[ Mine feels privileged, without words. He'd put no claim on the captain's chair when Nishikiyama asked, but has evidently taken a seat close to him. How they've become in private and how they are hereβright now in the office, which is just the frame for the yakuza-pictureβare no longer meant to be separate.
He's kept in by Nishikiyama's arms around him, and the warmth of his skin underneath a thick suit raising notes of his aftershave. Closeness that threatened has quickly become comforting. Mine picks at the low tone of Nishikiyama's revelation. It's not enough. ]
Your sister...?
[ Early on, Mine'd found out that she died young. No details. His over-all expression remains the same but the undertone changes. Mine's reply sounds indignant, learning what he does. ]
If he was the one who disappeared, what do you have to atone for?
[ Nishikiyama still feels guilty for that mistake now. The only way he can think to correct it is to make sure Hiyoshi pays the same price. His thumbs scrape the corners of the desk. ]
[ After years of dead ends, Mine's managed to retrieve him a lead. Nishikiyama doesn't hide the smirk that shows on his lips after, a darkness swelling in him that he well recognizes. He's eager. Not far from Tokyo means he can orchestrate something grand with his resources. He thinks about what he'll do to Hiyoshi once he gets his hands on the greasy pig of a doctor. He likes the development. ]
Were you able to figure out his schedule?
[ One hand moves now and touches Mine's leg. He runs it up higher. ]
[ After so much tension and uncertainty, Mine is all too willing to find relief in Nishikiyama's smile. It's foreboding and dangerous when he considers the things he'd dreaded, just as the patriarch stepped into his path of trying to leave. Worse, when Mine thinks of the gun to his head. It looks much the same, but when it's not aimed at himβ ]
Not exactly. His hours are irregular, but there seems to be a reason for that, too.
[ If Nishikiyama'd known more about the connections to be made far above ground, would he have let Mine in sooner? The trace of his fingers is enticing, disconnecting from the danger blazing in his gaze. Mine feels flushed with the heat getting trapped between them. There's still more for him to share, first. ]
Hiyoshi has money problems. Because of that, the Chinese triads are probably looking for him, not just you...
[ Then they're probably in a race. They'll need to act fast before the Chinese are put through the same song and dance. With his thumb somewhere on Mine's inner thigh, Nishikiyama goes quiet. He's lost in thought, thinking of how to find a missing man without direct contact or a predictable commute. ]
We should check the gambling dens of the area he's in. Sounds like he still can't resist them.
[ He stops thinking aloud so much and locks eyes with Mine once again. ]
Can you send me where he's at later tonight? And the hospital address too. I think he's still collecting his debt money from patients.
[ Mine is surprised that Nishikiyama is not surprised, that his scowls settles instead. If Hiyoshi has been gambling and, because of it, been pinched for money for years already, though, it sounds like he'd be avoiding the bigger playrooms. Where he wants to stand in with a ready answer, he'll have to rework the information.
He notices that Nishikiyama's movement has stopped. Mine's eyes drop to his hand and where his thumb dents the pressed fabric of his pants into muscle, his stance has opened up. Now he drags his gaze back up. Another request. ]
I'll do that.
[ His glance steels against Nishikiyama's. Mine won't rescind his part of the exchange, no matter the answer to his last question: ]
βWhat do you intend to do, once you've contacted him?
[ Nishikiyama isn't sure that Mine's ready for his answer. His world had been far from such violence. Even now, his crimes are clean. A tie around his neck, money in his hand. As Mine asks him for a response, Nishikiyama thinks of the multiple times now that he's killed someone. The smell of blood in the room. A tanto in his hand and Matsushige's soft fat and muscle swallowing a blade like butter. He'd seen red both times. When he'd killed Dojima too. Though it'd been his first, he still doesn't know if that time can count as accidental when he'd fired multiple rounds of lead. He'd deliberately murdered the chairman. Shot him over and over, unsatisfied until he'd seen him lay still. The air had been so cold when brought through his teeth.
