❝ HA , i’m not worried about you , you old goose — i know you can take care of yourself ! ❞ a pause , ❝ but , you know … if something happened to you , things would get a kinda boring for me . so stay alert ! ❞ perhaps the reason she found it necessary to treat the matter so lightly was the fact that yukika herself wasn’t sure she could bear to lose someone else ; especially someone she considered family . the girl had barely any recollection of her mother and even then , those scattered , sparse memories were the only family she had . needless to say she was a rather lonely person , genji being one of the very few exceptions . still , when he offered to listen in chase she needed to talk , it didn’t even take a whole second before she started to shake her head in denial , ❝ no , no . that won’t be necessary , i’m alright ! ❞ lie , but how was she supposed to talk about the thing she saw ? sure , the image of her mother wasn’t that big of a deal — but what about the group of people calling her by a different name ? what about the voice in her head , the one who tried to form a contract with her ? how was she supposed to reveal that to him ? ❝ i do , yeah ! i can’t say i know too much , but i’ve read a few things . i uh , read a lot . ❞ there wasn’t much to do in her room besides reading / gaming , after all . ❝ i’d like to hear more stories though ! did your family use to tell you about them ? i’m sure they’re more interesting heard from someone else rather than read online … wait , really ?! ❞ her eyes lit up at the prospect of having sushi for dinner ; it had been so long ! ❝ it’s gonna be you , me , best boy soba & sushi — now you’re talking ! ❞ after rolling down the sleeves of her military - green colored jacket , the girl clapped her hands excitedly , then reached for her rather heavy bag before following the man . she wasn’t about to forget her laptop at the arcade ! ❝ ha , just what i deserve ! i want sashimi , harumaki , yaki- … wait , does soba get upset if we eat actual soba noodles around him ? ❞
“ if you ever change your mind , you know where to find me . ” and he leaves it at that , because if genji can relate to anything it’s appreciating people who respect boundaries . some things aren’t meant for discussion , or at least not right away — patience is important . “ oh ? well , i might have a story that is new for you . it is about two oni brothers and how they ruled together , but ultimately had different ideas , which led to a clash of their blades . ” or at least that’s what his tale will tell . she doesn’t need to know the gory truth of his real past . besides , green oni - blue oni may be a bit cathartic for him after the masquerade . “ however you’d consider it a story with a moral lesson , probably . ”
when yukika begins to ramble about foods though , he hums as a small chuckle escapes his scarred lips . “ no , soba doesn’t get upset . why do you think i named him that ? he would often come out to steal some , still does . ” it’s not necessarily a lie after all . “ my brother always was against the naming — as expected , i never listened to him . just because he said wouldn’t name his , doesn’t mean i wouldn’t name mine . ”
genji pauses then as he glances towards the girl beside him . “ you know , when i was younger our chefs would reward us for our training with soba-cha custards . i would take mine up to the roof of our ancestral home and dangle my legs over the ledge while eating it . the sight of the town was my favorite . although when i would get lonely , soba would -- ” he stops , warm hues cast downwards now as he realizes what he said , and how much . no one knew that tidbit about him before , as his past is usually a topic he leaves to mystery . this life really has changed his perspective on certain things ; he’s unsure if he’s grateful for it or worried . “ that was a long time ago and everything is different now , but ... don’t think for a second that the little guy would ever miss an opportunity to be spoiled and fed . ”