riverviewlogs | i've got this, i'm truly fine

Entry tags:

i've got this, i'm truly fine

who: hana song & genji shimada
what: roommate bonding over hair dyeing
when: mid-september
where: their rad apartment
warnings: n/a

[ Hana Song has a Plan.

And it involves at least three boxes of hair dye, some bleach, and several pairs of disposable gloves.

It's been a few weeks, now, since she and Genji moved to an apartment together, and while everything has been going smoothly so far (now that the place has the fastest internet connection possible in the Quarantine, anyway) Hana still sometimes finds that she really... doesn't know much about Genji. She'd realized it, first, when they were arranging their things together and she'd stumbled across a photograph that Genji kept of him and— his brother, she'd assumed, in their youth. He hadn't spoken of his brother at all since mentioning him in passing at the beach, but more importantly—

Genji had green hair in that photograph.

Hana had no idea he had a green phase.

She's been needing to dye her own hair, anyway, to touch up her roots and keep her appearance as a brunette bombshell completely intact; but as she was shopping for a shade to match her current color she came across some green dye and some pink, too, and decided it was time for a fun Rooommate Bonding Activity. So during one of their shared days off, Hana gingerly peeks her head into Genji's room. ]

Yo, Genji. Are you busy today?

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[ Is this Hana inviting herself right into Genji's room and flopping onto his bed on her tummy? Why yes, it is. She looks up at him with her chin in her hands and just gets straight to the point: ]

I was wondering if you wanted to dye your hair with me. You used to have green hair, right? I saw it in that picture of you and your brother.

[ If there's anybody that's allowed to do so, it's her. Genji's brows raise a little because that's definitely not what he was expecting. ] You saw that, did you?

[ Well, it is sitting on his desk over in the corner. He casts a glance at it, not able to stop a small smile. Oh, happier times. ] Are you sure I could still pull it off?

[ He is literally already graying at the temples. Does he want to risk looking like someone trying to be hip with the kids?

...yeah probably. ]

Well, yeah! It'll help you look younger, too. I mean, not that your graying hair looks bad or anything.

[ Hana stop trying to make Genji feel old. ]

Why the green hair back then, though? Were you trying to be rebellious?

[ He absently reaches up and brushes at his temple. Genji really wasn't that hung up about the gray since he knew it ran in the family; Gladio teasing him about it was actually pretty funny. But he did like the green hair, all those years ago. He just never really saw the point after, and then never had the chance.

Until now, he supposes. Genji chuckles and goes to sit on his be next to her, leaning on his hands. ] Absolutely. I wanted to stand out as much as possible and irritate my family. [ A pause as he looks back at the picture. ] My brother said I looked like a carrot.

[ There's a fond little smile on Hana's face as she listens to Genji; she's glad that he feels comfortable enough with her to talk about his past and at what follows... her head snaps back in the direction of the photo so she can give it a more thorough look and...

she starts laughing. ]

Really!? I guess it's kind of hard to tell in that picture but I love that! Can I start calling you Carrot!?

[ A very tired and world weary look crosses his face, aging him for an instant. ] I had this vibrant orange scarf I always wore back then. The picture is too faded to tell but it was immensely tacky and I adored it.

[ Because it made him stand out, because he was so desperate for attention and validation. Oh, youth. He can't help but laugh and shake his head. ] Just 'Genji' is fine, Miss Song.

[ If he's being honest, nicknames are... a strange thing to him. He was 'sparrow' for so long until it meant nothing at all. ]

[ She pouted momentarily when he declined her offer, because, wow, calling him Carrot would've been so much fun? But whatever. She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms out, upward toward the ceiling. ]

Fine, fine. Did you know there's a carrot song in Korean? It's supposed to be a clever one because dang-geun, carrot, sounds just like "of course!" So the song goes – [ and she sang it just the way she had heard it growing up ] "Do you miss me? Of course! Do you think about me? Of course!" but it also sounds like "Do you miss me? Carrot! Do you think about me? Carrot!"

[ She chuckled a little bit to herself. It was such a silly little song...but it was a bittersweet reminder of home. ]

[ That gets a genuine smile from him as she sings it. He doesn't really know much Korean so he hadn't heard it before. ] I hadn't, actually. That's a very cute song. [ He snorts. ] If my brother had known it he probably would have deadpanned it at me every time he saw me. [ He can imagine it now... that stoic face framed by his long hair when they were younger, mouth a flat line as he does it. It's hard not to laugh.

It's just as bittersweet of a thought, with all that happened after. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. ] Well, shall we get started then? We'll probably need something to cover my— [ He gestures to the parts covering where his ears are, and right below his hairline on his neck. ]

[ Her smile turns into a lopsided grin at Genji's own bittersweet recollection. When he suggests starting, she hoists herself to sit up and pumps a fist in the air. She is so excited to dye Genji's hair and try something a little different with hers, too. She makes a face at his gesturing, though, pouting and narrowing her eyes a bit. ]

Genji, please. I've done this before, I know what it takes to get your hair colored!