Stroking Mine's leg with his fingers, he doesn't think Mine is ready. Sunlight passes through the window. His touch moves, gently grazing the side of Mine's jawline. The space is closed and he kisses him on the lips. There's a phantom taste in his mouth of blood when he licks the front of Mine's teeth, but it's still sweet. ]
I'll handle that.
[ Nishikiyama won't say what he's going to do to Hiyoshi. ]
[ Any hint of tangy, metallic odor crouches beneath the closeness Nishikiyama provides. Of course, even in its absence, Mine wouldn't know the crime against Matsushige that'd transpired here. The only time he's seen blood in Nishikiyama's office is from that guy cutting off his pinky; it's supposed to be yakuza enough. The suitcase moves in Mine's grip. Fingers loosen, then curl tight again as he adjusts. He's been standing here a while. He can't read Nishikiyama's silence for an response. Is his touch there to soothe?
The kiss isn't as sensual as others between them have been. Mine doesn't close his eyes, he doesn't lean into it as much as their lips meet. He doesn't pull away, either, though. Mine observes the sunlight painting stripes across the opposite wall, blurry through windows smudged with street dust. Their shadow silhouettes cut a hole in it; proportions stretched out. Mine recognizes his is the taller one. With his gaze distant like that, he may only guess that Nishikiyama has withdrawn from the question. He says, as clearly as he will, that he won't give Mine a different answer. So be it, for nowβ ]
I've got some time to spare.
[ Before his next meeting or before he can convince himself of leaving. With the mirage of Nishikiyama's mouth, and without being haunted by his own neurosis, Mine's schedule has opened back up. ]
[ He'd noticed Mine's eyes still open when his own lifted their lashes. He doesn't say anything about it, though, instead drawing back and letting his hands slide off the desk and Mine's leg. An exhale. He takes a step back. Provides space to free Mine from where he'd been cornered. In the quiet from him that follows, teenagers on the street yell about a new UFO catcher's debut from the window that Mine had just looked at his shadow on before. Kamurocho is a noisy place even when it isn't night. ]
[ He straightens, his gaze shut away a moment long behind a slow blink. Mine's brow creases. In the end, he doesn't like the distance he'd provoked himself. He liked the kiss, the touch, feeling public with it without anyone seeing them. He should have accepted. With the noise from outside, Mine just thinks he can't unwind in this place. ]
An hour or so.
[ Enough to do something, but maybe not much. Ultimately though, and as Nishikiyama'll know, Mine is his own boss. He stands forward, not wanting too much of the free space between them. ]
[ Mine's ears pick up on what the people in the street are shouting about. ]
An arcade...?
[ When he was the same age as the teens walking outside, he was too poor to even play a game for 300 yen. The look on Mine's face, the way his frown drops, isn't because he can't afford it now.
The briefcase gets left behind. Mine never ends up refusing. He's looking at the plush dolls behind glass; toys to be bought for cheap en masse, if he had to guess. He gaze jumps to Nishikiyama dropping a coin into the slot on the machine. ]
[ Plink, plink, plink. A cheerful tone sounds from the UFO catcher when it accepts Nishikiyama's 100 yen coins. He's found a machine that's caught his fancy for nowβ a Chestnut the Squirrel plushie in a blue cowboy hat and vest. It's been a while since he tried, but he angles himself cooly over the two buttons and tries to get a good view of the claw through the glass. ]
I'm trying to line it up to knock the tail over. Am I good?
[ He expects Mine to cover his side of the machine for visibility. ]
Tell me when to stop.
[ He presses the button to pull the claw back, side-eyeing Mine for cue of when to release. ]
[ Other catchers are stocked with plush dogs, cats and the fat-stuffed bird toys. Obviously they're meant to entice an audience that doesn't know, doesn't care that the same can be bought for less. Mine isn't so far removed that he doesn't understand it's about the challenge, though. He can tell that Nishikiyama's into it for that reasonβ or why else would he go for the squirrel in a hat?
