their company for granted? It struck Kazuo as odd, a way of thinking that wasn’t the normal one, at least from what he’d observed. It seemed to him that friends took each other’s company for granted all the time. “Well, then I hope you will also find me continuously worth your attention.” He replied with a grin. “I will try not to grow tedious.”

The way Ruka spoke about his fire dancing resonated with Kazuo. There was music he played for learning and practice, because it was expected. But the music he loved playing the most, that music he taught himself in private, kept to himself. That music meant more to him, was a truer voice than the classical pieces and it was hard to imagine sharing that with others. He nodded slowly, fingers tapping against the table as he considered Ruka’s offer. In light of the way Ruka described the meaning of his fire dancing and their strange relationship, it felt like a very special thing for Ruka to be offering. “I play… an instrument.” He admitted hesitantly. “I don’t know if it would work for you… It’s a bit different than what I think you might be used to. But I would love to be part of your fire dancing…” He gave Ruka a smile that was a bit shy and not the usual grins or smirks he usually presented. If Ruka was willing to share this with him, what could he offer in return? What kind of music would Ruka like? “What kind of music do you usually dance to when you have music?”

@Kazuo Shimada

Ruka let out a delighted laugh at Kazuo's admission that torturing Hana was one of his favourite parts of his club. "Anything that makes Hana squirm I'm more than supportive of," he admitted with a toothy grin, nodding his approval.

Eyes widening with interest, Ruka listened to the other boy's explanation of what a Zenko was and how it differed from the apparently more malicious nogitsune. He wondered, for a moment, if Kazuo might be able to provide him with reading material on all of that, though a part of him liked getting to listen to someone actually telling him about it. There was something about the clear interest Kazuo had in the topic that raised Ruka's interest in it to a whole new level. "A rose by any other name..." he concluded with a lop-sided grin when the other boy pointed out that humans most likely just called the kitsune whatever matched with their experiences of them. "A fox is a fox, whether it is helpful or treacherous." He let his gaze drop to the table for a moment, expression souring for just a second before he directed a smile Kazuo's way again. "We do love putting labels on everything, don't we? People love pretending they have it all figured out." His smile broadened a little as he shrugged, taking a deep breath when the conversation turned to his relationship with Jack.

While Kazuo hadn't explicitly stated so, Ruka thought it safe to assume that the other boy didn't have any siblings himself, judging by everything he had revealed of himself so far. "Worst enemies," he repeated with a chuckle as he pondered the words. A thoughtful hum escaped him. "I suppose nobody can aggravate me as much as he does." A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he focused on a spot above Kazuo's left shoulder for a moment. "The people we care about most have the most power over us." That was exactly why it was so hard to trust anybody not to abuse it.

His eyes locked with Kazuo's again when the other boy stated he would try not to grow tedious. It elicited a small laugh from him. "I always thought I was easy to please," he admitted sheepishly. "But I seem to find more people tedious than I'd care to admit." He sighed and leaned back, smile still prominent on his face. "The fact that I don't find you tedious yet puts you way ahead of most people, so I think..." He hummed, then shrugged lightly. "I think you're worth keeping around. For now." A twinkle in his eyes and a bright grin accompanied his words as he winked at Kazuo, though the sentiment was genuine. The mere fact that the other boy had expressed his willingness to keep proving himself made Ruka's chest swell with rare fondness.

As Kazuo admitted to playing an instrument, Ruka's eyes lit up in excitement. He'd never been able to play an instrument himself, but had always admired people's skill to produce music through their fingertips. The other boy didn't specify which instrument he played, sounded hesitant to admit to it at all, so Ruka let him keep talking for a start, smiled brightly when Kazuo claimed that he would love to be part of his fire dance. "I'm used to classical music," he said reverently as he thought back to his first real exposure to ballet in his first year. "My dad liked anything with a heavy bass." He chuckled. "I like... I like to think I could dance to anything." He felt his cheeks flushing lightly. "What kind of instrument do you play? What kind of music?" He leaned forward again, awe written across his face. "Could I hear your favourite song to play?"

“Yes, humans are the ultimate control freaks.” Kazuo agreed with a smirk. “Everything needs a label, a definition, a proscribed behaviour. Order to everything. Chaos is to be rejected. Anything that steps outside its defined place is something to be feared.” There was amusement in his voice as he spoke. “It’s a shame how much effort they waste on trying to force things into boxes.”

He tilted his head slightly as Ruka replied to his comment about siblings. “They do, don’t they? It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to have siblings. At this point they’d be much younger than me so probably just annoying…” Kazuo considered, making a face. “For now~ How ominous.” He replied to Ruka’s tease and wink, sticking out his tongue in return.

As the conversation came back around to music Kazuo considered how to answer. It was always an odd conversation for him, having to explain to others about his instrument. It wasn’t embarrassment; he was proud of his skill in the traditional instrument. There was simply a risk of frustration that always accompanied the inevitable necessity of explaining it to others. With Ruka, though… The older boy probably wouldn’t recognize it but Kazuo didn’t feel the usual hesitation. “I play the shamisen. It’s a string instrument. I was trained in traditional pieces which are mostly instrumental. I prefer to play more modern music when I have the chance. I’m sure… well, I know some classical music. Bass isn’t really something the shamisen can do very well, it runs mid to high range more than low.” He couldn’t help but to grin a little at the way Ruka was looking at him. “Yeah, sure. There’s one song I love, I spent so much time learning to play it. It was the first sort of modern song I learned. When do you practice? I can bring my shamisen the next time you do.”

@Ruka Burnett-Tân