Mutually Beneficial Agreement (D4 EM)

[Iuchi Yukarin]

Yukarin frowned and seemed to lower her head a bit, looking down at herself a bit before looking up again, giving Tomonaga a small nod, "I-If Tomonaga-sama says it is so, then I will believe it. It is hard for me when I feel less than that... but your opinion means a lot to me."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga's playful smile faded somewhat as he looked at the young woman, his brown eyes warm. I didn't quite expect... "Yukarin-san... " He said, his voice soft. He holds her gaze a few long moments.

He smiled. "I'm glad, Yukarin-san. And I do say it is so. And your opinion means a lot to me as well. You've... impressed me, I guess I'd say."

His gaze flickered down, noting the position of her hands. In a place such as this, there was a small amount of privacy. His hand inched closer to hers.

[Iuchi Yukarin]

Noticing the movement Yukarin's tight lips loosened a bit and tugged the corners of her lips up, the Iuchi woman reaching out with both hands the little bit that was necessary. One hand went under his and the other over; Her hands were thin but soft, almost fragile feeling around his.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga's hand was warm, and pleasantly dry. As she took his hand between her two smaller ones, he took a deep breath, smiling, meeting her eyes once more. His free hand came around to, for just a moment, brush the back of her upper hand with his fingers, such a gentle touch it scarcely seemed to be there. Even as that arm fell back to his side, he let the fingers of the hand she'd claimed gently clasp hers.

"Well." He said. For a few moments he was silent, simply enjoying the touch, and Yukarin's presence. "Would you tell me about your necklace?" He finally said. "It seems significant."

[Iuchi Yukarin]

"It is not something I had mentioned?"

Her instinct was to reach up to take it in her hand, but her fingers had barely twitched before she remembered she didn't want to move her hand.

"Ah, well... it is significant to me anyways; It was made by an ancestor on my father's side just after they left the Empire. He or she supposedly traded for the pearls from the Naga or Ningyo, while the jade magatama was found as is in a small pond in the Kanashimi no Komochi. As you can tell the exact details are lost to time... but I consider it a tie to my ancestors, a work of art, and perhaps a little bit of a lucky charm of mine."

The instinct comes to touch the magatama again... but this time she instead lifts his hand so his fingertips touch the smooth cool jade.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga blinked. The size of the pearls or the purity of the jade scarcely mattered. Yukarin's story placed the piece of jewelry as hundreds of years old, a tie to the past that even the most mercantile part of his mind couldn't begin to attach a price to. And, of course, it meant something to her. "That's amazing." He said.

For a moment, it seemed as though he might say more, but the gentle tug from Yukarin's hand draws his attention. Tomonaga finds himself holding his breath as she lifted his hand, letting his fingers brush the necklace. Swallowing, he leaned forward just a little, brown eyes narrowing as he studied the artifact. "To be touching something from so long ago..." He said softly.

Tomonaga lifted his head, meeting Yukarin's gaze. "A lucky charm? Do you consider yourself a lucky person, Yukarin-san?"

[Iuchi Yukarin]

"Hai; Usually at least. I have some bad luck just like everyone else, but overall I consider myself a very fortunate individual for everything I have been blessed with. It might have nothing to do with the necklace, or this little statue of Daikoku-Okami I carry around...".

Her free hand went to her sash and produced a small lacquered wood statue of a fat smiling Daikoku before tucking it away again.

"But I mostly just choose not to question such things."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Hmmm." Tomonaga said. "I guess it's good to recognize how fortunate a person is. Sometimes I get caught up in being the youngest, with not as much of a place as my older brothers or sisters. But, it hardly seems fair to complain for only being the youngest heir in a prosperous sake family, huh?"

Tomonaga's gaze is lightly amused as Yukarin produced the statue of Daikoku, and then replaced it. No wonder she was fortunate, with so many good luck charms. I wonder if she's got anything else in there... oh. He managed to avoid blushing at the thought.

[Iuchi Yukarin]

"Hai, there certainly is nothing unfortunate about being the youngest; It may close off some opportunities, but it opens up others I think..."

She didn't really have much to elaborate on there so she trailed off. It was only on looking down that she realized she was still holding his hand against the magatama on her chest, "...do you want your hand back, Tomonaga-sama?"

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Following Yukarin's gaze, Tomonaga chuckled. Somehow, he'd been both unaware, and all too aware, of the position of his hand. "Not particularly." He said, giving her a smile. "But maybe it would be more comfortable..." Gently, he guided their clasped hands to a much more neutral position, resting gently between them.

He gave a soft sigh, looking at her with a crooked smile. "But, of course, it's only right of me to make the same offer to you. Fair's fair, and all. If you'd like your hand back, you can have it, of course." Gently, he let his fingers stroke the back of her delicate hand, making his personal preference clear.

[Iuchi Yukarin]

She couldn't control the slight blush, "I don't know... the day will move on and so will we. But I kind of like my hand where it is right now, and I may as well take in as much of it as I can in the little time we have left out here..."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Yeah..." Tomonaga said, glancing up at the sun briefly before looking back to Yukarin. "And there's another event soon. But... people keep giving me advice to enjoy the moment." He smiled. "In fact, you just said the same thing. It's starting to seem like a sign. So, yeah, I think we should keep enjoying the moment as long as we can." He gave her hand a tiny squeeze, his fingers tightening ever so slightly.

Tomonaga tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, although his brown eyes still glinted with humor. "Do you think it still counts as enjoying this moment, though, when I'm already starting to look forward to future moments? That seems like it's probably cheating."

[Iuchi Yukarin]

"It absolutely is cheating; And I do so abhor cheaters. Though... perhaps thinking about now and the future aren't mutually exclusive, neh?"

She was kind of curious what he was thinking about though.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga laughed easily; indeed, it seemed to be something he did fairly often. "Oh, well, then of course I'll stop immediately. I want to stay in your good graces." His grin was a touch impudent, but then grew softer again. "Although it sounds like by your rules, it might not have been cheating. There was a great deal of overlap in my thoughts about now, and my thoughts about the future, so perhaps that's okay, then?"

His gaze softened further still, his thumb stroking her hand once more. "I... don't really want to say what it was, though. Not because I'm shy or anything, I mean, I am a Crab. But... it seems like bad luck, like maybe saying it would make it not happen. Does that make any sense?"

[Iuchi Yukarin]

She gave a nod, "...like one of those silly pillowbook cliches where the hero is talking to a fellow soldier about how they can't wait to get back to their wife and child after the war, so you just know they're being set up to die?"