The machine chatters to accompany the claw moving to the side, then back. Mine stands a little further away from the glass. He seems as casual as he might've ever been with hands in the pockets of his pants, and the bottom of the jacket creasing over his wrists. Hidden away, they make fistsβhe's out of place, no? Though, Nishikiyama stands over the machine... ]
Ahβ
[ Mine's not been vigilant to being used as a spotter. The mechanism of the game is easy, he observes, but he doesn't have a grasp on the tactics. Furrows on his brow hint he's going to watch more closely than he needs to be in order to compensate. ]
It looks good.
[ But if Nishikiyama drops it, the claw'll snag on the platform holding up a pink Chestnut, instead. ]
[ Nishikiyama trusts him and drops the claw at the designated time, but the claw rakes at the pink cowgirl Chestnut instead. The expression on his face twists, and he shakes his head with two more tries left. ]
Wrong one. I want the blue one.
[ He takes a moment, shuffling a cigarette from his pocket. It's a no smoking area, but the back of the center is empty and nobody, not even staff, is brave enough to tell him not to. He squints at the beady-eyed plush again with his unlit cigarette hanging now. ]
[ Feeling distant about his mistake his face doesn't twist as much, though, not yet as invested in getting the specific toy out. Mine's combed back hair at the front touches the glass pane, leaning over the drop-out slot to light the cigarette.
Sensibility to their combined presence and behavior being more than an oddity in the place gets drowned out by the machine urging another try. Mine stands closer to watch Nishikiyama take another chance. His eyes flicker to the moving claw, back to him, back to the claw. ]
[ His cigarette lights and he sees the squirrel through his own smoke. Lowering it to exhale, he times the button to Mine's instruction. The claw inside lowers in correlation, one leg scraping the country-clothed plush toy closer to the drop. Nishikiyama laughs at that. One note, but satisfied. It's advancement, and a pace expected. UFO catchers are about technique and strategy. If he's careful, they can get the squirrel out within four or so more tries. ]
Better. I'll hit the tail a couple more times, then finish it off by lifting its head back into the slot.
[ Nishikiyama brings the cigarette back to his mouth, taking a drag of it. His hair will carry the notes of tobacco later. At the same time, he wonders if Mine is interested in the machine. ]
[ He squints, trying to determine whether it's a success, before Nishikiyama just reveals his scheme. Satisfaction with that laugh and puffing out smoke, the smell of the hi-lites is something Mine finds remnants of on his own hair and clothes increasingly more often. Nishikiyama stands in a relaxed way, leaning away from the controls. Mine feels awkward about the circumstances and won't say that he's never played. ]
I'll try.
[ With 100 yen still in the game, he steps in. Mine pushes the button to make the claw go sideways, then the other to go back. Both are released too quickly. He stares through the glass, knowing the arm is in the wrong spot after barely jerking. Mine tries to adjust by prompting each control again. The claw reaches down and grabs empty instead. ]
I wasn't done moving it.
[ Half to give his explanation, half to underline the mood of his tone, Mine looks over. He complains, explanatory in a way Nishikiyama is unlikely to have heard from him before because he's naive to his mistake. ]
You only get two chances to press each direction. Backwards, then sideways. The machines aren't generous enough to let you adjust the claw for however long you want.
[ He explains it while the claw helplessly grasps the air. Completely pointless, the sound effects from the machine still try and incite a sense of excitement even if nothing is about to happen. Nishikiyama, though, isn't as interested in watching the claw drop as he is in Mine's borderline childish reaction to the UFO catcher. He looks offended that it's disobeyed his hand. Similarly to before, he shuffles another few coins from a crocodile skin wallet into the slot. ]
Try again.
[ Silver smoke slips out the corners of his mouth because his hands are preoccupied. The cigarette wobbles still between his lips. ]
[ Mine realizes he's being immature and blaming machinery, after the fact. A glance shifting over to Nishikiyama, feeding a few more tries into the game, finds him conscious of his slip but without an excuse when the other doesn't comment. He's stoic in a different way than brooding over documents, meetings, when he's trying to grasp the gameplay.