[ And with that, she moves off of the bed and holds her hand out at him. ]

I'm already set up in the living room! Let's do this!

[ That gets a laugh out of him and he puts his hands up in a mock surrender. ] I have complete faith in your abilities! I just know that I'm water proof but I was never informed whether or not I'm dye proof.

[ It should be fine, really. He doubts any chemicals are going to seep into the exhaust ports throughout his body anyway. Genji smiles and takes her hand, standing up.

To which said smile turns into a grin. ] You knew I would agree, didn't you? Lead the way then.

[ Hopefully he doesn't make her pull his weight, because surely it would be more than she would probably have bargained for.

In any case, once they've stepped out of Genji's room and into the living room, he would find that she really has prepared the place for a roommate salon night. Gladio was out, at least for the moment, but hopefully he wouldn't be coming back in the middle and looking to take a nap because its going to smell very strongly of chemicals. On their coffee table is a spread of all the items they'll need for their endeavor: hair clips, disposable gloves, towels, some shirts, cans of soda, snacks, a plastic bowl and brush, and of course boxes of bleach and hair dye. She's pulled one of the chairs from their dining table to the living room to use, because the couch isn't the best idea for this. Hana leads them to her little set-up and when she lets go fo his hand, she uses it to gesture at the chair. ]

I knew you would agree, and I knew that if you didn't that I could be super persuasive.

[ She pulls one of the shirts off the table and hands it to him. It's one of the free shirts she got at the festival by pretending to be on a date; but since it was free and one-size-fits-all, it's pretty big on her, which means it should fit Genji just fine. Or maybe not. It's hard to tell. ]

Here, put this on and then take a seat!

[ And Genji is... very impressed by the set up. Even more so that he apparently didn't even hear or notice her set all this up while he was tending to the plants in his room. Very Blackwatch... if they did stealth hair dyeing instead of espionage and assassinations.

He chuckles. ] Of that I have no doubt.

[ He takes the shirt and pulls it on easily; his shoulders are fairly broad, but the shirt is plenty big enough. Genji sits down in the chair and does a double check around his hairline to make sure all of the various removable parts on his head are off. The coverings around his ears are the only really permanent fixture. ]

My hair was so fried by the time I stopped doing it before. [ He shakes his head. ] I will definitely take better care of it this time around.

[ Hana would have been the best operative in Blackwatch Hair Salon, this is simply a fact.

As Genji sits down, Hana pulls her phone out so she can put some music on to have going in the background. Naturally she picks a track off of Lucio's album, one of the slower, calmer tracks that would let them enjoy the music and still be able to converse at the same time. Once that's on she sets the phone down on the table where she can still easily see if she gets any new notifications before she starts her own prep. She pulls her hair up into a bun and starts pulling on a pair of disposable gloves; an apron probably would have been wise, actually, but she's already wearing clothes that she thinks could get messy if she screwed up (which, you know, she won't) so she thinks it'll be fine. Then she goes ahead and gets her fingers into Genji's hair just sort of to survey it and see what she's got to work with. ]

I'm sure we can find some products around here to keep your hair healthy even after all the processing! That's really the key!

[ There's a part of him that hopes it isn't obvious that some of his hair is actually fake... it's bio-synthetic, but there are patches that had to be replaced. There are also a few scars on his cranium: some look like wounds, some look like from surgery.

He chuckles and pulls up one of his legs, resting his arms on his knee (and glad he hadn't put his armor pieces on today and was just wearing some track pants.) ] I was rather obsessed with my roots showing so I bleached it too much. [ A put upon sigh. ] I was obnoxiously vain.

[ There certainly is something that feels not quite— the same with Genji's hair as what she would have expected, but Hana doesn't dwell on it or even really think about it. And even if she did— the bleach and dye would react however they want to. She does, however, notice the feeling of the scars beneath her fingertips but she's respectful enough not to poke or prod literally and in the way of questions.

Instead, she humors his conversation. She's well aware that she could be obnoxiously vain, herself, but she has a hard time imagining Genji being the same way. She pulls away to start preparing the bleach. ]

Really? You? Taking selfies and always making sure you looked perfect and all that stuff? Genji Shimada, were you... a diva?

[ That gets a genuine laugh out of him, his voice creaking just a little bit from the sudden outburst. ] Oh, I absolutely was. I only wore the most expensive clothes I could find, spent far too long looking in the mirror in the morning, went out partying every night. I don't know how I wasn't exhausted.

[ Well, that was probably because he was usually drunk or high too. The less glamorous side of things. ]

[ Hana snorts at that as she's mixing the bleach. It's just... so completely different from how Genji is now. She remembers asking if he'd be okay with her hogging the bathroom in their new apartment, and the way he'd responded to that. Hearing all that... it makes her wonder how it worked out for him, considering his family; she knows that 'Shimada' isn't exactly a glamorous surname to bear. But that isn't something she wants to ask him about while they're doing this. If it comes up, it comes up, but otherwise— ]

I mean, that's what young people do, right?