Mine is sort of a sore loser, here. If his first try hadn't told Nishikiyama that he's a first-time player, the outcome of this second one will. ]
Alright. I got it.
[ His shoulders slump a little. Mine concentrates, holding the button down instead of pushing repeatedly for each direction. When the claw comes down, one arm jostles the plush toy Nishikiyama'd staked claim to. Though there's a wobble, it doesn't really tilt or shuffle it closer to the prize slot. Air blown out through his nostrils hints that Mine's not satisfied with his try this time, either. ]
What shows that he's new to crane games more than his frustration is the expectation that things might be any different so early on. Nishikiyama finds this overt childishness endearing. Mine's doesn't like that the game is difficult and the fact that the toy inside shouldn't be worth the money put into attempting to win it is probably just as bizarre to him.
Nishikiyama places both his hands on the edges of the machine's control panel, leaning closer to both Mine and the glass display. They're near enough now to where he can catch the familiar notes of Mine's cologne. ]
That was a start. You just need to move the arm further to the left so the tail scoots over more.
[ It's difficult for Nishikiyama not to offer commentary, whether it's desired or not. He's always been this way. ]
[ Mine has worked hard, has poured hours, days and years of perseverance into his wealth and success in trading and real estate. How difficult it is, isn't really the issue. Adding together the yen amount spent so far comes to him much more easily than moving the arm behind the glass, though. It makes him look impatient.
Should he quit? He looks over his shoulder to where Nishikiyama shuffles closer. Mine thinks he'll tell him to move over and trade places again, so he's about to take his hand off the button. Advice, insteadβ ]
Scoot over...?
[ Even against fluff and fabric, the arms don't have a lot of strength, he's noticed. So, how? After another moment of contemplation, still too serious about the game, Mine tries to adapt Nishikiyama's remark to another try. Further left; he waits a moment beyond what he'd done before. The claw snags on the doll. ]
I don't know how to put it into words, but when you do it like that the tip of the claw leg hits the toy longer. You have to angle things over further than just having it directly on top because it's not gonna move otherwise.
[ Nishikiyama stays in the closeness he'd rescinded earlier; Mine all but minds. The moment is just overcast by the conversation at hand. Mine passes on his turn and tries the UFO catcher again. Same difference. After that, there aren't any more games left in the round. Mine sighs, his frustration manifest.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He's kept in by Nishikiyama's arms around him, and the warmth of his skin underneath a thick suit raising notes of his aftershave. Closeness that threatened has quickly become comforting. Mine picks at the low tone of Nishikiyama's revelation. It's not enough. ]
Your sister...?
[ Early on, Mine'd found out that she died young. No details. His over-all expression remains the same but the undertone changes. Mine's reply sounds indignant, learning what he does. ]
If he was the one who disappeared, what do you have to atone for?
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[ Nishikiyama still feels guilty for that mistake now. The only way he can think to correct it is to make sure Hiyoshi pays the same price. His thumbs scrape the corners of the desk. ]
I'll make things right.
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Hiyoshi works not far outside Tokyo, now. His name is attached to a smaller hospital, but contacting him there directly seems unlikely.
[ He gives up information that's Nishikiyama's to have anyway. ]
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Were you able to figure out his schedule?
[ One hand moves now and touches Mine's leg. He runs it up higher. ]
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Not exactly. His hours are irregular, but there seems to be a reason for that, too.
[ If Nishikiyama'd known more about the connections to be made far above ground, would he have let Mine in sooner? The trace of his fingers is enticing, disconnecting from the danger blazing in his gaze. Mine feels flushed with the heat getting trapped between them. There's still more for him to share, first. ]
Hiyoshi has money problems. Because of that, the Chinese triads are probably looking for him, not just you...
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The Triads?
[ Then they're probably in a race. They'll need to act fast before the Chinese are put through the same song and dance. With his thumb somewhere on Mine's inner thigh, Nishikiyama goes quiet. He's lost in thought, thinking of how to find a missing man without direct contact or a predictable commute. ]
We should check the gambling dens of the area he's in. Sounds like he still can't resist them.
[ He stops thinking aloud so much and locks eyes with Mine once again. ]
Can you send me where he's at later tonight? And the hospital address too. I think he's still collecting his debt money from patients.
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He notices that Nishikiyama's movement has stopped. Mine's eyes drop to his hand and where his thumb dents the pressed fabric of his pants into muscle, his stance has opened up. Now he drags his gaze back up. Another request. ]
I'll do that.
[ His glance steels against Nishikiyama's. Mine won't rescind his part of the exchange, no matter the answer to his last question: ]
βWhat do you intend to do, once you've contacted him?
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Stroking Mine's leg with his fingers, he doesn't think Mine is ready. Sunlight passes through the window. His touch moves, gently grazing the side of Mine's jawline. The space is closed and he kisses him on the lips. There's a phantom taste in his mouth of blood when he licks the front of Mine's teeth, but it's still sweet. ]
I'll handle that.
[ Nishikiyama won't say what he's going to do to Hiyoshi. ]
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The kiss isn't as sensual as others between them have been. Mine doesn't close his eyes, he doesn't lean into it as much as their lips meet. He doesn't pull away, either, though. Mine observes the sunlight painting stripes across the opposite wall, blurry through windows smudged with street dust. Their shadow silhouettes cut a hole in it; proportions stretched out. Mine recognizes his is the taller one. With his gaze distant like that, he may only guess that Nishikiyama has withdrawn from the question. He says, as clearly as he will, that he won't give Mine a different answer. So be it, for nowβ ]
I've got some time to spare.
[ Before his next meeting or before he can convince himself of leaving. With the mirage of Nishikiyama's mouth, and without being haunted by his own neurosis, Mine's schedule has opened back up. ]
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[ He'd noticed Mine's eyes still open when his own lifted their lashes. He doesn't say anything about it, though, instead drawing back and letting his hands slide off the desk and Mine's leg. An exhale. He takes a step back. Provides space to free Mine from where he'd been cornered. In the quiet from him that follows, teenagers on the street yell about a new UFO catcher's debut from the window that Mine had just looked at his shadow on before. Kamurocho is a noisy place even when it isn't night. ]
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An hour or so.
[ Enough to do something, but maybe not much. Ultimately though, and as Nishikiyama'll know, Mine is his own boss. He stands forward, not wanting too much of the free space between them. ]
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[ That's enough time to for them to kill there then, right? ]
There's a new UFO catcher.
[ He echoes the yelling teenagers downstairs in a smart-assy way, but his eyes stay sharp as if he's said something business. ]
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An arcade...?
[ When he was the same age as the teens walking outside, he was too poor to even play a game for 300 yen. The look on Mine's face, the way his frown drops, isn't because he can't afford it now.
The briefcase gets left behind. Mine never ends up refusing. He's looking at the plush dolls behind glass; toys to be bought for cheap en masse, if he had to guess. He gaze jumps to Nishikiyama dropping a coin into the slot on the machine. ]
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I'm trying to line it up to knock the tail over. Am I good?
[ He expects Mine to cover his side of the machine for visibility. ]
Tell me when to stop.
[ He presses the button to pull the claw back, side-eyeing Mine for cue of when to release. ]
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The machine chatters to accompany the claw moving to the side, then back. Mine stands a little further away from the glass. He seems as casual as he might've ever been with hands in the pockets of his pants, and the bottom of the jacket creasing over his wrists. Hidden away, they make fistsβhe's out of place, no? Though, Nishikiyama stands over the machine... ]
Ahβ
[ Mine's not been vigilant to being used as a spotter. The mechanism of the game is easy, he observes, but he doesn't have a grasp on the tactics. Furrows on his brow hint he's going to watch more closely than he needs to be in order to compensate. ]
It looks good.