[ She's pretty sure, anyway. Most people her age do something like that, even in the middle of a war. There was a brief period in her own life when she afforded such things, but that changed after she became a soldier. ]

When I went to Hanamura for a live show, I snuck away at night to check out that Rikimaru ramen shop. And that huge arcade! Did you ever go to those places when you lived there?

I suppose so. It seems like so long ago now. [ He'd gone through and seen so much; there were times his memories almost seemed like that of another person. But no, it was him, and it was a part of himself he accepted long ago.

He does brighten a little at the mention of his usual haunts back in Hanamura. ] I did, actually! I was in either place nearly any chance I could get. [ And the bars and karaoke places at night. Genji chuckles. ] It's been about ten years since I was even there. You didn't happen to notice a 'GS' on any of the scoreboards, did you?

[ Probably not. He knows his family was determined to erase any mention of him after his 'death.' According to them, Genji Shimada never even existed. ]

[ Hana is thoughtful even as she's finishing up mixing the bleach, although she does remember that she's almost forgotten an important step and as Genji is reminiscing, she's putting the bowl down and then pulling the bag that had been full of the supplies she'd bought for this out from beneath the coffee table. She finds a jar of petroleum jelly (or at least she's pretty sure it is) in it and opens it. ]

GS? I don't know, I didn't really look at the scoreboards when I put mine in. I kinda wiped a lot of the records there. Especially the ones for 16-Bit Hero!

[ As would be expected. She scoops some jelly out of the jar with her hand and carefully starts applying it along Genji's hairline to prevent any dye from staining or interacting with his skin there: a precaution she wants to take especially because she's not... sure how things will go with Genji's particular condition. ]

I went there in the springtime. It was really beautiful! It almost felt like it was like, frozen in time I guess? With all the old buildings and cherry blossoms blooming and stuff.

[ Genji chuckles at that. ] I would certainly hope so. Fighters of the Storm was the one I always played. [ He wonders now if he had a high score because he was good or because people were too afraid to beat him...

He hums a little as she starts putting the petroleum jelly along his hairline, where augmentations seam with flesh. ] It's a good thing you didn't go during the rainy seasons. [ He chuckles. ] It is, the gardens inside the estate are beautiful... did you see the giant bell in the front? Although I don't think they open it to the public anymore.

[ When they had more power and influence they should show off and threaten... not so much anymore. Guards everywhere, protecting what meager things they still had left. Ha ha.

He isn't really thinking of what he says next: ] I always hated having to sweep out the flowers from the walkways when I was a boy.

Edited 2017-09-15 00:47 (UTC)

[ She makes a dithering sound at his question; no, she doesn't recall seeing the giant bell. The gates into the Shimada estate were closed when she went – and it wasn't like she'd really had the time to go sightseeing, anyway. It was in for the show and MEKA demonstrations and it was a miracle that she'd even found time to sneak away to the arcade and ramen.

Hana is just about finished with the jelly and she puts it down to take the bowl with the bleach back up into her hands when Genji says something peculiar. ]

Oh, really? I didn't know you had to do stuff like that.

[ Genji frowns a little, glad she can't see it. He didn't exactly flaunt his place in his family's hierarchy, or really talk about it much... his last name says enough, he figures.

But. ] Well, I was born and grew up there. I had plenty of chores, you know, for discipline and all. [ He makes a vague gesture with a hand. ] Between that and training, I don't know why my family was surprised I snuck out to the arcade any chance I could get.

[ She's started using the brush to apply bleach to his hair carefully, making sure not to make things too sloppy, trusting that if the bleach was going to react badly to his scars there, that he would say something and they would stop and rinse it out immediately. Although... ]

Huh.

[ Somehow she hadn't thought... ]

Discipline? What for?

[ He'd be surprised if it did— his organic parts are held together with an artificial immune system made by Dr. Ziegler's famous biotic-nanotechnology, so some bleach shouldn't sting. The only reason he has scars at all is because his care had to be so urgently done in the first place.

And ah, the question. Maybe part of him assumed she just sort of knew, or would figure it out, or that he wouldn't have to say it... while he's accepted his past self, it's still the past. He doesn't parade it around. ] Well. [ A pause. ] My brother and I were the heirs to the clan, after all.

[ Somewhere in the back of her mind had been an acute awareness that Genji Shimada was, indeed, part of the Shimada clan, but just how closely he'd been tied to its... infamy (just call it crime, Hana) has continually escaped her. Maybe part of her didn't want to think about it; but part of it was that Genji has, since they've met, nothing but a serene, reliable presence to her that at this point, it's difficult to imagine Genji having been so intimately tied to what she knew of the Shimada clan.

As it turns out, he was just about as deep into it as he could have been.

She stops; her hands don't move and it takes a moment for her to truly process what she's heard, from when she hears it to when it finally clicks in her brain. ]

Genji... you?

I— I had no idea. I heard there was another heir but I didn't...

[ She didn't know that Genji was that heir. Just what on earth happened...? ]

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