[ But if Nishikiyama drops it, the claw'll snag on the platform holding up a pink Chestnut, instead. ]
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Wrong one. I want the blue one.
[ He takes a moment, shuffling a cigarette from his pocket. It's a no smoking area, but the back of the center is empty and nobody, not even staff, is brave enough to tell him not to. He squints at the beady-eyed plush again with his unlit cigarette hanging now. ]
Come on, Mine.
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[ Feeling distant about his mistake his face doesn't twist as much, though, not yet as invested in getting the specific toy out. Mine's combed back hair at the front touches the glass pane, leaning over the drop-out slot to light the cigarette.
Sensibility to their combined presence and behavior being more than an oddity in the place gets drowned out by the machine urging another try. Mine stands closer to watch Nishikiyama take another chance. His eyes flicker to the moving claw, back to him, back to the claw. ]
Nowβ
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Better. I'll hit the tail a couple more times, then finish it off by lifting its head back into the slot.
[ Nishikiyama brings the cigarette back to his mouth, taking a drag of it. His hair will carry the notes of tobacco later. At the same time, he wonders if Mine is interested in the machine. ]
You want to try? We still have an hour, you said.
[ Two knuckles knock lightly on the enclosure. ]
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I'll try.
[ With 100 yen still in the game, he steps in. Mine pushes the button to make the claw go sideways, then the other to go back. Both are released too quickly. He stares through the glass, knowing the arm is in the wrong spot after barely jerking. Mine tries to adjust by prompting each control again. The claw reaches down and grabs empty instead. ]
I wasn't done moving it.
[ Half to give his explanation, half to underline the mood of his tone, Mine looks over. He complains, explanatory in a way Nishikiyama is unlikely to have heard from him before because he's naive to his mistake. ]
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[ He explains it while the claw helplessly grasps the air. Completely pointless, the sound effects from the machine still try and incite a sense of excitement even if nothing is about to happen. Nishikiyama, though, isn't as interested in watching the claw drop as he is in Mine's borderline childish reaction to the UFO catcher. He looks offended that it's disobeyed his hand. Similarly to before, he shuffles another few coins from a crocodile skin wallet into the slot. ]
Try again.
[ Silver smoke slips out the corners of his mouth because his hands are preoccupied. The cigarette wobbles still between his lips. ]
One press each way.
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Mine is sort of a sore loser, here. If his first try hadn't told Nishikiyama that he's a first-time player, the outcome of this second one will. ]
Alright. I got it.
[ His shoulders slump a little. Mine concentrates, holding the button down instead of pushing repeatedly for each direction. When the claw comes down, one arm jostles the plush toy Nishikiyama'd staked claim to. Though there's a wobble, it doesn't really tilt or shuffle it closer to the prize slot. Air blown out through his nostrils hints that Mine's not satisfied with his try this time, either. ]
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What shows that he's new to crane games more than his frustration is the expectation that things might be any different so early on. Nishikiyama finds this overt childishness endearing. Mine's doesn't like that the game is difficult and the fact that the toy inside shouldn't be worth the money put into attempting to win it is probably just as bizarre to him.
Nishikiyama places both his hands on the edges of the machine's control panel, leaning closer to both Mine and the glass display. They're near enough now to where he can catch the familiar notes of Mine's cologne. ]
That was a start. You just need to move the arm further to the left so the tail scoots over more.
[ It's difficult for Nishikiyama not to offer commentary, whether it's desired or not. He's always been this way. ]
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Should he quit? He looks over his shoulder to where Nishikiyama shuffles closer. Mine thinks he'll tell him to move over and trade places again, so he's about to take his hand off the button. Advice, insteadβ ]
Scoot over...?
[ Even against fluff and fabric, the arms don't have a lot of strength, he's noticed. So, how? After another moment of contemplation, still too serious about the game, Mine tries to adapt Nishikiyama's remark to another try. Further left; he waits a moment beyond what he'd done before. The claw snags on the doll. ]
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[ So opinionated. ]
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He knows without reaching for his wallet: ]
I don't have any coins.
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